London: MPs from both sides of British politics have been accused of "lecturing Australia" after they used a parliamentary debate on the bushfire emergency to urge the Morrison government to lift its game on climate change. Australia's emissions reduction targets were criticised by Tory, Labour and Scottish National Party MPs during the rare House of Commons debate convened by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who called the disaster a "wake-up call for the world". Nearly three dozen MPs participated in the session, in which it was revealed Britain had dispatched a team of experts to Australia - at the Morrison government's request - to help respond to the crisis which has claimed nearly 2000 homes and 25 lives. Several members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's backbench criticised Australia's response to climate change and encouraged the British government to lobby for more action from Australia and the world on lowering emissions. Karriem Allah raises the notion that in the absence of deliberation by U.S. federal branches of government over proposed military measures against foreign countries, the actions of the Office of the U.S. Presidency are presumably dictatorial Referencing the guidance for proper human affairs described in the Holy Quran, Karriem Allah explains the moral, ethical, legal and divine tenants that required President Donald Trump to consult with the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and the Iraqi Government before taking military action against the Iranian Government through the murder of an Iranian official, General Qasem Soleimani. Karriem Allah, drawing attention to the prevalent confrontations between President Trump and the U.S. Congress over the subject of limits of authority, explains how various Congressional acts within the past two decades have notably diminished the general Constitutional requirement that military actions against foreign countries be vetted through the U.S. Congress. Karriem Allah raises the notion that in the absence of deliberation by U.S. federal branches of government over proposed military measures against foreign countries, the actions of the Office of the U.S. Presidency are presumably dictatorialthereby, potentially allowing a single individual the power to determine the fate of the United States and its citizenry. Karriem Allah also sheds light on the crisis of national illiteracy among Americans and how this scourge may abet the ever-increasing publicized friction between the U.S. Congress and the Office of the Presidency. He cites the following from the Fox News article, Illiteracy is a National Emergency Unfolding Across America, and Its Only Getting Worse: While people argue over the president declaring the situation at the border a national emergency, they ignore the national emergency in every town and school district in America. More than 30 million Americans cannot read or write above a third-grade level. Karriem Allah suggests how this unfortunate crisis bears on the notion of voter competency and the publics ability to properly assess the state of democracy in the United States. Karriem Allah devotes the remainder of his 50-minute lecture to explaining the fulfillment of the function of the Christ in the future work of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan; and how this may assist governments of nations in resolving their internal conflicts for the betterment of their citizenry and humanity, at large. This lecture, President Trump, the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, & the Law of Retaliation, is part of the series, The Messianic Prophecies; and it is available on Karriem Allahs Vimeo and Youtube channels, and his website. By ANI NEW DELHI: JNU students' union president Aishe Ghosh on Friday accused Delhi Police of bias, saying she did not carry out any assault during violence at the campus on January 5 and had evidence that she was attacked. Ghosh's remarks came after Delhi Police identified nine suspects including her in connection with the vandalism and violence which had broken out in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. Addressing a press conference here, Ghosh said she has full faith in the law and hoped that the investigation will be fair. ALSO READ | JNU violence: Delhi police name Aishe Ghosh, eight others as suspects in hostel attack "I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police biased? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault," she said. Earlier, Delhi Police has filed two separate FIRs against Aishe Ghosh for allegedly vandalising server room of the JNU and attacking staff members. Office bearers of JNUSU had also met Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) secretary Amit Khare over their demands. Ghosh said that the ministry has assured that they will have positive intervention in the matter and release a circular on the issue soon. On January 5, a masked mob entered the JNU campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods which left several of them injured. United States Firefighters Were Cheered as They Arrived in Sydney, Australia to Battle Bushfires America's Bravest Greeted with Applause as They Join Aussie Wildfire Fight A large group of American firefighters arrived in Australia earlier this week to help battle the bushfires that have been ravaging the country. They were greeted with cheers and a long round of applause as they made their way through Sydney's airport. RELATED: Here's How You Can Help Australia as Fires Continue to Destroy Wildlife Shane Fitzsimmons, commissioner of New South Wales Rural Fire Service, shared a video of the uplifting welcome on Twitter. US fire fighters arrived at Sydney Int Airport this week, on their way to assist with fire fighting in Victoria. Coming through, all gathered gave a spontaneous & lengthy round of applause, reflecting the gratitude & admiration we all have for their generosity. #NSWRFS @NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/5epg5y4qxX Shane Fitzsimmons (@RFSCommissioner) January 9, 2020 "All gathered gave a spontaneous & lengthy round of applause, reflecting the gratitude & admiration we all have for their generosity," Fitzsimmons said in his tweet. This batch of America's bravest each with several large bags of gear in tow will be dispatched to assist with the fires in Victoria, one of the hardest-hit regions in the country. Canada, too, sent firefighters to the country for the very first time this week, and received a welcome round of applause upon their arrival as well. Along with several other groups of brave American men and women that have been arriving since December, this marks the first time in nearly ten years that the United States has sent firefighters to help Australia battle its wildfires. Fortunately in previous years, the country didnt need as much help from outside sources. But with record-breaking warm, dry weather plaguing the region, this season is far worse than any other in recent memory. More than two dozen people including volunteer firefighters have lost their lives since the fires began raging in September. The blazes have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and devastated more than 31,000 square miles of land, and they show no sign of stopping in the next few months. The catastrophic loss of wildlife is now estimated to be more than one billion creatures, and the fires are expected to destroy nearly 30 percent of koala habitats in NSW alone. To contribute to the cause and help out our Aussie brothers, sisters and furry friends, check out our roundup of reputable organizations and agencies currently accepting donations. You Might Also Dig: The President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nana Dr Appiagyei Dankawoso, has said Ghana's trade relations with China have been worthwhile. He said currently, China was Ghana's largest trade partner, contributing hugely to Foreign Direct Investments in the country. Quoting data from the International Trade Centre, he said in 2018, Ghana's exports to China amounted to US$2.4 billion, surpassing other trade partners. Speaking at the launch of the E-Tang Group Ghana Ltd, a subsidiary of Chinese printing giants, Shanghai KS, he said: This demonstrates the commitment that both countries attach to trade and investment for mutual benefits. He added that though the figures looked impressive, the critical question to be asked of the FDIs was the sort of impact they had on business growth and development, as well as the quality of life of the people. He said developments in the road sector, at least, pointed to a good impact, stressing also that Ghana-China relationship was essential to the stability of trade flows. Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso said the two countries represented a good example of what could be achieved when we walk side-by-side. While advising the Ghanaian workers at the company to work hard and grow the business into an international status, Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso also advised the management to treat the Ghanaian workers fairly, saying pay them well just as you would do for your Chinese brothers back home. Government industrial policy The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, in a speech read on his behalf, has welcomed the E-Tang Group and said the company fit into the government's industrial policy, which was towards developing industries that were export-oriented with high value addition, high technology, high local content and having strong linkages with the domestic economy. This is to enable the private sector to invest, create wealth and generate employment and thereby facilitate the realisation of the Golden Age of Business which the President promised investors, he said, pledging the commitment and cooperation of the ministry with the private sector to move the economy forward. Business growth The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of E-Tang Group Ghana, Mr Eric Worchie, said the company would introduce competition into the industry. He said the company intended to be a market leader within a short time to enable it to enter neighbouring countries by the middle of 2020. The Chairman of E-Tang Group Ghana and Shanghai, Mr Jeff He, said the company was the first to be empowered with fully localised operations, adding that all the employees would be Ghanaians. By Ian Ritter About 120,000 square feet of retail space will become vacant when Macy's shuts its doors at Prairie Village Shopping Center. The city's mayor, Eric Mikkelson, announced at a city council meeting that the center's owner First Washington Realty, told him that the store will close. WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer on Friday unveiled an immigration proposal seeking to make immigrants fleeing the effects of climate change eligible for legal entry into the United States. Like a lot of his White House rivals, Steyer is promising to use executive action to reinstate Obama administration protections for people brought to the country illegally as children. Hed do the same to nullify President Donald Trumps Muslim ban and end the separation of immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The billionaire environmental activist from California also would seek to decriminalize illegal border crossings and work with Congress to approve a pathway to citizenship for millions of people in the U.S. illegally. And Steyer wants to adequately fund agencies that foster legal immigration, which he argues have seen their budgets shrink as previous administrations poured more federal money into border enforcement. As part of his plan, Steyer says he will help countries cope with the effects of climate change by offering funding, equipment and expertise designed to bolster disaster response. But he also wants to establish new categories of legal U.S. immigration to ensure that refugees fleeing the effects of rising seas and climate-related disasters abroad can enter the U.S. legally. We need to see what we can do to help people in place, Steyer said in an interview. At the same time, we understand this is going to put massive pressure on our immigration systems. Steyer, who launched his 2020 campaign in July, qualified Thursday for next weeks Democratic presidential debate, putting him on stage in Iowa alongside five other candidates. Steyer qualified by hitting polling and donor thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Airports in Delhi and Mumbai - the busiest in India - reported a decline on annual basis in number of passengers in 2019. This is the first time since 2008 that the airports in India's national capital and financial capital saw a dip in domestic passengers. According to a report by the Times of India, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi posted a decline in domestic carriage. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai reported a decline in both domestic and international passengers, the report added. Provisional data from Delhi international airport showed it recorded 6.8 crore passengers in 2019, down 2.6 per cent from 6.98 crore in the previous year, the daily reported. IGI Airport handled around 4.9 crore domestic flyers in 2019, down 6 per cent from 5.2 crore in 2018. Meanwhile, number of international passengers increased marginally by 0.6 per cent to 1.9 crore in 2019 from 1.8 crore in 2018. ALSO READ: Anti-CAA stir, economic slowdown drag down tourism sector Total passenger footfall at Mumbai airport in 2019 declined 5.6 per cent to 4.7 crore passengers, as against 4.98 crore in 2018, the report said. CSMIA saw domestic passengers decline 3.4 per cent to 3.38 crore in 2019, as opposed to 3.4 per cent in 2018. Footfall of international flyers in Mumbai airport fell 7 per cent to 1.3 crore in 2019 from 1.4 crore in 2018. The latest dip in air passengers came on the back of ongoing economic slowdown and the slew of challenges that hounded aviation sector last year. Prime among them was the downfall of Jet Airways in April 2019. Grounding of aircraft due to technical problems also kept flyers away from airports in 2019. Last year, Airbus A320neo planes in IndiGo and GoAir fleets were grounded due to Pratt and Whitney engine troubles, whereas SpiceJet's Boeing 737 Max aircraft were grounded due to faulty flight control system that led to two fatal crashes elsewhere in the world. Airlines also had to cancel flights as Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian carriers over rising tension between the two countries. ALSO READ: Clouded by uncertainty, aviation sector faces huge challenges T his has been a week in which the world has held its breath. When the convoy carrying General Qasem Soleimani was hit by a US airstrike in Baghdad, killing the most feared figure in the Middle East, many reached for their history books for the obvious parallel. This, surely, was a case of a straw breaking a camels back, a Franz Ferdinand moment, when a chain reaction would follow from the assassination of a single individual that would lead to regional and then global conflict. Fortunately, it has not turned out that way. Unlike Sarajevo just over 100 years ago, things have not spun out of control. There has been no repeat of the muddled escalation of 1914 by those who historian Chris Clark has compared to sleepwalkers in his wonderful book of the same name on how the unthinkable became a reality. It is possible, even probable, that there are further surprises down the road, and in an age of new technologies, untested models of how to respond to cyber attacks and the uncertainty of how to deal with hostile actions carried out by proxies, it would be foolish to fully breathe out just yet. However, the events of the last week have been a lesson in pragmatism. That is in part due to the weakness of Irans hand in a stand-off with the worlds most sophisticated and best-funded military. The reprisals taken by Iran were carefully judged, hitting two bases west of Baghdad that are home to US troops, but doing so in a way that saved face while not demanding a response or an escalation. The reprisals were proportionate, said Irans foreign minister, Mohamed Javad Zarif, and complied with the UN Charter on self-defence. We do not seek escalation or war, he added, but will defend ourselves against any aggression. But much is also down to how the US has played its cards. I have written here before about how effective Donald Trump is at using the threat of violence, as the Mongols were in their heyday. Far better to coerce, bully and scare people into coming to terms than to actually engage, which is expensive, can have unpredictable consequences and not only rarely resolves problems but usually magnifies them. Trumps suggestion that he would pulverise Irans multiple, rich and ancient cultural sites brought condemnation from many quarters, and not surprisingly so given that the destruction of cultural heritage can be classified as a war crime. Peter Frankopan / Getty Images But the fact it was widely thought that the President might actually follow through on his promise on Twitter that 52 Iranian sites ... some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD enabled him to play a strong hand well, which those who work on US relations in this region know is rather unusual. As it is, the crisis has calmed, at least for now. Iran appears to be standing down, said the President two days ago, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. Ironically, the crash of the Ukrainian airliner near Tehran may even help to further soothe the situation, by enabling French, Canadian and US officials to aid their Iranian counterparts in establishing if the jet was shot down by accident. Tragedy has a strange way of bringing people together and putting differences to one side. In fact, seasoned Trump watchers know that despite the bluster, he is no hawk when it comes to engaging in expensive wars that have limited upsides and limited , or no, exit. Rather, he is interested in American benefit and crude rewards. Literally. Iran's supreme leader says missile attack is a slap for the US Oil in the Middle East, he said in October, helped fuel Islamic State. It should help us, because we should be able to take some also. He had a plan. What I intend to do, perhaps, is make a deal with an ExxonMobil or one of our great companies to go in there and do it properly and spread out the wealth. His views on Afghanistan are similar. Informed about the mineral wealth of the country, including copper, gold and lithium, he asked at one White House meeting: Why arent we there taking them? You guys are sitting on your ass. The Trump doctrine, as articulated by one White House insider, can be summed up as: Were America, bitch. That means using power to secure and even enhance advantages against other states. That makes for uncomfortable times not only for Iran but for others that either are, or are deemed by the US to be, competitors and rivals. These are Russia to China most obviously, which, along with Iran, sit at the forefront of US national security calculations. But the European Union and, presumably the UK following our forthcoming departure, are also in this mix. Last month, Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative who has been leading discussions with China during a punishing trade war, turned his attention to Europe. The US has an unbalanced relationship with the EU because of a substantial trade deficit, he said, and that cant continue. Expect tough tactics, action and further tariffs. The rising tensions between the US and Iran explained Here in the UK, we are prone to look fondly across the pond and see the US as natural allies, joined by a common language, similar perspectives and shared aspirations. We forget the intense competition of the recent past not least in the Middle East and Iran, as the historian James Barr reminds us in his marvellous Lords of the Desert. For now, the UKs attention is on the thorny challenges posed by Brexit. But there is a strange and changing world out there that we need to be thinking about, and how we should play the hand of cards that we have. That is essential if our next chapter is to be as a Global Britain. Peter Frankopans The New Silk Roads is published by Bloomsbury Listen to today's episode of The Leader: Islands 19 million voters head to the polls on Saturday in an election that heavily favours the incumbent president. Taipei, Taiwan Voters in Taiwan head to the polls on Saturday to pick their next president and parliament members, in a crucial test of its hard-earned democracy that will set the tone for relations with mainland China over the next four years. Taiwan lies off the southeast coast of China and was a Japanese colony from the late 19th century until the end of World War II in 1945. Its current incarnation arose out of Chinas civil war, when the nationalist leaders of the Republic of China retreated to the island after the Communists emerged victorious in 1949. Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has threatened to take it back by force if necessary. While domestic issues such as economy and identity are among the publics main concerns, world powers like Japan and the United States will be closely watching the electoral proceedings. The upcoming elections will determine whether the incumbent president [Tsai Ing-wen] will get the chance to see through her administration and partys reform agenda or whether the country will change course, especially as it relates to the islands ties with the Peoples Republic of China, Russell Hsiao, executive director at the Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera. Polling stations open at 8am (00.00 GMT) and close at 4pm (08:00 GMT). Results are likely about four hours after the polls close. Here is what you need to know: Who are the candidates? There are three pairs of candidates running for president and vice president this year. President Tsai Ing-wen, of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is running for a second term as a champion of democracy and separate Taiwanese identity, defending the island in the face of increasing pressure from mainland China. Since coming to power in 2016, Tsai has launched an aggressive pitch to countries in the Asia-Pacific region through her New Southbound Policy, with the aim of diversifying the islands economy and reducing its dependence on China. She has also expressed her support for the Hong Kong protests, winning praise from young voters, while earning the ire of Beijing. Tsais running mate is former Premier William Lai, who once described himself as a Taiwan independence worker. Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu of the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT), is Tsais main challenger. He has pledged to improve cross-strait relations with Beijing. Incumbent Tsai Ing-wen is facing two challengers James Soong of People First Party [centre] and Nationalist Partys Han Kuo-yu [left] in the presidential race on Saturday [File: Pool Photo/AP] In 2018, the 62-year-old Han caused a major upset when he won as mayor of the southern city, a known stronghold of the ruling DPP. He has called for Taiwans return to the one China formula, which states that the mainland and the island are one nation. Beijing had cut communication channels with Taiwan since Tsais election because she refused to support the one China concept. Hans running mate is former Prime Minister Chang San-cheng who has worked in the private sector, including a stint with Google. The third candidate for president is former KMT official, James Soong. He is running under his own People First Party, founded in 2000. This year is his fourth attempt at the presidency. Wang Chih-Ming, an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica, said Soongs platform is thin in details. But Hsiao of the Global Taiwan Institute said Soongs candidacy is hurting the opposition KMT. Soong was recently endorsed by Foxconn founder and former KMT presidential primary candidate Terry Gou. Soongs running mate is Yu Hsiang, former president of an advertising firm. What is at stake in this election? This year, given the developments in Hong Kong and Chinas intensifying diplomatic, military, and economic pressure on Taiwan, it has taken on even greater significance than usual, said Bonnie Glaser, director at China Power Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Since Tsai took office in 2016, Taiwan has lost seven of its 22 diplomatic allies to Beijing. China has also stepped up military activity in the Taiwan Strait, sailing its new aircraft carrier through the sea late last year and flying fighter planes close to the island. Beyond politics, voters are also looking at the economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.6 percent in the second quarter of 2019 but wages have stagnated. There has been frustration in Taiwan over a sustained period due to weak and unequally distributed economic growth that has benefitted the rich while the middle class stagnates and the precariat grows, said Jonathan Sullivan, a researcher on Taiwanese politics and director of China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham. In advanced liberal democracies elsewhere in the world there is a sense that dysfunctional government and aloof and uncaring politicians are unable to achieve meaningful reforms. Who gets to vote? According to Taiwans Central Election Commission, there are 19.3 million eligible voters. Citizens are eligible to vote starting at the age of 20. But voters from age 20 to 23 make up only about 6 percent of the total. Youth voters in Taiwan tend to support the DPP and if they go out to vote, then it will raise the chances of President Tsai Ing-wen being re-elected, Hsiao of the Global Taiwan Institute told Al Jazeera. However, youth voters have a lower voter turnout rate than older middle-aged voters who tend to support the KMT, he added. Voters older than 40 make up 66 percent of the electorate. The Hong Kong factor Tsai has been vocal in her support for Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement. She said Taiwan will consider giving asylum to Hong Kong protesters on humanitarian grounds, although such laws are yet to be passed. Sung Wen-Ti, a doctoral candidate at the Australian National University, said protests in Hong Kong have made Taiwanese more sceptical about China. Han Kuo-yu of the opposition Kuomintang party is Tsais strongest challenger [Carl Court/Getty Images] Much of the airwaves have been dedicated to discussion of the broader backdrop of the Hong Kong crisis and its relations to Taiwans future, Sung told Al Jazeera. Wang of Academia Sinica said the elections would be a test case for the international community to determine whether the Taiwanese government would have a different approach in handling pressure from China. The elections would also show how robust Taiwans democracy is, added Wang. Importance of legislative election While the attention is on who will lead Taiwan, the election will also decide who takes charge of its legislature for the next four years. If Tsai wins by an even bigger majority than in 2016, and her party keeps control of the legislature, it will be a strong message to Beijing that they trust Tsai and the DPP to protect Taiwans sovereignty and prosperity, said Glaser, the China expert at CSIS. Wang of Academia Sinica, however, worries that strong DPP majority would weaken the necessity for check-and-balance in government. It is obvious that if the DPP continues to be the majority in the legislature, the oppositional party will have only a very small room to manoeuvre and our democracy will be tipped off-balance, he told Al Jazeera. The DPP currently has 68 out of 113 seats in parliament, while the KMT has 35. A number of seats are reserved for the islands indigenous people. Who is expected to win? Opinion polls suggest Tsai may return for a second four-year term. In a poll by television channel TVBS conducted on December 29, before a 10-day poll blackout period Tsai had 45 percent votes, followed by Hans 29 percent and Soong at 7 percent. A poll conducted by Apple Daily from December 27 to 29 suggested that Tsai would get 48.6 percent, Han 15.4 percent, and Soong 6.3 percent vote. What if you get stuck on the highway in a storm? Here are some tips Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. P Chidambaram demanded that the entire team in Jammu and Kashmir that designed and executed 'the plan' be changed and a new set of administrators who respect the Constitution be appointed. New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said the Supreme Court order on Jammu and Kashmir is a rebuff to the "unconstitutional and arrogant" stance of the Central government and the Jammu and Kashmir administration on restrictions imposed there, and asked former state governor Satpal Malik to own responsibility and resign as Goa governor. "SC order is a rebuff to the unconstitutional and arrogant stance of the central government and the J&K administration on the restrictions imposed in J&K," the former Union minister said on Twitter. He demanded that the entire team in Jammu and Kashmir that designed and executed "the plan" be changed and a new set of administrators who respect the Constitution be appointed. "The former Governor of J&K, Mr Satpal Malik, should own responsibility and resign from his present post of Governor, Goa," Chidambaram said in a tweet. The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory while holding that access to the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution. A five-judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana also asked the administration to restore internet services in institutions providing essential services like hospitals and educational centres. (Natural News) Yoga, an ancient practice with origins stemming from ancient Indian philosophy, has become an increasingly popular trend in todays society. A survey conducted by the Yoga Journal and the Yoga Alliance revealed that the number of Americans practicing yoga increased from 20.4 million to 36 million between 2012 and 2016. Many people use yoga as a relaxing refuge from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Others practice yoga to enjoy its various research-backed health benefits. In fact, the scientific literature on the therapeutic health effects of yoga has led to the development of a new kind of yoga: therapeutic yoga. Relax and enjoy the health benefits of therapeutic yoga Therapeutic yoga makes use of traditional yoga postures to treat chronic physical and mental health conditions like anxiety, back pain, hypertension and joint pain and stiffness. Practitioners of therapeutic yoga are often given additional training on subjects like psychology, anatomy and physiology to further help their patients with their troubles. (Related: Yoga takes away stress, pounds, toxins, cholesterol and cravings.) A study published in the International Journal of Yoga aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the benefits of regular yoga practice. According to the study author Catherine Woodyard from the University of Mississippi, regular practice of yoga promotes strength, endurance, flexibility, as well as facilitates characteristics of friendliness, compassion and a greater sense of self-control. Continued practice of this therapeutic art may also lead to various changes in life perspectives, increased self-awareness and an improved sense of energy to live life to the fullest. Discover how to prevent and reverse heart disease (and other cardio related events) with this free ebook: Written by popular Natural News writer Vicki Batt, this book includes everything you need to know about preventing heart disease, reversing hypertension, and nurturing your cardiac health without medication. Learn More. After a thorough research and analysis of various studies and databases about yoga, the study showed that therapeutic yoga provides plenty of means to improve various health conditions. Practicing yoga encourages relaxation, which slows the breath and allows the individual to focus on the present. This shifts the balance from the sympathetic nervous system and the fight-or-flight response to the parasympathetic system and the relaxation response. The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers breathing and heart rate, decreases blood pressure, lowers cortisol levels, and increases blood flow to the intestines and vital organs, Woodyard wrote. One of the primary reasons behind practicing yoga is to reduce stress. According to Woodyard, yoga can inhibit the posterior or sympathetic area of the hypothalamus. The inhibition of this area allows for the optimization of the bodys sympathetic responses to stressful stimuli and even restore reflex mechanisms associated with stress. Yoga practice was also found to improve depression by increasing the serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin is a chemical that impacts a large range of bodily functions such as motor skills and emotions. It is also considered a natural mood stabilizer that regulates anxiety and happiness. This increase in serotonin is coupled with a decrease in levels of monoamine oxidase, which is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters. On the physical side, yoga was found to improve flexibility. The researchers posited that continued yoga practice can loosen the muscles and connective tissue around the bones and joints a factor that can be associated with reduced pain in the body and joints. Regular yoga can also improve muscle mass and maintain muscle strength, which helps protect against diseases like arthritis, back pain and osteoporosis. Woodyard concluded that yoga can enhance a persons overall well-being and quality of life. By acknowledging the unity of mind, body and spirit, mind-body fitness programs (i.e. yoga) can assist people in their pursuit of peace, calmness, and greater wholeness and integration in their lives, said Woodyard. Health care professionals, health educators and the like, need to be aware of the potential of yoga as an important component of a personal wellness plan. While there is no indication of guidelines regarding how often you should practice yoga, taking up this healing art may do wonders for your overall health and well-being. Sources include: PsychologyToday.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov TheGoodBody.com [PDF] Healthline.com HURON COUNTY A winter storm watch was in effect for the Thumb region and surrounding areas Friday afternoon and scheduled to last until Sunday morning. According to the National Weather Service, freezing rain producing ice accumulating about half an inch is possible this weekend, with a sleet-snow mix and wind gusts as high a 40 miles per hour. The watch included Huron, Saginaw, Tuscola, Sanilac, Genesee, Lapeer, Shiawassee, Livingston, and Oakland counties. Other parts of the state were experiencing either winter storm warnings and flood watches. Meteorologist Kevin Kacan of the National Weather Services Detroit office said the effects from the storm would stick around until Sunday morning when the sun comes out. Power outages and tree damage is likely due to ice and strong winds, with travel becoming nearly impossible. A Lakeshore Flood Watch was also in effect for Huron, Sanilac, Tuscola, and Bay counties through Saturday night. The lakeshore flooding may close roads, and inundate low-lying property like homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure. Gales coming from the northeast on the lake may possibly be over 40 mph, with a strong onshore flow likely to produce rising water levels and high waves causing shoreline flooding. Kacan recommends sandbagging for those who have lakeshore properties, but there is not much people can do to minimize the impacts of ice. Stock up on water and non-perishables in the event of power outages, Kacan said. Stay off the road once the rain starts. This storm comes as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District announced that water levels on all the Great Lakes started 2020 higher than in 2019. In the latest water level report, Lake Michigan-Huron had a daily mean water level of 581.54 ft. as of Jan 9., over a foot more than the average mean of 580.08 ft. at this time last year. The Army Corps of Engineers is urging those impacted by the high water levels of 2019 to prepare for similar levels in 2020. It is likely that water levels on lakes Michigan and Huron will set new monthly mean record high levels over the next couple of months, said John Allis, chief of the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology office for the Detroit District in a press release. This sets the stage for coastal impacts and damages in 2020 similar to, or worst than, what was experienced last year. Factors contributing to the record lake levels include persistent wet conditions across the Great Lakes basin, warmer than average December temperatures leading to greater runoff due to snow pack melting, and warm air causing less evaporation off the lakes surface, leading to more water in the system. Kacan said that given the strong storms, anytime lakeshore communities get wind from the northeast, it pushed water to the shore once it gets going. Donald Trump waded into the British monarchy's royal fallout on Friday, expressing his sympathy for Queen Elizabeth II and calling Harry and Meghan's decision to step back from royal duties 'sad'. Speaking on Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle', the President voiced his disappointment at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bombshell announcement Wednesday that they're quitting public life and will now work to become financially independent from the Royal Family. When asked if he had any advice for how to deal with the 'rogue royals', Trump replied: 'I think its sad. I do. I think its sad. Shes a great woman,' he said, appearing to reference Queen Elizabeth. 'Shes never made a mistake if you look. I mean, shes had like a flawless time.' Host Laura Ingraham then asked Trump if he believed Meghan and Harry should return to Buckingham Palace. Trump insisted he didn't 'want to get into the whole thing', but said: 'I just have such respect for the Queen, I dont think this should be happening to her.' Speaking to Fox News' Laura Ingraham this afternoon, President Trump voiced his disappointment at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bombshell announcement earlier this week that they want to quit public life and work to become financially independent The couple announced Wednesday that they're planning to reduce their roles in the royal family and split their time between the UK and the US moving forward, as well as working to become financially independent A known admirer of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Trump has offered high praise for the Queen on a number of occasions before, calling her a 'tremendous woman' and speaking fondly of their various meetings. He has also previously spoken disapprovingly of Meghan Markle, calling her 'nasty' last June when he learned of her threats to move to Canada if he won the 2016 presidential election. Days later he retracted his comments, calling Meghan 'nice' and forgiving her for her comments. 'She was nasty to me. And that's OK for her to be nasty,' he said. 'It's not good for me to be nasty to her and I wasn't.' Harry and Meghan announced Wednesday that they're planning to reduce their roles in the royal family and split their time between the UK and the US moving forward, as well as working to become financially independent. 'We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,' the couple said in a written public statement. 'We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.' Despite Harry and Meghan presenting their exit as a done deal, the Palace was said to have been blindsided by the Sussex's announcement, leaving them to scramble to release a statement of their own moments later in a bid to downplay the couple's claims. 'Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage,' a Palace spokesman said late Wednesday. 'We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.' The Palace's response implied that Harry and Meghan had jumped the gun and ignored the rest of the family's wishes. When asked if he had any advice for how to deal with the 'rogue royals', Trump replied: 'I think its sad. I do. I think its sad. Shes a great woman,' he said, appearing to reference the Queen. 'Shes never made a mistake if you look. I mean, shes had like a flawless time' Ingraham then asked Trump if he believed Meghan and Harry should return to Buckingham Palace, Trump insisted he didn't 'want to get into the whole thing', but said: 'I just have such respect for the Queen, I dont think this should be happening to her' Royal sources today claimed Prince Harry (left, at Canada House on Tuesday) had ignored crystal-clear orders from the Queen (right) after she instructed him not to announce that both he and Meghan were stepping down from their roles Prince Charles and Prince William only found about the bombshell decision 10 minutes before it went public, sources told Daily Mail. It has threatened to trigger an all-out royal war, with Charles and William reportedly incandescent with rage at Harry and Meghan and the Queen thought to be 'deeply disappointed'. The Duchess of Cambridge's 38th birthday was also completely eclipsed Thursday by Wednesday night's 'nuclear' announcement. Courtiers have warned that 'Harry and Meghan will be punished' for ignoring crystal-clear orders from Her Majesty not to go public until the proposal was finalized by senior family members including his father. The fallout saw crisis talks held yesterday between senior royals at Kensington Palace, where members of the family had already gathered to celebrate the Duchess of Cambridge's 38th birthday, with their decision branded a 'declaration of war' on Harry's family. Aides speaking to the Evening Standard have now warned of a backlash against Harry, who it was revealed today had first contacted his father before Christmas to discuss his hopes of spending more time in North America. Prince Harry even sent a draft proposal of his plans to his father in the New Year, but he was told more time was needed to talk through the complex implications, notably around finances. Donald Trump asked for his advice to the Queen on Prince Harry and Meghan Markles royal exit https://t.co/yn2ng8ptdc Nick Bryant (@NickBryantNY) January 10, 2020 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their intention to quit royal life on Wednesday - a decision President Trump has called 'sad' Pictured: The statement from Buckingham Palace following Harry and Meghan's social media announcement that they would be stepping down from senior Royal duties Harry later requested a meeting with the Queen at Sandringham upon his arrival back in the UK this weekend with Meghan and their son Archie, which followed a six-week Christmas break to Canada. The Queen offered to meet the Duke - which was blocked by courtiers - but she still made an explicit request to her grandson that he first discuss his future plans in detail with his father, the Prince of Wales. A senior royal source said the Queen and her family were 'deeply disappointed' by the news, while another said the royals were 'shocked, saddened and downright furious' at the couple. A source told The Sun: 'Their statement was not cleared with anyone. It breaks all protocol. This is a declaration of war on the family. 'There is fury over how they've done this without any thought for the implications for the institution. The Queen is deeply upset. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge are incandescent with rage. 'Courtiers can't believe it. There are so many unanswered questions but they've just up and done it without a thought for anyone else. The plan was there to discuss it and work out a way that works for everyone in the family.' The Queen, who spent Christmas at Sandringham with her family and usually stays at the estate until February, is embroiled in a full-blown crisis as senior royals including Princes Charles and William ordered their teams to find a 'workable solution' to Harry and Meghan's future roles The Queen sits alongside Prince Harry and Meghan for a group photo at Buckingham Palace The Mail understands that the couple raised their desire to seek out a new life a week ago and family members agreed to work with them in making it possible. But hours after they had visited the Canadian High Commission in London to thank them for their recent hospitality, the pair decided to go public with their decision pressing the nuclear button, as one source described it. Meghan has fled the fallout and returned to Canada on Thursday, where she will now be reunited with baby Archie, who she left in the country with a nanny and a friend. Harry has had to postpone plans to join her because of a commitment to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup draw next Thursday at Buckingham Palace. A source close to the couple claimed Friday night negotiations between the Palace and the Sussex household are 'progressing well', in consultation with both the UK and Canadian government. They said: 'They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later. 'It is in everyone's interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome.' Harry and Meghan have, in the words of one aide, 'no clue' as to how they will become financially independent although for the moment are insisting they will continue to take money from the Prince of Wales to fund their official work. Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex visit to Canada House on Tuesday before their announcement that they would be 'stepping back' Royals who have tried to go down this route include the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who were forced to give up their television production and PR careers after a series of scandals. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, who famously said they would go anywhere for a hot meal, and the Duchess of York, who made a string of disastrous business deals that led her to bankruptcy, have learned to their cost that it can be perilous balancing their privileged royal status with business matters. Harry and Meghan have made no mention of giving up their royal titles or status and insist they will keep Frogmore Cottage, the home that was done up for them with 2.4million of public money. They will also keep their state-funded Metropolitan Police protection officers. 'It's a masterclass in wanting to have your cake and eat it,' one royal insider raged. 'Even their own staff cautioned against them making this public until they actually sat down and discussed it with the family properly. 'But they are in this weird bubble and have this strange siege mentality. 'They feel like it's them against the world and are painting a very unfair picture of how this is a family that supposedly doesn't understand or support them, which is complete and utter rubbish.' Another source said: 'The family is perfectly willing to help them but this was a discussion better had discreetly and quietly. 'Why on earth they have put it out in the public domain is a decision only they can justify. 'They have no idea where they are going to live, have no idea how they are going to make their money. 'The feeling is one of deep disappointment that they have chosen to do this unilaterally and without prior warning or consultation. 'And no one believes it will actually help them to have these kind of conversations and discussions in public. 'People understand they want to get things moving and there remains a desire to help them get this right but you do not turn 1,000 years of British royal history on its head in eight days. 'They have got to start working with people. It's hugely unfair to paint out that this is a fusty old institution that doesn't want to help them. People have been bending over backwards looking at different ways of doing things. 'But they have made clear they still want to be paid by the public purse for their work and they have to accept that things need to be thought through carefully.' Former national security adviser John Bolton shook up the Trump impeachment standoff recently with his announcement that, if subpoenaed, he is prepared to testify before a Senate trial. Its still not clear, of course, when or even if a trial might occur, since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is withholding the articles of impeachment. But if there is a trial, and if the Senate subpoenas Bolton, he wont fight it. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has demanded the trial include witnesses. Schumer specifically wants the Senate to hear testimony from Bolton, current White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and two other White House officials, Robert Blair and Michael Duffey. To testify or not to testify? The potential witnesses have a lot of thinking to do. Their situation is unprecedented. There is no guidebook to tell them what to do. So here are some of the factors that Bolton, Mulvaney and other possible witnesses have to weigh: House vs. Senate Neither Bolton nor Mulvaney testified before the House impeachment inquiry. Bolton did not receive a subpoena. Mulvaney defied one, at the direction of the White House. Boltons former deputy, Charles Kupperman, was subpoenaed and asked a court to decide whether he would be required to testify. At that point, House Democrats abruptly withdrew the subpoena. Pelosi, impeachment leader Rep. Adam Schiff and others claimed that a court fight would take too long, given the urgency that Trump be removed from office as soon as possible. So they dropped the issue. A judge later declared the matter moot. Now, the questions surrounding potential testimony remain unanswered. If there was a problem requiring judicial resolution in the House, wouldnt there also be a problem when the Senate seeks testimony? The answer is yes, but possibly in different ways. First, it seems extremely unlikely that a court would rule the presidents aides have a blanket immunity that would prevent them from even appearing before the Senate. At the same time it seems likely that some, or perhaps all, of the conversations between Bolton and the president, or Mulvaney and the president, would be covered by executive privilege. It is not clear whether the White House will assert the privilege. But there seems little doubt that the White House, should it seek to bar the presidents closest advisers from answering at least some questions, would have some legal options to pursue. Its not clear that they would be winning options, but they could involve some fighting in court as the Senate trial gets underway. The Roberts Factor House and Senate impeachment proceedings are entirely different from each other, and one of the biggest differences is the presence in the Senate trial of a representative of the judicial branch of government, in the person of the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The Constitution says the chief justice will preside over the Senate trial. On the other hand, the Constitution gives the Senate the sole power to try the impeachment. So it is highly unlikely that Chief Justice John Roberts will take charge of the Trump impeachment trial. Of the Bill Clinton trial in 1999, then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote, I did nothing in particular, and I did it very well. Roberts probably wont do much more. But he will be there, even if he is just a rubber stamp in other words, he will give the imprimatur of the judicial branch to the Senates actions. So, say the Senate, with the chief justice presiding, voted to issue a subpoena to Bolton or Mulvaney or anyone else. And say the recipient of the subpoena challenged it in court. How exactly would that work? Federal judges are not in the business of overruling the chief justice of the Supreme Court. If an impeachment dispute ends up in court, Roberts role could make the decisions of lower court judges in other words, the entire federal judiciary awkward at best. Show Up, Yes. Answer Questions, No. Finally, even if Bolton or Mulvaney or others were subpoenaed, and even if they challenged the subpoena in court, and even if they lost, there is a difference between showing up to testify and actually answering questions. There is no doubt that both men, and perhaps others, could honor a subpoena, appear and then decline to answer a number of questions on the basis of executive privilege. If executive privilege covers anything, it is a presidents deliberations with his chief of staff and his national security adviser on the issue of foreign policy. The privilege is the presidents, not Boltons or Mulvaneys or anyone elses. Boltons brief statement said that he is prepared to testify, but it did not get into details of whether he would answer all questions or whether he would follow White House directions, if there were any, or what else he might or might not do. That will be critical if Bolton, Mulvaney or other witnesses appear before the Senate. Each will be allowed to have a lawyer present, and it seems likely that White House lawyers will be present, too. Those lawyers could raise privilege issues repeatedly, depending on what is asked. Testimony that is billed as dramatic, and even explosive, might be somewhat less exciting in reality. Boltons statement is an important development. But there is a lot more to the question of how testimony would work in a Senate impeachment trial. It might not even happen at least four Republican senators would have to join minority Democrats call for witnesses. And even if it does, it could quickly turn into a very complicated affair. Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. Director General of the of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe has said that what resulted in him being dragged to court and consequently sentenced to jail was because he refused to sell the Arts and craft village to some people. It would be recalled that on the 9th of January an FCT High court in Maitama convicted and sentenced the DG to jail for contempt of court. The judgement which was given by Justice Jude Okeke in a motion from a suit filed by Ummakalif Ltd against the DG NCAC, the FCT Minister, the Federal Capital Development Authority and the Minister for Culture and Tourism over the sealing of the Arts and Craft village in Abuja. Runsewe in a press briefing in Abuja on Friday while reacting to the court injunction against him and the NCAC over the ownership of Arts and Crafts Village, said the reason why some people wanted him hounded into jail and removed from office was because he refused to sell the village to them. The DG who revealed that the property is worth N9.8billion said when he took over as the DG, the Arts and Craft village was a den of robbers and all forms of illegality as police had to interfere to rid it of criminals and remove over two hundred stolen cars from the village. He said it was turned into a security threat to both Abuja residents and foreigners defeating the aim of the village. The Arts and craft village belongs to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It does not belong to me but to the Nigerian people so I would be failing in my duties as a public officer and appointee of government if I cannot protect government property which I was mandated to oversee, he said. He said that the Council will not relent in its efforts to reposition the nations culture as well as protect governments property across the country. He further stressed that he will remain committed to the development of the village no matter the oppositions plan against him, adding that it was imperative to clear the air on the issue to help stem the tide of negative reactions. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Selfridges has successfully joined the companies cashing in on the vegan trend as its sales grew in the crucial Christmas trading period. Plant-based alternatives were in high demand, the department store said, as sales of vegan confectionery almost doubled in the 24-day run-up to Christmas, and its new vegan hamper sold out. These contributed to a 5 per cent uplift in overall sales across the business. Toys were another strong category, with sales up 31 per cent over the period. Selfridges' sales grew in the crucial Christmas trading period Men's clothing sales increased by 11 per cent, and the beauty category rose by a 10th. Managing director Simon Forster said: 'We are pleased to have delivered another strong performance over the Christmas period. We always aim to offer a great selection of exclusive products and extraordinary customer experiences, and this year has been no exception.' Amid ongoing high street woes, the business turned to special measures to attract customers through its doors, with Santa offering piano lessons and having breakfast with children, and his wife reading stories. There were also dance and choral performances. In Birmingham, the store opened a walk-in snow globe, while, for adults, the Manchester store held a cocktail session. '2020 marks the start of a vital new decade in the race to secure a sustainable future,' said Mr Forster. 'As a business with sustainability at its heart, Selfridges will be gearing up towards a major new campaign that will set the direction for the next 10 years of our journey.' Selfridges opened a new 22,000 square foot toy shop in its London store in the last months of 2019, and also launched a new cinema. In Manchester, it opened a new accessories hall, part of a six-month redevelopment which increased the size of the site by a third. Almost any time money changes hands in America, there are tax issues. The Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) is over 2,600 pages long, and contains fives times as many words as the Bible. The federal tax rules and resources within the CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter exceed 75,000 pages, enough to fill a small library. More daunting than its length, the U.S. Tax Code is so hopelessly complex that even most lawyers dont understand its nuances and cant do their own taxes. It is no wonder, therefore, that when it comes to subrogation settlements and disbursing settlement checks, there is no uniform set of procedures to follow, and lawyers, subrogation professionals, and claims practitioners are left scratching their heads. Some insurance companies and defense attorneys demand Form W-9s or other Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) documentation in connection with a settlement without even understanding why. A typical subrogation settlement could involve a lawyer hired by a subrogation vendor to collect an auto collision subrogation claim along with the deductible paid by the insured of the vendors client, a national auto insurance company. The lawyer eventually settles the subrogation suit with the liability carrier for the negligent tortfeasor. The vendor requests that the settlement check be issued in its name. Defense counsel sends the subrogation lawyer a proposed release along with instructions to provide a Form W-9 for the vendor. The vendor refuses to forward a Form W-9, arguing that out of the settlement funds the deductible will be reimbursed to the insured, attorneys fees will be paid to the lawyer, a small portion will be retained by the vendor as a fee, and the balance will be paid to the subrogated insurer. The settlement stalls and everybody admits they are confused over what should happen and why. Form 1099-MISC The payment of a settlement imposes I.R.S. reporting obligations on the parties, which depend on the nature of the settlement proceeds and the claims being made in the lawsuit. There are two ways for a party settling a lawsuit to report the settlement to the I.R.S. Form W-2 and Form 1099-MISC. The Form W-2 is issued by a defendant employer in an employment claim for any portion of the settlement which is paid as compensation for wages. The employer treats it like a payroll check, withholding applicable taxes, Social Security, and Medicare (Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes). I.R.C. 6051. The defendant employer will also have to remit the matching taxes, representing 7.65%. The plaintiff will, therefore, receive a payment less than the portion of settlement allocated to the withholdings on the lost wages. Any other non-wage damages paid as part of the settlement are reported by the employer on a Form 1099-MISC. For settlement of lawsuits that are not employment claims, the party paying the settlement reports to the I.R.S. using a Form 1099-MISC, one of several types of Form 1099. The I.R.S. uses Form 1099 to distinguish different types of income that a taxpayer (e.g., independent contractor) may receive other than payment from a regular job, as shown on a Form W-2. The Form 1099 is known as an information return, and is one of the I.R.S.s main weapons in fighting underreporting by plaintiffs receiving settlement funds. Those paying for the work are responsible for issuing a Form 1099 to the taxpayer, as long as the taxpayer makes over $600. The I.R.S. requires all taxpayers, including insurance companies paying out settlements, to file a Form 1099 in connection with certain transactions which involve a payment of $600 or more, and may assess penalties for failure to do so. The Form 1099 is completed in duplicate, with one copy going to the I.R.S. and the other to the taxpayer receiving the payment. This gives the I.R.S. the means necessary to match the payments and/or expenses from one taxpayer with receipts and/or income to another. A party making a payment must report it with a Form 1099-MISC if the following four conditions are met: Payment is made to someone who is not an employee; Payment is for services in the course of a trade or business (including government agencies and nonprofit organizations); Payment is made to an individual, partnership, estate, or in some rare cases, a corporation; and Payments have been made to the payee of at least $600 during the year. Within the Form 1099 itself, there are two choices. Box 3 is for other income, including taxable damage awards, and Box 7 is for non-employee compensation over $600. For settlements, obviously, Box 3 is used. When a settlement includes compensation for lost wages not paid by the employer, the party paying the settlement uses Box 7. When the settlement is being paid by a liability insurance company, which is typical, no Form W-2 will be issued because the plaintiff doesnt work for the insurance company only a Form 1099 will be issued. If a Form 1099 (Box 7) is chosen, the defendant will issue the settlement check to the plaintiff for the full amount allocated to lost wages. The defendant will not deduct any state, federal, or FICA taxes from this payment and it will not remit any matching FICA taxes. At the end of the year, the plaintiff will receive a Form 1099 with the amount of the settlement allocated to lost wages reported in Box 7, and will owe income taxes along with self-employment taxes on that money. In addition to the $600 rule, anybody who makes a payment to an attorney in connection with legal services or in the course of business must issue a Form 1099, regardless of whether the legal services were performed for the person making the payment. I.R.C. 6045. For example, payments made by attorneys to other attorneys who serve as local counsel, fee splitting, or referral fees. This rule also applies to when a settlement is paid by the defendant liability carrier to an attorney or to an attorney and plaintiff jointly. The liability carrier is required to issue a Form 1099 only if the underlying claim is taxable to the payee. If the underlying claim is taxable, the carrier must issue a Form 1099. I.R.C. 6041. Therefore, it is possible that both the attorney and the client receive a Form 1099 from the carrier paying the settlement for the whole settlement amount. Congress enacted a special rule requiring reporting of gross proceeds paid to attorneys and law firms, which must be reported in Box 14 of Form 1099-MISC. I.R.C. 6045. If the underlying claim is non-taxable and jointly payable to the attorney and the client, the carrier is excused from issuing a Form 1099 to the plaintiff, but will still need to issue a Form 1099 to the attorney for the entire amount. If the settlement check is payable to and deposited in the attorneys trust account, a Form 1099 is not necessary. Condition 3 for filing a Form 1099 above reflects the fact that only taxable payments to individuals or partnerships must be reported. Settlement payments made to a corporation are usually not required to be reported on a Form 1099. This includes S and C corporations, as well as LLCs which have elected to be treated as a S corporation by filing Form 2253 or treated as a C corporation by filing Form 8832. Only the following payments made to corporations must be reported on Form 1099-MISC: Medical and healthcare payments reported in Box 6; Fish purchases for cash reported in Box 7; Attorneys fees reported in Box 7; Gross proceeds paid to an attorney reported in Box 14; Substitute payments in lieu of dividends or tax-exempt interest reported in Box 8; and Payments by a federal executive agency for services (vendors) reported in Box 7. The instructions for the Form 1099 say that the only exceptions are payments for medical and healthcare payments, attorneys fees, and gross proceeds paid to an attorney. It should also be noted that any payments made by credit card are not subject to being reported on a Form 1099. Although payments to corporations are exempt from Form 1099 rules, payment of attorneys fees are an exception. The rule that payments to lawyers must be reported on a Form 1099-MISC trumps the rule that payments to corporations do not have to be. Any payment for services of $600 or more to a lawyer or law firm must be reported on a Form 1099-MISC, regardless whether the law firm is a corporation, LLC, LLP or general partnership. If a law firm pays fees to co-counsel or a referral fee to a lawyer, it must issue a Form 1099-MISC regardless of how the lawyer or law firm is organized. Moreover, any client paying a law firm more than $600 in a year as part of the clients business must issue a Form 1099-MISC. No reporting is necessary by the law firm if the law firm merely passes on settlement funds to their clients. The liability carrier is considered the payor. If the settlement check is made payable to the law firms trust account, Treasury Regulations treat this just like a joint check, and both the client and the law firm will receive a Form 1099-MISC for the entire amount. A Form 1099is generally issued in January of the year after payment. They must be sent to the taxpayer by the end of January. The I.R.S. copies of the forms are not due at the I.R.S. until the end of February. However, beginning in 2017, the due date for Forms 1099-MISC, which report non-employee compensation in Box 7, has been changed to January 31. Because the I.R.S. will not criticize anyone for issuing more Form 1099s than necessary, it is becoming common for parties to issue Form 1099s even where they are not strictly necessary. However, failure to file a Form 1099 can be used by the I.R.S. as evidence that the party being paid was, in fact, an employee of the payor, leading to all sorts of other problems that should be avoided at all costs. Form W-9 Form 1099 requires Taxpayer Identification Numbers of the payees of the settlements. In order to help all these parties fill out the Form 1099 that must be completed, there is another form that helps provide them with information about the recipient of settlement funds. Form W-9 is an I.R.S. form usually used by a business to collect basic information from an independent contractor to whom it is paying more than $600, including name, address, and Social Security Number/Taxpayer Identification Number. A Form W-9 is also often required of a plaintiff when a lawsuit is settled in order to allow the liability carrier to properly report the settlement payment to the I.R.S. It helps the insurance company paying the settlement to obtain the information necessary to produce a Form 1099 at end of the tax year, which it sends in to the I.R.S. to document the payment. It then becomes an issue between the I.R.S. and the plaintiff receiving the settlement to determine if it constitutes taxable income. The Form W-9 is a means to ensure that the payee of the settlement is reporting its full income. Attorneys are frequently asked to supply their own Taxpayer Identification Numbers and other information to the liability carrier paying a settlement. If an attorney fails to do so, he or she is subject to a $50 penalty for each failure to supply that information. The payments to be made to the attorney may also be subject to back-up withholding. Of course, some defendants may simply refuse to fund a settlement without the required I.R.S. forms and will threaten to simply pay the settlement funds into the registry of the court. Taxation of Settlement Funds Generally So when is a settlement taxable? Lets start with some basics. Settlements and judgments are taxed the same. I.R.C. 61 specifies that all income from any source is taxable, unless specifically excluded by another Code section. Personal injury recoveries are excluded from gross income only where specifically exempted by statute, regulation, or judicial authority. Section 104 excludes from gross income specific types of recoveries, generally arising out of an injury or sickness. These include: Amounts received under workers compensation acts as compensation for personal injuries or sickness; Amounts received through accident or health insurance for personal injuries or sickness; Amounts received as an annuity, pension, or allowance for personal injuries or sickness that result from active service in the military; and Amounts received by an individual as disability income for injuries directly resulting from a terrorist or military action. The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 revised 104(a)(2) to also exclude from taxable income recoveries from lawsuits, settlements, and awards. However, it does not exempt punitive damages from gross income, except as allowed by 104(c), amounts received as reimbursements for medical expenses previously deducted under Code 213, Rev. Rul. 79-247, or payments to businesses. Section 104(c) states that the taxable treatment of punitive damages does not apply to punitive damages awarded in a civil action for wrongful death, if applicable state law allows only for punitive damages. Any interest on settlement payments will also be included in gross income, because it has no relation to the underlying physical injury or physical sickness. Settlements and judgments are taxed according to the origin of the claim the nature of the damages for which the plaintiff was suing. If the lawsuit is against competing businesses for lost profits, a settlement will constitute lost profits, taxed as ordinary income. If a person is laid off at work and sues for discrimination seeking wages, the recovery will be taxed as wages. A lawsuit by a condo owner against a negligent building contractor, however, typically wont be taxed as income. Instead, the recovery will be treated as a reduction in the owners purchase price of the condo. These rules are full of exceptions and nuances that are beyond the pay grade of a humble subrogation attorney. In general, however: Recoveries for personal physical injuries and physical sickness are tax-free. Symptoms of emotional distress are not physical. However, recoveries attributable to emotional distress in connection with a physical injury or physical sickness are tax-free. Medical expenses are tax-free. Unless it involves injuries from an accident, just about everything is taxable as income. Now the question becomes how it is taxed. If a lawsuit involves damage to a house, a recovery by the homeowner may be treated as a capital gain. Depending on the homeowners tax basis (homes purchase price, increased by any improvements and less any depreciation), the settlement may be treated as a recovery of basis, not income. If the settlement is with the plaintiffs employer and includes lost wages, the employer paying the settlement will be required to report the payment on a Form W-2 and withhold applicable income taxes and Social Security taxes. If the settlement is taxable income other than employee wages, the payment will be reported on a Form 1099-MISC. A settlement agreement should specify whether a Form W-2 or Form 1099 will be issued to the recipient. The average personal injury settlement is around $24,000. Therefore, a typical settlement allocation might look like this: Lost Wages: $5,000 Medical Bills: $5,000 Pain and Suffering: $14,000 Total Settlement: $24,000 The lost wages (or lost profits) are taxable. The rest of the settlement is not. When you factor in attorneys fees, whether hourly or contingent, the plaintiff will be considered to have received 100% of the recovery, even though 40% attorneys fees were paid. Those fees are then treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions. Taxation of Subrogation Recoveries Most subrogation professionals dont know and dont care about the tax treatment of the recoveries they obtain for a living. However, an article about subrogation and the I.R.S. wouldnt be complete without some discussion of the issue. Workers compensation benefits paid to an injured employee, including a lump-sum settlement, are not taxable to the employee at the federal, state, or local level. I.R.S. Publication 907 (Jan. 4, 2017). Although a New York employee is required to report workers compensation benefits on their New York W-2 tax documents, the actual benefit payments are not included in the persons gross pay. Workers compensation benefits are considered to be non-taxable insurance settlements. In certain situations, however (e.g., employee receives both Social Security Disability benefits and workers compensation benefits), the Social Security benefits may become taxable. Subrogation recoveries generally increase an insurance companys gross income dollar-for-dollar. Therefore, 832 of the I.R.C. treats subrogation as income subject to the Tax Benefit Rule, which provides that the amount of an expense recovered must be included as income in the year of the recovery to the extent the original expense resulted in a tax benefit. Subrogation is, according to the I.R.S., a recovery of a previously deducted loss. Therefore, while subrogation must be included under taxable income, an insurance company will exclude from taxable income that portion of a subrogation recovery to the extent the previous deduction generated no tax benefit. If a subrogated insurance company receives a settlement from another insurance company, reimbursing them for a claim previously paid to an insured, this subrogation payment would be reportable to the other insurance company in Box 3 of the 1099 form, provided the other company is not a corporation. Most insurance companies are required to be incorporated, and if that is the case, no Form 1099 is needed. When payments to lawyers are involved, the issue becomes more complicated. Under I.R.C. 832(b), underwriting income for a property and casualty insurance company, a component of gross income, is reduced by losses incurred. Losses incurred are, in turn, reduced by any recovered salvage and subrogation. Salvage consists of proceeds from the sale of damaged property for which companies have taken over the title. Therefore, most subrogation recoveries constitute a taxable settlement. For taxable settlements, the defendant is required to issue a Form 1099 to the plaintiff under I.R.C. 6041. If the settlement check is jointly payable to the plaintiff and its attorney, the defendant is required to issue a Form 1099 to the attorney under 6045 as amounts paid in connection with legal services. As a result, both the attorney and the plaintiff receive Form 1099s for the entire settlement amount. Subrogation professionals, recovery vendors, and attorneys representing subrogated carriers, self-insureds, and vendors, should be prepared to address the requirement of providing Form W-9s and even Form 1099-MISCs following or in conjunction with settlement of a subrogation claim. Even Albert Einstein once said that, The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax. And, for somebody who established the theories of general and special relativity, that is saying a lot. If you should have any questions regarding this article or subrogation in general, please contact Gary Wickert at gwickert@mwl-law.com. Life on the run is proving expensive for Carlos Ghosn. The cost of his escape included $18.2 million in forfeited bail money while the operation that saw him celebrate New Years Eve in Beirut could have cost $19.5 million or more. That includes $456,547 for the private jet that spirited the former auto executive from Osaka to Istanbul and millions of dollars for his multicountry extraction that would have taken a team of as many as 25 people half a year to plan, according to a private security expert who said he wasnt involved and asked not to be identified given the nature of the operation. Such outflows have seen Ghosns fortune shrink by 40 per cent since he was arrested more than a year ago at Tokyos Haneda Airport, according to estimates by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune is now calculated to be about $91.3 million, down from around $156.5 million at the time of his first court appearance a year ago. Mission impossible In fiery, freewheeling form at a two-and-a-half hour press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, Ghosn, 65, repeatedly proclaimed his innocence against allegations he understated his income and raided corporate resources for personal gain, accused Japanese prosecutors, government officials and Nissan Motor Co. executives of conspiring to topple him, and insisted he would clear his name. I am used to what you call mission impossible, he said in response to questions from the assembled reporters. You can expect me in the next weeks to take some initiatives to tell you how Im going to clear my name. That might include a tell-all book. Ghosn plans to publish the story of his arrest, according to a report by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. His downfall has already seen him lose millions in payouts. Last year, Nissan cancelled retirement and stock-linked compensation and Renault SA said he wont benefit from a noncompete agreement he signed in 2015 and stock-based payments that were conditional on his staying at the company. Many of the charges against him centre on retirement payments, totalling more than $182.6 million, which he hadnt yet received. French investigations That may be just the start. French investigations examining the possible misuse by Ghosn of Renaults money to host lavish parties and pay consulting fees are at a preliminary stage. The former auto executive also agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a civil complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which said he failed to properly disclose potential retirement payments, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. At his press conference, Ghosn claimed he had done nothing untoward in hosting an event at the Palace of Versailles. Regarding the SEC fine, Ghosns lawyers said previously, We are pleased to have resolved this matter in the U.S. with no findings or admission of wrongdoing. Ghosns U.S. law firm, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, declined to comment on Bloombergs wealth estimates or on the SEC settlement. Ghosns Lebanese lawyer also declined to comment. Nissan is looking at bringing legal action against Ghosn in Lebanon, people familiar with the companys plans said, to recover money it claims he used improperly. The carmaker is trying to evict him from the pink villa in Beirut to which he still has access. Nissan purchased it for $11.4 million, renovated it and furnished it for him, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ghosns flight will not affect Nissans basic policy of holding him responsible for the serious misconduct uncovered by the internal investigation, the Yokohama-based automaker said on Tuesday. Authorities may be looking to seize some of his assets. In Switzerland, where Ghosn reportedly banks with Julius Baer Group Ltd., Swiss authorities received a legal-aid request from the Tokyo District Attorneys Office a year ago, a spokeswoman for the agency that received the notice said. It examined the request before forwarding it to the Zurich prosecutors office in March. A spokesman for the Zurich prosecutors office declined to comment on the nature of the request or what they are doing with it. At Japans request, Interpol issued a so-called Red Notice in Ghosns name, making it known to other law enforcement authorities that the country considers him a fugitive. Lebanese prosecutors have issued a travel ban for Ghosn and took his French passport, Lebanons justice minister, Albert Sarhan, said in an interview. Its not clear if any of Ghosns assets have been seized. In criminal court cases in Japan, a defendants assets cannot be confiscated until a court verdict is reached, according to Taichi Yoshikai, a law professor at Kokushikan University. Assets can only be frozen if they are linked to certain types of offences, related mainly to organized crime, and a judge determines that they are likely to be seized in case of a guilty verdict, he added. There are exceptions in civil cases, but its unclear how this will be applied when a defendant is overseas, he said. Wealth assumptions The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, which rarely makes public comments, posted an English-language statement on its website Thursday saying Ghosn had only himself to blame for his strict bail conditions. It vowed to bring him to justice in Japan. Ghosn had been propagating both within Japan and internationally false information on Japans legal system and its practice, Justice Minister Masako Mori said. Renault declined to comment. Bloombergs calculation of Ghosns net worth assumes none of his assets at the time of his arrest which included shares in Renault and Nissan now valued at about $78.2 million have been seized or sold. Even if that is the case, the costs that come with being the worlds most famous runaway will continue to be formidable. Legal bills for fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low came to $19.5 million , according to an October deal with U.S. federal prosecutors. Efforts to burnish Lows reputation cost $1.4 million over seven months, according to the New York Times. Such expenses are likely sizable enough to pressure even a fortune as large as that of the Ghosn family. Still, some costs may be lower than expected. The $456,547contract for Ghosns Osaka to Istanbul flight was to be paid in two tranches. The charter company has so far only received the first half. FRONT PAGE An article on Thursday about a decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to withdraw from royal duties misidentified the place in Canada where Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, spent the holidays. It is Vancouver Island, not Vancouver. The article also referred incorrectly to the son of Prince Harry and Meghan. He is Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor or Archie not Prince Archie. An article on Thursday about uncertainty about the cause of the crash of Ukraine International Flight 752 misstated the direction the plane appeared to be flying after its transponder stopped working. It went northeast, not northwest. NEW YORK A Metropolitan Diary entry on Dec. 1 about the Northern Dispensary misstated the surname of the author. He is Mike Malsbary, not Malsbury. An article on Wednesday about pedestrian fatalities, relying on information provided by the Police Department, misstated the number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents on Tuesday. It was two, not three. The person erroneously reported as dead, a man hit by a bus in Manhattan, was critically injured. The error was repeated in the headline. This is the moment Jake Patterson was arrested after he was stopped by police officers while he drove around looking for 'his' missing girl Jayme Closs who escaped from his rural Wisconsin cabin. A year to the day after the now-14-year-old's dramatic escape, DailyMail.com has obtained audio which bears witness to a monosyllabic and unemotional Patterson who held Closs captive for 88 days. According to Douglas County Sheriff officer Sergeant DeRosia, Patterson's first words when asked to step out of his car were, 'I did it,' but when pressed as to what he did he refused to elaborate. At one point Sgt DeRosia is heard cuffing Patterson before getting out of his vehicle to communicate with fellow officers. He complies with the officer's request to get into his car as the officer seeks to establish where he lives and the exact situation. Moments later the officer gets back into his car and, with a notably changed and charged demeanor, informs Patterson, 'All right, you're no longer detained. You're under arrest now.' Patterson responds, 'For what?' Jayme Closs, 14, escaped last year after Jake Patterson, 23, killed her parents and then held her captive in a remote cabin in rural Wisconsin for 88 days Closs was held in Jake Patterson's home (pictured above) for 88 days, only occasionally allowed to leave for walks in the yard escorted by her captor The inside of Jake Patterson's Gordon, Wisconsin home where he kept Jayme Closs captive is pictured above Strikingly, Patterson's primary, indeed only, concern is then that somebody will 'take care' of car. At no point does Patterson show any emotion beyond faint irritation and discomfort throughout the nearly hour-long drive to Superior, Wisconsin where he was held before being transferred to authorities in Barron County. Patterson's off-putting affect was frequently commented upon by officers who dealt with him following his arrest. Patterson admitted to abducting Jayme on October 15 after killing her parents, James and Denise Closs (pictured above), at the family's home near the small town of Barron According to one he showed no emotion at all when confronting the horror of his crime but had 'tears in his eyes' when contemplating the fact that he would likely spend the rest of his life in prison Praised for her bravery, Jayme Closs had managed to lull her captor into believing her 'so terrified' of him that she would never dare try to escape, then took her chance at freedom when he left her alone to visit his mother an hour away. Thousands of pages of interviews and hours of video and audio footage amassed during the sprawling investigation that captivated the nation have now been released. Key among the files obtained by DailyMail.com and published here today on the anniversary of Closs's escape are the 911 call reporting her extraordinary reappearance and audio recording of her abductor's arrest. Shortly after noon on January 10, 2019 teacher Kristin Kasinskas had placed a 911 call and changed everything as she told cops, 'I have a young lady here at my house right now and she says her name is Jayme Closs.' She added, 'I 100% think it is her.' Minutes earlier Kristen and Peter Kasinska's neighbor Jeannie Nutter had come to their house with Closs at her side and the words, 'Call 911,' on her lips. Retired social worker Nutter, who rarely used her rural cabin, was walking her dog when Closs walked towards her crying and saying, 'You've got to help me, you've got to help me.' Nutter told the dispatcher, 'She said, ''I'm Jayme Closs. He killed my parents. I want to go home. Help me.''' Closs didn't know where she was and was cold and in shock, according to Nutter who asked for cops to send medics to the remote location and to hurry as they were fearful that Patterson would return and come looking for Closs. By the time he did officers were already on the scene and alerted. Patterson had been visiting his mother, Deborah Frey, 50, at her home in Haugen - an hour's drive from the Gordon cabin where her son lived and Closs languished. He was stopped just a few yards from his driveway by Sergeant DeRosia. DailyMail.com has obtained dashcam footage from the night of the kidnapping showing cops unwittingly speed past Patterson's car. The footage shows Patterson's red car yield to the sirens as he made his escape with Jayme. Patterson later told investigators that he had deliberately slowed down to avoid suspicion but believed in that instant he would be caught Police drove by Patterson's red car while Jayme lay bound and bundled in his trunk. When Patterson was finally caught and stepped out of his car his first words were 'I did it', according to officers Patterson's mother Deborah Frey, 50, is struggling to rebuild her life that was shattered by her son's crimes, sources tell DailyMail.com. She's pictured boarding the school bus that she drives Heart-stopping dashcam footage captures the now agonizing moment that Patterson calmly made his escape, yielding to the blaring sirens and flashing lights of Barron County Sheriff's squad cars, while Closs lay bound and bundled in his trunk on October 15, 2018. Closs, now lives with her aunt, Jennifer Smith in Barron, Wisconsin. This pictured was snapped just after she returned home All three of the officers noted the solitary car as they responded to the desperate, dropped 911 call made from Denise Closs's cell on the night that the 46-year-old mother-of-one was gunned down along with her husband, James, 56. For his part Patterson, 23, later told investigators that he had deliberately slowed down to avoid suspicion but believed, in that instant that he would be caught. Instead that near miss marked the beginning of a headline grabbing ordeal that only ended with Closs's remarkable escape 88 days later. In an often bizarre interview with detectives in Barron, Patterson commented that Closs 'f***ing deserved to be free,' and revealed that his 'plan' had been that, 'he and Jayme could live a life togetherand that maybe after a year they could get an apartment together.' The few friends and family members who spent time with Patterson during his time as Closs's jailor all commented that he seemed, 'happier,' 'chattier' and 'more outgoing' than at any other time in his life. One former school friend who encountered him by chance that winter recalled him seeming 'really happy' to see her as they chatted briefly and hugged before going their separate ways. Their conversation took place at the end of the driveway to his cabin, just feet from where Closs was cowering in his make-shift lair. Kristin and Peter Kasinkas were the first to call police after Jayme escaped from Patterson's cabin and ran into Jeanne Nutter (pictured) on the street, begging her for help DailyMail.com obtained photo files from evidence collected by Barron County Sheriffs, showing where the door was broken in by Patterson Jake Patterson's shoes were collected as evidence among thousands of other items in the case Patterson could not tell investigators why he had taken Closs beyond the fact that he had fantasized about 'abducting a girl' for several years and known immediately that she was the one. He told officers that he didn't do any research. He said he didn't know 'if they had guns or if there were like ten people in the house or anything' and didn't even know Closs's name. Yet he said that he had gone to the family's home twice before with the intention of taking her, only to back out. On the night that he finally went through with his ruinous plan, Patterson told officers, he tried to 'pump himself up.' He said, 'I put my shotgun in my mouth before I went to kind of, cause I was going, you know, by the time I actually did it I was telling myself you know either I'm gonna die or they are.' And while Patterson admitted that he had initially had thoughts about 'sexual s***' when thinking about the then 13-year-old's abduction and told officers that he slept in his twin bed with Closs during her time as his hostage, he felt too bad about what he had done to her parents to act on those fantasies. He is currently serving two life sentences with no hope of parole. One of the men killed in a Pennsylvania helicopter crash Thursday owned the building that houses the Buffalo location of Syracuse-based Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Mark D. Croce, 58, of Orchard Park, N.Y., was piloting the helicopter when it crashed Thursday night in Silver Spring Township, in Cumberland County, Pa. A passenger, 63-year-old Michael Capriotto of Orchard Park, was also killed. The helicopter was en route from Buffalo to Washington, D.C. The crash remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Some media outlets in the Buffalo area initially reported that the crash killed the owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Those have since been corrected. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que founder John Stage confirmed today that Croce is the landlord for the restaurant at 301 Franklin St. in Buffalo. Croce has no ownership stake in the restaurant business. Stage co-founded the Dinosaur in Syracuse in 1988, and built it into a successful business with eight current locations in New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut. The business has several partners, but Stage bought back a majority share in the company in late 2018. State Police have made four more arrests in connection with the murder of an advocate in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow on January 7. According to police, the accused persons have been identified as Dheeraj, Subham, Manjeet and Mustafa. Earlier, the police had arrested two persons for allegedly beating a 31-year-old advocate Shishir Tripathi to death in Krishnanagar area of the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reuters British trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan will visit India this week to hold talks to try to deepen trade and economic ties as part of London's push in the Indo-Pacific region, her department said on Sunday. As part of a two-day visit to New Delhi, Trevelyan will hold bilateral talks with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Thursday on green trade, the removal of market access barriers and other issues. They are also expected to confirm the launch of official negotiations on a new UK-India free trade deal, the trade department said in a statement. From Nov. 4-8, 2019, I spent four days in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) on an intensive experience meeting with leaders of Palestinian Civil Society. It was an incredibly challenging experience. One of the true highlights was listening to Ali Abu Awwad, the leader of Taghyeer, a Palestinian nonviolence peace movement designed to help Palestinians take responsibility for ensuring their future with their neighbor, the Jewish state of Israel. On Tuesday Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m., Ali will be speaking at The Roth Family JCC about the Taghyeer movement and his hopes for the future. I urge you to attend to hear a voice that is rarely heard, but very important, if we are to have peace. Here is what I wrote after listening to Ali, which I hope gives you a taste of what you will experience when you listen to him. Our first speaker was a man named Ali Abu Awwad. Ali was involved with the startup of the Roots program. He left them a year or so ago and started a new organization called Taghyeer Movement. Alis mom got very involved with the PLO and she was a leader in the movement as he grew up. This made him special in the eyes of many and he quickly became an activist. He was first arrested at age 15 for throwing stones at soldiers. At age 18, he was arrested a second time for throwing stones only this time the IDF wanted him to give them information on his mother. They threatened him with 10 years in prison if he didnt. Ali didnt believe he could get 10 years in prison for throwing rocks and he chose not to say anything about his mom. At his trial, he was given a 10-year prison sentence. It was in prison that he learned to speak Hebrew and got most of his education. The first intifada was mostly political and not violent so the political prisoners were educated people. They had created a system of government and education in the camp to make sure they were getting educated. In 1994, after the Oslo accords, he was released early from prison. He began working as a Palestinian security officer to help enforce the law. It was a struggle as he told us that Israeli soldiers humiliated him, and he watched them humiliate his mom. The culminating moment for him was when a soldier shot and killed his brother. Things changed for him when the family received a letter from an Orthodox Jew whose son had been killed by Hamas. The man had started a grief forum for families and heard about his brothers murder. He wanted to send condolences and told them he stood for their rights. The man also asked permission to come to house to personally share condolences. This act changed Alis life. He had Israelis come to his house before but never any who asked about coming. When they met this man, they could feel his compassion and Ali realized that vengeance was using anger to try to get justice. And the only justice for his brothers death was to have his brother back. Since that was impossible, he had to find a new way. Ali shared his belief on why the peace talks failed. It was so clear. He told us: 1. The leaders signed the agreement but it was never implemented on the ground. 2. Signing an agreement doesnt make peace. Those involved need to be included in the process. Refugees and Settlers were not included and in order for peace to work, we need reconciliation on the ground. If they are not included, there will be no reconciliation 3. Engagement of outsiders in the peace process. He specifically called out Iran who wanted to keep the conflict going and the Arab World who didnt want to see a modern Arab democratic state. 4. The leadership who signed the agreement wasnt really looking to have Peace. If they did, Ali said that Rabins assassination wouldnt have stopped it. It was people, not systems. Rabin was dead and Arafat was weak. 5. Palestinians could not make the transition from resistance to being citizens. They struggled with a new identity of building a state instead of battling Israel in revolution. 6. Corruption by leadership. Oslo created the PA and that has become a way to help individuals (lining their pockets) rather than the state (building a country). Ali had a few very significant statements that I want to share. The biggest obstacle to Palestinian freedom is Jewish Fear and Palestinian Anger. He said the Palestinians must understand this and address it moving forward. Our freedom will not be built by Jewish lives. It will not be built on Jewish graves. It will be built through Jewish hearts. Its not about guilt or blame but about responsibility. The best tool I have is my humanity, not my rightness or support of my cause, but my humanity. Alis new organization is based on creating a Palestinian identity based on nonviolence. He is working to address the identity issue of being citizens rather than being part of a resistance. He is building a movement and already has 13 chapters and its growing fast. He finished with a few very important points. The first were 3 truths about Palestinians and Jews 1. We both have no other place to go 2. We both have a historical connection to the land 3. Nobody else wants either of us He closed with talking about the need for recognition by the Palestinians to the Jewish claim to the land and by the Jews to the Palestinian claim to the land. So if you actually read all of this, wow! And I hope you are as filled with hope as I was. I have heard the complaints about no partner for peace. I have heard the complaints that the Palestinians will not govern, cant govern, and wont take responsibility. Ali is an example that proves both those things wrong. Perhaps it is time for us to find the other Alis and work together to create a better world and peace. Keith Dvorchik is the CEO and executive director of The Roth Family JCC and Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. House of Representatives has passed comprehensive legislation that would empower the federal government to force the cleanup of toxic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and require new rules that would limit the amount of those compounds allowed in public drinking water. However, the legislation has little chance of becoming law because Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate consider it an overreach and the Trump Administration White House has threatened to veto the bill were it to somehow make its way through Congress. On Friday, Jan. 10, the House passed the PFAS Action Act, H.R. 535, by a 247 to 159 vote, with 24 Republicans voting to support the bill sponsored by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn. PFAS are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in nonstick and waterproof products and firefighting foam. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to health problems like cancer and autoimmune disease. They have been nicknamed forever chemicals because the compounds resist breaking down in the environment. A major component of the House bill would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designate two compounds, PFOS and PFOA, as hazardous substances under its Superfund program within a year, giving the EPA authority needed to order cleanups and recover costs from polluters. The designation was stripped from a must-pass defense spending bill in December. It is considered crucial to accelerating cleanup at contaminated military sites like Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, where the pollutants were discovered by the state in 2010. Friday;s bill passage is a beginning, but this wont help communities or people unless its passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president, said Dingell, whose district includes Ann Arbor, a city which has struggled with the chemicals in its municipal drinking water. We all must work together to protect human health and our environment, she said. Further inaction only means more people continue to be poisoned and contamination spreads further. Republicans Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, and Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, joined Democrats in voting in favor of the bill. Upton, who represents the city of Parchment -- where testing found high PFAS levels in municipal water -- said the citys 2018 water emergency made it perfectly clear that we need an all-hands-on deck to protect our families, drinking water, and environment. Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet; John Moolenaar, R-Midland; Paul Mitchell, R-Dryden Township; Tim Walberg, R-Tipton; and Justin Amash, I-Cascade Township, voted against the bill. Groundwater contamination from PFAS has been found above Michigans enforceable limit of 70 parts-per-trillion at 74 sites. The sites are located in each state Congressional district most notably in Amashs 3rd district, which includes Kent County where the chemicals were dumped years ago in unlined landfills by footwear giant Wolverine World Wide. In a statement, Amash pointed to unintended consequences of the legislation as a reason for his nay vote and said the EPA already has considerable authority under current law. There is support across party lines for passing legislation to further the governments efforts to respond to PFAS, such as in last months NDAA, but H.R. 535 was not drafted as a piece of consensus legislation, Amash said. "The bills approach seriously risks creating unintended consequences for human welfare, such as by preventing the development of new, safer chemicals while allowing existing PFAS to continue to be manufactured. Regulations should be supported by current science. Democrats and environmental advocates urged Republicans to take up the bill in the Senate, where the environment committee chairman, Sen. John Barrasso R-Wyoming, said this week it had no prospects due, in part, to the hazardous designation, according to Bloomberg. The hazardous declaration is opposed by national public water utility associations, who fear it could impose contamination liability. According to a fact sheet distributed by Dingells office, the legislation would set air emission limits for PFAS, prohibit incineration and limit the introduction of new PFAS chemicals into commerce. It would also identify health risks by requiring comprehensive health testing, reporting of PFAS releases and monitoring in drinking water. The bill requires the EPA to establish a drinking water standard protective of vulnerable populations like pregnant women, infants and children. The legislation also provides grants to impacted water systems, creates a voluntary label for PFAS-free cookware and provides guidance for first responders like firefighters to limit their exposures. The White House issued a veto threat this week, saying the House bill would create considerable litigation risk, set problematic and unreasonable rulemaking timelines and precedents, and impose substantial, unwarranted costs on federal, state, and local agencies and other key stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. The White House statement, issued by the management and budget office, said the EPA is already working on PFAS under an action plan launched in 2018. On Tuesday, the EPA issued a press release touting its efforts to aggressively address the contaminants. The EPA cited the Wolverine contamination as an example of its efforts to clean up PFAS although the agency, lacking authority to order cleanups under Superfund law, has instead focused on regulated contaminants like chromium and arsenic in its oversight of the limited excavation work happening at Wolverines former tannery and House Street dump. The EPA has deferred to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), which enacted enforceable limits on the chemicals in groundwater due, in part to the Wolverine situation, for oversight of PFAS contamination at sites in Michigan. On December 31, the agency missed a self-imposed deadline to decide whether it would regulate PFAS chemicals in drinking water. In Michigan, the state has forged ahead with development of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for seven PFAS compounds that public water supply operators would be required to meet. The state held its first of three public hearings on the draft limits this week. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, wants the standards in place this spring. The state tested about 1,380 public water systems and 460 schools, daycares and Head Start centers using well water in 2018. So far, testing has found PFAS chemicals at some level in public drinking water serving about 1.9 million people around Michigan. Michigan officials say an effort to reduce PFAS chemicals from businesses passing through wastewater treatment plants into lakes, rivers and streams has resulted in a substantial drop in one of the chemicals after a regulatory crackdown that started in 2018. The Narendra Modi-led government launched a missed call campaign on January 3, 2019, asking people to give a missed call at a number to register their support for the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that 52,72,000 missed calls have been received from verifiable phone numbers. What has been happening in the background since the launch of the campaign reflects the state of affairs in the country. Ever since the campaign started, Twitter has been abuzz with misleading tweets asking people to call the number by promising 'job offers', 'free Netflix subscription', 'romantic dates with women in the area' and so forth. Tweets such as 'Akele ho? Mujhse dosti karoge?' (Feeling lonely? Want to be friends?) by a Twitter account with 16k followers, Prime Minister Modi being one amongst them, point to a much larger misinformation campaign presumably by the IT cell of the ruling party. A counter-campaign was also launched soliciting missed calls to demonstrate opposition to CAA and NRC. Wheres my number? In the age of surveillance capitalism, any entity, especially the government, running a campaign to garner support using phone numbers opens up private individuals to grave risks. The people who are calling the toll-free number have no information whether their numbers would be stored in a database, shared with third parties and/or used for a future campaign by the government. First-principles of privacy dictates that data collected should be proportionate to the legitimate aim and limited purpose that is being pursued. Furthermore, the data principal should provide informed consent to the collection of data. Also read Free Netflix, sex chats: Callers lured to 'support CAA' There seem to be no means for citizens to determine if the government is storing their data, and no process to get their records deleted if they wish so. Repurposing of the potential database to micro-target during election campaigns is a severe threat that emerges from this exercise. People who called the number are either staunch supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or vulnerable youth who fell into the honeytrap while looking for jobs, subscription TV, or romantic partners. Given that the government now potentially has access to members of its core voter base as well as gullible people at the margins, it can push information and opinions that favour its ideology. Alternatively, participants in the counter-campaign can be categorised as anti-establishment voices. This narrative dominance, empowered by personalisation algorithms, can result in the formation of filter bubbles where people are isolated from conflicting viewpoints, reinforcing their existing beliefs. The design of the missed call campaign itself is flawed. An honestly designed campaign would have provided options to vote either for or against an option. The absence of a way to express an opposing view reduces it to an exercise of confirmation bias. The missed call mechanism is also susceptible to manipulation. It is unclear whether these are features or bugs. While 52 lakh may seem like a sizable number, it is a drop in the ocean in a country of more than 130 crore people. In fact, the number is less than 3 per cent of the total BJP membership of 18 crore people. Why referendums fail If this approach to engage with citizens is legitimised, it opens the door to use it every time there is a risk of backlash over a government decision. Even before Brexit became the poster-child for failed referendums, political theorists had advised against them. When asked about the best time to use referendums, Michael Marsh, a political scientist at Trinity College, Dublin, was quoted as saying 'almost never'. In Democracy for Realists, political scientists Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels, lament the idea that the 'only possible cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy'. They cite a body of research which concludes that citizens often do not have the necessary knowledge, nor the inclination to acquire it when it comes to voting on nuanced issues. Decisions are often made on short term considerations like personal tax saving or reduction in government expenditure without an analysis of anticipated unintended consequences. Additionally, there is a tendency for referendum processes to be captured by certain interest groups and typically decided in favour of whichever has deeper pockets. Low-effort voting methods, such as online voting and missed calls, are likely to be overused. This will result in desensitisation of the public, exacerbating all the shortcomings of referendums. The use of missed calls to vindicate its stand on contentious issues, by a democratically-elected government, is not only ineffectual, but it also exposes unsuspecting individuals to severe risks. Employing systems without basic privacy considerations, clear purpose limitations, and straightforward redressal mechanisms, can lead to misuse in the future and undermine the democratic ethos of the nation. (Utkarsh Narain and Prateek Waghre are research analysts at The Takshashila Institution) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the authors own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. But Miller was an album artist, with escalating ambitions and concepts for each record. In hindsight, given the circumstances of his death, "Swimming" was even more harrowing for how optimistically it dealt with Miller's struggles with drugs and finding peace in the pop spotlight. It seemed to show a light at the end of that cave. On "Self Care," he sang, "It must be nice up above the lights / And what a lovely life that I made, yeah / I know that feelin' like it's in my family tree, yeah Tell them they can take that bulls elsewhere / Self care, we gonna be good." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 20:32:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presents China's top science award to Huang Xuhua (R) and Zeng Qingcun (L) during an annual ceremony to honor distinguished scientists, engineers and research achievements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 10, 2020. Huang Xuhua is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who worked at a research institute of the former China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, and Zeng Qingcun is a famous meteorologist from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). (Xinhua/Li Xueren) BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping presented China's top science award to Huang Xuhua and Zeng Qingcun on Friday for their outstanding contributions to scientific and technological innovation. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, granted award medals and certificates to them at an annual ceremony held in Beijing to honor distinguished scientists, engineers and research achievements. Xi shook hands with them and expressed congratulations. Other leaders, including Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, were also present. Huang Xuhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is the chief designer of the country's first-generation nuclear submarines. Born in Guangdong Province in 1926, Huang later joined a research institute of the former China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and has been engaged in the research and development of nuclear submarines for about 30 years. He won the Medal of the Republic in 2019 for his outstanding contributions to the nation. Zeng Qingcun, 85, is a famous meteorologist from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). His theory of numerical weather prediction solved the problems of timeliness and stability in calculating multi-scale weather change processes and is the basis of the global numerical weather prediction technology. Zeng's visionary study on global climate change has brought him a host of accolades and international acclaim, including the world's top prize for meteorological work. Friday's ceremony also honored 296 projects, with 46 winning the State Natural Science Award, 65 the State Technological Invention Award, and 185 the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award. Ten foreign experts won the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. SCI-TECH PUSH On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Premier Li Keqiang extended congratulations to award winners and thanked foreign experts for their support of China's science and technology development. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country has made brilliant achievements in scientific and technological development, with the past year witnessing a number of internationally leading advances. Li noted that China is striving to achieve the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects in 2020. The premier stressed the importance of following the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, further implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and accelerating the in-depth integration of science and technology with the economy, in a bid to maintain the economic growth within a reasonable range and promote the high-quality development. He called for the strengthening of basic research as the foundation of sci-tech innovation. "We will increase financial support and guide social forces including enterprises to increase investment," Li said, adding that the mechanisms for ensuring funds, evaluating achievements and rewarding talent shall all be optimized. China will support researchers in concentrating on their work without distractions and create more original achievements by respecting rules and tolerating failures, Li said. Those who dedicated themselves to the scientific work despite decades of obscurity shall be commended and awarded, he said. The premier also stressed that sci-tech innovation shall address the urgent needs of economic development and people's livelihood. China will accelerate the development of key technologies and transforming research achievements to products to help speed up industrial upgrading, he said. Research and development shall be intensified in major disease prevention and control as well as environmental management so that more people will directly benefit from technology and innovation, he said. The premier emphasized the role of enterprises in technological innovation and called for efforts to improve their ability and willingness to invest more in innovation by implementing tax and fee deduction policies as well as respecting and protecting their intellectual property rights. To expand international cooperation in innovation, Li pledged to facilitate scientists and technicians as well as enterprises from various countries to come to China for exchanges and development. Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the ceremony, with about 3,300 people attending. Before the ceremony, Xi and other leaders met representatives of the award winners. DIVERSE ACHIEVEMENTS This year's ceremony highlighted major breakthroughs in basic research. Chemist Zhou Qilin, 63, and his team won the first-place prize of the State Natural Science Award for inventing a highly effective catalyst that has been widely used by giant pharmaceutical companies in drug production. Other research programs that were presented with the State Natural Science Award included studies on topological quantum materials, iron-based superconductors as well as the controllable growth and performance regulation of graphene. "Many perplexing problems look like technological ones. In fact, they are not backed by solid basic research. With no clear understanding of basic science problems, you cannot get original results," said Zhou. A batch of key technologies for industrial applications, such as the jetliner ARJ21 project, were also honored. Developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the ARJ21 is China's first domestically developed turbo-fan regional passenger jetliner. Other awarded technologies applied in industries and large engineering projects included those for building large-scale tunnels and ensuring highway safety in geographically complicated and dangerous mountain areas, as well as for the automatic transmission hybrid power system for commercial vehicles. Awards were also given to animal studies, medical breakthroughs and agricultural technologies. Wei Fuwen, a CAS academician, and his colleagues won the second-place prize of the State Natural Science Award, for their research on giant pandas. They focused on the evolution of the ancient species and contributed to endangered species conservation. The team led by Sun Lingyun, a doctor at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in east China, won the State Technological Invention Award, for developing a stem cell treatment for lupus erythematosus. Other award winners related to diseases included studies on cross-species infection of the animal influenza virus in humans as well as the new pathogenesis and treatment of depression. Research programs associated with safe food and stable grain output, such as technologies for accurately detecting pollutants in agricultural products and cultivating new high-yield wheat varieties, also received awards. Nearly 10,000 people detained in Kazakhstan in connection with riots Tokayev: CSTO peacekeepers will pull out from Kazakhstan within 10 days Newspaper: Armenia businessmen pay customs duties to Azerbaijanis to go to Iran European Parliament speaker David Sassoli dies Newspaper: Health minister makes decision full of contradictions in terms of Covid-related restrictions in Armenia Newspaper: Armenia authorities once again showed their being unprincipled, worthless, opposition MP says Germany teacher who had cannibalism fantasies is sentenced to life in prison Israel's military and other security services undergo largest rearmament in years Spain PM calls for a debate to consider COVID-19 endemic disease Flyone Armenia and Pegasus receive permission for Yerevan-Istanbul-Yerevan flights Pope condemns "baseless" ideological misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines Arab foreign ministers to visit Beijing Azerbaijanis stoned an Armenian car on the Stepanakert-Goris road Armenian FM has a phone call with his Polish counterpart Macron travels to French Riviera to discuss internal security issues Artsakh Foreign Ministry: Azerbaijan's aggressive behavior aims to disrupt Russian peacekeepers' activities US COVID-19 cases reach 60 million European Parliament President hospitalized due to immune system dysfunction Washington and Ankara discuss normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey WHO excludes emergence of deltacron strain In Karabakh Azerbaijanis shelled tractor Indian Defense Minister tests positive for COVID-19 US-Russia talks on security guarantees lasting for seven hours already NEWS.am daily digest: 10.01.22 Pashinyan appoints Hayk Mkrtchyan as Deputy Governor of Kotayk province Blast in eastern Afghanistan kills nine children Pashinyan: One of key priorities of Armenia presidency at CSTO is strengthening of crisis response mechanisms Internet cut off in Kazakhstan Armenia, Kazakhstan ombudspersons confer on Armenian communitys rights Armenia, Russia defense ministers discuss Kazakhstan Turkey defense minister meets with their envoy in process of normalization of Armenia relations Iranian Foreign Ministry reports progress in Vienna negotiations Dollar continues going up in Armenia New attempt by migrants in Belarus to storm Poland border Skat Airlines resumes Yerevan-Aktau and Aktau-Yerevan flights New Covid-related restrictions to be introduced in Armenia Karabakh police: Firefighters also targeted by Azerbaijan shooting (PHOTOS) Artsakh Defense Army has not fired on Azerbaijan positions Azerbaijani military are protesting amid military awards deprivation Azerbaijanis open fire in Nagorno-Karabakh Karabakh MFA: Events in Kazakhstan are result of actions planned by Turkey Armenia army General Staff has new deputy chief Australia to buy US $ 2.5 billion of armored vehicles Artsakh emergency service: Search for soldiers remains continued during holidays Kazakh Colonel Nazanov dies after heart attack Australia begins to vaccinate children aged 5-11 with COVID-19 vaccine Putin: Peacekeeping contingent to stay in Kazakhstan for a limited period Armenia 2nd-President Kocharyan v. premier Pashinyan lawsuit court session is closed Azerbaijan commandos conduct military exercises Part of the Great Wall of China collapsed due to earthquake Armenia MP: Turkey, Azerbaijans regional calculations have mixed up Copper prices decline Armenia ex-President Kocharyan v. PM Pashinyan lawsuit trial resumes Gold is getting cheaper EU is ready to support in addressing Karabakh crisis 126 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Fire in residential building in New York leaves 19 people killed National Center for Infectious Diseases Yerevan branch employees protesting outside center Karabakh President: Radical Pan-Turkic circles are actively involved in process in Kazakhstan Oil is getting more expensive Mars helicopter Ingenuity preparing for difficult 19th flight Interior ministry: About 8,000 people detained in Kazakhstan Earthquake hits Armenia-Azerbaijan border zone Researchers create substitute for egg whites from fungus Kazakhstan official information channel removes message about 164 casualties EC says construction of new nuclear power plants in Europe will require 500 billion in investment Ghost ship that sank 343 years ago discovered in US Post-COVID-19 antibodies may attack healthy cells, scientists say Pope says he was praying for Kazakhstan Media: 164 people die in Kazakhstan during riots Peskov: CSTO session does not plan to sign documents yet Criminal cases launched after bomb threat in Armenian, Belarus embassies in Moscow Norwegian military surrender panties before demobilization Iranian MFA says Tehran is ready for talks on downed plane of UIA Ukraine Russian defense minister says information war is on all fronts Several strategic objects in Kazakhstan transferred to CSTO contingent under protection David Minasyan elected head of Armenia's Parakar community Bloomberg: US is considering issue of limiting supply of high-tech products to Russia Armenia reports 142 COVID-19 new cases Council of Elders meeting continues in Armenia's Parakar White House speaks on Blinken statement on Russian peacekeeping troops Armed people detained at border in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan talks stabilization of situation in all regions of country Azerbaijanis demand Armenian soldier change his faith by taking away his cross, Ombudsman says Armenian painter Mher Mansurian dies in France At least 17 killed in Egypt road accident NATO chief announces Russia forces continued buildup in Ukraine Armenian militarys transfer to Kazakhstan is completed Azerbaijan opens fire on military positions near Armenia village Unidentified persons report threat of explosion at Armenia, Belarus embassies in Moscow Putin confers with Pashinyan, Lukashenko on situation in Kazakhstan Zakharova: OSCE has not provided real assistance to reporters who were attacked in Kazakhstan Lukashenko, Putin discuss situation in CSTO member countries Russia's Putin has telephonic conversation with Kazakhstan's Tokayev Quake hits waters off Chile President Tokayev declares national mourning in Kazakhstan on January 10 US diplomats do not leave Kazakhstans Almaty yet 1 more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh Artsakh resident, 91 found dead near village Russia MFA reacts to Blinken's words about Russian military in Kazakhstan Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Congress has issued a show-cause notice to two senior party leaders for meeting foreign envoys. The party has issued the notice to former legislator and district president, Baramulla, Shoiab Lone, and president of municipal council Anantnag, Hilal Ahmad Shah. Earlier, the party had issued similar notice to its senior leader and former minister, Usman Majeed, for meeting delegation of European Union (EU) parliamentarians in October. J&K Congress president Ghulam Ahmad Mir said, We have asked them to explain their position. Why did they go meet the envoys when nobody from the party was invited. Mir said the party was not against meeting envoys but the way two leaders acted needs explanation. Had we been invited, our party would have sent a high-level delegation. The action will be taken against them once both of them clear their stand. On the explanation sought from Usman Majeed, Congress president said that he had already submitted his explanation to the party. Since Usman Majeed is an AICC member and former minister, the party high command will take any action only after taking his explanation. In case of these two leaders, the disciplinary committee would take the decision on their future. Former legislator from Sangrama, Shoaib Lone, said he met the delegation in his personnel capacity and will explain his position to the party leadership. I became legislator as an independent candidate and later joined the Congress. Lone, however, didnt clarify whether he is contemplating to join new political front which is shaping up in Kashmir. In the backdrop of Congress leaders meeting envoys along with expelled PDP leader Altaf Bukhari, many Congress leaders feel that some of the party leaders are contemplating to join the new front. Some of our leaders are in touch with Altaf Bukhari, the party needs to be cautious, said a Congress leader. Hours after meeting the foreign envoys, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expelled eight leaders for going against the party. Expelled leaders included party general secretary and former legislator, Dilawar Mir, PDP chief spokesman and former legislator Rafi Ahmad Mir, former legislators Zaffar Iqbal Manhas, Qamar Hussain, Raja Manzoor, Javeed baig, Abdul Majeed Padder and Abdul Rahim Rather. These leaders had earlier met J&K governor G C Marmu in Jammu and handed him a memorandum. Envoys briefed about Kashmir, peoples aspiration: J&K politicians Srinagar: J&K politicians who met foreign envoys said the diplomats were fully briefed about the situation in Kashmir and peoples aspiration. Beside US ambassador Kenneth Juster, the diplomats from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Norway, Maldives, Morocco, South Korea, Philippines, Nigeria, Argentine, Fiji, Peru, Niger, Guyana and Togo were part of the delegation. The envoys had an-hour-long meeting with Kashmiri politicians, all of them former legislators mostly belonging to the PDP. The group of legislators was led by former minister Altaf Bukhari. We conveyed them everything about Kashmir, including ground situation and how land rights, job reservation and statehood, are important for the people here, Bukhari said. Rafi Ahmad Mir, one of the expelled PDP leaders, told HT that the envoys were briefed by the government and security forces about their perspective and views before they met Kashmiri politicians. We told them everything how Kashmir suffered in the last five months and also about internet ban and other problems. We conveyed them that there is a need of a new political alternative. Mir said that former legislators and ministers told the envoys what a common people thinks of revocation of article 370. If they (envoys) would have stopped in any market, common people would have conveyed similar message to them. We did that in a dignified manner, he said, adding that they also highlighted the issues of jailed leaders, including three former chief ministersFarooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. Another former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, who heads Democratic Political Party, said the envoys wanted to learn situation from them. We told them that after J&K was degraded into an UT, the Centre had promised to bring development projects here, however, there is no sign of them. We also told them about internet restoration and revival of tourism sector and release of detained persons. Shoaib Lone said they have demanded restoration of internet, release of jailed leaders and asked the envoys to play a positive role for ending hostilities between India and Pakistan. Power is an elixir that is highly intoxicating especially in the African continent where in most countries politics is the most lucrative business. The continent sometimes referred to as the Dark Continent has the highest number of sit-tight leaders in the globe. These leaders having tasted the trappings and lure of power find it an impossible mission to groom successors to hand over to. The likes of Paul Biya, Yoweri Museveni, Robert Mugabe, Mobutu Sese Seko etc are examples that readily come to mind. The peculiar structure of Nigeria with over 250 ethnic groups has made it impossible for a sit tight leader to emerge though some have nursed the ambition to overstay their welcome in office. We recall that General Yakubu Gowon postponed the hand over date which led to his overthrow from office by the Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed in 1975. General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida surreptitiously planned to stay in office beyond 1993 after the June 12 annulment but was forced to step aside. Former President Goodluck Jonathan was in the news recently when he vehemently denied that he planned to contest the 2023 presidential elections in a bid to return back to power. His spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze issued a statement on his Principals behalf where he was quoted to have said:There was nothing like that. The former President has not made any comments nor spoken to anyone on the coming elections, he said. He is busy concentrating on his foundation, The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), and its work of promoting peace, sustainable democracy and youth empowerment in Africa. Describing the reports as stale and fake, he added: If you check online, you will discover that a story with similar headline had been published in the past by few shady online sources. The last time this same story circulated online was before the 2019 presidential elections. It has now come up again. The good thing is that Nigerians already know this to be fake. That is why Nigerian newspapers and serious online news media will not publish such falsehood. One wonders why he has to respond to every market gossip by obscure bloggers who desperately want to trend so that they can attract traffic to their platforms! Is that how he is going to do? If indeed he had no interest, wouldnt it have been better he let sleeping dogs lie and not bother with issuing an official response? As we say in Nigerian parlance There is no smoke without fire. Goodluck Jonathan may have had a lacklustre performance while in office as there were mind boggling allegations of corruption against some of his key appointees but his decision to hand over power peacefully to the then opposition leader, Muhammadu Buhari made him an instant hero. He was hailed as a defender of democracy and has been active in the international speaking circuit as well as becoming an ambassador for peace where the African Union has made him an envoy in some troubled regions in Africa. Contesting the next elections will greatly belittle his stature and reduce him to a mere power monger who is unnecessarily attached to power. Africa needs more Statesmen than politicians and he will do his brand and reputation a lot of good if he sticks to his current statesmanlike role. We know he may be under some form of pressure to return back to Aso Rock as some of his hangers on and sycophants may be working day and night to goad him back to power but he should resist it with all his might and not fall into temptation like the Biblical Adam or the Shakespearean Macbeth. Jonathan is rather unpopular in his native Bayelsa state as the All Progressive Congress Candidate, David Lyon carried the day in the last elections. The former President is accused of not doing enough for the state while he was in power and of backing the serial aspirant, Timi Alaibe who in the view of the youths did little to alleviate their plight while he was in charge of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He failed to metamorphose into a godfather there and at the moment has no political base. Charity they say begins at home, if he is so unpopular in his state, how will he win the next elections? There is an unwritten rule of power rotation between the north and south and by 2023 it will be the turn of the south to produce the next President. This probably explains why he is being convinced to give it another shot. He whom the gods want to destroy will first make deaf goes an Igbo adage. He should be sensitive to his current unpopularity and refrain from joining the fray. He should rather act as one of the fathers of the nation and be in the background working for the nations interest. Former leaders coming back or attempting to return to power is now a trend the likes of Matthew Kerekou, Nicophore Soglo did it in the Republic of Benin with the former staging a successful comeback. Mahathir Mohammed who revolutionized Malaysia came back recently at the age of 92. Jonathan should heed the eternal words of William Shakespeare who said that A good actor leaves the stage while the ovation is loudest. 2023 promises to be interesting as we will see whether Jonathans denial was in good faith. Can we still trust some of our politicians? Tony Ademiluyi writes from Lagos and edits www.africanbard.com Forces in East Libya led by Khalifa Haftar said on Thursday they will not let up in their military campaign against rival factions in the capital Tripoli, appearing to reject a call by Russia and Turkey for a ceasefire. A statement from Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) welcomed Russia's bid "to seek peace and stability in Libya", but affirmed "the continuation of the efforts of the armed forces in their war against terrorist groups ... which control the capital Tripoli". A high-level source close to the LNA, who asked not to be identified, described the statement as a "conditional acceptance" of Russia and Turkey's call on Wednesday for a ceasefire to start on Jan. 12. Haftar's forces began an offensive to take control of Tripoli in April that quickly stalled on the city's outskirts. However, the LNA has gained an advantage in recent weeks as fighting intensified and it seized the coastal city of Sirte on Monday. Libya has been divided into rival camps based in Tripoli and the east since 2014, each with their own set of institutions. Haftar's offensive upended a UN-led peace push and reignited a conflict that has in recent years fuelled migrant smuggling to Europe, given space to Islamist militants and disrupted oil supplies. Both Russia and Turkey have been increasingly involved in Libya's conflict, with Turkey backing the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the armed factions that support it. Turkey's parliament voted last week to allow a troop deployment to the North African country. Russia has largely backed Haftar, whilst maintaining relations with the GNA. In recent months Russian military contractors have deployed alongside the LNA, which has also received air support from the United Arab Emirates and backing from Jordan and Egypt, according to UN experts and diplomats. The GNA has said it welcomes any serious call for a return to the political process. Story continues "The GNA urgently wants to restore peace, and until that is possible ... we will exercise our lawful right to enter into military alliances and defend our country from attack," senior GNA adviser Mohammed Ali Abdallah said in a statement on Thursday. The GNA "welcomes any credible ceasefire proposal, but we have a duty to protect the Libyan people" from Haftar's offensive, he said. (REUTERS) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The Maharashtra government has suspended absconding Deputy Inspector General of Police, Motor Transport Department, Nishikar More, who faces charges of a molesting a minor teenager, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh announced here on Thursday. Besides, action has been taken against police driver Dinkar Salve in the sensational case in which a teenager from Navi Mumbai accused the DIG of molestation. "Currently, the DIG is missing and police teams are on the lookout for him. The driver who had gone to the victim's residence has been shunted to another department and further investigations are on," Deshmukh told media persons. The fast-paced developments came hours after a Raigad Court rejected the DIG's plea for anticipatory bail on Thursday, paving the way for his arrest. The alleged molestation incident occurred during the teenager's birthday party on June 5 last year, which the accused had barged into and reportedly misbehaved with her. The 17-year old victim has left home four days ago, leaving behind a note threatening to commit suicide and efforts are on to trace her out, police said. According to the police and her family, late on Monday night, she slipped out of her home in Navi Mumbai leaving behind the 'suicide threat' note even as the Raigad police strongly opposed the DIG's anticipatory bail plea in the court. The police believe that she may not resort to any extreme step since she was seen in CCTV footage, carrying a bag while leaving home along with a male friend, who lives in Navi Mumbai. After leaving her home just before midnight last Monday, she had sent images of her 'suicide threat' note to her family and copies were also recovered from her room, and a missing complaint has been lodged by the police. Since then, the girl and her friend's mobile phones are switched off. The alleged molestation incident took place at her birthday party on June 5, 2019, where More had barged in when the girl was cutting the cake. Several invitees celebrated by offering her the cake and some even smeared it on her face amid clapping and singing. More, who stood next to the girl, reportedly scooped some of the cake from her face with his fingers and licked it, and continued doing so even when it fell on her chest. Shocked by this behaviour, she later lodged the molestation complaint against him, after which More allegedly stalked her, even as the family faced taunts and humiliation over the birthday party incident. The Raigad police have set up three teams to trace out the DIG, and others are also on the lookout for the missing girl and her friend. LONDON When Prince Harry and Meghan announced this week that they would be stepping back from their royal duties and spending extensive time in North America, many of Britains minority residents said they felt a burst of relief. At long last, many said in interviews, the couple might finally escape the abuse, much of it racially tinged, that has been heaped upon them by the British press, particularly the countrys raucous tabloids. Thank God they are free, said Sanaa Edness, lifting her arms to the sky as she walked through Fordham Park in southeast London. Nobody should tolerate bullying and abusive behavior because of the color of their skin. All of this is about her race. I know it because as a Caribbean woman who did not grow up here, I have experienced it myself. Thousands carrying national flags had poured out on to the streets on January 4 for the 'Million March' organised by Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising 40 different groups demanding revocation of CAA and withdrawal of proposals for National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Flag makers estimate that more than seven lakh flags were sold for 'Million March' in Hyderabad and Friday's 'Tiranga Rally'. The retailers again ran out of the stock due to huge demand for flags for Friday's 'Tiranga Rally' organised by United Muslim Action Committee, headed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). With more protests planned in the coming days, the flag manufacturers here are working overtime to meet the increasing demand. The surge in demand is not just from Hyderabad but also from other districts of Telangana and other states. "I have never such a demand for the tricolour in my life," Shaik Osman of SK Group, a leading manufacturer of election material and national flags told IANS. "We had readied stocks for the Republic Day but the entire stocks were sold out. Now, we are stepping up production to meet the demand," he said. Osman's company supplies tricolour to retailers in Hyderabad, Delhi and other cities. "We usually receive orders for one lakh flags for January 26 but this time we have already supplied more than five lakh flags and there are many more orders on hand," he said. Ahead of Independence Day and Republic Day, the manufacturers get orders in thousands for flags made of cloth but since the last week of December when the anti-CAA protests broke out, the requirement has gone up in lakhs. According to another flag manufacturer ARC Flag Shop, more than 10 lakh flags have been sold in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since last month. The manufacturers say they are struggling to meet the orders at short notice. They point out that machines are used only for printing while cloth cutting, stitching and packing all have to be done manually. They outsource stitching and packing to workers working from home and majority of them are women. The organisers of rallies and other protest marches are placing orders for the flags, which are commonly available in the sizes of 20x30 inch, 30x45 inch and 40x60 inch. Cashing on the massive demand, retailers have jacked up the prices. A 30x45 flag is normally sold for Rs 30 but the same is now being sold for Rs 50. However, this did not deter people from buying the flags to participate in the protests. Retailers and bulk manufacturers are also getting big orders from the districts, where huge rallies are being organised. Retailers say people are buying flags to hoist them atop their houses following a call by the AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi as part of the anti-CAA campaign. With United Muslim Action Committee planning another major protest at historic Charminar on January 25, the demand is likely to go up further. At this public meeting, Owaisi will unfurl the national flag at midnight to make it the first flag hoisting for the Republic Day. SK Group is preparing the tricolour for this special occasion. WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved Friday to end a three-week standoff with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, signaling that she will send articles of impeachment to the Republican-controlled Senate next week, paving the way for a likely acquittal of President Donald Trump. Pelosi, D-Calif., who made the announcement in a letter to colleagues sent moments after lawmakers left Washington for the week, relented without securing the concessions she sought from McConnell, R-Ky. - in particular, a detailed blueprint for how the coming Senate trial will proceed. Senate Republicans held firm behind McConnell's strategy of holding up the precedent of President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial as a model for Trump's trial - just the third in history - and otherwise rebuffing Democrats' calls for new testimony and document subpoenas. In the Clinton trial, senators made no decision on calling witnesses or seeking further evidence until after the House had presented its case for removal and the president's defense team rebutted it. McConnell on Tuesday declared he had the votes to proceed with a trial on those terms, leaving Pelosi at a strategic dead end. Pelosi lambasted McConnell in her letter Friday for showing "disregard for the American people's interest for a fair trial" and called his tactics "a clear indication of the fear that he and President Trump have regarding the facts of the president's violations for which he was impeached." But she then signaled that the holdout she orchestrated after the House passed the two articles Dec. 18 - one for abuse of power, the other for obstruction of Congress, both in response to Trump's pressure on Ukraine to help his reelection bid - was coming to an end. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., she wrote, is "prepared to bring to the floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate," following a Tuesday morning House Democratic Caucus meeting. A spokesman, Drew Hammill, subsequently clarified that the "articles will go over next week." Trump, in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, said Pelosi "should have sent them a long time ago. It just belittles the process." At the Capitol on Friday, McConnell offered a terse comment: "About time." Other Republicans were more voluble in condemning what they called a strategic misstep by the speaker - one that undermined months of Democratic messaging that cast Trump as a threat to national security because of his alleged effort to use nearly $400 million in Ukrainian military aid as a bargaining chip to force that nation's leaders to investigate his political foes. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., a top defender of Trump, said Democrats argued for months that "this had to be done, there was an urgent need to remove the president from office, and it steps all over that message to then stall for so long afterwards." The gambit, he said, likely only frustrated independent voters who want to see Congress work with the president. "Short term, long term, history isn't going to be kind to them," he said. "The speaker gets credit for being smarter than this, and this is just a straight-up miscalculation." Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, slammed Pelosi in a statement for creating "unnecessary chaos with this pointless delay" that may have further delayed congressional ratification of the bipartisan U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. "From the beginning, it's been unclear what the goal of this hurry-up-and-wait tactic was or what the country stood to gain," Grassley said. "We now know the answer was nothing." In her letter defending her actions, Pelosi argued that polls show an overwhelming number of Americans favor a trial with witnesses and documents after months of Trump defying Congress' multiple requests for both. While McConnell did not reach a deal with Democrats on witnesses, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told the Bangor Daily News that she was working with a "small group of Republicans" to ensure witnesses at the trial. "I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for witnesses for both the House managers and the president's counsel if they choose to do so," she said in a subsequent statement. "It is important that both sides be treated fairly." Just four Republicans breaking with their party and joining Democrats on a vote for witnesses could result in testimony. Despite Pelosi's announcement, key details of how precisely the impeachment saga will move from the House to the Senate remain in flux. Pelosi's statement, citing the Tuesday caucus meeting, suggested the House would not vote until later in the week, leaving the possibility that the Senate might not start the trial before it breaks for a long weekend ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Beyond the date of transmission, launching the Senate trial could take several days, due to the formalities of passing the resolution establishing the parameters for the trial, swearing in senators as jurors, and notifying the president of the charges against him. Several lawmakers and congressional aides speculated that the trial will not start in earnest until the following week. That schedule could have fringe benefits for Democrats, who want to force a Senate vote next week on a war powers measure aimed at constraining Trump's military options with Iran. It also means the five Democratic senators who are presidential candidates will be able to participate in Tuesday night's televised debate in Des Moines, though a trial will force them to remain in Washington in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said his Democratic caucus is "ready for the trial to begin and will do everything we can to see that the truth comes out." As Democrats in both chambers began to signal this week they were ready to end the holdout and move on with the trial, Pelosi kept her counsel close - to the point that even senior deputies did not know precisely what she had in mind. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., refused to answer questions about the gambit into Friday morning. As reporters peppered him with questions about Pelosi's plans as he walked onto the House floor for the week's final votes, he flashed a look of exasperation. "I don't know," he said. "You'll have to ask her." While Republicans gloated, Pelosi and other Democrats argued that the extended holdout helped their case for Trump's removal, citing the emergence of additional evidence of Trump's misconduct - including emails obtained through private public-records requests that showed an official from the White House budget office directed the Pentagon to "hold off" on sending the military aid less than two hours after Trump's controversial July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In perhaps the most tantalizing development, former national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he would be willing to testify at a Senate trial if subpoenaed, though Trump signaled Thursday he would assert executive privilege to block any testimony. While there is no indication those developments were prompted by Pelosi's holdout, multiple Democrats credited her, at the very least, with sending the message to the public that Senate Republicans are not preparing a fair trial for Trump. "I think that she was smart," said Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass. "It's started a discussion on the importance of witnesses and what a trial should look like, and we've also heard John Bolton is interested in testifying if he's subpoenaed. So there's been some value in waiting." While some Democrats were privately antsy about a prolonged holdout - a few publicly so - many more this week said they had faith in Pelosi's strategy and played down the notion that the delay has hurt Democrats politically. "A year from now, none of you are going to remember whether we sent the articles on Jan. 9 or Jan. 18 or Jan. 25," Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., told reporters. "You will remember how this ends. That's what's important." TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Kontrol Energy Corp. (CSE:KNR)(OTCQB:KNRLF)(FSE:1K8) ("Kontrol" or "Company") a leader in the energy efficiency and smart building sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology, announces that it is embarking on an investor roadshow across select cities in the United States (the "US") during the month of January 2020. The Company will present to institutional funds, family offices and brokers. The roadshow will support the Company's stated efforts to ramp up business in the US and create awareness of its recent achievements and planned milestones for the year. Paul Ghezzi, CEO of Kontrol stated: "As we gear up for operational expansion in the United States this year with our customers, such as Beyond Meat and Toyota, we believe it is also important to share our story with investors in the US". Mr. Ghezzi continued: "We are focused on achieving our growth targets and with our US customer expansion we believe we have good story to share." Small Cap Conferences In addition to the upcoming roadshow Kontrol is planning to present at several small cap conferences in the US with conference details to follow. SmartSuite Technology In conjunction with investor presentations and as follow up to the press release dated December 19th, 2019 Kontrol is planning to meet with new potential pilot customers in the US for the SmartSuite technology. The SmartSuite technology combines leading energy management in real-time with rich cloud analytics and smart learning algorithms. About Kontrol Energy Kontrol Energy Corp. (CSE: KNR) (OTCQB: KNRLF) (FSE: 1K8) is a leader in the energy efficiency and smart building sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology. With a disciplined mergers and acquisition strategy, combined with organic growth, Kontrol Energy Corp. provides market-based energy solutions to our customers designed to reduce their overall cost of energy while providing a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Kontrol Energy is one of Canada's fastest growing companies in 2018 and 2019 as ranked by Canadian Business and Maclean's. Additional information about Kontrol Energy Corp. can be found on its website at www.kontrolenergy.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com For further information, contact: Paul Ghezzi, Chief Executive Officer paul@kontrolenergy.com Kontrol Energy Corp., 180 Jardin Drive, Unit 9, Vaughan, ON L4K 1X8 Tel: 905.766.0400, Toll free: 1.844.566.8123 Neither IIROC nor any stock exchange or other securities regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information Certain information included in this press release, including information relating to future financial or operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of management or estimates of future performance constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding possible future/next acquisitions and/or investments in operating businesses and/or technologies, accelerated organic growth and revenue growth, strategic partnerships to promote and deploy energy and asset performance tracking software and technology deployment for improved emission compliance and real-time management of energy, acceleration of recurring SaaS revenues, the provision of solutions to customers and Greenhouse Gas emissions reductions, proposed financial savings and sustainable energy benefits and energy monitoring. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief are based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that suitable businesses and technologies for acquisition and/or investment will be available, that such acquisitions and or investment transactions will be concluded, that sufficient capital will be available to the Company, that technology will be as effective as anticipated, that organic growth will occur, and others. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, lack of acquisition and investment opportunities or that such opportunities may not be concluded on reasonable terms, or at all, that sufficient capital and financing cannot be obtained on reasonable terms, or at all, that technologies will not prove as effective as expected that customers and potential customers will not be as accepting of the Company's product and service offering as expected, and government and regulatory factors impacting the energy conservation industry. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities law. SOURCE: Kontrol Energy Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/572685/Kontrol-Energy-to-Commence-Investor-Roadshow-in-the-United-States FLINT, MI -- Flint Community Schools Superintendent Derrick Lopez said he no longer believes Eisenhower Elementary School should close while the district grapples with millions of dollars of structural deficit. At a special meeting held Thursday, Jan 9, Lopez withdrew Eisenhower Elementary School from his list of schools he had previously suggested the board close in order to meet the districts enhanced deficit elimination plan. Flint schools face $5.7M deficit, could close more buildings Lopez had proposed closing Eisenhower Elementary School, Pierce School, Scott Middle School and Flint Jr. High School, the former Northwestern High School, after the discovery of the massive deficit through a district-wide audit. However, the board must make a final decision on how to cut $5 million in yearly costs and Lopez encouraged further discussion on possible solutions. In his original closure proposal, Lopez suggested moving Eisenhower students into the districts Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary building. Last month, administrators and board members took time to walk through buildings proposed for closure. Thursdays meeting was held to share the results of building walk-throughs at Brownell, Holmes, Eisenhower, Durant-Tuuri-Mott and Neithercut. Another meeting will be held Thursday, January 16, to share potential scenarios for the east side of the district, including the results of walk-throughs at Pierce, Scott, Potter and Doyle-Ryder Elementary School. While schools will not close this winter, a decision must be made by February on what the district chooses to cut. Lopez said discussions will be occurring throughout January and a decision could be made this month. The board voted Wednesday, Nov. 13 at a special meeting to adopt an enhanced deficit elimination plan resolution for fiscal year 2019-2020 through 2035-2036. The plan has been submitted to the states Department of Treasury and the Michigan Department of Education. Legacy debt began with a loan taken out by the district after it found itself in a $21.9 million deficit in 2014. It will cost the district $2.1 million a year through 2038, Lopez said at the November meeting. He said the yearly amount paid on the debt equates to about $450 per student. The district still owes $18.4 million on the 2014 loan. It pays about $920,000 just in interest, he said. The district is also facing a 25-30 percent student population special education rate, over two times the state average. Students with Individualized Education Program needs cost 1.5 to two times more than a student without these needs, Lopez said. Lopez believes special education costs about $12.6 million a year. Read more here: Flint schools create committee to study disposal of vacant property Flint school board votes to get bond proposals on March ballot Flint board members address deficit, possible school closures Flint school paraprofessionals sign first new contract in 15 years New contract ends pay freeze, gives Flint teachers $3,000 starting salary increase Flint schools report 26 resignations, 7 retirements over the summer In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday said that access to Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday said that access to Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory. A five-judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana also asked the J-K administration to restore Internet services in institutions providing essential services like hospitals and educational places. The verdict came on a batch of pleas which challenged curbs imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre's abrogation of provisions of Article 370 on August 5 last year. These batch of pleas were different from another set of petitions which challenge constitutional validity of abrogation of Article 370, being heard by a five-judge Constitution bench. The bench will resume its hearing on 21 January. The three-judge bench which also comprised justices BR Gavai and R Subhash Reddy said Section 144 CrPC (prohibitory orders) cannot be used indefinitely to suppress freedom of speech and expression and difference of opinion. The bench said access to Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution, subject to some restrictions and said freedom of press is a valuable and sacred right. It said magistrates, while passing prohibitory orders, should apply their mind and follow doctrine of proportionality. Here is the full text of the judgment. On the eve of crucial elections that could set the course for Taiwan's future, incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen issued a rallying call to voters to turn out in support of their hard-won freedoms, after months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Every one of us must vote! Tsai told a rally in the island's capital late on , wrapping up a campaign that has seen support for her no-nonsense approach to protecting Taiwan's way of life surge in the wake of the Hong Kong protests. "This is for the sake of Taiwan's youth, for the sake of their future," she said ahead of 's election. Tsai has been a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, which has broad public support and still sees more than a million people take to the streets to call for an independent inquiry into police violence and an amnesty for arrested protesters, as well as fully democratic elections. While the city's leader Carrie Lam eventually withdrew hated legal amendments that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, protesters now say all five demands, including an end to the description of protesters as "rioters" must be met before they will stand down. Tsai, for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is currently ahead of opposition Kuomintang (KMT) contender Han Kuo-yu in the polls by a comfortable margin, although the KMT is hoping to make inroads into the DPP's bloc in the Legislative Yuan. Tsai's renewed popularity comes after she stood up to increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who called on the island to "unify" with China, by force if necessary. Tsai responded by saying that Taiwan's 23 million people -- who are ruled under the KMT-founded 1911 Republic of China that fled to the island in 1949 after losing the civil war -- have no wish to give up their sovereignty. Taiwan was part of Japan for 50 years before being handed back to the 1911 regime, and has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, nor has it formed part of the People's Republic of China. No love for 'one country, two systems' Tsai has repeatedly argued that the erosion of democratic progress and civil liberties in Hong Kong under China's "one country, two systems" means that Taiwan should never take Beijing seriously when it talks about "unification." She told the closing rally on : "The youth of Hong Kong have shown us with their lives, their blood and tears, that one country, two systems does not work. , it will be the turn of the youth of Taiwan to show them that, with freedom and democracy, we can cope with anything." Tsai's stance appears to have reversed huge losses for the DPP in local elections 14 months ago, with analysts saying the main reason for her resurgence has been Xi Jinping. "Of course it is Xi Jinping," Wang Hao, author of a book about Taiwan's leaders in the modern age, told RFA. "The reversal of Tsai Ing-wen's polls is largely related to Xi Jinping's [threat] to use force to implement his one-country, two-systems plan for Taiwan." "It is also related to Xi Jinping's handling of the situation in Hong Kong, because the Taiwanese people have seen the failure of one-country, two-systems in Hong Kong," Wang said. By contrast, Han Kuo-yu has been lukewarm on Hong Kong at best, and made his allegiance known when he visited Beijing's Central Liaison Office in the city during a visit to Hong Kong last year. As a result, Tsai's election platform has been tailor made in advance by regional developments, leaving her free to warn the people of Taiwan that their democracy was hard-fought and won by decades of protest under martial law, against a one-party KMT authoritarian state. Researchers and security agencies alike have revealed how China has poured funding and disinformation into Taiwan ahead of the crucial poll, while self-identified Chinese spy Wang Liqiang has made details of Beijing's influence and interference operations available to the Australian media. For example, an article criticizing Tsai published by state-run media in China last July was reposted by 23 news websites in Taiwan, according to Song Chengen, a researcher at political think-tank the Doublethink Lab. "Their actions include press conferences, media propaganda and online dissemination," Song told RFA. PRC propaganda and fake news In spite of the opinion polls appearing to favor Tsai, much of the propaganda is working, he said. "A lot of people now hate Tsai Ing-wen and hate the DPP," Song said. "They think that the DPP will drag Taiwan into a war." "But there are also a lot of people who believe that the KMT ... will sell Taiwan out [to China]. Fake news makes these divisions even worse," he said. Ying Yu Lin, an assistant professor at National Taiwan Chung Cheng University, said that China has lately become increasingly focused on information warfare and thought control. "After the invasion of Crimea [by Russian troops] in 2014, China's People's Liberation Army began to focus on research in this area and invested a lot of resources in it," Lin told RFA. "I think they started developing it after 2014 in conjunction with the change in Xi Jinping's Taiwan policy," he said. Lin said the aim of disinformation is to affect people's behavior by subtly changing their perception, but that it takes a long time to achieve results. Taiwan began a transition to democracy following the death of KMT supreme leader Chiang Ching-kuo in , starting with direct elections to the legislature in the early 1990s and culminating in the first direct election of a president, Lee Teng-hui, in 1996. Reported by Shen Hua for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Chuang Kuang-cheng for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Established, highly-rated mobile detailing company to set up shop in Sarasota SARASOTA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Curb Appeal Detailing is making themselves a new permanent home in Sarasota, Florida, and car enthusiasts couldn't be happier. The car, motorcycle, and boat detailing service has been making waves in the automobile community, and for good reason: their services are widely considered to be top-notch ("We treat every job with the respect and care as if it were our own!", they claim on their website-a claim that's hard to argue with when you see their results). Curb Appeal Detailing takes it a step further by providing mobile service, bringing professional detailing to your door. While it's true their clientele regularly consists of lots of high-end super and hypercars, they encourage anybody to take advantage of their expertise. In addition to multiple levels of auto detailing services, Curb Appeal Detailing also specializes in paint correction and ceramic coatings to give your ride a truly fresh-off-the-lot look. How a One Man's Dream Turned into the Best Auto Detailing in Sarasota Curb Appeal Detailing wasn't always the heavy hitter in the industry they are today, though it may surprise some to find out how relatively young the company still is. Founded in 2017 by Adam Hindman, the company has already grown to $250,000 in revenue in less than three years. What makes this statistic even more impressive is the fact that there have been no investors or loans; their revenue is purely business cash flow. In owner Adam Hindman's own words (or word), these kinds of results come down to one basic principle: "Hustle." Adam Hindman is no stranger to hustle: his work ethic has driven him through life and given him the means to actualize his ideas into reality. Possessing a self-confessed entrepreneur's mindset, Mr. Hindman recalls his first voyage into the world of professionals: "My first memory of my first "business' was a taxi company where I would shuttle other kids around the neighborhood on my bike pegs in exchange for a couple of bucks." This sort of business acumen would inform Mr. Hindman's life throughout various endeavors such as selling thousands of dollars worth of t-shirts to his classmates while still in high school. After two months at university, Mr. Hindman realized there were bigger things in store for him: he dropped out, gained experience working in an auto body shop, and soon made the move to Sarasota, Florida in order to be closer to his two sisters. With nothing more than a van, his skillset, and a dream of providing the best auto detailing services to his local community, Adam Hindman was able to build Curb Appeal Detailing into what it is today, and it shows no signs of slowing its growth. Curb Appeal Detailing's Plan for 2020 and Beyond As a result of Curb Appeal Detailing's success, Mr. Hindman has been able to start his second company: Coastline Shine LLC. Coastline Shine produces Ocean Spray Wax for use in Curb Appeal Detailing's own service details as well as for sale to DIY customers who are passionate about their own vehicles. In 2020, Coastline Shine LLC will be expanding into a full product line to cover all sorts of detailing needs. Curb Appeal Detailing, in addition to opening their new headquarters, will be adding even more team members and vans to their squad of professional detailers in order to keep up with demand. Grand Opening Details On Saturday, January 11th from 4 to 10 PM, Curb Appeal Detailing will be holding their grand opening event at their new location. If you visit them at 6234 Clarity Ct, Sarasota, FL 34240, you'll be able to take part in the first of many car shows to come! Food trucks will be on hand, serving some of the best local grub for you to enjoy while seeing who wins the Best in Class contest, playing games, listening to music, and more. Don't forget to participate in the raffle when you go: for every $25 you spend on merchandise, you'll gain a chance to win a paint correction and ceramic coating, free of charge. To get in touch with Curb Appeal Detailing for your own detailing needs, you can: Visit their website at curbappealwash.com Send an email to curbappealwash@gmail.com Call 941-900-6691 CONTACT: Caroline Hunter Web Presence, LLC +1 7862338220 SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/572708/Curb-Appeal-Detailing-Announces-Grand-Opening-of-New-Headquarters-in-Sarasota-Florida YES Bank share price fell in afternoon trade today amid a media report that Uttam Prakash Agarwal, independent director and chairman of YES Bank's Audit Committee, has resigned. Agarwal was appointed as independent director on Nov 14, 2018 and his tenure was to end in November 2023. CNBC TV 18 in a report said, "Uttam Prakash Agarwal, Independent Director & Chairman of Yes Bank Audit Committee, has resigned." Also read: Why YES Bank share price rose over 4% today Meanwhile, BSE has sought clarification on the news report from the private sector lender. The lender's board of directors will discuss and consider raising of funds in a meeting to be held today. The private sector lender has been scouting for funds since its core equity capital is barely above the regulatory requirement of a minimum of 8 per cent. The lender needs to raise funds to provide for bad debts and expanding lending operations. In a kneejerk reaction, YES Bank share price lost up to 7.19% to Rs 43.90 compared to the previous close of Rs 47.30 on BSE. Share price of YES Bank has fallen after two days of gain. The stock has lost 75.74% during the last one year. Nifty hits fresh lifetime high of 12,311, Sensex surges 300 points on global optimism On November 30 last year, YES Bank in a filing to the bourses disclosed the list of potential investors willing to infuse funds into the bank. The bank mentioned entrepreneur Erwin Singh Braich/SPGP Holdings as a key investor with whom talks were ongoing and expected to be concluded shortly. Hong Kong-based SPGP Holdings/ Erwin Singh Braich committed nearly Rs 8,600 crore ($1,200 million) to the bank. Other parties who showed willingness for fund infusion, according to the bank, were Discovery Capital ($50mn), GMR Group and Associates ($50 mn), Rekha Jhunjhunwala ($25 mn), Aditya Birla Family Office ($25 mn) , Ward Ferry ($30 mn) and Citax Holdings Ltd and Citax Investment Group ($500 mn). On December 2, the bank said that Capital International, part of the $1.87-trillion US-based Capital Group, has committed to invest at least $120 million in the private sector lender. On December 10, the lender after its board meeting said it would consider investment offer of $500 million from Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group, adding that it would continue to evaluate other potential investors to raise capital up to $2 billion. The private lender said that the binding offer of $1.2 billion submitted by SPGP Holdings and Canada's Erwin Singh Braich, which accounts for 60 per cent of its planned $2 billion capital raising, would "continue to be under discussion". On December 2, the bank said that Capital International, part of the $1.87-trillion US-based Capital Group, has committed to invest at least $120 million in the private sector lender. On December 10, the lender after its board meeting said it would consider investment offer of $500 million from Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group, adding that it would continue to evaluate other potential investors to raise capital up to $2 billion. The private lender said that the binding offer of $1.2 billion submitted by SPGP Holdings and Canada's Erwin Singh Braich, which accounts for 60 per cent of its planned $2 billion capital raising, would "continue to be under discussion". Its stock price fell up to 20% intra day to Rs 40.70 compared to the previous close of Rs 50.55 as the bank deferred the final decision regarding allotment of shares to next board meeting. On December 17, YES Bank CEO Ravneet Gill said the lender was on track to raise the much-needed capital by the end of this month. In December end, Gill said the private sector lender would soon complete its capital raising process. Gill assured that it is just a matter of time before the bank would raise capital. Iran's state media say authorities have invited to take part in the investigation into a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed, killing all 176 people on board. The move came after Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a missile amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman on Friday as saying "has invited both Ukraine and the company to participate in the investigations. The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, says it will also welcome experts from other countries' whose citizens died in the crash. The US, Canadian and British officials said it is highly likely that shot down the civilian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. The crash came just a few hours after launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the US drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, U.S. officials said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Ottawa: We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act, he said. Mousavi said Iran asks Canada's prime minister and any other government to "provide any information they have to the investigation committee. Iranian officials have ruled out a missile strike, saying the plane appears to have crashed because of technical difficulties. Australians who drive a Japanese car built during the late 1990s are being warned about potentially deadly airbags. Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki are recalling 18,462 imported cars made between 1996 and 1999. The small Toyota Starlet hatchback dominates the list of cars fitted with dangerous Takata airbags. The Toyota RAV4, Celica and Paseo are also on the recall list, along with the Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV and Mazda's luxury Eunos 800. Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki are recalling 18,462 cars made between 1996 and 1999. The small Toyota Starlet hatchback (pictured) is on the list of cars fitted with the dangerous Takata NADI AT 5-AT airbags Japanese cars in latest Takata airbag recall Toyota Celica: 1997-1999 (313 cars) Toyota Paseo: 1997-1999 (201 cars) Toyota RAV4 three-door: 1997-1999 (171 cars) Toyota RAV4 five-door: 1997-1999 (479 cars) Toyota Starlet three-door: 1997-1999 (12,283 cars) Toyota Starlet five-door: 1997-1999 (4,203 cars) Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.5L V6: 1998-1999 (346 cars) Mazda Eunos 800: 1996-1999 (466 cars) Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, January 10 Advertisement Owners of these cars are being advised to stop driving them and organise free and urgent repairs with their dealer. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's acting chairman Stephen Ridgeway said airbags fitted in these cars were potentially deadly. 'These airbags could injure or kill people in the car by misdeploying in an accident and propelling parts or metal fragments into the cabin of the vehicle at high speed,' he said. 'The airbags have also, in some instances, not fully inflated in a crash, thereby failing to protect drivers as expected.' Last year, an inquest heard Huy Neng Ngo was killed in a Honda CR-V when an airbag deployed in a 'relatively minor' crash at Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west in July 2017. The 58-year-old man's death, caused by metal shrapnel shooting into his neck, was the first fatality attributed to faulty Takata airbags. Two months earlier, in April 2017, a 21-year-old woman in Darwin driving a Toyota RAV4 was seriously injured in a minor collision because of a Takata airbag. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's acting chairman Stephen Ridgeway said airbags fitted in these cars were potentially deadly (pictured is a Takata airbag) 'Drivers must take these warnings seriously,' Mr Ridgeway said. 'These airbags pose a serious safety risk that could lead to deaths or serious injuries. 'Please do not put lives at risk, and consider other transport options if your vehicle is affected.' Malfunctioning airbags have been connected with 29 deaths and 320 injuries worldwide. The global recall of cars fitted with a Takata NADI type five-AT airbags affected 78,000 cars sold in Australia by eight manufacturers. File Photo The clash of interests between herders and crop farmers may soon become a thing of the past, as the umbrella organisation of Fulani cattle herders has banned its members from grazing at night. According to Channels TV, this decision was taken on Wednesday at the annual general meeting of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Damaturu, Yobe State capital, as a measure to curb incessant clashes with farmers. National secretary of the association, Baba Uthman, after the meeting told journalists that the decision would become an instruction that would be communicated to every member of the group, including those at the grassroots. This is a decision that has been taken by the highest decision-making body of the association. As it is taken here, it will go down the ladder down to our members at the grassroots. They will be informed and sensitised concerning it, Uthman said. MACBAN also announced that a ban had been placed on grazing by minors and hawking of milk by teenage girls, which, according to the group, are the causes of cultural abuse that poses dangers to the underage children. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Yobe State, Abubakar Sahabu, has affirmed that measures have been put in place to avert further clashes, adding that the police would apprehend any herdsman found grazing at night. A North Korean mother faces possible jail time from the countrys authoritarian regime after saving her two children from a devastating house fire, for allowing portraits of the countrys dictators to burn. The fire broke out in a home shared by two families in Onsong County, North Hamgyong province - a hilly region of rice farms situated near the Chinese border. According to North Korean law, every household must hang portraits of past leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il - a measure reinforced by regularly visiting inspectors. Failure to treat these portraits with the same reverence expected towards the leaders themselves is a serious crime. Reuters; The images of the ex-leaders are so venerated, that even this bridegroom from Pyongyang has chosen to wear a badge featuring them on his wedding day. When the fire broke out, both sets of parents were away from home, and rushed back to save their families once they spotted smoke. In the process, one set of portraits was reduced to ashes. According to local newspaper Daily NK, the mother will have to face a lengthy prison sentence with hard labour if found guilty, while the investigation process will mean that she cannot tend to her children in the hospital nor obtain the antibiotics needed to treat their burns. Reuters; North Korean high-school students sing and perform underneath the watchful eye of their ex-leaders. Furthermore, neighbours said that they were eager to help, but stayed away fearing that the woman could be charged with a political crime. Meanwhile, a farm labourer who saved the other familys portraits has been hailed as a hero - despite recently serving time for a violent crime. This isnt the first time fires and North Korean dictator-portraits have been in the news, however. In a 2015 interview, Jun Yoo-Sung, who fled the country in 2005, explained how North Koreans who rescue these portraits in fires and floods are regarded as heroes - especially if theyre martyred in the process. Reuters; Propaganda starts early for these North Korean kindergarteners. When a house was set on fire, some child was found to have been burnt to death holding on to those portraits,' she said. Of course, such incidents are used for North Korean propaganda. Similarly, in 2012, a teenager drowned while trying to save her familys portraits in a flash-flood. She was posthumously Kim Jong-Il Youth Honor Award and her school was renamed in her memory. With images of the two leaders staring down from the walls at nearly every building, its no surprise that the country has developed a reputation for human rights violations and upholding a downright dystopian government. Scientists have developed a new form of that could improve the clinical delivery of the drug for people living with The researchers, including those from The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Australia, synthesised an analogue called glycoinsulin, and demonstrated that it can also lower blood glucose levels in preclinical studies. According to the study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, glycoinsulin can achieve insulin-like effects without forming fibrils, which are clumps arising when compounds aggregate together. The scientists said for people with who need pump infusions to administer insulin, the fibril aggregates pose serious risk in blocking the delivery of the drug, leading to the possibility of life threatening under-dosing. "Not only did our research demonstrate that glycoinsulin does not form fibrils, even at high temperature and concentration, but also that it is more stable in human serum than native insulin. Together these findings could position glycoinsulin as an excellent candidate for use in insulin pumps and a way to improve the shelf life of insulin products," said study co-author Akhter Hossain from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. "We now hope to streamline the manufacturing process for glycoinsulin so this compound can be further investigated in larger, clinical studies," Hossain said. Adding to this, the researchers said, insulin pump infusion sets are required to be replaced every 24 hours to 72 hours to mitigate the occurrence of fibrils. As part of the study, the researchers developed a new method to engineer an insulin-sugar complex from egg yolks. "Typically, the chemical modification of insulin causes structural destabilisation and inactivation, but we were able to successfully synthesise glycoinsulin in a way that retains its insulin-like helical structure," said study co-author John Wade from Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. "The result is an almost fully active insulin analogue which has demonstrated near-native binding to insulin receptors in both lab and animal studies," Wade said. Yesterday, the House passed a resolution designed to prevent President Trump from taking additional military action against Iran without specific congressional authorization. The resolution calls on the president to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran unless Congress declares war or enacts specific statutory authorization for the use of armed forces. Three Republicans and an independent voted for the resolution. Eight Democrats voted against it. These legislators are identified in this article. The House resolution does not bind the president. It just reflects the Houses opinion. The Senate, though, might take up legislation that, could have the force of law. Senate Democrats hope to pick up enough Republican votes to secure passage. Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee are on board. Democrats hope that if they soften the House resolution a little bit e.g. by removing language that addresses Trump by name they can get to 51 votes. Even if they accomplish this, and even if the House then passes the same legislation, the president will surely veto it, as he should. I agree with Andy McCarthy that congressional attempts, other than through appropriations, to limit the presidents ability to strike at our enemies through means that fall short of real war are very likely unconstitutional. Article II of the Constitution gives the president, as commander-in-chief, the power to use military force to protect our country and its interests from foreign threats threats like those posed by General Suleimani. That authority cannot be limited by a mere statute. The House resolution is also unwise. Suppose President Trump secured a declaration of war against Iran or specific authorization to use our armed forces against the regime. This would only escalate our feud with Iran. Acting as he did, Trump was able to take out a major terrorist, prevent (hopefully) specific attacks that this terrorist was planning, and send a strong message to the Iranian regime that (as Sen. Tom Cotton says) might well restore our deterrence of that regime all without an open declaration of hostilities. Theres reason to believe, or at least hope, that, with Iran now having responded rather tepidly, the situation will deescalate. There would be less reason to think this might occur had Congress declared war or something like war. And if Congress had refused to grant authorization, this would have emboldened the mullahs and left the president unable to accomplish what he achieved by killing Soleimani, as well as what he might be able to achieve through limited use of force going forward. (It also seems clear that even with congressional approval, the particular operation against Soleimani couldnt have been carried out given timing considerations.) Finally, a few words about Mike Lee. He claims that when administration officials briefed Senators they communicated that lawmakers need to be good little boys and girls and run along and not debate this in public. I have no confidence that Lee is correctly characterizing what administration officials said. Its at least as likely that this is spin resulting from the Senators strongly held view on the merits or, perhaps, his exaggerated sense of importance. But even if Lees characterization is correct, its no excuse for passing legislation of dubious constitutionality that would impair our ability to deal flexibly and efficiently with our enemies. Lees pique is not grounds for making America less secure. Because after insurance claims are paid out and government assistance is received, affected communities start to spend a lot more than they would have otherwise, building new homes and places of business and furnishing them. This employs a lot of people, such as construction workers and retail staff. The more honest economists must also confess any injuries suffered during the disaster, including physical and mental pain, can actually boost the output of the healthcare sector. An even grizzlier mind could also conclude the output of the funeral industry would expand. If it all seems a bit callous or insensitive, let's give the economists a break: we did ask them. And we asked them the wrong question. Economists have always conceded their main measure of economic growth that of the change in the level of economic output, as measured by the value of goods and services produced in a given time period has its weaknesses. It measures what it measures and little more than that: the total value of goods and services produced in a time period. Loading As an indicator, GDP says nothing about the national stock of wealth or wellbeing. Natural disasters threaten both. Indeed, a person who has lost their home to bushfire might still be able to go to work and produce income the day after and that would show up in GDP. But their houseshold balance sheet just took an almighty blow. Depending on their level of insurance, that blow might be permanent. Natural disasters also destroy business assets such as crops and animals, which only show up in GDP when those assets don't produce income. And then there's the destruction of natural wealth, such as bushland and fauna, the value of which is not captured anywhere in our national accounts, except maybe in the way they attract tourists who spend dollars. If it all seems a bit perverse, it is. And economists readily concede it. Economists have never said that GDP is the best measure of wellbeing only that it's the easiest proxy to measure. Loading But if GDP were the only thing that mattered, a sound government policy might be to urge citizens to engage in random acts of destruction. A person throwing bricks through windows might be cheered as a national hero, directly unleashing stimulus into the economy and creating jobs. Which is not to say economic growth doesn't matter at all. It clearly does. Expanding economies tend to produce more jobs and raise living standards, depending on how the fruits are distributed. And a strongly growing economy, as measured by growth in GDP, is certainly better than the alternative of a contracting economy with no job opportunities. But that's also not to say you want GDP growth at any cost, to human life or the environment. Viewed through the prism of GDP growth, the current bushfires are still forecast to have a relatively minor impact on national economic growth. The areas affected are sparsely populated, accounting for only about 2 per cent of the Australian population. Output in those regions will surely suffer. And there will be a measured impact on economic output, in the March quarter in particular, which may then be recouped in later months and years as rebuilding gets underway. Indeed, it may yet prove that the bushfires are a net positive to the economy, unleashing stimulus at a time of moribund growth. But it would be tasteless to say it. If what we're really asking economists is whether the bushfires have reduced our wealth as a nation, the answer is undoubtedly yes. Many resources must now be deployed to return communities to their previous standards of living and much of the environmental damage is irreversible. Gov. Kristi Noem drafts bill limiting 'action civics' This legislation prohibits colleges and schools from directing, requiring or compelling students to protest or lobby as part of a grade or a class. The event, which started in 2015 and is led by Doubles to raise money for charity, has grown to 14 other Synchrony sites throughout the U.S., India and the Philippines. Funds raised from the Connecticut event will go to Westport-based nonprofit, SeriousFun Children's Network, a global community of 30 camps and programs providing free life-changing experiences to children living with serious illnesses and their families. Sorry! This content is not available in your region European foreign affairs ministers and the NATO secretary general are gathering in Brussels for an emergency meeting during which they are expected to reiterate their support for the nuclear deal brokered with Iran. Despite calls from US president Donald Trump to break away from the deal, which is aimed at preventing Iran from getting atomic weapons, the European Union remains committed to the treaty amid an escalation of tensions in the region. Iran struck the deal in 2015 with the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. It has, however, been damaged by US President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally abandon it in 2018, triggering sanctions that have badly hurt Iran's economy. Iran has gradually rolled back its commitment to the accord and the recent exchange of hostilities between Iran and the US has dealt further blows to the pact. After its top general, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone attack, Tehran announced it would no longer respect limits set under the deal on how many centrifuges it can use to enrich uranium. Speaking on French radio RTL ahead of the meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian continued to insist the accord "is not dead" and said it's essential to salvage it. Blaming the US decision to withdraw, Le Drian said Iran could get access to atomic weapons within one or two years" if the deal continues to lose its substance. In a phone call with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, UK Prime minister Boris Johnson also reaffirmed his support for the treaty, and the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said this week the deal is today more important than ever." Borrell has invited Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Brussels for talks, but a date for his visit has yet to be set The Council of EU foreign ministers will also assess the crisis in war-torn Libya, and will be briefed by NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The council said in a statement it will be focusing on ways to deescalate tensions in the region." Speaking to German broadcaster n-tv, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said "the door has been opened" to talks about conflicts in the region, not just Iraq and Iran but also Syria and Yemen. He reiterated Germany's position that the fight against IS in Iraq needs to continue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. 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Digital Editor TEHRAN, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami rejected the speculations that the crash of a Ukrainian airplane in Tehran has anything to do with the launch of Iran's missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq, Press TV reported on Thursday. "There are rumors that a terrorist attack, explosion or shooting at the plane may have caused the incident, but they are not true. Technical failure has been the cause of the incident," Eslami was quoted as saying. "Had it been the case, the plane must have exploded up in the air, but that has not happened, because the plane caught fire due to a technical failure. The problem first caused its communication and control systems to stop working, and subsequently resulted in its crash," Eslami said. Iran will not hand over the black boxes recovered from the crash site to the American Boeing company or any other countries, he said. The Iranian technicians and experts from Boeing will recover data from the black boxes in Iran, he added. On Wednesday, a Boeing 737 aircraft, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, en route to Kiev with 176 people onboard, crashed hours after Iran fired missiles at bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. All people onboard the plane were killed. The University of Bristol has created three new schools to replace the School of Economics, Finance and Management. The School of Economics, Finance and Management (EFM) was the largest school in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, and one of the largest schools in the University of Bristol. Over the past decade, the School has expanded its student body, offering of programmes and numbers of academic and professional services staff. This expansion has reached the point where the University and the Schools students, staff and stakeholders will benefit from the creation of three new schools that reflect the disciplinary excellence in Accounting and Finance, Economics and Management. The University has run a project over the last two years to create the three new schools, building on the success of the School of EFM. Student and staff experience and high quality research remain priorities for the schools. Thousands of alumni identify with EFM as the School where they studied and so we will continue to celebrate its legacy. AUSTIN Using home remedies such as herbs, teas and vitamins or a prescription drug obtained from Mexico, Texas women have tried to end their pregnancies themselves three times more often than women in other states, a new study finds. The Texas Policy Evaluation Project at The University of Texas at Austin found 6.9 percent percent of 721 patients seeking abortion tried to end their pregnancies on their own before going to an abortion clinic, compared to 2.2 percent nationally. The results of the study were released Thursday morning. We hear from clients pretty often, if I cant get money for this, trying it at home is their next step, said Cristina Parker, a spokeswoman for the Lilith Fund, which offers financial assistance to people who need abortions. For subscribers: This researcher interviewed 600 women at Texas abortion clinics. Heres what she saw. Most women who used misoprostol a safe pill commonly used in abortion clinics but available without a prescription in Mexico were successful in ending their pregnancies, the research found. Women who used home remedies found their attempts failed and sought care at an abortion clinic. Common factors among the 721 women surveyed and 18 interviewed found they lived in poverty or had other obstacles that led them to believe they had no other option, such as finding their nearest clinic had closed or they could not afford to pay for the procedure. Nearly all said they would have preferred to go to a clinic instead of ending their pregnancies themselves, the study showed. Self-managed abortion could be on the rise as people from states hostile to abortion wrestle with restrictive policies. The Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, found 18 percent of non-hospital clinics across the country reported treating at least one case of a person who attempted an abortion without a doctors help in 2017. Thats up from 12 percent in 2014. The Texas study, which involved a researcher from Guttmacher, suggests self-managed abortions could become more common in Texas if clinics become more difficult to access. Researchers say that could be especially true in South Texas where women are closer to Mexico and can more readily obtain misoprostol or among poor women who cannot afford an abortion, which can cost $500 or more. If people have to choose a self-managed procedure thinking that what they could be doing is dangerous or that it could compromise their future fertility, and theyre therefore scared and think they have no other options, thats not health care with dignity, said Liza Fuentes, senior research scientist at Guttmacher who worked in collaboration with the Texas Policy Evaluation Project on the study. She said the findings show a need to ensure women who try to end their pregnancies at home have accurate information about effective methods and what to expect. For subscribers: Houston study: Young homeless dont seek medical care after rape The research was conducted in 2012 and 2014, before and after a Texas law forced nearly half the states abortion clinics to close. The 2013 law imposed regulations the U.S. Supreme Court found created an undue burden on a womans right to an abortion. The high court struck down the law in 2016, ruling that the clinic closures caused women to drive farther and face longer wait times. The data is too old to offer a sense of how accessible abortions are, said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life. Five abortion clinics and more than 100 centers offering alternatives to abortion have opened since researchers conducted its last interviews and surveys, he said. I believe there are grave reasons to question the relevance of the data that the author is putting forward because its quite old and things have changed he Texas, said Pojman. There are 24 clinics performing abortions in Texas, down from 41 that were open before the Texas law. More than 52,000 abortions were reported in Texas in 2017, the latest year of which data is available. In 2012, the year before the law instituted regulations that caused clinics to close, more than 68,000 were performed. Texas has passed other abortion restrictions that have withstood legal challenges, such as a 2011 law requiring abortion providers to show or describe an ultrasound image of the fetus to the woman and play sounds of the fetal heart beat before moving forward with the procedure. Jessica Benzakein didn't have an ideal childhood. Growing up in Texas, her mother terminated her parental rights when she turned 12. And because of her family's beliefs, she was never enrolled in school. Instead, she went to work with her mother, who was an aid at a nursing home. Forced into foster care with her younger brother, the pair bounced from home to home every few months. While she doesn't have any especially terrible memories of her foster care experience, she never really knew what having a true family was like. At 46 years old, Jessica opted to change that for six boys, whom she recently adopted while living in Milwaukee, WI. Although Jessica thought she never really needed a family when she was younger, it seems she just may have changed her mind after all. Related: This Sweet PSA About Adoption Shows a Teen Slowly Realizing He's Part of a Family For Jessica, going into foster care was obviously a shock to the system, given her age. "At 12 you're too old to be adopted," she told POPSUGAR. "The social workers were pretty clear about that, so then you just stay in foster care. My brother and I would always go in together. We would stay in a home six months to eight months at a time, but I didn't make friends. I didn't make experiences. During that time I couldn't tell you any of their names or if there were other kids. I didn't really chalk any of that up to memory." Although Jessica would classify her foster care experience as "neutral," she saw a positive shift when she went from the state-funded system to the privately funded foster care organization - the Casey Family Foundation - especially when it came to her education. "I had a really good caseworker who noticed that I was smart," Jessica explained. "I had never gone to school. Even as a foster kid I didn't do well in a school environment. I wasn't used to not being around my brother. I didn't like having him out of my sight, so I didn't do well. Because we're 16 months apart, we weren't in the same class so that just didn't work out. My parents didn't believe in educating girls, my birth family just felt like all your resources should be put into the male children." Story continues "I'm not sure that I ever thought that I needed a family. But I do. We all do." Eventually, Jessica realized the best way out of her situation was to study hard. After her maternal grandparents adopted her brother and not her, she put everything she had into her academics. "I just want to go to school. I didn't even want to be adopted," she said. "I didn't want a family. I'd already been exposed to a lot of adults. I grew up in a not-so-great situation and I already knew that most people had an agenda and I just didn't have a good connotation of what family meant." Jessica finished third in her graduating high school class, despite not having any proper schooling until later in life. She enrolled in college and met her ex-husband. While their marriage eventually ended, Jessica had two children - Eli, 14, and Brenna, 9 - with him. As someone who loved being a mother, Jessica couldn't help but realize she could help kids who grew up like her. Her focus? Sets of siblings who didn't want to be separated. In Wisconsin, there are currently 7,000 children in the foster care system. And while Jessica knows she can't adopt them all, she was prepared to bring more kids into her home. "I wasn't in the market necessarily for young kids, because I already knew that it was harder to place older kids," explained Jessica. "Younger kids, five and under, are oftentimes just more desirable. People feel like the damage that they automatically assume we all have, is still somewhat reversible or erasable if you're under five." Related: These Sweet Photos of Kids Adopted From Foster Care Are Going to Make You Smile In 2015, Jessica agreed to temporarily take in two brothers, Kendrich, 6, and Terrell, or T.J., 4, for short, but the boys' placement ended up being permanent. On Jan. 3, 2019 she officially adopted Kendrich and T.J. along with siblings, Will, 18, Carter, 14, Sidney, 13, and Markell "Buddy," 8 into the family. And while that might seem like a lot of heartbeats in one house, Jessica wouldn't change a thing. "I think it's been more of an adjustment probably for my oldest, Eli," she said. "There's a five-year difference between him and Brenna, so for all that time he was the only child. Brenna was four before we even got more children. so he was the oldest forever and now he's the third oldest. Everyone gets along. I'm not sure that I ever thought that I needed a family. But I do. We all do. The kids keep me grounded." WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would require the clean-up of pervasive chemical pollutants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that have contaminated drinking water and soil in many New York communities and around the country. The substances are also believed to be in the blood of millions of Americans. The bill would limit future releases of PFAS into the environment, spur health studies of the chemicals, establish a drinking water standard and institute nationwide testing and monitoring for the substances. It also included a measure, pushed by U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck, to notify communities about chemical releases. Critically, this bill requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to list some PFAS chemicals as hazardous and designation areas contaminated by them as superfund sites. This designation will make the entities responsible for exposing communities to the chemicals liable for cleanup costs. The legislation passed with bipartisan support, but faces an uncertain route in the Senate after some Republicans opposed the inclusion of similar PFAS measures in other legislation that became law in December. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, who lead the debate on PFAS on the House floor Thursday night, said he was pleased with Friday's vote. I think what we did was the responsible thing here by making sure the protections are available, that we made certain that there was clean up and go forward with responding to modern day concerns with realistic and progressive policy," Tonko said. The House approved the bill 247 to 159, with 24 Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, siding with Democrats to vote in favor. One Democrat, U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams of Utah, sided with the Republicans who opposed the bill. Some Republicans worried that the legislation was too broad in its regulation of a group of chemicals or would negatively impact businesses. "We cannot classify an entire class [of chemicals] as hazardous, when in fact there are only some bad actors," said U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. PFAS are a family of manmade chemicals that have been used in manufacturing and are also found in numerous products such as non-stick pans, food packaging, Gore-Tex clothing, fire retardants, water repellents and firefighting foams. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said exposure to PFAS can lower pregnancy rates, interfere with human body hormones, increase cholesterol levels, affect immune systems and increase risks of cancer. Studies have also connected the chemicals to thyroid diseases and birth defects. The so-called "forever chemicals" do not break down easily in the environment and can accumulate in the bloodstream with exposure. From consumer products and industrial waste, PFAS chemicals have been introduced into the air, soil, groundwater and waterways, resulting in contamination in at least 43 states, although many states and communities have not yet conducted comprehensive testing for the substances. In Hoosick Falls, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination was discovered in 2014 in the soil and groundwater around a Saint Gobain Performance Plastics and former Honeywell manufacturing plant. Delgado, who represents Hoosick Falls, amended the final bill to make it illegal for any industrial facility to introduce PFAS into a sewage treatment system without first disclosing information about that substance. "Right now, companies can tap into our public wastewater infrastructure and introduce PFAS into our sewage systems regardless of the local treatment plants ability to effectively treat the contamination," Delgado said. "Most municipal water treatment plants are not equipped to effectively treat for PFAS contamination, which makes indirect discharges extremely hazardous, particularly when not disclosed." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. In New York, drinking water supplies at seven Army installations, including Fort Drum and West Point, are contaminated with elevated levels of PFAS, according to U.S. Department of Defense data released in September. "I will continue to work with my colleagues to protect our region from current and future contamination," Stefanik said. Several methods exist for treating PFAS contamination in water, but they are expensive. The bill passed Friday includes grants for communities whose water systems were impacted. "Clarkson researchers have successfully field tested new, innovative technologies that degrade and destroy these contaminants," said Anthony G. Collins, president of Clarkson University in Potsdam. "We stand ready to provide further expertise and technology solutions to ensure safe groundwater resources. Tonko will pressure the Senate to pass the bill into law, he said, working with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats who have been advocates for PFAS regulation. Tonko said he hopes the bipartisan vote and "public sentiment" will help persuade some senators who have reservations about making businesses responsible for some of the clean-up costs of PFAS contamination. Across the country, a great majority of congressional districts are impacted by this," Tonko said. It doesnt know partisan boundaries or limits and so because of that, this is a universal concern that impacts individuals. It could cause cancer, kidney disfunction, thyroid situations, a multiple of concerns. Last month, Congress approved legislation that required public drinking water systems be tested for PFAS, force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to gather information about where PFAS contamination is and reduce the use of PFAS-containing substances, like firefighting foam and ready-made meals, at military bases. It also allocated several million dollars to help the EPA research and write a maximum contaminant limit and $350 million for cleaning up contamination across the country. These steps represent some of the strongest strides toward addressing contamination from the persistent pollutant in roughly a decade. But to date, the EPA has not set binding standards on what level of PFAS renders water unsafe to drink, although it promised to make a determination on issuing a maximum contamination level in 2019. Michael Hickey, credited with the discovery of PFAS contamination in Hoosick Falls, testified before Congress in September about the need for a maximum contamination level. The EPA has shared a regulatory determination with the White House, but it has not been made public yet. First Harley-Davidson Edition GMC Pickup in History Introduced MILWAUKEE--Davidson Motor Company and Tuscany Motor Co. will introduce the first Harley-Davidson edition GMC pickup in history at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 11, 2020. Only 250 Harley-Davidson branded GMC Sierra trucks will be available through select authorized GMC/Tuscany dealers in North America. Fans have long hungered for a limited edition GMC truck that celebrates their passion for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, said Jeff Burttschell, Vice President, Tuscany Motor Co. Working closely with Brad Richards, Vice President of Styling and Design at Harley-Davidson, we created a fantastic truck worthy of the Harley-Davidson name. For the first time in history, it will be possible to rumble down the road in a V8 powered Harley-Davidson edition GMC truck. The new pickup includes over 65 edition-specific components that make the 2020 model truck distinctly Harley-Davidson. The styling was inspired by the famous Harley-Davidson Fat Boy model. Harley-Davidson and GMC are two of the most recognizable and admired American brands in the world, said Jon Bekefy, General Manager of Brand Marketing at Harley-Davidson, Inc. Were proud of the new Harley-Davidson edition GMC Sierra. It truly reflects Harley-Davidsons passion for giving committed riders new ways to share their affinity for the brand and for riding. The Tuscany team begins with a GMC Sierra truck and then installs many motorcycle-inspired components. These include Harley-Davidson branded 22 milled aluminum wheels styled and inspired by the Harley-Davidson Fatboy model, a custom tuned exhaust with Harley-Davidson exclusive solid billet aluminum tips, distinctive Harley-Davidson bar and shield badging, stainless steel Harley-Davidson gauges, billet pedals, two-tone diamond stitched and perforated custom leather seating surfaces, and official numbered Harley-Davidson center console badge. Additional edition-specific components that add to the aggressive look of the truck include, custom tuned BDS suspension lift with upgraded Fox shocks, 35 all-terrain tires, lighted power deploying running boards with unique integrated rocker trim, custom fender flares, functional fender vents, front bumper redesign with integrated LED light bar, custom designed Harley-Davidson grille with Bar & Shield insert, replacement functional Harley-Davidson designed induction style hood, rear bumper redesign with custom exhaust ports, Harley-Davidson tailgate applique, color-matched Harley-Davidson inspired tonneau cover with debossed Harley-Davidson bar and shield logo, carpeted bed mat with Harley-Davidson logo, Harley-Davidson floor mats, Harley-Davidson door entry sills, custom accent color door, dash and steering wheel trim. Under the arrangement, Tuscany will provide the GMC Sierra and manufacture the interior and exterior components under Harley-Davidsons direction. The 2020 Harley-Davidson GMC will be available for delivery to the retail public at select authorized GMC dealers beginning February 2020. GMC dealers and the retail public can also reserve their vehicle by visiting HarleyTruck.com/GMC or calling (817.769.4720). About Tuscany Tuscany Motor Co. since 1988 is the leading provider of specialty trucks. Tuscany enjoys bailment pool status with General Motors, allowing the company to order vehicle chassis directly from the OEM. Tuscany is one of General Motors largest volume producers in the personal-use luxury truck segment. Tuscany is the designer and manufacture of the Black Ops, Badlander, ZRX Off Road, Shelby, and FTX brands. Learn more at TuscanyAutomotive.com. About Harley-Davidson HARLEY-DAVIDSON, HARLEY, FAT BOY, and the Bar & Shield logo are among the trademarks owned by H-D U.S.A., LLC. The Harley-Davidson trademarks as used on the trucks by Tuscany Motor Company are reproduced under license. Since 1903, Harley-Davidson has fulfilled dreams of personal freedom with an expanding range of leading-edge, distinctive, and customizable motorcycles in addition to riding experiences and exceptional motorcycle accessories, riding gear and apparel. Learn more about how Harley-Davidson is Building the Next Generation of Riders at www.harley-davidson.com. Syracuse, N.Y. -- Its mid-winter in Upstate New York, though you wouldnt know it by looking outside. Its raining. Theres almost no snow on the ground, and whats there will vanish this weekend in heavy rain and temperatures pushing 60. In early January, much of Upstate is under flood watches, not winter storm warnings. In Syracuse, weve had just one day in the last 19 when temperatures werent above normal, and we probably wont see another one for another week. So far, January is 9 degrees above normal. Were not hitting on all cylinders for winter, said Mark Wysocki, New York state climatologist. Were in this unusually chaotic pattern where were not getting storms here. Its almost like we have a dome over us. In a way, we do. Theres a big southern dip in the jet stream, the high ribbon of air that separates the warm from the cold. The jet stream is sagging over the middle of the country, keeping cold air in Canada and allowing air from the Southeast to flow up toward the Northeast. All the cold air is going over the top into Quebec, said Paul Walker, a meteorologist for Accuweather. This weekend is a perfect example: While Upstate New York is forecast to get pounded by up to 3 inches of rain, parts of Quebec are looking at 12 to 18 inches of snow, Walker said. Saturdays high temperatures could break records for some Upstate cities, and while things cool off a little after that, above-normal temperatures are expected through at least Thursday. Next weekend, though, could launch us back into winter. This National Weather Service model suggests temperatures in the single digits could return to Upstate New York in the third week of January. Credit: Tropical Tidbits It looks like a period where were going to get down to near normal, Walker said. Another storm at the end of next week will track to our south, and that would help pull some colder air. Forecast weather models used by the National Weather Service show very cold temperatures moving in next weekend from Canada. While its too early to be certain, and model forecasts can change, Upstate could shiver in some bitterly cold weather the third week of January, with temperatures down into the single digits. The weather services long-range forecasting arm, the Climate Prediction Center, says the odds are good that the week of Jan. 17-23 will be colder than normal. That would arrive just in time for what is on average the coldest week of the year in Upstate New York. Scott Handel, a meteorologist with the climate center, said theres a lot of uncertainty about when that cold air will creep down into the U.S. and how fast it will move to the Northeast. The odds of colder air moving east increase next weekend and into the following week, he said. Give it some time and we have a shot for winter, Handel said. Stay tuned to our weather page for updates. READ MORE NOAA says odds favor warm, wet winter in Upstate NY. But keep shovels handy 25 Things That Make Syracuse Great: Snow How weather alerts wind up on your phone, and how you can opt out Meg Medina, winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal for Merci Suarez Changes Gears, expects a very different kind of year in 2020. Last year began with the big win, followed by travel, speeches, appearances, conferences, and more travel. This year begins with plans for an as-yet-untitled Merci sequel and a new picture book, Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away (Candlewick, Sept.), illustrated by Sonia Sanchez, the cover of which is revealed here. But Medina says she expects to spend the majority of her time writing. One of the first things that happens when you win the Newbery is that former Newbery Medalists call you with congratulations and advice, Medina said. Several of them said, This is going to cost you a book. I didnt believe that, but the distractions are on a surreal scale. Theres just so much to do. I tried to write squirreled away in hotel rooms but its not the same. Mercifully, the text for the picture book was largely done by the time of the Newbery announcement, and the fine tuning that remained needed to wait until Sanchez completed the artwork. Usually the thing that drives you crazy with a picture book is waiting for the illustrator because their work takes so much longer, Medina said. This time I was like, Take your time, Sonia! The story, which is inspired by an episode from Medinas childhood, is set during the last play-date between best friends Daniela and Evelyn. It happens to everyone: friends move on, Medina said. Sometimes its just the move to another class or to somebody they like better, but it happens and its painful. Candlewick executive editor Kate Fletcher, who acquired world rights to both the picture book and the Merci sequel from Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, had spoken with Medina throughout the year but was still surprised when the first full draft of Merci 2 arrived in her inbox during the first weekend of the new year. Im so impressed she found the time to get this done because she has had a crazy busy year, Fletcher said. Evelyn will be published simultaneously in Spanish and in English. Candlewick will also publish new editions of Merci Suarez Changes Gears in 2020: the paperback (due out in April) will feature fresh art from Joe Cepeda, who created the art for the original cover, and a Spanish-language edition, translated by Alexis Romay, is scheduled for September. Meanwhile, Medina and Fletcher will be working to produce the Merci sequel (planned for spring 2021), the idea for which may owe some credit to the organizers of a Pura Belpre Awards ceremony a few years ago. (Medina has twice been honored by the Pura Belpre committee.) Fletcher says she and Medina were at the ceremony when a troupe of energetic young dancers performed a traditional Spanish dance. They were just so amazing and Meg leaned over to me and said, Can you imagine Merci doing that? she recalled. We were already talking about ideas for a sequel, but those dancers may have been the first seed. Medina will not attend this years ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia where the Youth Media Awards are traditionally announced, but she did end 2019 with another prestigious honor. In December, she was named Richmond (Va.) Person of the Year, an award she shared with Rodney Johnson, a teacher serving imprisoned teens who also won another high honor earlier in 2019National Teacher of the Year. I went to the luncheon for all the nominees and you hear about all the incredible things these community organizers and leaders are doing and you are just so humbled to be included in the group, Medina said. I am so thrilled to share the award with Rodney, who is doing extremely valuable work with kids some people would prefer to ignore. But she admits its almost a relief to not have a book in the running for this years awards. Shes looking forward to watching the livestream, in her pajamas, with a cup of coffee. I always get so excited. If its a book I have read and loved, perfect. But if there are books I havent read, it gives me a reading list for the whole year. Plus, she said, shes already looking forward to a new responsibility: I get to call this years winner! A team of foreign envoys including US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster, which reached here on Thursday on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, met and interacted with residents of Kashmiri migrant camp at Jagati on outskirts of the city. Earlier in the day, the delegation also met civil society representatives and community leaders in Jammu. The envoy delegation, which had arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, met political leaders and senior Army officials in Srinagar. Envoys are visiting Jammu and Kashmir to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation after the revocation of the erstwhile states special status in August last year. The group of foreign envoys included those from United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Guyana. Meanwhile, J&K Congress issued show cause notices to two of partys senior leaders -- former legislator and district president Baramulla, Shoiab Lone and president, municipal council Anantnag, Hilal Ahmad Shah-- for meeting the envoys. J&K Congress president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir said, We have asked them to explain their position... when nobody from the party was invited, Mir said. Former legislator from Sangrama, Shoaib Lone said that he met the delegation in his personnel capacity. I became legislator as an independent and later joined Congress. cleveland.com Cleveland, Akron weekend forecast CLEVELAND, Ohio - Rain is expected to move into the area in the overnight hours and continue through Saturday. The National Weather Service forecast calls for highs in the 50s on Friday and low 60s on Saturday before dropping back into the 40s on Sunday. Rains should taper off Saturday night, but breezy conditions will continue on Sunday. Don't Edit Hazardous weather outlook Don't Edit A Small Craft Advisory goes into effect at 4 p.m. Thursday and extends until 4 a.m. Friday. Wind gusts up to 35 knots are possible. In addition, the NWS warns that flooding is possible this weekend in areas where heavy rains persists. Between 1-3 inches is expected to fall. Don't Edit Work week forecast Don't Edit Monday looks to see some sun with highs again in the 40s. Tuesday could see rain and highs around 50 before dropping temps cause the rain to change over to snow. Don't Edit Don't Edit Ohio regional radar Don't Edit ZAGREB - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic as part of celebrations for the start of the Croatian turn in the European Council rotating presidency, said it is a "historic moment for Croatia, which is not only taking up the rotating presidency of the European Council for the first time, but also the presidency of our first 100 days, and our success also depends on you". Von der Leyen said the European Commission will "soon, certainly before the summit in Zagreb in May" present a "new methodology for the accession process", which the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, is working on. At the same time, however, she said the EU needs to "move ahead on the dossier for the start of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania", two countries that have already met the expected criteria. Last fall, France vetoed the start of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. The City of Bayonne is planning to purchase Marist High School, which announced this week that it will close in June, according to people with knowledge of negotiations. The city is expected to sign a purchasing agreement within the next two months and formally request a bond to cover the cost of the acquisition, a source said. The city and the Catholic school engaged in similar discussions last year, Board of Education Trustee Denis Wilbeck said, adding that the citys intention then was to lease the 9.2-acre property back to the school district. The mayor has definitely been upbeat on the idea of purchasing a property for the Board of Education to enhance the educational programs throughout the city, Wilbeck said. Hes a firm believer in that to my understanding so this would be a compliment both to the city administration and the board of education if that were to go through. Mayor Jimmy Davis did not return a message seeking comment. Ongoing development in Bayonne, including the transformation of the former Military Ocean Terminal into a residential community, has created an urgent need for more classrooms, Wilbeck said. The school district will introduce full-day pre-K in the 2020-21 school year. The schools are definitely filled to capacity, so theres a dire need for expansion and purchasing an additional building, whether it be for middle school or high school or vocational, Wilbeck said. On Wednesday, Marist announced the it will close in June, citing more than $1 million in annual financial loss and lagging enrollment. Marist High School President Peter Kane said the school is engaged in active discussions with a significant counterparty to sell the property. "While it's a small solace for us because we're sad that Marist is closing and that we're going to have to vacate the premises, it would be wonderful to have it continue to serve as a school to have young people educated here as opposed to having it torn down for condos and townhouses," he said. Bayonne Public Schools Superintendent John J. Neisz said Marists closure means some students will likely transfer into his district. About 20% of its 235 students are Bayonne residents. 2 1 of 2 Madeleine McDermott Hamm Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Madeleine McDermott Hamm Show More Show Less Longtime Houston Chronicle readers and interior designers might be interested in a unique sale happening at the Antique Pavilion on Westheimer. Madeleine McDermott Hamm, who worked at the Chronicle for 39 years 33 of them as the home design editor will be selling off the remainder of inventory at her three booths at the antiques mall for 40 percent off. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:18:23|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 10, 2020 shows the London EV Company (LEVC)'s electric taxi model TX in Tokyo, Japan. Chinese automaker Geely's subsidiary London EV Company (LEVC) brought the electric version of its iconic black cabs to Tokyo on Friday, aiming to help promote green public transportation in Japan. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi) TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese automaker Geely's subsidiary London EV Company (LEVC) brought the electric version of its iconic black cabs to Tokyo on Friday, aiming to help promote green public transportation in Japan. According to LEVC's introduction, the latest TX model is powered by an electric engine and has a total range of about 600 km. Of these, more than 100 km are actually covered electrically, for the remainder of the range, an internal combustion engine recharges the battery. Following the iconic look of London cabs, the LEVC's electric taxi has a large square intake grille, a wide, square-shaped body and a side-by-side door for passengers to get on and off easily. The front passenger seat of the vehicle is used as luggage compartment, while the rear seat can accommodate up to five passengers. Meanwhile, its high accessibility are convenient for passengers using wheelchairs. The vehicle will be sold at a price of 11.2 million yen (102,180 U.S. dollars) in Japan, which can be lowered to 7.56 million yen (68, 972 U.S. dollars) by a subsidy offered by Tokyo's local government. According to LEVC, equipped with wifi and charging port, the vehicle can also be used in high-end business reception and welfare. Japan has a large taxi market, said LEVC's chief executive officer Joerg Hoffman, adding that the company has set its sales target in the first year at 100 vehicles. LEVC is an established automobile manufacturer with nearly 70 years of professional taxi production experience, which enjoys a high reputation in Europe. In 2013, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Geely group. New Delhi: Indigo airlines will start daily direct flights connecting Kolkata-Dubai and Kolkata- Doha which will be effective from February 16 and March 01 respectively. In a report, Kolkata recorded the highest growth of 13.3% in foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) among all the metro cities of India between April-December 2019. The move of Indigo comes in response to the growth observed in foreign tourist arrival, in Kolkata, making their travel easier and making their presence stronger in the airline industry. According to Indigo these direct flights will further strengthen it's connectivity from the city to the Middle-East and cater to the growing international traffic to and from Kolkata. Live TV Other cities of India which have direct connectivity to Dubai include - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kochi, Kozhikode, Amritsar and Thiruvananthapuram and that with Doha include - Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kozhikode. Besides international connectivity, Indigo will also start direct domestic flights connecting Bengaluru-Agra from early March, 2020. Agra is one of the most famous tourist attractions of India with turn out of seven million tourists annually. 1. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai 2. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Mission Kashmir 3. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham 4. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Koi Mil Gaya 5. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Lakshya 6. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Krrish 7. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Dhoom 2 8. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Jodha Akbar 9. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Guzaarish 10. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 11. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Agneepath 12. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Kaabil 13. Hrithik Roshan Movies - Super 30 14. Hrithik Roshan Movies - War Good Looks, great dancing skills and loads of charm - Hrithik Roshan has it all. The actor, who is often referred to as the Greek God turns 46 today but manages to keep looking better and better each passing day. Hrithik Roshan is not only known for his good looks but his acting prowess, as well as he, has delivered a number of memorable performances in his 18-year career. His efforts certainly havent gone unnoticed as he also has won a total of 6 Filmfare Awards in his splendid career so far. Hrithik Roshan, son of filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, made his first appearance as a child artist in 1986 with Bhagwan Dada starring Rakesh Roshan and Rajnikanth. In the year 2000, Hrithik Roshan got launched with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and there was no looking back. No one until Hrithik had experienced something called overnight stardom. Thebecame the biggest blockbuster of the year and also is regarded as one of the biggest hits of all time. At the turn of the millennium, a new star had arrived. On his birthday we list down 11 roles that only and only Hrithik Roshan could have pulled off.This Hrithik Roshan movie was more style than substance but it proved that he definitely could emote. He also showed the world that he could carry a film on his shoulders. With Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Hrithik literally barged into the territory that was ruled by the three Khans and gave them a run for their money. Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was more style than substance but Hrithik proved in his very first film that he definitely could emote. He also showed the world that he could carry a film on his shoulders.When every other actor in the industry was opting for the role of a typical commercial hero, Hrithik was seen playing the role of a terrorist in Mission Kashmir. This was a very bold move indeed as in the early stages of their career actors tend to avoid any sort of negative roles but Hrithik was seen portraying it twice in Mission Kashmir and Fiza. Although the Hrithik Roshan movie did not do well at the box-office, Hrithik received ample praise for his performance.In this Hrithik Roshan movie, Amitabh Bachchan played a patriarch and SRK was his loyal son, the movie saw Hrithik as the younger one trying to stitch the family back together and Jaya as the mother torn between the ego of the men in her life. Interestingly, when Hrithik Roshan signed for the film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai still hadnt released but by the time they started shooting for, Hrithik was already a star as the movie turned out to be aThe Hrithik Roshan movie was a story about an Alien who gets left behind on earth and finds a true friend in Rohan Mehra (Hrithik Roshan). Hrithik portrayed a man whose brain functions like an 11-year-old. It was an extremely difficult role to pull off but Hrithik impressed everyone by his performance.The war drama showed Hrithiks transformation from a young guy who had no direction in life to becoming a disciplined and fearless army officer. Hrithik was incredibly convincing in his role. His work in the movie was appreciated by the critics as well as the audience. He also showcased his phenomenal dancing skills once again in the movie with the song Main Aisa Kyun hoon, choreographed by none other thanSince the audience in India is used to seeing Hollywood superheroes like Superman,, Ironman etc it was tough for them to accept an Indian superhero. Hrithik took up this challenge and arrived with Krrish. This Hrithik Roshan movie was a sequel to KoiMil Gaya in which Hrithik is playing the son of Rohit Mehra who is born with special powers and uses it to avenge the death of his father.After acing his role as a superhero, thishad him playing the supervillain. Although he didnt have any supernatural powers this time, he played the character of a tech-savvy thief who with the help of his super-cool gadgets was able to pull off incredible heists. What really caught peoples attention is that Hrithik was seen disguised as a statue, an old man, a queen, and even a dwarf in the film.The Hrithik Roshan movie centres on the romance between the, and the Rajput Princess Jodhaa Bai who becomes his wife, played by Aishwarya Rai. The film was written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker. It witnessed a lot of controversies over its content and also faced protests. Hrithik was able to play the character of the Royal Mughal Emperor effortlessly.He played a renowned magician who is left a quadriplegic after an accident and sick of his bedridden life and petitions the court for euthanasia. To get into the skin of his character, he met paraplegic patients and brought out their mannerisms in his performance. This just goes to show how much effort he puts in to get every role right.We saw Hrithik Roshan as a complete workaholic whose life changes when he takes a road trip to Spain with his two best friends. The trip not only changes his opinion on what he expects from life but also starts to enjoy life as it is meant to be. In the end, he marries his love interest Laila (played by Katrina Kaif) whom he met during the trip.Stepping into Amitabh Bachchan's big shoes could best be described as an act of extreme bravery. Turns out, Hrithik's no slouch in the intensity department himself.in the remake of the iconic film and won over the hearts of people once again.This Hrithik Roshan movie begins with Rohan Bhatnagar (Hrithik) accepting a meeting with Supriya (), a match fixed by a common friend. Right from the first date, the two find themselves attracted to each other and eventually get married. But theyre not able to live happily ever after since Madhavrao Shellars (Ronit Roy) brother Amit (Rohit Roy) rapes Supriya by taking advantage of her visual impairment. Instead of getting you to feel pity for Rohan, the makers turn this into a revenge saga.is a film based onand his batch of 30 students. In the film, Hrithik Roshan plays the role of renewed mathematician Anand Kumar for which he underwent a complete transformation. And the transformation was not limited to his physical appearance but also the dialect, mannerisms and his body language. Hrithik completely sinks his teeth in the character and delivers exceptional performance. Many regard Hrithiks performance in Super 30 as his career best.War was meant to be an action packed masala entertainer and it delivers completely on that front. Starring Tiger Shroff,, the film featured some stellar action sequences, killer dialogues, and thumping dance numbers which pushed it to become the highest grosser of the year 2019. I ran has invited Boeing experts to inspect the remains of a Ukrainian International Airlines plane that crashed minutes after take-off in Tehran. It comes as several Western leaders blamed Iran for the crash, which killed all 176 people on board, claiming the country's missile defence system shot the plane down by mistake. The crash on Wednesday morning came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing US troops following the US drone strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard general Qasem Soleimani. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost 63 citizens in the crash, has vowed to get answers. Meanwhile Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called for a full and transparent investigation into the crash, as he said victims families deserve to know the truth. Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures 1 /13 Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures via Reuters AP AFP via Getty Images People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Images AP AP via Reuters AP Rescuers check the debris following the plane crash via Reuters Part of the wreckage from Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran shortly after take-off via Reuters Previously, Iran refused to give the plane's black box over to Boeing. Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, tweeted: "Investigations on the cause of the Ukrainian plane crash have launched based on Int. standards & ICAO regulations; Ukraine and Boeing have been invited- as the owner & the manufacturer- to take part in it. "We appreciate any country who can provide info to the Committee in charge." British newlyweds Niloufar Ebrahim (left) and Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, died in the crash / PA The flight recorders, known as black boxes despite their orange colour, provide key information for investigators about the final moments of aircraft before serious crashes. The flight data recorder (FDR) will provide a record of how the plane's systems operated and the actions of the pilots over several hours prior to the incident. From the cockpit voice recorder, investigators may also be able to determine more about the last actions of the pilots, who did not send a mayday warning. The black box may hold a clue as to the plane's final moments / ISNA/AFP via Getty Images Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, investigations into air crashes are led by the country where the accident took place but other countries may be involved including the country of the manufacturer. On Wednesday, the head of the Iran Civil Aviation Organisation, Ali Abedzadeh, was quoted as saying that Iran would not give the flight recorder to US-based Boeing or US authorities. Mr Abedzadeh added that it is unclear which country the black box will be sent to for investigation. Ukraine is expected to be involved in the process. Iranian state media has reported both recorders have already been recovered from the wreckage. Graham Brathwaite, Professor of Safety and Accident Investigation and Director of Transport Systems at Cranfield University, said: "One of the other states that would normally participate is the state of the manufacturer, in this case the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The Trump administration came into office with its top legislative priority clear: Repeal the Affordable Care Act. It failed. Then, when a group of Republican states tried to throw out Obamacare through a lawsuit, the administration agreed that a key part of the law was unconstitutional. But now that defenders of the law have asked the Supreme Court to settle the case quickly, the presidents lawyers say they are in no particular hurry. The case, which seeks to invalidate the entire health care law, can wait for the lower courts to consider certain questions more carefully, they said in a filing to the Supreme Court on Friday. There is no present, real-world emergency, the brief says, that would require the court to rush the cases progress. The case argues that changes made to the Affordable Care Act in 2017 make its requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance unconstitutional and that the provision is so essential to the health care law that the rest of it should be invalidated as well. The case could have major political implications because the results sought by the Republican states and the Trump administration would cause substantial disruptions. According to estimates from the Urban Institute, around 20 million more Americans would become uninsured because of the elimination of the laws coverage expansions and protections for Americans with pre-existing health conditions. After a series of earthquakes, some airlines have jacked up airfare out of Puerto Rico ten times the normal rate, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, claims. While power remains intermittent on Puerto Rico in the aftermath of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake - and as aftershocks continue to threaten the island, including a 4.6 magnitude earthquake Friday morning, Blumenthal called on multiple airlines to ensure that flight prices from Puerto Rico were fair and affordable for Americans traveling from the island. Some airline fares from Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the earthquakes differed nearly tenfold from typical prices during this time period, exacerbating the difficult situation faced by Puerto Ricans affected by the islands worst earthquake in more than a century. Some airlines have offered travel waivers to help protect against exorbitant costs - a step Blumenthal urged all airlines flying to the island to take. In a release, Blumenthal said, I urge American Airlines to ensure fair and affordable prices on tickets for Americans simply trying to get out of harms way - including consideration of capping fares from San Juan to the mainland U.S. for a realistic period of time. Additionally, I encourage your company to provide waivers of flight change fees and other reasonable accommodations for people trying to leave the island in the wake of these earthquakes, Blumenthal wrote to American Airlines. Identical letters were also sent to JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. The full text of the letter sent to American Airlines said I am deeply troubled by complaints of exorbitantly high airline fares that some airlines are apparently charging after the natural disaster in Puerto Rico. I understand that some airlines are issuing travel waivers, but my hope is that steps will be taken to make air travel more affordable and accessible, especially to relatives and caregivers. Multiple, tragic earthquakes in Puerto Rico have left many on the island without adequate supplies of water, electricity, and shelter. As Puerto Rico remains under declaration of emergency, our fellow Americans on the island are searching for flights that will allow them to stay with family and friends on the mainland until vital services are restored. Here are a few disturbing examples. According to internet searches, one-way tickets from San Juan to Hartford, Connecticut differ nearly tenfold, ranging anywhere from $292 to $2,050. Other searches reveal fares of well over $1,000 for basic tickets from San Juan to the New York City area. I urge American Airlines to ensure fair and affordable prices on tickets for Americans simply trying to get out of harms way - including consideration of capping fares from San Juan to the mainland U.S. for a realistic period of time. Additionally, I encourage your company to provide waivers of flight change fees and other reasonable accommodations for people trying to leave the island in the wake of these earthquakes. Airlines certainly have a right to a reasonable return for services rendered and vagaries in pricing are to be expected; but airlines have a moral obligation to assist people in need when natural disasters occur. As many officials work tirelessly to protect Americans from the kinds of harm caused by these earthquakes, it is imperative American Airlines use all resources at its disposal to protect consumers from the harm that comes from outrageous and oppressive fares and fees. DUBLIN, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Packaging Film Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The packaging film market is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 6.0% over the forecast period (2020-2025). The increasing disposable income of consumers, rapid urbanization, and the demand for packaged food is rising in countries, like China, India, and others in the APAC regions. Growth in these nations is expected to positively impact the packaging films industry. Key Market Trends Food & Beverages and Healthcare Sectors Hold Majority of Share in Packaging Film Market Food & beverages packaging is estimated to be the largest consumer of packaging film, followed by pharmaceutical and medical packaging, respectively. However, the healthcare sector is expected to offer huge potential growth opportunities for the packaging film market over and beyond the forecast period. Lifestyle changes, especially for the working urban population, has been a key factor in the demand surge for packaged food and beverage products. The introduction of ready to cook and eat varients of food and drinks has seen continued growth in demand. Asia-Pacific and Europe Contribute to Healthy Growth Rate over the Forecast Period Growing disposable incomes and a rising middle-class population are among the prominent factors driving demand for high-barrier packaging films across industries in the Asia-Pacific region. The increasing demand for packaged food and pharmaceutical products in growing economies, such as China , India , Thailand , and Indonesia is expected to drive market growth. region. The increasing demand for packaged food and pharmaceutical products in growing economies, such as , , , and is expected to drive market growth. The European Union and the United Kingdom are at the forefront of countries that make efforts to reduce plastic usage and waste. Thus the market in this region is likely to witness a steep shift towards other packaging alternatives. are at the forefront of countries that make efforts to reduce plastic usage and waste. Thus the market in this region is likely to witness a steep shift towards other packaging alternatives. The current US and China trade war situation is expected to impact market demand. The recent ban on plastic waste imports in nations such as Singapore and China is also expected to impact the market over the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The packaging film market is a fragmented one with the presence of various global as well as regional players such as AEP Industries Inc., Novolex, Bemis Company, Inc., RKW SE, Dupont Teijin Films, Jindal Poly Films Ltd, Innovia Films, ProAmpac, and many others. Most of these players are involved in several strategic developments including mergers, acquisitions, new product launch and market expansion to gain a competitive edge in the market. In recent years, the packaging industry has seen many mergers and acquisitions among big packaging firms. Big players including ONCAP, Berry Global Group, Inc., Jindal Poly and many others are acquiring small companies to gain major market share in the industry and are trying to get a consolidate status from the fragmented one. May 2019 - Bemis Company, Inc. and Amcor Limited announced a merger and became one company by 12th June 2019 with clearance from US Department of Justice. - Bemis Company, Inc. and Amcor Limited announced a merger and became one company by with clearance from US Department of Justice. February 2018 , Berry Global acquired Clopay Plastic Products Company, Inc. form Griffon Corporation with a total value of USD 475 million . Key Topics Covered: 1 INTRODUCTION 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Introduction to Market Drivers and Restraints 4.3 Market Drivers 4.3.1 Innovations in Food & Beverages Packaging 4.3.2 Increasing Environmental Concerns Driving Bioplastic Materials 4.3.3 Surge in E-commerce Business has Fuelled Demand for Packaging 4.4 Market Restraints 4.4.1 Stringent Regulations for Chemical Composition of Packaging Materials 4.5 Industry Value Chain Analysis 4.6 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Force Analysis 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION 5.1 By Type of Material 5.2 By Application 5.3 Geography 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Company Profiles 7 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS 8 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS Companies Mentioned AEP Industries Inc. Novolex Amcor PLC (Bemis Company Inc.) RKW SE Dupont Teijin Films Jindal Poly Films Ltd Innovia Films ProAmpac Cosmo Films Ltd. SRF Limited Graphic Packaging International, LLC Sigma Plastics Group Sealed Air Corporation For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/o97n0z 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: 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:07:25|Editor: yhy Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Thursday that it will join Iran's probe into the fatal crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran. In a statement, the NTSB said its response operations center has received formal notification from Iran's Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) of the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS-752, which killed 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. "The NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash, involving a Boeing 737-800," the statement said. The agency also said it won't speculate about the cause of the crash, stressing that the AAIB is the lead investigative body. The ill-fated airliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport Wednesday morning local time. Most of the passengers were Iranians and Canadians. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday in Ottawa that his government has intelligence indicating that an "unintentional" Iranian missile strike took down the jet. An Iranian minister on Thursday rejected claims that the nation's missiles were responsible for the crash, reiterating that "technical failure" was the cause. Muji, a retail company which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods, will be the next popular Japanese firm to penetrate the Vietnamese market, according to a recent announcement of the companys plans to open a store in the Southeast Asian country. Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd., or Muji, said in a press release last year that the company will open its first store in Vietnam in the spring of 2020. In preparation for its arrival in Vietnam, Muji Retail Vietnam LLC was established in August 2019 with 100-percent investment from Ryohin Keikaku. The headquarters of the subsidiary is located in Ho Chi Minh City while Mujis maiden Vietnam store will also be opened in the southern metropolis, according to the press release. The store will cover 3,900 square meters, Tu Thi Hong An, director of commercial leasing at the real estate services company Savills, told the online Vietnamese news site Zing. In comparison, a Uniqlo store, which was just opened at the Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza in District 1 by the popular eponymous Japanese apparel retailer last month, spans 3,100 square meters. Muji currently operates more than 900 stores in 29 countries and territories, nearly 500 of which are outside Japan. According to Zing, director An said that a number of other foreign brands will also debut in Vietnam this year, including Taiwanese dim sum chain Din Tai Fung, Hawker Chan - the Michelin-star chicken rice stall from Singapore, French make-up chain Sephora, and China's largest retailer JD. Last year, retail space in Ho Chi Minh City grew to 1.46 million square meters, mostly in Districts 1, 2 and 7, as well as Tan Phu District. Revenue in the sector also increased 14 percent from 2018, and was mainly contributed by leaseholders in the food and beverage, apparel, and household appliance industries, Zing reported, citing a paper on the local real estate market recently published by Savills. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! tech2 News Staff It's been less than a fortnight since parts of Asia and the Middle East witnessed a rare annular solar eclipse on 26 December. The Sun and Moon, now in sync, will cause a partial lunar eclipse on 10 January, which will be visible from India. The 'Wolf Moon eclipse' will be the first of four penumbral lunar eclipses expected in 2020. It isn't an event to get particularly excited about since the Moon will only partially fall under Earth's outer shadow. The eclipse will last 4 hours and 5 minutes overall and will be visible from Africa, Europe, Asia, Alaska, and Australia. What makes the eclipse interesting is partly its larger-than-usual appearance and subtle shifts in the shadow and hue of the moon during the 4-hour eclipse. Wolf Moon: When to watch the eclipse You will be able to view the eclipse as long as the Moon is visible from your location. Those viewing the eclipse from the night-side of Earth at 5.07 pm UT on Friday (10.37 pm IST, Friday) countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia can watch the event live. In India, the event will last between 10.37 pm IST on 10 January to and 2.42 am IST on 11 January. A 'penumbral' eclipse: What to expect Much like other lunar eclipses, a penumbral eclipse also happens when the Earth passes between the Moon and Sun. It obscures the Sun's light and causes a shadow of the Earth to fall on the Moon's surface. That said, unlike other eclipses, penumbral eclipses are very subtle events to observe. During the eclipse, the Moon passes through the outer region of Earth's shadow, known as the penumbra. At the peak of the eclipse on 10 January, roughly 90 percent of the Moon's outer disc will fall under the Earth's shadow, giving it a slight shadow gradient across its face, with no part of the Moon in its complete shadow. It will appear as if the Earth is covering part of the Sun's disk, but not completely. The Moon's brightness, as a result, will be lower, by the dim illumination from whatever sunlight does makes its way to the Moon's surface. The entire outline of the Moon's disk will still be brightly visible. This effect is only perceptible to those with very astute (20/20) vision or using carefully-controlled cameras. So if you're an avid eclipse-watcher or an amateur photographer keen on getting a shot of the spectacle, the penumbral lunar eclipse will offer a view of the full moon losing its milky white brightness and look odd and shaded for a few hours, making it worth the wait and watch. The regular rise of the full moon at dusk will still be an interesting sight, as long as you're somewhere with clear skies. The Moon will be just days away from its perigee (closest point to the Earth), making it relatively large. At its peak, the eclipse will be 2.6 percent larger than average, as per In-the-Sky.org. The other penumbral eclipses to follow this year will be on 5 June, 5 July, and 30 November. The first eclipse this year that the Northern hemisphere can look forward to will be the "Thunder Moon Eclipse" on 5 July 2020. Cops in northeastern Mexico killed eight alleged members of a cartel after they were ambushed near a highway in broad daylight. The Coahuila state Public Security Ministry said members of the Cartel del Noreste [the Northeast Cartel] armed with military style weaponry opened fired on the Guerrero municipal state police about 3.30pm on Thursday. According to Infobae, at least four of the gang members died from gunshot wounds at Santa Teresa ranch. The other four men were found dead by police not too far from where the shooting took place. WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT A clash between police in the northeast Mexican state of Coahuila left at least eight members of the Cartel del Noreste (Northeast Cartel) dead after the group attacked the cops from a ranch near a highway in the municipality of Guerrero The Coahuila state prosecutor's office said authorities confiscated a cache of weapons after a police unit responded with fire and killed at least eight suspected members of the Northeast Cartel The Coahuila state prosecutor's office said authorities confiscated a cache of weapons, ammunition and military accessories that were emblazoned with the criminal organization's Spanish-language initials, 'CDN'. The war-like battle occurred just 31 miles from the Mexico-United States border. The latest attack by the Cartel del Noreste took place a day after it deployed a group of men aboard four SUVs who unleashed an attack in the nearby municipality of Zaragosa against the chief of the Public Security Ministry. Thursday's shootout occurred near a highway in the municipality of Guerrero, which is about 31 miles away from the Mexico-United States border Thursday's attack was the most deadliest between security forces and the Cartel del Noreste since November 30 when 22 people died in a shootout. Pictured above is one of the eight alleged cartel members Police in the state of Coahuila have been involved in a number of shootouts with the Northeast Cartel. On Wednesday, they chased down four trucks with cartel members after they attempted to kill a government official and during the pursuit a two-year-old girl was mistakenly shot dead and her parents were wounded after cops confused their SUV with one driven by the suspects. On Thursday, cops were attacked by eight cartel members and they were all killed. The deadliest confrontation took place November 30 when 14 cartel members were killed after they attack a city hall office. During a police pursuit of the gang, cops mistakenly shot dead a two-year-old girl who was traveling with her parents in an SUV which they thought was being driven by cartel gunmen. Thursday's attack was the deadliest between security forces and the Cartel del Noreste since November 30 when 22 people died in a shootout. The clash left 14 members of the criminal organization's hit squad dead. The incident claimed the lives of four cops and two civilians after the gang attacked the city hall building in the municipality of Villa Union. Cartel del Noreste, formerly known as Los Zetas, manages its operation out of the state of Tamaulipas and also has a presence in the state of Nuevo Leon along with Coahuila. One of its main rivals is the Sinaloa Cartel, co-founded by Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, with whom the group has been at war with since 2004. "Now, foreigners are getting rich in South Sudan and nationals are getting agitated in some ways and little do they know that even if the foreigners leave those properties to them, they will still not be beneficial to them..." The five faculty members appointed by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration to inquire into Sundays mob attack are all members of a breakaway faction of teachers that dissociated from the elected teachers body, JNUTA, last November, alleging that the association and students agitating against a proposed fee hike were hand in glove. The appointment of the committee was criticised by both the JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) and the elected JNU Students Union (JNUSU) on the grounds that the panels members were too closely associated with the administration and would therefore not be able to conduct a free and fair inquiry. While JNUSU and JNUTA are opposing the vice-chancellor (VC) M Jagadesh Kumars handling of the attack in which nearly 34 students were injured, the breakaway JNU Teachers Federation (JNUTF) has thrown its weight behind the VC, holding the protesting students responsible for the violence. The JNUSU, however, blames the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for the attack. Some JNUTF members were also named by JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh in her police complaint registered in connection with the January 5 violence. According to Thursdays notification, issued by JNU registrar Pramod Kumar, the committee to look into the violence comprises Sushant Mishra, chairperson of the Centre for French and Francophone Studies; Mazhar Asif, chairperson of the Centre of Persian and Central Asian Studies; Sudhir Pratap Singh, professor at the School of Languages; Santosh Shukla, professor at the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, and Bhaswati Das, professor at the Centre for Studies in Regional Development. JNUTA president DK Lobiyal said that the committee appointed by the vice-chancellor is highly unlikely to conduct a fair inquiry. First of all, we do not want any internal inquiry as long as this vice-chancellor is there. We want him to go. And, how can we expect a fair inquiry in the matter when the panel is completely biased. We reject this committee. On November 20, 2019, 112 JNU teachers of a total faculty strength of about 560 signed a statement saying that they were breaking away from JNUTA. The statement came at a time when agitating students allegedly confined a woman associate dean in her classroom for hours during their protest against the hostel fee hike. Most of these teachers later announced they were forming their own group: JNU Teachers Federation (JNUTF). Nagendra Srinivas, assistant professor at the school of languages and a core committee member of JNUTF, said, All the 112 teachers who signed the letter had politically dissociated ourselves from JNUTA on ideological grounds. They are not working as the teachers union but doing politics at the campus. Earlier this week, Asif was named by JNUSU members for inciting violence against students. Mazhar Asif threatened protesting students with a lathi in November; he also threatened students and incited violence on January 4, JNUSU vice-president Saket Moon said. According to JNUSU general secretary Satish Yadav: Asif was present along with other JNUTF members when I was beaten by on January 4 near the School of Biotechnology. What kind of inquiry they will conduct when they were silently watching us beaten? I will soon file a police complaint naming more JNUTF members in connection with January 5 incident. Asif, Mishra, Pratap and Shukla did not respond to calls and text messages seeking comment. Das said she was yet to receive a communication from the administration on her appointment in the panel. I had dissociated with the JNUTA because they took some very wrong stands during the students strike. I am still paying my subscription to the teachers association. As far as the allegation of being closed to the administration is concerned, I was equally closed to the former VC. It doesnt make any difference in my role at the committee, Das added. Of the five members of the committee, Mazhar Asif has been part of several controversies during his time in JNU. His appointment to the faculty came under scanner in 2017, when teachers alleged that he was brought in bypassing due process. Aisha Kidwai, who was the JNUTA president at that time, said, He was appointed as a faculty within a month of being nominated as a member of the JNU executive council by the MHRD (ministry of human resources development). He was a member of the executive council that takes the call on appointments. One cannot be on the executive committee and also be an applicant. It clearly shows he is the administrations person. Asif was later appointed as the acting dean of the School of Arts and Aesthetics. He was removed in March 2018 through a court order after a section of teachers moved the Delhi high court. He was then appointed as the chairperson of the linguistic centre in July 2018. Asif was again removed within a few days after teachers moved the court citing that a Persian professor could not be the chairperson of the linguistics centre, according to the rules. We can expect similar kind of inquiry from this committee like the one the VC-appointed committee did in February, 2016. The report was later not accepted by the court, Kidwai said. JNU rector Chintamani Mahapatra said that the allegations levelled by both JNUSU and JNUTA were baseless. We do not have to react on everything unnecessarily raised by them, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Cases of lung illness and deaths from vaping have tapered off since peaking in September, health officials said on Thursday, but the outbreak also reached a grim new milestone: The youngest death, of a 15-year-old, was reported by Dallas County Health and Human Services. The teenager had a chronic underlying medical condition, Texas officials said in a statement on Dec. 31, but they did not identify the condition, the patients gender or what products the patient had been vaping. Reporting a death in a teen due to Evali is so tragic, Dr. Philip Huang, the Dallas County health director, said in a statement, referring to the official name for the disorder, E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury. We are seeing that severe lung damage, and even death, can occur with just short-term use of these products. The statement said that one teenager in the Dallas area who was hospitalized with the illness reported having vaped for only one month. Authorities have said they found a bloodstained 18-inch machete in Thomass car, along with a knife smeared with dried blood and hair. They also said Thomas had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references and recently used his phone to look up information on Hitler and the location of synagogues. After the United States killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Iran responded by launching missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq, what would President Donald Trump do? We were as unsettled as anyone at the prospect of Trump exacerbating dangers by letting his ego and emotions rule. That didnt happen at least not immediately. In a televised address Wednesday the president sensibly signaled that the current military confrontation could be over. Trump sounded tough on Iran over its nuclear ambitions, but he replaced, or at least supplemented, threats of further U.S. military action with something we rarely hear from him: the steadying language of diplomacy. Trump said Iran appeared to be standing down, that he didnt want to order the U.S. back into battle and that he wanted Europes help, and NATOs participation, in an effort to draw Iran back into negotiations over its nuke and ballistic missile programs. Trump said he wants a deal that allows Iran to thrive and prosper and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential. Those would be prudent moves by any U.S. president who has the worlds most powerful armed forces at his disposal but is focused on giving an adversary the opportunity to de-escalate. We do not want to use it, Trump said of Americas military might. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent. In fact, the language of Trumps TV address would have sounded familiar, boilerplate even, if uttered by a conventional president. Thats not Trump. He routinely insults his political foes and once threatened North Korea with fire and fury, taunting Kim Jong Un by calling him Little Rocket Man. Trumps political recklessness got him impeached. Well hand out no extra credit points to Trump for behaving responsibly at a moment of international crisis one he created by ordering a drone attack on Soleimani. Instead, the focus turns to the viability of Trumps strategy for reining in Iran. He took out Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, because he was the architect of Irans asymmetrical mayhem. In response, Iran launched missiles at two Iraqi bases that house American troops, causing no casualties. That was followed by an Iranian announcement that its retaliation had concluded. U.S. forces had acted quickly to keep their personnel out of harms way. They also were lucky every missile apparently landed with a thud. This provides Trump with a window of opportunity to rally U.S. allies to his side in order to restart the difficult process of negotiating a broader international nuclear deal with Iran. That deal also should address Irans support for terrorist groups and its ballistic missile program. Trump would put himself in a much stronger position if he could coax the United Kingdom, Germany and France to join him. They recently signaled an interest, given recent Iranian attacks in the Persian Gulf. They also were put off by the killing of Soleimani. Maybe European leaders heard enough from Trump on Wednesday to further engage. In his speech, the president made a pitch for international cooperation, including seeking NATO involvement. That could help lower tensions in Iraq, where Shiite politicians want to evict Americas military. The long-running standoff with Iran is by no means over. Trump kicked up some new dirt by declaring Iran would never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon on his watch; he doesnt want to tolerate yet another North Korea. Trump also promised to impose additional economic sanctions on Iran. If the mullahs in Tehran feel backed into a corner, they could lash out. If Trump feels emboldened, or sees a potential political advantage at home, he could ratchet up tensions again. This president is not temperamentally suited for the delicate art of diplomacy. On Wednesday, though, he delivered. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mumbai, Jan 10 : Yes Bank on Friday rejected mysterious investor Erwin Singh Braich's $1.2 billion investment offer but said that it will raise Rs 10,000 crore by issuing securities. The bank on Friday also said it will take up Citax Holdings, and Citax Investment Group's investment offers in the next board meeting. The private lender said that it received an updated proposal from Braich but the "board has decided not to proceed with the offer" after last month postponing a decision on his binding offer of $1.2 billion -- 60 per cent of the total capital the bank aimed to raise. A lack of enthusiasm was seen among investors after the bank last month declared the list of prospective investors. Investors' doubts over Braich stemmed from the fact that he has been involved in a number of bankruptcy, lawsuits and failed business deals. IANS had also reported last month that Braich and his Hong-Kong-based SPGP fund was not even able to pay up Rs 2 crore for earnest money in the Reid & Taylor bid under NCLT earlier this year. The SPGP has also been involved in a few lawsuits, including one against the Canadian government. Yes Bank, however, after its 5 hour long board meet on Friday, said that it is willing to "favourably consider the offer of $500 Million of CitaxHoldings and Citax Investment Group and the final decision regarding allotment to follow in the next board meeting.." as "the relevant conditions precedent could not be completed as on date". In a regulatory filing, Yes Bank said that it will raise funds upto Rs 10,000 crore, in one or more tranches "on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit, by way of issuance of securities including but not limited through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) or Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) among other means". Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A research report on Cellulite Treatment Market 2019 Industry Research Report. This is a key document as far as the clients and industries are concerned to not only understand the competitive market status that exists currently but also what future holds for it in the upcoming period, i.e., between 2018 and 2027. The report has categorized in terms of region, type, key industries, and application. Global Cellulite Treatment Market revenue was xx.xx Million USD in 2013, grew to xx.xx Million USD in 2017, and will reach xx.xx Million USD in 2027, with a CAGR of x.x% during 2018-2027. Major Geographical Regions The study report on Global Cellulite Treatment Market 2018 would cover every big geographical, as well as, sub-regions throughout the world. The report has focused on market size, value, product sales and opportunities for growth in these regions. The market study has analyzed the competitive trend apart from offering valuable insights to clients and industries. These data will undoubtedly help them to plan their strategy so that they could not only expand but also penetrate into a market. The researchers have analyzed the competitive advantages of those involved in the industries or in the Cellulite Treatment Market. While historical years were taken as 2013 2017, the base year for the study was 2017. Similarly, the report has given its projection for the year 2018 apart from the outlook for years 2018 2027. Like any other research material, the report has covered key geographical regions such as Europe, Japan, United States, India, Southeast Asia and Europe. Researchers have given their opinion or insights of value, product sales, and industry share besides availability opportunities to expand in those regions. As far as the sub-regions, North America, Canada, Medico, Australia, Asia-Pacific, India, South Korea, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe, Russia, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa are included. Request for Report Sample: http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/sample/494 Key Segments: By Treatment Procedure Non-Invasive Minimally Invasive Topical Treatment By Cellulite Soft Cellulite Hard Cellulite Edematous Cellulite By End-User Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers Specialized Dermatology Clinics By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific South America Middle East and Africa The Key Players Profiled in the Report are as follows Request for Report More Information@ http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/enquiry/494 Some major players of the cellulite treatment market are Cutera, Cynosure, Nestle, Merz, Fosun Pharmaceutical, Mentor Worldwide, Syneron Medical, and Allergan. The objective of the researchers is to find out sales, value, and status of the Cellulite Treatment Market at the international levels. While the status covers the years of 2013 17, the forecast is for the period 2018 2027 that will enable market players to not only plan but also execute strategies based on the market needs. The study wanted to focus on key manufacturers, competitive landscape, and SWOT analysis for Cellulite Treatment Market. Apart from looking into the geographical regions, the report concentrated on key trends and segments that are either driving or preventing the growth of the industry. Researchers have also focused on individual growth trend besides their contribution to the overall market. Report Objectives: Analysis of the global Cellulite Treatment Market size by value and volume. To accurately calculate the market segments, consumption, and other dynamic factors of the various sections of the Global Cellulite Treatment Market. Determination of the key dynamics of the global Cellulite Treatment Market. To highlight key trends in the global Cellulite Treatment Market in terms of manufacturing, revenue and sales. To summarize the top players of Global Cellulite Treatment Market and show how they compete in the industry. Study of industry processes and costs, product pricing and various trends associated with them. To showcase the performance of different regions and countries in the Global Cellulite Treatment Market. Make an Inquiry before Buying@ http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/buy/494 The longstanding vision of flying cars is close to becoming a reality owing to a series of technological advancements and social trends, ranging from ridesharing, electric cars to autonomous vehicles and beyond. According to insights provided by Deloitte, flying cars can revolutionize modern day transportation by creating a more integrated system that is faster and cleaner than traditional systems. Although the development of flying cars is still in its early stages, some early entrants to this market such as Uber UBER and Airbus have been engaged in experimenting on related technologies. In fact, many flying cars have already passed the design phase and are currently testing and prototyping. Urban Mobility is Getting Revolutionized Autonomous vehicle technology achieved rapid progress in 2019, with the launch of vehicles featuring Level-2 and Level-3 functionalities. In fact, Goldman Sachs believes that semi-autonomous cars (Level 4) are likely to be on road in the next 1-2 years. While most industries are yet to come to grips with such automation in terrestrial mobility, advancements in flying cars and passenger drones are likely to add a whole new dimension to this landscape. Per a report from Silicon Valley Business Journal, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) space holds the potential to take away a sizable chunk of market share from both ground-based transportation networks and the helicopter industry. Moreover, these next-gen vehicles are based on electric or hybrid-electric designs, with reduced or zero emissions. This makes them much more energy efficient than aviation vehicles. Automotive, aerospace and technology companies are progressing rapidly with developing On Demand UAM, Air Taxis, Vertical Take Off & Landing (VTOL) and Electric Vertical Take Off & Landing (eVTOL) as well as fully autonomous air vehicles. In fact, most prototype flying cars being developed are capable of VTOL. However, before VTOLs can operate in any country, they will need to comply with regulations from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Nevertheless, Reportlinker highlights that there has been some movement by authorities that allows the technologies to be trialed. Players Venturing Into Flying Cars Realm Uber and Hyundai have collaborated for developing a network of air taxis as part of the Uber Elevate project. While, Hyundai will produce and deploy the eVTOL aircrafts, Uber will provide airspace support, ground operations as well as app support for booking flights. Commercial operations are likely to get launched in 2023.The vehicles will initially have a pilot and eventually go fully autonomous. According to the Fortune, Uber is working with NASA and a several manufacturers, including Textron, Bell and Joby Aviation, for the flying car project. Prototypes by Kitty Hawk, a flying car startup developed by Sebastian Thrun and Alphabets GOOGL Google, also holds a lot of promise. Currently in the testing phase, Kitty Hawks flying car models are being applauded for its sheer ultralight design. Story continues Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus Intel INTC is currently working on its Volocopter 2Xs design. According to a Digital trends report, Volocopter has been selected by Dubai for its upcoming air taxi fleet. The prototype Volocopter has displayed the 2X in Singapore in October 2019, by taking it on a two-minute flight. Markedly, Intel and Toyota have also invested in Joby Aviation to develop an electric air taxi based on the VTOL concept. Intel Corporation Price and Consensus Intel Corporation Price and Consensus According to an article by Forbes, Tesla TSLA is likely to make headway into the flying cars arena. CEO Elon Musk has plans to add thrusters to a new version of the Tesla Roadster car, thereby enabling the vehicle to fly. Tesla, Inc. Price and Consensus Tesla, Inc. Price and Consensus Some other notable ventures in the flying cars arena are Project Vahana from Airbus, AeroMobils prototype and SureFly by Workhorse. Although Amazon AMZN is currently not working on any flying car project, it is investing in drones for package delivery to improve efficiency in deliveries and internal logistics. As the company advances on this front, it is expected that it may venture into the flying cars arena as well. Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus Wrapping it up, we expect that the potential of flying cars, passenger drones and electric air taxis to run on lower operating and maintenance costs as well as pare road-based transportation issues will attract more funding in the forthcoming period. Zacks Rank While Alphabet and Tesla carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Uber, Intel and Amazon have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Click to get this free report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Intel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. In past legislative sessions, many public school advocates asked for timely and adequate aid from lawmakers for the states schools. But the strategy hasnt paid off, Iowa City Community School District board Vice President Shawn Eyestone said. Costs of operating that district, on average, increase 4.4 percent annually. The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature last session increased funding for K-12 education in Iowa by 2.1 percent an increase of almost $80 million, to a total of $3.3 billion for schools and by 1.1 percent and 1 percent in the years before. Weve been conditioned to expect a really small number, Eyestone said. We need 4.5 percent, so were going to ask for it. We might not get it, but we dont need to be happy about that. As legislators return to Des Moines for a session that starts Monday, many other education advocates including members of the Iowa City school board are being more specific about the funding levels they say are required to adequately educate the more than 490,000 students in Iowas public schools. Gov. Kim Reynolds, in an interview with The Gazette, declined to say how much funding she will recommend for public schools when she gives her Condition of the State address Tuesday. But she said education remains a top priority of her administration. Even in really tough budget years, we didnt cut when we asked everybody else to play a role in helping us with reductions, she said. Last session, in addition to the increase to State Supplemental Aid, some schools received more funds to balance transportation costs and per-pupil funding inequities among districts. In sum, those equaled $96 million for schools, Reynolds said. You add in some of those other components on top of that (School Supplemental Aid), and we were putting a lot of money into education and into our young people that we should, she said. Theyre our greatest asset, thats our future. She said she expects to discuss more funding for transportation and per-pupil inequities this year, but that State Supplemental Aid remains the main building block for Iowa school budgets. To the School Administrators of Iowa which represents 2,000 administrators across the state that pool of funding needs to be increased this session by 3.75 percent. The organization has, for years, not asked for a specific percentage increase in recognition of the challenges of the state budget, said Executive Director Roark Horn. However, he said, funding from the state has not kept up with schools needs since fiscal 2016, when aid was increased by 1.25 percent. Like Iowa City schools, the Cedar Rapids Community School District has seen expenses increase by 2.5 percent over the past decade while the district said its state aid has decreased by 2 percent as its enrollment has declined. We need to communicate with legislators that more funding is needed if education is going to continue to be a top priority in this state, Horn said. The 3.75 percent increase request lets lawmakers know what school leaders need to meet costs and attract and retain quality educators. Although funding levels have yet to be set, the speaker of the Iowa House said he expects to start debate on school aid, per-pupil equity funding and transportation equity dollars early in the session. I think youre going to see those three things in conjunction being debated fairly quickly in succession, to provide certainty to our school districts, Rep. Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told The Gazette. ... The only commitment, as I sit here today, is that were going to do everything we can to get this done as fast as we can and, obviously, look for what the recommendations will be from the governor and work from there. Gazette reporters James Q. Lynch and Rod Boshart of The Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Malacanang on Friday denounced the US Senate's move to seek sanctions for Filipino officials involved in alleged human rights violations, calling it a form of bullying. President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, in a statement expressed the Palace's disappointment over the US Senate's approval of Resolution No. 142. This measure calls on President Donald Trump to deny US entry to and freeze the assets of Philippine government officials behind alleged extrajudicial killings in the country and the contested detention of Senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's bloody war on drugs. It also urged the Philippine government to immediately release De Lima and drop all charges against Maria Ressa and online news site Rappler cases that are perceived to be part of the Duterte administration's crackdown on its critics. "These latest actions of the US Senate are a form of bullying on the part of a particular institution of a foreign country. We will not be bullied by any foreign country or by its officials, specially by misinformed and gullible politicians who grandstand at our expense," Panelo said. He reiterated that there are no state-sanctioned killings and that the more or less 6,000 deaths in the drug war were suspects who resisted arrest and fought back against the police. On the cases of De Lima and Ressa, Panelo repeated these are now being tried by the country's independent courts and have nothing to do with their criticisms of the administration. 'We won't accept help from meddlers' The US resolution also urged Trump to make sure the country's forces are providing the Philippine National Police security assistance fully consistent with human rights conditions set by America's laws. Malacanang, however, hinted at rejecting help from its longstanding ally. "[O]ur policy is not to accept any foreign assistance conditioned upon the permission of interference with the internal policies or affairs of the Philippines. We will decline offers that go against this policy," Panelo said. PH-US ties Earlier, four American senators said their bipartisan resolution should lead to the end of human rights violations in the Philippines and not to the severance of ties between Washington and Manila. READ: US senators: PH a steadfast ally, but it must end rights abuses Duterte got back at some of them, including US Senators Edward Markey and Richard Durbin, by banning them from entering the Philippines. Another senator, Patrick Leahy, can no longer longer set foot in Manila as well, for proposing to ban De Lima's accusers an amendment that was passed along with US' 2020 budget. Malacanang has said the government would require all Americans to secure a visa before entering the Philippines regardless of the purpose and length of their visit if the U.S. enforces the ban on Filipino officials. At present, U.S. citizens visiting the Philippines for not more than 30 days do not need a visa. READ: 'Just tit for tat': Gov't bans 2 US senators, threatens to require visa for all Americans The U.S. Senate wants sanctions for human rights violators in the Philippine government pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. This American law allows Washington to punish foreign officials implicated in significant corruption and gross human rights violations in any part of the world. The U.S. President has 120 days to decide on requests to impose sanctions on foreigners. Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:12:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The chief of Iran's Aviation Organization on Friday rejected reports that a missile hit the Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran's airspace on Wednesday. "We are sure that no missile hit the Ukrainian plane," Ali Abedzadeh told reporters. The plane on fire was flying 90 seconds in the air, Abedzadeh said. Besides, the direction and spot of the plane crash shows the pilot was trying to turn back to the airport, he added. Asked why the pilot did not inform the airport of the return of the plane, he said the pilot "did not have time to contact as he had to save the plane." "Any comment on a missile strike at the plane is not an expert view," Abedzadeh noted, dismissing the claims by the U.S. and Canadian officials about the possibility of the plane being hit by a missile. The cause of the passenger plane crash will be announced "after reading the black box," the Iranian official said. Iran is able to read the data of black box, Abedzadeh said, adding it requires since it is damaged, But since the balck box is damaged, Iran needs particular software and hardware not available in Iran to read it, he stressed. Iran might ask for assistance from other countries to recover the data of the black box, the official said. Preliminary findings have been offered to the United States as the manufacturer of the plane and to Sweden and Canada following their request, Abedzadeh revealed. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane with 176 people on board crashed near Iran's catpial Tehran, which coincided with Iran's missile attack on the U.S. military base in Iraq. All the 176 aboard were killed in the accident. Brits spend most of their time slacking off at work scrolling through social media. Photo: Caspar Camille Rubin/Unsplash The average amount of time that workers spend not working is just over 5 hours per week, or 37 days per year, a survey has found. But one in five workers admitted to spending over half their time at work thats 20 hours per week not lifting a finger. Those missing work hours leaves a 294bn hole in the UK economy, according the research by Casino Kings. READ MORE: The 10 UK cities with the laziest workers It appears that most UK workers have the skill of not working at work pretty nailed down, but what exactly are they doing when they are not grafting? The modern world is full of enticing distractions, whether it be from social media, friends constantly messaging or simply a good old natter about what they did at the weekend with their colleagues. YouTube is by far the favourite activity of the average workplace skiver, with 19% of workers spending over an hour per day watching videos while at work. READ MORE: Why we should be "coasting" at work Other things that employees like to do to kill an hour in the office every day is to make hot drinks, have idle chit-chat, browse Instagram and smoke or vape. Its not only at their desks that workers see the opportunity to skive. Employees admitted to taking unnecessary toilet breaks when they want to check Facebook, message a friend or to simply skive off work. In fact, nearly one in five employees like a nice break of over 30 minutes per day at the water closet, while most workers choose to spend between 5 and 10 minutes sitting on the toilet when they shouldnt be. READ MORE: Nine signs you're slacking off at work Every single employee surveyed admitted to skiving at the toilet at some point during an average workday. But what do workers like to do when they are skiving at the toilet? Well, 8% said it was simply to get away from their colleagues, but most had a specific thing in mind once they entered the safe space of the lavatory, free from annoying work colleagues and overzealous bosses. Story continues Social media was far and away the preferred choice of worker toilet skive activities. A huge 61% said they regularly check Facebook while killing time in the toilet, followed by Instagram and checking in with friends on WhatsApp. READ MORE: The top 20 ways Britons slack off at work Another 12% of employees like to fill their unnecessary toilet breaks with mobile games such as Angry Birds, Candy Crush and Clash of Clans. She has been taking to the stage in a new play in recent months. But before the second leg of the tour kicks off, Gemma Oaten enjoyed a glamorous night out at the the Gold Movie Awards at Regent Street Cinema in London. The former Emmerdale star, 35, dressed to impress in an off-the-shoulder black dress as she walked the red carpet at the ceremony on Thursday evening. Wow! Gemma Oaten enjoyed a glamorous night out at the the Gold Movie Awards at Regent Street Cinema in London The soap star teamed her elegant number with a pair of towering strappy metallic heels and a matching clutch bag in the same glitzy hue. Gemma wore her highlighted blonde tresses in a pretty up do and sported a full face of make-up, including a bright pink lipstick which offered a pop of colour. Gemma has been starring as Sophie in a tour of the play Ten Times Table, which is about a committee of ten people gathered in the market town of Pendon. They are trying to plan a folk festival, based on the old recorded massacre of agricultural workers by the military when they protested and asked for a pay rise. Glam: The former Emmerdale star, 35, dressed to impress in an off-the-shoulder black dress as she walked the red carpet at the ceremony on Thursday evening Gemma hasn't been linked to anyone in recent months, since she told MailOnline in November 2018 that she's been 'completely destroyed by dating 'narcissistic men.' 'I think I, unfortunately, have had a really bad run of luck,' she admitted. 'I think there's a massive increase in narcissism in this culture at the minute, where you get love-bombed and gas-lit, and the man or woman involved, walks away leaving the person absolutely destroyed. 'And just because someone dumps or leaves someone, they look like the bad guy. When actually they've found the strength to walk away.' Killer! The soap star teamed her elegant number with a pair of towering strappy metallic heels and a matching clutch bag in the same glitzy hue Gemma split from her panto co-star Stuart Earp in August 2018 after a four month romance, after she questioned his loyalty. In April the same year, she split from boyfriend Scott Walker, who she moved in with after three months of dating. Gemma told MailOnline: 'I don't know why I've been gravitating towards the wrong men, or why they've chosen me. Blonde beauty: Gemma wore her highlighted blonde tresses in a pretty up do and sported a full face of make-up, including a bright pink lipstick which offered a pop of colour 'But, I do think that the rise in narcissism and cluster B personality type is worrying. 'I'm not perfect, I'm far from it. There are, I guarantee you, so many men and women cross the country, who've just been made to feel like they're the ones losing the plot.' Gemma said she doesn't want to come across as bitter and twisted but says she's turned her back on love for now, explaining: 'I'm totally single right now. I don't need to find a man. I need to find my strength in myself again, in all honesty. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Ramu Patil By Express News Service BENGALURU: Indias biggest toy manufacturing cluster is coming up near Koppal in North Karnataka, looking to tap a huge export market, exploiting the ongoing US-China trade war. The facility, spread across 255 acres in a Banapura village near Koppal, 350 km from Bengaluru, will be the first of its kind in India, housing toy manufacturers from India and abroad. The project will put the district, already known for Kinhal toys and traditional wooden craft, on the national map. We are working with Aequs Aerospace, a global aerospace and defence manufacturing firm, to set up the facility which will be operational in a year. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will spur the economic activities in the region, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar told TNIE. An official from the Industries Department said land has been acquired for the SEZ. Toy manufacturing firms from India and abroad will enter into joint ventures with Aequs Aerospace to set up their manufacturing units. A Chinese firm has already come forward to invest Rs 1,500 crore. The SEZ notification will be issued by the Central government any time now, following which construction work will start, the official said. Aequs Aerospace is venturing into toy manufacturing as there is no organized set-up in the country in this sector. You name any kind of toy, over 80 per cent of sourcing is done from China. Now, players are looking at India as a favourite destination after China, which is also getting saturated, said the company official. There is a lot of support from the state government for the initiative and a full-fledged ecosystem will be developed by 2021, he said, adding that as a proof of concept, Aequs already has a toy manufacturing facility at its Belagavi unit. Many toy manufacturers from China and Vietnam are expected to set up their manufacturing plants at the Koppal SEZ. We are targeting high-end electronic toys, which have movement through electronic operations. That is the future of toys, the official said. Europe and US will be the major export markets for the companies at the SEZ. Initially, it is expected to generate employment for around 20,000 people, and once it is fully developed it is expected to provide employment to around one lakh people. Other clusters being developed by the state government are textile manufacturing cluster in Ballari, mobile phone components manufacturing cluster in Chikkaballapura, LED lights manufacturing cluster in Chitradurga, agricultural implements manufacturing cluster in Bidar, tiles manufacturing cluster in Hassan, and printed circuit boards manufacturing cluster in Mysuru. The clusters set up by Karnataka Government will be enabled with world-class industrial infrastructure that includes plug & play facility, ready-built sheds and 24X7 power supply. With these clusters, the state government will expand its industrial development footprint and contribute substantially to the countrys economic growth, said Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department. The agency is likely to recommend that people who can consistently wear N95 or KN95 masks, rather than cloth masks, should do so. Coming Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. ET U.S. conflict with Iran: What you need to read Heres what you need to know to understand what this moment means in U.S.-Iran relations. What happened: President Trump ordered a drone strike near the Baghdad airport, killing Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Irans most powerful military commander and leader of its special-operations forces abroad. Who was Soleimani: As the leader of the Revolutionary Guard Corps elite Quds Force, Soleimani was key in supporting and coordinating with Irans allies across the region, especially in Iraq. Soleimanis influence was imprinted on various Shiite militias that fought U.S. troops. How we got here: Tensions had been escalating between Iran and the United States since Trump pulled out of an Obama-era nuclear deal, and they spiked shortly before the airstrike. The strikes that killed Soleimani were carried out after the death of a U.S. contractor in a rocket attack against a military base in Kirkuk, Iraq, that the United States blamed on Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia. What happens next: Iran responded to Soleimanis death by launching missile strikes at two bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq. No casualties were reported. In an address to the nation, Trump announced that new sanctions will be imposed on Tehran. Ask a question: What do you want to know about the strike and its aftermath? Submit a question or read previous Q&As with Post reporters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:04:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui said Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Myanmar next week will further enrich the content of and start a new era of China-Myanmar relations. Luo made the remarks at a press briefing on Xi's upcoming visit. At the invitation of President U Win Myint of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Xi will pay a state visit to Myanmar from Jan. 17 to 18. This will be Xi's first overseas tour this year, and it will also mark the first visit to Myanmar by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years, said Luo, noting that the visit also coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Myanmar is a friendly neighbor of China. At present, the two countries share high-level political mutual trust, in-depth economic cooperation, and close coordination on international and regional issues, said Luo. He said that China-Myanmar "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship gains vitality with the passage of time and enjoys lasting charms, and the two countries have high-level people-to-people exchanges. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 70 years ago, the two countries have constantly developed ties on the basis of mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual assistance, and have established a model of harmonious coexistence and win-win cooperation between countries of different sizes. According to Luo, during the visit, Xi will attend a series of state events held by his Myanmar counterpart, hold talks with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and attend a bilateral cooperation document exchange ceremony and a banquet held by Aung San Suu Kyi. Xi will also meet with Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing, exchange views with the leaders of Myanmar's parliament and political parties, and attend, together with leaders of Myanmar, activities marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties and the launching ceremony of the China-Myanmar culture and tourism year. The two sides will also issue a joint statement. Luo said the two sides will summarize the experience of exchanges between the two countries, chart the course for future development, further enrich the content of bilateral relations, make efforts to build a community of shared future for China and Myanmar, and start a new era of China-Myanmar relations. The two sides will also discuss deepening high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and promote the transition of the China-Myanmar economic corridor from conceptual planning to substantive construction, to achieve progress in major connectivity projects. Moreover, the two sides will also expand people-to-people exchanges to cement a social foundation for the development of ties. Xi's upcoming visit will uplift the positioning of political relations, deepen connectivity cooperation, advance the construction of the China-Myanmar economic corridor, and promote China-Myanmar relations to a higher level, said Luo. The City of Winnipeg released drone footage of firefighters working on a fire in a vacant, boarded-up apartment building at 426 Maryland Street. The building will be demolished following the blaze, which was the third fire in the building in a year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The City of Winnipeg released drone footage of firefighters working on a fire in a vacant, boarded-up apartment building at 426 Maryland Street. The building will be demolished following the blaze, which was the third fire in the building in a year. Lord Alton of Liverpool has written to the BBC challenging a report that an orphanage for unwanted children which was forcibly closed by the Kano state authorities was functioning illegally. He has also highlighted the case in a letter to the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK). On 25 December, Professor Richard Solomon Musa Tarfa, the co-founder of the Du Merci Centre in the Kano state capital, was detained by authorities . A report by BBC Pidgin reporter Mansur Abubakar, published on the BBC News website at 14.41 on 9 January, stated that police in northern Nigeria had rescued 27 children from two illegal orphanages operating in Kano and Kaduna states, quoting police spokesman Abdullahi Haruna. According to credible local reports, while Professor Tarfa was initially held for not having a licence to operate an orphanage, the charges were subsequently changed to criminal abduction of minors after his wife produced the requisite documentation proving registration. On 3 January, the professors bail terms were set at N5 million (approximately USD13,800) and included the provision that one of his sureties must be employed as an undersecretary in a federal ministry. So far he has been unable to meet these stipulations and remains detained. Professor Tarfas wife, with whom he co-founded the orphanage, was also briefly detained and released on the same day. However, 19 children residing in the orphanage in Kano were transported to the Nasarawa Childrens Home. Eight children who were seized in a subsequent raid on the Du Merci branch in Kaduna state on 31 December were also transported to the same location. In the letter to the BBC, Lord Alton writes: In 2002, and following the intervention of the late Emir of Kano and a legal challenge in the wake of a similar raid, a High Court ruled that the Du Merci Centre was duly registered and was conducting a legitimate endeavour. It also ordered the return of the children who had been seized. A copy of this ruling is also available easily. Lord Alton has also written to the Nigerian High Commission in the UK, following up on earlier letters sent to the Police Commissioner and Attorney General of Kano state, which are yet to receive a response. Professor Tarfa and his wife opened the Du Merci Centre in 1996 to care for abandoned children in the Christian District of Sabon Gari. The centre provides accommodation for these children, who view them as parents and are educated and cared for until they are able to live successful independent lives. It also accommodates young women who are pregnant out of wedlock, until they give birth, reconciling them whenever possible with parents who had rejected them due to social stigma. CSWs Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: CSW welcomes the intervention made by Lord Alton to counter the false claim that the Du Merci orphanage was operating illegally. The orphanage is duly registered and keeps records on how each child came to be there, documentation that could have easily be verified by a thorough investigation. The court ruling of 2002 verifying the legality of the orphanage could also have been accessed prior to the unchallenged publication of a false narrative. The excessive charges against Professor Tarfa are completely unfounded and we urge the Kano state authorities to facilitate his release without pre-condition. In the current era of fake news the need for careful research and factual reporting that challenges disinformation is more important than ever. For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press and Public Affairs Team Leader at CSW on +44 (0)782 332 9663 or email [email protected] . CSW is a human rights organisation specialising in freedom of religion or belief. We work on over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. www.csw.org.uk P resident Donald Trump has expressed sympathy for the Queen after Harry and Meghan said they were "stepping back" from royal duties, calling the pair's decision to quit "sad". Mr Trump waded into the royal family's fallout while speaking on Fox News 'The Ingraham Angle' on Friday. Showing his support for Queen Elizabeth II, Mr Trump said: "I just have such respect for the Queen, I don't think this should be happening to her." While he insisted he did not "want to get into the whole thing", he did not hide his disappointment in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The couple made a bombshell announcement on Wednesday that they intended to quit public life and would work to become financially independent. Asked by host Laura Ingraham if he had any advice for dealing with "rogue royals", Trump said: "I think its sad. I do. I think its sad. "Shes a great woman," he added, appearing to be talking about the Queen. "Shes never made a mistake if you look. I mean, shes had like a flawless time," he said. Harry and Meghan have said they are planning to split their time between the UK and US in the future. In a statement, they said: "We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,' the couple said in a written public statement. "We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment." Urgent talks between the households are taking place / AP The revelation was met with shock and dismay not just by much of the public but by Buckingham Palace who released an unprecedented statement that said the Queen was "disappointed" and "hurt". After a meeting at Sandringham, the Queen is reported to have asked Harry not to make the announcement this week, but the Prince ignored his family's wishes. Prince Charles, the second in line for the throne, and Prince William, the third in line, were said to have only been told about the decision 10 minutes before they went public. Talks commenced soon after between the royal households to try and reach agreement on how the new arrangement might work. On Friday evening, a source close to the Duke and Duchess said the pair were "hopeful" discussions would find a workable solution "sooner rather than later". They broke their silence for the first time since they made the announcement in an Instagram post sharing a picture of their private visit to The Hubb Community Kitchen near Grenfell Tower, last week. WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Climate experts from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will release their annual assessment of global temperatures and discuss the major climate trends of 2019 during a media teleconference at 12:15 p.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 15. The briefing will take place at the 100th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting in Boston. The teleconference participants are: Gavin Schmidt , director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York , director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Deke Arndt , chief of the global monitoring branch of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina Media can participate in the teleconference by calling 800-369-2090 (toll-free in the United States and Canada) or 1-203-827-7030 (international) and use the passcode CLIMATE. Audio of the briefing with supporting graphics will stream live at: http://www.nasa.gov/live The supporting graphics will also be available at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/briefings NASA and NOAA are two keepers of the world's temperature data and independently produce a record of Earth's surface temperatures and changes based on historical observations over oceans and land. For more information about NASA's Earth science programs, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/earth SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov The bulls remained steady on Dalal Street for the second consecutive session on January 10, powering the Nifty to a new high, but closed off day's high. The BSE Sensex rallied 323 points intraday, but half of those gains wiped out in afternoon and closed 147.37 points higher at 41,599.72. The Nifty50 touched an intraday record high of 12,311.20, before closing 40.90 points higher at 12,256.80. The rally was not limited to benchmark indices, it also continued in broader markets. The Nifty Midcap index gained 0.4 percent and the Smallcap index was up 0.8 percent amid positive breadth. "The government is poised to bring initiatives and policy measures to support the economic growth to benefit equities in the long term. Meanwhile, the short-term market trend will be driven by events like Q3 results, which are expected to show some improvement due to low base," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services ,told Moneycontrol. Five key factors that drove Nifty to record high: US-China trade deal The US-China trade deal, the biggest factor affecting global markets for more than 16 months, is expected to be signed in a less than a week, which lifted sentiment. US President Donald Trump, who announced in December that the Phase 1 trade deal with China would be signed on January 15, said on January 9 the agreement could be signed "shortly thereafter", Reuters said. The Phase 1 deal is expected to reduce tariffs and boost Chinese purchases of American farm, energy and manufactured goods while addressing some disputes over intellectual property. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, head of the country's negotiating team in trade talks with the US, will sign the deal in Washington, the Reuters said, quoting China's commerce ministry. Liu will visit Washington from January 13-15, said Gao Feng, spokesman at the commerce ministry. Reports also suggested that the United States is expected to start negotiations a phase 2 deal. Globally, markets continued to trade in positive amid hope of the trade deal. Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.3-0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite closed flat. Budget expectations The Budget 2020 is one of major reasons for the rally, as the street expects more strong measures considering the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stress on reviving the economy to help achieve $5 trillion target by 2024. On economic worries, government has announced slew of measures in an attempt to arrest economic slowdown; which we believe will continue in future including budget," Prasanna Pathak, Head-Equity & Fund Manager, Taurus Mutual Fund, said. According to Nikhil Gupta, chief Economist at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, if the government can come out clean on its fiscal math and improve its credibility and relevance, markets will definitely cheer that. Stability in crude The stability in crude oil prices after easing of geopolitical tensions also supported the market. India is the world's third-largest oil importer and any rise or fall in the prices has a direct impact on fiscal, corporate earnings and the currency. International benchmark Brent crude futures continued to trade around $65 per barrel for second straight session, after falling from $70 a barrel. The Indian rupee also recovered further, appreciating 20 paise from previous close to trade at 71.01 a dollar at the time of publishing this copy. It gained 93 paise since the closing of 71.94/dollar on January 6. Infosys earnings The country's second largest IT services provider Infosys will announce its third quarter earnings later in the day. The stock gained nearly 2 percent, which also lifted sentiment. Most brokerages expect the company to report more than 1 percent growth in constant currency revenue and 1.2-1.5 percent growth in dollar revenue in Q3FY20 on sequential basis. EBIT margin is expected to expand by more than 50 percent QoQ. The full year constant currency revenue guidance of 9-10 percent is likely to be changed if the company beats Q3 revenue expectations, they said. Technical View The Nifty50 closed higher but formed small bodied bearish candle on daily charts as the closing was lower than opening value. Experts expect the rally to continue in the coming days along with consolidation and the index to move towards 12,400 levels. "It seems that markets have digested recent geopolitical concerns and has managed to defend key support zone of 11,90011,800 in the midst of an uncertainty. We have already witnessed a v-shaped recovery in last three days and in the course of action, the Nifty has managed to clock fresh record highs beyond yet another milestone of 12,300. We remain sanguine and expect the Nifty to continue its march towards 12,40012,500 in the near term," Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives at Angel Broking said. A newly announced research survey promises to shake up how the K-12 education field understands districts approaches to topics like curriculum, teaching supports, and social-emotional learning. Funded by a $4.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the RAND Corporation and two partners are creating an ongoing survey of both traditional school districts and charter management organizations. The work complements RANDs existing American Teacher Panel and American School Leader Panel, which respectively survey teachers and principals over time . This new collection, to be titled the American School District Panel, may not seem like a big deal, but heres why you should sit up and pay attention: Most of the data we currently have on school districts and their practices, from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources, comes from snapshots administered to a large sample of districts at one point in time. Even if each of these snapshots is nationally representative, you have to be cautious with apparent trends or patterns because the districts comprising each snapshot are different from survey to survey. (That doesnt mean that these are bad collectionsjust that theyre limited in this way.) The new collection will survey the same districts at several points each yearin research jargon, it will be longitudinal"so analyses of changes and trends over time will be more sound. This is not easy to do technically, especially when you consider the difficulties of coming up with a nationally representative sample and weighting it appropriately. After all, theres not really such a thing as an average district in the United States: There are 14,000 of them of all shapes, sizes, and configurations. Large, urban districts educate a high proportion of U.S. students, yet more than 50 percent of school districts serve fewer than 1,000 students. And then theres the difficulty of getting harried administrators to respond to these queries. One challenge that Ive heard from many, many district supes is that they are interested in contributing, but dont want to take long surveys, said Laura Hamilton, co-director of RANDs existing survey panels and distinguished chair in learning and assessment at the organization. I think well struggle with the desire to ask about a lot of topics and have a lot of detail, and figure out a way that its not a burden for folks answering the surveys. The new survey will have one major difference from RANDs principal and teacher panels. Those instruments focus on specific people, and so the same people respond to each survey. The ASDP will allow different administrators within the same district to respond, based on the topic. This makes some sense given that a person with financial expertise in a district is usually a different one from the curriculum director or the director of student services. The panel will also oversample from districts with large proportions of black and Hispanic students so their experiences are well represented in the survey. RAND will partner with the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research and advocacy group known for sharp analyses of district and charter school management, and Kitamba, a project-management firm. Our goal is to make this useful to the field, and by the field, I dont just mean researchers and journalists. I mean district leaders and the people who support districts, Hamilton said. We dont want to put out traditional research reportswe want to think about ways to engage the people in the data, and we want that data to help in day-to-day decisionmaking, not just advancing the research. The Gates Foundation also provides general operating support to Education Week, which retains sole editorial control. New Surveys, New Insights So, just what topics might the survey cover? Its not clear yet. An advisory panel will meet later this month to start hashing those out. But given Gates focus on improving curriculum and some of RANDs other work on social-emotional learning, those two topics are pretty much sure bets. Thats encouraging, because there are a lot of holes in our understanding of how policies and guidance flow from central offices through schools into the classroom. RANDs past survey work has had a lot of impact. The teacher panel in particular has become well known for its work in identifying where teachers find the curriculum materials they use and whether the materials are highly rated on independent measures . Its reports in the wake of the Common Core State Standards, for example, gave pretty much the only national picture of what purportedly aligned published curricula teachers were using in their classrooms. And the survey has identified some troubling trends, toolike the fact that huge numbers of teachers use Google, Pinterest, and lesson-sharing sites to develop lessons , even though such sources can be extremely variable in quality. As for principals, my colleague Maddy Will recently noted that RANDs data showed that principals almost uniformly said that teachers had a role in shaping important schooling decisions and felt empowered to voice their concerns, while far fewer teachers said they could do those things. Those kinds of data help to illuminate the underreported sociological dynamics at work in school buildings. (Some budding Ph.D. should do a dissertation on this phenomenon if there isnt already one out there.) The organizations plan to put the first survey out to its panel in the fall. They will simultaneously begin qualitative studies designed to align with and complement the surveys in the spring. Image: Getty Darryl Ames stood near the customer service counter as shoppers approached the longtime store manager to share their favorite memories of Beldens. Renee Waghalter, 51, recalled driving to the Meyerland grocery store with her friends during her senior year at Bellaire High School to grab lunch from the salad bar. Carol Hale, 88, reminisced about the friendly staff, including Ames who once gave her a stray cat found by his children. A couple of customers joked they still have their black- and white-colored check cashing cards that went out of vogue a decade ago. Im so sorry youre closing, Waghalter told Ames. Ive been coming here since I was a teenager. We appreciate all the business, Ames replied. Beldens, a Meyerland institution for more than a half century, joins a long list of independent grocers in Houston such as Weingartens, Lewis & Coker and Continental Finer Foods that have shuttered amid changing consumer tastes and mounting competition from larger corporate chains that have muscled into the market. Rice Epicurean, the more than 80-year-old family-owned gourmet grocer, closed four of its five stores in 2012. Gerlands was acquired by Houston-based Food Town in 2015. On HoustonChronicle.com: Pioneer Japanese retailer Daido bows out as larger competitors enter Houston market The market has shown that it likes large, new stores, Beldens owner Rick Belden said. Independent stores have diminished over time as the big stores have replaced the little ones. Indeed, H-E-B later this month is expected to open a 95,000-square-foot grocery store in Meyerland Plaza to replace its smaller neighborhood store that for years sat across from Beldens. H-E-B, Kroger and Whole Foods have opened stores in nearby Bellaire. However, recent floods, which have devastated Meyerland but spared the longtime grocer, were the final straw that pushed Beldens out of business. Many local residents, battered by three major floods in as many years, have moved away and stopped shopping at Beldens. Grocery sales have dropped significantly, Belden said, declining to share specifics. At the heart, we were always a neighborhood business, dependent on the strength of the neighborhood, Belden said. Harvey was the ultimate blow. This is a neighborhood that is going to take time to recover. Nearly 70-year run Joe Belden, Ricks father, opened the eponymous grocery store in 1951, which operated at West Bellfort and South Post Oak, just outside of Meyerland, for 35 years. When Rick took over the family business in 1987, the Meyerland native moved the store to the Braeswood Square shopping center off Braeswood and Chimney Rock, in the heart of Meyerland close to several synagogues. The 34,500-square-foot store, 99 Braeswood Square, nearly doubled the space of the original. Rick Belden envisioned the second generation of Beldens as a gourmet grocery store stocked with fresh produce and premium cuts of meat, such as milk-fed Provimi veal, farm-grown bobwhite quail and venison. Beldens over time also stocked a wide array of kosher foods -- such as gefilte fish, black olives and brined cucumbers -- to serve the local Jewish community, many of whom reside in Meyerland. We think of our stores as a food marketplace, a multi-dimensional food store, Belden told the Chronicle in January 1998. Prime Property: Get Houston real estate news sent directly to your inbox Belden tried, unsuccessfully, to expand the business beyond Meyerland. He opened a 42,000-square-foot outpost in Sugar Land in 1998, but closed operations a couple of years later amid poor sales. He also tried to acquire a former Gerlands store on Fry Road, but the deal fell through. He has since has focused his attention on the Meyerland store, making every effort to meet the needs of the neighborhood. After an electrical fire destroyed most of the stores interior in 1993, Beldens repaired the ceiling and insulation, replaced the seafood and deli counters and restocked the entire store in just six weeks. After Hurricane Ike hit Houston in 2008, Beldens was the only grocery store in the area that didnt flood, despite its proximity to Brays Bayou, and still had power. The store reopened the next day to the relief of many neighborhood residents. Storm after storm, Beldens was there for local residents in need of food and provisions. In time, Beldens became the rare kind of grocery store where shoppers knew staff by name, where the bakery department gave free cookies to children and where customers could request specialty food items that were hard to find anywhere else. Michael Bolden, 44, once asked Beldens butcher, Ruben, for several pounds of chicken skin to make gribenes, a traditional Jewish dish of crisp chicken skin cracklings that pairs well with chopped liver. Ruben wasnt sure if he could sell chicken skin without the meat, but after another customer offered to take only the meat, the butcher called Bolden to pick up his chicken skins. Where else can you do that? said Bolden, a Meyerland resident who has been shopping at Beldens for more than two decades. I dont know what Im going to do when this place closes. Im going to have to buy the chicken and slice them myself. Community impact Beldens closure, in particular, will leave a large void in Houstons close-knit Jewish community, many of whom shop at Beldens for its large inventory of kosher foods and imported Israeli products, such as Elite-branded chocolate coins, canned olives and tahini. Shoppers say Shabbat Shalom to each other, hang fliers from local synagogues and Jewish organizations on the stores windows, and buy Hebrew-language newspapers at Beldens. You feel like home when you can buy the products youre used to, said Yocheved Gilad, 34, who moved to Meyerland from from Israel with her family three years ago. In the months leading up to Passover, Beldens would stack boxes of matzo to the ceiling and bring in truckloads of kosher food to line the front section of the store. Jews from The Woodlands and Galveston, and as far away as Austin and San Antonio, make the journey each year to stock up on kosher foods for the religious holiday. On HoustonChronicle.com: Grocery wars increasingly waged online With Passover coming up in April, many Jews in Meyerland said they are worried about where they can buy kosher food in bulk once Beldens closes. Its tough to lose Beldens -- its kind of like losing family, Bolden, an Orthodox Jew, said. Im not sure how the void will be filled. H-E-B said its new Meyerland store opening at the end of January, which replaces a smaller store in Meyerland that flooded three times in recent years, will feature the chains largest kosher section. The new, two-story location will feature a kosher bakery, meat market, cafe, sushi and juices, as well as a vast assortment of kosher dry, frozen, dairy and deli goods. This store will cater to the diverse needs of the entire Meyerland community, Lisa Helfman, H-E-Bs Houston director of public affairs, said in an email. We look forward to returning to a neighborhood we have been a part of for more than 25 years and re-serving this community in a bigger, better way. Last visit On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Beldens staff dressed in black aprons with name tags checked out a steady stream of customers looking to take advantage of a 30 percent closeout sale. Carol Hale, 88, drove an hour from her Shenandoah home to shop for the last time at Beldens. The Houston native, who lived in the Meyerland area for 55 years before moving north to be closer to her children after her husband died a couple of years ago, said she liked shopping at Beldens because of its small, neighborhood feel and friendly customer service. Theyve been here forever, Hale said. People are going to miss them. Im going to miss them. paul.takahashi@chron.com twitter.com/paultakahashi A resident of Mbondoni village in Isinga location, Kangundo Sub County was Thursday charged with killing an animal and committing an unnatural act with a dog. Boniface Mutuku Munyao, 35, was arrested at his house on Wednesday by police officers after the public raised alarm. He is said to have returned home from an unknown place with the German shepherd dog on Monday. Area chief, Bethwel Kingele, said the man was living alone in an abandoned homestead. Reportedly, the accused held the canine captive in his house for several days, engaging in bestiality with the dog before killing it. He was found having sex with the dog after some neighbours noticed a foul smell since the homestead which belongs to his grandmother is abandoned, he said. In his own confession, the man said he defiled the dog for several days and later strangled the animal to death using a rope, Kingele told reporters. The chief noted that dozens of used condoms were also recovered from the scene. That is a very shameful and ungodly act which we cannot tolerate in society. Those claiming the man is of unsound mind should also tell us why he decided to use condoms on the dog, said Kingele. Neighbours also alleged that the suspect was caught two months ago engaging in bestiality with a neighbours sheep. Appearing before a Kagundo court, Mutuku denied the charges and was released on a Sh100,000 bond and a surety of the same amount. The case will be mentioned on January 22. Oddly, another man from the same village was last year arrested after being caught red-handed engaging in bestiality with a goat. : The total business volume of gems and jewellery industry has posted a 30 per cent decline in terms of demand over the last six months, a top industry official said on Friday. All India Gems and Jewellery Domestic Council Chairman Anantha Padmanabhan said business has come down by 30 per cent volume wise in last six months and workshops were not engaged while some were shutting down operations. "We have already approached the Prime Minister's Office, Home Minister (Amit Shah) and Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) to reduce imports duty and goods and service tax... business has come down by 30 per cent volume wise in last six months," he told reporters. Padmanabhan claimed that due to the increase in customs duty, goods and services tax there was anincrease in gold smuggling besides customers were also opting to purchase gold from countries like Dubai, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore. He suggested that the government during the budget for 2020 may consider reducing the import duty from the current 12.5 per cent to six per cent. Padmanabhan appealed to the government to constitute a 'steering committee' before coming out a notification making hallmarking of gold mandatory across the country from January 15, 2021. The hallmarking of jewellery is to ensure purity of precious metal. Through the steering committee the government may seek industry's views before issuing the notification on hallmarking, he said. To a query, he said various issues led to the fall of gold imports in 2019 to 710 tonnes as compared to 766 tonnes in 2018. To a question if rising tensions between the United States and Iran and its impact on the jewellery industry, he said it may lead to volatility in gold prices in 2020. "Prices are going to be fluctuating till US elections," he said. He was hopeful that the industry would post a 10 per cent increase in business volume in 2020 despite a 30 per cent drop in 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) American royalty. Photo: Getty Images Oprah Winfrey is not getting on Queen Elizabeths bad side. Not today, at least. Americas own queen clarified that she had nothing to do with Prince Harry and Meghan Markles recent departure from the royal family. Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out whats best for them, Winfrey told People. I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family. Her brief statement comes after Page Six published a report saying that Markle and Prince Harry consulted with her before they made their decision. While thats not the case, Harry, Meghan, and Oprah have grown close over recent years. Oprah famously attended the duke and duchesss wedding last year and shes said to be close with Meghans mother, Doria Ragland. She and the prince (former prince? Still confused about the details, but then again, so is the queen) collaborated on an Apple TV+ series about mental health, which is set to air later this year. Page Six also reported that other celebrity friends, like the Obamas, the Clooneys, and Serena Williams helped counsel the young couple. Oh, to be at the first dinner party Meghan and Harry throw at their Canadian chateau. It is highly likely the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran killing all 176 people on board was shot down by a missile, Western leaders have declared, pointing the finger of blame at Iran. US president Donald Trump framed the tragedy as a mistake but dismissed Irans initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. he said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. Heres everything we know so far... The accusation Citing multiple sources, the leaders of the UK, US, Canada and Australia have said evidence suggests it was an Iranian surface-to-air missile that brought down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 on Wednesday just outside Tehran. Boris Johnson said there was now a body of information to support the claim but did not offer specifics but details of the US evidence have emerged. Reuters reports that data showed the plane was airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when the heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of a Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday. That was quickly followed by an explosion in the vicinity of the plane, a US official told the news agency. Heat signature data then showed it on fire as it went down. Heat signatures are infrared emissions detected by US military satellites. There is no evidence as yet to suggest it was intentional. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Iranian air defences would have been on high alert at the time just hours after it launched missiles at two US bases in retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. In social media posts, ordinary Iranians voiced anger at their authorities for not closing the airport after Irans missile launches, Reuters reports. Scores of those on board were Iranians with dual nationality. The new video On Thursday, a video surfaced on social media... Continue reading on HuffPost (@ChaudhryMAli88) Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed over the phone on Friday with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah Sisi, the situation in Libya and cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the Kremlin's press service said MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed over the phone on Friday with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah Sisi, the situation in Libya and cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the Kremlin's press service said. "A phone conversation took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi. They continued their discussion on the situation in Libya," the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin and Sisi expressed the need to increase international efforts to resolve the crisis in Libya by peaceful means through a political dialogue between the parties to the conflict. Additionally, the two leaders discussed the situation in Syria and the Persian Gulf as well as Russia-Egypt cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. "[The leaders discussed] cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. The two sides confirmed intentions to continue developing multifaceted bilateral interaction in this area and agreed on further contacts at various levels," the Kremlin said. Eagle-eyed San Franciscans have noticed something out-of-whack about the citys skyline recently. One of Sutro Towers three skyward-shooting prongs is mostly missing, reduced to a weird-looking stub. It would be like the Transamerica Pyramid having its triangle trimmed. Like Salesforce Towers light show going dark. Or like Oracle Parks huge outfield mitt vanishing. Its just not right. So whats going on? I donned a hard hat and braved an excruciatingly long eight minutes in what seemed like the worlds tiniest, loudest and most lurching elevator to reach the top of the tower to find out. Youre welcome. (While I appreciate the tower staffs regard for my safety, I dont think a hard hat would help much in a calamity on the catwalks. Those are the horizontal pieces near the very top of the tower, 750 feet up in the air. A parachute might have been more apt.) Dave Hyams, spokesman for Sutro Tower, said the staff has gotten a lot of questions about the behemoths current state. The tower was widely reviled when construction began in 1971, but is now an essential part of the city skyline and people are puzzled about its odd look. Its been a combination of confusion, conspiracy theories, humor and wonder, Hyams said. Sounds like San Francisco, all right. From up on the catwalks, clutching a railing for dear life, I could see a tiny-looking Salesforce Tower. (Where else in the city would that be true?) Sweeping views of the bay, the ocean and Golden Gate Park. Mount Diablo and Marin far off in the distance. Birds flying down below. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2018 From the highest point in San Francisco, you can see seemingly everything including an up-close view of Sutros stumpy antenna. The reason for the strange-looking piece stems from an April 2017 auction by the Federal Communications Commission, which allowed TV broadcasters to give up their broadcast frequencies to wireless service providers in exchange for part of the proceeds. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle That meant hundreds of towers around the country with broadcasting antennas including the Empire State Building in Manhattan and the John Hancock Building in Chicago had to rebuild their antennas, as 30% of the bandwidth used by TV stations is shifted to wireless companies. One antenna on the Sutro tower was deconstructed starting in October and has gradually been built back up, now appearing as a stump. It should be back to its old self on Jan. 22, and the tower will once again look normal or as normal as the red-and-white, 977-foot steel tower with three legs embedded in 15 million pounds of concrete ever does. Testing will continue through mid-March, and thats when the switchover to new frequencies will happen. Comcast and Dish customers wont need to do anything because the companies will handle the change behind the scenes, Hyams said. Those who get their television shows the old-fashioned way without cable subscriptions will need to do a channel re-scan, and there will be communication by March about how and when to do that. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2018 Sutro Tower was left for last to rebuild, which is good, Hyams said. They knew San Francisco would be the worst, he said. Unlike most broadcasting towers, Sutro is smack dab in the middle of residential neighborhoods, and San Franciscans are famous for caring deeply about any change around them. But despite not a single resident registering a complaint about the antenna work a modern-day miracle! getting the permit from the citys Planning Department took two years. Approval came just as special crews arrived to do the work. It was held up for no good reason, Hyams said, echoing a common gripe about our citys slow Planning Department, which mirrors the slowness of just about every department. The Sutro staff, which works out of an office near the base of the tower, thinks the city has become overly cautious after the debacles with the leaning Millennium Tower and the cracked beams in the new Transbay transit center. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Working with the city is hard its its own world, Raul Velez, vice president of operations for the tower, said as he pulled a thick roll of plans out of a black filing cabinet. Its a moving target in terms of getting a straight answer. ... Make a decision, somebody! Gina Simi, spokeswoman for the Planning Department, countered that the Sutro project was much more complicated than it seems and that just because no neighbor complained doesnt mean it gets a rubber stamp. She said the assumption that the department is operating differently because of the Millennium Tower is not the case. The Sutro staff will have to deal with the city again soon. As part of the permit for the repacking work, the tower has to comply with building codes related to withstanding fierce winds. The tower staff is seeking another permit to remove hundreds of siding panels from the towers legs, reducing its overall weight and allowing wind to blow through the legs. That work, if approved, should be completed by 2023, after which Sutro will have open truss legs, meaning youll be able to see whats inside them like the Eiffel Tower and many bridges. That also gives the staff the opportunity to repaint the tower. When it was built, it was required to be red and white so airplane pilots could see it. But that requirement is no longer in place. The top three color choices, Hyams said, are repainting it its current red and white, painting it in rainbow colors, or painting it gray so it blends in with the city. I like the current color scheme and also think the rainbow could be fun and very San Francisco. But Sutro cannot be gray! How bland do we want our city to become? In a city becoming more corporate and uniform by the day, the eccentric Sutro needs to stay weird. Matthew Juppstrom, the foreman on the tower crew, has worked on many towers over the past 17 years and said his year at Sutro has been especially fun. Its a different kind of tower, he said in a major understatement. Its unique in its design, its measurements. I think its an icon, he continued. Its almost like the Golden Gate Bridge at this point. Its epic. Epic indeed. Especially from 750 feet up. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf New IRGC Quds Force chief: Iran dealt US a first slap by striking American bases in Iraq Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 11:33 AM The newly-appointed head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Quds Force says Iran dealt the US "a first slap" by striking two American bases in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of his predecessor, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. "With God's blessing, the first slap was decisively delivered to the world's largest capitalist power," Brigadier General Esmail Qaani said in a message addressed to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday. He also expressed hope that the ballistic missile attacks on American bases in Iraq would serve as "a complement" to the Iraqi parliament's significant decision to expel foreign troops as well as the regional nations' will to put an end to the "malevolent and filthy presence of the US and global arrogance in the region." In the early hours of Wednesday, Iran launched tens of missiles at two bases housing US troops in Iraq's western Anbar Province and Kurdistan regional capital, Erbil, in revenge for the assassination of General Soleimani and his companions. Qaani was echoing comments by Ayatollah Khamenei, who described the air raid as "a slap" during a speech on Wednesday. The Leader added that "the talk of revenge and such debates are a different issue. For now, a slap was delivered on their face last night." Elsewhere in his remarks, Qaani vowed to continue on the "luminous" path pursued by martyred General Soleimani "with might." He also stressed that the mass rallies and events held by different nations in commemoration of General Soleimani were "a vote of approval for resistance in the face of the global arrogance." The revenge operation on Wednesday saw Iran's Armed Forces fire a barrage of missiles at the two US bases, with all of the projectiles reaching the intended targets. There have been reports of casualties and extensive material damage at Ain al-Assad. The US has said no Americans have been killed and that the base has suffered "minor damage" in the aftermath of the raids, but it has reportedly been refusing to let Iraqi forces and media into the site. IRGC spokesman Second Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said Aerospace Division Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh is scheduled to provide further details of Iran's missile strike in response to repeated calls by media workers and amid a propaganda campaign launched by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia to downplay Iran's operation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Canadian PM Trudeau Says Has Intelligence From Multiple Sources That Iran Shot Down Ukraine Jet Sputnik News 22:49 09.01.2020(updated 03:21 10.01.2020) The premier added that his government will not rest until it gets "closure, transparency, accountability, and justice" on the accident. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said they have intelligence information from multiple sources that a Ukrainian jet was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile on Wednesday morning, Reuters reported citing the premier's speech at a news conference in Ottawa. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The intelligence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile. This may well have been unintentional", Trudeau said. He, however, refused to elaborate on the particulars of the intelligence Canada possesses but did add that he was informed of the developments late last night and this morning local time. Trudeau was also asked multiple times about how much responsibility the United States should bear for the crashed aircraft in terms of the killing of Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani, but he answered that it was too soon to be apportioning blame for the crash or drawing any conclusions. He added that Iran was committed to continuing dialogue with Canada. He revealed that during a phone call earlier in the day between Canada's Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran indicated it would keep black boxes in Iran but was open to allowing Canadian consular officials into the country to help the families of the victims. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit neighbouring Myanmar next week amid efforts to strengthen relations with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Myanmar has been a close ally in backing China's claims in the South China Sea and a partner in Xi's signature "Belt and Road" initiative to build railroads, highways, ports and other infrastructure connecting China with other points in Asia and into Europe and Africa. Chinese projects in Myanmar include a pipeline to channel natural gas from the Middle East overland instead of through the Malacca Strait. China has also sought to mediate conflicts between Myanmar's central government and minority ethnic groups with Chinese roots. Myanmar has also been a reliable backer, along with Laos and Cambodia, of China's campaign to quash criticism within ASEAN of its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. China has of late been pushing the organization to approve a code of conduct among nations in the disputed waterway that could seek to forbid military operations in the area by rivals such as the US, Australia and Japan. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced on Friday that Xi would visit Myanmar on January 17-18. Canada has intelligence from multiple sources that the Ukrainian airliner was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, adding that the action by Tehran may be 'unintentional'. IMAGE: Debris from the plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines is seen on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA/Reuters "We have intelligence from multiple sources including our alliance and our own intelligence and the evidence indicate that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile. This may have been unintentional," Trudeau said during a conference. The Boeing 737 jet with 176 people on board including 63 Canadians crashed minutes after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday morning. Eighty-two Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians died in the crash, which took place between the cities of Parand and Shahriar. There were also 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals among the victims. Earlier in the day, CNN reported that the United States believed that Iran mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner. US President Donald Trump has indicated the plane crash was not due to mechanical issues, adding that "somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." The crash took place on the day Iran had launch missiles US targets in Baghdad in retaliation to the killing of Iranian military leader General Qassem Soleimani. Meanwhile, Ukraine has opened an investigation to find out the cause of the crash. The country's officials said they are looking into multiple causes for the crash including the missile strike or terrorism. Sweden has also joined the crash investigation on Thursday. Sweden Minister of Foreign Affairs Anne Linde told CNN that nothing was ruled out concerning the causes of the plane crash. The United Kingdom is looking into "very concerning" reports about the Iran plane crash, a Downing Street spokesperson said. Meanwhile, European security officials said they believe that reports suggesting that the Ukrainian airliner was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile in error are credible. Ali Abedzadeh, the chief of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, wrote in a preliminary report on the crash that both of the plane's black boxes have been damaged, with physical damage visible. "Both devices have been damaged by fire and the accident. There are the memory parts in both devices, however, physical damage is visible on them," the report wrote. Christopher Columbus' accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men -- stories long dismissed as myths. But a new study suggests Columbus may have been telling the truth. Using the equivalent of facial recognition technology, researchers analyzed the skulls of early Caribbean inhabitants, uncovering relationships between people groups and upending longstanding hypotheses about how the islands were first colonized. One surprising finding was that the Caribs, marauders from South America and rumored cannibals, invaded Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Bahamas, overturning half a century of assumptions that they never made it farther north than Guadeloupe. "I've spent years trying to prove Columbus wrong when he was right: There were Caribs in the northern Caribbean when he arrived," said William Keegan, Florida Museum of Natural History curator of Caribbean archaeology. "We're going to have to reinterpret everything we thought we knew." Columbus had recounted how peaceful Arawaks in modern-day Bahamas were terrorized by pillagers he mistakenly described as "Caniba," the Asiatic subjects of the Grand Khan. His Spanish successors corrected the name to "Caribe" a few decades later, but the similar-sounding names led most archaeologists to chalk up the references to a mix-up: How could Caribs have been in the Bahamas when their closest outpost was nearly 1,000 miles to the south? advertisement But skulls reveal the Carib presence in the Caribbean was far more prominent than previously thought, giving credence to Columbus' claims. Face to face with the Caribbean's earliest inhabitants Previous studies relied on artifacts such as tools and pottery to trace the geographical origin and movement of people through the Caribbean over time. Adding a biological component brings the region's history into sharper focus, said Ann Ross, a professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University and the study's lead author. Ross used 3D facial "landmarks," such as the size of an eye socket or length of a nose, to analyze more than 100 skulls dating from about A.D. 800 to 1542. These landmarks can act as a genetic proxy for determining how closely people are related to one another. The analysis not only revealed three distinct Caribbean people groups, but also their migration routes, which was "really stunning," Ross said. advertisement Looking at ancient faces shows the Caribbean's earliest settlers came from the Yucatan, moving into Cuba and the Northern Antilles, which supports a previous hypothesis based on similarities in stone tools. Arawak speakers from coastal Colombia and Venezuela migrated to Puerto Rico between 800 and 200 B.C., a journey also documented in pottery. The earliest inhabitants of the Bahamas and Hispaniola, however, were not from Cuba as commonly thought, but the Northwest Amazon -- the Caribs. Around A.D. 800, they pushed north into Hispaniola and Jamaica and then the Bahamas where they were well established by the time Columbus arrived. "I had been stumped for years because I didn't have this Bahamian component," Ross said. "Those remains were so key. This will change the perspective on the people and peopling of the Caribbean." For Keegan, the discovery lays to rest a puzzle that pestered him for years: why a type of pottery known as Meillacoid appears in Hispaniola by A.D. 800, Jamaica around 900 and the Bahamas around 1000. "Why was this pottery so different from everything else we see? That had bothered me," he said. "It makes sense that Meillacoid pottery is associated with the Carib expansion." The sudden appearance of Meillacoid pottery also corresponds with a general reshuffling of people in the Caribbean after a 1,000-year period of tranquility, further evidence that "Carib invaders were on the move," Keegan said. Raiders of the lost Arawaks So, was there any substance to the tales of cannibalism? Possibly, Keegan said. Arawaks and Caribs were enemies, but they often lived side by side with occasional intermarriage before blood feuds erupted, he said. "It's almost a 'Hatfields and McCoys' kind of situation," Keegan said. "Maybe there was some cannibalism involved. If you need to frighten your enemies, that's a really good way to do it." Whether or not it was accurate, the European perception that Caribs were cannibals had a tremendous impact on the region's history, he said. The Spanish monarchy initially insisted that indigenous people be paid for work and treated with respect, but reversed its position after receiving reports that they refused to convert to Christianity and ate human flesh. "The crown said, 'Well, if they're going to behave that way, they can be enslaved,'" Keegan said. "All of a sudden, every native person in the entire Caribbean became a Carib as far as the colonists were concerned." Michael Pateman of the Turks and Caicos National Museum and Colleen Young of the University of Missouri also co-authored the study. Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said that the Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran "does not suggest an intentional act." "Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran does not suggest an intentional act," said Morrison while talking to reporters in Canberra, as quoted by CNN. Morrison's remark comes in the backdrop of a Boeing 737 jet crash in Iran with 176 people on board, minutes after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday morning. Earlier in the day, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: "the shooting down of Ukrainian airliner by Iranian surface-to-air missile may be 'unintentional." "We have intelligence from multiple sources including our alliance and our own intelligence and the evidence indicate that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface to Air missile. This may have been unintentional," Trudeau said during a conference. Meanwhile, Ukraine has opened an investigation to find out the cause of the crash. The country's officials said they are looking into multiple causes for the crash including a missile strike or terrorism. The crash took place on the same day that Iran launched missiles against US targets in Baghdad in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military leader General Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani's death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the US and Iran that has often been high since Trump, in 2018, chose to unilaterally withdraw Washington from the 2015 nuclear pact the powers had struck with Tehran. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran on January 10 denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, and called on the US and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board. Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile just hours after Iran launched around a dozen ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike last week. "What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's national aviation department, told a press conference. "If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world" in accordance with international standards, he added. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings. The ballistic missile attack on the bases in Iraq caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully, though Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. If the US or Canada were to present incontrovertible evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran, even if unintentionally, it could have a dramatic impact on public opinion in Iran. The Iranian public had rallied around the leadership after the killing of Soleimani last Friday, with hundreds of thousands joining the general's funeral processions in several cities, in an unprecedented display of grief and unity. But sentiments in Iran are still raw over the government's crackdown on large-scale protests late last year sparked by an economic crisis exacerbated by US sanctions. Several hundred protesters were reported to have been killed in the clampdown. Those fissures could quickly break open again if Iranian authorities are seen to be responsible for the deaths of 176 people, mainly Iranians or dual Iranian-Canadian citizens. US, Canadian and British officials said Thursday it is "highly likely" that Iran shot down the Boeing 737 that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday. US officials said the jetliner might have been mistakenly identified as a threat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said, "We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." The US officials did not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by Russian Tor system, known to NATO as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. Western countries may hesitate to share information on such a strike because it comes from highly classified sources. Videos verified by The Associated Press appear to show the final seconds of the the ill-fated airliner, which had just taken off from Iran early Wednesday. In one video, a fast-moving light can be seen through the trees as someone films from the ground. The light appears to be the burning plane, which plummets to the earth as a huge fireball illuminates the landscape. Someone off-camera says in Farsi: "The plane has caught fire...In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. God, please help us. Call the fire department!" Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, "The missile theory is not ruled out, but it has not been confirmed yet." In a Facebook post, he reiterated his call "on all international partners" the US, Britain and Canada in particular to share data and evidence relevant to the crash. He also announced plans to discuss the investigation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later on Friday. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko tweeted that he and the president met with US embassy officials Friday and obtained "important data" about the crash. The minister didn't specify what kind of data it was, but said it would be "processed by our specialists". In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham aired late Thursday, Pompeo said the crash may have been caused by a "mechanical failure" but that commercial airliners need to know if it is safe to fly into and out of Tehran. "If the international community needs to shut down that airport, so be it," he said. "We need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly." Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying Iran "has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations". He later said a 10-member Canadian delegation was heading to Iran to assist victims' families. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the US accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the burning plane was trying to turn back for the airport when it went down. Tom Steyers campaign has long had the look of a colossal waste: Mind-boggling sums of cash dropped on a campaign that won him nothing more than a few appearances in Democratic debates. For Mike Bloomberg, who entered the race in November, the risk was the same. But all of the sudden, their millions are getting them somewhere. Steyers $106 million in advertising has lifted him to new and surprising heights in Nevada and South Carolina states in which hes swamped competitors who are focused primarily on Iowa and New Hampshire. His showings were enough to land him on the January debate stage next week in Iowa. Bloomberg, meanwhile, has plowed a record $211 million into states like California, Texas and Florida, springing the former New York Mayor into fifth place in national surveys, just behind Pete Buttigieg. Aside from ensuring another spot on the debate stage, Steyers success could scramble the early-state calendar if he keeps it up. And Bloombergs novel strategy to storm the primary starting on Super Tuesday though still in the very early stages and very much a long shot has made enough headway to keep the intrigue alive. Their formula is pretty simple: Spend where the others cant. Theres no question that both Steyer and Bloomberg have shown growth with it, said Diane Feldman, a longtime Democratic pollster and consultant. In places where they are advertising, theyre rising. Their improved standing holds no guarantee of meaningful delegate hauls either in the early states where Steyer is competing or starting just days later for Bloomberg. But the activity is shattering records on a gargantuan scale and rebalancing a contest where small-dollar giving was the early benchmark of success. Democratic presidential candidate businessman Tom Steyer waves before a Democratic presidential primary debate Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif. Altogether, presidential candidates spent nearly $150 million in December alone, roughly $100 million more than was spent that month in 2015, according to data compiled and released by Advertising Analytics. The total was also more than any month in the 2016 cycle except for October 2016, when the candidates combined to spend $160 million, the records show. Story continues The surge in big money not just from Steyer and Bloomberg, but by smaller super PACs supporting Joe Biden, Deval Patrick and Andrew Yang represents a remarkable reversal from the early days of the 2020 primary. Candidates jockeyed to be the champions of small-dollar donors, swearing off money from Big Oil and lobbyists in an attempt to win support from the grassroots. Bloomberg, by contrast, is not only refusing small checks not even $1 donations that could land him in debates hes dropped more than $41 million in TV ads this week alone. The rise of the two billionaires in polls reflects not only a greater awareness of their candidacies, but also a lingering dissatisfaction with what other Democratic contenders are offering, added Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic operative from New York. People are paying attention to the big spenders because theyre outsiders, and to presume otherwise is to think the public is stupid and theyre not. The public is very, very smart, Sheinkopf said of the big-money renaissance. Critics say, Theyre buying their way in. What are they buying? Theyre filling a vacuum that the non-self-funders havent been able to fill. In a pair of Fox News polls released Thursday, Steyer surged into double-digits in South Carolina and Nevada, past some top tier rivals on his way to qualifying for the next debate. Biden held his wide lead in South Carolina, at 36 percent, but Steyer leaped into second with 15 percent, right ahead of Bernie Sanders (14 percent) and Warren (10 percent). Steyer has also climbed into contention in Nevada. Bloomberg has reached 7 percent in several national polls and reached 11 in one. His national polling average hovers just below 6 percent, less than 2 points behind Buttigieg, but more than 2 points ahead of Yang and 3 points in front of Amy Klobuchar all rivals who, unlike Bloomberg, are contesting the first four states where they are hoping for momentum to carry them onward. Despite the polling upticks, progressives argue the money theyve poured into their primaries will, in the end, amount to little more than vanity projects. I am hopeful enough in voters to believe that when candidates who have to actually work for it have a crescendo of winning in the early states, that momentum will supersede big money spending by a couple billionaires when it comes time to vote in later states, said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which backs Elizabeth Warren. Forgoing small-dollar donors could also translate to a lack of committed grassroots supporters, argued Patrick Burgwinkle of End Citizens United, which aims to get money out of politics. If people are coming in with self-funding and not doing as much on the grassroots fundraising side, that could be a challenge when youre going up against the president in 2020, he said. Weve been in favor of making sure the campaigns are as grassroots-funded as possible, not just because it curbs the influence of big money but because it puts the eventually nominee in the best position as possible to defeat the president. The immediate effect of such spending, however, has been undeniably positive for both billionaires. Steyer has poured more than $22 million into TV and radio ads in South Carolina and Nevada markets, making him responsible for three-quarters of the combined spending in both states. His ads in Nevada and South Carolina have been running five months longer than those aired by other candidates. With the exception of a small, $13,000 ad flight in South Carolina by the former vice president, Biden and Warren wont air their first ads in South Carolina or Nevada until mid-January. Steyers ad messaging is also uniquely tailored to voter demographics in the early primary states. One, released in Nevada markets Wednesday, drills into Trumps immigration policy, calling it racist in an appeal to the states large Latino population. Another Nevada ad is entirely in Spanish. His ads in South Carolina feature mostly black voters lauding Steyers success as a businessman and ability to beat Trump. Bloombergs TV ads, which similarly batter Trump, span the map: He is running commercials in more than two dozen states where no one else is on TV, including Steyer. So far, Bloomberg has spent more than $21 million in California, $17.7 million in Texas, $16 million in Florida and $9 million each in New York and Pennsylvania. Bloombergs spending is backed up by a later-state ground blitz: This week, he hit Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennesse and Virginia. He is the only candidate running a national campaign and building a robust infrastructure to beat Donald Trump. It's clear that voters across the country not just in a handful of states are taking notice that Mike will get it done, spokeswoman Galia Slayen said. Florida is among the very expensive states that Bloomberg has to himself and his team sees potential there for the former New York mayor. Though Bloomberg needs to continue airing ads to raise his name ID in the state, You do hear support for Bloomberg from transplanted New Yorkers, said Joe Falk, a South Florida donor who is supporting Joe Biden in the race. People who respected him in his prior positions. As we welcome the new year, presidential campaigns across the country are gearing up for a whirlwind few weeks in advance of the first few primary elections. Within the next few weeks, the remaining presidential candidates seeking the Democratic Party nomination will be whittled down significantly. In the first days of 2020, the last of the two Texas candidates running in the Democrat primary, former San Antonio Mayor and Housing Secretary Julian Castro, called it quits. Due to the nations inane primary election schedule, all presidential primary candidates focus their attention on Iowa and New Hampshire, resulting in the weeding out of candidates all too early by a single digit percentage of the total electorate. Things might have been different for the two Texans if the presidential primary elections were held in a way that makes sense. It is hard to find the logic in allowing two states with small and homogeneous populations to go first. Wouldnt it make more sense to allow states with similar demographics to those of our nation go first? Iowa has a population of just more than 3 million people, 90 percent of whom are white. Just more than 1 million people call New Hampshire home, and 93 percent of them are white. Contrast this to Texas, population 30 million, with a demographic makeup that mirrors the U.S. According to the Census Bureau, by 2022 Hispanics will become the largest population group in Texas. The demographic trends taking place in Texas parallel the trends across the U.S. For this reason alone, shouldnt Texas voters those who represent a microcosm of the nation as a whole be one of the first states to vote in a presidential primary? Since 1988, Texas has participated in Super Tuesday, held the first Tuesday in March, while much smaller homogeneous states have remained first in the presidential primary lineup. By the time Texas voters have the opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice, the race is all but decided. Allowing Texas, and other more diverse and populous states, to hold presidential primaries first would result in a more robust discussion of the issues facing millions of Americans. Candidates would be forced to spend more time discussing major issues facing Texas, including border security, immigration policy, military preparedness and veterans issues, rather than discussing ethanol subsidies and other myopic issues exclusively affecting residents of early primary states. Four states precede Texas in holding presidential primaries; however, 13 other states, including California, hold primary elections on Super Tuesday in March. Texans should not stand for sharing fifth place with 13 other states. Historically, national party organizations have threatened to penalize states that move their primary election dates ahead by reducing the number of their delegates and withholding guest passes for the national convention. States should stand up to the political parties and refuse to let them threaten voters into succumbing to the parties election calendar. It is time for Texas voters to become relevant. Contact Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and your state legislators to urge them to move Texas up in the presidential primary schedule. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, represents part of San Antonio in the Texas House of Representatives. He can be reached at lyle.larson@house.texas.gov or @RepLyleLarson. Advertisement Harvey Weinstein arrived to court with a smile on his face in New York this morning, but the shamed Hollywood producer emerged a disheveled man this afternoon after his defense team was admonished by the judge for 'illegally' demanding the media be banned from reporting on the remainder of the jury selection process. Weinstein, 67, is facing five charges in New York from accusations he raped one woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on Mimi Haleyi in 2006 - charges to which he has pleaded not guilty, claiming any sexual activity was consensual. Despite facing life in prison if convicted, the disgraced mogul appeared in a jovial mood when he arrived outside Manhattan Criminal Court this morning, sharing a laugh and a joke with his lawyer Donna Rotunno. Cutting a frail figure and hunched over his now-infamous walker, Weinstein, with a pair of slippers on his feet, hauled himself up the steps and shuffled his way into the courthouse ahead of what proved to be a dramatic day of proceedings. Moments after he stepped into the courtroom, the conclusion to the first week of Weinstein's trial took a shocking twist when the former producer's co-counsel, Arthur Aidala, threw an unprecedented legal curveball by demanding Judge James Burke ban all media coverage of the jury selection - despite the process being nearly half-way complete. 'Most people dont speak in front of the international media,' Aidala proclaimed to Burke. 'In order for citizens to be as honest and forthright as possible, we ask that jury selection be done in private.' A disheveled looking Harvey Weinstein leaves the New York City criminal court during his sex crimes trial on January 10 As things stand , Judge Burke is tentatively penciling in January 22 as the start of opening arguments His downcast demeanour marked a far cry from the smiling and joking Weinstein who was pictured arriving at the courthouse hours earlier A wry smile is seen on the face of Weinstein's lead attorney, Donna Rotunno, despite her team suffering another defeat in their attempts to paint their client's trial as a media circus, one which, in their opinion, prevents the 67-year-old from getting a fair trial The ex-producer's legal team has had little success persuading Burke to rule in their favor - and Friday proved to be no exception With his proposed motion essentially a bid to cloak the proceedings, Aidala told the judge his true motivation behind the request was to ensure prospective jurors are handed the opportunity to discuss sensitive topics, such as sexual assault, without inhibiting themselves because of a press presence in the courtroom. In a week filled with similar explosive and outlandish moves on the part of the defense, Judge Burke seemed unimpressed by Aidala's latest stunt and a heated exchange followed. 'That is illegal!,' Burke thundered in retort. 'Ill read this [motion], but Im generally familiar with this form of the law... Im disagreeing with you on virtually every level. 'If this is inconsistent with having a transparent jury selection, it will be denied,' Burke sharply continued. 'I see this is an end run around my ruling about your desire for time limits.' The prosecution urged Burke to reject the defense's motion without review, calling the request unprecedented. 'They want each person to be questioned in private, for which I dont think there is any precedent except in the most extreme examples,' Manhattan Deputy District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon pleaded. Burke appeared to position himself with the defense, saying that jurors have already been allowed the capacity to speak to attorney's confidentially if they needed to. 'In this case, at the pre-screening level, were already doing that,' Burke continued. 'We have had that confidential response.' Aidala insisted that jury screening for a sexual assault case involves asking people about sensitive subjects 'Those are very embarrassing, personal subjects to be saying in front of millions of people, that will be reported across the world,' he said. 'With this amount of scrutiny, which is not normal for a case.' Aidala continued by raising another area of concern, that if prospective jurors openly share their opinions in front of others - whether based on fact or otherwise - those opinions could influence the views of other jurors. But again Burke appeared unmoved: 'Jurors blurt all manner of things out that are not great, that are not desirable for entire jury panels to hear,' the judge replied. 'That is just a truism of our system of justice.' Calling the motion 'against the law', Burke tentatively denied Aidala's request, but said he would still review the eight page motion either today, or over the weekend. Obtained by USA Today, in the motion Aidala says that Weinstein's defense has reviewed some of the potential jurors' questionnaires and believes many are unfairly biased against the ex-producer. In review, Aidala writes: 'We have learned that (1) some jurors have not been candid in their responses; (2) at least one juror has expressed an ulterior financial motive for serving on Mr. Weinstein's trial and that he would find him guilty; (3) a number of jurors have been victims of or had exposure to sexual assault or domestic violence; and (4) nearly all jurors have heard about this case,' Aidala writes. The defense team further requested that all 32 jurors who heard a damning remark about Weinstein during voir dire two days ago be removed. When asked by the judge why he was raising the matter so far into the process, which has already been widely covered, Aidala simply replied: 'Our only motivation is to make sure we get a fair and impartial jury.' In a week filled with similar explosive and outlandish moves on the part of the defense, Judge Burke seemed unimpressed by Aidala's latest stunt to have the media banned from proceedings and a heated exchange followed 'That is illegal!,' Burke thundered in retort. 'Ill read this [motion], but Im generally familiar with this form of the law... Im disagreeing with you on virtually every level Calling the motion 'against the law', Burke tentatively denied Aidala's request, but said he would still review the eight page motion either today, or over the weekend Shamed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein arrived to court with a smile on his face in New York this morning Weinstein, 67, is charged in New York with raping one woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on Mimi Haleyi in 2006 - charges to which he has pleaded not guilty Weinstein emerged from his car donning a what appeared to be a pair of slippers on his feet Despite facing life in prison if convicted, the disgraced mogul appeared in a jovial mood when he arrived outside Manhattan Criminal Court this morning, sharing a laugh and a joke with his lawyer Donna Rotunno as he gingerly made his way up the courthouse steps Cutting a frail figure as he hunched over his now-infamous stroller, Weinstein, with a pair of house slippers on his feet, hauled himself up the steps and shuffled his way into the courthouse All smiles: Friday could prove to be a decisive day in the jury selection for Weinstein's impending rape trial Yesterday, Judge James Burke admonished Weinstein calling him 'non-compliant, defiant and challenging' as he denied the defense team's request that he recuse himself after he threatened to jail the disgraced movie mogul for texting in the courtroom Weinstein cuta frail figure as he hunched over his now-infamous stroller and shuffled into the courtroom - a recurring theme of his recent court appearances The ex-producer's legal team has had little success persuading Burke to rule in their favor. Weinstein's attorneys have repeatedly tried - and failed - to paint their client's trial as a media circus, one which, in their opinion, prevents the 67-year-old from getting a fair trial. Yesterday, Judge Burke admonished Weinstein calling him 'non-compliant, defiant and challenging' as he denied the defense team's request that he recuse himself after he threatened to jail the disgraced movie mogul for texting in the courtroom. Burke previously scolded Weinstein as jury selection was getting underway Tuesday, asking: 'Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of an order? Is it?' He said Thursday he issued the threat after Weinstein was 'notably non-compliant, defiant and challenging to court officers' when asked to not use his phone. The judge added: 'Theres nothing prejudicial or inflammatory about scolding a recalcitrant defendant for repeated violations of a court order if using strong and even hyperbolic language succeeds after stern admonitions have failed.' Weinstein has also complained about press attention, being scrutinized for using his walker and even tried to ban celebrity attorney Gloria Allred - who represents some of his accusers - from the trial. His lawyers also unsuccessfully tried to delay jury selection in light of the new case filed in Los Angeles on Monday, asking for a 'cooling-off period' to allow the publicity to subside. But Judge Burke expressed confidence that the jurors would know that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and he pressed on. He said Thursday: 'All I meant to do was scare him enough to convince him to discontinue using his phone. I certainly never actually meant I was going to put your client in jail for life nor did I mean that I had pre-judged whether he is guilty or not-guilty or innocent of the charges.' Around 108 prospective jurors were subjected to a pre-screening process today, though only 30-40 advanced through to the selection stage. They were led down the hall and into the courtroom at 10:07am this morning. Three potential jurors raised their hands when asked if they knew somebody associated with the case. One woman identified herself as a friend of Weinstein's chief lawyer, Donna Rotunno, but assued she could still remain fair and impartial. A man revealed that he'd served on a bar committee with another of the defendants attorneys, Barry Kamins, but said it wouldn't affect his impartiality. Another man said that he had worked with one of Weinstein's charities in the past and would be 'uncomfortable' if selected to serve. Forty-four of the potential jurors raised their hands to admit they didn't believe they could be fair or impartial. Judge Burke didn't ask for further explanation. The proceedings were interrupted at 11am by the sound of chanting and percussion instruments bellowing through the courthouse window as an all-female protest against Weinstein was staged outside. The some sixty demonstrators, affiliated with the Chilean feminist organization Las Tesis, performed 'A Rapist in Your Path', a Chilean feminist performance piece that protests violence against women. 'It's not my fault, not where I was, not how I dressed,' they chanted several times. 'And the rapist was you!,' they declared, pointing up to the courthouse. When the selection process resumed, between 30-40 people raised their hands to confirm they believe they're fit to serve on the jury. They were handled a detailed questionnaire, and advanced to the next stage of selection at 11:45am. The ex-producer's legal team has had little success persuading Burke to rule in their favor Around 118 prospective jurors will be subjected to a pre-screening process today. They were led down the hall and into the courtroom at 10am this morning Weinstein has also complained about press attention, being scrutinized for using his walker and even tried to ban celebrity attorney Gloria Allred - who represents some of his accusers - from the trial The proceedings were interrupted at 11am by the sound of chanting and percussion instruments bellowing through the courthouse window as an all-female protest against Weinstein was staged outside The some sixty demonstrators, dressed in black and red, performed 'A Rapist in Your Path', a Chilean feminist performance piece that protests violence against women 'It's not my fault, not where I was, not how I dressed,' they chanted several times. 'And the rapist was you!,' they declared, pointing up to the courthouse. The proceedings paused momentarily while the demonstration took place. When they resumed between 30-40 people raised their hands to confirm they believe they're fit to serve on the jury. They were handled a detailed questionnaire, and advanced to the next stage of selection at 11:45am In total, more than 2,000 jury summonses were sent ahead of Weinstein's case and hundreds have appeared in batches through Burke's courtroom this week. As things stand currently, Judge Burke is tentatively penciling in January 22 as the start of opening arguments. Just 30 potential jurors from a pool of 120 remained at the end of Wednesday, day two of jury selection. On Tuesday 36 remained, meaning there are currently 96-106 people advancing in the process. They were each given questionnaires featuring 72 questions and will report back for further questioning on January 16. Thursday was the third day of jury selection in the case, with an additional 120 potential jurors called in for pre-screening. A murmur went through the courtroom when Burke announced the name of the defendant before delivering instructions about jury service. But Burke was forced to cut the proceedings short before noon because the lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi, had a medical issue. When asked by Burke how she was feeling on Friday, 'much, much better,' she responded to the judge. The questionnaire given to potential jurors asks, among other things, if they could ignore media coverage and decide the case based only on evidence heard in court. They were also told the trial will last six weeks, which could weed out many parents, college students and others with pressing day-to-day obligations. On Tuesday some said that reading Ronan Farrow's book means they could not give Weinstein a fair trial. Pulitzer Prize winner Farrow's book tells the story of his quest to expose Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty and maintains that any sexual activity was consensual. Weinstein, 67, brought The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak and Hollywood Classics to court Dozens of potential jurors have been released from consideration because they're returning to college in the coming weeks. More than 90 were ousted after they admitted they couldn't possibly be impartial in Weinstein's case because of what they knew about the case already. Another potential juror said they had a friend who had an encounter with the former Hollywood mogul. Jury selection is expected to stretch on for at least two weeks, far longer than for a non-celebrity trial, with lawyers delving into each potential juror's knowledge and opinions about the case. Twelve jurors and six alternates need to be selected. 'The defense team is concerned about widespread media coverage of sexual assault and harassment claims against Weinstein, and of jurors prejudging the case,' said Cornell University law professor Valerie Hans. On the other side of the case, 'prosecutors are wary of prospective jurors who might reveal a predisposition to blame the victims, even in this age of #MeToo.' In picking a jury, defense lawyers typically want jurors who can 'think outside of the box' and look skeptically at a prosecution case, while prosecutors seek people with a linear and methodical mindset, said Thaddeus Hoffmeister, a jury consultant and University of Dayton law professor. For insight into prospective jurors' thinking, lawyers have taken to scouring their public social media postings, Hoffmeister said, which is fine under court rules as long as the lawyers don't follow or friend them or send them messages. Weinstein brought two books to court. One was The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak and Hollywood Classics; the other a vintage edition of Ken Follett's novel The Pillars of the Earth. The former is a biography about Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz - whose Oscar-winning films included 'Citizen Kane' and 'All About Eve'. One brother fell prey to gambling and alcoholism. The other rose to fame while carrying on sexual affairs with Hollywood actresses and was fired after a period of drug use. Weinstein founded his film production company Miramax with his brother Bob in 1979. Weinstein's lawyer, Donna Rotunno, said she did not advise Weinstein to bring outside reading material to court. 'Judge Burke did,' she said. 'During jury selection, Mr. Weinstein has much downtime outside the presence of the jury pool. He is not reading in the courtroom.' One Amazon critic of the Sydney Ladensohn Stern book said the brothers its about were 'the most brilliant and charismatic men ever to ply their sometimes dubious trade in Hollywood'. Paul Callan, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, said he did not think the book was part of Weinstein's courtroom strategy. 'It doesn't strike me as a story that has a tale of innocence or redemption, which is the kind of story you would want to present to the jury if you were using this as a mechanism,' said Callan. Weinstein was charged with sexual assault in May 2018. When he surrendered to New York police, he carried the biography of Elia Kazan, a movie director who stirred controversy for testifying before the House of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee about communism in 1952. Moments after he stepped into the courtroom, Weinstein's pretrial proceedings took a shocking twist when the former producer's co-counsel Arthur Aidala (above) threw an unprecedented legal curveball by demanding Judge James Burke ban all media coverage of the jury selection - despite the process being nearly half-way complete In total, more than 2,000 jury summonses were sent ahead of Weinstein's case and hundreds have appeared in batches through Burke's courtroom this week Judge Burke previously scolded Weinstein as jury selection was getting underway Tuesday, asking: 'Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of an order? Is it?' Yesterday, Judge Burke admonished Weinstein calling him 'non-compliant, defiant and challenging' as he denied the defense team's request that he recuse himself after he threatened to jail the disgraced movie mogul for texting in the courtroom Why the jury selection process will take up to two weeks and how they will be selected Selecting the jury for the Hollywood mogul's rape and sexual assault trial is likely to be a painstaking, weeks-long process, made complicated by the high stakes, heavy publicity and public revulsion toward him. Jury selection is expected to stretch on for at least two weeks, far longer than for a non-celebrity trial, with lawyers delving into each potential juror's knowledge and opinions about the case. Opening statements shouldn't be expected before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 20, the judge said. The prospective jurors were given questionnaires asking, among other things, if they could ignore media coverage and decide the case based only on evidence heard in court. They were also told the trial will last six weeks, which could weed out many parents, college students and others with pressing day-to-day obligations. Jury questionnaires are commonly used to identify subject areas like their knowledge of and potential links to the case or any prior experiences with law enforcement that can then allow follow-up questions back in the courtroom before selection. Potential jurors raise their hands and explain why they can't serve on the jury of film producer Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial 'The defense team is concerned about widespread media coverage of sexual assault and harassment claims against Weinstein, and of jurors prejudging the case,' said Cornell University law professor Valerie Hans. On the other side of the case, 'prosecutors are wary of prospective jurors who might reveal a predisposition to blame the victims, even in this age of #MeToo.' Prospective jurors were introduced as a group to Weinstein and were read a list of names that could come up at trial, including actresses Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron and Rosie Perez. 120 potential jurors appeared before the court Tuesday - 36 advanced to the next stage of the process. A further 120 appeared Wednesday with 30 being selected to continue. New pools of prospective jurors will be summoned to court each morning in the coming days - around 120 per day will be called. A jury summons was sent to 2,000 New Yorkers - five times the number for a typical trial. Experts said lawyers for Weinstein and the prosecution would need to be wary of jurors who may try to mask their bias in order to serve on a headline-grabbing trial. Some jurors may seek to use the trial as a means of advancing a personal cause, a concern in a case that has become a flashpoint for ending sexual harassment. Weinstein in October lost a bid to move the trial to suburban Long Island or to Albany, New York state's capital. He said intense media scrutiny made it impossible for jurors to give him a fair trial in Manhattan. The defense asked at Monday's hearing that the jury be sequestered, a request the judge denied. Advertisement Weinstein transformed the independent film industry with award-winning films like 'Shakespeare in Love' and 'The English Patient.' Several criminal defense attorneys said it is unusual for a defendant to bring outside reading material to a trial, especially one in which the defendant is facing such serious charges. Defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt said he generally asks clients to carry a notepad and pen rather than a novel to jury selection so they can participate in the vetting process. Lefcourt said reading might be a way for Weinstein to cope with anxiety during the trial, which began the same day that the Los Angeles district attorney announced new sexual assault charges against him. 'Maybe he thinks his lawyers have it covered and rather than show any kinds of emotion, he'd rather have his head down,' he said. Opening statements shouldn't be expected before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 20, the judge said. Weinstein is charged in New York with raping one woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on Haleyi in 2006. He could get life in prison if convicted. In a Los Angeles case, which will be tried later, he is accused of sexually assaulting two women on back-to-back nights in 2013. The former studio boss has said any sexual activity was consensual. Since 2017, more than 80 women, including many famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades. The trial is expected to last at least six weeks. Harvey Weinstein, center, leaves court Thursday after the judge in his trial blocked a moved to remove him from proceedings Weinstein, flanked by his attorney Donna Rotunno, has also complained about press attention and being scrutinized for using his walker and tried to ban celebrity attorney Gloria Allred - who represents some of his accusers - from the trial The former studio boss has said any sexual activity was consensual. Since 2017, more than 80 women, including many famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades Lawyer Damon Cheronis argues in front of Judge James Burke during Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial on Wednesday Sen. Ed Markey on Friday urged President Donald Trump to de-escalate tensions with Iran and said the president has an obligation to provide Congress and the American people evidence of the imminent threats Trump administration officials claim prompted the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The drone strike against Irans top military and intelligence commander followed escalating attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed militias ever since Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. But the Massachusetts senator and other Democratic leaders hammered Trump for ordering the attack without notifying allies or Congress and argued the move came with no apparent strategy to handle a potentially violent aftermath. Soleimanis assassination was a massive, deliberate and dangerous escalation of conflict with Iran by Donald Trump, said Markey in a news conference, flanked by veterans and peace advocates in front of a sign that read No War with Iran at Bostons John F. Kennedy federal building. We cannot and must not get drawn into a costly war with Iran. Markey, who earlier this week drafted a resolution condemning Trumps threat to target Iranian cultural sites as the U.S. awaited potential retaliation Soleimanis killing, said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials provided no specific evidence of any threat that led to the attack when they sat before senators this week. I sat there in that room for 75 minutes, Markey said. None of the administration leaders provided that evidence, nor did they agree to consult with Congress in the future if Trump chooses to take military action. That is completely unacceptable. Asked if he believed there was an imminent threat as asserted by administration officials, Markey noted Donald Trump has lied many times during his presidency. In something thats as important as this, committing American military and putting their lives at risk, he has an obligation to make public what was the specific threat ... so that we can understand whether there was time to consult with Congress and our allies." Markey said the Founding Fathers gave Congress the sole power to declare war because they feared a president like Donald Trump would start a war unilaterally and against the will of the American people. He urged lawmakers to approve a war powers resolution, approved by the Democrat-controlled House on Thursday night, calling on the president to work with Congress on any future military action in Iran. He also said lawmakers should repeal 2001 and 2002 authorizations of the use of military force that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks before the start of the Iraq War. Will Goodwin, a U.S. Army veteran and government relations director for Vote Vets, said armed forces this week were caught in the middle of a spiraling confrontation in which our system showed signs of failure." Instead of clear-eyed debate about the use of military force, the week featured incendiary tweets, chaotic messages from the Pentagon and administration officials twisting intelligence," Goodwin said. Trump, Markey argued, should take several steps: cease any further military action against Iran; consult with Congress if force is necessary as a last resort; engage in talks with Iranian leaders; make clear that the U.S. does not seek regime change because only the Iranian people should decide Irans future; and cease all threats against Iranian cultural sites and civilians, which would be war crimes on par with attacks by ISIS, the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Markey said the best tool to keep nuclear weapons from Iran was the 2015 international nuclear deal, which Iran said it would no longer abide by following Soleimanis death. Cole Harrison, executive director of Massachusetts Peace Action, said alongside Markey Friday that it wasnt helpful to simply depict Soleimani as a bad man as often described by the media and members of both major parties, who have an irrational hatred of Iran. Its not in the United States interests to isolate Iran as weve been doing for 40 years, said Harrison, who argued the biggest state sponsor of terror in the Middle East is our own government. We have brought mayhem throughout the Middle East and caused the deaths of millions. In a speech touting American military might while noting the U.S. stood ready to embrace peace, Trump said Wednesday that the United States would impose harsh new economic sanctions on Iran and continue applying pressure to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He described Soleimani as a terrorist drenched in the blood of Americans and innocents. Trump said Iran appeared to be standing down, which he called a very good thing for the world," after Iranian forces responded to Soleimanis assassination by firing missiles at Iraqi airbases that house American troops, but caused no casualties. Trump pushed for a new nuclear deal and called on members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to take a greater role in the Middle East. He said the time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognize" that Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism. A Syracuse fentanyl-heroin dealer was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his role in leading a local opioid distribution ring fueled by Mexicos Sinaloa cartel. He also agreed to forfeit half a million dollars in drug proceeds. Gavin Ballog, 29, pleaded guilty in August to conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin and fentanyl. Prosecutors estimated he helped sell 3 to 10 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin between April 2018 and February 2019, according to court records. Ballog was one of 12 men charged as part of an investigation into heroin and fentanyl sales in Syracuse in 2019. All of the men have pleaded guilty and most are awaiting sentencing. DEA officials said the distribution ring in Syracuse was ultimately supplied by the Mexican cartel infamously run by Jaoquin El Chapo Guzman. Bronx resident Jesus Manuel Lopez-Mendez has admitted he regularly drove the drugs to Syracuse, and dropped them off for Ballog and his crew of street-level dealers at a house on Sunhill Terrace in the city. Investigators said Ballog and another man, Yan Morales, ran the drug trafficking operation in Syracuse. Ballog is a Syracuse native, his defense lawyer wrote in court papers. He grew up in a single-parent home and dropped out of city schools before the 8th grade, attorney Annaleigh Porter wrote in a memorandum to the judge. He does not know how to read or write, she said. Ballog, who has a son, never knew his father and struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues throughout his life, Porter wrote. Unable to hold down a job for very long in janitorial or automotive work, Ballog turned to a life of crime at a young age and was convicted of a felony by the time he was 21 years old, she wrote. When suppliers began fronting Ballog drugs without payment, he was locked into the lifestyle, Porter wrote. Ballog wrongly felt these fronting arrangements necessitated his continued involvement in narcotics trafficking, Porter said in her memo to the judge. Ballog faced a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. Prosecutors agreed to a sentence shorter than life in prison due to Ballogs acceptance of responsibility, according to a plea agreement. Ballogs lawyer wrote that his time in jail awaiting the outcome of the case had already influenced him. While Gavin was obtaining and distributing narcotics, the harm he caused was not as visible to him as it is today," Porter wrote. She said that had changed during his detainment alongside low-level offenders addicted to opioids in a county jail, where he has been since his arrest last year. He has seen withdrawals, illness, loss and despair, Porter wrote. This eye-opening experienced has triggered heartfelt remorse and repentance. Two other Syracuse men associated with Ballog have been sentenced for their roles in the heroin and fentanyl ring. Gregorio Pizzaro, 20, received a sentence of 21 months in prison. Michael Calderon, 24, was sentenced to 30 months, or 2 1/2 years, in prison. Prosecutors have said they had lower-level roles in the distribution ring. Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government, education and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992 Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work Trump: Soleimani Was Planning to Blow Up US Embassy in Baghdad By Ken Bredemeier January 09, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general that he ordered killed with a drone strike, had been planning to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Trump and his aides have drawn sharp criticism from opposition Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans for refusing to disclose what they say was the "imminent threat" that Soleimani posed at the time he was killed in the car he was riding in at the airport in the Iraqi capital last week. But Trump, speaking at the White House, offhandedly remarked, "We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died, one of our military people died. People were badly wounded just a week before." Trump administration officials had previously blamed Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp's Quds Force, for killing American armed forces and the U.S. contractor Trump referenced, while fomenting unrest in Iraq and Lebanon. But they had balked at disclosing specific reasons for the killing of Soleimani. After background briefings this week, some lawmakers complained that evidence of an "imminent threat" posed by Soleimani was scant. A senior U.S. Defense official said that when Trump was presented with options regarding Iranian threats, other proposals besides killing Soleimani would have involved the possibility of far more casualties. Trump's remarks came as U.S. officials say they believe Iran intended to kill American forces with its ballistic missile attacks on bases in Iraq early Wednesday as retribution for the drone attack on Soleimani. Their assessment followed Trump's Wednesday White House address in which he said new economic sanctions would be imposed on Tehran, while concluding that Iran "appears to be standing down" from new conflict with the U.S. "The ballistic missiles fired at American bases we believe were intended to kill Americans," Vice President Mike Pence told the NBC news network Thursday. "We have intelligence to support that was the intention of the Iranians." Pence's assessment echoed comments Wednesday from the top U.S. military leader, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who told reporters at the Pentagon, "The points of impact were close enough to personnel and equipment and so on and so forth. I believe, based on what I saw and what I know, is that they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and equipment and aircraft, and to kill personnel." No U.S. forces were injured by the 16 short-range ballistic missiles fired from three sites inside Iran, targeting two military bases in Iraq where U.S. armed forces are stationed. But Milley said, the absence of casualties "has more to do with the defensive techniques our forces used than it does with intent." The senior Defense official said the U.S. had learned hours ahead of the attack that Iran was planning to launch it. Milley said that Iran, in targeting the al-Asad air base in the western Iraqi desert, "put 11 large rockets with 1,000-pound, 2,000-pound (more than 900-kilogram) warheads in it, but we took sufficient defensive measures." Defense Secretary Mark Esper said damage at the al-Asad base was confined to "tentage, taxiways, the parking lot, a damaged helicopter, things like that. Nothing that I would describe as major. No friendly casualties, whether they're U.S., coalition, contractor." Iran on Thursday disputed the U.S. accounts of the missile attacks and their intent. Iranian state media quoted Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force, as saying, "We did not intend to kill. We intended to hit the enemy's military machinery." He repeated the Iranian government's claim that "tens of people were killed or wounded." Trump, in a nationally televised address Wednesday from the White House, signaled the U.S. would not take military action in response to the attacks, but instead would impose the additional harsh economic sanctions against Iran to further hobble its economy. Iran fired the missiles into Iraq early Wednesday in retaliation for the Trump-ordered drone attack that killed Soleimani, whom the U.S. leader said "was responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities" in the Middle East. The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is voting Thursday to curb further attacks on Iran absent congressional approval, with a similar measure under consideration in the Republican-majority Senate. But Trump could veto any such congressional resolution, with lawmakers unlikely to muster the necessary two-thirds majority to override such a move. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she holds Soleimani responsible for the deaths of American armed forces. Pelosi, however, said she did not believe that in "terms of what is in the public domain" about the rationale for the Trump-ordered drone attack on Soleimani, the U.S. was made safer. Trump, in his address, said that rather than continued conflict with Iran, the two countries could cooperate on issues of mutual concern. The Islamic State group "is a natural enemy of Iran," Trump said. "The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran, and we should work together on this and other shared priorities." The U.S. president told the Iranian people, "We want you to have a future, and a great future, one that you deserve. One of prosperity at home and harmony with the nations of the world. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the Iranian strikes a "slap in the face" to the United States and said the "corrupt presence" of the U.S. in the region should come to an end. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani added later in a tweet that Iran's "final answer" to the killing of Soleimani "will be to kick all U.S. forces out of the region." On Thursday, Rouhani warned the U.S. against a new attack, while a senior commander vowed more retribution for the killing of Soleimani. The Iranian president said that its missile attacks on the U.S. forces in Iraq were a legitimate act of self-defense under the U.N. Charter, but he warned that "if the U.S. makes another mistake, it will receive a very dangerous response.'' The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Abdollah Araghi, a member of Iran's joint chiefs of staff, as saying that the country's Revolutionary Guard "will impose a more severe revenge on the enemy in the near future." Carla Babb contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that Texas will no longer consent to resettling refugees, making it the only state so far to opt out of the federal program that for years has sent the most refugees in the country here. The decision puts Abbott in the minority, even within his own party: 42 states, including 17 led by Republican governors, have agreed to continue resettling refugees as part of a new Trump administration requirement that state and local authorities opt into the federal program. The new veto power is unprecedented in decades of U.S. resettlement and comes as the White House has slashed the number of refugees allowed into the country to a record low of 18,000 for 2020 down from 30,000 in 2019 and an average of 102,000 annually during the programs peak in the 1980s. In his letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abbott wrote that since 2010, more refugees have been sent to Texas than any other state and about 1 in 10 are resettled here. At the same time, the governor wrote, the state has been the focus of immigrants crossing the southern border. At its peak last May, more than 144,000 people mostly Central American families and children were apprehended or turned themselves into Customs and Border Protection agents to ask for asylum across the southern border. But that number has since dropped every month to just 40,600 in December after the Trump administration implemented a new policy requiring migrants to wait in Mexican border cities for their U.S. court proceedings. In addition to accepting refugees all these years, Texas has been left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system, Abbott wrote. At this time, the state and non-profit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants, and the homeless indeed, all Texans. Resettlement organizations said they were devastated by the Friday afternoon announcement. Its gut wrenching, said Jen Smyers, director of policy for Church World Service, one of nine national resettlement agencies in the country. Its an abdication of everything Texans claim to stand for: freedom of opportunity, freedom of religion, pulling yourself up by your boot straps. They said Abbotts suggestion that the state had been exhausted by a refugee influx makes no sense when the number of those allowed to come here has plummeted to the lowest in history. About 2,500 refugees were resettled in Texas in fiscal year 2019, a 70 percent decrease from the 7,800 admitted during 2016, the last year of President Barack Obamas administration. Fewer still were expected this year even before Abbott pulled out of the program. Since the beginning of the fiscal year in October, 259 refugees have come to Texas, more than half from Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its a political gesture that is going to backfire, said Mark Hetfield, chief executive of the HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit refugee assistance organization. Now Abbott is going to be known as the governor who has slammed the door in the face of refugees when there are governors clamoring to admit more. Among them is Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican who supports President Donald Trump on most issues. But Herbert said Utah, founded by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fleeing persecution, is seeking to resettle more refugees. We empathize deeply with individuals and groups who have been forced from their homes, and we love giving them a new home and a new life, he said. They become productive employees and responsible citizens. Abbott cites public safety, security Other Republican governors of conservative states including Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, Arkansas and Idaho have also consented to continue admitting refugees. Even Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, whose state has litigation pending against the federal government over forcing it to resettle refugees, overrode disapproval from his state legislative leaders to permit more this year. In a statement, Lee, a Republican, said Tennessee and the U.S. have always been a shining beacon of freedom and opportunity for the persecuted and oppressed, particularly those suffering religious persecution. He said his commitment is based on his Christian faith. Pastor Tim Moore, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Leander who is on the Evangelical Immigration Table, a national Christian group, said he was disappointed that Abbott is wrongly conflating the issues of border security, illegal immigration and refugee resettlement. When you tie the recent history of immigration and illegal or undocumented people coming into the country primarily from our southern border and refugee resettlement as one issue they are not at all related, he said. He noted that refugees are the most stringently vetted entrants to the United States, going through extensive security screenings and multiple interviews in a process that can take up to three years. It is possible to articulate a generous position towards the worlds most vulnerable people while at the very same time remaining committed to our national security and our upholding of laws, Moore said. Abbott did not comment Friday on his decision. But in 2015 when he led opposition to allowing Syrians into Texas, the governor, a devout Roman Catholic, explained his stand. If you want to just be pure biblical about this, it is the role and I respect the role of individuals to treat their fellow men with the charity that the Bible speaks of, Abbott told the San Antonio Express-News. Similarly, the Bible speaks of the role of government, which is among other things focused on protecting the safety and security of its people. My hope is that people understand that I am thinking solely about doing everything I can to keep them as safe and secure as I can by making the decisions that I do. Experts predict political fallout In 2016, Abbott said Texas would accept only refugees who security agencies could certify to Congress do not pose threats, but the Obama administration argued it is impossible to guarantee none could ever be a problem. Only a handful of the 31 states, including Texas and Kansas, ultimately pulled out of the resettlement program that year. Practically, it made no difference because the federal government instead contracted with local resettlement groups to disburse funding for refugees, rather than going through the state government as a middle man. The state has no direct expenditures on refugees; the program relies entirely on federal money. Abbotts decision does not prevent refugees from moving here on their own. Now, however, they would do so without the services resettlement agencies provide to help them integrate. Krish Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a national resettlement agency, said some refugees will now be forced to choose between receiving the aid they qualify for and moving where their families already live. Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said Abbott may be calculating that not accepting refugees will curry favor with voters who want resources spent on Texans and fear immigrants from different cultures and religions. But Jones thinks it will backfire. It is far more likely the main impact will be to further erode support for Republican candidates within immigrant communities and among Latinos and Asian Americans, he said. Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said the move could fuel a perception of intolerance within the Republican Party, which could turn off independent voters in the 2020 election. But immigration and border security remain top issues for GOP voters. Firing up the base ahead of the next election could draw them as Republicans face competitive races in Texas. Democrats are seeking to flip at least nine seats in the Texas House to seize control of the chamber for the first time in two decades, and there are several competitive state and congressional races in San Antonio and Houston, especially in Fort Bend County, one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation. If the governor can connect this issue to concerns about legal and illegal immigration, then he may keep the issue juiced up for conservatives, Rottinghaus said. No Republican has ever lost political support from Republicans by being too tough on border security issues. Turner asks Abbott to reconsider Abbotts decision will have tremendous consequences not only on the national resettlement program, but on organizations working with refugees in the state many of which could be dismantled after losing funding. Several have sued the federal government over the Trump administrations requirement for state and local consent, arguing that it violates a federal statute giving the executive branch near unilateral power over immigration. If the judge halts the consent requirement, it could make Abbotts decision moot for now. Mayors and county leaders of all Texas biggest cities including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin sent letters opting in to resettling refugees, but Abbotts decision supersedes their wishes. In a statement, Mayor Sylvester Turner cited Exodus 22:21: Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner. I deeply regret Gov. Abbotts opposite decision and would respectfully ask him to reconsider, he said. Ali Al Sudani, who came here as a refugee from Iraq a decade ago and is now senior vice president for programs at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, remained stunned late Friday. I honestly need to process this, he said. This is about who we are as Texans, and this is not the Texas that I know which welcomed me as a refugee. Allie Morris contributed reporting from Austin. lomi.kriel@chron.com This one came through an executive order from the White House that said states and localities get to veto the placement of refugees within their borders. Actually, it offered something more powerful than a veto. These jurisdictions now have to affirmatively opt in to the program and provide written consents. If public officials dont send a letter to the State Department in time that is, if they merely remain silent no new refugees will be placed there. Weather Alert SUB-ZERO WIND CHILLS LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING Wind chills of near 0 to 10 below zero are likely late tonight into Tuesday morning. This will be from temperatures around 5 to 10 degrees across the interior areas combined with northwest winds of around 10 to 15 mph. For coastal areas, this will be from temperatures around 10 degrees combined with northwest winds of around 15 to 20 mph. If you need to be outside, be prepared for the wind and cold, and dress in layers and wear a hat, heavy coat, as well as gloves or mittens. Frostbite can occur in a short amount of time, so dress in layers and make sure all exposed skin is protected. Health official: 'Regardless of variant, the protective measures are the same' local By Laman Ismayilova YARAT Contemporary Art Space invites you to enjoy documentary about professional Azerbaijani pianist and healer Zuleyha Abdullayeva on January 15, at 19:00. After the film, audience will be able to experience very special music therapy session led by Zuleyha Abdullayeva herself. If for some reason you cannot come to the premiere, you are very welcome to attend the screening in Azerbaijan Union of Cinematographers on January 17. The film screening will be also held in Salaam Cinema Baku on January 18. These screenings will be very special too. The film "Dialogues with Zuleyha" was shot in co-production of three countries: Azerbaijan (Peri Film), the Czech Republic (Oliel Company) and Georgia (Chai Khana), with the support of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In August 2019, the film became a member of the CineDOC Summer School, organized by the CineDOC Tbilisi International Documentary Film Festival (Georgia). The film director and producer is Rashid Aghamaliyev, the cameramen are Nina Scamborova (Slovakia) and Raashi Metkari (India), the film editor is Jorge Sanchez (Spain), and the sound engineers are Berk Tugcu (Turkey) and Juras Karaka (Belarus). The film cast includes Zuleyha Abdullayeva, Vidhi Mehrotra (India), Elkhan Ilyasov (Czech Republic) and Rashid Aghamaliyev (Azerbaijan). Abdullayeva studied at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory in the class of musicology (1981-1986). During her studies, she developed an interest in music therapy, which contributed to her spiritual growth. After moving to Turkey, she continued to study the influence of music on the human body. During this period, Abdullayeva received the Reiki Master title and graduated from the Complex Holistic Healing School. Zuleyha Abdullayeva also was trained in art therapy and a number of breathing techniques. New knowledge raised her piano skills. Now Abdullayeva gives concerts for wide audience, as well as holds individual music therapy sessions. Some people say that listening to Zuleyhas music is a life-changing experience. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/605442296949504/ --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Vice-President Mike Pence said Soleimani "was travelling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces." He said it was not possible to share full details of the intelligence with lawmakers. "When it comes to intelligence we have to protect sources and methods, there's only certain amount we can share with every member of Congress," Pence said on ABC's Good Morning America. "But those of us who have seen all the evidence know that there was a compelling case of imminent threat against American personnel." Trump said Thursday (Friday AEDT) he "had calls from numerous senators and numerous congressmen and women saying it was the greatest presentation they've ever had." Referring to criticism by Republican Senator Mike Lee and Rand Paul, Trump said: "They want information that honestly I think is very hard to get. ... It really had to do with sources and information that we had that really should remain at a very high level." Lee, a conservative from Utah, said the briefing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials was "probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue," in the nine years he's served in the Senate. Paul, of Kentucky, said administration officials justified killing Soleimani based on the 2002 authorisation of force in Iraq. "That is absurd. That's an insult," he said. Loading Pelosi scheduled the House vote after Iran retaliated for the Soleimani killing by launching missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops. No casualties were reported, but the strike is suspected to have accidentally shot down a Ukrainian Airlines passenger jet killing all 176 people on board including 63 Canadians. The five-page resolution says "Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military" unless Congress declares war on that country or enacts legislation authorising use of force to prevent an attack on the US and its forces. The resolution's sponsor, freshman Demoract Elissa Slotkin said it is intended to "make clear that if the President wants to take us to war, he must get authorisation from Congress." Loading If loved ones are going to be sent to fight in a protracted war, "the President owes the American people a public conversation about why, and for what ends," said Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who served in Iraq. Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to uphold in authorising use of military force, Slotkin said, adding, "We are owed concrete, specific details on strategy." Trump did not consult with congressional leaders ahead of the attack that killed the Iranian general and afterwards sent Congress a notification explaining the rationale, but kept it classified. Congress has allowed its war powers role to erode since the passage of Authorisation for Use of Military Force in 2001 to fight terrorism after the 9/11 attacks, and passage of another AUMF for the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Fallout from those votes deeply divided Congress and the nation, with many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, now saying they were mistakes. Yet Congress has been paralysed on whether to repeal or change those authorities. Trump, facing one of the greatest tests of his presidency, said on Wednesday that Iran appeared to be "standing down" and said the US response would be to put in place new economic sanctions "until Iran changes its behaviour." The strikes by Iran had pushed Tehran and Washington perilously close to all-out conflict and put the world's attention on Trump as he weighed whether to respond with more military force. Gurugram Three men were arrested after a 35-year-old woman from Delhi alleged that she was forcibly taken to a house in Wazirabad near Sector 52 on Thursday night and raped by two of them. The third suspect attempted to rape her and threatened to kill her when she tried to escape, she said. The police said the suspects were produced in a district court on Friday and sent to judicial custody. According to the police, the incident took place around 8pm, when the woman was standing near the Sikanderpur Metro station. The police said that two suspects from Bhiwani, identified by first names as Pradeep and Shyam, stopped in an autorickshaw and accosted her. A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said that on spotting her alone, the duo took her hostage in the autorickshaw and took her to the residence of their friend, Mohan, in Wazirabad. In her statement, the woman said that Pradeep and Shyam both raped her. As she tried to escape, Mohan also attempted to rape her and threatened to kill her. She alleged that an altercation broke out among the three men and she immediately ran from the house, and informed the police control room, the police official said. The police said a team from Sector 53 police station rushed to the spot and arrested the three men. The womans statement was recorded and a medical examination, which confirmed rape, was conducted. Deepak Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Sector 53 police station, said the accused were produced at a district court on Friday and sent to Bhondsi jail. A case was registered against the suspects under Section 376D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 53 police station on Thursday. The Daily Beast Fox News White House correspondent and perpetual nemesis of Jen Psaki thought he had Joe Bidens press secretary cornered on Monday when he asked her why the president is still referring to COVID-19 as a pandemic of the unvaccinated when so many people are getting breakthrough infections. He was wrong.I understand that the science says that vaccines prevent death, Doocy began, before undercutting that basic truth. But Im triple-vaxxed, still got COVID. Youre triple-vaxxed, still got COVI IMAGE: A burnt paw of a brushtail possum is pictured as it is nursed by WIRES volunteers in Merimbula, Australia. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters Bushfires continued to pose serious threat in several parts of Australia with high temperatures and windy conditions expected to further fan the ongoing blaze across the country. Since September last year, Australia's raging bushfire crisis, one of the worst in its history, has killed 24 people, burned over six million hectares of land, reduced to ashes hundreds of homes and pushed many species towards extinction. The bushfires continued to pose serious threat in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. IMAGE: A dog visits the burnt out property of its owner's family member in Kia. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters Authorities on Friday issued fresh warnings and evacuation orders in Victoria as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires. Around 23 fires were still burning in Victoria, according to the state's emergency management department. Emergency warnings were issued for Buchan due to spot fires sparking and a new warning was issued for the area around Swifts Creek. IMAGE: An injured kangaroo limps in a creek bed before being euthanised on a farm in Cobargo. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters The Victorian town of Combienbar was hit by a grassfire threatening homes and the Combienbar Hall, officials said. Military helicopters were deployed for the evacuation operation. According to media reports, two fires that were burning along the alpine border between Victoria and New South Wales had merged, making a massive blaze that burned about 640,000 hectares so far. IMAGE: Soldiers sit on a beach amongst burnt trees where people had previously taken shelter during a fire on New Year's Eve in Mallacoota. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters Meanwhile, a cool change has started to sweep through Melbourne on Friday. However, it is expected to worsen the conditions at the fire front. "When the change hits, wind gusts could reach up to 90 km/hour on the Gippsland coast, where a severe weather warning has been issued. "This is of concern for the fires further inland, as firefighters will have to cope with a few hours of heavy wind before a band of rain moves through," Steven McGibbony, forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology was quoted as saying by The Age. IMAGE: Sheep make their way in the fire grounds near Bega, News South Wales. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters In New South Wales, about 135 fires are still burning, with nine at 'watch and act' levels. On the South Coast, four fires, including the Border and Werri Berri blazes, are in the 'watch and act' level. Kosciuszko National Park, where vast land tracts were destroyed in the blaze, is again at risk. IMAGE: A destroyed bus is seen next to burnt bushland in the village of Mogo. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters Several beaches on the south coast, including Narooma, Dalmeny, Tuross Head, Moruya, Broulee, Malua Bay, Surf Beach and Aslings Beach, have remained closed for the entire weekend. A 'cool and gusty southerly change' was moving through New South Wales and was expected to reach Sydney by 1 am (local time) on Saturday. However, the Bureau of Meteorology warned that the change 'will bring difficult conditions for New South Wales fires' and issued a warning. IMAGE: Destroyed cars are seen next to burnt bushland in the village of Mogo. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters In South Australia, fire situation on Kangaroo Island was downgraded on Friday with no emergency warnings now present. The area received significant rainfall and a drop in temperatures which is assisting crews to control multiple fires that flared up overnight. SA Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Corrections, Corey Wingard, has lauded the community of Kangaroo Island for their resilience and also thanked emergency services for the efforts. IMAGE: Fire rescue vehicles are seen at the Ben Boyd Reservoir following the crash of a firefighting helicopter, near Boyd Town. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters Meanwhile, a team of United Kingdom experts was on its way to Australia to help the country to prepare for the unprecedented bushfire crisis. In addition to this, US firefighters landed in Sydney on Friday to help fight the bushfires. Over 70 firefighters have arrived from the US and Canada this week to help with firefighting efforts apart from the 157 New Zealand firefighters. On Tuesday, January 14th, a special general election will be held to fill the Pennsylvania State Senate seat vacated when Mike Folmer resigned in 2019. All registered voters in Pennsylvania State Senate District 48 are eligible to vote in this special general election. District 48 includes all of Lebanon County, part of Dauphin County, and part of York County. Voters can check whether they live in this district by entering their street address at www.vote411.org. Both candidates, Michael Schroeder (Republican) and David Arnold (Democrat) have provided information to the League of Women Voters of the Harrisburg Area, and their words are found on VOTE 411. The winner of this election will serve in the Pennsylvania Senate in Harrisburg until 2022 and will help to decide many important issues. VOTE411 provides candidate information, polling place information, and other helpful election information for all voters nationwide as a service of the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active citizen participation in government. If you live in Senatorial District 48 please take the time to gather information and vote on January 14. Darlene Kvaternik is a member of the Steering Committee of the League of Women Voters of the Harrisburg area. An inquiry into Republican allegations of misconduct at the Justice Department and the FBI, including its handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation, has effectively ended without tangible results. Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had appointed Utah's top federal prosecutor, John Huber, in November 2017 to look into a variety of Republican allegations of misconduct. Among the issues being investigated was claims the FBI did not fully pursue possible corruption cases at the Clinton Foundation during Hillary's tenure as U.S. Secretary of State when the federal government allowed the sale of a company called Uranium One, the Washington Post reports. An inquiry into Republican allegations of misconduct at the Justice Department and the FBI, including its handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation, has effectively ended without tangible results The assignment has since ended but no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers. Current and former law enforcement officials said they had not expected the probe to uncover anything. A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In 2017, Republican lawmakers opened a congressional investigation into the 2010 sale of Uranium One, a Canadian company that owned 20 percent of U.S. uranium supplies, to a Russian government firm. President Donald Trump had called for an investigation into the Uranium One sale, which required approval by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), though five congressional inquiries had already found no evidence of wrongdoing. Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (above) had appointed Utah's top federal prosecutor, John Huber, in November 2017 to look into a variety of Republican allegations of misconduct Trump, Republican lawmakers and right-wing media have charged that Clinton masterminded the sale's approval in exchange for donations to her family's Clinton Foundation charity. Huber had been awaiting the completion of a separate Justice Department review conducted by the department's inspector general Michael Horowitz. In a report published in December, Horowitz concluded that the FBI had made numerous mistakes but found no evidence of political bias by the bureau when it opened an investigation into contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia in 2016. Huber was also initially assigned with looking into any possible missteps the FBI took when it sought a warrant to conduct surveillance on a former adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Carter Page, but he had ceded that portion of his inquiry to a different federal prosecutor, John Durham. Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Bowl America (NYSEMKT:BWL.A) share price has dived in the last thirty days. The recent drop has obliterated the annual return, with the share price now down 5.1% over that longer period. Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). So some would prefer to hold off buying when there is a lot of optimism towards a stock. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio. See our latest analysis for Bowl America Does Bowl America Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? Bowl America's P/E is 26.39. As you can see below Bowl America has a P/E ratio that is fairly close for the average for the hospitality industry, which is 24.6. AMEX:BWL.A Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 10th 2020 Bowl America's P/E tells us that market participants think its prospects are roughly in line with its industry. So if Bowl America actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Checking factors such as director buying and selling. could help you form your own view on if that will happen. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings. Bowl America saw earnings per share decrease by 28% last year. But EPS is up 16% over the last 5 years. Story continues Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash). 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). Bowl America's Balance Sheet The extra options and safety that comes with Bowl America's US$7.7m net cash position means that it deserves a higher P/E than it would if it had a lot of net debt. The Bottom Line On Bowl America's P/E Ratio Bowl America's P/E is 26.4 which is above average (18.9) in its market. Falling earnings per share is probably keeping traditional value investors away, but the relatively strong balance sheet will allow the company time to invest in growth. Clearly, the high P/E indicates shareholders think it will! Given Bowl America's P/E ratio has declined from 26.4 to 26.4 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is less confident about the business today, than it was back then. For those who don't like to trade against momentum, that could be a warning sign, but a contrarian investor might want to take a closer look. 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. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow. 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. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW), often known as ITW, is one of those brands that you may not have heard of despite it being all around you. Consumer products like zippers in clothing, resealable food packaging, multi-pack ring carriers for beverages, components for automobiles, and fastening systems for construction are just a few of the markets and products that make up this over 100-year-old company's portfolio. Despite 2019 being the largest one-year gain in the stock market since 2013, ITW outperformed both the S&P 500 and the Industrial Select Sector S&P Depositary Receipt Exchange-Trade Fund, or SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLI). Is the run over? Or is Illinois Tool Works stock still a buy? 80/20 You've probably heard of the expression that 80% of a company's revenue comes from 20% of its customers. It's generally a good rule of thumb and one of the many reasons why companies invest so much of their time and money increasing business from existing customers. Reward systems, memberships, and subscription models are all techniques that support this business model. ITW's strategy takes it a step further through a principle it calls "80/20 enabled." According to the company, they "draw deep insights from our key customer relationships, and then focus our efforts on designing and patenting new products and components that solve their specific challenges." It's a mindset that seems to be working, as ITW has amassed around 20,000 patents in total. Three reasons to buy There are three main reasons why ITW is an attractive stock. To begin, the company yields 2.3% and has raised its payout to shareholders for 47 years in a row, making it a worthy dividend stock. Third-quarter 2019 operating income was $868 million, free cash flow was $830 million, and cash dividends payable was $344 million, meaning the financial health of ITW is strong enough to be able to afford its current payout. The second reason is that ITW has seven main business segments, all of which are sizable but not dominant. This is attractive because ITW's success isn't tied to one product or segment, rather, a diverse portfolio of businesses offers different ways to grow and insulate the company during tough times. Business Segment Q3 2019 Revenue Percentage of Total Q3 2019 Revenue Q3 2019 Operating Margin Automotive OEM $744 million 21.3% 22.1% Food Equipment $551 million 15.7% 27.5% Test and Measurement/Electronics $512 million 14.6% 25.6% Specialty Products $441 million 12.6% 26.2% Polymers and Fluids $418 million 11.9% 24.1% Construction Products $416 million 11.9% 25.1% Welding $402 million 11.5% 28.2% Total $3.5 billion 100% 25% Third, ITW's quarterly operating margin is an impressive 25%, up from a Q1 margin of 23.6% and a Q2 margin of 24.1%. Operating Margin is a profitability indicator that is simply operating income divided by total revenue. Operating income is the result of subtracting the cost of goods and services, also known as the cost of revenue, from total revenue, as well as subtracting selling, administrative, and general expenses like research and development for ITW. ITW also subtracts amortization and impairment of intangible assets. Operating margin varies significantly from industry to industry. Low margin businesses like Costco and Walmart have operating margins less than 5%, whereas tech giants Microsoft and Facebook have operating margins around 35%. ITW's 25% operating margin is excellent for an industrial manufacturer and supplier. In fact, it's one of the highest operating margins of any of its main competitors and higher than all top-ten holdings in the XLI except for Union Pacific (railroads tend to have higher operating margins). Reasons not to buy There are a lot of attractive reasons to buy ITW but there are some concerns as well. For example, year-over-year declines in revenue and negative organic growth rates in all but one business segment are concerning. That said, ITW's ability to grow the bottom line 7% year over year between Q3 2019 and Q3 2018 despite problems with organic growth is a testament to efficiency. Another concern is that ITW's stock price has been outpacing earnings growth, leading to a rising P/E ratio which makes the company less attractive as a value stock. The verdict ITW is a premium industrial and a tenured member of the coveted "Dividend Aristocrat" cohort. Although declines in organic growth are concerning and the stock isn't as cheap as it used to be, it's hard to argue against buying ITW for the long-term for a balance of growth and income. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Trump Mud Rooster visited the home of the minor league Toledo Mud Hens making his pitch to be re-elected by throwing truth curve balls and slugging at Democrats. President Trump held his first 2020 campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, Thursday evening. In 2016, Trump lost in Toledo and Lucas county. It marks his 15th visit to the state he won in 2016 by 8 points. Listening to Trumps comments after the Iran missile strikes and at the Toledo rally, roosters and hens may have thought he was running against Barack Obama in 2020. Wednesday Trump falsely claimed the Obama administration funded the missiles Iran used to strike U.S. bases in Iraq. Thursday in Toledo, Trump slung the mud again. By subsidizing Irans maligned conduct, the last administration was leading the world down the path of war. We are restoring our world to the path of peace, peace through strength. How long before Trump also blames Obama for Irans missile strikes downing the Ukraine airliner? As part of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, Obama had unlocked Irans frozen assets in the United States. At the Ukraine airline crash site, the remnants of a Russian-made missile have been found. Iran gets a large number of its missiles from Russia, not Obama. Trumps Obama obsession could also be tied to his complaints in Toledo about not winning the Nobel Peace prize for saving Ethiopia. Im going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize. Ill tell you about that. I made a deal, I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. I said, what, did I have something to do with it? Yeah, but you know, thats the way it is. As long as we know, thats all that matters. Barack Obama was the last U.S. President to win the Nobel Prize. The Academy Awards were also criticized by Trump. It was clear from his Toledo comments that he believes he deserves a Nobel, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Pulitzer for his performance in Gone with Iran and the killing of General Qasem Soleimani. Commander in Chief Trump targeted Democrats over the airstrike that killed Soleimani, claiming they would have leaked the mission plans, had they been informed. "The radical left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist. Theyre saying, You should get permission from Congress, you should come in and tell us what you want to do -- you should come in and tell us, so that we can call up the fake news thats back there, and we can leak it. Lot of corruption back there." A USA Today/Ipsos poll has found that Americans ,more than 2 to 1, believe the killing of Soleimani has made the U.S. less safe. 52% have called Trumps actions reckless and only 42% supported the drone strike against the second most powerful man in Iran. A Morning Consult poll found 47% approved of the attack. Poll results on how many Americans agree with Trumps assessment of Rep Adam Schiffs neck size are unknown as of this writing. Anatomy judge Trump impeached Schiff again in Toledo over his neck. He buys the smallest shirt collar you can get, and its loose! You little pencil neck. Trump expressed hope that the Democrats drape their nomination ribbon around Joe Bidens neck. So, wheres Hunter? Where the hell are you Hunter? But Ill tell you, I sort of hope its Joe, because he will hear, Wheres Hunter?' every single debate, nine times a debate. The latest polls actually show Trump is still trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in Ohio by 6 to 8 points. Trump is more even with Sanders and Warren in Ohio. Trump boasted that the economy and jobs are posting great numbers in Ohio. And just in case you didnt know it. Ohio just had the best year economically in the history of your state. Thats not bad. And this year is going to be even better. Maybe much better. Trump better hope its much better this year in Ohio, if he expects to win the state again. According to Fox News, Toledo had a 6% loss in white collar jobs in 2019. And in his Cleveland.com story on Trumps Toledo rally, Seth Richardson reported Ohio actually lost jobs from January to November for the first time since 2009. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The board of Yes Bank on January 10, approved raising Rs 10,000 crore fresh capital via a mix of debt and equity. The board also decided to not proceed with the proposed investment offer of Erwin Singh Braich/SPGP Holdings, while it is open to consider the $500 million offer from Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group in the next meeting. The banks release to the stock exchange said that the board of directors at the meeting today approved, "raising of funds up to Rs 10,000 Crore, in one or more tranches, on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit, by way of issuance of securities including but not limited through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP)/ Global Depository Receipts (GDRs)/American Depository Receipts (ADRs)/ Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs)/or any other methods on private placement basis." Yes Bank also said that it had received an updated proposal from Braich, with an extended validity until January 31 that the board has rejected. Canadian industrialist and philanthropist Braich, the founder of The Braich Group of Companies and Trusts, made a $1.2 billion bid last month that was valid till December 31. The private lender told the exchanges that it will convene an extra-ordinary general meeting to obtain shareholders approval to raise funds. Braich and Citax were among eight new investors that had expressed an interest in acquiring a stake in the bank. These included three institutional investors and five family offices. Aditya Birla Family Office had shown interest to infuse $25 million, Discovery Capital has shown $50 million, GMR group & associates $50 million and Rekha Jhunjhunwala offered to infuse $25 million. However, on December 10, the board decided to consider offers from Braich and Citax. None of the investors will be allotted equity shares such that their holding exceeds 25 percent of the share capital of the bank, the private lender said on November 30. In a separate communication, Yes Bank informed exchanges that its Independent Director Uttan Prakash Agarwal had resigned from his post before the board meeting held on January 10. He expressed his discontent with the banks ongoing capital raising exercise. While Agarwal also cited a failure in corporate governance and compliance as reasons for his resignation, Yes Bank said that the lender was reviewing his fit & proper status for the role under directions from the regulator. The government will continue to reduce unemployment and hike wages because "there is no other way to eliminate poverty", Prime Minister Viktor Orban told an international press conference. Orban Pledges More Wage Hikes Orban called it a fantastic achievement that the number of jobholders had exceeded 4.5 million for the first time in thirty years. Wages have been growing for 82 consecutive months, and their growth rate has been the fastest for low earners, he added. The Hungarian economy is constantly developing, and the government aims to reach 85% of the average European Union level of development by 2030, Orban said. That figure was at 63% in 2010 and at 71% this year, he noted. Meanwhile, regarding EU investments, Orban said it was a generally accepted practice that states folded into the state budget those investments the EU had objections to and there was no meaningful difference between European and domestic funds. The more developed a country is, the less funding it is entitled to from the EU, he noted, adding that Hungarian firms would have to repatriate more dividends from abroad in order to make up for the decline in EU funding. Orban said that Hungarys payments into the EU in proportion to GDP were higher than some more prosperous members such as the Netherlands and Sweden. Hungary To Adapt To Climate Change Steadily The governments national energy and climate protection strategy aims to maintain the common life of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin while adapting to climate change calmly and systematically. The plan is to gradually achieve 90% carbon-neutral electricity by 2030, with the Paks nuclear power plant providing the bulk of generation and solar most of the rest, he said. Hungary, he added, belonged to a group of countries that aimed for a climate-neutral economy by 2050, but this, he said, would cost 50,000 billion forints (EUR 152bn) to achieve. Among substantive measures to achieve such goals will be putting electric buses into circulation and eliminating all illegal landfill sites, while getting rid of plastic bottles from rivers, Orban said. Hungary is one of 21 countries that have managed major economic growth while reducing carbon dioxide emissions, he added. Orban said that amid the protracted debates in Europe, it was important to keep the costs of adapting to climate change topmost in mind. The household costs of energy and food should not rise, he said. Further, poorer countries should not be deprived of their funding, such as money from the EUs cohesion fund, he said. Moreover, he said that it should be recognised that creating a climate-neutral economy without nuclear power would be impossible. Orban Ready To Continue As PM The PM said he is ready to run for a fifth term as prime minister, though no personnel decisions had been made by the ruling Fidesz party concerning the 2022 elections. Commenting on recent remarks made about his age, he said youth in politics was less relevant than momentum and bravery. Looking at politics from this perspective, the youngest politicians in the world today, he added, were British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, asked about the possibility of a new Christian democratic initiative in connection with the European Peoples Party, he said Fidesz was not interested in EPP in its current form, and a change was needed within the party family. The EPP is shrinking and losing influence, positions and seats because it is heading in the wrong direction, a liberal, Socialist, centrist direction, Orban said. The question is whether Fidesz has enough influence within the EPP to force through or initiate a change, he added. If the EPP is unable to change direction, then a new Christian democratic initiative would be needed in European politics. It would be necessary, he added, to create a counterweight to the rise of French President Macrons left-wing movement. In response to another question, he said he agreed with those who noted that Fidesz had developed a more combative style in the past two years, but this, he added, had been part of a two-year election campaign. The campaign is over and we must return to the earlier style of politics by, for instance, launching national consultations. Orban said the political campaign had been too long and people disliked long periods of confrontation. Im not happy with them either. He said the government planned to hold at least two consultations in 2020. In response to a question about personnel changes in the government, he said stability was a prime virtue and changes were not needed unless there was a very good reason for them. But if corrections are needed, then they must be made. Commenting on recent critical remarks by Istvan Stumpf (a former constitutional court judge), Tibor Navracsics (a European commissioner) and Janos Lazar (a former head of the PMs office), Orban said he was biased towards all three as he considered them as friends. Orban said he would always ask for and listen to Stumpfs opinion and he counted on Navracsicss work in the upcoming period. Lazar, he added, had a job to win back the town of Hodmezovasarhely. Asked about the impact of the US-Iran conflict on Hungarys energy policy as well as its diplomacy as part of the western alliance, the prime minister said the gap between the EU and the Israeli-American position on Iran should be narrowed. Orban added that Hungary does not support the adoption of nuclear weapons by any country. MTI Photo: Szigetvary Zsolt Two reports have documented the death toll in Syria over 2019, which is the losses its been over the course of the year writes Alsouria Net. The Syrian Network for Human Rights issued a report on Wednesday in which it documented the deaths of at least 3,364 civilians in Syria in 2019, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued a similar report, documenting the deaths of at least 3,473 civilians in the same year. According to the Network report, 3,364 civilians were killed in Syria in 2019, including 842 children and 486 women. Of these, 1,497 were killed by the Assad regime, and 452 by Russian forces, while 94 were killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) and 49 by extremist groups. There were 21 civilians killed by opposition groups and 164 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The International Coalition meanwhile killed 68 civilians, according to the report. It added that the victims included 26 medical staff, 14 of them killed by regime forces, six by Russian forces. There were also 13 media staff killed, six of them by Assads forces and two by Russian forces. The report also said that 305 people were killed under torture in 2019, including 275 killed by the regime, four by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and armed opposition groups, and 13 by the SDF, with nine killed by other groups. The Network documented the occurrence of at least 109 massacres during the year, 43 committed by regime forces and 22 by Russian forces. Six were committed by the SDF, and three by International Coalition forces, and 35 by other groups. 2019 was the least bloody The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the deaths of 3,473 civilians in Syria in 2019, including 1,021 children, describing it as the least bloody year since the start of the war, which has over about nine years resulted in the deaths of 370,000 people. The Observatory said on its official page that 2019 had registered the lowest annual death toll since 2011, with 11,215 people killed, including fighters and civilians, in 2019. It said that the civilian death toll was 3,473. The Observatory said that 2019 had seen fierce fighting on three frontsfirst, in March, when the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units expelled ISIS from its last holdout in easternmost Syria near the border with Iraq. The second was in summer 2019, when Assad regime forces escalated their military campaign on Idleb, in northwestern Syria, and the third in 2019, when the regime further escalated its campaign on Idleba reference to the summer fighting that killed around a thousand civilians. The Syrian Network for Human Rights called on the United Nations to condemn the crimes and massacres, the two primary culprits in the destruction of the de-escalation agreements and for a return of the peace process to its usual form after Russias attempts to distort it and to put forward the Constitutional Committee in place of the transitional governing body. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. By PTI BHOPAL: After the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh declared Deepika Padukone-starrer "Chhapaak" as tax-free, opposition BJP on Friday demanded the same concession for Ajay Devgn's "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior". BJP leaders also asked their former ally Shiv Sena -- which is now sharing power with the Congress in Maharashtra -- to support the demand. Congress-ruled governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh declared "Chhapaak", which deals with the issue of acid attacks on women, tax-free after Deepika visited a protest against the violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. The National Student Union of India (NSUI), student wing of the Congress, distributed free tickets of "Chhapaak" in the state on Friday. Not to be outdone, BJP leaders distributed free tickets for "Tanhaji", which is about the 17th century Maratha warrior Tanhaji Malusare, an associate of King Shivaji. Both "Chhapaak" and "Tanhaji" released on Friday. "Tanhaji" should be tax-free. The movie is about defending one's country from foreign invaders. It is based on illustrious life of Tanhaji Malusare, an army leader and friend of Hindu king Chhatrapati Shivaji," BJP MLA from Huzur Rameshwar Sharma told PTI. "We also request Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to write a letter to MP CM, seeking tax-free status for "Tanhaji"," he added. "Thackeray should also declare the film tax-free in Maharashtra, otherwise we will consider that he has started following the thoughts of (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb," the MLA said. Former MLA and BJP leader Surendra Nath Singh and the party's district general secretary Anil Agrawal distributed free tickets to the people who turned up to watch the Devgn- starrer film at Rangmahal Talkies in Bhopal. "We have watched and also distributed 200 free tickets of Tanhaji," Agrawal said. "Deepika Padukone shared the stage with anti-national elements at JNU. We oppose her act of showing solidarity with such people who are harming the nation," the BJP leader said. The NSUI distributed free tickets of "Chhapaak" to college students. "We have distributed around 200 free tickets of Chhapaak at Sangeet Talkies here. Students who showed college ID cards were given tickets," said its spokesperson Vivek Tripathi. Padukone visited the JNU campus in Delhi on Tuesday to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by armed assailants on Sunday night. Her gesture earned her praise for taking a stand on a political issue, while some others dismissed it as a promotion stunt for her film. Politicians have been put on alert that strong economic growth wont necessarily boost the feel-good factor among consumers ahead of an election this year, according to the author of the KBC Bank sentiment survey. The banks chief economist Austin Hughes said its latest survey showed reduced fears of Britain crashing out of the EU helped lift the mood of Irish consumers for the second successive month in December. However, many consumers said they expect the new year to make little difference to their finances and one in five envisage a worsening of their circumstances in the coming year, according to the survey. Mr Hughes said that political parties cannot assume that economic growth will make people feel significantly better off, despite the lessening of fears around a damaging Brexit. The sense that reduced Brexit concerns were central to the improvement in Irish consumer sentiment last month is supported by the contrast between a large increase in UK consumer confidence in December, a relatively flat reading in the comparable metric for the US and a decline in consumer confidence in the euro area, Mr Hughes said. The question is whether that relief will prove sufficient to spark a material step-up in spending on either side of the Irish Sea in early 2020. Meanwhile, GDP will grow by 3.9% this year as long as the Brexit concerns do not return to haunt the Irish economy, finance minister Paschal Donohoe said. He also projected a budget surplus of 0.7% of GDP this year. Corporation tax revenues would likely fall by 500m from 2020 as reforms to the global tax regime under the international initiatives called Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or BEPS, begin to bite. While there is some uncertainty surrounding this figure, it is the departments best assessment, based on ongoing work being carried out by the Revenue Commissioners, that the overall risk from BEPS-related changes could be in the range of 800m to 2bn, Mr Donohoe said. WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to prevent President Donald Trump from taking additional military action against Iran, an opening move in a Democratic-led campaign to reassert congressional authority over the use of force abroad. The 224-to-194 vote, which came a day after the administration's senior national security officials briefed lawmakers about the strike that killed a top Iranian commander, fell largely along party lines, with three Republicans and a Republican-turned-independent endorsing the resolution. Eight Democrats opposed the measure, which instructs Trump "to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military" unless Congress declares war or there is "an imminent armed attack upon the United States." The administration, with the help of most Republicans, has argued forcefully against the effort, asserting that Trump, as commander in chief, had undisputed legal justification to kill Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad without Congress' prior approval. But Democrats and a handful of Republicans were so frustrated by the administration's resistance to fully involving Congress that the belated effort to engage Capitol Hill largely backfired - fueling momentum for Thursday's vote. In the House, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a close Trump ally who has publicly defended last week's strike on Soleimani, worked with Democrats after Wednesday's briefings to fine-tune the resolution, ultimately crossing the aisle on Thursday to support it. "I support the president. Killing Soleimani was the right decision. But engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision," Gaetz said, announcing his yes vote. But the critical forum is the Senate, where Democrats are in the minority and will need the help of at least four Republicans to pass a similar war powers resolution. Put forward by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the measure could come up for a vote as early as next week. Photo by Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky have committed to supporting Kaine's resolution, fuming to reporters Wednesday that administration officials had failed to specify when, if ever, they might seek Congress' approval for military strikes. Lee complained that officials had instead communicated that lawmakers "need to be good little boys and girls and run along and not debate this in public." He has called that position "absolutely insane" and "unacceptable." Kaine said Thursday that he is discussing his resolution with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Todd Young, R-Ind., in addition to Lee and Paul, and selectively changing the text - such as removing language that specifically addresses Trump by name - in hopes that doing so will build enough support to secure Senate approval. Procedurally, it is likely that the House will have to take up the Senate's resolution, should it pass in that chamber, in order to send Trump a war powers resolution that has the weight of potential law. It is also extremely likely that, should they succeed, the president will veto it - and that Congress will not be able to muster enough votes to override that veto. But Kaine sounded undeterred Thursday, arguing that Congress could still influence Trump's thinking even if supporters cannot override his veto. As evidence, he pointed to when Congress threatened to invoke its war powers to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. "He stopped doing what we were complaining about. It had an impact," Kaine said, noting that the administration stopped refueling Saudi jets. "President Trump may not care about Congress, but he does care about the American public . . . and if he sees a strong vote on this, and it goes to him, it's an expression not just of what we think but of what our constituents think." At this point, however, Republicans and Democrats remain bitterly divided over whether Trump's strike was prudent and justified, or illegal and reckless, with the dispute coming down to whether Soleimani posed such an imminent threat to warrant going after him without the consent of Congress. The administration insists it had a right to target Soleimani under the Congress's 2002 authorization for use of military force (AUMF) in Iraq and the president's constitutional right to self-defense of troops directly and imminently in harm's way. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that the House would vote to repeal the 2002 AUMF "soon." The war powers resolutions going through Congress recognize an exception for an imminent threat, but Democrats do not buy the Trump administration's argument that one existed - and they are upset with the administration for withholding intelligence from lawmakers that could inform their determination. "We deserve the respect from the administration, and the Congress deserves by dint of the Constitution, the requirement of the Constitution, to consult Congress," Pelosi said, arguing that the administration's justification for the strike should be redacted and made available to the public, as there was "no reason for it to be classified." Republicans, meanwhile, have endorsed the administration's approach, arguing that "this Congress leaks like the Titanic," as Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) put it, and thus lawmakers could not always be trusted with the most sensitive information. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., argued Thursday that the administration's briefers had provided lawmakers all the information they needed to support the strike. "In terms of where there is an imminent threat, General Milley was compelling and chilling about what was going to happen and what had happened," Graham said, referring to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, who briefed lawmakers Wednesday, along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and CIA director Gina Haspel. "I think a third-grader could have believed there was an imminent threat coming from the man that we killed," Graham said. Republicans are warning their colleagues against voting for the war powers resolutions, arguing they are "only intended to try to undermine the president in the middle of a conflict with the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism," as House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said Thursday. "How can you sit here and try to apologize for the things that he did by saying taking him out was wrong?" Scalise continued. "This world is a safer place with Soleimani gone." House Democrats have been taking pains to condemn Soleimani as they complain that the administration's moves were illegal for having cut out Congress. "Qasem Soleimani was a malign force responsible for the death of many Americans," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said, adding that he nonetheless has "no confidence that there is some broad strategy at work, or the policies of the president are doing anything but increasing the dangers to the American people." He called the House's vote the first step "of a broader reassertion of Congress's war powers. . . . It is past time for Congress to do our job and not simply write the executive a blank check." The Calistoga Police Department has welcomed three much-needed new employees, including two police officers, Katie Hutchins of Hidden Valley Lake, and Adrian Herrera-Ortega of Calistoga, and a new part-time dispatcher, Katherine Webster of Napa. The additions will help fill out the ranks of the department, which has been understaffed by 40 percent for the past year. Hutchins and Herrera-Ortega were sworn in on Tuesday. Hutchins is a graduate of Santa Rosa Police Academy. She said, This is an honor and an amazing opportunity. I love that people here are so active, and out walking their cute dogs. Herrera-Ortega is from Calistoga and served in the Marines Corp. He also graduated from Sonoma State University with a degree in psychology. Calistogans can frequently see him jogging around town, he said. Webster is a recent graduate of the Napa Dispatch Academy. Department dispatchers are the face and voice of the community, said Police Chief Mitch Celaya, And were thrilled to have her. In November, the department also promoted two officers to the position of Police Corporal: Kristine Romo and Nicholas Dellia. Part-time Police Dispatcher Wendy Ramirez-Munoz was promoted to a full-time position. Celaya also said the department has made offers to two more potential officers who could be on board soon. The police department has also updated body cameras for the officers, and is making upgrades to police vehicles by installing computers known as mobile data units. The department also purchased new radar signs to help with speeding, and has formalized an agreement with the St. Helena Police and Fire Departments, Celaya said. Celaya has also agreed to stay on as chief until December. He initially submitted a letter of intent to retire in 2018, but agreed to stay on until December 2019. Tobacco education grantThe Calistoga Police Department has also been awarded a Department of Justice Tobacco Grant for $472,600 to fund a School Resource Officer position for 2-1/2 years. The officer will address tobacco and vaping education, prevention, enforcement and related health issues for Calistogas youth. Between 2016 and 2018, among Calistoga youth, there was a decrease in perception that tobacco products cause harmful health issues, from 78% to 58%, Celaya said. Use of the grant will take a multidisciplinary approach with education, training for school and police department staff, and community outreach, including working with the UpValley Family Centers. You can reach Cynthia Sweeney at 942-4035 or csweeney@weeklycalistogan.com. 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. In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdis request on the troops. It said Pompeo, who initiated the call, reiterated the U.S. condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes and underscored that President Donald Trump has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests. They're starring together in a fascinating film based on a true story about a doctor who examined three paranoid schizophrenic patients who each believed they were Jesus Christ. Julianna Margulies, Peter Dinklage, and Richard Gere attended a screening of Three Christs hosted by IFC and the Cinema Society at Regal Essex Crossing in New York City on Thursday, and they were joined by a host of fellow Hollywood stars. Gere, 70, wore one of his habitual scarves to the evening event, along with an ensemble of grays and blues. A trio of favorite performers: Julianna Margulies, Peter Dinklage, and Richard Gere attended a screening of Three Christs in New York City on Thursday He was joined by celebrated TV actress Marguiles, 53, who wore a chic long leopard print jacket over a black outfit consisting of a satin V-neck top and textured drawstring pants. She completed the look with a swath of blood red lipstick and pointed black pumps. Dinklage of Game Of Thrones fame, 50, wore a slightly more casual ensemble of black jeans and a matching coat, over a blue plaid shirt. He completed his look with a black beanie and earth-toned work boots. The good wife: Celebrated TV actress Julianna Marguiles wore a chic long leopard print jacket over a black outfit consisting of a satin V-neck top and textured drawstring pants Samantha Mathis was also in attendance, wearing a frilled black satin top paired with delightfully patterned metallic bell-bottom slacks and pointy-toed silver glitter shoes. Three-time Academy Award nominee Debra Winger showed in all black, wearing a sheer top and blazer along with several artfully layered chains and necklaces. Nurse Jackie's Edie Falco, who's set to appear in James Cameron's next Avatar installments, was quite casual in a grey knit sweater, blue dress shirt and jeans. Shiny: Samantha Mathis was also in attendance, wearing a frilled black satin top paired with delightfully patterned metallic bell-bottom slacks and pointy-toed silver glitter shoes Cool: Three-time Academy Award nominee Debra Winger showed in all black, wearing a sheer top and blazer along with several artfully layered chains and necklaces Casual: Nurse Jackie's Edie Falco, who's set to appear in James Cameron's next Avatar installments, was quite casual in a grey knit sweater, blue dress shirt and jeans Original X-Men Jean Grey, better known as Famke Janssen, wore a beautiful cream lace top paired with black slacks, while Chris 'Mr. Big' Noth was dressed in an ensemble of black and blue. The Grudge's Tara Westwood echoed Julianna's look, but instead wore the leopard print on a maxi skirt. Others in attendance included Ukrainian model Alina Baikova, in a tailored large taupe pantsuit, and Norwegian model Frida Aasen in black. Three Christs was directed by Jon Avnet, who also came to the screening. The film premiered back in 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival, but is being released this month. Classy: Original X-Men Jean Grey, better known as Famke Janssen, wore a beautiful cream lace top paired with black slacks Handsome in the city: Chris 'Mr. Big' Noth was dressed in an ensemble of black and blue Toned: The Grudge's Tara Westwood echoed Julianna's look, but instead wore the leopard print on a maxi skirt Blond models: Others in attendance included Ukrainian model Alina Baikova, in a tailored large taupe pantsuit, and Norwegian model Frida Aasen in black This has been a wet week, and next week promises more of the same, with even the possibility of snow in Portland. Oregon needs it. Every bit of it. The states 2019-20 water year got off to a slow start last fall, the federal National Resources Conservation Service states in its January report. As a result, the next three months will be critical in determining water supplies for the summer, the NRCS concludes. 2019 overall was the fourth-driest year on record, according to the results measured at Portland International Airport 9.11 inches below the average airport precipitation total of 35.56 inches. November was especially dry 1.52 inches at the airport. The month set low-precipitation records at U.S. Department of Agriculture NRCS snowpack telemetry monitoring stations around the state. A skier at Mt. Hood flies down the mountain in the 1950s, when Oregon's snowfall was more consistently vigorous. (The Oregonian/OregonLive) Oregons snowpack, which feeds the states rivers and replenishes water supplies in the spring and summer, stands at 45 percent of normal. The Willamette-area basins, the NRCS reports, are the lowest in the state, a perilous 25 percent of normal. Much of Oregon is officially facing drought conditions. This state of affairs could become a perennial problem in a part of the country known for its sogginess. Some of Oregons glaciers in the Cascades and Wallowa Mountains, glacial geologist Anders Eskill Carlson and biologist Aaron J. Hartz wrote in The Oregonian/OregonLive last October, may already be dead. -- Douglas Perry @douglasmperry Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. - A second baby born from transplanted uterus of a deceased donor has been delivered - The mother identified as Jennifer Gobrecht was told at age 17 that she would never carry her own child - However, 33-year-old Gobrecht, who was born with ovaries but without a uterus, delivered her own baby Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in In what is established to be the second of its kind in the United States, a baby born from transplanted uterus of a deceased donor has been delivered. The mother identified as Jennifer Gobrecht delivered the baby boy through a cesarean section, The New York Times reports. READ ALSO: Video showing how Reinhard Bonnke once raised dead man surfaces after his burial The Gobrecht. Photo credit: Penn Medicine Source: UGC YEN.com.gh gathers that the disclosure was made on Thursday, January 7, by researchers at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. When the 33-year-old Gobrecht was 17-year-old, she was told by doctors that she would never carry her own child. READ ALSO: Meet the Ghanaian chief who is a taxi driver in America (Video) The Gobrechts holding ultrasound images of their son. Photo credit: Penn Medicine Source: UGC Gobrecht, who was born with ovaries but without a uterus, was selected to be the first patient in a trial at Penn Medicine that hopes to help five women who otherwise could not carry their own children. An assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and who helped run the trial, Dr Kathleen ONeill, said: For women with uterine factor infertility, uterus transplantation is potentially a new path to parenthood outside of adoption and use of a gestational carrier and its the only option which allows these women to carry and deliver their babies." READ ALSO: Reverend sister quits her devotion to marry police officer (Photos) In other news about birth and origin, YEN.com.gh recently reported that an emotional video of a moment an African-American woman Charnita Wilson discovered that she hails from Ghana after conducting a DNA test has surfaced online. The development comes on the back of a news article that was recently shared. It would be recalled that one of nearly 40 slave castles built in the Gold Coast, now Ghana, more than 70 families discovered their family tree during the African Ancestry DNA disclosure which is possibly the largest ever in the continent. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh CHICOPEE Police are asking for help to identify a man who broke into a Chicopee Falls home last month and took cash and multiple items from the residents. The housebreak occurred sometime between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Dec. 11 on an address on High Street. The suspect broke into the home through a window, said Michael Wilk, police public information officer. The suspect was caught on surveillance cameras. In addition, city cameras caught the man driving away in a silver Odyssey van, he said. The man is believed to be heavyset and was wearing a black jacket, light-colored jeans and a New York Yankees ball cap, Wilk said. Anyone who recognizes the person or saw anything at the time of the housebreak is asked to call police detectives at 413-594-1740 and reference case 19-5813, he said. Politics and history are said to be commensurate. At the worst of times when upheaval and change are the order of the day, so are politics and poetry. There can be no better example of this axiom in the 20th century than the poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. He wrote, prolifically and compellingly, on the events that shaped the destiny of the subcontinent; apart from his prodigious output as a poet, he also wrote newspaper editorials and articles and gave interviews on a range of subjects that, taken together, reveal a highly political mind beneath the poets persona and the astonishing range of his concerns and interests. His father had been educated abroad in Cambridge and Lincolns Inn but not Faiz. Born into straitened circumstances on February, 13, 1911, in Sialkot, Faiz received his early education at the citys Murray College (a landmark institution run by the Church of Scotland, where the poet Iqbal too had studied). He then joined the Government College in Lahore where he studied Arabic, English literature and philosophy. In 1935, he joined the MAO College, Amritsar, as a teacher of English. Here, Faiz was drawn to the charismatic Rashid Jahan, wife of the vice-principal, Comrade Mahmuduzzafar. In her home he met communists and their sympathisers both from the Punjab as well as visitors from Aligarh, Lucknow and Mahmuduzzafars friends from England. During the Amritsar days, he got drawn into the trade union and civil liberties movements concerns that would occupy him for the rest of his life. And it was here that he got drawn into the great debate of his day: Art For Arts Sake vs. Art For Lifes Sake. It was possibly in Amritsar, too, that Faiz read the Communist Manifesto, banned in India but smuggled in by communist groups and made available in universities. It marked a turning point in his life, and poetry. Faiz brought a new internationalism to Urdu poetry, for though the Urdu poet of the turn of the century had spoken of tremors in the Muslim world, it was only insofar as it concerned the Muslims of India. Faiz was saying it was as much his concern as anybody elses when someone somewhere oppressed the weak, or the mighty system crushed the lone voice of dissent. When Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sent to the electric chair in 1953 on charges of being Soviet agents in America, Faiz wrote his hauntingly evocative Hum jo tareek raahon mein mare gaye (We who were executed in the dark lanes). Similarly, his ode to Africa, written in 1955, Aa Jao Africa (Come, Africa), is an ode to oppressed people everywhere; it was to show the way towards increasing internationalism in his range of interests. In later years, Faiz would write with equal passion about Palestine, Namibia and Chile and justify it thus: ... as a writer or an artist, even though I run no state and command no power, I am entitled to feel that I am my brothers keeper, and my brother is the whole of mankind. And this is the relevance to me of peace, of freedom, of detente and the elimination of the nuclear menace. But out of this vast brotherhood, the nearest to me and dearest are the insulted and the humiliated, the homeless and the disinherited, the poor, the hungry and the sick at heart. It is precisely for these the insulted and the humiliated that the solemn, sonorous, eminently sing-able Hum Dekhenge is written. It contains a promise and a prophecy: one day the oppressed will occupy their rightful place when the tyrants will be vanquished and Truth shall prevail. Written in 1979 in response to General Ziaul Haqs repressive regime, it is as much a song for his own country reeling under a dictator as for people anywhere in the world fighting oppression. And that is why it has found a life beyond its own time and circumstance, as good poetry invariably does. TURN OF PHRASE Faiz evolved a complex system of images, drawn from the classical Persian tradition that seemed on the face of it harmless enough and could escape detection by hawk-eyed censors but had sharp political overtones. For instance, ashiq (lover) became patriot and revolutionary; mashuq (beloved) used for the country or people; raqib (rival) used interchangeably for imperialism, capitalism, tyranny, exploitation; ishq (love) became revolutionary zeal; visal or deedar (union with the beloved) revolution or social change; hijr or firaq (separation) oppression by the state; rind (libertine) rebel; sharab, maikhana, pyala, saqi (wine, tavern, cup, cup-bearer) sources of social and political awareness; haq (truth) socialism; khirad (empirical knowledge) capitalism or the establishment; zanjir (chain) chain of slavery; bulbul (nightingale) nationalist poet; gul (rose) political ideal; but (idol) present-day rulers; and the Kaaba, any sacred space, even the country. Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, translator and literary historian. In a hard-hitting response, India said Pakistan 'epitomises the dark arts, but there are no takers for its 'malware after Islamabad raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Security Council. United Nations: In a hard-hitting response, India said Pakistan "epitomises the dark arts, but there are no takers for its "malware after Islamabad raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Security Council. One delegation that epitomises the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today. These we dismiss with disdain, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said on Thursday. "My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware, Akbaruddin said, addressing the UN Security Council open debate on Maintenance of International Peace and Security Upholding the United Nations Charter.' Akbaruddin's strong response came after Pakistan's envoy to the UN Munir Akram raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir while addressing the Council during the open debate. The Pakistani envoy also raised the abrogation of Article 370, communications lockdown in Kashmir and referred to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan after aerial combat in February last year after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. Akram called on the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to act decisively to prevent a disastrous war between Pakistan and India. Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcating it into two union territories. Reacting sharply to India's decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled India's high commissioner. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. In his statement to the Council, Akbaruddin said that it is increasingly acknowledged that the 15-nation Security Council faces crises of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks; the weaponisation of new technologies; the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council. Akbaruddin noted that in a world constantly in flux, the challenges to international peace and security are a step ahead of the systems designed to tackle them. It is evident now that fires are all around the horizon. To undertake a fair evaluation of the available mechanisms without belittling their importance, we need to ask ourselves are they still fit for the purpose of implementing the fundamental principles of the Charter? He underscored the need for the Council to be part of the political tool kit to address ongoing and future threats to global peace and security, emphasising that the Council should represent current global realities and be fit for purpose. The answer to the crises the Council faces lies in invoking and working through Charter provisions that provide for reform and change. We need a Council that is representative of current global realities, credible, and legitimate, rather than one that rests merely on the claim that it existed at the inception. Does the Council need to be fit for purpose for the 21st century. Alluding to Mahatma Gandhi's quote of One must care about the world one will not see', Akbaruddin said resilient organisations are those that are not resistant to change, or else current emergencies can turn into catastrophes, even while we continue our endless prevarication. Humanity, it is said, progresses when it collectively rises to its responsibility to the future. It is now time to do that. The Indian envoy said there is a case to be made for innovations that enlarge the vision of global rule of law. It is possible that just as Generals often re-fight the last war, the drafters of the Charter responded to the factors and forces that led to World War II, without anticipating what we are now faced with. Further he said notwithstanding all its imperfections, the UN Charter is still the main incarnation of the global spirit. Moving away from a formal system which is well understood, to one which is based on untested interpretations, may have unexpected consequences. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The Union health ministry has told the Punjab government to get the super specialty centre at Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital functional by February 15 but the work is far from over. So far, only urology, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic departments have computerised tomography (CT) scan and out-patient department (OPD) services. These three departments, however, dont have an emergency ward, in-patient department (IPD), intensive care unit (ICU) or intensive coronary care unit (ICCU). Furthermore, the cardiology, nephrology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and neurology departments at the hospital are yet to be made functional. A health department official, on the condition of anonymity, revealed that besides the delay in installing machines and equipment, the hospital is set to face another hurdle. The government does not have any super specialist doctors and paramedical staff to run the centre. The government has also not advertised for these posts. It will take another 40 to 50 days to complete the entire process of hiring new super specialist doctors, the official added. Principal Dr Harjinder Singh said, The Union health ministry has set February 15 as the deadline to get all departments, facilities and services functional. However, the work of installation of machines and equipment is in process. The government is also set to start hiring new super specialist doctors and paramedical staff. However, I dont know when will the government advertise for these posts. He further added, I am hopeful that the remaining work will be completed before the given deadline and all the departments and facilities will be thrown open to public on time. Dr Harjinder Singh along with principal secretary, state health and family welfare department, had met higher officials of the Union health ministry on Thursday. During the meeting, the ministry had directed the state health department to get the facilities at the super specialist centre functional by February 15. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) speaks in a file photograph. Murphy was one of eight Democrats to vote against the war powers resolution on Jan. 9, 2020. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images) Lawmakers Buck Parties in Vote on War Powers Resolution Three Republicans and eight Democrats voted against the bulk of their party on Thursday when the House approved a non-binding war powers resolution. President Donald Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and two other GOP members, Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Francis Rooney (Fla.) voted for the resolution while eight DemocratsReps. Ben McAdams (Utah), Anthony Brindisi (N.Y.), Joe Cunningham (S.C.), Kendra Horn (Okla.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Max Rose (N.Y.), and Elaine Luria (Va.), all known as moderatesvoted against it. Most of the Democrats represent districts that voted for Trump in 2016 and face tough re-election battles this year. Murphy, who used to work for the Department of Defense as a national security specialist, said she was concerned about Trumps strategy in the Middle East but said the War Powers Act of 1973 already restricts a presidents power to engage in military action without the consent of Congress. A photo released by the Iraqi Prime Ministers Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike, in Baghdad, Iraq, early on Jan. 2, 2020. (Iraqi Prime Ministers Press Office via AP) There is no question Qassem Soleimani met his just end. While Americans may have different views on the timing and wisdom of the strike on Soleimani, the United States now faces new and evolving threats from Iran and its proxiesand tens of thousands of American servicemembers and other personnel remain in harms way. We must be prepared to act swiftly, proportionally, and effectively to keep America and our allies safe, she said in a statement. The War Powers Act of 1973 already restricts the presidents ability to engage our nation in military conflict without authorization from Congress. Based on my experience as a national security specialist in the Pentagon and on classified briefings, I voted against the War Powers Resolution today because I am not prepared to unduly limit our nations ability to respond to different contingencies that may arise. Murphy said she does believe Congress must conduct rigorous oversight to make sure the Trump administration has a pragmatic and principled strategy for the broader Middle East. Gottheimer said Trump was justified in eliminating Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, calling the slain general a heinous terrorist. The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani is seen in Tehran on Sept. 14, 2013. (Mehdi Ghasemi/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images) Listing reasons he opposed the war powers resolution, the congressman added: First, I am concerned that this resolution, as it is written, could limit our nations ability to confront, thwart, and respond to grave and potentially unforeseen threats in the region. Second, I am concerned that this resolution sends conflicting signals to Iran and to its terrorist proxies. Third, this non-binding resolution simply mirrors existing law. The War Powers Act of 1973 already limits the Presidents ability to engage in military conflict without authorization from Congress. Finally, we cannotand must notplay partisan politics with our national security, or do anything that might undermine our servicemembers, he said. McAdams also applauded the strike that took out Soleimani and said he voted against the resolution because he didnt want to play politics when the lives of American service members are on the line. He also cited the 1973 War Powers Act. Massie, a libertarian-minded conservative, said Congress should reclaim the powers granted by Article I of the Constitution. This vote isnt about supporting or opposing President Trump. I voted for President Trump. I plan to vote for President Trump again. This vote is about exercising our constitutional authority. But more importantly, our moral obligation to decide when and where our troops are going to be asked to give their lives. Congress needs to do more, he said on the House floor before the vote. We need to debate our involvement in Afghanistan and then bring our troops home and debate our involvement in Iraq and then bring our troops home. And we dont need another war and if we do go to war, it needs to be with the blessing and support of the people and a mission that our soldiers can accomplish and we follow that of the vision of our founding fathers and debate it here on the floor of the House. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a similar resolution in the Senate last week. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are among the senators who said they support the resolution, which is less likely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate. A Scottish civil servant who was involved in Northern Ireland's historic peace talks has done what many thought would be completely impossible and set the Good Friday Agreement to music. Fifty-one-year-old London-based Clare Salters decided to put the 'Declaration of Support' to song to "remind people what the Agreement was about and the peace it represents". Clare's video of choir singers belting out The Good Friday Agreement, pEACE in 4/4 Time in a church setting has had viewers baffled and spellbound in equal measure since it went online last week. A mother-of-one, Clare was born to a Belfast father in St Andrews and had a deep connection with Northern Ireland before her career in the Civil Service even began. "I grew up in Scotland, but my dad is from Belfast and so we visited extended family there frequently and discussions about Northern Ireland were part and parcel of our family life," she says. "I remember the ring of steel around the city centre in Belfast and the strange sense that this and the wider security measures and tensions seemed completely normal and yet also completely the opposite of normal anywhere else. "I became involved in the Good Friday Agreement talks after joining the Civil Service on the graduate fast stream. In 1996 I was posted as private secretary to the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, who in those days was also the deputy head of the Northern Ireland Office. Expand Close Mo Mowlam / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mo Mowlam "That was the year that the structured negotiations that led to the Agreement began, so I had a bird's-eye view of everything that was going on in the UK Government side. After that role, and following the 1997 general election, I joined the political development team within the Northern Ireland Office itself." In her role Clare was able to witness history unfold before her eyes. "I was obviously a very junior cog in the machine in those days," she says. "But I was part of the UK Government's team of note-takers who maintained a record of events each day. "This involved running round after the Secretary of State and recording what happened in all of the meetings, in particular what had been agreed, and making sure that those who needed to action them knew what had been discussed and what needed to be done as a result. "They were long, long days and a sense of hope and frustration continually woven in together that was exhausting to maintain over such a sustained period. Expand Close The choir performing Clare's piece / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The choir performing Clare's piece "The majority of the time the process was a relentless series of discussions about familiar issues, often covering very similar ground, but gradually edging towards the possibility of agreement. "But there were a few lighter moments. I remember once I was on note-taking duties and was sat in the Secretary of State's room waiting for a meeting to start and suddenly became aware of my hand touching something furry. I nearly jumped out of my skin, thinking it was a mouse or worse. I felt very foolish, but also relieved to discover it was the Secretary of State's discarded wig, tucked down the side of the sofa. "I remember the first time I met Ian Paisley - I was handing over a briefcase of papers to a colleague, and just waiting for them to finish what they were doing, and I heard an enormous voice booming down the corridor: 'I hope that is not a bomb you have in the briefcase young lady!' "And I remember Michael Ancram's elephant ties. He had an amazing collection of them - I don't think I ever saw him wearing a non-elephant tie ever - either in NIO days or seeing him on the news subsequently." Through it all Clare says the commitment to peace and progress was glaringly evident. "There was a very palpable sense of commitment from virtually all of those involved in the process to realising a better future," she says. "I was privileged to witness at close hand behind the scenes the two UK ministerial teams that saw this process through - Major, Mayhew and Ancram; and Blair, Mowlam, Murphy and Ingram. I was left in no doubt that all of them were deeply committed to reaching a solution that was in Northern Ireland's interest and the 'no selfish strategic or economic interest' maxim was genuinely meant by all of them. "But my overwhelming memory from that period is of working alongside some deeply inspirational colleagues in the NIO and the central secretariat, who exemplified how a public servant should behave. It was not always an easy place to work - but by and large it was a supportive team, made up of exceptionally impressive people tackling difficult issues with courage, integrity and commitment." Expand Close Tony Blair (second left) and Bertie Ahern signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tony Blair (second left) and Bertie Ahern signed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 Clare says that when the Good Friday Agreement eventually came to pass it was "a combination of relief, and elation and almost feeling it was too good to believe". She says that the essence of the Agreement inspired her to put it to music and remind everyone what it meant and still means. "It really did feel like the world had changed... unlocking the potential for a better future. It is something that I still hold very dear. How could anyone not want to hold onto that hope and do everything possible to avoid slipping backwards? "In 2018 I had been involved in an international project to mark the centenary of the 2014 Armistice with a 'global concert for co-operation'. It was called #iPlay4Peace, symbolising the power of music to bring people together, making harmony across divisions and so on. "They invited people to submit compositions on the theme of peace and I was honoured that mine was chosen as one of the 2019 pieces, along with two others. "I'll agree that it's an unlikely thing to set to music - and indeed that proved a bit of a challenge trying to give musical life to words that were definitely designed to be seen on paper rather than sung. "But I had been struck, in the latter part of my time in the Civil Service, by how many people in Great Britain had forgotten what the Agreement was about. "So partly I wanted to find a way to remind people of the depth and complexities of the Agreement. But I also thought that the agreement - and the long process of its continuing implementation - was quite a good symbol of peace more generally. It is not simply a case of getting to a point where signatures appear on a piece of paper, massive achievement though that is, but the sustained effort of delivering on those decisions that continues long after the ink is dry. "Musically, it's a bit of an odd mixture, combining Renaissance-like polyphony with a spot of blues. It builds in a musical cryptogram, with the opening phrase of most verses spelling out the word 'pEACE'. "The lyrics, of course, are nightmarishly difficult to make fit. I took the view that it was essential to stick to the precise wording of the declaration rather than paraphrase anything. Expand Close The choir performing Clare's piece / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The choir performing Clare's piece "I learnt early on in my NIO career how much depended on getting the wording exactly right. I can think of no other government department where our stakeholders might quote the opening of St John's gospel to us - 'In the beginning was the Word' - in order to emphasise the importance of precision drafting. "In most places, it was possible to fit the wording without making things too convoluted. And to get through the lengthy lists of institutional and constitutional amendments that is essential to the fabric of the Agreement, those are sung in overlapping parts by the tenors and basses, with the sopranos and altos singing 'interlocking and interdependent' in suspended harmony above. "That was probably the trickiest bit of the piece to perform - far too many syllables to get out. Someone commented that there were far too many institutions and it was too difficult to get them to work. I thought wryly that was how some people viewed the institutions in real life." Clare's choir was made up of a variety of amateur or professional musicians with a long history of supporting the peace process in a range of ways, including two former NIO colleagues of hers who had also been involved in the talks, and a daughter of one of the Peace People. "Our recording is unashamedly rough-and-ready, reflecting very much a first run through rather than a polished performance," she says. "We've been described as a 'rather motley-looking choir', which is probably a fair challenge but not something I think we should feel bad about. "To hear 30 people singing those words aloud, to tunes and harmonies that I had written and in a church with such a beautiful acoustic, was really special. "Several of the choir said how moving they had found the experience and, in particular, how powerful they had found the words. "And for those without direct connections to Northern Ireland, being reminded of just how complex and carefully-balanced the Agreement was and how much it covered, was important." Clare says she would love to see the piece performed in Northern Ireland at some stage this year and has encouraged anyone interested in hosting the choir to get in touch through their Sing Good Friday Agreement page on Facebook. Clare's next big project is raising funds for the One Handed Musical Instrument Trust, a charity which works to make instrumental music accessible to people with a range of physical disabilities. You can donate to the charity here: www.uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ClareSalters Sarma said the education scheme related to the paper mills, entailing Rs 5 crore, would be implemented in February. Guwahati: A day after addressing a massive public rally in Dhemaji, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced a set of sops for children, teachers, health workers and the differently-abled while rejecting the possibility of holding talks with those leading the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), claiming that objective of the ongoing agitation is to form a political party to uproot the BJP from Assam. Mr Sarma on Thursday told reporters, We were prepared to hold talks with protesters and people leading to anti-CAA movement in the state but now those leading the anti-CAA movements are not talking about the Act. The Aasu (All Assam Students Union) general secretary in his speech is talking more about the BJP and threatening to bring us to book by forming a political party instead of talking about the CAA. He said, The objective of those leading the movement is no longer restricted to the CAA. They want to form a political party to teach us (the Bharatiya Janata Party) a lesson. We will have to fight them politically as they are threatening to uproot BJP from the state. Mr Sarma also said that he would be responding to all the allegations and charges brought against the BJPbesides putting forward the reasons for which they have been backing the CAA. Mr Sarma also announced that one-time financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each would be given to each of the wards of 700 employees of two dead paper mills, who are pursuing studies in a medical or engineering college or a similar course. The Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited used to run these mills. Likewise, Rs 75,000 each will be given to those children pursuing post-graduate studies or doing PhD research, Rs 50,000 each to those pursuing graduation in colleges or diploma in polytechnics, Rs 25,000 to those studying in Standard XI and XII and Rs 10,000 to those studying from nursery to class 10, he said. Mr Sarma said the education scheme related to the paper mills, entailing Rs 5 crore, would be implemented in February. After applications are submitted online from January 14, the amount will be transferred to the bank accounts of beneficiaries who will be selected following a process of screening by the deputy commissioners (district magistrates) of the two districts where the mills are located. A week ago, the children of Cachar Paper Mill employees took to the streets with begging bowls, seeking help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Mr Sarma also announced a health scheme through which some 50,000 employees under National Health Mission can claim medical reimbursement of up to Rs 5 lakh annually from the government. The scheme covers the members of their families too. We will extend this health scheme also to 50,000 teachers contracted through TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) as well as the state pool teachers under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the next two months. The additional teachers or contractual teachers working in government high schools will also be covered under it, he said. The minister, who is being targeted by anti-CAA movement allegedly for his attempt to defuse the movement by organizing a peace march across the state, said that his third scheme is for differently-abled state government employees. The government would bear four per cent of the interest if they avail a bank loan to buy a two-wheeler or a car. The last fortnight, the minister Mr Sarma had announced 50,000 as a one-time grant for some 2,000 artistes and technicians of the state. The government also announced the creation of autonomous councils for certain communities and handing over land settlement deeds to some 40,000 indigenous people. Earlier on Wednesday Mr Sarma while addressing a huge public rally of BJP at Dhemaji created a controversy by saying that 90 per cent of the Congress MLAs in Assam are descendants of Bangladeshi migrants. Ninety per cent of Congress MLAs are descendants of Bangladeshis. The Congress had made four Arabic college and several madrassas, Mr Sarma said. He further alleged that the leadership of student body Assam Students Union (Aasu), that is spearheading the protests against the citizenship law, is also soft on Bangladeshis. Investigators focusing on suspected informants at Damascus and Baghdad airports who collaborated with the US military. Iranian General Qassem Soleimani arrived at the Damascus airport in a vehicle with dark-tinted glass. Four soldiers from Irans Revolutionary Guards rode with him. They parked near a staircase leading to a Cham Wings Airbus A320, destined for Baghdad. Neither Soleimani nor the soldiers were registered on the passenger manifesto, according to a Cham Wings airline employee who described the scene of their departure from the Syrian capital to Reuters. Soleimani avoided using his private plane because of rising concerns about his own security, said an Iraqi security source with knowledge of Soleimanis security arrangements. The passenger flight would be Soleimanis last. Rockets fired from a US drone killed him as he left the Baghdad airport in a convoy of two armoured vehicles. Also killed was the man who met him at the airport: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraqs Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the Iraqi governments umbrella group for the countrys militias. The Iraqi investigation into the attack that killed the two men on January 3 started minutes after the US attack, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters. National Security agents sealed off the airport and prevented dozens of security staff from leaving, including police, passport officers and intelligence agents. Investigators have focused on how suspected informants inside the Damascus and Baghdad airports collaborated with the US military to help track and pinpoint Soleimanis position, according to Reuters interviews with two security officials with direct knowledge of Iraqs investigation, two Baghdad airport employees, two police officials and two employees of Syrias Cham Wings Airlines, a private commercial airline which had its headquarters in Damascus. Probe on suspected leaks The probe is being led by Falih al-Fayadh, who serves as Iraqs National Security Adviser and the head of the PMF, the body that coordinates with Iraqs mostly Shia militias, many of which are backed by Iran and had close ties to Soleimani. The National Security agencys investigators have strong indications that a network of spies inside Baghdad Airport were involved in leaking sensitive security details on Soleimanis arrival to the United States, one of the Iraqi security officials told Reuters. Mourners attend the burial of Soleimani at his hometown in Kerman on Wednesday [Zoheir Seidanlou//WANA via Reuters] The suspects include two security staffers at the Baghdad airport and two Cham Wings employees a spy at the Damascus airport and another one working on board the airplane, the source said. The National Security agencys investigators believe the four suspects, who have not been arrested, worked as part of a wider group of people feeding information to the US military, the official said. The two employees of Cham Wings are under investigation by Syrian intelligence, the two Iraqi security officials said. The Syrian General Intelligence Directorate did not respond to a request for comment. Team of informants In Baghdad, National Security agents are investigating the two airport security workers, who are part of the nations Facility Protection Service, one of the Iraqi security officials said. Initial findings of the Baghdad investigation team suggest that the first tip on Soleimani came from Damascus airport, the official said. The job of the Baghdad airport cell was to confirm the arrival of the target and details of his convoy. The media office of Iraqs National Security agency did not respond to requests for comment, as did the Iraq mission to the United Nations in New York. The US Department of Defense declined to comment on whether informants in Iraq and Syria played a role in the attacks. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States had been closely tracking Soleimanis movements for days prior to the attack but declined to say how the military pinpointed his location the night of the attack. A Cham Wings manager in Damascus said airline employees were prohibited from commenting on the attack or investigation. A spokesman for Iraqs Civil Aviation Authority, which operates the nations airports, declined to comment on the investigation but called it routine after such incidents which include high-profile officials. Soleimanis last moments Soleimanis plane landed at the Baghdad airport at about 12:30am on January 3, according to two airport officials, citing footage from its security cameras. The general and his guards exited the plane on a staircase directly to the tarmac, bypassing customs. Al-Muhandis met him outside the plane, and the two men stepped into a waiting armoured vehicle. The soldiers guarding the general piled into another armoured four-wheel drive, the airport officials said. The assassination of Irans Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad has triggered fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East region [Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office via AP] As airport security officers looked on, the two vehicles headed down the main road leading out of the airport, the officials said. The first two US rockets struck the vehicle carrying Soleimani and al-Muhandis at 12:55am. The four-wheel drive carrying his security was hit seconds later. As commander of the Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force, Soleimani ran clandestine operations in foreign countries and was a key figure in Irans long-standing campaign to drive US forces out of Iraq. He spent years running covert operations and cultivating militia leaders in Iraq to extend Irans influence and fight the interests of the US. Reuters reported on Saturday that, starting in October, Soleimani had secretly launched stepped-up attacks on US forces stationed in Iraq and equipped Iraqi militias with sophisticated weaponry to carry them out. Soleimanis killing triggered an outpouring of anger in Iran and call for revenge against the US [File: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP] The attack on the general sparked widespread outrage and promise of revenge in Iran, which responded on Wednesday with a missile attack on two Iraq military bases that house US troops. No Americans or Iraqis were killed or injured in the attack. In the hours after the attack, investigators pored over all incoming calls and text messages by the airport night-shift staff in search of who might have tipped off the US to Soleimanis movements, the Iraqi security officials said. National Security agents conducted hours-long interrogations with employees of airport security and Cham Wings, the sources said. One security worker said agents questioned him for 24 hours before releasing him. For hours, they grilled him about who he had spoken or texted with before Soleimanis plane landed including any weird requests related to the Damascus flight and confiscated his mobile phone. They asked me a million questions, he said. Grab opens first Grabkitchen in Singapore Grab has opened its its first cloud kitchen in Singapore bringing over ten F&B brands to northwest of the island, including three new virtual restaurants. The new GrabKitchen at Hillview will feature ten restaurants including three new virtual restaurants, a GrabFood Hub which brings popular hawker food, Asia Pacific Breweries Heineken and Tiger beers, as well as the dangerously addictive salted egg snacks by Irvins. Beverages by Playmade, one of Singapores bubble tea darlings, will also be available. GrabKitchen at Hillview. Photo courtesy: Grab Consumers in surrounding Hillview districts such as Cashew, Bukit Batok, Bukit Gombak and Toh Tuck can have food and drink options delivered on-demand to their door via the Grab app. Those who do not mind taking a short walk to GrabKitchen can opt to dine-in at the location or choose the self pickup option in-app to save on delivery fees. Consumers will also be able to order from multiple GrabKitchen merchants in a single order. Commenting on the launch of Grabs first cloud kitchen in Singapore, Dilip Roussenaly, Head of GrabFood Singapore, said, Together with our merchant-partners, we hope to bridge cuisine demand and supply gaps, complement and expand the variety of food options at different price points in the area, and offer them conveniently to consumers through on-demand delivery, self-pick up, or dine in. The country remains braced for a snap general election as a much-anticipated meeting between Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin concluded without resolution. The meeting took place as Mr Varadkar repeatedly failed to rule out a dissolution of the Dail ahead of its scheduled return next Wednesday. The two leaders agreed to consider what was raised and to meet again next week. However, senior party sources said that neither party was prepared for an immediate withdrawal for fear of undermining progress in the Northern talks. It is understood Mr Martin made clear that Fianna Fail could not move beyond a position of abstaining on key votes, meaning leaving Mr Varadkar now to shore up numbers elsewhere if he is to avoid dissolution. Following Mr Martins rebuff, Mr Varadkar now intends reaching out to his independent ministerial colleagues and Opposition independents as well as the Green Party in a bid to ensure he has the numbers to continue. It is understood both sides feel there is more scoping work to be done following the meeting and there is a need to firm up what legislation could actually be passed in a new session, and what simply would be too divisive. In a terse joint statement, the parties said: The two leaders had a constructive meeting. They discussed Dail numbers and possible legislative proposals which could be passed in a further Dail session. They agreed to consider matters further and to meet again next week. Mr Martin was spotted heading back toward his office in Leinster House shortly after 7pm along with his chef de cabinet, Deirdre Gillane, and both appeared to be in an upbeat mood. The two leaders and their chief advisers met for about an hour. It is believed both sides discussed the contents of the letters the two leaders sent each other before Christmas. Mr Martin wrote seeking certainty on the general election date, stating a preference for an orderly wind-down of the Dail in April. In response, Mr Varadkar set out his own list of demands including requesting Mr Martins party support the Government in crucial votes if necessary to prevent the Government from collapsing. He also sought agreement with Fianna Fail on property tax reforms, climate change legislation, and a new rural action plan. Speaking before the meeting, Mr Varadkar said he believed he could continue in office but acknowledged the Dail numbers were very precarious. However, he declined to answer on three occasions if the Dail will reconvene on Wednesday after its Christmas recess. The Taoiseach said it was not a yes or no answer. There has been intense speculation that Mr Varadkar is to exercise his prerogative and seek a dissolution before next Wednesday. The Cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday, the Dail will be reconvened on Wednesday, and that is the position until such time as it may change, he said. Adding fuel to the snap election speculation, the Taoiseach has summonsed his parliamentary party to a special meeting in Dublin today, a highly unusual move. But with Fianna Fail ruling out supporting the Government, it would appear Mr Varadkars hopes of seeking support from other parties already appear to have been dashed. Labour and the Greens have ruled out propping up the embattled Government to safeguard its control in the Dail. The two parties have now backed calls for the Dail to be dissolved and for a general election. Labour leader Brendan Howlin said: Everyone agrees that the lifespan of this Dail has run its course and everybody is in election mode. So I think that the Taoiseach should accept that this Dail has run its course, call a general election, and allow the people to put in place a government which will actually solve the issues that are of most concern to people, like housing and healthcare. A Baytown teenager who police say took part in a robbery at a Crosby gun shop has been charged with felony murder after an alleged accomplice died of gunshot wounds arising from the incident, according to court records. Authorities said Angel Cardenas, 17, was one was several people who broke into Central Guns, in the 2000 block of Kennings Road, on Tuesday morning only to face the store owner moments later. The owner, a 79-year-old military veteran who lived next to the business, exchanged gunfire with the burglars, fatally wounding 23-year-old Jose Flores. All the suspected burglars fled to Baytown, where Flores was found dead shortly afterward on the side of the 3800 block of Morales Road near a 2014 white Chevrolet Spark linked to the burglary, authorities said. Cardenas and a third person linked to the robbery were performing CPR on Flores when first responders arrived there, according to a criminal complaint filed against Cardenas. Cardenas is being held criminally responsible for the death. According to the complaint, Flores was struck by gunfire from two types of firearms, one of which was fired by an accomplice. During Cardenas' probable cause hearing on Thursday night, the magistrate, while discussing the gunbattle, said evidence indicated that bullets from both sides struck Flores. Medical examiners said the bullets recovered from Flores were from .25-caliber and 9mm handguns. The store owner told investigators that he fired a .25-caliber handgun. Three weapons, including two 9mm-caliber and one .40-caliber weapon, were found in a burned wood pile near the Spark. Two of the guns had serial numbers that matched guns stolen from the Crosby business. In addition to the felony murder charge, Cardenas is also charged with tampering with and fabricating evidence in the case. He is in Harris County Jail, with combined bail set at $225,000. Last summer, two juveniles were charged with murder in connection with a robbery that left a 16-year-old accomplice dead. The juveniles, both 15, were referred to Harris county Juvenile Probation authorities on charges of murder and aggravated robbery in the May 19 incident. When the three teens allegedly tried to rob a 23-year-old man in south Houston, the 16-year-old was fatally shot. After meeting economists and industry leaders at the Niti Aayog on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his confidence in India becoming a $5-trillion economy. The statement appears to be sheer bravado if one looks at it through the prism of reality. When the economy is on the verge of posting the slowest ever growth since 2013 and the unemployment rate is at a 40-year high, such all-is-well statements have no meaning. The BJP government has never accepted that the economy is in the doldrums. Even when people and small businesses were struggling because of demonetisation, it never acknowledged the problems publicly. Neither did it accept problems faced by the business community due to the hasty rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It also never admitted the existence of an agrarian crisis because of its attempts to keep prices artificially low. Though the economy has been in trouble since early 2019, the government did not take any major steps to reorient the countrys economic strategy. At the heart of the slowdown is lower consumption. The government tried to hide the problem by not releasing the National Sample Survey Organisations consumer expenditure survey 2017-18 as it reportedly found that consumption had in fact shrunk in rural India. All steps taken by the government to boost economic growth failed to inspire people to step up their spending, either because of lack of confidence in the future or lack of enough disposable money due to low wage growth. While the heavily indebted private sector and banking sector are too weak to restart the growth cycle, the public sector has its own limitations. If rating agency S&P lowers Indias sovereign rating, the cost of funds for companies would rise further. The very fact that the Niti Aayog had to summon economists and industry leaders for consultations on the Union Budget proposals shows the gravity of the slowdown. But this exercise too may not drastically alter Indias economic trajectory. If economist Nouriel Roubini were to be believed, things are not rosy for India because adverse global events like heightened tensions in West Asia and the cold war between the United States and China. He also claims that Mr Modis aggressive political agenda including the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens could create problems for the economy as foreign investors do not like instability. An influential US risk assessment firm, Eurasia Group, flagged risks in India by observing that Mr Modi had spent much of his second term promoting controversial social policies at the expense of an economic agenda. This is obviously not a flattering tribute to Mr Modi, the economic reformer! One wonders how Indias two powerful men, both hailing from a business-focussed state like Gujarat, forgot the universally-accepted principle that peace and order are basic prerequisites for prosperity. What comes first? Social engineering or economic growth? By IANS NEW DELHI: An approximate 300 terrorists, including some from Afghanistan, are being trained at launchpads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), reveals an intelligence input shared with the government just three months after Indian Army killed 6-10 Pakistani terrorists and soldiers in the region's Neelam Valley in a major artillery counter-offensive, targeting four such terror launchpads. The latest intelligence report mentions that around 40-50 terror launchpads are currently functional in PoK and are being facilitated by Pakistan's intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistan Army to train terrorists. The report warns that these terrorists are set to infiltrate into India to carry out major attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and other major cities. ALSO READ: 160 terrorists killed and 102 arrested in J&K in 2019, decrease in local youths joining militancy, says DGP A high-level alert has been sounded in various Indian cities ahead of Republic Day on January 26 following the intelligence report which specifically mentions that over 50 terrorists from Afghanistan among 300 getting training under Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed and ready for cross-border action. Neelam, Leepa and Tangdhar valleys in PoK near the Line of Control (LoC) are reported to be the regions where these terrorist launchpads are based, the report reveals. Home Ministry officials said that the terror launchpads were "wound-up" in most of PoK after the 2019 Balakot airstrike conducted by Indian Air Force when Indian warplanes crossed the de facto border in the disputed region of Kashmir on February 26 and dropped bombs in the vicinity of the town of Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. ALSO READ: India, US ask Pakistan to take 'immediate and irreversible action' against terrorists The officials, seeking anonymity, said some small groups of Pakistani Special Service Group commandos are positioned in PoK opposite the Keran and Poonch sectors in Jammu and Kashmir. However, they said that the number of these groups were not clear. Information has been shared by Indian intelligence agencies that Mufti Rauf Asgar, the brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar, has been planning for attacks in India and has briefed to those terrorists being trained in these launchpads in PoK. Asgar, who is held to be behind various terror strikes in India, had held a meeting in August last year in Bahawalpur regarding the future plans of the JeM and instructed to the launchpads commanders to push infiltrators into India, said the officials. ALSO READ: 22,557 terrorists neutralised since 1990, Home Ministry informs Lok Sabha It is a "revival" attempt of the JeM in Jammu and Kashmir against the backdrop of killing of "157 terrorists in the year 2019" due to major anti-terror operations conducted by the security forces as per data shared by Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy to Parliament in the monsoon session last year. The data had also mentioned that the cross-border infiltration attempts increased to 84 since scrapping of Article 370 and 35 A from Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, as compared to 53 in the preceding time frame. Successful infiltration attempts, however, have come down from 59 to 32, the home ministry said. The JeM and LeT are learned to have been tasked with increasing of their ranks and strengthening the operational leadership in Jammu and Kashmir which has been bifurcated into two Union Territories. The banned group, the officials said, also wanted to revive its local base in Jammu and Kashmir as most of their ground workers are caught or killed in security forces' operations and the remaining are unable to survive and fight. Salvage logging and re-seeding a forest after a wildfire helps reduce flooding and returns water levels to normal faster, according to a new paper from a Washington State University researcher. The paper, just published in the journal Hydrological Processes, shows that water levels are still increased up to 40 years after a fire. "Trees work like straws, pulling water up out of the ground," said Ryan Niemeyer, an adjunct faculty member in WSU's Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR). "When you remove them, the water has to go somewhere. Flooding is common after a wildfire, as is elevated stream flow in subsequent summers. But seeing that the effect lasts for up to 40 years is a little surprising and certainly a new finding." Niemeyer wrote the paper with Kevin Bladon at Oregon State University and Richard Woodsmith of Woodsmith Watershed Consulting. Natural fire starts a long-term experiment Their research looked at the U.S. Forest Service's Entiat Experimental Forest in north-central Washington, which burned in 1970. The fire likely started from a lightning strike, Niemeyer said. advertisement Three distinct areas of the forest were observed, with two of them having salvage logging done to remove what remained of the burned trees. Those areas were also fertilized and native seeds were dropped on the area. The third area was left untouched. The fire interrupted a planned logging experiment in the forest, so researchers at the time switched to monitoring the effects of wildfire, said Niemeyer, who grew up hunting and fishing in the Entiat watershed. The original studies in the early '70s showed that water levels in the watershed increased significantly after the fire. But the measurement equipment was removed after a few years, said the native Washingtonian. Past decisions impact today Fast forward to 2004, when a new grant allowed for stream flow monitoring equipment to be re-installed to measure the long-term impact the fire had on water levels. The measurement period was from 2004-11, after which Niemeyer, a hydrologist who is also a post-doctoral researcher at UC-Santa Barbara, and his colleagues spent five years analyzing the data. advertisement After roughly 40 years, only one of the three areas still had water levels above the pre-fire baseline: the section that was left alone to recover. "If you visit today, you can easily see that area has less mature vegetation compared to the re-seeded sections," Niemeyer said. "The trees in the re-seeded sections are much bigger, and water levels are back to normal." Increased water levels can be positive and negative, he said. If you want more water coming down a stream for increased access to water for irrigation, for example, then you wouldn't want to salvage any of the logs or re-seed the area. But that extra water can have other impacts on the land, he said. Trees help hold soil in place when it rains, so erosion is higher in areas that aren't re-seeded. That increases sediment going into the watershed, which can impact fish and other wildlife. "It's really a complex set of interactions, and each wildfire situation effects water and water usage differently," Niemeyer said. "But now we know how long a fire impacts nearby water, and that those impacts can be reduced faster." Since it's now been eight years since the sensors were removed, and 15 since they were first re-installed, the researchers are hoping to start another round of monitoring in the area. They plan to write a grant proposal to fund re-installing the sensors to see if, and when, the untouched area returns to normal water levels. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2020 / International Montoro Resources Inc. (TSXV:IMT)(Frankfurt:O4T1), (the "Company"). As a result of current market conditions the Company is making an application to the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") for a waiver to a private placement price as the proposed subscription price is below the minimum allowed, pursuant to the policies. The Company proposes to proceed with a non brokered private placement (the "Financing") of up to $350,000 with 10.0 million units to be issued at $0.035. Each unit will comprise of one common share and one transferable share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole warrant will permit the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.05 for two years from closing. In addition to relying upon other available prospectus exemptions to effect the Financing, a portion of the private placement may be completed in accordance with the exemption set out in BC Instrument 45-536 (Exemption from prospectus requirement for certain distributions through an investment dealer), (the "Investment Dealer Exemption"). The Company also confirms there is no material fact or material change related to the Company which has not been generally disclosed. The Company may pay commissions of 8% to eligible parties in connection with this Financing, payable either in cash and/or in warrants. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Financing for continued exploration on its existing properties (Serpent River-Pecors; Wicheeda North, & Duhamel) and newly optioned Camping Lake- Red Lake, Ontario prospect. This will account for approximately $250,000. The balance of $100,000 will maintain existing operation expenses as follows: Regulatory Fees - $5,000; Office Rent & Communication expenses - $5,000; Transfer Agent Fees -2,000; Legal & Accounting - $15,000; Partial loan & interest repayment - $15,000; Investor & Shareholder Relations including travel & advertising - $15,000; Management Fees - $10,000; Outstanding Payables & Unallocated Working Capital -$33,000. While the Company intends to spend the net proceeds from the Financing as stated above, there may be circumstances where, for sound business reasons, funds may be reallocated at discretion of the Board. The closing of the Private Placement Financing, including the issuance of the securities and the finder's fees are subject to Exchange approval. About International Montoro Resources Inc. Int. Montoro Resources Inc. listed on the TSX Venture Exchange for over 25 years, is a Canadian based emerging resource company. The Company is systematically exploring its extensive property positions in: Red Lake, Ontario ( Camping Lake - Au potential acquisition) Elliot Lake, Ontario (Serpent River/Pecors - Ni-Cu-PGE discovery) & (Uranium- REE's) Quebec (Duhamel - Ni-Cu-Co prospect & Titanium, Vanadium, and Chromium potential) Prince George, British Columbia (Wicheeda North - Rare Earth Elements prospect) Uranium City, Saskatchewan (Crackingstone -50% Interest in Uranium discovery) ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Gary Musil" Gary Musil, President/CEO and Director Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information: Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. 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: International Montoro Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/572670/Int-Montoro-Resources-Applies-for-Waiver-to-Private-Placement-Pricing-at-0035-Per-Unit "I'm not withholding them indefinitely. I'll send them over when I'm ready," Pelosi told reporters during her weekly press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. "And that will probably be soon." Washington, Jan 10 (IANS) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is holding onto two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, said that they will probably be sent to the Senate soon for a trial, signalling a possible end to a standoff with Republicans. The Democrat-led House impeached Trump last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, charges that the president has rejected. Pelosi, who initiated an impeachment inquiry into Trump in September 2019, is withholding the articles of impeachment and has refused to name impeachment managers, who will make the House's impeachment case in the Senate trial. "As I said right from the start, we need to see the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?" Pelosi said, reported Xinhua news agency. Pressure is mounting on Pelosi, who is trying to give Democrats more leverage in setting rules for the trial in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority, as some Democrats have urged her to send over articles of impeachment. She also has no lack of support. "Our report accompanying the articles of impeachment says the president constitutes a clear and present danger to American constitutional system," Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters on Thursday. "We have to move forward on a basis that does justice to what the Constitution provides," added Raskin. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Pelosi on Thursday in a sarcastic tone. "This is a challenging time to create bipartisan agreement. But the Speaker Pelosi has managed to do the impossible," the Kentucky Republican tweeted. "She has created growing bipartisan unity -- in opposition to her own reckless games with impeachment." McConnell has said that the Senate should model Trump's impeachment trial after that of former President Bill Clinton, by dealing with potential witnesses after the trial begins. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, has wanted to make sure certain witnesses would be called upon for the trial before it starts, which McConnell has so far rejected. In an anonymous complaint last summer, a whistleblower raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine, resulting in the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry against Trump. The president was alleged to have pressed his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, into launching investigations that could politically benefit him. Furthermore, the White House allegedly tried to cover it up. Having repeatedly denied any wrongdoings, Trump lashed out at the impeachment at the White House on Thursday, calling it "a hoax." According to the nation's Constitution, the House shall have the sole power of impeachment, while the Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. Conviction can only happen in the Senate and requires at least two-thirds of its members, or 67 senators, to vote in favour after a trial. Currently, the Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents. rt/ Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 14:55:34|Editor: yhy Video Player Close KABUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan Air Force destroyed a helicopter after the chopper made a crash landing in the country's eastern Paktika province on Thursday night, the country's Defense Ministry confirmed on Friday. "A MI 17 helicopter of Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force made an emergency landing in Ziruk district, Paktika province last might. The crew and military personnel aboard the helicopter did not hurt during the incident," the ministry said in a statement. The statement ruled out insurgents' activities at the area, saying a mechanical failure had caused the incident in the mountainous province, 155 km south of Kabul. "After it has been assessed that the helicopter cannot be repaired, the chopper was destroyed by Air Force," the statement noted. The army was investigating the circumstances of the incident to determine more facts and would release relevant details as appropriate, according to the statement. The incident occurred as violence has been on the rise, as Afghan security forces are fighting against a surge in attacks by Taliban militants since the drawdown of foreign forces five years ago. On Wednesday, two Afghan air force pilots were killed when an army helicopter crashed in western Farah province. Only 595 of the sanctioned 728 one stop centres (OSC) - which were started to help women affected by violence- are functional across the country and provided assistance to 2.27 lakh women in 2018, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. Over 1.10 lakh women in UP were provided assistance at OSCs while over 16,000 women in Chhattisgarh and 13,000 women victims in MP contacted the OSCs for legal and psychological assistance. Most of the women who approached the centres were victims of rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence. The Ministry of Women and Child Development started the OSC centres to provide legal, medical and also counselling or shelter to victims of rape, domestic violence or other crime against women. The recent NCRB data also showed that the highest cases of rapes of women were recorded in Rajasthan (3305) followed by UP (2911) and MP (2609). The highest cases of rapes of minors were witnessed in MP with 2,841 cases followed by UP (1411) and Chhattisgarh (1219). Delhi witnessed 1215 cases of rapes of minor girls in 2018. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of gang rapes in all three years with 676 cases in 2017, 684 in 2016 and 462 cases in 2015. Delhi, however, witnessed decrease in cases of rape and gangrape. In 2018, Delhi registered 1217 cases of rapes of women. In 2017, the national capital recorded 1229 rape cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Former senator and defeated vice presidential bet Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. is seeking a post in the 2022 elections. The namesake of his father, the late strongman who ruled the country with an iron fist for two decades, however, said he has not yet considered any specific position. My plan is I will be a candidate in the next election. For what? We'll still have to decide, Marcos said in a forum in Manila on Friday. I can be a congressman, I can be a senator, pero hindi pa pwedeng magdesisyon ng ganito kaaga (but I still cannot decide this early), he added. After his defeat in the 2016 polls, Marcos has not yet given up on the seat taken by Vice President Maria Leonor Leni Robredo, who had beaten her by a slim margin of 263,473 votes. He recently appealed to the Supreme Court anew to revisit the poll recount conducted in Iloilo, Camarines Sur, and Negros Oriental, where Robredos lead even rose by 15,000 votes. READ: Marcos asks PET to 're-examine' results of poll recount where Robredo won Nakakalungkot na it took over three years. Hindi na bale tungkol sa akin. Papaano ba tayo magsasabi na maayos ang pamahalaan-- ang pagpapatakbo kung tatlong taon na, hindi natin nalalaman kung sino ang nanalong bise presidente? said Marcos. [Translation: Its disappointing that it took over three years. It doesnt matter anymore if this was about me. But how can we say that the governance and the decision on this is being properly implemented when we have reached three years not knowing who the true vice president is?] Robredo did not mince words following Marcos recent appeal. Hindi ko alam kung magkakaroon pa ng ilang bilangan para makumbinsi na ako 'yung nanalo. Nakakalungkot na walang pagtanggap, she said Wednesday. [Translation: I dont know how many more times do we have to do a recount just so he will be convinced that I won. Its saddening that he cannot accept it.] The Presidential Commission on Good Government estimates that the late President Marcos and his family accumulated some $10 billion in ill-gotten wealth during his regime, which has also been accused of massive human rights violations. Marcos and his family fled to exile in Hawaii after they were booted out by a "people's power" revolt in 1986. Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989. Much folklore has grown around VK Krishna Menon, Indias second most powerful politician in the 1950-60 decade. He is a reviled and demonised figure, especially in the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worldview as the villain of 1962. Its wonderful, therefore, that we now have a brilliantly-researched biography of Menon by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. Was he an angel or a demon? Neither, as Rameshs research in his aptly named 725-page tome A Chequered Brilliance shows. Menon could be brilliant, as in the United Nations over Kashmir, eminently skilful, as in persuading Chou En Lai in 1955 to return American Air Force prisoners of the Korean War, and also display the pettiest and meanest mind in his dealings with the generals as Indias most controversial defence minister ever yet. That Krishna Menon, a mix of extreme vanity and arrogance, and insecurity laced with self-pity at the same time, became Jawaharlal Nehrus kindred soul from the 1930s on is well known. It is also amazing how much they confided in each other. In 1939, for example, Nehru wrote a long, distraught letter to Menon complaining about his failing physical health. He added however that his constitution was strong and he may ride it out. But what worried him much more was the state of his mental health. Ramesh guesses that this must have been around time Indira would have told him she wanted to marry Feroze Gandhi. For us children of the 1960s, the most fascinating, and for todays generation the newsiest section, however is the five years Menon served as defence minister, and, second most powerful man in Nehrus Cabinet (1957-62). Rameshs use of the description meanest and pettiest specifically refers to how Menon put up the second senior-most Army officer, Lieutenant-General PN Thapar into making allegations against his own chief KM Thimayya (13 charges including leaking classified information, loose talk about the prime minister, and hobnobbing with arms dealers) to another five-point charge-sheet on Lt-Gen SPP Thorat, widely seen as Thimayyas preferred choice as his successor. In his letters to them, one his boss and the other his equal, Thapar mentioned that he was doing this with the PMs knowledge and he would greatly appreciate to hear their side of the story too. Ramesh concludes, and I think quite rightly, that Menon, who detested Thimayya, had put Thapar up to it, and also taken Nehru into confidence. Wheels of fratricidal conspiracies were moving fast. Knowing Menon would veto his choice, Thorat, Thimayya wrote his recommendation directly to President Rajendra Prasad as Supreme Commander. The president promptly approved it too. The Republic was still settling down and nobody quite understood the Rashtrapatis powers. Not even Prasad himself. Nehru and Menon closed ranks to reject it. If you think this wasnt already a divided Army in the run-up to a war, more conspiracies emerged. First, Thimayya wrote a letter complaining he had information of some smell about another Lt-Gen, SD Verma. And after the latter had been moved out punitively, came to Menon to say that he had erred. The only smell about Verma was that he wasnt too popular. Menon recorded this in his notes to Nehru. Next was against another top officer, Sam Manekshaw, then commanding the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. It was again the charge of loose talk, and of being Anglophile to the extent that he had hanged portraits of Warren Hastings and Robert Clive in his office. His career was nearly ruined too, as Menon sidelined him and ordered an inquiry. It cleared him subsequently. Or the history of 1971 may have been different. Rameshs documents throw up three surprises on one of the biggest stories of that period, which has morphed into much folklore as a Thimayya versus Nehru, Army versus politician saga over the decades, and which Narendra Modi referred to in his last Karnataka campaign as Nehrus humiliation of local hero Thimayya. One, that The Statesman scooped the story of his resignation in 1959. It was under another byline. Ramesh, however, establishes that Gen JN Chaudhri (who later became Chief of Army Staff), had moonlighted anonymously as The Statesman (then British-owned) military correspondent for more than a decade. He was on the inside track of this resignation but could not have written the story himself and passed it on. Think of a serving top general working as a leading papers military correspondent incognito. Second, there are stunning notes from the personal archives of the then British High Commissioner Malcolm Macdonald detailing how Thimayya was sharing all his problems with Menon, Nehru, the resignation plans and much classified information with him like how Thimayya thought Menon deliberately painted Pakistan as Indias main enemy and threat, and played down China. All of which Macdonald was dutifully reporting back to London. And third, that true to whats come to be believed later, India would not have lost that war in 1962 if Nehru and Menon had listened to Thimayya. But not because he was so brilliant he would have won. But because he was prescient and insisted even writing five months after his retirement that there was no way the Army could protect India from the Chinese. And that this had to be done by politicians and diplomats. All the stories of a bumbling Nehru led by a paranoid and compulsive conspiracy-theorist Menon are true. The notion that, left to the generals, India would have done much better in that war is shown up as an awful myth. The generals of that period were too busy and too good at fighting each other, to have no time left for the Chinese. And we havent even mentioned a Lt-Gen BM Kaul yet. The views expressed are personal Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin at a media conference in the White House briefing room in Washington on Jan. 10, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Pompeo: US Believes Ukrainian Plane Was Shot Down by Iranian Missiles Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday that the United States believes a Ukrainian jetliner was likely shot down by Iranian missiles before it crashed in Iran earlier this week, killing everyone on board. When we get the results of that investigation I am confident we and the world will take an appropriate response, he remarked. Iran, via state-run media outlets, has denied claims that it was responsible for downing the plane, which had 176 people on board and went down shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport. It came a day after he gave an interview where he didnt rule out the possibility that the Ukraine International Airlines plane that went down over Iran was caused by a mechanical failure after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested Iran shot the plane down. Its possible its mechanical failure, but well have to see if, in fact, its the case that there was something more insidious than this, Pompeo told Fox News, according to a State Department transcript. If the plane was shot down by Tehran, Pompeo said that the American people should know that this would have been Iranian malfeasance that caused it. And importantly, you identified the Canadians that passed; my condolences to everyone who was on that flight, including the Iranian citizens who were traveling on that plane as well, he said. Of the 176 people who died on the plane, more than 60 of them were Canadian nationals. His comments came after Trudeau, Johnson, and a number of unnamed U.S. officials said Iran likely shot down the plane on accident after it had launched more than a dozen missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq on Tuesday night. The head of Irans civil aviation authority, via state-run media, said no missile hit the plane. According to IRNA, Ali Abedzadeh underlined that he is confident that the aircraft was not hit by a missile, the aircraft was flying for more than 1.5 minutes caught fire and the crash site indicates that the pilot had decided to return. But to add to the claims the plane was shot down, a video posted by the New York Times and other news outlets appeared to show a missile striking a plane over Tehran. Pompeo, in the interview, called on Tehran to cooperate with international investigations into the matter. I hope theyll make sure that the whole world can know that if there are planes traveling in and out of Iran that theyre safe, and if theres risk, that the commercial airlines that happen to make decisions about the lives of people who are traveling in and out of Tehran will know the risks, he remarked. If the international community needs to shut down that airport, so be it, Pompeo said. Weve got to get to the bottom of it, and its important that we get to the bottom of it quickly. Ive seen the reporting. I can only say that we need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly. Bharti Airtel's Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) calling feature has crossed 10 lakh users in less than a month, the company said on Friday. The telecom major had rolled-out its VoWiFi calling or Airtel Wi-Fi calling service pan-India in December, last year. The VoWiFi feature was first launched in Delhi-NCR, later, it was rolled out in Mumbai, Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu on December 22. "The technology has truly transformed the indoor network quality for Airtel mobile customers, particularly in high population density areas in urban markets. Airtel is also the first to make the service LIVE across India and our customers can use the feature on any Wi-Fi," Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer of Bharti Airtel said in a statement as cited by the Economic Times. Airtel is the first telecom company to make the service live across India and customers can use the feature on any Wi-Fi, Sekhon added. What is Voice over Wi-Fi calling? The VoWiFi service allows an Airtel user to make outgoing call to any mobile or landline number by connecting to a public Wi-Fi hotspot or any private home network. The service is free of cost and customers can access the service on their smartphones without the need for any app or SIM card. The service also enables minimal data usage using a handset which supports technology. Does Airtel Wi-Fi services support all smartphones? The Airtel's VoWiFi feature supports iPhone models, starting 6S and above, Xiaomi Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro and POCO F1, Samsung J6, A10s, ON6. S10, S10+, S10e and all One Plus 7 and 6 series devices. Airtel's rival Reliance Jio also launched its pan-India voice and video calling feature over Wi-Fi on January 8 which the telco said was compatible with 150 smartphones. Also read: Bharti Airtel share price rises over 3% on $3-bn fundraising plan Also read: Bharti Airtel gets shareholders nod to raise up to $3 billion Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says out of the 137,016 academic and non-academic staff members of th... Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says out of the 137,016 academic and non-academic staff members of the universities, 96,090 have enrolled in the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). Buhari said this when President Muhammadu Buhari hosted the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday. She said a desk had been opened in the office of the accountant general of the federation for registration of university staff, assuring them that peculiarities of the tertiary institutions will be accommodated. The minister pointed out that many anomalies were discovered in the university structures that had contributed to the increased cost burden in the universities. These, she said, include staff working and earning pay in more than one university, contract staff on payroll of the government, tax reductions on PAYEE and multiple employments. Ahmed said some universities had rushed to recruit more staff before the IPPIS registration commenced, which was then detected. While it is clear that ASUU has peculiarities, it should be recognised and rightly accommodated, and allowances will be made, and not leaving the university out of IPPIS because of the peculiarities, she said. Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation,urged ASUU to comply with IPPIS in national interest as his office was already in the process of streamlining all issues of human resources in government. Biodun Ogunyemi, president of ASUU, said the education sector needed more federal government attention, noting that implementation of agreements over the years would go a long way in improving the quality of education in the universities. He said: Nigerian universities can make meaningful contributions to addressing the challenges of the country (economy, security and corruption) if given the opportunity. Appropriate funding level, competitive conditions of service, university autonomy and academic freedom are critical to creating such an atmosphere. With adequate and effective education, particularly university education, Nigerians will be less susceptible to manipulation, our economy will grow and problems of insecurity and corruption will be drastically reduced, he said. The ASUU president said Nigeria could learn from countries like China, Malaysia and Singapore that had encouraged universities to drive their educational development through tripartite linkages of government, industries and universities called Triple Helix Principle. On IPPIS and university operations, Ogunyemi said the federal governments visitor initiative to the universities, at least once in five years, was the best guarantee for monitoring accountability processes that include internal and external audit processes. The ASUU president said the IPPIS would be a disruptive intrusion, adding: IPPIS violates the laws of the federation, violates university statutes, and violates agreements between the federal government and ASUU. The government should welcome ASUUs ongoing innovation of a robust system of human resource management and compensation, called the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, which will address peculiarities of universities and end inappropriate recruitments. In his remarks, President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration will give more attention to improving personnel and infrastructure of universities to produce quality graduates. He expressed hope that effective and efficient operations of universities would go a long way in improving the economy, especially with a focus on science and technology. The president also urged members of ASUU to assist the federal government in realising the target of improved education and credible certificates by complying with ongoing verification and validation of human resources in the universities, which will guarantee optimum output. The future of the country depends on quality education and our certificates must be credible to inspire confidence, he said. Buhari said the constitution should be carefully studied and adhered to for more harmonious relationships, and standards that would promote efficiency. He directed the ministry of education to put in more effort in ensuring that Nigerian universities are properly funded, with adequate infrastructure and staffing. Research News Study shows how U.S. universities may help bridge social divide between international, domestic students While international students often say interacting with domestic students is an important part of their experience while studying in the U.S., that aspiration is a challenging and often unfulfilled goal for the vast majority of international students. By BERT GAMBINI International students who fall short of the expected connection with U.S. students are clearly disappointed, but theres also a loss for the domestic student population, entering a global community, who are deprived of the benefits associated with interacting with people from varied and different backgrounds. Self-esteem is a valuable resource for undergraduate international students trying to socialize with their domestic counterparts at American universities, but new research by a UB psychologist suggests that while self-esteem predicts better socialization with domestic students, it is curiously unrelated to how international students socialize with other internationals. Self-esteem affords confidence, says Wendy Quinton, clinical associate professor of psychology, College of Arts and Sciences. So people higher in self-esteem have more belief in themselves and their abilities, and that is particularly helpful when trying to initiate contact with people from the host culture. Understanding that self-esteem someones feelings of self-worth and personal value contributes to socialization with one group and not the other is among the factors distinguishing Quintons study, recently published in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations. These results underscore the importance of examining individual differences to better understand how international students adapt to their new learning environment, says Quinton, an expert in the international student experience. The findings also indicate that self-esteem may be viewed as a coping resource for international students when they interact with domestic students. In addition to self-esteem, Quinton also examined university identity and perceived discrimination in the current study. University identity the degree to which students feel connected with their university community was associated with greater socialization with both groups, although not as strongly as self-esteem. Perceived discrimination the feeling that you or a group you belong to is the target of prejudice was unrelated to socialization. Previous research in this area hasnt looked at these predictors of socialization together, nor has it explored the interesting divergence between the two student groups, a method that enabled Quinton to statistically control for socialization with one group in order to investigate the other. This approach allowed for a specific test of what predicts socialization with each student group above and beyond an individuals general level of sociability, she says. International students often prioritize interacting with host nationals as an important part of their experience while studying in the U.S. But for the vast majority of international students, that aspiration is a challenging and often unfulfilled goal, hampered by structural barriers that range from cultural adaptation to navigating the trials of higher education. But socialization has benefits beyond human interaction. Its associated with less depression, lower levels of homesickness, better stress management and greater life satisfaction. It is not friendship, but rather an entry-level interaction between people with the potential to become friendship, which Quinton measured as time spent doing joint recreational activities, with whom people are studying and with whom they choose to spend their free time. Quintons study focused on East and Southeast Asian students, the largest international demographic attending American universities. This group also has some of the largest cultural divides to bridge when coming to the U.S., says Quinton. The independence emphasized in Western culture is often at odds with the emphasis on cooperation and interdependence in collectivistic cultures like China, South Korea and many Southeast Asian countries. Thats a very different orientation to what these students are accustomed to in their home culture. But its something universities can address, according to Quinton. Anything that fosters a connection and sense of a shared experience between international and domestic students both the stress and anxieties, as well as the joys and pleasures is going to be a win-win. Quinton also highlights low self-esteem as a potential risk factor for international students, one that universities might look for in terms of identifying students who are potentially vulnerable for missing out. International students who fall short of the expected connection with U.S. students are clearly disappointed, but theres also a loss for the domestic student population, entering a global community, who are deprived of the benefits associated with interacting with people from varied and different backgrounds. Domestic students, in this case, are undoubtedly losing out by not getting to know international students, says Quinton. By Online Desk The row over the violence in JNU has taken a new turn after the Delhi Police identified nine people as the attackers during a press conference on Friday. The nine include the JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh. Delhi Police PRO, MS Randhawa, said, "The latest investigation regarding the criminal cases filed in connection with the JNU violence is being done by the Crime Branch. But it has been observed that a lot of misinformation related to these cases is being circulated." JNUSU president elect Aishe Ghosh: We have not done anything wrong. We are not scared of Delhi Police. We will stand by the law and take our movement ahead peacefully and democratically. pic.twitter.com/N6MCMIYwnI ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020 The Delhi Police released images of the suspects caught on a CCTV camera during the attack at Sabarmati hostel on January 5. Of the nine, seven belong to left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to right-wing students' bodies, the police said. Addressing a press conference, DCP (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey, who is probing the case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but the left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. About the attack on January 5, the DCP said that specific rooms in the university's Periyar hostel were targeted. "No suspects have been detained till now, but we will begin interrogations soon," he added. Responding to being named one of the suspects, JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said she had 'full faith in the law and order of the country and hoped that the investigation will be fair.' I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police biased? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault," Aishe Ghosh said while addressing media in Delhi. Interestingly the development comes a day after Union Minister Smriti Irani accused Deepika Padukone of siding with those who hit girls on their private parts with lathis at TNIE's ThinkEdu conclave. The other eight suspects identified by the Delhi Police are Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukraj, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel. Claiming that even Left students were part of the attack, Delhi police observed that a lot of misinformation related to these cases was being circulated. On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with lathis and rods. (With PTI and ANI inputs) The number of Sinn Fein voters who think the party should take its seats in Westminster has grown significantly, according to a new opinion poll. The finding comes after Catholic weekly The Tablet called for the House of Commons' oath of allegiance to be modified in order that Irish republicans can take their seats. A leader column in the international weekly calls for a similar oath to that at Stormont, where MLAs promise to obey the law rather than pledging allegiance to the British monarch. The LucidTalk survey of those who have voted for Sinn Fein at any stage in the last five years, published by The Irish News, shows support for the party's abstentionist policy has dropped from almost complete unanimity to just over three quarters (75.9%). When the same survey was undertaken in late 2017, only 1.6% of Sinn Fein voters said the party's MPs should take their seats, whereas the latest survey shows 20.6% advocated a policy shift. However, the party has long said it will not change its policy of Sinn Fein MPs refusing to sit in Westminster, despite the party's vote share falling by 6.7% in the last general election. LucidTalk's Bill White told The Irish News the poll results reveal Sinn Fein's voter base had moved but not enough to prompt a rethink by the party's leadership. "This can be viewed as big change, as although there's still a big majority for the abstentionism policy, the minority of Sinn Fein voters who think this policy should be dropped has grown from under 5% to now around 20%, compared to when we last polled the Sinn Fein voter base on this issue over two years ago," he said. "Though it has to be said that there are still over three out of four Sinn Fein voters who still support the party's policy on abstention from Westminster, so on these figures the party leadership couldn't change this policy at this stage without causing a split". A New Jersey woman who bludgeoned her mother and grandmother with a night stick at their home before stealing jewelry and cash has been sentenced to 42 years in prison. Heather Barbera, 43, apologized in court for killing her mother, 67-year-old Michelle Gordon and her grandmother, 87-year-old Elaine Rosen. 'I never wanted any of this to happen. I just apologize,' she said, according to The Press of Atlantic City. Barbera beat the two women with a nightstick at their condo in Ventnor City, New Jersey, before she stole their cash and credit cards and made her way to New York City after a stopover in Atlantic City. Police were able to track down Barbera because she used the victims' stolen credit cards to make purchases in New York. Heather Barbera (left) was sentenced to 42 years in prison in the deaths of her grandmother and mother two years ago Barbera was given the four decade sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in October for the July 2018 killings. She must also pay $7,000 in restitution. Richard Rosen, Barberas uncle and the person who found his dead family members, believes the sentencing was too light. He said: 'How can you get 42 years for two murders? It should have been life. I dont understand the judicial system. I just hope she never gets out..' Defense Attorney James Leonard Jr., said that a combination of substance abuse, mental health, self-esteem and emotional issues 'created a very volatile situation that exploded very, very unfortunately.' Double homicide: Heather Barbera, 42 (left and right), is accused of using a nightstick to beat to death her mother and grandmother in New Jersey on July 8 Barbera (pictured) pleaded guilty to bludgeoning her family member with a nightstick, before robbing them and fleeing to New York in October He backed up Barbera's claims that she was remorseful, saying: 'Emotionally, it has just destroyed her and she is extremely remorseful for everything that took place.' However, Assistant Prosecutor Allison Eiselen said: 'There is no more heinous, cruel or depraved crime than killing ones own grandmother and mother in a manner such as this.' 'This defendant bludgeoned the two victims to death in their own home, then cleaned herself off. She stole their money and their jewelry and, as they were gasping their final breath, she just walked away.' Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr. described Barbera's crime as a 'brutal matricide.' 'After her violent attack on these two women, the defendant callously and calmly cleaned herself up, collected the valuable belongings she could find, including a ring from the hand of her dead mother, and then pawned the jewelry,' he said. 'She then fled the jurisdiction. The depravity is palpable.' Barbera's mother, 67-year-old Michelle Gordon (pictured with her two grandchildren), also died of blunt force trauma alongside her mother Barbera's grandmother, 87-year-old Elaine Rosen, was discovered by her son lying dead in a pool of blood next to her daughter Barbera's friends pleaded for the mercy, including lifelong friend Erika DeLong saying Barbera's is not a danger to society. 'This is a horrible situation that just got out of control,' DeLong said. After the killings in 2018, Barbera's uncle, Richard Rosen, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he had warned his mother and sister to not allow his niece to stay in their apartment. Rosen was the one who entered his mother's condo unit at 10.25am on July 8 and found the two women lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood. Crime scene: The murders took place at Rosen's apartment at at the Vassar Square Condominiums in Ventnor, NEw Jersey, where Barbera had been staying In 2016, Barbera shared a childhood photo of herself sitting in her mother's lap A waitress at a Ventnor, New Jersey, diner frequented by Michelle Gordon, Elaine Rosen and Barbera, told the Inquierer how the women would often argue with one another at the table. She also claimed that one time, she caught the 42-year-old stealing rolls of toilet paper from the restaurant's bathroom and stuffing them into her Louis Vuitton bag. One of Barbera's two Facebook pages, however, tells a different story. In 2016, she shared a childhood photo of herself sitting in her mother's lap. 'My mother, my backbone,' she wrote at the time. Newsfrom Japan Beirut, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--Former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn said in a pool interview with Japanese media in Beirut on Friday that he wanted to leave Japan with pride instead of fleeing the country. "I imagined that I would leave Japan proud of what I have done, proud of Nissan, proud of the alliance" with French automaker Renault SA, Ghosn said. "Unfortunately, the reality is very different," he said. "I never imagined I would leave Japan this way." Ghosn, indicted in Japan for alleged financial misconduct, fled Japan to Lebanon late last year while waiting for trial on bail, although he had been banned from leaving Japan as a condition for his release from detention. Ghosn, 65, declined to discuss how he left Japan. "I'm not gonna make any comment on this." "I don't want people to think that I have any animosity against the country (Japan) or any animosity against the (Japanese) people," he said, adding that "I hope one day I will have a possibility" of visiting the country "peacefully." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Californias governor revealed a spending plan on Friday that puts a new tax on vaping, gives $20,000 to teachers who commit to working in high-needs schools and gives taxpayer-funded health benefits to older adults living in the country illegally. Gov. Gavin Newsoms $222 billion proposed state budget increases spending by 2.3% or about $5 billion, but it also would boost state reserves to $21 billion in case of an economic downturn. In addition, the state would get $107 billion from the federal government for various programs. Newsom detailed his proposal for nearly three hours on Friday, lauding Californias growing reserves and bountiful surpluses while criticizing the Trump administration for not believing in fiscal discipline or living within their means. We are worried about the next generation. They, seemingly, are not, Newsom said. While Newsoms budget showcased the states political independence from the Trump administration, it also highlighted Californias continuing financial dependence on the federal government. California needs federal approval to continue taxing the companies that manage the states Medicaid program money that Newsom needs to extend popular sales tax exemptions on diapers and tampons. Also, state officials warned a host of proposed federal rule changes could cost the state up to $10 billion in funding. The things they are contemplating would be a very, very big deal for the state, said Keely Martin Bosler, director of the California Department of Finance. These kind of changes could pull that much money out of the state. That quandary will require balancing from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is one of Trumps loudest critics and frequently engages with him on his preferred platform: Twitter. Newsom showed few signs of softening his approach on Friday, calling Trump a bully who attacks Californias immigrant communities. When he attacks our diverse communities, he attacks the values of this state. I take that personally, Newsom said. Last year, California became the first state to offer full taxpayer-funded health benefits to low-income adults 25 and younger living in the country illegally. This year, Newsom wants to extend those benefits to adults 65 and older living in the country illegally. The coverage would begin in 2021 and cover about 27,000 people initially with an estimated cost of $350 million when fully implemented. But he did not make people living in the country illegally eligible for the states earned income tax credit, which gives money to low-income people as part of their tax refunds. One is health care, a right from my perspective, and one is allowing working families to keep more of what they earn. I distinguish the two, Newsom said. Its also a question of capacity. We want to do a lot of things, but we cant do everything. Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte opposes extending taxpayer-funded health benefits to adults living in the country illegally. He said California is having a hard time meeting the needs of people currently on the program pointing to an audit from August that said the state failed to ensure adequate access to care for people in 18 rural counties. We have an obligation to the Californians who already depend on us for medical coverage to make sure we are providing the services we promised them before we talk about expanding the program to other populations, Obernolte said. Newsom proposed giving public school teachers $20,000 if they would teach four years at in a high-need subject at a high-need school. That program alone would cost $100 million, which Newsom called a commitment to reward those teachers for doing the right thing. Newsoms budget proposed one new tax: an additional tax on vaping. E-cigarettes are already taxed like other tobacco products, but Newsom is proposing an additional $2 tax for each 40 milligrams of nicotine in E-cigarettes. The tax would bring in about $32 million, and the state would spend it on enforcement and youth prevention programs. It scares the hell out of me as a parent, said Newsom, who has four children. I think this vaping tax is long overdue. I dont think well have major problems with it because I think the vast majority of legislators support it. The spending plan includes a $5.6 billion surplus. The budget would create a number of new programs and agencies, including an Office of Health Care Affordability and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which will seek to revive Obama-era consumer financial protections. The budget would also pay down state debt, including an additional $5.9 billion toward the states unfunded pension liabilities. Newsom already provided details on key areas of his budget in recent days, outlining steps to curb homelessness, wildfires and the cost of prescription drugs. He signed an executive order Wednesday creating a proposed $750 million fund to pay rents, fund affordable housing or help board and care homes. On Thursday, Newsom proposed having California become the first state to make its own prescription drugs, to take the power out of the hands of greedy pharmaceutical companies. California would contract with generic drug companies to create a single market for drug pricing. On Friday, he declared himself the states homeless czar, after promising a year ago to appoint one, while striking back at President Donald Trumps repeated criticism of the states Democratic leaders for not doing enough. Hes tweeting, were doing something, Newsom said. We dont need him to identify this problem. The budget proposal is a record spending level, prompting caution from Republican lawmakers. I caution the Governor and lawmakers to ensure we achieve results for Californians, and not just spend, Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen said. If I will die, let it ... Freedom of speech and conducting business on the Internet are protected under the Constitution, the Supreme Court said on Friday while directing the Jammu and Kashmir administration to immediately review curb orders. The top court also said that power under Section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, cannot be used to suppress legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights. It directed the authorities in the Union Territory to immediately review all orders suspending Internet services and said that orders not in accordance with the law must be revoked. It said Internet services cannot be suspended 'indefinitely', and directed the J-K authorities to 'consider forthwith' allowing government websites, localised/limited e-banking as also hospitals and other essential services in areas where the services are not likely to be restored immediately. "We declare that the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of internet enjoys constitutional protection under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(g)," a 3-judge bench, headed by Justice N V Ramana, said in its 130-page verdict. "The restriction upon such fundamental rights should be in consonance with the mandate under Article 19 (2) and (6) of the Constitution, inclusive of the test of proportionality," it said. Holding that an order suspending Internet services indefinitely is impermissible under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017, the top court said that suspension can be utilised only for temporary duration. Any order suspending Internet issued under the Suspension Rules, must adhere to the principle of proportionality and must not extend beyond necessary duration, it said. Existing Suspension Rules neither provide for a periodic review nor a time limitation for an order issued under the Suspension Rules, it added. "Till this gap is filled, we direct that the Review Committee constituted under Rule 2(5) of Suspension Rules must conduct a periodic review within seven working days of the previous review, in terms of the requirements under Rule 2(6)," the apex court said. The judgment came on pleas filed by Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor of Kashmir Times and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad which challenged the curbs imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre's abrogation of provisions of Article 370 on August 5 last year. These pleas were different from another set of petitions which have challenged the constitutional validity of abrogation of Article 370, being heard by a sperate 5-judge Constitution bench which will resume its hearing on January 21. The top court said that achievement of peace and tranquillity within erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir requires a multi-faceted approach without excessively burdening the freedom of speech. "In this regard the government is required to consider various options under Article 19(2) of the Constitution, so that the brunt of exigencies is decimated in a manner which burdens freedom of speech in a minimalist manner," the bench said. It further said that complete suspension of telecom services, be it the Internet or otherwise, being a drastic measure, must be considered by the state only if 'necessary' and 'unavoidable'. "In any case, the State/concerned authorities are directed to consider forthwith allowing government websites, localised/limited e-banking facilities, hospitals services and other essential services, in those regions, wherein the internet services are not likely to be restored immediately," the bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and R Subhash Reddy, said. The apex court further said that power under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (prohibitory orders) is exercisable not only where there exists present danger, but also when there is an apprehension of danger and repetitive orders under this provision would be an abuse of power. It directed the authorities to immediately review the need for continuance of any existing orders passed under Section 144. "However, the danger contemplated should be in the nature of an 'emergency' and for the purpose of preventing obstruction and annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed. The power under Section 144, CrPC cannot be used to suppress legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights. "An order passed under Section 144, CrPC should state the material facts to enable judicial review of the same. The power should be exercised in a bona fide and reasonable manner, and the same should be passed by relying on the material facts, indicative of application of mind. "This will enable judicial scrutiny of the aforesaid order," the bench said. It said that while imposing Section 144, the Magistrate cannot apply a straitjacket formula without assessing the gravity of the prevailing circumstances and the restrictions must be proportionate to the situation concerned. "In a situation where fundamental rights of the citizens are being curtailed, the same cannot be done through an arbitrary exercise of power; rather it should be based on objective facts," the bench said. Fairfield Democrats set the record straight The chairman of the Fairfield Republican Town Committee, James Millington, recently attacked Jennifer Leeper, Democratic candidate for State Representative from the 132nd Assembly district, in a partisan hit piece loaded with inaccuracies. We feel it is important to set the record straight. In the piece, Mr. Millington criticized Ms. Leeper for owning a business whose clientele includes Democrats. However, he failed to mention that her firm also includes non-profits, authors and a number of other businesses. Ms. Leeper is a local small business owner contributing to Connecticuts economy, something that should be lauded, not attacked. Mr. Millington also asserted that Ms. Leeper is keeping her occupation a secret. This is simply wrong. Ms. Leeper has disclosed her business in financial documents and on her social media platforms. There was no effort to hide it. She stated that she will sell her stake in the digital marketing firm if she wins so as to avoid any conflicts. There is nothing to hide, and there is no conflict. We find these accusations of lack of transparency and honesty hypocritical given some of the deceptive campaign practices of the Republican candidate, Brian Farnen, and his supporters. Where is the Republican concern over Mr. Farnens failure to divulge his potential conflicts of interest? Mr. Farnen has not disclosed that he works for a publicly financed organization whose funding he would be advocating for as State Representative. Our tax dollars would be used to pay Mr. Farnens salary and those of his bank colleagues were he to be elected, a fact that Mr. Farnen and Fairfield Republicans have been silent about. And Mr. Farnens questionable judgment predates his State Rep, campaign mailer. In 2019, when campaigning for RTM, he used the official Sherman Elementary School email distribution list to send out an endorsement for himself. The behavior continued into his campaign when he took out a very misleading campaign mailer. The piece, made to look like official correspondence from the office of Fairfields First Selectwoman, was actually a political piece paid for by Mr. Farnens campaign. While not technically illegal, tricking thousands of constituents into believing that a political campaign mailer is an important piece of official town business is certainly unethical and far from transparent. Fairfielders were deceived yet again when they received a recent email update from Change.org regarding the status of the Fairfield Community Theatre. Thinking that they were getting an update regarding the renovation of the beloved town landmark, residents were duped into opening a political endorsement for Mr. Farnen. Thousands of Fairfielders email addresses provided to Change.Org strictly for the purposes of a petition to re-open the theatre were misappropriated and used for an email blast supporting Mr. Farnen. These are just a few instances of deceptive practices that Mr. Farnen and the Republicans have been engaging in while calling for transparency from Democrats. As the Democratic Town Committee, we are committed to a positive campaign for our endorsed State Representative candidate, Jennifer Leeper. We have been transparent, ethical and have run a campaign on our candidates qualifications and merits. We are disappointed to see Fairfield Republicans yet again opt for negative campaigning and dissemination of misinformation about our candidate. It conveys desperation and Fairfield deserves better. Fairfield and Southport deserve Jennifer Leeper representing us ethically, honestly and with integrity up in Hartford. You can learn more about her campaign at leeperforfairfield.com, and we hope you will vote for her in the special election for State Representive in the 132nd Assembly district on January 14. Steve Sheinberg, Chair, Democratic Town Committee Cathy Curley, Vice Chair, Democratic Town Committee. Editors note: Due to a production issue, this statement, submitted on Jan. 9, was delayed in publication by a day. As one panto season draws to a close, a different and very serious one now starts to unfold on the public stage or so it would seem judging by much of the international reaction to Wednesdays royal valedictory from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. For the couple are not so much redefining their royal role, according to some fans, as fighting a noble battle against a heartless British establishment determined to crush their caring, progressive spirits. As Americas NBC network put it yesterday, quoting a typical Meghan supporter from Michigan: Good for them. Their mental health is worth more than the monarchy. Social media was buzzing with similar sentiments. Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Meghan Duchess of Sussex reacts as they leave after her visit to Canada House in thanks for the warm Canadian hospitality and support they received during their recent stay in Canada While this simplistic Cinderella narrative might fall apart under the most cursory scrutiny, it is gaining ground. Like those made-up plotlines of Netflix soap opera The Crown, plenty of people will start to believe it simply because they choose to believe it. The Prime Minister (pictured on July 24, meeting the Queen to form a new government) hopes the Sussex's announcement of 'stepping back' remains an internal royal issue and does not spill over into the political domain. The parliamentary convention that internal royal matters are not discussed on the floor of the House only goes so far And it is not just the monarchy and the Press which come out looking bad. It paints a sorry picture of Britain, too. It is one reason why the Queen and the Prince of Wales are determined that there will be no instant, draconian response to the Sussexes unilateral declaration of independence. They have made no secret of the fact that they have been hurt and disappointed by the way the couple have dumped a fresh crisis on the 93-year-old sovereign at a time when she is trying to draw breath after the multiple setbacks of 2019. Social media was buzzing with sentiments as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex turned their backs on their senior royal roles, last night. A Meghan supporter said: 'Their mental health is worth more than the monarchy' But the Queens overarching aim is to keep things calm, civil, amicable and as positive as possible. Predictions that the couple will be instantly stripped of their titles and other perks are just plain wrong. For that is precisely the sort of response likely to prompt a return to those unhappy royal rows of the 1990s which did so much damage to the monarchy as a whole. Except this time, the highly-charged issues of nationality and even race could be thrown into the debate, too. In other words, any punitive reaction would just polarise public opinion at home and abroad even more at a time when the Queen and her officials are keen to defuse tensions. Labour MP for Halifax, HollyLynch, wrote to the duchess where she expressed 'solidarity' in her battle against distasteful and misleading press stories, three months ago. While it did not provide any examples, the letter was secured with the signatures of 71 other female MPs And they are not the only ones. For the Prime Minister and his Government are hoping that this remains an internal royal issue and does not spill over into the political domain. That was the firm line from Number 10 last night. It could happen, however. And, at that point, the Sussexes plans to rewrite the royal rules might be elevated from a grave family row to a full-blown crisis. Just three months ago, the Labour MP for Halifax, Holly Lynch, wrote a letter to the duchess expressing solidarity with her in her battle against distasteful and misleading press stories, especially those with what she called outdated, colonial undertones. The letter did not offer any examples but it secured the signatures of 71 other female MPs, most of them Labour plus a handful of Tories and Lib Dems. Boris Johnson (pictured today, during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons) and his Government are hoping that the royal announcement does not seep into the House floor. Attempting to raise the issue would almost certainly eclipse the other business of the day and especially if the Sussexes had just been relieved of their HRH status Miss Lynch then posted the letter on Twitter, to the delight of the duchess who called up to thank her. MPs attacking the Press with royal support is one thing. But what if an MP were to write another letter, put down a motion or ask a question about the monarchys treatment of the Sussexes? Suddenly, an internal royal struggle would take on overtly political dimensions. The parliamentary convention that internal royal matters are not discussed on the floor of the House only goes so far. Merely attempting to raise the issue would almost certainly eclipse the other business of the day, especially if, say, the Sussexes had just been relieved of their HRH status. Headlines about a plucky American princess being punished by the snobby descendants of the hated tyrant King, George III, could easily do as much damage to overseas special relationship as a row about wheat tariffs. Harry and Meghan are photographed for their official engagement (pictured) Senior politicians only weigh in on sensitive royal matters in extremis. We think of John Major announcing the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales in the Commons or Tony Blair saluting the Peoples Princess as a shocked world came to terms with her tragic loss in 1997. Further back in very different circumstances Baldwin and Winston Churchill clashed in the Commons over the future prospects of Edward VIII, prior to the Abdication of 1936. This weeks issue does not come anywhere close to those situations. Yet, there are potential pitfalls for several Government departments as well as the PM himself. Britain is about to enter delicate trade negotiations with other parts of the world, notably the US. Clearly, there is no direct correlation between say, chlorinated chicken imports and the future role of the sixth-in-line to the throne. But headlines about a plucky American princess being punished by the snobby descendants of the hated tyrant King, George III, could easily do as much damage to the so-called special relationship as a row about wheat tariffs. The Foreign Office and their diplomats will certainly be sensitive to the impact on official overseas tours by other members of the family. There might be questions for the Ministry of Defence, too. The Armed Forces hold Harry in the highest regard. He was an exemplary and very popular officer who did two tours of duty in Afghanistan. His commitment to the welfare of wounded personnel has been one of the outstanding royal success stories of recent years, notably the Invictus Games. Having originally set out to create a British answer to Americas Warrior Games for wounded servicemen and women, he rapidly went one better with an international tournament which has done incalculable good for the self-esteem of thousands of people. His expeditions with Walking With The Wounded have been similarly ground-breaking. Meghan (pictured in Nyanga, township, Cape Town) was doing her bit for the US forces long before she went on the Africa tour this summer. She toured Afghanistan with Americas United Service Organizations (USO), helping to entertain the troops in 2014 It should not be forgotten that Meghan was also doing her bit for the US forces long before she ever met her prince. In 2014, she toured Afghanistan with Americas United Service Organizations (USO), helping to entertain the troops. Few US celebrities would ever risk going to that war zone to boost morale but Meghan stepped up to the plate. Prince Harry and Meghan beam with joy as they introduce their little Archie to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25 In other words, these two have a deep and well-deserved bond with the military. Yet how would that work if they were to become semi-detached, part-time royalty? No one, as yet, has the faintest idea. Within hours of Wednesday nights announcement, the military rumour mill started to speculate on what it might mean for the Royal Marines. As Captain-General, Harry has proved to be an energetic and much-loved successor to his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh. They wont want to lose him, especially if it is clear he would rather not step down. For these and so many other reasons, this could swiftly escalate beyond rows about protocol, privacy and royal finance. The Queen and the Prince of Wales understand that. Lets hope the Government does, too. For all those who were questioning Bollywood actors' silence over JNU violence found an answer after Deepika Padukone showed up at the campus and stood for the solidarity of the injured students. But were we ready to accept and digest the fact that it was a brave move? BCCL The Bollywood star visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi on Tuesday to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by a masked mob inside the campus on January 5, though she did not address the crowd. Padukone earned bouquets as well as brickbats from various people, including politicians, for her act of showing support to the JNU students. Three days after her much-talked-about visit, CPI leader and former JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar took a dig at BJP. Backing Deepika Padukone, he taunted everyone and said DP was patriotic when she was an ambassador for a Modi government initiative, but has turned anti-national after visiting the university. ET Addressing the crowd outside the premises of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, he also said there was no "tukde tukde" government in the country before 2014. "Tukde tukde" gang is a term often used by BJP leaders to refer to alleged sympathizers of separatists. Twitter "A Hindi cinema actress came to the university but did not raise slogans, did not take Modiji's name, did not take mota bhai's name. She just came and met the injured students. But calls were given to boycott her film... Deepika Padukone was patriotic when she participated in a campaign for Modiji and became a traitor after coming to JNU," he said. After Padukone's visit to the campus, JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar was quoted as saying that great personalities should also meet those students whose studies were affected due to the situation prevailing in the university. AFP "After her visit, the VC, whom everyone had been searching for, suddenly appeared in front of the media and said great personalities are meeting injured students, but they should also meet those whose studies were affected. Somebody tell him that it is your job to meet students, teachers, and workers to discuss why studies are not happening in the university. Deepika Padukone is not the JNU VC," he added. Padukone and badminton player PV Sindhu were on October 22 last year named ambassadors for "Bharat Ki Laxmi", an initiative of the Modi government aimed at bringing to light the commendable work done by women across the country ahead of the festival of Diwali. Kumar asserted that JNU was a university that talked about every issue. "JNU is not a 50-per cent sale at a mall. It does not scare you. It does not make fun of you if you are not fluent in English. Students take admission here following an entrance test. JNU does not live for itself. We stand up for others' right to live," he said. The skill development ministry is believed to have dropped a proposal by the production team of Padukone's film Chhapaak, slated to be released on Friday, to encourage acid attack survivors to do better in life, days after the lead actor in the film visited the JNU campus. The final studio album by the late Rachid Taha (who died in 2018, aged 59), lovingly completed by producer Toma Feterman, is a poignant farewell and a panoramic overview. Claimed equally by Africa, Arabia, France and rock, Taha's very being questioned the notion of identity. Politically charged, irreverent, classy and renegade, he used music to reconcile conflict and celebrate contradiction. Recorded in France and Mali, the album's highlights include the title track, blending Senegalese talking drums, Malian guitars and balafon, Egyptian strings and Caribbean brass (with shout-outs to Hendrix, Lumumba, Angela Davis and Jacques Derrida, among others). Aita connects outsider Algerian rai music to Balkan Gypsy sounds in a moving statement supporting asylum seekers who cross the Mediterranean. Wahdi is a potent collision of Moroccan gnawa rhythms, Sufi chanting, soaring flute, Mariachi trumpet and French chanson, and then there's the freewheeling techno punk of the chimeric Andy Waloo and the seedy, country-ish Striptease (likely to resonate with those who experienced Taha live). An elaborate, unflinching work, crossing seamlessly between chill-out and pandemonium. EUGENE ULMAN POP - Poppy I DISAGREE (Sumerian) One of the last vestiges of "weird YouTube", a place as discoverable as an internet searcher's will to find it, Poppy found fame following a series of Lynchian videos commentating on the state of the world. Now her cult-like following turns to her third studio album, a maniacal mix of heavy metal, Japanese pop and glitchy EDM. The opener, Concrete, is a simultaneous and hysterical mashing of all these textures, sometimes resembling Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, while otherwise sounding like an off-brand Baby Metal. "Some people like candy/Some people like coffee/But these lifeless flavours/Don't satisfy me," the US singer's saccharine voice coos as she yearns for the taste of "young blood". Despite feeling contrived, the deranged gloom and juxtapositions continue for the rest of the record: successfully on I Disagree, a politically charged protest which posits burning the world "down to the ground"; unsuccessfully on Fill the Crown, Sick of the Sun and Don't Go Outside, which sound like nothing more than feeble attempts at the "post-genre" album she promised. Tangled in a web of high-falutin aesthetics, Poppy fails to create something memorable, a feat for someone so enchanting. KISH LAL Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been touted as a favorite in the sane lane of the Democratic presidential chase, but there is good reason to question whether any such lane exists. Earlier today, Buttigieg blamed Irans shooting down a Ukrainian passenger airplane onPresident Trump: Iran allegedly shoots down a commercial airliner, and Pete Buttigiegs first reaction is to blame America. Ridiculous.https://t.co/2e2ipUL3kh Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) January 9, 2020 This is contemptible, of course, and I dont mean to let Mayor Pete off the hook. But the underlying reality is that in todays Democratic Party, there is no market for sanity. The candidates are more or less interchangeable, and all, as far as one can tell, are happy to dash leftwardand not just to the left, but into outright craziness, as in Buttigiegs tweetas fast as they can go. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size You're allowed to cry, Dad," Kylee Brooks whispers to her father. Around them lies the melted, mangled wreckage of a life. A motorcycle so precious it was kept inside and under a cover; the banjo, piano, guitars that had a whole room dedicated to them; the old cars arrayed up the hillside out the back; the solar panels and batteries that kept this idiosyncratic dwelling off the grid: all are now ash. A plastic wheelbarrow, on the other hand, a pushbike and the asparagus patch came through virtually unscathed. "Forty years of collecting ..." says Mark Brooks, 60, trailing off. Eventually he does shed tears. Kylee wipes them away. Dozens of houses have been lost in the massive complex of fires that have ripped through the upper reaches of the Murray River in NSW's far south and Victoria's north, but Mark Brooks lost more than most. Over 37 years in the Upper Thowgla valley, he built this house by hand, as well as another down the hill where his brother lived. Both are now gone. He is sleeping on a blow-up mattress under the stars. Like everyone, he is vowing to rebuild. "Rock and steel, that's all that survived," he says to himself. "Next time it will be rock and steel." Mark Brooks at the wreckage of his house in the Upper Towgla valley. Credit:Eddie Jim Advertisement In the teeth of the fires Bushfire doesn't respect borders. Two massive blazes that ignited in NSW on New Year's Eve and January 4 jumped state lines into Victoria and are threatening to spread further. A third to the east is even bigger and is burning deep into the hills of the Kosciuszko mountains. More to the south are putting Victoria's alpine landscapes to the torch. Australia's iconic high country is ablaze. This summer, neither the beach nor the mountains is safe. Each of the alpine fires remains out of control and without rain, Australia's burning season threatens to drag into January and then Victoria's historically most dangerous month, February. The massive high country blazes are threatening to join up on one of the extreme days to come. Upper Murray Country Fire Authority incident controller Jon Rofe said this week that, when fires join, "you get a fairly dramatic increase in fire behaviour ... there's more pre-heating, more fuel burning and at a faster rate". University of Melbourne fire expert Dr Thomas Duff is more philosophical. Hundreds of thousands of hectares were already burning in the heavily forested but lightly populated mountains, he said, and they were heading east towards the plains south of Canberra. "Whether the fires merge or don't is largely academic," he says. On the quiet days the big tree stumps just keep smouldering, waiting to be whipped back into life by resurgent heat and wind. Advertisement Loading On the ground the people living in the teeth of these monstrous blazes were this week feeling a mixture of stoicism and defiance. Even now, though, some are angry that the NSW versus Victoria mentality that built Australian railway lines with different gauges for more than a century still seems to prevail, even in the midst of disaster. There is plenty of fodder here for Prime Minister Scott Morrison's federal inquiry or royal commission. Across state lines Sandi Grieve is a nurse and the chief executive of the Walwa Bush Nursing Centre. She has spent 31 years in the border area and stayed behind through the recent order to evacuate. She says the frustrations of working across two states has been exacerbated by the bushfire emergency. "Who'd have thought we had federation?" Victorian nurse Sandi Grieve at the Jingellic showground in NSW. Credit:Eddie Jim Walwa, Victoria, is just five kilometres across a bridge from Jingellic, NSW. But if a person rings an ambulance on the NSW side, the closest nurse (her) is often not notified. Help is sent instead from a NSW town that is 40 to 50 kilometres away. It can mean a delay of an hour or more, "the difference between life and death," she says. Advertisement Her practice is funded by the Victorian government to serve only the people on her side of the river even though, in reality, there are hundreds more in need on the NSW side. She ignores all that. "We've just taken it upon ourselves to come over," she says. We meet her in Jingellic, NSW. In recent days she has seen patients - mostly farmers who run dairies or cattle farms - nursing injuries but afraid to seek medical help in case they are sent a long way away for treatment and not allowed back through road blocks. "We crash-tackle them in the community centres with broken ribs, skin contusions. They are nursing their injuries hoping to escape notice so they can go home and keep working," she says. "We consider them to be part of our catchment". At the height of the bushfire emergency, the NSW Rural Fire Service Fires Near Me app which many were relying on, showed nothing on the Victorian side of the border, even after the fire had jumped the river near Jingellic. That has now been rectified for this region at least. People evacuated in Victoria were paid up to $1960 by the state government, in NSW they got nothing. Sarah Whiteley at her farm in Greg Greg. Credit:Eddie Jim Sarah Whiteley is a former Dubai-based film producer who fell in love with a farmer and moved to Greg Greg (NSW). She has strong opinions on evacuations ("All the wives and the kids left and instead of two people to defend, you had just one person") and the ban on private backburning ("We all just want to set fire to our properties now"). She, like others, is furious with Telstra for a lack of phone coverage. "On New Year's Eve we had to walk to a high spot and get one bar, and then had relatives screenshoting the fire app for us." Advertisement Jingellic's local volunteer fire captain Alby Maras feels the same way. "We can't organise crews because no-one has a phone. For me it's been nearly impossible." He says Telstra was warned six months ago but did nothing. A Telstra spokesman says the company is "making every resource available to respond to this unprecedented event and to get communities reconnected as quickly as possible". There had been "critical damage to infrastructure including towers", mostly because of lack of power. He cites distance and terrain as issues in providing services in Jingellic and Greg Greg. Alby Maras, Jingellic fire captain. Credit:Eddie Jim Whiteley is working with a group called Upper Murray Inc., to try to rebrand and promote this region for tourism. The sales pitch includes the beauty of the natural environment. Part of their mission, she says, is to try to break down the boundaries between the two states. "We're all part of the same community," she says. "Tooma (NSW) people shop in Corryong (Victoria) ... this campaign is about uniting the whole area and working out what positive changes we want to see." Meanwhile she worries about fire - the farmers running on empty and burying stock; the children who were evacuated and will return to be traumatised by a blackened landscape. Advertisement Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 18:01:58|Editor: zh Video Player Close RABAT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan authorities rescued late Thursday 29 illegal immigrants off the kingdom's Atlantic coast, a local media outlet reported Friday. Among the illegal immigrants are 25 from sub-Saharan Africa and four Moroccans, who were on board a fishing boat near the coast of the town of Ntireft in the north of Dakhla, according to official national radio, The boat was apparently en route to Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic. In 2019, 62 human trafficking networks were busted and 505 people involved in human trafficking and migrant smuggling were arrested in Morocco, according to official statistics. Moroccan authorities arrested 27,317 illegal immigrants in 2019, the Moroccan police said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last night said that the Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people onboard, was likely brought down by an Iranian missile. Mr Trudeau cited intelligence from Canadian and other sources as he told a news conference in Ottawa that the destruction of the airliner "may well have been unintentional". Evidence: Justin Trudeau said the shooting down of the airliner 'may well have been unintentional'. Photo: REUTERS/Blair Gable The flight was on its way to Kiev from Tehran early on Wednesday, with 63 Canadians among the passengers and crew. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," he said. British leader Boris Johnson said Western intelligence agencies had concluded that the downing of the jet by Iran was most likely an accident. US satellites reportedly picked up two surface-to-air missiles being launched shortly before the accident and US officials suspect there are missile fragments near the crash site where all 176 passenger died. Mr Johnson said: "There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional." British and Canadian officials said they believed the US assessment was credible. However, Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation pushed back, calling the allegation "illogical" and asked why the plane had turned back towards the airport if it had been hit by a missile. Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 took off just hours after Iran had fired rockets at US soldiers stationed in Iraq, leading to speculation the accident could have come from the "fog of war". America's belief that the alleged missile launch was a mistake is underscored by the fact that 82 Iranian citizens were killed in the crash, as well as 11 Ukrainians and three Britons. 'Newsweek', CBS and CNN first reported the US conclusion yesterday. US President Donald Trump declined to be explicit about how he thought the plane had crashed or who was behind it when asked, but said: "I have my suspicions." "Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question," Mr Trump said, adding: "Something very terrible happened." The Ukrainian plane left Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at 6.10am local time on Wednesday bound for Kyiv. Hours earlier, Iran had launched rockets at US soldiers in two Iraqi bases in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani. The decision to fly despite the launch of a military attack hours earlier has been called into question, with some asking why all passenger planes were not barred from passing through the airspace. US media outlets reported that satellites, radar and electronic data collected routinely by US military and intelligence lay behind America's assessment that Iran was to blame. US officials said data showed Iranian radar had been tracking the plane before the missiles were fired, according to news agencies. The plane was airborne for just two minutes before an explosion. CNN noted punctures on the aircraft's fuselage found among the wreckage, possibly indicating an explosion outside the aircraft. Witnesses said the plane appeared to be on fire before it crashed. According to an Iranian initial assessment, it turned back towards the airport before going down. Boeing and the FAA declined to comment yesterday, as did the Pentagon. Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment. Iran's aviation organisation said it would invite the US as the state of manufacture to participate in the investigation. The tragedy has echoes of Malaysian airlines flight MH17, shot down by Russian-backed separatists as it flew over eastern Ukraine in 2014 amid an emerging war in the area. Iranian officials said the Ukrainian plane's black box has been recovered. CNN reported it would be handed over to the Ukrainians today. Oleksei Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said a 45-person-strong Ukrainian team had reached the crash site just outside of Tehran and would search for missing fragments. Mr Danilov said: "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash." He appeared to be referring to unverified photographs posted by a number of Iranian Twitter users of what appeared to be a missile nose cone among crash debris. A north Alabama fire department chief was arrested today on felony charges of theft and ethics violations. Tuscumbia Fire Chief Rodney McAnally is charged with second-degree theft and use of position for personal gain, records show. The crimes happened when McAnally was the fire chief in Littleville a tiny town in southern Colbert County, court records allege. The town is in northwest Alabama, about 70 miles west of Huntsville. McAnally was indicted by a Colbert County grand jury on Thursday and booked into the Colbert County jail today. He was released on $18,500 bail. McAnally and his defense attorney, Jamy Poss, declined to comment. McAnally is accused of stealing up to $2,500 from the Littleville Fire Department, according to the indictment. Hes also accused of using his position as chief to obtain a vinyl machine and use it to make $7,000 in personal profit, the indictment alleges. [Read the indictment here or at the bottom of this story] Efforts to reach Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham for additional information werent immediately successful on Friday. A spokeswoman for the State Fire Marshals Office, which investigated the case, didnt immediately return a call for comment. McAnally is a longtime firefighter. He was hired as Tuscumbias fire chief in June of 2016, the TimesDaily newspaper in Florence reported. Until March of 2019, he was chief at both departments, according to the Associated Press. Tuscumbia city officials didnt return calls for comment on Friday. Earlier this week, Tuscumbia Mayor Kerry Underwood confirmed to news reporters that McAnally was under investigation and placed on administrative leave. If convicted, McAnally could face up to 30 years in prison. Members of the Left leaning students' outfits and the ABVP held protests at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here on Friday against the January 5 violence on the campus. While the RSS-affiliated ABVP took out a silent protest march inside the varsity premises, students belonging to the Left-leaning outfits organsied a poster making event and formed a human chain. While the protests were silent with no sloganeering, there was heavy deployment of police personnel in plain clothes to prevent any untoward incident. Carrying banners which read 'red terror down down' and 'reclaim our studies', members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took out a march from Sabarmati T-point to the main gate of the varsity. Members of the JNU Teachers' Federation (JNUTF) too participated in the march as police in plain clothes flanked the protesters. While students from the Left-leaning groups carried banners of 'fees must fall' and 'in defence of public funded higher education' as they formed a human chain at the Sabarmati T-point and later marched towards the main gate. Some of the students had covered their mouths with a black cloth and did not raise any slogans. The Delhi Police on Friday released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, a member Students' Federation of India, was one of them. Of the nine, seven belong to left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to a "right-wing students'' body, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Question Time audience member was applauded after he suggested Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should stop taking public money 'immediately.' The BBC panel show discussed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announcement that they are 'stepping back' as senior royals and plan to become 'financially independent.' The couple said they would stop receiving money from Her Majesty's taxpayer funded Sovereign Grant, but it has raised questions on who will pick up the bill for foreign travel and security costs. In their bombshell statement released on Wednesday night, they said they would split their time between North America and the UK - and would continue to 'honour our duty to the Queen..and our patronages.' The panel, which featured Tory Brandon Lewis, Minister of State for Security and Deputy to Home Secretary, and Labour leadership hopeful Clive Lewis, were asked: 'Is Harry and Meghan's decision to step back as senior royals petulant and ill-judged?' Host Fiona Bruce asked Brandon Lewis: ' are you going to keep paying for their security?' after the couple insisted they wanted to become 'financially independent' One man in the audience responded: 'I'm perfectly happy to see them live their own life, do whatever they want, they are humans like we all are. 'But shouldn't they immediately stop taking public money as they step [aside] instead of, I think they said today, move towards that?' Host Fiona Bruce asked Brandon Lewis: 'are you going to keep paying for their security?' The Tory MP said it was 'inappropriate' to comment, but added: 'All protection for the royal family and otherwise is done on a risk assessed basis. 'It is done independently, it does come within my remit but I'm afraid it would be inappropriate for me to comment.' One man in the audience (pictured) said: Shouldn't they immediately stop taking public money as they step [aside] instead of, I think they said today, move towards that?' He said: 'One of the things we have seen throughout the history of our country is that royal family has evolved over the centuries and over the generations to reflect the country as it is at that given time and I am sure we will continue to see that.' Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, said: 'I think it's up to them in the 21st Century if they wish step back from their royal duties. Do you know the audience member? Email ed.riley@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement 'Let's not forget Prince Harry's mother was harassed severely, Princess Diana, by the media.' He said Harry 'has seen this before' adding: 'It has had a massive impact on his life and now it's happening to his wife. 'He has every right and she has every right to step back from public life and do as they see fit.' Prince Harry and Meghan released a bombshell statement on Wednesday saying they would be 'stepping back' as senior royals. The Queen and other members of the family were said to be left 'hurt' and 'deeply disappointed' by Harry and Meghan's decision to issue the personal statement. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a bombshell statement on Wednesday saying they would be 'stepping back' as senior royals It outlined the couple's future lives as financially independent royals who will divide their time between the UK and North America. Last night it emerged Meghan had returned to Canada and her eight-month-old son, Archie, who is understood to have been left with his nanny and the duchess's best friend, Jessica Mulroney. Meghan may stay there for the foreseeable future. Sources said the duchess 'hadn't planned' to remain in the UK for long, after arriving back in Britain on Monday at the end of the couple's seven-week hiatus from royal duties in Vancouver. Insiders suggested that Prince Harry would follow his wife back to Canada late last night, even though he has an official engagement at Buckingham Palace next Thursday. The remarkable development described by one insider as 'simply astonishing' came as the Queen ordered her warring family to hammer out a solution that will allow her grandson and his wife to quit frontline royal duties. It also emerged the Queen has convened a meeting of all four royal households to try and find a 'workable' future role for the Duke and Duchess within 'days not weeks'. Her Majesty, in Sandringham, Prince Charles, in Scotland, and Prince William have been locked in a four-way conference call with Prince Harry, in Windsor, to try and resolve his and Meghan's exit from the royal family. The Queen wants the situation resolved as quickly as possible, according to a Buckingham Palace source, and talks will take place 'at pace' and involve the government, including Home Secretary Priti Patel. Discussions may even include foreign governments, possibly Canada and the United States, with Harry and Meghan intending to split their time between the UK and North America in the future. ***Do you know the audience member? Email ed.riley@mailonline.co.uk*** This is the Impeachment Briefing, The Timess newsletter about the impeachment investigation. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every weeknight. What happened today Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would soon call for a vote to send articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. Though she didnt specify a time frame, lawmakers and aides said the House could move toward a vote next week, before Congress takes a weeklong recess. Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, warned his members to be prepared to plunge into the unknown of a proceeding that could tie up the Senate for weeks. And he signed onto a resolution to allow the Senate to dismiss any impeachment articles not delivered within 25 days of House approval which, in this case, would be Sunday. Ms. Pelosi continued to press for Mr. McConnell to lay out the rules for a Senate trial so she could choose a team of lawmakers, known as impeachment managers, to prosecute the Houses case. It doesnt mean we have to agree to the rules or we have to like the rules, Ms. Pelosi said, we just want to know what they are. Mr. McConnell responded this evening, telling reporters at the Capitol, No, were not going to do that. Send us your impeachment questions While impeachment stalls in the gray area between the House and the Senate, we thought wed answer some questions from Impeachment Briefing readers. You can send us your questions by email here, and well get our colleagues to answer a few in tomorrows newsletter. (Please include your first name and home state, or country if youre outside the U.S.) As a preview, I asked Julie Davis, our congressional editor, to answer one that several readers have asked this week. Abigail in Pennsylvania and Mary in Illinois both sent us a version of this question: If John Bolton is willing to testify but the Senate refuses to call him, why cant the House reopen the impeachment inquiry and issue its own subpoena? JULIE: Theres nothing preventing the House from issuing a subpoena for Mr. Bolton and, based on the statement he released last week, he might well decide to comply. The top lawyer for the House, Doug Letter, has already made clear in a lawsuit about the testimony of Don McGahn, the former White House counsel, that the House could add to its impeachment case with additional articles. So just because the House has already impeached President Trump, there is nothing stopping lawmakers from doing so again. Reuters Online platforms including Facebook and Alphabet Inc's Google face growing pressure to stop carrying political ads that contain false or misleading claims ahead of the US presidential election. In the United States, the Communications Act prevents broadcast stations from rejecting or censoring ads from candidates for federal office once they have accepted advertising for that political race, although this does not apply to cable networks like CNN, or to social media sites, where leading presidential candidates are spending millions to target voters in the run-up to the November 2020 election. The following is how social media platforms have decided to handle false or misleading claims in political ads: Facebook Facebook exempts politicians from its third-party fact-checking program, allowing them to run ads with false claims. The policy has been attacked by regulators and lawmakers who say it could spread misinformation and cause voter suppression. Critics including Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren have also run intentionally false Facebook ads to highlight the issue. (Also read: Facebook sued for discriminating on the basis of gender, age for financial service ads) Facebook's Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has defended the company's stance, arguing that it does not want to stifle political speech, but he also said the company was considering ways to refine the policy. Facebook does fact-check content from political groups. The company also says it fact-checks politicians if they share previously debunked content and does not allow this content in ads. The company said on Thursday it was making some changes to its approach to political ads, including allowing users to turn off certain ad-targeting tools. In addition, it will also make more ad audience data publicly available. The expanded ad audience data features will be rolled out in the first quarter of this year and Facebook plans to deploy the political ads control starting in the United States early this summer, eventually expanding this preference to more locations. Another change will be to allow users to choose to stop seeing ads based on an advertiser's "Custom Audience" and that will apply to all types of advertising, not only political ads. (Also read: Debating political ads on social media is Facebook, Twitter's way to derail issue; what's needed is legislation, not bans) Twitter Twitter Inc has banned political ads. In November, it said this will include ads that reference a political candidate, party, election or legislation, among other limits. The company also said it will not allow ads that advocate for a specific outcome on political or social causes. "We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought," said Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a statement last month. Some lawmakers praised the ban but critics said Twitter's decision would benefit incumbent and hurt less well-known candidates. Officials from the Trump campaign, which is out-spending its Democratic rivals on Facebook and Google ads, called the ban "dumb" but also said it would have little effect on the president's strategy. The overall political ad spend for the 2018 US midterm elections on Twitter was less than $3 million, Twitters Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal said. "Twitter from an advertising perspective is not a player at all. Facebook and Google are the giants in political ads," said Steve Passwaiter, vice president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group at Kantar Media. (Also read: Spotify to suspend political advertising in 2020) Google Google said on Wednesday that it would limit audience targeting for election ads to age, gender and the general location at a postal code level. The change means political advertisers can no longer target ads using data such as public voter records and general political affiliations such as right-leaning, left-leaning or independent. Advertisers can still do contextual targeting, such as showing ads to users watching a certain video. Google and its video-streaming service YouTube prohibit certain kinds of misrepresentation in ads, such as misinformation about public voting procedures, political candidate eligibility based on age or birthplace or incorrect claims that a public figure has died. Google does not have a wholesale ban on politicians running false or misleading ads. In October, when former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign asked the company to take down a Trump campaign ad that it said contained false claims, a Google spokeswoman told Reuters it did not violate the site's policies. Snap Snap Inc allows political advertising unless the ads are misleading, deceptive or violate the terms of service on its disappearing message app Snapchat. The company, which recently joined Facebook, Twitter and Google in launching a public database of its political ads, defines political ads as including election-related, advocacy and issue ads. Snap does not ban "attack" ads in general, but its policy does prohibit attacks relating to a candidate's personal life. TikTok The Chinese-owned video app popular with US teenagers does not permit political advertising on the platform. In an October blog, TikTok said that the company wants to make sure the platform continues to feel "light-hearted and irreverent." "The nature of paid political ads is not something we believe fits the TikTok platform experience," wrote Blake Chandlee, TikToks vice president of global business solutions. The app, owned by Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance, has recently come under scrutiny from US lawmakers concerned the company may be censoring politically sensitive content, and raising questions about how it stores personal data. Reddit Social network Reddit allows ads related to political issues and ads from political candidates at the federal level, but not for state or local elections. It also does not allow ads about political issues, elections or candidates outside of the United States. The company says all political ads must abide by its policies that forbid "deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising" and that prohibit "content that depicts intolerant or overly contentious political or cultural topics or views." Linkedin LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft Corp, banned political ads last year. It defines political ads as including "ads advocating for or against a particular candidate or ballot proposition or otherwise intended to influence an election outcome." Search engine Bing, which is also owned by Microsoft, does not allow ads with political or election-related content. Pinterest Photo-sharing site Pinterest Inc also banned political campaign ads last year. This includes advertising for political candidates, political action committees (PACs), legislation, or political issues with the intent to influence an election, according to the site's ads policy. "We want to create a positive, welcoming environment for our Pinners and political campaign ads are divisive by nature," said Pinterest spokeswoman Jamie Favazza, who told Reuters the decision was also part of the companys strategy to address misinformation. Twitch A spokeswoman for Twitch told Reuters the live-streaming gaming network does not allow political advertising. The site does not strictly ban all issue-based advertising but the company considers whether an ad could be seen as "political" when it is reviewed, the spokeswoman said. Twitch, which is owned by Amazon.com Inc, is primarily a video gaming platform but also has channels focused on sports, music and politics. In recent months, political candidates such as US President Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders have joined the platform ahead of the 2020 election. Fashion retailer Joules has defied high street gloom once again to deliver a year of double-digit sales growth, the company said (Joules/PA) UK fashion retailer Joules saw shares dive by a quarter after it warned that profits would slide following supply chain issues over the key Christmas trading period. The company told investors that its annual pre-tax profits will be significantly behind forecasts after festive sales slumped compared with the same period a year earlier. Sales in the seven weeks to January 5 dropped 4.5%, falling significantly short of expectations and Christmas sales growth of 11.7% in the same period a year ago. Chief executive Nick Jones said the retailer was disappointed with its inability to fully satisfy our customers demand for online shopping during its Christmas sale. He said Joules has identified the root cause of the one-off issue and has taken steps to prevent its re-occurrence. We remain focused on continuing to expand the Joules brand and are making significant enhancements to our supply chain operations in the UK and US to deliver both future capacity growth and efficiencyNick Jones, Joules The company said that, although traffic to its website grew by 8%, the stock availability issue resulted in disappointing revenues from its online operations. However, sales in its other retail channels, including high street stores and concessions, performed in line with expectations. Mr Jones added: Demand for the Joules brand and its unique products remains strong, with continued growth in total customer numbers and website traffic as well as robust results in our stores and partner retail channels. We remain focused on continuing to expand the Joules brand and are making significant enhancements to our supply chain operations in the UK and US to deliver both future capacity growth and efficiency. The group added that it expects to face cost headwinds in the second half of the year as a result of US-China tariffs, which look set to continue into the new year. Iran has formally invited representatives of the United States, Canada and Ukraine to join the investigation into the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane near Tehran. "The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will participate in the investigation into the Ukrainian Airlines flight that crashed in Iran, killing 176 people," the statement says, CNN reported. The agency said that it will not speculate about the cause of the crash and that Iranian authorities, which notified the NTSB of the crash, would be the lead agency. Irans Foreign Affairs spokesperson Abbas Mousavi tweeted that the investigation into the cause behind the crash of Ukrainian Airlines flight had officially launched based on international guidelines set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Mousavi added that representatives from Ukraine and aircraft manufacturer Boeing had been invited to take part in the investigation. He ended the tweet by saying, We appreciate any country who can provide information to the committee in charge. Also, the Iranian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau invited the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) to go to the Ukrainian airliner crash site in Tehran. As reported, a Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on Wednesday, January 8. There were 176 people on board the aircraft - 167 passengers (including two Ukrainians) and nine crew (all Ukrainians). Most of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran are citizens of Iran (82) and Canada (63). Those killed in the crash also include ten Swedes, four citizens of Afghanistan, three Germans, and three Britons. ish Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Lynda Ibrahim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 11:59 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321a41b4 1 Lifestyle #lifestyle,#life,#UrbanChat,#column,#flooding,#NewYear Free Some of you are probably rolling your eyes now and calling me a pathological cynic. To those of you who are still reading, let us count the awfulness. Jan 1. Massive rainfall led to worse-than-usual flooding around Greater Jakarta, killing dozens and affecting tens of thousands including residents whose homes had never been flooded before. For days, the capital and adjacent parts of West Java were practically paralyzed. Jan 2. The United States killed Irans top military commander, sending shock waves throughout the world, which is still dealing with prolonged Middle East conflicts, many of which are related to the US in the first place. The term World War III was trending on social media just two days into 2020. Jan 6., in the morning. A four-story building in West Jakarta collapsed without warning, shocking Jakartans still reeling from the flood and scandalizing every civil engineer around. Jan 6, in the evening. News broke from Manchester that an Indonesian graduate student had been convicted for raping a staggering number of men, rendering him the title of the UK's most prolific rapist. And let's not forget the ongoing bushfire in Australia that, according to Greenpeace, has ravaged 8.4 million hectares of forest, five times the size of Indonesia's bushfire last year, sending smoke and yellowing sky thousands of miles away to Auckland. I thought 2019 was already dramatic, both publicly and for me personally. Throughout the year I had to constantly run like a headless chicken dealing with emergencies myself, topped by the last quarter that saw me diagnosed with a couple of health problems one of which remains on a rather long road of treatment. Yet the first week of 2020 unleashed a series of dramatic events that made 2019 pale in comparison. Does that mean we should just roll back under the blanket and wait until 2021 kicks in? Well, I personally can't afford to do so. Aside from the little fact that bills and commitments will come knocking, I've got too much Jupiter in me to be a total recluse. Stepping back from social media as I've gradually done is one thing, but stepping back from life is not an option. Yet, how will we maintain well-being if this first week is a good sample of the onslaught that is to be unfurled for the rest of the year? I suddenly thought about Professor Laurie Santos. Laurie Santos is a professor of psychology and cognitive science whose class "Psychology and the Good Life" is Yale University's most popular class in history a mean feat considering Yale was founded over 3 centuries ago and educates thousands of students annually. There are countless books and courses on attaining happiness, yet what sets Professor Santos apart is her using science to anchor methods aimed at changing behavior. Instead of letting one intuitively do things believed to make one happy, Santos prescribes seven science-based "rewirement" habits to form daily. Let's give them a look. Make social connections: Yes, Mom warned us not to talk to strangers, and the aforementioned Reynhard Sinaga case can seriously dampen our sociability drive. Yet most adults typically know how to safely conduct social interaction in public. What Professor Santos advises is not to engage in political debate with random strangers, but to start a simple chat with someone waiting in line behind you or sitting next to you on public transportation, a practice she argues will reduce loneliness. Born a chatterbox, I do this often, and I'm pleased to report that beyond the occasional unpleasantness I generally get positive responses. I have already made a few new friends simply because I struck up a conversation with perfect strangers. Be safe, yet be social. Meditation: I'm not the most dedicated yogini, but my practice over the years shows that meditation, the state of focus reached through regularly maintaining yoga poses, is indeed effective in calming emotions and centering the mind two conditions backed scientifically by Professor Santos' findings. If you are interested in meditation without a yoga approach, check for classes springing up in major Indonesian cities. For those familiar with yoga and who wish to go deeper into meditation, I carefully recommend Kundalini yoga with a certified guru. Limit your choices: Hyperconnectivity has brought about unlimited choices, commonly believed to make us happier. Santos argues otherwise. The little me 10 years ago would have outright rejected Professor Santos' argument, but the current me kind of sees the logic. More choices can mean more confusion, indecisiveness or restlessness. I personally don't know how to apply this in my life yet, but the exasperating people who spend 7 minutes in Starbucks to eventually decide on a standard latte and muffin could really use it. Focus less on an "end" goal: Many of you, especially Type A like yours truly, will first think of this as unproductive. Yet as I listened more to Santos' interview, I came to understand that what she meant was placing too much importance on an end prize that the whole journey was deemed fruitless if it didn't end with the said prize. The "be present" yogic mantra actually drives to the same point that one needs to focus and enjoy the present including when "present" means an ongoing process with no immediate ending. Trust the process, try as well to enjoy the process. Call a friend: I've been called old-school for still picking up the phone to call. What most people who laughed at me didn't understand is I basically don't have the time or temperament to engage in back-and-forth texting of an issue that can be resolved in a 2-minute phone chat. What Santos advises may sound even more old-fashioned to the text-crazed peeps, making a call just to say hello. Apparently studies have proven that doing so improves one's mood instantly. So lay off texting, call someone who's not your mom. Sleep: Not just in quantity, but in quality. I'm one of those lucky few who sleep soundly as soon as my head rests on a pillow, for which my travel mates hate me, but I understand it's a struggle for many. To achieve the necessary amount and quality of sleep, Santos advises to entirely unplug your gadgets before going to bed. I love TV and often have the TV on while working on other things, but I must admit that falling asleep in front of a blaring TV is one of the worst ways to get a healthy night's sleep. Keep a gratitude journal: Santos finds that writing three to five things to be grateful about on a daily basis can statistically improve one's mood in two weeks. I've never been much of a diary keeper, but I admit to occasionally looking back into my life for the past week or two and silently jotting down, in my mind, things to be thankful for. I don't know if Santos would find it as effective, but I'm veering in that direction. What about you guys? Have you used some of these rewirement techniques, or do you have a completely different method? Tap into the online comments section below, write to the editor, or find me on Twitter let me know how you're planning to stay sane this year. In the meantime, Happy New Year, everyone! -- Lynda Ibrahim is a Jakarta-based writer with a penchant for purple, pussycats and pop culture. RICHMOND, Va. - Newly empowered Virginia Democrats on Friday banned guns from the State Capitol, muscling through a sharp policy shift in a place where lawmakers often pack heat on the floor. The policy, adopted over vehement Republican objections, is a first strike for gun control by the House and Senate, both under Democratic control for the first time in decades. The legislature is expected to pass far-reaching gun restrictions before the 60-day session that began Wednesday wraps up. "Our objective here is keeping everyone safe," House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, told reporters. "It's being done in countless states throughout the United States." The policy, which was set to take effect at midnight Friday, pointedly applies not just to visitors, who until now have been allowed to bring weapons into the building if they have a concealed-carry permit. The ban also applies to senators and delegates - even those who are law enforcement officers. But as a practical matter, Capitol Police Col. Steve Pike said, the policy will not be enforced with lawmakers. Requiring them to pass through metal detectors would probably slow them down as they travel between the Capitol and the adjacent Pocahontas Building, which the ban also covers. In addition, he said, legislators are immune from prosecution during the session, under a law intended to ensure their performance of the people's business is not impeded. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, applauded Friday's policy change, which mirrors gun bans already in place in executive-branch buildings. His office said he, along with state and local law enforcement, is reviewing options for regulating weapons in outdoor areas of Capitol Square, "in light of incoming intelligence" - a reference to plans for an enormous gun rights rally planned for Jan. 20. Organizers say that event could draw tens of thousands of heavily armed protesters, including militias and members of extremist groups from across the country. "The other side is very, very, very ugly right now, and the threats are real," said Lori Haas of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "I don't begrudge them being careful." One lawmaker hinted Friday that she will not quit carrying in the Capitol, regardless of the policy change. "I'm going to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution, so help me God," said Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, who drew attention last year by wearing a .38 special on her hip. This year, she has been carrying a weapon in her American-flag-patterned purse. If Capitol police officers are made aware that a lawmaker is violating the policy, Pike said, "I will go to the leadership of both bodies and explain to them what is going on." Asked what he would do if leaders responded by instructing him to escort a lawmaker out, Pike hesitated. "I'm going to have to think on that," he said. The gun ban was imposed by the Joint Rules Committee, a panel of House and Senate members whose decisions on Capitol policy are not subject to review by the full legislature. Democrats outnumber Republicans on the panel 11 to 5, and the vote fell along party lines. Guns are expected to be the marquee issue this session, after Democrats - many running on gun-control platforms - wrested control of the House and Senate from Republicans in November. The issue took on greater prominence after a gunman killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building in May and Republicans refused to take any action on gun control at a special session that Northam called in the aftermath. Northam is advocating eight bills, including measures to ban the sale of assault-style weapons; require background checks on all firearms sales and transfers; cap handgun purchases at one per month; and create a "red flag" law to temporarily remove guns from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. Republicans complained bitterly that they had gotten word of the Rules Committee meeting only the night before. "This is something that has been recommended by our Capitol Police," House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, responded. "There are times when we sort of have to trust what our law enforcement officers are telling us in concern for our safety and the safety of individuals that are coming into this building." Filler-Corn invoked the same reasoning: "Again, this is being recommended by Colonel Pike and the professionals and that's why we're moving in this direction." Pike later made clear that he had not recommended the policy itself, just the mechanics of implementing it. "They approached me and said [if] they wanted to put a prohibition in place, how would that be handled?" Pike said. Republicans then accused Democrats of trying to pin the policy change on Capitol Police, something House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, called "disgusting" and "downright dirty." Former House speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, who has kept a low profile since losing his leadership position, confronted the new speaker on the issue directly. "Let's be honest with each other," he said to Filler-Corn. "That was a deliberate misrepresentation. There's just no way around that." Filler-Corn did not directly respond but later told reporters that the allegation was "absolutely ridiculous. They're trying to change the narrative." New brand, simply known as Kearney, emphasizes the humanity that clients, colleagues, and alumni value most in the firm CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kearney, the global consulting partnership formerly known as A.T. Kearney, today announced an all-encompassing rebrand. As part of a comprehensive review of Kearney's existing brand and value proposition, the firm reached out to clients, firm partners, colleagues, and alumni for their perspectives on what they find distinctive and valuable in Kearney people, how they work, and how the firm contributes to client success-all of which contributed to shaping the new brand messaging, visual identity, and a highly personal storytelling approach to communications. "Our people are our brand, and our rebrand focuses squarely on that personal dimension," said Abby Klanecky, Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Kearney. One example of Kearney's new brand direction is a commitment to eliminating stock photography and using 100% crowdsourced imagery from Kearney colleagues, showcasing their individual perspectives from around the world. From October to December 2019, the company collected more than 10,000 original photographs shot by Kearney's global employees. The new name "Kearney" also reflects the firm's emphasis on community. Kearney remains wedded to the values and commitment to client service embodied by the firm's founder, Andrew Thomas Kearney. Removing initials "A.T." from the name recognizes the broader global Kearney family of employees, alumni, and friends who contribute to its success. "For decades, our brand was centered primarily around our heritage, in which we take extraordinary pride," said Klanecky. "While showcasing our firm's family name demonstrates that we remain true to our origins, our updated name, brand voice, and visual identity are more concise and personal, embracing who we are today." Alex Liu, Chairman and Managing Partner of Kearney, observed, "The most exciting aspect of our new brand is that it so accurately captures our voice. Our firm is refreshingly real, relatable, and original. To that end, we are eliminating industry jargon. Kearney people are always themselves. We speak plainly, listen closely, and build great working relationships. We take joy in each other, and in every success achieved side by side with our clients." Kearney engaged global brand strategy, design, and experience firm Siegel+Gale to help gather insights from clients, partners, colleagues, and stakeholder communities to pinpoint distinguishing and original firm traits. "Brand is a valuable asset that is often overlooked," said Philip Davies, President, EMEA, Siegel+Gale. "Kearney has always taken pride in placing its people at the center of what it does, and this rebrand highlights this unique approach. Many brands invest in clearly defining their purpose, but then fail to activate it. Kearney is a great example of a brand living its purpose through people centricity." About Kearney As a global consulting partnership in more than 40 countries, our people make us who we are. We're individuals who take as much joy from those we work with as the work itself. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we help our clients break through. Media Contact: Ryan Dicovitsky/Stephanie Dressler Dukas Linden Public Relations Email: Kearney@DLPR.com Phone: +1-212-704-7385 Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1064617/Kearney_Press_Release.mp4 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/74053/a_t__kearney_logo.jpg "...applicants shall put their appearance on the 19th of January, 2020 between 2 to 4 p.m. at PS Seema Puri, where the I0/SHO shall make endeavour to remove the doubts of the applicants in respect of CAA," said Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra. New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) In an unusual move, a court, while granting bail to 12 accused in the violent anti-CAA protest case, directed them to appear before the Investigating Officer concerned who would dispel their doubts about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The court also asked the accused persons to join the investigation as and when called by the IO and also directed them "not to do any act which may disturb the public peace". The applicants were also directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and one surety of like amount. Stone-pelting and incidents of arson and vandalism were reported on December 20 from Daryaganj in old Delhi and Seemapuri in east Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, police said. In Seemapuri, an Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police had suffered minor injuries, it said. anb/vd Photo: Vulture The true-crime podcast universe is ever expanding. Were here to make it a bit smaller and a bit more manageable. There are a lot of great shows, and each has a lot of great episodes, so we want to highlight the noteworthy and the exceptional. Each week, our crack team of podcast enthusiasts and specialists will pick their favorites. Monster: D.C. Sniper, A New Terror Parts 1 and 2 and Youre Wrong About, The D.C. Snipers Whether owing to a high-profile anniversary or the simple coincidence of simultaneous invention (like when No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits hit theaters just seven months apart), true-crime retrospectives often come in multiples. (Remember 2016 when we were all talking about O.J. Simpson again?) Such is the case now for the 2002 rash of killings known as the D.C. sniper attacks, in which John Allen Muhammad (then 41) and Lee Boyd Malvo (then 17) went on a shooting rampage, murdering ten people over the course of three weeks. (Their total body count would be 17 before they were finally apprehended.) The first podcast to reexamine the case is the Payne Lindseybacked series Monster, which in earlier installments covered the Atlanta Child Murders and the Zodiac Killer. Hosted by Tony Harris, who worked as a news anchor in Baltimore at the time of the attacks, Monster: D.C. Sniper largely follows the script of its predecessors, detailing each shooting one by one and talking to the eye witnesses and first responders who were on the scene. Through these chilling accounts, we relive the panic felt not only by the victims but by people in the D.C. metro area at large, who were given no explanation for the crimes and no way of knowing who would be next. Harris promises to investigate the real story behind the D.C. sniper attacks over the course of the podcast, but in just one episode, Youre Wrong About host Michael Hobbes seems to have alighted on the heart of the matter illuminating an integral and underreported aspect of the crime. Hobbess story is told from the vantage point of Muhammads ex-wife, Mildred, relying heavily on the text of her 2009 autobiography, Scared Silent. According to Hobbes, little reporting was done on the life and crimes of the attacks mastermind, so most of what we know about his internal workings stems from his wifes account and what emerges is a portrait of a domestic abuser who unleashed his petty grievances on our nations capital, holding it hostage in a horrific display of anger and narcissism. And, honestly, his is the least interesting narrative here. Mildred is the real revelation, as she rises above to not only escape Muhammads control but help other women who have been ignored or sidelined by the system. In short, we need more Mildreds in this often-dreadful world. Amy Wilkinson Dig, Cleared by Exception In January 2018, Louisville resident Jen Sainato reported her rape to the Louisville Police Department. One mans DNA was found in her rape kit, and yet, detectives failed to move forward with any prosecution and were not convinced that a crime had taken place. Dig, a podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, looks at why Sainatos case isnt an exception its actually the norm in Louisville, where the majority of rape cases are cleared because of the relationship between the police and prosecutors. In this latest episode, host Eleanor Klibanoff examines what the super-low number of reported rapes in Louisville actually means (spoiler: its not that rape is happening less frequently), and what it takes for a rape case to be cleared by exception, as Sainatos was. To do so, you need to have a suspect, know where he is, and have probable cause to charge the suspect. According to prosecutors, one of these things didnt exist in Sainatos case, but it was still cleared as though it was solved. Taking a close look at Louisvilles disturbing handling of rape and rape victims isnt just about the examination of one small citys political and legal structures, its about how rape culture has impacted American life and continues to do so. To say that Dig is an important listen would be an understatement. Chanel Dubofsky Disorganized Crime, Mary Jane Mamas Disorganized Crime, the new podcast from iHeartRadio, could very well have been titled My Father Was a Pot Dealer. Through extensive interviews with her parents, friends, and others, host Rainbow Valentine tells the story of her parents experiences, beginning as psychedelic pioneers on opposite coasts and then as a married couple with a kid, moving large quantities of marijuana and hashish from their home in Northern California in the 70s and 80s. Rainbow Valentine, you ask? Almost nobody in this podcast uses their real names. Instead you get a variety of colorful noms de guerre, including the Sugar Bowl Man, the Brooklyn Boys, and Rainbows parents, Taffy and Walter Lemur. In Mary Jane Mamas, we hear the stories of two women, contemporaries of the Lemurs, who were involved in the trade. Their names are Candy Can and Peach Blossom. As smugglers with young children, they take what seem like extraordinary risks, though their experiences and roles are quite different. But they are both mothers trying to raise kids while facing the challenges that come with a business that carries the threat of jail time and/or removal of their children. Its apparently hard to get a babysitter when youre in this line of work. Toby Ball The Pit, Needle in a Haystack Full transparency: I initially listened to The Pit because of its title, which immediately brought to mind truly macabre murder scenarios that I of course had to hear about. In actuality, The Pit is an engrossing (and troubling) CBC podcast in which journalists Alicia Bridges and Victoria Dinh investigate the 2015 disappearance of Sheree Fertuck from Saskatchewan, where she worked hauling gravel. Her truck was found the day after she vanished in, yes, a gravel pit. To this day, Fertucks body has never been found. In the latest episode, which precedes Sherees husband Gregs trial for her murder, Bridges and Dinh examine the possibility that Sherees body was dumped near the gravel pit where her truck was found, and question why it is that she hasnt been found yet. Are they looking in the wrong place? Did they just overlook her remains? What does it mean for the case if Sherees body is never found? (Listen for a video clip from a wedding in which Sheree makes a joke that doesnt exactly age well.) The Pit is fascinating and in-depth thanks to the Bridges and Dinhs thorough research (they want to know everything about Sheree, including what her voice sounded like), which has taken them all over Western Canada and into the homes and workplaces of those who knew Sheree. Delegate some meaningful time and attention to listening, because youll hang on every detail, and because its well-deserved. Chanel Dubofsky Midnight Son Midnight Son, an Audible Original, begins with a legend about two tribes, the Inupiaq and the Inukuns, who once lived side by side until an incident caused the Inukuns to retreat into the Alaskan wilderness. Host James Dommek Jr., the great-grandson of an Inupiaq storyteller, relates the story of Teddy Kyle Smith, an Alaska Native and film actor, who, upon finding his mother dead in her home, fires a rifle toward villagers who have come to help and disappears into the Alaskan wilderness. The story largely takes place in extremely remote Alaskan villages, reachable only by airplane, and in the wilderness itself. In chapter four of the podcast, which is packaged like an audiobook rather than as a series of episodes, Dommek interviews Paul Buckel about the incredibly harrowing encounter that he and his brother Charles have with Smith at a cabin on the banks of a river they were traveling while on a bear hunt. Midnight Son takes on many things, including life in these tiny communities, the movie industry and Native Alaskans, the tragic story of Teddy Kyle Smith, and, eventually, the fabled Inukuns, small, hairy people whom Smith claims to have seen watching him from across the breadth of the Squirrel River. Toby Ball Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we intend to prove it. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events, with prompts from Tom Moran, editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger. Q. In 2011, Donald Trump accused President Obama of preparing to go to war with Iran to strengthen his hand in the 2012 election, and now some Democrats are making the same charge against Trump, saying he ordered the killing of Irans Gen. Qassem Suleimani for domestic political reasons. Any reason to think thats true? Julie: I am not a psychiatrist, but Projection, thy name is Donald Trump. Mike: I am old enough to remember when Bill Clinton ordered airstrikes in Afghanistan and Sudan during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and then more strikes in Iraq during the impeachment proceedings. While people questioned the timing, ultimately most, including me, gave the benefit of the doubt to the president and our military. It is astonishing to me now how it seems no Democrat is willing to admit out loud that Iran is an enemy, and the general was a bad actor responsible for deaths of Americans and our allies with more attacks planned and was responsible more broadly for continuing the destabilization of the Middle East. Julie: I am a Democrat and I will admit that Iran is an enemy, the general was a bad actor responsible for deaths of Americans and our allies and was responsible for continuing the destabilization of the Middle East. The same could have been said for Saddam Hussein. But I don't support blundering into another war in Iran and, with this attack, Trump has actually weakened our hand in Iraq and strengthened the hand of the Iranians. You know who knows this? The Israelis. That's why they left Suleimani alive for so long. Q. John Bolton, the former national security advisor, says he has information on Trumps role in the Ukraine scandal, and is willing to testify before the Senate. That would require 51 votes, though, and Democrats have only 47. Will Bolton get a chance to speak? Should he? Julie: Of course he should speak and of course, the senate should call him to testify. If 51 Republicans won't do the right thing and call for his testimony, Justice Roberts, who will preside over the trial, should and dare 51 Republicans to overrule him. Mike: Im as curious as anyone to hear what Ambassador Bolton would say. I have great respect for John Bolton from his time in the Bush Administration, and all reports suggest he was unafraid to forcefully give his unvarnished opinion to the President, something every president needs and deserves in an advisor. That said, dont hold your breath. Senate Republicans are only following the precedent set by Democrats during the Clinton impeachment trial. Democrats want a different standard for Donald Trump than Bill Clinton. Julie: The difference is that an independent counsel named Kenneth Starr was able to take testimony in the Clinton investigation and Clinton testified himself. Neither of this is true today. Don't you want someone to actually get to the bottom of this, Mike, if only to exonerate your guy? Mike: My guy? Julie, I believe he's our president, thank you very much. As far as Clinton's testimony, I recall how comforted we all were with his candor and truthfulness throughout his testimony and indeed his entire public life. Your guy, I believe. Julie: My guy lied under oath. Your guy doesn't want to get prosecuted for perjury, so he refuses to testify. Or, as he calls it, the "perjury trap." People who don't intend to lie under oath don't have to worry about perjury traps. Q. In an earth-shaking development, the Chamber of Commerce announced that it will ban hard booze during its annual train trip to Washington, its nod to reform after NJ Advance Media and the Star-Ledger published a hair-raising account of sexual harassment and even rape at state political events. Do you expect to see more significant change? Julie: I am committed to seeing more significant change but I dont necessarily think that it is fair for everyone to pass the buck to the Chamber of Commerce and the League of Municipalities. We are all responsible for our own actions. Ive been known to have a drink every now and then and it has never led me to sexually harass or assault anyone. Its very easy to blame alcohol or the Chamber or the League or even the Murphy campaign, as Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce did in an op-ed last week. But despite Mitt Romneys protestations, corporations are not people, my friend. The Chamber and the League and the campaign and alcohol are not living, breathing people who have free will. Lets not hide behind organizations and refuse to hold individuals accountable. A good first step to holding those responsible for creating and enabling toxic workplace behavior is to ban NDAs, so that those who experienced and witnessed that behavior can expose them publicly and ensure that they dont do this to anyone else. Mike: I am pretty sure I havent been on the Chamber train in about 20 years, and I feel pretty good about that decision. Julie is right that it is not the responsibility of party hosts to make sure the people who come to the parties behave like adults. It is really sad at some of these political events when you see 50-year-olds acting like high school kids with their parents out of town. That said, I applaud organizations who are taking actions to improve the culture in whatever ways they can. Ive had a drink or two in my life. Ive never felt the need to harass anyone, no matter now much I may have had to drink. Alcohol is not the symptom. A toxic culture is. https://t.co/1LmDPTPJXV Julie Roginsky (@julieroginsky) January 9, 2020 Q. Sen. Loretta Weinberg is forming an ad hoc committee to look at the issue, and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver is pressing her to name allies of the governor, including Oliver herself and First Lady Tammy Murphy. Does that make sense? Julie, I remind readers here that you are subject to a non-disclosure agreement for when you served as senior advisor to Murphys campaign in 2017, and Weinberg has harshly criticized the governor for failing to lift that gag order. Julie: I am honored that Senator Weinberg asked me to serve on this committee with her, since she has unquestionably been a champion for women throughout her long career. Unfortunately, I cant give you my unvarnished views on this letter because Lt. Governor Olivers letter includes the names of people who served on the campaign and, as you mentioned, Murphy campaign attorney Paul Josephson has repeatedly run to court to prevent me from speaking openly about what I witnessed on the campaign. I recently read a letter that Matthew Taylor, the Chairman of Duane Morris, posted on the firms website about his commitment to diversity and inclusion, yet one of his partners is working overtime to prevent this woman from speaking truth to power. Its time that law firms, politicians and operatives stop mouthing platitudes and start living up to their lofty rhetoric in real and meaningful ways. Mike: It is not surprising the governor would want allies on just about any committee formed in Trenton. The governor's suggested appointees will likely receive extra scrutiny because of the simmering intensity around the NDA issue Julie mentioned above. I applaud them for willingly jumping into the middle of a very controversial and consequential activity where they will be expected to weigh in personally. Sign the petition to tell all presidential candidates running for the #2020Election to support an end to forced NDAs for workplace sexual harrassment: https://t.co/mgd9H2eXED Lift Our Voices (@LiftOurVoicesUS) January 7, 2020 Q. John Currie, the Democratic Partys state chairman, announced that party delegates who want to vote in Saturdays party election must present photo identification for the first time. Republicans call that hypocrisy, given that Democrats nationally have called this practice an act of voter repression. What is Currie thinking? Julie: I don't pretend to read Chairman Currie's mind, so I can't say what he is thinking, but I am against asking voters for identification at the polls, for all the reasons progressives have made abundantly clear. I hope that the governor, as the titular head of the Democratic Party in New Jersey, speaks out forcefully on this issue. Mike: The hypocrisy is outstanding. All my Republican friends are enjoying the NJ Democrat State Committee admitting that voter ID prevents voter fraud. And by the way, isnt this a vote of a few hundred insider Democrats anyway? Dont you all know each other anyway? Is someone really trying to sneak one extra vote in? Q. In the 2nd district, Amy Kennedy announced shell seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Jeff Van Drew in a contest that is getting crowded. She is the wife of former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, the son of Ted Kennedy. That would surely help in Massachusetts, but will it help in South Jersey? Julie: Come on, Tom. We are better than this. How about framing this by saying that Patrick Kennedy is Amy Kennedys husband? She is a long-time mental health and education advocate, with deep family ties to the district. His father was Ted Kennedy but her father is Jerry Savell, a former Atlantic County Freeholder, which carries a lot more weight in South Jersey. She is a very credible candidate and I, for one, am glad to see that there are three impressive women are vying to be the Democratic nominee in this district. Mike: As the son of a former freeholder, I can guarantee you with 100% certainty that being part of the Kennedy family would be of greater political benefit than namedropping the my dad was a freeholder line. Julie: Maybe on the Cape where you hang out, Mike. At the Jersey Shore, being the daughter of an Atlantic County freeholder has more cachet. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, is calling on financial regulators to strengthen protections against a possible cyberattack from Iran. In a letter Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Cleaver urged the department to "take all possible precautions" to protect the country's financial infrastructure. PM Abdalla Hamdok makes first visit by a government official to conflict-ridden South Kordofan state in nearly a decade. Kauda, Sudan For nearly nine years, people in rebel-held Kauda in Sudans South Kordofan state have been monitoring the skies for the planes coming from capital Khartoum. The residents in Kauda watched the movement of aircraft to warn others of either the governments surveillance or dropping of bombs in the conflict-ridden area. But for the first time since the war broke out in 2011, three planes from Khartoum landed in Kauda on Thursday, carrying representatives from Sudans months-old transitional government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok as well as diplomats and representatives from humanitarian organisations. After all the bombardments that used to come from planes in the sky, this is a big change to see planes coming with a government delegation pushing for peace, resident Anas Ibrahim told Al Jazeera. Ibrahim was among tens of thousands of people who gathered at a square near the airstrip in Kauda to welcome the delegation. Its the first time a plane comes for something good in so many years, he said. Rebel stronghold 2011713134945963823 Kauda, nicknamed the fortified place for being surrounded by the Nuba mountains, is a stronghold of the rebel Sudans People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The group was born out of SPLM, which led a war against the Sudanese government from 1983 to 2005, making it one of the longest continuing civil wars in Africa. The movement was mostly made up of fighters from the south, but also included soldiers from South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. In 2005, when SPLM signed a peace deal with the Sudanese government, South Kordofan and Blue Nile were termed as the two areas. While southern Sudan, which gained a semi-autonomous status following the deal, was granted right to a referendum to decide whether it wanted independence, the two areas were granted popular consultation. The deal did not clearly define how the popular consultation would take place and who was eligible to join it. While fighters from the two areas fought for the southern side during the civil war, the areas also had a large population that supported the northern government. Tensions reached a peak in 2010 during the national and gubernatorial elections. Al-Hilu, who ran for governorship on an SPLM ticket, accused Ahmed Haroun, the then incumbent governor, of rigging the votes in his favour. Haroun is accused by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western region of Darfur. South Sudan voted for independence in 2011 according to the 2005 deal, but the Sudanese government showed no signs of wanting to define what popular consultation was or if the two areas would get the chance to hold it. Al-Hilu announced his rebellion in June that year, a month before South Sudan officially seceded. The Sudanese government responded to the rebellion with indiscriminate aerial bombardment and shelling. Wipe them [off], sweep them, Haroun said in a video two months after the war started. Dont bring them back to us alive. The exact death toll from the war in South Kordofan is not known as Sudans government under longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir blocked medical and humanitarian aid in areas controlled by the SPLM-N. More than 100,000 people have been displaced, with most of them seeking shelter in camps in neighbouring South Sudan. Change in tide Despite on and off declarations of ceasefire and peace talks between the two sides in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the area remains closed off to aid, except under cover through neighbouring South Sudan. The tide changed in October last year when, for the first time in more than eight years, the World Food Programme (WFP) chief David Beasley officially landed in Kauda after holding talks with Hamdok, who assumed power in August following months of turmoil that started with protests in December 2018 and eventually led to the military overthrow of President al-Bashir and his government in April. The first priority of this government is peace, Hamdok had said in August, days after a power-sharing agreement between the military that overthrew al-Bashir and leaders of the protest movement was signed. 191014115108400 As a sign of goodwill, the new transitional government allowed the WFP chief to return to a rebel-held territory in December, this time to Yabous in Blue Nile which is also controlled by . Thursday was the 15th anniversary of the 2005 peace deal. We have seen agreements in the past and nothing really happened that could benefit the people, Beasley told Al Jazeera in Kauda. Opening up corridors, giving us the access we need we have now unlike any other time here we have ever had. Hamdok also seemed to agree that the trip to rebel-held Kauda was a step in the long road to ending the conflict as talks between the transitional government and armed groups continue in South Sudans capital, Juba. There is a proliferation of armed groups but I think our peace architecture will respond to that in a very positive way, Hamdok said, identifying five pillars of peace: Economic and social development, addressing root causes of conflict, marginalisation and even development, security reforms, and issues of legal and transitional justice. The war in Kauda, like in many other parts of Sudan, has left it with poor infrastructure. There are no tarmac roads and hospitals rely on aid. I would like to see humanitarian work here only for a short while, Beasley said. So we wont be needed long, so we can see the communities support themselves. Scientists at Los Alamos and international partners have created the first 3-D images of a special type of RNA molecule that is critical for stem cell programming and known as the "dark matter" of the genome. As far as we know, this is the first full 3-D structural study of any long, non-coding RNA (lncRNA) other than a partial structure. A better understanding of these RNAs could lead to new strategies in regenerative medicine for people with heart conditions due to cardiovascular disease or aging." Karissa Sanbonmatsu, Corresponding Author and Structural Biologist, Los Alamos National Laboratory The team used a technique called small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) that reveals the 3-D envelope of the RNA molecule, according to Trushar Patel, a Canadian professor on the team. Next, with the help of machine learning and high-performance computing, they made atomistic models to fit inside the envelopes this included the creation of an atomistic model that is also the longest of an isolated RNA (636 nucleotides) to date, said Doo Nam Kim, lead author on the Nature Communications paper. "Our work represents the first step in showing that these difficult-to-image RNAs do possess 3-D structures, and that these molecular structures may very well determine how they operate," said Sanbonmatsu. "The RNA studied is called "Braveheart" it triggers the transformation of stem cells into heart cells," she said. Before the human genome was sequenced in 2000, it was thought that it mostly contain instructions for proteins, the workhorse molecules of human cells. Scientists were shocked to discover that less than 10 percent of the genome encoded proteins. Ever since, the other 90 percent was deemed to be "junk DNA" or "dark matter." Enter RNA, the molecular cousin of DNA. Scientists originally assumed the main purpose of RNA was simply to coordinate as a messenger for DNA in the synthesis of proteins. However, it has recently been shown that more than 90 percent of the genome encodes a new and mysterous class of RNAs, called long non-coding RNA molecules (lncRNA). These RNA molecules help to control the turning on and off of genes; their malfunction causes birth defects, autism and even cancer in some cases. They are also key to reprogramming adult stem cells. Even though the molecules make up 90 percent of the genome, scientists have almost no idea how they work, or even what they look like. In this study, one of the largest RNA-only 3-D studies, the new 3-D images sets the stage for future studies that will shed more light on how they control genes. IONIA COUNTY, MI - Painkillers played a major role in landing Ronald Johnny-Wayne Morrell in prison for armed robbery. Now hes hinging a $500-million lawsuit against police on his addiction to those prescription drugs. Morrell confessed during his March 2015 trial that he had consumed 130-150 pain pills within a four-day period around his June 2014 arrest in Livingston Countys Oceola Township, according to the Livingston Daily. In the post-arrest health assessment, a doctor examined the Grand Rapids man at 6:45 p.m., June 26, 2014, according to Morrells federal lawsuit against the Livingston County sheriff and prosecutor and the Michigan attorney general. The doctor found that Morrell suffered from chronic back pain, so he was prescribed several more medications, including 300mg of the anticonvulsant drug known as neurontin. According to the DEA, neurontin is a prescription medication that has been associated to sedative and/or psychedelic effects. Morrell claims in his lawsuit that the medications produced mind-altering effects that inhibited his ability to properly represent himself during questioning by police. He also claims the combined effects of the extensive drug use, interrogation, transportation and continued medication allowed detectives to exploit him into incriminating himself. The handwritten lawsuit, filed Dec. 9, 2019, in U.S. Federal Court Eastern District in Detroit, seeks $500 million in punitive damages, as well as $2,500 for each of the 2,024 days he has spent behind bars so far, and every day going forward. Morrell, 44, was sentenced in 2015 on 26 convictions, including home invasion, larceny in a building, unlawful imprisonment and felonious assault, all with a firearm. Police said Morrell and Richard Quam wanted to raise $50,000 to start a business, according to a story in the Livingston Daily on March 30, 2015, and were told by Cody James DeBruyn that a drug dealer in Livingston County would have the money to help them. DeBruyn told police that Morrell and Quam began arming themselves with knives and guns, and the three drove to Hughes Road, near Howell, where they broke into a home. The three men were joined by Morrells wife Rebecca, and the couple brought along their young children to the robbery, according to the Livingston Daily story. DeBruyn and Quam are still serving their sentences related to the armed robbery. Rebecca Morrell served a four-year sentence and is currently on parole. Ronald Morrell appealed his conviction and his sentence in September 2016 and July 2019, but was denied. In both appeals, he aimed to discredit the Livingston County Sheriffs Office, accusing deputies of restraining him too tightly and leaving him disoriented during questioning. While the sheriffs office has yet to be served with the current lawsuit, Livingston County Sheriff Michael J. Murphy said he is confident it will be quickly dismissed. He had no further comment. Other accusations in the lawsuit include Livingston County officials colluding to tamper with paperwork and evidence that Morrell claims would prove wrongdoing. Morrell is incarcerated at the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia. His earliest release date is June 14, 2046. During the approval process for 737Max planes in India in 2017, Boeing executives used terms such as "fools" and "stupid" for the Indian aviation regulator DGCA, according to internal documents released by the company. In early 2019, regulators across the world banned flying 737Max planes after two fatal accidents involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also ordered grounding of these planes in March last year. The latest batch of internal Boeing documents were provided to the US aviation regulator FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and US Congress last month and released on Thursday. In one of the conversations, a Boeing executive is recorded as stating, "The DCGA in India is apparently even stupider, if that's a word. I am drinking obviously." In another conversation, a Boeing executive says the following about DGCA: "I just Jedi mind tricked this (these) fools." SpiceJet is the only Indian carrier having 737Max aircraft in its fleet. The budget airline grounded 13 such planes in March last year. When contacted regarding this matter on Friday, a senior DGCA official responded, "On the specific issue of simulator training, we have made our stand clear and shall have it and that too in India under our eyes." On the other conversations among Boeing executives, the official told PTI, "We respect his views and shall improve to come up to expectations." According to the documents accessed by PTI, on December 12, 2017, two Boeing executives had a discussion around 8.35 pm (local time) using text messages regarding the approvals of 737Max plane by DGCA in India. In one of the conversations regarding 737Max approvals, the first Boeing executive states how officials of a regulator - which is not the DGCA - are "idiots". The executive then adds, "The DCGA in India is apparently even stupider, if that's a word. I am drinking obviously." The second executive responded,"Sounds about right!" An hour later, two executives were recorded discussing the 737Max approvals - using text messages - by the DGCA in India. However, it is not clear if these two executives, who are discussing this matter, are the same ones who were talking about the matter earlier. In this second conversation, the two Boeing executives are discussing a call that one of them had with the DGCA regarding 737Max approvals. The first executive is recorded to have said, "I just Jedi mind tricked this (these) fools. I should be given $1000 every time I take one of these calls. I save this company a sick amount of $$$$." The second executive then asked what did the first executive convinced the DGCA of. The first executive responded, "To simply produce an email from me to the DGCA that states all the airlines and regulators... accept only the Max CBT (computer based training)." The first executive further said, "To make them feel stupid about trying to require any additional training requirements." In 2017, the DGCA was enquiring if it is necessary to have a mandatory simulator-based training for pilots that will fly 737Max planes in Indian airspace. Since the ban of 737Max plane in India by the DGCA in March 2019, the regulator has made it clear to Boeing that simulator-based training must be conducted for all pilots of 737Max planes and only then a green light would be given. When asked about the aforementioned conversations of December 2017 among its executives, Boeing India said, "These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable." "We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the DGCA, SpiceJet, and to the flying public for them," it added. The company noted that the language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. "This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON After weeks of delaying, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that shes prepared to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate next week. Pelosi, D-San Francisco, had refused to forward the articles until she knew the ground rules for how the GOP-led Senate will conduct Trumps trial. She has pressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over the rules, including whether the Senate will hear testimony from witnesses. But on Friday, Pelosi signaled in a letter to Democratic lawmakers that the House will vote next week on a resolution to appoint impeachment managers and forward the two articles that lawmakers approved on party-line votes Dec. 18. In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, she wrote. Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution. Pelosis announcement came after she faced mounting pressure, even from within her own party, to end the impasse and forward the articles. McConnell, R-Ky., said he has the votes to move forward with the trial, following the same set of rules from then-President Bill Clintons impeachment trial in 1999. Those rules would leave open the question of whether senators will hear testimony from new witnesses, including White House aides whom Trump blocked from testifying in the House, until after House managers and the presidents team make their cases. McConnell took a jab at Pelosi on Thursday after some Democratic senators criticized her decision to continue to hold the articles. He called Pelosis move an example of junior varsity political hostage situations, adding that she has created growing bipartisan opposition to her own reckless behavior. McConnell specifically mentioned comments by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who was quoted by Politico as saying it was time for her fellow San Franciscan to forward the impeachment case. The longer it goes on, the less urgent it becomes, Feinstein said. Feinstein backtracked on Thursday, telling The Chronicle, I did not mean to say that. She said she trusted Pelosis strategy. Senate Republicans are expected to acquit Trump of accusations he abused the powers of his office by asking Ukraine to investigate a Democratic rival and obstructed Congress investigation. But Pelosi says her delay has strengthened the case against Trump. Her letter Friday listed new documents that have come to light in recent weeks. She also emphasized that former national security adviser John Bolton, who was in his post as the Ukraine affair unfolded last year, has said he would testify at the Senate trial if subpoenaed. How Trumps trial would unfold Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has the votes among his fellow Republicans to adopt rules for President Trump's impeachment trial. He says the rules would be modeled on the 1999 Senate trial of then-President Bill Clinton, who was accused of lying about an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and obstructing Congress' investigation. Here's how that trial was conducted: House members were given 24 hours to argue the case for why Clinton should be convicted. Clinton's legal team was then given 24 hours to argue his defense. Senators then had a total of 16 hours to ask questions of both sides. Afterward, the Senate decided whether to call witnesses. Senators agreed to have the House impeachment managers depose Lewinsky, White House aide Sidney Blumenthal and a Clinton ally, attorney Vernon Jordan. The full Senate then viewed video excerpts of the depositions. Both sides then gave closing arguments, and senators were given 15 minutes apiece to speak. The Senate ultimately acquitted Clinton of the two articles of impeachment. See More Collapse Clearly, Leader McConnell does not want to present witnesses and documents to Senators and the American people so they can make an independent judgment, Pelosi wrote. Despite a few defections, most Democrats have stood by Pelosis strategy. Many said the delay has highlighted Trumps blocking of witness testimony. I think shes one of the shrewdest tacticians and strategists of our party, and I will follow her lead on it, said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont. Shes been very effective in standing up to this president. Trump intensified the standoff Friday, saying he plans to evoke executive privilege to prevent Bolton from testifying if the Senate votes to hear from him at a trial. That could lead to a drawn-out legal battle that would extend well into this election year. Well, I think you have to for the sake of the office, Trump told Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham. During Clintons trial in 1999, the rules didnt initially call for witness testimony. The chamber, which voted 100-0 to adopt the rules, later agreed to watch videotaped depositions of key witnesses. Pelosi has demanded McConnell allow additional testimony and evidence at the start of Trumps trial, given that the president blocked the Houses subpoenas for witnesses and documents. McConnell has countered that the House should have pursued a favorable ruling in the courts rather than handing the issue to the Senate. Pelosi said Friday that Democrats will meet next week to decide how to proceed. The next formal step will be to select impeachment managers, who will act as prosecutors and argue Democrats case in the Senate. Two Bay Area lawmakers, Dublin Rep. Eric Swalwell, a former Alameda County prosecutor, and San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a veteran of three impeachment inquiries, are likely contenders. Swalwell took a swipe at Trump on Friday over his threat to block Bolton from testifying, tweeting, If thats the case, for the sake of the office he should leave the office. Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Marry Mubaiwa, the newly released estranged traditional wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, has filed for an urgent spoliation order at the High Court of Zimbabwe seeking the return of her three children with the latter Jared Kushner has stepped back from his Middle East policy responsibilities, transition to running Donald Trump's re-election effort from his perch at the White House. The president's son-in-law was notably absent from photographs in the Situation Room released by the White House after Iran launched a missile attack on U.S. targets in Iraq. A person familiar with Kushner's situation said Friday that advising the president on Iran was never part of Kushner's responsibilities. He was until last year the West Wing's point-man on achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Now he's instead positioning himself to be the overseer of Trump's re-election campaign, The New York Times reported. The source said he helmed campaign-related meetings at Mar-a-Lago during the holiday break, and has been entrusted with making significant decisions about where the campaign spends its millions. Jared Kushner has stepped back from his Middle East portfolio Kushner will oversee Donald Trump's re-election effort in the White House and is already making significant spending decisions He worked on Trump's 2016 campaign and later testified before Congress about a meeting he attended with Donald Trump Jr. and then-campaign-manager Paul Manafort with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. Kushner spent much of 2019 dealing with the fallout from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, which ultimately found no collusion between Trump's 2016 and Russia. There have been signs his political wingspan is broadening. Kushner spoke to Republican Sen. Mike Lee Wednesday night after the conservative Republican complained about the lack of information given to Congress in a briefing by Trump administration officials on the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. He told the senatowho has influence with the conservative Republican base the president will need in November's electionthat he would relay his concerns to the president. 'Sen. Lee was planning on reaching out to President Trump but then Jared Kushner called Sen. Lee last night, and they talked, and Kushner said he would share Sen. Lee's concerns with the president,' a Lee aide told DailyMail.com. Kushner's allies told The Times he was happy to step back from the Middle East after Mike Pompeo became secretary of state, having more faith in him than his predecessor Rex Tillerson. Additionally Kushner is close to National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran. Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump and is celebrating his birthday Friday, had an original goal of unveiling a peace plan for the Middle East. But his work has been shrouded in secrecy and speculation. And he has faced questions on what exactly he has accomplished since he joined the administration. It was noted Jared Kushner was not present in the above photo the White House released of a meeting in the Situation Room on the Iran missile attack on U.S. targets in the Middle East Jared Kushner was in an Oval Office meeting Monday with the president and Khalid bin Salman, a member of the Saudi royal family 'Jared's Middle East portfolio is primarily focused on developing a peace plan between the Israelis and the Palestinians,' White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told The Times. 'He gets involved in other matters where appropriate to further President Trump's objectives.' In September, Kushner named a new point man on his Middle East peace team, his 31-year-old assistant Avi Berkowitz, a move that caused controversy and led to questions about Berkowitz's qualifications for the role. Berkowitz appointment came as Kushner's plan for Middle East peace has yet to see the light of day. The plan has been kept under lock and key and the White House has continually delayed the release of its details. It has never been seen in public and there is no word on when it will be released. Kushner also worked on a criminal justice plan signed into law by the president. And he was in an Oval Office meeting Monday with Khalid bin Salman, a member of the Saudi royal family, and President Trump. Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump, the couple are seen with their children Arabella Rose Kushner and Joseph Frederick Kushner at the New Year's Eve celebration in Mar-a-Lago Jared Kushner celebrated his birthday Friday Ivanka Trump posted her birthday wishes to her husband That meeting was not on the president's schedule and the White House only confirmed its existence after the Saudis posted photos from it on their official social media accounts. Additionally, Kushner has taken charge of delivering the president's biggest promise from his 2016 campaign - building his border wall. Trump wants to see 450 new miles of his long promised and yet unfinished border wall completed by the election. Kushner's new duties as construction manager came after the acting head of Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, told reporters in November the administration has still not completed construction of a single mile of new border wall. Repairs have been made to existing structures. After 23 long years, Land Rover is finally bringing the Defender back to the U.S. But if the new 2020 model isnt boxy or British enough for you (even if its starring in the new James Bond flick), there is one course of action: buy the last original North American Defender. During its Scottsdale Auction, Gooding & Company will be offering a very special low-mileage 1997 Land Rover North American Specification (NAS) Defender 90. Its the last one ever sold in the U.S. Not familiar with NAS Defenders? To put it simply, the British SUV has had a hot-and-cold relationship with the U.S. market, but between 1993 and 1997 Land Rover sold a tailored design here that appeased our countrys stricter regulatory body. But because of low sales and new safety requirements, they were phased out after only a few years. According to Gooding & Company, To commemorate the end of the line, Land Rover built 300 Limited Edition North American Specification (NAS) Defender 90s numbered 1300. This Defender 90 Limited Edition is #300/300. Unfortunately for the new owner, this hasnt been sitting in shrink wrap all these years. But on the flip side, despite having seven owners over the course of its life, this Defender only has 36,000 miles on the odometer. And because its a limited edition, there are a few perks you wont find on other vintage Defenders, like a ladder-equipped rooftop rack, 9,000-pound Warn winch and even air-conditioning, if you can believe it. But its the prestige more than anything else thats setting the price, and the auction house puts the estimate between $200K and $250K, though it is being sold without reserve, meaning it will sell regardless of the final bid. If you want to throw your piggy bank in the ring, Gooding & Companys Scottsdale Auction is taking place on January 17 and 18. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter. The post Heres Your Chance to Buy the Last Original North American Defender appeared first on InsideHook. Gardai are investigating a serious assault on a man in his 50s in Drogheda, Co Louth. It happened at Knockbrack Downs at around half past nine last night. The Ministry of Home Affairs on January 10 notified through the Gazette of India that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 will come into force from January 10 onward. The Gazette, available on the website, reads: "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 10th day of January 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force." The Act allows Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who faced religious persecution, and came to India before December 31, 2014, to get citizenship in India The notification comes amid nationwide protests against the Act as well as worries over the implementation of a pan-India NRC (National Register of Citizens). This is a developing story. More details awaited. CAMDENTON, Mo. - A Missouri woman who kept her 6-year-old son hidden in an attic during a custody dispute with the boys father has been sentenced to five years of supervised probation. Aubrey Ferguson, 31, of Richland, was sentenced Wednesday for child abduction, KRCG-TV reported. She pleaded guilty to the charge in November. Prosecutors said Braedence Jones father, who had custody, went to pick him up at Fergusons home near Camdenton in August 2018 but no one was home. Ferguson sent him text messages the boy was safe but would not say where they were. The child was located in January 2019 at a home in rural LaClede County. Court documents said Fergusons boyfriend, Woodrow Ziegler, nailed the door of the attic crawl space shut and hid it under carpet and furniture. The boy was not kept in the crawl space all the time. Surveillance video showed him several times with his mother but she managed to elude capture, authorities said. Officers from the U.S. Marshals service and Laclede County found the boy after receiving a tip about his whereabouts. Prosecutors charged Ziegler with hindering the prosecution of a felony. That case is pending. Intelligence officials said on Thursday that they believed missiles fired by the Iranian military, most likely in error, were responsible for downing the jet, killing all 176 people aboard. An Iranian government spokesman denied responsibility, calling the suggestion a big lie. Tehran has invited American transportation officials to help investigate. Watch: Video verified by The Times appears to show a missile hitting a plane near Tehrans airport. Background: If the airliner was shot down, it would join a grim history of civilian aircraft brought down by armed forces. Related: The House voted almost entirely along party lines on Thursday to force Mr. Trump to come to Congress for authorization before taking further military action against Iran. The measure was largely symbolic and unlikely to tie Mr. Trumps hands. Another angle: Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi of Iraq said today that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to prepare for the withdrawal of American troops from his country. As the Long Beach Unified School District commits to keeping classes in-person, the city a new testing site opens for LBUSD employees and students only. The city is also ramping up its own testing efforts with a new 3,000-person per... Rates of depression are thought to have risen five-fold in Hong Kong because of violent political protests. A study has claimed that one in 10 people in the Chinese territory have 'probable depression', up from one in 50 in 2014. And a staggering one in three people have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to research. Scientists at the University of Hong Kong believe some 300,000 out of an estimated total 590,000 depression cases could be directly caused by the unrest. Protestors hit the streets there last year after the government tried to introduce a law allowing China to transport criminals back to its own jurisdiction, where authorities are notorious for treating prisoners badly. Although researchers admitted 'probable depression' and PTSD symptoms are not the same as actual diagnoses, they reveal the damaging health impact of rioting. Police are pictured standing guard after a clash with protestors yesterday, January 8, in Hong Kong. There have been demonstrations for more than six months since the government tried to pass a bill allowing China to extradite criminals to the mainland People demonstrating to oppose China's influence in Hong Kong have been taking to the streets since June last year. The territory, which is not its own country but a region of China and member of the commonwealth, is within China's border but has its own government. Recent months' demonstrations have frequently turned violent and led to protestors fighting with police officers two people have died. In October the government withdrew the legal bill which triggered the protests but unrest has continued since. Scientists at the University of Hong Kong used numerous surveys done on 18,000 people at various times between 2009 and 2019 to measure how rates of mental health problems had changed. They found 22 per cent of people over the age of 18 had, in 2019, said they had probable major depression or suspected PTSD, some of them having both. The probable depression rate had risen by nine per cent in around five years between 2014 and 2019, from two per cent to 11 per cent. While PTSD symptoms affected 30 per cent more of the population than in 2015 (a rise from two to 32 per cent). PTSD symptoms and suspected PTSD cases were measured separately not everyone with the symptoms was likely to be diagnosed with the illness. This researchers estimated some 13 per cent of the population might have PTSD 810,000 while another 1.9m had symptoms of the condition. Similar spikes in health problems had been seen after natural disasters, wars or terrorist attacks, the researchers said in a paper in medical journal The Lancet. Depression and PTSD also appeared to have risen after race riots in the US cities of Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. The Hong Kong study also found that people who used social media a lot to follow current events were more likely to develop signs of a mental health problem. Mourners attend a memorial service for 22-year-old Alex Chow, who died during Hong Kong protests when he fell from a height inside a multi-storey car park (Picture taken January 8, 2020) Pro-democracy protests, by people who oppose China's influence over Hong Kong, are still going on even though the original legal bill which sparked them was withdrawn in October (Picture taken on January 6, 2020) Protestors accused police of being unnecessarily violent during clashes when demonstrations turned nasty (Pictured from June 12, 2019) Dr Michael Ni, who led the research, said : 'With social unrest rising around the world, including in major cities such as Barcelona, Delhi, Paris, and Santiago in 2019, the issue of how social unrest impacts population mental health is of great public-health importance.' The team said they were concerned that there could be a 12 per cent surge in the number of people needing mental help. Professor Gabriel Leung said: 'With only around half the [per-person] psychiatry capacity of the UK, and pre-existing average public sector outpatient waiting times of up to 64 weeks, it is important that we enhance mental health and social care provision so that all those in need are able to access high-quality services.' Hong Kong has a population of around 7.4million spread across an area 30 per cent smaller than London. The researchers said their study did not include under-18s or give extra focus to police officers, so the real effects may be even larger. But on the other hand, not everyone with probable depression or PTSD symptoms would actually go on to develop a long-term problem. Of the people in the survey, fewer than half said they planned to get help for the mental issues they were experiencing. Vietnams foreign ministry on Thursday called on countries to use the Mekong Rivers water resources sustainably following Chinas testing of its Jinghong dam last week. Jinghong is a hydroelectric power station located in China's southwest province of Yunnan. At a press briefing on Thursday, the foreign ministrys spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang was asked for Vietnams reaction to Chinas tool testing of the Jinghong dam between January 1 and 4. Hang said Vietnam pays attention to, studies, and assesses activities relating to the Mekong Rivers water resources. The country holds that aside from the legitimate interests in using the Mekong Rivers water resources, the relevant countries also have common responsibility for using the rivers water in an equitable and sustainable manner, and ensuring the balanced interests of all countries the river runs through, for the sake of peace and sustainable development of the region, the spokeswoman added. The Jinghong dam is one of six hydroelectric power stations in Yunnan, all of which are located upstream the trans-boundary Mekong River that flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Chinas Ministry of Water Resources announced the equipment testing at the Jinghong dam on December 30, 2019. According to the announcement, water outflows from the dam were forecast to be reduced by up to 50 percent during the testing phase. The tests came during a period of severe drought across the Mekong countries. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Right before the New Year, a Chinese court sentenced Early Rain Church Pastor Wang Yi to nine years in prison for inciting subversion of state power and illegal business activities. In addition to prison, Wang is deprived of his political rights for three years and his personal property (approximately $7,200 worth) will be confiscated. Thirteen years ago, Wang was in the White House discussing the state of religious freedom in China with then-President George W. Bush. Today he is a symbol of just how perilous it is for religious minorities in China. In fact, given the new regulations to be imposed on religious communities beginning Feb. 1, 2020, Wangs imprisonment is only a prelude to what lies ahead for Chinese Christians and other religious minorities. As summarized by the Catholic website Asia News: Religious organizations must spread the principles and policies of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as national laws, regulations, rules to religious personnel and religious citizens, educating religious personnel and religious citizens to support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, supporting the socialist system, adhering to and following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics ... If that sounds like China will now force religious organizations to be organs of the Communist Party, thats because China is forcing religious organization to be organs of the Communist Party. As a Catholic priest told Asia News, In practice, your religion no longer matters, if you are Buddhist, or Taoist, or Muslim or Christian: the only religion allowed is faith in the Chinese Communist Party. Asia News summed up the new regulations this way: Every aspect of the life of religious communities from formation, gatherings to annual and daily projects is subject to approval by the governments religious affairs department. Back in November, I argued on BreakPoint that what drives the repression of religious minorities and democracy activists in China is the Communist Partys insecurity about its own weakness. For example, contrast the way Beijing is treating Christians with how they treat technology giant Huawei. Setting aside the inherent contradiction of billionaires in a socialist system, companies like Huawei enjoy freedoms that churches can only dream about. In its battle with the United States, Huawei has publicly distanced itself from the Communist Party and insisted that its equipment has never been used, and will never be used, to spy for Beijing. The point is not whether you believe Huawei which, for the record, you shouldnt its that Beijing does not require Huawei to toe many of the same ideological lines as religious organizations. Why? Because firms like Huawei and other Chinese e-commerce giants like Alibaba do not threaten the legitimacy of the Communist Party rule, but pastor Wang Yi does. Socialism with Chinese characteristics, apparently, can handle a man who makes billions of dollars, but not a man who claims Jesus is Lord. As Time magazine said bluntly, China feels threatened by the spread of Christianity. As they should. There are significantly more Christians in China than Communist Party members, even though the latter comes with material benefits and security, while the former comes with increasing persecution. As Willy Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong told Time magazine, [The Chinese government] is afraid that more people ... are turning to the church for their spiritual needs and not to official nationalism and patriotism. In other words, Beijings attempt to co-opt churches for its own ends is a tacit admission of its own weakness. Unfortunately, this weakness makes them more dangerous, not less. Since 2020 promises to be such a hard year for our Chinese brethren, they should be at the top our concerns and certainly our prayer lists, starting with Wang Yi. Given the increasingly dire situation for Christians in China, its particularly fitting (and I am honored to announce) that the 2020 William Wilberforce Award will be given to Pastor Bob Fu, founder and President of China Aid. The ceremony will take place at this years Wilberforce Weekend, May 14-17. Come hear from and honor this courageous Chinese Christian leader, and learn from other leading Christian thinkers, like Os Guinness, Lee Strobel, Obianuju Ekeosha, and Andy Crouch. Register here. This piece was originally published at BreakPoint. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hans Pohl and Said Irandous (The Jakarta Post) Stockholm/Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 The academic world is developing rapidly with many new countries becoming significant contributors to research. In a recent study by Hans Pohl for Scientometrics (to be published), on international research collaboration, a new method to compare countries growth and their collaboration networks in research has been presented. This recent study covers all countries with a focus on Indonesia and Sweden. It highlights that Indonesia is the country with the highest growth among all 48 countries with more than 10,000 Scopus publications (the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature) in 2018. The research growth index, including both the publication volume and the citation impact dimensions, highlights the rapid changes in Indonesia with respect to research. In 1996, Indonesia had 569 publications in Scopus whereas Sweden had 16,904. In 2018, Indonesia had 33,063 publications, approaching Sweden with 43,942. This difference in the growth rate is often missed, as academics tend to compare with peers. The study also shows that Indonesia, Iran and Malaysia show very strong growth in volume, whereas Egypt, Hungary, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan exhibit very strong growth in citation impact. When normalizing and combining the growth indicators into one overall growth index, the seven countries with the highest research growth are, in descending order, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Egypt and China based on data until and including 2018. Using Sweden and Indonesia as examples, the study shows differences in the collaboration networks. Whereas Swedens collaboration very much relies on other mature research countries with low research growth, Indonesias collaboration includes other countries with rapid research growth. Several countries in the south-eastern part of the world are collaborating intensively with Indonesia, among them Malaysia. One exception in this regard is China. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 00:36:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PRAGUE, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek met his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, here on Friday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and trade cooperation, the Czech Foreign Ministry said. "We discussed how to ensure security and stability in Iraq, where Czech soldiers and policemen operate. We must help calm the situation and open the way to negotiations with Iran," Petricek said. He also said that "We want to strengthen economic relations between the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We also see great potential for cooperation in science and research, innovation and new technologies." The ministry noted that Saudi Arabia is the third most important trading partner for the Czech Republic in the Middle East after Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Trade between the two countries amounts to between 11 billion Czech crowns and 14 billion Czech crowns annually (500 million to 600 million U.S. dollars). Enditem A labourer is to be sentenced for the manslaughter of an ex-Royal Marines sergeant major who he knocked high into the air with his BMW car after a road rage incident. Tarkan Agca, of Watford, Hertfordshire, entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter last month at Winchester Crown Court where he had been due to stand trial accused of the murder of 63-year-old Andrej Szaruta, from Bridgwater, Somerset. Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, told the court how Mr Szaruta was travelling with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Rachel, in his silver Mercedes along the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, heading to London for a Fathers Day and birthday celebration with their son, Christian. Expand Close Andrej Szaruta (Wiltshire Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Andrej Szaruta (Wiltshire Police/PA) She said that Mrs Szaruta described how Agca, 24, tailgated behind them prompting her husband to tap his brake to indicate the BMW shouldnt be so close. Mrs Szaruta said the BMW then undertook them before squeezing in front of them before braking so hard that it was like an emergency stop. Ms Maylin said the two drivers then pulled over to a slipway by the A303 Solstice Park services and Mr Szaruta walked over towards the BMW where he was hit by the car and thrown into the air. She said Mr Szarutas daughter witnessed the incident and told police: My dad had his hand on the bonnet, he went up on the bonnet and high up into the air. Dad was carried a car length on the bonnet. Ms Maylin said another witness saw Agca driving away far in excess of the 70mph limit and skipping between cars. Ms Maylin said Mr Szaruta died later in hospital from a head injury. The court heard that Agca had 13 previous convictions for 28 offences with several relating to road rage incidents which involved tailgating and attacking vehicles and in one incident, he spat at a driver. In a statement, Mrs Szaruta said she suffered flashbacks and added: I have lost my husband, my best friend and have to cope with the trauma of what happened. Rachel Szaruta said her father, a facilities and operations director, was the most kindhearted and bravest man she knew and he didnt deserve such an ending. The victims family said in a statement released after his death: Andy Szaruta, loyal husband to wife Susan, and loving father to daughter Rachel, 28, and son Christian, 32. Andy was a sergeant major in the Royal Marine Commandos for 22 years, gaining medals for serving in the Falklands War, two tours in Northern Ireland, and a Nato medal during the Bosnian war. He greatly enjoyed spending time with his family, in particular supporting Christian in his racing career at racing circuits throughout the UK and Europe. LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 10, 2020) -- Researchers at the University of Kentucky's College of Medicine have found that a class of antibiotics called aminoglycosides could be a promising treatment for frontotemporal dementia. Results of their proof of concept study, which was a collaborative effort between UK's Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry and the University of California San Francisco's Department of Pathology, were recently published in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics. Frontotemporal dementia is the most common type of early onset dementia. It typically begins between ages 40 and 65 and affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which leads to behavior changes, difficulty speaking and writing, and memory deterioration. A subgroup of patients with frontotemporal dementia have a specific genetic mutation that prevents brain cells from making a protein called progranulin. Although progranulin is not widely understood, its absence is linked to the disease. A group led by Haining Zhu, a professor in UK's Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, discovered that after aminoglycoside antibiotics were added to neuronal cells with this mutation, the cells started making the full-length progranulin protein by skipping the mutation. "These patients' brain cells have a mutation that prevents progranulin from being made. The team found that by adding a small antibiotic molecule to the cells, they could 'trick' the cellular machinery into making it," said Matthew Gentry, a co-author of the study and the Antonio S. Turco Endowed Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. The researchers found two specific aminoglycoside antibiotics - Gentamicin and G418 - were both effective in fixing the mutation and making the functional progranulin protein. After adding Gentamicin or G418 molecules to the affected cells, the progranulin protein level was recovered up to about 50 to 60%. These results could be promising to drug development. Currently, there are no effective therapies for any type of dementia. After this preclinical proof of concept study, the next step is to study the antibiotics' effects on mice with the mutation that causes frontotemporal dementia, Zhu says. Another focus is to possibly develop new compounds from Gentamicin and G418 that could be safer and more effective. Although Gentamicin is an FDA-approved medication, its clinical usage is limited as it is associated with a number of adverse side effects. "If we can get the right resources and physician to work with, we could potentially repurpose this drug. This is an early stage of the study, but it provides an important proof of concept that these aminoglycoside antibiotics or their derivatives can be a therapeutic avenue for frontotemporal dementia," said Zhu. ### The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a "Great College to Work for" two years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers." We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures -- a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state's top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky. Ivan Passer, a leading filmmaker of the Czech New Wave who with fled Soviet-controlled Prague and forged a celebrated career in Hollywood, has died. He was 86. Passer died Thursday in Reno, Nevada, said a friend of the family, Amina Johns. An attorney for Passer, Rodney Sumpter, said Passer had been dealing with pulmonary issues. He was a lifelong friend and collaborator with fellow Czech filmmaker, Academy Award winner Milos Forman. RIP: Czech-born film director Ivan Passer died Thursday in Reno, Nevada at the age of 86. He's seen above in 2006 during a press conference for his movie Nomad Passer and Forman met as boys at a boarding school in Czechoslovakia in the years after World War II. It was a class packed with soon-to-be powerful figures, as their classmates included the future playwright and president of the future democratic Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel. After reuniting at the Prague Film Academy, Passer and Foreman's collaboration and friendship became central to the Czech New Wave in the 1960s, a period when avant-garde auteurs took international cinema by storm with wry, mordant depictions of life behind the Iron Curtain. 'We were all united, one way or another, with desire to expose the regime on the screen,' Passer told The Los Angeles Times. 'And we got away with it because the regime was melting.' Passer co-wrote several of Forman's first films, including the Oscar-nominated Loves Of A Blonde, about a young woman seeking romance in small-town Czechoslovakia, and The Fireman's Ball, a colorful satire of eastern European communism that was banned in their home country but also nominated for an Academy Award. Pals for life: He was a lifelong friend and collaborator with fellow Czech filmmaker, Academy Award winner Milos Forman, seen together in 2004 above Co-writer: Passer co-wrote several of Forman's first films, including the Oscar-nominated Loves of A Blonde, above Passer made his directorial debut in 1965's Intimate Lighting, a gentle, comic film about a cellist visiting provincial Czechoslovakia. It, too, was banned by the Communist Party. After the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968 and a cultural crackdown followed, Passer and Forman fled Prague the following January. Passer often recalled their narrow escape. The two lacked exit visas, but a guard on the Austrian border, who knew Forman's films, let them pass. They emigrated to America. There, Forman became one of the top filmmakers, directing Academy Award-winners One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus. Emigrating: After the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968 and a cultural crackdown followed, Passer fled Prague to the United States Of Passer's U.S. films, none is more beloved than Cutter's Way, the 1981 neo-noir thriller starring Jeff Bridges and John Heard. Though the film's release was bungled by United Artists Cutter's Way, directed by Passer, is considered a classic portrait of post-Vietnam malaise. Passer made the realistic addiction drama Born to Win (1971), featuring a young Robert De Niro; Law and Disorder (1974), with Carroll O'Connor and Ernest Borgnine; and Silver Bears (1978), with Michael Caine and Cybill Shepherd. The 1992 HBO film Stalin, starring Robert Duvall as the Soviet leader, was a standout. It won three Golden Globes. Beloved: Of Passer's U.S. films, none is more beloved than Cutter's Way, the 1981 neo-noir thriller starring Jeff Bridges and John Heard, above Awards-worthy: The 1992 HBO film Stalin, starring Robert Duvall as the Soviet leader (above), was a standout for Passer, winning three Golden Globes The last film Passer directed was 2004's Nomad: The Warrior, a historical epic set in 18th-century Kazakhstan. The film was shut down halfway through shooting and bought by Harvey Weinstein. He replaced Passer with another director. In an interview with Film Comment in 2016, Passer, explaining why he hadn't made a film since, suggested there wasn't much room in the industry for his kind of film. 'I refuse to do violent films. I consider it dangerous,' said Passer. 'I have seen real violence during World War II.' Passer is survived by his wife, Anne Passer; a son, Ivan Max Passer; and several nieces and nephews. In November of last year, the wildfire that started in California, U.S.A burned areas that amount about the size of Seoul and destructed over 500 buildings for two weeks. In 2018, six fires started simultaneously in southern California and spread out to the neighboring areas, burning total of 405 km2 with 86 fatalities and 200,000 victims for three days. Also, large-scale wildfires often occur in the northern inland of Russia. The forest fire occurred in July 2018 burned the total area of 3,211 km2 which is 5.3 times bigger than the city of Seoul and, the wildfire, in May 2019, started to spread out and burned down even greater land. So far, extensive wildfires such as the mentioned events are believed to be mostly caused by dry wind, however, the recent study explains that global warming is the kindling that starts such fires. Jong-Seong Kug, a professor of Division of Environmental Engineering at POSTECH and Jin-Soo Kim, a postdoctoral researcher of University of Edinburgh jointly collaborated with Su-Jong Jeong of Seoul National University, Hotaek Park of Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Gabriela Schaepman-Strub of University of Zurich and, they identified a cause of wildfires in the permafrost region of southeastern Siberia which is related to the Artic Oscillation. Their research is published on the international journal, Science Advances on the 8th of January. Permafrost area, where ground remains frozen for two years straight, spans widely in Siberia, Alaska, and North Europe and it takes about 24% of Northern Hemisphere. It is predicted that permafrost was formed in the end of Ice Age, 11 thousand years ago and believed to have bones of ancient animals, plant roots and five hundred billion tons of carbons buried in it. For this reason, carbon release in this region is as important as the carbon release from human's use of fossil fuels when predicting climate change. The research team analyzed the relationship between the changes in weather conditions and forest fires occurred in the permafrost region of southeastern Siberia. In result, they discovered a fact that the atmospheric ring-like structure at the Arctic pole is disrupted and high pressure in this region abnormally increases temperature in winter which brings snowmelt earlier and dried surface, resulting in fire spreading. Also, they analyzed large-scale atmospheric conditions of southeastern Siberia where most frequent forest fires occur in the Arctic regions. As a result, they found that the amount of burned area is larger one to two months before the Arctic Oscillation than the peak fire activity season in spring (April to May). Even bigger problem exists when wildfire occurs in the permafrost area. It releases even more amount of carbon than fires in other regions and this increases the amount of carbon in atmosphere which accelerates Arctic warming. This will raise temperature in the Arctic, causing dried surface which then brings fire spreading and the vicious cycle of wildfire begins again. In addition, one of the critical emissions of Siberian fire is aerosol such as fine dust. When large-scale wildfire occurs in this region, rapidly increased aerosol transports by westerlies and it impacts on air quality in Canada. There had been reports describing a correlation between the Arctic Oscillation and the Siberian fire activity, however, there was no research that explained precise principle and mechanism before their research. Furthermore, their study can predict spring fire activities by measuring the Arctic Oscillation index in winter which then can help prevent wildfires. Professor Jong-Seong Kug emphasized the importance of this study, "Permafrost region in Siberia is very important climatologically. Wildfire in this region is not ignited by anthropogenic activities but rather controlled by climate conditions. Looking at these factors, we can then predict fire activities. Recently, Arctic warming in southeastern Siberia has caused fast snowmelts which then can cause extensive amount of carbon release and acceleration of global warming. Therefore, it is critical to develop fire management policy accordingly." ### This research was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea under Young Research Exchange Program between Korea and Switzerland which was started in collaboration with University of Zurich when Dr. Jin-Soo Kim was part of this program during his PhD years at POSTECH. Ubisoft and Bungie have both put plans into motion that aim to help those affected by yet-ongoing bush fires in Australia, joining the ranks of studios like Crytivo that are rallying their communities to help raise funds during the disaster. Bungie announced its charitable Bungie Foundation organization will kick off a program to benefit the Australian wildlife rescue organization WIRES as well as the NSW Rural Fire Service next week. Starting January 16, Bungie says all profits from the sale of a T-shirt fundraising campaign will go to both organizations, up until the shirt is removed from sale in mid February. Its a similar push to other Bungie Foundation fundraising efforts in the past, the most recent of which raised $1.6 million. Ubisoft Australia, meanwhile, put forth a $30,000 donation to the Australian Red Cross Disaster and Recovery Relief Fund. It did so after its community asked it to run a donation drive in-game, noting in a Twitter statement that direct donations take a quicker approach than an in-game push. The studios tweets also included a list of links for community members willing to donate to help the relief efforts, found here. Update: Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward launched its own campaign over the weekend as well, pledging to donate 100 percent of Activisions net sales of an Australia-themed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare pack to bush fire relief programs. WASHBURNIt was a wonderful life, and though she regretted leaving it, she considered the breadth of the Milky Way and said, I will see you in the stars. Deri Robertson Ament was born on May 14, 1945, in Detroit, Mich. to Daniel and Doris Robertson. She left us on Jan. 5, 2020. Deri grew up in Woodland Hills, Calif., graduating from W. H. Taft High School. Determined to become a teacher, she collected college credit from Pierce Jr. College in Calif., and Kent and Cleveland State in Ohio. She met Dave, the love of her life, on a blind date in Cleveland, on Easter. Seven months later, they were married, on Thanksgiving Day. Together, they continued their joint effort to earn teaching degrees from UW-Whitewater. She was thrilled to accept her first teaching position in Kewaskum, Wis. on her 26th birthday. Lawrence N. Brooks, the oldest World War II veteran in the U.S. and believed to be the oldest man in the country, died on Wednesday at the age The Culver City Jewish War Veterans Post 617 mentioned in a recent newsletter the USS Arizona is in a bad state of repair and will remain closed indefinite. Have you ever head of Cloud Break Communities? Well, neither have I; they claim to have affordable Housing at every location, Supportive Housing Developments and continual partnerships with area non-profits. VASH/Vouchers accepted, utilities included, kitchens available in studio/one bedroom units, priority leasing to qualified homeless veterans, income restrictions may apply. Westside Residences in Inglewood, CA, 725 East Hindry Avenue, Inglewood 90301, (310) 496-8133 SRO, shared and studio units available. Does anybody besides Cousin Neil remember years ago when the high school had ROTC? The social do gooders had it removed. Did you read that Governor Gavin Newsom is expanding the size and role of the California Governors office? Newsom is establishing the Office of the First Partner with his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom with seven new positions and a $791,000 budget. The figures below are the 2018 wages and benefits for the four city employees working in the Culver City managers office as reported to the California State Controllers office and made available to Transparent California. These figures include salary and all benefits. Names Titles Year Amounts & The Grand total equals $1,152,662.34 John Nachbar City Manager 2018 $421,504.47 Serena Wright Asst. City Manager 2018 $308,806.43 Shelly Wolfberg Asst. to City Manger 2018 $222,344.74 Jesse Mays Asst. to City Manager 2018 $200,006.70 Source: Transparent California. 2018 report. Of course, many know Governor Newsom gets $202,000 per year or half of what six Culver City Employees get in wages, and benefits. Although I could be mistaken, I dont think so. If those six employees retire and take a smaller retirement check each month then their check goes on and on and on for somewhere around $180,000. We have been squeezed like a plum to we could be a prune soon. I guess what burns my --- is the California Governor gets $202,000 and represents over 35 million or so folks while we have six Culver City employees getting over $400,000 with the citys population around 41,000. Perhaps someone found a missing check book. If the cops give you a ticket for driving while texting the fine is $25.00 in South Carolina according to the local news station. What kind of mess is this? November 3rd was National Sandwich Day and I will not have enough fixing to make even one-mile high Dagwood. I still dont believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself while in the lock up in New York City. If he wasnt murdered, I could just imagine what high society names would pop loose. The Food and Drug Administration approved Aimovig a drug designed to prevent debilitation headaches. People with migraines will get a monthly shot that targets a molecule which has been shown to reduce headache frequency for chronic suffers. The leather jacket actor, Henry Winkler, of Happy Days fame recently turned 74. The Savannah Morning News revealed recently the plight of medical doctors in rural Georgia. Eight counties have no doctors, several more have zero family medicine practitioners. More than one third of the counties lack a single pediatrician. Beginning in 2021 students will be able to complete med school in three years and after working for six years in rural Georgia, the state will forgive the doctor loans generally $150,000 to $200,000. It was just 51 years ago (almost). On February 9, 1969 the first flight of the Boeing 747 took place. The test plight between Seattle and New York City in 4 hours and five minutes and history was made. The Summer of 69 a turning point in history- The Lucy Burns Museum soon to open in Lorton Virginia in January 2020 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Gosh, its been 3 years since the Expo Line light rails extension went all the way to Santa Monica also noted in the Long Beach Press-Telegram was the passing of Alan Young of Mr. Ed fame. Mr. Young was 96. The Montgomery, Alabama City Council has rejected a proposal to punish people who give cash to panhandlers with jail time. All weekly commentaries may treat the news with humor and satire. For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com; strolling down the page and underneath Opinion look for Rubenstein. Mumbai, Jan 10 : Tata Motors' UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Friday reported a 6 per cent decline in retail sales last year as compared to 2018. The luxury car maker, however, logged a 1.3 per cent increase in retail sales for December 2019 over the previous year. JLR's retail sales stood at 557,706, down 5.9 per cent compared to 2018 owing to "challenging industry conditions across markets". Its sales were down 1.7 per cent in UK, 13.5 per cent in China, 4.9 per cent in Europe and 14.2 per cent in overseas regions, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. The company said that the double-digit sales growth in China over the last six months has been encouraging, as has been the record sales achieved in North America, up 1.8 per cent. "Following a record 2018, Jaguar sales were down in 2019. In increasingly challenging market conditions, we chose not to weaken the iconic Jaguar brand through chasing volume at any cost," said Felix Brautigam, its Chief Commercial Officer. For the month of December, Jaguar Land Rover said its retail sales were boosted by China, up 26.3 per cent year-on-year but offset by lower sales in North America and Europe. On a quarterly basis, JLR'S retail sales were 141,222, down 2.3 per cent year-on-year. Tata Motors closed 1.17 per cent higher at Rs 194.25 a share on the NSE. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam on Thursday met here with Luo Huining, the new director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government at the Government House. The two sides had full exchanges on the current social situation in Hong Kong and their respective performance of duties in accordance with the law. Lam extended a warm welcome again to Luo on his assumption of the new post in Hong Kong. Although Luo has just taken up the post, he is familiar with the situations in Hong Kong, Lam said, expressing the hope for enhancing communication and cooperation with Luo in the future to promote the work involving the mainland and Hong Kong. During the meeting, Lam briefed Luo on the work of the HKSAR government over the past two years as well as the social unrest arising from the legislative amendment since June last year. They both agreed that Hong Kong had experienced the most severe situation since its return to the motherland during the past seven months, affecting seriously all aspects of society, and that restoring social order as soon as possible is the common aspiration of the general public. Lam said the HKSAR government will, in accordance with the Basic Law and the "one country, two systems" principle, spare no effort to curb violence and uphold the rule of law in order to find a way out of the current impasse. As the severe economic situation may affect the livelihood of the general public, especially the grassroots, the HKSAR government will proactively study and introduce relief measures to help the people, Lam said. Luo said he had a friendly exchange with Lam when leading a Shanxi provincial delegation to Hong Kong at the end of 2018 for business and he was deeply impressed by the competence of the chief executive. Luo spoke highly of the hard efforts of Lam and the HKSAR government during social unrest, including measures to rein in chaos and help businesses and residents weather out hardships. The liaison office will, as always, continue to fully respect and support Lam and the HKSAR government to govern in accordance with law, Luo said. The two sides pledged to further implement the "one country, two systems" principle and maintain Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability in accordance with the requirements of the central authorities. Joint efforts will be made to stop violence, restore order, and safeguard the rule of law. Measures will be taken to develop the economy, improve people's livelihood and promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. They also agreed on improving communication and cooperation to better perform duties. They both firmly believe that Hong Kong will definitely return to the right track and achieve greater success with the care of the central authorities, the support of the motherland and the joint efforts of all sectors of Hong Kong society. Russia would emerge as a winner if the U.S.-Iran conflict which has cooled off greatly escalates, argues Anna Mikulska, a senior fellow with UPenn's Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. The big picture: That could result via the unlikely but not impossible event that Iran shut down oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for Middle East oil and nearly 20 million barrels per day pass through the narrow channel. The intrigue: If there's a shutdown, "Russia could become a crucial market stabilizer deriving significant financial, strategic, and diplomatic benefits," she writes. "Not only does Russia produce the 'right' quality of crude (a substitute for the crude potentially locked in by the Strait of Hormuz), but according to a Russian government statement, it holds spare capacity of 500,000 barrels per day." Elsewhere Mikulska notes that an Iranian blockade "could potentially strengthen Russias position vis-a-vis energy-hungry Asia since about three-fourths of the crude that passes through the Strait lands there." Go deeper...What Middle East crisis? Why oil prices aren't rising In Oregon, it hasnt always been simple to find out how your local grocery store performs in routine state food safety inspections -- until today. If you lived in California or many places in Washington, the information would be available online at your fingertips: Which stores had rat infestations, roaches, mold or workers who didnt wash their hands after using the bathroom. All elevate your risk of food poisoning, a major health threat nationwide. Between 2012 and 2016, federal data show, nearly 1,200 illnesses were traced to food preparation in grocery stores. That figure undercounts the real number, because many are never reported and their sources are not identified. The information blackout on inspection results ends now. The Oregonian/OregonLive is doing what the state of Oregon has not, publishing the results of thousands of grocery store inspections online. Our searchable database highlights the most recent routine inspections by the Oregon Department of Agriculture at more than 1,100 stores across the state, from major national chains to small neighborhood markets. Records are shown for stores that have a retail license and handle or prepare raw food. You can also drill down into a stores past inspections, including follow-ups and those prompted by complaints. We hope to update the data monthly. Marsha Cohen, a professor at the University of Californias Hastings College of the Law who specializes in food law, said it made no sense for the state to collect such vast stores of information but not share them publicly. As consumers, we vote with our dollars," she said. "If we change consumer behavior or make information public and people are afraid of it changing consumer behavior, it can change corporate behavior, which is the goal. The agriculture department said in a statement that it is committed to transparency and that consumers may obtain inspection results for a store by filing a public records request. Agency officials have promised monthly updates to the data provided to the newsroom and worked with reporters at length to ensure it was presented accurately. To make it easier to compare stores, our database includes a total score for point deductions. We calculated these scores based on the Oregon Retail Food Code, which assigns the most points to serious violations. For consistency, the scores reflect a stores most recent set of regularly scheduled inspections. Higher scores mean more problems were found. The agriculture department chooses not to compute such scores, stating: While our currently adopted version of the Oregon Food Code does associate a point value with a violation type, a points system is not required and is not part of our enforcement focus. At which stores did Oregons state inspectors find the most significant problems? Here are the 21 stores that topped the list. Bear in mind that inspection reports are only a snapshot. Many violations are corrected on the spot or in time for a follow-up inspection from the state. We have included comments from stores where management responded to our questions. 1. Supermercados Mexico, 17420 S.E. Division St., Portland Total point deductions: 77 High risk violations: 15 Repeat issues: 10 What inspectors found: Roasted chicken and chicharones in hot food case werent warm enough. Raw shrimp next to cooked shrimp in display case were touching. Chorizo in cooler wasnt cold enough. Packaged pork stored at room temperature on top of meat display. Cream cheese in bakery cooler was not kept cold enough. Improper washing of a mixer. A sanitizing fluid had too much chlorine. Cooked beans were improperly cooled. Kitchen manager couldnt answer questions about proper heating and cooling. Employee touched glove to nose and then used a knife with the gloved hand. Meat cutting boards and knives used for four hours without sanitizing. READ MORE Store response: Victor Arciga, store manager, said customer health is his top priority and he values the feedback he receives from food safety inspectors. I like them to show up, because that way I learn how to be better and how to protect the customer, Arciga said. Prompted by the stores inspection results, the store now uses a mechanism on all its sinks to create the correct mix of sanitizing fluid and water. Arciga also brought in a new chorizo cooler to maintain the right temperature. He hired a company that rewired the stores hot display cases to maintain the right temperature. He is in the process of getting specialized certifications for employees, including a kitchen manager who had trouble answering heating and cooling questions. Arciga said he does his own daily health inspections at the store, checking temperatures and cleanser levels. Sometimes, in the past, workers didnt wash their hands between glove changes because their hands must also be thoroughly dried before putting on a new pair. That takes time, and people are moving fast. Arciga said workers wash their hands consistently now. He said its a constant process of training and reminding employees about proper procedures. I dont want customers to get sick because of my food, Arciga said. 2. H Mart, 3301 S.E. Belmont Ave., Portland Total point deductions: 66 High risk violations: 14 Repeat issues: None What inspectors found: Meat cutting room floors in poor repair. Meat grinder heavily soiled with old food residue. Fly trap over food prep area. Raw halibut steaks in seafood display too warm. Cooked octopus and clams stored beneath raw salmon in display; raw produce stored above containers of washed, ready-to-eat produce. Employees unable to answer questions related to food safety and sanitation. Used whisk was not disinfected before being stored with clean utensils. Leafy greens and sweet potatoes not kept cold enough. READ MORE Store response: Michelle Lin, customer service manager for the store, said all violations cited in the report have been fixed. She attributed some problems to the fact the brand new store only opened in April; the inspections happened in May. Lin, who has a food service certification, said she has given food safety lessons to employees since then. She also said the store brought in a technician to repair a refrigeration unit that was not keeping food cold enough. Employees have adjusted food descriptions on labels as required. She thinks the next inspection will go much better. Im going to make sure everythings a success, Lin said. 3. San Francisco Tienda Mexicana, 8750 S.W. Citizens Drive, Wilsonville Total point deductions: 62 High risk violations: 13 Repeat issues: 13 What the inspectors found: Raw meat stored at room temperature for four hours. Employees fixing tacos without gloves. Bloody scale used to process queso fresco cheese. No hot water in hand sink. No chlorine sanitizer used. Bakery mixers and dough cutter needed cleaning. Ready-to-eat cheeses, chicken and beans werent date-marked. READ MORE Walla Walla Union-Bulletin 4. Super Milton Market, 21 N. Columbia St., Milton-Freewater Total point deductions: 61 High risk violations: 10 Repeat violations: 18 What inspectors found: Hundreds of rodent feces seen along the meat display case. Blood on the floor in the walk-in cooler. Meat stored in black garbage bags. Unclean surfaces. Raw meat stored on a shelf above bell peppers and avocados. Paint peeling on a bakery wall covered in flour and soiled food. Black and brown grease dripping off ceiling of meat coolers with open tubs and trays of meat in the cooler. Black grime and mold on rolling rack carrying raw meat tubs. Rotten oranges in produce cooler. Produce cooler fans covered in dust. Produce bins and shelves covered in grime and accumulated food debris. Massive amounts of dried food in the deli hot case. READ MORE Store response: Things have been remedied, said Imelda Figueroa, the store owner. Of the rodent droppings, she said: Weve never seen rats here. We looked and looked and weve never seen them. Its unfair. It does make us seem like we have animals here when we totally dont. I was really upset about that. Figueroa said the store began using food grade bags to store meat and began cleaning more frequently. 5. Salem Mega Foods, 3695 Devonshire Court NE, Salem Total point deductions: 57 High risk violations: 9 Repeat issues: None What inspectors found: JoJos, onion rings, corn dogs, whole chickens and fried chicken werent kept hot enough. Fruit flies observed by hot food deli case and appeared to be breeding in pooled water on employee side of the hot service case. Two bottles labeled as sanitizer actually had oil and degreaser inside. No shellfish tags for oysters. Bakery employee seen using his apron to clean the inside of his ear. Cream cheese bolillos stored in display case were 70 degrees. Dozens of eggs stored at 60 degrees. READ MORE Store response: Mega Foods understands the seriousness of these violations and corrected all discrepancies immediately following the inspection. Additionally, Mega Foods retrained all employees on best practices for food handling and cleanliness as outlined in the Marion County Foods Handlers Training Manual. New policies were also adopted to ensure management verifies food and safety compliance several times throughout the day. Mega Foods is confident that these violations will not be repeated. 6. Tienda y Carniceria La Tapatia, 18330 S.E. Stark St., Portland Total point deductions: 56 High risk violations: 9 Repeat issues: 6 What inspectors found: No disinfectant test strips to monitor strength of sanitizer; sanitizer levels too high in water buckets. Raw seafood commingled. Thermometers missing in meat department and bakery coolers holding flan and tres leches cake. Heavy food debris on floors, shelves, cooler door handles. Bread with ham and cheesecake stored at room temperature. READ MORE 7. Roman Russian Food Store, 10918 S.E. Division St., Portland Total point deductions: 55 High risk violations: 13 Repeat issues: 7 What inspectors found: Employee handling ready-to-eat smoked meats with bare hands. Eggs from unlicensed farm packaged in a licensed farms egg crate. Smoked fish and assorted salads in display cooler not kept cold enough. Soft cheese case not kept cold enough. An array of cooked foods were kept at room temperature: pastries stuffed with cheese, meat and cabbage; cooked sausages; cooked chicken; cooked potatoes; meat-filled crepes; rice dishes; and cooked vegetables. No food thermometer to measure internal temperature of cooked dishes. Opened packages of deli meats and salads had no date mark. Packages of house-made dumplings didnt indicate whether they contain allergens such as wheat. No soap at one hand washing sink, and bakery hand washing sink was blocked by a table. READ MORE Store response: Everything has been corrected, said Fatima Mansur, the store manager. Were taking it very seriously. Mansur said the store purchased plastic curtains for its open refrigeration to better maintain refrigeration, while adding thermostats and a log where employees track temperatures. Refrigerated items are required to stay under 41 degrees. Dumplings now list allergens. Every single person, even if they speak limited English, they know what the temperature is supposed to be, Mansur said. 8. (tie) Tienda Santa Cruz, 8630 N. Lombard St., Portland Total point deductions: 54 High risk violations: 11 Repeat issues: 9 What inspectors found: Raw chicken containers stored above raw pork and beef in cooler. Uncovered cooked beans left cooling on rack below wet equipment that was drying. Cooked beef and cooked pork in cooler had no date mark. No soap in hand sink. Meat slicers had visible buildup of food debris and grease. Five or six flies found alive in meat saw. READ MORE Store response: We take food safety seriously at Santa Cruz," the stores owner said in a statement. "We immediately addressed the violations and had a company-wide meeting to review proper procedures. Our follow-up inspection went a lot better. 8. (tie) Zupans, 2340 W. Burnside St., Portland Total point deductions: 54 High risk violations: 10 Repeat issues: None What inspectors found: Salads, sandwiches, quiches, salmon filets and other foods in deli display case had internal temps up to 49 degrees. Spinach and cheese croissants and ham and cheese croissants at room temperature for more than four hours. Pies, eclairs, miniature cheesecakes in display case also werent cold enough. Employees couldnt say when juicer machine was last cleaned. Produce departments sinks are inadequate for food prep. No hot water at a hand washing sink for meat section. READ MORE Store response: We welcome the presence of the Oregon Department of Agriculture in our stores and recognize their important position in the area of food safety, said Eleanor Wilkinson, Zupans marketing director. Zupans Markets considers food safety to be of the utmost importance and we are always working to adhere to the highest levels of store cleanliness and ODA standards. We have addressed each infraction with our store management teams and look forward to working with the ODA on an ongoing basis to ensure the highest standards for our customers. 10. H Mart (Tigard), 13600 S.W. Pacific Highway, Tigard Total point deductions: 53 High risk violations: 13 Repeat issues: 4 What inspectors found: Trays used to steam dumplings stored soiled, with wet cloth inside. No paper towels at hand washing sink. Sushi displayed at room temperature had no consume-by time on package, and no log was kept. Problems with hand washing sinks: One had no cold water and was too hot to be used; another was blocked and filled with lids; another was used for washing equipment. Raw meat stored in an uncovered bowl on the floor of a cooler. Meat department equipment, tables, and shelves had crusty old food residue. Onion bread in bakery is supposed to be refrigerated but was sold at room temp. Sanitizer at wrong concentration levels. READ MORE Store response: Charlie Kim, regional office manager, said that the issues have been corrected. He said the sanitizer concentration in cleansing liquid can be thrown off by evaporation. The store uses an automatic mixing mechanism and brings in an outside company to make adjustments. He said there was an unused table and machine with dust on it and the store has since cleaned and covered it over. Kim said he is confident his employees know the rules for cleaning and for temperature maintenance. He said the store held a meeting with department managers after the inspections and discussed how to address the violations. 11. (tie) Safeway, 12032 S.E. Sunnyside Road, Clackamas Total point deductions: 52 High risk violations: 11 Repeat issues: 4 What inspectors found: A small piece of blue plastic, measuring approximately 1/4, was observed in the BBQ sausages stored in the full service case. The origin of the plastic was not determined during the inspection. A bottle of glass cleaner was stored above a counter used to prepare ready-to-eat chicken. Fried chicken, cooked teriyaki chicken and whole chickens not kept warm enough. Beef filling not kept cold enough. All three deli slicers heavily soiled with cheese and meat residue and dried grease; employees couldnt say last time they were cleaned. Bottles of cleaning fluid for slicers were empty. Crab cakes, shrimp and other ready-to-eat seafood in display case lacked date marks. Employees said much of the seafood was in the case three or four days. Two apparent rodent droppings outside a walk-in cooler in bakery, plus about 40 dead cockroaches along walls of bakery, mainly in a storage room by the dishwasher. READ MORE Store response: Food safety and the quality of our products is the highest priority for Safeway and Albertsons, a spokeswoman for the company said. If issues are found during an inspection, we work quickly to correct the vast majority of the problems while the inspector is still on site. Where it isnt possible to remediate the problem immediately, we do so as quickly as possible, and request re-inspection. Where necessary, we retrain employees on proper procedures. Additionally, we contract with a third party, Ecolab, which conducts food safety/sanitation inspections of our stores, each one, four times per year. Please note that in this instance, the inspector incorrectly identified chocolate sprinkles, commonly used in the bakery, as rodent droppings in the bakerys freezer. You noted from the inspection that ready-to-eat seafood did not have a date. We corrected the problem immediately. Ready-to-eat seafood can be held for up to seven days. Regarding the dead insects, the store previously addressed the issue, and continues to utilize aggressive pest control, but didnt properly remove dead insects, which were taken care of immediately upon identification. A follow-up inspection on Nov. 25, 2019, demonstrated that all issues have been corrected. 11. (tie) Supermercado San Alejandro, 80 N. 10th Ave., Cornelius Total point deductions: 52 High risk violations: 10 Repeat issues: 7 What inspectors found: Prepared food display case not hot enough. Prepared foods including cooked tongue, tomatoes had no date mark. Food contact surfaces were washed without sanitizer. A child was allowed in food prep area. Person in charge needed training in food temps and cleaning procedures. Cutting boards in kitchen were not cleanable due to deep scoring. Tripe sitting in a sink that drained to the sewage system. Hand washing sink in tortilla bakery was plugged and not draining water. Bakery was using powdered laundry soap for cleaning. Employee eating in bakery. READ MORE 13. (tie) Rays Food Place, 635 N.W. Arrowleaf Trail, Sisters Total point deductions: 51 High risk violations: 10 Repeat issues: 6 What inspectors found: Apparent rodent droppings observed in the cabinet to the right of the refrigerated sandwich prep table in the grilling area, and no traps visible in deli. Foods not cold enough, including: breaded chicken in salad bar; roast beef in sandwich prep area; roast beef in deli salad case; a finished roast beef sandwich on display. Hand washing sink in deli was blocked. Heavy buildup of brown/black sludge-type material inside fountain drink nozzles in deli. Several items that were made or repackaged in deli didnt list ingredients. No soap at hand washing sink in bakerys cake-decorating area. Bits of raw meat from a meat cuber machine were found on an adjacent machine used to slice cheese and vegetables for seafood salad. READ MORE 13. (tie) Super Mercado La Montana, 1905 Mountain View Lane, #100, Forest Grove Total point deductions: 51 High risk violations: 9 Repeat issues: 3 What inspectors found: Foil-wrapped raw chicken stored on top of cooked chicken in a cooler. Deli workers handling food without gloves. Workers handling raw meat, then clean equipment, then avocados, without washing hands in between. Raw meat stored next to and above an open container of cheese. Meat department workers, instead of changing gloves between tasks, rinsed them in sink. Hand washing sink was also used for mops, food prep, and to hold a bleach bucket. READ MORE Grocery store at 16380 Boones Ferry Road, Lake Oswego. 15. Zupans Market, 16380 Boones Ferry Road, Lake Oswego Total point deductions: 50 High risk violations: 9 Repeat issues: None What inspectors found: Raw oysters and lobster stored above cooked crab and shrimp. Packaged foods didnt have allergens listed. Salmon spread and crab dip kept on shelves longer than allowed. Oysters with different harvest dates commingled. No paper towels at sink. Dirty cloths wiping equipment without being stored in sanitizer solution between uses. Wild mushrooms lacked sign saying they were uninspected. Cutting boards were deeply scored. READ MORE Store response: Zupans provided a list showing how it has addressed every violation. Some were fixed during the inspection. Other steps included replacing cutting boards, adding dividers to keep different meats separated, separating oysters, adding allergens to packaged seafood product labels and repairing a dishwasher. We welcome the presence of the Oregon Department of Agriculture in our stores and recognize their important position in the area of food safety, said Eleanor Wilkinson, Zupans marketing director. Zupans Markets considers food safety to be of the utmost importance and we are always working to adhere to the highest levels of store cleanliness and ODA standards. We have addressed each infraction with our store management teams and look forward to working with the ODA on an ongoing basis to ensure the highest standards for our customers. 16. Ericksons Thriftway, 561 S.W. Fourth St., Madras Total point deductions: 48 High risk violations: 6 Repeat issues: 6 What inspectors found: Cutting board for making sandwiches cleaned only daily, not every four hours. Food in hot case not hot enough: fried chicken; macaroni and cheese. Deli case items including cold chicken, honey ham and bologna were not cold enough. One lunch meat package was more than a week past its use-by date. No thermometer in deli hot foods case. Deli salads, pepperoni and cotija cheese that were packed by store had no ingredient info. READ MORE 17. Terrebonne Thriftway, 8431 N. 11th St., Terrebonne Total point deductions: 46 High risk violations: 7 Repeat issues: 10 What inspectors found: Flies in deli. Employees eating inside the deli. Dark brown greasy buildup observed on screen inserts in deli hot case, which also did not have a thermometer inside. Gravy in walk-in cooler for approximately 3.5 hours was 72 degrees. Cold barbecue chicken and fried chicken in grab-and-go food case not kept cold enough. Yellowish protein-type residue on meat cuber blades after cleaning. READ MORE Store response: Bonnie Villastrigo, who owned the store for nearly 20 years, was in the process of turning it over to new owners this month. She said the stores violations were the product of a food safety inspector she described as heavy-handed. We try our hardest, but we cannot make the guy happy, Villastrigo said. She said the inspector did recommend a cleanser that was more effective. But she said the inspector also gave inconsistent messages, such as telling her to buy a bug zapper and then saying she needed fly paper instead. She said she had pest control visit the store weekly and sets traps outside the store daily. I have 20 employees, Villastrigo said. I have a good business. State response: In a statement, the department of agriculture said that the agency routinely trains staff on inspection procedures in order to promote a consistent approach when conducting inspections across all inspectors. We take all complaints regarding our inspection processes seriously and will review this complaint. 18. (tie) Fubonn Supermarket, 2850 S.E. 82nd Ave., Portland Total point deductions: 45 High risk violations: 8 Repeat issues: 9 What inspectors found: Water in the dishwashing sink of food service area only heated to 87 degrees. Grease in a drain under a sink in barbecue room had flies in it. Cooked foods not kept hot enough: whole fish; a tofu dish; duck. Fridge at deli not cold enough: packaged octopus; wrapped pork. More than 40 large rat droppings by water heater and 20 droppings under shelving of food storage. Cutting boards not cleaned every four hours. Meat buildup on meat saw and grinder parts, cutting boards and knife handles. No paper towels at hand washing sink in meat cutting room. READ MORE 18. (tie) Logans Market, 900 S.W. 23rd St., Redmond Total point deductions: 45 High risk violations: 10 Repeat issues: 12 What inspectors found: Two birds seen flying around inside store. Numerous flies observed in store, especially between fresh fruit display and meat case near store entrance. Turkey lunch meat at deli counter was a day past its marked date. Turkey at sandwich prep table not kept cold enough. Deli sandwiches and wraps didnt have ingredient labels. Metal trays put away as clean in deli had food debris and mineral type buildup. Slime and mineral buildup on produce wet rack. Soap dispenser at hand washing sink for meat cutting room didnt work. READ MORE Store response: Obviously, that was not a good inspection, and thats not something we strive for, said Logan Hamilton, president of the stores corporate owner. He said employees correct any problems immediately, and inspectors return to make sure fixes are made. Logans also brings in an outside company to perform inspections on the store. Hamilton said the company looks to food safety inspectors as a partner of ours to help us do things better and has never received a report of an illness. 18. (tie) San Juan Supermarket, 1991 N.E. Cornell Road, Hillsboro Total point deductions: 45 High risk violations: 11 Repeat issues: 4 What inspectors found: Prepared foods in walk-in cooler not cold enough: refried beans; rice; cooked chicken. Food probe thermometer was off by 21 degrees. Person in charge lacked food safety training. Packaged juices that were made in-house had no labeling. A hand washing sink was blocked by two large cans of baking ingredients. Fruit cups prepared using a cutting board that was propped on a trash can. READ MORE Grocery store at 970 S.E. Oak St., Hillsboro. 18. (tie) Supermercados Mexico, 970 S.E. Oak St., Hillsboro Total point deductions: 45 High risk violations: 10 Repeat issues: 4 What inspectors found: Raw marinated pork was at an unsafe temperature. Prepared salsas, queso and salads for sale in deli not date-marked. Meat workers not washing hands between cutting chicken, dispensing tripe and cutting fish. Meat saw and slicer not cleaned every four hours. Sheet pan cheesecake not refrigerated. No measurable sanitizer found in bakery sink or bleach bucket. READ MORE Rob Davis rdavis@oregonian.com 503.294.7657; @robwdavis Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. On December 18, 2019, the Administrative Court of Armenia accepted the claim of A1+ TV Company versus the Government of Armenia for proceedings under which MELTEX LLC, on behalf of the TV company, demands that the seven decisions on the tender held in 2003 be declared as null and void; as a result of the tenders, A1+ TV Company failed to obtain a broadcasting license. This Is what attorney Ara Ghazaryan told reporters today. We demand that those seven decisions be declared as null and void. The aim of those seven decisions was to conceal the political agenda aimed at not letting A1+ be back on air, not improve broadcasting. Since A1+ was an independent television company, the decisions need to be declared as null and void, the attorney said. President of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression Ashot Melikyan said this is merely a matter of law and justice. This is not a political approach, but a major step towards the restoration of justice. We fully hope that, in the new conditions, courts will be able to render decisions without restraints. It was very hard to anticipate this in the previous decades since A1+ was deprived of airtime for political reasons, and at the time, no court could render a decision without restraints. Now the conditions are favorable, he said. Not fully vaccinated? No entry to malls, restaurants in Haryana from Jan 1: See Covid-19 guidelines Lockdown in Haryana 2022: Know Time, Districts List, Guidelines, Rules, What Is Allowed & What Is Not Allowed Haryana: 12 of 12 candidates with criminal background won polls against those with clean background India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: 21 per cent of the MLAs won with a 50 per cent vote share in the recently concluded Haryana Assembly elections. A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms said that 19(21%) MLAs won with 50% and above of the total votes polled in their constituency. 71(79%) MLAs won with less than 50% of the total votes polled in their constituency. 3(25%) out of 12 MLAs analysed with declared criminal cases have won with a vote share of 50% and above. 19(23%) out of 84 crorepati MLAs analysed have won with a vote share of 50% and above. 3 MLAs have won with a margin of victory of less than 1000 votes. 4 MLAs have won with more than 30% of margin of victory. JJP-BJP alliance in Haryana sealed at a mall in Gurugram, says MLA 12(100%) out of 12 MLAs with declared criminal cases have won against a runner up with a clean background. Among these 12 MLAs, 3 MLAs have won with more than 20% margin of victory. Among these, Bhupinder Singh Hooda (INC) from Garhi Sampla - Kiloi constituency won with 39.25 % margin of victory. There are 11 MLAs with a clean background who have won against a runner up with declared criminal cases. Out of these 11 MLAs, only 2 MLAs have won with more than 10 % the margin of victory. 2 out of 84 crorepati MLAs have won against a non-crorepati runner up. Among these 2 MLAs, 1 MLA has won with more than 20 % margin of victory. There are 3 non-crorepati MLAs who have won against crorepati runners up. 2 of them have won with more than 10% margin of victory. Among the 90 MLAs, 9 women have been analysed. All of them won with 35% and above of vote share in their constituencies. Among the women MLAs, Kiran Chaudhary (INC) from Tosham Constituency has won with the highest vote share, i.e. 49.72 % in her constituency and 12.35% of margin of victory Out of total 29 re-elected MLAs 6 have won with more than 50% of vote share. State vs national issues: Key lessons for the BJP to learn in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Haryana 12 re-elected MLAs have won with less than 10% of margin of victory whereas 6 have won with more than 20% of the margin of victory. The NOTA button instated by the ECI in 2013 gave the voters an option of rejecting all the candidates in their constituency. Out of 1,25,20,177 votes polled in Haryana Assembly, 2019, 65,672 (0.52%) were polled for NOTA. Out of 1,24,26,968 votes polled in Haryana Assembly, 2014, 53,613 (0.43%) were polled for NOTA. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 10, 2020, 16:04 [IST] Meghan 'flies back to Canada' as Harry remains in UK amid backlash The Duchess of Sussex has reportedly flown back to Canada as Prince Harry remains in the UK amid a fallout over the couples move to resign as senior royals. Meghan yesterday returned to North America, where she and the dukes eight-month-old son Archie had been left with his nanny, it is understood. She hadnt planned to stay in the UK for long after arriving in Britain on Monday ahead of the bombshell announcement, it was reported. Trump says killing of Iranian general served up 'American justice' Donald Trump told his first re-election campaign rally of 2020 that the killing of Qassem Soleimani delivered American justice. The US President spent a lengthy part of his stump speech in Toledo, Ohio, defending his order to kill the Iranian general. He rejected criticism that he overstepped his authority with the US military's drone strike against the commander in Baghdad last week. Raab calls for 'full and transparent' probe into Iran plane crash Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called for a full and transparent investigation into the fatal Tehran plane crash that killed 176 people. It comes after Boris Johnson suggested there was a "body of information" that indicated the crash was caused by an Iranian missile. Canadian leader Justin Trudeau earlier said Iran looked to have been involved in the downing of the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752. The crash came in the hours after Iran launched a missile attack on US forces in Iraq in retaliation over the death of general Soleimani. Draft deal tabled to restore devolved Northern Ireland government Britain and Ireland have published the text of a draft deal to restore the devolved government in Northern Ireland, three years after its collapse. Sinn Fein and the DUP have been locked in talks this week over the agreement, which was announced during a press conference at Stormont last night. It comes three years to the day since devolution collapsed in Northern Ireland. Lewis and Thornberry's final scramble for Labour leadership nominations Labour leadership contenders Clive Lewis and Emily Thornberry are in a race against time to secure backers as the deadline for nominations looms. Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Philips and Sir Keir Starmer have received enough nominations to pass the first round of the battle for the top job. But shadow foreign secretary Ms Thornberry and Mr Lewis, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, have so far failed to reach the 22-nomination threshold ahead of Mondays deadline. I'm A Celeb's Extra Camp axed after nearly 20 years Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! spin-off show Extra Camp has been cancelled after almost 20 years. The companion programme has aired on ITV2 alongside the main reality show since 2002. On this day... 1645: Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud was beheaded on Tower Hill for treason. 1840: Sir Rowland Hill introduced the Penny Post - 112,000 letters were posted in London on the first day. 1863: The London Underground railway was opened by William Gladstone. The Metropolitan Railway went from Paddington to Farringdon Street, stopping at seven stations. 1880: Grock the circus clown was born as Adrien Wettach in Switzerland. 1890: Cleopatra's tomb was discovered. 1901: The first oil strike - in Texas. 1920: The League of Nations held its first meeting at Geneva. It was dissolved in 1946 and replaced by the United Nations. 1929: The cartoon character Tintin appeared for the first time. 1985: Eight people were killed in a gas blast in Putney, south-west London. In his long life, voodoo priest Kpohinto Medji has seen his religion flourish and then go into decline, banned for years by the authorities and pressured by other faiths. Today, the ageing priest with mischievous eyes is somewhat happier. Benin in West Africa is gearing for its annual voodoo festival - an event that lures an influx of visitors to the capital Porto-Novo and underscores voodoo's comeback in the country of its birth. Benin is gearing for its annual voodoo festival - an event that lures an influx of visitors to the capital, Porto-Novo. Pictured are traditional handcrafted wooden statuettes sold at the festival Houngo Hounto Square is among a number of squares once owned by voodoo-worshipping families that are being renovated. Painters have been putting the finishing touches to its ochre walls ahead of the January 10 festival, and fetishes and tokens of the old religion are proudly on display. 'Before, it was a run-down, abandoned square,' the old priest said, speaking in the local language of Goun. 'Today, it's lovely.' Sacred: Priestesses in Porto-Novo give offerings to a voodoo idol Voodoo, more often called 'vodun' in West Africa, has a hierarchy of deities and tribal spirits of nature and sees revered ancestors living alongside the living. It uses fetishes, magical practices and healing remedies, which followers consider to be divine. But its rituals have often been distorted by Hollywood, which tends to stereotype the religion as a source of black magic. Dilapidated squares owned by voodoo-worshipping households are being renovated. They are a vital part of social and spiritual life in Porto-Novo Years of decline In Benin itself, voodoo was battered by French colonisation, when Catholic missionaries demonised it. A dozen years after Benin gained independence, voodoo was banned by Mathieu Kerekou, a Marxist-Leninist who came to power in a military coup. His elected successor, Nicephore Soglo, lifted the ban. Still, the religion came under pressure once more with the spread of evangelism in West Africa, whose preachers often compare native religions with sorcery. According to the latest available official figures, which date from 2013, practitioners of voodoo, who are called vodounsi, account for just 11 per cent of Benin's population, against nearly 30 per cent Muslim and 25 per cent Christian. An iroko tree, where people in Porto-Novo make offerings to Ogou, the god of metal. If a loved one dies from contact with metal, such as in a car accident or a shooting, relatives hang up a garment of the victim to ease the god's anger 'There are so many religions which have arrived in Benin, they have turned our brothers away from our faith,' said Raymond Zannou, a printer. He ancestors built Houngbo Hounto Square. Today, 'a minority of people take care of maintaining the squares, and often they are elderly', he said. City of squares Porto-Novo, a city of about a quarter of a million people, developed initially as a port for slave trade under the Portuguese empire in the 17th century. Its squares, called Ouadada, are one of its most distinctive features, according to Gerard Bassale, head of a local cultural association. Mito Akplogan Guin, voodoo's supreme leader in Porto-Novo, pictured above Many of them belong to local families, who built their homes there and established temples and housed their divinities as protection. But many of them fell into sad disrepair, becoming a symbol itself of voodoo's marginalisation. Many blamed squabbles within families about sharing out the cost of renovation. 'They are the identity of our town. They create links between people, they are where important ceremonies take place,' said Bassale, whose organisation is refurbishing the squares. 'If they disappeared, part of the town's history would go with them.' Voodoo's comeback has lured tourists to Porto-Novo, providing work for tourist guide Messie Boko Restoring each square costs the equivalent of around $66,000 (50,000/60,000 euros). The funding comes from Cergy-Pontoise, a town in the greater Paris region that has twinning links. Porto-Novo's authorities are paying for solar-powered lighting for the squares and for cleaning them, but not for maintaining the voodoo shrines there, which are considered to be private areas. Sacred tree King Te Houeyi Migan XIV, the descendant of a long line of local chiefs, is delighted at the rebirth of the squares. French colonisers used a forest that was sacred to his forebears to build Porto-Novo's cathedral and governor's palace. The chief, clad in a magnificent purple gown, pointed to an ancient kapok tree towering over one of three renovated squares near the old palace. King Te Houeyi Migan XIV, the descendant of a long line of local chiefs, is delighted at the rebirth of the squares 'It is a sacred tree. Spirits live there,' said the king. 'Every five years, we hold a great party and make sacrifices there.' Paul Nouatin, treasurer of an association that maintains two of the squares, said there had been an upturn in interest in voodoo - around 20 young people had been initiated into the religion in December alone, he said. Mito Akplogan Guin, the supreme head of voodoo in Porto-Novo, said he was optimistic: 'Catholics, Protestants, Muslims... all their ancestors (in Benin) were followers of voodoo. Our religion can't disappear in a flash.' The Conversation The catastrophic bushfires raging across much of Australia have not only taken a huge human and economic toll, but also delivered heavy blows to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Already, scientists are warning of catastrophic extinctions of animals and plants. Humans have seldom if ever seen fires like these, but we do know that wildfires have driven mass extinctions and reshaped life on Earth at least once before when the asteroid strike that led to the demise of the dinosaurs sparked deadly global firestorms. Australian biodiversity Australia is one of only 17 megadiverse countries. Much of our species richness is concentrated in areas torched by the current bushfires. While some mammals and birds face elevated extinction risk, things will be even worse for small, less mobile invertebrates (which make up the bulk of animal biodiversity). For example, the Gondwana Rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland have been badly affected by the fires. These World Heritage-listed forests are home to a rich diversity of insects and a huge range of land snails, some restricted to tiny patches. The bushfires have been rightly described as unprecedented, and extinctions can play out over an extended period. The full gravity of the impending catastrophe is not yet clear. Fire has driven extinctions before There have been greater burnings in the deep past, as we can see from the fossil record. They provide strong and disturbing evidence of how fire drove widespread extinctions that completely reshaped life on Earth. Around 66 million years ago, a mass die-off called the CretaceousPaleogene extinction event famously put an end to the reign of dinosaurs (sparing only birds). This event erased 75% of the planets species. Scientists agree these extinctions were primarily caused by an asteroid about 10 kilometres wide crashing into present-day Mexico, blasting a huge crater the size of Tasmania. A nuclear winter followed the impact, as fine particles thrown up into the atmosphere blocked sunlight for years. The extended frozen darkness killed ecosystems from plants and phytoplankton upwards. Recent research shows that global wildfires were likely also an important driver of extinctions, at least for life on land. The asteroid blasted flaming debris across the atmosphere. Massive deposits of soot found in the fossil record at this precise time suggest most of the Earths forests went up in smoke, though these cataclysmic calculations remain controversial. Only animals that could escape fire survived The fossil record of land-dwelling animals especially reptiles, birds and mammals attests to the deadly efficiency of what has been dubbed the dinosaur firestorm. The nature of the victims and survivors is very relevant to current events. The land animals that made it through the extinction all lived in ways that could confer resilience to heat and fire, such as living partly in water, being able to burrow or hide in deep crevices, or being able to escape rapidly by flight. Among reptiles, crocodilians and freshwater tortoises (both amphibious) sailed through. Worm-lizards and burrowing snakes survived, but surface-dwelling lizards and snakes were hard hit. Among mammals, platypus-like monotremes (aquatic and burrowing) clung on, as did tiny rodent-like placental mammals (able to burrow, or hide in deep crevices), but all large placental mammals died. And while at least some birds survived, all their large, earth-bound, dinosaurian relatives perished. In fact, it appears that every land-dwelling animal species larger than a domestic cat was ultimately doomed, unless it could swim, burrow or fly. Even these abilities did not guarantee survival: they merely gave creatures a slightly better chance. For instance, pterosaurs could fly well, but still went extinct, along with most bird species. Recent research suggests perching birds - which need forests to live in - were essentially eliminated when most of the worlds trees disappeared. The sole avian survivors were ground-foragers similar to chickens and rails, and it took millions of years for new perching birds (modern songbirds) to re-evolve. By exterminating many species, and doing so highly selectively, the global wildfires (alongside other effects of the asteroid impact) totally restructured Earths biosphere. What about the current fires? The recent rampant bushfires are regional rather than global (e.g. Australia, the Amazon, Canada, California, Siberia), and are burning less land cover than the worst-case dinosaur firestorm scenario. Yet their long-term extinction effects could also be severe, because our planet has already lost half its forest cover due to humans. These fires are hitting shrunken biodiversity refuges that are simultaneously threatened by an anthropogenic cocktail of pollution, invasive feral species, and climate change. The ancient catastrophe provides strong evidence, written in stone, that firestorms can contribute to extensive extinctions, even among large vertebrates with large distributions and high mobility. It also shows certain types of organisms will bear the brunt of the impact. Entire guilds of similar species could vanish, severely impacting ecosystem function. It took millions of years of regeneration and evolution for our planets biosphere to recover from the nuclear winter and wildfires of the asteroid impact. When a new world order eventually emerged, it was radically different: the age of dinosaurs gave way to the age of mammals and birds. Mike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. TEL AVIV The ritual Friday-night scramble for a parking space was well underway, but for once, Rob and Netta Geist Pinfold watched it unfold with a smile. It was late on the Sabbath eve in central Tel Aviv, and swarms of residents who had driven to dinner were cruising for the most precious real estate in the cram-packed capital of secular Israel: a legal spot on the street. The Geist Pinfolds had let their car gather dust for the night. Theyd ridden to Ramat Aviv and back in a minibus. And it hadnt cost them a shekel. Nor were they alone. Some 10,000 Israelis have been riding for free on Friday nights and Saturdays since a new Sabbath-only transit network was rushed into service in November by Tel Aviv and three neighboring municipalities. ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With severe weather expected to impact Georgia over the weekend, Georgia Power is advising customers to prepare for the potential of wind, rain and possible tornadoes. The company is monitoring the changing weather conditions and is ready to respond to any service interruptions as quickly and safely as possible. Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first during severe weather and offers the following storm tips: Before a Storm: Stay aware and check the weather forecast before heading outdoors. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power. Stay aware and check the weather forecast before heading outdoors. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power. During a Storm: Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity - appliances, metal objects and water. Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity - appliances, metal objects and water. After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off of power lines yourself or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Customers should call 911 or Georgia Power immediately if they see a fallen or low-hanging power line. Tools You Can Use to Prepare for Severe Weather Year-round Outage Alerts Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message. Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message. Outage & Storm Center Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938. Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938. Outage Map Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power's interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times. Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power's interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times. Georgia Power Mobile App Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go. Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go. @GeorgiaPower on Twitter Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more. For additional video tips on preparing for severe weather, visit GeorgiaPower.com/storm. The site features information on a variety of severe weather topics including Watches vs. Warnings, Staying Connected, Electrical Safety and more. About Georgia Power Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.6 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power). SOURCE Georgia Power Related Links http://www.georgiapower.com By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: The high-level Land Allotment Committee on Thursday recommended 98 investment proposals to the State Government.The committee, headed by Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, reviewed the land requirement of these units mostly in MSME sector at a meeting in the Secretariat. He asked the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) to exercise due diligence of actual land requirement of the project proponents for their units. "These units are in different sectors like food processing, manufacturing, logistic park and renewable energy. Most of the units are MSMEs having enormous potential for employment generation. They will also boost economic activities at the ground level," said Chairman and Managing Director of IDCO Sanjay Singh after the meeting. Singh said the proposals by district and State-level single window clearance authorities for land allotment in Bhubaneswar Master Plan area include Gothpatana, Infocity, Infovalley, Seafood Park and industrial estates at Khurda, Kholadwar, Jayamangal, Chhatabar, Anlapatna, Bhagbanpur and Mancheswar. Some of the projects include logistics parks proposed by LL Logistics Pvt Ltd and Chalah Infratech Pvt Ltd. Chhattisgarh-based LL Logistics Pvt Ltd has proposed to set up a logistics park at Indranipatna near Choudwar in Cuttack district at an investment of Rs 102 crore and employ 460 people. The company has also proposed to set up warehouse, container facilities and cold storage in 70 acres. Chalah Infratech Pvt Ltd, an entrepreneur of the State, has proposed to set up a Logistics Park in Khurda district entailing an investment of Rs 99.8 crore. The project will create job opportunity for 234 persons. In the food processing sector, Explore Food Pvt Ltd proposed to set up Ready to Eat snacks manufacturing unit in Khurdha district at an investment of `51.4 crore which will provide employment to 194 persons. The land requirement proposal of Thailand-based Intecqc Feed Co Ltd for setting up a shrimp feed manufacturing unit in Khurda district at an investment of Rs 107.88 crore and employment potential of 205 people was also discussed. The other projects include GMLR Techno Industries Pvt Ltds plan to invest Rs 61.5 crore in a manufacturing unit for production of Sintex brand of PVC water storage tanks. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone , a leading commercial real estate lending, investment, and advisory company, today announced it has expanded its capabilities into special servicing with the acquisition of Dallas-based C-III Asset Management LLC (C3AM) and its $20.7 billion servicing portfolio. C3AM was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based C-III Capital Partners LLC. The new special servicing group at Greystone will be led by Paul Smyth, who joined Greystone earlier this year, and has previously served as President of C3AM in a prior role before taking the Global Chief Credit Officer, CRE position at Credit Suisse in New York for several years. Mr. Smyth will leverage three decades of industry expertise to grow special servicing as part of Greystones wide range of existing commercial real estate finance solutions. Adding special servicing to our already vast commercial real estate finance expertise is very exciting, said Stephen Rosenberg, CEO and founder of Greystone. The C3AM team brings some of the brightest minds and greatest talents in this industry to Greystone, and, under the leadership of Paul, we look forward to working with new clients, lenders, and other participants in the special servicing market. Im thrilled to be reunited with the team that leads the special servicing market and to collaborate together under Greystones industry-leading umbrella, which includes originating loans in excess of nearly $14 billion annually across a variety of platforms, said Mr. Smyth. Now, the addition of a special servicing group will complement Greystones new B-Piece initiative and will also give Greystone the ability to provide our clients with an added customer-focused asset management service. Greystone has been an active commercial lender and servicer for 30 years, currently managing a loan portfolio of nearly $42 billion in multifamily and healthcare mortgages. Led by Sharon Briskman, Greystones loan servicing platform is consistently ranked in the highest category, Strong, by S&P Global Ratings. About Greystone Greystone is a real estate lending, investment, and advisory company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare finance, having ranked as a top FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac lender in these sectors. Our range of services includes commercial lending across a variety of platforms such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CMBS, FHA, USDA, bridge and proprietary loan products. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greyco.com . The Real Housewives of Atlanta cast are in the middle playing a game of Clue. This season, there are two major mysteries the women are trying to figure out. One involves who recorded supermodel Cynthia Bailey allegedly trash-talking her longtime frenemy, Nene Leakes. The other surrounds Leakes heartfelt note to Bailey celebrating the opening of her new business being leaked to the press. NeNe Leakes 2019 | Paras Griffin/Getty Images Leakes has denied that she leaked the note but her castmates, namely Kenya Moore, are not convinced. Blogger Love B. Scott recently addressed the issue on a podcast and confirmed that the note was sent from Leakes camp after the housewife shaded the site on air. Kenya Moore accuses Nene Leakes of leaking letter for Cynthia Bailey to Love B. Scott At the opening of her Bailey Wine Cellar and event space, Bailey was surprised when Marlo Hampton gave her a gift and handwritten note from Leakes in honor of her new business. The note touched Bailey so much that it brought her to tears. NeNe Leakes and Cynthia Bailey 2013 | Prince Williams/FilmMagic The next day, the contents of the gift and note from Leakes was reported exclusively on Love B. Scott. According to the site, the note read: Never in my wildest dreams did i ever imagine that we would be in this place. Ive always been a supportive friend towards you and this time wont be any different. Im proud of you and cheering for you from afar! I hope you continue to have the courage to run after your dreams! Congratulations on the opening of your new business. Im sure it will be a success. NeNe Leakes, Cynthia Bailey | Wilford Harewood/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images When Bailey discovered that Scott posted the note on the site, she questioned Leakes intentions. In a scene on RHOA, she spoke with Moore and Kandi Buruss about feeling the letter was no longer genuine. Moore accused Leakes of being friends with Scott and leaking the note to the site as damage control for her past behavior towards Bailey. Nene Leakes denies leaking letter to Cynthia Bailey to Love B. Scott Moore wasnt the only one who found the timing of Scotts post questionable. Buruss also had her suspicions. She confronted Leakes while on a cast trip to Toronto. Leakes denied any involvement in the post. Cynthia Bailey and Nene Leakes | Wilford/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images My last name might be Leakes, but b**ch Im not leaking, she exclaimed. A lot of these girls sell stories all the time but they can tell you one thing they do is dont talk to Nene Leakes. She also claimed that shes not a fan of Scotts. Leakes took things a step further when she then accused Moore of being the culprit. She claimed that Moore stole the letter, leaked it to the press and then returned it to Bailey. Kenya is known for leaking things to the blogs, Leakes stated in her confessional. Shes calculated, shes a dirty a** girl. Whatever her intentions was for it, it didnt work. Source: YouTube Love B. Scott slams Nene Leakes and accuses her of lying Scott did not take well to Leakes denying she leaked the letter intended for Bailey to the blogs. More specifically, Scott was pissed with Leakes for claiming she in no way has a friendship with the popular blogger. Scott spoke about the episode on a recent podcast and not only revealed that Leakes camp sent the blog the letter, but also that Leakes is a longtime friend. Scott first blasted Leakes for claiming she doesnt speak to bloggers, saying, She [Leakes] goes on to make it seem. She does talk to bloggers but she oftentimes talks to bloggers without my reach and she talks to bloggers that dont have any other exclusive information ever other than the lies that she tells her. Scott corroborated Moores claim that theres a longstanding friendship with Leakes after Moore claimed she spent time in Miami with both Scott and Leakes. I hung out w/@lovebscott in Miami w/@NeNeLeakes There r MANY receipts they r friends. The cameras are on us 100% of the time. I saw that card once. Why would I try to make her look good? Her people sent it in and clearly wrote it too bc Nene is an illiterate liar #RHOA KENYA MOORE (@KenyaMoore) January 6, 2020 Source: Twitter Scott detailed that the two have been friends for over a decade and have spent time together in various cities. Scott accused Leakes of lying and says there are text messages to prove their relationship. I have known NeNe for over 10 years, she was one of my first guests on my Youtube channel, said Scott. I have yeaaaars of text messages, yearsMe and NeNe, I felt as though we were still friends because only a friend would hold certain information that Im holding right now, that I was asked not to put outWe have chilled many times in Atlanta, L.A., Miami and we even chilled with Kenya in Miami. B. Scott 2015 | Leon Bennett/WireImage Scott then explained that Leakes was responsible for leaking the letter in question. Scott claims that the letter came directly from someone in the reality stars camp and was sent in as an offering. You know who leaked the note? Someone from NeNes team. If they want to press me, I will publish those receipts, said Scott. It came from that team. Like Kenya said, why would she leak something positive about NeNe? Leakes has yet to respond to Scotts account. Update for 6 p.m. EST: The first lunar eclipse of 2020 has ended. You can see our full wrap story here, complete with stunning photos by Space.com readers here! The first full moon of the year rises today (Jan. 10) bringing with it the first lunar eclipse of 2020 and you can watch the event live online. As eclipses of the moon go, today's Wolf Moon lunar eclipse will be a relatively minor one. The moon will pass behind the Earth, with respect to the sun, dipping through the outermost edge of our planet's shadow in what scientists call a penumbral lunar eclipse. The eclipse will be visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere, with countries in Europe, Africa and much of Asia in prime viewing position. It will begin at 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 GMT), peak at 2:10 p.m. EST (1910 GMT) and end at 4:12 p.m. EST (2112 GMT). If you don't live in the visibility area, there are several webcasts available from the Slooh online observatory, Virtual Telescope Project and night sky site CosmoSapiens for you to choose from. You'll be able to watch some webcasts live on Space.com here. Here's a guide to those Wolf Moon lunar eclipse webcast. Related: Lunar Eclipse 2020 Guide: When, Where & How to See Them More: How Lunar Eclipses Work (Infographic) Slooh webcast The stand-out eclipse webcast to watch will be from the Slooh online observatory, which will offer live views of the eclipse from its remotely operated observatories and partners from 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT) to 4:15 p.m. EST (2115 GMT). Slooh has a network of telescopes around the world, so cloudy weather at one site will not affect the webcast. You can watch the webcast live on Space.com here, and directly from Slooh here. The webcast will cover the main portion of the eclipse and be hosted by Slooh chief astronomical officer Paul Cox. According to Slooh, "our team of experts will discuss what makes this type of lunar eclipse the most subtle of all eclipses - difficult to see with naked eyes, but visible using Slooh's telescopes as we watch the moon darken slightly as it passes into Earth's outer penumbral shadow." Viewers can also share views of the eclipse with friends online using Slooh's StarShare camera, the observatory said. Slooh offers its members access to a fleet of remotely operated telescopes around the world to capture stunning views of the night sky and deep-space objects. 2020 marks the observatory's 17th anniversary. Virtual Telescope Project Astrophyscisist Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy will host a live Wolf Moon lunar eclipse webcast from 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT). You can watch it directly from the Virtual Telescope Project here. Masi will show views of the penumbral lunar eclipse from Rome, weather permitting. "We will share with you live, online, the beauty of this natural event," Masi wrote in an announcement. "Our live feed will show the eclipsed moon above the epic skyline of Rome, the Eternal City." CosmoSapiens The night sky webcast site CosmoSapiens will offer a live view of the Wolf Moon lunar eclipse beginning at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT). While CosmoSapiens will be webcasting the event on YouTube, the site does not state the location of its viewing cameras. The website TimeandDate.com regularly hosts live video streams of the sky events from around the world. While the site has not listed a specific webcast for the Wolf Moon lunar eclipse, it may be worth visiting the TimeandDate.com live video stream page here just in case during the eclipse hours of 12 p.m. EST and 4:15 p.m. EST (1700 and 2115 GMT). TimeandDate.com also has a series of eclipse animations and maps available here for the event. A visibility map for the penumbral lunar eclipse of Jan. 10, 2020. (Image credit: Fred Espenak/NASA) Here's a list of key times for tonight's Wolf Moon lunar eclipse as explained by Space.com columnist Joe Rao in his guide. Key Times: January 2020 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Eclipse begins 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 GMT) Mid-eclipse 2:10 p.m. EST (1910 GMT) Eclipse ends 4:12 p.m. EST (2112 GMT) We'll see three more penumbral lunar eclipses in 2020, on June 5, July 5 and Nov. 30. Editor's note: If you capture an amazing photo of the lunar eclipse and would like to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send images and comments to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram. Thousands of anti-vaccination protesters massed outside the Statehouse in Trenton on Thursday to protest the proposed bill that would remove religious exemptions for vaccinating children. The freezing temperatures did not deter them. Inside, the Senate held an emergency vote to amend the measure to give private schools and child care centers the freedom to accept kids who arent vaccinated, provided they make public the number of kids without their shots. Making sure their voices were heard, literally, many of the protestors used megaphones as they chanted Kill the Bill! and other messages. The chants could be heard inside the Statehouse Annex building. The Senate and Assembly are scheduled to vote on the bill Monday. - Photos by Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Don't Edit Don't Edit Maureen White, left, with her daughter, Victoria Curl, holding her 3-month-old son Monroe Curl-Bey, join thousands of anti-vaccination protesters outside the Statehouse in Trenton. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Dr. Sherri Tenpenny waits to address the crowd. Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Don't Edit Patti Sapone may be reached at psapone@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @psapone. Find NJ.com on Facebook. See more of our ongoing coverage of the American Dream mall here. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com's newsletters. Don't Edit WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA welcomed 11 new astronauts to its ranks Friday, increasing the number of those eligible for spaceflight assignments that will expand humanity's horizons in space for generations to come. The new astronauts successfully completed more than two years of required basic training and are the first to graduate since the agency announced its Artemis program. The new graduates may be assigned to missions destined for the International Space Station, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars. With a goal of sustainable lunar exploration later this decade, NASA will send the first woman and next man to the surface on the Moon by 2024. Additional lunar missions are planned once a year thereafter and human exploration of Mars is targeted for the mid-2030s. "These individuals represent the best of America, and what an incredible time for them to join our astronaut corps," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston where the graduation ceremony took place. "2020 will mark the return of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, and will be an important year of progress for our Artemis program and missions to the Moon and beyond." During Friday's ceremony, each new astronaut received a silver pin, a tradition dating back to the Mercury 7 astronauts, who were selected in 1959. They will receive a gold pin once they complete their first spaceflights. This was the first public graduation ceremony for astronauts the agency has ever hosted, and Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas were among the speakers at the event. "For generations, the United States has been the world leader in space exploration, and Johnson Space Center will always be both the heart and home of human spaceflight activity," said Cornyn. "I have no doubt the newly minted astronauts will add to that history and accomplish incredible things." Selected for training in 2017, the NASA astronaut candidates were chosen from a record-setting pool of more than 18,000 applicants. "I congratulate these exceptional men and women on being the first graduating class of the Artemis program," Cruz said. "They are the pioneers of the final frontier whose work will help fortify America's leadership in space for generations to come. I am excited for the opportunities ahead of them, including landing the first woman ever on the surface of the Moon, and having the first boots to step on Mars." Including the current class, NASA now has 49 active astronauts in its corps. NASA is also considering plans to open the application process this spring for the next class of astronaut candidates. Training alongside the NASA astronaut candidates for the past two years were two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts who also participated in the graduation ceremony. NASA's newest astronauts are: Kayla Barron , a U.S. Navy lieutenant, originally is from Richland, Washington . She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor's degree in systems engineering. A Gates Cambridge Scholar, Barron earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom . As a submarine warfare officer, Barron served aboard the USS Maine (SSBN 741), completing three strategic deterrent patrols. She came to NASA from the U.S. Naval Academy , where she was serving as the flag aide to the superintendent. , a U.S. lieutenant, originally is from . She graduated from the with a bachelor's degree in systems engineering. A Gates Cambridge Scholar, Barron earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the in the . As a submarine warfare officer, Barron served aboard the USS Maine (SSBN 741), completing three strategic deterrent patrols. She came to NASA from the , where she was serving as the flag aide to the superintendent. Zena Cardman calls Williamsburg, Virginia , home. She completed a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in marine sciences at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill . Cardman was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, working at The Pennsylvania State University . Her research focused on microorganisms in subsurface environments, ranging from caves to deep sea sediments. Her field experience includes multiple Antarctic expeditions, work aboard research vessels as both a scientist and crew member, and NASA analog missions in British Columbia , Idaho and Hawaii . calls , home. She completed a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in marine sciences at The . Cardman was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, working at The . Her research focused on microorganisms in subsurface environments, ranging from caves to deep sea sediments. Her field experience includes multiple Antarctic expeditions, work aboard research vessels as both a scientist and crew member, and NASA analog missions in , and . Raja Chari , a U.S. Air Force colonel, hails from Cedar Falls, Iowa . He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with bachelor's degrees in astronautical engineering and engineering science. He continued on to earn a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland . Chari served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California . , a U.S. Air Force colonel, hails from . He graduated from the with bachelor's degrees in astronautical engineering and engineering science. He continued on to earn a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from ( ) and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in . Chari served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in . Matthew Dominick , a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander, was born and grew up in Wheat Ridge, Colorado . He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of San Diego and a master's degree in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California . He also graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Dominick served on the USS Ronald Reagan as department head for Strike Fighter Squadron 115. , a U.S. lieutenant commander, was born and grew up in . He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the and a master's degree in systems engineering from the in . He also graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Dominick served on the USS Ronald Reagan as department head for Strike Fighter Squadron 115. Bob Hines , a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, attended high school in Mountaintop, Pennsylvania , but considers Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , his hometown. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Boston University and a master's degree in flight test engineering from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB. Hines served as a developmental test pilot on all models of the F-15 while earning a master's in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama . He has deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Prior to being selected as an astronaut, he was a Federal Aviation Administration flight test pilot and a NASA research pilot at Johnson . , a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, attended high school in , but considers , his hometown. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from and a master's degree in flight test engineering from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB. Hines served as a developmental test pilot on all models of the F-15 while earning a master's in aerospace engineering from the . He has deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Prior to being selected as an astronaut, he was a Federal Aviation Administration flight test pilot and a NASA research pilot at . Warren Hoburg originally is from Pittsburgh . He earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT , and a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley . He is a commercial pilot, and spent several seasons serving on the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit and Yosemite Search and Rescue. Hoburg came to NASA from MIT , where he led a research group as an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics. originally is from . He earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from , and a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from the . He is a commercial pilot, and spent several seasons serving on the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit and Yosemite Search and Rescue. Hoburg came to NASA from , where he led a research group as an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics. Dr. Jonny Kim , a U.S. Navy lieutenant, was born and grew up in Los Angeles . He enlisted in the U.S. Navy , then trained and operated as a Navy SEAL, completing more than 100 combat operations and earning a Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat V. Afterward, he went on to complete a degree in mathematics at the University of San Diego and a doctorate of medicine at Harvard Medical School . Kim was a resident physician in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston . , a U.S. lieutenant, was born and grew up in . He enlisted in the U.S. , then trained and operated as a Navy SEAL, completing more than 100 combat operations and earning a Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat V. Afterward, he went on to complete a degree in mathematics at the and a doctorate of medicine at . Kim was a resident physician in emergency medicine at General Hospital in . Jasmin Moghbeli , a U.S. Marine Corps major, considers Baldwin, New York , her hometown. She earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering with information technology at MIT and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School . She also is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Moghbeli came to NASA from Yuma, Arizona , where she tested H-1 helicopters and served as the quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1. , a U.S. Marine Corps major, considers , her hometown. She earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering with information technology at and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the . She also is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Moghbeli came to NASA from , where she tested H-1 helicopters and served as the quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1. Loral O'Hara was born in Houston . She earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kansas and a master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University . Prior to joining NASA, O'Hara was a Research Engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts , where she worked on the engineering, test, and operations of deep-ocean research submersibles and robots. was born in . She earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering at the and a master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from . Prior to joining NASA, O'Hara was a Research Engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in , where she worked on the engineering, test, and operations of deep-ocean research submersibles and robots. Dr. Francisco "Frank" Rubio , a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, originally is from Miami . He earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York , and a doctorate of medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland . Rubio has accumulated more than 1,100 hours as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot, including 600 hours of combat and imminent danger time. He was serving as a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the Army's 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado , before coming to NASA. , a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, originally is from . He earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at the , and a doctorate of medicine from in . has accumulated more than 1,100 hours as a helicopter pilot, including 600 hours of combat and imminent danger time. He was serving as a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the Army's 10th Special Forces Group at , before coming to NASA. Jessica Watkins hails from Lafayette, Colorado . She graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California , with a bachelor's degree in geological and environmental sciences, then went on to earn a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles . Watkins has worked at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California , and Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California , and was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology , where she collaborated on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. CSA's astronaut candidates are: Joshua Kutryk , a Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant colonel, is from Beauvallon, Alberta . He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, as well as master's degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies. Prior to joining CSA, Kutryk worked as an experimental test pilot and a fighter pilot in Cold Lake, Alberta , where he led the unit responsible for the operational flight-testing of fighter aircraft in Canada . a Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant colonel, is from Beauvallon, . He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, as well as master's degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies. Prior to joining CSA, Kutryk worked as an experimental test pilot and a fighter pilot in , where he led the unit responsible for the operational flight-testing of fighter aircraft in . Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons hails from Calgary, Alberta . She holds an honors bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University in Montreal and a doctorate in engineering from the University of Cambridge . While at McGill , she conducted research on flame propagation in microgravity, in collaboration with CSA and the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory. Prior to joining CSA, Sidey-Gibbons worked as an assistant professor in combustion in the Department of Engineering at Cambridge . Astronaut candidate training for the new graduates included instruction, practice, and testing in spacewalking, robotics, International Space Station systems, T-38 jet proficiency, and Russian language. As astronauts, they will help develop spacecraft, support the teams currently in space and ultimately join the ranks of only about 500 people who have had the honor of going into space. NASA continues its work aboard the space station, which, in November, will celebrate 20 consecutive years of human occupation. The agency also is on the verge of launching astronauts again from American soil aboard American commercial spacecraft, and is preparing to send humans to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. Find additional photos of the astronaut candidates and their training here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums/72157698260056092 Find video of their training here: https://archive.org/details/Astronaut-Candidate-Training-B-Roll SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov NEW DELHI: Three professors of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have approached the Delhi High Court and filed a petition seeking to preserve CCTV footage and other WhatsApp evidence related to January 5 violence inside the varsity. The development comes after the Delhi Police received three more complaints related to the JNU campus violence, taking the total number of complaints to 14. "Three more complaints received related to the JNU violence, now total complaints received are 14," Delhi Police sources said. It may be recalled that the police has appealed to people to come and dispose of the video of the JNU violence. In response to it, around 12 people have contacted police and recorded their statements. The sources said that the Crime Branch will also record the statement of those injured during JNU violence. The Crime Branch has taken the entry register as CCTV footage was not available because of the damaged server at the university, the sources added. On the other hand, JNU Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar on Friday reiterated that the situation in the varsity is normal and will continue to conduct academic activities. "The situation at the university is peaceful and normal. The university will continue to function and conduct academic activities. We would like to help every student to continue their academic goals," Kumar told the reporters. Live TV Kumar said this after meeting the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Secretary Amit Khare on Friday. On Thursday, Khare met with a delegation of JNU comprising members of the students` union (JNUSU) led by president Aishe Ghosh and teachers association (JNUTA) led by Prof D K Lobiyal and faculty members. On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods. By Rasana Gasimova Indonesia's Yogyakarta Special Region and East Java are interested in establishing interregional cooperation with Azerbaijani cities, the heads of the two regions said at the meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador to Indonesia Jalal Mirzayev on January 8. Mirzayev first met with Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region Hamengkubuwono X. He gave information about Azerbaijans ancient history and rich culture, its economic development and the ongoing reforms. Mirzayev also touched upon the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan. The parties exchanged views on issues of mutual investment, cooperation in the tourism sector, expansion of educational relations, and establishment of relations between the regions of Azerbaijan and Indonesia. Speaking about the prospects of bilateral cooperation, Hamengkubuwono X said that Yogyakarta Special Region specializes in education and tourism and is ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan in these areas. He also stressed the importance of interregional relations and welcomed the idea of establishing fraternal relations regions and cities of the two countries. Ambassador Jalal Mirzayev met with Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Governor of Indonesia's East Java province. The parties discussed cooperation in tourism, mutual investment, education and other areas, establishment of contacts between the regions of the two countries, as well as the possibility of holding joint cultural events, business forums, tourism exhibitions and conferences. Paravansa gave detailed information on the rapid economic development of the province, its favourable strategic position and export potential. She stressed that economic and cultural cooperation could be established between Azerbaijani regions and East Java, noting that the province is one of Indonesia's most favourable regions for investment. She noted that it is important to work towards attracting the local population interested in religious tourism to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani-Indonesian relations were officially established in 1992. Both countries are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement. The trade between Azerbaijan and Indonesia is mostly related to the energy sector, as Azerbaijan emerged as the second biggest supplier of crude oil to Indonesia in 2011 after Saudi Arabia. In March, 2016, Azerbaijan and Indonesia drafted a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further deepen cooperation in the energy and mineral resources sectors. Moreover, the Indonesian government encouraged the countrys state oil and gas company Pertamina to invest in Azerbaijans oil and gas projects. In the past five years, the trade between Azerbaijan and Indonesia amounted to more than $7 billion. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Representative image The Trump administration's point person for South and Central Asia, Alice G Wells, will visit India next week for a series of bilateral meetings and the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi, officials here said. Wells will travel to India, from January 15-18, to attend the Raisina Dialogue, the State Department said and added that she will be in Islamabad from January 19-22. Before coming to India, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs will be in Sri Lanka capital Colombo from January 13 to January 14. Wells will meet with senior government officials to advance the US-India strategic global partnership following the success of the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue last month, the department said. During the meetings she will discuss topics of mutual interest with members of the business community and civil society, it said. From New Delhi, Wells will fly to Islamabad. During her trip from January 19-22, she will meet with senior Pakistan government officials and members of civil society to discuss issues of bilateral and regional concern, the department said. Wells is scheduled to start her South Asia trip from Sri Lanka. She will be in Colombo January 13-14. During her meetings she would meet with senior government officials and members of civil society to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues, including shared interests in a free and open Indo-Pacific region that fosters prosperity, democracy, justice, and human rights, the department said. At least 13 people including a prayer leader and a police officer were killed in a powerful bomb blast at a mosque in Balochistans capital Quetta on Friday, just three days after a similar incident killed two persons in the city, according to media reports. Several people have been injured in the incident which took place at the mosque in Quettas Satellite Town, The Express Tribune reported. An emergency has been declared at all hospitals in the area. The nature of the blast was being analysed, the report added. The blast occurred three days after two men were killed and over a dozen injured in a blast near a vehicle of the security forces in Quetta. Seventy-six top researchers will receive ERC Proof of Concept grants of 150,000 each. This top-up funding is awarded to ERC grantees to explore the innovation potential of their scientific discoveries and bring the results of their frontier research closer to market. This final injection of 11.4 million pushes the total number of ERC Proof of Concept funded projects for 2019 to 200. With the additional money researchers can, for example, investigate business opportunities, establish intellectual property rights or conduct technical validation for their frontier research findings. The recipients of these most recent grants will carry out a wide range of projects. One project based in Italy will develop a safer, tolerable and cheaper treatment alternative for patients with autoimmune conditions such as arthritis. In the UK, a researcher will establish a method to measure if autistic children are getting the intended benefits from the educational programs that are designed to help them. In Ireland a scientist will work to increase the accuracy and lower the cost of optical sensors commonly used in manufacturing, healthcare and the evaluation of water and air quality. This completes the third and final round of the 2019 ERC Proof of Concept grant competition. The overall budget of the 2019 competition was 30 million. Overall last year 498 proposals were evaluated, with an average success rate of 40%. Two hundred grants were awarded to researchers working in 22 countries: Austria 2, Belgium 8, Switzerland 13, Czechia 1, Germany 15, Denmark 3, Greece 2, Spain 16, Finland 8, France 18, Hungary 2, Ireland 6, Israel 10, Italy 20, Luxembourg 1, Netherlands 24, Portugal 4, Romania 2, Sweden 1, Slovenia 1, Turkey 1, UK 34. Previous ERC Proof of Concept Grants 2019 - results: round one, round two. Proof of Concept Grants Proof of Concept (PoC) grants, worth 150,000 each, aim to help researchers who are currently conducting or have recently conducted ERC funded research, to explore the commercial or societal potential of their ERC funded work. The grants can be used in various ways, for example to explore business opportunities, prepare patent applications or verify the practical viability of scientific concepts. Since the scheme started in 2011, over 1000 projects have received Proof of Concept funding. To further facilitate the transfer of knowledge gained from ERC funded research to the wider world in 2019 the ERC launched a "Virtual Venture Fair". It aims to help generate connections between ERC PoC funded scientists and specialised investors who can locate necessary finance and support. ### ERC grantees can apply for funding in one of the three rounds of the yearly call: the deadlines for 2020 are 21 January, 23 April and 17 September. For full information on applying for a PoC visit: https://erc.europa.eu/funding/proof-concept. European Research Council The European Research Council, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premiere European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. Every year, it selects and funds the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based in Europe. It offers four core grant schemes: Starting, Consolidator, Advanced and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between grantees' pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. To date, the ERC has funded more than 9,000 top researchers at various stages of their careers, and over 50,000 postdocs, PhD students and other staff working in their research teams. The ERC strives to attract top researchers from anywhere in the world to come to Europe. Key global research funding bodies, in the United States, China, Japan, Brazil and other countries, have concluded special agreements to provide their researchers with opportunities to temporarily join ERC grantees' teams. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since 1 January 2020 the new ERC President is Professor Mauro Ferrari. The overall ERC budget from 2014 to 2020 is more than 13 billion, as part of the Horizon 2020 programme, for which the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel is responsible. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 06:15:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 8, 2020 shows the world's first 5G personal computer launched by Lenovo during the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the United States. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) "Chinese consumers are fully adapted to online shopping and China's AI-driven personalization is far ahead of what we see in the West," said an expert at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. by Julia Pierrepont III LAS VEGAS, the United States, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- "Influence and sophistication of online shopping and other digital e-commerce technology has shifted from the West to the East, with China, South Korea and Japan taking the lead," revealed Daniel Weisblum, senior intelligence manager for Coresight Research at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 Wednesday. Coresight Research is a New York-based research and advisory firm that provides future-focused analysis and consulting to organizations navigating the intersection of retail, technology and fashion. "Chinese consumers are fully adapted to online shopping and China's AI-driven personalization is far ahead of what we see in the West," he told Xinhua after a keynote at a special session on e-commerce's future on Wednesday. Weisblum pointed out several key reasons for this shift during his CES presentation. Firstly, unlike the West, as a mobile first nation, at the time mobile capabilities came along in the 1990's, China still lacked the extensive legacy wireline broadband infrastructure that the West had had for decades, and they also had a relatively low PC adoption rate, he said. This allowed Chinese to leapfrog over legacy tech to the rapid adoption of mobile and smart phones. Meanwhile, China's underdeveloped brick and mortar retail industry in the 1990s and 2000s also allowed for the preferential adoption of online shopping, which paved the way for the rapid growth of e-commerce and the rise of online retail giants like Alibaba, he said. China had a cash-based payment system with low credit card penetration, so there were few barriers to the adoption of mobile payments, according to Weisblum. This has allowed for the rapid development of a robust Chinese internet and super-apps like WeChat, which exceeds the functionality of American apps and provided more interactive opportunity for retailers to customers. "Think of all the apps we use on a daily basis, like Apple Pay, YouTube, Uber, Instant messaging, etc., WeChat has the ability to do all that and more within one app," Wisebaum explained to hundreds of audience members, WeChat functionality includes text messaging, document exchange, mobile payments, photo-sharing, video-sharing, social media, language translation, and is linked to food delivery services, rideshare services. "It is the app of choice for virtually all Chinese and enjoys 1.2 billion active users monthly worldwide," he said, as his words made many audience members' eyebrows rise. Weisblum also noted that U.S. retailers' pain points were customer personalization, customer profiling and analytics, all areas in which China excels. Sharing the vast amounts of user data generated and captured in China resulted in much more user feedback, faster product iterations and the rapid development of a far more personalized user experience. He contended that U.S. retailers can learn a lot from China's robust integration of AI and analytics into their retail industry, driving local e-commerce industry, enhancing customer engagement, and improving the personalization of the customer experience. "China is emerging in a leadership position in AI," he told Xinhua. "Having that much personal info on their users can drive the personalization consumer experience." A man poses for photos during the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the United States, Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) He emphasized that WeChat, Taobao, Weibo, Douyin, JD.com's "Boundaryless Retail", and many others are reshaping the online and e-commerce landscape in China and the world in innovative and forward-looking ways. "Look at Alibaba's Freshippo infusing offline retail with technology, so their customers can buy online and pick up in store locally. It gives the customer the ability to have the shopping experience they want," Weisblum affirmed, "JD.com's 'Boundaryless Retail' as omnichannel retailing also merges online and offline." Weisblum also pointed out that China embraces consumer culture in other innovative ways, for instance by recognizing "Shopping Festivals" virtually every month, such as Singles Day on November 11, the largest single shopping event in the world. "The number of opportunities for Chinese retailers to interact with their customers is exponentially higher than it is in the West. That's an untapped opportunity for us," he concluded. Almost two thirds of Britons believe Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's funding from Prince Charles' Duchy of Cornwall should stop, a survey has revealed. The YouGov poll found 63 per cent of the public believe they should stop receiving the income after the couple announced they were stepping back as senior royals and planned to be 'financially independent.' It also reveals almost half (45 per cent) of Britons support the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to 'step back' as senior royals. Prince Charles 1.2billion Duchy of Cornwall estate pays his youngest son around 2.3million-a-year and Harry and Meghan said last night it covers 95 per cent of their office expenditure. Prince Harry and Meghan (pictured) announced they will be 'stepping down' as senior members of the Royal Family and will 'work to become financially independent' The YouGov poll found 63 per cent of the public believe they should stop receiving the income after the couple announced they were stepping back as senior royals The poll also revealed that 45% of Britons supported Harry and Meghan's decision to 'step back' from their royal duties After announcing they planned to leave their role as senior royals, they declared they no longer need any of 82million-a-year Sovereign Grant the money taxpayers allocated by the Queen to fund the royal family - claiming it covers the remaining five per cent. Prince Charles privately owns the Duchy of Cornwall estate - but it is considered a public asset because it has been gifted to the heir to the throne by every British monarch since 1337. Its special royal status also gives Charles an exemption from corporation tax and capital gains tax - but he voluntarily pays around 4.8million in annual income tax. Harry and William share a handout from Prince Charles's (pictured) Duchy of Cornwall estate, which last year came to 4.9million for both princes Harry and Meghan even shared this graphic showing how the royals are funded - but experts have questioned how Harry and Meghan can say for sure they won't use the Sovereign Grant But their plans to ditch the funding from the Sovereign Grant was branded a 'fallacy' by royal commentators because if they kept their royal titles, royal duties, Windsor home and lavish lifestyle they will continue to drain public funds - even if they move to California or Canada. What is the 82m Sovereign Grant - and will Harry and Meghan REALLY stop using it? Harry and Meghan say they will become financially independent from the taxpayer - but critics have claimed that if they remain serving royals this cannot be true. The royal family's work is partly funded from the Queen's personal wealth and the rest from the taxpayer. The total Sovereign Grant for the last financial year was 82.2million. This was made up of a core grant of 49.3million - plus extra 32.9million to help pay for the 10-year 369million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. No one knows how much exactly the 49.3million is worth to Harry and Meghan but it is likely to run into millions. In forfeiting it they claim they will have liberated themselves from most accountability to taxpayers over their spending. But this is not clear cut. The Sovereign Grant is also used to pay for Harry and Meghan's official royal travel, and their website said they 'proudly' carry out official overseas visits in support of the Queen, suggesting they will still continue to do so - and claim those costs. In the last financial year they claimed 130,000 for travel costs, including 80,000 for their trip to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands such as Tonga and Fiji. This public money, known as the Sovereign Grant, was valued at 82.2million this year, and is comprised of profits from the Queen's property portfolio - the Crown Estate - which are paid to the Government. Twenty-five per cent of these profits are paid to the monarchy to fund the upkeep of its property, travel, security and staff. While the Sovereign Grant isn't taxpayer money, it is considered to be public funds, belonging to the state. It will rise to 85million next year. Advertisement In an Instagram post on Wednesday evening, the Sussexes outlined their plans for an independent future, dividing their time between the UK and North America. The research suggests 26 per cent of the public are opposed to the decision, while 30 per cent did not express an opinion. However, only 13 per cent of people think they should stay in receipt of the Duchy of Cornwall money. Despite the surprise announcement on Wednesday - described by royal sources as a 'bolt from the blue' - almost half of people do not think it will have an impact on the wider reputation of the royal family. A total of 49 per cent of people questioned thought the decision would not have an effect, compared with 32 per cent who think it will. The duke and duchess, who have only recently returned from a six-week stay in Canada with eight-month-old son Archie, said in their statement: 'After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. 'We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen.' Meanwhile the Queen was photographed today for the first time since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed they were stepping down as senior royals as crisis talks continue within the Royal Family. Her Majesty was pictured leaving Sandringham in Norfolk in her Land Rover at lunchtime today before driving along local country roads to a shoot in a field, which was attended by guests including her grandson Peter Phillips. The Queen, who spent Christmas at Sandringham with her family and usually stays at the estate until February, is embroiled in a full-blown crisis as senior royals including Princes Charles and William ordered their teams to find a 'workable solution' to Harry and Meghan's future roles. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced through a bombshell Instagram post on Wednesday that they would 'step back' from their senior roles to become financially independent and spend more time together in North America - in a move that has 'simply astonished' aides as the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William called crisis talks to hammer out a deal to keep them in the royal family. Who pays for Meghan and Harry's lifestyle - and how much money do they have? Sovereign Grant No one knows how much the grant is worth to Harry and Meghan because it is not published in the Queen's accounts - but some estimates have placed it at around 2million. The 82million pot also covers travel costs for royal duties are also covered by the grant. On the royal register, which reveals all claims over 15,000, there are three claims by the couple totalling 130,000. The 2.4million refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage was also paid for by this pot. More works are pencilled in Windsor Castle's five-year plan meaning costs could reach 3million. Home Office The government department covers Harry, Meghan and Archie's 24/7 Met police security - estimated at 600,000-a-year. With overtime, travel and accommodation expenses this would likely reach 1million. Prince Charles' Duchy of Cornwall estate Harry receives up to 2.3million annually from his father's royal estate. Personal wealth Harry inherited around 20million from his mother, Princess Diana, who died when he was 12. The Queen Mother also left him up to 7million. Much of his cash is tied up in trust funds with some of the money kept from him until his 40th birthday Meghan has a personal fortune of 4million, mainly from her acting work and property in Canada. She also earned six-figures each year from blogging, fashion and modelling. Advertisement New York [USA], Jan 10 (Sputnik/ANI): Hundreds of people took to the streets of New York on late Thursday to protest a potential US military action against Iran. The protesters gathered in the Civic Center neighborhood in Lower Manhattan at around 6 pm (EDT) holding up signs reading "Hands off Iran," "We demand de-escalation," "Say no to war with Iran," "No war or sanctions on Iran," "Rage against war," and "We choose peace," among many others. "We are here protesting the war against Iran and the war on the people of the world," an activist taking part in the rally told Sputnik. Pacifists chanted "Endless wars have got to go" and "End the wars, end the fear" at the Foley Square, which has become a popular protest site, previously attaining demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011 and a rally dubbed "NYC Stand Against Trump" against the swearing-in ceremony of President Donald Trump in January 2017. During Thursday's demonstration, an increased police presence has been witnessed on the site with dozens of NYPD officers maintaining public order and a helicopter flying over the square. "No War With Iran" mass protest in New York is one of more than 360 rallies nationwide demanding the de-escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran after the US killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. "The US started this by attacking the Iranian (military) leader...The ball is in the US court, they should just not retaliate," another activist told Sputnik. On Wednesday, Iran launched missiles at two bases housing American troops in Iraq in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. No casualties from either side were reported in the attack. Trump announced a new wave of sanctions to be imposed immediately in his address to the nation on Wednesday as a retribution for Iran's missile strikes. (Sputnik/ANI) Allentown, PA (18103) Today Mostly sunny and bitterly cold. It will feel like it's in the single digits and low teens.. Tonight Partly cloudy and extremely cold. Wind chills around or below 0 degrees. This article by James Clark originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues. A U.S. Army officer has been accused of buying guns that ended up in the hands of an alleged drug trafficker in Washington, D.C. Second Lt. Kofi Appiah-Mainoo, 30, was arrested on Oct. 28, 2019 following an FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation into arms trafficking. James Hutchings Jr., a convicted felon who allegedly served as one of Appiah-Mainoo's buyers and co-conspirators in the arms trafficking scheme, was arrested the next day. Both remain in pre-trial confinement. Appiah-Mainoo, an armor officer who joined the Army in May 2017, is portrayed in an Oct. 24 federal criminal indictment as a soldier with "behavioral difficulties" who moonlighted as a "straw purchaser," legally purchasing guns and then reselling them to people barred from owning them. Additionally, Appiah-Mainoo was allegedly helped by a fellow military officer stationed with him at Fort Benning, Georgia. The second officer was not identified in court filings; officials at Fort Benning declined to comment. "We acknowledge his arrest and are cooperating with civilian law enforcement," Sue Ulibarri, a Fort Benning spokeswoman said, referring to Appiah-Mainoo. "To protect the integrity of any investigation or legal action in progress, we cannot comment further." The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia declined to comment. Attorneys for Appiah-Mainoo and Hutchings did not respond to requests for comment from Task & Purpose. Still, according to court filings, the scheme apparently went on over about four months in 2018. Prosecutors allege Appiah-Mainoo legally purchased one Glock 19 9mm pistol, four Glock 43 9mm pistols, two Glock 23 40-caliber pistols, and a Glock 22 40-caliber pistol between September and December of that year. The second officer, meanwhile, bought a Ruger LCR .38-caliber revolver, two Glock 19 9mm pistols, and a Glock 22 .40-caliber pistol, according to court filings. Investigators claim the unnamed individual "straw purchased" the weapons with the intent to give all but the Glock 22 to Appiah-Mainoo. Appiah-Mainoo allegedly sent Hutchings photos of some of the guns, along with a handwritten price list of ammo drums, extended magazines, handguns, and an AR-15 style rifle. Investigators allege that Appiah-Mainoo also used social media as a way to connect with other prospective buyers. Text messages and screenshots referenced in court filings show Appiah-Mainoo and Hutchings spoke frequently, haggling over the prices of different guns, and conducted their business transactions through a mobile payment service. Hutchings allegedly used CashApp to send Appiah-Mainoo four payments between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4 totalling more than $2,600. On Dec. 7, Appiah-Mainoo flew from Atlanta, Georgia to Washington, D.C. Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia on Delta Airlines, which told investigators that he brought "shooting equipment with him." While in the Washington area, investigators say that Appiah-Mainoo allegedly met with Hutchings and handed off the guns. He flew back to Atlanta two days later and "had no such baggage with him," according to court filings. The investigation into Appiah-Mainoo was launched after law enforcement officers discovered multiple firearms at the Washington, D.C. home of Linwood Douglas Thorne on Dec. 19, 2018, along with 100 pounds of heroin laced with fentanyl and 50 pounds of marijuana, according to court filings. The drug bust was one of the largest for the area in years, with the heroin alone estimated to be worth $4 million dollars, according to The Washington Post. Investigators looking into Thorne, a convicted felon prosecutors say was a "high-level narcotics trafficker in the D.C. area," found that three of the six guns at Thorne's home had been purchased earlier that year in Columbus, Georgia by Appiah-Mainoo. The soldier then allegedly transferred them to Hutchings, who "acted as the vessel that enabled these firearms to end up in the hands of Thorne," according to court filings. Appiah-Mainoo and Hutchings face charges of trafficking arms across state lines "to a person previously convicted of a crime," which is punishable by at least one year in prison. "While the government appreciates any person's service to the United States of America, the defendant's service is already muddied by his criminal conduct," prosecutors wrote in a Nov. 26, 2019 memorandum calling for Appiah-Mainoo to be detained prior to the trial. Appiah-Mainoo "has had many behavioral difficulties while in service, including being absent without permission, lying to higher authorities, and was in the process of being removed from the military, notwithstanding the current criminal charges," his commander at Fort Benning told investigators. In interviews with investigators, Appiah-Mainoo claimed that he travelled to Washington "approximately every two weeks," and when asked how often he checked firearms in his luggage, he replied that it was roughly "80 percent of the time." Court filings say Appiah-Mainoo admitted to having purchased approximately 20 firearms. When asked why he was bringing so many guns into the area, he told investigators he was planning on getting out of the Army and wanted them in Washington by the time he separated from the service. When pressed on the whereabouts of the guns he'd purchased in Georgia, Appiah-Mainoo claimed he'd asked his friends to destroy the weapons and throw them away. In the court filings, investigators accused Appiah-Mainoo of changing his story and repeatedly lying. Following Appiah-Mainoo's arrest on Oct. 28, 2019, law enforcement officers searched his home in Columbus, Georgia. There they found three handguns a Smith & Wesson pistol, a Glock 22, and one Springfield .45-caliber pistol along with a cache of magazines and more than three hundred rounds of ammunition, the filings show. More than 1,000 illegal firearms were recovered by police in 2018 in Washington alone, with more than 6,000 recovered in the past three years, The Washington Post noted in January 2019. The court filings indicate that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were unable to verify the whereabouts of all the firearms Appiah-Mainoo owned. More articles from Task & Purpose: A heart-stopping video captures the terrifying moment a family was just moments from death as a raging firestorm encircled their Kangaroo Island home. Father-of-two Ben Davis, along with his brother Brenton and dad Peter, decided to stay behind in a desperate attempt to save the family farm. Around half of Kangaroo Island has now burned in days of devastating bushfires. In the unbelievable footage, the men are seen trying to plan their escape after the farm succumbed to a hellish fire tornado. Peter, Ben and Brenton Davis (pictured, left to right) stayed behind to try and defend the family's Kangaroo Island farm, but the fire was too intense Embers are seen blowing wildly through the air as the Davis family home succumbed to the fire on Kangaroo Island (pictured) The flames are frighteningly close to the family home on Kangaroo Island (pictured), with the temperature inside soaring As the temperature rises, embers are seen flying through the air towards the house - as a children's swing set burns in the background. The fire tornado was so strong that it swept up the children's trampoline and flung it at the property. Despite their remarkable effort, the Davis men were unsuccessful and lost their home as well as 400 sheep and 400 beehives. Ben's terrified wife Sabrina posted about the incident online, writing: 'If you're considering staying to defend your property in a bushfire, please watch this footage. 'Here is our house and home on fire. 'My husband Ben Davis, brother-in-law Brenton Davis and father-in-law Peter Davis luckily made it out alive.' The flames form a tornado of fire outside the Davis family farm (pictured) as the men endure the front moving over the house The apocalyptic scene outside the property (pictured) shows the savage nature of the Kangaroo Island bushfire The Davis family desperately tried to save their home and farm on Kangaroo Island (pictured) but lost it to the devastating fires After the fire front moved on, the men filmed their surroundings as they carefully drove to safety (pictured) While their home was lost, the men were able to save several suitcases full of clothes and toys, as well as precious pictures. Peter, 73, has been a member of the CFS for more than 50 years, but says he has never seen anything as intense as the bushfire which destroyed his son's home. He had grown up on the farm before he sold it to his son, Ben, 12 years ago. 'You see huge amounts of embers, you see things flying through the air and these twisters where flames go up like a tornado,' he told the Advertiser. 'It's awesome it's unbelievable the power and the combustion of things and the noise is intense. 'It picked up a trampoline and threw it on the corner of the house and the car and then it picked it up again and threw it another 20m.' Their home was in Gosse, on the west of the island. After the fire front moved over the area, trapping the men inside, they soon realised the roof was on fire and knew they had to escape quickly. After the fire front left the area, the Davis men went outside to assess the damage (pictured) The farm was all but destroyed by the fire (pictured) but they were able to save two utes The Davis men were met with a scene of total devastation (pictured) after the Kangaroo Island bushfire had swept through their family farm They escaped in two utes, with further video showing them carefully driving away from the danger - with the fire-ravaged countryside all around them. It comes as exhausted firefighters battling fierce blazes on Kangaroo Island rejoiced as rain fell on Friday morning. They had been gearing up for a horror day of action after multiple fires flared up overnight but downpours brought reprieve for fireys and locals alike. Kingscote, which is home to 1,800 on the island's north-east, was isolated after a spreading fire inland prompted a watch and act warning for the town. Last night terrified residents fled to an evacuation centre on the town's oval while others slept in caravans at the jetty to be close to the water. It was the first time warnings had extended so far east since the bushfires began on the island on 20 December. The township of Parndana in the centre of the island has an emergency warning in place, as does the island's south coast. Residents have been told to evacuate before it's too late Officials are hoping that cooler temperatures of 21C will bring respite today and tomorrow before the mercury hits 24C on Sunday and 29C on Monday. The ferry service from the mainland has been asked to restrict travel to freight, local residents and emergency service personnel. Officials are confident Kingscote will remain a safe place and the road to Penneshaw, another safe haven, was still open early on Friday. The township of Parndana in the centre of the island has an emergency warning in place, as does the island's south coast. Residents have been told to evacuate before it's too late. CFS volunteers (pictured) along with over 100 Army Reservists and self-sustainment supplies, are on Kangaroo Island as part of Operation Bushfire Assist Firefighters are seen at Kingscote oval (pictured) after fighting fires through the night on Kangaroo Island On the south coast, some properties at Vivonne Bay have been destroyed with several firefighters suffering minor injuries. The overnight escalation in fire activity cut power to more properties with about 850 now without electricity. SA Power Networks said its crews had been relocated to Penneshaw for safety reasons and would wait for CFS clearance before re-entering the fire zone. Smoke from the fires has affected a large swathe of South Australia, with air quality in a number of areas listed as very poor. Late on Thursday, CFS chief officer Mark Jones warned the fires would likely burn for some time. A community message on a noticeboard on Kangaroo Island (pictured) as the area continues to suffer from the devastating bushfires 'The condition of the fires is such that it's unlikely that they will be extinguished by the rain, and they will continue to burn,' Mr Jones said. The fire has already destroyed 160,000 hectares across Kangaroo Island, including most of the famed Flinders Chase National Park. It has claimed two lives, with outback pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son Clayton killed as they returned to their home. The blaze first broke out on December 20 from a lightning strike but escalated rapidly last Friday before jumping containment lines again on Thursday. More than 50 homes and many more other buildings are already listed as destroyed with that number to grow significantly following a revised damage assessment. The Bombay High Court was informed that an inquiry has been initiated against two Nashik police personnel for filing a false report regarding issuance of warrants against five people accused in a dowry harassment case. Justice K R Shriram was on Thursday informed by Nashik police commissioner that an inquiry, and disciplinary action, has been initiated against assistant sub-inspector Sanjay Dhanwate and constable R U Nikam as they were found negligent in their duty. The court had, in November 2019, directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) to look into the issue after it came to light that the two policemen submitted a false report to HC in August last year. In the report, the two policemen had contended they could not issue warrants to the five accused as no building could be found at the address mentioned. In November, another police team too submitted a report stating they had visited the address but found the house locked, and hence could not submit the warrants. The warrants against the five persons were issued by HC seeking their presence in an appeal filed by Maharashtra government challenging a lower court order acquitting them in a dowry harassment case. In November 2019, Justice Shriram said in his order," There is certainly something seriously wrong with the police in as much as either they do not want to work or something more has taken place. I have to note that because of this conduct of the police, the matters remain pending." "I hope the direction of this court will be taken in the right spirit. If police officers disregard the court or take court's orders for granted, god save this country," the court had said then. The high court on Thursday said the inquiry report shall be submitted before it within four weeks. The bench, however, disposed of the government's appeal against the acquittal of the five accused after it was informed that the complainant (wife) and the accused persons, including her husband, had settled the dispute amicably. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Here are todays top headlines. Standing down: How Trump decided that not striking back was his best option on Iran Americas top diplomat on Iran was only a few minutes into a speech on Tuesday afternoon when he was handed an urgent note. Live updates: Iran plane crash investigation CNN Updated 4:00 a.m. ET, January 9, 2020 Iran plane crash: A Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 plane crashed after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. Victims from seven countries: The victims include 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals, according to Ukraines Foreign Minister. 5 things you need to know to understand the Iran-US crisis Heres what you need to know to help understand this developing story. Harry and Meghan say theyre stepping back from the royal family. The palace says its complicated Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are stepping back from their roles as senior members of the British royal family, the couple announced on Instagram. Pope kisses nun after checking she doesnt bite A week after he slapped a womans hand away to free himself from her grip, Pope Francis has bestowed his blessings on a nun, with just one condition: that she doesnt bite. Worlds worst measles epidemic kills 6,000 people in Democratic Republic of Congo Measles has killed more than 6,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization said, describing it as the worlds worst measles epidemic. Justin Bieber reveals hes battling Lyme disease Justin Bieber has revealed he was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, an infection caused by bacteria commonly carried by ticks. Fugitive ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn blasts Japanese justice. It was escape or die in Japan Carlos Ghosn has used his freedom to blast Japans legal system and denounce his arrest as part of a plot to topple him as head of the worlds most powerful auto alliance. There will be a new brightest star in the sky, when it explodes in about 60 years Around 2083, give or take a few years, we may spot a bright blazing star in the sky that seems new. But its the remains of an explosive event between two stars with temporary brightness. The bus drivers who saved passengers from Islamist attackers I am not a hero, said softly spoken Raymond Juma. The bus driver was speaking after his actions saved his 47 passengers from a militant attack in the east of Kenya. My passengers are like my mothers, my brothers and sisters. Royals hurt as Sussexes begin next chapter Senior members of the Royal Family are said to be disappointed and hurt at the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs decision to step back from their current roles. Prince Harry and Meghan did not inform the Queen or any other royal before their announcement on Wednesday, said BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond. Crashed Iran plane tried to return to airport A plane that crashed in Iran with 176 people on board was trying to return to the airport when it crashed, Iranian investigators have said. The Boeing 737-800 went down just minutes after taking off from Tehrans airport, leaving no survivors. Africa Live: Somali outrage over Australia camel slaughter BBC News By Emmanuel Igunza BBC News, Nairobi Thats all from the BBC Africa Live team. There will be an automated service until Thursday morning, when we are back. You can keep up with news from the continent by downloading the Africa Today podcast and checking the BBC Africa news site. Which countries love Trump the most and least? President Donald Trump has been a polarising figure at home but how has he fared abroad? A new report by the Pew Research Center details what the world thinks of the US leader. Pew, a non-partisan US-based opinion pollster, surveyed nearly 37,000 individuals across 33 countries from May to October of last year. Trump Announces New Iran Sanctions President Donald Trump addressed the nation Wednesday for the first time since ordering an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week, prompting Iran to fire more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops Tuesday night. More Than Half Of Puerto Ricans Without Power After Earthquakes GUANICA, Puerto Rico, Jan 8 (Reuters) More than half of Puerto Ricos 3 million people remained without power on Wednesday and thousands slept outdoors after earthquakes toppled homes on the Caribbean island and raised fears more could collapse. Tuesdays quakes, including the most powerful one to strike the U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Enforcement Of Trump Effort To Limit Green Card Approvals NEW YORK (AP) A federal appeals court in New York on Wednesday rejected a motion from the Trump administration that would have allowed it to implement a policy connecting the use of public benefits with whether immigrants could become permanent residents. The ruling from the 2nd U.S. No Surprise, 2019 Was The Second-Hottest Year On Record European researchers on Wednesday said 2019 was the second-hottest year in recorded history, the latest bellwether as activists and scientists urge dramatic action to rein in carbon emissions and the fallout from climate change. Twitter will test reply limiting feature to beat back trolls Twitter is trying to make it a lot harder for trolls to hijack conversations. The company will start testing a new feature that will allow users to set limits on who can reply to their tweets before they hit send. Harry and Meghan announce plan to step back from senior Royal Family roles It appears the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are taking a break from the brightest royal spotlight. On Wednesday, the couples official Instagram account announced that after many months of reflection and internal discussions, Harry and Meghan have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. Samsung reveals how many Galaxy Fold phones it really sold, sort of In December 2019, Samsung Electronics president Young Sohn said the company sold a million Galaxy Fold devices, a respectable number given the phones $1,980 price tag. But Samsung subsequently denied the figure, saying Sohn may have confused the companys sales target for the year. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on January 10 held a meeting with Mongolian delegation and discussed ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations and enhance economic cooperation in areas such as oil, gas and steel. "Met with H.E Mr. L. Oyun-Erdene, Minister, Chief Secy. & Co-Chairman of Mongolia-India Joint Commission. Discussed ways to further strengthen India-Mongolia strategic partnership and expand our relationship into newer areas of economic cooperation, including in oil, gas & steel," Pradhan, who is also the minister for petroleum and natural gas, said in a tweet. In a series of tweets, he informed about the issues discussed at the meeting. Pradhan said he has discussed the progress of an oil refinery project in Sainshand, Mongolia, for which India is assisting with a credit line of $1,236 million. The Mongol refinery is the largest project of Indian assistance outside immediate neighbourhood, he said. On completion, he said the refinery will meet almost the domestic Mongolian requirement of petroleum products, help enhance Mongolia's long-term energy security and economic development and also promote development of ancillary industries related to refinery and pipeline operations. "Further, we explored potential for sourcing of coking coal at competitive prices from Mongolia for steel industry in India and securing raw material supply availability, especially coking coal, to achieve our ambitious target of 300 MT (million tonne) crude steel capacity by 2030-31," the minister added. The Qatari Foreign Ministry welcomed the recent Russian-Turkish initiative on a ceasefire in Libya, Trend reports citing Sputnik. On Wednesday, Russia and Turkey agreed on a common position on the Libyan settlement, with the presidents of the two countries having called on all parties to cease fire from Sunday. The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) supported the initiative, while the Libyan National Army (LNA) headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar vowed to continue the war against what it calls terrorist groups. The State of Qatar has announced its support for the call by Turkey and Russia for a ceasefire in Libya at midnight on Sunday, and welcomed the Government of National Accord's acceptance of the call for a ceasefire. In a statement today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its hope that the various components of the Libyan scene and the regional and international actors will support this initiative, and stressed the need to return to the political track, the Foreign Ministry said on late Thursday in a statement. The ministry also expressed Qatars commitment to preserving Libyan sovereignty and territorial integrity. CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "IoT in Utilities Market by Component (Platform, Solutions (Asset Monitoring and Management and CIS and Billing), Services), Application (Electricity Grid Management Water and Wastewater Management), Region - Global Forecast to 2024", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Internet of Things (IoT) in Utilities Market size is expected to grow from USD 28.6 billion in 2019 to USD 53.8 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.5% during the forecast period. The use of IoT in grid technology is accelerating the integration of renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectricity into the electrical grid and further in the gas and water utility segment across the world. Factors, such as the rising trend of deregulating the utility industry, and need for operational efficiency and control are expected to increase the growth of the market. The lack of standards for interconnectivity and interoperability can restrain the growth of the market. Browse in-depth TOC on "IoT in Utilities Market" 108 - Tables 42 - Figures 155 - Pages Ask for Report Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=116054824 Asset monitoring and management solution to account for the largest market size during the forecast period IoT-enabled asset monitoring solutions are a combination of all processes, assets, workflows, and analytics into a single solution, which offer centrally consolidated tracking, monitoring, and analytics system for asset-intensive sectors, such as utilities, mining, oil and gas, and healthcare. Asset monitoring and management solutions include the management of utility meters, predictive asset maintenance, and control operations of assets. Asset management for utilities help in the optimum and sustainable management of water and gas pipelines. In order to achieve the organizational strategic plan, the associated performance, risks, and expenditures over the lifecycle of assets are taken care of by asset management solutions. These solutions generally include type and asset tracking; work order creation; maintenance, repair, and operations inventory and procurement; asset tracking; and planned maintenance history. The electricity grid management application to account for the largest market size during the forecast period The use of IoT in the electricity grid offers an unprecedented opportunity to move the energy industry into a new era of reliability, availability, and efficiency, which will contribute in enhancing the overall economic and environmental health. An electricity grid having IoT capabilities has smart sensors, receivers, smart meters, and energy boxes which communicate with each other. In the traditional electricity grid, utilities would gain knowledge about an existing power failure through consumers. However, with the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in place, utility providers are well-aware about the failure once the smart meter stops sending meter data, owing to the presence of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and two-way communication across all components. n This leads to lower response time and real-time information about maintenance-related issues, leading to better management of electricity distribution. Use of IoT in electricity grid is not limited to technology and utility operators but it helps consumers manage day-to-day energy consumption. Speak to Research Expert: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=116054824 North America to account for the highest market share during the forecast period North America accounts for the highest market share in the IoT in Utilities Market. The region has always been at the forefront of smart grid technology adoption and a large share of the major utilities in the region are either fully deployed or in the implementation or planning stages of full-scale rollouts. In the coming years, continued growth in North America is expected to be largely driven by large investor-owned utilities across the US markets, which are yet to roll out smart meters for their customers. Moreover, large number of small cooperative and municipal utilities are expected to play a central role for growth penetration. The major IoT in Utilities Market vendors include IBM (US), Oracle (US), Verizon (US), Cisco (US), Vodafone (UK), Telit (UK), Landis Gyr (Switzerland), Itron (US), Schneider Electric (France), Huawei (China), Trimble (US), Aclara (US), Trilliant (US), Energyworx (Netherlands), HCL (India), Altair (US), Actility (France), Waviot (Russia), Rayven (Australia), Saviant Consulting (India), ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Honeywell (US), and GE (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Digitalization and Internet of Things (IoT) Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Smart Grid Market by Software (AMI, Grid Distribution, Grid Network, Grid Asset, Grid Security, Substation Automation, and Billing & CIS), Hardware (Smart Meter), Service (Consulting, Integration, and Support), and Region - Global Forecast to 2023 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-grid-market-208777577.html Smart Gas Market by Device (AMR & AMI Meters), Solution (GIS, SCADA, Asset Condition Monitoring and Performance Management, MDM, Outage Management & Remote Monitoring), Service (Consulting, Deployment, & Managed) and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-gas-management-market-237135778.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 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. 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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/iot-utility-market.asp MarketsandMarkets Blog: https://mnmblog.org/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/iot-utility.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg This becomes especially dangerous when one country specializes in cheap labor. Bivens, like many others, suspects that this is what happened with China - the addition of a billion workers to the global labor force was a bonanza for the rich, who could buy cheaper consumer goods, and a disaster for the middle class in developed nations. As Bivens noted, the U.S. has gradually shifted toward trading with poorer and poorer countries - good for global development but perilous for many American workers. In the old days, economists tended to address this problem by arguing that the winners from trade should compensate the losers. But it's very hard to identify who won and who lost. Was a factory worker put out of a job by China, by automation, by bad corporate decisions, by the decline of unions or the inevitable market shifts? It's possible to simply increase redistributive taxation - and Clausing calls for this - but government checks probably aren't a satisfying compensation for a steelworker who suddenly finds his career gone and his skills unwanted. The January transfer window is in full swing with Olivier Giroud drawing closer to a move to Antonio Conte's Inter Milan, and Christian Eriksen's exit from Tottenham developing. But which other clubs will make moves for their winter targets? It's day eight of the transfer window with clubs across Europe battling it out for mid-season additions before the end of the month. Want to know who your club are looking to purchase? Recap our live transfer blog to find out as Sportsmail keeps you updated with all the latest news. Ryanair shares climbed 5.5%, as a late surge in bookings and higher prices bolstered hopes the airline was on a recovery path. The trading update showed it had better-than-expected Christmas and New Year trading, as well as a pick-up in bookings for the next three months. That also helped send the shares of European rivals, including Aer Lingus-owner, IAG, and EasyJet, sharply higher, too, as analysts said that Ryanair, along with other airlines, may be benefitting from the lessened competition. Paradoxically, the long delay in recertificating for the global return of the Boeing 737 Max airline (grounded following two fatal crashes) might have also reduced capacity across Europe. Fewer airline seats, in turn, can boost average ticket prices and the yield, or the money that airlines generate from selling each ticket. In its trading update, Ryanair forecast it will carry 154m passengers in its financial year to the end of March, up by one million from an earlier forecast. It said forward bookings had risen and it forecast slightly-better-than-expected average fares in its final quarter. After-tax profit for the year will rise to the mid-range of 950m and 1.05bn, it said. It was not all good news, however. Losses at its Lauda airline will rise to 90m in the financial year, amid competition from Lufthansa, the airline said. The latest surge means Ryanair shares have gained over 50% in the past year, with most of the gains secured since its AGM, in September, as investors bet the airline has come through the turbulence of the previous two years. The shares traded at 16.08, up from their 2019 low of 8.40. That means that a 99m bonus for Ryanairs Michael OLeary, which was narrowly backed in September, may yet be achievable. The terms of the stock options reward are triggered if the price exceeds 21 for a four-week period between April 2021 and March 2024. Ryanairs guidance is a respite to carriers, after the International Air Transport Association warned, last month, that global industry profits would come in lower than forecast, as geopolitical tensions, social unrest, and uncertainty around Brexit contributed to tougher business conditions. Reduced capacity growth, following a spate of European airline bankruptcies and the continued grounding of Boeings 737 Max, may have improved yields. If a more benign capacity is, indeed, the root cause of the upgrade, Ryanair is unlikely to be the only one to benefit, Daniel Roeska, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said. With the Max still grounded and capacity growth at lower levels, this may indicate a better yield environment through winter and a more supportive trajectory for sector profits, the analyst said. The shares of rivals joined in: IAG, which owns Aer Lingus and British Airways, climbed 5.5%, while EasyJet and Wizz Air rose 3% and 6.7%. Ryanair, last month, cut its traffic forecast for the year to March 31, 2021 to 156m, from 157m, after scrapping some planned summer operations, due to delivery delays to the Max jets. That forecast was based on Ryanair receiving 10 Max aircraft in time for the summer season. Additional reporting: Bloomberg and Reuters President Zourabichvili refuses to pardon archbishop sentenced for attempted murder By Levan Abramishvili After almost 4 months of a moratorium on the pardoning power of the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili pardoned several prisoners ahead of Christmas on January 6. Archbishop Giorgi Mamaladze was not on the list of the pardoned and the President commented.I was guided by the main principle regarding Giorgi Mamaladze, not to promote any new divisions in society with my decision I could not find an argument why an exception should have been made on the case of Archbishop Giorgi Mamaladze, said the President at a press conference.Archbishop Mamaladze was sentenced to 9 years in prison on the so-called Cyanide case on September 5, 2017.According to the President, infringement of the Patriarchs authority and an attempt on his life means attacking Georgia itself. She further elaborated on the reasoning behind the decision, saying that she didnt take into account the Holy Synods request to free Mamaladze. She noted that there's a difference between the churchs forgiveness and the States pardoning.You might ask why I didn't consider the request of the Holy Synod - the answer to this is that theres a difference between the forgiveness of the church, which is essentially Christian and pardoning from the State. Otherwise, the Constitution would have left the Church this [pardoning] discretionary right, Zourabichvili added.Archbishops brother, Tornike Mamaladze, who has been actively advocating for the release of his brother for years said that the Patriarch Ilia II himself asked the president to refuse his brother a pardon.According to him, the Patriarch deceived the Holy Synod and the whole society and tried to evade taking responsibility.Of course, what Salome Zourabichvili said is not an independent decision. She had met with the Patriarch in the previous days Ilia II himself asked the President personally to refuse the pardon request. Therefore, the decision made by the Holy Synod to send a motion to the President was a farce, the Catholicos-Patriarch deceived even the members of the Holy Synod, ridiculing every one of them, Mamaladze said.First Vice-Chair of the Parliament of Georgia and one of the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party Gia Volski said that Mamaladze is no different from any other inmates requesting a pardon from the President.Pardon, forgiveness is a recurring theme characterizing the church. The decision depends on the president but Giorgi Mamaladze is no different from any other inmates who also ask for pardon Everything is related to political insinuations, everything is related to the fight against the Church, and this topic is of course always used in the political aspect, which is also not welcome. Giorgi Mamaladze is just like anyone else who expects to be pardoned, said Volski.Mamaladzes attorney Giorgi Pantsulaia noted that its shameful that the President doesnt know who the victim is in the said case even after 3 years.The President of Georgia should know at least three years after the incident that not the church, but Shorena Tetruashvili is recognized as a victim in this case. She accused the archbishop of attempting to kill the patriarch while the case was concluded by the courts of three instances and Shorena Tetruashvili was the victim, said Mamaladzes lawyer.Local NGO, Human Rights and Monitoring Center (EMC) responded to the Presidents decision, saying that her justification is unrelated to the concept and purposes of pardoning.No comments were made by the President about the clerics poor health and emotional state, the difficulties of serving his sentence in jail, and miscarriages of justice in the case, said EMC.Archbishops family, part of the clergy, Public Defender of Georgia, civic organizations and political groups have been requesting that Mamaladze be pardoned, due to his poor health, the difficulty of serving his sentence in prison and fundamental failures of carrying out justice in the case.Mamaladze has been paralyzed for several months and has been deprived of the ability to move properly. Some medical experts speak openly about how complicated it is to deliver proper treatment while he serves the sentence.President Zourabichvili decided to put a moratorium on pardoning before the parliament drafted changes to the pardon power last September after a massive outrage on her decision to pardon 35 people, including two people convicted of murder. The President initially explained that she acted within the discretionary powers, but later expressed a desire to reconsider the pardon procedure. A gold bar found in Mexico City has been studied and revealed to be made from melted down Aztec treasures. It is thought the bar was produced around 1520 by the Spanish conquistadors but they lost it when trying to flee a rebellion of locals. Tests found the bar matched the unique signature of Aztec gold. It was found in 1981 along the canal route the Spaniards used to escape the blood-thirsty mob. Lots of gold was lost during the retreat as the native inhabitants reclaimed the plunder for themselves. Scroll down for video A gold bar (pictured) found in Mexico City has been studied and revealed to be made from melted down Aztec treasures. The bar weighs about 2 kg (4.4 lb) and is 26.2 cm (10.3 inches) long, 5.4 cm (2.1 inches) wide and 1.4 cm (half an inch) thick The Spanish forces of Hernan Cortes were welcomed into the city by Emperor Moctezuma in 1520 after he famously set his ships ablaze to force his troops inland. Moctezuma was swiftly turned into a prisoner and the Spanish went about pillaging the city. They forced the Aztecs to melt down treasures to form the large gold bars and Cortes added the bars to the Spanish loot. But the native South Americans rose up against their invaders and forced the Spaniards to flee. A year later, Cortes would return and lay siege to the city, which was already weakened with supply lines cut and diseases introduced by the Spanish invaders taking a toll. A fluorescent X-ray chemical analysis (pictured) was able to pinpoint its creation to between 1519-1520, according to INAH. This coincides with the time Cortes ordered gold objects stolen from an Aztec treasury to be melted down into bars for easier transport to Europe Cortes famously destroyed the ships he and his crew used to sail to Mexico, forcing his small army of treasure-hunters to march inland How conquistador Hernan Cortes helped begin Spanish rule in central Mexico Hernan Cortes meeting the Aztec Emperor Montezuma, 1519 Hernan Cortes - born in Medellin, Spain, in 1485 - first made a name for himself when he helped Diego Velazquez in his conquest of Cuba. In 1518, at the age of 33, he convinced Velazquez to let him lead an expedition to Mexico, following in the footsteps of conquistador Juan de Grijalva who led an expedition to Yucatan in 1518. After forming alliances with indigenous peoples, Cortes marched on Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital led by Moctezuma II. After a failed attempt at taking the Tenochtitlan in 1520, Cortes returned in 1521 and began a three-month siege which ultimately let the Spanish to take control. Immense cruelty was inflicted on indigenous peoples under Cortes's orders, as well as countless lives lost due to diseases brought over from the West. He died in Seville on December 2, 1547. Advertisement The bar was originally discovered by a construction project digging some 16 feet (5 meters) underground in downtown Mexico City, which was built on the ruins of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. A fluorescent X-ray chemical analysis was able to pinpoint its creation to between 1519-1520, according to INAH. This coincides with the time Cortes ordered gold objects stolen from an Aztec treasury to be melted down into bars for easier transport to Europe. 'The golden bar is a unique historical testimony to a transcendent moment in world history,' said archaeologist Leonardo Lopez Lujan, who leads excavations at a nearby dig where the Aztecs' holiest shrine once stood. Experts at the National Institute of Anthropology and History said the bar's metallic content matches the gold, silver and copper mix that characterised Aztec gold artefacts. The bar weighs about 2 kg (4.4 lb) and is 26.2 cm (10.3 inches) long, 5.4 cm (2.1 inches) wide and 1.4 cm (half an inch) thick - matching measurements given by the conquerors. The evidence further corroborates historic Spanish accounts of 'La Noche Triste,'or 'The Sad Night,' when many Spaniards were killed and treasure was lost as the conquerors beat a temporary retreat. It comes as Mexico prepares to mark the 500th anniversary of the events. BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta has said that activists of a political party were behind the protest by students of Visva-Bharati University where he was confined in a building for six hours. The journalist-turned-MP apprehended that the protest may be a dress rehearsal of "absolute mobilisation of people to disrupt the visit of PM Narendra Modi (to the city)." The prime minister will arrive in Kolkata on January 11 for a two-day visit. Dasgupta said he had reports that some protestors during the incident on Wednesday were carrying iron rods and bamboo poles. "We can also presume there were activists of a political party," he told newsmen on Thursday. Asked to name the party, Dasgupta said "I think the political party which is predominantly present in Birbhum." The Rajya Sabha MP said it was interesting to note that once the activists dispersed the students too left the protest spot. Dasgupta, Vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty and others were confined for six hours in a building of the Visva Bharati on Wednesday as hundreds of Left-leaning students staged a sit-in outside accusing the BJP MP of promoting hatred among communities. Dasgupta and Chakraborty could finally leave the central university campus, located at Bolpur in Birbhum district, after the students withdrew their sit-in around 10 pm, university sources said. The BJP MP had been invited to speak on "The CAA-2019: Understanding and Interpretation" as a part of Visva Bharati Lecture Series at the Lipika Auditorium of Santiniketan. Following protests by SFI, the CPI(M) students wing, the venue was shifted to another auditorium of the social work department at Sriniketan. However, around 45 minutes after the programme started, agitating students reached the department, shouted slogans and disrupted it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) File image Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency on Friday and will be meeting activists held during protests against the amended Citizenship Act and NRC. During her about four-hour visit, Priyanka will be meeting anti-CAA protests, social activists and those held "illegally and lodged in jail by the Yogi Adityanath government," a Congress statement said here. Among those, Priyanka will be meeting activist couple Ekta Shekar Singh and her husband Ravi Shekhar, Dalit worker Anup Shramik, BHU student Deepak and others. She will meet also meet BHU students and representatives of civil society before leaving for Jaipur at 2 pm. Iran has asked Canada to the share intelligence inputs referring to which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that an Iranian missile brought down the Ukranian airliner. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has invited Boeing, the plane manufacturer, to take part in the enquiry after reports emerged that the crash was a result of a ballistic missile hitting the aircraft. Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa, Trudeau had said that the preliminary review of evidence indicated that the Boeing 737-800, carrying 63 Canadians, was hit by a surface-to-air missile. He added that the evidence suggests very clearly a possible and probable cause for the crash but maintained that this may have been done accidentally. Read: Iranian Media Releases Satellite Footage Of Attack On US Airbases 'Will not speculate the cause' Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Boards (NTSB) Response Operations Center has designated an accredited representative to the investigation after receiving formal notification from Iran Civil Aviation Organisation. The agency said that it will not speculate about the cause of the crash and any questions regarding the progress of the investigation should be directed towards Irans Aircraft Accident Investigation Board. Read: UK Demands Full Probe Into Iran Air Crash, Even US Officials Say It Was Downed By Missiles On January 8, the Ukranian plane crashed in Tehran soon after take-off and 176 people were killed in the accident. The people aboard the crashed jetliner belonged to Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The NTSB continues to monitor the situation surrounding the crash and evaluate its level of participation in the investigation, the agency said in a statement. Ukranian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs said that the circumstances of the crash are still unclear. It is now up to the experts to investigate it and to find answers to the question of what caused the crash. To do so, our experts must receive unconditional support for their investigation into the incident, said the minister in a statement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also called for a full, credible and transparent investigation after reports of a surface-to-air missile strike hitting the aircraft surfaced. Read: India Advises Country's Carriers To Avoid Airspace Of Iran, Iraq And Gulf Read: Canadian PM Trudeau Cites Multiple Reports Claiming Iran Downed Ukrainian Plane (With inputs from agencies) A mathematical study claims to have proven the long-held belief that the Battle of Britain could have easily been won by the Germans if not for tactical ineptitude. University of York researchers have created a computer model that uses a statistical technique called 'weighted bootstrapping' to re-imagine the 1940 battle under different circumstances. It identifies two enormous blunders by notorious Nazi commander Hermann Goering - a trained fighter pilot - who led the assault that crippled the Nazi effort and helped Britain win. The first mistake was not launching an attack immediately after Winston Churchill's famous 'Battle of Britain' speech on June 18, rather than three weeks later on July 10. This is because an early strike would have given Britain less time to prepare a coordinated response and train up pilots, giving Germany a significant tactical advantage. The second major blunder from Hitler was not persisting with concentrated attacks on British airfields after striking a huge blow on August 13. These attacks lasted just five days but destroyed radar systems used to track German planes. Experts say that had this phase been longer it would have paved the way for a naval and land invasion. The study provides statistical backing to many historians' belief that if Germany had done these two things differently, it would have stood a much better chance of winning the Battle of Britain. 'Weighted bootstrapping is a bit like taking a ball for the events of each day of the Battle of Britain and placing them in a lotto machine,' the researchers say. Balls are then drawn, read and replaced to create thousands of alternative sets of days' fighting, but in a different order, and perhaps with some days appearing more than once or not at all. The researchers then repeated the process to test out the Battle 'what ifs', making some days more or less likely to be chosen, depending on how a protagonist (such as Hitler) would have changed their decisions had they been using different tactics. Scroll down for video Fighter pilots took up the call to arms in the British spitfires (pictured) and hurricanes, with replacement pilots and planes in shortage due to the severe loss of life. But the British ultimately defeated the Germans British heroes in Spitfires and Hurricanes defeated the German Messerschmidt planes (pictured) at the Battle of Britain, helped enormously by the tactical failings of Herman Goering KEY DATES OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN June 18 - France seeks an armistice June 18 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives his famous speech declaring the 'Battle of Britain' July 10 - Germany launches its first aerial attack on Britain Luftwaffe Phase 1 July 10 - August 12 - Germany focuses its attacks on shipping conveys in the English Channel. There were widespread night-time raids all along the coast. July 16 - Hitler issued the famous directive number 16, stating his intention to wage battle with Britain's 'hopeless military situation'. He added: 'I have decided to begin to prepare for and, if necessary, to carry out an invasion of England.' August 1 - Germany airdrop leaflets over Britain entitled 'A Last Appeal to Reason' August 13 - Germany lands a huge blow when it hit vital radar masts at key airfields in the South. Known as Eagle Day (Adlertag) Luftwaffe Phase 2 August 13 - August 18 - Airfields and radar stations became the focus of German bombing as it focused on destroying the aircraft of Fighter Command. Airfields in the south east of England suffered the heaviest attacks. Luftwaffe Phase 3 August 19 September 6 - The Luftwaffe continued to bomb towns and cities and turns its attention away from airfields August 20 - Churchill gave one of the most famous speeches of his premiership when he said: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few' August 24 - Luftwaffe , under clear orders not to bomb London, mistake the capital for military targets August 25 -Churchill retaliates and sends 40 planes to bomb Berlin The hero pilots of the Battle of Britain became known as 'the Few'. August 31 - British fighter command suffers its heaviest losses yet. It activates squadron 303 of Polish aces. September 15 - The RAF destroy a huge formation of Luftwaffe over London and forced Hitler to abandon the battle and shelve his plans for invasion. It is henceforth known as 'battle of Britain' day September 17 - Hitler postponed the invasion of Britain (Operation Sealion) following heavy Luftwaffe losses September 26 - The Spitfire factory at Southampton was attacked and destroyed. Advertisement The real statistical chances of a Luftwaffe victory in July 1940 are a mystery, as there will never be enough data to create an accurate model. But the study suggests that an earlier start and a focused targeting of airfields would have shifted the battle significantly in the Germans' favour. For example, had the likelihood of a British victory in the actual battle been 50 per cent, these two tactical changes would have reduced it to less than 10 per cent. If the real probability of British victory was 98 per cent, the same changes would have reduced this to just 34 per cent. The Battle of Britain featured a reluctant Hitler drawn into a duel he seldom showed interest in. The Fuhrer expressed little emotion towards the British Isles, as the Reich was preoccupied with an imminent war with Russia's Red Army on the Eastern front. Hitler pushed for a deal with the British and tried to intimidate the nation into submission. But Churchill's inspired speech on June 18 announcing 'the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin' motivated the county and solidified resolve. Fighter pilots took up the call to arms in the British spitfires and hurricanes, with pilots and planes soon in short supply due to the severe loss of life. But, according to the latest research, Allied bravery would have been in vain if the Germans had responded with an immediate attack, which would have led to a Nazi victory. The researchers tries to keep their predictions within the realms of realism, only making adjustments to the timeline that would have been feasible in real life. Dr Jamie Wood from the Department of Mathematics at the University of York, said: 'The Luftwaffe would only have been able to make the necessary bases in France available to launch an air attack on Britain in June at the earliest, so our alternative campaign brings forward the air campaign by three weeks.' He added: 'We found that the key variable is the number of fighter pilots that the British had available. 'If the Germans did find a way to degrade that number more repeatedly, the less the fighter command would be able to put up a viable defence. 'So what they need to do is to increase the number of battles, to increase the number of pilots being used - and there were fewer trained fighter pilots in the earlier weeks of the battle. HOW THE STATISTICAL MODEL WORKS The statistical technique used by the researchers is called 'weighted bootstrapping'. It investigates the probability of victory if various 'what-ifs' had occurred. It works in a similar way to a lottery machine, with each day of the battle represented by a single ball. Balls - days - are drawn at random, read and replaced to create an alternate timeline. This is repeated thousands of times in different orders to see what the most probable outcome would be. Some days may appear more than once or not at all. Some days were made more or less likely to be chosen, depending on how a protagonist (such as Hitler or Goering) would have changed their decisions had they been using different tactics. Advertisement 'We can see the airfields that the Germans were targeting and, looking at the impact of those attacks, they were creating the right kind of degradation of the British forces to lay the groundwork for an invasion.' As it was, the first attack was not launched until July 10, a delay which may have spared Britain from German occupation, according to the study. On July 16, Hitler issued the famous directive number 16, stating his intention to wage battle with Britain's 'hopeless military situation'. He added: 'I have decided to begin to prepare for and, if necessary, to carry out an invasion of England.' This tentative announcement spoke of his reluctance to turn the English Channel into a battleground, as his navy was depleted following a campaign against Norway where it lost two cruisers and 10 destroyers. Hitler feared the naval might of 1940s Britain, and the war instead took to the skies. The study suggests that if Germany had launched an attack in June following Winston Churchill's (pictured) famous Battle of Britain' speech and targeted airfields, the Nazis would have probably been victorious, paving the way for a naval and land invasion Pictured, a colourised image showing Hermann Wilhelm Goering in France in 1941. Goring was commander in chief of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. His blunders allowed Britain and the RAF to emerge victorious Goering opted to airdrop leaflets over Britain entitled 'A Last Appeal to Reason' on August 1. These were resolutely ignored, and the nation dug in for further bombardment as the Blitz devastated the nation. Despite their scattershot approach, the Luftwaffe came close to overwhelming the RAF on a number of occasions. One of the most significant successes for the German air force was the attack on visible and vital radar masts at key airfields on 13 August. The Germans did not realise how crucial and advanced the radar systems were and how central to the RAF they had become. Had Goering continued with this tactic, he would have almost undoubtedly destroyed the radar system and led the Nazi regime in a historic defeat of Britain. Instead, the decorated Nazi henchman entrusted with the German military campaign flitted between several different tactics. He relented his attacks on the airfields and this allowed the English, Polish, Canadian, Czech and New Zealand pilots to regroup and saved the invaluable equipment from destruction. Dr Wood added: 'In the model, every time we create a coherent strategy for the Germans, the results are better from their perspective. 'We don't want to downplay the British strategy. It was bang on. They did exactly what they had to do. 'The problem was that the RAF had a critical shortage of trained monoplane fighter pilots, which the Germans didn't exploit.' As the battle waged through the summer of 1940, Churchill gave one of the most famous speeches of his premiership. On 20 August, speaking in the House of Commons, he said: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' The hero pilots of the Battle of Britain became known as 'the Few'. After throwing away the initial advantage, Germany never recovered the edge over the RAF and, on September 15, now known as Battle of Britain Day, the RAF destroyed a huge formation of Luftwaffe over London and forced Hitler to abandon the battle and shelve his plans for invasion. The researchers made their calculations using a mathematical model which investigates the probability of victory if all 'what-ifs' had occurred. It works in a similar way to a lottery machine, with each day of the battle represented by a single ball. Balls are drawn, read and replaced to create an alternate timeline. This is repeated thousands of times in different orders to see what the most probable outcome would be. Vietnam wants to cooperate with Japan in developing e-government: PM Updated: 09:09 - 10/01/2020 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Sanae Takaichi in Hanoi__Photo: VNA , , , Vietnam is developing an e-government and cyber security, hence the country wants to cooperate with Japan - a reliable partner - in these fields, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.While receiving Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Sanae Takaichi in Hanoi on January 9, PM Phuc said the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership is developing comprehensively while their political trust has been enhanced in many aspects.Japan has remained an important economic partner, the biggest provider of official development assistance (ODA), the second biggest foreign investor and the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam, he stressed.The PM thanked Japan for its provision of ODA in almost 30 years, which, he said, has contributed remarkably to Vietnams socio-economic development, hunger elimination, poverty reduction and infrastructure development.In order to boost the bilateral extensive strategic partnership in the coming time, PM Phuc proposed Japan continue to assist the Vietnamese Government in reforming and improving efficiency of the administrative apparatus, building an e-government towards a digital government, digital economy and digital society and effectively implementing state management projects on information and communications.Takaichi said the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications have signed a cooperation agreement, opening up a new page for partnership in the fields of post, information and communications.Japan stands ready to cooperate and share experience with Vietnam in developing cyber security and apply information technology (IT) in statistical activities, she said.Japanese enterprises can contribute to the development of IT and take part in IT expos in Vietnam, the minister said.The two countries should cooperate in administrative consultation and settlement of administrative procedures to protect legitimate rights of Vietnamese citizens in Japan and Japanese nationals in Vietnam, Takaichi added.On this occasion, PM Phuc and Minister Takaichi witnessed the signing of a diplomatic note of exchange between the two governments on the provision of hardware of the government report information system by Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Kunio Umeda and Minister, Chairman of the Vietnamese Government Office Mai Tien Dung.- In brief: While Apple is busy suing Nuvia for stealing its trade secrets, a medical company focusing on noninvasive monitoring tech is accusing Apple of poaching employees and implementing patented features in the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is surprisingly good at detecting heart conditions, at least according to a Standford study conducted with 400,000 people with Series 3 or newer versions. And while they're not advertised as professional medical devices, a lot of people rely on them to track their health and fitness, and some can even thank their wrist angel for saving their lives when they pass out. However, Apple is now in the crosshairs of Masimo, a medical company that alleges (per Bloomberg) the impressive capabilities of the Apple Watch stem from stolen trade secrets and infringing on no less than 10 patents. Masimo and its spinoff company Cercacor Laboratories recently filed a lawsuit in federal court in Santa Ana, California, where they explain that Apple got a hold of sensitive information through a clever dance of partnership. According to the filing, the Cupertino giant reached out to Masimo in 2013 to ask for a meeting to talk about a potential collaboration. At the time, Apple told the company that it wanted to get a better sense of its technology to see if it can be integrated into its products. And while nothing was set in stone, Masimo executives were under the impression the meetings were productive and conducive to healthy business growth. However, Apple reportedly took another route and proceeded to poach several key executives with "unfettered" access to Masimo's trade secrets. Among the new hires was chief medical officer O'Reilly and chief technology officer Marcelo Lamego. Masimo and Cercacor describe it as a "targeted effort to obtain information," and are seeking damages in addition to blocking Apple from using the patented technologies. Ironically, Apple last month sued its former chip design chief for using trade secrets to boost a new venture called Nuvia. CITY HALL -- As House Democrats move toward approving a non-binding measure that would limit President Donald Trumps ability to take military action against Iran, Island Rep. Max Rose said he plans to vote against the War Powers Resolution. The move comes after to killing top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a killing that Rose said Trump was justified in carrying out because he was a terrorist who was responsible for the murder of hundreds of American service members and was in the process of planning to kill more. I appreciate the presidents efforts to de-escalate conflict in the face of Iranian retaliation and support his diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions to advance our goals of ensuring Iran does not gain nuclear weapons and to end their support of terrorist activities, Rose said. I know all too well the real costs of war and sending troops into harms way is the most consequential decision I could make. Unfortunately, todays War Powers Resolution is a non-binding resolution that simply restates existing law and sends the message that war is imminent, he continued. I refuse to play politics with questions of war and peace and therefore will not support this resolution. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the War Powers Resolution, which does not require Trumps signature, nonetheless has real teeth because it is a statement of the Congress of the United States. I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not. The Democratic measure seemed certain to pass Thursday over solid Republican opposition. A similar proposal by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., faces an uphill fight in the GOP-run Senate. Kaines efforts received a boost Thursday as Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, an ex-Marine, said he might support the war powers measure. Two other Republican senators said Wednesday they would back the Kaine plan. Instead, Rose called on Congress to be proactive in living up to the countrys Constitutional duties to declare war and authorize the use of military force. He said the resolution did the opposite. This resolution is not that. I continue to believe the decades-old Authorizations for Use of Military Force should be repealed and replaced with a framework that authorizes continued operations against global terrorists while properly constraining presidential war powers, Rose said. Let me be crystal clear: under current law, no president has the authority to engage in protracted hostilities or war with Iran without Congressional approval and funding. That is the role Congress must play, he continued. The House vote comes a day after the Trump administration briefed lawmakers on its actions in Iran. Democrats and several Republicans called the briefings inadequate, adding that officials did not provide enough details about why the attack was justified. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Soleimani was traveling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces. He said it was not possible to share full details of the intelligence with lawmakers. Trump said Thursday that he had calls from numerous senators and numerous congressmen and women saying it was the greatest presentation theyve ever had. (Associated Press material was used in this report.) FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. BRUSSELS - France made it clear Friday that it does not want to be shackled to the tight deadline British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to impose for the upcoming free trade talks between Britain and the European Union. Johnson has said discussions about the future must be completed by the end of 2020 and that there is ample time to agree a wide-ranging deal. Frances EU minister was skeptical and said it could take three times longer. Amelie de Montchalin said EU member states would bide their time even if that risks causing a chaotic no-deal transition at the end of the year. If Boris Johnson says it must end in 11 months from now and we need 15, 24 or 36 months, the 27 will take their time, she said. It has already taken the U.K. more than 3 1/2 years to leave the EU following its June 2016 Brexit referendum. Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on Jan. 31 at which point it enters a standstill period whereby it remains within the European single market and customs union until the end of 2020. After Brexit day, official discussions are set to begin on the future relationship between Britain and the EU - since the Brexit vote in June 2016, discussions have only centred on aspects related to the divorce such as citizens rights and Britains financial liability. Forging a comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and a third country usually talks years, not months, and Johnsons timeline is viewed as unrealistic across the bloc. The European Commission has said it might be possible to tackle some selected items in 2020, such as fishing rights, but that comprehensive discussions from trade to security would need longer. French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that in light of Johnsons insistence that negotiations on the future have to be over by the years end, Britain will need to show flexibility in line with that ambitious schedule. EU officials have also warned that negotiations will be made harder by the British governments insistence that it wont agree to keep EU rules and standards as they develop. Johnson has said he wants Britain to be free to diverge from EU regulations in order to strike new trade deals around the world. The EU has responded by pointing out that good access to the blocs single market, the worlds biggest, only comes if Britain agrees to maintain a level playing field on such issues as environmental standards and workers rights. If there is no deal when the U.K. transition deadline ends at the start of 2021, then Britain would leave the EUs economic arrangements with no deal, a development that would see tariffs and other impediments slapped on trade and potentially sink the British economy into recession. Britain and the EU will have to strike deals on everything from trade in goods and services to fishing, aviation, medicines and security. The EU has said both sides would suffer but that Britain would suffer more given the relative importance of the EU economy to the size of the British economy. It is a major arm twisting game, de Montchalin said. Without doubt, the most difficult issue during the Brexit divorce discussions was how to maintain a free and open border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the EU. That issue was complicated further by the fact there had been no functioning devolved administration in Northern Ireland for three years. However, t he looming Brexit date appears to have given new urgency to attempts to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and executives. Political parties there were considering Friday a draft deal from the British and Irish governments to revive the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive. The two governments urged the main pro-British and Irish nationalist parties to accept the deal. Northern Irelands 1.8 million people have been without a functioning administration since the power-sharing government collapsed in January 2017. ___ Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris; Lawless reported from London A Philadelphia SWAT team member secures the area where a man being served with an arrest warrant opened fire on officers Thursday on the 4600 block of Hawthorne Street in Frankford. Read more The gunman killed by police after he shot at them from a Frankford rowhouse on Thursday was on probation for a firearms conviction in Rhode Island and was wanted for potential parole violations related to a domestic violence incident, authorities said Friday. When Pennsylvania state parole officers approached Claude Fain, 47, outside his house on the 4600 block of Hawthorne Street, near Orthodox Street, he immediately fled toward his residence and stated, Im going to kill all three of you [expletives]! Philadelphia Police said in a statement. Fain then went inside and opened fire, police said. He kept officers at bay for nearly two hours, intermittently firing from a second-floor window perch, until he was struck by bullets from a SWAT officers rifle. Details released by police and gleaned from court records Friday offered a more complete picture of an incident reminiscent of the violent standoff in Tioga last August, when Maurice Hill, 36, allegedly shot at police for nearly seven hours from inside a rowhouse, hitting six officers, before finally surrendering. READ MORE: How the Tioga shootout in August left six cops wounded and a city reeling No one other than Fain was reported injured in Fridays shootout, but the chaotic scene had officers scrambling for cover behind cars and buildings, sent five neighboring schools into lock-in status, and spurred residents to cower in their homes. Police said Friday that they recovered at least 13 fired cartridge casings from Fains home, and that 11 law enforcement officers two state parole officers and nine city cops returned fire. They did not reveal further details about what precipitated the visit by the parole agents. Court filings in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island show a complicated history of arrests generally tied to a case that originated in 2009 in Cranston, R.I., a suburb of Providence. In that incident, Fain was charged with kidnapping, assault, and resisting arrest. Most of the charges were dismissed as part of his guilty plea to carrying a gun without a license and using it in a violent crime, which earned him a 10-year probation sentence, the records show. Around the same time, Fain was arrested twice in Pennsylvania, court records show, and spent months in Graterford Prison in 2013 and again in 2014, as authorities in Rhode Island sought to hold him in violation of his probation. On Hawthorne Street, neighbors struggled to reconcile the idea that the man who had lived there and owned a rowhouse for more than a decade was capable of Thursdays violence. Bonique Scott, who said she is Fains aunt and lives around the corner, said she was with him shortly before the shooting began. Scott, 51, huddled in an alley while Fain and authorities exchanged gunfire. She said Fain suffered from depression and anxiety, but was holding a job with a cleaning service. She also said he had a long-term girlfriend and an infant child. He loved kids, Scott said. He was a great person. Court records show that Fains mental condition had come to the attention of authorities in the past. A Rhode Island judge convened a mental competency hearing before deciding Fain could be prosecuted. Everene William, who lives on the Hawthorne Street block, said she had never seen Fain carry a weapon but said he had shown signs of mental illness in recent days. Hes been going up and down the street talking crazy, she said. He said theres people watching him. But while Fain could seem defiant or agitated at times, he was generally quiet and peaceful, said Lorenzo Compton, 55, who said he knew him for more than a decade. I wish," he added, it could have ended a different way. Staff writer Claudia Vargas contributed to this article. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Flash Britain was on course Thursday to finally end its membership of the European Union (EU) in just three weeks time. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's fast-track race to "get Brexit done" cleared its final hurdle in the House of Commons when his European Union Withdrawal Bill cleared its final hurdle by a vote of 330 to 231. The bill will now be debated in the House of Lords next week, but given its clear run in the Commons, it is not expected to face any tough opposition, and is almost certain to win Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth within days. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said he had no doubt politicians in the Lords "will have heard the resounding message from the British people on Dec. 12 (general election day)" and will have seen the clear will of the House of Commons. Not joining in the celebrations was Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party's leader at Westminster, who warned Brexit would cause a constitutional crisis for the United Kingdom. "Today will go down as the final nail in the coffin for this broken union -- as Scotland faces being dragged out of the EU against our will by an extreme Tory government with no mandate here," he told MPs after the voting concluded Thursday. Blackford said Scotland would at some point have an independence referendum and would remain as an independent European country. Johnson on Wednesday ruled out a Scottish referendum, saying people of Scotland voted in a "once in a generation" vote in 2014 to remain part of the UK. The bill paves the way for Britain to end, more than 3.5 years after the referendum, its EU membership on Jan. 31 and strike a new trade deal with Brussels by the end of the year. Until then Britain will continue to follow all EU rules and regulations. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Seven Republican members of the New Mexico House of Representatives are calling for a review of the State Police Metro Surge Operation in Albuquerque last summer after learning that the majority of the people arrested have since been released from jail. The letter sent earlier this week to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, State Police Chief Tim Johnson, New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts Director Arthur Pepin, and New Mexico Administrative Office of the District Attorneys Director Henry Valdez highlights reporting by KOAT-TV, which found that 88% of the people arrested on felonies during the surge operation are no longer in custody. Those people have either been released pending trial or because the case was dismissed. Of the 168 people arrested on felony charges, KOAT-TV found 18% have been arrested again on felony charges and 16% have failed to show up for court appearances. These findings related to Operation Surge can only be described as scandalous as it was reported that many of these suspected felons were released without even being required to post bail, the letter states. The majority of defendants in New Mexico are no longer required to post bail after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016. Now, prosecutors ask a judge to detain a suspect if they believe the person is a danger to society or a flight risk; however, they cannot currently hold someone just because they are considered a flight risk. In the case of the metro operation, KOAT-TV found prosecutors asked for detention in just 14 of the 168 cases, which means they did not ask for detention in almost 92% of the cases. Matthew Garcia-Sierra, the communications director for the House of Representatives Republican Leadership Office, said the review the lawmakers are asking for would encompass more than just the metro operation. The letter asks for law enforcement, district attorneys, judges and other local government officials to examine all of the prosecution and judicial actions taken in relation to the operation to determine why the defendants were released. This is totally focused on the court system and how the criminals are flowing through it, and how we can take a look at what went on during the surge, Garcia-Sierra said. And find solutions to make sure that when these type of operations are put in place, we arent just letting everyone back out on the street and were actually making things safer, not just ramping up numbers to make it look good. According to records provided to the Journal from State Police four months ago, the majority of the felony arrests were for drug possession and receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles, rather than violent felonies. Jennifer Burrill, vice president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said it makes sense that people who were arrested on drug possession or other non-violent felonies wouldnt be held until trial. Our goal in the criminal justice system is not to incarcerate everyone forever, she said. I think its important to identify that not everyone should be held forever and that really should be saved for the worst-of-the-worst crimes. The Journal reviewed about 118 of the felony cases in September and found about half of those had been dismissed due to an officer not turning in discovery, not attending hearings, the case needing more investigation, or a lack of reasonable suspicion, or search and seizure issues. In response to questions about the statistics cited in the Republicans letter, a State Police spokesman wrote that Chief Johnson agreed it was unacceptable. As the leader of his organization, Chief Johnson takes responsibility for the portion that was directly caused by the action or inactions of his department, spokesman Mark Soriano wrote in an email. Although he cant take responsibility for all of it, as some of it lies with the judicial system, he is more than interested in working with the DAs office and the courts to ensure this doesnt happen again and to provide the highest level of public safety for the citizens we serve. He said State Police is already in the process of conducting an internal inquiry to determine the departments shortcomings and make necessary changes in the future. Barry Massey, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said Pepin just received the letter and will communicate with the representatives after he has a chance to thoroughly review it. A spokesman for Gov. Lujan Grisham said the KOAT-TV report underscores some of the glaring institutional issues we face as a state when it comes to criminal justice. The governor is clear: Everyone has to own that they can and must do better, and that includes us as a state, Nora Meyers Sackett wrote in an email. The chief has said publicly that NMSP is working to re-file charges in these cases and make right what went wrong. Sackett also referenced the Supreme Courts plan announced Monday to form a 15-member committee of attorneys, justice system officials and elected leaders to consider possible changes to pretrial detention procedures. The governor absolutely supports, as one measure, the Supreme Courts plan to study the matter and looks forward to the result of that inquiry and to evaluating how we can ensure that justice is done in New Mexico while building a better, more responsive and more interconnected public safety system across jurisdictions statewide, Sackett wrote. Additionally, other crime and criminal justice-related pieces of legislation will be under consideration for the 2020 legislative call. BURTON, MI -- Tony Greenways patrol vehicle has become a bit quieter in the last few days. The Burton police sergeant became used to the barks, sniffing and grumpiness of his partner in deterring crime. Knox, a Sable German Shepherd, has shared the vehicle for eight years with Greenway and created a bond his handler isnt sure can be matched even as the K-9 slowed down over the years. Theres a lot of good police officers in this department, but I dont know if Ill ever have another partner like Knox," said Greenway. Hell put his life on the line for you every day and the only thing he wants at the end of a day after a good job is a pat on the head. "He doesnt ask questions. He doesnt argue with you. Hell bark at you, but at the end of the day, he just wants a pat on the head, maybe a snack. I would hope a lot of officers get that chance. Knox retired Dec. 29, 2019 after joining the department in late 2011. Let him be a dog for a few years and sit at home and chew on his bone, said Greenway. I think hes earned his retirement for sure. The citys businesses and citizens rallied after K-9 Cade -- Greenways partner of three years -- died in an August 2011 training exercise. More than $16,000 was raised to help the department purchase Knox the same year. Burton police introduce newest K-9 Knox to community; first shift will be Wednesday It was an awkward time from Cades passing to Knox in having that empty car. I think Knox has done an excellent job for the city of Burton, said Greenway. Its hard to put a dollar amount on that, hundreds of vehicle searches for narcotics, several tracks, all kinds of different people located. He recalled one incident in which Knox was able to help locate a missing 75-year-old elderly man in the dead of winter amid thicket following an hour-long track. Over some time, you really start to read your dog, said Greenway. You can tell when hes getting close because hell start ... sniffing at the air instead of the ground. Knox was able to perform at different speeds -- from tracking for a missing person or looking for a robbery suspect -- and became aware of what type of area they were in based on how the patrol vehicle moved and his handler reacted. He can read me too. He knows when I pull in a bad area, just from the sound of the car or like in a hotel or one of our apartment complexes where you have to slow down and go over the speed bumps, said Greenway. He knows where were at and he just starts talking. I think that just having a K-9 in the back seat of your car deters criminal activity. Greenway noted, Theres no doubt hes saved my life more times than Ill ever know and other officers just by being in the car." Knox provided a second set of eyes and ears. When he gets in that car its like an office and hes very protective of me, for sure, said Greenway. Thats why I just think K-9s are such a valuable tool in police work. But, when the pair is at home, Knoxs mood changes in a dramatic fashion. Its really interesting to see because of the way he is at work. When he hears the car start up, he knows that its time to go to work, Greenway said. When you get home, he knows its time to shut it down. Sometimes I cant even get him to bark at the mailman at the door. He did express some initial concern with having Knox at home around his small children, but it wasnt a problem. If anything, he rolls over and lets them scratch his belly, said Greenway. Its something else. Knox has also played and trained well with fellow K-9s from around Genesee County police departments at training sessions to keep them up and ready to go after spending multiple hours in patrol vehicles during the week. The department is going to keep its K-9 program. However, Greenway has decided to step away from the role but will provide any assistance he can to Officer Wayne Newman as retired Officer Paul Phillips did for him in the beginning. Twelve years is a good run, Greenway said. Im going to miss it, but Im ready to pass the leash along. Outside of adjusting to a bit less barking in his patrol vehicle, Greenway said there is something else thatll be a bit different. Not so much hair on the uniform, he said with a laugh. MBABANE - Accusations of being in a love relationship with a pupil have allegedly resulted in a man losing his life. Information gathered was that Thabo Lukhele was allegedly stabbed to death by the pupils brother who was against the duos alleged relationship. It is alleged that after learning about the relationship, Celumusa Maziya (20) of Siteki, forced his sister to show him the alleged boyfriends house. Upon arrival at the alleged boyfriends house, it is alleged that Maziya found the farmers brother. Maziya was told that Lukhele was not around, however, while still in the house, the alleged boyfriend entered. It is believed that Maziya uttered some unpalatable words prior to allegedly stabbing Lukhele with a knife, which he had hidden in his clothes. Lukhele suffered a fatal wound from which he died. Surrendered Information gathered was that Maziya fled the scene and was nowhere to be seen after the incident. It was alleged that he was later surrendered to the police by his grandfather. The murder of Lukhele crated enmity to the extent that Maziyas family was allegedly attacked by a faction which was angered by the murder of former. Maziya has since appeared at the Mbabane Magistrates Court where he recorded a confession before a judicial officer. He appeared before Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati charged with murder. The Crown applied that he be remanded in custody until next Friday pending committal to the High Court. He was advised to move a bail application at the High Court due to the nature of the offence he was charged with. WAKEFIELD The new updated version of MCL News & Media's authoritative Inside Guide to Cotton & Sustainability - due out next month - warns that the industry is running out of time to reduce its environmental impact. The second edition of the 136-page independent guidebook, first published in 2012, is considered a seminal reference source for brands, retailers and the whole textile supply chain. Researched and written by cotton expert Simon Ferrigno and edited by Ecotextile News editor John Mowbray, it provides in-depth, expert analysis and guidance on how to tackle the issue of sustainability in global cotton supply chains. In his introduction to the new edition, Ferrigno explains how the cotton industry is facing a pivotal moment, saying: "Cotton is a complicated crop with an ancient history and a very uncertain future. "We now have a decade to stop runaway climate change, and global soil degradation is worsening. Nor does cotton operate in isolation. It sits in an agricultural economy under multiple pressures: environmental, social, commercial and political. Humankind will need to be very fleet of foot to stave off serious problems in future." Ferrigno adds that sustainability claims for different types of cotton have been complicated by the use of poor or misleading data and a lack of consistency in how impacts are assessed. "What farmers need and want may be in conflict with what a cotton buyer wants. Where does corporate responsibility lie: with customers or beyond? With 33 million in Africa vulnerable to climate crisis and famine, this is an existential question. If we dont shift to total responsibility by all for all, then we are +2OC toast," he writes. Ferrigno says the newly revised guide asks bigger questions including whether existing standards and schemes are still fit for purpose: "They are, after all, a decades old response in a world that is now fully digital, which makes a more flexible due diligence approach possible," he says. Completely updated to include the latest, accurate data on cotton, the revised guide will help retailers and brands to navigate their way through the complex challenges and potential pitfalls of current and future global cotton sector strategies. It will also address how cotton fits into the circular economy and whether new technologies such as blockchain can ever replace existing ways to improve supply chain transparency. The guide will also look at cottons perceived bad reputation in terms of pesticide use, water conservation and other challenges, including the misuse of statistics and data, as well as the latest regulatory responses that impact on the sector. Research and development responses to improve the environmental impact will also be detailed (including biotech) and there will be an update on GMOs and additional discussion of new techniques like gene editing. One chapter will be dedicated the measuring and defining what sustainable cotton actually means and it will give independent progress reports on organisations and standards in this space such as Cotton made in Africa, the Better Cotton Initiative, organic cotton, etc. Other topics covered include a brief history of cotton, cotton and modernisation, global production, the new regulatory and monitoring environment, due diligence, science-based targets and natural capital accounting. To pre-order the second edition of the Inside Guide to Cotton & Sustainability with a final 10 per cent discount offer ends 31st January please follow this link. Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet top officials from Japan and South Korea, officials said Thursday, weeks after North Korea defiantly threatened a new weapon. The State Department said that Pompeo would meet senior counterparts from the two US allies during a January 12-15 trip to the San Francisco area. The State Department did not provide further detail but said Pompeo would make public remarks, including at Stanford University. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a New Year's address declared an end to his regime's moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. He also threatened to demonstrate a "new strategic weapon." His vow came after months of demands that the United States offer concessions to North Korea on the easing of punishing sanctions. A self-imposed ban on such tests had been a centerpiece of the nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington over the past two years, which saw three meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump, but little tangible progress. Despite Trump's insistence that Kim has become his friend, his administration has insisted that it will not budge on sanctions until North Korea comprehensively denuclearizes. Pompeo's talks also come as Japan and South Korea gradually ease tensions, which had spiked over emotionally charged disagreements related to colonial history. The two US allies have also taken different nuances on North Korea, with South Korea's dovish President Moon Jae-in encouraging further diplomacy to entice Pyongyang. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rose to power campaigning on a hard line against North Korea, although he has backed the efforts of Trump, with whom has had developed a close relationship. While Washington was waiting for a threatened "Christmas gift" from Kim Jong Un, attention has shifted in the New Year to soaring tensions with Iran after Trump ordered the killing of its most prominent general. ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Findit, Inc. (OTC PINK:FDIT) owner of Findit.com, a full service social networking management platform which provides online marketing services, is featuring Findit member Chavez for Charity and their new limited edition charity bracelet that benefits the animal rescue efforts from the Australia fires, the Wildlife Rescue Bracelet featuring a beautiful Koala Charm. With the outbreak of fires in Australia that now have displaced over 800 million animals and burned 2 million acres of land, Chavez for Charity has announced a limited edition charity bracelet that helps support animals affected by the Australia Fires. Through your purchase of their limited edition charity bracelet, Wildlife Rescue Bracelet, you are supporting WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc.), which is the largest wildlife rescue organization in Australia. WIRES has 28 branches across Australia with over 2500 volunteers. In December alone, WIRES received over 20,000 calls and volunteers attended over 3300 animal rescues. WIRES is dedicated to actively rehabilitating and preserving Australian wildlife and inspiring others to do the same. You can show your support today and help spread the word for Chavez for Charity's mission as well as WIRES' mission by purchasing the limited edition wildlife rescue charity bracelet from Chavez for Charity. Limited Edition Wildlife and Animal Rescue Bracelet Every wildlife rescue charity bracelet supporting WIRES and animal rescue efforts that Chavez for Charity sells, 25% of net profits will go directly to WIRES so they can continue their animal rescue efforts across Australia. To learn more about Chavez for Charity, visithttp://www.chavezforcharity.com. To learn more about WIRES and their amazing work, visitWildlife Rescue Bracelet. To support the Australia Fire and Animal Rescue effort, please consider donating by purchasing a charity bracelet today. Findit focuses on reaching the target demographics for Chavez for Charity that may or may not be aware of them in an effort to heighten brand awareness of their services and in some cases, their extensive product lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XcHFZ43qLk About Chavez for Charity When Julie Chavez founded Chavez for Charity in 2013, she had an ambitious vision. She wanted to create a line of colorful bracelets that would contribute, in a significant way, to some of the most important humanitarian issues facing our world today. Leveraging her background as the Founder and Designer of the small, yet highly coveted jewelry line Marie Chavez, whose fans included a-list celebrities like Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Rosario Dawson, and Anne Hathaway, Julie carefully crafted a brand that is unique in its mission and has a purpose much greater than profits. Supporting their trademark phrase "Colors for Causes', each of the 10 colors in the collection represents a distinct cause. For every product sold, Chavez for Charity donates 25% of their profit to each color's corresponding cause. To date, Chavez for Charity has provided over 6,000 people in rural and impoverished communities with clean water; funded over 500 micro-loans for women entrepreneurs world wide, covered 1,400 hours of critical pediatric cancer research, impacted 724 students in Ghana for a lifetime with Teacher Support Programming - and the list goes on. With over 3,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada carrying their iconic bracelets, in 2018 Chavez for Charity will proudly celebrate 1.6 million dollars in donations. While this is a major milestone for the company, it is just the beginning of what they aspire to accomplish. About Findit, Inc. Findit.com which is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit, Inc., is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increase in brand awareness of our members. Findit, Inc., trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTCPinksheets." Safe Harbor: This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Findit, Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed. CONTACT: Clark St. Amant 404-443-3224 SOURCE: Findit, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/572721/Findit-Features-Member-Chavez-for-Charity-For-Their-Limited-Edition-Wildlife-Rescue-Charity-Bracelet-Benefitting-Animal-Rescue-Efforts-From-Australia-Fires By Abdul Kerimkhanov The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) will open new gas stations in Ukraines Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro cities in 2020. Work has already begun on the construction of new gas stations in the cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv. In late January, construction work will begin in Dnipro as well, SOCAR Energy Ukraine, which is a subsidiary of SOCAR in Ukraine, told local media. In line with the SOCAR traditions, the building has been constructed by using the synthesis of concrete, glass and metal. Currently, 60 gas stations operate in the SOCAR Energy Ukraine, 13 of which are located in the Kyiv region. SOCAR has been carrying out its activities in Ukraine through SOCAR Energy Ukraine since 2009. SOCAR filling station network in the country includes 60 filling stations and two oil tankers located in 11 regions of Ukraine. The main activity of SOCAR Energy Ukraine is to improve the network of petrol filling stations and organize wholesale of petrol and oil products in Ukraine. Currently, 50 specialists are employed at the company. Nine petrol filling stations belonging to SOCAR Energy Ukraine are functioning in Odessa and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine, and in capital Kyiv. A few more petrol filling stations are expected to be launched in the near future in various regions of the country. In 2009, SOCAR purchased Naftonreyd oil base with area of 3.6 ha located 5 km off the city of Ukraines Odessa. With total capacity of 25,250 cubic meters and annual turnover of 200,000 cubic meters, this oil base has been designed to store oil products. Since late 2016, the company has also been engaged in trade of natural gas in Ukraine. Four oil bases belonging to SOCAR Energy Ukraine operate in Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv and Kharkiv cities. SOCAR Energy Ukraines subsidiaries Torgoviy Dom and SOCAR-AVIA organize the sale of light oil products and aviation fuel at Ukrainian airports. Since its establishment, SOCAR Energy Ukraine has invested $286 million in the country, mainly spent on the creation of petrol stations, acquisition of oil bases and working capital. Earlier, the company said that the expansion of the complex of services at gas filling stations and increasing the sales of related products, as well as opening up to eight new filling stations, and installing modules for the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas at all existing filling stations remain the priorities for SOCAR in 2019. SOCAR is the sole producer of petroleum products in Azerbaijan owning over 370 filling stations in Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Switzerland. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will advance legislation next week that will formally trigger a trial. Washington, DC House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to legislators on Friday she will send articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the United States Senate next week. The procedural move will end a nearly four-week delay in which Democrats sought to raise public pressure on Senate Republicans to agree to call key witnesses and demand documents in the trial. The American people have clearly expressed their view that we should have a fair trial with witnesses and documents, with more than 70 percent of the public stating that the president should allow his top aides to testify, Pelosi said in the letter. The House of Representative impeached Trump on December 18 for abuse of power related to his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the House impeachment investigation. Democrats want four witnesses, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, to testify in a Senate trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a close Trump ally, announced on Tuesday Republicans would not commit to calling witnesses but rather would hear the Houses case and the presidents defence first. Bolton, who was a party to Oval Office conversations with Trump about Ukraine, said in a statement on Monday he would be willing to testify to the Senate if subpoenaed. US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi answers questions during a news conference at the US Capitol [Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP] Democrats have accused McConnell and Senate Republicans of attempting to orchestrate a cover-up of Trumps actions by refusing to allow witnesses. McConnell showed his true colours and made his intentions to stonewall a fair trial even clearer by supporting a Senate resolution that would dismiss the articles of impeachment, Pelosi said in her letter to colleagues. A dismissal is a cover-up and deprives the American people of the truth, Pelosi said in her letter. Pelosi listed a series of new disclosures of information since the House voted to impeach Trump in December, including White House and Defense Department emails obtained by outside groups and media organisations showing the presidents role in the Ukraine pressure campaign. The House will vote next week on a resolution naming managers who will serve as prosecutors of the impeachment case in the Senate and formally transmitting the articles, Pelosis letter said. A trial in the Senate is expected to end with an acquittal. The chamber is made up of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats. At least 20 Republicans would have to vote with all Democrats and two independents to remove the president from office. The House impeachment inquiry centred on a July 25 phone call between the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart. Democrats allege Trump abused his power of office by organising a pressure campaign to exhort a promise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce investigations into Biden and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 US elections. On the July call, Trump urged Zelenskyy to open an investigation into Biden, who is a 2020 Democratic presidential frontrunner, and his son, Hunter, who had served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens. At the time of the call, the Trump administration was withholding nearly $400m in military assistance to Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and labelled the impeachment a hoax. Bill Brown is the CEO of AorTech International plc (LON:AOR). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO. View our latest analysis for AorTech International How Does Bill Brown's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? According to our data, AorTech International plc has a market capitalization of UK14m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK180k over the year to March 2019. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK138k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under UK153m, and the median CEO total compensation was UK251k. So Bill Brown is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at AorTech International has changed over time. AIM:AOR CEO Compensation, January 10th 2020 Is AorTech International plc Growing? AorTech International plc has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 3.7% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 25% over last year. As investors, we are a bit wary of companies that have lower earnings per share, over three years. But on the other hand, revenue growth is strong, suggesting a brighter future. These two metric are moving in different directions, so while it's hard to be confident judging performance, we think the stock is worth watching. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. Has AorTech International plc Been A Good Investment? I think that the total shareholder return of 374%, over three years, would leave most AorTech International plc shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size. Story continues In Summary... Bill Brown is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies. While we would like to see improved growth metrics, there is no doubt that the total returns have been great, over the last three years. So we can conclude that on this analysis the CEO compensation seems pretty sound. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at AorTech International. If you want to buy a stock that is better than AorTech International, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. Eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said he would not stop military operations against forces loyal to a Tripoli administration, even as he praised a ceasefire initiative issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on January 8. In a statement read by his spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari, Haftar claimed that a revival of the political process and the country's stability could only be assured by the "eradication of terrorist groups" and the dissolution of militia controlling Tripoli. An adviser to Haftar said that Haftar's position did not amount to a rejection of the ceasefire initiative, but rather "conditions that must be fulfilled" ahead of any truce. Haftar's forces in April launched an offensive against the capital, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord. Haftar "hailed... President Vladimir Putin's initiative" in his statement yesterday, but stressed that the "efforts of the armed forces in the war against terrorists" would continue, his spokesman said. "These groups have seized the capital and received the support of some countries and governments who supply them with military equipment, ammunition... and drones. These countries also send terrorists all over the world to fight (Haftar's) armed force," the AFP cited him as saying. Haftar was referring to Turkey, which has recently sent some troops to shore up the GNA, while he also accused Ankara of sending pro-Turkish Syrian fighters to Libya. Libya has been in a state of a civil war since its longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was ousted and killed in 2011. Since then, political power in the country has been split between two rival governments: the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress. Following the signing of a UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement in December 2015, a Government of National Accord was established in the country and started working in late March 2016. What did we turn over to President-elect Trump in 2017? Iran was in compliance with the nuclear agreement. Our allies were united with the United States. There were no missile attacks on United States facilities. No ships were being detained or sabotaged in the Persian Gulf. There were no protesters breaching our embassy in Baghdad. Iraq welcomed our presence fighting ISIS. And Iran would be unable to move toward a nuclear weapon without our knowing it through inspections authorized by the agreement. None of our allies thought the work was over after the deal was struck. But we had laid a foundation of diplomacy from which other issues might be addressed. In 2016, we defused deep disagreements with Iran over prisoners and averted conflict when American sailors inadvertently entered Iranian waters and were detained by Iranian forces. We were working with allies to deepen sanctions on Iran for its involvement in Yemen, its transfer of weapons to Hezbollah and its actions in Syria, its human rights violations, its threats against Israel and its ballistic missile program. The nuclear agreement would have been justified if it did nothing more than prevent Iran from building a bomb. But it also created opportunities for the United States to bring pressure on Iran on other issues. President Trump could have built on that, with the luxury of knowing that the urgent, immediate nuclear threat had been put back in the bottle. We know what Mr. Trump did instead. He put his disdain for anything done by the last administration ahead of his duty to keep the country safe. He alienated our allies. He recklessly rushed ahead without any strategy. We have been left with an incoherent Iran and Iraq policy that has made the region more dangerous and put Americans at greater risk. After the president ignored Rex Tillerson and James Mattis, his first secretaries of state and defense, who argued that we should stay within the agreement, he found a new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who tweets video of Iraqis celebrating the killing of General Suleimani eerily reminiscent of 2003, when Iraqis were spotted celebrating the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. It was fantasy then and it is fantasy now to believe this bodes well for our relations with Iraq, as Parliaments vote on American forces underscores. A blighted block at a key Charleston intersection is about to undergo a massive overhaul. Columbus, Ohio-based Lifestyle Communities plans to start work in about 60 days on a $120 million, 293-unit apartment project called LC Line Street where U.S. Interstate 26 terminates at Meeting Street. Construction of the nine-story structure is expected to wrap up in 2022. The site is the block bound by Line, Meeting and Sheppard streets and is bisected by the future Lowcountry LowLine, a linear park the city and private investors are developing along an old railroad right-of-way. Lifestyle Communities has paid a combined $22 million to assemble its land for the project. Last month, it acquired less than an acre between the former train tracks and Barsa restaurant from Norfolk Southern Railway for $8.1 million. Another phase of construction is planned on the newly acquired tract, which is just west of the LowLine property, said Rob Zelina, senior vice president at Lifestyle Communities. He said the exact timing and scope of the second segment of the project has not been determined, but it could include a building that's seven to nine stories tall with 250 apartment units, Zelina said. Lifestyle's holdings also include a few small lots on the south side of Line Street backing up to The Guild apartment building. That property is owned by the parent company of The Post and Courier. Recently erected orange barricades and chain-link fencing foretell the planned relocation of dilapidated and abandoned homes on the property closer to the corner of Line and Meeting streets in what will be called The Enclave, Zelina said. They will be refurbished. "It's going to look and feel like it's been part of the Charleston community for centuries," Zelina said. "It's important for us to maintain the architectural feel of the community." The reuse of the homes will become the focal point of the apartment community and include a Lifestyle-branded restaurant called The Goat, a leasing office and studio apartments. The restaurant concept, which has been incorporated into the company's other projects, has proven to be a social gathering spot for residents and the general public, Zelina said. "It draws people out of their units to come to the community center," he said. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Elsewhere on the property, an antebellum smokestack at the center of what had been a self-storage facility will be retained, and a historic train shed will be converted into 18 loft-style rental units. Commercial space is planned for part of a shed facing Line Street. In all, about 22,000 square feet of commercial space is included in the first phase, where about 100 jobs will likely be created between tenants and the developer's employees. The bulk of the residential rental units will be wrapped around a parking deck with an entrance off Line Street. Monthly rental rates have not been established, but Zelina said they will be comparable to nearby developments such as The Guild, where apartment rents start at $1,700. In contrast to the weathered structures bordering the property now, the new development will be between the new headquarters of Greystar Real Estate Partners to the south and the modern-brick Five Eleven Meeting Apartments to the north. Plans presented to the city in 2018 depicted a collection of different architecturally styled buildings that would greet commuters and visitors to the city as they drive from I-26 onto Meeting Street. Zelina hopes LC Line won't be the company's only deal in the Charleston area. It plans to have a local presence for the long haul and not flip the project once it's completed, he said. "We are committing to Charleston for the next 25 to 30 years," he said. The company hopes to build between 2,500 and 3,000 units over the next five years in the region, with the downtown project as the core regional office. He noted peninsular Charleston stands out from other East Coast cities partly because of its historic preservation efforts, which can be both a hindrance and an advantage. "It does take a little bit of effort to build in Charleston, and we like that," Zelina said. "At the end of the day it can limit supply and competition." Besides its home base of Columbus, Lifestyle Communities also operates in Nashville; Louisville, Ky., and the Raleigh-Durham area. It will soon begin development in Austin, Texas, and has Denver in its sights for future development, according to its website. Vietnam will consult other countries regarding the tension between the United States and Iran as it presides over the January agenda of the UN Security Council (UNSC), according to the foreign ministrys spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang. The U.S. and Iran have been embroiled in confrontations since Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed by Washington's drone strike in Iraq last week. As a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Vietnam also takes part in handling the conflict, Hang said during a press conference in Hanoi on Thursday. Vietnam will preside over the UNSC program in January as the councils rotating president and will consult countries on the issue, she added. Vietnam is concerned about the recent tensions in the Middle East, Hang stated. We call on all relevant parties to exercise self-restraint, avoid escalating tensions, not to use force, protect civilians, and resolve disagreements through dialogue and peaceful measures on the basis of respecting international law for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world. To ensure security and safety for Vietnamese citizens in the Middle East, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday advised Vietnamese against visiting countries in the region that could be affected by the conflict. It also recommended that Vietnamese communities in the affected nations avoid going to areas marked as dangerous, and follow local authorities instructions to ensure the safety of their lives and possessions. The foreign ministry has publicized the citizen protection hotlines of all representative agencies of Vietnam in the region. Those representative agencies are also ready to take citizen protection measures when necessary, Hang remarked. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The National Association of Seadogs, otherwise known as Pyrates Confraternity, has appealed to Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade, to intervene in the case of the detained Nigerian journalist, Agba Jalingo. Mr Jalingo, who is facing treason charges, was arrested on August 22 over a report alleging that Mr Ayade diverted N500 million belonging to the state. The journalist spent Christmas holiday, as well as his birthday, January 2, in Calabar prison where he is incarcerated. Several individuals and organisations, including Amnesty International, have been campaigning for his release. Mr Jalingos detention and trial is a drawback for Mr Ayade, the Pyrates, Cross River chapter, said in a January 7 letter to the governor. (It is) some fly in the ointment, said the letter which was signed by the chapter president, Maurice Ibok. It is a matter which has become truly worrisome in several quarters and borders on human rights. We are concerned that the longer that this detention lasts, the bigger the risk of distraction which your government faces. We do not believe that your government desires or even would enjoy any distraction at this or any other point in time. Besides, it is not heartwarming to experience negative mention in relation to matters of human rights, the group said in the letter. The group said Mr Jalingos case is an unnecessary controversy that Governor Ayade has the capacity to bring an end to. Why we wrote Ayade Mr Ibok told PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday, that Mr Jalingo is not a member of Pyrates. We are just doing one of our social advocacy, he said. Nigerias Noble Laurette, Wole Soyinka, December, reportedly described Mr Jalingos treason trial as an anomaly. I must tell you that I was horrified to read of treason charges levelled against a citizen for criticising a state government, said Mr Soyinka who, together with six other students of the then University College, Ibadan, founded the Pyrates in 1952 to fight for human rights and social justice. I wasnt aware that its possible to commit treason against a state government. And that obviously is an anomaly. It will be one of the most absurd political arrangement which made it possible for a non-sovereign government, because the state government is not a sovereign government; so how can you commit treason against a non-sovereign government, to begin with? Protesting voices at Calabar Carnival Meanwhile, a group, Coalition of Cross River Civil Society Organisations, miffed by the continuous detention of Mr Jalingo, staged a street protest during the just concluded Calabar Carnival. It is unclear what impact the protest had on the carnival which usually attracts hundreds of tourists from within and outside Nigeria, but there are people who believe that Mr Jalingos case may have taken some shine off the event. READ ALSO: The poor human rights has overshadowed the tourism attraction that Cross River once offered, Nsikak Akpabio, an Uyo-based campaigner for human rights and good governance, told PREMIUM TIMES. Before now, whenever you mentioned Cross River or Calabar, what usually pops up in the mind was tourism, Calabar Carnival, Tinapa, Obudu Cattle Ranch, and all that. Im an alumnus of the University of Calabar, I remember how I used to brag about the beauty and serenity of Calabar to friends and relatives. I remember how we used to look forward at this time of the year to travel to Calabar for the carnival. Its quite sad that the detention and trial of Agba Jalingo seems to top the discourse whenever Cross River is mentioned today, Mr Akpabio said. He appealed to Governor Ayade to bring an end to Mr Jalingos trial in order to redeem the image of Cross River. Advertisements Siege on critics Apart from Mr Jalingo, another critic of Governor Ayade, Joseph Odok, is being held in Calabar prison. Mr Odok, a lawyer, was arrested on September 26 in Abuja and taken to Calabar where he is facing terrorism charges. His arrest and incarceration is believed to have been instigated by the governor because of his constant criticism of the Cross River government. We are on his bail application, there are few documents we are putting together, Mr Odoks lawyer, Oliver Osang, told PREMIUM TIMES, on Christmas Day. Mr Odoks Facebook page contains critical remarks on Mr Ayade. In one of his posts on the social media site in September, Mr Odok described the governor as a joker. Ayade keep getting it wrong with lofty projects. Why talk of Spaghetti flyover when you have not maintained or completed a single road project from your first administration? A man that cant complete a single road keeps talking Super High Way, Deep Sea Port and now Spaghetti flyover. This joke is getting out of hands, he wrote on Facebook. President Trump once said, "Foreign policy is what I'll be remembered for." His foreign policy will certainly be talked about for how erratic and alarming it has been. After three years of his presidency, everyone has become accustomed to Trump contradicting himself and reversing policies. In the case of very recent military tensions between Turkey and Kurds in northern Syria, he made radically contradictory policy statements. Initially, he warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to move Turkish soldiers to Syria, then gave the green light to Turkey's military operation against the Kurds, an American ally. After public opinion registered dismay with how he had betrayed the Kurds, Trump threatened to destroy the Turkish economy. And then he did another 180-degree turn and praised Erdogan for accepting a ceasefire. No one knows what Trump will tweet or say tomorrow. This type of diplomacy should concern but not surprise us. This is what Trump meant when he promised that he would run the country like a business. As a real estate developer, Trump didn't plan and organize a complicated production process with integrated parts, build a supply chain that required working cooperatively with other businesses, or establish long-term relationships with suppliers based on trust. He just bought and sold properties. He drew lessons from a career in real estate based on one-off negotiations that he thinks can be applied to foreign policy. Because of his experience in real estate, Trump believes business is predatory, and dishonesty is pervasive within it. Transparency is a mistake. As one of his aides, George H. Ross, wrote in "Trump Style Negotiation," "if it is to their advantage not to be totally truthful," people will not tell the truth. He also believes there are no rules in negotiations. Lying, cheating and deception are normal strategies that negotiators typically employ. As Ross advised in his book, "Anything goes." The president also believes successful negotiations depend upon the personality and charisma of the principals. He has stated that it is not the nature of a particular transaction that really matters, but one's background, reputation and track record. Decisions are not the result of rational calculation but reflect the strength of the personalities involved. He believes, too, that pretending to be the most aggressive, swaggering, wise guy always pays off in the negotiations, and that the bigger the lie and the stature of the teller, the more it's accepted. As president, Trump has simply applied these lessons to foreign policy. So his contradictions and reversals do not reflect an amoral lack of principle and scruples. Rather, they are a strategy designed to conceal his true intentions, which is perfectly legitimate in a hostile world. His personal diplomacy takes advantage of his "unmatched wisdom" to which other world leaders succumb, making it possible to extract concessions from them. And he uses such intemperate language in exchanges with other world leaders because he believes there should be no binding rules in diplomatic relations between states as there are no rules among business competitors. These strategies not only don't work in foreign policy, but they would also fail miserably in other industries, such as manufacturing, where continuous, recurring, inter-firm relations are vital. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Real estate buyers and sellers engage in one-time transactions. Countries and businesses need to have trust and confidence in each other when they negotiate because they know they will be dealing with each other tomorrow. International economic and political negotiations have never been free from deception. And it can be as hostile as the real estate business. But all sustainable agreements need to be fair for all sides and be based on a win-win approach. Settlements based only on competition and zero-sum logic are always short-lived. And lying, cheating and dishonesty undermine future negotiations. Successful foreign policy endures beyond the terms of presidents and prime ministers. This is why maintaining the professional integrity of the U.S. State Department is so vital and why Trump's efforts to undermine it are so disturbing. Its procedures give countries confidence and trust when they engage in diplomacy with us. While keeping his promise and running the country according to the lessons he learned in the real estate business, Trump and his policies are failing. Emre Balikci is a visiting assistant professor of economics at St. Lawrence University. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Burkina Faso army is providing an adequate response to the security situation in the country, marked by almost daily terrorist attacks, Defense Minister, Cherif Sy, said on Friday after a meeting with the general officers of the army China likes to contrast its own policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries with US interference in places such as the Middle East. After the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil last week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging all parties to abide by the purposes and principles of the basic norms of international relations. It said the US in particular should exercise restraint. Loading Yet the latest twist in the case of Wang Liqiang, who is seeking political asylum in Australia and claims to be a former Chinese spy, provides an insight into how China is spreading its influence worldwide. The details are confusing and, like everything to do with Mr Wang, open to multiple interpretations. But, as the Herald reported this week, Mr Wang says he was the target of an extortion attempt by figures aligned with the Chinese Communist Party who wanted him to take part in a plot to influence the result of Saturdays crucial elections in Taiwan. Megyn Kelly has kept her distance from Bombshell, a Hollywood awards contender that presents her as a key figure in exposing sexual harassment at Fox News. Until now. On Thursday, the former Fox News anchor posted an online video, nearly 30 minutes long, that shows her watching the film in the company of other women who said they were sexually harassed while working at the network under its chairman, Roger Ailes, who died in 2017, less than a year after he was forced out. The video includes a detailed discussion between Ms. Kelly and her former colleagues in which they share painful details of what it was like to work at the network. One of the women, Juliet Huddy, said that during a workplace meeting, Mr. Ailes said, Turn around, let me see your ass. In a written introduction to the video on her Instagram page, Ms. Kelly, who had previously described being harassed by Mr. Ailes in her 2016 memoir Settle for More, said she had no connection to Bombshell. I did not produce, consult on, or have anything to do with the film, she wrote. Neither I nor the women I watched it with sold the rights to our stories (or in my case, my book), so it was somewhat jarring to see a version of our experiences told by strangers. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday hit out at Left organisations alleging that they pre-planned the violence which took place in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on January 5. "Today's police press conference established that for the last five days, the chorus that was created deliberately to blame ABVP, BJP, and others, that wasn't true. It is the left organisations that pre-planned violence, disabled CCTV and destroyed server," he told ANI. The Delhi Police Crime Branch investigating the case of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University has identified and released photographs of nine suspects, including JNU Students Union JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh. "Those identified include- Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Aishe Ghosh, Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukraj, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj, Vikas Patel," DCP Joy Tirkey, who is heading a Special Investigation Team said at a press conference here. The senior police official said that no suspect had been detained yet but the process of interrogation of suspects would begin soon. Three cases have been registered till now, and they are being investigated by us, the SIT chief said. Addressing the media Tirkey also released images of the suspects. The DCP said that the team was investigating three cases registered in connection with the series of events that had started from January 3. "On January 3 a group entered the computer room forcefully, manhandled the staff and turned off the server switch which led to cancellation of the registration process. In this connection JNU administration registered a case, but again on January 4 students clashed with staff and a glass door of the server room was broken. It was damaged, and then again agitators clashed with students who were in line for registrations," Tirkey said. On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A year of further growth building on Altrad's foundations of Excellence Altrad Group, a global leader in industrial maintenance services across multiple sectors, is pleased to report its Full-Year Results for the fiscal year ended 31 August 2019. HIGHLIGHTS A year of solid financial and operational performance resulting in earnings growth Revenue at 3,105m (2018: 3,419m) EBITDA of 462m (2018: 443m) Net profit of 202m (2018: 201m) The Group has maintained its Services order book for the year of 2.3 billion Cash of 911m (2018: 794m) Net Debt at 510m (2018: 678m) Commenting on the Results, CEO Louis Huetz said: "We are happy to deliver another set of excellent full-year results reflecting the successful growth strategy that the group has adopted in recent years and our continued focus on building a diverse and stable business underpinned by Excellence. We anticipated a lower revenue this year on account of completion of a number of large projects, however the operational and financial performance surpassed expectation resulting in enhanced profitability. By leveraging our established reputation as a global leader, as well as our scale and capabilities to meet client expectations, it has enabled us to maintain a strong order book that enables good visibility on revenue for years to come. This year we secured important contracts with a variety of blue-chip clients across our various sectors and geographies, and we expect to grow the order book further with some key renewals this fiscal year. We are confident that Altrad's 2020 multi-year strategic plan will enable the Group to deliver sustainable long-term organic growth. Our near-term outlook for the Group as a whole looks solid and we aim to further strengthen our strategic positioning to enable us to increase in scale and profitability next year." OVERVIEW Altrad has delivered a strong financial performance this fiscal year by building on the robust and diversified service offering assembled through organic and acquisitive means in recent years. The strength of operational and financial performance reflects the Group's status as a global leader with diversity of value-add services and established positions in multiple markets and sectors. Consistent with the previous year, nearly one third of Altrad's activity takes place outside of Europe, giving the Group exposure to both mature and emerging markets in regions including Pacific, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Continental Europe represents 44% of group revenue, and the UK represents 29%. Altrad provides support in all these markets to majors and multinationals that are leaders in their respective sectors including EDF, SNCF, Total, Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Equinor, Dow, Samsung Heavy Industries, Sonatrach and Saudi Aramco. Altrad also benefits from a balanced sales mix between Oil and Gas (30%), Construction (35%), Process Industries (25%) and Power (10%), providing protection from any downturns that may occur in each sector. One of the core elements of Altrad's strategy is the "One Altrad" vision which aligns all of the businesses under the Altrad Group, consolidating and involving all subsidiaries to share the same approach focusing on innovation, synergy, sharing and dissemination of best practice. This year Altrad successfully completed the integration of its three major industrial services groups, being Cape, Hertel and Prezioso Linjebygg, under the newly formed brand Altrad Services. Following a successful period of strategic integration, Altrad Services now benefits from a collaborative knowledge-share and expanding network of customers providing further growth opportunities. FINANCIALS The Group generated strong revenue of 3,105 million during the fiscal year, ahead of expectation at the Half Year and reflecting the completion of some material project work. Of note, over 70% of the Services revenue, which represents 78% of the Group revenue, is a recurring revenue profile from multi-year maintenance contracts. The Group achieved an impressive level of profitability, with EBITDA margin of 14.9% trending positively from 13.2% figure at Half Year, resulting in EBITDA of 462 million with a net profit of 202 million. At year end, Altrad Services' order book stood at 2.3 billion, providing decent coverage for the anticipated activity for the coming year. The Group expects to secure 50% of the turnover from major services orders in less than a year to provide more order book cover and stronger visibility on revenue. Net debt at period end was 510 million, significantly less than last year, resulting in a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.1x, compared with 1.53x the previous year, demonstrating the strength of the Group's free cash flow generation. MARKET CONDITIONS Oil Gas represents a material sector for Altrad in terms of revenue, making up 30% of the Group's turnover. The acquisitions of Hertel (2015), Prezioso (2016) and Cape (2017), which have subsequently formed Altrad Services, have profoundly transformed the Group's profile into a leader in the sector. Altrad sees significant long-term opportunities in the Oil and Gas sector and has recently been awarded a number of material contracts. These include contracts with Woodside Energy Ltd, ADNOC Fertilizers Ruwais, KLNG and DOOSAN. With the current oil price above $65/bbl, confidence in the global offshore oil sector continues to strengthen and a drive to broaden the geographical reach of the Group's diverse service offering is resulting in new orders and opportunities. The LNG market continues to grow, with strong opportunities in China fabrication yards. Altrad has worked on 70% of the world's LNG plants and is well positioned to leverage its unique expertise to provide world class maintenance activities to completed projects and capitalise on new Green Field project opportunities. Altrad is now the world leader in services to industry, providing the petrochemical and energy infrastructure sectors with streamlined and dynamic solutions for projects, maintenance, modifications and overhauls. The nuclear industry is currently providing a strong pipeline of long-term opportunities with a series of projects underway, as well as extension, maintenance and decommissioning activities in the core markets of France and UK. Altrad is part of the UK Hinkley Point C MEH alliance, which composes of four major UK contactors to work together on the complex installation of cabling and pipework in the power station's 2,500 rooms. This 7-year contract not only provides a long-term income but also is a prestigious alliance with other leaders in the sector. The Group's Equipment business, representing 22% of Group turnover, has performed well supported by robust appetite for the rental of Altrad's equipment throughout Europe. Whilst uncertainties associated with Brexit have resulted in a slowdown and reduced budget for the current fiscal year, the Group continues to develop wider synergistic collaboration between Services and Equipment by leveraging the strong presence of Services in Middle East and APAC to create further growth opportunities for this division across the Group's global footprint. OUTLOOK The Group's exposure to multiple sectors creates a compelling differentiating factor and strengthens its position as a true industry leader in its chosen markets. The newly formed Altrad Services sees a robust pipeline of opportunities from both existing and prospective targets, and the Group continues to leverage its reputation for delivering innovative, value-add services to its blue-chip customers. The vast majority of the Group's income is generated from recurring maintenance contracts, providing solid visibility on long term sustainable income for the business. A number of material maintenance contracts are up for renewal this fiscal year which, if secured, will further strengthen the Group's visibility and confidence in the near-medium term outlook. The Group is continuously improving its collaboration between Services and Equipment in order to provide greater opportunity for growth within each division. The Group continuously screens opportunities in line with its inorganic growth strategy and remains well positioned to consider compelling and value accretive acquisition targets. Overall, the Group's near-term outlook is solid based on the strength of its order book and business development activities across its core markets. ANNUAL REPORT For further detail on the Group's activities and operations, please access the Annual Report from the following link: https://www.altrad.com/en/newsreader/annual-report-2019.html ABOUT ALTRAD GROUP Altrad is a global leader in the provision of industrial services, generating high added value solutions principally for the Oil Gas, Energy, Power Generation, Process, Environment and Construction sectors. The group is also a recognised leader in the manufacturing of equipment dedicated to the Construction and Building market. Altrad's multidisciplinary services range from engineering and technical services to maintenance, access solutions and specialised services for industry leaders. The Group, headquartered in France, employs around 41,000 people and owns established international brands including Cape, Hertel and Prezioso Linjebygg. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005014/en/ Contacts: For media enquiries: Buchanan: Ben Romney Hannah Ratcliff E: altrad@buchanan.uk.com T: +44-(0)20-7466-5000 Altrad: Group Head Office 125, Rue du Mas de Carbonnier 34000 Montpellier France E: antoine.martinez@altrad.com T: +33-(0)4-67-94-52-52 Like Amazon and Googles home ecosystem ventures, Samsung sees the Mini acting as the hub connecting all its present and future AI-embedded hardware. That would encompass any devices connected through its SmartThings app as well as gadget rivals products linked via infrared hookups. With plateauing smartphone and PC sales, voice-based computing is among the biggest growth opportunities remaining in the tech industry and the home is where some of the earliest consumer adoption is happening. Forrester Research Inc. expects the market for smart home devices to expand 26% a year between 2018 and 2023. Samsungs own home Internet of Things business grew 10-fold in 2019 from the previous year, mainly thanks to South Korea, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, according to Sunggy Koo, head of the business at Samsung. Wearable technology is another big area of focus for growth-starved companies, and Samsungs latest effort is a teaser for its own AR glasses, seeking to succeed where Google Glass failed. The company is working to minimize dizziness, said Kim, which is the key to making the glasses as small as possible. Apple and Facebook Inc. are both working on AR glasses of their own, Bloomberg News has reported, and Microsoft Corp. offers the HoloLens headset. Kristie Flowers had been sick with the flu for four or five days in July before the 52-year-old registered nurse from Genoa, Colo., acknowledged she needed to go to the ER. At Lincoln Community Hospital, about 10 miles from her home on the Eastern Plains of Colorado, doctors quickly diagnosed her with pneumonia and sepsis. Her right lung had completely filled with fluid, and Flowers needed much more intensive care than the 15-bed hospital could provide. Doctors stabilized Flowers and transferred her by ambulance about 80 miles away to St. Francis Medical Center in Colorado Springs. There, doctors put her on a ventilator for 10 days as they slowly nursed her back to health. After two weeks, she returned to Lincoln Community Hospital for another week of rehab before going home. After her insurance plan had paid its share, Flowers owed $8,000 in medical bills. A big chunk represented the $3,500 deductible from her employer-sponsored health plan. Never one to let the bills pile up, Flowers went to the bank and took out an $8,000 loan to pay off her medical tab. Plans with annual deductibles of $3,000, $5,000 or even $10,000 have become commonplace since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as insurers look for ways to keep monthly premiums to a minimum. But in rural areas, where high-deductible plans are even more prevalent and incomes tend to be lower than in urban areas, patients often struggle to pay those deductibles. That has hit patients like Flowers hard as they grapple with medical debt when emergencies happen but small rural hospitals like Lincoln Community are suffering, too. These facilities often stabilize critically ill patients and then transfer them to larger regional or urban hospitals for more definitive care. But when the hospitals submit their claims, bills from the first site of care generally get applied to a patient's deductible. And if patients can't afford to cover that amount, those hospitals often don't get paid, even as the larger urban hospitals where patients were transferred get close to full payment from the health plan. "As soon as we send them to the city, those things start being paid by the insurance company," said Kevin Stansbury, CEO of Lincoln Community, "while we're still chasing the patient around for collections." The result is financial headaches for patients and a substantial rise in the amount of uncollectible "bad debt" written off by all hospitals during the past few years. According to the Healthcare Financial Management Association, hospital bad debt increased by $617 million to nearly $56.5 billion between 2015 and 2018. More hospitals, especially those in rural areas, are left teetering financially. At least 120 rural hospitals nationwide have shut down in the past decade. Without changes, advocates say, more will close, leaving patients such as Flowers in remote areas far from access to immediate emergency care. Shopping on premiums According to the nonprofit National Rural Health Association, bad debt for rural hospitals has gone up about 50% since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. "People in rural America were buying plans maybe for the first time, but buying plans they couldn't afford," said Maggie Elehwany, the group's vice president for government affairs and policy. The plans "seemed to make sense at the time, until they got sick." Part of the problem is that consumers primarily shop based on monthly premiums, and insurance plans can lower the monthly premiums they charge by increasing deductibles and copays. Some consumers take the gamble that they'll stay healthy and won't get stuck paying the high deductible. But others simply may not understand they are typically responsible for the full deductible before their insurance kicks in to cover the rest of their bills. In many rural counties, consumers shopping on their state's health insurance exchange had little choice. This year, about 10% of enrollees, living in 25% of counties, many of them heavily rural, will have access to just one insurer in their local Affordable Care Act marketplaces, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) "The exchanges have never worked the way they were envisioned," Elehwany said. "The goal was you go on your computer and it's going to be like buying an airline ticket, and just shopping around for what makes sense for you. There's no shopping in rural America. You have one choice." In Colorado, for example, the average deductible in 2017 was nearly $5,800 for a bronze-level plan. According to an analysis by the Colorado Center on Law & Policy, 1 in 4 Coloradans would not be able to afford to pay that deductible over the course of a year. The ability to pay was even worse in rural areas. Mark Holmes, director of the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, said that incomes are generally lower in rural areas than elsewhere, and that higher-income rural residents are more likely to travel to an urban hospital than to stay local. Lower-income rural residents, meanwhile, generally go to their local hospital, he said, but they are less likely to be able to meet a high deductible. Rural residents are also less likely to be covered by employer-sponsored plans and, therefore, more likely to face high deductibles than their urban counterparts. "They may never pay us," said Stella Worley, CEO of the 25-bed Keefe Memorial Hospital in Cheyenne Wells, Colo., near the Kansas line. "They get transferred onto high level of care and the other hospital gets paid. We get paid nothing a lot." Worley recalled one patient who had been treated and transferred to a larger hospital. Keefe Memorial wrote off $14,000 in total charges. The patient was billed $1,000 for his deductible and never paid it. Eventually, the unpaid bill went to a collection agency, which takes a 30% cut if it ever collects the fee. For many rural residents, paying a monthly premium and still facing thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs can feel like having no insurance at all. As a result, patients avoid seeking primary care services that could solve minor problems before they devolve into major health issues with much higher costs. "Some of the people I know in our community trying to get insurance for their employees had a $10,000 deductible, which is really catastrophic insurance," said Rob Santilli, CEO of Gunnison Valley Health, in Gunnison, Colo. "It's not going to help them, and it immediately puts them into bad debt with the first instance when they need coverage." To be sure, non-rural hospitals have also seen an increase in bad debt. But most city hospitals are part of a larger health system and can weather the storm better than small, independent rural hospitals operating on razor-thin margins. Colorado has so far avoided the rural hospital closures that have plagued other states. Nonetheless, 22 rural hospitals in Colorado operated in the red last year, according to Michelle Mills, CEO of the Colorado Rural Health Center. That's double the number in 2018. "We're definitely at a tipping point," Mills said. Finding solutions Hospital and rural health groups across Colorado are lobbying for changes in insurance plan designs to circumvent the impact from high-deductible plans. Lincoln Community's Stansbury suggested that primary care services, which help keep rural hospitals afloat and patients healthy, should be exempt from the deductible to encourage patients to keep up with their care. Another option would be simplifying billing so insurance plans would pay hospital and doctor bills directly and send patients a single bill of what they owe. That approach would solve a common complaint from patients who struggle to reconcile multiple bills from various hospitals, doctors and other health care providers that stem from a single episode of care. It would also shift the burden of collecting the patient's portion of the bill to insurance companies, and protect the hospitals against uncollectible bad debt, leveling the playing field for the rural hospitals. The Colorado Hospital Association is working with several state legislators to propose that sort of billing structure during the 2020 legislative session. Stansbury said the approach would also allow rural hospitals to focus on patient care rather than trying to collect payments. "We just don't have the expertise for billing," he said. "We do it badly." The National Rural Health Association favors requiring insurance plans that offer Medicare and Medicaid plans in rural areas to also offer exchange plans in those counties. If rural consumers had more options, they might be able to avoid high-deductible plans. That could minimize bad debt for rural hospitals and pay dividends far beyond health care, Elehwany said. "When you've got a small rural hospital and it closes, it's a nail in the coffin of that rural community," she said. "How are you going to attract a business? How are you going to keep your school if you don't have physicians? In rural America, health care is really part of the whole infrastructure of the community. 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. The music of groundbreaking pop star David Bowie, who is one of the best-selling artists of all time with than 100 million records sold worldwide, will be celebrated next week. The glam rocker who was known for his iconic Ziggy Stardust alter ego will be remembered next week at a concert in Gary's lakefront Miller Beach neighborhood. The Miller Beach Arts & Creative District is hosting the Lady Stardust David Bowie Cover Band for its Live on Lake Street show between 6 and 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16 at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts at 540 S. Lake St. "Indulge your sense of nostalgia in the comfort of our art center with all your friends and neighbors at our Live on Lake Street live music event held the Third Thursday of every month," The Miller Beach Arts & Creative District said in a press release. "Januarys gig brings us an all-women David Bowie tribute band featuring Natalie Gaza, Wendy Whitmore, Paulette Cialdella, Tina Teske and Jennifer Cimbala. They will host one short set of open mic as well." The Venice Biennale, the worlds longest-running large-scale survey of contemporary art, looked locally and internationally to find a curator for its next edition and selected a leader who personifies both. She is Cecilia Alemani, the curator of New Yorks High Line, the organization announced Friday. Ms. Alemani, born in Milan in 1977, has directed the High Lines art program since 2011, where she has commissioned large-scale works by artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Carol Bove, El Anatsui and Sarah Sze. She has also turned the elevated park into a venue for group shows, such as the current painting exhibition En Plein Air, and for performances by Maria Hassabi, Cally Spooner and other artists and choreographers. Recently the High Line inaugurated a major new sculptural commission at the parks spur near Hudson Yards; its first artist is Simone Leigh, whose 16-foot bronze Brick House is on view through September. From 2012 to 2017, Ms. Alemani was curator for Frieze Projects, the noncommercial sector of the art fair Frieze New York. She also has experience at the Venice Biennale, where in 2017 she boiled down the Italian national pavilion long derided as messy and artistically conservative to an ambitious three-artist showcase, complete with a massive reflecting pool by Andreotta Calo that alluded to Venices ongoing erosion. (Ms. Alemanis return to the Venetian lagoon is something of a family affair; her husband, the New Museum curator Massimiliano Gioni, organized an acclaimed edition in 2013.) Only four other women have organized the Venice Biennale in its century-long history, but none have been from Italy. As the first Italian woman to hold this position, I understand and appreciate the responsibility and also the opportunity offered to me, Ms. Alemani said. I intend to give voice to artists to create unique projects that reflect their visions and our society. earth asteroid meteorite collision collides shutterstock Shutterstock A 1.2-mile-wide meteorite struck Earth 800,000 years ago. Scientists have long known when the space rock hit and how far debris scattered, but they couldn't find the spot where the meteorite made landfall until now. A new study suggests the meteorite struck present-day Laos, and its impact crater lies beneath a volcanic field. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. About 800,000 years ago, a monster space rock struck the Earth hard and fast. The impact of the 1.2 mile-wide meteorite flung debris across 10% of the planet's surface. Scientists have found this ancient debris, mostly in the form of glass blobs known as tektites, in Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. But until now, researchers had never found the site where the meteorite hit. They'd been searching unsuccessfully for more than a century. In a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists describe the location where they think this massive rock crashed: a volcanic field in southeastern Laos. "There have been many, many attempts to find the impact site and many suggestions, ranging from northern Cambodia, to central Laos, and even southern China, and from eastern Thailand to offshore Vietnam," Kerry Sieh, the lead author of the study, told CNN. Sieh's team's research offers strong evidence that the crater is buried underground which explains why researchers couldn't find it before. The case of a missing impact crater When a meteorite hits, it super-heats rocks at the point of impact and catapults them into the sky. These liquefied rocks then cool into tektites. By examining where tektites are strewn, scientists can trace the origin of the meteorite that created them. tektites Brocken Inaglory In the case of this strike, the tektites told scientists that a massive meteorite struck Earth's surface 800,000 years ago, somewhere between the three continents where they found the glass bits. The greatest density of tektites have been found in Indochina the peninsula that consists of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam making that the most logical place to search for the crater. Story continues But a meteorite that big should have left a mile-wide scar on the Earth and plunged 300 feet into the ground, according to the study authors. "That's a very difficult size hole to make go away," Aaron Cavosie, an Australian planetary scientist who was not involved in the study, told the New York Times. Impact craters can, however, get buried under shifting tectonic plates or scraped away by erosion (though Indochina is a relatively stable part of our planet). In his hunt for the crater, Sieh first looked at three ancient impact sites in Cambodia, central Laos, and southern China. But each crater was tens of millions of years older than the crash site has was searching for. Then, in a region of southern Laos called the Bolaven Plateau, the researchers found lava flows that fit the age bracket: They were between 51,000 and 780,000 years old. Bolaven lava field laos Sieh et al./PNAS 2019 Eruptions on that 2,300-square-mile plateau had created a bed of layered lava 1,000 feet deep a volcanic field big enough to hide a meteorite crater. "This thick pile of volcanic rocks does indeed bury the site of the impact," Sieh and his co-authors wrote. All evidence points to this spot in Laos To arrive at their conclusion, Sieh's team compared the chemistry of the rocks in the volcanic field to that of the tektites. They matched. Then they measured gravitational fields around the Bolaven Plateau. Sure enough, the researchers found an underground, elliptical area 300 feet thick, 11 miles long, and 8 miles wide where gravity got weird. Because craters are filled with less dense material than the surrounding rock, they have a slightly weaker gravitational pull. The gravity signals in the Laotian volcanic field indicated the presence of a subterranean crater. What's more, the lava on top of the potential impact crater was less than 800,000 years old. The final piece of evidence sat 12 miles away from the summit of the volcanic field: A patch of sandstone looked to be battered with debris. sandstone laos meteorite Image courtesy of Kerry Sieh The sandstone outcrop contained fractured quartz grains, which the geologists think were proximal ejecta from the meteorite the term for material that gets pushed out from an impact site into nearby rocks. volcanic field Laos Image courtesy of Dayana Schonwalder Angel According to Cavosie, the new study does not determine unambiguously that the impact crater is buried in Laos, but he told The New York Times that "it's a great lead on a new site worthy of investigation." Scientists will need to drill deeper into the lava bed likely a few hundred meters down to find the evidence they need to put this geological mystery to rest. Read the original article on Business Insider US House Votes to Curb Trump's Unilateral Warmaking Power Against Iran Sputnik News 02:01 10.01.2020(updated 02:12 10.01.2020) The US House of Representatives has approved a resolution that will limit US President Donald Trump's ability to make unilateral warmaking decisions under the 1973 War Powers Act, following his assassination of a top Iranian general in Baghdad last week. House lawmakers voted 224 to 194 on Thursday, with 13 votes outstanding, passing the resolution in an effort to increase congressional oversight over actions that could bring the US into a war. The vote fell largely along party lines in the Democrat-controlled body. When Trump authorized the airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani last Friday just outside Baghdad International Airport, he enraged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for not consulting or even briefing them on the strike first. The resolution is nonbinding, meaning Trump will not get the chance to veto it. "We're taking this path because it does not require ... a signature of the president," Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who sponsored the bill, said earlier Thursday. "This is a statement of the Congress of the United States, and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not." The Senate is expected to take up a similar resolution next week that would be sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). While Trump's Republicans control the Senate, several conservatives have indicated a willingness to support the measure, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT). The War Powers Act of 1973 was implemented in the closing days of the Vietnam War in an effort to block future presidents from unilaterally taking the US into a major conflict, as US President Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1964. While the law recognizes that the president has the power to deploy US forces into combat without a formal declaration of war, it requires them to give Congress at least 48 hours notice and establishes a 60-day time limit. Military operations beyond that scope require congressional authorization. The resolution passed on Thursday directs Trump to "terminate the use of United States Armed Forces" against Iran without congressional authorization unless necessary to "defend against an imminent armed attack," a move permitted by the 1973 act. Momentum for the resolution picked up on Wednesday following briefings of the House and Senate about the intelligence that led to the airstrike. Trump and other senior administration officials have claimed the threat posed by Soliemani was "imminent," with Trump saying the Iranian general was in Baghdad to organize an attack that would have killed US troops "within days." The Iraqi government, however, has insisted Soleimani was visiting the Iraqi capital on a diplomatic mission, to hear de-escalation proposals from regional rival Saudi Arabia. Tensions between those two countries remain high following a September drone attack that damaged two Saudi oil facilities, temporarily curbing Saudi oil production. While the Houthi militant group in Yemen claimed responsibility for the strike, US intelligence has claimed it came from Iran. Soleimani's killing was the straw that broke the camel's back for Iraqi lawmakers, the sixth US airstrike in a week conducted without authorization by Baghdad. The Iraqi parliament voted just two days later to evict US forces from the country - a diplomatic coup for Tehran and a huge setback for Washington. House lawmakers were unconvinced by the administration's claims, with House Intelligence Committee member Gerry Connolly describing them as "sophomoric" and "utterly unconvincing." Sen. Lee was motivated by the intel briefing to support the resolution limiting Trump's warmaking powers. Trump on Thursday tried to deride the move as "Crazy Nancy Pelosi's War Powers Resolution" in a tweet prior to the vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also hinted Thursday that the House would soon move to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, which provided congressional authorization for the March 2003 invasion that deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and has governed US combat operations in the country ever since. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Senior PDP leader has blamed former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis seditious remark against the tricolour for the disintegration of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. Muzaffar Hussain Baig, a senior leader of Mehboobas Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has claimed that her statement that no one would be left to wave the Indian flag in Jammu and Kashmir if Article 370 is struck down resulted in tampering the crown jewel legacy of being a vast state. Baig, who is credited with writing the PDPs constitution, and has served as the Finance Minister of J&K, said: I was not personally present when she (Mehbooba Mufti) made these remarks, but they were provocative and resulted in the downgrading of the state into union territories. This is the first time any leader of the former ruling party of the state has interacted with the media since the decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution was announced by Home Minister Amit Shah on August 5, 2019. While he pointed out more such provocative remarks made by Mehbooba Mufti, he also regretted that multiple politicians have been kept under house arrest since August 4, despite fighting militants and chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai. He went on to say that all three former chief ministers PDPs Mehbooba Mufti, National Conferences Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah all are still under detention. They took oath under Indian Constitution and Farooq Sajid used to shout Bharat Mata Ki Jai. These politicians and former legislators took oath under the Indian Constitution. They stood against Hurriyat and fought militancy. We lost our relatives. Now all of them continue to be detained. Expressing discontentment with the actions of the Centre, Baig highlighted how the Bharatiya Janata Party had slapped a Public Safety Act (PSA) on Farooq Abdullahs friend when he moved a petition against the detention of a sitting MP and an ex-CM. This, he added, discouraged others from taking a similar step and questioning the Centres decision. Others dropped the idea out of the fear of getting booked under PSA, the former J&K minister said. Baig urged the government to consider the immediate release of all detained politicians, adding that those who have made seditious comments should be booked and tried separately. Baig concluded his interaction with a request to put domicile safeguards on Jammu and Kashmir, like the special rights enjoyed by multiple Northeastern states. The government has put domicile safeguards via Article 371 in northeastern states. Since J&K is also a hilly region and unemployment is a nagging problem here, there should be similar domicile safeguards, job and land rights in place for the people here. JNU violence LIVE updates: The RSS-affiliated ABVP on Friday claimed that two of its activists Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj whose names were mentioned by Delhi Police as suspects in the JNU violence case, were not involved in the 5 January attack in the campus and it will share evidence to that effect with the police Auto refresh feeds He also appealed to the agitating students of the university to end the stir and allow academic session to commence. "Police has brought reality in light. It is clear that left wing students' outfits were involved in the attack," Javadekar said. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said the Delhi Police's ongoing probe into the 5 January violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has made it clear that students affiliated to Left-wing bodies were involved in the incident. Attacking the Opposition, he said CPI, CPM and AAP have been rejected in the Lok Sabha polls and "they are now using students for their vested interests". The JNU students union along with some faculty members accused Right-wing affliated ABVP of being being the attack on the Sabarmati hostel. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar lauded the Delhi Police for providing a "clear" picture regarding the "malafide campaign launched to defame ABVP", after the police addressed a press conference on Friday regarding their investigation into the 5 January violence in the campus. "A first-year student of the French degree program at the JNU, Akshat Awasthi identified himself in footage of Sunday's attack and as an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)," the report said. Even as the Delhi Police said that nine suspects had been identified as being involved in the 5 January attack on JNU students, an India Today report said that an ABVP member, Akshat Awasthi has admitted to being part of the mob that attacked students and faculty in the evening on 5 January. "Such underplaying of the incidents, which shocked the nation and subjected several to extreme trauma, is deeply disturbing," the JNUTA said. The JNU teachers' association on Friday accused the Delhi Police of "underplaying" the violence in JNU and termed its version as "disturbing". The police addressed a press conference regarding their investigation and named nine suspects for the 5 January violence. JNU students on Friday formed a human chain at the varsity to protest against the 5 January violence on the campus. Carrying banners of 'Fees must fall' and 'In defence of public funded higher education', they formed the chain at the Sabarmati T-point. As various groups reacted to the press conference of the Delhi Police in which they named nine people as suspects for the 5 January violence and the India Today report of ABVP members claimed to have admitted to being part of the mob that attacked students and faculty, CNN-News18's Marya Shakil said that the police had "rushed through" the press conference in anticipation of the India Today report. They started their march from Sabarmati T-point and moved towards the varsity's main gate. As they walked, police in plain clothes also accompanied them. RSS-affiliate ABVP on Friday took out a march inside the JNU campus against the January 5 incident. The protesters carried banners which read 'Red Terror down down' and 'Reclaim our study'. The petition, filed by Ameet Parameswaran, Atul Sood and Shukla Vinayak Sawant, seeks necessary directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Delhi government. The petition has been listed for hearing before Justice Brijesh Sethi on 13 January 13. The petition also sought directions for preservation and retrieval of all material/ evidences available with WhatsApp, Google and Apple pertaining to relevant data of WhatsApp groups 'Unity Against Left' and 'Friends of RSS' including messages, pictures, videos and phone numbers of the members, in connection with the violence at JNU. Three JNU professors Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to preserve data, CCTV footage and other evidence relating to the January 5 violence on the varsity campus. Already, the Delhi Police's Friday presser on the JNU violence, first in the case, has been questioned after reports emerged that the investigators wrongly identified one of the accused in the presser. Over 30 students, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured when a masked mob attacked students and teachers at the Sabarmati hostel inside JNU on 5 January. The group's head Bhupendra Tomar aka Pinki Chaudhury had claimed the responsibility for the attack in a video. The Delhi Police on Friday named nine suspects in various cases related to incidents of violence in the JNU campus between 3 and 5 January. However, it didn't name the fringe right-wing Hindu group Hindu Raksha Dal, which had claimed responsibility for the 5 January attacks. "Such underplaying of the incidents, which shocked the nation and subjected several to extreme trauma, is deeply disturbing," the JNUTA said. The JNU teachers' association on Friday accused the Delhi Police of "underplaying" the violence in JNU and termed its version as "disturbing". The police addressed a press conference regarding their investigation and named nine suspects for the 5 January violence. JNU students on Friday formed a human chain at the varsity to protest against the 5 January violence on the campus. Carrying banners of 'Fees must fall' and 'In defence of public funded higher education', they formed the chain at the Sabarmati T-point. So @DelhiPolice rushed through a press conference to reveal their selective investigation only because of confession tapes being put out by @IndiaToday . First dereliction of duty on Sunday the 5th Jan when goons went on a rampage inside JNU for 5 hours, then a massive cover up. As various groups reacted to the press conference of the Delhi Police in which they named nine people as suspects for the 5 January violence and the India Today report of ABVP members claimed to have admitted to being part of the mob that attacked students and faculty, CNN-News18's Marya Shakil said that the police had "rushed through" the press conference in anticipation of the India Today report. Hello @DelhiPolice , The guy you've shown in your press conference as Vikas Patel is actually Shiv Pojan Mandal, The guy in 2nd pic with a Lathi is Vikas patel @Vikas4JNU. Both have deleted their social media accounts. You've not mentioned about their association with ABVP. pic.twitter.com/4Ej7cti7GC The Delhi Police, who named nine suspects for the 5 January violence in a press conference on Friday, also released pictures of the suspects to the media. However, fact-checking platform Alt News said that one of the suspects, whom the police showed a picture of and identified as 'Vikas Patel' in the press conference, was Shiv Pojan Mandal. They started their march from Sabarmati T-point and moved towards the varsity's main gate. As they walked, police in plain clothes also accompanied them. RSS-affiliate ABVP on Friday took out a march inside the JNU campus against the January 5 incident. The protesters carried banners which read 'Red Terror down down' and 'Reclaim our study'. The petition, filed by Ameet Parameswaran, Atul Sood and Shukla Vinayak Sawant, seeks necessary directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Delhi government. The petition has been listed for hearing before Justice Brijesh Sethi on 13 January 13. The petition also sought directions for preservation and retrieval of all material/ evidences available with WhatsApp, Google and Apple pertaining to relevant data of WhatsApp groups 'Unity Against Left' and 'Friends of RSS' including messages, pictures, videos and phone numbers of the members, in connection with the violence at JNU. Three JNU professors Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to preserve data, CCTV footage and other evidence relating to the January 5 violence on the varsity campus. According to PTI, HRD secretary Amit Khare has urged students to call of agitations against fee hike in the varsity, saying that the JNU has agreed to the basic demands of the students. Already, the Delhi Police's Friday presser on the JNU violence, first in the case, has been questioned after reports emerged that the investigators wrongly identified one of the accused in the presser. Over 30 students, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured when a masked mob attacked students and teachers at the Sabarmati hostel inside JNU on 5 January. The group's head Bhupendra Tomar aka Pinki Chaudhury had claimed the responsibility for the attack in a video. The Delhi Police on Friday named nine suspects in various cases related to incidents of violence in the JNU campus between 3 and 5 January. However, it didn't name the fringe right-wing Hindu group Hindu Raksha Dal, which had claimed responsibility for the 5 January attacks. Raising questions on the probe, Maken said, "The Delhi Police has not done a good work as far as investigation is concerned and in a way it seems that the force was also an accomplice in the entire incident because everything happened in front of it. The Delhi police has not been able to identify even a single rioter correctly, it has wrongly identified them." The party claimed that one Vikas Patel has been identified by the police as a rioter, but his real name is Shiv Mandal. "It is a shoddy investigation, to say the least. The victims have been made the accused. The investigation is clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party," Congress' senior spokesperson Ajay Maken told reporters. Accusing the Delhi Police of conducting a "shoddy" investigation into the JNU violence case, the Congress on Friday alleged that it was clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party, and demanded the removal of the city police chief and the university's vice-chancellor. "Patel and Bharadwaj are scared after the incident. The Left activists have been putting up posters with their names on those and have created difficulties for them. They were not involved in the violence," the ABVP said. The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Friday claimed that two of its activists Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj whose names were mentioned by Delhi Police as suspects in the JNU violence case, were not involved in the 5 January attack in the campus and it will share evidences to that effect with the police. JNU violence LATEST updates: The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Friday claimed that two of its activists Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj whose names were mentioned by Delhi Police as suspects in the JNU violence case, were not involved in the 5 January attack in the campus and it will share evidence to that effect with the police. "Patel and Bharadwaj are scared after the incident. The Left activists have been putting up posters with their names on those and have created difficulties for them. They were not involved in the violence," the ABVP said. Accusing the Delhi Police of conducting a "shoddy" investigation into the JNU violence case, the Congress on Friday alleged that it was clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party, and demanded the removal of the city police chief and the university's vice-chancellor. "It is a shoddy investigation, to say the least. The victims have been made the accused. The investigation is clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party," Congress' senior spokesperson Ajay Maken told reporters. Three JNU professors Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to preserve data, CCTV footage and other evidence relating to the January 5 violence on the varsity campus. The petition also sought directions for preservation and retrieval of all material/ evidences available with WhatsApp, Google and Apple pertaining to relevant data of WhatsApp groups 'Unity Against Left' and 'Friends of RSS' including messages, pictures, videos and phone numbers of the members, in connection with the violence at JNU. The petition has been listed for hearing before Justice Brijesh Sethi on 13 January 13. The Delhi Police on Friday named nine suspects in various cases related to violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus between 3 and 5 January. However, the investigators didn't name the fringe Hindu group Hindu Raksha Dal, which had claimed responsibility for the 5 January attacks. According to reports, the group's leader Bhupendra Tomar aka Pinki Chaudhury had confessed to carrying out the attack in a video. The JNU teachers' association on Friday accused the Delhi Police of "underplaying" the violence in JNU and termed its version as "disturbing". The police addressed a press conference regarding their investigation and named nine suspects for the 5 January violence. "Such underplaying of the incidents, which shocked the nation and subjected several to extreme trauma, is deeply disturbing," the JNUTA said. Even as the Delhi Police said that nine suspects had been identified as being involved in the 5 January attack on JNU students, an India Today report said that an ABVP member, Akshat Awasthi has admitted to being part of the mob that attacked students and faculty in the evening on 5 January. "A first-year student of the French degree program at the JNU, Akshat Awasthi identified himself in footage of Sunday's attack and as an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)," the report said. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said the Delhi Police's ongoing probe into the 5 January violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has made it clear that students affiliated to Left-wing bodies were involved in the incident. Attacking the Opposition, he said CPI, CPM and AAP have been rejected in the Lok Sabha polls and "they are now using students for their vested interests". He also appealed to the agitating students of the university to end the stir and allow the academic session to commence. "Police has brought reality in light. It is clear that left-wing students' outfits were involved in the attack," Javadekar said. Javadekar lauded the Delhi Police for providing a "clear" picture regarding the "malafide campaign launched to defame ABVP", after the police addressed a press conference on Friday regarding their investigation into the 5 January violence in the campus. The JNU students union along with some faculty members accused Right-wing affiliated ABVP of being behind the attack on the Sabarmati hostel. Five days after at least 23 students were injured in the Jawaharlal Nehru University violence, the Delhi Police named JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and eight others as suspects in the violence that took place on 5 January in the campus. Of the nine, seven belong to Left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to Right-wing students' body, reports said. Another person, admin of the Whatsapp group Unity against Left, Yogendra Bharadwaj was also among the list of suspects. "Three cases have been registered till now and they are being investigated by us," the police said. However, Ghosh refuted the claims and accused the Delhi Police of being "biased". "Delhi Police can do their inquiry. "I also have evidence to show how I was attacked. I have full faith in the law and order of this country that investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police biased? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault," she said. "The police should make public whatever proof it has against me," Ghosh added. The police claimed to have made headway in the case by establishing the chronology of events stating that the unrest started on 3 January when a mob allegedly broke into the admin block and broke down servers to halt the registration process in protest against the revised hostel rules and an increase in fees, concluding with an attack by a masked group on the Sabarmati hostel on 5 January. Stating that this is the first of frequent briefings regarding the case that has seen nationwide protests, the investigating officer Joy Tirkey released pictures of the nine suspects namely: Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Vaskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukdar, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Samanta, and Vikas Patel, along with Ghosh and Bhardwaj. "Three cases have been registered till now and they are being investigated by us," the police said. The Delhi Police also said that the nine suspects have not been detained, but will be sent notices for further interrogation. Detailing the 'sequence of events' right from 3 January, the police claimed that even though most students wanted to participate in the online registration process for the next semester, members of four Left groups on campus SFI, AISF, SIDA, DSF had not allowed it. According to Tirkey, on 3 January, some students forcibly entered the server office in the admin block and vandalised university property in order to prevent students from participating in the registration process. The student union wanted to continue its resistance against the proposed fee hike, while the police claimed that a "majority" of the students on campus wanted to end the strike and go ahead with the registration. A case of assault, criminal intimidation, and damage to public property was filed against the perpetrators involved in the 3 January server room vandalism case, all of whom, the police said were from the four Left-leaning organisations. Tirkey didn't identify the individuals involved in the case. Further, Tirkey said that on 4 January also, the perpetrators entered the server room again and "damaged the server completely". A fresh FIR was filed for this incident. No specific person has been named for this case either. Coming to the sequence of events on 5 January, the third case in the JNU violence, Tirkey said that both Sabarmati and Periyar hostels were attacked on that day. He said that at 11.30 am, four students who were attempting to register for the exam were surrounded and beaten up by a group of students. Later, a mob led by Ghosh went to the Periyar hostel and "targetted specific rooms". "We have caught Ghosh on camera," Tirkey added. Ghosh, however, refuted the charge saying the Delhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against her. Thereafter, when a peace meeting of students and members of the JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) was underway at a location outside the Sabarmati hostel, an armed mob of masked miscreants "roughed up" the attendees and then entered the hostel, the police. In Sabarmati hostel too, specific rooms were targetted, the police said, however, these suspects are yet to be identified. Ghosh was injured during these attacks. Tirkey said that the identification of the eight suspects had been done on the basis of pictures and videos that went viral as CCTV footage could not be retained because the cameras were damaged on 4 January. Tirkey said that several Whatsapp groups, one of which was 'Unity against Left', were also created during the campus unrest. With inputs from agencies [From the Kunsthal Charlottenborg website, we learn that the name Soleil Levant stems from Claude Monets painting Impression, Soleil Levant from 1872, which depicts the harbour in Le Havre at the end of the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war. Whereas Monets landscape painting captures the political and social reality of its time with its cranes, steamboats and industrialisation, Ai Weiweis Soleil Levant draws attention to the political and social reality of today through refugee lifejackets.] and her team at Gorrissen Federspiel (Denmark) for their overview of a fascinating case that may have passed readers by:As 2019 passes and 2020 begins, this GuestKat has one more post to share about an interesting Danish decision handed down in July, then neglected and almost forgotten during the summer heat.Located in Copenhagens historical Charlottenborg Palace,is one of the largest and most beautiful exhibition spaces for contemporary art in Northern Europe. On 20 June 2017, the United Nations International Refugee Day, it also became the backdrop of an art installation by infamous Chinese artist and activist, as he covered the buildings facade with more than 3,500 salvaged life jackets to form an artwork titled(Rising Sun).The life jackets had been collected from refugees who had reached Europe via the Greek island of Lesbos, and Ai Weiweis stated intention behind the installation was to shine a light on the humanitarian crisis sweeping the continent as thousands of refugees arrived, having fled their homes in the search of a better life.In August 2017, the Danish Volkswagen importer (Volkswagen) took a photo of the new Volkswagen Polo, conveniently parked in front of the Charlottenborg Palace. Ai Weiweis Soleil Levant installation, on display until 1 October 2017, featured in the background.Without permission from either Ai Weiwei or Kunsthal Charlottenborg, the photo was then used by Volkswagen in a marketing campaign for the Polo, including appearances in a print car magazine and on the DanishThe campaign caused Ai Weiwei to file a lawsuit against Volkswagen at the District Court of Glostrup. (It is worth noting that, due to the principled nature of the case, it was heard by a panel of three judges rather than the usual one.)Before the court, Ai Weiwei claimed that Volkswagens photo violated his rights as an artist, damaged his credibility, and, worst of all, damaged the artwork itself, as well as the general understanding of human rights and the publics view of refugees and their situation.The photographer, on the other hand, explained that he had no idea the installation was even an artwork, and that he had no prior knowledge of either Ai Weiwei or Kunsthal Charlottenborg. That was why, he explained, he had not asked for permission, as was otherwise standard procedure within the Volkswagen organization.Ai Weiwei claimed that his copyrights (including both financial and moral rights) had been violated, and that Volkswagen had free-ridden on his reputation and goodwill, thereby making improper use of his artwork in the marketing campaign. Volkswagen acknowledged that a copyright infringement had taken place, but denied having additionally violated good marketing practice under the Danish Marketing Practices Act. Volkswagen further denied that the infringement had resulted from either intent or gross negligence.The court ruled in favor of Ai Weiwei, agreeing both that the photo had clearly been used for marketing purposes and that Volkswagen had free-ridden on the Ai Weiwei brand. Furthermore, the court found that the photographer was, at the minimum, guilty of gross negligence. In reaching this conclusion, the court observed, inter alia, that (i) the facade of Kunsthal Charlottenborg carried two large signs (80 x 120 cm) informing of the Ai Weiwei exhibition, and (ii) the exhibition had been the subject of massive media covered in June and July 2017.As for the measure of damages to Ai Weiwei, the courts decision is favorable and seems, perhaps, to break with the Danish courts general tradition of modesty in awarding damages for IP infringements. Copyright violations and acting against good marketing practice each give rise to (i) reasonable remuneration to the infringed party for the exploitation and (ii) damages for any additional losses. Furthermore, (iii) compensation for non-financial losses (e.g. droit moral infringements and the like) is entitled in the Danish Act on Copyright. The basis for the measure of reasonable remuneration is the usual fee payable by the infringer for its use of the intellectual property right provided that such a usual fee exists.In the case of Ai Weiwei vs. Volkswagen, it was clear that Ai Weiwei never would have accepted Volkswagens use of his artwork for commercial purposes, and a usual fee could therefore not be identified. Instead, the court resorted to a discretionary assessment, taking into consideration that (i) the car magazine in which the photo was published had been printed in 216,500 copies, (ii) the photo had been visible on Volkswagens Danish website from 31 October until 28 November 2017, and (iii) an assessment prepared by Sothebys suggested that a grant of permission to use the artwork for commercial purposes would be valued at 600,000 USD.In the end, the Danish court awarded Ai Weiwei a total 1,750,000 DKK (USD 260,000) in remuneration and damages, 250,000 DKK (USD 40,000) of which was for non-financial losses.Volkswagen has appealed the decision to the High Court of Eastern Denmark. This GuestKat assumes that the appeal is driven mainly by the measure of damages. Nevertheless, she has her fingers crossed for Ai Weiwei. The wilderness, landscape and culture of northern Manitoba is once again on the radar for international travel enthusiasts. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The wilderness, landscape and culture of northern Manitoba is once again on the radar for international travel enthusiasts. The New York Times has included Churchill as the 29th destination on its annual list of "52 Places to Go", published Friday. The small village with a population of about 900 people is listed with far-flung tourist draws Tokyo, which plays host to the Summer Olympics this year, and Egypt, home to one of the seven wonders of the world and a new billion-dollar Grand Egyptian Museum. Vanessa Desorcy, marketing manager with Churchill Wild, said the recognition is well-deserved. "It's very exciting for us and all the other operators in Churchill to get that recognition and be in the company of so many very well-known destinations that are on that list," Desorcy said. "Churchill is a very magical and unique place." Churchill Wild offers walking tours through polar bear country, Arctic safaris and remote lodges on the coast of Hudson Bay, and hosts 700 tourists over the course of its five-month season. The company was mentioned as one operator travellers ought to consider when looking North. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre, which offers citizen-scientist outings, the Churchill Marine Observatory scheduled to open in the fall, and Polar Bears International's new interpretive centre also got nods. In an editorial prefacing the article, New York Times travel editor Amy Virshup said the destinations were selected through a poll of its staff travel writers and in consultation with the publications regular contributors and foreign and domestic correspondents. Churchill is one of two Canadian destinations on the 2020 list. At No. 26 is Haida Gwaii, B.C., selected for its natural and cultural resources, sustainable small-group tourism, and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. Within the Travel Manitoba portfolio of destinations and attractions, Churchill is considered to be a "boulder" for its ability to pull in tourists from across the globe, said vice-president of marketing and communications Linda Whitfield. As travellers' attitudes have changed over the years, Churchill has earned prominence for what it alone can offer, she said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Luxury or bucket-list travel no longer has to mean five-star dining or the top-name hotel. It's more about what's unique and what have very few people done. And that's really a lot the cache of Churchill," Whitfield said, referencing beluga whale tours, vibrant northern lights, and of course polar bears. "Too few Manitobans realize how Churchill is perceived outside of Manitoba," she said. "The number of Manitobans that go up to Churchill, I'd love to see that increase." The community was hit hard in the spring of 2017, when flooding washed out parts of its rail line (its lone land link) and choked off its primary supply and passenger transportation route. Service was restored in late 2018. "I think this will help bring some more attention to this community that's suffered some set backs over the last few years, and, hopefully, we can bring some more tourists from around the world to Churchill," Desorcy said. "I think it will be great for people to be aware of it as a destination that is full of culture and wildlife and great scenery." danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca : Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said that he has never seen innocents like the Indian people, who believe the claims made by the government on the implementation of its programmes. The former Union Minister, addressing a literary event, said, "I have never seen innocents like the Indian people. If something appears on print (and named two newspapers also), we believe it. We believe anything." Claims like all villages having been electrified in the country and toilets built for 99 per cent of families in India were being believed, he said. Similar was the case of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or PM-JAY is a flagship health care scheme of the Centre), he alleged. Stating that his car driver's father had to get a surgery done under the scheme, he said, howoever, it could not be performed. "I asked him (car driver) if he had the Ayushman card and he showed a card and I told him to take it (to hospital). In hospital after hospital, they said they were not aware of anything like that (Ayushman scheme). But we believe that the Ayushman scheme has come to the whole of India," he said. Further, he said "we believe that for any disease, treatment will be done (indicating the Ayushman scheme) without shelling out money. We are being innocents." Many items and data were contrary to the truth, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ways to make an ever-popular New Year's resolution a reality Getting started on a healthy program can be easy with some professional help. A total of eight persons were airlifted from Kaza in Lahaul-Spiti to Shimla here on Friday due to medical emergency. A medical emergency was reported through a radio message, where a 45-year-old Vijay Kumar from Bida District and another 26-year-old male from Spiti district was kept under medical supervision, informed Jeevan Singh Negi, Additional District Magistrate of Spiti Valley's Kaza town. On Thursday, Additional District Magistrate had asked for the patients to be airlifted to IGMC Shimla in a message to Deputy Commissioner Keylong office and other Himachal officials for further treatment of the medical afflicted. A helicopter sortie from Kaza to Shimla was asked from the district official amid health emergency in the Himachal region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Some stories serve as shining examples of hope and inspiration. The story of Manashree Soman is the perfect example. Shared on the Humans of Bombay Facebook and Instagram pages, a post about Soman and her journey is winning thousands of hearts. When I was born, the doctor told my parents that there was a chance I would never walk or talk in addition to being visually impaired -- little did he know that I was going to turn out to be a complete chatterbox! Soman says in the post. When I first applied to school, they rejected me because they thought that Id take all the attention and that I would spoil the other normal children! But thats where they were wrong -- I was normal! I went to another regular school and blossomed, she adds. Throughout school, Soman made sure she got all the experiences that any child is supposed to have like participating in a fancy dress competitions and even winning a prize for singing. Somans teachers and friends also supported her in every aspect. In the 7th standard, I won the Bal Shree Presidents Award. I wasnt at school when they announced it, but apparently, my classmates jumped up and down on the benches! she says. I received my award from Dr. Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and performed a song for him! she adds. She goes on to explain that her family has been extremely supportive and has stood by her side right from school to college and her job. Soman has been working at a bank as a clerk. And while she faces many challenges, she doesnt allow it to bring her down. Well let you read the entire post to know what helps her to keep going and her wonderful message to everyone. Shared on January 9, the post has garnered more than 63,000 likes on Instagram and nearly a 1,000 shares on Facebook. People have posted some heartwarming messages for Soman and many have described her inspiring. Amazing. Shes a queen! says an Instragram user. Theres no limit to what a woman can achieve, says another. Young lady, nothing, absolutely nothing can bring you down. Strength of the human spirit can do wonders. Lots of love to you, writes a Facebook user. Speechless and you are an inspiration to all of us. May God bless you, comments another. About 1,000 people packed four corners of an Oakland intersection Thursday evening to demand no war with Iran, said a member of the group CodePink, which says it promotes peace and human rights. The gathering was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. but many people had already gathered before 5 p.m. at Grand and Lake Park avenues, outside the Grand Lake Theatre, CodePink member Susan Harman said. "It's the biggest (crowd) I've ever seen on that corner," she said, adding that she's been to many protests there. Harman, a 78-year-old Oakland resident, expressed personal concern about the possible destruction of world heritage artifacts. In college, her advisor was an expert in cuneiform tablets, pre-Biblical tablets that fit in the palm of the hand. Harman said many people driving by the rally honked in support of the demonstrators, and former Oakland Mayor Jean Quan was there. Oakland's demonstration was just one of many scheduled for Thursday around the Bay Area, all of which were prompted initially by President Donald Trump's decision to kill Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, who the president said was a terrorist. The president's decision was meant to deter a war not start a war, according to White House officials on Twitter. But Iran on Tuesday fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two American military bases in Iraq, prompting concern that a war might start. No injuries or deaths were reported in the attack by Iran. In addition to protests, the military action prompted the House of Representatives to vote Thursday to prevent the president from going to war with Iran. "Today's bipartisan 224-194 vote sends a strong message to President Trump that we will not tolerate dangerous foreign policy whims that cannot be justified as 'imminent,'" Rep. Jackie Speier, D- San Francisco/San Mateo, said in a statement. Additional protests were planned for San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Alameda, and among other places, the North Bay and South Bay. About 25 people affiliated with various groups including the Raging Grannies, which says it promotes peace, justice and equality, rallied at Willow Road and state Highway 84 in Menlo Park. The group held signs that said such things as "Jobs not War" and also sang peace songs. "We're fearful," Raging Granny Ruth Robertson said. She said today it looks as if both the U.S. and Iran are backing away from war, which makes her and others hopeful. But things can change in an instant, she said. Robertson said she and others are "hopeful but still concerned." The demonstration, which was outside a Facebook office, was meant in part to give young people on "Google" buses something to think about. In San Francisco Thursday evening, about 500 people called on lawmakers to avoid a war with Iran. The rally was organized by public policy advocates MoveOn and consisted of members of other groups such as CodePink and Extinction Rebellion, global environmental advocates. Cynthia Papermaster, coordinator of the Golden Gate chapter of CodePink, said that in the speech she gave she urged people who want peace not to vote for political candidates in favor of war. She thinks the president is putting the U.S. on the brink of nuclear war. Papermaster expressed concern for the preservation of cultural sites, which she said President Trump has threatened to bomb. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Chrysler Group LLC employees work on the assembly line during the production launch of Chrysler vehicles at the assembly plant in Brampton (REUTERS) The Canadian economy added 35,200 in December, compared to economists expectations of 25,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate drops to 5.6 per cent from 5.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. Almost all of the new jobs were full-time positions. After two months of woe, Canada's job figures roared back, making up half of the prior month's decline in employment and sending the jobless rate back to whence it came, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, in a note. The 35K jobs gain was all in full-time private sector paid jobs, and the 5.6% unemployment rate (vs 5.9% the prior month) is not quite back to its lows but is in the range considered to be full employment. Ontario led the way with 25,000 new jobs, followed by 21,000 in Quebec. The December data brings 2019s total to 320,000 jobs for the year 283,000 of them were full-time positions for the second-best year since 2007. The Canadian dollar (CAD/USD) got a lift in the minutes after the data was released. Shenfeld cautions that hours worked are up only slightly to 0.3 per cent, and wage growth slowed from 3.8 per cent year over year from 4.4 per cent. Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Apartment prices in Seoul have increased at the fastest clip in the world over the last three years and are now the fourth most expensive on the globe. That is faster than New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. According to online database Numbeo, the average price of an apartment in Seoul's city center last year stood at US$15,321 per sq.m, the fourth highest among 390 cities in the world. Seoul ranked 14th for apartment prices until 2016 but has had the unenviable honor of joining the top five since President Moon Jae-in took office three years ago. Prices in the capital soared 44.2 percent over the last three years, the fastest clip among the 10 largest cities. In comparison, prices in New York increased 14.5 percent and in Paris 16.5 percent while falling 5.6 percent in Tokyo. In Hong Kong and Vancouver prices grew 29.3 percent and 32.1 percent amid rampant real estate speculation by rich mainland Chinese, but they still pale in comparison to Seoul. Apartment prices in urban areas serve as a leading index of overall real estate prices due to the fact that values rise first in posh areas and spread out. Paradoxically, the surge here happened because the government attempted to curb rising property values, but it did so by suppressing new housing supply and thereby drove up demand. (CNN) US President Donald Trump on Thursday asserted that Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani was plotting to blow up a US embassy before he was killed by a US drone strike last week. "We caught a total monster. We took them out. And that should have happened a long time ago. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy," Trump told reporters. "We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died ... people were badly wounded just a week before. And we did it. We had a shot at it ... that was the end of a monster," Trump added, referring to a recent rocket attack by an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq that killed an American contractor and wounded several US military personnel. A senior defense official backed up the statement later on Thursday, telling reporters the US had intelligence about multiple plots and threats involving Soleimani, including one that involved a plan to attack the embassy using explosives. The plot was separate and more sophisticated than the attempts to storm the US embassy in Baghdad embassy by Molotov-cocktail wielding Khatib Hezbollah members and its supporters, an effort US officials have said was also orchestrated by Soleimani. But the senior defense official would not provide any additional details on the plot against the embassy citing the sensitivity of the intelligence. CNN was not able to confirm claims by Trump and the senior defense official. Two prominent Senate Republicans and congressional Democrats on Wednesday slammed the administration's briefing on the reasoning for the strike following briefings by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Multiple lawmakers said they saw no specific intelligence that pointed to an imminent threat from Soleimani that justified the strike. Asked about those criticisms Wednesday Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said "most members of Congress do not have access to the intelligence that I think was the most compelling." The US military has deployed thousands of additional military forces to the Middle East in recent days to help bolster the security of US personnel and facilities. The additional troops will allow the military to respond quickly in the event of a crisis. Earlier Thursday, administration officials had explained Trump's comments about the plot to blow up the US embassy by saying he was referring to the public demonstrations by Khatib Hezbollah. The officials have not explained why there is a discrepancy. Top US national security officials have continued to defend the Trump administration's claim that it killed Soleimani in response to an impending threat to American lives, but the lack of evidence provided to lawmakers and the public has fueled lingering skepticism about whether the strike was justified. After Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases that hold US troops earlier this week, questions have swirled over whether the administration fully considered the fallout from such a strike, and if an appropriate legal basis was established for the presidential authorization of lethal force. On Monday, Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the intelligence that drove to the strike on Soleimani. "I will be happy when the appropriate time comes and in front of the proper committees and anybody else, through history and every -- I will stand by the intelligence I saw, that it was compelling, it was imminent, and it was very, very clear in scale, scope," Milley said Monday. "Did it exactly say who, what, when, where? No, but he was planning, coordinating and synchronizing significant combat operations against US military forces in the region and it was imminent," he said, adding that "we would have been culpably negligent to the American people had we not made the decision we made." A Republican congressional source familiar with the administration's decision to strike Soleimani previously told CNN that the killing of an American contractor, the wounding of others, and the subsequent embassy protests "crossed his line." His advisers also pointed out to the President that if he "didn't respond now, they (Iran) will continue to cross it." "I am very confident he was not reluctant," said the source. When Trump finally gets ready to act, they added, "you can't out escalate him." Amid the row over the Citizenship Amendment Act, coupled with alarm regarding the imminent implementation of National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizenship (NRC), there is a sudden spurt in demand for birth certificates, particularly among the minorities. Needless to state, the rush is spurred by the anxiety to get relevant documents to prove ones citizenship. Born in 1968, Sarfaraz from the old city of Agra was in queue at the birth registration office in Agra Nagar Nigam, to apply for his birth certificate. I was born in 1968 and never felt need of a birth certificate but now with CAA, NRC and NPR, I am following others and to prove my nationality, if required, I will produce a birth certificate which I am going to get from Agra Nagar Nigam registration department, he said. Scores of similar applicants can be seen at civic offices across the state every day. In desperation, many people are hiring lawyers to help fill forms while others are getting letters from corporators as residential proof. In Lucknow, the number of birth certificates issued in December 2019 has gone up three times compared to the same period last year. In December 2019, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) issued 6193 birth certificates, against 2012 issued in December 2018. Around 2130 of these were for new born babies while others were for aged individuals, mostly Muslims. Ashok Singh, chief tax fixation officer of Lucknow Municipal Corporation who is also in charge of birth and death section said, There has been an increase in demand for birth certificates, specially by aged Muslims. Seeing the spurt, we have decided to issue the certificates at zonal level too. He said 30% of the applicants were over 40 years of age. Municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi said, Getting a birth certificate for a new born child is much easier than for an aged person. According to the new rules, the birth certificate of the hospital where the person was born is essential but most people approaching LMC for birth certificates are claiming that they were born at home and are producing an affidavit regarding this fact. Many others are coming with Adhaar number, voter identity card, mark sheet, High School certificate, passport and certificate of the areas corporator. Lawyers help fill forms Niaz Ahmed, 57, a resident of City Station, Golaganj who just got his birth certificate said, I wanted this as proof of my citizenship after the CAA controversy. I had to bring my lawyer to apply for birth certificate. He deposited all the valid documents required by the corporation as I was born at home. Shadab Hussain of the same locality said, I have also applied with full documents with the help of my lawyer. He also claimed that he was born at home. Clerk in the birth and death section Rashid Khan said, Most of the applicants are Muslims. I dont know why they are approaching for birth certificate now. May be confusion about CAA and NRC forced them to get birth certificate. City Congress president Mukesh Singh Chauhan said, The three-fold increase in demand of birth certificate indicates how people are feeling unsafe due to CAA and NRC. Never thought I would need a birth cert in my 50s Officials of Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC said, The numbers have significantly gone up during the past three to four months.. PMC staff handling the work at its zonal offices confirmed that a large number of applicants for birth certificates were Muslims. They said earlier most such applications were for new born kids or those up to five years of age for admission in schools, while adults applied for passport purposes. However, now suddenly a large number of people in their 30s and 40s are also coming for birth certificates, said AK Jain, a clerk at PMC. He said on an average 25 applications were received every day at each of the five zonal offices of PMC with many applicants looking into their old records in the wake of CAA and forthcoming NRC. Over 1,000 applications for birth certificates have already been received in all five zonal offices in Sangam city from the 30 + age group, most of which are from Muslims, he confided. Uttam Kumar Verma, environment engineer, PMC who also has charge of Nagar Swasthya Adhikari, admitted there was a spurt in demand for birth certificates and apart from kids, applications from grown-ups were also pouring in. However, as we do not maintain data of certificates issued on the basis of religion or age, providing exact numbers is a tough task, he said. Akram Khan, 50, a businessman who is resident of Tulsipur in Kareli locality in Sangam city and his 45-year old wife Sadia Bano are also in queue these days for their birth certificates. I never thought that I would suddenly need a birth certificate in my 50s. Born and brought up in Prayagraj, I decided to get birth certificates made for me and my wife following the talk that even citizens of India may need to prove their citizenship. Not wanting to take any chances I approached a lawyer friend to inquire about the documents I may need to get the birth certificates made as we both lack hospital slips of our birth, said Akram with a rueful smile on his face. The automobile paint dealer shared that initially he feared that he would be the only one of his age group queuing up for the birth certificate but was surprised on seeing many others of his age and faith standing in the queue. Fear of being stateless In Varanasi, on an average, 300 people are submitting applications for birth certificate daily. As a result, long queue at the birth/death registration office at the municipal corporation has become routine for the past four days, with over 1,000 applications pouring in. Among those seeking certificates, many are middle -aged and most of them Muslim. Majority of the applications is from Jaitpura, Chhittupura, Rewadi Talab, Madanpur, Saraiya, Naati Imali. A man born in 1971, who was standing in the queue at VMCs birth/death registration office, said on condition of anonymity, I am a weaver. I earn my livelihood by weaving sarees. I have heard that the birth certificate will be required for the NRC. That is why I have applied for it. A tailor from Bajardiha, who also submitted his application on Thursday, also said that he had heard that birth certificate may be required to prove citizenship during NRC survey. So he applied for it. Nagar Swasthya Adhikari (City health officer) Ramshakal Yadav said that applications were being received and process for issuing birth certificates was on. A senior official of the municipal corporation said that there were no instructions that birth certificate was mandatory (for CAA or NRC) and this had been conveyed to people. Councillor of Katehar ward Afzal Ansari said that ever since CAA came into focus, people were confused about citizenship issues and were desperate to seek birth certificates. He said neither the government nor the local administration had sought birth certificates from citizens so they need not worry about it. Birth certificate can be demanded any time In Meerut, Ayesha, 29, of Lisari Gate area who reached the Nagar Nigam on Thursday with two women neighbours to apply for birth certificates, said, Birth certificate is an important document and I need it because anybody can demand it anytime. Rafeeq Ansari, Samajwadi Party MLA from the city area, said every day 400 to 500 people, most of them Muslims, approached him to seek his letter required for applying for Aadhaar card and other documents, including birth certificates. He said, Local MLAs and MPs are authorized to endorse residential proof of a person. So people are approaching them in large numbers, specially after the announcement of CAA. Ansari said he had deputed his staff to provide letters to people and the staff had now got a printed format of the letter which they issued after filling names and other details. It helps in providing letters immediately, said the MLA. Nagar swasthya adhikari Dr Gajendra Singh said that his office witnessed nearly 40% spurt in applications for birth certificates from people in the age group of 10 to below 60 years. Among these applicants, 75% were Muslims, said officials. Singh, however, said the demand for birth certificates decreased by 10-15% in the past few weeks and people now didnt seem in much hurry as they were during the past one and a half months. Still 100-150 people of different age groups apply for birth certificates every day, he said. The staff was more vigilant in issuing certificates and a thorough verification of documents was carried out before issuing certificates, said Singh. Rajendra Sharma, former in-charge of the record room, said it was mandatory since 2013 to apply online for birth certificate. He also admitted that the demand for birth certificates increased in the past two months. Sharma explained that those who did not possess proof of their date and place of birth needed to submit an affidavit, which a team verified before issuing certificate. A similar spurt in demand for certificates was also seen in Hapur. Jitendra Kumar Anand, executive officer of Hapur Nagar Palika, said his office suddenly witnessed demand for birth certificates last month and most of the applicants were Muslims. People in the age group of 45-60 also turned up in good numbers to seek birth certificates. He, however, said now only 10- 20 persons were applying for the documents as compared to 40 daily a few days ago. He explained that Palika had record from 1969 and those who wanted certificates prior to that needed to provide additional documents, witnesses and affidavits to complete their documents. We issue documents to those who come with required documents, he said. In Agra, the nagar Nigam staff has more work to do now, for even elders are walking down the corridor and are asking for their birth certificates. This increase of about 15 to 20 % in applications for birth certificates is attributed to the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act. Yes, there is increase in the number of applicants for the birth certificates after the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Besides this, many are visiting office to enquire about the procedure to get the birth certificate. said Shobha (who goes by one name) and is first grade clerk at office for Registration of Births and Deaths at Nagar Nigam. The birth registration department is receiving about 70-80 applications a day which is much more than what got in the past. In November 2019, we issued 6226 birth certificates but in December, the number rose to 8340, she said. De-escalation of the situation is possible only after the US leaves the region, said Iranian Minister of Defense Amir Hatami during a phone talk with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. Hatami said the killing of senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a third country an unprecedented crime, adding that according to a UN Security Council resolution, US actions are an example of state terrorism, Mehr reported. He called the presence of Americans the main cause of tension and instability in the region. According to him, "in order to de-escalate and establish security and stability in the region, we must end the occupation and intervention of the US as soon as possible." Hatami also called on all independent and free states to condemn the terrorist act of the US government. Taro Kono, in his turn, said that his country was ready to make efforts for de-escalation, peace and stability in the region. Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton looked to bust some myths as he addressed the Midland County Republican Women luncheon on Wednesday. Myths dominate our political discourse today, and its not just energy, he said, speaking in the Midland Country Club Ballroom. He cited the myth that the U.S. is running out of oil and needed to find other energy sources, as then-president Jimmy Carter told the nation in 1979 when the Iranian revolution sent oil prices near $40 a barrel amid public panic about shortages. He said that before the luncheon began, someone asked him what would happen in Midland because of the heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions. My answer was, not much, he said. Thanks to the innovation and the hard work of the people of Midland over the last 10 years, energy prices wont be significantly impacted by conflict in the Middle East. Teachers, nurses around the country dont realize whats happening in your backyard (but) theyre not paying $4 a gallon for gasoline because Iran struck an Iraqi base housing U.S. military members, he said. The Permian Basin was especially responsible for that muted impact, Sitton said. We are so much more independent in energy, that what happens overseas wont have much impact here, he said. Another myth Sitton refuted was the myth that oil and gas is bad. The truth is, oil and gas has lifted people out of poverty, its feeding people, its enabling other industries, its boosting the economy over all. Following his speech, he discussed the issue of flaring and disputed the notion that the commission automatically approves the extension of flaring permits. Operators must get administrative approval to flare gas because of facility expansions or interruptions, he said. Those permits last six months. Flaring has been an incremental challenge and it has been only in the last year that flaring has been done at its current rate, Sitton said. There have been a lot of new projects, a lot of new development and a lack of pipelines to move that new natural gas, he said. But new natural gas pipelines and the gathering lines that feed into them are nearing completion, and he predicted flaring will decrease as those projects come into service. Its a challenge because we have such great new developments, he said. Ask any producer no one wants to flare gas. All of us are working on the issue producers, trade associations, regulators. BURLINGAME, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inflammatix, a pioneering molecular diagnostics company delivering precision medicine at the point of care, today announced a $32 million Series C financing. The funding round included participation from existing investors Khosla Ventures, Northpond Ventures and Think.Health Ventures, and new investors that include Grey Sky Venture Partners. The funds will be used to advance Inflammatix's rapid HostDx tests through commercial launch in Europe and submission to the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2021. "We are pleased to have the support of this strong group of healthcare investors who share our excitement about leveraging the immune response to build novel precision diagnostics for infectious and inflammatory disease. In particular, our first tests will help tackle antibiotic resistance and sepsis, two critical public health challenges, by reading the patient's host-immune response to infection," said Tim Sweeney, M.D., Ph.D., cofounder and chief executive officer of Inflammatix. "With this financing in hand, we look forward to bringing our rapid HostDx tests into hospitals and clinics so that physicians can quickly get the right treatments to the right patients." The Series C funding follows an announcement in November 2019 that the company had signed a long-term cost-sharing contract to develop its tests for acute infections and sepsis with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) worth up $72 million based on achieving certain milestones.* Antibiotic resistance and sepsis cause more than 700,000 and 5 million deaths worldwide each year, respectively. Traditional methods for diagnosing acute infections are too slow and are often inaccurate because they only look for pathogens in the bloodstream, despite most infections never entering the bloodstream. As a result, patients with suspected infection are often blindly treated with antibiotics contributing to antibiotic resistance or sepsis can be missed altogether. Inflammatix's HostDx Sepsis and HostDx Fever tests use proprietary machine learning algorithms that incorporate the expression of multiple immune genes (host response) to identify the presence of bacterial or viral infections and to determine if a patient has or is likely to develop sepsis. Inflammatix's simple-to-use, sample-to-answer HostDx system is designed to produce results at or near the point of care in 30 minutes or less. "Inflammatix's team is advancing our knowledge of how to use the immune system and immune responses to improve the diagnosis of acute infections and sepsis," said Mike Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer of Northpond Ventures. "We believe their innovations in data science expertise and rapid multiplex test system have the power to transform care across a spectrum of medical conditions and diseases." About Inflammatix Inflammatix is a molecular diagnostics company that is reimagining diagnostics by "reading" the patient's immune system to deliver rapid results that improve patient care and reduce major public health burdens. The company's initial focus is on acute infection and sepsis, where its HostDx tests combine proprietary biomarkers and advanced machine learning to help physicians quickly get the right treatments to the right patients. Each test will be developed to run on the company's sample-to-answer isothermal instrument platform in under 30 minutes, enabling the power of precision medicine at the point of care. The Burlingame, Calif.-based company funders include Khosla Ventures, Northpond Ventures, Think.Health Ventures, Grey Sky Venture Partners and the Stanford-StartX Fund. For more information, please visit www.inflammatix.com and follow the company on Twitter (@Inflammatix_Inc). *This project has been funded in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract Nos. 75A50119C00034 and 75A50119C00044. Media Contact: Tracy Morris 650-380-4413 [email protected] SOURCE Inflammatix Related Links http://www.inflammatix.com A court here on Friday granted conditional bail to Tamil orator Nellai Kannan, who was arrested for allegedly making provocative remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Principal district session Court judge Nazir Shamed granted bail to Kannan after two persons stood surety for him and on the condition that he has to sign twice a day at the concerned police station. Meanwhile, the Madras High court on Friday also directed the Tamil Nadu Government to file a counter to a plea filed by Kannan seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him for alleged provocative remarks against the Prime Minister and the Home minister. Justice Jagadeesh Chandra of the court's Madurai bench posted the case for hearing on January 20, after the government advocate strongly objected to the petition seeking quashing of the case. In his plea, Kannan alleged that police filed the FIR without conducting any preliminary investigation as mandated by the Supreme Court. He claimed that the case was entirely misconceived as he was using a colloquial term in his speech and it was not his intention to hurt any community or religious group but only to voice for the aggrieved sections. Kannan made the alleged remarks at an event organised by the Social Democratic Party of India on December 29. He was arrested and produced before a court here on January 2 which remanded him to judicial custody for 12 days. The BJP had lodged a police complaint seeking his arrest and prosecution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is a former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq as one of the American government's foremost experts on Iranian-backed Shiite militias before being appointed as an assistant secretary of defense with a focus on the Middle East. But that's not the only experience that motivated Slotkin to draft the resolution limiting President Donald Trump's ability to take additional military action against Iran without congressional approval, which passed the House last night on a mostly party-line vote. The freshman congresswoman's son-in-law is an active-duty Army officer stationed at the al-Asad air base in western Iraq, which the Iranians hit with 11 ballistic missiles this week in retaliation for the drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Slotkin's husband also served 30 years in the Army, retiring as a colonel, and her stepdaughter followed in his footsteps. She was not long ago commissioned as an active-duty Army officer. "For me, this is not a theoretical exercise," Slotkin explained on Thursday evening. "If our loved ones are going to be sent to fight in any protracted war, the president owes the American public a conversation. . . . Congress has long abdicated its responsibility as laid out in the Constitution to make the hard decisions we owe our troops." Such deeply personal investment in the war effort blunts hyperbolic attacks from Republican lawmakers - especially those who have never served in uniform and don't have relatives on the battlefield - that opposing the escalation of conflict in the Middle East or supporting Congress asserting its constitutional role is somehow unpatriotic. The debate now moves to the Senate, which could vote as early as next week, where it faces a more uncertain future. At least four Republicans need to vote for the resolution to ensure passage when it comes up, as early as next week. Whatever the Senate passes, if anything, would then need to be approved by the House before going to Trump, who has promised a veto that there would not be the votes to override. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the lead sponsor of the accompanying resolution in that chamber, isn't just a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Kaine's oldest son, Nat, is an active-duty Marine infantry officer who has been deployed overseas multiple times. The Republican messaging machine has gone into overdrive this week, with what has felt at times like a competition among party leaders to see who could offer up the most incendiary quote questioning the motives of Democratic lawmakers concerned about the possibility of a full-scale war against Iran without congressional approval. "This is a meaningless vote that only sends the wrong message that the House Democrats would rather stand with the socialist base than stand against Iran," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said at his weekly news conference on Thursday. "Whether you mean to or not, you're empowering the enemy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, referring to lawmakers who vote for the resolution. "They are in love with terrorists," said Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. "We see that they mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families," Collins told Lou Dobbs on Fox Business. Democrats have decided not to just brush aside comments like this. "I left literal parts of my body in Iraq, where I was fighting terrorists," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who has used a wheelchair since her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down over Iraq in 2004. "Donald Trump spent months attacking an ACTUAL Gold Star Family," she added on Twitter. "[Collins] should be ashamed of himself for perpetuating this offensive lie." Duckworth is referring to when Trump, who received a deferment for "bone spurs" to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War, mocked Khizr and Ghazala Khan. Their son Humayun was killed in action as an Army captain in Iraq. The Khans spoke out against Trump at the Democratic convention in 2016, expressing concern about his proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. Collins apologized this morning. "Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists," he tweeted. "As someone who served in Iraq in 2008, I witnessed firsthand the brutal death of countless soldiers who were torn to shreds by this vicious terrorist. Soleimani was nothing less than an evil mastermind who viciously killed and wounded thousands of Americans. These images will live with me for the rest of my life, but that does not excuse my response on Wednesday evening." During the Thursday evening debate on the House floor, several Democrats emphasized their credentials as they made the case for the war powers resolution. Polls suggest that Democrats have tightened their traditional gap on which party is more trusted to handle national security. They won control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections thanks, in part, to a large cohort of young military veterans in swing districts. There are 96 veterans in this Congress, including 30 Democrats and 66 Republicans. One of those freshmen who delivered the majority is Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. He defeated a GOP incumbent in the Denver suburbs by touting his Army combat experience. "I have often heard folks say that now is not the time to discuss the use of force or the decision to send our men and women to fight," said Crow. "I heard that in 2003 when I was carrying a rifle in Baghdad. I heard it again in 2004 and 2005 when I was leading my unit through the mountains of Afghanistan. And I am hearing it again today in the halls of Congress. In the last 19 years, more than 7,000 Americans have given their lives in these conflicts, 53,000 have been wounded and we have spent over $4 trillion dollars of taxpayer money. "Do not believe the fearmongering," Crow concluded. "I may have laid down my rifle, but my oath to this country endures. I will fight to ensure that we are having a discussion about when to send our men and women, our sons and daughters, our sisters and brothers, into harm's way." Slotkin left her Pentagon job to move home to Michigan after Trump took office. Then she toppled a longtime GOP incumbent the next year in the midterms. She faces a tough reelection battle this fall in a district Trump carried comfortably in 2016. The National Republican Congressional Committee has taken to calling her "pro-Iran Slotkin" in news releases. "Sit down, Elissa," one missive from the House GOP campaign arm said this week. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the former vice president's daughter, called into a news talk radio station in Slotkin's district on Thursday morning to attack her for the "appalling" resolution, which she said "will send a message to the Iranians that the country is not united behind the president." Cheney told WILS in Lansing, Michigan, that Slotkin's resolution showed "there's a big difference between what she's saying at home and what she does when she gets here to Washington." In a speech on the House floor before the vote on resolution, Slotkin pushed back forcefully on these criticisms. "Soleimani was the lead architect of much of Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East and throughout the world," she said. "To that end, with Iran, or with any other adversary, the United States always has the inherent right and obligation to self-defense against imminent armed attacks. Always!" Slotkin lamented that the country has been at war for nearly two decades, but Congress has only voted twice in that time to authorize the use of military force: in 2001 and 2002. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., was the lone member of Congress to vote against the authorization for the use of military force immediately after the 9/11 attacks, which is still being cited more than 18 years later as a legal rationale for U.S. activities in the Middle East. Only 1 in 4 House members today were in Congress back then. That 2001 authorization has been cited dozens of times, by three different presidents now, to justify deploying American troops to a list of countries that includes Libya, Turkey, Georgia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, the Philippines and Cuba. The language of Slotkin's nonbinding resolution instructs Trump "to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military" unless Congress either formally declares war or there is "an imminent armed attack upon the United States." "When it comes to the matter of longer-term war, we have a constitutional responsibility to authorize the use of military force," Slotkin reasoned. "The framers of our Constitution rightly believed that the power to declare war belongs in the Congress because this would ensure that the American people, through the legislators they elected, would weigh the most significant decision a government can make." Slotkin's resolution passed 224 to 194, with the support of three Republicans plus independent Justin Amash of Michigan and the opposition of eight Democrats. The most notable vote for the resolution came from Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of Trump's most outspoken allies on Capitol Hill. "I take a back seat to no member of this body when it comes to defending the president," he said in a floor speech shortly before the vote. "This resolution offers no criticism of the president. It doesn't criticize the president's attacks on Soleimani. As a matter of fact, this resolution doesn't even say Soleimani's name in it." Gaetz's district includes the naval air station in Pensacola, Florida. "I represent more troops than any other member of this body," he said. "I buried one of them earlier today at Arlington, and that sergeant died a patriot and a hero. If the members of our armed services have the courage to go fight and die in these wars, as Congress we ought to have the courage to vote for them or against them. It's ludicrous to suggest that we are impairing the troops from doing their job by not doing our job articulated in the Constitution." Trump ripped the Slotkin resolution during a rally last night in Toledo, Ohio, insisting he doesn't need to get permission from Congress to protect America. "[Soleimani] was a bloodthirsty terrorist . . . and he's no longer a terrorist. He's dead, and yet now I see ... the radical-left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist," the president said. "Instead, they should be outraged by Soleimani's savage crimes and the fact that his countless victims were denied justice for so long." Flash Twelve people were killed and one other person was injured by gunmen who attacked a village in central Nigeria and unleashed terror on the residents on Thursday, local police said. Plateau police spokesperson Terna Tyopev told reporters they are yet to arrest any suspect in connection with the attack on the village of Kulben in Kombun district of Mangu local government area of Plateau, a state in the central region of Nigeria. Tyopev said an investigation has been launched into the dawn attack, adding that the motive of the attackers was unknown. Local witnesses told Xinhua suspected herdsmen entered the village, shooting indiscriminately at residents. Tyopev added that the road leading to the village had been cordoned off by security operatives working to halt further attacks. PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Angeion Group today announced that a proposed class action settlement has been reached in a case entitled Carlotti, et al. v. ASUS Computer International, et al., No. 4:18-cv-03369, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In the lawsuit, Plaintiff alleges that the ASUS Rog Strix GL502VS and GL502VSK laptops (the "Laptops") were deceptively marketed as powerful, portable machines ideal for gaming and video editing with independent cooling systems to give the Laptops "stability required for intense gaming sessions." Plaintiff alleges that the Laptops are not suitable for their ordinary and advertised purpose because the Laptops' batteries drain even when the Laptops are connected to electrical outlets (the "Power Defect"). Plaintiff also alleges that the Laptops' cooling systems are not independent because they use one set of heatsinks to dissipate heat from both the graphics processing unit and computational processing unit, so the Laptops overheat, leading to physical discomfort and/or diminishing the Laptops' performance and durability (the "Overheating Issue"). ASUS Computer International and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. are the defendants ("Defendants") and deny any wrongdoing. If the Settlement is approved and you are a Class Member, you may be eligible to receive a Cash Payment in the amount of either $110 or $55 or a Credit Certificate in the amount of either $210 or $105 at your option. You are a Class Member if you purchased a new ASUS Rog Strix GL502VS or GL502VSK laptop from Defendants or an authorized ASUS retailer between May 4, 2014 and November 19, 2019, in the United States. Additionally, Defendants have extended the warranty for GL502VS laptops that suffered from the Power Defect. Call Defendants' technical support at 1-888-678-3688 to receive instructions for obtaining Extended Warranty service. You may receive a Cash Payment or Credit Certificate even if you obtain Extended Warranty service. To obtain a Cash Payment, you must submit a valid Claim Form. To obtain a Credit Certificate, you must submit a valid Claim Form unless you complained to Defendants about a Power Defect and/or Overheating Issue prior to March 19, 2019. If your complaint is reflected in Defendants' records, then you will automatically receive a $210 Credit Certificate ("Automatic Credit Certificate"). If you prefer a Cash Payment, then you must submit a Claim Form. Claim Forms are available at www.ASUSLaptopSettlement.com. Depending on the benefit you request, Defendants may have the right to demand an inspection of your Laptop to confirm that your Claim is valid and you may have to provide proof of purchase. Visit www.ASUSLaptopSettlement.com for more information about the inspection process and conditions. You may make a Claim and/or receive Qualifying Repairs under the Extended Warranty, Object to the Settlement, Opt Out of the Settlement, or do nothing. To receive a Cash Payment or Credit Certificate, you must submit a Claim (unless you qualify for an Automatic Credit Certificate), online or by mail, by April 3, 2020. To receive a Qualifying Repair under the Extended Warranty, you must contact Defendants at 1-888-678-3688, and follow their instructions. If you Opt Out of the Settlement, you may pursue a separate lawsuit, but you will receive no settlement benefit. Your Opt-Out request must be submitted online or postmarked by April 3, 2020. If you do not Opt Out, you give up your right to bring a separate lawsuit. To Object, you must submit a written Objection that complies with the requirements set forth in the Settlement Notice available at www.ASUSLaptopSettlement.com . Your Objection must be filed with the Court by April 3, 2020. Do nothing, and you will not receive a settlement benefit (unless you qualify for an Automatic Credit Certificate) and you will release claims against Defendants that relate to the allegations in the lawsuit. You may still obtain repairs under the Extended Warranty, if applicable. The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on April 30, 2020 at 1:00 P.M. PST, to consider whether to approve the Settlement. The hearing will be held in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, before Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu, in the Oakland Courthouse, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612, in courtroom 4 on the 3rd floor, or such other judge assigned by the Court. The Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement and whether to award Attorneys' Fees and Expenses of up to $787,500 and an Incentive Award of up to $5,000 to Plaintiff. The motion seeking Attorneys' Fees and Expenses and an Incentive Award will be posted on www.ASUSLaptopSettlement.com after it is filed. You may, but don't have to, attend the hearing. Cash Payments and Credit Certificates will be issued to the Settlement Class Members only if the Settlement is approved and after any Objections are resolved. Please be patient. For more information, visit www.ASUSLaptopSettlement.com, or contact the Claim Administrator by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-844-263-6122. You can also obtain additional information by contacting Class Counsel at: Seth A. Safier, Gutride Safier LLP, 100 Pine Street, Suite 1250, San Francisco, CA 94111/Tel: 415-639-9090. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT DEFENDANTS OR THE COURT TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT. Media Contact: Angeion Group Douglas S. Clauson Director, Communications (215) 563-4116 SOURCE Angeion Group Related Links http://www.angeiongroup.com Thanks for joining us for today's fires blog - I'm going to wind it down for the day now. Tomorrow morning there likely won't be a live blog at this stage - there are milder weather conditions expected over the next week or so, and the warning levels for most of the fires that are currently burning have been lowered. But conditions might change and if the fire risk increases again, then we will certainly start up the live blog again tomorrow. And as Premier Daniel Andrews has pointed out, the bushfire season isn't over yet, so if there are any serious fires in the coming weeks then we will surely get the blog started again, since it is such an effective way of relaying updates on fast-changing situations. Of course, we will keep reporting on the fires in the Alpine and East Gippsland areas over the coming days and weeks, and these articles will be be made freely available to readers of The Age website, regardless of whether or not you are a paid subscriber. Oil pumps against sunset Despite the international Brent benchmark soaring by 10% over the last year to be trading at US$65 per barrel upstream oil explorer and producer Gran Tierra Energy (TSX:GTE)(NYSEMKT:GTE) has lost a whopping 49%. This has sparked considerable speculation that either the driller is deeply undervalued or there is something fundamentally wrong with its operations. Ive taken a bullish view of Gran Tierra for some time, and it appears that the markets perception of risk is overdone, with it capable of unlocking value for shareholders. Large asset base Gran Tierras operations are centred on the South American nation of Colombia, where it has 2.2 million net acres centred on the Llanos and Putumayo Basins. In May 2019, Gran Tierra obtained three blocks in Ecuadors Oriente Basin, and toward the end of 2019 was awarded two new blocks in the Putumayo Basin. The drillers petroleum concessions have been determined to hold proven and probable reserves of 150 million barrels of crude. Whats perplexing about Gran Tierra and the sharp decline of its market value is that it is now trading at a deep discount to its net asset value. Its oil reserves have an after-tax net present value, when applying a 10% discount rate (NPV-10) in accordance with industry methodology, of US$2.2 billion. Once long-term debt, decommissioning obligations, and deferred taxes are deducted, Gran Tierra has a net asset value (NAV) of around $5.14 per share, around three-times greater than its market value. This indicates that Gran Tierra is heavily undervalued and that there is considerable upside available. The driller recently released its 2020 guidance where it has forecast that production, when compared to the daily average for the first nine months of 2019, could rise by up to 6% to 37,500 barrels, giving earnings a boost. Gran Tierra anticipates that if Brent averages US$60 per barrel during 2020, it will generate up to US$350 million of EBITDA and free cash flow of US$80 million. It plans to use free cash flow to reduce debt, targeting a net debt to EBITDA multiple of a conservative 1.4 times by the end of 2020. Story continues The significant increase in debt, which by the end of third quarter 2019 had risen by 60% year over year to almost US$638 million, has attracted the ire of the market and is partially responsible for Gran Tierras weaker share price. There are also fears that increased geopolitical risk in Colombia coupled with a deteriorating security environment will lead to further production outages. By the end of 2019, Colombia was wracked by anti-government protests sparked by a range of grievances including corruption, police brutality, poor financial reforms and a lack of equitable access to resources. Nationwide protests will likely recommence in late January 2020, which could force Gran Tierra to suspend operations at its oil fields. Colombias last remaining guerilla group, the ELN, has stepped up attacks on oil pipelines as it attempts to force the government back to the negotiating table. The volume of FARC dissidents has grown sharply because of Bogotas failure to fully implement the terms of the 2016 peace accord with Colombias largest guerilla group. Pipeline bombings could force Gran Tierra to suspend oil production at affected oil fields or use limited and costly road transportation, thereby leading to reduced sales and higher transportation costs and further impacting earnings. If that were to occur on a significant scale, it could prevent the driller from achieving its projected 2020 production and earnings guidance. Foolish takeaway Gran Tierra is a risky play on higher oil with a long history of failing to fully deliver value, but it is very attractively valued given that its trading at around a third of its NAV per share. If Gran Tierra can consistently report results that demonstrate it can attain its 2020 guidance while making meaningful debt reductions, its stock will likely soar. More reading Fool contributor Matt Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020 Antonenko and two women, Yulia Kuzmenko and Yana Duhar, were arrested in December as suspects in the high-profile case. A court in Kyiv has remanded a suspect for one month in custody in connection with the 2016 killing of prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet, following what Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called a "flawed three-and-a-half-year investigation." The court of appeals in Kyiv ruled on January 10 that Andriy Antonenko must stay in pretrial detention until February 8, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. Antonenko's supporters, who came to the hearing, chanted "Shame!" and "Corrupt Judges!" after the court handed down its ruling. Read alsoPediatric surgeon suspected of Sheremet assassination sends letter to victim's mother Antonenko and two women, Yulia Kuzmenko and Yana Duhar, were arrested in December as suspects in the high-profile case. Two other suspects, Vladyslav and Inna Hryshchenko, were arrested and placed in pretrial detention in September and November respectively as suspects in another case. All five took part in military operations in different capacities in Ukraine's east, where government forces are fighting against Russia-backed separatists. The Interior Ministry and the National Police said in December that the group's goal was "to destabilize the political and social situation in Ukraine" by killing Sheremet. Kuzmenko, a pediatrician and well-known volunteer, is suspected of placing the bomb under the car the night before the murder with the help of Antonenko, a musician. Sheremet, a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home, was leaving his apartment to head to the studio where he hosted a morning radio program when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded on July 20, 2016, killing him instantly. Sheremet's killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case. In a statement on January 10, RSF raised concern about "inconsistencies in the evidence for the Ukrainian authorities' claim to have solved [Sheremet's] murder," and urged them to "continue the investigation and to be more transparent as they do so." The Supreme Court in Brazil lifted a temporary ban issued by a lower court that stopped Netflix for streaming a short film that portrays Jesus as a gay man. Supreme Court President, Minister Dias Toffoli, issued his decision Thursday, just a day after a Rio de Janeiro judge censored 'The First Temptation of Christ' and ordered the streaming network giant to remove the comedy web special. A Rio-based Catholic organization brought the case arguing the film, which shows Jesus introducing his implied boyfriend to his family, hurt the 'honor' of millions of Catholics. Two million people signed a petition to have the show, produced as a Christmas special, removed after it was uploaded by the Rio-based production company, Porta dos Fundos, whose headquarters were bombed with Molotov cocktails on Christmas Eve. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Brazil's Supreme Court ruled Thursday to lift a ban placed on Netflix that forced the streaming network to remove the short film, 'The First Temptation of Christ,' from its catalog a day earlier The studio of the show's creator, Porta dos Fundos, was attacked by three masked men in Rio de Janeiro last month (pictured) A security guard at Porta dos Fundos' studio was able to extinguish the fire. He did not suffer any injuries In granting the ruling, Toffoli opined that the film's removal violated 'freedom of expression.' 'It is not to be assumed that a humorous satire has the magic power to undermine the values of the Christian faith, whose existence goes back more than two thousand years,' Toffoli wrote in his decision. 'The freedoms of intellectual, artistic, scientific expression, religious, philosophical and communication beliefs are fundamental and essential rights to achieve the objectives of the Federal Republic of Brazil.' On Tuesday, Judge Benedicto Abicair, charged that 'The First Temptation of Christ's' censorship would be 'beneficial' to the Christian community and Brazilian society. 'The right to freedom of expression ... is not absolute,' he wrote. 'I understand, yes, that there must be reflection so that excesses do not occur, avoiding nefarious consequences for many, due to eventual foolishness by a few. 'Exhibiting the 'artistic production' ... may cause graver and more irreparable damage than its suspension.' Netflix Inc appealed to Brazil's Supreme Court against the injunction. The First Temptation of Christ, pictured, appears to show Jesus introducing his 'boyfriend' to his family on his 30th birthday Brazil is seeking the extradition of Eduardo Fauzi, who reportedly fled to Russia after allegedly firebombing a Rio de Janeiro studio on Christmas Eve Security cameras at Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro recorded the moment Eduardo Fauzi removed his luggage from a car prior to boarding a flight to Paris on December 29, two days before Brazilian authorities issued an arrest warrant Eduardo Fauzi (pictured dressed in a t-shirt) was identified as one of the suspects that tossed Molotov cocktails bombs at the Porta dos Fundos studios in Rio de Janeiro because he was the only person with his face uncovered 'The court decision aims to silence the group through fear and intimidation,' wrote lawyers for Netflix in their appeal. Abicair's decision was condemned as censorship by The Order of Attorneys of Brazil, the Brazilian Bar Association. 'Any form of censorship or threat to this hard-won freedom means a setback, and cannot be accepted by society,' Felipe Santa Cruz, the Order's president, said in a statement. The injunction was initially denied by a lower court in December, but after Catholic organisation Centro Dom Bosco de Fe Cultura appealed, it was successful. An online petition was signed, and on the early morning of December 26, a group of five men were seen on camera participating in the firebombing of a recording studio operated by Porta dos Fundos, the show's creators. The three men claiming responsibility for the attack (pictured) in a video on social media The attack caused damaged the headquarter's entrance lobby. The only suspect who did not have his face covered was seen boarding a Paris-bound flight at the Rio de Janeiro airport on December 29. Brazil's Ministry of Justice reached out to its counterpart in Russia seeking the extradition of Eduardo Fauzi, claiming he fled there to find refuge with his girlfriend. In a separate video from the attack, three masked men presented themselves in front of the Nationalist Popular Insurgency Command of the Brazilian Integralist Family's banner and declared responsibility for the attack. 'We at the Nationalist Popular Insurgency Command of the Brazilian Integralist Family claim the direct revolutionary action that sought to justify the aspirations of all Brazilian people against the blasphemous, bourgeois and anti-patriotic attitude that the group of Marxist cultural activists Porta dos Fundos took when it produced its Christmas special at the behest of the billionaire mega corporation, Netflix, making it clear to the entire Brazilian people once again how big capital goes hand in hand with socialist sayings,' one of the men said as his voice was digitally altered. 'Porta dos Funds decided to make a direct attack on the faith of the Brazilian people by hiding behind the veil of freedom of expression. These damned servants of the great capital blasphemed the Holy Spirit when they called our Lord Jesus Christ a bastard and Mary a prostitute as an adulteress.' Brazil is home to the world's largest Catholic population as well as a growing evangelical Christian community supportive of the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro once said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son. His son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, has called the Porta dos Fundos' show 'garbage' on his Twitter account, saying the filmmakers 'do not represent Brazilian society'. Warning: Spoilers below. LOS ANGELES, California This time it wasnt close. James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter squared off Thursday night in Match 3 of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament, with Jennings and Holzhauer splitting the first two matches. The first two contests proved to be pretty close, at least between Holzhauer and Jennings. But Thursday night was a runaway. If you dont want spoilers, now is the time to stop reading. In Game 1, Jennings went all-in on a Daily Double and on the Final Jeopardy! to build and impressive total of 51,200 points, leaving behind Holzhauer with 27,000 points and Rutter with 17,600 points. In Game 2, Holzhauer missed a chance to catch up and Jennings was able to cruise to the match victory. Jennings now needs just one more match victory to win the tournament. The winner receives $1 million, while each runner-up receives $250,000. In the first game, Holzhauer held a narrow 9,600 to 9,200 lead over Jennings, but Jennings found a Daily Double. The answer: This 1832-33 crisis ended when South Carolina backed down from its efforts to void federal law. Jennings bet it all and correctly responded, What is nullification? For Final Jeopardy!, Jennings had what seemed to be a comfortable lead with 25,600 points, with Holzhauer at 13,600 and Rutter at 8,800. The answer in the category of U.S. Political History: These two now-defunct parties each gave the U.S. four presidents in the 19th century. All three contestants correctly responded, What is Democratic-Republican and Whig? All three also bet it all and doubled their scores. In Game 2, Holzhauer shot out to a 5,000-point lead when he found the Daily Double. The answer: This birthstone is used in abrasives for polishing and grinding; the color pairs with god as an official one for Florida State. Holzhauer responded, What is diamond? He was wrong, sending him back to zero. The correct response: What is garnet? In the Double Jeopardy! round of Game 2, Rutter found both Daily Doubles, eliminating any chance for Holzhauer to make a run at Jennings. Youre welcome, Rutter told Jennings after he found the second Daily Double. There was little suspense in Final Jeopardy! in Game 2. With the category of 21st Century Oscar Winners, the answer was These two foreign-born directors have each won two best director Oscars, but none of their films has won Best Picture. It stumped all three contestants. Holzhauer wrote, Who is the GHOST? (Greatest host of syndicated TV - Alex Trebek). He jokingly acted as if first intended to write Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune. He bet only $908 and finished with 33,692 points for both games. I wish you had bet more, Trebek joked. Rutter gave a shoutout to the Philadelphia Eagles with his response, losing 4,133 points and finishing with a two-game total of 23,467. Jennings actually made an attempt to get it right, responding with Who are Ang Lee and (Alejandro) Gonzalez Inarritu? The correct response was, Who are Ang Lee and Alfonso Cuaron? Jennings bet only 1,200 and finished with a two-game total of 67,600. The tournament resumes at 8 p.m. Tuesday on WEWS Channel 5. The show also is available to stream on Hulu + Live. This annotated image, captured by Maxar Technologies WorldView-1 satellite on Jan. 9, 2020, shows debris from the Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran a day earlier, killing all 176 people aboard. Sharp-eyed satellites have spotted debris from the Ukrainian airliner that went down in Iran early Wednesday morning (Jan. 8). The photos were snapped yesterday (Jan. 9) by the WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 satellites, which are operated by DigitalGlobe, a subsidiary of Colorado-based Maxar Technologies. Both of these spacecraft can capture imagery with a resolution of about 18 inches (50 centimeters), though they fly at different altitudes. WorldView-1, which launched in 2007, circles Earth about 310 miles (500 kilometers) up; WorldView-2, which was lofted in 2009, orbits 480 miles (770 km) above our heads. Related: Photos: Amazing Images of Earth from Space This annotated color infrared image, captured by Maxar Technologies WorldView-2 satellite on Jan. 9, 2020, shows debris from the Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran a day earlier, killing all 176 people aboard. (Image credit: Maxar Technologies) The plane, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine International Airlines, crashed shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on a planned flight to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. All 176 people on board were killed. Officials in the United States and allied countries have said that it appears Iran shot down the plane , perhaps mistaking it for an enemy craft in a "fog of war" scenario. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have been high since an American drone strike killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last week. Iran retaliated Tuesday night (Jan. 7), striking with missiles two Iraqi sites that house U.S. troops (though these attacks caused no casualties, U.S. officials said). The passenger plane crashed just hours after those missile strikes were launched. Iranian officials have denied responsibility for the plane crash, claiming that the U.S. is "spreading lies" about the intelligence that pins the blame on the regime, according to CBS News . Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, " Out There " (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate ), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook . B ournemouth University was placed on lockdown after a man's fitness vest was mistaken for a suicide vest. Dorset Police were called at around 2.30pm on Friday regarding a "security alert relating to a man seen in the area of the Boundary roundabout near Bournemouth University". Staff and students were reportedly not allowed to leave the building as Talbot Campus was put on lockdown. Police said: "An initial report suggested the man could be wearing something that resembled a suicide vest. "As a precaution, the university was placed on lockdown as searches of the area were carried out. "Officers attended the scene and undertook an investigation, including a review of CCTV footage, and it was established that it was believed to be someone running in a fitness vest." The university later tweeted to say Talbot Campus reopened just after 4pm and Dorset Police said it does not believe there is any further cause for concern. Bournemouth University has been approached for further details. University buses were temporarily suspended and a police helicopter was dispatched to the scene. Students kept inside university buildings posted on social media about the police incident. One wrote: "Fusion building is on lock down not allowing any students to leave." A labourer who used his car as a weapon and killed an ex-Royal Marines sergeant major in a road rage incident has been sentenced to an extended prison term of 16 years. Tarkan Agca, of Watford, Hertfordshire, drove off after hitting 63-year-old Andrej Szaruta, from Bridgwater, Somerset, sending him high in the air and causing him to suffer a fatal head injury. Sentencing the 24-year-old at Winchester Crown Court, Mrs Justice May told him: You drove at him, in effect using your car as a weapon, causing him to suffer the injuries that led to his death, all in the sight of his family. She added: Your actions have changed their lives forever, no sentence I pass can bring back Mrs Szarutas husband and their childrens father. The judge added that she considered Agca a dangerous offender and said he needed to address his serious anger management issues. Expand Close Andrej Szaruta, 63, died after Tarkan Agca hit him with his BMW car (Wiltshire Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Andrej Szaruta, 63, died after Tarkan Agca hit him with his BMW car (Wiltshire Police/PA) Agca, who entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter last month, was sentenced to 11 years in custody with an extended licence of five years and was banned from driving for 10 years and four months and ordered to take an extended retest. Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Szaruta was travelling with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Rachel, in his silver Mercedes along the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, heading to London for a Fathers Day and birthday celebration with their son, Christian. Agcas BMW tailgated them and undertook them before squeezing in front and braking so hard that it was like an emergency stop, the court heard. Ms Maylin said Mr Szaruta beckoned to Agca to pull over to a slipway by the A303 Solstice Park services and Mr Szaruta walked over towards the BMW where he was hit by the car and thrown into the air. She said Mr Szarutas daughter witnessed the incident and told police: My dad had his hand on the bonnet, he went up on the bonnet and high up into the air. Dad was carried a car length on the bonnet. Ms Maylin said another witness saw Agca driving off far in excess of the 70mph limit and skipping between cars. The court heard that Agca had 13 previous convictions for 28 offences with several relating to road rage incidents which involved tailgating and attacking vehicles, and in one incident he spat at a driver. I think we can take some comfort in knowing he is going to spend some time thinking about what he has doneChristian Szaruta, the victim's son Anthony Berry QC, defending, said Agca was deeply remorseful and explained that he came from a background where he was beaten with planks of wood and pool cues from the age of five by his father. Mrs Szaruta said in a statement read to court that she suffered flashbacks and added: I have lost my husband, my best friend and have to cope with the trauma of what happened. Rachel Szaruta said her father, a facilities and operations director, was the most kind-hearted and bravest man she knew and he didnt deserve such an ending. The victims family said in a statement: Andy was a sergeant major in the Royal Marine Commandos for 22 years, gaining medals for serving in the Falklands War, two tours in Northern Ireland, and a Nato medal during the Bosnian war. Speaking outside court, Mr Szarutas son Christian, 32, said: Nothing is going to bring my dad back so the sentence is a sentence but I think we can take some comfort in knowing he is going to spend some time thinking about what he has done. Describing his father, he added: He was a Royal Marine for 22 years, served in the Falklands, flew helicopters over Northern Ireland and when he was finished in the Marines, our family was his priority and he spent a lot of time focusing on us. He would do absolutely anything for us, we are pretty devastated. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:23:26|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close NANCHANG, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A man was sentenced Thursday to 11 months in prison and fined 1.24 million yuan (178,000 U.S. dollars) for scalping over 3,749 train tickets in east China's Jiangxi Province, according to local authorities. Ticket scalpers, once the scourge of Spring Festival train travelers, have seen their profits derailed by online booking services, but some have been trying to bypass the booking system. The man surnamed Liu, bought two ticket-snatching applications and over 935 real-name registered accounts on 12306.cn, China's official ticket booking platform, for hoarding and reselling tickets in 2017. The software enabled him to increase his chances of landing a ticket by bypassing the image verification on the website and automatically allowing multiple accounts to login in and submitting orders, according to the Nanchang Railway Transport Intermediate Court. Liu gained 50 yuan to 200 yuan from scalping a ticket. From April 2018 to February 2019, Liu bought over 1,327,538.5 yuan worth of tickets and gained 342,420 yuan from reselling them, the court said. In May 2019, 12306.cn expanded a service to all passenger trains for automatically allocating canceled train tickets to other buyers who have paid in advance when tickets have sold out, which can help buyers obtain a canceled ticket faster than using ticket-snatching software. Amazon is set to open Les Miserables in limited release this week, but if youre expecting a musical based on the Victor Hugo novel, youll have to look elsewhere. Directed by Ladj Ly, the film only shares a name with the popular Broadway musical. The drama tackles the issue of police brutality in France, showing that this is a relevant issue not only in the U.S. but all over the world. Based on Lys 2017 short film, Les Miserables is inspired by the riots that occurred in the suburbs of Paris in 2005. The story hits close to home for Ly as these riots had a long-lasting effect on his neighborhood, Montfermeil. The film follows Stephane (Damien Bonnard) who joins an anti-crime squad in Montfermeil after relocating. As he works with Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djebril Zonga), Stephane struggles with defusing the tense relationships between the resident gangs. When things turn violent, the trio must deal with the aftermath and keep the neighborhood from going out of control. More from Deadline Ly recently Deadline at an Awardsline screening that making his feature film debut was challenging because of financial obstacles no one wanted to fund it. In France, its very difficult to make this sort of film, especially when it speaks of minorities and the projects, he admitted. We started with our short film, thinking that by making the short, we would gain a lot of traction for making the feature-length as well. He continued, In spite of the success of our short film, which was featured in over 150 festivals and earned a lot of awards, it was still difficult to make the feature-length one because of the subject matter. Story continues Ly overcame the obstacles despite the controversial subject matter. It premiered in competition at Cannes last year, where it won the Jury Prize. It made its way through the festival circuit and maintained momentum to become an awards-season contender. The film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language film and is Frances official Oscar entry for Best International Feature at the 92nd Oscars. The timing of its release couldnt be any more perfect: Oscar nominees will be announced Monday. Les Miserables opens Friday in Los Angles at the Arclight Hollywood and the Landmark as well as New York at the Landmark at 57 West and the Angelika. When the trailer for the Bollywood film Chhapaak was released, it quickly became one of the most-watched trailers online, outpacing those of huge studio pics Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, No Time to Die and Top Gun: Maverick. Needless to say, it is on track to be a popular film as it is released today in more than 100 theaters in major markets across North America. The Hindi-language film is based on the true story of Laxmi Agarwal, the victim of an acid attack at the age of 15 in the streets of New Delhi. The film sheds light on surviving acid attacks which are an epidemic in India and the repercussions. The film stars Deepika Padukone (xXx: Return of Xander Cage) who stars as Malti, a character based on Laxmi. Padukone also produces the film while Meghna Gulzar directs. This contributes to the growth of female filmmakers in the Bollywood space. Gulzar also produces alongside Govind Singh Sandhu. Knives Out star Ana de Armas joins Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike and Clive Owen in Avirons The Informer directed by Andrea Di Stefano, which is also out this weekend. Based on the novel Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom, the script was adapted for the big screen by Di Stefano, Rowan Joffe and Matt Cook. The crime thriller follows Pete Koslow (Kinnaman), a Special Ops soldier who was honorably discharged. After being put in jail after fighting to protect his wife (de Armas), he is given the opportunity for early release by becoming an FBI informant to take down the a powerful crime boss in New York that goes by the name of The General. IFC Films will release the Jon Avnet-directed Three Christs based on Milton Rokeachs real-life controversial experiment chronicled in his book The Three Christs Of Ypsilanti. Co-written by Avnet and Eric Nazarian, Three Christs stars Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins, Bradley Whitford, Julianna Margulies and Charlotte Hope. Set in 1959, the drama follows psychiatrist Dr. Alan Stone (Gere), whose paranoid schizophrenic patient (Dinklage) believes he is Jesus Christ. Unwilling to use electroshock therapy, Dr. Stone instead begins a risky, unprecedented experiment by transferring his patient to live together with two other paranoid schizophrenics (Whitford and Goggins) who also believe they are Jesus. Other films set for release this weekend include Anthony Jerjens opioid-driven crime drama Inherit the Viper starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Dern, Chandler Riggs and Margarita Levieva. Abramorama will release the documentary Afterward where Jerusalem-born filmmaker and trauma expert Ofra Bloch puts a spotlight on wave of anti-Semitism sweeping in the world. Also making their debuts are Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy follows the fascinating life of the titular deGruy, the underwater filmmaker who died suddenly in 2012; the Tamil-language action thriller Darbar starring Indian superstar Rajinikanth; and the FIlipino action-comedy 3pol Trobol: Huli Ka Balbon! from Coco Martin. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Samir Ali - Trend: Verification of the data entered into the Electronic Agricultural Information System (EKTIS) of Agrarian Credit and Development Agency under Azerbaijans Agriculture Ministry in connection with the autumn sowing has begun, Trend reports Jan. 10 referring to the Ministry. Inspections in the system are carried out in three directions, according to the report. Verification of documents confirming ownership of the land is carried out on the basis of integration with the electronic systems of the relevant authorities, original documents or a request to these bodies. This check is mandatory for all farmers who have registered in EKTIS. In four settlements of four districts (Dakkaoba in Zardab district, Samukh in Samukh city, Gagali in Agsu district, and Yenikend in Siyazan district), selected as part of a test project, verification of documents and the satellite imagery of photos of state of arable land has been completed. In connection with the documents, according to which doubts arose during the monitoring, notifications will be sent to farmers and these sites will be checked again. Based on satellite imagery, the data entered into the EKTIS by farmers are already being checked. The final approval of the electronic declaration for subsidies and the amount that will be paid to farmers will be established based on the monitoring results. Azerbaijans Agriculture Ministry noted that farmers are responsible for the authenticity of information entered into the electronic system. For this reason, if there is incorrect information, farmers are advised to contact the State Agrarian Development Centers. As of Jan. 10, electronic applications for sowing subsidies have been generated in the personal accounts of 173,000 farmers. Within three days, farmers should verify the authenticity of the information and approve their applications. Applications for which there is no disagreement are automatically sent for monitoring. Cricket legend Shane Warne added more than $1 million to bushfire relief funding efforts on Friday, joining a long list of celebrities and businesses that have pledged donations globally. The Commonwealth Bank emerged as the winning bidder for an auction of Mr Warne's baggy green cap, bidding $1,007,500 for the iconic piece of cricket history less than two minutes before the auction ended on Friday morning. Shane Warne and his baggy green. The CBA was the winning bidder. Credit:Instagram Also on Friday, Leonardo DiCaprio confirmed his environmental organisation Earth Alliance, which he founded with philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth, would donate $3 million to the Australian Wildlife Fund and would be working with Aussie Ark, Bush Heritage and Wires Wildlife Rescue on an "international response" to the bushfires crisis. The pledges come as some of Australia's most recognisable businesspeople kick in personal donations to recovery efforts. Cash donations are exceeding $150 million with at least $100 million of this coming from the nation's biggest corporate players. The Kerala government has shown a model that India can follow by deciding to scrap the system of internal assessment of students in colleges. The move could not have come a day sooner. Internal assessment had become a tool for exploitation at the hands of the teachers and supervisors, some of who behave like predators. Particularly vulnerable are girls and students belonging to depressed classes, who still face discrimination of various kinds at schools, colleges and offices. Instances of girls and Dalit students driven to the desperate act of taking their lives due to harassment by their supervisors have become more frequent. The worst part is that only a small percentage of cases get reported as such. Most cases go unreported or are attributed to anonymous reasons. The pain suffered by Fathima Lateef, the humanities student at IIT Madras, who left a poignant suicide note as screenshot on her mobile phone before taking the extreme step shakes the conscience of even the unkindest among us. The message identified one of her professors as her tormentor. It is a different matter that a breakthrough in investigations has not happened yet although her parents have been moving heaven and earth to seek justice. Discrimination against Dalit students is so widespread in our educational system that it has stopped raising an eyebrow. The forms of abuse that these children face are often so stigmatising that they can no longer endure and consequently there has been a steady increase in the number of suicides by Dalit students. It has been found that out of 27 cases of suicides that occurred in educational institutions between 2008 and 2016, 23 were Dalits, who suffered discrimination rooted in caste-ridden minds. The problem of sexual harassment of students by their superiors in institutes of higher learning is so acute that the UGC issued strict regulations in 2015 to prevent such incidents. The regulations recognise the imbalance in the equation between the students and their teachers and administrative staff, which can adversely affect the students future by lowering their grades and taking away extra-curricular opportunities from them. This made the students particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment. The regulations define sexual harassment as unwanted conduct with sexual undertones if it occurs or which is persistent and which demeans, humiliates or creates a hostile and intimidating environment or is calculated to induce submission by actual or threatened adverse consequences. The unwelcome acts and behaviours could include physical contact and advances, sexually coloured remarks or any objectionable act of a sexual nature whether by way of physical or spoken or unspoken conduct. The regulations look good on paper, but their application leaves much to be desired. For instance, each educational institution is supposed to have an internal complaints committee to deal with alleged sexual abuses, but in most cases, the complaints do not reach the committee. Even if they do, things get hushed up there. One would expect elite institutions such as IITs and medical colleges to be free from this menace, but, unfortunately that is not the case. Some of the most high-profile cases of recent times have taken place in these premium institutions, including those of Lateef and Payal Tadvi, the young Adivasi doctor at Mumbais Topiwala National Medical College, who was found hanging in her hostel room due to alleged harassment by her seniors. Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of the countrys premier institutions, has been involved in several such cases. The story of Balmukund Bharti, a final year MBBS student hailing from Kundeshwar village in Madhya Pradesh, who took the extreme step in 2010, had created a nation-wide storm, similar to the one caused by the death of Rohit Vemula, a research scholar at the University of Hyderabad in 2016, although some questioned his Dalit origins. It was the series of incidents in AIIMS that had forced the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry to institute a three-member committee headed by SK Thorat, the then UGC chairman, to study the issue. The committee found the existence of various forms of caste-based discrimination against marginalised students both by their classmates and faculties. The UGC regulations were drawn up on the basis of this report. The scrapping of internal assessment will not ensure complete elimination of discrimination and sexual harassment on the campuses, but it will surely address a major part of the vulnerability of girls and members of depressed classes to those with an evil mind. WILLIAMSPORT - A South Carolina man can resume following President Trump to campaign rallies selling memorabilia, including Make American Great Again hats. Willie Edward Singleton, 30, of Eastover, S.C., has been off the campaign trail for seven months because he was in the Lycoming County Prison unable to post $30,000 bail. He was accused of robbing and assaulting another vendor following a Trump rally in Montoursville on May 20. He pleaded guilty to simple assault and theft and was sentenced to 3 to 7 months, which was time served, Friday in county court. A robbery charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement. Judge Marc F. Lovecchio ordered restitution of $550 that he said should be deducted from the $972 seized when Singleton was arrested. The judge approved the return of the rest of the money. Singleton told the judge he did not know his victim, Allen Jay Essrig, but was upset at him for infringing on his business. Essrig, who was punched in the face, required hospital treatment for cuts on the face, arm and leg, Montoursville police said. He dropped a wad of bills in various denominations that his assailant picked up and fled, police were told. Bills ranging in denominations from $1 to $20 folded the way Essrig described were found in one of Singletons pockets, they said. At his arraignment last May, Singleton told District Judge William Solomon he had no permanent employment, had used drugs in the past 24 hours and had spent 10 years in prison in South Carolina. Singleton was not an authorized Trump vendor and his merchandise was fake, campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said at the time. Trump items always are made in America and many of the fakes are not, Murtaugh said. Shriners Hospital for Children in the Texas Medical Center is planning to close in 2021, officials said Thursday, part of an effort to consolidate all its area care at the charity systems Galveston facility. The closure, which will end Shriners 100-year presence in Houston, will mean all four specialty care departments acute burns, orthopedic conditions, spinal injuries and cleft lip and palate abnormalities will be provided in Galveston. Currently, the burn unit is in Galveston and the other three are in Houston. This will make more efficient use of resources and enable us to provide our patients who need more than one type of care to receive it all in one place, said Mel Bower, director of marketing at the Shriners national offices in Tampa. It makes more strategic sense. Bower said the decision, made last fall, was driven by a desire to build one premier hospital, not financial concerns. Plans are still fluid, he said, but the closure in Houston and consolidation of services in Galveston should be finished sometime in the first half of 2021. Bower added that the burn centers presence in Galveston was a major determinant in the decision to consolidate there rather than Houston. He said the requirements to provide such care are very complicated. The burn center also is considered one of the nations best. It has the highest survival rate of patients with major burn injury greater than 80 percent of all U.S. hospitals, according to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, which provides the centers doctors and nurses. But the center was criticized in 2018 because of allegations that some faculty members provided inappropriate treatment to some research patients. UTMB subsequently suspended all burn-injury studies on human subjects at the burn center as well as its own campus while it reviews the matter and develops a plan of corrective action. That suspension, initiated in January 2019, is still under effect, a UTMB spokesman said Thursday. The Texas Medical Center Shriners keeps a lower profile, mostly because its surrounded by Texas Childrens and Childrens Memorial Hermann hospitals. Texas Children's is the nation's largest pediatric hospital -- and is consistently ranked among the best in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey. The Houston Shriners hospital is licensed for 40 inpatient beds and performs a little more than 1,000 surgeries annually, according to its website. It reports treating 3,000 patients in 2019. In contrast, Texas Childrens Medical Center campus has 694 licensed pediatric beds and performs more than 20,000 surgeries annually. Childrens Memorial Hermann has 234 licensed pediatric beds and performs 6,000 surgeries annually. Shriners history in Houston dates to 1920, when it opened as the Arabia Temple Crippled Childrens Clinic in the Baptist Sanitarium downtown. It has been housed in a number of different locations in the city before taking root in the medical center in 1949. It built the facility in its current location in 1996. The Shriners system, which began as a response to the polio epidemic in the 1920s and accepts patients regardless of the familys ability to pay, comprises 20 hospitals in the U.S., one in Mexico and one in Canada. Bower said it is still too early in the process to know what it will do with its existing building in the medical center. todd.ackerman@chron.com twitter.com/chronmed ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The former and current owners of an Alaska gold mine are involved in a lawsuit over who owns the rights to gold claims. Great American Minerals Exploration Inc. filed a lawsuit in November contesting gold claims that were part of a $260 million sale of the Pogo mine, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday. Sumitomo Metal Mining America Inc. announced in August 2018 that it agreed to sell the underground mine in eastern Alaska to Australia-based Northern Star Resources Ltd. Great American said it was unaware the deal included about 56 square miles (145 square kilometres) of state mining claims known as the Monte Cristo property. Great American signed an option agreement with Sumitomo and its subsidiaries in August 2016 providing exclusive rights to eventually purchase the Monte Cristo claims, provided it met certain work criteria. Judge Jennifer Henderson issued a preliminary injunction Dec. 30, a day before the option agreement was set to expire, that essentially freezes the agreement until the injunction is lifted or the case is resolved. Great American paid Sumitomo $700,000 in installments over two years and fulfilled commitments to perform at least $8.5 million of exploration work at Monte Cristo from 2017 to 2019, according to its complaint. Sumitomo denied the majority of the allegations, but acknowledged the exploration company fulfilled its work commitments in 2017 and 2018 and made its final $250,000 option fee payment Aug. 29, 2018, a day before the Pogo sale was announced. The lawsuit filed by Nevada-based Great American also named Northern Star Resources and RCI Capital Group Inc., a Canadian finance firm. 09.01.2020 LISTEN When Blakk RASTA spoke to the media in Soweto on his last visit in December, he said he was falling in love with South African House music and would be recording one on his return to Ghana. To the shock of fans, two days after Blakk Rasta left South Africa, he presented a complete song titled Mpumalanga and it was House music, hotter than expected. It is a hit.. capable of stopping any dance here on earth or in space. It does not matter where. People who heard the joint were equally blown away like chaff in a crazy harmattan whirlwind. When Blakk Rasta spoke about recording a song for Mpumalanga, many wondered why and he hit it in the head. "The place of the Rising Sun is the custodian of life and sees daylight before anywhere else. It represents the energy of life." He said with a serious face. This is the first song known dedicated to the Eastern Province of Mpumalanga in South Africa and, it is beyond befitting. Mpumalanga, in Zulu simply means, place/land of the rising sun. One can only imagine how fans will receive this banger for the new year. Blakk Rasta did not disappoint at all. This is the newest in the line of hits for 2020... A befitting New Year gift. Blakk Rasta was in South Africa to launch his new Timbuktu By Road album and it was sweet seeing the eloquent, multi-faceted Rastaman represent Africa so effortlessly. iStock(WASHINGTON) -- With tensions between Washington and Tehran on the rise, election security officials are warning of possible retaliation from Iran in the form of election meddling -- a familiar threat in the wake of Russias efforts in the 2016 presidential election. The thing Im most worried about are a repeat of some of the types of attacks we say in 2016 against larger election infrastructure, said Matt Blaze, a Georgetown University Law Center professor, during a Thursday hearing before the Committee on House Administration. A determined adversary who wanted to disrupt our elections would have a frighteningly easy task. As the presidential primary season gets underway, the threat of Iranian interference highlights efforts by the federal government and states since 2016 -- when Russian hackers successfully infiltrated voting systems -- to shore up their defenses. Last week, after the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, leaders in Tehran vowed to seek revenge. As ABC News and others have previously reported, Iran is capable of targeting a broad range of public and private institutions with cyber intrusions and attacks. State and federal leaders have already raised warnings, including West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, who released a statement this week highlighting how tensions with Iran raise the stakes in securing voter systems. The world we live in today is one where asymmetric warfare is the norm, and cyberattacks have become the weapon of choice for rogue regimes like Iran," Warner said. Soleimani's death amplifies our state's preparations. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger echoed in a statement of his own that Irans latest warning serves as a reminder that we can never lower our guard. Neither state has reported receiving credible threats, but their statements illustrate how election security leaders are taking notice of Irans announced intentions to retaliate. State officials across the map have been in touch with the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which convened a briefing phone call with cyber stakeholders around the country after the Soleimani strike last week. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf met with CISA Director Chris Krebs on Thursday to discuss election security and resilience as part of the effort to defend against Irans potential cyber activities, according to DHS. Maria Benson, a spokeswoman with the National Association of Secretaries of State, told ABC News earlier this week that states have also been diligently shoring up election security and defenses since 2016 against malicious actors, regardless of country. Government officials have cited the need to coordinate with private companies who provide counties and voting districts with voting equipment to protect elections. During Thursdays hearing before the Committee on House Administration, chiefs from the three largest private election system vendors described efforts theyve made to mitigate risks from malign foreign actors to compromise their systems. We spend great deal of time securing systems from foreign hacks, said Tom Burt, the CEO at Election Security & Systems. Our effort, I can honestly say, is as strong as we are capable of. We are always looking to find ways to improve and partner with other agencies improve our ability to mitigate any risks. The cybersecurity threat in elections first emerged in 2016, when U.S. officials said Russian hackers likely targeted systems in all 50 states -- what some compared to rattling door handles -- and said that some were able to get through. In two Florida counties, for example, Russian hackers were able to successfully infiltrate voter databases. While there was no evidence any of the data was tampered with in 2016, the incident raised alarm bells with lawmakers. The Senate Intelligence Committee investigated and concluded that the Russian movement directed extensive activity, beginning in at least 2014 and carrying into at least 2017, against U.S. election infrastructure' at the state and local level. Since then, security officials and experts said the U.S. has made significant progress in protecting the voting process, but there's much more work to be done before Americans cast their ballots in 2020. "There's a lot of things that keep me up at night," a DHS official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told ABC News last year. "What could our adversaries do? What could they do to undermine our democratic system?... I'll certainly be nervous but confident in the lines of communication we have and the steps that we've taken." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Experts Cast Doubts on Chinese Official Claims Around 'New' Wuhan Coronavirus 2020-01-09 -- China says the mystery virus that has sickened dozens of people in the central city of Wuhan is a new coronavirus in the same family as SARS, as experts said they don't believe official claims of no human-to-human transmission. State news agency Xinhua quoted Xu Jianguo, the lead scientist on the team researching the virus, as saying that authorities had "preliminarily determined" that at least 15 patients in Wuhan had contracted the same virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the discovery. "Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented," the WHO's China representative Gauden Galea said in a statement. At least 59 people in Wuhan have been taken ill -- seven of them seriously -- with what was initially feared to be a resurgence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. SARS killed 349 people in mainland China and 299 in Hong Kong over the winter of 2002-2003. Chinese health authorities had said the virus -- which first struck in Wuhan among employees of a now-shuttered seafood market -- wasn't SARS, and no human-to-human transmission has yet been reported. But health experts have cast doubt on the claims about human-to-human transmission. Ho Pak-leung, head of the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Infection, has warned that it is highly possible that the illness is spreading from human to human, given the sheer number of cases that have mushroomed in a short period of time. Hong Kong authorities appear to be taking the possibility seriously, with health screening of all passengers coming into the city from mainland China already in place. Infrared thermal screening Incoming passengers from Wuhan are being given infrared thermal screening for signs of a raised temperature, while enhanced cleaning and disinfection measures are in place on Hong Kong's railway network and at the airport, secretary for food and health Sophia Chan told lawmakers on Wednesday. Any inbound travelers with tell-tale symptoms who have been to Wuhan are being isolated and treated in government hospitals, Chan said. Ren Ruihong, former head of the medical assistance department at the Chinese Red Cross, said she too has her doubts about the reported "absence" of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan. "It's a new type of mutant coronavirus," Ren said. "They haven't made public the genetic sequence, because it is highly contagious. From what I can tell, the patients caught it from other people. I have thought that all along." She said the lack of fatalities didn't indicate that the virus was less deadly than SARS, just that antiviral medications have improved in the past 10 years or so. Ren said she also regarded the relatively high number of infections in Hong Kong with suspicion, given that there had been no reports of cases anywhere in between the two cities, in the southern province of Guangdong, for example. "Genetic engineering technology has gotten to such a point now, and Wuhan is home to a viral research center that is under the aegis of the China Academy of Sciences, which is the highest level of research facility in China," she said. Repeated calls to various numbers listed for the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences rang unanswered. However, an employee who identified herself as a senior engineer said she knew nothing about the virus. "Sorry, I ... I don't know about this," the employee said. Lunar New Year travel looms As of noon on Thursday local time, 10 patients -- five of whom are under seven years old -- had been admitted to hospital in Hong Kong with flu-like symptoms or pneumonia who had been to Wuhan during the past two weeks, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said in a statement. "The patients concerned had not visited [fresh food] markets in Wuhan before the onset of symptoms," the statement said. WHO representative Galea said "people with symptoms of pneumonia and reported travel history to Wuhan have been identified at international airports," but no travel advisories have been issued for China as hundreds of millions get ready to travel across the country to spend Lunar New Year with their families on Jan. 25. People living in Wuhan have said there is scant information in the media about the outbreak, in a country where media outlets are strictly controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. An employee who answered the phone at Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital declined to comment when contacted by RFA on Thursday. "We don't give interviews here," the employee said. "The only official channel for this matter is the Wuhan municipal health commission, so ... you can contact them directly to find out more." However, calls to the Wuhan municipal health commission rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday. Residents in the neighborhood around the Huanan Seafood Market, where the outbreak was traced to, said they knew very little about it. "It's about 500 meters from here," one resident said. "We don't know anything about it, and I haven't been paying attention to it ... I don't think I went there recently." SARS -- described as atypical pneumonia caused by a coronavirus -- infected more than 8,000 people around the world, and is believed to have originated in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The WHO declared China free of the SARS virus in May 2004, although it criticized the Chinese government's initial attempt to cover up the crisis. Reported by Wong Siu-san and Sing Man for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content January not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The largest oil hedge in the world cost Mexico around $1 billion for 2020, Mexicos Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said on Thursday, according to Reuters. Herrera had said the cost of the hedge would be revealed on Thursday. Herrera disclosed the rough cost of the hedge at the prompting of Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. For 2019, Mexico spent $1.23 billion, locking in a fixed price of $55 per barrel. Herrera failed to disclose the actual figure in order to keep market players in the dark as to when Mexico was hedging. The average cost of the hedging program is $1.2 billion, according to Deputy Finance Minister Gabriel Yorio. Under this hedging program, Mexico buys put options from Wall Street investment banks to sell hundreds of millions of barrels of oil. With these put options, Mexico is granted the rightbut not the obligationto sell its oil at a predetermined price for the upcoming year. In 2015 and 2016, Mexico made out like bandits when oil prices tanked, as the contracted upfront price for oil ended up being much higher than market price. Mexicos hedge is the largest annual oil hedge in the world, and is a major source of revenue for Mexico, accounting for 4% of the countrys GDP. The hedge typically ranges between 200 million and 300 million barrels. The 2020 hedge locked in a price of $49 per barrel, according to Reuterssignificantly lower than the $55 per barrel price that it hedged at for last year. The Maya crude blendMexicos flagship grade--is currently trading at $54.81 per barreldown from $64.48 in April 2019, but up from $45.05 in August. This years hedging formula went through an overhaul after two decades no changes, slowing the hedge in the latter part of 2019, causing some to question whether the hedge would happen at all. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: CHICO, Calif. - 2020 is a big election year, on the national stage and here in northern California. Action News Now spoke to Carol Burr, a representative of the League of Women Voters of Butte County, a non-partisan organization. The organization is holding candidate forums for District 1 and 4 of the Butte County Board of Supervisors. The event is free to public and doors will open at 6 p.m. It will be located on the main campus of Butte College, Black Box Theatre in the ARTS Building on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. District 1 - Bill Connelly vs. Ian Greene District 4 - Todd Kimmelshue vs. Sue Hilderbrand The organization is also hosting an event that is a new way for people to meet and get to know the candidates. All candidates on the March 3 primary ballot for Butte County will be welcomed at Speed Dating with the Butte County Primary Candidates on Saturday, Feb. 1. Brief statements will be made by the candidates and an informal roundtable conversation. The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Lincoln Center Room at Chico High School. For more information on the League of Women Voters of Butte County, CLICK HERE. New Delhi, Jan 10 : A Canadian coffee chain is facing an online backlash from Tweeple as it offered free coffee for life if they (British royals Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle) move to Canada. Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet on Wednesday saying ,"No pressure, Meghan and Harry, but if you do choose to move to Canada, free coffee for life. Think about it." As soon as the post went viral on social media, it seemed to be difficult for Tweeple to see the funny side in the message. Hitting out at the coffee chain, a user commented,"No pressure, Tim Hortons, but you'll stop losing customers if you use that money for free lifetime coffee for Meghan and Harry to stop nickel and diming your employees into a strike over 10 cents an hour." "Meanwhile, I've been waiting for a month for a response to my DM about a lost $100 gift card", added another. A netizen remarked, "They can afford to buy the company. Your employees can't afford rent. See the problem with this tweet?" A post read, "You're allowing tables and chairs to be removed from stores so paying patrons cannot sit and you're offering ROYALTY free coffee? Take that thought and set up a homeless free coffee/water station with a sign on it that says 'please help yourself to our restroom'." Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sparked controversy earlier this week, after they said they would be stepping down from Royal Family duties. The BJP leader's remark comes after actor Deepika Padukone, on 7 January, joined the protest at JNU against the recent violence in which over 30 students were injured. Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat on Thursday said that there is a section of film actors and politicians that stands with the people who support terrorists by raising slogans for them. Union Min Gajendra Shekhawat: This section considers itself progressive,becomes part of the gang which raises slogans of 'Afzal hum sharminda hain, tere qaatil zinda hain' & 'Bharat tere tukde honge insha allah insha allah' & supports them. The nation now knows such people.(9.01) https://t.co/QnYr1x5NuQ ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 9, 2020 "Not only film actors, (but) there is also a section among political leaders too who insult the culture and deities of this country. They stand with people who support terrorists by raising slogans for them and divide the country into pieces," Shekhawat told reporters. He said that the people of the country have now come to know such people. "This section considers itself progressive and becomes part of the gang which raises slogans of Afzal hum sharminda hain, tere qaatil zinda hain(Afzal, we are ashamed that your killers are still alive) and Bharat tere tukde honge insha allah insha allah (India will break to pieces, God willing) and supports them," Shekhawat said. The BJP leader's remark comes after actor Deepika Padukone, on 7 January, joined the protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) against the recent violence in which over 30 students were injured after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods. JLL has today announced three senior appointments to its Nordics Capital Markets team. Thomas Persson joins as Head of JLL Capital Markets in the Nordics, while Daniel Anderbring and Sara Vesterlund join JLLs Swedish Capital Markets team as Head and Deputy Head, respectively. These hires will be instrumental in strengthening [] WASHINGTON - On the day the U.S. military killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad, U.S. forces carried out another top secret mission against a senior Iranian military official in Yemen, according to U.S. officials. The strike targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai, a financier and key commander of Iran's elite Quds Force who has been active in Yemen, did not result in his death, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The unsuccessful operation may indicate that the Trump administration's killing of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani last week was part of a broader operation than previously explained, raising questions about whether the mission was designed to cripple the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or solely to prevent an imminent attack on Americans as originally stated. U.S. military operations in Yemen, where a civil war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, are shrouded in secrecy. U.S. officials said the operation against Shahlai remains highly classified, and many declined to offer details other than to say it was not successful. Officials at the Pentagon and in Florida were monitoring both strikes and had discussed announcing them together, had they gone well, officials said. "If we had killed him, we'd be bragging about it that same night," a senior U.S. official said, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a classified military operation. Another senior official said the two strikes were authorized around the same time and that the United States did not disclose the Shahlai mission because it did not go according to plan. The official said Shahlai may be targeted in the future, though both countries have signaled an interest in de-escalating the crisis. The rationale for the Trump administration's decision to kill Soleimani has come under scrutiny in Congress, with House lawmakers approving a resolution on Thursday to restrict the president's authority to strike Iran without congressional approval. Defense and State Department officials said the strike against Soleimani saved "dozens" if not "hundreds" of American lives under imminent threat. The strike against Shahlai potentially complicates that argument. "This suggests a mission with a longer planning horizon and a larger objective, and it really does call into question why there was an attempt to explain this publicly on the basis of an imminent threat," said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran scholar at the Brookings Institution. The Trump administration views Shahlai as a particularly potent adversary. Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, Pentagon spokeswoman, said the Defense Department does not discuss "alleged operations" in the Middle East. "We have seen the report of a January 2 airstrike in Yemen, which is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States," she said in a statement. The State Department offered a $15 million reward last month for information leading to Shahlai and the disruption of the IRGC's financial mechanisms. The announcement said that Shahlai is based in Yemen and has a "long history of involvement in attacks targeting the U.S. and our allies, including in the 2011 plot against the Saudi ambassador" at an Italian restaurant in Washington. U.S. officials have alleged Shahlai, born around 1957, is linked to attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, including a sophisticated 2007 raid in which Iranian-backed militiamen abducted and killed five Americans troops in the city of Karbala. In a news conference last year, Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran, said the United States remains "gravely concerned by his presence in Yemen and potential role in providing advanced weaponry of the kind we have interdicted to the Houthis," who continue to battle a Saudi-led coalition for control of Yemen. Iran has provided support and training to the Houthi rebels in their battle against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia, Iran's regional foe. It is unclear why the operation did not succeed. The State Department and White House declined to comment. The killing of Soleimani, the first U.S. targeted killing of a senior member of a foreign military since World War II, prompted Iran to retaliate early Wednesday in Iraq by firing ballistic missiles at U.S. locations there, though no casualties were reported. Following the strike, President Donald Trump said the United States would respond by imposing economic sanctions on Iran, and noted that the "United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." Trump's top aides have continued to tout the "imminent" nature of the threat from Soleimani, though have been less precise about the timing. "There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by Qasem Soleimani," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Friday. "We don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real." Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper have likewise supported the case for an imminent plot. "Did it exactly say who, what, when, where? No," Milley told reporters this week. "But he was planning, coordinating and synchronizing significant combat operations against U.S. military forces in the region, and it was imminent." Milley continued to emphatically defend the intelligence during a classified briefing with members of Congress on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Some lawmakers left the meeting complaining about the lack of specifics about the intelligence. "I believe this administration is after the fact trying to piece together a rationale for its action that was impulsive, reckless and put this country's security at risk," said Gerald Connolly, D-Va. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called it "probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I've seen in nine years I've been here." Republican leaders in Congress have stood behind the president's decision to take out an Iranian commander allegedly linked to the deaths of more than 500 U.S. soldiers following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The operation targeting Shahlai occurs as the United Nations presses for a political solution to the war in Yemen, which began in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched its campaign against the Houthi rebels. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government has struggled to regain the upper hand against the Houthis, allowing a massive humanitarian crisis to fester in which tens of thousands of Yemenis have died of fighting, deprivation or disease. U.S. officials believe that Iran has steadily expanded its support to the Houthis, placing what they say is a small number of Iranian operatives in Yemen to advise the rebel campaign. Experts say a larger number of Lebanese Hezbollah personnel are also helping the rebels. The Trump administration has showcased apparent Iranian weapons that have been intercepted or recovered in and around Yemen as proof that Iran is arming the Houthi rebels, including sophisticated missiles used to target Saudi Arabia. Experts say the Saudi-led coalition has dramatically reduced the tempo of its airstrikes against Houthi targets in recent months as the Yemeni rebels have largely halted their missile attacks into Saudi Arabia. Houthi leaders are divided between those who want to demonstrate loyalty to Iran and those who are open to striking a deal with their neighbor to the north. According to the Long War Journal, which tracks counterterrorism operations overseas, the United States conducted eight strikes against militants in Yemen in 2019, down from a high of about 125 strikes in 2017. The strikes have targeted al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the local branch of the Islamic State. The attempted strike on Shahlai also marks a departure for the Pentagon's mission in Yemen, which has sought to avoid direct involvement in fighting between Houthi forces and those backed by the Saudi-led coalition. In 2018, the military halted a program in which U.S. planes refueled Gulf combat jets amid criticism of the civilian casualties caused by coalition air sorties. The United States has not previously taken any publicly acknowledged attacks on Houthi or Iranian leaders in Yemen, though Special Operations forces have sought to track Iranian movements and disrupt alleged smuggling of Iranian weaponry into the country. - - - The Washington Post's Shane Harris and Souad Mekhennet contributed to this report. Ubers plans for airborne rides are perhaps best described by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi words. He believes that the future of transportation has to be shared, electric, and in three dimensions, and that plenty of big cities around the world will want to be a part of the initiative. Lets see how that reflects in the freshly-sealed Uber-Hyundai deal. Every year, the topic of flying cars, VTOLs, and autonomous air taxis comes into discussion, usually around the same time as CES unravels in Las Vegas. 2020 was no exception, because Hyundai Motor and Uber had big news to share: the two companies have agreed on a partnership that would permit the development and use of Uber Air Taxis as the pivotal part of an aerial ride share network. Why is the Hyundai-Uber air ride-sharing partnership important? The cooperation between the two companies holds more significance than you might think. First of all, Hyundais involvement sends troubled Uber a massive vote of confidence since the South Korean giant is the first Uber Elevate partner that can provide and sustain a manufacturing plan to mass-produce Ubers Air Taxis. Most likely, Uber hopes Hyundais willingness to support its efforts will work two-fold: on one hand, the carmaker will play a leading role in building VTOLs, while on the other hand, it might spur fellow car manufacturers in joining what could become a powerful alliance. The Hyundai Air Taxi Model Dubbed S-A1, Hyundais eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft) presented during at CES 2020 looks a lot like Uber Elevates previous designs and unsurprisingly, it satisfies the initial requirements. That means that the S-A1 is capable of a cruising speed of up to 180 miles per hour (290 kilometers per hour) at an altitude of 1,000 feet to 2,000 feet (300 to 600 meters). It can also fly for roughly 60 miles (100 kilometers) on a single charge, requiring about five to seven minutes for full recharging during peak hours, according to Uber. Although these details are not specified by the announcement made in Las Vegas, some of Ubers previous eVTOL requirements included the following: vehicle footprint of 50 ft vehicle height of 20 ft cargo payload of 980 lb, including people and luggage rapid charging capability: 600 kW noise level: 15 dB quieter than todays light helicopters, so around 70 dB SEL at 700 ft Propulsion-wise, the aircraft has electric motors that power multiple rotors and propellers strategically placed around its frame. Uber says that the way the rotors are positioned increases safety by decreasing any single point of failure and in addition, having several, smaller rotors also reduces noise relative to large rotor helicopters with combustion engines, which is very important to cities. As a result, the S-A1 can take off vertically and transition to wing-borne lift as it begins to cruise, then switch back to vertical flight as the pilot begins the landing sequence. The sketches show four main rotors - two on the eVTOLs tail and one on each wing, assisted by four propellers mounted horizontally in facing pairs, on either side of the cabin. Two more pairs of horizontal propeller blades are positioned behind the main wing rotors, facing the rear of the aircraft. Speaking of pilots, these eVTOLS will benefit from direct human input at first, but Uber plans to gradually switch to autonomous technology. Each aircraft can carry four passengers (excluding the driver) and each can bring a personal bag or backpack aboard the aircraft. If youll look closely at the adjacent photo gallery, youll see that the concept seats Hyundai prepared for the aircraft look a lot like those found in a car, except they sport a sleeker frame and better side bolstering. Theres even an armrest between them, complemented by two cup holders positioned lower. Initially, Uber mentioned Frances Safran as its partner tasked with designing and developing the eVTOL cabins, but it looks like Hyundai will handle those processes now. Whats more, as part of the partnership conditions, it is Hyundai who will assemble and deploy the eVTOLs, while Ubers left to provide airspace support services, connections to terrestrial transportation, and customer interfaces, as well as manage the app that would allow access to the aerial ride-sharing network. Final Thoughts Although well in its infancy, the flying car industry, or more realistically, that of VTOLs and eVTOLs, has quite a lot of supporters. Whats more, with companies like Uber and Hyundai joining forces to actually generate traction - or should we say, lift? - and lead to the development of ride-sharing aircraft and networks, whos to say that others wont want to join in? If Ubers forecast is true and there are big cities willing to implement airborne ride-sharing solutions, then it wont be long before swarms of eVTOLs will find themselves buzzing above large cities at first, taking passengers from one heliport to another in no time. A big contributor to this industrys development will be a municipalitys ability to fight clogged traffic: without working solutions applied in the next couple of years, moving mobility above our heads could be the obvious choice. Is Novo Nordisk A/S (CPH:NOVO B) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful. While Novo Nordisk's 2.1% dividend yield is not the highest, we think its lengthy payment history is quite interesting. The company also returned around 1.6% of its market capitalisation to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks over the past year. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis CPSE:NOVO B Historical Dividend Yield, January 10th 2020 Payout ratios Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Novo Nordisk paid out 50% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a fairly normal payout ratio among most businesses. It allows a higher dividend to be paid to shareholders, but does limit the capital retained in the business - which could be good or bad. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Novo Nordisk paid out 53% of its free cash flow last year, which is acceptable, but is starting to limit the amount of earnings that can be reinvested into the business. It's positive to see that Novo Nordisk's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. Story continues With a strong net cash balance, Novo Nordisk investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. Consider getting our latest analysis on Novo Nordisk's financial position here. Dividend Volatility Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Novo Nordisk has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. Its dividend payments have declined on at least one occasion over the past ten years. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was 1.20 in 2010, compared to 8.15 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 21% per year over this time. Novo Nordisk's dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 21% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth. Novo Nordisk has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, but it might be worth considering if the business has turned a corner. Dividend Growth Potential With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share (EPS) are growing - it's not worth taking the risk on a dividend getting cut, unless you might be rewarded with larger dividends in future. It's good to see Novo Nordisk has been growing its earnings per share at 12% a year over the past five years. Novo Nordisk's earnings per share have grown rapidly in recent years, although more than half of its profits are being paid out as dividends, which makes us wonder if the company has a limited number of reinvestment opportunities in its business. Conclusion When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. Novo Nordisk's is paying out more than half its income as dividends, but at least the dividend is covered by both reported earnings and cashflow. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, but it was concerning to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than Novo Nordisk out there. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 24 analysts we track are forecasting for Novo Nordisk for free with public analyst estimates for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. NEW YORK Heres a point to ponder: To what extent is Fox News Channels Tucker Carlson responsible for President Donald Trump stepping away from a potential war with Iran? From his prime-time perch on the top-rated cable network, Carlson has advocated restraint in dealing with Iran, and resisted cheerleading the Trump-ordered drone killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Shortly after the story of Irans counter-attack broke on Tuesday, Carlson hosted a show that mixed coverage of the story as details became known, emphasizing early reports of a lack of American casualties, and interviews with experts on the Middle East. Some of those guests pointed out the dangers of spiraling escalation. I continue to believe the president doesnt want a full-blown war, Carlson said. Some around him might, but I think most sober people dont want that. Trump, who announced his decision not to retaliate against Irans missile strikes in a nationally televised address 14 hours later, told some close to him that he watched Carlsons show, according to BuzzFeed News. He told confidants in recent days that Carlsons strong advocacy not to escalate the situation in Iran played a role in his decision-making, two White House officials and Republicans close to the West Wing told The Associated Press on Thursday. Trump keeps a close eye on how his base responds to policy decisions, feeling their beliefs are often reflected and influenced by Fox News hosts. His Twitter feed reflects how he keeps close tabs on Fox, and he tweeted a link to a Carlson piece on Monday night. The president often consults with Fox News hosts off-air, including Carlson. Carlson was seen among the presidents entourage this past summer when he visited the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea. He conducted an interview with Trump that was later shown on Fox. Following Trumps announcement on Wednesday, Carlson said that were back from the brink. He played a clip of the presidents speech where he said that a pause in hostilities between Iran and the United States was a very good thing for the world. Thats a big claim but in this case it is not an overstatement, Carlson said. His show moved on to a new cause, in this case encouraging the U.S. to leave neighboring Iraq. He was calm on Tuesdays show, at a time there was breathless coverage elsewhere of the missile attack. A succession of guests threw cold water on the idea of further retaliation. Gil Barndollar of Defense Priorities suggested Americans were kidding themselves if they expected to incite a regime-change movement in Iran. With Kelley Vlahos, executive editor of The American Conservative magazine, they speculated on the role of Democrats and Trump staffers who didnt have the presidents best interests in mind in advocating war with Iran. Trump was reminded that he was elected on a pledge to get Americans out of foreign entanglements. A frequent Carlson guest, retired Army Col. Douglas MacGregor, said a war without public support could not succeed. He said further destabilization in the Middle East would have disastrous effects. If you destroy Iran, you will get ISIS times one hundred, he said. Fox News anchor Bret Baier came on Carlsons show to suggest that the moment was Trumps biggest test as a leader. Carlsons show contrasted with a more bellicose approach by the Fox personality who followed him on the air, Sean Hannity. Hannity, a more loyal Trump supporter, backed the attack that killed Soleimani. While Hannity didnt advocate all-out war with Iran, he suggested that nation was about to be hit with the full force of the American military. You dont get to do what they did tonight, Hannity said on Tuesdays show. A.J. Bauer, a New York University professor who is an expert on conservative media, said he could not judge what kind of impact Carlsons program had on Trumps decision. He noted that it was consistent with other times where Trump had resisted more extensive foreign entanglements. Instead, Bauer found the different opinions expressed by Hannity and Carlson to exemplify how Fox must step carefully with an audience that reflects conflicting strains within the conservative movement, between a hawkish military approach and an America first attitude that resists overseas adventurism. ___ Associated Press White House correspondent Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report. SHAKOPEE, Minn., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ProcessPro, a leading ERP software powered by Open Systems Adaptable Solutions (OSAS), is pleased to announce its Global solution has been selected by Innovative Freeze-Dried Food, a diversified food freeze dryer manufacturer located in Washington. Innovative Freeze-Dried Food (IFDF) was seeking a comprehensive business management solution to support their growing operation that serves private label retailer brands and contract manufacturing customers. During the company's search for an ERP provider, they received high recommendations for ProcessPro from an industry consultant with previous working experience in the solution. This reference, combined with over 30 years of ProcessPro developing batch processing software for the regulated food industry, lead IFDF to select ProcessPro Global as their ERP solution of choice. ProcessPro will provide IFDF with a solution to replace manual processes and spreadsheets to streamline and integrate all aspects of their business into one system. The company holds many certifications, including SQF, HACCP and USDA Organic, that required a solution with robust lot tracking capabilities, real-time inventory management and automated documentation. ProcessPro's quality control and comprehensive forecasting and reporting functionalities will support these needs. "We're pleased to be offering our industry knowledge to Innovative Freeze-Dried Foods as they experience growth in their operations," stated Dr. Michael Bertini, CEO, OSAS. "Our commitment to delivering a technology-forward business management solution for food manufacturers is solidified each time a client refers an OSAS product." Innovative Freeze-Dried Food is a diversified food freeze dryer headquartered in Ferndale, Washington. With their unique capabilities and state-of-the-art freeze drying equipment in wet processing and dry packaging, they are able to maintain simultaneous production runs within their facility that offers flexibility and responsiveness. From freeze dried strawberries to vegetables and dairy products, IFDF ensures that their clients receive the best freeze dried foods on the market. For more information, please visit https://innovativefdf.com/. OSAS is a market-leading provider of accounting, business management, and ERP software solutions. Powered by OSAS, our productsTraverse, ProcessPro, Master, Impress, Flex-Pack, Service and SouthWareare designed to solve the unique business and industry needs of clients, helping them to remain competitive and excel. OSAS delivers and supports adaptable suites of technology applications to distribution, wholesale trade, manufacturing, services, job shop and not-for-profit companies. For more information, visit https://www.osas.com/processpro. Contact: Kate Orbeck, Marketing Manager Phone: (320) 252-0234 Email: [email protected] SOURCE OSAS YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Russian media reports according to which Armenia and Crimea are going to launch a direct air communication starting from March 2020 have nothing to do with the reality, the Information Checking Center told Armenpress. According to the report Russian Ikar Airlines LLC, operating as Pegas Fly, is going to operate flights from Yerevan to Simferopol, Crimea. Armenias Civil Aviation Committee informs that no such discussions were held with the aforementioned airline, no application was submitted. In December 2019 the same report was also circulated in the media, but again was denied by Armenias Civil Aviation Committee. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Fan-centric and influencer-friendly membership site FanCentro has announced the launch of a new initiative designed to help bring relief to those affected by the widespread engulfing bushfires in Australia. #FCAid was launched today by the FanCentro team, together with influencers, to encourage fans to donate to this important cause. Influencers who opt in to #FCAid will receive a special SOS Australia tab on their profile. When fans visit this tab, they can make a donation which will be sent to the Australia Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. Its been amazing to watch so many of our influencers launching independent, altruistic campaigns to raise money for those affected by the devastating fires in Australia, said Stan Fiskin, CEO of FanCentro. After learning how difficult it was for our influencers to manage all the donations and requests for content theyre receiving by themselves, we knew we needed to help. With #FCAid, influencers can raise money for important causes like this using FanCentros suite of social media influencer tools, continued Fiskin.I hope with this initiative, we can make a significant impact on Australia, its people and the wildlife that calls the area home. However, to do this, FanCentro needs your help to spread the word about how influencers and fans can raise funds to help these fire-ravaged areas. Donations start at $5, and fans that donate $10 or more will receive a special piece of bonus content from that influencer. By joining #FCAid, influencers have no receipts to track and will simply receive a list of fans who donated so they can send them bonus content. There is also a main profile SOSaustralia where fans can donate and receive bonus content from one of FanCentro's top influencers. Influencers can help by opting in to the initiative and encouraging fans to donate to the cause. The full amount of the donations (minus billing fees) will be sent to Australia Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund every Friday. More details about #FCAids SOS Australia initiative can be found in our latest blog post. BJP leader Gopal Bhargava on Friday said his "porn" remark made in context of Hindi film 'Chhapaak' getting tax-free status in the Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh has been "distorted", and took potshots at actor Deepika Padukone over her visit to Delhi's JNU. The Leader of Opposition in the assembly said the film - based on the life of an acid attack survivor - played by actor Padukone - has been made tax-free by the Congress due to politician reasons. Asked about his comment that even if it was a "porn" film, it would have been made tax-free in the Congress-ruled state, the BJP legislator appeared to distance himself from the controversial statement. It was not like that. My statement was distorted. My sarcastic comment was misinterpreted," he told PTI. "The film was not even released and still it was made tax-free. Be it stunt or action or anything...if porn, they would have done it even then," Bhargava told reporters in Hoshangabad on Thursday when asked about the Hind film getting tax-free status in Madhya Pradesh. The film, directed by Meghna Gulzar, was declared tax -free in the Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Thursday, a day before its release. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath took to Twitter on Thursday to make the announcement, saying the movie gives a "positive message to the society about acid attack survivors." Speaking to reporters in Harda on Thursday, Bhargava took a dig at Padukone over her visit to JNU on Tuesday to express solidarity with students injured in attack by masked goons over the last weekend. A heroin should dance in Mumbai. Why should she go to JNU? I dont understand such people who have come up...who are called activist-artists," he said. "The MP government declared it ('Chhapaak') tax-free because activities of its stars suit their ideology. JNU is a place for study and not for promotional activities of Bollywood movies," Bhargava said. He said the earlier practice was for a state government committee to declare a film tax-free, but in case of 'Chhapaak', the Baadshah (a reference to Nath) himself made the announcement. Reacting strongly to Bhargavas "porn" comments, MP Congress media department chairperson Shobha Oza termed them as derogatory towards women. "On one hand Chief Minister Kamal Nath has decided to make the film tax-free to give a positive message to the society, while on the other Bhargava has made remarks which are too low and highly derogatory towards women," she said. Oza also condemned Bhargava for describing the actress, the daughter of badminton legend Prakash Padukone, as "nachnewali" and termed it highly undignified for women. "It reflects not just Bhargavas thinking about women, but also exposes the entire BJP," she said. Padukone's visit to the JNU campus evoked a range of reactions. Many appreciated her "silent solidarity" with JNU students, but some others criticised her for "supporting Leftists", saying it was a promotional stunt ahead of her film's release. A section of BJP leaders has targeted Padukone over her move. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We are living in a time where allegations are truth, and the accused is guilty until proven innocent. We have seen this theme portrayed on the national stage with House Democrats pushing a sham impeachment of President Trump on lies and deceit because they are unable to win in the arena of truth. If only these tactics were relegated to the federal level. The precedent has been set: any elected official, no matter how small, will be targeted for slanderous campaigns if he stands in the way of the Democrat regime. On December 19, 2019, a company named the "Rampart Group" released a report commissioned by the Democrat-controlled Washington State House of Representatives on Representative Matthew Shea accusing him of domestic terrorism. This dossier, written by Democratic party donor Kathy Leodler, seems to have had but one purpose: to provide justification for those who want to remove Matthew Shea from office by non-electoral means. Representative Shea is a decorated U.S. Army officer veteran and a well respected constitutional attorney. He is a strong Christian, pro-life, pro-family, pro2nd Amendment American patriot. He takes his position as a state legislator and constitutional attorney seriously, and because of this, he has been re-elected for the past 11 years. The Rampart report lists three separate events that it deems as "armed conflicts" where Rep. Matt Shea demonstrated some sort of "domestically terroristic" activity, thereby earning him the designation of "domestic terrorist" in the eyes of the Rampart Group. It was an Obama-era rule that targeted a veteran to have his guns confiscated and sparked a rally of concerned citizens, including this author, in Priest River, Idaho. The veteran had suffered a stroke and was placed on the National Instant Criminal Background System by a health care professional at the V.A. Having a stroke suddenly became a federal offense, a U.S. citizen's constitutional rights became subject to the whims of a "health care professional," and those who opposed it are now considered "domestic terrorists" by the Rampart report. Representative Matthew Shea was invited by Idaho representative Heather Scott and Bonner County's Sheriff Daryl Wheeler to join them in making a stand for the rights of a U.S. veteran. The insinuations of bloodshed and mayhem in the Rampart report are grossly irresponsible. Law-abiding United States citizens used their constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceably assemble alongside local law enforcement and elected officials to protest the violation of another citizen's constitutional rights. The event was peaceful. People carried crosses, Bibles, pocket constitutions, and American flags. We opened in prayer, we said the Pledge of Allegiance, and we sang "God Bless America." Children were present and played in the grass during the event. To declare this peaceful assembly of American citizens an "armed conflict" of "domestic terrorists" is dangerous and slanderous and sounds like the ravings of a mad dictator. The Rampart report investigation included "anonymous sources," "unnamed whistle-blowers," and even "Wikipedia." YouTube was, apparently, a website too far. Videos entitled "This Vet is Not a Threat" and "This Vet is Not a Threat-VSO Arrives," posted on YouTube since the event took place, show the VA representative not only showing up, but being welcomed. Nobody "blocked" him, nobody "attacked" him, and nobody was even rude to him. Not a single shot was fired, not a single weapon was brandished, and everybody left with a better understanding of what it means to be an American. The other two events that the report calls "armed conflicts" were the Bundy Ranch standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada and the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve in Harney County, Oregon. The report portrays Shea as the ringleader of the events that happened, when Shea was in fact invited by local elected officials to help defuse the situations and to utilize his expertise and knowledge as a constitutional attorney. The Rampart report never mentions that all the people involved in these events were exonerated and courts found that government had acted illegally in all three events. Matthew Shea committed no crime and was never even questioned by law enforcement. The conclusion of this report was decided before it was even started. No attempt was made to remain neutral, ascertain facts, or remain unbiased. Evidence that conflicted with the conclusion they desired was discarded, and witnesses who contradicted the desired narrative were ignored. This report is dangerous; it is a blueprint of how to completely undermine the rights and will of the people. It dehumanizes American citizens and trivializes our rights. It is a bigoted anti-American manifesto of elite liberals that portrays anyone who does not hold their worldview as backward, unwashed rednecks who cling to their Bibles and guns. Eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar late Thursday rejected calls for a ceasefire by Turkey and Russia and announced a continuation of his military operations against a UN-recognised government. In a statement read by his spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari, Haftar claimed that a revival of the political process and the country's stability could only be assured by the "eradication of terrorist groups" and the dissolution of militia controlling Tripoli. Haftar's forces in April launched an offensive against the capital, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin issued their call for a truce on Wednesday in Istanbul. Turkey supports the GNA while Russia is accused of supporting Haftar. Haftar "hailed... President Vladimir Putin's initiative" in his statement Thursday, but stressed that the "efforts of the armed forces in the war against terrorists" would continue. "These groups have seized the capital and received the support of some countries and governments who supply them with military equipment, ammunition... and drones," he said. "These countries also send terrorists all over the world to fight (Haftar's) armed forces," he added. Haftar was referring to Turkey, which has recently sent some troops to shore up the GNA, while he also accused Ankara of sending pro-Turkish Syrian fighters to Libya. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 00:20:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- German manufacturer Daimler delivered 2,339,562 Mercedes-Benz cars in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 1.3 percent, making it the highest annual sales volume in the company's history, the company announced on Thursday. "The ninth consecutive record year underscores once more the strong demand for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, even amidst far-reaching changes in the mobility landscape," said Ola Kaellenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG. In the last three months of 2019, Mercedes-Benz sold more than 600,000 passenger cars and thus completed the best quarter ever in terms of sales. Mercedes-Benz was able to surpass the "high prior-year level" in its main markets of China, Germany and the United States. China, the largest market for Mercedes-Benz, remained the "main growth driver," according to Daimler. Sales in China increased by 6.2 percent with 693,443 Mercedes-Benz cars handed over to customers in 2019, the company said. Daimler stressed that its localization strategy was one of the key success factors in China. More than three-quarters of Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in China had already come directly from local production. In its home market Germany, Mercedes-Benz increased its sales by 4.8 percent compared to the previous year and delivered a total of 318,353 vehicles, especially thanks to growing compact car and sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales. In 2019, every third vehicle sold by Mercedes-Benz globally was an SUV and every fourth was a compact car. Although global SUV sales were 4.5 percent lower than in 2018, with around 783,700 units sold, SUVs remained the highest-volume segment at Mercedes-Benz in 2019. In contrast, sales of compact cars rose by 9.5 percent to around 667,000 units delivered. "2019 was a year of great challenges for the automotive industry. The next two years will also be characterized more than ever by the transformation of our industry," Kaellenius said. Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said that he hopes Sinn Fein will sell the deal aimed at restoring the Northern Executive and Assembly. The British and Irish governments on Thursday night published their estimate of what constitutes a fair, balanced and inclusive deal. Sinn Fein now has a unique responsibility, Mr Coveney told Newstalk Breakfast show. They know there cannot be a power sharing executive without both Sinn Fein and the DUP. This is a significant day for the people of Northern Ireland, he added. The proposed deal will protect the institution of power sharing and the petition of concern will mean that if one of the parties walks out there will be time to ensure that the institution can survive, he said. The Irish language will be facilitated and protected under new legislation which will introduce an Irish language commissioner who will set standards. Later, speaking on RTE Radios Morning Ireland Mr Coveney said that Thursday had been the end point for both the Irish and British governments with regard to the endless negotiations with the parties. Hopefully all five parties will commit to having a functioning government again. The deal is now the deal, the parties have to make a decision. If they are looking for the positives, there are more than enough to back it. However, Mr Coveney warned that time is running out and if a deal is not in place time will run out on Monday and there will be elections in Northern Ireland. The focus is to get Stormont up and running today. The Tanaiste said he hoped Sinn Feins Ard Comhairle meeting on Friday will support the proposal. The Irish Government has committed 110m to projects in Northern Ireland, he added. We are bought into this. I hope to see history being made today after three years of stagnation. DUP leader Arlene Foster told Morning Ireland that her party believed the deal was balanced and she would be asking members to view it in a holistic way. We stand ready to go into an Assembly today. Ms Foster said she hoped the other parties would also come forward to support the deal. The sooner we can get back devolution back, the better for the people of Northern Ireland. She said she had spoken with Sinn Feins leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle ONeill on Thursday night and respected that the matter would have to go before the Ard Comhairle. Ms Foster acknowledged that relations between the two parties had deteriorated over the past three years, but she said she had a record of 10 years in government with Sinn Fein prior to that. We want to make Northern Ireland work, I hope we have the partners to do that. Two unarmed civilians were killed by the Pakistani Army on Friday along the Line of Control. Indian Army sources said Pakistan Army carried out the attack on the five unarmed civilians who crossed over fencing on LoC in the Poonch sector but were within Indian territory. Two civilians including Mohd Aslam and Altaf Hussain were killed in the attack, while two others were seriously injured. Sources in Poonch said the civilians had crossed the LoC fencing for grazing their cattle when they were attacked by the Pakistan Army. Heavy firing by Pakistan also took place in the Degwar and Gulpar sectors of Poonch district today. The LoC in recent times has seen frequent ceasefire violations by the Pakistani side. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robots. These humanoid machines aren't just science fiction anymore. In fact, they are relatively common in everyday life, popping up in grocery stores, hospitals, airports, even in many homes. If you don't believe it, just ask Alexa or Siri. A startup with roots at the University of Connecticut is now bringing robots into special education classrooms around the world. Movia Robotics, Inc. (Movia), based in Bristol, Connecticut, has developed technology that helps children on the autism spectrum with social skills, learning readiness, and academics. "As far back as the 1970s, research has shown that children with special needs respond well to robots and that their interactions are effective," says Tim Gifford, president and chief technical officer of Movia. "Adults and other children can be very off-putting for an autistic child. Interacting with the robots is more consistent, simpler, and is never judgmental. It makes interactions less stressful." Robots also have a 'cool factor' that makes them attractive educational aids for kids and adults, whether or not they have special needs, says Gifford. Gifford had the initial idea and began developing Movia's technology in 2008 when he was researching social robotics as a grant-funded researcher in UConn's Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP). His wife, a teacher, was commenting on the scarcity of trained therapists to handle what seemed like a surge in autism diagnoses. Gifford thought his research could help. Leveraging his background in business and technology commercialization, Gifford knew he could accelerate this idea with UConn's assistance. He brought the product idea to the technology transfer team within UConn's Office of the Vice President for Research to help protect his intellectual property and to advance the technology. "This was always our goal - to take this out of the lab and into the classroom. But we knew we needed a strong management team to make that happen and UConn helped connect us with the right people," he says. "Making a commercially viable product that was both robust and easy to use was the surest way to get it into the hands of as many schools and students as possible, where it could do the most good." Since then, Gifford and his business partners have kept moving forward and are growing their company in Connecticut and abroad. So far, Movia has licensed the use of its software to the Bristol, Suffield and Wallingford school systems, where it will be used for special education with about 75 students. They have also licensed the tech to manufacturers that make and sell robots to schools nationwide and in Canada to reach a global clientele. Most recently, Movia and their distribution partners, the Bolat Group, LLC, and RobotLAB, Inc., got a major boost having won a $6.4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to help military families with autistic children. Movia's software will be used in bases around the world to enhance communication, social interactions, and executive functioning for children in the DoD schools on bases all around the world. "We're really excited about this new contract and what it means for the future of our company," says Jean-Pierre 'JP' Bolat, CEO of Movia. "This accelerates our tech development roadmap and will allow us to fully deploy additional innovations originating from Tim's time at UConn." "An idea with roots at UConn is now having tangible, positive impacts for families in our state and those serving our country around the world. Movia Robotics exemplifies the types of innovative companies that UConn is committed to helping succeed and grow in Connecticut," says Radenka Maric, vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship at UConn and UConn Health. Over the past several years, Movia focused its tech development on building a viable and robust, semi-autonomous platform that requires little intervention from the teacher. The company is confident that their technology roadmap will greatly expand this core capability and will focus on greater autonomy, leveraging the internet of things, and utilizing advanced sensor capabilities to enhance their products and offerings. "With the implementation of the IP we developed at UConn, the robot is able to run the process in a semi-autonomous fashion and the teacher or therapist is able to devote even more attention to the children, their progress and documentation," says Gifford. "With this semi-autonomous capability, schools can treat as many kids as needed. It's a much more streamlined approach." One day Gifford hopes this technology will become accessible enough for families with special needs children to have a Movia robot right in their homes. "Ultimately, this system is about how people and robots can work together," says Gifford. "The fact that our technology and our business can help improve academic and social outcomes for these families is what keeps us going." ### DOD Project: HE1254-19-D-0019_HE1254-19-D-0020. The Delhi High Court legal aid society, aimed to providing legal assistance to middle income group at nominal fees and expenses, was inaugurated on Friday. Justice Sanjeev Khanna of the Supreme Court was the chief guest at the function where Delhi High Court Chief Justice D N Patel was present as the guest of honour. The society's secretary, advocate Uttam Datt, and member, advocate Anuraj Ahluwalia, said most of the legal aid organisations cater to the poorest sections of the society while a substantial percentage of the citizens who constitute the middle income group, that is incomes under Rs 60,000 per month or Rs 7.5 lakh per annum, are unable to afford legal assistance. "Given the substantial cost of litigation in general, and before the High Court of Delhi in particular, it was decided to provide a mechanism whereby members belonging to this segment of the middle class, would be provided legal assistance at nominal fees and expenses, they said. According to its memorandum of association, the High Court of Delhi (Middle Income Group) Legal Aid Society shall be funded by the cost awarded by the High Court of Delhi in various cases; donation from lawyers and; from the nominal fees received from applicants desirous of seeking legal services under the Society. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are considered to be among the most popular couples of all time. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are popular for their activities and have made headlines several times because of it. Lets take a look at the times when the couple made headlines for the right reasons. The Royal Wedding The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on May 19, 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The groom Prince Harry is a member of the British royal family. And the bride, Meghan Markle, is an American and has previously worked as an actress. Also read: Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Wish Kate Middleton On Her 38th Birthday Christmas break in Canada The Sussex holiday was confirmed by the palace. A royal spokesperson confirmed that Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their son Archie were spending family time together in Canada. The beautiful royal family stands by each other at all times. However, it was previously speculated that the family was taking time off in the United States. When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared an inspiring quote Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took a moment out of their six-week break from royal duties and shared an inspiring Monday quote. They shared this with over 10 million of their followers. They posted a picture in the navy and white style format. They also chose a line from inspirational author Anthony J. D'Angelo which read: 'Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community'. When their son Archie was born Prince Harry and Meghan Markles welcomed their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor on 6 May, last year. Archie is a great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II. He is seventh in the line of succession to the British throne. When she planned to sue a news portal for breaching privacy The Duchess of Sussex also announced plans to sue The Mail on Sunday after it published excerpts from a private letter she wrote to her father. Documents showed newly revealed claims from the duchess, which said that the Mail on Sunday lied about publishing a full letter Meghan wrote to her father. This news received widespread attention from fans. Also read: Meghan Markle Gets An Open Invite To Join 'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills' By Producer Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. An elderly person died after he slipped on a snow-covered road here as Himachal Pradesh continues to reel under biting cold with Lahaul-Spiti's Keylong recording the coldest night in the past 12 years. Two serious patients were also airlifted from Lahaul-Spiti to Shimla for treatment on Friday, an official said. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has directed all deputy commissioners and officials concerned to ensure that all essential services are restored at the earliest in the areas affected by widespread snowfall. The CM said as many as 66 people, including pregnant women, were airlifted from Lahaul-Spiti to Kullu. The elderly person, Kanchowk (77), died as he sustained head injuries after falling near Tibti Colony, Shimla SP Omapati Jamwal A resident of Tibti Colony in Sanjauli, he was taken to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital where he was declared dead, he added. Vijay Kumar (45) of Karnal village in Hamirpur district and Lobjang Dorje (26) of Kyoto village were airlifted from Kaza sub-division to Shimla in a helicopter, Kaza SDM Jeewan Singh Negi said. Meanwhile, Keylong shivered at minus 17.6 degrees Celsius, recording the coldest night in 12 years on Thursday, the meteorological department said. The Shimla MeT centre has issued a fresh orange warning of heavy rain, snowfall in the state on January 13 and 16. Earlier, Keylong had experienced the coldest night on January 31, 2008 with a low of minus 18.4 degrees, MeT centre director Manmohan Singh said here on Friday. The weatherman said Shimla experienced the coldest night on Wednesday in 12 years with the mercury dipping to minus 3.7 degrees while Manali was the coldest in nine years with minimum temperature sinking to minus 7.8 degrees. On January 24, 2008, the minimum temperature in Shimla dropped to 4.4 degrees while Manali recorded the lowest temperature at minus 8 degrees on January 17, 2011, he added. Forecasting rain, snowfall in the state from January 11 to 17 due to two western disturbances, the MeT centre issued an orange warning of heavy rain, snowfall on January 13 and 16. The weatherman said the first western disturbance will be active in the state from January 11 to 13, the other from January 14 to 16. The colour-coded warnings are issued to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather, which has the potential to cause "damage, widespread disruption or danger to life". The minimum temperature in the state fell 3 to 4 degrees Celsius below normal. The minimum temperature in Manali of Kullu district was minus 7.6 degrees Celsius, followed by Kinnaur's Kalpa at 6.4, Shimla at minus 1.3 degrees and Palampur at minus 1 degrees Celsius. It was minus 2.6 degrees Celsius in Kufri. The minimum temperature in Seobagh was minus 2.5 degrees Celsius while Sundernagar recorded a minimum of minus 2 degrees Celsius. Solan and Bhuntar touched minus 1.6 degrees Celsius each. The minimum temperature in Dalhousie of Chamba district was 0.2 degrees Celsius. Maximum temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees Celsius below normal. The highest temperature in the state was recorded in Sundernagar at 18.2 degrees Celsius. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Our organization grows stronger today as we welcome these many exceptional caregivers at Grove City Medical Center into the AHN family, said Cynthia Hundorfean, AHN President and CEO. Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and Grove City Medical Center (GCMC) have finalized an affiliation agreement that officially brings GCMC into the family of hospitals affiliated with and operated by the Pittsburgh-based health system. The newly-branded AHN Grove City provides the network and its patients with a vital new access point for high-quality acute care services between Pittsburgh and Erie, with plans to further expand and enhance those services for residents of Mercer County and the surrounding region. Today we celebrate the beginning of an exciting new era of health care excellence in Mercer County as an affiliate of Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health, said Timothy R. Bonner, chairman of GCMCs Board of Directors. As we expressed last summer when reaching our affiliation agreement with AHN, we could not have found a partner more closely aligned with and committed to the charitable mission, vision and values that have defined our hospital and its dedicated caregivers for more than four decades. AHN plans to invest more than $40 million over the next decade to strengthen AHN Grove Citys clinical programs, technological capabilities and physical infrastructure. The network will add or enhance a host of clinical services at the hospital, including primary care, neurology, oncology, cardiology, behavioral health, orthopedics, pediatrics, and general surgery, while also expanding onsite telehealth capabilities to include tele-dermatology, tele-stroke and autoimmune consultations, among other specialties. One of the first big investments being made at AHN Grove City is an upgrade of the hospitals information technology infrastructure, including installation of the Epic electronic health record system at both the main campus and affiliated satellite facilities throughout the community. AHN is the largest health care network in western Pennsylvania with a singular integrated electronic health record across its many sites of care. Through the affiliation, a new independent Grove City Health Care Foundation has also been established with an initial endowment of approximately $30 million that will be spent on local health and wellness initiatives. Rural hospitals are critically important to the health and well-being of the populations they serve, and there is no better example than the outstanding services provided to this community by the employees, volunteers and affiliated clinicians of AHN Grove City, said Cynthia Hundorfean, President and CEO of Allegheny Health Network. Our organization grows stronger today as we welcome these many exceptional caregivers into the AHN family, and we cannot wait to start working together to provide the residents of Grove City and the surrounding region with more of the high-quality, close-to-home health services they need and deserve. AHN Grove City is the networks eighth acute care facility located in western Pennsylvania and ninth hospital overall. The network is also currently in the process of building five additional hospitals in the greater Pittsburgh area, including a 160-bed full service hospital in Wexford, PA and four smaller scale neighborhood hospitals in suburban communities north, south and east of the city. Together with Highmark Health, AHN has invested more than $1.5 billion over the past five years to improve access to the networks services, including construction of the new hospitals, multiple community cancer centers and other outpatient facilities, and the expansion and enhancement of facilities and programs at its existing hospitals. Residents of the Grove City region have received their medical care from AHN physicians for many years, both through affiliated services and practice locations in the community and transitions to Allegheny General Hospital for higher level care when needed. About AHN Grove City AHN Grove City is a 67-bed acute care hospital in Mercer County. The hospital, which employees approximately 400 health care professionals, also operates six outpatient clinics and lab sites throughout its service footprint, offering cancer care, cardiac care, lab services, home health, and imaging services. AHN Grove City opened in November 1981, created through the merger of Grove City Hospital and Bashline Memorial Hospital, both of which were founded in the early 1900s. For more information, visit http://www.gcmcpa.org. About Allegheny Health Network Allegheny Health Network (http://www.AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. Among the networks 250 clinical locations are nine hospitals Allegheny General Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh; Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Pa.; Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg, Pa.; Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Pa.; Grove City Hospital in Grove City, Pa, Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Pa.; Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pa.; West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh; and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. AHN also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; home- and community-based health services; and a group purchasing organization. The network employs approximately 21,000 people and has more than 2,400 doctors on its medical staff. Established in 2013, AHNs member hospitals share legacies of charitable care that date back more than 160 years. : The ruling YSR Congress on Friday organised rallies in different parts of Andhra Pradesh to support Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddys idea of having three capitals for the state. The rallies were a counter to the ongoing agitation demanding that Amaravati be retained as the capital city. Tourism Minister M Srinivasa Rao led the rally in Visakhapatnam and supported the idea of making the executive capital of the state. In Rajamahendravaram, Housing Minister C Ranganatha Raju and MP M Bharat led the rally while MLAs K Rambhupal Reddy and Hafiz Khan organised a similar rally in Kurnool supporting the idea of three capitals. They welcomed the Chief Ministers plan to make Kurnool the judicial capital of the state by locating the High Court there. Rallies were taken out by YSRC leaders in Anantapuramu and West Godavari districts as well. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chilton County school board last year paid $175,000 in an equal pay dispute and hired the plaintiff as personnel director, settling the case against the school board, according to a deposition included in the ongoing lawsuit. The sexually-charged claims against the former superintendent are still in court. Allison Smith filed suit in October of 2018 against the board and former superintendent Tommy Glasscock. Her lawsuit alleges violations of equal pay and the equal protection clause. She claims the board paid her $40,000 for the same job a male had been paid $88,000 to perform, the lawsuit said. Smith, who worked in various roles in the central office, also sued over invasion of privacy and assault and battery, accusing Glasscock of touching her in an unwelcome manner that was intrusive, unwelcomed, and sexual and intentional, gratuitous and conducted with sexual overtones. Glasscock has denied all allegations in his response to the lawsuit and in a video deposition taken in September. The transcripts of both Smiths and Glasscocks depositions were made public in a recent filing. Under the terms of the settlement, outlined in Smiths deposition taken in September, Smith received $175,000 from the board of education and is now working as the Personnel Director in the Chilton County school system at a salary of $86,000. After reaching the settlement, board members were dismissed from the lawsuit in December. Smith and Glasscock failed to reach a settlement in mediation. Glasscock has asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. Glasscock was elected Chilton County superintendent in 2014 and then hired as Assistant Superintendent of Career and Technical Education at the Alabama Department of Education effective in July 2018. He retired from that position as of Jan. 1. In the State BOE meeting, Dr. Mackey announces Deputy Superintendent, Tommy Glasscock, in charge of Career Tech, will be retiring first of January. Thank you for your work for students and for workforce development/career readiness. @HSVk12 @AlaSchoolBoards pic.twitter.com/XBsEqvhaQh Elisa Ferrell (@ElisaFerrell12) November 14, 2019 In the suit, Smith claims Glasscock spoke in derogatory ways about having sexual relations with multiple women and the workplace was permeated with Glasscocks gender-based and sexually-charged comments. According to Smith, among other alleged comments, Glasscock told her a female subordinate opened her legs to give him a peep show during lunch. Glasscock denied making the comment. Smith said she was employed as Glasscocks assistant from February 2015 through April 2017. Smith said Glasscock gave her the title of Assistant Superintendent in November 2015, and she performed the duties of that role through the remainder of her tenure there. At the end of February 2017, Smith said Glasscock told her she could either resign or be fired. On Feb. 27, 2017, Smith said she submitted her resignation to the board, effective April 18, 2017, and told them Glasscock threatened her job. Glasscock denied asking Smith to resign. In response to a request for comment on the settlement, Smiths attorney, Sonya Edwards, sent the following to AL.com: While Ms. Smith acknowledges the resolution with the Board and named board members, and her reinstatement as Personnel Director recognizes the broader responsibilities she previously performed, Ms. Smith feels strongly that Mr. Glasscock should be held accountable for the remaining claims against him and the losses attributable to those claims. The judge has given Smith until Jan. 28 to respond to Glasscocks motion to dismiss the case. Attorneys for Glasscock and for the Board of Education did not return a request for comment. BURLINGTON A man was killed and an elderly woman suffered serious injuries in a fire in a single-family home Thursday. The two residents were trapped in the home at 26 Maryvale Rd. when the fire broke out at about 1 p.m. A delivery employee and a male neighbor were able to help an elderly woman escape from the home before firefighters arrived. She was taken to the hospital after suffering serious injuries, Fire Chief Michael Patterson said. When firefighters and police responded, they were told a man was still inside the home, he said. They entered the home to try to rescue the man, even though flames were coming out of the front window and heavy smoke was billowing out other windows. Firefighters were unable to locate him before they had to retreat for safety reasons, Patterson said. Once the flames were mostly extinguished and it was safe to enter, firefighters searched the home and found the male resident had died. Neither victim is being identified immediately, he said. The delivery employee and a Burlington Police officer, who also tried to rescue the residents, suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital by ambulance for treatment, Police Chief Michael Kent said. Firefighters poured water on the house and sounded a second alarm to call for additional firefighters to respond, Patterson said. The home was destroyed in the fire, Patterson said. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Burlington Fire Department and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney and the State Fire Marshals Office, he said. Burlington firefighters were assisted at the scene by those from the Billerica, Woburn and Bedford Fire departments along with the Billerica paramedics and Armstrong Ambulance, he said. Once a delicacy eaten by Chinese emperors, one of the world's largest freshwater fish just went extinct. Nicknamed the "water tiger" and "panda of the Yangtze," the Chinese paddlefish is reportedly dead after surviving 150 million years, according to a new study in the Science of The Total Environment. The paddlefish's extinction is the latest to cause researchers to sound a global alarm bell on the dangers of overfishing and habitat fragmentation. Researchers conducting a year-long survey of the Yangtze River identified more than 330 fish species but did not find a single specimen of paddlefish, which resembles a swordfish. They also could not locate any of 140 fish species typically found in the river, and most are considered highly endangered, the study said. Chinese paddlefish populations began to decline drastically in the late 1970s as a result of overfishing and habitat fragmentation, the study said. The fish went functionally extinct (could not reproduce) in 1993 before disappearing completely sometime between 2005 and 2010, the study said. The last live specimen was observed in 2003. "The delayed extinction of Chinese paddlefish resulted from multiple threats, suggesting that optimizing conservation efforts on endangered Yangtze fauna is urgently needed," the researchers wrote. Scientists say that two other species native to the river, the reeves shad and the Yangtze River dolphin (or baji), have also gone extinct. The only living species of paddlefish is the American paddlefish, which inhabits several states in the U.S. but has gone extinct in Michigan and in Canada, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species, a global authority on the status of species. The American paddlefish was once the "most important commercial species" in the Mississippi River Valley, but the population began to decline after 1900, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Only a few southern states still allow the commercial harvest of paddlesh. Story continues Charlie Hopkins brings an American paddlefish into his boat as Vincent Halligan pulls the net up on the Ohio River at Smithland, Ky., Tuesday, April 8, 2008. "Given that the Chinese paddlefish was one of the two extant species of paddlefishes, loss of such unique and charismatic megafauna representative of freshwater ecosystems is a reprehensible and an irreparable loss," Qiwei Wei, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences and co-author of the study, told Mongabay, a California-based environmental news site. The IUCN Red List has listed the Chinese paddlefish as "critically endangered" since the 1990s, estimating its population at less than 50 individuals in 2009. The largest Chinese paddlefish recorded was 23 ft long and weighed over several thousand pounds, according to the list. UN report: Nature in worst shape in human history, 1 million species at risk of extinction Even though the fish was listed as a first-class state protected animal in China, the paddlefish was historically overfished for human consumption, according to the Red List. It traveled in schools near the water's surface and was easily captured in nets. Since the animals grew to large sizes and reproduce later in life, the population would take long periods of time to recover from depletion. Construction on the Yangtze also fragmented the paddlefish's habitat. In 1970, China began building the Gezhouba Dam in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, slicing the population in two. The dam blocked the paddlefish's migration route and prevented adult fish from moving to the upper reaches of the river to spawn, according to the Red List. In this July 2006 file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, an aerial view of the Three Gorges dam is seen on the Yangtze River in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. "Its devastating that a part of creation has vanished forever, and the fault lies in our hands," said Sarah Uhlemann, an attorney with the U.S. nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. "The paddlefish is one of thousands of animals that will disappear in our lifetime if we dont recognize the current extinction crisis," she said. "We have to care, we have to act, and we have to stop overfishing and habitat destruction or the world will be a much sadder place for our children." In an effort to protect biodiversity, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs last week launched a 10-year fishing ban in more than 300 conservation areas along the Yangtze River. The ban aims to protect rare species and enhance monitoring over aquatic life in the Yangtze, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Yu Kangzhen told China Daily. China isn't the only nation at risk of losing its biodiversity. An explosive United Nations report released this past May found that up to a million species are at risk of extinction because of human activities. About 66% of the global marine environment has been significantly altered by humans, and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened, the report said. Overfishing is a big part of that problem. As of 2015, 33% of marine fish stocks were being harvested at unsustainable levels, while just 7% were being harvested at levels lower than what can be sustainably fished, the report said. Researchers recommended implementing fishing quotas, protecting marine areas, working closely with producers and consumers and more. "Between overfishing, pollution, habitat loss and the multiple impacts of climate change on ocean ecosystems, the ocean has never faced such a diverse range of threats," the United Nations said in a press release Wednesday, announcing an Ocean Innovation Challenge to fund projects that restore and protect the oceans. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chinese paddlefish goes extinct from Yangtze River, report says Gina Ciralli, an employee at the Philadelphia Museum of Art who dated Joshua Helmer, a young manager, said that he had made her feel as if he had the power to make or break her career telling her she wasnt smart enough to work at a museum but that he could help her have a great trajectory. Another woman, Alicia Parks, said he took her for drinks on her second day of work and told her that if she wanted to succeed she should get to know him. I worked in the N.F.L. for five years, said Ms. Parks, a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader, and no one spoke to me in a way that made me feel that uncomfortable. Neither of those women worked directly for Mr. Helmer, but they were his subordinates in rank, and three employees who were familiar with their accounts said they reported their concerns to museum managers, starting as early as 2016. Its time. Way past time, actually. Today, I tear open the package and let the cat out of the bag. No more secrets. Ive been carrying this secret for 57 years. I was 15. He said he was 19. He lied. He was older, much older, and he took advantage of me. Things were very different then. When my mother realized I was in trouble, she made a plan. I didnt question it. She told people and my school I had mononucleosis and was going to my aunts house in New Jersey to recuperate. My aunt and the rest of my extended family knew nothing about it. My parents drove me to a home for unwed mothers where I would live for several months until the child was born. An adoption would follow. Over the years Ive tried to remember, but its as if I locked the entire experience away in a box in the back of my mind. Occasionally, rarely, theres a flash. Always, theres the overwhelming feeling that we were bad girls locked away for doing bad things. We didnt use our real names there. Ive forgotten what they called me, but it wasnt Nancy. We werent to form friendships. If we left the house for any reason to walk or go to a store we had to slip on a wedding ring. We were an embarrassment. Nice girls didnt get pregnant in 1963, even if someone lied to them. Days before my 16th birthday, I gave birth to a son. He was mine for two days. Then he was gone. Before he left, my mother and I walked to the hospital nursery to see him one last time. The nurse told us, We dont show those babies. My mother, quiet, meek, obliging all her life, pulled herself up to her full 5-foot 3-inch height and said, You will show this one. And, the nurse did. Before I returned to school, the principal, a priest, questioned my mother. He doubted my illness. He suspected a pregnancy, and said those kind of girls could never return to school. My mother told him Id been sick. Then she came home and cried, convinced she had been earmarked for hell for lying to a priest. That was the last time we spoke of our dirty little secret until the late 1980s. By then, the baby I had borne had become a man. He had located his birth certificate, found my parents and asked to meet us. Not long after, we piled into cars. My parents, my sons, my best friend, a couple of little grandchildren. We drove out of state to his home and to a large picnic where we met his family. He had a wife, children, mother, dad, in-laws, siblings. It was a day of hugs and thank yous. His mother thanked me for the gift I had given her. I thanked her for taking wonderful care of that gift. He and I have stayed in touch since then. We exchange text messages and pictures. Occasionally he comes to Harrisburg on business, and we share a lunch or dinner. He is a very good man. Still, Ive never talked about him to more than one or two close friends. Im not ashamed. Its just an awkward conversation. If my story had happened today, things would have been different. I would have posted sonograms on Facebook and been the guest of honor at a baby shower. He would have grown up in my family home. I would not have spent decades feeling like a bad girl. And his biological father? Oh, he would have gone to jail, because we know now that some men take advantage of young girls. None of that matters now. What matters is he is a good man, a good father, a good grandfather and a happy person. And all of that makes me happy. Ive reached a point in my life where I no longer want to keep secrets. The cat is out of the bag, where it should be. NANCY ESHELMAN: columnist1@verizon.net -- Recent Nancy Eshelman columns A sons death, grandchildrens births, and other reflections from a bittersweet decade: Nancy Eshelman Honors for Megan Rapinoe, Greta Thunberg show how far women have come | Nancy Eshelman Communitys generosity helps hard-luck family get back on its feet | Nancy Eshelman In the 25 years since her children were killed by their father, woman channels grief into good | Nancy Eshelman It takes a lifetime to appreciate the fate that shapes a family tree | Nancy Eshelman A year after a woman is killed by her husband, second-guesses, guilt and grief linger: Nancy Eshelman WASHINGTON - Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will take steps next week to transmit the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, ending a three-week standoff but confronting the Senate with only the third trial in U.S. history to remove a chief executive. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., arrives at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. Pelosi hasn't relayed the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial three weeks since President Donald Trump was impeached on charges of abuse and obstruction. Last night, she led the Democrat-controlled House in passing a measure limiting Trump's ability to take military action against Iran after he ordered the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON - Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will take steps next week to transmit the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, ending a three-week standoff but confronting the Senate with only the third trial in U.S. history to remove a chief executive. In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said Friday she was proud of their ''courage and patriotism" and warned that senators now have a choice as they consider the charges of abuse and obstruction against the president. In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws,''' Pelosi wrote. "Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution. The trial could begin next week. The Constitution gives the House the sole power to impeach a president, but the Senate the ability to render a verdict when it convenes as the Court of Impeachment. Pelosi was particularly upbeat Friday as she strode through the Capitol, despite the mounting pressure on her to quit delaying the trial. Her decision to end the showdown with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does not fully bring closure to the question of whether the Senate will consider new witnesses, as some want, shifting pressure on senators to decide. Trump swiftly signalled his intention of blocking any testimony from John Bolton, the brash former national security adviser who could be a wildcard witness in the trial. Bolton has said he would appear before the Senate if he received a subpoena. At the same time, a key centrist GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote is among those most watched, announced Friday she was in discussions with other Republicans on a strategy that would allow the Senate to hear new testimony. While the rules of Senate trial remain unsettled, the outcome is not. Trump is widely expected to be acquitted of the charges that he abused power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, then obstructed Congress in its investigation. No president has ever been removed by the Senate. Ridiculous, Trump told Fox News' Laura Ingraham about the speaker's gambit. "Nancy Pelosi will go down as the least successful speaker of the House in the history of our nation, he said. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, does a tv news interview just outside the House chamber, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, at the Capitol in Washington. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has not yet relayed the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial three weeks since President Donald Trump was impeached on charges of abuse and obstruction. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Asked if he would invoke executive privilege to block Bolton's testimony, Trump said, Well I think you have to for the sake of the office." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working closely with the White House on strategy, said Friday afternoon that the Senate is anxious to get started. Republicans have the leverage, with a slim 53-47 Senate majority, if McConnell can keep GOP senators on board with his strategy. So far, they are supportive of modeling the trial after the one used in the last presidential impeachment, of Bill Clinton, 20 years ago. It set out a path for starting the trial and voting on witnesses later. Despite McConnells wishes for a speedy trial, some Republicans in his caucus have indicated that they are open to witnesses. It takes just 51 senators to set the rules, and Democrats have been trying to win over wavering GOP senators to vote with them on hearing new testimony. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for witnesses for both the House managers and the Presidents counsel if they choose to do so," Collins said. It is important that both sides be treated fairly. Since the House vote on Dec. 18 to impeach the president, the showdown between Pelosi and McConnell, the two power centres in Congress, has consumed Capitol Hill and scrambled the political dynamics. The speaker declined to send the articles to the Senate until she knew there would be a fair trial with witness testimony. She also asked McConnell for details on the trial structure she could decide who to appoint as impeachment managers. McConnell rebuffed all over her demands. On Friday, Pelosi ended the stalemate by saying she had asked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler to be prepared to bring to the floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate. She did not announce a date for the House vote. McConnell indicated Friday the trial would start soon. Well get about it as soon as we can, he said. Transmittal of the documents and naming of House impeachment managers are the next steps needed to start the Senate trial. Yet questions remain in the Senate on the scope, format and duration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is eager to test Senate Republicans, especially those like Collins who are up for re-election in 2020, with votes to compel testimony from Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and others who have so far resisted appearing before Congress. "Senate Democrats are ready for the trial to begin and will do everything we can to see that the truth comes out, Schumer said. Bolton, who was present for several of the internal White House discussions about Ukraine policy that were at the heart of the Democrats' impeachment case, is among the most compelling of four witnesses suggested by Schumer. The former national security adviser clashed with the president's Ukraine policy, saying he didn't want to be part of any "drug deal" being cooked up. He called Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who others have testified was orchestrating an alternative foreign policy outside of official channels, a grenade that was going to go off. Chuck Cooper, an attorney for Bolton, declined to comment. The House impeached Trump in December on the charge that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine's new leader to investigate Democrats, using as leverage $400 million in military assistance for the U.S. ally as it counters Russia at its border. Trump insists he did nothing wrong, but his defiance of the House Democrats' investigation led to an additional charge of obstruction of Congress. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. On a July telephone call with Ukraine's new president, Trump asked his counterpart to open an investigation into Democrat Joe Biden, who is running for his party's presidential nomination, and his son Hunter while holding up military aid for Ukraine. A Ukrainian gas company had hired Hunter Biden when his father was vice-president and the Obama administration's point man on Ukraine. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden. Its still unclear who Pelosi will appoint as impeachment managers to prosecute the case in the Senate. Nadler, D-N.Y., and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., will most likely lead the team. What was more certain is that the group will be more diverse than the 1999 team in Clinton's trial, who were all male and white. Pelosi is expected to ensure the managers are diverse in gender and race, and also geographically. __ Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor, Darlene Superville and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report. DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner that crashed, killing all 176 people aboard, after Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Iran, which has denied the Boeing 737-800 was downed by a missile, said it could take one or two months to extract information from the voice and flight data recorders. It said it could ask Russia, Canada, France or Ukraine if it needed help. Tehran also said the probe might take one or two years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he could not rule out a missile strike but this had not been confirmed. Kiev has said its investigators wanted to search the crash site for any debris of a Russian-made missile used by Iran. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed on Wednesday, when Iran was on alert for a U.S. military response hours after firing missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq. tmsnrt.rs/36Fn26m The incident adds to international pressure on Iran, after months of tension with the United States and then tit-for-tat military strikes. Washington killed an Iranian general last week in a drone attack in Iraq, prompting Tehrans missile launches. On social media, many Iranians expressed anger that the plane was allowed to take off and voiced worries as images, which could not be independently verified, circulated on Twitter suggesting the crash site had been cleared by bullozers. Iran has not officially commented on the speculation, although some Iranians posted pictures dismissing the idea. We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we cant do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans Civil Aviation Organisation, told a news conference in Tehran. State television earlier showed the battered black boxes, saying their information could be downloaded and analyzed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing intelligence from Canada and other sources, has blamed an Iranian missile for bringing down the plane that had 63 Canadians on board, although he said it may well have been unintentional. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, he said. Ukraines general prosecutor asked Canada to provide information available to the Canadian side that may facilitate criminal investigations into the crash. ERROR Frances BEA air accident agency said it would be involved in the investigation. BEA helped analyze data from the flight recorder of a Boeing that crashed in Ethiopia last year. A U.S. official, citing satellite data, said Washington had concluded with a high degree of certainty that anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane in error. The official said the data showed the plane airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. There was an explosion in the vicinity and heat data showed the plane on fire as it fell. U.S. military satellites detect infrared emissions from heat. U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed somebody could have made a mistake. A defense expert said the planes radar signature would have been similar to a U.S. military transport plane. The New York Times said it had obtained a video appearing to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran airport. COOPERATION Iran denied the airliner had been hit by a missile, saying such reports were psychological warfare against Iran. All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said. U.S., Canadian and French representatives were to travel to Tehran to attend meetings for the Iranian-led crash investigation, Iranian state media reported. Washington and Ottawa do not have diplomatic relations with Tehran. Irans civil aviation organization said in an initial report less than 24 hours after the incident that the three-year-old airliner, which had its last scheduled maintenance on Monday, encountered a technical problem after takeoff and was heading to a nearby airport before it crashed. Investigations into airliner crashes can take months and initial reports in 24 hours are rare. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was making arrangements to tour the site after an Iranian invitation. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it had designated a representative to join the probe. Boeing said it would support the NTSB. The company is reeling from two deadly crashes of 737 MAX planes, including the one in Ethiopia, that led to the models grounding last year. The crash plane was built in 2016 and is the prior generation of the 737 before the MAX. BTS' 2020 comeback is nigh. After announcing their new album, Map of the Soul: 7 this week, the group's latest song release was met with feverish anticipation. Following the tried-and-true roll-out formula of past BTS albums a member drops a solo track that serves as a "trailer" for the entire album group member Suga raps and sings solo on a song titled "Interlude: Shadow." If Suga's 2016 solo mixtape Agust D documented the struggle to make his dreams come true, then "Interlude: Shadow" poses an apt follow-up question: "What happens when you finally make it?" On the introspective track, Suga shares his anxieties and fears about fame, but acknowledges that, well, he wanted all of it. Over a melancholy string instrumental, Suga opens the song with, "I wanna be a rap star/ I wanna be the top/ I wanna be a rockstar," but when the trap beat kicks in, he admits, "I'm afraid, flying high is terrifying/ No one told me/ How lonely it is up here." Though the song starts out pensive, the last third takes on a more defiant tone, as Suga raps about being simultaneously attracted to fame and wanting to run from it: "Yeah you are me, I'm you, now you do know/ We are one body, sometimes we will clash." Since its release earlier today, the song has received a mostly positive reception, with Army hashtag #TheLyrics trending on Twitter praising Suga's introspection. And of course, it's not a real BTS comeback if their fans aren't creating theories on how a new release is tied to the rest of the BTS universe. BAMAKO, Mali - Suspected Islamic militants launched a rocket attack that wounded 17 U.N. peacekeepers in northern Mali, authorities said Thursday. Olivier Salgado, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, said the injured peacekeepers are from Chad and that in addition two civilians were hurt in the attack on the camp in Tessalit in Malis Kidal region. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, suspicion immediately fell on the Islamic extremists who have long been active in the area, targeting U.N. forces and Malian soldiers. More than 100 U.N peacekeepers have been killed in Mali since 2013 when the mission began in the aftermath of a French-led military operation to oust Islamic extremists from power in the major towns across northern Mali. Students from over 20 Universities have been tangled in the anti- CAA agitations involving violence and destruction of public property. Surprisingly, cerebrally endowed universities have been a part of these uprisings the Indian Institute of Science and the IITs institutions that had until now stayed aloof from public dissent. Without getting into the merits of CAA, suffice to say that student movements have force but lack focus. Uncertainty about what lies ahead is real but what is certain is that most young people, save for a small fraction, will continue to remain in India. This article is aimed at advising them to create and sustain an independent sense of leadership and not become dupes for those who sense an opportunity to ride the groundswell of student protest. In coming years, a lot will happen that will affect the young. Attention is needed. The demographic profile is opening the flood gates for rural-urban migration. Working age men and later their families will throng in larger numbers to cities seeking livelihoods. But cities have not made plans for migrant settlement. Basic human needs clean air, water and habitation have already become scarce in the Metros and many million-plus cities. Their carrying capacity will burst. The impending catastrophe will not be confronted unless the youth participates in the political process and demand change. Elections to the state and municipal bodies is the time to demand that senior political leaders take a public stand on why a third of the population of a city like Delhi consists of unauthorised colonies, urban villages and slums completely ungoverned by basic municipal laws, impacting everyones quality of life. Urban governance demands that before habitation can take place, the public authorities ensure that sewage, water supply, roads and drainage are provided. In India, the Constitution has been used as a fig leaf to facilitate the real purpose of allowing disorganised migrant settlementwhich is to build voter constituencies in the name of the poor. Spanning three decades, some 140 million migrants in the country and some 10 million in Delhi alone have settled down in squalid conditions. Studies show that almost half the male out-migrants in India have been 15-29 years old and on arrival they gravitate to the slums or unauthorised colonies which have been built mostly on publicly owned land with the connivance of politicians, bureaucrats, police and municipal agencies. Any officer who has raised a flag has been kicked out. Besides living in sub-human conditions, the older settlers and new migrants both contribute to running illegal and even dangerous household industries. The human and industrial effluent they produce gets discharged into storm water drains, water bodies and end up polluting the ground water. By now, over 350 river stretches across the country have become highly polluted. A policy on migration based on the carrying capacity of the city is a must and the youth have the most to gain or lose. Only they can ring alarm bells if the voter trap is to be resolved. Today in Delhi, some 2300 Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) administer their neighbourhoods at the basic level of self-governance. However, RWAs are run by retired, elderly people without participation from young residents. Unless young people participate actively in managing their neighbourhoods, nothing will change. Younger residents of organised colonies need to stand for RWA elections, question the municipal councillors and MLAs and get involved directly and visibly. Indeed, the continuing political apathy among the educated youth concerning their basic well-being issues is a matter for unease. The stranglehold of dynastic leaders, money and muscle power seen in so many situations will continue. If after gaining an education and hopefully a job, if good environment, clean air and peaceful surroundings cant be enjoyed, life becomes unendurable. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty is a truism. There is no better time for young people to act on it than now. (The writer was former Secretary Government of India and Chief Secretary Delhi.) On Christmas Eve, Carlos Ghosn walked into his lawyers' modest office in central Tokyo to speak to his wife, Carole, for only the second time since April. During his long odyssey through the Japanese legal system-several arrests, more than 100 days in solitary confinement, seemingly endless interrogations, and, after his release on bail, intrusive 24-hour surveillance-Ghosn had been forced to accept many humiliations. But few demoralized the ousted leader of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault as much as having to seek court permission even to call his spouse, who prosecutors viewed as a potential co-conspirator in some of the wide range of financial crimes with which he's been charged. Carole, who'd departed Japan in a hurry after her husband was taken into custody on a fourth charge in early April, has spent much of the last year lobbying tirelessly on his behalf-a campaign that was taking an obvious toll. "They've destroyed our lives, we are scarred forever," she said of Ghosn's accusers in a November interview with Bloomberg Television. "It's been the hardest year of my life." They were allowed to speak for one hour, but it wasn't enough; they still had much more to say to each other. As time ran out, according to one of Ghosn's lawyers, who described the call on his blog, the fallen executive signed off with a simple "I love you, habibi," an Arabic term of affection. It seemed impossible to know when the couple would next have a chance to speak, let alone embrace. The following day, the 65-year-old Ghosn learned that the second of his two trials might begin only in 2021, raising the prospect of another year or more in court-imposed isolation. Even his children were being targeted by investigators. Japanese prosecutors had questioned Ghosn's son Anthony, who was involved in some of the transactions they were targeting, as well as one of his daughters, according to a person familiar with the matter. Fearing arrest, Anthony had been unable to visit his father. Ghosn's prospects of proving his innocence in Japan were dismal. Prosecutors there win more than 99 percent of the cases they try and enjoy a wide range of procedural advantages. Against Ghosn, who was facing potential sentences of more than a decade in prison, they had an even greater-than-usual asset: the full co-operation of Nissan, which had repeatedly made clear its determination to see him convicted and had provided a huge trove of documents as well as hands-on investigative assistance. Ghosn, a citizen of Brazil, France, and Lebanon, had sought diplomatic help from all three countries. Only the last had acted with evident enthusiasm, but its efforts weren't getting anywhere. Ghosn, however, had another option-a desperate play, months in the planning, that might restore some portion of his freedom if everything went right, or send him straight back to a 7-square-meter (75-square-foot) cell in Tokyo's central jail if any aspect went awry. In the Middle East, a former U.S. Army Green Beret and a veteran of the 2003 invasion of Iraq were preparing a daring plan to spirit Ghosn out of Tokyo, under the noses of Japanese police. They aimed to bring him back to Beirut-the city where he had spent most of his childhood, and the capital of a country where, thanks to his business success, Ghosn is considered something of a national hero. On its face, it must have seemed like a ridiculous idea. While the terms of Ghosn's bail did not include a requirement to wear an ankle bracelet or other electronic tracker, his movements were closely monitored. Prosecutors had trained a camera on the door of his rented house, in Tokyo's busy Roppongi neighborhood, and as he moved through the Japanese capital he was shadowed by teams of plainclothes agents. Ghosn, who has bushy eyebrows, elongated ears and prominent sideburns, would have a memorable face even as a regular citizen, but two decades of corporate celebrity meant that he was perhaps the most recognizable foreigner in Japan. His chances of slipping undetected through Tokyo and onto an airplane would have seemed slim, to put it mildly. Yet there was a clear window of opportunity. New Year's is typically the longest holiday of the year in Japan, a time when government offices can close for more than a week and even the most hard-boiled prosecutors and police detectives take time off to be with their families. Moreover, Ghosn had good reason to believe he could evade at least some of the men monitoring his movements: his lawyers had recently threatened to file a complaint against a private security company hired by Nissan to follow him, claiming it was infringing illegally on his rights. According to a person familiar with the situation, the company's agents had backed off as a result-at least temporarily. (Nissan declined to comment.) If Ghosn was going to escape, this was the moment to do it. But he needed the right help. - - - In the shadowy world of private-security contractors, Michael Taylor was a swashbuckler who stood out. He protected powerful people and companies, secretly helped the U.S. government investigate crimes, and admitted breaking the law himself. A veteran of the U.S. Army's elite Special Forces-the famed Green Berets-Taylor in 1994 founded American International Security Corp., a Boston-area contractor that provided security for oil drilling operations and corporate executives, and rescued abducted children among other assignments. He was hired by The New York Times to mount a rescue of David Rohde, a correspondent who'd been kidnapped in 2008 in Afghanistan. (Rohde ultimately escaped on his own). He also worked as an undercover asset for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal bodies. Taylor's career seemed to be prospering in 2007 when his firm secured a Pentagon contract, which eventually paid out $54 million, to train Afghan special-forces troops. But in 2012, his fortunes took a dramatic turn for the worse. He was charged in Utah with an FBI agent over a plot to obstruct a fraud investigation of whether the Afghan contract was awarded improperly. Taylor ultimately pleaded guilty to two fraud charges and was sentenced to two years in prison. It wasn't his first guilty plea. In 1997, he admitted two misdemeanor charges in Massachusetts related to a police report filed in a domestic case in which he'd been hired, his lawyers said. Much of Taylor's work over the years had, improbably enough, involved Lebanon. Taylor was born on Staten Island and graduated high school in Massachusetts, but over the years he developed deep ties to Ghosn's home country. He was deployed to Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, beginning what his lawyers said was "a lifelong relationship with the Christian community in Lebanon"-the same community of which Ghosn is a prominent member. Fit, square-jawed and with silver hair, Taylor speaks Arabic, his wife Lamia is Lebanese, and two of their three sons attended college in Lebanon. For the Ghosn operation, Taylor had a partner, a Lebanese-born man named George-Antoine Zayek. Originally trained as a gemologist, his brother said by telephone, Zayek was also a member of a Christian militia when he met Taylor in the early 1980s, according to a person familiar with the matter, a time when Lebanon had fractured violently along sectarian lines. Zayek appears to have been associated with Taylor and his companies since the 1990s, based on public records in the U.S. According to his brother, however, Zayek left Lebanon at the start of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, when he began working for a private security company there. Taylor couldn't be reached for comment and Zayek didn't respond to multiple voicemail messages seeking comment. On the morning of Sunday, Dec. 29, Taylor and Zayek arrived in a Bombardier Global Express Jet-a plane with a range of more than 11,000 kilometers (6,800 miles)-at the private-jet terminal of Kansai International Airport, a busy hub built on an artificial island near Osaka. There were also two large black cases on board, according to people familiar with the flight who asked not to be identified. Later the same day, according to security-camera footage reported on by Japanese media, Ghosn walked out the front door of his house, wearing a hat and a surgical-style face mask commonly used in Japan to protect against germs. He then took a bullet train from Tokyo's Shinagawa station to Osaka at about 4:30 p.m. local time and, after the journey, took a cab to a hotel near the airport, the network NTV reported. That evening the same Bombardier jet took off from Kansai bound for Istanbul. According to a person familiar with the investigation of the flight, the team believed that flying straight to Beirut, a city that receives few if any arrivals from Osaka, would raise too many suspicions. Outbound passengers at the private terminal aren't exempt from passport control, and according to people familiar with airport operations, there were customs and immigration officials present before the Bombardier's departure. But Ghosn wasn't boarding as an official passenger. He was, apparently, cargo, concealed in a large black case that, according to the people, was too big to fit into the airport's X-ray machines. With nothing obviously amiss, by 11:10 p.m., the jet was in the air. Reaching Istanbul's Ataturk Airport would take just over 12 hours. The team ferrying Ghosn appeared to have chosen its route carefully. From Osaka the plane headed north-northwest, avoiding South Korea-which has an extradition treaty with Japan-and then crossing into Russian airspace, where it remained for almost its entire journey. That wasn't the most direct route, which would have taken the jet over China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. But it did keep Ghosn over a country where he has considerable connections, thanks to his work rescuing AvtoVAZ, a troubled Soviet-era automaker that's now part of the Renault-Nissan alliance. If the Japanese government demanded his plane be stopped, he might have hoped for sympathy, or at least stalling, from Moscow. In fact, the Japanese authorities seemed to have no idea Ghosn was no longer in the country, and the Bombardier landed in Istanbul at around 5:30 a.m. local time on Dec. 30. Changing planes at Ataturk could expose Ghosn once again to detection. Just as at Kansai, according to a Turkish official who asked not to be identified discussing the details of the government's subsequent investigation, Ghosn made the short trip inside a box. The second jet, a shorter-range Bombardier, took off shortly after for the brief flight to Beirut. Safely on the ground in the country of his youth, Ghosn didn't have to hide his identity. Although his lawyers had taken his travel documents as a condition of his bail, Ghosn had two French passports-a rare privilege, granted to citizens whose employment might require them to travel while also handing over a passport for visa applications. Ghosn had been able to keep the second one, under the condition that it remain in a plastic case secured by a combination lock for which only his lawyers had the code. According to a person familiar with it, the case wasn't particularly sturdy, and with a hammer or drill and a bit of time it wouldn't be difficult to crack open. His French passport in hand, Ghosn crossed into Lebanon legally. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Carole, who had been counting the days since the couple had last been together (just short of nine months) was in Beirut to see her family for Christmas when Ghosn landed. She rushed to meet him and kept him largely to herself until the couple met up with a few friends for a New Year's Eve dinner. A photo showed them at a table sharing wine and champagne. They looked, if only for a moment, like a normal couple with normal concerns. - - - Even Ghosn's closest advisers were blindsided when news of his escape began to break on Dec. 31. His Japanese lawyers said they had no idea what he had planned; in an impromptu press conference outside his office, lead counsel Junichiro Hironaka seemed genuinely bewildered by what had just occurred, describing himself as "dumbfounded." Ghosn's U.S. representatives at Paul Weiss, the white-shoe New York law firm, had been kept similarly in the dark. So was Greg Kelly, the former Nissan executive who'd been taken into custody at the same time and remains in Tokyo, forbidden to leave the country before trial. (He denies wrongdoing). With no details forthcoming on how Ghosn managed to sneak out of Japan, media outlets around the world began speculating on a range of outlandish theories-the most widely circulated that he had left his house disguised as a very large musical instrument after hosting a troupe of Lebanese musicians for a holiday concert. Ghosn's public-relations apparatus, which includes top-drawer firms in New York and Paris, let most of the speculation go uncommented upon. That changed dramatically as reports began to appear suggesting that Carole Ghosn or other members of his family had helped plan his escape-which, if accurate, might expose them to criminal charges in Japan or elsewhere. On Jan. 2, Ghosn said in a statement that, somewhat improbably given the constant surveillance of his communications, "I alone arranged for my departure." His family, he said, "had no role whatsoever." Even if that's true, Ghosn had plenty of help from individuals who may now be at risk of serious legal repercussions. In Turkey, the authorities quickly detained seven people connected with the flights, including four pilots, and remanded most of them into custody. MNG Jet Havacilik AS, the company from which the aircraft were leased, also filed a criminal complaint and said an employee falsified records in order to hide the fact that they were ferrying a fugitive. Japan's justice minister, meanwhile, announced the opening of an investigation into Ghosn's escape, raising the prospect of charges for anyone who aided him. Nor is Ghosn entirely in the clear. While Lebanon is a nation that refuses, as a matter of policy, to extradite its citizens for trial abroad, he's probably stuck there indefinitely. Japan has requested that Interpol issue a so-called Red Notice in Ghosn's name, making it known to other law enforcement authorities that the country considers him a fugitive. His life as a globe-trotting member of the corporate elite is, at least for the foreseeable future, over. A long-term life on the run isn't easy, but it's not impossible. Roman Polanski, the Rosemary's Baby director who fled the U.S. in 1978 to avoid being imprisoned in an underage sex case, has lived openly in Europe ever since-protected by France's similar policy against extraditing citizens-and he remains a celebrated if controversial filmmaker. But such an existence wouldn't deliver what Ghosn seems to crave most: legal vindication. His lawyers intend to propose that he be tried on the Japanese allegations in Lebanon, with Tokyo prosecutors providing investigative files to allow their Beirut counterparts to bring the case, according to Ghosn's Beirut attorney, Carlos Abou Jaoude. Such an arrangement would be all but unprecedented, and, for the Japanese government, deeply embarrassing: agreeing to it would amount to an admission that it won't be able to get him back. Japanese prosecutors, meanwhile, would be certain to view a Lebanese trial as biased in favor of the defendant. Ghosn is one of Lebanon's most celebrated citizens-his face is even on a postage stamp-and it's hard to imagine a friendlier locale for a hearing. Ghosn was awaiting trial in Japan on four charges-two for allegedly understating his compensation in regulatory filings, and two more "breach of trust" allegations, in which prosecutors claim he used Nissan's resources for his own gain. From the beginning of his legal drama he's denied wrongdoing and claimed that the allegations against him are the result of a political vendetta-an illegitimate attempt to settle scores and stop him from integrating Nissan more closely with Renault-that should never have put him in a courtroom, let alone a jail cell. According to people familiar with his intentions, he plans to use his freedom to assail the Japanese legal system and to do everything he can to publicly discredit the charges. His first salvo will come at a press conference he plans to hold in Beirut on Wednesday. Throughout his career, Ghosn portrayed himself as a singular figure, the driving force behind the creation of one of the world's largest automotive groups and the only person capable of keeping it together. In recent years he was clearly in legacy mode, preparing the groundwork for a deal that would finally bring Nissan and Renault together under a single corporate umbrella. Had his plans to incorporate rival Fiat-Chrysler into the alliance come to fruition, he might have created the world's largest carmaker and reasonably expected to be remembered as a business visionary, one of the few individuals-like Lee Iacocca, Jack Welch or Gordon Moore-whose careers helped reshape their industries. For the foreseeable future, however, he will be known above all as something very different: a fugitive. - - - Bloomberg's Dana Khraiche, Zeke Faux, Greg Farrell, David Kocieniewski, David Voreacos, Tsuyoshi Inajima, Neil Weinberg and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report. TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2020 /CNW/ - On July 31, 1975, Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser made history when they were given the first winery license in Canada since Prohibition. The pair founded Inniskillin, Canada's first estate winery, and despite countless challenges (including a harsh climate and even harsher critics), they prevailed. The pair had set out to make wine but ultimately created an industry, putting Canadian wine on the map. A new integrated campaign celebrates the spirit of Inniskillin's Canadian success story in a bold style, reimagining the brand almost a half-century after its founding. "Inniskillin is for those who make the impossible, possible. That's the legacy of our incredible founders, Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser," explained Andrea Hunt, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Arterra Wines Canada. "They faced unbelievable challenges - from the skepticism of the global wine community to the loss of their first crop of icewine grapes to hungry birds. But through it all, they persevered, and they did what no one believed could be done. They changed the way the world sees Canadian wine, and today, Inniskillin sits among the top 50 most admired wine brands in the world. We have a lot to be proud of." With Niagara's Icewine Festival launching today, Inniskillin is proud to share a campaign that celebrates the winery's pioneering spirit. It comes to life through a highly stylized, 60-second film that takes a cinematic approach to tell the story of its origins. The new campaign, developed by Bensimon Byrne, includes digital, broadcast, out-of-home and print components. All of the creative shares a bold tone that Hunt suspects may surprise people. "We're a Canadian winery, and so maybe it's not unexpected that, historically, we've been somewhat humble about how we've told our story. But it's time to give Inniskillin the swagger it deserves," Hunt explains. A hero video (:60) tells of the founding of the brand, while a series of supporting :15 videos will each celebrate a moment in Inniskillin's history. Chief among them is the singular event that thrust Inniskillin into prominence on the global stage: the winery's 1991 win at Vinexpo, in France, at which Karl's 1989 Vidal Icewine was awarded the Grand Prix d'Honneur. This win changed not only the way the world saw Inniskillin, but the way the world perceived the Canadian wine industry as a whole. The campaign, which began in December and is running in Ontario and B.C., is just the beginning of a broader reintroduction of this brand. Although more announcements will follow in the new year, Hunt shares that visitors to Inniskillin's Niagara Estate Winery can expect a new and enriched experience in 2020. "In so many ways, Inniskillin was the original start-up," Hunt concludes. "But instead of a garage in Silicon Valley, we have fields of grapes in Niagara. We're excited to bring our bold reimagining of this brand home, to where it all began." Media buying for the campaign was handled by DentsuX. Public relations is led by Craft Public Relations. Inniskillin's Niagara Estate is a proud partner of this year's Niagara Icewine Festival running weekends from January 10 to January 26. Throughout the festival, guests are welcome to stop by the winery with their Discovery Pass to enjoy food and Icewine pairings, including delicious chicken and waffles, topped with Vidal hot sauce paired perfectly with Inniskillin 2018 Sparkling Vidal Icewine. About Arterra Wines Canada Arterra Wines Canada, Inc. (Arterra) is the country's leading producer and marketer of award-winning, globally recognized Canadian and imported wines. Arterra has grown and evolved to owning and distributing 100+ wine brands, including seven of the top 20 brands in Canada: Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin, Sawmill Creek, Wallaroo Trail, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Ruffino and Kim Crawford. In the last five years, the company's wines have received over 1,500 accolades and awards in national and international wine competitions. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Arterra operates eight wineries across the country, with over 1,700 acres of premium vineyards in Canada's wine regions. The company owns and operates 164 Wine Rack retail wine stores in Ontario and sells wine kits and products for winemaking through its RJS Craft Winemaking brand. Arterra employs approximately 2,000 full-time and part-time staff across the country. For more information about Arterra Wines Canada, visit www.arterracanada.com SOURCE Arterra Wines Canada For further information: Angela Maxwell, Craft Public Relations, [email protected] | 416-702-6243 Related Links https://www.arterracanada.com Policyholders at Indonesias state-owned PT Asuransi Jiwasraya are looking to the government to rescue the scandal-hit insurer, which has uncovered a $2 billion hole in its books. The crisis affects 17,000 buyers of investment products and 7 million clients, and may pose systemic risks, Indonesias audit board said Wednesday. It stems from product mispricing, reckless investment activities, aggressive window dressing and liquidity pressure, according to a statement last month from Jiwasrayas new President Director Hexana Tri Sasongko. The scandal has been unfolding during the past three years, after a 2016 audit revealed violations of investment guidelines. Another audit last year showed the insurer had negative equity of 27.2 trillion rupiah ($1.96 billion), sparking calls for a lifeline. The government has indicated it may step in, with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir saying recently that a plan is being formulated to heal the firm. Insurers in Indonesia dont have the same level of government support accorded to banks. The wider market could face risks as insurance firms shift funds away from less reputable fund managers toward the more solid ones, said Jeffrosenberg Tan, director and head of investment strategy at PT Sinarmas Sekuritas. However he said a prolonged systemic crisis is unlikely. It is hard to gauge the extend of the exposure, but the chain of reaction will be short as it doesnt involve the balance sheets of other big third parties and complex derivatives, said Tan. Here are some of the key questions surrounding the Jiwasraya crisis: What has been happening? The problems at Jiwasraya date back as far as 2006, according to the 2016 audit report. The probe also uncovered alleged irregularities and fraud in the management of its savings and investment plans, which offered guaranteed returns of as high as 13%. Asmawi Syam, the former president director, and the board were ousted by the government in November 2018. Then, another audit last year showed the full scale of the losses, and the company flagged its inability to pay policyholders, leading to calls for a government rescue. If there is a bailout, what might it look like? Uncertain. SOE Minister Thohir has talked about the possibility of forming a holding company for state insurers to salvage Jiwasraya, as a direct cash injection by the government may be controversial given the allegations of irregularities. The absence of a regulatory guarantee for investors in the companys products means a direct bailout is difficult, though the government could ask another state-owned firm to take over Jiwasraya. What should investors watch for next? The prosecutor has barred 10 people from leaving the country as it probes the irregularities. The investigation should be completed within two months. The shape of any bailout is another key issue. Meanwhile, the insurer has said it may sell its unit Jiwasraya Putra before March, which may raise additional funds. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Carriers European stocks closed in negative territory on Friday, paring earlier gains after the U.S. announced fresh sanctions on Iran. The pan-European Stoxx 600 had dipped below the flatline by the closing bell, with most sectors and all major bourses in the red. The blue-chip stock index closed lower by 0.12%. The FTSE 100 in London closed the session down by 0.14% to close at 7587. Sentiment was dented shortly before the end of the European trading session when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced new sanctions on Iran's metal exports and eight senior Iranian officials. The announcement came days after Iran launched several missiles at Iraqi military bases that housed U.S. troops. Prior to the announcement, global market sentiment had been improving as tensions between Washington and Iran appeared to be easing. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran appeared to be "standing down" following the missile strikes, which were in retaliation to Washington's killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Reports emerged Thursday claiming a Ukraine-bound flight that crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran had been shot down by an Iranian missile. Government officials say it could have been downed by mistake. Iran's aviation regulator dismissed the claims as "illogical rumors," and Tehran maintains the aircraft crashed due to a technical problem. Elsewhere, seemingly thawing Sino-U.S. relations and optimism on the prospect of a trade deal between the world's two largest economies had also boosted sentiment during earlier deals on Friday. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is due to sign an initial "phase one" trade deal with the U.S. next week. Liu will visit Washington on Jan. 13-15, Beijing said on Thursday. Stocks on Wall Street rose to record highs on Friday despite a weaker-than-expected December jobs report, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell into negative territory following Pompeo and Mnuchin's announcement. Back in Europe, U.K. lawmakers approved legislation that will allow the country to exit the EU on Jan. 31 with a withdrawal deal. Meanwhile in France, the government has stood its ground on proposed pension reforms despite protests from tens of thousands of demonstrators across the country. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. The locally-based Coushatta Camellia Society is offering the chance to experience an array of colorful blooms next weekend. The organization which is more than 50 years old is hosting its 49th Annual Flower Show on Jan. 18-19 at Conroes First Christian Church, 3500 North Loop 336 West. The public is welcome to view the show for free from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Coushatta Camellia Society President Frank Ohrt said new and different varieties of camellias will be available this year. He said there will between 20 and 25 varieties available with 80 percent of them never being presented by the organization before. The local Coushatta Camellia Society dates back to 1969 when it was founded by W.L. Gilmore, a long-standing nurseryman and Emil Carroll, a local physician. The camellia blooms range from white, to pink, to dark red and Ohrt said there are a few pale yellow blooms that are hybrids. The blooms can range in size from an inch and a half which are called miniatures up to six inches across. Ohrt said the plants do beautifully in our winter season. The public is also welcome to submit camellia blooms for judging from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the church. Each entry has to have a card with the flowers technical information attached. Then the entries are judged by officials certified by the American Camellia Society. In addition to viewing the blooms, get expert advice on camellias and select from approximately 90 plants available in three-gallon and seven-gallon sizes to purchase and take home. Ohrt noted all of the plants for sale are grown in this region, and that they have more diverse varieties expanding on what is typically found in local nurseries. The Coushatta Camellia Society meets on the second Sunday of each month at 2:30 p.m. from September through April in the Parlor at First Christian Church, 3500 N. Loop Conroe. The next meeting is on Feb. 9. Visit www.coushattacamelliasociety.com for more information on the local group. For more information on planting and the care of camellias, visit www.americancamellias.com. BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Myanmar's President U Win Myint, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Myanmar from Jan. 17 to 18, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday. A 52-year-old man who was found dead Wednesday behind the Park City post office died by suicide, according to Stillwater County Sheriff Charles "Chip" Kem. Kem announced in a press release Thursday afternoon that per his agency's practice they would not identify the man because they do not identify people who die by suicide. The man was described by Kem as a 52-year-old Park City resident. The man's family has been notified, according to the press release. The Stillwater County Sheriff's Office had initially investigated the death as suspicious. Explaining that decision in his press release, the sheriff wrote that decision was motivated in part by the fact that the man was "partially concealed with a garbage bag when he was found." An autopsy that took place Thursday "confirmed and corroborated evidence obtained at the scene," according to the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office was called about the discovery of a body "partially concealed in the area behind the Park City Post Office," at about 7:06 a.m., Wednesday, according to an earlier press release from the sheriff's office. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation assisted in the preliminary investigation, which resulted in the temporary closure of Clark Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue for several hours while the investigation continued and the scene was processed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 9 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Samsung reportedly revealed the names of its upcoming phones at a private event at CES 2020. The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 could be called the Galaxy Bloom and Galaxy S11 lineup might be renamed to Galaxy S20. Both the handsets could come with support for 8K Samsung unveiled the smart robot Ballie, a new Galaxy Chromebook, new MicroLED, QLED 8K and Lifestyle TVs, and more at CES 2020. While all of these were public announcements, it seems like the company held a covert meeting with telecom partners on the sidelines of the largest consumer tech show. As per a Korean media outlet, Samsung held a meeting in secret where it showcased some of its unannounced smartphones, one of which is a foldable phone that will apparently be called the 'Galaxy Bloom.' Samsung Mobile chief DJ Koh is said to have been present at the meeting and he reportedly confirmed that the Galaxy S11 lineup will be renamed to the Galaxy S20 series. Starting with Samsungs next foldable phone, its name is apparently inspired by the cosmetics company Lancomes powder compact. This makes sense given that the upcoming foldable phone by Samsung is rumoured to fold into a squarish form factor. Previous reports dubbed the device like the Galaxy Fold 2 but as per the report, it could be officially announced as the Galaxy Bloom. The smartphone manufacturer is also said to target female customers in their 20s with the look and design of the phone and the moniker. The foldable phone will be announced in 5G and 4G variants, the report suggests. As for the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, there could be three phones announced in the lineup. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, Galaxy S20 Ultra and the standard Galaxy S20. The foldable Galaxy Bloom and the Samsung Galaxy S20 phones might also support 8K video recording, which could be a first for the smartphone industry. The report suggests Samsung and Google are teaming up, and YouTube will enable 8K video support when the next Galaxy phones are announced. Reports making the rounds on the internet suggest that the next Samsung Galaxy smartphone launch will take place on February 11. As a word of caution, we suggest that you take this report with a pinch of salt as the company has not confirmed anything yet. Source Via MONTREAL - Shares of flight simulator maker CAE Inc. reached record highs Friday after Boeing Co. recommended earlier this week that pilots train in simulators before flying its grounded 737 Max. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CAE corporate headquarters are shown in Montreal, Wednesday, August 10, 2016. Shares of flight simulator maker CAE Inc. reached record highs Friday after Boeing Co. recommended earlier this week that pilots train in simulators before flying its grounded 737 Max. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL - Shares of flight simulator maker CAE Inc. reached record highs Friday after Boeing Co. recommended earlier this week that pilots train in simulators before flying its grounded 737 Max. Boeing's announcement Tuesday marked a reversal from the company's long-held position that only computer-based training not simulators was required for pilots to climb back into the cockpit. CAE chief executive Marc Parent was already betting on pent-up demand for the training platforms, announcing in November the company was building simulators with no confirmed buyer. CAE is ready to further ramp up production in response to any regulatory changes or training requirements ahead of the 737 Max's eventual return to service, said spokeswoman Helene Gagnon in an email this week. CAE stock price ended the day at an all-time closing high of $38.71 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, up 92 cents or 2.43 per cent. The shares have gained 12.6 per cent since Jan. 1. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Authorities around the world banned Boeing's marquee jet from the skies last March after two crashes in five months, which killed all 346 aboard, including 18 Canadians. As of December, CAE had delivered 23 of 48 Max flight simulators ordered by airlines, the company said. Boeing's recommendation of flight simulator training is based partly on results from company tests that showed pilots had trouble handling emergencies despite being schooled in the plane's software updates. Simulator training could weaken the Max's appeal for some airlines. The recommendation could push back the aircraft's return even after regulatory green lights and necessitate the purchase of multimillion-dollar simulators from companies like CAE to prep pilots. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:CAE) A small ocean-side town in South Florida has created a resilience fund that will be used to help residents adapt to climate change in a first-of-its-kind effort. The town of Surfsides fund will be used for buyouts of residents homes, among other projects. It also will give residents an assessment of the risks of living where they are. So far, the quarter million dollars in it has been funded by developers and the town. Town officials said the fund will help residents deal with the uncertainty of living in a place where the sea is expected to rise two feet by 2060. John Macomber, a professor at the Harvard Business School who specializes in resilience investment, told the Miami Herald that he hasnt heard of any other such fund in a U.S. city. In the big picture, something is going to deliver this bad news to the city eventually, he said. Probably its thoughtful to say to someone you have value now and you should capture that value. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Florida Climate Change Loading Icare, which manages NI, was set up in 2015 after the WorkCover Authority of NSW was dissolved. In 2018 Icare set up a new claims model and reduced the number of claims agents from five to one, EML. In the words of the Dore report: The new claims model led to a significant deterioration in the performance of NI, through poorer return to work rates, underwriting losses, no competition and therefore concentration of risk. While investment returns for Icare have bridged the gap in underwriting losses, the current economic environment of low returns does not bode well. The overwhelming conclusion was that workers werent receiving prompt treatment. To put this into perspective, the key to getting workers who have been injured back to work as early as possible is early treatment, including effective and proactive management. It is why the return to work (RTW) rate is the key determinate of the cost of workers' compensation schemes. If the number of people still off work rises, so does the cost of the scheme. Dore noted that the RTW rate had plummeted from 96 per cent in 2016 to 73 per cent in 2019. The most obvious conclusion is the new claims model is preventing workers from going back to work sooner. Dore noted the new claims model was causing cost blowouts and, in financial terms, the position is somewhat fragile. She said the fundamentals of RTW, underwriting and claims management had not met expectations. In 2019 Icare posted a net loss of $874 million, almost double its forecast loss of $481 million. Dore warned that the poor underwriting position of NI is a real risk to the NIs sustainability. The reports findings came as no surprise to retired EY partner Peter McCarthy, who has 35 years' actuarial experience in general insurance and personal injury schemes and has advised organisations including the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), WorkCover SA (now RTWSA), WorkCover Queensland, WorkCover NSW and SIRA. McCarthy has become increasingly concerned with the performance of Icare since the introduction of the new claims model in January 2018. He said while the financial accounts were poor, when combined with the recent claims experience, the underlying picture could be far worse. My analysis demonstrates that Icare is shaping up to be one the largest financial disasters in Australian history unless dramatic changes are made, he said. Icare insures 284,000 NSW employers and their 3.4 million workers and protects more than $193 billion of NSW government assets, including the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, schools and hospitals. It means if things go wrong, it will have a material impact on employers, workers and the broader NSW economy. McCarthys concern is that if actuarial assumptions fully reflected the dramatic deterioration in the claims experience, claims reserves would need to increase by a whopping $4.5 billion, which would result in a deficit of up to $3.5 billion for NI. Icare is shaping up to be one the largest financial disasters in Australian history unless dramatic changes are made. Peter McCarthy, actuary Currently, NI has a surplus of $1.6 billion. McCarthy said it would also dramatically reduce the funding ratio assets divided by liabilities to 87 per cent instead of the stated figure of 109 per cent. Insurance is a complex and opaque business. It is full of jargon, estimates and assumptions. Even definitions can be slippery and open to interpretation. It should be little surprise then that such an important definition as the return to work rate would be calculated differently by Icare and the regulator. That such discrepancies are tolerated goes some way to explaining why Icare can continue to back a claims model that has attracted criticism not just from Dore but experts such as McCarthy (and most others involved with the scheme including many employers, unions and other professionals active in the scheme). Icares response to the Dore report was illuminating. While overall we welcome the report and its recommendations, it is disappointing the report didnt present a true reflection of the overall performance of the Nominal Insurer and omitted some key facts, it said. Specifically, assertions that link the funding ratio deterioration to the establishment of Icare and the design of the claims model are not correct. Funding ratio changes from June 30, 2015, are largely the result of legislative and regulatory reforms, and external economic factors. [January 10, 2020] Bentley University Names New Editors for Ethics Journal WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The W. Michael Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University is pleased to announce that professors David M. Wasieleski and James Weber have agreed to serve as the new editors of the center's journal, Business and Society Review (BASR). BASR is a peer-reviewed academic journal that addresses a wide range of ethical issues concerning the relationships between business, society, and the public good. David Wasieleski will serve as editor-in-chief. He is the Albert P. Viragh Professor of Business Ethics in the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also the Executive Director of the Albert Paul Viragh Institute for Ethical Business at Duquesne. James Weber will serve as managing editor. He is professor of Business Ethics and Management and managing director of the Albert Paul Viragh Institute for Ethics in Business at Duquesne University . The journal, which is published by Wiley, was founded in 1972 and was acquired by the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics in 1999. From the time when the journal came to the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics through the end of 2019, its editor was Bentley University professor of philosophy, Robert Frederick, who recently retired. "We are very grateful to Bob Frederick for his dedication over two decades as the journal's editor," says Professor Jeffrey Moriarty, interim director of the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics and Chair of Bentley University's Philosophy Department . "As we enter a new decade, we are delighted to welcome David and Jim to their new roles. They both have had distinguished academic careers focused on business ethics and the complex and powerful relations between business and society. I'm truly pleased that we have two scholars of their caliber taking on the most important roles in the management and development of one of the oldest journals in the field. I am sure that they will strengthen its stature in the area of academic research in business ethics." The Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University was established in 1976, making it the oldest center of its kind in the world. Since then it has had a leading role in the advancement of the field of business ethics and corporate social responsibility, straddling the realms of academic research and the advancement of the ethics and compliance field as practiced by corporations around the world. It is credited with being a major influence in the development and success of the business ethics movement, both in the United States and around the world. For more information please contact Jeffrey Moriarty, [email protected], 781-891-2981. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bentley-university-names-new-editors-for-ethics-journal-300985112.html SOURCE Bentley University [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Finding self-love in this day and age can be difficult, as some would argue, but for actress Coleen Garcia, it starts with one thingacceptance. It has to start with acceptance, Garcia told CNN Philippines The Source on Friday. To accept who you are, accept your situation; accept where you are in your life to just come to terms with that first to acknowledge it and to own it. From there, you can move forward, she added. The 27-year-old actress made the remark as she reflected on her new romantic comedy film Mia a story she further described as one of determination and hope. Directed by Veronica Velasco and produced Viva Films and Insight 360 Films, the movie, at first glance, may seem like your typical rom-com. The story revolves around a doctor Mia (Garcia) who turned into an alcoholic following the tragic death of her partner. Despite her initial qualms, Mia would then pursued by forester Jay, a character portrayed by Edgar Allan Guzman. Garcia said theres more to the tale and encouraged the audience to finish the film in order to truly grasp the story. It's about standing up again more than, you know, trying to find somebody else. More than trying to go back into the next relationship to find somebody who'll be there, Garcia said. It's not about companionship so much, it's more about finding that hope and trying to, I guess, recover that hope in somebody else as well, she added. Garcia, who likewise credited her effortless work chemistry with Guzman, assured viewers they will be treated to a light and feel-good feeling after the film. Mia hits the cinemas on January 15 nationwide. Indias most significant struggles of the 2020s will pit personal freedoms against moral authoritarianism. This struggle will be decided not by high-minded causes, but the cultural choices we exercise in our everyday lives. They found Princy Tiwari in a sack dumped by the side of the road, her body sawn into three. Her father, police say, murdered the young Kalyan woman, for insisting on marrying a man who happened to be from another community. Mahendar Gupta allegedly shot his daughter for eloping with her boyfriend, then burned her body. A girl in Sasaram was shot by hitmen hired by her father, because she shamed her family by speaking out against local men who tried to rape her. No one took out candlelight vigils for these young women, all killed this month gone by; nor did any politician call for the perpetrators to be hanged or castrated. There are some kinds of killing everyone understands. Tradition is the most sophisticated form of tyranny, one so subtle that we rarely recognise its fetters. This tyranny is total. The most intimate who we have sex with, or do not have sex with; the how and why of personal pleasure is the most intensely policed. The enforcers, and the executioners, of this order are embedded not just on the streets, but in our homes. For Indians to experience genuine freedom, we need more libertines not right-wing sexual scolds or earnest left-wing reformers. Glossy magazine accounts of the erotic lives of urban millennials mislead: most Indians inhabit a bleak sexual prison. In a recent paper, the scholars Tridip Ray, Arka Roy Chaudhuri and Komal Sahai pointed out just 5.82 percent of Indians marry outside their own caste and that the percentage who do so has remained more or less invariant for over four decades. Three-quarters of marriages are still arranged by parents; 70 percent of women met their husbands only on the day of their wedding. Findings by KG Santhya and others show that just 0.2 percent of young women, and 2 percent of young men, reported ever having casual sex. Four percent of young women and 15 percent of young men had even experienced sex before marriage the higher male figure, likely, having something to do with encounters with sex workers. Imagining ourselves to be free, we are a nation of happy little slaves, dutifully carrying out our assigned roles; endlessly reproducing, as if by binary fission, a dystopic social order. Liberals, for the most part, have been reluctant to talk about personal freedoms. To challenge sexual norms, the family and the community, the argument goes, risks sacrificing more important social gains for petty, personal causes. Instead, liberalism has sought to invoke and appropriate tradition for the purpose of social reform a strategy that has served, mainly, to legitimise the repression of the religious right. Tiwari, and the two other women killed for transgressing sexual taboos last month, were martyrs to no faith. In spite of its growing popularity as a slogan with campus radicals, freedom is not an Indian cause. Libertines have, through history, played an important role in engendering liberalism. London, in the 18th century, was awash with material we would now consider pornographic: The historian Peter Wagner has correctly called the age of Enlightenment the the age of Eros: a sort of downward osmosis of these values leading to their absorption into popular culture and then flowering, among other things, into the free speech protections of the United States constitution Enlightenment erotica was, not infrequently, political: in L'orgie royale, published in in 1789, Louis XVI sleeps while the Empress Marie Antoinette has sex with the Comte dArtois and the Duchesse de Poignac beside him; Gervaise de Latouches anti-Catholic History of Dom B, in 1743, was built around sexual adventures involving nuns and priests, part of a genre of work hammering away at the Catholic churchs repressive control of society. Pornography, Wagner concludes, served as a vehicle of protest against the authority of Church and State, and finally against middle-class morality. This work drew on a tradition of libertinism dating back to the middle ages, and earlier. Geoffrey Chaucers famously bawdy work is possibly its highest expression. In The Millers Tale, he has Alison, a wild teenager with a body slim and small and a lickerish eye, cuckold her rich, possessive husband with the charming Nicholas, even as the violin-playing Absalom stalks her without respite. Alison succeeds in using sex to overturn power: her jealous husband is exposed as a delusional idiot; the stalker, Absolom, humiliated. Her lover, Nicholas, ends up wearing the brand of the adulterer on his buttocks, not her. For classical Romans inhabitants of the greatest empire the world has ever known the idea that the state ought have a role in regulating free sexual expression would have seemed bizarre. Ovid, for example, wrote about homosexuality, impotence, menages-e-trois, and adultery, even encouraging husbands not to fret over their wives infidelities. Explicit scenes of sexual intercourse anal, masturbation, and fellatio are common on early-classical Greek vases and terra cottas; the work of Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides and Sophocles are replete with sex. Pre-Islamic poet Imraul Qais, similarly, described the contentment of love as hugging, kissing, and belly-lapping/then hair-pulling and body-rocking that floods the eyes. Even following the rise of Islam, the tradition continued: Abul Ala al-Maarris magnificent Epistle of Forgiveness, despite its religious themes, is charged with bawdy, irreverent humour. Explicitly-sexual themes, in Indian tradition, feature not just in poetry, like Amrus famous Sanskrit poetry, but in the temple architecture and the arts. From the Sringara Malli of the court of Bidar to Muhammad Muzdar Mehdune Lizzat-un-Nisa, a rich tradition of the erotic thrived across India. In the 19th century, the nation-state and the dreary cult of Improvement acquired hegemony. This new kind of state did not just protect frontiers; it guarded societys ideological boundaries, and punished deviance. Now, sexuality had to be policed; obscenity was the new heresy. In a 1968 essay, the critic Theodore Adorno pointed to the organic relationship between sexual prejudices and fantasies of punishment, on the one hand, and ideological predispositions and inclinations of an authoritarian nature on the other. Victorian Englands vision of the sexual permissiveness as a threat was deeply internalised by Indians. Mohandas Gandhis campaign to annihilate desire, and the fetishisation of the male body by his Hindu-nationalist contemporaries werent that different: for both, the human body was a mere tool for an ideological cause. The Indian republic embedded those authoritarian impulses into its cultural fabric, institutionalising the moralism of its freedom movement into a semi-official ideology. The possibilities of a different kind of culture represented by an Amrita Sher-Gil or Faiz Ahmad Faiz were consigned to the margins. Indian tradition itself was sanitised of its sexual possibilities: few Indians even know of the existence of erotic Sanskrit literature. Faced with challenges to this official moralism, both Indias state and civil society have responded with repression. This is unsurprising. Battling claims for racial and gender equality in the 1950s, the United States sought to cast both as handmaidens of a corrosive tide of vice. The idea had widespread support: in 1952, the board of trustees of the progressive, racially-integrated Earlham College publicly opposed the engagement of two of its students, a black woman and a white man. Every ideological state draws, in some form, on this trope: Nazi Germany, after all, was built on stamping out the sexual individualism of the Weimar Republic, replacing it instead with the lebensborn camps of the SchutzStaffel, where the Master Race was to be bred. The still-incomplete, and sharply contested, struggles for freedoms that began in the industrialised world in 1920s have been the crucible in which our world has been forged. It is impossible to separate an Albert Einstein from the ideas of a Sigmund Freud or Erich Fromm; from the efflorescence of creativity in Weimar Europe. The birth of Apple or Microsoft were inextricably enmeshed with William Reich and the sexual revolution of the 1960s: Great ideas emerge in those historical moments when the world is stood on its head. Emily Honig, among others, has thoughtfully documented how a generation of young Chinese sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution ended up experiencing personal independence and sexual freedoms, despite the efforts of Mao Zedongs ideological commissars. Those social transformations laid the foundations for the new kind of China which would emerge under Deng Xiaoping. Indias most significant struggles of the 2020s will pit personal freedoms against moral authoritarianism. This struggle will be decided not by high-minded causes, but the cultural choices we exercise in our everyday lives. In universities and in coffee shops; in online comedy and music; in the acts of a Princy Tiwari: a million acts of defiance against an order which punishes the pursuit of pleasure are already evident. The backlash, of course, is also building. The outcome of this contestation will determine whether India will be ruled by its people, or the love-jihad police and the cow vigilante. An altar with photographs of the victims who were killed in a plane crash in Iran is seen as people gather around to held a vigil in their memories. AFP photo Tehran: Iran on Friday denied Western allegations a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran was brought down by an Iranian missile and called on the U.S. and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board. Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile near Tehran, just hours after Iran launched a series of ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike last week. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans national aviation department, told a press conference. If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world in accordance with international standards, he added. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of Iranian investigation team on Friday told the same press conference that recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings. The ballistic missile attack on the bases in Iraq caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully, though Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. If the US or Canada were to present incontrovertible evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran, even if unintentionally, it could have a dramatic impact on public opinion in Iran. The Iranian public had rallied around the leadership after the killing of Soleimani last Friday, with hundreds of thousands joining the generals funeral processions in several cities, in an unprecedented display of grief and unity. But sentiments in Iran are still raw over the governments crackdown on large-scale protests late last year sparked by the worsening economic situation. Several hundred protesters were reported to have been killed in the clampdown. Those fissures could quickly break open again if public evidence is presented that Iranian authorities were responsible for the deaths of 176 people, mainly Iranians or dual Iranian-Canadian citizens. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries whose citizens died in the crash. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 00:41:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Friday that the ruling party decided to plan early elections to change the current parliamentary political distribution. According to him, President Klaus Iohannis and he believed that "it is best for Romania to hold early elections." "The Parliament is currently being dominated by the Social Democrats acting as a brake on the president's and the government's efforts to put the will of the people into practice," said the prime minister after meeting the head of state at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace earlier on the day. "It is absolutely necessary for... the citizens to elect their representatives so that there is a faithful mirror in the parliament of the current options of Romanian citizens," said Orban. Orban said that it would be good for an early general election to be organised simultaneously with the local elections in June. Yet, he did not want to elaborate on the strategy for triggering the early elections. The prime minister, also the leader of the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL), mentioned that his party had appointed a working team for discussions on the matter with other political parties in the parliament. The current Romanian parliament was formed after the elections in Dec. 2016. The Social Democratic Party (PSD), which came to power after the elections, stepped down in a vote of no confidence in the parliament last October, and the PNL subsequently formed a minority government to take power. At present, the PSD still controls 42 percent of the seats in the bicameral parliament, while the PNL has only 21 percent of seats. Some small parties support the ruling party in parliament but do not participate in the ruling. Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Damascus on Tuesday to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to the Kremlin, Putin declared "with confidence that a huge distance has been traveled toward restoring Syrian statehood and the country's territorial integrity." It's been almost nine years since civil war broke out in Syria. Putin and Assad are allies, and in 2015, when Assad's troops were struggling to fight opposition forces, Moscow intervened, sending military advisers and launching airstrikes. This was a major turning point, and the Syrian government has since been able to recapture most of the territory it lost. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told several Russian news agencies that Putin "noted that on the streets of Damascus, the signs of how peace has been restored can be seen with the naked eye." Putin's visit occurred before Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. The attacks were in response to an airstrike authorized by President Trump that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran, Syria, and Russia are all allies. More stories from theweek.com Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah puzzle over Trump's odd Iran 'victory' address America is guilty of everything we accuse Iran of doing Joe Biden's free ride is over There arent many ways to reach Anakaputhur. Then again, there arent too many people who want to go to Anakaputhur. The erstwhile handloom weavers village is a 40-minute rickshaw ride from the suburbs of Chennai. Temple bells pierce the air, dogs sleep curled up under the sun, and the roads are like the communitys remaining artisanal weavers worn out and neglected. Bijendra checks if the spooled thread matches with the yarn before handing it to his granduncle. All images by the author Less than 20 years ago, every house in the village had its own handloom mill. There were about 5,000 such mills in all. Today, the number has shrunk to some 200. These squeak woodenly for 14 hours every day, from which the operators earn Rs 125 for their work barely half the fare for a rickshaw ride into the city, just 24 kilometers away. Show me one handloom weaver who says they are doing well, demands Sekhar, 52, who works out of a small, dimly-lit room punctuated by warm, amber sunlight that flows in through a lone window. The lower half of the window is covered in equal parts by cobwebs and old yarn. Sekhars mill houses four dusty handlooms, each paused in mid-construction of a delicate, half-woven banana cotton thread saree (spun from the fibre of a banana bark). Sekhars spinning wheel sits in front of them all, and a dustless spot behind it marks the old mans work station. Chenchiya, artisanal weaver and Sekhar's 90-year-old father, spins yarn outside his mill-cum-house. Anakaputhur used to be famous for its Madras Handkerchief, a traditional, nine-yard-long, checkered, cotton fabric. They almost exclusively catered to customers in Nigeria, where it was commonly worn by the members of the Kalabari tribe. A 1966 coup and its accompanying civil war ruined that trade, and along with it, Anakaputhur weavers livelihoods. These struggling weavers looked towards the state government for help, and that was the beginning of a long series of let-downs. The state government does nothing for its weavers, Sekhar says, ticking off a long and demoralising list of blows that his ancient art form has suffered. Chenchiya spins yarn as his great-grandson Bijendra peeks into the handloom mill. The historic Chennai floods of 2015 destroyed the weavers hamlet. Fifty lakh worth of material and equipment, purchased with the help of loans, was destroyed. The families that didnt quit weaving in the 60s left the villages legacy in the hands of the few remaining weavers after this year. Government relief experts visited Anakaputhur briefly and left with promises that still remain unfulfilled three years later. The biggest was the promise of a Common Facilities Centre, a cohesive hub to fulfill all the needs of the weavers, from training to sales. Two sarees in Sekhar's mill are paused mid-weave, as their weavers break for lunch. They give acres of land to industries. Why cant they make a village for weavers? asks Sekhar, sitting gloomily in his mill. His lungi is greasy and the parting in his hair is streaked with grey. Like most people in town, he only goes by his first name. Handloom weavers cant even get an identity card for themselves, such a shameful situation to live in," he says, pointing at the governments incompetency. His complaints are well polished; after all, this isnt his first interview. Sekhar is well known in the local media for his weaving innovations. After the village's weavers lost their African market, he contrived to make handloom sarees using yarn from bamboo, banana, aloe vera and other organic alternatives. An artisanal weaver pedals her loom to weave a cotton saree. Ravanan from Lanka kidnapped Sita and she needed a saree to change into. He spun her a saree from bamboo shoots, Shekar says. It's a story he tells to show how deeply ingrained textile weaving is in Indian culture, and how it cannot fade away. But others in the village arent so sure. This is a profession that is going to be in ruins soon, says Kumar, 42, a fourth-generation lungi weaver and owner of a mill. Kumars office is next to his mill. Wearing a purple shirt, he sits in sharp contrast to its pink walls. His folded legs slot perfectly between the legs of his short work table, which he uses to rest his accounts books and money box. To his right is a four racked shelf nesting yarns of indigo and white. Srinivasalu helps his co-worker adjust the thread while weaving a lungi. Tall and balding, Kumar is no fan of the government. If not for this tax, we would be doing fairly well, he says, referring to the infamous GST which is levied at the rate of five percent on his weaves. The weavers have done their fair share of lobbying with the powers-that-be. Writing letter after letter, weve only lost money, chimes in 48-year-old Padma, Sekhars wife, who also accounts the logistics to get till Secretariat. Kumars mill is bustling; 12 machines squeak relentlessly here. Old Tamil songs and theatrical anecdotes of chatty weavers add to this merry chaos. He employs 13 breadwinners. Janaki, an artisanal weaver and Sekhar's sister, is the last to practise the profession in her family. If one street is selling carrots for Rs 20 and the next one is selling them for Rs 10, which one will you go to? The only selling it for less, right? That's the thing, no one looks at quality, argues 55-year-old Srinivasalu. It essentially boils down to time and money. In a world where products are made quickly and abundantly and fast fashion is the norm, communities like the Anakaputhur weavers are the collateral damage. A power loom produces 14 sarees in the time a handloom weaves one. The former is also significantly cheaper. "There is no profession worse than this, mutters Sri Natarajar, 75; the weavers anger is evident. 70-year-old Pavanamma is the sole yarn spinner in Kumar's mill. Unnamalai, 49, is the only female weaver in Kumars mill. Her entire house fits into a camera frame. We dont have anyone looking out for us, the widow says morosely. Her sons future is all she cares about. Her voice trembles slightly when she says, I really dont know what Ill do when they shut down the loom." Less than a kilometer outside of Anakaputhur, Sekhar is building a new loom. The loom will be on the ground floor and our house will be on the first, Karthik, Sekhars 23-year-old son, informs me. The loom will house 12 mills and is three times the size of the one his father presently runs. It is imperative to Sekhar and Padma that this tradition is carried forward. Not just our kids, our grandchildren should also do this. This runs in our family. We cant let it go so easily, Padma asserts. Unnamalai enters her house, which was given to her parents by a temple close by. But not everyone shares this sentiment not even in Sekhar's own family. His older sister Janaki has spent more than a third of her 64-year-long life inside the first loom on the left side of his mill. The saree shes weaving is a deep crimson red shade with a complementing tangerine border. She talks about her son, a married electrician in his thirties. When questioned about why he didnt take up the art of weaving, she wistfully says, This should die with us." Former HRD minister and senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday called for the removal of JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, saying it is 'shocking' that he is adamant on not implementing a government proposal to resolve the fee-hike crisis in the university New Delhi: Former HRD minister and senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday called for the removal of JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, saying it is "shocking" that he is adamant on not implementing a government proposal to resolve the fee-hike crisis in the university. "Reports are that the HRD ministry had twice advised the JNU VC to implement a certain reasonable and working formula for resolving the issue of enhanced fees in JNU. He was also advised to reach out to teachers and students. "It is shocking that the VC is adamant on not implementing the government proposal. This attitude is deplorable and in my opinion, such a VC should not be allowed to continue on this post," Joshi tweeted. Joshi's comments add to the growing clamour for Kumar's removal. Hundreds of demonstrators, including students and members of civil society organisations, hit the streets on Thursday protesting the recent violence at JNU and demanding the resignation of the varsity vice-chancellor. The HRD Ministry, however, ruled out his removal saying sacking him is not the solution but addressing the core issues on campus. HRD Ministry officials on Wednesday "advised" JNU Vice-Chancellor to increase communication with students, take the faculty into confidence and facilitate the semester registration process, days after violence ran amok on the university campus. Kumar, who has been severely criticised by students and faculty members for not taking immediate measures when they were brutally attacked on campus by a masked mob, told the officials that efforts were being made to facilitate semester registration for "willing" students. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:09:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHANGSHA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A local Chinese court on Friday tried a former deputy head of the country's quality watchdog for taking bribes. Wei Chuanzhong, former deputy head of the now-defunct General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, stood trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Chenzhou, Hunan Province. Wei was also the former head of China Inspection and Testing Society. Wei was accused of illegally accepting money and gifts amounting to over 123.24 million yuan (17.8 million U.S. dollars) as he abused power on various government or association posts between 2001 and 2019 to help others gain profits. Prosecutors presented evidence and the defendant and his lawyers cross-examined the evidence. Both sides gave their own full accounts at the trial. In his final statement, Wei admitted his guilt and expressed remorse. According to the court, the sentence will be announced at a later date. RTHK: Trudeau: Iran downed Ukrainian plane Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Trudeau's comments came as images posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defence batteries bringing the down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in flames on Wednesday. Citing information from allies as well as Canada's own intelligence, the prime minister said the plane appeared to have been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air (SAM) missile. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters. The prime minister was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional." US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. Flight PS752 went down just minutes after take-off from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. It was carrying 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons. The disaster unfolded amid worries of a possible war between the United States and Iran, just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at American military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. (AFP) ______________________________ Last updated: 2020-01-10 HKT 06:29 This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The third China International Import Expo (CIIE) road show was held on Thursday in the Israeli city Tel Aviv, attracting more than 100 delegates from the Israeli government, organizations and companies. A delegation from the CIIE bureau, the event organizer, gave a detailed introduction of the third import expo, due to be held in November this year in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The economic and trade ties between China and Israel have been flourishing since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, said Dai Yuming, charge d'affaires ad interim at the Chinese Embassy in Israel. Currently, China is Israel's largest trading partner in Asia and also Israel's second largest trading partner in the world, he noted. "There are strong economic complementarities between China and Israel and there are unlimited potentials for the two countries in the field of bilateral economic and trade cooperation," Dai said. The CIIE has been serving as a vital platform in providing important opportunities for more and more global excellent exporters to set foot in the Chinese market and benefit from the rapid development of Chinese economy, Dai said. He expressed the hope that Israeli companies could take advantage of the opportunity to expand their presence in the Chinese market by actively participating in the CIIE. Liu Fuxue, deputy director of the CIIE bureau, who led the delegation for the road show, invited Israeli business representatives to attend the third CIIE, bringing more cutting-edge, high-quality and competitive products, technologies and services. A total of six Israeli companies took part in the second CIIE held from Nov. 5-10 in 2019, with an exhibition area totalling about 760 square meters, Liu said. More and more Israeli companies are looking for business opportunities in different fields such as agriculture, water technologies, medical and digital health, telecommunication, and automotive, said Michal Niddam Wachsman, director of the China Department of the Foreign Trade Administration at Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry. "The CIIE initiative is an excellent opportunity for Israeli companies looking to increase their business activities in the Chinese market," said Wachsman. Israel's Foreign Trade Administration is operating six commercial offices in China, ranking the top in number of the offices across the world, with the aim of enhancing cooperation in trade and investment between the two countries, she said. The potential for promoting the commercial ties between Israel and China is unlimited, said Sabine Segal, deputy director general for International Business Affairs of the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute. He said the tremendous flow of business delegations between the two sides and the volume of the business deals reached "are a fantastic testimony to that." Israeli hi-tech company Watergen participated in the second CIIE, where it exhibited its water-from-air system which produces high-quality drinking water from air. "The CIIE is a good platform to further improve the relations between Israel and China," Paula Crystal Green, head of the sales department of Watergen, told Xinhua. Many Israeli companies are now trying to enter the Chinese market and the CIIE is the "right place" to present their technologies, Green said. More than 3,800 enterprises from 181 countries, regions and international organizations participated in the second CIIE, which concluded with tentative deals worth 71.13 billion U.S. dollars reached for one-year purchases of goods and services. Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) attempted to explain on Thursday why she opposed U.S. sanctions on Iran but backs the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Omar has criticized the Trump administrations decision to enact new economic sanctions against Iran after the country directly attacked U.S. positions in Iraq in retaliation fo the U.S. assasination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last week. Sanctions are economic warfare, Omar wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. You cannot claim to want deescalation and then announce new sanctions with no clear goal. This is not a measured response. Omar was asked Thursday how she was able to square her position on Iran with her support for the BDS movement, which seeks to punish Israel for alleged human rights abuses and elevate the Palestinian negotiating position vis-a-vis Israel through an international pressure campaign. The BDS movement is a movement that is driven by the people, Omar responded. The sanctions on Iran are sanctions that are being placed to create maximum pressure by a government. Thats very different. The day after the strike on Soleimani, Omar suggested Trump ordered the operation to distract the public from the impending Senate impeachment trial. So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? Omar wrote on Twitter. Real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will. The congresswoman has had a history of trafficking in anti-Semitic tropes. They can be seen in several of her past statements on Twitter, including that U.S. support for Israel is all about the Benjamins baby and that Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. More from National Review 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 01:22:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 9, 2020. Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Baghdad Thursday to hold talks with Iraqi leaders over means to develop bilateral relations amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) BAGHDAD, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Baghdad Thursday to hold talks with Iraqi leaders over means to develop bilateral relations amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States. During the visit, Iraqi President Barham Salih held a meeting with Cavusoglu in the Presidential Palace in Baghdad, where Salih "stressed the importance of joint work and coordination to spare Iraq and the region conflicts and wars," according to a statement by the presidency's media office. Salih also stressed the need to unify efforts of all parties to address the current crises and resort to restraint and calm, the statement said. For his part, Cavusoglu affirmed his country's support for the sovereignty and stability of Iraq, pointing to the need to reduce escalating tensions and resort to constructive dialogue to deal with the sensitive situations that the region is currently going through, it added. During his meeting with the Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, the Turkish minister conveyed the support of the Turkish government for Iraq's security, stability and national sovereignty, according to a statement by Abdul Mahdi's office. Abdul Mahdi told the Turkish foreign minister that the security of the region and the preservation of its interests are the responsibility of all its states, and the Iraqi government is committed to its position and its consistent policy of establishing balanced relations with other countries, the statement said. Abdul Mahdi and Cavusoglu discussed during the meeting cooperation between the two countries and the developments of the crisis between Iran and the United States, the statement added. Moreover, Cavusoglu said in a joint press conference after his meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim that "Iraq is not alone and we will work together to help Iraq pass this difficult stage." Cavusoglu told reporters that the U.S. strike near Baghdad airport and the Iranian missile strikes on the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq have intensified tensions in the Middle East region. "We don't want Iraq to be the battle zone of foreign forces," the Turkish minister said. Al-Hakim told reporters that Iraq "reject and condemn all the attacks that occurred on the Iraqi territories because they are flagrant breach for Iraq's sovereignty." He also asserted the need for all foreign forces to leave Iraq through diplomatic means and dialogue based on respecting sovereignty and common interests. Cavusoglu's visit came after Iran fired ballistic missiles on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq's western province of Anbar and near the city of Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. Last week, a U.S. drone attacked a convoy at Baghdad International Airport, killing Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. Express News Service NEW DELHI: With the economy in a tailspin and the Budget barely a month away, PM Narendra Modi on Thursday sat down with top economists and business leaders to pick their brains on how to revive growth, which is projected to drag at an 11-year low pace in FY20. We must all work together and start to think like a nation, an official release quoted the Prime Minister as saying at the meeting, which was attended by private equity players, venture capitalists, business leaders, key officials and members of the Niti Aayog, apart from economists. Home Minister Amit Shah, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal were also present in the meeting. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was conspicuous by her absence in the Thursday meeting held at the Niti Aayog. Intriguingly, she was also not part of a series of other pre-Budget meetings the PM has held with business leaders in the past few days. On Thursday, Sitharaman was busy meeting BJP workers to hear their Budget suggestions. ALSO READ: Falling investment, flat exports challenge for Budget Her absence at the meeting chaired by the PM and the presence of Piyush Goyal, who has previously acted as finance minster during late Arun Jaitleys indisposition, triggered a flurry of tweets. Where is the finance minister or has the duo (PM and Home Minister) forgotten they have one? asked Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Sitharamans office was quick to join in, tweeting, Sir, the minister has already met industrialists and economists during the pre-Budget consultations. Jobs, exports, bank credit were part of discussions Among the CEOs present in the meeting were Bandhan Bank chief Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Dabur Indias Mohit Malhotra, CRISIL CEO Ashu Suyash, among others. Economists included Shankar Acharya, Chief Economic Advisor during Manmohan Singhs tenure as PM, Ila Patnaik of National Institute of Public Finance & Policy, and Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. ALSO READ: Pro-people Union Budget will be presented on February 1 Sources said job creation, exports, bank credit were figured in the discussions and Modi reportedly said he would act on suggestions that can be implemented quickly. According to officials present in the meeting, the talks ranged from bold reforms to people-centric Budget. Industry leaders have been advising in previous meetings that the government relax fiscal-deficit target to spend its way out of the trouble. Officials said industrialists and bankers made suggestions to reverse the consumption slowdown and improve Indias ease of doing business rankings. The thrust of the deliberations was on short- and long-term measures to revive the countrys economy and boost employment with focus on export, tourism and agriculture. Ideas for liquidity expansion through credit and strengthening public sector banking institutions were also discussed, said an official. During her meeting with party workers at the BJP headquarters, Sitharaman was presented with six sectoral reports put together in a pre-Budget consultative exercise with over 200 organisations in the past two weeks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says he's lined up the votes to start President Donald Trump's impeachment trial. But until Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., allows a vote to appoint the House managers to bring over the articles, there can't be a trial. In the 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton, 13 Republicans were named as House managers, all from the Judiciary Committee. While we're waiting, here's what to expect. - Senators want to supplement the existing trial rules The impeachment trial rules, last modified in 1986, are silent on many important procedural matters, including: the day and time at which the president or his counsel must appear to begin the trial; time limits on stages of the trial and debate on any motions; whether witnesses will be called and how they will be heard; and restrictions on what Senate television cameras can show. To govern all this, once the trial begins, a simple majority of the Senate can adopt supplementary rules - including the currently contentious question of the timing of motions to call witnesses, which largely divides senators along party lines. Republicans want the Senate to follow the course set in 1999 for Democratic President Clinton's impeachment trial. But back then, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., tried but failed to get their colleagues to agree in advance on supplementary rules. Here's what happened. As the trial began, other senators, backed by the leaders, agreed to a set of preliminary rules. Under these rules, the two sides would first present their cases and senators would have an opportunity to question both the House trial managers and the White House lawyers. Then any senator could make a motion to dismiss the articles or to call witnesses. Senators did bring both of those motions. Republicans defeated the motion to dismiss the articles and they succeeded in calling three witnesses. As provided under the 1999 rules, the witnesses were first deposed; House managers then decided not to bring the witnesses before the Senate. Today's Democrats want a guarantee that they can call witnesses. Republicans say they have the votes to follow the 1999 process, which allowed a motion on witnesses after the initial stages of the process. - No one really knows how the chief justice will conduct the trial The Constitution requires that the chief justice of the United States preside over impeachment trials for a president, meaning that the chief rules on all motions and questions of evidence and procedure, although he can refer a question to the Senate without ruling. Under the 1986 rules, senators must submit their questions - for House managers, the president's counsel and any witnesses - in writing, to be read by the chief justice. The House managers and president's counsel may raise objections to a question, leaving the chief justice to determine whether the question is relevant or redundant. This may prove important: The 1999 rules that McConnell wants to follow provide that the House and president's counsel must limit their presentations to the "argument from the record." The Senate parliamentarian will assist the chief justice on procedure and precedent. The House managers and president's counsel can raise objections at any time. The chief justice will rule on most of them but may leave them for the Senate to decide (without debate). Senators will certainly appeal rulings they dislike; those appeals will be decided by majority vote. House managers are itching to request witnesses; they would like to depose additional witnesses - John Bolton, say - and present new evidence. The chief justice could frame these issues in a way that influences pivotal senators' votes. - There could be pivotal votes - and senators There are 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats. Few believe that the Senate will convict Trump. However, some senators' votes may be pivotal on key motions. Consider a motion to dismiss the case, which the 1999 rules permitted. Let's assume that the Democrats would vote unanimously on any question, including this. The GOP could dismiss the case if they lost no more than two GOP votes, giving them a 51-49 majority. If they lost three, the question would be whether the chief justice could cast the tie-breaking vote. During the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868, a Senate majority supported the chief justice when he cast two tie-breaking votes on procedural questions. What would happen if the chief simply refused to vote to break a tie? The motion would fail. On a motion to call witnesses, a tie vote would kill the motion. In that case, Republicans could afford to lose three Republican votes and would still defeat Democratic attempts to call a witness. We can't know for sure, though; the chief justice could decide to break a tie and may favor the motion to call witnesses. All this means that two or three or four Republicans - perhaps Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah or Cory Gardner of Colorado - could be pivotal on these questions, depending on whether the chief votes and on how unified Democrats remain. One or more of those Republicans could oppose their party on a motion to dismiss - while still voting with their party on a motion to call witnesses. - Party strategies could matter Party leaders have no official role in a trial. Behind the scenes, leaders can coordinate efforts on key motions. They may also coordinate party tactics on questions for the parties and witnesses and on other matters. In setting the rhetorical tone for their colleagues, they could shape public views of the Senate. Could Democrats try to call Republican senators as witnesses? In principle, yes, but again, it would require a majority vote. The Senate rules say that a senator may "give his testimony standing in his place." Such a spectacle would rouse many partisan emotions. At most stages during the trial, senators are not allowed to engage in colloquies or debate unless every senator votes to allow this. They sit quietly during presentations and the questioning of the parties and witnesses. Under the 1986 rules, the trial is conducted in open session unless the Senate votes to close the doors. If senators deliberate at all, they are likely to do so behind closed doors. And yet senators are unlikely to remain entirely silent in public. More likely, the parties' public relations staffs, working for the party leaders, will work to shape coverage and public views of the trial through tweets, corridor comments and so many other ways, as they have been for weeks already. - There could be wild cards The president's former national security adviser, John Bolton, says that if the Senate subpoenas him, he is willing to testify, which may yield new evidence about the president's orders. There could be other wild cards. Democrats may be hoping that the trial will shift public opinion about the president. But that didn't happen during the impeachment hearings; nor did it happen during the 1998-1999 Clinton impeachment process, as the Pew Research Center reports. During the Watergate hearings, the public increasingly supported removing President Richard Nixon - but of course, he resigned before Congress could get to either impeachment or a trial. - - - Smith ( @ProfStevenSmith ) is professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis and author of, most recently, The Senate Syndrome: The Evolution of Procedural Warfare in the Modern U.S. Senate (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014). For other commentary from The Monkey Cage, an independent blog anchored by political scientists from universities around the country, see www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage Katras: Hrishikesh Devdikar, one more suspect in the murder case of senior Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh was arrested from Katras in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), over two years after the sensational incident, Image Source: IANS News Katras: Hrishikesh Devdikar, one more suspect in the murder case of senior Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh was arrested from Katras in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), over two years after the sensational incident, Image Source: IANS News Aurangabad : , Jan 10 (IANS) The alleged mastermind of Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh' killing, Hrishikesh Devdikar, who was arrested from Dhanbad in Jharkhand late on Thursday, has connections to the tourist destination of Aurangabad, official sources said here on Friday. Devdikar alias Murli had been holed up in Katraj area in Dhanbad and was nabbed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Police. Commenting on the arrest, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here that the state government was aware of the progress in the case and was monitoring all the developments. "Now it remains to be seen how the (Lankesh) killing is linked to the murders of other prominent intellectuals in the past few years," Deshmukh added. The reference was made to the shooting of rationalist medico Narendra Dabholkar (Pune, August 20, 2013) and the killing of leftist writer Govind Pansare (Kolhapur, February 16, 2016), both in Maharashtra. Later, noted author M.M. Kalburgi was shot dead in Dharwad on August 30, 2015, followed by Lankesh who was gunned down on September 5, 2017 -- both in Karnataka. The alleged brain behind the Lankesh murder, Devdikar arrived in Aurangabad from Kolhapur in 2012 and lived in Sector N-9 in the CIDCO complex with his parents, wife and a seven-year old daughter. Devdikar had acquired a franchise for a reputed Ayurvedic products company. He ran it in a shop hired from a local, Jagdish Kulkarni, but vacated it in 2016 for reasons not known. However, while running the Ayurveda shop, he also spent a lot of time attending activities of a right-wing organisation, the Sanatan Sanstha, sources said. In August 2018, the Maharashtra Police and the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had busted what came to be known as the sensational 'Nala Sopara arms haul case' in Palghar, north of Mumbai, which included a bomb and gun manufacturing factory. Investigations into the Palghar case led to the arrest of one Sharad Kalaskar who spilled the beans on his friend from Aurangabad, Sachin P. Andhure, and their joint involvement in the Dabholkar killing. The CBI arrested Andhure from Aurangabad in August 2019. In the Palghar case, which was unearthed just seven months before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ATS said after investigations that all the accused had planned to carry out several high-profile killings. Some of their targets included Nationalist Congress Party leader from Thane and present Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, Pune-based rationalist Mukta N. Dabholkar, All India Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti President Shyam Manav and activist Ritu Raje. All the concerned probe agencies -- SIT, ATS, CBI and the police -- in both Maharashtra and Karnataka believe that the four killings may be linked and are attempting to unravel the extent of the nexus. A database containing the personal details of 56.25 million US residents that allegedly belongs to CheckPeople.com website was exposed online. A database containing the personal details of 56.25 million US residents that allegedly belongs to the CheckPeople.com website was exposed online on a server having a Chinese IP address. The huge trove of data includes names, home addresses, phone numbers, and ages. The size of the NoSQL database is 22GB and included metadata that links the collection to CheckPeople.com. The CheckPeople.com service allows subscribed users to search for information about people of interest (i.e. current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, names of relatives, and even criminal records in some cases). The data are likely collected by the service from public sources. The strange aspect of this discovery is that the archive is exposed on an IP address operated by an Alibabas web hosting company in Hangzhou, China. However, all of this information is not only sitting in one place for spammers, miscreants, and other netizens to download in bulk, but its being served from an IP address associated with Alibabas web hosting wing in Hangzhou, east China, for reasons unknown. reads the post published by The Register that reported the news in exclusive. Its a perfect illustration that not only is this sort of personal information in circulation, but its also in the hands of foreign adversaries. The archive was discovered by a white-hat hacker that goes online with the handle Lynx that shared his findings with The Register. In and of itself, the data is harmless, its public data, but bundled like this I think it could actually be worth a lot to some people, Lynx told El Reg this week. Thats what scares me, when people start combining these with other datasets. The archive did not contain criminal record searches, even if this kind of information is provided by the CheckPeople service . The Register has attempted to report the discovery to CheckPeople , but the company has yet to respond. It is not clear if CheckPeople hosted its server in China or someone has obtained its data and exposed online, the unique certainly is that data belonging to 56.5 million American residents are now available for the Chinese Government and crooks. Pierluigi Paganini ( SecurityAffairs data leak, CheckPeople) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On 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. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association will shut down its 253 megawatt coal-fired generating station near Grants by the end of 2020 as part of the wholesale electric suppliers efforts to transition to a clean energy grid over the next decade, according to a Thursday announcement. The closure will eliminate 107 jobs at the plant, and potentially scores more at a nearby coal mine that supplies fuel for the generating station. The association has run the Escalante plant in Prewitt since 2000, after it merged with Plains Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative, which constructed and opened the plant in 1984. Escalante was built to operate through 2045, but Tri-State is closing it 25 years early as part of a broad plan to eliminate all the associations coal-fired generation in New Mexico and Colorado to meet new regulations in both states that mandate a transition to a carbon-free grid. Apart from Escalante, the association also announced plans Thursday to completely shut all operations by 2030 at the Craig Station in Colorado, a 1,285 MW coal plant that Tri-State operates to supply electricity to its member cooperatives, and to other utilities that co-own two of the Craig plants three generating units. Tri-State is a wholesale association that sells electricity to 43 distribution cooperatives in four states, including 11 in New Mexico. The association informed employees at Escalante and Craig of the shutdown plans Thursday morning. We understand its a shock for our employees, said Tri-State CEO Duane Highley in a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon. We will work with them and the local communities where they work to help minimize the negative impacts. Tri-State said employees will receive generous severance packages, opportunities to apply for vacancies at other Tri-State facilities, supplemental funding for health benefits, and educational and financial planning assistance. The association will also provide $5 million in local community support in New Mexico, Highley told reporters. The association has been working with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams office and with state legislators to collaborate on assistance programs and retraining for workers, he said. We hope the state will provide matching funds as well, Highley told reporters. Workforce Solutions Cabinet Secretary Bill McCamley said his office will meet with local officials and workers next week to assess needs and ways the state can help. The governor cares deeply about an economy that works for everyone, and that means we have to do everything in our power to help the workers and communities affected by this closure, McCamley said in a prepared statement. Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst said the government will work with Tri-State to help locate renewable generation facilities that replace Escalante in the affected communities, if possible, to offset some of the economic impacts there. Apart from 107 employees at the Escalante plant, its unclear how many workers could lose their jobs at the nearby coal mine, which is run by Peabody Coal Co. But Robert Castillo, CEO of Continental Divide Electric Cooperative in Grants, said mine layoffs will likely double the impact. The mine will lay people off as well, I was told to the tune of about 100 people, Castillo told the Journal. We dont have concrete numbers, but the projections are devastating. The impact will be felt throughout the states northwestern region, since it comes on top of the partial shutdown of the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington and current efforts to completely close the nearby San Juan Generating Station, Castillo said. The problem is much broader, because its not just the Grants area, Castillo said. Were talking about the whole northwest quadrant of New Mexico with the Four Corners plant, San Juan, and now Escalante. The whole area is going to be in bad shape. Castillo, who is also a board member of the Cibola Communities Economic Development Foundation, said local leaders want to work with state government to recruit more industry to the area. Thats critical for economic development assistance to have an impact, since retraining workers is only effective if alternative jobs are available. If you retrain those people and theres no other industry here, youre essentially just training them to leave the area, Castillo said. Tri-State said closing Escalante will help the association meet New Mexicos new Energy Transition Act, which requires state electric cooperatives to derive 50% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2030, and from 100% renewable and carbon-free generation by 2050. Tri-State expects to meet the 50% renewable milestone by 2024, six years in advance of the 2030 deadline. Currently, about 30% of its electricity comes from renewables. Rapidly declining prices for solar and wind generation will greatly offset the costs of shutting down coal operations, allowing Tri-State to maintain moderate prices and possibly even lower its rates for member cooperatives going forward, Highley said. We have new requests for proposals for additional renewable resources and the costs are coming in at such low rates that it allows us to save money even while accelerating the write-off of coal assets, Highley said. Tri-State will make announcements about replacement resources next week. Hi senti23,Yes! Business schools consider applicants from all types of backgrounds, and in fact they recruit for diversity in their applicants. What's key is that you can make a case for WHY you need the MBA to achieve your long term goal. Many people go to business school to switch careers, and engineering is one of the most popular undergrad majors of MBA students so you're in good company. As for someone working in anti-corruption in government, that would be a plus since you'll definitely stand out among applicants from more popular fields, such as banking and consulting, and IT for Indian nationals. The important thing about your current role is that you can show your leadership skills through the projects that you've managed.If you'd like a more in depth evaluation by providing us more details about your work and background, feel free to schedule a free consultation with us at https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ Best,Cindy Weather Alert ...WIND CHILL WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 3 PM EST TUESDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 35 below zero. * WHERE...In Vermont, Western Franklin County. In New York, Eastern Clinton County. * WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 3 PM EST Tuesday. * IMPACTS...The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The coldest wind chill values will occur between 2 AM and 11 AM on Tuesday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. && On January 2, 2020, the Berlin-based laboratory instrument manufacturer KNAUER Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH was awarded the "CrefoZert" credit rating certificate for the first time by the business information service CreditReform. Managing Director Alexandra Knauer (2nd from left) and her financial accounting team proudly present the CrefoZert certificate (Photo: KNAUER) KNAUER had to undergo a detailed examination in advance, which not only included an intensive analysis of the annual financial reports of several years, but also the current data from the credit report in order to determine the credit rating index. In addition, the current situation and prospects of the company were evaluated through targeted surveys. "CrefoZert" is known in Germany and internationally as an indicator of the solidity and trustworthy management of a company that has received this award. According to CreditReform, only 20 thousand of the total of four million companies registered in the business database could currently qualify for CrefoZert at all. That is just 0.5 percent. With "CR 1", KNAUER achieves the best of 19 rating classes distinguished by CreditReform. We are pleased that the excellent audit result proves how well KNAUER is positioned in terms of creditworthiness and financial reliability. It is not least our financial independence and flexibility that have made us a reliable technology partner for 57 years." Alexandra Knauer, CEO In business relationships such as the selection of suppliers or the purchase of capital goods operated on a long-term basis, the reliability of the business partner is just as important as product quality and price. Financial instability of a supplier or producer, for example, means a risk to the reliable supply of components or special spare parts needed over the long term. As a result, your own company's well-being also depends on this partnership. Numerous entrepreneurs have recognized this and use credit assessment services in their business relationships to minimize their risks. The Schiller-inspired title of this article is therefore perfectly transferable to the business world and does not only apply to marriage, which the poet certainly had in mind. The CreditReform group of companies provides information on the creditworthiness and financial structure as well as the environment of corporate customers. CreditReform also offers services in the areas of receivables management and debt collection as well as customer and market structure analyses for marketing. New Delhi [India], Jan 10 (ANI): The Finance Ministry on Friday said that the amnesty scheme, recommended by the GST council in the 38th meeting, has been extended from January 10 to January 17. The ministry made the announcement in a series of tweets and said there has been an encouraging response to the waiver announced on December 18 last year. "The GST council in its 38th meeting on Dec 18, 2019 had recommended that late fee chargeable on filing of statements of output supplies in Form GSTR-1s, be waived for the GSTR-1 pertaining to period July, 2017 to Nov 2019 if the same are filed by Jan 10, 2020" The ministry said that 54 lakhs GSTR-1 have been filed till January 9 against while only about 25 lakh monthly GSTR1s get filed. "In the view of such huge response, which would lead reduction in unmatched credit, it has been decided to extend the said amnesty scheme from January 10, 2020 to January 17, 2020," it said. (ANI) One of San Franciscos old-school neighborhood burger spots, the Burger Joint, has permanently closed after 25 years on Valencia Street in the Mission District. The Burger Joint outpost at San Francisco International Airports Terminal 2 will remain open. Calls to the Mission District restaurant for more information on the closure went unanswered Friday morning. While word of the permanent closure is new, Burger Joint originally shut its doors in late November for a mandated seismic retrofitting at 807 Valencia St., just a stones throw from the intersection at 19th Street. According to a post on the restaurants website at the time, construction was slated to last until March 10th, at which point the restaurant would re-open. On Friday morning, there was a new post on the website: Thank you for your support for the last 25 years of operations! It is time to move on. Burger Joint will no longer be open at the Valencia location. Burger Joint, with its 1950s-era aesthetics and straightforward menu featuring hamburgers, cheeseburgers and milkshakes, was well past its heyday in the Mission District. Yet it still managed to last 25 years in the face of a rapidly-shifting local San Francisco burger landscape. The most talked about burger brand in the city right now is Shake Shack, which is based in New York City. The restaurant chain plans to open two new restaurants in San Francisco this year and another in Oakland. Shake Shack already has outposts in both Palo Alto and Larkspur. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Creator, an automated burger restaurant in San Francisco, may have run into funding issues recently, but it remains a destination in SoMa. Even Gotts Roadside opened three locations in 2017 and currently has a restaurant in the works at Chase Center. Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JustMrPhillips Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 23:43:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) --Tanzanian police said on Friday they have arrested 34 suspects in connection with the killing of four villagers from the same family after they were suspected of involving in witchcraft. Liberatus Sabas, chief of police operations and training, said the suspects were arrested in a crackdown in Kigoma region between Jan. 4 and Jan. 9, 2020. "Police are still questioning the suspects before they are charged in court with murder," Sabas said in the Lake Tanganyika shore town of Kigoma. On Jan. 4, authorities said four villagers from the same family were killed and their houses demolished by fellow villagers in western Tanzania. The victims were suspected of involvement in witchcraft. Evans Buchonko, a councillor for Msambara ward in Kasulu district in Kigoma region, said the victims included a pregnant woman. Buchonko said a group of angry villagers raided houses of the victims on Friday afternoon and attacked them with machetes. "The villagers also destroyed the victims' belongings before they demolished their houses and farms," Buchonko said, appealing to the government to arrest the culprits and prosecute them. Simon Anange, Kasulu district commissioner, appealed for calmness, saying security organs have launched investigations into the killings. The Prince of Wales could cut off his funding for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their shock decision to quit as senior royals, according to reports. Harry and Meghan are said to have blindsided the Royal Family with their announcement that they plan to step away from roles as senior royals. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the couple said they plan to work to become financially independent as they carve out a progressive new role within the monarchy. Could Prince Charles cut his funding for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? (Picture: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) That includes no longer receiving an income from the Sovereign Grant, which funds the work of the Queen and other royals. But according to The Times, Harrys father Prince Charles could also decide to cut the money he gives to the couple from the Duchy of Cornwall, depending on how negotiations go on the couples future role. Prince Charles currently funds the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the Duchy of Cornwall (Picture: REUTERS/David Caird/Pool) Meghan has returned to Canada already, leaving Harry to deal with the fallout that has seen the Queen instruct royal aides to find a workable solution for the couples future within the monarchy. According to reports, Harry started negotiations with his father before Christmas but was urged to wait before making an announcement until details were worked out - something he and Meghan didnt do. READ MORE Nearly half of Brits support Harry and Meghan's decision to step back as senior royals Why Harry and Meghan can now expect media coverage to get even worse Discussions on the couples future are expected to involve the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William as well as other governments, and will cover areas including security, their titles and funding. The couples new Sussex Royal website dedicates a whole section to the subject of funding, saying: As they step back as senior members of the Royal Family and no longer receive funding through the Sovereign Grant, they will become members of the Royal Family with financial independence which is something they look forward to. The couple have dedicated a whole section of their new website to funding (Picture: PA) The website goes on to say the couple: value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing. Story continues It says their new planned role as members of the Royal Family with financial independence will allow them to carry out their duties for the Queen while having the future financial autonomy to work externally. While the contribution from The Sovereign Grant covers just five percent of costs for The Duke and Duchess and is specifically used for their official office expense, Their Royal Highnesses prefer to release this financial tie, it adds. But commentators have pointed out that while the couple may be relinquishing the Sovereign Grant, 95% of the couples income comes from the Prince of Wales via the Duchy of Cornwall estate, which the Telegraph reported totals around 2.3m a year. The newspaper quoted Royal finance expert David McClure as describing the Sovereign Grant money as chicken feed. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- JOS, Nigeria, January 10, 2020 (Morning Star News) Armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed 13 Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria on Wednesday (Jan. 8), the same day four students were kidnapped from a Catholic seminary in Kaduna state. About 20 herdsmen attacked the predominantly Christian village of Kulben, in Plateau states Mangu County, at about 8 p.m., area residents told Morning Star News. The 13 dead were all members of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), as were three people wounded in the assault, they said. They were shooting with guns in all directions, forcing the villagers to scamper into surrounding bushes, area resident Michael Mutding, 40, told Morning Star News in a text message. Corpses of those killed have been evacuated by soldiers and police to the mortuary of Mangu Cottage Hospital; and all the victims are members of COCIN. Bala Fwengje, a legislator representing the area in the Plateau State House of Assembly, said in a statement that the attacks came in spite of efforts by security agencies. This attack on my people by these herdsmen comes as a rude shock to us, as efforts have been made by security agencies to curtail such incessant attacks on our people, Fwengje said. It is a sad thing that these attacks are still being carried out by the herdsmen on our people without provocation. Audu Tetmut, a 60-year-old area leader of the Christian community, said there had never been any problem between his people and herdsmen living in the area. Our community had lived peacefully with the herdsmen without any issues of dispute with them, Tetmut told Morning Star News. So we are surprised that they attacked us. Plateau state Gov. Simon Bako Lalong on Thursday (Jan. 9) vowed to bring the guilty to justice. We have toiled to ensure that peace returns to Plateau state, and we will not allow anyone to make nonsense of our efforts, Lalong said. We are determined to deal decisively and firmly with anybody found culpable in attacking or inciting people to carry out attacks against one another. Plateau State Command spokesman Terna Tyopev confirmed the attack in a statement on Thursday. We received a distress call that gunmen suspected to be herdsmen attacked Kulben community of Kombun District of Mangu, he said. As a result, 13 persons lost their lives and three were severely injuredOur team of detectives and other officers are on the scene of the crime to prevent further attacks. Kidnapped Outside Kaduna city, capital of Kaduna state, four students were kidnapped from The Good Shepherd Catholic Major Seminary on Wednesday night (Jan. 8), an official said. Armed bandits abducted the seminarians after the assailants shot sporadically at students, professors and staff members between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to the Rev. Joel Usman, registrar of the institution. The seminary, which trains students for Roman Catholic priesthood, is located in Kakau village along the Kaduna-Abuja highway. The Good Shepherd Major Seminary was attacked by armed bandits yesterday, Jan. 8, between 10:30-11 p.m., Usman said. After a head count of students with security agents, four seminarians have been declared missing. Contacted by phone, Usman told Morning Star News, Yes, we were attacked last night as I said in the statement I issued earlier this morning. Kindly pray for the release of these students. ISWAP Executions A break-away faction from Boko Haram, the Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP), on Dec. 26 released a video in Nigeria of the terrorists executing 11 people whom they said were Christians. Saying the executions were in retaliation for the killing of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an October U.S. raid in northwestern Syria and his likely successor in a separate attack, a voice on the video says those executed are Christians as a message to the Christians in the world. The identities of those killed, however, were not known. Timed near Christmas for maximum media exposure, the video showed executions thought to be ordered by IS around the world since the killing of Baghdadi and his likely successor, IS spokesman Sheikh Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir. The ISWAP faction left the Islamic extremist Boko Haram in 2016. The 56-second video, released to Muslim Nigerian journalist Ahmad Salkida, shows the captives in orange tunics and kneeling as the terrorists stand behind them in black balaclavas. One captive is shot in the head, and the terrorists then slash the throats of the 10 others. This message is to the Christians in the world, a voice-over says in Arabic and Hausa. Those who you see in front of us are Christians, and we will shed their blood as revenge for the two dignified sheikhs, the caliph of the Muslims [Baghdadi], and the spokesman for the Islamic State, Sheikh Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir, may Allah accept them. President Buhari commented through a media aides statement. We should, under no circumstance, let the terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims, because these barbaric killers dont represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the world, Buhari said. United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent condolences through his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, to families of the executed Christians and the Nigeria government. The secretary general is deeply concerned about reports that civilians have been executed, and others abducted, by an armed group in northern Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, Dujarric said. He expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and reiterates the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and government of Nigeria. Last month Boko Haram released a video of 11 men held captive, and one of them says Christians are among them. Identifying himself as Bitrus Bwala, a principal lecturer at the College of Education in Gashua, Yobe state, he pleads for the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Nigerias government to urgently negotiate with the terrorists in order to save their lives. Bwala says in the video that the captives saw Action Against Hunger aid workers before they were executed, and that captured Christian high school student Leah Sharibu is still here. We therefore appeal in particular to President Muhammadu Buhari to do whatever is within his reach to rescue us, he says. We equally appeal to our various governors to come to our aid and rescue us. The leadership of Christian organizations, we appeal to you to liaise with the federal government and push for the rescue of all captives here. The Rev. Samson Ayokunle, CAN president, said Bwala and the 10 other men in the video released in December were all Christians who were kidnapped on Nov. 27. The government has not secured their freedoms or said anything about them, Ayokunle said in a statement. If criminals are invading the Christian communities, killing and abducting unchallenged, what do we call it if it is not persecution? How many terrorists, Fulani herdsmen killers and bandits are in the custody of the security agencies? How many of them have been arraigned in court? Nigeria ranked 12th on Open Doors 2019 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution. If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved. If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/? Article originally published by Morning Star News. Used with permission. Photo courtesy: Good Shepherd/Morning Star News The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has asked the United States to supply them with two new KC-46A tankers as soon as possible. While the KC-46A has had some manufacturing problems, once checked over carefully it is good to go as a modern aerial tanker and transport. Israel is getting somewhat desperate in this area. Although a small country with no imminent threat from a neighboring military, Israel has long maintained a large force of aerial tankers. Nine of those are Boeing 707 airliners purchased second-hand decades ago and converted to tankers similar to the American KC-135. There are also four KC-130H turboprop tankers similar to those used by the United States and are better suited to refueling helicopters. Most Israeli combat and transport helicopters are equipped for aerial refueling. In most instances, the refueling enables aircraft to stay in the air longer when that is needed to deal with an uncertain situation that requires prompt attention from aircraft already in the air. The big problem is the age and heavy maintenance requirements of Israeli B-707 tankers are such that a long-range airstrike against Iran is a lot riskier because tanker availability is less certain. Boeing, the manufacturer of the 707, KC-135s and the new KC46A is amenable to giving Israel two 46As right away but the U.S. Air Force has to cooperate and allow two of theirs to be diverted to Israel. This would be good for Boeing because Israel would put the KC-46As to work right away and thereby foster more Boeing export sales. The pitch to the U.S. Air Force is that the Israeli experience would be valuable in ongoing efforts to improve the quality of production and implementation of needed or suggested improvements. Back in 2017 Israel first approached the U.S. about buying up to eight KC-46As, for about a billion dollars. Growing problems with the elderly Israeli 707 tankers and production problems with the KC-46As, plus the Israeli resistance to buying expensive new support aircraft, further complicated things. That need for KC-46As became more urgent as the 707 situation got worse faster than expected while the KC-46A finally entered service in 2019 and long-distance strikes against Iran became more likely. Israel is trying to work through all this and solve its escalating aerial refueling crises. Earlier in 2019, the U.S. air force resumed, after a two-month delay, accepting new KC-46As. That two-month delay was because of FOD (Foreign Object Debris), including tools and other metal objects, still showing up in various parts of the aircraft. This indicated a serious lapse in the management of assembly and quality control while producing these aircraft. By March, after nearly a month of effort to check out aircraft nearly ready for delivery as well as factory inspection procedures, the air force agreed to begin accepting KC-46s once more. Deliveries continued despite a recently discovered cargo lock (unreliable cargo tie-down latches) problem. The Americans are now concerned about Boeing, the manufacturer, while also needing the KC-46As as soon as possible. This is the same firm that is having worse problems with its new 737 Max commercial airliner. In mid-2019 Boeing planned to deliver 36 KC-46As by the end of 2019 and later expected to meet that goal even though only 19 had been delivered by early September. At the end of the year, the goal of 36 was missed but Boeing did fix the cargo lock problem and this allowed cargo to again be carried. There is one problem left with the accuracy of the remote viewing system used by the 46A boom operator. That does not prevent the operation of the aircraft, it just slows down refueling in some cases. Boeing is in a hurry to deliver nearly 200 KC-46As to the air force and had been telling Israel that once an order is approved it can take two or three years to deliver the KC-46As. Israel apparently no longer has that much time, especially with the Iranian crises getting worse. On the plus side, the elderly U.S. KC-135 tanker fleet is in much better shape than Israeli B-707 tankers. The main problem Israel has is that the 707 based aircraft are very old. The oldest 707 was built in 1958 and the youngest ones are from the 1970s. Most commercial 707s retired decades ago. The last one in commercial service crashed in January 2019, killing fifteen people. Obtaining spare parts has become increasingly difficult. In 2018 the IAF paid Brazil $400,000 for a 707 retired ten years earlier, plus a stock of 707 spare parts. The Brazilian 707 was then taken apart for spares. All of the IAF tankers were grounded for more than a month in 2019 because inexperienced civilian maintainers caused an accident that had to be investigated to ensure that there was not a more fundamental problem with the aircraft. Production of civilian 707s ended in 1978 but the production of military versions, which mainly went to the U.S. Air Force, continued into the early 1990s. The United States used to be a primary source of spare parts but now those spares are needed to keep dozens of American military 707s operational. Israel had closely followed the American search for a new tanker to replace the elderly KC-135 because they realized that Israeli tankers were older than the American ones. The Boeing 707 became obsolete at the end of the 20th century, as most countries adopted new jet engine noise regulations that barred the use of 707s at major airports and many minor ones. You could upgrade the 707, with new engines, to comply, but it was cheaper to buy a new aircraft that was cheaper and safer to operate than the elderly 707. Only 1,010 707s were built from 1958 to 1979 and it was a sturdy and reliable carrier of freight, as well as passengers, and continued in use for decades before rising fuel prices and maintenance costs made it too expensive for commercial use. The Boeing 707 commercial transport is actually a civilian version of the original KC-135 of which 732 were built between 1956 and 1965. The KC-135 evolved from the World War II B-29 heavy bomber. The U.S. Air Force used to be a major player in the second-hand 707 market as the military was, until a decade ago, converting them to military uses (AWACS and J-STARS), but even that has shifted to more modern aircraft designs. By the early 2000s, you would buy an old 707 for less than a million bucks, then spend $25 million turning it into an aerial tanker or several times that to produce an AWACs. These days, the Boeing 737 is preferred for this sort of thing. That led to the new U.S. Air Force KC-46A tanker aircraft. There were a lot of problems converting 767s to the KC-46, but most were caused by sloppiness at Boeing manufacturing plants. Like the 707 tankers, the KC-46 can also carry cargo, a lot of it. The KC-46A can carry 29.5 tons of cargo in up to 18 pallets. The KC-46A can also carry up to 114 passengers or 58 patients (plus medical personnel). The total value of the project, to replace the aging fleet of KC-135 and KC-10 tankers, could be as high as $44 billion. The initial order was for 18 aircraft at about $150 million each. That initial order also came with about a billion dollars for development work plus $4 billion in additional development costs that the manufacturer absorbed. The air force might order over a hundred KC-46As, but the exact number depends on what kind of future aircraft the air force will be using. If there are a lot of unmanned aircraft (UAVs), fewer tankers will be needed because UAVs are smaller, and need less fuel. The competition between the American (Boeing) and European (AirBus) candidates was actually quite close. The KC-330 carries 20 percent more fuel than the KC-767, plus 37 percent more cargo pallets and passengers. But this apparently worked against the KC-330, as the KC-767 is closer in size to the KC-135, and thus will not require as many new maintenance facilities. The KC-767 is also considered easier and cheaper to maintain. The KC-330/45A was to have cost about $175 million each, 17 percent more than the KC-46A. The KC-46A is based on the Boeing 767-200 airliner, which sells for about $120 million. The 767 has been in service since 1982, and over 1,100 have been manufactured so far. Boeing developed the KC-46A on its own, at a cost of nearly a billion dollars. Boeing also developed the original KC-135 tanker in the 1950s and has since built over 2,000 of these. The two engine KC-330 (KC-45A) was based on the AirBus 330, which costs about $160 million each. Over 1,400 330s have been produced since the aircraft entered service in 1994. Both candidates were selected for their ability to replace the four-engine KC-135. This older aircraft carries 90 tons of fuel and can transfer up to 68 tons. Typically, aerial tankers have to service B-52s (which carry over 140 tons of jet fuel) and fighters like the F-15 (over five tons). The KC-135 has long made itself useful carrying cargo and passengers, as well as fuel, and both the KC-767 and KC-30 have more capacity for this. The KC-46A can pump 1,200 gallons (4,900 liters) a minute total while each of the underwing pods can deliver a third of that per minute. With the continued KC-46A delays most export sales went to the KC-330s, now called the A330 MRTT or KC-30A. So far, 50 of these have been ordered by or delivered to Australia, France, NATO, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Korea and Britain. The KC-46A has two export customers so far; Israel (8 KC-46As) and Japan (2). Several other nations are considering the KC-46A, but all these problems dont help with turning consideration into orders. The Royal family was given a huge shakeup on Wednesday when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would be stepping back from their royal duties and taking their family to North America! The long announcement was made via the couple's shared Instagram account and brought an end to months of speculation about what was going on inside the royal family. "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution," the message began. Related: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Hit the Ice in Sweden Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continued, and explained how they will be giving up their official duties: "We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment." The announcement that the two would like to become "financially independent" is especially interesting, as may have criticized the modern royal family for their insane amount of wealth. Along with stepping back, the royals will also be moving forward ... out of England. However, it's unclear whether they are plotting a move to the U.S. or Canada. "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made sure to give a shoutout to all the members of the royal family, but it's currently unclear if they actually have the support of anyone. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius fully supports calls for an open and thorough international investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran. "Full support for calls for an open and thorough international investigation into the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752. Those responsible for this catastrophe must be held accountable, he wrote on Twitter on January 10. Earlier, the Lithuanian foreign minister expressed his sincere condolences to the families of those killed in the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines plane in Tehran. As reported, a Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on Wednesday, January 8. There were 176 people on board the aircraft - 167 passengers (including two Ukrainians) and nine crew (all Ukrainians). Most of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran are citizens of Iran (82) and Canada (63). Those killed in the crash also include ten Swedes, four citizens of Afghanistan, three Germans, and three Britons. ish Two regional law firms are merging to create a Big Law power. Steve Lewis (left) of Atlanta's Troutman Sanders becomes CEO of the new Troutman Pepper. Tom Gallagher, chairman of Pepper Hamilton, will be the combined firm's vice chairman. The merger becomes effective April 1. Read more After months of talks, Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton LLP said Thursday that it would combine forces with Atlantas Troutman Sanders LLP to become one of the biggest law firms in the country. When the merger is effective on April 1, the newly minted Troutman Pepper will field 1,100 lawyers in 23 offices across the country. Why now? said Peppers current chairman, Thomas M. Gallagher. Because now we have the right partner. Because now we are positioned well to do what both firms really treasure, which is providing excellent client service. Pepper Hamilton has long specialized in pharma clients and medical device manufacturers. Along with the health sciences industry, Pepper also represents technology and middle-market corporate entities, Gallagher said. Troutman Sanders is a powerhouse in the energy sector and financial services. Theyre well-known and well-positioned in the Southeast as we are in the Northeast, Gallagher said. Key practices in both firms include corporate law, litigation, intellectual property, tax, and bankruptcy. Only three geographic areas overlap: Washington, New York City, and Orange County, Calif. Troutman Pepper will have offices in eight of the 10 largest U.S. markets. Gallagher said he did not foresee any reductions in the number of lawyers. Every existing office will come together and serve clients, Gallagher said. There is so much work to do that the plan is to integrate it all. Over the next year, well be evaluating the best way to bring the teams together. In 2016, Pepper Hamilton had been in talks to merge with Reed Smith LLP, a global law behemoth based in Pittsburgh. Last year was a record-breaker for U.S. law firm mergers, according to analysts at Altman Weil Inc., the legal industry consultants based in Newtown Square. At least 115 mergers were recorded, up from 106 in 2018. The splashiest marriage announcement occurred in December, as Phillys Drinker Biddle & Reath rocketed into Big Laws Top 50 in a merger of equals with Midwestern powerhouse Faegre Baker Daniels. The combination, now named Faegre Drinker, will go into effect Feb. 1 and will field a legal team of 1,300 lawyers. The big national mergers represent a push to scale, said Lisa Smith, a principal at Fairfax Associates, the international legal management consultants based in Washington. There are benefits that come with size, especially for firms that want to have a national platform, Smith said. There are costs of doing business that are easier to absorb for bigger firms, especially within the realms of data security, privacy issues, and technology. Those alone dont drive mergers, but they are things that mid-sized firms struggle with. As in the Faegre Drinker merger, the Troutman Pepper combination will not favor any one city. Nobody really talks about a headquarters anymore, Gallagher said. But of course, the two biggest offices will be in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Gallagher will be vice chairman of Troutman Pepper. Steve Lewis, currently the managing partner of Troutman Sanders, will be chair and CEO of the combined firm. Asked why Troutman is getting first billing in the new moniker, Gallagher said the decision was made with a simple guiding principle. Nobody was talking about which names should be considered first, second, or third, Gallagher said. The only thing that mattered was putting our clients first. With all eyes on Iraq, it would be a mistake to lose sight of the consequences of how the US killing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3 is playing out in Israel and Gaza. While Israeli leaders viewed the killing of Soleimani as necessary to enhance deterrence with Iran, the prospect of a US pullout from Iraq presents Jerusalem with a nightmare scenario, as would a collapse of precarious truce between Israel and Hamas an unwelcome development for both parties. For Israel, killing of Soleimani brings return of deterrence Graveyards are full, as the saying goes, of irreplaceable men and women. For Israels national security establishment, however, Soleimani was indeed indispensable to Irans regional agenda. In closed-door meetings over the past year, Ben Caspit reports, senior Israeli defense officials often explained that the war Israel was waging was not against Iran, but against Soleimani. Israel views the killing of [Soleimani] as restoring US deterrence in the Middle East in one fell swoop deterrence that had eroded over the past two years to the point that it was almost nonexistent, Caspit adds. Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the commander of the Israel Defense Forces, even took the liberty of voicing veiled criticism in a Dec. 25 speech, saying Israel was acting alone against Irans Revolutionary Guard. Tonight, they suddenly made a comeback, a senior Israeli source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor. The Americans are signaling that they are still around and no one should mess with them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advised his cabinet to refrain from public comments in the days after the killing to prevent further escalation and any unwelcome blowback on Israel, Caspit reports. Netanyahu himself said, in a Cabinet meeting, The killing of Soleimani is a US event, not an Israeli event, and he emphasized that Israel needs to do everything to distance itself from it. With the third round of elections scheduled for March 2, Bibi can take credit for what many in Israel may consider a positive turn in US policy toward Iran, but others may worry is a dangerous spiral. Akiva Eldar writes that the chances of Netanyahu, the Israeli guide who led Trump out of the agreement, being forced to vacate his official residence which for now has become a public shelter against prosecution on charges of corruption are also close to 50%. That being said, it is unclear what exactly is guiding his main rival. Gantz congratulatory message (after the killing of Soleimani) praised the American president for a courageous leadership decision. But was this the brainchild of an election campaign or a true strategic position about the best way to cope with the Iranian nuclear threat? and fears of nightmare scenario in US withdrawal from Iraq The afterglow in Israel security quarters regarding the benefits of Soleimani's killing has been accompanied by fears of a nightmare scenario: a US withdrawal from Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdis request on Jan. 10 for the United States to send a delegation to Baghdad to discuss withdrawal of US forces has provoked further anxiety on this score. Netanyahu and his team have been uneasy about US President Donald Trumps staying power in Syria and Iraq despite his strong record of support for Israel and "maximum pressure" on Iran, as well as his close personal ties to Netanyahu. Israel must prepare for the worst-case scenario, writes Caspit, because the odds are increasing that such a scenario may arise. According to this scenario, Trump would choose to abandon the Middle East and leave Israel alone on the battleground toward the 2020 elections. This would constitute the worst and most dramatic possible timing imaginable, when Iran would gradually abandon the nuclear agreement and inch its way toward the bomb." Israel will inflict heavy pressure on Trump in the coming weeks and try to convince him not to abandon the Middle East in general, and Iraq and Syria in particular, before the US presidential election, Caspit continues. Netanyahu will use all the tools at his disposal in this context. Ambassador Ron Dermer will work overtime, and we can assume that Israels open communication lines to the evangelical Christian leaders in the United States will also be put to good use. Hamas avoids Irans debt Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhaleh led their respective delegations to Soleimani's funeral. For Hamas, the concerns are whether Iran will ask it to be part of further retaliation for the Soleimani killing and keeping the fragile peace with Israel, Egypt and the other Palestinian factions. In July, Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas' diplomatic wing, led a delegation to Tehran to mend fences with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that had frayed when Hamas broke with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in the early days of the Syrian uprising in 2011. Khamenei treated Al-Arouri and his delegation as sons and heroes, sending them home with a party favor of missiles. In return, Al-Arouri promised Khamenei that Hamas will be Irans first line of defense in the shadow of the recent aggression of the West and that any enemy of Iran is an enemy of Palestine and of the opposition axis. Hamas owes a debt to Iran, writes Shlomi Eldar. If a violent confrontation erupts between Iran and the United States and Hamas sits on the fence instead of fulfilling Arouris promise to function as Irans first line of defense, the movement can forget about Iranian military aid. On the other hand, if Hamas keeps its promise to Khamenei, it would create a front against Egypt and end any chances for an arrangement with Israel. And should Hamas stop reining in Islamic Jihad, the group may pull Hamas into a dangerous military adventure leading to war with Israel. How long can Hamas keep it calm? Adnan Abu Amer writes, Many Palestinians feel that the United States has crossed a red line with Soleimanis assassination, given his prominent stature in the Iranian state. It could encourage Israel to carry out similar assassinations against Palestinian leaders and escalate an Israeli-Palestinian face-off. Some Palestinian leaders may have decided to increase their security measures since Israel assassinated Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu al-Atta Nov. 12 in Gaza. Ahmad Abu Amer adds that Hamas, Israel and Egypt are heavily invested in the prevailing calm. Israel has allowed the export of products made in Gaza, bound for the Gulf, European and Israeli markets via the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, he writes. "Moreover, according to Dec. 29 reports by Palestinian and Israeli media outlets, Israel allowed some dual-use materials into Gaza. The moves followed a Dec. 26 announcement by Palestinian factions of a three-month suspension of weekly demonstrations on the border with Israel as part of the Great March of Return, launched in March 2018. After the suspension ends in March, protests will only be held once a month and on national occasions. The current calm is precarious and fragile, but is for now in the interests of all parties. Hamas has welcomed the reprieve given the challenges of governing the Strips 1.75 million people. Islamic Jihad, which never cut ties with Iran and prefers a harder line, could also be Irans vehicle for another round of escalation by pressing Hamas. The challenge for Netanyahu and Hamas is that much depends on the decisions of others such as Trump, Khamenei, Adbul Mahdi and Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah all of which are outside of their control. Democratic state attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court to intervene this term in a case that could invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act. In December, a federal appeals court panel ruled that the "individual mandate" provision of the health law is unconstitutional now that Congress has reduced the penalty for not having insurance to zero. But it sent the case back to the lower-court judge to determine how much else of the law can remain in light of that finding. Democrats want the high court to rule on the case now, which would be unusual but not unprecedented. Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill are asking the Supreme Court to use a Louisiana abortion case already on this year's docket to overturn the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade. The Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals is similar to a Texas law struck down by the court in 2016. But the court has added anti-abortion justices since then. This week's panelists are Julie Rovner from Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post Among the takeaways from this week's podcast: The Democratic push to get the Supreme Court to quickly review the latest ACA challenge could have political benefits for the party in the campaign season. Democrats are eager to be seen as protecting new health care benefits. And if President Donald Trump is elected next fall, the high court could well become more conservative as several liberal-leaning justices may leave the court in the next few years. Some advocates for a "Medicare for All" health care system are convinced that if the Supreme Court were to strike down the ACA, the resulting vacuum would make a government-run program more attractive to Americans. Amid increasing efforts by states to restrict abortions and a more conservative majority on the Supreme Court, abortion may become a more potent voting issue for Democrats. It has long motivated Republican voters, but Democrats have been less driven by that single issue. The much-publicized administration rules to cut back on flavored vaping products include a lesser-known provision allowing companies to go through a Food and Drug Administration process to prove their products have a net health benefit: helping adults quit smoking. States continue to seek Trump administration approval for work requirements for their Medicaid programs, but if Democrats win the presidency in 2020, those approvals are likely to be reversed. Meanwhile, most of the state plans are tied up in court. Also this week, Rovner interviews NPR's Richard Harris, who reported the latest KHN-NPR "Bill of the Month" installment about a very expensive laboratory bill for a New York woman who had a cold. If you have an outrageous medical bill you would like to share with us, you can do that here. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too: Julie Rovner: Stat News' "Washington Took a Decade to Approve an Obscure Drug-Pricing Bill. That's a Bad Omen for More Ambitious Reforms," by Nicholas Florko Joanne Kenen: The New Yorker's "A World Without Pain," by Ariel Levy Stephanie Armour: The New York Times' "In the U.S., an Angioplasty Costs $32,000. Elsewhere? Maybe $6,400," by Margot Sanger-Katz Paige Winfield Cunningham: KHN's "Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints," by Dan Gorenstein and Leslie Walker. You can hear the episode of Dan's podcast, "Tradeoffs," about this study here. To hear all our podcasts, click here. And subscribe to What the Health? on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or Pocket Casts. Pelosi Still Holding Impeachment Articles, Wants Clarity on Trial Rules By Ken Bredemeier January 09, 2020 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she probably would soon send two articles of impeachment targeting President Donald Trump to the Senate so his trial can start, but she again demanded that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell first tell her the rules for the trial. "At some point we would hope to see what the terms of engagement will be," Pelosi, leader of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, told reporters. "As I've said right from the start, we need to see the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?" The House last month approved the impeachment articles, accusing Trump of abusing the office of the presidency by pressing Ukraine to launch an investigation of one of his chief 2020 Democratic challengers, former Vice President Joe Biden, and obstructing congressional efforts to investigate the president's Ukraine-related actions. Testimony sought But the start of Trump's Senate trial has been delayed as Pelosi has held on to the articles of impeachment in an effort to get McConnell to agree to hear testimony from key Trump aides who were directly involved with the president as he temporarily withheld $391 million in military aid to Ukraine while urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to open the Biden investigation. McConnell said this week that he had enough votes in the Republican-majority Senate to proceed with the trial, assuming Pelosi were to hand over the articles of impeachment, without agreeing at the outset to subpoena witnesses and key documents related to Trump's dealings with Ukraine. McConnell said the 100-member Senate, after hearing House members make their case against Trump and hearing the president's defense, could then decide whether to call witnesses. McConnell, coordinating trial strategy with Trump and his lawyers, has balked at hearing witnesses at Trump's trial and hopes the Senate will acquit the president after hearing the case against him and Trump's defense. Pelosi said, "They don't want documents, documentation. They don't want witnesses." But Pelosi, facing pressure from Republican lawmakers and some Democrats to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, said she would not hold on to them indefinitely. 'When I'm ready' "I'll send them over when I'm ready," she said. "That will probably be soon. We want to see what they're willing to do and the manner in which they will do it." Trump has ridiculed the Democrats' impeachment effort, only the fourth time a U.S. president has been targeted with a serious impeachment effort in the country's 243-year history. Two other U.S. presidents, Andrew Johnson in the 19th century and Bill Clinton two decades ago, were also impeached by the House but acquitted in Senate trials, while a third U.S. leader, Richard Nixon in the 1970s, resigned while facing a certain impeachment in a political corruption scandal. On Twitter Thursday, Trump said: A two-thirds vote in the 100-member Senate would be needed to convict Trump to remove him from office, making Trump's acquittal a near certainty. At least 20 Republicans would need to turn against Trump for a conviction, if all 47 Democrats voted against the president. A handful of Republicans have criticized Trump's Ukraine actions, but none has called for his conviction and removal from office. Trump released the military aid to Ukraine in September without Zelenskiy's opening the investigation of Biden, his son Hunter Biden's work for a Ukrainian natural gas company and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to undermine Trump's campaign. Republicans say the release of the aid proves Trump did not engage in a quid pro quo deal with Ukraine the military aid for the investigations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address An Indian has pleaded guilty for his involvement in a multi-million dollar India-based scam that targeted Americans, according to the Department of Justice. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel played a "prominent" role in operating and funding the call centres whose callers and US-based conspirators defrauded American victims between 2013 and 2016, it said on Thursday Patel (43), also known as Hitesh Hinglaj, of Ahmedabad, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and general conspiracy to commit identification fraud, access device fraud, money laundering, and impersonation of a federal officer or employee, the department said. He was prosecuted in the US after being extradited from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges in the telefraud and money laundering case. Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the US, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant in September 2018, after he flew there from India. "Hitesh Patel played a prominent role in this massive, India-based fraud scheme that bilked vulnerable Americans out of millions of dollars," Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said "This important resolution would not have occurred without the assistance of our Singaporean colleagues, to whom we extend our deep appreciation," he said. In his guilty plea, Patel and his co-conspirators perpetrated a complex scheme in which employees from call centres in Ahmedabad, impersonated officials from the IRS and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and engaged in other telephone call scams designed to defraud victims throughout the US. The Justice Department said US victims were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay alleged monies owed to the government. Those who fell victim to the scammers were instructed how to provide payment, including by purchasing general purpose reloadable (GPR) cards or wiring money, it said. Upon payment, the call centres would immediately turn to a network of runners based in the US to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds, the department added. In his plea, Patel admitted to operating and funding several India-based call centres from which the fraud schemes were perpetrated, including the HGLOBAL, it said. Patel corresponded by email and WhatsApp messaging frequently with his co-defendants to exchange. He also received monthly income and expense reports to his personal email from the call centres, and used his Indian cell phone number to access GPR cards through automated telephone systems on many occasions. A co-defendant described Patel as the top person in India and the boss for whom most of the other defendants worked, and the owner of multiple call centres. Hewas arrested in India in 2016, but then later released, another co-defendant said. Patel admitted that a reasonably foreseeable loss of more than $25 million but less than $65 million was attributable to him, based on the government's evidence against him. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has warned that Iran could have nuclear weapons in one or two years if Tehran continues to violate a landmark nuclear accord with world powers. The country's top diplomat made the statement ahead of a January 10 emergency meeting of European Union foreign ministers, which comes amid mounting tensions between Iran and the United States following the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in an air strike in Baghdad last week and a subsequent Iranian missile attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran pledged to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for international sanctions relief. The agreement between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China as well as the European Union was signed in October 2015 in Vienna. However, Tehran has taken what it has described as "steps toward" abrogating the JCPOA since President Donald Trump announced in 2018 that the United States was withdrawing from it and reimposing tough sanctions on Iran. "If they continue with unraveling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option," Le Drian said on German radio station RTL on January 10. Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, and the JCPOA allows the country to run reactors to generate power. Trump said the agreement was insufficient and should be renegotiated because it didn't address Iran's ballistic missile program or its involvement in regional conflicts. Meanwhile, the reimposition of sanctions has taken a toll on Iran's economy, and sent its currency into a downward spiral. The EU has said it will "spare no effort" to keep the nuclear deal alive, despite the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran. Before the 2015 agreement, some experts estimated that Iran was within five to six months of being able to produce a nuclear bomb, while others said that could happen within two to three months. With the JCPOA safeguards in place, the break-out time was estimated to be more than a year. But after the U.S. withdrawal from the deal, Iran has breached its main limitations, exceeding the stockpiles of heavy water and uranium allowed, the number and types of centrifuges it can operate to enrich uranium, and the purity of uranium. The agreement caps uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent, a level that can fuel a commercial nuclear power plant. Weapons-grade uranium enrichment must reach 90 percent. However, scientists say that, once the capacity to enrich uranium has reached around 20 percent, the time needed to reach 90 percent is halved. Prior to the agreement, Iran enriched uranium to 20 percent. After the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, Iran last year boosted its enrichment purity to 4.5 percent. Following Soleimani's assassination by the United States, Tehran announced what it said was its fifth and final step in violating the JCPOA and said it no longer will abide by any limitation to its enrichment activities. With reporting by AP and AFP WASHINGTON Cory Booker will fail to qualify for the Democratic presidential debate for the second straight month, once again unable to get enough support in opinion polls to earn a spot on the stage. Booker has not met the threshold in any qualifying poll for the Jan. 14 debate in advance of Friday nights deadline. He needed 5 percent in four polls or 7 percent in two early-state surveys. Low poll numbers also disqualified the New Jersey senator from Decembers debate. In both cases, Booker met the threshold for campaign contributions. Six candidates will debate on Tuesday in Des Moines: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer. All are white, with Andrew Yang and Deval Patrick joining Booker on the sidelines. The final Latino candidate, Julian Castro, ended his campaign at the beginning of the year. It is the smallest debate field to date. Yang qualified for the seven-candidate December debate. As he did last month, Booker will spend the debate at campaign events in Iowa, where the first caucuses are scheduled for Feb. 3. Our campaign has built the best organizing team in the 2020 presidential field in the early states, starting in Iowa," campaign spokesman Tom Pietrykoski said. "We continue to see growing momentum on the ground as Cory draws large crowds and earns new endorsements from influential leaders. With less than a month to go, the presidential race is still wide open. Cory is poised to rise as voters are paying closer attention and making their decisions on who to support. The campaign also asked its supporters to make phone calls to potential Iowa caucus goers. With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announcing Friday that the House would vote next week on sending the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate, the debate will not conflict with a trial. That will allow Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar to appear on stage and Booker to continue campaigning. Bookers campaign on Friday took aim at Steyer, the last candidate to qualify, while noting that both Castro and Kamala Harris withdrew from the race. The DNCs debate thresholds have systematically paved the way for a billionaire to buy his way onto the stage while pushing out candidates of color from participating, the campaign said in a fundraising email. We pride ourselves on being the party of inclusion, yet time and time again our candidates of color are cutting their campaigns short because they dont have the financial resources to continue on. After Booker failed to qualify for the December debate, campaign manager Addisu Demissie outlined a strategy of emphasizing Iowa, hoping that a six-figure ad campaign would gin up the candidates poll numbers. But the latest Real Clear Politics average of Iowa surveys put Booker in sixth place with 3 percent. 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. Technology changed everything, of course. Magazines disappeared; editorial contracts shrunk; streaming meant that writing for film or television was no longer likely to make you rich. Writing books was just going to make you poor. Fashion, once the purview of art, became the property of Instagram. All of these profound reversals crashed up against the hard metrics of the citys soaring housing market. In her new book, Why We Cant Sleep: Womens New Midlife Crisis, the writer Ada Calhoun delves into the professional and financial anxieties of women in their 40s and 50s, beginning with an account of her own challenges. Faced with the high cost of her familys third-tier health care plan, the untenable nature of freelance life and mounting credit-card debt, she goes out looking for a job-job, only to find a teaching position for a six-week class that pays $600. These dispiriting stories are everywhere. Twenty years ago, fashion photography was narrative and the shoots that played out in magazines thick with pages were complex and beautifully cinematic. In this world, Olga Liriano was a star, first as a casting director and then producer. Last month, she turned up as the focus of a piece in The New York Post about the declining fortunes of the citys media class. In the intervening years, she held a series of high-paying jobs but lost the last of them, as a marketing executive at Nordstrom, in a restructuring in 2015. Now in her 50s, she was living with her parents and working as a sales assistant at a J. Crew in a mall in New Jersey for minimum wage. She felt lucky. After Prozac Nation sold many thousands of copies and was adapted into a movie, and after she followed up with two more memoirs, Elizabeth Wurtzel went to law school in her 30s. Along with so many others on the same path, she amassed debt doing it. She worked for a time for David Boies, the prodigiously talented and controversial litigator. But anyone familiar with her writing would know that she was not cut out for the rigid calculation of billable hours. So with her degree she wrote for newspapers and digital platforms. Iran has invited Boeing to take part in the investigation into a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, state media reported on Friday. The move came after Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile just hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general. The ballistic missile attack on the bases caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully. But Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. Iran has invited Boeing to take part in the investigation into a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week at a time of soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, state media reported Friday (the aftermath of the wreckage is pictured) The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying Iran has 'invited Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations.' The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries' whose citizens died in the crash. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the US accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said late Thursday that it would 'evaluate its level of participation,' but its role could be limited by US sanctions on Iran. The move came after Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile near Tehran hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general (Mourners place candles and photographs outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta) US officials have also expressed concern about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. Under rules set by a United Nations aviation organization, the NTSB is entitled to participate because the crash involved a Boeing 737-800 jet that was designed and built in the US. There was no immediate comment from Boeing. US, Canadian and British officials said Thursday it is 'highly likely' that Iran shot down the Boeing 737 that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday. US officials said the jetliner might have been mistakenly identified as a threat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said 'we have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence.' Wax from melted candles next to flowers are placed at the Canadian Embassy during a national day of mourning in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, for the victims of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran 'The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,' he said. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. 'All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act,' he said. Mousavi said Iran asks Canada's prime minister and any other government to 'provide any information they have to the investigation committee.' Iranian officials have ruled out a missile strike, and initially said the plane appeared to have crashed because of technical difficulties. Candles sit in front of pictures of victims at a candle light vigil to remember those killed in the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down. The Iranian report suggested that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737, operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran early Wednesday. Before the US assessment, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that 'the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out.' Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau, who is part of a delegation of envoys undertaking a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, said on Friday that he witnessed a "normalcy in the daily lives of the people" during his trip to the region. "I want to say that it was a very worthwhile trip. Seeing is believing. That has us to have a fuller picture of the situation here," Sanh Chau told ANI. "My observation is that we see normalcy in the daily life of the people, which is a very positive sign," the envoy said, adding that his interactions with different groups in the region had him felt that they are "very happy with the current situation." Pham was part of a delegation of 15 foreign envoys from different countries visiting Jammu and Kashmir to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation after the revocation of the state's special status in August last year. The envoy added that he was not a "fact-finding delegation, nor the judges of the international court. We don't have that mandate, so we just came and observed and have an assessment of our own. I see signs of happiness on the faces of people when I talk to them." The delegation, which includes envoys from the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Guyana, arrived in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. During the visit, they met political leaders, civil society members and senior Army officials in Srinagar and were briefed about the security situation in the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Theaters are closed until further notice But if you would like a snapshot to help you remember how things used to be Film Capsules See our Calendar page for special film events and screenings Film Times The public is still reeling from the sudden news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have decided to step down from their duties as senior royals. But for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepping back has been in the works for a while. They even prepared for it. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Samir Hussein/WireImage Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back After a particularly rough year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would be leaving their positions as senior royals. After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution, they wrote in a statement on their Instagram. We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. The Sussexes went on to say they plan to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America. They also intend to launch a new charitable entity. Why dont Harry and Meghan want to be senior royals? The biggest change with the Sussexes position is they no longer intend to receive funding from the Sovereign Grant. So why did they decide to step away from the money? [The Duke and Duchess of Sussex] value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing, reads a statement on the Sussexes website. For this reason they have made the choice to become members of the Royal Family with financial independence. Their Royal Highnesses feel this new approach will enable them to continue to carry out their duties for Her Majesty The Queen, while having the future financial autonomy to work externally. What did Meghan Markle and Prince Harry do before stepping back? Sussex Royal, Harry and Meghans Instagram account, launched in April 2019 and got millions of followers overnight. They use the account to promote charities and reach their fans, so it makes sense that the couple would want to hold on to the name even after resigning from being senior royals. The couple submitted the paperwork to trademark the Sussex Royal name back in June, and the U.K. Intellectual Property Office published it online in December. It is awaiting approval. A Philadelphia Museum of Art executive entered into relationships with female subordinate museum staffers while dangling possibilities for professional advancement, according to an account of his tenure published Friday in the New York Times. Joshua R. Helmer, who worked as assistant director of interpretation starting in 2014, pursued several women during his time there, the report said. Helmer, 31, and the museum separated in February 2018, and he is now executive director of the Erie Art Museum. That institutions board of directors is reviewing the Times story and will respond in a timely manner, according to a Friday statement. Helmer declined to discuss his relationships with the Times, saying only that he followed museum policy. Of his separation from the Philadelphia museum, he said, It was just my time. I was looking for new opportunities. He has been barred from the museum premises, according to an internal email sent in November 2019. "Beginning this evening, Josh Helmer will not be allowed in our buildings, wrote education department senior curator Marla Shoemaker. Beyond acknowledging that it employed Helmer from 2013 to 2018, the Art Museum declined to comment on any aspect of his time there or the circumstances of his departure. The Times said that museum managers had been made aware of concerns about Helmer, but that it was unclear what happened to the complaints. Several current and former Art Museum staffers told The Inquirer that Helmer was viewed as a golden boy," and a favorite of museum director and CEO Timothy Rub. On Friday, a cone of silence seemed to descend over the museum, with several staff members saying they had been directed not to talk with reporters and others declining to do so in this instance, as one put it. Many Art Museum employees on Friday could be seen wearing red buttons that read We Believe Women in a show of support for our colleagues and those affected by the harassment, said one museum staffer. Museum employees working with the public were first told by the administration to remove the buttons, but that directive that was reversed Friday afternoon, staffers said. Rub, in a statement, said it was vitally important to me as director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to create and sustain an environment in which all of our employees feel valued and respected, and where they are comfortable sharing any concerns they may have about the workplace. This is not simply an obligation, but also a strongly held belief. For this reason, it is deeply upsetting that any staff members would feel that their voices are not heard. We will continue to work tirelessly to address any such issues. Our topmost priority is to ensure that the museum is a place we can all be proud of, free from harassment or inappropriate behavior of any kind," he continued. "If we learn of any complaints of this type or are notified of violations of the museums policies, we will move to address them and to take appropriate action regardless of when the behavior is reported to have occurred. A museum spokesperson declined to confirm or deny if a legally binding nondisclosure agreement constrained the Art Museums comment on the matter. Art Museum board chair Leslie Anne Miller also declined to comment about Helmer on Friday. Museum policy encourages employees to report instances of perceived discrimination or harassment to supervisors or, if that is not feasible, to the human relations department. In place since February 2010, the policy explicitly cites demands for sexual favors in exchange for favorable or preferential treatment as prohibited behavior. Rub, in an email to staff Friday afternoon, said the museum had initiated plans to work with outside experts who will gather input from staff and conduct a review of our workplace environment, our policies and programs, including training activities, so we understand how we can be better in the future. The women named in the Times story, contacted by The Inquirer in recent weeks none of them still work for the Art Museum either declined to comment or did not respond to messages. Four of the women the Times spoke with acknowledged that they entered consensual relationships with Helmer, the article said. Helmer joined the staff of the museum in September 2013 as a Kress Interpretive Fellow in the European painting department. The following year, he was named assistant director for interpretation, a new position in the education department that gave him wide latitude in crafting the museums public face from editing labels in galleries across all curatorial departments to creating digital presentations to entice the public. The goal of interpretation is finding where knowledge and curiosity meet, Helmer said in an announcement of his hiring published in the Art Museums 2014 annual report. Although his post as assistant director was mid-level, Helmer was given considerable leeway in his work, current and former Art Museum staffers told The Inquirer. While at the PMA, Josh was tasked with leading the museum in a complete rethinking of how it engaged its nearly 800,000 visitors a year, said the Erie Art Museums former board president, Stephen Porter, in a May 2018 social media post announcing Helmers appointment as the museums executive director. Porter didnt respond to calls seeking comment, nor did any current members of the Erie Art Museum board. Its governing body is currently made up of eight members, according to the museum website, and is led by Andona Zacks-Jordan, a lawyer. The board is smaller than it used to be and has undergone significant turnover in the two years since Helmers hire, according to John Vanco, who was director of the museum for nearly five decades and retired in 2017. Federal tax records show the board was twice its current size in 2016. Both Vanco and his wife, Kelly Armor who worked at the Erie museum as director of education until she left in late 2018 said they told Porter of what they saw as troubling information about Helmer in the fall of 2018. Armor said she told Porter specifically of concerns regarding Helmers treatment of Asla Alkhafaji, an employee on work-study named in the Times story, whom Armor worked closely with. Alkhafaji told the Times that Helmer suggested by text messages that she come to his house for coffee and she declined, saying she would only meet in public. Helmer then began ignoring her at work and later said, Youre the most useless intern we have," the woman told the Times. Armor said she told Porter of her concerns after Alkhafaji showed her the text messages, and that Porter later relayed that the issue had been handled. Vanco, who said he had never met Helmer despite efforts to reach out to him, said he was ashamed of how the board of directors has dealt with complaints about Helmer, saying the board seems clueless. He said he was worried about the reputation of the Erie Art Museum. I cant say how disturbed I am by all of this, he said. I literally put my life into the institution. Helmers former colleagues at the Philadelphia museum described him as diligent in reviewing the galleries, always with an eye toward making the art more accessible to the public. In the case of labels, that meant keeping them short and snappy, under 100 words. He ran into some pushback from curators, particularly when it came to a few of the museums signature works. He wanted to cut the lengthy label on Thomas Eakins The Gross Clinic but relented when curators balked, arguing for the significance of the painting as a great artwork and a pivotal part of 19th century science, medicine, and Philadelphia history. Helmer relented. In October, he was singled out in an ARTnews story titled "Museum Directors Under 40: A Brief History of 20 Young Leaders Who Helped Shape Their Institutions. The trade journal gave him the honor also achieved by legendary U.S. art museum leaders such as Thomas Hoving, Metropolitan Museum of Art director in the 1960s and 70s, and the Philadelphia Museum of Arts own Anne dHarnoncourt. ARTnews is a very, very big deal in the national and international art world, Helmer told the Erie Times-News. This one is kind of cool. The House passed a War Powers Resolution to restrain President Trumps military actions in Iran. Congressman Anthony Brindisi was one of eight democrats that voted in opposition of the War Powers Resolution. Brindisi sent this statement: Qasem Soleimani was a terrorist with the blood of American soldiers and allies on his hands. There is no question he was brought to justice. I voted against todays resolution because I believe it is dangerous to limit our ability to respond to new and evolving threats from Iran and its proxies. The American people do not want war with Iran, but we have to be able to protect the safety of the American people and our servicemembers in harms way. Congress must demand answers, conduct rigorous oversight, and work with the Administration on a comprehensive, pragmatic strategy for the Middle East that promotes peace and regional stability. Above all, the safety of our nation and its servicemembers must be our top priority. Brindisi says this is a non-binding resolution. "If the Senate takes up the version of the resolution, and passes it, I question whether or not it would have any effect because its non-binding, the President does not have to follow it," Brindisi said. Congressman Antonio Delgado voted in favor of the resolution. Delgado sent this statement: Today I voted for the War Powers Resolution to end United States Armed Forces engagement in hostilities with Iran. Congress is a co-equal branch of government, and the Constitution dictates that we have the sole power to declare war. The American people and Congress must have a clear understanding from the Administration of its plans to de-escalate tensions with this hostile power and ensure our nation is not once again staring down a costly and unending war. We cannot send American servicemembers and diplomats into harm's way without a thorough grasp of the mission and objectives. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), wrote on Twitter: Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and survivors of the victims of the disastrous plane crash this morning in Tehran where 179 innocent people lost their lives. 147 of them were our own compatriots, including children, young people and the elderly. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and survivors of the victims of the disastrous plane crash this morning in #Tehran where 179 innocent people lost their lives. 147 of them were our own compatriots, including children, young people and the elderly #Iran Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 8, 2020 The crash happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning, shortly after a Boeing 737-800 airliner, bound for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, took off from Tehran. All of the passengers died, but some reports state that some of the crew survived. However, the state-run Iranian news agency ISNA has reported that the bodies of the victims are so mutilated that it is hard to identify them. Ukrainian media says that most of the passengers were Iranian, confirming Rajavis figures of 147 Iranian passengers, stating that 32 were from other countries. Ukraines national security council said that 11 Ukrainian citizens died in the crash, including nine members of the crew. Boeing tweeted, shortly after the crash, that they would be conducting a thorough investigation. The cause of the crash is unknown, but there are plenty of suspicions floating about. Iranian regimes officials said that the planes engine caught fire and the crew was unable to regain control, while state media also raised the prospect of technical problems but didnt elaborate further. However, the Iranian regime is refusing to cooperate with investigations. The head of Tehrans civil aviation organization said that it would not hand over the airliners black box to Boeing. (Black boxes are electronic recording devices that help provide information about what was happening in the cockpit in the event of a crash. They are usually handed over to the manufacturer for investigation.) Other reports suggest that the plane could have been targeted by the Iranian regimes anti-aircraft units, as videos obtained from the incident shows the plane suddenly catching fire before the crash. That can be an indication of a targeted explosion. The Ukrainian embassy in Iran dropped its initial reference to engine failure as the cause of the crash and stated that from today its airliners would be banned from flying through Iranian airspace, which is a further indication that this is not an error with the plane. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced a San Diego man to nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the 2017 deaths of his two children, who perished in a fire sparked by a lit cigarette he dropped after passing out while drunk. The San Diego Union-Tribine, KTLA, and NBC 7 were in the court room for the sentencing of Henry Lopez, 39. Jurors convicted him last fall of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and recklessly causing a fire in an inhabited home for unwittingly starting the blaze. According to prosecutors, the fire at his Rancho Bernardo house that killed his children Isabella, 7, and Cristos, 10 was ignited by a cigarette he dropped when he passed out following a night of heavy drinking. The fire spread from his bedroom to the rest of the house. Coroners determined Isabella succumbed to smoke inhalation while Cristos died from burns. Henry Lopez, left, with defense attorney Paul Neuharth Jr., right, talks to the judge during his sentencing Wednesday | Pauline Repard/The San Diego Union-Tribune/AP Lopez suffered burns over 13 percent of his body after initially running downstairs after waking from his stupor before then returning to try to save his kids. Before he was sentenced, Lopez was confronted in open court and reprimanded for nearly an hour by his ex-wife, Nikia Lopez the mother of the victims before a judge intervened. According to news footage from the court room, Nikia Lopez described her sons death in vivid detail. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLEs free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Nikia Lopez accused her ex of physically abusing her and straying. Ill never forgive you for what you did to your children, she shouted, before he responded by calling her a liar. As he addressed the judge Wednesday, Lopez refused to take responsibility for his childrens deaths. This, the Union-Tribune reports, prompted one of the jurors who convicted him to speak up. It happened on your fing watch!, the juror shouted at Lopez. Capital markets regulator Sebi has lined up as many as 59 properties of Royal Twinkle Star Club and Citrus Check Inns for an auction next month at a reserve price of over Rs 213 crore. The move is part of Sebi's effort to recover funds worth thousands of crores of rupees raised by the companies in the garb of sham 'timeshare' holiday plans. The decision comes following directions of the Supreme Court, which in December 2019 directed the sale-cum-monitoring committee headed by retired Justice J P Devdhar to proceed with the sale of 114 properties of the companies within six months. In a notice, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it will auction 59 properties of the companies on February 10 at a reserve price of a little over Rs 213 crore. The properties to go under the hammer include hotels, residential flats, office premises and land parcels in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, New Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman. Earlier this month, Sebi announced auction of four properties of the companies at a reserve price of over Rs 108 crore on January 23. During November-December, four properties of Royal Twinkle and Citrus Check Inns were auctioned at a reserve price of Rs 136 crore. In December 2018, Sebi had imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on Citrus Check Inns and its directors for non-compliance with its order, wherein it had barred them from raising funds from the public. Sebi had received several investor complaints against Citrus alleging that directors of Royal Twinkle were now running their collective investment scheme (CIS) through Citrus. In August 2015, the regulator had imposed a four-year ban on Royal Twinkle and its four directors for illegally raising over Rs 2,656 crore in the garb of sham 'timeshare' holiday plans. Besides, it had directed the company and its officials to refund the money along with promised returns to the investors in three months. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian Iran is close to developing its own nuclear weapons, France's foreign minister warned today. Jean-Yves Le Drian said if the regime carried on violating the 2015 deal restricting its weapons programme then it could become a nuclear power in just 'one or two years.' Tehran has been gradually breaching aspects of the deal since President Donald Trump walked away from it in 2018 and imposed crippling economic sanctions. Speaking ahead of an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers, Le Drian said: 'If they continue with unravelling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option.' But he insisted the accord 'is not dead' and said it was essential to salvage it during an interview with French radio station RTL. Iran has threatened to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels and abandon all limits on its nuclear programme since the killing of Qassem Soleimani by the United States. Iran's most serious breach so far had been to enrich uranium to 20 per cent - the maximum level at which it can be considered purely for energy use. But after Trump's drone strike against Soleimani in Baghdad the regime threatened to expand its programme much further. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) and the head of Iran nuclear technology organisation Ali Akbar Salehi inspecting nuclear technology in Tehran last April 'Iran's nuclear programme no longer faces any limitation in the operational field', the Iranian government said in a statement on Sunday night. Under the deal, Tehran had pledged to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years, including by capping its enrichment of uranium at 3.67 per cent, far below the more than 90 per cent required for a nuclear weapon. Once a country enriches uranium to around 20 per cent, scientists say the time needed to reach 90 per cent is halved. Iran continues to insist that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. This week, Trump called on Britain, France and Germany to join him in withdrawing from the nuclear agreement which many analysts see as effectively dead in the water already. Soleimani's death sparked fury in Iran, where he was considered a hero, and Iranian leaders have vowed to avenge his death. But the regime fears massive reprisals from the US if it hits back too hard and this week's missile attack on US bases in Iraq caused no casualties. Iran says it will no longer be bound by the number of nuclear enrichment centrifuges it can operate following soaring tensions with the United states Rouhani visiting the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the city of Bushehr, Iran, in January 2015 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is said to have reassured British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a phone call on Thursday that Iran is willing to stick to the terms of the deal if Britain and other European nations can help the country avoid US sanctions. European foreign affairs ministers and the NATO secretary general are gathering in Brussels for an emergency meeting during which they are expected to reiterate their support for the nuclear deal brokered with Iran. Despite calls from President Trump to break away from the deal, the European Union remains committed to the treaty amid an escalation of tensions in the region. The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said this week the deal is 'today more important than ever.' Borrell has invited Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Brussels for talks, but a date for his visit has yet to be set The Council of EU foreign ministers will also assess the crisis in war-torn Libya, and will be briefed by NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The council said in a statement it will be 'focusing on ways to de-escalate tensions in the region.' Speaking to German broadcaster n-tv, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said 'the door has been opened' to talks about conflicts in the region, not just Iraq and Iran but also Syria and Yemen. He reiterated Germany's position that the fight against IS in Iraq needs to continue. S amira Ahmed has been hailed for giving "courage to women" after her tribunal victory in a dispute with the BBC over equal pay. Carrie Gracie, the BBC's former China editor, tweeted: "@SamiraAhmedUK I could not be more proud of you... and all the bbcwomen at your back. 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act and I hope your victory gives courage to women everywhere to stand up for the value of their work. "As for BBC bosses, time to stop digging." Ms Gracie became a figurehead for other women at the BBC after she resigned from her position as China editor in January 2018, in protest at pay inequalities at the broadcaster. BBC Radio 4 presenter Aasmah Mir tweeted that "we knew you were right", adding: "Proud to stand next to you again today." Novelist Margaret Atwood also congratulated Ms Ahmed for her victory on Twitter alongside Labour MP David Lammy, who added that "equal work deserves equal pay". Ms Ahmed herself tweeted: "Very important. I'd like to thank the judge and panel members of my employment tribunal for their time and consideration and their judgement. Thankyou." She had asked why she was paid 465 per episode of Newswatch while Vine was paid up to 3,000 for each episode of Points Of View, work she described as comparable. Opposing her claim, the BBC argued that the two presenters were not doing similar work. The corporation said that Newswatch was a "relatively niche" programme which aired on the BBC News channel. It then described Points Of View as "extremely well-known". The world lost $150 billion due to natural disasters by Alexandra KelleY January 10,2020 | Source: Changing America It turns out that 2019 was an eventful year in many respects, but it saw headlines dominated by record-breaking natural disasters that came at a huge cost. A new report issued by German reinsurance company Munich Re states that in 2019 natural disasters cost the world $150 billion USD, some of which are attributed as effects of climate change. Documenting 820 natural catastrophes, including wildfires, floods, cyclones and typhoons, the report said that 9,000 people globally lost their lives due to natural disasters in 2019. This is a sharp decline from 2018, which recorded 15,000 global fatalities from natural disasters. Munich Re believes it is because of improved prevention measures. Reviewing some of the most disastrous occurrences, Munich Re and Chief Climate and Geoscientist Ernst Rauch say that climate change is a contributing factor. The report discusses the severe bushfire seasons in Australia that stem from extremely high temperatures and dry air, which have resulted in large ecosystem losses. Similarly, although the report noted that Californias wildfire season was less severe, it still acknowledged the long-term trend of forest destruction as a result of the fires. Speaking with CNN, Rauch stated that What climate change does is change probabilities, so if we see an increasing probability of large losses from wildfires that indicates that climate change is contributing. The Insurance Council of Australia released a press statement confirming that insurance losses due to the storm of bushfires amount to $700 million. The Munich Re report also recounts the particularly devastating typhoon season recorded in Asia in 2019. Two deadly tropical typhoons, Faxai and Hagibis, brought high wind speeds of up to 170 kph and heavy precipitation, respectively. Damages from these typhoons included many buildings and industrial site destruction and flooding. Together, Faxai and Hagibis had $26 billion dollars in losses. Rauch again mentions climate change as a contributing cause for the severe typhoons. Rauch links other catastrophic storms to climate change as well, saying, The typhoon season shows that we must consider short-term natural climate variations as well as long-term trends due to climate change. In particular, cyclones are becoming more frequently associated with extreme precipitation, as with Hagibis in Japan in 2019 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 in the U.S. Recognizing these changes can form the basis for further preventive measures to reduce losses. 2020 Changing America Theme(s): Others. A local chapter president is questioning the hiring of the Metis Nation - Saskatchewan's CEO. Jim Durocher, head of the Ile a la Crosse-area Metis Nation branch, wrote a letter to MN-S president Glen McCallum and copied ministers and politicians at other levels of government. He said the process used to hire new CEO Richard Quintal was not transparent and appears to have ignored the agreed process. A transition team had been working for two years to identify and hire a new CEO, Durocher said. "These were good people, smart people," he said. Quintal had already been serving as interim CEO when he was selected. He had previously worked for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Durocher said he hasn't been able to get any answers about the hiring decision. He'd like to know if anyone else was interviewed, who selected Quintal, how much he's being paid, or if Quintal lives in Saskatchewan. Durocher said McCallum hasn't called him back because, "he's not too happy with me. I ask a lot of questions." Durocher said he's worried the MN-S is falling back into political turmoil and infighting that has plagued the organization in recent years. "God, I hope we're not going through this again. We went through a hell of a time," he said. No one from the MN-S responded to CBC interview requests. A provincial government official said they do not get involved in the internal hiring decisions of the MN-S. His most enduring work, The Graduate, though also an adaptation (of a novel by Charles Webb), was his most personal. Like To Die For, which predated the era of reality shows but addressed the potentially poisonous allure of fame as only television can confer, The Graduate (1967) captured a moment of unease in the American zeitgeist. Set amid the affluence and sunshine of mid-1960s suburban Los Angeles, where drugs, sex, rock 'n' roll and the spectre of the Vietnam War had yet to rend the fabric of an older generation's social expectations, the film caught the alienation of the American young who sensed, long before their parents did, that the world they were entering was a whole new place. Nicole Kidman in To Die For, which Henry wrote. Credit:Archive The film introduced a young actor named Dustin Hoffman as the title character, Benjamin Braddock, whose anxiety and paralysis are dramatised when he has an affair with the wife of his father's business partner, Mrs Robinson, then falls in love with her daughter, Elaine. Henry's screenplay, which was nominated for an Oscar, appropriated much of Webb's dialogue but softened the smug, unpleasant edge evinced by Benjamin in the novel. And it was marked by a number of awkwardly comic exchanges that pointedly illustrated what was then becoming known as the generation gap: "I just want to say one word to you, just one word," a friend of Benjamin's father says to Benjamin, corralling him at his graduation party. "Yes, sir." "Are you listening?" "Yes, I am." "Plastics." Bringing in record-breaking young audiences, The Graduate was the No. 1 movie in America for months in 1968 it became the third-highest-grossing movie in history up to that time, behind only Gone With the Wind and The Sound of Music and helped usher in an era in which Hollywood focused on making movies for people in their teens and 20s. "I think it was a film made by and for a generation that hadn't had films made for it," Henry said in an interview with the journal Cineaste in 2001. "We were just trying to make a film about something we understood. By we, I mean Mike Nichols; Larry Turman, the producer; and me." Buck Henry was born Henry Zuckerman in New York City on December 9, 1930, to Paul and Ruth (Taylor) Zuckerman. His father was a stockbroker and an Army Air Corps pilot; his mother was a Ziegfeld Follies performer and an actress in silent films. He was named for his grandfather, also a stockbroker, acquiring his nickname, Buck, in the process. (In the 2009 archive interview, he said he did not legally change his name to Buck Henry until the 1970s.) Henry attended private schools in New York and attended Dartmouth, where he joined the theatre crowd in campus productions. He recalled in an interview with the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine in 2013 that three drama professors were the only ones "I really cared about." After graduating, he was drafted and spent the Korean War years touring army bases in Germany with an acting company, performing in a musical revue he wrote and directed. When he returned, he lived mostly in New York City, auditioning for acting jobs and sending off writing samples, to little avail. In the early 1960s Henry performed with the Premise, an off-Broadway improvisational troupe. With Theodore Flicker, a fellow troupe member, he wrote his first movie, The Troublemaker (1964), a lampoon of city bureaucracy about a man trying to open a coffee house. He also landed a handful of television jobs, writing for Steve Allen and Garry Moore and for the satirical news program That Was the Week That Was, on which he also appeared. Producer Daniel Melnick put Henry together with Brooks to create the spoof of spy movies that became Get Smart. It was an idea born out of commerce, a high-concept melding of big hits Goldfinger meets The Pink Panther. Missed it by that much? Don Adams in Get Smart. Credit:AP "I go to his office one day, and he says 'I want to give you guys an idea,'" Henry recalled of Melnick. "'Here's the thing. What are the two biggest movies in the world today? James Bond and Inspector Clouseau. Get my point?'" The show, both a parody and a satire, starred Don Adams as the spectacularly inept secret agent Maxwell Smart, aka Agent 86, and became a landmark television comedy. Introducing the shoe phone, the cone of silence and other cockamamie spy gadgetry, and contributing to the popular lexicon several of Max's signature locutions "Sorry about that, Chief!"; "Would you believe ...?"; "Missed it by that much!" the show ran from 1965 to 1970, its outlandish silliness serving as the prototype mood for innumerable sitcoms and sketches to follow. Henry, who won an Emmy Award with Leonard Stern for outstanding comedy writing on the series, tried to repeat his Get Smart triumph, creating two other spoofy sitcoms: Captain Nice (1967), starring William Daniels (who played Benjamin Braddock's father in The Graduate) as a mild-mannered reluctant superhero, and Quark (1977), a Star Trek send-up with Richard Benjamin as the Kirkish captain of an intergalactic garbage scow. Neither lasted beyond its first season, but Henry more successfully plumbed the television veins of satire and slapstick on Saturday Night Live, on which he was a guest host 10 times during the show's early years, from 1976 to 1980. Dustin Hoffman looks over the leg of Anne Bancroft in The Graduate. Credit:AP As an actor, Henry appeared in small, crucial and often exquisitely comic roles in virtually all the films he wrote he was the hotel clerk who provided the room key to Benjamin and Mrs Robinson in The Graduate and many others besides. His movie credits include Taking Off (1971), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Eating Raoul (1982), Defending Your Life (1991) and The Player (1992), a Hollywood satire in which he played himself, pitching a movie idea to a studio executive: The Graduate: Part 2. Later, Henry appeared in several television shows, including 30 Rock, in which he played Dick Lemon, the father of Tina Fey's Liz Lemon, and Hot in Cleveland. His most recent screenwriting credit was for The Humbling (2014), which he and Michal Zebede adapted from a novel by Philip Roth. A New York judge has rebuffed President Trumps bid to throw out a lawsuit filed against him by the writer E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of hurting her career and reputation in denying her claim that he raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. In a ruling made public on Thursday, Justice Doris Ling-Cohan of State Supreme Court in Manhattan rejected Mr. Trumps argument in a filing last week that New Yorks courts lack jurisdiction to hear the case because he was not in New York and did not live in the state when he made the comments that Ms. Carroll says defamed her. Justice Ling-Cohan noted that Mr. Trump had failed to provide anything not even a tweet, much less an affidavit to support his position beyond his lawyers statement that the President of the United States has resided in the White House for the past three years. The judge also denied Mr. Trumps accompanying request that discovery in the case be stayed. Roberta Kaplan, Ms. Carrolls lawyer, said in a statement that she and her client were pleased, yet unsurprised by the ruling. New Delhi: A brutal Nirbhaya-like gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old in Gujarats Modasa has sparked massive outrage in the state. Several people, including celebrities took have posted angry messages on social media demanding justice for the young girl. A unverified CCTV footage has also gone viral that shows 4 burly men forcibly taking the girl inside the car and driving to a unknown location. The girls body was found hanging on a tree in Modasa On January 5. The rapists wanted it to look like a suicide, initial reports said. However, after intense protests by the local community, the administration and police swung into action. A post-mortem was conducted in Ahmedabad proved that the girl was gangraped and murdered later. It was only on January 7 that the police finally registered a case. A case of kidnapping, gangrape and murder against four persons were filed under the provisions of the Indian Penal Coder and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Initially, when the family of the girl approached the police, the officials told them that the girl was safe. She has eloped with a boy, police inspector NL Rabari told the parents. He also told them that the girl will be brought to the family along with the marriage certificate. The girl had gone missing on December 31 and her body was found on January 5. We have lodged the FIR on the basis of complaint given by the family of the deceased. Our investigation is under way, Gandhinagar range Inspector-General Mayanksinh Chavda was quoted as saying. Bollywood star Riteish Deshmukh was one of the celebrities who expressed anguish over the case. A 19 year old was kidnapped, gangraped, murdered & hanged on a tree. Forget what religion she belonged to, forget what caste she belonged to.. just remember she was a young girl with an entire life of hope and aspirations ahead of her. Hang the culprits publicly, Deshmukh said on Twitter. The 2017 NCRB data has shown disturbing, upward trend of crime against women. As many as 3,59,849 cases of crime against women were registered across the country in 2017, continuing the upward trend for the third consecutive year, the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data released showed. In 2015, 3,29,243 cases of crimes against women were registered and 3,38,954 cases were registered in 2016. The cases categorised as crimes against women include murder, rape, dowry death, suicide abetment, acid attack, cruelty against women and kidnapping, etc. For all the Latest Crime News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. ULIPs offer a combination of insurance and investment which makes them a goal protection product as it helps you invest for a life goal and at the same time ensures that the goal is achieved in both cases - when you survive the policy period or when you are no longer around Unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP) is a product by life insurance companies that offers a combination of insurance and investment. This makes ULIP a goal protection product as it helps you invest for a life goal and at the same time makes sure that the goal is achieved in both cases - when you survive the policy period or when you are no longer around. ULIPs in past had earned bad reputation owing to heavy charges. However, relentless push by the regulator IRDA has helped reduce charges significantly. In order to make the product competitive, especially with regards to ELSS, a good number of Insurance companies have launched fourth-generation ULIP that has no policy allocation or policy administration charges. Fund management charge is comparable with that of the ELSS. Since a ULIP plan has an investment component along with the insurance coverage, part of the premium is used for life cover and expenses such as fund management charges, while the remainder is invested in equity, debt or hybrid (mix of both debt and equity) funds depending on the type of the ULIP you opt for. You may switch among the funds if you think your fund has not been doing well, but if you surrender the policy before five years, you'll be charged Rs 6000 because ULIPs come with a lock-in period of five years. After five years, you can either withdraw funds partially or completely to foreclose your policy. However, experts advise to stay invested for at least 10-15 years to earn attractive yields on your investments. So, only those with a long-term horizon and confident of paying premiums for the entire policy tenure should go for it. Let's understand the maturity and death benefits offered on ULIP plans: Maturity benefit At the end of the policy term, the life cover, that is, the sum assured, ceases to exist and you will only receive the fund value as maturity benefit. Upon maturity of the policy, besides the lump sum payout you also have to option to choose regular payout such as monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually. Some insurers offer loyalty additions to the investor if they are in the fund for a longer period of time - usually 10 years and more. "Such additions can be paid either as a percentage of the sum insured or a percentage of the fund value," says Vivek Jain, Head-Investments (Life Insurance), PolicyBazaar.com. Death benefit The sum assured in the ULIP is the minimum guaranteed death benefit. The insurer will give the fund value if it grows bigger than the sum assured. Some policies offer the fund value along with the sum insured. However, such policies charge a higher premium. Cost is key Going by the product structure and charges, ULIPs appear to be expensive. However, most 4G ULIPs have done away with most of the charges. The cost structure varies depending on the insurer and the type of the ULIP. The common fees and charges are as follows: Premium Allocation Charge: A good chunk of premiums paid in initial years goes into initial and renewal charges along with the agent's commission. However, many 4G ULIPs have done away with it. You should make sure to check this before you buy a ULIP. Mortality charges: It covers the cost of life insurance. It depends on age and sum assured and are deducted on a monthly basis. As your investment grows, the value at risk comes down for the insurer and hence the mortality charge gradually comes down. Fund management charges (FMC): The insurer charges it for managing funds in the ULIP. "It is deducted before arriving at the Net Asset Value and is adjusted from NAV on a daily basis. The maximum FMC allowed is 1.35 per cent of the fund value each year and is charged daily, says CS Sudheer, CEO and Founder of IndianMoney.com. As a result, FMCs of these new-age ULIPs have become comparable to the ELSS. Policy administration charges: This is levied for the administration of the policy and charged on a monthly basis. Most new-age ULIPs have not been levying this charge, so check it once with the insurer before buying the policy. Fund switching charges: A limited number of free fund switches are available, but Rs 100-200 may be charged on subsequent switches, says Sudheer. Partial withdrawal charges: Some plans offer unlimited partial withdrawals, while others have a limit of two-four times. Key riders that you must know Waiver of premium upon death: With this rider on a ULIP plan, the policyholder can ensure that the insurance amount is used only for the long-term purpose that it was initially bought for. "The future premiums are waived off and are paid by the insurer itself along with a lump sum payment at the time of death. Also, the entire corpus built over the years is paid to the nominee at the completion of the policy term. This feature can be beneficial for people wanting to leave safety net corpus for their children," says Jain, of PolicyBazaar.com. Waiver of premium rider is also applicable in case of permanent disability, an accident or inability to work due to a critical illness. It ensures that all future premiums towards your ULIP get waived, and your investment and life cover continue unhindered. Is ULIP better than term and endowment? The three plans are not comparable as all have different features and objectives. The decision as to which one to buy should be taken on the basis of an individual's portfolio and her needs and income level. The crux is to get enough life cover. "Typically, a ULIP provides a max cover of 20 times of the annual premium paid. So, a person looking to have a cover of Rs 1 crore, will have to pay Rs 5 lakh as annual premium under ULIPs, whereas a term plan may be 1/10th of this amount, says Arvind Rao, founder of Arvind Rao & Associates and a Sebi-registered investment adviser. Endowment plans also have an investment component to it, but the investment is non-equity linked. "ULIP is exposed to the market, and since premiums paid are divided into various charges, it makes ULIP costlier than term and endowment plans. However, each plan is meant to fulfil different financial goals of an investor. It is advisable to understand the investor's goal and current portfolio instead of deciding only on the basis of premiums," says Rakesh Goyal, Director, Probus Insurance Broker. Is ULIP better than mutual funds and ELSS? One advantage that ULIPs have over mutual funds and ELSS is tax exemption on the maturity amount of the fund value. In MFs and ELSS, if your profits cross Rs 1 lakh in aggregate terms in the long-term (after a year), you have to pay long-term capitals gains tax of 10 per cent. However, in ULIPs, the death benefit is tax-free and maturity payouts are tax exempted under section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act. As for premiums paid in ULIPs and investments in ELSS are concerned, both are eligible for section 80-C tax deductions. Who should go for ULIPs? ULIPs were the most mis-sold insurance product before the reforms in September 2010 took place because insurance agents used to earn heavy front-load commission on selling these policies. It was sold as an insurance-cum-investment product, but neither did it offer good returns as people were not aware of the long-term holding nature of the product nor the life cover was adequate. "The industry average was 10 times the premium as the sum assured. Sadly, many ULIPs only gave up to five times the premium as the sum assured," says Sudheer of Indianmoney.com. In September 2010, the IRDA came out with a series of amendments, the most important being capping the annualised ULIP charges at 2.25 per cent for the first 10 years of holding. In 2015, more changes took place. "The fund management charges were capped at 1.35 per cent a year. Limits were also fixed on premium allocation charges, mortality charges and on the commission insurance agents earned on ULIPs," says Sudheer. In order to avoid mis-selling and give investors a conservative idea of the investment, charges and maturity value, IRDA also mandated that life insurers offer a benefit illustration on ULIPs. It gives an idea on how the premium is invested, charges deducted and how the fund value grows. "Based on the benefit illustration the underlying assumption of the gross investment returns currently stand at 4 per cent to 8 per cent," adds Sudheer. Investors can also use a combination of term plan and ELSS to get the combined benefit that ULIPs offer. However, ULIP as a single product saves much of operational efforts. "The online or 4G ULIPs have very low or no charges at all. Premium allocation and policy administration charges are typically zero. The fund management charges are also capped at 1.35 per cent and range between 1-1.35 per cent. Many companies now offer ROMC (return of mortality charge) feature as well, which is charged for the life cover in the plans," says Jain of PolicyBazaar.com. In fact, a few low-cost ULIP, which can be bought online these days, have less than 1 per cent charges, says Goyal of Probus Insurance Broker. Besides, ULIP also lets you invest in an asset mix of debt and equity at one place and offers flexibility to make switches during different market movements. Therefore, it is difficult to make a passing judgement as to which category is better. Based on your need and convenience, you can take the final call. ALSO READ:BT Insight: All that you must know about term insurance policies ALSO READ:How goal-based investments boost your wealth creation ALSO READ:Flipkart former CEO Sachin Bansal acquires DHFL General Insurance for Rs 100 crore SANTA FE, N.M. Legislators will consider changes to the states sex offender registration policies in response to revelations that deceased financier and New Mexico ranch owner Jeffrey Epstein was allowed to avoid registering locally as a sex offender following a guilty plea a decade ago in Florida Epstein was accused of abusing young women at his desert ranch outside the community of Stanley before his death last year behind bars. Democratic New Mexico state Rep. Matthew McQueen of Galisteo said Thursday that he has filed a bill that would automatically require people who are registered as sex offenders in another state or U.S. territory to also register in New Mexico if they spend 20 cumulative days in the state during any calendar year. A stay of 10 consecutive days also would trigger the requirement. Current New Mexico law requires registration only for out-of-state offense that are equivalent to New Mexico sex offenses. McQueen said that Epsteins Zorro Ranch outside the town of Stanley remains a haunting reminder of Epsteins behavior and his ability to skirt the law. McQueen said the exact circumstances are unclear on how Espstein was not required to register in New Mexico. He fears that the state could become a safe haven for sex offenders without reforms. They look around the country: Where is it I dont have to register? said McQueen, whose district includes the ranch. Oh look, New Mexico has some slightly different laws, I can fly under the radar. New Mexicos Democratic-led Legislature convenes Jan. 21 for a 30-day session. The expansion of the pilot allows us to bring an innovative solution to our stores that brings the power of digital technology to physical retail," said Richard Ashworth, President of Operations, Walgreens. Cooler Screens today announced Walgreens is expanding its deployment of Cooler Screens first-of-its-kind digital merchandising and media platform. Following a successful year-long trial at six locations that received very positive consumer feedback, Walgreens has rolled out the Cooler Screens platform to 50 stores in the greater Chicago area. Upon successful implementation of this roll-out, Cooler Screens will expand its platform into 2,500 Walgreens stores across the U.S. This expansion, the largest installation of Cooler Screens technology, is expected to reach over 75 million consumers monthly, including 2.5 million in-store consumers on a daily basis. By embracing this new technology, Walgreens is pioneering the convergence of physical and digital retail as the first retailer to digitally transform the consumer shopping experience in the cooler aisle. We are thrilled to be working with Walgreens to deliver our shared vision for the future of physical retail with hundreds of stores and millions of consumers across the country, said Cooler Screens CEO and Co-Founder, Arsen Avakian. The opportunity is to not only delight consumers with new, safe, digitally-powered experiences but also to evolve the business of bricks-and-mortar retail. Working with Walgreens, we are demonstrating the value of this new approach at scale. Cooler Screens is a Chicago-based company reimagining the consumer experience in bricks-and-mortar retail. Cooler Screens has developed a proprietary digital merchandizing platform that replaces the traditional cooler doors in the cooler aisle. As a result, consumers experience in-store what they love about shopping on-line. With simplified access to the latest and most relevant information, consumers can now make more informed in-store decisions that best fit their budgets, taste and health preferences. Direct feedback from consumers who have experienced Cooler Screens has been overwhelmingly positive. Surveys from pilot locations reported over 80 percent of respondents thought it was easier to find products and the products were more appealing, and over 90 percent no longer preferred the traditional coolers. Walgreens is committed to exploring digital innovation that can deliver new and different experiences for our customers, and Cooler Screens has developed a technology that transforms how customers shop for refrigerated items in the cooler aisle, said Richard Ashworth, President of Operations, Walgreens. The expansion of the pilot allows us to bring an innovative solution to our stores that brings the power of digital technology to physical retail. The Cooler Screens platform also offers new business opportunities for both retailers and consumer product brands. With Cooler Screens, bricks-and-mortar retailers meet the demands of todays digitally savvy consumers. Cooler Screens data shows that purchases from the coolers increase, lifting same store sales. Further, retailers are able to gain efficiencies with digitized merchandizing, improve visibility with real-time out-of-stock analytics, and access new revenue streams by entering the digital media business and providing brands access to their massive consumer audiences. This positive business impact for retailers has been clearly demonstrated in Walgreens pilot stores. Furthermore, product brands are able for the first time to directly digitally engage consumers in the cooler aisle and deliver contextually relevant offerings and messaging at point-of-sale. This new channel allows brands to not only build equity but also influence purchasing and gain timely visibility into promotion engagement and effectiveness. To access these benefits, more than 20 of the top consumer brands have joined the Cooler Screens marketplace including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, MillerCoors, Tyson, Conagra, Chobani, Red Bull, and Monster. Cooler Screens is a consumer-safe platform that avoids the privacy risks of other digital commerce platforms by never gathering or storing personally identifiable information. Cooler Screens model for digital retail is identity-blind and is a leading digital retail technology actively incorporating the global Privacy by Design (PbD) framework developed by international privacy experts and advocates to protect user privacy. To help build and deliver this pioneering platform, Cooler Screens has established strategic partnerships with global segment leaders including Dover for digital refrigeration infrastructure; Microsoft for cloud, edge computing, IoT and AI; and Verizon for 4G/5G connectivity, security, and managed services. Other key technology partners include BOE and Foxconn, the worlds largest high-tech manufacturers of LED/LCD components and electronics. About Cooler Screens Cooler Screens is reimagining the consumer experience in bricks-and-mortar retail. The Chicago-based company has developed a proprietary digital merchandizing and media platform that replaces the traditional cooler doors in retail stores. The result is consumers experience in-store what they love about shopping on-line. Enjoying simplified access to the latest and most relevant information, consumers can now make more informed in-store decisions to best fit their budgets, taste and health preferences. The result for retailers and packaged goods makers is a dynamic way to increase sales by helping consumers make more informed decisions. For more information, please visit http://www.coolerscreens.com. YES Banks independent director and chairman of its audit committee, Uttam Prakash Agarwal, resigned on Friday, alleging that Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ravneet Gill had misled the board of directors about the binding offers to raise capital. The banks board said in a notification that it had received the resignation of Agarwal, and that certain observations made by him on the banks governance would be duly examined by the board. 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 Taiwan's incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen had been leading by a comfortable margin in most polls before the standard blackout period on surveys was imposed 10 days before Saturday's elections. Despite her party losing badly in local elections 14 months ago, Tsai has been buoyed by hostile words and actions from China and months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, which she says proves that Beijing's "one country, two systems" formula by which it proposes to govern Taiwan is untenable. Alexander Huang, a professor of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University, says Tsai runs her campaign on the anti-China theme, adding that the election is a vote on how to deal with China. Tsai's position has been bolstered also by stability in the island's high-tech economy, where stock market prices have remained robust and wages shown slight gains, partly as a result of Taiwanese exporters relocating from China to avoid the bruising effects of the US-China trade war. Her chief opponent, Han Kuo-yu of the opposition Nationalist Party, has slumped in the polls following a series of gaffes and allegations of shady financial deals. He has clung to a pro-China policy despite widespread distrust of the mainland and a strong backlash against Beijing's handling of the Hong Kong protests. Voters will also elect a 113-member legislature, where Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party currently has 68 seats. The Nationalists hold 35 seats with the rest taken by minor parties and independents. While Taiwanese elections generally revolve around economic, public welfare and social justice issues, China's threat to annex Taiwan by force always looms large in the background, and even more so this year. China has taken an especially hard-line against Tsai since her 2016 inauguration, infuriated by her refusal to endorse its claim that Taiwan and the mainland are part of a single China. Beijing cut off all formal ties with her government, restricted visits by Chinese tourists, excluded Taiwan's representatives from international gatherings and peeled away more of the island's remaining diplomatic allies, leaving it with just 15. Stepping up its threats, Beijing has in recent months held military exercises across the Taiwan Strait, sailed both of its aircraft carriers through the waterway that divides Taiwan from the mainland and flown air patrols around the island. However, in an apparent effort to avoid antagonising voters, Chinese leader Xi Jinping didn't renew the threat of using force against Taiwan during his annual New Year's Eve address, though reiterated China's firm opposition to Taiwan's formal independence. Chinese state media have been notably silent on the election campaign. Dr. Wong Ming-hsien, Professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, says China considers Taiwan's presidential poll as a local election. Wong says Xi doesn't want to openly criticise Taiwan because it might turn into helping the election. Other analysts say the low-key approach masks a more subtle campaign to back Han and Nationalist candidates for the legislature through media manipulation and social media campaigns. Seeking to scupper such attempts, the legislature last month passed an anti-infiltration bill laying out fines and prison sentences for those seeking to manipulate Taiwan's political system on behalf of China or other foreign powers. The third candidate James Soong described himself as a realist who stood above the intensifying confrontation between Tsai and Han's camp. He wants to end the rivalry between Nationalist Party and Democratic Progressive Party that has defined Taiwanese politics for many elections. Image source: AP Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here. Following the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis on January 3, journalists reporting in Iraq face heightened risks. According to CPJ research, pro-Iran militias have previously targeted journalists for kidnapping. Journalists planning to cover events in Iraq can find safety advice in CPJ Emergencies latest advisory on reporting from the country. This week also marked the anniversaries of two attacks against journalists. January 7 marked five years since the Charlie Hebdo attack, in which eight journalists and cartoonists were killed. January 8 was the 11-year anniversary of the killing of Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor-in-chief of The Sunday Leader weekly in Sri Lanka. He was featured last year in The Last Column, a book and digital campaign launched by CPJ. Global press freedom updates: Venezuelan photojournalist Jesus Medina released Pakistani journalist sentenced Burundi prosecutor seeks Montenegro journalist Anela ikanovic charged Thai court sentences Bangladesh blocks Chadian journalist detained In India, freelance journalist Santosh Yadav acquitted Tanzanias broadcasting regulator suspended For journalists with health issues from covering 9/11, support is available Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Do you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device? Enable CPJ's flash briefing skill to stay up to date with the latest press freedom news from around the world. A man who broke into a home on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, threatened to fight a child and assaulted the homeowner was sentenced to a year and a half in jail on Thursday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A man who broke into a home on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, threatened to fight a child and assaulted the homeowner was sentenced to a year and a half in jail on Thursday. Allison Conrad Elk, 42, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in Brandon provincial court, including unlawfully in a dwelling house, assault and failing to attend court. On Oct. 18, 2017, police were called to a home on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation where Elk had broken in, according to a police report. The homeowner eventually got Elk out of the home, the report said, but Elk stayed on the property and was wandering around the yard shouting about shooting people and saying that people were out to get him. The homeowner told police he went to lie down when he heard the dogs start barking and a voice he didnt recognize in the home. He came out of his room and found Elk in the house positioned in a fighting stance, blocking the homeowner from the children who were also in the home. Elk told the man he wanted to fight, and briefly grabbed onto the mans shoulder as if he was going to start fighting. Elk let go and bent down to pick up his jacket, at which point the homeowner took the opportunity to push him out the door and lock the deadbolt so he couldnt come back inside. One of the children in the home at the time told police Elk had barged into the home and came into her room. He approached her saying, "they told me to fight you they told me to fight you, do you want to fight?" The girl said she told Elk he wasnt supposed to be there and tried to sneak past him, but he closed the bedroom door on her shoulder. Once outside, Elk stayed on the property yelling about shootings and getting stabbed. The homeowner said he didnt know Elk, and was unsure if he had a weapon on him or not. He further told police he was afraid at one point he was going to get stabbed after Elk was talking about shanking people while making stabbing motions. "(The complainants) are terrified. Theyre fearful of retribution from Mr. Elk, (the homeowners) major concern is, how do I protect my family?" Crown attorney Deidre Badcock said. "He told me his children and his grandchildren are petrified any time they hear any noise outside the residence theyre fearful that Mr. Elk is coming back." Elk has a history of breaking into peoples homes and assaultive behaviour while intoxicated, Badcock said, including one previous incident very similar to the one currently before the court. "This is someone who has received (a sentence) of 16 months for the exact same offence in the past, and we have a repetition of that behaviour going forward," Badcock said. "Hes learned absolutely no lessons from his previous incarceration." Elk presented similar behaviour again on Oct. 16, 2019, Badcock added, when Brandon police were called to a home on 17th Street where Elk was banging on the door and yelling. The homeowner didnt know Elk, who was intoxicated, Badcock said. He was arrested for breaching court-ordered conditions. "This is a continued pattern of behaviour," Badcock said. The Crown asked the court to impose an 18-month sentence, however defence lawyer Bob Harrison argued a sentence of time served approximately 13 months would be more appropriate. On the day of the offence, Elk was "blacked out" after drinking hard liquor and taking drugs, Harrison said, noting he did not flee the scene but stuck around until police arrived. When Elk is sober he doesnt get into trouble, Harrison said, and has expressed a desire to address his addictions. "We hear in the paper, the radio and on television there are too many First Nations people in custody," Harrison said. "Lets not make another candidate go into custody when there are other options." Judge Donovan Dvorak said the Crowns recommendation was reasonable given the circumstances and sentenced Elk to 18 months in jail. "(Elk) has not shown a great deal of remorse for the offence, he didnt show a great deal of insight into that either and his history shows substance abuse issues have brought him in conflict of the criminal justice system for decades," Dvorak said. "He really hasnt addressed that issue head-on." After credit for time already served, Elk has approximately four months left to serve, which will be followed by two years of supervised probation. edebooy@brandonsun.com Twitter: @erindebooy European nations will seek on Friday to find ways to guide the United States and Iran away from confrontation knowing that a miscalculation from either side could leave the bloc facing a war and a serious nuclear proliferation crisis at its doorstep. EU foreign ministers, in a rare emergency meeting, may avoid any tough diplomatic response for now. Washington and Tehran backed off from intensified conflict following the U.S. killing of an Iranian general, and Tehran's retaliatory missile strikes avoided military casualties. "Irans desire to prevent the crisis from escalating has bought us some time, it has the effect of cooling this down just a little," a senior EU diplomat said. But the simmering tensions have highlighted Europe's struggles to influence either side and play a mediating role with powerhouses Britain, France and Germany desperately trying to pressure Iran to stick to a 2015 nuclear pact and pullback from further escalation. They also want to convince U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Wednesday called on them to join him in withdrawing from the nuclear agreement, that they are tough-minded allies who will not be deceived by Tehran. With Baghdad also caught between the crossfire of Washington and Tehran, there are growing concerns that the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants could be weakened, or even forced out of Iraq, something that the European powers see as crucial to prevent for their own security interests. "We need to coordinate and maximise the effect everybody has in trying to deescalate what the Iranians do, but it's the same for the Americans. What's most worrying is a miscalculation," said a French diplomatic source. NUCLEAR VIOLATIONS But Iran's decision on Monday to scrap limits imposed on its nuclear enrichment under the arms control accord has also left the European powers in an awkward position. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes, has already breached many of the restrictions under the deal, intended to increase the amount of time Tehran would need to accumulate enough fissile material for an atomic bomb from two to three months to about a year. The latest announcements could start drastically reducing that time and the three European powers, who along with Russia and China, have attempted to salvage the deal since the United States pulled out and reimposed tough economic sanctions in 2018, are keen to send a firm message that the breaches are unacceptable. They have agreed to launch a dispute resolution process within the accord that could ultimately lead to renewed U.N. sanctions on Tehran, but have hesitated on the timing following this week's tensions fearing that Iran may react badly. Despite its nuclear announcement, Tehran has said inspectors from the international nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, can continue their inspections, leaving some wiggle room for diplomacy. "Iran has not set any targets or deadlines when it comes to uranium enrichment targets, so that gives us time," a second EU diplomat said. A third EU diplomat said the decision to launch the process had been made, but that Friday was unlikely. "There is a concern that it could trigger an Iranian escalation," said a European diplomat. "We have made it clear that our objective in doing this is to resolve our differences over Iran's violations within the framework of the nuclear deal. Launching this process is not aimed at going to the U.N. for now." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 05:15:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said Friday that the Libyan crisis has to be resolved through political dialogue. During a phone conversation, Putin and Sisi expressed the need to "increase international efforts to settle the crisis in Libya by peaceful means and through establishing political dialogue between the parties to the conflict," the Kremlin said in a statement. The two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria and the Persian Gulf as well as Russia-Egypt cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the statement said. Libya has been locked in a civil war since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Several armed militias of different backgrounds emerged, and have been fighting each other to take power, although a peace deal was signed by the warring parties on Dec. 17, 2015 in the Moroccan city of Skhirat. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said Prime Minister Modis Thursday consultation with economists was reserved for crony capitalist friends and the super rich. Modis most extensive budget consultation ever, is reserved for crony capitalist friends & the super rich. He has no interest in the views or voices of our farmers, students, youth, women, Govt & PSU employees, small businessmen or middle class tax payers, Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet on Friday morning. Modi's "most extensive" budget consultation ever, is reserved for crony capitalist friends & the super rich. He has no interest in the views or voices of our farmers, students, youth, women, Govt & PSU employees, small businessmen or middle class tax payers. #SuitBootBudget pic.twitter.com/6VP2g9OyNT Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 10 January 2020 The prime minister held a two-hour long meeting with economists, private equity and venture capitalists, business leaders and agricultural experts at the Niti Aayog on Thursday in which he called for focussed efforts to achieve the target of nearly doubling the size of the economy to $5 trillion by 2024. Rahul Gandhi has been critical of the Centres economic policies, saying the Modi governments anti-people policies have created catastrophic unemployment. His comment was in connection with the Bharat Bandh called earlier this week by several central trade unions. The Modi-Shah Govts anti people, anti labour policies have created catastrophic unemployment & are weakening our PSUs to justify their sale to Modis crony capitalist friends. Today, over 25 crore workers have called for #BharatBandh2020 in protest. I salute them. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 8 January 2020 Prime Minister Modi has held as many as 12 brainstorming meetings with different stakeholders over various issues affecting the Indian economy and also to thrash out appropriate policy interventions before the upcoming Budget. Thursdays meeting, attended by 38 delegates including economists Shankar Acharya, venture capitalists Pradip Shah, industrialist Deep Kalra and subject expert Shiv Sarin, was held as part of a pre-budget exercise. The PM also reiterated that the fundamentals of the Indian economy were strong and it had the capacity to bounce back from the current slowdown. Tokyo, Jan 10 : Japan has asked the Interpol to issue a red notice, or international wanted persons notice, against the wife of ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who has been on the run evading the Japanese justice system, it was reported on Friday. The Tokyo prosecutor's office, investigating alleged financial irregularities committed by Ghosn in Japan, earlier this week obtained an arrest warrant against Carole, 53, for perjury and has asked the intergovernmental organization to collaborate in the case, Efe news reported citing Japanese broadcaster NHK as saying. Investigators from the public prosecutor's office have accused Carole of lying before the court while being asked to recognize a witness - an Indian executive known to her husband allegedly involved in a series of fraudulent transfers in their favour. During her statement in April 2019, Carole denied having known the businessman, despite allegedly having exchanged messages with him several times, according to the prosecution. The team of prosecutors in charge of the investigation also suspects that Ghosn's wife may have destroyed evidence related to the case, informed sources told NHK. Carole has denied the allegations and claimed that Japan's petition to the Interpol was an act of revenge for her husband's escape. The prosecution did not wish to confirm or deny the information to the cited media entity and Interpol has not so far made public any notification for Carole Ghosn. Carole is currently in Beirut, Lebanon, with her husband Carlos, 65, who arrived in the country on New Year's Eve after fleeing Japan clandestinely. Carlos Ghosn holds Lebanese, Brazilian and French citizenship, while his wife Carole has Lebanese and American citizenship. Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, so the possibility of either of them being arrested is unlikely, although the request to Interpol could restrict their movement and activities abroad. Currently, the Lebanese public prosecutor's office, which is investigating Ghosn over a case other than that concerning Japan and linked to its national interests, has banned the businessman from leaving the country. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Climate change protesters outside the Australian embassy in London, where Extinction Rebellion are staging a demo against the Australian governments response to the wildfires (Jonathan Brady/PA) Climate change activists in London are protesting against the Australian governments response to the devastating wildfires, in solidarity with thousands rallying on the other side of the world. Extinction Rebellion activists, including many people from Australia, are calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to act now outside the Australian embassy in central London. Five hours earlier, thousands of Australians were protesting on the streets in almost every capital city in the nation, according to ABC News. Expand Close Climate change protesters outside the Australian embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Climate change protesters outside the Australian embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) More than 100 activists brandishing signs reading burning earth, Scott Morrison is a fire starter and wake up and smell the smoke, are demanding more action to tackle the fires, at the Strand in London. Red-cloaked activists with chalk-white faces also joined the demonstration. Dorothea Hackman, a 67-year-old grandmother supporting the protest, said the Australian government did not prepare for the wildfires despite warnings from climate change scientists. Expand Close The Red Rebels join climate change protesters outside the Australian embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Red Rebels join climate change protesters outside the Australian embassy in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) Ms Hackman said: I am just so very sad for people and wildlife in Australia. The bushfires around Canberra in 2003 showed us what to expect and there have been warnings about the consequences for Australia of climate change, yet the government did not prepare. We need to see the Australian government acknowledge the connection between climate change and these bushfires, and declare a climate and ecological emergency now and take action. We stand in solidarity with all living beings affected by the #AustralianBushfireDisaster and call on all governments to address the #ClimateEmergency with the urgency it requires.#StopAdani#AustraliaBurning #ActNow Photos Gareth Morris pic.twitter.com/1tgCPqfVkj Extinction Rebellion London (@XRLondon) January 10, 2020 Another activist, who is an NHS doctor and mother of four, Anna Moore, added that emergency departments in Australia are overwhelmed with people. An Extinction Rebellion spokesman said protesters are also taking a stand in Sheffield, Bristol and Lambeth, as well as in 30 countries worldwide from Argentina to Zambia. 3.5k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard In another victory for Nancy Pelosi, the House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday to limit Donald Trumps power to go to war with Iran without getting congressional approval. The measure passed the House easily by a 224-194 majority, and even a handful of Republican lawmakers supported it. As MSNBCs Ari Melber pointed out on Thursday, the vote to limit Trumps war power reflects a more unified front against potential Middle East escalation than weve in recent memory. Video: The House passed a measure on Thursday to limit Trumps ability to start a war with Iran. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/R3a0qiRdSP PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 10, 2020 More from Melber: The House just passing this resolution to limit Donald Trumps war powers against Iran. The vote, 224-194, a clear margin for the Democrats. The bill terminates Trumps hostilities against Iran, which is a rebuke, of course, to the presidents attack on Irans general. The swift action presents major pushback to Trump a day after the bipartisan combination of his administrations handling of this crisis and reflects a more unified front against potential Middle East escalation than the Democrats offered when George W. Bush was pushing a preemptive attack on Iraq in 2003. Pelosi is going to war with Donald Trump and shes winning Since taking over as House speaker, Nancy Pelosi has waged all-out war on Donald Trump for lawlessly abusing the power of his office, whether in his extortion scheme with Ukraine or his reckless behavior thats leading America to another war in the Middle East and shes winning. Nowhere is it more clear that Pelosi is winning than in Trumps own behavior, which has grown more erratic and unhinged, particularly over the course of the impeachment process. As Pelosi herself told TIME, Hes nervous. Everything he says, hes always projecting. He knows the case that can be made against him. Thats why hes falling apart. Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unwell. He has no business unilaterally taking the United States to another war in the Middle East. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Members of activists group stage a performance in Gwanghwamun Square near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Friday, to denounce the U.S. request for Korea to send a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz after tensions between Iran and the U.S. escalated. / Yonhap NEW HAVEN The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development noted Thursday that fewer homeless people were found on Connecticut streets in January 2019, ahead of the annual Point-In-Time count by the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. HUD released its 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress this week, which included the finding that 3,033 people were experiencing homelessness in Connecticut on Jan. 22, 2019 a decrease of 943 people, or 23.7 percent, from 2018. Across the nation, 567,715 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2019, according to the report. Thats an increase of 14,885 people, or 2.7 percent, from 2018. Homelessness among veterans fell by 2.1 percent nationwide, while homelessness among families with children dropped 4.8 percent in 2019, the report states. The Trump Administration is committed to working with local communities to find effective ways to end homelessness, said HUD Secretary Ben Carson in the release. HUD will continue these efforts to help end the suffering of our most vulnerable neighbors in the most compassionate way possible. The Connecticut Coalation to End Homelessness is seeking volunteers to help conduct this years Point-in-Time Count on the evening of Jan. 21, as well as a weeklong effort to survey homeless youths from Jan. 22 to Jan. 28. Each year, the Point-in-Time Count surveys adults and families with children for one night, followed by the Outreach & Count, a week-long count of youth. These counts provide two sources of data that are used to measure the extent of homelessness in the state and enables a comparison of how homelessness is trending from year-to-year, according to a statement from the coalition. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com New Delhi, Jan 10 : In an unusual move, a court, while granting bail to 12 accused in the violent anti-CAA protest case, directed them to appear before the Investigating Officer concerned who would dispel their doubts about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "...applicants shall put their appearance on the 19th of January, 2020 between 2 to 4 p.m. at PS Seema Puri, where the I0/SHO shall make endeavour to remove the doubts of the applicants in respect of CAA," said Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra. The court also asked the accused persons to join the investigation as and when called by the IO and also directed them "not to do any act which may disturb the public peace". The applicants were also directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and one surety of like amount. Stone-pelting and incidents of arson and vandalism were reported on December 20 from Daryaganj in old Delhi and Seemapuri in east Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, police said. In Seemapuri, an Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police had suffered minor injuries, it said. The United States carried out a secret operation in Yemen that targeted, but failed to kill, a senior Iranian military commander last week, unidentified U.S. officials say. The Washington Post, Reuters, and AP quoted the officials as saying on January 10 that an air strike targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a senior officer in the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). They said the failed strike was carried out on January 3 -- the same day the leader of the Quds Force -- Major General Qasem Soleimani -- was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. The killing has raised fears of a conflict between the United States and Iran. The Pentagon declined to discuss the classified operation in Yemen, where a a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, has been fighting Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels since 2015. The Quds Force was designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Based on reporting by The Washington Post, AP, and Reuters Hot on the heels of supporting a new low carbon emission zone for traffic in Barcelona and neighbouring municipalities, the city council in the Catalan capital is proposing more radical action on climate change. The left-leaning authority has said that the turn-up-and-go air shuttle from Barcelona's El Prat airport to Madrid should be eliminated as there is a high-speed rail connection instead. It has also called on other domestic air links in Spain to be halted where there is already a good train service. The announcement by Barcelona's councillor for Climate Emergency comes at the same time as disappointing results from the first few days of the city's new low-emissions zone. Since 2 January, only vehicles displaying an official low-emissions badge, applied for online if not already shown, can enter a 95-square-kilometre area in and around the city. However the first normal workday with the scheme, on Wednesday, saw a reduction of only 2.4 per cent in traffic based on the equivalent day a year earlier, admitted the local authorities. Neither was there much increase in use of public transport. There will be a few months' grace period before non-compliant vehicles will be fined. Madrid drivers upset In Madrid there has been a toughening on parking in public spaces for cars that don't show a low emission sticker with the new year. However the controversial Madrid inner-city restriction area has seen some rules relaxed. On Thursday, Madrid drivers going to work were upset to discover the mayor had activated a short-term high-pollution-level speed restriction on some key roads without sufficient warning. Panaji, Jan 10 : Goa should see a new state BJP President by Sunday, the state unit's returning officer for organisational elections, Govind Parvatkar, said on Friday. Even as former MLAs and current general secretaries Damodar Naik and Sadanand Shet Tanavade are tipped as possible successors to outgoing President Vinay Tendulkar, Parvatkar said that as per indications, the election of the next president will be unopposed. "As per my observation, I do not think there will be an election. It will be unopposed," Parvatkar told a press conference on Friday. The new President will be unveiled at a meeting of party workers on Sunday morning, he said. BJP Vice President Avinash Rai Khanna, who is the party's overseer for Goa, has been nominated as the observer for the election, Parvatkar added. The returning officer also said that nominations for the post of President would be accepted at the BJP office on Saturday afternoon. "The name of the new President will be finalised and released at a meeting of party workers on Sunday morning," Parvatkar said. Outgoing state President Vinay Tendulkar has served two terms in the top position from 2012. If the city council does not pass the proposed ordinance within the 70 day period, the official summary would be submitted to voters in the form of a referendum in the next regularly scheduled election. If the ordinance is approved by a majority of Evanston voters, the proposed ordinance would become law unless it is voted down by a resolution of the city council within 30 days of the election. The Shiv Sena on Friday termed thepoll result in Nagpur Zilla Parishad(ZP), where the BJP was ousted from power by the Congress, as"sensational and shocking". Polling for six ZPs in Maharashtra - Nagpur, Akola, Washim, Dhule, Nandurbar and Palghar (332 seats) - and the Panchayat Samitis (664 seats) falling in their jurisdiction were held on Tuesday and results were declared on Wednesday. The BJP lost control of the ZP in Nagpur, the home district of party stalwarts Devendra Fadnavis and Nitin Gadkari. The BJP won just 15 of the 58 seats in Nagpur ZP, where the Congress bagged a handsome tally of 30, while its ally the NCP pocketed 10. An editorial in 'Saamana', a mouthpiece of the ruling Shiv Sena, pointed out that except Dhule, the BJP suffered defeat in the remaining five district councils. In in these five districts, the Congress, the NCP, the Shiv Sena and Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) have done "very well", the Marathi daily said. The editorial said the BJP's defeat in the home turf of Fadnavis, a former chief minister, and Gadkari, a Union minister, was "sensational and shocking" and the outcome shows the rural population was "fed up" with the party. "The Congress had performed well in the assembly elections in Nagpur (held in October) and now it has wrested the district council from the BJP," the Sena publication said. The paper said in Nandurbar and elsewhere, if the Congress had fought the polls in alliance with the Shiv Sena, the BJP would have been "finished". The Sena is in power in Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress and the NCP. In 56-member Nandurbar ZP, both Congress and the BJP won 23 seats each, while the Sena, which had no presence earlier in the council, bagged seven. "No party can get power in the district council without the support of the Shiv Sena. The anger of losing power in Nandurbar was so much that BJP goons attacked Sena party office in Akkalkua," the paper noted. However, despite losing in Nagpur, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in these ZP polls, winning 109 of the 332 seats on offer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister decries violence unleashed by Congress and Left, on floor of House. Kolkata: If needed, I will fight alone, a livid Mamata Banerjee declared on Thursday in the West Bengal Assembly where she said she will boycott a meeting called by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on January 13 over campus violence and the CAA, exposing the opposition faultlines on the issues. Ms Banerjee, also the TMC president, was angry over incidents of violence in her state during a trade union strike called by organisations affiliated to the Left and the Congress over anti-people policies, including economic measures and livewire issues like the new citizenship law and a pan-India NRC. I have decided to boycott the meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi on January 13 in New Delhi as I do not support the violence that the Left and Congress unleashed in West Bengal yesterday (Wednesday), She announced on the floor of the House when the Opposition insisted that the House pass a resolution against the CAA. She said since the House had already adopted a resolution against a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) in September last year which den-ounced according Indian citizenship to minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan on the basis of religion, there was no need for a fresh resolution. As Opposition MLAs insisted on a fresh resolution, the tempestuous lea-der launched into a harangue, defending her stance and declaring she will not attend the meeting called by Mrs Gandhi. You people follow one policy in West Bengal and a totally contradictory policy in Delhi. I dont want to be on the same page with you. If needed, I will fight alone, she declared, as she mounted an onslaught on the Congress and Left members. West Bengal was rocked by incidents of violence and arson during the strike called by trade unions linked to the Left and the Congress on Wednesday. Those supporting the strike had clashed with police and vandalised public property. Ms Banerjee had said though she empathised with the strikers and supported their cause, she was against a shutdown as it inconvenienced comm-on people and adversely affected economic development. The meeting called by Gandhi is being seen as an attempt to bring together all opposition parties against the Modi government, which is facing unmitigated fire from the opposition over Sunday night violence at the JNU. The opposition has blame-d the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student front of the RSS, for the violence. Ms Banerjee asserted the TMC will continue its protest against the CAA and the NRC but will not brook any shutdown over these issues in her state, calling it part of dirty politics by the Left and the Congress. She also sought forgiveness of opposition leaders who will attend the meeting called by Gandhi, saying it was I who had mooted the idea. But, after what happened yesterday in my state, it will not be possible for me to attend the meeting, she said. Ms Banerjee also dialled NCP chief Sharad Pawar to inform him about her decision, Trinamul sources said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the Trump administration does not know precisely when or precisely where Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was planning to launch the imminent attacks against U.S. assets that the administration cited as justification for the airstrike that killed him last week. There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by Qasem Soleimani, Pompeo told Fox News. We dont know precisely when, and we dont know precisely where, but it was real. The U.S. launched an airstrike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force. U.S. officials said they believed Soleimani had been plotting imminent attacks on U.S. facilities in the surrounding region that could have killed hundreds of Americans, though multiple reports citing senior diplomatic and military officials have contradicted the claim that an imminent threat had emerged in the days before the airstrike. I dont think theres any doubt that Soleimani had intentions not only to take action against our forces, our diplomats in Iraq but in other countries around the region and world as well, Pompeo said. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle expressed outrage after a briefing on the airstrike delivered Wednesday by Pompeo and other officials. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah led the charge, calling it the worst military briefing hes ever attended before backtracking on Thursday. Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky joined Lee in criticizing Pompeo and other intelligence officials for refusing to divulge more information about what prompted the strike and for counseling lawmaker against publicly debating the merits of further escalation. I thought we did a dynamite job, Pompeo said. We did our level best to present them with all the facts that we could in that setting. We shared an awful lot with them yesterday, the secretary of state added. I think members of Congress get frustrated with this sometimes. More from National Review From the flood-ravaged banks of the Brahmaputra to the disappearing wetlands of the Mekong, Asia's main waterways -- and the people that live along them -- are fighting for survival. Climate change, international politics, spiralling population growth, and unchecked development are putting unprecedented strain on key waterways in some of the most densely populated nations on earth. The continent's ten major rivers flow out of the Tibetan Plateau, which China has political control over, creating unique challenges and requiring international cooperation if Asia is to boom in the century ahead. India is grappling with a water crisis on all fronts as global warming creates more extreme weather and poor environmental planning puts millions at risk. "The water crisis is expected to worsen as the country's population is set to grow to about 1.6 billion by 2050," says Pradeep Purandare, a former professor with the Water and Land Management Institute. Flooding on the Brahmaputra is becoming increasingly violent, displacing entire communities and causing hundreds of deaths. But along its banks, as with much of India, there are few provisions in place to harness or conserve water when there's an abundance, and a lack of proper management when there's too little. As a result, some 163 million people in India, which is set to become the world's most populous nation in the next eight years, live without access to clean water, according to WaterAid. In neighbouring Pakistan, the mighty Indus is under threat from global warming. The waterway's basin produces 90 percent of Pakistan's food supply, according to the United Nations, with agriculture dependent on irrigation from the river, which in turn heavily relies on meltwater from the Himalayas. With its surging population, experts warn the nation faces "absolute water scarcity" by 2025, citing the loss of the Himalayan glaciers as a key threat. The Mekong nations -- China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam -- are struggling to ensure sustainable development, jeopardising hundreds of millions of lives. Under the tagline "Shared River, Shared Future", China -- which sits upstream -- insists it seeks only the sustainable development of the river and to split the spoils of a trade and energy boom. But squeezed for value by the dams lacing China's portion of the river, and further downstream, the Mekong is already changing. Fish stocks have collapsed, say Thai fishermen, while endemic species like the giant Mekong catfish and river dolphins are on the brink of extinction. Internally, China faces challenges of its own. Decades of rapid development has left the Yangtze, the world's third-longest river, and its tributaries choked with toxic chemicals, plastic and garbage, threatening the main drinking water source of nearly 400 million people -- a third of China's population. Authorities even publicly disclosed the existence of more than 250 "cancer villages" -- mostly in the Yangtze basin, according to the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, which linked the increases to water pollution. Protecting the Yangtze -- which irrigates an area responsible for 45 percent of the country's GDP -- is now a priority, with President Xi Jinping calling for an end to "destructive" development along it. From the flood-ravaged banks of the Brahmaputra to the disappearing wetlands of the Mekong, Asia's main waterways -- and the people that live along them -- are fighting for survival Climate change, international politics, spiralling population growth, and unchecked development are putting unprecedented strain on key waterways in some of the most densely populated nations on earth Decades of rapid development has caused environmental damage to the Yangtze, the world's third longest river India is grappling with a water crisis on all fronts as global warming creates more extreme weather and poor environmental planning puts millions at risk With its surging population, experts warn Pakistan faces "absolute water scarcity" by 2025, citing the loss of the Himalayan glaciers as a key threat Two women were arrested in New York after federal authorities say they scammed an investor out of $100,000 they claimed would go towards booking Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars to perform at a Texas concert to benefit Sandy Hook Promise. Nancy Jean, 51 of Georgia, and Carissa Scott, 41 of Mississippi were both arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, after officials at the FBI and Eastern District of New York said they falsely represented that they could book top-tier musical acts to perform at the concert. According to the criminal complaint, Jean and Scott were contacted by an investor in September last year who was organizing a concert in Texas to benefit the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation. One of the investors wired the women $100,000 as a deposit, after they sent a contract with a fee of $500,000 that purported to commit Timberlake to perform, authorities said. The women claimed Timbaland, Timberlakes music producer, would also attend the concert, but that Timberlake would require a private aircraft to travel to the venue, the criminal complaint alleges. When the former member of NSYNC failed to promote the event on his social media account, the investor asked for confirmation that he was booked for the concert, authorities claim. In response, the investor received a telephone call from an unidentified individual who falsely claimed to be Timberlakes manager, federal authorities said. The person on the call said the fee would have to be raised to between $800,000 and $1 million. The FBI determined that phone call was made from a phone registered to Canvas Media, the marketing and promotions business the two women were associated with, according to the complaint. In November 2019, the defendants sent the investor an agreement stating that Mars would perform at the concert as an alternative to Timberlake for a fee of $600,000. The investor agreed that Mars could be the headliner, but did not send an additional deposit to the defendants, authorities said. Later, an FBI agent working undercover asked for an update on the event after one of the investors introduced the agent over the phone, who claimed to be a New York financier looking to invest in the concert. Scott told the undercover agent Timberlake and Mars were worried the concert was a joke, and wanted to be paid in full before they would post about it on social media. Scott then stated that she could arrange for other top-tier artists to perform at the concert, including Drake, Flo Rida and Ed Sheeran, the complaint said. About half of the $100,000 originally sent to Jean and Scott for the deposit was used for personal expenses or withdrawn as cash, authorities said. Richard P. Donoghue, United States attorney for the eastern district of New York, said the two women viewed a charity formed to protect children from gun violence as a way to line their own pockets, Simple stealing is bad enough, this is worse, Donoghue said. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is surrounded by reporters as she heads to vote at the Capitol in Washington on Nov. 6, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo) Sen. Susan Collins Working With Small Group of GOP Senators to Allow Impeachment Witnesses Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said shes working with a small group of GOP Senators on allowing witnesses during the upcoming Senate impeachment trial. House Democrats impeached Republican President Donald Trump on Dec. 18, 2019, but still have not transmitted the impeachment articles to the Senate, preventing the trial from starting. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday the articles could be sent over next week. Also on Friday, Collins told reporters that in Maine that she worked all week with a fairly small group of Republican senators and others in the party to try to make sure both House impeachment managers and representatives of Trump can call witnesses during the upcoming trial. We should be completely open to calling witnesses, she told reporters, according to the Bangor Daily News. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for both the House and the presidents counsel if they choose to do so. Collins declined to state the size of the group shes working with. Republicans in the Senate have largely dismissed the impeachment efforts and convicting Trump on the charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of office would require a supermajority vote, which is widely considered unlikely in the body, where the GOP holds a 53-47 majority. More likely to pass is a vote to allow witnesses, though the timing of that vote has divided the majority and minority parties. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has repeatedly said he wants to follow what the Senate did during the 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton. An initial vote set guidelines for the prosecution and defense and a vote on witnesses didnt take place until after each side presented their case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 9, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Calif.) has pushed for the witness issue to be included in the initial. McConnell told reporters on Jan. 7 that hes gathered at least 51 votes for the Clinton-era rules. He emphasized that he wasnt necessarily ruling out witnesses, but leaving the matter until later in the trial. The announcement came after Collins and fellow moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said they supported McConnells plan. Collins has been critical of other aspects of the coming trial. She said last month that it wasnt appropriate for senators to declare their intentions to vote to acquit or remove the president before the trial starts. Each of us will take an oath, an oath that I take very seriously, to render impartial justice, she said. She singled out a lawmaker from each side: McConnell, who said he was coordinating impeachment trial guidelines with Trumps team and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination and who has said she believes Trump is guilty and should be removed from office. There are senators on both sides of the aisle, who, to me, are not giving the appearance of and the reality of judging thats in an impartial way, Collins said. Along with Collins and Murkowski, moderate GOP senators considered to be on the fence about impeachment include Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Cory Gardners (R-Utah). Sundays uncompromising give not an inch hurling battle with Slaughtneil (Derry) was as good as 10 hard training sessions for Shamrocks of Ballyhale, their delighted manager Henry Shefflin insisted. The 10 times All-Ireland senior medal winner was thrilled with the display and gritty attitude of his players in what was a physical and good hurling All-Ireland semi-final in Newry. The score in a game on January 5 was amazing, insisted Shefflin after his charges set up a shot at what would be Shamrocks eight All-Ireland title, and first back-to-back successes. In the context of the All-Ireland final, that game was as good as 10 training sessions, Shefflin continued. We will go home and look at the video and get to work. We are thrilled to be back in the final. For us this was all about trying to get back to Croke Park. Mission accomplished! The manager felt all of the Shamrocks players put in an exceptional shift in what was a fast, furious and physical game, but All-Star, Colin Fennelly was the star of the show. Without him in the form he was in, we might not have won through, Henry continued. You need people to step up in games like that. TJ (Reid) was well marshalled, so you need someone else to step up. Colin was excellent. His speed, strength and size when he got moving was a spectacle in itself. And when Brendan Rodgers scored a goal for Slaughtneil to reduce the gap to the minimum with three minutes or normal time remaining, Shefflin admitted he was very concerned. We were all very worried, he insisted. We were worried all through. It was that kind of match. The efficiency of both teams was off the Richter Scale. I think everyone coming here knew a little bit about us. What we saw from Slaughtneil was fantastic. We know they are fit and strong, but it was their hurling that stood out for me. Their performance was absolutely top class. Kilkenny star, Joey Holden, said Shamrocks expected the hurling fireworks they got. Slaughtneil are a good team with lots of drive and good hurlers, he suggested. We got nothing less than we expected. Maybe others expected less, but not us. We would be a bit disappointed with some areas of our game. We were a bit sloppy at times, but we havent hurled in seven weeks and we packed Christmas in between. Maybe they were distractions. You cannot use those things as excuses. Semi-finals are about winning. I wouldnt care if we won by only one point once we got through. We are in the final, which is the bottom line. One wondered what he thought about the physicality of the opposition. It wasnt as apparent where I was, but out around the middle third of the field it was a battle ground, he replied. I would say the bodies are sore now. Neither team stopped going or putting in the tackles. Scores were hard to come by. And now, what about the bid for an eighth title? We are in the final and we have a chance to do it, said the former Kilkenny All-Ireland winning captain. The club never put two together, so that is in the mix too. Opponents Borris-Ileigh will be itching to win. We have to pick ourselves up and get ready to go again. That is the aim. It is great to be there. Holden, TJ Reid, Colin Fennelly and the other Shamrocks players involved with Kilkenny have been going virtually non-stop since this time last year, but the hardy full-back made little of the demanding schedule. I feel grand, he said in reply when asked how he felt. Tiredness is an easy excuse when you lose or play badly. I wouldnt say anyone was tired today. It has been a long season, but we have managed the load as best we can. If you were doing this year in and year out it would be a different story. We will be ready to go again in the final. He insisted the younger players really proved their worth against Slaughtneil, but it was the attitude right through the panel of 31 players that was Shamrocks real strength, he felt. Our young players are getting better and better, Joey felt. They all worked really hard. The lads who didnt get to tog out today have been immense in the background. We need them to continue to drive us on because they are making us all better. CLAYTON, N.C., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- North Carolina based company Piper Lou Collection is raising funds to fight the Australia Wildfires. The online retailer is using the sale of its products to crowdsource donations to the Australian Red Cross. To this point, they have donated over $50,000 and plan to extend that above & beyond $100,000, which is their current goal. Piper Lou is donating 100% of Net Profits from its "Hearts for Australia" Campaign directly to the Australian Red Cross. Their large following on social media has helped bolster the company's efforts. Thousands of Hearts for Australia hoodies being printed and shipped from the production warehouse. Laser Etched Tumblers being produced at the Clayton, NC Piper Lou headquarters. Piper Lou, who's known for it's sarcastic and customizable tumblers, however has a charitable program that's given back to over 50 causes around the world since 2016. "Our brand has such an amazing following of customers and supporters. They really have rallied around this cause with us. We like to call what we do Fashion with a Function. We are able to give customers a great product that is directly tied to a great cause. Furthering the awareness of how drastic these fires are is paramount to helping aid the relief efforts," said Corey Rush, CEO of Piper Lou. At least 25 people have been killed, many communities and ecosystems completely destroyed, and an estimated loss of 1 billion animals. The chaos is inviting the opportunity for humans to display tremendous acts of compassion. Relief efforts from celebrities have been impactful as awareness continues to grow. Comedian Celeste Barber raised over $32 million dollars on Facebook, breaking the platform's fundraising record. Chris Hemsworth has also donated $1 million along with many other celebs. "Our goal is to raise over $100,000 and hopefully much more. If we are but a blip on the radar of what is being donated, that is great as it means much more aid is being delivered to Australia in a time of need. I cannot fathom the pain they are experiencing at the moment," said Keegan Rush, Co-Founder of Piper Lou. Piper Lou sells Tumblers, Hats, T-Shirts, Hoodies, etc. All of these items are available in the donation's items referenced above. If you would like to support the cause and purchase one of the items that donate to the wildfire relief, please visit www.piperloucollection.com today. North Carolina based company Piper Lou Collection is raising funds to fight the Australia Wildfires. The online retailer is using the sale of its products to crowdsource donations to the Australian Red Cross. To this point, they have donated over $50,000 and plan to extend that above & beyond $100,000, which is their current goal. Piper Lou is donating 100% of Net Profits from its "Hearts for Australia" Campaign directly to the Australian Red Cross. Their large following on social media has helped bolster the company's efforts. "Our brand has such an amazing following of customers and supporters. They really have rallied around this cause with us. We like to call what we do Fashion with a Function. We are able to give customers a great product that is directly tied to a great cause. Furthering the awareness of how drastic these fires are is paramount to helping aid the relief efforts," said Corey Rush, CEO of Piper Lou. "Our goal is to raise over $100,000 or more. If we are but a blip on the radar of what is being donated, that is great as it means much more aid is being delivered. I can't fathom the pain they are experiencing at the moment," said Keegan Rush, Co-Founder of Piper Lou. Piper Lou sells Tumblers, Hats, apparel, etc. Since 2016, Piper Lou has donated to over 50 causes and charities with similar campaigns around the globe. If you would like to support the cause and purchase one of the items that donate to the wildfire relief, please visit www.piperloucollection.com today. Media Contact: Corey Rush 919.622.2869 [email protected] SOURCE Piper Lou Collection Related Links http://www.piperloucollection.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 17:20:53|Editor: zh Video Player Close SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump sent a birthday message to Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), through South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported Friday. Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, was quoted as saying at the airport upon his return from Washington that when he met with Trump on Jan. 8, on which Kim's birthday allegedly fell, the U.S. president remembered Kim's birthday on the day. Chung said President Trump asked President Moon to convey his congratulatory message to Kim. Chung said he was told that Trump's message to Kim was delivered to the DPRK in an appropriate manner on Thursday. Chung returned earlier in the day from his trip to Washington. During the trip, Chung reportedly had a brief meeting with Trump. The Army has rejected a request from Maj. Matt Golsteyn, the soldier charged with murder who was pardoned by President Trump in November, that he be reinstated in the elite Green Berets. In 2018, Golsteyn was charged was murder, accused of killing a man in Afghanistan in 2010. Golsteyn said the man was a suspected Taliban bomb maker who was killed during an ambush. He admitted to the killing while taking a polygraph exam for a position with the CIA. His trial was set to begin in December, but Trump intervened in November, giving him clemency. After his pardon, Golsteyn asked that his Special Forces tab be restored, but the Army notified his lawyer last month that his request had been denied. The decision was reaffirmed on Thursday, NBC News reports, and this could lead to a showdown between the Defense Department and Trump. More stories from theweek.com Chip Walter recommends 6 great science books Donald Trump is behaving like the guiltiest man alive 5 royally funny cartoons about Harry and Meghan's exit Ukrainian officers of the Joint Forces detained a militant who was guarding the MH17 crash site in Donbas. From the end of August 2014, he guarded the site of crash of MH17 flight which had been downed by Russian troops. In addition, he was selling the picked aircraft wreckage and personal belongings of crash victims to the militants for the monetary reward of RUR 500-1,500. During that period of time, he repeatedly saw at the crash site the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation who exercised overall control and directed the actions of militants," the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports. As noted, the detained Ukrainian citizen participated in the activities of the armed formations of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk region. In the second half of 2014, the man served in a paramilitary unit of Russian-backed militants. He performed the tasks of Russian curators at illegal checkpoints in Shakhtarsk district of Donetsk region, where he repeatedly witnessed crimes and abuse against civilians. The criminal activity of the detainee was confirmed by a photo from one of his social network accounts which depicts the man wearing a military uniform and standing against the background of the passenger plane wreckage. The man was handed over to the representatives of the National Police. ol Two boxers circling each other in the ring: a favourite image used to describe the relationship between Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. One wonders if it inspired those notorious promotional photos of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat as boxers in the 1980s. Indeed, it says a great deal about the evolution of the art market that a throwaway line of one era should spark a commercial photo shoot in another. Picasso's Large Nude on a Red Chair (1929) Credit:RMN-Grand Palais/Mathieu Rabeau Matisse & Picasso at the National Gallery of Australia is the first exhibition held in this country that brings together the work of two men widely believed to be the greatest artists of the 20th century. It's purely a local novelty because the idea has had numerous international airings, the most important being Matisse Picasso of 2002-03, a joint initiative of Tate Modern, London; the Grand Palais, Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The most recent double survey, as far as I can tell, was held in San Antonio, Texas, in 2014. Along with the exhibitions we've seen a stream of publications exploring the Matisse-Picasso nexus, to the point where one wonders if the theme may be approaching saturation. The NGA is hoping local audiences are still hungry, and not too daunted by a bushfire season that has made road travel to Canberra into an obstacle course. It would be futile to judge Matisse & Picasso by the standards of the 2002-03 exhibition, as the NGA stood no chance of securing loans of comparable quality. What we have instead is a show that does the best it can with whatever was available. That means numerous borrowings from Australian public and private collections (the most conspicuous absence being Picasso's Weeping Woman from Melbourne), and every work-on-paper that can be scrounged from the NGA's voluminous holdings. In this 4 January, 2020, file photo, a health surveillance officer monitors passengers arriving at the Hong Kong International airport in Hong Kong. (PHOTO: AP) UPDATE: Adding Ministry of Health statement issued on Saturday (11 January) evening saying that the case is not linked to the Wuhan cluster. SINGAPORE Tests have confirmed that the second suspect case reported on 10 January, involving a 26-year-old male Chinese national with pneumonia, is not linked to the Wuhan cluster in China. In a statement issued at 8.15pm on Saturday (11 January), the Ministry of Health (MOH) also said that the man had tested negative for coronavirus. When it was reported to the ministry on Friday (10 January), it said that the man, who had travelled to Wuhan, had been isolated as a precautionary measure and was in stable condition. The suspect case has not visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the cluster of pneumonia in Wuhan, the MOH had said. The MOH said it will continue to monitor the situation closely. Last Sunday, a three-year-old female Chinese national with pneumonia, who had also travelled to Wuhan, was similarly isolated as a precautionary measure. She later tested negative for the virus and was instead diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common cause of childhood respiratory infection. Experts in China had "preliminarily determined" that a new type of coronavirus belonging to the same family as Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was behind the outbreak that has struck 59 people in the country with no death reported. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the preliminary discovery of a new coronavirus in a statement. "Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented," said WHO Representative to China Gauden Galea. No obvious evidence of human-to-human transmission has been reported so far. News of the virus spread has seen countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam conducting temperature screenings on passengers arriving from Wuhan. Have a tip-off? Email us at sgnews.tips@verizonmedia.com. In your email, do provide as many details as possible, including videos and photos. Related stories: Story continues China believes new virus behind mystery pneumonia outbreak Wuhan virus outbreak: 3-year-old girl's case not linked to China cluster, says MOH Temperature screening at Changi Airport for travellers flying from Wuhan from 3 Jan over pneumonia concerns If you're pining for the days of phones with swappable batteries and durable bodies, relief is at hand -- at least, if you're willing to import from a Nordic country. Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy XCover Pro, a mid-tier rugged phone that's only expected to launch in Finland. It has modern Samsung staples like a 6.3-inch 1080p display, a hole-punch front camera and an on-screen fingerprint reader, but it also come in a military-grade chassis with a 4,050mAh removable battery. Yes, you can swap power packs during a camping trip. The screen is also friendly to people with gloved and wet hands, and there are two programmable buttons to spare you from poking at the display in the first place. The specs won't make you rush out to replace a Galaxy S10. Apart from the screen, you're looking at an unspecified 2GHz octa-core chip, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage and cameras that include a 13-megapixel selfie shooter along with 25MP and 8MP cameras on the back. Finns can buy the XCover Pro starting on January 31st for 499 (about $555). There's no word yet on whether or not the phone will come to other markets, let alone bigger markets like the US or UK. For now, you'll either have to import the phone or stare at it lovingly from afar. One of the guns Ndjongo sold was recovered by Prince Georges County police in February during an investigation into a drive-by shooting, according to court records. Another was recovered by police a few months later in the District, authorities said. Both guns had the serial numbers scratched off, but police were able to restore both and trace them to purchases made by Jordon at gun stores in Virginia. Mexico City: Brazil's independent medical regulator announced new rules for treating transgender patients on Thursday, including lowering the age when trans people can have gender reassignment surgery to 18 from 21 years old. The Brazilian Federal Council of Medicine also set out guidelines for the use of puberty blockers for the first time to delay bodily changes in trans children and dropped the age requirement for hormone therapy to 16 from 18 years old. The new rules in Brazil follow other efforts in South America to increase rights for trans people. Credit:iStock "Comprehensive care for transgender people must take into account all their needs, guaranteeing access free of any kind of discrimination," said the resolution published in the country's Official Gazette. The progressive rule changes were the latest in a string of advancements for trans people in the South American country. Tap Room Gamings foundation has been built on customer service, Bond said in a news release. We used our expertise in the industry to help drive success for our customers. We wanted to continue this tradition and know that each establishments partnership weve built over the years will continue to succeed, which is why weve chosen J&J to move our customers forward. CG Power's board sacked Thapar after Vaish Associates' audit report, which itself is based on as many as 23 disclaimers, claimed that Thapar swindled Rs 3,000 crore from CG Power Mumbai: In a relief to CG Power's sacked chairman Gautam Thapar, the NCLT on Thursday termed an audit report by Vaish Associates on the firm as "bogus", saying it will only rely on the report conducted independently or by a government agency in the matter. CG Power's board sacked Thapar after Vaish Associates' audit report, which itself is based on as many as 23 disclaimers, claimed that Thapar swindled Rs 3,000 crore from CG Power. The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) said it will not rely on this report, unless done independently or after being ordered by the corporate affairs ministry or government agencies like Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). Only the government's investigation will be taken on record, the bench comprising Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma said. The tribunal kept the matter on alleged financial irregularities at CG Power for further hearing on 23 January. Based on the Vaish's report, the corporate affairs ministry on 25 November sought to reopen the books of the company for the past five years ending March 2019. But, the NCLT had rejected this petition as well on 16 December. Markets regulator Sebi banned Thapar and entities associated with him for three years, following which he moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which has asked the company to provide relevant documents to him. In November, the SFIO began a probe against CG Power and 15 group entities. Transocean Limited RIG recently issued a new fleet status report, lending an insight into its portfolio of drillships, recent contracts and backlog. Since its last fleet status update in October 2019, which showed a backlog of $10.8 billion, the company has been successful in securing $352.9 million worth additional contracts, courtesy of new deals and extensions of its existing projects. Following the fall in oil prices during mid-2014, the offshore drilling market had been hit hard as operators ramp down offshore exploration and development activity. Now, with crude price being back above $60 per barrel, the offshore rig market is witnessing an upswing. Cashing in on this optimism, Switzerland-based Transocean has been able to snap up a number of contracts for its ultra-deepwater and harsh environment drilling services of late. Apart from contributing to the companys top line, this upside will considerably improve dayrates and provide material benefit to the companys cash flows. Transocean Ltd. Price Transocean Ltd. Price Transocean Ltd. price | Transocean Ltd. Quote Digging Into Details of the Newly-Clinched Contracts While the company won a few deals since the last fleet report in October 2019, the$91- million worth one-year drilling contract off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago for its semisubmersible Development Driller III served as the fundamental component to boost its backlog. This new pact with leverage to command an estimated day rate of $250,000 is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2020. Further, it is expected to help the company progress in terms of both backlog and cash flow. Moving on, the Leiv Eiriksson rig, which operates for ConocoPhillips COP, gained a 125-day contract offshore Norway and is expected to be effective August 2020. Drillship Discoverer Inspiration, working for Talos Energy TALO, also clinched a 120-day contract in the US Gulf of Mexico with a dayrate of $210,000. Notably, Discoverer Inspiration is set to conclude a contract with Chevron Corporation CVX in the US Gulf during the first quarter of this year. Story continues Further, the company was awarded new agreements for its drillships including Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 and Deepwater Asgard. The slew of contracts to the companys credit reflects steady demand from customers, underscoring its earnings and cash flow visibility. Markedly, Transocean, sitting atop a record backlog, is the largest provider of offshore contract drilling services. With U.S. offshore industry witnessing early signs of revival, evidenced by the spurt in project sanctions, the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) Transocean is poised to capitalize on this trend effectively, riding on its technologically-advanced and versatile drilling fleet. With numerous offshore projects expected to be green-lighted in 2020, demand for rigs is likely to be spurred benefiting this offshore drilling giant. The company has been taking necessary steps to enhance its fleet with modern and competitive rigs while scrapping the old and incompetent drillships to make its operations more technically sound. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> 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 Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Transocean Ltd. (RIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report ConocoPhillips (COP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Stone Energy Corporation (TALO) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research tech2 News Staff With the mission to send humans to space becoming a reality, India's space agency is leaving no stone unturned to get the best for their astronauts. Gaganyaan will see Indian astronauts go to space for the first time and they will receive their training in Russia. But the country is paying a hefty sum to do so, reported The Hindu. ISRO wants to construct a training facility for its astronauts and has proposed a plan that will cost Rs 2,700 crore. The Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) will be built at Challakere a town in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka. Special astronaut facilities The budget for the HSFC is not included in the Gaganyaan mission budget of Rs 10,000-crore. The centre may take two to three years to complete. However, in a previous press conference, K Sivan, ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space said that they will begin the first tests for Gaganyaan by the end of the year and the most likely date for the first human spaceflight will be in 2022. The centre will most likely not be ready for us till then. According to a press release from ISRO, the centre was to be responsible for the implementation of the Gaganyaan project and should have been involved in all the end-to-end mission planning, development of engineering systems for crew survival in space, crew selection and training and also pursue activities for sustained human space flight missions. Also Read: Four astronauts shortlisted for Gaganyaan; Chandrayaan 3 gets govt approval says ISRO chief K Sivan Everything connected with events and planning of the Human Spaceflight Programme (HSP) will shift to our campus at Challakere. We want to establish a self-contained facility there so that in future, whatever training and activities we are now doing in Russia for the Gaganyaan crew can all be done by us here. When ready, the 400-acre ISRO land at Challakere will be the single-stop consolidating infrastructure and activities related to space travellers, said Sivan in an interview with The Hindu. Also Read: Training for astronaut candidates begins in Russia, but still no women test pilots who 'qualify'? The HSFC was formally announced and inaugurated on 30 January 2019. Work on the HSP is currently divided in different in buildings of ISROs headquarters in Bengaluru. There is a need to have our own facilities that will help in the training of our astronauts if we want to continue sending human beings to space. "We are going to have a sustained HSP and will need a large number of facilities for training (future) astronauts, said Sivan The town of Challakere is called the Science City and ISRO, the Defence Research and Development Organisations Advanced Aeronautical Test Range, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Indian Institute of Science have their facilities there. Astronauts need to be quarantined after they return back to earth from space and ISRO plans on adding a much-needed quarantine facility at the second launch pad in the Sriharikota spaceport. This will also ensure that the astronauts who are to go to space are not exposed to anything as well Among many human-rated projects, the second launch pad and the launch vehicle, the GSLV-MkIII that was used to launch Chandrayaan 2 will also be modified for crew safety and comfort. Gaganyaan Gaganyaan will see India sending human beings into space for the first time for a minimum of seven days in 2022. The spacecraft, that will carry the astronauts, will be developed by ISRO and will consist of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module. Russia has offered India its services to train the astronauts and to also conduct their medical test. Four Indian males, form the indian airforce have been selected to become the first Indian astronauts in space. Eleanor Kagan is in her pyjamas in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, thinking about a dead woman. The 33-year-old podcast producer first became aware of Julie Yip-Williams from reading her blog, which she started in 2013 after being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Its an ending no one wishes for, but Yip-Williams had a bad beginning too. She was born blind in Vietnam in 1976. When she was three, her family fled the country in a rickety fishing boat to Hong Kong in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, spent several months in a refugee camp and eventually settled in Los Angeles. Julie Yip-Williams believed a podcast would help her daughters remember her. Credit:Paul LeMarc Brown Although she underwent surgery at UCLA to remove cataracts, which gave her some vision, she remained legally blind, needed thick glasses and was not allowed to drive. She grew up to go to Harvard Law School, then become a successful lawyer and a mother of two daughters, Mia and Isabelle. Then she got the diagnosis. In 2017, when she knew her time was rapidly running out, she got a publishing deal with Random House to write her memoir, Julie: The Unwinding Of The Miracle. And in the last couple of months of Yip-Williams' life, Kagan entered to make a podcast to accompany the book. David Drummond speaks during a meeting of the Advisory Council to Google on the Right to be Forgotten in Paris. "With Larry and Sergey now leaving their executive roles at Alphabet, the company is entering an exciting new phase, and I believe that it's also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders," Drummond's note read. "As a result, after careful consideration, I have decided to retire at the end of this month." Drummond's departure means the company is losing one of its highest paid executives and veterans amid yet another sexual misconduct scandal. Google has faced numerous allegations of misconduct in its ranks, which led to a global walkout of employees and the amendment of some of its policies relating to sexual misconduct. Former senior contracts manager Jennifer Blakely published a blog post about her relationship with Drummond last summer, alleging he broke company rules by having multiple affairs some with other employees and says he neglected her and their son, withholding contact for long periods of time. Days later, Drummond married a 37-year-old current legal employee he had been dating named Corinne Dixon. The departure comes weeks after Alphabet's board of directors asked for an extension to respond to a shareholder lawsuit that included allegations against Drummond. Alphabet shareholders sued the board in January for allegedly covering up sexual misconduct from executives, including Drummond and former Android co-founder Andy Rubin who the company paid $90 million upon his departure after an internal investigation found sexual misconduct claims credible, according to a report in the New York Times. Rubin denied any wrongdoing in statements at the time of the report. The report of Rubin's payout set off a company-wide walkout by employees in November 2018. As a result of the shareholder lawsuit, the board formed an independent subcomittee and law firm to investigate how executives handled claims of sexual harassment and other misconduct by Drummond and other execs. Drummond joined Google in 2002 after serving as the company's first outside counsel, working with Larry Page and Sergey Brin. He served as chief legal officer and vice president of corporate development until 2015 when he became chief legal officer and SVP for parent company Alphabet. During his tenure, Drummond also led global teams in charge of public policy, mergers and acquisitions, public relations and communications. He also held senior roles within Alphabet's investment arms GV and Capital G. Drummond is also a board member of private equity firm KKR & Co. L.P. and an investor in media company OZY Media. Drummond was an Uber board member from July 2013 until August 2016, but departed as the companies came into conflict over Uber's self-driving car plans. Alphabet paid Drummond $47 million last year, including stock awards worth $46.6 million, according to the latest proxy. In March 2018, he and finance chief Ruth Porat were each granted 42,007 shares. At the time the proxy was filed, he owned 31.5 million unvested shares worth $32.7 million. The filing states that 1/16th of the awards vest every quarter until they're fully vested. While the company has reportedly said it will not pay Drummond an exit package, he has sold more than $220 million worth of shares in the last year Then, at the beginning of January, Drummond sold $77 million worth of stock, including all his remaining Class A shares, according to SEC filings released on Thursday. It marked the third straight month in which Drummond dumped a significant amount of stock, following sales of over $70 million in November and again in December. Drummond has been the subject of at least two separate investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2005, the SEC found Google had failed to register more than $80 million of employee stock option grants before its IPO the year prior. Neither Google nor Mr. Drummond acknowledged wrongdoing, and paid no fine, according to a Wall Street Journal article at the time. Drummond simply agreed not to violate securities laws in the future. Around the same time, the SEC alleged Drummond helped mislead investors of his previous employer SmartForce while exaggerating its revenue by $113.6 million and its profit by $127 million during a three 1/2-year period ending in mid-2002. He later settled by agreeing to pay $700,000. Here's the note that he just sent to employees: More than 20 years ago, Larry Page and Sergey Brin first asked me to help them with their unincorporated startup. Of course, that startup would grow to include more than 100,000 employees and make a positive impact on the lives of people around the world. From the beginning, I felt privileged to work with Larry and Sergey to realize their commitment to making information more universally accessible and useful, and was thrilled to join Google full-time in 2002. With Larry and Sergey now leaving their executive roles at Alphabet, the company is entering an exciting new phase, and I believe that it's also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders. As a result, after careful consideration, I have decided to retire at the end of this month. As I do so, I'd like to thank everyone with whom I've had the privilege to work so closely over the past two decades. Whether we were fighting alongside others around the globe to protect and expand freedom of expression; pressing to make sure copyright law continued to foster openness and creativity; designing an unconventional but dynamic corporate structure that has served Google so well; putting together industry-changing acquisitions that served as the foundation for some of Google's most popular products; creating and evolving the rules that protect our users; or establishing start-up models to help unleash the potential of our amazing Other Bets: I have always relished the opportunity to work with such talented colleagues. In particular, I have loved building and being a part of the legal team: your dedication, drive and leadership in helping digital innovation flourish has been amazing to behold. I have also been energized and deeply impressed by my time with the corporate development, public policy, trust and safety and communications teams, as well as the folks at GV, Capital G and Jigsaw. These groups' relentless creativity and herculean efforts to further Google's ambitious mission have been beyond inspiring. I'd also like to thank BGN and all of the company's employee resource groups, whose tireless efforts continue to make the company better.I know this company is in the best of hands, and I am excited for what the future holds for Google, for Alphabet and for me. But, as I move on, I'd like to thank Larry and Sergey and each and every one of you for providing me with the most engaging, challenging and rewarding professional environment that anyone could hope for. I am deeply grateful. WATCH NOW: Google employees walk out to protest the handling of sexual harassment allegations. The Oil-Energy Market witnessed a massive downturn over the last few years. This lean period forced operators to cut down on costs significantly by suspending some of their major operations as well as trimming jobs while looking for innovative ways to churn out more oil and gas. While these strategic actions might improve profit levels to a certain degree, the overall sentiment surrounding the industry persists to be mostly negative. Moreover, crude might experience a short-lived surge based on unforeseen geopolitical developments but prices are unlikely to eclipse the psychologically $60-a-barrel cap on a sustainable basis. As in the aftermath of the recent U.S.-Iran standoff, prices rallied to multi-month highs, attributable to concerns that escalating tensions in the Middle East could lead to supply disruptions only to spiral downward again when normalcy resumes. This is expected to keep the oil and energy sectors profits under pressure. Moreover, there is a supply glut in the market, especially from the United States. Industry Performance Lets take a look at the price performance of the oil and gas field services as well as the exploration and production industry, which are the two biggest energy components. In the past five years, the S&P 500 Index has surged 62.8% against the oil and gas energy sectors 20.4% slump. During this period, the Zacks oil and gas field services industry dropped 37.7% while the Zacks oil and gas exploration and production plunged a whopping 54.1%. Oil-Energy Sector Jobs in Jeopardy In a bid to bounce back from the toil-effects of weak oil prices, Apache Corporation APA recently announced that it will slash the global headcount by nearly 500. Further, this upstream operators management stated that it plans to close its office in San Antonio, TX wherein it will eliminate 270 employees. This Texas-based independent energy player realized that in order to enhance its operating efficiency despite challenging market conditions, it should lower costs substantially. The company decided to save $150 million a year and curb its 2020 capital expenditure by 15%. Story continues The volatility in commodity price convinced explorers and producers to adopt a relatively conservative approach to capital investment programs. This organizational restructuring is anticipated to help Apache achieve its purpose of minimizing expenses and optimizing operational excellence by testing and supporting its employees. Also, the move comes just a day after Occidental Petroleums OXY lay-off announcement. This Houston-based exploration and production company has been offering its employees a voluntary retirement option for quite some time now. It started this procedure in early August 2019 after Occidental completed a $57-billion (including debt) mega merger deal with Texas-based upstream company Anadarko Petroleum following prevalence in a bidding war with supermajor Chevron Corporation CVX. But this new job cut announcement is in addition to those voluntary exits. For acquiring Anadarko, Occidental incurred a hefty debt and resorted to other borrowings as well. Until now, it repaid worth of $7 billion of the total debt load within five months of the deal's closure. The company will continue to lower its debt burden further in 2020 with proceeds from asset divestitures and free cash flows. So, to streamline its portfolio by containing costs and mitigating its debt woes, Occidental decided to render a portion of its workforce redundant. This vital step taken by various companies in the oil and energy market for facilitating strategic transformations to improve operational efficiencies and add shareholder value is not only limited to the oil and gas - exploration and production industries. Similar measures are also taken by a few players from to the oil and gas field services. Last month, Halliburton Company HAL notified about curtailing staff strength by nearly 800 at its El Reno operation in Oklahoma. Further, it announced plans to close down its office in the suburbs of the same city. Also, the move comes within two months of Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) Halliburtons announcement of laying off 650 employees across four states, namely New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota and Colorado. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Halliburton noted that for operators in North America where oil production hit record levels, its more about returns than growth now. This Houston-based oilfield service provider perceived that to bolster its operational excellence despite a tough market landscape, it needs to check expenses by a huge margin. Further, Texas-based National Oilwell Varco, Inc. NOV announced that it will retrench 85 personnel as it plans to shutter its equipment-making operations for offshore and onshore drilling rigs at its Galena Park facility due to the persistent drop in shale business, which in turn, induced a fall in drilling and completion activity in the United States and Canada. Moreover, Pumpco Energy Services, Inc., an affiliate of Superior Energy Services, Inc., widely known for delivering fracking services for well-digging completions, recently made 112 workers redundant at its Odessa, TX-based site. While RPC Inc. RES too confirmed to reduce part of its workforce. What Lies Ahead? The uncertainty around oil prices means that the commodity's future movement is anybody's guess. However, fundamentals suggest that the odds are firmly stacked against an immediate turnaround. And if theres any further price decline, especially below the $55-a-barrel level, it would leave a significant impact on small-to-mid-tier entities, triggering another spate of job losses. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> 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 National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) : Free Stock Analysis Report Halliburton Company (HAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report RPC, Inc. (RES) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chevron Corporation (CVX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Apache Corporation (APA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Debris at the scene of the plane crash in Iran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) It is highly likely that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, US, Canadian and British officials have said. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. An Iranian official denied a missile hit the plane and called on both the US and Canada to release data backing their allegations. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the countrys national aviation department, said it is absolutely impossible that the armed forces would shoot down a civilian plane. Expand Close Mourners place candles and photographs during a vigil outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed (Codie McLachlan/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mourners place candles and photographs during a vigil outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed (Codie McLachlan/AP) He said authorities have recovered two black box flight recorders, saying they are damaged but readable, which may shed further light on what caused the crash. The crash on Wednesday morning came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing US troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Ottawa: We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Likewise, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Mr Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act, he said. The assessment that 176 people were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-US conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the US military operation that killed Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani. It was not immediately clear how the US and its allies would react. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of Gen Soleimani and Irans retaliatory missile strikes. US troops were on high-alert. At the White House, President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shoot down and dismissed Irans initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. Mr Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truthUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Late on Thursday, the US House approved a measure that aims to bar any further military action against Iran without congressional approval. However, the resolution approved by the Democratic-majority House is nonbinding and no similar measure could pass the Republican-controlled Senate. As for the airliner shoot down, the US officials would not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by a Russian Tor system, known to NATO as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. The New York Times posted a video it said it had verified showing the moment the apparent missile struck the plane over Iran. The video shows a fast-moving object rising before a fiery explosion. An object, apparently on fire, then continues in a different direction. A preliminary Iranian investigative report said the airliner pilots did not make a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when it went down. The Iranian report suggested a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Irans official news agency said the country is inviting Boeing experts to join the investigation into the plane crash. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. Expand Close Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile (Adrian Wyld/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile (Adrian Wyld/AP) The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries whose citizens died in the crash. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the US accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday that it would evaluate its level of participation, but its role could be limited by US sanctions on Iran. US officials have also expressed concern about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. Before the US assessment, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the of civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truth. MEA describes interactions as positive, no member from Middle East. New Delhi: Envoys of 15 countries from a cross-section of regions ranging from the United States to East Asia, South-East Asia, Africa and Latin/South America were taken by the Indian government on a two-day visit beginning Thursday to the newly-created union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, where they met security officials, members of civil society, political leaders and the local media there. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said the envoys had been taken there to see the efforts being made by the government to bring the situation to normal, adding that normalcy had been res-tored to a large extent. The MEA also described the interactions there as positive. Envoys belonging to the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Fiji, Maldives, Norway, Philippines, Morocco, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Guyana and Togo comprised the group. Norway - which is not part of the European Union (EU) - was the only European country represented. But there was no envoy from either the EU countries or the Middle East. Another prominent absentee was Russia. The MEA indicated that more such visits could be planned and that EU-member nations ambassadors may be taken separately as a single group to J&K later. The presence of the United States was significant, given the close ties between New Delhi and Washington in recent years. Bangladesh and the Maldives, two Muslim-majority countries in Indias immediate neighbourhood, were also significantly represented. Vietnam, Indias closest friend in South-East Asian regional bloc Asean, was also represented. On the visit, New Delhi said it was making a beginning, after five months by taking this group to J&K. Government sources late on Thursday evening said a military briefing given to the visiting 15 foreign envoys in Srin-agar focused on cross-border terrorism with videos of infiltration. Sources said questions about revoking of Article 370 (that had granted special status to J&K) figured during discussions later in the day between political leaders in Kashmir and the 15 foreign envoys. Sources also said that in a meeting between the local media and the foreign envoys, the demand for lifting of continuing Internet restrictions imposed by the Indian Government was also raised by the local media. Sources pointed out the envoys also had a informal chat with nearly 100 youth from across Jam-mu and Kashmir in small private groups, adding that the foreign envoys "drove through the city of Srinagar, (and) could get the feel of traffic, and open shops. More interactions, more free interactions could be organised with visiting ambassadors from Delhi, New Delhi said. On the absence of the EU ambassadors, the MEA on Thursday said, We need to correct a perception. There are reports that EU ambassadors did not go because they thought this was a guided tour. Our understanding is very different. We wanted this group to be broad-based. And there were restrictions in numbers. You cant take too large a number, when you are moving and organising meetings. So we wanted this group to be a manageable size. We wanted this group to represent different geographical regions... Subsequently, we will try to organise similar visits to J&K. On EU, when we approached them, they welcomed that decision because many of their ambassadors had requested for a visit to J&K... Our understanding is that they wanted to visit in a group. On many issues, they take a group position. The invitation was not sent to all the members of the group because it would have clearly made the group too big. We were also told by some of the members that this was organised at a short notice. At no stage did we tell them that a certain meeting cannot be organised. We are looking at the possibility of organising a visit by the EU Ambassadors. Lets see how it works out. The John Lewis Partnership was thrown into chaos yesterday as its first female boss was sacked and staff were told their bonus could be scrapped. The group, which includes Waitrose, had a dismal Christmas and is on course to post significantly lower profits for the year. Critics said their annual festive advert, which this year featured a dragon called Edgar, didnt work after the company posted a 2 per cent drop in sales in November and December. Paula Nickolds, who started at the retailer in 1994, has already overseen the first half-year loss in the companys 155-year history. The group, which includes Waitrose, had a dismal Christmas As the crisis rages, managing director Paula Nickolds, who has been at the helm for three years, has been sacked. Mrs Nickolds, who started at the retailer in 1994, has already overseen the first half-year loss in the companys 155-year history. The high street retailer is also threatening to cancel its annual staff bonus for the first time since 1953. The dire figures come amid a crisis on the high street. This week, the British Retail Consortium which represents two thirds of the sector said that last year was the worst for its members since at least 1995. The high street retailer is also threatening to cancel its annual staff bonus for the first time since 1953. The dire figures come amid a crisis on the high street In the past two years, House of Fraser and Debenhams have come close to disappearing from the high street and Marks & Spencer is closing 200 stores. Department stores have been hit hardest as shoppers turn to online competitors, especially to buy clothes and electrical items. Retailers are also battling a storm of rising staff costs, rents and business rates. John Lewiss never knowingly undersold pledge has also come under scrutiny as heavy discounting elsewhere on the high street has forced it to lower prices. It yesterday said fashion, make-up and skincare ranges performed well over the Christmas period. But sales were dragged down by the home, electricals and home technology markets, which bosses partly blamed on low consumer confidence. Critics said their annual festive advert, which this year featured a dragon called Edgar, pictured above, didnt work after the company posted a 2 per cent drop in sales in November and December Waitrose performed better, upping its sales and outperforming many of its supermarket rivals. But most concerning for the much-loved brand is its dramatic fall in profits. The 26million half-year-loss will be reversed by the year-end, the company said, but profits will remain significantly down on the 160million posted last year and the 293million the year before. John Lewis Partnership chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield is also quitting having announced his departure in November 2018 and will be replaced next month by outgoing Ofcom chief Dame Sharon White. The situation presents a huge challenge. One of her first decisions will be to choose whether to deny staff their much-coveted bonus. Dame Sharon will also take control of an enormous cost-cutting campaign, which has already shaved 300million off the business in three years. Her appointment raised eyebrows in the industry because, having served as the boss of Ofcom and before that, the Treasury she has no retail experience. Sir Charlie said of the crisis: You can never choose the weather. When the sun is shining you can make hay, but when the weather turns you have to spot the clouds early. I cant say that were proud of our profit performance this year. There will also be a round of redundancies, as a third of head office staff are shown the door. U.S. President Donald Trump asked South Korea to deliver a birthday message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in the latest exchange of personal greetings between the two leaders whose countries have been adversaries for decades. South Korea's National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong told reporters at Incheon International Airport on Friday that Trump made the request to send greetings to Kim, whose birthday was on Wednesday. "He had a well-wishing message that he wanted South Korean President Moon Jae-in to deliver to Chairman Kim Jong Un," he said. Rebecca Solnit, whos been writing for decades on all sorts of topics, is viewed these days primarily as a progressive writer and feminist icon the voice of the resistance, The New York Times dubbed her in a 2017 profile. That was the year her book Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, about activist engagement, seemed to be in the hands of every other reader in blue Portland. That view of her garnered pushback, though, with Canadian writer and editor Viviane Fairbank proclaiming that she didnt read Solnit because her work was the literary equivalent of a tote bag bearing the word feminist in glitter. Whatever view you subscribe to, Solnit is an influential, gifted writer whose interests range far beyond the politics of the moment. Shes won two National Endowment of the Arts fellowships and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other awards. Her many books include a National Book Award nominee, The Faraway Nearby, a collection of thoughtful, absorbing essays such as Apricots, a lyrical examination of storytelling woven around an embarrassment of apricots and what they come to symbolize for Solnit as she struggles with her mothers descent into Alzheimers. Solnit is certain to draw an enthusiastic crowd when she appears at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, at Revolution Hall, 1300 S.E. Stark St., to promote her new memoir, Recollections of My Nonexistence. Shell discuss the book with Portland author Cheryl Strayed (Wild). Tickets to the event go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 10, at revolutionhall.com. Four bilingual picture books from Tigard-based Wednesday Night Press.Amy Wang/Staff Want childrens books en espanol y ingles? Tigards Wednesday Night Press can help When Patricia Aguilar Morrissey was raising her children in Astoria in the 1990s, she looked high and low for Spanish-language books for them. I was the only source of Spanish for the kids, and I wanted them to learn the language, said Morrissey, who is of Mexican and Ecuadoran descent and grew up in Peru. She found only translations of English-language books that her children had already read. So she began writing her own Spanish-language stories. But with a career as an educator and a family to raise, two decades passed before she got her stories published. Through a 2013 writing class, Morrissey met Lisa Wilcke, and they eventually started a bilingual press: Wednesday Night Press, named for the night on which their writing group met. So far, Wednesday Night Press, based in Tigard, has published four picture books in Spanish and English: Morrisseys Magdalenas Picnic, a tribute to the power of imagination, and My Friend Tomas, a look at cross-cultural friendship; and Wilckes The Pie Contest, which includes a recipe, and Colorplay, which teaches the words for colors. Morrissey will read from the books at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at A Childrens Place, 1423 N.E. Fremont St., Portland. Vancouver author tries his hand at serialized fiction with Serial Box Two artificial intelligence startups with a shared past, one contract to terraform Mars: Thats the gist of Machina, a new e-book/audiobook whose four writers include Vancouvers Curtis C. Chen, author of the cheeky science fiction thrillers Waypoint Kangaroo and Kangaroo Too. Machina is among the offerings from Serial Box, itself a startup, which publishes science fiction and fantasy books delivered in weekly episodes Machina has nine that you can either read or listen to (you can even switch formats whenever you want). Machina isnt Chens first outing with Serial Box; he also co-wrote the 10-episode serial Ninth Step Station, about an American peacekeeper and a Japanese police detective trying to solve a set of murders in near-future Tokyo. The serials are $9.99 each. Chen is hosting the next installment of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Americas Pacific Northwest Reading Series, featuring Daniel H. Wilson, Catherynne Valente and Django Wexler, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland. Literary events, Jan. 10-16 Admission is free unless otherwise indicated. Samuel Woolley, a journalism professor and project director for propaganda research at the University of Texas Center for Media Engagement, presents his new book, The Reality Game: How the Next Wave of Technology Will Break the Truth. 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. Mary Kay Thompson Tetreault, a feminist scholar whose curriculum vitae includes serving as provost at Portland State University and teaching at Lewis & Clark College, discusses her memoir, Living When Everything Changed: My Life in Academia. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Aaron Blabeys new picture book, The Return of Thelma the Unicorn, is featured in a storytime with activities. 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at local Barnes & Noble stores. Michael and Laurie Allred discuss their graphic biography Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns, and Moonage Daydreams with Ben Saunders, director of the University of Oregons Comics and Cartoon Studies program. 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Portlands Monica Bourgeau launches her book The Change Code: A Practical Guide to Making a Difference in a Polarized World. 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, Hey Love, 920 E. Burnside St. Oregon powerlifter Chris Duffin presents his memoir, The Eagle and the Dragon: A Story of Strength and Reinvention. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Dr. James Gordon, former chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy, presents his book The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, presents his new book, The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired, co-authored with Tina Payne Bryson. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Oregon mystery authors W.H. "Bill" Cameron and J.S. James present their latest mysteries, Camerons Crossroad and James River Run. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, Annie Blooms Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Highway, Portland. Portland poet Dan Raphael reads from his collection Manything. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, Broadway Books, 1714 N.E. Broadway, Portland. Astrologer Jessica Lanyadoo presents her guide Astrology for Real Relationships: Understanding Me, You, and How We All Get Along. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Washington poet Linda Bierds presents her new collection, The Hardy Tree, and Portland poet David Biespiel presents his new collection, Republic Cafe. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, Annie Blooms Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Highway, Portland. Benson High School students read from their work as part of Literary Arts Writers in the Schools program. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, Books With Pictures, 1401 S.E. Division St., Portland. Brian M. Biggs, a former Portland high school teacher and a Vietnam veteran, discusses his memoir, Prove My Soul: Another Side to the Vietnam War. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Capping the National Book Foundations Year of James Baldwin in 2019, Nicholas Buccola, author of The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate Over Race in America and the Elizabeth and Morris Glicksman Chair in Political Science at Linfield College, talks with Tony Wolk, professor of literature at Portland State University. 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, Broadway Books, 1714 N.E. Broadway, Portland. Update: Kim Taylor Blakemores event has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Rose City Book Pub, 1329 N.E. Fremont St. Portlands Kim Taylor Blakemore holds a launch party for her adult fiction debut, The Companion. 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, Prosperity Pie Shoppe, 7814 S.W. Capitol Highway. Oregon author S. L. Stoner presents the eighth novel in her Sage Adair Historical Mysteries of the Pacific Northwest series, Bitter Cry. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, Powells Books on Hawthorne, 3723 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland. David Kessler, an expert on death and grieving, presents his new book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. awang@oregonian.com; Twitter @ORAmyW Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Income Tax Department carried out a TDS verfication action at OYO headquarters in Gurugram on Thursday. The hospitality unicorn confirmed that it was a routine TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) survey. Income Tax officials reportedly reached the OYO's office in Sector 69, Gurugram in the first half of the day, reports suggest. A few employees were reportedly asked to leave after the income tax officials started searching the office. The company, already battling a myriad of troubles, assured cooperation to the tax authorities. "There is a routine TDS survey in progress in one of our offices. We are cooperating with the authorities, and are committed to engaging with all relevant stakeholders. OYO Hotels & Homes has actively worked in ensuring that the wider unorganised segment is organised, and part of the formal economy. We continue to support small asset owners by creating entrepreneurship opportunities and giving them access to technology and other resources," an OYO spokesperson told Business Today. ALSO READ:Oyo to expand in Rajasthan, targets 40,000 rooms by 2020 The Ritesh Agarwal-led hospitality aggregator has been in hot water for quite some time now. On the back of rising operating and employee expenses, OYO saw its net loss widen six times to Rs 2,384 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2019. In December last year, Yahoo exited the joint venture with the company in Japan. The money-losing unicorn is now firing thousands of employees in China and India over non-performance. The company has already fired 5 per cent of its 12,000 employees in China and 12 per cent of its 10,000 strong workforce in India, reports suggest. OYO might let go off 1,200 more employees in India in the next three to four months. ALSO READ:OYO may lay off 2,000 employees in India by January-end: report KETCHUM State Fish and Game officers forced a large male mountain lion out of the backyard of a Ketchum home Thursday and again on Friday. Officers used shotguns with non-lethal rubber slugs and buckshot to get the lion to leave the area. The lion had been repeatedly coming to rest in its day bed in a backyard in Ketchums south end. We want the lion to associate a negative and somewhat painful interaction if they choose to stay within our local communities among people and pets, Regional Conservation Officer Josh Royse said Thursday in a statement. We hope that by using non-lethal methods that we can move these urban mountain lions out into the mountains surrounding the Wood River Valley. The lion was first reported to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Wednesday. Officers monitored the lion and decided to force it to move after the lion remained near the home Thursday. Friday, residents informed officers that the lion was back. The officers again used rubber slugs and buckshot to scare the animal. It immediately ran, and one the area was clear, officers found a partially consumed elk calf in the lions bed. It appeared the lion had been feeding on it for several days. Officers removed the carcass, which will reduce the chance of the lion returning, the statement said. The relocation follows five mountain lion attacks against dogs in one week in December. Those attacks killed three dogs and injured the others. On Dec. 18, Fish and Game officers killed a lion involved in some of those attacks. We are concerned with what appears to be increasing situations of lions becoming less fearful of humans, Royse said. When lions dont react as we would expect them to, there will be times we need to take actions like we did today. Residents are encouraged to report any sightings of mountain lions to the Magic Valley Regional Office at 208-324-4359, during normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Any incidents where a person must take action to cause the lion to flee or back down, and any attacks by mountain lions on pets or people, should be reported immediately to the Magic Valley Regional Office or the Blaine County Sheriff by calling 911 or 208-788-5555. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:56:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close by Farid Behbud, Chen Xin KABUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- "Learning driving could help women ... to run their own businesses and achieve economic self-sufficiency," an Afghan female driving trainee said. More and more Afghan women, confronting the social pressure, are making efforts to exercise their rights, including driving. Some of them have joined driving centers across the country. Saliha, a school teacher and one of the trainees of a driving course in Mazar-i-Sharif, told Xinhua recently that she was very interested in learning driving, so she joined the driving program launched by the provincial women affairs department. "The provincial women affairs department is supporting a local driving center -- Emroz va Farday-e-Darakhshan Driving Center, in providing facility and classes for women in Mazar-i-Sharif. This program helped a lot for empowerment of women in Balkh province," Saliha said. Emroz va Farday-e-Darakhshan is a Dari name which means "Bright Today and Tomorrow." "I want to buy a car and drive to school on time, and after school go to my friends and relatives houses, and solve my problems, with no need for men," she said. She has asked other fellow women citizens of her province to join the driving course and learn driving as a profession. "The only female taxi driver is working in Mazar-i-Shairf. She is running her own business and she is helping her family to make a livelihood," she said. The Emroz va Farday-e-Darakhshan Driving Center has trained over 300 women to drive since it was launched three years ago, according to Tamanna Amini, the organizer of the driving program. Amini said she launched the driving program for women in cooperation with the Balkh provincial women affairs department. "This is the 20th driving course with over 35 ladies coming to enjoy learning how to drive theoretically and practically in a one-month training program," Amini said. Munira Ghanizada, another female trainee of the driving course, also said that she was encouraged by other women learning driving in Mazar-i-Sharif, despite facing harassments from some men. "Women are provided with more facilities in the recent years and we want to break the taboo and other wicked traditions by learning to drive and participating in other social activities," she said. Women should overcome the obstacles so as to stand on their own feet and gain economic freedom, she said. "We live in a traditional society. Men are creating challenges for us and not in favor of our driving. But we should continue with strong will to reach our goals," she added. Hamida, another school teacher, believed that women should not rely on men or any of their male family members to drive them to somewhere else. Instead, they should take care of themselves, she said. "We have still many problems in our society. Some men have not still accepted women as part of the society, but we want to fight until gradually diminish the problems," she said. The provincial Traffic Police Department has also coordinated the driving program for women by providing them with theoretical and practical trainings as well as distribution of driving licenses, according to Amini. "Women with good economic capability could have their own cars. There is already a woman working as the only taxi driver in Balkh province," Amini said. She said the women who learned professional driving should train other women, as some women are not happy to be trained by men. In the past 18 years, Afghanistan has made remarkable progress in terms of women's rights, and women's status has improved dramatically in all areas. However, women in Afghanistan have a long way to go in order to overcome the current challenges. ABVP distances itself after two alleged party members confess how JNU violence was organised India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 10: Shortly after the Delhi police named several members of Left student organisations for participating in the violence that was unleashed at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on January 5 afternoon, India Today sting operation has two JNU students allegedly associated with the ABVP confessing that they were part of the violence in the evening. Following the India Today report, ABVP took to Twitter and issued a statement saying that the person identified as an ABVP member by IndiaToday is not an ABVP member at all. Akshat Awasthi is neither an office bearer, nor a karyakarta of ABVP, as claimed by @IndiaToday. This is a smear campaign run by India Today to deviate everyone from the facts put forth by @DelhiPolice proving #LeftBehindJNUVoilence. - National General Secretary @nidhitripathi92 ABVP (@ABVPVoice) January 10, 2020 "The ABVP denied that Akash Awasthi is its members. "Akash Awasthis is neither an officer bearer, not a karyakarta of AVBP, as claimed by India Today. This is a smear campaign run by India Today to deviate everyone from the facts put forth by Delhi Police proving #leftBehindJnuViolence," the party said in a statement. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police on Friday released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was one of them, five days after a masked mob assaulted students on the varsity's campus, leaving 35 injured, including her. Ghosh was among seven of the nine suspects who are from Left-leaning student organisations, which have been opposing the hike in hostel fees and had called for a boycott of the semester registration process. The January 5 violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is the fallout of tensions brimming on the campus since January 1 over the registration process issue, police claimed. The Supreme Court on January 10 sought stands of various petitioners, challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act before different high courts, on a plea by the Centre for transfer of their petitions to the apex court. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to all petitioners, seeking their replies, and slated the matter for further hearing on January 22 along with a slew of other anti-CAA petitions, already pending before the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the court that different high courts adjudicating the same question of CAA's constitutionality may lead to the emergence of conflicting views from different high courts, eventually necessitating the apex court's intervention. Additionally, it may also inconvenience lawyers, obliging them to rush to different high courts to attend proceedings, he pointed out. The bench, however, said lawyers moving to different states for attending hearing in CAA matter is not its concern. Earlier on December 18, hearing a slew of anti-CAA petitions filed before it, the apex court had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its operation. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. President Ram Nath Kovind had assented to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act. The top court had on December 18 issued notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January on a batch of pleas challenging the CAA's legality. The apex court had fixed January 22 for hearing a total of 59 anti-CAA petitions, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. The petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, before the court include those filed by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Other anti-CAA petitioners include Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, CPI, NGOs 'Rihai Manch' and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma. Several law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act. A lawsuit by a group of conservative activists who allege that San Antonio violated a new Texas law because of the City Councils refusal last year to allow a Chick-fil-A restaurant at San Antonio International Airport can move forward, a judge ruled Thursday. The city had sought to have the lawsuit thrown out of court, arguing that the law wasnt in effect when council members voted to strike Chick-fil-A from an airport concessions contract last March. The Save Chick-fil-A law, which bars government agencies from punishing people or companies for affiliating with or donating to religious organizations, took effect Sept. 1. On ExpressNews.com: Chick-fil-A logo could have been on Alamodome, city records show But state District Judge David Canales ruled Thursday against the citys motion to dismiss the lawsuit, city spokeswoman Laura Mayes said. No trial date has been set, she said. We are disappointed with the outcome of todays hearing and will evaluate our legal options going forward, First Assistant City Attorney Liz Provencio said. We maintain that the city did nothing wrong and certainly did not violate any law, and we will continue to vigorously defend the citys interests. Representatives for the plaintiffs could not immediately be reached, but they have argued that they are suing the city over the March vote because the ban on Chick-fil-A remains in effect and actions taken after Sept. 1 regarding a replacement for Chick-fil-A are subject to the new law. Council members in March approved the contract with Atlanta-based concessionaire Paradies Lagardere to bring a slate of new vendors to the airport with the stipulation that they replace Chick-fil-A with another eatery. On ExpressNews.com: City Council approves new airport concessions contract without Chick-fil-A District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino cited Chick-fil-As history of donating to groups opposed to LGBT rights when calling for the Georgia-based chicken chain to be removed from the contract. But Mayor Ron Nirenberg cited financial considerations and passenger convenience as his reasons for rejecting Chick-fil-A. The chains policy of closing on Sundays would give hungry travelers one less option and reduce airport revenue, he said. Nonetheless, the decision riled conservatives including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who said the city had discriminated against Chick-fil-A on religious grounds. Chick-fil-As founder, the late A. Truett Cathy, was a devout Southern Baptist. In 2012, its chief operating officer spoke out against same-sex marriage. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Federal Aviation Administration launched investigations into whether San Antonio violated any laws by excluding Chick-fil-A from the airport. On ExpressNews.com: Governor signs Save Chick-fil-A bill into law The controversy also drove state lawmakers to pass the Save Chick-fil-A law last year. Five San Antonio-area residents, including former council candidate Patrick Von Dohlen, sued the city and Paradies Lagardere in state District Court days after the state law took effect. Chick-fil-A was singled out because it donates money to Christian organizations that oppose homosexual behavior, they said in their lawsuit. The group is suing the city and Paradies Lagardere to force them to open a Chick-fil-A at the airport as the concessionaires contract initially said it would. They also vowed to sue any company that tries to take Chick-fil-As former slot on the contract. At Thursdays hearing, the city argued that its decision regarding the contract wasnt connected to religion. We feel strongly that the city never took any action to adversely affect anyone based on their religion or their affiliation with a religious group, said attorney Neel Lane, representing San Antonio. He called the ruling procedural and said the city is ready to make its case. Meanwhile, work is continuing on new restaurants at the airport under the Paradies contract, but no final decision has been made on a replacement for Chick-fil-A. Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio city government and politics. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFReports (TNS) Cyber attackers recently targeted the computer system in the city of Dunwoody, Ga., adding to the growing list of metro Atlanta governments that have come under siege online Dunwoody officials said Thursday that no data was compromised during the ransomware attack, which was detected on Christmas Eve and is now under investigation by the FBI. The intrusion was quickly identified by staff, which worked with the citys computer security contractors at InterDev to shut down servers and disconnect computers in order to limit the impact of the attack.As soon as we detected a problem, we took immediate steps to protect the citys infrastructure, Ashley Smith, InterDevs director of government services, said in a news release. Data back-ups were used to fully restore systems with no loss.Dunwoody police Chief Billy Grogan said the attackers demanded a ransom be paid in bitcoin, a digital currency. He declined to reveal the amount requested but said the city did not pay.A handful of computers and servers had to be wiped clean and it was a few days before the citys full computer network was back up and running, Grogan said.In the meantime, the police department had to revert back to the analog days, writing tickets and reports by hand and relying radio communications instead of email.We continued providing services and protecting our community, Grogan said.The attack made Dunwoody just the last metro Atlanta government to be targeted by cyber attackers in recent years.The city of Atlantas system was attacked in March 2018, crippling the network for days . In that attack, the city refused to pay a $51,000 ransom reportedly demanded by Iranian hackers Last July brought a series of other cyberattacks: first on the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts , then the Lawrenceville Police Department, the Henry County government and the Georgia Department of Public Safety An unpleasant shock can greet Ohioans who have been ill or injured. Its often called surprise medical billing -- charges for medical treatment or health services by an out-of-network provider often operating at in-network facilities, charges the patients health plan may only partially cover, if at all. These stealth charges can run into the thousands of dollars -- an appalling practice that must be reined in. Luckily, in the absence of a federal law curtailing surprise medical billing, Ohio lawmakers seem ready to act -- as at least 28 other states have done. Unluckily, Gov. Mike DeWine, who vetoed surprise billing language in last years budget, still has concerns, according to a spokesman. DeWine is open to a legislative solution, the spokesman said yesterday, but also wants to make sure that such an Ohio law not unduly burden health providers or shift costs to other health consumers. In his budget veto message last July, DeWine said he shared legislators goals but was concerned in-state efforts might overlap federal efforts, potentially placing duplicative or burdensome regulations on health care providers. Now pending in the Ohio House is House Bill 388, introduced Nov. 5 by Rep. Adam Holmes, a Republican from Muskingum Countys Nashport. According to the Legislative Service Commission, HB 388 would require that insurers cover certain out-of-network costs and that they disclose certain, related cost information to patients. The bill also establishes negotiation and arbitration procedures for disputes. Surprise billing is an important issue we worked to address in last years budget, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Larry Householder said Wednesday. We have continued our work on this issue with House Bill 388, which Speaker Householder supports." Studies suggest surprise medical billing is a growing burden for patients. Stanford University scholars, for instance, recently looked at millions of inpatient and emergency department admissions nationally between 2010 and 2016, and found that out-of-network bills rose sharply for both, with the mean potential financial responsibility for inpatient bills going from $804 to $2,040 and for emergency room visits rising from $220 to $628. The scholars conclusion: Out-of-network billing appears to have become common for privately insured patients even when they seek treatment at in-network hospitals. The mean amounts billed appear to be sufficiently large that they may create financial strain for a substantial proportion of patients. HB 388 is pending in the Houses Finance Committee, chaired by Rep. Scott Oelslager, a North Canton Republican. Eight other Greater Cleveland legislators are among the committees members: Republican Reps. Jamie Callender, Dave Greenspan, Stephen Hambley and Bill Roemer, and Democratic Reps. Stephanie Howse, John Rogers, Michael Skindell and Bride Rose Sweeney. Voters concerned about surprise billing should let those legislators know of their concerns, and share any personal experiences with surprise billing that theyve had. According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund (a philanthropy founded by the Harkness family, which had Cleveland ties), as of July, 28 states had enacted measures to protect patients against surprise medical billing. Ohio should do the same. About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions about our editorial board or comments on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. * Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, & look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. A change in the law in 1995 to reduce the retirement age for superior court judges from 72 to 70 came during a period of considerable upheaval in the legal system. Ostensibly the change was made to stop the judicial benches from becoming overpopulated with out-of-touch judges who had been in their positions for far too long. But it was just one of a raft of reforms aimed at depoliticising and modernising the legal system in the wake of the Whelehan affair, which led to the collapse of the Fianna Fail-Labour coalition in 1994. Labour pulled the plug after Taoiseach Albert Reynolds appointed Attorney General Harry Whelehan as president of the High Court despite controversy over the alleged mishandling of a request to extradite paedophile priest Brendan Smyth to the North. The subsequent Rainbow Coalition brought in the Courts and Courts Officers Act, which reduced the retirement age for senior judges and introduced a new judicial appointments board to advise the government on nominations. The 1995 Act did other things too. It limited the term of office for a court president to seven years, removed the requirement for barristers to wear wigs in court and extended the powers of the Master of the High Court and the Taxing Master. Twenty-five years on, it is debatable whether the aim of depoliticising judicial appointments was achieved and we again find ourselves in the midst of a period of considerable upheaval. A new model for appointments championed by Transport Minister Shane Ross is close to becoming law, despite considerable legal and political opposition. It would simultaneously reduce the say lawyers have in suggesting candidates and the level of discretion the government has in making nominations. A long-awaited Judicial Council was recently set up to promote high standards, facilitate investigations of judicial misconduct and provide guidance on sentencing and injury awards. The age of retirement has also now become a topic of discussion in Government again. As revealed in today's Irish Independent, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan wants to row back on the retirement age changes made in 1995. The minister argues that people are working and living longer and that it is a shame to lose expertise if judges are prepared to continue serving. There is some merit in what he is saying. Back in 1995 average life expectancy was 73 for men and 78-and-a-half for women. It is now 78.4 and 82.8 years respectively. The job of a judge is not physically demanding and experience and wisdom is gained over time. Few would argue the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, who is due to retire this June, or Chief Justice Frank Clarke, who reaches the age of retirement in October 2021, are "past it". On the contrary, they are regarded as being at the peak of their powers. Mr Justice Kelly, for example, is chairing a review of the civil justice system which is expected to recommend considerable reforms. The number of retired judges appointed by the Government in recent years to lead commissions of investigation and tribunals also gives the lie to the view that people of that age have gone too stale to adjudicate on important matters. Instead, the main opposition Mr Flanagan faces is from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which is apparently concerned about increased pension costs and implications for the wider public sector, where the compulsory age of retirement is 70. In recent years, that department has largely held the line in resisting pressure to increase legal fees. There is nothing to suggest it won't also remain firm on the judicial retirement age issue. This would be unfortunate, however, as increasing the age of retirement would undoubtedly make the job more attractive and lead to more high-calibre candidates applying. One of the main reasons more don't apply is that during the financial crisis the period of service required for a judge to qualify for a full pension increased from 15 years to 20. This means lawyers have to seek judicial positions before reaching the age of 50 to get a full pension, an unattractive prospect for many practitioners as their earning power remains high in their 50s. A Government decision on the issue is unlikely to be rushed. The overall age profile among senior judges at the moment is reasonably low and it will be many years before the courts are faced with a glut of retirements. But the debate will not go away and is likely to intensify not just here but internationally as well. Similar proposals have been made in the UK, which has had difficulty recruiting judges due to misgivings over pay and conditions. UK Supreme Court president Brenda Hale wants the retirement age there to be increased from 70 to 74 and for applications to be sought from highly experienced lawyers in their 60s. It's here. The new year is officially upon us and 2020 figures to be like none other. Here are some of the key issues facing Bakersfield and K Actor Nicholas Hoult has joined the cast of Hollywood star Tom Cruise's next "Mission: Impossible" movie. Director Christopher McQuarrie made the announcement on Instagram. "Say, @nicholashoult, care to raise a little hell?" he wrote, to which Hoult replied, "Love to. Though why stop at a little?" Details about the actor's role are still under wraps, but according to Variety he will play a villain. Cruise is reprising his role of secret agent Ethan Hunt in the seventh and eighth "Mission: Impossible" movies. McQuarrie will write and direct both the films, which will be shot back-to-back. The seventh installment is scheduled for a July 23, 2021 release, while the eighth film will hit the theatres on August 5, 2022. Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff are also part of the cast. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of people took to the streets of New York on late Thursday to protest a potential US military action against Iran. The protesters gathered in the Civic Center neighborhood in Lower Manhattan at around 6 pm (EDT) holding up signs reading "Hands off Iran," "We demand de-escalation," "Say no to war with Iran," "No war or sanctions on Iran," "Rage against war," and "We choose peace," among many others. "We are here protesting the war against Iran and the war on the people of the world," an activist taking part in the rally told Sputnik. Pacifists chanted "Endless wars have got to go" and "End the wars, end the fear" at the Foley Square, which has become a popular protest site, previously attaining demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011 and a rally dubbed "NYC Stand Against Trump" against the swearing-in ceremony of President Donald Trump in January 2017. During Thursday's demonstration, an increased police presence has been witnessed on the site with dozens of NYPD officers maintaining public order and a helicopter flying over the square. "No War With Iran" mass protest in New York is one of more than 360 rallies nationwide demanding the de-escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran after the US killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. "The US started this by attacking the Iranian (military) leader...The ball is in the US court, they should just not retaliate," another activist told Sputnik. On Wednesday, Iran launched missiles at two bases housing American troops in Iraq in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. No casualties from either side were reported in the attack. Trump announced a new wave of sanctions to be imposed immediately in his address to the nation on Wednesday as a retribution for Iran's missile strikes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A military base in Niger was attacked on Thursday by heavily armed assailants. The assailants killed 25 people and in the resulting clash between the assailants and security forces, 63 'terrorists' were killed according to the defence ministry. The region has witnessed jihadists attacks in the past. The attack was eventually routed The assailants were reportedly on vehicles and motorbikes and the assault occurred in Chinegodar, in the western Tillaberi near the volatile frontier with Mali. The attack occurred around 1 pm local time. While speaking to local media, defence spokesman Colonel Souleymane Gazobi said that they were able to attack and repel the enemy with the help of combined air support of Niger air force and partners. The enemy was pushed outside the boundaries of the country. The death toll was 25 dead as well as six injured in the friendly side and 63 assailants neutralised. One of the deadliest terror attack in Niger Earlier, Niger suffered one of its deadliest terror attack on December 10, 2019. At least 71 soldiers were killed and 12 got injured during the assault. Hundreds of terrorists launched an attack on the camp with shelling and mortars in western Tillaberi region near the border with Mali. Without giving the exact figure, the defence ministry said that the terrorists were heavily armed and that a substantial number of terrorists were neutralised. Since the military is fighting against Boko Haram militants as well as Islamic States jihadist allies, there has not been clarity on which group was involved in the fatal attack. Read: 14 Dead In Niger After Islamic Extremists Attack Convoy Read: 71 Niger Soldiers Killed In Terror Attack At Military Camp: Defence Ministry The terrorists reached the camp using kamikaze vehicles and started attack around 3.00 pm (local time), which continued for more than three hours. According to media reports, explosions of ammunition and fuel present at the camp led to the heavy death toll. The government claimed that the situation is now under control and acknowledged that the assailants have fled beyond the borders of Niger. Read: Hong Kong Vessel Hijacked Near Nigeria Had 18 Indians Aboard: Maritime Agency Read: Nigerian Fraudster Pulls Off $1 Million Heist From A Maximum Security Prison In Lagos (with inputs from agencies) Newsfrom Japan Tokyo, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono ordered the Maritime Self-Defense Force on Friday to dispatch a destroyer and two P-3C patrol planes to the Middle East on a mission aimed at ensuring sea lane safety in the region. The government sees an increasing need for the mission although tensions in the Middle East have heightened since the killing of a top Iranian commander by the United States last week and Tehran's retaliatory missile attacks on Iraqi bases being used by the U.S. military this week, officials said. Members of the MSDF, as well as the destroyer and the patrol aircraft, will be dispatched based on the Defense Ministry establishment law's Article 4, which calls for conducting necessary research and studies. They will carry out surveillance activities in a bid to secure safe navigation by ships related to Japan. MSDF members for the P-3C operations will leave Japan on Saturday. They will also engage in an ongoing antipiracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia. The Takanami destroyer will depart in early February and start its operations late that month. The Middle East mission will cover the high seas in the Gulf of Oman, the northern part of the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. The Strait of Hormuz, including Iranian waters, will be excluded from the operation areas. The mission is due to last one year and can be extended if necessary. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] The House of Representatives has voted to limit Donald Trumps ability wage war against Iran. In the latest attempt by Democrats on Capitol Hill to rein in what they consider repeated overreach by Mr Trump and the executive branch, the chamber voted 224-194 to assert that the president must seek Congressional approval before carrying out any further action against Tehran. The vote went almost entirely along party lines, with just three Republicans joining Democrats in passing the measure. In the Senate, Democrats have sought to push through a similar measure but Republicans there are in the majority. House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure would protect American lives and values by limiting Mr Trumps military actions. She added: The administration must de-escalate and must prevent further violence. Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Show all 24 1 /24 Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions Iranian mourners gather around a vehicle carrying the coffin of top general Qasem Soleimani during the final stage of funeral processions, in his hometown Kerman. Soleimani was killed outside Baghdad airport in a drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump, ratcheting up tensions with Iran which has vowed "severe revenge" AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranian people carry a coffin of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani during a funeral procession in Tehran Official Khamenei website via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions The assassination of the 62-year-old heightened international concern about a new war in the volatile, oil-rich Middle East and rattled financial markets AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Mourners packed the streets of Tehran for ceremonies to pay homage to Soleimani, who spearheaded Iran's Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and was killed in a US drone strike on January 3 Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranians set a US and an Israeli flag on fire during the funeral procession AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, centre, with Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, second left, and President Hassan Rouhani, third left, standing next to him as he leads a prayer over the caskets of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Tehran University Khamenei.IR/AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, openly weeps as he leads a prayer over the coffin of Qassem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Mourners holding posters of Qassem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Coffins of Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a US drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions An Iranian mourner holds a placard AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill as mourners flooded the Iranian capital Khamenei.IR/AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps chief Mohamad Ali Jafari prays on the coffins of Qasem Soleimani and of other victims during their funeral ceremony EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Official Khamenei website via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Satellite image Maxar Technologies/AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Earlier, at her weekly press conference, Ms Pelosi accused the administration of being disdainful of Congress in the way it had acted over last weeks killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Typically, when presidents take military action against a foreign power, the White House notifies a small number of senior members of both the House and Senate the so-called gang of eight in advance. They are sworn to secrecy. In the case of last weeks killing of Soleimani as he arrived at Baghdad airport, the briefing came several days after the event. It was disdainful in terms of not consulting with Congress, Ms Pelosi said, adding that nothing she had seen from the intelligence briefings led her to believe America was any safer as a result of the military leaders targeted killing. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature. Ms Pelosi claimed it nonetheless had real teeth because it is a statement of the Congress of the United States. Eight Democrats opposed the measure. A similar proposal, tabled by senator Tim Kaine, faces an uphill fight in the Senate. Mr Kaines efforts received a boost when Republican senator Todd Young of Indiana, an ex-Marine, said he might support the war powers measure. Two other Republican senators said on Wednesday that they would back Mr Kaines plan. Additional reporting by agencies Summit Contracting Group, a Multifamily General Contractor with offices in Jacksonville, Fl. and Atlanta, has started construction of The Canopy at Boynton Ridge, an Assisted Living Community located in Fort Oglethorpe. The Canopy at Boynton Ridge will consist of 64 units in one two-story building, total square footage of 49,697, and will include units for Assisted Living and Memory Care. Amenities include a commercial kitchen, salon/spa, interior community spaces, courtyards, and maintenance building. Construction has started and will be complete in January 2021. The developer is Rimrock Companies and the architect is Group 4 Design, Inc. Contact Summit at (904) 268-5515 for more information about the project; for information on the company visit www.Summit-Contracting.com. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "Summer on a Poultry Farm," by Elen Krut has nothing to do with raising chickens but everything to do with the hatching of the spirit, heart, and mind. The fast-paced inspirational fiction uses a unique philosophy that invites the reader to follow along and apply the new principles to stop the dysfunctional patterns. The concept is unique because the readers do not have to wade through the traditional psychological theories. Instead, the "blue bird philosophy" questions and discredits the "persuasions" that have been guiding the reader's mind. Elen Krut "Summer on a Poultry Farm" was inspired by the author's life events that took place in Staten Island, NY between the Memorial and Labor Day weekends. While traveling through the journey filled with challenges, rejection, and uncertainty, the author kept noticing just how many people are faced with similar issues on a daily basis. Fears and doubts don't discriminate between social and economical statuses, education, or profession and equally target all. The reader is welcomed to join the main character and explore his or her own journey to the "unknown." On the way, the reader is encouraged to apply the thinking patterns and concepts to own situations and challenge anything and everything that have been causing repetitious dysfunctional cycles. The book has been gaining consistent five-star reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Poultry-Farm-Elen-Krut/dp/1942500580/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7KWOS06R0DFM&keywords=elen+krut&qid=1577721981&sprefix=elen+%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-1 Outstanding Debut - "In her semi-autobiographical literary debut, Ms. Krut has captured the essence of what lies within all of us when facing the constant stream of life's changes whether omnipresent or stealthily put aside. She is speaking to all of us who have experienced challenges and is certain to inspire the reader to do more, to live more, to do better, to not settle for less than what's deserved, to not put up with slights and injustices whether personally or professionally. I took this book with me on vacation and I could not put it down. I finished it in 2 days. I cannot wait for what comes next! Bring on the sequel. This is A MUST READ!" Elen Krut, Esq., graduated with honors from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and was admitted to practice in New York in 2017. Prior to law school, Ms. Krut graduated with a Master's degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Brooklyn College, CUNY. Ms. Krut currently practices law in Staten Island, NY. Ms. Krut is professionally affiliated with the Richmond County Bar Association, where she serves on the board and is a co-chair of the New Lawyers Committee; she is also a member of the Staten Island Women's Bar Association. Publications: New York Law Journal, November 2, 2019, Bar Associations Must Invest in Millennial Lawyers To Survive. Media Contact: Elen Krut [email protected] 718-925-1634 Related Images image1.jpg Related Links About Elen Krut Buy The Book SOURCE Elen Krut Related Links https://elenkrut.com As sectarian sentiment flares, it is important for Muslims in the US and beyond to refuse to feed the dogs of war. There is no scorecard for pain. In revolution and war, everyones truth is real. I am Iranian American and, like most Muslims in the United States, I have had the honour to work with, I am unapologetic in my faith and hopelessly idealistic in matters of justice. Yet it is times like these, after years of immeasurable death and destruction in the lands that house our ancestors that our passionate convictions may no longer serve as reliable roadmaps. As sectarian tensions escalate and we edge closer to another regional conflict, now is the time for leaders to resist calls for revenge and retaliation. They must refuse to feed the dogs of war and lay the groundwork for a different future than the one promised to us by reckless politicians. American Muslims like myself, regardless of background or belief, live in a state of perpetual exile. As the great Edward Said wrote in 1984, the feeling of exile is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home. Those of us born here, but with families from places like Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, have lived on the brink of war for our entire adult lives. We have grown up desensitised to Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism, finding it commonplace in most quarters of our society. The mainstream media and political discourse treat even African Americans and Latinos who have been practising Islam for generations in the United States as domestic exiles. Exile also comes from home: those of my generation have reluctantly inherited the religious traditions given to them by their families. But with echoes of sectarian bias and cultural hangups masking as religion, many like me have fought hard to practise an Islam we can be proud of and clothe ourselves in the sacred values it promises us. American Muslims and their leadership still pride themselves on rejecting sectarianism and staying above the fray of the geopolitical conflicts that dominate news headlines. But in fact, those very headlines perpetuate the exile we are always trying to overcome. Connected to the lands, cultures, and societies of the classical Islamic world, American Muslims have to live the reality that their own tax dollars have literally destroyed the treasures they hold so dear. From the training of religiously radical mercenary armies in Afghanistan and implementing grotesque, debilitating sanctions and then invading Iraq, to enabling Israeli crimes against Palestinians and supporting petrodollar dictators, the list of American and European crimes in the Muslim world keeps getting longer. But even worse, exile and alienation burn when we see the cannibalism of contemporary global Muslim politics: revolutions turn to civil war, freedom fighters to mercenaries, islands of resistance to storms of oppression. Most hands, it seems, are stained with brotherly blood. Throughout my own professional and personal life, these contradictions have been predictable forces to manage routine job hazards, you could say. But with the lost promise of the Arab Spring, the unspeakable horrors in Syria, Libya and Yemen, and now as Iran and the US face off in a death stare, the cracking is getting louder and louder. I am made especially aware of this when I recall the summer of 2015 when as a professor at Georgia State University, I took 20 students to Turkey. We spent a year preparing for a month-long visit to better understand, document, and relate the tragedy of what was then still the Syrian revolution. We explored everything from children begging in the street to the political infighting of factions in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. We delivered food and clothing in caves outside of the Turkish city of Sanliurfa and listened to widows who lost husbands and sons to both the Bashar al-Assad regime and ISIL. I had already, for two years, been working on high-level policy dialogues and research aimed at identifying and mobilising peacebuilding assets that leaders could use to help mitigate the destruction that was impacting civilian life. By that point, I had effectively turned all of my professional and personal attention to the conflict. But as firmly as I was committed, it was and still is one of the most difficult things to reconcile: facing aid workers, refugee children, and Syrian freedom fighters as an otherwise proud Iranian American. Caught in the violent realities of geopolitics, the victims of the Syrian conflict had and have every right to despise Irans unflinching support of the al-Assad regime. The suspicion with which I was repeatedly met and the hatred I heard about Iranians and Shia (and the promise of their pending slaughter), never impacted my ability to recognise the suffering and loss that had become so widespread. Words, pictures, films will never be able to communicate the hell that Syrians have endured. And in moments like this, my rather eclectic Islamic theology Sushi Islam, as we American Muslims often jokingly call the blend of Sunni, Shia, Sufi practices we mix and match mattered very little. I was and am what the world made me. I could only sit and listen. As my students returned to the US and I finished meetings in Istanbul, I went to Kuwait to be with my wife and children, who were visiting family there. Within days of my arrival, an ISIL suicide bomber blew himself up in the historic Shia mosque Imam Sadeq during Friday prayers. My wife, a journalist for a major international media network, was forced to cover the story from start to finish. Within hours she was combing the blood-soaked, flesh debris on the mosque floor and searching for survivors to talk to in the hospitals. While she was reporting, I was at the cemetery. Amid the cries of loved ones, I helped carry the bodies, dig the graves, and fill the resting grounds with dirt over the still warm bodies of 27 men, young and old, martyred for a fantasy. For the Shia around the world, who had suffered similar attacks in Pakistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, this was yet another reminder that they and their loved ones could be killed at any moment. At cemeteries, we all say the same prayers. There is no scorecard for pain. Everyones truth is real. For most Syrians, Qassem Soleimani was a butcher. For a few others, a saviour. For many Iraqis, he is a master manipulator. For others, an irreplaceable mentor. For some Iranians, he was the face of oppression, for many others, a force for freedom. For Shia being blown up in mosques, Soleimani was everything. I do not believe in seeking equivalences and these facts do not cancel each other out. Unlike what many might believe right now, grief and tragedy cannot be measured. But to be sure, villains and heroes are both fantasies, just as are the clean and easy stories we create around them for our own benefit. We do have choices though. The option to indulge anger and foment discord or be forces for reconciliation and temperament, no matter how implausible it might seem in the moment. I have spent the last couple of days trying to keep pace with the events, but more importantly, trying to reach out to friends and family impacted by this directly, or soon to be. I talked to former students now in Baghdad, Iranian families afraid at what might happen at the border, and aid workers and revolutionaries relieved that Soleimani is no more. I have focused mostly on rallying people to calm tensions and refrain from anything that could be seen as a sectarian or partisan discussion. I have deepened some friendships, and will most likely be walking away from a few others. I apologise to my friends who would rather rally around easy answers, a dream of revenge, and turn grief into hatred. I will not be joining you. But please feel free to do as you wish, we all live in the world we choose. As we wait on the suspenseful stage set by callous politicians and robotic armies, I hope we at least will not act as their puppets. There are different plays that can be performed, but it is us who will have to be their authors. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Sylvia Darby, a retired registered nurse, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, has completed her new book I Was Blind, but Now I See: a sensitive story laying bare the loneliness, fear, and self-blame experienced by children victimized by sexual predators. Sylvia writes, At the age of seventeen, a female committed a crime against her attacker, a male rapist. She committed arson and murder as a method of revenge for his attack upon her. The incident was reported as an unsolved murder for many years. She joined the church and was noted as a Christian. She was sure she had gotten away with murder. Years later, when the Holy Spirit had her revisit the year of this traumatic incident, he revealed the hand of God in the matter. She thought that the things that were happening at that time were coincidences. She later learned that they were not coincidences at all, but they were earthly occurrences under the direction of a heavenly being. Therefore, her eyes were open to the fact that the true avenger for all evil is God, and God alone. Her sin had been exposed and her secrets were revealed, and she was now found guilty. So she was now at a place where repentance was needed. The spirit revealed to her what she had to do to be forgiven. What the devil did against her for evil, God made it for good. He alone can take lifes lemons and make lemonade. Published by Page Publishing, Sylvia Darbys engrossing book is a heartrending story of hope, despair, and triumph. Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchaseI Was Blind, but Now I See at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. The Great American West Wind LLC tax equity transaction also will generate future funding for ALLETE Clean Energy's South Peak wind site in Montana, expected to begin producing energy in the next few weeks. Glen Ullin Energy Center began commercial operations in December 2019. "This tax equity deal highlights the appeal of our wind energy growth strategy among investors. The combination of high-quality projects like Glen Ullin and South Peak, respected counterparties, the latest technology, high-quality wind resources, and our development experience and relationships have led to success in the tax equity market. We plan to carry this winning formula forward on future projects," said ALLETE Clean Energy President Allan S. Rudeck Jr. "Transactions such as Great American West Wind help build the low-carbon economy of the future. The clean-energy projects they support also bring immediate and substantial economic benefits to the areas where they operate and the customers they serve." As reported on Dec. 10, 2019, Glen Ullin Energy Center is a 106-megawatt wind facility about 40 miles west of Bismarck in Morton and Mercer counties that delivers power to Xcel Energy customers in the Upper Midwest through a 20-year power sales agreement. It will employ about 10 people during operation, and provide property tax and other business benefits to area communities and lease payments to landowners. ALLETE Clean Energy's 80-megawatt South Peak wind site in Montana will sell power to NorthWestern Energy through a 15-year power sales agreement. JPM Capital Corporation will purchase additional Class A passive membership interests when South Peak begins commercial operations. ALLETE Clean Energy acquires, develops and operates clean and renewable energy projects. ALLETE Clean Energy currently owns and operates, in five states, approximately 661 megawatts of nameplate capacity wind energy generation contracted under PSAs of various durations. ALLETE Clean Energy also engages in the development of wind energy facilities to operate under long-term PSAs or for sale to others upon completion, with nearly 400 megawatts of projects scheduled to come online in 2020. ALLETE Inc. is an energy company headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth; BNI Energy in Bismarck, North Dakota; and has an 8 percent equity interest in the American Transmission Co. More information about ALLETE is available at www.allete.com. ALE-CORP The statements contained in this release and statements that ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meghan Markle went back to the commonwealth country of Canada to be with her son Archie after she and Prince Harry announce their decision to step down from Royal duties. According to reports, their decision comes after the couple said that they want to be financially independent. According to reports, the couple surprised the queen and the Royal household by making such an announcement. It is also said that the move has hurt and disappointed the Royal family. Royal couple's decision could cost Canadian taxpayers millions With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent announcement, Canadian taxpayers could be subject to paying millions in taxes if the couple decides to move to Canada, security experts reportedly said. Prince Harry and Markle's decision to move to Canada could materialise as they recently stated that their main goal is to attain financial independence. According to reports, security experts said that the Canadian government will most likely have a legal duty to provide security cover to the Royal couple. The legal obligation comes as Canada is a part of the British Commonwealth of countries with Queen Elizabeth as the head of their state. In a big announcement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on January 8 said that they will be stepping back as 'senior members' of the Royal family. In addition to this, the couple also said that their goal will be to become financially independent in the near future. Read: Could 'The Crown' Be Extended In Light Of The Latest Meghan Markle Controversy? Read: Serena Williams Responds To Questions About Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Royal Split Members of royal families who relinquished their titles However, its not the first time that members of royal families have relinquished their titles to live a relatively common life. King Edward VIII abdicated this throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite and divorcee, in 1937 which threatened a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom. The couple lived together until Edwards death in 1972 and Wallis died in 1986 at the age of 89. Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Phillip was born a Royal to Greece and Denmark but had to relinquish the title to marry the Queen and accepted English title. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philips daughter, Princess Anne, married a commoner Mark Phillips who turned down the offer of Earldom to Phillips. Read: When Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Made Headlines For The Wrong Reasons Read: When Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Made Headlines For The Right Reasons (With inputs from agencies) A British passenger onboard the Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 onboard was not supposed to be on the doomed jet, but fought for the last-minute seat after his original flight was cancelled. Sam Zokaei, 42, a British Petroleum engineer, was visiting his mother who had undergone surgery in Iran. Keen to return to London he switched tickets, a close friend told The Independent. The fateful decision would end his life. The news came as teenager Arad Zarei was named as the fourth British victim in the crash which took place minutes after Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday morning. Arad Zarei, 17, who had recently relocated to Canada having attended St Marys Primary School in Twickenham until 2014, was said to have been visiting his mother in Iran. Video purports to show moment Ukrainian airliner is hit by missile over Iran The pair were among four Britons killed on the plane, which Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, have said was likely to have been shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile by accident. The two other British victims were named as Saeed Tahmasebi, 35 a chartered engineer from Chiswick, west London, and Mohammed Reza Kadkhoda-Zadeh, 40, who ran a dry-cleaning business in Brighton. I was really shocked. I knew Sam was flying back on that day but was not sure which flight. The first thing I did was to text him, but the text never got to him, said Mahmoud, a British friend who lived with Mr Zokaei for five years and worked briefly with him at BP. Mahmoud did not provide his surname. He was not even supposed to be on that flight. His flight got cancelled and he managed to get himself on this flight to come back, the friend added. Several flights were reportedly cancelled the night the jet crashed, amid heightened security tensions. Hours before Flight 752 took off at 06.13 [03.13 GMT], Iran had fired a volley of ballistic missiles at airbases in Iraq housing US troops. Tehrans strikes were retaliation for an American drone strike on Baghdad International Airport last Friday which killed Iranian top general Qassem Soleimani. Mr Johnson said on Thursday night there was a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile and this may well have been unintentional. His statement came after US officials and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said evidence pointed to an Iranian missile downing the jet accidentally. Recommended US shares plane crash intelligence with Ukraine The Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied the missile theory and have instead pointed to engine failure as the cause. All 176 onboard including the crew and 15 children were killed in the crash. Among the dead were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, and 10 Swedes. Mahmoud told The Independent that Mr Zokaei was in the Iranian capital as his mother had eye surgery there and he was visiting her in hospital. His original flight had been cancelled leading him to find an alternative route home. An avid skier, hiker and traveller he left behind one sister and his parents. His family and friends are really devastated, Mahmoud continued. He cared a lot for his friends. He was someone that was a key figure in the lives of many He was also a very generous person with his finances. For me Sam was not just a friend but also family, he added. Meanwhile, in Twickenham, Arad Zareis classmates were given the day off school to mourn their friend, who had kept in touch on social media. Zarei was apparently planning on coming back to the UK to celebrate his 18th birthday and had hoped to study at a British university, The Times reported. A spokesman for St Marys School said the staff and governors were shocked and immensely saddened to hear of the pupils death. Arad attended St Marys until 2014 and is remembered fondly by his teachers. We wish to extend our prayers and condolences to Arads family and friends at this time, the statement read. Tahmasebi, 35, who worked with Laing ORourke in Dartford, was onboard the plane with his new wife Niloufar Ebrahim. They had married just a month before in the UK and were in Iran for he second leg of their wedding. Tahmasebi, a research PhD candidate at Imperial College, was planning to settle in London with his partner who was an Iranian citizen. They were only travelling that day because they stayed behind in the Iranian capital after guests had flown home to pick up wedding photos, The Telegraph reported. The fourth British victim Mr Kadkhoda-Zadeh, who runs Smartys dry-cleaning business in Hassocks, was reportedly visiting family in Iran over the Christmas period, and like the other British victims was travelling back to the UK via Ukraine. Sussex-based paper The Argus said that tributes had been left outside his shop. He was a divorced father of a nine-year-old girl, who was described as quiet, polite and lovely, the paper added. Friends of high school student Arad Zarei hold his pictures as mourners attend an outdoor vigil for the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed in Iran (Reuters/Chris Helgren) (REUTERS) Among the other victims was Toronto resident Sheyda Shadkhoo who had a premonition the plane was going to crash and posted on Instagram a selfie and poem expressing her fears, her husband said. Speaking to Canadian broadcaster CBC, Hassan Shadkhoo said his wife was concerned something might happen and called him 20 minutes before the plane took off for reassurance. She was an angel, he told CBC. I wish I didnt exist right now. Ottawa resident Mohsen Ahmadipour, narrowly escaped death when his ticket for Flight 752 was declared invalid at Tehran airport. However, his wife Rosa Azadian, who was travelling with him, boarded the plane anyway as they planned to reunite in Canada. Mr Ahmadipour learned, in horror, of the crash from inside the terminal, the Ottawa Citizen paper reported. Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan 11 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday expressed condolences over the collision between a bus and a truck in Kannauj district here, in which several persons are feared dead. Adityanath also announced Rs 2 lakh each compensation for the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured in the incident. "The entire district administration is at the spot and is involved in the rescue operation. So far 21 injured have been taken to hospital. Fire is under control. It isn't yet clear that how many lives were claimed in the incident," Yogi told ANI. The Chief Minister said that he has asked state minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri to visit the spot and sought a report of the incident from the District Magistrate. "Instructions have been given to provide all help to the injured. The state government has decided to provide ex-gratia of Rs 2 Lakh each to families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each as compensation to the injured," he said. Kannauj District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said that there were at least 45 people in the bus, of which 21 have been admitted to a local hospital and are receiving treatment. "There is also input that some people had managed to escape from the bus but did not get admitted to the hospital. We have called a forensics team. They will assess the death toll," Kumar told reporters. A bus carrying around at least 45 passengers collided with a truck at Dewar Marg in Kannauj district here and caught fire on Friday evening. (ANI) NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China is capable of maintaining steady economic growth in the year to come and beyond, buoyed by multiple driving forces, despite mounting downward pressure, economists have said. "The gross domestic product growth in China in 2020 is likely to be stable," said Xu Gao, chief economist of Bank of China International Ltd, at a panel held in New York on Thursday. Chinese policymakers have "ample policy ammunition to maintain a stable growth," Xu said, adding he expects the nation to embrace a friendlier policy environment in the coming year as it heads to boost economic growth. The economist also pointed out that the biggest upward potential for the Chinese economy lies in the massive number of high-skilled and low-cost human resources. Themed on "Forecast of China's Economy for 2020," the panel featured a group of leading Chinese and American economists, who shared their insights on macro-economic trends, reform possibilities, as well as expected challenges and opportunities in 2020 and beyond. Panelists lauded China's vigorous efforts in deepening further reform and opening up, while tackling challenges in recent years. "That's really important. It's a really big deal. We even see it (the reform) with respect to the state enterprise," said Barry Naughton, an economist with the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He also said China is leading the way in the adoption of decentralized, convenient and cashless payment systems, which is "really impressive." Huang Yiping, professor and deputy dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said he is "confident" about the prospects for China's economic growth. "The Chinese economy is entering into a new phase of development," which has inevitably caused some problems in the financial sector, said Huang. "We actually see in concrete steps moving ahead (toward financial reform and opening-up)," he said, adding "I'm confident and I'm optimistic that we are moving in the right direction." China has vowed to keep opening up its financial sector while controlling risks, with the country introducing 34 opening-up policies in the banking and insurance sectors in the past two years, including expanding the business scope of foreign-invested firms and easing market access. "There is growth momentum in its domestic (economy)," Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the panel. "The very strong consumption from households, the growth of disposable income and consumption, I think, will continue to be a very important driver of China's economic growth," he said. China, the world's largest developing economy, registered a 6.2-percent growth year on year during the first three quarters of 2019, within the government's annual target of 6-6.5 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumption continued to be the mainstay in driving up demand, with final consumption contributing 60.5 percent to economic growth in the January-September period. Lardy also noted sustained resilience in the Chinese economy, bolstered by the nation's "very entrepreneurial" private firms. "They increase productivity and become more competitive," he said. Catherine Mann, global chief economist at Citi, told Xinhua that productivity, appropriate capital investment, and demographics are the key foundations for economic growth going forward, noting "China is very well suited on the education side." The half-day event was presented by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Peking University's China Center for Economic Research. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-10 23:02:20 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1007 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Mota Ventures Corp. (CSE:MOTA)(FSE:1WZ:GR)(OTC:PEMTF) (the "Company" or "Mota Ventures") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding agreement (the "Transaction Agreement") dated January 9, 2020, with VIDA BCN LABS SL (Spain) and Sativida OU (Estonia) (collectively, "Sativida") under which the Company has been granted the right to acquire Sativida (the "Transaction"). Sativida is an arms'-length producer and online retailer of cannabidiol ("CBD") and branded CBD products in various jurisdictions in Europe, including Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.Sativida currently develops and retails a vast range of organic CBD oils and cosmetics across Europe and is in the process of expanding its distribution network internationally to include the United States. Sativida has become the number one search-ranked online retailer of CBD products in Spain and Mexico, and intends to continue its expansion into other countries in Europe and Latin America.Joel Shacker, CEO of the Company, commented, "We are excited to be at the forefront of the expansion of the CBD market in Europe and internationally. Currently, product availability and consumer awareness is in its infancy and the market is fragmented. The acquisition of an established brand such as Sativida is a great opportunity to both enter and expand in Europe. Using our newly formed and integrated infrastructure, we plan to rapidly capture market share and consolidate consumer bases across Europe. Sativida is the cornerstone for our entry into that market." In accordance with the Transaction Agreement, the acquisition of Sativida will proceed in stages, at the discretion of the Company, as certain corporate and intellectual property registrations are completed. Initially, the Company will establish a wholly-owned Spanish subsidiary ("Spanish Subco"), and Sativida will coordinate the registration of various intellectual property and trade names associated with its business operations. Spanish Subco will then acquire the intellectual property and trade names of Sativida, and will license both back to Sativida in exchange for a royalty associated with the gross revenues generated by Sativida. The Company also holds the right to acquire, through Spanish Subco, all of the outstanding share capital of Sativida at any time.Following completion of the initial licensing arrangement, the Company expects to provide Sativida with contacts to distributors and partners across Europe and North America to allow for expansion of the Sativida brand, as well as logistical and financial support.Consideration for the Transaction will be made up of an initial component of 2,000,001 (the "Initial Consideration") and an earn-out component made up of three milestone payments based upon the revenue of Sativida (each, a "Milestone Payment").The Initial Consideration will be payable in common shares of the Company (the "Consideration Shares"), which will be determined by dividing the amount due by the lesser of (i) the volume weighted average closing price of the Company's common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange in the ten trading days prior to Sativida obtaining the Spanish national trademark for "Sativida"; and (ii) Cdn$0.85.Each Milestone Payment will be based on a multiple of Sativida's revenue of 400% until the aggregate of the Initial Consideration and Milestone Payments reaches 4,000,000, at which point the multiple will be reduced to 100%. In no event will the combined Milestone Payments and the value of the Initial Consideration exceed 15,000,000. Payment of the Milestone Payments will be satisfied by the Company issuing common shares ("Milestone Shares") to Sativida. The total number of Milestone Shares issuable to Sativida will be determined by dividing the amount due by the volume weighted average closing price of the Company's common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange in the ten trading days prior to the day that the Milestone Payment is due.The Consideration Shares and the Milestone Shares will each be subject to a 36-month pooling arrangement such that 10% of the Consideration Shares, or the Milestone Shares, as applicable, will be released from escrow on upon their issuance, with an additional 15% being released every six-months thereafter until all Consideration Shares or all Milestone Shares, as applicable, are released.As part of the Transaction, Mota Ventures will enter into employment contracts with certain employees of Sativida and will provide an option pool that may be divided among the employees of Sativida equal to 60,000 in stock options of Mota Ventures for every 1,000,000 in revenue that Sativida earns, subject to certain conditions. Additionally, Mota Ventures will pay a 10% finder's fee on the total value of the Consideration Shares, upon issuance of the Consideration Shares, to certain finders that assisted in introducing the Transaction to the parties.Completion of a licensing transaction with Sativida remains subject to the establishment of Spanish Subco, the registration of certain intellectual property rights associated with the Sativida brand, the negotiation of a definitive license agreement and certain due diligence considerations. The Company will provide additional information regarding the licensing arrangement with Sativida as soon as it becomes available.The Company and Sativida are at arms'-length. The Transaction is not expected to result in a "reverse-takeover" or "fundamental change" for the Company under the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, or result in the creation of any new insider or control person of the Company. No changes to the board of directors, or management, of the Company are contemplated in connection with the Transaction.About Mota Ventures Corp.Mota Ventures is seeking to become a vertically integrated global CBD brand. Its plan is to cultivate and extract CBD into high-quality value added products from its Latin American operations and distribute it both domestically and internationally. Its existing operations in Colombia consist of a 2.5-hectare site that has optimal year round growing conditions and access to all necessary infrastructure. Mota Ventures is also seeking to acquire revenue producing CBD brands and operations in both Europe and North America, with the goal of establishing an international distribution network for CBD products. Low cost production, coupled with international New York: A six-year-long operation delivering aid to three million Syrians trapped in a war zone in the north-west of the country is set to expire at midnight, with a deadlocked UN Security Council struggling to reach a last-minute deal to extend its authorisation. The United Nations and aid groups have sent 30,000 trucks with life-saving food and medicines into Syria from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan at four cross-border places annually since 2014. A convoy of vehicles of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent takes aid supplies across the Syrian desert to Rukban camp between the Jordan and Syria borders in 2018. Credit:AP The council's approval to extend the arrangement is needed because the Syrian government doesn't consent to cross-border deliveries. Jens Laerke of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the humanitarian situation has become more acute with at least 300,000 civilians now on the run in Idlib, following a sharp escalation in hostilities in December. There certainly wasnt any technical reason to hold these up, Urbanek said. They had gone through the stakeholder process, they had gotten public comments. From our perspective the only thing we could see holding these up was the ideological reaction to regulation even when its common sense regulation. Capacity building of lawmakers is necessary for strengthening democracy, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Friday, asserting that parliaments play an important role in making policies for the better future of countries. Birla was addressing the 25th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) at Ottawa in Canada. In parliamentary, speakers are the custodians of democracy and participative governance, and "their decisions have a lot of bearing in ensuring equal participation and representation of people", he said. "Birla observed that capacity-building of lawmakers is necessary for strengthening democracy, and informed the gathering that he has recently initiated a practice of organising briefing sessions for parliamentarians on important legislative business before the House to improve the awareness of Members on such issues," the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a statement. Noting that the future of a country is determined by its parliament, Birla said parliaments play an important role in making policies for the better future of countries, by keeping pace with the changing world order while at the same time ensuring that its invaluable traditions remain intact. Talking about a speaker's role, he said he not only enforces the correct interpretation and proper application of the rules and regulations but by his sage counsel, tact and persuasive skills also ensures that voices of all sections of the House are heard with an open mind. After the conclusion of the event, Birla held a meeting with Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament, and congratulated him for successfully hosting the conference. The two leaders acknowledged the growing India-Canada bilateral ties and the potential for further expanding mutual trade and investments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board. Trudeau's British counterpart, Boris Johnson, said there is "a body of information" that the Ukrainian Boeing 747 was brought down by an Iranian missile. Trudeau's comments came as images posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defense batteries bringing down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in flames Wednesday. Citing information from allies as well as Canada's own intelligence, the prime minister said the plane appeared to have been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters. The prime minister was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional." US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. It was carrying 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 Before Sunday, almost no one heard about Reynhard Sinaga, an Indonesian student who has been living in Manchester, the United Kingdom, since 2007. For two past years, a Greater Manchester Police investigation team and prosecutors worked in silence as they scrutinized Reynhards role in one of the most shocking sexual assault cases in UK criminal history. Journalists attended the cases four trial hearings but were restricted from publishing a word about it to ensure that Reynhard would have a fair trial and with the thought of protecting his victims. The world finally learned about Reynhard the day the Manchester Crown Court sentenced him to 88 concurrent life sentences, finding him guilty of sexually assaulting and drugging 48 men in his apartment in the English city. Investigators had found evidence in the form of video recordings that Reynhard had made himself as he sexually assaulted 190 people, many of whom have still not been identified. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login For years and years and years, female members have just had to sort of accept that he and him applies to them also, said Del. Marcus B. Simon (D-Fairfax). I think for a change, we male delegates are going to have to accept the fact that when the rule says her, she Well, I guess hopefully that includes me, too. A drug kingpin who spent more than a decade transporting tons of marijuana to Pennsylvania in tractor-trailers should be happy with his 19-year federal prison sentence, an appeals court has concluded. After all, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit pointed out, Jerome My Man Woods could easily have gotten a life sentence for his prolific pot peddling. Circuit Judge Peter J. Phipps made that observation in an opinion denying Woods appeal of the punishment he received after pleading guilty to being a major drug supplier for eastern Pennsylvania. From 2005 to 2016 when members of his gang were indicted by the feds, Woods coordinated the shipment of truckloads of marijuana to Philadelphia from California, Arizona and Texas, investigators said. He handled the local distribution network as well. The stakes at trial were especially high for Woods, Phipps wrote. If a jury convicted him on all counts, the sentencing guidelines called for life imprisonment. Two days into his federal trial, Woods blinked. He and several co-defendants struck a plea deal with prosecutors. Woods, who also goes by the aliases Naeem Rashid and Yo, negotiated for a 228-month jail term. Yet before his sentencing, Woods changed his mind and instead opted for an open guilty plea where he had no sentencing agreement. He then urged U.S. Eastern District Judge R. Barclay Surrick, who was weighing his case, to sentence him to no more than 10 years in prison. Prosecutors lobbied for a 20-year sentence. Woods asked for a second chance and emphasized how much he would miss his eight children if incarcerated, Phipps wrote. Surrick opted for the original 228-month sentence, calling it perfectly reasonable under the circumstances. Woods claimed in his appeal that Surrick didnt adequately outline the reasons behind his sentencing call. Phipps rejected that argument. He cited Surricks finding that Woods crime is most serious. Surrick also recognized that Woods has no real criminal history and that the public does not need to be protected from him, Phipps noted. That was plenty of explanation to justify Woods well-below-guidelines sentence, the circuit judge found. Rescue teams working at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner - AFP If Iranian forces really did accidentally shoot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 there are many reasons to think they may never admit to it. Its hard to make any government, especially an authoritarian one unchallenged by a free press, walk back a lie once its been uttered. And Tehran has been absolutely adamant they were not responsible for the 176 deaths. Acknowledging that they shot down the civilian airliner would be an acknowledgement of the incompetence of Irans air defence forces - something they are not eager to telegraph at a period of heightened tension with the US. A cash-strapped Iran, whose economy has been crippled by US sanctions, will also want to avoid paying out compensation to the families of the victims, which they would be obliged to do if even if this was an unintended accident. But the Islamic Republic has another reason unique to its own history that makes would make it very difficult for them to take responsibility for the fate of Flight 752: it would challenge their cherished narrative about another civilian airliner downed 31 years earlier. Mourners carry coffins in 1988 for victims aboard Iran Air Flight 655 Credit: AP Photo/Canadian Press, File Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down by the US Navy on July 3, 1988 killing all 290 people aboard. US sailors aboard the USS Vincennes said they mistook the Airbus A300 for an Iranian warplane. (Western intelligence believes Iran likely mistook Flight 752 for an American aircraft retaliating for Irans missile barrage into Iraq hours earlier.) US officials initially put out false claims the aircraft had been approaching one of their ships but ultimately acknowledged it was flying a normal course and admitted the shooting down of the plane was a tragic and regrettable accident. But Iranian officials to this day claim that the US shot the plane down deliberately and use the ghost Iran Air 655 as a symbol of American brutality. For Iran, this is not some incident from the history books; it is a live rhetorical talking point. Story continues Just this week Iranian president Hassan Rouhani tweeted a reference to the 290 people killed, using the hashtag #IR655, which is always alive with criticism of the US and support for the Islamic Republic. Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655 Never threaten the Iranian nation. Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 6, 2020 Today Iran appears to find itself in the exact same situation as the US in 1988, having accidentally brought down a civilian airliner. But Iranian officials will likely resist at all costs having to admit that. To do so would acknowledge that the US could have been telling the truth about Iran Air 655 - that it is possible to make a horrible mistake - and that would weaken one of Irans most potent stories of American aggression. So dont be surprised if the Islamic Republic brazenly denies any responsibility whatever the evidence ultimately shows, just as Russia has chosen to do with the shooting down of MH17. That path of denial will cause much pain to the families of the victims of Flight 752, many of whom are Iranian, but Tehran may justify that to itself in the interests of keeping up its resistance to America. American and allied officials said on Thursday that they had intelligence that missiles fired by Iranian military forces were responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner in Iran and the deaths of all aboard this week in Iran, most likely by accident Washington: American and allied officials said on Thursday that they had intelligence that missiles fired by Iranian military forces were responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner in Iran and the deaths of all aboard this week in Iran, most likely by accident. The disclosures suggested that the deaths were a consequence of the heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran that have played out since a US drone strike killed a top Iranian general last week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, citing a preliminary review of the evidence, called for a full investigation to be convinced beyond all doubt. The jetliner was carrying 63 Canadians among its some 176 passengers and crew. We recognise that this may have been done accidentally, Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario. The evidence suggests very clearly a possible and probable cause for the crash. President Donald Trump, speaking earlier at the White House, said only that he suspected that the downing of the plane was the result of a mistake on the other side. Senior US officials were more forthcoming, saying they had a high level of confidence in their findings. US intelligence agencies determined that a Russian-made Iranian air defence system fired two surface-to-air missiles at the plane, one official said. And video verified by The New York Times appeared to show an Iranian missile exploding near a plane above Parand, near Tehrans airport, the area where the jetliner, Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, stopped transmitting its signal before it crashed. The passengers aboard the plane likely faced horrifying final moments, starting with the explosion as the missiles detonated in the air just outside the plane, sending shrapnel and debris spiralling through the fuselage. The plane turned back toward the airport, then began its uncontrolled descent toward the ground. American satellites, designed to track missile launches, detected the firing of the Iranian short-range interceptor. US intelligence agencies later picked up Iranian communications confirming that the system brought down the Ukrainian airliner, officials said. An initial Iranian report released onThursday said that the plane, bound for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was in flames before it hit the ground but sent no distress signal. A security camera captured its impact: First the predawn darkness, then a series of blinding bursts of light in the distance, followed by a storm of burning debris in the foreground. Even before world leaders and US officials confirmed the intelligence assessment, the mysterious circumstances of the disaster had raised suspicions that a missile brought down the airliner. The crash occurred hours after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at US military targets in Iraq, and Tehran, bracing for possible American retaliation, readied its ample air defence system. After Iran began firing missiles early Wednesday in retaliation for the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, international airlines rerouted flights away from Iran, and the Federal Aviation Administration barred American carriers from the airspace in the region. The new information about the tragic mistake with its air defense systems raised questions about why Iranian authorities had not stopped flights in and out of Tehran. Iran denied that its military was responsible for the crash of the plane, a Boeing 737. Ali Rabiei, an Iranian government spokesman, called it a big lie and blamed the accusations on psychological warfare against Tehran. The United States is making the pain of the families worse, Rabiei said in a statement. Iranian officials questioned the western account, saying the plane would have exploded if hit by a missile. The air defense system used Wednesday, however, is designed to explode near aircraft, creating shrapnel that takes a plane out of the sky, rather than directly hitting it. In addition to denying responsibility, Iran invited the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States to assist in the investigation despite previous reports that the Americans would not be involved, according to correspondence reviewed by The Times. The board assigned an investigator to the crash, a spokesman said on Thursday evening. Iranian authorities recovered the planes black box flight data recorders, but they were damaged by the crash and fire, the Iranian report said. That raised the possibility that some of the information stored in them electronically had been destroyed, but investigators can retrieve useful data even from damaged recorders. Iran also invited Boeing, the jets manufacturer, to help investigate the black box, a government spokesman said, according to Irans official news agency, IRNA. Boeing is supporting the NTSB in the investigation, said a spokesman, Gordon Johndroe. Sanctions against Iran prevent Boeing from contacting its government without an export license, and Johndroe said the company is applying for one. Canadian investigators were also arranging to visit the crash site, a senior government official said. Ukraine was negotiating with Iran to allow investigators to search the site for possible rocket fragments, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, told Censor.net, a Ukrainian news outlet. Ukrainian officials want to find out the causes of the tragedy, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine said in a videotaped address released Thursday. We will definitely find out the truth. We will conduct a detailed and independent investigation. Zelenskiy also sought to preempt criticism of Ukrainian authorities for allowing the flight to take off soon after the Iranian attacks on American targets in Iraq. He said that Tehrans airport had been operating as usual at the time, noting that other European airlines were taking off and landing. Evidence gathered by American and allied intelligence contradicted Irans denials. The US militarys Space-Based Infrared System, which relies on satellites in various orbits to track the launch and flight path of ballistic missiles, detected the missile launch. While American missile defence sensors are primarily meant to defend against long-range launches, they can often detect launches of air defence systems, including those designed to work at low altitudes, officials have said. On Wednesday, US officials combined the information from the satellites with intelligence from intercepted calls to determine what brought down the plane. The infrared system had also detected the anti-aircraft missile fired by Russian-supported separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine in 2014 that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, officials said at the time. All 298 people aboard were killed. Russia first sold Iran the air defence system which NATO calls SA-15 and Russia refers to as Tor in 2005, prompting American protest. Designed to operate at medium to low altitudes and intercept both aircraft and guided weapons, the Iranian military could have positioned the defence system to defend the airport if officials believed the US military was intending to counterattack after Irans ballistic missile strikes. Three to four people operate the system, tracking nearby aircraft by radar. But determining friendly civilian aircraft takes skill, and mistakes are possible, particularly in charged situations. Echoing Trudeau, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain confirmed that intelligence pinned the shoot-down on the Iranian government and that it may well have been unintentional. Trump was more evasive earlier in the day. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side, Trump said. It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood and somebody could have made a mistake. His reluctance to assign blame may be an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions at a time when both governments were taking steps to de-escalate the military confrontation of recent days. The revelations about the intelligence prompted accusations that the US militarys killing of Soleimani set off a chain of events that led to Iran accidentally downing the jet. This is the responsibility of the Iranians, said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. But the context was a situation in which they were preparing themselves for a possible attack by the United States. This might not have happened two or three weeks ago. The crash in Iran also came at a difficult time for Boeing. The 737 Max, a new version of the 737 that was downed in Iran, has been grounded for 10 months after two deadly crashes caused in part by new software on the plane. The crisis is consuming Boeing, which ousted its chief executive late last year and is temporarily shutting down the factory that makes the Max this month. Had investigators found that mechanical problems caused the crash in Iran, it could have raised new questions about the safety of the companys aircraft. On Wednesday, before the cause was determined, Boeings interim chief executive, Greg Smith, sent an email to employees expressing condolences for the victims and pledging to cooperate with investigators. The safety of our people, products and services, and all those who fly on what we build, is of the greatest importance to all of us at Boeing, he wrote, according to a copy of the email reviewed by The Times. Thank you for your ongoing focus on our values, including safety, quality and integrity. At Boryspil International Airport near Kyiv, where Flight 752 had been due to land, grieving flight attendants tended to candles set on the floor in front of a makeshift memorial to the nine crew members who died. A flight attendant named Tatyana, who declined to give her last name because she was not authorised to speak to the news media, said she visited the memorial Wednesday evening to pay her respects. Of course there were concerns, risks to those flights, she said. We took this responsibility upon ourselves when we joined the airline to be ready for anything to happen. Julian E Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Anton Troianovski and Natalie Kitroeff c.2020 The New York Times Company Youre reading this weeks At War newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday. Email us at atwar@nytimes.com. This report was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. In the 20 years I have been covering the United States Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, I have had to practice different kinds of journalism. Sometimes Im an investigative reporter, scouring documents and using the Freedom of Information Act to find information the military does not want you to know. Some of my reporting is an extension of my time as a war correspondent, when I covered the invasions of Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some people call me a human rights reporter because I put conditions at the remote prison under a microscope for both captives and captors. Sometimes I feel like a small-town reporter covering the remote, 45-square-mile outpost with a population of 6,000 people (a third of whom are foreign laborers from Jamaica and the Philippines), a traffic court, a school system for sailors children, a McDonalds and a pesky feral cat population. But 2020 is shaping up to be, more than ever, my nearly nonstop year as the Guantanamo war-court reporter. The judges have scheduled a record 215 days of military-commission hearings in the war-crimes cases at the Expeditionary Legal Complex, the national-security court that is built on an abandoned airfield with a moldy trailer park for the troops and a crude tent city for the reporters and other observers. Photograph: Reuters At least two people have been killed and six injured after an 11-year-old boy entered a school in northern Mexico with two handguns and opened fire. The shooting took place on Friday morning in the city of Torreon, in Coahuila state. One of the dead was reportedly a female teacher, with some reports suggesting she had been the shooters target. The other was the shooter, who police said had killed himself. A graphic photograph published by Mexican news outlets showed what appeared to be the body of a young boy splayed out in a pool of blood, with a handgun lying on the ground. Police chief Maurilio Ochoa told reporters six people had been wounded five schoolchildren and a teacher with two in a delicate condition in hospital. Ochoa said the shooter was believed to have entered his school with two weapons: a small-calibre handgun and a high-calibre weapon. The boys parents and grandmother, with whom he lived, had said they had no idea how he acquired the guns. This is really regrettable, Ochoa said, as anxious parents gathered outside the schools entrance. He suggested backpack searches might be needed to prevent future tragedies. Torreons mayor, Jorge Zermeno, told reporters the causes of the attack were still unclear. They tell me he was a boy who had very good grades, who lives lived with his grandmother and who certainly suffered some kind of family problem. He added: It is very serious, so, so sad, and lamentable to see a primary school student do something like this. In an interview with the Mexican news channel Milenio TV, Zermeno called the shooting an atypical situation that did not speak to the peaceful society that was Torreon. This is a city that likes to work and likes to live in peace, he said. Coahuila states governor, Miguel Angel Riquelme, told reporters there were suspicions the shooter had been influenced by a video game called Natural Selection. Before carrying out the shooting the boy who has not been identified reputedly told classmates: Today is the day. Story continues Despite suffering some of the worlds highest murder rates, school shootings of the kind that blight the US remain relatively rare in Latin America. In March last year eight students were gunned down in the city of Suzano in Brazils Sao Paulo state. In 2011 a similar attack at a school in Rio de Janeiro claimed 12 lives. One of the worst such attacks to take place in Mexico came in 2017 when a 15-year-old student killed himself after shooting four people at a school in the state of Nuevo Leon. Mexicos leftist president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is battling a major drug-fuelled security crisis which saw more than 31,000 people murdered last year alone. This year looks like being no less bloody: 41 people were murdered in the city of Tijuana in the first eight days of 2020 and more than 100 have died in Guanajuato state, according to local media reports. The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) Bengal unit drew flak for naming the 18-year-old victim from North Bengal-- who was raped and burnt to death on January 5-- on banners at a huge Kolkata rally organised by the party on Friday to protest crime against women in the state. In December 2018, a Supreme Court bench had directed the media not to reveal identity of victims of rape and sexual assault and also said that FIRs in such cases, including those committed against minors, should not be made public by the police. BJP leaders, participating in the rally in the heart of Kolkata, deflected the blame by claiming the banners had been made by sundry participants and not commissioned by party workers. Those carrying such banners and posters do not belong to our party. They are outsiders. We have named the victim Durga. We respect her and demand punishment for the offenders. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) government will not be able to stop us with such tactics, said Locket Chatterjee, BJP Lok Sabha member and president of the partys state Mahila Morcha (womens wing). The 18-year-old girl from South Dinajpur district in north Bengal was allegedly raped and murdered by her boyfriend and two of his associates. They set her body on fire, reminding people of the Hyderabad veterinary doctor, who was raped and murdered in the same manner last year, triggering a national outrage. All three accused were arrested by Bengal police. On Friday, their police remand was extended by 10 days. TMC pounced on the opportunity to slam its strongest rival in Bengal. BJP is an uncivilised party. They do not have any respect even for the Supreme Court. Nobody can reveal the name of a rape victim, said Partha Chatterjee, TMC secretary general and education minister. Rape is a heinous crime and revealing the name of the victim is an equally heinous crime. Only the BJP can do it, said Manab Mukherjee, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former minister. Section 228-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) bars the disclosure of identity of victims of sexual offences without permission. The offense is punishable with fine and imprisonment of up to two years. The law requires concealment of any information and not just the name that may lead to a victims identification. The Supreme Court recently clarified that the identity must be protected even after a victims death to preserve the dignity. An accused wanted in the killing of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh over two years ago has been arrested in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, the police said on Friday. Personnel of the Karnatka Special Investigation Team, set up to probe the killing that triggered a national outrage, arrested Rishikesh Dewerkar alias Rajesh, from Katras town, about 30 km from here, on Thursday evening, Dhanbad senior Superintendent of Police Kisor Kaushal told reporters. Rajesh, eluding arrest for the past one-and-half years, has been working at a petrol pump in the town, taking an alias name for the last eight months, he added. He is the 17th accused to be arrested in connection with the killing of Lankesh on September 5, 2017 in front of her house in Bengaluru. Known for her Left-leanings and anti-establishment voice, she was shot dead by unidentified assailants with the incident drawing national outrage and protests. Sharp shooter Parashuram Waghmare, who allegedly fired the bullets, is among the 16 arrested earlier. One more accused is still absconding. The SIT personnel from Bengaluru, with the help of their counterparts in Katras, arrested Rajesh and took him to Bengaluru after obtaining transit remand from a local court, the SSP said. Rajesh has been working as a caretaker at a petrol pump in Katras and living in disguise for the last eight months in Bhagat colony, he said. An official of the SIT said Rajesh was suspected to be part of the conspiracy to kill Lankesh. The official of the Bengaluru team, headed by Inspector Punit Kumar, said they tracked Rajesh on the basis of his mobile phone location. The petrol pump owner, who was interrogated by the Bengaluru police, said Rajesh had claimed to be unemployed and sought the job. The owner also gave him room on rent, the police officer said. According to a SIT statement issued in Bengaluru, the 44 -year old man was accused number 18 in the case and part of the conspiracy to kill Lankesh. The SIT had earlier said Lankesh was killed following a conspiracy hatched by the gang after being inspired by a book brought out by right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha, that had identified Lankesh as a 'durjan' (evil person). The gang is also allegedly linked with the killing of rationalists M M Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, the sources added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two days after his father ordered a drone strike that killed Irans highest-ranking general, Donald Trump Jr. posted a photo with a gun. He wore the same doofy, slightly cross-eyed smile that accompanies many of his sporting shots an avid outdoorsman, Jr. is wont to pose with fish, deer, guns, and, infamously, the severed tail of an elephant. He raised the muzzle in the air, and wore noise-dampening headphones perched like Mickey Mouse ears on his baseball cap. But this photo had an aura of menace not reflected in the toothy grin, or the caption (Nice day at the range). Fitted on the AR rifle he held was a custom well, on which was emblazoned a Jerusalem cross, a symbol of the Crusades dating back to the 11th century. On the guns stock, a Crusader motto was engraved: Deus Vult. Deus Vult translated from Latinmeans God Wills It. Its most famous historical usage was as a battle cry, a rallying call for soldiers in the First Crusade, launched in the 11th century by Pope Urban II. According to numerous historical accounts, the Pope, at the Council of Claremont in 1096, gave a rousing speech summoning Christian soldiers to the aid of their coreligionists to the east. As one 19th-century history of the Crusades quoted the speech, Urban urged his flock to go and fight against the barbarians, go and fight for the deliverance of the holy places. An account from 1100, the Gesta Francorum, recorded the battle-cry of Christian warriors in the years of warfare that followed: Deus vult! In the context of Donald Trump Jr.s Instagram post, it bore an unsettling resonance with holy warafter his father had committed an escalatory act of war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Like many people with large Instagram followings, Trump Jr. appears to have been acting as an influencer. But instead of hawking laxative teas or lip fillers, he appeals to an audience concerned with outwardly signaling just how impeccably masculine they are. In this post, he credited two companies, Rare Breed Rifles and Spikes Tactical, for the gun swag. Rare Breed sells an entire line of Crusader rifle paraphernalia. Inspired by some of the most fierce warriors who fought in nearly 200 years of epic conflicts known as the Crusades, the product description reads, This lower honors the warrior mindset. Spikes Tactical distributes the Crusader products, as well as firearms and an apparel line custom-designed to appeal to culture warriors. In particular, Spikes Tactical T-shirts lean heavily on Islamophobic themes. One shirt features an AR-15 rifle with the slogan Stops ISIS on contact. Another says, in Arabic plucked clumsily from Google Translate, If you can read this, youre in range. Others appeal directly to the Crusader mindset, with one shirt featuring a bucket-helmeted Knight Templar carrying an automatic rifle and a quote from Psalm 144: Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. Story continues The company also displays an overt affinity for far-right extremism: in one poster the company sells, entitled Not Today Antifa, a scene depicts men armed with automatic rifles confronting masked protesters. The text above the scene: Berkeley Portland Charlottesville Boston: Not Today Antifa. Its an explicit, gun-happy appeal to far-right extremists at the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and their sympathizers. This isnt the first time far-right violence has come enrobed in Crusader imagery. In particular, white supremacists online have spread the Deus Vult slogan through memes, posts, and screeds. During the 2016 election, Deus Vult became a rallying cry on Twitter for supporters of then-candidate Donald Trumps proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. This week, just days after Trump Jr.s Instagram post, a teenager in Delaware threw an incendiary devicea home-brewed Molotov cocktailat a Planned Parenthood facility. On the building, he graffitied a clumsy Templar Cross and the words Deus Vult. Its symptomatic of the way that, over and over again, the Crusades emerge as a nexus of white supremacist fascination, a motif folded in to other expressions of grievanceagainst Muslims, against feminists, against the supposed degeneracy of modern culture. After all, bigotry seems nobler when retrofitted to a millennia-old tradition of holy struggle. But more pressingly, Trump Jr.s Instagram post raises an urgent question: just why have we embarked on a new era of Middle Eastern adventurism? War is a lot of things: its hell; its violence; its expensive, ruinous to cities and countries and whole states. For two decades, the United States has been in an endless war on the nebulous concept of terror that has upended the Middle East; this weeks incendiary provocations have the potential to escalate the grinding conflict into something even more barbed and devastating. But for some, war is holya clash of religion against religion, like the spark of blade on blade. Its a Knight Templar with an AR-15; its Arabic script as a signal of enmity. Thats the signal Donald Trump Jr. was sending, with his snug Crusader gun-helmet. And it may be ensconced even deeper in the halls of power, with those formally entrusted with our nations security under the Trump regime. Recent reporting has indicated that the biggest driving force behind the Solemani strike in the Trump administration was Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State; officials told the Washington Post that Pompeo spoke to Trump daily in the run-up to the strike, coaxing him into this course of action. A prior avoidance of a retaliatory strike on Iran left Pompeo reportedly morose; according to a senior U.S. official, Pompeo has been pushing for the Soleimani strike for months. In recent years, Pompeo has openly expressed his fondness for the Rapture, the eschatological doctrine that will see righteous Christians vacuumed from earth to heaven in the end of days; at a rally in 2015, he described life as a never-ending struggle until the Rapture. These apocalypse-courting views appear to have influenced his views on Iran, specifically. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, he smiled, nodded, and agreed fulsomely when asked whether Donald Trump had been raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace. A New York Times reporter who interviewed Pompeo in 2019 found an open Bible in his office, with a Swiss Army knife marking his place at the end of the book of Queen Esther. A Christian Zionist, Pompeo adheres to an ideology in which Israel is a crucial piece in the set-up to the Rapture: the Jews, in their homeland, converting en masse to the doctrine of Jesus is a crucial, prophesied herald of the end times. The story of the Book of Esther takes place in ancient Persia, under the reign of Xerxes I (486465 BCE), a lascivious, feast-loving king who passively allowed his chief advisor to plot a genocide of the Jews; conflating that decadent and capricious reign with the modern leadership of Iran displays as much Biblical literacy as it does profound disconnect with contemporary geopolitics. Pompeos affinity with the Book of Esther seems to indicate that his politics hover in the sacred realm of holy warwhere a drone strike can bring the eschaton closer and closer. Its a stark, Christ-soaked worldview in which Iran is a menace to that long-awaited prophecyone which prioritizes the prophecies of yore far more than the contemporary lives of unbelievers. As such, Pompeo has been known to make extraordinarily Islamophobic statements. In 2014, he told a Wichita church group that there are Muslims who abhor Christians and will continue to press against us, encouraging his audience to make sure that we know that Jesus Christ as our savior is truly the only solution for our world. He has become the administrations official voice of war apologetics on the Sunday showsthe mouthpiece of policies that would see Iran dismantled utterly. It seems that this worldview has coincided nicely with a hawkish right that has long pushed for war with Iranan answer, as the Daily Beast national-security writer Spencer Ackerman put it, to the cultural insult of an intact Iran decades into a tense relationship with the United States. In the Trump era, Ackerman asserts, the subtext of the unending War on Terror has been made text: it is a clash of Western Civilization against supposed Islamic Barbarism, against which anything is permissible. It is a Crusade conducted under a Jerusalem Cross, fire streaking across the sky at infidels, the first salvo of the eschaton. Historians estimate that nearly two million people died during the two hundred years the Crusaders fought for Jerusalem; our own conflicts in the Middle East have claimed as many lives in 20 years. For believers, this new phase must be exhilarating; for war hawks, an enthralling fulfillment of years of bloody fantasy. For the rest of us, for the civilians of Iran and Iraq, for those who wish for an end to war and not its newest incarnation, it heralds another verse of the Book of Esther: a time of great mourning, and weeping, and wailing. Talia Lavin is a writer based in Brooklyn. Her first book, Culture Warlords, is forthcoming in 2020 from Hachette Books. Best of GQ The Real Story of Donald Trump Jr. All he ever wanted was to make his dad proud, but things have never turned out quite right for Donald Trump Jr. Even now, despite finding his purpose as a bombastic star of the far right, Juniors personal life is in shambles and the specter of Robert Mueller looms large. As Julia Ioffe discovers in talking to old friends and Trump World insiders, its never been trickier to be the presidents son. Originally Appeared on GQ LOS ANGELES - Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg chased California votes on Friday in dueling events, looking to sway Democrats in the state that delivers the largest haul of delegates in the presidential contest. Appearing at a short-term housing complex for the homeless, Buttigieg promised a new era of help for people living on the streets, while Biden sought to upstage the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor with a formal endorsement from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti attended by firefighters. The endorsement was initially announced Thursday. Garcetti called Biden a longtime friend, the right leader at the right moment. Garcetti was an early supporter of President Barack Obama, in whose administration Biden served as vice-president for eight years. Buttigiegs stop highlighted the homeless crisis in Los Angeles, where tent cities line downtown streets and freeway underpasses are frequently filled with makeshift communities of people with nowhere else to go. He listened intently to stories from residents of the so-called bridge home who described their journey from the streets to the shelter, where they are linked with health services, receive assistance restoring their lives and, hopefully, locate permanent housing. Residents can stay up to nine months. Jessica Kelly, who said she once had a career in pharmaceutical sales, described how her life unraveled after a string of back surgeries led to opioid misuse and, eventually, a heroin addition. After several years without a home, finding a bed at the shelter has been a blessing for me, she told Buttigieg. Buttigieg has said he will invest $430 billion to make affordable housing available for over 7 million families while aiming to end homelessness for families with children. The mayor stressed that homeless was a problem that cuts across communities of every size, in every climate. He has faced criticism in his hometown for being too slow to act, but his campaign said homelessness was cut by 25% during his tenure. A small but noisy group of Black Lives Matter protesters shadowed his visit, chanting on a sidewalk outside the shelter that Buttigieg was a fake and anti-black. A planned outdoor discussion with residents was moved indoors, though the din of the protesters could still be faintly heard in the room. The people of South Bend feel abandoned, said protester Kahmiil Middleton, who lives in South Bend. Buttigieg told reporters afterward, It is important to me that I have the support that I do from black residents of South Bend. I know that support is not 100%, and I respect those political differences. Candidates are competing for over 400 delegates in Californias March 3 primary, though mail-in ballots will be going out a month earlier, at the time the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential election. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has a massive volunteer organizing effort underway in California, while billionaire Michael Bloomberg has been spending tens of millions on TV advertising across the heavily Democratic state. With Garcettis endorsement, Biden is strengthening his position as the favourite within the Democratic establishment. President Donald Trump, who lost California by over 4 million votes in 2016, has called the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other big cities disgraceful and faulted the liberal establishment for the problem. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Jessica Thompson chats to Leitrim actor Seamus ORourke ahead of his upcoming performance in Livin Dreds TRAD at the Backstage Theatre This January 18, the Backstage Theatre will play host to Livin Dred Theatre Companys sold out hit, TRAD, as part of its eleven-venue tour. TRAD is a poignant and hilarious story of a 100-year-old man and his father who go on a journey through rural Ireland to find the son they never knew they had. Heartbreakingly sad at times, TRAD is also an original and heartwarming Irish saga, slightly absurd and wickedly funny. The first time I saw TRAD was at Backstage, mused Leitrim actor, Seamus ORourke, who performs the role of Thomas in the current rendition of the play. At the time, it was an unknown production. It was a Thursday and a small house. I was mesmerized and now Im going back to where it all began. I couldnt be more thrilled. Roll on the 18th of January. In all the plays Ive seen over the years, this is one of my favorites, Seamus added. Id love to have written it, but Im so grateful to be part of it. Its whacky and funny and ridiculous and yet, it reminds us of ourselves. Its a very Irish play about family, community and where we stand in the great tradition of our place and country. Its important to come to this play with an open mind. Its not a Seamus ORourke play or a play like any other Its about a 100-year-old man and his father (I know), but once you accept the madness of this play, youre in for a real treat. Its a rare gem in my view. Seamus plays the role of Thomas, a 100-year-old man who looks after, and is being looked after by his own father. Sometimes they are like father and son. Sometimes they are like two old men - mostly like Laurel and Hardy, Seamus explained. Thomas has a secret that hes forgotten about or put to one side for seventy years. He has a son, someone to carry on the tradition and he must be found so me and Da go on a trip. It all started simple for Seamus ORourke. His first play was with the Corn Mill Theatre in Carrigallen. I had two lines and a bit of a song. I stuck out me chest and enjoyed it like I had enjoyed nothing else before, he recalled. I was told then, that someone usually did a wee poem to capture the fun, misfortune and drama (if any) of a run on the amateur circuit. I was young and enthusiastic in 1990 and wrote or made up (I never actually wrote it down) a poem. That was the start of my own stuff. WATCH | Seamus O'Rourke looks forward to farming in 2019 - with music I enjoyed the process of coming up with it, I enjoyed performing it and realized that people liked three minutes dedicated to a topic, any topic the simpler the better, he said of his journey to where he is now. Of course, there was nothing new in what I was doing weve been using rhyme for centuries to praise, ridicule, poke fun at, well everything really but then I brought it to a new level, when I mentioned Longford. It was the likes of YouTube and other social media that shot Seamus into the public eye, helping his sketches to get the attention of a wider audience. That was great it also can be quite inhibitive, as some people just want you to do the same thing over and over again, he said. But its up to me to find that balance and I remind myself every day of how lucky I am, to be able to do what I do as a full-time job. Seamus is looking forward to coming back to the Backstage Theatre, where he first saw TRAD all those years ago. Every venue has its own charm and its all about the people, he said of Backstage Theatre. The people who run the venue, the people who come to see the show and the people who perform there. Mona Considine and her staff have been getting it right for a long time now. They program well - treat you well and go out on a limb to make every performance special and pure. Of course, its also one of the finest theatres in the country, but that would mean nothing, if it wasnt for the people. Dont get me wrong The Backstage audience dont suffer fools lightly theyve been brought up on the finest of theatre for 25 years but when you get them on side, with a full house Well then, in the eruption of laughter, the stillness of the silence theres nowhere to upstage Backstage. TRAD comes to The Backstage Theatre, Longford on Saturday January 18th 2020. Further information and tickets at www.livindred.ie. Read also: Livin Dred bring Trad to Longford's Backstage Theatre Ukrainians Mourn As Zelenskiy Calls For 'Patience' With Plane Crash Investigation By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, RFE/RL's Radio Farda January 09, 2020 Ukraine observed a day of national mourning on January 9 as aviation authorities frantically searched for answers after the crash of a Ukrainian airliner southwest of Tehran that killed all 176 on board. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the nation a day after the crash, saying the state was prepared to provide families who lost relatives in the accident "with all the help they need" and cautioned that the disaster was "not a topic for social media hype, sensationalism or conspiracy theories." The Boeing 737-800 en route to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off on January 8 from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport with 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons on board, along with 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said on January 9 that initial evidence gleaned from eye witnesses on the ground and in a passing aircraft showed that Ukraine International Airlines flight PS 752 was on fire and had turned back towards the airport before it crashed. Uncertainty about the cause of the crash, which occurred hours after Iran launched missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, has prompted some speculation that the plane may have been attacked. Ukrainian investigators, 45 of whom arrived in Tehran on January 9, said that they were seeking to search debris at the crash site to help determine the cause, including the possibility that a missile attack or terrorism may be to blame. "Now our information space is filled with numerous theories and speculations about the tragedy. It is clear that we all want to know the truth as soon as possible. But in such cases, speed can interfere with the truth. We need to wait for at least the preliminary report of the investigation commission," Zelenskiy said. "We need patience, endurance and wisdom. This scary story should teach all of us -- and every citizen of Ukraine and every world leader -- to appreciate human life," he added. The crew flying the three-year-old plane, which had its last scheduled maintenance on January 6, initially headed west to leave the airport zone, sent no distress signals, nor did they contact ground control, according to the Iranian aviation authority. Ukraine's embassy in Tehran initially blamed engine failure but later removed the statement. Iranian state media had initially reported that the plane caught fire after crashing, but a video aired by the state broadcaster appeared to show the plane already on fire as it fell from the night sky. However, five security sources -- three Americans, one European, and one Canadian -- who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the Western intelligence agencies' initial assessment was that the plane had encountered a technical malfunction and had not been brought down by a missile. The Canadian security source added that there was evidence one of the jet's engines overheated. Iran and Ukraine have agreed "to coordinate further actions of our investigation groups closely to determine the cause of the terrible plane crash," according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko. Iran has said it will not give the plane's so-called black box, which contains flight data and cockpit voice recorders, to either U.S. authorities or to representatives of American plane maker Boeing. Tehran is not obliged to do so and under international aviation rules is expected to be the lead investigator, while Ukraine, as the country where the plane was registered, would participate. While the United States is home to one of the world's top laboratories for studying black boxes after crashes, analysts say others located in Britain and France are also often called on to help investigations. Meanwhile, Canada said it intended to play a key role in the investigation despite not having direct diplomatic relations with Tehran. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa that 138 of the 176 people on board the flight from Tehran to Kyiv had onward connections to Canada. Many were members of Canada's large Iranian community, mainly from the Edmonton area. Trudeau said that "Canada is one of a handful of countries with a high degree of expertise when it comes to these sorts of accidents and, therefore, we have much to contribute." "I am confident that in our engagement both through our allies and directly, we are going to make sure that we are a substantive contributor to this investigation," he told reporters. The Canadian leader said Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne would call his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to stress the need for a full investigation into the tragedy. Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, and Italy normally acts as a proxy for communication between Ottawa and Tehran. Trudeau also stressed the need to refrain from speculation on possible reasons for the accident. "Obviously we are very, very early days on the investigation. It's dangerous to speculate on possible causes," he said. With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, Fars, dpa, and IRNA Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainians-mourn-as- zelenskiy-calls-for-patience-with-plane -crash-investigation/30368047.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Chairman of the Central Regional Branch of Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), Urial Stonewell Tetteh, has criticised the Cape Coast Technical University for allowing students to write exams, despite the strike by lecturers of the university. We have decided over here not to be part of the invigilation process because that is what TUTAG national management has decided but our management feels that the examinations must go on, he told to Citi News. He noted that that National Builders Corps personnel and National Service Personnel had been brought in to invigilate examinations amid the TUTAG strike which began on January 6, 2020. Mr. Tetteh indicated that leaving the teachers out of the entire examination process puts the integrity of the exams in doubt. If we the teachers are not part of the whole invigilation process, it leaves the whole integrity of the examination in question what if they bring it to us and we say we are not going to mark the script and assess it because if I am not sure of who actually invigilated the paper I cant be sure if the exams were organised in a perfect manner. So it is wrong for management to probably let the examinations go on without the teachers. NLC intervenes TUTAG has been protesting the non-payment of allowances due its members following the conversion of polytechnics to technical universities. The association has been at odds with the government over the non-compliance with an earlier ruling by the National Labour Commission (NLC) to ensure that members of the association start receiving allowances due them from December 2019, January 2020 and February 2020. The NLC has since directed the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) to call off its strike . The Commission said the government would be working to migrate their qualified members to the single spine pay structure and pay them their allowances by January 29. citinewsroom Old-fashioned and comforting, the meat-and-root-vegetable hand pie is a local icon with a unique history On a road trip through the Upper Peninsulathe U.P.of Michigan, my wife and I stopped in Ironwood, just over the border from Wisconsin, a region where many of my immigrant forbears on both sides of the family settled to find work in the regions mines back in the early 20th century. On visits to relatives years ago, my family never came here without stopping for a pasty (PASS-tee) at Joes Pasty Shop, and this trip would be no exception. We picked up a couple of the savory D-shaped pastry pockets and a handful of ketchup packets before continuing down the road. Founded in 1946 by the Barbera family, Joes serves up a family pasty recipe that includes traditional (ground beef, onion, and potato filling) and Cornish (the same plus rutabaga) options. A few booths are there for seating, but customers file in all day for carryout, either hot or frozen to bake at home later. The pasty has been in my own family for generations. My mother typically made them with venison that my father had hunted that fall. My Finnish great-grandparents met in Wakefield, Michigan, where my great-grandmother worked in a boarding house. My great-grandfather, a miner, was one of the residents. I cant say whether her pasties were what brought them together, but I do know she, like so many other Finns, learned to make them, and passed the skill on to my grandmother, who in turn made them for my father even in her later years. The Slovaks on the other side of the family also got by on pasties in Ironwood. Says my great-aunt Marge, We had pasties at least once a week, maybe more. The women used to make them before their husbands went to work in the morning, so they were still hot by the time they ate them at noon. Many miners would carry them in their work clothes, a literal hot pocket, but Marge remembers my great-grandfathers lunch pail made of aluminum with a double container: one for coffee in the bottom and a top tray for the pasty. At almost 100 years of age, Marge makes them still, though now she often buys pre-made pie dough. In the U.P., pasties are associated with the Finns, but in fact, Cornish miners in the mid-18th century brought them first. The first wave of Finns picked up the recipe and passed it on to the next wave, so the confusion is understandable. Today a true Cornish pasty enjoys protected geographical indication status in the same way Champagne does. Even in the UK, the pasty is old school, with textual references dating back to at least the 13th century, and some evidence suggesting the pastry pocket and even the word pasty actually originated with the French. Be that as it may, the pastys fate is now in the hands of a younger generation. The second generation of the Barbera family runs Joes these days, but daughter Jessica Barbera opened another shop in Rhinelander, an hour and a half south in Wisconsin. She and her husband, Larry Lapachin, still produce the traditional and Cornish varieties, but are focusing on incorporating local ingredients and healthier options, including grass-fed meats. They have added a whole variety of fillings, from Greek or Italian ingredients to a pesto veggie version with a whole wheat crust. You may still find pasties in other parts of the country, in areas that once drew miners, such as Northern Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Western Montana, and Southwestern or Northern Wisconsin. They are served hot with ketchup where I come from, but in Minnesota and Montana you are more likely to find them smothered in gravy. But if your path doesnt lead you to those places, dont worry: both of Joes locations sell online to those pasty lovers who have wandered too far from pasty country. Joes Pasty Shop 116 W. Aurora St. Ironwood, Mich. JoesPastyShop.com Joes Pasty Shop 123 Randall Ave. Rhinelander, Wis. ILovePasties.com Pasties (Meat Hand Pies) Take this recipe with a grainor teaspoonof salt. Everyone has their take on the measures, and in the case of my mother and grandmother, I was only ever told some. As in, Take some flour, add some lard For the pastry: 4 cups flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/3 cup lard 1/2 cup water, or as needed For the filling: 3 pounds red or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 medium onions, diced 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 1/2 pounds ground or cubed beef, pre-cooked or raw (you dont want anything too greasy) A few tabs of butter To make the pastry dough, mix the flour, salt, and lard together, working it with a fork or pastry blender so that you end up with small pea-sized pieces of lard in the flour. Add the water in gradually until you can form a ball. Do not overwork the dough. Kneading it like bread will ruin your crust. Wrap it in plastic wrap or a moist towel and let it chill in the fridge for an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix together all ingredients except the meat and butter. If using pre-cooked meat, mix it in as well. If using raw meat, youll want to add it to each pasty in a separate layer before adding the rest of the filling. Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll each of them out to be about 1/8-inch thick and circular, like an 8-inch diameter pie crust. Now distribute the filling. For each circle of dough, spoon the filling onto one half of the circle, leaving room along the edge. (If using raw meat, lay it down first.) Place a tab of butter on top of the filling. Stretch the other half of the pastry dough over the filling and pinch along the edge to close it, moistening it a bit to make it stick, if necessary. Cut small slices into the top so that steam can escape as the pasty cooks. You might also brush the top of the crust with an egg wash to give it a shiny golden surface as it bakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the pasties on ungreased baking sheets for about 1 hour, by which time they should turn a golden color. Then serve with ketchup (or gravy) on the side. Kevin Revolinski is an avid traveler and the author of 15 books, including The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey and several outdoor and brewery guidebooks. He is based in Madison, Wis., and his website is TheMadTraveler.com It was a horrendous year for gun violence in Texas. A white male drove into El Paso and killed 22 and wounded 24 others, and another man drove into Midland-Odessa and killed seven and wounded 23. These are barbarous acts, but what hurts the most is when children are the victims. Recently in San Antonio, a 7-year-old boy found his parents handgun and accidentally shot himself. The boy died shortly after the accident. What did Texas do in 2019 to mitigate gun violence? On Sept. 2, a number of new laws loosening firearm restrictions took effect. Gov. Greg Abbott stated those were enacted for the purpose of making our community safer. How? The gunman in Midland-Odessa was confronted by police. These are the most highly trained professionals in handling firearms. Nonetheless, the gunman shot three and continued with a massacre. Can you imagine untrained citizens? And the parents of the 7-year-old boy they were loving and had proper training on handgun safety. But the accident still occurred. The U.S. has a pandemic. So, what should be the treatment? First, let me tell you what will not work pointing at mental illnesses. In the U.S., there are 46 million people with mental illness. Mental illnesses include phobias and anxiety, and serious ones such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The first step is to diagnose mental illness.The diagnosis is based on interviews and self-reported information, not on physical measures. There is no blood test like there is to diagnose diabetes or hypertension. Assume a true diagnosis is made and drugs prescribed. Long-term effects of antipsychotics are in doubt. Antidepressant drugs must be taken with caution. A study published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics showed that patients on antidepressants had a 14 percent higher risk of heart attacks and a 33 percent higher risk of dying prematurely. Even if drugs are effective, who will pay for medical care? Medicaid is the largest payer of mental health services in the U.S. In 2015, Texas refused to expand Medicaid. A study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health showed 4 percent of violent crimes in the U.S. were associated with mental illness. Even if these 4 percent were controlled, that would leave another 96 percent untouched. What is the alternative? Although economically developed countries have similar rates of mental illness (5 percent), the U.S. still has an eight times higher rate of suicide and 25 times higher rate of homicide than other developed countries. The reason is the U.S. exceeds all other countries in per capita ownership of firearms. A study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a relationship between the number of guns kept at home and the risk of being killed by a family member or accidental shooting. Many firearm owners claim self-defense as a reason for ownership. But it is more likely a child will be killed unintentionally than the firearm will be used for self-defense. My treatments of choice are the following: 1. Require serial numbers on weapons to track the firearm, the owner and the manufacturer, like vehicle registrations. 2. Ban the sale and transfer of assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. 3. Strengthen background checks and laws to prohibit felons and people with mental illness and a history of domestic violence from purchasing or possessing firearms. 4. Increase funding for the CDC and NIMH to study the impact of firearm violence on public health. Roberto P. Trevino, M.D., founded the Social & Health Research Center for the early detection and prevention of childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes. A Nevada man boasting neo-Nazi tattoos on his face has been sentenced to at least 44-and-a-half years in prison for shooting a woman dead during an attempted robbery. Bayzle Morgan, 28, appeared handcuffed in court Thursday as a judge read his fate for the first-degree murder of Jean Main, 75, in May 2013 among other charges. He hit the woman with a pistol so hard that the trigger guard broke into pieces, and shot her in the back of the head. She was found dead in a first-floor bathroom of her northwest Las Vegas home. Prosecutors had asked for the maximum time in prison, while defense attorney Dayvid Figler had said he'd ask for a minimum of 21 years. Scroll down for video Bayzle Morgan, 28, was sentenced Thursday to at least 44 years in prison. In 2018, he pleaded guilty in the case for the 2013 shooting death of Jean Main during an attempted robbery Bayzle Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced for the 2013 killing of a 75-year-old woman in her home. Posted by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday, January 9, 2020 Main's grandson, Travis Portinier, described her as the 'nucleus of our family' in his speech to the court. He said Main 'dedicated her life to taking care of others' in his emotional appeal. 'Shes who everyone turned to when they were struggling with life,' Portienier said. Since her murder whenever my family my family has gathered together, theres a void that cannot be filled. My grandmas life was taken from us and this has left a scar that will never be repaired. Morgan looked on during the court appearance with his racist skin etchings - including an Iron Cross - in clear view. Morgan has a swastika within a clover permanently etched under his left eye, a teardrop below his right eye, the words 'Most Hated' on his forehead, 'Baby Nazi' on his neck and white supremacist tattoos instead of eyebrows. He later attempted to withdraw the 2018 guilty plea in the case punishable by the death penalty, but District Judge Michelle Leavitt judge refused his request In October 2016, he was denied permission to cover up the inkings unlike how he had been allowed to do in a separate robbery case with District Judge Richard Scotti that year. In the earlier trial he was found guilty of threatening a man and stealing his motorcycle. Defense attorney Figler had said Morgan got the tattoos in prison after he was sentenced in 2010, at age 18, to up to four years for possession of a stolen vehicle. Jurors are by law supposed to consider only the facts of a case, not a defendant's appearance. Defense attorney Dan Bunin had said the aim of covering the body art was to give Morgan a fair trial, after a group of potential jurors admitted they could not be fair and impartial after seeing the racist tattoos. The jurors who decided Morgan's guilt in the robbery trial without seeing his tattoos previously told the Review-Journal that they did not feel deceived that his tattoos were covered up. Prosecutors say Main's slaying happened days after the robbery, and Chief Deputy District Attorney Giancarlo Pesci had said none of the evidence in the murder case related to Morgan's tattoos. A getaway driver, Keith Smith, was sentenced October 2016 to four to 10 years in prison on burglary charges. He was 49 at the time. Prosecutors said he left when he heard gunshots but returned and saw Morgan with a suitcase of items taken from the Main's house. Police discovered Morgan's blood at the scene of and charged him with murder burglary, robbery and kidnapping. They also discovered the victim's stolen property, including a laptop, a purse with $800 and keys to a Cadillac Escalade, at his home. For count one, conspiracy to commit burglary, Morgan was sentenced to 64 days on Thursday. Count two, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, he was given 66 to 180 months to be served in Nevada Department of Corrections concurrent to count one. He was sentenced to the same time for count three, use of a deadly weapon, plus the same time frame for the deadly weapon enhancement. District Judge Michelle Leavitt said it was to be served consecutive to count two. Morgan was convicted in 2016 of an unrelated robbery and was allowed to use makeup to cover his neo-Nazi tattoos in that trial and conviction but wasn't allowed to in this murder trial For count four, the first-degree murder charge punishable by the death, Morgan got life with the possibility of parole after a minimum of 20 years. For the deadly weapon enhancement there was a minimum of eight to 20 years to be served consecutively to count three. The Las Vegas-Journal Review reported he was given credit for 201 days hed already served behind bars. Restitution of $1,600 between himself and a co-defendant was dished out, plus an additional $16,000 restitution for Morgan alone. The judge said she considered all the facts of the crime, the criminal history and the impact the crime had on the victims as well as mitigating factors presented by the defendant, including his age. He was 18 when he was first convicted of his first crime, the theft of a vehicle. A defense attorney tried to reason that Morgan had been in and out of foster homes and the juvenile justice system 'since he was 10 years old'. His mother had always been frequently in jail while his father left when he was young. Morgan has spent his entire adult life incarcerated, he added. In 2016, the inmate appeared to be looking for a girlfriend from behind bars while he waited for his capital murder trial. His profile on writeaprisoner.com described him as being lonely and having made mistakes but being 'worthy of a meaningful friendship'. 'My heart is heavy with pain of being alone and I am starved for a woman who can see past labels to the man I truly am,' he added. 'I have spent far too many years inside these cages but a prison can only confine the physical. My mind and heart still belong to the free world and only needs a good solid woman to take my hand and allow me to feel, love and dream again.' Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - ALX Uranium Corp. (TSXV: AL) (FSE: 6LLN) (OTC: ALXEF) ("ALX" or the "Company") announces that effective Monday, January 13, 2020, the Company will change its name to ALX Resources Corp. There is no consolidation of capital and the trading symbol remains the same. The CUSIP number assigned to the Company's shares following the name change is 00165X108, and the new ISIN number is CA00165X1087. The change of name better describes the nature of ALX's portfolio of exploration properties that comprise various mineral commodities, including nickel-copper-cobalt, uranium and gold. No action will be required by existing shareholders with respect to the name change. Issued share certificates representing common shares of the Company will not be affected by the change of name and will not need to be exchanged. ALX encourages any shareholder concerns in this regard to be directed to such person's broker or agent. The Company's new website address effective January 13, 2020 is www.alxresources.com About ALX ALX's mandate is to provide shareholders with multiple opportunities for discovery by exploring a portfolio of prospective mineral properties, which include nickel copper-cobalt, gold and uranium. The Company executes well-designed exploration programs using the latest technologies and holds over 200,000 hectares in Saskatchewan, a stable Canadian jurisdiction which demonstrates strong potential for economic base metals deposits, and hosts a producing gold mine and the richest uranium deposits in the world. ALX has recently acquired the Falcon Nickel and Flying Vee Nickel projects in northern Saskatchewan, the Vixen Gold Project in the historic Red Lake Mining District of Ontario, Canada, and the Draco VMS Project in Norway. ALX is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada and its common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AL", on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "6LLN" and in the United States OTC market under the symbol "ALXEF". For more information about the Company, please visit the ALX corporate website at www.alxuranium.com or contact Roger Leschuk, Manager, Corporate Communications at PH: 604.629.0293 or Toll-Free: 866.629.8368, or by email: rleschuk@alxuranium.com On Behalf of the Board of Directors of ALX Uranium Corp. "Warren Stanyer" Warren Stanyer, CEO and Chairman FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that the Company's actual business outcomes and exploration results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Additional risk factors are discussed in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Nine Months ended September 30, 2019, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Except as required by law, we will not update these forward-looking statement risk factors. 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51328 Taoiseach Leo Varadkar fears the controversy over the botched plan to commemorate the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) is a "setback" to a united Ireland. His remarks came as Culture Minister Josepha Madigan faced criticism that the Government was failing to make preparations for State commemorations as the Decade of Centenaries enters the sensitive years of the War of Independence and Civil War. Members of a cross-party group hit out over the minster holding just four meetings of the body since she assumed the role in 2017. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan postponed the ceremony to commemorate the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) after a massive backlash. He was forced to deny the event would commemorate the notorious Black and Tans forces sent by the British to back up the police. Mr Varadkar said it was the right decision to defer the gathering but also hit out at Opposition politicians for misrepresenting plans for the commemoration in Dublin Castle, saying this was "wrong". He admitted there were "lessons to learn" and expressed hope the event will still take place at a later date "in a way that's more appropriate and allows us to consult with the Opposition and with others". Tradition He said he firmly believes in a united Ireland and that it is possible in his lifetime but fears it has been delayed as a result of this week's row. Mr Varadkar said there must be a recognition of the Unionist tradition. He said there were victims of atrocities as well as perpetrators on both sides and this shared history needs to be embraced and understood. He said it was his "deep regret" that "moving towards a united Ireland feels to me to be a little bit further away". Fianna Fail's Eamon O Cuiv said: "The anniversaries have come up very, very fast and there hasn't been adequate discussion as to how we're going to deal with them in a balanced and respectful way." On the same night the US military killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, they unsuccessfully targeted another senior Iranian military official in Yemen, according to a US official with knowledge of the events and another source familiar. The sources would not give any details about the mission or how the US had attempted to carry it out. The US official said to the best of their knowledge there is no broader operation to decapitate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds force leadership at this time. In a statement to CNN, Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich acknowledged seeing the report but declined to offer any additional information. "We have seen the report of a January 2 airstrike in Yemen, which is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States. The Department of Defense does not discuss alleged operations in the region," said Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich in a statement. Despite the Pentagon's assertion, the Department of Defense and US Central Command have routinely issued on-the-record statements about US strikes in Yemen. The Washington Post was first to report the operation took place. According to the Post, the Iranian target was Abdul Reza Shahlai, a financier and key commander of Iran's Quds Force which is an elite wing of the Iranian military operating throughout the Middle East. In December, State Department Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook announced the administration was offering "up to $15 million for information on the financial activities, networks, and associates of Abdul Reza Shahlai." News of an additional operation comes as top US national security officials continue to defend the Trump administration's claim that it killed Soleimani in response to an impending threat to American lives, but the lack of evidence provided to lawmakers and the public has fueled lingering skepticism about whether the strike was justified. Lawmakers demand answers The new development is already raising more questions about the administration's explanation for killing Soleimani. "Congress needs answers. What was the full extent of the Trump administration's plans to kill Iranian officials? How does the attempted killing in Yemen have anything to do with an imminent threat?" Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California tweeted Friday reacting to the news. The Pentagon has blamed Soleimani and the Quds Force for attacks on coalition bases in Iraq in recent months, including the December 27 strike that killed an American contractor and Iraqi personnel. Soleimani was also blamed for the December 31 US Embassy attack in Baghdad, and the US military said he was responsible for killing hundreds in his time as a commander and wounding thousands more. "We caught a total monster. We took them out. And that should have happened a long time ago. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy," President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday. "We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died ... people were badly wounded just a week before. And we did it. We had a shot at it ... that was the end of a monster," Trump added, referring to a recent rocket attack by an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq, Khatib Hezbollah, that killed an American contractor and wounded several US military personnel. Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News Friday that Soleimani was targeting four embassies before he was killed. The President's comments came after two prominent Senate Republicans and congressional Democrats on Wednesday slammed the administration's briefing on the reasoning for the strike following briefings by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Multiple lawmakers said they saw no specific intelligence that pointed to an imminent threat from Soleimani that justified the strike. Conflict in Yemen The US military has conducted airstrikes targeting the Yemen based affiliates of al Qaeda and ISIS and has also at times deployed small counterterrorism teams on the ground to target those terrorist groups. The US also provides very limited, non-combat support to the Saudi-led coalition that is supporting the Yemeni government in its fight with the Houthis, who receive assistance from Iran. While the US ended its practice of aerial refueling of Saudi and Emirati jets last year, it continues to share intelligence focused on countering Houthi missile and drone attacks, as well as providing advice on processes and procedures aimed at helping to avoid civilian casualties. The US has long accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with missiles and other sophisticated weapons that they have used in those attacks. The conflict in Yemen began in early 2015 when Houthi rebels -- a minority Shia group from the north of the country -- drove out the US-backed government and took over the capital, Sanaa. The crisis quickly escalated into a multi-sided war, with neighboring Saudi Arabia leading a coalition of Gulf states against the Houthi rebels. A report from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project last June found that more than 91,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 2015. It also found that the Saudi-led coalition and its allies had been responsible for more than 8,000 of the approximately 11,700 deaths connected to the direct targeting of civilians in the conflict. Last year, in a rare moment of bipartisanship, both the House and Senate passed a resolution (SR7) that called on the Trump administration to end all hostilities in Yemen that weren't expressly authorized by the Congress. President Donald Trump vetoed the resolution in April and the support of the Saudi-led effort in Yemen continues. The Trump administration has been insistent that is the President's job to enact US foreign policy and that any attempt to limit his authority is inappropriate. In his veto message in response to SR7, Trump argued that Congress was the one overstepping its bounds. "This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future," Trump wrote. - South Africans were inspired by photos of the exact moment two cultures united in love - A man, Nicholus Dube Mduduzi, revealed the ceremony took place in Swaziland - However, he shared it on the SA Facebook page '#ImStaying' and it inspired Mzansi social media users PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed! Last week, a man, Nicholus Dube Mduduzi, took to the #ImStaying Facebook page to share photos of a beautiful traditional wedding that united two cultures. Mduduzi revealed in his post that his in-laws from America had travelled to Swaziland to attend a traditional wedding. "Our in-laws came from USA for traditional marriage in Swaziland and I'm staying," he captioned the post. Although the wedding did not take place in Mzansi, it was shared on the South African Facebook page and still managed to inspire social media users. Photo credit: Nicholus Dube Mduduzi/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Meet the Pretoria student who completed a physics degree at 17 Photo credit: Nicholus Dube Mduduzi/Facebook. Source: Facebook The post reached more than 14 000 likes and South Africans fell in love with the images. Dorothy Doorasamy commented: "Great. People evolve and learn about other cultures." Thandeka Chauke added: "Wow! She's a keeper I love your in-laws Mduduzi." Noks Khumalo reacted: "So beautiful when people respect each other's culture." Briefly.co.za previously reported on another traditional wedding that went viral. A woman, Yvette Redelinghuis, attended a friend's traditional Zulu wedding. She took to Facebook to post a snap of herself drinking traditional beer. In the post, Redelinghuis gushed about the experience, adding the welcome she received was like none other. Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news! Source: Briefly News Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat on Thursday said that there is a section of film actors and politicians that stands with the people who support terrorists by raising slogans for them. "Not only film actors, (but) there is also a section among political leaders too which insults the culture and deities of this country. It stands with people who support terrorists by raising slogans for them and raise slogans to divide the country into pieces," Shekhawat told reporters. He said that the people of the country have now come to know such people. "This section considers itself progressive and becomes part of the gang which raises slogans of 'Afzal hum sharminda hain, tere qaatil zinda hain'(Afzal, we are ashamed that your killers are still alive) and 'Bharat tere tukde honge insha allah insha allah' (India will break to pieces, God willing) and supports them," Shekhawat said. The BJP leader's remark comes after actor Deepika Padukone, on January 7, joined the protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) against the recent violence in which over 30 students were injured after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Albert Bender People's World NASHVILLE, Tenn.Hurry, hurry! On September 27, the Frist Art Museum of Nashville opened the groundbreaking exhibition Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists. This is the first museum exhibition exclusively devoted to Native American women artists from the United States and Canada. The exhibition closes on January 12, 2020, in Nashville and then opens in other galleries. This exhibition, organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), illustrates how the art of Native American women, both ancient and contemporary, influenced all American art, including the abstract. The exhibition first opened at the MIA before coming to Nashville. The importance of Indigenous womens art cannot be exaggerated. The exhibition highlights the artistic accomplishments of Native women and presents the vast achievements of these extraordinary artists over the centuries. To tell such a stellar story, a diversity of perspectives was required, and to that end an assembly of Native artists, academics, museum professionals and non-Native curators and scholars came together to create the show and provide interpretation for it. The comprehensive exhibition is important on so many levels. Almost one-half of the works of art are by living artists. The art speaks to the past and the present and the present moment is very critical, says Katie Delmez, curator of the Frist Museum. Delmez continues, The mission of the Frist is to help people look at the world in new ways, to see how art can be an agent of connectivity. Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo). Maria, 2014. 1985 Chevy El Camino. Image by Kate Russell. | Courtesy of Frist Museum There are 115 works of art comprising this groundbreaking exhibition. The artworks include sculpture, paintings, contemporary Indigenous attire, pottery, baskets, traditional clothing, beadwork, and video and installation arts. It also includes examples of many creative and innovative techniques. The subject matter is divided into three main areas: Legacy, Relationships and Power. Legacy examines the myriad ways in which Native women artists appreciate their heritage, producing works that bring forth the experience of previous generations, while addressing the present and contemplating the future. In the theme of Relationships, recognition is given to the concept of bonds that the human world has with the animals, nature and other realities that the mainstream society either does not recognize, ignores, or is unaware of as having legitimacy. Power embraces the concept of dialogue and influence, the ability to impact others and empower oneself. Of great importance is that each Native artist accentuates the culmination of her individual experience, expertise and technique in her work. All of the works are outstanding, and none more so than the exhibit Fringe by Rebecca Belmore (Anishinaabe), which highlights a photograph of a Native woman lying on a clinical white sheet with another sheet covering her hips and thighs, with her back to the camera. A large diagonal scar crossing her back is stitched with crude sutures and from the sutures hang strings of very tiny red beads. From across the room the strings of beads appear to be streaks of red paint symbolizing blood. Only upon close observation can it be discerned that the streaks of blood are strings of beads. This display is meant to portray the oppression suffered by Native people from colonial tormentors. Also striking, with much reflective meaning, is the refurbished black-on-black 1985 Chevy El Camino by Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo). Simpson is a trained auto mechanic and body finisher. She did all the engine work on the vehicle and the customized black paint job. The paint job was done to resemble the blackware pottery of celebrated San Ildefonso Pueblo artist Maria Martinez. Examples of her famous pottery are displayed with the El Camino. Christi Belcourt (Metis). The Wisdom of the Universe, 2014. Acrylic on canvas. | Courtesy of Frist Museum Entrancing is the expressive, large-scale painting The Wisdom of the Universe by Metis artist Christi Belcourt, depicting endangered animals and plants rendered in a bead-like style. At first glance it appears that the images are actually made of tiny beads. Marianne Nicolson (Kwakwakawakw) brings forth thoughts of the spiritual world in her Baxwana;tsi: The Container for Souls, a hypnotic, funereal installation that envelops an entire gallery space with images of the Dzawadaenuxw First Nation peoples traditional symbols projected from a glowing glass chest. This was truly innovative to experience. Among the other many stellar works, there is a display of crushed bone china positioned in front of a video of running buffalo. This reflects the period when the buffalo were slaughtered in U.S. government campaigns to conquer the Native nations of the Plains. The founding co-curators of the exhibition are Jill Ahlberg Yohe, associate curator of Native American art at the MIA, and Teri Greeves, Kiowa artist and scholar. Special recognition for the exhibition also goes to Dakota Hoska (Lakhota), research assistant. At each step of the curatorial process, the curators worked very closely with an all-female Exhibition Advisory Board composed of 21 additional women, most of whom are also Native American artists and scholars involved in the development of the exhibitions main themes. The Board also contributed to determining the form and content of the Exhibition literature and programming. Hearts of Our People recognizes that Native women have for so long been the creative force in Native American art. But as the first major exhibition devoted exclusively to their artistic efforts, it is meant to be a tribute to all Native American women artists and their families, and their nations, past and present. After the Nashville venue the exhibition heads to the Renwick Gallery, a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington, D.C. This exhibition truly deserves careful reflective viewing and multiple visits. Albert Bender is a Cherokee activist, historian, political columnist, and freelance reporter for Native and Non-Native publications. He was an organizer and delegate to the First and Second Intercontinental Indian Conferences held in Quito, Ecuador and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Recently, he has been an active participant and reporter in the Standing Rock struggle in North Dakota. He is an attorney and is currently writing a legal treatise on Native American sovereignty. He is also writing a book on the war crimes committed by the U.S. against the Maya people in the Guatemalan civil war of the late 20th century. He is also the recipient of several Eagle Awards by the Tennessee Native American Eagle Organization and a former Director of Native American Legal Departments and a Tribal Public Defender. Note: This article originally appeared on People's World . It is published under a Creative Commons license Join the Conversation After scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August last year, the Central government launched a massive crackdown in the region detaining people including mainstream and separatist leaders many of whom continue to be incarcerated in different jails far from their homes After scrapping Article 370 on 5 August last year, the Central government launched a massive crackdown in the region detaining people including mainstream and separatist leaders many of whom continue to be incarcerated in different jails far from their homes. More than 400 of them were booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and were taken to different jails. They remain there under detention as their families struggle with legal battles amid mounting hardships. As the government imposed a strict communication clampdown in the region following the abrogation of the law, families were caught unawares about the whereabouts of those who were arrested. It took them weeks to locate their loved ones in different jails outside Kashmir. One such case was that of Manzoor Ahmad, a shopkeeper from south Kashmir's Pulwama. Forty-six-year-old Manzoor Ahmad Lone was arrested on 2 August after the police conducted a raid at his residence in Pulwama's Kakapora village. For three days, the family had no information where Lone was lodged by the police and on 5 August, when Article 370 was scrapped and the Valley was put under strict curfew, his family learnt that he was at the Kakapora Police Station. From Kakpora, Lone was shifted to the central jail in Srinagar's Rainawari, and then taken to a jail in Agra on 10 August. Lone has a wife, Parveena Bano, and two children aged 22 and 19 years. As per his family, the police has slapped prior charges that date back to he was associated with the Hurriyat in the past against Lone. However, he left the organisation after being charged under the PSA in 2016. "At the time, he was kept in jail in Kathua for almost eight months. And after his release, he left the Hurriyat. But now, he has been charged for no reason," said Imtiyaz Ahmad, his son. As per Lone's dossier, he has been charged with "instigating youths" to pelt stones, but his family insists that the allegations are baseless. "My father is too old to be involved in such things, he was just keeping himself busy in his shop," said Imtiyaz, a Class 11 student, adding, "Who will run my father's shop, and who will feed my family?" *** While Lone's family struggles to find answers for his arrest, Mohammad Maqbool Hurrah, a 51-year-old living in Gulbagh Kakapora a village in Pulwama district has maintained a notebook in which he has written all the debts he took from neighbours and relatives ever since his 26-year-old son Irfan Ahmad Hurrah was detained under the PSA. Hurrah Sr is contemplating selling his land to pay his loans. "I don't have any other option," he added. Quratulain Rehbar On 3 August, when the Valley was abuzz with rumours and a sense of foreboding, two police officers from Kakapora Police Station arrived at the Hurrah residence to enquire after the whereabouts of his son. "We had no idea why they were asking about him; Irfan would have been in a Darul Uloom with students, so I told them he would probably be there," said the father. On 4 August, police arrested Irfan from a hostel in Kakapora, where he was teaching the Quran to local boys. The police didn't tell the family the reason for his arrest. "They just told us that he will be safe in the police station," said Hurrah Sr. A day after the abrogation of Article 370, the communication blackout in the Valley left Irfan's family with no means to get information about where he had been taken. "We went to meet officers in Pulwama and requested a curfew pass. I just wanted to locate my son," said Irfan's father, who would go to find out 16 days later from central jail authorities that he had been taken to an Uttar Pradesh jail. "I took fruits and clothes for him, but was told that he had been shifted," he added. Irfan, who was the lone breadwinner of his family, was teaching Arabic and Quran to students in Shah-i-Hamdan Pampore, a local school for religious education. Irfan had studied till Class 9, but then sought admission at a Darul Uloom in Srinagar, where he studied for three years. Lawyers in Kashmir said in various reports that most of the people charged under the PSA have been detained on grounds of "likely to disturb public order", in accordance with Section 3 of the Act. Irfan's dossier reads, "He has done his post graduation in Arabic from Kashmir University." This shocked that family who pointed out that he hasn't even attended higher secondary school. The family feels that Irfan was arrested because of his religious leanings. "Is it a sin to follow one's own religion?" asked his father, who has undergone surgery on both his eyes recently and is unable to earn a living for his family. Before this, there had never been any charges filed against Irfan. It was only in October, a month-and-a-half since Irfan was picked up, that Hurrah Sr was able to meet his son in the Uttar Pradesh jail. It was then that he started taking loans from people in his village due to his own financial strain. Ever since their last meeting, the Hurrah family was hopeful that their son was in good health despite being in jail. This was until the most recent meeting on 17 December. It took four days for the family to travel by train to Uttar Pradesh and meet their son, but what greeted them was most unexpected. When Hurrah Sr entered a meeting room at the police station, and hugged his son, Irfan told him that he had been tortured. These were the only words he could uttered. "We were not allowed to talk in Kashmiri, so we couldn't discuss the whole matter," said the father. "I don't know much Hindi. I was just staring at my son and tears were rolling down my face," he added, "We just exchanged glances helplessly without talking much." Irfan showed his father his injured foot saying that he might require surgery, but wasn't sure who would be able to operate on him there. Since then, the family has been quite worried. "We cannot bear to see him like that. He should at least have been shifted to Kashmir," said Hurrah Sr. *** Arranging a meet with their kin in outside jails is a long struggle for families mostly due to the difficult financial conditions. As per the recent report by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), nearly 37.4 percent of the detainees in PSA-related cases have been moved to jails in various states across the country. The report mentions that 662 people were charged under the PSA in 2019, of which 412 cases were recorded after 5 August. Another resident of Pulwama, 45-year-old Abdul Rashid Dar from Mohenveji Kakapora, was arrested in a night raid on 5 August and security personnel didn't cite the reason for his arrest to his family. Zeba Bano, Dar's 43-year-old wife, said that her husband has never been taken to a police station before, but had now been charged under the PSA. On the night of 5 August, police and CRPF personnel knocked on Dar's door and told him to accompany them. "They just told us he has to go with them while they search a house nearby," said Zeba. Zeba suffers from a heart ailment and has been on medication ever since her husband was arrested. Her 21-year-old daughter Saima, who is taking care of her mother, is clueless about the reason for her father's arrest. "She keeps asking me when her father will be released," sobbed Zeba. It was only nine days after he was picked up that Dar's family learnt he was at the Kakapora Police Station. Two-and-a-half months later, he was moved to a jail in Agra without his family being informed. In Agra, around 84 people from the Valley remain imprisoned and at district jail in Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar, around 60 people from Kashmir are under detention. Dar, a driver and the lone bread-winner of his family, has two children and a wife who are waiting for his release. "If they are not going to release my husband, they should arrest us as well," said Zeba. While the families continue to suffer after the detention of their bread-winners, the police dossiers read somewhat similarly for all of them, charging them with "stone-pelting" and "disturbing law and order". In Kashmir, following the abrogation of Article 370, there have been very few protests as the region has been under a strict blockade. The families question the detention of their kin and say that "most of them were falsely charged on weak grounds". *** A few kilometres away from the main town in Pulwama, Pahoo is a quiet village surrounded by apple orchards. Fayaz Ahmad, a 26-year-old from the village, was among hundreds slapped with the PSA and shifted to Bareilly after he was charged for "stone-pelting", as per his dossier. Fayaz was in the middle of his PhD in Arabic, having completed his Masters from the University of Kashmir. According to his father, Abdul Rashid, Fayaz was falsely framed under prior charges and was "just keeping himself busy with a tractor which was his part-time job". It has been six months and Rashid has only been able to visit his son once. "Since the past six months, our son hasn't able to work or study. And as a result of him being jailed, our financial condition has worsened," said his mother, Sara Bano. Fayaz' family fears that by being charged under the PSA, "the authorities have jeopardised his career". *** In Parliament last October, Union Home Minister Amit Shah justified the arrests in Kashmir and maintained that less than 1,000 people from Kashmir were under detention and that 800 of them were "stone-pelters". Earlier this month, the government released some politicians who had been detained following the 5 August crackdown. However, while most police officials approached for comment refused to speak about the PSA cases, one on condition of anonymity said that the government might release some political prisoners depending on the situation in Kashmir in the coming months. Taliban victims are blown up and tortured in a violent first trailer of Malala Yousafazai's biopic, which also shows the moment she was shot on a school bus in a botched assassination attempt. The Bollywood production of Gul Makai is named after the female heroine of a Pashtun folk tale, which Malala Yousafazai used as her blogging pseudonym at the beginning of her activist career in 2009. The film, which is funded by a United Nations initiative, shows Taliban extremists violently lashing a woman, a teacher being executed in a schoolyard full of his students and a man's bloodied body parts launched across a snowy field when a suicide bomber detonates his vest. Shortly after, another Taliban fundamentalist is seen dragging another man's lifeless corpse through the snow. A man can be seen lashing a woman's back in a trailer for the Bollywood production of Gul Makai, which is set in Pakistan and due to be released at the end of this month An extremist drags the bloodied corpse of another man in a trailer for the Bollywood production of Gul Makai, which is set in Pakistan and due to be released at the end of this month A man writhes in pain as he is surrounded by armed Taliban militants in the Swat valley in a trailer for the Bollywood production of Gul Makai, which is set to be released this January Makers of the film described it as 'the courageous journey and struggle of Malala, from her humble upbringing in the Swat Valley to her becoming the champion for free education to all.' Malala lived in the Swat valley in Pakistan during her childhood and wrote a blog for BBC Urdu, at the age of 11, telling of her life under Taliban rule and how she longed to stay in school. The insurgents commandeered the valley in 2009, prohibiting Western ideas such as women in education. Television sets and the playing of music were also banned with harsh punishments, like those seen in the trailer, doled out for anyone who disobeyed. A headmaster is executed in the school playground by a Taliban gunman in a recreation for the film, Gul Makai, which takes place during the 2000s in the Swat valley A man is held down and tortured by Taliban militants in a recreation of events in the Swat valley, Pakistan during the 2000s Pictured is a recreation of the shooting of Malala in 2012 in the Swat Valley, Pakistan From her blog, Malala rose in prominence in Pakistan and began to feature in interviews about her activism. By 2012, her speaking had been noticed and two Taliban gunmen boarded her school bus and opened fire, shooting her in the head along with two of her schoolmates. Malala survived the bullet and the assassination attempt drove her fame across the globe. She was treated for her head trauma in Birmingham and her recovery was closely monitored by the global media. After her recovery, Malala became the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her and her family relocated to Birmingham, England, and she went on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at Oxford. She manages a fund to help children in education around the world. She travelled to Nigeria to press action to free the 200 girls who were held by Boko Haram militants in April 2014. Producers are hoping to release Gul Makai in cinemas in England and India on January 31, 2020. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, left the UK for Canada amid the ongoing crisis talks within the British royal family following her and husband Prince Harry's bombshell announcement to distance themselves from frontline duties. A spokesperson for the 38-year-old former American actress confirmed on Friday that Markle had flown back to Canada to be with eight-month-old son Archie, who had remained in the country with a nanny, while his parents flew back to the UK to resume royal duties earlier this week after a six-week sabbatical on Vancouver Island. Harry, the 35-year-old Duke of Sussex, has stayed back and is believed to be making attempts to do some damage control with his family members. The royal family was said to be "hurt" at the couple's statement, which was reportedly issued without the consent of Queen Elizabeth II, Harry's grandmother. The 93-year-old monarch is understood to have asked senior aides to come up with a "workable solution" after the couple went public with their plans to take a back seat and divide their time between the UK and North America. Prince Charles, Harry's father, is said to be upset by the move and the senior royals are in internal discussions to find a way forward and determine the couple's future roles. According to some UK media reports, the royal family is expected to hold talks with multiple governments over the couple's future plans, suggesting that US as well as Canadian officials may be involved as part of their security and other arrangements. In a statement issued via their official Sussex Royal website, Harry and Meghan announced that they plan to "value the ability to earn a professional income" -- something they are not currently allowed to do as senior members of the UK royal family. In the statement issued on Wednesday, they said: "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen." "Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through, a Buckingham Palace statement noted in a terse response. The royal couple's surprise move would mean they will no longer be able to use the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant which funds five per cent of their costs but would still be able to receive income from the Prince Charles through his private Duchy of Cornwall estate. Harry also has his own money through inheritance from his late mother, Princess Diana, as well as great grandmother the Queen Mother. The couple plan to continue using Frogmore Cottage, a four-bedroom historic property in the grounds of Windsor Castle, as their UK base. Canada is expected to be their primary second base, given that Markle lived and worked in Toronto during her time starring in the popular US drama 'Suits'. After returning to the UK after their six-week break in Canada on Tuesday, Harry and Meghan visited Canada's High Commission in London to thank the country for hosting them and said the warmth and hospitality they had received was "unbelievable". Despite the shock move, Harry remains sixth in line to the British throne and is expected to carry on with his royal duties as usual until a new system is put in place. The couple had publicly spoken out about their struggles in the media glare in a television documentary last year. They are both taking legal action against UK tabloids for breach of privacy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A sudden increase in the demand for birth certificates has been reported from various minority-dominated areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra, even as protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, and a proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) continue across the country. Most states will start enrolment for National Population Register (NPR) from April 1, 2020, and the register will be updated by September, 2020. The government will seek the date and place of birth of a person and his or her parents in the 2020 exercise. The central government, however, has clarified that no documents will be needed for registration under NPR and the entire exercise is based on self declaration. The government has also said that there is no link between CAA, NPR and a proposed nationwide NRC. It has also said that no Indian citizen will be affected by the CAA. In Lucknow, the number of birth certificates issued in December 2019 (6,193) went up three times against a year ago. Ashok Singh, chief tax fixation officer of Lucknow Municipal Corporation,also the in-charge of the birth and death section, said: There has been an increase in demand for birth certificates, especially among aged Muslims. Seeing the spurt, we have decided to issue the certificates at zonal level too. He said 30% of the applicants were made by people above 40. Scenes were not very different at the municipal offices of Prayagraj, Varanasi, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahr. A large number of people in their 30s and 40s are coming for birth certificates, said AK Jain, a clerk at the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation. Varanasi Swasthya Adhikari (city health officer), Ramshakal Yadav, said there were no instructions that a birth certificate was mandatory [for CAA, NPR or NRC] but still people are applying. Meerut city health officer, Gajendra Singh, said his office has seen a 40% spurt in applications for birth certificates from people between 10 and 60 years old. The birth certificates are issued by urban and rural local bodies. Once the birth is registered, the certificate can be sought any time. If the registration is not done within one year of the birth, then one has to file an application with first magistrate, who is empowered to issue a direction to registrar of births to issue the certificate. Sarfaraz, who goes by only one name and is a resident of Agra, said: I was born in 1968 and never felt the need for a birth certificate but now with CAA, NRC and NPR, I am following others and to prove my nationality, I will have to produce a birth certificate which I am going to get from Agra Nagar Nigam registration department. Akram Khan, 50, a businessman from the Kareli locality in Prayagraj, 15km from Lucknow, and his wife, Sadia Bano, 45, have visited the municipal office to get their birth certificates. Born and brought up in Prayagraj, I decided to get birth certificates made for us following the talk that even citizens of India may need to prove their citizenship, Akram said. In many places, people are taking the help of lawyers to complete the formalities for getting birth certificates, especially if they were born at their homes. Rafeeq Ansari, Samajwadi Party MLA from Meerut city, said that every day 400 to 500 people were approaching him to seek his letter required to apply for birth certificates. Local MLAs and MPs are authorised to endorse residential proof of a person, he said. Councillor of Katehar ward in Varanasi, Afzal Ansari said that ever since CAA came into focus, people were seeking birth certificates. A similar rush is seen in Bihar. An average of 4,000 people registered for birth certificates monthly between January and November 2019. In December, 2019, the figure was 6,600. Of these, 25% are in the age bracket of 40 to 50 years and are mainly from the Muslim community, said district statistical officer, Patna, Mahesh Prasad, also the additional district registrar of births and deaths. Maulana Rizwan Ahmad Islahi, who is the president of the Jamaete Islami Hind, Bihar, said: People are worried over CAA, as it will increase their burden of documentation, but are not afraid or panicking in any manner. In West Bengal, the rush for birth certificates and other documents was witnessed between October and November 2019. After chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced in December that NPR and NRC will not be implemented in the state, fewer people have been queuing up for documents, officials said. Malda legislator Mostak Alam said: I have raised the issue in the state assembly and have written letters to the DM. It is mostly Muslims who have panicked. Maharashtra government officials said there has been a sudden demand of birth certificates in several Muslim-dominated areas such as Malegaon and Aurangabad. We have opened additional offices to cater to the increase in demand, a Maharashtra government official told PTI. With inputs from bureaus in Lucknow/Pragyagraj/Varanasi/Meerut/Agra/Patna/Kolkata An inquest into the death of a Newry man at a "house party gone wrong" initially investigated as murder has found he died from an accidental drugs overdose. Aidan McCabe was found dead on March 13 last year at a house in Acorn Hill, Bessbrook. The PSNI was alerted to the south Armagh address following a 999 call by a "hysterical female" at approximately 10.15am. Police found 34-year-old Mr McCabe, a resident of shared living accommodation at Kilmorey House in Newry, dead in an upstairs bed with a female hugging him. CPR was carried out by two constables until the Ambulance Service arrived and took over. However, he was pronounced dead at 12.26pm. The deceased's father Derek McCabe told coroner Suzanne Anderson that losing his son had been "devastating". "He had a major problem with drugs and mental health with anxiety," said Mr McCabe. "He was always trying to fix himself, but really making himself worse, you couldn't get through to him. He just took too much." The unemployed bricklayer's sudden death was initially investigated by the PSNI as a potential murder due to a confessed assault by a female on the night in question and the unknown circumstances surrounding the fatality. However, following a post-mortem examination report by pathologist Dr Peter Ingram, all six people arrested at the scene of the death were no longer investigated for murder. An assault investigation was carried out related to a 40-year-old female at the house party, who admitted striking Mr McCabe after he had held her down on a settee. The woman, who had a broken hand at the time following a previous assault by a male known by the deceased, stated that she had removed a metal splint support before striking out at Mr McCabe, who was holding her down in an intoxicated state. "I'd been beaten by a man a week before and I wasn't going to let it happen again," she told the inquest. Bruises were sustained to Mr McCabe's eyes and jaw with lacerations to his lip. A build-up of blood was found in the deceased's respiratory system. However, Mr Ingram said the cocktail of prescribed and non-prescibed drugs killed Mr McCabe, with the overload of opioids depressing the part of the brain responsible for breathing. The inquest heard that the drugs alone would have killed the Newry man, with the assault playing no part. On the night in question Mr McCabe arrived at the Bessbrook house at approximately 11pm. He was described by those at the house party as "dribbling badly" and "couldn't walk straight" being "badly out of it". It was said that the deceased had been injecting cocaine and taking strips of Xanax and Lyrica tablets. Following an altercation with the female, Mr McCabe was "cleaned up in the kitchen" by the same woman and continued socialising through the night. He was later discovered dead in the morning in a bed with two other females. A toxicology report following his death also found that Mr McCabe was self-medicating with further anxiety drugs Pregabalin (Lyrica) and Alprazolam (Xanax), as well as cocaine and alcohol. Coroner Anderson reported her findings as "accidental death" and offered her "very deepest sympathies to the family" of the deceased. Scientists have managed to cure cancer and stop it returning in mice using tiny metallic particles made of copper. In an experiment, a group of lab mice who had been given cancer were injected with specially created copper oxide particles. Copper oxide is derived from copper and oxygen, and the researchers made it into nanoparticles hundreds of times thinner than human hair. They injected this into tumours at the same time as giving the mice immunotherapy, a powerful treatment already used by doctors. The cancers disappeared and, when cancerous cells were injected into the animals' bodies again, the immune system destroyed them straight away. Human trials are the next step for the scientists, who hope the treatment could replace gruelling chemotherapy for as many as 60 per cent of cancers. Although metal particles are known to be toxic to living cells the scientists said they were able to harness tiny amounts of them to target specifically cancerous tumours and avoid healthy tissue (stock illustration of cancer cells) 'If we would ingest metal oxides in large quantities, they can be dangerous,' said Professor Stefaan Soenen and Dr Bella Manshian, from KU Leuven university in Belgium, who worked together on the study. 'But at a nanoscale and at controlled, safe, concentrations, they can actually be beneficial.' Professor Soenen added: 'As far as I'm aware, this is the first time that metal oxides are used to efficiently fight cancer cells with long-lasting immune effects in live models. 'As a next step, we want to create other metal nanoparticles, and identify which particles affect which types of cancer.' The mice in the study were given lung and bowel cancers, and the scientists suggested copper oxide could work for breast and ovarian forms of the disease, among others. Metals are known to be poisonous to living cells and cause physical damage to them as well as disrupting DNA and stopping them reproducing normally. This is one of the reasons why air pollution is so harmful, and also why exposure to lead, for example, can cause serious illnesses. By harnessing tiny amounts of this danger and targeting it directly at cancer tumours, researchers were able to destroy specific growths. And they combined the treatment with immunotherapy, which is a medical way of unleashing the body's own immune system and white blood cells' ability to destroy a tumour. The body is capable of breaking down cancers by itself but may be held back to stop itself overreacting and damaging healthy tissue. Immunotherapy is becoming increasingly common because it means patients can be treated without chemotherapy, which often has crippling side effects. People taking chemo may lose their hair, become extremely weak and frail, lose weight, vomit, and may be so sickened they cannot tolerate it at all, allowing the cancer to grow. Professor Soenen added: 'Nanomedicine is on the rise in the US and Asia, but Europe is lagging behind. 'It's a challenge to advance in this field, because doctors and engineers often speak a different language. 'We need more interdisciplinary collaboration, so that we can understand each other better and build upon each other's knowledge.' The KU Leuven researchers worked with others from the University of Bremen, the Leibniz Institute of Materials Engineering and the University of Ioannina, in Greece. Their paper was published in the prestigious German chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Dating is hard enough without learning that someone is just using you for something. Reddit user redberryberry recently went online to share his story, and at first, he thought the girl he had been seeing really liked him. It turns out, she just wanted him for his money. When things go south in the honeymoon phase, I always tell my friends its better you find out in the beginning so you can waste less of your time in the end. Instead of just leaving things behind him and walking away, this guy decided to get revenge on her. In his post that has since gotten 16,700 upvotes, he shares the following story: Ive really liked this girl for a while that I met at a lifeguard certification course, and I talked to her while I was there and we (I thought) ended up hitting it off. We exchanged numbers and social media and all that and we messaged for a few weeks before I asked her out to a movie, which she accepted. Wed been going on casual dates, nothing too serious and we werent hanging out at my place or her place even though Id hinted at the idea, for a few weeks before one of her friends (someone that was also at the lifeguarding course that I met and kept in contact with because he was cool) sends me this screenshot. He said he felt bad for me because I was nice and that she does this often to other dudes! After seeing this, I asked her to go on a nice date with me to a hibachi grill restaurant. $20-$40 dollar plates and premium desserts are served here. I got the most expensive thing they had and so did she. We both got fancy ice cream and multiple refills on drinks. I complimented her a lot and smiled consistently, before getting up to go to the bathroom and leaving. (I was also her ride) About 45 minutes after I get furious texts from her saying that she had to have her mom come down and pay for it because she didnt have the money on her and that we were done. I know its not a lot and it sucks because I thought she was actually into me but it felt pretty nice leaving her that way. What do you think of this revenge? Let me know in the comments below! Bre is a female millennial go getter residing in New York. One part entrepreneur, one part geek, she obtained her degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology. She has held some exciting roles in both fashion as a designer working for brands like Victorias Secret and Henri Bendel, as well as in ad tech working for publishers like Ziff Davis. Today she operates Chip Chick Media which reaches millions of women each month. Bre is passionate about teaching women how to build a business and be an entrepreneur, in addition to keeping her readers informed of the latest technology trends and exciting products to improve their lifestyles. You can send Bre a message here. Haiti - Politic : The Caribbean Community very concerned about the Haitian crisis Faced with the persistent crisis in Haiti, the President of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mia Amor Mottley, also Prime Minister of Barbados, issued the following statement on behalf of the member countries : Statement from CARICOM : "The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is deeply concerned at the continuing unsettled political, economic, humanitarian and social situation in its Member State, Haiti. Indeed, we are particularly concerned about the several incidents of violence and the associated and tragic loss of life. The current crisis has adversely affected all sectors of the society and has brought about severe hardship for the people of Haiti. It is urgent for all stakeholders in the country to engage in constructive and meaningful dialogue, in a spirit of good faith and concern for the nation, and towards resolving this prolonged crisis. The recent decision taken by the major stakeholders to ensure that the children of the country can resume schooling as a new school term commences is an important step forward and should serve as an impetus to addressing other areas of contention in the interest of the well-being of the people and of the country at large. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) considers that our regional organization has a duty to do all that it possibly can to assist the people of our sister Caribbean nation of Haiti. We shall liaise with the Haitian Government to facilitate a visit by an advanced team led by the Secretary-General to explore with the Government and people of Haiti and other interested parties an acceptable way forward towards alleviating the present crisis." See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29192-haiti-politic-the-worsening-of-the-haitian-crisis-concerns-the-caricom.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29102-haiti-politic-caricom-deeply-concerned-about-the-situation-in-haiti.html HL/ HaitiLibre Psychological-based digital therapy supported by strong clinical data from largest randomized clinical trial of its kind SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mahana Therapeutics, a digital therapeutics company reimagining the treatment of chronic diseases, today announced that the Company has entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with King's College London, a leading research university and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in England. Mahana has acquired a worldwide exclusive license to an innovative digital therapeutic for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1064280/Mahana_Therapeutics_Logo.jpg Professor Rona Moss-Morris, Head of Psychology Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London led the development of the digital program in collaboration with Trudie Chalder, Professor of Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy and Dr. Alice Sibelli both also from King's, Hazel Everitt, GP and Professor of Primary Care Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, and a broad multi-university team. "We spent over 18 years developing and clinically testing a personalized digital CBT program for adult IBS patients," said Rona Moss Morris. "We believe our multi-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 558 patients is the largest clinical trial ever conducted demonstrating the clinical safety and efficacy of a digital CBT product for IBS." The trial, with results published in 2019 prestigious medical journal Gut[1], demonstrated that web-based CBT showed substantial and durable IBS symptom severity improvements versus treatment as usual (i.e. doctors visits alone) and also led to reductions in anxiety and depression in patients over three, six and twelve-month time periods. "The digital era has allowed us the opportunity to explore new ways to reach patients and provide them with access to psychological-based therapies that help control symptoms in a more convenient way. We are thrilled to partner with Mahana Therapeutics. Mahana shares our vision to provide patients in the U.K. and abroad with clinically and cost-effective treatments for gastrointestinal diseases and they have been an amazing collaborative partner," said Professor Moss-Morris. "This is the perfect union of our vision at Mahana plus a leading academic institution's desire to bring world-leading research into the hands of patients," said Robert Paull, co-founder and CEO of Mahana Therapeutics. "The digital therapeutic developed by Professor Moss-Morris and her colleagues at King's College London is best-in-class and supported by extensive clinical data. We are excited to bring this important treatment option to patients in the United Kingdom, United States and globally." About Mahana Therapeutics Mahana is focused on developing digital therapeutics for children and adults living with gastrointestinal diseases and conditions. The company is a diverse mix of healthcare and technology entrepreneurs, gastroenterologists, psychologists, behavioral scientists, and passionate patients looking to improve the health and quality of life of people living with chronic gastrointestinal conditions. Mahana is based in San Francisco, California and London, England and is backed by leading venture capital firms Lux Capital and JAZZ Venture Partners. For more information please visit www.mahanatx.com or email press@mahanatx.com. About King's College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience King's College London is one of the top 10 UK universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2018/19) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 8,500 staff. King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), eighty-four per cent of research at King's was deemed 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (3* and 4*). The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London is the premier centre for mental health and related neurosciences research in Europe. It produces more highly cited publications in psychiatry and mental health than any other university in the world (Scopus, 2016), with 31 of the most highly cited scientists in this field. World-leading research from the IoPPN has made, and continues to make, an impact on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness and other conditions that affect the brain. www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn @KingsIoPPN About University of Southampton The University of Southampton drives original thinking, turns knowledge into action and impact, and creates solutions to the world's challenges. We are among the top 100 institutions globally (QS World University Rankings 2019). Our academics are leaders in their fields, forging links with high-profile international businesses and organisations, and inspiring a 24,000-strong community of exceptional students, from over 135 countries worldwide. Through our high-quality education, the University helps students on a journey of discovery to realize their potential and join our global network of over 200,000 alumni. www.southampton.ac.uk [1] Everitt HA, et al. Gut 2019;0:1-11. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2018-317805 Related Images mahana-therapeutics-logo.jpg Mahana Therapeutics Logo New Delhi, Jan 10 : Hearing a plea by crisis ridden IFIN auditors Deloitte Haskins and Sells LLP, and KPMG arm BSR and Associates, the NCLAT on Friday reserved the order on the appeal of the audit firms and the jurisdiction of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) over their impleadment. The bench headed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chairman S.J. Mukhopadhaya has sought a written submission by Tuesday from the Corporate Affairs Ministry, which had asked NCLT to freeze the auditors' assets in IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN). Both the former IFIN auditors, Deloitte and BSR and Associates, which have moved the NCLAT against impleadment by the Mumbai NCLT, would also give written submissions by Tuesday. On Thursday, the appelate tribunal had asked the Corporate Affairs Ministry to clarify whether civil proceedings, as sought by the ministry against the audit firms, can be carried out on the basis of a criminal report, in this case the interim SFIO report. The ministry has cited the interim report of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) alleging collusion by the auditors with the IFIN management in concealing information, among other charges. The ministry had sought freezing of the assets of the audit firms based on the allegations in the report. The official counsel said that all those impleaded by the Mumbai-bench of the NCLT were directly connected with the affairs and the management of affairs of the company, and whether there was fraud committed, or not, has to be tried on merit when the appeal is contested. He further said that the the ministry is not relying only on the SFIO interim report, but also on other reports, including the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) inspection report. Counsels of both the audit firms on Thursday had told the appellate tribunal that their clients cannot be prosecuted as they are no longer the statutory auditors of IFIN and were neither in the management. They also submitted that the SFIO's report is interim and, therefore, not admissible. NCLT Mumbai had impleaded both the firms, saying that the tribunal has the jurisdiction to hear a plea on barring them. The Centre had filed a plea with the NCLT to ban the audit majors for five years and freeze their assets. Independent TD and former Gaelscoil principal Carol Nolan has welcomed plans announced by the Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh for the development of the first, comprehensive Irish-medium education policy. Deputy Nolan also went on to say that while the Ministers commitment to increase incentives aimed at attracting students from Gaeltacht areas to teaching is important; considerable work remains to be done in terms of offering continuity of Irish-medium education from primary to second level. I want to acknowledge the genuine efforts that are being made here with respect to the promotion and resourcing of Irish language education. "Indeed, the development of this education policy is something that many of us who are passionate Irish speakers and who care deeply about the future of the language have been calling for over the course of the last number of years. "That being said I also think is vital to recognise that any expansion of gaelscoileanna must happen as part of a twin-track approach to increase the availability of Gaelcholaisti. "The lack of options, in terms of the continuity of Irish language education from primary to secondary level, is something that we have had a particular difficulty with here in Offaly. We have three fantastic Gaelscoileanna with excellent staff in Birr, Tullamore and Edenderry but the nearest Gaelcholaiste or An Aonad Lan-Ghaeilge is in Athlone or Portlaoise. "That distance is simply not a viable option for very many parents who would otherwise dearly love to have their children continue in Irish language education at second level. "As I understand it, the new policy announced by the Minister will be overseen by an inter-departmental steering committee and supported by an advisory committee comprised of relevant stakeholders. "It is crucial that this steering committee address this deficit in continuity as a matter of priority if the policy is to offer genuine and meaningful options for a comprehensive Irish language education to all parents who would like cherish its availability, concluded Deputy Nolan. Comedian Bill Cosby filed an appeal Thursday of a court decision last month that upheld his conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home. The latest appeal filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which does not have to take the case focuses on four key trial issues, including the judge's decision to let five other accusers testify and to send Cosby to trial despite what he called a binding agreement with an earlier prosecutor that he would not be charged in the case. Cosby, 82, is serving a three- to 10-year prison term at a maximum-security state prison in Pennsylvania. His lawyers called the 2004 encounter consensual, but a jury found otherwise in April 2018, convicting him on all three felony counts in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. In the filing, Cosby's lawyers said the rulings upheld by the state Superior Court last month would have "far-reaching consequences for all future criminal proceedings, including those that proceed outside the national spotlight." They include the judge's decision to let jurors hear portions of Cosby's deposition testimony in a related civil suit the victim filed. In the deposition, Cosby acknowledged giving the victim three pills before the sexual encounter and spoke of giving quaaludes in the 1970s to another accuser before engaging in sex with her. Given the current cultural context, lawyer Brian W. Perry wrote that allowing other accusers to testify in a sex assault case "flips constitutional jurisprudence on its head, and the 'presumption of guilt,' rather than the presumption of innocence, becomes the premise." Cosby's lawyers, in the appeal, also challenge his classification as a sexually violent predator subject to lifetime supervision when he leaves prison. Cosby, asserting his innocence, has said he will never express remorse to the parole board and therefore expects to serve the entire 10-year sentence. Associated Press 'Graduate' writer Buck Henry dies Buck Henry, the versatile writer, director and character actor who co-wrote and appeared in "The Graduate," has died in Los Angeles. He was 89. Henry's wife, Irene Ramp, told The Washington Post that his death Wednesday was due to a heart attack. Henry acted in and co-directed "Heaven Can Wait." Henry and Mel Brooks helped created the classic 1960s spy sitcom "Get Smart." Short and deceptively mild, wearing black-rimmed glasses, Henry appeared numerous times as a guest host on "Saturday Night Live." He played such memorable characters as the creepy baby-sitter Uncle Roy and the father of "Nerd" Bill Murray. Associated Press Feds: Security guard threatened Trump A Florida security guard threatened to kill President Donald Trump as retaliation for the U.S. military killing an Iranian general, posting a live video on Facebook where he stated "he killed my leader and I have to kill him" while periodically displaying a semi-automatic rifle, authorities said in court documents. Chauncy Lump, 26, of the Fort Lauderdale area, faces federal charges of threatening to kill the president and remained jailed Thursday with bond set at $100,000, according to court documents filed Wednesday by the Secret Service. He told agents the threats weren't serious. Agent Lucas White wrote that shortly after Trump announced last week that a U.S. airstrike had killed Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in retaliation for plotting numerous terrorist attacks, Lump under the name "BlackMan vs. America" began livestreaming a seven-minute video. During that video, agents say Lump made several threats against the president, who was staying at his Mar-a-Lago club, less than an hour away. Lump had white cream on his face, a towel wrapped like a turban on his head and an apparent shower curtain wrapped on his body, White wrote of the video that Facebook reported to the authorities on Friday. Lump made several threats, including "He killed my leader, please tell me where is Donald Trump?" and "I need to find the Donald because if I don't find him, I am going to have to blow up Broward County," White wrote. During the video, Lump showed a loaded AK-47 semi-automatic rifle. When confronted early Saturday at his home, Lump admitted producing the video in response to Soleimani's death, but said it was a joke, White wrote. But nowhere in the video did Lump say he was joking and conceded, "I should not have did it in the first place," White wrote. No attorney is listed for Lump in court documents. Associated Press I MUST admit that when I worked as an auditor and lawyer in a company that had its head office then across the Basilica del Sto. Nino de Cebu, I could count with my fingers the times I visited the church. You see, I attended Sunday mass and sang in the choir in the Sacred Heart Parish on D. Jakosalem St., the church nearest to where I grew up. Yet, as a kid, I often wondered why an aunt would travel from Toledo City to attend the dawn masses leading to the Feast of the Holy Child at the Basilica. I never asked; but I reckon that she must have made the devotion as a result of an answered prayer. My wife has always been thankful to the Sto. Nino for bringing us together again when our boyfriend-girlfriend relationship ebbed after I took the Bar examinations in 1981. It was when I migrated to New Zealand that I became a devotee to the Sto Nino. Our music ministry TawagAwit was often asked to sing in the novena masses in the Sinulog celebration in Auckland that has become one of the biggest gatherings of Filipinos each year (more than 5,000 attendees). One time, my wife and I were selected as Hermano-and-Hermana Mayores, tasked to spread the devotion by encouraging friends to host the image of the Sto. Nino in their homes for a family novena and forward this to another home. In a world gone cynical when the existence of God is questioned and papal infallibility of the Holy See is under attack, devotions to Mary and the saints seem to be limited to women and elderly persons. Pope John Paul II initiated World Youth Day (WYD) in 1985 to persuade young adults to celebrate a day of community. The WYD is the biggest religious gathering in the world: in 1995 in the Philippines it drew five million during the closing Mass. We all struggle in our personal lives and with our relationship with family, friends and acquaintances. We know of the difficulties in the world threatened by wars, criminality and calamities. Where can we seek refuge? For believers, there is a God to whom they can rely on. And I am a believer. In gratitude to God and to the Holy Child, I wrote a song called Pit Senor (Awit alang sa Sto. Nino) that I asked my friend Manny Lapingcao to arrange, perform and record. This has been uploaded on Youtube. (check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9YRxtiPmoM). It is our gift to the Holy Child and to Cebu in time for the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. Here are the lyrics: Awit (Sayaw, Halad) alang sa Balaang Bata/Awit (Sayaw, Halad) alang sa Sto. Nino/Awit (Sayaw, Halad) alang sa Balaang Bata/Awit (Sayaw, Halad) alang sa Sto. Nino/Iyang gasahan ang motawag Niya/Panalanginan, panalanginan ang katawhan//Koro: Mosinggit tang tanan Pit Senor!/Sangpiton nato si Hesukristo/Mohangyo ta og hinabang/Dungga kami, Batang Hesus. In diplomatic meetings to quell the crisis, some foreign officials say, the tone of some Shiite leaders has been more muted. In private, [they] are more practical and dont want to see all forces go straight away because they know it would be destabilizing, said one Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. (Lack of) privacy: In late 2019, the world learned that Microsoft had been allowing both third-party contractors and employees to listen to and transcribe user Cortana and Skype voice recordings. Though the news was troubling for privacy activists, at the time, Microsoft made it clear that it would not be ending the practice. However, it seems Microsoft recently changed its mind, and has chosen to end those "grading" programs after all. Unfortunately, a recent report from the Guardian suggests the damage may have already been done. One Chinese transcription firm, which Microsoft allegedly contracted for several years to handle Cortana and Skype recordings, failed to implement meaningful security measures to protect the data in its care. Indeed, a former employee of this firm who spoke to The Guardian said he was barely vetted before being hired. "There were no security measures, I don't even remember them doing proper KYC on me," he stated, referring to the "Know Your Customer" identity verification tactics often implemented by businesses. "I think they just took my Chinese bank account details." Of course, sub-par hiring practices alone wouldn't necessarily be cause for concern, provided the company's other security practices were up to scratch. Sadly, they were not, according to the individual. He says login credentials, as well as a link to access voice recordings, were sent in plaintext over email. Security methods such as two-factor authentication were not required, and every employee hired used the same password to login (usernames followed a "simple schema"). Further, after some time in a more secure office environment, the individual (and, presumably, other employees) was allowed to work from the comfort of their home, using their own personal, unsecured laptop. To be clear, we aren't saying these security failures are entirely Microsoft's fault -- the company was not the one directly handling this data, after all. However, one would hope a giant tech corporation would take greater care to vet the security of the firms it chooses to partner with (if voice recordings must be transcribed in the first place). With that said, we should note that Microsoft is no longer partnered with this transcription firm or any others based out of China. Furthermore, the tech giant says whatever grading programs that still remain (unrelated to Skype or Cortana) have been moved to a small number of "secure facilities." Hopefully, this means there won't be a need for articles like this one in the future, but only time will tell. If there's one thing tech companies have proven over the years, it's that they are often woefully unprepared to handle the massive amount of data that has been entrusted to them. Image credit: Shutterstock (2) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: Georgian companies representing food industry of the country will take part in the International Food & Drink Expo 2020 exhibition, which will be held in Birmingham (UK) from March 30 to April 1, Trend reports citing Produce in Georgia agency. Georgian companies that want to participate in the exhibition must register on the agencys website before January 24. The Produce in Georgia Agency systematically organizes the participation of Georgian companies in international exhibitions to promote Georgian products in the world market. As reported, last year, Georgian products were presented at the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) held on November 5-10, 2019. Georgia is introducing European standards in the field of food production, which makes it easier for Georgian products to enter the EU market. In 2018-2019, the volume and variety of Georgian products in European stores increased, said the agency. Food & Drink Expo 2020 is an international platform for food industry leaders from a dozen countries. Participating companies will hold presentations of their products and arrange tasting sessions for visitors. As part of the business program of the exhibition, thematic seminars are planned to be held to provide the participants with a platform to discuss the status and prospects of the food industry and other issues. The large-scale exhibition annually brings together up to 1,500 companies and 30,000 visitors. More than 700 trade stands cover all current trends in the global food industry. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 There was never such perfect darkness. The blackness is absolute and the silence is broken only by the breathing of the other visitors in the group. We are hundreds of meters underground, in a small passage that connects two drifts in the Pozo Soton mine in Spains northwestern region of Asturias. There is very little space and it feels as though we are far from everything. The miner Nuria, who insists she is not a guide, has told us to turn off our helmet lamps. So we stand in the darkness in silence. The moment lasts just a few seconds, but there is something mystical about the experience, something metaphysical in the blackness and the absence that surrounds us. It is like not existing; like a brief journey to outer space, despite the fact we are actually occupying an inner space, deep within the Earth. The entrance to Pozo San Luis, the old mine in the town of La Nueva, which has been incorporated into the Samuno Valley Mining Ecomuseum in Asturias. Located near the Asturian town of El Entrego on the banks of the Nalon River, Pozo Soton sometimes called the cathedral of mining was a working mine from 1922 until 2014. At its entrance is a tribute honoring the hundreds of miners who lost their lives underground in the struggle against rock, landslides and explosions of firedamp, a flammable gas found in coal mines. Asturiass mines are close to becoming a thing of the past, despite the significant role they played in the regions economy; everything stemmed from the mines industry, railroads, steel, ports and shipyards as well as the labor movement. Now there is only early retirement; the mine produces nearly nothing. The Nalon River, once black from coal, is crystal clear. The Pozo Soton mine was opened to visitors in June 2015, not as a museum but as a real mine requiring visitors to don miners boots, overalls, a miners helmet, socks and even special underwear as the coal dust can reach up to the groin. Access to levels nine and 10 of the Pozo Soton mine near El Entrego. a. fuente Its quite a deal to go 556 meters underground. Its deeper than the height of many of the worlds most famous skyscrapers the Empire State Building in New York, for example, is 443.2 meters. In fact, underground Asturias could be Manhattan turned upside down, full of hollow interconnecting skyscrapers. You can enter one mine and emerge from another, as though you were wandering the tunnels of a subway network. Pozo Soton is connected to the legendary Pozo Maria Luisa mine, the protagonist of the famous mining anthem Santa Barbara Bendita (or, Blessed Santa Barbara). Up to 6,000 kilometers of drifts have been dug in search of precious minerals. Thats almost twice the distance between Madrid and Moscow, but contained within a small area of coal-mining areas in the Caudal and the Nalon valleys that lie lush and green under an invariably gray Asturian sky. Today there is a constant drizzle a fine, slow rain known in the Galician language as orbayu. A 300-million-year-old souvenir The first thing you hear when you go down in the cage the mines elevator is the loud metallic sound of the door closing. We are taken deep into the mine in the same way the miners once were, rapidly passing levels until we stop at level eight. Down here, it looks like a subway tunnel, only with worse lighting. Its not that impressive until we find ourselves in the narrow passageway, or climb down a steep set of stairs to the deepest part of the mine, or when we are in an extremely tight spot and are given an eight-kilo hydraulic drill to cut into the coal. A visitor drills for coal in the Pozo Soton mine. This is the first mine in the world that can be found on the Google Street View application even here, underground, the tech giant can reach us. Of course, there is no cellphone coverage or internet connection. Just as well, as we are entirely focused on working the jack to chip off pieces of coal that have been there since the Carboniferous period some 300 million years ago. Later, when you take this piece of Earths distant past back home, it is hard to know where to put it. When we squeeze again into a small, bumpy underground train, you try to imagine what these mines would be like filled with workers and the noise of drills, picks, guards, electricians and wagons. There is nothing left of that; the mine is like an empty mall in a zombie-style apocalypse. Its sad, even though we know we need to reduce our carbon emissions, that coal is still being bought from other countries. Mining has not only been an economic driver, it has also shaped the character of these Asturian valleys, which have seen so much war and suffering. Mining train at the Samuno Valley Mining Ecomuseum, near Langreo, Asturias. Leaving the mine on the 10th floor with coal-smudged faces, there is a sense of relief at having survived the journey to the center of the Earth. The work clothes come off and the water runs black as we shower off the dust. In 2018, Pozo Soton received just over 11,400 visitors, but it is far from being one of a kind in Asturias, as became clear at the Mining and Industrial Tourism Fair (Fetumi), which was held just six kilometers away from the Samuno Valley Mining Ecomuseum, near the town of Langreo. At the Samuno Valley Mining Ecomuseum, a small yellow train takes visitors through forests and inside tunnels until stopping at the ground level of Pozo San Luis in the small village of La Nueva. It is here that we encounter an imposing modernist building that once housed the large industrial machinery used in the mine, which was opened by the company La Nueva Coal, and remained active between 1928 and 1969. The old cooling tower, 45 meters high, in the Iron and Steel Museum in Langreo, Asturias. MUSI There is also the Asturias Mining and Industry Museum (MUMI), in the nearby town of El Entrego (LEntrgu in Asturian), which offers insight into the industrial revolution and the oldest mining practices, covering its history, manufacturing and use of explosives. It also features mock up of a mine dubbed the image mine, and information on the Mining Rescue Brigade, which was on hand to save the lives of workers when all-too-frequent accidents occurred down the pit the same brigade that made headlines for its role in the efforts to rescue two-year-old Julen Rosello, who fell down a borehole in Totalan, Malaga, last January. Also in Langreo is the Iron and Steel Museum (MUSI), which is located in what was once the factory of the long-established company Duro Felguera. The museum includes a thick 45-meter-high cooling tower, which is now decorated in lively colors. Around this feature, visitors are initiated into the ins and outs of this mine-dependent industry, in which workers handled incandescent materials at high temperatures to create the steel scaffolding common to building sites. Submarine mines On the coast there is a curious mine called Arnao, located in the municipality of Castrillon, on the outskirts of Aviles. Along with the mines in Cornwall, along Britains southwest coast, the Arnao mine is one of the few in Europe whose tunnels lie under the sea floor. Closed in 1915, it is considered the oldest preserved mine on the Iberian peninsula. A visit here offers insight into the use of the valuable wooden headframe, the history of the mine itself, the company that operated it, the engineering involved, but above all, the stories of those who spent their lives inside it at a time when mining was dangerous and poorly paid. Significant sections of the deepest drifts are now flooded, lending them an eeriness. Outside, the Cantabrian Sea tears away at the rocks, creating a rugged, romantic coastline. The outside of the Asturias Mining and Industry Museum (MUMI) in El Entrego, Asturias. david gato (alamy) But this tour would not be complete without a visit to the mining town of Bustiello, built in the municipality of Mieres between 1890 and 1925 by the Spanish Coal Mining Society in the spirit of industrial paternalism. The town was divided into a hierarchy reflecting the social differences specific to the era of the second Marquis de Comillas, a mining magnate of the late 19th and early 20th century, with the Church and God at the top, followed by the engineers while the most efficient miners occupied a rung above those considered to be revolutionaries. cova fdez. In Bustiellos local cider tavern, talk of a workers revolution was not allowed, and only Catholic and non-socialist newspapers could be read. A Civil Guard officer, stationed on the bridge leading into the town, controlled who could enter and leave Bustiello. Those who lived there, lived well, and were provided with both a school and a hospital. It was a kind of social engineering experiment or, some might say, an early version of the welfare state. In our current era of sophisticated technology and constant migration, the mining and industrial heritage stands as testament not only to manual work, other ways of exploiting natural resources and the trials and tribulations of wrestling with nature; but also tells of a different way of living, of companionship, effort and solidarity; of a culture that has all but been stamped out by the weight of progress and the unbearable lightness of bytes and networks. Sergio C. Fanjul is the author of La Ciudad Infinita (or, The Infinite City). English version by Heather Galloway. Chief of the Office and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security To An Xo on January 10 said the ministry has affirmed a rioter who died resisting on-duty officers is Mr. Le Dinh Kinh. Weapons seized in the incident A report by the Hanoi Police said when his corpse was checked, Kinh was holding a grenade in his hand. A number of the arrested confirmed that Kinh is the ringleader and mastermind of the disturbance case in the outskirts of Hanoi. Earlier the same day, Hanoi police said they have decided to prosecute the disturbance case in Dong Tam commune, My Duc district, on the charges of murder, illegally storing and using weapons and resisting on-duty officials. The incident erupted in the morning of January 9 in Dong Tam commune, where some units of the Ministry of National Defence and competent forces are building protective walls around Mieu Mon airport as planned. A number of rioters, armed with grenades, petrol bombs and other weapons, attacked those working at the construction site, the ministry said. Three police officers and one rioter were killed during the incident, while another rioter was injured. The ministry said relevant units arrested the serious law violators for punishment in line with law. The present security situation and social order in Dong Tam commune, Hanois My Duc district, are basically stable, with local residents going about their daily activities normally. The competent units are continuing to build the walls at the Mieu Mon airport. Hanois police prosecute disturbance case in Dong Tam commune The incident erupted in the morning of January 9 in Dong Tam commune, where some units of the Ministry of National Defence and competent forces are building protective walls around Mieu Mon airport. Hanois police said on January 10 that they have decided to prosecute the recent disturbance case in Dong Tam commune, My Duc district, on the charges of murder, illegally storing and using weapons and resisting on-duty officials. These decisions have been sent to the Hanoi Peoples Procuracy for approval. The incident erupted in the morning of January 9 in Dong Tam commune, where some units of the Ministry of National Defence and competent forces are building protective walls around Mieu Mon airport, according to the Ministry of Public Security. A number of rioters, armed with grenades, petrol bombs and other weapons, attacked those working at the construction site, the ministry said. Three police officers and one rioter were killed during the incident, while another rioter was injured. The ministry said relevant units arrested the serious law violators for punishment in line with law. The competent units are continuing to build the walls at the Mieu Mon airport. Ministry spokesperson urges people not to be misled by distorted online information Chief of the Office and spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security Major General To An Xo The present security situation and social order in Dong Tam commune, Hanois My Duc district, are basically stable, with local residents going about their daily activities normally, according to Chief of the Office and spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security Major General To An Xo. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on January 10, one day after the disturbance incident in Dong Tam that resulted in the death of three police officers, the spokesperson said the construction of walls protecting the Mieu Mon airport continues to be implemented in accordance with schedule, and many locals actively assisted the public security and military forces in doing their task. According to Major General Xo, the investigative police under the Hanoi Police Department on January 9 issued a decision to start a criminal case on the charges of murder, resisting persons in the performance of their official duties, and illegally storing and using weapons. The police is urgently conducting investigation to handle the case in accordance with the law, he said. The Hanoi police has coordinated with the municipal procuracy to conduct examination of the scene of the incident, and initially seized eight grenades, 38 petrol bombs, 20 litres of petrol, 12 steel tubes attached with sharp knives, three boxes of flares, an electric gun, a sword and a hammer. Besides the three police officers who were killed while performing their duty as informed earlier, other public security officers taking part in maintaining security for the construction of walls at Mieu Mon airport are safe, Xo said. Asked about the Public Security Ministrys viewpoint and directions for handling the incident, the spokesperson said the ministry upholds the viewpoint that everyone is equal before the law, and all human rights and citizens rights are recognized, respected, protected and ensured by the Constitution and the law. At the same time, all acts violating the law must be investigated and handled in accordance with the law. Major General Xo said the Public Security Ministry will continue to direct the Hanoi police to coordinate closely with the Hanoi procuracy to undertake legal measures and collect evidence to handle the case in accordance with the law. The ministry will also implement policies for the officers killed in the line of duty and extend condolences to their families, Xo said. The spokesperson noted that on social media and some foreign press agencies there have been information distorting the situation in Dong Tam, thus stirring anxiety and inciting protest against the Party and State as well as driving a wedge in the national unity bloc. The Public Security Ministry urged the people not to believe the fabricated information on social media, he said. He affirmed that the ministry will timely announce information related to the incident, so that the public can accompany the public security force in preventing and fighting crime, ensuring security and order as well as a safe and happy life for everyone./. WILLIE Walsh's decision to retire as CEO of Aer Lingus owner IAG this year will mark the departure of one of the world's most prominent Irish airline executives. The former Aer Lingus pilot - and its one-time CEO - confirmed yesterday he will step down from the IAG board and as CEO of the airline group from March. He will retire formally from the company at the end of June. IAG also owns British Airways, Level, and Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling. In November, it agreed to pay 1bn to buy Spain's Air Europa. Mr Walsh will be succeeded at IAG by the Iberia CEO, Luis Gallego. The Irishman said it had been a "privilege to have been instrumental in the creation and development of IAG". The airline group was created in 2011 with the merger of British Airways, where Mr Walsh had been CEO since 2005, and Iberia. Aer Lingus entered the IAG fold in 2015 when it was bought by the group for almost 1.4bn. Last year, Mr Walsh pulled the plug on efforts to buy the troubled Scandinavian airline Norwegian. Mr Walsh, who grew up in Drumcondra on Dublin's northside, joined Aer Lingus in 1979 as a trainee pilot cadet at the age of 17, and became one of the airline's youngest captains in 1990. He later became a union representative with the airline, before moving into management. He was appointed Aer Lingus CEO in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks, as the airline was threatened with collapse. He cut 2,500 jobs at the airline. He left there in late 2004 after he and two of his top lieutenants plotted a management buy-out of the carrier that failed to get off the ground. But having turned Aer Lingus around, Mr Walsh was quickly head-hunted to take over at British Airways. His tenure as the boss of International Airlines Group (IAG) has seen it become one of the world's biggest airline businesses, with a major presence across the Atlantic in particular. IAG chairman Antonio Vazquez yesterday praised Mr Walsh for having been the "main driver of this unique idea that is IAG". "I hugely admire his commitment, strong leadership and clear vision, always ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead of him," he said. Mr Walsh was also the first chairman of the National Treasury Management Agency, a role he was appointed to in 2013 by then finance minister Michael Noonan, as the country struggled to emerge from the depths of the financial crisis. Mr Walsh retired from the role at the end of 2018. IAG posted a 3.2bn pre-exceptional operating profit in 2018, which was 9.5pc higher than in 2017. Its revenue rose 6.7pc to 24.4bn. Aer Lingus made a 305m operating profit during 2018. Shares in IAG rose yesterday as investors cheered the appointment of Mr Gallego as its new CEO. Mr Gallego started his career with Air Nostrum in 1997, and has been the CEO of Iberia since 2014. Bird flu or H5N1 influenza outbreak at a state-run poultry farm at Baikunthpur in Chhattisgarhs Korea district has prompted authorities to cull 15,426 chickens and quails, destroy 30,000 eggs and take precautionary measures within a 10-km radius of the affected area, officials said on Thursday. No case of H5N1 influenza has been detected among humans so far. H5N1 influenza virus causes severe respiratory disease among birds. According to the World Health Organisation, human cases of H5N1 avian influenza occur occasionally but when humans get infected, the mortality rate is about 60%. Veterinary department deputy director R S Baghel said that samples of some chickens and quails found dead on December 7 suggested symptoms of chronic respiratory disease among the birds. Despite treatment, the abnormal deaths of birds continued, Baghel said. He added that later the samples were sent to Bhopals National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, where tests were found positive for the H5N1 virus on December 23. Immediately after getting reports of bird flu, we took permission from the Korea district administration and culled 15,426 birds and destroyed 30,000 eggs in the farm and its adjoining areas. Of the culled birds, 641 chickens were being reared within one km radius of the farm. We have completed the culling process and sealed the farm. After sanitising the area in 10 km of its radius, we submitted a report to the states directorate of veterinary services on Wednesday, Baghel said. No human has been affected due to the outbreak. The official said for the next three months, they will be conducting surveillance in a 10 km radius of the affected area during which blood samples of birds will be sent to Bhopal for testing. Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh's daughter Sara Ali Khan is a paparazzi favourite. She is pleasant towards the photographers and also takes time out to pose for their cameras and doesn't react adversely. Recently, it came to light from Sara's instagram posts that she had celebrated the New Year with her mother and brother, at the scenic country of Maldives! Back to India now, Sara was spotted by the paparazzi at her regular Pilates class. While leaving the class, she was surrounded by fans, who wanted to click pics with her and shake her hand. It was then that a shocking incident happened! One of Sara's fans who initially looked like wanting to shake her hand, suddenly kissed it and this shocked the young starlet. However, she responded calmly by brushing the fan off, before her security removed him from the location. This incident was recorded on video by the people there and they were all praise for how calmly Sara handled this. Such an incident is sure to rattle anybody, most of all celebrities but the way Sara has handled this, without creating a scene, is commendable! Sara debuted in Cinema with the 2018 movie Kedarnath and was then seen in Ranveer Singh's blockbuster hit Simmba. Though Sara Ali Khan did not have any releases in 2019, she now has two movies in hand. Her movie with director Imtiaz Ali, which has not yet been titled, is currently in the post production stage. This project will see her paired up with Kartik Aaryan and the cast also includes Randeep Hooda and this movie is expected to hit the screens for February 14! Coolie No. 1, with Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan, is an upcoming comedy movie which is being directed by David Dhawan and is expected to hit the screens in May, 2020! By Express News Service MUMBAI: Amid calls to save the Constitution, Nationalist Congress Party boss Sharad Pawar on Thursday flagged off a 21-day long Mumbai-Delhi Gandhi Shanti Yatra to be conducted by ex-BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. Sinha, 82, is campaigning against and create awareness about the implications of the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) apart from a host of other issues. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi president Prakash Ambedkar, senior Congress leaders like Shatrughan Sinha, Prithviraj Chavan, Ashish Deshmukh, Eknath Gaikwad, state minister Nawab Malik were among political heavyweights present at the event.We will protect the Constitution drafted by Ambedkarji. We will not let the country be partitioned again. We will not let Gandhi be murdered again. We are all one and will remain one, said Sinha, as he held a picture of the Father of the Nation. The yatra is scheduled to reach New Delhi on January 30, which happens to be the 71st anniversary of the assassination of Gandhi. Pawar urged the people to answer the governments dictatorial policies with Gandhis way of non-violence. The government is using dictatorial policies. What happened in JNU is being opposed across the country. The governments dictatorship needs to be answered with Gandhijis way of non-violence, the NCP boss said. The CAA will be a threat to the countrys integrity. Many people in the country will not be able to prove their citizenship and could face an uncertain future. This has created huge unrest among the masses and the youth of the country are opposing it on the streets daily, he added. The former Union minister noted there are members of several sections of the society who cannot tell where they came from and where they will live. They will be forced to live in some camps (detention centres). The government has left disappointed representatives of the Independent India and shareholders of the country. Hence, we need to create awareness in society, need to ensure unity among all sections of society. The government needs to be shown the right path of Gandhis non-violent way, which only can help save the Constitution, Pawar asserted. Congress leader wants pro-RSS vice-chancellors dismissed Congress leader Ashish Deshmukh demanded that the appointments of pro-RSS vice-chancellors in the state universities should be revoked by the Maharashtra government. The V-C at JNU is a pro-RSS person and we have seen what it led to. If we dont want such a situation in Maharashtra, the appointment of pro-RSS VCs will have to be revoked, Deshmukh told the crowds at Gandhi Shanti Yatra. Travelex's website has been down since New Year's Eve, ever since it was targeted by a software virus. The Foreign exchange company's website is still not working, meaning customers can only order travel money in branch, and one London shop was only accepting cash. Those behind the software virus are reportedly holding the company, one of the largest travel money providers in the world, to ransom. Travelex has been forced to count money in-branch after its website was hit by ransomware Hackers are believed to be threatening to release 5GB of personal data, including payment details, unless the company coughs up 4.6million. The news has implications both for those still waiting for ordered travel money to arrive, and previous Travelex customers worried about their details being compromised. While details are still unclear, This is Money has tried to find out what your rights are if you've been caught up in the hack, and what action you should consider taking. I've ordered money online The company's website has been offline since New Year's Eve, but before then many customers will have ordered money in advance of their holidays for either delivery or collection. Many do this to take advantage of the better exchange rates Travelex offers for ordering forex in advance that is collected at one of their airport bureaux. The London-headquartered firm processes more than 5,000 currency transactions every hour. Travelex told the BBC that customers who had ordered money online before its websites were taken down but hadn't seen it arrive should contact customer services by phone or social media. Its UK customer service number is 03458 727 627, while its Twitter page is @TravelexUK, which it is also responding to customers on. Customers with a receipt can also visit a branch to collect money they have ordered. Those who ordered holiday money with First Direct, Sainsbury's Bank, Tesco Bank or Virgin Money may also encounter the same problem, as the four use Travelex as a third-party provider of travel money services. If your holiday is coming up very shortly and you don't have your money, it is possible to contact your bank to try and get it to claim your money back for you. Travelex told users on Twitter who had been affected by the hack on New Year's Eve to contact customer services If you paid by debit card, you can try and use a process called chargeback to reverse the payment to Travelex. Meanwhile, if you paid by credit card and spent between 100 and 3,000, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act your credit card provider also bears the cost of any breach of contract between you and the provider of the goods you made a purchase with. This means that you can contact your credit card company to see if you can claim the money you spent back from them. I have a Travelex prepaid card As well as offering travel money, Travelex offers prepaid money cards, which have caused some problems with users who are running low on their balances. Unfortunately, at the moment there does not appear to be any recourse or option open to those people to get these working again. The company said that card holders can continue to use the prepaid cards as normal, but it cannot currently issue new ones or top up those that are running low. One prepaid cardholder wrote last week on Twitter that: 'I'm stranded in Athens with 3 euros left on my Travelex card because both your website and app reloads don't work.' First Direct, Sainsbury's Bank, Tesco Bank and Virgin Money all use Travelex to provide travel money services, meaning their travel money websites are also currently unavailable I'm worried about my personal and payment details being stolen It is worth stressing at this point there is no confirmation that any data has been leaked. In a statement on its website dated yesterday, Travelex said: 'Whilst Travelex does not yet have a complete picture of all the data that has been encrypted, there is still no evidence to date that any data has been exfiltrated.' Meanwhile the Information Commissioners Office, to which firms must report personal data breaches within 72 hours of becoming aware of them, told the BBC it had received no contact from Travelex. Nonetheless, some may still be worried following the news of the hack. Under the 2018 General Data Protection Regulations, in the event of high risk data breaches organisations must notify those whose data has been affected without undue delay with a description of likely consequences. Helen Dewdney, who runs The Complaining Cow site, writes This is Money's consumer fightback column Helen Dewdney, the consumer champion known as The Complaining Cow who writes This is Money's consumer fightback column, said: 'Anyone who has used Travelex should keep a close eye on their bank for any suspicious activity and report it immediately as possible fraud. 'Check with the three credit agencies Experian, Equifax and TransUnion that no credit has been taken out in your name 'Be wary of any phone calls, texts and emails from anyone saying they are from Travelex. It is possible that other scammers will now come into play and contact people requesting bank and other details. Do not give them.' Meanwhile Adam French, from consumer group Which?, said: 'If there is a risk your data has been lost and you use the same or similar login information such as passwords and usernames for other websites or online accounts, you should change those details immediately.' Of all the pictures published in this tumultuous week for the Royal Family, one stood out for me. It was of a smiling mother-of-three in jeans and a jumper posing on a bench at the familys country home in Norfolk to mark her 38th birthday. Kate looks contended and wonderfully understated the only hint of her royal status being the blue sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to Williams mother, Princess Diana. Of all the pictures published in this tumultuous week for the Royal Family, one stood out for me. It was of a smiling mother-of-three in jeans and a jumper posing on a bench at the familys country home in Norfolk to mark her 38th birthday No tears or tantrums here, just a woman happy with her lot and who understands how to behave as a royal. And my goodness, given the shock waves convulsing The Firm right now, we should all thank the stars for that. The way Kate has adapted to her role as future Queen is all the more surprising given what she has had to contend with. When she was courting William in the years before their wedding in 2011, she was derided as a social climber with those constant taunts of doors to manual aimed at her mother, a former air stewardess. The courtship went on so long that I and others called her Waity Katy because she seemed simply to be hanging around for her Prince. In the early years of their marriage, she was snapped topless on a private holiday by French paparazzi. No tears or tantrums here, just a woman happy with her lot and who understands how to behave as a royal. And my goodness, given the shock waves convulsing The Firm right now, we should all thank the stars for that Though reportedly shy, she was scrutinised at every turn and accused of hiding away at her and Williams country home, Anmer Hall. And yet, throughout, she has managed to bloom to adapt to the scrutiny, to the quirks and customs of the Royal Family. She has risen above it and is all the more loved for it. Like the Queen, she never complains and never explains. Kate was undoubtedly helped by the fact she came from a stable, loving family background so different from Meghan, who didnt even have her own father and half-siblings at her wedding. What a tragedy that Meghan never found friendship with her. Kate could have taught her so much about grace under fire, and about the strange family they both joined. Though reportedly shy, she was scrutinised at every turn and accused of hiding away at her and Williams country home, Anmer Hall. Pictured: Kate arriving at a Day-Glo Midnight Roller Disco at The Renaissance Rooms in 2008, three years before her marriage to Prince William When the royal Fab Four appeared together in 2018 promoting their mental welfare charity, Kate who gave birth to her third child, Louis, just weeks later seemed almost dowdy in comparison to glossy Meghan. But she was simply being her herself, allowing the glamorous newlyweds to shine. V&A chairman and former Harpers & Queen editor Nicholas Coleridge put it succinctly when discussing the Megxit affair on Radio 4 yesterday. Kate is tremendously good with people he said, whether they be millionaire donors or staff. She understands the royal job spec, the difference between celebrity and royalty. She lights up a room. Kate doesnt want to be a cross between Greta Thunberg and Amal Clooney. Fabulous Phoebe How glorious that amid the gory fru-fru frocks of the stars with their on-trend, ridiculously puffed up sleeves at the Golden Globes, our national sweetheart Phoebe Waller-Bridge wore this slimline trouser suit and collected two gongs. I just wish shed had a word with her Killing Eve star Jodie Comer, who turned up channelling a ghastly green Christmas tree angel, complete with wings, discarded from a Lithuanian street market. Our national sweetheart Phoebe Waller-Bridge (left) wore this slimline trouser suit and collected two gongs. I just wish shed had a word with her Killing Eve star Jodie Comer (right), who turned up channelling a ghastly green Christmas tree angel Perhaps trying to garner interest in the incomprehensible TV series His Dark Materials, author Sir Philip Pullman claims: Of course, Meghan Markle is attacked by the British Press because shes black. What a foul country this is. If its so abominable, why did he accept his knighthood? Paparazzi welcome for Archie One of the reasons the Sussexes seek to live half their lives in North America is because they want their son, Archie, to have a normal childhood, protected from the horrid British media. As The Los Angeles Times reported, U.S. media laws would not restrict any coverage of their son, while UK Press regulations stringently do. There has never been a single picture in the UK papers of Archie that was not authorised by his parents. Good luck in the mighty U.S. Perhaps the cruellest cut is that the Royal Marines, of which Prince Harry is head, having taken over from Prince Philip, says his position is now in doubt. The role of the man who prided himself on his service with the Blues and Royals in Afghanistan is now being questioned not just by the Marines, but also over his honorary ranks in the RAF and Navy. Service men and women, quite rightly, only salute those who serve Queen and Country. Apparently confident that he will be cleared of all charges of raping and sexually assaulting dozens of women, Harvey Weinstein says that after two years in rehab, meditating and reflecting on his life, he will be ready to make a comeback. It will take a bit of work to build back to it, he says. If I can get back doing something good and building places that help heal and comfort others, I intend to do so. I dont know what meds hes on, but the former King of Hollywood must truly be in La La Land. Westminster Wars The PM made a 20-minute phone call to Iran, seeking the release of British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, jailed for espionage. Its the least he could do given that as Foreign Secretary he wrongly claimed she had been teaching journalism in Iran which the authorities used as an excuse to keep her locked up. More than 17 million people, myself included, breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as Boriss Brexit deal was finally passed with a majority of 99, almost four years after we voted Leave. It was the sweetest moment in politics I can recall for a very long time. Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced that MPs will get an extra months holiday this year, including a ten-day ski break in February and extra weeks at Easter and in the summer. So much for reaching out to the disenfranchised and disillusioned. Most of us who lent our votes to Boris wouldnt know one end of a ski from the other. A bit bizarre that goddess of Goop Gwyneth Paltrow should choose a pink Barbarella-style, breast-revealing shield for the cover of Harpers Bazaar launching her 2020 modern womans lifestyle bible. Crikey, Jane Fonda buried that image half a century ago. Gwyneth Paltrow (right) chose a pink Barbarella-style, breast-revealing shield for the cover of Harpers Bazaar launching her 2020 modern womans lifestyle bible. Crikey, Jane Fonda (left) buried that image half a century ago. Too exciting that Love Island is back tomorrow. Top of my watch-list is cheeky-chappy scaffolder Callum Jones. The Mancunian says hes looking for lasting love and seeks a girl with dark hair, tanned skin, red lipstick and white nail polish. So a natural beauty, then. Its getting tu-tu much, Shirl After revealing she had her breast implants removed, Strictly head judge and mum-of-one Shirley Ballas, 59, now says she has finally won her battle with her negative body image and wants to adopt a child with her new partner, Danny Taylor, 47. Do give it a rest, Shirl. Hardly a week goes by without a new headline-grabbing proclamation about your life. Oh, for the days when her predecessor Len Goodman kept the show on the road without the navel-gazing. James Blunt, one of the top-earning stars in the world, is taking part in the next Celebrity Bake Off yet he is sneered at for being boring and too nice before hes even slammed his Victoria sponge in the oven. A former Army officer and now married dad who can sing and bake, pays his taxes, does loads for charity and owns a pub whats not to like? Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Brasilia, Brazil Fri, January 10, 2020 16:00 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321ad4c7 2 Entertainment Netflix,Brazil,Jesus,comedy Free Brazil's highest court on Thursday rejected a lower court's decision to remove from Netflix a comedy depicting Jesus Christ in a gay relationship. The head of the Supreme Federal Court, Judge Antonio Dias Toffoli, sided with the streaming platform's appeal against a temporary injunction banning the movie. It denied the idea that the movie was insulting to Christians. "One cannot suppose that a humorous satire has the ability to weaken the values of the Christian faith, whose existence is traced back more than two thousand years, and which is the belief of the majority of Brazlian citizens," the judge said. The film, entitled "The First Temptation of Christ", by the Brazilian production company Porta dos Fundos, came out on December 3 and drew strong criticism from conservative politicians in the mainly Catholic country, from the church itself and from evangelicals. It depicts Jesus returning home with his boyfriend Orlando after 40 days in the desert, as Mary and Joseph plan a surprise party for Jesus's 30th birthday. The satirical comedy was still available on Netflix Thursday. Netflix did not respond to AFP's request for comment on Thursday's decision, but came out in support of the show on Wednesday. "We strongly support artistic expression and we will fight to defend this important principle, which is the heart of great stories," a spokesperson for the on-demand platform told AFP. In a statement, Porta dos Fundos said it "opposed any act of censorship, violence, illegality, authoritarianism" and vowed to continue broadcasting its work. On Christmas Eve, the production company's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro were attacked with Molotov cocktails. No one was hurt. Police said several men with their faces covered took part in the assault. Police have identified a man named Eduardo Fauzi as a suspect after analyzing security camera footage. He fled to Russia. The federal police asked Interpol Tuesday to issue a "Red Notice" for Fauzi, Brazil's state media reported on Wednesday. Fauzi still did not appear on the public list Thursday. A "red notice" is a request to police across the world to provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an arrest warrant. Federal police did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. Judge Benedicto Abicair said Wednesday he was ordering the film yanked so as to calm tempers until courts could consider the broader merits of a suit against the movie that was brought by a Catholic association called the Don Bosco Center for Faith and Culture. Porta dos Fundos is an award-winning comedy producer founded in 2012. It garnered an international Emmy in 2018. Topics : Netflix Brazil Jesus comedy Mayor Pete Saenz read a proclamation Thursday at City Hall making January 2020 as National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in Laredo. READ MORE: Search for Laredo city manager continues as final candidates named by city The month will raise awareness and contribute to the eradication of the crime, Saenz said. It will also help increase the knowledge of local resources and services for the community and those affected. We must continue to educate the public on violence and exploitation and the danger that it brings, Saenz said. Timothy Tubbs, Deputy Special Agent in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations, covers investigations from Laredo to the Gulf of Mexico and said the agency looks at two areas of human trafficking, forced labor and sex trafficking. Along the border, individuals being trafficked most times do not know they are being trafficked. Many believe they are being recruited to find work and are smuggled across the border only to find themselves in cities like Atlanta and New York, Tubbs said. They are then forced into prostitution or labor. In 2019, Homeland Security rescued over 400 trafficking survivors and prosecuted over 2,000 individuals responsible for human trafficking. Tubbs said the numbers have risen, but it is primarily because of the focus on the investigations. The only way for us to really fight this human trafficking is to identify the individuals responsible for it, to arrest them, to prosecute them and to ultimately to put them in jail, Tubbs said. Tubbs advises the public to reach out to local or state agencies if they see anything that may be considered forced labor or sex trafficking. There are individuals that are specifically trained for survivor assistance to protect them and take care of them. According to Iris Resendez, Common Thread National Partnerships Manager, human trafficking is an international, national, state and local issue. That is why it is important to understand the signs and for the community to get educated on the issue. According to a study by the University of Texas, there are currently 79,000 child sex trafficking survivors in the state of Texas, Resendez said. READ MORE: Laredo is the No. 1 city in the U.S. for police officers, according to study Common Thread is a relational advocacy program for child and young adult survivors of sex trafficking throughout Texas. It is a project by the BCFS Health and Human Services that accepts referrals for suspected or confirmed survivors of sex trafficking up to the age of 25. Services provided include advocate arrival on scene within 90 minutes at any time on any day, long-term mentorship, hospitalization, forensic interview, court and other appointment accompaniment and intensive case management. Survivors are often retraumatized during interviews with multiple systems of care when they recount their stories. This results in fear for their own safety and for their families, Resendez said. In some cases, survivors continue to receive threats from the traffickers. Theres more education that is needed throughout the community, not only here in Webb county, but throughout the entire area, Resendez said. LISD Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Maggie Martinez said that the district is taking measures to make sure that students know the dangers of human trafficking. The BCFS has already talked to staff at LISD and had a parent presentation by a representative of the state attorney generals office. Over 200 parents showed up and learned that social media may provide traffickers the information they look for to find their next victim, Martinez said. During instances where a student post red flags about their own situation, a trafficker will focus on taking advantage of the situation. An example is if a student posts that they are alone at home or if their parents are out of town. According to Martinez, counselors will receive more training in February by the BCFS in order to identify and better help students affected by these issues. This will allow counselors to better refer them to outside agencies. LISD started with presentations for parents and will follow up with presentations for counselors. These will inform parents and staff about who they should refer a student to in case of an outcry or any noticeable signs. According to Resendez, there are a variety of indicators to look out for in order to help anyone in a human trafficking situation. School personnel need to keep an eye out for students missing class along with other signs such as showing a lack of sleep or dressing differently such as wearing expensive items they would not be able to afford. Caitlin Fish, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid attorney, said that the firm provides free civil legal services for human trafficking survivors and has a specific team that focuses specifically on human trafficking. Cases handled include employment claims, immigration cases and tort claims. The firm also provides privacy and safety help by protecting mental health records during subpoenas for as long as they can, Fish said. Regardless of immigration status, the firm will provide services in both forced labor and prostitution cases. Another form of help includes the BCFS Common Ground Shelter, a 12 bed DFPS licensed facility that provides safe and secure housing for domestic minor victims of sex trafficking. Survivors can stay for up to 90 days while they focus on stabilization, restoration through case management, advocacy and therapeutic services. READ MORE: CBP makes two arrests at Laredo bridge for sexual offenses against minors Only females 12-17 years old are eligible, and they must be suspected or confirmed of being human trafficking survivors. [January 10, 2020] Adorama Production "U Shoot Videos?" Named a Vimeo Top Ten Video for 2019 NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Adorama, the trusted source for market-leading photo, video, audio, and computer equipment and information, is proud to announce that "U Shoot Videos?", an in-house produced film created in partnership with Morgan Cooper, has been recognized by Vimeo as a top ten Branded Content video for 2019. As such, "U Shoot Videos?" is in the running for a Vimeo Best of the Year Award, which will be announced on January 11, 2020. Adorama partnered with Morgan Cooper, a filmmaker known for his viral Fresh Prince of Bel Air video, as part of a commitment to connect with the people using the tools they sell. "U Shoot Videos?" is an homage to Cooper's personal experience in content creation that explores the world of indie filmmaking, featuring the Adorama products used by millions of creative professionals. "We were thrilled to work with Morgan Cooper in his creative journey of developing 'U Shoot Videos?' and we are pleased to see the film receive well-deserved recognition from Vimeo," said Jacob Waldner, director of advertising and brand partnerships at Adorama. "Adorama aims to empower content creators, so it was an easy decision for us to support Morgan in sharing his filmmaking story, which we hope will inspire others within the creatve community." The impetus of the partnership was Cooper meeting Adorama executive Jacob Waldner through Adorama's expanding educational initiatives, which span across photo, video, and audio capabilities. Upon learning about Cooper's storyline of an aspiring filmmaker, Adorama was eager to produce and provide equipment for the film because of how well it aligns with the company's mission of empowering creatives. In addition to the "U Shoot Videos?" film, Adorama released a behind the scenes video on AdoramaTV in which Cooper and his team discuss the film's four-day shooting process on location in Kansas City, Missouri. About Adorama Inc. Adorama has been serving customers for more than 40 years and has grown from its flagship NYC store to include five successful online retailers: Adorama, Sunny Sports, Leisure Pro, Scuba.com, and PRINTIQUE. Shopping is available online or at the company's storefront in New York City, featuring both Adorama and Leisure Pro showrooms. The company also rents equipment through Adorama Rental Co. in Manhattan and Brooklyn and serves institutions via Adorama Business Solutions. Adorama customers can connect to a network of experts through its interactive blog 42West, through AdoramaTV, social media, and with live online and in-store events. ADORAMA Contact Irwin Rommel Suba [email protected] 646.321.3263 PR Contact Nicole Fait [email protected] 949.438.1104 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adorama-production-u-shoot-videos-named-a-vimeo-top-ten-video-for-2019-300984741.html SOURCE Adorama [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Probe has begun into whether a man held in Goa earlier this week for posing as a minister from Uttar Pradesh by submitting fake documents and staying at a state guest house here for over 10 days was involved in similar cheating incidents in other places, police said on Friday. Sunil Singh, who posed as UP cooperation minister, and four of his accomplices were held on Tuesday by the Crime Branch after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant alerted police, an official said. "We will be going to Lucknow to find out if Singh has carried out such crimes in other parts of the country," said Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Pankaj Kumar Singh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The guy brought his arm up to protect his head, and the bat caught his elbow, and his triceps, which impact smashed the heavy bone of his upper arm backward into the point of his jaw, where his neck met his skull. Which dropped him to his knees, but the lights stayed on. So Reacher swung again, this time properly right-handed, probably good enough for nothing more than a fly ball at a July Fourth picnic, but more than adequate against human biology. The guy rocked sideways and then flopped forward on his face. Tom Cruise stars as Jack Reacher in the 2012 film. Despite their authors Brummie roots, the Reacher books are resolutely set in America a conscious decision, Child says, because its the only place that offers a wide enough geographical canvas for the character This is an extract from the big fight scene in Lee Childs novel, Night School. It may not sound like the sort of literary fiction you find on the Booker Prize shortlist but that hasnt stopped Child being named as a member of the prizes judging panel this week. His appointment is bound to cause a stir in literary circles. The prize tends to reward highbrow and experimental fiction rather than the page-turners that prosper on the shelves of WHSmith. Lee Child is one of the most skilful thriller writers on the planet and academics And Childs books certainly prosper. The U.S.-based Brit sells a book every 13 seconds, making him one of the worlds biggest-selling authors, if not the biggest, and earning him an estimated personal fortune of $50 million (38 million). In all, hes sold more than 100 million books and four of his titles have topped the bestseller lists in both America and the UK. His latest, Blue Moon, has outsold the rest of the top ten combined. Lee Child is one of the most skilful thriller writers on the planet and academics, literary critics and highbrow novelists are among his devoted fans. Andy Martin, a Cambridge don specialising in modern and medieval languages, has written two books about Childs writing process and his philosophical and literary influences. The decision to include him on the Booker panel will not only give cheer to those hoping that this years prize might honour a book with wide popular appeal its a rebuke to the snobs who think theres less craft or skill involved in an adventure story than in a novel that aspires to be a work of literary art. But we might never have been exposed to Childs talent if a TV executive called Jim Grant, the son of a civil servant, hadnt been made redundant by Granada TV in 1995. After a year spent reading thrillers, he decided to have a bash at writing one, and channelled the anger he felt at losing his job into creating a character called Jack Reacher. It was, he told me when I interviewed him just over a year ago, a personal catharsis but also on behalf of everybody else who was in the same situation. Reacher is a peripatetic former military policeman built like the proverbial brick outhouse. Hes 6ft 5in tall, shaggy, and so muscular that in an early novel his chest actually stops a bullet. (It gave Reacher fans a laugh when clean-cut Hollywood shortie Tom Cruise signed to play him in the movies.) And hes no gentle giant: in most of the novels he routinely dispatches whole crowds of villains with his elbows, knees, forehead and from time to time, as necessary guns. Which makes him very different from the very laid-back, genial, slightly gnomic guy I met. Child has the assurance of someone with nothing to prove and, unlike some authors who can be a bit prickly about being dismissed as genre writers great confidence in being as good as anyone at what he does. It turns out that the inspiration for Reacher came from a certain biblical giant. I was just obsessed as a kid with David and Goliath, Child told me. Its probably the ultimate conflict paradigm in literature. But I was always on the side of Goliath. I loved Goliath. I didnt like David at all and I wished Goliath could win. So hes righting that wrong? Yeah, exactly, he said. The Bible got it wrong. I thought: how would it be if Goliath was the good guy? Child, the pen-name Jim Grant chose for his literary alter-ego, emerged from a family in-joke. When the Renault 5 made its debut in America it was marketed as Le Car and a mishearing of this resulted in Lee Car. Childs daughter Ruth became known as Lee Child and in turn lent her nickname to her fathers novelist persona. It also had the fortunate side effect of guaranteeing him a place on the shelves between Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie. Reachers name has equally obscure origins. Before his creator published his first novel, his wife told Child (who, though skinny, shares his heros height) that if writing didnt work out he could work as a supermarket reacher someone who helps more vertically challenged customers take items off the upper shelves. Childs first novel, 1997s Killing Floor, was published to rave reviews and set the pattern for what was to follow. The following year Child and his family hes been married to his wife Jane since 1975 and Ruth is their only child moved over to New York. He now also has houses in East Sussex, St Tropez and rural Wyoming, where cheap cigarettes and legal cannabis, two of his indulgences, are only a short car ride away. Despite their authors Brummie roots, the Reacher books are resolutely set in America a conscious decision, Child says, because its the only place that offers a wide enough geographical canvas for the character: This is fundamentally a very ancient character [who] can only exist where there is open territory and danger lurking. So you find this character in Europe in the Middle Ages where the Black Forest was a vast uncharted space. But as Europe became civilised and more densely populated, that character was essentially forced out. Child is a bravura crafter of sentences. The set-piece fights in his books, for instance, are all immaculately choreographed and he has a crafty way of slowing down time so that a few split seconds of violence, like bullet-time in the Matrix movies, might unfold over two or three pages, while minutes or hours of the rest of the story zip by in just a few spare sentences. He has said: You should write the fast stuff slow and the slow stuff fast. Child reveals that theres a lot of hidden undercarriage in his writing: art which conceals art. I certainly hope readers dont know about this, because they shouldnt, he says, but a lot of effort goes into the propulsive sprung rhythms of the sentence, and the paragraph, and the page, so that the reader is constantly being tipped forward in terms of acceleration and velocity. Thats a refreshing and impressive change from the effortful fine writing that dogs so many second-rate literary novels. Child, like that other great popular writer Stephen King, is careful to avoid what King calls author intrusion (Author intrusion is: My God, Mama, look how nice Im writing!). So when it comes to judging the Booker Prize, it seems to me that Child who is, it should be added, formidably well read more than has what it takes. Even the most ostentatiously literary novels tell a story. Even the most ostentatiously literary novels draw on previous archetypes the great modernist masterpiece Ulysses, after all, is a reworking of the Odyssey. So why should a literary prize not include a judge who understands at a deep level the enduring power of literary archetypes? And one with prodigiously well-calibrated antennae and a proven track record for the craft of telling a story? Sam Leith is literary editor of The Spectator. By 9am on New Years Eve, fires were edging in on Mallacoota, the air was thick with smoke and the sky was red. Mr Colsell says that by then it was clear the emergency unfolding in Mallacoota was on another scale. I started to get concerned on the Tuesday. I was concerned that we hadnt been able to establish the communications with these isolated communities, he said. A father and daughter as day turned to night in Mallacoota. Credit:Justin McManus I was concerned that given the Princes Highway was closed, there was one road in and out effectively for Mallacoota, they were going to be isolated and, given where they were, isolated for a long period of time. I thought in my mind, potentially that's a Hurricane Katrina-type environment. How do we get these people off? As discussions unfolded in Melbourne, hundreds on the beach at Mallacoota watched the morning sky turn pitch black. One described it as "hell on Earth". The operation begins Back at the State Control Centre, in a sleek building near Parliament in Melbourne's CBD, a small group of senior emergency services personnel sat in a room. The group included about 20 officials from the police, army, navy, Red Cross, State Emergency Service and Department of Health and Human Services. They dubbed the project Operation Genesis a reference to the books of Genesis and Exodus in the Bible. It officially began on the first day of 2020. Some of the key players involved behind the scenes in the massive evacuation from Mallacoota. Credit:Chris Hopkins The first problem was communication, as the network in the area was down and they needed to know what kind of supplies were needed in the fire-ravaged district. Eighteen satellite phones were quickly sourced from Cairns and dropped into Mallacoota, put in containers and kicked out the back of aircraft with instructions for whoever found them to call the Bairnsdale control centre. The clock was ticking, says Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Deb Abbott. Power was out, roads blocked, water contaminated. Making their jobs harder was the unpredictable behaviour of the fires, combined with dangerous and changing weather. At one stage, the senior emergency services personnel began to plan for the possibility that the fire would come so close to the beach that people would have to get in the water to protect themselves, organising to send vessels to help those scrambling for safety in the water. Smoke-smeared and exhausted, people prepare to leave Mallacoota. Credit:Justin McManus Also of concern was the sand bar at Mallacoota and its potential to block access for ships, creating delays and fuelling anxiety among the stranded. Offers were flooding in from commercial pilots who wanted to offer support, but the airspace above Mallacoota, already thick with smoke, was incredibly dangerous. Ms Abbott says it did not take long to realise they needed help from the Australian Defence Force if they were going to get large numbers of people including children, the elderly, the sick and otherwise vulnerable out of the fire-ravaged town. "As soon as that became obvious, then I think between us all, we thought, 'We can do this, we can do this,' "she says. Back burning at Mallacoota on January 2. Credit:Darrian Traynor "That was the critical point." By the next day, helicopters, ships and fixed-wing aircraft from the army and navy had been deployed. "Because of the enormity of it, some of that red tape was looked at very quickly," says Ms Abbott. Evacuations start from Mallacoota On the evening of January 3, HMAS Choules left the beach of Mallacoota with 1000 evacuees bound for the port at Hastings, a 20-hour journey. It was not until five days later, on Wednesday evening, that the last 200 evacuees were dropped at the same port, marking the end of this stage of Operation Genesis. Those involved say it was an extraordinary feat, with the numbers illustrating the scale of the evacuation. Almost 1200 people have been evacuated on naval ships, and another 500 by helicopters and other aircraft. Evacuees board HMAS Choules for the trip back to Melbourne. Credit:Justin McManus On board a flight to safety from Mallacoota. Credit:Justin McManus More than 150 pets, including more than 130 dogs, four cats, a rabbit, a parakeet and even a few koalas, were taken to safety. Several tonnes of food and water even 3000 litres of beer have been shipped to sustain those left isolated in Mallacoota, as well as fuel and power generators. The relief centre at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Credit:Luis Ascui The Red Cross provided 10 pallets of water and 640 food packs to those at relief centres in Somerville and Melbourne, where there were also free vets, doctors, paramedics, insurance and accommodation representatives, and the Salvation Army. So many police were involved that the mass of officers was likened to the huge standalone New Year's Eve operation police conduct in Melbourne each year. Mr Colsell says: "There was a lot of time when youre not sleeping, you are only getting a couple of hours, where you only go home and have a sleep, a shower and shave and you come back to work. But it was mostly about thinking through the problem: how are we going to address this and come out with solutions? "It didnt really hit me until I sat down about 10.30 one night in here, when we started putting people [on ships] using the landing craft, putting them on Choules, and I saw the footage and thought, 'Oh dear, we did that.' " People stranded in Mallacoota are evacuated by the army to HMAS Choules on January 3. Credit:Justin McManus Ms Abbott says it was incredible that no one died at Mallacoota. "The highlight is the success of it, that's been amazing. But also how well people work together and sometimes it does take a pressurised system for people just to roll up their sleeves. It's almost like times of war, isn't it? It's like you see the best of people and I haven't seen any of the worst of people in this. None of it." 'We could have another Mallacoota' The risks for those in and around Mallacoota are far from over. There is an ongoing resupply issue and authorities say it has been growing more isolated due to changes in the sand bar. The U.S. State Department released a statement on Friday saying American troops would remain in Iraq after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to withdraw U.S. forces from the country. America is a force for good in the Middle East, the statement from State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus read. Any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East. Earlier on Friday Prime Minister Mahdi said he had objected to the continued American presence in Iraq during a phone conversation with Pompeo. Mahdi implored Pompeo to send a delegation to put forward mechanisms to implement the Iraqi Parliaments decision to ensure safe withdrawal of troops from Iraq, according to a statement from the prime ministers office. Mahdi also told Pompeo, there are American forces entering Iraq and American drones in its sky without permission from the Iraqi government, and that this is violation of the agreements between the two countries. On Sunday the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution urging the expulsion of foreign troops from the country. However, almost half of all parliament members were not present for the vote, especially representatives for Sunni Muslim and Kurdish voters. Legal experts cited by the Washington Post called that resolution legally worthless. The U.S. and Iraq are bound by a strategic agreement that cannot be overturned by the non-binding resolution adopted on Sunday. Last week President Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a precision drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. Iran responded by firing 15 ballistic missiles at U.S. positions in Iraq, an attack which Iran later said was not intended to kill American troops. More from National Review Pre-tax profits almost halved in 2018 at a private hospital co-owned by two of the country's best-known businessmen, Larry Goodman and Sean Mulryan, to 935,982. New accounts lodged for the Hermitage Clinic show that the business recorded the 46.5pc decline in pre-tax profits in spite of revenues increasing by 6pc, to 77.9m from 73.69m, in 2018. Numbers employed at the 112-bed private hospital based at Lucan in west Dublin increased to 495 from 450, as staff costs went up to 26.7m from 25m. According to the directors' report for Torcross Ltd and subsidiaries, "growth in turnover was driven by a combination of volume growth across a number of specialities and some very modest price increases with health insurers, after 10 years of compounded discounting". The directors said that challenges facing the business included inflationary pressures in both people costs and the medical supply chain, pricing negotiations with health insurers, a lack of customer understanding of excesses and co-payments, and the ongoing challenges of recruiting and retaining the best people. A factor behind the drop in pre-tax profits was non-cash depreciation costs increasing to 5.4m from 4.3m. The directors said the business had received 39.25m in funding from shareholders since the firm commenced. They added that "plans for the next two years include replacement of key modalities and technologies, and further expansion of capacity in both inpatient and outpatient areas to support targeted growth in key specialities". HOLYOKE A man was shot in the leg in South Holyoke Thursday evening. The victim, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, was driven to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment, Police Lt. James Albert said. The shooting occurred at about 6:45 p.m. at the intersection of Main and Sargeant streets. Police responded to a report of shots fired and learned the victim was being taken to the hospital, he said. Police are currently looking for a white Volkswagen Passat which may have been involved in the shooting, Albert said. Detectives are now investigating the shooting and interviewing people who may have information about the crime, he said. Anyone who may have witnessed the shooting, has any other information about it or who has seen the white car in question is asked to call the Holyoke Police criminal investigations Bureau at 413-322-6940. Police are also searching for anyone who may have video or photographs of the crime, he said. The Massachusetts State Police Air Wing searched the area with a helicopter and troopers from Troop B assisted city detectives at the scene, Albert said. A government lawyer Thursday urged a federal appeals panel to block a nationwide injunction issued by an Oregon judge that bars President Donald Trump from requiring immigrants to prove they can get or pay for health insurance before theyre granted visas. U.S. Department of Justice attorney August E. Flentje called the injunction legally flawed and vastly overbroad and argued it doesnt square with the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Hawaii v. Trump. That ruling upheld Trumps authority to ban travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries under a federal law that permits the president to bar entry of foreign nationals that would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Ninth U.S. Circuit Judge Marsha S. Berzon immediately intervened. Is it the governments position that the president can exclude any group?'' she asked. "Could the president exclude all children? Flentje responded: Whenever the president finds entry of any class of aliens would be detrimental to the United States. He noted that Congress gave the president such authority. He said Presidential Proclamation 9945 was drafted to address the burdens of uncompensated care for new arrivals, who lack insurance at much higher rates. The proclamation says immigrants applying for U.S. visas cant enter the country unless they can show theyll be covered by health insurance within 30 days or show they have the financial resources to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs. A day before it was set to take effect on Nov. 3, Oregons U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon issued a temporary restraining order and then on Nov. 26 granted a nationwide injunction, barring it from going into practice. Simon found Trumps proclamation inconsistent with the Immigration and Nationalization Act of 1965. He ruled it was issued without any properly delegated authority and little, if any, justification for linking uncompensated health care costs to legal immigrants. The plaintiffs include U.S. citizens in Oregon, California, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois who have petitioned the government to sponsor a noncitizen relative for an immigrant visa, as well as foreign nationals applying for immigrant visas and the Latino Network, a nonprofit organization in Multnomah County that supports Latino residents by connecting them with housing, financial and social support services. Two lawyers for the plaintiffs argued before the three-member 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in San Francisco that the Trump administration has failed to provide evidence to support its proclamation. They were buoyed by Berzon, who repeatedly questioned the underpinnings of the proclamation. The plaintiffs submitted expert opinion that Proclamation 9945 would affect 60 to 65% of otherwise eligible legal immigrants. The government not only hasnt put any evidence in to contest the declaration, by plaintiffs experts, Berzon said, you submitted nothing, nothing. The governments lawyer sought to refocus attention on the legal issues before the court. Enjoining the presidents efforts is a significant institutional harm because Congress entrusted the president to make these judgments, Flentje said. The proclamation, he argued, targets a problem of aliens lacking health insurance and the costs they impose on the public, emergency rooms, hospitals. The plaintiffs dont accept that the Hawaii v. Trump Supreme Court ruling made the presidents power limitless, said Naomi Igra, one of their attorneys. While the government cites figures that immigrants are three times more likely to be uninsured than U.S. citizens and that the United States shoulders $35 billion in annual uncompensated health care costs, it hasnt quantified how much of the $35 billion is tied to uninsured immigrants, plaintiffs lawyer Esther Sung argued. Ninth Circuit Judge Daniel A. Bress, a recent Trump appointee, asked why the injunction should be national in scope. Bress wrote a lengthy dissent last month when he was on the losing end of a 2-to-1 ruling by the same three-member judicial panel, which rejected the governments initial motion for an emergency stay. The matter before the court Thursday was the governments motion for a nonemergency stay, or hold on the injunction, as the court considers the governments full appeal. Why wouldnt this injunction be issued to protect (only) those before the court? Bress asked. At this point, there is no class. The national injunction is necessary, Sung said, to preserve the status quo and recognizes the new administrations rule extends far beyond the named plaintiffs. Simons injunction prevents unprecedented change in the nations immigration system, which balances the equities while the litigation moves forward, she said. Simon is moving ahead with motions and arguments on whether to certify the case as a class action while the governments full appeal of the injunction on the merits remains before the federal appeals court. The appeals panel didnt say when it would rule but indicated last month that it would expedite its review of the nonemergency motion to put a hold on the injunction. -- 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. Subscribe to Facebook page Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:47:25|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The UNICEF urged on Friday Lebanon to give priority to children amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country, the National News Agency reported. "Local and international institutions, civil society, the private sector and different societies must work hard to protect young girls and boys from the impact of the economic crisis," the UNICEF said. It noted the economic deterioration increases challenges faced by children especially those living in poor families. "Poverty impacts food habits, education and health of young girls and boys while it also impacts their emotional and social maturity," the UNICEF said. Lebanon has been going through a very tough economic crisis with the lay-off of a big number of employees in local and international companies in the country. This has prompted some families to drop their kids from schools or move them to the already overloaded public schools. A passenger with a one-way ticket for Edinburgh waited until he had passed all security checks at Cork airport before stealing 4,434 worth of perfume and cosmetics at the duty free store. However, another passenger spotted the large-scale shoplifting and alerted authorities. Sergeant Kevin Joyce arrived at the airport in response to a call on Thursday and arrested Donatas Rulevicius and charged him with carrying out the theft of around 100 bottles of perfumes and cosmetics. Diarmuid Kelleher, solicitor, applied for bail for the accused but Inspector Finbarr OSullivan said the gardai were opposed to bail. Mr Kelleher challenged the objection and commented: He is charged with what is colloquially known as shoplifting, it is not arms dealing or murder. Sgt Joyce said that the Lithuanian national refused to give gardai the address where he claimed he was staying in Mitchelstown and he was travelling on a one-way ticket out of Cork. It is the epitome of flight risk, Sgt Joyce said. Mr Kelleher said the accused would be pleading guilty to the charge. Inspector OSullivan said the Director of Public Prosecutions had yet to decide if the case would be dealt with at district or circuit court. The 29-year-old was asked for the address and said he had been staying in Mitchelstown for the past four months. I dont remember the correct address in my mind. I dont want to involve other people in this. That is the point, he said. Judge Olann Kelleher said that refusing to give the address was the problem in the bail application. Insp OSullivan asked if he did not want the police calling to the house because of something they might find there. Rulevicius replied, No, no, 100% not. Just because I am ashamed of it and I dont want other people to know, like. Judge Kelleher said: He is a very bright, articulate man. If he does not give the address that is the end of it. Judge Kelleher remanded him in custody until Wednesday, January 15, to allow time for directions to be obtained from the DPP. Mr Kelleher, solicitor, said the stolen property was recovered at the scene. The charge states that 4,434 worth of cosmetics and perfume were stolen at The Loop duty free shop on January 9. Rulevicius said he was not flying on a passport but on an EU travel document. Hack attacks are growing at the speed of 5G across the globe, and Iraq has been hard-hit lately. The official website of controversial Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was hacked Jan. 6 after he called for his followers to activate the Mahdi Army to fight US troops. His call followed the US assassination of top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The hackers put Iraqi-US flags on the homepage, writing: "Iran no more." That intrusion came just weeks after several other attacks on official Iraqi websites including the prime minister's. A hacker hit the sites of various Iraqi government committees Dec. 18. Using a Twitter account under the name M4x Pr0, the hacker claimed to have retrieved 15 gigabytes of emails from the Ministry of Oil, 8GB from the Ministry of Defense and 17GB from the Ministry of Interior. The hacker also infiltrated the sites of the ministries of health, education and trade. Before deleting his account, the thief expressed determination to publish sensitive information and messages. Though some electronic breaches are accomplished simply for technical bragging rights among hackers, many are being made to steal information or influence security and the political situation. On Nov. 25 on the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service website, a statement was posted declaring a military coup in support of the protests that have been underway in Iraq since the beginning of October. After 25 minutes, the service clarified the statement was due to a hack. On Nov. 18, anonymous hackers breached the website of the Ministry of Communications. They wrote on the homepage, Closed by the people martyrdom or victory needed." The message was one of solidarity with the protesters. Such attacks aren't the exception, but rather seem systematic. Over the years, Iraqi government sites have been hacked repeatedly. In October 2016, a Saudi hacker managed to break into the official Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. The trespasser published on the homepage the slogan of the Saudi kingdom, along with a threat. In May 2017, the website of the Iraqi National Security Council was breached a few hours after bombs exploded in the capital, Baghdad. The recent repeated breaches have triggered criticism and complaints. Strategic expert Munqith Dagher said he doubted the Iraqi government's ability to secure its websites. He explored the political dimension and asked, How could the government then protect its people? Authorities outline various motivations behind hacking. Minister of the National Alliance Ali al-Bderi told Al-Monitor, There are two reasons why government websites are hacked. The first is stealing information to blackmail ministries and leaders and send information to external enemies of Iraq. The second reason is corruption within ministries and institutions that deal with companies having foreign ties that leak information and allow hacking and piracy. Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Center for Political Thought, told Al-Monitor that recurrent hacking operations on ministry websites "are a challenge to sensitive ministries and institutions, and prove the inability to maintain sufficient digital security." He added, "The government and official institutions pay little attention to cybersecurity, and they employ traditional and inefficient security technology despite the large amounts of money spent on this issue." Though some reports show that hacking such websites is a form of political rivalry among Iraqi parties, Shammari rejected the idea that hacking is being used for political sabotage. "This is part of the struggle between protesters and the government, he said. The Digital Media Center issued a statement Sept. 28 blaming Iraqi institutions for neglecting cybersecurity. The report stated, The breaches prove that Iraq has no clear strategy for cybersecurity, especially since some websites are linked to national security and should supposedly be extremely secure. When Al-Monitor asked about the negligence accusations, the Iraqi Ministry of Communications responded: There are security protocols in place to protect privacy, and the information system employs measures to secure data online. The ministry also mentioned that privacy is maintained through encryption of messages using secure protocols which limit accessibility to shared data," and it confirmed, The technology to protect data from sabotage by hackers is there. Former judge and legal expert Ali al-Tamimi told Al-Monitor, Hacking sabotages the countrys national interests. The security apparatus has to launch an investigation into this issue. The parliament has to also hold the different actors accountable as well as the institutions that have been breached and find out who is involved. It appears that foreign actors are involved and some people have accepted bribes for cooperating with such actors, especially since the breaches are recurring without any investigation. Parliament member Falah al-Khafaji told Al-Monitor some progress is being made. The parliament is moving toward discussing the issue of breaches now that it has become clear that they are systematic and directly affect citizens security and data," Khafaji said. A member of the parliamentary Council of Representatives, Siham al-Moussawi, expressed another take on the matter. She told the media Dec. 18 that she agrees hacking operations are unacceptable if they seek to "discredit and overthrow public figures," but they can serve a legitimate purpose if they aim to uncover corruption. (Newser) A young man in Germany has died four years after he fell into a coma when a co-worker poisoned the sandwiches he brought to work for lunch, the AP reports. The state court in Bielefeld, which convicted the suspect in the case last year, confirmed the death on Thursday, German news agency dpa reported. It said the 26-year-old's parents spoke about their son's suffering during a trial last year. A 57-year-old man, identified only as Klaus O. for privacy reasons, was sentenced to life in prison last March after the court in Bielefeld, 205 miles west of Berlin, found him guilty of attempted murder. story continues below The defendant, who has appealed the verdict, had peppered the victim's and other co-workers' food with mercury and other substances (including lead acetate, per the BBC) over several years, leaving one in a coma with severe brain damage and two others with serious kidney damage. He was arrested in May 2018 after surveillance video showed him putting a suspicious powder on a colleagues sandwich at their workplace in the town of Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock. (Read more poisoning stories.) "This is an incredible milestone for our organization," said Kyle Allison, GM of Luther Hopkins Honda and President of GTCHDA. "We are so proud of what this campaign has done, and we hope to continue this long into the future." The $5,000 donation that brings GTCHDA's total to $100,000 will be given by Luther St. Cloud Honda to Westwood Elementary. Chad Arthur, GM of Luther St. Cloud Honda, said "I am so excited to be presenting this milestone in our mission to improve and give back to our community. This is one of the most rewarding initiatives we have started as an association and I am proud to be a part of it." Adam Leaver, Senior District Sales Manager of American Honda Motor Co. said, "We're proud of what these dealers have done with their school donation program. They are passionate about giving back to their community, and it shows in everything they do." Schools GTCHDA has donated to include: Alice Smith Elementary School Anoka High School Aquila Elementary School Baxter Elementary School Brainerd Public School District Burnsville High School Centerville Elementary School Cherokee Heights Elementary School Coon Rapids High School Crest View Elementary School Eden Lake Elementary School Fair Oaks Elementary School Garfield Elementary School Gatewood Elementary School Harding High School Kaposia Education Center L.H. Tanglen Elementary Madison Elementary School Mississippi Elementary School Moreland Arts & Health Sciences Magnet School Nisswa Elementary School Peter Hobart Elementary Pine Meadow Elementary School Richfield Middle School Richfield STEM Elementary School Vadnais Heights Elementary School Westwood Elementary School Learn more about GTCHDA's community involvement on the GTCHDA Facebook Page and YouTube channel. About the Greater Twin Cities Honda Dealers Association: The Greater Twin Cities Honda Dealers consists of nine Honda dealers serving the greater Twin Cities area, which include Buerkle Honda, Inver Grove Honda, Luther Brookdale Honda, Luther Honda of St. Cloud, Luther Hopkins Honda, Mills Honda, Rapids Honda, Richfield Bloomington Honda, and Walser Honda. For more information, visit http://greatertwincitieshondadealers.com/ SOURCE Greater Twin Cities Honda Dealers Related Links https://greatertwincitieshondadealers.com Singapore, Jan 10 : The US government has given the green light for the possible sale of up to a dozen elite F-35 fighter jets and related equipment to Singapore for $2.75 billion, it was reported. Last March, Singapore had announced its plans to buy the F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp to replace its ageing F-16 fleet, which has been in service since 1998, The Straits Times reported on Friday. Singapore's purchase of the F-35B jets, a pricier variant that can take off from shorter runways and land vertically, must still be approved by the US Congress, but it was expected to pass. Congress was formally notified of the proposed sale on Thursday and will have 30 days to review it before it was approved. In a statement on Thursday, the US Department of Defence said: "Singapore is a strategic friend and major security cooperation partner and an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region." It said that Singapore haf requested to buy four F-35Bs with the option to buy eight more of the same aircraft, as well as up to 13 engines, electronic warfare systems and related support and logistics services. Singapore would be the fourth country in the Asia-Pacific region to own F-35 jets, after Australia, Japan and South Korea. The DUP leadership has signed up to the two governments' deal to restore power-sharing at Stormont. The party officer team will on Friday recommend to a meeting of the DUP executive and councillors that the agreement be accepted. The two governments on Thursday night published their proposals to break the political deadlock that has gripped Northern Ireland for three years. Read More DUP leader Arlene Foster said: "This is a government paper. Our party officers, Assembly and parliamentary representatives considered the paper on Thursday. "On balance, we believe there is a basis upon which the Assembly and Executive can re-established in a fair and balanced way." Read More She added: "This is not a perfect deal and there are elements within it which we recognise are the product of long negotiations and represent compromise outcomes. There will always need to be give and take. "The last three years have been bad for Northern Ireland politics. We need to get moving forward again." Sinn Fein Mary Lou McDonald TD said late on Thursday night that her party was "studying the text and will give it careful consideration". She added: "The Sinn Fein Ard Chomhairle will meet tomorrow to fully assess it." Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken said his party would consult widely before making any further comments. Secretary of State Julian Smith and Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney held a joint press conference at Stormont as their blueprint was unveiled. Mr Smith said he had written to the Assembly Speaker Robin Newton asking him to recall the Assembly and hold a plenary session on Friday. However, some Stormont sources believed that the session could be delayed until Saturday. Mr Coveney said the agreement - called New decade, New Approach - was "filled with compromises". He said people needed to tell their politicians to take the opportunity to seal the deal. "It's now time their politicians stepped up and fully represented their constituents," he said. "It's time to show leadership and get back to powersharing in Stormont." Mr Smith said: "I have written to the Speaker asking him to call the Assembly to enable the restoration of the executive. "This is a moment of truth for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. It is a fair and balanced deal that will ensure key decisions about peoples' lives can be made." The Secretary of State said that the deal would transform politics in Northern Ireland. "It immediately ends the health strike, focuses on reforms to health and social care, ensures more sustainable institutions, better politics and greater transparency and a new framework on language, arts and literature," he said. "I urge the parties to come together and to form an executive in the best interests of Northern Ireland." Mr Coveney also appealed to the parties to sign up to the deal. He said it was "based on the extensive discussions and collective work undertaken by the parties since May last year, following the awful murder of Lyra McKee". The Tanaiste described the draft deal as "a fair and balanced package". He added: "There is no need, and no public patience, for more process and more discussions. It is time for political leadership and a collective commitment to making politics work for people." In their joint statement, London and Dublin said that accepting the deal would "bring about the parties commitment to immediately end ongoing industrial action by healthcare staff". They said this included pay parity, a new action plan on waiting times and "delivering much needed reforms on health and social care". The governments said that reforms to the NHS, education and justice would be prioritised by a new executive. They pledged that there would be "important improvements in transparency and accountability, and in how civil servants, ministers and special advisers conduct themselves". In her statement, Mrs Foster said that the proposed Ulster British Commissioner could look at ways to strengthen the Union. In response to tragic brush fires affecting the wildlife in Australia, the San Antonio Zoo created a donation page that aims to help rescue and care for the animals suffering from the flaming disaster. Tim Morrow, President and CEO of San Antonio Zoo, announced the Australia Wildlife Fund on Thursday, saying that the zoo will match the first $5,000 donated. "Part of what the zoo does is secure the future of wildlife," Morrow said. "We have been watching the news too and when you see this, you often see zoos rally together to help." "We want to help any way we can because they are just inundated with the size of the disaster," Morrow said. "It is hard to fathom." Dante Fenolio, vice president of conservation and research with the zoo's Center for Conservation and Research, said the problem with the fires in Australia is that they are burning hot, meaning the flames are destroying everything that is above ground and decimating habitats and hiding spots for animals. "Fires like this change the dynamic because smaller animals can't get out," Fenolio said. READ ALSO: Spurs' Patty Mills, other Australian players contributing to wildfire relief He said information on the numbers of animals that have been circulating the Internet may not be accurate, as there are thousands of species of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates that people don't think about that have also been killed. "Everyone focuses on the kangaroos and koalas because they are the kind of iconic animals in Australia and they are still important to help, but there are tons of species involved that aren't getting coverage," Fenolio said. "The less mobile animals they can't hide in burrows or in trees like in other fires because everything is burning. Only things that can get ahead of the fire have a chance to get away." The problem, Fenolio said, is that Australia's biodiversity is unique, meaning there are tons of species whose habitats can only be found on the island continent. To help, the San Antonio zoo has several veterinarian technicians, veterinarians, animal care specialists, conservationists and more on standby, ready to jet off to Australia when they are needed. "What we learned in Hurricane Harvey was that it doesn't always help for a bunch of people to just show up," Morrow said. "We don't want to show up and create chaos." The donations made to the fund will help the zoo provide staff and supplies needed for rescue, recovery or care of animals injured or orphaned in the fires if and when they are to be called upon by the Australian specialists. If the zoo's team is not needed on the ground in Australia, 100 percent of the funds will then be sent directly to Melbourne's Zoos Victorias Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund. Morrow emphasized that because the San Antonio Zoo is a privatized entity, no taxpayer money will be used to help the Australia fires. To make a donation, click here. London: The Queen has ordered that the row over the future roles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex be resolved within the next 72 hours amid speculation that Prince Harry could leave Britain as early as next week. The Queen, the Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of Sussex in 2018. Credit:AP The 93-year-old monarch told courtiers to solve the dispute by Tuesday evening, London time, ahead of Prince Harry's first public appearance since he and Meghan declared their intention to split from the royal family. The Queen has insisted the crisis should last no longer than the six days that elapsed between Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview and his stepping back from royal duties. The Queen also told courtiers to "turn a crisis into an opportunity" by producing a blueprint not only for her grandson and his wife, but future royal generations, in a move that affects Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the children of Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Dan Clifford and a comrade were hiding out in a house in the Gurrane mountains outside Cahirciveen. The troops surrounded the house and ordered the pair to surrender. They emerged from the house with their hands raised. A short time later they were summarily shot dead. The killing of the two men was an atrocity, a war crime. It was perpetrated not by the crown forces or any of the crowns agents in Ireland, but instead by the National Army. The army was acting with the authority of the provisional government of Ireland, elected by the people in 1922. Their brief was to defeat forces opposed to the Anglo Irish Treaty. At times the Civil War descended into depravity. The killing of my grand-uncle on March 6, 1923, was an atrocity that was largely forgotten, simply because so many other atrocities plumbed far darker depths around that time, particularly in Kerry. Shortly after Dan was summarily executed, his brother Michael, my grandfather, got word and left his shop in the town to go up to Gurrane. When he arrived near to the scene shots were fired at him and heretreated in fear of his life. Later, Michael was told that pro-treaty elements were threatening to burn down his shop. Michael took no part in the Civil War but his brothers involvement had rendered him a target. This is the kind of state-sponsored terror that would in time feature in places such as Mugabes Zimbabwe, Saddams Iraq and the West Bank. Over the coming months and years the State will commemorate those who oversaw the terror from 1922-23. None of which is to suggest that the anti-treaty forces were innocent victims in the Civil War. They were acting in a profoundly undemocratic manner. They were attempting to destroy the newly created Free State for which the majority of people had voted. They were complicit in a violent response to oppose and suppress the democratic wishes of the majority on the island. That quote was used by Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan this week to describe the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). It also perfectly describes the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. The political leader of the anti-Treaty side, Eamon de Valera, had declared that the people have no right to be wrong when they voted for acceptance of the Treaty. In pursuing their aims the anti-Treaty side also preyed on the civilian population to spread terror. Over the coming months and years the State will commemorate those who took up arms in defiance of democracy in 1922-23. The War of Independence which preceded the Civil War threw up plenty of atrocities. The war had some democratic legitimacy through the elections of December 1918. But contrary to the unquestioned narrative peddled until recent decades, the IRA of the time were perfectly apt at spreading terror as they saw fit. Over the coming months and years the State will honour the men and women of the IRA who fought in the War of Independence. These harsh realities may be self evident to many but need to be spelled out in light of the hullabaloo this week about the proposed State commemoration for the RIC and Dublin Metropolitan Police. Much of the criticism of the now aborted event centred on the police forces reputation for brutality and committing atrocities. Some members of the police were brutal, others revelled in inflicting terror, and many more were simply doing a job. But the narrative that the RIC and DMP had a monopoly on depravity should be with de Valera, in the grave. One example of the tone and content during the week was a piece in the Irish Examiner written by Padraig Og O Ruairc who has written several books about the period. He enumerated a succession of brutal atrocities for which the RIC were responsible. But the average reader and certainly the average Twitter user would have walked away from the article believing that depravity was the preserve of the losing side in the War of Independence. The reality is that many goodmen and women on both sides did bad things at a terrible time and often had to make accommodations with themselves by internalising it for the rest of their lives. Why should the Irish Government expect the Irish people to commemorate them? Mr O Ruairc asked. Well, maybe because they also were Irish, drawn from the same towns, farms and families as those who fought for independence and then fought each other. Maybe because Irish history is messy and complicated and far removed from the dated depiction of virtuous freedom fighters taking on the perfidious and evil crown forces. Maybe because it would be a good signal to send to the one million or so unionists in the north of the island that we have grown up down here and can acknowledge a shared history which is painful on both sides. The frenzied reaction this week betrayed nothing as much as a partitionist mentality. Anybody who genuinely cares about a United Ireland has to recognise that it is be made up of two very different traditions. If the majority tradition down here cant come to terms with what was perpetrated by the other side 100 years ago, how can we expect the majority tradition up there to do likewise over what they were subjected to just 30 years ago? The proposed commemoration was very poorly handled. There should have been proper consultation and debate ahead of it. Holding it as the first event of this seminal year in the centenary of the violent upheaval was a major misstep. But the reaction spoke volumes of how far we have to travel in this state. One outstanding feature of the hullabaloo suggests we have gone back to the future. In de Valeras Ireland, the cartoonish narrative of goodies versus baddies prevailed. Then, with some revision, the view through the rear mirror was broadened out. Now in the time of social media, public debate has regressed. Once more its goodies versus baddies, anger and stridency squeezing out any nuance or perspective. Negative reaction to the proposed commemoration was driven and amplified on Twitter in particular. Many who gave their considered opinion on Twitter believed the event was to celebrate the Black and Tans. Say no more. What would Sean O Faolain have made of it all? The writer was an IRA combatant during the period and subsequently a rare subversive voice in a submissive state. His father had been an RIC inspector. Men like my father were dragged out in those years and shot as traitors to their country so be it. Shot for cruel necessity so be it. Shot to inspire necessary terror so be it. But they were not traitors. They had their loyalties and stuck to them. Then again, sure what would Sean O Faolain know? The man never tweeted in his life. At 17, Shira Parker has faced family substance abuse, homelessness, and disrupted schooling. But dont call Parker an at-risk student. When people refer to students being at-risk, I do feel like it puts negative expectations on these students, said Parker, who lives in Perris, Calif., and is enrolled in a diploma program at SIATech, a high school dropout recovery program for students ages 16 to 24. I believe calling students at-risk seems as if they are doomed already, and as if the expectation is to fail in life. California lawmakers agree. As of Jan. 1, all uses of the term at-risk in the states educational and penal codes have been changed to at-promise, a term that supporters argue is less stigmatizing. We know that language matters, and we know that using asset-based language is important, said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, the executive director of Education TrustWest, a research and advocacy organization focused on California students. The organization signed on in support of the change. One of the reasons the name is so important is because of unconscious bias and all of the things we see play out when students are inappropriately labeled, she said. Changing the name is one important step, but theres many other things to do as well. At-Risk Label Falls Out of Favor But some in the education field argue that both at-risk and at-promise are vague descriptions that dont offer enough specifics to drive effective policy. Criticism of the term at-risk has floated around for years, from researchers and educators who say that the ill-defined description punishes children and youth for factors in their lives often outside their control. California is the first state to officially eliminate the term in state code. Were trying to look at kids as having great potential. Thats the promise were trying to focus on, said Ernie Silva, the executive director of the Reaching At-Promise Students Association . The group was founded in 2015 by SIATech, the charter network that Shira Parker attends. SIATech, which has more than 20 programs in California, Florida and Arkansas, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education advocated for the terminology change. There is some evidence how educators label students does influence their view of educational disparities. In a recent nationally representative survey of 1,300 teachers , the Education Week Research Center captured how teachers use language to talk about gaps in student academic performance in terms of race and income, as well as how their language choices correlate with how they view the causes of those gaps. For example, 43 percent of teachers who use the term opportunity gap to describe differences in average educational outcomes between black and white students believe society bears more responsibility in driving those gaps. For teachers who use the term achievement gap, just 27 percent ascribe more responsibility to society. This particular name change is part of an evolving debate about grouping students under certain labels, particularly those that could be seen as negative. In 2010, President Obama signed Rosas Law, which removed the term mental retardation from federal statutes, replacing it with intellectual disability. The terms limited English proficient, which was used in the federal No Child Left Behind Law, as well as English-language learner, have also been criticized as underplaying students strengths. More positive terms such as emergent bilingual or multilingual students are what should be used to describe such students, some advocates and educators argue. Californias change in terminology, however, does not change the definition of the students who would fall under this description. For example, in Californias education code, at-promise still refers to students who may fail to earn a high school diploma for a variety of reasons, including irregular attendance, low motivation, a past record of academic underachievement, economic disadvantage, or low scores on math or English standardized tests. In an interview, Silva explained that the definition remains unchanged to alleviate any concerns that California might lose money specifically designated for at-risk students, he said. Vague and Inconsistent Meaning Despite the wide usage of at-risk, the term has no consistent definition, said Child Trends, a research organization that focuses on vulnerable youth, in a 2006 paper exploring the term . That lack of consistency can be positive, in that it offers program providers flexibility in defining the term for themselves. But the Child Trends brief also noted that the term at-risk often refers vaguely to poor life outcomes in general, rather that providing a sharp focus on just what risk a child or youth faces. And focusing on nebulous risks could also divert attention from a students strengths and assets, the research brief noted. Ivory Toldson, a professor of counseling psychology at Howard University and the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education, wrote an essay in January 2019 criticizing the use of at-risk, but noting that at-promise may not be much better. In an interview, Toldson said that talking about risk is useful. For example, scientists understand that lead exposure places children at risk of brain and nerve damage. The problem, he said, comes when the term is used as a label for students. Racial bias in schools places students at risk for not having adequate instruction, Toldson said. That means racism is the risk factor, not the fact that a student is a minority. I know that those who advocate for using at-promise, their heart is in the right place. Weve used at-risk for so long, and its pretty well-established right now that there are some problems with using the term, Toldson said. But to replace one label with any other label will transfer those same types of problems. Toldsons suggestion? Just refer to students as students, and focus on the circumstances that may keep them from achieving their highest potential. All students face some kind of risk, he said. All students should have the right to be seen as a person who has those fair share of challenges but also has some potential, and for us to understand those challenges and potential. Silva, the executive director of RAPSA, said that the name change still is meaningful. The organization is working with other states in hope that they will adopt similar changes. It still makes a difference, because in the real world, in the classroom and in community organizations, people see this idea of risk and promise as being almost polar opposites, he said. Were hopeful that people will look at the students we serve as having a lot more potential than being on their way to prison. Iran has requested the Boeing company to send a representative to join the investigation into the Ukrainian jet crash near Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry said in an official statement, Trend reports citing Sputnik. The Iranian government also asked Canada to share information about the crash after Trudeau's statement. "[Iran] asks the Canadian Prime Minister and any other government to share information on this incident they possess to the committee in charge of investigating the incident in Iran", Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. Canadian premier Justin Trudeau said earlier in the day that he had intelligence that from multiple sources that the Ukrainian jet was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne noted that the response from his Iranian counterpart was "open and encouraging". He, however, said that they would see if the visas to the country would be actually issued, referring to the statement by Iran signalling they would allow Canadian officials access to the crash scene. Tehran earlier indicated it would keep black boxes in Iran but was open to allowing Canadian consular officials into the country to help the families of the victims, Trudeau said. Iran also welcomed the possible participation of experts from countries whose citizens died in the plane crash in investigating the incident, the Ministry added. "We welcome the participation of other countries, whose citizens died in this tragic incident, in the probe", Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement posted in the government's Telegram channel. The head of Iran's civil aviation, however, dismissed again all allegations that the Boeing 737-800 was shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile, speaking on air on IRIB TV2. He also responded to the rumours about the "debris of a rocket" found at the scene of the crash, saying that they were false and that social media was apparently trying to inflate these rumours. Rabiei said that the reports of a missile hitting the Ukrainian plane was an act of "psychological warfare" against Tehran and called on the United States to refrain from disseminating false information about the incident. Marijuana stock Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) is trading down by more than 10% on Friday, following a highly critical analysis from an investment bank. Late Thursday, Piper Sandler published a note saying it downgraded its recommendation to underweight (sell, in plain English) from the previous neutral rating (hold). The investment bank also took an ax to the price target, slicing it from $3 to $1. In its note, Piper Sandler expressed concern about the poor state of Aurora's balance sheet, and its cash flow issues. Of the latter, it does not expect cash from operations to land in the black until the company's Q3 of fiscal 2021. It is currently in Q3 of 2020. Another negative is weak sales in Europe, due in no small part to a recent suspension to Aurora's activities in Germany. One positive note in Piper Sandler's note is that the company remains a powerhouse on the Canadian market. However, Canada has significant issues that must be overcome, including an acute cannabis supply problem. Aurora has not yet commented on this latest withering analysis. The company is hardly an analyst darling these days. Less than a month ago, another investment bank analysis determined that the stock's value was exactly $0. In launching coverage of Aurora in December, GLJ Research cited concerns similar to those of Piper Sandler, while highlighting the company's significant cash burn and its high indebtedness. The company's list of internal and external challenges is long, meanwhile it continues to cope with fresh challenges. Recently, for example, Aurora lost two high-ranking executives. President Donald Trump thinks Nato should be expanded to include nations in the Middle East, suggesting a new name for the 70-year-old alliance: Natome short for Nato-Middle East. What a beautiful name Natome, Mr Trump said, pronouncing it Nay-Toe-me. Speaking to reporters at the White House during an unrelated event, Mr Trump said the US had cracked down on so-called Islamic State militants, eliminating their control of territory and killing IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. We did Europe a big favour, he said. Expand Close President Donald Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, sit together during the annual Nato heads of government summit at The Grove hotel in Watford (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, sit together during the annual Nato heads of government summit at The Grove hotel in Watford (Stefan Rousseau/PA) I think Nato should be expanded and we should include the Middle East, absolutely. Right now the burden is on us and thats not fair, Mr Trump said. Mr Trump said he also wants to see more Nato troops in the Middle East because problems there are international in scope. He said he spoke about Natos role on Wednesday during a phone call with Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. I think he was actually excited about it. I actually had a name. Nato, right, and then you have ME, Middle East. They would call it Natome, Mr Trump said. Im good at names, right, he said and noted how the new North American trade agreement is called USMCA for the US, Mexico and Canada. American firefighters who arrived in Sydney, Australia to help battle the devastating wildfires got a warm welcome and a spontaneous and lengthy round of applause. A video posted by Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons shows the travellers at Sydney's international airport cheering and clapping as the group of US firefighters arrived. Sean Snyder, an assistant fire management officer for the US Forest Service in Talladega, Alabama also volunteered for the assignment, which is supposed to last at least 30 days. US fire fighters arrived at Sydney Int Airport this week, on their way to assist with fire fighting in Victoria. Coming through, all gathered gave a spontaneous & lengthy round of applause, reflecting the gratitude & admiration we all have for their generosity. #NSWRFS @NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/5epg5y4qxX Shane Fitzsimmons (@RFSCommissioner) January 9, 2020 READ: Leonardo DiCaprio's Foundation To Donate $3 Million For Australia Bushfire Relief This is the first time since 2010 that the US has sent firefighters to Australia, however, New Zealand and Australias have been sending firefighters to America for more than 15 years. Australia has been rocked by unprecedented bushfire for several months. More than 135 bushfires are still burning across the state, including almost 70 that were uncontained. The Australian authorities on January 9 also issued new warnings and evacuation notices across the country as a return of hot weather fanned bush fires and threatened several towns and communities. Earlier this week, Australian PM Scott Morrison also warned that the crisis due to catastrophic bushfires are not over and might go on for months. Speaking to reporters on January 5, Morrison said that Tasmania and Victoria witness more difficult season in January and February so there is still a long way to go. And sadly there will still be more cost that will be incurred as a result of the devastating impacts, said the Prime Minister. READ: Australians Flee Escalating Fire Danger $2 billion recovery fund The Australian Prime Minister has further announced the establishment of a national bushfire recovery fund with an initial $2 billion. The fund will be used to coordinate a national response to rebuild communities and livelihoods in the aftermath of a catastrophic bushfire. Morrison said that the initial fund is to ensure support to families, farmers and business owners hit by bushfires. Its a long road ahead and we will be with these communities every step of the way as they rebuild, said Morrison. The agency will ensure the work of state and territory governments is being supported and act as a one-stop-shop central team to coordinate the response. We will do whatever it takes, said the Prime Minister in a statement. READ: Australia: 60 Sled Dogs Evacuated From Bushfire Damaged Area By Army Trucks READ: Australians Lead At Hong Kong Open Despite Bushfire Worries A woman from Missouri, US was shopping for mattress when she reportedly ended up sleeping on a store's display mattress overnight. According to international media reports, the incident took place in St Louis Post-Dispatch store in Richmond Heights last week. The employee of the store arrived at work in the morning when he found the woman sleeping on a display mattress before the store even opened for customers. While speaking to an international media outlet, the employee said that he informed the police immediately. When the police arrived the woman told them that she was trying out a display mattress the evening before, however, she didn't realise how and when she fell asleep inside the store. The Richmond Heights Police Department further took to Facebook in which they called it the best mattress endorsement they've ever heard of. According to reports, the store did not charge the woman for trespassing and she was also escorted out of the store by the cops. READ: 'Smart Cradle' Mimics Parents' Movements To Put Babies To Sleep The post read, Employees at a local store contacted officers after arriving to work one morning to find a subject sleeping in a display bed. The subject claimed they had been trying out mattresses the night before when they fell asleep and slept the entire night. That's honestly the best mattress endorsement we've ever heard. READ: Things To Do In Sleepy Hollow And Places To Visit In This 'unusual' Village Passenger found sleeping under flight seat While a woman was found sleeping inside the store, in another bizarre case a passenger was caught sleeping under the seats on a plane as if he was hiding under the bed. A photo shared on the internet left the netizens amazed. At first glance, the photograph looks like an ordinary one of two empty aisle seats on an aircraft. It's only when someone takes a closer look, would they realize that theres a person who's somehow managed to crawl underneath and sleep under the seats across three rows. READ: Bigg Boss 13: Sidharth Sleeps In The Garden Area And Angers Shehnaaz, She Changes Beds READ: Australia: Woman Shares Photo Of Dad Catching '5-minute Sleep' In Between Fighting Fires A meeting between medical representatives and the Minister for Health to discuss the Departments proposals regarding consultant salaries produced constructive discussions which will lead to intensive negotiations next month, according to the Irish Medical Organisation. However, Dr Matthew Sadlier, IMO member and former president, said it is frustrating that the organisation has been forced to ballot its members for industrial action in order to get a Government response. That results of that ballot, which produced a 94% vote in favour of strike action on Dec 17, will now be held in abeyance while dialogue continues between both parties. However, the IMO said it will hold onto the mandate for such action depending on the result of those talks. The issue at stake is the disparity in remuneration of existing consultant contracts between new and established professionals. Minister for Health Simon Harris had announced new consultant contracts as part of the Slaintecare reform of the health service, worth up to 252,000 roughly 120k more than the current starter contract to commence from later this year. That news came one day after the IMOs strike ballot. However, those mooted contracts apply solely to new hires and those on legacy contracts who agree to focus solely on public-only work. Given the current crisis in our consultant numbers and bed capacity we are pleased that the Government is finally taking the matter seriously, Dr Sadlier said. He said that, while any imminent strike action would be deferred, the coming negotiations will be very challenging as there are a number of issues to be addressed. Simon Harris We all want and need reform but that reform must work for the betterment of our health services and for patients, he added. Together with a call for pay-equity between existing and prospective consultants, the IMO is also calling for any funding lost to hospitals as a result of private care being removed to be replaced, and an agreed plan to increase capacity in the health system. Minister Harris declared himself really encouraged by the meeting with the IMO, and said that the organisation is certainly up for doing business. I want to hire 1,000 more consultants; what we need to do is get into the detail of how we can actually make that work in a practical sense, he said. Elsewhere, the countrys trolley crisis appears to be slowly easing, with the latest hospitals figures showing 482 people waiting to be allocated a bed a fall of 39 compared with Thursday. Cork University Hospital remains the third most overcrowded hospital in the country, with 36 people waiting on trolleys, behind South Tipperary General with 43 and University Hospital Limerick with 44. In a record-breaking week, CUH also had the third highest trolley total, with 210 over the seven-day period. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, the body charged with improving waiting times, meanwhile said that 553,434 patients a decrease of 10,000 from November - were waiting on a first outpatient consultation as at end December, with 66,563 awaiting an inpatient appointment. The past week, which saw a new record number of 760 people on trolleys recorded on two days in succession, has been incredibly difficult according to general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Phil Ni Sheaghdha: Patient care has been repeatedly put at risk. It cannot be repeated. "We need to draw a line in the sand and ensure that we make consistent progress in reducing overcrowding." Asian News International Reduction of forest cover is changing the way monkeys vocalize and communicate. Research led by an anthropologist from the University of Waterloo has come up with the interesting finding that the vocal patterns of Howler monkeys seem to differ in response to different types of forest edge areas. Working in a tropical lowland rainforest in Costa Rica, the researchers examined how human-impacted forest habitat changes have affected vegetation and, in turn, the rate and length of howling by the howler monkey species. Led by Laura Bolt, an adjunct professor of anthropology at Waterloo, the study compared how the communication behaviour of the mantled howler monkey differs in forest edges impacted by human activity, known as anthropogenic edges, compared to natural forest edges. "Howler monkeys are well-known for making very loud, long-distance vocalizations called howls," said Bolt. "While howls are only produced by adult males, howl function is not entirely known, so we conducted our study to test the hypothesis that the intensity of howling by monkeys relates to defending ecological resources such as areas of richer vegetation or preferred feeding trees." Anthropogenic areas were identified as areas within 50 meters of barbed wire fences marking the edge of the forest and the start of coconut plantations or cattle pasture, and natural forest edges as areas within 50 meters of a river. The study found that males howl to defend high-quality resources, with notably longer durations of howling in the forest interior and at river edge areas where vegetation resources are richer. The researchers also found differences in howl length between the river edge and anthropogenic edge areas, which is an important insight for conservation planning. "Howler monkeys eat leaves and fruit, and if they are howling to defend these resources, we predicted that males would howl for longer durations of time when in a forest interior or near the river edge, where vegetation is richer compared to the anthropogenic edge," said Bolt. To conduct their study, the researchers collected data on mantled howler monkey howling behaviour from May to August in 2017 and 2018, following groups as they travelled across the various edge and interior habitat zones. All monkey groups were well-habituated and did not react to the visible presence of the researchers. With their evidence showing that anthropogenic deforestation is altering howler monkey behaviour, Bolt and her colleagues say that long-term howler monkey conservation initiatives should prioritize the preservation of forest interior and river edge regions and re-forestation of human-caused forest edges. "While it is yet unknown what implications these behavioural changes across different edge zones may have for monkey fitness," says Bolt, "our findings show that it is proximity to the anthropogenic forest edge, rather than to naturally-occurring forest edge, that is changing howler monkey communication behaviour. This is just one of the many ways that howler monkeys are affected by deforestation. Editor's Note: 2020 is expected to be another year of significant uncertainty and turmoil. But the question is what asset will emerge the victor when the dust settles from the global trade war, Brexit, recession threats, negative bond yields. It's a showdown of global proportions, so don't miss all our exclusive coverage on how these factors could impact your 2020 investment decisions. (Kitco News) - Here was to hoping that 2020 would start on a peaceful and calm note. But thus far, the new year and the new decade have been anything but. In a matter of days, threats of an imminent attack and active plotting, led President Trump to order an American strike in Baghdad, killing Irans top military leader, Qasem Soleimani. Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. targets and brought down a flight headed to Ukraine. And now the latest, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Irans metal exports and a handful of the countrys senior officials. And lets not forget impeachment talks, China US relations and the Federal Reserves next moves. There is no drought of news to follow and keep track of and no shortage of tensions and conflict leading investors to seek safe havens such as gold. The metal soared to seven year highs early in the week, golds roll then fizzled Wednesday, with the price dropping to $1,553 an ounce in afternoon trade down 3.7% or $60 an ounce from the 7-year peak above $1,613 reached in after-hours trading on Tuesday. Wall Street participants in the weekly Kitco News gold survey are in fact conflicted on where the metal will head next week. The largest camp by a small margin said lower, but garnered less than 50% of the vote. In the Main Street survey, no voting bloc got 50% either, although this poll leaned bullish. And in case you were sleeping, did you see the fireworks in the rhodium market this week? The platinum group metal surged past the $7,000 mark, and some experts we spoke to said they wouldnt be surprised if it retests its highs of $10,000 or higher. Could it be the bitcoin story of 2020? You can be assured we will be asking and addressing all your burning metal questions during our coverage of the upcoming Vancouver Resource Investment Conference next week. Once again, Kitco News will be moderating the Ultimate Gold Panel, a lively discussion on the future of the gold space. I will be moderating the panel featuring Peter Schiff, Rick Rule, Grant Williams and Raoul Pal. Follow Kitco News from January 19-20, 2020, as we interview the giants and market movers of the industry. So stay tuned next week for some great coverage! Enjoy the weekend! PHOTO: Australian Border Force SINGAPORE A 26-year-old Singaporean student has been charged for importing a child-like sex doll in Australia following his arrest in Perth on Thursday (9 January). The student, whose name was not released, was charged with one count of importing tier 2 goods, under section 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901 of Australia. The man has been granted conditional bail and is due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on 17 January. If convicted of importing child abuse material, he faces up to 10 years jail and/or a fine of up to AU$525,000 (S$487,000). The Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a press release that investigations commenced against the man on Christmas Eve last year after ABF officers intercepted a parcel sent from China at a Perth air cargo depot. The parcel was scanned and allegedly found to contain a a silicon female child-like sex doll. The man was arrested after a Perth residence was searched. Possessing child-like sex dolls was criminalised last year under Australian law after the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Act 2019 came into effect on 21 September. Those found guilty of possessing child-like sex dolls face up to 15 years jail. The ABFs Investigations Acting Commander Nicholas Walker said its officers were seizing increasing numbers of child-like sex dolls being imported through the international mail and air cargo streams. Child-like sex dolls are an emerging form of child abuse material that the ABF is determined to prevent from crossing our border, said Acting Commander Walker in the release. Dolls that are manufactured for a sexual purpose that depict a child under the age of 18 are classified as objectionable goods and are prohibited from being imported into Australia. Tackling child abuse material is an operational priority for the ABF as part of its role in protecting the border from individuals who may pose a threat to the community, he added. Yahoo News Singapore has reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Australian authorities for more details on the case. Other Singapore stories Singaporean undergraduate charged with filming two women in toilet A News Corp employee has condemned the media companys coverage of the Australian bushfires as dangerous and damaging, announcing her resignation in a damning all-staff email. Commercial finance manager Emily Townsend said she could no longer work for an organisation she claimed had run a misinformation campaign around the wildfires that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts). Ms Townsend, who had been with the company for five years, urged executive chairman Michael Miller to consider the impact of information in News Corps publications The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun and think about the big picture. The email was forwarded to all employees in the Australian arm of the the Rupert Murdoch-owned company but has since been removed from staff inboxes. I have been severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires, in particular the misinformation campaign that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts), Ms Townsend said, explaining that she had been left anxious and disappointed by the bushfire coverage to the extent she felt unable to do her job. States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Show all 15 1 /15 States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A firefighter works on a bushfire believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike that has ravaged an area of over 2,000 hectares in northern New South Wales state AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A water tanker airplane drops fire retardant on a bushfire in Harrington, New South Wales EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Firefighters tackle a bushfire to save a home in Taree, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A kangaroo is seen by the burnt remains of a vintage car in Torrington Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Photo taken on November 9, 2019 shows bushfires taken from a plane in over north eastern New South Wales AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Andrew Mackenzie surveys the damage around his home in Torrington Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters conduct property protection as a bushfire burns close to homes on Railway Parade in Woodford NSW AP States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) comforts 85-year-old resident Owen Whalan at an evacauation centre in Taree 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Fire burns at Bolivia Hill in Glen Innes Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A resident puts out small fires as he rides his motorcycle in Old Bar, New South Wales EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A fire rages in Bobin, 350km north of Sydney on November 9, 2019, as firefighters try to contain dozens of out-of-control blazes AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia Construction workers speak as smoke haze drifts over Sydney, Australia EPA States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A vintage Jaguar car sits in ruins after a bushfire destroyed a property in Old Bar, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images States of emergency declared as bushfires rage across Australia A fire rages in Bobin, 350km north of Sydney AFP via Getty Images I find it unconscionable to continue working for this company, knowing I am contributing to the spread of climate change denial and lies. "The reporting I have witnessed in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun is not only irresponsible, but dangerous and damaging to our communities and beautiful planet that needs us more than ever to acknowledge the destruction we have caused and start doing something about it. While Ms Townsend did not cite any specific examples of reporting that she felt was irresponsible, News Corps approach to the bushfires has been the subject of widespread discussion following claims in The Australian that appeared to overstate the role of arson in the blazes. Another article in the same newspaper suggested the fires were no worse than in previous years, prompting The New York Times to publish an article on the role of News Corp and other conservative media outlets in what it suggested was controlling the narrative surrounding the bushfires. However, there were also articles featured in News Corp publications that did acknowledge the role of climate change in the fires, which have left more than a billion animals dead, burned 10.3 million hectares and claimed the lives of at least 25 people. News Corp executive chairman Mr Miller said the organisation stood by its coverage. Ms Townsend resigned in December and was due to leave News Corp shortly," Mr Miller said. "News Corp stands by its coverage of the bushfires. The dedication and professionalism of our journalists and photographers have kept the community particularly those Australians affected directly informed and supported. "We respect Ms Townsend's right to hold her views but we do not agree with them." An American social media influencer banned from Instagram for sending naked photos of herself in exchange for bushfire donations has joined TikTok to continue her exposure. Kaylen Ward, 20, has sparked worldwide attention this week with her eyebrow-raising efforts to raise funds for Australia bushfire victims, which have soared to more than $700,000 in recent days. But the viral posts offering nude selfies to anyone who proved they had made a minimum $10 donation towards the nationwide disaster have seen Ms Ward's Instagram and Twitter accounts deactivated. It has prompted the Los Angeles based social media influencer to set up an account on video-sharing social networking platform TikTok called The Naked Philanthropist. Kaylen Ward had her Instagram accounts deactivated following her offer to send naked photos of herself in exchange for bushfire donations, which has raised more than $700,000 'I'm that girl who made a tweet telling everyone if they donated money to the Australian bushfire charities then I would send them an explicit photo in their DMs,' Ms Ward explained in her first TikTok video. 'I didn't expect my tweet to boil up but I have raised more than $700,000 and gone viral in Twitter and every news media station, including the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, TMZ and the New York Times.' 'Now Instagram has deactivated all my accounts and there's fake accounts of me that have up to 20,000 followers.' 'I don't know what to do but if you want to follow me here, this is my official TikTok.' She has posted several more TikTok videos of herself dancing and hamming up for the camera. LA-based social media influencer Kaylen Ward has set up a TikTok account called The Naked Philanthropist to continue her fundraising efforts Instagram model Kaylen Ward was sending nude photos to people who donate to fires Earlier this week, Ms Ward said she wanted to help after seeing the widespread devastation caused by bushfires Down Under and thought her X-rated images would be the best way to raise funds. Within minutes of posting her offer on social media, her private messages on Instagram and Twitter were bombarded by hundreds of people sending in their receipts to prove they had donated. But when the post went viral Ms Ward's Instagram was deactivated, and she was forced to start a new account while she worked on reinstating her original account. She later said both accounts had been deactivated with Instagram claiming she had violated its guidelines. Ms Ward, 20, claims her generosity has seen her Instagram account deactivated Kaylen Ward offered to send a nude photo of herself to any person who donated at least $10 to an organisation assisting with battling the devastating blazes 'My IG got deactivated, my family disowned me, and the guy I like won't talk to all because of that tweet but f*** it, save the koalas,' she said. Ms Ward told BuzzFeed that her inbox was so full she hired a team of four to help sort through and verify which donations were legitimate and send out the explicit photos promised. 'I was seeing all the posts on Twitter about the Australian fires and I was really concerned there wasn't a lot of media coverage and not a lot of people donating,' Ms Ward said. To receive a 'personalised' nude image, people had to provide proof of a donation of more than $10 being pledged to an Australian charity. She listed official organisations her followers could donate to which would help the fire efforts Ms Ward said she was moved to contributing to the fire cause after she saw harrowing photographs online She asked her followers to donate directly to a list of charities she suggested, which included NSW Rural Fire Service, Victorian Country Fire Service, Red Cross and certain koala hospitals across the nation. Ms Ward hoped her post would attract 'a few thousand dollars'. Within the first day, she had about 20,000 messages in her inbox with receipts. Ms Ward said now some of her other friends in the industry have followed suit, and together they're all continuing to raise money for the cause. 'When I first started I was nervous, super anxious. But five minutes later, my inbox was flooded and those thoughts went out the window,' she said. She will now consider doing the same for future natural disasters. A woman was caught smuggling banned cosmetics inside a fake baby in Uganda. Authorities nabbed her as she was trying to cross a town located in the Western part of the country called Mpondwe. The woman was trying to cross over to the neighbouring state of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The fake baby that the women was carrying was just a dress filled with cosmetics. The Ugandan Revenue Authority (URA) said that they nabbed her as she crossed via a shallow point of River Rubiiha. Read: Maha: Two Nigerians held with drugs worth lakhs On face value, it's a mother carrying a child on her back. In reality,it's a smuggler bringing in carefully concealed banned cosmetics from DRC. Intel had been gathered about this smuggling mode.Mpondwe enforcement nabbed her as she crossed via a shallow point of River Rubiiha. pic.twitter.com/I3gQVO6e4k Uganda Revenue Authority (@URAuganda) January 8, 2020 Read: 'Narco pregnancy': Woman caught smuggling 5 kgs drugs in fake baby bump URA nabs woman Ugandan authorities claimed that they had accessed a few reports on this particular mode of smuggling. These incidents have become a common occurrence in between the two neighbouring countries, with border authorities having a hard time tracking various smuggling gangs. The unauthorised crossing points along the border, have become a cause of concern as people have tried to illegally cross the DRC-Uganda border amid the Ebola crisis. Read: Woman from Guinea held at Delhi airport for smuggling narcotic Read: Africa starts 2020 battling extremism, Ebola and hunger Prince Harry with his mum, Princess Diana, in 1987. Credit:AP Other members of the family have accepted, as part of the bargain they were born into, the tabloid feeding frenzy: zoom lenses poking out of the shrubbery; school friends offered cash to betray their confidences; story lines, some of them invented, casting them as lazy, uncouth and self-indulgent. But Harry's fury over the press coverage became more visceral as his feelings for his wife and child grew. He said it openly: He blamed the media for his mother's death. "My deepest fear is history repeating itself," he wrote in a statement in October. "I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces." For generations, Britain's news outlets have been locked in a power struggle with a family that values its privacy, with the media sometimes ratcheting up negative coverage in response to curtailed access. In private, editors boasted of their ability to damage the approval rating of royals who did not co-operate, as with a drumbeat of reports critical of Prince William's work habits, branding him "Work-Shy Wills". Stig Abell, who served as the director of Britain's Press Complaints Commission, a regulatory body, described the relationship as "a hug that was always threatening to become an assault". The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, from the first, made it clear that they did not feel any obligation to abide by that tradition, cherry-picking preferred news outlets and building a direct connection with the public through their Instagram feed. Meghan and Harry with baby Archie in a christening photo released on social media. Credit:Christ Allerton "The gentleman's agreement between the royals and the British media was always based on the fact that they needed each other," Abell said. "But we are seeing the fragmentation of media, the rise of social media, combined with the fact that they are a brand in and of themselves. They are a global phenomenon. If they don't need the media, the question is, why would they have a relationship with the media?" Wednesday's bombshell announcement, in which the couple said they would "step back" from their official duties, is the culmination of that logic. "This felt like the natural place it would end up," said Abell, now the editor of The Times Literary Supplement. The Sussexes plan to withdraw from the Royal Rota the dozen or so journalists who make up the royal press pool and speak instead to journalists from what they term "credible media outlets focused on objective news reporting", giving preference to "young, up-and-coming" reporters and "grassroots organisations". The National Union of Journalists on Thursday blasted this idea, saying the public has the right to scrutinise the family, which is supported by public funds. "Who determines which media is 'credible' or 'objective'?" said Michelle Stanistreet, the organisation's general secretary. "We cannot have a situation where journalists writing about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can only do so if they have the royal seal of approval." Loading The Sun's royal correspondent, Emily Andrews, told the Press Gazette, an industry journal, that courtiers in other parts of the royal household had reached out to her to say they appreciated what the tabloids did to promote their charitable work. "We dutifully turn up to royal engagements, at home and abroad, often waiting for hours in the cold, the rain and the boiling sun for them to arrive," she said. "The royals do not always like what we write but that's the point." Harry's relationship with his wife, whom he met on a blind date in the summer of 2016, has been punctuated by conflict with the tabloids from the beginning. Responding to the coverage of his new girlfriend the Daily Mail ran an article headlined, "Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton" he released a highly unusual statement, accusing media outlets of allowing "racial undertones" to creep into their coverage. But if he thought this would win her more delicate treatment, he was wrong. It was war. Prince Harry and Meghan after their wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle last May. Credit:PA In the run-up to the wedding, newspapers feasted on unflattering coverage of Markle's father, a 73-year-old former Hollywood lighting director living in Mexico. The couple responded by allowing journalists minimal access to St George's Chapel for the wedding. The spiral deepened during the duchess' pregnancy, when the Daily Mail published an emotional, handwritten letter she had written to her father, pleading with him to "please stop creating so much pain". When their son was born, in April 2019, they announced they would skip the ritual photo opportunity outside the maternity ward, publishing their own photograph of the child on their Instagram feed. Prince Harry holds Archie in a photo released on Instagram to mark Father's Day. Credit:The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/@SussexRoyal via AP This was not satisfactory, said Arthur Edwards, 79, who spent decades documenting the royal family as a photographer for The Sun. "Well, we saw a picture of the baby's fingers?" he said. "They were treating us with total disrespect. The taxpayer just forked out 3 million for state-of-the-art decor in their home, and you can't put out a good picture of your child?" Asked how Harry would fare in the British news media, he was foreboding. "He has gone down the approval ladder at a fast rate, I'm afraid," Edwards said. But response on social media told a different story, with many commentators celebrating their move. The couple's new website, sussexroyal.com, attracted so much interest that, for long stretches on Wednesday afternoon, it would not load. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Electricity production is one of the industries that uses the most water in the country each day. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are helping the largest power plant in the United States identify the most efficient and cost-effective strategies to reduce water use. They developed a first-of-its-kind comprehensive system dynamics analysis that can show power plants with wet cooling systems how it can save them money. The analysis could eventually be used at other plants as federal regulators begin to reduce the power industry's allowed water supply. The researchers have also redesigned and patented an air cooling system to make waterless cooling more energy efficient and possible over a wider range of operating conditions. The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Phoenix converts heat from nuclear reactions into electricity. The heat boils water, creating steam that drives turbine generators. Steam leaving a turbine must be cooled and condensed before it is reused. More than 40% of all the water used in the country is for wet cooling at power plants. Typically, large thermoelectric power plants are located near lakes or rivers so that operators can draw a regulated amount of water, run it through a condenser to cool steam leaving the turbines, and discharge roughly the same amount they withdrew. But the Palo Verde plant has limited access to water because it is in the middle of a desert. Its cooling water is treated wastewater, which is becoming increasingly expensive as other customers -- who are willing to pay higher prices for water -- emerge. To curb rising costs, operators want to reduce the plant's water use by about 9 million gallons a day. Annually, that savings is roughly equivalent to a 16 square mile pool of water one foot deep, said Bobby Middleton, a nuclear engineer at Sandia. Other thermoelectric power plants will be looking for water saving approaches in the future, as rising populations, increased per capita energy usage and potential federal regulations reduce supplies of cooling water. The Sandia analysis could be used to save water at these power plants too, whether they run on coal, natural gas or nuclear energy. "We jumped at the opportunity to tackle this problem for Palo Verde because solutions that work for Palo Verde could also work for other plants too," Middleton said. Sandia evaluates emerging cooling technologies To reduce the plant's water use, operators at Palo Verde first looked at commercially available solutions. When they realized that nothing available could meet their needs, they turned to Sandia Labs to help identify which cooling systems under development might eventually offer the greatest water savings. To evaluate different emerging technologies, Middleton developed software that combines the physics of the cooling process such as fluid flow, heat transfer, atmospheric evaporation and water treatment with the financial impact of different solutions. Sometimes, a certain technology saves a plant money through increased efficiency; other times, reductions in water use deliver overall cost savings. No one has created a system dynamics analysis that simultaneously considers all these factors before, he said. It helps us predict the benefits we might see from a particular technology so that we spend time only testing the most promising approaches. The wastewater that arrives at Palo Verde contains silica, calcium, magnesium and phosphate ions. These salts concentrate as the cooling water evaporates in the cooling system, possibly forming new minerals that might clog the cooling towers. Currently, operators add lime, soda ash and acid to the wastewater before it enters the cooling tower to reduce the possibility of mineral formation. Middleton and Sandia chemist Patrick Brady are using the model to identify less expensive ways to remove ions at different points in the cooling cycle. For example, the Sandia researchers are examining the feasibility of desalinating discharged cooling water so that it can be reused. Otherwise, the water is too salty for reuse and must be evaporated from large ponds. The researchers have finished the first phase of the project developing the analysis software. The next phase involves using the software to identify the most promising water saving technologies, including alternative water treatment approaches, as well as dry and hybrid coolers that use supercritical carbon dioxide instead of the standard refrigerants in use in commercial technology. The final phase of the project involves testing the most promising technology in a laboratory setting in the hopes that a cost-effective solution can be installed at Palo Verde in 2026. Efficient cooling without water While evaluating effective cooling technologies, Sandia researchers also are working to improve existing solutions. Earlier this year, Middleton and his colleagues were awarded a patent for redesigning an air cooler to use supercritical carbon dioxide to transfer heat from steam to air. This change makes indirect dry cooling feasible over a wider range of conditions while increasing the system's efficiency. Wet cooling systems such as those at Palo Verde have water-filled condensers to cool steam leaving the turbines. Direct dry cooling systems transfer heat from the steam directly to air; indirect dry cooling systems transfer heat from the steam to water then from the water to air. Current commercially available systems designed to retrofit a power plant typically use a recirculating refrigerant, instead of water, to help transfer heat to air. In these commercially available systems, the liquid refrigerant boils as it absorbs heat from the steam and condenses into a liquid as it loses that heat to air. This change from liquid to gas releases energy that causes the refrigerant to circulate naturally through a heat exchanger. The new indirect cooler design uses supercritical carbon dioxide instead of a refrigerant. Here's how it works: Above a certain pressure and temperature, carbon dioxide becomes a supercritical fluid. This means the CO2 acts as a liquid below the critical temperature and as a gas above the critical temperature. However, at no point is the fluid a two-phase fluid; it does not boil. Because one fluid can change from a liquid to a gas without boiling, a supercritical fluid can transfer heat over a wider temperature range than a sub-critical fluid (such as the R134a used in current technologies). The performance benefits with this design come from the amount of air needed to refresh the supercritical carbon dioxide for another round of cooling. A heat exchanger with supercritical carbon dioxide uses less air to cool water to the same temperature as a traditional dry cooler with a sub-critical refrigerant; it can also make water cooler using the same amount of air. Both impacts improve the overall energy efficiency for the cooling process. "The expanded operating conditions also mean that there are more times of the year plants can use dry cooling," Middleton said. The researchers plan to test Sandia's design against state-of-the-art, commercially available technology, and they are currently analyzing it as a potential solution for the Palo Verde plant. Due to the decreasing availability of water, what was once the cheapest resource for thermoelectric power plants is quickly becoming one of the most expensive aspects of electricity production. "Water saving technologies for energy production are critical for scientists and engineers to consider today," Brady said. 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. ### Iran will hand over data from the black box and voice recorder of the crashed Ukrainian airliner to foreign experts, including those from the US government, the countrys ambassador to London said. Absolutely, we have said we want a clear and transparent solution to this tragedy, and the experts will be given the information necessary from the voice recorder and the black box, insisted Hamid Baeidinejad, one of Irans most senior diplomats. The US has now said it will share intelligence with the Ukrainians about the plane they allege was shot down. The ambassador denied categorically that the Boeing aircraft destroyed with 176 people on board was brought down by an Iranian missile. He was adamant that no missile had been fired at the plane. He said: The radars can tell between a missile, a fighter plane and a passenger plane, so it would have been clear that this was not a missile or a fighter plane. Mr Baeidinejad criticised foreign governments, including the UK, which had said there were strong indications that the airliner may have been brought down by military action. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP One should not make judgements before all the facts are known, he said. I am disappointed that some countries including the UK, which do not have hard evidence, without access to the black box, the voice recordings, air plane wreckage and the technical engineers reports in Tehran airport, are rushing to judgement. That only adds to the anxiety of the families. Plane accidents are a very technical issue. I cannot judge, you cannot judge, reporters on the ground cannot judge. Nobody can judge. A foreign minister or a prime minister cannot judge on this issue. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, has said there was a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, adding that it could have been an accident. Asked a question on reports that the Iranian authorities had refused to share the information from the black box with foreign experts, the ambassador said: absolutely not, reiterating that all relevant information would be handed over. Im sure that everything will be provided so that experts can make a proper judgement, he said. The ambassador wanted to stress that the missiles fired at the base with US soldiers in Iraq had taken place many hours before the airliner crashed. Wednesdays attack on the American bases, which left no causalities, came in retaliation for the US killing of Irans top general Qassem Soleimani. The ambassador said the plane had only taken off five minutes before it came down and had reached an altitude of 8,000 feet. It had requested going up to 20,000 feet and this was granted, so why should a missile be fired [at the plane]?, he said. Mr Baeidinejad said reports that the Iranian authorities had used bulldozers at the crash site and that evidence had been removed or destroyed were absolutely absurd. There were obviously searches going on. There were lots of bodies, unfortunately, on the ground and of course they were trying to find the black box. We want to find out the truth of what happened, so many of those who so sadly died were Iranian. People responded in huge numbers to United Muslim Action Committees call to rally against the CAA, the NRC and the NPR on Friday. Starting at the Edigah Miralam, the rally ended at Shastripuram. (Photo: P. SURENDRA) Hyderabad: The Tiranga Rally on Friday, organised by the United Muslim Action Committee resolved not to show any documents to establish domicile proof of citizens of India. After decades, the Old City saw a huge rally extending more than three kilometres Waving the Indian national flag, young and old walked up till Shastripuram, from Edigah Miralam. The crowd did not disperse till 4 pm and clearly conveyed the message that the CAA, NRC and NPR were unacceptable. Shops and other business establishments downed their shutters in support of the rally. Numerous educational institutions declared a half-day holiday for the convenience of staff and pupils. Traders associations, professional groups, social and human rights organisations also participated. The rally began after Juma prayers at Eidgah Mir Alam and culminated at Shastripuram, where AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi lives. Usually, in Eidgah only Eid prayers are performed (twice in a year). Imam and Khateeb of the historic Mecca Masjid, Moulana Rizwan Qureshi, delivered the Juma Sermon in Arabic and led the prayer. The rally led by Mr Owaisi began at 1:50 pm after the prayers. Young people were much in evidence chanting slogans such as Hindustan Zindabad, Nahi chalegi, Nahin chalegi, Modi teri Tanashai, Hum kya chahate? Azadi! and We reject CAA-NRC. The tricolour and placards with catchy phrases were carried by many of the marchers. The protesters sang Jana Gana Mana, Sari Jahan se Acche Hindustan Hamara, Dill diva hay Jana phi dengue aye witan tree lie which mingled with slogans against the citizenship laws and processes that are seen as highly discriminatory and unconstitutional, and against Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the architects of the laws. Groups of women participated as did various Self Help Groups of women. The city police had made elaborate arrangements and diverted the traffic en route to the rally. Speakers who addressed the rally urged people not to cooperate with the enumerators seeking information for the National Population Register or any other such government process. They condemned the Union governments intention of converting India into a Hindu Rashtra. They resolved to strengthen the secular fabric of the country. Several speakers said the agitation will not end until the government revokes the amendments made in the Citizenship Act. They also demanded that the state government should pass a resolution in the Assembly as the Kerala Assembly did, declaring not to undertake the NPR and NCR exercise in Telangana. Addressing the protesters, Mr Owaisi said the agitation will not end with this rally. People of Telangana cutting across political and religious affiliations have gathered here to give a message to the Prime Minister of India that we reject the amendments carried out in the Citizenship Act. People want the country to remain secular and preserve the constitution prepared under the leadership of Dr Babasahib Ambedkar. He reiterated his demand that the Union government withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act and stall the exercise on the National Register of Citizens and abandon National Population Register forever. He said people should not show their Aadhaar card or any document to officials from the government or police who are part of the exercise. If anyone comes to you seeking documents, show them the national flag as proof of nationhood, Mr Owaisi said. He said a large number of women were present and if Modiji wants to see womens empowerment, he should see their presence here. Mr Owaisi said a protest meeting will be held at Charminar on January 25, when a Mushaira will be held. On January 26, the national flag will be hoisted at 12.01 pm. A human chain will be formed from Mohammadi Lines to Bapu Ghat on the day of the assassination of Gandhiji, on January 30. Advertisement Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have today revealed pictures of their secret visit to a Grenfell kitchen four days ago as she returned to Canada to be reunited with Archie. In the first glimpse of what their 'progressive' new role could look like, the couple met, embraced and laughed with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London, shortly before they plunged the Royal Family into crisis by announcing they were 'stepping back' from their official duties. This week's bombshell announcement outlined the Duke and Duchess's intention to champion charitable causes, while also becoming 'financially independent' and spending more time in North America. This afternoon's post to their 10.4million Instagram followers made no mention of the storm raging in the upper echelons of the Royal Family, as the public clamour for answers in the wake of Wednesday night's shock statement continues to be met with a wall of silence. Meghan has fled the chaos to return to Canada on Thursday and will now be reunited with baby Archie, who she left in the country where the family spent a seven-week Christmas holiday. The Duchess has not been spotted at the sprawling Vancouver Island home where they spent their break, but the Telegraph report that after her BA flight Meghan was whisked back to the mansion where she was thought to have left her eight-month-old. Harry has had to shelve plans to join his wife and son across the Atlantic because of a commitment to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup draw next Thursday at Buckingham Palace. The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have also closed ranks and held crunch talks to squash the crisis, ordering Palace officials to thrash out a 'workable solution' to Meghan and Harry's future within days. A source close to the couple claimed Friday night negotiations between the Palace and the Sussex household are 'progressing well', in consultation with both the UK and Canadian government. Her Majesty broke cover at lunchtime when she was pictured driving her Land Rover in Sandringham, in a move choreographed to show her activities were continuing as normal. This was followed up by Harry and Meghan's Instagram post of their visit to the Grenfell kitchen - the first one since Wednesday night's announcement. The six pictures were accompanied by the caption: 'These women came together in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy to cook meals for their families and neighbours who had been displaced from the fire. 'With funds from the successful cookbook, they have now been able to share their spirit of community with so many more. Meghan Markle embracing Ahlam Saeid at the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London on Tuesday, before she and Harry plunged the Royal Family into crisis by announcing they were 'stepping back' from their official duties In the first glimpse of what their 'progressive' new role could look like, the couple met, embraced and laughed with the women who set up the community kitchen in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy 'These women came together in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy to cook meals for their families and neighbours who had been displaced from the fire,' the couple wrote 'With funds from the successful cookbook, they have now been able to share their spirit of community with so many more,' they continued 'The Hubb continues to work with local organisations to build hope, bring comfort and provide not simply a warm meal, but with it, a sense of togetherness,' the post reads 'The Duke and Duchess were so happy to reconnect with the women and hear about the projects they continue to develop to help those in their community and beyond,' they said Idyllic: The royal couple have been living in a luxury 10.7million property on Vancouver Island 'The Hubb continues to work with local organisations to build hope, bring comfort and provide not simply a warm meal, but with it, a sense of togetherness. 'The Duke and Duchess were so happy to reconnect with the women and hear about the projects they continue to develop to help those in their community and beyond.' In September 2018, it was revealed Meghan had been secretly visiting the Hubb Community Kitchen to meet with the women who put together the 'Together: Our Community Cookbook', for which she wrote the foreword. The kitchen was opened in the aftermath of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy, and Meghan's support for the project is widely credited with spurring a surge of donations. Ahlam Saeid, one of the cooks pictured laughing with Meghan, later said: 'There aren't any words to explain how happy we were when we saw you.' This afternoon's Instagram post burnishes the Sussexes charitable credentials to deflect from the fallout of their decision to quit as senior Royals. The Queen is now embroiled in a full-blown crisis as senior royals - including Princes Charles and William - ordered their teams to find a 'workable solution' to Harry and Meghan's future roles. Her Majesty was pictured leaving Sandringham in Norfolk in her Land Rover at lunchtime, before driving along local country roads to a shoot in a field which was attended by guests including her grandson Peter Phillips. A source close to the the Duke and Duchess claimed Friday night negotiations between Buckingham Palace and the Sussex household are 'progressing well', in consultation with both the UK and Canadian government. They said: 'They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later. 'It is in everyone's interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome.' The Queen is seen today for the first time since the Duke and Duchess revealed they were stepping down as senior royals The Queen, pictured today, is embroiled in a full-blown crisis as senior royals ordered their teams to find a 'workable solution' The Queen is pictured leaving Sandringham before driving along local country roads to a shoot in a field this afternoon In September 2018, it was revealed Meghan had been secretly visiting the Hubb Community Kitchen to meet with the women who put together the 'Together: Our Community Cookbook', for which she wrote the foreword (pictured meeting them in November 2018) Meghan and Harry are likely to KEEP their HRH titles despite stepping down from royal duties 'because lessons have been learnt after Diana was stripped of hers' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are likely to keep their Royal titles despite stepping away from official duties in their bid to become 'financially independent'. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Wednesday released a statement which detailed their plans to split their time between the UK and North America, while also giving up their share of the Sovereign Grant. At the end of the statement, the couple signed off as 'Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex'. It comes as many expressed that the pair should be stripped of their titles if they remove themselves from completing Royal duties on behalf of the Queen. The couple have licensed 'Sussex Royal' across their social media platforms, which means they aren't in a hurry to get rid of their Royal status. Speaking last night insiders said the couple would be allowed to keep their titles while still enjoying a level of independence never before seen in the Royal family. Sources said that nothing was set in stone but that lessons had been learnt from the past, and despite the late Princess of Wales giving up her HRH title, people still blamed the Royal Family for that decision. Diana wasn't the only Royal to have lost her title and Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah, lost her title after the couple divorcd in 1996 - as did Diana when she split from Charles. An expert said the Queen has the ability to strip the Sussexes of the title. Advertisement Behind closed doors, senior royals including Princes Charles and William ordered their teams to thrash out a 'workable solution' to Harry and Meghan's future roles. The Duke and Duchess have remained silent except for posting pictures on their Instagram of a secret trip to Grenfell this week, before Wednesday night's bombshell announcement. Meghan has fled the chaos and flown back to Canada, where she left her eight-month-old son Archie. Harry is expected to join her within the fortnight, but not before he is forced to break cover when he hosts the Rugby League World Cup draw next Thursday. Charles and William were both said to be left 'incandescent with rage' after learning about the Sussexes' announcement just 10 minutes before it was published on the couple's own Instagram page. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to have left Archie in Canada after their six-week trip and the eight-month-old is being cared for by their nanny and Meghan's best friend, Jessica Mulroney. Ms Mulroney lives in Toronto but it is not known if she was with them in the 10million waterfront mansion in Vancouver they occupied between Thanksgiving and the new year. It comes as Harry and Meghan's close confidante Tom Bradby claimed the Palace told the couple that there were plans for a 'slimmed down monarchy' and they 'weren't really a part of it.' The ITV News presenter insisted that it was 'certainly not true' to suggest the royal household was 'blindsided' by their decision to step down from senior roles within the monarchy. But blaming the decision to walk away from royal duties on the issue of a 'slimmed down' royal family may be seen as just a convenient excuse to leave their life behind in the UK and start a new life in North America. On a day of behind-the-scenes drama, the monarch convened an extraordinary series of calls between herself, the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Harry. She told them to come up with a 'workable solution' to the crisis within days, and tasked aides with presenting a series of options to put to the unhappy couple. Insiders last night predicted that Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, would be allowed to keep their royal titles and also enjoy a measure of the independence they have demanded. But they added that the couple's string of demands had sparked a genuine crisis which will not be easy to solve. Jessica Mulroney, pictured in New York over Christmas, is understood to have been caring for Archie with the help of Harry and Meghan's nanny As a sign of how serious and sensitive the issue has become, Home Secretary Priti Patel has been asked to take part in the negotiations. She will be tasked with ensuring the couple's ongoing security is not compromised, but she also has to monitor the cost to taxpayers if they split their lives between the UK and North America. The Mail can also reveal: The couple secretly registered their new Sussex Royal website as early as last March without telling the Royal Family; Harry ignored a personal request by the Queen to keep negotiations about his wish to break free private and not make a public statement; The couple also chose to disregard pleas from their closest aides on Monday night that they should hold off from releasing a statement out of respect for his grandmother; Sources said Harry had even suggested his mental health would be at risk if he didn't facilitate a change in his position; The Royal Family are not planning to strip Harry and Meghan of their titles as courtiers fear it would look vengeful and reminiscent of the treatment meted out to Harry's mother, Princess Diana; Scotland Yard will carry out a full review of the couple's security as the costs of their taxpayer-funded police protection looked set to spiral into the millions. Her Majesty, who was wearing a headscarf, was seen driving away from the Sandringham estate in her Land Rover today The Queen drives away with three passengers after lunch at a shooting party near Sandringham this afternoon The Queen drives through Sandringham today in the aftermath of the announcement by Prince Harry and Meghan The Queen is pictured at Sandringham today for the first time since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed they were stepping down as senior royals The Daily Mail has learnt that Meghan (left on a previous trip) returned to North America, where their eight-month-old son, Archie, had been left with his nanny. The news of her travel plans come as her and Prince Harry (right) announced they would be stepping back from their Royal duties Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland was spotted for the first time on Thursday since her daughter and son-in-law Prince Harry dropped the bombshell news that they were quitting their royal duties Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first Christmas with baby Archie at this 10million waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island and may be heading back to the west coast of Canada Yesterday palace insiders were still reeling from the Sussexes' decision to release a bombshell statement on Wednesday night, in which they announced their plans to step back as senior me Members of the Royal Family and work to become 'financially independent'. Although the Queen, Charles and William had been told of their plans a week earlier, the couple 'detonated the nuclear button' by announcing their intention and launching a glossy new website without warning anyone. In a terse statement in response, Buckingham Palace made clear its displeasure. It said it understood the couple's desire to do things 'different' but stressed these were complicated matters that needed to be worked through carefully. Senior royal aides made clear the Queen was deeply hurt by her grandson's actions, while other family members had reacted furiously to Harry and Meghan's arrogance. Yesterday, however, sources told the Mail that after an emotional 12 hours, matters had calmed and everyone was 'working with a clear head'. 'One of the things the family has learnt over the years is that if you don't move quickly and leave things like this that the fester,' said a source. 'And that would benefit no-one in this case.' It is understood the Queen initiated the series of calls involving herself at Sandringham, Charles at Birkhall (his Scottish seat), William at Kensington Palace and Harry without Meghan at Frogmore Cottage. As a result they agreed to instruct staff, led by their respective private secretaries, to work 'with pace' on a series of proposals which would allow the couple to find a solution they were happy with. 'The bigger the crisis, the calmer the Royal Family seem to get,' said an insider. 'There is a pragmatic attitude that seems to run through the Queen and Prince of Wales. One source told the Mail yesterday that Harry had privately been consulting friends about his plans as far back as late spring VANCOUVERIn a ruling thats being hailed as a victory for transgender youth, B.C.s top court has reasserted the right of young people to undergo hormone therapy despite a parents objection. But the decision Friday by the provinces Court of Appeal struck down a lower courts finding that the father in this specific case had committed family violence by refusing to acknowledge his teenage childs gender. The now-15-year-old teen had been assigned as female at birth but has identified as a boy since age 11. With the support of his mother and doctors, he wanted to start testosterone hormone therapy in the summer of 2018. However, his father opposed the treatment and took the issue to court. In their ruling Friday, the three judges called the fathers refusal to accept his sons gender identity troublesome. The dispute has caused a rupture of what both parties refer to as an otherwise loving parent-child relationship, the judges ruling said. The ruling does not include names of family members and instead uses the initials CD to represent the father and AB to represent the boy. The evidence shows that his rejection of ABs identity has caused AB significant pain, the decision reads. He clearly wants and needs acceptance and support from his father. ABs lawyer, Barbara Findlay, said her client was very pleased with the ruling. This is a victory for trans youth who are entitled to get the treatment they need, even if their parents disagree, she said. B.C. Supreme Court, a lower court, had initially ruled in favour of the teenager in February of last year. At the time, legal experts told the Star the decision meant parents would need to respect their childrens chosen gender, pronouns and name. It also set a precedent for transitioning youth across the province, suggesting that seeking medical assistance is a health decision and not a political or moral one that a parent can stop. Fridays appeal court decision does not change any of that, said Pat Shannon, a lawyer who specializes in family and anti-violence law. But it does stop short of upholding the lower courts assessment that the fathers behaviour constituted family violence. The evidence suggests the father does not deliberately intend to harm his son, the judges explained. The court of appeal did issue new conduct orders stating that the father must acknowledge and refer to AB as male and employ male pronouns and identify AB by the name he has chosen. The conduct orders also prohibit the father from expressing his opinion about his sons gender identity to the media or any public forum. These restrictions on the fathers freedom of expression were imposed with the aim of preventing harm to the son, the decision read. While of course CD is fully entitled to his opinions and beliefs, he cannot forget that AB, now a mature 15-year-old, with the support of his mother and his medical advisors, has chosen a course of action that includes not only hormone treatment, but a legal change of his name and gender identity. CDs lawyer, Herb Dunton, said his client had not yet decided whether he would appeal the decision. The judges comments around deliberate harm and family violence raised concerns for some legal experts. The suggestion that family violence requires intention could really limit the scope of how courts will understand family violence, said Raji Mangat, executive director at West Coast LEAF, which was an intervenor in the case. Im curious to see how this judgment is going to impact future cases where there is family violence. Shannon, who goes by the pronouns they/them, said its proof the court was not taking violence against trans youth seriously enough. Sometimes, you need to make strong declarations of unacceptable behaviour. And not making a declaration, in many cases, for marginalized people, affirms the status quo, that its OK to behave this way, they said. Im concerned thats the statement the court of appeal is taking here. With files from Tessa Vikander Wanyee Li is a Vancouver-based reporter covering courts and conservation issues for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @wanyeelii Read more about: Kolkata, Jan 10 : A mob torched three buses after a bus fatally knocked down a pedestrian in Khidirpur, South West Kolkata on Friday, police said. "The situation is now under control. We have dispersed the people," said a senior police officer. "There was an accident, following which locals got agitated. They vandalised and torched buses, he said. After a private bus hit the pedestrian, who died, the locals went on rampage, setting fire to three buses. One bus was vandalised. As police came to the spot, they threw stones at the latter. The police finally restored order by effecting a baton charge. A huge police contingent, including the Rapid Action Force, was in the area. Several fire tenders were on the spot dousing the fires in the buses. The Gloucester County Prosecutors Office launched its third round of community outreach through Operation Helping Hand on Wednesday. Undercover officers went along with multiple counseling organizations -- including City of Angels, Solstice Counseling Services, Helping Hands and Center for Family Services -- to offer support and information for people who may be struggling with addiction. We really cant do all of these outreaches without you and your constant effort and professionalism, Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Resha Jeneby said during the afternoon briefing with the counseling organizations. Its really your organization that goes out there and talks to the people that need the help, that at-risk individuals. You speak their language. The prosecutors office uses data to create a list of at-risk individuals who may benefit from information on substance abuse. This data includes names of individuals who have been given Narcan by a law enforcement officer within the last year. Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office Det. Eric Shaw briefs counseling organizations and police officers during a morning meeting before the outreach begins. It is my duty to get people together and help save lives and that is why we are here today, said Gloucester County Prosecutors Office Det. Eric Shaw. We want to remove that stigmatization and remove that fear of police for people who might need treatment and show them we are here to help them and not lock them up. We want to save lives. The organizations spent time at different locations across Gloucester County, including Glassboro, Clayton and Washington Township. Along with information about services in the area, the volunteers brought bags filled with toiletries, as well as wool hats to the individuals they mad contact with. I have been clean for five years. I used to be a heroin addict, so that is my motivation, said Solstice Volunteer Christie Swart. I grew up experiencing that with my family, and I have seen substance abuse disorders getting progressively worse. Its heartbreaking. I love that we are working with law enforcement specifically to help, not only reach out with them, but educate them as well, so they can have the same tools and we can help bridge that gap. "Its really about finding out what people need to receive the best level of care. The program was funded using part of $100 million Gov. Phil Murphys administration set aside in the 2019 budget to help fight the opioid epidemic in New Jersey. The goal of the program is to assist all 21 counties and promote healthy relationships between law enforcement and at-risk individuals. Two years ago everyone knew there was an opioid problem in Gloucester County and the state and nationwide, said Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore. I call it an epidemic not a problem. This program is now moving at a rapid pace and we have unbelievable and dedicated providers involved and dedicated volunteers involved and without your efforts this is not going to work. "No one takes credit for this, this is about saving lives. And if we save one person it is really a win for all of us. The first round of outreach in Gloucester County took place in July and the second in October. The prosecutors office will be setting up another outreach next quarter. A group of Solstice Volunteers walk around Clayton handing out information to possible at-risk individuals. Mackenzie Fitchett can be reached at mfitchett@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Love South Jersey? Join our new Facebook group for exclusive content and a look at the news from the South Jersey side. H omophobic attacks in London have risen by over 22 per cent during the last year to almost 55 crimes a week. City Hall figures show 2,835 incidents were reported to the Met Police in the past 12 months, compared with 2,307 in 2018. The current figure is a 122 per cent increase on the reported 1,276 crimes in 2011. Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, who will challenge Sadiq Khan in May, today called for a new offence of LGBTQ+ aggravated hate crime, in line with specific offences for racial and religious hatred, and tougher sentencing. Shaun Bailey, Conservative candidate for the Mayor of London / Getty Images LGBTQ+ hate crime is growing at a faster rate than almost all other types of hate crime, according to figures from the Mr Khans crime dashboard. Same-sex couple Melania Geymonat and Christine Hannigan were harassed on a night bus after they refused to kiss last May. Coins were thrown as three boys aged 15, 16 and 17 surrounded them in north London. A photo of their bloodied faces went viral. All three teenagers admitted using threatening or abusive or insulting words and were sentenced to youth referral orders, which featured diversity sessions. Meanwhile, men who pepper-sprayed a young gay couple for kissing at a bus stop in Brixton last January are still being hunted by police. Mr Bailey said research indicated 81 per cent of victims did not report hate crime to police, so the epidemic could be the tip of the iceberg. He said: Too many Londoners feel unsafe on our streets. As someone who has experienced racial hate both on the streets and online, I stand in total solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, many of whom suffer horrible and unacceptable abuse. Not a single Londoner should feel unsafe for being themselves that message must reach out to London and it must come from City Hall. Mr Khans spokesman said: Everyone should be concerned that disgusting hate crimes of all kinds are on the rise nationally. The Mayor is alarmed at what appears to be a growing intolerance in some sections of society to people who are seen as somehow different. BJP leader Gopal Bhargava has criticised the Madhya Pradesh governments decision to declare Bollywood movie 'Chhapaak' as tax-free in the state and remarked that even if the film was "porn" the Congress administration would have given it the same relief. (Photo: File) Bhopal: BJP leader Gopal Bhargava has criticised the Madhya Pradesh governments decision to declare Bollywood movie 'Chhapaak' as tax-free in the state and remarked that even if the film was "porn" the Congress administration would have given it the same relief. The film, based on the life of an acid attack survivor - played by actor Deepika Padukone - was declared tax-free in the Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Thursday, a day before its release. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath took to Twitter to make the announcement, saying the movie gives a "positive message to the society about acid attack survivors." However, the move has not gone down well with the opposition BJP. The film was not even released and still it was made tax-free. Be it stunt or action or anything...if porn, they could have done it even then, Bhargava said in Harda town while talking to reporters on Thursday. The Leader of Opposition in the assembly was asked about the Congress government's decision to make the Padukone- starrer film tax-free. Reacting strongly to Bhargavas comments, MP Congress media department chairperson Shobha Oza termed them as derogatory towards women. On one hand Chief Minister Kamal Nath has decided to make the film tax-free to give a positive message to the society, while on the other Bhargava has made remarks which are too low and highly derogatory towards women, she said. It reflects not just Bhargavas thinking about women, but also exposes the entire BJP, she told PTI. Padukone visited the JNU campus in Delhi on Tuesday to express solidarity with students who were attacked by armed assailants on Sunday night, but did not address the gathering. After her JNU visit, many appreciated her "silent solidarity", but some others criticised her for "supporting Leftists", saying it was a promotional stunt ahead of her film's release. Companies are increasingly adopting multiple and hybrid clouds to improve IT performance and deliver value to the business. However, this approach can also escalate complexity, raising challenges around connectivity, storage, integration, and infrastructure resource needs. Thats why having a multi-cloud strategy is important. Its not just about de-risking issues, cost avoidance, or avoiding vendor lock-in, says Sean Charnock, CEO of Faction, an international managed services provider, with headquarters in Denver. A well-thought-out multi-cloud strategy helps companies succeed because it simultaneously unlocks innovation across every cloud. That includes being able to take advantage of services that consistently and flawlessly operate across multiple clouds. VMware validates providers that offer these services with the Cloud Verified distinction, helping companies move to the cloud with confidence. Faction is a strong example. It operates nine data centers all VMware Cloud Verified across the U.S., as well as in London and most recently in Frankfurt, Germany. The services that earned Faction the Cloud Verified distinction are foundational and critical because we use them as the control-plane infrastructure for everything we do, says Matt Wallace, CTO of Faction. The VMware Cloud Verified stack is the base layer on top of which everything else lives. For example, Faction Cloud Control Volumes, based on VMware technology, is a cloud-attached storage platform that works seamlessly with any public cloud. Its patented Layer 2 connectivity offers low-latency and high-performance throughput. The platform enables customers to take a data lake or other volume of storage and present it to multiple clouds at the same time, so you could use that data from multiple clouds without having to copy or move or synchronize the data, Wallace says. Faction drew on its prior work building bare-metal private clouds and its long-standing partnership with VMware to offer customers this cloud storage platform. We made it a priority to capitalize on the significant intellectual property we developed around cloud connectivity to enable customers to bring their networks into our cloud environments without having to make any changes to their network architecture, Wallace adds. The company attributes its rapidly expanding customer base to two key differentiators the flexibility of its networking services and the freedom it gives customers to determine their needs. Charnock calls it a bring your own use case approach, acknowledging that each company is unique. Faction offers the building blocks compute, networking, storage resources and helps customers select the right combinations to meet their unique requirements, then provides them with a fully managed service. Faction is one of a handful of worldwide providers that have earned the VMware Master Services Competency in Datacenter Virtualization and VMware Cloud on AWS, and we leverage this specialized expertise to help our customers bridge the gap between on-premises environments and the cloud, he says. Wallace adds: Weve worked to become the Swiss Army knife that enables a safer, faster, more predictable move to the private and public cloud. We dont push customers to specific hardware platforms. Thats one of the many reasons our platform serves as a steppingstone from which enterprises can adopt a public, hybrid, or multi-cloud approach at the pace that works best for them. Flexibility, combined with the ability to scale as needed without being locked into one cloud model, is critical for the long haul, says Charnock. Were kind of like a safety net, making sure companies get the best of whats available without overpaying and without operational complexity, he says. Enterprises no longer have to settle for innovation from just one cloud, Charnock adds. We help customers be part of the multi-cloud innovation cycle. And we bring the VMware ecosystem with us, enabling that pool of integrated innovation across multiple cloud providers. Thats pretty powerful. Learn more about Faction and its partnership with VMware here. UK Foreign Secretary: 'We Want to See Iran Return to Full Compliance With Nuclear Deal' Sputnik News 10:13 09.01.2020(updated 15:14 09.01.2020) On 5 January, Tehran announced it would no longer comply with the limitations on the nation's nuclear programme specified under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) following tensions with Washington in light of a US drone strike that killed top military commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qasem Soleimani. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said that he will be looking "hard" at what happens next with the Iranian nuclear deal following Tehran's refusal to comply with the JCPOA. The official noted that he wants to see Iran come back to "full compliance" with the deal, Reuters reported. "We've obviously been committed to the JCPOA, but we've reached a point where non-compliance has been so acute in the most recent steps taken by Iran that obviously we're going to be looking very hard at what should happen next", Raab said. British PM Boris Johnson earlier said that the UK would still stand behind the agreement, while European leaders called upon Iran to avoid non-compliance with the treaty. He reiterated London's commitment to the JCPOA in a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday, according to Johnson's spokesman. "The prime minister spoke with President Rouhani of Iran this morning. They discussed the situation in the region following the death of Qasem Soleimani and the prime minister called for an end to hostilities", the spokesman said to reporters. "The prime minister underlined the UK's continued commitment to the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or nuclear deal) and to ongoing dialogue to avoid nuclear proliferation and reduce tensions", the official added. Tehran announced on 5 January that it would no longer comply with the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal, which was set to considerably reduce Iran's nuclear programme and its stockpile of medium- and low-enriched uranium in exchange for the removal of international sanctions. The country announced that it would now start enriching uranium based on its technical needs and in a "peaceful" manner. The development follows an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran after Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike on 3 January near Baghdad International Airport, an assassination Tehran promised to avenge. On 8 January, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard targeted American military facilities in Erbil and the Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, where international coalition military forces are housed. The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran, the European Union, and the P5+1 group - the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Russia, France, and Germany. However, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 then re-imposed economic sanctions on Tehran, vowing to slap secondary restrictions on countries maintaining a trade relationship with the Islamic Republic. Washington's move prompted Tehran to start backtracking on its commitments to the deal, while the latter urged other signatories to safeguard trade from the US economic blockade to keep the agreement alive. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ministers will be appointed in a new power-sharing executive on Saturday as devolution is restored at Stormont after three years. The Assembly is due to sit in plenary session at 1pm when a new speaker and deputy speaker will be chosen. Arlene Foster will then be installed as First Minister and Michelle O'Neill as deputy First Minister before the other positions in the administration are filled. Read More Stormont sources predicted that women would feature prominently in the new appointments. They revealed that the justice ministry will remain outside the D'Hondt process. It will be offered to either Alliance leader Naomi Long or independent unionist MLA Claire Sugden, who held the portfolio in the last administration. The new executive will include at least three parties as the SDLP said it was willing to take its seat. Nichola Mallon is likely to be the party's ministerial choice. Expand Close SDLP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SDLP The Ulster Unionist executive will meet on Saturday morning to decide whether it follows the SDLP or goes into opposition. Leader Steve Aiken has been a strong supporter of going into government, with Upper Bann MLA Doug Beattie firmly opposed. Alliance on Friday night gave its support to the New Decade, New Approach deal which it described as an "honourable compromise". The party is not entitled to a ministry under the D'Hondt system, but it is willing to enter the executive if offered the justice portfolio. If the UUP goes into opposition, the DUP would want another unionist at the executive table. Stormont sources tipped former Health Minister Edwin Poots as likely to secure a ministry. Senior Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd is predicted to be made a minister. Read More East Londonderry MLA Caoimhe Archibald is reportedly a contender for a junior ministry. Sinn Fein and the DUP both voiced their support for the two governments' blueprint on Friday, despite saying it wasn't perfect. The DUP leadership briefed its executive and councillors on the deal on Friday night. Despite some discomfort among representatives at the agreement during Thursday's internal discussions, the party was relieved that there was no public opposition. DUP leader Arlene Foster conceded that there were parts of the deal that would be challenging for the people whom she represents. Read More "But overall and on the whole I feel that it's a fair and balanced deal and that's why we were able to recommend it to our party officers and to the elected representatives," she said. Expand Close arlo PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp arlo "I think people will note that whilst there is a recognition of the facilitation of Irish language, there is also very much a recognition of those of us who are Ulster British and live here in Northern Ireland as well, and there is many mechanisms to strengthen the Union." Ms Foster responded to criticism of the deal from the Orange Order and TUV leader Jim Allister. "I think if anybody reads the agreement they will see that it is a fair and balanced deal," she said. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said the executive faced many challenges, including the impact of Brexit and austerity. "But the biggest and most significant challenge will be ensuring we have genuine powersharing built on equality, respect and integrity," she added. Expand Close mary lou Photopress Belfast / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp mary lou "I believe that the powersharing government can work. That requires everyone to step up. Sinn Fein's commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen." Ms McDonald responded to Irish language activists disappointed in the deal. She said it was only a start and more gains for the language would come in the future. "I would say to Irish language activists, take heart from the fact that this is now a historic moment because for the first time we have official recognition," she said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "This is a great step forwards for the people of Northern Ireland and for restoring public confidence in stable devolved Government and delivering much needed reforms to public services." Nichola McKee Corner, the sister of journalist Lyra McKee, whose murder last April sparked a fresh round of talks, said: "Through New Decade, New Approach we may see the day when Northern Ireland finally breaks free from the chains of its past that have strangled it for decades." The priest who criticised political leaders at Ms McKee's funeral also welcomed the deal. Fr Martin Magill said it was "a fine document containing keynote points around health, education, tackling paramilitarism, addiction and mental health issues". But he said that the challenge for Stormont now was to change people's lives on the ground. Nigerias ex-President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has paid a visit to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun. Obasanjo reportedly was at Abioduns office at 11:45 a.m. and left at exactly 12:45 p.m. yesterday, after a closed-door meeting. The former president told newsmen that he came to greet the governor and wished him a Happy New Year. According to him, I have come to say happy New Year to the Governor. I have not been here since he (Abiodun) got here as the Governor, so, I came to welcome him to the seat. I also raised a few issues that I believe would be to the development of Ogun State in the area of education, agriculture, rural development, and other wonderful issues. We had a wonderful discussion, Obasanjo said in a report by Vanguard. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates WOOD RIVER The Wood River City Council Monday night swore in fire department Capt. Wade Stalhut as its new fire chief to succeed Brendan McKee who retired last month. Engineer Nate Kamp also was promoted to captain for the department. Stalhut was just 17 when he started his firefighting career with his father for the Holiday Shores Fire Protection District. Passion kind of took over from there, he said. The fire was lit after taking a few classes and an EMT class. Stalhut returned to his hometown of Wood River as a paid on-call firefighter. Then, in 2000, he was hired fulltime for the Roxana Fire Department where he worked up his way to fire chief. He moved back to Wood River in 2005. Stalhut says the best quality of this department is the strength of its personnel. We have enormous strengths individual and as a group, he said. Its a huge asset to this city that is going to be beneficial in the future. Stalhut said the department will continue to improve its recordkeeping, training and maintenance, adding the department had things headed in the right direction before his selection as chief. We were fortunate enough that Chief McKee, before he retired, had some great projects going, he said. And were going to continue those projects and expand upon them. Those projects include putting storage connections and all steamer fittings on fire hydrants throughout Wood River, as well as working with BP Pipelines on a submersible fire pump and acquiring a used 2005 70-foot aerial apparatus truck from a department in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The leadership that weve had in this department has be phenomenal over the years, Stalhut said. Im looking forward to fitting into those shoes to some degree and continuing to move this department forward. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 20:16:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on Oct. 16, 2019 shows the Yangshan Deep Water Port of east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) "The very strong consumption from households, the growth of disposable income and consumption, I think, will continue to be a very important driver of China's economic growth," said Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China is capable of maintaining steady economic growth in the year to come and beyond, buoyed by multiple driving forces, despite mounting downward pressure, economists have said. "The gross domestic product growth in China in 2020 is likely to be stable," said Xu Gao, chief economist of Bank of China International Ltd, at a panel held in New York on Thursday. Chinese policymakers have "ample policy ammunition to maintain a stable growth," Xu said, adding he expects the nation to embrace a friendlier policy environment in the coming year as it heads to boost economic growth. The economist also pointed out that the biggest upward potential for the Chinese economy lies in the massive number of high-skilled and low-cost human resources. Themed on "Forecast of China's Economy for 2020," the panel featured a group of leading Chinese and American economists, who shared their insights on macro-economic trends, reform possibilities, as well as expected challenges and opportunities in 2020 and beyond. Job applicants are seen at the 2018 Hangzhou International Human Resources Exchanges and Cooperation Conference in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Zhong) Panelists lauded China's vigorous efforts in deepening further reform and opening up, while tackling challenges in recent years. "That's really important. It's a really big deal. We even see it (the reform) with respect to the state enterprise," said Barry Naughton, an economist with the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He also said China is leading the way in the adoption of decentralized, convenient and cashless payment systems, which is "really impressive." Huang Yiping, professor and deputy dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said he is "confident" about the prospects for China's economic growth. "The Chinese economy is entering into a new phase of development," which has inevitably caused some problems in the financial sector, said Huang. "We actually see in concrete steps moving ahead (toward financial reform and opening-up)," he said, adding "I'm confident and I'm optimistic that we are moving in the right direction." China has vowed to keep opening up its financial sector while controlling risks, with the country introducing 34 opening-up policies in the banking and insurance sectors in the past two years, including expanding the business scope of foreign-invested firms and easing market access. Guests talk with each other during the groundbreaking ceremony of ABB Robotics Factory of the Future in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) "There is growth momentum in its domestic (economy)," Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the panel. "The very strong consumption from households, the growth of disposable income and consumption, I think, will continue to be a very important driver of China's economic growth," he said. China, the world's largest developing economy, registered a 6.2-percent growth year on year during the first three quarters of 2019, within the government's annual target of 6-6.5 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumption continued to be the mainstay in driving up demand, with final consumption contributing 60.5 percent to economic growth in the January-September period. Lardy also noted sustained resilience in the Chinese economy, bolstered by the nation's "very entrepreneurial" private firms. "They increase productivity and become more competitive," he said. Catherine Mann, global chief economist at Citi, told Xinhua that productivity, appropriate capital investment, and demographics are the key foundations for economic growth going forward, noting "China is very well suited on the education side." The half-day event was presented by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Peking University's China Center for Economic Research. Challenging the BJP to show one "positive" programme it has designed, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday described the upcoming assembly election in Delhi as a fight between "two distinct visions" that will shape the country's future. The models of the BJP and the Congress are mired in whether the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru should be taught in schools or not, on the existence of Internet in the age of Mahabharata, he told reporters. "I want to challenge the BJP leaders to show me one positive programme they have designed for the development of which has received a positive response from every section of society or other states and countries. When we launch our programmes, people from across the world take notice and praise our model of education and are inspired by it," Sisodia said. "We are reiterating time and again that this election will be fought on the basis of work, particularly in the realm of education. This election is not just a fight between two political parties but between two distinct visions for the future of our country," he said. Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said the AAP government has taken various initiatives to develop the education model with significant increase in the budget, establishing quality infrastructure and regular training for teachers to improve the educational environment. "But the most important difference that we have made is in the delivery of quality education," he said. "On the other hand, you have the education models of the BJP and the Congress which stand out for their complete absence of any vision on quality of education. They are perpetually caught between whether to include references to Gandhiji and Nehru in the syllabus or not," the Delhi deputy chief minister said. "BJP has now introduced a course in 'Bhoot Vidya' in universities, focused on delivering training in curing mental illnesses in families through primitive methods like 'mantra-tantra' and thrashing with chappals," he added. Their education model is pondering on questions like whether Internet existed in the age of Mahabharata and whether ducks swimming creates oxygen in water or not, Sisodia said, adding, "Our model focuses on the future of the country and the growth of the individual. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Above, Karter's mother, RJ Sebastian, Levi Karter, Jake Jaxson and Liam Riley at the January 9 screening of Leave It to Levi. Photos above and below by Rick Garcia/@IndustryByRick. HOLLYWOOD, Calif.Last nights kick-off event to the Str8UpGay Summit at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood drew a warm, supportive crowd out for a screening of Jake Jaxsons heartfelt documentary Leave It to Levi. The movie, which stars CockyBoys performer Levi Karter, is a coming-out story in triplicate in which Karter reveals himself in three different ways: as a gay man, as an adult performer, and as his once-secret drag persona, Sassy Frass Meaner. But even more touching, its also a coming-in story about integrating Karters two families: the single mother who adopted him and raised him, and the new family he found when he joined the New York-based CockyBoys clan, led by Jake Jaxson and RJ Sebastian. Erik Schut of TLAGay.com, which is making the movie available on DVD later this month, introduced Leave It to Levi and praised its depiction of what family is like. Noting that he met Karters drag alter egoas well as Karters partner in drag, fellow CockyBoy Liam Riley, aka Bambi Wadleyeven before Jaxson himself knew about Sassy Frass, Schut called the resulting documentary funny, touching and fabulous in spotsand thats an accurate assessment. As befits the title, Jaxson chose to leave the opening segment of the movie to Karter himself, showing multiple selfie videosincluding an initial masturbation scene that may have some mainstream viewers reaching for the remote. But as Jaxson said afterward in a Q&A session, he felt the footage was important to give the flavor of Karters personality. While Jaxsons point is valid, some viewers may find it a relief when the professional footage rolls in. Though the beginning segment is chaotic and jumbled, as befits its homemade feel, we learn Karter is from Athens, Ohio, and has dropped out of college. His mother is devastated when locals discover that Karter has done porn, and hes going through a tough breakup. But there are also lighter moments, such as when the camera catches Karter in bed, experiencing a little morning wood in real time. Team CockyBoys at the Leave It to Levi screening. Things get decidedly more fun when Karter meets Liam Rileyan L.A. boy who was obviously a crowd-pleaser for an audience of locals. As Karter drives Riley to his first day at the CockyBoys compound in upstate New York, Riley complains about the cold. Karter points out it's only October. The Cali boy chirps, We experience summer 24/7, eliciting laughter from the crowd. The two chat about their sexual adventures. My high school days were scandalous, the innocent-looking Riley says slyly. So begins the portion of the movie that will be beloved by anyone who enjoyed One Erection: The Un-Making of a Boy Band, the hilarious, sexy rockumentary co-directed by Jaxson and Chi Chi LaRue. Karter and Riley were a key part of the movies charm, and Jaxson includes bits of footage hereincluding the video Sticky Face. But in between the light-hearted fun, Jaxson gets to the heart of what drove him to make Leave It to Levi. A lot of things changed for me as a pornographer when we signed Levi, Jaxsons says in a segment that cuts back and forth between his comments and footage of Karter talking about his mother, a schoolteacher in Ohio. I realized he did not tell his mom what he was doing. Inevitably, she found outas did everyone else in town. She walked into class one morning and the name Levi Karter was written on the blackboard. Finally, though, Karters mother made peace with her sons decision and met his new porn family. It was the first time Id met somebodys mom who wanted to kill me, Jaxson jokes. But after the meeting, the director said, he was deeply moved by her love for Karter. And he lets the audience witness their evolving relationship. What mom wants her son to be a porn star? I dont think theres one on this planet, she says. But we dont get to choose. And she now fully supports Karters choicesnot only his career in porn but his new porn family. As the only son of an adopted parent, she says, You need to make your friends your family ... if its real, it's great. Sassy Frass Meaner and Bambi Wadley The last third of the film is dedicated to learning more about Sassy Frass and Bambi, and exploring the tension between the hypermasculinity of gay porn and the femininity of drag. Sebastian and Jaxson both talk about how the two CockyBoys only gradually came out as drag performers. The cameras also accompany Karter to his home town for a big drag show where Sassy and Bambi strut their stuff. Karter demonstrates his acrobatic style, complete with splits and high kicks, while Riley undulates in a fetish-style rope ensemble (a very Cardi B moment, Riley jokes). After the movie ended, the curtain went up to reveal Jaxson on stage with Karter and Riley in their full drag finery for an interview session with red carpet host Sister Roma, while RJ Sebastian worked the camera below the raised stage. The audience learned that both Jaxson and Sister Roma were adopted, and that Jaxson has mended fences with his own estranged family. And Karters mother was able to affirm her acceptance of her son in person: He was a great kid, and hes a great adult. As for the future, Karter plans to continue doing both gay porn and drag performances. But for Riley, hes putting all his focus on his new career. Fresh off of a long tour with Shangela, a star of RuPauls Drag Race who has twice hosted the GayVN Awards, Riley says, 2020 is the year Im going to take Bambi and run with her. Leave It to Levi is now playing on the Dekkoo Films and Amazon Prime platforms. It will be available on DVD from TLAGay.com on January 28. Jake Jaxson RJ Sebastian and various members of the CockyBoys family are up for awards at the 2020 GayVN Awards Show; click here to see the list of nominees. British clothing brand Superdry store branch in Spain. Photo: Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Superdry (SDRY.L) shares crashed over 20% on Friday after the fashion brand warned investors a difficult Christmas means it could make no profit this year. In an unplanned update to shareholder, Superdry said sales at its stores crashed by 15.8% over Christmas. As a result, Superdry said underlying profit for the year was expected to be between nothing and 10m ($13m). Analysts had previously been forecasting profit of 20m. It marks the companys fourth profit warning in the last 18 months and shares in the retailer and fashion brand dropped 23% at the open in London. The stock had already been under pressure on Thursday, falling over 3%. Superdry shares crashed over 20% at the open in London. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK Superdry said a strategic push to end widespread discounting and get people paying full price had contributed to the lower than expected sales over Christmas. Poor consumer spending and discounting elsewhere on the High Street also hit performance. A shortage of better selling items also hit the company. New CEO Julian Dunkerton made the decision to reduce the level of inventory held by Superdry in warehouses when he came in last April. That led to lower levels of advanced orders and items like the Ella bomber jacket sold out as a result. The company believes it could have sold more but wanted to tackle the inventory issues. Superdry sold 23m less than it was expecting in stores over the festive period. Its wholesale business also missed targets by 5m. Group revenue fell 15.8% over Christmas, with retail sales down 18.5%. Everyone at Superdry continues to work intensively to deliver the turnaround of the business, chief executive Julian Dunkerton said. While we have always said it will take time, we continue to make progress in implementing our strategy. Superdry founder Dunkerton returned to run the business in April 2019 after a boardroom coup. Dunkerton was unhappy with the work of successor Euan Sutherland and set about putting in place a turnaround plan for the company, which is known for its loudly branded t-shirts and coats. Story continues Former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw, left, and Superdry chief executive Julian Dunkerton in 2015. Photo: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Superdry However, sales and profits have suffered since Dunkerton regained control. Profits crashed 98% in the first half of Superdrys financial year. Dunkerton stood by his plan on Friday, although admitted his hard-line approach was damaging sales for now. A key element of this is to focus on and return to full price sales and reduce promotional activity, and we halved the proportion of discounted sales over our peak trading period, benefitting both our margins and the Superdry brand, he said in a statement. Just 39% of Superdry sales were full price last year but that number has now risen to 73%. However this adversely affected our sales during the peak trading period given the level of promotional activity in the market, Dunkerton said. Despite this, our disciplined plan to reinvigorate the brand and return Superdry to sustainable long-term growth is on track. Last year was a difficult one for retailers. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said this week that 2019 was the first year ever retail sales fell compared to the prior 12 months. Retailers and supermarkets have warned trading was particular difficult over Christmas, which is when many retail companies make the bulk of their money for the year. Separately on Friday, Joules also put out a profit warning on Friday after poor festive trading. Pilgrims with their luggage seen going to the railway station during restrictions on Aug. 5, 2019 in Jammu, India. India's Supreme Court said on Friday that the indefinite shutdown of the internet in Kashmir was unwarranted, rebuking the government for the communications lockdown imposed after it withdrew the Muslim majority region's autonomy in August. The court said the indefinite suspension violated India's telecoms rules, and ordered authorities in Kashmir to review all curbs in a week's time. "Freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right," Supreme Court justice N. V. Ramana said, delivering the ruling. As a security measure to prevent the spread of dissent in Kashmir, the government snapped all public telecommunications connections including mobile phones and internet, arguing it was essential to maintain calm. Although some mobile phone connections have since been restored, the internet shutdown is still in place in parts of the Himalayan region, which is also claimed by Pakistan. The loss of internet has been severely disrupted the lives of around seven million people in the Kashmir valley, impacting everything from college admissions to businesses filing tax returns. "The court also said the freedom of press is impacted by the shutdown," Vrinda Grover, an advocate representing petitioners, which include journalists and civil society members. "It is an abuse of power." Recent news Kentucky announced its first vaping-related death, bringing the total to 59 deaths in 28 states. Texas reported the youngest death from vaping so far, a 15-year-old in the Dallas area. Cases and Deaths The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state agencies have reported 2,602 lung injury cases that required hospitalization and 59 deaths linked to vaping. Cases of lung illness Deaths 1 10 50 100 150 250 Mont. Minn. Mass. Ore. 3 Mich. 2 Wis. N.Y. 4 2 3 Conn. Pa. Neb. Ind. N.J. Ill. Utah Del. Mo. 5 Kan. Calif. Va. 5 Ky. 2 2 4 Tenn. 2 S.C. Ala. Ga. D.C. Miss. 5 La. Tex. Fla. 3 Virgin Islands 2 Cases of vaping-related lung illness Deaths 1 10 50 100 150 250 Mont. Minn. Ore. Mass. 3 Mich. 2 Wis. N.Y. 4 2 3 Conn. Pa. Neb. Ind. N.J. Ill. Utah Del. 5 Mo. Calif. Va. 5 Kan. 2 Ky. 2 4 Tenn. 2 S.C. Ala. Ga. Miss. D.C. 5 La. Tex. Fla. 3 2 Virgin Islands Cases of vaping-related lung illness Deaths 1 10 50 100 150 250 Mont. Minn. Ore. Mass. N.Y. 2 3 Mich. Wis. 4 2 3 Conn. Pa. N.J. Neb. Ind. Ill. Utah Del. 5 5 Calif. Mo. Va. Kan. 2 Ky. 2 4 Tenn. 2 S.C. Ga. Ala. Miss. 5 D.C. La. Tex. 3 Fla. Virgin Islands Hawaii 2 Cases of vaping-related lung illness Deaths 1 10 50 100 150 250 Mont. Ore. Minn. Mass. N.Y. 2 3 Wis. 4 Mich. 2 3 Conn. Pa. N.J. Neb. Ind. Ill. Utah Del. 5 5 Kan. Calif. Mo. Va. Ky. 2 4 2 Tenn. 2 S.C. Ga. Ala. Miss. 5 D.C. La. Tex. 3 Fla. Virgin Islands Hawaii 2 Vaping-related emergency room visits peaked in September and mostly involved younger people, especially young men and boys. Peak on Sept. 8 500 visits per million visits 400 300 Patients aged 1019 Number of emergency room visits linked to vaping or e-cigarettes 200 100 2017 2018 2019 200 Aged 2029 100 3039 50 4049 5059 6069 Patients aged 7079 50 2017 2018 2019 Sept. 8 500 visits per million visits Patients aged 1019 300 Number of E.R. visits linked to vaping or e-cigarettes 200 100 2017 2018 2019 200 Aged 2029 100 3039 50 4049 5059 6069 Patients aged 7079 50 2017 2018 2019 By The New York Times | Source: New England Journal of Medicine Vaping Regulations Several states and cities have announced or enacted vaping bans in response to the recent illnesses and deaths. Wash. Mont. Mass. Ore. Mich. N.Y. R.I. Chicago Pine Ridge S.F. Utah Ill. The Trump administration County and City of Los Angeles San Diego County Considering or working on a ban Announced or enacted ban on flavored e-cigarettes Announced or enacted ban on all e-cigarettes Four-month ban on all vaping products Wash. Mont. Ore. Mass. Mich. N.Y. S.D. R.I. Calif. Chicago Pine Ridge Reservation Ill. Utah San Francisco The Trump administration County of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles San Diego County Considering or working on a ban Announced or enacted ban on flavored e-cigarettes Announced or enacted ban on all e-cigarettes Four-month ban on all vaping products Wash. Mont. Ore. Mass. S.D. N.Y. Mich. R.I. Pine Ridge Reservation Chicago San Francisco Ill. Utah The Trump administration Calif. County of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles San Diego County Considering or working on a ban Announced or enacted ban on flavored e-cigarettes Announced or enacted ban on all e-cigarettes Four-month ban on all vaping products The Trump administration says it is planning a national ban on most flavored e-cigarettes. Massachusetts declared a public health emergency and ordered a four-month ban on the sale of all vaping products. New Yorks ban on flavored e-cigarettes has been delayed by a state court. Michigan banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and Utah restricted their sale to adult-only tobacco shops. Oregon imposed a 180-day ban, Rhode Island imposed a four-month ban and Washington imposed a 120-day ban on flavored vaping products. Montanas 120-day ban will begin Oct. 22. San Francisco banned all e-cigarettes but a measure that would overturn the ban is on the November ballot. The Oglala Sioux banned vaping on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Illinois is considering banning flavored e-cigarettes, and Chicago and Los Angeles are considering bans on all vaping devices. Lung Damage Patients with vaping-related lung injuries typically show up in emergency rooms with shortness of breath after several days of symptoms that resemble flu or pneumonia. Below, a CT scan of a patient in Utah whose lungs were injured from vaping. Sternum Lung Lung Ribs Heart Spine Cloudy areas in the patients lungs show unusual pneumonias, fluid or inflammation. Back muscles Sternum Lung Lung Ribs Heart Spine Cloudy areas in the patients lungs show unusual pneumonias, fluid or inflammation. Back muscles Sternum Lung Lung Ribs Heart Spine Back muscles Cloudy areas in the patients lungs show unusual pneumonias, fluid or inflammation. Sternum Lung Lung Ribs Heart Spine Back muscles Cloudy areas in the patients lungs show unusual pneumonias, fluid or inflammation. Sternum Lung Lung Ribs Heart Spine Back muscles Cloudy areas in the patients lungs show unusual pneumonias, fluid or inflammation. By The New York Times | Source: Intermountain Healthcare Patient Demographics Seventy percent of those who became ill were male: Gender Number of cases Male 70% 70% Female 30% 30% Two-thirds were between ages 18 and 34: Age Number of cases Under 18 15% 15% 1824 39% 39% 2534 26% 26% 35 and older 20% 20% What They Vaped No single substance has been shown to cause the illness, but several marijuana products have been identified as possible causes. Percentage of lung injury patients who reported vaping each substance. YES NO THC products 77% 19% 5 Nicotine products 57 34 10 Cannabidiol (CBD) 17 52 31 Synthetic cannabinoids 56 43 Flavored e-liquids 20 26 55% Unknown Percentage of lung injury patients who reported vaping each substance. YES NO THC products 77% 19% Nicotine products 57 34 Cannabidiol (CBD) 17 52 31 Synthetic cannabinoids 56 43 Flavored e-liquids 20 26 55% Unknown Percentage of lung injury patients who reported vaping each substance. YES NO THC products 77% 19% Nicotine products 57 34 Cannabidiol (CBD) 17 52 31 Synthetic cannabinoids 56 43 Flavored e-liquids 20 26 55% Unknown Common Brands A study of 86 lung-injury patients in Wisconsin and Illinois found that 87 percent reported using vaping products that contained THC. Dank Vapes was the most commonly reported brand name, but that brand is one of many illicit labels that sellers can find online and slap on products. Products containing THC Nicotine products BRAND BRAND Dank Vapes JUUL TKO Smok Off White Suorin Drop Moon Rocks Naked Chronic Carts Solace Cookies Mr Salt-E Smart Carts Salt Nic Kingpen Air Factory Dabwoods Vuse Alto Rove 0 10 20 30 Mario Carts Number of patients reporting use Calif. Confidential Cereal Carts Supreme G 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Number of patients reporting use Products containing THC BRAND NAME Dank Vapes TKO Off White Moon Rocks Chronic Carts Cookies Smart Carts Kingpen Dabwoods Rove Mario Carts Calif. Confidential Cereal Carts Supreme G 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Number of patients reporting use Nicotine products BRAND NAME JUUL Smok Suorin Drop Naked Solace Mr Salt-E Salt Nic Air Factory Vuse Alto 0 10 20 30 Number of patients reporting use Vaping Use Among Teens Teen vaping rates rose sharply this year, and a quarter of 12th grade students say they have used nicotine vaping products in the last month. More than 120 lung injury patients have been under 18. Grade 2017 2018 2019 8th grade 4% 4% 6% 6% 9% 9% 10th grade 8% 8% 16% 16% 20% 20% 12th grade 11% 11% 21% 21% 25% 25% Source: New England Journal of Medicine For more, see What You Need to Know About Vaping-Related Lung Illness A Houston federal jury ruled unanimously on Thursday that two Harris County Sheriff's deputies were not liable in the tasering of an Alief man they arrested during a domestic call in 2017. The civil jury determined that Khalil El-Amin was injured and that Oscar Flores, one of two deputies sued in the case, used excessive force. However, the key finding was that the deputys actions were not unreasonable, the legal standard in such lawsuits. The judge dismissed the case on the merits after finding the deputys actions were not unreasonable, the legal standard in such lawsuits. The jury also determined that Flores fellow deputy, Megan Herrin, was not liable for failing to stop Flores from firing the Taser. TASERED AT HOME: Alief father says deputies used unreasonable force in domestic taser incident El-Amins lawyer, Obaid Shariff, said it was challenging to prove what the deputy did was unreasonable not because of the facts of the case, but because of how the law is written. The jury agreed it was excessive to taser him twice, however it was an extremely high burden for any plaintiff to show that conduct is objectively unreasonable. El-Amins eldest son reported his father to the police on Jan. 7, 2017 following an altercation stemming from a discussion about whether the teen was gay. El-Amin says the officers failed to explain why they were there and unjustly deployed a Taser and dragged him downstairs as his two younger sons looked on. One of the deputies offered a counter-narrative testifying that El-Amin refused to respond to basic questions and commands to remove his hands from his pockets or produce an ID. Herrin told the jury El-Amin was hostile and very aggressive, and pulled away when Flores tried to handcuff him. We had an allegation of family assault and to me (the situation) was not under control, it kept escalating. El-Amin sued after the criminal charges of assault and resisting arrest were dismissed. U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. previously dismissed the county and sheriff from liability in the case, saying they were immune because the plaintiff did not show the department had failed to train them regarding use of excessive force. Shariff said El-Amin is considering his options, including the possibility of appealing the judges dismissal of Harris County as a defendant in the case. gabrielle.banks@chron.com PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-10 20:25:27 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 862 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Findit, Inc. (OTC PINK:FDIT) owner of Findit.com , a full service social networking management platform which provides online marketing services, is featuring Findit member Chavez for Charity and their new limited edition charity bracelet that benefits the animal rescue efforts from the Australia fires, the Wildlife Rescue Bracelet featuring a beautiful Koala Charm.With the outbreak of fires in Australia that now have displaced over 800 million animals and burned 2 million acres of land, Chavez for Charity has announced a limited edition charity bracelet that helps support animals affected by the Australia Fires. Through your purchase of their limited edition charity bracelet, Wildlife Rescue Bracelet, you are supporting WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc.), which is the largest wildlife rescue organization in Australia.WIRES has 28 branches across Australia with over 2500 volunteers. In December alone, WIRES received over 20,000 calls and volunteers attended over 3300 animal rescues. WIRES is dedicated to actively rehabilitating and preserving Australian wildlife and inspiring others to do the same. You can show your support today and help spread the word for Chavez for Charity's mission as well as WIRES' mission by purchasing the limited edition wildlife rescue charity bracelet from Chavez for Charity.Limited Edition Wildlife and Animal Rescue BraceletEvery wildlife rescue charity bracelet supporting WIRES and animal rescue efforts that Chavez for Charity sells, 25% of net profits will go directly to WIRES so they can continue their animal rescue efforts across Australia.To learn more about Chavez for Charity, visit http://www.chavezforcharity.com . To learn more about WIRES and their amazing work, visitWildlife Rescue Bracelet. To support the Australia Fire and Animal Rescue effort, please consider donating by purchasing a charity bracelet today.Findit focuses on reaching the target demographics for Chavez for Charity that may or may not be aware of them in an effort to heighten brand awareness of their services and in some cases, their extensive product lines.About Chavez for CharityWhen Julie Chavez founded Chavez for Charity in 2013, she had an ambitious vision. She wanted to create a line of colorful bracelets that would contribute, in a significant way, to some of the most important humanitarian issues facing our world today. Leveraging her background as the Founder and Designer of the small, yet highly coveted jewelry line Marie Chavez, whose fans included a-list celebrities like Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Rosario Dawson, and Anne Hathaway, Julie carefully crafted a brand that is unique in its mission and has a purpose much greater than profits. Supporting their trademark phrase Colors for Causes', each of the 10 colors in the collection represents a distinct cause. For every product sold, Chavez for Charity donates 25% of their profit to each color's corresponding cause.To date, Chavez for Charity has provided over 6,000 people in rural and impoverished communities with clean water; funded over 500 micro-loans for women entrepreneurs world wide, covered 1,400 hours of critical pediatric cancer research, impacted 724 students in Ghana for a lifetime with Teacher Support Programming - and the list goes on. With over 3,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada carrying their iconic bracelets, in 2018 Chavez for Charity will proudly celebrate 1.6 million dollars in donations. While this is a major milestone for the company, it is just the beginning of what they aspire to accomplish.About Findit, Inc. Findit.com which is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit, Inc., is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increase in brand awareness of our members. Findit, Inc., trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTCPinksheets." Safe Harbor:This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Findit, Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed.CONTACT:Clark St. Amant404-443-3224SOURCE: Findit, Inc. A ticket mix-up left a man in the airport terminal in Tehran while his wife boarded the flight that crashed soon after take-off on Wednesday, killing everyone on board. Mohsen Ahmadipour was supposed to have taken the Ukraine International Airlines flight, but his ticket had been accidentally cancelled, meaning his life was spared while his wife died. The 38-year-old was still inside the terminal when he learned the Kiev-bound flight had crashed to the ground in flames just minutes after take-off and none of the 176 people on-board had survived. His wife of almost six years was among them. Mr Ahmadipour's story is one of hundreds of heartbreaking tales emerging from relatives of those killed. The couple, who lived in Ottawa, Canada had been visiting family in Iran, according to news site 'Ottawa Citizen'. Roja Azadian (43) boarded the flight, having arranged that her husband would join her when he could get another plane. It would be the last time the couple saw each other. For another couple, the flight would be the start and end of a marriage. Pouneh Gorji (25) and Arash Pourzarabi (26) were travelling back from their wedding in Iran, along with four other members of their wedding party. "If you met them, even once, you could tell that these two belonged together for sure," Amir Forouzandeh, a friend of the couple, told a local news website. The University of Alberta graduates boarded the flight together just days after their wedding, preparing a local celebration for friends in Canada who couldn't make the wedding in Iran. "I don't have enough tears to cry for them," their friend Orod Kaveh posted on Facebook. Saeed Tahmasebi, a British national and also a newly-wed, died in the crash along with his wife Niloufar Ebrahim. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Members of Montreal's Iranian community attend a vigil, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2019 in downtown Montreal. (Andrej Ivanov/The Canadian Press via AP) A photograph is placed among candles at a memorial during a vigil in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, to remember the victims of the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP) Members of Montreal's Iranian community attend a vigil,Thursday, Jan. 9, 2019 in downtown Montreal. (Andrej Ivanov/The Canadian Press via AP) Mourners attend an outdoor vigil for the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed in Iran, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 9, 2020. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Flowers and candles are left among photographs at a memorial during a vigil in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, to remember the victims of the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a candle light vigil for victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario. The civilian Ukrainian jetliner crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario. The civilian Ukrainian jetliner crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Mourners attend an outdoor vigil for the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed in Iran, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 9, 2020. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Mourners attend a vigil in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, to remember the victims of the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP) Women pay their respects as they place candles at a candle light vigil to remember those killed on Ukraine International Airlines Flight on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario. It is Auhighly likelyAu that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) A woman lights a candle during a vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario. The civilian Ukrainian jetliner crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Mourners attend a vigil in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, to remember the victims of the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP) Mourners attend an outdoor vigil for the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed in Iran, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 9, 2020. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Members of Montreal's Iranian community attend a vigil, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2019 in downtown Montreal. It is Auhighly likelyAu that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. (Andrej Ivanov/The Canadian Press via AP) A person kneels at a memorial during a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario. The civilian Ukrainian jetliner crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) Members of Montreal's Iranian community attend a vigil Thursday, Jan. 9, 2019 in downtown Montreal. It is Auhighly likelyAu that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. (Andrej Ivanov/The Canadian Press via AP) Several hundred people gather around the Centennial Flame for a candle light vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 in Ottawa, Ontario. The civilian Ukrainian jetliner crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Members of Montreal's Iranian community attend a vigil, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2019 in downtown Montreal. (Andrej Ivanov/The Canadian Press via AP) The couple were only on the flight because they had waited behind in Iran to pick up their wedding photographs. Dozens of couples, families and children were aboard the flight, which was in the air for no longer than 10 minutes. Condolences flooded social media as Ukraine International Airlines released the roster of names of people on the flight. "One of my wonderful PhD students, Ghanimat Azhdari, was on the plane that crashed in Tehran this morning," Dr Faisal Moola of the University of Guelph tweeted. Ms Azhdari was a PhD student in the department of geography, environment and geomatics. Her PhD research was devoted to advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in conservation and the protection of biocultural knowledge. "The students and I are in so much pain," the tweet read. Many of the passengers on the flight are thought to have been heading towards Canada via Kiev. One of them, Forough Khadem (38), a "promising scientist", was returning to Winnipeg after visiting family in Iran. She graduated with a PhD in immunology from the University of Manitoba. Her research had given rise to a new understanding of the deadly parasitic disease, leishmaniasis. "Forough was one of my best PhD trainees, an outstanding scientist and above all an amazing human being," Jude Uzonna, an associate professor at the university, told Canadian channel CBC. "I am utterly devastated and trying to grapple with this." Dr Khadem, the daughter of a university professor, grew up between Iran and New Zealand before moving to Canada. "She radiates love. She radiates humanity. She radiates empathy. Once you see her, you want to know who she is," Ms Uzonna said. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] JACKSON, Miss. - An Army veteran in Mississippi who served in Vietnam and Iraq says a dispute over payments has left him unable to use a pair of expensive prosthetic legs. Jerry Holliman, 69, told the Clarion Ledger the Veterans Affairs department wouldnt pay for the legs. And he says he doesnt think he should have to make a Medicare co-payment. Medicare did not send me to Vietnam, Holliman said. I was sent there by my country ... with the understanding that if something bad happened to me, that it would be covered by the VA. The dispute led to legs being repossessed at one point. They were returned to Holliman later but he says the vendor wont make needed adjustments. The VA and the vendor have declined comment on Hollimans case, citing privacy laws. Holliman said he got a pair of prosthetic legs in August from a company called Hanger, which has offices in Hattiesburg. He started going through rehab at the nursing home. After a few sessions with the Hanger staff, Holliman said he was told the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would not pay for his prosthetic legs. On Dec. 23, an employee from Hanger came to the Veterans Home to see Holliman. Holliman said the man asked him to sign some paperwork for Medicare. Holliman said he declined because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should pay for the legs in full. The man responded by taking the legs away, Holliman said. Holliman said the legs were returned to him hours after he spoke to the Clarion Ledger at the veterans home in Collins on Jan. 2. But Holliman said the company wont make needed adjustments enabling him to use the legs. While in Vietnam, Holliman said, he was exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical the American military used to kill vegetation. The chemical has been linked to diseases suffered by soldiers. Holliman has survived cancer and diabetes. His right leg was amputated in November 2018; the left, the following April. Susan Varcie, a spokeswoman at the VA Medical Center in Jackson, said she could not comment on Hollimans case due to privacy laws. When the Clarion Ledger initially out to Hanger, spokeswoman Meghan Williams, she said federal privacy laws prevented Hanger from speaking about individual clients. It is our policy, in accordance with regulatory guidelines, to follow up with every patient we see and make necessary device adjustments through delivery and for at least 90 days afterwards, she said in a statement. We are committed to empowering human potential, and want to see our patients regain their mobility and independence. Thats not what Holliman said he was told. The legs are basically useless if Hanger wont make any more adjustments, Holliman said, and without those adjustments, hes stuck at the Veterans Home. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid for a motorized wheelchair for Holliman a few years ago, he said. It helped get him into the kitchen of his Hattiesburg home using a ramp in his garage, but the rest of his house is not wheelchair accessible. Saudi Arabia sent a message to Washington and London about the need to de-escalate the situation between the US and Iran, as Riyadh is concerned about its vulnerability to Iranian missile attacks - and is not sure of Donald Trump's long-term commitment to his allies in the Persian Gulf, The Guardian reported. Following the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, this message was sent through diplomatic channels, as well as personally transmitted by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia, Prince Khalid bin Salman. "He held meetings this week with Trump and Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law, in Washington and then in London with the defence secretary, Ben Wallace; Britains senior defence adviser for the Middle East, Lt Gen Sir John Lorimer; and the prime ministers foreign policy adviser, David Quarrey. He also met senior figures in the Foreign Office," the source noted. Analysts say Riyadh's message was that it did not want its territory to be at the forefront of the attack on Iran, even if it knew it could not avoid involvement if the conflict developed. Many Iranian commanders warned the Gulf states of the consequences if their territories became a launching pad for attacks on Tehran after assassination of Soleimani. Saudi Arabias vulnerability to Iran became apparent last September after a drone and missile attack on the country's oil facilities. Riyadh was surprised that the attack did not lead to a military response from the Trump administration, even though US intelligence announced that it had blamed Iran for the attacks, and the White House called the attack a declaration of war. It is expected that the yet unpublished UN report in the near future will indirectly confirm the approval of the Americans. But the publication of the UN report four months after the attack will only serve as a reminder to Riyadh of America's insecurity. Trump was not ready to strike to defend Saudi Arabias oil infrastructure, but he was prepared to risk killing Irans highest-ranking military leader after storming the US embassy in Baghdad. The episode only confirmed Trumps claim in October that Saudi Arabia would not last more than two weeks without US military protection. Trump's policies in the region may require the restoration of some shattered alliances. "Indeed, there has been a year-long trend in Riyadh to try slowly to dial down some of the conflicts in which it has embroiled itself including Yemen, with its Gulf neighbour Qatar, and, more broadly, with Iran. In the context of the Saudis chairing the G20 this year, Riyadh wants a less confrontational image. Female drivers, concerts by Swedish House Mafia and the promise of mass tourism is not enough," the source added. Qatar, where the US airbase is located, which could become a potential launching pad for any American war against Iran, did not hide its loyalty. After the assassination of Soleimani, the Qatar Foreign Minister visited Tehran, met with President Hassan Rouhani and expressed his condolences. Regarding the easing of Saudi-Iranian tensions, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said he was due to meet with Solemani on the day of his murder. He said that Soleimani brought a message from the Iranian supreme leader in response to a message from Saudi Arabia transmitted through Iraq to Iran about important agreements and breakthroughs in Iraq and the region. The constant theme of Iranian foreign policy is that the entire region will benefit from the withdrawal of US troops from the region, starting with Iraq. Iranian Foreign Minister urged countries around the Strait of Hormuz this week to form an alliance. We all of us, let me underline should abandon the paradigm of elimination and antagonism premised on the illusion of purchasing security and development from without. "Global thinktanks are littered with reports setting out the path to a Saudi-Iran rapprochement, and perhaps the best that can be secured in the foreseeable future is a limited non-aggression pact. That would be an advance on all-out war," CNN concuded. 112 Ukraine TV channel 112 Agency The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine at a meeting on January 9, appointed an extraordinary on-site inspection of 112 Ukraine TV channel, justifying it by alleged violations of the Law of Ukraine On Television and Radio Broadcasting and the Law of Ukraine On Information recorded air of the channel. In connection with another flagrant and violating the freedom of speech decision of the regulating body, the International Editorial Board of the channel, which, in particular, includes parliamentarians of the European Parliament Nathan Gill (Great Britain), Arne Gericke (Germany) and David Coburn (Great Britain), addresses the Ukrainian authorities with the following statement: In line with its marketing strategy to increase the destinations visibility, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) collaborated with ITPs Esquire Middle East, the leading mens magazine in the Middle East, for its ninth annual Esquire Award held at the One & Only Royal Mirages Arabian Court in Dubai. The STB chief executive officer, Sherin Francis, and STB Representative based in Dubai, Ahmed Fathallah attended the award, which is a celebration of the outstanding achievements of men and women across the Middle East over the past year. The One & Only Royal Mirages Arabian Court provided a magnificent ambience and picturesque views for the event, from the photo ops, to the centre stage, and to the dinner, which successfully added a glamourous factor to the event. Observed as one of the most stylish awards night of the Arab region, the ceremony was filled with star-studded award winners, and for sure, some of very prestigious invitees on the Middle East region. As the GCC region continuously provides positive reception to Seychelles as a destination, it was only natural for us to come onboard this project, which not only supports the region in their endeavours for expanding their horizons but also provides a centre-stage for our holiday paradise. Events like this prove and celebrate that as time goes by, the region starts to be more well-known and flourish for the creative potential of Arab creators, visionaries and innovators which opens doors for more collaborations in the future and of course more exposure, mentioned Fathallah, who worked closely with the event organisers. Fathallah was given the honour to present three of the prestige Esquire awards, namely the Humanitarian Award to Kashif Siddiqi and Bacary Sagna, Comedian of the Year to Ahmed Helmy, and Comeback of the Year to Anthony The Mooch Scaramucci. The Esquire Middle East Awards event, acknowledges the brilliance of creative talents in art, film, music, fashion, and literature in the region, as well as the new comers in the said fields. - TradeArabia News Service Tevosol is developing EVOSS (Ex-Vivo Organ Support System), a portable and affordable warm perfusion machine about the size and weight of a static storage cooler. In 2019, the University of Alberta completed a proof-of-concept trial using the company's proprietary negative pressure ventilation technology with an EVOSS prototype. The team performed 12 successful human transplants with lungs from 12 donors who had been ruled out because they did not meet the standard clinical criteria. The TMC-based trial will follow a similar protocol on a larger scale and accelerated schedule. "Houston is maybe the only place where Tevosol could hope to conduct a trial of such intensity and efficiency," said Tevosol CEO Ron Mills. "We are fortunate to have the enthusiastic support of one of the nation's leading transplantation communities and to have a home in the largest medical city in the world. TMC gives our company unfair strategic and tactical advantages." TMC Innovation provides startup companies with shared workspace and a curriculum tailored to the needs of health care entrepreneurs. Companies have access to the world's largest medical center and can engage with clinical stakeholders, business development advisors, and industry partners. With a campus of more than 50 million square feet, Texas Medical Center annually hosts 10 million patients and performs more than 180,000 surgeries. The Tevosol trial will be coordinated by TMC member LifeGift organ procurement organization; managed by TMC partner Proxima Clinical Research, a CRO focused on emerging biomedical companies; and conducted by investigators at three TMC lung transplant programs and two remote centres. "The TMC Innovation team is eager to connect Tevosol to the myriad resources and extensive infrastructure that it will need to conduct its clinical trial within Texas Medical Centerthe largest medical city in the world. With access to this vast network, Tevosol will be able to prepare its product for market entry, directly benefiting TMC," said TMCx Associate Director Lance Black, MD, MBID. "This collaboration across member institutions is just the kind that TMC Innovation aspires to cultivate through the newly redesigned TMCx accelerator program." "Tevosol shares our mission to reach more organ donors and facilitate more transplants to save as many lives as possible," said LifeGift President and CEO Kevin Myer. "This trial aims to demonstrate how design thinking, innovative technology, and shrewd logistics can help procurement and transplant teams significantly increase donor lung utilization in full-scale routine practice." Trial investigators, sponsors, and managers will hold a kickoff meeting at TMC Innovation in late January. About Donor Lung Utilization Transplantation is the only cure for end-stage lung disease, which kills tens of millions every year. But 80 percent of donor lungs today go to waste. Ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) has been shown to increase donor lung utilization, safely prolong preservation time, and improve transplant outcomes. Transplant centres have been slow to adopt the technology using currently available machines. About Tevosol Tevosol is a medical device company developing EVOSS (Ex-Vivo Organ Support System), a portable and affordable warm perfusion machine about the size and weight of a cold static storage cooler. By presenting a naturally functioning organ for complete evaluation, EVOSS will help surgeons transplant more organs from more donors today and help scientists unlock new sources that will solve the organ shortage tomorrow. The company expects EVOSS Lung to enter US clinical trial and Canadian commercial pilot in late 2020. www.tevosol.com. About Texas Medical Center Texas Medical Center (TMC)the largest medical city in the worldis at the forefront in advancing life sciences. Home to the brightest minds in medicine, TMC nurtures cross-cultural collaboration, creativity, and innovation among its 106,000-plus employees. Beyond patient care, TMC is pushing the boundaries of clinical research across its extensive network of partner institutions in pioneering effective health policy solutions to address the complex health care issues of today. For more information, please visit www.tmc.edu. SOURCE Tevosol, Inc. Related Links http://www.tevosol.com Late last year, writer Jonathan Merritt was offered the keynote spot at a church conference in Scotland. The cathedral provost emailed him, saying, we received the Lords direction to invite you to speak in this event. He detailed the tradition of annual lectures at St. Andrews in Aberdeenthis years theme carefully chosen by the Lords inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdomand offered to pay Merritt a speaking fee and cover his travel expenses. It took a few more email exchanges before Merritt and his assistant realized that these messages werent really from Provost Isaac Poobalan at alltypos and clunky language began to tip them offand that the supposedly 600-person conference scheduled to take place at the church later this month wasnt even happening. I almost flew to the UK in 2 weeks for a FAKE event! the author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch tweeted last week. In Nov 2019, someone impersonated a real religious leader to invite me to speak. I thankfully caught it last min, but some creepy European out there wants a Jonathan Merritt flesh-coat baaaadly, and Im not even kidding. This email scheme has become the Nigerian prince offer of the Christian speaking circuit, with hundreds of US Christian leaders invited to events at UK churches by scammers who hope to collect hundreds of dollars in visa fees ahead of the purported conferences. The real administrator at St. Andrews, Lynda Johnston, says at least 30 Americans targeted by the scam have contacted the cathedral, including a number of very interesting and potentially well-off individuals. The church had to put up a notice on its website saying, no such conference happening here at the Cathedral, and no emails were sent by Provost Poobalan. Over the past year, invitations have been sent out for a conference called Big Things: How to start small under the guise of more than a dozen unsuspecting Anglican churches. Some version of the scam dates back to at least 2012. Several Christiansincluding Michael Wear, Carlos Whittaker, Philip Nation, Larry Crudup, and Megan Alexanderreplied to Merritt to say theyd also received similar invites. According to Johnston, the emails coming from a Gmail account set up in Poobalans name (not an official church account) originated from an IP address in Nairobi, Kenya. The messages use real names and addresses of UK churches and leaders, often with a Bible verse in the email signature. Alexander, an Inside Edition correspondent and Christian author, this week received a second identical invitation to an upcoming Big Things conference, just with the names and location changed to another parish. She told CT she had initially been interested in the Aberdeen event since its theme happened to line up with her book Faith in the Spotlight, but her speaking agent confirmed it was a fraud after contacting the church directly. The scam is not immediately obvious in that it does not request money or (ask) you to click on any links, said Adam Kelk, operations manager for St. Botolphs Church in Boston, England, which has been named as the location for the conference twice, including a current iteration of the scheme mentioning a March 2020 event. We have been informed that upon replying the scammers then send out a second email which requests money to cover expenses/visas, etc. The emails have been sent mainly to people who are in America, hence the request for expenses. Many Christian personalities at all levelsfrom first-time authors to celebrities like Tim Tebow and Sadie Robertsonspeak at conferences and events as a way to spread their messages and earn income. (One major agency, Premiere Speakers Bureau, lists more than 200 Christian speakers across many fields, with fees starting at a few thousand dollars.) Its not unusual for a church theyve never heard of to reach out with a speaking opportunity. With the Big Things scam, most were contacted through forms on their websites or through their speaking agents. Joy Eggrichs Reed, founder of Punchline Speakers, said the agency and several of its clients were invited to the same conference as Merritt and Alexander. Reed warns speakers to watch out for when event coordinators fail to answer the simple questions sent in response, as it could be a sign of a scam. In our case it was asking which speakers they were interested in, discussions of budget, and logistics, she said. They just continued to reply with what felt like auto-responses filled with somewhat nonsensical theological sentences that seemed to be done in Google translate: Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation. Luckily, most who expressed interest in the fake conferences stopped short of paying to go. Author Anna LeBaronwho wrote The Polygamists Daughter: A Memoir and shared her testimony in CT in 2017was on board with the Big Things conference scheduled for September 2019 at St. Lukes Church in West Norwood, London, until she received a request to wire-transfer the charges for her work permit. This is when my assistant and I began to feel that something wasn't quite right, she said. Patrick Schwerdtfeger posted back in 2012 about the UK Work Permit Church Scam for Speakers, warning that he had paid over $1,000 in a wire transfer after exchanging over 50 emails with scammers posing as leaders at an evangelical church in Wales. In recent months, commenters have visited Schwerdtfegers blog to report further scam emails sent out last year, claiming to be from multiple churches in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Norwich, and Worcestershire, in addition to St. Andrews in Aberdeen. While the church is not actually hosting a conference in mid-January, St. Andrews still hopes Americans come visit (no shady wire transfers needed), since the cathedral holds a special connection with the States. The church is the site of the 1784 consecration of the first American Episcopal bishop, Samuel Seabury. Seabury wrote Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Continental Congress and is featured as a character in the Hamilton musical (see Farmer Refuted). In his honor, St. Andrews historic sanctuary displays a stained glass with an angel carrying the stars and stripes, said Johnston. A 21-year-old Demopolis man was convicted Friday in the 2016 rape and robbery of a University of Alabama student. Colby Dewayne Daniel Lewis was arrested in 2018 after he was identified as the suspect through DNA. He was found guilty of all charges - first-degree burglary, first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy in the Nov. 27, 2016 attack on the then-19-year-old student in her town home. He will be sentenced next month. The attack happened in the early-morning hours of that Sunday - about 12:45 a.m. - during the 2016 Iron Bowl weekend. The student lived in a town home in the 1200 block of Convent Street, which is several blocks southwest of the campus and an area popular among students for off-campus housing. Investigators at the time said the victim had left The Strip and walked home alone. She went inside her two-story town home and was upstairs in her bedroom getting ready for bed when she heard someone coming up the stairs and went to investigate. She came face-to-face with the man, who pointed a gun at her and then forcibly robbed and raped her. At least one shot was fired inside the town home. Authorities withheld some details of the crime - including what items were stolen - for investigative reasons. They did, however, view footage from somewhere in the area that indicated there were still quite a few people out after Saturday's Iron Bowl that may have seen the suspect and thought him to be suspicious. The suspect left after the attack, and the victim then called her family and went to a friend's home. Her roommate wasn't home at the time. From there, authorities were called, and the victim was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center for treatment. The victim did not know Lewis. DNA taken from the attack was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System, better known as CODIS. The CODIS system stores and tracks DNA information to allow law enforcement investigators to cross-reference the specimens. All 50 states are part of the CODIS database, which Alabama joined in 1995. DNA is collected from all felony arrestees and sent to ADFS. In 2017 alone, the department matched more than 700 offenders to unsolved cases. In 2018, Tuscaloosa investigators received word from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences that they had a "hit" on the DNA submitted from the rape. That DNA belonged to Lewis and was collected as part of his Dec. 3, 2018 arrest in Demopolis. According to court records, Lewis was charged with third-degree burglary amid accusations he kicked in the door of an apartment and took a television. Authorities at the time of Lewis arrest said the suspect had a relative in Tuscaloosa, and reportedly takes classes at Shelton State Community College. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:10:21|Editor: zh Video Player Close SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Fifth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova topped Garbine Muguruza in straight sets here on Friday, advancing to the WTA Shenzhen open final with Elena Rybakina. The Russian took one hour and 16 minutes to bag a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the sixth seeded Spaniard, moving to within one victory of winning a maiden WTA trophy. "It was a tough match. I was calmer than yesterday and I am happy I did my best today and hope I can do it tomorrow," Alexandrova said after the match. The world No. 34 broke in the sixth game of the first set to build a 4-2 lead, before squandering three set points and handed over her serve-to-win game. However, the Russian saved a game-point to break the Spaniard again and won the first set. Alexandrova continued her momentum with explosive groundstrokes and raced to a 5-1 lead. The Russian then went through bumps to hand over two games before converting her second match point to seal the victory. In the other semifinal, No.7 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat Czech Kristyna Pliskova 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 13 minutes, reaching her third WTA final and also seeking to win her first title in a career. A 26-year-old man shot dead on Dec. 29 outside his familys Scarborough home, was a kind, caring tech nerd who once taught English in China, his sister says. Koshin Yusuf was driving trucks six days a week while saving to start his own company, his 24-year-old sister Ilwaad said in an interview earlier this month. He had just finished a long day he routinely worked 14 hours straight as a freelance trucker and was walking into the Scarborough building where his family lives. Toronto police say two men armed with guns approached and fatally wounded him after Yusuf parked at 400 McCowan Rd. at 3 a.m. He was literally just doing what hes always done, Ilwaad said. My brother was the heart of my family. After losing his father at the age of 12, he became the father figure I and his two younger brothers needed, she said. Whoever took my brother from my family, they did not take his memory, nor did they diminish it. Yusuf, who loved computers, gaming and designing things online, was always sitting in front of a computer with headphones on, and produced websites on the side, his sister said. He lived in Scarborough nearly his whole life, and spent 10 years at 400 McCowan, a Toronto Community Housing building that once had a bad reputation. The highrise north of Eglinton Avenue was home to the 400 Crew, targeted by police raids in 2009. Since then, many families have moved in and people dont see much of the issues that the building used to have, Ilwaad said. I never felt unsafe at 400 McCowan, she added, and neither did Koshin, because nothing bad ever happened to them there. Ilwaad said her brother recently moved elsewhere in Scarborough to be closer to work, but he was staying in the building while the rest of the family was on vacation. From 2013 to 2016, he taught English to more than 80 students while studying software engineering at Wuhan University in Hubei, China. But since he enjoyed driving, Yusuf decided to enter the trucking industry around 18 months ago, his sister said. Around 300 people were at Yusufs funeral service at Salaheddin Islamic Centre, a Scarborough mosque where the family is well known. It just shows how loved he is, said Ilwaad, who started a GoFundMe account to collect funds in her brothers name. All the money will go to charity, either to support activities for underprivileged youth in Scarborough, or for projects in Ethiopia, the country the Yusufs hail from. Theres a severe drought in Ethiopia, and Yusuf once spoke of his desire to help provide water to people there, said Ilwaad. He would want us to build wells. Police, meanwhile, are asking for information about the shooting and any dashcam or security footage that might help the investigation. People can call 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477. There is still no description of the suspects, homicide Det. Christopher Ruhl said this month. Daniele Gauvin, a TCHC spokesperson, said the housing authoritys Community Safety Unit doesnt consider 400 McCowan a high-needs area in terms of its crime rate or security needs. After the shooting, Gauvin added, TCHC has worked with the citys Community Crisis Response Team to address needs for support in the building. A meeting has been organized for Jan. 7 where residents can discuss their concerns. It will be a no-show for No Tolls CT at Gov. Ned Lamonts public forum on tolls Sunday, despite demands by the grassroots group that the governor hold town halls on his latest plan. No Tolls CT said Thursday it will boycott the event, scheduled for at 4 p.m. Sunday at Bedford Middle School in Westport. No Tolls CT is shifting strategy in light of Tuesdays caucus meetings regarding Gov. Ned Lamonts latest toll plan, the group said in a release and on social media. Instead, the No Tolls CT organization will focus its efforts on the upcoming special elections. General Assembly Democrats in the Senate and the House met Tuesday. Leaders of both chambers said they have votes to pass tolling for large trucks only, under strict conditions, with a very close count in the Senate. Many lawmakers, facing election this year, insist the tolling bill specifically exclude cars and smaller trucks. The boycott strikes some people as odd, considering No Tolls CT and its leader, Patrick Sasser, demanded forums from Lamont, who agreed late last year to hold them. The governor is holding just one, one-hour town hall meeting before trying to pass his transportation plan in January. Weve been waiting months for the governor to follow through on holding town hall meetings. The whole thing is a farce, Sasser said in the release. The issue took on a circus atmosphere this past weekend in a flap over a tentatively scheduled tolls forum in Westport. Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, had tried to organize the event and informed a pro-tolls group, ReSisters, about it. A leader of that group then sent out an email to members marked Top Secret, urging people to attend but not spread the word to opponents. Theres no evidence that Haskell or Lamont coordinated that call for secrecy and they both denied knowing about the email in advance. But Sasser; House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby; a blogger for the Yankee Institute; and Kevin Rennie, a blogger who separately works as a freelance columnist for the Hartford Courant, all accused Lamont and Haskell of a conspiracy to pack the forum in order to make tolls appear more popular. The Tuesday forum didnt happen because of scheduling issues, Haskell and Lamonts office said. Lamont has since appeared on two radio shows, the latest Thursday morning on WTIC-AM, answering questions about the latest plan. Gov. Ned Lamont has had a conversation with Connecticut residents going back a year on how to fund Connecticuts transportation system, and grow Connecticuts economy and he looks forward to continuing that on Sunday, Lamont spokesman Max Reiss said Thursday, declining to comment on the boycott by No Tolls CT. Democrats are moving toward a special session as soon as next week to vote on a tolls bill, though an actual bill has yet to be produced. Many details remain unanswered, including whether the bill will name precise locations for the tolls, the likely toll amounts and the total dollars collected. After expenses, the tolls are expected to yield about $170 million a year. Some lawmakers, notably Sen. Alex Bergstein, D-Greenwich, argue that truck tolling is inadequate. Tolling cars is necessary and the fairest and most efficient way to raise money for transportation, since it charges people using the highways and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars from out-of-state drivers. Sasser, in the release, said it appears that lawmakers may not be interested in hearing from the public. Hosts of the Sunday forum are Haskell and Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport. Lamonts office said he will attend. While we encourage anyone who has an interest in the toll debate to attend the governor's meeting, we, as an organization, are going to concentrate our efforts where it really counts: getting candidates who oppose tolls elected, Sasser said in the release. Special elections are scheduled for this coming Tuesday for House seats in Fairfield, to replace Republican Brenda Kupchick, who won election as first selectman; and in Colchester, Windham and nearby towns to replace Democrat Linda Orange, who died late last year from pancreatic cancer. A special election is set for Jan. 21 in Greenwich to replace Republican Fred Camillo, who won election as first selectman. dhaar@hearstmediact.com SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Board of Directors today approved a $25,000 donation to aid Australian veterinarians who are helping animals impacted by the bushfires ravaging their country. In addition, the AVMA is encouraging its 95,000 members and the general public to consider contributing to relief efforts by donating to the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF), which will match donations up to $50,000. "People have been calling us, asking how they can help their colleagues in Australia," said Dr. Janet Donlin, AVMA CEO and AVMF executive director. "This is how you can help." Both AVMA's $25,000 donation and AVMF's matching donation will be made to the Australian Veterinary Association's (AVA) Benevolent Fund, which provides financial assistance to veterinarians who have lost their own property due to the fires or who have provided charitable care for impacted animals. For those who would like to donate and help veterinarians help animals, visit the AVMF website and use the AVMF code "Disaster Relief - AVA Benevolent Fund". One hundred percent of all contributions will be directed toward the AVA's Benevolent Fund. "As part of the global veterinary community, the AVMA and AVMF are grateful to be able to provide this critical support to our colleagues in Australia who are helping save the lives of countless animals," said Dr. John de Jong, chair of the AVMF Board of Directors. "Our thoughts are with all those affected by this devastating disaster." The Australian wildfires have had staggering, unprecedented impacts on people, animals and the environment. Current reports indicate at least 24 people have died, 2,000 homes have been destroyed and according to a biodiversity expert, an estimated one billion animals, including some species found only in Australia, have perished. In addition, at least 15 million acres of land have burned across the country. As part of its mission, the AVMF is committed to assisting veterinarians, veterinary students, emergency relief teams and allied health organizations who are helping animals during times of disaster. Since 2018, $200,000 in disaster relief has been granted, including a $10,000 donation to GreaterGood.org this past September to fund relief and recovery efforts from the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian; in 2018, $20,000 was donated to help with relief efforts related to California's wildfires. Following Hurricanes Michael and Florence in Florida, the AVMF donated $20,000 to the Florida Veterinary Medical Association Foundation. For more information, contact Michael San Filippo, AVMA senior media relations specialist, at 847-732-6194 (cell) or [email protected]. About the American Veterinary Medical Association The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 95,000 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities and dedicated to the art and science of veterinary medicine. Visit avma.org to learn more. About the American Veterinary Medical Foundation The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) is the charitable arm of the American Veterinary Medical Association, one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world. For more than 55 years, the AVMF has helped veterinarians help animals by providing support for student education, disaster relief, charitable care and research programs. Visit AVMF.org to learn more. SOURCE American Veterinary Medical Association Related Links http://www.avma.org New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (January 10) will hear a plea made by the government to transfer petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act pending at various High Courts to the apex court. On Wednesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta approached the top court pleading an urgent mention before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A Bobde. He submitted before the apex court a probable situation wherein various High Courts might deliver mutually conflicting views on the legality of the CAA, leading to confusion. Mehta said the Supreme Court should make an authoritative pronouncement on the law. The bench comprising justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, and headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, said it will hear the transfer petition of the Centre on January 10. Earlier, a three-judge Bench led by the CJI has scheduled a hearing on January 22. Live TV Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court representing different political parties as well as people belonging to all walks of life from across the country. The petitioners include parliamentarians such as Jairam Ramesh, Mahua Moitra and Asaduddin Owaisi and parties such as Assam Gana Parishad, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Kamal Haasans Makkal Needhi Maiam and Keralas Indian Union Muslim League and an association of lawyers from Assam. On December 18, 2019, the Supreme Court had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its operation. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. President Ram Nath Kovind have also given his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, 2019 turning it into an Act. Notably, protests against the new law have taken place across India for weeks. The government has clarified that the new Act is not anti-Muslim, insisting that it is meant to give citizenship -- not take it -- and has launched an outreach programme. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: YSR Congress legislator Gudivada Amarnath on Thursday said TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu did not learn any lessons from electoral debacle. Addressing mediapersons, he said at a time Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy implemented every promise he made in manifesto in seven months, the former chief minister was trying to stall development projects. He said that Visakhapatnam has several advantages for locating executive capital of the State in the city. Even intellectuals, academicians and the social organisations welcomed the unique programme of Jagananna Amma Vodi launched by the Chief Minister to deposit Rs 15,000 into the bank accounts of mothers for the education of their wards, he said. He said the programme was launched coinciding with the completion of one year of his padayatra of the State. He said the drama enacted by Naidu in Vijayawada on Wednesday along with other parties turned out to be a joint action company. While Naidu had not uttered a word about Amaravati for the past six months, he is now bluffing and posing as a saviour of the farmers of the region. He said Narayana Committee report should be made public to know the facts behind declaring Amaravati as the capital and Naidu should be banished from the State for betraying the people. What do you get when you combine a mom with a passion for fashion design with a son whos a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at UC San Diego? In the case of family entrepreneurs Rachel Merrill and Devon Merrill of San Diego, you get Lighted Clothing, a new company that is pushing boundaries in the field of illuminated fashion. Since they started their collaboration about 18 months ago, the Merrills have co-created five fashion pieces that incorporate LED lights, fiber optics, hidden batteries and tiny computers that create streaks of lightning on a dress, moving bands of color and pictures on a vest and waves of glowing light on a skirt that grow brighter whenever its wearer moves. Last month, the Merrills won a national Textiles in Technology award in the Surface Design Associations Future Fabrication: Exhibition in Print 2017. They were among seven winners chosen from a field of 250 entries by jurors Richard Elliott, a textiles expert and professor at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, and Kathryn Hall, from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Advertisement A model wears Light Dance, an illuminated skirt and top designed by Rachel and Devon Merrill for the Salk Institutes Women & Science event last October. (Salk Institute ) Elliott said the concept of illuminated clothing has been around for at least five years, but the Merrills have taken the technology up a notch in a visually striking way. Their work really exemplifies the optimal combination of sheer fabric to diffuse the light, so its not so gaudy and bright, and the element of motion that mimics the movements of the wearer, Elliott said. Whats fascinating about their collaboration is that its cross-generational. I havent seen that before and their abilities are so compatible with one another. Rachel Merrill a retired biotechnology acquisitions attorney who lives with her husband, Lex, in Carmel Valley said shes enjoyed finding a new way to express her creativity. But shes most happy about collaborating with her 29-year-old son. I feel like its a gift, she said. Not many parents have an opportunity to do something with their grown children thats so creative and that draws so completely on their different interests and skills. Its precious time. Rachel and Devon Merrill both come from crafty backgrounds, but illuminated fashion wasnt on either of their radars until 2016. Rachel taught her self to sew in her mid-20s by bringing home Vogue patterns and learning to make clothes by trial and error. Devon developed a love for tinkering from his dad, Lex, whose hobby is rebuilding antique radios. By the time he was at Torrey Pines High School, Devon was soldering his own home electronics and writing computer code. One hobby the family shares is hiking. When Rachel retired in 2012, she spent four months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, eventually logging more than 2,000 miles. But injuries forced her to give up the sport three years ago and she went looking for a more sedentary hobby. She found it when she signed up for a fashion design class at San Diego Mesa College in spring 2016. One of her first fashion ideas was Starlight, a hand-dyed blue silk dress with a mesh liner interwoven with 700 strands of illuminated superfine filament. There was just one problem. She had no idea how to work with fiber optics, electronic circuits or computer code. So she asked Devon who lives in the UTC area with his girlfriend Enjoli Gomez to teach her about lights, soldering and building circuits. After she finished weaving the fiber liner for Starlight, he built the computerized controller and wrote the code that creates subtly moving waves of white light. This sounds easier than it is. The reason illuminated clothes arent on every store shelf is the danger factor. A miswired circuit could mean a very real risk of fire. Ive burned myself a few times, he said, but I havent had a model spontaneously combust yet. Rachel Merrill dressed in Lightning, a dress with four channels of light inside that create moving patterns of a lightning storm. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune ) After Starlight won best of show in Mesas 2016 Golden Scissors Fashion Show, the colleges department chair, Susan Lazear, invited Devon to begin teaching a seminar class every semester on wearable technology. During the first seminar session, the Merrills co-created their next project, Wearlight. Rachel designed the black cotton/polyester zip-up vest and Devon implanted it with 96 hidden fully programmable LED 2-inch pixels that can create millions of colors, patterns and pictures. It won two awards at Mesas next fashion show. Last spring, they created Lightning, a lavender sheath dress implanted with four branched channels of light that create the illusion of a moving lightning storm. Their biggest project to date was Light Dance, a haute-couture dress built for last falls Women & Science fashion gala at the Salk Institute. Rachel was tasked with creating a dress inspired by the work of now-former Salk researcher Hermina Nedelescu, who studies the neural pathways in the cerebellum. Microscopic photos of cells and neurons in the cerebellum were printed on the dress bodice and decorated with pearls and fine silver chain. The skirt was made with undulating layers of fabric that resembled the folds of the brain. Devon designed the computer controller which was hidden in a cerebellum-shaped plastic headpiece he created on a 3D printer. It was connected to the dress via a cable that ran down the models spine, the same way the cerebellum sends neural signals to the body. The movement-sensitive cerebellum controller caused the dress lights to glow brighter whenever the model turned her head or walked. Devon Merrill displays a battery pack that powers his Wearlight vest. Its concealed in an inside pocket. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune ) Their most recent project is Illumination, a denim vest with a quilted fabric panel designed by Rachels sister. Its computer controller shifts the light around to different sections of the artwork in a pattern. Devon said working over the past 18 months on these projects has been illuminating in more ways than one. Besides teaching at Mesa, he also teaches the wearable fashion technology to freshman computer students at UCSD. He sees vast differences between the students educational and socio-economic backgrounds and their abilities to learn the technology. To help close that learning gap, he recently launched the Gadgetron Robot Factory (robots.gadgetron.build), a drag-and-drop website where people can learn how to build circuits and electronics without any fiery mistakes. Through their website (lightedclothing.com) the Merrills hope to attract some commissions so they can work together again soon. Were both taking it in the directions we want to, she said, and somehow were doing it together. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Iran dealt heavy blow to US army reputation by retaliatory missile strikes, a military expert Van Hambartsumyan told Armenian News - NEWS.am. According to the expert, the US has been provoking Tehran for quite some time now, trying to bring it to an open conflict, with a view to expanding its military presence in the region and launching preventive strikes against Iran. As he noted, Iran simply could not leave without an answer the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was a symbol for Iran, and his assassination was a de facto declaration of war. Both US President Donald Trump and the entire American political leadership were well aware that Iran would not leave unanswered the murder of its general, he said. According to him, Americans achieved their goal partially, since they got a reason to expand their military presence in the region. They began to transfer new types of weapons to the region and are going to increase their military contingent. Asked how Irans missile attacks were unexpected for the US, given that Tehran warned the Iraqi authorities of the impending attacks, Van Hambartsumyan noted that the Americans knew about the impending attacks, but they apparently hoped to intercept Iranian missiles. Hambartsumyan linked the failure of Americans to the fact that the American air defense systems were highly praised, but only the most modern American and Israeli developments could intercept the latest Iranian missiles. A flood of cases is expected to go before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) this year from people who don't want to be forced out of their jobs at 65 as a result of a landmark case taken against RTE. Employment law expert Richard Grogan, who is based in Dublin, predicted "the floodgates are now opened". "The publicity around the case and the increase in the State pension age in 2020 will prove triggers for more cases on age grounds," he said. On Thursday, it emerged RTE had been ordered to pay Anne Roper, a former senior TV producer, 100,000 compensation after forcing her to retire at 65. She took a discrimination case under equality legislation after the station refused to allow her to work for a further 18 months when she reached 65. Yesterday, RTE revealed it intends to appeal the decision of the WRC. 'Dancing with the Stars' contestant Mary Kennedy previously revealed she was sad to leave 'Nationwide' due to the station's retirement age. She turned 65 last September. Meanwhile, 'Prime Time' host Miriam O'Callaghan, who recently celebrated her 60th birthday, said yesterday: "I definitely can't see myself slowing down at all by the time I'm 65. "I have no plans on retiring anytime soon. I'm going to be like Barbara Walters or Ellen Degeneres, who's in her 60s. "She said the other night that she's happy and at the top of her game and I feel the same." The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has expressed "grave disappointment" at the decision of RTE to appeal the WRC determination. The NUJ said it had sought, through internal procedures, to have Ms Roper's employment extended by 18 months "but the employer insisted that she should retire at 65, even though her contract was silent on the issue of a retirement date." NUJ Irish secretary Seamus Dooley said the comprehensive determination published this week identified the need for clear criteria in relation to longer working and transparency surrounding retirement. It followed another case, in March 2018, when the WRC ordered RTE to pay 50,000 to former employee Valerie Cox because the broadcaster discriminated against her on age grounds. Ms Cox said she was "inundated with letters and contacts from people all over the country" working in different sectors after the ruling in her case was made public. It is an issue that affects many people who want to continue working, she said. Meanwhile, Mr Grogan told the Irish Independent that employment lawyers had been pointing out "objective justification" must be applied regarding retirement ages. "You have to be 35 years of age to run for President of Ireland, you have to be 21 to run for the Oireachtas. There is no cut-off date for retirement," he pointed out. "It's not enough that employers say 'we always had 65 as a retirement age' - many people who are fit and capable want to continue working past this point. Picking 65 as a retirement date is in a terminal state of decline," he said. "My reading of it is you have to be able to justify the retirement age when you issue the contract, not after the event of the employee's retirement. "These cases are settling left, right and centre." He said among those who wish to continue working there are some who genuinely believe they have something to offer and want to continue. "There is another group who don't have a sufficient income to sit at home," he said. "These are people, who may have purchased property in the Celtic Tiger era to have an income, but don't have one. "Other people don't have a pension. They are saying 'I don't have the money to retire.' "People are having children later in life, living longer and taking out longer mortgages lasting 35 to 40 years." He said more of these cases would go through the WRC this year and next year, and some would go to the Labour Court. "My own view is some of these cases will go to Europe and some have already gone to the European Court of Justice. "Companies need to look at issues such as flexible retirement ages, having different retirement points based on different roles within companies," he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10 2020 The name of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Firli Bahuri was brought up in the corruption trial of Ahmad Yani, the suspended regent of Muara Enim in South Sumatra, when a lawyer mentioned that the three-star police general was implicated in alleged bribery. Antara news agency reported on Tuesday that the regents lawyer Maqdir Ismail revealed that Muara Enim Public Works and Housing Agency head Elvyn Muchtar, one of the suspects in the corruption case, had tried to give US$35,000 to Firli, who was serving as South Sumatra Police chief at the time of the case. The revelation was part of the rebuttal statement during a hearing at the Palembang Corruption Court in Palembang, South Sumatra. Maqdir said the regent did not demand an unlawful commitment fee of Rp 22 billion ($1.5 million) from businessman Robi Pahlevi who is also standing trial in the same case. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login SPRINGFIELD In year two, Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to focus on ending cash bail, reforming low-level drug crime sentencing and reducing mandatory minimum sentences. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, both Democrats, laid out their plan in Chicago Thursday at a news conference at Kennedy-King College. Stratton said real justice reform in Illinois will require more than just policing prisons. Justice reform is about striving to make equity and economic opportunity a reality for every community and every Illinoisan, because we simply cannot have justice without equity and opportunity, Stratton said. Stratton spearheads the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative established by a Pritzker executive order in February 2019. She submitted a report to the governor this month outlining goals of the initiative: addressing social determinants of crime and incarceration; improving equitable deflection and diversion opportunities from the justice system; improving conditions and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations in correctional facilities; and supporting positive re-entry outcomes to reduce recidivism. Thursdays announcement came as states attorneys throughout Illinois are initiating the process of expunging thousands of low-level stand-alone marijuana offenses in compliance with the states adult-use legalization law. Criminal justice reform is one of the major planks of our administration, something that we talked about for two years on the campaign trail and weve already made strides in our first year, Pritzker said. Going forward, we have a lot to do with criminal justice reform. He said top priorities include eliminating cash bail and reducing mandatory minimum sentences, giving judges more discretion to take into account circumstances in each case. Those two things will have, I think, a significant impact on incarceration, on reducing incarceration in jails and in prison, he said. We have a prison population of 40,000 in this state, we can reduce that and we can do it prudently. Pritzker didnt give specifics on the mandatory minimum reforms or which minimums would be changed, but said were looking at all the mandatory minimums. It has to do with what kinds of crimes, he said. The more violent the crime, obviously, the more reticent we are to look at anything like that, but thats all going to be examined by us and were going to move forward with the mission of reducing our prison population. Pritzker said pieces of the legislative effort will be introduced this session, which begins in late January and is scheduled to conclude in May. Stratton said its going to take some time to reform the criminal justice system, but we do believe that over the next three years we can make some significant movement to getting us to the end point where we want to go. She said in 2019 initiative members participated in listening sessions with more than 500 stakeholders representing community organizations, advocacy groups, law enforcement, state agencies and legislators. Members also heard from several people incarcerated for low-level crimes because they were unable to come up with bail, Stratton said. In April 2019, Illinois House committee members discussed the idea of ending cash bail, which is supported by Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx. But law enforcement officials and other prosecutors at the hearing warned such a move could have far-reaching consequences, including putting victims of domestic violence at risk and taking away the ability of local courts to fund services for crime victims. In our county, we take in roughly about a half million dollars in bond a year, and that money fuels our criminal justice system, McDonough County Sheriff Nick Petitgout said at the April committee hearing. Things like victims services, court appointed special advocates, teen court, diversion programs, the treasurers office, the circuit clerks office, the sheriffs office. There are many, many different parts of this system that rely on that money. United Nations, Jan 11 : India has paid its 2020 annual dues ahead of schedule to the cash-strapped world body earning its thanks. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Friday thanked India for sending the payment. India paid on Friday the full amount of $23.4 million for this year for the general budget due only at the end of the month. India is the fourth country to pay up for this year and is the largest contributor so far. Very few countries pay their dues by the January-end deadline and there is a large list of countries in arrears from past years. Of the 193 members, 47 have not paid last year's dues creating a cash crunch, according to Dujarric. Guterres has called it "the worst cash crisis facing the United Nations in nearly a decade." The UN is on an austerity mode curtailing several services and even the escalator at the Secretariat. The UN could not produce the full summary of the Security Council debate on Thursday at the end of the day because of the cutbacks. The General Assembly last month approved this year's UN budget of $3 billion for its worldwide operations, a small increase from last year's $2.9 billion outlay. It also switched to a system of annual budgets from the two-year budgets that had been in force. The UN has a separate, far larger budget for peacekeeping operations with a different fiscal year that runs July to June. It is $6.5 billion for the current year. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) New Delhi, 10 Jan : Union Minister Smriti Irani has come down hard on Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone for mingling with the pro-Left students lobby at JNU. Deepika Padukone had visited the JNU campus late on Tuesday and stood in solidarity with JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and others who had been assaulted by masked men who were allegedly ABVP activists. On Thursday, Smriti Irani speaking at a function in Chennai, questioned Deepika's motives in standing in solidarity with the pro-Left JNUSU leaders and ignoring the ABVP activists who had also complained of being assaulted earlier. "She knew that she is standing with people who beat other girls at their private parts with lathis who don't see eye to eye with them ideologically," the Minister said. "She stood next to them, that is her right. I can't deny her that right. She made her political affiliation known in 2011 that she supports the Congress party," the Union Minister declared and went on to add, "It's her right (to) stand next to people who say Bharat tere tukde honge...It was a shock for people who admired her and watched all her films but did not know (about her political affiliation). "It was not a shock for me. I think the vibrance of the democracy that we are in depends upon that... we live with so many people who say so many things. We live in a democracy where communists want to come to power through democratic process. It is an oxymoron (sic)." Deepika has recently produced and acted in 'Chhapaak' a movie based on an acid-attack victim, and has been busy promoting the movie. But after her visit to JNU campus on Tuesday, Deepika has been at the receiving end for siding with anti-BJP elements. JNU campus has been simmering with tension after a group of masked people attacked several students on campus. The injured were mostly pro-Left student union activists, who have accused the right-wing ABVP. The ABVP activists have on the other hand, accused pro-Left students of starting the cycle of violence. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Heres a riddle: What do Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager and Ricky Gervais have in common? Hanson published an excellent piece at National Review online on Jan. 7. Titled The Steele Dossier Bacillus, Hanson summarizes the evident defects in the substance of the dossier compiled by British former spy Christopher Steele as well as defects in its use to obtain surveillance warrants from the FISA court. Steele was known to be a pathological liar, Hanson notes. But the fanciful (translation: false) information contained in the dossier spread like wildfire because so many on the left including Hillary Clinton and her campaign, members of the Obama administration and the national media wanted to believe the absurd and hysterical allegations contained in it. Taking his metaphor further, Hanson argues that those who cast their lots with the dossier, among them MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and Clinton, have been discredited infected, if you will, their careers destroyed. I must disagree. To the contrary, it appears that there are few serious consequences to spreading falsehoods intended to derail a presidential election, deceive a federal court, undermine and destabilize the administration of a duly elected president or shake public confidence in government. And those consequences that have befallen some of the bad actors are amply compensated for by the other accolades theyve received. Maddow still hosts her show on MSNBC. Comey may have been fired by Trump but has since written a bestselling book, and that means well-paid appearances on the speakers circuit. Brennan and Clapper continue to be regulars on TV news. As for Clinton, she has never left the public eye nor paid any price for her role in funding the dossier; her manipulation of the Democratic National Committees finances or its 2016 nomination process; her deceit about the 2012 attack in Benghazi that left four Americans dead; or her lies to the FBI and her destruction of evidence while she was under investigation. She was just named chancellor of Queens University in Belfast, Ireland. Unless we are prepared to argue that academia itself has lost all credibility (Ill entertain arguments), this hardly sounds like someone who is, in Hansons words, in the end-stages of career decline. In fact, the only serious consequence Clinton has ever faced is that which 63 million members of the American electorate dealt her on Nov. 8, 2016. And that consequence every instrumentality of the left has been working furiously to undo ever since. Conservative author Dennis Prager also wrote a compelling essay this week. Prager was accused by Benjamin Fearnow, deputy editor of Newsweek, of ridiculing Anne Frank during an episode of Pragers radio show. Anne Frank was a Jewish girl whose diary about life under the Nazi occupation has been translated into 70 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp; Prager is an observant Jew. Any assertion that he would ridicule her is absurd on its face. But the transcript of the show Newsweek cites makes its deceit abundantly clear. Prager merely disagreed with Franks written belief that people are basically good, pointing out her youth and inexperience. (Admittedly, a world that worships angry teen Greta Thunberg does not traffic much in facts or the wisdom that comes with age and experience.) Prager concludes that the honorable thing for Newsweek to do would be to retract the article and issue an apology. But, he notes, being on the Left means never having to say youre sorry. So where does Ricky Gervais fit in here? He is a successful comedian, actor and producer known also for his vocal atheism, brutal honesty and acerbic wit. As Gervais himself will tell you, he is neither right-wing nor conservative. He does, however, call em as he sees em. This week, he emceed the Golden Globes for the fifth (and, he insists, last) time, and his opening monologue which has gone viral on social media was no exception. Gervais absolutely skewered Hollywood with biting references to pedophilia and friendships with Jeffrey Epstein, complacency about sexual abuse and rank hypocrisy. You can (and should) read or watch the whole thing online, but here is his closing (and probably most widely recirculated) jab: So if you do win an award tonight, dont use it as a platform to make a political speech, right? Youre in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So if you win, come up; accept your little award; thank your agent and your God; and f- off, OK? The looks on the audience members faces were priceless: Some laughed nervously; some affected strained smiles; some looked stony and grim. Did they heed Gervais admonition? Of course not. In addition to the usual left-wing political diatribes, we were treated to actress Michelle Williams misty-eyed paean to abortion. Celebs drank champagne, ate woke vegan meals, handed out awards to one another and then went to glitzy parties. Bestselling book tours. TV shows. Academic appointments. Board seats. Ball gowns and golden awards. Whew. Tough consequences. In his National Review piece, Victor Davis Hanson concludes that the only antidote to the damage done by the Steele dossier is an admission of the truth. This, he admits, the left finds worse than the infection itself. I submit that the real problem is much larger and more widespread. The infection isnt the dossier; it is love of falsehood generally. And the left seems to have been immunized against the truth. Laura Hollis is a nationally syndicated columnist. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Your browser does not support the audio element. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a hot topic for young Vietnamese academics, but two in particular are hoping their research can aid doctors in their ability to diagnose and treat diseases. Scientific research is a common aspect of education for Vietnamese under- and post-graduates, particularly for those involved in healthcare and medicine. Among those whose research is making waves in the field are Ton That Vinh and Hoang Trung Hieu, two recent graduates of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Science (HCMUS) who are hoping their proposals to apply AI in medical situations can change the way local doctors approach healthcare. Vinhs postgraduate background includes an internship in pathology imaging informatics at the University of Illinois in the U.S. In particular, Vinh was working on pathology imaging informatics during his internship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under the instruction of Professor Do Ngoc Minh. During his internship, he proposed an idea to use AI for analyzing cell imagery as well as monitoring drug effects and regulating drug use in cancer treatment. His work was ranked 11 out of 40 proposals at MICCAI 2018, an international convention on computer-assisted medical practices. His research was also published alongside those of master's and PhD degree holders in the IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging Journal when he was just in his third year as an undergraduate. Hieu, meanwhile, has earned a reputation for his research computer-assisted classification during colonoscopies techniques meant to assist doctors in screening and detecting common diseases as well as anatomical sites using endoscopic images. His research earned him first prize at MediaEval 2018, a benchmarking initiative dedicated to developing and evaluating new technologies that deal with human and social aspects of multimedia. Specifically, Hieus work argued that endoscopy imaging can be overwhelming, meaning proper diagnoses often require painstaking analysis or result in ineffective image selection. My research results should aid doctors and analysts in filtering images and I have added extra algorithms for the job, he said. Ton That Vinh (right) explains information on a poster at a U.S. computer science conference. Photo: M.Tr. / Tuoi Tre Potential According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Minh Triet, from HCMUS, Vinh and Hieus research interests carry a great amount of potential to aid in medical diagnosis and treatment. Vinhs latest paper, which he presented at a conference in the U.S. last June, focuses on cell detection in medical imaging. Meanwhile, Hieus research has focused on the creation of an endoscopic capsule that can run along a patients intestinal tract, enabling doctors to read live screening results and send automatic reports on abnormalities through effective filtering, relieving them from the tedious and nearly impossible 8-9 hours of sorting through imaging results. Despite a lack of resources and facilities, both Vinh and Hieu have managed to move closer and closer to turning their medical AI dreams into reality. Applied AI is a long story. Its not just the budget and resources. There are also other problems, Hieu said. One of the keys is working hand in hand with those in the medical field. A cradle of young talent The IT department at HCMUS is considered a cradle for Vietnams new generation of high-flying tech talents. The universitys AILab and SELab are devoted to research and development in AI and software engineering, respectively, and have produced great dozens of young academics who have won prestigious awards at various science fairs and competitions. Hieu and Vinh are two prime examples of such excellence. The Ho Chi Minh Citys Best Young Citizen title was bestowed upon Vinh in 2018, and upon Hieu the year after. Vinh graduated with the highest honors in 2019, while Hieu was the runner-up. Of course, both could not have done it without their beloved mentor, Dr. Triet. He is always open to discussion so we have total freedom to voice our opinions, Vinh said. "Such empathy is our motivation to keep on with our career path. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The delay in fixing collapsed roofs at the nurses' quarters of Nabuli Clinic in Gushiegu in the Northern Region following a storm in May 2019, is badly affecting healthcare delivery. According to a Senior Nurse (SN) at the facility, Ebenezer Macbrown, this has created a human resource deficit at the institution since five nurses attend to over 100 patients. We are taking care of a population of about 26,000 people and we are also handling over 100 communities, he told Joy News. Mr Macbrown noted that on busy days particularly market days, the few staff attend to about 30 patients while on antenatal and child welfare days they take care of over 100 people. And you will come and see two or three staff attending to such a number, that is one at OPD one at antenatal and these same staff are taking BP, temperature and other vital signs, he lamented. The SN also indicated, there were only five beds in the clinic, therefore in times of bed crisis nurses are forced to attend to patients on benches and in chairs. There are times we need to admit patients but because the beds are all in use, we put them on benches until there are vacant beds. Meanwhile Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Issah Musah has assured that measures have been put in place to reroof the quarters and provide beds for the facility. The contractor is expected to be on-site next week and we have secured beds through the MPs Common Fund and the health committee of the assembly, he said. ---Myjoyonline.com P assengers are to be banned from boarding through the middle and rear doors of the Boris bus to prevent fare-dodging. The updated Routemasters were introduced by former London mayor Boris Johnson in a throwback to the classic bus of the 1960s and 1970s. More than 1,000 operate on around 30 routes. Fare evasion costs Transport for London 3.6 million a year, double that on routes with front-door boarding. Today TfL confirmed all Boris buses will become front-door boarding after a trial on route 8 saw Oyster card readers at the middle and back doors switched off and signs placed on the doors advising passengers not to board. Indications are that this halved fare-dodging. Passengers with mobility issues and parents with prams will still be able to board via the doors. A woman waiting at a bus stop with a push chair in Oxford Street / AFP via Getty Images The aim of allowing boarding through three sets of doors had been to reduce the time buses spend at bus stops. The trial found restricting boarding made little difference. It is the latest blow to the reputation of the buses, built in Northern Ireland at a cost of 355,000 each. Mayor Sadiq Khan refused to buy more of the diesel-electric buses because of their lack of green credentials. He axed conductors from the buses to save 10 million a year, and shut their rear doors while the bus is moving removing the hop on, hop off facility. Routes 55 and 267 will be the first to be converted, on January 25. Claire Mann, TfLs Director of Bus Operations, said: Fare dodging is criminal and unfair, and it deprives Londons transport of the investment it needs. Since confirming last week that Soleimani had been killed by a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, President Donald Trump's administration has claimed that the bold move was taken in part because Soleimani was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." "There was no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Soleimani. And we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real," Pompeo said in an interview that aired Thursday night on Fox News. The U.S. did not know exactly when slain Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani had planned to attack Americans, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said while maintaining the Trump administration's line that such strikes were about to happen. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon immediately responded to CNBC's requests for comment on Pompeo's remarks. The administration has been circumspect about what those plans actually entailed and when they were expected to be carried out. Some members of Congress, including a few Republicans, have complained that the administration's classified briefing on Capitol Hill was insufficient. "Why last Friday? What had happened that provoked this rather startling strike at this particular moment in time?" Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, asked on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. Almost all members of Congress have agreed that Soleimani, who has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of Americans, had posed a threat to the U.S. Pompeo told Fox it's "most unfortunate" that "a number of people are using this as a political ax to grind." Despite the lack of specifics, Trump has made a series of claims, without providing evidence about what Soleimani had planned. At a Thursday night rally in Toledo, Ohio, Trump told an auditorium packed with supporters that "Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad." Fox opinion host Laura Ingraham asked Pompeo about that claim. "It was his forces that penetrated our embassy just a handful of days before that," Pompeo responded. "I don't think there's any doubt that Soleimani had intentions not only against our forces, our diplomats in Iraq, but in other countries around the region and world, as well." Columbia Capital, Greenspring Associates and DHL jointly acquired Riskpulse, an Austin, TX-based supply chain risk analytics company, to scale the business in combination with Resilience360, a Troisdorf, Germany-based supply chain management company. Additional $22.7M in funding will further advance predictive and actionable insights. Incubated in DHLs global Innovation Center, Resilience360 provides an end-to-end supply chain risk assessment and monitoring solution. It has become an independently operated company under the management of Rising Tide Digital following an investment by Columbia Capital in 2018. Led by Simon Woods, CEO, Riskpulse provides shippers, carriers, distributors, with SaaS solutions to increase their on-time performance, reduce freight spending and avoid waste caused by operational and natural, social or infrastructure-driven variability. The companys solutions quantify and standardize their clients understanding of risk across their transportation networks and provide real-world, actionable risk mitigation recommendations up to two weeks before dispatch through to delivery. Both companies will operate independently for the short term, leveraging operational efficiencies provided by Rising Tide Digital. The companies will transition into a single brand and operating structure in 2020. FinSMEs 10/01/2020 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan, North Sumatra Fri, January 10, 2020 16:55 731 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321b2ad7 1 National Leuser-ecosystem,PLTA,hydropower-plant Free Plans to build a hydropower plant (PLTA) with a capacity of 443 megawatts (MW) in the Leuser ecosystem zone in Gayo Lues regency, Aceh province, may be scrapped after the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) triumphed in a lawsuit seeking to prevent construction. The group filed the lawsuit last year to oppose Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah's decision to issue a forest area utilization permit, which would allow foreign capital investor PT Kamirzu to build the Tampur hydropower plant in the Leuser ecosystem. The ecosystem is a UNESCO world heritage site that covers thousands of hectares of protected forests throughout Aceh and North Sumatra. The Banda Aceh State Administrative Court (PTUN Banda Aceh) ruled in favor of WALHI in August 2019 but Zaini appealed to the Medan State Administrative High Court (PTTUN Medan) in North Sumatra. The higher court upheld the ruling on Tuesday, thereby annulling the permit. Aceh Governor Zaini issued the permit on June 9, 2017. It allowed the use of 4,407 hectares of the ecosystem for the plants construction. PT Kamirzu planned to build a 193.5-meter-high plant containing about 697.4 million cubic meters of water. Walhi Aceh lawyer Jehalim Bangun said the group appreciated PTTUN Medan's ruling, adding that the win was proof that Zaini's permit issuance was problematic. Jehalim expressed hope that all parties concerned would accept the ruling, including the Aceh governor himself, as he raised concerns that the Tampur hydropower plant could submerge 4,000 hectares of forest area, 75 homes in the nearby Lesten village and could threaten critically endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger and elephant. "We hope that there won't be any more legal challenges following PTTUN Medan's decision because the higher court's ruling has had a great impact on the lives of Acehnese people," Jehalim told reporters at the high court on Thursday. Mount Leuser National Park administration division head Joko Iswanto said he had not heard about the ruling but nevertheless appreciated the decision, even though he said the plant would not be built in the national park. "The plant development plan doesn't include areas in Mount Leuser National Park but [only] in the Leuser ecosystem zone, of which the national park is part," Joko told The Jakarta Post on Friday. He said no plants should be built in the national park given its status as a protected forest, a designation that requires it to be strictly guarded to preserve habitats in the area. There are few concerts in the world that are awaited with as much excitement as the New Year's Concert from Vienna. Directed by Andris Nelsons, the Vienna Philharmonic ushers in the New Year with a concert in the magnificent Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein. The concert is relayed to over ninety countries all round the world, reaching an audience of more than fifty million. The 2020 New Year's Concert will be conducted for the first time by the Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, who first worked with the Vienna Philharmonic in October 2010 and who has been a regular and invariably welcome guest since then, not only at the orchestra's subscription concerts in the Vienna Musikverein and at the Salzburg Festival but also on tours of Asia, the United States and Europe. So far he has appeared more than sixty times on the podium of the Vienna Philharmonic. At the 2020 New Year's Concert Andris Nelsons will be conducting a number of premieres that have not previously been heard at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, the 2020 Concert marks the first time that an original work by Beethoven will be performed at a New Year's Concert. The seventh of his Contredanses WoO 14 is by some distance the most famous of the set since its central motif is a theme that the composer went on to use not only in his ballet music for The Creatures of Prometheus but also as the theme of his Piano Variations op. 35 and, above all, in the final movement of his "Eroica" Symphony, in which form it became famous all over the world. The waltz Seid umschlungen, Millionen also pays tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven, who chose to settle in Vienna at an early age. Other works that will be heard for the first time in 2020 include the Overture to Carl Michael Ziehrer's Die Landstreicher and three pieces by Josef Strau, the sesquicentenary of whose death is being marked by the Vienna Philharmonic. They are his carefree waltz Liebesgrue, his Liechtenstein March and his Cupido Polka. For the first time the 2020 New Year's Concert will also feature the Postillon-Galop by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye, who first came into contact with music by the Strau family in Copenhagen and who went on to adapt their style to suit his own. In addition to works by Josef Hellmesberger the Younger and Eduard Strau, Andris Nelsons will also be conducting music by Johann Strau the Younger, notably Wo die Zitronen bluh'n and the famous Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka. Andris Nelsons was born in Riga and initially worked as a gifted trumpeter in the orchestra at the city's opera house while at the same time training to become a conductor. He became principal conductor of the Latvian National Opera in 2003, assuming a similar role with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra five years later. Since 2014 he has been music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and more recently was appointed Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The story of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be traced back to 1842, when Otto Nicolai conducted a "grand concert" with "all the members of the Orchestra of the Imperial and Royal Court Opera Theatre". This event is generally regarded as marking the birth of the orchestra. Ever since it was founded, the orchestra has been run by a democratically elected committee and is artistically, organisationally and financially independent. In the twentieth century its artistic profile has been shaped by such leading musicians as Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwangler and, after 1945, by three emeritus conductors, Karl Bohm, Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. Since it was formed, the orchestra has given around 9,000 concerts in every part of the world. Since 1989 it has presented a Vienna Philharmonic Week in New York. A similar series of concerts has been held in Tokyo since 1993. The tradition of presenting New Year's Concerts began in 1941. The first concert marking the New Year was given in 1939, albeit on 31 December. The first conductor was Clemens Krauss. Willi Boskovsky took over in 1955 and conducted no fewer than twenty-five New Year's Concerts between then and 1979. The list of musicians who have conducted New Year's Concerts reads like a who's who of leading maestros. The New Year's Concert was first broadcast live on television in 1959. The Vienna Philharmonic regards this now traditional event as a way of wishing the world a Happy New Year through the medium of music in a spirit of hope, friendship and peace. Recordings of the New Year's Concerts are among the most important titles on the classical music market, and Sony Classical is keen to make this release available to the widest possible international audience. THE 2020 NEW YEAR'S CONCERT PROGRAM Carl Michael Ziehrer: Die Landstreicher: Ouverture* Josef Strau: Liebesgrue op. 56* Liechtenstein-Marsch op. 36* Johann Strau (Sohn): Blumenfest-Polka op. 111 Wo die Zitronen bluh'n op. 364 Eduard Strau: Knall und Fall op. 132* Franz von Suppe: Leichte Kavallerie: Ouverture Josef Strau: Cupido op. 81* Johann Strau (Sohn): Seid umschlungen, Millionen! op. 443 Eduard Strau: Eisblume op. 55* Josef Hellmesberger d. J.: Gavotte* Hans Christian Lumbye: Postillon Galop op. 16/2* Ludwig van Beethoven: 12 Contretanze (Auswahl) WoO 14* Johann Strau (Sohn): Freuet euch des Lebens op. 340 Tritsch-Tratsch Polka op. 214 Josef Strau: Dynamiden op. 173 * Not previously performed by the Vienna Philharmonic ALBUM COVER: DOWNLOAD HERE MEDIA CONTACTS: Sony Music Masterworks: Larissa Slezak | Jamie Bertel, [email protected] | [email protected] Christina Jensen PR 646.536.7864, [email protected] SOURCE Sony Classical UK rejects Trump's request to pull out of JCPOA IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jan 9, 2020 -- Iran's cutting down its nuclear commitments has concerned the UK but the JCPOA is still a significant agreement to the joint security, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said. It added that maintaining security could be achieved through diplomatic solutions in compliance with the commitments of the JCPOA and taking the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) into account. Iranian cabinet in a statement on January 5 announced the country's decision to take the final remedial step to reduce commitments to the JCPOA. The cabinet said that Iran will observe no restrictions in operational areas, including enrichment capacities, enrichment percentage, the volume of enriched material as well as research. The cabinet further stated in its statement that as the fifth step to reduce its commitments, Iran will abandon the last key restriction in the operation field put up in the JCPOA literally "the limitations in the number of centrifuges". Thus, it added, Iran's nuclear program will not face any kind of restrictions in such areas and will go on solely according to the country's technical needs. However, the cabinet said that Iran will continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as before. The cabinet made clear that Iran is ready to go back to its JCPOA commitments once the sanctions are removed and the country gets benefits from the nuclear deal. According to the statement, the cabinet assigned the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to take the necessary measures to this end in coordination with the Iranian President. 7129** 1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two police personnel were injured in an encounter with naxals in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district on Friday, an official said. The gunfight took place in a forest under the Chintalnar police station limits. Naxals fired on a team of District Reserve Guards (DRG) when they were cordoning off the forest which is on the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts, a senior police official said. "Two DRG personnel sustained bullet injuries. Firing is still going on intermittently. We are waiting for further reports," he said. The injured personnel were being evacuated, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Schools and other public buildings in New Mexico would have to display the national motto In God We Trust under legislation proposed by four Republican lawmakers. The proposal, House Bill 115, calls for the motto to be displayed along with a representation of the U.S. flag. Rep. David Gallegos, a Eunice Republican and co-sponsor of the measure, said the motto would be a reminder of Americans shared heritage and values. Weve had a generation that doesnt have pride in America, said Gallegos, whos also a school board member in southeastern New Mexico. I was thinking of something that might be able to bring us back to a common ground. It isnt clear whether the proposal will be taken up the session, which begins Jan. 21. Gallegos said he has asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, to add it to the agenda a requirement because 30-day sessions are generally dedicated to financial matters. This would be a first step in how we introduce back some of our founding fathers ideals, Gallegos said Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico said the proposal would divide New Mexicans, not bring them together. Its unfortunate that these legislators would propose legislation that will likely have no practical effect but to alienate and antagonize people who do not subscribe to a formal religion or who do not want to see their government taking the side of one religion over others, said Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico. Why not propose legislation that brings New Mexicans together instead of putting them at odds? The bill calls for In God We Trust to be displayed prominently in public school and college classrooms, state buildings and libraries. It would have to be on a plaque, poster or framed paper of at least 11 inches by 14 inches. Money to cover the purchase would come from donations, according to the bill. The measure also proposes that the motto appear on license plates, but Gallegos said he wants to make that provision optional rather than mandatory. He said he is also open to changes in the requirements for how to display the motto. For example, Gallegos said, he likes the idea of both the U.S. and New Mexico flags appearing with the motto. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a 1956 law adopting In God We Trust. The words also appear on U.S. currency. Information technology (IT) bellwether Infosys will kick off the December quarter earnings season today and the pundits expect a muted report card. Generally, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest software exporter, begin the earnings season and is followed by Infosys, but, this time, the former's earnings announcement has been delayed due to certain reasons. The December quarter is generally considered as seasonally weak quarter for IT companies due to holidays and furloughs. In Q2FY20, Infosys reported a 2.21 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 4,019 crore, as opposed to Rs 4,110 crore reported during the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated revenue from operations was Rs 22,629 crore, nealry 10 per cent higher than Rs 20,609 crore seen during the corresponding period last year. The company had increased lower end of FY20 revenue guidance at 9-10 per cent in constant currency terms. The company maintained its FY20 operating margin guidance range of 21-23 per cent. Here's what to expect from Infosys Q3 earnings: Seasonality, weakness in European banking system to affect top and bottom line growth According to market analysts, Infosys is expected to report revenue growth of 0.9 per cent to 2.1 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis (in constant currency terms) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019. In rupee terms, the IT major is seen posting profit growth of 6-8 per cent on sequential basis and 4-7 per cent on year-on-year basis. Earnings before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) margins could expand be in the range of 40-60 basis points. This could be attributed to IT major's cross-currency gains, while weakness in capital markets and subdued European banking system may offset gains. Sharekhan expects Infosys to report 4.5 per cent QoQ and 3.5 per cent YoY in its net profit at Rs 4,201 crore and 8.3 per cent (2.4 per cent QoQ) sales growth at Rs 23,166 crore. Edelweiss Securities expects IT major to post 2.1 per cent QoQ growth in sales in constant currency terms. It expects EBIT margin to expand 50 bps QoQ. Aslo Read: Infosys share price rises nearly 2% ahead of Q3 earnings Motilal Oswal expects Infosys to post net profit at Rs. 4,297.9 crore up 6.9 per cent QoQ and 19.1 per cent on YoY basis. Net Sales are expected to rise by 2.9 percent QoQ (up 8.8 per cent YoY) to Rs 23,292.2 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are seen increasing by 5.4 per cent QoQ (up 9.8 percent YoY) to Rs 5,941.7 crore. FY20 revenue guidance Infosys could revise its lower end of the revenue guidance upward to 9.5-10 per cent from 9-10 per cent, according to Sharekhan. The brokerage expects the IT major to maintain margin growth guidance. Management's commentary on whistleblower complaints Investors and analysts will keep an eye on the management's commentary on the progress or outcome of investigations into whistleblower complaints, which was reported by the media in October. Also Read: Infosys Q2 results: Net profit falls 2.2% to Rs 4,019 crore; board approves interim dividend Growth of BFSI business Investors will keep an eye on Infosys' banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) business, which accounted for 38 per cent of revenue in second quarter. The company's digital revenue in July-September rose 10 per cent sequentially to $1,230 million from $1,119 million in the quarter ended June. So, investors will closely watch out for growth in digital revenues. Attrition rates and retention measures During September quarter, the attrition rate at Infosys stood at 21.7 per cent, slightly higher than 23.4 per cent in the first quarter. However, this figure was much higher than that of its rival TCS which reported an attrition rate of 11.6 per cent in the second quarter. Investors and analysts will keep an eye on the company's ability to retain top talent and contain attrition. By Chitranjan Kumar WASHINGTON After failing to make the Democratic debate stage last month, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker pivoted to spending most of his time and money in Iowa, hoping to use a strong performance in the first caucus state to help propel him to the presidential nomination. Nate Silver just said the strategy isnt likely to work. FiveThirtyEights initial 2020 Democratic primary forecast, released Thursday, predicted Booker winning just 1% of the vote in Iowa, and no more than 3% in any of the other early contests: New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden was forecast to win Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was the favorite in New Hampshire. Silver gave Biden a 42% chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders 22%, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren 12% and Pete Buttigieg 9%. The rest of the field, including Booker, was given just a 2% chance of being nominated for president at the July convention in Milwaukee. The forecast takes into account the fact that some candidates will receive polling bounces after strong performances in the early states, while others will drop out as money and support dry up. In a recent fundraising email, Booker said that the polls have not accurately captured his support in Iowa. Im greeted by larger crowds every time I visit the state, and I hear that folks knocking doors for our campaign are receiving positive feedback as well, he wrote to supporters. We know that Iowa caucus-goers are only beginning to make decisions about who to support. The leaderboard historically changes dramatically in the closing weeks of the caucuses." Silvers claim to fame was successfully predicting the winner in all 50 states in the 2012 presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. In 2016, however, he gave Hillary Clinton a 71 percent chance of becoming the next president, though he refused to count Donald Trump out. Booker, meanwhile, is in danger of being left out of next Tuesdays debate as he has yet to receive 5 percent in any qualifying poll, and needs to hit that mark four times by Friday. The most recent survey, a Monmouth University poll of likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters released Thursday, gave him just 1 percent. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg led the field with 20%, followed by 19% for Biden, 18% for Sanders, and 15% for Warren. The survey of 404 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted Jan. 3-7, 2020 with a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points. At the same time, Booker has continued to pick up endorsements from local officials. New Hampshire State Rep, Tim Horrigan was the latest to come on board. Cory knows how to overcome the biggest challenges and get the job done, and he is uniquely capable of exciting a broad coalition of voters we need to beat Donald Trump and heal our country, Horrigan said. 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. The Centre on Friday announced that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will come into force from January 10. IMAGE: People take part in a rally in supporting of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Jabalpur. Photograph: PTI Photo In a gazette notification, the Union home ministry said the act under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10. "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central government hereby appoints the 10th day of January, 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force," the notification said. The CAA was passed by parliament on December 11. According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. There have been widespread protests against the act in different parts of the country. Those who are opposed to the legislation are saying that it is for the first time that India will grant citizenship on the basis of religion which violates the basic tenets of the country's constitution. However, the government and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been defending the act saying that the minority groups from the three countries have no other option but to come India when they face religious persecution there. The home ministry, however, is yet to frame the rules for the act. G emma Chan was seen suspended 40ft above the ground in north London while filming the latest Marvel film The Eternals. The movie, which is due out in November this year, will be the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise. On Friday morning, a small crane was placed at the top of Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath and Chan was attached to a harness and hoisted 15 feet into the air while wind machines blew leaves around her. She was then raised higher up later on. It is thought the scene takes place at the end of the film where her character - the superhero Sersi - is lifted to the heavens. Dizzy heights: The crane used to suspend the actress (Jeremy Selwyn) The London-born actress, 37, who also appeared as another character in Marvel's Captain America, did several test shots before the cameras rolled. Dog walkers and curious residents were kept away from the filming location amid tight security with guards posted on pathways and in bushes barring people from taking photographs. One woman said: "I was wondering what was going on but it was top secret. When I tried to take a photo on my phone but some young man started shouting at me, which was a bit rude." New film: The crew are seen shooting the movie this morning / Jeremy Selwyn The plot for the film centres on an immortal alien race who are protecting humanity from their evil counterparts, The Deviants. Angelina Jolie plays the lead role, starring as Thena, while the cast also boasts A-listers including Richard Madden and Kumail Nanjiani, along with Dunkirk actor Barry Keoghan. Yesterday, fellow star Kit Harington - who plays Black Knight (Dane Whitman) in the film - was seen walking with Chan around the heath. Happy as Larry: Chan and Harington were seen chatting animatedly during the walk on the Heath / Jeremy Selwyn Harrington, 33, is the latest Thrones actor to take part in a superhero film, along the likes of Sophie Turner and Peter Dinklage, who have starred in X Men movies. For the shoot he wore a brown jacket with blue jeans and a red scarf for his scene with Chan who wore a long green coat and a woollen hat as they were filmed deep in conversation. A Russian naval ship "aggressively approached" a U.S. Navy destroyer in the North Arabian Sea on Thursday, in a dangerous near-collision, authorities said on Jan. 10, 2020. (U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet) Russian Warship Aggressively Approached US Destroyer in Arabian Sea: Navy A Russian warship aggressively approached a U.S. Navy destroyer as it operated in the North Arabian Sea on Thursday and ignored warnings from a U.S. vessel and risked getting into an accident, according to a statement from the U.S. Navys Fifth Fleet. On Thursday, Jan. 9, while conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, USS Farragut was aggressively approached by a Russian Navy ship, the Fifth Fleet wrote in a statement. Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road. The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course, the statement said, adding: While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision. On Thursday, Jan. 9, while conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, USS Farragut (DDG 99) was aggressively approached by a Russian Navy ship. pic.twitter.com/SCVyTINNqe U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020 In another statement, the Navy said the Russian ship eventually turned around. The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another. While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision. The U.S. Navy continues to remain vigilant and is trained to act in a professional manner, the Navy wrote. Two videos posted by the Navy showed the purported Russian ship traveling quite close to the Fifth Fleets vessel. According to CNN, the Navy said the Farragut is part of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier group. It is tasked with intercepting potential enemy ships so they wont get close to the carrier. The incident is another example of close encounters between Russian and U.S. military forces that American officials have described as reckless. Thursdays encounter comes about seven months after another incident in the Pacific Ocean when U.S. and Russian ships came close to one another. U.S. officials said it had to perform an emergency maneuver to avoid crashing. In August, Russia confirmed it flew nuclear-capable bombers to a region close to Alaska as part of a training routine. Two strategic missile carriers Tu-160 of the Russian Aerospace Forces made a non-stop flight from a base point to the Anadyr airfield, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Twitter at the time. The flight duration was more than eight hours, during which time the crews covered more than 6 thousand kilometers. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-10 08:02:05 New data centre enables high-capacity, low latency, secure access to the internet for customers in the region Netskope extends its NewEdge infrastructure in South Africa Susanna Collins APod PR Susanna.collins@apodpr.co.uk +44 (0)7872 558593 Netskope, the leader incloud security, has today announced the opening of a dedicated data centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The new point of presence (PoP) is part of the companys ongoing strategy to ensure its real time security solutions for cloud and web are delivered universally and consistently around the globe. Netskopes South African PoP further extends the companys NewEdge infrastructure. NewEdge is the global security network that enables Netskopes security cloud to deliver real-time, cloud-native security without the traditional performance vs security trade-off. It is one of the worlds largest and fastest security networks, ensuring that security is always on, always present, and never a roadblock. This announcement signals significant growth for the company in the region. Netskopes revenues in South Africa have doubled year-on-year, and the organisation is continuing to demonstrate commitment to the region through dedicated hiring of industry experts and partnership programmes. Todays news follows the appointment of Tinus Janse van Rensburg as Regional Sales Manager, who joins Netskope from Cisco where he managed the organisations African cybersecurity business. Andre Stewart, Vice President for EMEA and LATAM for Netskope commented, With ever increasing data moving to the cloud, security needs to follow that trend. Netskope is committed to best of breed granular, contextual Cloud Security, and the only way to ensure low latency - below 45m/s worldwide, is to own your infrastructure. NewEdge is about giving the end user the best security without compromise. Our Joburg POP means that our South African customers can take advantage of all our security portfolio and benefit from the best end user experience possible. Netskope has long term plans for the region which is why we are happy to invest in the best infrastructure but also the best people. I am delighted to have Tinus join our team and the plan is to hire great talent to best serve our customers in the region. Grant Reynolds, Regional Sales Manager for Africa continued, This is great news for our customers and partners in Africa, who are already benefiting from our Next Generation Secure Web Gateway which decodes the latest cloud services and web traffic to deliver comprehensive visibility, prevent advanced threats, protect data, and simplify security operations. We are ready for fast growth both in the region and worldwide. This is an exciting time both for Netskope and for the broader security industry. Netskopes Security Platform uniquely ensures that customers have all of their data and policy enforcement occur in Netskope owned / leased high end, highly secure, data centres. The Netskope Security Cloud always maintains SOC-3 Type II, SOC-2 Type II, and SSAE-16 Type II certifications and is the longest-standing security cloud to do so in the market. About Netskope The Netskope security cloud provides unrivalled visibility and real-time data and threat protection when accessing cloud services, websites, and private apps from anywhere, on any device. Only Netskope understands the cloud and delivers data-centric security from one of the worlds largest and fastest security networks, empowering the largest organizations in the world with the right balance of protection and speed they need to enable business velocity and secure their digital transformation journey. Reimagine your perimeter with Netskope. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005 Bir Lehlou, 10 January 2020 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) denounced the opening by Gambia of a consular representation in Dakhla, describing the decision as "irresponsible" and "outrageous assault." "The Republic of Gambia opened on January 8th, 2020, a consular representation in Dakhla, an occupied city of Western Sahara, in direct connection with the illegal Moroccan occupation of the Sahrawi Republic," the Sahrawi Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. "The SADR, which strong condemns this flagrant assault, considers this act as a blatant aggression on its territory, a support to the Moroccan occupation and a clear violation of the constitutional law of the African Union (AU) and its resolutions of international legitimacy which do not recognize any sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara," the Saharawi Ministry added. The Sahrawi diplomacy stressed that the Sahrawi government "will adopt the appropriate position and the necessary decisions to defend its sovereignty in accordance with the Constitutive Law of the African Union (AU) and international law." (SPS) 062/SPS/APS Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons came under a lot of flak on Wednesday after it posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet offering British Royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle free coffee for life. The online backlash came as the offer proved hard to fathom for Canadians upset by the chain's labour relations practices. Tim Hortons' offer for the British Royals will only be valid if they choose to move to Canada. Read: Flash Forest: Canadian Scientists Aim To Plant 1 Billion Trees By 2028 Using Drones Trolled for offering free coffee for life Tim Hortons' offer came after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they will step back as senior members of the royal family and spend more time in North America where the Duchess of Sussex had lived for many years. Tim Hortons is often accused of not treating its employees right and that its employees are not being paid well. Canadian media reported that Tim Hortons' division in Winnipeg locked down staff who were demanding a pay rise. Read: Canadian Man Takes Son To Mongolia Without Cellphones For Digital Detox No pressure, Meghan and Harry, but if you do choose to move to Canada, free coffee for life. Think about it. Tim Hortons (@TimHortons) January 9, 2020 Canadians on social media left no stone unturned to troll Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain. Some even went as far as to say that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can afford to buy the entire coffee chain itself and its the employees who can't afford their rent. While others pointedly urged them to stop giving millionaires free stuff. Read: Canadian Tourist Mistaken For Australian PM Wears T-shirt Saying 'I Am Not Scott Morrison' Um....You have employees who have to go to the food bank to put food on the table and you want to offer an already incredibly wealthy family this perk. How about you tell that franchise in Manitoba to give YOUR employees the 10 cents/hr they want and deserve? #TimHortons Cory Judson (@CoryJudson) January 9, 2020 Tim Hortons can afford to give free coffee to royalty but a ten cent raise for workers is too much? Bryce Doe (@BryceDoe) January 9, 2020 Read: Canadian Man Risks His Own Life To Rescue Deer From Frozen Lake Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut says Bollywood has always made fun of her English, despite which she has always kept Hindi as her priority. Kanganas sister Rangoli Chandel took to Twitter on the occasion of Hindi Diwas on Friday, sharing a clip of the actor. In the video, Kangana is seen urging everyone to give importance to Hindi. She said in Hindi: Today on Hindi Diwas, lets take Panga with English but with love. Hindi is our national language but the nation worries speaking it... A,B,C comes out with confidence but ka, kha, ga doesnt come out with that much confidence... Parents also say with full pride that their children speak amazing English... Kangana is heard saying in the video. Contrary to what she said, India has no national language. If you are weak in English, then you feel ashamed but if your Hindi is weak then there is not even a line of worry on the forehead... Bhasha becomes the password of social circle and sometimes the certificate of our talent. The film world has always made fun of my English...and critcised it. But still Ive kept Hindi language as my priority for which I could expand my reach and achieve major success, she said. Also read: Her political affiliation known: Smriti Iranis dig at Deepika Padukone The 32-year-old actor, who currently awaits the release of her next film Panga, urged all mothers to teach their children Hindi. I urge all mothers the way they treat their children with desi ghee laddoo with love... the same way they should teach them Hindi because the taste you get in desi ghee paranthas you dont get that taste in pizzas and burgers. And the love is in the word ma, its not the same in the word mom, she said. Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Panga revolves around a mother (Kangana) who is also a Kabbadi player. Panga is scheduled to release on January 24, and it also features Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill and Neena Gupta. Follow @htshowbiz for more Amy Klobuchar, who has attracted more interest in recent weeks but has yet to convert that into an increase in actual support, held steady at 6 percent, good for a distant fifth place in the poll. Cory Booker, who is hoping for a lucky break, also remained unchanged at 3 percent, behind the entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who was at 5 percent. The poll of 701 likely Democratic caucusgoers was conducted Jan. 2-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. Political officials here widely believe that there are five tickets out of Iowa this year, instead of the typical three. Much has changed since The Register last released its poll on Nov. 16. Kamala Harris, who was once considered a top-tier candidate but had seen her standing severely slip, dropped out of the race, leaving her supporters scrambling to find an alternative candidate to back. The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump. And escalating tension with Iran has pushed foreign policy to the forefront of a primary race that had so far focused more squarely on domestic issues. The deadline to qualify for Tuesdays Democratic debate was 11:59 p.m. on Friday, and normally, an Iowa poll released hours before such a deadline could bolster candidates on the cusp of qualifying. But this time, no one was on the cusp. Mr. Booker and Mr. Yang both met the Democratic National Committees donor requirement, but Mr. Yang had only one qualifying poll of the required four, and Mr. Booker had none. The Iowa poll gave Mr. Yang his second qualifying mark, but it was not enough to get him into the debate. Maggie Astor contributed from New York. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are likely to keep their Royal titles despite stepping away from official duties in their bid to become 'financially independent'. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Wednesday released a statement which detailed their plans to split their time between the UK and North America, while also giving up their share of the Sovereign Grant. At the end of the statement, the couple signed off as 'Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex'. It comes as many expressed that the pair should be stripped of their titles if they remove themselves from completing Royal duties on behalf of the Queen. Harry and Meghan (pictured above on their wedding day) are likely to keep hold of their Royal titles Both Sarah Ferguson (left) and Diana (right) had their Royal titles taken away after they seperated from their husbands An expert said the Queen (pictured above) has the ability to strip the Sussexes of the title The couple have licensed 'Sussex Royal' across their social media platforms, which means they aren't in a hurry to get rid of their Royal status. Speaking last night insiders said the couple would be allowed to keep their tites while still enjoying a level of independence never before seen in the Royal family. But they added that the couple's string of demands had sparked a genuine crisis which will not be easy to solve. Sources said that nothing was set in stone but that lessons had been learnt from the past, and despite the late Princess of Wales giving up her HRH title, people still blamed the Royal Family for that decision. Prince Charles (pictured above) has said that he will not be writing 'blank cheques' to his son Harry 'I don't think anyone wants to go down that road with her son,' they added. Diana wasn't the only Royal to have lost her title and Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah, lost her title after the couple divorcd in 1996 - as did Diana when she split from Charles. An expert said the Queen has the ability to strip the Sussexes of the title. Former MP Norman Baker, a Privy Council member, added: You are either a member of the Royal Family or not. Even if they do keep their titles it was earlier reported that Prince Charles could cut the funding he gives to his son from the Duchy of Cornwall. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week said they wanted to become 'financially independent' and claimed they would stop receiving money from the Sovereign Grant, which covers around 5 per cent of the couple's costs. Meghan and Harry (pictured above) this week announced that they wanted to become 'financially independent' The Queen also gives funds to Prince Harry and William which are split between the two brothers But earlier today sources close to the Prince of Wales claimed he could stop Harry's 2.3 million hand out from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate. The couple's plan is said to have left the Queen 'disappointed' and the news that Charles is not prepared to continue to bank roll his son comes as a YouGov poll suggested that over two thirds of people believed the couple should no longer receive funding from the Duchy. Speaking to the Times, a source said that Prince Charles 'had made clear that he will not be writing his son a blank cheque'. The warning from Charles comes after the couple went against the advice of their aides and published a statement to their Instagram page on Wednesday evening. It was later followed by a brand new website which detailed how they planned to become financially independent and a breakdown of how they are currently funded. Authorities in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) have arrested a yet to be identified African who attempted to smuggle 297 grams of raw diamonds in his gut, the way cocaine or heroine is smuggled. On Thursday, the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) said it received a tip-off a few days prior to the arrest, and were informed that an African intended to bring the raw diamonds into the country by smuggling them through Sharjah International Airport. The FCA, with the coordination of Sharjahs Department of Sea Ports and Customs, as well as the cooperation of the General Authority for the Security of Ports, Borders and Free Zones, were able to arrest the suspect as soon as he landed at Sharjah Airport. When the suspect reached Sharjah Customs, his passport was confiscated and his bags were searched. After carrying out an X-ray, officials discovered that the passenger had swallowed 297g of raw diamonds, which were worth around $90,000 (Dh330,588), according to a statement issued by the Federal Customs. Investigations further revealed that the diamonds were concealed in three plastic bags, Gulf News reported. The suspect had arrived to the UAE on previous occasions but had never committed such crimes. On this trip, he had brought the illegal diamonds, which were purchased from the black market from an African country, said the FCA. The authority added that the suspect intended to seek potential buyers for the diamonds. Boeing represented in Iran investigation into Ukrainian plane crash: Official Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 3:51 PM Iran says American aircraft manufacturer Boeing will be represented in an investigation into the crash of a passenger plane made by the company and operated by an Ukrainian airline which took place on January 8 near Tehran. A senior official of Iran Civil Aviation Organization (CAO.IRI) said on Thursday that all parties involved in the crash, which left all 176 people onboard killed, will be represented in the ongoing probe. Hassan Rezayifar said countries whose nationals were among the victims of the crash, as well as the manufacturer and operator of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, should be lawfully represented in the investigation. "In addition to Ukraine, Sweden and Canada have introduced their advisors and the plane manufacturer has also introduced its legal representative to the CAO.IRI," Rezayifar told IRIB News. The comments come amid rumors suggesting that Iran is blocking any participation by the US in the investigations into the incident for the Ukraine International Airlines flight, which was en route to Kiev from Tehran when one of its engines reportedly caught fire before it crashed just outside the Iranian capital. The incident came hours after Iran fired dozens of missiles on US military bases in neighboring Iraq to respond to a US military attack in the Arab country last week which killed a top Iranian commander. However, Western intelligence estimates have rejected claims that the civilian aircraft was downed by an Iranian-fired missile. Iranian authorities have also ruled out any such possibility while insisting that they would get to the bottom of the incident to make the causes known to the world. Most of the passengers travelling onboard the plane were Iranians or Iranian-Canadians who were returning to Canada for study or work after spending the winter holidays in Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address One acknowledges that those who recently organised the event to honour members of the RIC were well-meaning. However, in the context of celebrating the War of Independence such an event could not have been more inappropriate. Imagine the US beginning a celebration of the Revolutionary War with an event honouring the 'Red Coats'. It isnt as if there are not members of the RIC who deserve to be remembered in the struggle for Independence in 1920. The mutiny by members of the Royal Irish Constabulary in the police barracks in Listowel, Co Kerry, in June 1920 was a significant event in Irelands War of Independence. Fifteen constables refused to be transferred and to hand their barracks to the military. As news of this spread throughout the RIC and later appeared in the press, the pace of members of the force taking early retirement or being dismissed quickened. Eventually, by March 1, 1921, 2,570 members had left the force. Their places were taken by the hastily recruited Black and Tans. For the most part, these were ex-soldiers and they received little, if any, serious police training. Their indiscipline and the outrages for which they were responsible alienated the Irish people, most of whom had little enthusiasm for the policy and actions of Sinn Fein and the IRA. The result was that the crown forces found themselves operating in an increasingly hostile environment which cast serious doubts on their capacity to successfully pacify the country. Subsequently the members of the RIC who continued in active service assisting the crown forces until the Anglo-Irish Treaty were generously rewarded by the British government. The members who left the force for patriotic reasons or who were unwilling to be used as a paramilitary force and be at odds with their fellow countrymen and women were treated shamefully by successive Irish governments. J Anthony Gaughan Blackrock, Co Dublin FF and SF throwbacks are only entrenching partition The current controversy regarding the suggested commemoration of our fellow countrymen who served in the RIC makes one wonder how the spirit of peace and reconciliation fares in the Republic. If I was a Northern Unionist I would fear for how my heritage might fare in a united Ireland. We seem happy to elect terrorist sympathisers to our parliament but some media commentators and certain politicians are unwilling even to reconcile with fellow Irishmen who have been dead for 100 years. Anyone who thinks the unity of this country must be rooted in reconciliation and forgiveness should bear in mind the recent pronouncements of many Fianna Fail politicians as exemplified by their Justice spokesman, Jim OCallaghan. After a bitter civil war followed by decades of Fianna Fail governments, and Sinn Fein in government in Northern Ireland, the Border has not moved one inch. This current crop of Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein politicians have shown their contempt for reconciliation. They will only further divide our people and entrench partitionism in Northern Unionists. The people should reject these throwbacks in the coming election. Con Donovan Carrigaline, Co Cork With wars, maybe its best to leave well enough alone... Whether one is viewing something from one side of the street or the other, or looking back over a century of history, views will be different. Whatever way you look at them, wars of any type are regrettable. Bad enough they were once fought, they hardly need to be fought again. M O Brien Dalkey, Co Dublin Cancelled cancer treatment is a shame on our health service It was distressing to read that cancer patients have had vital surgery cancelled in recent times (Cancer patients have surgery cancelled as hospitals faced with record overcrowding, Irish Independent, January 8). Having their life-enhancing operations postponed at short notice can cause much distress, anxiety, fear and worry to these very vulnerable patients. This is the last thing these people need at a most challenging time in their lives. Early surgical intervention is the key to much better outcomes, and should be a priority for all patients with a life-threatening illness. Hospital overcrowding at this time of year is a huge challenge due in no small part to it being during the height of the winter flu season. However, vulnerable cancer patients must be given priority and allowed to have their much-needed treatment when it is scheduled by their consultants. Tom Towey Cloonacool, Co Sligo West Aurora High School, Nicholson Elementary and Hill Elementary could begin seeing construction activity over the spring break. Construction at Hope D. Wall is set to be done over the summer months. The timelines for work at Greenman and Hall schools are still being finalized. Actor Joaquin Phoenix has joined a chorus of celebrities and environmentalists criticizing private jets as an irresponsible contribution to carbon emissions in an era of climate change, a line of critique that may be starting to worry the small jet market. At the Golden Globes award show last weekend, in his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor in a Drama for "Joker," Phoenix said celebrities have to sacrifice more to combat climate change. "We don't have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the awards and back," Phoenix said. Should the private jet market worry about such celebrity "flight shaming?" Flight Shaming May Be Starting To Have An Impact Phoenix is only the latest to criticize flying private or corporate, and it's also starting to creep into the policy-making realm. Britain's Labour Party last year said it would consider a ban on private jets, with its spokesman asking why the U.K. government was "enabling billionaires to trash the climate." The party was defeated .i.n the UK election, putting the idea on the back burner for Parliament. Corporate Jet Investor, a British publication for the industry and its investors, conducted polling last year that found more than half the British public supported such a ban. In the United States, support was at about 40%. A few years ago, very few people in the business jet industry would have cared" about remarks like those made by Phoenix, Corporate Jet Investor editor Alasdair Whyte said in an email. But a critical mass of such comments is forming. "Now the industry is very sensitive to anyone focusing on its environmental impact," Whyte said. "The industry cares deeply about the perception of private jets and does not want to lose access to airports, lose investors, find it hard to hire good people or even be banned as the Labour Party suggested." See Also: No Clear Flight Path For Airlines On Sustainable Jet Fuel The Private Jet Market A mix of publicly traded and private companies would be affected by any downturn in demand for private or corporate jet travel. Story continues Many companies that fly the jets are small, but some major companies have large jet fleets of their own, including, for example, Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT). Delta Airlines, Inc (NYSE: DAL) also operates a private-corporate jet division with a fleet of about 70 business jets. The largest private jet fleet operator is niche provider NetJets, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK), which sells part ownership, or shares, in jets that its fractional owners can use. Big reductions in private jet flight could also hit the manufacturing side of the industry. NetJets' fleet is mostly made up of jets made by Canadian planemaker Bombardier, Inc. (OTC: BDRBF). Other big makers of private jets are Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT), makers of the Cessna; Gulfstream Aerospace, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD); and Dassault Systemes SE (OTC: DASTY). Whyte said the industry has started to respond to public concerns about the industry's carbon footprint, including supporting efforts to fuel planes more sustainably. Companies are taking things like food waste and making it into jet fuel and this has to happen faster," the editor said. "The really good news for Joaquin Phoenix and other actors is that California particularly [the Los Angeles-area Van Nuys Airport] is leading the way with sustainable aviation fuel," Whyte said. "So Joaquin and his colleagues can continue to get the benefits of private jets for many years to come." Photo by David Brossard via Wikimedia. 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States OAKVILLE, Ontario, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giyani Metals Corp. January 9, 2020 (TSXV:EMM) (FRANKFURT:KT9) (WKN:A2DUU8) (Giyani or the Company) announces the selection of Botswana based Loci Environmental Management and Consulting (Loci) to conduct the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for its K.Hill manganese deposit in Botswana. A tendering process began in November 2019 with three service providers invited to bid and was concluded in December 2019. Loci was the winning bidder as it was able to submit a comprehensive proposal that satisfied all the requirements set forth in the Companys request for proposal (RFP) at a competitive price. Giyani will now move to the contracting phase which will be completed in the next few weeks. Robin Birchall, CEO of Giyani commented: The relationship between Giyani and Loci is not new. We have been working closely with Loci, for the past year, on the environmental management plans (EMP) for our three manganese deposits in Botswana: K.Hill, Otse and Lobatse. Loci is an established consulting firm in Botswana with deep knowledge of the local environment in the country as well as the requirements and the process at the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). Our experience with Loci thus far has been nothing but positive. We are confident the Loci team have the right expertise to deliver a comprehensive ESIA for our K.Hill deposit which, along with the feasibility study which has recently commenced, will advance K.Hill towards production and provide the platform for Giyani to become a leading producer of battery grade manganese for the electric vehicle market. Giyani places great importance on the Companys relationships with our local communities where we operate as well as with the Government of Botswana and all other stakeholders. This ESIA will help further deepen those relationships and show the benefits Giyani can deliver for the people of Botswana. Johannes Westra, CEO of Loci commented: We are grateful that our proposal was selected for this exciting opportunity. It is our pleasure to work with a foreign investor which upholds the highest standards of good corporate practice such as Giyani. Throughout our previous dealings, Giyani and its management have proven to be very professional and we are confident that we will continue to work together in harmony and undertake an ESIA that meets international standards for the protection of the environment and the neighbouring communities. We at Loci are particularly encouraged to be involved with a project of this nature as the manganese mined will have an important application in the clean energy sector as we strive to move away from non-renewable fuels. Giyani also announces the completion of the EMP for its Lobatse manganese deposit in Botswana. Giyani submitted the original Lobatse EMP to the DEA early in 2019 and was subsequently requested to update it with additional information. The updated EMP was submitted on November 26, 2019 and will undergo a review process at the DEA which is expected to be completed in Q1 2020. About Giyani Giyani Metals Corp. is a Canadian junior explorer and developer focused on creating shareholder value by accelerating the development of its high-grade manganese project in the Kanye Basin, Botswana, Africa. Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedar.com and on Giyani Metals Corp. website: http://giyanimetals.com/. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Giyani Metals Corp. Robin Birchall, CEO Contact: Giyani Metals Corporation Robin Birchall CEO, Director +44 7711 313019 rbirchall@giyanimetals.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 news release. The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act (U.S. Persons), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Companys securities to, or for the account of benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons. Forward Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Giyani expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, does not expect, plans, anticipates, does not anticipate, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential, scheduled, forecast, budget and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could, should or might occur. Specific forward-looking statements and forward-looking information herein includes statements regarding the size of and completion of the private placement and the intended use of the net proceeds from the financing. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to certain assumptions, important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Giyanis ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In the case of Giyani, these facts include their anticipated operations in future periods, planned exploration and development of its properties, and plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future. This information relates to analyses and other information that is based on expectations of future performance and planned work programs. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation: inherent exploration hazards and risks; risks related to exploration and development of natural resource properties; uncertainty in Giyanis ability to obtain funding; commodity price fluctuations; recent market events and conditions; risks related to the uncertainty of mineral resource calculations and the inclusion of inferred mineral resources in economic estimation; risks related to governmental regulations; risks related to obtaining necessary licenses and permits; risks related to their business being subject to environmental laws and regulations; risks related to their mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers, or claims and other defects in title; risks relating to competition from larger companies with greater financial and technical resources; risks relating to the inability to meet financial obligations under agreements to which they are a party; ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; and risks related to their directors and officers becoming associated with other natural resource companies which may give rise to conflicts of interests. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Giyanis forward-looking information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information or statements. Giyanis forward-looking information is based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of their respective management on the date the statements are made, and Giyani does not assume any obligation to update forward looking information if circumstances or managements beliefs, expectations or opinions change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. For a complete discussion with respect to Giyani and risks associated with forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, please refer to Giyanis financial statements and related MD&A, all of which are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. GIYANI METALS CORP. 1155 North Service Road West, Unit 11 Oakville, Ontario L6M 3E3 T: 289-291-4032 www.giyanimetals.com TSX.v-EMM 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. Boeing sent Congress more than 100 pages of documents Thursday that included internal communications between company employees mocking the Federal Aviation Administration and bragging about getting the regulator to approve the 737 Max with little new training required for pilots. Among the most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max. The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the FAA during the regulators certification of the simulators. I still havent been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year, one of the employees says in messages from 2018, apparently in reference to interactions with the regulator. Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldnt, one employee said to a colleague in another exchange. No, the colleague responded. These communications contain provocative language, and, in certain instances, raise questions about Boeings interactions with the FAA in connection with the simulator qualification process, Boeing said in a statement to Congress. Having carefully reviewed the issue, we are confident that all of Boeings Max simulators are functioning effectively. We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the FAA, Congress, our airline customers, and to the flying public for them, Boeing added. The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed. Boeing said that it notified the FAA about the documents in December and that it had not found any instances of misrepresentations to the FAA with its simulator qualification activities, despite the employees comment about covering up issues with the simulator. Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the FAA, said in a statement that the messages did not reveal any new safety risks with the 737 Max or flight simulators. Upon reviewing the records for the specific simulator mentioned in the documents, the agency determined that piece of equipment has been evaluated and qualified three times in the last six months, Lunsford said. Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Uttar Pradesh government is considering the introduction of the police commissioner system for Lucknow and Noida, the state police chief said here on Friday. The senior superintendents of police for Lucknow and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) were transferred on Thursday and no new officers posted there immediately. "The government is discussing the commissioner system for Lucknow and Noida," Director General of Police O P Singh said. The system gives more powers, including magisterial powers, to IPS officers of the Inspector General of Police (IG) rank posted as commissioners. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meek Mill attends the world premiere of Amazon Prime Video's "Free Meek" limited documentary series at the Ziegfeld Ballroom. Read more A former Philadelphia police officer is suing Meek Mill, Jay-Z, Amazon, and others in federal court, claiming she was defamed and portrayed as dirty and dishonest in a documentary series exploring the Philly rappers long-lasting legal saga. In a lawsuit filed this week, Saqueta Williams contends she was made to look as if she lied to the Philadelphia Police Departments Internal Affairs Unit in the Amazon Prime Video series Free Meek, defaming and damaging her reputation. The 33-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names Mill; Jay-Z; Jay-Zs management company, Roc Nation; Amazon.com Inc.; and Wenner Media the parent company of Rolling Stone as defendants. Williams, who seeks more than $75,000 in damages, alleges that Mill, Jay-Z, Amazon, and others inspected and edited the episode defaming her, and published and circulated the documentary despite having entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the publication. Representatives for Mill, Jay-Z, Roc Nation, Wenner Media, and Amazon did not immediately return requests for comment Friday. Over five episodes, Free Meek highlights Mills status as a hip-hop superstar turned criminal justice reform advocate, chronicling the rappers 12-year legal battle in the Philadelphia court system over a gun charge, prison, probation violations, and clashes with Common Pleas Court Judge Genece A. Brinkley. The fourth episode, Filthadelphia, details the Philadelphia district attorneys Do Not Call list, a once-private index of current and former police officers whom prosecutors are instructed to keep off the witness stand over allegations of misconduct. Allegations of misconduct by Mills arresting officer, Reggie Graham, proved a turning point in the rappers court battle. READ MORE: Behind DA's list of suspect cops: A controversial police discipline system READ MORE: Here are the 29 Philly cops on the DA's 'Do Not Call' list While a voice-over from Bradley Bridge, an assistant defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, explains the Do Not Call list, an Inquirer article displaying Williams name and picture flashes across the screen. The DAs Office generated a specific list that has 66 names of police officers on it, Bridge says in the documentary. There have been findings by the Police Department the officers have lied to Internal Affairs, to other police officers, or in court. Williams photo and name remain on the screen while Bridge, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit, says, ... lied to Internal Affairs. Her name is never mentioned in the documentary. Officers reasons for appearing on the Do Not Call list vary, ranging from assault charges and DUIs to mishandling evidence and lying during a departmental investigation. Williams, who was a seven-year veteran assigned to the 22nd District, appeared on the list after she was arrested over an off-duty confrontation in a North Philly bar. The lawsuit claims Williams drew her firearm after she and her significant other were confronted by violence and aggression from a group of women they did not know. Williams was charged and later acquitted of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, and related offenses. The case led to her 2017 dismissal from the police force. She was attacked, Williams attorney, Steven Marino, said Friday. It had nothing to do with lying, deception, or perjury. But now, the lawyer says, the ex-cops reputation has been irreparably harmed. It traumatized her because her reputation as a police officer is ruined. Shes not corrupt or deceitful. Marino said Williams, 30, who now works as a security guard at a local school, has been accused of perjury and is entitled to a payout. The documentary paints our police officers with a very broad brush, Marino said. Its simply not true and damaging. Williams lawsuit isnt the first waged against the documentary. Months before Free Meek was made available on Amazon Prime, Brinkleys attorney, A. Charles Peruto Jr., sued the documentary makers, claiming they violated the Wiretap Act by leaking his surreptitiously recorded comments. The suit was dismissed in June. The U.S. made an unsuccessful attempt to kill a senior Iranian official in Yemen on the same day that top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani was killed in an American airstrike, the New York Times and Washington Post report. Why it matters: This second operation, targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai, could indicate that killing Soleimani "was part of a broader operation than previously explained, raising questions about whether the mission was designed to cripple the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or solely to prevent an imminent attack on Americans," the Post reports. The Pentagon has said the U.S. killed Soleimani because the general was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." Soleimani because the general was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." President Trump told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Friday that he believed Iran planned to attack four U.S. embassies as part of its imminent threat, but he provided no evidence for that claim. on Friday that he believed Iran planned to attack four U.S. embassies as part of its imminent threat, but he provided no evidence for that claim. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also described the attacks as "imminent." But, a classified briefing on Wednesday left Democrats and even some Republicans deeply skeptical, with many claiming that officials did not provide evidence of the "imminent" threat from Iran. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Twitter on Friday that the Trump administration did not provide proof of imminent attacks on four embassies at the Wednesday briefing. Background: The Pentagon has not confirmed an attempted Jan. 2 strike on Shahlai. The agency told the Post and NYT that Yemen "is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States." Shahlai is a financier and key commander of Irans elite Quds Force, the Post notes. and key commander of Irans elite Quds Force, the Post notes. The White House did not immediately respond to comment on Friday. The State Department declined to comment to the Post. Go deeper: The Trump administration's mixed messages on the Soleimani strike The 60 Starlink broadband internet satellites of SpaceX's Starlink-2 mission are seen with the Earth as a stunning backdrop in this view from their Falcon 9 rocket second stage after a successful launch into orbit on Jan. 6, 2020. Astronomers have had five years to brace for the impact of SpaceX's Starlink internet-satellite megaconstellation, but the first few batches of the spacecraft still managed to catch the community off guard. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced the Starlink concept (though not the name) back in January 2015, explaining that the company intended to launch about 4,000 broadband satellites to low Earth orbit to provide low-cost internet service to people around the world. The envisioned numbers have grown since then. SpaceX now has permission from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to loft about 12,000 Starlink craft, and the company has applied to an international radio-frequency regulator for approval of up to 30,000 additional satellites . (For perspective: There are only about 2,000 operational satellites in orbit today, and humanity has launched only around 9,000 craft into space in all of history, according to the United Nations' Office of Outer Space Affairs.) Related: In Photos: SpaceX Launches Third Batch of 60 Starlink Satellites Nearly 200 Starlink craft are already circling Earth. SpaceX lofted the first batch of 60 satellites last May and performed similar launches in November and this past Monday (Jan. 6). These three missions have been eye-opening for skywatchers and professional astronomers alike. Shortly after deployment, the Starlink craft look like a bright string of pearls as they race together across the sky. This formation disbands as the 500-lb. (225 kilograms) satellites disperse and climb to their final operational altitude about 340 miles (550 kilometers) above Earth's surface but the individual spacecraft remain visible to the naked eye , even way up there. "What surprised everyone the astronomy community and SpaceX was how bright their satellites are," Patrick Seitzer, an astronomy professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, said Wednesday (Jan. 8) during a special news conference at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) called "Astronomy Confronts Satellite Constellations." Related: SpaceX's 1st Starlink Satellite Megaconstellation Launch in Photos "We knew these tens of thousands[-strong] megaconstellations were coming, but based on the sizes and shapes of things currently in orbit, I thought maybe 8th or 9 magnitude," Seitzer added. "We were not expecting 2nd or 3rd magnitude in the parking orbits, and we were certainly not expecting 4th to 5th magnitudes in the [operational] orbits." The magnitude scale used by astronomers assigns lower numbers to objects that appear brighter in the sky. For example, the brightest object in our sky, the sun, has a magnitude of minus 27, whereas the faintest objects you can see with binoculars are around plus 10. Only objects about plus 6 or brighter can be seen by the naked eye under clear, dark skies. This surprising brightness has many astronomers worried . The huge number of coming Starlink satellites and SpaceX plans to launch nearly 1,600 more just by the end of this year, according to Seitzer could severely compromise the ability of ground-based scopes to do their work, some researchers have said. The high-profile project most likely to be affected, Seitzer said, is the Vera Rubin Observatory. This big instrument, which was until Monday known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is scheduled to come online a few years from now in the Chilean Andes. "The survey is the most impacted by bright satellite trails because of its wide field of view and extreme sensitivity," Seitzer said, citing a statement provided to him by Vera Rubin Observatory chief scientist Tony Tyson. "The original Starlinks will saturate the LSST's detectors." But Starlink's effects will be felt beyond the astronomical research community indeed, by pretty much everyone around the world, dark-sky advocates have stressed. The star-filled night sky is an international resource and one of the only ways that many people commune with nature in our increasingly urban and technological world, said Ruskin Hartley, executive director of the International Dark Sky Association. So, we should think hard about how we manage that resource, he said. "The night sky is the ultimate public good; it's our ultimate commons," Hartley said during Wednesday's news conference. "No one individual can protect it. And the flip side, I believe, [is] no one individual should be allowed to despoil that." Astronomers have voiced their concerns to SpaceX and found a receptive audience, said Jeffrey Hall, the director of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Related: Elon Musk, Revolutionary Private Space Entrepreneur "We have not had to cajole SpaceX in any way; they've been very receptive, very proactive, in holding roughly monthly telecons with us," Hall said during Wednesday's news conference. So far, he added, those telecons have mostly been informational, telling the astronomical community when the company plans to launch and deploy more Starlink satellites, and into which orbits. "It's been a little more staying in touch than making a lot of progress on mitigation," Hall said. (He added that astronomers plan to speak soon with OneWeb, which has launched the first half-dozen members of its own big internet-satellite constellation . A few other companies, including Amazon, are planning similar networks of their own, but none will be as big as SpaceX's is envisioned to become.) But SpaceX representatives have expressed a desire to mitigate, and they've recently taken some action toward this end. For example, Patricia Cooper, SpaceX's vice president of satellite government affairs, presented a paper during a special AAS scientific session about megaconstellations on Wednesday (though the company didn't participate in the news conference that day). And one of the 60 spacecraft that launched on Monday sported a special coating designed to reduce its brightness. If everything goes well, and the coating doesn't seriously affect the satellite's performance (through increased solar heating, for example), this mitigation measure could eventually become widespread across the Starlink fleet. Not everyone is satisfied by such steps. Consider the question asked by astrophysicist and science communicator Ethan Siegel , who was in the audience at Wednesday's news conference. "I apologize for this question, because I'm having difficulty controlling my fury at this situation," Siegel began. "Why should astronomers trust SpaceX which knows about this [brightness] problem but is deliberately worsening this instead of addressing it before additional launches instead of seeking a legal or international mandate for regulation? Are we Elon Musk's Neville Chamberlain?" In response, Hall explained that the astronomy community doesn't really have much choice. "The launches are underway right now. I think regulation of the Wild West up there is necessary; that is going to take a great deal of time to implement, just because of the nature of that beast," Hall said. "Therefore, there is no advantage or upside to distrusting what SpaceX colleagues have told us," he added. "We will simply take them at face value and work as best as we can and honestly with them to try to solve the situation. They are on the record saying they want to solve the situation for astronomy. We are working to identify the targets they will need to hit to make that happen, and then we'll see what happens." Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, " Out There " (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate ), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook . Vietnam has approved Japans proposal to open a consular general in the central city of Da Nang, the biggest city in Central Vietnam, after a meeting between the countries top diplomats this week. Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi on Jan 6. Photo: MOFA The news was announced at a press briefing after talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu in Hanoi during the Japanese top diplomats three-day visit Vietnam beginning on January 5. Currently, Japan has an embassy in Hanoi and a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City. Minh took the occasion to ask the Japanese Government to simplify procedures for granting visas to Vietnamese citizens, according to Dan Tri newspaper. The top diplomats agreed to step up coordination at multilateral forums and international economic linkages, including effective implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and prompt signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Speaking at the press briefing, Toshimitsu affirmed Japan pledges to fully support Vietnam when the Southeast Asian country undertakes the ASEAN Chair and non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council this year. Japan also commits to support Vietnams development through specific projects, Toshimitsu said. Dragon Bridge in Da Nang Da Nang is one of the localities in Vietnam which Japan has paid significant attention to. The number of Japanese investors in the city has risen sharply over the past few years. According to the provincial authorities, many Japanese investors, such as Mikazuki, TODA, Mode Planning Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, Mitsui & Co, Fujikura Automotive and Mitsubishi, have worked with local authorities to seek investment opportunities in the city. Meanwhile, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has supported a number of projects in this city, including smart city, urban development, water management, urban transport, water supply, sewage and drainage, and waste treatment. Dtinews Linh Pham Admittedly, much theological ink has been spilled over the years explaining away the plain meaning of those verses. But its instructive that during the first half millennium of Christianity especially in the Greek-speaking Hellenistic and Semitic East believers in universal salvation apparently enjoyed their largest presence as a relative ratio of the faithful. Late in the fourth century, in fact, the theologian Basil the Great reported that the dominant view of hell among the believers he knew was of a limited, purgatorial suffering. Those were also the centuries that gave us many of the greatest Christian universalists: Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Didymus the Blind, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Diodore of Tarsus and others. Of course, once the Christian Church became part of the Roman Empires political apparatus, the grimmest view naturally triumphed. As the company of the baptized became more or less the whole imperial population, rather than only those people personally drawn to the faith, spiritual terror became an ever more indispensable instrument of social stability. And, even today, institutional power remains one potent inducement to conformity on this issue. Still, none of that accounts for the deep emotional need many modern Christians seem to have for an eternal hell. And I dont mean those who ruefully accept the idea out of religious allegiance, or whose sense of justice demands that Hitler and Pol Pot get their proper comeuppance, or who think they need the prospect of hell to keep themselves on the straight and narrow. Those arent the ones who scream and foam in rage at the thought that hell might be only a stage along the way to a final universal reconciliation. In those who do, something else is at work. Theological history can boast few ideas more chilling than the claim (of, among others, Thomas Aquinas) that the beatitude of the saved in heaven will be increased by their direct vision of the torments of the damned (as this will allow them to savor their own immunity from sins consequences). But as awful as that sounds, it may be more honest in its sheer cold impersonality than is the secret pleasure that many of us, at one time or another, hope to derive not from seeing but from being seen by those we leave behind. How can we be winners, after all, if there are no losers? Wheres the joy in getting into the gated community and the private academy if it turns out that the gates are merely decorative and the academy has an inexhaustible scholarship program for the underprivileged? What success can there be that isnt validated by anothers failure? What heaven can there be for us without an eternity in which to relish the impotent envy of those outside its walls? Not to sound too cynical. But its hard not to suspect that what many of us find intolerable is a concept of God that gives inadequate license to the cruelty of which our own imaginations are capable. An old monk on Mount Athos in Greece once told me that people rejoice in the thought of hell to the precise degree that they harbor hell within themselves. By which he meant, I believe, that heaven and hell alike are both within us all, in varying degrees, and that, for some, the idea of hell is the treasury of their most secret, most cherished hopes the hope of being proved right when so many were wrong, of being admired when so many are despised, of being envied when so many have been scorned. And as Jesus said (Matthew 6:21), Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. David Bentley Hart is the author, most recently, of That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. 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. - Ezekiel Mutua decried diminishing authority of the boy child in Kenya saying women have adopted foreign culture to the detriment of male their counterparts - The moral police said during the conference, they shall teach men how to love their wives and provide for their families - The conference will be held on Valentine's Day which falls on February 14 The second men's conference slated for February 2019 is promising to be very propitious event with key public figures, businessmen and church leaders lined up to address the gathering. So far, the organisers have reached out to Kenya Film and Classification Board (KFCB) boss Ezekiel Mutua to fund and give the keynote speech at the event scheduled for February 14. READ ALSO: Kitui: 2 parents arrested for killing teacher over poor KCPE results Ezekiel Mutua has been invited as guest speaker during the 2020 men's conference. Photo: Ezekiel Mutua. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Rais Uhuru apongeza Malkia Strikers baada ya kufuzu Olimpiki "We must "rescue men" and guide them to be men in their homes and areas of influence. One of the sub-themes at the proposed conference is "Gather All, Scatter None". We shall teach men how to love their wives and provide for their families," he said. The moral police decried diminishing authority of the boy child in Kenya and heavy adoption of Western culture to the detriment of African values. Jackson Kibor and his lawyers outside Eldoret Law Courts. Kibor gave a keynote speech in 2019 conference. Photo: TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original "A lot of pressure has been unduly put on men, including the recent Twa Twa craze, with the resultant decline in self-confidence and self-esteem, leading to depression and suicide in some cases, as reported in sections of the media," he observed. During the first conference held in Eldoret in October 2019, speakers and attendees called for designation of a national day to celebrate the boy child. Tycoon farmer Jackson Kibor, known for having a penchant of fine cars and things in life, encouraged men to stand up and defend their positions in society. Men should be strong as heads of the family. This does not stop when one grows old, he said. Themed The Role and Place of Man in Society: Reclaiming the Lost Glory, the organisers will use the opportunity to push for abolition of Valentine's Day to which Mutua said he will offer direction. "Given the importance of this discourse, I am inclined to accept the proposal and will in due course issue a comprehensive statement on the way forward after thorough consultations with elders who have in the past expressed strong views in having the men's conference designated a national day to reflect on how men can play a better role in the campaign for restoration of moral values in Kenya," he added. The conference will be moderated by former Elgeyo Marakwet county assembly speaker Albert Kochei. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. The Blind Tailor, I don't want people to pity me. I want them to be encouraged by my story | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdi's request on the troops. It said Pompeo, who initiated the call, reiterated the U.S. condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes and underscored that President Donald Trump "has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Local oil supply would not be disrupted by tensions between the United States and Iran, an official from the Department of Energy said. "As far as oil supply is concerned, we are not really affected. We don't get any supplies from Iran," Energy Assistant Secretary Bodie Pulido told CNN Philippines' Business Roundup. Pulido said local fuel companies have diverse sources of crude oil elsewhere in the Middle East, and have enough supply to cover demand for the first three months of 2020. Based on DOE rules, oil refineries are required to keep stock equivalent to 30 days' worth of consumption. Bulk importers must maintain a 15-day reserve, while suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas need a seven-day inventory. Tensions remain high in Iraq after the US killed a top Iranian general last week and Iran retaliated by launching strikes on Iraqi bases housing US troops. WATCH: Understanding the conflict between the US and Iran "Thankfully, because oil is a deregulated industry, they (oil companies) are prudent enough to make sure they have alternative suppliers all over Asia. We have a reduced dependency on the Middle East," Pulido said. "They are pretty confident that they have sufficient supply for the rest of the year." As for prices, the Energy official said it was "unlikely" for global oil prices to reach beyond $70 per barrel. Oil prices initially spiked this week as a knee-jerk reaction to hostilities. By Friday, US oil futures edged lower by 0.3 percent to $59.40 a barrel, while Brent crude declined by 0.2 percent to $65.25 per barrel. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that tensions have de-escalated, adding that Iran seems to be standing down. READ: Trump vows to impose 'punishing' sanctions on Iran but offers no details "We don't expect significant increases in prices," Pulido said, noting that this week's oil price hikes were due to a decision earlier this month by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut supply. Iain Dale presents the evening show on LBC Radio and is a commentator for CNN. Rather predictably, Boris Johnson got a lot of criticism for being away at the time of the killing of Quasem Soleimani. I mean, perish the thought that a politician should ever go on holiday. And quite what he was supposed to be able to do in Downing Street that he couldnt have done while away no one ever explained. I imagine that Mustique has phones and the internet. In the end, when the Prime Minister did make a public statement, it was pitch perfect, I thought. Some may well have thought that he should have unreservedly rowed in behind Donald Trump and others that he should have distanced himself more, but in the end I thought he got it just right as indeed he did in the Commons exchanges with Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Ministers Questions this week. Corbyn, on the other hand, did his usual thing of being anti-American and pro-Iranian, to the extent that he almost seemed to be an Iranian lobbyist. Will the Prime Minister assure the house that Iran will insert pro Iranian statement here. He couldnt even bring himself, in a disastrous interview, to call Soleimani a terrorist. Instead, he referred to him as the head of Irans special forces, as if the Revolutionary Guard were somehow equivalent to the SAS. What a disgrace the man is and thank God the electorate was sensible enough to prevent him getting anywhere near the levers of power. My producer exclaimed: OMG, look at that, as she pointed to the TV screen. Sky had just broken the news that Duke and Duchess of Suffolk were stepping back from their royal duties. My heart sank. In 15 minutes, I was due to go on air. Give a damn, was my immediate thought. I hate covering royal stories. I just dont care about them but I knew this would dominate the whole evening, pushing everything else out of the spotlight. I was gutted because I was very much looking forward to covering Whispering Barry Gardiners nascent Labour leadership bid! Scuppered! Instead, I was staring in the face three hours of talking about Harry, formerly known as Prince. Hey ho. I always like a good binge over Christmas no, not on babysham or egg nog, but on a box set or two. Last Christmas it was Game of Thrones, which somehow I had avoided over the years. I got to the end of Season Three, by which time I was thoroughly confused by the plot (is there one), and by the fact that the show has so many characters that I rather lost track of who they all were and who had been killed off. This year I thought Id try Madam Secretary, a US series about a female Secretary of State, obviously designed to be a replacement for the late lamented West Wing. I was searching for it on Netflix when I came across another political series called Secret City, which is a Netflix Original and filmed in Canberra. Its more Bodyguard than West Wing, and has a big spy element to it. When I saw that my namesake Alan Dale, who played Jim Robinson in Neighbours was playing the Aussie Prime Minister in the show, I thought Id give it a go. Its cliffhanger-tastic and runs over two series, and I can highly recommend it. So I then moved on to Madam Secretary on Amazon Prime. This ran for six series, and I was hooked right from the start. As in West Wing, theres a lot of walking and talking but the plot lines are superb, and as in the West Wing they often run over more than one episode. The main character, Elizabeth McCord, comes to the job after her predecessors plane crashes in the Atlantic. Shes a former CIA agent who drifted into academia, and the thread that runs through the series is her battle with moral dilemmas. She likes to think she runs an ethical foreign policy, but quickly realises that this is impossible. The action is split between her role as Secretary of State and the conflicts that it poses with her family life and relationship with her husband, Henry, who also turns out to be a secret agent. The story lines regarding Russia and Iran are superb, if sometimes a little far-fetched, and I was actually watching an episode about a potential war with Iran when I found out about the killing of Soleimani. Madam Secretary runs over six series and 120 episodes. Im now on episode 40! Its well worth your attention. TEHRAN, Iran Iranian newspapers proclaimed the countrys attack on U.S. forces in Iraq to be a dark night for Americans, and Washingtons first admission of failure in history. On the bustling streets of Tehran, however, there was relief Thursday that neither side appeared primed for war. War is not something like the Call of Duty game, said Dara Shojaei, a 23-year-old architecture student. Its not a game you can play to win. Theres no winner. But with the relief came some mixed feelings about how far Iran should go to avenge the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleiman, the countrys most powerful commander who was slain by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad last week. His death brought an outpouring of grief across the country, and Iran responded early Wednesday by firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops. The dramatic blast of more than a dozen missiles caused no casualties at the two bases, although U.S., Canadian and British officials said Thursday that evidence showed that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile probably downed a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran just a few hours after Iran launched its attack on the Iraqi bases. They said the strike, which killed all 176 people on board, could have been a mistake. Investigators from Irans Civil Aviation Organization offered no immediate explanation for the disaster. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down. Even though American and Iraqi officials said no casualties were sustained in the Iranian missile strikes on the two bases in Iraq, Iranian state TV claimed that some 80 U.S. soldiers were killed a claim reiterated Thursday by a top Iranian military general, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, He offered no evidence. At the White House, President Donald Trump said Iran appears to be standing down, while Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the missile attack as a slap against America. Across state media, the Iranian government is positioning its retaliatory strike as a victory. The hard-line Kahyan newspaper proclaimed Irans missiles damaged U.S. dignity, while another hard-line daily, Javan, said it was Americas first admission of failure in its history. The reformist daily Aftab Yazd led with the headline: Irans slap makes Trump withdraw and declare peace. Another reformist daily paper, Arman Melli, called it A dark night for Americans. Despite Tehrans claims that the strikes killed Americans, Iranians have access to other sources of information. Although social media sites like Twitter are blocked, Iranians are able to access it and others through virtual private networks, or VPNs. Ali Azimi, a 41-year-old engineer, said Irans retaliation was excessive. We shouldnt have taken revenge because they could have hit and destroyed us, he said. In somewhat mixed messages Thursday, President Hassan Rouhani warned of a very dangerous response if the U.S. makes another mistake, but a senior commander vowed even harsher revenge. Mohammad Taghizadeh, a 30-year-old resident of Tehran, described the Iranian actions as a good start. As the supreme leader said, it was a slap. It was not satisfying and bigger things should happen, he said. He also echoed a familiar refrain of deep suspicion toward Washington. Trump is trying to boost the self-confidence of Americans, and I think he is lying, Taghizadeh said about U.S. claims of no casualties. He added that because Trump is running for re-election, he cant say that we have had our soldiers killed. Hajizadeh, who leads the countrys aerospace program, said in remarks carried Thursday by the semi-official Tasnim news agency that the goal of Operation Martyr Soleimani, as the retaliatory campaign was dubbed, was not to kill anyone, but to strike the enemys military machine. Gen. Ali Fadavi, acting commander of the Revolutionary Guard, was quoted by Tasnim as describing the attack as a clear sign of Irans unique strength. We stand against the enemy and we respond, he said. No (other) country has the capacity to express its will against the United States. Across the country, ordinary Iranians are bracing for even more hard times after Trump vowed to keep up the maximum pressure campaign on Tehran. Tensions have been running high in the Persian Gulf since Trump pulled the U.S out of Irans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and re-imposed punishing sanctions. The sanctions have made it difficult for Iran to sell its oil internationally, which has affected the governments ability to pay for subsidies and pushed prices up. Over the past three days, there was not a single day that we woke up and didnt see negative news, said Shabnam Mohtashami, 43, of Tehran. The thought of what could happen again and what calamities we might suffer is very scary. But she said that domestic (economic) problems put even more pressure on us than if a war will happen or not. Irans government faced widespread protests in November over rising prices, with many apparently also outraged by Irans foreign spending on interventions in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and other countries while its own economy falters. More than 300 people were killed in the anti-government protests, according to rights organization Amnesty International. During the violence and in the days that followed, Iranian authorities blocked access to the internet. Soleimanis killing, however, helped rally the public around the leadership again. Millions of Iranians were stunned by Soleimanis killing, and they poured into the streets as his casket was paraded through several cities. The general was seen by many in Iran as a national hero whose command of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, which oversees Shiite proxy militias, projected Iranian power in the face of U.S. pressure. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, an Iran expert at the Brookings Doha Center, said the Iranian government has used Soleimanis death to create a nationalistic moment and keep the flames of conflict with Washington simmering without risking a full-blown war that might endanger the regimes survival. He said the killing angered people beyond the governments traditional base because of Soleimanis state crafted image in recent years as a patriotic hero defending the homeland from Sunni extremists, like the Islamic State group. In the short term this leads to regime stabilization, with the deep-seated socio-economic and political grievances that fueled the protests pushed under the surface at a moment when a lot of Iranians fear a full-blown war, Fathollah-Nejad said. ___ Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran contributed. Editor's Note: Throughout 2019, a number of family-related policies were released nationwide. China Women's News recently selected top 10 news events that have had important influence on China's marriages and families. Giving Play to Role of Family, Family Education and Traditions in Social Governance Stressed in the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China On October 31, 2019, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved the decision on some major issues concerning how to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China's system and capacity for governance. The decision stressed to give play to the important role of family, family education and family traditions in social governance at grassroots level. The development of women is a major symbol of a country's civilization and modernization process, and family is an important basis for the modernization of a country's system and its capacity for governance. The decision helps raise the building and development of family and family education and traditions to a new level. Contestants show nursing skills at a housekeeping service contest in Northwest China's Gansu Province. [Women of China] New Document Issued by the State Council Aims to Develop Housekeeping Service Sector On June 26, 2019, the General Office of the State Council issued a new document on promoting the quality and market capacity of the country's housekeeping service sector. The document put forward 36 measures in 10 major areas, to develop employee-based enterprises, promote the establishment of housekeeping enterprises in communities and improve the quality of homemaking services. The establishment of more housekeeping enterprises in communities will not only provide more job opportunities to women but also effectively push forward the professionalization of housekeeping service sector through the standardization of the sector. An infant has fun with her mother in Chengbei baby center of Chengguan Township, Ningshan County, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on May 11, 2019. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] China to Support Families in Infant Care On April 17, 2019, the General Office of the State Council issued a guideline to improve care services for infants under 3. The guideline puts forward measures to promote infant care in the aspects of family, community and infant care service providers to support families in infant care. The National Health Commission released standards for the establishment and facilities of infant care institutions, and management standards for infant care institutions, aiming to promote the healthy development of infant and child care services. An elderly woman dines at a nursing home in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. [For China Daily/Sun Yidou] China Raises Pensions for Retirees and Develop Elderly Care Services Starting from January 1, 2019, the average monthly payment for retirees from enterprises, government agencies and public institutions was lifted by 5 percent from 2018 levels, according to a circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance. In addition, over the next three to five years, efforts will be made to greatly increase the number of beds in elderly care providers. The report on the work of the government in 2019 indicated that the government will continue to increase the proportion of enterprise workers' basic pension funds under central government allocation, and replenish social security funds through the injection of state capital. The government will take significant steps to develop elderly care, especially community elderly care services. It will provide support to institutions offering services in the community like day care, rehabilitation care, and assisted meals and assisted mobility using measures such as tax and fee cuts and exemptions, funding support, and reduced charges for water, electricity, gas and heating. The number of people aged 60 or above reached 250 million in China. The measures taken by the government will help increase the supply and improve the quality of the elderly care services. The All-China Women's Federation holds a meeting in Beijing on May 15, 2019, to launch the Family Happiness and Well-Being Campaign and release the list of the 2019 most beautiful families in China. [Women of China/Zhang Jiamin] ACWF Launches Family Happiness and Well-Being Campaign On the occasion of the International Day of Families on May 15, 2019, the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) launched the Family Happiness and Well-Being Campaign and released the list of the national most beautiful families in 2019. The campaign helps socialist core values take root in families and has four actions, including promoting familial culture, supporting family education, improving housekeeping services, and deepening research on family issues. The ACWF vows to coordinate social forces to do family-related work well. An event to promote family education and family traditions is launched in Beijing on May 24, 2019. [Xinhua] New Edition of National Family Education Guidance Outline Released On May 15, 2019, nine departments and organizations, including the ACWF and the Ministry of Education, released a notice on printing the revised edition of the national family education guidance outline. The revised edition adds the contents related to family moral education. It also includes guidance given to the parents and grandparents who raise children together, and covers the issue of raising more than one child in a family and family's media education in the Internet era. The guideline stresses the fundamental role of moral education in the family education guidance work. According to the guideline, parents should nurture their children's patriotism and educate them in a scientific way. Guidance and assistance will be given to parents according to the different age groups of their children. Chinese Lawmakers Review Draft Law of Marriage, Family Section of Civil Code, Respond to Social Concerns A new draft of the marriage and family section of the civil code was submitted on October 21, 2019, to the bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee for a third reading. The draft proposed in a new clause that families shall establish good family traditions, carry forward family virtues and attach importance to promoting familial culture. Besides paying attention to family education, the new draft added that a husband and a wife shall care for each other and it proposed detailed regulations on issues concerning identification of a couple's joint debts, notification of major diseases before marriage and non-marital cohabitation. The marriage rate of 2018 is the lowest one since 2013. [For China Daily] Declining Marriage Rate Triggers Discussions Only 7.2 people out of every 1,000 got married in China in 2018, the lowest marriage rate since 2013, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2019. The marriage rate is relatively low in China's most developed regions. For example, only 4.4 people out of every 1,000 people married in 2018 in Shanghai, the lowest rate in the country. The declining marriage rate is not exclusive to China. Other countries, especially the developed ones, have also seen this trend. An immediate cause for the declining marriage rate is people are getting married later. A declining marriage rate should also be attributed to the current age structure of China's population. With the aging of society, the proportion of people of marriageable age is on the decline, which will inevitably lead to a decrease in its general marriage rate. Given that the marriage rate is closely linked to a country's social development, the government can take practical measures to boost people's desire to get married. China Combines Maternity Insurance, Basic Medical Insurance for Employees The General Office of the State Council issued a document on the combination of maternity insurance and basic medical insurance for employees in a bid to improve management efficiency and reduce operation costs. The collection and management of funds, as well as the medical service management, was unified. The integration was completed by the end of 2019. The combination of the two insurances is a key aspect of the reform of medical insurance management. It means women in informal employment can be covered by maternity insurance and it reduces the cost of childbirth for families. At the same time, it reduces the cost of childbirth paid by some departments and organizations, which helps promote equal employment opportunities for women. Celebrity Blogger Goes Public with Claims of Abuse by Ex-Boyfriend He Yuhong, a well-known web star in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, published a 12-minute video on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, through her certified account on November 25, 2019, which was also International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, saying that her ex-boyfriend had abused her several times since April. The man was given 20-day administrative detention by public security authorities in Chongqing Municipality for intentional injury and other illegal acts. Anti-domestic violence not only relies on the enactment of laws and regulations but also the establishment and improvement of the early warning network at grassroots level, the intervention of legal and external forces, as well as the zero tolerance of society. (Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China) Placing reliance on collective conscience of society to send a person to gallows is erroneous and has not found favour with the top court in earlier instances, one of the convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, Vinay Sharma stated in his curative petition before the Supreme Court, challenging the May 2017 judgment of the court which had upheld his conviction and death sentence. Judgment places erroneous reliance on the collective conscience of the societyHowever, clear case of law before and after the impugned judgment exists which finds such reliance erroneous, the petition said. Later on Thursday, Mukesh Singh, a co-convict, also moved a curative petition through his lawyer. A Delhi court had on January 7 issued a death warrant against four convicts in the 2012 case Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Singh. They are scheduled to be executed on January 22 at 7am in the Tihar jail premises. The convicts have two weeks time to file both the curative and mercy petitions. A curative petition is the last judicial resort available for redressal of grievances. It is a remedy established by the Supreme Court through its judgment in Rupa Asok Hurra v Ashok Hurra and is decided by the judges in-chamber. The mercy petition, on the other hand, is filed before the President who has the power to commute it to life imprisonment. Sharma in his petition argued that the court overlooked mitigating factors while sentencing a person to death. He submitted that he was only around 19 years at the time of commission of offence and his young age was an important mitigating factor which was brushed aside by the court while handing him death sentence. The petitioner also adverted to the impact his death could have on his family. The petitioners parents are old and extremely poor. If the petitioner is executed, his entire family will be destroyed, the petition, filed through lawyer AP?Singh, stated. Besides, lack of criminal antecedents and probability of reformation were also cited by Sharma as factors which were overlooked while imposing death penalty. Sharma also referred to various studies across the world and data by National Crime Records Bureau to argue that death penalty will not have any deterrent effect on the society, one of the grounds on which he was sentenced to death. Interestingly the petition, placing reliance on a 2016 study by National Law University, Delhi, which said that death penalty as a punishment has been disproportionately imposed upon convicts from poor and marginalised sections of the society which points to a systemic bias in our criminal justice system against poor and marginalised. In December 2012, five men and one juvenile had raped and brutalised a young para-medic student in a moving bus in Delhi, leading to nationwide outrage. The victim later died from the injuries suffered during the assault. The main accused, Ram Singh committed suicide in Tihar jail during the trial while the juvenile accused was sent to a reform house and released three years later. The four remaining accused were convicted and sentenced to death by the trial court in 2013. The conviction and sentence were confirmed by the Delhi high court in 2014 and the Supreme Court in May 2017. Subsequently, the review petitions filed by three convicts, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma against the Supreme Court judgment were dismissed in 2018 and the review petition by Akshay Thakur was dismissed in December 2019. The lesser known town of Orchha will be at the forefront of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board's latest endeavour -- a cultural festival to encourage tourism in the state. "Namaste Orchha" that opens on March 6, seeks to draw tourist attention to the state of MP in general and Orchha in particular, by showcasing its cultural landscape through a range of activities like art, music and dance performances, guided history tours, photography tours and more. "Orchha is a hidden gem in Madhya Pradesh and thrives on its celebrated heritage, natural beauty, culture and creativity. "Our thought is to create an annual event in the cultural calendar of the state that will help to discover this fascinating place and bring the confluence of ideas and creative collaborations," Yasmin Kidwai, festival director and curator, said on Friday. Over the course of the three days, the festival will see an inaugural cultural performance at the 16th century Orchha Fort, an immersive visual spectacle of the "maha aarti" on the banks of river Betwa, and a "farm to fork" experience showcasing products of organic farming. "Madhya Pradesh is among the most exciting tourist destinations in the country and has immense potential to grow inbound tourism...we are creating new opportunities and initiatives to promote the state and its rich cultural, natural and architectural heritage and its traditions and history. "This festival will find a place in the lives of the local populace of Orchha, sharing their home and heart with visitors," Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Secretary Tourism, MP government, said. The festival will also feature a food and crafts bazaar that will have local cuisine and traditional handicrafts of the region on offer. Among performing artistes at the event will be Indie music band Indian Ocean and famous Hindustani classical vocalist Shubha Mudgal. The festival will come to a close on March 8. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is urging US President Donald Trump to revise US travel warnings for Australia. The US State Department last week put out a new warning for Americans to consider postponing their travel to Australia as disastrous bushfires ravage the country. But the premier has passionately pleaded with the US leader to reconsider the warning, which could be damaging to the tourism industry at a delicate time. "The last thing we need is for international tourists to think that the entire country of Australia is not safe to visit," Ms Palaszczuk, who is deeply concerned according to The Courier-Mail, wrote on Friday. A general view of the Dunn Road fire on January 10, 2020 in Mount Adrah, NSW. Source: Sam Mooy/Getty Images "We have large parts of our beautiful country that are not affected and would love to welcome American tourists here. "I urge you to change the travel advice for American tourists looking to visit Australia." The Royal Australasian College of Physicians says Australians are facing an unprecedented public health crisis because of of the long-term exposure to smoke. The lasting impact on people's health is unknown, but doctors are seeing more patients presenting with respiratory issues, RACP president and respiratory physician John Wilson said in a statement on Saturday. "Long-term health impacts may be felt not just by those on the frontline being directly impacted by the bushfires, but also those in metropolitan areas," Professor Wilson added. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged Donald Trump to reconsider a travel warning about Australia amid bushfires. Many of Queensland and Australia's hardest-hit bushfire areas are regions where the tourism industry dominates. However, Ms Palaszczuk pointed to her home state, where fires that have raged in recent months are not currently threatening. "Queensland has more than 4000 miles of beautiful coastline, tropical islands and, of course, the Great Barrier Reef," she wrote. More than a million tourists travelled to the Queensland outback last year and their visits will be crucial to support the nation's economy when the fires ease. "The rebuilding effort will be extensive as will the economic recovery for our whole country," Ms Palaszczuk added. Story continues "One of the industries that will be crucial to help rebuild our economy is tourism." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. CINCINNATI, Ohio A jury found a man guilty Thursday of assaulting a protester outside a rally for President Donald Trump in August. Video caught Dallas Frazier, 30, of Georgetown, Kentucky, jumping out of a pickup truck and repeatedly punching Mike Alter, 61, of Cincinnati, in the head outside U.S. Bank Arena on Aug. 1. On Thursday, a jury took about 90 minutes to convict Frazier of assault, according to WCPO Channel 9. Frazier faces a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that prosecutors argued Frazier was looking for a confrontation with protesters, saying the pickup truck in which he was riding drove past the demonstrators several times. When the pickup stopped for a red light, Frazier shouted at the protesters, prosecutors said. Frazier reportedly asked Alter if he wants some and exited the truck. Alter testified that he said nothing specifically to Frazier before he got out of the truck. The video shows Alter taking off his cap and saying Come on. Defense lawyers argued it indicated Alter was encouraging a fight, WLWT Channel 5 reports. Alter testified that he meant, Come on, really? Youre going to want to hit me? the Enquirer reports. However, prosecutors say phone calls from jail show Frazier was eager for a fight. I wanted to knock him out so badly, Frazier said, according to prosecutors. I couldnt believe he didnt go to sleep. ... He mustve had a good chin because I thought I was hitting him good. Frazier landed four punches, prosecutors said. WCPO reports Alter suffered a torn artery in his eye that required surgery. His $350 prescription glasses also were broken. This whole time its like he really didnt care, Alter tells WCPO. "You could tell by some of the things he said from the jail ... its like it didnt matter to him what he did wrong. On Thursday, Trump made an appearance at a rally in Toledo. To comment on this story, visit Thursdays crime and courts comments page. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Cleveland man charged in 2017 death of Egyptian immigrant killed during robbery Cleveland robber told Burger King employee hed return for his food, records say U.S. Attorneys Office in northern Ohio collects nearly $54 million in last fiscal year Burglar stole 60 bottles of wine, TV from Clevelands Bar Cento and Bier Markt, police say Elyria mother bought marijuana while her 4-year-old wandered streets in the middle of the night, report says Cleveland police solved more homicides in 2019 than in previous years despite critical detectives shortage, data shows OTTAWA - Commercial airline pilots flying out of Tehran's airport know a simple rule, says Ross Aimer, a former United Airlines captain who has flown there. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA - Commercial airline pilots flying out of Tehran's airport know a simple rule, says Ross Aimer, a former United Airlines captain who has flown there. You don't turn right, because that takes you towards the Alborz mountain range. The Ukraine International Airlines flight that went down shortly after take-off Wednesday turned right. That turn, among other evidence, suggests the crew knew something had gone horribly wrong. The crash that followed killed everyone on board, including at least 63 Canadians and 75 more people who were heading to this country. And now multiple western authorities, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, say they believe a surface-to-air missile was the cause. How does a surface-to-air missile system work? Most systems are automated and radar-based. The radar sends out a signal and gets a return off something flying. A computer system processes what it has pinged taking into account things like speed, direction of travel and elevation, among other factors and then someone on the ground reviews the results to see if the object is a fighter jet, a commercial airliner or something else. "It's not a precise match and depending on the system, there's greater or lesser degrees of actual interpretation of the information. So you get something that's not always 100 per cent accurate," says defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Perry says the weapons systems the Iranians use are a mix of current Russian technology and some equipment that is far older. How would a surface-to-air missile system fire at a commercial airplane? These surface-to-air missile, or SAM, systems typically have three states: "Weapons tight," meaning a crew fires when it's confirmed the target is hostile; "weapons hold," which limits firing to self-defence or on a specific order; and "weapons free," which, as the name suggests, allows firing without restriction. A local crew, in error, could have set the system to "free" status. It could have automatically locked on to the Ukrainian plane when the airliner entered the missile system's surveillance zone and fired, said retired Canadian lieutenant-general D. Michael Day. What would the pilots of the plane have seen or heard? Aimer, the former pilot, said some planes have warnings that alert pilots to a missile threat, and some planes such as Air Force One or those flown by Israeli airline El Al would have countermeasures designed to help the plane evade a missile strike. But most civilian airliners don't have warning indicators, nor is such a threat something most commercial pilots train for. "There's nothing really any pilot can do to evade an incoming surface-to-air missile. You just get hit and you're done," said Aimer, now CEO of California-based Aero Consulting Experts. Is that what happened here? The Iranian air defences would likely be linked to the civil aviation system, meaning weapons crews would have likely known a plane had just taken off from the airport, said James Fergusson, deputy director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba. Day said Iran would have likely had its own civilian planes flying around the area as well, particularly so close to Tehran's airport. But Day said if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was willing to suggest the cause was an Iranian missile, the intelligence had to be airtight and unequivocal. "In probability, this means that there is some type of electronic evidence that the Iranian air-defence system identified, acquired and engaged the plane," he said. Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst with Teal Group in the Washington, D.C., area, said an unconstrained or over-active air-defence system seems like one of the likeliest causes for the crash because "planes just don't do this." "Uncontained turbine failures," when an engine breaks up while rotating and parts punch out of the casing, are not unheard-of. One caused the death of a passenger on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 in 2018. But such an event wouldn't have resulted in the wreckage seen in pictures and video from the crash site, he said. "Technical problems don't look like this. It blew up," he said in an interview Wednesday. "Uncontained turbine failures don't blow up. Yes, bad things happen, things come shooting out the back, it can rupture wires and control lines and do terrible things. But just blow up? No." Iran has denied a missile was the cause of the crash. Its civil aviation authority on Thursday called the theory "scientifically impossible." What kind of evidence would investigators look for to confirm the cause? The first step would be to look at the wreckage of the plane and the remains of the deceased passengers and crew for residue from a missile strike, kerosene residue if fuel tanks caught fire, and shrapnel to see if pieces come from a missile or an engine, Aimer said. He said investigators would also pry information from the plane's flight data and voice recorders. Iran leads the investigation under rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization, as the country where the crash happened. Iran might give the recorders to another country, possibly France or Canada, that has the expertise to do the work, though not the United States because of ongoing tensions. Canada's Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Thursday that it had accepted Iran's invitation to be part of the crash probe, and investigators are making arrangements to visit the site. Aimer said the crash site and its evidence appear to have been contaminated by wreckage moved without being properly catalogued for its location in the debris field, putting investigators at a disadvantage. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2020. With files from Christopher Reynolds We have been hearing over the years about how, Iran has gone rogue! The term has now been reapplied and the western media is screaming, Rogue Iran! Mainly because of said desire to obtain NUKES In an appeal for fairness to Iran about Nukes: I dont think it logical to express either by emotions and or propaganda that Iran has gone rogue without any conditions laid out to start with. Iran, after innumerable dialogues with so called Western Partners, became part of what is called the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and, according to UN Inspectorates who by the way, were responsible for monitoring said implementation of the JCPOA, Iran faithfully served the agreement and respected what it signed under the JCPOA. The JCPOA is/was made up of: China. Wang Yi, Foreign Minister. France. Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister. Germany. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister of Foreign Affairs. European Union. Federica Mogherini, High Representative. Iran. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Russia. United Kingdom. United States. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; Persian: , romanized: barnameye jamee eqdame moshtarak (, BARJAM)), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security CouncilChina, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United Statesplus Germany) together with the European Union. Source: Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Wikipedia Incidentally, it is also not correct, as is commonly misconceived, to express that the JCPOA was never signed. It was recognized under a UN Resolution and so was implemented with the full force of all approved International laws. All members acknowledge this except the USA. (That should tell you something.) The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a detailed, 159-page agreement with five annexes reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on July 14, 2015. The nuclear deal was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015. Irans compliance with the nuclear-related provisions of the JCPOA will be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to certain requirements set forth in the agreement. Source: The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at a Glance | Arms Control Association The USA then as the only one of the group to do so, at what seems to be at first a pathetic personal whim, rather than any reason for, unilaterally decided to withdraw from the agreement know as the JCPOA and prevented its European Allies from continuing with Irans JCPOA anti-nuclear commitments after US withdrew for no reason. The JCPOA was a perfectly sound agreement which was exactly fulfilling its purpose of stymieing and actually controlling Irans alleged move towards a nuclear weapon capability It was not Iran who withdrew. It was not Iran who did not comply. It was not Iran who put pressure on others to get out of the JCPOA. Iran was and really, still is in compliance and so are the other members, except the USA Though the rest soon could be history also. Due to extreme pressure from the US It is not Iran: So with all I said in the above paragraphs: It would it be way more accurate to say that Iran is being coerced into actions that belie the truth of the situation. This situation has also coerced Europe to bend in ways that are extremely against their wishes and what they know as truth Therefore to state in propagandized lies that Iran is Going Rogue could be simply because for Iran there are no other paths that have been left open for them. Again therefore, In all candor, that path might be the entire holy grail that is desired by the USA so as to provide a pretext for more disorganization and degradation in the Middle east Therefore, misinformation is ramped up again and again. Everything I stated above can be verified by internet searching and doing some research yourselves. I gave a link to Wikipedia and the Arms Control Association (ACA) website above. This gives the basic ground work for you to familiarize yourself with this good agreement that was tragically dropped by the USA for purposes of only those who actually did it and know and benefit from doing it If anyone has gone rogue it is the USA And the US seems to be proud of it! WtR Three gangsters who gunned down a young man in a case of mistaken identity were branded selfish, cruel and stupid as they were locked up for life. Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, was shot dead by the members of the Mali Boys as he sat with a friend in a van in Walthamstow, east London, in March 2018. His killers had been out to avenge the murder of one of their own, 17-year-old Elijah Dornelly, in May 2017 but got the wrong man, the Old Bailey heard. The intended target was said to bare an uncanny resemblance to the victim and even wore the same beanie hat as Mr Williams-Torres, who lived locally. Following a trial last year, Hamza Ul Haq, 21, Loic Nengese, 19, and a 16-year-old who cannot be identified for legal reasons were found guilty of murder. A commemorative mural of Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, in Forest Road, Walthamstow, near to where he was shot (Emily Pennink/PA) Prosecutor Allison Hunter QC said the Mali Boys had been involved in a bloody turf war with the Higham Hill or Priory Court gang as they tried to assert their supremacy and control of the area. Following Elijahs murder, Ul Haq and a fourth defendant, Wayne Russell, had tried to break into the home of his 18-year-old killer, Ezra Abeka-Soares. The day before, Russell, now 21, had shot up an amusement arcade called Leyton Slots after he, Nengese and others stormed in looking for Morgan Mockford, also 18, who was later convicted with Abeka-Soares of Elijahs murder. As the defendants appeared to be sentenced, Mr Williams-Torress father Anthony Williams told of the heartbreak at losing a kind and caring young man. Even at the age of 10, he showed compassion for others, giving his Daffy Duck cuddly toy to a younger boy to comfort him during a week-long school trip, Mr Williams said. At the time of his death, Mr Williams-Torres had been planning a holiday to Sweden to celebrate his 21st birthday. His father said: Joseph was really happy about this trip. Nobody could have known that just a short time later the evil that was lurking around the corner meaning Joseph never reached his 21st birthday and never got to go to Sweden. Story continues He said his wife Esther was truly heartbroken and her family in Gran Canaria and his in Liverpool continue to be affected by their loss. Loic Nengese, 19, was found guilty of the murder of Joseph Williams-Torres (Met Police/PA) He added: This is all because of the selfishness, cruelty and the stupidity of those who gunned him down and took away his life. Joseph never deserved to die and we will never be able to forgive those responsible for doing it. There will never be a harsh enough sentence or punishment for what they have done. Our hearts are forever broken. Judge Anthony Leonard QC jailed group leader Ul Haq, of Manor Park, for life with a minimum term of 28 years for the murder and seven years for attempted aggravated burglary, to run concurrently. Nengese, from Walthamstow, was locked up for a minimum of 21 years and the 16-year-old youth, who had apologised to the victims family, was locked up for at least 18 years. Russell, of no fixed address, was jailed for 16 years, having pleaded guilty to possession of a gun with intent to endanger life and attempted aggravated burglary with Ul Haq. Mr Leonard said he accepted Nengese had witnessed the murder of his friend Elijah, which had taken its toll, but added that he had refused to make a statement to police about what happened. Hamza Ul Haq, 21, who has been found guilty of murder and jailed for life (Met Police/PA) He said: This was a planned expedition to kill a man. This was a murder committed for revenge in a context of a feud between gangs. The victim was murdered in a case of mistaken identity and even the intended victim appears to have done very little to bring this about. Devi Kharran, from the CPS, said: This was a targeted hit by three ruthless gang members who sought out the wrong victim. These killers were seeking revenge on a man who Joseph resembled, but Joseph was an innocent person caught in the middle of an east London gang feud. The prosecution case included CCTV evidence that unveiled the identities of the defendants after they ran away. The youth killer dropped his phone at the scene, allowing police to easily trace him. The firearm used in the murder was also linked back to the gang the killers were affiliated to. By Alan Saldanha The whole world knows the truth. Trump says otherwise; he argues that America did not start the war. Then to make matters worse he promises to destroy Iranian cultural sites. This is sacrilegious. It equates Trump on the level of the same Taliban that the U.S. so vehemently denounced for having destroyed 1,800-year-old Buddhist monuments that were as tall as the mountains they were carved into. The saving grace has been the reaction from Britain and most other sensible regimes. Only a person of the stature of Mike Pompeo and other sycophants will agree with such an outlandish and immoral proposal. America is a young nation. They have a wonderful legacy of a rock solid Constitution that has only recently been defecated on by a rogue president. Little did the founders envisage that one day in the near future would a president promise to go as far as to destroy enemy cultural sites for a confrontation that they themselves have initiated by assassinating an Iranian Army general. This is a brave man who avoided the draft and going to Vietnam. For countries that have compulsory military service this is unacceptable. There is wax in Trump's ears and he dare not probe it with a Q-Tip lest he puncture his ear drum. In any case he is tone deaf to pleas for decency. To threaten to destroy Iranian cultural sites is the response of a weak man. This is the ranting of a hairy bearded man covered with animal fur working relentlessly on the invention of a square wheel. Even then the neighboring caveman with little or no tech expertise would point out the fundamental flaw in his invention. Humanity has progressed for thousands of years and suffered upstarts who have been spurred on to stupidity by spurs or a plain lack of common sense. There was a boy in my school who was one year senior to me. He died of AIDS in the late nineties. If he were alive today he would have sung out in opposition to what Trump has suggested. His name was Faroukh Bulsara and he would have probably been from the Iranian province of Yazd where most Zoroastrians hail from. Faroukh Bulsara's ancestors fled from Iran sometime in the eight century. They came to India and settled down on the West coast of India in a place called Udwada which is close to Bombay. That place is sacred to Parsis. Faroukh Bulsara's people may have been driven out of Iran 1200 years ago but he would have shuddered at the thought of someone threatening to destroy cultural sites in his home province of Yazd. Most people know this young man. His name at birth was Faroukh Bulsara but the world knew him as Freddy Mercury of Queen and I just cannot wait to hear him sing "Another one bites the dust." Alan Saldanha ( ) is publisher of Daywatch newspaper in Surrey, British Columbia. Police recover a stolen car following a pursuit ending in the Leeson Street area of west Belfast on January 10th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Police recover a stolen car following a pursuit ending in the Leeson Street area of west Belfast on January 10th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Police recover a stolen car following a pursuit ending in the Leeson Street area of west Belfast on January 10th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) A 17-year-old has been charged with a number of offences after two stolen cars were recovered following a police pursuit across Belfast. During the incident one of the cars rammed a police vehicle after it was cornered in order to make an escape. No police officers were injured. On Friday morning two cars were taken from the Cregagh Park East area of east Belfast at around 8.45am. Police alerted local patrols, the auto crime team, dog section and air support. Two people were arrested. On Saturday morning the 17-year-old was charged with a number of offences including aggravated vehicle taking causing damage to another vehicle, failing to stop, failing to report, failing to remain, no insurance and no driving licence. He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday 11th January. As is normal procedure all charges are reviewed by the PPS. A second 17-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident remains in police custody assisting officers with their enquiries. West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) will on Friday, January 10 release the admit card for clerkship Part 1 examination 2019 (Advt. No. 05/2019). The clerk part 1 examination will be held on January 25, 2020 in two sessions (10am to 11.30 am) and (2 pm to 3.30 pm.. Those who have applied for the WBPSC clerk examination 2019 can download their part 1 exam admit card at apscwbapplication.in. WBPSC CLERK RESULTS OUT WBPSC clerk part 1 admit card 2019 can be downloaded by following the steps given below: 1) Visit the official WBPSC website at http://pscwbapplication.in/ 2) click on the link for admit card 3) Key in the rquired details and submit 4) Your admit card will be displayed 5) Download and take its print out of the same Candidates must keep the admit card safely and carry it to the examination Centre. Calculator, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets of communication will not be allowed in the examination hall. The Part 1 of the examination will be of objective nature, while Part 2 will be written (conventional type). Part 1 will have 100 one mark multiple choice objective type questions on English (30 marks), General Studies (40 marks) and Arithmetic (30 marks). The duration of examination will be 1 hour and 30 minutes. The elementary knowledge in Computers and typing on computer will be judged after aspirants clear Part I and Part II. Washington, Jan 10 : The US House of Representatives approved a non-binding resolution to remind President Donald Trump of the key role of Congress in approving any military attack abroad, the move being an attempt to circumscribe the power of the White House to unilaterally undertake "military action" against Iran. In a 224-194 vote, the Democratic majority in the House approved a motion designed to demonstrate lawmakers' unease with the fact that the Trump administration did not notify them prior to the operation on Jan. 3 to stage a deadly drone strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani when he was visiting Baghdad, Efe news reported on Thursday. Eight Democrats opposed the resolution, while three Republicans voted to support it, so it was not a vote that went strictly according to party lines. To avoid an expected Trump veto, Democratic legislators used a legal formula known as a "concurrent resolution" that will be considered approved once both chambers of Congress ratify it but does not require the signature of the president, and thus cannot become law. "Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the administration's decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had said in a statement prior to the vote on the resolution. "Our concerns were not addressed by the president's insufficient War Powers Act notification and by the administration's briefing" on the matter on Wednesday, she added. "This is a statement of the Congress of the United States and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not," Pelosi said. The resolution is based on the 1973 War Powers Act and demands that the president provide a report to Congress within 48 hours of any offensive military action not based on a formal declaration of war. After sending the report, the chief executive must end any military action within the next 60 days, with a possible 30-day extension, if Congress does not formally declare war or approve a specific authorization for that foreign military action. The text of the resolution is based exclusively on a possible conflict with Iran, despite the fact that both Washington and Tehran on Wednesday expressed their willingness - at least for now - to back away from a military confrontation. The resolution specifically states that Congress has not authorized the president to use military force against Iran. Although Trump did not inform Congress before the hit on Soleimani, he did notify lawmakers before the 48-hour limit demanded by law, but he did so in a confidential document. Democrats are planning to push forward with a similar resolution next week in the Senate, but the Republican majority there complicates approval of that text, which would urge Trump to end within 30 days any military action against Iran that was not authorised by Congress. Taking suo motu cognizance of the alleged reports of violence on women in Amaravati, Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson, Rekha Sharma on Saturday announced sending a fact-finding team to Amaravati. There were reports of women farmers brutally beaten and throttled by Andhra Pradesh Police during their protest against the State government's proposal of shifting capital to Vizag. On twitter today, Sharma said, "Sending a fact-finding team tomorrow. @NCWIndia has taken suo-motto cognizance on the alleged reports of women farmers brutally beaten and throttled by Andhra Pradesh Police during their protest against State government on the decision of shifting capital to Vizag," the NCW tweeted. The situation had got tense on January 3 in Mandadam village, part of the Amaravati capital region, after clashes broke out between the police and women over the issue of the state's capitals. Farmers were protesting against the proposal of three capitals of Andhra in Mandadam, and the people of Tulluru village also continued their "dharna". People of 29 villages in the region have been demanding Amaravati to be retained as the sole capital of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Get the SC business stories that matter. Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free. NAIROBI - President Donald Trump's speech at a rally in Ohio on Thursday night was typical in that it laced thoughts about current events together with criticism of his opponents. But his comments Thursday included a remark that caught the attention of many in Ethiopia, whose prime minister was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, largely for his work securing a peace deal with neighboring Eritrea after decades of hostilities. "I made a deal, I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. I said, 'What, did I have something do with it?'" Trump asked the crowd. "Yeah," Trump said, answering his own question. "But that's the way it is." Trump played no apparent role in the Eritrea peace deal, but Washington has played a convening role in another deal Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is seeking with Egypt that will regulate how quickly Ethiopia can fill a new dam it has built in the upper reaches of the Nile River that has major implications for the flow of water that Egypt relies on economically. The apparent conflation of the two led to widespread befuddlement on social media in Ethiopia and elsewhere, though by and large the comments weren't taken seriously. The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia referred reporters to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks in October congratulating Abiy for his prize. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday tweeted that "Trump is confused" about why Abiy was award the prize. "He was talking about Egypt and Ethiopia," a senior Ethiopian government official told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media on the matter. "President Trump really believes he avoided a war as such . . . but that was not the case." Ministers from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, which controls a stretch of the Nile between its two sparring neighbors, will meet in Washington next week to discuss the ongoing impasse in talks concerning the dam. Ethiopia's peace deal with Eritrea led to a reopening of borders and diplomatic relations. Eritrea was part of Ethiopia until it seceded in 1993, and then fought a bloody war to retain its independence that began in 1998 and resulted in at least 80,000 deaths. Eritrea still has mandatory conscription, which tens of thousands have sought to avoid by migrating to Europe and countries on the nearby Arabian peninsula. Trump, for his part, has rarely commented on African affairs, and while he is often criticized for neglecting the continent, he remains popular in Kenya and Nigeria, according to a recent poll that similarly neglected to survey most of the continent's 54 countries. New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government will resolve issues concerning traders and that GST would be further simplified. Speking at the second day of the National Traders Convention of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Sitharaman assured them that the government is making all attempts to simplify and rationalise the GST tax structure to the extent that even an ordinary trader can comply with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) provisions. "Under the chairmanship of the Revenue Secretary, a committee has been constituted, which is working day and night to explore the ways and means to simplify GST", she said. Traders from across the country are attending the three-day convention. Sitharaman lauded the role of the trading community for increasing the GST tax data. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the body has set itself a target of enhancing the number of traders registered under GST to 2 crore. Sitharaman said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed the trading community as his priority and in line with this, various announcements have been made by the government to facilitate traders on growing their businesses. The Finance Ministry is seized of the problems being faced by traders in the taxation system and the government would do its utmost for providing maximum relief to traders, she said. According to Sitharaman, while traders bring in tax revenue earners and no prudent government would like to annoy them, they, however, also need to bring their businesses into system and modernise their existing business formats. The government plans to hold big shopping festivals across the country and will involve CAIT so that traders may get more opportunities to showcase their products, she added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here on Saturday for a two-day visit to West Bengal amid ongoing protests over the new citizenship law, with the state administration claiming a "foolproof" security cover has been put in place to thwart attempts to create disturbance. Several organisations, including those linked to the Left parties, have declared they would stage protests against Modi and show him black flags, officials said. According to sources, these organisations have planned to muster their supporters along the route the prime minister is scheduled to take after his arrival at the airport. "We have planned foolproof security arrangements for the PM's visit. As part of the measures, barricades will be put up along the edges of the roads from the airport to the city on Saturday evening. There will also be an extra security cover along this stretch," officials said. The state has seen violence and arson since the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament last month, with agigators vandalising railway property, setting ablaze vehicles and blocking major roads. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has maintained that she would not allow the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in her state, and repetedly urged protesters to shun violence to get across their point. An official said the timing of the prime minister's arrival is not conducive to fly him in a chopper from the airport, considering the failing light. A helicopter, however, will be kept as standby to accomodate any alteration in the PM's travel plans, the official said, adding, last-minute changes to his itinerary will be handled by the Special Protection Group (SPG). Modi will be travelling from the airport to the heritage Currency Building in BBD Bag area in Kolkata's central business district, where he is scheduled to inaugurate a programme. Thereafter, he is scheduled to attend a light and sound show at the iconic Howrah bridge from the Millenium Park on the banks of the Ganga. From there, the PM is slated to visit Belur Math, the global headquarters of the Rama Krishna Mission, taking the river route. "The River Police on both banks of the Ganga has been put on alert and river patrolling increased in view of the prime minister's schedule," the official said. As per his itinerary, Modi will spend Saturday night at the Raj Bhavan and attend the 150th anniversary programme of the Kolkata Port Trust on Sunday morning. Sources said there could be a meeting between the PM and the chief minister on Sunday, though nothing has been finalised in this regard as yet. Modi will leave for New Delhi on Sunday afternoon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Darren Grimes is a commentator, Brexit campaigner & podcaster. At 15-years-old, a reluctant and painfully shy version of myself walked into a County Durham hair salon and completed my first day of sweeping up hair, making what felt like enough tea to fill the River Tyne, and yapping on with the geet canny older ladies that would come into the salon for such a long time that my jaw actually hurt by the end of the shift. My feet ached. I hadnt enough money for the bus, so I felt it as I walked home, but at the end of that month when I received my first pay packet, albeit a pittance, I felt great about myself and what I had achieved my first job! As the months went by I grew in confidence, in ways unimaginable to me six months previously. School was quite difficult for me, you see, so that little salon tucked away in a village quite possibly transformed my life. At 19, as I completed an Art Foundation, I supported myself financially through it by working part time in a food store, having completed temporary Christmas work and then being kept on. Again, that pushed me out of my comfort zone, getting me to know what it was like in the real world and the world of work, with the added benefit of further paid work on my CV. Thats why Im troubled by a new report by the Resolution Foundation that reveals that the employment rate of 16-17 year olds has virtually halved over the past two decades from 48.1 per cent in 1997-99 to 25.4 per cent in 2017-19. Two-thirds of the fall is driven by a declining employment rate among 16-17 year olds studying full time at school or college. Rising minimum wages could be a factor and definitely would be if we were to take the advice of the Living Wage Campaign, and pay all young people at adult rates closing off the possibility of work and experience. My concern at the fall isnt just down to the boost in confidence and self-worth for younger people that work provides. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills in a 2015 report documented the very clear benefits of earning and learning. Those who combine work with full-time education are four to six percentage points less likely to be not in employment, education or training and earn 12-15 per cent more five years down the line than those just in education. Part-time jobs are also excellent ways for young people to gain experience of the working world a factor which 66 per cent of employers say is important when recruiting. The Resolution Foundation points out that the main driver in the decline of younger folk in work is down to a focus on the importance of their studies, no doubt down to a desire to get into a university; the fact that schools and colleges were strongly opposed to their students doing paid work is also a factor. There has been a 25 per cent fall in the employment rate of 18-19 year olds studying for degrees from the early 2000s peak a 15 per cent fall among 20-21 year old university students, and a 33 per cent fall among 18-19 year olds studying for non-degree qualifications. This all means getting a first paid job after completing full-time education takes longer than it used to. Since I started my Saturday job in 2008, the expansion of degrees and graduates has skyrocketed, with the industry booming into an absurdly lucrative cash cow. Its a short-sighted financially motivated strategy, which is for immediate economic advantage rather than long-term improvements to our workforce and to individuals. The way in which minimum wages can squeeze pay differentials at the bottom end provides just one reason why it can be especially problematic for certain sets of people to enter the workforce later on, without any form of early paid experience. Some of these these sets of people not only those suffering from long-term ill health, but also women who have children are already more likely, on average, to face difficulties at some point regarding reentering the work force after taking time out, leading to shorter lengths of tenure, which correlates with lower lifetime earnings and fewer opportunities of career progression. But surely, you might ask, a more educated population should be more employable, right? Except it is a blatant duplicity that is pushed onto todays young people. Our leaders argue that it is more important to stay in education, to focus on your studies and get a degree, because, if you want a job, you now need a degree. So given the number of graduates our conveyer belt-like university industry is pushing out, the competition in the workforce is growing fierce. With the decline in Saturday jobs comes the rise of academic credentialism. Since we reached Tony Blairs symbolic target of 50 per cent of young people in England going to university, we have found ourselves in the utterly bizarre situation where a masters degree now does precious little to singularise a CV. The number of degrees has now become so great that the degree itself has less impact on employability, ensuring that it becomes less economically valuable. We should not be encouraging so many young people to take degrees over obtaining other vocational qualifications or experience in the world of work. At present, despite the concern over the burden of debt which students face, we in effect subsidise higher education students in a way which we dont for apprentices, or those seeking professional qualifications outside universities. Soon you will need a degree to become a policeman and to have completed class-based or academic courses to get into previously vocational jobs. Social care workers now need to do qualifications workers that we are desperate for and looking overseas to recruit. To infantilise a generation of young people and diminish their future prospects in pursuit of making a quick buck through our universities is unforgivable. Its time to refocus our efforts into non-university alternatives and work experience and be rid of the stigma around them. Viva la Saturday job! By Gul Yousafzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A blast at a mosque in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan on Friday killed at least 13 people, including a senior police officer, and injured 20 others, police said. Police said an improvised explosive device had been planted at the mosque inside a seminary in the city, the capital of Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. It exploded during evening prayers on Friday, the second bombing in Quetta this week. "So far, 13 bodies and 20 injured have been brought here," Dr Wasim Baig, spokesman for a local hospital told Reuters, adding that many of the injured were in serious condition. A senior police officer, Haji Amanullah was among the dead. His son was killed by unknown persons last month. A spokesman for Pakistan military said paramilitary troops were conducting a search operation around the site. Mineral- and gas-rich Balochistan is at the center of the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is part of Chinas Belt and Road infrastructure project. Violence in Balochistan has fueled concerns about the security of projects such as a planned energy link from western China to Pakistan's southern port of Gwadar. (Reporting by Syed Raza Hassan; Editing by Catherine Evans) MARQUETTE COUNTY, MI An Ohio man was injured when the snowmobile he was riding hit railroad tracks and went airborne in the Upper Peninsula. WLUC-TV reports that 25-year-old Lucas Arledge of Gahanna, Ohio suffered injuries, including a fractured leg, in the crash which occurred on a trail about a half mile south of Station Road in Marquette Countys Sands Township just after 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 8. Arledge was riding west on the trail when he struck the railroad tracks, which were below grade. He went airborne and was ejected from the machine before he landed on the tracks, the TV station reported. Arledge was taken to UP Health System-Marquette for treatment and he is now recovering. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, officials said. The Marquette County Sheriffs Office was assisted at the scene by Sands Township Fire and EMS. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:47:25|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia issued a directive on Friday to enforce its construction law after a six-story building collapsed last week, leaving 36 people dead and 23 others injured. In the directive to the construction authorities, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara said all unlicensed construction projects must be banned, and unlicensed contractors must not be permitted to undertake construction work. He said all construction projects must have opening and closing building permits. At construction sites, there must be architect(s) regularly overseeing the construction work, he said, adding that people are not allowed to live in the buildings that are under construction. "If any sites violate the above-mentioned prohibitions, the competent authorities must issue a letter to suspend their construction work immediately," said Sophara, who is also a deputy prime minister. "In case that the construction is still going on (after the suspension letter was issued), the competent authorities must file the case to the court for next legal action," he said. In another directive, Sophara assigned a group of the ministry's senior officials to routinely inspect construction sites across the kingdom to ensure that the sites are properly complied with the construction law. The tough measures came after a six-story guesthouse building, which was under construction, collapsed last Friday in Kep city in southwestern Kep province, leaving 36 people dead and 23 others wounded. All victims were Cambodians, and among them were a male-contractor, construction workers and their family members, including children. As a probe has been conducted, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen blamed the contractor, who was also killed in the rubble, for the collapse of the building. "The contractor's mistake resulted in this tragedy," he said in a press conference on Sunday at the end of the 43-hour search and rescue operation. The contractor used smaller steel bars than the steel bars required in the building's masterplan and he also removed the wooden scaffolding supporting each concrete floor in 10 days, as the safe period for the removal was 28 days, the prime minister said. The building's owners -- a local man and his wife -- were charged with unintentional homicide and causing involuntary bodily harm, but they were released on bail on Monday after depositing 354 million riels (about 87,000 U.S. dollars) to the court and agreeing not to leave Cambodia. YONCALLA, Ore. Its been one year since the City of Yoncalla elected an 18-year-old as their mayor. Now he says hes become a better leader than he was before. Ben Simons, who is now 19, was elected mayor of the small town in November 2018 after he received 41% of the vote. His two-year term started January 2019. RELATED: YONCALLA ELECTS 18-YEAR-OLD IN MAYOR RACE Simons said his first year was a learning curve, facing challenges like an overturn in city council members to dealing with a major snowstorm that hit Douglas County in February. He said it took him some time to adjust to his position, but he said the communitys support has made his job easier over time. Its not hard to be a good person when you're serving in government and be honest and transparent so that people can trust that youre doing a good job for them, said Simons. Since he was sworn in, Simons said they have completed a major water waste project, improved the citys infrastructure and reopened the citys library. In 2020, Simons said he wants to focus on improving the citys drinking water, continue working on infrastructure projects and he wants to help the government run more efficiently. One of our big goals of the year is making sure that were working the best way possible for the citizens, said Simons. Some Yoncalla residents told KEZI 9 News that Simons young age and his enthusiasm have been refreshing. Hes got new ideas; hes got new plans, said Don Gambocarto, a resident. He hasnt been discouraged by all the roadblocks. Simons said he still acts as a volunteer firefighter with the North Douglas Fire Department. He said he will be graduating from Umpqua Community College in the spring and he is planning to attend the University of Oregon in the fall to study business administration. It continues to be an honor and pleasure to represent Cheshire and Wallingford in the Legislature standing up for smaller government, lower taxes, and less interference in the day-to-day affairs of our law-abiding citizens. I just wanted to let you know that I recently filed to run again for State Representative next November. During my brief tenure in the Legislature, I have voted on over 2,000 measures. Just to name a few, I voted: against the $500 million bailout of Hartford; against making Connecticut a sanctuary state; against giving $100 million to the Dalios and shielding them from having to comply with the Freedom of Information Act; and against cuts to the Medicare Savings Program, upon which many of our elderly and poor rely. And, of course, I voted against any tax increases. Sadly, as with all of the above measures, they were supported by the Democrats, and passed by them. On the other hand, I voted: to cut spending; to require the Legislature to approve all state labor contracts; for our state to have a spending cap, and a bonding cap; to pay down debt; to strengthen our human trafficking laws; to train our police officers about autistic children; and for stricter provisions regarding the prescribing of opioids. Connecticut needs to change its direction fiscally and philosophically if we are ever to survive. As we head toward next November, I respectfully request that, should you support my efforts, due consideration be given to supporting my re-election. With that in mind, please be advised that the campaign webpage is www.Fishbein4ct.com. A very happy 2020 to you and yours. I thank you in advance for your kind support and look forward to another successful campaign for state office. The ongoing protest by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) against Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, and the Centres continued support to him, is giving a mixed feeling to top bureaucrats who are universitys alumni. While they sympathise with the feeling of their juniors, these top officials also understand the workings of the government. Dissent is a part of the JNU culture. It is considered that students being young will have fresh ideas and should not fear in expressing them even if it is at divergence with the views of the establishment. It is considered the sign of a healthy democracy, said a senior official. He, however, added that no one sensible would like to support violent behaviour be it from any of the ideological formations. Another top officer said that it is not the first time that such a row has taken place. In the 80s also a massive agitation had taken place and some in the top positions now have experienced what it is to agitate against the government. A third alumni of the college, however, stressed that violence should have never occurred in the campus. JNU can be a battlefield of ideas. The fight can be of ideas but physical fights can only be discouraged by the students themselves. When we advocate dissent, we cannot be seen as intolerant to a dissenting point of view, the third alumni said. JNU has over the years contributed scores of bureaucrats and political leaders who have served the government with distinction. Significantly, after Sundays violence, some of the first ones to react on social media were JNU alumni who are in top government positions. JNU has always been a centre of lively and vibrant debate, discussion and co-existence of different viewpoints. What has happened today is extremely sad and tragic. I strongly and unequivocally condemn the violence on the campus. This is totally unacceptable, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kanth said on Sunday. Another top bureaucrat, who was in fact handling the strike before his transfer to the social justice ministry was R Subrahmanyam also reacted spontaneously. JNU violence completely unacceptable and shameful. I condemn the violence in no uncertain terms and demand immediate action against the hooligans, he said. Two of the Modi governments top ministers, who were students at the premier varsity, also reacted to the violence. Have seen pictures of what is happening in JNU. Condemn the violence unequivocally. This is completely against the tradition and culture of the university, said External Affairs minister S Jaishankar. Horrifying images from JNU - the place I know & remember was one for fierce debates & opinions but never violence. I unequivocally condemn the events of today. This govt, regardless of what has been said the past few weeks, wants universities to be safe spaces for all students, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Her body was brought to the Gujarat's Ahmedabad civil hospital on Wednesday. The family has refused to accept her body until the accused are arrested and Rabari is suspended for neglecting his duty. After the body of a 19-year-old Dalit girl, who was allegedly kidnapped, gang-raped and murdered, was found hanging from a tree near a village of Modasa in north Gujarat on 5 January, hundreds of residents thronged the Ahmedabad civil hospital demanding the arrest of the culprits and suspension of the police officer on duty. A panel of doctors at the Ahmedabad civil hospital on 8 January conducted the postmortem after the police lodged a case of kidnapping, gangrape and murder against four people. According to a The Hindu report, the four accused had allegedly kidnapped the victim and gang-raped her before killing her. After murdering the victim, the perpetrators hanged her body from a tree to make it appear like a case of suicide. The victim had gone missing on 31 December, 2019, after which her family approached the police on 1 January to lodge an FIR but, the local police refused. The Wire quoted the girl's aunt as saying, "When she went missing, her father went to file a complaint, but the police did not accept it. They did not file the rape FIR till two days after the body was found." According to the report, on 3 January, police inspector at the Modasa police station NK Rabari informed the family that the girl had married a man from the same community and would come back. However, the next day, Rabari refused to register a case saying that he didnt have any jurisdiction in the matter. He further asked the family to approach Sabalpur police station. On 5 January, the victims body was found hanging from a tree. Her family members refused to accept the body, claiming that it was a murder and not a suicide, National Herald reported. The police registered an FIR on 7 January naming four people Bimal Bharvad, Darshan Bharvad, Satish Bharvad and Jigar in the case. Her body was brought to the Ahmedabad civil hospital on Wednesday. The family has refused to accept her body until the accused are arrested and Rabari is suspended for neglecting his duty. The case was registered under various provisions and sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after thousands of Dalits protested in front of the local police station. Apart from the family, activists have also demanded the arrest of the accused in the matter. Kirti Rathod, a Dalit activist, was quoted by The Wire as saying, "We have two demands. The perpetrators of this horrific crime should be arrested and the police inspector should be suspended for his actions. Only then will the family accept the body." According to The Week, the girl was laid to rest on Thursday. "Thousands of people, including Dalits, gathered in the funeral procession of the victim," the report said. Meanwhile, citing sources, reports claimed that "asphyxia as a result of hanging" has come out as the cause of death of the deceased girl. However, they added, other details, including if she was raped, will be clear only once the post-mortem report is out. Stephen (pictured) and John McDonagh were charged over the theft of a vehicle from Dublin Airport Two men have been charged with vehicle theft after a minibus carrying three tourists was stolen from Dublin Airport and chased by gardai and the PSNI. The Carlton Hotel minibus eventually crashed and was abandoned in Monaghan before a car was stolen. It too was chased by gardai. Stephen McDonagh (25) and John McDonagh (26), of The Steeples, Navan, Co Meath, appeared before Judge Denis McLoughlin at Cavan District Court yesterday on multiple charges arising from the airport incident and others allegedly committed in recent weeks in Monaghan and Meath. Det Gda Ciaran Marks of Carrickmacross Garda Station said John McDonagh made no reply when charged with two counts of unauthorised taking of ve- hicles in Dublin and Monaghan; two counts of burglary; three of theft; an unauthorised taking of a vehicle; and four road traffic offences in recent weeks in Meath and Monaghan. Det Gda Karen Mullen said Stephen McDonagh also made no response when charged with two counts of unauthorised taking of vehicles in Dublin and Monaghan; one count of burglary; two of unauthorised takings of vehicles; and one theft in recent weeks in Meath and Monaghan. Seriousness John McDonagh made an application for bail, which was opposed by Det Gda Marks. He outlined the seriousness of the charges against John McDonagh, and also how the accused can be seen on CCTV at the Carlton Hotel and Dublin Airport on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Det Gda Marks said it is alleged that the driver of the bus left it at Dublin Airport and the accused and his co-accused drove it away with the side door open while there were three passengers on board. Two were UK students returning from a scouting trip to the US. The third was a Colombian woman travelling to Germany. The mini-bus was in a collision with a taxi near the airport and then left the scene, being driven erratically towards the north. Det Gda Marks said demands for money were made of the passengers, who declined to pay before exiting the vehicle. He said the bus was then driven north and rammed a garda patrol car before being driven across the border and ramming a PSNI vehicle. Det Gda Marks said the bus then returned to the Republic, into Co Monaghan, and was followed by gardai before it crashed. The detective said two men were seen running from it to a private house, where a Seat car was stolen. It was involved in a high-speed chase before ramming an armed support unit vehicle, resulting in both vehicles crashing into a barrier. Det Gda Marks told the judge it was likely that further charges would follow. Judge McLoughlin denied John McDonagh bail, and both men were remanded in custody to appear again at Cloverhill District Court next Thursday. John McDonagh wore a green jacket with a hood and green trousers while being led to court. Stephen McDonagh wore a dark grey zip-up fleece and navy blue tracksuit bottoms but then changed to light grey tracksuit bottoms. Rescue teams work amidst debris after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning on January 8, 2020, killing everyone on board. Iran has denied Western allegations that a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran was brought down by an Iranian missile strike and is calling on the U.S. and Canada to share any information they have, an official said Friday. Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile near Tehran hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the country's national aviation department, denied those allegations Friday in a news conference in Tehran. The ballistic missile attack on the bases caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully. But Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. If the U.S. or Canada were to present incontrovertible evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran, even if unintentionally, it could have a dramatic impact on public opinion in Iran. The Iranian public had rallied around the leadership after the killing of Soleimani last week, with hundreds of thousands joining the general's funeral processions in several cities, in an unprecedented display of grief and unity. But sentiments in Iran are still raw over the government's crackdown on large-scale protests late last year sparked by the worsening economic situation. Several hundred protesters were reported to have been killed in the clampdown. Those fissures could quickly break open again if public evidence is presented that Iranian authorities were responsible for the deaths of 176 people, mainly Iranians or dual Iranian-Canadian citizens. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying Iran "has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations." The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries' whose citizens died in the crash. Open winner and Ryder Cup hopeful Shane Lowry cranked up the heat to close in on former champion Wade Ormsby at the Hong Kong Open on Friday. Ormsby surged ahead in early play, carding a four-under 66 to go nine under and stay top of the leaderboard at the historic Fanling course where he won his maiden European Tour event in 2017. But headliner Lowry went three shots better than his opening round, including two birdies on the final three, to end four off the top and set up the chase going into the weekend. "I'm very pleased," said the Irishman, who failed to make the cut when he last appeared at Fanling a decade ago. "Wade's nine now, if he has a really good weekend he might run away... but hopefully I can shoot two decent scores and give myself a chance on Sunday afternoon." Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond -- who also missed out on the cut at his last appearance -- shot 66 to end three shots off the top. "We'll see," he said, looking ahead to the final two days of the $1 million tournament that is taking place six weeks late after being postponed amid pro-democracy protests. "This is new territory." India's S.S.P Chawrasia carded a blistering 63 to surge up the leaderboard and end two shots behind Ormsby. "I played good today," he told reporters after setting the lowest round of the tournament so far -- just two shots off the course record set by reigning champion Aaron Rai of England. "I made a couple of good putts and my mental game was good." But the four-time winner on the European Tour knows things can change quickly at Fanling. In 2017, he went into the final round as leader, but threw away several shots, allowing Ormsby to surge and claim victory. His countryman Shiv Kapur finished six under to sit in third place alongside Janewattananond, Australian Fanling debutant Travis Smyth and Charoenkul Gunn of Thailand. - 'Sour taste' - US world number 16 Tony Finau started strongly after a lacklustre first day, but shot three bogies over the round to card a one-under 69, seven points adrift. That left "a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth", said the American of Tongan-Samoan heritage, who was the first Polynesian to play in a Ryder Cup. "I'm going to have to play better on the weekend to chase the guys who are playing well." As well as light winds, Aussies Ormsby and Smyth battled to stay focused as devastating bushfires rage in their homeland. Ormsby described the view from his plane window on the way to Hong Kong as "just like a red dust storm". Smyth also has reason for distraction. His sister's boyfriend is a member of the special forces and was called up last week to help battle the blazes. Along with fellow Aussie and 2014 champion Scott Hend, the youngster will donate money to bushfire relief for every birdie he shoots, with the competition hosts announcing plans to match Hend's contribution. Iran releases report on crashed Ukrainian passenger plane Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/1/9 19:33:09 Iran on Thursday released a preliminary report about the Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane which crashed in capital Tehran's Parand suburb on Wednesday with all people on board killed. According to Ali Abedzadeh, the chief of Iran's Aviation Organization, the black boxes of the plane have been damaged. Besides, physical damage on the memories of both equipment are visible. Iran has invited representatives of Ukraine and relevant countries for evaluations on the accident, Abedzadeh was quoted as saying by Khabaronline news website. He said that on Wednesday after the plane ascended to 8,000 feet high, it disappeared from the radar and then crashed. The Iranian official said that no radio message of "unusual condition" has been received from the pilot. Abedzadeh said that the locals saw the blaze erupting from the plane before it crashed. The direction of the crash shows that after the pilot found the problem, he changed the direction and returned to the airport, the official noted. There were 176 people on board the Ukrainian plane, including 167 passengers and nine crew members, Abedzadeh said. On Wednesday, Iranian media released different figures about the people on board the crashed plane.Iran releases report on crashed Ukrainian passenger plane NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Siemens is considering the future of a controversial contract to supply signaling systems to a new Australian coal mine under pressure from environmental activists, who staged German-wide protests against the company on Friday. Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser met with Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer in Munich, and the company plans to announce a decision by Monday. Climate protesters, inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, have been targeting Siemens for months. Their goal was to prod the icon of German industry into joining a list of 60 companies that have pledged not to work with Adani Power Ltd. on the planned Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia. With large-scale bush fires in Australia gaining worldwide attention, pressure on Siemens intensified in recent weeks, prompting CEO Kaeser to say on Twitter that he is taking the concerns "seriously" and would review the contract. "I just can't understand how people who know what's happening in the world and know what Australia looks like right now, how they could still do this," Matylda Bobnis, another Friday's for Future activist, said as more than 100 fellow demonstrators rallied outside Siemens's headquarters in Munich -- one of 40 protests around Germany. The Carmichael mine was approved by the Queensland state government in June after years of struggles. Siemens won the contract to supply rail signaling systems in December, but protesters want the company to renege on the agreement. "We want to show Siemens that we're not going to stand by and let them just do this," said Bobnis. "The company brags about being climate neutral by 2030, while on the other hand they're evaluating such an environmentally damaging deal." The industrial sector performed impressively in 2019 despite the fact that the U.S. economy is yet to recover from trade-related jitters. The economy has also lost its pace although it is growing for the 11th year on the trot. In spite of these negatives, several industrial stocks skyrocketed in 2019. Some of those stocks still carry strong growth potential for 2020. Tarde War Hurts Business Spending Lingering trade conflict with China has resulted in tariff war wherein duties have been levied on hundreds of billion dollars on each others goods. The U.S. government has already levied 25% tariff on more than $300 billion of Chinese goods mostly used as cheap inputs for the technology and industrial sectors. On the other hand, China imposed tariffs on more than $100 billion U.S. products mainly from the agricultural sector. Imposition of tariff on China-made low-cost intermediary products raised the input cost of U.S. manufacturers. Consequently U.S. business spending dropped significantly in 2019. The Institute of Supply Management reported that U.S. manufacturing activities contracted the most in December 2019 in more than a decade. Industrial Sector Shines Despite Headwinds Despite several headwinds, industrial stocks have performed quite strongly in 2019. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI), one of the 11 broad sectors of the S&P 500 Index, rallied nearly 29% in 2019, in line with the benchmark indexs gain. Notably, the XLI has started 2020 from where it ended in 2019 as it is already up 2.3% in the first six trading days. Interim Trade Deal: A Major Driver Chinese officials are set to arrive in Washington on Jan 13 in order to sign an interim trade pact known as the phase-one trade deal. Last week, Donald Trump said that he will sign the preliminary trade deal on Jan 15. The deal is expected to at least prevent further escalation of tariff war between the two largest trading countries of the world. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the deal will address intellectual-property disputes along with strong enforcement provisions and financial services and currency issues in addition to tariff rollback and higher agricultural purchase. Notably, China has reportedly agreed to substantially raise its agricultural imports from the United States to $40 billion. On Dec 23, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinas cabinet has agreed to lower tariffs for all trading partners on more than 859 types of products including pharmaceuticals, frozen pork and some high-tech components to below the rates that the most-favored nations enjoy. A defusing of U.S.-China trade tussle will not only help these two countries, but also revive the global economy, especially the emerging markets and the sagging Eurozone. This in turn will raise demand for U.S. exports, particularly its manufacturing and high-tech products. Our Top Picks In line with this impressive trend, we have narrowed down our search to five industrial stocks that skyrocketed in 2019 and still have upside left. Each of our picks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The chart below shows price performance of our five picks in the past year. Story continues Lawson Products Inc. LAWS distributes products and services to the industrial, commercial, institutional, and government maintenance, repair, and operations marketplace in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It operates in two segments, Lawson and Bolt. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 59.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 5.1% over the last 60 days. The stock has rallied 100% in the past year. Crawford United Corp. CRAWA develops and manufactures products primarily for healthcare, education, automotive, aerospace, trucking and petrochemical industries. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 12.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 5.3% over the last 60 days. The stock has jumped 93.1% in the past year. SPX FLOW Inc. FLOW is a supplier of engineered flow components, process equipment and turn-key systems, along with the related aftermarket parts and services. Its operating segment consists of Food and Beverage, Power and Energy and Industrial. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 9.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 1% over the last 60 days. The stock has climbed 50.5% in the past year. Graphic Packaging Holding Co. GPK provides paper-based packaging solutions to food, beverage, foodservice and other consumer products companies. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 1% over the last 60 days. The stock has soared 38.9% in the past year. DXP Enterprises Inc. DXPE is engaged in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services to energy and industrial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Service Centers, Supply Chain Services and Innovative Pumping Solutions. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 2.2% over the last 60 days. The stock has advanced 22.9% in the past year. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Click to get this free report Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK) : Free Stock Analysis Report SPX FLOW, Inc. (FLOW) : Free Stock Analysis Report DXP Enterprises, Inc. (DXPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lawson Products, Inc. (LAWS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hickok Inc. (CRAWA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research JANUARY 9, 2020 UTSA faculty, staff and students are invited to attend public forums next week featuring the third finalist candidate for vice president for the Office of University Relations. Reporting directly to the president and working in concert with all other vice presidential areas, this VP will serve as the chief university relations officer, providing leadership communications, institutional marketing, community relations and governmental relations functions at UTSA. Responsibilities include providing high-level oversight and strategy development to reach, influence and collaborate with the universitys external stakeholders; supervising the units within the Office of University Relations portfolio; and representing UTSA throughout the state and nation to advance the universitys mission, vision and strategic initiatives. The forums will be held on both the Main and Downtown campuses. Candidate 3 Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020 Philosophy of Success in University Relations Introduction by Dean Hendrix, UTSA dean of libraries 2:152:45 p.m., Main Building, Regents Room (MB 3.106), Main Campus Introduction by Dean Hendrix, UTSA dean of libraries 2:152:45 p.m., Main Building, Regents Room (MB 3.106), Main Campus Philosophy of Success in Government Relations and Community Engagement Introduction by Rod McSherry, associate vice president for innovation and economic development 4:154:45 p.m., Durango Building, La Villita Room (DBB 1.116), Downtown Campus The search committee would like to receive feedback from faculty, staff and students who attend any of the candidate forums. Please complete an online survey for each candidate you were able to hear from. San Francisco will go down in history as the birthplace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. While visiting its region, its universities and its companies, I am able to witness this technological explosion and appreciate the impact that its researchers, entrepreneurs and investors are having on the world. France is a part of this adventure; our national ecosystem is rapidly expanding thanks to specific funding allocated to the field of mathematics and close ties with Silicon Valley due to the presence of 600 companies created or managed by French citizens. Behind the technological achievement of artificial intelligence and the revolution in production and consumption methods, a fundamental anthropological change is taking place. The digitalization of a significant portion of trade in goods and services is transforming the relationship between economic activity and geographic base. The globalization of emotions and imagination can sometimes make the world a more savage place. The increasing role of robotics and the specific needs of the gig economy are challenging our training and social protection systems. The use of personal data offers new weapons to those wishing to undermine civil liberties. We must address these challenges swiftly and effectively to maximize the beneficial effects of the technologies developed by the companies in San Francisco. If we want to avoid the danger of fragmentation, this will mean adopting the most inclusive process possible. The only way to achieve this is through the multilateral dialogue that we have been envisaging and constantly updating for the past century. This is how the G7, through the Christchurch Call to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online, for example, was able to mobilize all states, internet platforms and civil society to make a series of concrete commitments. Certain ideas that emerge in one part of the world can benefit other parts of the world. This was the case with the General Data Protection Regulation, which entered into force in 2018 in the European Union. It provided a model for the California Consumer Privacy Act. Conversely, in Europe we are keeping a close eye on Assembly Bill 5, passed by legislators in Sacramento, on the status of gig economy workers. Today France is placing ideas on the table to accelerate discussions. On ethical questions relating to the use of artificial intelligence, it has joined with Canada in calling for the establishment of a structure similar to that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to debate proposals by top global experts to ensure that governments live up to their responsibilities. As for taxing digital services, it wants the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to serve as the negotiating body to establish a taxation system based on the value that exists today: data. This is urgent, because whats at stake in each of our countries is no less than democratic justice. The decline of fair taxation is inexplicable to those who are suffering from growing inequality in various areas, at a time when funding for public services is experiencing increased difficulty. Because the subject is so complex, it particularly deserves to be dealt with in forums for debate, not on the basis of the survival of the fittest. It seems to me that this is the wish of a new generation of entrepreneurs and engineers who when I meet with them in France or in the United States express their commitment to the ethical value of their work. There are numerous issues, and we are interested in working on all of them with our American and Californian partners. Philippe Etienne is ambassador of France to the United States. Hollywood has long been thought of as a boys club. But in actuality, women were the early forces behind the camera from the era of silent films through to the 1950s. It was only after the industry began to consolidate around a few leading production studios that the opportunities for women began to wane. And though there are still challenges (e.g., there were no female directors nominated for a Golden Globe this year), the reels are definitely changing. Enter Olivia Wilde, who while directing her first feature film, Booksmart, brought as many talented women to the table as she could, from screenwriters and producers to casting directors and actors. Among them was one of the films beloved leads, Beanie Feldstein, who in fact did earn her first Golden Globe nomination for her role. Over lunch in downtown NYC, the creative cohorts sit down to discuss the prevailing sisterhood in Hollywood. VIDEO: How to Be a Badass in Hollywood, Starring Olivia Wilde BEANIE FELDSTEIN: Liv, do you remember when we met? OLIVIA WILDE: Yes. It was at a party in New York that Id gone to mainly because I knew youd be there. Id been tracking you. As a new director, I was trying to figure out how to approach an actor in a way that really gets their attention. Basically, I wanted to have a connection with you before I begged you to be a part of Booksmart. BF: Oh, it was a really hard beg. [laughs] And look how far weve come! Youre on the cover of InStyles Badass Women issue, which is incredibly fitting. I wanted to start by asking you about some of the women whove inspired you most. I know one of them is Mali Finn, the legendary casting director. OW: Mali was notorious for having incredibly high standards. I worked as her summer intern when I was 16 and then as one of her four assistants, and the proximity to her taught me everything. She was an antidote to the culture of assimilation in Hollywood. She expected everyone who auditioned to have done the work. And then shed say to these young actresses, Why are you wearing that short skirt? Did you think that Id be a man when you came in? She was trying to tell them to own their power and not strip themselves of everything that makes them different. Story continues Wilde in a Michael Kors Collection jumpsuit, shirt, turtleneck, belt and heels. David Webb ring (on right hand). Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: She was actually treating them with respect. OW: She was, and thats why she was able to discover great talent. When I started to go on auditions, a casting director once said to me, Olivia, youll be all right because youve got a pie face. And I said, Thank you. Then I thought, Wait, was that even a compliment? Mali helped me reset my standards at a very important time in my career. BF: Youve been pulled up by so many women who have helped you succeed, and now youre reaching behind you to pull up the next group something you very aptly call the Daisy Chain, because of your little girl, Daisy. OW: The Daisy Chain is about wanting to lift each other up. I celebrate it because for a long time women have been told that in order to succeed, we have to push people out of the way. [Producer] Jessica Elbaum was someone who dared me to take myself seriously. There were so many people who said, Oh, you should direct. But there arent many who will actually help you when youve never done it before. Jessica had the confidence in me to put her own reputation on the line by recommending that [production company] Annapurna hear my pitch for Booksmart. And thats real generosity. BF: Well, Jessica knew you could effing do it! OW: Thats why daring someone to take themselves seriously is awesome. I pivoted my career from acting to directing at 27, and I directed my first feature at 34. A pivot can happen at any age. There are a handful of people in our movie cast who I know could direct one day, from Katie Silberman, our awesome screenwriter and producer, to Kaitlyn Dever. I want to make sure that happens for them. And then, Beanie, youre someone who doesnt need the dare. You inspire me so much. RELATED: The Unbelievable Kaitlyn Dever Wilde in a Miu Miu dress and sweater. Irene Neuwirth earrings. Foundrae bracelets. Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: Just watching you on the set of Booksmart was that dare for me. OW: And thats how [director] Reed Morano was for me on the film Meadowland. She was the first female director I worked with, which is nuts. Honestly, I mourn the years I wasnt working with any women. As Geena Davis says, You cant be what you cant see. And once I saw Reed hoist up that camera and operate the film herself, it just cleared the way for me. BF: When I watch you direct, youre so confident. Where does that come from? OW: Steven Spielberg has said that as a director, you must never let an actor see your fear. And I actually think that allows you to manifest confidence. Its like when Im with my kids and theres turbulence on a plane, Im the first one to say, This is great! This is fun! And then I actually feel calmer. BF: Whats been the best career advice youve received? OW: Make the things that only you can make. Once its in your hands, it will be different from everyone elses work. Fellini wasnt protective of his scripts. Hed say, Ill send it to you, but you wont make my movie. I love that concept because it leads you to a place of creating something original. Wilde in a Dior blouse and skirt. Verdura earrings. Max Mara tie. Socks, stylists own. Roger Vivier pumps. Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: What was it like growing up with a mom [journalist Leslie Cockburn] who has had such a brilliant career? Just a year ago she decided to take a bold leap and run for Congress. OW: My mother achieved greatness at such a young age. She was one of the first women admitted to Yale, she became a journalist at a time when women had to work really hard to rise in the ranks, and, at 65, she decided to run for the House of Representatives in the 5th District of Virginia, a position that has never been won by a woman. She gave it everything, and when she lost, she was still so graceful. Shes broken through so many glass ceilings that it was never a question of whether it was possible for me. BF: And now youre passing the same thing on to your kids, Otis and Daisy. You told me a great story about Otis and his pride when he said, My mom is a director. OW: I see that it affects them. But for me as a mother, its such a balancing act. Like, you filled me with so much confidence, but you didnt let me become a fucking asshole. When I said I wanted to act at age 3, my mom was like, Great, go to school for it. She always took my dream seriously because shes taken her own dream seriously. RELATED: Losing a Loved One Changed the Way Actress Beanie Feldstein Sees the World BF: You went to an intense academic boarding school [Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.], but then you didnt end up going to college. Does that decision linger in you at all? OW: A lot of people say, Im the first person in my family to go to college, and I always joke that Im the first person in my family not to go. I was eager for life experience. And there was such pressure to start young as an actress. Wilde in Salvatore Ferragamo shirt. Brunello Cucinelli trousers. Irene Neuwirth earrings. Oscar de la Renta belt. Chloe Gosselin heels. Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: Its still the ideology that prevails in Hollywood. OW: I remember meeting Scarlett Johansson at a party when we were 16. She was already making movies, and I was like, Ugh, Im so behind. So, I leapt into work. By the way, Jason [Sudeikis, Wildes partner] didnt go to college either, so were already prepared for our kids to say they dont want to go. Ill carry my own baggage into that conversation when I encourage them to go. BF: The feminist journalist Caitlin Moran has said she had to fight to prove that she was not just a brain because, growing up fat, she was never looked at as a body. Youve suffered the opposite problem, which is that the world often looked at you for your body first. OW: That feeling of being misunderstood starts in adolescence. In high school, people place definitions on you, and then you spend your adult life slowly unraveling them. People always resented that I wouldnt pick a lane. And a lot of the fiery passion in Booksmart was my answer to that. BF: Youve also said before that Booksmart was the first job you got that was not based off your looks. OW: Its not that I felt I had never been hired in any way for my brain. It was that as a director I finally felt that I was being listened to because of my ideas. It was the first time my brain had been isolated as the valuable element, which was satisfying. BF: You have a bunch of new directing projects coming up. What are you most excited about? OW: My film Dont Worry, Darling is a leap of faith because Im putting myself in the film, which is madness. I took so much pleasure in removing myself from the process, so now Im very curious to see how Ill be able to take care of everything from within. Wilde in a Max Mara jacket and trousers. Victoria Beckham blouse. Foundrae ring (on right hand). Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: How much sleep do you get a night? OW: About five hours. Its forever a process of trying to find the balance. For me as a mom, time becomes essential, because theres so little of it when you are focused on keeping people alive. Then the time thats left for you becomes very potent, and you can achieve great things with it. I do like the idea of relaxing, but my best ideas dont come from those moments of rest. I get those when Im jumping on the subway and racing to a meeting. BF: How are you raising your kids to be strong and independent? OW: With Daisy, I have witnessed how women are born with an incredible amount of strength and that society quickly pushes them to assume the more feminine role. I mean, I love that Elsa is looking pissed off on the Frozen 2 poster, but theres still an awful lot out there thats encouraging young women to make themselves the weaker sex. My role is to be a safe zone of support thatll hopefully counteract what society will inevitably do to them. When Daisy hits a place where she questions her worth, I want to be the one to remind her of the strength she innately has. But its interesting because having a boy and a girl, you really notice gender politics within your own home. Shell clean up his plate for him after dinner, and Im like, Put that back! Wilde in a Michael Kors Collection dress with belt. Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: I also want to ask about your personal style, because I know for a fact that yours has changed a lot. When you moved to L.A., you used to wear yellow turtlenecks to pool parties, and thats why my character, Molly, wears one in the opening of Booksmart. OW: Thats right! Id wear wool turtlenecks. It didnt matter how hot it was. BF: So how does style come into play in your life now? You had a different pair of incredible sneakers all 26 days that we shot our film. OW: My stylist, Karla Welch, is one of my best friends. She knows I love a strong shoulder and anything that makes me feel powerful. That doesnt mean I dont love a flowy frock here and there, but you learn what makes you feel like your best self. BF: My mom actually texted me this morning to say that you looked amazing at the Gotham Awards. OW: Your mom is my everything. I was wearing this ridiculously long Miu Miu dress, and I was laughing because Im not good at altering the way I move in the name of fashion. Everyone was like, Olivia, you cant stomp around like Seabiscuit! But tripping over my dress was worth it if your mom loved it. Wilde in a Prada sweater and skirt. Salvatore Ferragamo flats. Photo by Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. BF: I have to say the most surprising thing Ive learned about you is that you love a low-rise jean. Its something that I dont quite understand because I want the top of my jeans to touch my bra strap. OW: Im still pretending to be a teenager from the early aughts. My most comfortable state is when Im wearing low-rise jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt. In that, I am unstoppable. And if Im in a high-waist jean, I cant let my gut expand. When I see pictures of people like Paul Feig directing in full-on outfits, Im like, How? BF: Last question: What does the word badass mean to you? OW: If you had asked me this a few years ago, I would have said, Oh, Ive been skydiving. I have tattoos. Im ballsy. But hands down, directing a movie is the most badass thing Ive ever done because it is the scariest thing Ive done. It forced me to tap into my inner strength, and you know what? That may be the most badass thing of all. Photos: Pamela Hanson/LGA Management. Styling: Karla Welch/The Wall Group. Hair: Lona Vigi for Starworks Artists. Makeup: Melanie Inglessis for Forward Artists. Manicure: Ashlie Johnson for The Wall Group. Set design: Daniel Horowitz for Jones Management. Production: Kelsey Stevens Productions. For more stories like this, pick up the February issue of InStyle, available on newsstands, on Amazon, and for digital download Jan. 17. Scientists have discovered evidence of a previously unknown ice age during a period of time known as the 'boring billion'. Rocks found near the village of Torridon in north west Scotland once formed part of icebergs in lakes, as glaciers dominated the Highlands. Academics at the University of Aberdeen found that the rocks date back to between 1,800 and 800 million years ago. This geological period has always been considered the dullest time in Earth's history, as not much happened to the planet's climate, tectonic activity or biological evolution. Scotland would have been in a similar location to modern-day South Africa and the evidence points to a mini ice age, injecting excitement into an otherwise uneventful age. Scroll down for video Scientists have discovered evidence of a previously unknown ice age in Scotland (pictured, site of the study) during a period of time known as the 'boring billion' where not much was thought to have changed in Earth's climate WHAT IS THE BORING BILLION? The 'boring billion' is a period of time where Earth's climate was very calm. It is thought that between 1,800 and 800 million years ago very little changed. The most advanced life on Earth was algae and the oxygen levels were far lower than they are today. but it is thought no severe ice ages or volcanic activity occurred, allowing preservation of the status quo for approximately a billion years. Advertisement The study, published in the Scottish Journal of Geology, claims the ice age should be added to the others that have littered Europe's early history. Professor Adrian Hartley, who led the study along with colleagues from the University of Aberdeen's School of Geosciences, said: 'In Earth's middle ages it is thought that not very much happened on the planet. 'Throughout this so-called 'boring billion' the global climate was temperate and unchanged. 'Life was limited to algae in the ocean, the land was completely barren and oxygen was 10 per cent of what it is now. 'Until now, no evidence for climate change had been discovered but our study has shown there was ice at Earth's surface during this period. Evidence from rocks found near the Scottish village of Torridon revealed debris dropped from melting icebergs in lakes Professor Adrian Hartley, who led the study in the Scottish Highlands (pictured) from the University of Aberdeen's School of Geosciences, found evidence the 'boring billion' was not as quiet as previously expected 'We made the discovery by analysing silty lake sediments that are a billion years old, allowing us to identify locations where pebbles had fallen from melting icebergs and had formed impact features on the lake floor, deforming even older layers of sediment. 'Similar studies have allowed us to reconstruct the recent glacial history of the Earth, but this takes us much further back in time to when Scotland was located at 35S - the same latitude as South Africa. 'It's the first evidence globally for glaciation at this time in Earth's history - proving it wasn't such a boring billion after all.' There have been at least five documented major ice ages in Earth's history, with many smaller ones as well. The most recent Ice Age occurred during the Pleistocene Epoch between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The global beauty and personal care products market size is anticipated to reach USD 716.6 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, registering a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period. Growing preference for natural and organic personal care (NOPC) products, increasing adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) in the beauty industry, growing demand for anti - aging products, and increasing popularity of mens grooming products are some of the key factors that are expected to drive the market over the forecast period. AR uses face and skin - mapping technology to show how products would look on individual consumers before they purchase them. Thus, they need not visit a physical store nor try the products on, thus saving time and making purchase process more convenient. Growing awareness about health, wellness, and personal grooming and appearance among men is projected to account for a rise in the demand for mens grooming products. This, in turn, is expected to boost the growth of the market over the forecast period. A variety of mens toiletries are now available in the market, such as deodorants, hair care, and skin care products, and bath and shower products. Furthermore, the skin care/sun care product segment expanded at a moderate CAGR from 2014 to 2017 owing to increasing aging population and growing awareness about advantages of using anti - aging products. The Asia Pacific market accounted for the largest share of the market in 2017. It is expected to witness a significant gain in revenue share over the forecast period on account of its large population and the popularity of the e - commerce distribution channel across various industries in this region. Additionally, Japan, China, and India are expected to be the key contributors to the growth of the organic products segment in the region over the forecast period. Access Research Report of Beauty and Personal Care Products Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/beauty-personal-care-products-market Further key findings from the report suggest: The demand for the beauty and personal care products market is expected to increase owing to rising aging population and growing consciousness to maintain youthful skin and a good appearance. The skin care/sun care segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 6.2% over the forecast period The U.S., China, Japan, India, and Mexico are expected to witness considerable growth over the forecast period owing to robust industrial development and extensive urbanization The key players in this market include Avon Products, Inc.; Beiersdorf AG; Coty Inc.; Kao Corporation; Loccitane International S.A.; LOreal Group; Procter & Gamble; Mary Kay Inc.; Shiseido Company, Limited; Unilever Revlon, Inc.; and The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Distribution Channel Insights On the basis of distribution channel, the market has been segmented into direct selling, hypermarkets & retail chains, E-Commerce, specialty stores, and others. The E-Commerce segment is poised to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to growing internet penetration. Developing regions, including Asia Pacific, are likely to highly benefit from booming E-Commerce, thanks to rapid urbanizations. Though E-Commerce has gained significance to a large extent in the retail business, it accounts for a small percentage of total retail sales across the world. This can be attributed to consumers need to try the products before purchasing them, which leads to a higher demand for hypermarkets or retail chains. Countries such as India, China, and other Southeast Asian countries are exhibiting robust industrial development and extensive urbanization. Rise in penetration of internet and Internet of Things is expected to assist the growth of the beauty and personal care products market. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. The Delhi Police on Friday released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was one of them, five days after a masked mob assaulted students on the varsity's campus, leaving 35 injured, including her. Ghosh was among seven of the nine suspects who are from Left-leaning student organisations, which have been opposing the hike in hostel fees and had called for a boycott of the semester registration process. The January 5 violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is fallout of tensions brimming on the campus since January 1 over the registration process issue, police claimed. Members of the Student Federation of India (SFI), the All India Students Association (AISA), the Democratic Students Federation (DSF) and the All India Student Federation (AISF) have been allegedly "creating nuisance and threatening students" against the recently started online admission process for the university's winter semester, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey said. He said a Whatsapp group 'Unity Against Left', believed to have been formed while the violence escalated, is also under the scanner. Besides Ghosh, who is a member of the SFI, Dolan Samanta, Priya Ranjan, Sucheta Talukdar, Vhaskar Vijay Mech, Chunchun Kumar (an alumni) and Pankaj Mishra have been named as suspects. Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj, both from the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), are among the nine suspects in the case. No one has been detained. Tirkey said notices will be served to the suspects. Ghosh and eight others were involved in an attack at the Periyar hostel on January 5, he said. The JNU Students Union (JNUSU) has been accusing the ABVP of being the force behind the attack that has left more than 35 injured. Reacting to the developments, Ghosh, who was injured in the attack, refuted the charge, saying the Delhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against her. She said police were quick to take cognisance of the complaint filed by the JNU administration against her but has not registered any FIR on her complaint. The Delhi Police, which has come under fire for not acting when the students were being attacked, did not take questions from the media. However, Tirkey admitted that a lack of CCTV camera footage was a major hurdle in the investigation into the January 5 violence case. "The CCTV camera footage could not be fetched as the WiFi based system was disabled. The cameras were all disabled," he said. "There is no primary evidence where some student or teacher or anyone can show us some proof like an originally recorded video on their phone. We have taken the help of viral videos and photographs to identify them (suspects) and sought their information from the JNU database," Tirkey said. He also said since the hostel rooms were specifically targeted, it indicates an insider's role. "JNU is so vast that the outsiders cannot figure out hostel rooms in the spur of the moment," Tirkey claimed. Giving the sequence of incident, he said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but the left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. On January 3, around 1 pm, members belonging to the four left-leaning student bodies barged into the server room, tampered with the server and shut it down, the officer said, adding that they also pushed the staff of the sever room outside. "Three to four hours later, the staff of the varsity restored the server. Thereafter, police registered a complaint of assault, damaging public property and criminal intimidation," he said. The JNU administration has already filed a complaint naming Ghosh and others, and a FIR has been registered. However, she has not been named as an accused yet. Some miscreants again entered the server room from its rear side on January 4 and vandalised the room badly, following which another FIR was registered in that matter, Tirkey said. "On January 5, around 11.30 am, four students tensed (over the registration process) were sitting on a bench in front of the School of Social Science... a group came and there was an altercation between them over the admission process. The security staff there tried to save them, but got injured," he said. The DCP said that "at 3.45 pm, members of the four organisations went to the Periyar hostel and attacked the students there. Some JNUSU members were also there, including their president Ghosh". Inside the hostel, specific students were targeted, police said. Thereafter, there was a peace meeting was held outside the Sabarmati T-point, and it was attended by 120 to 130 students and teachers. "Meanwhile, a group (of people) came there with muffled faces. They got into a scuffle with students at the T-Point and later barged into the Sabarmati Hostel. They knew which rooms were to be targeted," Tirkey said. "The SIT officials have so far spoken to more than 40 people in JNU but the officials did not get any actual witnesses who have seen the entire incident or recorded it," Tirkey claimed. Recent times have seen Bollywood come up with socially relevant films be it Article 15, Aligarh, Shahid, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Padman, Pink, and Hindi Medium, among others. Chhapaak, the much-discussed movie starring Deepika Padukone and Vikrant Massey, that focuses on the very relevant issue of acid attacks on women, releases today (January 10, 2020). The movie is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, and is directed and produced by Meghna Gulzar along with Deepika Padukone in collaboration with Fox Star Studios. Watch the trailer: The film was announced on December 24, 2018 by Deepika Padukone on her Twitter feed and has been a part of conversations since then. Marketing initiatives Fans first got a taste of the movie on December 10, 2019 when Fox Star Studios launched the official trailer. Deepika Padukone also shared posters of the film with an emotional caption, saying, Rarely do you come across a story where you do not need an entire narration to decide if you want to be a part of a film or not. What is even more rare is to not be able to articulate and put into words what you feel for the film. Its a journey. Deepika Padukone today has 42.6 million followers on Instagram and about 26 million followers on Twitter. Co-actor Vikrant Massey has about 4 lakh followers on Instagram, while on Twitter he has a reach of 29,000 followers. Laxmi Agarwal, on the other hand, has about 1.6 lakh followers on Instagram, whereas on Twitter she has around 5,500 followers. The production house for this movie, Fox Star Studios, is followed by about 3 lakh people, while on Twitter they have a reach of about 2 lakh. These numbers are quite significant not only due to the volume of the total followers these people have, but also the various demographics they reach out to. Getting Laxmi Agarwal involved in the promotions for the movie gives the movie a more emotional touch. All the people involved have been putting up similar posts of trailers, posters, songs that are a part of the movie. Laxmi Agarwal and Deepika Padukone were even on the cover of Femina together. Such posts have been getting huge traction. While Deepika has been getting 2-3 million views on her posts, the others range anywhere from a few thousand to an engagement of lakhs. Deepika has also shared various glimpses from the sets of the movie on her social media. During this, she was seen winking at the camera as a challenge to the official wink girl Priya Varrier. Reacting to Deepikas video, Priya wrote, Did the goddess herself wink???!!! No better way to end 2019. Fallen. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B6SabKMDjld/?igshid=1fvohg5dou4ir While shooting in Delhi, various videos of Deepika in full make up were leaked, which worked well to further promote the movie. Various brand associations have helped the movie get out there too. The movie has brand partnerships with Joy Skin Care and ImpactGuru.com, which is a healthcare financing platform. While Joy have launched a new range of products called Joy Sensitive suitable for sensitive skin for acid attack survivors, ImpactGuru.com created a new TVC which features Deepika Padukone and shots from Chhapaak. The Chhapaak team also followed the standard marketing calendar that every movie follows. Deepika was seen in shows like The Kapil Sharma Show (Sony TV), Dance Plus (Star Plus) and Indian Idol, the film was also promoted through title track launch events and interaction with the media. Several newspapers and publications have covered Chhapaak in one way or another. Circulating the controversy around the film, the movie and Deepika especially got even more coverage from the media. The controversy Just ahead of the movies launch, Deepika visited JNU in Delhi, which was the scene of violent attacks on students by masked goons recently. This saw people on social media divided into two camps, with #BoycottChhapaak and #ISupportDeepika trending. Whether it was a marketing stunt or a genuine attempt to express the actress solidarity with the students is difficult to say. While a set of people took Deepikas participation in a negative way, who saw her as siding with the Leftists, there were many who supported her bold move and guts to be a part of something so controversial, and that too so close to the release of her film. Deepika is a smart player and she is aware of the consequences of her actions and has a clear understanding of the resources at her disposal. While a paid army of trolls attacked her, a mixed of paid, followed by genuine fans came out in her support. She also received ample support from her peers in the film industry. Along with the furore over Deepikas JNU visit, a controversy was also created by some, who said that the name and religion of the acid attacker was changed in the film to appease the minority community. It was pointed out that while in real life, the man who attacked Laxmi Agarwal was Nadeem Khan, in the movie he is named Rajesh. However, this proved to be fake news as the acid attacker is called Bashir Khan in the movie, while Rajesh is the name of the character who plays Deepika's friend in the movie. This is not the first time that Deepika has faced flak from a section of the people. Earlier, she had to bear the brunt of a fringe group called Karni Sena for her film Padmaavat. Apart from that, the actress has largely stayed away from controversy of any kind. What also needs to be pointed out is that even as #BoycottChhapaak trended on Twitter, people were seen favouring Ajay Devgn-starrer historical film Tanhaji in an attempt to pit the two movies against each other. Several posts were put up showcasing people cancelling their tickets online. What is funny to note is that the tickets shown in all posts showed the same seat numbers! Along with this, there were also quite a few supporters of Deepika who were seen offering to sponsor tickets for Chhapaak. Heres how Twitteratis responded to the controversy: #BoycottChapaak #BoycottChapaak Let's boycott Chapaak movie across the nation. The person who stands with anti national people Should get a perfect reply from pro india people by boycotting her film. Samya Sekhar Dash (@sommiiiii) January 8, 2020 Chapaak dekhenge world television premier pr#boycottchhapaak #boycottbollywood #boycottdeepikapadukone #pkmkb https://t.co/kt7JyYtJIg chhota maithun (@CMaithun) January 8, 2020 I have cancelled chapaak ticket yesterday. Now i will watch tanha ji with my family..#boycottchhapaak #DeepikaPadukone@deepikapadukone Anil K. Agrawal (@agrawalanilg) January 8, 2020 What fuels hatred for Hindus in Bollywood ? Why was Nadeem_Khan replaced by Rajesh_Sharma ? Is @deepikapadukone complicit of deliberately misleading the public, if her movie is based on Facts/True Story ? Who are the Financiers of #Chapaak ? Money Laundering... ? pic.twitter.com/bY5biFl6cO OliveGreens( ssr91170) Reloaded ! (@OliveGreens09) January 8, 2020 #ISupportDeepika I will watch #chapaak in theatres with my friend's. RT if you will do the same. Your support is the support for Acid survivors and their Struggle.@deepikapadukone#ISupportDeepika @anubhavsinha #ChhapaakDekhoTapaakSe https://t.co/2DqoRpPCoV pic.twitter.com/YfuJHh29Fi (@istu_rock) January 8, 2020 I will watch #Chappak in theatre. Will take more friends with me as well. Cowards Bhakts threatening to boycott her films coz they can't counter her with thoughts. She stood with the voice against this fascist government and now it's our duty to stand with her. #ISupportDeepika pic.twitter.com/f3F57rC3OA Mr.V (@CrazyViku) January 8, 2020 No wonder why they are called as G*bar bhakts ..... All bhakts have same ticket. They're spreading just fake agenda. I wish if bhakts could have a bit of common sense.#ISupportDeepikaPadukone #ISupportDeepika pic.twitter.com/mAjlHznGiP Aman Thakur (@the_amanthakur) January 8, 2020 Deepika stands with students of our country but people targeting her & trending against her film(#Chappak: A film which wants to motivate acid attack womens). Wake-up bhakton History will always remains @deepikapadukone for her bravery. Respect!#ISupportDeepika #JNUViolence pic.twitter.com/4k6PjSd2Hr Ilyazz Shaikh (@IlyazzSrkian) January 8, 2020 Heres the big question Was Deepikas involvement in the protests a smart marketing stunt for her movie or was it a true sign of support? Either way, people who truly believe she was supporting the protests really love her for her bold move which eventually initiated other celebs to speak up. If it is a marketing stunt, well everyone is talking about it arent they? The movie has got so much talk about it now leading to the release today. Seems like a win-win for Deepika and Chhapaak. The first cornerstone of my plan to get politics out of the states attorneys office is this: both during my campaign and after I am elected, I will not take any contributions from property tax attorneys, he said. Our property tax process is rigged to favor insiders who know how to game the system. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 23:17:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China will see the debut of the first wholly foreign-owned insurance holding company in January 2020, thanks to the country's efforts to open up the insurance market. Allianz China Holding, fully owned by Allianz Group, will open for business in Shanghai on Jan. 16, with its registered capital hitting 2.72 billion yuan (about 392 million U.S. dollars). The company's application for establishment was approved by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in November 2019. China has taken a slew of measures to upgrade the industry and cater to public demands of diversified products, including removing the foreign ownership cap on life insurers and accelerating efforts to open up the insurance market and foster a level playing field. Foreign-owned insurance companies will contribute to the reform and high-quality development of China's insurance industry by bringing in sound business concept and experience, said Zhu Junsheng, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council. China will continue to lead the growth of the global insurance market in the future, with insurance premiums to expand 14 percent each year over the next 10 years, research data from Allianz Group showed. A passenger aircraft belonging to Russias Nordwind Airlines traveling from Moscow has performed a hard landing in Antalya today, Turkish portal Airporthaber informed. According to the website, pilots of aircraft A321-200 with tail number VQ-BRS requested emergency landing in Antalya due to detection of smoke. During the landing, one of the planes landing wheels hit the fuselage, deforming it. Later, the Russian Consulate General in Antalya said that there were no passengers on the plane. "According to the information provided by the local office of Nordwind in Antalya, we confirm that a plane belonging to this company has performed a hard landing. It was flying without passengers, there have been no injuries. Only the plane suffered technical damage," TASS cited the source as saying. Expanded Unemployment Rate Breaks Record Low Amid Moderate Job Growth An expanded measure that gives a more complete picture of the American unemployment situation dropped to a record low in December with the help of moderate job growth. While the unemployment rate remained at a 50-year low of 3.5 percent, it only captures those who looked for jobs in the past four weeks. When counting those who sought jobs in the past year and those working part-time but wanting a full time job, the rate dropped to 6.7 percent, the lowest in the data made available by the Bureau of Labor Statistics going back to 1994. The economy added 145,000 jobs in December, which was a bit under expectations by economists, but still over the 100,000 needed to keep up with population growth. The numbers indicate that despite a hit to manufacturing associated with the Trump administrations tariff battle with China, the overall job market holds strong. China Negotiations Since July 2018, President Donald Trump has been gradually imposing tariffs on $550 billion worth of annual imports from China. Beijing responded with tariffs on $110 billion worth of U.S. imports. Trump is using the tariffs to pressure China into a trade deal that would address U.S. grievances including stifling American companies access to Chinese markets, forced technology transfers, dumping, theft of U.S. intellectual property, and currency manipulation. The worlds two largest economies announced in October that they had reached a partial trade agreement that is now slated to be signed on Jan. 15. Beijing committed in the deal to buy $80 billion to $100 billion in U.S. agricultural products over two years, which more than doubles its previous purchases. But theres still skepticism in the United States about whether China will stick to its concessions on intellectual property rights and state subsidies. Impact on Manufacturing The mutual tariffs seem to have affected the growth of U.S. manufacturing. The sectors employment growth of 2.1 percent in 2018 (December 2017 to December 2018), a pace unseen since the 1990s, slowed down to less than 0.4 percent in 2019. Manufacturing shrank by 12,000 jobs in December, primarily due to losses in fabricated metal products (7,300 jobs) and food manufacturing (3,700 jobs). The manufacturing slowdown, however, was counterbalanced by the roughly 2 million jobs added in the rest of the economy in 2019, particularly in healthcare, professional, and technical services as well as hospitality. Meanwhile, Trumps China tariffs have added close to $43 billion to the federal budget, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Despite the Phase One trade agreement with China, Trump is keeping the tariffs on while Phase Two is negotiated. Theres still a long way to go, said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue at a recent event. Phase two must address Chinese trade and industrial policies that put American businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Oil prices have now fallen below where they were before the assassination of General Soleimani, suggesting that traders have turned their focus away from geopolitical tensions and are instead worrying about a global oil glut in 2020. Oil prices are set to close out the week down sharply, lower than where they were before the Soleimani killing. WTI is currently nearing its one-month low. With de-escalation in the air, the geopolitical risk premium has disappeared for the time being. Product stocks soar. Crude stocks rose slightly in the past week, but gasoline stocks shot up sharply. In the past two weeks, gasoline stocks have increased by more than 22 million barrels. The EIA data was released shortly after President Trump spoke about Iran, a move the market interpreted as a de-escalation. The EIA data combined with the Iran news sent oil prices tumbling. Iran wants U.S. out of the Middle East. It is in their interest that they pack and leave voluntarily, not only Iraq but Afghanistan and the Arabic countries, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Thursday. The U.S. faces uncertainty in Iraq as the Iraqi parliament and Prime Minister have voiced support for expelling American forces from the country. EPA tightens pollution on trucks. The U.S. EPA initiated a process to limit emissions of nitrogen dioxide from heavy trucks. The industry supports it, as analysts say the move could head off stricter state-level standards in California. U.S. GHG emissions fall 2 percent. U.S. greenhouse gas emissions declined by 2.1 percent last year, due to an 18 percent decline in coal generation. Without policy changes, analysts say emissions declines will not accelerate. Related: Six Of The Hottest Oil Stocks For 2020 Apache Corp. skyrockets 27 percent on Suriname find. Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) saw its share price shoot up 27 percent this week after it announced a prolific discovery in offshore Suriname. Apache is partnering with Total SA (NYSE: TOT) on the project. Its binary. Yesterday, Suriname was worth nothing and now: we dont know what its going to be worth, BofA Global Research energy analyst Doug Leggate told Reuters. One brokerage called the discovery among the most anticipated in the world. The discovery comes at a critical time as Apaches Permian assets are struggling. Meanwhile, Apache also announced that it would eliminate nearly 500 jobs in order to cut costs. Talos says Mexico discovery holds 670 million barrels. Talos Energy (NYSE: TALO) said that its Zama field, one of the largest discoveries in Mexico in two decades, may hold roughly 670 million barrels of recoverable oil. BlackRock joins climate investor group. BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, said that it would join Climate Action 100+, a collection of 370 institutional investors managing $41 trillion in assets. The group pressures companies to cut carbon pollution. Trump to water down NEPA. The Trump administration wants to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of the bedrock environmental laws that requires environmental assessments before major infrastructure or energy projects move forward. The plan to defang NEPA is intended to accelerate permitting for big projects, but it will likely face legal challenges once it is finalized later this year. Russia opens TurkStream. Russia inaugurated the TurkStream pipeline this week, a pipeline that runs from Russia to the western edge of Turkey via the Black Sea. The pipeline will then carry gas to Western Europe. Just a few weeks ago, Russia started up the Power of Siberia pipeline, a long-distance conduit that runs to China. Meanwhile, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has stalled at the eleventh hour due to U.S. sanctions but is likely to be completed later this year. Atlantic Coast Pipeline loses permit. A federal court unanimously tossed out a federal permit for a compressor station servicing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline because of the deleterious health effects it would have on an African-American community, which constitutes unequal treatment, the court said. The pipeline aims to carry Marcellus shale gas to the U.S. Southeast but will have to cross sensitive forests and the Appalachian Trail, and as the court decision indicates, would have negative impacts on certain areas. Emissions on U.S. Gulf Coast to soar. The shale boom, and the coming wave of petrochemical plants, LNG export terminals and other infrastructure mostly in Texas and Louisiana will cause a spike in greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years. A new report said 157 planned facilities to be built by 2025 will result in the emissions equivalent of 50 coal-fired power plants. World Bank: Global GDP growth a tepid 2.5 percent. The World Bank said that global GDP will expand by just 2.5 percent this year, if everything goes just right. Behind the lethargy is an unprecedented runup in debt worldwide, and the prolonged deceleration of productivity growth. Last year, GDP grew by 2.4 percent. Emerging market debt ballooned to 170 percent of GDP in 2018, up from 115 percent in 2010. China opens oil and gas exploration. For the first time, China will allow foreign companies to explore for oil and gas in the country. China is accelerating the sector reform due to growing energy security concerns, Zhu Kunfeng, the Beijing-based associate director of upstream research at IHS Markit, told Reuters. Occidental to slash jobs. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) said it would significantly cut jobs as it tries to cut costs after the $38 billion takeover of Anadarko Petroleum. The acquisition quadrupled the companys debt to $40 billion. Related: Oil Tanks As Trump Claims Iran Is Standing Down Canadian oil prices fall again. Alberta may have loosened the mandatory production cuts too far as WCS prices have recently fallen sharply relative to WTI. The differential is at risk of a blowout, according to Credit Suisse. If the discount reaches $25 per barrel, the Alberta government might be forced to step back in and issue cuts again, Manav Gupta of Credit Suisse said. WCS recently fell to a $22-per-barrel discount. Global oil and gas discoveries hit 4-year high. The worlds oil and gas companies discovered 12.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent last year, the largest total since 2015. There were 26 discoveries of at least 100 million barrels in 2019. Wave of refineries up for sale. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) said that it is looking to sell its refinery in Anacortes, Washington, and there are now seven major refineries in the U.S. that are up for sale, accounting for 5 percent of the countrys processing capacity. Companies are having trouble finding bidders because of unfavorable locales, worries about falling margins, and the coming restart of nearby facilities in the Caribbean that will add to competition, Reuters said. By Tom Kool of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were a picture of a beautiful couple when they came home to the United Kingdom after a six-week rest from royal duties. However, their followers were too quick to ask where the royal baby is. Did baby Archie come home with them? Or was he left behind? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now back in the U.K., but the 8-month old Archie was not with them. According to sources who talked to PEOPLE, Prince Archie was left in Canada under the care of one of Meghan's close friends. The couple flew to London and, just a few hours since they came back, made a huge announcement about their future with the royal family. Are They Back For Good? The royal couple made their first public appearance since their six-week hiatus when they went to visit Canada House in London on Tuesday. The two personally wanted to thank the country for hosting their New Year Party. Their holiday getaway may have given both Harry and Meghan enough time to think of how they want to move forward in the new year. What remains clear at the moment is that the Sussexes are planning to go back to Canada to reunite with their son soon. It is believed that the young royal was left under the care of Meghan's good friend, Jessica Mulroney. To recall, Mulroney's three children had a special part in the royal wedding in 2018, serving as page boys and as a flower girl Shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan made the announcement about stepping back as "senior members" of the royal family so that they could "carve out a progressive new role within the traditional institution," Mulroney expressed her support for the two in an Instagram post. The Canadian stylist shared a quote from an American filmmaker Gina Carey: "A strong woman looks a challenge dead in the eye and gives it a wink." At a remote vacation home in Vancouver, Canada, Harry, Meghan and Archie spent valuable family time along with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, and a few close friends. It was from there that the royal couple posed for their annual Christmas photo and sent out their message to the public. During their visit to Canada House in London, Meghan revealed that the young prince was in awe of Canada's natural beauty. "Everything was so stunning and he loved it," Meghan said, showing that the vacation meant a lot to the couple to see their child looked so happy. Moving To North America The couple has a rich history with North America. Canada is part of the Commonwealth, a group of nations in the world with close ties to the Crown. Meghan has also found a home in Toronto for years, as she lived there while filming the legal drama "Suits." Meghan was a resident there when she and Prince Harry started dating. Their first public appearance as a couple was when Meghan showed her support during Harry's Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017. In the bombshell announcement they recently made, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said that they are making plans to split their time between North America and the U.K. They also admitted that it took them months of internal discussions and reflections before they have arrived at their decision to step back as "senior members" of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they wanted more financial independence while continuing to show support to the Queen. The decision to take a step back may have been brought by the controversies surrounding the couple before they left for their six-week vacation. Perhaps the change in scenario has allowed them to see that they have other options to become better and more financially independent members of the royal family. Amidst everything that is happening and with all the changes that will transpire in the coming months, one thing remains true for both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle -- their love for Prince Archie will always remain unconditional. Soon, the three will be reunited and all will be well. Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/10/2020 -- The report presents a highly detailed, comprehensive, and scientific research study on the Global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. The Research report presents a complete valuation of the Market and contains a forthcoming trend, current growth factors, attentive views, facts, and industry-validated market data. The report provides the historical as well as present growth parameters of the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. The report features salient and unique factors, which are expected to significantly impact the growth of the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market throughout the forecast period. Scope of the report: The report commences with a scope of the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market that includes the key findings and vital statistics of the market. This market research report also consists of the market value of the major segments of the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. QY Research has found a detailed taxonomy and the definition of the global market that helps the readers to better understand the basic information of the Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. It also highlights the exclusions and inclusions that help the client to understand the scope of the Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. The report consists of key market trends, which are likely to impact the growth of the market over the forecast period. Evaluation of in-depth industry trends is included in the report, along with their product innovations and key market growth. Competitive landscape and key vendors: Borbet, Ronal Wheels, Enkei Wheels, Superior Industries, Alcoa, Iochpe-Maxion, Uniwheel Group, Accuride, YHI International Limited, Topy Group, CITIC Dicastal, Lizhong Group, Wanfeng Auto, Kunshan Liufeng, Zhejiang Jinfei, Yueling Wheels, Zhongnan Aluminum Wheels, Anchi Aluminum Wheel, Guangdong Dcenti Auto-Parts >>>For more details, Get a Sample Copy of this Report (Including Full TOC, Table & Figures) @ https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/760690/global-automotive-aluminum-alloy-wheel-market QY Research report also includes the macro-economic factors, which are likely to influence the growth of the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market during the forecast period. Along with the factors, the report also analyzes the growth opportunities of the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. It sheds light on the trends, restraints, and drivers to understand the growth prospects followed by the key players in the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market. Geographical Outlook: In 2018, the global Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market size was increased to xx million US$ from xx million US$ in 2014, and it will reach xx million US$ in 2025, growing at CAGR of xx%% between 2019 and 2025. QY Research report provides a detailed information to the clients about the various factors that are impacting on the growth of the regions across North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam), Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC Countries, Egypt and South Africa), and South America (Brazil and others). Segment Analysis: The report provides detailed segments based on product type and applications so that the readers can better understand each segment that influences the Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market growth. By the product type, the market is primarily split into Casting Forging Other By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments Passenger Vehicle Commercial Vehicle Competitive Landscape: The report provides a list of all the key players in the Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel market along with a detailed analysis of the strategies, which the companies are adopting. The strategies mainly include new product development, research, and development, and also provides revenue shares, company overview, and recent company developments to remain competitive in the market. The Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel key manufacturers in this market include: Borbet Ronal Wheels Enkei Wheels Superior Industries Alcoa Iochpe-Maxion Uniwheel Group Accuride YHI International Limited Topy Group CITIC Dicastal Lizhong Group Wanfeng Auto Kunshan Liufeng Zhejiang Jinfei Yueling Wheels Zhongnan Aluminum Wheels Anchi Aluminum Wheel Guangdong Dcenti Auto-Parts For Further Detailed insights and 'Any Query About Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel Market', Place your Query Here!- https://www.qyresearch.com/customize-request/form/760690/global-automotive-aluminum-alloy-wheel-market Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Report Summary 4. Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel Composites Market Overview -Introduction -Drivers -Restraints -Industry Trends -Porter& Five Forces Analysis -SWOT Analysis 5. Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel Composites Market Review, By Product 6. Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel Composites Market Summary, By Application 7. Automotive Aluminum Alloy Wheel Composites Market Outline, By Region North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa 8. Competitive Overview 9. Company Profiles: Borbet, Ronal Wheels, Enkei Wheels, Superior Industries, Alcoa, Iochpe-Maxion, Uniwheel Group, Accuride, YHI International Limited, Topy Group, CITIC Dicastal, Lizhong Group, Wanfeng Auto, Kunshan Liufeng, Zhejiang Jinfei, Yueling Wheels, Zhongnan Aluminum Wheels, Anchi Aluminum Wheel, Guangdong Dcenti Auto-Parts 10. Appendix Lamu, Kenya (PANA) Top US army commanders have carried out an assessment mission at Camp Simba and the Manda Bay airfield in Kenya, which was attacked on 5 Jan, leaving US casualties, the Africa Command said on Friday Its not every day you get to propose to your high school sweetheart." This was the mantra of Lee Loechler while planning how to pop the question to his longtime girlfriend, Sthuthi David. A filmmaker, Loechler turned to the movies for help. He worked with Australian artist Kayla Coombs to recreate his girlfriends favorite film, Sleeping Beauty, with their likeness featured in the leading roles. He planned a screening at Coolidge Corner Theater, in their hometown of Brookline. After the moment in the film where Aurora is kissed by Prince Phillip, a ring is presented on screen, then the character throws the ring box to where Loechler is standing near his girlfriend by their seats in the front row. I love you with my whole heart, including all of its ventricles, atriums, valves, he said to David, a cardiologist. When asked Will you live happily ever after with me? David responded yes, and the three fairies in Sleeping Beauty celebrated on screen. Loechler also prepped an alternative version of the film titled, Sthuthi says no." He said he managed to keep the proposal a surprise. The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing wed get to live happily ever after together. The crisis between the United States and Iran has been put under sharp focus at a UN Security Council meeting. Iranian and US officials have faced off at the United Nations for the first time since the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was unable to attend the session in New York because the United States refused to grant him a visa. The US has continued to justify the assassination of Soleimani, but it found limited backing for its action, even among its own allies. Al Jazeeras James Bays reports from the UN. E. Jean Carroll visits 'Tell Me Everything' with John Fugelsang in the SiriusXM Studios on July 11, 2019 in New York. President Donald Trump has lost an effort to get a New York judge to dismiss a lawsuit against him by E. Jean Carroll, the writer who alleges that he raped her in the changing room of a Manhattan luxury department store decades earlier. Carroll sued Trump in November, claiming he defamed her by saying she lied about the rape and that she was motivated by money and a political agenda to make up the allegation. Trump earlier this month asked Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan to toss out Carroll's lawsuit, arguing that because he made those statements about her while in Washington, D.C., and not in New York state, he could not be sued for them in a New York court. Ling-Cohan, in a ruling released Thursday, rejected that argument, saying Trump's lawyer Laurence Rosen failed to offer evidence that the president was not subject to the jurisdiction of the New York court. "Although defendant Trump, through his counsel, claims lack of personal jurisdiction, notably, there is not even a tweet, much less an affidavit, by defendant Trump in support of his motion," Ling-Cohan wrote. Instead, the judge noted, Trump's attorney merely argued that Ling-Cohan should "take judicial notice that the President of the United States has resided in the United States for the past three years." In her ruling, Ling-Cohan also rejected Trump's effort to postpone discovery in the case. That will allow Carroll to seek evidence from Trump and his testimony in response to her suit. "WE MOVE AHEAD!" Carroll wrote on Twitter, crowing that Ling-Cohan "DENIES @realDonaldTrump's lame effort to get suit tossed." Carroll's lawyer Robbie Kaplan said, "We are pleased, yet unsurprised, that the Court refused to tolerate Donald Trump's latest attempt to avoid discovery in our client's case." "We look forward to moving ahead and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client and had not even met her," Kaplan said. Advertisement Iran has bulldozed the crash site where a passenger jet came down two days ago, sparking fears of a cover-up after Tehran today denied the West's 'big lie' that Iranian missiles shot down the plane. It comes as Ukraine has been granted access to the plane's black box flight recorders, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday. He added that they were receiving 'full cooperation' from the Iranian authorities. Kiev sent around 50 experts to Iran to take part in the probe after the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. The debris of the Boeing 737 has been removed from the crash site near Tehran before Ukrainian investigators have even arrived - leaving the site at the mercy of scavengers. Iran earlier today said that it is 'opening' the plane's black boxes but has indicated it will not allow the US government to analyse their contents. Washington and its allies believe that the plane was shot down by two Iranian surface-to-air missiles which were launched and detected by satellites just minutes after the airliner took off. Footage which emerged last night showed the Ukraine International Airlines jet exploding in mid-air after it was hit. It is feared that Iranian forces may have mistaken the passenger plane for a military jet, hours after Iran launched missile strikes on US bases in Iraq. Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson have all pointed the finger at Iran as a chorus of Western countries rejected Iran's explanation of a technical failure and NATO also backed the shoot-down theory today. Iran accused the US of waging 'psychological warfare' and inventing a 'big lie' as it denied the claims today. The crisis forced Western planes heading to Tehran to turn around in mid-air last night, with many airlines now avoiding Iranian airspace. America's Federal Aviation Administration had banned US airlines from flying over Iran just hours before the crash, potentially saving American lives from a misdirected shoot-down. Bulldozers clean up debris at the crash site on Wednesday, just hours after the Ukraine International Airlines jet came down A bulldozer is seen at the crash site on Wednesday as rescuers combed through the remains of the crashed Boeing plane Rescue workers pile debris into a bulldozer following the crash which Western governments believe was caused by two Iranian missiles A black box recovered from the crashed Boeing 737 is examined today with Tehran saying it wants to handle the flight recorders itself An image of anti-aircraft missile debris, supposedly from near the site of the downed Ukrainian Airlines flight, was widely shared on social media Footage which emerged last night showed the Ukraine International Airlines jet exploding in mid-air after it was hit, killing all 167 passengers and nine crew on board A satellite image taken yesterday shows the area where the Ukraine International Airlines jet crashed shortly after take-off An image from the flight tracker website Flightradar24 showing the path of the Ukranian International Airlines jet which crashed just over two minutes after taking off from Tehran Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau (pictured last night) led Western governments in blaming an Iranian missile strike for the Ukrainian International Airlines crash which killed 176 people Mourners wave flags outside Downing Street today during a vigil for the victims of the Iranian air disaster How long does it take to read the contents of a black box? If a black box is not damaged, its contents could be downloaded in a matter of minutes. The flight recorders are designed to withstand the impact of a crash, but may be burned or dented, meaning it can take weeks to retrieve the data. The International Aviation Safety Association explains that a damaged black box will need to have its memory card removed, cleaned and attached to a working recorder. The new recorder will retrieve the data, allowing investigators to analyse the contents. Iran has said the black boxes on the Ukrainian International Airlines plane may be damaged and could need international expertise to be analysed. Pictures broadcast on Iranian state TV showed one of the boxes looking charred and battered but fundamentally intact. Tehran has issued a range of conflicting statements about who will be allowed to help analyse the results. The boxes are designed to store second-by-second information including on speed, altitude, engine performance and flight trajectory. They also record conversations between the pilots and flight attendants as well as other sounds on board, including possible alarms. To make them easier to find, they are bright orange (despite the name) and fitted with a beacon which can emit a signal for one month. They are also designed to survive fire and lengthy periods underwater. Advertisement Visiting the crash site today, CBS reporter Elizabeth Palmer said 'virtually all pieces of the plane' had been removed with no security around the site and scavengers now scouring the remaining debris. Bulldozers were seen at the crash site just hours after the plane came down and it is feared that valuable evidence could have been compromised or lost. Ukraine says its investigators have been granted permission to look for missile fragments, but they were nowhere in sight by the time the debris was removed. The Ukrainian investigators are also interested in an image which circulated on Wednesday night and appeared to show the charred remnants of a rocket, but has not yet been verified. Tehran claims the crash was caused by a technical fault but Western governments came down firmly on the side of a shoot-down last night, saying the plane had been brought down by two Iranian missiles. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's national aviation department, denied the allegations today at a news conference in Tehran. 'One thing is for certain, this aeroplane was not hit by a missile,' he said. Changing Iran's story, he said the pilot had asked to turn back to the airport after the engine caught fire - although Tehran previously said the crew had not reported any problems. The black box flight recorders are being 'opened' today but could be faulty and may be sent to Russia or Canada to be analysed, Abedzadeh said. He said it could take one or two months to extract information from the boxes, which contain the voice and flight data recorders. 'We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we can't do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help,' he said. Iran previously said it would not share the black boxes with Boeing, but today invited the company to help investigate them. Government spokesman Ali Rabiei also invited 'all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane' to send representatives - which does not include the US. Bulldozers have been operating at the crash site before Ukrainian investigators even arrived - sparking fears of an Iranian cover-up A large piece of debris is towed away by a bulldozer, with the crash site now unsupervised and left open to scavengers An Iranian diplomat bizarrely denied that bulldozers had been clearing debris - despite this photographic evidence A bulldozer works at the scene on Wednesday - since when the crash site has apparently been left unsupervised Bulldozers were being used at the crash site as early as Wednesday, hours after the disaster took place (pictured) Dismissing the US claims, government spokesman Rabiei said: 'It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government and those supporting it are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimising them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies. 'No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent,' he was quoted as saying by Press TV. Iran's ambassador to Britain Hamid Baeidinejad later bizarrely denied that debris had been bulldozed from the crash site despite the photographic evidence of bulldozers at the scene. Speaking to Sky News, he said he was 'confident from our side that there has been no missile launched in that area at that time'. Russia also came to the defence of its ally Iran, accusing the West of 'trying to score political points' and insisting it was too early to blame an Iranian missile. Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov called the assertions of a missile strike 'unacceptable' and 'at the very least indecent'. 'One shouldn't try to score political points on this horrible human tragedy. It is important to allow specialists to analyze the situation and make conclusions,' he said. Despite Iran's attempts to freeze Washington out of the probe, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo offered American help to Ukraine in investigating the crash today. Ukraine said it had received data from the United States that would be processed by experts, without elaborating on the nature of the data. 'Grateful for the condolences of the American people and valuable support of the US in investigating the causes of the plane crash,' Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said. 'Information obtained from the U.S. will assist in the investigation.' Boeing, which has been dealt another blow after two deadly crashes on its 737 Max range threw the company into crisis last year, said today it was working with US regulators as it tries to assist the investigation. Because of US sanctions, the company will need approval from the Treasury Department to send representatives to Iran. One of the black boxes from the Ukraine International Airlines jet. Iran says it wants to download the data itself Iran has issued contradictory statements about who will be allowed to examine the black boxes (pictured) A woman lays a candle at a vigil in London today held by the Anglo-Iranian Communities in the UK and supporters of the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran Posters depicting Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lie on the ground during a vigil in London today President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has serious doubts that the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran was caused by mechanical failure after Pentagon officials claimed that the jet was shot down Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei (pictured) accused the West of 'psychological warfare' after US satellite data showed surface-to-air missiles being launched at the jet Rescuers examine the wreckage of the Boeing 737 after it crashed on Wednesday morning following what Western governments believe was a missile strike Wreckage of the plane which investigators in Iran say was trying to turn back to the airport when it crashed as the result of a mechanical fault, killing 176 people Iran is 'one or two years' away from a nuclear weapon if it breaches deal, France warns Iran could have nuclear weapons within two years if it continues to breach its 2015 deal with the West, France has warned. French foreign minister Yves Le Drian said Iran was 'between one and two years' away from being nuclear-armed if it entirely abandoned the pact. 'If they continue with unravelling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option,' he told French radio. Iran has taken a series of steps away from the deal in recent months, announcing after Soleimani's death that it was no longer abiding by any of the enrichment limits. Donald Trump abandoned the deal in May 2018 and re-imposed tough US sanctions on Iran, but European powers want to keep it alive. Tehran has said it is willing to return to the limits if its demands are met, which include greater European efforts to bypass US sanctions. Under the deal, Tehran had pledged to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years, including by capping its enrichment of uranium at 3.67 per cent, far below the more than 90 per cent required for a nuclear weapon. Once a country enriches uranium to around 20 per cent, scientists say the time needed to reach 90 per cent is halved. Iran continues to insist that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. EU foreign ministers are today holding an emergency meeting in a bid to de-escalate the Middle East crisis. Advertisement The Iranian denial is unsurprising and Tehran has a history of issuing such statements, including last summer when it denied involvement in mysterious attacks on Gulf shipping. In June 2019 the Pentagon released footage of Iranian special forces removing an unexploded limpet mine from the side of a ship. Iran similarly labelled it 'psychological warfare'. Moreover the Iranian regime, which has faced protests in recent months, will be highly reluctant to accept blame for a crash which killed dozens of its own citizens. Justin Trudeau, who has demanded answers for the families of 63 Canadians killed in the crash, said last night he had 'intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence' pointing to a shoot-down. 'The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,' he said, adding that the strike 'may well have been unintentional'. 'This new information reinforces the need for a thorough investigation into this matter,' he said. 'Canada is working with its allies to ensure that a thorough and credible investigation is conducted to determine the causes of this fatal crash. Canadians have questions and they deserve answers.' Ukraine's general prosecutor has asked Canada 'to provide information available to the Canadian side that may facilitate criminal investigations' into the crash. Donald Trump also rejected Iran's claims of a mechanical fault. 'It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. Somebody could have made a mistake,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. 'I have a feeling that something very terrible happened, very devastating.' UK prime minister Boris Johnson said there was 'now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile', saying it 'may well have been unintentional'. 'We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation,' he said. Today Britain's Foreign Office advised British nationals not to travel to Iran at all, after previously warning against non-essential travel. 'We also recommend against taking a flight to, from and within Iran,' said foreign secretary Dominic Raab. The US State Department has already told US citizens not to travel to Iran. Australian PM Scott Morrison said his country had 'received similar intelligence' to that which Trudeau had cited, while France has also offered help with the investigation. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said today he had 'no reason not to believe' the claims of US, British and Canadian intelligence. The missile concerns were 'exactly why we need thorough investigation, that's exactly why we need to establish all the facts and that's exactly why it's so important we have full cooperation from the Iranian side in such an investigation,' he said. The Netherlands also joined in the chorus today, as defence minister Ank Bijleveld said it was 'likely an Iranian anti-aircraft missile has led to the crash of the aircraft'. 'Unfortunately the Netherlands has experience from MH17,' he said, referring to the 2014 crash which killed 296 people including many Dutch citizens after it was shot down over Ukraine. Satellite data detected the heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles being launched just minutes after the Boeing 737 took off, the US government says. That was quickly followed by an explosion, officials say, before infrared emissions from the plane showed it burning as it crashed to the ground. Multiple videos have shown the plane already ablaze before it hit the ground. Rescue teams gather at the scene after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Questions were first raised when pictures of the plane debris appeared to show shrapnel holes in the fuselage. US officials now say they detected two missile launches just before an explosion, believed to have come from the jet A Ukraine International Airlines employee lays a candle at a Kyiv airport memorial for the nine crew members killed in the air disaster Tehran-bound flights turned round last night after Western leaders blamed a missile strike for the crash. With a coincidental engine failure ruled out, there are now fears that an accidental missile strike could happen again, meaning many airlines are avoiding Iranian airspace. The FAA had banned US-based operators from the airspace over Iran three hours before the crash took place and the ban remains in force. Austrian Airlines said it was cancelling its flight to Tehran on Friday 'due to the latest reports and the changed assessment of the security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport'. Thursday's flight to Tehran was ordered to return to Vienna after a stopover in Sofia, the statement added. Lufthansa - the parent company of Austrian - said its flight between Frankfurt and Tehran on Thursday had returned an hour after takeoff because of security concerns. British Airways has also diverted flights via Egypt and Saudi Arabia to avoid Iranian airspace on the way to the Middle East. Etihad Airlines, Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline are still using the airspace, which remains open. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, holds a candle on Parliament Hill during a vigil for the victims who were killed in the plane crash Ukraine has said the plane could have been shot down by a Russian-made Tor missile, the weapon believed to have brought down MH17 in 2014. 'Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truth,' he said. It is not widely believed that Iran shot down the passenger jet on purpose, especially because it had taken off from Tehran with 82 Iranian nationals on board. However, tensions were at their height on Tuesday night after Iran attacked US bases and it is feared that nervous Iranian air defence forces could have mistaken the plane for a bomber. Kyiv yesterday sent missile specialists to examine the wreckage of the Boeing jet, saying a shoot-down was one of the 'main theories'. Questions were raised within hours of the crash when pictures showed part of the fuselage peppered with holes. A special commission of experts sent to Tehran includes specialists who found evidence that the Russian weapon had brought down MH17. Ukraine also referred to images which circulated on Wednesday night showing what appeared to be the charred remnants of a rocket. The images were unverified and could be a hoax, but Ukraine said the 'information [which] has surfaced on the internet' had bolstered the missile strike theory. The Canadian prime minister, at a vigil for the victims of the plane crash, was the first world leader to say Iran had downed the passenger jet The Ukrainian airliner crashed in farmland just after take off from Imam Khomeini International Airport. A section of rocket was said to have been found in front of a home in the city of Parand A makeshift memorial to Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has sprung up near Baghdad airport (pictured), where the general was killed in a US drone strike seven days ago Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007, and Iran has displayed them in military parades. Commercial flights have transponders which broadcast their identity, speed and altitude at an internationally agreed frequency. Flight 752 would have been visible on the radar screen of the Tor battery. The US National Transportation Safety Board said late last night that it would 'evaluate its level of participation in the investigation.' The extent of the NTSB's role could be limited by US sanctions on Iran. The claims and counter-claims over the crash have sent tensions ratcheting up again after Iran's relatively inconsequential strikes on US bases had sparked hopes that the Middle East crisis was calming. Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation for the death of general Qassem Soleimani is complete. Soleimani was killed last Friday in a drone strike near Baghdad airport, where a makeshift memorial to the Quds Force commander has since sprung up. The general was regarded as a hero by many Iranians and his death sparked a huge outpouring of public grief. A million people are thought to have joined a funeral march in Tehran on Monday, although the proceedings descended into chaos on Tuesday when a stampede killed more than 50 people in Soleimani's home town. Rev. Ancel Knight was said to be recuperating in an open ward following surgery. Police have confirmed that they have made no arrest in connection to the December 31, 2019 daylight shooting of Rev. Ancel Knights, a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. Superintendent of Police (Sp) Trevor Bailey, South Central Divisional Commander told THE VINCENTIAN that investigations into the incident were ongoing. He confirmed that Knights was shot twice - once in the abdomen, while the other shot grazed his head - by an assailant(s) along the Golden Vale road. He was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital where he underwent surgery. THE VINCENTIAN has been informed that as of Wednesday, he had been moved from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to Male Surgical Ward. (DD) Editors Note: THE VINCENTIAN stands corrected with respect to its report on this incident in its edition of Friday 3rd January, 2019, in which it was reported that Rev. Knights received three bullets. There also seemed to have been some umbrage taken by persons intimately involved in assisting Rev Knights, with respect to a comment made in the referenced report, about the inordinate amount of time that elapsed before medical and police services arrived on the scene. We accept that that assessment might have been subjective. The Nigeria Police Force has reacted to the viral video of officers caught extorting road users with point of sale (POS) machine. The police, in its reaction via its verified Twitter handle, said an investigation has commenced and the culprits would be brought to book. On Thursday, a Twitter user, @marshallkacy, shared a video where officers were seen demanding ransom to be paid with ATMs on the POS machines, from members of the public. In the 45-second video, a young man was heard protesting that he would not provide his own ATM, because he had never heard about such. Many Nigerians have since stormed social media to condemn the conduct of the police officer. The police, through its handle, on Friday, said an investigation has commenced to confirm the authenticity of the video and the location of the crime. The @policeNG has commenced investigations to unravel the authenticity of the video, location of incident and identity of persons captured in the viral video where some persons in Police uniform were captured, allegedly with POS machine and demanding ATM card from a member of the public. Members of the public with relevant information that could assist Police investigators are enjoined to kindly DM @policeNG or furnish same via any of our confidential channels e.g pressforabuja@police.gov.ng https://t.co/kva2Ekm2zT The IGP condemns all acts of corruption by Public Servants, particularly Police officers and is committed to bringing to book any officer found wanting in this regard, their tweet highlighted. The norm Nigeria Police officers have continued the culture of extortion at checkpoints despite decades of condemnation by the Nigerian public and foreign think-tanks. READ ALSO: Mounting roadblocks is one of the easiest ways for officers to shakedown motorists. Oftentimes, they compromise their official duty by taking arbitrary fines from motorists whose vehicle license or insurance papers are outdated or missing. Where all vehicle and driving credentials are intact, officers find other ways of harassing road users to squeeze out as much as they can, within the shortest time possible. In recent decades, especially in the help of the internet, hundreds of officers have been caught on camera, soliciting bribes at roadblocks and their actions have been posted online. Most of the officers, have, however, escaped disciplinary measures known to the public. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday accused AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal of not taking a "strong" stand against the amended Citizenship Act, saying the Delhi chief minister wanted both supporters and opponents of the law on his side. Tharoor also appealed to the people of Delhi to resist any move to polarise the assembly polls next month on the CAA issue and recent incidents of violence. "Kejriwal perhaps wants both pro and anti-CAA people on his side so he did not take any strong stand on it. On what basis people should vote for him, if he cannot speak about the issue," Tharoor said at a press conference held at Delhi Congress office. Attacking the BJP, Tharoor said the country is going through a turmoil, stifling of dissent and attacks on university campuses in Delhi. On the issue of violence at Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU, the senior Congress leader said Kejriwal not only failed to take a "clear stand" on the CAA but also did not meet the students who were injured in these incidents. Tharoor claimed that Kejriwal had earlier said Delhi Police did not stop the violence in JNU as it had orders not to intervene. He asked who had stopped the Delhi chief minister from taking a stand on CAA and showing sympathy with the students. "I do not know whose orders he (Kejriwal) is receiving -- who has asked you(Kejriwal) not to speak about violence against your students, not meet the injured students, and not take a clear stand on CAA. You are the CM and there is nobody to order you," he said. Citing Kejriwal's tweet against former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Tharoor said people would not vote for a "helpless" chief minister. "Kejriwal tweeted some years ago - we do not want such a helpless Chief Minister- about Sheila Dikshit. Let him read his own tweet now. Do parents want such a helpless CM who when their children are facing lathis, does not meet them," Tharoor said. As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal drew criticism for not visiting JNU campus after violence there, AAP leader Sanjay Singh had said that had the party chief gone to the university, the BJP would have vitiated the atmosphere and blamed it on him. Tharoor asserted that his party took a "strong and clear stand" against the CAA. "You can not reduce CAA to an issue of one religion alone. It is not just a matter of Indian Muslims, it is a matter of all Indians," he said attacking the BJP. Tharoor hoped that no further incidence of violence takes place, saying such incidents were a blot on the country. He accused the BJP of trying to polarise before the elections. "Definitely, the intention of the BJP before almost every election is to create polarisation. We hope the educated voters of Delhi resist any such move to polarise them in anyway," he said when asked if CAA and NRC will become a poll issue. Union minister and Delhi BJP inchrage for Assembly polls, Prakash Javadekar had earlier charged Congress and other opposition parties of "instigating" students and "using" them for their "vested" interests. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protesters demonstrate over the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, Iran. Read more For the overwhelming number of Americans who have little interest in adding a war with Iran to the list of ill-advised, modern U.S. military conflicts, this week brought only confusion about what lies ahead. On the one hand, leaders from both countries veered from full-throated antagonism to wary rapprochement, like a pair of guys whod traded punches outside a bar, but then decided they wanted to head home before things got really ugly. Yet the international brinkmanship that arguably began when President Donald Trump ordered a Jan. 3 airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seems unlikely to have reached its end with Irans casualty-free missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq. Bullets and bombs, after all, are just one way of waging war inelegant, violent, primitive. Intelligence analysts, cyber security experts, and former U.S. officials worry that Irans next retaliatory move will be quieter and more sinister: a devastating cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure, or against private companies whose operations are intertwined with so many peoples daily lives. Its not difficult to conjure visions of blackouts, dead phone lines, or the chaos that could spring from a crippling strike on banking systems. Iran has flirted with such activity before; in 2016, the United States indicted seven Iranians who allegedly knocked off-line the computer networks of nearly four dozen financial institutions, and tried to gain control of a dams operational system in Westchester County, N.Y. Most people are much more concerned about an attack they can see and feel, and cant relate to this idea of a clandestine war, said Tom Ridge, the Republican former governor of Pennsylvania, who served as the first U.S. secretary of Homeland Security in the early 2000s. But theres a digital war going on thats basically undeclared, the potential consequences of which if it gets out of control are far greater than a physical attack. Now everyone has that capability Ridge knows better than most the challenge of trying to predict a foreign adversarys next moves. He had to get the newly created Department of Homeland Security off the ground in the first years that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a period marked by deep paranoia about additional terrorist plots. His mornings often started in the White House, where he waited with then-FBI Director Robert Mueller and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to be ushered into the Oval Office. The three men reviewed, with President George W. Bush, the dozens of daily threats that had been gleaned from intelligence-gathering operations. Were we anxious? Yeah. Some of the threats seemed more credible than others, Ridge said. This was 15 years ago. There wasnt the same concern about terrorists having cyber capabilities. Fast forward, and now everyone has that capability: nation states, hackers, terrorists. In 2009, a U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that Iran had the motivation to carry out a cyberattack of some kind, but lacked the necessary know-how, according to the New York Times. Three years later, Iran was accused of launching a cyberattack against Saudi Aramco, one of the worlds largest oil companies, that wiped out 75% of the data on Aramcos computers. We really gained an understanding of how their activities evolved from their activity in the Gulf region, said Luke McNamara, a principal analyst with FireEye, a California-based cybersecurity firm. Weve seen them grow in their capability over the years. Between 2011 and 2013, Iran directed denial-of-service attacks at 46 companies, including American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and AT&T. Customers were unable to access their accounts, sometimes for hours at a time. I just take it as a foregone conclusion that our enemies know the most vulnerable sectors of our economy, Ridge said, where they can do enormous damage. Global Guardian, an international security and intelligence firm, produced a report for some of its clients in the wake of Soleimanis death, summarizing some of Irans cyber capabilities and methods. The three-page document was filled with sobering information, according to a copy obtained by The Inquirer. Previous cyberattacks have left Iran with access to millions of computers around the world, Global Guardian found, and the country relies on at least four distinct espionage groups with names like CopyKittens and APT33 that each have areas of specific focus, from telecommunication and travel industries to countries that include the United States, Turkey, Germany. and Jordan. One group, Charming Kitten, tries to access email and Facebook accounts of people who work in academia, human rights, and the media. Last weekend, a government website the Federal Depository Library Program was hacked, its home page replaced with an image of a fist clobbering Trump in the face, with blood trickling down to his chin. Hacked by Iran Cyber Security Group! read part of a message posted on the site. Global Guardian wrote in its report that it would take seven to 10 days before we begin seeing more sophisticated cyber activity. But Dale Buckner, the companys president and CEO, noted that Iran might not want to take credit for a more serious strike that could invite a heavy military response from the United States. They can utilize their proxies throughout the world, which could make it really difficult to attribute an attack to Iran, he said. Buckner wasnt swayed by the more cautious tone that both U.S. and Iranian officials seemed to adopt after Irans missile attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq. I dont think that changes the calculus on a cyberattack, he said. I dont think theyll miss a beat on that. The next dimension of warfare While the odds seem heavily weighted in favor of Iran pursuing something more serious than digital graffiti on one government website, none of the experts who spoke to The Inquirer seemed ready to stuff their savings under their mattresses or begin hoarding firewood and water bottles. This is simply the new normal governments and corporations can always expect that someone will be digitally casing their operations, poking and prodding for hidden vulnerabilities that can be exploited at just the right moment. Buckner said the United States had, for a time, lagged behind in its defense of critical infrastructure, like electrical grids, but has surged in the amount of time, money, and effort dedicated to locking those things down during the last seven or eight years. Ridge noted that Homeland Security had only a handful of cyber defense experts during his time leading the agency. Now they have hundreds. According to retired U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, the chief question is whether the United States will be moved to respond with direct attacks on Iranian forces and infrastructure, at a time when the Iranian economy is already seriously damaged by sanctions, and when the Iranian people have already been demonstrating against the regime in very considerable numbers." The United States will undoubtedly continue its own covert activity, which has found varying degrees of success in recent years. In 2010, a malware attack led by the United States and Israel reportedly caused nearly 1,000 centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear facility to self-destruct. Iran responded by beefing up its cyber capabilities even more. This, Ridge said, is the next dimension of warfare. Experts believe that the opening of the petroleum distribution market at a certain level will help the market operate better. The first foreign-owned filling station, Idemitsu Q8, opened in Hanoi two years ago. The Japanese investor has the right to run the station because it is a big shareholder of Nghi Son oil refinery project. Only two years later, an official proposal for the petroleum distribution market opening was made after a lot of hesitation. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) is drafting a decree amending some articles of Decree 83 on petroleum trading, allowing petroleum businessmen who have the activities of producing and processing petroleum products to transfer shares to foreign institutions. The enterprises, which only have distribution activities, wont be able to transfer capital to foreign investors. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) is drafting a decree amending some articles of Decree 83 on petroleum trading, allowing petroleum businessmen who have the activities of producing and processing petroleum products to transfer shares to foreign institutions. The transfer must get approval by MOIT and the amount of shares to be transferred must not be higher than 34 percent of the businessmens capital. In fact, foreign investors have been present in some Vietnamese petroleum companies, including Petrolimex, PV Oil and Binh Son Oil Refinery in accordance with specific agreements between the Vietnamese governmentand investors. If the regulation compiled by MOIT becomes true, more foreign investors will have the right to buy into Vietnamese petroleum companies. According to Tran Duy Dong from MOIT, many foreign investors want to cooperate with Vietnamese businesses, while Vietnamese businesses also want to cooperate with foreign ones to attract capital, learn experience and get support in production techniques. If Vietnam opens its market to foreign investors, it will be able to take full advantage of resources and have the opportunities to learn experience from foreign enterprises, Dong said. A senior executive of Saigon Petro said Vietnam will have to open its market door, sooner or later. We know that the market share will be re-divided. But we are still awaiting an official decision to assess the possible impact and discuss solutions to adapt to the new circumstances, he said. Dong admitted that the market opening will not only bring benefits to consumers, but also to the state. The competition is good in all business fields, because the presence of foreign investors will force Vietnamese enterprises to improve themselves and the make the market operate on a right track. Asked about the ceiling foreign ownership ratio of 34 percent that MOIT suggests, Dong said petroleum is a strategic product and Vietnam needs to ensure energy security. We plan the 34 percent foreign ownership ratio at maximum to be sure that the state has the right to make decision or veto important policies to ensure the stability of the market, he said. Thanh Lich Vietnam reduces petroleum imports Vietnam imported more than 6.5 million tonnes of petroleum products from January to September 15, spending US$3.97 billion, according to the General Department of Customs. The Center for Congregational Health, part of Wake Forest Baptist Health's Division of FaithHealth Ministries, has been awarded a $1 million grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. in support of an initiative designed to empower clergy and lay leaders from different congregations in close geographical proximity to work collaboratively to help their faith communities thrive. With the grant funds, the Wake Forest Center will establish an Institute for Congregational Health that will organize ten learning communities of 36 people eight lay leaders and one ordained clergy member from each of four congregations of different denominations located in the same geographical area that will meet six times over the course of a year. Each meeting will be facilitated by two trained faculty members from the Center for Congregational Health's network of consultants. The project's goal is for the participants to explore their common ground and to learn and practice skills that will allow them to better lead their congregations in their shared geographical context. The initiative is designed to serve smaller congregations, those with an average worship attendance of less than 500. We hope that these clergy and lay leaders will be able to clarify mission and vision, identify assets and mine the values of their histories and traditions so they can more deeply and effectively minister to the larger local community." Rev. Chris Gambill, Ph.D., director of the Center for Congregational Health Founded in 1992, the Center for Congregational Health has provided direct consultation to congregations of more than two dozen different denominations and faith traditions in 44 states and five foreign countries. Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation based in Indianapolis that supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Northern Ireland's power-sharing government is set to restart after three years of political stagnation after Sinn Fein has agreed to back a deal to restore the devolved administration. With the DUP having already signalled its support for a draft deal proposed by the UK and Irish governments, the republican party's endorsement means the two parties will re-enter a mandatory coalition in Belfast. Peace process structures mean a ministerial executive can only function with the inclusion of the largest unionist party and largest nationalist party in the region. Speaking in Belfast today, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald confirmed that its Ard Chomhairle (ruling council) had agreed to 're-enter the powersharing institutions and to nominate ministers to the powersharing executive'. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (left), deputy leader Michelle O'Neill (third right) and party colleagues arrive to speak to the media in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings, Stormont Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill speak to the media flanked by party colleagues Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill speak to the media She told a press conference the challenges of this time are 'absolutely immense', adding: 'Are we able for that? Absolutely. Is Sinn Fein up for that? Absolutely. 'And I hope that every other political party and political leader similarly is in the space that we are in today.' The wide-ranging deal, which was published by the UK and Irish governments on Thursday night, contains compromise solutions to the vexed disputes at the heart of the 36-month powersharing impasse, such as legislative provisions for Irish language speakers. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald confirmed that its Ard Chomhairle (ruling council) had agreed to 're-enter the powersharing institutions and to nominate ministers to the powersharing executive' She told a press conference the challenges of this time are 'absolutely immense', adding: 'Are we able for that? Absolutely. Is Sinn Fein up for that? Absolutely' Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (centre), and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill (centre right) with party colleagues speak to the media in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings on Friday Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty answers a question in Irish alongside Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald on Friday It also includes what the UK government has insisted will be a major Treasury-funded financial package to tackle a host of acute problems facing a public sector that has been floundering amid the governance vacuum. The agreement came after local politicians were warned that the UK Government would turn off the spending taps if they failed to back it. Heaping pressure on loyalists and nationalists politicians Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said the financial support, predicted to run into billions of pounds, was dependent on them getting back to work. Decision day at Stormont coincided with another strike by workers in the region's crisis-hit health service. Speaking in Belfast today, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald (centre) said: 'The Sinn Fein Ard Chomhairle has met today and has taken the decision to re-enter the powersharing institutions and to nominate ministers to the powersharing executive' Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith (pictured today) warned politicians that financial support, predicted to run into billions of pounds, was dependent on them getting back to work Picketing nurses descended on Stormont on Friday morning to highlight their demands over pay and staffing shortages. What is in the new Stormont deal? A new office for identity and cultural expression will promote diversity and inclusion. Commissioners will protect the Irish and Ulster Scots languages which are cherished by Sinn Fein and the DUP. The lengthy impasse on the Irish language issue revolved around whether provisions would be enacted as a stand-alone piece of legislation or as part of a broader piece of legislation. The two Governments have proposed to do it by amending the 1998 Northern Ireland Act with three separate Bills - one specifically dedicated to provisions for the Irish language. Reform of the petition of concern voting mechanism, which was originally designed to protect minority rights in Assembly votes. Improvements in how civil servants, special advisers and ministers conduct themselves following the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal which led to the Assembly collapse. More time to appoint a replacement if a Stormont First or Deputy First Minister resigns, as Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness did three years ago, bringing down the institutions. Advertisement Mr Smith said the money was there to resolve that dispute, and other pressing funding shortfalls in the public sector, but only if devolution returned. He said he had received assurances from trade union leaders that if the parties re-enter government they will call off the health workers' action. 'The package is dependent on the executive getting back up and running,' he said on a visit to a primary school in Maghaberry, Co Antrim. 'We have gone for three years without government, without politicians taking the right decision, three years where MLAs have been paid their salary. 'The time is up, we need to get back to work.' Ms McDonald said: 'We now have a basis to restore powersharing, and we're up for that. 'There is absolutely no doubt that there are serious challenges ahead - the impact of Brexit, austerity and other pressing issues. 'But the biggest and most significant challenge will be ensuring that we have genuine powersharing based on equality, respect and integrity. 'I believe that powersharing can work. That requires everyone to step up. Sinn Fein's commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen.' In a dramatic night of developments on Thursday, the two Governments jointly published a suggested deal and urged the five main parties to sign up and re-enter the institutions. This came as Mr Smith wrote to the Speaker of the defunct Assembly, asking him to convene a sitting on Friday - thus issuing a challenge to the parties to turn up and get back to business. The DUP, the party blamed by both Governments for holding up a deal in December, responded positively to the published New Decade, New Approach text. Party leader Arlene Foster said there was a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a 'fair and balanced way'. All eyes then turned to Sinn Fein - the other party whose agreement is required to secure the return of a mandatory coalition Executive. The republican party has called the meeting of its ruling council to deliberate on the proposals to resolve long-running wrangles on issues such as legislative protections for Irish language speakers. Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (right) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement outside Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast last Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith issue a statement in Belfast The events all played out as workers in Northern Ireland's crisis-hit health service stage another day of mass strike action over pay and staffing shortages. Despite Mr Smith's request, the Assembly authorities - in a post-midnight statement - made clear that Speaker Robin Newton could only convene a sitting if the main parties indicated they had agreed a deal to form a new ministerial Executive. 'The speed and timing of any sitting therefore depends entirely on when the Speaker hears positively from the parties,' said an Assembly spokeswoman. Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (right) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement outside Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast If Sinn Fein's agreement was not forthcoming, the Speaker would have to convene a sitting if 30 or more MLAs requested one. However, such a move would be largely symbolic and not lead to the restoration of a ministerial Executive. The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That dispute subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. 'Now is decision time,' Mr Smith said as he stood in front of Parliament Buildings on Thursday night. 'We have had three years of talks; finally there is good deal on the table that all parties can support, and on that basis I have tonight written to the Speaker of this Assembly and asked him to recall it tomorrow to enable the restoration of the Executive before the weekend. 'I urge all parties to come here tomorrow and serve the people of Northern Ireland.' Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the deal was 'filled with compromises'. He said the people needed to tell their MLAs to take the opportunity and seal the deal. 'It's now time their politicians stepped up and fully represented their constituents,' he said. 'It's time to show leadership and get back to powersharing in Stormont.' The deal represents the Governments' joint assessment of how long-standing wrangles can be resolved. The Western allegation that Iran shot down a Ukrainian jetliner and killed 176 people offers a grim echo for the Islamic Republic, which found itself the victim of an accidental shootdown by American forces over 30 years ago. The July 3, 1988 downing of Iran Air flight 655 by the US Navy remains one of the moments the Iranian government points to in its decades-long distrust of America. They rank it alongside the 1953 CIA-backed coup that toppled its elected prime minister and secured Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's absolute power until he abdicated the throne before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. As recently as last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani referenced the attack in criticizing President Donald Trump's comments that US forces had picked out 52 targets to be attacked in Iran if needed, one for each of the American hostages held after the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover. Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655, Rouhani wrote on Twitter. Never threaten the Iranian nation. The attack on the Iran Air flight followed what the U.S. Navy refers to as Operation Praying Mantis, a daylong naval battle in the Persian Gulf between American forces and Iran during the country's long 1980s war with Iraq. That battle came after the USS Samuel B. Robertson struck a mine that the Americans later accused Iran of laying in the shipping channels it was trying to keep open for Kuwaiti oil tankers amid the so-called Tanker War. After the battle, US forces continued to patrol shipping channels while Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard often harassed or swarmed incoming ships with smaller vessels. That's a tactic used even today in the narrows of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil passes. Just after dawn on July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes sent a helicopter to hover over Iranian speedboats the Navy described as harassing commercial ships. The Iranians allegedly fired on the helicopter and the Vincennes gave chase, the Navy said. Unacknowledged for years afterward by the Navy though, the Vincennes had crossed into Iranian territorial waters in pursuit. It began firing at the Iranian ships there. As the fighting raged, Iran Air flight 655 took off from Bandar Abbas, Iran, heading for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The Airbus A300 began its ascent as normal, part of a twice-weekly route flown by the airline for over 20 years. The captain communicated with air traffic controllers in English, His last message was: "Thank you, good day." The Vincennes meanwhile had mistaken the commercial aircraft for an Iranian F-14, despite having state-of-the-art combat equipment at the time. The U.S. says the Navy made 11 radio warning calls on different frequencies before the Vincennes fired two missiles at the airplane, bringing it down and killing all aboard. The aircraft's "black box" flight recorders were never recovered. The deaths shocked Iran, even amid the carnage of the war with Iraq, which would kill 1 million people. Sixty-six of the dead were infants and children. Authorities lined up wooden caskets of some of the dead in front of parliament in Tehran. Iran ultimately would sue the U.S., reaching a $131.8 million settlement. The US later would give USS Vincennes Capt William C Rogers the country's Legion of Merit award, further angering Iran. In the years since, Iran state television airs live footage on the anniversary of mourners wailing from boats at the spot the plane went down, tossing flowers into the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. In recent years, hard-liners have begun linking the tragedy to Trump's maximalist campaign targeting Tehran, which included unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and reimposing crushing sanctions. Trump's decision to include Iran among nations in his still-standing visa bans also angers Iranians with relatives in America or those hoping to study there. But there's also widespread anger against Iran's government bubbling underneath the surface. Economic protests have rocked the country, with the last round in November over government-set gasoline prices rising seeing over 300 people reportedly killed. The Iranian rial, around 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal, is now 135,000 to USD 1. Portraying the US as a menace has helped bolster support of Iran's government in the past. The US drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week in Baghdad helped with that, seeing over a million people turn up in Tehran alone for his multi-city funeral procession. But even that processional ended with a stampede in Soleimani's hometown that killed at least 56 people and injured over 200 more. That night, Iran launched its ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops and buried the general. At dawn, broke about the crash of the Ukrainian flight. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) REDDING, Calif. Sewing machines are whirring across the globe to aid Australian animals whose numbers have been devastated by the raging wildfires. The sewing crafters are making protective cloth pouches for young kangaroos and other marsupials who may have been orphaned or displaced as well as creating bat wraps that rescue volunteers Down Under can use to help the animals recover. One such group sprang into action Thursday at a Redding sewing center in Northern California prompted by resident Kim Santry. She learned about the need from an online news report out of Australia and felt an emotional link. Redding and Shasta County experienced the 229,651-acre Carr Fire in the summer of 2018 and then several months later the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise about 100 miles away in what was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. "We've been through it with the Carr Fire, Camp Fire," Santry said. "We know what they're going through, and I love animals." Australia fires: Thousands flee beach towns after prime minister proclaims Australia 'wonderful place to come' How many animals died in Australia fire? Up to 1.25 billion animals have been killed either directly or indirectly by the fires, according to the World Wildlife Fund in Australia. Santry this week got in contact with Wildcare Australia, where she found patterns on how to sew the items. Other Australian-based groups have received plenty of animal gear, but Santry said the craft guild is still in need. "They are distributing to the rescues down there that don't have access to the big donations. They desperately need joey sacks so I got this thing rolling, and here we are," Santry said. Santry contacted Jan Kearns, director of the Redding Fashion Alliance, who was glad to help. "We were thrilled to be a part of it and open up our space," Kearns said. Firefighters killed: A toddlers dad died battling wildfires. The 1-year-old boy was awarded his bravery medal Story continues Boy Scout Aaron Jimenez irons fabric before it's made into a joey sack for Australian wildlife that survived the Australian fires. Aaron was part of a group who started the sewing project at the Redding Fashion Alliance on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Global effort to sew pouches for Australian animals The fashion alliance has tables where fabric can be ironed and cut, and sewing machines to put the pouches together. "One of the things we've learned already is that this is a nationwide event," Kearns said. She has a friend in Southern California who's doing the same thing and knows the huge online store, Mood Fabrics, is joining the effort. "There's lots and lots of people who are responding to this call," Kearns said. The Dutch Quilting Society already has sent "tons of koala mittens" that protect the animals' burned paws, Santry said. "At this point we're sewing pockets for joeys and bat wraps," Kearns said. "The interesting thing that I didn't know ... all marsupial babies are called joeys. The joey bags are not just for kangaroos." The smallest bag they're making is 4-by-7 inches for sugar gliders, a sort of airborne possum that sails through the air like a flying squirrel. The largest pouch they're making is 11-by-12 inches for a young kangaroo. Where can I donate?: Australia's devastating fires are still burning. Here's how you can help Follow Mike Chapman on Twitter: @mikechapman_RS This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Australia fires: Joeys, bats get fabric pouches from sewing groups The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has raised concerns over the growing trend of voter apathy in past elections. According to the Commission, its study has revealed the worrying trend which needs to be tackled. Some elections held recently including the local level elections have been characterized by low voter turnout. Most voters fault unfulfilled political promises for their decisions not to take part in elections. But speaking at a press conference to outline the Commission's action plan for the election year, the Chairperson of the Commission, Josephine Nkrumah said her outfit will embark on massive public education ahead of the 2020 polls. We have realized that there seems to be a growing apathy or vote fatigue around election and as a Commission, we must seek to correct that. We must seek to approach that and ensure that Ghanaians continue to be active participants in the governance of our country. For that matter, in the last quarter of 2019, we sought to reactivate our inter-party dialogue committee and we are happy to announce that as at December 2019, we activated our regional inter-party dialogue committees. We would also have consultative meetings with political parties and other stakeholders. We would amplify our education and engagement in our flashpoint areas and we would engage the youth, she assured. Ghanaians to uphold peace in elections The NCCE, ahead of the upcoming elections, has called on Ghanaians to maintain the spirit of tolerance, national unity, peace, cohesion, and patriotism as principles for national development. A statement signed by NCCE's Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs Joyce Afutu days ago admonished the youth to avoid being used as vigilantes and tools of violence by some politicians. The statement said, As Ghana goes into the general election this year, the NCCE is appealing to Ghanaians to uphold the spirit of tolerance, national unity, peace, cohesion, and patriotism as guiding values for national development. We urge the youth, particularly political party activists, not to be misguided by some politicians and be used as vigilantes and instruments of violence. Rather, the youth should eschew acts of violence before, during, and after the upcoming elections as their contribution to peaceful elections and nation-building, it added. ---citinewsroom When Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, made their shocking announcement Wednesday on Instagram - that they plan to step back as senior royals and split their time between the United Kingdom and North America - they also encouraged their 10.4 million followers to visit their new website, SussexRoyal.com, to find more information. One part of the glossy site that hinted at a possible reason behind their bombshell decision? The "Media" section. In several long paragraphs, Harry and Meghan explained that they will be taking a "revised media approach" in their new roles. Most significantly, they will no longer be a part of the "royal rota" system - essentially a press pool - in which a group of U.K. outlets get exclusive access to royal events and share that information with other publications. However, the couple emphasized that they will "provide access to credible media outlets focused on objective news reporting," adding that they understand that there is great interest in them as members of the royal family. "They welcome accurate and honest media reporting as well as being held to account if appropriate," the website reads. The key words here, of course, are "credible," "accurate" and "honest," apparent digs at the brutal tabloid stories that Harry and Meghan have endured for the past several years. In the fall, the couple sued the Mail on Sunday newspaper for publishing a private letter that Meghan wrote to her estranged father after her wedding; Harry also filed a lawsuit against The Daily Mirror and The Sun, claiming they hacked his phone. Royal experts and observers say there are many complicated reasons behind Harry and Meghan's new path. But it seems clear that intrusive tabloid coverage added to their motivation to step away from royal tradition. "I think it had a significant impact," said Elaine Lui, the "etalk" and "The Social" TV personality who runs the website LaineyGossip.com and has monitored the media's obsession with the royals. "I don't think it's the whole story, but I think it's part of it. If we go back historically, Harry has hated the royal rota forever. That's a fact. It has been made very clear, he blames a lot on the media for what happened to his mother. . . . I've heard from people I've talked to that he was already asking questions about detaching himself from the royal rota as far back as a year ago." Harry and Meghan started dating in summer 2016 but managed to keep their relationship under wraps until that fall, when the Daily Express broke the news that Harry had been secretly dating actress Meghan Markle, best known for her role on USA's "Suits." The articles were initially positive; the paper gushed that Harry was "besotted" with his new girlfriend: "In recent weeks royal watchers have noticed that Harry, fifth-in-line to the throne, has had a notable spring in his step and can't stop smiling." Things quickly took a turn: "The fact that she is American and a divorcee will also have raised eyebrows in Buckingham Palace," The Telegraph wrote. The Sun ran an interview with Samantha Markle - who deemed her half sister "a social climber" who "is not fit to be a royal" - and published a post about one of Markle's scenes in "Suits" that showed up on a porn website. (The tabloid deleted the latter and apologized.) Multiple sites noted that Meghan had an African American mother and white father, resulting in racist headlines. "Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed - so will he be dropping by for tea?" The Daily Mail headlined a story that included crime statistics from Meghan's mother's neighborhood in Los Angeles. Several days later, Harry took the extraordinary step of publicly confirming their relationship by releasing a statement that condemned the "wave of abuse and harassment" that Meghan had seen. He noted "the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments." Although the couple were still photographed everywhere after they got engaged in November 2017, the tone of the articles seemed to calm down - at least the ones about Meghan herself. The U.K. press still delighted in printing details about her family, from her estranged father to her nephew's legal marijuana farm. Their wedding the following spring also received fairy-tale coverage from many tabloids - although it didn't remain cozy for long. "Not long after the wedding, they took their gloves off," royal historian Marlene Koenig said, "because it sells papers." There was an onslaught of critical stories, most of them pointed claims about Meghan: She's too demanding and bombards her staff with text messages at dawn. She's feuding with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, about Meghan's treatment of the palace staff - oh, and she also made Catherine cry during Princess Charlotte's bridesmaids dress fitting. She's coming between Harry and his brother, Prince William. She had the nerve to ask if St. George's Chapel could be sprayed with air freshener before the wedding. "They would always bring up the word 'protocol,' " said Koenig, pointing to the many gasps when Meghan made fashion choices that were said to be frowned upon by the queen. "Protocol applies to official state events, or who sits next to who. . . . It does not apply to off-the-shoulder dresses or nail polish." The stories continued at a relentless pace, even after Meghan announced she was pregnant - how she was "flaunting" her bare legs without tights at six months pregnant, or even how she cradled her growing stomach. (The Telegraph: "Meghan CAN'T STOP showing off: Duchess uses these SNEAKY tricks to flaunt her baby bump.") She was ruthlessly criticized after she attended a baby shower thrown for her in New York and paid for by her friend Serena Williams. Meghan had plenty of defenders as well: Five of her closest friends were dispatched to People magazine to "stand up against the global bullying" of Meghan. Celebrities from George Clooney to Elton John spoke up on the royal duo's behalf. Lui said that if there was any "tipping point" for the couple's frustration with the media, she would guess that it was the "hoopla" made over their use of private jets this past summer. "What a huge story, for almost two weeks, the British tabloids made out of that when they're not the first and only members of the royal family to fly private," Lui said, pointing out that another royal story - the revelations about Prince Andrew's association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - didn't get the same amount of attention in the press at the time. Though the royals are known to rarely speak out about such personal issues, in an ITV documentary this past fall, Meghan was candid as she spoke about struggling with her treatment. "When I first met my now-husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy. But my British friends said to me, 'I'm sure he's great. But you shouldn't do it. Because the British tabloids will destroy your life,'" she told reporter Tom Bradby. "I think I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried! I really tried. But I think what that does internally is probably really damaging." Now, as Harry and Meghan start the complex process of moving away from the traditional duties of royal life, they have certainly found a solution - by leaving. Unsurprisingly, the British tabloids are critical and furious about that as well. But Lui added that the outlets' issues with royalty go far beyond nasty headlines and columnists. "I think it's far too simplistic to just blame the tabloids," Lui said. "It's a multilayered problem - the tabloids are getting leaks from somewhere. . . . Only certain people are able to leak that information. There are vipers and backstabbers all over the place in the royal family." by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, January 10, 2020 Driven by the proliferation of streaming services and the ensuing battle to win viewers via more and more original content, the number of original scripted series released for TV and video last year rose to a record 532. Thats the latest number from FXs annual Peak TV tally, cited by FX Networks CEO John Landgraf at yesterdays Television Critics Association meeting in Pasadena, California. The number represents a 153% jump from 2009s total of 210 scripted dramas, comedies and limited series. The tallies for 2018 and 2017 were 495 and 487, respectively. "Given that the streaming wars are now at hand, that total will increase substantially this year, which to me is just bananas," Landgraf declared. The danger of the internet is that everything becomes junk food, he added. Over the past decade, the traditional production budget norm of about $1 million per episode for standard dramas has ballooned. Costs exceeding $10 million per episode are now not uncommon. Netflix alone spent about $15 billion on original content development in 2019, and will spend about $17.8 billion this year, estimated BMO Capital Markets analyst Daniel Salmon. At times of crisis, a country expects leadership from the people at the top. As Australians wake up every day with no end in sight to the bushfires which have devastated a land mass the size of England and the Netherlands, who is at the helm? Who is calling the shots, offering reassurance and a carefully rehearsed plan of action to prevent this happening again? Step forward Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a buffoon with the charisma of a wet beach towel and the PR skills of a clothes peg. The man a fellow MP described as a total a***hole, who - against all expectations - snatched victory less than a year ago. This week I arrived in New South Wales to smoke and smog, images of people trapped on beaches waiting for boats to ferry them to safety, and firefighters with blackened faces working 24 hours at a stretch to try and contain the fires which show no sign of diminishing. The bush fires started last November after the driest months in years - and what was Mr Morrisons response? He went on a family holiday to Hawaii, only returning after a huge outcry. He babbled platitudes, claiming the fires were no different to previous years, even when countless experts disagreed. Morrison turned up at the devastated settlement of Cobargo on the south coast without telling the local MP, and - surrounded by press - attempted to chat with locals who had lost everything. Footage of the Prime Minister standing around awkwardly and being heckled, confronted by victims who refused to shake his hand, has been shown around the world. It was a PR disaster from someone who is supposed to be well versed in this department. Activists rally for climate action along St Georges Terrace on January 10 in Perth, Australia Scott Morrison at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, January 9 Morrison was accused of using the fires for political gain, portraying himself as action man at the heart of the disaster, when he should have been in his office unrolling a master plan to bring aid and support to the thousands of homeless. In fact, Mr Morrison had few plans and was forced to quickly announce a series of initiatives to catch up. Setting up a National Bushfire Recovery Agency, providing more firefighting equipment and billions of funds, bringing in the armed forces, issuing loads of daily announcements so he would sound busy and in control. For example, he said any payouts to volunteer fight fighters would not be taxed - but why would they? Currently, at least 27 people have died, and an insufficient number of firefighters are continuing the struggle to contain the fires in remote areas, supplemented by unpaid volunteer reservists. This week I arrived in New South Wales Ordinary citizens, big business and celebrities from Elton John to Pink have donated millions, but it turns out that (under current rules) the Firefighterss charity cant use the money for needy families. A special act of parliament will have to be enacted. Why has the Australian governments response to this devastating crisis been so disorganised, when every year sees droughts and bushfires? All over the world, countries are beginning to accept the reality of climate change. Its no longer the concern of environmentalists, but an issue which people now see is having a huge impact on their lives. And yet Australia has been in terminal denial - a country split between a powerful mining and farming lobby, and radical greens, former hippies who have spent the last 40 years promoting eco-living. People who fled Sydney for the rainforests of northern New South Wales and the Blue Mountains, setting up small farms and trying to be self-sufficient. They were complaining about global warming long before Greta Thunberg was even born. But Australia is the worlds largest exporter of coal, and both main political parties cosy up to mining interests. As a result, Australia has never switched to renewable energy with the commitment of, for example, even the UK. They dismantled railways, shift most freight by road, and have been slow to adopt solar or wind power, in spite of a huge underpopulated land mass in the centre of the country. If a country like Spain can build thousands of wind turbines, why cant Australia? The answer lies with weak, short-sighted politicians like Morrison - who has gone on record saying that climate change doesnt exist. During a debate in parliament he waved a lump of coal in his hands, claiming his critics were afraid of fossil fuel. Now, they should be afraid of the ability of Mr Morrisons brain to move with the times. A kangaroo rushes past a burning house in Lake Conjola, Australia, on December 31, 2019 Activists rally for climate action at Sydney Town Hall on January 10. If a country like Spain can build thousands of wind turbines, why cant Australia? The answer lies with weak, short-sighted politicians like Morrison - who has gone on record saying that climate change doesnt exist This is a nation of contradictions, where people are generous, kind and big-hearted; where they speak their mind and are hugely proud of their culture. So it is a mystery how Scott Morrison became Prime Minister. A former PR and committed Christian, he appeals to the deeply conservative white right, the business lobbies who want to extract maximum profit from mining interests and sod the environment. A man whose New Years video message burbled we live in the most amazing country on earth.theres no better place to raise kids on the planet. But what future lies in store for young people now? Thats what angry voters are demanding daily on social media and in every single newspaper. The destruction resulting from bushfires isnt confined to property, forest and farmland. Tourism is a huge part of the economy - and images of burning trees and closed roads with tourist leave zone and Keep Out signs dont play well with anyone planning a visit in the near future. The pristine natural environment attracts visitors in their millions annually, but National Parks are still ablaze, with more high winds forecast for this weekend. Economists predict the impact on farming will be severe - food prices will rise, affecting exports and domestic consumers. Without a plan to prevent this happening again, international business is unlikely to want to invest in Australia. Meanwhile, theres a row raging about how to manage commercial forestry - greedy loggers have left huge piles of waste behind, potential tinderboxes in the current fires. Loggers dont clear the forest floor under trees, providing more fuel. This material ought to be recycled. Should trees be thinned out? And why are people being allowed to build in areas where fire is a major hazard? There are so many questions, but little agreement about how to proceed. And what about the devastation to wildlife - 90% of the mammals here are unique to Australia. Beaches are littered with the bodies of brightly coloured birds, their feathers scorched by flames. Its estimated a billion animals have been killed so far. One thing is certain, Scott Morrisons short-sighted approach to his countrys unique assets cant continue. Waving lumps of coal around wont work magic this time around. ALBANY The state Education Department (SED) has ended its partnership with a national education non-profit hired to assist its inquiry into New York's graduation standards. Official broke ties with Achieve, a consulting group associated with the so-called education reform movement, over "concerns raised by stakeholders," a spokesperson for SED has confirmed. Instead, the department will work with WestEd, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, to research other states' graduation criteria and collect feedback at regional meetings next month. WestEd currently provides a number of educational services to Region 2 of the U.S. Department of Education, which includes New York. WestEd has extensive experience conducting research and evaluation studies, developing and implementing measures of college and career readiness, helping states establish policies and plans, and providing evidence-based professional development and technical assistance designed to strengthen pathways to postsecondary success," department spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said in a statement. SED had planned to announce the change on Monday during the New York Board of Regents' January meeting, but confirmed the new partnership after the Rockland/Westchester Journal News a day earlier reported on concerns about Achieve's ideological leanings and criticisms that the study's timeline was too rushed. Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa in February 2019 announced the creation of a commission to review the States high school graduation measures and "reaffirm what it means to obtain a diploma in New York State." A key point in discussions has been the efficacy of Regents tests, the state's high school exit exams which for generations have been seen as a marker of a student's readiness to graduate. New York is among 11 states that still require students to pass exit exams to graduate although New York's standard is among the most rigorous, requiring students to pass tests in five subjects. Some educators question the practice, arguing that the exams amplify educational inequities and should not be the sole measure of proficiency. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Educators expressed surprise that the Board of Regents chose Achieve to assist with its inquiry and accepted a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the initial research phase. While officials asserted the inquiry would be independent, both entities were architects of the unpopular Common Core curriculum and have promoted test-based accountability for teachers. "They have vested interest in the outcome," said David Bloomfield, an education professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. "They are all in on standardized testing and test-based accountability; they don't come to this as independent consultants." The Gates Foundation, which has worked with SED on several projects including the My Brothers Keeper Initiative, will continue to support the project, the Education Department officials said. SED maintains that there are no strings attached to Gates Foundation funding. SED has also extended the timeline for the inquiry. After consultants conduct a literature review and gathered feedback from stakeholders, the Regents were to name a "blue-ribbon commission" by April, and those individuals would present their findings to the Board of Regents in the fall of 2021. According to the new schedule, the commission will be appointed this summer and have until Winter 2022 to finalize their recommendations in a report. Google Maps A teenage girl is recovering in the hospital after being shot while her friends were playing with a gun Thursday afternoon, police said. The girl, 17, was sitting with a group of friends who were smoking marijuana in the 12500 block of South Green Drive around 5:45 p.m. when the friends started playing with a gun, according to the Houston Police Department. At some point, it accidentally discharged, striking the teen in her shoulder, police said. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking an alleged scammer to task over fraudulent crypto mining activity. The SEC filed a complaint today against Donald G. Blakstad for raising about $3.5 million from at least 14 investors via allegedly fraudulent securities offers. The SEC said Blakstad raised the funds through three of his companies: an oil, gas and alternative energy firm; a company formed to acquire a Canadian car parts manufacturer; and a "purported" cryptocurrency mining operation. Blakstad told investors their cash would be used for "start-up costs" including the purchasing of equipment for the mining operation, according to the SEC's complaint. However, the regulator said Blakstad used the funds as "his own personal piggybank," and used some of the funds to compensate the person who connected him with his investors. The mining company, Energy Sources International Corporation, was first sprung up in Nevada in 2015 with Blakstad as its President, and allegedly its only employee. From December 2017 to May 2018, Blakstad purportedly sold securities in the company to at least five people, totaling $550,000. The SEC alleged he then used at least $270,000 of these funds for personal expenditures and issued nearly $60,000 in checks to investors as return on investment despite never turning a profit. The complaint calls for Blakstad to repay any ill-gotten gains and pay civil penalties, as well as barring him from any officer or director position with any issuer of certain registered securities. Aimals are being culled as they emit methane equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide per year. (Photo Credit: Reuters) New Delhi: More than 10,000 camels are to be shot from helicopters in South Australia by firearms professionals to prevent them from consuming too much water in the already drought-striken region. The locals have been complaining that animals entering communities are wreaking havoc during their hunt for water sources. According to reports, the animals are being culled as they emit methane equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide per year and lead to greenhouse gas emissions. Camels were introduced to Australia from India and Afghanistan during the 19th century, and have been used for transport and construction, reports Independent. These steps are being taken amid forest fire ripping through Australia. Moreover, Bushfires continue to pose serious threat in several parts of Australia with high temperatures and windy conditions expected to further fan the ongoing blaze across the country. Since September last year, Australias raging bushfire crisis, one of the worst in its history, has killed 24 people, burned over six million hectares of land, reduced to ashes hundreds of homes and pushed many species towards extinction. The bushfires continued to pose serious threat in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. Authorities on Friday issued fresh warnings and evacuation orders in Victoria as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires. Around 23 fires were still burning in Victoria, according to the states emergency management department. Emergency warnings were issued for Buchan due to spot fires sparking and a new warning was issued for the area around Swifts Creek. Also Read: Daughter Shares Pic Of Firefighter Dad Sleeping On Lawn Inbetween Fighting Australian Bushfires Meanwhile, a team of UK experts was on its way to Australia to help the country to prepare for the unprecedented bushfire crisis. In addition to this, US firefighters landed in Sydney on Friday to help fight the bushfires. Over 70 firefighters have arrived from the US and Canada this week to help with firefighting efforts apart from the 157 New Zealand firefighters. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. California has gone through several heavy fire seasons in recent years. Now, some cities are investing in unique fire prevention methods, together with goats. Anaheim, a city southeast of Los Angeles, recently re-upped its deal with Environmental Land Management to keep goats grazing on city hillsides year-round. The goats are stationed in Deer Canyon Park, a park that holds with more than one hundred acres of steep hills. Beginning in July, roughly 400 goats worked through the park, consuming invasive grasses and dried brush. The park's operations supervisor Johnny Gonzales says that Deer Canyon, with its peaks and valleys, is just a great place to utilize goats for fire prevention. According to Gonzales, the topography poses challenges during these wildfire events. He added the park could help reestablish the ecology by reducing the fuel loads, remove the invasive plants, and place the native plants on these banks. He also noted the demand for wildfire prevention goats soared in recent years, including those private individuals who opt to rent goats for fire prevention. The operation supervisor explained the park is not underestimating a hundred calls a month from private individuals with smaller parcels, little lots, or things from two acres asking for the goats. As a commercial herd, Gonzales said the company could not take on most of these private plenties. Nature's weed wacker Anaheim's Fire Marshall Allen Hogue says the steepness of the hills in parts of the metropolis makes the goats precious for panorama management. "It might be almost unlikely for humans to sit down or walk with a weed whacker or a Weed Eater; hence we use the goats," Hogue says. What makes the goats essential is not just their ability to climb steep hillsides. According to Hogue and Gonzales, the animals devour invasive plant life and grasses while simplest minimally grazing on native plants. The latest research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst determined that these alien grasses are growing the frequency of wildfires due to how without problems they burn. "Some small percentage of matches, if you throw bunches of those, might clearly start a fire," says Bethany Bradley, professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst and co-author of the research. Bradley added there's a greater chance that massive hay piles would capture fire if one would throw a bunch of matches. They have a look at located that those alien grasses double or triple the likelihood of a fireplace going on if they may be present. While this particular take a look at didn't degree the exchange in invasive plant abundance, researchers have determined that weather alternate has made it less complicated for these florae to spread. These flammable grasses outgrow native flora, which can be naturally extra fireplace-resistant, which adds capacity gasoline to fires. Authorities said various farmers have already started rented out flocks to other municipalities in California for the rest of the year and were expanding their herds to meet demand. Vice Mayor Reinette Senum told the Los Angeles Times that California is already doing something as soon as they could. "No one else would step up if we are not proactive, and we don't help ourselves," the city official added. Year-round trouble Even an unusually rainy 12 months would not help sluggish down a fire season. Bradley says that water facilitates this invasive vegetation to develop year after year. There's no clean repair for breaking the invasive plant cycle. According to Bradley, the goats could play a role in ending the cycle. "Goats are certainly good at consuming stuff, right? The task with them, though, is that you can't simply do it once. They need to head returned time and time again in order to maintain control that biomass," she says. However, now not all researchers are convinced. Some like Jon Keeley from the U.S. Geological Survey think that the usage of goats by myself as hearth prevention is not sufficient. Keeley pointed out that a few individuals expressed their concern over the use of goats to graze the grasses to make the surroundings more secure for establishments. The goats, according to Keeley, will eat grasses and preserve the invasive plants down. However, he says that the goats don't go anywhere they're needed. Keeley explained grasses spread ways beyond regions where individuals would graze the goats. "These grasses are everywhere in the Santa Monica Mountains, and so you're now not affecting most areas with the aid of goat grazing." Keeley says that grazing also isn't enough since homes are most typically lit aflame because of burning embers. Clearing out grasses around a house is useful, however, "those embers are going to be blown over these regions that had been grazed the goats," he says. A compilation of Chinese President Xi Jinping's speeches marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was recently published by the Foreign Languages Press in both Chinese and English, and distributed at home and abroad. The book collects three speeches of Xi, namely the speeches at a grand rally and a reception to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC, and the speech at a presentation ceremony of the national medals and honorary titles of the PRC. "In his speeches, President Xi expounded China's marvel-of-the-world development achievements made under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC)," said Song Shiming, professor with the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC (China National School of Administration). "On the one hand, China is eliminating absolute poverty, and the ultimate reason for such achievement is that China's state power belongs to the people; on the other hand, China has greatly improved its comprehensive national strength, like what President Xi has put forward: no force can ever shake the status of China, or stop the Chinese people and nation from marching forward. Reviewing history is for expecting a better future, while summarizing past achievements is for accumulating power to march forward. Xin Ming, professor with the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC believes that Xi's speeches offer fundamental rules for China to consolidate and further its development achievements as his remarks are a multi-level and multi-perspective summary of China's successful experiences. "All of the three speeches have one focus - how to make the great China greater. Standing at a newer and higher starting point as China celebrates the 70th anniversary of its founding, we need to summarize experiences and keep moving forward toward the two centenary goals," Xin said. The reasons for China's historic achievements and transformation in the past 70 years lie in the Party leadership and its adherence to the socialist path. After the founding of the PRC, the CPC united the people and led them in completing socialist revolution, establishing socialism as China's basic system, and advancing socialist construction, said Luo Pinghan, professor with the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC. This completed the broadest and most profound social transformation in the history of the Chinese nation and created the fundamental political conditions and the institutional foundation for achieving all development and progress in China today, Luo noted, thus was made a great transition: The Chinese nation reversed its fate from the continuous decline in modern times to steady progress toward prosperity and strength. "Peace" is a high-frequency word in Xi's three speeches. Song believes that China, having always safeguarded world peace, will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development. China's development was achieved in a peaceful environment, and has in return greatly strengthened the peace-loving power across the world, Song remarked. People are China's solid foundation and its main source of confidence to govern. Xi's request to ensure that the people maintain their principal position in the country reflected the people-oriented governance philosophy. "Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has focused on people's livelihood and steadfastly promoted poverty alleviation. Such efforts to eradicate the root causes for poverty are the best example of the people-oriented philosophy," Luo said. China has never been so close to the center of the world stage with increasingly improving international influence. It is participating in, contributing to and leading the promotion of world peace. Peace is embedded in China's adherence to the principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems", as well as its following of a path of peaceful development. Scholars agree that China's development in the past 70 years is a hard-won achievement, and the Chinese people will surely love and cherish the current peaceful environment and work with other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind and a better world. The smoke clouds from the fires that are currently raging in Australia have reached as far as Chile and Argentina, which just goes to show how devastating this disaster is. However, it is unlikely that there will be any consequences for these two countries. This is just further proof of how disastrous the situation that has been ongoing in Australia for the past few months. According to information released by the meteorological services in the two South American countries on Monday 6th January, the smoke clouds produced by the huge bush fires that are currently raging across the island have been recorded in Argentina and Chile. Smoke clouds recorded at an altitude of 6,000 metres There is about 12,000 km and an ocean that separates Australia and South America. And yet, smoke clouds have been recorded at an altitude of 6,000 metres but as Patricio Urra, an official from the Chilean Meteorological Institute, told the AFP, it is unlikely that this smoke will affect the local air quality. He also explained early on Monday that the sun (has been marked) with red tones due to a cloud of smoke from the fires in Australia. The Argentinian Meteorological Service (SMN) has also released satellite images of the smoke clouds transported by frontal systems that move from west to east. What are the possible consequences? But what are the possible consequences of these smoke clouds? Nothing particularly significant. Only a slightly reddish sunset and sun explained the SMN on Twitter. According to the meteorological company Metsul, it is also possible however that the smoke could reach Rio Grande de Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. Chile dawned cloudy, but not because of the weather but because of the smoke from the fires in Australia. Smoke is a threat to the Ice Fields of the Argentine Patagonia. The smoke is coming to South America. The world's great media prefer silence #australiafire#AustraliaBurningpic.twitter.com/V4Rlxd25wj Mx P (@maxpawuerOK) January 6, 2020 SMN Argentina The smoke from the bushfires in #Australia have now reached #Argentina. It has been transported by frontal systems that move from west to east. What consequences could this have for the county? Nothing particularly significant. Only a slightly reddish sunset and sun. Why? Were opening an investigation To better understand just how significant and disastrous these fires are that are currently raging in Australia, an Australian graphic designer has created quite a spectacular 3D image that shows all the areas which have been affected by bush fires over the past four months, as the artist explained on Instagram. They're the children of late Wildlife Warrior Steve Irwin. And Bindi Irwin took to Instagram on Friday to share the heartwarming moment that she and brother Robert, 16, released a sea turtle back into the wild. It comes after Australian actor Hugh Jackman, 51, praised the pair and their mother, Terri Irwin, for helping save Australian animals during the devastating bushfire crisis. Wildlife Warriors! Bindi and Robert Irwin (pictured) released a sea turtle back into the wild this week, after it was treated at Australia Zoo In the snaps, Bindi and Robert can be seen in their khaki Australia Zoo uniforms as they released the animal - named DiCenzo - back into the ocean. They were joined on the day by their doting mother. Bindi captioned the post: 'HOPE. Yesterday we released this beautiful sea turtle back to the wild after she was treated at our Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. ' Success! In the snaps, Bindi and Robert can be seen in their khaki Australia Zoo uniforms as they released the animal back into the ocean. Pictured right is their doting mother Terri Amazing work: 'It's moments like this that remind me why we must carry hope in our hearts. Hope for balance and healing in our world, hope for a brighter tomorrow,' Bindi said She added: 'It's moments like this that remind me why we must carry hope in our hearts. Hope for balance and healing in our world, hope for a brighter tomorrow.' Bindi's post comes after Hugh Jackman praised the Irwin family for helping save wildlife during the catastrophic bushfire season that is devastating Australia. Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the 51-year-old actor shared a throwback photo of himself with Steve and wife Deborra-Lee Furness and thanked the family for their ongoing efforts at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. 'Shout out to the late Steve Irwin's family - Terri, Bindi and Robert - and all at Australia Zoo for their extraordinary efforts in helping save the Australian wildlife,' Hugh wrote. Steve died in September 2006 at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a wildlife documentary in Batt Reef, Queensland. Thankful: Hugh Jackman (left) praised Terri Irwin and her children this week for helping to save Australian wildlife during the catastrophic bushfire season. He is pictured with the late Steve Irwin (centre) and wife Deborra-lee Furness (right), on January 14, 2006 Australia Zoo is currently nursing hundreds of bushfire-affected possums, koalas, platypuses and bats back to health, in addition to the other injured animals like DiCenzo from around Queensland. The wildlife rehabilitation centre on Queensland's Sunshine Coast treated its 90,000th patient earlier this week. It is estimated over one billion animals have died in the bushfires across the country, while 26 people have died. Devastating: With millions of hectares burnt across Australia, the WWF-Australia estimates that now more than a billion animals have perished in the fires (pictured is a wildlife rescuer with a koala on Kangaroo Island, near Adelaide) Both Bindi and Robert have spoken out over the last week about how their late father would have reacted to the devastating bushfires. 'For us as a family, our mission and our goal has always been to continue the wildlife work that dad started so many years ago,' Robert told Access Daily. 'And if he was here today, he would be in a lot of distress about what's going on,' he said. Bindi meanwhile wrote on Instagram this week that she wishes her father was alive to 'give advice and strength during this time of devastation with the bushfires.' Emerson, announces its ISO/IEC accreditation for its Psychrometric lab in Dubai, which will support its Commercial & Residential Solutions businesses. The accreditation, awarded by the GCC Accreditation Centre, will provide customers a platform to test performance of their air conditioners with expected capacities ranging from 1.5 to 20 TR air conditioners, and heat pumps with capacities ranging from 1.5 to 13 TR. Known for its industry-leading innovations in compressor technologies, products and services, Emersons HVACR solutions meet tough performance and efficiency standards. The addition of the test lab will further enable customers to access expert advice and recommendations on deploying best in-class technologies. Emerson has always believed in driving innovation and delivering excellence, and the ISO/IEC accreditation is a testament to the commitment to quality products and systems said Sridar Narayanswami, president of Commercial and Residential Solutions, Middle East and Africa. According to Vadivelan Kannan, director of technical services for Commercial and Residential Solutions, Middle East and Africa, The ISO/IEC17025:2017 demonstrates consistency and high quality testing standards, it also underlines that our efforts are in line with our customers needs. Our customers can now conduct comprehensive tests and analysis on their cooling systems and receive test reports directly from the ISO-accredited Emerson test lab. The ISO certification awarded by the GCC Accreditation Center signifies the Emerson test lab meets both technical competence and management system requirements to consistently deliver technically valid test results for the defined scope. A new strain of coronavirus may be the culprit in a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the Chinese government said Thursday. The first suspected case occurred in Korea on Wednesday. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which claimed the lives of 37 people here in 2015, is also a viral disease caused by coronavirus. But China's official CCTV quoted a scientist as saying a new type of coronavirus is probably responsible since it was found in 15 patients in a preliminary analysis he participated in. So far 59 patients have been diagnosed in China alone with viral pneumonia. Coronavirus is a common type that causes colds and infects both humans and animals. Six strains have been identified so far as sources of human diseases including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and MERS. The other four are not fatal but cause only mild colds. WASHINGTON - The United States launched an economic counterattack Friday in its high-stakes standoff with Iran a modest response likely owing to the lack of American casualties in Iranian missile strikes and the crash of an airliner allegedly shot down outside Tehran, but yet another wedge in the relationship between the West and a global pariah known for harbouring dangerous ambitions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, right, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, speak during a briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON - The United States launched an economic counterattack Friday in its high-stakes standoff with Iran a modest response likely owing to the lack of American casualties in Iranian missile strikes and the crash of an airliner allegedly shot down outside Tehran, but yet another wedge in the relationship between the West and a global pariah known for harbouring dangerous ambitions. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced an array of fresh sanctions against eight senior security and military officials in Iran, as well as several of the country's industries, including textiles, manufacturing, mining and the steel and iron sectors. Pompeo made a point of contrasting President Donald Trump's approach with that of the Obama administration, which he accused of opening up "revenue streams for Iran" a reference to the previous government's easing of sanctions as part of the international 2014 deal aimed at curbing the country's nuclear ambitions. "Under our administration, oil revenues are down by 80 per cent and Iran cannot access roughly 90 per cent of its foreign-currency reserves," Pompeo said. Iran's own president, Hassan Rouhani, recently conceded the country has lost more than US$200 billion in foreign income and investment, he added. "As long as Irans outlaw ways continue, we will continue to impose sanctions." Iran has been a target of American sanctions for more than 40 years, but Mnuchin shrugged off the suggestion they have in fact fostered unrest, such as the embassy protest in Baghdad and the killing of a U.S. contractor two events widely seen as sparking the latest tensions. "If we didn't have these sanctions in place, literally Iran would have tens of billions of dollars. They would be using that for terrorist activities throughout the region and to enable them to do more bad things," he said. "Theres no question, by cutting off the economics to the region, we are having an impact." Precisely what sort of impact is the question, said Brett Bruen, the White House director of global engagement during the final years of the Obama administration. "It's not that applying pressure is in and of itself a problematic strategy, but applying pressure without having a path forward is what gets us into the kinds of situations we saw over the last couple of weeks," Bruen said. Pompeo also publicly said for the first time Friday that it was likely an Iranian missile, fired in the aftermath of Iran's attack on two Iraqi military bases where U.S. soldiers are stationed, that downed Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 early Wednesday. The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 176 people 138 of them bound for a connecting flight to Toronto when it crashed in a fireball shortly after taking off from Tehran. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have spent the week seized with the question of whether Trump was justified in taking out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a drastic step that instantly triggered a tidal wave of fury across the Middle East and put the U.S. and Iran on a war footing. The plane crash has dragged Canada into the fray, creating for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau another trilateral diplomatic crisis of the Trump administration's making and prompting questions about whether the U.S. president himself should bear some of the responsibility for the tragedy. "I personally don't believe as much as I disagree with the president on so many things that he's done I don't believe the president is responsible," said Bruce Heyman, who was the U.S. ambassador to Canada under Barack Obama. "What has transpired, though, is the fog of war the anxieties of being on a knife's edge that create miscalculations and unintended consequences that take place. I believe the escalation has resulted in just that." Assuming the allegations of a missile strike prove true, the responsibility for the tragedy rests squarely with the Iranians, Heyman added, and Canada must first focus on ensuring the families of the victims can properly grieve their losses. "The complications for Canada right now are making sure that, first and foremost, the families can get the remains and can deal with the grieving," he said. "Second, they have to parallel this and get an investigation, a credible investigation that will result in understanding what happened and why." That could prove complicated, given Iran's lack of standing in the global diplomatic community. The former Harper government severed ties with the country in 2012. "The rest of the world needs to stand up and take a more assertive role in resolving the crisis," Bruen said. "Justin Trudeau has a unique moment here where he can and he should look at how to guide both Iran and the United States from the brink of crisis, and that something good should come of this tragedy before there is, quite frankly, another tragedy." The lack of a diplomatic relationship would make it impossible for Canada to play any sort of role as mediator, but the tragedy could prove to be a starting point for renewed ties, said Jeremy Wildeman, a Middle East policy analyst and visiting scholar at the University of Ottawa. "This might highlight that need for Canada, no matter what they think of the Iranian government, to have at least dialogue and open diplomatic representation between the two countries," Wildeman said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. That way, "they can know what's going on in Iran, they can talk to the Iranian government and they can serve the many, many, many Canadians who are of Iranian heritage, and Canadians who visit there." Trudeau's Liberal government is no stranger to being caught in a diplomatic tug of war. In December 2018, Canadian authorities in Vancouver detained tech scion Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese communications giant Huawei and the daughter of the company's founder, in response to an extradition request from the U.S. Department of Justice. Weeks later, China detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in what has widely been seen as an act of retribution. They have been held ever since. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle Help India! Shaheen Bagh, New Delhi has been establishing itself as the nationwide symbol of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Amongst protests nationwide, Shaheen Bagh is unique in that it is organized and run by Muslim women. As soon as you enter, you can see the main tent area of protest is a space filled with women sitting, sloganeering, surrounded by posters and signage, expressing their dissent with these policies. Men are allowed to stand and protest outside the tent area and they occasionally walk in as volunteers, laying down mats for sitting, cleaning the protest area, distributing chai, water, and food. Support TwoCircles Shaheen Bagh has transformed the structure of a protest in many ways. But one of the most striking transformations is the presence of children everywhere. Kids of all ages can be seen there young babies, barely a month old, to teenagers running back to the protest after school all join their mothers and female relatives. Many women who spoke to Twocircles.net expressed that they felt their children were a crucial part of the protest at Shaheen Bagh. They were there to not only to accompany their mothers as they sat in protest. They werent there just to be watched over. Instead, children had their own powerful and vibrant protest presence. They were there volunteering, giving speeches, raising slogans, singing songs, reciting poems, making protest signs, drawing and painting, and performing plays. Many mothers encouraged us to document the participation of their children in this revolutionary moment. Twocircles.net does so in this photo series with contributions from Sanghapali Aruna, Mariya Salim, and Ira Anbazhagan. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Two San Francisco men have been charged with federal firearms crimes in connection with a deadly shooting in the city's Fillmore District last year, U.S. prosecutors announced on Thursday. Jamare Coats, 26, and Robert Manning, 28, were each charged in a superseding grand jury indictment with one count of using a gun in a crime of violence resulting in death and one count of being an ex-felon in possession of a gun. One person was killed and five bystanders were wounded during a gun battle outside a memorial service at the Fillmore Heritage Center on the evening of March 23. The first charge carries a potential death penalty upon conviction if the U.S. attorney general gives permission for local federal prosecutors to seek that sentence. The superseding indictment expands upon a July indictment in which Coats was charged with a single count of being an ex-felon in possession of a gun and ammunition. In a Sept. 3 detention order requiring Coats to be held in pretrial custody, U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth LaPorte cited prosecutors' statements that surveillance video depicted Coats and another man shooting at the victim who died from his wounds. The revised indictment alleges the two men were members of a street gang called Mac Block that operated in the city's Western Addition, according to U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Abraham Simmons. Simmons said Manning is also in custody and made an initial court appearance in Fresno on Jan. 2. Coats is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Sallie Kim in San Francisco. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. In case you hadn't heard, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have quit the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced via Instagram yesterday that they are stepping down from "senior royal duties" and plan to become financially independent from the crown. Turns out, Queen Elizabeth and the entire royal family found out the same way you did. Meghan and Harry didn't brief anyone in the royal family before making their announcement, according to a palace source for Harper's Bazaar. Based on Buckingham Palace's brief, weird statement, the news was highly unexpected. The palace reportedly is in uproar. Page Six is breathlessly reporting on an "epic" four-way conference call that Prince Harry has been "locked in" with the queen, Prince Charles and Prince William, negotiating his and Meghan's new arrangement. William is apparently "incandescent with rage," and sees the move as "a declaration of war on the family." "There is fury over how they've done this without any thought for the implications for the institution. The Queen is deeply upset," a source told The Sun. According to Page Six's sources, the Sussexes "will be punished for their rebellion." Jesus Christ, what is this, The Crown? While the British press crucify the Duke and Duchess through the mud, calling them "petulant and selfish," Twitter is toasting to Meghan's freedom. Meghan and Harry haven't offered any additional explanation for their royal resignation. Most people seem to feel like they need to, attributing the move to the racism and double standards Meghan faced from her family and the British press. In an op-ed titled "Black Britons Know Why Meghan Wants Out," British writer Afua Hirsch writes, "How many of us suspected hoping but doubting we were wrong that what would really initiate Meghan into her new role as a Briton with African heritage would be her experience of British racism. And ironically, by taking matters into their own hands, Harry and Meghan's act of leaving two fingers up at the racism of the British establishment might be the most meaningful act of royal leadership I'm ever likely to see." ISTANBUL - A Russian-flagged tanker and a Turkish fishing boat collided in the Black Sea near Istanbul early Friday, sinking the fishing vessel. Istanbul governors office said in a statement three Turkish citizens are missing while three were rescued by fisherman after the collision . Authorities were searching for the missing with divers and boats. The Russian ship Glard 2 was en route from Rostov-on-Don in Russia to Izmir in western Turkey, according to marine traffic trackers. It is categorized as an oil and chemical tanker. Heavy fog has prompted the temporary closure of Istanbuls Bosphorus strait, the governors office said on Twitter. Taiwans ruling party is crying foul over alleged Chinese attempts to sway the self-governing islands presidential election on Saturday. The Democratic Progressive Party, known as the DPP, rushed through a law banning infiltration by outsiders just days before the vote. The opposition Nationalist Party, which is friendly to China, contends the law might be abused to stifle freedom of speech and is seeking for shift attention toward domestic issues. A third candidate, James Soong, also has objected to the move. China claims Taiwan as its own, if necessary to be taken by force, and its alleged meddling is a hot issue in the race between incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen and Nationalist candidate Han Kuo-yu, the populist mayor of Kaohsiung city. Alarm over foreign interference has risen globally following evidence of Russian meddling in U.S. and other elections. Chinas soft power efforts to shape public opinion in its favor by acquiring overseas media outlets, funding academic posts and setting up government-supported Confucian Institutes abroad have likewise raised concern. Resisting China is the partys biggest issue this year across candidates, said Lin Fei-fan, the DPP deputy secretary general. Government security experts say they believe the use of fake Facebook pages and other online disinformation has eased somewhat since local elections in November 2018, but Beijing uses other forms of infiltration and more traditional ways to try to influence Taiwan politics more than 70 years after Nationalist forces fled the communist mainland for Taiwan. Facebook set up a situation room" and shut down some 250 pages of purported supporters for Han in the 2018 vote after tracking them to China-based IP addresses. Han won the mayor's race in Kaohsiung, a DPP stronghold, propelling him to the Nationalist party candidacy for president. DPP officials say that on average 1,000 items of fake news from China are published or shared in Taiwan every day. Its difficult to trace it back because every day it happens, so we try to analyze the data and once weve got fake news we as the government, as the ruling party, have the responsibility to let people know whats true, said the DPPs deputy director of international affairs, Chen Chih-wei. Civil society groups, village chiefs, professional and academic associations, criminal syndicates and religious organizations all have built up relationships with mainland Chinese counterparts that are sometimes used to push political agendas and spread disinformation, said Jin-Deh Wu, acting director for Cyber-warfare and Information Security at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a non-partisan think-tank. Such local agents for change are everywhere inside Taiwanese society," Wu said in an interview. Its not really something new here. Its one of those fundamental understandings that the (Chinese Communist Party) is trying to mess with elections either directly or indirectly as best they can, said Lev Nachman, a Fulbright research fellow in Taiwan. Months of massive, often violent political protests in Hong Kong have accentuated those concerns and left many in Taiwan skeptical that Beijing's one-country, two systems approach to governing the semi-autonomous former British colony could ever work for their own democratically ruled island. A recent case involving an alleged spy for Beijing has further raised alarm. In what may be the first case of a mainland Chinese operative blowing his cover, self-confessed spy Wang "William" Liqiang reportedly disclosed to Australia's counterespionage agency intelligence on how Beijing runs interference operations abroad. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg described Wang's allegations of Chinese infiltration and disruptions of democratic systems in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan very disturbing. Wang said he meddled in Taiwans 2018 municipal elections and claimed there were plans to disrupt Saturday's election, according to Australian media reports. Those assertions have not been officially confirmed, and Chinese officials in Beijing have dismissed them as false. But Taiwan authorities have detained two executives he claimed had been running a spy network for China on the island. On Thursday, Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said Taiwanese and Australian authorities were investigating Wang's claims. Wu, the government cyber-warfare expert, views political bias and disinformation in television news and newspapers as a greater threat, one that is tricky to address in a society that respects civil rights and liberties. The majority of Taiwanese people believe that democracy is the only game in town and we want to preserve our way of life," he said. We want to maintain this democracy and we don't want to shift to authoritarian rule." MIAMI I am dreading the 2020 presidential race, which I think will be the most brutal Americans have ever witnessed. Irrespective of who the Democratic nominee is, President Trump will use all the power and dirty tricks at his disposal to remain in power for another four years. As was the case in 2016, if Democrats want to have any chance of defeating Mr. Trump, they will need the strong support of Latino voters. This time, however, they will have to work extra hard to get it. The truth is that no candidate will be able to win the White House without Latino votes. Not even Mr. Trump, who got 29 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2016. A higher Latino turnout in states like Florida and Arizona could have produced a completely different outcome that year. Mr. Trump would never have won the presidency without Floridas 29 electoral votes and Arizonas 11. The number of eligible voters of Hispanic background who did not cast a ballot in 2016 was heartbreakingly high. Over half of the 27 million eligible Hispanic voters stayed home. Why? Although many of them didnt want to vote for Mr. Trump, in part because he had made racist remarks about Mexican immigrants, they werent at all enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton. The renewable energy sector is enjoying a period of rapid growth, with the global focus on sustainability and combatting climate change driving investment in wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, said Cain in a statement. As a top five global carrier in renewable energy insurance, we are pleased to further strengthen our capabilities with the addition of Sam and Mat, who both bring significant experience and expertise to our team. Walsh was most recently serving as a senior underwriter of North American onshore wind and solar risks at GCube Insurance Services. He has more than 10 years of industry experience in the renewable energy segment, having joined GCube in 2009 as an underwriter. Pifer spent the last four years as a senior underwriter in AXIS Insurances commercial management solutions team, where he underwrote public and private D&O risks. Before that, he had been a lawyers professional liability broker with Aon since 2011. Ladj Lys politically-charged feature debut, Les Miserables, is inspired by the filmmakers own experiences as the son of a Malian immigrant. Ly grew up in the harshness of the banlieues, in a commune east of Paris, called Montfermeil. Ly, who still lives there, said his Montfermeil isnt all that different from Victor Hugos, whose 1862 novel is a source of inspiration. It remains grim, comprised of poor and disenfranchised people primarily African immigrants who often clash with the authorities. Ly said he hoped that volatile state would change, and has been chasing that goal with the best tool at his disposal: his camera. The filmmaker set out to capture the realities of that world, in an effort to both counter incomplete narratives, and to inspire revolution. The entire film is from my life, my history, so its like my autobiography, he said. Hugos time was a different era, but poverty and social misery remain in the area. I could have just taken the book and made it contemporary, but with my film, I wanted to portray how we live in these very policed ghettos today, and the consistent threats of violence we face. More from IndieWire At the center of Les Miserables are three members of an anti-crime brigade who are overrun by youth while trying to make an arrest. When a drone captures the encounter, it threatens to expose the truths of everyday life in the community. Its a film thats at least 15 years in the making, with roots that stretch back to Lys activist teenage years. Ly was inspired by the violent 2005 Paris riots, which involved youth of African descent, in a three-week uprising stoked by increased unemployment, poor housing conditions, and routine harassment at the hands of the police. Story continues These areas where the jobless rate is very high were abandoned by the authorities decades ago, and nothing changes, Ly said. We talk of the left and the right political parties, but for the youth in my community, neither one speaks to them, which leads to frustration and desperation, and then revolt. They are the wretched, and so they must rebel against a system that continues to oppress and exploit them. That kind of revolt can be seen in the fiery climactic scenes of Les Miserables, during which the police are ambushed in a stairwell. Its an experience that Ly said he lived through, and so it wasnt a difficult scenario to imagine. I believe in the power of cinema as a tool to inspire revolution to challenge the status quo, and bring real lasting change, he said. Some people might be confused or uncomfortable by that sequence, but I hope that in their confusion, they will stop and think about why. As a teenager, Ly could always be found with a video camera, capturing life in his community. He gained a reputation as a burgeoning guerrilla journalist, and would be called on by locals at any signs of skirmishes with law enforcement, so that he could document anything that happened. His first introduction to the idea that he could become a filmmaker was around the age of 15 when he had a chance encounter with Costa-Gavras son. Ly soon began making short films with his friends in a collective they called Kourtrajme; the collective still exists today, as a free film school that Ly spearheads, training youth of Montfermeil to tell their own stories, as he has did with the short documentaries he made that prepared him to direct Les Miserables. The films themes remain extremely relevant, especially in France today. Ly makes comparisons between the 2005 Montfermeil riots that inspired him, and the current yellow vest protests that have shaken France. Initially erupting in November 2018, the protests began over several grievances, including stagnating wages and economic inequality. They were meant to send a message to President Emmanuel Macron, whose government has been accused of ignoring the needs of everyday French citizens. Before all of this, we in the suburbs were the original yellow vests, even though maybe we havent received the same kind of international press, but weve been fighting for the same basic rights for more than 20 years, he said. Ly stressed that the films themes are not unique to France, acknowledging similar conditions around the world. You will find this everywhere, not just in Paris, and it that sense, its a universal movie, he said. As the son of a Malian immigrant, hes especially passionate about the ongoing African refugee crisis, which other young, contemporary French filmmakers of African descent like fellow Cannes 2019 prize winner and Oscar hopeful Mati Diop (Atlantics) have tackled in their work. You cant complain about immigrants coming into your country without taking the time to really think about why they are so desperate, that some risk their lives, Ly said. When you investigate the history of colonialism, neo-colonialism, the looting of Africas natural resources, and Europe and the Wests responsibility, then you will begin to understand. I want to be optimistic about the future, but sadly, it would not surprise me if in another 15 years, some other filmmaker makes their own Les Miserables because little would have changed. In a competitive year for French cinema, Les Miserables has been a standout. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes, where it received mostly rave reviews, and was selected as Frances Best International Feature Film Oscar submission marking the first time that France has chosen a film by a black filmmaker to represent the country at the Academy Awards. It even drew the attention of President Macron, who said he was shaken by the accuracy of Lys portrait, and called on his administration to find solutions and take action to improve living conditions in neighborhoods like Montfermeil. For his part, while Ly might appear generally pessimistic about a harmonious multicultural future in France, he said he was hopeful that his film would resonate as a wakeup call for the country. I left the ending of the film open, because I wanted it to inspire thought and conversation around the issues, and for people who see it to leave with the feeling that, yes, the rebellious sequence with the police is disturbing, and so now lets talk about it and the environment that led to it, he said. Then maybe some real understanding can begin. Les Miserables is now in limited release from Amazon Studios. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. From gener8tor's Facebook page The gBETA accelerator program is now accepting applications for its first Houston program. The free program, created by Wisconsin-based startup assistance organization gener8tor, will focus solely on Houston-based, early-stage startups. It will offer two programs a year (one in the spring and one in the fall) for the next five years. A significant commitment to kick-start major investment in the Sligo-Enniskillen greenway is contained in the Stormont deal aimed at restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland. Yesterday evening, Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith published the text of a deal to restore power sharing at Stormont. The 50-page document entitled New Decade New Approach deal contains a series of commitments from both the Irish and UK Governments. Regarding some of the documents finer detail in relation to cross-border investment, I am very encouraged that both the Irish and UK Governments are committed to investing in the Sligo-Enniskillen greenway project. Indeed, it is clear from the text of the deal that major investment for this cross-border greenway could be kick-started very soon," said Senator Frank Feighan. As the document states: we are ready to consider a further development funding application to be submitted in January and are committed to taking this project forward to deliver sustainable tourism and other enterprise benefits for the region. This a very clear commitment to what will be a huge tourism boost for the North-West and border regions, specifically a 74km greenway running from Sligo through counties Leitrim and Cavan and into Enniskillen." The proposed greenway is to run along the former Sligo, Leitrim and Northern counties railway (SLNCR) and is expected to cost an estimated 11 million to complete over the next seven years. Meanwhile, a meeting of Leitrim County Council last July, raised this very subject with Cllr Sean McDermott stating the greenway could be the kingmaker for North Leitrim. Independent Councillor Felim Gurn proposed the SLNCR Group have a greenway established in the Manorhamilton Municipal District as part of the countys overall greenway strategy which was vocally supported by all councillors in the area. He made note of the work on the Blueway around Drumshanbo and the support it received from the council. It is as important as the N16, he said at the time and asked the council to give us a leg up. Cllr McDermott informed members that many of the farmers in Leitrim have agreed to the route. Cllr Mary Bohan said the greenway was unsuccessful last time for funding because we dont have a minister. Cllr Justin Warnock said Im four years here, scrapping and begging to get through hoops, they make more and more stumbling blocks for us. Cllr Gurn said the cost for Leitrim would be 3-6m and for Sligo 1-3m but the economic benefits would be massive and jobs will be created. The proposed greenway would run from Sligo into Dromahair, Manorhamilton, Glenfarne into Blacklion and onto Enniskillen. Flash Pakistan's Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said on Thursday that the friendship between Pakistan and China is getting stronger and more multidimensional with new avenues of cooperation in social and economic sectors. "Pakistan and China have a long history of friendship, but now it is deepening and strengthening with the passage of time. Our economic and social cooperation is improving, and interaction between civil societies of the two countries is growing," the minister said, adding that this is indeed a new era in which already good friendship between the two countries is becoming even stronger. Mahmood made the remarks during a ceremony held in Islamabad for distribution of "Panda Packs" among 20,000 students in grade 1-5 studying at government schools mostly in rural areas of the federal capital by the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in collaboration with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. Inside the donated packs are lunch box, color pencil, eraser, sharpener and other stationery which would help learners to further improve their educational ability and interest in school. The distribution of donated packs is a proof of the growing multi-faceted relations between the two countries, he said. Considering the increasing demand of skilled manpower in the country, the minister said vocational training institutes are being set up with the help of China under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to impart necessary skills to meet the demands of the local industries. "This will further strengthen the partnership between the two countries," he said. Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said China is ready to help Pakistan in the field of education, adding that through a new sector of socio-economic cooperation under CPEC, hospitals, schools and vocational training centers will be established, and scholarships will also be offered to Pakistani students. "The relationship between China and Pakistan has been for quite a long term, but this new momentum between the peoples, between the societies, between the communities, is just growing day by day," Yao said. Abrar ul Haq, chairman of PRCS, said around 61 percent population of Pakistan lives in rural areas, where educational facilities are not up to the mark. He said the distribution of school bags among rural students is a highly welcome initiative. "China has always been on the forefront in helping Pakistan in the time of need," Haq said while hoping that cooperation between the PRCS and the Red Cross Society of China will further grow to come to serve humanity together. GLOBAL social network giant Linkedin has just inked a major Dublin office deal which could allow it add up to 3,000 further Irish jobs, on top of the 2,000 it is already due to employ in the capital by mid-2020. Linkedin, which is owned by Microsoft and which has 600 million business/professional subscribers worldwide, has finalised a deal to take on an extra 430,000 sq ft of offices in Dublin 2. It's a city development called Wilton Park which is the focus of a 350 million investment by Irish real estate leaders IPUT. Linkedin and IPUT have already joined forces in Wilton Park, after a commitment by Linkedin to take 150,000 sq ft of offices, currently under construction and which will bring its Irish workforce to 2,000 by the middle of this year. The social network company used by professionals worldwide employed 1,200 in Dublin during 2019 and announced it was adding 800 jobs by 2020. Now, this latest and far larger office deal could allow it to add up to or even over 3,000 more Dublin Linkedin employees in the medium to long term. Its parent company, Microsoft, already employs 2,000 in Dublin's Leopardstown. The 430,000 sq ft buildings comprise the balance of office space at IPUT's Wilton Park. They are called Two, Three and Four Wilton Park and construction will start on site this year, due for completion by 2023. With close to 600,000 sq ft now being taken at D2's Wilton Park by Linkedin, it size terms the company's Dublin footprint will be twice the size of the overall Navigation Square series of office buildings being developed in Cork city's south docks. Also in terms of scale, it is only really dwarfed in Dublin by the deal struck by another tech giant, Facebook, which committed to 800,000 sq ft of offices at the former AIB Bank Centre in Ballsbridge in 2018. Now, Microsoft-owned Linkedin is clearly ramping up its future office need for its EMEA HQ in Dublin, in a letting deal on a 25-year lease. The development, designed by Henry J Lyons Architects, will have a one-acre park, 120 car parking spaces, and 500 bike spaces. IPUT Chief Executive Niall Gaffney said they were proud to partner with LinkedIn, a global technology brand that shares our ambition to sustainably develop a new destination in Dublins central business district." "This major development will be a key driver of long-term returns for our shareholders. We are committing 350 million to the development of the Wilton Park estate which, on completion, will have a value of over 750 million. Leading Democrats speak in unison over President Trumps decision to order the termination of Iranian terrorist mastermind Qassem Soleimani after he reported for work in Baghdad last week (Washington Free Beacon supercuts video below). TDS runs deep, but (to borrow the Dems preferred locution on this issue) they seem to object in principle. They seem to believe what they are saying. God help us when they return to power with the deep thoughts behind their appeasement of the mullahs, the financing of their objectives, the restoration of the fake nuclear deal, and the abasement of our nation before them. Death to America, indeed. Visiting City Hall one time with classmates from her grade school, Mayor G.T. Bynums daughter led the group toward the Wall of Mayors displaying portraits of everyone who has served in the office throughout Tulsa history. Annabel Bynum has a total of four family members on that wall her father and her fathers cousin, grandfather and great-great-grandfather. But she pointed at the picture of Susan Savage, who served a record 10 years as mayor, from 1992 to 2002. See that girl right there, Annabel told the other kids. She was mayor longer than any of these guys. Mayor Bynum invited this years Pinnacle Award recipients to City Hall to offer similar role models for young women all across Tulsa, he said Thursday. All of us need heroes in our lives, Bynum told the award winners, whose names were announced in December. Its exciting to think about the impact that your recognition is going to have on future generations of Tulsans. (Bloomberg) -- PayPal Holdings Inc. made a big bet in November with its $4 billion acquisition of Honey, a web browser extension that helps online shoppers find the lowest prices. Now Amazon.com Inc. is warning customers not to use the tool. Shortly before Christmas, Amazon said Honey posed a security risk, which was reported Thursday by Wired. The warning perplexed some online shopping experts since the tool has been available for several years and Amazon makes no similar warnings about other browser extensions such as price tracker camelcamelcamel.com. Amazons fight against Honey while letting a dozen other tools go on is confusing, said Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of New York e-commerce research firm Marketplace Pulse. I dont buy their security risk message. They just want Honey and PayPal to be squashed. There is no love lost between Amazon and PayPal, which spun off from e-commerce competitor EBay Inc. in 2015. Amazon has its own online payments service that competes with PayPal and doesnt allow PayPal payments on its site. PayPal executives were surprised by the Amazon warning about Honey and are communicating with Amazon to resolve it, according to a person familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. One possibility for PayPal: alerting federal antitrust regulators since the Honey warning could be interpreted as Amazon using its size and clout to harm a competitor. Regulators have encouraged Amazon rivals to provide information about potential anticompetitive practices. If PayPal thinks Amazons warning is unwarranted, it can accuse Amazon of deceptive practices, requiring Amazon to explain why it did so. As markets become more concentrated and firms grow larger, we are seeing more attempts to protect market positions and eliminate rivals through deceptive practices, said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute. Just before Christmas, banners started popping up on Amazon that told shoppers to be cautious when using Honey, calling it a security risk and to keep your data private and secure, uninstall this extension immediately. Story continues Our extension is not and has never been a security risk and is safe to use, a Honey spokesperson said. We have a team dedicated to ensuring the security of our users information and we regularly engage expert third-party security firms to assess our security protections. If ever an individual or independent researcher contacts us about a potential vulnerability, we engage with that person to understand and remedy the issue (if there is one). Los Angeles-based Honey has more than 17 million users, who use the extension to save money at Amazon and other online retailers. Amazon shoppers using Honey could be less inclined to follow Amazon suggestions, which dont always direct shoppers to the lowest-priced product since it considers other factors such as shipping speed. Honeys use could undermine Amazons own algorithm, diminishing the companys power of suggestion over its shoppers. Amazon has been accused of favoring its own products over competitors, which the company disputes. In an emailed statement, an Amazon spokeswoman said: Our goal is to warn customers about browser extensions that collect personal shopping data without their knowledge or consent such as customer name, shipping and/or billing address and payment method from the checkout page. (Updates with antitrust comment in seventh paragraph.) --With assistance from Matt Day. To contact the reporters on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net;Spencer Soper in Seattle at ssoper@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. has asked to share any information it has regarding the Ukrainian airliner crash after Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his country has intelligence from several sources to prove that Tehran has shot down the aeroplane with 176 people onboard by surface-to-air missiles. "[Iran] asks the Canadian prime minister and any other government to share information on this incident they possess to the committee in charge of investigating the incident in Iran," Sputnik quoted a statement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi. Mousavi added that had invited Ukrainian experts as well as representatives of the Boeing company to join the investigation into causes of the crash. The jet with 176 people on board including 63 Canadians crashed minutes after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday morning. Eighty-two Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians died in the crash, which took place between the cities of Parand and Shahriar. There were also 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals among the victims. Earlier in the day, Trudeau while addressing the media said that has intelligence from multiple sources that Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missile, adding that the action by Tehran may be 'unintentional'. ALSO READ: Iranian investigators say Ukrainian flight was on fire even before crash CNN reported that the United States also believes that mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian airliner. President Donald Trump has indicated the was not due to mechanical issues, adding that "somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." The crash took place on the day, Iran had launch missiles US targets in Baghdad in retaliation to the killing of Iranian military leader General Qassem Soleimani. Meanwhile, Ukraine has opened an investigation to find out the cause of the crash. The country's officials said they are looking into multiple causes for the crash including the missile strike or terrorism. Sweden has also joined the crash investigation on Thursday. Sweden Minister of Foreign Affairs Anne Linde told CNN that nothing was ruled out concerning the causes of the Court reverses $35 million verdict against Jehovahs Witnesses for not reporting girls abuse Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a $35 million judgement against the Jehovahs Witnesses for not reporting the sexual abuse of a girl to authorities because the religious organization requires allegations of serious sin to be kept confidential. A state district court previously found in 2018 that the church illegally failed to report a child sexual abuser to authorities, which allowed him to continue sexually abusing another child, NPR reported. The Jehovahs Witnesses national organization was ordered to pay $35 million the then 21-year-old victim. In a unanimous opinion on Wednesday, however, seven state Supreme Court justices concluded that the lower court had erred in ruling that Jehovahs Witnesses were under a mandatory duty to report sexual abuse. We hold that Jehovahs Witnesses are excepted from the mandatory reporting statute under 41-3-201(6)(c), MCA, because the undisputed material facts in the record show that Jehovahs Witnesses canon law, church doctrine, or established church practice required that the reports of abuse in this case be kept confidential, Justice Beth Baker said in delivering the opinion of the court. Under 41-3-201(6)(b), MCA, clergy are not required to report known or suspected child abuse if the knowledge results from a congregation members confidential communication or confession and if the person making the statement does not consent to disclosure, the justices noted. The exception noted here refers to a special exception to mandatory reporting laws made in some states for clergy-penitent communications, law firm Wagenmaker & Oberly explain. These deeply personal and spiritual communications are received confidentially by ordained or other ministry individuals whose professional responsibilities include regularly receiving confessions of sin, admissions of repentance, and similar private communications from church members and other religious worship attenders, the firm said. As more revelations of child sexual abuse by clergy members continue to be unearthed, these exceptions are increasingly being challenged in states where they are applied. Jim Molloy, the womans attorney, said in a statement cited by the AP that: This is an extremely disappointing decision, particularly at this time in our society when religious and other institutions are covering up the sexual abuse of children. The abuse of the Montana woman only came to light after the congregations elders disciplined the man over allegations of abusing two other family members in the 1990s and early 2000s, according to her lawsuit. The congregation elders expelled the alleged abuser from the congregation in 2004 but then reinstated him the following year leading to the abuse of a younger victim, the lawsuit cited by the AP said. Despite the allegations, the Montana Supreme Court noted that because the case was handled by the church internally the confessions made by the abuser are protected under the law. The Jehovahs Witnesses religion has established procedures for responding to allegations of serious sin, such as child molestation, within a congregation. When elders receive a report of physical or sexual child abuse, they are instructed to immediately call the Watchtower legal department in New York to determine whether the laws of their jurisdiction require them to report the abuse to authorities. According to the Jehovahs Witnesses, elders will report child abuse to secular authorities if required by law; otherwise, they address it internally, the justices said. Absent a legal duty to report to authorities, the elders would then conduct an internal investigation to determine whether the allegations of abuse have merit. Church policy requires a second witness to corroborate the initial report of abuse according to the two-witness rule. Once a second witness confirms the allegations, at least two local elders will conduct an investigation or take confession, the justices note. If the two elders confirm the allegations, the local body of elders will appoint two or three elders to form a judicial committee. This committee meets with the accused to determine if he is repentant; if not, the committee determines whether it is necessary to disfellowship the unrepentant sinner, the strongest form of scriptural discipline. In the event the elders disfellowship the accused, they must complete an S-77 Form titled, Notification of Disfellowshipping Or Disassociation, and send it to the CCJW Service Department in New York. The elders keep records related to investigations and judicial committee proceedings under lock and key at the Kingdom Hall, they explain. Local elders will then inform the congregation of the disfellowshipping, but not of the underlying misconduct. Under church rules a disfellowshipped member may petition the judicial committee for reinstatement. In a report Thursday, The Christian Post also highlighted another controversial story involving "clergy-penitent communication. The wife of a Mormon man who confessed to leaders of his church that he sexually abused his underage daughter filed a $9.5 million lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for violating his confidential confession and reporting him to authorities. The man, Timothy Samuel Johnson, 47, and his wife, Kristine Johnson, were members of a Stayton ward when his wife learned he had "engaged in inappropriate conduct" with his daughter. Johnson, the lawsuit explained, told a local church panel in Oregon about the molestation in 2016 to repent for his sins. He also sought spiritual help to bring peace within his life and family. In 2017, however, he was arrested, charged and later convicted in 2018 of four counts of second-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to 15 years in prison. "(Clergy) knew or should have known that violating the doctrine of confidentiality under the circumstances alleged in this complaint would most certainly injure (his wife and children) financially," Kristine Johnson's criminal defense attorney Bill Brandt said. VANCOUVER, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Chemistree Technology Inc. (CSE: CHM and CHM.wt) (USOTCQB: CHMJF) (the "Company" or "Chemistree"), announces that in conjunction with the January 10 and 11, 2020, Lift & Co Cannabis Expo in Vancouver Canada, Chemistree will unveil for our shareholders and potential new investors - a bold and exciting new virtual reality tour of our state-of-the-art Washington facility, to illustrate first hand what we do, and how we do it. Sugarleaf and its strategic partner, Chemistree, are pioneers in the cannabis trade, and owe their success to their commitment to innovation by spearheading bold new cultivation techniques that have rapidly made them the new industry standard. There is a myth within the industry that all a business needs to do is simply grow their product and bring it to market. Naturally, like most over simplified things, this couldn't be more untrue. Roughly half of licenced growers see little if any return on their investment because our industry demands rapid innovation and investment in order to reach its full potential. We also have to run a business that yields the highest possible returns for investors, and for a company to attract serious investors who truly understand the potential of the growing cannabis industry, we have to create exciting, new and innovative ways to explain to potential investors exactly what we do, why we do it, and how it works. Afterall, you can read truckloads of information and watch hours of YouTube videos and really only get a small sense of how one of our facilities really functions. Our team partnered with the great people at Growing Exposed, and this weekend we are rolling out our exciting new full virtual reality tour of the Sugarleaf facility. You will be able to completely pull back the curtain and experience a brand-new VR tour of Sugarleaf and see first hand exactly how we are setting new industry standards. Jeremy Deichen, Chemistree's Director of Marketing commented "when cannabis became legal for recreational use, many people believed it was going to be like the Wild West. In some respects, they were right, except it turned out that it is more like Silicon Valley than a broken-down old desert mine. For that reason, our team will always seek the latest technology so that we can offer our customers the very best product possible, and our investors a brand new opportunity that will only mature and grow as we continue to learn and push technology forward." The entire tour was filmed using Method Seven filters on a Go Max 360 Camera and captures every essence of our grow room in ways on VR can provide. This latest innovation was developed so that we can offer our potential investors the opportunity to step inside our facility for themselves, without a sales pitch, and see the full potential of their investment, but also so we can demonstrate our commitment to innovation at every level of our business from vendors to cultivation to marketing and every link in the chain. For more information, visit www.chemistree.ca. Advisory The Company wishes to inform shareholders that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in both Canada and the United States. Cannabis-related Practices or Activities are Illegal Under U.S. Federal Laws The concepts of "medical cannabis" and "recreational cannabis" do not exist under U.S. federal law. The Federal Controlled Substances Act classifies "marihuana" as a Schedule I drug. Under U.S. federal law, a Schedule I drug or substance has a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use in the United States, and a lack of safety for the use of the drug under medical supervision. As such, cannabis related practices or activities, including without limitation, the manufacture, importation, possession, use or distribution of cannabis are illegal under U.S. federal law. Strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve the Company of liability under U.S. federal law, nor will it provide a defence to any federal proceeding which may be brought against the Company. Enforcement of U.S. federal laws will be a significant risk to the business of the Company and any such proceedings brought against the Company may adversely affect the Company's operations and financial performance. Further information regarding the legal status of cannabis related activities and associated risk factors, including, but not limited to, risk of enforcement actions, risks that third-party service providers, such as banking or financial institutions cease providing services to the Company, and the risk that Company may not be able to distribute profits, if any, from U.S. operations up to the Company, are included in the Prospectus, the Company's annual information form and other documents incorporated by reference therein and in the Company's Form 2A listing statement filed with the CSE and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. "Karl Kottmeier" President Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Information set forth in this news release includes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "budget", "scheduled" and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements about adding clients, building on the Company's initial product offerings, entry into of definitive agreements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risks identified in the Company's reports and filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by applicable law. SOURCE Chemistree Technology Inc. Related Links http://chemistree.ca/ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tried to be understanding over the obvious snubbing of Queen Elizabeth II, but one action was the last straw for them. When Queen Elizabeth II delivered her 2019 Christmas message, she surrounded herself with selected photographs of her and the royal family. Some of the portraits included were a picture of Prince Charles and Camilla on the 50th anniversary of his induction as Prince of Wales; a family portrait of Prince William and Kate Middleton with their three children; a snap of Prince Philip from her private collection; and a black and white picture of King George VI in 1944. The whole table appeared flawless -- except when royal watchers noticed that none of the frames had a single picture of the Sussexes. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seemed to have no problem with it. However, their sudden decision to step back as senior members of the Royal Family leads to speculations on what pushed them to take such drastic actions. Sussexes Making a Point? To officially mark the new decade, Buckingham Palace released the newest portrait of the Queen with Prince Charles, Prince William, and six-year-old Prince George. Taking pictures like that is already part of the tradition of the monarchy. But little did Queen Elizabeth II know it will become one of the reasons why Prince Harry and Meghan would step back from the royal family. The sudden news announcement on Wednesday, Jan. 8., said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex contemplated for "many months" to come up with the tough decision of finally becoming independent from the central and senior members of the royal family -- Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince William. A source told The Sun that Prince Harry and Meghan just declared a war on the family since they failed to consult their move to any of the central members, not even to the Queen. "Their statement was not cleared with anyone. It breaks all protocol. This is a declaration of war on the family," the source said However, the insider said that the final straw that led Harry and Meghan to make the decision was the royal portrait that excluded the Duke of Sussex. According to The Sun's source, they felt there is no longer any point "hanging around" considering thay are not that needed. "That picture was the clearest indication that Harry and Meghan are not considered part of the future of the institution. From their point of view from that moment on there was no point hanging around," the source explained. Since the Sussexes wanted it their way, they decided to step back and take control of what they do. Interestingly, however, they wanted to keep their royal privileges to the surprise of many. Demanding Royals? The Sun revealed some incredible but displeasing wishes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, starting from their request to keep the Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate and have their security bill paid for. Moreover, they want to keep their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex even when they will not work full time in the U.K. anymore. They also urge to keep most of their senior staff who, up until now, are not aware of the royal couple's decision. "[And] they want to keep up their level of royal security," another source revealed to The Sun. "How is that going to work if they are off acting like celebrities?" If this problem persisted, they would surely not gain everything they want and end up facing the same things that happened to Duke and Duchess of Windsor. According to Valentine Low, the Times of London's royal correspondent, Prince Harry and Meghan might become "unimportant people" just like when the Duke of Windsor renounced his throne. If Prince Harry and his wife spend their time away from the royal family for too long, Low fears that their status and the support they enjoy now will be affected. Tehran, Jan 10 : Iran on Friday urged all the parties involved to contribute to a probe into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner which killed all the 176 people on board shortly after taking off from Tehran two days ago. "According to international regulations, representatives from the civil aviation agency of the country where the crash has taken place (Iran), the civil aviation agency of the country which has issued the airworthiness certificate (Ukraine), the owner of the airliner (Ukraine International Airlines), the aircraft manufacturer (Boeing), and the jet engine manufacturer (CFM International) can participate in the investigation process," Ali Rabiei, spokesman for the Iranian administration, said. Rabiei also said that a delegation from Ukraine was already in Iran, and Tehran has called on Boeing to dispatch its own representative to participate in the process of reading the black box data. Iran has also invited the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to take part in the investigation. The NTSB announced it would join the probe into the crash and has designated an accredited representative. Boeing said on Wednesday that it was ready to provide any necessary assistance, while the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also pledged to assist the probe into the crash. Friday's development comes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that intelligence indicated that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 was shot down by an Iranian missile on Wednesday. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional," Trudeau told the media. But Iranian spokesman Rabiei denied the claim, saying "these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran ... all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box". Sixty-three Canadians were aboard the UIA flight PS752. Trudeau's remark followed US media reports that said the airliner was was mistakenly shot down by Iran. In separate reports, CBS News and Newsweek said US and Iraqi intelligence officials were confident the Ukrainian plane was brought down by a missile fired by Iran. Conservators are on a mission to restore seven 1860s-era photographs of Queensland that survived a shipwreck. The Queensland government sent geologist and photographer Richard Daintree and his family to London to promote the state and showcase collections, including his seven photographs, at The Exhibition of Art and Industry in the 1870s. State Library of Queensland conservators are undertaking forensic analysis of the photographic paintings to undercover what was underneath them before painters in London painted over them. Credit:State Library of Queensland When the ship sank off the coast of South Africa, he lost his specimens and fossil collection, but saved his children and the glass-plate photograph negatives. Back in Australia, Mr Daintrees colleagues rescued the Queensland exhibition by sending over their own fossil and rock collections. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascent Industries Corp. (CSE: ASNT) (Ascent or the Company) announces that Paul Dillman has resigned from position as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company with immediate effect to pursue other opportunities. Mark Lotz will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer for the time being. The Board wishes to record its thanks to Mr. Dillman for his contributions to the Company as it navigated this difficult period. About Ascent Industries Corp. The Company's operations currently include facilities Oregon and Nevada in the United States. In the United States, the Company holds licenses in Oregon (for processing and for distribution) and in Nevada (for cultivation and for production, processing and wholesale distribution). THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (THE "CSE") HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. NEITHER THE CSE OR ITS MARKET REGULATOR (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE CSE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, Ascent assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. For further information: Mark Lotz ir@ascentindustries.com Zhenping county, located in central China's Henan province, has taken measures to develop the local economy though e-commerce platforms in recent years. The county now boasts about 30,000 online stores and e-commerce enterprises, with the annual turnover exceeding 18 billion yuan. To support e-commerce companies, the county has set up a fund of 20 million yuan to help them attract talents, publicize products and so on. Meanwhile, Zhenping has trained 10,000 e-commerce professionals for the local industry by setting up related courses since 2019. Zhenping, home to jade carving, has developed a business model of selling jade through live broadcasts. More than 2,000 jade carving enterprises are selling their products through both online and offline channels. Shifosi town, a pioneer in the county's jade business, has included live streaming videos in the local e-commerce hub to sell jade. Over 200 enterprises have been introduced into the e-commerce base, with annual sales reaching 500 million yuan through live broadcasts. By facilitating e-commerce businesses, Zhenping has helped a total of over 400 poverty-stricken households increase their income and shake off poverty, with Chaobei town in the county setting a good example by selling local sweet potatoes through online platforms. Cui Yuzhu, a villager at Chaobei town, sold 18 mu (about 12,000 square meters) of sweet potatoes in 2019. One mu of land yields about 5,000 kg of sweet potatoes every year and brings an income of 5,000 yuan, said Cui. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 17:07:52|Editor: zh Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of South Korea Thursday paid tribute to a "comfort women" statue that honors victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery at a city park here. Park said he was "deeply touched" to stand in front of the memorial erected at the St. Mary's Square in downtown San Francisco to remember hundreds of thousands of Asian women, including many Chinese, Korean and Philippine girls, who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II (WWII). He commended leaders of Chinese, Korean, Philippine and other communities in San Francisco for defying strong opposition from the Japanese government to push for the statue's removal. Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura of Japan cut the city's decades-long "sister city" relationship with San Francisco in 2018 after the U.S. city rejected his request to remove the statue from the square. Park said South Korea had experienced "a lot of pain and suffering" during the 20th century, referring to the invasion and occupation by Japanese forces until 1945. A similar three-women monument honoring the victims of the WWII Japanese sexual slavery, better known as "comfort women," was also installed on Namsan Mountain in Seoul, which holds the painful memories of the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. Judith Mirkinson, president of Comfort Women Justice Coalition (CWJC), a San Francisco-based grass-roots organization, said Park's visit to the monument shows his commitment to seeking justice for "comfort women." "That's very, very significant, especially considering all the machinations of the Japanese government to force (South) Korea to take down the statue in Seoul," she told Xinhua. Retired Chinese American judge Lillian Sing of San Francisco Superior Court, who is also a co-founder of the CWJC, called Park's visit to the memorial a stark contrast to what she described as "a bad sister city of Osaka" that broke its friendly ties with San Francisco because of the statue. "The South Korean mayor is a man that wants to seek justice for the comfort women, speak about what happened to them and enhance Seoul's relationship with San Francisco," she added. PUNE: Samasta Hindu Aghadi president Milind Ekbote, who was arrested and later released on bail in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence in January 2018, refused to depose before the Bhima Koregaon inquiry commission during its hearing on Friday. Ekbote moved an affidavit before commission members Justice JN Patel (retd) and former bureaucrat Sumit Mullick expressing his inability to appear before the commission. On Friday, Ekbote in his affidavit drew attention to the change in government in Maharashtra and said in his affidavit: The recent political developments in Maharashtra have indicated that whatever the honest and impartial investigations carried out between 2017 and 2019 by police authorities are likely to be obliterated or revisited in order to ensure the safe passage for the different hues of Marxists spread all over the political and social spectrum. He also expressed the fear that his case was likely to be hampered, particularly in view of investigation pending and political spectrum has totally changed, which may go overboard to implicate me falsely. Ekbote is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case in which he was alleged to have incited violence against Dalits at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018 during the 200th commemoration of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. He was arrested by Pune rural police in connection with the case and was later released on bail by the Supreme Court. Ekbote apologised to the Commission for his failure to respond to the summons issued asking him to attend and depose on oath on Friday. He said he did not wish to depose before the Commission to protect my interest in the court of law and in society at large. He said in his affidavit that investigations into the Bhima Koregaon violence were yet to be completed and the chargesheet had not been filed till today. One of the accusations levelled against me is spreading communal disharmony in and around Koregaon-Vadu which is a false and politically motivated allegation, he stated, adding that he instead alleged that it was the organisers of Elgar Parishad with the help of leftist organisations who were behind the violence. Ekbote said he was being cornered by leftist, pro-Naxal and anti-national forces because of his caste and nationalist political philosophy, opposing any form of Marxism. After 21 months and four extensions, the two-member Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission set up by the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government is nowhere close to submitting its findings into the causes of the caste riots that shook up Maharashtra in January 2018. On January 1, 2018, riots broke out in various parts of Pune district on the occasion of the 200th commemoration day of the Bhima-Koregaon battle which has emerged as a symbol of Dalit pride. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar in December 2019 had said that the arrests of nine activists in connection with the violence in Bhima Koregaon was wrong and vengeful. He had demanded constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the actions of Pune police. Commissions lawyer Advocate Satpute said, Ekbote had given an application before the commission and the commission has discharged him accordingly. Can you imagine being told by your mother that no one actually cares about you as an individual, as Queen Elizabeth II does to Prince Charles in this season of Netflixs The Crown, a show that may be fictionalized but is deeply rooted in fact? What would you have to be paid if you knew you were going to have to fight a years-long struggle to get your family to acknowledge your bulimia and other mental health issues, as Diana did in real life? The idea that Meghan Markle was going to transform the Windsors into a breezily diverse, egalitarian bunch by marrying into the family was always more aspirational than reasonable, a white dress and tiara acting as camouflage for the futility of it all. LONDON After three years of political paralysis, Northern Irelands two main parties reached an agreement on Friday to restore the regions power sharing government and revive its political institutions. The government in Northern Ireland is led by Sinn Fein, the main nationalist party, which supports unification with the Republic of Ireland, and the Democratic Unionist Party, or D.U.P., which wants to maintain close ties to Britain. It collapsed in 2017 amid sectarian rifts over cultural and social issues. The power-sharing deal announced Friday followed nine months of negotiations. Although neither party was entirely satisfied, they both concluded that restoration of the coalition government would be better than facing yet another election. In last months general election, voters punished the two parties for the long political gridlock as a new centrist party and smaller nationalist parties siphoned some of their support. Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Clear skies. Low around 30F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Stronger winds in and below canyons and passes.. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 30F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Stronger winds in and below canyons and passes. Accusing the Delhi Police of conducting a "shoddy" investigation into the JNU violence case, the Congress on Friday alleged that it was clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party, and demanded the removal of the city police chief and the university's vice chancellor. The Delhi Police on Friday released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case and claimed that JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was one of them. Of the nine, seven belong to left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to right-wing students' body, it said. Congress' senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said question marks have been raised on the investigations by the Delhi police as it has "failed to carry out the probe independently" and identify the culprits. "It is a shoddy investigation to say the least. The victims have been made the accused. The investigation is clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party," he told reporters. Playing some video clips purportedly of the January 5 violence in the JNU campus, the party claimed that one Vikas Patel has been identified by the police as a rioter, but his real name is Shiv Mandal. Raising questions on the probe, Maken said, "The Delhi Police has not done a good work as far as investigation is concerned and in a way it seems that the force was also an accomplice in the entire incident because everything happened in front of it. The Delhi police has not been able to identify even a single rioter correctly, it has wrongly identified them." Alleging that the Delhi police has carried out the probe under the influence of the home ministry, the Congress leader said, "There should be investigations against the home minister also." "The Congress party demands immediate removal of the Delhi police commissioner and the JNU vice chancellor. The role of Home Minister Amit Shah should also be probed. The Congress president has already demanded an independent judicial probe into the JNU violence case," he said. The Congress spokesperson said the BJP-led government should at least agree to their veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who has called for the removal of JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SANAA, Yemen Dozens of civilians have been killed or injured in recent attacks on al-Raqw market in Yemens Saada province, with most victims being African migrants who had fled poverty in their own countries. The latest attack occurred Dec. 24 when artillery shelling hit the market in Munabbeh district, killing at least 17 civilians and wounding 12, most of whom were Ethiopians, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande said in a statement. "Every attack of this kind is a gross violation," Grande said, without blaming any side. She added that "28 civilians were killed or injured in an attack on Nov. 20, and 32 were killed or injured on Nov. 27, bringing the total number of reported civilian casualties at al-Raqw market to 89 since Nov. 20." Yemen's civil war began in 2015 between Sunni leaders, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, and Shiite Houthi rebels supported by Iran. In a Dec. 26 statement, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki downplayed the Dec. 24 market attack, saying that an initial review pointed to possible incidental losses and collateral damage." But Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree vowed Dec. 25 that retaliation would be painful for the Saudi enemy. Two days later, Houthis fired a land-to-land ballistic missile at a brigade of the Saudi National Borders Guard in Najran. Saree claimed the missile killed and injured "dozens" of Saudi military personnel, "including officers." The coalition did not comment on the report. In a Dec. 30 tweet, Saree said Houthis shot down a spy drone belonging to the Saudi-led coalition over Hodeidah. In a separate post, he said this will be the Year of Air Defense," when Houthis will down all coalition planes breaching Yemeni airspace. The coalition launched six airstrikes into Saada province Jan. 3. Three of those strikes hit a house in Bani Muath area, killing three people and leaving a young child as the only survivor of his family, according to local media and an independent journalist. As of this writing, no airstrikes had been reported since then, though surveillance drones have been hovering over the area, Houthi media reported. The attacks come despite a tentative truce in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia has not officially announced. There are reports of Oman mediating indirect talks between the sides. Regarding the November market attacks, local media reported that all the victims were African, stressing the attacks followed the same pattern, with artillery shelling fired from across the Saudi border. I've been living here [in Munabbeh district] for three years, Elias Morsi, an Ethiopian migrant, told Al-Monitor by phone. We ran from poverty to find work. Some [migrants] work at the market and others enter Saudi Arabia. Al-Raqw market is close to the Saudi border, said Awfan, making it a promising alternative for African migrants seeking work, refuge or a transit point to Saudi Arabia. Faisal Awfan, a Munabbeh district resident who works as a cameraman with Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, documented the shelling's aftermath. He accused Saudi border guards of deliberate shelling. They know it's a commercial market where there were no [military] camps or stores of weapons, Awfan said. He added, They started targeting shops by artillery shelling, causing material damages, while bodies were burning inside the shops. In a 16-minute video, Al-Masirah TV broadcast cell phone footage taken by citizens and testimonies of eyewitnesses, including African migrants. Africans walk in and out of Saudi Arabia through the market used for trade and for smuggling the Yemeni stimulant khat, Awfan told Al-Monitor by phone. Morsi has been living in a small house near the market with other Africans for three years, he said. Some Africans live in tents, he noted. I live with my wife and three children, he said, adding that he has two other sons he left behind in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he was born. Morsi said he and other Africans fear for their lives in Yemen but can't stop working at the market, where he is employed at a restaurant. He said those killed in the market attack were buried in a nearby cemetery. None of his friends or relatives was killed. Meanwhile, Grande stressed in her statement, Humanitarian partners are supporting Al Jumhori and Al Talh hospitals in Saada where the injured are being treated. Mohammed al-Khateeb, director of al-Talh hospital, told Al-Monitor he was not at the hospital at the time of the attack and had no information to offer. Al-Monitor also tried to contact doctors at the hospital and to speak with one of the injured, to no avail. According to Awfan, al-Raqw market is about a three-hour walk from the center of Munabbeh district. Ambulances did not enter the market [fearing more shelling], and victims were carried to a nearby area amid [fears of another] attack from Saudi [military border] posts overlooking the market, Awfan said. The terrain [of the area] is rough, which made it difficult to transport the wounded" to hospitals, Awfan said. The closest facility to Munabbeh lies some 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. This is why some people died while on their way [to the hospitals], he added. The prevailing uncertainty of the region's current military and political scene since the US airstrike Jan. 3 that killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad makes it hard to predict the situation in Yemen. This is especially true if it comes to a full-blown confrontation between the US-backed, Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Houthis, if Yemen becomes a territory of Iran's harsh retaliation for Soleimanis killing. The City of Collegedale Parks and Recreation will present their second season offering a Fireside Chat Storytelling program in Founders Hall at The Commons, 4950 Swinyar Dr. in Collegedale. On Saturday, Feb. 1, from 6:30-8 p.m., the community is invited to hear two storytellers from the famed Jonesborough Storytelling Guild. Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee, home to the International Storytelling Center and host of the National Storytelling Festival. "The masterful performer, Judy Butterfly Farlow has enthralled audiences in venues as diverse as backyard picnics to The White House," organizers said. "Audience members may find themselves laughing one minute and wiping a discreet tear the next. Judys versatility and passion are unmatched as she charms her listeners. Her mother has been noted to say that 'Judy was born telling stories.'" Storyteller Catherine Yael Serota is a native of Asheville, NC and resides in Flag Pond, Tn. She spent time working as a mental health therapist before becoming a Christmas tree and nursery stock grower. She presents original stories set in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. "Catherine entertains listeners with traditional tales, including Jack Tales," organizers said. What is a Jack Tale?asked Collegedale Parks and Recreation Director Traci Bennett-Hobek. Come find out and just maybe you will take home a bit of mischief," organizers said. For more information, email thobek@collegedaletn.gov. Pompeo says there is no doubt Soleimani was planning imminent attacks, but US did not know precisely when or where. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has acknowledged that the United States did not know precisely when or where the imminent attacks allegedly being planned by top Iranian commander Qassemi Soleimani would take place, but said the threat was real. There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qassem Soleimani, Pompeo said in a Fox News interview that aired on Thursday. We dont know precisely when, and we dont know precisely where, but it was real, he added. Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike near Baghdad on January 3, prompting Iran to retaliate with a series of missile attacks on US facilities in Iraq several days later. In its justification for the strike, the US has repeatedly said Soleimani was planning imminent attacks against US forces in the region. Officials have not publicly elaborated on the evidence of any planned attacks. Two Republicans slam justification Pompeos recent comments came in response to a question about the criticism the Trump administration has received from members of Congress, including two Republican senators, over the recent escalation of tensions with Iran. The House of Representatives and the Senate received separate briefings on Wednesday about the administrations decision to kill Soleimani. Most Republicans defended Donald Trump, saying the US president made the right call. But two Republican senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul joined Democrats in slamming the briefings, calling them insulting and demeaning. Its un-American. Its unconstitutional. And its wrong, Lee told reporters after Wednesdays Senate briefing. I find it insulting and I find it demeaning to the Constitution of the United States, he said, adding the briefing was probably the worst briefing Ive seen at least on a military issue in the nine years Ive served in the US Senate. Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul depart via the Senate Subway following a classified national security briefing of the US Senate on developments with Iran [Tom Brenner/Reuters] The Democratic-controlled House on Thursday passed a nonbinding resolution aimed at limiting the presidents ability to attack Iran in the future without congressional approval. The Houses War Powers resolution directs Trump to terminate military operations against Iran except for self-defence and clarifies that the president currently does not have congressional authority to engage in war with Iran. A similar version is expected to be debated in the Republican-controlled Senate, where it faces an uphill battle. Under the US Constitution, the authority to direct military action is divided between Congress and the president. Congress has the power to declare war while the president, as commander-in-chief, has the power to use the military to defend the US. Northern Ireland's rival parties neared a power-sharing government on Friday, three years after the last administration collapsed and left the volatile province vulnerable in the face of Brexit. A draft deal for how the new executive would work was released late on Thursday by the UK's Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith and Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney. "We have put in place a series of what I would regard as very fair compromises to move things forward," Coveney said on Friday. "Now it's over to the parties and hopefully all five of them will decide that on the basis of this document, they can commit to functioning government again." The region's devolved assembly at Stormont has been without a government since January 2017, following a scandal over misspending. Numerous rounds of increasingly acrimonious talks failed to find an agreement and basic services were left unattended -- eventually sparking workers' strikes. The latest talks were launched in the wake of a December 12 general election in Britain that stripped the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of its powerful voice in the UK parliament. Republican party Sinn Fein, which does not send its lawmakers to London because it does not recognise British rule, also saw its overall voter share slip. Analysts attributed both parties' losses to voter frustration at their inability to reach a compromise that could let a government in Belfast take care of the region's daily needs. DUP leader Arlene Foster called the draft agreement "fair and balanced". "It does of course bring forward Irish language legislation, but it also recognises that there are those of us living in Northern Ireland who are very much Ulster British," she said. "There's a commissioner there to deal with the concerns of the Ulster British community. So I think it is a balanced deal." Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said late Thursday that the party's senior leaders would give the draft "careful consideration" on Friday. The parties are being pushed toward an agreement by the threat of a new regional election being called if no government is formed by Monday. A 1998 peace accord that ended a violent three-decade spell in which thousands died -- known as The Troubles -- requires the two main parties to share power. The lack of an executive is especially fraught with danger for the region because of historic changes to its trade rules being imposed by Britain's pending withdrawal from the European Union. Northern Ireland's border with the Republic of Ireland to the south provides the only UK-EU land frontier. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's EU withdrawal agreement puts pressure on local authorities to maintain frictionless trade while preserving an open border on the island of Ireland. Negotiations to revive Stormont have been stuck on disagreements over the use of the Irish language and a mechanism giving minority governments veto rights. The draft requires the executive "to provide official recognition of the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland" and "respect the freedom of all persons... to choose, affirm, maintain and develop their national and cultural identity". It also eliminates the veto mechanism and requires the parties to build consensus on issues of dispute. The UK government additionally promises to deliver a new financial package for the region that allows outstanding public sector salaries to be paid. "The package is dependent on the executive getting back up and running," said UK minister Smith. "The time is up, we need to get back to work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nathalie Rachou and Mark Hughes to be nominated for election to the UBS Board of Directors of UBS Group AG at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. David Sidwell and Isabelle Romy not standing for re-election The Board of Directors of UBS Group AG announced today that it will nominate Nathalie Rachou and Mark Hughes for election to the Board at the Annual General Meeting on 29 April, 2020. David Sidwell and Isabelle Romy will not stand for re-election. David Sidwell will have completed a twelve year term of office and Isabelle Romy has decided to step down after eight years on the UBS Board. Nathalie Rachou (born 1957) has been a member of the Board of Directors at Societe Generale and will step down from that position on 19 May, 2020 a position she has held for twelve years. In 1999, she founded Topiary Finance Ltd., an asset management company based in London that merged with the investment company Rouvier Associes in 2014. She retains a role as senior advisor to the firm. From 1978 to 1999, she held a number of positions within Banque Indosuez and Credit Agricole Indosuez, including roles in capital markets and as Chief Operating Officer of the brokerage subsidiary of Banque Indosuez. She graduated from HEC in Paris with a master's degree in management and holds an executive MBA from Insead. Nathalie Rachou is a French citizen. Mark Hughes (born 1958) was Group Chief Risk Officer of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) from 2014 to 2018 and is currently chair of the Global Risk Institute and a visiting lecturer at Leeds University. He joined RBC in 1981 and spent his entire career working for the bank in Canada, the US and the UK. He held various senior leadership positions such as Chief Operating Officer Capital Markets and Head of Global Credit. For more than 20 years, Mark Hughes has served on RBC's subsidiary boards. Mark Hughes received his MBA in finance from Manchester Business School and his LLB from Leeds University, both in England. He is a Canadian, UK and US citizen. UBS Chairman Axel Weber commented: "I am very pleased to announce the nomination of Nathalie Rachou and Mark Hughes for election to the Board. They will add a wealth of knowledge and experience from across the banking sector and geographies, with a particularly deep understanding of risk management. I look forward to working with them on the UBS Board." "David has been an important pillar of the Board through a challenging period in the firm's history, serving as chair of the Risk Committee, Senior Independent Director, Vice Chairman, and a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee. He has been instrumental in the strategic repositioning of UBS and has contributed greatly to the fundamental improvements in the firm's risk and control frameworks," says Axel Weber. "Isabelle has contributed her excellent legal expertise to the Board and served as a member of the Audit Committee as well as Governance and Nominating Committee. We thank both David and Isabelle for their commitment, invaluable collaboration and outstanding service, and wish them all the best for their future endeavors." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005763/en/ Contacts: Investor contact Switzerland: +41-44-234 41 00 Media contact Switzerland: +41-44-234 85 00 UK: +44-207-567 47 14 Americas: +1-212-882 58 58 APAC: +852-297-1 82 00 www.ubs.com/media While its 4G sibling has already launched in a few parts of the world, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G has so far been confined to China only. That changed today in the UAE, where the handset got its official introduction for the local market. The Mate 30 Pro 5G will be up for pre-order in the UAE starting on January 15 for AED 3,899 (approximately $1,061 or 955 at the current exchange rates). It will go on sale at Huawei Experience Stores and select other retailers on January 23. If you pre-order on January 15 you'll get a bunch of freebies worth AED 1,829 ($497 or 448), including a SuperCharge wireless car charger, a DJI Osmo Mobile 3 gimbal, and VIP services included. The Mate 30 Pro 5G supports both standalone and non-standalone 5G networks, and like its 4G sibling runs EMUI 10 based on open source Android 10. It has no Google Mobile Services or apps, instead using the Chinese company's in-house developed Huawei Mobile Services, as a consequence of the United States Government's ban on American companies doing business with Huawei. Now that it's left China, perhaps the Mate 30 Pro 5G will make it to other countries and territories as well in the near future. Source live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The boardroom tussle at Yes Bank is once again in the news with independent director Uttam Prakash Agarwal putting in his papers, citing failure in corporate governance and compliance. Agrawal told Moneycontrol that that he was unhappy the way the private bank was dealing with capital raising. He also expressed his reservations on appointment of employees under the new management. He was appointed to the post on November 14, 2018, and his tenure was set to end in November 2023. Agarwal tendered his resignation on January 10, the day when board meet was scheduled to take decision on the banks capital raising plans. Later in the day, Yes Bank informed exchanges that the board was also going to discuss Agarwals role after reviewing his fit & proper status under directions from the banking regulator. However, prior to the commencement of the proceedings of these meetings, the Bank received the resignation of Mr. Agarwal, Yes Bank said. The private lender is under immense pressure to raise fresh equity from new investors to support its capital base and support credit growth. Also Read | Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma denies eyeing stake in Yes Bank While the banks Managing Director Ravneet Gill had assured the bank's stakeholders that the lender has offers worth $3 billion on the table, the banks board is yet to take a firm decision on the matter. In the meeting held on January 10, the board decided to consider $500 million offer from Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group, while it rejected the $1.2 billion offer from Canadian industrialist Erwin Singh Braich. The board approved fund raising of Rs 10,000 crore via mix of debt and equity instruments. Their husbands obsession costs up to 20k and takes up half the house (plus most evenings). Meet the Lego widows. We even had to go Lego shopping on our honeymoon Rheane Silver, 41, is a customer adviser for an energy company. She lives with husband Dan, 33, a senior sales advisor and Rheanes son in Nottingham. Dans Lego collection is worth 10,000. Rheane says: It takes a special kind of patience to live with an Adult Fan of Lego (AFoL). Even on our honeymoon in Edinburgh last June, despite the stunning city and beautiful weather, Dan felt that something was missing. Rheane Silver, 41, is a customer adviser for an energy company. She lives with husband Dan, 33, a senior sales advisor It turned out Edinburgh has no Lego store so he insisted we got a train to Glasgow so he could spend some of our wedding gift money. We left a few hundred pounds lighter, having barely seen any of Glasgow. Back at the apartment he made me help him build Hogwarts Castle by reading out the instructions I wasnt allowed to touch the Lego. It wasnt how I expected to spend my honeymoon. Our little two-bedroom house is bulging with more than 70 models. His pride and joy a 4ft long Millennium Falcon takes up the living room. Other models creep in all the time: a whole Harry Potter set; an 18in Batmobile, which I dont like because its an ugly shape; and hes now got the Ninjago City, which has nearly 5,000 pieces and costs over 250. Ive said that he needs to start keeping his models in the loft but hes resisting so far. He spends up to four hours a night, at least three evenings a week, on Lego. Im not allowed to say hes playing with his Lego, hes building it. When hes not building it hes watching Lego YouTube reviews! Weve argued a few times, as its not a cheap hobby. He wanted to visit the home of Lego in Denmark, but Ive said no and were going to Turkey instead. But there are worse things to be addicted to. And at least Christmas and birthday presents are easy. Dan says: I never had much Lego as a kid because I couldnt afford it. All my friends had better toys. So perhaps now I have the means, Im having a second childhood. Its an escape and it helps me wind down after work. Rheane is very understanding. In past relationships there were arguments about how much money Id spent and I had to sell some. But now I cant seem to stop. My collection is worth around 10,000. I have 72 pieces, five of which are still to build. On Christmas Day, I spent around 14 hours working on models. Im not really sure what Rheane thought; she was cooking Christmas dinner for most of the afternoon. But shes very tolerant, and we do spend time together as a couple. As for buying Lego on our honeymoon, I dont see the problem. We got to see a bit of Glasgow! He buys me model flowers because they last longer! Charlotte Harwell, 44, is a childrens practitioner. She lives with husband Mike, 47, an accountant and children, Tom, 12, and Poppy, eight, in Sutton Coldfield. Mike has collected Lego for 40 years and his collection is worth 20,000. Charlotte says: Last year, Mike left three big trunks of Lego in the kitchen for weeks. None of us could sit down to eat and eventually I snapped and told him he had to move them! Its not the first time his hobby has got on my nerves. At one point we had a 4ft Millennium Falcon on the coffee table. We kept bumping into it and knocking bits off. Charlotte Harwell, 44, is a childrens practitioner. She lives with husband Mike, 47, an accountant and children, Tom, 12, and Poppy, eight, in Sutton Coldfield Recently, I went away for a day and on my return more Lego had made its way into the house. Its reached the point where Ive agreed that when we do some work on the house later this year, he can convert the garage into his very own Lego haven. Anything to stop it being scattered all over. When we met 30 years ago, I knew Mike was a Lego fan, but it certainly wasnt the obsession it is today. When we had children I was quite pleased when the Lego was consigned to the loft. But recently hes rediscovered it with a passion and can spend five hours at a time beavering away. Hes got the children interested, too. I think its a great hobby for children. But there are days when theyre all busy building and I think: Well, I suppose Ill have to do something on my own. Its not the cheapest pastime.Mike tells me if hes making a large purchase such as the 650 Falcon, but I suspect I dont get the full story. The most romantic thing hes ever bought me are Lego flowers. He says they last longer! Mike says: Ive loved Lego since I got my first space set aged seven. I joined the Lego club I still have the official certificate and my collection grew and grew. When the children were younger, my Lego was banished to the loft (Lego addicts refer to this as The Dark Times). But now I have a collection worth around 20,000. As well as the Eighties Space Lego, I have many Star Wars and Harry Potter models, and Im building a collection of architectural kits and enough trains to go around the house a few times. Charlotte is patient but when Tom and I built Hogwarts it was in the house for months, so now we have a six-week limit. But there are worse hobbies. Lego is very relaxing and uses your imagination. Id rather my children spent hours building a model than watching a screen. He wants a 650 Star Wars set I want a mini-break Kirsty Ibbitson, 38, is a university administrator. She lives with husband Andrew, 37, a trader, and children William, six, and Phoebe, two in Baildon, West Yorkshire. After a year of serious collecting, his collection is worth more than 1,000. Kirsty says: Im slightly to blame for Andrews Lego obsession. Ive bought him models for birthdays and special occasions for the past few years, like when our daughter was born two years ago, because I thought it was a nice hobby for him when he injured his knee and couldnt do sport any more. Little did I realise how much time Id spend saying: Andrew, come on! Were going to be late! or: Its 1am, come to bed! If left on his own, hed spend all night building the latest model. Among them are the Sydney Opera House, the Taj Mahal and the Houses of Parliament. Its always something of an ordeal when a new box arrives. The Taj Mahal is over 4,000 pieces and the bricks, instruction books, plastic bags and boxes meant we couldnt use the dining table while he was building it. Kirsty Ibbitson, 38, is a university administrator. She lives with husband Andrew, 37, a trader, and children William, six, and Phoebe, two in Baildon, West Yorkshire Afterwards he puts them on display, but were doing up our four-bedroom detached house at the moment and if he keeps building well run out of room. Its an expensive hobby the Opera House was over 200 yet sometimes hes completed them in two days and I think: Id want a bit more for my investment. Now he wants the Millennium Falcon. Ive said no way; Its around 650 the cost of a weekend away! He can buy it when we win the lottery. Andrew is passing on his love of Lego to our son, William. Hes only six, but hes already completing models for over-16s. So it looks like Im set to be not only a Lego widow but a Lego mother, too! Andrew says: Ive probably spent more than 1,000 on Lego and several hundred hours on my hobby. I dont buy lots of boxes a year, just one big purchase and a few smaller ones. But it is expensive and if I buy the 650 Falcon I really want, Kirsty will say Im not allowed to buy any for three years! Im not a member of any Lego club I think it would be grounds for divorce. I find Lego helps me switch off. When I come home from work, I think: Ill just do five minutes and two hours later Im still there. My favourite piece is the Taj Majal, which took 24 hours over several weeks. Its probably the space they take up that is the biggest issue for Kirsty. Its not just the models, but I keep all the boxes and plastic bags in pristine condition, too, because some Lego becomes collectors items. I want everything as good as new if I want to sell it in 15 years. Weve got a Lego Venus de Milo in our bedroom Karen Wilmott, 46, is a pre-school practitioner. She lives with husband Justin, 47, and their four children Mia 16, Ethan, 14, Zach, 11 and Oscar Jovi, nine near Bath. His Lego collection is worth approximately 10,000. Karen says: I could sympathise when I heard about Victoria Beckham joking about her husband David spending so long on his Lego. Sometimes when were rushing around or jobs need doing around the house, Im gritting my teeth thinking: Really? Youre doing Lego right now? The posts on our front porch have needed painting for months and eventually I joked that Justin could clad them in Lego as long as it got done. I retracted it when I realised he was considering it! Karen Wilmott, 46, is a pre-school practitioner. She lives with husband Justin, 47, and their four children I should be grateful Justin has a hobby he can do at home. But when Im tripping over Lego figures, its a bit too much. I can appreciate theyre pieces of art but among others we have a meerkat, a polar bear, a Venus de Milo (on the floor in our bedroom!) and a reindeers head on the living room wall. Our home isnt that big and when it becomes too crowded Ill insist they are moved to our outside office. They collect so much dust and I always seem to be the one cleaning them! A Father Christmas and polar bear creation by Justin Wilmott I like the Lego archway Justin built round one of our interior doors. It was going to be one pillar but he got carried away its a talking point when friends visit. Justin says: I had Lego kits as a child, but it wasnt until I visited Legoland Windsor eight years ago that I became hooked. I studied art at A-level but never realised you could build huge structures in Lego. I thought: I can do that! Karen is very patient. Occasionally shell tell me shes fed up but on the whole shes supportive. I try not to spend too many hours or make too much of a mess, though the Venus de Milo did take around 150 hours. Only a handful of people in the world build large Lego structures like mine. I make my own designs, like the polar bear and the Father Christmas and now I create designs for other Lego fans to follow; Ive just made a metre-high tortoise for a man in Texas. A few weeks ago I even started my own YouTube channel, BathbricksUK. Ive had 1,000 views already. My collection contains around 200,000 bricks. Id never be able to afford it if I bought them all new, so I buy them second-hand. Some larger figures must be worth around 2,000 each My next plan is for a full-size human. Its just whether Karen will let me keep it in the house! NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday, January 10 granted bail to all the accused in violence that took place in Delhi's Seemapuri locality on December 20. The accused, who were lodged in judicial custody, were let out on a bail bond of Rs 20,000 each. The court had remanded them to custody till January 18. Live TV The Delhi Police had arrested eleven people in connection with the incident where a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) turned violent in the area in mid-December. On Thursday, a Delhi court had granted bail to 15 people who were arrested in connection with a protest against the Citizenship Act that had turned violent in Delhis Daryaganj area. A car was set on fire outside the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police in Daryaganj on December 20, when a group of agitating demonstrators resorted to stone-pelting after police used force to disperse them. An FIR was lodged by the police under Sections 146,147,148,149, 146,147,148 of the IPC. The Delhi Police had arrested 15 people and detained 40 on December 20, following the violence. All the 15 accused were then sent to 14-days judicial custody. Bhim Army Chief Chandrasekhar Aazad Raavan was also arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the violence during an anti-CAA protest in Daryaganj area. A case was registered against Azad under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of the IPC. A Twitter user has blamed Bobrisky for inspiring a young man to become a cross-dresser. Currently causing a heavy buzz on Nigeria Twitter are the photos of a young Nigerian cross-dresser based in Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt. According to reports, the young man is known as Jay Boogie Anthony and judging from several comments, he is a pretty popular cross-dresser in Port Harcourt. It was also gathered that he has been on the art long before Bobrisky came into the limelight even though some users blame Bobrisky. READ ALSO Cross Dresser, James Brown Repents After Bobriskys Ordeal With Police Anthony who is said to be 21, is believed by many people to be more prettier and more naturally endowed than Bobrisky who recently admitted to doing plastic surgery. Twitter user @TWEETORACLE, recently took to the platform to share photos of the young man, crediting Bobrisky for inspiring Nigerian youths. See His Tweet Here: Reactions To The Post: CBC An artist from Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., who uses beads to replicate space, stars and entire universes, will have her art showcased in the Smithsonian, right next to Vincent van Gogh's work. Margaret Nazon's beading of the Milky Way is in Washington, D.C., where it will be presented in the Recovering Our Night Sky exhibit on light pollution at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It will be beside a virtual image of van Gogh's The Starry Night. "I think because it's quite different, it's not like pa Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Mamata Banerjee are likely to share the stage during a programme here on Sunday, TMC sources said. "As far as we know, she (Banerjee) will attend a programme of the Kolkata Port Trust on January 12, where the prime minister would also be present," a senior Trinamool Congress leader told PTI. Modi will be on a two-day visit to the city from January 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Friday discussed the latest developments in the Middle East with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres amid the rising tensions in the region following the killing of Iranian senior commander General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike. "Glad to speak again today with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. We discussed the situation in the Middle East, as well as the enduring importance of the UN charter. Pleased these were priority issues at the UNSC today," Pompeo said in a tweet. The conversation assumes significance after Iran, early on Wednesday, launched more than a dozen missiles on US targets in Iraq -- first at the Ain Al-Asad airbase in Anbar province and another one at Erbil, which falls in the Kurdistan region. The strikes came hours after the funeral of senior Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, whose killing in a US air raid last week in Baghdad intensified tensions in the region. Soleimani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq last Friday. Soleimani's death has marked a dramatic escalation in tension between the US and Iran, that has often been at a fever pitch since Trump, in 2018, chose to unilaterally withdraw Washington from the 2015 nuclear pact the powers had struck with Tehran. Countries including the UK and India have condemned Iran's strikes and urged Tehran to pursue urgent de-escalation. In his White House address, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington will impose "additional punishing economic sanctions" on Iran and said the penalties will remain in place untill Tehran "changes its behaviour". On the other hand, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that his country's final answer to the killing of Soleimani, "will be to kick all US forces out of the region". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Why did Iran not ground flights as its air space became a war zone? And why would a missile battery be so close an international airport? Those are just a couple of the questions surrounding the crash of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752. How the Hell Do You Shoot Down a Passenger Jet by Accident? Well over 1,000 people flew out of Tehran on the night when Iran launched its cruise missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq early Wednesday morning local time, and they were on exactly the same flight path, but only PS752 turned into a fireball and crashed minutes after takeoff. Airlines from seven different countries had flights leaving Tehran between midnight, local time, and 6:12 a.m. when the Ukranian Boeing 737 took off. Western intelligence experts believe that Flight PS752 was hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. If so, the 176 people who died seem to have been the victims of a grim game of Russian roulettewhy would this jet be targeted when nine others that preceded it were not? And this is just one of the pressing questions raised in the midst of the disputes raging around the disaster. The missile strike on Iraq was launched at around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Iranian time, from sites in western Iran. And yet there was no attempt by the Iranians to close down their commercial air space once it became part of a war zonewhen it was most likely that the U.S. would launch a retaliatory strike on Iran. It was left until after the event for individual airlines to cancel their flights into and out of Iran and to avoid flying over Iranian air space, which most international airlines did on Wednesdaythe FAA banned all U.S. airlines from Iranian air space, citing heightened military activities and increased military tensions. According to data provided to The Daily Beast by the tracking site Flightradar24, the air traffic out of Tehran that night covered a wide range of airlines and destinations. The Ukrainian jet was preceded 22 minutes earlier by the largest jet to leave Tehran that night, a Boeing 777 of Qatar Airways, an all-cargo flight to Hong Kong. Story continues The other flights, all carrying passengers, included two by Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, one by Turkish airline Atlas Global to Istanbul, Qatar Airways to Doha, Aeroflot to Moscow, Austrian Airlines to Vienna, Lufthansa to Frankfurt and Azerbaijan Airlines to Baku. Seven of the flights were Airbus airplanes, five single-aisle jets and two larger wide-body jets. The Azerbaijan flight was on the smallest of the airplanes, an Embraer 190. Totaling up the capacity of these airplanes, and assuming, conservatively, that the flights were around 80 percent full, around 1,500 people left Tehran that night without knowing how close they came to disaster. The only possible reason why a civilian airliner might mistakenly be targeted by a missile battery is if its transponder, the automatic system that continuously transmits the identity of the airplane, was not working and the airplane appeared to be a rogue intruder. But Flightradar24 confirms that the Ukranian 737s transponder was working throughout taxiing, takeoff, and climb and stopped transmitting only at the time it began its fiery descent. Its radar track to that point was identical to the other earlier flights climbing to cruise altitude. Tehrans air traffic controllers were responsible for directing all the flights out of Iranian air space until they were accepted by the controllers in neighboring countries. They would have been the first to see that Flight PS752 had abruptly disappeared from their radar while following its designated heading. Why a military missile unit familiar with its location so close to a continually used international airline route would ever be activated, let alone fire a missile, without first contacting the air traffic controllers and without being overseen by a competent command and control regime is completely baffling. If this did occurand Iranian authorities are still insisting that it did notthen it is inexcusable. Meanwhile the Iranians have implied that the crash investigation will meet international standards by inviting the participation of both the National Transportation Safety Board, representing the U.S., and the French Bureau dEnqueues et dAnalyses, BEA, one of the worlds most experienced and highly regarded crash investigation teams. Team Trump Goes Back To Sanctions Playbook Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Landmark of Subic Bay port in Subic, Zambales, Philippines. (Photo: Getty Images) By Claire Jiao Japan will create the blueprint to redevelop a former U.S. naval base in northern Philippines that has also attracted interest from China. Subic Bay, once the largest American naval base outside the U.S., will be developed through a master plan crafted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said during his bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Manila on Thursday. The Japanese agency signed the agreement in December to provide technical support for the Philippine governments push to revive Subic Bay in Zambales province, with knowledge-based industries, logistics terminals, public utilities and road networks identified as possible industries to grow the local economy. China has similarly been lured to the area, financing a 50-billion-peso ($987 million), 71-kilometer (44 mile) freight rail connecting Subic Bay to Clark Freeport, also a former U.S. military base. Chinese investors were also interested to take over Hanjin Heavy Industries Construction Co. Ltd.s facilities, located near the disputed South China Sea. Despite the Philippines growing closeness with China under President Rodrigo Duterte, Japan has remained the countrys top source of official development assistance. It has signed 10 loan agreements so far to support Dutertes big-ticket infrastructure projects, and Dominguez said there were more opportunities for funding and technical support as the governments so-called Build, Build, Build program picks up this year. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The global oil market is expected to be well-supplied in 2020 and demand growth could stay weak, keeping a lid on prices, the head of the International Energy Agency told Reuters on Friday. "We are expecting a demand growth of slightly higher than 1 million barrels per day," said the IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, adding that growth could remain weak, compared with historical levels. There is also an implied surplus of 1 million bpd oil, ensuring that the global market is well supplied, he said. "Non-OPEC production is very strong. We still expect production coming from, not just United States, but also Norway, Canada, Guyana, among other countries," Birol said, referring to oil producers outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). "Therefore, I can tell you that the markets are, in my view, very well supplied with oil, and as a result of that, we see prices remain at $65 a barrel." Brent crude futures topped $70 a barrel after a U.S. air strike killed Iran's top commander in Iraq last Friday, escalating tensions in the Middle East. But prices cooled quickly after the threat of war in the Gulf receded. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10 2020 China will remain committed to investing in Indonesia despite the ongoing dispute between the two countries over the formers controversial naval maneuvers in Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea, Chinas senior envoy in Jakarta has said. Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xiao Qian said both countries had wonderful relations but even good friends might have different views. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Iran went on high alert early on Wednesday as Tehran sent missiles towards United States troops in Iraq to the west and waited in vain for retaliatory fire from the US. But what happened next rather than Iranian military targets taking a hit was a tragedy that claimed the lives of 176 passengers and crew on a civilian aircraft that was bound for Kyiv and had just taken off from Tehran. Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed as a ball of fire in a suburb of the Iranian capital, killing everyone on board the Boeing 737-800. Now, the governments of Iran, Ukraine and the US where plane manufacturer Boeing Company is based are scrambling to determine exactly what brought down the plane as the tensions surrounding the tragedy upend international norms for investigating air disasters. Planes dont just take off and explode US intelligence officials said on Thursday that the airliner was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian anti-aircraft missiles. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also pointed the finger at Iran, telling reporters that intelligence from multiple sources indicated the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Among the passengers killed in the tragedy were 63 Canadian nationals. Some airline analysts also say the evidence points to downing by an anti-aircraft missile. Richard Aboulafia,aerospace analyst and vice president of the US-based Teal Group,told Al Jazeera that the possibility of the relatively new plane crashing due to the aircraft or engine is between zero and one percent. It sounds very likely that their radar and satellite picked events up that match the missile theory. Mark Zee, founder of Opsgroup Planes dont just take off and explode on their own, he added. There is such a thing as uncontained turbine failure, but it does not look like this. Aboulafia described the Ukrainian plane as blowing up, like a grenade and having a lot of kinetics that suggest a shootdown by anti-aircraft missiles. The mysterious Iranian government message saying this was mechanical failure was just bizarre, Aboulafia said, referring to the lack of pilot communication, black-box data or ground-control information before that announcement. The optics speak of nothing good. Match the missile theory The optics may be shifting focus towards a downing, but the dearth of hard, verifiable information is frustrating some analysts. It might possibly be a terrorist act, but its too hard to tell at this stage, said Geoffrey Thomas, an aviation expert at Airline Ratings. A screen with information and the cancelled flight from Tehran marked are seen at the Boryspil International Airport near Kyiv in Ukraine on Wednesday [ Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu] Mark Zee, founder of Opsgroup, an aerospace intelligence firm, said that a clearer cause is emerging but is still not concrete, because its back-channel stuff to the media in the US. I suspect the US will have to come out with a statement on it, from the military side, he told Al Jazeera. It sounds very likely that their radar and satellite picked events up that match the missile theory. Those systems are designed to look for anti-aircraft and missile activity, added Zee,referring to the timing of the incident among other factors such as the lack of a distress call to air-traffic control, an abrupt loss of navigation signals, no indications of an attempt to return to Tehrans airport and widely scattered wreckage. If the eyewitness video is verified, then that also lines up with the [missile] theory, Zee added. Finally, the images from the Iranian news agency of the aircraft parts show something that looks a lot like projectile damage, but higher-resolution images would be needed. Despite the US Federal Aviation Administration having successfully rerouted most air travel away from what had become a combat zone, Zee does not fault Ukraine International Airlines for flying in the area just hours after Iranian rockets were sent into Iraq. You cant point any fingers there, said Zee. Just after the crash, the Ukrainian embassy in Iran blamed technical failure but then retracted the claim. Black-box intrigue Meanwhile, the investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Iranian authorities, in conjunction with Ukrainian officials but not with US investigators, whom Tehran has scorned. The incident is testing international protocols for multilateral cooperation when investigating airline disasters at a time of seriously heightened tensions betweenTehran and Washington. The Ukraine International Airlines ticket counter is seen at Boryspil International Airport [Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu] Under the rules of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation that created a global regime for air travel overseen by the United Nations, Irans air accident investigation branch automatically takes charge. Ordinarily, because the jet was US-made, the US has the right to be accredited to the inquiry. Since that is politically not feasible, Washington is concerned the investigation may not be fair. Black boxes from Boeing planes are often sent to Boeings US suppliers, but that is looking unlikely in this case. We will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer [Boeing] and the Americans, Irans Civil Aviation Organization chief Ali Abedzadeh told Irans Mehr News Agency. Iran could ask a third country to help analyse black-box data, especially if reading the information is technically difficult due to badly damaged casings. Canada could end up playing a key role in the investigation. Will ensure good, free education to children of poor, downtrodden in Punjab: AAP UP polls: After Congress, AAP cancels rallies in poll-bound state amid rising COVID-19 cases AAP protest outside Amarinder Singh's home, police use water cannons India oi-Deepika S Chandigarh, Jan 10: The main opposition party AAP held a massive protest outside the residence of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh against "rising" power tariff. THe protest comes after the Shiromani Akali Dal cornered the Congress government over tariffs. Police used water cannons to stop party leaders including MP Bhagwant Mann, MLAs Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and workers from moving towards the residence of the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. As cold wave tightens grip, IMD issues red warning for Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP As part of the protest, the Aam Aadmi Party had planned to 'gherao' the official residence of Amarinder. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 10, 2020, 15:55 [IST] The new name of Scanship Holding ASA, Vow ASA, which was approved by the company's extraordinary general meeting on 9 January 2020 has now been registered in the Norwegian register of business enterprises (Foretaksregisteret). For further information see stock market announcement dated 9 January 2020. The company's shares will from 13 January 2020 be quoted on Oslo Brs with the new name, Vow ASA, and the new ticker "VOW". ISIN number is unchanged. For further queries, please visit our new web site https://www.vowasa.com / or contact: Henrik Badin - CEO Vow ASA Tel: +47 90 78 98 25 Email: henrik.badin@vowasa.com About Vow ASA In Vow and our subsidiaries Scanship and Etia we are passionate about preventing pollution. Our world leading solutions convert biomass and waste into valuable resources and generate clean energy for a wide range of industries. Cruise ships on every ocean have Vow technology inside which processes waste and purifies wastewater. Fish farmers are adopting similar solutions, and public utilities and industries use our solutions for sludge processing, waste management and biogas production on land. Our ambitions go further than this. With our advanced technologies and solutions, we turn waste into biogenetic fuels to help decarbonize industry and convert plastic waste into fuel, clean energy and high-value pyro carbon. Our solutions are scalable, standardized, patented and thoroughly documented, and our capability to deliver is well proven. They are key to end waste and stop pollution. Located in Oslo, the parent company Vow ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker SSHIP, VOW from 13 January 2020). In 2018 the Vow group had annual revenues of NOK 430 million and 120 employees in Norway, France, Poland and the US. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 16:18:45|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Negotiators from South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Washington next week over the sharing of the upkeep cost for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Seoul's foreign ministry said on Friday. The sixth round of negotiations for the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a South Korea-U.S. accord to share defense cost for about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed here, would be held in Washington on Jan. 14-15. The latest negotiation was held in Seoul in mid-December. The Seoul ministry said South Korea will closely consult with the U.S. side to reach a mutually acceptable agreement as rapidly as possible under a basic principle of sharing the upkeep cost at a fair, reasonable level. The 10th SMA, which was reached in March last year, expired at the end of 2019. Under the 10th SMA, South Korea paid 1.04 trillion won (about 890 million U.S. dollars) last year for the stationing of U.S. troops, up 8.2 percent from the previous year. The United States reportedly demanded some 5 billion U.S. dollars from South Korea for this year's defense cost. Since 1991, South Korea has shared the upkeep cost for U.S. forces here, including costs for South Korean civilians hired by the USFK, construction of military installations and logistics support. Beirut: Former auto executive Carlos Ghosn has been placed under a travel ban in his native Lebanon, six days after the country received an Interpol red notice for the fugitive. On December 30, Ghosn made a stealthy exit from Japan, where he was under house arrest facing trial on four charges of financial misconduct during his tenure as chairman of Nissan. He suddenly showed up in Lebanon, sending shock waves throughout Japan as officials scrambled to understand how he had escaped. Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn proclaims his innocence in his first public appearance since his escape from Japan. Credit:AP Ghosn appeared at a hearing in Lebanon on Thursday, two days after Lebanon's caretaker justice minister, Albert Serhan, said the country's public prosecutor had received an Interpol red notice about Ghosn and would be taking the necessary steps. He was placed under house arrest. Ghosn has said the procedures after his arrest in Japan in November 2018 were "anachronistic and inhumane". He said he was held for 130 days in solitary confinement in a tiny cell, allowed outside for only half an hour a day on weekdays. He said his interrogations extended into the night, sometimes reaching eight hours and in the absence of a lawyer, with lights left on round-the-clock. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday informed India's concerns regarding the recent developments in the middle eastern to US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday. During the telephonic conversation, Esper briefed Singh about recent incidents in the Gulf region, which resulted in the escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States "Had a telephonic conversation with the US Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper. We expressed firm resolve to strengthen the bilateral defence cooperation. He also briefed me about the recent developments in the Gulf Region. I shared India's concerns and interests in the region," Singh tweeted. The tensions between Iran and United States shot up after the latter killed Iranian Quds Force chief Qaseem Soleiman. In the retaliation, Iran launched over 20 missiles over US targets in Iraq. Both the sides have accused each other for the escalation. In the aftermath of the US strike, Trump administration has dialled up various leaders in the to defend the strike that claimed the life of Soleimani. Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it is closely monitoring the situation in the Gulf region in the wake of rising tension between the United States and Iran due to the killing of the Iranian general in Iraq and hoped for the situation to de-escalate as quickly as possible. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a weekly briefing here, "We are closely monitoring the situation (in the region) which is developing rapidly. As we have articulated in the past, peace, security and stability in the region is of utmost importance to us. We have important interests in the region. We would like the situation to de-escalate as quickly as possible," On Thursday, Esper held talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa regarding the situation. The tensions between Tehran and Washington have persisted since 2018 when Trump unilaterally announced that the US is not a part of 2015 nuclear deal which was brokered by his predecessor Barack Obama. Following the withdrawal from the deal, the United States has imposed a number of sanctions against Iran to force the country to renegotiate the deal. The sanctions have crippled the Iranian economy, however, the country refused to bog down to US pressure and started to do away with the terms of the deal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Appointment 10 January 2020 Nils yvind Karlsen to lead HRS F&B Business Development in EMEA HRS Hospitality & Retail Systems, Oracle Hospitality's largest Platinum Partner worldwide, has appointed Nils yvind Karlsen to the position of Business Development Director Food & Beverage EMEA. Nils will focus on the development of HRS' POS strategy in this region. Before joining HRS, Nils yvind Karlsen spent almost 20 years at MICROS Systems Inc., and then with Oracle Hospitality, where he was in charge of F&B sales. LOBAMBA - His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS) will not be providing air-conditioning services this year during the State Opening of Parliament. This was revealed yesterday by Clerk to Parliament, Ndvuna Dlamini, during the first preparatory meeting for the official State Opening of the Second Session of the 11th Parliament by His Majesty King Mswati III, which is expected to take place soon. During the postmorterm of last years Parliament opening, it was revealed that the major disaster was the air-conditioning in the marquee where the luncheon was held after the King had officially opened Parliament. It was reported that the marquee was too hot because, for some reason, the air conditioners were not properly functioning. First to address the issue was Nhlanhla Zwane, who is the coordinator of the Technical Committee. He informed the meeting that things did not go well last year in the marquee because it was too hot. Blame He said although he did not want to shift blame, there was also an issue with those who were in charge of security, as they informed those who were supposed to monitor the marquee that they were supposed to have different types of accreditation tags. Zwane said the power in the marquee was very low, which was why once the formal proceedings in the chamber were completed, they would then transfer the power to the tent. He said, however, last year the staff which was supposed to man the marquee was kicked out by security personnel and were even threatened with physical harm. Ndvuna, who was chairing the meeting, said the Correctional Services had been assigned to monitor air conditioners and wanted a report on why they were not working. A representative from the HMCS said unfortunately he was new to this assignment, but asked if he could go and prepare the report on what had occurred last year and present it at the next meeting. Kings Office Chief Protocol Officer Khandlela Mdluli said in the report, they should present a way forward. The clerk to Parliament said the matter had been too serious and had to be discussed at security level. EBIS technician Mbuyazwe Dlamini submitted that during other national events, for example the Kings Birthday, the companies which were contracted to provide air-conditioning came with their own power or generators instead of depending on other sources of power. It was at this point that Ndvuna said the tender had already been issued and this time it would go to another company and not the Correctional Services. Ammo Grrrll has already identified: THREE EVENTS I WILL BE MISSING IN 2020 AND BEYOND. She writes: Well, 2020 has started off with a literal BANG with the surprising vaporization of Revered, Austere, Terrorist Psychopath and Poetry Lover, Casey Qassem Soleimani. The Democrat politicians, celebrities, and media slugs are slowly working their way through the Five Stages of Grief. So far there has been no funeral stampede by distraught Democrats with 40 of them being crushed underfoot, but its only a matter of time. A few days later, there was a full frontal assault on the Hollywood attention junkies by Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globe Awards. The only way that Ricky could have been more brutal was if he had had a Gatling gun. So what can we expect in the way of Must-See Events in 2020? Well, here are the Top Three which your humble columnist will be missing. THE TAKE AN ENTITLED, UNPLEASANT, RACIST BLACK WOMAN TO DINNER EVENT Yeah, thats a thing now. Its called Race to Dinner. According to an article in the Daily Caller, a black woman named Regina Jackson is organizing dinners for white women to attend with women of some color other than white. Oh, this will not entail a few laughs and sharing recipes, kid pix, or discussing what all lucky American women have in common. Heaven forfend! No. White women who are masochists without a shred of dignity, can sign up to listen all evening to how complicit they are with white supremacy because of the color of their skin. They cant even talk! They are there simply to bear witness to the pain of black and brown women, pain whichwait for it white women have caused. What a crock! Yeah, Ill be missing that. Sure, it sounds fun, but I have never been one to sit quietly and take a lot of ludicrous and insulting guff. The only thing more repulsive would be to have to hear that tedious tirade from Kirsten Gillibrand, or AOC, or Elizabeth Warren, three women whose actual color is white as the driven snow. The Daily Caller gives us a little background on Ms. Jackson, explaining that she grew up in Chicago during the time of the Martin Luther King slaying. She also makes a glancing reference to the 1964 murders of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner in Mississippi. Odd she should mention these two events, which occurred more than half a century ago. First of all, in the grotesque Mississippi murders, Goodman and Schwerner were Jews, WHITE martyrs giving their lives for civil rights. In fact, of all white Freedom Riders in the Civil Rights Era, fully 75 percent of those idealistic young people were Jewish! Second, on April 4, 1968, the very day MLK was slain, what this white girl was doing was hosting a wedding reception for a white bride and a black groom in Chicago. Neither set of parents approved or would attend, so the couple with a little three-month-old baby already here got married in our tiny 4th floor walkup apartment. I baked the cake and other refreshments. They even used our own wedding bands to exchange vows. The small guest list was pretty evenly divided between white and black people, and, since the King murder had just happened, you could have cut the tension in the room with a knife. As the night wore on amid reports of the inevitable, pointless arson and looting on the South and West Side, the party ended and the groom took off so he could help calm things down in his old neighborhood. I minded the baby and got the frantic new bride involved in baking bread to distract her. You know, like any old white supremacist would. I mean, it was WHITE BREAD, you guys! It was 52 years ago, so I cant remember if I made the OK sign too. THE ACADEMY AWARDS I know a couple of well-connected Hollywood people who PROBABLY could score me a ticket to the Oscars if I wanted to sit way in the back and buy an outfit that cost more than my first new car. Oh, the suspense! What WILL that zany Robert De Niro say next? First, he slayed the audience just with Eff Trump, as the Trained Hollywood Seals jumped up to bark and clap their pleasure with such a clever bit of middle school repartee. The only things missing were balls to balance on the noses of the attendees. His vulgarity was such a hit, he said it again! Whoa! Eff Trump! But that just wasnt enough. Apparently, the repulsive little geezer hadnt had any attention for a few months, and he recently Tweeted that the President deserved something yet more humiliating. He advised that someone should throw s*** in Trumps face. Classy. Especially from a wart-faced little old man wearing 6 inch lift shoes. He personally couldnt even REACH Trumps face without a step stool. Let me tell you something, Bobby Boy: nobody despised Barack Hussein Obama more than I did, but he WAS #MyPresident for 8 insufferable years. nd when that Russian flunkie refused to shake his hand, I was enraged that the American President would get treated like that. Not only did I not wish that some mental defective would throw San Fran Sidewalk Slush in his face, but it would never even enter my head to THINK it, let alone to say it aloud. Who ARE you people? You and Madonna and Kathy Griffin and George Lopez, and all the other murder porn fantasists need to get some psychiatric help STAT. ANYTHING BY OR WITH MICHAEL MOORE For about a minute and a half in 2016, Michael Moore seemed to have accidentally said a truth. The sloppy, lard-butted faux advocate for the Working Man, had predicted that Trump might win if somebody didnt start paying attention to the left-behind working class. In other words, he actually had an explanation for Hillarys loss besides rampant sexism or the Deplorability of 63 million voters. But it turned out that his assumption that maybe the working and middle-class voters had a logical reason to vote against Hillary was just a temporary brain infarction, not even as long-lasting as Eric Swalwells, and the moment quickly passed. Now he has gone all-in on Crazy. His latest pronouncement is that since two of three White Men voted for Trump, if you are walking down the street and see three White Men, you should get out of the way. A statement so stupid, even on a Math and Logic level, the mind reels. Personally, if I am walking down the street and see doughy white Michael Moore, who is the poundage EQUIVALENT of 3 normal white guys, I will definitely move off the sidewalk to avoid being crushed. I guess he is divorced now, so maybe this anti-white gibberish is just to score with some Woke Chicks. I would personally recommend taking a shower and washing his hair, maybe lose the baseball cap, as a better strategy, but what do I know? Heck, I havent had a date since 1967. CITY HALL -- Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis has now secured top Republican Party support from both sides of the congressional district in her battle against Democratic Rep. Max Rose. The five-term assemblywoman won the unanimous endorsement of the Brooklyn Republican Partys Executive Committee on Thursday evening after she won the full endorsement of the Staten Island Republican Partys Executive Committee just days earlier. "Nicole Malliotakis is the daughter of immigrants and understands the American Dream because she's lived it. She's a seasoned campaigner and fundraiser who has the skills and the resources needed to win this race. She's a fighter who has the courage to take on Max Rose and his colleagues, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar and the misguided socialist push from the far left. She's an experienced legislator who will take those skills to Washington and put them to work for the voters of Southwest Brooklyn and Staten Island, said the Brooklyn Republican Partys Chairman Ted Ghorra. Executive committees endorsements are not full party endorsements. The executive committees endorsement is expected to be ratified by the GOPs full county committee during a borough convention in February, before the June primary race. On Staten Island, the Republican Partys executive committee interviewed Malliotakis and two other candidates before it decided to endorse the assemblywoman including her only Republican opponent in the primary race, Brooklyn prosecutor Joseph Caldarera. The Islands Republican Party said it did not interview long-rumored prospective GOP congressional candidates Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) or former GOP Rep. Micheal Grimm. Its unclear how many candidates the Republican Party in Brooklyn interviewed before making its decision to endorse Malliotakis or if it interviewed Caldarera. The Party could not immediately be reached for comment and Caldareras campaign did not say if he was interviewed by the Brooklyn Republican Party. "The party bosses may be able to look past the fact that Ms. Malliotakis hates Donald Trump, but the Republicans voters won't. Period, Caldarera said. The assemblywoman has repeatedly reiterated her strong support for the president. The Islands Republican congressional primary race had initially been off to a somewhat crowded start with Malliotakis, Caldarera and controversial Youtube prankster Joey Saladino in the running. But Saladino folded his congressional bid in December, a move that essentially cleared the field for Malliotakis in the upcoming primary race against just one opponent. "I want to thank Chairman Ted Ghorra and the men and women of the Brooklyn Republican Party for their endorsement and support. Since his election, Max Rose has clearly shown us where he stands; hes voted with Nancy Pelosi over 95% of the time and wasted our time and tax dollars on impeaching President Trump instead of focusing on issues that matter to voters, such as passing the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, improving healthcare and bringing much needed infrastructure funding to fix our subways, Malliotakis said. The deadline for prospective congressional candidates to file with the state Board of Elections to run is just three months away in early April, but so far, no other Republicans have announced plans to run in the June primary. On the Democratic side, as of now, Rose is on his way to running unopposed in the primary race after Democratic Socialist Richard-Olivier Marius told the Advance he dropped out of the running for Congress. The Islands Democratic Party has yet to make official endorsements in the NY-11 race but in September, its new Chairman Assemblyman Michael Cusick stressed the importance of getting Rose re-elected to Congress come 2020. While I have a record of accomplishment including passing laws to stop the flow of Chinese fentanyl into our communities, permanently fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, increase counterterrorism funding and decrease congestion the former lobbyist Nicole Malliotakis has spent 10 years in Albany office-shopping with nothing to show for it, Rose said. Malliotakis has received support from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Whip Steve Scalise and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney. The Washington Post has ranked NY-11 as one of the top 10 House races to watch in the country. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. English Lithuanian UAB Ignitis grupe, (hereinafter the Company) identification code 301844044, registered office placed at Zveju str. 14, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania. The total nominal value of issued bonds 600 000 000 EUR; ISIN codes XS1646530565; XS1853999313. The Company informs that after consultation with the Bank of Lithuania, it discloses information that official tender circulars of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius and AB Ignitis gamyba, both the subsidiaries of Ignitis Group, were submitted to Bank of Lithuania. It is noteworthy that these circulars and the specified prices in these circulars are not approved by the Bank of Lithuania yet. In the official tender circular of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius which was submitted to the Bank of Lithuania by the voluntary tender offer of Ignitis Group, it is specified that the price to be paid for one share of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius amounts to EUR 0.880. This price is equal to the 6-month weighted average, until the day of announcement about intention to delist shares from trading on a regulated market (from 9 May 2019 until 8 November 2019 inclusive), of the stock market price which is equal to EUR 0.703 and the bonus which is equal to EUR 0.177. This bonus is paid by taking into consideration that it is intended to initiate mandatory buyout of shares of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius after implementing the official tender and for smooth implementation of the official tender. In the official tender circular of AB Ignitis gamyba which was submitted to the Bank of Lithuania on 30 December 2019 by the voluntary tender offer of Ignitis Group, it is specified that the price to be paid for one share of AB Ignitis gamyba amounts to EUR 0.640. This price is equal to the 6-month weighted average, until the day of announcement about intention to delist shares from trading on a regulated market (from 9 May 2019 until 8 November 2019 inclusive), of the stock market price which is equal to EUR 0.550 and the bonus which is equal to EUR 0.090. This bonus is paid by taking into consideration that it is intended to initiate mandatory buyout of shares of AB Ignitis gamyba after implementing the official tender and for smooth implementation of the official tender. In the official tender circulars it is also specified that if at the General meetings of shareholders of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius and/or AB Ignitis gamyba in the year 2020 the decisions will be adopted to pay dividends for the shareholders of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius and Ignitis gamyba for the year 2019, Ignitis Group, the offeror of the non-competitive mandatory tender, will pay the additional bonus for those shareholders who would sell their shares at a time of official tender offer. This bonus will be paid by Ignitis Group as a part of whole price, which is paid for shares. The amount of this additional bonus shall be equal to the amount of dividends that such shareholder would have received in proportion to the shares he held and sold to Ignitis Group at the time of the official tender offer, if he had been a shareholder of AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius and / or AB Ignitis Gamyba on the record date of the rights of shareholders. It should be noted that this obligation of the Company regarding payment of the additional bonus is conditional and in no way is a promise or an obligation to propose or decide to pay dividends for the year of 2019 to the shareholders of AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius and / or AB Ignitis Gamyba. Also this does not mean that the management boards of AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius and AB Ignitis Gamyba have already made decisions to propose dividends to the shareholders of these companies for the year of 2019. Companies' decisions to offer to pay or not to pay dividends to their shareholders will be made in accordance with applicable dividend policy and other legal acts and following the audit of annual financial statements for the year of 2019 of these companies. The comparisons of the prices in the official tender circulars with the trading data of the subsidiaries are provided in the annexes to this announcement. As announced earlier, now legal proceedings are taken regarding the delisting of subsidiaries. On 6 January 2020 AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius appealed to District Court of Vilnius City regarding the 31 December 2019 decision of the Court to apply temporary protection measures and suspend the 4 December 2019 resolutions of the Extraordinary General Meeting of this company. On 7 January 2020 Ignitis Gamyba appealed to District Court of Vilnius Region regarding the 3 January 2020 decision to apply temporary protection measures and suspend the 4 December 2019 resolutions of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of this company. Arturas Ketlerius, Head of public relations, arturas.ketlerius@ignitis.lt Attachments Many people, when they gain a little authority, begin to exercise a lot of pride and will accept ill-deserved benefits, simply because they can. Donors and taxpayers are not usually aware of the use of their money to buy favours, especially in political circles. Politicians assuming it is their right to use public funds for personal gain are not in short supply. Most of us have had it up to our necks with those who think that after winning an election they are entitled to manipulate taxpayers hard earned cash. Citizens have every right to get angry for abuse by those who were elected to have charge and trust over the public purse. There should be a law invoked that any elected official found guilty of stealing or misusing public funds, should be fired from the office that he was elected to, and disbarred from holding public office for at least five to ten years. The history and current news of elected officials scamming the system by favouring certain countries, contractors, friends or party favourites, with payback, is rampant to the highest levels of government. The elected official may deem that he or she deserves the hidden benefit and accepts it, when in reality, it is fraud. We need look no further than to search the past few months to find personal payback in Canada: Andrew Sheers campaign adviser was fired for justifying that donations made by party supporters could be used to send Sheers children to a private school, a foolish decision for an ill-deserved benefit that undoubtedly played a major part in Sheers resignation. The public purse is paying for a water ski boat, pontoon boat, sailboat, several kayaks, canoes and paddleboards for the PMs family (Toronto Sun, Jan 23, 2019). It is also paying for at least one nanny. Why, when the PM is a multimillionaire? It also paid for airfares, hotel accommodations, wining and dining of hundreds of staff members travelling to climate conferences when only a few were required to travel a paid holiday for a privileged group, at taxpayer expense. The Minister of Finance, a multimillionaire married to a billionaire, for two years did not claim a multi-million-dollar chateau in France that, by law, he was required to claim as a tax asset. He simply stated, I forgot. Perhaps. Oh, that we all had political privilege! Garry Rayner, West Kelowna The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has accused Iran of complicity in the crash of the Ukrainian International Airlines plane in which 176 persons died on Tuesday. The Prime Minister said he had received intelligence from multiple sources indicating that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to air missile. He, however, said it was possible that this was unintentional. He said: This reinforces the need for a thorough investigation. Canadians have questions and they deserve answers. Among those listed to have died in the crash were 63 Canadians. Other nationals on the ill fated aircraft were 82 Iranians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons Trudeau, however, said it was too early to apportion blame or draw any conclusions. He then refused to go into details about the evidence at his disposal. His position was also supported by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, who said Britain was working closely with Canada and others affected by the crash. The media in the United States have speculated that the timing of the crash suggests the plane may have been mistaken for a US warplane as Iran prepared for possible US retaliation for the strikes. CBS News quoted US intelligence sources as saying a satellite detected infrared blips of two missile launches, followed by another blip of an explosion. Newsweek also quoted a Pentagon and senior US intelligence officials as well as an Iraqi intelligence official as saying they believed Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was hit by a Russian-made Tor missile. Trudeau, Johnson and others Western leaders are demanding a full and thorough investigation into the crash in which Iran has ruled out a missile strike by its air defences. The crash came just hours after Iran carried out missile strikes on two airbases housing US forces in Iraq. Farmers protesting in Rajasthan's Nindar village from the last four days against acquisition of their land for a housing project by the Jaipur Development Authority, with a few burying themselves neck deep in the ground, called off the agitation on Friday following assurances from the state government. Demanding that their land be acquired as per the revised Land Acquisition Act and compensation given accordingly, around 20 people from the village located on the outskirts of Jaipur started the 'Zameen Samadhi Satyagrah' on Tuesday. As part of the protest around five of them buried themselves neck-deep in the ground to protest against the land acquisition. The Congress' chief whip in Rajasthan Assembly, Mahesh Joshi, met the agitating farmers and assured them that the state government was sensitive towards their problems. Joshi told reporters here that a committee will hold talks with the protesters to resolve their issues and expressed hope that a positive outcome will come after the dialogue with farmers. Meanwhile, the farmers said they have called off the protest after the government assured them that the matter will be resolved through talks and the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) will stop land acquisition in Nindar village area till their dialogue with the government concludes. "We held a positive discussion with the Congress' chief whip who had come at the protest site on recommendation of the chief minister. He said that talks will be held with the JDA. We have called-off the protest," said Nagendra Singh Shekhawat, a leader of Nindar Bachao Yuva Kisan Sangarsh Samiti. Shekhawat also said the JDA will stop land acquisition in Nindar village issue till talks with the government reach a conclusion. On Thursday, JDA Deputy Commissioner Manish Fauzdar had also met the protesting farmers seeking a day's time to reply on the issues raised by them. The protesters are against the acquisition of more than 1,300 bighas of land for a housing project. The JDA has taken possession of 600 bighas of land so far and deposited Rs 60 crore in a local court as compensation, but the villagers refused to accept the amount, claiming it was less than the prevailing market rates. The farmers had launched a similar protest in October 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The latest state population numbers are in, and, once again, they reflect the serious problems facing the state of Illinois. Population in the Land of Lincoln fell by more than 50,000 from July 2018 to July. The previous year it fell by more than 55,000. Those are just two of six straight years of population decline, and, despite our elected officials penchant for ignoring whats going on, its should be a source of major concern. Is it? Impossible to say. Indeed, state government appears to be on auto-pilot, doing the same things that got the state in trouble over and over again. Gov. J.B. Pritzker contends that raising income taxes among many others via his proposed progressive income tax constitutional amendment is a long-term, surefire cure for what ails Illinois. But if people are leaving because they already think taxes are too high, as they have indicated in public opinion polls, why should anyone believe that higher and higher taxes will not only not stem the tide but make the state more attractive to newcomers? Illinois population stands at about 12.7 million. But its losing ground. Once the fifth-most populated state, its already fallen to No. 6 behind Pennsylvania. It stands to lose at least one member of its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives perhaps two following the 2020 decennial census. That impending decline means that our state will have less influence in Washington as compared to other states. It also means that our state will have fewer people to pay taxes and lower incomes on which to base the taxes paid, even as state officials continue their Springfield spending spree. Wirepoints.com, a financial news and analysis website that focuses on Illinois, reports that over the past two years the states tax base shrunk by $6.8 billion and $5.6 billion respectively, as those who left took their incomes with them. It estimated those who left in 2018 represented a decline of $5.6 billion in lost Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) that cost the state approximately $230 million in additional income tax revenue. That number doesnt include the millions in sales, property, gas, and other taxes that werent collected as a result of fewer people living in Illinois, Wirepoints said. Heres the real kicker for those who doubt the seriousness of the problem. While all the states bordering Illinois have been steadily gaining population, Illinois has been steadily losing it. What are they doing that Illinois is not? Well, for starters, they havent spent themselves into effective bankruptcy. They arent presiding over an economic climate that is hostile to job creators. Illinois is getting by for now. Its enjoying a historically low unemployment rate thats been dragged steadily downward by a strong national economy. But recoveries dont last forever. Eventually, the economy will slow, and then, owing to its financial weakness and an apparent refusal to do anything substantive to change it, Illinois will be in even bigger trouble. The exodus will grow at an even faster rate, leaving fewer and fewer of us to do whats necessary to keep this state barely afloat. News-Gazette, Champaign Photo: Matan Segev/Pexels Here's the most recent top news you may have missed in Fresno. Authorities identify man in Wednesday night Southeast Fresno shooting The victim was identified as 18-year-old Dezon Cheatham. Read the full story on CBS47 Fresno. BarrelHouse Brewing coming to River Park this summer BarrelHouse Brewing is a new addition coming to River Park, the shopping center announced Thursday. The newest taproom is a unique 6,000 square feet that will feature a large, outdoor patio, live music, and a variety of BarrelHouse craft beers. Read the full story on CBS47 Fresno. Fresno senator appoints Californias first Hmong chief of staff at the state Capitol Shery Yang, a first-generation American, is the first Hmong chief of staff at the California State Capitol. She was appointed by state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Sanger Democrat who also hired a district director. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. Fresno candidate alleges former Kamala Harris staffer harassed him and her office mishandled reports Tyler Maxwell, running for Fresno City Council, has accused a former staffer for Kamala Harris of harassment, and claims that the California senators office didnt keep the accusations and complaint confidential. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. Valentines in the dark? Fresno Art Museum has a different date idea A different way to celebrate Valentines Day is the latest fundraiser from the Fresno Art Museum. Dining in the Dark will provide local co uples with a three-course meal in a pitch-black setting. Read the full story on CBS47 Fresno. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Mount Sinai researchers find black and Latina mothers experience higher rates of severe maternal morbidity as compared with white mothers within the same hospital, with insurance status not responsible for these disparities. Paper title: Race and Ethnicity, Medical Insurance, and Within-Hospital Severe Maternal Morbidity Disparities Corresponding author: Elizabeth A. Howell, MD, MPP, Professor, Population Health Science and Policy, and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, and Director of The Blavatnik Family Women's Health Research Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Topic: Contribution of Race and Ethnicity and Medical Insurance to Within-Hospital Disparities in Severe Maternal Morbidity in New York City Hospitals. What: Our objective was to examine within-hospital racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity rates and to determine whether they are associated with differences in types of medical insurance. When: We conducted a population-based, cross sectional study using linked 2010-2014 New York City discharge and birth certificate data sets. Who: The sample included 591,455 deliveries and 40 hospitals. We examined within-hospital black-white, Latina-white, and Medicaid-commercially insured differences in severe maternal morbidity. Results: Severe maternal morbidity was higher among black and Latina than white women (4.2% and 2.9% vs.1.5%, respectively, p<.001) and among women insured by Medicaid than those commercially insured (2.8% vs. 2.0%, p<.001). Women insured by Medicaid versus those with commercial insurance had similar risk for severe maternal morbidity within the same hospital (p=.54). In contrast, black versus white women had significantly higher risk for severe maternal morbidity within the same hospital (p<.001) as did Latina women (p<0.001). Conditional logit analyses confirmed these findings with black and Latina versus white women having higher risk for severe maternal morbidity (adjusted odds ratio=1.52; 95% CI 1.46-1.62 and adjusted odds ratio=1.44; 95% CI 1.36-1.53, respectively) and women insured by Medicaid compared to those commercially insured having similar risk. Why the research is interesting: There is growing attention on the maternal health care crisis, our high rates of maternal mortality in the United States, and the persistent racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity that exist in this country. In this paper, we set out to measure within-hospital racial and ethnic disparities and to evaluate the potential contribution of insurance status to these disparities. Our study question was based on the observation that women with Medicaid can follow different care pathways than women with private insurance. Pregnant women insured by Medicaid are often seen by resident physicians with attending coverage that may differ from attending physicians caring for commercially insured women. In addition, Medicaid reimbursement for delivery hospitalization is far less than reimbursements by commercial insurers. Our data demonstrate that black and Latina women are more likely than white women to experience severe maternal morbidity within the same hospital after accounting for patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, but insurance status was not responsible for these disparities. Our findings are consistent with other research demonstrating that socioeconomic status does not explain racial/ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity. Our findings raise the hypothesis that other factors, such as implicit bias, communication skills, structural racism, and different care patterns, may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities within hospitals. Background: Previous research, including our own, has demonstrated racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity rates in hospitals, and that between-hospital differences-;i.e., black and Latina mothers receiving care at hospitals with worse outcomes-;explain a sizable portion of these disparities. However, less attention has been paid to within-hospital disparities-;whether black and Latina mothers have worse outcomes than white mothers who deliver in the same hospital. In this paper, we set out to measure within-hospital racial and ethnic disparities and to evaluate the potential contribution of insurance status to these disparities. Medicaid covers nearly half of the deliveries in the United States and black and Latina pregnant women are more likely to be insured by Medicaid than are white pregnant women. Growing attention has focused on the potential contribution of Medicaid to racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes for a few reasons. First, pregnant women insured by Medicaid are often seen by resident physicians with attending coverage that may differ from attending physicians caring for commercially insured women. Second, Medicaid reimbursement for delivery hospitalization is far less than that for commercially insured. To our surprise, our data do not suggest that any differences in treatment patterns were reflected in worse outcomes for Medicaid-covered and commercially insured mothers within the same hospital. These results indicate that pathways other than insurance are responsible for the higher risks of severe maternal morbidity among black and Latina versus white women that were observed in our study. Said Mount Sinai's Dr. Elizabeth Howell about the research: Previous research has documented that a sizable portion of racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity rates were explained by between-hospital differences-;i.e., black and Latina mothers receiving care at hospitals that generally show worse outcomes. Our study demonstrates that even within the same hospital, black and Latina mothers experience higher rates of severe maternal morbidity as compared with white mothers and these disparities are not explained by differences in type of insurance. Our findings raise the hypothesis that other factors, such as implicit bias, communication skills, structural racism, and different care patterns, may contribute to our findings of racial and ethnic disparities within hospitals. Funding: This study was funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01MD007651) Ukrainian airliner crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran on the night Iran fired missiles at US forces in Iraq. A newly surfaced video appears to show the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit by a missile before crashing not far from Irans airport in Tehran on Wednesday. The Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 bound for Kyiv crashed minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. All 176 passengers on board were killed. The video, first reported by the New York Times newspaper and CNN, is consistent with statements made by Canadian, US and UK officials, who said intelligence indicated that an Iranian missile brought down the airliner, a conclusion dismissed by Iran. The officials said it may have been a mistake. We are analyzing this new video supposedly showing a mid-air explosion. By our initial estimation, the video shows an apartment block in western Parand (35.489414, 50.906917), facing northeast. This perspective is directed approximately towards the known trajectory of #PS752. pic.twitter.com/nDvjRIkFU4 Bellingcat (@bellingcat) January 9, 2020 The video shows a small explosion in the sky over Parand, the suburb where the Ukrainian airliner first stopped transmitting its signal, the New York Times reported. The plane continues to fly for several minutes before turning back towards the airport, the newspaper said. It then exploded and crashed. A loud explosion can be heard. Using geolocation technology and other techniques, Bellingcat, an independent international collective of researchers and citizen journalists, established the video was taken in Parand. The New York Times and CNN said their news outlets were sent the video by internet-freedom researcher Nariman Gharib, who said he obtained it from another individual. It is unclear why that person was recording at the time. Bellingcat reported it was possible that two missiles were fired, prompting the person filming to start recording. The New York Times also reported that the person started filming after hearing some sort of shot fired. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the video. Iran has denied that a missile hit the airliner. All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box, Iranian state TV quoted government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement. Rescue team carries a body at the site where the Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed after take-off from Irans Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi called on Canada to share the intelligence it had on the crash. The crash happened hours after Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq, in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday stressed the need for a credible and complete investigation and called for Iran to grant access to the crash site to Canadian and international investigators. There were 63 Canadians on board the plane. Planes dont just take off and explode Iran went on high alert early on Wednesday as Tehran sent missiles towards US troops in Iraq to the west and waited in vain for retaliatory fire from the US. The governments of Iran, Ukraine and the US where plane manufacturer Boeing Company is based are now scrambling to determine exactly what brought down the plane as the tensions surrounding the tragedy upend international norms for investigating air disasters. Some airline analysts agreed the evidence points to downing by an anti-aircraft missile. Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst and vice president of the US-based Teal Group, told Al Jazeera that the possibility of the relatively new plane crashing due to the aircraft or engine is between zero and one percent. It sounds very likely that their radar and satellite picked events up that match the missile theory. Mark Zee, founder of Opsgroup Planes dont just take off and explode on their own, he added. There is such a thing as uncontained turbine failure, but it does not look like this. Aboulafia described the Ukrainian plane as blowing up, like a grenade and having a lot of kinetics that suggest a shootdown by anti-aircraft missiles. The mysterious Iranian government message saying this was mechanical failure was just bizarre, Aboulafia said, referring to the lack of pilot communication, black-box data or ground-control information before that announcement. The optics speak of nothing good. Match the missile theory The optics may be shifting focus towards a downing, but the dearth of hard, verifiable information is frustrating some analysts. It might possibly be a terrorist act, but its too hard to tell at this stage, said Geoffrey Thomas, an aviation expert at Airline Ratings. A screen with information and the cancelled flight from Tehran marked are seen at the Boryspil International Airport near Kyiv in Ukraine on Wednesday [Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu] Mark Zee, founder of Opsgroup, an aerospace intelligence firm, said that a clearer cause is emerging but is still not concrete, because its back-channel stuff to the media in the US. I suspect the US will have to come out with a statement on it, from the military side, he told Al Jazeera. It sounds very likely that their radar and satellite picked events up that match the missile theory. Those systems are designed to look for anti-aircraft and missile activity, added Zee, referring to the timing of the incident among other factors such as the lack of a distress call to air-traffic control, an abrupt loss of navigation signals, no indications of an attempt to return to Tehrans airport and widely scattered wreckage. If the eyewitness video is verified, then that also lines up with the [missile] theory, Zee added. Finally, the images from the Iranian news agency of the aircraft parts show something that looks a lot like projectile damage, but higher-resolution images would be needed. Despite the US Federal Aviation Administration having successfully rerouted most air travel away from what had become a combat zone, Zee does not fault Ukraine International Airlines for flying in the area just hours after Iranian missiles were sent into Iraq. You cant point any fingers there, said Zee. Just after the crash, the Ukrainian embassy in Iran blamed technical failure but then retracted the claim. Black-box intrigue The incident is testing international protocols for multilateral cooperation when investigating airline disasters at a time of seriously heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. Iran formally invited the US National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) to take part in its investigation into the crash, an Iranian official said on Thursday. The NTSB has replied to our chief investigator and has announced an accredited representative, Farhad Parvaresh, Irans representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization, part of the United Nations, told Reuters news agency. The NTSB declined to comment. A person briefed on the matter confirmed the NTSB had agreed to take part but said it was unclear what if anything its representative would be able to do under US sanctions. Parvaresh said other countries including Ukraine and Canada had also been notified. He denied US and Canadian claims that the jet had been shot down and said Iran was committed to a full and transparent investigation for the accident, which he described as a tragedy and disaster for everyone involved. The Ukraine International Airlines ticket counter is seen at Boryspil International Airport [Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu] Under the rules of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation that created a global regime for air travel overseen by the United Nations, Irans air accident investigation branch automatically takes charge. Ordinarily, because the jet was US-made, the US has the right to be accredited to the inquiry. Black boxes from Boeing planes are often sent to Boeings US suppliers, but that is looking unlikely in this case. We will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer (Boeing) and the Americans, Irans Civil Aviation Organization chief Ali Abedzadeh told Irans Mehr News Agency. Iran could ask a third country to help analyse black-box data, especially if reading the information is technically difficult due to badly damaged casings. Canada could end up playing a key role in the investigation. On Thursday, Canadas Transportation Safety Board (TSB) announced that it has accepted Irans invitation to attend the accident site, and is making arrangements for its representatives to travel to Tehran. Additional reporting by Ben Piven from New York City: Follow Ben on Twitter Investing.com - The Japanese yen slipped on Thursday in Asia as safe-haven demand faded after U.S. President Donald Trump signalled de-escalation in conflict with Iran. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies last traded at 96.985 by 1:30 AM ET (05:30 GMT), down 0.01%. Earlier this week, the Islamic Republic launched several rockets against U.S. airbases in Iraq in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general last week. In response to the attacks from Iran, Trump said the U.S. "will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime." The sanctions would remain in force until Iran changes its behavior, he added. The decision from the president to opt for sanctions rather than military response sent safe-haven assets down, while stocks and other risk assets recovered. The USD/JPY pair was up 0.1% to 109.26. The GBP/USD pair gained 0.2% to 1.3119. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen that the U.K will not extend its transition out of the European Union beyond December 2020, raising fears that the U.K. could still exit the EU without a deal at the end of the year. Leyen warned that "without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020," an agreement on a new trade deal would be a risk. Meanwhile, the AUD/USD pair and the NZD/USD pair both inched up 0.1%. The USD/CNY pair dropped 0.3% to 6.9247. Chinas National Bureau of Statistics reported that the countrys consumer price index rose 4.5% last month from a year earlier. The median forecast was for a 4.7% increase. Related Articles Yen, Swiss franc on retreat as U.S.-Iran tensions subside Yen, Swiss franc fall after Trump signals no further action vs Iran Forex - Dollar Climbs as Safe-Havens Dive on Trump's Remarks Attention in Washington is consumed by President Trump's standoff with Iran, centered on missile strikes in Iraq. But this week, world leaders wrung their hands about a protracted conflict in another war-ravaged Arab state: Libya. Since April, the forces of renegade Gen. Khalifa Hifter have pursued a withering offensive on the environs of the capital, Tripoli, locked in a battle of attrition with militias loyal to the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord. More than a half-year of drone strikes, artillery bombardments and shelling have yet to tip the scales of the conflict, while the fighting has led to hundreds of deaths, displaced more than 140,000 civilians and shut down myriad schools and medical facilities. Away from the battlefield, there's a geopolitical tussle at play. Since a U.S.-led air campaign toppled the regime of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, the oil-rich North African nation has become a failed state. Two competing governments - the GNA, headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, and another linked to Hifter, based in the country's west - vie for control amid a morass of warlords and militias, including affiliates of the Islamic State. The warring factions are backed by foreign powers, whose entrance into the conflict out of ideological animus and economic interest has made forging peace all the more difficult. Hifter, a former Gadhafi-era official who quit the regime and lived for a time outside Washington, D.C., has been supported by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, whose leadership sees Serraj's GNA as a hotbed of political Islamists, including sympathizers of the Muslim Brotherhood. More recently, hundreds of Russian mercenaries linked to the Kremlin have joined Hifter's advance. The GNA, meanwhile, has received aid from Qatar and Turkey, which after a parliamentary vote has started to send detachments of Turkish troops to assist the defense of Tripoli. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an agreement with Serraj's government over maritime borders in the eastern Mediterranean, where Ankara is seeking a greater share of the region's underwater resources. A statement this week from the foreign ministers of France, Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, though, declared Erdogan's pact with the GNA "null and void" because it adjudicates over territory where the latter three countries have competing claims and also hope to seek exploration rights. Amid domestic disquiet about the foreign expedition to Libya, Erdogan summoned his country's Ottoman past to justify the intervention. "We are in these lands [Libya], where our ancestors made history because we were invited there to resolve injustice and persecution," he said on Thursday. The strategic mess in Libya smacks of an earlier era, when foreign powers jostled for influence in resource-rich lands consumed by political turmoil. But it's also a profound reflection of our political present, in which the "international community" rarely speaks in one voice and the influence of the world's sole superpower, the United States, seems to be receding. Both the Obama and Trump administrations could do little to stem the upheaval in Libya. "All of this is happening in part because the United States has failed to exercise its influence with the combatants and their outside allies," noted an editorial in The Washington Post. "Instead, the Trump administration has sent mixed signals. Officially, it supports the Tripoli government; but last April, President Trump took a phone call from Hifter . . . and indicated support for his cause." The Europeans, meanwhile, have tried to force reconciliation, to minimal effect. Serraj was in Brussels this week and met key European diplomats. "We want to avoid Libya becoming the scene of proxy wars," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. "Libya cannot become a second Syria and so we need rapidly to enter a political process, an agreement on an effective cease-fire and an arms embargo." But within Europe, there appear to be disagreements over the way forward, with France, in particular, seen to be more supportive of Hifter. Europe's engagement with Libya, as a whole, has lost ground to the efforts of both the Russians and the Turks. This week, Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and jointly announced a cease-fire that would begin this Sunday. "The Europeans and Americans let this conflict drag on from April until it reached a stalemate. That allowed the Russians to step in, with a few hundred mercenaries on the ground, and make a difference," Wolfram Lacher, a Libya scholar at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told the New York Times. "What we're seeing is competition over who defines the international framework for any negotiations to end the conflict. Putin and Erdogan are mounting a challenge to the European claim to leadership on Libya." It's hardly certain, though, that any of Libya's factions will recognize the Russian-Turkish cease-fire. Hifter draws more direct support from Egypt and the UAE. While still in power, President Barack Obama upbraided both the Emiratis and Qataris for supplying their proxies with weaponry, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. His scolding clearly did not have the necessary effect. Writing in Foreign Affairs, Libya experts Frederic Wehrey and Jalel Harchaoui argued that the Trump administration still may be the only actor that can curtail Hifter's advance and avert a "catastrophic" scenario for Tripoli's civilian population. "The United States should exert greater pressure on the UAE to halt its military intervention and bring Haftar back to the negotiating table," they wrote, adding that "Washington should use all the diplomatic tools at its disposal." For an administration not exactly known for its diplomatic subtlety - let alone playing hardball with Gulf monarchies - that's a tough ask. During a digital signing and news conference on Jan. 8, 14 Pennsylvania community college presidents announced a new partnership and articulation agreement with Southern New Hampshire University. Under the agreement, students from all 14 Pennsylvania community colleges, including Delaware County Community College, will be able to transfer up to 90 credits to SNHU and complete their bachelors degree online with a 10 percent tuition reduction. Thousands of articulation agreements are already in place with higher education partners here in Pennsylvania to help students realize their post-secondary achievement goals and we fully expect those longstanding partnerships to continue, said Elizabeth Bolden, president & CEO of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. The academic preparation, success and focus of Pennsylvanias community college students is appealing to many national higher education institutions, as these students are typically motivated and high-performing. Of the 90 credits that may be transferred toward an online bachelors degree with SNHU, applicable military training is considered. The agreement also applies to employees and immediate family members of employees from all Pennsylvania community colleges. The 14 community college presidents hope that the agreement will help Pennsylvania achieve its attainment goal of 60 percent of Pennsylvanians aged 25-64 with a post-secondary degree or industry-recognized credential by 2025. The agreement will provide transfer students the opportunity to pursue an online bachelors degree at a rate which is more affordable than nearly every other public option in Pennsylvania, depending on the students program of study and credit load. At the time of todays signing, the partnership between Pennsylvanias community colleges and SNHU represents the only statewide articulation agreement of its kind in the commonwealth. Nearly 500 Pennsylvania community college students transferred to SNHU in the 2018 2019 academic year, and SNHU awarded 166 Pennsylvania community college graduates a bachelors degree last year. Currently enrolled transfer students from Pennsylvania community colleges are eligible for the 10 percent tuition reduction. Under the terms of the articulation agreement, new community college transfer applicants will receive a waiver of the standard application fee to SNHU. State reps present DCCC with $70,000 grant to fight opioid crisis State Reps. Jennifer OMara, D-165 of Springfield, Mike Zabel, D-163 of Upper Darby, and Dan Williams, D-74 of Chester County, announced that Delaware County Community College has been awarded $68,988 in federal grant money to expand opioid preventive programs and create naloxone training opportunities for students. Delaware County Community College is one of 13 higher education institutions throughout the commonwealth to receive this grant, and its funds will benefit both the Marple and Downingtown campuses. Gov. Tom Wolf announced the awards, which his administration procured from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Projects developed from the infusion will focus on raising campus awareness, reducing stigma, increasing access to overdose training and grief support. The grant prescribes that initiatives will be built with local partners specialized in fighting the opioid epidemic within the community. With this money, we can sow community-first prevention resources locally tuned to Delaware County Community College, OMara said. Im grateful that our communities were selected to receive this competitive award, as there is need all across the commonwealth for these life-saving services. This fight against the opioid epidemic is so important, and not just for those who are addicted, Zabel said. Thats why I applaud the Wolf administration and all who helped bring this funding to DCCC. The disease of addiction affects family and friends, too, and this funding will raise awareness, reduce stigma and help train students in the best ways to participate in the fight against opioids. Clemson University CLEMSON, S.C. >> Local students graduated from Clemson University at the 2019 fall semester ceremony on Dec. 29. CHADDS FORD: Noah Davis Highfill. MEDIA: Kelly A. Denton, Jamie Lee Hutchings and Stephanie Tyhuis. DeSales University CENTER VALLEY, PA. >> The following students made the Deans List for the Fall 2019 session at DeSales University. To qualify for Deans List, a student must have a minimum 3.50 GPA. HAVERTOWN: Courtney Elcock. MEDIA: Elizabeth Aguilera. UPPER DARBY: Samantha Angelina and Christopher Foley. Lebanon Valley College ANNVILLE >> Lebanon Valley College congratulates more than 700 students, including Kelsey Czyszczon, of Aston, and Michael Hamilton, of Garnet Valley, who were named to the Deans List for the fall 2019 semester. Deans list students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.4 out of 4.0. Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania SLIPPERY ROCK >> Slippery Rock University has announced its Deans List for the fall 2019 semester. The deans list consists of SRU undergraduate students who earned an adjusted semester grade-point average of 3.5 or higher, based on a schedule of at least 12 newly attempted and earned credits. GLEN MILLS: Abigail Di Gravio. MEDIA: Katherine Merillat. SPRINGFIELD: Michael McGarrigle. York College of Pennsylvania YORK >> Over 1500 students were named to the Deans List at York College of Pennsylvania. To be eligible for this honor, a student must be registered for at least 12 academic credit hours and earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher. MEDIA: Robert Baidokas. MORTON: Sydney Cashwell. SPRINGFIELD: Ashlyn Stienstra and Christopher Walters. Our support of the Kurds is certainly among the good things we did in Iraq. We should have maintained the no-fly zone over its territory. We should have supported its bid for independence. It is the one group in Iraq that deserves our support and needs our support. We already have enough enemies in the Middle East; what we need is some friends. HUHTAMAKI OYJ PRESS RELEASE 10.1.2020 AT 10:10 Huhtamaki has completed the acquisition of the assets and operations of Mohan Mutha Polytech Huhtamaki has completed the acquisition of the assets and operations of Mohan Mutha Polytech Private Limited (MMPPL), a privately-owned flexible packaging manufacturer located in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, India. MMPPL has approximately 160 employees and its net sales in 2018 were approximately EUR 9 million. The debt-free purchase price was approximately EUR 10 million. The business will be reported as part of the Flexible Packaging business segment as of January 10, 2020. For further information, please contact: Media: Katariina Hietaranta, Head of External Communications, tel. +358 10 686 7863 Investors: Calle Loikkanen, Head of IR and Financial Communications, tel. +358 10 686 7125 HUHTAMAKI OYJ Global Communications Most people in the Northern Hemisphere call the three-month period between January and March winter. But in the cruise world, its wave season, a time of year when sales sweep the cruise lines as they try to encourage early bookings on sailings throughout the year and beyond. Wave season is the Black Friday or Cyber Monday of cruise bookings, Erika Richter, the spokeswoman for the American Society of Travel Advisors, said, noting the name has nothing to do with high seas. The term wave comes from the wave of savings a traveler can capture when booking during that time. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, a member organization that represents most of the major cruise lines, 32 million passengers are expected to sail globally in 2020. Nineteen new ocean ships are anticipated this year to meet demand. North Americans accounted for the greatest share of cruisers in 2018 at 14.2 million. Winter sales aim to reach them when they may be vulnerable to images of sun and sand. As part of its 2019 CSR programme, Qatargas South Korea Liaison Office (KLO) launched its winter-focused campaign to provide assistance to the Sundukwon and Angel's Haven orphanages located in Seoul. Courtesy of Qatargas Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) launched a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in Korea, entitled "Warm Their Hearts," in line with the Company's commitment to make a difference in the communities it has energy relations with. As part of its 2019 CSR program, Qatargas Korea Liaison Office (KLO) launched its winter-focused campaign to provide assistance to the Sundukwon and Angel's Haven orphanages located in Seoul, South Korea. Qatargas, the World's Premier LNG Company, embraced this year's campaign theme "Warm Their Hearts," and extended its support to several orphans in foster care and disability facilities. The orphans are of different ages and are in dire need of love and warmth. Sundukwon and Angel's Haven have already raised and cared for over 1500 children since 1965 and 1959 respectively and are currently looking after some 200 orphans. Special ceremonies were held at both orphanages, which were attended by Qatargas officials, representatives from the State of Qatar's Embassy in Seoul, directors of the orphanages, teachers and volunteers. The ceremonies also featured cultural performances by the children. With temperatures in Seoul expected to fall below zero degrees Celsius for most of the winter, these children will benefit directly from more than 300 special winter clothes and other accessories including jackets, gloves, scarves, thermal blankets, and heated beds donated by Qatargas. The donations also include weatherproofing and improvements to the facilities such as indoor and outdoor heaters. Mashel Al-Merekhi, General Manager & Representative of KLO said: "Qatargas is very proud and delighted to launch this CSR activity for the children of Sundukwon and Angel's Haven. It gives us great pleasure to be able to touch these children' hearts and to bring them some warmth and joy this winter." The Majority Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives; representing South Carolinas 6th District, James E. Clyburn, has revealed tha... The Majority Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives; representing South Carolinas 6th District, James E. Clyburn, has revealed that he met his wife while in jail after he was arrested during civil rights march. The American politician of the Democratic Party made this revelation on his Twitter page on Thursday. According to him, Emily Clyburn brought him food and ate with him. He later found out she knew him all along and had been plotting to meet him. He tweeted: I met my wife in jail after being arrested during a civil rights march. She brought me food and shared a hamburger with me. Turns out, she knew who I was and had been plotting to meet me for some time. We were married for 58 years. James Clyburns wife, Emily Clyburn died in September 2019 after 58 years of marriage. A Columbia, SC street has been renamed in her memory. (Newser) The president of Brazil's top court has reversed a ban on a Netflix film that infuriated millions of Christians. Supreme Court president Dias Toffoli ruled Thursday that Netflix should be allowed to continue streaming The First Temptation of Christ, a satire which depicts Jesus Christ as a gay man, the BBC reports. "One cannot suppose that a humorous satire has the ability to weaken the values of the Christian faith, whose existence is traced back more than two thousand years, and which is the belief of the majority of Brazilian citizens," Toffoli said. The judge said freedom of speech is essential in a democracy. story continues below Another judge ordered Netflix to pull the film from its service Wednesday, although it was never removed. It was created by YouTube comedy group Porta dos Fundos, which had its Rio de Janiero offices firebombed on Christmas Eve. Some 2 million Christians signed a petition against the film, saying it damaged the "honor of millions of Catholics." Felipe Santa Cruz, president of the Brazilian Bar Association, said the earlier ruling went against Brazil's constitution, the AP reports. "Any form of censorship or threat to this hard-won freedom is a setback and cannot be accepted by society," he said. (Read more Brazil stories.) . 100% , , , - , , -, . -... New Delhi [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Wings India 2020, an international exhibition and conference on civil aviation sector, will be held at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad from March 12 to 15. At a curtain raiser event here, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri sought active participation from the stakeholders for the same. Pursuant to the success of Wings 2019, MOCA and FICCI is organising WINGS India 2020, "providing a congenial forum catering to the rapidly changing dynamics of the sector, focusing on new business acquisition, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity." The event will provide a fillip to the aviation and restructured focused forums will be instrumental in attaining the objective of connecting the buyers, sellers, investors and other stakeholders at a common forum. Puri on Thursday said that privatisation will strengthen the civil aviation sector in the country. "We are currently in the process of a privatisation programme for our flight carriers. According to projections, privatisation will strengthen the civil aviation sector and contribute to the expansion of the sector both in the short and medium term," he said. The Union Minister expressed confidence that the Indian civil aviation sector will soon have 2,000 flights operating in the country. "My projection indicates that not only will we have 2,000 aircraft in the sky soon, but in the coming years Delhi and Jewar airport combine will be bigger than Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted combination, which handle 140 million passengers," Puri said. "Delhi airport today is literally bursting and wants to grow. Even if we have a fourth runway, we may handle a traffic of 100 million people," he added. Puri said that while India is currently facing a penetration in civil aviation of as little as 7-8 per cent, the same is expected to grow as high as 15, 20 and even 25 per cent in the near future. "In spite of turbulence in the sector, particularly characterised by the secession of operations of one air carrier, between December 2018 and April 2019, the sector has registered a growth of 11.03 per cent on a year-on-year basis for November 2019," he said. (ANI) The president assured the government was doing everything possible to establish the truth. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with families of Ukrainian citizens who died in a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crash in Iran. "I met and talked with relatives of Ukrainians who died in the plane crash. I understand that no words of support will heal their hellish pain. I realize that no compensation can return their loved ones to them. The government will provide them with all necessary assistance, including financial," Zelensky wrote on Facebook. "Perhaps the most important thing that the government can and must do for them is to provide comprehensive answers regarding all circumstances of the tragedy. I assure them that we, for our part, are doing everything possible to establish the truth. Ukraine will definitely learn it," the president added. Read alsoZelensky says Boeing crash "missile hit" version not ruled out As UNIAN reported earlier, Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday, January 8. It was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. Two passengers and the crew members were Ukrainians. There were also 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghanis, three Germans, and three Britons. There were no survivors. Scientists deprived a group of healthy, young men of a decent night's kip. [Photo: Getty] Just one bad nights sleep can raise levels of an Alzheimers biomarker in the blood, research suggests. Scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden deprived 15 healthy men of a decent nights kip. The next day, levels of the protein tau had risen by 17% in the mens blood. Tau is known to cause tangles in the areas of the brain related to memory. It then moves through the vital organ as symptoms progress. READ MORE: Alzheimer's vaccine could be trialled on humans in two years Many of us experience sleep deprivation at some point in our lives due to jet lag, pulling an all-nighter to complete a project, or even doing shift work, working overnights or inconsistent hours, study author Dr Jonathan Cedernaes said. Our exploratory study shows even in young, healthy individuals, missing one night of sleep increases the level of tau in blood, suggesting that over time, such sleep deprivation could possibly have detrimental effects. In the UK, 850,000 people live with dementia, with Alzheimers being the most common form of the disease, Alzheimers Research UK statistics show. Around 5.8m live with Alzheimers in the US, according to the Alzheimers Association. READ MORE: Alzheimer's drug could reduce cognitive decline by up to 40% Past studies suggest sleep deprivation can cause tau to accumulate in the spinal fluid of older adults. Head trauma has also been linked to elevated levels in the blood. To learn more, the scientists looked at men - with an average age of 22 - who tended to get seven-to-nine hours shut eye a night. The men were first allowed to sleep as normal for a few nights. They then stayed up with the lights on, playing games, watching TV or talking. Results, published in the journal Neurology, show their tau levels rose by 17%, compared to 2% after a good nights rest. Other Alzheimers biomarkers remained unchanged. READ MORE: The calming effects of yoga 'help keep the brain healthy' It's important to note while higher levels of tau in the brain are not good, in the context of sleep loss we do not know what higher levels of tau in blood represent, Dr Cedernaes said. Story continues When neurones are active, production of tau in the brain is increased. Higher levels in the blood may reflect these tau proteins are being cleared from the brain or they may reflect elevated tau levels in the brain. He adds further studies need to investigate how long tau remains in the blood and whether it is later linked to dementia. Such studies could provide key insight into whether interventions targeting sleep should begin at an early age to reduce a person's risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease, Dr Cedernaes said. The scientists note they only looked at young men, with results potentially being different in women or older people. CLEVELAND, Ohio A 12-year-old boy is the third suspect charged in a carjacking at a gas station in Clevelands Stockyards neighborhood. The boy was charged Friday in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court with aggravated robbery, robbery, grand theft and assault, court records say. A juvenile court judge remanded him to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center until his next court hearing, which was not scheduled as of Friday. The boy was one of five robbers involved in a Dec. 21 carjacking at a Liberty Gas on Clark Avenue at West 51st Street, according to court records. Xavier D. James Jr. and Xavier Caraballo, both 18, are each charged with aggravated robbery in the case. Neither is in custody, but warrants were issued Dec. 31 for their arrests. A 60-year-old man suffered minor injuries in the carjacking, which happened about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 21, according to the police report. The man went into the gas stations convenience store to buy cigarettes. He returned to his car just as a group of robbers approached him. The robbers pushed and punched the man until he fell to the ground. They kept punching him as one of the robbers said give me your key, the police report says. The man handed over the keys to his 2008 Buick Century. The robbers drove away in the Buick and a silver Toyota Corolla, the police report says. Court records do not say whether the mans Buick has been found. To comment on this story, visit Fridays crime and courts comments page. Read more crime stories: Man shot at Cleveland bar after dancing with other mans girlfriend Police: Masked man robs four Cleveland businesses at gunpoint in three days Cleveland man charged in 2017 death of Egyptian immigrant killed during robbery Cleveland robber told Burger King employee hed return for his food, records say STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The City Council and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) are taking aim at childrens menus with a new law, sponsored in part by Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), that will limit the sugary drink options a restaurant can offer. Come April 20, the mandate -- known officially as Local Law 75 of 2019 -- will go into effect for New York City restaurants. The DOHMH has noted, Beverages are the largest single source of added sugar in the diets of U.S. children and adults, contributing over 45% of daily added sugar intake. Councilwoman Rose said to the Advance, Nearly 1 million New Yorkers are now afflicted with diabetes, an epidemic disproportionately affecting African American, Latino and Asian New Yorkers and added sugar is a huge contributor. Soda used to be my favorite beverage, and I can tell you from experience that when I stopped drinking soda, my health improved and I am no longer pre diabetic. She added, Childrens nutritional choices should not be driven by what is offered alongside enticing toys and prizes. Parents who want to make this choice will still have the ability to do so, but soda will no longer be the default option. This change on childrens menus is one step forward in our uphill battle to protect children from this epidemic disease and ensure a healthier future. The DOHMH maintains that a single 20-ounce drink contains more sugar than recommended by government standards for an entire day. And just one year ago, the health agency kicked off a new media campaign that puts cigarettes on the same danger lever as sugary drinks. Heres what you need to know as a consumer and proprietor on Local Law 75. According to the DOHMH, menus for little ones can be defined as any roster of food and drink with the words child, tyke, kiddo, little and so forth. If the menu is illustrated with, say, a puzzle or game, if there is a toy or game as a reward for ordering a combo, or if an age limit is spelled out, then that edible program falls into the realm of kiddie eats. According to the DOHMH, these are the beverages that can be offered with childrens meals: * Water, sparkling water or flavored water, with no added natural or artificial sweeteners *Eight ounces or less of flavored or unflavored nonfat or 1% fat dairy milk * Eight ounces or less of flavored or unflavored non-dairy beverage that is nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk *Eight ounces or less of 100% fruit or vegetable juice (or a combination of juices), with no natural or artificial sweeteners; the juice may contain water or sparkling water Non-dairy drinks must follow specific guidelines going forward. Although customers can request any sized drink they wish, an 8-ounce beverage offered with the kids menu must include these minimums -- calcium 276 milligrams, protein 8 grams, Vitamin A 500 international units (IU), Vitamin D 100 IU, Magnesium 24 milligrams, phosphorus 222 milligrams, potassium 349 milligrams, riboflavin .44 milligrams and Vitamin B12 1.1 micrograms. Fines for infractions top out at $200 per violation. The offense does not impact letter grades of a restaurant. The New York City Health Department, Office of Food Safety, can be reached at 646-632-6001 or infobfscs@health.nyc.gov. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:26:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba will hold the 15th round of China-Japan strategic dialogue on Jan. 14 in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, as agreed by both sides. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the announcement on Friday, saying the two sides will exchange views on bilateral ties and international and regional issues of common concern. China-Japan strategic dialogue is an important channel for the foreign affairs departments of the two countries to maintain high-level strategic communication. "China hopes the two sides will further build consensus and strengthen political mutual trust through this dialogue, so as to create favorable conditions for the smooth implementation of bilateral major political agenda and better development of bilateral ties," Geng said. Superhero Actors Combine Faith with Activism in New Films Mark Ruffalo and Michael B. Jordan are both A-list actors with experience headlining Marvel superhero films--Ruffalo as The Hulk and Jordan as Kilmonger in Black Panther. But recently, both have scaled down to depict stories of real-life heroes. Ruffalo stars in Dark Waters which tells the story of a West Virginia town and their legal battle against the chemical corporation polluting the water. Meanwhile, Jordan stars in Just Mercy, ... A standoff with police ended peacefully early Thursday when officers arrested a distraught man at an Old Bridge home, authorities said. Police were called to the home just before 11 p.m. Wednesday for a man reportedly in distress, the Middlesex County Prosecutors office said in a statement. The offices Special Operations Response Team was called to the home a short time later. The incident ended at 3:30 a.m. without injuries, and with the man in custody. The prosecutors office did not identify the man, or where in Old Bridge it occurred. In the statement, the prosecutors office described the incident as potentially dangerous." A prosecutors spokeswoman declined to provide more information Thursday afternoon. The man has not been charged, but he is in custody as the investigation continues, the office said. Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch. 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. SpendEdge, a leading provider of procurement market intelligence solutions, has announced the completion of their latest article on how is the UK retail supply chain different from other countries This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005308/en/ While supply chain planning has been an arduous task for retailers in Europe, companies in the UK appear to be ahead of their continental European counterparts. They are much ahead in supply chain planning and have better forecasting processes. For businesses to start scenario planning and address the impact of Brexit, it is crucial to understand how the UK retail supply chain differs from the rest of Europe. A comprehensive understanding of the retail supply chain could help companies to determine solutions best-suited post-Brexit. At SpendEdge, we understand that preparing in earnest for all possible eventualities is imperative for retailers. Therefore, we have highlighted how the UK retail supply chain differs from the rest of Europe. Ways the UK Retail Supply Chain Differs from the Rest of Europe Retail supply chain processes When it comes to supply chain processes, the UK retail supply chain has more reporting features. It is slightly more responsive in comparison to its counterparts in Europe. However, there are certain inefficiencies in the processes. Retailers in the UK require accurate forecasts of future out-of-stocks to improve retail supply chain management. Want to gain specific insights into the retail supply chain processes in different countries? Request free platform access to access our smart procurement solutions now and 1000+ procurement reports! Awareness of space data Space is considered as a part of the replenishment process in Europe. However, the overall awareness of space data such as minimum display requirements and changes in the amount of space in individual stores is relatively low among European retailers. On the other hand, UK retailers have a slightly higher awareness of space data and they are likely to have processes that integrate external data into their forecasts. To know how you can improve the replenishment and retail supply chain process, get in touch with our experts now! Forecasting issues in different markets While most companies find it difficult to address forecasting issues, retailers in the UK face fewer inaccuracies in most forecasting categories. The higher concentration of multiple retailers and domination by the retail supply chain could be a reason for it. This provides retailers the opportunity to aim for economies of scale. To know in detail how the UK retail supply chain differs from other countries in Europe, read the complete article here! You may also like: Global Retail Analytics Services Market Procurement Intelligence Report Competitive Pricing Study for a Retail Sector Client Helps Assess Factors Influencing the Pricing Landscape What Is the Role of SCM In the Retail Mantra? 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. Want to gain detailed insights? https://www.spendedge.com/get-more-info View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005308/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us The next folding smartphone released by Samsung will be called the Galaxy Bloom, according to leaked images. The successor to the beleaguered Galaxy Fold is not expected to be unveiled until later this year, though key details appear to have been revealed at a secretive meeting at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. The South Korean electronics giant shared slides of the unreleased device with industry partners, Korean news outlet Ajunews reported, with one showing a pink phone with a flower on the screen. Samsung is intending to market the device to female customers and modelled the clamshell design on a makeup compact, according to the outlet. The same report also claimed that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S11 will be called the Galaxy S20. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty Samsung does not comment on rumours surrounding unreleased devices but teased a new foldable concept at its developer conference last year. Samsung Mobile's head of framework R&D, Hyesoon Jeong, suggested it would be much smaller than the existing Galaxy Fold. "This brand-new form factor that we're now exploring will not only easily fit in your pocket, but it also changes the way you use your phone," she said at the time. The new folding phone will feature a clamshell design, unlike the original Galaxy Fold which folded out like a book (Weibo) Previous leaks of the new folding smartphone indicate the radical redesign will measure 6.7 inches when unfolded. Images published to the Chinese social media site Weibo last month showed a prototype device with a design reminiscent of classic flip phones. The original Galaxy Fold was beset with design flaws that forced Samsung to delay its launch by several months, though it has since successfully launched. Kate Middleton, who turned 38 on January 9tth, is undoubtedly ready to be Queen one day. According to the author of "Royal Romances" Leslie Carroll, Kate won the approval of the people over the years, proving herself to be a "polished and poised" duchess. Speaking to FOX News Carroll explained and detailed how Kate grew into rel future role as Queen Consort. "She grew into the role of the royal bride, having been William's girlfriend for nearly a decade. Now that she has been a duchess for nearly the same amount of time, we've got a good look at who she is as a royal and what's important," Carroll shared. Kate won over the British people with her "quiet dignity" and not pushing her causes through self-promotion and media hype. She has many requests for media interviews, but she turns them all down, preferring her quiet charity work to speak for itself. One notable feature last year is Kate's closeness to Queen Elizabeth II. Royal commentator Neil Sean said that Kate had brought nothing but serenity to the Queen of England by not having any "huge tabloid busts up with the in-laws and fathers" unlike her sister-in-law Meghan Markle. "What has evolved is how gently and quietly the queen is sublimely guiding, advising and helping in a very discreet manner, the future queen that will be Kate," Sean furthered. A courtier even told Sean that the Queen's priority right now is Kate Middleton, as she knows "it will be her who the real monarchy will fall onto in the future." Royal historian Marlene Koenig said that "The Queen certainly has confidence in her as Catherine now has the Royal Family Order and the Royal Victorian Order." Public speaking once induced dread and left her tripping over words. Now, the Duchess of Cambridge speaks faultlessly about her cherished causes and has ditched the clipped tones in favour of a more natural voice. "What I have seen is a more confident person while meeting the public and at public speaking events. She has just got more together, and in a way, Meghan has a lot to do with that because while both ladies are not natural friends, they can assist in the evolution of both their separate roles." Sean said that the future Queen has been influential behind palace walls. When rumors of Prince William and Prince Harry's rift occurred, he said it was Kate who came forward as a peacemaker in hopes the family can thrive together. At the age of 38, Kate should be proud of what she indeed achieved within the royal family. Sean believes that not only has the Duchess created a loving home for the future King William with their three children, but the last two years have seen Kate place her firm fashionable stiletto heel within the royal family. An insider told the Daily Mail that "Kate's view is that Queen, country and family comes first. She is very clear on her priorities and the values that guide how she lives and works." A source said of Kate, "She is very clear on her priorities and that values that guide how she lives and works. It's about treating other people well to get the best out of them." A Government investment package to tackle funding problems in Northern Irelands struggling public services will only be delivered if Stormont returns, the Secretary of State has warned. Heaping pressure on politicians to agree a deal to restore powersharing, Julian Smith said the financial support, predicted to run into billions of pounds, is dependent on them getting back to work. Ms Smith stressed the conditional nature of the cash offer as Sinn Fein continued to decide whether to back the draft agreement tabled by the UK and Irish governments a move that would confirm a return to powersharing. Decision day at Stormont has coincided with another strike by workers in the regions crisis-hit health service. Picketing nurses descended on Stormont on Friday morning to highlight their demands over pay and staffing shortages. Mr Smith said the money is there to resolve that dispute, and other pressing funding shortfalls in the public sector, but only if devolution is restored. He said he has received assurances from trade union leaders that if the parties re-enter government, they will call off the health workers action. The package is dependent on the Executive getting back up and running, he said on a visit to a primary school in Maghaberry, Co Antrim. In a dramatic night of developments on Thursday, the two governments jointly published a suggested deal and urged the five main parties to sign up and re-enter the institutions. This came as Mr Smith wrote to the Speaker of the defunct Assembly, asking him to convene a sitting on Friday thus issuing a challenge to the parties to turn up and get back to business. Expand Close Health workers strike outside the Ulster Hospital, less than a mile from the gates of Stormont, on Friday (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Health workers strike outside the Ulster Hospital, less than a mile from the gates of Stormont, on Friday (Brian Lawless/PA) But Speaker Robin Newton has insisted he will only recall a session of the Assembly if he gets an indication that both parties are willing and able to form an Executive. The DUP, the party blamed by both governments for holding up a deal in December, responded positively to the published New Decade, New Approach text. Party leader Arlene Foster said there is a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a fair and balanced way. All eyes are now on Sinn Fein the other party whose agreement is required to secure the return of a mandatory coalition executive. The republican party called a meeting of its ruling council to deliberate on the proposals to resolve long-running wrangles on issues such as legislative protections for Irish language speakers. Sinn Fein is expected to make an announcement later on the outcome of the Ard Chomhairles (ruling council) decision. The national officer board met earlier on Friday to prepare a recommendation for Ard Chomhairle members to either accept or reject the deal. Expand Close DUP leader Arlene Foster said there is a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a fair and balanced way (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp DUP leader Arlene Foster said there is a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a fair and balanced way (Liam McBurney/PA) Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said: We are studying the text and will give it careful consideration. If Sinn Fein does sign up to the proposals, it is possible the Assembly could sit later on Friday, though Saturday might be more realistic. Mr Smiths stance on the funding is backed by the Prime Minister. Downing Street said the new deal is fair and balanced and urged parties in the region to accept the terms. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: Agreement could see the Executive and Assembly restored as early as today. Should an agreement be reached, reforms to the health service, education and justice will be prioritised by a new Executive. It is up to the parties to come together now and accept this deal in the interest of everyone in Northern Ireland. Asked about the money on offer as part of the brokered deal for Northern Ireland, the Number 10 spokesman said: The financial package is entirely dependent on the parties coming together to restore the Executive. Precise figures of financial support will be finalised when an agreement is reached. Expand Close Leo Varadkar urged the Stormont parties to seize the opportunity to restore powersharing (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Leo Varadkar urged the Stormont parties to seize the opportunity to restore powersharing (Brian Lawless/PA) Irish premier Leo Varadkar, meanwhile, said there is a real chance to restore powersharing on Friday, as he appealed to the parties in Northern Ireland to sign up to the new deal. I think there is a real chance that today, or if not by Monday, we can have the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive back up and running again, said the Taoiseach in Dublin. I think this is the opportunity, Id really appeal to all parties now to sign up to the agreement and come on board. The three smaller Stormont parties involved in the process the SDLP, Ulster Unionists and Alliance could also take seats in the ministerial Executive, though their presence is not a prerequisite for forming a government. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who met with Mr Smith on Friday, said he had been told the package on offer is very significant. He added: We wanted to talk to the Secretary of State this morning to make sure that the financial envelope was large enough to cope with the asks that we had. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) We are told that it is a very significant package. The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That dispute subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. The deal represents the governments joint assessment of how the long-standing wrangles can be resolved. The parties had been working to a Monday deadline to restore the institutions. On Monday, legislation to give civil servants extra powers to run the regions troubled public services expires and the UK Government assumes a legal duty to call a fresh Assembly election. Shes a member of the Missouri chapter of the Romance Writers Association, estimating that of the chapters 54 members, perhaps four are people of color. In recent years, more authors are fighting against the genres historic emphasis on white characters, with young adult writers having the most mainstream success. Many diverse writers are now self-publishing and sometimes earning more royalties than they would have with traditional publishers, whom they often criticize for lack of support and marketing. In announcing the cancellation of the RITA awards, the RWA noted that numerous authors and judges had dropped out. Among several publishers, HarperCollins, which owns Harlequin and Avon, also withdrew support of the annual event by the Texas-based association, which has about 9,000 members. We have lost the trust of our membership and the romance community and we must find a way to rebuild that, the organization said in a statement last month. We will strive to uphold the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do. A woman dragged into a laneway and assaulted after getting off a tram in Brunswick in the early hours of Wednesday has spoken out in a bid to catch her attacker. Investigators from the sexual crime squad have released CCTV footage of a man they are searching for over the attack in Melbourne's inner north. The woman, identified as April and aged in her 30s, believes she was lucky to escape. "This man didn't manage to do what he wanted to do, but there was clear intent," she said on Friday as part of a police appeal for information. April had got on the route 6 tram in the city at 11.50pm on Tuesday and disembarked at Lygon Street. Woodland Hills, Calif.-based the Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has named Kimaili Davis claims manager. Davis started his career with the National American Insurance Co. and has over 25 years of claims experience, specializing in workers compensation. Previous employers include HUB International, Momentous Insurance Brokerage, and most recently Poms & Associates. The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker handling the commercial, personal, and employee benefits insurance. Topics California Agencies Claims A QUIET START I allow myself to sleep no later than 7:30, because on a weekday I get up around 5. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment. Ill take care of the preliminaries, brush my teeth, get dressed, and I shoot straight to the Starbucks two blocks away. SAVOR I usually order a venti Pike, not too strong. Prison has the worst coffee, oh, my goodness thats one of the things I think anybody would tell you. And because the coffees so bad, we overcompensate with sugar or creamer. So, to savor this rich, hot drink in my hand is so fabulous with cinnamon, not too much sugar. CAST OF CHARACTERS Im ashamed to say this, but I people-watch. Starbucks is a place where people dont notice each other; theyre more focused on their computer or their phone. People walk around with these frowns and Im like, Why are you frowning? People bring their children in there, and I find myself so caught up in the little kid who gets the piece of paper on the back of his shoe and trying to make his parents aware. Of course, I recognize where this comes from: I wasnt around children for 22 years. FUEL After Starbucks, Ill go home Im usually hungry by then. Ill fix me a scrambled egg with a cinnamon raisin bagel in my toaster. While I have little tastes for things, I dont make an elaborate breakfast. A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Once I put something in my stomach, I bike ride. They have the bike path right on the corner that leads all the way to the East River. Its about two miles away. So I pedal pretty forcefully to get a workout. Mostly I stop at Queensbridge Park, but there are times when I ride the bike lane all the way to the end of Astoria. But I also look at the Manhattan skyline. Now that Im thinking about it: more often than not, Im recognizing that the Twin Towers is not part of that skyline anymore. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 08:03:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday told the United Nations Security Council that one "unhinged" regime is frantically clamoring to turn back time and explicitly pointed the finger at the United States in his speech. Zarif, whose visa was denied by the United States which made him impossible to attend in person the Security Council ministerial-level open debate on the topic of "Maintenance of international peace and security upholding the UN Charter," told the meeting, through the delivering of Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi, that "the world is at a crossroads: with the end of monopolies on power, one unhinged regime is frantically clamoring to turn back time." "This has meant more damaging American unilateralism in defiance of international norms and law, most recently a dastardly targeted assassination of the heroes who were the nightmare of groups such as ISIS," said Zarif. "Since the regime's inauguration, more and more threats and attacks against the people of Iran and other sovereign nations in utter disregard of the Charter. It now even seeks to emulate the war crimes of Daesh (also known as ISIL, Islamic State, or ISIS), menacing the cultural heritage of the millennia-old civilization of Iran," said Zarif. "Our January 8th, action against an air base in Iraq from which the cowardly armed attack against martyr (Qassem) Soleimani was launched, was a measured and proportionate response to a terrorist attack, in the exercise of our inherent right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter," he said. Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad airport on Friday. In retaliation, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq on Tuesday, which U.S. President Donald Trump said resulted in no American or Iraqi casualties. "This rogue U.S. regime has withdrawn from several landmark accords, including the Paris Agreement, the INF Treaty, and not least, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). That, in an open affront to this very Council, has involved unprecedented and unlawful U.S. punishment of anyone who attempts to comply with Resolution 2231, which unequivocally endorses the JCPOA," said the Iranian top diplomat. Also in his speech, Zarif blasted what he called the U.S. economic terrorism and said the U.S. regime has adopted "mob tactics to expand or gain market share" in the face of the increasing diversification of the sources of power. "In the case of my own country, U.S. economic terrorism has involved the strangulation of access of ordinary Iranians to food and medicine as well as use of illegal unilateral sanctions to give American oil a foothold in Asia," said the foreign minister. "No one is spared from this malign behavior, as evidenced by how the U.S. approaches global trade - including its targeting of European infrastructure to force the entry of its own natural gas," said Zarif. "The question amidst this rogue behavior is how to protect the UN Charter," the Iranian diplomat said. "For if other states become 'passive unilateralists; if they succumb to unilateralism in their bilateral relationships or compromise Charter principles for the sake of short-term gains or the avoidance of immediate harm, they inadvertently encourage the lawless unilateralist to bully them," Zarif added. "To protect multilateralism, we must never appease unilateralist regimes. We need political will as well as an instrument that will safeguard the values, principles and multilateralism enshrined in the Charter," said Zarif. Zarif called for renewed commitment to the Charter, "particularly non-intervention in internal or external affairs and prohibition of the threat or use of force." He also urged rejecting all coercive unilateral measures including sanctions as unlawful, entailing international responsibility, including financial responsibility to compensate for damages imposed on the target and third countries. The top Iranian diplomat urged assigning international criminal responsibility for obstructing in any way, shape or form humanitarian trade. He noted that Iran is dedicated to multilateralism and committed to the Charter and its principles. "Our commitment to the JCPOA as well as our most recent inclusive initiative to promote peace and security in the Persian Gulf region (Hormuz Peace Endeavor, or 'HOPE') prove our strategic approach," he said. In reaction to the U.S. withdrawal from the landmark 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May 2018 and the subsequent sanctions, and in response to the Europe's sluggishness in facilitating Iran's banking transactions and its oil exports, Iran, since May 2019, has made stage-by-stage moves away from its nuclear commitments. Iran on Sunday announced the fifth and final step to drop its commitments pertaining to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal after U.S. killing of Soleimani. Iran also said it would continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and remain ready to re-embrace its nuclear commitments if anti-Iran sanctions were removed and its economic interests under the nuclear deal were secured. Last week, our military and intelligence services brought justice to Qassim Suleimani, Irans terror mastermind. President Trump ordered General Suleimanis killing after months of attacks on Americans by Irans proxy forces in Iraq. These attacks culminated in a rocket strike that killed an American and wounded others, then the attempted storming of our embassy in Baghdad. The first attack crossed the red line drawn by the president last summer that if Iran harmed an American, it would face severe consequences. The president meant what he said, as Mr. Suleimani learned the hard way. Mr. Suleimanis killing was justified, legal and strategically sound. But the presidents critics swarmed as usual. After the embassy attack, a Democratic senator declared that the president had rendered America impotent. Some Democrats then pivoted after the Suleimani strike, calling him reckless and dangerous. Those are the words of Senator Elizabeth Warren, who also described Mr. Suleimani the leader of a State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization plotting to kill American troops as a senior foreign military official. Senator Bernie Sanders likened Americas killing of a terrorist on the battlefield to Vladimir Putins assassination of Russian political dissidents. Some Democrats seem to feel a strange regret for the killing of a monster who specialized in killing Americans. The linguist his proxies killed on Dec. 27, Nawres Hamid, was merely his last victim out of more than 600 in Iraq since 2003. His forces have instigated attacks against our troops in Afghanistan. He plotted a (foiled) bombing in Washington, D.C., and attempted attacks on the soil of our European allies. He armed the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon with rockets to pummel the Jewish state of Israel. And he was greeted moments before his death by a terrorist responsible for the bombing of our embassy in Kuwait in 1983. Some of the presidents critics will concede that Mr. Suleimani was an evil man, but many complain his killing was unlawful. Wrong again. He was a United States-designated terrorist commander. As I have been briefed, he was plotting further attacks against Americans at the time of his death. The authority granted to the president under Article II of the Constitution provides ample legal basis for this strike. Furthermore, those who accept the constitutionality of the War Powers Act should recall that Congresss 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force very much remain in effect and clearly cover the Suleimani operation. This will be a relief to the Obama administration, which ordered hundreds of drone strikes using such a legal rationale. As one of the world's largest job and recruiting sites, Glassdoor's mission is to help people everywhere find a job and company that they love. The site is built on the "foundation of increasing workplace transparency," and has a growing database of company reviews, CEO approval ratings, interview reviews, and more, as submitted by employees. In addition, Glassdoor is a great resource for company founders, executives, managers, and other leaders to gain an understanding of what's good--and bad--in their organizations, from the perspective of their very own employees. For years, Glassdoor has released an annual ranking of the Best Places to Work, and this year's list has a few surprises. Topping the list at #1 is HubSpot, a computer hardware and software company that helps organizations grow by building the software, resources, and tools these businesses need. Other top-10 companies include Bain & Company, DocuSign, and Southwest Airlines. More surprisingly, tech titans Google and Facebook fell a number of spots out of the top 10. Although other tech industry leaders like Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple also did not make the top 10, seeing highly sought-after companies Google and Facebook be bested by fast-food chain In-N-Out (#5) is surely unanticipated. However, with In-N-Out being praised for its flexible scheduling and understanding supervisors, can it really be that big of a surprise that its employees are ranking it so highly? As one In-N-Out associate explains, "They put forth a significant effort to advance your skills as an employee and help you climb the ladder." For years, various companies and organizations have taken inspiration from the employee perks and benefits Google and Facebook have offered. But these days, unlimited snacks and open office layouts aren't as valuable anymore. As Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor president, explains, This year marks the shift to a culture-first decade in the workplace. Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Awards winners are employers that are prioritizing culture, mission and employees at the heart of everything they do. In turn, their employees have spoken and are recognizing them truly as the Best Places to Work in 2020. This year's Glassdoor winners standout for prioritizing mission and culture for company operations. These priorities benefit not only the employees, but the employers too. As Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor chief economist, explains, A growing body of research shows companies with outstanding cultures not only have a clear competitive advantage to attract talent, but they also often lead their peers in terms of financial performance. The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Sergiy Kyslytsya, delivered a statement on January 9, 2020, at an open debate of the United Nations Security Council in New York regarding the recent crash of a Ukrainian commercial jet. The statement by Kyslytsya was delivered on behalf of four countries- Canada, Germany, Sweden and Ukraine. Statement to the Security Council The statement delivered by Kyslytsya in regards to the recent plane crash thanked all those present for their words of support for the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic crash. The 176 people aboard the flight who lost their lives were citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Kyslytsya also added that the circumstances of the crash are unclear and the reason why the plane went down is unknown. He said that they will now be relying on experts to determine the cause of the crash and in order to do this, the experts needed unconditional support from the concerned authorities that are involved in the incident. Read full remarks delivered today by Deputy Foreign Minister @SergiyKyslytsya at the UN Security Council open debate on the UN Charter https://t.co/Ys38pJjXoe pic.twitter.com/jhaBkQsFgF UKR Mission to UN (@UKRinUN) January 9, 2020 On January 8, a Ukrainian aircraft with at least 176 people aboard crashed just after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport, according to Iranian media reports. As per the reports, all 176 passengers on board the PS752 airliner have died. A spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, Reza Jafarzadeh told the media that rescue teams were immediately sent to the spot near the airport where the aircraft belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed but they could not assist since the place was ablaze. Read: Iran To Hold National Mourning Over Ukrainian Plane Crash, Stampede At Soleimani's Funeral Read: Trudeau: Canadians Deserve Answers On Plane Crash According to media reports citing Ali Khashani, a senior public relations official at the airport, the plane was heading towards Kiev and had 167 passengers and nine crew on board. The Boeing 737 took off early Wednesday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post that he would cancel the rest of his trip to Oman and would return to Kiev due to the crash. My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of all passengers and crew, Zelenskiy said. Read: Newlyweds, Students Among 63 Canadians Killed In Iran Plane Crash Read: 'Deeply Saddened': UN Chief Condoles Death Of 176 Passengers In Ukrainian Plane Crash BATLOW, Australia Surrounded by hills burned black as soot, with homes flattened and cattle decimated, Australians in the countrys east on Friday confronted a new round of supercharged bush fires as high winds drove the fires back toward towns that had already burned at least once before. Areas of Victoria State and South Australia were under evacuation orders. In Batlow, an apple-growing town in New South Wales that barely survived a day of 50-foot flames last Saturday, residents who had only just been allowed to return scrambled to figure out what was lost and how to protect what remained. Its like the fire is a sentient being, said Sulari Gentill, a novelist with a husband and a son who are volunteer firefighters in Batlow. It feels like its coming to get us. Police in Philadelphia were searching on Friday for the person who gunned down a young mother of five inside her home. Lexus Jawanda Brice's mother called 911 after finding the back door at her home in the 4100 block of Levick Street in the Mayfair neighborhood kicked in at around 7pm on Thursday. Responding officers discovered the 25-year-old woman dead in an upstairs bedroom, police said. Scroll down for video Lexus Jawanda Brice, 25, was found fatally shot in the neck inside her home in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia on Thursday Police discovered her body inside an upstairs bedroom after getting a call from Brice's mother Brice's two biological children and three foster children were not home on Levick Street at the time of the killing There were signs of a struggle and Brice died of a gunshot wound to the neck. Police previously said her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. By the time her body was found, Brice had been dead for eight or nine hours. Investigators believe she was attacked between 11.30am and 12.30pm. 'We're just not sure what it's over yet. We don't have many problems in this area. It's a pretty well-kept neighborhood. We don't have many issues, so we think it was someone who knew who this person was at this point,' police Capt. John Walker told CBS Philadelphia. Brice's mother had spoken to her earlier in the day, but grew worried when she had not heard from her for several hours and went by her house to check up on her. Brice's two biological children and three foster children were not home at the time of the killing, police said. The biological children were taken to their father, while the foster children, ages three months, six years and 13 years old, were turned over to child welfare officials. Philadelphia police Capt Jason Smith said Brice was the registered owner of two 9mm handguns, which have gone missing from her home in the wake of her death. Two 9mm handguns that were registered to Brice and now unaccounted for, police say Police believe the suspect knew the victim, and they suspect the crime was possibly domestic Police told NBC10 the incident may be domestic, and family members reportedly told investigators they believe they know the suspects identity. As of late Friday afternoon, no arrests have been made. Brice worked two jobs as a bus driver for the Cheltenham School District and as a home health aide. Here are the top 3 moments from Power Lunch this week: 1. Boeing's Bad Week It started with an analyst at Longbow Research telling investors to sell the stock. Essentially they were at a loss for words, and cannot make a bull-case argument for Boeing. He says, "There are too many lingering questions surrounding the MAX approval process, management strategy, airline customer intentions, and wide-body aircraft demand support." Then the company saw one of its planes go down in Iran. A Ukraine-bound Boeing 737-800NG jet crashed killing 176 people, including Canadian citizens. The accident was first blamed on mechanical failure, but both the U.S. and Canada revealed the plane may have been brought down by Iranian missiles. A fact that Iran still denies. Tweet Then Boeing ended the week with an internal memo leak where it boasted about bullying regulators and insulting employees. In messages from April 2017, one Boeing employee told another: "This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys." Former NTSB Chairman Jim Hall had some strong words for Boeing's management, saying the emails showed a blatant disregard for safety. Tweet 2. Mideast Tensions Tensions between the U.S. and Iran came to a head. The U.S. killed General Qasem Soleimani and Iran retaliated by launching missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq. The same missiles that might have brought down that Boeing jet mentioned earlier. Tensions have eased, but is the worst really over? AEI's Michael Rubin explained why there could be further escalation down the road. Tweet 3. The Scoop on Goop ABC/Paula LoboMichael B. Jordan's new legal drama Just Mercy is more than just a film with an important message. In the film, based on Bryan Stevensons 2014 New York Times best-selling memoir of the same name, Jordan stars as Stevenson, a civil right activist who founded the Equal Justice Initiative. Jordan stars alongside Jamie Foxx, who plays his client Walter McMillian, a young black man sentenced to death in 1987 in Alabama for a crime he didn't commit. Jordan says his star studded cast, which includes the likes of Oscar winners Foxx and Brie Larson, was less about superstar names and more about getting those that were invested in his project. "Everybody that was involved in this movie really cared about what we were saying, really cared about the story we were trying to portray," Jordan tells ABC Audio. "And we want people outside of this to feel like they could be a part of the cause. They could be part of the solution, be a part of that change." Part of that change, Jordan reveals, was his inclusion rider, which actors and filmmakers use as part of their contracts to demand more diversity among the cast and production staff of films they're working on. "And the inclusion rider was it was a big part of that as well," Jordan says, referring to his film. "Warner Brothers ran toward the idea of inclusion and allowed us to make this Warner Brothers first movie under that inclusion act." "It was a huge win for us and hopefully--- it's a necessary step," he continues. "We have a lot of steps to go and we have a lot more road to walk. But hopefully this will put us in the right direction." Just Mercy is in theaters nationwide. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Goa Congress leader and former MP John Fernandes has lambasted his own party for opposing the amended citizenship act, saying laws passed by Parliament should not be challenged on the streets. Fernandes, a former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president, on Thursday termed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as a good law which should be accepted by people. The passage of CAA in Parliament last month triggered protests across the country, including in Goa. The Congress and other opposition parties have criticised the new law that grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution in their home country. Fernandes was addressing a gathering here where crucial issues like CAA and scrapping of Article 370, that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were discussed. The former GPCC chief, who held reigns of the party in Goa in 2013, said, When a law is passed by Parliament, no one should be instigated by the opposition to say anything against it on the streets. Commenting on protests around university campus post- CAA, including in Delhis Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Fernandes said I dont think it is appropriate, what is going on. I know how it started. It started at Jamia Millia Islamia, I was a director to that board and I know how it was functioning therefore I resigned from that board, he said without elaborating. Referring to the protests against CAA, the two-time former Rajya Sabha MP said, Can laws be made on the streets? Then it is law of the jungle. These topics are not to be debated (once passed by Parliament). CAA is to be accepted by the people of this country because these are good laws. I belong to a particular political party but I have opinion as an individual. We have made mistakes in the last 70 years and why we should continue with the same mistakes? he asked. Talking about Pakistan, which has criticised the Centre over scrapping of Article 370 and CAA, Fernandes said it is not anybodys business to convince Indians on the twin issues. I dont think it is anybodys business to convince us on Article 370 and CAA. It is not for people across the border to dictate us terms about laws passed by our Parliament, the Congress leader said. When a law is passed by Parliament it has to be accepted. Even if the prime minister is not from my party, I should accept him because he is PM of India, Fernandes said. CAAs critics say the law is discriminatory and violates the core values of the Constitution. High winds and steady rain will hit Portland beginning Friday. The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory from 1 p.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Saturday. South winds of 15-25 mph will gust to as much as 45 mph in the afternoon and late evening. Along with the wind, as much as 2 inches of rain will fall on the metro area through Sunday. It might be too late to safely remove holiday lights and decorations from the exterior of your home Friday, but here are some actions you can take to help keep your home safe from high winds and other winter storm hazards: Remove dead wood: Trimming trees regularly will help fewer branches fall in heavy wind or other severe weather. Secure outdoor items: Loose items like grills, picnic tables, and lawn furniture should be brought inside to avoid becoming projectiles in storms with high winds. Deal with drainage issues: Clear gutters, and watch for areas where rain ponds around your homes foundation, or seeps into outbuildings. Inspect roofs: Roofs that are 5-10 years old or older should be checked for loose shingles, nails and sheathing. Temperatures remain above freezing in the metro area and the snow level will rise to about 3,000 feet Friday afternoon as a warm front pushes through. The high in Portland will be 46. The National Weather Service in Portland has issued several watches and warnings for western and central Oregon ahead of Friday's storm. A winter storm warning is up for the Cascades for Friday through noon Saturday. Snow will turn to blizzard conditions Friday night, and winds will gust as high as 50 mph. Driving will be treacherous over the Cascade passes. The weather service is warning travelers to avoid the mountain passes if at all possible. If you must travel, carry traction devices and a winter hazard kit including extra food, clothing and water. Low snow levels will continue through the weekend. Foothill areas around 2,000 feet will see snow off and on through Sunday. The Coast Range will likely remain wet with several inches of rain expect along the coast. A coastal flood advisory has also been issued by the National Weather Service. High tides on Friday and 25-30 foot swells on Saturday will make the beach dangerous most of the weekend. Rain is expected all weekend and wind gusts of more than 50 mph are likely. Portland will see showers and breezy conditions Saturday. The high will be 47. Steady rain starts Sunday morning and continues until about 1 p.m. when precipitation will become more showery. The high will be 46. Portland's first snow day of 2019 hit in the early morning of Tuesday, Feb. 5. Mark Graves/Staff file photoMark Graves Of course, what most want to know is when will it snow? Monday night is when colder Canadian air begins to move south into Oregon. Theres a slight chance of some snow possibly mixed with rain Monday night and early Tuesday. Highs will only reach into the 30s for the first part of next week. Overnight lows could dip into the 20s. Forecasters are looking toward the possibility of snow to the valley floor Wednesday and Thursday. Its still to early to tell where, and how much. As part of its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, the Odisha government on Friday ordered the compulsory retirement of two officers and dismissal of four others for corruption and inefficiency. Narayan Tiadi, working as assistant engineer in the rural water supply and sanitation division in Bargarh was one of the two officers retired compulsorily. Action was taken against him for gross inefficiency and lack of integrity while discharging his duty, official sources said. He was earlier booked by the anti-corruption department's vigilance wing for acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and was unauthorisedly absent from duty for a long time, they said. Similarly, Gyanendra Patel, assistant engineer in the office of the enginer-in-chief, was also given compulsory retirement with immediate effect for remaining absent from duty for long, they said. Four officers were dismissed from service after being convicted in vigilance cases including ex-stipendiary engineer of Dasarathpur block in Jajpur, Sanjay Kumar Choudhary. Also dismissed were Pradeep Kumar Ray, an ex-supervisor working in the office of general manager, district industries centre at Nuapada and ex-stipendiary engineer, Banki block, Bigyan Kumar Beuria, who was working as an assistant executive engineer in Pundal sub-division under northern irrigation division in Jagatpur, Cuttack, they said. Ex-junior engineer, Nimapara, Amiya Kumar Sethi, who is working in the housing and urban development department, was also dismissed from service for conviction in a vigilance case, sources said. Since August 2019, as many as 59 officers have been dismissed, 12 given compulsory retirement and pension of 11 other officers stopped in the ongoing anti-corruption drive launched by Odisha government following a directive from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Migration has become a controversial and explosive issue across the world. The entry of legal or illegal migrants in any significant number stokes fear among the citizens of threats to their cultural identity or their economic well-being. Predictably, in this atmosphere of uncertainty and instability, there will be politicians ready to exploit the situation for electoral gain. One of President Donald Trump's campaign promises, for example, was to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep illegal immigrants out. In the United Kingdom, Brexit was fuelled by fears of immigrants swamping the country, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a huge electoral mandate at the end of 2019 to ensure his country's swift exit from the European Union. So it was no surprise when the Narendra Modi government, in its second term, implemented a key promise in its manifesto and introduced the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Parliament, which would offer an opportunity for illegal immigrants from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to apply for Indian citizenship. It made no mention of illegal Muslim immigrants. Passed on December 12, the CAA, coupled with the government's plan to create a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) a register of citizens mandated by the Census Act of 1948 but never carried out has sowed fear and confusion among Muslims and triggered nationwide protests, which have, over the past month, led to the deaths of 27 persons, destruction of public property and thousands of arrests across the country. India Today January 20 cover, Who Is (Not) a Citizen. Many of the protests have been led by the BJP's political opponents the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the TMC in West Bengal and the CPI(M) in Kerala. A majority of the protests are spontaneous expressions of dissent by ordinary citizens a diverse mix of students, professionals, intellectuals and celebrities. Speaking straight from the heart, they are raising genuine concerns about how the NRC proposes to include legitimate poor and marginalised citizens who might either have not felt the necessity to acquire documents so far, or lost them, and who cannot afford a fresh set. Beyond this, the protesters see a political motive in the BJP using CAA-NRC as twin weapons to further their Hindutva agenda by legitimising Hindu migrants while disenfranchising Muslims, with an eye to the assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam in 2021. The problem of illegal migrants has been acute in east India in the aftermath of the Bangladesh war of 1971. That the government has spoken in different voices on the CAA and the NRC hasn't helped matters either. Early in December, home minister Amit Shah had emphasised that a nationwide NRC was on the anvil. But soon after the protests, both he and Prime Minister Modi did a volte face on the issue. While an NRC is essential, it is how the government will implement it that is causing concern. Assam, for instance, has rejected the findings of its NRC. The register published in the state last August saw the exclusion of 1.9 million people, many of them believed to be Indian nationals. What will be the fate of a similar nationwide exercise, left to bureaucratic whims and fancies, is anybody's guess. The whole issue has a tortuous history and is engulfed in misinformation. Political parties are blaming each other while fanning the fire for their political ends, worsening the situation. It is being seen as a repudiation of the fundamental tenets of the Constitution. Although Mrs Indira Gandhi introduced the word 'secularism' in the Preamble to the Constitution through the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the Supreme Court has on numerous occasions confirmed that secularism is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. The whole trouble, I believe, started with the exclusion of Muslims in the CAA and the BJP's narrative on the NRC, followed by the announcement of the National Population Register (NPR). This had been preceded by the abrogation of Article 370, the Ram Mandir verdict and the criminalisation of triple talaq, unleashing panic among the estimated 200 million Muslims of India, no doubt fuelled by the BJP's opponents. However, this government has only exacerbated such fears by using its brute majority with great alacrity in pushing through these measures in a sequence that was bound to cause alarm. In their own interest at least, they could have prepared the ground better, referencing the fact that previous governments too have extended similar provisions of citizenship. The current fears are not entirely unanticipated. Our August 2018 cover story, 'Assam's Nowhere People', spoke of the fear and uncertainty among the people of the east Indian state ahead of its NRC. What began as a campaign against illegal immigrants, we believed, could have a ripple effect and spark communal conflict across India. Our cover story, 'Who Is (Not) a Citizen', put together by Senior Editor Kaushik Deka and Associate Editor Sonali Acharjee, demystifies the CAA, the NRC and the NPR and looks at the wave of student protests across the country. India has its fair share of Pandora's boxes. Opening up a new one when there are more pressing issues, like fixing the economy, to address is clearly not in our interest. Nothing binds a country like equitable economic prosperity. India should see itself as a modern state whose purpose is to improve the economic welfare of its citizens while protecting the liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship as enshrined in our Constitution. We are the most unique country in the world. Despite unmatched diversity in language, culture and religions, we are still one country. Let us not lose this at any cost. (India Today Editor-in-Chief's note for the cover story, Who Is (Not) a Citizen, for January 20, 2020) Also read: I don't exist if I am not Assamese Equal Rights Amendment failed to meet deadline, too late to ratify: Justice Department Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Equal Rights Amendment has failed to reach the necessary number of states to support ratification by its deadline, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Multiple state legislatures have considered legislation to give the ERA the necessary super-majority to be added to the U.S. Constitution. However, Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel issued a memorandum Monday explaining that the ERA has already failed to meet a previously determined deadline by Congress. Congress has constitutional authority to impose a deadline for ratifying a proposed constitutional amendment, Engel wrote. It exercised this authority when proposing the Equal Rights Amendment and, because three-fourths of the state legislatures did not ratify before the deadline that Congress imposed, the Equal Rights Amendment has failed of adoption and is no longer pending before the States. Engel added that even if one or more state legislatures were to ratify the proposed amendment, it would not become part of the Constitution, and the Archivist could not certify its adoption under 1 U.S.C. 106b. Kristen Waggoner of the conservative legal group the Alliance Defending Freedom expressed support for the DOJ's opinion, noting that the ERA not only falls far short of the requirements to amend the Constitution, but also undermines womens rights and opportunities. Women deserve to be treated with equality and fairness under the law, but thats not what the ERA does. If its proponents wish to convince the American people of its merits, they must follow the process laid out in the Constitution, Waggoner said Wednesday. Following that process by starting over respects the American people and the integrity of the Constitution. And thats good no matter what side of the aisle we find ourselves. Toni Van Pelt of the progressive group the National Organization for Women, denounced the DOJ's opinion, arguing that it was part of the Trump administrations ongoing opposition to womens rights and gender equality. Legislation is pending in Congress to remove the 1979 deadline which appears in the preface to the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1972 resolution. NOW and our grassroots activists are working hard to assure that this happens, Van Pelt said. The DOJ's opinion on the ERA came as the Commonwealth of Virginia, whose new legislative session included a Democrat majority, looked to possibly become the 38th and final state needed to pass the amendment. In 1972, Congress passed the ERA and sent it to the states for ratification with a seven-year deadline. Even with deadline extension to 1982, the ERA failed to get 38 states for ratification by three states. Conservative groups have long been opposed to the ERA, with recent concerns surrounding the belief that the ERA would be used to advance abortion and LGBT policy positions. Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the Liberty Counsel, told The Christian Post in an interview last year that he believed if the ERA passed, it could be used as a hammer against religious organizations, including churches, to provide abortion or abortion-inducing drugs or devices. I think also the ERA now would include an LGBT agenda that would conflict with churches and religious organizations with respect to biblical doctrines and beliefs of male and female in uniquely created and complementary sexes, Staver said at the time. So I think in both the abortion area and in the LGBT arena, the ERA Amendment would be a direct assault on religious liberty, against religious organizations and churches. Pro-ERA organizations like the Alice Paul Institute have argued that the deadlines previously imposed could be changed by Congress. Congress may be able to accept the validity of state ratifications that occur after 1982 and keep the existing 35 ratifications alive, according to the FAQ paper by the institute. Five states Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and South Dakota have attempted to withdraw their approval of the Equal Rights Amendment. However, according to precedent and statutory language, a state rescission or other withdrawal of its ratification of a constitutional amendment is not accepted as valid. This week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel announced an important opinion on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), declaring the ratification expired and no longer pending in the States for action. In a Memorandum for the General Counsel of the National Archives and Records Administration, DOJ declares dead any effort by Virginia to become the 38th state as the new Democrat-controlled legislature pledged in its opening session. It also overrules congressional efforts to revive the ERA ratification by removing the deadline as proposed in legislation pending on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. In a statement to CP, Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said the "DOJs opinion declaring the ratification dead underscores what even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has already concluded: if the ERA has any future, the process must start over. Concerned Women for America says, 'R.I.P ERA.' Women deserve fairness and equality under the law, but Congress should not waste its time on an ERA that could in fact undermine the progress weve made over the last 40 years. If legislators are truly concerned about women, they should spend their efforts focusing on measures to uphold the dignity and status of women as uniquely female, not turn back the clock on gains weve made and ERAse women. Its heartbreaking, listening to family and friends of people who died on UIA flight 752. Like the young woman in B.C. whose parents were doctors and came here from Iran in 2013, for her sake. Shes trying to bring their bodies back because, she says, they felt most at home here. Thats a kind of Canadian magic. Elsewhere theyd likely be seen as Iranians who moved here. For most of us and for them, theyre Canadians. People who come here from conflict zones often say they felt instantly at home because of the acceptance. The horror of this disaster was: even when you left the Mideast, it didnt leave you. You return for a wedding or visit and this happens. Theres no escape. Theres been a growing consensus that the crash wasnt a normal one. The plane was new and generally reliable. Pilots were experienced. Takeoff was routine. Then crash. A former director of the U.S. Transportation Safety Board said investigators should put an attack at the top of their agenda. Iran started a criminal inquiry. Its latest statement that its the result of a fire on-board left open the cause of the fire. It seemed weirdly coincidental that two hours before, Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq, in response to a U.S. assassination. Sure, coincidences happen but, yknow. So thered been speculation on who might have attacked the plane. The Iranian military. (Though what sense did that make?) A Ukraine official suggested a Russian missile supplied to Iran. (But Ukraines desperate to mollify the U.S.) Someone gone rogue. Now U.S. sources are increasingly certain that Iran itself shot down the plane with a missile mistakenly, and Canada concurs. Theres no reason to automatically trust U.S. intelligence sources, as Trump himself likes to observe. But if this turns out to be true, it will be a hideous mirror version of another downed plane in the same neighbourhood, about 30 years ago. In fact, its odd that the incident was only rarely cited this week. The first thought for anyone in the Mideast or with knowledge of it would surely have been that 1988 crash of an Iranian airliner. It left Tehran and was shot down by a U.S. ship in Iranian waters. It was during the Iran-Iraq War, which had interference by the U.S. all over it. Two-hundred and ninety people died. The captain of the ship misidentified the plane, perhaps due to his own zeal or desire to get into the action, as described by colleagues. The U.S. tried denial and blaming Iran instead, then admitted theyd done it and paid a settlement to families of victims (without accepting legal responsibility shades of Weinstein!). Now a plane again takes off from Tehran in a fraught moment. Whos involved? Iran, Iraq, the U.S. Nerves are edgy. Decisions must be made in short time frames. Overreactions are predictable. And the victims are innocent. If it turns out that Iran did this mistakenly, like the U.S. 30 years go, or even that the U.S. did it again what will it show? That antagonists in these situations often have surprisingly much in common. The way that George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein somehow deserved each other, in their time of mutual infamy. None of it, true or not, will change what happened. Could it have been avoided? Everyone has their own dog in these hunts, so heres my contribution. What if the U.S. hadnt messed so infernally in the Mideast, for so long? In 1953, when it instigated a coup against a democratically elected Iranian government. In 1980, when it encouraged Iraq to attack Iran, followed by an eight-year bloodbath, to undermine the Iranian revolution of a year before. In 2003, by invading Iraq catastrophically for the region and the world. Last weeks assassination, leading to this weeks response. Thats a very short list. Without the U.S., thered doubtless be other disasters in the region. But without all or even some of those interventions, the people who died on that plane would, or at least might, be at home, in Canada, with those who love them, now. The least they can do is let people there mess up on their own. LOS ANGELES John Baldessari, a gentle giant of Conceptual art whose irreverent questions about the nature of art brought him international acclaim and shaped a generation of younger talent, has died. He was 88. Baldessari died in his sleep Saturday night. His death was confirmed by his foundation and by Margo Leavin, his former Los Angeles art dealer. A mild-mannered leader who spoke softly but carried a big stick of human insight and droll wit, the 6-foot-7 artist towered over most of his students at the California Institute of the Arts, UCLA and UC San Diego, as he did over an art movement that valued ideas more than objects. His height enticed writers to describe him in physical terms, including a cross between Walt Whitman and a redwood tree (the Christian Science Monitor). But Baldessari was a thinker who called himself a hybrid between a formalist and a moralist. Inspired by the spirit of Marcel Duchamp, who overturned traditional definitions of art in the early 20th century, and by Los Angeles artist Edward Ruschas imaginative combinations of pictures and words, Baldessari explored language and mass media culture in text-and-image paintings and photo compositions derived from film stills, magazines and other sources. In a review of Baldessaris 2010 retrospective exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight deemed him arguably Americas most influential Conceptual artist. John Baldessari has worked in the gap between paintings and camera images for the last 45 years, Knight wrote, noting that his marvelous rummaging around in that fissure demonstrated that the gap was fertile territory and often a strange and funny place to be. The exhibition, Pure Beauty, took its name from a 1966-68 painting with those words boldly painted in black across the center of a plain white canvas. Another early painting resembles a page from a how-to book for beginning photographers. A grainy photographic image of Baldessari standing in front of a palm that appears to sprout from his head is underscored by the word wrong. In both paintings, the lettering is the work of a commercial sign painter hired by the artist. Commenting on Wrong in a Village Voice review, critic Peter Schjeldahl dubbed Baldessari a poet of the wrongness that aesthetic devotion visits upon flawed, shaggy, mere individuality. He repeatedly evokes the experience of feeling devalued by what one loves: just not good enough, unworthy, even fraudulent. This is an embittering experience for many. Baldessari absorbs it with consummate humor. When composing works of multiple images, the artist likened his task to that of writers of detective fiction or poetry, who build an architecture of meaning by juxtaposing disparate elements. Even in his later years, Baldessari was creating and experimenting. At 85, he turned away from pop culture and explored the historical, busying himself by developing prints and paintings for a retrospective at the Museo Jumex in Mexico City and an exhibit at a downtown Los Angeles print studio. Despite numerous awards and honors throughout his long career including a 2018 guest appearance on The Simpsons Baldessari retained his humility. I feel fortunate. Somebodys paying attention, he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2017. Im grateful to be influential around the world. People look at what I do. I cant ask for more than that. Still, he grew disillusioned by the art world and worried about the corruption of money. When he began his career in art, he said in 2012, there was no expectation of becoming wealthy. You did it because you believed in it. It wasnt about money. Now, its all about money. Born June 17, 1931, in National City, near San Diego, John Anthony Baldessari was the son of Antonio Baldessari, a salvage dealer, and his wife, Hedvig. Baldessari showed interest in the arts as a young boy. His schoolteachers acknowledged his natural artistic abilities, often picking him to do murals and special projects. That recognition gave him the courage to pursue art, although his father worried that it wasnt a financially practical career. Baldessari received a masters degree in art in 1957 from what is now San Diego State University and taught art classes in San Diego-area public schools for a decade before landing a position as an assistant professor of art at San Diego State. Ive taught all my life, he told Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker in 2003. Everything from grade school to college to juvenile delinquents. I set out to right all the things wrong with my own art education. But I found that you cant really teach art, you can just sort of set the stage for it. Baldessari labored in near anonymity until 1970, when he hauled most of his pre-1966 works to a crematorium and burned them in a documented performance. His text-and-image paintings had caught the eye of Paul Brach, dean of the California Institute of the Arts, or CalArts, who hired him as an instructor at the fledgling, experimental school. Baldessari moved to Los Angeles and set up the schools post-studio art course, which he described as all the kind of art you didnt need a studio to deal with. He continued to teach at CalArts as his career took off and later joined the faculty at UCLA, building a legacy of painters, sculptors, photographers and installation artists who were inspired by his work but found their own direction. Among his best-known former students are Mike Kelley, David Salle, Matt Mullican, Barbara Bloom, Meg Cranston, Tony Oursler and Liz Craft. Salle, Baldessaris student at CalArts from 1971 to 1975, developed a friendship with his professor and came to know him as someone who was immensely understanding of human predicament and whats involved in being an artist. He remembered him as having worn his enormous acclaim very lightly. Baldessari, he said, brought new meanings to visual art that diverged from the traditions of painting and sculpture. Cranston, who graduated from CalArts in 1986 and knew Baldessari for more than 30 years, said she was inspired by his curiosity about the world around him. He taught her that I could do whatever I wanted to do, to always have a plan and to keep it simple. Baldessari, she said, broadened what was possible in art. Baldessari also branched out into curatorial, installation and design work at museums. Particularly active at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art he designed a logo, banners for the Wilshire Boulevard facade and a popular installation of Belgian Surrealist Rene Magrittes work that covered the floor with a skylike carpet and the ceiling with freeway images. His work has been shown in the Venice Biennial in Italy, the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, the Whitney Biennial in New York and Documenta in Kassel, Germany. Baldessaris work is in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Broad in Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney in New York. Suzanne Muchnic and Dorany Pineda are Los Angeles Times writers. Austrian Airlines said it was cancelling its flight to Tehran on Friday, two days after a passenger plane crashed in Iran killing all 176 people on board. The airline said its action was "due to the latest reports and the changed assessment of the security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport". Thursday's flight to Tehran was ordered to return to Vienna after a stopover in Sofia, the statement added. The airline's move came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence sources indicated Iran had shot down the Ukrainian airliner, possibly accidentally. Iran fired ballistic missiles at bases housing US troops in Iraq early on Wednesday in retaliation for the US assassination of Iran's most powerful general, Qasem Soleiman. Several airlines had already said they would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace. Lufthansa -- the parent company of Austrian -- said its flight between Frankfurt and Tehran on Thursday had returned an hour after takeoff because of security concerns. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman who skipped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon, on Friday slammed a gaffe by the Japanese justice minister who said that Ghosn should prove" his innocence. Francois Zimeray said in a statement addressed to Justice Minister Masako Mori that her mistake reflected Japanese justice, which goes against the human rights principle of presumption of innocence. Mori has apologized for the error and said she meant to say the suspect should assert innocence, not prove it. The presumption of innocence, respect of dignity and rights of defense have been essential components of what constitute a fair trial, he said. Japan is an admirable, modern, otherwise advanced country. It deserves better than an archaic system that holds innocent people hostage. The onus is on you to abolish it." He stressed it is up to prosecution to prove guilt, not the other way around. Ghosn, who was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges, fled Tokyo and appeared in Beirut December 30. He is unlikely to face trial here as Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. He reiterated in a conference in Beirut this week that he was innocent and that he faced trumped up charges because Nissan Motor Co., prosecutors and Japanese officials sought to block a fuller merger between Nissan and alliance partner Renault SA of France. Japan's conviction rate is higher than 99%, and human rights advocates have long questioned the fairness of its judicial system. Ghosn has said it is rigged and unjust. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The Pascagoula homeowner who shot and killed an intruder in his home Tuesday morning is not expected to face charges, Pascagoula police chief Matt Chapman said. Officers responded to a burglary call on Nathan Hale Avenue about 11:44 Tuesday morning. When police arrived, the homeowner said he found the intruder, who was armed, burglarizing the home and shot him in one of the bedrooms. The dead intruder was later identified as 31-year-old Walter Williams, who police say was a suspect in several burglaries in the Pascagoula area. The homeowner is an employee of the Jackson County Coroners Office whose name has not been released because he is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Because of his position, the Harrison County Coroners Office was called to handle the case to eliminate any possible conflict of interest. The gentleman came home and caught a burglar in his house, Chapman said. The burglar produced a gun and shots were fired. As is standard procedure, all evidence from the case will be turned over to a Jackson County Grand Jury for a final determination. The Associated Press contributed to this report. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are asking for the publics help to identify a man sought for questioning in connection with a reported knife-point robbery at a Guess Store in St. George. On Saturday at about 7:47 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call of a robbery inside the store in the Empire Outlets at 55 Richmond Terrace, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. When officers arrived at the store, they were told by a 29-year-old female employee that an unidentified male entered the business and took items off a shelf. The man allegedly attempted to leave the store with about $400 in merchandise, according to the police spokeswoman. When a worker tried to stop the man from exiting, he brandished a knife and threatened her, the police spokeswoman said. Police described the individual as a male with a medium complexion, who was seen wearing dark-colored clothing. The 121st Precinct posted photos of the man sought for questioning on its Twitter feed. People with information are encouraged to contact the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 (TIPS) or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782 (PISTA). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential. Information wanted regarding a robbery. Do you recognize this individual. Call 718-876-8501 pic.twitter.com/zR4nDD0UFL NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) January 9, 2020 . Millions of people in China have begun travelling from major cities to their smaller hometowns for celebrating the 2020 Lunar New Year with their families. The epic travel rush, billed as the world's largest annual human migration, started today and is expected to last 40 days until February 18. An estimated three billion trips - 20 million more than last year - will be made in the nation of 1.4 billion people around the traditional holiday, locally known as the Spring Festival, according to state media. The yearly ritual in celebration of the Lunar New Year started today and is expected to last 40 days until February 18. An estimated three billion trips will be made across the country by rail, air, road and water. Pictured, passengers wait for their train at a railway station in Beijing today Authorities will enlist China's facial-recognition surveillance system, which is due to speed up security screenings and ticket checks at train stations, bus terminals, airports and ferry ports This year, the authorities will enlist the country's fast-growing facial-recognition surveillance system, which is due to speed up security screenings and ticket checks at train stations, bus terminals, airports and ferry ports. The ritual, also known in Chinese as 'chunyun', kicked off 15 days ahead of the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 25 this year and will ring in the year of the rat. During the transport spectacle, millions of Chinese people who live, work or study away from their hometown try to reunite with their loved ones in more rural parts of the nation for China's most important occasion. Millions of Chinese people who live, work or study away from their hometown try to reunite with their loved ones in more rural parts of the nation for China's most important occasion More than 11.5 million rail passengers hit the road today on the first day of the peak season. Pictured, travellers board their train at a railway station in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province According to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese rail authority is expecting to send 440 million passengers this year - a 27-million increase on last year. The former figure is more than the entire population of the United States and six times the population of the United Kingdom. It means about 11 million Chinese people would be travelling by train every day for the festivities in the next six weeks. In addition, 2.43 billion trips are set to be made by road, a 1.2 per cent drop compared to last year. Airlines will make 79 million 'Chunyun' flights while ferry companies will welcome 45 million passengers. More than 11.5 million rail passengers hit the road today on the first day of the peak season while 400 million train tickets have already been sold for the period, according to Xinhua. Aerial view of bullet trains waiting at a railway station on at the beginning of the Chinese New Year travel rush last year. China's 217mph high-speed rail is the backbone of the travel rush China has been expanding its high-speed railway network at an eye-opening speed, and train journeys back home for the Chinese New Year are no longer nerve-wrecking as they once were China has been expanding its high-speed railway network at an eye-opening speed. As a result, train journeys back home for the Chinese New Year are no longer nerve-wrecking as they once were. Just last month, China put the world's first fleet of driverless bullet trains into commercial use in preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Billed as the 'the world's first smart high-speed railway', the 6billion commute line operates at a top speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) per hour. It connects the two host cities, Beijing and Zhangjiakou, and features 5G coverage as well as wireless charging docks in the sleek carriages. Five quacks were arrested in Mumbai's Malvani, Oshiwara and Vile Parle suburbs in joint action by the Crime Branch and the BMC, an official said on Friday. A team comprising personnel from Crime Branch's Unit IX, XI and XII, along with the medical officer of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, carried out raids on Thursday, he said. He identified the arrested persons as Swapankumar Mandal (49), Shoib Mohammed Hanif Agharia (32), Ramkumar Mishra (52), Tukaram Thorat (52) and Shaikh P A Aziz (42). "The accused were treating people despite having no degrees or registration with the Maharashtra Medical Council," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Now 44, Mr. Harding has been successful in Europe, so there hasnt been a pressing need to return to the United States and its sites of mutual frustration and uneven results. But he has begun to reintroduce himself gingerly, with dates in San Francisco in 2018. And now New York. There was certainly intention, and intelligence, behind the account of Griegs classic Piano Concerto on Thursday. From the first phrase in the orchestra, each note articulated with almost neurotic clarity, there was the sense hovering over the performance of big-I Interpretation. This sometimes felt like keen insight, as when Mr. Harding created almost-duets between the solo piano and woodwind voices that can often fade deep into the background. And it sometimes felt less persuasive, as when he stretched many phrases out almost to a halt. He did have an eager, eloquent partner for that approach in the pianist Paul Lewis, with whom Mr. Harding and his Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra collaborated in 2016 on an elegantly passionate version of Brahmss First Concerto. Mr. Lewis, bringing refinement and delicacy to a Grieg concerto that in some hands can sound brawny, dotted his first-movement cadenza with what felt like vast expanses of emptiness, as if pulling the work a few decades forward, toward Ravel. There was awkwardness in the concertos horn solos, as there was (with a different player in the principal chair) in Strausss Alpine Symphony, after intermission. Mr. Harding guided this long, episodic piece with sure pacing and a sense of even flow amid all the quick transitions, but the Philharmonics sound lacked lucidity, let alone distinguishing beauty. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Sunny skies with gusty winds developing later in the day. High around 35F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 29F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. After 12 women took mifepristone, the first pill in the two-pill regimen, they followed it up with progesterone or a placebo instead of misopristol, the second pill used for a medication abortion. Three of the 12 patients -- one who took the progesterone, while the other two had taken a placebo -- reported experiencing severe hemorrhaging and needing medical assistance, even a blood transfusion, the results said. That led researchers to call off the 2019 study early. Their findings, published in the journal "Obstetrics and Gynecology," found not finishing the abortion medication regimen could be dangerous. "This is the danger I was talking about last year when they were rushing this through," Hunt said. Hunt said she'll ask her colleagues to once again consider the ramifications of putting a scientifically unproven procedure into state law. A compilation of Chinese President Xi Jinping's speeches marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been published by the Foreign Languages Press. The book, which has Chinese and English versions, collects three speeches of Xi, namely the speeches at a grand rally and a reception to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC, and the speech at a presentation ceremony of the national medals and honorary titles of the PRC. With a historical perspective on China's past, present and future, Xi's speeches have greatly ignited patriotism among the Chinese people, boosted the morale of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the military and the people, and enhanced the confidence and sense of pride of the Chinese people at home and abroad. Xis speeches fully indicated that China's tremendous changes in the past 70 years are fundamentally attributed to the leadership of the CPC. The leadership of the CPC constitutes the most essential attribute of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Over the past 70 years, under the strong leadership of the CPC, China's miserable fate born from poverty and weakness and being bullied and humiliated over more than 100 years since the advent of modern times has been completely reversed and the country has embarked on the path of realizing national rejuvenation. The Chinese nation has realized a tremendous transformation: it has stood up, grown rich and is becoming stronger. It is necessary to uphold the leadership of the CPC on the journey forward, making sure that the CPC always remains the backbone of the Chinese nation and people as well as a powerful leadership core of national rejuvenation. Xis speeches fully indicated that China's remarkable achievements in the past 70 years derive from the ambitions and endeavors of the Chinese nation. The people are the creators of history; they are the fundamental force that determines the country's future. Over the past 70 years, the Chinese people, with perseverance, strenuous efforts, and selfless contributions, have made development achievements that are the marvel of the world and a great miracle in human history. To move history forward and write a more brilliant chapter in the new journey requires the CPC to rely on the Chinese people. Xis speeches fully indicated that the secret of China's development in the past 70 years lies in staying on path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the past 70 years of continuous exploration, especially the great practice of reform and opening up for over 40 years, China has developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, which has fundamentally changed the destiny of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and national governance system have shown great vitality and strengths. The entire CPC must remain confident in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics and continue to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics. Xis speeches fully indicated China has made steady progress towards national rejuvenation because it has kept firmly to the path of peaceful development. Peace and development remain the underlying trend of our times. Over the past 70 years, China has upheld an independent foreign policy of peace, forged ahead along the path of peaceful development, and followed a win-win strategy of opening up, making a positive contribution to the common development for humanity. To realize the national rejuvenation, China must stay on the path of peaceful development and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. HAVANA - The Trump administration is banning charter flights to Cuban cities besides Havana in a new tightening of U.S. restrictions on the island. In October, the administration banned commercial flights to cities outside the capital. The State Department said in a press release Friday that charter operators would have 60 days to wind down their flights to Santiago, Holguin and seven other cities across the island, and put a new restriction on the number of charter flights to Havanas Jose Marti International Airport. Todays action will further restrict the Cuban regimes ability to obtain revenue, which it uses to finance its ongoing repression of the Cuban people and its unconscionable support for dictator Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in the statement. The new restriction leaves both leisure travellers and Cuban-Americans without an easy way to travel to destinations outside the Cuban capital. Driving from Havana to eastern Cuba can take more than 12 hours on poorly maintained and often dangerous roads. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Twitter that the new measure was a serious violation of human rights and freedom of travel of U.S. citizens and hinders family reunification. Issac James Manayath By Express News Service The trumpets of war have fallen silent. Heave a sigh, for the US and Iran have walked back from the brink of a full-fledged confrontation! As the dust settles in Iraq, where more than 20 Iranian missiles rained down on bases hosting US troops in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, one of the questions that come to mind is: What lessons Iran would have learned from the past weeks American assassination of its top General Qasem Soleimani. No doubt, the US emerged from the ensuing crisis as the clear winner. It got rid of Soleimani, who, at the time of his death, had become the face of Irans bold push to dominate the Middle East. Those who had worked with him describe the charismatic General as a "frighteningly intelligent" strategist, who laboured tirelessly to advance Irans regional interests. Despite the fact that he was a vital asset for the Islamic Republic, the US took him out for a very little price. Irans retaliation turned out to be a mere face-saving measure by the Ayatollah. Missiles that struck the US bases in Iraq knocked down a few pillars at best. In other words, there were no casualties. However, before patting Trumps back, one must analyse the long-term consequences of the attack that eliminated the Middle Easts rockstar General. What we would likely see in the months and years ahead is a much more active Iran, using diplomacy and other measures to improve its standing vis a vis the US. Americas recent actions would have stoked Irans sense of insecurity. And countries, when they feel insecure, would promptly move to take steps that would bolster their sense of security. Diplomacy with the enemy? One such step could be a dialogue with the enemy. However, in the US-Iran case, given the circumstances, there is hardly any room for diplomacy (at least for now). With the crowd in Tehran still craving for American blood to avenge Soleimanis killing, cosying up to Washington would be haram for the Ayatollah-led theocratic regime, and would probably even have a catastrophic impact on its legitimacy within the country. So diplomacy is, in all probabilities, off the table for the near future. Trump had, in the past year, made public his openness to engaging the Iranian leadership in diplomacy. For now, he can forget it. Better ties with Russia and China A likely step that Iran would take to boost its sense of security is forging closer ties with Americas principal enemies Russia and China. It was only the week before Soleimanis killing that Iran, along with the two powers held their first-ever joint naval exercises. Commenting on the four-day drills that covered 17,000 square kilometers and comprised various tactical exercises, a senior Iranian official said, it is a "signal to the world" that ties between the three countries have reached a meaningful level. As expected the drills annoyed Trump, who took to Twitter to register his protest. Irans ties with Russia and China have been growing steadily over the past few years. If anything, the present crisis would only fuel Tehrans desire for a much closer bond with Beijing and Moscow. A close relationship with Iran could also bring tangible benefits to the other two. For instance, there were reports late last year that Russia had reached an agreement with Iran to use its Bandar-e-Bushehr and Chabahar ports as forward naval bases. According to Simon Watkins, a senior journalist who have sources in the Iranian government, "The next round of joint military exercises in the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Hormuz will mark the onset of (Russias) in-situ military expansion in Iran, as the Russian ships involved will be allowed by Iran to use the facilities in Bandar-e-Bushehr and Chabahar." Though there is no official word from Tehran yet, this could likely be a picture of things to come. China, eager to expand its global military footprint, can also explore similar arrangements with Iran. Make the US allies work in its favour Apart from launching costly trade wars, the one thing that Trump did, which mightily pissed off Americas European allies, is ripping the landmark nuclear deal, despite the International Atomic Energy Agencys certification that Iran was in compliance with it. In the ensuing months, the EU stood steadfast behind Iran. The trans-Atlantic partnership is yet to fully heal from the damage wrought by this unilateral US move. In the present scenario, Iran would look to strengthen its existing bonds with the EU, as well as friendly countries like India and Japan. The days when Iran stood isolated in the international community are long gone. Today, the countries of the world are increasingly engaging with it, and Tehran has gained the goodwill of many of Americas principal allies. For instance, Japan, while sending troops to the Persian Gulf to secure its oil supplies last month, made it a point not to join a coalition led by its ally - the US - for fear of offending Iran. Well, that says a lot about Tehrans growing clout. Future efforts by Washington to isolate Iran are not guaranteed to succeed. Get the dirty bomb? Would the US have killed Soleimani had Iran had nuclear weapons? This is a million-dollar question that nobody is asking. Most likely not. Not because Iran would retaliate with nuclear bombs. But because it would have struck the US much harder with conventional weapons and managed to get away with it. In the absence of nukes, Iran had to content itself, this time, with limited, low-intensity strikes on US bases as retaliation for the killing of its beloved General. Had it had nuclear weapons, it could have carried out a much broader conventional attack, targeting American forces and other assets across the region, without having to worry about US retaliation. The US, mindful that an escalation could lead to a nuclear war, would have avoided targeting Soleimani in the first place. Recent events would have convinced at least a few in the Iranian leadership of the virtues of having the dirty bomb. After all, though dirty, along with it comes the much-needed security. PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI -- Tech giant Google is quietly growing its footprint in Washtenaw County. The company signed a lease for a space at 5690 Hines Drive in Pittsfield Township, a Google spokesperson said in an email. It is unclear what the company plans to do with the space. The property formerly housed a printing facility for The Ann Arbor News and Jackson Citizen Patriot until Nov. 20, 2016. The facility closed when a contract with The New York Times expired and the printing of The Ann Arbor News and Jackson Citizen Patriot was moved to other Michigan facilities. Ann Arbor Offset to close Google in 2017 moved workers into a 135,000-square-foot office space at 2300 Traverwood Drive. It previously housed employees in a downtown Ann Arbor space at the McKinley Towne Centre, at 505 E. Liberty and a site near Briarwood Mall. It originally operated out of a petite office in a space above Vinology on Main Street. The company also opened a 30,000-square-foot office at 52 E. Henry St. inside Detroits Little Caesars Arena in November 2018, moving some employees from Googles Birmingham office. Google has more than 600 employees across the state. The tech giant announced a $17-million investment across the region in June 2019, noting it planned capital improvements and expansions in its offices in Detroit and Ann Arbor. Once the expansions are completed, Google will occupy more than 260,000 square feet of space across Michigan. Multiple messages seeking further details on the new Ann Arbor plans were left with Google representatives. First look inside Googles new Ann Arbor campus Google to invest $17 million in Ann Arbor, Detroit Voters in three southcentral Pennsylvania counties have the opportunity to go to the polls on Tuesday and cast a vote for the person they want representing them in the Pennsylvania Senate. Two mens names will appear on the ballot: Democrat Michael Schroeder and Republican Dave Arnold. The winning candidate will receive a $90,335-a-year post for a term that expires at the end of November 2022. The candidates come from clearly different backgrounds. Schroeder is a 61-year-old college history professor and community/environmental activist. Arnold, 48, is the Lebanon County district attorney and has held that post since 2006. The special election was called following the resignation of former Republican Sen. Mike Folmer, who stepped down last fall after facing a charge of child pornography possession. Here is a sampling of the candidates views on a variety of issues, followed by voting information for the special election: On abortion: Arnold said he believes abortion should not be used as birth control and conceptually supports measures that would place more restrictions on abortion. Schroeder said he favors making abortion more accessible for women. On a retroactive window for child sexual abuse victims to sue: Schroeder said he would support the proposed constitutional amendment creating a two-year window allowing adult victims of child sexual abuse to sue perpetrators, employers and institutions, even if they are beyond the statute of limitations. Arnold is undecided on this issue at this time. On gun control: Arnold said he generally doesnt believe stronger gun control laws are needed, saying Pennsylvania State Police perform some of the best background checks in the entire country. He would, however, consider supporting a red flag law one that would allow firearms to be taken from people at risk of harming themselves or others to ensure public safety, provided its done fairly to the person who is having their firearm potentially taken from them. Schroeder supports instituting a seven- to 10-day waiting period between the time of purchase and receipt of a firearm. He supports red flag laws and favors restrictions on the sale of military assault weapons. On legalizing recreational marijuana: Arnold is 100 percent opposed. Schroeder believes it should be legalized for adult use but regulated and taxed by the state. On expanding school choice: Schroeder said he doesnt support expansion of the charter school movement. He also does not support putting more money in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, which primarily provides companies tax breaks for donations to scholarship organizations, without far greater accountability on how that money is spent. Arnold favors expanding school choice, saying he believes every student should have the opportunity to get the education that works best for them. On school property tax reform: Arnold said he isnt ready to throw his support behind any particular plan to address this issue. But he said the critical aspect in any plan he supports is one that ensures nobody loses their home simply because they cant afford to pay a property tax. Weve got to find a way to make sure were avoiding that. Schroeder agrees that there is a pressing need to address this issue and the overarching solution is to increase the state contribution to K-12 school funding and develop a fairer funding formula. He said its time to reverse the decline in state funding for K-12 education that has taken place over the past 50 years thereby shifting the burden to local municipalities and property owners. Thats not fair. On redistricting reform: Schroeder favors handing this task over to a non-partisan independent commission to draw the congressional and legislative district maps. Arnold believes the job of deciding where congressional and legislative boundary lines are drawn should remain in the hands of legislative leaders. On natural gas severance tax: Arnold said he opposes that idea. There is already substantial taxes on the natural gas industry. Its been a financial boon for our state and for our citizens whove gotten some wages they can sustain their family with on those jobs. Additional taxes would be detrimental to that industry. Schroeder said he would support it only if the revenue it raises goes into a special fund that would compensate victims of the fracking and pipeline build-out, that would provide tax credits for clean energy, and that would provide technical and vocational training to workers who want to transition to clean energy. He said allowing revenue from this tax to go into the states general fund would only serve to tether the state government even more to this oil and gas buildout. On work requirements for public assistance benefits: Schroeder said he would have to look at any legislation that would attach work requirements to public assistance benefits but generally believes some of the ideas that have been proposed would impose an undue burden on those receiving public benefits. Arnold, meanwhile, is all for requiring able-bodied individuals receiving public assistance to work or attend school to get educated to obtain employment. Whats more, he said, Assistance should be a temporary solution for people who come across hard times for whatever reason. Absolutely we need to have public assistance but its not a permanent solution and it never should be for anybody. Affordable prescriptions: Both candidates recognize this as a problem that needs to be addressed. Arnold didnt offer any specific ideas while Schroeder said he would like to see Pennsylvania adopt a law similar to one adopted in Colorado that put a $100 cap on insulin copays among other steps to bring down the cost of prescriptions. On pension benefits: Both candidates said if elected, they would not be opting into the states traditional defined benefit pension plan. Lawmakers can still enter the states traditional pension plan, which is no longer available to most newly hired state government and school employees. Schroeder said he would shun any special treatment given to lawmakers. Arnold said the new pension plans that include at least an element of a 401(k)-style plan that is common in private industry these days should be the only option available. Campaign websites: To learn more about the candidates, you can visit their websites. Arnolds website can be found at arnoldforsenate.com and Schroeders website is at schroeder4senate.com. Who gets to vote: Registered voters who reside in any of the following municipalities are eligible to cast a ballot in this race: All municipalities in Lebanon County; Conewago, Londonderry, Swatara and Lower Swatara townships and Highspire, Middletown, Paxtang, Royalton, and Steelton, in Dauphin County; and Conewago, East Manchester, Newberry and Springettsbury townships and Goldsboro, Lewisberry, Manchester, Mount Wolf, and York Haven in York County. Voters can check whether they live in this district by entering their street address at www.vote411.org, a website run by the League of Women Voters that also provides a voters guide in this and all primary and general elections. When to vote: Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is the only race on the ballot so casting your vote shouldnt take long. Dauphin County voters who are eligible to vote in this election will use the electronic voting machines they are accustomed to using for the last time. County spokeswoman Amy Richards said there are no changes in polling place locations for this election, including the one at Fink Elementary School. School will be in session on Tuesday but security precautions will be in place. In York County, there are two changes in polling place locations. Voters who reside in East Manchester Township, who used to vote at Starview United Church of Christ, will need to go to the Northeastern York School Districts administration building at 41 Harding St., Manchester. Lewisberry Borough voters, who used to vote at the borough park building, should go to the Lewisberry Community Fire Co. at 105 W. Front St. Some of the snafus that arose from the new voting machines that led to long lines in the November election for some York County voters will be addressed in the communities that will be participating in this special election. Two optical scanners will be available to scan ballots at each polling place in the four participating townships and some of the boroughs will have an extra one on hand in the event it is needed, said York County spokesman Mark Walters. In Lebanon County, elections director Michael Anderson said there are no changes in polling place locations and the same voting process used in November will be used for this special election. Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. US President Donald Trump on December 9 unveiled an acronym "NATOME" to describe the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) deployments in the Middle East. Trump called the "NATOME" acronym beautiful. According to reports, Trump came with the "beautiful" name by stating that the word NATO was already there and added a short form for the Middle East i.e. ME, coming up with "NATOME". According to reports, Trump unveiled the acronym while on call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on December 8. The call was in relation to Trump asking other NATO member countries to look more into security in the Middle East. Trump further talked about the newly formulated US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement also known as USMCA, which replaces the former acronym NAFTA. Trump referenced the USMCA to the hit song YMCA by Village People. He said that people forgot about USMCA but thinking of the song made them remember. According to reports, NATO, a group that has largely been dependent on America, might come in place of the US in Iraq or Middle Eat conflict zones. Read: US: Trump Lauds Military Strike On Iran, Congress Passes War Powers Resolution Read: US Representatives Approve Resolution Limiting Trump's Military Action Against Iran Trump calls for an increase in NATO presence in the Middle East Amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States, American President Donald Trump on January 8, sought for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance to increase its presence and involvement in the Middle East. This comes off as an unexpected request as Trump earlier had questioned the relevance of the transatlantic alliance. While addressing his first public comments on Iran's military strikes targeting US troops, he said, Today, I am going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process." He further spoke with the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Earlier last month, Trump had called on the NATO allies regarding the Islamic State group. A North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) official reportedly said that there were no casualties among the troops on its training mission in Iraq when a total of 15 missiles hit the US-Iraqi airbase on January 8. Amid the heightened tensions between the two countries, NATO suspended training of Iraqi forces to ensure the safety of several hundred mission members. According to international media reports, the alliance also announced that it was moving some of its trainers out of Iraq because of heightened tensions following Qassem Soleimani's killing. Read: Trump Gets Approval To Use $3.6 Biilion For Mexico Border Wall Read: Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Force Hit By Airstrikes Near Iraq-Syria Border (With inputs from agencies) The longest ever serving member of the DUP, Jim Wells has said that while the deal proposed by the British and Irish governments to restore the Northern Executive and Assembly does not contain all that his party wants, he sees it as a way forward. Mr Wells told RTE Radios Today with Sean ORourke show that the people of Northern Ireland have no appetite for another election. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 05:47:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday deplored the killing of two Eritrean refugees in the capital Tripoli. "UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply saddened by the deaths of two Eritrean asylum-seekers, who are reported to have been shot inside their accommodation in Tripoli on Thursday, Jan. 9," UNHCR said in a statement. These deaths "are a terrible reminder of the worsening security situation in Libya" since April, which has left many civilians killed or injured, it said. It reiterated call for providing more additional resettlement places to allow safe evacuation of refugees from Libya. Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, wanting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, due to the insecurity and chaos that have plagued Libya since the 2011 uprising that toppled the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign since last April in an attempt to take over Tripoli from the rival UN-backed government. (Natural News) The explosive breakdown of diplomatic relations that occurred between the United States and Iran recently echoes back to what Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, warned about back in 2017 concerning Barack Obamas secret collusion with this enemy state. As Adams warned, Obama, then the outgoing president, had acted as a sleeper cell and an enemy of liberty by pushing a Soviet-style plan of subversion to systematically destroy America. Part of this involved Obama handing over cash to Iran that was more recently used to target American assets throughout the Middle East, which is a form of treason. President Trump, following his recent speech about de-escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, made note of the fact that Obama gave Iran $150 billion as part of the nuclear agreement he signed with that nation while still in office something that Obama himself openly admitted to doing. Consequently, Iran is said to have used that money to foment this recent aggression against its enemies in the region, including American troops based in Iraq. What perhaps never would have been possible, in other words, was made possible with Obamas contributions to Irans military apparatus. Adams explained in his article that Obama worked both internally and externally to take down Americas economy, culture, liberties, and international reputation any time he got the chance. Obama also deliberately aided Americas enemies (like Iran) while stifling allies in the Middle East (like Israel), Adams further revealed. Sponsored solution from the Health Ranger Store: The Big Berkey water filter removes almost 100% of all contaminants using only the power of gravity (no electricity needed, works completely off-grid). Widely consider the ultimate "survival" water filter, the Big Berkey is made of stainless steel and has been laboratory verified for high-efficiency removal of heavy metals by CWC Labs, with tests personally conducted by Mike Adams. Explore more here. While President Trump appears to be trying to undo all of the damage that Obama caused while in office during those eight horrific years, the Iran provocation has shown that theres still a whole lot more to be done on that front if the U.S. is to maintain an upper hand in this perpetual conflict. For more related news about Obamas treason, be sure to check out BarackObama.news. Barack Obama is a domestic terrorist who should be permanently expelled from the country Truth be told, Obama represents pretty much everything that America isnt. He systematically worked to gut this country of not just its industries and wealth but also its values. He also supported our countrys enemies at the expense of our allies, which makes him little more than a domestic terrorist who, based on that phony birth certificate of his, illegally occupied the White House for eight years while secretly undermining our country. In a new CounterThink episode, Adams asks the very pertinent question: Did Obama get away with treason? And the answer to that question appears to be a solid yes. The same goes for failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose Uranium One scandal while Secretary of State contributed gobs of cash to Irans nuclear weapons program which, of course, happened under Obamas watch, and presumably with his approval. So, now we know that Obama is not just this innocent angel, this saint, this Nobel Prize-winning person that he was made out to be by the mainstream media. The same media that, of course, said that Obama was the smartest person in the world, said that he was this beautiful, wonderful human being, says every lie that they can think of about President Trump, Adams explains during the program. You know that theyre dishonest. You know that theyre lying, theyre twisting, and theyre distorting all the time. But they also covered up for Barack Obama, he further adds. Now, if President Trump had allowed, lets say, a U.S. military drone to be captured by an enemy of America, that would be front-page news everywhere. But thats what I believe Barack Obama did, and the mainstream media covered it up. You wont want to miss this powerful episode of CounterThink at Brighteon.com. Sources for this article include: NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com Brighteon.com Concerned over reports of eviction faced by 500 Sikhs from a scheduled tribal block in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday decided to send a fact-finding delegation to ascertain the facts of the matter and ensure that the evacuees are not rendered homeless or otherwise harassed. Amarinder conveyed his decision to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Kamal Nath when he spoke with him on phone to discuss the issue. The delegation, led by Punjab revenue minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar, will include MLAs Kuldeep Vaid and Harminder Singh Gill. They will be accompanied by Deepinder Singh, Patiala divisional commissioner; Capt Karnail Singh, director, land records; and Narinder Singh Sangha; revenue consultant. Amarinder requested Nath to make alternative arrangements for the settlement of the 500 Sikhs. If it was not possible to rehabilitate them in the same area where they had been living for the past two decades, due to tribal land protections and laws, then an alternative land should be provided for their resettlement, he said. Kamal Nath assured Amarinder that his government would do everything possible to ensure that Sikhs get their due and are not subjected to any harassment, a Punjab government spokesperson said. The problem has occurred as a result of the MP governments drive against mafia and encroachments. The MP government says the Sikhs had been illegal occupants of land in the notified tribal block in Karahal tehsil of Sheopur district, but the Sikhs, originally hailing from Punjab and Haryana, have denied charges of illegally occupying the land and say that they had bought the land, including agricultural plots, back in the 90s. Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos presenting Landon Lecture on Feb. 4 Friday, Jan. 10, 2020 Juan Manuel Santos, the former two-term president of Colombia and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize winner, will present a Landon Lecture at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall at Kansas State University. | Download this photo. MANHATTAN A former two-term president of the South American nation of Colombia and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will present the first Landon Lecture of the spring 2020 semester at Kansas State University. Juan Manuel Santos will speak at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. During his tenure as president from 2010-2018, Santos is credited with ushering in a new era of prosperity, peace, equity and education throughout Colombia. His tenacity and determination to achieve peace and reconciliation in his country earned Santos the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, which recognized his efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end. Santos has been twice-named to TIMEs "100 Most Influential People" and received the World Economic Forums Global Statesman Award. "Kansas State University's Landon Lecture series is known for bringing top global leaders to campus," said Linda Cook, chair of the Landon Lecture Series and K-State chief of staff and director of community relations. "As one of the most recognized and influential leaders in the world today, we look forward to the insights and analysis President Santos will share with students, faculty, staff and the public." Santos' lecture is free and members of the university community and public are encouraged to attend. During Santos' presidency, Colombia became the region's leader in economic growth, job creation, reduction of poverty and extreme poverty, sustainable development, and the enhancement of information and communications technology. In addition, his administration reduced the country's housing deficit by half and launched the most ambitious infrastructure plan in Colombia's history. Santos is the author of several books, including "The Third Way," which he wrote with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and "Jaque al Terror" or "Checkmate to Terror," in which he describes how he successfully fought the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC. Before becoming president of Colombia, Santos served in several capacities of the Colombian government, including as foreign trade minister, finance and public credit minister, and national defense minister. One of the most prestigious lecture series offered at a U.S. college or university, the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series was instituted in 1966 by former Kansas State University President James A. McCain. The series is a tribute to Alfred M. Landon, who served as governor of Kansas from 1933-1937 and delivered the first lecture in the series. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Last year, Toyota outsold the other three Japanese automakers in China, and achieved its best-ever China sales as well. Honda also hit an all-time high, while its year-end spurt failed to sustain a positive growth. Nissan said its 2019 sales in China remained flat from 2018. Additionally, after gaining year-on-year increase in November and December, Mazda got its decrease in YTD sales further trimmed. Toyota In 2019, Toyota's China market achieved its highest-ever annual sales with approximately 1.62 million new vehicles delivered there, said Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. Both joint ventures in China boasted year-on-year growth in annual sales. GAC Honda stated its 2019 auto sales jumped 18% to 682,008 units. Notably, its Dec. sales leapt 37% from a year ago to 57,784 units. (Photo source: GAC Toyota) The full-year sales of the eight-generation CamryToyota's first strategic car model specifically designed for Chinahit an all-time high of 185,245 units (+14%). A total of 221,629 Levin cars (+15%) were sold through 2019, of which 20% sales were occupied by the hybrid models. With 59,461 units sold last year, the C-HR, Toyota's first TNGA-based SUV model, featured an outstanding jump of 162%. The annual sales of the YARiS L family and the all-new Highlander reached 115,124 units (+20%) and 98,506 units respectively. Moreover, the automaker also sold 72,267 units of the Camry Hybrid and the Levin Hybrid in total, a year-on-year increase of 8%. Photo source: Toyota China) FAW-Toyota reported a year-on-year increase of 2% with 737,500 new cars sold in 2019. The annual sales of the Avalon totaled 62,329 units, 20% more than the original target. The Corolla, whose entire model series comes standard with level 2 autonomous driving features, had a sales volume of 357,798 units. Moreover, the joint venture also sold 125,977 RAV4s, 52,989 IZOAs and 35,401 Prados. A total of 4,954 Vellfire Hybrids were sold through 2019. The premium brand Lexus closed its 2019 with a new record-breaking figure of 200,521 units, 25% more than that of the year-ago period. Honda Honda delivered 1,554,433 new vehicles in China throughout 2019, hitting an all-time high in terms of annual sales. Compared to its 2018 performance, the company obtained a growth of 8.5% in the world's largest auto market. Two joint ventures in China achieved sales rise. GAC Honda saw its retail sales grow 4.1% year on year to 765,517 units, and Dongfeng Honda's full-year deliveries jumped 13.2% to 788,916 units. (Photo source: Honda) In 2019, there were seven modelsthe Civic, the CR-V, the XR-V, the Accord, the Crider, the Vezel and the Fitwhose respective annual deliveries all surpassed 100,000 units. Nevertheless, in the year-end spurt, Honda failed to maintain the previous prolonged rising momentum. With 142,831 new car delivered in this country, the carmaker was hit by a 25.6% plunge over a year ago in December, the second-time downturn within 2019the former took place in February due to the Chinese New Year Holiday. Retailing 67,305 new vehicles, GAC Honda posted a 20.4% year-on-year drop in December. However, the latest decrease didn't prevent the joint venture from achieving its sales goal735 thousand units, remaining flat from its 2018 deliveries. Dongfeng Honda delivered 75,526 vehicles in December, a steep decline of 29.6% from the year-ago period. The Wuhan-based joint venture closed its 2019 with 800,000 vehicles produced in total. Nissan Nissan's China sales in 2019 basically remained flat over a year ago, outpacing the overall auto market as well. The PV business arm, including Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Venuciasold 1,293,086 new vehicles through December, posting a slight drop of 0.6%. Of that, Dongfeng Nissan, selling 1,170,278 units (covering sales of imported Nissan-branded model), attained its best-ever annual figure. What's more, the light commercial vehicle business unitDongfeng Automobile Co.,Ltd (DFAC) and Zhengzhou Nissansaw its year-to-date sales edge down 1.8% to 213,129 units. Dongfeng Nissan) In December, Nissan said its China sales fall 4.5% from the previous year to 168,262 units, among which 143,616 units (-1.8%) and 19,632 units (-19.6%) were from the PV and CV arms respectively. Last month, the sales contributors were the seventh-generation ALTIMA (12,280 units), the Sylphy series (61,820 units), the TIIDA (6,269 units), the X-TRAIL (19,028 units), the Kicks (4,381 units) and the Terra (1,807 units). Of those, both the Sylphy and the Terra won their best-ever Dec. sales. Mazda Mazda Motor (China) Co., Ltd. said its new car retail sales in December, 2019 reached 24,492 units, of which FAW Mazda and Changan Mazda contributed 10,418 units and 14,074 units respectively. Based on the year-ago figure, the Japanese automaker saw its China deliveries jump 19.2%, the second month in a row achieving year-on-year double-digit growth. Full-year deliveries of Mazda's China market amounted to 227,750 units, falling 16.4% compared with the year of 2018. Photo source: FAW Mazda) Both joint ventures maintained an upward momentum in Dec. sales. FAW Mazda posted a year-on-year increase of 22.5%, and gained growth for three straight months. Retailing 91,416 new cars through 2019, the joint venture still faced a decline of 16.1%. Changan Mazda's deliveries grew 16.9% from the prior-year period in December, but its full-year sales slid 16.5% to 136,334 units. Last month, 10,956 consumers took delivery of the Mazda3 Axela, a surge of 35.4%. Moreover, the deliveries of the Mazda CX-5 edged up 3% over a year ago to 2,990 units, making its 2019 sales total 35,620 units. Cover Story When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia revealed its Vision 2030 (a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation), it was clear that the countrys focus in the coming decades will be on creating the strong ecosystem of professionals who will help achieve this vision. The Middle East market is moving in fast pace towards big projects and big developments, and hence international companies are showing increasing interest towards the Kingdom. Hence, partnering with the locally available search services consultancies, but with a global network is pertinent for companies looking to leverage this growth opportunity. JOBSKEY Search & Selection is the perfect recruitment partner that works on the philosophy to arm organizations with appropriate staff qualified, skilled and... The Duchess of Sussex has flown back to Canada. The 38-year-old former actress and her husband Prince Harry arrived back in the UK earlier this week following a six-week break in Vancouver but following their shock announcement on Wednesday (08.01.20) that the couple plan to step back from royal life, it has now emerged Duchess Meghan only made a brief visit. Meghan boarded a flight on Thursday (09.01.20) to return to Canada, where her and Harry's eight-month-old son, Archie, had stayed with a nanny, and sources told MailOnline she "hadn't planned" on staying in the UK for long. And it has also been reported Harry is planning to return to Canada as soon as possible, though that may not be for at least another week as he has an official engagement scheduled in England on 16 January. News of Meghan's departure came amid Buckingham Palace releasing a new statement, in which it was announced Queen Elizabeth, her son and heir Prince Charles, and her grandson Prince William - Harry's father and brother respectively - are working "together at pace" with the couple to find "workable solutions" to their decision to quit day-to-day royal life and become "financially independent". The new statement read: "The Queen, the Prince Of Wales and Duke of Cambridge have directed their teams to work together at pace with the government and the Sussex household to find workable solutions." Previously, a brief statement issued on behalf of the royal family called out Harry and Meghan's "different approach", fueling claims senior royals were "blindsided" by the couple's announcement. The official statement read: "Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through." When making their announcement, Harry and Meghan confirmed they plan to divide their time between the UK and North America. With rise in Omicron cases, SC to conduct hearings virtually for next two weeks Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC SC describes J&K as Tale of Two Cities: A paradise on earth where blood is shed everyday India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: While delivering the verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the curbs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court quoted from the book 'Tale of Two Cities.' Justice Ramanna heading the Bench quoted the Charles Dickens book to describe Jammu and Kashmir. He termed J&K as a land of contradictions- a paradise on earth where blood has been shed everyday. Security of the state and liberty of citizens have been at loggerheads. The pendulum of preference of the court cannot swing to one extreme, the court said. In its order Jammu and Kashmir administration was directed to review all restrictive orders within a week. All orders are to be put in public domain which can then be challenged in a court of law, the court also said. Review internet suspension in J&K forthwith rules Supreme Court The court also said that all orders of restriction under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure should be published so as to enable affected persons to challenge it. The bench also said that temporary suspension of internet, basic freedom of citizens should not be arbitrary. It should be open to judicial review. The internet suspension should be reviewed the court also said. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week The court said that freedom of internet is a fundamental right under Article 19(1), which deals with free speech. Trade and commerce through internet is protected under Article 19(1) (g), which deals with fundamental right to conduct trade and commerce. The court said that internet services are intrinsic to right to free speech and cannot be suspended without providing reason and duration there of. Certain trade and commerce are completely dependant on the Internet. Such trade and freedom to practise then is a constitutionality protected as fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g). Mere expression of dissent or disagreement against a government decision cannot be a reason for Internet suspension, the Bench headed by Justice N V Ramanna also said. On the use of Section 144, the court said it cannot be used as a tool to oppress difference of opinion. The court also disapproved of the refusal by the administration to produce all relevant documents issued in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Magistrates while passing restrictive orders under Section 144 should apply their minds and have a sense of proportionality between danger to security and liberty of citizens. Repetitive orders without giving reasons and not based on material facts will be violative, the court also observed. Section 144 not a tool to oppress difference of opinion: SC verdict on J&K in 15 points The court also observed that suspension of free movement, Internet and basic freedom cannot be an arbitrary exercise of power. Expressions through the internet and social media has contemporary relevance the Supreme Court also said. The Supreme Court was delivering its verdict on a batch of pleas, including that of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad challenging the restrictions imposed in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) following abrogation of provisions of Article 370. On November 21, the Centre had justified restrictions imposed in J&K after the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and said that due to the preventive steps taken, neither a single life was lost nor a single bullet fired. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 10, 2020, 11:19 [IST] Deepika Padukone's visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, after students and faculty were assaulted by a masked mob, has left the nation divided. The actress took a stance against the violent attack, and protested silently. BJP party members, who seem to view the university and any support for the university as 'anti-national', have somewhat taken a similar stance against Deepika. Kanhaiya Kumar, former president of the JNU Students' Union called out the hypocrisy of people who called for a boycott on Deepika's film Chhapaak. He pointed out how Deepika was hailed as being patriotic when she campaigned for PM Modi back in the day, but became a traitor in the eyes of the people, after visiting JNU. While delivering a speech, Kanhaiya said, "A Hindi cinema actress came to the university but did not raise slogans, did not take Modiji's name, did not take mota bhai's name. She just came and met the injured students. But calls were given to boycott her film.... Deepika Padukone was patriotic when she participated in a campaign for Modiji and became a traitor after coming to JNU." Kanhaiya also said that the offensive stance that the BJP is taking against Deepika when she did not actually make any political statements, but just stood with students who had been attacked, indicates that they were in fact behind the attacks. Deepika was also criticized by many netizens, who viewed her display of solidarity as a promotional stint for her film Chhapaak. 'Boycott Chhapaak' and 'Block Deepika' started trending on Twitter, but incidentally, Deepika's Twitter following witnessed a massive jump by about 40,000 followers, after her JNU visit. ALSO READ: Varun Dhawan Supports Deepika Padukone & Reacts To 'Boycott Chhapaak': These Are Tactics To Scare ALSO READ: Smriti Irani SLAMS Deepika Padukone: She Sided With People Who Hit Girls On Their Private Parts For Artpaces first exhibit of 2020, curator Erin K. Murphy took over the building. That means that the works she selected for Visibilities: Intrepid Women of Artpace arent limited to the Hudson Showroom upstairs. The exhibit spills out into the stairwell, the hall, the conference room, the resource library and the Main Gallery. The idea was to take up as much room as possible for the all-female exhibition. That choice was inspired by art historians Linda Nochlins influential 1971 essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists as well as by a national conversation that is happening in museums right now, Murphy said during a walk-through of the exhibition Thursday morning. She pointed to announcements by the Baltimore Museum of Art and other exhibition spaces of all-female exhibition schedules for 2020, as well as the fact that some museums have decided to deaccession some works with an eye toward diversifying their collections. She was considering all of that, as well as the fact that the exhibit kicks off Artpaces 25th anniversary, when she started working on the show shortly after she came onboard as residency and exhibitions manager about a year ago. On ExpressNews.com: Hidden treasures trace the history of Artpace All 17 artists in the show are connected to Artpace. Most have been residents, but the show also includes Green Peace, an assemblage of a slew of green objects such as slippers, bathmats and toy lizards and frogs created by founder Linda Pace; and Swim Test 1, a graceful lithograph and photogravure created by Janet Flohr, founder of of Hare & Hound Press, the print-making studio that Artpace residents often work with. Swimt Test 1 features an image of a young woman in a swimsuit over a block of text talking about the swim test that East Coast colleges require of students, said to have been inspired by a Harvard student who couldnt swim and who drowned when the Titanic sank. There is more to come. All of Artpaces exhibitions outside of its residency program this year will be devoted to works by women artists. A handful of highlights from Visibilities: Three Eagles Flying: The triptych by 1999 resident Laura Aguilar is one of the late artists best-known works, Murphy said. A photo of Aguilar bare-breasted, with a Mexican flag wrapped around her head, an American flag around her hips and a noose around her neck and binding her hands is in the center. That black-and-white-image is flanked by Mexican and American flags. The powerful piece captured Aguilars search for her place in the world. She was American, I believe her parents came from Mexico, Murphy said. She was always trying to figure out where she fit in everything, being a gay woman and being also a larger person, her body not necessarily fitting the ideal body type. Continent: Jenelle Esparzas piece is a quilt evoking the American flag, with patchwork stripes made from repurposed clothing and the stars replaced by quilt blocks depicting body parts, cash and other imagery. Its really about the resourcefulness of women, said Esparza, who was in residence in 2018. It was kind of inspired by my grandmother shes how I know where I came from. And she came from the era where you didnt really buy underwear, they were usually sewn out of sacks and things like that. All of her clothing was handmade, everything was handmade. Lets Rodeo: The video by Regina Jose Galindo, which was shot during her 2008 residency though it wasnt shown as part of her installation then, depicts the artist astride a mechanical bull resting on a Texas flag. She struggles to stay on the bucking bronc, sometimes being thrown from its back. Artpace Director Riley Robinson sees the piece as an illustration of the organizations mission. I just want to talk about the impact of what Artpace does in providing a space for artists to make experimental work, and how it still resonates over 10 years later, he said. This is one of my favorite artworks that has been made here. I think its really important. And the fact that it resonates today, an artist being bucked off of a bull onto the flag of the state of Texas, I think its really important. On ExpressNews.com: Southwest School of Art show digs into race, other issues Kathy Vargas collages: Vargas, who was in residence in 1997, is represented by seven rectangular collages in which she pairs fabric swatches with price tags indicating marked-down goods. The works are about shopping, she said, and about the human cost of discounted clothing now that so much of that manufacturing is done in countries where the workers are not paid or treated well. I go looking for bargains, and Im always happy to find one, except that my bargains are on the backs of Indonesian women who are not receiving a fair wage, who have horrible working conditions, Vargas said. Whats the solution? We could say, well, we need to boycott certain brands because theyre treating workers badly, but what are you going to say to the mom with a limited income who has to buy cheap clothes at bargain prices every time they start school? Is she going to boycott cheaper brands? So the problem is huge. Visibilities: Intrepid Women of Artpace can be seen through April 26 at Artpace, 445 N. Main St. Info, 210-212-4900; artpace.org . dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN Mr. Kushner declined to comment on his change in focus, but his allies in the White House say he sees no reason to involve himself as extensively in international issues now that the State Department is run by Mr. Pompeo, whom he sees as far more competent than his predecessor, Rex W. Tillerson. They also pointed to the fact that Mr. Trumps national security team now includes many Kushner allies, like Mr. OBrien and Brian H. Hook, the special representative for Iran who has also worked with Mr. Kushner on the peace process. Mr. Kushners status as a member of the presidents family has also made it possible for him to choose the moments and issues where his role is highly visible. He played a critical role in persuading Mr. Trump to support a criminal justice overhaul, which he has also promoted as a way to help Mr. Trump win over African-American voters. But he has never unveiled a peace plan whose delivery date has been delayed indefinitely. And with Israel in its own political limbo, the expectations that Mr. Kushners plan would form the basis of a deal are low. In recent months, Mr. Kushner has been directing the construction of the presidents wall along the southern border, telling associates he has a timetable for getting a portion completed by the election and holding regular meetings with status updates on how much mileage has been built. Mr. Kushners wresting of control over the issue has generated criticism from some administration officials, who said he dives into other peoples policy areas with abandon and little foresight. Last week, he was involved in the Trump campaigns decision to spend $10 million on a 60-second ad that will run during the Super Bowl, an announcement that came out after the campaign of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York signaled it would make the same buy, a person familiar with his role said. But ever since Mr. Trump entered office with his son-in-law at his side, Mr. Kushner has been trailed by questions about what it is that he really does or has accomplished. His portfolios streamlining the governments information technology systems, brokering peace in the Middle East have at times seemed so large that they are meaningless. His floating senior adviser status that functions outside of any formal chain of command has given him a role that seems simultaneously all-powerful and make-believe. His expectations for winning an election, however, are higher. During Mr. Trumps vacation at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida club, Mr. Kushner arranged meetings with campaign officials to discuss messaging. He made a rare appearance at a campaign briefing in December with members of the news media, where the former Democrat declared that he was now a card-carrying Republican. The University of Louisiana Monroe announces the students on the Presidents and Deans List for the Fall 2019 semester. Undergraduate students must be enrolled full-time and complete a minimum of 12 semester hours to be eligible. Presidents List students (denoted with *) earned at least a 3.9 GPA. Students on the Deans List earned at least a 3.5 GPA. I am very proud of the academic excellence of the students on the Presidents and Deans List, said ULM Vice President of Academic Affairs Alberto Ruiz, Ed.D. Reaching and maintaining GPAs of this caliber require personal commitment and sacrifice. I congratulate each of them. Classes for the Spring 2020 semester begin Monday, Jan. 13. UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA MONROE FALL 2019 PRESIDENTS AND DEANS LIST Eligibility for the Presidents and Deans List requires full-time, undergraduate enrollment (minimum of 12 semester hours completed). Graduate students are not eligible. An asterisk (*) indicates the Presidents List. *Presidents List: a student is required to earn at least a 3.9 grade point average. Deans List: a student is required to earn at least a 3.5 grade point average. For errors or omissions to this list, visit www.ulm.edu/omc/academiclists/ to clarify eligibility for the Presidents and Deans List and contact information. P resenter Samira Ahmed has won her sex discrimination equal pay claim against the BBC, a judge at the London Central Employment Tribunal has ruled. Ms Ahmed had argued that her pay for presenting Newswatch should have been equal to Jeremy Vine's pay for presenting Points of View. Employment Judge H Grewal and panel members Mr S Godecharle and Mr P Secher ruled unanimously that the BBC had failed to prove the difference in her pay Mr Vine was "because of a material factor which did not involve subjecting the claimant to sex discrimination". Ms Ahmed was paid 465 per episode of her programme while Mr Vine received 3,000 for his. Journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed / PA Following the ruling, Ms Ahmed said in a statement: "No woman wants to have to take action against their own employer. I love working for the BBC. I'm glad it's been resolved. "I'd like to thank my union the NUJ, especially Michelle Stanistreet the general secretary, my legal team Caroline Underhill of Thompsons Solicitors and my barrister Claire Darwin and everyone - all the men and women who've supported me and the issue of equal pay. I'm now looking forward to continuing to do my job, to report on stories and not being one." The BBC argued the two presenters were not doing similar work. A 40-page judgment said the BBC failed to show there was a difference between the two programmes. After the decision, the BBC said Ms Ahmed "is an excellent journalist and presenter, and we regret that this case ever had to go to tribunal". Samira Ahmed said she was "glad" the case was finally resolved / Jeremy Selwyn The statement continued: "We're committed to equality and equal pay. Where we've found equal pay cases in the past we've put them right. However, for us, this case was never about one person, but the way different types of programmes across the media industry attract different levels of pay. "We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender. Presenters - female as well as male - had always been paid more on Points of View than Newswatch. "We're sorry the tribunal didn't think the BBC provided enough evidence about specific decisions - we weren't able to call people who made decisions as far back as 2008 and have long since left the BBC. "In the past, our pay framework was not transparent and fair enough, and we have made significant changes to address that; we're glad this satisfied the tribunal that there was sufficient evidence to explain her pay now. "We'll need to consider this judgment carefully. We know tribunals are never a pleasant experience for anyone involved. We want to work together with Samira to move on in a positive way." Ms Ahmed received support from a number of public figures / Jeremy Selwyn BBC Radio 4 presenter Jane Garvey wrote on Twitter: "Just brilliant @SamiraAhmedUK - it took real courage and she has it. #equalpay." Labour MP David Lammy commented: "Congrats @SamiraAhmedUK. Equal work deserves equal pay." Ms Ahmed has received support from other public figures including broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, lawyer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. She has been among the female talent at the BBC voicing concerns over pay equality following the outcry over former China editor Carrie Gracie's salary. BOGOTA - Colombias president said Friday that rebels were behind an early morning attack on an air force base that injured an officer. President Ivan Duque blamed the rebel National Liberation Army for explosions set off outside a base in the city of Yopal, saying it showed how the rebels had no interest in peace. The National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym ELN, is one of Colombias last remaining rebel groups. Colombias government broke off peace talks with the rebels a year ago after they bombed a police academy in Bogota, killing 22 people. The group has not commented on Fridays attack. Colombias military said that the attack was staged at around 2 a.m. from a truck used to launch homemade projectiles into the base. Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda might return to Parliament via the Upper House, if the current planning in the party is any indication. In the Lok Sabha elections last year, Gowda who sacrificed his traditional stronghold of Hassan to his grandson Prajwal Revanna, had contested from the Tumkuru Lok Sabha seat. While his grandson won, Gowda lost to GS Basavaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a small margin of 13,000 odd votes, on a seat which saw nearly 1.2 million votes being polled. The BJP swept the parliamentary elections winning 25 of the 28 seats in the state and one more Independent backed by the party also won. The Congress and JD(S) had to be content with a seat apiece. Now, however, four Rajya Sabha seats will become vacant in June this year when MV Rajeev Gowda and BK Hari Prasad of the Congress, Dr Prabhakar Kore of the BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of the JD(S) retire. The current composition of the state assembly is such that in a 225-member house, the BJP has 117, apart from backing of two Independents, Congress 68 and JD(S) has 34 seats, apart from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and a nominated member each. Each candidate would require the support of 44 members of legislative assembly to get elected, which means that the BJP can elect two Rajya Sabha members comfortably and while Congress can easily elect one member, the JD(S) is short of nearly 10 MLAs. But spokesperson of the JD(S), Tanveer Ahmed Ullah, says the national executive of his party has requested the Gowda to contest the polls. Getting the additional votes will not be a challenge. Everybody across the political spectrum respects Deve Gowda ji. He is Ajata Shatru (one without enemies). Karnataka also needs a strong voice at the Centre. His stature and understanding of how the corridors of power work in Delhi, will definitely help Karnataka, Tanveer Ahmed Ullah said. Hitting out at the BJP MPs, Tanveer said inspite of the state sending 25 Lok Sabha members, they had failed to obtain adequate funds for flood relief in the state. Another JD(S) leader, who did not want to be named, said Gowda who will be 87-years-old at the time of polls is himself reluctant to contest but the party and the state needed his voice to be heard in Parliament to protect the interests of Karnataka whether it is in matters of Mahadayi or Cauvery river water disputes. Apart from the outgoing Rajya Sabha members, the Congress itself is said to be considering the names of Mallikarjuna Kharge, KH Muniyappa and Muddda Hanume Gowda for a berth in the Upper House on the lone seat it is assured of winning. A Congress leader said they will cross the bridge when we come to it, when asked whether the party would extend the additional votes for the former PM to make it to the Rajya Sabha. This is too early. Anyway the party high command will take a call on who our candidate will be or what we will do with our additional votes, said the leader who chose to remain anonymous. But it is a fact that unlike his son [HD] Kumaraswamy, Deve Gowda has maintained good relations with our high command and thus we may not be averse to supporting him, the leader quoted above said. Political analyst Manjunath said that after the death of former Union minister H Ananth Kumar of the BJP, the state was missing a strong, powerful voice which is respected by the Centre and Gowdas election could fill the gap. While there are three members from the state in the Union cabinet, they still dont command the same respect Ananth Kumar used to. Gowda being a former PM and with his across party lines network would be an asset for the state in protecting its interests apart from that of his party, Manjunath said. All this if he manages to convince the Congress to back him and gets elected to the RS, which is a clear possibility, he added. For five weeks, French transport workers have been on strike to oppose the government's proposed pension reform. The strike has forced commuters to walk for hours to get to work and cancelled holiday travel plans. Despite their anger and frustration, over half of French people still support the strike, according to surveys. What is it about the pension reform that has people so worried? The political discourse consists in saying that people on strike are protecting their specific schemes, says economist Anne Eydoux, referring to the 42 special pension 'regimes', most in the public sector, that allow some workers to retire earlier than others with higher benefits. But the reform will concern everyone, and will reduce pensions for everyone. France has a public, pay-as-you-go pension system, funded by contributions from employers and employees, which was put in place as part of the broader social security system after the Second World War. It has many parts, and is complex and confusing, but most people are part of it. So any reform impacts most people in France. Eydoux is an economist, and member of the Economistes atterres, a group that says it opposes "neo-liberal" policies, and has been critical of President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan. In her criticisms, she shows what many people in France feel about the reform. Points will not reduce pension inequalities A central part of the pension reform is a shift to a points-based system. The current system calculates pensions based on the 25 best years of someone's career, or the last six months for public service workers (generally their highest paid). The reform would introduce points, translating a career into a number of points, based on hours worked. Points are valued at retirement age, but for now the government has been unclear what the value will actually be. The government says this will be more equitable, taking into account all periods that people have worked. The goal is equal pensions for equal careers, with equal pay, says Eydoux. That looks like equality. But careers and pay are not equal. Listen to an interview with Anne Eydoux in the Spotlight on France podcast: In Eydoux's analysis, the points will exactly reflect pay and career inequalities, and this will penalise people with precarious periods in their careers, and especially women. Women in France earn 20-25 per cent less than men. At retirement age they currently receive 40 per cent lower pensions than men, because they are more likely to have worked part time, and taken time off work to raise children or care for family members. The current reform will take this into account, offer percentage increases to women's pensions for children, for example. But Eydoux warns that the fundamental system will be unfair. As far as gender equality is concerned, the current system only partly decreases gender inequality, so it's not perfect. But a points-based system will not reduce it at all, she says. Spending less, when we should be spending more Another problem with this reform, according to Eydoux and other critics, is that it aims not only to simplify a complex system, but also to save money. France current spends 13.9 per cent of its GDP on pensions, higher than many European countries. This reform aims to maintain the share of GDP dedicated to elderly people, says Eydoux, which is the opposite of what should be happening with a growing aging population. They should, in many cases, provide for an increase in revenue. Aging people will represent a larger share of the population, so it should be normal that they receive a larger share of the GDP, she says. With more people using the same amount of money, pensions will go down, which leads to another concern about the reform: that the government is encouraging people to save for their own retirement, moving away from the pay-as-you-go, social redistributive model to a private investment model. Sceptical of pension funds The reform provides for incentives to use savings, and invest in pension funds, explains Eydoux. Indeed, even the European Union has been encouraging private pension investment. But French people do not trust pension funds, says Eydoux: We have the experience of the 2008 crisis that touched pension funds all over the world. So French people are not very confident in pension funds, except those who are very wealthy and can put together a portfolio that varies risks. With an aging population and a complex system of pension payouts and retirement ages, it's clear that France could use some kind of reform. But Eydoux, echoing other critics, says that this reform is not the way to go. Of course the aging of the population calls for adapting pension rules, she says. I think nobody could say that there is no need for a reform. The tricky part is finding a reform that all can agree on, and Eydoux is sceptical of what will happen when this reform passes: If we give the keys to a neoliberal state we do not know what will happen. This story first appeared in the Spotlight on France podcast. But in the anti-Trump echo chamber, thats not how most people were thinking. Led by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, they avoided the hard, complex problem of how to set boundaries around militias. Instead, they pontificated on the easy question not actually on the table: Should we have a massive invasion of Iran? A great cry went up from the echo chamber. Were on the brink of war! Trump is leading us to more endless wars in the Middle East! Were on the precipice of total chaos! This was not the calibrated language of risk and reward. It was fear-stoking apocalyptic language. By being so overwrought and exaggerated, the echo chamber drowned out any practical conversation about how to stabilize the Middle East so we could have another righteous chorus of Donald Trump is a monster! This is Trumps ultimate victory. Every argument on every topic is now all about him. Hating Trump together has become the ultimate bonding, attention-grabbing and profit-maximization mechanism for those of us in anti-Trump world. So you get a series of exaggerated fervors the Mueller report! Impeachment! The Steele dossier! that lead ultimately nowhere. Most of this weeks argument about the Middle East wasnt really about the Middle East. It was all narcissistically about ourselves! Democrats defend terrorists! Republicans are warmongers! Actual Iranians are just bit players in our imperialistic soap opera, the passive recipients of our greatness or perfidy. The world is more complicated than this cartoon. Love or hate him, Trump has used military force less than any other president since Jimmy Carter. When it comes to foreign policy, he is not like recent Republicans. He is, as my colleague Ross Douthat put it, a Jacksonian figure, wanting to get America out of foreign entanglements while lobbing a few long-distance attacks to ensure the crazy foreigners stick to killing one another and not us. And this is the final paradox. For all the Sturm und Drang that surrounds Trump, populist Republicans and Democrats are gravitating toward the same foreign policy: Were in the middle of a clash of civilizations; the Middle East is so screwed up, we should just get out; were too stupid/ineffective/racist/imperialistic to do any good there anyway. We fight viciously about Trump, but underneath, a populist left-right curtain is descending around America, separating us from the Mideast, China, even Europe. The real high-risk move is the one both parties are making together: that if we ignore the world it will ignore us. (It wont.) Maybe once the Inflammatory One is finally gone from the scene we can have an intelligent conversation about that. 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. Hyderabad: In line with the anticipation of TRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao, the ruling party is faced with high rebels trouble. Denied party tickets, aspirants turned dissidents swung into action and entered the electoral fray for the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) as rebels across the state, even as several aspirants have quit the party altogether. The TRS is facing a major trouble in Mahabu-bnagar district, with more than 50 candidates turning into rebels in the Kollapur and Alampur municipalities. Jupally Krishna Rao, former minister, gave a shock to the ruling party by issuing B forms to 20 of his followers to contest in 20 wards in the Kollapur municipality in Mahabubnagar from the All-India Forward Block party. A former TRS ZPTC member, who is a rival to local TRS MLA Abraham in Alampur municipality, has fielded his followers to 10 wards as independent candidates. In Ieeja municipality, about 20 opponents of MLA Abraham have decided to enter the fray as rebels. Ms Ch Jayasri, a TRS former corporator in the Karimnagar municipal corporation, and Ms V. Jyothi, Karimnagar urban director quit the TRS and joined the BJP after they were denied party tickets. D. Dayakar Reddy, aspirant for the mayor post for Peerzadiguda municipal corporation, has quit party in the morning and joined the Congress in presence of Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy. The Congress MP immediately announced Mr Dayakar Reddy as mayor candidate of Peerzadiguda on behalf of his party. After coming to know that Dayakar Reddy had quit the party, labour minister Ch. Malla Reddy visited his residence to convince him to reverse his decision. TRS leader attempts suicide in Medak After having discussions with the minister, the dissident leader returned to TRS, with an assurance that the B forms would be given to 18 of his followers. Goda Krishna, former corporator of Medak municipality, attempted to commit suicide after being he denied a seat. He tried to set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at the TRS camp office in Medak town. His followers, however, averted the attempt. In the Bandlaguda municipal corporation, Manikonda village TRS president A. Srikanth, who was aspiring to a party ticket to contest as corporator, went underground after he was denied a ticket. Former sarpanch V. Anjaneyulu, who is the TRS party leader of Himayath Sagar village (now Bandlaguda corporation) and former MPTC Ms. Shobha quit the TRS after they were denied the tickets and joined the Congress. In Badangpet, R Santoshsri Srinivas Reddy, former Corporation councillor, resigned and joined the Congress after the TRS denied a ticket to him for Gurramguda village (now in Badangpet). Former sarpanch Jakkidi Jangareddy also quit the TRS to join the BJP. In Nirmal municipality, chairman aspirants from TRS, D Rajender, who won three terms as a councillor, and A Rajender, chairman of agriculture market committee, and Rajender, chairman of district library committee, decided to contest as rebels after the three namesakes were denied tickets for chairperson post by the ruling party. Nirmal town TRS president M Ramu has chosen to contest as a rebel. All rebels are now confirmed to stay in contest after minister A Indrakaran Reddy announced Eashwar as TRS official candidate for the post of chairman of Nirmal municipality. Eashwar had already served as chairman of Nirmal municipality. In Tandur municipality, followers of MLC P Mahender Reddy and MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy filed nominations for 36 municipal wards in the town as both the MLC and MLA fighting hard to getting tickets for their henchmen. US Treasury secretary says fresh sanctions will target eight Iranian officials and companies from different sectors. The United States is imposing additional sanctions on Iran as a result of Tehrans attack on US troops in Iraq this week, according to the US treasury secretary. Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary, and Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, said in a joint news conference on Friday that the new measures would target eight senior Iranian officials involved in destabilising activities in the Middle East, as well as Tuesdays missile attack. Among the senior Iranian officials targeted in the new measures were Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the government. Al Jazeeras Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said there was no official reaction from Iran on the news. Iranians usually dont respond to these kind of sanctions. This is becoming a regular occurrence here. Weve had a plethora of sanctions over the last six months on the countrys supreme leader, foreign minister and now some of the high-ranking officials, she said. She also said none of the people mentioned in the sanctions would really be affected as they had no interests in the US or ever set foot in the country. These are seen more like a political move, she said. A sanctioned commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaie, said on Twitter that the sanctions were symbolic. Imposing sanctions is symbolic for America and for me because this measure will have no economic impact and will not compensate for [Irans] missile barrage [on US targets] and will not bring respect for Washington, Rezaie said. It is symbolic for me And I am proud to be sanctioned by America. Targeting economy Mnuchin said US President Donald Trump would issue an executive order imposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction, manufacturing or mining sectors. Separate sanctions would also be imposed against the steel and iron sectors, he said. As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime, Mnuchin said, adding that waivers would be issued for anyone who would help with the investigation of Wednesdays plane crash that killed 176 people in Iran. He said the sanctions hitting Irans economy would continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons. 200110134829572 Later on Friday, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump for introducing the new measures. Netanyahu said in a statement that the terror regime in Iran oppresses the Iranian people and threatens world peace. Al Jazeeras Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said the new sanctions were seen as a face-saving measure by the US president. She said Trump promised that if Iran struck back against the US after the Soleimani assassination, he would not hesitate to act. But when the strikes came, we did see hesitation on the part of the president, at least militarily, she said. The administration has already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, which has caused significant economic hardship in Iran and cut its oil exports to historic lows. Iran carried out the missile strikes in retaliation for the US drone attack that killed Irans Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. Teagasc National Sheep Conference 2020 The opportunities to improve efficiency of sheep production in Ireland will be outlined at the two Teagasc National Lowland Sheep Conferences in January, which will take place in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney, County Kerry on Tuesday, 28 January, and in the Springhill Court Hotel, Kilkenny on Thursday, 30 January 2020. The conferences start at 6pm, are free to attend, and all sheep farmers are welcome. Farmers are conscious of farming sustainably and one of the key steps to environmental sustainability is the efficient use of nutrients in the production systems. David Wall, a soil science researcher from Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, will present a paper on how sheep farmers can use nutrients to meet grazing and environmental targets on sheep farms. He will outline how using protected Urea can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and how slurry and farmyard manure can be applied to optimise the nutrients for grass growth and minimise emissions. Teagasc sheep geneticist, Noirin McHugh, will outline how the use of improved genetics can boost lamb production on farms in Ireland, through increased litter size and lamb growth rates. She will emphasise the importance and benefits of having data from commercial flocks and how this improves the sheep breeding indexes in Ireland. Stomach and gut worms in sheep have developed resistance to anthelmintics (wormers) on many farms in Ireland and this is now a major challenge not only on these farms but for the wider sheep industry. Teagasc researcher, Orla Keane, will outline sustainable strategies for stomach worm control and steps for farmers to take when selecting and administering wormers to slow the further development of resistance. John OConnell farms near Ballinamore, County Leitrim and is a participant in the Teagasc Better Farm Sheep Programme. He is working to a business plan to develop his sheep enterprise. At the Teagasc sheep conferences John will outline his plan for growing his farm, discussing the challenges he has encountered and the progress made to-date in implementing his plan. The conferences start at 6pm, are free to attend, and all sheep farmers are welcome. The Teagasc Hill Sheep Conference will take place on 19 February in Donegal. Anti-left banners bearing strong slogans surfaced in the streets neighbouring the JNU campus on Friday, with a fringe right-wing group claiming responsibility for mounting them. Students of the JNU said the banners have "vitiated the atmosphere" when the environment is already not very conducive. Vishnu Gupta, president of Hindu Sena, said, "We put up the banners, around the streets near JNU." "Many students sympathise with Naxals and anti-national activities. So in the name of protests over fee hike, they are obstructing of other fellow students," he alleged. A masked mob went on a rampage in JNU on Sunday, attacking students and teachers with shovels and stones. The slogans on the banners played on the oft-repeated cry of the JNU protesters -- 'Hume Chahiye Azadi...' and read -- 'Desh ke dushmano se Azadi, Maoists, terrorists se Azadi', among others. The JNU students' union has been demanding a rollback of hostel and mess fee hike, and has boycotted registration for the next semester. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kohima/Aizawl/Agartala, Jan 10 : Three Parliamentarians from the northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura are facing a strong local backlash for supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). While the Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland K. G. Kenye was suspended by his party Nagaland People's Front (NPF), the lone Lok Sabha member from Mizoram C. Lalrosanga has been facing strong protests by the local parties. Terrorist outfit National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) threatened to take action against the ruling BJP's Lok Sabha member Rebati Tripura for supporting the CAA. In Nagaland, the NPF, the main opposition party, on Wednesday suspended its Rajya Sabha member K. G. Kenye from the party for "anti-party" activity for voting in favour of the CAA. Kenye, however, said that he voted in favour of the amendment bill as it exempted Nagaland because the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regulation has been in force in the state. Last month, Kenye had quit as Secretary General of the NPF but had not quit the party. In Mizoram, various local parties specially the state's apex students' organisation, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), have been protesting against Lok Sabha member C. Lalrosanga who belongs to the ruling Mizo National Front. Lalrosanga, a former Director of Doordarshan, told IANS that he had voted for the CAA as per the decision of the party. On Tuesday a large number of MZP activists staged a demonstration at ALengpui airport and showed black flags to Lalrosanga as he arrived at the airport from Delhi. The opposition Congress, demanding Lalrosanga's resignation, called him a "traitor" for voting in support of the CAA. Mizoram Chief Minister and President of the ruling MNF, Zoramthanga had said that Lalrosanga had voted in favour of the bill in Parliament at the behest of the party as the union government had fulfilled the people's demand to exempt Mizoram from the purview of the amended act. In Tripura, the outlawed NLFT recently issued a threat letter to ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Rebati Tripura, who won from the Tripura East parliamentary constituency, reserved for the tribals. Rebati Tripura, a teacher-turned-politician said : "For the all round development of the tribals and the state he would be active both inside and outside Parliament." North Tripura district police chief Bhanupada Chakraborty told IANS that following the threat letter to important personalities, forcible collection of money from the villagers and acting on an intelligence input, the police arrested three militants -- Phanijoy Reang, Samprai Debbarma and Kanti Marak, from Panisagar and Dharmanagar railway stations. After violent protests in the northeastern states from local and regional parties including the BJP's allies -- Meghalaya's ruling National People's Party (NPP) and Mizoram's ruling MNF -- the central government also exempted the Tribal Autonomous District Council (TADC)-governed areas besides the ILP administered areas from the ambit of the CAA. Meanwhile, the ruling BJP's ally in Tripura, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), continued its indefinite sit-in for the fifth day on Friday. Braving the cold weather, several hundred activists including women led by the leaders of the IPFT, continued their demonstration in Khumulwng for keeping the state out of the purview of the CAA and for the creation of a separate state for the tribals. Other tribal parties, including the Joint Movement Against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (JMACAB), a conglomeration of many tribal parties which had called off their agitation against the CAA on December 11 after a meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, resumed the agitation from Tuesday. The JMACAB, led by the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), one of the oldest tribal-based parties in the state, demanded the exclusion of Tripura from the ambit of the CAA. Ddsjs.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 12 Jan 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 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A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND An Army naik and two others have been arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs and weapons from across the Indo-Pak boarder using GPS-fitted drones in collusion with their Pakistani accomplices, Punjab Police said on Friday. Punjab police chief Dinakar Gupta said they seized two Chinese-made drones, 12 drone batteries, some custom-made drone containers, an INSAS rifle magazine and two walkie-talkie sets, besides Rs 6.22 lakh in cash from them. The cash is suspected to be the sale proceed of the smuggled drugs, he said, adding that no drug, however, has been recovered from them as yet. He said three persons including an Army naik, Rahul Chauhan, were arrested, said Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta. Now we have come across a module in which three people were arrested and where they were launching drones from India to across the border (Pakistan) and they were to bring back drugs payloads, Gupta said adding they suspected both drugs and small weapons like pistols came from the other side of the border. Detailing about the two drones seized from smugglers, Gupta said the first drone, a Quadcopter was recovered from an abandoned government dispensary in Modhe village in Amritsar (Rural). The second one, a Hexacopter, was recovered from the house of a friend of arrested Army Naik Rahul Chauhan in Karnal in Haryana on his disclosures, DGP Gupta said. The seized drones were GPS-fitted, he said, adding it was discovered that such drones were being used to drop weapons, hand grenades, satellite phones and fake currency notes in India. Detailing Army Naik Rahul Chauhan's role in the novel modus operandi of smuggling drugs and weapons using drones, the DGP said he was involved in not only procuring and supplying drones but also training the cross-border smugglers how to use them. Police said Rahul, an Ambala cantonment resident, did not only procure drones but even operated its to-and-fro sorties across the border for smuggling consignments of heroin and weapons from Pakistan. The two other accused were identified as Dharminder Singh of Dhanoa Khurd village in Amritsar and Balkar Singh of Sara Amanat Khan in Amritsar. While Dharminder was arrested from village Hardo Rattan, about 3 km from the Indo-Pak border, Balkar, who was lodged in Amritsar jail in a drug case, was into smuggling drugs and weapons through drones, along with his accomplices, said police. The police secured his custody on production warrant on Thursday for his custodial interrogation in the case. The arrests and seizures were made nearly four months after the emergence of the novel modus operandi of smuggling weapons and drugs from Pakistan, after the discovery of two crash-landed drones in a boarder village in Amritsar district and other in a Karnal village in Haryana September and August 2019 respectively. One of the drones, recovered from a paddy field in Mohawa village of Amritsar district in September was found to be a 'hexacopter drone of Chinese make, powered by six electric motors with 25 kgs of weight and payload capacity of 21 kg, enough to carry weapons and bulky consignments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History By Kassia St. Clair Liveright. 351 pp. $23.95 --- Most of us don't expend much mental energy thinking about fabric, beyond appreciating the cool touch of soft cotton when our heads touch the pillow at night, or worrying if our bag of donated clothes is destined for a landfill. But reading journalist Kassia St. Clair's "The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History," it's likely you'll never look at cloth the same way again. "The Golden Thread" offers an eclectic take on how humans have developed fabric, from the first known flax fibers found in a cave in Georgia, spun from the insides of plants and dating at around 32,000 years ago, to the spacesuits made from synthetic materials created in the past 100 years. "Clothing," St. Clair notes, "would have been one of a suite of skills - including the ability to make shelter and fire - that humans would have needed to thrive in diverse regions." However, because cloth is harder to preserve, archaeologists have paid less attention to its significance in ancient cultures than to other, less perishable objects such as bronze or iron. Explorers studying Egyptian mummies, for example, hurriedly sliced away the outer wrappings to get to the bodies and treasures inside. "This is unfortunate," St. Clair writes, because for the ancient Egyptians, "linen was imbued with powerful, even magical, meaning: linen was what made mummies sacred." Throughout history, the task of cloth production has frequently fallen to women, who supplemented household incomes or paid taxes through their labor. Women cared for silkworms in China, probably created the Bayeux Tapestry in 11th-century England and today toil by the millions in the garment factories of Bangladesh. St. Clair suggests that because it's women's work, the creation of textiles has been devalued, even though cloth is essential to human survival and progress. Sails, for example, whose early development has been traced to sites in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar in the sixth millennia BC, allowed the Vikings to travel long distances. "While it has been estimated that it would take two skilled shipwrights a fortnight to make a longboat," St. Clair writes, "creating a sail would take two equally skilled women a full year or more, depending on the size required." Technological innovations led to remarkable advances in the scale and quality of fabrics. Insufficiently dressed explorers, whether attempting to summit Mount Everest or explore outer space, can die in extreme temperatures or expend precious energy on movement when clad in cumbersome protective gear. Both natural down insulation and synthetic fabrics such as Gore-Tex, "made from a layer of finely stretched Teflon ... bonded to nylon or polyester," have made climbing Mount Everest possible. In the case of space exploration, the Omega suit developed for the first moonwalk was produced in a Playtex factory and was "comprised of some four thousand pieces of fabric and twenty-one distinct layers of material," including Teflon-coated silica cloth, different types of polyester, heat-resistant fibers and woven stainless steel. Astronaut Michael Collins paid homage to the Playtex workers, noting in his memoir that it was "little old ladies hunched over their glue pots in Worcester, Mass.," who by their exacting labor kept him alive in space; their work prevented his oxygen from escaping from his suit while he was flying the Apollo 11 mission. In its exploration of contemporary textile history, "The Golden Thread" sometimes jumps from one seemingly disparate topic to another, such as from slavery to Everest mountaineering, or from the synthetic swimsuits that led to outcries of "technological doping" to the potential for spiders' webs to become the new silk. Yet each subject offers a fascinating look at the challenges that fabrics aim to overcome, as well as the often-devastating environmental and human effects involved in their production. For example, rayon, although derived from natural wood pulp, requires the harvesting of 120 million trees a year, and it must be processed with harsh chemicals, which can eat through the flesh of workers and in some cases cause lifelong psychosis, disability and even death. St. Clair is frank about how humans have been exploited in the service of textiles, particularly from the Industrial Revolution onward. The trans-Atlantic slave trade increased dramatically in response to the introduction of the cotton gin, which allowed seeds to be extracted from cotton mechanically. As a result, in South Carolina, cotton exports from 1790 to 1800 went from less than 10,000 pounds to 6.4 million pounds per year. To perform the additional labor, more slaves were trafficked into the region, such that by 1860, 3.2 million people in the American South were enslaved. While this may be a familiar story, St. Clair also discusses how slaves used clothing to distinguish themselves "in a cycle of consumption and display parallel to that of white Americans." And perhaps even fewer of us know that the United States is still the world's third-largest producer of cotton, some of which is harvested by prison inmates. Although St. Clair does explore the history of cloth in ancient Egypt and China, the book largely focuses on the development of fabrics in England and America, with wool yielding to cotton and then synthetics in importance. Absent are discussions of the textiles of Africa and Native and Latin America, which have been dated back thousands of years and have deep cultural and historical significance as well. Nonetheless, "The Golden Thread" spins a rich social history of textiles that also reflects the darker side of technology and the development of capitalism. Fabric may have allowed the human species to thrive and conquer the globe, but as with other technologies that suck up finite resources and are often produced in inhumane contexts, it may also be part of our unraveling. --- Newcomb is an anthropologist and the Diane and Michael Maher distinguished professor of teaching and learning at Rollins College. She is the author of "Everyday Life in Global Morocco." Susan Rice was a little less ubiquitous this time around than during her infamous five-talk-show world tour repeating the lie that the Benghazi terrorist attack was the fault of an inflammatory video and not due to the criminal negligence of President Barack Hussein Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. But there she was again on MSNBCs Rachel Maddow Comedy Hour defending her former boss, this time against charges that President Trump cleaned up more of Obamas Iran mess by terminating the life and reign of terror of Iranian Gen. and Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani: The Obama administration wasnt presented with the opportunity to take out Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad early Friday, former national security adviser Susan Rice said Friday night. Had we been presented such an opportunity, what we would have done is weigh very carefully and very deliberately the risks versus the potential rewards, Rice told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Rice questioned whether Trump made the right decision. So, if in fact the administration can be believed that there was indeed strong intelligence of an imminent threat against the United States thats being carried out by Soleimani and related militia then the question becomes [was] there more than one way to address that threat? she told Maddow. Was the only way to deal with it to kill Soleimani? Certainly, given his history and track record, he deserves his just rewards but the question is does that serve our interests? Does that make us more secure? Uh, yes it does, Susan. The Trump administration is certainly more believable than you and the Obama administration was in explaining why four Americans were abandoned to die in Benghazi, including Amb. Christopher Stevens. Because Trump killed Soleimani, the American embassy did not turn into another Obama-Clinton-Rice Benghazi tragedy. The reward is that Soleimani can no longer ply his murderous trade and the families of the 600-plus Americans killed by his explosively-formed-penetrators can take some solace in his occupation of a special place in Hell. Those maimed by this butcher can take heart in that not enough pieces of him were found to have an open casket. And what were the risks? That those shouting Death to America! might try to kill us? According to a 2018 report in the Daily Beast, Obama launched 186 drone strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan during just his first two years in office. If he wanted to, he could have found and killed him. He killed Osama bin Laden, and took credit for it, even though the legwork was done by the preceding Bush administration. Osama bin Laden was killed while Obama was president, not because he was president Obama didnt want to kill Soleimani. He wanted the nuclear deal sellout with Iran, and killing Irans Quds Force commanding general would not have advance the deal. Better for Obama to release $150 billion to the Iranians and fly in some $1.8 billion in cash and drop it on an Iranian tarmac in the middle of the night. Quid pro quo, anyone? Obama not only didnt pursue Soleimani as a matter of policy, he provided Soleimani and Iran with a terrorist-and-weapons slush fund to play with. The Obama administration actually killed a chance to get Soleimani in a move unbelievably callous and self-serving. As TownHall reports: According to a January 2018 report from the Israel newspaper Haaretz, leaders in Israel were prepared to kill Soleimani back in 2015 but the Obama administration put an end to the plan. Just as Israel was "on the verge" of killing Soleimani, the Obama administration alerted Iranian officials about Israel's plans and their close tracking of the military leader. It really isn't that surprising to learn that the Obama administration intervened to keep Soleimani alive. President Barack Obama never stood by Israel even though the country is considered the United States' greatest ally in the Middle East. Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media noted an important tidbit about the revelation: "Yet the news that the Obama's administration prevented Israel from assassinating the Quds Force leader seems particularly significant, since the Obama administration also kept a list of approximately 500 American soldiers who were murdered by Iranian IEDs. Since the Quds Force spearheads Iran's operations outside the Islamic Republic, Soleimani would arguably be responsible for all of those deaths." And Obama didnt care and neither did a Susan Rice fresh from covering up the administrations criminal negligence at Benghazi. Sometimes it pays to read the fine print. They wanted Soleimani to live long and prosper for that was a price that had to be paid to get the Iran nuclear deal: Former President Barack Obama granted amnesty to Iranian terrorist Gen. Qassem Soleimani as part of the "historic" 2015 Iran Deal. The Obama Administration removed Soleimani from a list of Iranian outlaws, along with other leaders of Irans Revolutionary Guards, according to a 2015 article in The Telegraph. Found buried on page 86 of the annex of President Obamas historic deal with Iran, Soleimani was granted amnesty and was taken off the list of proscribed Iranians -- together with a number of senior members of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards. In addition to giving in to the Iranian regime with the agreement granted in 2015, Obama continued to help it, trying to gain access to the United States financial system, thus circumventing the continuing sanctions on the country. According to a June 7, 2018 report by the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), "Obama administration secretly granted a specific license authorizing the conversion of Iranian assets worth billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system." the transactions did not take place because the U.S. banks refused to complete the requests, preferring to respect the law. Well, at least someone did. Barack Hussein Obama had the opportunity, if he wanted to, to kill Soleimani. Instead, he protected Soleimani and sought to provide him and Iran the means and opportunity to kill Americans and make Death to America a chilling reality. Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investors Business Daily and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications. US, British and Canadian officials say Iran accidentally shot down flight PS752, but Tehran denies missile attack theory Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752, bound for Kyiv, crashed minutes after takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday. All 176 people on board the Boeing 737-800 aircraft were killed. Most passengers were dual national Iranian Canadians, but they also included Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes. The crash came amid increased tensions between the United States and Iran shortly after Tehran launched a retaliatory missile attack against US forces in Iraq. Here are answers to five main questions: What happened? The Ukrainian airliner took off at 6:12am and was given permission to climb to 26,000 feet (7,925 metres), Irans report said. It crashed six minutes later near the town of Sabashahr in Tehran Province. There was no radio communication from the pilot and the aircraft disappeared from radar at 8,000 feet (2,440 metres), the report said. Bodies and body parts recovered from the site of the crash were taken to the coroners office for identification, it said. Just after the crash, the Ukrainian embassy in Iran blamed technical failure, but then retracted the claim. On Thursday, US, British and Canadian officials said intelligence sources indicated Iran shot down the plane, perhaps unintentionally, but this has been denied by Tehran. A US official, citing satellite data, said the evidence showed the plane airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. There was an explosion in the vicinity and heat data showed the plane on fire as it fell. Is there any evidence that the plane was hit? The New York Times said it had obtained a video appearing to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran airport. But Irans aviation authority chief, Ali Abedzadeh, said the missile theory could not be scientifically correct because it was not possible for an airliner to be hit and continue flying for 60 to 70 seconds. And the debris collected has been in a very limited area. If there was an explosion in the wings it should have been much more scattered, Abedzadeh said. The airliner went down in the dark just minutes after takeoff, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian aviation authorities. The pilot did not call the tower because he must have been trying to save the airplane before anything else, Abedzadeh said. What has happened in the aftermath? Iranian authorities have given Ukrainian investigators access to the fragments of the plane that crashed earlier this week and they were examined late on Thursday, according to a statement by the Ukrainian presidents office. The French air accident investigation authority said it has been invited by Iran to join the probe. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was making arrangements to tour the site after an Iranian invitation. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it had designated a representative to join the probe. Boeing said it would support the NTSB. How has the international community responded? Germanys Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines suspended flights to Tehran until January 20. French airline KLM Air France suspended flights over Iraqi and Iranian airspace. Norwegian Air Shuttle said it is rerouting Dubai flights as a precautionary measure and due to the uncertain situation in Iran. Vietnam Airlines has rerouted flights while Taiwans largest carrier China Airlines will not fly over Iran or Iraq. Malaysia Airlines, which does not fly over Iraqi airspace, and Singapore Airlines said it would avoid Iranian airspace. Australias Qantas Airways adjusted routes to avoid both countries airspace, adding up to 50 minutes to Perth-London flights and requiring it to reduce passenger numbers to carry the necessary fuel. Transport Canada said Air Canada was altering its routes. Alitalia, which has not had flights to Iran since December 2018, says its flights to New Delhi and the Maldives are using alternate routes to those which usually fly over Iran and Iraq. The United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority said: The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) calls national air operators to evaluate flightpath risks that may affect aviation operations, the GCAA continues to monitor and assess regional developments, and will take all necessary and appropriate measures promptly. Earlier this week, Russias aviation authority also advised its air carriers to avoid flights in the airspace of Iraq, Iran, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. What is expected to happen now? The head of Irans investigation team, Hassan Rezaeifar, told state television that Tehran would use expert help from Russia, Ukraine, France and Canada if we cannot recover data from the planes recorders. Rezaeifar said on Friday that recovering the data could take more than one month and the entire investigation into the crash could take more than one year. Hundreds of damning internal emails have revealed that Boeing employees knew about problems with the now-grounded 737 Max and even mocked the Federal Aviation Administration when they appeared to get away with covering those issues up. Boeing released the trove of internal messages on Thursday that raise serious questions about its development of simulators and the 737 MAX that was grounded in March after two fatal crashes. In the messages, which were handed over to Congress and the FAA, Boeing employees talked about misleading regulators about problems with the simulators. 'I still haven't been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year,' one employee says in a 2018 message. One employee also told a colleague they wouldn't let their family ride on a 737 Max. Boeing released the trove internal messages on Thursday that raise serious questions about its development of simulators and the 737 MAX that was grounded in March after two fatal crashes 'Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn't,' one employee said to another colleague. The colleague responded: 'No.' In an April 2017 exchange of instant messages, two employees expressed complaints about the MAX following references to issues with the plane's flight management computer. 'This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys,' one employee wrote. In one message dated November 2015, which appears to shed light on lobbying methods used when facing demands from regulators, a Boeing employee notes regulators were likely to want simulator training for a particular type of cockpit alert. 'We are going to push back very hard on this and will likely need support at the highest levels when it comes time for the final negotiation,' the employee writes. In the messages, employees also complained about Boeing's senior management, the company's selection of low-cost suppliers and wasting money. Names of the employees who wrote the emails and text messages were redacted. Boeing, who went into damage control, said it was considering disciplinary action against some employees over the message exchanges. The Max has been grounded worldwide since March, after two crashes that killed 346 people. Pictured above is the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March last year. Boeing is still working to update software and other systems on the plane to convince regulators to let it fly again 'Some of these communications relate to the development and qualification of Boeing's MAX simulators in 2017 and 2018. These communications contain provocative language, and, in certain instances, raise questions about Boeing's interactions with the FAA in connection with the simulator qualification process,' a statement from the company said. 'Having carefully reviewed the issue, we are confident that all of Boeing's MAX simulators are functioning effectively. The qualification activities referenced in these communications occurred early in the service life of these simulators. Since that time, both internal and external subject matter experts have repeatedly tested and qualified the simulators at issue. 'These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable. That said, we remain confident in the regulatory process for qualifying these simulators.' The Max has been grounded worldwide since March, after two crashes that killed 346 people. Boeing is still working to update software and other systems on the plane to convince regulators to let it fly again. The work has taken much longer than Boeing expected. An FAA spokesman said the agency found no new safety risks that have not already been identified as part of the FAA's review of changes that Boeing is making to the plane. Boeing is still working to update software and other systems on the plane to convince regulators to let it fly again. The work has taken much longer than Boeing expected The spokesman, Lynn Lunsford, said the simulator mentioned in the documents has been checked three times in the last six months. 'Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed,' he said in a statement. A lawmaker leading one of the congressional investigations into Boeing called them 'incredibly damning.' 'They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally,' said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation Committee. DeFazio said the documents detail 'some of the earliest and most fundamental errors in the decisions that went into the fatally flawed aircraft.' DeFazio and other critics have accused the company of putting profit over safety. The grounding of the Max will cost the company billions in compensation to families of passengers killed in the crashes and airlines that canceled thousands of flights. Last month, the company ousted its CEO and decided to temporarily halt production of the plane in mid-January, a decision that is rippling out through its supplier network. Lunar Eclipse 2021: Is it auspicious to watch one? Why does the Moon turn red during a lunar eclipse? Explained Is this the longest lunar eclipse of the century? What else can I see today? In pics: Amazing images of the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years Chandra Grahan 2020: Myths, Dos and Don'ts for today's lunar eclipse in India India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Jan 10: Lunar eclipse 2020 is set to take place today and skywatchers will be able to witness the phenomenon from all parts of India. The eclipse will begin at 10.37 pm on January 10 and will end around 2.42 am on January 11. It will be visible from different countries in Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. Scientists have encouraged people to enjoy the beautiful sight. They have appealed to people to shun superstitious beliefs and witness a spellbinding celestial occurrence. Chandra Grahan 2020: Why the Lunar Eclipse on January 10 is called 'Wolf Moon Eclipse' However, existing superstitions and myths among the people in India keep them from witnessing one of the most beautiful phenomena of the universe. Eclipse myth in India In India, there are various myths and superstitions related to eclipses, whether it is solar or lunar. According to the Indian version of a lunar eclipse, a demon named Rahu eats up the moon during an eclipse. Chandra Grahan 2020: Do's and don'ts Lunar Eclipse on January 10: Check India Time, When and Where to Watch Indians consider lunar eclipse as inauspicious and refrain from eating or cooking during the eclipse. Pregnant women need to be extra cautious Pregnant ladies should not see the Eclipse at all. It is believed that the Negative energies released during the eclipse can cause severe problems to the eyes, skin and hormones. Usually, food prepared before the eclipse must not be consumed during or after the Eclipse. During the eclipse, it is believed that negative or harmful rays are circulated in the environment. Hence advised to remain indoors and avoid looking directly at the eclipse. These rays also get absorbed in the food. The cooked food should be eaten before the eclipse. One should avoid eating and drinking during the eclipse phase too. In households, people add Tulsi (Basil leaves) to keep drinking water pure. People should also refrain from sleeping during this period. It is believed that during pregnancy when a pregnant woman watches a lunar eclipse, the baby will have a cleft lip. HOUSTON and MONTREAL, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transwestern Commercial Services and Devencore today released the results of their 2020 Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Survey, summarizing the firms outlook for U.S. and Canadian real estate markets. Brokers and analysts across 43 North American offices shared insight on the office/medical office and industrial sectors. While political turmoil, upcoming elections and an elevated construction pipeline in select regions do raise some concerns, cautious expansion is expected in U.S. commercial real estate markets, said Elizabeth Norton, Managing Research Director for Transwestern. Tight conditions and healthy expectations for e-commerce activity continue to drive industrial, while medical office is helping to bolster the office sector, which nears flatter conditions. The U.S. index averaged 106.9 for 2020 office market conditions, signaling expansion above the 100 neutral zone, but still down from 111.2 in the 2019 outlook. A little more than half of the respondents believe that office asking rents will be slightly to significantly higher in 2020, elevated by new construction deliveries. Leasing velocity and tenant prospects are expected to be flat in 2020, as tenants now require more time to finalize decision processes. Tenant densification also factors into slow growth expectations. Contrastingly, medical office will handsomely outperform in 2020, with the U.S. forecast index averaging 134.2, well above 100 which is considered flat conditions. Leasing activity, tenant walk throughs, asking rents and development in the medical office sector are all expected to be higher in 2020. Respondents did note some consternation around growing costs to build out medical space, as well as healthcare regulations, which could impact how medical office is utilized. The U.S. index averaged 116.2 for 2020 industrial market conditions, down slightly from 122.1 last year. Slight deceleration in leasing velocity and tenant walk throughs is due to some markets having limited availability of new product, which is exacerbated by rising construction prices and lack of available land to build. Half of respondents expect asking rents to rise, with most expecting development levels to remain flat to slightly higher. Similar to the U.S., Canadian commercial real estate markets also are expected to perform well in 2020, with mild concerns stemming from political and trade impacts as well as rising construction costs, said Jean Laurin, President and CEO of Devencore. Our economy is healthy and job growth is steady. With the exception of certain regions, major Canadian provinces like Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec all show robust conditions. For the Canadian office sector, just over half of respondents predict leasing velocity and tenant prospects will pick up during 2020, with 86% expecting stronger rent growth over the year, especially in industries such as tech and the service sector. In tighter markets, large blocks are sparse, rents are up and incentives are coming down all signs that will trigger new development. Tenant densification is expected to continue in 2020 but at a slightly decelerating pace compared to 2019. Approximately 56% of respondents expect development levels to be higher in 2020, and Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia state scarce quality space availability. Alberta, on the other hand, faces concerns about high vacancy rates due to deteriorating market conditions. Within the industrial sector, there is a sharp divide between regions. In Quebec and Ontario, a scarcity of available space is forcing tenants to renew, while in Alberta, the market is experiencing a flight to quality as tenants take advantage of lower rates amidst available space. Market concerns stem from the current political environment, especially surrounding the energy sector. Despite this, 64% of respondents expect overall industrial asking rents to rise due to limited availability in select markets. Land costs are also expected to rise as the availability of prime sites continues to decrease. In this environment, the attraction for industrial investment by the capital markets remains high. Download the full report here: https://devencore.com/market-information-detail/2020-Commercial-Real-Estate-Market-Sentiment-Survey ABOUT TRANSWESTERN COMMERCIAL SERVICES Transwestern Commercial Services (TCS) is a privately held real estate firm of collaborative entrepreneurs who deliver a higher level of personalized service and innovative client solutions. Applying a consultative approach to Agency Leasing, Asset Services, Occupier Solutions, Capital Markets and Research, our fully integrated global organization adds value for investors, owners and occupiers of all commercial property types. We leverage market insight and operational expertise from across the Transwestern enterprise, which includes firms specializing in development and real estate investment management. TCS has 34 U.S. offices and assists clients from more than 200 offices in 37 countries through strategic alliances with France-based BNP Paribas Real Estate and Canada-based Devencore. Experience Extraordinary at transwestern.com and @Transwestern. ABOUT DEVENCORE Founded in 1972, Devencore is one of the largest privately held corporate real estate brokerages and advisory firms in Canada. We offer comprehensive services that are specifically designed to ensure that all real estate decisions are supported by effective real estate strategies and professional execution. Devencore has offices in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, as well as affiliated offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton, Halifax, Quebec City and Victoria. We assist clients with their U.S. real estate needs through a strategic alliance with US-based Transwestern. Media Contact (Canada): Devencore Pascal Easton 514.392.9389 peaston@devencore.com DUBAIIran said on Friday it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner that crashed, killing all 176 people aboard, after Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Iran, which has denied the Boeing 737-800 was downed by a missile, said it could take one or two months to extract information from the voice and flight data recorders. It said it could ask Russia, Canada, France or Ukraine if it needed help. Tehran also said the probe might take one or two years. Ukraine said it could not rule out a missile strike but had not confirmed this. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed on Wednesday, when Iran was on alert for a U.S. military response hours after firing missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq. The incident adds to international pressure on Iran, after months of tension with the United States and then tit-for-tat military strikes. Washington killed an Iranian general last week in a drone attack in Iraq, prompting Tehrans missile launches. On social media, many Iranians voiced anger at the authorities for not closing the airport after Irans missile launches. Many passengers were Iranians with dual nationality. We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we cant do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans Civil Aviation Organisation, told a news conference in Tehran. State television earlier showed the battered black boxes, saying their information could be downloaded and analyzed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing intelligence from Canada and other sources, has blamed an Iranian missile for bringing down the plane that had 63 Canadians on board, although he said it may well have been unintentional. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, he said. Ukraines general prosecutor asked Canada to provide information available to the Canadian side that may facilitate criminal investigations into the crash. Error Frances BEA air accident agency said on it would be involved in the investigation into the Ukrainian crash. BEA helped analyze data from the flight recorder of a Boeing that crashed in Ethiopia last year. It is important that as much clarity as possible is made and as quickly as possible, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. A U.S. official, citing satellite data, said Washington had concluded with a high degree of certainty that anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane in error. The official said the data showed the plane airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. There was an explosion in the vicinity and heat data showed the plane on fire as it fell. U.S. military satellites detect infrared emissions from heat. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he believed somebody could have made a mistake. A defense expert said the planes radar signature would have been similar to a U.S. military transport plane. The New York Times said it had obtained a video appearing to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran airport. Iran denied the airliner had been hit by a missile, saying such reports were psychological warfare against Iran. All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said. Irans Foreign Ministry said that, after coordinating with Ottawa, a delegation of 10 Canadians were heading to Tehran to follow up on Canadian victims. Canada has no diplomatic ties with Iran. Cooperation Irans civil aviation organization said in an initial report less than 24 hours after the incident that the three-year-old airliner, which had its last scheduled maintenance on Monday, encountered a technical problem after takeoff and was heading to a nearby airport before it crashed. Investigations into airliner crashes require cooperation of regulators, experts and companies across jurisdictions. They can take months and initial reports in 24 hours are rare. Ukraine has outlined four potential scenarios, including a missile strike and terrorism. Kiev said its investigators wanted to search the crash site for possible debris of a Russian-made missile used by Irans military. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was making arrangements to tour the site after an Iranian invitation. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it had designated a representative to join the probe. Boeing said it would support the NTSB. The company is reeling from two deadly crashes of 737 MAX planes, including the one in Ethiopia, that led to the models grounding last year. The crash plane was built in 2016 and is the prior generation of the 737 before the MAX. By Alexander Cornwell and Parisa Hafezi BOONVILLE, N.Y. Creators of the Whats Happening in Boonville, NY Facebook page were compelled to help their neighbors by starting a GoFundMe account for those affected by Tuesdays Main Street fire. Bill Dustin, a founder of the Facebook group, says the original goal has already been exceeded by more than $3,000, but much more will be needed to help all of the residents and small businesses owners. "We originally set our goal for $10,000 -- we have already surpassed that we are up to $13,000 right now. Speaking with the village, we know that additional funds are needed, so we've increased our goal to $25,000 now," said Dustin. According to the GoFundMe page, the funds will go directly to the village of Boonville to be distributed. The night before David Bowie died, I was listening to the newly released tracks from Blackstar on YouTube, in honor of his birthday the day before. I saw the Hammersmith Odeon performance for "Moonage Daydream" on the right rail and decided to open it full-screen on my large monitor and crank it to 11. I watch "Moonage Daydream" every few years and it never ceases to enchant me all over again. But that Sunday night, the performance hit me so hard, it actually startled me. I found myself shedding tears of joy. I was exclaiming things into the soundwaves as they crashed over me. I had no idea where any of this was coming from, but I was filled with such profound feelings of love and appreciation for what this extraordinary artist, this unique human being, had inspired in me and countless others. I felt as though I could fully feel the weight of him, his art, his cultural and historical import, and exactly how he had impressed himself upon my nervous system. It almost felt like a life flashing before my eyes moment. I decided to try and share this moment of epiphany with others. I sent a message to two friends who are also Bowie fanatics: "Is there a more perfect concert video than this? Every fucking frame of this thing blows my mind. Do yourself a favor, open it full-screen, crank it all the way upand GO!" After "Moonage Daydream," I watched "My Death," another favorite from the Hammersmith show. As I listened, I thought about my own mortality and allowed myself to be overwhelmed by the beauty of human frailty so achingly expressed in this song. At 2:26am, on Jan 11th, I awoke to a text from a friend: "So devastated. RIP our amazing Bowie." But whatever lies behind the door There is nothing much to do Angel or devil, I don't care For in front of that door, there is you ("My Death," Jacques Brel) Sydney, Jan 10 : Rain on Friday brought much-needed relief for firefighters battling the raging bushfires in South Australia, after a night that authorities have described as "brutal". Firefighters were continuing to battle out of control bushfires on Kangaroo Island off the coast of SA, leading to authorities to issue two emergency warnings after the blazed were exacerbated by catastrophic conditions, reports Xinhua news agency. more than a third of the island has burned in fires since December. Addressing the bushfire crisis that has devastated much of the island, Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly on Thursday called for forestry to be "forbidden" on the island going forward, describing the practice as "a categorical disaster". "These blue gum plantations and pine plantations have made it almost impossible to control fires when they come out of parks, because they just act like giant wicks that drag it through and then we can't get on top of them," he told News Corp Australia. "I want to see forestry written off the agenda on Kangaroo Island." More than 800 properties on the island were without electricity on Friday morning as the result of a fire-related outage. Grave fears were still held for the island's diverse wildlife. Approximately 25,000 koalas, half the island's population, were feared dead. Despite being asked to evacuate, Sam Mitchell, the owner of the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, and his family remained behind on Thursday to protect the property and its 700 animals, including koalas injured in other blazes. Fears are also held for hives of the island's Ligurian bees, which produce honey that is exported around the world. Island Beehive, the island's biggest honey producer, has lost almost half of its hives to the fires. The air quality in Adelaide, the capital of SA, on Friday morning was the 11th worst of any city in the world after smoke drifted from Kangaroo Island to the mainland. Smoke blanketing much of the state prompted SA Health to warn that it "could pose a serious threat to health, particularly for vulnerable people with lung or heart conditions". Since the bushfire crisis began in September 2019, at least 27 people have died so far. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:11:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken said on Thursday night that the Chinese government does not require companies to collect foreign data, including the telecom giant Huawei. "There are no laws in China requiring companies to collect foreign data and information, and Chinese companies are never required to use 'back doors' or other methods to collect or store data abroad for Chinese intelligence services," said Wu at an event in Berlin. Wu added that Huawei is a completely private company in which the Chinese government does not invest a single cent. Its relationship with the Chinese government is no different from that between private companies and governments in other countries. "The claim that Huawei has close ties to the Chinese government has no basis," said Wu. "I just hope that the German side can create a fair, just, open and transparent market environment for Chinese companies in Germany," said Wu. Weather Alert ...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Kentucky...Illinois...Missouri... Ohio River at Paducah. Ohio River at Cairo. Ohio River at Olmsted Lock and Dam. .Recent heavy rainfall and snow melt will continue to keep water levels on the lower Ohio River in or near minor flood this week. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov. && ...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Ohio River at Paducah. * WHEN...Until early tomorrow afternoon. * IMPACTS...At 39.0 feet, Minor flooding occurs affecting mainly bottomland and surrounding low lying areas. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 7:00 PM CST Monday the stage was 38.6 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise to a crest of 39.0 feet tomorrow morning. - Flood stage is 39.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood && Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Nvidia, Facebook, Tesla, Amazon & more Published Fri, Jan 10 2020 9:14 AM EST EDMONTONThe moment Nooran Ostadeian heard about the crash, she was suspicious. When she learned two of her best friends in Edmonton had been onboard, her suspicion gave way to sorrow and grief. Now, shes angry. Ostadeian was one of those processing the assertions Thursday that the Ukraine International Airlines flight that crashed in Iran on Wednesday morning appeared to have been struck down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that intelligence from multiple sources indicated the flight was downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, echoing statements from Ukrainian officials and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day. Both Trudeau and Trump said the strike might have been unintentional. It makes the situation worse because then theres anger and frustration that innocent people are victims of dirty politicians, from either side, Ostadeian said. We dont know who did it, actually. The development added an additional layer of anguish to an already tragic situation for those stunned by the loss of loved ones. It also cast a shadow over what some had seen as a rare moment of tragic solidarity for the Iranian community in Canada. A night earlier, on the steps of the Alberta legislature building, a small vigil was held as mourners stood side by side to grieve the communitys losses, putting political and religious differences aside. Ive never felt so much a part of this community like I did yesterday, said Payman Parseyan, an active member of the Iranian community in Edmonton. We werent disagreeing yesterday on whether there should be sympathy for the regime or not. The small Iranian cohort living in Edmonton is estimated at nearly 5,000 people. Many see the regime in Iran as totalitarian watching them still, even after theyve lived in Canada for years. Others try to stay out of political discourse, acknowledging diverse views, and calling some of the theories that Irans government keeps tabs on ex-pats exaggerated. Pegah Salari, another Iranian community member and Edmonton resident since arriving in 2006, said that, normally, I would probably never even talk to some folks shes been working with to organize and gather information about victims. We all came together. For the first time, any conversation around what party, what kind of view who belongs to, was cut very short within the first few sentences, she said. Everyone put aside those kinds of concerns everybody is mourning. Ostadeian, an Edmonton real estate agent, had known her friends Mojgan Daneshmand and Pedram Mousavi since they reached out to her for help in finding a home in 2010. She described them as a happy couple who were deeply committed to their community, their careers and their family. Daneshmand and Mousavi, both professors at the University of Alberta, died in the crash along with their daughters, Daria, 14, and Dorina, 9. Ostadeian said she was initially skeptical of the report that the crash was the result of an engine malfunction. Putting the puzzle together, it didnt make sense that the airplane would crash. This is not a kind of defect, she said. How can an accident like this happen? Are you just going to randomly shoot something and it hits an airplane? I dont think this is an accident. This is a game. Its politics. Still, to some, it didnt come as a surprise. Salari said the divisions among the Iranian community will become apparent once again. By watching where members draw the line in condemning Iran or not, she said, it will be obvious where they stand. This is just heartbreaking. Mistake or not, obviously if its not a mistake its a whole other conversation, but even if its a mistake, Salari said. How on Earth were you going to go to a war with the United States if you cant control your frickin missiles? ... I feel so extremely angry about that. The reality for Salari is that the government in her home country oppresses people, sometimes violently, and she said she doesnt understand why Iranians in Canada would support it, even if that segment of the community is small. Her fears are compounded by concerns in Edmonton, too, she said. Having spent the previous day fielding interview requests from reporters, she said she had concerns about what the Iranian government might think about her speaking out. I said goodbye to the possibility of going to Iran, she said. I am worried that those interviews will implicate my parents if they ever have to go back. But others arent sold on the notion that the Iranian government keeps tabs on those living abroad and say that in Canada, all Iranians enjoy free speech rights. Ali Zakerhaghighi, who sits on the board of the Imam Hussein Islamic Society in Edmonton and knew a family of three who died in the plane crash, said many concerns about the Iranian government watching people in Canada are based on rumours or exaggerations. I am hoping that people, rather than listening to stuff that they read on the news and media, they just try to understand the realities, he said. Zakerhaghighi said the local Iranian community has differences of opinion when it comes to politics, but that he hopes for a final investigation to be completed on the downed plane before people start coming to conclusions. He also expressed a feeling of overall solidarity in the face of the tragic circumstances. Past is past. We cannot control it, he said. I am just hoping that news like this will not be true because it will really deepen the sorrow for the families and relatives and friends. Since the news of the crash, Zakerhaghighi said hes been inconsolable and mourning the loss of three victims he knew medical doctor Shekoufeh Choupannejad and her two daughters, Saba Saadat and Sara Saadat. I cannot even put in words, he said. My friends and my family even sometimes ask me through these two days, you have to calm down, and I say, I cant. It will take some time for the community to pass through this situation. In Metro Vancouver, Kei Esmaeilpour lost a number of friends in Wednesdays tragedy, including Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi, whose wife Niloofar Razzaghi and son Kamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi also perished. Esmaeilpour said news Iran was believed to have shot the plane down with a missile, likely by mistake, is shocking. But sadness was still the dominant emotion. They are in a deep sadness and they worry for the future, Esmaeilpour said. Some are thinking the people who were killed could have been their family. For another friend of the family, Fred Soofi, the pain of the air crash was being tampered however slightly in the Canadian-Iranian community by the feeling that a full scale war now appeared unlikely for the moment. Back in Edmonton, Ostadeian said shes saddened by the loss of her friends but also feels helpless seeing her country of origin get entangled in global politics. You cannot do anything as a civilian and as a citizen, you have no influence. You can express your anger or sadness and everything, but we are the victims of the politics, she said. For Ostadeian, both the U.S. and Iran are at fault for the crash. She said shes angry at the U.S. for what they have done in the whole world, but also calls the Iranian government murderers. Im angry from both sides. Who cares if its Iran or U.S.? They both have similar actions and the same goal They are not thinking about people. They are thinking about their own benefit, she said. They are fooling people. with files from Jeremy Nuttall Kieran Leavitt and Omar Mosleh are Toronto Star reporters based in Edmonton. Read more about: Alternative investment company, Whiskey Wealth Club has its sights set on further success for 2020, targeting a 140% revenue increase to 24m. In only its third year of operating, its headcount is set to rise by 48%. Last year was the company's most successful to date. Revenue hit 10m, while its headcount grew from 4 to 27, both highlighting the strength and opportunities with whiskey investment and its increasing appeal to investors. The company was also shortlisted for Young Company of the Year at the Growing Business Awards at the end of 2019. Based in both Richmond and Dublin, Whiskey Wealth Club, offers investors the opportunity to purchases casks of new make spirit direct from leading distilleries. The casks are then stored in a secure bonded warehouse for the ageing process, before it can be bottled, sold or aged for longer. Originally founded to open up the rapidly growing Irish whiskey market to private investors, the company has now expanded its operations. Last year, Whiskey Wealth Club launched into the Scotch whisky market, partnering with the historic Bladnoch Distillery, and has designs on entering new markets in the US and Japan. Jay Bradley, founder at Whisky Wealth Club, said: "We're extremely pleased by our efforts over the past year, all the hard work from the team is very much paying off, with record revenues reported and our team seeing a significant growth in headcount. What started as an idea over a glass of Irish whiskey has developed into the successful business Whiskey Wealth Club is today. Whiskey is seeing its popularity continually grow on a global basis. Irish whiskey exports have grown 300% in the last decade, according to the Irish Food Board, Bord Bia. We've now laid the foundations of success to build on in the new year and the decade, which will provide further exciting opportunities for the whiskey industry for investors and distillers alike." About Whiskey Wealth Club Whiskey Wealth Club is an alternative investment company that connects individual investors with authentic and premium Irish and Scottish whiskey distilleries. The distilleries make casks of new spirit available to Whiskey Wealth Club at a wholesale rate that Whiskey Wealth Club then releases to private investors at a significantly discounted rate. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005247/en/ Contacts: Tushar Parmar 07428584468 tushar@milkandhoneypr.com Photo: iStock You can leave your umbrella at home for today, but rainfall is in the forecast for Cambridge starting on Thursday, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone. Thursday's forecast shows the highest chance of precipitation at 78%, with predicted rainfall of 1.02 inches. The coming days will also bring warm temperatures, due to stick around through Sunday. The weather will bring a high temperature of 70 degrees on Sunday, then turn cooler on Monday. Winds are predicted to rise as high as 24 mph on Sunday, while today will be quieter with a top speed of just 16 mph. Skies will be cloudy today. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. South Africa: President to host Ethiopian counterpart for official visit President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday host Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, on an official visit at the Union Buildings in Tshwane. Prime Minister Ali is visiting South Africa on 11 and 12 January 2020 at the invitation of the President, for bilateral discussions on matters of mutual national development, regional and continental issues, as well as international developments. Informed by historical ties dating back to South Africas liberation struggle, South Africa and Ethiopia established official diplomatic relations in 1994, as the basis for present-day political and economic cooperation. The Prime Minister will during the course of the official visit attend the governing African National Congress 108th Anniversary in Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province on 11 January 2020. Through the official visit, the two nations will further strengthen and deepen the bilateral relations and cooperation, consolidate political, economic and social cooperation. The visit will also explore potential areas of trade and investment for the benefit of both countries in industries such as telecommunications, road infrastructure, mining, agro-processing and manufacturing. The visit also forms part of the preparation for South Africas assumption of a year-long term as Chair of the African Union at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa in February 2020 under the theme Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africas Development. In this context, the official visit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest on peace, security and development. The leaders will also explore ways to advance the African Unions visionary and developmental Agenda 2063 and to enhance the two countries strategic cooperation in campaigning for the reform of the multilateral institutions. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The veteran politician flagged off the Gandhi Shanti Yatra from the Gateway of India. Mumbai: Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha flagged off a march against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the recent violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) from the Gateway of India to Rajghat. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who joined Mr Sinha, said that the Narendra Modi government is using dictatorial means across the country. Mr Pawar also condemned the violence at JNU, saying that it hurt the sentiments of the students community. Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhis teachings on non-violence should be used as an answer to the governments autocracy, he added. The veteran politician flagged off the Gandhi Shanti Yatra from the Gateway of India. In a statement issued by the NCP office, Mr Pawar was quoted as saying, The government is using dictatorial policies. What happened at JNU is being opposed across the country. The governments dictatorship needs to be answered with Gandhijis way of non-violence. He also termed all Indian citizens as representatives of independent India and shareholders of the country, and claimed that the government has left the people disappointed with its moves like the CAA. Referring to the protests against the CAA, the NCP chief claimed that a big section of society is feeling disappointed with the government. Some steps taken by the Union government have given a jolt to the countrys unity. Members of some small sections of the society feel that their interests are not being protected, the former Union defence minister said. He also noted that there are members of several sections of society, including the minorities, who cannot tell where they came from and where they will live. They will be forced to live in some camps (detention centres allegedly to be set up by the government). The government has left the representatives of independent India and shareholders of the country disappointed. Hence, we need to create awareness in society and need to ensure unity among all sections of society, the 79-year-old Maratha leader asserted. Mr Sinha said, We will protect the Constitution drafted by Dr Ambedkar. We will not let the country be partitioned again. We will not let Gandhi be murdered again. We are all one and will remain one. DEAR ABBY: Thirty years ago, a friend of my husband's roommate passed away of AIDS and was cremated. His family had ostracized him. I have no idea who they are or where they are. The roommate left and later died, also from AIDS. He left his friend's ashes in his old room in my husband's house in the San Francisco Bay area with instructions to scatter them in Hawaii. The ashes have been sitting reverently in a cardboard box on a shelf in our several homes for all these 30 years. We are still together, but getting old. There is no paperwork of any kind. All we know about the deceased is his name and the fact that he was a friend. Before I die, I would like to resolve this problem and arrange for the ashes to have a permanent resting place, preferably in Hawaii. I have a nephew who lives on the Big Island, where the scattering should take place. How should I proceed, in light of the no paperwork problem? -- MIKE IN CALIFORNIA DEAR MIKE: I applaud your caring heart and your determination to carry out this man's last wishes. I took your question to Joshua Slocum, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, and this is what he told me: "There is no impediment to your taking the ashes and placing them where you wish since there are no relatives who have an interest in them. If you plan to carry them on an airplane, be sure to have them in a scannable container -- nothing metal or such heavy earthenware that an X-ray scanner would be prevented from seeing inside. There is no requirement that you carry a death certificate, or any other certificate, with you. You do not need 'papers' to walk around with an urn or to travel with one. "As far as scattering goes, people scatter ashes all the time. Cremated remains are sterile calcium and no threat at all to the environment. While public lands usually discourage, or prohibit by rule, scattering of ashes, it is common practice that cannot be stopped. Use discretion and care -- there is no such thing as 'ashes police.'" DEAR ABBY: I am older and on a fixed income. At times I still date, and I'm not sure how to handle this. After one or two dinners out or glasses of wine, etc., I feel my dates are waiting for me to treat them, and I can't afford it. I don't know how to explain that I don't have enough money to do that. I'm a very giving person, and I would love to make them dinner if I knew them better. One time I brought someone a huge amount of beautiful organic vegetables, but that wasn't enough. He was really upset I didn't buy him wine on one of the dates. What to do? -- REALLY WISH I COULD DEAR REALLY WISH: The person who was really upset that you didn't buy him wine on one of those dates should have been told that you are on a fixed income and it wasn't within your budget. You should also have told him you were reciprocating within your ability. If he needed a drink that badly, he could have paid for his own. You're lucky to be rid of him. In the future, TELL the man you are seeing that after you know him better, you would love to treat him to some home-cooked meals, which might actually be nicer than what you can afford to buy him in a restaurant. He might appreciate both your candor and the food. If he doesn't, I think you will be lucky to be rid of him, too. P.S. Have you considered paying the tab for a casual breakfast, lunch or a coffee/pastry date instead of dinner? DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have had the same roommate, "Milo," for four years. Two years ago, he started dating my husband's ex-girlfriend. It was no big deal, my husband was fine with it, and Milo never brings her over. In the time they've been seeing each other Milo has refused to fully commit to her. He doesn't see other people, but he doesn't call her his girlfriend. Today my husband told me Milo won't commit to her because he thinks it would bother me if she were around our house all the time. He's right. It would. I'm not in love with the idea of my husband's drop-dead gorgeous ex hanging out at our house. Abby, I see in her everything I'm not. Am I being selfish? I want our roommate to be happy, and I'm not sure how to proceed. Must I just suck it up? I mean, I'm married for heaven's sake. -- SELFISH ROOMMATE DEAR ROOMMATE: I don't think you should acquiesce to anything that makes you uncomfortable. You're making a mistake by assuming responsibility for the fact that Milo won't commit. He's a grown man and responsible for his own choices. The current arrangement is working for all of you, and you should stay out of it. DEAR ABBY: What do you think of barbers or beauticians who take phone calls and continue to talk to the callers while doing a client's hair? I haven't said anything because I don't want an angry person cutting my hair. It's almost like having a doctor talk on the phone while doing surgery. What do you think? -- HAIR-RAISING IN ILLINOIS DEAR HAIR-RAISING: A short conversation to book an appointment is one thing, but what you have described is just plain rude. The first time the beautician did it you should have spoken up. Because you didn't, she/he thinks you don't mind. Hairdressing is a service business, and the client in the chair should take priority. If you are really afraid your stylist would butcher your haircut in retaliation if you complain (talk about passive aggressive!), find someone else to provide this service. DEAR ABBY: I have been a widow for three years. Sixteen years ago, my husband and I built a modest -- but nice -- home and worked very hard to pay off the mortgage early. I am constantly asked if I am going to stay in my home or if I plan to sell it. I have no intention of moving at this time or in the near future, if at all. Is there a good answer to give people when they keep asking this question? Do they think I am not capable of living in a house by myself? Any suggestions will be appreciated. -- HAPPY AT HOME DEAR HAPPY: When someone asks that question, rather than become defensive, say, "Why do you ask?" Then let the person explain the reason behind it. Instead of implying that you are no longer capable of living alone, the questioner may be considering making an offer to buy it from you. DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 35 years. For the last seven years, we have been separated. He treated me badly, and finally, I refused to take it, so I left him. I moved out, bought a car and bought a home, all on my own. I'm proud of myself. We have tried marriage counseling, but I felt like we were just going through the motions. He has pressured me in the past about getting back together, but I know he will go right back to his old behavior. My question is, when is it time to get a divorce? I'm confused about just being separated because it makes me feel I'm in limbo. -- IN-BETWEEN IN COLORADO DEAR IN-BETWEEN: You ARE in limbo. You tried marriage counseling; it didn't help you trust that your husband wouldn't continue to abuse you. Call a lawyer. After seven years (!) of separation, the time to formally untie the knot is now. DEAR ABBY: I have been trying to deal with this on my own for a long time. I have been "crushing" on a man of my faith for a couple of years, and it never seems to subside. We are both married to others, seemingly happily. I like his wife very much, and I would never want to hurt her. I think he is a wonderful human being, and he has said as much to me. We would never entertain the idea of an affair. From my standpoint, I don't know what to do. Do you have any suggestions? I try to give my own husband lots of love. -- TORN BETWEEN TWO IN MONTANA DEAR TORN: Do nothing about this crush. Continue giving your husband lots of love, attention and appreciation. Crushes are normal. Sometimes they serve as reminders that we are still alive. As long as they remain "unfertilized romances," they harm no one. You have a mutual admiration society because you both deserve it and have nothing to feel guilty about. DEAR ABBY: Is there any way to stop charities from sending all of this "free stuff"? When I donate to charity, I intend for my contribution to be used to help someone in need. Instead, I am subjected to all kinds of things in my mailbox. I have received money, postage stamps, greeting cards, notepads and enough mailing labels to far outlast me! I have now decided that any charity that sends me merchandise or any other "freebie" will be taken off my donation list. I hate to write bona fide charities off my list, but it has become ridiculous. -- WASTEFUL IN WASHINGTON DEAR WASTEFUL: You are not the only person to complain about this. I receive many letters from equally frustrated readers about it. Before donating to any charity, go online and check out charitynavigator.org. If you do, it will give you insight into where your money goes -- including how much of their revenue is spent on salaries and "overhead." Just because you receive notepads, mailing labels and calendars does NOT mean you are obligated to send money. Please remember that. DEAR ABBY: At 18, I married my high school sweetheart. After 20 years of marriage and four wonderful children, my husband decided the grass was greener elsewhere, and we divorced. He paid no attention to my children or my grandchildren when they were young. He has since remarried, has a child with his current wife and acts like he's Father of the Year. Last weekend one of my grandchildren got married. My blowhard of an ex brought a picture of himself, my son, my grandson and my great-granddaughter saying he'd had this picture taken of four generations of the family. He never mentioned that if it hadn't been for ME giving birth to our children, none of them would have even been there. Am I overly sensitive to feel like a second-class citizen when we attend a family function? Must I continue to say nothing, or speak up? How do others handle this situation? -- CLUELESS IN THE EAST DEAR CLUELESS: They handle it by choosing their battles carefully. I think it's important that you ask yourself why anything your ex says would make you feel like a second-class citizen. He appears to have moved on with his life more quickly than you have moved on with yours. Concentrate your efforts on expanding your horizons -- your interests and friendships -- and you will find anything he might say will be far less important to you. Trust me on that. DEAR ABBY: I'm a public school teacher with a word of advice to parents who wonder why their children misbehave, argue with them and act out with attention-getting behaviors: PUT DOWN YOUR CELLPHONES AND PAY ATTENTION TO THEM! I just finished a parent-teacher conference with a mother whose children argue, pout and scream when she tells them to do something at home. Her children are not disabled, nor do they demonstrate these behaviors in my classroom. Abby, during the entire meeting, that woman texted on her phone. How rude! The next time I meet with someone who pulls that, I'll ask if she (or he) would like to suspend the meeting until their pressing business (pun intended) is finished. Maybe the parent needs to be embarrassed in order to realize how inappropriate texting or talking on the phone is when she (or he) is face-to-face with another person unless the other person says it's OK. -- HAS TO VENT DEAR VENT: Vent away. I agree that what the mother did was disrespectful. It prevented you from effectively giving her information about her child that she needed to know. As great a benefit as technology has been to society, it appears to also be a double-edged sword. By that I mean, while it fosters communication, it has kept parents from bonding with their toddlers and young people from learning to effectively communicate with each other face-to-face. The ultimate result of this is yet to be determined, but I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of people finding a balance so they can form healthy relationships. I hope your letter will serve as a wake-up call to someone who needs a reminder. DEAR ABBY: My 40-year-old son has been in a volatile on-again, off-again relationship with a woman who has physically and emotionally abused him repeatedly. He's an Iraq War veteran with issues of his own, including a previous marriage and messy divorce from a narcissistic woman. They share custody of two grade school-age children. The current woman has grown children, plus a pre-teen boy (with issues also). The last time they split up, my husband made it clear that she would never be welcome in our home again because of her violent temper. We don't condone that behavior. Our son has now decided he thinks he "loves her." He wants us to give our blessing, including having her in our home and being one big happy family. We are sure this "reunion" will come with her assurances that she has changed, and it will never happen again. Abby, we want our son to be happy, but we recognize that a leopard doesn't change her spots. We also don't want our young grandchildren in a toxic environment again. What should we do? Please don't tell me he needs to go to counseling because he says he is. Help! -- SEEING CLEARLY IN NEW YORK DEAR SEEING: When you stated that your son is asking you for your blessing, including having this woman in your home and being one big happy family, did he mean LIVING there with you? If that's not the case, you can bless it, but your answer should be no if it means they will live under your roof. It would be healthier for all of you if they have living arrangements of their own. That way, you can see her only when she is on her good behavior, and if she backslides, the drama won't be in your home. The added bonus is that your son will have a refuge if he needs it. (I'd give anything to know how his therapist views this.) DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been together for 30 years, married for 20. We have two sons living at home, a 20-year-old who works full-time and a 17-year-old who is graduating from high school in the spring. I have been offered a transfer to Australia by my employer -- a transfer I had asked for. When we discussed it in the past, everyone was all for it. My oldest can likely stay with the multinational hotel chain he works for now, and I can get my youngest a decent career in my field of work as there is a tremendous shortage of skilled labor in Australia. Now my wife tells me she can't leave her family, especially her father, who has Parkinson's. I have told her she can expect to return every summer to our condo on the beach and an additional two trips per year. Abby, I thought our vows meant we would be together forever, wherever. My employer will soon begin the process of opening the Australian office, a process I will be part of and likely train the new hire. I am bitter and resentful toward my wife, and it is affecting my attitude toward her. I love her, but I am struggling to get over the fact she is denying me a very lucrative opportunity. Advice? -- LOSING OUT IN CANADA DEAR LOSING OUT: It's time for you and your wife to put your heads together and work out a solution. By that I mean you should accept the lucrative business opportunity you have been offered, AND your wife can take care of her father as long as she needs to. Unless his condition is critical, she can visit you and your sons periodically so it shouldn't put too much strain on your marriage. I hope you will consider it because the kind of resentment you are feeling now can destroy a marriage. DEAR ABBY: I moved in with my boyfriend, "Greg," three years ago into the tiny but very economical house he rents. It's cheaper than all other rentals in our area and allows us to save for a home of our own one day. However, after many months, I have discovered to my dismay that our landlord is the mother of his ex-girlfriend. And the ex is acting manager of the property we live on! This means that, for as long as I've lived here, Greg's ex and her mom have been in frequent contact with him and are an inescapable part of our lives. Greg gets along fine with them and doesn't want to move because of high rents elsewhere, but I'm very uncomfortable with the awkwardness of our living situation. Am I being too sensitive, or should my boyfriend never have lived there in the first place? -- UNCOMFORTABLE IN MICHIGAN DEAR UNCOMFORTABLE: Now, now ... let's keep our eye on the goal line. Your boyfriend's objective (and yours) is to save enough money to eventually own a place of your own. His ex and her mother are a means to an end. It would be a big mistake not to recognize that they could be charging far more for your lodgings. Concentrate on that and stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. DEAR ABBY: I recently hosted a large family for a week in our home. On our last day together, the mother asked if she could run "a quick load" of laundry. I said OK, figuring she might be running low on unmentionables. Abby, she did FIVE large loads of laundry and spent half of our last day together folding everything up and packing their bags for home. I wouldn't deny anyone a quick load, but I think she took advantage of me. I was very disappointed that our last day together was wasted doing laundry. Is this a "thing" now? Your thoughts, please. -- HUNG OUT TO DRY IN ARIZONA DEAR HUNG OUT: You were trying to be helpful, and the woman did take advantage of your generosity by mischaracterizing her intentions. If, however, you had other plans for the last morning of the visit, when you saw her start her second (or third) load, you should have spoken up and drawn the line. DEAR ABBY: I am in a 14-year marriage, but there has always been another woman, "Emily," I have thought about almost daily the whole time. My wife and I have just turned 40. We have no kids, but we have a dog. I always thought I would want kids, and we tried half-heartedly, but there is no real intimacy to this day. I kiss her goodbye in the morning and, for years, that's been it. Emily is all in on a relationship with me still to this day. We had a great relationship with great sex, and I miss all of that. I'm struggling about the right thing to do, partly because I know the pain this will cause. My wife and I still have good times together with friends, but when we're home, it's like we're just best friends with no benefits. One of the last times we had sex, she ended it abruptly. The flame I felt for her is gone. I feel like I should go the other direction because she wants kids and still loves me deeply after all these years. Please advise. -- WRESTLING WITH IT IN WISCONSIN DEAR WRESTLING: Clearly you have never stopped talking to Emily. Quit "wrestling" and talk with your WIFE. She may have ended your last sexual encounter because it was physically painful or because she no longer feels emotionally connected to you. The person who can help you determine what to do next is the woman to whom you are married. Whether this marriage is salvageable is debatable, but this I do know: A healthy marriage takes TWO committed individuals, and in this case, one of them (you) has been missing in action. DEAR ABBY: I am an older woman who finally got fed up with my husband's cellphone addiction. Since he would no longer speak to me but spent all his time scrolling on his device, I went out and bought a realistic-looking baby doll. When he pulled out his cell, I pulled out my doll. I talked to it, fiddled with its buttons and carried it everywhere. He finally yelled at me, "It's not real!" to which I replied, "It's real; it's just not alive. LIKE YOUR CELLPHONE." This final scene was played out in the dining room of our country club, which was filled with members. The phone and "baby" stayed in the car after that. We laugh about it now, and she's resting comfortably in her carrier, just in case she's ever needed again. -- THOUGHT I'D SHARE THIS DEAR THOUGHT: I hesitate to endorse implied threats in marital disagreements, but your solution worked -- brilliantly. So who am I to argue with success? Congratulations! DEAR ABBY: What is your opinion about elderly parents who no longer drive having to pay their children to drive them to appointments, grocery, etc.? Think of all the times parents drove them when they were growing up. -- RETURNING THE FAVOR DEAR RETURNING THE FAVOR: Most adult children with a memory would never dream of asking to be paid for driving their elderly parents. A child who would do this must be desperate for money. In my opinion, because they are paying for it anyway, the parents should make other arrangements for transportation. DEAR ABBY: My husband loaned a "dear friend" some money a year ago. She has yet to pay back a penny. When I ask him about it, he gets mad and tells me it's none of my business. I have hinted to her about some large bills that we have to pay, to no avail. Other than that, my husband and I have a great marriage and love each other very much. I just don't like her taking advantage of his generosity. I know taking care of his friends gives him pleasure, but he has been burned before and I can see it happening again. I find it hard to ignore. What do I do? -- SICK OF IT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DEAR SICK OF IT: I wish you had mentioned whether you work and the money your soft-touch hubby gave his friend was partly earned by you. If that's the case, I don't blame you for being upset. While I'm not sure you can prevent your husband from doing this, I do think you are within your rights to insist that before he does it he discuss it with you. If he will do that, perhaps the two of you can find an alternative for the person other than giving out money. DEAR ABBY: My son passed away unexpectedly a little over eight years ago. He was 21. At the time, he had been dating a very nice young lady. We kept in touch for a while after the funeral -- letters and emails mostly, as I had moved out of state -- but things gradually tapered off. I have been able to keep somewhat informed about her life because of the magic of social media and mutual friends she shared with my son who still contact me occasionally. I recently learned she's being married within the next two weeks. I am wondering if it would be wrong or weird of me to send a congratulatory card to the happy couple. I wish only continued happiness for her and her future husband. -- WISHING HAPPINESS DEAR WISHING: I see nothing wrong or weird about sending her a nice card, and when you do, be sure to tell her not only that you wish her a happy future, but also that she will always have a special place in your heart. DEAR ABBY: Would it be appropriate for someone to tell someone else's children to stop doing something dangerous if the parent is not around? I'm talking about kids holding scissors the wrong way or running with them, pushing others, etc. My children are in their teens now and know that such behavior is wrong. If it were the other way around, I would be grateful if someone cared enough to tell my kids that a behavior is wrong and/or dangerous. -- GLAD IN THE MIDWEST DEAR GLAD: How else would the children know if they weren't warned? To speak up would be an act of kindness, particularly if they were doing something that could cause harm to themselves or others. DEAR ABBY: What is the etiquette when eating at a restaurant where a piano player is performing? I don't mean the "bar scene"-type piano player who wants the crowd to sing along, but more of a mid- to upscale type of place. There's a restaurant like this in my town -- the only one with a piano. On one special occasion when we were there, the piano player was playing "Misty" and a woman sitting nearby with her party wanted to make herself heard over him. She began talking very loudly to her group while he was playing the song. I thought it was tacky, and if I had been sitting near her, I would have shushed her up. Isn't it polite to wait until the piano player is finished before talking loudly at your table? Whatever happened to behaving with a little class in restaurants? -- DEANNA IN OKLAHOMA DEAR DEANNA: The musician in that restaurant was there to provide mood music for the diners. If they chose to talk while he was playing, it was their privilege. The woman may have raised her voice because someone in her party had a hearing problem. For you to have taken it upon yourself to "shush her up" would have been rude, and for your sake, I'm glad you refrained from doing it. DEAR ABBY: Am I overreacting to my husband's request that I take down photos of my mom and grandparents when his mom visits? They are displayed in our guest bedroom. I think his request was rude. I wonder if his mother even cares or if he just feels guilty. It's my house, too. -- RELUCTANT IN TEXAS DEAR RELUCTANT: Rather than remove your family photos, why not compromise by adding a couple of pictures of your husband's mother, too? I'm sure she would be pleased to see them. Problem solved. DEAR ABBY: I have a crush on a guy I work with. I'm 19, and he's 26. He has a kid, which actually doesn't bother me. I love kids and have taken care of them most of my life. My problem is he has this ex who wants to get back together with him. They broke up because she was staying out all night and cheating. He used to flirt with me and text me all the time and offer me his hoodie. Now she's sort of back in the picture and he ignores me and doesn't return my texts. But when we see each other he starts flirting again, and we just click. We make sense. I guess my question is, should I tell him how I feel before it's too late or just keep it to myself? Should I risk everything and go for it? -- UNCERTAIN IN NEW YORK DEAR UNCERTAIN: Announce your feelings for the guy if you wish, but do not expect him to drop everything and rush to you. If he were interested in more than a workplace flirtation, he would be paying the same kind of attention to you that he did before. Because he isn't, you need to understand that he and his ex obviously have some unfinished business together, regardless of her history of infidelity. Set your sights on someone else. DEAR ABBY: All my mom does is talk about work. If we are having a conversation, she links every topic to her work and her co-workers. It is alienating my sister and me. When we tell her things about our kids -- her grandkids -- she still relates it to work. Another thing: She's constantly on her tablet for work or on Facebook. I live seven hours away from her. When we make the drive down, I don't want to watch her on her tablet. If we try to confront her on anything, all she does is cry. Mom and I had a good relationship before she took that job. Now she's so negative that it's difficult to want to talk to her. Where do I even start? -- MISSING HER WHILE SHE'S HERE DEAR MISSING: Rather than "confront" your mother, ask her what may have changed in her life since she took that job. Her focus may have shifted because that's the center of her activity. Conversations are two-way, and this may be all she feels she has to contribute on her end. As to her "hiding" behind Facebook rather than carry on a conversation with you, like many people, she may have become addicted to it and unable to tear herself away. However, you will never know unless you ask her calmly. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Iran May Have Accidentally Shot Down Passenger Jet By Steve Herman January 09, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump is publicly voicing suspicion that Iran may have accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner. "Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," said Trump of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. "Some people say it was mechanical. Personally, I don't think that's even a question." Iranian officials have maintained the Boeing 737-800, at an altitude of 2,400 meters, suffered a catastrophic engine failure early Wednesday (local time). All 176 people on board the plane bound for Kyiv died, including 63 Canadians. On Thursday, the Iranian foreign minister's spokesman, S.A. Mousavi, tweeted: But government sources tell VOA that U.S. officials have examined satellite data and imagery leading them to believe the airliner, just after taking off from Tehran, was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile after being targeted accidentally. A U.S. official confirmed to VOA that he is "confident" the plane was shot down by Iran. "At some point they'll release the black box. Ideally, they'll get it to Boeing" [the U.S. company that built the 737-800 airliner], added President Trump in remarks to reporters in the White House Roosevelt Room on Thursday. Video of the aircraft shows it breaking up in the air in a fireball over Iran. The crash early Wednesday occurred hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers in response to last week's U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. The head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organization denies the plane could have been hit by a missile. "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane and such rumors are illogical," ISNA quoted Ali Abedzadeh as saying. Global concerns re: crash probe The governments of Ukraine and Canada are not accepting the initial assessment by Iran that the cause of the crash appeared to be a mechanical issue. Citing what he called "intelligence from multiple sources," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference on Thursday that "the intelligence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." Trudeau added, "This may well have been unintentional." Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, said there were several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike." A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main [theories], as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," he told reporters. In Britain, Downing Street told reporters it is looking into "very concerning" reports the plane had been struck by a surface-to-air missile. Following a phone call Thursday between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Downing Street said there needs to be "a full credible and transparent investigation in what happened." But British officials added that they did not think the downing of the jet was intentional. The global security risk company IHS Markit issued a briefing Thursday claiming that the UAL flight was hit by an SA-15 missile fired by a unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, who was attending a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York Thursday, said his government has sent a team of experts who are on the ground in Iran, working with their Iranian counterparts to sift through the crash debris for evidence of the cause. "Our priority is that all the pieces of information should be collected and preserved," Sergiy Kyslytsya told a small group of reporters. "On the black boxes, there are rules and they should be followed, and I am looking forward to the full cooperation of Iran it is in their best interest." He discouraged speculation and conspiracy theories, saying they would hurt the families of the victims. "My other concern is that the international protocols, conventions and regulations should be duly implemented when it comes to the investigation," said Ukraine's deputy foreign minister. Investigators in Iran said the voice and data recorders from the Boeing 737 aircraft, built in 2016, were recovered from the crash site, a swathe of farmland on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, but that the so-called "black boxes" were damaged and some data had been lost. "I hope the Iranians will work with us and provide us with the black box," U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, said on MSNBC, calling for the Trump administration to grant exemptions to the sanctions law so Boeing investigators from the United States could travel to Iran to cooperate with investigators there. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board typically participates in investigations of overseas air crashes when a U.S. airline or plane manufacturer is involved. But given the heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, and the fact that the two sides have no diplomatic relations, it is uncertain whether the NTSB or Boeing would be involved in the investigation of the UIA crash. In a statement sent to VOA's Ukrainian Service, the NTSB said it was "monitoring developments surrounding the crash of UIA flight 752" and was "following its standard procedures" for international aviation accident investigations. "As part of its usual procedures, the NTSB is working with the State Department and other agencies to determine the best course of action," it said. The Convention on International Civil Aviation, to which Iran is a signatory, does not require Tehran to hand over the data recorders to the NTSB or Boeing, Andriy Guck, a Ukraine-based attorney and aviation expert, said. "There is a duty to investigate," Guck told VOA's Ukrainian Service in a phone conversation. "Iran can decide to investigate the black boxes by itself or transfer them to a foreign laboratory. But if the Iranians do not allow anyone else to participate in the examination of the boxes, it will raise doubts about their investigation." VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb, VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin, U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer, Jamie Dettmer and Tatiana Vorozhko of VOA's Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address COLUMBUS, OhioIn a blow to House Speaker Larry Householder, the Ohio Republican Partys state central committee on Friday declined to endorse some of his favored Ohio House primary candidates. And in one high-profile race, it instead backed a rival to ex-U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, one of the speakers long-term allies. Notably, the state GOP also did not endorse Christina Hagan, the former state lawmaker looking to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan in Ohios 13th Congressional District. State GOP endorsements can give a big boost to a primary candidates campaign. Not only can favored candidates tout their endorsement to Republican voters, but only endorsed candidates can get access to the state GOPs voter data, as well as get discounted rates on advertising mailers by using the partys non-profit postal account. Most of the state GOPs endorsements were non-controversial, including backing President Donald Trump and other Republican incumbents for another term in office. But there was some controversy with legislative endorsements. For those races, the Ohio House and Senate Republican caucuses each sent the state party a list of candidates recommended for endorsement. The list submitted by the Ohio House GOP, which is controlled by Householder, included seven candidates running in contested primaries for open seats. But three of those candidates Schmidt in House District 65, Allen Freeman in House District 66, and Brian Lampton in House District 73 were taken off the final endorsement list by state party leaders. In the case of Schmidt, whos running for public office for the first time since leaving Congress in 2013, central committee members added insult to injury by endorsing one of her rivals -- Joe Dills, a U.S. Air Force veteran and small-business owner from Clermont County. In the cases of Freeman and Lampton, central committee members declined to endorse any primary candidate. The state party also endorsed one Ohio House candidate who wasnt on the House GOPs recommendation list: pastor Gary Click in House District 88. The central committees changes came at least in part because of concerns that local Republican parties in those districts werent being listened to. The Clermont County GOP previously endorsed Dills and one of Freemans primary opponents, Adam Bird, in HD-65 and HD-66, respectively. In the case of HD-73, the Greene County GOP is meeting next week to decide whether to endorse Lampton or John Broughton. On the Ohio Senate side, state GOP leaders endorsed state Rep. George Lang over state Rep. Candice Keller in the race for Senate District 4 in Butler County. Party leaders also endorsed state Rep. Bill Reineke for Senate District 26 over Melissa Ackison, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2018. Central committee members also endorsed GOP candidates in 13 of Ohios 16 congressional races. The candidates the committee endorsed werent controversial -- 12 of them are Republican incumbents -- but, curiously, there was no mention of Hagan, who is expected to give Tim Ryan his most competitive general-election race to date. In a statement, Hagan said she could have secured an endorsement from the state party but chose not to seek it. Our campaigns focus is and will remain on winning the endorsement of the voters, Hagan stated. I appreciate the role that the state party plays, but my emphasis has and will always be focused on conveying our message to the community and winning the support of the people I will directly represent if sent to serve them in Washington. Keller and Hagan have each been criticized in the past by Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken for statements they made on social media. Timken called on Keller to resign last year after she wrote a Facebook post blaming mass shootings in Dayton and elsewhere on everything from gay marriage and transgender people to open borders and legalized marijuana. In February 2018, Timken urged Hagan to delete a tweet that the party chair said made veiled references to her congressional opponent at the time, now-U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, being mixed up with illegal immigration and crime. On Thursday, Timken herself came under fire from a group of Republican women who, in a letter, accused her and the state party of working against female conservative candidates, despite Timkens statements in the press stating she wants to encourage women in politics. The group of women, which include Warren County GOP Central Committee Chair Lori Viars, anti-abortion activist Janet Porter, and Beth Lear of the Delaware County Republican Central Committee, also said Timken went back on a promise she made when elected state party chair to not let the party endorse in competitive primaries. Timken told reporters on Friday that the central committee, not her, decided to endorse in primaries. As for the criticism about women candidates, Timken said, I cant magically create a slate of female candidates. Timken continued: My job is to encourage more women to run. We need to give them that opportunity. But at the same time, just because someone is a woman doesnt make them the most qualified, best candidate. French telecom giant Orange this week inaugurated an operational head office in Morocco to transfer operational management of its African and Middle Eastern activities from Paris to Casablanca. The new headquarters is located in Casablanca Finance City Tower (CFC) in the heart of Casablanca. In Africa and the Middle East, Orange is benefiting from strong growth in mobile services, driven in particular by 4G and Orange Money, its mobile money transfer and payment service. Orange is one of the rare international groups to have made the strategic choice, 20 years ago, to seek to develop in Africa and the Middle East. We have always been convinced of the immense potential of this continent, Stephane Richard, Chairman and CEO of Orange said. With an average annual growth rate of 6%, Orange MEA has demonstrated that its economic and financial model is robust, making it the leading region in terms of growth in the Orange Group. The French operator is present in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East, where it had 125 million customers as of October 2019 and 18,000 employees. The new, hi-tech headquarters of Orange Middle East and Africa reflects Oranges aim of being the leader in its markets by being closer to its customers, the group said in a statement. Orange plans to reinforce its multi-services strategy so that diversified services represent 20% of the business by the end of the 2025 plan period. Last year, the group opened its CyberDefense hub in Morocco to further strengthen its international development. The hub offers protective and surveillance services with a CyberSoc and a CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team). With more than 1,300 employees spread across France and worldwide, Orange Cyberdefense supports public and private organizations to develop, implement and manage cybersecurity strategies. Iran's foreign minister has compared the US to ISIS over Donald Trump's threats to destroy cultural heritage. Mohammad Javad Zarif also accused Trump of aiding ISIS by killing general Qassem Soleimani, whose proxies fought against the terror group in Iraq. Trump said he had lined up attacks on 52 sites 'important to the Iranian culture' if Iran struck US targets in revenge for Soleimani's death. The US president said on Wednesday that Iran 'appears to be standing down' after missile strikes on bases in Iraq brought no harm to American troops, but Tehran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (pictured) has compared the US to ISIS over Donald Trump's threats to destroy cultural heritage Zarif took his latest blast at the US after it refused to grant him a visa for a UN Security Council meeting in New York. The foreign minister said the US was behaving like ISIS by 'threatening to devastate Iran's cultural heritage of thousands-year-old civilisation', state media said. He also described the 'assassination of the heroes fighting ISIS', meaning Soleimani, as a 'cowardly act'. Iran also opposes ISIS and Soleimani had worked with Shi'ite groups who were fighting the terrorist 'caliphate' in Iraq. ISIS is notorious for attacking cultural heritage, including part of a 2,000-year-old Roman theatre in Syria. Washington also regarded Soleimani as a terrorist, accusing him of planning an 'imminent' attack on the US. Trump has threatened a 'disproportionate response' targeting cultural sites if Iran strikes back against US interests, brushing off claims that such an action could be considered a war crime. The president said America had lined up attacks on 52 targets 'important to Iran and the Iranian culture'. The 52 targets represent the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran after a raid in 1979. Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for her party's presidential nomination, said Trump was 'threatening to commit war crimes'. Donald Trump (pictured yesterday) said he had lined up attacks on 52 sites 'important to the Iranian culture' if Iran struck US targets in revenge for Qassem Soleimani's death Britain issued a veiled rebuke to Trump, pointing to international conventions that protect cultural heritage. Iran launched a missile barrage on US bases in Iraq two days ago, but no American troops were harmed. Zarif said that Iran had 'concluded' its retaliation but some Iranian officials have hinted there could be more to come. The foreign minister was due to attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York yesterday but was denied entry by US authorities. Under the 1947 UN 'headquarters agreement', the US is generally expected to allow access to the United Nations for foreign diplomats. But Washington says it reserves the right to deny visas for 'security, terrorism and foreign policy' reasons. Iran's parliament this week passed an urgent bill declaring the US military's command at the Pentagon and those acting on its behalf as 'terrorists.' The measure appears to be an attempt to mirror a decision by Trump in April to declare the Revolutionary Guard a 'terrorist organization.' The US Defense Department used the Guard's designation as a terror organization in to support the strike near Baghdad airport that killed Soleimani. Iranian lawmakers hurried the bill through with a special procedure today while some chanted 'Death to America'. The vote also saw lawmakers approve funding for the Quds Force with an additional 170million. Nearly a quarter of a million Australians have been urged to evacuate their homes as blistering temperatures soared again on Friday(January 10). The mood is tense. Erratic winds are forecast across the east coast threatening to intensify the flames. In South Australia, residents of Kangaroo Island heeded the warning and many camped close to the water overnight. A third of the island has been swallowed up by fire it's a popular tourist spot known for its wildlife and koalas have been scorched by the raging fires. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BUSHFIRE EVACUEE, NAME UNKNOWN, SAYING: "Yeah, a bit stressed but we think the safest place is to be near the sea so if you have to go in the water you can. And, we've got plenty of, you know, open space here. We're just hoping maybe the wind might change a bit." Australia's wildfires have dwarfed other recent catastrophic fires around the world. Combining 2019's fires in California, Brazil and Indonesia still amounts to less than half the burned area in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australian army was supporting evacuations with helicopters dropping supplies into communities cut off by fires. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON, SAYING: "Today I've noted the severe and extreme conditions that are across two states. What I've said in my briefings this morning with the ADF (Australian Defence Force) is I've given them very clear instructions that they are to stand ready to move and support immediately in the event that they are needed in the wake of what we hope we will not see today but we must prepare for today. " Australia's government has been criticised for downplaying any direct link between climate change and the devastating bushfires. This has prompted campaigners to plan worldwide protests for Friday. San Franciscos Human Services Agency released a list Thursday of 14 classes aimed at older adults that the city will take over from City College of San Francisco. Eight will begin on Monday at the Aquatic Park Senior Center. The rest will begin between Jan. 21 and Feb. 3 at community centers around the city. The classes were among City Colleges decades-old Older Adults program, attended by more than 2,000 students, that college leaders eliminated in November. As protests erupted at City College this fall over the abrupt cancellation of 345 spring classes and an on-again, off-again attempt to double executive pay during the schools ongoing budget crisis, the 50 much-loved classes for older adults were caught in the fray. College officials said the program cost less than $1 million a year. City Hall announced in December that it will spend $216,000 a year to rescue about a third of the 50 older adults classes for three years. They will be added to an already extensive menu of classes for seniors paid for by the citys Department of Disability and Aging Services. Some of the 14 classes identified Thursday will be offered more than once, and will be offered, as they previously were, at community centers around the city. More Information Here is the link to see the 14 former City College "Older Adults" classes that will continue: https://bit.ly/2QDRf03 Here is the link to see a range of other classes aimed at older adults that San Francisco also offers: https://bit.ly/37TjzBv Since 2017, City College has eliminated 634 credit and noncredit classes, 20% of all offerings, in the aftermath of the college's five-year accreditation crisis. Since spring, Chancellor Mark Rocha has announced $45 million in budget deficits - including a $13 million projected deficit this year. Recently, after the college's spring 2020 catalog was printed, college leaders stunned faculty, staff and students by announcing that 345 classes would not be offered, after all. Here are the 281 credit classes and 64 noncredit classes that were eliminated. The 50 noncredit classes in the Older Adults are those labeled "OLAD." See More Collapse Classes that begin on Monday are womens literature, ceramics, painting, mind-body-spirit, basic art, music appreciation and tai chi. The rest will be offered at a dozen sites around the city, from the Jewish Community Center to the West Portal Club House. They are: body dynamics, nutrition education, principles of balance, quilting and communications. Part of the reason the city was able to stand this up so quickly is that we already had contractural relationships at those centers, said Chandra Johnson, spokeswoman for the Human Services Agency. The classes that didnt make it like Steve Budds Telling Your Life Story writing class are those that were taught on City College property. Budds met weekly at the Mission District campus. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Its good that ... classes are being saved, said Budd, a playwright with a masters degree in creative writing from Boston University who taught in the Older Adults program for five years. Its too bad my class isnt going be saved for my students. But Im happy for the students who will continue to be able to take their classes. Meanwhile, faculty are continuing to protest at City College. On Friday morning, they are planning to boycott Chancellor Mark Rochas scheduled remarks kicking off a daylong professional development event. Nor do faculty union leaders consider the continuation of a portion of Older Adults classes a victory. Bold-faced union-busting at City Hall! is how union President Jenny Worley described the funding shift in a recent Facebook post, and called it a plan to privatize public education by farming out those classes to non-union, private-sector orgs. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 21:01 731 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321b70d1 1 National terrorism,terrorists,diaspora,mahfud-md Free Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD has said that over 6,000 Indonesian citizens have been identified as foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). In Syria only, there are 187 [Indonesian citizens]. More than 6,000 of our citizens abroad have been identified as terrorists, Mahfud said in Jakarta on Friday, kompas.com reported. We must bring a lot of them back to Indonesia. Mahfud said the government had been concerned about the FTF issue, including the challenge of bringing them back without posing threats to national security. To enhance counterterrorism efforts, Indonesia hopes to cooperate with Japan. Japan Counterterrorism Agency director general Shigenobu Fukumoto visited Mahfud on Friday to discuss counterterrorism measures for the two nations. Mahfud said the cooperation would likely include deradicalization efforts. There are many things that we would cooperate on. There would also be a joint team established to discuss terrorism and regional security, Mahfud said. (sau) Hundreds of mourners held a candle-light vigil on Thursday night in Toronto to remember 176 people killed when a Ukraine-bound plane crashed in Iran. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said multiple intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the Ukrainian airliner built by Boeing, although he conceded it may have been unintentional. The dead included 63 Canadians and many headed for At the vigil, people in Toronto -- which has a large Iranian community -- expressed anger and sadness over the tragedy. "Somebody has to answer us back why this happened. They were innocent people who died," said one of those at the ceremony, Yasmin Roshan, age 43. Roshan, who came with his nine year old daughter, said he lost two friends in the crash. He said he blamed US President Donald Trump, who last Friday ordered the killing of a top Iranian general in Iraq, sending tensions between Washington and Tehran soaring. ALSO READ: Iran asks Canada to share information regarding Ukraine airliner crash Iran retaliated Wednesday by firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops. The airliner went down just hours later. "They are all gone and we don't know why. It's the right of the community and everybody to know what happened exactly," said a 55-year-old man who gave his name as Sam. Sam said he was "upset, angry and sad." In Toronto, an estimated 100,000 Canadians are of Iranian origin. It is one of the largest Iranian communities in North America, after Los Angeles. Officials figures say there were 210,000 Canadians of Iranian origin in 2016. Some in the crowd at the Toronto vigil shouted "We want justice!" Vigils were also held in Ottawa and Montreal. In the capital, Trudeau laid a wreath during a ceremony held outside Parliament. I think it had a significant impact. I dont think its the whole story, but I think its part of it, said Elaine Lui, the etalk and The Social TV personality who runs the website LaineyGossip.com and has closely monitored the medias obsession with the royals. If we go back historically, Harry has hated the royal rota forever. Thats a fact. It has been made very clear, he blames a lot on the media for what happened to his mother. . . . Ive heard from people Ive talked to that he was already asking questions about detaching himself from the royal rota as far back as a year ago. ED court directs Andhra CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to appear on Jan 11 Is Y S Sharmila planning to launch a regional party in Telangana? Andhra Pradesh: Ruling YSRC rebel MP, who sought cancellation of CM Jagans bail, held for sedition How To Apply For Amma Vodi Free Laptop Scheme Online: Registration Link, Eligibility and Documents Required Jagan Mohan Reddy appears before special CBI court in disproportionate assets case India oi-Deepika S Hyderabad, Jan 10: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday appeared before a special CBI court, in connection with alleged disproportionate assets case. This will be the first time since Jagan became the chief minister that the Andhra chief minister is appearing before the court. He has not appeared for the hearings citing his busy schedule as CM.' Earlier, the court had rejected his plea to exempt him from appearing personally for the hearing after the CBI opposed it. The YSR Congress leader was released on bail from the Chanchalguda jail in September 2013. He was in prison for 15 months following his arrest in May 2012 in related cases. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy abruptly ends Delhi trip, rushes back to state The special CBI court had ordered him not to directly or indirectly or influence witnesses while granting bail. The probe agency has filed 11 charge sheets, besides supplementary charge sheet in the cases. The Pentagon's audit agency is digging into cost and pricing data for F-35 engines to determine why United Technology Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit isn't extracting more savings from subcontractors on their share of the biggest U.S. weapons program. As the sole provider of engines for the F-35, the company and its subcontractors are in line to collect as much as $66 billion of a projected $428 billion in acquisition costs for more than 3,000 of the fighter jets being built for the U.S. and its allies. The agency's review was initiated after Pratt & Whitney claimed cost savings of about 3% in its prices for the 12th through 14th F-35 contracts -- the largest to date -- over the prior contract. By contrast, Lockheed Martin Corp., which builds the rest of the plane, is projecting savings of as much as 15.3%. The Pentagon program office is wondering about the big difference. "That the engine price is not coming down as fast as the air vehicle is a concern," Greg Kuntz, spokesman for the Defense Department's F-35 program office, said in a statement. "We are using all the tools available to us to get the best price for the taxpayer." As the F-35 program approaches a likely full-rate production decision this year, the Pentagon is under increasing pressure to wring costs from all areas. Congress has approved about $27 billion to date for F-35 engines. Two House Armed Services subcommittees are digging into long-term maintenance costs for the plane. Fifteen 15 to 20 suppliers are included in the review by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, covering many parts including castings and forgings, Kuntz said. That's out of about 280 U.S. and foreign suppliers, according to Pratt & Whitney data. "These types of supplier audits are common and include information from subcontractors" that will allow the program office "to more accurately determine pricing ahead of our next production negotiations" -- for the 15th through 17th contracts -- and "establish a fair and reasonable price for the propulsion system," Kuntz said. Matthew Bromberg, Pratt & Whitney's president for military engines, said in an interview that "they should challenge us," but "you need to look at cost reductions over time." He said that from the beginning of production to the end of Lot 14, the company achieved more than 55% in cost reductions per engine. Bromberg said "I'm not satisfied either" with the 3% the program office is questioning, "but that's what we could work out of our supply base and our cost structure." Pratt & Whitney's goal over the next two years is to "lock down on a more aggressive cost-reduction strategy that we'll then negotiate" with the Pentagon, he said. Data from the audit agency will help, he said, so "if they find opportunities for cost reductions that we're not leveraging, I embrace it 100%." When Shane Morrow went to visit his uncle Larry at Glendale Care Centre in Torontos Swansea neighbourhood this week, he noticed something strange on his head. Shane said he and his mother initially thought his uncle had some sort of accident and that the black marks they were seeing were stitches. However, upon closer look, he realized they were very wrong. Someone had drawn a swastika and a happy face on his uncles head in black marker. I couldnt believe my eyes, Shane said. Shane said he questioned the staff member on duty who allegedly told him that this was one of two swastikas that were drawn on the 65-year-olds body by a younger man. She then attempted to scrape off the swastika with her fingernail, Shane said. He said he was told that his uncle initially had a swastika drawn on his back, which was able to be washed off, but the one on his head was not. Shane said he then began to worry as to how a person could draw on his uncles body like that. I was thinking: How did he get his shirt off? Why was his shirt off? Did this guy pull his shirt over his head and was abusing him? Shane said, adding that he also noticed bruising on his uncles arms. On Thursday night, Toronto police released a statement, which said they received a call at 9:55 a.m. Monday. It is alleged that a man used a marker to write on another mans head and body, in addition to other acts which interfered with the lawful enjoyment of the premises, the statement read. The officers investigated and noted the markings were a few words and scribbles. No discernable images were found. Police are aware of an image of the man circulating on social media. This image shows what is believed to be a swastika on the mans head. This marking was not visible to attending officers at the time of the original call. Today, the person responsible has been arrested. This matter is still under investigation and charges are pending. Larry, who is living with Alzheimers, Parkinsons and diabetes, has been a resident at Glendale, at 46 The Queensway, for approximately two years and is on a waitlist to get into a retirement home. The incident is a private matter, said a Glendale Care Centre staff member who answered the phone. The centre cannot divulge any information at this time, said the person, who wouldnt provide their name to toronto.com. Shane said that aside from the alleged abuse, he also noticed his uncle was clad in dirty clothes and living in an unclean environment at the facility. The smell of feces, the smell of urine, I could not believe it, he said. It was to the point that I wanted to grab my uncle, throw him on my back and get out of there. Thats how bad it was. While the Morrows are not Jewish, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Toronto has reached out to them, offering support following the incident. The CIJA has released a statement saying they are horrified by reports that an elderly man suffering from Alzheimers was brutally abused at a Toronto care facility. That someone would commit such a vicious assault on a human being in our society is almost beyond belief, the statement read. Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures, a six-episode spinoff of a 2018 runaway hit, is being shown on Netflix since Dec 31. In the summer of 2018, Story of Yanxi Palace garnered more than 18 billion "clicks" to top all online Chinese dramas that year. Its producer and scriptwriter Yu Zheng tells China Daily the latest spinoff has subtitles in 23 foreign languages, including English, Thai and Hindi, and is the first such Chinese series to be streamed on a foreign platform before being released in China. The new tale takes place around 15 years after the end of the first one, which unfolds through 70 episodes to chronicle the rise of Wei Yingluo, a low-born royal maid who overcomes palace intrigue to be crowned the "imperial noble consort" to Emperor Qianlong (1711-99) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). As the hostess of Forbidden City, China's imperial palace, and the most powerful woman in the king's harem, Wei a role reprised by actress Wu Jinyan is seen encountering a new crisis in the latest series: Her princess daughter is urged by a Mongolian prince to cancel their engagement, as he believes the rumor that the young woman is spoiled and willful. To clear her reputation and win back her love, the princess sneaks out of the palace to embark on an adventure, discovering that the situation is more complicated than she had estimated. "I have had the Princess Adventures story in my mind for a long time. It's sort of a tale that is more relatable for modern youngsters. The title's protagonist is an adorable and straightforward woman. When she falls for someone, she takes action without hesitation," says Yu, 41. The statistics from the television market company CSM Media Research show that Chinese TV series ran an average of 42 episodes per production in 2018. Considering that dramas on Netflix are much shorter, Princess Adventures recounts "a comparatively simple story" to be told in just six episodes, Yu adds. "Most domestic production companies are still exploring how to better sell Chinese stories abroad. I hope this drama demonstrates the beauty of Chinese culture to foreign audiences," Yu says. To clear her reputation and win back her love, the princess sneaks out of the palace to embark on an adventure, discovering that the situation is more complicated than she first imagined. "I have had the Princess Adventures story in my mind for a long time. It's sort of a tale that is more relatable to modern youngsters. The title's protagonist is an adorable and straightforward woman. When she falls for someone, she takes action without hesitation," says Yu, 41. The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame will induct the first female space shuttle pilot, a former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, an expert in aviation regulations and a local entrepreneur who sold his company to Boeing at an event May 8 at the Lone Star Flight Museum. The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame was established in 1995 to honor Texans and Texas organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions to the advancement of aviation. This year's inductees are: Last year's inductees: Astronaut, WWII veteran among 2019 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame inductees George W.S. Abbey, currently the senior fellow in space policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, was the director of NASAs Johnson Space Center between 1996 and 2001. With a bachelors degree in general science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a masters degree in electrical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, Abbey has logged more than 5,000 hours flying both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. He's held a variety of roles at NASA, including director of flight operations responsible for the overall direction and management of flight crew and flight control activities for all human space missions. Eileen M. Collins, an aerospace consultant, became the first female space shuttle pilot in 1995 and the first female commander of a U.S. spacecraft in 1999. Collins earned her bachelor of science degree from Syracuse University and was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and graduated from undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in 1979. During her service, Collins pursued a masters degree in operations research from Stanford University and a masters in space systems management from Webster University. She graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School in 1990 and was selected as an astronaut in 1991. Usto Schulz, now retired, spent 30 years assisting airlines with their management practices and Federal Aviation Administration certifications. A Texas native, Schulz enlisted in the Army in 1943 and was stationed at Hondo Air Base in Texas as a pilot and engineering officer. Later stationed at Ladd Field in Alaska, he became a cold-weather pilot before joining the Civil Aeronautics Authority, a forerunner to the Federal Aviation Administration, in 1957. He was an independent consultant working with airlines, which included guiding JetBlue Airways through its certification process, between 1975 and 2005. Tyson Weihs is the cofounder and CEO of ForeFlight, a flight planning tool that helped revolutionize the cockpit. Its app helps pilots chart their course and select altitudes for a speedy arrival or for saving fuel. It provides weather information and allows pilots to calculate an aircraft's weight and balance. During flight, pilots can track their position and call up airport-specific landing information. ForeFlight was acquired by Boeing last year. Born in South Carolina, Weihs received a bachelor's in computer science from Trinity University and an MBA from Rice University. WINDSOR, Ont. - The loved ones of five Windsor, Ont.-based students and researchers killed in the Iran plane crash joined together in their grief Friday as they remembered the "shining stars" extinguished in the tragedy. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Friends and faculty members gather at The University of Windsor Friday Jan. 10, 2020, for a memorial service for the five University of Windsor students who died in the Ukraine International Airlines flight crash. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rob Gurdebeke WINDSOR, Ont. - The loved ones of five Windsor, Ont.-based students and researchers killed in the Iran plane crash joined together in their grief Friday as they remembered the "shining stars" extinguished in the tragedy. Friends, supervisors and community leaders spoke at a memorial service that the University of Windsor arranged for the five victims, including two married couples. Zahra Naghibi and spouse Mohammad Abaspour Ghadi; Samira Bashiri and spouse Hamidreza Setareh; and Pedram Jadidi were among the 176 people aboard Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752, which crashed just minutes after taking off from Tehran early Wednesday. "On Tuesday night, many of us in this room went to bed anticipating that our friends, family, colleagues, students would be back in Windsor in the morning, ready to do the work that they loved," Dr. Lisa Porter told the memorial, describing Bashiri as part of her lab family. "None of us could have imagined the events that would unfold. None of us could have imagined so many shining stars lost at once." Of the 176 who died in the crash, 138 were travelling through Kyiv and on to Canada, officials have said. Rupp Carriveau, Naghibi's faculty adviser, highlighted the scale of the tragedy in his speech at the memorial. "This tragedy was far-reaching and reminds us of how interconnected we are," he said, explaining he was in Waterloo, Ont., listening to a PhD defence when he saw there had been a crash. "I was very concerned and scared. And then I got another email the next moment that was about Zahra. It was very hard to carry on, but I'm glad that we did carry on," he said, adding that the PhD candidate he saw also lost a sister-in-law in the crash. Carriveau said Naghibi had an unbelievable work ethic that inspired his whole team. "What we asked her for, she made better. And that's what she's really done for us and what she's done for me as a person, is she's made us better. I'm extremely grateful for having known her," he said, his voice breaking. Naghibi was in Iran with her husband, Abaspour Ghadi, whose friend described the couple as a staple of his life in Canada. "Their presence turned the cold days of winter into the warm welcome of summer," Mehran Eshaghi said. "Mohammad believed in living the moments with friends, and he believed with friends, everything would be possible." Maryam Shafiei described the other couple killed, Bashiri and Setareh, as "the glue" in her group of friends, and said she is still grappling with what it will mean to live without them. "If we had lived in a fair world, it would have not been me giving this speech," she said through tears, addressing Bashiri. "It would have been you giving a maid of honour speech in the wedding ceremony. We made a deal. How could you do that to me? I'm really mad at you, and next time we meet, you'd better make it up to me." Shafiei said nobody could compare to Bashiri and her husband. "It's undeniable that perfection doesn't last, and they were the best example of perfection, the lovely couple," she said. Meanwhile, Naser Torabi said Jadidi had been both a remarkable PhD student and a kind friend. He had moved to Canada at the beginning of 2019 shortly after his father's death, Torabi said, noting he was back in Iran to mark that sombre anniversary with his family. "Who would have thought this was going to be his last farewell to his mother?" he asked. "Who would believe this beautiful family would lose a father and son in a year?" At times throughout the ceremony, the microphones on stage picked up the sounds of audience members sobbing. by Nicole Thompson in Toronto This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. paul krugman Neilson Barnard/Getty Images New York Times columnist Paul Krugman tweeted Wednesday that he received a phone call indicating that hackers downloaded child pornography on his WiFi network. Krugman later said he realized that the phone call, which he thought was coming from his "computer security service," was likely a scam. The incident appears to be a case of phishing, wherein scammers pose as an authority or service provider in order to trick people into disclosing personal information. Cybersecurity experts say phishing is a rising threat, but that it's largely preventable. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and columnist for the New York Times, took to Twitter Wednesday to share some alarming news. "Well, I'm on the phone with my computer security service, and as I understand it someone compromised my IP address and is using it to download child pornography," Krugman said in a since-deleted tweet. The tweet drew baffled responses from Twitter users, many of whom pointed out that an IP address isn't a device or system that can be compromised it's just a number that identifies a computer on a WiFi network. Krugman later said that, after his colleagues at the Times looked into the issue, he realized the phone call was likely a scam. A spokesperson for the Times said in a statement to Business Insider that the paper's security team determined Krugman had fallen victim to a scam. The incident appears to be an example of a phishing scam, in which scammers pose as an authority or service provider (like a computer security service) to scare their victims into handing over personal information. Here's everything you need to know about phishing scams and how you can avoid them. The majority of hacks and breaches are the result of phishing. Story continues looking at phone iphone apple Jeff Chiu/AP According to a 2019 cybersecurity study published by Verizon, most breaches in the past year involved hackers stealing people's credentials using phishing scams. Phishing is a rising threat, according to cybersecurity experts. email Getty Images According to the Verizon report, email-based phishing scams are on the rise, and are the most prominent form of cyberattack. Phishing usually starts with a call, email, or pop-up that looks legitimate but is actually coming from a scammer. phone call mixetto / Getty ImagesBeware of anyone who asks for personal information via email or phone, especially when you weren't expecting them to get in contact. man looking at computer investing Hero Images/Getty Images According to a guide compiled by Google, phishing attempts usually seek out usernames, passwords, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or personal information. Most legitimate organizations will never ask you to send sensitive information via email. If you receive an email or phone call that you weren't expecting that's asking for personal information, try to verify where it's coming from. FILE PHOTO: A man takes part in a hacking contest during the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. on July 29, 2017. Reuters If it's an email, double check the sender's email address to make sure it's coming from the domain they claim to be affiliated with scammers will regularly use slightly modified email domains meant to resemble the real deal. You can also use online tools to check whether the email is authenticated. When in doubt, cease communication and try to contact the organization directly. Google Jigsaw phishing quiz Google If you're communicating with someone who you suspect isn't with the organization they say they are, try to verify with that organization directly. For example, if someone says they're with your phone provider and is asking for personal information, hang up and call your phone provider directly. If you spot phishing, report it. WhatsApp hack Reuters Most email and phone providers have internal channels to report suspected phishing attempts. The Department of Homeland Security also encourages people to report phishing through their website. Read the original article on Business Insider Police have warned the public not to approach a wanted Perth man. Christopher John Hudston, 31, is wanted in connection with an investigation into a serious assault, and police warned he may be in possession of a firearm. A WA police spokeswoman said the public was asked not to approach Mr Hudston, and instead report any sightings to police on 131 444 immediately. Mr Hudston is described as being light skinned, 180cm tall with a solid build, brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Mr Hudstons recent movements is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online. Daxing International Airport will be tested as it readies for the Spring Festival travel rush for the first time starting this Friday. During the 40-day travel rush, the new airport is anticipating 1.9 million inbound and outbound passengers with an average 15% increase in the number of flights per day. Daxing International has made appropriate adjustments to handle the rapidly increasing passenger volume during the travel rush, said Tan Zhanfeng, deputy manager of the airport's operation management department. These measures include increasing the number of domestic flight counters, opening more security check channels, and guiding passengers to self-check-in service. In case of bad weather, additional shuttle buses and taxis will be added to ensure no passenger is stranded during the travel rush. In addition, some airlines are offering check-in service at the Caoqiao Subway Station. It takes 19 minutes to go from Caoqiao to Daxing International by subway. Meanwhile, passengers can immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere in the airport while waiting for their flights. In addition to festive decorations, Daxing International will host a wide range of activities to celebrate the Spring Festival. The airport will work with cultural institutions such as the National Museum and the China Crafts Development Research Center to hold a special exhibition on Chinese calligraphy, as well as a Lunar New Year Craftsman Market where passengers can interact with craftsmen and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. The 2020 Spring Festival travel rush lasts from this Friday to Feb. 18 for a total of 40 days. The total passenger volume of railways, airlines, and highways is expected to be 45.73 million in Beijing. SUKHUMI, Abkhazia -- The de facto Supreme Court in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia has annulled the results of last years presidential election and ordered a rerun of the vote. The self-styled judges on January 10 overturned a lower courts decision to recognize the results of September "presidential elections" won by Raul Khajimba, following an appeal by opposition presidential candidate Alkhas Kvitsinia. The de facto Supreme Court ordered the election authorities to set the date for the new vote. TASS reported that Khajimba and his supporters plan to appeal the ruling, which came as hundreds of opposition activists for a second day gathered in front of the separatist leader's office in the regional capital, Sukhumi, demanding him to resign. On January 9, Abkhazia's de facto parliament called on Khajimba to step down, after demonstrators stormed the building housing his administration. The self-styled lawmakers said in a resolution that the move aimed at avoiding further destabilization in society, which they said could have irreparable consequences. Khajimba's office responded to the resolution with a statement saying such a move may "complicate the social and political situation," adding that "all differences must be solved solely through negotiations." Moscow has recognized Abkhazia and Georgias other separatist region, South Ossetia, as independent states after a five-day Georgia-Russia war in August 2008. Russian troops are now stationed in the two regions and Georgia and most of the international community consider both regions as occupied territories. With reporting by TASS India told Pakistan Thursday it should stop peddling falsehoods at the United Nations as there are no takers here for your malware, the usual alarmist rhetoric Pakistan deploys at the world body to catch the attention of member nations who have shown no interest in them. India also slammed the UN Security Council for its growing crisis of identity and lack of relevance, which it said, rendered it incapable of tackling the globalization of terror networks; (and) the weaponization of new technologies, that has been driven, India did not say explicitly, by Pakistan and its backers. India has been pushing the UN for reforming the Security Council, its top-decision making body, to make it more reflective and representative of the changed world than the one that gave birth to the world body 75 years ago. It is seeking permanent membership of the reformed and expanded council, with the support of all major powers. Watch l Indian Envoy to UN hits out at Pakistan for peddling falsehoods One delegation that epitomizes the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today, said Syed Akbaruddin, the Indian permanent representative to the UN, during an open debate at the UN Security Council on Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Upholding the United Nations Charter. He added; These we dismiss with disdain. My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbor heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware. The PR spoke after the Pakistani delegation, which had replayed an alarmist portrayal of the situation in the sub-continent, and specially at the border, that it has used before to push the world body to intervene, a which it has refused to, aligning itself with Indias position that the dispute must be dealt with bilaterally. In its pursuit of UN intervention, or by any other country or entity, the Pakistan delegation had repeated claims from a letter Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi wrote to the council president and the US secretary general in December to seek a meeting of the Security Council on India, post August 5 abrogation Article 370: that India has made over 3,000 ceasefire violations, cutting portion of the fence along the border for passage for its military, and deployment of regiments equipped with BrahMos missiles. This December 12 letter from Qureshi was used by China to seek a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss Kashmir after the August 5 abrogation of Article 370 but it was forced to back off by other members of the Security Council, namely the United States (which held the UNSC rotational chair for the month), France, Russia and the United Kingdom. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ASEAN countries have become an alluring destination for Chinese-based businesses looking to benefit from the cost-savings of relocating all or part of their... MTN announced that the Attorney General of Nigeria (AGF) has withdrawn its $2-billion tax demand against the company, and referred the matter to the tax authorities. MTN Nigeria has been informed the AGF has decided to refer the matter to the relevant authorities, being the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigeria Customs, with a view to them resolving the issues, said MTN. Accordingly, the AGF has withdrawn its letter of demand for the aforementioned $2 billion that was issued in August 2018. MTN said it will follow court process to withdraw its legal action against the AGF and engage with the relevant bodies on this issue. MTN Nigeria previously filed a lawsuit after the AGF issued a demand for unpaid duties and taxes, with the company challenging the authority of the AGF to deal with issues around tax and custom duties. According to the law, oversight for this is the responsibility of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigerian Customs, MTN said. MTN remains committed to building and maintaining cordial relationships with all regulatory authorities in Nigeria, it said. THE BIRDS (120 minutes) PG A romance between a lawyer (Rod Taylor) and a rich party girl (Tippi Hedren) is interrupted when birds launch a mass attack on a small Californian coastal town. Alfred Hitchcock was at the peak of his poetic powers when he made this seminal 1963 disaster movie, a technical tour de force that remains both shocking and mysterious. Astor, Sunday, 7pm. Double bill with Psycho. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1943 classic film, Casablanca. Credit:AP CASABLANCA (98 minutes) PG Michael Curtiz's legendary wartime melodrama, with Humphrey Bogart as a cynical nightclub owner in occupied Morocco, Ingrid Bergman as the old flame who walks back into his life, and a host of great European character actors in supporting roles. Even first-time viewers may feel a pang of nostalgia when Dooley Wilson sings As Time Goes By. Digitally projected. Astor, Sunday, 2pm. By IANS NEW DELHI: The top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed displeasure over the delay in organisational elections in the states. The party has now fixed the deadline for state poll officials who have been asked to complete the election of state presidents by January 20. The party has also sought a progress report of the elections till that date. The organisational elections started in the BJP from September 18 last year. The election from the lowest to the national president level was to be completed by December 15. But, in the midst of the Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the election process slowed down as the party leaders got busy. According to the party constitution, the national president is elected only after the completion of the organisation elections in 50 per cent of the states. But the effect of the slow pace of the election process is that till now only the state presidents of Bihar and Rajasthan have been elected. Except for the states that saw Assembly elections, the state presidents have not been elected in other states, including Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The BJP sources say that as per the tradition, the party wants unanimous elections for state presidents, however, many contenders are coming forward for the posts. Due to this, the organisational polls in the states are getting delayed. Party sources told IANS that due to lack of organisational polls in 50 per cent of the states, working president J.P. Nadda cannot be appointed as the national president of the party. Amit Shah continues to handle the responsibility of the party president along with the Ministry of Home Affairs. A BJP leader associated with the organisation polls told IANS: "Reports have been sought from the states till January 20 on the status of the polls. If the elections are held in more than half of the states within this deadline, then working president J.P. Nadda will be the party president for three years. " Another BJP leader told IANS: "Since the party is completely focused on the Delhi Assembly elections, I think Nadda's name for the post of national president may be announced only after the Delhi election. For the time being, the present arrangement of the national president and the working president may continue." A Soldiers Reward: a moving testimony of faith in the battlefield of life, is the creation of published author Joe Barrett, a native of East Tennessee raised in one of his grandfathers farms. He is a retired police lieutenant who has served as a combat medic for the US troops in Korea in the 50s. Barrett writes, Raised on a farm with its back-breaking work, I thought there ought to be a better way to make a living. One day I happened to pass by a recruiting office, thought this could be it. These men dont have to get up out of bed at three a.m. every morning. At this point, I joined the military. I became a combat medic and was sent to Korea. I was under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, general of the Army. One day, my group of men was ambushed and there were heavy casualties. During a period of a lull, I jumped into a jeep alone and headed out for a tour of the area. I found myself in a Chinese enemy camp. This unusual situation gave me a unique experience during the war. Uncertain of what was going to happen, after my discharge from the military, I went into law enforcement and retired after thirty plus years as a Lieutenant from the Reno, Nevada, Police Department. Having been involved in numerous gun battles, I was again under the protection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who granted me my final ultimate reward, a place in eternity, my heavenly home. Hallelujah! Uncertain of what was going to happen, after my discharge from the military, I went into law enforcement and retired after thirty plus years as a Lieutenant in Reno, Nevada Police Department. Credit is given to Jesus Christ who has delivered me from many dangerous situations and granted me my final ultimate reward, a place in eternity, my heavenly home. Hallelujah! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Joe Barretts new book is an uplifting, candid, and thought-provoking work that sees the big picture in the small details of life wherein God resides, looking out for his faithful. View a synopsis of A Soldiers Reward on YouTube. Consumers can purchase A Soldiers Reward at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about A Soldiers Reward, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. MEXICO CITY - An 11-year-old student opened fire with two guns on his teachers and classmates in a school in northern Mexico Friday, killing a teacher and wounding six other people before taking his own life, authorities said. Coahuila state Gov. Miguel Angel Riquelme said the preliminary investigation showed the 6th-grader arrived at his classroom in the city of Torreon, told a classmate, Today is the day and asked permission to go to the bathroom. After 15 minutes, when he had not returned, his teacher went to look for him. He emerged from the bathroom firing the guns. The shooting ended when he shot himself, Riquelme said. Among the wounded were five students and a gym teacher, Riquelme said. None of the injuries were life-threatening, and some victims were expected to be released from hospitals soon. School shootings are rare in Mexico. Fridays shooting was reminiscent of another in January 2017 in the northern city of Monterrey. In that case, a student opened fire in a private high school. He killed a teacher and wounded two students. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The governor said the 11-year-old in the Torreon shooting lived with his grandparents and that his mother had died some years ago. He said the boy had not presented behavioural problems before in the school. Investigators were looking into reports the boy was influenced by a particular video game. Images from the scene showed worried parents arriving at Colegio Cervantes to pick up their children Friday. It is a private school in downtown Torreon across the street from a large park. Danya Mendizabal, whose daughter is in 4th grade at Colegio Cervantes, said she was initially alerted by a chat of student mothers. She called the school but no one answered. Then she called a teacher who told her that her daughter was fine and she should come get her. Mendizabal said her daughter was in her classroom in another part of the school and did not know what had happened. They managed it well because the teachers were very calm, she said. She said she never imagined anything like it could happen at the school. Colegio Cervantes has always distinguished itself as a very safe school of middle class kids, she said. The school participates in a state program called Safe Backpack in which school personnel search each childs backpack when they arrive at school, she said. Torreon is an industrial city with foreign assembly plants. A media friend who visited the Sussexes at their Frogmore Cottage home towards the end of last year fears Prince Harry is still 'living out the trauma' he experienced after his mother's death. Journalist Bryony Gordon, 39, also revealed she asked Meghan: 'Why don't you just jack it all in?' It comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a bombshell statement on Wednesday, announcing they plan to 'step back' as senior members of the Royal Family and divide their time between the UK and North America. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pictured with their son Archie, meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu. A media friend of the couple has spoken out after visiting them in October 2019 Bryony Gordon (pictured), 39, visited Prince Harry and Meghan at their Frogmore Cottage home at the end of last year and spoke to the Duke about his mental health Writing in The Telegraph, Ms Gordon said she felt Prince Harry was 'living out the trauma' he experienced as a 12-year-old, when he walked behind Princess Diana's coffin on television. Comparing her interview with Harry from 2017 to that in October 2019, she wrote: 'He had spoken candidly of the panic attacks that he had long experienced whenever he appeared at a public engagement. 'But if he thought then that he had beaten this mental torture, he now seemed to be realising that he had spoken too soon.' Referring to the Duchess of Sussex, Ms Gordon revealed: '"Why don't you just jack it all in?" I said to Meghan, after she had told me about the unexpected issues she had experienced in her new position: the loneliness; the sudden muting of her voice; the giving up of everything she knew for love, only to be, as she saw it, hounded and pilloried.' Ms Gordon, founder of the support group Mental Health Mates, did not receive a reply to her question but could tell from Meghan's facial expression the possibility had been considered, so was not surprised by the couple's recent announcement. Her visit took place just after Harry and Meghan had come back from South Africa, where they filmed emotional interviews with ITV documentary maker Tom Bradby. Harry and Meghan, dressed in casual jumpers, offered Ms Gordon tea on her arrival at Frogmore Cottage, a home which she detailed as being less luxurious than many would imagine, with dogs running around and a candle in the downstairs toilet. She described the couple as less energetic than before, with Prince Harry showing less optimism in regards to his mental health. Prince Harry (left) and Meghan (right) hug Ms Gordon during the first annual Royal Foundation Forum held at Aviva in London under the theme 'Making a Difference Together' From left to right, Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles walking behind the coffin of Diana, the Princess of Wales in September 1997 It follows Prince Harry and Meghan taking to the Sussex Royal Instagram account to announce they would be stepping back from royal duties and focus on low-key charity work. Sharing a picture of their engagement announcement in November 2017, their statement reads: 'After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. 'We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.' It continues: 'It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. On Wednesday evening the Sussexes took to the Sussex Royal Instagram account to announce the decision to 'step back' from royal duties and focus on low-key charity work Buckingham Palace later released a statement confirming that discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were at an 'early stage' 'This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. 'We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex'. Buckingham Palace later released a statement confirming that discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were at an 'early stage'. It added: 'We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.' Ali Najafis phone has been ringing non-stop all week. The co-owner of Vancouver-based Apadana Travel Corp. like so many of his travel agency counterparts has been inundated with calls from frantic Canadians scrambling to get home from Iran or cancel planned trips there following recent tension and tragedy in the Middle East. We are really busy because lots of flights to and from Tehran are cancelled and people are calling us from the airport, Najafi said on Thursday in a rare free moment between helping customers. People in Iran want to come home as soon as possible and people who have flights to Iran dont want to go because they think it is not safe. A Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 passengers crashed Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing everyone on board. At least 63 of the passengers were Canadian and 138 of the passengers on the Kyiv-bound plane had connecting flights to Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that intelligence from multiple sources indicates that an Iranian missile downed the flight, though it might have been unintentional. Irans military has denied that a missile hit the airplane. In the days since, travel agents have been grappling with how to get family members of the deceased to Iran and how to help Canadians in Iran home. We had a call from one our clients. Her sister died in that crash and she was calling us from the Iran airport. She wants to go back to join for the funeral, but the flight from Frankfurt to Tehran was cancelled, Najafi said. She said, Is there any way I can go back? We made reservations for her for the day after tomorrow, but I am afraid that flight will be cancelled too...Every day it gets worse and worse. Some of Najafis customers are also anxious to get refunds for flights, but many more are just trying to find a way home to Canada or over to Iran. Before the crash, many made use of connecting flights in Ukraine. A heartbroken Najafi booked at least six of the victims on their fateful flight through the country. He said the route was popular because of its low cost. Its cheaper, he said. For the Christmas holidays... it was $800 less. Lufthansa flights through Frankfurt were also commonly used, but Najafi said some flights Canadian customers could have taken through the German city were cancelled. The lack of routes and difficulty securing tickets are also being faced by Tony Talebzadeh, the client support manager at Toronto-based Aseman Travel, a travel agency that has long specialized in trips to the Middle East. It is a nightmare for people who are trying to get back and go to work or people who are trying to go back and bury their loved ones, he said Friday. There is not much they can do unless they fly to one of the neighbouring countries and go by bus or something. Some airlines, he said, have grounded their flights to or from Tehran until the 12th or 20th. Since.. the tension in the region, obviously a lot of people cancelled their flights or changed their plans, Talebzadeh said. Now with this latest situation...people have put their travel plans on hold unless they were planning to go there on an emergency basis. Even before the crash and tensions, travel options to Tehran were limited, said Talebzadeh. Canadians trying to fly to or from Iran have grown accustomed to seeing Tehrans airport departures board devoid of direct flights. Robert Kokonis, the president and managing director of Toronto-based consulting firm AirTrav Inc., did not know of any direct flights between Iran and Canada. Several airlines have backed out of servicing the country in recent years too. Despite large Iranian populations in Vancouver and Vaughan, a city just north of Toronto, Kokonis said such service is likely lacking because of sanctions and lower demand that Western carriers experience for such a route. Travellers hoping to get home this week, he said, can instead fly from Tehran to Dubai, Doha or Istanbul and then catch connections to major Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Logistically, they can still get there, but its a bit of challenge, he said. For a lot of carriers, they have to detour over all these airspaces to get where they are going, so flight times may be longer and there will be higher fuel consumption. Air Canada has also rerouted its flights departing Dubai for Toronto to avoid travelling over Iraq. Instead, planes will travel through Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has banned American carriers from travelling in Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace because of the potential for miscalculation or misidentification. Meanwhile, Air France and Dutch carrier KLM suspended all flights over Iranian and Iraqi airspace indefinitely on Wednesday. Kei Esmaeilpour, the president of the Civic Association of Iranian Canadians, said he heard of many people busy trying to travel between Iran and Canada following the weeks tragic events. Hes noticed many were intent on heading to the Middle Eastern country to visit family there or make funeral preparations. Cancelled flights and the stress of booking last-minute tickets was weighing on them. But what can they do? he said. They cannot quit their relations with their families, their parents, their mothers, their fathers, their sisters. Even before the crash, he noticed many were already shaken by the deaths of 1,500 people, who were reportedly killed in protests over recent months. Now people are asking what is the next bad news? said Esmaeilpour. Read more about: An investigation is under way after the death of a patient in the country's most overcrowded A&E. The investigation into the death at University Hospital (UHL) Limerick follows the discovery before Christmas of a body of a man who had been on a trolley. The cause of death is unclear and it is unknown whether the patient fell from the trolley. A spokesman for the hospital said that, for reasons of patient confidentiality, it could not comment on individual cases. He said all serious incidents were managed through the HSE's integrated risk management policy. "Insofar that there is an inquest into the death of a patient, the cause of death will be determined by the coroner," he said. "UL Hospital Group will as always fully comply with the coroner if and when required." It is unclear what the reasons were for the patient attending the emergency department or whether he had an existing injury. The investigation is expected to examine the extent of monitoring of the patient and what treatment or tests he received. The A&E in Limerick has been worst hit by the winter trolley crisis and a record 92 patients were waiting for a bed in the hospital on Monday. It had 48 patients on trolleys yesterday morning, the highest in the country. After two days of record overcrowding nationally earlier this week, the HSE said yesterday there had been a rapid improvement. Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said 520 were waiting for a bed, down from a record high of 760. However, much of the reduction may be at the cost of waiting-list patients who have had operations put on hold or cancelled. Liam Woods, HSE acute operations director, said non-emergency surgery had been curtailed in most hospitals. This will be reviewed on "a day-by-day, site-by-site assessment", he said. The ease is also due to a range of measures put in place by a winter funding blitz, with 26m spent in top-up money at the end of December. Anne O'Connor, HSE acting chief operations officer, said 3,208 patients attended emergency departments last week, which was down 3pc on the same period last year. However, an additional 1,125 over-75s had been treated in the last month compared to last winter and more of this vulnerable age group who needed care and had complex needs had to be admitted to wards. Half of this age group was discharged home or given a hospital bed within the nine-hour target, which is slightly less than this time last year. The measures to alleviate the crisis include more use of homecare, transitional beds in nursing home and long-term beds. The funding is also going towards supporting older people towards early discharge with community intervention teams. The number of delayed discharges - patients fit for discharge who need step-down care - rose to 605 again. Mr Woods said the winter initiative measures would be in place until the end of March, while National Treatment Purchase Fund was also commissioning extra beds. Although flu levels had fallen, the infection was continuing to circulate widely and there was also a significant amount of the winter vomiting bug causing disruption to hospitals and "spreading like wildfire". The HSE officials said they could not estimate whether hospitals were over the worst yet. In previous years, hospital overcrowding has worsened again once surgery levels increase and there are fewer vacant beds available for patients on trolleys who need to be moved to a ward. Health Minister Simon Harris will today meet the Irish Medical Organisation to discuss the offer of a consultant salary of up to 252,150 in return for treating only public patients and having no private practice. This contract will be offered to all new recruits from the middle of the year who will no longer be allowed take private fees. It is seen as essential to end the two-tier system. A Navy guided-missile destroyer was forced to sound warning blasts after a Russian ship approached aggressively in international waters, service officials said Friday. The approach took place Thursday while the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Farragut was conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, officials said in statements posted to social media. "Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road," officials said. "The Russian ship refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another." Related: Russia Has Stopped Buzzing US Ships and Aircraft in Europe, General Says Officials with U.S. 5th Fleet decried the Russian ship's delay in taking action to comply with international rules, saying that decision increased the risks of collision between the ships. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command officials did not immediately respond to questions about how close the two ships came. "The U.S. Navy continues to remain vigilant and is trained to act in a professional manner," officials said. Russia has a history of close calls and harassing actions near U.S. ships underway. Russian aircraft in particular have frequently buzzed U.S. ships, and executed particularly risky maneuvers in 2016 over the destroyer Donald Cook in 2016. Less than a month ago, though, the head of U.S. European Command and NATO, Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, said there had been no incidents of Russian harassment in that region in the last 90 days, a development he attributed to successful deconfliction dialogues. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Read More: As Military Units Deploy Amid Iran Tensions, Here's What Those Left Behind Are Doing . . . , , . 15-20 . , , . ... (TNS) Though there's been little material progress made when it comes to improving broadband access in the Aiken and Edgefield areas, the larger discussion has grown, and that's a step in the right direction, S.C. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said Thursday."So I do think there's been incremental progress made there, because there's a whole lot more conversation now about it than there was a year ago," the Edgefield Republican said during a 2020 legislative workshop for the media. "So I think that's good, and you've got to have the conversation before you can have the actual changes made."Last year, Massey said internet access or lack thereof was a serious issue in the Palmetto State, particularly in the more-rural swaths. Brendan Carr, a Federal Communications Commission executive, made a similar point during a visit to Aiken County."I mean, I'm a rural guy. I see it," said Massey, who has likened access to essential infrastructure. "That's probably one of the most frequent calls I get from people complaining about things, is that they don't have access to broadband."As of September 2018, thousands of Aiken County residents lacked access to even the most basic internet service. Access in Aiken County is most prevalent in downtown Aiken, around the bypass, near the Savannah River Site and in the North Augusta region, including Augusta, Georgia, according to a study handled by the Center for Applied Innovation and Advanced Analytics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.Internet access all but disappears near Windsor, along Wagener Road and in areas flanking Interstate 20. State Sen. John Matthews, D-Orangeburg, who spoke on the same panel as the senate majority leader Thursday, said many rural communities "can't grow" because they lack sufficient access to internet and technology, more broadly.Eliminating broadband deserts, both Massey and Economic Development Partnership President and CEO Will Williams have recognized, is not an overnight affair. The majority leader on Thursday described it as "frustratingly slow" especially for those without a connection in the first place."There's a long tail when you look at closing this digital divide," Carr, the FCC commissioner , said in 2019.Piecemeal progress, though, does not mean the government should dive in head first in an attempt to save the day, Massey cautioned, pointing to private sector domination. A government-saturated approach would just lead to a breakdown, he said, "because that's what happens when we get involved with stuff. It's going to break down."Burying and installing the necessary cable can cost thousands of dollars per mile."It's really hard to run 10 miles of cable in the ground if you've only got three customers," Williams has said, "and that's what so many people don't realize." We are American citizens. We have rights too. Whats good for the state isnt always good for the country. If so, then how can the laws of the state government be contradictory to the laws of the American government? How are there different laws for different states within what we call the United States ? That sounds contradictory right there? Which takes precedent? Neither obviously. Human rights of illegal immigrants are protected more than the human rights of American citizens in Sanctuary States. The laws in these states totally circumvent government agencies from enforcing the laws which protect American citizens. This is totally preposterous and illogical. Yet, it exists today. As usual, politics must come into play. To the casual observer, it appears that the Democratic Party is more sympathetic to the plight of the illegal immigrant as opposed to the Republican Party and Donald Trump, who stand steadfast for American citizens rights. Of course, the Democratic Party is against the wall. The Democratic Party has become desperate to entice illegal immigrants to establish residence and eventually vote Democratic. In certain states, it is already legal for illegal immigrants to vote. And every day more laws are being proposed to entitle more illegal immigrants to vote. In some states, illegal immigrants can apply for a drivers license. This drivers license alone gives them the right to vote in that state. By any chance are these laws the underminings of Democrats? American citizens should be appalled and disgusted by these actions. (Jeff Wheeler is a Great Kills resident.) Northern Ireland business bodies said they were breathing a sigh of relief as the parties indicated they would sign up to a deal restoring devolution - while also injecting new energy into the economy. The New Decade, New Approach agreement includes a commitment to improve infrastructure and transport connections, as well as a fund to boost economic competitiveness. It will also see the return of Ministers to the Executive, including an Infrastructure Minister who will make decisions on matters such as a North South Interconnector to improve security of electricity supply. Angela McGowan, CBI Northern Ireland director, said businesses were "breathing a collective sigh of relief". "As the UK moves closer to leaving the EU, the need for a strong voice from Northern Ireland has never been more important," she said. "It's time to reaffirm Northern Ireland's reputation as a great place to do business. "After three years of under-investment and political stalemate, this bold and ambitious deal is what Northern Ireland needs to get back onto its feet." Dr Len O'Hagan, the chairman of NI Water, welcomed the draft deal and the priority placed on transforming public services. Last year NI Water called for investment in wastewater infrastructure after years of under-funding which it said was hindering growth in the economy. Dr O'Hagan said: "NI Water's latest strategy has identified the need to invest 2.5bn to begin addressing historic underinvestment. In Belfast alone, 1bn is required to tackle wastewater, flooding and drainage problems". He added: "Without investment in critical water infrastructure across Northern Ireland, it will not be possible to deliver other priorities in the draft deal in areas such as housing, city deals or developing our tourism sector." He also welcomed a commitment to 'leaner government', adding: "This has the potential to deliver greater efficiencies in our sector and create better value for the public purse." He added: "NI Water stands ready to ensure that Northern Ireland can fulfil its potential to have a cleaner, greener and more prosperous future. Restoration of devolved government and political direction, if underpinned by the required levels of funding, will ensure this will happen." Ann McGregor, the chief executive of the NI Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also welcomed the deal, saying it heralded the return of "sustainable, long-term" devolution. "The business community has long been calling out for the return of the Northern Ireland Executive, to restore business confidence and ensure that overdue decisions can be made and enacted. It was always our belief that such decisions should be taken by locally accountable ministers. "After almost three years with no Assembly, our MLAs must move fast to start reversing the damage and restore the confidence of businesses, consumers and investors. There needs to be immediate, substantial action to reinvigorate our stagnant economy, build new infrastructure, boost skills and lower the cost of doing business in 2020." She said the Chamber welcomed the focus on investing in business growth, with the establishment of a new international trade plan, trade advisory board, trade accelerator plan and a 'Made in NI' campaign. "As complex trade arrangements are negotiated in the wake of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, there must be a cross-party approach to representing and protecting the unique interests of Northern Ireland's economy," she added. India's largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday said the Supreme Court has stayed the NCLAT order that directed the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as a director of the company. Earlier this month, TCS had filed an appeal in Supreme Court to stay the NCLAT judgement dated December 18, which directed reinstatement of Cyrus Pallonji Mistry as Director of the company for rest of the tenure. "The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has, vide its order dated January 10, 2020, granted a stay on the operation of the said judgement and has posted the matter for detailed hearing at alater date," TCS said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The Supreme Court has also stayed in toto the NCLAT order restoring Mistry as executive chairman of the Tata Group, observing that there were "lacunae" in the orders passed by the Tribunal. Meanwhile, in a separate filing, the Mumbai-based company has said it will announce its financial results for the December quarter on January 17. The company has set January 25 as record date for payment of the third interim dividend (if declared). TCS said its board will meet on January 17 to approve the audited financial results for the December 2019 quarter. The board will also consider declaration of a third interim dividend to the equity shareholders, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Boeing employees boasted about bullying regulators to approve the now-grounded 737 Max without requiring pilots to undergo simulator training while others raised safety concerns and complained about lax standards, according to a trove of internal documents the company released on Thursday. The contents of the more than 100 pages of internal messages present a fresh crisis for Boeing, which is struggling to regain its reputation after two fatal crashes of the 737 Max that killed 346 people and months of revelations that showed how the company designed a flawed airliner and sold thousands of them around the world. Boeing shared the messages with the Federal Aviation Administration and lawmakers, one of whom called them "damning." In messages from April 2017, one Boeing employee told another: "This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys." Another message showed a Boeing employee hopeful they could "gang up" on regulators and steer them "in the direction we want." A Boeing employee asked a colleague in a February 2018 message: "Would you put your family on a MAX simulator-trained aircraft? I wouldn't." His co-worker replied: "No." In the same exchange, one of the employees says: "Our arrogance is our demise." "I want to stress the importance of holding firm that there will not be any type of simulator training required to transition from the [older model of the 737] to MAX," read a message from Boeing's 737 chief technical pilot in March 2017 to another employee. "Boeing will not allow that to happen. We'll go face to face with any regulator who tries to make that a requirement." Another message from a Boeing employee later that year called an undisclosed party "morons" for ordering a type of cockpit display and said India's aviation regulator "is apparently even stupider." Boeing said the messages "do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable." Boeing had told regulators to remove simulator training from requirements before the FAA approved the jets, which became Boeing's best-selling aircraft, in 2017. The names of the people in the messages were redacted, but included in copies sent to lawmakers. Some of the documents showed concerns about flight simulators. The FAA, for its part, said the documents don't present any safety risks that it already knew about under its own review of the planes. It also backed the safety of the simulators mentioned in the documents. "While the tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing, the FAA remains focused on following a thorough process for returning the Boeing 737 MAX to passenger service," the agency said. Iran has invited manufacturer Boeing to take part in the investigation into the Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed outside Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, state media reported. It comes after intelligence agencies from several Western nations, including the UK, claimed Iran had accidentally shot down the plane with a surface-to-air-missile. Iran had previously said it would not hand over the recovered black box recorders to "the Americans" or to Boeing, even though it is customary for the manufacturer to be involved in crash investigations. But in a statement run by the state-operated IRNA news agency, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Iran "has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations". Abbas Mousavi said his country will also welcome experts from other nations whose citizens died in the crash. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada - which counts 63 of its citizens among the dead - said late on Thursday he had received intelligence from multiple sources indicating the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Similar claims were reported from British and American intelligence officials. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Mr Trudeau said it was possible that the missile firing was unintentional, and that it was still too early to apportion blame. "This reinforces the need for a thorough investigation," he said. The British foreign secretary Dominic Raab advised British nationals against travelling to Iran "given the body of information that UIA Flight 752 was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, and the heightened tensions". The plane crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against two Iraqi military bases housing US troops, part of a retaliation against America for its killing of the top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. US officials have suggested that with Iranian air defence systems on high alert amid the confrontation, the passenger jet could have been mistaken for a threat. Iran's civil aviation authority has denied the possibility that the plane could have been shot down, instead saying the plane appears to have crashed because of technical difficulties. Additional reporting by agencies The Difference Card Appoints New Executive Vice President of Operations EB Employee Solutions, LLC, dba The Difference Card, announced today that Rosa Garcia Rinder, former Director of Strategic Operations at Alegeus, will join the firm as the new Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Privacy & Security Officer. Ms. Garcia Rinder is skilled in scalable spending account solutions and has extensive experience in member services and client retention. Joseph Donovan, Chief Revenue Officer, commented on the appointment, "We are thrilled to have Rosa join our team. Her track record of successfully scaling growth companies while at the same time remaining dedicated to both the client experience and meber satisfaction is the perfect fit for our organization." Ms. Garcia Rinder will be leading the initiative to improve workflow processes and streamline back office operations. Rosa Garcia Rinder said, "I couldn't be happier to be joining the team at The Difference Card. I am excited to work alongside world-class talent while disrupting the healthcare industry status quo and bringing innovative solutions to our broker partners and employer groups." About EB Employee Solutions, LLC With sales offices across the United States, EB Employee Solutions, LLC, through its Difference Card Product, helps organizations maximize their health plan efficiency. By utilizing card technology, risk transfer solutions and proprietary wellness strategies, The Difference Card has delivered millions of dollars in savings to its clients while at the same time providing the highest level of employee benefits. The Difference Card (www.differencecard.com) serves clients in 50 U.S. States with offices in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005540/en/ Harvey Weinstein. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images Try to imagine a scenario that would require you to have four cell phones. Kind of difficult, right? Probably because any situation that would demand more than two phones would likely involve some sort of criminal or otherwise condemnable activity. Someone like Paul Manafort now theres a man who probably had drawers of phones. But most upstanding citizens who dont see a life of crime in their future? Just wouldnt make sense. Which is why its not all that surprising that Harvey Weinstein who is currently standing trial for rape and sexual assault is a man who carries an obnoxious amount of phones. According to BuzzFeed News, before Judge James Burke even entered the courtroom on the second day of the disgraced moguls high-profile trial, Weinstein was forced to hand over two cell phones after New York State Supreme Court staff spotted him with them in the courtroom, which Burke had explicitly declared a no-phone zone. But Weinstein had backup. When Burke walked into the room, he saw Weinstein furiously texting on an additional cell phone, and soon discovered that Weinstein had yet another on his person. Understandably, the judge was vexed. Mr. Weinstein, I strongly urge you to exercise your right to remain silent at this point, Burke warned him, before asking, Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, in violation of a do not text in court rule? Weinsteins lawyer Arthur Aidala swiftly apologized, but then asked the judge to delay the trial. (The request was denied.) And now, Weinsteins lawyers are trying to argue that Burke should recuse himself because he reprimanded Weinstein, which they say demonstrated bias. While around 100 women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, in New York City, he has been charged with five counts of rape and sexual assault of two women: former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and an unnamed woman who says Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2013. (In Los Angeles, Weinstein is facing rape and sexual-assault charges related to two separate incidents across two days in 2013.) Anyway, what a start for Weinsteins trial, which is still in the juror selection phase. Also, God, I wonder how many phones he has total. Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily 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. "This is similar. I know [Harry is] sixth in line, but this is very serious, this is a crisis for the monarchy," Loughrey said. The anger and hurt evident in his voice is a far cry from the jubilation felt outside Windsor Castle in May 2018, when the pair's wedding was celebrated in royal style, but with a distinct American flavour. "We did celebrate, we went and slept on the street for six nights," recalls Maria Scott from Newcastle in northern England. Loughery displaying a banner in May last year. Credit:AP Scott said it was obvious the couple was seeking change from the moment they broke with the Duchess of Cambridge's tradition of presenting her newborns to the public hours after their birth. The Sussexes instead opted to keep baby Archie away from the camera's glare. "They're not engaging with the British public and we've done nothing but support Harry and Meghan," says Scott, wounded. Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: Harry and Meghan have been in open warfare with elements of the British media, going as far a to sue several publications over alleged phone hacking and the publication of a private letter from Meghan to her father. But it is the cartel-like management of the 'royal rota' that has the couple at odds with their family. The royal rota is a system in which royal correspondents from Britain's main outlets divide royal coverage duties, accompanying a particular royal into what is often a charity function, to collect quotes, monitor reactions and share the information with the media "pool". Foreign publications, like this one, are made aware of the royals' movements and public engagements in advance but are restricted to relying on the pooled copy, images and recordings to report. Media rely on shared images and reports on the activities of royals including the Queen, Meghan and Prince Harry, pictured here in 2018. Credit:AP Harry and Meghan want the system scrapped. The Sussexes believe the rota wrongly boosts the credibility of the royal correspondents and encourages reports on their private life, published in the British media, to be picked up and reported around the world. On their website, they have shared detailed plans to encourage "grassroots media organisations and young, up-and-coming journalists". Journalists who respect their privacy would be favoured, the couple said. Diana, Princess of Wales, a month before she died in 1997. Credit:AP But Dan Wootton, the reporter who broke the story on the Sussexes in British tabloid The Sun, which is a member of the rota, says the arrangement also protected the royals and led to more respectful coverage compared to outlets abroad, where the palace cannot barter access for leverage. "For examples, those newspapers including The Sun, which is part of the royal rota, won't run paparazzi pictures of the royals where they may have been followed by photographers, whereas if you go to a magazine like New Idea in Australia they absolutely don't follow those rules," he explains. "So absolutely the royal rota has provided the royals protection in terms of respectful coverage. At the same time, I've obviously believed - and this is how I've always covered the royal family - that they should be covered just like any other publicly funded institution." Harry has always had a prickly relationship with the press, an attitude that bubbled over when he warned last year that the treatment of Meghan was similar to that which his mother Diana endured until she was killed in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi. Diana struggled to achieve what the Sussexes recently did - escaping Britain for six weeks in Canada without a single British journalist at their heels. A flag celebrating the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in May 2018. Credit:AP Wootton says the couple may find the media intrusion worse in Canada and warned it would be a "free for all" amongst the paparazzi in Los Angeles, where the couple may also choose to live. "They were delighted not to be photographed once on their six-week break in Canada, however it's quite naive to think that sort of treatment would continue," he says. "It's definitely a bit of the case that the grass is greener. [Harry] forgets the way that the press really rallied the nation around his wedding. Hayley from Philadelphia in the US says the reasoning behind the decision was obvious. Credit:Latika Bourke "If Harry thinks that by banning journalists from the major national newspapers in the UK from his events he will get better coverage, then I think that's naive. The British press will continue to cover him fairly." This sense of ownership, which the British feel over their taxpayer-funded family, has clashed with the life of an independent Hollywood celebrity who is not beholden to rules, tradition nor duty. It's a clash that outsiders, who largely see the royals as celebrities rather than constitutional functionaries, have an easier time understanding. Hayley, 22, from Philadelphia in the United States, says she had no strong views about the royal family, but she felt the pair's reasoning was obvious. "From what it seems to me, as an American, it seems like a lot of the press has just been very racist toward Meghan and so I'm happy for them that they're taking a step back," she says of the African-American Duchess. "I don't follow English news very heavily but with that, with Brexit, I can understand how they'd be upset with everybody and want to live their own life and have some privacy with themselves and the baby," she adds. Debbie and Suzy Wiseman from Mandurah, WA, are big fans of the Queen. Credit:Latika Bourke Suzy, 23, from Mandurah, south of Perth, read news of the royal split after seeing cameras lined up at the palace. "It's a pretty big thing isn't it? Shocking, but then there's been signs hasn't there?" She said she liked the change and modernity Meghan brought to the royal family. "I think everyone can sort of understand and relate with people who are so in the spotlight that they might want to take a break from it, particularly now they've got a family," Suzy's mother Debbie, 62, adds. Similarly, Rachel from Brazil praised Meghan and Harry's decision as "brave". "Because she's doing what she wants, I think it's cool, they have their right to be free and what they want to and what they feel in their heart." Harry made it known - even before his engagement to the Suits actress was revealed - that he desired to leave Britain and its oppressive media environment and live abroad. However Meghan risks being perceived as the architect of the decision. Rachel and Karolyn, from Brazil, praised Meghan for her bravery on a rainy day outside Buckingham Palace. Credit:Latika Bourke "She's influenced Harry, she's wearing the trousers and of course she's an actress - she can smile when she wants, she can laugh when wants, she can cry when she wants - Harry can't do that," says Loughrey, the 'Diana Superfan'. "And Harry can never live a normal life because he's been brought up in a palace." The official response from the rest of the family remains muted, told via "palace sources" to the same journalists Harry despises. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, who was widely reported to have fallen out with Meghan early on, contributing to the rift between Harry and William, celebrated her 38th birthday on January 9, the day after the announcement. KYODO NEWS - Jan 10, 2020 - 20:18 | World, All Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. plans to invest in the development of the new Indonesian capital on Borneo Island, the tech giant's founder and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son said Friday. Son revealed the plan after meeting Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the president's close aide, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan in Jakarta. (Masayoshi Son speaks to reporters after meeting Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Jan. 10, 2020.) According to Son, the scale of the investment has not been decided yet, but it will be separate from SoftBank's earlier pledge to invest $2 billion in Indonesia over five years. "We are discussing potentials. We didn't discuss any specific number yet, but a new smart city, newest technology, a clean city and a lot of AI. That's what I'm interested in supporting," he told reporters. Jokowi announced the plan to relocate the country's capital from Jakarta to Borneo in August last year, with five years being touted as a timeframe for the move. The new capital will be located between the East Kalimantan provincial capital of Samarinda and Balikpapan, its largest city, located some 90 kilometers to the south. Both are situated near the east coast of the world's third-largest island. Jokowi reiterated Indonesia needs to move its capital urgently to ease the burden on Jakarta, which suffers chronic pollution, traffic congestion and other woes. Another aim is to close the development gap between Java and the country's other islands, he said. The main island, which is home to nearly 60 percent of Indonesia's population, currently accounts for 58 percent of its total gross domestic product. The well-deserved Filthydelphia nickname will never be tossed into historys dustbin unless everyone who lives in, works in, and visits this city steps up including Mayor Jim Kenney, who was sworn in Monday to his final term. Kenneys inauguration speech renewed a vow made during his first mayoral campaign and promised that street cleaning will return to every neighborhood and commercial corridor" in the city by 2023. Doing so will even require folks to move their cars, said Kenney, later adding, if you dont want to move your car, tough. We welcome the Philly directness of the mayors declaration, although City Hall has since been busy reassuring constituents that moving cars in every neighborhood on every cleaning day may not be necessary. More important was the mayors frank acknowledgment of the historically fierce civic belief, especially in South Philly that being required to temporarily vacate a parking space constitutes a civil liberties violation. "People would literally come up to me, get in my face, and scream at me, Who are you to tell me I have to move my car? This isnt a communist country, former city councilman Frank DiCicco told WHYY this week about his effort to establish a pilot street cleaning program in the early 2000s. Overcoming neighborhood resistance may require the same level of stubbornness that the mayor has exhibited in the face of another of his unpopular ideas: the sugary beverage tax which is still being debated 3 1/2 years after it became law. The optics of some of his administrations other efforts related to clean streets, such as a pilot project in which cleaning machines were inoperable on narrow streets, and the use of leaf-blowers that proved unpopular with some residents, probably were less than persuasive to those who see Filthydelphia as beyond redemption. READ MORE: Phillys litter problem is no mystery. Why wont City Hall step up and solve it? | Opinion READ MORE: Inquirer Editorial: No, it's not Filthydelphia Ever since the city abandoned regular street cleaning in the early 1970s to save money, the plague of litter that defaces commercial and residential areas across Philadelphia has worsened despite efforts by the countless thousands of residents, business owners, civic associations, and organizations determined to take good care of their surroundings. The filthy mess on sidewalks, streets, and public places has many sources, including illegal dumping by firms and individuals from outside the city, but in the end, much of it is created and tolerated by people who live, work, or visit here. Nevertheless, a lot has changed in the 20 years since public opposition derailed the last effort to bring back street cleaning. Many younger Philadelphians dont have cars and at least some of their neighbors may have grown more willing to put up with the temporary parking inconveniences in order to improve the neighborhoods they love. Kenneys call for bringing this essential public service back to every part of Philly not only Center City or more affluent residential sections, but middle neighborhoods that dont attract development, and areas starving for investment, makes an inclusive statement. And by reminding residents that they may need to move their cars so crews can clean the streets, the mayor sent a signal that getting rid of "Filthydelphia wont happen unless we all pitch in. As tensions between the United States and Iran escalated in the wake of the killing of Iranian general General Qassem Soleimani, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said that the central government expects the energy prices to remain reasonable as it affects a lot of people. "The External Affairs Minister has been speaking to all the stakeholders. We expect energy prices to remain reasonable as it affects a lot of people," Pradhan told reporters here. Adding that the government will augment domestic production, the minister said: "We are moving towards 100 per cent electricity connectivity to all households across the country. Our LPG connectivity is already 95 per cent," he said. "We have to maintain the supply chain as per the growing energy demand. Our renewable energy initiative is unique in the world. Looking at the requirements of India, we are confident that our domestic source is going to increase," Pradhan added. Crude oil prices are witnessing a sharp rise in the international market amid the escalating tension between the US and Iran. Pradhan said that the Centre is focused on creating a gas-based economy. "Two days back, the union government has spent more than Rs 5,000 crore to create a grid in the remotest part of the northeast. Through that grid, we will augment the gas production in the area," the minister said. He also said that India is planning to create more such grids across the country and over 72 per cent of the population would come under city gas network. "India is also planning to create gas grids across the country. We are going to create a robust gas network in the country and over 72 per cent of the Indian population would cover under city gas network," Pradhan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of independent experts will be allowed to reopen its investigation into the murky disappearance of 43 students in southern Mexico in 2014, relatives of the missing men said Thursday. The case of the disappeared students from the Ayotzinapa teachers college still haunts Mexico, where the official probe was marred by irregularities and the former government refused to renew the mandate of the international experts in 2016. The experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) will now be allowed to pick up where they left off, a lawyer for the relatives said after the families met with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. In February or March we will have new developments in this investigation, the lawyer, Vidulfo Rosales, told journalists outside the presidential palace. The 43 student activists had stolen several buses to take them to a protest in Mexico City when they were detained by police the night of September 26, 2014, and allegedly handed over to gang members who massacred them. According to the prosecutions case, police officers who were on the payroll of the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel mistook the students for members of a rival group. They allegedly handed them over to cartel hitmen, who slaughtered them and burned their bodies at a garbage dump. However, the independent experts found that version of events was impossible, based on forensic analysis of the supposed crime scene. After ex-president Enrique Pena Nietos government declined to renew their mandate, the experts said their final hypothesis was that the students may have inadvertently taken a bus loaded with heroin bound for the United States. Of the five buses the students took that night, it was the only one stopped by federal police, rather than shot up by municipal police, the experts concluded. All mention of the bus later disappeared mysteriously from the official case file. Lopez Obrador took office in December 2018 with a promise to get to the bottom of the unsolved mystery, and created a truth commission for the case. The attorney general has meanwhile vowed to reconstruct the investigation almost from scratch. A former English National Ballet principal dancer accused of sexually assaulting three female victims at a London dance school has appeared in court. Yat-Sen Chang (48) was granted conditional bail after a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday. The Cuban dancer, who lives in the German port city of Kiel with his partner, has been charged with 14 counts of sexual assault on a female aged 16 or over. The alleged offences are said to have taken place at the West London School of Dance between December 2014 and December 2016. Mr Chang's lawyer Catherine Daly indicated he would be pleading not guilty. District Judge Angus Hamilton sent Mr Chang's case to Isleworth Crown Court. He is due to appear on February 6. Louth TD Imelda Munster has called on all parties in Dail Eireann to support the Sinn Fein bill to stop planned pension age increases, which will be debated in the Dail in the coming weeks. In a statement released by Deputy Munster today, the Sinn Fein TD said: Fine Gael plan to increase the pension age to 67 years in January 2021, with a further increase to 68 years planned for 2028. This would mean that todays workers, particularly those approaching retirement, may not access their State Pension at 66 years, as is their current entitlement. These increases will see Ireland have one of the highest pension ages in the world well above the majority of our EU counterparts." Deputy Munster explained what she sees as the challenges for those affected by the planned pension age as follows: At the moment, people who have worked hard all their lives who are obliged by contract to retire at 65 years are forced on to a jobseekers payment for one year before they can receive their State Pension at 66 years. From next year, retirees will be forced on to a jobseekers payment for two years. This is an injustice to workers who have worked hard and paid their taxes, in some cases for a lifetime. Sinn Fein have consistently called on the Government to suspend these pension age increases. They were agreed behind closed doors without any debate or vote and therefore, they should not go ahead. Our bill calling on the Government to establish a Pension Age Task Force will look at pension age and make recommendations based on evidence rather than cost cutting. This Bill will be debated in the Dail in the coming weeks. Nobody due to retire should be forced on to a Jobseekers payment. I hope that all parties will support this Sinn Fein Bill", Deputy Munster concluded. Authorities have collected and will analyze for DNA at least 15 of the bogus Megans Law warning letters mailed to a Howell neighborhood. The letters, which falsely label a local business owner as a registered sex offender, were delivered to neighbors, businesses and school officials, Howell police Lt. John Yurgel said. The letters will be analyzed for trace evidence that may lead back to the sender, Yurgel said. The letters arrived in official-looking state of New Jersey envelopes bearing the Attorney Generals Office mailing address in Trenton. And they almost fooled some residents. Howell resident Dale Stevens, who lives in the Glen Arden development off Aldrich Road, said he received the letter in the mail Wednesday and was deceived at first. My initial reaction was Oh crap, this is on the next street over, Stevens said. It looked very official. But then, Stevens noticed something suspicious: the top-right corner had a regular stamp, not a pre-paid and printed marking. Police also described the letter as poorly written and constructed. That was what made me think it wasnt real. Its very sad. If it was me, Id be upset. I dont know why someone would do that, Stevens said. No suspects had been developed as of Thursday morning, Yurgel said. Police said Wednesday whoever created them was retaliating against a successful business. It is clearly the intent of the sender to attack the character and reputation of a specific business owner in town. Once we develop the suspect, we will probably be able to determine the motive, Yurgel said. Federal authorities are assisting in the investigation. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigates crimes perpetrated through the nations mail, made 499 arrests for mail fraud across the country in fiscal year 2018. Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Former Bigg Boss 13 contestant Arhaan Khans rumored ex-girlfriend, actress Amrita Dhanoa and Richa Singh have been arrested by the Mumbai police in a sex racket case. The police busted the actress duo in a raid at a 5-star hotel in Mumbai. A source close to the development stated, The police have booked both the actresses under sections 370 (3), 34 of Indian Penal Code and sections 4,5 of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. Two escorts were also rescued and it was found out that they were coordinating with Amrita and Richa, who were in the vicinity of the hotel. When Amrita came to know about the raid, she tried to flee from the scene but the police nabbed her in time. Amrita is reportedly accusing Arhaan of doing this. The actress told SpotboyE, I have been framed. This raid was planted by somebody and I know it is Arhaan who is getting all this done. For the uninitiated, Amrita had previously accused Arhaan Khan of fraud. She had opened up about her in a live-in relationship with Arhaan and had also stated that his real name is Mazhar Khan. Amrita had stated, I have an agreement document which will prove that we were living together in the same flat. Plus, I have pictures of Arhaan and I together. Still, he wouldnt know me? Lets see how he denies it then. I had seen that interview wherein he said he doesnt know me, which is why I went ballistic in talking about him. The major crackdown by the police took place in Goregaon East that was led by the zonal Deputy commissioner of Police (DCP) D Swamy. He reportedly conducted the raid after receiving a tip-off informing about a sex racket operation at the hotel. ALSO READ: Bigg Boss 13: Salman Khan Has Refused To Meet Arhaan Khan Post Eviction? This article by Jeff Schogol originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues. The Army has denied a request by retired Army Maj. Matthew Golsteyn restore his Special Forces tab, but the service's decision is not final, Army officials said Thursday. It is now up to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to determine whether Golsteyn's Special Forces tab and his Distinguished Service Cross should be reinstated, Army officials told Task & Purpose. The Army risks raising the ire of President Donald Trump, who pardoned Golsteyn on Nov. 15, little more than three months before the former Green Beret was expected to stand trial for murder. Golsteyn has repeatedly admitted killing an unarmed Afghan man, whom he believed was a Taliban bomb-maker in 2010. Following the pardon Golsteyn's attorney filed paperwork to restore his Special Forces tab and Distinguished Service Cross, both of which were rescinded in 2014. Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post first reported that Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, head of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, had denied Golsteyn's request to get his Special Forces tab back. The Army issued a statement on Thursday explaining the Army Board for Correction of Military Records would now adjudicate the issue and decide whether to remove a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand from Golsteyn's official record. But Golsteyn's attorney Phillip Stackhouse called the Army's actions a "joke" and he accused the service's leaders of acting against the wishes of the president, who assured Golsteyn his record would be completely expunged. Stackhouse said he only learned of Beaudette's Dec. 3 decision on Thursday. Now he will forward the documentation he has on the matter to the White House counsel's office for Trump's attention. "Maybe they think that by all of the things going on in the Middle East and by the things starting to heat up and move forward in the impeachment process that the president has lost interest or is distracted or is in some way weakened that they can take these actions in contravention to his directions," Stackhouse told Task & Purpose on Thursday. Trump took a special interest in Golsteyn and two other service members accused of war crimes including retired Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher, who was found not guilty of killing a wounded ISIS fighter but convicted of posing for a picture the man's corpse. Gallagher's conviction stands but the president ordered that the SEAL's rank and paygrade be restored to chief petty officer. When the Navy tried to revoke Gallagher's SEAL trident, the president personally intervened, ultimately leading to former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer being fired. More articles from Task & Purpose: For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Eldar Janashvili - Trend: By introducing modern farming techniques and mechanization, Azerbaijan can improve productivity and establish a food-secure nation, Trend reports with reference to Asian Development Bank (ADB) report on agriculture development in Central Asia. Azerbaijan shall adapt its economy to a more sustainable future, depending on renewable resources rather than extractive ones, according to the bank. The country has a large dependency on cereals, but is better suited to horticultural production, the report said. ADB is one of the biggest investors in Azerbaijans economy. Since the country joined ADB in 1999, Azerbaijan has received loans worth over $4 billion from the bank. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 Trend: In connection with the early parliamentary elections to be held in Azerbaijan on February 9, Azerbaijan's parliament sent invitation letters to the parliamentary delegations and the Parliamentary Assemblies of which Azerbaijan is a member, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend. Abdullayeva was commenting on the message that the European Parliament will not be sending an observer mission to Azerbaijan for the parliamentary elections. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent letters to the OSCE Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE, the CIS, GUAM, the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and other international and regional organizations," Abdullayeva said. According to her, the Azerbaijani side sent an appeal to observe the parliamentary elections mainly to those organizations of which it is a member and participant. "Specifically, with regard to the information provided by the European Parliament (EP), I would like to emphasize that it is absolutely incorrect to consider this information circulated by the European Parliament as refusal of this structure to observe the elections", Abdullayeva said. She explained that Azerbaijan does not have any obligations to the European Parliament. Abdullayeva said the information was provided in accordance with the procedural rules of the European Parliament, that is, it means that members of the European Parliament can personally attend and observe the elections, where the EP will not participate as an observer. "I would like to note that in order to ensure transparency on the eve of all elections, the Central Election Commission regularly provides information on the registration of observers", Abdullayeva said. Three ISIS terrorists were arrested by the special cell of Delhi Police after a brief encounter on Wednesday, highly placed sources told IANS on Thursday. The trio were arrested from Wazirabad area in North-East Delhi, a source said. Suspicious objects were also recovered from them. According to the sources, the terrorists have been kept at the interrogation centre in the Lodhi Colony area where three teams of the special cell have interrogated them so far. Working on information provided by the terrorists, the police have already started conducting raids at various places. Goa Congress leader and former MP John Fernandes criticised his own party for opposing the amended citizenship act, saying laws passed by Parliament should not be challenged on the streets. (Photo: screengrab/ youtube) Panaji: Goa Congress leader and former MP John Fernandes criticised his own party for opposing the amended citizenship act, saying laws passed by Parliament should not be challenged on the streets. Fernandes, a former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president, termed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as a "good" law which should be accepted by people. The passage of the bill in Parliament last month triggered protests across the country. The Congress and other opposition parties have criticised the new law that grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution in their home country. Fernandes was addressing a gathering in Panaji where issues like citizenship bill and scrapping of Article 370, that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were discussed. The former GPCC chief, who held reigns of the party in Goa in 2013, said: "When a law is passed by Parliament, no one should be instigated by the opposition to say anything against it on the streets." Commenting on protests around university campuses, including in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia, Mr Fernandes said: "I don't think it is appropriate, what is going on. I know how it started. It started at Jamia Millia Islamia, I was a director to that board and I know how it was functioning therefore I resigned from that board." The two-time former Rajya Sabha MP asked: "Can laws be made on the streets? Then it is law of the jungle. These topics are not to be debated (once passed by Parliament)." The CAA is to be accepted by the people of this country because these are good laws, he added. "I belong to a particular political party but I have opinion as an individual. We have made mistakes in the last 70 years and why we should continue with the same mistakes?" he asked. It is not anyone's business to convince India on Article 370 and CAA, the Comgress leader said, referring to Pakistan's criticism on these issues. "It is not for people across the border to dictate us terms about laws passed by our Parliament." "When a law is passed by Parliament it has to be accepted. Even if the prime minister is not from my party, I should accept him because he is PM of India," Mr Fernandes said. The government says the citizenship law will help non-Muslim minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh - to become Indian citizens easily if they fled to India before 2015 because of religious persecution. But critics fear the CAA discriminates against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suffered more exits as four of its senior leaders quit the party on Friday protesting the decision to expel eight of their colleagues for meeting the foreign envoys visiting Jammu and Kashmir. Two of the four who quit today were former legislators Yawar Mir and Shah Mohammad Tantray. The other two are Muntazir Mohimudin, who was partys Badgam district president, and doctor Samiullah, partys state secretary. Yes, I have resigned from the PDP and sent my resignation letter to the party high command, Mir confirmed the news to HT. His father, former minister and legislator Dilawar Mir was among those expelled last evening. Dr Samiullah said the party had lost significance, while confirming the news of his resignation. I resigned from the party as it had lost its significance and it has no agenda left, he said. Soon after a group of Kashmiri politicians, including former ministers and legislators, met foreign envoys in Srinagar on Thursday, the PDP expelled Dilawar Mir, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Zaffar Iqbal Manhas, Qamar Hussain, Raja Manzoor, Javeed Baig, Abdul Majeed Padder, and Abdul Rahim Rather from the party membership, accusing them of going against the partys interest and hurting peoples sentiments. Rafi Mir, who was PDPs chief spokesman before he was expelled from the party, said the expulsion was against party rules and ethics. For everything there is a procedure and before expulsion leaders should have been given a chance to explain their position, he said. Many party leaders on Friday resigned in protest against the decision. We dont know who took this decision to expel party leaders when party president Mehbooba Mufti is in jail, said Mir. A statement issued by the PDP had claimed that the expulsions had been ordered by its disciplinary committee. Mufti and two other former chief ministers, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, were detained along with hundreds of others to prevent protests after the Centre decided to downgrade the state to a Union Territory. An information blackout and a lockdown were also imposed. Most of the restrictions have since been eased but top politicians, including the three former chief ministers, remain under detention. Hundreds of climate activists have taken to the streets of Perth as a part of a nationwide action to protest Prime Minister Scott Morrisons response to the bushfire crisis. Perth university group "Uni Students for Climate Justice" promised to disrupt business in the CBD as a part of their demonstration. Thousands turned out for the protest. Credit:@stephyoungza Organisers said the action was a public display of anger against the climate change driven mega-fires, and the governments criminal inactivity. Protesters started the march at Murray Street about 5.30pm on Friday, calling for the Prime Minister to be sacked, more funding to Australian firefighters, and relief for those in affected communities. The New York City Bar Association has asked Congress to investigate US Attorney General William Barr, saying his recent actions and statements have positioned the Justice Department and its prosecutors as political partisans willing to use the levers of government to empower certain groups over others.The request, disclosed on Thursday, appears to be the first time a bar association from New York City or any comparable group has asked Congress to investigate a sitting attorney general. Last year, 450 former federal prosecutors from Republican and Democratic administrations signed a statement chastising Barr for his handling of the Mueller report on Russian election interference. In a letter sent this week to the majority and minority leaders of the US House and Senate, New York City Bar leaders described public statements by the attorney general as troubling for an official whose job is to enforce the law without bias. The duties to act impartially, to avoid even the appearance of partiality and impropriety, and to avoid manifesting bias, prejudice or partisanship in the exercise of official responsibilities are bedrock obligations for government lawyers, according to the letter, which was posted Thursday on the website of the voluntary membership association, whose ranks include defense and plaintiffs lawyers and those with experience as federal prosecutors. Mr. Barr has disregarded these fundamental obligations in several public statements during the past few months, the letter continued.In an October speech at the University of Notre Dame, the letter said, Mr. Barr launched a partisan attack against so-called progressives for supposedly waging a campaign to destroy the traditional moral order. The letter added that in the same speech, Mr. Barr vowed to place the Department of Justice at the forefront of efforts to resist forces of secularization.At a gathering of police officials in New Orleans in December, Barr criticized district attorneys from large cities who style themselves as social justice reformers, who spend their time undercutting the police, letting criminals off the hook, and refusing to enforce the law, the letter said. The New York City Bar Association had previously called on Barr to recuse himself from any Justice Department matters involving the Trump administrations policies toward Ukraine, which is the subject of impeachment proceedings in Congress.The letter also took issue with the attorney generals rejection of the findings of an internal investigation into the FBIs handling of contacts between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials.In their letter, Roger Juan Maldonado, the president of the association, and Stephen Kass, chairman of the associations task force on the rule of law, didnt take a position on whether Barr had violated any rules of professional conduct. Instead they said that his recent statements warrant further investigation by Congress as part of an inquiry into Mr. Barrs conduct as attorney general. Indias Supreme Court has declared freedom to access the internet as a fundamental right, criticising the months-long shutdown in Kashmir and ordering the government to review it. In a victory for petitioners from the opposition and media, the court said that an indefinite suspension of internet access was an unconstitutional abuse of power. Supreme Court justice N V Ramana gave Narendra Modis administration one week to review all the restrictions it has imposed on the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The lockdown was intended to preempt any unrest in early August last year when the government announced it was stripping Muslim-majority Kashmir of its special status, and breaking up the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two less autonomous union territories. It included the deployment of thousands more troops to the region, strict curfews, the arrests of dozens of senior political figures and a comprehensive shutdown on communications. Some restrictions have been slowly lifted, but the internet block remains - at more than 150 days, it is believed to be the longest such shutdown ever implemented not just in India but in any democracy, according to digital rights group Access Now. Freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right, Justice Ramana said at the hearing on Friday. Congress, the main opposition party in India, said the ruling had delivered the first big jolt of 2020 to illegal activities of Modi's government. Vrinda Grover, a lawyer representing the petitioners, said the Supreme Court also directed the government to make public all orders imposing the lockdown in Kashmir since August. This sheds light on the rationale behind internet shutdowns which then can be challenged as being constitutional or proportionate or not, said Nikhil Pahwa, activist and editor of MediaNama, a Delhi-based digital rights and policy publication. If the state is forced to be transparent, they will be more accountable. Kashmiris, who only recently were given back the ability to send and receive SMS text messages, celebrated the Supreme Court ruling. Sheikh Ashiq, president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said the lack of internet access had made business for many sectors impossible, particularly tourism. With the Supreme Court order, we are hopeful that the government wont wait for internet restoration now, he told the Hindustan Times. The court said on Friday that the internet shutdown has had a particular impact on freedom of the press, a key tenet of freedom of speech and expression. Asem Mohiuddin, who runs a news website in Kashmir, said he had been forced to leave the valley to keep the portal running. He said the decision was very encouraging. In todays age, internet is the basic infrastructure of life, he said. We welcome this decision and request the government to restore internet facilities as soon as possible. On 1 January, the authorities announced the restoration of internet access to 80 government-run hospitals in Kashmir. The court ordered this be extended to all hospitals, as well as to other essential institutions including educational establishments, according to the Press Trust of India. Kashmir has, apart from isolated clashes, existed in an uneasy calm since the changes of last August were made. This week the government took envoys from 15 nations, including the US, on a carefully choreographed tour of Srinagar, having previously invited a group of mostly right-wing MEPs. Opposition politicians have been denied access to assess the situation except where expressly granted permission by court order, as have British and European envoys and foreign journalists. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is calling on the European Union (EU) to make 2020 the year of change for robust refugee protection Iranian officials on Friday denied reports from American and European intelligence agencies that the country shot down a civilian passenger plane shortly after attacking U.S. positions in Iraq. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 from Tehran to Kyiv was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile battery, according to U.S. officials. President Trump suggested on Thursday that the incident was the result of an error, saying somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Iran aviation department head Ali Abedzadeh said at a press conference. If [Western goverments] are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world. Abedzadeh also invited officials from Boeing to come to Iran and join the investigation. The head of the Iranian investigative team, Hassan Rezaeifar, said Iran would not share the aircrafts black box flight recorders, at least until the country had completed a study of them. The team may reach out to international experts if it is unable to extract the recordings, Rezaeifar said, but the investigation could take over a month to fully retrieve the black box data. After that, the investigation itself could continue for up to a year. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that Canada intelligence believed the crash was caused by a missile strike. At least 63 Canadian citizens were on board the aircraft. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, Trudeau said on Thursday. In total, 176 people died in the crash, mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens. While Ukraine International Airlines has yet to comment on the incident, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country will conduct a detailed and independent investigation into the crash. More from National Review So there are strategic reasons for Mr. Buttigieg to emphasize faith. African-Americans, especially women, are among the most religious voters in the Democratic Party. And there are entire suburbs full of educated, affluent, churchgoing conservatives the kind Mr. Buttigieg likes to call future former Republicans who say they would find it difficult to vote for President Trump again. Mr. Trump has clearly noticed Mr. Buttigiegs overtures to a constituency that is critical to his re-election (eighty-one percent of white evangelicals supported him in 2016). At a rally in a Miami megachurch last week, the president mocked Mr. Buttigieg, claiming he had become religious just two weeks ago. (Mr. Buttigieg responded: Im pretty sure Ive been a believer longer than hes been a Republican.) Convincing Americans to vote for a 37-year-old who is openly gay is a proposition that no major presidential contender has ever tested. And there are indications some are not convinced. His poll numbers with African-Americans, for example, are minuscule, not even registering 1 percent in some surveys, though many say they dont know enough about him to form an opinion. And his campaigns focus groups have found his sexual orientation to be a hurdle with some black voters. Without black support a pillar of the Democratic Party base it is virtually inconceivable that he could make it to the general election and get the opportunity to convert those wayward Republicans he talks about in such aspirational terms. Still, Democrats who have watched their party gradually cede ground to Republicans on cultural issues believe Mr. Buttigieg fills a void on the left that is larger than many of them would like to admit. We made a mistake when we gave up the Bible and the flag, said Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, referring to the perception encouraged by Republicans that they are the true home for voters motivated by faith and patriotism. As a veteran who went to Afghanistan with the Navy Reserves and an Episcopalian who attends church nearly every Sunday, Pete has both of those, Mr. Sharpton said. The Buttigieg campaign is investing in faith with more than just the candidates words. Last month it unveiled a $2 million advertising campaign in South Carolina, which prominently featured him quoting the Gospel of Matthew as an inspiration. In our White House, he says, as the camera cuts to a shot of a young black woman filming him with her phone, you wont have to shake your head and ask yourself whatever happened to I was hungry and you fed me; I was a stranger and you welcomed me? An Army major charged with murder but pardoned in November by President Trump learned on Thursday that the Army has rejected his request to be restored to membership in the elite Green Berets, setting up a potential clash between senior Army leaders and the commander in chief. Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn received a letter on Thursday informing him that his request that the Army restore his Special Forces tab, which denotes membership in the elite force, had been denied in early December, according to his lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse. Mr. Stackhouse said in an interview that the Armys decision appeared to be a direct rebuke of Mr. Trumps wishes, and that he would appeal the decision directly to the White House. I dont think the president could have been more clear in what he wants, Mr. Stackhouse said. Major Golsteyn was charged in 2018 with murder over the killing of an Afghan man during a deployment to Marja, Afghanistan, in 2010. Major Golsteyn described the man as a suspected Taliban bomb maker and twice admitted killing him, but he maintained that the killing was part of a legal ambush set up to save lives. He had been scheduled to go on trial last month. Just Mercy is a dramatization of a true story of a Harvard-educated lawyer coming to the aid of a wrongfully accused black man, facing the death penalty for a murder he obviously did not commit. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Just Mercy is a dramatization of a true story of a Harvard-educated lawyer coming to the aid of a wrongfully accused black man, facing the death penalty for a murder he obviously did not commit. So... not a lot of laughs. Yet there is something of a running joke in the film. The lawyer is Bryan Stevenson, played by Michael B. Jordan. (Stevenson wrote the book on which the screenplay was based.) In 1989, Stevenson travelled to Monroe County in Alabama to offer legal help to death-row inmates who were either badly represented in court, or, in the case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), framed outright for a crime. The joke: When Stevenson meets local prosecutor Tommy Champan (Rafe Spall), whos handling the case, the southern gentleman recommends the northern newcomer visit a local museum dedicated to the Monroe County author Harper Lee and her book To Kill a Mockingbird. The recommendation is intended to suggest the people of Alabama have evolved past the racism and bitter injustice depicted in the 1960 novel, set in the 1930s. The facts of McMillians case assert otherwise. In 1987, McMillian was pulled over and arrested, despite the alibi of about 25 family members who could attest he was at a family function at the time of the murder he was alleged to have committed. Young lawyer Bryan Stevenson's (Michael B. Jordan) first, and most incendiary cases is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl. The prosecution brings forth a white witness, lifelong petty criminal Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson), who tells a ludicrous, hole-filled story in court about how he personally saw McMillian arrive at the scene of the crime. Guess whose testimony is believed? Local law enforcement and racists (more or less the same thing in this story) are upset Stevenson has come to town to renew the trauma of the 1987 murder. Before long, Stevensons local ally, Eva Ansley (Brie Larson), is receiving bomb threats at her home. Director Destin Daniel Cretton (who directed the Larson movie Short Term 12) wisely doesnt keep the McMillian case in a vacuum. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Another death-row inmate represented by Stevenson, a PTSD-suffering veteran named Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan), was sentenced to die after leaving a bomb on his ex-girlfriends porch. His court-appointed legal counsel failed to bring to light the mans profound psychological issues after his return home from Vietnam. The director makes an admirable effort to portray Stevensons fight as somewhat more nuanced than the central McMillian case, which is an outright miscarriage of justice. Morgans performance, encompassing the characters crushing guilt, is heartbreaking. But the McMillian case stays centre stage, and Foxx brings an emotional fire to the proceedings in the role of the aggrieved accused. This is all the more necessary, since Jordans Stevenson is obliged to maintain a stoic resolve throughout the film, though hints of rage discreetly flash in pivotal moments. It isnt quite enough: The film hews too closely to the formal rhythms of the court proceedings, with little sense of the roiling chaotic forces that landed McMillian in jail... and remain stronger than ever in the year 2020, Harper Lee museum notwithstanding. randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Is it game on for an impeachment trial? Photo: Tom Brenner/Win McNamee/Getty Images After extended maneuvering over the timetable for an impeachment trial, Mitch McConnell is claiming a breakthrough has occurred, according to Politicos Burgess Everett: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday told Republican senators that he expects Speaker Nancy Pelosi to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate as soon as Friday, setting up an impeachment trial that begins early next week. While senators and aides cautioned that McConnell does not have inside intelligence, the remarks serve as key scheduling advice for senators. Most Republicans are now gearing up for the relentless pace of the impeachment trial to start on Monday or Tuesday. Its entirely unclear whether this is just a best-case-scenario guesstimate by McConnell, or even a gambit to add to the pressure on Pelosi to transmit the articles of impeachment, or a genuinely educated guess. But it is true that under the standing rules of the Senate, once articles of impeachment are presented by official representatives of the House, the upper chamber has to put aside all other business and proceed to a trial quickly. Upon such articles being presented to the Senate, the Senate shall, at 1 oclock afternoon of the day (Sunday excepted) following such presentation, or sooner if ordered by the Senate, proceed to the consideration of such articles and shall continue in session from day to day (Sundays excepted) after the trial shall commence (unless otherwise ordered by the Senate) until final judgment shall be rendered, and so much longer as may, in its judgment, be needful. That speedy timetable is based on formal presentation of the articles by House mangers, not some informal transmission, so even if Pelosi has resolved to transmit the articles, its unclear when the clock on beginning of the trial would begin to toll. And theres been no sign from Pelosi that shes actually doing anything right away, and she made it clear earlier today no one should make any assumptions about timing: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that she will send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate when Im ready, rebuffing calls from top Democrats to submit them. No, Im not holding them indefinitely, Pelosi told reporters during a press conference at the Capitol. I will turn them over when Im ready, and that will probably be soon. If she was cutting the articles loose, I doubt Mitch McConnell would be the first to know. But lets say for the sake of argument the House managers did materialize in the Senate tomorrow: In theory, then, the trial would begin on Monday. And thats what some of McConnells charges are actually planning for in case it happens that way. [McConnell] expects them at some point here very soon, said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The sense is that even if they got here at this very moment right now, theres still a process involved to notify the White House and chief justice and turning it all around. So it sounds like to me the earliest we can get on that would be the Monday when we get back. Im not sure he has any specific knowledge, but the gut feeling is that it will come over there tomorrow and set up for a Monday start, he added. Beginning the trial doesnt mean its duration or other detailed rules about its procedures would be set in stone first. Much of that would be addressed in the detailed rules package McConnell has planned to adopt soon after the trials initiation, as occurred during the 1999 Clinton trial. One salient scheduling matter is that three Democratic senators (Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren) are among the five candidates currently qualified to appear on the stage at the next Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines on Tuesday, January 14. McConnell probably wouldnt mind messing with their plans and their campaigns, but presumably Pelosi would make an effort to avoid that contingency. This post has been updated to reflect additional developments. Ajay Kanth By Express News Service KOCHI: A large consignment of Holy Quran which was shipped into the country from Saudi Arabia will be auctioned here after the importer an Arabic college in Malappuram expressed its unwillingness to pay Rs 8 lakh as Customs duty to receive it. The consignment, weighing around 25,000kg, had landed at the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) six months ago. Officers of Container Freight Station MIV Logistics Pvt Ltd, which has come out with a notice to auction the consignment, said though they communicated with the importer identified as Abdul Salam IP, principal of Darul Uloom Arabic College, Vazhakkad in Malappuram, the college expressed its inability. Weve been holding the consignment at our warehouse for the last few months. Now the Customs has given us the clearance to auction it with other items, said a source at MIV Logistics. Abdul Salam told TNIE that Holy Quran was imported from Saudi Arabia for free distribution in the state to economically weak believers who lost the Holy Book in flood. When we went to accept the consignment, we were asked to pay around Rs 8 lakh as Customs duty for releasing the consignment. We didnt have that much money and we decided not to accept it. Later the Customs agent informed the unclaimed consignment would be auctioned, he said. The said consignment doesnt come under any relaxation category and the importer needs to pay the duty as it has to come with a bill of entry, the officer said adding all imported goods have to go through computerised Indian Customs EDI system which automatically fixes the duty as per the tariff entry of the goods. As the consignment contains books, it comes under a specific duty slab, the officers said. Meanwhile, a committee of evaluators under the Customs has fixed Rs 1 lakh as base price for the consignment at the auction. Anyone who bids for the consignment for the base price of Rs 1 lakh will win the bid if there is no other higher bidder. Weve received a couple of enquiries from prospective bidders and e-auction will be held on January 21, said officers. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad members were part of the masked mob that perpetrated the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 5, which left 35 injured, an investigation by a news channel claimed. The two suspects in purported videos, in a sting done by India Today, states that they are ABVP volunteers and varsity students pursing Bachelors in French. The ABVP has refuted the charges, saying both students who figured in the purported videos are not their members. In the sting videos, the students are seen admitting that they were part of the violence outside the varsity's Sabarmati hostel. In one of the videos, another suspect is seen admitting that 20 more ABVP volunteers were part of the masked mob. A sting was also done on a student affiliated to a left-leaning student body. The former JNUSU office bearer is seen admitting that she was part of the group that shut down servers at the JNU's Centre for Information Systems. An FIR has already been registered in this case but no student has been named as an accused yet. In a tweet, the woman said, "JNU VC increases our fee a thousand time. He sends punishment letters for demanding right to education. I myself have received countless such letters. We are fighting for our rights. We are in civil disobedience. That's what I have said. Nothing to hide." Good afternoon. First of all, with regard to Iran, Greece supports the de-escalation of tensions based on International Law and dialogue. Regarding the situation in Libya, we support the efforts of the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Libya, Ghassan Salame, and the Berlin process. But it has to be realised that the memoranda signed by the government in Tripoli and Turkey are null and void and serve only to create tension in the region. Thank you very much. LONDON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CRU, leading provider of cable news, analysis and consulting is to hold its 14th CRU Wire & Cable Conference on 8-10 June 2020. Attracting over 200 key executives, the conference is well established as the premier meeting place for the world's cable makers and the insulated wire and cable supply chain. The event is set to take place in London for the first time in its history, close to CRU's headquarters and promises to draw on even more market experts from across the wider CRU business to the interactive discussions and networking during the conference. CRU Brings its Global Gathering of Cable Makers and Thought-leaders to London for the First Time in its History (PRNewsfoto/CRU) As a hub for transport and trade, the agenda will be packed with presentations from leading global producers and consumers of wire & cable products for the energy, communication, transport and automotive sectors; and representatives from across the copper, aluminium, optical fibre and associated materials supply chains. Streamed sessions will allow for more in-depth discussion on insulated, winding and other specialty wire and cable products produced from copper, aluminium and optical fibre, coatings and the other materials and inputs that impact the bottom line for wire and cable producers, consumers and their supply chain. As with previous years, the conference will take in the perspectives of cable makers from around the world, as well as distributors and other industry thought-leaders on the challenges and opportunities that they see in specific regions or specialty products markets. The conference also represents a chance to see the latest wire & cable designs and technical innovations that have been applied to improve performance, increase efficiency and sustainability. In addition to an agenda packed with 12 sessions and 30+ speakers, delegates can meet with industry peers and customers from across the wire & cable industry during the frequent networking opportunities. The CRU Wire & Cable Conference will be held on 8-10 June 2020 at Leonardo Royal London St Paul's, London, England. For further information please visit http://bit.ly/2QZtUEW. Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU About CRU CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events. Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China. CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018. When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response. CRU big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers. SOURCE CRU Regulatory News: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"): Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 10 January 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 38,608 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,516 pence 19.80 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,506 pence 19.67 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,511 pence 19.74 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 10 January 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 50,357 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 19.76 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 19.74 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 19.75 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 10 January 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 38,176 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 19.80 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 19.70 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 19.76 USD PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 27.07 USD 20.64 GBP which was calculated as of 7 January 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 205,764,368 Public Shares outstanding, or 211,426,437 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 5,192,382 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies. The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected. About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005517/en/ Contacts: Media Contact Camarco Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk The reference to "Tanaka-san" came about 30 minutes into Carlos Ghosn's press conference, as the business world's most high-profile fugitive made his case that the financial misconduct charges against him were baseless. "A name you know very well: Tanaka-san, professor of corporate law, Tokyo University," Ghosn said, citing the academic at length as someone who had reviewed his case documents and assured Ghosn's legal team that the charges the former chairman and chief executive officer of Nissan and Renault was facing were without merit. Wataru Tanaka, who teaches on business and corporate law at Japan's top university, wasn't expecting to be singled out in Ghosn's news conference in Beirut on Wednesday. "I was surprised he mentioned me," Tanaka said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. It's not even clear whether the academic is that well known, although Ghosn cited him as part of an impassioned two-and-a-half hour defense of his actions, his record and his character. The former captain of industry was arrested in 2018 and imprisoned for months, before slipping out of Japan in a shock flight from justice late last year due to what he saw as his inability to get a fair trial in a "rigged" system. Despite his prominence in Ghosn's remarks, Tanaka didn't even meet with the deposed CEO himself. Instead he spoke with Ghosn's lawyer Junichiro Hironaka at the university on Dec. 11, consulting on the charges related to Ghosn's post-retirement income. "I guess what he heard from his lawyers left an impression," Tanaka said of Ghosn. Since he was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, the bespectacled academic has been the talk of the campus at the University of Tokyo. The school is one of the most prestigious academic institutions in Japan, known for educating Japan's elite, including technocrats, prime ministers and chief executives. The students who know Tanaka have been talking about his sudden fame, said Akihiro Uehata, a 29-year-old law student at the university who has taken Tanaka's classes. Tanaka is a popular professor whose lectures are easy to understand, he said. "He treats his students with respect, and doesn't just push his beliefs, he always takes the time to listen to their questions about the law and respond," Uehata said. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Tanaka said he planned to write an expert opinion for the trial at the request of Ghosn's defense team, though it probably now won't be needed with the trial highly unlikely to go ahead in Ghosn's absence. The compensation issues he was consulted on make up two of the four charges brought against Ghosn, in addition to two more serious allegations of aggravated breach of trust. "I have my doubts," he said about the charges related to pay, saying that such remuneration would have to be proposed by the board and approved by shareholders, according to Japanese company law. "It's difficult to say it was a done deal that he would have received the compensation, so it probably can't be charged as falsifying records. I think quite a few legal scholars would have that opinion." Tanaka cautioned against judging Japan's justice system solely on the Ghosn case, and that the two issues should be thought of separately. Some of Ghosn's criticisms on the long detention times and the so-called "hostage justice" practice of detaining suspects until they confess should be addressed, Tanaka said. Nonetheless, Tanaka didn't hold back his thoughts on Ghosn's recent actions. "He shouldn't have run away, I wanted him to stand trial in Japan. There's no question that he broke the law by leaving the country." An unemployed man, Faniyi Ajibola, 27, who allegedly stole two bottles of Holy Communion wine, soaps and sachet of salt worth N46,000 from a Church in Mushin, Lagos, on Friday appeared in an Ikeja Chief Magistrates Court. Mr Ajibola, who resides in Mushin, Lagos, is charged with theft and breach of peace, but he pleaded not guilty. The prosecution counsel, Edet Akadu, told the court that Mr Ajibola committed the offence on September 24, 2019. The defendant unlawfully entered a Catholic church at Mushin in Lagos and stole two bottles of holy communion, four sachet of soap and a sachet of salt valued N46,000, Akadu said. He told the court that Mr Ajibola was caught by members of the church while drinking the Holy Communion wine at the altar and handed him over to the police. Mr Akadu said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 287 and 168 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that if convicted under section 287, he is liable to three years in prison if convicted while Section 168 stipulates six months jail term for beach of the peace. Chief Magistrate K.O. Ogundare admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N20, 000 with two sureties in like sum. Mr Ogundare adjourned the case until Feb. 5, for further hearing. (NAN) Srinagar/Jammu, Jan 10 (IANS) The 16-member delegation of foreign envoys concluded their two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. On Friday, they met representatives of the civil societies and political groups in Jammu. The delegation also went to the Jagti Migrant Township for the Kashmiri Pandits, 20 km from Jammu, to meet members of community. Officials in Dallas, Texas, confirmed Thursday that CIO Hugh Miller would be stepping away from the Information and Technology Services department.City spokeswoman Anastasia Reed said Millers last day will be Jan. 10 and that Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Reich will be overseeing IT as part of her portfolio until a replacement is named.Miller joined the city of Dallas in 2018 , bringing CIO/CTO experience from his lengthy stint as the CIO and CTO of San Antonio between 2004 to 2016, according to LinkedIn . He replaced William Finch, who had held the role since 2012.During his tenure, Miller and his team were recognized by the Center for Digital Government's* Digital Cities Survey for deploying an online crime reporting tool that would allow residents to report nonviolent crimes to the Dallas Police Department as well as a regional data sharing agreement with Dallas County.Reed said the city plans to mount a national candidate search to fill the position. The Bay Area Council plans to leave its longstanding headquarters in a downtown San Francisco office building and move into a historic ferry boat on the Bay. The 300-member council, the nine-county region's largest and most influential business advocacy group, is acquiring the 95-year-old Klamath ferry boat, which is currently moored in the Port of Stockton. The BAC has a contract to purchase the boat from its current owner, Duraflame Inc., which has used the boat as a corporate headquarters since 1992. Word of the move comes just as the Bay Area Council's chief executive officer, Jim Wunderman, has been named by Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve as chair of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority. That agency oversees San Francisco's ferry boat operations, which currently runs boats between the city and Richmond, Vallejo, Oakland, Alameda and South San Francisco. Wunderman was appointed to the WETA board by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015, and has been an outspoken advocate for expanded water transit service. In response to concerns about safety on the BART system, the transit agency's board voted unanimously Thursday to approve an ambassadorship program in which unarmed officers will ride trains from 2 p.m. to midnight seven days a week, with extra coverage on Saturdays. The six-month pilot program, which will cost $690,000, is scheduled to begin on Feb. 10. The ambassadors will be recruited from the ranks of the BART Police Department's Community Service Officers, non-sworn personnel who perform a variety of police services. The ambassadors will receive additional de-escalation and anti-bias training. A 54-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of having inappropriate relationships with students at Acalanes High School in Lafayette when she was a teacher there in the 1990s, Contra Costa County sheriff's officials said. Kyle Ann Wood was arrested at about 6:30 p.m. by sheriff's deputies at her home in Pleasant Hill in connection with the alleged sex crimes that occurred between 1996 and 1998, according to the sheriff's office. Wood, currently a teacher at Miramonte High School in Orinda, was booked into county jail in Martinez and is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail, sheriff's officials said. A 52-year-old man is in custody on a psychiatric hold after going onto BART tracks from the Concord BART station and then threatening to kill himself by jumping off of the raised trackway Wednesday evening, shutting down BART service for several hours, according to the transit agency. The Concord resident entered the trackway shortly after 5 p.m. and refused to leave, prompted the shutdown of train service between the Concord and Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre stations. Negotiations with the man ensued for several hours, with passengers having to take bus shuttles or find other means to get around the affected area of the trackway, according to BART. At about 2:35 a.m. Thursday, authorities moved in and physically removed the man from the trackway. He has since been placed on a psychiatric hold and criminal charges are pending, BART officials said. Train service between the two stations resumed as normal at the start of BART's service schedule early Thursday morning. A man was arraigned in Sonoma County Superior Court Thursday afternoon on five felony charges alleging that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in his car near a Sonoma-area middle school during a kidnapping and tried to abduct another girl in the same area. Jesse Leon Granado-Lopez, 49, of Sonoma, delayed entering a plea to the charges until Jan. 23. He faces life in prison without parole if he is convicted of the charges and enhancements, Deputy District Attorney Laura Passaglia said. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office charged Granado-Lopez Thursday with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and forcible penetration with a foreign object. The three charges allege Granado-Lopez used a knife and the sexual assault occurred during a kidnapping, Passaglia said. Granado-Lopez also was charged with committing a lewd and lascivious act with the 14-year-old girl, and attempting to kidnap the other girl with the intent to commit rape. A group of people at the arraignment in support of Granado-Lopez declined to comment on the allegations. A man arrested on Sunday in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl has been released from jail and has yet to be charged by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. University of California at San Francisco police arrested King John Baylon, 21, on suspicion of 18 felonies and one misdemeanor, including kidnapping, human trafficking involving a minor, having sex with a minor, possession of child pornography, using a minor for sex acts, lewd acts on a child, and meeting with a minor for lewd purposes. On Wednesday, however, prosecutors said that although charges haven't been filed against Baylon, the case remains under investigation. The teen girl, a Fort Bragg resident, was first reported missing on Friday near UCSF's campus on Third Street in the city's Mission Bay neighborhood. The girl had apparently been at the UCSF Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes as a family member was receiving treatment. After photos of the girl were spread on social media, she was eventually located Sunday at the Ferry Building on The Embarcadero, along with a man later identified as Baylon. A 55-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to state prison for molesting students at a Montara-area school where he worked as a janitor, San Mateo County prosecutors said. Joel Cortez Altamirano was sentenced to three years in prison with 450 days credit for time served after pleading no contest in November to felony child molestation charges involving students at Farallone View Elementary School, according to the district attorney's office. The abuse occurred between August 2016 and June 2017, with the fifth-grade victims reporting that Altamirano fondled and grabbed them, prosecutors said. The defense attorney for Altamirano, who had been in custody leading up to the sentencing, was not immediately available to comment on the case. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. New liaison office head vows continuous support to HKSAR govt Global Times By Chen Qingqing Source:Globaltimes.cn Published: 2020/1/10 0:32:38 Luo Huining, newly-appointed chief of the liaison office of the central government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), met with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Thursday, praising her efforts amid months of unrest and committed to supporting her work by implementing policies in accordance with the law. The event marked the first formal meeting between the two officials since Luo was appointed by the State Council, China's cabinet, as the new liaison office head. The closed-door meeting at the Government House lasted about 90 minutes. Luo recalled the time when he met Lam while leading a business delegation from North China's Shanxi Province to Hong Kong, and was impressed with her style, according to an official statement. Since the social unrest in HK began last year, Lam has worked to bring an end to the violence and keep the situation under control, the statement also said. Luo expressed his respect for Lam's courage and how she has carried her responsibilities. The liaison office will continue to support Lam and the HKSAR government, said Luo. Meeting the new liaison office head at Government House reflected a sense of ceremony, highlighting a stately "one country, two systems" principle, Tang Fei, council member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Such seriousness indeed contradicts rumors spread by the opposition camp claiming the liaison office is controlling the HKSAR," Tang said. Plans for both sides will include further implementation of long-standing principles to ensure stability while pushing forward efforts to end violence and enhance communication. With the support and attention of the central government and society, Hong Kong will return to the right track. Luo also met with Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Tung Chee-hwa, who was also HKSAR's first chief executive, on Thursday afternoon. Both officials shared their views on the deep-rooted issues within Hong Kong society. Luo praised Tung's contributions in implementing the "one country, two systems" policy, considered a "historical" moment. Tung is also expected to play an active role in ensuring Hong Kong prosperity and stability. Thursday marked the fourth day since Luo came to work at the liaison office as the new head. Before meeting Lam, Luo met with Wang Weizhong, secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Shenzhen mayor Chen Rugui on Wednesday, reiterating the importance of the "one country, two systems" policy and cooperation between HK and its neighboring city Shenzhen. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address As the crisis between Iran and the U.S. rapidly unfurls, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that, quote, "Whoever tries to attack us will be dealt the strongest blow." His comments came in the wake of the Iranian missile strikes on Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. coalition troops. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAYING: "It's very important to say, as I do now again, that Israel stands completely beside the United States." Israel is the United States' closest Mideast ally, and Iran's chief regional rival. Netanyahu may fear Israel could be targeted by Iran or Tehran's proxies if the march to war continues. Many Israelis recall vividly the 1991 Gulf War, when Israel found itself bombarded by Iraqi scud missiles as an American-led coalition tried to force Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Israel has for decades endured intermittent rocket attacks from Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran. (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Army will expand efforts to counter China by deploying a specialized task force to the Pacific capable of conducting information, electronic, cyber and missile operations against Beijing. The unit, which Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy detailed at an event in Washington on Friday, would also be equipped to hit land- and sea-based targets with long-range precision weapons such as hypersonic missiles, possibly clearing the way for Navy vessels in the event of conflict. The Army task force would help neutralize some capabilities China and Russia already possess and are intended to keep U.S. carrier groups away from the Asian mainland, McCarthy said in an interview. Its not clear how quickly the unit, which would likely be based on islands east of Taiwan and the Philippines, can be deployed. The move is designed to neutralize all the investments China and Russia have made, McCarthy said. It would be bolstered by a new agreement with the National Reconnaissance Office that develops and manages U.S. spy satellites, he said. Under that accord, Army tactical units will be better able to tap information gleaned from existing and future low Earth orbit satellites, he said. There is an ongoing fight for influence in the region, for which access and presence are critical, McCarthy said at the Brookings Institution event. Partners matter. Pivot to Asia The pivot would help Defense Secretary Mark Esper achieve a long-sought American goal of shifting more forces from Europe, the Middle East and Africa to the Pacific, better positioning the U.S. to take on peer competitor China and historic rival Russia. The extent to which the current tensions with Iran upset that plan remains to determined but the Army is pressing ahead. Under McCarthys vision, the move would allow the Army to create a new paradigm in the Pacific where ground forces would punch a hole in enemy defenses for air and naval forces. Now, the ground-based unit in those island chains can create the support for air and sea, McCarthy said. Story continues Island Chains Chinas military doctrine calls for a so-called anti-access strategy, backed by long-range anti-ship missiles and space-based surveillance capabilities, intended to keep U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups well beyond the so-called first and second island chains. The first island chain extends from the Kuril islands down to Borneo, while the second island chain generally extends from just east of Japan to Guam and down toward New Guinea. The pivot includes greater Army participation in regional war games like the Defender Pacific series and deploying a Security Force Assistance Brigade next year for the Indo-Pacific theater similar to ones set up and deployed to Afghanistan, he said. The Army started experimenting with the task force in 2018. The 17th Field Artillery Brigade from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State conducted nine major training exercises, plus simulations and war games to evaluate concepts. (Updates with Army secretarys comments in fifth paragraph) --With assistance from Glen Carey. To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, John Harney For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. GRANITE CITY Police in Granite City have identified the man found shot to death in the early morning hours Thursday, as well as two charged with his murder. At around midnight, the Granite City Police Department received a report of gunshots in the 2200 Block of Benton Street. When officers arrived on-scene, one adult male was found to be deceased from gunshot wounds, Granite City police reported. The victim has been identified as Jason A. Thomas, 36, of that block. Police initiated an investigation into the incident which led detectives to St. Louis, where two people were apprehended, the department says in a press release. The suspects are identified as Kadeem L. Noland, 27, of the 1400 block of Penrose, St. Louis, and Kristine N. Mills, 34, of the 2200 block of Benton Street in Granite City the same block where the victim resided. Police did not say if it was the same address. Noland was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Mills was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Multiple counts of the same murder represent separate theories presented by prosecutors. Both suspects are being held without bond at the St. Louis Metropolitan Jail pending extradition back to Madison County. The Granite City Police Department has no further comments regarding this investigation but would like to extend our condolences to the family of Mr. Thomas for their loss, the release said. In what may be the first good news of 2020, it turns out complaining is healthy. Kind of. According to the New York Times, theres a right and wrong way to complain, and done right, it can actually be good for you. As Robin Kowalski, a professor of psychology at Clemson University, put it, Yes, its good to complain, yes, its bad to complain, and yes, theres a right way to do it. The first step to mastering the art of healthy complaining is identifying which kind of complaining youre engaging in. The experts break the behavior into three main categories venting, problem solving and ruminating and it turns out not all complaints are created equal. While venting and problem solving can be constructive, ruminating tends to be less productive, and can even lead to catastrophizing and depression. Complaining is, ideally, totally solutions focused, said Tina Gilbertson, a psychotherapist and the author of Constructive Wallowing. Acknowledging feelings is healthy, its good for you physiologically and its good for your emotional health. The key to constructive complaining that capitalizes on these potential is mindfulness, which means acknowledging what youre doing, why, and the effect its having on you and others. Its crucial, if youre venting, to know that youre venting and to tell the person youre venting, said Gilbertson. Taking a measured, mindful and solution-driven approach to complaining can help not only blow off steam, but also build relationships and, done right, maybe even help you resolve whatevers at the root of your gripe. As Gilbertson noted, its not just healthy, but important to be able to say, This sucks Im unhappy with whats going on. Sometimes things suck, and theres nothing wrong with pointing it out. This year, point it out with purpose. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter. The post Science Says That Complaining Is Actually Good for You appeared first on InsideHook. CLEVELAND, Ohio A second man is accused of dumping a womans body on the side of a Cleveland street after she died of a fentanyl overdose. Lamonte Bell, 20, is charged with abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony. He is not in police custody and a warrant was issued Wednesday for his arrest. Another man, Bryan Clark, 53, faces the same charge. He was arrested Dec. 27 and is on GPS-monitored house arrest. Both men are accused of dumping Amanda Hares body on March 12 on Hillside Road, between Minnie Avenue and East 75th Street in the citys Kinsman neighborhood. A witness called police and said someone threw a body from a car and sped away. Police found her about 2 a.m. face down on the side of the road. Cleveland homicide detectives investigated the case. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled Hare, 31, of Medina, died of an overdose of fentanyl and a prescription painkiller. Bell is currently facing charges of improperly handling a gun in a car stemming from an August traffic stop by the state troopers. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and a trial date has not yet been set. To comment on this story, visit Fridays crime and courts comments page. Read more crime stories: Man shot at Cleveland bar after dancing with other mans girlfriend 12-year-old boy is third charged in carjacking outside Cleveland gas station, records say Police: Masked man robs four Cleveland businesses at gunpoint in three days Cleveland man charged in 2017 death of Egyptian immigrant killed during robbery Cleveland robber told Burger King employee hed return for his food, records say Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement outside Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast, where meetings with parties involved in talks to resurrect the devolved government in Northern Ireland have been taking place. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire The Stormont Assembly is on the verge of being restored, with the DUP leadership signing up to a new deal to restore power-sharing. The Irish and UK governments last night published proposals to break the deadlock that has gripped Northern Ireland for three years. Here is a timeline of some of the key events in the three-year Stormont impasse: 2017: January - Stormont's Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness quits the powersharing administration in protest against DUP First Minister Arlene Foster's handling of a botched green energy scheme - the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The ministerial executive falls a week later and a snap election is called. A public inquiry is ordered into the RHI scandal. March -Sinn Fein makes major gains in the snap Assembly election, cutting what was a 10-seat gap from the DUP to a solitary seat. The long-standing unionist majority within the Assembly goes. Mr McGuinness dies from a rare heart condition. A statutory deadline to form a new executive within three weeks of the election falls as the parties fail to agree a basis for re-entering government together. April -Another deadline for agreement set by Secretary of State James Brokenshire passes without a deal. May - Mr Brokenshire sets a third deadline for mid-May. A week later the deadline goes up in smoke when Theresa May calls a surprise snap general election. Talks are paused. June - The DUP emerge from the election as Westminster kingmakers and agree a confidence and supply arrangement to prop up Ms May's minority government. Read More July - Another talks initiative fails and the process is put in cold storage over the summer parading season. October - Talks resume but are largely confined to engagement between the two main parties. Stormont's smaller parties claim they are being kept in the dark. Despite reports of some movement on the key stumbling blocks, a deal does not materialise. November - Mr Brokenshire sets Stormont's 2017/18 budget at Westminster. Gerry Adams announces he is to step down as Sinn Fein president. The RHI inquiry commences oral hearings at Stormont. 2018: January - Mr Brokenshire leaves the government due to ill health. Former culture secretary Karen Bradley takes over at the Northern Ireland Office, announcing a new round of all-party talks. February - Mary Lou McDonald is formally elected the new Sinn Fein president. Mrs May and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar travel to Stormont amid growing expectation a deal could be close. Their visit fails to deliver a breakthrough. A few days later, talks break down in acrimony amid claims from Sinn Fein that the DUP had agreed a deal to return to Stormont, only to get cold feet. The DUP denies the claims. September - Ms Bradley decides to cut Stormont Assembly members' pay from 49,500 to 35,888. She also rules out calling an Assembly election and says she will bring forward legislation to allow civil servants to make decisions in the absence of devolution. Stormont parties meet for the first time since the breakdown of talks in February. 2019: April - A month of fresh talks are triggered following the dissident republican killing of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry when a bullet aimed at police goes astray. June - Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley lead "intensified" talks at Stormont. The place of the Irish language in society, same-sex marriage and abortion dominates the debate. The DUP's confidence and supply arrangement with the British Government comes under increasing strain over Brexit and the Irish border question. July - Amid the slow collapse of British Prime Minister Theresa May's Government, Parliament legislates to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage as part of an Executive Formation Act. Mrs May's replacement as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, holds a private dinner with senior DUP figures and visits Stormont to meet other party leaders. A range of interest groups including Irish language activists protest outside. December - Another general election sees the DUP lose two MPs, including former Westminster leader Nigel Dodds. The DUP and Sinn Fein's share of the vote drops significantly compared to the 2017 general election - by 5.4pc and 6.7pc respectively - while the cross-community and anti-Brexit Alliance party enjoys a bounce in the polls. Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith and Mr Coveney lead renewed negotiations at Stormont. 2020: January - Talks resume after a pause for Christmas. After a week of intensive engagements, the two governments present a suggested deal to the five parties and urge them to sign up and re-enter the executive immediately. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Nurses pictured at the Department of Health at Stormont. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Nurses pictured at the Ulster Hospital. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Nurses pictured at the Department of Health at Stormont. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Nurses pictured at the Department of Health at Stormont. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Nurses pictured at the Department of Health at Stormont. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Worker at the Department of Health at Stormont. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 Nurses across Northern Ireland continue their industrial action over pay and patient safety. Unions have taken the action on a number of occasion in December and January. Nurses pictured at the Ulster Hospital. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Northern Ireland healthcare workers have again taken to picket lines across Northern Ireland. A walkout was staged just hours after Secretary of State Julian Smith and Tanaiste Simon Coveney published a the New Decade, New Approach document on Thursday evening. Julian Smith has said if political parties accept the deal to restore power sharing at Stormont, industrial action by nurses could end. Royal College of Nurses (RCN) took to picket lines alongside Unison healthcare workers. A spokeswoman for the RCN said they had no comment to make about the possible restoration of the Stormont institutions. "Our strike is going ahead as planned," she said. Nine thousand RCN members began a 12-hour strike at 8am. They were joined by Unison workers from the Belfast, Northern, South Eastern and Western health trusts- for the strike, which resulted in thousands of outpatient appointments being cancelled. Disruption has been felt across Northern Ireland's five main health trusts. The Belfast Trust has cancelled 1,064 outpatient appointments and 106 inpatient and day cases. A number of special schools have been closed. They are Torr Bank, Oakwood and Mitchell House schools, amounting to 243 students in total. Mid-Ulster, South Tyrone, Bangor and Ards Minor Injuries Units have also been closed. All patients affected have been contacted and given new appointments. The South Eastern Trust has cancelled 340 outpatient appointments and 89 procedures. The Western Trust has cancelled 383 outpatient appointments and 50 inpatient procedures. It has also cancelled 700 treatment room appointments, along with all out-patient clinics on Friday morning at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry. The @RCN_NI and @UNISONNI workers were getting plenty of beeps of support at the Ulster Hospital earlier pic.twitter.com/JLPevucYUZ Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) January 10, 2020 In the Northern Trust, 30 outpatient appointments have been cancelled, as well as 1,500 treatment room appointments and 850 district nursing appointments. In the Southern Trust, 43 surgical procedures have been postponed and approximately 145 treatment room appointments cancelled. Hundreds of school and infant immunisations have also been postponed. It's also expected there will be greater pressures on emergency departments. Healthcare workers are calling for pay parity with their colleagues in the rest of the UK and have expressed concern around safe staffing levels. Earlier this week, RCN director Pat Cullen said "the finger was being pointed" at nurses over the current health service crisis. "I want to categorically say it's absolutely not the nurses fault. Nurses do feel bullied by people saying 'enough is enough' and that they should call off this strike action," she said. Interim Chief Executive of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust Seamus McGoran said the trusts "completely support the staff in their legitimate claim for pay parity". "We are not blaming staff for taking industrial action, we understand why they have taken the action they have taken," he told the BBC "It is very important for staff to keep calm in this situation." Julian Smith said there would be no extra funding from the British government until the Executive was restored. The Department of Health previously said it did not have the authority to meet union demands over pay and staffing. Mr Smith said: "This will take the nurses parity pay issue off the table, it will get the nurses back into work, this will deal with issues in education, childcare and across the public sector and today is the day that is the moment of truth." Andre Whitehead, shown here near the South Bronx NeON, took advantage of photography classes offered at the probation office and discovered a new career path. Read more NEW YORK By 8 a.m., the line already snaked all the way around the side of the South Bronx probation office, and more people were arriving, dragging metal shopping carts ready to receive canned vegetables, Thanksgiving turkeys, cat food, and boxed mac-and-cheese. The eager, polyglot crowd, most of whom are not under court supervision, is the first indication that this is not probation as it is understood in many parts of the country and definitely not in Philadelphia, where a probation visit typically means a brusque security screening followed by a brief encounter with a probation officer, all under the constant fear of incarceration. This is the South Bronx NeON, short for Neighborhood Opportunity Network, one of seven neighborhood probation offices located in communities with high rates of supervision. In addition to drug testing and court-ordered reporting, the offices offer free photography classes and GED courses, sewing circles and antiviolence initiatives, food giveaways and a clothing closet, all open to those on probation as well as their neighbors. The South Bronx NeON has a poet-in-residence; other sites run music programs in collaboration with Carnegie Hall. They present a new vision for what a probation office can mean to a neighborhood, probation commissioner Ana Bermudez said. The NeON is not a recidivism reduction strategy. Its a community reinvestment strategy, she said. Its a vehicle to create meaningful opportunities for people on probation. A byproduct of those interventions is a sense of safety in the community. Its also the most visible emblem of a more fundamental shift: from an old-school, compliance-driven mentality to one focused on supporting people and reintegrating them into society. It seems to be working: In New York City, around 80% of people on probation complete it successfully. In Philadelphia, just 49% do. READ MORE: The Probation Trap: Lenient sentences in Pennsylvania often have harsh consequences The shift began around 2010, when Bermudezs predecessor, Vincent Schiraldi, was hired to run the citys probation department. A reformer who had previously revamped juvenile corrections in Washington, D.C., Schiraldi is now a research scientist advocating for nationwide probation reform at Columbia Universitys Justice Lab, where he advocates shutting down juvie and radically shrinking probation. As New Yorks probation commissioner, he articulated a new philosophy that he boiled down to: Do more good. Do no harm. Do it in the community. The first step was a makeover for the neighborhood probation offices bleak institutional waiting rooms, which were framed by thick Plexiglas barriers and tacked-up signs blaring rules and blunt warnings (an aerial photo of Rikers Island promised wrongdoers an all-expenses-paid island vacation). These spaces were overhauled into cafes" with colorful murals, movable stages for performances, and tables and chairs that arent bolted to the floor. That blossomed into a total overhaul of the offices, which previously had been seen as tentacles of a surveillance state through which probation agents collaborated with local police districts by conducting warrantless searches of probationers homes in nearby poor, minority neighborhoods. Were trying to dispel some of the historical trauma that has been in place between probation, law enforcement, and the community, assistant commissioner Tim Salyer said. So, staff were instructed to call those on probation clients, rather than offenders. Community leaders were invited to help develop plans for the NeONs. The transition was not always smooth. One point of friction was eliminating the Plexiglas and metal detectors. That was a fight with the probation officers, to relinquish that safety precaution they thought they needed, said Brenda Davis, the South Bronx NeON branch chief. But we found that when you treat people the way they should be treated, like human beings, they act accordingly. Still, Schiraldi said many officers, who had harbored aspirations of helping people, wanted alternatives to the endless cycle of probation violations and incarceration what he called the trail em, nail em, and jail em bureaucracy. They havent bought into mass incarceration, and yet here they are vehicles of it, he said. Today, each officer has an interviewing handbook, based in cognitive behavioral therapy, to help clients set goals, called Individual Achievement Plans. Officers also can make referrals to resources on site, such as clinical advisers who address behavioral health needs or credible messengers," who are mentors that come from the community and may have experience in the justice system. A byproduct is violations fell by 45% over five years, to a rate at least four times lower than in Philadelphia. In Pennsylvania, more than two-thirds of people who are found in violation of probation and resentenced have not committed a new crime. Instead, theyre punished for so-called technical violations like failing drug tests or missing appointments. In response to those infractions, it is not unusual for probation officers to call for sentences of incarceration. In New York, technical violations are less common. Our job is to get you through the system, not to send you back to jail, said Annette Carchidi, the Bronx supervisor for Community Progression, which monitors those who have graduated to reporting at electronic kiosks. Violations may be necessary in cases where a clients behavior poses a public-safety risk, she said, but theyre not filed lightly. The judge wants to know: What has probation done to help this person? Where did we go wrong? In a sense, their threat level rose under my watch. I have to explain my due diligence. People on probation are responding. Before, more than 10% of Carchidis clients failed to report; now that rate is 2.2%. One who is finding success is Andre Whitehead, 32, who speaks of probation with something like reverence. It wasnt like this his first time on probation, in 2013. He was already hungry for a different path, spurred by the memory of a close friend who was shot to death on the picnic table where they both sold drugs. But he couldnt get much help, he said. I remember talking to my probation officer and asking her to help me get a job. She said, We dont do that. Two years ago, he wound up on probation again for a trespassing case, charged as burglary. This time, everything seemed different. This time, within a couple of weeks, his probation officer had referred him to a job fair. Not long after that, he enrolled in NeON Photography, a 12-week class in which students learn to handle cameras and go out on assignments everything from probation department events to the Thanksgiving Day Parade to New York Fashion Week. He recalled the joy he felt when, at the end of the class, he received a set of business cards. Ive never been able to do that before, to give people my card and say: This is what I do. This is my profession, he said. Hes now an instructor in the photography program, contemplating going back to school, eventually starting his own business. If he can pay off his fines, he hopes for early termination of probation. For now, though, It doesnt feel like a punishment, he said. It feels like the opposite to me. The help and assistance they provide for us is remarkable. It motivates me. The system is, of course, not without flaws: Critics complain that efforts to build trust are marred by high staff turnover. The organizations that bring together credible messengers say they are never sure if their contracts with probation will be renewed from one year to the next, making it an unreliable employer. And evaluations of the NeON arts programs identified problems with recruiting and sustaining attendance among the targeted population. Even so, the NeON model has caught the attention of probation and court officials from around the country including Los Angeles, Chicago, and, yes, Philadelphia who have toured the offices to learn more. But Schiraldi said New Yorks success was made possible by a drastic reduction in the probation population that began well before he arrived at the department, from a peak of 77,000 to fewer than 20,000. So, even as the departments budget shrank, they were able to spend more per capita (though still a fraction of the cost of incarceration). Today, caseloads range from 25-to-1 for high-risk clients to 60-to-1 for low-risk clients. About 70% of clients have graduated to checking in at the kiosks instead of reporting to an officer. In Philadelphia, the average caseload is 114 probationers. Schiraldi believes any effort to rethink probation culture and practices in Philadelphia where the rate of community supervision is 12 times higher than New Yorks must be paired with legislative or judicial action to rein in that sprawling system and create manageable caseloads. Is Philadelphia 12 times safer than New York? he said. Or really, are you engaging in a fiction that may make a judge or a legislator feel better, but in reality deprives people of their liberty, while really missing the ability to focus your limited resources on the people who need supervision and need help? 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. HOUSTON -- (Jan. 10, 2020) -- Rice University engineers have created a light-powered nanoparticle that could shrink the carbon footprint of a major segment of the chemical industry. The particle, tiny spheres of copper dotted with single atoms of ruthenium, is the key component in a green process for making syngas, or synthesis gas, valuable chemical feedstock that's used to make fuels, fertilizer and many other products. Researchers from Rice, UCLA and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), describe the low-energy, low-temperature syngas production process this week in Nature Energy. "Syngas can be made in many ways, but one of those, methane dry reforming, is increasingly important because the chemical inputs are methane and carbon dioxide, two potent and problematic greenhouse gases," said Rice chemist and engineer Naomi Halas, a co-corresponding author on the paper. Syngas is a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas that can be made from coal, biomass, natural gas and other sources. It's produced at hundreds of gasification plants worldwide and is used to make fuels and chemicals worth more than $46 billion per year, according to a 2017 analysis by BCC Research. Catalysts, materials that spur reactions between other chemicals, are critical for gasification. Gasification plants typically use steam and catalysts to break apart hydrocarbons. The hydrogen atoms pair up to form hydrogen gas, and the carbon atoms combine with oxygen in the form of carbon monoxide. In dry reforming, the oxygen atoms come from carbon dioxide rather than steam. But dry reforming hasn't been attractive to industry because it typically requires even higher temperatures and more energy than steam-based methods, said study first author Linan Zhou, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP). Halas, who directs LANP, has worked for years to create light-activated nanoparticles that insert energy into chemical reactions with surgical precision. In 2011, her team showed it could boost the amount of short-lived, high-energy electrons called "hot carriers" that are created when light strikes metal, and in 2016 they unveiled the first of several "antenna reactors" that use hot carriers to drive catalysis. One of these, a copper and ruthenium antenna reactor for making hydrogen from ammonia, was the subject of a 2018 Science paper by Halas, Zhou and colleagues. Zhou said the syngas catalyst uses a similar design. In each, a copper sphere about 5-10 nanometers in diameter is dotted with ruthenium islands. For the ammonia catalysts, each island contained a few dozen atoms of ruthenium, but Zhou had to shrink these to a single atom for the dry reforming catalyst. "High efficiency is important for this reaction, but stability is even more important," Zhou said. "If you tell a person in industry that you have a really efficient catalyst they are going to ask, 'How long can it last?'" Zhou said the question is important for producers, because most gasification catalysts are prone to "coking," a buildup of surface carbon that eventually renders them useless. "They cannot change the catalyst every day," Zhou said. "They want something that can last." By isolating the active ruthenium sites where carbon is dissociated from hydrogen, Zhou reduced the chances of carbon atoms reacting with one another to form coke and increased the likelihood of them reacting with oxygen to form carbon monoxide. "But single-atom islands are not enough," he said. "For stability, you need both single atoms and hot electrons." Zhou said the team's experimental and theoretical investigations point to hot carriers driving hydrogen away from the reactor surface. "When hydrogen leaves the surface quickly, it's more likely to form molecular hydrogen," he said. "It also decreases the possibility of a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and leaves the oxygen to react with carbon. That's how you can control with the hot electron to make sure it doesn't form coke." Halas said the research could pave the way "for sustainable, light-driven, low-temperature, methane-reforming reactions for production of hydrogen on demand." "Beyond syngas, the single-atom, antenna-reactor design could be useful in designing energy-efficient catalysts for other applications," she said. The technology has been licensed by Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston-based startup whose co-founders include Halas and study co-author Peter Nordlander. Halas is Rice's Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and materials science and nanoengineering. Nordlander is the Wiess Chair and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and materials science and nanoengineering. Additional co-authors include Chao Zhang, Dayne Swearer, Shu Tian, Hossein Robatjazi, Minhan Lou, Liangliang Dong and Luke Henderson, all of Rice; John Mark Martirez and Emily Carter, both of UCLA; and Jordan Finzel and Phillip Christopher of UCSB. ### The research was supported by the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0022) and the Department of Defense. -30- Links and resources: The DOI of the Nature Energy paper is: 10.1038/s41560-019-0517-9 The paper is available at: nature.com/articles/s41560-019-0517-9 High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at: https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/01/0108_SYNGAS-fig-lg.jpg CAPTION: Rice University researchers boosted the stability of their low-energy, copper-ruthenium syngas photocatalysts by shrinking the active sites to single atoms of ruthenium (blue). (Image by John Mark Martirez/UCLA) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/01/0108_SYNGAS-lz03-2-lg.jpg CAPTION: Linan Zhou, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics, designed a copper-ruthenium photocatalyst for making syngas via a low-energy, low-temperature, dry-reforming process. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/01/0108_SYNGAS-nh30-lg.jpg CAPTION: Naomi Halas, director of Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics, is an engineer and chemist who's spent more than 25 years pioneering the use of light-activated nanomaterials. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) This release can be found online at news.rice.edu. Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Research from McGill University topped Quebec Science's annual list of the 10 most important scientific breakthroughs. This year, Gunther Grill, Bernhard Lehner, Tomislav Frisci?, Heidi M. McBride, Samantha Gruenheid, and Ehab Abouheif were recognized for their trailblazing work, by a jury of researchers and journalists reviewing the most influential discoveries made in Quebec. Here is a closer look at the selected discoveries: Gunther Grill and Bernhard Lehner, along with a team of international researchers, assessed the connectivity of 12 million kilometers of rivers worldwide, providing the first-ever global assessment of the location and extent of the planet's remaining free-flowing rivers. Their research offers a new method for tracking the status of free-flowing rivers over time. Tomislav Frisci?, in collaboration with researchers from Canada, Croatia, and the UK, demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to form strong, stable attractions between some of the heavier elements in the periodic table. This fundamental advance in supramolecular chemistry opens the door to new materials with unusual properties, and could one day lead to innovations like waterproof computers. Heidi M. McBride and Samantha Gruenheid and collaborators found that a gut infection can lead to a pathology resembling Parkinson's disease in a mouse model lacking a gene linked to the human disease. This discovery extends recent work by the group suggesting that Parkinson's disease has a major immune component, providing new avenues for therapeutic strategies. Ehab Abouheif led a team of researchers to uncover a surprising discovery in ants: the colony itself generates and regulates the balance between soldiers and workers thanks to a seemingly useless organ that appears only briefly during the final stages of larval development. This finding raises the possibility that seemingly unimportant organs in organisms, like the human appendix, play important regulatory functions during development. ### About McGill University Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, McGill University is Canada's top ranked medical doctoral university. McGill is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with research activities spanning two campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 40,000 students, including more than 10,200 graduate students. McGill attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,800 international students making up 31% per cent of the student body. Over half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 19% of our students who say French is their mother tongue. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/ http://twitter.com/McGillU Mysore University administration has filed a complaint with the police after 'free Kashmir' posters were seen at a protest in the campus here against the recent violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. The university administration also issued notice to the concerned students' organisation seeking an explanation for the incident. "Some students of the university protested yesterday against violence in the JNU campus. 'Free Kashmir' poster was spotted during the protest. We have issued notices to concerned organisations asking for explanation and complained to the police," Mysore University Registrar Prof R Shivappa told reporters on Thursday. He said that some students had called the protest to express concern over the recent JNU incident. "However, they had not taken permission from the university administration for their protest," Shivappa said. The administration has issued notices to the Research Scholar Association, Dalit Students federation, Bahujan Vidhyarthi Sangh, Students' Federation of India, All India Democratic Students Organisation and other organisations involved in the protest. Protests were carried out at the university campus after over 30 JNU students were injured and taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment after a masked mob entered the campus and assaulted them with sticks and rods on the night of January 5. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) We've 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 shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in China City Infrastructure Group Limited (HKG:2349). What Is Insider Selling? It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year. Check out our latest analysis for China City Infrastructure Group The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At China City Infrastructure Group In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman Chao Bo Li bought HK$30m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.50 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than HK$0.15 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Chao Bo Li. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! Story continues SEHK:2349 Recent Insider Trading, January 10th 2020 China City Infrastructure Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Does China City Infrastructure Group Boast High Insider Ownership? For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that China City Infrastructure Group insiders own 24% of the company, worth about HK$99m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders. So What Do The China City Infrastructure Group Insider Transactions Indicate? It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded China City Infrastructure Group shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in China City Infrastructure Group and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. To put this in context, take a look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (BlackRock Canada), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), today announced revised final annual reinvested capital gains distributions for the iShares ETF listed below for the 2019 tax year, which replaces BlackRock Canadas press release dated December 30, 2019 in respect of this iShares ETF. The distribution is for the annual non-cash capital gains distribution, which is typically reinvested in additional units of the fund at the year-end, and does not include estimates of ongoing monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual cash distribution amounts. The additional units are immediately consolidated with the previously outstanding units such that the number of outstanding units following the distribution is equal to the number of units outstanding prior to the distribution. The distribution and consolidation does not impact net asset value per unit. The record date for the 2019 annual distribution is December 31, 2019. The actual taxable amount of reinvested and cash distributions for 2019, including the tax characteristics of the distribution, will be reported to brokers (through CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. or CDS) in early 2020. Details regarding the per unit distribution amount are as follows: Fund Name Fund Ticker Reinvested Capital Gains Distribution Per Unit ($) Dynamic iShares Active U.S. Dividend ETF DXU 1.71296 Further information on the iShares Funds can be found at http://www.blackrock.com/ca . About BlackRock BlackRocks purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, our clients turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. As of September 30, 2019, the firm managed approximately US$6.96 trillion in assets on behalf of investors worldwide. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/ca | Twitter: @BlackRockCA | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock . About iShares ETFs iShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 900+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$2 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2019, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock, trusted to manage more money than any other investment firm1. 1 Based on US$6.96 trillion in AUM as of 9/30/19 iShares ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional. Contact for Media: Maeve Hannigan T 416-643-4058 Email: Maeve.Hannigan@blackrock.com N ine superbikes capable of reaching 118mph were unveiled today as Scotland Yards newest weapon in the war against criminals on mopeds. Specialist officers will use the lighter and faster BMW motorcycles to catch thugs during chases through Londons streets, after crimes such as phone snatches, gem store raids and acid attacks. Police say the bespoke F750 GS-P machines are so narrow they can operate anywhere. The Met are Britains first force to use the bikes, bought for a six-figure sum. They have an 850cc twin-cylinder engine for fast acceleration and the latest police sirens and radios, plus advanced stability, suspension and anti-lock brake systems. Chief Inspector Jim Corbett, from Operation Venice, the Mets task force targeting moped crime, said the bikes will give them a clear tactical advantage. US officials have given Kiev "important" information about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday after phone talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. All 176 people on board died when a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad. American, British and Canadian officials say intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the plane, perhaps unintentionally, but this has been denied by Tehran. Zelensky said on Facebook that the possibility the plane had been shot down by a missile was not ruled out "but it has not yet been confirmed." He asked for Ukraine to be given all the information needed to conduct a thorough investigation. "Our goal is to establish the undeniable truth," he said. "The value of human life is above all political motives." In a phone call with Pompeo, he thanked Washington for its support. "We are grateful for the valuable support of the United States in investigating the causes of the crash," Zelensky told Pompeo, according to a statement released by his office. He said he met charge d'affaires Kristina Kvien and received important information which could help in the investigation." Zelensky and Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko also met with other US officials including Kvien, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine. Zelensky's office also said the Ukrainian leader and Pompeo discussed ways to normalise the situation in the Middle East. Pompeo expressed his "deepest condolences for the lives lost" in the crash. "We stand with #Ukraine and are ready to offer our support and assistance in the ongoing investigation," he said on Twitter. Speaking on Fox on Thursday, Pompeo had urged Iran to cooperate in the probe. "I hope that the Iranians will cooperate with it completely," he said. "We've got to get to the bottom of it, and it's important that we get to the bottom of it quickly." Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council, said Thursday that investigators were pursuing several leads, including a strike with a surface-to-air missile such as a Russian-made Tor, a collision with a drone, engine failure or a terror attack. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, which investigates aircraft incidents, said Friday it was ready to assist in the probe but that Iran had not asked Moscow for help. Zelensky's office said Pompeo, who was previously expected in Kiev on January 3, will travel to the ex-Soviet country at the end of the month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Markham, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - MBMI Resources Inc. (NEX: MBR.H) (the "Company" or "MBMI") announces that it has entered into a binding support agreement (the "Support Agreement") with Techlink Venture Limited ("Techlink") for a going private transaction (the "Going Private Transaction") to be completed by way of consolidation of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for every 360,000 pre-consolidation common shares (the "Consolidation"). As of the date of this press release, the Company has 3,975,755 common shares issued and outstanding. Techlink is the largest shareholder of the Company, holding 360,000 common shares representing 9.05% of the total issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. In connection with the proposed Consolidation, each holder of common shares of the Company, other than Techlink (the "Non-Techlink Shareholders") is entitled to receive $0.13 in cash for each common share held immediately prior to the Consolidation being effected (the "Consideration"). Fractional shares will not be issued under the Consolidation and all fractional shares resulting from the Consolidation will be cancelled, which will result in Techlink being the sole shareholder of the Company holding one post-consolidation common share after giving effect to the Consolidation. Pursuant to the terms of the Support Agreement and for the purpose of facilitating the Consolidation, the Company is required to continue from the Province of Ontario pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) to the Province of British Columbia pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "Continuance") prior to implementing the Consolidation. In addition, Techlink agreed to provide a term loan to the Company (with a term of at least 24 months) for an amount equal to the amount required by the Company to implement the Consolidation, pay the Consideration for the Consolidation to the Non-Techlink Shareholders and carry on its business as a solvent company. Once the Consolidation is completed, the Company intends to apply to have its common shares delisted (the "Delisting Application") from the NEX Board of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and intends to apply to cease to be a reporting issuer with the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The proposed Consolidation is not a "Business Combination" or a "Related Party Transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). As a result, the proposed Consolidation is not subject to the minority shareholders' approval and formal valuation requirements under MI 61-101. However, pursuant to the policies of the Exchange, a "majority of minority" shareholder approval is required for the Delisting Application. In addition, the proposed Continuance and Consolidation are required to be approved by special resolutions of the Company's shareholders holding not less than two-thirds majority of the votes casted at the Company's shareholders' meeting. The Company has scheduled a special meeting of shareholders on March 6, 2020 (the "Meeting") to seek its shareholders' approval for, among other things, the Continuance, the Consolidation and the Delisting Application. Shareholders of record as of January 29, 2020 are entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. While a formal valuation is not required for the Going Private Transaction under the applicable securities laws, the Company has retained Evans & Evans, Inc., an independent professional valuator, to prepare a fairness opinion regarding the Consolidation. Further detail with respect to the Consolidation, including a copy of the fairness opinion, will be included in the Management Information Circular to be mailed by the Company to its shareholders in connection with the Meeting, and will be filed under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. It has been four years since the last material development in the Company's efforts to reinstate the cancelled Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (the "FTAA") which, if reinstated, would allow large-scale exploration, development and utilization of minerals on the Company's Palawan properties in the Philippines. Over the past few years, the Company has been relying on small annual private placements and debt financings to maintain operations and pay expenses related to maintaining its status as a listed reporting issuer. Due to the uncertainty in the outcome of the Company's efforts to restate the cancelled FTAA, it has become increasingly difficult for the Company to continue raising funds through private placement and debt financing. In recommending the shareholders to vote in favour of the Continuance, the Consolidation and the Delisting Application, the Board of Directors of the Company believe that the proposed Consolidation and the Delisting Application, if implemented, will significantly reduce the financial burden of continuing the Company's operations as a listed reporting issuer. In addition, the Company's common shares are thinly traded and offer little liquidity opportunity for its shareholders. The Board believes that the proposed Consolidation provides the shareholders with a meaningful liquidity event to realize the value for their shares. The Board cautions shareholders and others considering trading in the Company's common shares that completion of the Consolidation and the Delisting Application remains subject to a number of conditions including, but not limited to, receipt of all regulatory and shareholder approvals and satisfaction of other closing conditions customary in a transaction of this nature. If the Company receives the requisite shareholder approval for the Continuance, the Consolidation and the Delisting Application at the Meeting and all other conditions for the completing the Consolidation are met, the Company anticipates completing the Continuance and the Consolidation as soon as practicable following the Meeting. If approved, trading of the Company's shares on the Exchange will be voluntarily halted effective the close of business on the date of the Meeting before the Consolidation being effected in order to minimize settlement and entitlement issues. About MBMI Resources Inc. MBMI Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based mining company which operates 7 nickel mineral properties in the Philippines, which include the Alpha Property, Bethlehem Property and Northern Rio Tuba Property located in Palawan Philippines covering an area of 12,560 hectares (collectively, the "Palawan Properties"), and the Borongan-Maydolong Property, Gen. Mcarthur-Llorente Property, Balangiga-Giporlos Property and Homohon Island Property in Samar, Philippines covering an area of 10,150 hectares (collectively, the "Samar Properties"). The Company's principal properties, the Palawan Properties, have been subject to a dispute (the "FTAA Dispute") which led to a decision by the Office of the President of the Philippines on April 19, 2011 (the "OP Decision") that cancelled a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (the "FTAA") granted in April 2010 for the Palawan Properties. The FTAA, if reinstated, would allow large-scale exploration, development and utilization of minerals on the Palawan Properties. Through a series of transactions from September 2012 to March 2014 involving the sale of the company's ownership in the operating companies (the "Operating Company") that own and control the Palawan Properties and their respective holding companies, the Company's ownership in the Palawan Properties have been sold to DMCI Mining Corporation, a Philippines based mining company (the "Purchaser") for an aggregate purchase price of US$25.2 million (the "Sale Transactions"). The closing of Sale Transactions is subject to a number of closing conditions which include, among other things, the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA. As a result of the Sale Transactions and the FTAA Dispute, the Company has suspended its exploration and development operations in all of its properties to focus its efforts and resources on the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA in order to conclude the Sale Transactions. On December 9, 2015, the First Division of the Philippine Supreme Court issued a favourable decision (the "SC Decision") declaring null and void the decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals which affirmed the OP Decision without prejudice to any other appropriate remedy the parties may take against each other. It is important to note, however, that while the SC Decision is the final court decision with respect the FTAA Dispute, it is not a direct ruling with respect to the re-instatement of FTAA that would allow the Company to meet the closing conditions of the Sale Transactions. Therefore, following the SC Decision, the Operating Companies have commenced work on the documentation required to re-engage the Office of the President regarding the reversal of the OP Decision and reinstatement of the FTAA pursuant to the SC Decision. Since there is no assurance that the Office of the President of Philippines will reinstate the FTAA, the Company, the Operating Companies and the Purchaser are concurrently evaluating other recourses including, but not limited to, binding arbitration proceedings in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanism set out in the FTAA as sanctioned by the SC Decision. Disclosure regarding forward-looking statements This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. For more information, please contact: Joseph Chan, CEO Phone: (647) 299-9203 Email: mbmi@mail.com Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Press release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51330 Assyrian Priest Arrested During Military Operation in Southeastern Turkey Father Sefer BileAen. Assyrian Christian priest Sefer BileAen, the sole caretaker of Mor Yakup Monastery, a 1,500-year-old church in Turkey's southeastern city of Mardin, was arrested on Friday after detained in Turkish army's operation in the region. "Assyrian priest BileAen, who was detained yesterday, was arrested," journalist Sedat Sur said on Twitter. But, he did not mention the reason behind the priest's arrest. BileAen, alongside with two other Assyrians Joseph Yar and Musa TaAtekin, were detained on Thursday during a raid by Turkish soldiers in and around the Assyrian settlement AAkAy, Gazete Duvar said. "We still do not know why Father Sefer, Joseph, the village headman, and others were detained. The lawyers are involved but no information was given, saying there was a secrecy decision on the file," the news site quoted Yuhanna AktaA, the president of Mardin Assyrians Union, as saying. "We do not understand why a priest is detained," AktaA said. During World War One, Assyrians alongside Armenians were subjected to massacres and forced displacement, recognised by many -- though not by Turkey -- as genocide. This, and ongoing discrimination decades later drove many thousands to seek safety abroad. As a result, although there are only around 25,000 Assyrians left in Turkey. And, the conflict between Turkish armed forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting since 1984 for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, where the Assyrian population is mostly found. Many Assyrians have found themselves caught between the two sides. Besides the issues of security, Turkey's Assyrians face issues related to their identity in a country that stridently promotes its official language, Turkish, at the expense of other native languages, including the Assyrian mother tongue, Aramaic. By Brian Ellsworth and Vivian Sequera CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Thursday urged the European Union to officially label as 'blood gold' the precious metal informally mined in the country's southern jungles as he seeks to increase pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro's government since 2016 has supported artesanal mining in the Venezuelan Amazon to bring in revenue amid an economic crisis, an effort that expanded as Washington increased sanctions meant to force the ruling Socialist Party from power. The initiative has been criticized by environmental activists and rights groups for contaminating watersheds with mercury and fuelling massacres as gangs battle for territory. By Brian Ellsworth and Vivian Sequera CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Thursday urged the European Union to officially label as "blood gold" the precious metal informally mined in the country's southern jungles as he seeks to increase pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro's government since 2016 has supported artesanal mining in the Venezuelan Amazon to bring in revenue amid an economic crisis, an effort that expanded as Washington increased sanctions meant to force the ruling Socialist Party from power. The initiative has been criticized by environmental activists and rights groups for contaminating watersheds with mercury and fuelling massacres as gangs battle for territory. In an interview with Reuters, Guaido said the EU should use a label to limit the trade of Venezuelan gold, the way the "blood diamond" campaign of the 1990s targeted diamond sales that financed armed conflict in Africa. "I think Europe can take steps in this direction by not allowing the trade of (Venezuelan) gold in Europe... and to clearly label it 'blood gold,'" Guaido said. "What is it used for in Venezuela? To finance irregular (armed) groups," he said, referring to Colombian guerrillas that are increasingly present near gold mining operations. The United States, along with the EU and more than 50 other countries, recognises Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president. In 2019, Washington broadened its sanctions programme against Maduro in the hopes of pushing his government from power. But Maduro has hung on, skirting sanctions on the OPEC nation's oil industry with the help of allied Russia and through the sale of gold produced by the artesanal miners, who are often linked to organised crime. Trump administration sanctions already prohibit U.S individuals and companies from trading Venezuelan gold, some of which has been sold to Turkey - another Maduro ally. A Guaido representative in September said Maduro's government was selling gold in Europe to bypass sanctions. The EU as a matter of policy does not comment, a spokesperson said in an emailed response to a request for comment, adding that it fully supports Guaido as president of the legislature and has enacted a travel ban on 25 officials as well as an embargo on arms sales to Venezuela. The EU has not specifically prohibited trade of Venezuelan gold. The Reuters interview was Guaido's first with foreign media since Maduro's security forces tried unsuccessfully to prevent him from getting re-elected as the head of the opposition earlier this week. On Sunday, Maduro's allies tried to install a rival opposition head and group of legislators after security forces moved to block Guaido and his supporters from entering parliament. "We will do everything possible to continue doing our jobs," Guaido said in reference to parliament. ELECTRICITY LOAN CALLED OFF Guaido also said legislators were abandoning efforts to finance electricity infrastructure through a loan from regional development bank CAF, with lawmakers now seeking different mechanisms to ease the country's chronic power outages. The proposal had involved CAF providing $350 million in funds that would be overseen by the United Nations. The plan was broadly criticized as expensive and impractical, and generated concerns that Maduro's government would ultimately have influence over the use of the funds. "There are alternative mechanisms that don't involve adding to the country's debt, and at a lower cost," said Guaido. CAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The UN office in Venezuela declined to comment. The blackouts have undermined the functioning of everything from routine commerce to hospital emergency rooms. Especially hard hit has been the western state of Zulia, where citizens routinely go 12 hours without power. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth and Vivian Sequera, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. In recent years, Georgia and China have built momentum in developing bilateral ties, coordinating and cooperating with each other while respecting each others interests. The remarks were made by Archil Kalandia, Georgian Ambassador to China. According to him, with free trade agreements, the two countries have brought bilateral ties to a new level and set a good example for mutual cooperation. An increasing number of Chinese companies are running businesses in Georgia, some of which have even gained a foothold in the Georgian market, said Kalandia. China, on the other hand, is the third largest importer of Georgian wine, with wine imports reaching 6.95 million bottles in 2018, as pointed out by Kalandia. Over 40 Georgian wine stores have opened in Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities. The ambassador said the Georgian embassy in China is also actively promoting the folk music, traditional dance, history of wine-making and so on to help more Chinese learn about their local culture and tradition. According to him, the Belt and Road Initiative enables Georgia to give full play to its geographical advantages and develop into a regional center for trade, transportation and logistics, thus promoting cooperation between Europe and Asia. Georgia has been committed to facilitating the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route with other countries under the initiative, noted Kalandia. The ambassador also praised China for its remarkable achievements in the past 70 years, attributing it to the down-to-earth work of the Communist Party of China, social stability and peaceful development. More than one quarter of children referred for mental health treatment are turned away, a damning report has revealed. Around 133,000 under-18s were rejected from specialist NHS services in the year 2018/19, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said. This includes youngsters who may self-harm, have eating disorders, suffer abuse or simply don't 'fit in the criteria boxes'. The think tank gathered data under the Freedom of Information Act from 62 mental health providers in England out of 64. Findings show the South and East of England have the worst record for rejecting mentally ill children, while London fares slightly better. Analysts also found the average time children and young people spent on a waiting list was double the Government's target time of one month. More than one in four children referred to a specialist mental health service in England are rejected, a damning report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has revealed EPI executive chairman David Laws said: 'Progress in improving access over this period has been hugely disappointing. 'It is unacceptable that as many as one in four children referred to mental health services are being turned away.' GPs, parents, carers and workers in education are able to refer children to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). CAMHS use a criteria to assess which children are most at risk, such as those who are suicidal, and therefore prioritised for treatment. The EPI found that 26 per cent of all referrals in 2018/19 were rejected, with huge variation across the country. In London, providers rejected 17 per cent of referrals on average, compared with around 28 per cent in the South of England, the Midlands and the East of England, and 22 per cent in the North. Referrals were most commonly rejected because the child does not meet the eligibility criteria. For example, there more be social aspects or family difficulties involved that CAHMS cannot help with. Other common rejection reasons can include inappropriate referrals or not being from the right area. But EPI warns a growing number of children and young people 'with complex needs' do not fit clearly into diagnostic boxes created by CAHMS. Those with lower-level mental health needs and older adolescents may be unable to access the support they require, it said. The report concluded: 'It remains unclear what support is available for the one in four children with mental health difficulties referred to, but not accepted into, treatment. WHY ARE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS SOARING? Mental health problems are a growing public health concern in the UK and around the world. At any one time, a sixth of the population in England aged 16 to 64 have a mental health problem, according to statistics body NHS Digital. There are around 6,000 suicides in the UK each year and it's the biggest killer of men up to the age of 49. Men account for 75 per cent of the total figure. 10 per cent of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem. The overall number of people with mental health problems has not changed significantly in recent years, but figures spanning over decades show some trends. Mental health charity MIND say it appears that how people cope with mental health problems is getting worse as the number of people who self-harm or have suicidal thoughts is increasing. Economic uncertainty, the influence of social media and expectations of what life should be like have all been suggested as possible causes by experts. Young people today are more likely to suffer from depression or self-harm, as well as have obesity or sleep disorders. But they drink less, take fewer drugs, and are less likely to be vandals or violent than their elders of just a decade before, a large-scale study by the University College London found. Advertisement 'Children with complex or less well-understood needs, including those with conduct difficulties, those in care, and those transitioning to adult mental health services, face a postcode lottery of provision.' There may be other services, such as social care, charities, or a school nurse, that step in to assist with children who are rejected from CAHMS. But the report said: 'Our previous research has highlighted that alternative mental health support services for those unable to access CAMHS have been decommissioned in many areas over the past eight years.' The findings also show that children and young people waited an average of two months to begin treatment in 2018/19 - double the Government's proposed four-week target. In some areas of England, children typically wait as long as six months before they can access treatment. However, median waiting times from referral to start of treatment have fallen since 2015 generally. The report said: 'Despite the 1.4billion of extra spending over five years announced in 2015, the proportion of rejected referrals has not changed since we started collecting this information four years ago. 'Our newly-collected data reinforces the picture of a system that is failing to meet need across the country, despite significant extra spending on CAMHS since 2015.' The EPI, which aims to promote high-quality education outcomes regardless of social background, warned that the Government is unlikely to succeed in meeting its national CAMHS waiting time target of four weeks by 2022/23. The longest median waiting times were in London (65 days) and the shortest in the Midlands and East of England (49 days). Median waiting times for treatment across mental health providers varied from just one day to six months (182 days). Providers in England with the longest median waiting times included the West London Mental Health Trust (182 days), South Tyneside and Sunderland (129 days), Alder Hey in Liverpool (124 days), and Leeds Community Healthcare (117 days). Whitney Crenna-Jennings, senior researcher at the EPI and author of the report, said the system was 'operating under great strain'. She added: 'There is a vast treatment gap, meaning the needs of hundreds of thousands of young people in England are not being met.' Denying children access to mental health treatment hinders children at school and their social lives, she added. Barbara Keeley, shadow minister for mental health, said: 'Children should not be waiting months for vital mental health treatment. 'It's clear that, to have any hope of meeting the proposed waiting times targets, children's mental health services need a drastic increase in funding and in staff.' Emma Thomas, chief executive of mental health charity YoungMinds, said: 'These findings reinforce what we know from calls to our helpline - that too many young people who look for mental health support can't get it when they need it most. 'This can have devastating consequences - in some cases, young people drop out of school, start self-harming or become suicidal before they get the right support. 'The Government must ensure that young people can get help earlier on, through their schools, their local communities and online.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 09:15 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3219a145 1 Entertainment #entertainment,#music,#festival,#Jakarta,#SacredRhythm Free Two decades after its first incarnation at the turn of the millennium, cultural music festival Sacred Rhythm is set to make a return this Saturday in Jakarta. Scheduled to be held on Jan. 11 at the Nyi Ageng Serang auditorium in South Jakarta, Sacred Rhythm: Reborn Unison (SRRU) marks a new chapter in the music festivals history, as well as its organizer the Sacred Bridge Foundation. Several events have been held in the run-up to SRRU, with an invitation-only event in 2018 and the SRRU: Celebrate Life art exhibition at the National Museum in 2019. Saturdays festival will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original Sacred Rhythm festival, which was held at Pura Samuan Tiga and Penataran Sasih in Bali in 1999. While the original UNESCO-sanctioned festival at that time featured more than 1,000 percussionists in the lineup, SRRU will be a more intimate event, taking the theme Recognizing Rhythm and the tagline Bridging Art-Science-Conscience. The original focus on percussion will make a return, and so will performers from the original festival, including American percussionist and director of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) electronic percussion studios Amy Knoles. Knoles invited with her fellow percussionist Joel Virgel-Vierset and Houman Pourmehdi, the former a musician-cum-actor and the latter a faculty member at The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts, Indonesian performers include traditional and modern musicians, such as the Acehnese Canang 7 Atjeh Ensemble, Betawis gambang kromong troupe Kinang Putra and DJ Leno Rei. Also in the lineup are participants of Rhythm Salad, the Sacred Bridge Foundations music workshop program. The workshop is being held from Jan. 6 to 10 at the Namarina Dance Academy studio, with the final result of the program to be showcased at SRRU. Those looking to attend SRRU can do so by making a minimum donation of Rp 50,000 ($3.61), which will go on to fund future projects by the Sacred Bridge Foundation. Sacred Bridge chairman Ginastera Boo-Boo Sianturi said the original festival was borne out of the turbulent times in the run-up to the end of the millennium, created to highlight culture as a solution where politics and trade have failed. Twenty years on, we still face wars and racism and all sorts of issues. Humans are still territorial beings with their own boxes, so its our rallying cry to the younger generation to break these barriers, he said. Ginastera said the initial concept was for SRRU to be held in Bali to pay tribute to the 1999 festival, but the Sacred Bridge Foundation had just undergone a regeneration of sorts, and the new board did not feel they could pull off a festival in Bali for reasons relating to resources and funding. The foundation itself is based in Jakarta, and so is its network of volunteers, so it made sense to hold SRRU in Jakarta. The challenge is actually in highlighting the aspect of sacredness in a city you wouldnt associate with it. The concept of the art-science-spirituality triangle has a similarity with the Balinese idea of spirituality, he says. The road to SRRU is a rocky one, with the existence of the Sacred Bridge Foundation itself in limbo following the passing of founder Serrano Sianturi, Ginasteras father. When he passed away in early 2019, the foundation was nearly dissolved. However, I talked with several friends and volunteers on our way going forward and they were all very spirited in their optimism, so I was pretty pumped up as well, he said. Going forward, Ginastera raised hope that SRRU could become an annual festival, with plans already under way for a Balinese concert on New Years Eve to welcome 2021. It will also be a test for the younger generation, whether we can continue the legacy of our predecessors. (ste) Laura Whitmore admits her dream role as Love Island's new presenter has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding predecessor Caroline Flack's recent arrest. Caroline, 40, was taken into custody after police were called to her Islington home in December after an alleged physical assault against boyfriend Lewis Burton. The presenter relinquished her role as the show's host ahead of a March trial date and her temporary replacement, who steps in for the show's inaugural winter series, admits the context surrounding her appointment has made the experience bittersweet. New role: Laura Whitmore, 34, has said that her presenting role on Love Island has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Caroline Flack's recent arrest 'It's not a great situation at all,' she said. 'It's not ideal and Caroline has been incredible. She messaged me before ITV contacted me and said that she really hoped I got the role. 'She said, "I know how much of a fan you are of the show". I just thought that was so lovely. I'm so happy to do the show, but I just wish it was in a different situation.' Laura, 34, reflected on her role after flying to South Africa's Cape Town, where she will introduce 12 new contestants from a sprawling new villa on the outskirts of the coastal city. And she admits her first priority was to contact Caroline personally after being approached for the coveted presenting job. Almost time: The new host revealed that her predecessor was 'incredible' and contacted her before ITV got in touch offering the gig She recalled: 'I think when they first had that conversation, I said, 'If I do get offered this, can I talk to Caroline before it goes to the press or anything like that?' Of the initial approach, Laura admits she was shellshocked after her agent called her as she prepared to fly home for her mother's birthday. 'It was just before Christmas and I was going to go back to Ireland up to Edinburgh for work up there, then back to London and back to Ireland again,' she said. 'I was flying to Dublin and my agent called and said that ITV would like to with me in the next few hours. I was like, 'Oh, I'm at the airport'. What a call: Laura, pictured in a stunning embroidered pink shirt, first found out about her new role while she was waiting at the airport to go home to Ireland 'He was like, 'What are you doing at the airport?' I was like 'Err, it's my mum's birthday'. And then I said, 'Let me just ring my mum first', so I did and she was like, 'I can see you at Christmas, don't worry about it!' While Caroline epitomised Love Island prior to her abrupt departure, Laura believes boyfriend and show narrator Iain Stirling's off-beat, irreverent humour is what sustains it as she prepares to work with him for the very first time. 'Iain is the heart of this show, his humour and what he does with it is basically what the general public are like watching the show,' she explained. Caring: Laura will adopt the same motherly, protective approach as her predecessor when the villa finally opens its doors on Sunday evening 'Everyone is like, 'what is it like to work together?' But I get to be in the villa, he's in a voice-over booth. He's been ringing me up asking what it's like, what's Cape Town like, what's the hotel like and what's the villa like. 'He's worked on this for so many series, but I can kind of like be giving him some [information] It's a weird situation. We're just going to see how it goes.' A self-confessed Love Island super-fan, the Irish star will adopt the same motherly, protective approach as her predecessor when the villa finally opens its doors on Sunday evening. Couple: Her new role means Laura will be working with beau Iain Stirling, who she called 'heart of this show' Already closely associated with the show through comedian boyfriend Iain, revealed she's previously offered support to one former Islander after watching her leave with a broken heart. 'Last year, Amy Hart when she came out, there was that episode where she was incredible,' she recalled. 'I was in Majorca visiting Iain and I was at the airport flying back and I bumped into her. I was starstruck and went up to her and said, 'I just want to say what you did was incredible'. 'But I didn't realise she hadn't spoken to anyone since she came out or even really seen the reaction. 'Cape Town here I come!' Earlier this week, excited Laura posed with her personalised suitcase ahead of her flight to South Africa to launch Love Island 2020 'I gave her a hug and when I saw her afterwards she told me I had no idea what that meant to her. She didn't know everyone was on her side, and it was nice for her to see that. It's impossible not to be attached.' She added: 'I think we forget that they're real people. We're watching it as a show, but it's not Coronation Street these people are real and their emotions are real. 'I remember last year, Molly-Mae broke down in tears and collapsed because Tommy didn't come back with anyone from Casa Amor, and you just become attached. 'So I think you'd have to be very cold to not become attached or protective. I haven't met them yet, so I haven't had that experience of seeing stuff in papers and being in there as well. It's only natural that you will have that motherly (instinct).' Teaser: Laura has already been dropping hints about the new series and teased GMB presenter Richard Arnold that 'there might be a bombshell happening' when he questioned the number of beds currently in the villa Laura arrives knowing full well that fans will be keenly judging her as Caroline's replacement, and has already been approached by complete strangers with messages of support making the prospect of stepping in as presenter an even more daunting one. She added: 'The whole thing just feels intimidating because it's such a huge show, and I'm a huge fan and I know it so well. When I was on the plane coming over, the lovely air hostess woke me up and she said, 'Good luck with the show!' Then I was at the hotel and an older guy came up to me and said, 'I love the show, good luck!' 'It's such a big show that everyone knows you're doing it. The show itself, I'm like, 'Oh, I can do this. I've worked in TV a while', but then so many people love this show so much. I just want to do it justice and just be me.' Love Island launches on ITV2, Sunday January 12th. A small group of protesters gathered outside Facebook's headquarters in January 2020 to protest the company's policy of refusing to take down political ads with false information. A small group of protesters gathered outside of Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday to demand that the company stop running political ads on its social network. The protest included folks from a number of progressive Bay Area groups, including Media Alliance, Global Exchange and the Raging Grannies Action League. The protesters said Facebook's policies make it possible for American voters to be manipulated through false information and targeted ads. The company has argued that fact checking political ads could interfere with free speech in politics. But Facebook has come under fire for the policy over the past several weeks, and on Thursday, it reiterated its position but announced that it would also give users a new control to reduce the amount of political ads they see. "Ultimately, we don't think decisions about political ads should be made by private companies, which is why we are arguing for regulation that would apply across the industry," wrote Facebook's director of product management, Rob Leathern, in a company blog post. The protesters did not agree. "We don't feel that Facebook has done anywhere near enough to make sure that their gigantic platform is free from electoral manipulation," said Ted Lewis, co-executive director of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights organization. "We know the power of the platform, and we're asking Facebook to be a good corporate citizen." The protesters rallied across from Facebook's famous thumbs up sign, where they held posters and yelled chants such as"Fake news, real hate." Some at the protest also called for more regulation of Facebook, with at least one protester holding a sign reading "Break Up Facebook." "It would be nice if we could find an alternative to Facebook for communication," said protester Jenny White with Indivisible Berkeley, a group whose mission is to resist the Trump agenda. "Facebook needs competitors. They don't have any now, and that's very dangerous." The unknown number of bikes were purchased for an 'undisclosed cost' The BMW F750GS-P bikes have 850cc twin-cylinder engines, better acceleration, and latest sirens and radio system Will be used by 'scorpion' officers in combatting moped-related crimes The Met Police have revealed a new batch of high-speed motorbikes they plan to use in the fight against moped-related crimes. Specially trained 'scorpion' officers from Operation Venice the taskforce set up to tackle moped thieves carrying out robberies and phone snatches - will start receiving them from today. The London police force have managed to reduce the spate of moped crimes that hit the capital over the last decade, but believe the faster and lighter motorbikes will allow them to catch more thieves. Specially trained 'scorpion' officers from Operation Venice the taskforce set up to tackle moped thieves carrying out robberies and phone snatches - will start receiving them from today Chief Inspector Jim Corbett, from the Met's Operation Venice team, said: 'Although my officers have, and continue, to reduce moped-enabled crime, we are not complacent and know that offenders still believe that they can evade capture when they are on their mopeds. 'These new vehicles will allow our specialist drivers to pursue offenders. Their lightweight design has been specially tailored to help us reduce moped enabled crime even further.' According to a statement from the Met, the new BMW F750GS-P bikes have been tailored to meet the 'specific requirements of the specially trained officers who will use them'. Their smaller size and weight will mean better access to some of London narrow roads and busy streets. Chief Inspector Jim Corbett, from the Met's Operation Venice team, said: 'Although my officers have, and continue, to reduce moped-enabled crime, we are not complacent and know that offenders still believe that they can evade capture when they are on their mopeds' They have an 850cc twin-cylinder engine, which provides brisk acceleration, and are fitted with the latest generation police sirens and police radio system. It is believed the Met are the only force currently using these bikes and they were purchased for an undisclosed cost. Moped-related crime peaked in July 2017, but there has since been a steady fall. The BMW F750GS-P motorbike Max. Speed - 120 mph Width (incl. mirrors) - 36 inches Weight (fully fuelled) - 224 kg Engine capacity - 853 cc Advertisement Between December 2017 and November 2018, there were 15,168 mopeds, motorcycles and scooters used in crime. In the same period for 2019 the number of crimes fell by 42.5 per cent. Chief Inspector Corbett, added: 'Whilst we're pleased to see the number of stolen vehicles and crimes committed reduce, we are not complacent and call on the public to help us reduce moped-enabled crime even further by informing the police of any suspicious activity and adding additional measures to your bike. 'The new bikes and the help of the public will be instrumental in stopping this type of crime.' The Met's 'Lock, Chain and Cover' campaign, encourages Londoners to layer up their mopeds and scooters' security to make lives harder for thieves. In a major development, the Supreme Court on Friday has ordered the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review all restrictive orders within a week. The top Court, while pronouncing the verdict on a batch of pleas, including that of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, challenging the restrictions imposed in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, after the abrogation of Article 370, has said Section 144 cannot be used as a tool to suppress dissent. It also said that internet suspension is subject to judicial review. The verdict was pronounced by a three-judge bench comprising of Justice N V Ramana, Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice B R Gavai. The three-judge bench had reserved the judgement on November 27 last year. Besides Azad, the apex court had heard the petitions filed by Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor of Kashmir Times, and few intervenors questioning restrictions in the valley. Envoys praise government on Kashmir security situation after visit to the valley Beginning the verdict by quoting from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", Justice Ramana said that Freedom of speech and expression includes the right to internet within Article 19, and Court's "limited concern" is to find a balance regarding security and liberty of people. The Court clearly stated that internet suspension can only be a temporary measure. The top court has also observed that the ban on the internet should be an extreme measure to be considered by the state. Pulling up the Centre, the SC stated that the Central government's refusal not to produce all documents citing privilege cannot be a valid ground. The apex court also told the Centre to allow government websites and e-banking facilities. COAS Gen Naravane affirms drop in Kashmir terrorism, improvement since Article 370 revoked Centre's argument On November 21, the Centre had justified restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of provisions of Article 370. The Centre had said that due to the preventive steps taken, neither a single life was lost nor a single bullet fired. The Centre had referred to terror violence in the Kashmir Valley and said that for the past so many years terrorists were being pushed through from across the border, local militants and separatist organisation had held the civilians captive in the region and it would have been "foolish" if the government would not have taken preventive steps to secure the lives of citizens. 'Jammu & Kashmir is now corruption free' claims Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Abrogation of Article 370 On August 5, Parliament abrogated Article 370 of Indian Constitution that exempted Jammu and Kashmir from following the Indian Constitution except for Article 1 and itself. Announcing the decision in the Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah said that it will correct a "historic wrong". Additionally, the Modi government bifurcated the state of Jammu and Kashmir and changed its status to Union Territories - Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. The bill named Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha by 125-61 margin and the Lok Sabha by a whooping 351-72 margin on August 5,6 respectively. While the Opposition condemned this move calling it an attack on 'Kashmiriyat', Shah said that it will integrate of Jammu and Kashmir with the country like never before. Ahead of the historic decision, the Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed around 40,000 troops in the state and placed the mainstream leaders including three chief ministers - NC's Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and PDP's Mehbooba Mufti on preventive custody. The Centre after intimation from Army also evacuated Amarnath yatris, and the Chinar Corps of Indian Army revealed that they had intelligence inputs that there were attempts of attacks on Amarnath Yatra by Pakistan. 2019 Highlights Part 1: From IAF's Balakot Blitz to 'Howdy, Modi', here's a look back Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon on the Graham Norton Show (David Parry/PA Images via Getty Images) The BBC has defended the use of the word f****t in the Gavin And Stacey Christmas special, following hundreds of complaints from viewers. The word was used as the characters Bryn (Rob Brydon) and Nessa (Ruth Jones) sang The Pogues song Fairytale Of New York during a karaoke session at the pub. The original track from Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues contains the word and it was not censored for the festive special, which upset some viewers. The BBC has confirmed it received 866 complaints for the episode, with some of those complaints about homophobic language. Read more: The best Christmas TV specials ever However, the corporation said in a statement that there was no intention to offend viewers and that the 1987 song does not link the word to homosexuality. The statement said: Fairytale Of New York is a well-established, much-loved Christmas song which tells the story of a troubled couple in 1940s New York. The descent of their relationship is reflected in the increasingly abusive and offensive terms they use to address each other; insults which are intended to reflect the language that such characters might have used in that era. The origin of the word includes a definition which describes it as a contemptuous and antiquated word for laziness, and the author of the song has cited this inference behind his inclusion of that line. While the word f****t is now widely acknowledged as having the potential to offend, the song never suggests or implies that this is, or was ever, an appropriate way to address another person, nor does it link it to homosexuality, the statement said. Nessa and Bryn were seen singing the original lines and we can assure you there was no intention to offend viewers. Read more: Gavin And Stacey Christmas special is decades most-watched scripted show We understand that some people will find it offensive in any context but we also recognise that the song is widely played and enjoyed in its original form. The BBC also noted that broadcasting watchdog Ofcom have previously stated that they feel it is unlikely that audiences would widely perceive [the song] as a serious attempt to denigrate the homosexual community. Want to learn how to be an angler? You can learn the art of fly fishing and practice your casting skills. You dont even have to bring the rod and reel. But youll need to hurry. There are only a few spots remaining for this free fly-fishing clinic hosted by the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department. The event is set for Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Engler Park. Although the event is free, participants must be pre-register in order to attend. They can do this by calling the Farmington Community Civic Center at 573-756-0900 or online at Farmington-mo.gov The Missouri Department of Conservation will be teaching the basics of fly fishing, including the history of the sport, specialized tackle and how to cast. Participants will get the chance to practice what they learn at the clinic by fishing in the stocked trout pond. MDC will provide the fly rods to use for this event. Lunch will consist of chili and hot dogs is included at this event. Dustin Unger, program manager for the parks and recreation department, said the fishing clinic is open to participants of all ages. Anyone can sign up and give fly fishing a shot, he said. They can try their hand at fishing once they learn the basics of how to do it. There will be a variety of things to do from stuff for kids all the way to activities for adults, said Unger. The event will be held rain or shine. Fire pits will be available to help participants to stay warm. Unger said participants are encouraged to dress for the weather. Be prepared because all the events are outside and definitely dress warm. If much snow is in the forecast, Unger said the event may be rescheduled if a date was available. This may or may not be possible because the trout in the lake are only there for a certain time. The fish were deposited into the lake in November for catch and release through Jan. 31. The trout have to be in a certain temperature of water [cold], said Unger, and they wont survive if it warms up too much. Jake LaHay is coordinator of the fly-fishing clinic. He has worked with MDC to coordinate this event. Although a successful community fishing clinic was held in the past, LaHay said he has been looking for a way to bring this event at no cost to the community. The Missouri Department of Conservation was the answer, said LaHay. They provide fishing clinics all over the state. Unger said the MDC are experts who will offer terrific fishing tips to participants during the clinic. Were definitely glad to have them coming in to teach this and were excited for this to happen, he said. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Prominent Muslim organisations on Friday demanded the revocation of the CAA, a judicial inquiry into the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University and compensation for those killed and injured in "police firing" during protests against the controversial citizenship law. The organizations, after a meeting, also expressed concern over the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Registration (NPR), asserting that either NPR should either be withdrawn or its additional clauses removed. The meeting of Muslim organisations, held under the chairmanship of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani, was attended by Darul Uloom Deoband vice chancellor, representatives of Jamaat Islami Hind, Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees, All India MilliCouncil, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, and prominent leaders from other parts of the country. The meeting took stock of the situation prevailing in the country and deliberated upon the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), while reviewing the "ongoing movement and struggle" against the controversial law in detail, a statement issued by the Jamiat said. Resolutions were also passed at the meeting, including against the CAA, NPR and proposed NRC. "The amended citizenship law is not only anti-Constitutional but it also violates the pluralistic character of the country. This law discriminates against people on the basis of their religion and directly contradicts fundamental rights enshrined in the Articles, 14, 15 and 21 in the Constitution," a resolution said. The CAA also contradicts the Preamble of the Constitution of India, it said. The organizations said the NRC has created turmoil in Assam and citizens were excluded from the NRC simply because there were errors in their name's spelling and documents. The NPR that has been brought in by the government is actually the first step towards the NRC exercise, and that the new NPR demands more details as compared with the oldNPR of 2010, it claimed. The religious discrimination clause from the CAA should be removed and the NPR should either be withdrawn or its additional clauses removed, the statement said. The organizations also said the new citizenship law will also affect India's friendly relations with neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh. The organizations also extended moral support to the protest launched by students of Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and other youths against these laws. They condemned in strongest possible terms the police action on the students of various universities. They demanded initiation of judicial inquiry into the violence in JNU and the strict action against those police personnel found guilty in action against protests. The attack on JNU students by "masked goons" is a highly condemnable act, the statement said. The Muslim organizations also condemned police brutalities and excesses on the peaceful demonstrations in the BJP-ruled states. The organisations also called upon the state governments to pay appropriate compensation to those who were killed and injured in police firing. Maulana Madani, Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, Maulana Muhammad Wali Rahmani,Professor Akhtar al-Wase, Dr Qasim Rasool Elyas and Naved Hamid among other prominent Muslim scholars and clerics attended the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alcaucin's Ciudadanos party, which forms half of the coalition government with the socialist PSOE party, has tabled a vote of no confidence against the PSOE and mayor of the village, Agata Gonzalez. The motion was presented to the town hall on Tuesday after Ciudadanos spokesperson and previous mayor of Alcaucin Mario Blancke claimed that there had been very little dialogue with the PSOE since it took the mayor's office in last year's local elections. He claimed that they had only met "three times", that Ciudadanos had requested each meeting and that there was a "lack of trust" over information not being shared about projects and expenditure, as well as unilateral decisions being taken on areas that his party is supposed to have responsibility for. Gonzalez, who has the support if other PSOE mayors in the Axarquia, as well as the general secretary of the PSOE in Malaga, Jose Luis Ruiz Espejo, reacted on Wednesday by trying, unsuccessfully, to persuade Ciudadanos to drop the vote. She said the vote was "very unfair" and that it had "been planned for months". Ciudadanos has the support of the two Partido Popular (PP) councillors in Alcaucin and should they win the vote, control of the town hall would pass to a Ciudadanos - PP coalition. The general coordinator for the PP party in Malaga, Jose Ramon Carmona, said his party was happy to support the vote due to the "worrying lack of dialogue from the mayor." Blancke has already said that he is not looking to take up the role of mayor again "to give credibility to this vote of no confidence". He went on to say, "This isn't about removing someone from office for me to return." He added that he entered politics in Alcaucin to try to solve the problems of the irregular houses in the Axarquia. Blancke is spokesperson for Save Our Homes Axarquia (SOHA). Instead, Fernando Cordoba Cordoba, 43, would become mayor. He is currently councillor for Culture, Sport, Education and Health in the village. In the last term of government, Ciudadanos led the council with a PSOE coalition. However, after the PSOE gained more votes in the last election, the decision was made for the PSOE to lead with Ciudadanos support. The vote of no confidence is scheduled to take place at the next council meeting on 22 January. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Azerbaijan is taking measures to integrate the liberated territories in Karabakh into the country's economic field. Thus, the country will launch the first route line from Baku in the direction of Jabrails Jojug Marjanli village in 2020, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies reported in its official website on January 8. Two regular and four irregular buses along six lines will serve passengers as part of this project. The trajectory will be developed along the Baku-Sabirabad-Saatli-Imishli-Dashburun-Horadiz- Jojug Marjanli regular route line and along the irregular Baku- Jojug Marjanli line. Favorable conditions were created in the village of Jojug Marjanli for the restoration of safe living, the return of internally displaced persons to their native lands, following the Azerbaijani armys successful operation in April 2016. The presidential order "On measures related to the restoration of the liberated village of Jabrail region Jojug Marjanli" dated January 24, 2017, is of particular importance. As part of the implementation of measures on implementing this order, the construction of new route lines will continue to ensure comfortable travel for residents of the village of Jojug Marjanli in all directions of Azerbaijan, and especially to Baku. The construction of a two-lane road with a total length of nine kilometers and a width of 12 meters was carried out in accordance with the decree of President Aliyev "On measures to continue the reconstruction work in the Jojug Marjanli village, liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016," signed on June 15, 2017. Jojug Marjanli village was occupied by the Armenian armed forces in 1993. About 1,000 villagers were forced to leave their homes, escaping bullets. As a result of the Horadiz operation carried out in 1994, it was liberated from the Armenian occupation. Due to the fact that until April 2016, the strategic highland of Leletepe was under the occupation of the Armenian army, it was impossible to live in the village of Jojug Marjanli. However, after the liberation of the hills by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, conditions were created for safe living in the village. The first stage of recovery is the demining of the territory of the village from mines and unexploded shells. The work is in full swing and the roads to the village have already been cleared. President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to restore the village of Jojug Marjanli. Initially 50 houses and a school building were built, the corresponding infrastructure was created to ensure residents can set up farms and be engaged in agricultural work. Another 100 houses, a kindergarten, a first-aid post and other necessary social infrastructure facilities will be built in the village of Jojug Marjanli. To this end, 9 million manats ($5.3 million) has been allocated from the reserve fund of the President of Azerbaijan to the State Committee for Refugees and Forced Migrants. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz This is the horrifying moment a man kills a deli worker in front of her children before going on the run. Carmen Rodriguez, 36, was shot at her family's store in the 100 block of North Kenwood Avenue in East Baltimore on December 22. Her husband Derrick Galan has issued a desperate plea to help find the killer, who fled the scene. Carmen Rodriguez (pictured|), 36, was shot at her family's store in the 100 block of North Kenwood Avenue in East Baltimore on December 22 The shocking footage starts as two suspects turn up at Kim Deli and Grocery in a Honda before one quickly visits the shop. A masked man, dressed in a grey tracksuit and a dark cap, later gets out the passenger door and the cameras follow him into the shop where he shoots the mother of four dead with a handgun. The killer gets back into the passenger side of the car and the pair take off as the clip ends. Mr Galan said the shooting has left him heartbroken as he appealed for people to come forward. He told Fox 5 News through tears: 'That guy, whoever he was, he came in. He shot my wife in front of my kids. He couldn't see the kids, the kids were right there. A masked man, dressed in a grey tracksuit and a dark cap, later gets out the passenger door and the cameras follow him into the shop where he shoots the mother of four dead with a handgun 'I need help, please. If somebody knows something, say something, please. What am I going to tell my kids now? 'The big one asked me all the time, 'Where is my mother?' He saw what happened, but he's confused.' The ATF is offering a $5,000 reward. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 22:42:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close VIENNA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday "a new chapter is now being opened in this country". He was referring to the compromise by both the conservative People's Party (OVP) led by him and the Greens led by Werner Kogler in forming Austria's new coalition government earlier this year. The first conservative-green coalition in the history of the alpine country was sworn in by President Alexander Van der Bellen on Tuesday. Kurz announced that his goals as the new head of the government include tax reduction, reduction in the debt ratio towards 60 percent, fighting against trafficking while increasing the funds for development cooperation, introduction of compulsory education and a solution to care financing through insurance. "Dear ladies and gentlemen, there are numerous initiatives in the government program, from digitization to women's politics, from rural areas to measures to strengthen transparency in Austria," he said at the start of the Nation Council session on Friday. "All these contents have one goal, namely to give the best and to improve the lives of people in our country so that everyone in Austria can lead a happy and contented life," he said. During the meeting, Kogler who is also the vice-chancellor, thanked the people "for their patience that a new government has come together", which took a hundred days. Austria's conservatives and the Greens agreed on Jan. 1, 2020 to form a coalition government, ending almost three months of negotiations. This could be useful in the investigation of the case that Ukraine opened on the fact of the disaster that took place in Iran Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine turned to the government of Canada, asking to provide all relevant information related to the crash of flight PS752 in Iran. The press office of the Ukrainian authority reported that on Friday. As is known, Boeing 737 of Ukraine's International Airlines, flight PS752 with 179 passengers aboard crashed in Tehran, not far from Imam Khomeini airport on January 8. No one of those 177 aboard, including 11 Ukrainians survived the tragedy. The aircraft was on its way from Tehran to Kyiv. The crash took place soon after the takeoff. Iranian media reported that, quoting the airport administration. The officials said that the reason for the crash was a "technical malfunction" of the plane's engine. The Ukrainian air company that owned the aircraft denied that there was such a malfunction; a pilot's mistake was ruled out, too. Later that day, the Iranian government refused to send the flight recorders to Ukraine, which means Kyiv will not be able to conduct its own investigation of the tragedy. Iran denied that any claims of the plane being shot down by a missile made no sense. However, top Western officials, including Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson either expressed doubts that there was an engine malfunction or even directly claimed that the aircraft was downed. The Lancet Oncology has today published the results of a study demonstrating the accuracy of an artificial intelligence (AI) system in diagnosing prostate cancer in tissue samples. The study, which was led by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, showed that the AI system had considerable accuracy in determining whether a sample contained cancer, and in estimating the length of the cancer tumor in the biopsy. Furthermore, the AI system was comparable with 23 international, leading uropathologists in determining the Gleason score, the most important prognostic marker for prostate cancer. Our AI tool has the potential to reduce the workload of uropathologists, allowing them to focus on the most difficult cases and at the same time act as a safety net to improve quality. It also has the potential to speed up diagnostics and reduce costs for healthcare services. Martin Eklund, Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet The AI system has been developed by the same team that launched the new blood-based prostate cancer diagnostic test Stockholm3 in 2017. Stockholm3 doubles the number of aggressive cancers that are identified, whilst also reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies by 50% compared to current clinical practice with PSA. Stockholm3 is currently used in clinical practice in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. EIT Health has played a key role in accelerating the development and implementation of Stockholm3 and the new AI system, OncoWatch through network and financial support. As part of the development of OncoWatch, the AI system will be validated in 2020 in a nine-country multicentre study to assess its performance across different labs and in a wider range of digital pathology scanners. A first CE-marked product is expected to launch by the end of the year. There is a high demand for improved tools in prostate cancer diagnostics and we have proven that we can take new innovative tests to the market. The Stockholm3 test was used in more than 20,000 men in the Nordics alone in 2019, and I believe that our new AI system, OncoWatch, will also have strong uptake. Martin Steinberg, Project Leader for EIT Health-backed OncoWatch Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men in Europe, with approximately 450,000 new cases each year. Early diagnosis and treatment of aggressive prostate cancer is crucial to survival. In 1949, half-a-dozen ex-Communists wrote a book about their former faith, dubbing socialism The God that Failed. As the UKs revered National Health Service enters its worst spiral on record, it seems to have earned that title. News broke Thursday morning the NHS had its worst month in history in December 2019. The number of people who waited more than four hours for treatment in its Accident & Emergency (A&E) rooms broke all previous records. In 2010, the UK government made an ironclad commitment that 95 percent of patients at A&Es would be seen within four hours. In December, the number fell to 79.8 percent. The numbers from last months NHS winter crisis could induce a case of seasonal depression. In December: 396,762 people waited more than four hours for treatment in A&E waiting rooms; 2,347 A&E patients waited for 12 hours on gurneys in hallways or side rooms in December double the 1,112 in November and up a whopping 826 percent from 284 in December 2018; 18,251 patients inside 12,824 ambulances waited more than 30 minutes to be admitted to the hospital, and another 5,427 waited more than an hour; and 120 times in December NHS hospitals had to reroute ambulances, because the original hospital lacked the capacity to see the patient at all. But news of NHS failure can hardly be called news at this point. The phrase worst month on record could be permanently fused together in headlines covering the NHS. Ailing Brits experienced record-breaking NHS emergency care delays in October and November 2019, as well. With cold weather en route and flu season not yet underway, new subterranean lows may lie ahead. NHS wait times have crept longer, causing underlying maladies to worsen, for nearly two decades. In a 2001 report, the UK Department of Health and Social Care decreed, By 2004, no one should wait more than four hours in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. The Labour government reduced this requirement to 98 percent of A&E patients in 2004, and the Coalition government further lowered it to 95 percent in 2010. Yet the NHS last met that goal in July 2015. Four hours is roughly twice as long as U.S. citizens spend in emergency rooms, according to ProPublicas ER Inspector. (The only places close are the District of Columbia and Maryland.) But even that bar is too high for the NHS. Sadly the failure to meet the access targets for years now seems to have been normalised, said Dr. Nick Scriven of the Society for Acute Medicine. The UK government did what any government typically does when one of its programs serially fails to meet tangible goals: It got rid of the goals. In March, the NHS rolled out a plan to eliminate A&E wait times and replace them with a scheme to prioritize certain kinds of ailments (read: rationing). The NHS is currently testing those guidelines for likely implementation next year. Some even ask if measuring this measure is a distraction. Sadly, long delays hardly end in the emergency room. The Times found that 11.3 million British citizens waited more than three weeks to see a doctor since July 2019, 5.6 million of them standing idle for more than a month. Cancer patients are not exempt. A survey from the Royal College of Surgeons of England found that 421 surgeons found the waiting times caused tumors and injuries to worsen, resulting in more dire surgeries. Excessive wait times may cause people with eating disorders to end up hospitalized. Meanwhile, the BBC this week chose to highlight the wait times of transgender and non-binary people for gender-transition treatment. When it comes to actual outcomes, the UK has worse results, not just than the U.S., but other European systems. Economic realities apply to every sector of the economy, including healthcare. Single-payer healthcare systems, which are free at the point of service (though, nota bene, not free), flood a limited supply with unlimited demand, triggering inevitable rationing. The low morale causes doctors to burnout, further reducing the supply. The IEA has suggested charging co-payments a measure that has worked in the U.S. Asking Medicaid recipients to make a modest co-payment increased the use of preventative services and decreased the use of emergency rooms as the primary point of care in Indiana. Instead, both parties seem to think the answer is not fundamental reform but more money. Meanwhile, the UKs standard of care for all citizens fell so low that in 2017 the British Red Cross likened it to a humanitarian crisis. Nonetheless, the NHS continues to receive a reputation bordering on idolatry on both sides of the Atlantic. The NHS enjoys near-mythic status in the UK. British leaders have extolled the service on a global stage during the 2012 Olympics opening, and the Archbishop of Canterbury has led NHS-themed services inside Westminster Abbey. Meanwhile, U.S. outlets cite the Commonwealth Funds highly biased study listing the NHS as the worlds best healthcare system, and single-payer advocates fancy themselves leading a Jesus Movement. But real gods deliver. The NHS continues to expose the failures of nationalized, single-payer healthcare and who bears the misery and disease produced by politicians unquestioning devotion to the state. Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek haven't seen each other in a long time, after she moved to Italy in early 2019 on what was supposed to be a 'family gap year'. And as she prepares to extend her stay in Europe for another 12 months, Kate made time to catch up with her old radio co-host while in Melbourne on Friday. The pair - who had been friends for more than 20 years when she chose to end their partnership - looked cheerful as they visited a cafe together. Catching up with the work wife! Former radio partners Dave Hughes (right) and Kate Langbroek (left) briefly reunited for the first time in months on Friday 'Catching up with my soon to be absent again work wife legend @katelangbroek before she heads back to Italy tomorrow,' Dave wrote on Instagram. The 49-year-old comedian added the hashtag '#SoMuchGossip'. Kate shared the same photo to her own Instagram account, telling her followers that she missed working with Dave since moving overseas. How ya going? The pair - who had been friends for more than 20 years when Kate chose to end their partnership in 2019 - visited a Melbourne cafe together on Friday 'It's hard to think of bad things about living in Italy, but not getting to enjoy my beloved @davehughes on a regular basis is one of them,' she wrote. 'Making up for it before I leave tomorrow.' Kate and her family had arrived in Australia for a holiday just before Christmas and are due to fly back to Italy on Saturday. 'Family gap year': Kate's decision to leave for Europe with her husband, Peter Allen Lewis, and their four children in January 2019 effectively ended her radio partnership with Dave During their stay in Melbourne, Kate's eldest son, Lewis, went for a routine check-up at the Royal Children's Hospital. The 16-year-old had previously battled leukaemia as a child but has since made a full recovery. Kate's decision to leave for Europe with her husband, Peter Allen Lewis, and their four children in January 2019 effectively ended her radio partnership with Dave. Despite spending several months broadcasting from a home studio in Italy, the Hit Network announced in December that fill-in host Ed Kavalee had permanently replaced her. The Raleigh Times Bar | Photo: Logan L./Yelp Spending time in Central? Get to know this Raleigh neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a New American bar and restaurant to a Thai spot. Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Central, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results. 1. The Raleigh Times Bar Photo: john p./Yelp Topping the list is the beer bar and New American spot The Raleigh Times Bar. Located at 14 E. Hargett St., it's the highest-rated business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 676 reviews on Yelp. The main offerings on the menu here include chicken strips, shrimp and grits, a braised pork burrito and more. 2. The Haymaker Photo: brittany g./Yelp Next up is the cocktail bar The Haymaker, situated at 555 Fayetteville St. With 4.5 stars out of 70 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite. This spot was named as one of Raleigh's top 50 bars in 2019 by Raleigh Magazine. Try one of the signature cocktails, like the G Made Me Do It, with passionfruit jasmine vodka, rose, lemon and soda. 3. Garland Cocktail bar and pan Asian spot Garland is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 14 W. Martin St., 4.5 stars out of 255 reviews. You'll find the housemade lamb sausage and vegetable curry on the menu here. 4. Bida Manda PHOTO: JOY Y./YELP FinallyBida Manda, a Laotian and Thai spot, is another much-loved neighborhood go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 1,401 Yelp reviews. Head over to 222 S. Blount St. to see for yourself. Check out this spot's pork belly soup or the pad Thai among its dinner entrees. 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. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the House will send articles of impeachment to the Senate next week, setting in motion a trial that is likely to run through the end of January. Pelosi said the House will vote on a resolution to formally transmit the articles after she meets with all House Democrats at 9 a.m. Tuesday. I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate, Pelosi said in a note to the House Democratic conference. I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further. The earliest a trial could start, given this timetable, is Wednesday. That means a debate between Democratic presidential candidates scheduled for Tuesday night in Iowa will likely go forward. Three Democratic senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar qualified for the debate, and would not have been able to be present if the Senate trial, which they are required to attend, had been scheduled any sooner. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at her weekly press conference in Washington on Thursday. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images) Pelosis announcement came one day after she said she would not let go of the articles until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released details of how the trial will be conducted. The decision to announce she will send the articles was a concession that further delay was politically untenable in light of objections from Senate Democrats earlier this week. McConnell not only has not disclosed details of the trial to Pelosi, he also hasnt even shown it to a number of Senate Republicans, based on their responses to inquiries from Yahoo News. Not even Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of President Trumps staunchest defenders, has seen the rules, a spokesman said. Senators do have a pretty good sense of what the rules will be, though. McConnell has said for some time that he wants to use the same rules that governed the 1999 Senate impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Clinton, a Democrat who was impeached by the House for lying about a sexual affair with a White House intern, was acquitted after a five-week-long trial. Story continues But until McConnell promulgates specific language, many details remain murky. A senior House Democratic aide told Yahoo News that another reason Pelosi did not send articles to the Senate this week was the escalating tensions with Iran, which, Pelosi feared, might have given Senate Republicans an excuse to dismiss the charges out of hand without even scheduling a trial. The U.S. military killed Irans most prominent military leader last Friday, and on Wednesday, Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces stationed at Iraqi military bases. The administration reported no casualties. Trumps Thursday morning speech and the absence (thus far) of an additional Iranian response appeared to deescalate the crisis. It was unclear if Pelosi might change her mind if the military situation heated up again between now and Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Senate rules dictate that a trial must start as soon as the House sends over articles of impeachment. Pelosi has held the articles back in part to pressure McConnell to commit to calling witnesses in the Senate. McConnell has steadfastly refused to tip his hand before the trial starts, citing the precedent of the Clinton impeachment trial. Democrats, however, say that the question of witnesses in 1999 was far different than now. One of the main concerns was that testimony from Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern with whom Clinton engaged in an affair, would be below the dignity of the Senate. Ultimately the Senate decided to have Lewinsky and two other witnesses provide videotaped sworn testimony, and portions of that were shown as evidence in the trial. But no live witness testimony was provided. In the current circumstance, there is no concern about propriety. The main obstacle, instead, has been obstruction by the White House, which has blocked a number of key witnesses from testifying about Trumps attempts to pressure the Ukrainian government to undermine Joe Biden, a potential rival for the presidency in the 2020 election. The House on Dec. 18 impeached Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. But Pelosi surprised everyone by announcing she would not immediately send the articles to the Senate. That left the impeachment in limbo over the holidays. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has asked for testimony from four witnesses: Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff; John Bolton, former national security adviser; Michael Duffey, Office of Management and Budget associate director for national security; and Robert Blair, senior adviser to the acting White House chief of staff. McConnell rejected the Democratic requests, saying that he thought the Clinton trial model should govern the Trump trial. He announced this week that he has support from all 53 Republican senators to approve a resolution beginning the trial and setting out rules to govern it. In 1999, the Senate heard opening arguments from Republicans in the House and then a White House response before holding a vote on whether to dismiss the case. The motion to dismiss failed, but the margin signaled that impeachment was unlikely to gather the two-thirds majority in the Senate necessary to convict and remove the president. McConnells main priority is to protect his members who are up for reelection this fall, preserving his majority. One question likely to factor into his thinking is whether vulnerable Republicans might find a vote to dismiss the charges easier to defend than a vote for acquittal after a trial (which, even if it involved no additional testimony, would remind voters of all the evidence gathered by the House inquiry, now several months in the past). The Senate, and the nation, should learn his thinking soon. Michael Isikoff contributed to this article _____ Read more from Yahoo News: More than 200 members of Congress signed an amicus brief last week in support of the defendant in June Medical Services LLC. v. Gee, the hotly watched upcoming Supreme Court case. The plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of a Louisiana state law that requires abortionists to hold admission privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic. In their brief, the amici asked the Court to craft a ruling that reaches beyond the merits of the case by clarifying the undue burden standard laid out in Hellerstedt and tak[ing] up the issue of whether Roe [v. Wade] and [Planned Parenthood v.] Casey should be reconsidered and, if appropriate, overturned. The signatories are right to ask that both Roe and Casey be, at a minimum, reconsidered. Both are shoddy decisions, based on farcical interpretations of substantive due process and implied privacy rights found neither in the text nor in the original understanding of the Constitution. Just as the Court did to Plessy, Korematsu, Dred Scott, and the rest of the anti-canon, it should do to Roe and Casey overturn them, and add both to that set of cases whose central propositions all legitimate decisions must refute. Roe is bad constitutional law, one pro-choice legal scholar wrote, because it is not constitutional law and gives almost no sense of an obligation to try to be. Roes legal survival depends on the cooperation of Congress, which happily obliged by creating the ritual spectacle that is our modern judicial-confirmation process, during which pro-choice lawmakers attempt to wrestle a vow of obeisance to abortion-rights jurisprudence from all prospective federal judges. Can you explain your understanding of stare decisis? asks the inevitable progressive senator, whose deference to our common-law inheritance begins and ends in Anno Domini 1973. Hardly is a reference made to the legal virtues of Roe itself, because, frankly, Roe and its jurisprudential progeny have none to offer. It was so tenuous on the constitutional merits that, in the words of National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen, the pro-choice majority asks nominees to swear allegiance to the decision without being able to identify an intelligible principle to support it. Story continues Defending the whims of seven activist judges from the 1970s against the patently reasonable suggestion that the people of the United States ought to make their own abortion laws necessarily portends the sort of hysterical reaction displayed in the response to the amicus brief. Congressional Democrats, celebrities, and the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates reacted with a predictable brew of panic and frenzy to the comparatively measured language of the brief. Fledgling presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, for instance, sent out a tweet insisting that Republicans want to turn back the clock, outlaw abortion, and deny people reproductive health care and theyre hoping the Supreme Court will back their radical play. We need to take back the Senate and pass federal laws protecting our reproductive rights. Warren invokes the possible passage of federal laws to protect reproductive rights, but its Roe that took the question out of Congresss hands in the first place. Since Roe draws arbitrary boundaries around abortion restrictions for state legislatures without pretense of constitutional fealty, federal abortion laws can only move in Warrens direction. Everything about Warrens language here is duplicitous. With due respect to dilation and extraction, no abortion-related euphemism more effectively obscures the reality it pretends to describe than reproductive health care. Abortion terminates the product of reproduction, and for one of the two parties privy to the procedure has nothing whatever to do with health care. Inducing the paralysis and subsequent mutilation of a fetus might well have a number of apt three-word descriptions, but reproductive health care is not one of them. She also predictably evades the central question putatively answered by Roe: Whether penumbra buried deep in the Ninth and 14th Amendments contain an implied right to privacy, and whether that implied right to privacy, should it exist, permits women to snuff out the life in their wombs. Here she says nothing because there is nothing to say. For all of her talk about turning back the clock and reproductive health care, she is advancing the argument that the people should have no say in their abortion laws because seven high clerics of the Supreme Court once pretended to find a right to abortion that does not anywhere exist in the Constitution. She could have been more forthright and said, Shut up. Someone who would do well to take that advice, Alyssa Milano, told her Twitter followers: Get ready to fight like hell, ladies and men who love them. Are you ready?! Roll Call! Ill go first. Alyssa, Los Angeles, and Im ready to fight for a womans right to choose her destiny. #roevswade Ill go second: John, Manhattan, and Im ready to fight for a childs right not to be pumped full of potassium chloride by its mother. More from National Review 'Unholy Bible': University promotes art project of desecrated Bible, satanic Christ Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A universitys promotion of an atheist students art display of a desecrated Bible and demonic images covering Jesus' face has sparked outrage from Christians who meet on campus for worship. The University of Southern Maine has found itself embroiled in a controversy over the art piece called the Unholy Bible: Very Revised Standard Edition. The piece was created by sophomore Riley Harris for an art class assignment requiring students to re-purpose a book and create something new. Harris display consists of a Bible with torn pages that are painted orange to look like flames. According to The Kennebec Journal, satanic images cover the face of Christ in the display. Harris told the Journal that the piece is supposed to symbolize challenges to religious authority. People question different types of authority, but for some reason, religious authority seems too taboo to question, so I thought I would give it a shot, Harris told the newspaper. The project was completed for a class and later put on display by the university in a building in which community organizations and religious groups rent space regularly. One of those groups that meet in the building is the Casco Bay Church of Christ. This is someones sacred text being desecrated, destroyed and displayed in a public place, church member Charlie Flynn told the news outlet. I couldnt help but feel no ones sacred text should be treated that way. I think its very inappropriate and repugnant. Despite some Christians finding the display offensive, the school has stood by Harris on grounds that he has protected freedom of speech. Jared Cash, the universitys vice president for enrollment management and marketing, told CentralMaine.com that university policy dictates that the institution must support free speech as long as it does not violate the law, defame specific individuals, genuinely threaten or harass others or violate privacy or confidentiality requirements or interests. Academic freedom is the freedom to present and discuss all relevant matters in and beyond the classroom, to explore all avenues of scholarship, research and creative expression, and to speak or write without any censorship, threat, restraint, or discipline by the university with regard to the pursuit of truth in the performance of ones teaching, research, publishing or service obligation, the policy reads. The policy further states that demands for civility and mutual respect will not be used to justify restricting the discussion or expression of ideas or speech that may be disagreeable or even offensive to some members of the university community. The display of Harris work of art also drew the ire of Christian conservative pundit Todd Starnes. "He actually ripped pages out of the Bible and painted them to look like flames from the lake of fire, Starnes told CBN News. Then he took portraits and paintings of Christ and in place of the face of Jesus, he placed a satanic image. You can actually see the Nativity scene with Mary cradling the Christ child and there is an evil satanic face on the Christ child. Despite understanding the rights of free speech, Flynn still considers Harris piece hateful. If I saw a Quran with pig blood on it I would certainly call someone or a Torah with unclean foods on it, Flynn was quoted as saying. This is a Bible with Satans image put over Jesus image and around Christmastime. I dont understand why that would be viewable in an institution of higher learning. This is USM, a school that services the community. Starnes said that it would be improbable to see a school like the University of Southern Maine display a desecrated Quran or satanic images of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Here in the United States of America, only Christians and Jews are allowed to be attacked for their religious beliefs, Starnes argued. The display also drew an objection from the evangelical grassroots organization My Faith Votes. This is sad, a Facebook post from the organization reads. It seems here in the U.S., Jews and Christians can be attacked for their religious beliefs but Muslims seem to be off-limits. In 2018, USM also received pushback when it removed three oil paintings created by a former sex offender at its Lewiston-Auburn campus because administrators feared it could trigger victims of abuse. Critics felt that the school unfairly censored the artist who had paid the societal debt for a 20-year-old conviction. BOOK OF THE WEEK THE MOTHER OF BEAUTY by Nigel Andrew (Thorntree Press 10, 244 pp) We English have a world-class literature, it is often said, with Dickens and Shakespeare, but we're not so good on art and music. If it's great symphonies you want, you have to turn to Germany and Austria; for painting and sculpture, Italy or France. But Nigel Andrew shows us that in fact we are absolutely surrounded by an astonishing richness of great art, we just don't see it perhaps because it's such a part of our landscape, unassuming, local and often anonymous. England's greatest works of art are her parish churches, often dating back to medieval times, and without compare in any other country. Nigel Andrew shows us that in fact we are absolutely surrounded by an astonishing richness of great art, we just don't see it. Pictured: Tomb inside of St Peter and St Paul in the Kentish village of Lynsted What's more, these ancient places of Christian worship contain more beautiful works, which again go barely noticed: church monuments and decorated tombs are our 'most easily overlooked national treasures', often created by someone who may have thought of himself as a craftsman rather than an artist, a stonemason rather than a sculptor. For the author of The Mother Of Beauty, the Golden Age of these monuments was the 17th century, when England was at its most brilliant and in some ways its most stressed: solemn, passionate, riven by civil war and divided by profound questions of religious belief. Such things certainly concentrate the mind, and it shows in the high seriousness and grace of those monuments which Andrew has assiduously hunted down, in some of the most remote corners of the country, in Northamptonshire or Staffordshire or 'down a long lane in the county of Lincs', as John Betjeman so musically put it. Andrew's own black-and-white photos delicately capture the haunting sincerity of these memorials to the dead. In a window in the chancel of old St Giles' Church lies a wrapped-up baby in alabaster, 'beautifully and tenderly carved' 'There is such potency in the atmosphere of these lost corners of England,' he writes, 'a dream-like atmosphere, compounded of centuries of slow time, of work done, lives lived, prayers prayed, everyday goodness and buried shame.' One of the greatest artists he discovers went by the splendid name of Epiphanius Evesham. A masterpiece of his last years around the 1620s is to be found in the church of St Peter and St Paul in the Kentish village of Lynsted: a monument to the second Lord Teynham. Life-sized stone effigies of his lordship and his grieving widow beside him are stunningly realistic and powerful. Suddenly an obscure peer from the reign of James I becomes human again, as does the deep grief of his family. His seven children are also depicted with poignant realism in the two alabaster panels below. THE MOTHER OF BEAUTY by Nigel Andrew (Thorntree Press 10, 244 pp) An equally brilliant but more unsettling monument by Evesham can be found in the Essex village of Felsted, in Holy Cross Church. This memorialises the Elizabethan Sir Richard Rich an 'unscrupulous and vicious operator' in the Tudor court, a thug whose machinations brought him titles and great wealth. His cruelty led him to participate in the torture of a poor early Protestant martyr, Anne Askew, in the Tower of London. Rich himself turned the wheel of the rack until her shoulders were pulled from their sockets and her knees were dislocated, leaving her so crippled she had to be carried to the stake to be burned alive. Rich, meanwhile, made a fortune out of destroying the monasteries, and served as Speaker of the House of Commons. Well might Anne Askew have cried out, in the words of Jeremiah: 'Why does the way of the wicked prosper?' How on earth was Epiphanius Evesham to commemorate such a monster, some 40 years after his death, without getting into trouble? His effigy of Rich, says Andrew, depicts him as a superficially powerful and ambitious man, but the longer you look, the more unpleasant and grasping he seems. Almost, you think, like a soul in torment... From mourning families to grim power politics, our finest English church monuments express it all. There are figures of the dead depicted as skeletons, or later in the 18th century as plump, pompous, self-satisfied aristos in Roman togas, looking for all the world like they confidently expect to be living just as agreeable and well-upholstered a life in the hereafter as they have down below. Was the sculptor being slightly satirical at their expense? 'Most deeply affecting,' says Andrew, are the child monuments remembering that before very recent times, practically every parent would have known what it was to lose a child. Simple and sublime, there is the tiny monument to one Richard Clayton, to be found, of all places, in the unlovely suburban sprawl of Ickenham, 'in Middlesex (or the London Borough of Hillingdon, if you must)'. In a window in the chancel of old St Giles' Church lies a wrapped-up baby in alabaster, 'beautifully and tenderly carved'. The inscription tells us he was the baby son of Sir Robert Clayton and his wife Martha, 'who dyed ye 16 August, 1665, within a few howres after his birth'. Though so little known, it is one of the most poignant works of art in England. Evocatively melancholy at times, The Mother Of Beauty is never remotely depressing. There is far too much delighted discovery of forgotten places, too much artistic talent and simple human love here for that. It's a wonderful book in every way; perfect for anyone interested in churches, in the lost corners of England, or in meditating on mortality. The title comes from the poet Wallace Stevens: 'Death is the mother of beauty.' Only the perishable can be beautiful, which is why we are unmoved by artificial flowers. This March 29, 2016 photo shows a trash bin that has been decorated by high school students and modified to be more bear-resistant in Kodiak, Alaska. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that the project is a joint effort by the Kodiak Brown Bear Trust, Alaska Waste and Kodiak High School. (Julie Herrmann/Kodiak Daily Mirror via AP) WARSAW Judge Igor Tuleya has been labeled an enemy of the state by the Polish government, threatened with violence, forced to evacuate his courtroom for fear of anthrax attacks and demonized in the right-wing media as a communist stooge. After someone smeared excrement on the door of his Warsaw apartment, his landlord deemed him too much trouble and evicted him. In Polands yearslong struggle over the rule of law, its judges have often found themselves at the ramparts frequently vilified but also leading the efforts to stop the nationalist governments campaign to tighten control over the judiciary. In the last two years, at least 20 judges have reported political harassment, while hundreds of judges and lawyers currently face threats of disciplinary proceedings widely regarded as politically motivated. At the center of the dispute is Judge Tuleya, whose rulings branded political by Polands governing Law and Justice Party have been cited by the authorities as one of the reasons they need to bring the countrys judiciary to heel. The overhaul has already triggered a process in Brussels that could see the country become the first European Union country to lose its voting rights. Judge Tuleya, 49, like many of his colleagues, said he has no choice but to resist, no matter the professional or personal cost. They are set to reunite with their co-stars and professional partners next week for this year's edition of the show. And Emma Weymouth made sure was prepared for the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour as she joined Catherine Tyldesley and Emma Barton for rehearsals on Friday. The socialite and philanthropist, 33, brought the glamour as she was spotted with fellow co-stars Alex Scott, Saffron Barker, Mike Bushell, Karim Zeroual and winner Kelvin Fletcher outside the studio. Glamorous: Emma Weymouth made sure was prepared for the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour as she cut a glamorous figure for rehearsals on Friday Emma looked sensational in a pair of grey skintight leggings with a plunging black vest top and oversized embroidered cape. Adding some glamorous touches, she opted for a pair of black heels, brown sunglasses, gold earrings and a 245 Christopher Kane clutch bag. Emma styled her brunette locks into a voluminous blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of make-up. Keep dancing! Catherine Tyldesley and Emma Barton (L-R) were also spotted arriving at the studio ahead of the dancing extravaganza Strike a pose: The socialite and philanthropist, 33, brought the glamour in a pair of grey skintight leggings with a plunging black vest top and oversized embroidered cape Details: Adding some glamorous touches, she opted for a pair of black heels, brown sunglasses, gold earrings and a 245 Christopher Kane clutch bag Meanwhile Catherine cut a more casual figure in a black gym leggings, a pink hoodie and neon trainers. The former Coronation Street star, 36, added some glamorous touches in the form of a leather biker jacket and black oversized sunglasses. Catherine styled her brunette locks into a sleek blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of minimal make-up. While EastEnders star Emma, 42, put on a leggy display in a pair of black leggings with a bodycon mini skirt, knee-high ribbed socks and a camouflage cropped jacket. Casual: Meanwhile Catherine cut a more casual figure in a black gym leggings, a pink hoodie and neon trainers Ready for rehearsals: Emma joined her co-stars in wearing oversized sunglasses as she wheeled a suitcase behind her Emma joined her co-stars in wearing oversized sunglasses as she wheeled a suitcase behind her. YouTuber Saffron, 19, appeared in good spirits as she wore snakeskin leggings with blue trainers and a brown fluffy jacket. The blogger styled her blonde locks into a high ponytail as she carried a personalised water bottle and beamed to photographers. Last month, the creators behind the annual extravaganza revealed the names set for the string of performances. Trio: Catherine pictured with Karim Zeroual and Saffron Barker ahead of their rehearsals Stylish: YouTuber Saffron, 19, appeared in good spirits as she wore snakeskin leggings with blue trainers and a brown fluffy jacket while Alex, 35, wowed in green (L-R) Set to raise the roof, winner Kelvin Fletcher and Karim Zeroual will be joined by professional dancers Janette Manrara and Amy Dowden respectively. Also featuring will be Saffron and AJ Pritchard, Emma Barton and Graziano Di Prima, Mike and Katya Jones, and Catherine Tyldesley and Johannes Radebe. The celebrities will be joined by professional dancers Luba Mushtuk, Karen Hauer, Dianne Buswell, Joshua Keefe, Jake Leigh and Robbie Kemetoni. Pals: Saffron styled her blonde locks into a high ponytail as she carried a personalised water bottle and beamed to photographers Busy bee: Strictly 2019 winner Kelvin was spotted arriving at the venue on his mobile phone as he wore striped shorts with a matching top 2018 champ Stacey Dooley will be hosting the events, while Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli join fellow judge and director Craig Revel Horwood on the panel. The tour kicks off on January 16 in Birmingham and will run for 33 sequin-filled shows across the UK, ending in London on February 9. As part of the live shows, there will be a special Relaxed Performance in association with the National Autistic Society at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on February 5 at 2pm. The performance is created to be accessible to those with autism, learning disabilities or additional sensory needs. Owning a piece of history doesnt come cheap! On Friday, the 1968 Ford Mustang that Steve McQueen famously drove through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt sold for $3.4 million at a Mecum Auctions event held in Kissimmee, Florida. Thanks to the record-breaking sale, the car is now the worlds most valuable Mustang, according to Road and Track. The previous record was set in January 2019, when a one-of-a-kind 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake sold for $2.2 million Bidding for the car was over within just a few minutes time, according to Fox News, which noted that the identity of the seller has yet to be revealed. Prior to the sale, Dana Mecum, founder and president of the auction house, called the collector item the holy grail of muscle cars. This will pretty much be the first American muscle car to sell as art, Mecum told CBS News. Its gonna sell as pop culture. RELATED: Russell Crowe Is Celebrating His Divorce By Auctioning Off Movie Memorabilia and Personal Items Of course, the cars steep price tag is even more impressive because back in the day, Kiernans father purchased it for only $3,500. In 1971, McQueens Solar Productions sold the car, which was used for close-up shots, as well as another car used in the film, according to The New York Times. Three years later, Bob Kiernan purchased the vehicle after discovering it listed in a Road & Track magazine ad, which read: Driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullet[sic] Best offer. Hes the only one who showed up, Sean told CBS News, adding that for years his mother, not knowing the value of the vehicle, drove it back and forth to school. It was, to me, a used car, she told the outlet. Although McQueen actually tried to purchase the car off the family in 1977 three years before his death in 1980 Sean said his father never responded to the letter, although he did keep it. RELATED VIDEO: 5 Celebrity Items that Sold for Big Bucks at Auction Story continues However, after the vehicles clutch died in 1980, the mustang spent the next 35 years parked in the family barn, until Seans father died, and he became the new owner. Sean went on to restore the car, with 98 percent of its original parts, and over the past year and a half, he has showed off the vehicle in a promotion with Ford, according to CBS News. Although the car has been in his family for decades, Sean told the Times he was ready for the sale. It has to go, he said. I only have a two-car garage. Beijing Scientists say a giant fish species that managed to survive at least 150 million years has been completely wiped out by human activity. Research published in the Science of The Total Environment this week says the giant Chinese paddlefish, also known as the Chinese swordfish, is officially extinct. The monster fish, one of the largest freshwater species in the world with lengths up to 23 feet, was once common in China's Yangtze River. Due to its speed it was commonly referred to in China as the "water tiger." giant-chinese-paddlefish.jpg A model of a giant Chinese paddlefish is seen on display in Chongqing, China. CCTV/Reuters Study leader Qiwei Wei of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences called it "a reprehensible and an irreparable loss." Zeb Hogan, a fish expert at the University of Nevada, Reno, told National Geographic that it was "very sad" to see the "definitive loss of a very unique and extraordinary animal, with no hope of recovery." According to the researchers, no giant paddlefish have been sighted in the Yangtze since 2003, and there are none in captivity. They estimate that the last of the fish likely died between 2005 and 2010. paddlefish-china-graphic.jpg A graphic provided by the Science of The Total Environment report in January 2020 shows a timeline depicting the depletion of the giant Chinese paddlefish species in the Yangtze River. Science of The Total Environment The species had been deemed "functionally extinct," or unable to reproduce enough to maintain itself, since 1993. The main causes of the ancient species' demise have been listed as over-fishing and the construction of a major dam in 1981 that split the Yangtze, and the Chinese paddlefish population along with it, in two. The 3,900 mile Yangtze River ecosystem has seen half of the 175 species unique to its waters go extinct, according to Chinese media. Two other species native to the river have also been declared functionally extinct: the reeves shad and the Yangtze dolphin. Story continues Last week China announced a 10-year fishing ban on some areas of the Yangtze in a bid to protect its beleaguered biodiversity. Song writing duo release album at 102 and 88 years old Ring fires employees for abusing access to customer videos Hospitals see rise in babies with respiratory illness RSV It's official: Murray State becomes member of Missouri Valley Conference President Gotabhaya Rajapakse outlined his governments policy agenda in a statement to Sri Lankas reconvened parliament on January 3. It was his first address to parliament, which he suddenly prorogued late last year. Rajapakses first action after winning the November 16 presidential election was to force out the United National Party (UNP)-led government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replace it with a minority regime, with his elder brother and former President Mahinda Rajapakse installed as prime minister. Wickremesinghe passively accepted his removal. The new minority government consists of parliamentarians from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and former President Maithripala Sirisenas faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). After appointing the cabinet and state ministers, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, in violation of the countrys constitution, took over the defence ministry and several other key institutions. He also elevated former generals and senior armed forces officers into several prominent state positions, including appointing retired Major General Kamal Gunaratne as Sri Lankas defence secretary. Rajapakse last week claimed in parliament that the election gave him a clear mandate to carry out his governments policies. Rajapakse won the presidential elections, however, not because he has any popular support, but because thousands of Sri Lankan workers were hostile to the former Sirisena and Wickremesinghe governments attacks on social and living conditions. Political support for the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration by the pseudo-left groups, trade unions, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) allowed Rajapakse and the SLPP to pose as the only opposition. Rajapakse and his government are acutely aware that they are sitting on a social powder-keg. Last Novembers election was held amidst rising political and industrial unrest by Sri Lankan workers, in line with unfolding workers struggles internationally. Just as he did during the election campaign, Rajapakse told parliament that Sri Lanka required strong government to strengthen national security and bring economic and political stability to the country. Using his executive powers, he will dissolve parliament in March and hold elections with the aim of obtaining a two-thirds majority of MPs. National security occupies the foremost place, he told parliament. He added that he had already taken steps to strengthen the military and police apparatus. The government would make the motherland safe, a country free of terrorism, extremism, underworld activities, theft, robbery, extortionists, the drug menace, disruptions of public order, and the abuse of women and children. Rajapakses demagogy about fighting terrorism, extremism and disruptions to public order are aimed at justifying state suppression of inevitable struggles against his government by workers and the poor. The president told parliament that he wants to rewrite the constitution, declaring that the 1978 constitution, which has been amended 19 times, has given rise to many problems at the present time because of its inherent ambiguities and confusions. An unstable parliament, he continued, that cannot take clear decisions and remains constantly under the influence of extremism, is not one that suits the country. The constitution legislated by Prime Minister J. R. Jayawardenes UNP government in 1978 created an executive presidency and transformed the legislature and the judiciary into rubber-stamp bodies. Its purpose was to crush all social resistance to the governments reactionary open market economic policies. It was accompanied by intensified anti-Tamil communal provocations that resulted in Colombos almost 30-year war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Since his election Rajapakse has insisted that he will scrap the 19th amendment to the constitution, which limits some of the presidents executive powers. Rajapakse did not elaborate on his assertions about the influence of extremism on the constitution. This appears to be a reference to Sri Lankas proportional representative system, which means that any party seeking to secure a parliamentary majority must win the support of parliamentarians from the Tamil and Muslim minority parties. Rajapakse wants to introduce laws that go beyond the autocratic 1978 constitution and provide even greater state powers to deal with an insurgent working class. In a signal that he will use communalism to split the working class, Rajapakse declared that the constitution would always defend the unitary status of the country, and protect and nurture the Buddha Sasana whilst safeguarding the right of all citizens to practice a religion of their choice. In plain English this means the promotion of Sinhalese-Buddhist chauvinism. Since formal independence in 1948, the ruling elite in Sri Lanka has systematically discriminated against Tamils in order to divide the working class along ethnic lines. This reactionary agenda is enshrined in the designation of Sinhalese as the countrys main official language, and Buddhism as state religion. During the presidential elections the SLPP whipped up anti-Tamil and anti-Muslim propaganda to secure electoral support from Sinhalese and Buddhist fascistic groups. Rajapakse admitted to parliament that Sri Lanka is in a social, economic and political crisis today, and declared that we must be prepared to make the sacrifices for the development of the country. In other words, the burden of Sri Lankas economic crisis, a part of the systemic crisis of world capitalism, will be imposed on Sri Lankan workers and the rural poor. The Sri Lankan ministry of finance has already stated that the government will implement the economic reform policies dictated by the International Monetary Fund. This austerity program includes the privatisation, or commercialisation, of state-owned corporations and departments, the slashing of limited welfare subsidies, and further cuts in public education and health. Rajapakse referred to the finance ministrys recent tax concessions to the corporate sector and praised his former president brothers so-called development program to make the country a hub for international trade, investment and tourism. Turning to international relations, he told parliament that Sri Lanka had recently become the focus of considerable attention in global geopolitics. His government, he insisted, would follow a neutral foreign policy, never giving up our independence. SLPP leaders employed similar rhetoric during the presidential election. Their supporters criticised the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe governments preparation to sign the Millennium Challenge Corporation Agreement (MCC) with the United States, and the existing Access and Cross Service Agreement and Status of Forces with Washington. While this posturing was used to exploit deep-seated anti-imperialist sentiments among the masses, the rhetoric ended after the election. The new government has appointed a committee to examine the merits of the MCC. Amidst deepening tensions between the US, Russia and China, Colombos ruling elite is cautious not to do anything to annoy Washington. Rajapakse, who hopes to rapidly push forward with his reactionary agenda, has encountered little resistance from the so-called opposition. After an extended crisis, the UNP has appointed its defeated presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa, as parliamentary opposition leader. Speaking during the debate on the presidents speech, Premadasa said that all 225 members of parliament will vote in your favour if you are keen to implement your progressive pledges. We will act as a modern opposition and support the governments good deeds. Bimal Ratnayake, a JVP member of parliament, likewise told the media that his party would support all good actions of the government. M.A. Sumanthiran, a leading TNA parliamentarian, appealed to President Rajapakse to consider Sri Lanka a pluralistic society, and voiced his support for a new constitution. Though the Sri Lankan opposition parliamentary parties have tactical differences with the new Rajapakse regime, they are unified in their determination to build up the state apparatus against the working class. Like his counterparts around the world, Rajapakse, who faces a growing upsurge of the working class, is rapidly moving towards autocratic forms of rule. He is preparing for the upcoming general election, hoping this will strengthen his SLPP government and open the way for the imposition of his anti-democratic agenda. Workers cannot fight the escalating government assaults on their social rights and living standards by appealing to the opposition capitalist parties promoted by the pseudo-lefts and the trade unions. They must secure their class independence from every faction of the capitalist elite and rally the rural poor and youth to fight for a workers and peasants government, based on socialist policies. This struggle can only be waged by uniting with the international working class, as part of the fight for world socialism. We urge workers and youth to join this fight and attend Socialist Equality Partys public meeting, on Sunday, January 12, in the Colombo Public Library Auditorium at 3 p.m., to discuss this perspective. Buenaventura to Host Investor Day on March 9, 2020 Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. ("Buenaventura" or "the Company") (NYSE: BVN; Lima Stock Exchange: BUE.LM), Peru's largest publicly-traded precious metals mining company, will host its Analyst and Investor Day ("Buenaventura Day") on Monday, March 9, 2020 at 12 pm in New York, NY. This event, held for equity analysts and institutional investors, will feature presentations by Mr. Victor Gobitz, Chief Executive Officer, as well as other members of the senior management team. Lunch will be available beginning at 12:00 pm ET on March 9 with the presentation beginning at 12:30 pm. Registration confirmations will be provided to individual attendees. Financial analysts and institutional investors who are interested in attending the event in person should contact Cinthya Araya at +1 (646) 940 8843 or email [email protected]. Company Description Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. is Peru's largest, publicly traded, precious metals company and a major holder of mining rights in Peru. The Company is engaged in the mining, processing, development and exploration of gold and silver and other metals via wholly owned mines as well as through its participation in joint exploration projects. Buenaventura currently operates several mines in Peru (Orcopampa*, Uchucchacua*, Mallay*, Julcani*, El Brocal, La Zanja and Coimolache and is developing the Tambomayo project. The Company owns 43.65% of Minera Yanacocha S.R.L (a partnership with Newmont Mining Corporation), an important precious metal producer; 19.58% of Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, an important Peruvian copper producer. For a printed version of the Company's 2018 Form 20-F, please contact the investor relations contacts on page 1 of this report, or download the PDF format file from the Company's web site at www.buenaventura.com. (*) Operations wholly owned by Buenaventura View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005371/en/ A wealthy managing director has been fined 1,600 after he subjected a female air traffic controller to a mid-air rant while attempting to land his private helicopter on an airfield. Joel Tobias, 52, from Whitefield, Manchester, had been flying his wife and family to the seaside in Lancashire when he contacted controller Andrea Tolley, and demanded to land at Blackpool Airport. After Miss Tolley, who had not been aware of the incoming flight, asked him to wait, he began berating her over the airwaves - claiming she had failed to return earlier messages. During the angry exchange, on July 31 last year, Tobias - who also has an Aston Martin car and a motorbike - told Miss Tolley he wanted her name and raged: 'I'll be putting a complaint in. Joel Tobias (above), 52, from Whitefield, Manchester, has been fined 1,600 after he subjected a female air traffic controller to a mid-air rant while attempting to land his private helicopter on an airfield Tobias, managing director of a cyber security firm, had been flying his wife and family to the seaside in Lancashire when he contacted controller Andrea Tolley, and demanded to land at Blackpool Airport Andrea Tolley (pictured) had not been aware of the incoming flight, during the incident last July, and asked him to wait. Tobias then started berating her over the airwaves - claiming she had failed to return earlier messages 'Your job is actually to take calls from aircraft and not have two-way chats with other aircraft asking how their day's going and how fun it is. 'I'm in a helicopter here that costs 550 an hour, OK? And I've waited ten minutes for you to answer the call - it's absolutely appalling.' When another pilot on the same frequency thanked Miss Tolley for her help landing his aircraft, Tobias said sarcastically to him: 'If that's the service you expect from an airport like Blackpool, then I feel sorry for you.' Tobias, who runs a cyber security firm, did not take the matter further when he landed. He was later reported to the Civil Aviation Authority over his conduct by another pilot. In a statement, Miss Tolley said a colleague had to relieve her of duty following the row as she was so upset and barely slept that evening. She added: 'I was bit shaken up as I had never experienced anything like this or had been spoken to like this in my entire career.' A fellow pilot who listened to Tobias's ranting while he too was waiting to land said: 'He was clearly annoyed and very agitated, and it was upsetting. Nobody should get abuse like that when they are trying to work in a busy environment.' Tobias was flying his family from the City of Manchester Airport for a day out at Lytham St Annes in his EC120 Colibri chopper G-HVRZ (above). Miss Tolley, who works at Blackpool, had been dealing with various aircraft and had been helping guide a pilot who was lost when Tobias contacted her on the same radio frequency At Manchester magistrates court, Tobias pleaded guilty by letter to an offence under the Air Navigation Order 2016 of flying within an aerodrome traffic zone without having obtained information to enable a safe flight. He was also ordered to pay 870 in costs and surcharges. The maximum sentence is a 2,500 fine. The 1pm incident occurred last July when Tobias was flying his family from the City of Manchester Airport for a day out at Lytham St Annes in his EC120 Colibri chopper G-HVRZ. At Manchester magistrates court, Tobias pleaded guilty by letter to an offence under the Air Navigation Order 2016 of flying within an aerodrome traffic zone without having obtained information to enable a safe flight Miss Tolley, who works at Blackpool, had been dealing with various aircraft and had been helping guide a pilot who was lost when Tobias contacted her on the same radio frequency. 'He gave Miss Tolley no time to ask him to pass his message as radio protocol requires,' said Alison Slater, prosecuting for the CAA. 'He did not give his location, altitude, destination or request permission to enter the aerodrome traffic zone (ATZ). 'She did not know if G-HVRZ was going to enter the ATZ or not, where it was or what height it was at. Potentially it caused a serious risk to other air traffic in the area.' In his exchange with Miss Tolley, Tobias told her: 'I've been waiting for ten minutes for a call back. You've had a chat on the radio with another aircraft. You've taken a call from an aircraft that called in after me. Quite frankly, it's appalling. I don't [need] your service now. I'm going to route round.' Miss Tolley replied: 'Good. Stay out of my ATZ. You need to check your radio. By all means complain.' But Tobias aded: 'I will do ma'am. I put four calls in. You acknowledged at last three of them with a standby. Not acceptable. Not acceptable at all. I've never had such an appalling service and you should keep two-way traffic professional rather than chatting with other aircraft on the frequency. I'm the pilot in command. I'm entering the ATZ.' The court heard Tobias was seen flying over a runway as another aircraft was due to take off and Miss Tolley had to check with the pilot that he had seen it. Tobias then resumed his rant when a different pilot radio-ed for permission to land. In his exchange with Miss Tolley (above), Tobias told her: 'I've been waiting for ten minutes for a call back. You've had a chat on the radio with another aircraft. You've taken a call from an aircraft that called in after me. Quite frankly, it's appalling. I don't [need] your service now. I'm going to route round.' Miss Tolley replied: 'Good. Stay out of my ATZ' He went on: 'You'll be lucky to get an answer. Controller I'd like the name please for a complaint and if I don't get it, I'll be escalating it. You are setting a safety issue now.' When told he was being rude and offensive, he retorted: 'I have a radio licence ma'am and an aircraft licence. I'll be taking your name as soon as I land.' Flight instructor Paul Vernon, who witnessed the incident, later issued a statement saying Blackpool Air Traffic Control was 'very good and accommodating' and he had had no problems in 12 years of operating. At the time, he was also heading in to land and overheard the radio exchange. Mr Vernon said Tobias could easily have flown around the airport but 'knew exactly what he was doing and was going to do it anyway.' He added: 'He was doing exactly what he was complaining about and stopping other pilots from being able to communicate with air traffic control.' Tobias later gave a statement to the CAA saying he was 'very familiar with the airport' and apologised for his conduct. He claimed he had called air traffic control for permission to land but said he was unaware his full transmission had not been heard. He made a second call as he continued towards Southport but said he got no answer and heard radio communication between Miss Tolley and other aircraft. Tobias (seen above with musician Sting) was also ordered to pay 870 in costs and surcharges. The maximum sentence is a 2,500 fine. Tobias was not in court for the hearing and he was not represented. His licence was provisionally suspended following the incident and he will be subject to a regulatory interview by the CAA to see if it will be reinstated He denied being 'defiant' and said the delay in him getting a response 'raised a level of tension'. In a statement, Tobias said: 'It appeared to me the atmosphere at Blackpool Air Traffic Control was relaxed and she was familiar with pilots and aircraft. The controller briefly engaged in non-essential communication or banter with another aircraft. Whilst this is not unusual, I did find odd that two calls were ignored.' He said he called for a third time but was told to stand by and he had to change his route and flew towards the sea leaving his wife feeling uncomfortable. Tobias added: 'There was no obvious reason for being kept on standby. Once the controller finally engaged with me, I was told to stay out of the ATZ. I had some sharp interactions with the controller which I regretted and the calls were not abusive and I did not use profanities or make personal references about the controller. 'I was unhappy about the service being given and fled under pressure with regard to the route. It was not a particularly safe situation.' Tobias, who got his first Private Pilot's in 1988, was not in court for the hearing and he was not represented. His licence was provisionally suspended following the incident and he will be subject to a regulatory interview by the CAA to see if it will be reinstated. His company website reads: 'When Joel isn't in his office, he can be found up in the sky, being a passionate pilot of fixed wing planes and flying his very own helicopter.' PESHAWAR The death of a 25-year-old Sikh man in Pakistan has turned out to be a contract killing, according to the police, who arrested her fiancee, who did not want to marry him. On Saturday, Parvinder Singh was shot dead by gunmen weeks before his marriage in Pakistans northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. His killing drew sharp condemnation from India which demanded exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the crime. The murder of Parvinder has now been solved and his 18-year-old fiancee, Prem Kumari, has been arrested for her alleged involvement in plotting the murder, the police said. A senior security official told The Express Tribune on Thursday that it was a contract killing paid for by Prem Kumari, who didnt want to marry Parvinder, who lived in the remote Shangla district of the province. She promised the hitmen Rs 7 lakh for his murder, the official said. A part of the committed money was paid in advance, while the rest had to be paid after the murder. LURED VICTIM TO ATTACKERS The investigation team led by Peshawars capital city police officer cracked the murder after four days of investigation in which officials from other investigative and intelligence agencies also provided clues, the report said. Their wedding was fixed for January 28. The police said that Parvinder and Prem loved each other and their engagement was done with their consent and both even started preparations for the wedding. However, Prem later started friendship with a Muslim boy who happened to be the brother of her friend. The police said that Prem called Parvinder to Mardan and took him to a home where Prems friend with other accomplices killed him. The killers later took the body from Mardan to Peshawar and threw it in a field near Chamakani, a rural area of Peshawar district where police found the body on January 5. SHE AGREED TO CONVERT Prem even agreed to convert to marry the Muslim friend, the police said, adding they are trying to arrest the other accused. Prems family lives in Mohallah Sherdad Abad Mardan district. Her father is a Hindu and mother a Sikh. Parvinder had returned to Pakistan after spending six years working in Malaysia. The murder took place a day after a mob attacked Gurdwara Nankana Sahib where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev was born. India on Sunday strongly condemned the targeted killing of the minority Sikh community member in Peshawar. Minorities in Muslim-majority Pakistan make up some 2% of the countrys total population. Pakistan has witnessed violence against religious minorities in the past as al-Qaeda and Taliban-led militants regularly target Christian, Sikhs, Hindus, Ahmadiyyas and Shiite communities in the country. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has announced that the party has agreed to back a deal to restore power sharing at Stormont - a move that confirms the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland after a three-year absence. With the DUP having already signalled its support for a draft deal proposed by the UK and Irish governments, the republican party's endorsement means the two parties will re-enter a mandatory coalition. The wide-ranging deal, which was published by the governments on Thursday night, contains compromise solutions to the vexed disputes at the heart of the 36-month power sharing impasse, such as legislative provisions for Irish language speakers. It also includes what the UK government has insisted will be a major Treasury-funded financial package to tackle a host of acute problems facing a public sector that has been floundering amid the governance vacuum. That includes a high-profile industrial dispute in the health service which on Friday saw nurses again walk out on strike. Under the terms of the deal, the new executive will also take action to reduce spiralling hospital waiting lists; extend mitigation payments for benefit claimants hit by welfare reforms; increase the number of police officers on the beat; and resolve an industrial dispute involving teachers. The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Hundreds of nurses protest outside Stormont on January 10, 2020. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JANUARY 10: Hundreds of nurses protest outside Stormont on January 10, 2020 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The healthcare workers are striking again today due to the crisis caused by unsafe staffing levels and pay disparity and the lack of a power sharing government to address these needs. It is three years since the power sharing executive government in the province collapsed, talks to restore the executive have been ongoing since the general election. The Secretary of State Julian Smith MP has said he will call an election if the parties can not reach an agreement by Monday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting John Watson, Chairman of the Board of Governors, left, and principal Graham Gault during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting principal Graham Gault during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2020 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith is pictured meeting pupils during a visit to Maghaberry Primary School in County Antrim this morning. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith issue a statement in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hundreds of nurses protest outside Stormont on January 10, 2020. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) That row subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. Richa Chadha has lashed out at a troll who claimed to have inside information that the makers of Chhapaak gave in to pressure and at the last minute, changed the name of the antagonist from Rajesh to Basheer Khan aka Babboo. Why do ppl come forward to prove their stupidity everyday ? Why? Without understanding the technical aspect? So they changed his name and also, lip movements,the clothes his mothers wearing? Inki suno to #Chapaak is a science fiction film. And stop lying, you have no friends, the actor tweeted to the user, who claimed to have got this scoop from a friend in Bollywood. Why do ppl come forward to prove their stupidity everyday ? Why? Without understanding the technical aspect? So they changed his name and also, lip movements,the clothes his mothers wearing? Inki suno to #Chapaak is a science fiction film. And stop lying, you have no friends. pic.twitter.com/qKROy0Rnef TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) January 9, 2020 Meghna Gulzars Chhapaak was the victim of fake news recently. Though the film draws inspiration from the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, names have been changed, with Deepika Padukone playing an acid attack survivor named Malti and Vikrant Massey playing Amol, a character modelled on journalist-turned-activist Alok Dixit. Hours before the release of Chhapaak, an unverified report claiming that Laxmis attacker Nadeem Khan aka Guddu was named Rajesh in the film spread like wildfire. This was followed by a campaign to boycott the film for being anti-Hindu and changing the religion of the attacker. It later emerged that the character based on Nadeem is named Basheer Khan aka Babboo in the film, while Rajesh is the name of Maltis boyfriend. Also read | Fact check: Did Chhapaak change attackers religion, name him Rajesh? There has been a call to boycott Chhapaak on Twitter, after Deepika visited Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi to expressed solidarity with the students and teachers who were attacked by masked assailants armed with sticks and iron rods on Sunday (January 5) night. The actor, who has been at the receiving end of violent threats at the time of the release of her film Padmaavat, did not wish to draw attention away from the protests. She said in an earlier interview, What I wanted to say I said it two years ago when Padmaavat was released. What I am seeing today, it pains me. I hope it doesnt become the new normal. That anyone can say anything and they can get away with it. I fear and Im sad. This is not the foundation of our country. Follow @htshowbiz for more NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ledger Holdings Inc., parent company to LedgerX LLC the first federally regulated cryptocurrency derivatives exchange today announced that LedgerX co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Zach Dexter will return as Chief Executive Officer to lead the company's new retail-focused strategy and has rejoined the company initially as an executive officer. Dexter's re-appointment is supported by a majority of the company's directors and stockholders. Dexter comes from MIRROR, where he led server, data and e-commerce engineering for the high-growth consumer fitness startup. Dexter brings deep experience with technology, cryptocurrency and bitcoin derivatives. During his time as co-founder and CTO, Dexter led many of LedgerX's regulatory and controls audits, drove all technical aspects of the company's successful exchange and clearinghouse license applications, and developed the company's trading, custody and settlement systems. Dexter's experience with high-growth consumer products aligns with LedgerX's new retail-focused strategy. Ledger Holdings Inc. also announced a significant financing led by the company's largest investors including Digital Finance Group that will shore up operational enhancements and allow the company to secure a number of additional senior executives. Larry E. Thompson, Ledger Holdings Inc.'s Interim CEO, stated, "We are excited to conclude this important financing as we move forward into the next phase of our business. Since my involvement with the company began, we have kept in close contact with all of the company's stakeholders including employees, investors and regulators and have kept the CFTC fully apprised of the company's actions including the recent financing." For further information regarding LedgerX, please visit LedgerX.com. About LedgerX LedgerX is the first federally regulated exchange and clearing house to list and clear fully collateralized, physically settled bitcoin swaps and options for the institutional market. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates virtual currency derivatives, oversees LedgerX's registration as a swap execution facility (SEF) and derivatives clearing organization (DCO). Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities of Miami International Holdings, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, the Company), and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer; solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning 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. All third-party trademarks (including logos and icons) referenced by the Company remain the property of their respective owners. Unless specifically identified as such, the Company's use of third-party trademarks does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between the owners of these trademarks and the Company. Any references by the Company to third-party trademarks is to identify the corresponding third-party goods and/or services and shall be considered nominative fair use under the trademark law. SOURCE LedgerX Related Links https://www.ledgerx.com The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is endorsing Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, giving the former vice president another high-profile supporter as he tries to demonstrate a wide base of support across the party. Garcetti's decision comes Iess than a month before voting begins with the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses and less than two months before the California primary. The Biden campaign confirmed Garcetti's decision, which was first reported by The New York Times. The mayor could be an important surrogate for Biden in California. That state has more than 400 delegates at stake on March 3. That's about 20% of the 2,000 or so that will be necessary to win the nomination. Garcetti also has previously traveled the country in his own right, proving a popular speaker and fundraiser for state and local Democratic organizations. With his decision to back Biden, Garcetti spurns two former mayors in the field, Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and Michael Bloomberg of New York City. Garcetti has called Buttigieg one of his close friends. Buttigieg has raised considerable sums from California donors, including some in Garcetti's political network. The timing is a blow for Buttigieg, who heads to Los Angeles on Friday. Instead of enjoying the city's ample media spotlight on his own terms, he'll arrive as a popular mayor opts to back the 77-year-old former vice president whom Buttigieg wants to displace as the choice for more moderate, establishment Democrats. Garcetti's endorsement of Biden, who has spent four decades in national politics, demonstrates his style as an able establishment player. It is, however, somewhat at odds with the arguments he made in late 2017 when he was openly flirting with his own national campaign. In interviews and speeches, he often framed Washington as hopelessly partisan and mired in gridlock and instead pointed to the nation's cities and their mayors as models for solving problems and helping voters. Garcetti and Biden's relationship goes back years. Garcetti was an early supporter of the presidential bid of Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president. In 2014, Biden praised a Garcetti proposal for boosting the city's minimum wage and attended a roundtable with him in the city. At a 2018 event sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, Biden called Garcetti "a great guy who has real character" and "understands what the future looks like." They've also eaten together, munching tacos near downtown Los Angeles last year. Garcetti's political website features a photo of him shaking hands with Biden above the caption "Thank you, Joe Biden," along with a letter thanking him for his service as vice president. Actor Sonam Kapoor, whose luggage was lost by an international airlines recently and who complained about it to the said airlines, was trolled heavily for being privileged. The actor hit back saying how her privilege came from our parents hardwork and that people should stop shaming their children and their parents for it. As soon as Sonam complained to the airlines about loss of her baggage, she was trolled, with one person accusing her of nepotism. In the tweet, which is now deleted, the person seems to have accused her of being privileged. Replying to the troll, Sonam in a series of replies, said that their parents had indeed worked hard to give their children everything. She wrote: Are you mental? . Privilege is our parents hardwork, Who worked their whole lives to give their children everything. Why do people insist on shaming their children and their parents for it. Just pray that this doesnt happen to your kids. Continuing, she pulled up the person and asked his/her to use free time in a better way, She said, I think you need to better use your time so that you can afford the same thing for your children. So they wont have to struggle. I was taking domestic flights. She questioned the logic of trolling a person who was in trouble. She said, Also is it okay troll someone in genuine distress. Or empathy is only required of me? Continuing, she said, Im sure you havent been in a new city with just the clothes on your back. If you cant handle someone taking up from themselves then you shouldnt bully the person. She had earlier complained to the airlines about how they had lost her luggage for the second time in a month. She had written on Twitter, This is the third time ive traveled @British_Airways this month and the second time theyve lost my bags. I think Ive learnt my lesson. Im never flying @British_Airways again. The airlines staff got back to her with an apology and wrote: Were sorry to hear about the delay to your luggage, Sonam. Have you been provided with a tracking reference when informed at the airport? The communication continued with Sonam stating that she had been provided a tracking reference, adding that it had been a massive inconvenience and that the airlines needed to improve as it provided a terrible service with terrible mismanagement. The airlines was profuse in their apology. Also read: Sara Ali Khan shocked as man tries to kiss her hand, security swings in immediately. Watch On her work front, Sonam was last seen in The Zoya Factor, which also starred Malayalam heartthrob Dulquer Salmaan. The film was about an advertising executive who finds herself in an odd spot as the lucky charm of the Indian cricket team. Follow @htshowbiz for more Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 09:10:56|Editor: yhy Video Player Close NIAMEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military camp in western Niger on Thursday night, the country's defence ministry said. Oyo Hotels is firing thousands of staff across China and India, people familiar with the matter said, adding to growing signs of trouble at one of the largest start-ups in SoftBank Group Corps portfolio. It has let go of 5 per cent of its 12,000 employees in China partly due to non-performance, while dismissing 12 per cent of its 10,000 staff in India, one of the people said. It plans to shed another 1,200 in India over the next three to four months, the person added. Oyo is undergoing a restructuring, trimming redundancy in China and India, leading to thousands of ... Prince Harry's former butler has warned the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 'cannot afford to get anything wrong', following the couple's decision to 'step back' as senior members of the Royal Family. Grant Harrold, 41, said Prince Harry and Meghan are 'becoming celebrities' and they need to be 'careful'. The couple issued the bombshell statement on Wednesday, announcing they plan to divide their time between the UK and North America. Grant Harrold (pictured), 41, warned the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are 'becoming celebrities', following the couple's bombshell announcement on Wednesday evening Mr Harrold, who was a butler for Prince Charles and his sons for seven years after Princess Diana's death, told talkRADIO: 'The dangerous bit is, someone said to me the other day, that theyre becoming celebrities. That is not what its supposed to be about. 'Of course part of it becomes about that, but I think theyve just got to be a bit careful. 'All that worries me is everyone is watching whats gone on and they cant afford to get anything wrong.' Earlier in the interview, which took place today, he said: 'Theyve got to be so careful, Ive always said this and obviously Ive had the privilege of working for them and getting to know them. 'But I think when it comes to this kind of thing, weve seen over the years that the public have been very supportive and I think its important theyve just got to get things right. 'The last thing they want is to do any long lasting kind of damage. Prince Harry and Meghan (pictured) announced they will be 'stepping down' as senior members of the Royal Family and will 'work to become financially independent' 'Especially the Queen, theyve done so well at getting everything right, and suddenly weve had this extraordinary sequence of events over the last couple of days.' In reference to Meghan's interview with ITV's Tom Bradby, the etiquette expert added: 'When I was a youngster I was always an admirer, especially of the Queen, which is one of the reasons why I went to work for the Royal Family. 'Youd never get the Queen saying things, I dont think shes ever given an interview. 'You kind of think if theyre going to do their job as a royal, its important to follow how its been done by them, thats why its worked so well for so long.' The former royal butler to Prince Charles and his sons told radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer (pictured) that Prince Harry and Meghan 'cannot afford to get anything wrong' On Wednesday evening Prince Harry and Meghan took to the Sussex Royal Instagram account to announce the decision that they would be stepping back from royal duties and focus on low-key charity work. Sharing a picture of their engagement announcement in November 2017, their statement reads: 'After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. 'We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.' It continues: 'It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. The Sussexes made the announcement on their Instagram page, saying they will 'work to become financially independent' and will focus on low-key charity work Buckingham Palace later released a statement confirming that discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were at an 'early stage' 'This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. 'We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex'. Buckingham Palace later released a statement confirming that discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were at an 'early stage'. It added: 'We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.' Huntley is midway through writing a book on the emotional response to climate change and says her research points to a very high level of concern about climate. All the surveys show that, and whether you believe in surveys or not, they cant all be wrong all the time. This is an opportunity for leaders to show that actually we are all in this together, that this affects us all ... Its an opportunity to drop some of the really destructive partisan politics on climate and step forward. Bushfire smoke chokes Sydney in December. Credit:James Brickwood Groups that Coalition governments generally listen to the Business Council of Australia, the insurance sector, parts of the finance industry, investors, even some religious communities have been talking about the importance and opportunity of transitioning to a low-carbon economy for some time, she says. The federal government could bring those interests together and ask what should be put on the table in terms of climate action, she suggests. You would not need one environmental group there and you could still have a meaningful conversation about what needs to be done. The CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change, Emma Herd, also sees an opportunity to put aside the [toxic partisan debate] of the last decade and to face forward. It is simply not good enough for Australia to say we are only 1.3 per cent of global emissions and there is nothing [more] we need to do. Because we will feel the effects if nothing happens. We really need to be increasing our international engagement to ensure that the world is acting because we are on the front line of the worst effects. Properties destroyed in Conjola Park in the New Year's Eve fires. Credit:James Brickwood Former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop stepped into the ring this week, telling Nine's Today show that we should be showing leadership on the issue of climate change ... If a country like Australia fails to show leadership, you can hardly blame other nations for not likewise showing leadership in this area. The remarks were squarely aimed at the federal governments widely panned performance at the recent Madrid climate summit, where Australia was seen as cheating on targets for emission reductions by insisting on using carry-over carbon credits from the much earlier Kyoto treaty. Experts overwhelmingly believe Canberras targets are too low in the face of the mounting evidence that climate change effects are accelerating. Yet, thus far, the Prime Minister has baulked at revising those targets upwards, telling ABC radio again on Friday morning that our policies dont pursue reckless job-destroying and economy-destroying targets. State Liberal leaders are proving far more willing to embark on stronger climate policies than their federal colleagues. Last month, NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean caused a stir by telling a Sydney summit that climate change was a factor in the severity of the fires and exactly what the scientists have warned us would happen a comment that only looked brave because so many of his federal colleagues had run a mile from acknowledging the link. He told the Herald this week: For a long time climate change has been something theoretical, but what we are seeing now is tangible impacts on people, property and the environment. We are actually seeing it played out. My view is that the public wants meaningful action in a way that wont destroy the economy. The state government has a stated goal of net zero emissions by 2050, though little has been on offer so far to show how that will be achieved. Concrete measures to make good on the promise are likely to be unveiled soon. By 2030, the goal is a 35 per cent emissions cut on 2005 levels, though thats yet to become official. NSW Minister for Energy and Environment, Matt Kean. Credit:AAP Business is already doing it, not because they are greenies but because they are capitalists, Kean says. Markets are shifting, community sentiment is shifting, and its time government caught up. He says hes excited by what he saw in international markets at the end of last year, particularly in the Netherlands where they were overbuilding wind generation capacity to produce green hydrogen. They will export [it] to the rest of Europe and will make a killing out of it, he says. I think we can win the climate wars by lowering our carbon emissions in a way that creates jobs, sees investment coming into our country and underwrites our prosperity for future generations. Kean was unimpressed by federal Liberal backbencher Craig Kellys starring turn on British TV this week, when the hapless MP was lashed by high-profile host Piers Morgan after arguing that the savage fires were not linked to climate change but to high fuel loads and the drought. Craig Kelly is as qualified to talk about atmospheric physics as he is to perform brain surgery, Kean says. Loading Liberal governments in South Australia and Tasmania are also pinning high economic hopes on renewable energy. South Australia produces just over 50 per cent renewable energy now and aims to up that to between 75 and 85 per cent in five years time. That leap in capacity will be aided by a planned new interconnector to link SAs riverlands and the Riverina in NSW, smoothing out peaks and troughs between the two different weather systems. Steve Marshalls government is also investing in closed-loop hydro, large-scale battery storage and subsidies for home batteries to make the most of a high uptake of rooftop solar. The states goal is 100 per cent renewable energy by the 2030s, if not 2030 itself. We have a good working relationship with Canberra, but the attitude here is we are running our own race, a senior source says. Tasmania is in a similar place we are both talking about how we can become net exporters of renewables. Loading Even the cautious Business Council of Australia is chafing at the bit. It made no secret of its dismay when the then Turnbull government shelved the proposed National Energy Guarantee, which would have enshrined lowering emissions as one of the key aims of a national energy plan. The group was wary of harnessing the fires to pressure for policy change this week. However, a spokesman said: The climate science tells us that extreme weather events and natural disasters will become more frequent and intense. So we need a credible climate change and energy policy that puts us on a transition path to net zero emissions by 2050. A filmmaker has achieved the ultimate fairytale proposal by animating his girlfriend into a special version of her favourite Disney film. Lee Loechler, from Boston in the US, spent six months working with an illustrator to edit the final scene of the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty to feature animated versions of him and his high school sweetheart. He then took his beloved Sthuthi David to a special screening of the movie at their local cinema, inviting her family, friends and some carefully selected actors to sit around them in secret. As the iconic final scene began, where Prince Phillip wakes Princess Aurora from her slumber, Ms David began to notice the cartoon characters looked a little different. In fact, they looked exactly Mr Loechler and her. At that point, her boyfriend got down on one knee and said: Its not every day you get to propose to your childhood sweetheart, so I want to take my time. Sthuthi David, will you live happily ever after with me? to which she replied: Yes. Massachusetts' very own Prince Charming shared a clip of the proposal on YouTube yesterday. Within a day, it was viewed more than 2.3million times. In a post on his Facebook page he wrote: The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing wed get to live happily ever after together. Enjoy! The romantic first touted his plans on Reddit early last month, offering free beer, pizza and a memorable Monday night to 20 strangers who would fill the seats of the cinema auditorium without spilling the beans. Social media users on all platforms have since shared their delight at the video, with one YouTube user suggesting it would make proposal standards deeply unfair for the rest of us. The level of work and commitment here is just unprecedented, wrote another. Well done and congrats! ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- A Rocky River Municipal Court judge convicted a 27-year-old motorist who almost struck a student and crossing guard in October last year. The woman pleaded no contest and was found guilty of a minor misdemeanor count of reckless operation on street/highway. She was ordered to pay fines and court costs. As of Friday morning, they were paid, a court clerk said. The incident happened about 8 a.m. Oct. 30 on Lakeview Avenue near Detroit Road, police said. Two bus drivers boxed her in to prevent her from leaving Lakeview Avenue after she drove by a school bus and almost struck the student and crossing guard, police said. No one was hurt during the incident. Read related crime story and other crime stories: Rocky River bus drivers box in car that nearly struck student and crossing guard, police say Lorain County home health aide stole $347,000 from blind, wheelchair-confined client, FBI says Man shot at Cleveland bar after dancing with other mans girlfriend If youd like to comment on this story, visit Fridays crime and courts comments section. State Rep. Chris England, the new chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, said today that the state party has raised more than $100,000 in the two months since he took over the party on Nov. 2, compared to only $8,000 the state Democrats raised in the last election cycle. Its very difficult for me to contain my excitement, England said. We are going to have a platform, we are going to have a consistent message based on that platform. My number one goal is no one goes out in public and is afraid to say theyre a Democrat anymore. England was greeted with a standing ovation as he spoke to nearly 90 people attending the monthly meeting of the Downtown Democratic Club on Friday afternoon at the Harbert Center in Birmingham. Weve got opportunities now, said U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who introduced England. He has done more in two months than has been done in two years. A reorganized governing board elected England as chair, ousting longtime state party leader Nancy Worley. Worley filed a lawsuit to block England from taking control. Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin has scheduled a hearing on the case for Jan. 30. The partys old bank accounts have been frozen, which is a good thing, England said. Two new accounts have been opened and the social media accounts have been activated, he said. Were already fully operational, he said. He hopes the lawsuit will be dismissed, removing obstacles for the new leadership. The National Democratic Party supported the change and recognizes England as state chair. Under Worley, the state party had no active social media, was unsuccessful at fundraising for candidates, and sometimes did not answer mail for two years, Jones said. Nobody could figure out what was going on, Jones said. England said the state Democratic Party had atrophied, suffering from neglect and apathy. As a state representative from Tuscaloosa since 2006, England said he watched as Republicans gained a super-majority in the Legislature. Were not going to change it overnight, he said. Being a Democrat aint easy, yall, he told the group. We represent the marginalized people in our society. Jones worked to get a new leader installed for the state Democratic Party. I put all my weight behind it, Jones said. It had to be done. England has already set in motion a transformation of the state Democratic Party, which now has an active social media presence and successful fundraising apparatus, Jones said. He is somebody who can take this party to where it needed to go, Jones said. England, 43, a graduate of Howard University and the University of Alabama School of Law, grew up in Tuscaloosa, the son of Circuit Court Judge John H. England Jr., who served as a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court in 1999-2000. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More With the Infosys audit committee giving a clean chit to its top executives on January 10, Chairman Nandan Nilekani at a post-results press conference raised doubts over whether these whistleblowers were actually even employees of the company. Nilekani said: How do you know that the ostensible ethical employees are Infosys employees or not?. That needs to be checked. We believe that our employees, especially in the finance department have the highest ethical standards. We dont think they have anything to do with this, he said. Though he did not definitely state there was an involvement of outsiders, Nilekani hinted there is a need to investigate if it was actually employees or outsiders claiming to be employees. The company, however, has not made any attempt to identify the whistleblowers and has no intention of doing so in future. You dont go looking for whistleblowers, Nilekani noted. The whistleblower policy, especially for US-listed companies, gives a lot of protection to whistleblowers because of worries that companies will do something to the whistleblower. Therefore, there is a lot of protection the policy provides, which we respect, he said, adding, this also opens up the possibility of a weaponisation of the whistleblower policy. As for the investigation, it is over as far as the company is concerned, Nilekani said. I am happy about the investigation that gave a clean chit to the company and the leadership, he added. Indias second-largest tech major released the detailed report on the outcome of its audit committee investigation on a whistleblower complaint. The investigation was done with the assistance of independent legal counsel Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The whistleblower complaint that was first published in the Economic Times pointed fingers at Infosys CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy for accounting irregularities to boost growth numbers. Following the report, Infosys share price tanked close to 16 percent on the BSE and the US stock exchange NYSE, wiping out its market cap by nearly Rs 50,000 crore. Nilekani said the company will continue to engage with the authorities and regulators investigating the case, including SEC and SEBI. The move has allayed the concerns of investors worried about the firms corporate governance and its performance. However, pending investigation from the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and Indian market regulator Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) will be as important to cement its credibility, say experts. The US SEC refused to comment on the progress of the investigation. Shriram Subramaniam, founder, Ingovern Research Services, said, The conclusion of these investigations will calm the investors. However, investors will also wait for the conclusion of the investigation by SEC and SEBI, where whistleblowers claim to have submitted evidence. Some investors though seem relieved. Vinay CS, an investor and chartered accountant by profession said: "It is good to hear and reasonably clear now. Although he said, he will also want to keep an eye out on the outcome of the pending investigations. BRIDGEPORT A convicted killer facing nearly half a century behind bars got a sentencing stay Friday after the sudden announcement that the mother of the young murder victim, once believed dead, may in fact be alive and hiding in the jungles of Congo. I am very cautious that I should not go forward (with the sentencing) because of the possibility the mother is alive, said Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander. I would like the opportunity to give the mother a chance to make an impact statement. Richard Segabiro is facing 45 years in prison for butchering his 15-year-old niece, Francine Nyanzaninka, with a multi-tool in the bathroom of their Fairfield Avenue apartment in February 2018. Segabiro, his lawyer, Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann, and state prosecutors had all believed the girls mother had been killed along with the rest of her immediate family by Congolese rebels. But as the sentencing hearing began, Segabiros wife suddenly stood up in the back of the courtroom and called out in her native Swahili that not only was the girls mother alive but she had spoken to her by telephone. A Swahili interpreter told the judge Segabiros wife told him she had located Nyanzaninkas mother, her sister, in the Congo and briefly spoke to her on the phone. She said the call was brief because of the isolated location but she intended to call her again to get her opinion about the sentencing. Senior Assistant States Attorney David Applegate told the judge he is skeptical of the wifes claims. Segabiros wife had previously objected that her husband, who had pleaded guilty to murder, would get a lengthy prison term and Applegate said she is making a false claim to try and get her husband leniency. It is my information that the mother is dead, Applegate said. But the judge agreed to continue the hearing to Feb. 14. Segabiro had fled tribal violence in Congo with his wife, three young children and his niece in 2005, settling in a second-floor apartment on Fairfield Avenue here with the help of a refugee agency. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2018, 911 operators received a call from Segabiro that he had just killed someone. Police said when they arrived at the home, they found Segabiro standing on the porch covered in blood. They said he told them he had just killed his daughter because he had PTSD and believed she was trying to poison him. Applegate said police found Nyanzaninka lying in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. He said she had nearly been decapitated. Segabiros wife and children were asleep in the next room, the prosecutor said. The autopsy showed the 15-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted; further evidence showed the assault had been committed by Segabiro. The defendant gives a couple of versions of what happened, and while there is no denying that some kind of psychosis was responsible, there is a huge unanswered question about a sexual assault that doesnt fit in with his narrative, Applegate told the judge. President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the gunmen attack on a community in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State and ordered security agencies to prevent further attacks on innocent communities. The president made the condemnation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday. According to the presidential aide, President Buhari is in contact with the Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau as well as the military, police and other security agencies in the state to ascertain details of what happened and what can be done to forestall a future occurrence. Mr Buhari expressed shock and grieve over the incident and urged security agencies in the state to increase vigilance to stop further attacks on innocent citizens. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Plateau Police Command, had on Thursday, said gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, killed 12 persons and injured one at Kulben village of Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau. Terna Tyopev, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, confirmed this development to NAN in Jos. According to Mr Tyopev, the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday. He said: In the early hours of today, we received a distress call that gunmen, suspected to be herdmen attacked Kulben community of Kombun District of Mangu. As a result, 12 persons lost their lives and one was severely injured. Immediately we received the information, the commissioner in charge of the command, Mr Isaac Akinmoyede, directed the DCP in charge of Operations, Mr Aliyu Tafida to mobilise to the scene.(NAN) Matchbox madness: Simon Hope, 68, from Warrington in Cheshire, sold his collection of almost 3,000 Matchbox toy cars at auction for a fee in excess of 300,000 Can you remember playing with Matchbox toy cars when you were a child? You might have stopped more of them years ago, but one man who has been adding to his collection of models over 60 years has decided to part with his haul - and pocketed more than 300,000 after offering them at auction. Simon Hope, 68, from Warrington in Cheshire - who is also chairman and founder of H&H Classics vehicle auctions - sold off his massive collection, with individual examples of the 1:75-scale vehicles being bought for up to 7,000 each. Mr Hope is one of Britain's best-known and most respected classic car auctioneers, but also knows a thing or two about scaled-down models of machines he's cast the hammer over. Collecting the Matchbox models from a young boy, he amassed almost 3,000 cars and trucks - all of which remained in 'pristine' condition in their original packaging. The mint-condition toys were said to be one of the best collections of the popular Matchbox products from all over the world - which Simon admitted made it 'something of a wrench' to part with, even for at a premium inclusive total in excess of 300,000. He admitted that one of the reason why even the oldest in his collection were almost untouched was because his grandma would not let him run them across her mahogany dining table. Instead, he simply played with them by taking them out of the box and then putting them back practically untouched. The collection was so big it had to be spread out over three different sales with specialist toy auctioneers Vectis, of Thornaby, North Yorkshire. Simon says that his hobby began as a young child when his parents and grandparents started to buy him bought him a Matchbox model car for birthdays and Christmases. The collection, including this Superfast 71a Ford Heavy Wreck Truck was so big it had to be spread out over three different sales with specialist toy auctioneers Vectis of Thornaby The collection also included this BMW 30 CSL. All models in the collection retained their original packaging His passion for Matchbox models continued into adulthood and as he got older, he continued to buy more and more models. 'It was only I got older that I realised there was actually a collecting scene out there and information on rarer versions and colours,' he explained. 'I never took part in that scene preferring to simply track down the ones I wanted in perfect (or as near as possible) condition. It just grew and generally they were bought with amounts of money not missed at the time.' The collection comprised some extremely rare examples, attracted bidders from all over the world. The most expensive model was a lime green ERF Dropside lorry that sold for over 7,000 alone. A green Ford Kennel Truck fetched 3,200 and a white Ford Mustang 2,100. Julian Royse, of Vectis, said Mr Hopes' collection was 'astounding' and had the biggest range of any he'd seen. The collection comprised some extremely rare examples, including this Superfast 8d Rover 3500 Police Car, attracted bidders from all over the world Julian Royse from Vectis said there is currently a big market for collections of Corgi and Matchbox toy cars He added there's currently a 'big market' for toy cars from makers such as Matchbox, Corgi and early Hot Wheels, 'particularly the models from the 1970s as these things do tend to be generational'. 'Models from the 1950s which have previously been very valuable are now less so and later examples are extremely desirable,' he went on to explain. 'We find the demand far outstrips the supply and as such people will be very keen to get their hands on pieces which may not come up again in their lifetimes. 'These toys used to be exported to eastern Europe and there is surprisingly now a really big market in the Czech Republic.' The most expensive Matchbox model is said to be a 1967 brown no.30 crane, which is worth around 11,000. The priciest model car in the world is a 1:18-scale Lamborghini Aventador Gold edition. It's claimed value is $7.5 million. U.S. and allied Western intelligence services say they have persuasive evidence from satellites and intercepted communications that Iran shot down a Ukrainian International Airline flight Wednesday morning, likely by mistake, killing all 176 people onboard. Iran denies any responsibility. The airliner crashed just minutes after taking off from Tehran's airport en route to Kyiv and hours after Iran fired missiles toward U.S. forces in Iraq in retaliation for America's targeted killing of Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani. Using video from Tehran and information from intelligence officials, U.S. new media have plausibly pieced together what happened to Ukrainian International Airline Flight 752. The plane's 167 passengers and nine crew "most likely faced horrifying final moments, starting with an explosion as the missiles detonated just outside it, sending shrapnel and debris spiraling through the fuselage," The New York Times reports. "The plane turned back toward the airport, then began its uncontrolled descent toward the ground." CBS Evening News visually recreated the incident. "We know that plane was sending out a signal identifying itself as a commercial airliner," CBS News' Kris Van Cleave reported. "It was flying away from the conflict zone. And that radar operator that lit up the plane should have been able to see that it originated from the airport." The Russian-made surface-to-air system is operated by three to four people "tracking nearby aircraft by radar," the Times explains. "But determining friendly civilian aircraft takes skill, and mistakes are possible, particularly in charged situations." Sixty-three passengers were Canadian but most were Iranian, suggesting Tehran didn't down the passenger jet on purpose. "The Iranian military could have positioned the system, which is designed to operate at medium to low altitudes and intercept both aircraft and guided weapons, to defend the airport if officials believed the United States military was intending to counterattack after Iran's ballistic missile strikes," the Times speculated. That's unlikely to comfort those who love and mourn the victims. More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman 5 royally funny cartoons about Harry and Meghan's exit Chip Walter recommends 6 great science books PASADENA, CALIFORNIA -- While younger people may not recognize her name, the conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, whose anti-feminist crusade is explored in the upcoming series, Mrs. America, was an important figure in American political history. As series creator and writer Dahvi Waller said, Mrs. America is an origin story of todays culture wars. In the nine-episode series, which will stream via the new FX on Hulu partnership, Cate Blanchett stars as Schlafly, who rose to fame in the 1970s. Schlafly, a lawyer and author who played a significant role in moving the Republican Party to the right, became nationally known for her work advocating so-called traditional roles for women, for her opposition to abortion, and for a campaign against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have granted constitutional protections to all Americans, regardless of sex. Blanchett and Waller were joined by several members of the star-studded Mrs. America cast to talk about the series, and answer questions during the Television Critics Association 2020 winter press tour, at the Langham Huntington hotel. In addition to Blanchett, the panel included Udo Aduba, who plays Shirley Chisholm; Elizabeth Banks, who plays Jill Ruckelshaus; Margo Martindale, who plays Bella Abzug; Tracey Ullman, who plays Betty Freidan; John Slattery, who plays Fred Schlafly; and Sarah Paulson, who plays a fictional character named Alice. Also on hand were Waller, directors and executive producers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and executive producers Coco Francini and Stacey Sher. Blanchett said she initially didnt know much about Schlafly, who died in 2016 at age 92. I was gobsmacked, she said, by Schlaflys ability to galvanize and mobilize people to support her causes. Schlafly was a true alpha, and an absolute force of nature, Blanchett said. Her beliefs, Blanchett continued, had a lot to do with Schlaflys concerns about defense, and how she started to draw a connection between the ERA and a move toward communism. Though Schlaflys heyday was decades ago, Blanchett said the issues she raised, such as controversies over same-sex marriage, same-sex bathrooms, and whether women should be drafted, are still being debated today. It couldnt be more relevant, Blanchett said. However, Blanchett and other members of the creative team stressed that Mrs. America isnt a piece of agit-prop. Members of the creative team for "Mrs. America" discuss the show at the Television Critics Association 2020 winter press tour. Pictured are Dahvi Waller, center, and looking on from left are Cate Blanchett, Tracey Ullman, Sarah Paulson, Elizabeth Banks and executive producer/director Anna Boden. (Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/APChris Pizzello/Invision/AP Women arent a monolith, they said, and Mrs. America explores both the feminist leaders of the era, and the conservative womens movement that opposed Gloria Steinem (played in the series by Rose Byrne) and others as womens-libbers. Mrs. America, Blanchett said, is intended to spark a conversation with the audience. FX on Hulu, which launches in March, represents Hulu becoming the streaming home of FX Networks, with past seasons of such FX series as American Horror Story," Atlanta, What We Do in the Shadows, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Fosse/Verdon and The Shield. Original series, such as Mrs. America, will also stream on FX on Hulu. Mrs. America will premiere its first three episodes Wednesday, April 15 on FX on Hulu, with new episodes airing each subsequent week on FX on Hulu. Check Oregonlive.com for more news and coverage of the TCA Winter 2020 press tour. -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday held a meeting with Mongolian delegation and discussed ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations and enhance economic cooperation in areas such as oil, gas and steel. "Met with H.E Mr. L. Oyun-Erdene, Minister, Chief Secy. & Co-Chairman of Mongolia-India Joint Commission. Discussed ways to further strengthen India-Mongolia strategic partnership and expand our relationship into newer areas of economic cooperation, including in oil, gas & steel," Pradhan, who is also the minister for petroleum and natural gas, said in a tweet. In a series of tweets, he informed about the issues discussed at the meeting. Pradhan said he has discussed the progress of an oil refinery project in Sainshand, Mongolia, for which India is assisting with a credit line of USD 1,236 million. The Mongol refinery is the largest project of Indian assistance outside immediate neighbourhood, he said. On completion, he said the refinery will meet almost the domestic Mongolian requirement of petroleum products, help enhance Mongolia's long-term energy security and economic development and also promote development of ancillary industries related to refinery and pipeline operations. "Further, we explored potential for sourcing of coking coal at competitive prices from Mongolia for steel industry in India and securing raw material supply availability, especially coking coal, to achieve our ambitious target of 300 MT (million tonne) crude steel capacity by 2030-31," the minister added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Last week, Barrons released a report revealing that Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, now owns over $9 million in stock of InterActiveCorp (IAC), the parent corporation of such websites and apps as OkCupid, Tinder and the Daily Beast. Clinton became a director at the firm in 2011. Ever since, she has earned both a $50,000 retainer and $250,000 in stock units annually. She has benefitted from a huge increase in the value of IAC shares from 2017-2019. IAC is run by Barry Diller, who, according to Forbes, currently has an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion. In 2017, Clinton was also appointed to another board of a company run by Diller, the travel conglomerate Expedia Group. In this position she takes home $300,000 a year. Chelsea Clinton (Credit: Flickr.com, Lorie Shaull) A report from geekwire.com notes that Clinton was hired in a year that did not end up as we planned from a financial perspective, according to Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom. Less than a year after Clintons appointment to the board, the company cut 30 jobs. According to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted by Diller, following Clintons 2011 appointment, she was nominated for her broad public policy experience and keen intellectual acumen, which together the Board believes continue to bring a fresh and youthful perspective to IACs businesses and initiatives. Diller initially gained renown for creating the Fox network with Rupert Murdoch in the mid-1980s. He then went on to found both IAC and Expedia. He has a long-standing personal and financial relationship with the Clintons. He donated $10,000 to Hillary Clintons failed presidential bid in 2008. In 2016 Diller and his wife, designer Diane von Furstenberg, hosted a $100,000-per-couple fundraising dinner for the Clinton campaign at their home in Los Angeles. Diller and von Furstenberg also gave over $800,000 to her campaign personally. In the 2018 midterm elections, Diller gave over 60 maximum donations to Democratic Party incumbents and candidates. These candidates represent the most right-wing elements of the pro-war and anti-working-class party, including New Jerseys Jeff Van Drew, who left the Democrats to join the Republican Party in December 2019. There is, of course, no crime, in Dillers mind, in paying the daughter of prominent political friends hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. As with the corporate medias reaction to Joe Bidens son, Hunter, making millions off the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings, there is nothing wrong with enriching your political pals and their families. This is not the first time that Chelsea Clinton has benefitted from her family and political connections. Following the completion of a masters degree in International Relations in 2003 at Oxford University, Clinton was hired by McKinsey and Company on Wall Street. At the time she had no background in business, statistics or any related field. Speaking of the appointment, a New York Times profile on Clinton in 2007 noted, She was the youngest in her class, hired at the same rank as those with M.B.A. degrees. Clinton was appointed to the board of IAC while remotely pursuing a doctorate in International Relations from Oxford in 2011. The New York Times at the time described this appointment in the following terms: Lets be real. Ms. Clinton has this position only because she is the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the current Secretary of State. This is clearly an appointment made because of who she is, not what she has done. In 2010, Clinton was also appointed to Assistant Vice-Provost at New York Universitys (NYU) Global Network University. NYUs top administrative echelons and its Board of Trustees are filled with Clinton friends and supporters and more generally with top-level operatives of the Democratic Party and the military-intelligence apparatus. At NYU, Clinton focused on international recruitment. This was at a time that the university was expanding internationally both in terms of recruitment of high fee-paying international students and the inauguration of campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. In 2011, Clinton was also appointed to the board of the Clinton Foundation, and took up a job as a special correspondent for NBC for which she got paid $600,000 for producing just 23 minutes of aired content! A busy year! Clinton involvement in the Clinton Foundation from 2011 to the present directly implicates her in the dealings of her parents as they sought to amass vast personal fortunes once Bill Clinton had left office in 2001. The foundations regular donors include the monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Barclays. Infamously, the foundation played a major role in providing relief to Haiti following the devastation of the 2010 earthquake in which 300,000 people died, during which, as the WSWS noted in 2015, The entire aid effort was used to ram through pro-market restructuring, while American and then UN peacekeepers patrolled the country to prevent any opposition from the population. Chelsea Clintons husband is Marc Mezvinsky, the son of former Democratic representatives Edward Mezvinsky and Marjorie Margolies. Following eight years at Goldman Sachs, Mezvinsky started his own hedge fund in 2011, which folded in 2016. Despite this failure, in 2019 he was hired as managing director of TPG Capital, a company managing over $100 billion in assets. The executives of the company donated $40,000 directly to Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars to mostly Democratic candidates in the congressional elections of that year. In the Middle Ages, aristocrats would secure money, land and titles for their offspring through favors, deals and marriages with their noble counterparts. A series of bourgeois-democratic revolutions from the 17th to the 19th Centuries, including the American Revolution, sought to abolish the privileges of the nobility. In 1789 the Constitution of the newly formed republic of the United States forbade officials from granting titles such as duke, lord and lady to individuals, titles that were widely despised by American revolutionaries because they signified inequality. Thomas Paine called them, the certain badge which distinguishes slavery from freedom. But in the 21st Century Bill and Hillary Clinton are Duke and Duchess in all but name. Chelsea Clinton is accumulating her familys wealth and power, and their connections to the tiny financial aristocracy of billionaires that rules through the Democratic and Republican parties. She is reaping benefits and privileges that have no relation to her talent and abilities. It is only the promise of favors and influence from the Clinton political powerhouse to their allies on Wall Street, the universities and the media that has secured the Clintons millions, press exposure and degrees for their daughter. The authors also recommend: Clinton Foundation raked in cash from right-wing regimes, corporations [28 February 2015] At Clinton wedding: The American aristocracy flaunts its wealth [2 August 2010] Netiquette Die Kommentare auf weltwoche.ch dienen als Diskussionsplattform und sollen den offenen Meinungsaustausch unter den Lesern ermoglichen. Es ist uns ein wichtiges Anliegen, dass in allen Kommentarspalten fair und sachlich debattiert wird. Scharfe, sachbezogene Kritik am Inhalt des Artikels oder wo angebracht an Beitragen anderer Forumsteilnehmer ist erwunscht, solange sie hoflich vorgetragen wird. Personlichkeitsverletzende und diskriminierende Ausserungen hingegen verstossen gegen unsere Richtlinien. Sie werden ebenso geloscht wie Kommentare, die eine sexistische, beleidigende oder anstossige Ausdrucksweise verwenden. Beitrage kommerzieller Natur werden nicht freigegeben. Zu verzichten ist grundsatzlich auch auf Kommentarserien (zwei oder mehrere Kommentare hintereinander um die Zeichenbeschrankung zu umgehen), wobei die Online-Redaktion mit Augenmass Ausnahmen zulassen kann. Die Kommentarspalten sind artikelbezogen, die thematische Ausrichtung ist damit vorgegeben. Wir bitten Sie deshalb auf Beitrage zu verzichten, die nichts mit dem Inhalt des Artikels zu tun haben. Das Nutzen der Kommentarfunktion bedeutet ein Einverstandnis mit unseren Richtlinien. Unzulassig sind Wortmeldungen, die Nichts mit dem Thema des Artikels zu tun haben Kommerzieller Natur sind andere Forumsteilnehmer personlich beleidigen einzelne Personen oder Gruppen aufgrund von Rasse, Ethnie oder Religion herabsetzen in Rechtschreibung und Interpunktion mangelhaft sind verachtliche Abanderungen von Namen oder Umschreibungen von Personen enthalten mehr als einen externen Link enthalten einen Link zu dubiosen Seiten enthalten Nur einen Link enthalten ohne beschreibenden Kontext dazu Als Medium, das der freien Meinungsausserung verpflichtet ist, handhabt die Weltwoche Verlags AG die Veroffentlichung von Kommentaren liberal. Die Online-Redaktion behalt sich jedoch vor, Kommentare nach eigenem Gutdunken und ohne Angabe von Grunden nicht freizugeben. Es besteht grundsatzlich kein Recht darauf, dass ein Kommentar veroffentlich wird. Weiter behalt sich die Redaktion das Recht vor, Kurzungen vorzunehmen. James Lincoln (pictured) died saving his son after racing into the water to rescue him from a current sweeping the six-year-old away A heroic dad drowned on his 45th birthday while trying to save his son after the youngster got into difficulty while playing in the sea, an inquest heard today. James David Lincoln had gone into the sea after his young son Sam at Borth-y-Gest beach near Porthmadog, north Wales, on August 5 last year when the tragedy struck. Despite efforts by onlookers and emergency services to save the University of Manchester lecturer, he died that day after being airlifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor. Sam, who was six at the time, had been dragged to the next bay by the current of the tide along with his father. Sam was rescued after being pulled from the sea by John Spragg and his brother-in-law Jonathan Cornes, who watched the horrendous incident unfold. An inquest held in Caernarfon today [Jan 9] heard how Sam had clung on to his dad's unconscious body in the estuary of the River Glaslyn and River Dwyryd the whole time. Dr Lincoln, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, was then also pulled out of the water by Mr Spragg and Mr Cornes. Pictured: Borth-y-Gest, where the tragedy unfolded after the six-year-old was swept up in the waves Both men had tried to revive him for around 45 minutes before help arrived, but it was to no avail. Giving evidence at the inquest, Mr Spragg told of the moment he saw the young boy being carried away by the current. Mr Spragg said: 'I was about 15 metres away but I couldn't have swam as quickly as he was being washed away. 'I followed him down the sand bank and was able to run along at the same speed. I told him to swim to the side and he did exactly as I said. 'I got to within about five metres of him before my brother-in-law dived in and swam out to him and pulled him in.' Mr Spragg added: 'I've always know that area as 'Danger Rock'.' North Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said children had been playing in the water as Sam had got into difficulty and his father went to his rescue. Mr Pritchard Jones said: 'James was able to swim, he could have survived this but unfortunately, in rescuing Sam, he drowned. 'It was only when Sam was brought to shore that it was realised he was holding on to his father. He has swallowed water and has died as a result.' Dr Lincoln's mum, Rosemary Segger, who had spent the day at beach with her son and grandchildren, said her son had called for help after getting into the sea. Ms Segger said: 'I never saw him after that. James was a very strong swimmer. He was a very healthy and fit man. I've asked myself for the last six months why he couldn't swim back.' Mr Pritchard Jones, who reached a conclusion of accidental death, added: 'Every summer we have a death of this type and not just in Borth-y-Gest, but we have a number of rivers that empty into the sea, there are lots of them. They do result in fatalities.' Photo: Laura Brookes Multiple car dealerships across town have been targeted in recent break-ins and thefts, including Okanagan Dodge. UPDATE: 12:05 p.m. Police have identified possible suspects in a slew of break-ins at several Kelowna car dealerships over the past two weeks. Const. Solana Pare of the Kelowna RCMP says they are currently investigating a number of break and enters near Leathead Road and Enterprise Way that are believed to be connected. Castanet has learned that Okanagan Dodge, Bannister Kelowna, Jaguar Kelowna, Kelowna Toyota and August Mazda have all been victims of recent break-ins. "The suspect or suspects allegedly smash a window to gain entry into the building," Pare said. "Once inside they are removing electronics and/or keys to vehicles in the lot. In multiple instances, vehicles have been taken once keys were obtained." All of the break and enters occurred in overnight, or in the early morning hours. "We have identified possible suspects related to the incidents this week and the police investigation remains ongoing at this time," Pare said, adding that more information would be released once arrests are made and charges are laid. "The RCMP encourage business owners to consider using a security system or other precautions as part of their loss prevention programs." UPDATE: 9:55 a.m. August Mazda on Enterprise Way became the latest car dealership to be targeted by vandals in a break-in late Thursday night. August Motors owner Matt August was woken up to the news that vandals had smashed the windows of the showroom looking for keys and stealing all of the laptops. He says it wasn't long ago the dealership suffered a $30,000 loss of tires and wheels as a result of vandalism. August, who also manages the luxury car dealership August Motorcars on Highway 97, says people who "shouldn't be in the parking lot" are constantly biking around, circling the cars. "It's constantly going on. They have their hoods up so the cameras can't see who they are," he said. "In fact, in some ways, the worst part is having the cameras there. We just have to watch what happened, not being able to do anything about it." Four months ago, a homeless man smashed the windows of their showroom to get a bottle of water from the customer waiting area. August believes the biggest problem is the rail trail, which grants vandals the opportunity to escape down non-lit paths where nobody will see them in the middle of the night. It's an easier escape, he says, than stealing and rolling tires down Highway 97 where people will notice the odd sight, even late at night. The company has now hired a full-time security guard with a military-trained dog to patrol the properties. ORIGINAL: 5:00 a.m. A spate of vandalism and thefts at car dealerships across town has left business owners feeling despondent and frustrated. On Wednesday night, vandals smashed the windows of Okanagan Dodge, located on the corner of Enterprise and Highway 97, and broke into the building. Over the Christmas holiday period, Kelowna Bannister on Highway 97 was broken into, and Castanet has been told Jaguar Kelowna was also hit recently by a break-in. It's a problem that is quickly getting out of control, says Kelowna Toyota's general manager Jamie Kaban, who knows what it's like to be the victim of theft and vandalism. Kaban's dealership has been the target of many break-ins over the past year, and he says it all started with the opening of the Hearthstone supportive housing development on Commerce Avenue in November 2018. "It's really disappointing because we actually support that charity, but since it opened, the vandalism and theft has crazy spiked - it's just increased at an insane rate," Kaban said. "Now we get the theft and vandalism most days... emblems, tires, windows smashed, cars scratched ... you name it." Kaban estimates the company has been forced to cover $50,000 worth of vandalism and theft in 2019. The year before, when Hearthstone wasn't in operation, the average expenditure for vandalism and theft was between $5,000 and $10,000. "The amount we lost in theft - and not just us, but other places too - if we could have donated that to homelessness or put it to better places, that would have been a far better outcome." The latest break-in at Kelowna Toyota happened on Monday, and it was a major case of deja vu for the vandals, who replicated their own methods from a Dec. 22 break-in. "We've got it all on footage. It's the same person, and it's identical," Kaban said. "They did it the exact same way, smashed the same window, went for the same desk - that's what is so frustrating for us. We just fixed that window." On other occasions, security footage has captured vandals smashing car windows in the parking lot just for the sake of it, or lighting a fire inside the canopy of a new truck, causing $8,000 worth of damage to the vehicle. Kaban has met with the City over the issue, as well as RCMP, and he says everyone "feels helpless." The company's next step will be to hire, at its own expense, a full-time security guard to patrol the carpark, in the hope it will deter vandals. Castanet has reached out to RCMP for comment on the situation. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 Trend: Azerbaijans territories occupied by Armenia were indicated as a separate international entity called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" in the "Country Profiles" section on the official website of the EU Horizon 2020 Program, which is a rude and insidious provocative approach with respect to Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty, Trend reports referring to spokesperson for Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva. Abdullayeva was commenting on the placement of a distorted map on the Horizon 2020 website. In this regard, the Azerbaijani side brought to the attention of the executive structure of the EU Horizon 2020 Program the need to suppress this provocation and demanded taking urgent measures. The department has already removed the distorted "map from the Horizon 2020 website. The EU representative said that this issue was investigated by the Directorate General and noted that this happened due to the inattentiveness of the technical staff involved in the development of this website. It was brought to the attention of the opposite side that it is important to issue a warning in the EU General Directorates to prevent such errors in the future. U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday urged the U.S. government to retain its role as a champion for free trade, tear down barriers to trade and limit the use of tariffs. "Let's not forget, American businesses and consumers pay the tariffs," Thomas Donohue, CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said at the chamber's 2020 State of American Business event. The phase-one trade deal between the United States and China, expected to be signed next week, "will begin to reduce harmful tariffs," Donohue said, noting that "both countries deserve credit" for reaching the agreement. Donohue said the chamber has been a strong proponent for progress toward a comprehensive trade deal with China, urging the two sides to continue negotiations, resolve remaining issues and restore commercial relationship, which is "in both nations' interests." The chamber's CEO praised the imminent passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and called for new negotiated agreements with Britain, European Union, Japan, Brazil and "burgeoning markets in Africa." "Engaging with the world is our best strategy for strong national security and lasting prosperity," said Donohue, noting that staying engaged in the world also means remaining committed to the multilateral organizations and trading arrangements that the United States helped build. He was referring to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body, which no longer has enough judges to review dispute rulings due to U.S. blocking of the nomination of new judges. "We're very, very concerned about that, particularly with the questions of the judicial issues that at least provide a process to adjudicate differences without making an argument," Donohue told reporters at the event. "Let's not shutter the WTO Appellate Body. Such drastic action doesn't serve America's interests," said Donohue. A complaint has been filed with Anti-Corruption Bureau against former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das and several others accusing them of financial "embezzlement" and wasting public money. In a letter to Director-General, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Ranchi, the complainant alleged that an event called "Momentum Jharkhand" was organised "for their act of cheating, embezzlement and fraud" and demanded that an FIR should be lodged in the matter. The ACB has confirmed ANI that they have received the complaint. "Complaint has been received, we will transfer it to the competent authority for scrutiny. Whenever such complaints are received, they are sent to the competent authority," said an ACB official. Raghubar Das, who took over as Jharkhand Chief Minister in 2014 was ousted from the power in December after BJP lost Assembly elections to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) EAC Constitutional Experts are set to hold National Stakeholders Consultations for drafting the EAC Political Confederation Constitution from 14th to 20th January 2020, in Burundi. The objective of the Consultations, which will be held in Bujumbura, Gitega, Ngozi and Makamba, is to obtain stakeholders views on their interest and other key issues that will better inform the drafting of a model Political Confederation and subsequently a Confederal Constitution in line with the principle of a people-centred Community. The national stakeholders consultations are also expected to enhance awareness on the ongoing Constitutional making process for transforming the EAC into a Political Confederation, as well as prepare the public in general to give their inputs into the draft Constitution once it will be drafted. Stories Continues after ad National Stakeholders Consultations will ensure participation of EAC citizens in the integration process and particularly the Political Federation pillar, said EAC Secretary General, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko. The drafting of the EAC Political Confederation Constitution is being undertaken by a team of Constitutional Experts nominated by the Partner States. The 18-member team is chaired by Hon. Justice Dr. Benjamin Odoki, the Chief Justice Emeritus of Uganda, said Amb. Mfumukeko, adding that it was anticipated that the Confederation Constitution-making process would be completed by 2022 with its adoption by the Summit. Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza is expected to launch the Burundi Stakeholders Consultations on 15th January, 2020 in Gitega. The Team of Constitutional Experts held the first National Stakeholders Consultations for drafting the EAC Political Confederation Constitution in the Republic of Uganda in November 2018, which forum also served as the launch of the process. Libyan General Khalifa Haftar has refused the request for a ceasefire made by one of his biggest supporters, Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the government in Tripoli agreed to a ceasefire proposed by Turkey and Russia. Putin, together with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - who backs Haftar's rival in Tripoli, Fayez al-Sarraj - went ahead of everyone, the European Union included, in proposing a ceasefire to start at midnight on Sunday, January 12. "We thank Russia for its support, but we can't stop fighting terrorism," said Ahmed al Mismari, spokesman for the Haftar-led Libyan National Army, which is conducting an offensive against militias defending the fragile government in Tripoli, the only one recognised by the United Nations. According to fragmented information that is difficult to verify on the ground, the offensive is currently centred around Sirte and Tripoli. In addition to the war of weapons, Libya is also engaged in a war of propaganda, as evidenced by the announcement, later denied, of an attack on the military academy in Misurata, as well as the alleged kidnapping of Sarraj upon his return on Thursday from Brussels, also flatly denied. The move by Turkey and Russia crowded out the European Union, which is struggling to regain ground in untangling the Libyan crisis. For months, Europe hasn't even managed to set a date for its Berlin conference on Libya. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the date would be "as soon as possible", in a telephone call with his German counterpart Heiko Maas. The Berlin conference is aimed at getting all parties to sit down together to resolve their disputes. For Erdogan and Putin, however, a meeting seemed sufficient enough for establishing peace in Libya, a peace which, after the de facto splitting of Syria among the two powers, was supposed to be a prelude to their increased power in the Central Mediterranean as well. This came at the expense above all of Italy and France, both of which were until recently used to exerting their influence on the other side of the Strait of Sicily. Odisha's Gajapati dynasty king and former parliamentarian Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo died on Friday morning at a hospital here, following prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 76. Deo is survived by daughter Kalyani Gajapati, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly election on a BJD ticket from Paralakhemundi constituency. In his condolence message, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Paralakhemundi king's demise was a "great loss" for the state. Official sources said the former MP would be cremated later in the day with full state honours, and forest and environment minister Bikram Keshari Arukha would attend the funeral on behalf of the chief minister. Puri King Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, who is a nephew of Deo, hailed him as a "man who had made valuable contributions towards Odisha's progress and development". The Paralakhemundi king had long been suffering from heart-related ailments. Born on March 6, 1943, Deo had represented the Berhampur parliamentary constituency for two terms as a Congress member. He switched over to the BJP in 1998 and joined the ruling BJD a decade later, in 2009. The Odisha government had in 2017 announced that it would bear all expenses of his treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve a resolution demanding President Donald Trump end military actions against Iran unless authorized by Congress or faced with an imminent threat. The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, a former CIA and Pentagon official who served three tours in Iraq. It passed 224 to 194, largely along partisan lines, with the support of only three Republicans and U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, I-Cascade Township. House Democrats are trying to rein in Trump after he ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani without notifying Congress, a move that inspired Iran to fire missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops Tuesday night. Slotkin testified that Trump owes Americans a public debate about the merits of embarking down the path to war, as the nations founding fathers intended. She said her resolution doesnt prevent Trump from responding in self-defense to attacks on U.S. forces. Congress has long abdicated its responsibility as laid out in the constitution to make the hard decisions we owe our troops when it comes to authorizing war, Slotkin said. I know it is a political time, but my attempt was to hew exactly to what our founders intended. Slotkin said the resolution reiterates that only Congress can declare war and affirms that Congress hasnt the use of military force against Iran. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., argued the concurrent resolution, which is paired with a Senate counterpart, is unconstitutional. He and other Republicans said Democrats are tying Trumps hands at a critical moment. McCarthy said the resolution is nothing more than a press release to appease their socialist base, that ultimately benefits Iran. McCarthy said the resolution will make Iran believe it has allies in the House of Representatives. A concurrent resolution, if passed by the House and Senate, does not require the presidents signature. McCarthy said past Supreme Court rulings found an action by Congress needs the presidents signature to have any binding legal effect. U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, said the resolution has no enforcement ability, and looks more like a political statement than any sort of legislative response. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the strike that killed Soleimani was proactive and disproportionate," and criticized Trump for not consulting Congress before ordering it. Republicans balked at that characterization, saying Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans. Some Republicans argued Trump was cleared to take action by authorizations for use of military force Congress passed in 2001 and 2002. The first authorized attacks on those responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while the second authorized force to defend against threats posed by Iraq. All six of Michigans House Republicans voted against the resolution, while all seven of its House Democrats voted for it. U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, testified Trump had full legal authority to eliminate Soleimani. He said the partisan resolution will weaken national security. Whoever occupies the White House should have the ability to direct and address threats and prevent American bloodshed, he said during the House debate. U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Dryden, released a statement pledging to vote against the Iran war powers resolution Thursday afternoon, saying it will undermine the countrys ability to respond to threats in the Middle East. Mitchell said Congress role in establishing a long-term military strategy in the region has atrophied over multiple administrations, but the resolution does not help define what military success in that part of the world looks like. U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, said Trumps foreign policy failures brought America to the brink of war." He said the Trump administration provided no evidence to prove an imminent threat that required Soleimanis killing. The question before us is simple: can we let this President drag us into another war that will cost billions of taxpayer dollars and, most importantly, American lives? Levin said. Will we at long last stand up and fulfill our Constitutional duty to make decisions on war and peace? Levin participated in a Wednesday briefing meant to brief members of Congress about the intelligence which necessitated the strike on Irans top general. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, said he left the meeting convinced that the evidence was compelling, leaving no doubt that we stopped an imminent strike against U.S. interests. Upton warned against playing politics with national security in a statement release after the House vote. Eight Democrats voted against the measure. The resolution appears unlikely to pass in the Republican-led Senate, though two GOP senators said they would support it. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, expressed concerns that the Trump administration lacks a strategy to deal with Iran. Its clear that our servicemembers, diplomats and fellow Americans in the region are now less safe, Peters said in a statement Wednesday. The campaign for Peters likely challenger, Republican U.S. Army veteran John James, did not respond to a request for comment on the situation in Iran Thursday. James served multiple tours in the Iraq war. Some Republicans indicated Slotkin was unqualified to lead the effort to check Trumps war powers. The National Republican Congressional Committee, a political campaign group, and Michigan Rising Action, a conservative nonprofit, highlighted a 2014 incident when the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called Slotkin totally unqualified for a high-ranking Pentagon position. BRIDGEPORT A 77-year-old New York man was arrested Thursday after police said he sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl who was visiting her grandparent at a Fairfield nursing home. Dino Carlo Gioia was charged with third-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a child, second-degree unlawful restraint and breach of peace. Thursday afternoon, Gioia was brought before Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton, a judicial marshal supporting him under each arm. Told by the judge that he will have to stay away from the victim and her family, Gioia responded, Im going to stay far away. The judge ordered Gioia held in lieu of $100,000 bond due to the severity of the charges, and continued the case to Feb. 27. Fairfield police said they responded to Regal Care of Southport numerous times regarding sexually involved behavior by Gioia, who had only been in the nursing home for a month, including complaints that he had touched the intimate parts of dementia patients and exposed himself. In one incident, police said, Gioia was accused of threatening to rape a female patient. He was not arrested on those incidents. On Dec. 24, police said the 9-year-old girl was visiting a grandparent at the nursing home with her mother when Gioia took the little girl around the waist, drew her to him and grabbed at her privates, telling her she was beautiful. The mother yanked her daughter from Gioias grasp and reported the incident to nursing staff, police said. This is the second time in a year that someone has been arrested on sexual assault charges at Regal Care of Southport. In January 2018, Elias Saldana, 58, a former patient of Regal Care, was charged with sexually assaulting a bedridden non-verbal female patient. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday launched an attack on Arvind Kejriwal accusing him of staying silent on the issue of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and questioned Delhi Chief Minister on whose orders he is not standing up for citizens' rights to protest? "The police may have been acting (or not) on orders, but who ordered the Delhi CM not to stand up for citizens' rights to protest? Not to visit the injured? Not to object as campuses in his state became centres of carnage? Not all blame can be so easily deflected," Tharoor's tweet on Friday read. Meanwhile, the Thiruvananthapuram MP accused Kejriwal of fence-sitting. "Kejriwalji wants that both the pro and anti CAA crowd stays with him. Why did you (Kejriwal) stay silent on the JNU issue? Once during the time of Sheila Dikshit you had tweeted that do we want a weak CM, you should go and read that same tweet today," Tharoor told reporters on Friday. The Thiruvananthapuram MP further said that Congress stood alongside with actress Deepika Padukone because of her pro-students stance. "BJP is boycotting Deepika Padukone's move because she stood with the students. That is why we are with her and distributing free tickets to the public for the movie," Tharoor said. Deepika Padukone's film "Chhapaak", which is based on an acid attack survivor, released on January 10. The actress was targeted by many BJP leaders for joining the protests at JNU on January 7 after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods two days earlier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 10:29:05|Editor: yhy Video Player Close NIAMEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military camp in western Niger Thursday night, the country's defence ministry said. The attack took place at a military post in the town of Chinagodrar on the West African country's border with Mali. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The defence ministry said that more than 60 militants have been killed in the fighting. Five days after at least 36 people were injured in the incident of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Delhi Police named JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and eight others as suspects in the violence that took place between 3 to 5 January. However, the police didn't name any group for the brutal attack by masked goons on students and teachers in the evening on 5 January. Five days after at least 36 people were injured in the incident of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Delhi Police named JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and eight others as suspects in the violence that took place between 3 to 5 January. However, the police didn't name any group for the brutal attack by masked goons on students and teachers in the evening on 5 January. The preliminary findings in the probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which also released pictures of the nine suspects, were seized upon by three Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani who said the "Left design" in the varsity has been "unmasked" by the evidence collected by the police. Meanwhile, HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the involvement of JNU students in the violence as pointed out in the police probe was "unfortunate". Left leaders, in turn, accused the Delhi Police of being a "government stooge" and said the question still remained on the identity of the masked people photographed at Sabarmati hostel at JNU on Sunday evening, who unleashed violence on campus for three hours with sticks, rods and sledgehammers. Congress' Ajay Maken demanded the removal of the Delhi police chief, terming the investigation in the cases "shoddy". The police also claimed that the 5 January violence was a fallout protest against the proposed fee hike and the online registration process. They added that tension was brewing in the university since 1 January. Delhi Police names nine suspects Addressing a press conference, Joy Tirkey, DCP (Crime Branch), who is heading the SIT, said the Student Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Association (AISA), Democratic Students Federation (DSF) and All India Student Federation (AISF) had been allegedly "creating nuisance and threatening the students" against the recently started online admission for the winter semester in the varsity. Those identified are Dolan Samanta, Priya Ranjan, Sucheta Talukdar, Ghosh, Bhaskar Vijay Mech, Chunchun Kumar (an alumni) and Pankaj Mishra. The other two suspects named by police are Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj. Police sources told PTI the two are from the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). However, no one has been detained. Tirkey said notices will be served to all the suspects. He did not take any questions after the media briefing. The officer said Ghosh and eight others were involved in an attack at the Periyar hostel on 5 January. Tirkey also said that a WhatsApp group named 'Unity Against Left', believed to have been formed while the violence escalated, is also under the scanner. He added that Bharadwaj has been identified as the administrator of the group. However, the ABVP claimed that the two members named as suspects by the police, Bharadwaj and Patel, were not involved in the 5 January attack in the campus and it will share evidences to that effect with the police. "Patel and Bharadwaj are scared after the incident. The Left activists have been putting up posters with their names on those and have created difficulties for them. They were not involved in the violence," the ABVP said. Delhi Police is biased, says Aishe Ghosh; JNUSU says silence on ABVP's role 'deafening' Rejecting the charges against the Left-leaning students, Ghosh, who was injured on 5 January attack, said she has not done anything wrong and all this is being done to create a narrative. Refuting the police's claims, she accused the Delhi Police of being "biased". On being named as one of the attackers during the violence, Ghosh said she too has evidence on how she was attacked. "Delhi Police can do their inquiry. I also have evidence to show how I was attacked. I have full faith in the law and order of this country that investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police biased? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault," she said. "The police should make public whatever proof it has against me," Ghosh added. The JNUSU president also said the police was quick to take cognisance of the complaint filed by the JNU administration against her but has not registered an FIR on her complaint. After meeting HRD ministry officials, Ghosh said the JNUSU stand on its demand for the removal of JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar stands but any decision on whether to call off the agitation against the fee hike will be taken later. In a separate statement, the JNUSU accused the Delhi Police of speaking the language of the varsity's vice-chancellor and said those who were assaulted have been "implicated as suspects". The police briefing was a litany of distortions, half-truths and outright lies, the JNUSU alleged. "The most significant fact was that the DCP named all Left organisations but the name of the ABVP (Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad) was curiously missing," it said. The silence of the police on the ABVP is "deafening" and its ploy to implicate the Left in the violence is an indication that this "investigation is a political investigation", the JNUSU added. 'Shoddy investigation': Congress, JNUTA slams Delhi Police The JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) accused the Delhi Police of "underplaying" the violence and termed its version as "disturbing". The statement said, "Such underplaying of the incidents, which shocked the nation and subjected several to extreme trauma, is deeply disturbing." Accusing the Delhi Police of conducting a "shoddy" investigation into the JNU violence case, the Congress on Friday alleged that it was clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party, and demanded the removal of the city police chief and the university's vice chancellor. Congress' senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said question marks have been raised on the investigations by the Delhi police as it has "failed to carry out the probe independently" and identify the culprits. "It is a shoddy investigation, to say the least. The victims have been made the accused. The investigation is clearly influenced by the government, the home minister and the ruling party," he told reporters. The Congress also claimed that the police wrongly identified one of the suspects during the presser. It claimed that one of the suspects, whom the police showed a picture of and identified as 'Vikas Patel' in the press conference, was Shiv Pojan Mandal. Delhi Police provides sequence of events leading up to 5 Jan violence At the police briefing, Tirkey admitted that lack of CCTV footage was a major hurdle in the investigation. "The CCTV footage could not be fetched as the Wi-Fi-based system and the cameras were all disabled." He also said since the hostel rooms were specifically targeted, it indicates an insider's hand. "JNU is so vast that the outsiders cannot figure out the hostel room in the spur of the moment," he claimed. Tirkey said tensions flared up on 5 January. "At around 11.30 am, four students were tensed and sitting on a bench in front of the School of Social Science. A group came and there was an altercation between them over the admission process. The security staff who tried to save them also got injured," he said. "At 3.45 pm, members of the four organisations went to Periyar Hostel and attacked the students there. Some JNUSU members were also there, including their president Aishe Ghosh," he said. Inside Periyar Hostel, some specific students were targeted, police said. Thereafter, there was a peace meeting in which 120 to 130 students and teachers participated outside Sabarmati T-point between the Periyar and Sabarmati hostels. "Meanwhile, a group came there with covered faces. They got into a scuffle with students at the T-Point and later barged into the Sabarmati Hostel. They knew which rooms were to be targeted," Tirkey said. However, the police did not name any group involved in the attack on the Sabarmati hostel. Narrating the sequence, Tirkey said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from 1 to 5 January but alleged that the Left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. On 3 January, around 1 pm, members belonging to the four Left-wing student bodies barged into the server room, tampered with the server and shut it down. They also pushed the staff of the server room outside, Tirkey said. "Around three to four hours later, the staff of the varsity restored the server. Thereafter, the police registered a complaint for assault, damaging public property and criminal intimidation," he said. An FIR naming Ghosh and others has already been filed by the JNU administration. However, she has not been named as an accused yet. A day later, some miscreants again entered the server room from its rear side and vandalised the room, following which another FIR was registered in that matter, the officer said. After meeting HRD ministry officials, the JNU VC said all decisions taken earlier at the ministry about the hostel fee are being implemented "in totality" and regular classes at the varsity will start from 13 January. ABVP members admit to being part of 5 Jan violence, reports India Today Even as the Delhi Police presser didn't name any suspects in the 5 January attack on Sabarmati hostel, an India Today report said that an ABVP member, Akshat Awasthi has admitted to being part of the mob that attacked students and faculty in the evening on 5 January. "A first-year student of the French degree program at the JNU, Akshat Awasthi identified himself in footage of Sunday's attack and as an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)," the report said. However, ABVP demanded proof of their involvement. JNU professors move Delhi HC to preserve data, CCTV footage Three JNU professors on Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to preserve data, CCTV footage, and other evidence related to the incident of violence on 5 January. The petition also sought directions for preservation and retrieval of all material/evidence available with WhatsApp, Google, and Apple pertaining to relevant data of WhatsApp groups 'Unity Against Left' and 'Friends of RSS' including messages, pictures, videos and phone numbers of the members, in connection with the violence at JNU, PTI reported. The petition has been listed for hearing before Justice Brijesh Sethi on 13 January. The petition, filed by Ameet Parameswaran, Atul Sood and Shukla Vinayak Sawant, seeks necessary directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Delhi government. With inputs from agencies In addition, the spread between the global Brent benchmark and the American WTI has started to increase over the last few weeks and looks set to continue to do so. It is now clear that the OPEC+ output limits International exposure had become a drag on Exxon because global growth was under pressure. China was slowing and feeling the effects of the trade war and Europe was moribund at best. The U.S. economy, meanwhile, was easily outpacing those of other developed nations. With phase one of a trade deal agreed on and Europe beginning to pick up now though, those factors will weigh less. There are both technical and fundamental reasons to believe that XOM, an underperformer even in the generally underperforming energy sector, is about to reverse that trend. Lets start with the fundamentals, as those influences are more impactful and longer-lasting. Just over a year ago, I wrote a piece suggesting that energy investors should rethink their view of the big, integrated multinational oil firms. The Chevron (CVX)s and Exxon (XOM)s of this world, I argued then, would likely be held back for a while by the very thing that had benefited them for so long, their international exposure. That, however, doesnt mean that they should be ignored completely. Even if their role as safe investments is under pressure, there are still opportunities for short-term gains in big oil, and the biggest of them all, Exxon Mobil, is a case in point right now. Just over a year ago, I wrote a piece suggesting that energy investors should rethink their view of the big, integrated multinational oil firms. The Chevron (CVX)s and Exxon (XOM)s of this world, I argued then, would likely be held back for a while by the very thing that had benefited them for so long, their international exposure. That, however, doesnt mean that they should be ignored completely. Even if their role as safe investments is under pressure, there are still opportunities for short-term gains in big oil, and the biggest of them all, Exxon Mobil, is a case in point right now. There are both technical and fundamental reasons to believe that XOM, an underperformer even in the generally underperforming energy sector, is about to reverse that trend. Lets start with the fundamentals, as those influences are more impactful and longer-lasting. International exposure had become a drag on Exxon because global growth was under pressure. China was slowing and feeling the effects of the trade war and Europe was moribund at best. The U.S. economy, meanwhile, was easily outpacing those of other developed nations. With phase one of a trade deal agreed on and Europe beginning to pick up now though, those factors will weigh less. In addition, the spread between the global Brent benchmark and the American WTI has started to increase over the last few weeks and looks set to continue to do so. It is now clear that the OPEC+ output limits are being pretty well adhered to, but the difference is being made up by increased U.S. production. That may put a top on oil in general, but it will also cause that spread to continue to increase, benefitting the more internationally focused firms. Even if oil does struggle to show any gains overall then, a company with big global exposure such as XOM could still outperform. The technical picture suggests that if the time to buy XOM isnt necessarily quite yet, it is rapidly approaching. During the volatility that followed last weeks attack in Iraq that killed Irans top Revolutionary Guard commander, Exxons stock moved around too. But, while oil collapsed from its immediate highs and finished the week well below where it started, XOM is still a little higher than last Thursdays close. That suggests that there are buyers around at these levels, and there is another technical consideration that may force their hand and push the stock higher. The yellow and blue lines on the above chart are the 50 and 100-day simple moving averages, and as you can see, the 50-day will cross the 100-day soon, providing the stock doesnt drop significantly. That is what known as a golden cross, something that is a well known and widely followed bullish signal. These kinds of things are often self-fulfilling prophecies. If there are, as recent price action indicates, buyers of XOM around, a golden cross would prompt them to act for fear of missing out. That, again, should result in overperformance. To be safe, you could wait for the cross to occur, but given the recent support in a falling oil price environment, buying now with a sensible stop just below the 66.31 low looks reasonable. Dont get me wrong; I dont yet think that XOM or any of the major oil companies have regained their status as safe long-term investments. Fundamental and technical considerations do suggest though that the worst performer among them, Exxon Mobil, will offer a low-risk investment with a decent potential reward over the next few months. Ethiopias peace deal with Eritrea led to a reopening of borders and diplomatic relations. Eritrea was part of Ethiopia until it seceded in 1993 and then fought a bloody war to retain its independence that began in 1998. The war resulted in at least 80,000 deaths. Eritrea still has mandatory conscription, which tens of thousands have sought to avoid by migrating to Europe and countries on the nearby Arabian peninsula. Congressman Matt Gaetz (R., Fl.) revealed Thursday night that President Trump told him hes more antiwar than I am, following a House vote to pass a resolution to curtail Trumps war powers vis-a-vis Iran. Publicly, the president voiced opposition to the resolution, calling Pelosi crazy and saying I fully agree with former national security adviser John Bolton, who called the 1973 War Powers Resolution unconstitutional. Trump also retweeted Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who called the resolution an infringement on the presidents constitutional powers as Commander in Chief, and said its passage increased the likelihood of conflict. To the House Dems and GOPers who voted for this resolution: You have done nothing to legally restrict President Trumps power as Commander in Chief. Unfortunately however, you have increased the likelihood of conflict. Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 10, 2020 But Gaetz, one of three Republicans to vote for the resolution, told fellow intervention skeptic Tucker Carlson in an interview Thursday night that he spoke to Trump, who told him that while he had preferred Gaetz to join House Republicans in a unified vote against the resolution, he understands that the pro-war candidate loses presidential elections. In a statement to National Review, Gaetz explained why he voted for the resolution, which was proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this week. I believe this war powers resolution was worthy of support because it did not criticize the president, Gaetz explained. It said that if any president wants to drag our nation into another forever Middle East war, it requires the approval of the U.S. Congress. Thats something I deeply believe and something I think President Trump deeply believes. In a statement Friday, the State Department said American troops would remain in Iraq after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to withdraw U.S. forces from the country. Story continues America is a force for good in the Middle East, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus read. Any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East. More from National Review Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that the West's claims that the Ukrainian airplane that crashed in Iran was allegedly downed by a missile were possible, but remained unconfirmed and called on the US, UK and Canada to provide evidence. "We are in constant contact with our representatives. Claims that a missile struck the aircraft cannot be excluded, but as of today, they remain unconfirmed. Considering statements made by the US, UK and Canadian governments, we call on our partners to present evidence to the commission investigating the incident," Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram blog, as quoted by Sputnik. The jet crashed on Wednesday near Tehran, shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 people on board. The accident took place minutes after Iran's missile attack on US bases in Iraq. Tehran blamed a technical malfunction while the US, UK and Canadian authorities said they had obtained video evidence of a missile being fired at the aircraft from Iran. Zelenskyy added that he would be holding talks later on Friday with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo concerning the ongoing investigation into the plane crash. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After 20 years of marriage, pastor fatally stabs wife in church then slits his own throat Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A troubled marriage between husband and wife co-pastors ended in a bloody murder-suicide in Kenya Sunday when the husband fatally stabbed his wife of 20 years and mother of his four children, then slit his own throat in front of their congregants. Witnesses to the murder suicide said that pastor Elisha Misiko, 55, of Ground for God's Gospel Ministries in Mombasa and his wife, Senior Pastor Ann Mughoi, had been feuding for months over the management of the church. "The two had been running the church for more than eight years but, in the last few months, they differed over management, village elder Mtengo Amuri told Kenyas Daily Nation. He explained that Misiko accused the mother of his children of plotting to push him out of the church they founded together. Tensions between the two exploded unexpectedly Sunday when Misiko calmly entered the church Sunday at about 9 a.m., worshipers told the Daily Nation, and sat next to his wife on the pulpit. As the service was underway, Misiko got up from his seat and appeared at first to be saying something to his wife but quickly pulled two knives from under his shirt and began stabbing her multiple times. "The husband moved stealthily toward his wife and stabbed her in the back. When he tried to slit her throat, she blocked him, injuring her hand," Amuri said. Worshipers eventually intervened to stop the attack but not before Misiko had stabbed his wife several times. Misiko reportedly slit his own throat as they tried to save his wife. Police later revealed that Misiko had left behind a 17-page suicide note, The Star said, he titled Betrayal and Consequences. In the letter, Misiko accused his wife of infidelity and painted her as a controlling spouse who wanted to be in charge of family property. In one confession, he says that infidelity on his wifes part and the fight to control family property drove him to the brink. He also accused her of trying to keep him away from their children while forcing him to pay child support as she dated another man. "90% of my money I sent to her (Anne) but she wrote on social media that I don't pay fees or even buy clothes," Misiko said in the note cited by The Star. "When we got married, life was hard. I was forced to do the mkokoteni business. I took a loan from SMEP and combined with the money I had accumulated to buy a plot. I bought a plot for the sake of my family," he added. "She took away everything we accumulated for over 19 years. She took away my plot of land and church equipment by force." Mombasa sub-county police commander Julius Kiragu told CNN that in 2017, Misiko was detained by the police after his wife accused him of threatening her life. He further noted that Misiko was released after police concluded the accusation was untrue. The couple had reportedly been living apart over the last two years since tensions between them started escalating. "She (wife) had been trying to stay away from the husband since the dispute over the ownership of the church began," Kiragu told CNN. "They had even reported the matter to church leaders but they were unable to resolve the dispute." Boeing (BA) has been forced to publicly apologise after internal communications suggested employees were aware of issues with its now grounded 737 Max plane before disaster struck. Boeing on Thursday published over 100-pages of internal communications as part of the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and Congresss investigations into issues with the 737 Max. The planes have been grounded globally last March following two fatal crashes that killed all passengers. The emails and memos are highly embarrassing for Boeing and likely to lead to more questioning from politicians and regulators. This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys, a chat message from April 2017 reads. Another message from the same exchange describes working on the plane as patch[ing] the leaky boat. Aerial photos showing Boeing 737 Max airplanes parked at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, US. Photo: Gary He/Reuters This is such a shit show, one employee wrote to another on a chat system in mid-2018. Totally, a colleague replied, Ill be shocked if the FAA passes this turd. This airplane is ridiculous The emails paint a picture of a company rushing to get approval for its plane and pushing to have the lowest possible training requirements for the 737 Max. Less training would make the aircraft cheaper for clients. In an exchange from 2018, employees talk about a culture issue at Boeing, complaining there was a culture of good enough and that is an incredibly low bar. Another message from 2018 reads: They fail to understand that the pilots subjective feedback is as important as providing solitary test conditions that pass or do not show the full picture. An unnamed employee said he would struggle to defend the sim[ulation training] in front of the FAA next week. READ MORE: Airline stocks drop as problems mount for Boeing and oil rises I still havent been forgiven by god for the covering up I did last year, another message in the same exchange reads. Airplane fuselages bound for Boeing's 737 Max production facility sit in storage at their top supplier, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, in Wichita, Kansas, US. Photo: Nick Oxford/Reuters This airplane is ridiculous, an employee wrote to another in one message. We are having issues with every update we do. Story continues Employees repeatedly talk about using Jedi mind tricks to convince regulators and customers that their training proposals are safe. At this point point there are more nails than wood in the coffin, a message from 2018 said. Completely unacceptable Boeing chief technical pilot talks about being pressured into accepting training guidelines that he admits may leave gaps for pilots. Another employee talks about not sharing certain information with the FAA because we dont want to indicate to the FAA that our design conflicts with pilot expectations. Everyone acknowledged that there is some risk to the new style of training, but it shouldnt be a showstopper, Boeings chief technical pilot wrote in one email. The same chief technical pilot said in another email in 2017 that Boeing was holding firm that there should not be simulator training required to fly the 737 Max. Boeing will not allow that to happen, the pilot wrote. Well go face to face with any regulator who tries to make that a requirement. In another message exchange, an employees says another employee will get crucified if she calls for simulation training related to the plane. She just wants to say she evaluated it, the employee says. As long as she comes up with the right answer, another employee replies. On Tuesday this week Boeing relented on pressure to make pilots undergo more extensive simulator training before they fly the 737 Max. These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable, Boeing said in a statement. Federal Aviation Administration administrator Stephen Dickson testifies before a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on the Boeing 737 MAX in Washington on 11 December. Photo: Mary F Calvert/Reuters We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the FAA, Congress, our airline customers, and to the flying public for them. We have made significant changes as a company to enhance our safety processes, organizations, and culture. The manufacturer said the provocative language in the communications raise questions about Boeings interactions with the FAA in connection with the simulator qualification process. But the company said it was confident its simulators were functioning effectively. The company said it would be taking disciplinary or other personnel action in response to the contents of the messages. Boeing paused production of the 737 Max last month, implicitly admitting approval may take longer than it had hoped, and fired its CEO shortly after. The scandal has so far cost Boeing billions of dollars. READ MORE: UK stocks tipped for big things in 2020 Every year, veteran sex-advice columnist mounts (ahem) HUMP, an amateur, pornographic short film festival, which tours around Canada and the USA for a dazzling evening of smut, humor, tenderness, weirdness and delight. HUMP is now in its 15th year, and none of the videos from the festival have ever leaked online, which is a testament to the kinds of audiences it draws. We went last year for the first time and had a hell of an amazing date-night! I just bought tickets to this year's show. Last year, Facebook banned HUMP ads, which severely curtailed the festival's reach. The company blamed this on the terrible SESTA/FOSTA law. Tell your friends about HUMP! It's the sex-positive, queer-friendly, weird and amazing debauch we need to start the decade right! Check out this year's short features: WILDFIRE Inhibitions are burned to dust while this hedonistic group lusts around the fire. WHAT YOU WISH FOR A hypnotizing peek into the intimate boudoir of two lovers in the throes of a skilled and sensuous rope scene. THE PIZZA TOPPING Horny Pizza orders Hungry Boy. In an alternate reality where the pizzas order delivery, we find out what their favorite pies are and how they like them topped. PHOTURIS In the midst of darkness, this couple finds illumination by embracing their neon fantasies. RUBBER WORLD A lonely traveler takes us to a rubber convention, where we see the wildest and most creative toys that will make you want to slap and tickle. COCK TALES Gimps, piss, and boots, oh my! This animated tale illustrates the sights, sounds, and smells of a leather bar. GOOD KITTY Runner Up, Best Sex When the kitten collar comes out, so do the sacred oils and earthly delights in this cunnilingual ceremony. DOPPELBANGER Reality is blurred in this surreal tryst between two eerily similar guys. BEST IN SHOW Best in Show & Best Humor Mountains! Bondage! Flash paper! Puppets! Paint! A couple attempts to reproduce every HUMP! trope in five minutes. BUTT BANGO A deranged and macabre circus duo contort themselves into bizarre positions in this vaudevillian stop-motion short. ADE IN BED Treat yourself to this luxurious bedtime interview about sexual and gender identity. Oh, and the thrills of men in nothing but boots. UNDRESSED Get the squeegee, because things are about to get wet in this steamy shower threesome. TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKE Best Kink One woman's answer to this inquiry leads to an extreme kink scene involving a masked dom equipped with chains and a whip. *This film contains graphic violence. ORALLY FIXATED An amuse-bouche of all things creamy, sticky, and sweet. FUCK FIRST Put your keys in the bowl, because this group of friends has the best appetizer on the menu at their swinging dinner party. LOST + FOUND Jury Award After making it through the pain of infertility and miscarriage and finally becoming a parent, a woman goes on a mission of exploration and discovery to recover what she has lost. BRUNCH ON BIKES Runner UP, Best Kink Freshly-fucked foodies get a Special Pancake Delivery. A new recipe that will make you look at pancakes differently. WHITE RABBIT When a debaucherous basement party becomes a bore, a man is ready to try something different upstairs. Will you find what you're looking for down the rabbit hole? JUST FOUR FANS ONLY Runner Up, Best Humor When a group of friends decides to film an orgy in a Vegas hotel room, an unexpected participant slips into the mix. ROLL PLAY A fellowship of friends learns what it takes to seduce a witch in their D&D party. Perfect for every bard, wizard, and paladin. 15th Annual Touring Festival 2020 [Dan Savage/HUMP] Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. 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Read more After a tense week between the United States and Iran, about a hundred people rallied at Dilworth Plaza and marched through Center City streets Thursday evening, decrying any war or continued violence with Iran. The No War With Iran protest, organized through MoveOn.org, was one of more than 370 demonstrations nationwide sparked by the recent assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his countrys vow for revenge. Three blue peace-sign flags flew amid the freezing temperatures as demonstrators held homemade signs that read, Give peace a chance," and Trump: This is your fault. Others contained Jimi Hendrix-inspired quotes. The group marched from City Hall down Market and Walnut Streets before returning to Dilworth, drawing curious crowds out of stores and restaurants as they chanted, No threats, no bombs, no war on Iran." Were spending ... money that could be used for other things such as health care and education, said Christina Allen, 22, a math education student at Rowan University. Its important that we get out here and shake people out of their complacency. Were the ones that will make a difference. A previous Philadelphia rally was Saturday, two days after President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Soleimani at Baghdads airport alongside top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Some Iranian officials called the strike an act of war. The action has divided Americans and politicians. Some believe that the death of Soleimani should be celebrated, as the high-ranking official was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans. Others have criticized what theyre calling an assassination of a foreign leader, and the fact that Congress was not briefed on the decision, as well as the lack of an overall strategy that could potentially waste resources and put innocent lives at risk. Trump deployed thousands of troops in response to Irans promise of harsh revenge. Iran launched a missile attack on American bases in Iraq earlier this week. There were no casualties. READ MORE: A necessary strike, or a dangerous escalation: Philly-area lawmakers are divided after U.S. kills top Iranian military leader READ MORE: Joe Biden is flexing his foreign-policy muscles amid the Iran conflict. But rivals point to his Iraq War vote. I went through a war when I was a young woman, the Vietnam War ... and the thought of having to live through another war is just disgusting to me, said Nad Rosenberg, 75. Rosenberg attended the demonstration with her husband, Bruce McDowell, a Vietnam War veteran. Its a tremendous waste of the taxpayer money and peoples lives, said McDowell, who was celebrating his 71st birthday. Many shared fears of another possible high-casualty, unsuccessful war. Its actually horrifying that we are in this situation again, said Cathy Zukoski, 71, who spent her youth protesting previous wars. Its almost like, if you elect a Republican, you get a war. More protests are scheduled in the city throughout the month, including one at 3 p.m. Saturday at City Hall. 527 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republican Senators to expect the Trump articles of impeachment to be delivered to the Senate next week. Roll Call reported: Republican senators were told by McConnell at a lunch Thursday to keep their schedules flexible for the end of next week, when they are supposed to leave Washington for a weeklong break that includes the MLK Day holiday on January 20. According to an attendee, McConnell said that with the possibility that Speaker Nancy Pelosi could soon send over the impeachment articles, senators should be prepared to be at the Capitol for Saturday sessions starting Jan. 18. This sounds like wishful thinking from McConnell. There is no evidence in Speaker Pelosis comments that she will be sending the articles of impeachment over before the end of the week. McConnells comments to his caucus do provide some insight into how quickly he plans to speed through the impeachment trial. Holding a Saturday session would be one way to keep the American people from watching the trial. Mitch McConnell is hoping that impeachment articles are coming soon, but until Pelosi sends them, the Senate Majority Leader can keep dreaming of a sham Trump trial. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Hyatt Hotels Corporation H announced the opening of the 100th Hyatt House hotel: Hyatt House San Jose Airport. The 165-room Hyatt House San Jose Airport is jointly owned by Liberty Group and Hyatt Hotels. The hotel is in close proximity to Californias Great America amusement park, Levis Stadium, San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Avaya Stadium and SAP Center at San Jose. Paul Daly, senior vice president of operations, Americas, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House, said The opening of this hotel comes at a time of strong momentum for the brand, with Hyatt House hotels under development around the world, including new markets for the brand, such as Canada and Kenya. It is to be noted that Hyatt is consistently trying to strengthen its foothold in the United States and the international markets. Backed by its expansion strategy, the companys shares have gained 13.6% in the past six months compared with the industrys growth of 5.9%. Expansion to Counter Stiff Competition Hyatt, which shares space with Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. HLT, Marriott International, Inc. MAR and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation VAC, operates in an intensely competitive market. In an effort to counter competition, the company continues to expand its presence domestically and internationally. The company has expansion plans in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. This should help the company gain market share in the hospitality industry, thereby boosting the business. Thus, an essential aspect of the companys compelling growth potential is its strong brand presence and continual expansion in high-growth and under-penetrated markets such as India and China. Apart from these, the company has announced further expansion plans in diverse international markets like Australia, Brazil, Germany, the U.K., Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Netherlands and others. Meanwhile, its new signings across its brands globally have consistently outpaced openings. This trend is expected to continue in 2020 and beyond. Hyatt currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Story continues 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> 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 Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Marriot Vacations Worldwide Corporation (VAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. If President Trump is still watching Tucker Carlson by the end of this week, he will have seen Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) try to flatter him into preventing a war with Iran. Typically, Carlson would not be happy with a Republican who decided to break ranks and vote with Democrats in the House, but on Thursday night he seemed to celebrate Gaetz, who was one of just three GOP members who helped pass a resolution limiting the presidents military action in that country. Gaetz, who was accurately described by the Fox News host as maybe Trumps single closest ally in the House, explained that despite the presidents stated opposition to the resolution, the president told me he's more anti-war than I am. And I love the president for that, Tucker, Gaetz said, smiling widely. Instead of criticizing Trump directly, Gaetz blamed a few of the advisers to the president who he believes are trying to slow-walk the administration into war. He described the Trump doctrine as we kill the terrorists and we come home. I think this war powers resolution was worthy of support because it did not criticize the president, it did not say he was wrong in killing Soleimani, Gaetz said, but it did say that if any president wants to drag our nation into another forever Middle East war that they require the approval of the United States Congress. Thats something I deeply believe and I think its something the president deeply believes, he added, despite ample evidence to the contrary. For his part, Carlson said he thinks its pretty obvious that the Constitution requires congressional approval for war. He even accused those who voted against the resolution of being cowards for refusing to go on the record for or against potential war. Gaetz added that its ludicrous for any of my colleagues to suggest that we have to not do our job so that people in uniform can do theirs. The president would have probably preferred that I vote with the other Republicans, Gaetz said, but on the broader issue he still believes Trump understands that the pro-war candidate loses presidential elections. Story continues The president understands that, he said. And hes too smart to let Nancy Pelosi try to cast him as the pro-war candidate and thats why I dont think were going to war with Iran. Seth Meyers Exposes Self-Serving Hypocrite Fox News Host Ainsley Earhardt Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with President Donald Trump before a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit on June 29, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. A leading commodities expert at Goldman Sachs has raised doubts over China buying at least $40 billion worth of U.S. farming goods to satisfy terms of the "phase one" trade deal. The U.S. and China plan to sign the first draft of the trade pact on January 15 which will see tariffs eased and changes introduced to rules surrounding intellectual property and technology. Washington is also demanding that China buys between $40 billion and $50 billion worth of agricultural goods from the U.S. each year. Speaking to CNBC's "Street Signs" on Friday, Goldman's Global Head of Commodities Research Jeff Currie said U.S. live stock and agricultural prices couldn't yet factor in a coming boost to demand. "There is still a lot of uncertainty about how you would achieve $40 (billion) or potentially even $50 billion of agricultural purchases," Currie said, before adding, "A lot of the people I talk to are really skeptical that you can really achieve that number." Annual U.S. farm exports to China typically exceeded $20 billion between 2010 and 2018, before falling sharply to around $13 billion over the last two years as trade war duties impacted sales of soy beans and pork. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters in December that China has pledged to buy a total of $40 billion in agricultural products, although President Donald Trump is calling for $50 billion. The $40 billion figure represents a $24 billion a year baseline based on 2017 figures, plus an additional $16 billion for at least two years. Now Open 10 January 2020 Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) celebrates a significant brand milestone with the opening of the 100th Hyatt House hotel: Hyatt House San Jose Airport . The newly built airport hotel provides guests the service and convenience of hotel living with the casual comforts of home. The hotel is jointly owned by Liberty Group and Hyatt Hotels. Conveniently located adjacent to the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), Hyatt House San Jose Airport is accessible from all major freeways in Silicon Valley including 880, 101, and 87, and is less than 35 miles from San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Downtown San Jose is just five miles from the hotel, where guests can enjoy a number of attractions, including California's Great America amusement park, Levi's Stadium, San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Avaya Stadium, and SAP Center at San Jose. Hyatt House San Jose Airport offers: It was just last February that Brown Sugar Kitchen, chef Tanya Holland's Oakland brunch spot famous for its fried chicken and waffles, opened its first San Francisco outpost in the Ferry Building. However, San Francisco's relationship with the soul food spot was not meant to last the Ferry Building location will close Jan. 19, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. While were disappointed to step back from Brown Sugar Kitchens counter concept, Im personally deeply proud to have established the first black female-owned restaurant in the iconic San Francisco Ferry Building, Holland said in an email announcement. A man selling $5000 worth of bottled water on Facebook has lashed out at people urging him to donate to firefighters battling bushfires calling it 'smart*ss comments'. Australians devastated by the fires have been swept up by the desire to help those in need and are encouraging each other to donate on social media. Mustafa El Huss advertised 10 pallets of bottled water to Facebook on Friday, potentially netting $5040, when he was urged by other users to donate it to exhausted firefighters who are still battling blazes, some of which began in October. Facebook user Mustafa El Huss advertised $5000 worth of water and got angry when other users urged him to donate it to exhausted volunteer firefighters battling Australia's bushfires Facebook users were unimpressed by Mr El Huss's responses to their suggestions 'Instead of trying to make a quick buck, donate to the bushfire victims and firefighters,' wrote Ben Sutton. Mr El Huss posted angrily, in capital letters, that he didn't want any 'smart*ss comments'. The water seller said he would donate what he wants. He said he had dropped his price to help 'people in need located in Granville', which is in Sydney's western suburbs near Parramatta, nowhere near the bushfires. In the same post he said he had dropped his price from $3.50 per case to $3.25 per case 'if you purchase a full pallet', implying the price drop was instead to move stock. When Facebook user Sara Paparatti urged him to donate it to fire and rescue services instead of selling it, Mr El Huss offered her to buy 10 pallets. 'Would you like to buy 10 pallets and donate it,' he wrote in reply. His response drew swift reaction from other Facebook users. 'It's your water, Mate. You donate it Champ,' wrote Tony Chao. While Mr El Huss's Facebook post was unpopular with reasonably polite users, a new and unreasonable phenomenon has emerged called 'bushfire shaming'. As hurt Australians pull together to help those affected by the bushfires, those who are not seen to be helping out are attracting some nasty online pile-ons. Children's clothing business Cheeky Chickadees was recently shamed online for a perceived lack of action to help those affected by bushfires, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Owner Connie Pulsford pleaded with her 107,000 followers on Instagram to calm down, saying her husband was helping to fight the NSW Southern Highlands fires. 'I've personally donated twice, not that I have to explain myself to anyone because I am getting quite sick of it,' she said in a video. The U.S. drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of Irans elite Quds Force, in Baghdad on Jan. 3 brought the U.S. and Iran to the edge of war. Soleimani was considered by Western powers as a central architect in bloodshed across the Middle East, but a war hero by millions of Iranians. Newsha Tavakolian, a longtime contributor to TIME and member of the prestigious Magnum Photos agency, documented the mass public response in Tehran. I woke up to the news. At first I couldnt believe it. I had planned a trip with friends outside of Tehran and after deliberating we all decided to head out to a house at the foot of Mount Damavand, the highest peak in the Middle East. In times of uncertainty, like most people in the world, Iranians like to huddle together. We were all very worried about the future and checking our cell phones constantly. A day later, when I returned, the city had transformed. Billboards and posters with Soleimanis face were everywhere. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had declared three official days of mourning. Before the burial in his hometown, Kerman, Soleimani was to have a giant funeral procession in Tehran. In the immediate aftermath of his death, Soleimani's face appeared everywhere in Tehran. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Vast crowds gathered in the streets of Iran's capital on Jan. 6 for a final farewell. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A makeshift shrine to Soleimani is set up in Tehrans Grand Bazaar on Jan. 8. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A massive banner showing Soleimani's likeness with the hashtag #HardRevenge hangs at Tehrans central Vali-e Asr Square. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A man holds a poster of Soleimani in traffic in Tehran. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME As a photographer, I sought out what was visually interesting, those who were publicly grieving and felt humiliated by the United States. Of course, there were others who had different feelings and did not participate in the vigils. But for the many who did, their war hero had been killed and they were my focus. His supporters gathered out on the streets to seek a sense of purpose. Iranians are very good at mourning and grief, so makeshift commemorations and other official ones were organized very quickly. There are challenges while working in Iran, of course, but I try not to focus on those and instead try for the most telling images. One moment that stands out was when, after two hours of walking and working my way through the crowds, I finally managed to get on top of a flatbed truck to get an overview during the procession. Story continues Soleimanis coffin is surrounded by throngs in Tehrans Enghelab Square on Jan. 6. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A woman raises her hand in a group of mourners. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A portrait of Soleimani is held during the three official days of mourning. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A mourner's private moment in Tehran. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A crowd mourns Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah founder Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed in the same strike in Baghdad. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Unfortunately the truck was parked on the wrong side of the street, and I understood that the vehicle with the coffins would pass by on the parallel road, too far for my lens. But suddenly it changed direction and passed by, only a few meters from where I had been waiting. There was a large amount of security and those who were near the truck became emotional, wailing and reaching out to place their hands on it. At one moment I feared being crushed, as we later saw in Kerman, where a stampede tragically killed dozens during the procession there. A poster of Soleimani hangs at a bazaar in the south of Tehran. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Ali, 29, sells shoes near the shrine to Shah Abdol Azim in Tehran. He hung a poster of Soleimani A small poster of Soleimani is affixed to a motorbike in Tehran on Jan. 5. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A group of mourners in Tehran. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME A poster showing Soleimani and the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the snowy mountains above Irans capital. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Scale and numbers are very important here in Iran, as measures for the popularity of the deceased, so most of my colleagues sought out high positions to get a birds eye view. I had to work my way through the really dense crowds and when I finally found somewhere to stand, I felt as if I had just climbed the highest mountain, as it was physically exhausting. After seeing all those faces, I decided that I preferred to show their emotions and get more individual images. So I waited until the procession sort of petered out and there was some more space. My aim was to capture more intimate pictures. Because the closer you get, the more you understand. At the shrine to Shah Abdol Azim in Tehran, a special ceremony was held on Jan. 8. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Two bong-wielding bandits are accused of beating a store clerk bloody with the glass water pipe during a Vancouver head shop heist, authorities said. Cruz Antonio Dominguez and Jose Luis Vega Salazar, both of Portland, face first-degree robbery charges in the brutal attack that left Mohammad Kazen with multiple head wounds, court records show. Records show Dominguez was arrested this week and appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 15 and is no longer in custody. Salazar was booked Thursday into the Clark County jail, and no hearing appeared to be scheduled yet, according to court records. Cruz Antonio Dominguez and Jose Luis Vega Salazar shown in booking photos from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. The beatdown unfolded Nov. 30 after the two men entered Discount Tobacco & Beverages on Northeast Highway 99 with a 12-inch bong, swiped a second water pipe from the head shop and took off, a probable cause affidavit alleges. Kazen, the clerk, ran after Dominguez and Salazar but was clobbered over the head in the parking lot with the foot-long bong, the injured man told sheriffs deputies. He also said the men punched him and stomped him on the ground, according to records. The bandits then shattered the makeshift weapon in the street and fled with the stolen bong, valued at about $100, court records show. The head shop clerk was hospitalized. Mr. Kazem informed me that he has never been robbed or had anything like this ever happen, even after having been an interpreter for the US military in Afghanistan for two and a half years, in combat, Detective Eric Swenson wrote in the affidavit. Over the next three weeks, investigators worked to identify the suspects, who had been employed by various moving companies in Portland, records show. Prosecutors filed charges Dec. 23. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Four soldiers and two policemen have been abducted by Boko Haram insurgents along Damaturu-Maiduguri road in Yobe state. The insurgents, according to sources who spoke with theCable, attacked the security officers in an ambush near Auno village on Damaturu-Maiduguri road. They were said to have appeared in military uniforms and mounted a roadblock on the highway with three Hilux vans before taking away the hostages who were returning from a short break. Read Also: Boko Haram Terrorists Shoot Three SARS Officers Dead In Borno Four military men were abducted in an 18 seater bus while two other policemen were abducted in a Gulf car, one of the sources said. Ukraine and Germany have agreed to cooperate for independent investigation into the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran. Foreign Ministers of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko wrote about this on Twitter following a phone talk with Foreign Minister of Germany Heiko Maas. Thanked Heiko Maas for German support and sympathy after PS752 tragedy. During the phone call we agreed to cooperate for independent and transparent investigation, he wrote. According to Prystaiko, he also discussed with Maas the prospects for "Minsk settlement". Waiting for news after the meeting between Merkel and Putin on 11 January. As reported, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 passengers and crew members on board. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the victims include 11 nationals of Ukraine (two passengers and nine crew members), 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four citizens of Afghanistan, three Germans, and three British nationals. iy If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell follows through on his desire to hold an abbreviated impeachment trial without witnesses - as many in his party would prefer - he will be testing the limits of the impeachment trial clause of the Constitution. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has declared that a trial without witnesses (or perhaps even any documents) would amount to "a coverup." Worries about a rubber-stamp trial are one reason House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed submitting the articles of impeachment. If such a sham trial comes to pass, is there any remedy? In fact, there is a stronger case than many think that the Supreme Court has the power to review impeachment trials, to ensure that Senate procedures meet a basic level of fairness. The only Supreme Court decision addressing the Senate impeachment trial clause is Nixon v. United States (1993) - which has nothing to do with Richard Nixon. When Walter Nixon, a federal judge in Mississippi,was impeached in 1989 and removed from office, he sued the United States, the Secretary of State and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, arguing that the Senate had not conducted a proper "trial" as required by the Constitution. The court, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist writing for the majority, ruled against him. It concluded that how the Senate conducted impeachment trials was essentially a political question, because the Constitution gives that body the "sole power" to try impeached officials. That meant the dispute was, in the legal jargon, "nonjusticiable." But other justices - namely Byron White, Harry Blackmun and David Souter - argued that, while Nixon deserved to lose, it was possible that one day the Senate would conduct such an unfair impeachment trial that the courts would be obliged to hear a case if an aggrieved party sought a judicial remedy. That's precisely the situation we may face today. In the events that led to his impeachment, Nixon was convicted of crimes (two counts of making false statements to a grand jury, related to an attempt to interfere in the investigation of a friend's son) and sentenced to prison. But he refused to resignand continued to collect his judicial salary behind bars. The House therefore impeached Nixon and sent articles to the Senate to conduct a trial. Under rules established by the Senate to handle impeachments, Nixon's case was referred to a committee of senators to "receive evidence and take testimony." After four daysof hearings and 10 witnesses, the committee presented the full Senate with a transcript of its proceedings and a report. The House managers and Nixon submitted briefs to the full Senate; after oral arguments from the Senate floor, a personal appeal from Nixon and questions from several senators, the full Senate voted to remove him from office. He appealed, claiming that the Senate had not really "tried" him: Delegating so much work to a small committee was a shirking of its duty, he argued, and not what the founders had intended. At the Supreme Court, the vote against Nixon was 9-0. But White and Souter filed concurring opinions (Blackmun joined White's) that contemporary courts might draw on, should the Senate vote, after a trial that's clearly perfunctory, to keep Trump in office. As the court noted in Nixon, the Constitution lays out several indispensable elements of an impeachment trial: The Senate "shall be on Oath or Affirmation"; if it's the president who's on trial, "the Chief Justice shall preside"; and conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the members present. Beyond this, the terms of how the Senate tries an impeachment are left to its discretion. But there are surely limits, White, Blackmun and Souter argued. What if the trial were manifestly bogus? The issue had come up in the oral argument for the case. White asked the solicitor general (Kenneth Starr, as it happens) if, after the House sent over articles of impeachment, the Senate could, "without any procedure whatsoever," unanimously find the accused guilty on the grounds that he was "a bad guy." The government replied that, yes, the Senate indeed had that latitude. That answer troubled several justices. While conceding that it was "extremely unlikely that the Senate would abuse its discretion and insist on a procedure that could not be deemed a trial by reasonable judges,"White wrote, the scenario was hardly unimaginable - and would provide grounds for judicial review. "Were the Senate, for example, to adopt the practice of automatically entering a judgment of conviction whenever articles of impeachment were delivered from the House it is quite clear that the Senate will have failed to 'try' impeachments," White wrote If the Senate were to convict "upon a coin-toss," Justice Souter added, "or upon a summary determination that an officer of the United States was simply 'a bad guy,' judicial interference might well be appropriate." "In such circumstances," he wrote, "the Senate's action might be so far beyond the scope of its constitutional authority, and the consequent impact on the Republic so great, as to merit a judicial response despite the prudential concerns that would ordinarily counsel silence." McConnell has said he does not intend to be impartial - and in fact will work, lockstep, with the White House during the trial. That would violate his oath to "do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws." If he dispenses with witnesses and speedily steers the outcome to the one desired by the White House, that would reduce the Senate proceeding to the kind of "summary determination" that the three justices warned about. Collectively, such actions could be seen by reasonable judges as "seriously threatening the integrity of the results" - the standard Souter suggested should trigger judicial review. Since the Constitution grants the chief justice the privilege of presiding over the trial, he ought to have - and in my view does have, under proper constitutional interpretation - considerable power to steer the Senate toward reasonable standards for weighing evidence and rendering judgments. He cannot and should not be a potted plant. The current Senate rules, however, reduce the chief justice's role to one of subservience and ceremony; even his rulings on admissibility of evidence can be overridden by the Senate. That cannot possibly be what the founders intended. Yes, the founders provided that the House would have "sole power" over impeachments and the Senate "sole power" over trials of impeachment. But the Constitution also grants "all legislative powers" to the House and Senate, and still the Supreme Court exercises routine judicial review over laws. If McConnell and his Republican colleagues insist on setting rules that turn the trial into a farce, then the matter would be ripe for judicial review, as outlined by the various justices in Nixon v. United States. The House - through the Speaker or the impeachment managers - could take the matter to court. - - - Robenalt is a lawyer and the author of four nonfiction books, including "January 1973: Watergate, Roe v. Wade, Vietnam, and the Month That Changed America Forever." He lectures nationally with John Dean on legal ethics. At least 21 people sustained severe burn injuries in a fire that broke out after a bus collided with a truck near Uttar Pradesh's Chiloi village on Friday, police said. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze has been controlled, they said. There were around 45 passengers in the bus which was on its way to Jaipur from Farrukhabad, police said, adding that the accident took place under the Chhibramau Police Station area here. Mohit Agarwal, Inspector General of Police, Kanpur said 21 people have been rescued and admitted to hospital and efforts are on to contact their family members. The blaze has been controlled and rescue operations are on, Agarwal said. Uttar Pradesh director general of police, O P Singh said it appears that the diesel tank of the vehicle exploded under the impact of the collision. Our first priority is to rescue the passengers safely and senior officers are present at the spot, the DGP said in Lucknow. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the incident and asked the district magistrate and superintendent of police to ensure all possible medical assistance to the victims. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Jan. 10 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistan Airlines has canceled flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE) until Jan. 31, 2020, Trend reports with reference to the air carrier. The decision was made in line with the decision of the European Commission for Aviation Safety to stop using Iranian airspace, and also taking into account that 90 percent of the air route from Ashgabat to these cities goes through Iran's airspace. In this regard, the company lacks technical ability to carry out these flights, the company said. Turkmenistan Airlines plans to launch flights to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in February 2020. The company will carry out passenger flight using Boeing 777-200 LR. The seaport of Jeddah takes over the main stream of pilgrims traveling for the hajj to Mecca and Medina. Therefore, Turkmenistan is developing routes that will allow tourists from Europe, Turkey, the CIS, Thailand and Vietnam to fly to the Arabian Peninsula through Ashgabat Airport, which will provide additional convenience for transit travelers. These flights can be connected with flights to the Turkmen capital from Europe, Russia and Turkey, thus, providing more connecting flight options for transit travelers. As firefighters from around the world continue to assist in fighting the fires in Australia, members of the Huron Manistee National Forest -- based out of Cadillac, Michigan -- are among those helping. According to the U.S. Forest Service, 159 interagency personnel, including 87 from the USDA Forest Service, are in Australia fighting the blaze. The members are there as part of a mutual aid partnership between the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Our thoughts and prayers, with our deepest condolences, are with the Australia firefighters and public who have lost their lives and homes, said Shawna Legarza, director, Fire and Aviation Management. We are proud to provide personnel from the United States and will continue to support Australia with the resources needed during this unprecedented fire situation. The last time the partnership was utilized was in 2018 when 38 Australian and New Zealand wildfire personnel came to the U.S. to help with the wildfire suppression efforts in northern California. Among those from the U.S. who are in Australia is Brian Stearns, an employee of the Huron Manistee National Forests. A picture of Stearns holding a joey kangaroo is making the rounds on social media as Stearns and the crew he was with rescued some animals while fighting the fires. Pot-curious people like me, wondering if legal marijuana tastes different from the illegal marijuana we may or may not have tried in college, should have a chance to leisurely get around to buying some whenever we get over the paranoia of doing something that still feels like it should be illegal. Two National Police officers in Fuengirola saved the life of an elderly British resident last week after concerned relatives raised the alarm 2,500 kilometres away. Miguel and Rafa were on duty last Friday when they received a call for help from fellow officers in Manchester, UK. They had been approached by worried relatives of Alan, a British citizen living in the Costa town, whom they hadn't heard from for several days. The family members had gone to their local police station and, as a result, Interpol Manchester informed the Spanish authorities, who dispatched the two officers to the man's home on Fuengirola seafront. It was three in the morning when they first rang the intercom at the house. No one answered. However, Rafa and Miguel noticed that the lights were on in the fourth-floor apartment. Their intuition led them to believe that the 73-year-old was inside - and they were right. After gaining access to the building, from the door they could hear a very faint voice. "It was almost like a soft moan inside the house, so we asked the firemen to help open the door and we got into the house," said Rafa. There they found Alan on the floor, very weak and with hypothermia. It appeared that he had fainted and hurt himself in the fall as he had injuries to his head and arms. "We covered him with a blanket and waited for the ambulance to arrive," said one of the officers. It was then that they saw, in a photograph, that Alan, who thanked them for their help, had also been a police officer back in Manchester. Doctors told Rafa and Miguel that Alan had been lying on the ground for several days. "They told us that if we hadn't acted, he would no longer be with us," said Rafa. Fastcomp, a workers compensation technology platform based in Boston Heights, Ohio, has introduced a proprietary Multiple Quote Automation engine for monoline workers comp with independent agents in mind. The company said that depending on the risk, Fastcomp can deliver as many as eight quotes with a single submission. The new platform also elevates the agent experience at policy renewal, according to the company. Now, there is no need to shop quotes if a renewal premium goes up. Agents will receive the renewal quote, plus multiple quotes from other carriers for comparison. This same technology also allows Fastcomp to deliver the necessary multiple declinations in writing for clients headed for assigned risk. Fastcomp has focused exclusively on monoline work comp for independent agents since 1998. Source: Fastcomp Topics Agencies Workers' Compensation Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulators and joked about potential flaws in the 737 Max as it was being developed, according to more than 100 pages of internal messages delivered Thursday to congressional investigators. I still havent been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year, one of the employees said in messages from 2018, apparently in reference to interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration. The most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing pilots and other employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max, a plane later involved in two accidents, in late 2018 and early 2019, that killed 346 people and threw the company into chaos. The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the FAA during the regulators certification of the simulators, which were used in the development of the Max, as well as in training for pilots who had not previously flown a 737. Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldnt, one employee said to a colleague in another exchange from 2018, before the first crash. No, the colleague responded. In another set of messages, employees questioned the design of the Max and even denigrated their own colleagues. This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys, an employee wrote in an exchange from 2017. The release of the communications both emails and instant messages is the latest embarrassing episode for Boeing in a crisis that has cost the company billions of dollars and wreaked havoc on the aviation industry across the globe. The Max has been grounded for nearly 10 months, after the two deadly crashes. A software system developed for the plane was found to have played a role in both accidents, and since then the company has been working to update the system. There is still no indication when the Max might be cleared to fly again, as the company and regulators continue to discover new potential flaws with the plane. The messages threaten to further complicate Boeings tense relationship with the FAA. Both the company and agency indicated Thursday that the messages raised no new safety concerns, but they echoed troubling internal communications among Boeing employees that were previously made public. In several instances, Boeing employees insulted the FAA officials reviewing the plane. In an exchange from 2015, a Boeing employee said that a presentation the company gave to the FAA was so complicated that, for the agency officials and even himself, it was like dogs watching TV. Several employees seemed consumed with limiting training for airline crews to fly the plane, a significant victory for Boeing that would benefit the company financially. In the development of the Max, Boeing had promised to offer Southwest a discount of $1 million per plane if regulators required simulator training. In an email from August 2016, a marketing employee at the company cheered the news that regulators had approved a short computer-based training for pilots who have flown the 737 NG, the predecessor to the Max, instead of requiring simulator training. You can be away from an NG for 30 years and still be able to jump into a MAX? LOVE IT!! the employee says, following up later with an email noting: This is a big part of the operating cost structure in our marketing decks. Requiring simulator training can be costly for airlines and even after the crashes, Boeing told the FAA it was not necessary. It was not until Tuesday that Boeing said it would recommend simulator training for pilots who fly the Max. Boeing on Thursday expressed regret over the messages. These communications contain provocative language, and, in certain instances, raise questions about Boeings interactions with the FAA in connection with the simulator qualification process, the company said in a statement to Congress. Having carefully reviewed the issue, we are confident that all of Boeings Max simulators are functioning effectively. We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the FAA, Congress, our airline customers and to the flying public for them, Boeing added. The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed. The messages outraged several lawmakers, who saw a disregard for safety and broader problems with the culture at the company. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in an interview that he would push for new congressional hearings to question Boeing leadership about the astonishing and appalling messages. Boeing said that it notified the FAA about the documents in December and that it had not found any instances of misrepresentations to the FAA with its simulator qualification activities, despite the employees comment about covering up issues with the simulator. Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the FAA, said in a statement that the messages did not reveal any new safety risks. Upon reviewing the records for the specific simulator mentioned in the documents, the agency determined that piece of equipment has been evaluated and qualified three times in the last six months, Lunsford said. Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed. Lunsford added that, while the tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing, the FAA remains focused on following a thorough process for returning the Boeing 737 Max to passenger service. The relationship between Boeing and the FAA has been a complicating factor for the company as it works to persuade international regulators that the Max is ready to fly. Last month, Boeing fired its chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, whose optimistic projections about the planes return to service created a rift with the regulator. Stephen Dickson, the new chief of the FAA, has struck a more assertive tone in public comments about the Max, urging his employees to ignore outside pressure to quickly lift the planes grounding and telling Boeing that there is no set timetable for the Max to return. In a meeting with Muilenburg last month, Dickson told the company not to make any requests of the regulator and to instead focus on completing the paperwork necessary for regulators to evaluate the update. Last year, Boeing disclosed internal messages from 2016, in which a top pilot working on the plane told a colleague that he was experiencing trouble controlling the Max in a flight simulator and believed that he had misled the FAA. I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly), the pilot, Mark Forkner, said to his colleague, Patrik Gustavsson. Boeing did not inform the FAA about the messages when the company first discovered them, waiting until about two weeks before Muilenburg was set to testify in front of Congress to send them to lawmakers. The conversation, which took place before the Max was approved to fly, angered key FAA officials, who felt misled by the company, according to three people familiar with the matter. After the congressional hearings, Boeing moved Gustavsson out of his role working on the certification of new planes. On Thursday, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who is leading the House investigation into the development of the 737 Max, called the newly released messages incredibly damning. They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews and the flying public, he added, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally. Read more about: IAG, the holding company that owns British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, is to promote Iberia's Luis Gallego to head the whole group when Willie Walsh steps down at the end of March. Gallego has been CEO of Iberia since 2014. Willie Walsh has been a high-profile figure in the airline industry and oversaw the merger of BA and Iberia. Walsh said this week, "It has been a privilege to have been instrumental in the creation and development of IAG. I have had the pleasure of working with many exceptional people over the past 15 years at British Airways and at IAG." The chairman and CEO positions at IAG will both now be held by Spaniards, seen by observers as a signal to Brussels, if no trade agreement were reached after Brexit between the UK and EU, that the airline views itself as EU based for open-skies flying regulations between European countries. Gallego will oversee the merger of Iberia with Air Europa, which is awaiting regulator clearance. skanchan95 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Mangalore KA-19 Posts: 1,085 Thanked: 2,963 Times View My Garage re: Ukrainian Boeing 737 crashes in Tehran (EDIT: accidentally shot down by Iranian missile) Quote: Red Liner Originally Posted by Pretty sad. Majority of the passengers were Iranian. How stupid for the government to kill it's own people if true. Remember this crash happened just hours after the Iranian missile strikes. The Iranians were expecting some sort of retaliation, especially after Trump had threatened to target 150+ Iranian sites if they retaliated. In that fear and anticipation, they may well have mistaken/misread the 737 for a US Jet or Missile. Difficult to believe that such a dreadful mistake occurred, but it has happened in the past. The Iranians should have shut the airspace down after the missile launches to prevent such a disaster from happening. Their air defences would have been on the highest alert after those strikes. I am sure Iranian AF jets were in the air or were on scramble alert as well. As of now, it seems to be a case of mistaken identity and a trigger happy SAM crew like Iran Air A300 shootdown by the crew of the USS Vincennes or the Malaysian B777-200(MH17) shootdown incident by pro-Russian Rebels. Iran's Civil Aviation Authority wants the word to believe that it was an uncontained engine fire that caused the crash. But aircraft engines don't simply explode like that. The cockpit crew was highly experienced and its impossible to believe that would not have been in a position to shut down a malfunctioning engine The pilots of the ill-fated flight were: Captain Volodymyr Gaponenko (11,600 hours on Boeing 737 including 5,500 hours as captain) Instructor pilot Oleksiy Naumkin (12,000 hours on Boeing 737 including 6,600 hours as captain) First officer Serhii Khomenko (7,600 hours on Boeing 737) Could be well be a trigger happy SAM site CO and crew. Highly unlikely that the Iranian govt would be involved in deliberate targeting of a civilian airliner.Remember this crash happened just hours after the Iranian missile strikes. The Iranians were expecting some sort of retaliation, especially after Trump had threatened to target 150+ Iranian sites if they retaliated. In that fear and anticipation, they may well have mistaken/misread the 737 for a US Jet or Missile. Difficult to believe that such a dreadful mistake occurred, but it has happened in the past. The Iranians should have shut the airspace down after the missile launches to prevent such a disaster from happening. Their air defences would have been on the highest alert after those strikes. I am sure Iranian AF jets were in the air or were on scramble alert as well.As of now, it seems to be a case of mistaken identity and a trigger happy SAM crew like Iran Air A300 shootdown by the crew of the USS Vincennes or the Malaysian B777-200(MH17) shootdown incident by pro-Russian Rebels.Iran's Civil Aviation Authority wants the word to believe that it was an uncontained engine fire that caused the crash. But aircraft engines don't simply explode like that. The cockpit crew was highly experienced and its impossible to believe that would not have been in a position to shut down a malfunctioning engineThe pilots of the ill-fated flight were:Captain Volodymyr Gaponenko (11,600 hours on Boeing 737 including 5,500 hours as captain)Instructor pilot Oleksiy Naumkin (12,000 hours on Boeing 737 including 6,600 hours as captain)First officer Serhii Khomenko (7,600 hours on Boeing 737) Last edited by skanchan95 : 10th January 2020 at 10:16 . INNISFIL, ONT.Police south of Barrie say theyve laid nearly 100 charges against a man accused of going on a break-in spree since September 2019. The South Simcoe Police Service allege a 33-year-old man broke into four schools, four churches and nine businesses in Bradford and Innisfil. Investigators say they arrested the man after executing a search warrant at his house, where they seized an ATV, cash registers and cutting tools. The man is facing 94 charges, including 17 counts of break and enter, 16 counts of mischief, nine counts of theft and 28 counts of failure to comply. Police say their investigation is still ongoing. Theyre asking anyone who may have been a victim of theft or anyone who witnessed suspicious activity to come forward. Anusha Ravi By Express News Service BENGALURU: A day after the showdown between BJP workers and students of Jyothi Nivas College, Bengaluru, over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan asked who gave students the right to question BJP workers. The DyCM came under severe fire for his statement. On a day when students of various colleges, including JNC and St Josephs, stood in solidarity with each other, politicians bickered, accused and warned each other. Who are they to question when we are spreading awareness about a law of the land? If students had a problem, they could have gone to the police. Instead, they directly questioned workers of a political party. Who gave them this right? asked Ashwath Narayan. He defended his party workers, who have been accused of forcing students to sign a banner in support of CAA, and later entering into an argument when faced with opposition. While BJP leaders were busy defending their party workers, insisting they would continue their awareness drives in more colleges across the state, Congress leaders took the opportunity to back the angry student community. BTM Layout MLA and former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy visited the college on Thursday morning in support of the students. There are public parks and grounds where they (BJP) can have their drives. Why create a mess in colleges? To support CAA or not is an individual choice, they cannot force people. We stand with the students firmly, said Reddy. Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah did not stop at just accusing the BJP of threatening students, but went on to warn the Yediyurappa government of consequences. @BJP4Karnataka goons are threatening students of Jyotinivas College to support CAA. Mr @BSYBJP, I am strictly warning you to control hooligans from your party. Dont subvert knowledge & institutions for your selfish motives. We wont let Ktaka to be victim of your Hitler rule! Educational institutions are a source of dissemination of knowledge, critical thinking & scientific temper. While @BJP4India ideology is on weak foundations of fascism. BJP is threatened by the knowledge base of our Universities & hence they want to subvert & weaken them.(SIC) Siddaramaiah tweeted. Collective being formed for student protests, safety Bengaluru: A group of 150 students from 15-20 colleges in the city, along with a few faculty members, held a meeting at St Josephs College regarding the safety of the students in the wake of the protests. In the meeting, which was held at 5.30 pm on Thursday, it was decided that a students collective would be formed, similar to Student Outpost, where students from all colleges can come together to protest on similar issues. The collective wont carry the name or logo of any institution, a Josephs student told TNIE. The college administration usually suppresses the voices of students for various reasons. But after the JNU incident, and especially the JNC clash in the city, the administration has become a bit more relaxed and allowed us to protest on our own. But this collective, which will be formed in the near future, is a larger movement for students to voice their opinions, a student said. Azim Premji Univ students stage protest, slam Wipro Bengaluru: Students of Azim Premji University in Bengaluru conducted a protest at their campus from 12pm to 5 pm, to condemn the violence against the students of JMI, AMU and JNU. The protest saw about 150 students condemning the incidents at the various campuses. Interestingly, students of the university condemned Wipro for assisting the government in implementing NRC in Assam. Archbishop writes to PM, Prez criticising CAA Bengaluru: An Archbishop from the city has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Governor Vajubhai Vala, condemning the CAA. The letter was handed over to the Karnataka Governor, who is expected to pass on the same to higher-ups. Do not make religion a criterion to provide citizen ship. We need to act a model for other countries, not stoop down to their level and compare ourselves with them. If we do not support a community that is being left out, tomorrow it can be someone else. We, as a Christian community, are for all, said Peter Machado, Metropolitan Archbishop of Bengaluru. The letter read, While appealing to the citizens to maintain peace and harmony and that they should not recourse to violent methods to fight for their cause, we appeal to the central government to grant citizenship to the illegal migrants, not on the basis of their religion, but on the merit of each individual case. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Prolific Polymedia Visual Artist/Songwriter/Producer, JOURNEYMAN, announces the upcoming launch of his long-anticipated album, ALONG THE WAY - The Journey Begins, the first in a trilogy of consecutive music releases, on Saturday February 1, 2020 , 4:00pm , at a special Live 'Experiential' Music Performance & Art Event, at the Chapel Concert Hall, Mary & Joseph Retreat Center, 5300 Crest Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275. A masterful collection of contemporary pop and inspirational songs, the album revolves around JOURNEYMAN's 2017 journey, where he walked "The Way" in El Camino de Santiago in Spain, a 500-mile pilgrimage. JOURNEYMAN presents, "Along The Way", Live Event Saturday February 1, Palos Verdes, CA. Event tickets are available in advance via Eventbrite http://bit.ly/alongthewayevent or www.iAMJOURNEYMAN.com . VIP Tickets include an opportunity to meet JOURNEYMAN, producers, and performers, as well as champagne toast, appetizers and preferred seating. Watch the video to preview the upcoming show at https://youtu.be/n66wz7Ihrx8 . Featured alongside JOURNEYMAN, performing his songs, are some of the world's finest performers, including Kyle Guerrero, Lauryn Ivey, Australian artist/songwriter Gilli Moon, John Moran, Jamaican/American Maya Sh'Von, and celebrity spoken-word poet, Jeff Walker. Also featuring Brazilian guitarist, Marco Tulio Pinheiro, plus original JOURNEYMAN visual artwork, which were inspired by the songs, will also be exhibited. JOURNEYMAN designs, develops and produces holistic special projects that combine song and artwork, that inspire, motivate and enrich the lives of those on life journeys. His live performances, video and audio experiences are meant to inspire and share fellowship, for all denominations, based on universal love and purposefulness. The music is contemporary, soulful, spirited, and positive. Personal, inviting, and inspiring lyrics infuse these pop-contemporary songs, sometimes touching on World sounds, incorporate Spanish and country musical flare, all the while catchy and uplifting. Guitar and drum rhythms allow you to walk at your own beat, with their universal appeal. Music will be available for purchase at the February 1 Event as well as released simultaneously to all good e-tailers, including Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and Tidal. Come partake in this extremely interactive, musical, personal, yet universally appealing show, and 'walk your journey' - An experience not to be missed! To arrange interviews, gain press passes, or request music for review, contact [email protected] Contact: Jessica Akintunde 818-448-6277 [email protected] SOURCE JOURNEYMAN Meghan Markle has 'exerted control' over Prince Harry since they first met and has become 'manipulative', a celebrity psychologist suggested today. Jo Hemmings said the Duchess of Sussex has convinced him to 'relinquish his close relationships, his family ties and take a leap of faith into a new life with her'. She added that Harry's 'weakness' of needing a strong female figure in his life following the death of his mother Diana in 1997 was exposed when they 'married so soon after meeting, had their first baby and are choosing to now leave the UK, all within less than two years'. Here is what Ms Hemmings had to say to MailOnline: Celebrity psychologist JO HEMMINGS writes about Harry and Meghan for MailOnline We know that Harry still feels the impact of his mother's untimely death very keenly and that made him vulnerable to a strong, even dominant woman, who could fulfil part of that loss in his life. But with a strong and ambitious woman, especially one who has already carved out a successful career of her own, her influence over Harry would have been greater than we might have otherwise expected. It seems that when Meghan found that she didn't seem to fit in with the Royal Family in the way that she had hoped, she exerted an even greater influence over Harry, so that she could gradually draw him away from friends and family, in order for them to build a new family of their own. Additionally, it would appear that William felt unsure about Meghan as Harrys choice of wife, perhaps fearing that she wouldnt adapt to royal tradition in the way that Kate did and these doubts, probably discussed as a private matter between him and his brother, were inevitably conveyed to Meghan, who probably felt hurt and that the odds were already stacked against her. I believe she disliked William for this, perhaps resented Kate for the easy manner and public popularity that she had and what should have been so straightforward for Meghan to emulate, given her previous experience in the limelight and so encouraged him to loosen ties with his own family and friends, and become more emotionally dependent on her. While William, who has always been the less confident of the brothers and certainly seems less comfortable in his own skin, married someone who has not only embraced her Royal Duties, but flourished as a result of them, this would have made Harry and his relatively new wife feel even more uncomfortable, that they were not able to fit in and thrive with such ease. Prince Harry and Meghan pictured during their visit to Canada House in London on Tuesday The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are joined by her mother, Doria Ragland, as they show their new son Archie to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle in June 2019 As the heir to the throne, William always seems to have taken his Royal Duties as a given he was far less reckless in his youth and much happier to toe the traditional royal line and has always assumed the role he was born to perform. As Harry became more dissatisfied with his own role and the perceived perception of the media towards Meghan, this would have caused further friction between the brothers, as it would have begun to increasingly appear that Harry was not taking his position within the Royal Family seriously enough. It would have been very difficult for the brothers, and the rest of the Royal Family, to have accepted some sort of compromise steeped in tradition and protocol as they are so the friction eventually became an emotional and strategic impasse. From what we know, Meghan has never been very happy in the UK. She has missed her mother, her friends and the lifestyle that she was used to. While Harry, appears to dote on his wife, ensuring that her happiness along with that of them as a family unit must take precedence over everything else. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son Archie at Windsor Castle in May 2019 Charles, William, Kate, Meghan and Harry at the 2018 Christmas Day service at Sandringham The Duke and Duchess of Sussex walk together during a tour of New Zealand in October 2018 And so, he appears to have made one of the biggest sacrifices that anyone could possibly make, in order to keep Meghan happy. He probably won't be concerned at this stage that he has no close friends or other family members he will be able to turn to, as Meghan will have reassured him that they will make new friends, he will be embraced by those that she knows and that they will be able to come back to the UK whenever they like. In reality, while I think Harry naively feels that this half-royal/half-not hybrid is a workable compromise, I imagine Meghan realises it probably isnt workable and that their carefully crafted statement, released in haste and poor timing, while she hot footed back to Canada to leave her husband to sort it out, is just another way of showing how over her being part of the Royal Family really is for her. Undoubtedly Meghan has exerted control over Harry, perhaps since they first met, but certainly since Archie was born. He always seemed vulnerable, but rarely weak, but she has convinced him over a relatively short period of time, to relinquish his close relationships, his family ties and take a leap of faith into a new life with her. Not exactly coercive behaviour, but on the surface seemingly quite manipulative. Meghan has orchestrated events so that Harry has become co-dependent on her something that is especially likely in vulnerable people looking for support and reassurance. To this extent, he has become someone who values the approval of others, in this case specifically Meghan, above his own self-worth. He also has begun to lack trust in others especially William and other members of his immediate family, preferring to place all his trust in Meghan, which makes it difficult for him to value his own self-esteem and also to make considered and autonomous decisions. We also have to remember that other than her mother, Meghan has no family members she is close to quite the reverse in fact which would suggest that she is very driven by fulfilling her own needs and may be quite narcissistic in nature. The Queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate at Buckingham Palace in July 2018 Harry and Meghan kiss after their wedding at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in May 2018 Harry and William with their parents Charles and Diana on William's first day at Eton in 1995 Because of Meghans dysfunctional family, it may also mean that she longed to start again with a new one and to get it right where it had gone so wrong for her as a child. While Harry and her both had some considerable family trauma growing up, and this was another bond between them, perhaps marrying into the Royal Family to find a new normal, in terms of family dynamics was never likely to pan out well. I think Meghan genuinely believes her own version of the truth. She has undoubtedly had a rough time from certain areas of the media, but she had every opportunity to turn this around, opportunities which she didn't seem to want to take, instead ultimately stacking them up, victim like, to achieve her ultimate goal, of leaving the UK, believing it to be justified by media intrusion and harassment. She knew that Harry losing his mother at such a young age and in such horrific circumstances, had made him vulnerable and anxious at times, and that he needed a strong female figure in his life, who would always reassure and comfort him. And to this degree Harry's weakness was exposed the fact that they married so soon after meeting, had their first baby and are choosing to now leave the UK, all within less than two years implies that she may have exerted her influence from the very beginning of their relationship, capitalising on events and moments which impacted Harry's self-esteem, for good or for bad. Whether Harry continues to accept Meghan's dominance or whether he will begin to resent decisions, which he feels weren't entirely of his own making, is something we'll just have to wait to see. No one can know exactly what goes on behind closed doors or the exact reasons for why they made this decision, but from an impartial psychological perspective, I can only see a relationship where the balance of choice and power, currently rests pretty firmly in Meghans hands. Jo Hemmings is a behavioural psychologist, a member of both the British Psychological Society and the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies, and the consultant psychologist on ITV's Good Morning Britain The Senate side of the Capitol is seen on the morning of Dec. 19, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo) House Passes 3 Bills to Advance 5G and Cybersecurity in US A package of bills designed to give the United States an advantage over China in the race to employ 5G, the fastest wireless networks available, were passed by the House on Wednesday. There was almost unanimous support from representatives for the three bipartisan bills, which would channel federal resources into projects that ensure international wireless policies meet global standards while protecting the growing industry against foreign influence and cyberattacks. The H.R. 2881, the Secure 5G, and Beyond Act of 2019 bill would require the president to develop a national security strategy to ensure the safety of 5G wireless systems and infrastructure in consultation with various Federal Agencies. Another bill, H.R. 4500, will lead U.S. companies and U.S. stakeholders to participate in global standards-setting. Furthermore, bill H.R. 575 will prohibit federal funds from being used on telecommunications equipment that could pose a threat to critical infrastructure and creates a fund to replace current equipment manufactured by particular foreign companies. The legislation comes at a time when there are multiple concerns about cyber-security threats to the United States from the international community. 5G will offer mobile data speeds up to 100 times what is currently possible. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) released a statement after the House passed the three bipartisan 5G security bills. The House continues to pass legislation that will help keep the American people safe. The whole-of-government approach of the Secure 5G and Beyond Act will force the Trump Administration to get serious about protecting Americans as 5G services are deployed. The timing is particularly important given the increased risk of cyberattacks arising from the conflict with Iran. The Department of Homeland Security said in a 2019 statement that its agency tasked with infrastructure security has been aware of a recent rise in malicious cyber activities directed at U.S. government agencies by Iranian regime actors and proxies. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) praised the Houses bipartisan passage of the bills Wednesday to help America win the race to 5G. U.S. leadership in 5G is critical for our global competitiveness. In order to beat China in a global economy and ensure America remains the best place in the world to innovate, we must win the 5G race, said McMorris Rodgers. She added, At the same time, its crucial we ensure the infrastructure our service providers use for our next-generation networks is secure. Rodgers expressed her concerns about acquiring equipment from companies like Huawei and ZTE, which ultimately answer to the Chinese Communist Government, The Trump administration has prioritized American competitiveness and our national security in 5G, and these bills will help support their efforts. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) voted Wednesday for the bipartisan Secure 5G and Beyond Act, a bill (H.R. 2881) which she co-led alongside U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Susan W. Brooks (R-Ind.), Tom OHalleran (D-Ariz.), Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). She championed the legislation because it would protect next-generation telecommunications systems and mobile infrastructure in the United States. I am proud to pass this important bill to provide clarity, and inter-agency strategy to secure 5th generation and future-generation telecommunications systems and infrastructure across the United States, Congresswoman Stefanik said. Ensuring the United States remains a leading global competitor in both the economy and technology is critical to the future of our nation. This bipartisan legislation requires the president to implement a strategy to secure these systems and maximize their security, she added. President Donald Trump has been clear about the importance of the United States leading the global market in developing 5G promptly. Secure 5G networks will absolutely be a vital link to Americas prosperity and national security in the 21st century, Trump said in April 2019 at the White House, It will transform the way our citizens work, learn, communicate, and travel. It will make American farms more productive, American manufacturing more competitive, and American healthcare better and more accessible. Its a race that we will win, he continued. Security risks posed by Chinese companies including Huawei has received heightened scrutiny in the United States and have prompted calls to set standards around 5G network development. The U.S. Commerce Department banned U.S. companies from selling any products to Huawei in May 2019 but more recently has granted licenses to allow some companies to sell to Huawei. U.S. officials and experts warn that equipment from the Chinese telecoms giant could be used by the regime for spying or to disrupt communication networks. This is due to the companys close ties with the Chinese regime, as well as Chinese law that compels companies to cooperate with intelligence agencies when asked. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who introduced Secure 5G and Beyond Act, warned against the growing influence of Huawei and ZTE on Wednesday, pointing to her legislation as an effective means to restrain the Chinese companies. To protect the privacy, data, and security of American consumers and companies, we need a national game plan to defend U.S. wireless systems from the next wave of cyber threats, Spanberger said, adding: As we witness the growing influence of foreign-based 5G companies like Huawei and ZTE, this bill would level the playing field for American tech companies and defend the online security of American families and businesses. The influx of residents moving from other parts of the country to South Carolina made it the sixth-fastest-growing state in the U.S. this year. The Palmetto State gained just 1,600 more people from 2018 to 2019 than it did the year before, but its percent increase ranked several spots higher as other states saw their population growth slow. South Carolina is now home to about 5.15 million people after adding 64,558 new residents from July 2018 to July 2019, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday. The state saw the same percent increase, about 1.3 percent, last year and was ranked ninth for percentage growth. Idaho, which ranked second behind Nevada last year, had the fastest growth by percentage in 2019 at 2.1 percent. Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Texas all made the top five by percent growth. Three states that had outpaced South Carolina's growth in 2018 Colorado, Florida and Washington state saw their growth rates drop this year, bumping South Carolina higher up on the list. Slowing birth rates have continued to dampen population growth nationwide. The natural increase in the U.S. the number of deaths subtracted from the number of births was below 1 million in 2019. It hasn't been that low in decades, Sandra Johnson, a demographer and statistician in the Population Division of the Census Bureau, said in a release Monday. There also were fewer births in 2019 than in 2018 in 42 states, including South Carolina. While natural increase is the biggest contributor to the U.S. population increase, it has been slowing over the last five years, Johnson said. Four states and Puerto Rico had negative birth rates, compared with just two states and Puerto Rico last year. Maine, West Virginia, Vermont and New Hampshire all had more deaths than births recorded for 2019. The net gain from people moving from other countries to the U.S. is also dipping. About 595,000 more people moved into the country than out of it from 2018 to 2019, the lowest level this decade. With births and international in-migration on the decline, population changes across the U.S. have largely been the result of people shuffling from state to state, leaving some areas with dwindling populations and others, like South Carolina, with a steady stream of new residents. Moves between states fueled much of the population growth in the South, which outpaced other regions for both percentage and numeric growth in 2019. In the Northeast, where people are leaving states such as New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts at faster rates than others are moving in, the region's population decreased for the first time in a decade. Ten states saw their population shrink from 2018 to 2019, including four where the figure dropped by 10,000 people or more. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Meanwhile, the Palmetto State gained tens of thousands of people from out-of-state moves. The vast majority about 82 percent of the 64,500 people who were added to South Carolina's ranks of residents moved from other parts of the United States. The natural increase in South Carolina was minimal since there were just about 5,600 more births than deaths for the year. That's "consistent with the trends" the Census Bureau has seen from other states that ranked highly this year for population growth, Johnson told The Post and Courier. Domestic migration was the largest component of population change from 2018 to 2019 for all of the top 10 states by numeric growth except for Texas, Johnson noted. It was also the largest component of growth for the top 10 states by percentage growth, with Texas and Utah as the exceptions. At the same time, 27 states and Washington, D.C., had more U.S. residents move out than new domestic residents move in. Since 2010, South Carolina has ranked fifth for the highest net migration from other states. The state has gained more than 367,000 people from state-to-state moves in that time, outpaced only by Florida (1.29 million), Texas (1.15 million), North Carolina (475,508) and Arizona (453,723). The most recent state-to-state migration data, which the Census Bureau released in late October, found that North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New York and California were the top five states, in order, that residents left to move to South Carolina in the last year. North Carolina, Georgia and Florida were all in the top three states for moves in both directions. About the same number of people left South Carolina to move to those states as people from those states came to South Carolina. New York and California, however, ranked much lower for people leaving the Palmetto State. Those states also saw the biggest net losses from state-to-state migration in 2019 and were two of just three states that lost 100,000 of its residents from domestic migration. The Palmetto State still ranks 23rd for overall population. Its population exceeds Alabama's but is still several hundred thousand residents below No. 22-ranked Minnesota, which had more than 5.63 million residents as of July. For the last few years, the Palmetto State's population growth has been relatively steady. It peaked around 2015 when the state's population went up by 1.4 percent in a year. Since then, the places within South Carolina where new residents are moving to has changed somewhat, though the coast and parts of the Upstate near Greenville still see the bulk of the influx. Growth has slowed in Charleston and Dorchester counties but had sped up in Berkeley County, according to the most recent Census estimates released in April. The top two hot South Carolina metros for population growth in 2018 were Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg. Sherry offers an extraordinary variety of styles in an unlimited range of flavors, he replied. That is indisputable, yet sherry remains an anachronism in wine. As much as I love it, I dont drink it often. I tend to think of sherry around Lunar New Year (Jan. 25 this year), because of its affinity for Asian cuisines and its similarity to Chinese shaoxing wine. Its nearly impossible to find a decent shaoxing in the United States, but its easy to find a delicious sherry. And maybe, slowly, its becoming even easier to find good ones. (JNS)Were still more than a month away from the first actual votes being cast in the Democratic presidential race. But an analysis piece published on the influential Politico website last week reminded observers of a possibility that many are ignoring: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders could win and ultimately become the nations first Jewish president. While generations of American Jews have dreamed of a day when one of their own won the White House, a Sanderss presidency would actually be an unprecedented nightmare for Israel and Jewish interests. The Politico article reported that Sanderss resiliency has impressed Democratic insiders. Despite suffering a heart attack in Octobersomething that not only sidelined him for a time, but also reminded voters that he is 78 years oldSanders has remained in the top tier of contenders. While acknowledging that he has won both the affection and loyalty of much of the partys left-wing base, not least for his strong showing while opposing Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016, a lot of pundits disparage his chances. They say that despite the partys clear tilt to the left since the victory of President Donald Trump, Sanders is too radical and would easily be beaten in November. Yet Sanders has not faded the way some other candidates who were once highly touted have done in the past year. He is currently in second place in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, trailing only former Vice President Joe Biden. He is a threat to win three out of the first four early voting states, with the average of polls showing him leading in New Hampshire, a close second in Iowa and in contention in Nevada. That means that although Biden remains the frontrunner and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigiegs stock is rising (while that of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is falling), it would be foolish to assume that Sanders cant be the Democratic nominee. Though his extreme positions horrify moderates, Sanders is utterly authentic and, despite his long tenure in Congress, cant be accused of being part of the establishment, as can be said of Biden. Indeed, being a Socialist outlier makes him seem more genuine to voters who are tired of conventional politicians, the same factor that helped elect Trump. Moreover, his radicalism has won him both affection and loyalty from those in the Democratic base who think that choosing the candidate conventional wisdom deems more electable will be just as much of a disaster for their party in 2020 with Biden as it was when Hillary Clinton was the nominee. Sanderss irascible demeanor also endears him to primary voters, much as it did when unelected superdelegates and party rules that favored Clinton were needed to beat him in 2016. On top of that, the Democrats proportional voting rules that eliminate winner-take-all outcomes will ensure that Bernie remains a factor even if he loses the early states. His capturing the Democratic Party in 2020 might still be less likely than the scenarios predicting a win for Biden, or a turn of events that would allow Buttigieg or even a second-tier contender to catch fire and win the nomination. But the Politico analysis does require an evaluation of what a Sanderss nomination or presidency (despite the GOPs open rooting for Sanders to be their opponent, matchup polls with Trump predict such a race would be a tossup) would mean for Jewish interests and Israel. Though he is Jewish and has repeatedly said that he supports Israels existence, there is also no doubt that Sanders is the Democratic contender who is the most critical of Israeli policy and the most sympathetic to the Palestinians. Though other Democrats may agree with his scorn for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, most of them would hesitate to hurl epithets like racist at him, as Sanders has done. Every one of the other Democratic candidates would reinstate the dangerous 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and likely revert to President Barack Obamas policy of seeking more daylight between America and Israel. But Sanders goes further by seeking to also create a pro-Palestinian foreign policy. In the past, that has led him to call for the end of the blockade of Hamas-run Gaza, as well as issuing scathing and fallacious critiques of Israels efforts to defend its border and people against attacks from a coastal enclave governed by terrorists. While this wouldnt advance a two-state solution that both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have no interest in, it would bring U.S.-Israel relations to a historic low point, while emboldening the Jewish states foes to a point where they might consider war a reasonable option. On the domestic front, Sanders would not merely end Trumps policy seeking to enforce laws against anti-Semitic activity on college campuses. His active opposition to anti-BDS laws and his close ties with advocates of this variant of Jew-hatred could potentially unleash a wave of anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic activity throughout the country. That reminds us that Sanders has the support of most of the nations most notorious left-wing anti-Semites, such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), as well as fellow BDS advocate Linda Sarsour. His refusal to repudiate these figures sets an ominous precedent that would come into play when it comes to staffing an administration, which can be expected to be populated by fellow radicals hostile to Israel and indifferent at best to anti-Semitism. More to the point, the person who would be responsible for this catastrophe would be insulated from criticism simply by the fact that Sanders and his apologists would claim that as a Jew, he could not be termed hostile to his own people. Seen from that perspective, such a Jewish president might be the worst thing yet to befall American Jewry. Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSJewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin. Kochi, Jan 10 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said that the two day investor meet 'Ascend 2020', organised by the state government, has received investment promises to the tune of Rs 98,708 crore have been made. " Going by entrepreneur feedback, Rs 98,708 crores comes in as direct promise, while there are a couple of entrepreneurs whom we happened to miss at the event but have expressed their willingness to invest," he said at the valedictory session of the event to huge cheers. Overall, the two-day event received 164 investment proposals, with the single biggest promise came from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority of investments over Rs 66,000 crore, besides various other projects worth Rs 32,008 crore from numerous other prospective investors. Vijayan said that the government plans to meet the prospective investors individually and a team has been entrusted with this task. "The government will seriously consider complaints against top officers who are indifferent or negative in their response to industrial investments. A meeting will be convened to sort out the matter by facilitating interaction between top bureaucrats and representatives of the investment community. There would not be any intermediaries between prospective entrepreneurs. One can apply directly at several levels starting from the village office to the Chief Minister's Office," he added. The Black Sea is of strategic importance for the Alliance, the top official said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the Alliance is constantly assessing the need to further strengthen its presence in the Black Sea region. The Black Sea is of strategic importance for NATO, and the Alliance has increased its presence in the Black Sea Region "on land, at sea and in the air, with enhanced air policing, with more naval presence and also with more presence with land forces," Stoltenberg said, speaking at a joint press-conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban in Brussels Thursday, according to NATO press service. "We are constantly assessing the need to further strengthen our presence," the secretary general underlined. He recalled that three NATO member states Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey are littoral states to the Black Sea, while two "close partners", Ukraine and Georgia, are also Black Sea countries. Read alsoNATO, Ukraine in 2020 to conduct large-scale joint exercises in response to Russia's actions in Black Sea region "We are also working closely with them, helping them, working with them, exercising with them," said Stoltenberg. He added that NATO had increased "the readiness of our forces so we can easily, quickly reinforce." Stoltenberg also noted that more exercises were being conducted. "And we have to remember that what triggered the adaptation, the strengthening of NATO's collective defense, which we have seen over the last years, was actually the illegal annexation of Crimea in the Black Sea," NATO secretary general stressed. In 2018, ITC's antiseptic brand, Savlon, rolled out braille packs to help its visually impaired consumers. The launch coincided with an ad campaign which showed a blind woman getting herself first aid by touching a pack of Savlon which had braille packaging, after cutting her finger while chopping vegetables. More recently, Kolkata headquartered, FMCG company, RSH Global (which owns the Joy brand of skincare products) has launched Joy Sensitive, a range of skincare products which targets acid attack victims. The launch coincides with Deepika Padukone's new film, Chhapaak, which depicts the life of acid attack victim, Lakshmi Agarwal. The skincare range, meant for hypersensitive skin that has gone through an acid burn, includes a body lotion, face wash and sun-screen. Sunil Agarwal, Chairman RSH Global, says that "This is our way of contributing to the lives of people who have been affected by this heinous crime. The idea is not to be sympathetic, but enable them to lead a normal life". The definition of purpose-led brand building is now moving beyond protecting the environment, building toilets or incorporating gender diversity in the workforce. The trend now is to build inclusive brands. Savlon and Joy are not the only ones, corporate India has more such examples. The Titan Company's youth brand, Fastrack, has a range of general neutral perfumes, M.A.C Cosmetics has recently launched The Brant Brothers, a unisex make-up range. Similarly, personal care start-up, Super Smelly, has recently launched gender-neutral face packs which can be used by men, women and even by the LGBTQ community. Dipali Mathur Dayal, Co-Founder, Super Smelly, says that barring a shaving cream which requires a specialised formulation other most skincare products for men and women don't require different formulations. "Our brand caters to the GenZ who understand inclusivity. Therefore, we have tried to break stereotypes." While Indian brands are just about getting there, inclusivity in the western world has become a way of life. From coming up with products that appeal to various races and ethnicities to creating products that are disabled-friendly or are meant for the LGBT community, brands are using 'inclusivity' as a differentiator. In fact, marketers today say that they are listening to their customers much more than they ever did, and the millennial customer wants to be associated with brands that have a purpose. American retailer, Target, launched an apparel line, Cat & Jack, that creates adaptive products for kids with disabilities. The idea is supposed to have come from a mother of a disabled child who voiced the desire for her child to be included. Similarly, Nike has Nike Pro Hijab, a more comfortable headgear for women athletes who need to use a hijab while participating in a tournament. Inclusivity has become a key agenda of the colour cosmetic industry. M.A.C Cosmetic's unisex make-up line is just an example. One of the most talked cosmetic brand is Barbadian singer Robyn Rihanna's Fenty Beauty which lived up to its promise of being an inclusive brand by launching 40 shades of foundation that suited skin types of various races and communities. The strategy enabled Fenty Beauty to ensure $100 million in sales within the first 40 days of operation. Coming back to the Indian personal care brand, Joy, the company's Chairman, Agarwal, calls it a new range of products meant for acid attack victims as purpose-led brand-building and he is not looking at ROIs. "My entire team was so excited about this range and they knew very well that this was not a ROI-based initiative. Everyone wanted to be part of a larger purpose." Also Read: Nifty hits fresh lifetime high of 12,311, Sensex surges 300 points on global optimism Also Read: Tata vs Mistry case: Relief for Tatas as SC stays NCLAT order Also Read: Relief for financial firms! RBI launches video-based identification process for KYC New Delhi, Jan 10 : Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia on Friday slammed the BJP at Centre for not being able to control the law and order situation in Delhi and letting criminals move freely in the city. Sisodia's comment came in response to a media query on a BJP party leader's comment that newly joined AAP member Shoaib Iqbal has criminal cases. The AAP leader said the BJP should be ashamed if a criminal is moving freely. "If the leaders of AAP or those who are coming to AAP are criminals or murderers and the BJP is not able to arrest them and put them in jail, they should be ashamed." He reminded that the BJP was in power at the Centre from the last six years, and have the control over the Delhi Police since 2014 after the saffron party came to power at the Centre. "Why a criminal is moving free from the last six years. A murderer is moving free in Delhi from the last six years, and you are talking about him because he has joined the AAP otherwise you have allowed him to move freely." Sisodia also mocked at the Central government run by the BJP for not being able to manage the law and order. "If they are unable to manage the police and maintain law and order, they must resign. We will show them how to run the police and maintain the law and order. We will also show them how to put murderers behind the bar, irrespective of their association with political parties." Alleging the Aam Aadmi Party of indulging in 'politics of appeasement', BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Thursday listed the cases pertaining to criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt, robbery, dacoity among others slapped against former Congressman Shoaib Iqbal, who joined AAP on Thursday, just weeks ahead of Delhi poll. He also released a purported video of Shoaib Iqbal's son, where he is seen vehemently defending sharia, an Islamic law. On being asked that BJP is accusing AAP of polarising the elections, the AAP leader said everyone knows who is the "master of polarisation". "Even a child can tell you now which party cannot win the election by polarising people, In Delhi, we will not allow such trick in the elections." Sisodia said they will contest this election on governance. The city is going for polls on February 8 with BJP and AAP being two top contenders. The current protests in Hong Kong have not affected Irish firms doing business there, according to Eoin O'Leary, the Irish ambassador to China. Protests in Hong Kong against plans to allow extradition to mainland China started in June last year and are continuing. "The only risk is if the Hong Kong economy decreases, then there will obviously be a decrease in purchases from Hong Kong," Mr O'Leary said. "But I don't think the protests have an effect on our trade; We have heard no indication from Irish businesses that they have pulled back in Hong Kong or China," he said. He was speaking as the Government launched its strategy for the Asia Pacific region, 'Global Ireland: Delivering in the Asia Pacific Region to 2025'. With increasing scrutiny on the Chinese giant Huawei - which is the world's biggest maker of telecom network equipment and the number-two manufacturer of smartphones - Mr O'Leary said he had "no real interaction with the Chinese government and Huawei". "Huawei is the subject of a review at European Union and national level, but it is more a question for the Department of Communications," he said. The Chinese market presents a "big opportunity" for Ireland in terms of trade, Mr O'Leary said. "This [is the] 40th year of our diplomatic relations [with China] and in that period, China has gone from being an economic dwarf to the second-largest economy in the world. "You have 1.4 billion people; 400 million of them are middle class. "You have a massively growing consumer market. We sell a lot of infant formula into China. In the area of food, they are moving up into eating beef." Speaking to the Irish Independent, he also highlighted the importance of the Chinese market to Ireland's tourism industry. The Government's strategy, which it launched yesterday, is based around five high-level objectives. Over the next five years, it plans to build long-term strategic relationships with the countries in the region, and "to develop [their] role as respected, informed and engaged political partners". As part of this development, the Government has targeted an increase in two-way trade between Ireland and the Asia Pacific countries to 100bn per year by 2025. In 2018, the two-way trade was worth 56bn. This increase in business will be achieved through co-operation across Government departments, State agencies and other stakeholders, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. As well as promoting Irish food and drink, the Government will aim to secure greater recognition of Ireland as a location for foreign students to study. "Further supports will be available to exporters, as well as increased promotion of Ireland as a location for foreign direct investment, to help reach this trade target," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The event saw the presence of Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Pranay Verma, and representatives from 20 provinces and cities of Vietnam, among others. Addressing the seminar, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India have been thriving, expressing his wish for further cooperation between localities and enterprises of both sides. The diplomat said that the seminar is an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on policies, cooperation orientations, potentials, strengths and cooperation demand, particularly economics, trade, ODA, smart city development and tourism. The bilateral import-export revenue between Vietnam and India has increased significantly from US$5.6 billion in 2014 to US$7.63 billion in 2017 and to US$11.5 billion in 2019. In addition, bilateral cooperation in the areas of investment, culture, education, tourism and defence, including at international forums, has become more substantial and effective. Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Pranay Verma appreciated the strong development in the Vietnam - India relations, affirming that the two countries have huge cooperation potential for the future. At the event, delegates discussed cooperation opportunities in the areas of pharmaceuticals, energy, supporting industries, smart cities, information technology and tourism. Representative image Iran ruled out a missile strike as the cause of a Ukrainian passenger plane crash near Tehran, saying such a scenario made "no sense". The plane crashed shortly after take off Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, shortly after Iran fired a volley of missiles against military bases in Iraq housing US personnel. "Several internal and international flights were flying at the same time in Iranian airspace at the same altitude of 8,000 feet (2,440 metres)," Iran's transport ministry said. "This story of a missile striking a plane cannot be correct at all," it said in a statement. "Such rumours make no sense," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's civil aviation organisation and deputy transport minister, said in the statement. Abedzadeh was reacting to rumours on social networks that the Boeing 737 was hit by a missile fired by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. He said Iran and Ukraine were in the process of "downloading information" from black boxes retrieved from the crash site. "But if more specialised work is required to extract and analyse the data, we can do it in France or another country," he added. On Wednesday, Iran's Mehr news agency -- close to ultraconservatives -- quoted Abedzadeh as saying Iran "would not give the black boxes to the Americans". But the minister's statement on Thursday rejected "rumours of Iran's resistance to delivering the black boxes... to the US". Iran is not obliged to have the black boxes analysed in the US, but America is one of only a few countries -- including France and Germany -- capable of carrying out such work. Iranian authorities say initial indications showed the plane had turned back after suffering a problem. A team of Ukrainian experts flew in and joined the investigation on the ground Thursday. Kiev said it was studying several scenarios, including an in-flight collision, a rocket strike, an engine explosion caused by a technical problem, and an onboard blast. An Oregon man with a grudge against his local Walmart was sentenced Friday to more than seven years in prison for starting a chemical fire inside the store, causing at least $8 million in damage. Joel Lee Reynolds, 50, pleaded no contest in November to first-degree arson, a Measure 11 crime. The blaze was ignited by a mix of motor oil and chlorine tablets in the swimming pool aisle of the Supercenter in Lebanon last spring. The fire prompted more than 100 people to evacuate the Walmart and other nearby businesses, according to police and fire officials. It took 10 days for the store to fully re-open, the company said. I scratched my itch, Reynolds said in a text message to a friend the day of the May 14 blaze, according to court documents. Reynolds on Friday asked to withdraw his plea, telling the court he had not intended to sign the agreement and claiming he had ineffective counsel, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported. Linn County Circuit Judge David Delsman denied the request. Sometimes we feel Measure 11 sentences are inappropriate, said Delsman, who delivered the mandatory 90-month sentence for first-degree arson, according to the Democrat-Herald. But not in this case. According to the Lebanon Police Department, officers had multiple previous contacts with Reynolds, including in 2018, when he was arrested for theft at Walmart while trespassing. He had also talked about setting a fire inside the store and even showed acquaintances a video of him starting a fire by mixing chlorine and brake fluid together in a dish, police alleged. He was upset with Walmart, a friend of Reynolds told police, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Linn County. The night before the blaze, Reynolds told police he had slept in his car in the Walmart parking lot, according to court records. In the morning he spent a couple of hours in the store, leaving only after the fire started, police said, citing surveillance video. As he left Walmart, Reynolds ran into a friend in the parking lot, authorities said. Theres gonna be a [expletive] load of cops here in about 10, 15 minutes, Reynolds told the friend, according to police. Its gonna be up in smoke. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Najjar had arranged to purchase marijuana from a woman who happened to be the wife of Canales-Yanez, according to prosecutors. Rather than buy it, Najjar had snatched it without paying and driven over the womans foot as he fled, prosecutors said. She was not seriously injured, but the incident enraged Canales-Yanez, prosecutors said. He wanted to retaliate, according to court proceedings, and took his time doing so. MBABANE Following a submission by the State that the PPA leaders cited the prime minister in their court papers to embarrass him, the political party leaders said this was in fact the other way round. The PPA leaders accused the State of allegedly going out of its way to embarrass the head of government. Assistant Attorney General Mbuso Simelane on Wednesday told the court that the Political Party Assembly (PPA) leaders, who were investigated by the police, cited the prime minister as the second respondent in their application before court in order to embarrass him. The quartet is Sibongile Mazibuko, Jan Sithole, Musa Nkambule and Wandile Dludlu. Mazibuko is the President of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) while Nkambule is the Chairman of Sibahle Sinje National Movement. Dludlu is the Secretary General of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) and Sithole is the President of the Swaziland Democratic Party (SWADEPA). Warrants Simelane made the submission when the court heard the quartets application in which they seek an order setting aside the search and seizure warrants which were issued against them at the magistrates court. Judge Nkosinathi Maseko only heard arguments on points of law and he reserved his judgment. The matter will proceed on the merits in due course. The court extended the interim order preventing the police from doing anything on the applicants while the matter is pending in court. Following Simelanes submissions, the PPA leaders attorney, human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, submitted that it was in fact the State that went out of its way to embarrass the prime minister. Thulani said citing the prime minister had nothing to do with the office of the prime minister but him as the minister of police. He submitted that it was wrong for Simelane to say they intended to embarrass the PM. He also pointed out that even PUDEMO in 2008 was declared a proscribed organisation by the former prime minister. Thulani also informed the court that they had since become aware that his clients were being investigated for sedition and terrorism. According to the police, the quartet is suspected to have been the architects of the banner with an inscription calling for the fall of the countrys authorities and introduction of multiparty democracy in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Banner This is the banner which was displayed during a recent march by members of the PPA in Mbabane. The exact wording of the banner cannot be repeated as it is suspected to be of seditious nature. According to the law enforcers, they received information from their (police) Intelligence Department that the homesteads or residences of the four were places where suspected explosives, seditious documents and information were kept. Now we know that the type of crime they are investigated for relates to sedition and terrorism. So the organisation responsible for safety and security in the country must be cited, said Thulani. Simelane told the court that the prime minister oversees issues of hiring and promotions. What has the prime minister got to do with the search warrants? They want to make the whole thing appear to be politically motivated, said Simelane. He submitted that the prime minister was cited in order to embarrass him and the national commissioner of police should have been cited instead. (Image: Medium) Telekom Malaysia (TM) has introduced a new prepaid travel SIM with unlimited data, aimed exclusively at non-Malaysian tourists. Issued by Unifi, the Mobile Travel Pass is an effort carried out in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia for the Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020) campaign. The Travel Pass comes in two options: the 7-day pass, sold at RM30; and the 15-day pass, sold at RM60. Both passes offer similar features, namely unlimited high-speed data as well as RM5 pre-loaded airtime credit, with calls at 20 sen per minute and SMSes at 10 sen each. Travellers looking to tap into the benefits of the Travel Pass should pre-purchase it before their arrival in Malaysia as subscriptions must be done via Unifis online portal. Upon arrival in Malaysia, they will have to collect the SIM card at one of the dedicated collection centres. As of now, there are only two collection centres listed: the tourist information centres at KLIA and KLIA2, both operating from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.. Those looking to sign up will need a valid passport, and the Travel Pass is available to those aged 12 and above. Each passport can only be registered for one SIM, and tourists are required to provide basic details during registration, such as their full name and passport number, as well as the address of their accommodation. Tourists should also note that they can only pay for their Travel Pass by credit card. According to Unifi, the validity of the Travel Pass will kick in when the SIM is activated within 30 days of collection. For instance, if you collect your SIM on day 8 of your arrival but only activate it on day 10, the Travel Pass will begin on day 10. In another instance where you have collected your SIM but did not activate it within 30 days of collection, the SIM (along with the Travel Pass) will be automatically activated on day 30 from your collection date. Tourists who need more airtime can purchase the Unifi mobile reload voucher at more than 15,000 participating vendors across the country, including selected convenience stores, TMpoint centres, major petrol stations, and POS Malaysia. Reloads can only be done via the [email protected] app. (Image: Medium) Telekom Malaysia chairman Rosli Man, views this collaboration with Tourism Malaysia as an effort by both parties to use the latest technology, digital marketing, and integrated marketing campaign to boost Malaysias tourism industry. This collaboration not only reflects our support for Malaysias tourism industry, it is also a testament of our continuous commitment in bringing unlimited connectivity for everyone including foreign tourists travelling in Malaysia, so they can stay connected to the digital world, in line with our role towards realising Malaysias Digital Nation aspirations, said Rosli. You can find out more about the Unifi Travel Pass here. (Source: New Straits Times) 0 0 votes Article Rating SHARE Thursday, January 9, 2020 It wasnt enough that elements of the radical Left polluted our colleges and universities with its outrageously leftist political views and slanted curriculums. And it wasnt enough that the Left went full bore in its rampant sexualization of our children and the targeting of their values, which Steve Feazel and I wrote about in Abduction: How Liberalism Steals Our Childrens Hearts and Minds (2016). Now they have taken aim at younger kids, in private school as well as public. In warning about this, Steve and I saw Christian schools as a safe option for children whose parents opted not to home school. But theres no underestimating the liberal Left. It has brazenly broadened its reach over the last four years. Aggressive leftists are now targeting Americas middle school children, in both private and public schools, with its radical educational agendas. The agenda is aggressive and pervasive. The racial and religious shaming that has become commonplace at colleges and universities has now trickled down to K-12. Shaming videos such as Your Brain on Drug Policy and The Unequal Opportunity Race are being shown to indoctrinate middle school children. Keep in mind these are highly pliable youngsters who lack the knowledge and skills to handle heavy duty messaging about racism and collective white guilt. A parent whose child watched The Unequal Opportunity Race posted on YouTube: My kid came home crying because the teacher explained that she, her parents, and her grandparents, her history is responsible for slavery, and her kind should be ashamed. Equally disturbing for children is the despicable, politically distorted video Your Brain on Drug Policy. It uses white and brown egg cartoon characters to represent people in various situations, ending with a jarring scene at the end in which real eggs get smashed. Imagine yourself, still a child, watching videos such as this. What message would you or children of any race take away from this? How is this happening, apparently without resistance from professional educators? Its because many well-meaning administrators and board members are fearfully acquiescing to racial sensitivity curriculums and agendas steeped in cultural Marxism. Columbia and Harvard University Professor Herbert Marcuse earned the title of Father of the Left. Once a member of the Frankfort School of Social Research, Marcuse eventually left Germany and invaded America, knowing fertile ground awaited his plowing and planting of socialist values. He set up camp at Columbia University, where he wrote many books and articles geared toward changing American culture. One of Marcuses most relevant and revealing essays is Repressive Tolerance, published in 1965. In it he argued that tolerance of conservatives should be stripped and instead bequeathed on marginalized groups that would achieve equality and power by quashing the voices of conservatives and their movement. Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and left-leaning campus protesters employ Marcuses tactics with great success. Most campuses have been purged of conservative administrators and faculty, and the Marcuse-influenced leftists attention has now been redirected at K-12 institutions. There, they stand to find employees not yet under the thumb of left-wing teachers unions. More fertile territory. In businesses, schools, and universities, racial sensitivity training facilitators are given free reign because their race or ethnicity is believed to give them special insights that members of non-marginalized groups lack. Whites laden with guilt grant exclusive unfettered access, and they neglect the potential value of their own contributions to the conversation. While we have focused on the chaos on campuses, the Left has taken its subversive agenda to K-12 private and public schools. Under the guise of liberal Christianity (an oxymoron if ever there was one), social justice warriors have infiltrated seminaries, divinity schools, and churches to push an anti-white and anti-capitalist social gospel. It is purposely harmful and often contributes to unrest and division on campus instead of nurturing understanding across ethnic lines. Churches are not immune. Marxism entered the church world through James Cones black liberation theology. Cones seminal book, Black Theology and Black Power, reanalyzed Christianity using an analytical framework of black victimhood and white oppression. Seminaries and divinity schools are training pastors and church workers to embrace this framework in their interactions with students, congregants, and other stakeholders. Christian academies that now embrace racial sensitivity and diversity training curriculums use the oppressive tactics of secular universities and public schools to shame children into silenced compliance. There is a situation brewing in Nashville, where I live, that I believe is a microcosm of what is taking place across our nation. Let me explain. Lipscomb University and Academy David Lipscomb and James A. Harding founded Lipscomb University, based in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1891. It is a Church of Christ-affiliated institution with a lower, middle, and upper school academy. Although the denomination was once conservative, it has gradually trended toward a more liberal bent under the leadership of its president, Randall Lowery. Understanding the importance of education, David Lipscomb once stated, Next to that of the family, there is no influence more potent for good or evil over the lives of individuals than the associations of school days. He most certainly would not be pleased with the direction the university and its associated middle and upper schools have taken. This past summer 2019, Lipscomb Academy hired Brittany Paschall, a social justice warrior, as its first dean of intercultural development. Lipscombs bringing aboard a dean of diversity and inclusion is part of a trend that started at the university level and has trickled down to secondary schools. Paschall, a native Nashvillian, describes herself as a radical liberator, educator, minister, and organizer. She specializes in diversity, equity, inclusivity practices, and conflict resolution. She is active in Black Lives Matters and has posted some eye-opening materials and quotes on her website. These include direct attacks on white people and her condemnation of the Church of Christ. About the Church of Christ, she has written: I endured debates about if women could speak from the pulpit. I watched as we gave money to serve people who looked like me, while the leader and members of the church refused to speak to me. I sat in meetings and defended the gospel assertion that Black lives matter. . . I experienced firsthand the realities of elitism, racism, and sexism present in the local church body. . . I cannot help but be grieved by the continued maladjustment of the gospel by White Faith traditions and White Churches of Christ. Her definition of God, which has been removed from her website, speaks volumes: The truth is God is not a straight, white, upper class male. Shes just not. In a YouTube interview about radical stewardship, also removed, she said: Its imperative that as a society and a church we move to an ANTI-CAPITALIST SYSTEM. Paschalls views line up with Reverend Jim Wallis, an anti-capitalist, anti-free market activist who is the editor of Sojourners magazine and former spiritual adviser to President Barack Obama. In fall 2019, Wallis spoke at Lipscomb University about the dangers of white privilege and the need for racial reconciliation. Lipscomb has responded in a letter to parents by affirming its commitment to Christian principles and offering to meet with parents in townhall meetings. There is the usual bureaucratic language wiggle room suggesting that nothing much will change. The administrators tell the parents that there is no easy solution because, they say, the Bible is not always clear on biblical teaching. So, they apparently see their job as offering a biblical worldview that will allow students to figure out what they believe about how they should function in a changing world. In other words, they are implying, we know what is best for your child. Moving Forward No good thing can come from shaming children. Todays Americans are not responsible for the sins of generations ago. A powerful truism was spoken by one concerned parent: One cannot assume facts to be true about a group of people based on their skin color. To condemn people, youve never met based on the sins that other people with their skin tone have committed, is the explicit expression of hatred for that particular group of people. One thing is certain. Shaming white children and embarrassing blacks and Hispanics because of the color of their skin or the resources of their parents is wrong, unnecessary, and unchristian. We should practice unqualified non-discrimination, always keeping in mind that civil rights laws and protections apply to all Americans. Heres the test to apply: If it would be unacceptable to say or do something to a racial or ethnic minority, the same principle should apply to whites and Asians. Christians of all people should set an example on how we ought to treat one another. Read article on the Tennessee Star Report here Today we'll take a closer look at ICS Global Limited (ASX:ICS) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. In this case, ICS Global likely looks attractive to dividend investors, given its 3.8% dividend yield and seven-year payment history. It sure looks interesting on these metrics - but there's always more to the story . Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying ICS Global for its dividend - read on to learn more. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on ICS Global! ASX:ICS Historical Dividend Yield, January 9th 2020 Payout ratios Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. ICS Global paid out 73% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a fairly normal payout ratio among most businesses. It allows a higher dividend to be paid to shareholders, but does limit the capital retained in the business - which could be good or bad. We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. ICS Global paid out 74% of its free cash flow last year, which is acceptable, but is starting to limit the amount of earnings that can be reinvested into the business. It's positive to see that ICS Global's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. With a strong net cash balance, ICS Global investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. Story continues We update our data on ICS Global every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. ICS Global has been paying a dividend for the past seven years. Although it has been paying a dividend for several years now, the dividend has been cut at least once by more than 20%, and we're cautious about the consistency of its dividend across a full economic cycle. During the past seven-year period, the first annual payment was AU$0.02 in 2013, compared to AU$0.07 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 20% a year over that time. The growth in dividends has not been linear, but the CAGR is a decent approximation of the rate of change over this time frame. So, its dividends have grown at a rapid rate over this time, but payments have been cut in the past. The stock may still be worth considering as part of a diversified dividend portfolio. Dividend Growth Potential With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share (EPS) are growing - it's not worth taking the risk on a dividend getting cut, unless you might be rewarded with larger dividends in future. Earnings have grown at around 9.7% a year for the past five years, which is better than seeing them shrink! Earnings per share are growing at an acceptable rate, although the company is paying out more than half of its profits, which we think could constrain its ability to reinvest in its business. Conclusion Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. First, we think ICS Global is paying out an acceptable percentage of its cashflow and profit. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than ICS Global out there. Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out our free research on ICS Global management tenure, salary, and performance. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. AMC Callsign Lookup Facility now live On January 6, the Australian Maritime College (AMC) released news that they have gone live to the public with their new Lookup facility for Available Amateur Radio Callsigns The WIA news story says: The service is available by clicking the following Link https://csdb.utas.edu.au/Callsign/SearchUnallocated This is a very welcomed addition to the examinations and other services now provided by AMC after the transition from the WIA in February earlier this year. To comply with the ACMA deed, WIA were obligated to remove their successful long running Callsign database facility from the public domain. This unfortunately has left quite a void in the ability to easily search and locate available callsigns for use by new and upgrading amateur radio operators. Previously the only easy way to search for potentially available callsigns for Amateur Radio is to utilize VKSpectra.com which is still a stop gap solution, a search engine developed by Megan Woods VK3TIN after a request from Volunteer Examiners Australia (VEA) who were finding many of their successful Amateur Radio Examination candidates were having extreme difficulty in locating valid callsigns to submit as recommendations to AMC for issue. VKSpectra.com will still be operating for a short while, for around 1 month after Jan 6th, to enable the many current users of VKSpectra to transition across to the new AMC Callsign Database platform. Now released, the new AMC public online search facility will enable visitors to find all available callsigns listed for issue, Foundation, Standard, Advanced , Repeaters, Special calls etc. (some callsigns may be excluded and reserved for a variety of reasons. ie: Silent Key, inappropriate, etc) We expect the AMC assessors will welcome and appreciate the new search facility also for their successful candidates. Please give it try, search for your own or a friends callsign, maybe even search for that new callsign you will need after your upgrade or just to see what the new AMC Callsign database can offer. Source WIA https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200106-1/index.php In the UK the regulator Ofcom has so far failed to provide any facility to enable newcomers or amateurs upgrading to easily check to see which callsigns are available. Everyones favourite food secrets are back for a fifth season! Go behind the scenes of the factories churning out delicious sweets, old-time classics and the new generation of artisanal treats. Wednesdays from 9:30pm AEDT. PM Narendra Modi's top quotes from his speech at Kashi-Vishwanath Corridor event Spread the glory of rivers, PM Modi says at Mayors Conference Cow is mother, sacred to us: PM Modi in Varanasi Priyanka Gandhi meets Banaras Hindu University students in Varanasi India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Jan 10: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is on a visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi to meet those who were arrested during the anti-CAA protests in the city. Gandhi met BHU students, civil society members, and those who were part of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the country. She will also visit Guleria ghat and Ram ghat in the temple town. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week Modi, Shah rampaging through universities says Priyanka on JNU violence The Congress leader may also visit the Ravidas Temple in an attempt to woo the SC community. The Congress leader had earlier met some protesters and the kin of those killed in alleged police firing during protests in different parts of Uttar Pradesh. HSBC expected Vietnams economic outlook to remain positive and GDP to grow 6.6% in 2020. Over the years, Vietnam has pushed for many reforms that have supported sustained high growth. In 2020, continued reforms are needed to buttress growth and tackle economic challenges, HSBC has said in its latest report. The first key area to focus on is infrastructure. As Vietnams fiscal pace has been limited but the need to upgrade and build new infrastructure is urgently required, the report suggested Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) would provide an ideal source to fund large infrastructure projects. Yet, more reforms are needed to solve PPP-related issues to incentivize participation of private investors. It is positive to see the authorities having already taken steps in this direction. The revised PPP Law, looking to strengthen the legal framework and laying the ground for addressing lingering issues concerning investors, is expected to pass in 2020. Meanwhile, reforms are also needed in the banking sector. From January 1, 2020, all banks in Vietnam will have to adopt Basel II standards, which requires a minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 8%. CARs on average have declined steadily since 2013, particularly among the state- owned banks. The good news is that the CAR in state-owned banks has stabilized at 9.8% year-on-year as of September 2019, likely to meet the Basel II standards in 2020. That said, only 18 banks (16 domestic and 2 foreign) have met the requirements so far. In particular, small banks are under pressure to increase their capital to meet the new standard. Additionally, improvements in data releases on a timely basis are needed for better economic assessment and risk management. More comprehensive and consistent data on the real estate sector, private sector debt and public spending and revenue would also enhance information availability for more calibrated decision-making by all economic agents. Recently, Vietnams General Statistics Office (GSO) released upward revisions of historical GDP data for the period of 2010-2017. After the revisions, real GDP growth was raised by 0.3ppt per year on average and nominal GDP by 26% for the whole period, rapidly closing the gap of Vietnams economic size with that of the Philippines. According to the GSO, with the help of the IMF and the UN, the revisions are aimed at meeting international norms and better reflects strong growth in Vietnams private sector. This will have profound implications in many respects. For example, based on initial information, it appears that the public debt-to-GDP ratio would be lowered by 11.5ppt annually on average, falling below 50% in 2017. That said, as historical data in 2018 was unchanged, it still remains to see how the authorities will reconcile data discrepancy between 2017 and 2018. All in all, as FDI inflows continue to add production capacity, its manufacturing sector is likely to remain robust. New trade agreements, such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), will bring opportunities for Vietnams exports. Meanwhile, services are likely to maintain its strong momentum as a result of continued thriving tourism and strong growth in domestic consumption. Hanoitimes Ngoc Thuy HSBC economists report on Vietnams prospects during 10-day visit Limited land and labor resources, increasing wages and a lack of local suppliers in Vietnam could make the cost/benefit equation less attractive for FD) firms in the foreseeable future, HSBC said in its latest Asia Frontier Insights report. WASHINGTON Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday a resolution Thursday asserting that President Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insisted it has real teeth because it is a statement of the Congress of the United States. The measure will protect American lives and values by limiting Trumps military actions, Pelosi said. The administration must de-escalate and must prevent further violence. The House passed the measure, 224-194, with almost no Republican support. A similar proposal by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., faces an uphill fight in the GOP-run Senate. Kaines efforts received a boost Thursday as Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, an ex-Marine, said he might support the war powers measure. Two other Republican senators said Wednesday they would back Kaines plan. We are members of a separate and distinct branch of government. It is our duty not to take anyones word for things as we are dealing with matters of life and death, Young said, adding that he wished Trump administration officials had provided more intelligence information during a briefing Wednesday on a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. Pelosi, in announcing the House vote, called the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani provocative and disproportionate. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, denounced the Democratic measure as little more than a press release designed to attack President Trump, while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, called it a meaningless vote on a measure that will never be sent to the president or limit his constitutional authority to defend the American people. The House vote came a day after the Trump administration briefed lawmakers on its actions in Iran. Democrats and several Republicans called the briefings inadequate, adding that officials did not provide enough details about why the attack was justified. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Soleimani was traveling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces. He said it was not possible to share full details of the intelligence with lawmakers. Matthew Daly is an Associated Press writer. A notorious Melbourne underworld figure Nabil Maghnie has reportedly been shot dead in the city's north. Emergency workers were called to Epping about 8.30pm on Thursday after three people were shot. A 45-year-old Bundoora man was found with a suspected gunshot wound and he later died at the scene. A 27-year-old Plumpton man and a 44-year-old man were taken to hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds. The dead man is reportedly Comancheros associate Maghnie and one of the injured men is believed to be his son. Victoria Police will not confirm the identity of the dead man. A man shot and killed in Melbourne's north is believed to be underworld figure and Comancheros associate Nabil Maghnie. Source: AAP The shooting took place in a car park near a 24-hour gym and a Mexican restaurant the intersection of Childs Road and Dalton Road. A body was found in front of a black Mercedes-Benz ute, which was towed away from outside a home on Dalton Road on Friday morning. Police were at the residential property on Friday. Officers have no plans to provide further updates into the investigation at this stage. Underworld figures colourful criminal past Maghnie, also known as Nabil Moughnieh, has been shot twice in the past, including in 2016 when he drove himself to hospital after being shot in the head. That year he was also reportedly accused of being involved in a bar-stool brawl at Crown Casino after months earlier being charged over a fight with Mongol bikies at a brothel in South Melbourne. He was arrested in November over the killing of drug trafficker Mitat Rasimi but was released without charge. Maghnie had been charged with driving while on drugs after crashing a car into a roundabout at 209 km/h at Woodstock in May. After the crash, he went to hospital where cocaine and other drugs were found in his system. Nabil Maghnie leaves the Melbourne Magistrates court on bail in Melbourne, July 23, 2019. Source: AAP According to The Age, underworld sources described Maghnie as a "dead man walking" because of his increasingly aggressive behaviour towards rival bikies and other members of organised crime groups. His son, Jacob Elliott, has been charged with the drive-by shooting murders of two people outside Prahran's Love Machine nightclub in April last year. Story continues Police believe the trio were known to each other and the cause of the shooting is under investigation. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Bangkok: Thailand has asked Malaysia to help find a group of Rohingya Muslim trafficking victims who absconded from a detention centre in the south of the country, Thai police said. Nineteen Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar escaped from the detention centre in Thailand's southern Songkhla province, around 5 kilometres from the Thai-Malaysian border, early on Wednesday, using a piece of cloth to climb down from a third floor window, police said. They were part of some 40 Rohingya Muslims, identified as victims of human traffickers, who were intercepted by Thai authorities on their way to Malaysia and had been detained at the centre to await repatriation to Myanmar, police said. Two were found later on Wednesday, police said. Rohingya refugees queue for a meal provided by a Turkish aid agency in the Shofiullah Kata camp, Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. Credit:Kate Geraghty "We've coordinated with Malaysian authorities to help find the remaining 17 who might have escaped into the border areas," Pairat Pookcharoen, deputy commander of an immigration police unit in the south, said. In signs of discord in the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu, ally Congress on Friday said it has not been alloted fair number of posts of local bodies chiefs by the lead partner and this went against "coalition dharma". The rare public display of displeasure by the state Congress against the DMK came a day ahead of the indirect elections to the posts of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of rural local bodies in 27 districts. The Congress said the party faced the rural local body polls, held in two phases last month, without any agreement right from the start "but there was no cooperation at the district level." "Of the 27 district panchayat chief posts, not even one, not even that of a vice president has been given to us so far. We regret to inform this is against coalition dharma," TNCC President K S Alagiri and Congress Legislature Party leader K R Ramasamy said in a joint statement. Same was the case with panchayat union posts where the party has been allotted just two of the 303 posts, they added. They alleged the "Congress has been denied opportunity" in seats that where even recommended by the DMK leadership apparently to the local level functionaries. In a close contest in polls to rural civic bodies in 27 districts in Tamil Nadu held on December 27 and 30, the opposition DMK and its allies edged out the ruling AIADMK combine to the second spot. The indirect election to the posts of heads of the local bodies are set to be held on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novelion Therapeutics Inc. (Ticker: NVLNF) (Novelion or the Company) today announced the definitive date for commencement of implementation of the Companys voluntary liquidation (the Liquidation) as 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on January 16, 2020. Court Orders, Statement of Intent to Liquidate and Definitive Effective Date The Company announced that the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the Court) has granted the orders sought by the Company in connection with the Liquidation. The Company will file a Statement of Intent to Liquidate with the British Columbia Registrar of Companies establishing the definitive effective date and time for the commencement of implementation of the Liquidation as 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on January 16, 2020 (the Effective Date). Effective Date Matters As of the Effective Date, Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc. will be appointed liquidator (the Liquidator) and charged with overseeing all aspects of the Liquidation. Concurrent with the Liquidators appointment: (i) Michael Price, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and sole executive officer and employee of the Company, will resign his positions, and (ii) Michael Price, Suzanne Bruhn, and Stephen Sabba will resign as directors of the Company. Upon appointment, the Liquidator will assume all authority previously held by the Companys officers and directors. After the Effective Date, shareholders and other interested parties should visit www.alvarezandmarsal.com/novelion for continuing information about Novelion, the Liquidation and related matters. As of the Effective Date, the Companys transfer agent for its common shares will close the Companys stock transfer books and will discontinue recording transfers, and registered shareholders will no longer be able to transfer record ownership of their shares. Registered shareholders on the Companys stock transfer books (Registered Holders) as of the Effective Date will be entitled to a pro-rata share of any distribution to shareholders in the Liquidation. Cautionary Information Regarding Trading in the Companys Securities Investors trading in Novelion securities in advance of the Effective Date are strongly encouraged to consult with their broker or other advisors in respect of applicable trade settlement dates and the related impact on their respective holdings of Novelion securities as of the Effective Date. Any distributions made in the Liquidation will be paid and delivered only to Registered Holders as of the Effective Date, and beneficial holders of common shares will be entitled to receive any distributions only through and from the applicable Registered Holder of their shares. Shareholders whose shares in Novelion are held in a brokerage firm or with a securities dealer, trust company, bank or another similar organization, are encouraged to reach out to their broker, dealer, trust, bank or other agent with any questions relating to the processes or requirements for receiving any such distributions if and when they are made. The Company believes, but cannot assure, that OTC and other trading in the Companys common shares will be suspended or otherwise cease as of the Effective Date or shortly thereafter. The Company cautions that investors who may seek to trade in Novelion common shares or other securities after the Effective Date (to the extent such trading is available), including on any secondary markets, do so at substantial risk to their investment. The Company continues to caution that trading in the Companys securities is highly speculative and poses substantial risks. Trading prices for the Companys securities may bear little or no relationship to the actual value realized, if any, by holders of the Companys securities. Accordingly, the Company urges extreme caution with respect to existing and future investments in its securities. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Any statements contained herein which do not describe historical facts, including, but not limited to, the establishment of the Effective Date and the actions to occur on such date, the filing of the Statement of Intent to Liquidate with the British Columbia Registrar of Companies, expectations as to Novelions employees and board in connection with and following the Effective Date, the Liquidators actions with respect to the Liquidation and any orders of the Court related to same, the amount, timing and nature of any distribution as part of the Liquidation, the ultimate outcome of the Liquidation process, and expectations and beliefs related to trading in and the market and record of holders of Novelion common shares before and after the Effective Date, are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the impact of any determinations of the Court and the actions of the Liquidator undertaken as part of the Liquidation, the possibility that there could be claims or actions that result from the claims process conducted as part of the Liquidation or otherwise, the possibility that such claims and actions could be costly to defend and could have negative outcomes, the possibility that actual expenses and claims that result from the Liquidation will be greater than anticipated, and the potential impact of any volatility in the market price of the Amryt Equity, any or all of which could materially reduce the availability of assets available for distribution to shareholders, as well as those risks identified in Novelions filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), including the definitive proxy statement filed on October 3, 2019, which are available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov. The impact from any such risks and uncertainties could materially reduce or eliminate the availability of assets available for distribution to shareholders. Novelion cautions investors and others not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, Novelion undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. CONTACT: Michael Price Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Novelion Therapeutics Inc. 857-242-5024 There is a decision of the Iraqi parliament on the withdrawal of American troops from the country, which is not binding on the government, Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Armenian Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences Ruben Safrastyan told reporters on Friday. According to him, the Iraqi Cabinet of Ministers has also expressed the readiness for the American troops to be withdrawn from the country, but the fact is that part of the country's population opposes such a development of events. At the parliamentary meeting at which this decision was made, there were no representatives of the Kurdish forces, they are opposed to this. And therefore, it is not yet clear whether Iraq will require the withdrawal of American troops from the country. Perhaps a part will be withdrawn, and the other half not, Safrastyan said. Commenting on US position on this issue, he noted that Trump's approach is quite interesting. He did not say that thy would not withdraw our troops, the president said that they would withdraw them if their expenses were compensated. That is, he is not against all this, he noted. Bapco, Bahrain's national oil company, has been targeted by Iranian state-sponsored hackers with a new strain of data-wiping malware, a report said. Details of the data breach at Bapco were confirmed to the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister newspaper, following a report that claimed Iranian state-sponsored hackers were behind the attack. The incident took place on December 29. The attack did not have the long-lasting effect hackers might have wanted, as only a portion of Bapco's computer fleet was impacted, with the company continuing to operate after the malware's detonation, said a ZDNet report. The Bapco incident is the cyber-attack described in a security alert published last week by Saudi Arabia's National Cybersecurity Authority, said the report. Saudi officials sent the alert to local companies active on the energy market, in an attempt to warn of impending attacks, and urging companies to secure their networks, it said. The Bapco security incident came to light amid rising political tensions between the US and Iran after the US military killed a top Iranian military general in a drone strike last week. At the heart of the Bapco attack is a new strain of malware named Dustman, a so-called data wiper -- malware designed to delete data on infected computers, once launched into execution. It is highly likely that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, US, Canadian and British officials have said. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. An Iranian official denied a missile hit the plane and called on both the US and Canada to release data backing their allegations. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the countrys national aviation department, said it is absolutely impossible that the armed forces would shoot down a civilian plane. Mourners place candles and photographs during a vigil outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed (Codie McLachlan/AP) He said authorities have recovered two black box flight recorders, saying they are damaged but readable, which may shed further light on what caused the crash. The crash on Wednesday morning came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing US troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Ottawa: We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. (PA Graphics) Likewise, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Mr Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act, he said. The assessment that 176 people were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-US conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the US military operation that killed Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani. Story continues It was not immediately clear how the US and its allies would react. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of Gen Soleimani and Irans retaliatory missile strikes. US troops were on high-alert. At the White House, President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shoot down and dismissed Irans initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. Mr Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. Late on Thursday, the US House approved a measure that aims to bar any further military action against Iran without congressional approval. However, the resolution approved by the Democratic-majority House is nonbinding and no similar measure could pass the Republican-controlled Senate. As for the airliner shoot down, the US officials would not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by a Russian Tor system, known to NATO as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. The New York Times posted a video it said it had verified showing the moment the apparent missile struck the plane over Iran. The video shows a fast-moving object rising before a fiery explosion. An object, apparently on fire, then continues in a different direction. A preliminary Iranian investigative report said the airliner pilots did not make a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when it went down. The Iranian report suggested a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Irans official news agency said the country is inviting Boeing experts to join the investigation into the plane crash. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile (Adrian Wyld/AP) The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries whose citizens died in the crash. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the US accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday that it would evaluate its level of participation, but its role could be limited by US sanctions on Iran. US officials have also expressed concern about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. Before the US assessment, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the of civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truth. Mayor Ron Nirenberg has revived a City Council committee dealing with arts and cultural issues that he killed last year adding neighborhood preservation to the panels responsibilities and giving it back to its former chairman. The Culture & Neighborhood Services Committee will oversee San Antonios unique artistic, cultural and historic heritage in addition to issues that serve to preserve the integrity of our citys neighborhoods, Nirenberg told council members, City Manager Erik Walsh and other officials in a memo detailing changes to council committees this week. The committee also will handle policies that deal with the citys libraries, senior center facilities and historic preservation, Nirenberg said. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg making headway on second-term agenda but running afoul of natural allies Nirenberg named District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino the longest-serving council member without a committee chairmanship to head the reconstituted panel. Trevino previously chaired the Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee before Nirenberg disbanded it in July and shifted its duties to the councils Planning and Community Development Committee. The mayor said at the time that the arts committees main focus had been the citys Tricentennial celebration, which ended last May. Nirenberg cited a backlog of items in other committees as a reason for creating the new panel. Nirenberg and Trevino have had some prominent disagreements in Nirenbergs new term. The two disagreed for months over whether to add protected bicycle lanes to a 1.1-mile stretch of Broadway in downtown Nirenbergs preference or to put the lanes on two side streets, which Trevino supported. The councilman ultimately prevailed. Trevino also publicly complained that Nirenberg didnt brief him ahead of time on a proposal to have San Antonio Water System take on a program to protect the Edwards Aquifer. That proposal is part of Nirenbergs push to shift sales tax revenue that finances aquifer protection to instead boost bus service. For the new committee, Trevino will be joined by District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan, District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, District 9 Councilman John Courage and District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayors aquifer maneuvering surprised and annoyed Council allies Nirenberg also made tweaks to some of the nine existing council committees. District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, a freshman, will chair the council Public Safety Committee a position previously held by District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval. Sandoval will remain on the panel and still chairs the Community Health and Equity Committee. The Planning and Community Development Committee tasked with implementing SA Tomorrow, the citys plan to guide development has been renamed the Planning and Land Development Committee. The mayor also moved responsibility for educational issues and programs including the Head Start program from community health and equity to the Economic and Workforce Development Committee, chaired by District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran. Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio city government and politics. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education will begin interviews for the districts next superintendent in the coming weeks. Candidates for superintendent will do video interviews with members of the board at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Administration Building, 1220 Howard St., according to a search timeline released by the district. Second-round interviews will be done at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, and Wednesday, Feb. 5, according to the timeline. The finalists in the search will return to the board room at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, and Wednesday, Feb. 19. The board could decide to choose the next superintendent after the interviews on Wednesday. If no decision is made, the board will reconvene at the same time Tuesday, Feb. 25, to make a decision, according to the timeline. All of the dates on the timeline could be changed or canceled as needed, the board said. The search for a new superintendent began in May after long-time leader Michael Rice was chosen as the next state superintendent. The district chose Gary Start, deputy superintendent of business and finance, to serve as interim superintendent while the board operates a search with the Michigan Association of School Boards. At a number of community forums and in an online survey, representatives from MASB learned that values of collaboration and responsiveness are what the community hopes to see in the districts next leader. Input collected from stakeholders, a step in the search process, identified diversity as the districts number one strength. Other perceived strengths included a supportive community, the districts teaching staff and the Kalamazoo Promise, which offers college scholarships to KPS graduates. Respondents said the new superintendent should have a collaborative leadership style. Candidates should also have successful experience working with diverse communities, affirm and value staff members and be exceedingly responsive," according to responses compiled by MASB. The Michigan Association of School Boards is a nonprofit that represents the interests of local and intermediate school boards. The Michigan chapter of the National School Boards Association, the organization engages in advocacy efforts and offers support services, like training for school board members, to member districts across the state. Fighters from the Iranian militias have had thousands of Syrian pounds deducted from their pay reports Deir Ezzor 24. Source have told Deir Ezzor 24 that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has deducted 5,000 Syrian pounds from each fighter in the Iranian militias. The sources noted that according to the Iranian officials, the 5,000 Syrian pounds was deducted for the souls of the martyrs. According to the same sources, the decision was met with disdain by the Iranian militia men, particularly the local elements. In the past few days, the United States has targeted positions of the Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq, killing a number of militiamen, including senior officials, the most prominent of them is Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force. The Revolutionary Guard arrested two elements of its forces on charges of collaborating with the opposition This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Access to the internet is a fundamental right by extension, according to the Supreme Courts ruling in the Kashmir restrictions petitions, which also pulled up the government up for the telecommunications blackout in Jammu & Kashmir that, the judges said in their order on Friday, cannot go on indefinitely. Such orders on blackouts must now be published with specific reasons and it should be proportional to the concerns necessitating such suspension, Fridays ruling said, while also directing the Jammu & Kashmir government to review all internet suspension orders within a week. Accessing the internet to express speech and carry out trade is a fundamental right, the apex court said. Further, by explicitly mentioning that such blackouts cannot be indefinite, need to be communicated, have to be reviewed every seven days, and must be backed by legitimate reasons, the Supreme Court has ensured that the process becomes more transparent than it currently is and has more checks and balances than it currently has. The court also came down hard on the repetitive use of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code that empowers a magistrate to issue orders (at the request of a state or Union territory) that prohibit the assembly of four or more people in an area. In the wake of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, many states across India have been all too quick to impose restrictions under Section 144 in some parts. According to the Internet Shutdown Tracker, India saw 106 shutdowns in 2019, and 134 in 2018. A UK-based tech website, Top10 VPN, said in a recent report that the internet was switched off for almost 4,200 hours in India in 2019. This number aggregates all shutdowns in various parts of the country and does not mean all India was without internet access for 4,200 hours. On Friday, a bench of justices NV Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai said that civil liberties and concerns of national security must be balanced, while laying down new protocols for authorities to follow when they need to suspend internet and telecommunication services or restrict peoples movement. The judgment was pronounced on a batch of petitions challenging the restrictions in Kashmir after the central government on August 5, 2019 decided to remove special constitutional provisions and split the Jammu and Kashmir region. The Kashmir valley was simultaneously placed under a shutdown in a bid to stifle protests and dissent, while several politicians were put under house arrest that continue. The petitioners, including Kashmir Times newspaper, Anuradha Bhasin and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, said the restrictions were in violation of their fundamental right to speech and expression and the right to move freely under Article 19 of the Constitution. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir, told the court that misuse of social media and internet by separatists and Pakistani military and political leaders necessitated curbs on internet. While maintaining that there were no restrictions across the entire state, Mehta underscored that tweets and trending hashtags on social media by mischievous elements justified the restrictions. In its 130-page ruling, the top court held that freedom of speech and expression and freedom to carry on trade or profession through internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and any order suspending internet under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017 (Suspension Rules) can be only for a temporary duration and not for an indefinite period. Such orders should indicate the reasons for the necessity of such shutdown specifically stating the unavoidable circumstance requiring such a measure and it should be in accordance with Article 19(2) and 19(6) of the Constitution which empowers states to impose restriction on freedom of speech and freedom to practice trade and profession. Such orders, the court directed, should be published and will be subject to judicial review. The reasoning of the authorised officer should not only indicate the necessity of the measure but also what the unavoidable circumstance was, the judgment said. The court also stated that complete suspension of telecom and internet services was a drastic measure and should be considered by the state only if unavoidable and necessary. The state must assess an alternate and less intrusive remedy, the order said. The judgment is a very timely message to the executive where we are seeing that curbing freedom of assembly, movement and speech is becoming the default way in dealing with citizens protests or apprehensions, said advocate Vrinda Grover, who represented lawyer Anuradha Bhasin. Experts said the order, however, did not determine the legality of internet shutdown in Kashmir. While the judgment is actually positive it does not actually provide a clear push back against several government actions. It requires the government to relook its orders rather than the court itself conducting a judicial review, said Apar Gupta, executive director of Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF). Government lawyers did not respond to requests for a comment. The Kerala High Court on September 19, 2019 too held Right to Internet Access as a fundamental right. The court said access to internet becomes the part of right to education as well as right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The SC bench also called for a revamp of suspension rules, which, they said neither provided for a periodic review nor a time limitation for restrictions. Till this is remedied, the judges said, the review committee constituted under Rule 2(5) of the Suspension Rules must conduct a periodic review of orders suspending internet within seven working days of the previous review. Besides curbs on internet, the Supreme Court also put riders on the scope of orders issued under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a provision which enables district magistrate to impose restrictions on movement and assembly in public. The court held that repetitively invoking Section 144 will amount to an abuse of power. The magistrate, the court ruled, when exercising powers under Section 144, is duty-bound to balance the rights of individuals and restrictions in the larger societal interest and thereafter, apply the least intrusive measure. Such orders, the ruling added, should be passed by relying on material facts, indicative of application of mind. The power under Section 144, the court ruled cannot be used to suppress legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights, the judgment said. The central government, in arguments before the apex court, sought to justify orders under Section 144 on the grounds of national security and law and order. The court ruled that law and order, public order and security of State are distinct legal standards and the magistrate must tailor the restrictions depending on the nature of the situation. If two families quarrel over irrigation water, it might breach law and order, but in a situation where two communities fight over the same, it might transcend into a public order situation. The magistrate cannot apply a straightjacketed formula without assessing the gravity of the prevailing circumstance the judgment said. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir home department has revoked the stringent Public Safety Act against 26 people who are lodged in various jails in the newly carved out Union territory, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying on Friday. This is seen as an attempt by the Union territory administration to ease the situation in the region. These people were picked up and booked under the PSA after the Centres decision on August 5 last year to revoke special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two Union territories. "You do see things you wish you didn't have to see," Stevenson continued. "You do feel things you wish you didn't have to feel. But the flip side of that is, you get to see beauty. You get to see love and you get to see hope, and you get to see triumph. You get to see what human beings can do, even if they don't have all the things that they want, and that's what really makes the work achievable." A series of low seismic hums detected across the world have been traced back to the birth of an underwater volcano, bringing an extraordinary conclusion to a mystery that baffled the scientific community for months. On 11 November 2018, a series of more than 400 bizarre pulses lasting up to 40 minutes in length emanated from just off the coast of Mayotte, a small Indian Ocean tucked between Madagascar and Mozambique. While nobody is thought to have felt the tremors, they set off sensors in several East African nations, before reverberating to locations as diverse and far afield as Chile, Hawaii, Canada and some 11,000 miles away in New Zealand. The impeccably neat structure of the slow-moving, low-frequency waveforms typically associated with large earthquakes which are more chaotic also intrigued scientists. They're too nice. They're too perfect to be nature, joked Helen Robinson, a volcanology researcher at the University of Glasgow. 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 In chasing the source of the strangely uniform pulses, a team of geologists in Germany have painstakingly reconstructed the collapse of what is believed to be one of the largest magma reservoirs in the earths upper mantle. The collapse occurred as a result of the birth of a huge volcano on the sea floor, which the team say is the first time scientists have properly observed such an event. The volcano entered the world several months before the seismic hums were detected, to the rumble of thousands of seemingly tectonic earthquakes including one large magnitude 5.8 event near Mayotte, an area relatively bereft of seismic activity for some 4,000 years previously. Then came the mysterious pulses. Scientists now calculate that with their arrival, Mayotte which has a population of more than 250,000 people also began to sink and shift eastwards, moving almost 20cm to date. Amid various fantastical suggestions for what could be responsible, the idea that the pulses could be linked to volcanic activity began to gain traction. Sure enough, in May 2019 a group of French researchers discovered the existence of a new underwater volcano near Mayotte. This week, a team at Potsdam University published a report in the journal Nature Geoscience, in which they provide a one-year-long, detailed picture of the rare magmatic process responsible. They compiled observations made by geologists around the world to accurately reconstruct what happened, observing for the first time ever processes that occur in the Earths upper mantle before the formation of a huge underwater volcano. Two major phases were identified, in what lead researcher Simone Cesca describes as one of the largest monitored submarine eruptions. The series of events began with an eruption of magma from one of the deepest-known volcanic reservoirs in the upper mantle, stretching more than 30km below the Earths surface. A pocket of magma decided it wanted to erupt, the reports co-author Eleonora Rivalta told The Washington Post. Once you create a channel to the surface, then the magma starts to pour out and create the volcano. This huge volcanic shift triggered the nearly 7,000 earthquakes recorded in May 2018, and created the new volcano as the lava burst through the ocean floor. But the rapidly emptying magma reservoir became increasingly hollow as the lava moved towards the ocean floor. As the chamber emptied the roof began to cave in which the scientists pinpoint as the reason for the mysterious seismic hums. Every time the rock sags into the chamber, it creates a resonance and this produces this strange signal that you see far away, Mr Cesca told The Post. Ms Rivalta added: We interpret [the seismic hums] as a sign of the collapse of the deep magma chamber. It is the deepest and largest magma reservoir in the upper mantle to date, which is beginning to empty abruptly. Because this vast collapse was taking place so far from the waters surface, the distant earthquakes were practically imperceptible, according to Torsten Dahm of Potsdam Universitys German Research Centre for Geosciences. However, there are still possible hazards for the island of Mayotte today, as the Earth's crust above the deep reservoir could continue to collapse, triggering stronger earthquakes, he warned. Ross E. DeForrest Jr., 72, of East Syracuse, died Monday, January 6, 2020. According to DeForrests obituary, he was born in Auburn and graduated from Auburn High School. He spent three years in the US Army stationed in Germany working as a computer programmer. He lived in Austin, Texas, before returning to Upstate New York, and settled in East Syracuse. He worked at Aurora of Central New York as a certified orientation and mobility instructor. He was recognized for his tireless and inventive work with visually-impaired and blind consumers all over Central New York. If you have a suggestion for a feature obituary, please email the link and any other information youd like to share to bduncan@syracuse.com More recent feature obituaries: Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. A 23-year-old man appeared in court today accused of murdering an Omani student who was stabbed to death for his 120,000 Rolex watch near Harrods. Badir Rahim Alnazi was also charged with attempted robbery and possession of a blade after Mohamed Abdullah Al Araimi, 20, was killed last month. Alnazi appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today over the attack near the luxury department store in London's Knightsbridge. He spoke only to confirm his name, address and gave his nationality as Kuwaiti. Mohammed Abdullah Al Araimi, 20, a King's College politics and economics student, was knifed to death on December 5, 2019 as he made his way home from a meal out with friends Scotland Yard is still looking for a second suspect, pictured right, wearing a green jacket and a cap in connection with Mr Al Araimi's murder last month He was arrested on Wednesday after handing himself into a police station. Police are still looking for a second suspect, who was wearing a green jacket and cap. A reward of 20,000 was offered by Scotland Yard on Tuesday for information leading to the killers' arrest and prosecution. Police have stated the value of the Rolex was between 45,000 and 120,000. The victim, a King's College politics and economics student, was knifed to death on December 5, 2019 as he made his way home from a meal out with friends. Mr Al Araimi, who was said to have lived in the UK for three years, was found unconscious after the attack at 11.55pm, and pronounced dead at 0.39am. The victim's family, said to be close Oman's ruling dynasty, have spoken of their grief and his brother, Raid Al Araimi, said: 'As a family we are all grieving at the loss of Mohammed. He only went out for a meal with a friend and never came home. 'If anyone knows who is responsible, or believes they know, please do the right thing and tell the police. We would not want another family to suffer like we are suffering.' In a statement following his death, his brother Salem Abdullah Al Araimi said: 'Our hearts are eternally broken.' A tent stands outside Harrods in London's Knightsbridge where the body of the man was found on December 6. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab wound On the night of his murder, Mr Al Araimi left a restaurant with a friend on Pavilion Road in Knightsbridge. He was attacked on Basil Street and collapsed and died on Hans Crescent The scene of the death of Omani student Mohamed Abdullah Al Araimi in Knightsbridge And a friend of the victim said last month: 'This is a truly awful, shocking crime to happen in the middle of London in front of such a famous department store.' Earlier this week police released CCTV footage of two men they wanted to identify who were seen walking together in Knightsbridge early on December 6. Mr Al Araimi had been out for a meal with a friend at a restaurant on Pavilion Road, before leaving and walking along Basil Street, heading towards Sloane Street. A post-mortem examination took place at Westminster Mortuary on December 6 and gave the cause of death as a stab wound. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, who is leading the investigation, said the attack and robbery was 'truly shocking and extremely violent'. Alnazi, of Barnet, is charged with murder, attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article. He was remanded in custody by Deputy District Judge Kevin Gladwell and will next appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday 14 January. Hong Kong, Jan 10 : Hong Kong authorities arrested a pro-democracy activist at the city's airport while on her way to Taiwan to observe this weekends presidential election, it was revealed on Friday. Demosisto activist Lily Wong, 26, was held for her alleged involvement in a July 1, 2019 attack on the Legislative Council and charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and occupying the Council premises, the pro-democracy group wrote Friday on Facebook. Group co-founder Joshua Wong told Efe news that the activist, later released on bail, was going to Taiwan as an international observer for Saturday's election. According to Demosisto, Wong did not know police had listed her as wanted. The group urged everyone involved in the protests to be wary of surprise detentions at immigration checkpoints. A July 1 protest on the occasion of the anniversary of Hong Kong's sovereignty transfer to China saw hundreds of young protesters storming and occupying the city's Parliament. Hong Kong's political situation has been volatile for months. Massive crowds took to the streets demanding better democratic mechanisms on June 9 following a controversial extradition bill which has since been withdrawn. The months-long protests have also adversely affected Hong Kong's economy. The special administrative region went into recession last year for the first time in a decade - contracting 2.9 per cent in the third quarter - as a result of declining imports and exports, retail sales and tourism. Prohibition is Over! Americans have a special place in their heart, perhaps more accurately in their liver, for the resurgence of the Speakeasy. The Prohibition, a constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcohol that lasted from 1920 to 1933 were in fact 13 years of pushback against a government policy of temperance that was rejected wholly by the masses. Friday 10 January 2020, 03:00PM Quilted leather luxury at Speakeasy Yacht Club The national constitutional ban on alcohol had a direct correlation with organised crime as just prior to the ban, the saloon was a staple of American society. The desire to imbibe did not simply vanish with the stroke of the pen that ushered in the amendment and the absence of absinthe would swiftly be filled and distilled. Smugglers began importing distilled libations, homemade cocktails came into the lexicon, and many a patron found their way to a secret new shop they could partake and please their parched palate for the spirit they sought. The shops that sprang up as a result of these temperance policies became known as a Speakeasy, aptly named as a softly spoken tone was expected to be adopted when describing the illicit activity taking place in such an establishment. By 1925, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs in New York City alone suggests Teaching With Documents: The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Documents in the United States National Archives. For over a decade, Americans endured crime waves, illness from unregulated distillations, and many other ills as a result of this policy but all that was about to end. December 5, 1933 the grand temperance experiment failed and the repeal of the 21st Amendment took place. Ever since, Americans have donned the regalia of the Roaring Twenties, and enjoy a Repeal Party at a local Speakeasy throwback. People in Phuket have the opportunity to enjoy one of the islands newest. The Speakeasy Yacht Club Restaurant is a welcomed addition to Royal Phuket Marinas boardwalk with the boats and marina backdrop making any date night quite impressive. This establishment gives all the thrills of the classic Roaring Twenties feel with a modern touch of international culinary delights. Boasting a visually stunning decor that is something right out of the era with long quilted leather chesterfield sofas and Edison bulbs illuminating the room. If you prefer a view, you can enjoy your meal with a waterside candle-lit view of the Royal Phuket Marina and all the beautiful yachts and amazing villas that make this area one of Phukets most treasured. Every Friday, Speakeasy shifts between Indian and Mexican delicacies. On Indian cuisine night, head chef Rom Bahadur Rayamajhi, who hails from Nepal and is the personal chef of RPMs CEO and founder Gulu Lalvani, treats diners to an assortment of dishes. Chef Rayamajhis credentials are long. He was the head chef for AKA SAKA Restaurant, Defence Colony, New Delhi and has been the Executive Chef at Royal Phuket Marina since 2012. One challenge many people have with Indian cuisine is navigating the menu. While they love Indian food, the menu can be quite intimidating as there are rarely pictures or explanations of what items are what, so one tends to rely on fate to decide what will be for dinner. That intimidation is removed at Speakeasy Yacht Club as the most popular dishes are offered with ease and simplicity. Butter Chicken with its deep sunset red hue, roasted Gobi with a crisp perfect texture, sensationally seasoned basmati rice and fluffy nan bread to soak it all in. Speakeasy Yacht Club selects quintessential regional dishes from the north and south of India and simplifies it just right for the night. President Donald Trump has sent a happy birthday message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Koreas National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong said on Friday. Chung, who met Trump in Washington this week, told reporters that he was given a message to pass to North Korea and it was delivered on Thursday. Upon arrival at the Incheon airport, Chung said, the day we met was Kim Jong Uns birthday and President Trump remembered this and asked me to deliver the message. Kim Jong Un who succeeded his father in 2011, was 36 years old on 8 January. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images I saw the gripping New York Times documentary on Hulu this past week about the case of Navy SEAL Commander Eddie Gallagher, a rogue soldier who routinely shot civilians in Iraq for the hell of it, and finally stabbed to death a barely conscious captive young ISIS fighter who was the lone survivor of a missile hit on an enemy house. The documentary has video of the testimonies of his fellow SEALs, all of whom were in obvious anguish and pain as they told the truth to investigators. It also shows a photograph of Gallagher holding up the murdered kids head like a trophy in a wild-game hunt. The image is difficult to put out of your mind. This kind of dehumanizing barbarism started, of course, with a euphemism. Enhanced interrogation techniques, we were assured, were nothing like torture. They were just a very intense form of questioning. I want to be absolutely clear with our people and the world: The United States does not torture, president George W. Bush insisted with a straight and serious face. And then we discovered that these enhanced techniques were actually extremely similar to the verscharfte Vernehmung (intense interrogation methods) that the Gestapo once used. Human beings were locked into tiny coffins for days, hung by their wrists from ceilings, hooded, stripped naked, slammed violently against walls, deprived of sleep for days, frozen to the brink of hypothermia, suffocated repeatedly with water, and in one case, accidentally tortured to death. Nor did we have to imagine these horrors: Many of these techniques were ubiquitous at Abu Ghraib prison and photographed. The administration insisted that all of this was invented by a few rogue grunts on the ground, even though we now know that what we saw was the very low end of the abuse of prisoners that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney directly authorized. The official black sites were dystopian torture chambers. When the torture started, many U.S. personnel, at first, couldnt watch. Seeing human beings treated by Americans the way they had been treated by the Nazis sickened them. Cables were sent, and ignored. Tapes of the grotesque torture sessions were destroyed. At Gitmo, an elaborate and secret detention center, these experiments on human beings continued. The conclusion of the Senates magisterial report on torture endlessly stymied and obstructed by the CIA is that none of this barbarism gave us any information we could not have gleaned (and did glean) using traditional interrogation methods. (The new movie The Report tells the story of my friend Dan Joness long struggle to get to the truth.) In short, the United States abandoned the Geneva Conventions it had once been instrumental in creating. And this continued under the Obama administration. Yes, the torture program, mercifully, was ended by executive order on Obamas second day. But Geneva also requires member states to investigate all claims of war crimes and prosecute the perpetrators. The new president, leery of the divisive and emotional issue as he began his term in an economic crisis, decided to ignore them. In fact, for eight years, no one was even fired or demoted for war crimes, let alone prosecuted, and some were even promoted within the CIA. The message was clear: Americans who torture are essentially immune from prosecution. Torture thereby became normalized. So it was not surprising that in 2016, a presidential candidate emerged who openly espoused torture as something he would bring back if he were elected. Suddenly, this felt like a legitimate debate. And it was unsurprising that this position won support from Republican primary voters, as if it were just one of many policy proposals, and not an unthinkable violation of domestic and international law. And Trumps position was not a reluctant one. He exulted in it, telling war crime stories on the stump, in particular the apocryphal one of General Pershing killing Muslims with bullets dipped in the blood of pigs to terrorize others. Only Jim Mattis was able to restrain the commander-in-chief from restoring the torture program, even if it is clear that Trump still regards war crimes as a sign of strength. But signs were sent to the military and the world that this president admired the tactics of dictators and found democracies pathetic in comparison. Trump nominated and the Senate approved Gina Haspel, who was deeply involved in the torture program, as the director of the CIA. The U.S. had gone from ignoring torture to symbolically legitimizing it. This is how liberal democracies disintegrate. A violation of core moral norms happens in one specific, exceptional case, such as after 9/11. Some even find reasons to justify it as an emergency measure (something Geneva rules out as a legal excuse). But torture then entrenches itself into the government apparatus and bureaucracy. Theres a record. There are government employees involved and doctors and psychologists. And any president has a choice. You know these people and rely on them. Do you prosecute these people or decide to pretend they did nothing wrong? Obama chose to do nothing to hold anyone accountable. Trump took the new normal and boosted it. Torture works! he declared. In the 2016 campaign, he was asked what hed do if a military officer refused to obey an illegal order from him, and he responded: They wont refuse. Theyre not going to refuse, believe me. He has routinely said he wants to keep the oil in parts of Iraq and Syria American troops occupied, another breach of the laws of war. And he has stood by his embrace of war crimes, in particular in the case of Eddie Gallagher. After a group of six Navy SEALs decided, in great anguish, to report their murderous platoon chief for war crimes, and Gallagher was arrested and arraigned, Gallaghers brother, Sean, went on Fox & Friends and appealed to Trump to step in. Trump first said he might pardon him after the trial. In that trial, one witness, given total immunity, reversed six previous testimonies and said he and not Gallagher killed the prisoner, by asphyxiating him by blocking the ventilating tube. The witness, asked why had suddenly changed his story, said he did not want Gallagher or his family to go through a life prison sentence without parole. That very day, for the first time, Gallagher came to court with his family. Gallagher was acquitted, except for the charge of arranging the photograph of what he called a deer kill, holding the dead kids head up as a trophy. When the Navy, in a final weak attempt to punish him, tried to take Gallaghers SEAL pin away from him, Trump personally intervened and insisted this war criminal would keep his pin, and that he was one of the great fighters in the U.S. military. Fox News celebrated, and Gallagher brazenly called those with the courage to turn him in cowards who fled from combat. Gallagher is now a celebrity in the Trump cult, and hawks T-shirts online with the slogan Waterboarding Instructor. A president who believes a war criminal is among the finest fighters the U.S. has and suggests he will pardon him after his trial is, quite simply, unique in the history of the U.S. So too is a president who threatens another country with the destruction of its cultural sites in revenge for any response to the assassination of one of its military and political leaders. In mere decades, we went from the architect and guardian of the Geneva Conventions to their nemesis. The professional military, who serve with honor, are doing their best to resist, as those honorable SEALs did in the Gallagher case. The Pentagon quickly contradicted the president: We will follow the laws of armed conflict, said Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday. The world once knew that the U.S. government would do its best always to follow those laws. There are likely to be war crimes in any real-world conflict, and the U.S. has committed its share of them. But George W. Bush was the first president to directly authorize something that George Washington had ruled out of bounds in the Revolutionary War. Washingtons words ring ever more tragically in the age of Trump: Should any American soldier be so base and infamous as to injure any prisoner I do most earnestly enjoin you to bring him to such severe and exemplary punishment as the enormity of the crime may require. Should it extend to death itself, it will not be disproportional to its guilt at such a time and in such a cause for by such conduct they bring shame, disgrace and ruin to themselves and their country. Military honor and the laws of war are the mark of civilization, and something that takes centuries to build and one feckless decision to destroy. For an American president actually to celebrate such crimes, and even personally threaten to commit them, was unimaginable before now, before the shame and disgrace of Trump. Theres a line in Robert Bolts play, A Man For All Seasons, that has long haunted me when I think of this precious civilizational norm this president had broken. Its when Thomas More tells his daughter about the nature of an oath. Once breached, he argues, its gone. I feel that way about Americas centuries-long eschewal of torture and war crimes more generally. When a man takes an oath, Meg, hes holding his own self in his own hands, like water [he cups his hands] and if he opens his fingers then, he neednt hope to find himself again. A Tyrants War There were a few hours this past week when we were shaken out of the denial that comes with exhaustion. There we were, risking a real outbreak of war, and all we had was him. And this was not an exception in this presidency just the most extreme example we have yet had of our collective helplessness in the face of one mans fecklessness. There are cases where there is enormous leeway for a president under the Constitution to respond to a national security emergency swiftly and decisively. But this was not such an emergency. Iran is not a real threat to the United States, although it harasses and targets U.S. service members and bases in its own backyard. The administration has been incapable of providing any evidence for the imminent attack they used to justify the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani. It appears to me to have been invented. Regardless, there was time to consult allies, and to seek authorization from Congress for what was plainly an act of war. But, of course, that didnt happen. And it didnt happen because we have long constructed an all-powerful executive branch the Founders would recognize as a pseudo-monarchy and now occupied it with an unstable, belligerent, and irrational demagogue. The word for this is tyranny, as I noted three and a half years ago. Not tyranny in the sense that we do not still live in a free country, but tyranny in the classic sense: one-man, strongman rule. In his defense, Trump has never been shy about this. Throughout the campaign, this is the president he said he would be. I alone can fix it! he told us. At the beginning, there was some semblance of an administration around the demagogue who believes his Article 2 powers give him the power to do whatever I want. Some grown-ups with some experience were around; some even wrote op-eds in the New York Times anonymously, reassuring us that they were in charge. Occasionally, Trump was talked out of impulsive or incendiary ideas, or had them slow-walked into nothing. But Trump remembered those who opposed his impulses, as well as those who didnt jump immediately to attention, and, usually within a few months, they were gone. In Platos words, when describing how a strongmans rule unfolds: Some of those who helped in setting him up and are in power the manliest among them speak frankly to him and to one another, criticizing what is happening Then the tyrant must gradually do away with all of them, if hes going to rule. And he has pretty much done away with all of them. Were left with a new and weak defense secretary, Mark Esper, constantly contradicted by his boss; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a toady obsessed with Iran; and a war criminal as CIA director, Gina Haspel, who owes her job entirely to a torture-loving president. With this supine clique, Trump ordered the assassination of the top military leader of a country with which we are not at war. Congress was sidelined almost entirely; allies were blindsided. This was not a sane process of deliberation about potentially starting yet another war in the Middle East, considering its consequences, and calibrating a strategy. It was a strongmans impulse. After Trump threatened, like the Taliban might, to destroy ancient cultural sites in Iran, he eventually softened his tone but the way he did it was deeply revealing. If thats what the law is, he told reporters with respect to the Geneva Conventions, I like to obey the law. Not: Of course I will obey the law. Rather: I like to obey the law. It is something he regards as optional for him, as he always has in his business enterprises and tax returns. It is something he says he likes to do but isnt compelled to. The idea that he is, in fact, constitutionally required to defend the rule of law in all cases hasnt even begun to occur to him. And he has found a way within the presidency to make the rule of law optional for himself: by firing officials tasked with investigating him; politicizing the Justice Department so as to exonerate him; using the pardon power to circumvent justice and tamper with witnesses; refusing point-blank to obey any congressional subpoenas in a legal and constitutional impeachment; suing endlessly to postpone complying with the law; telling his own officials to break the law because hell pardon them retroactively; and ordering war crimes if he so wishes (by tweet, no less). This relentless embrace of more and more personal power is all there in Platos Republic. But there has been one thing Plato said about the progression of tyrants that did not seem to apply easily to Trump: He is always setting some war in motion, so that people will be in need of a leader, Plato explains. In fact, its necessary for a tyrant always to be stirring up war. We have already had Trumps trade war, which is ongoing; we have his war with European allies over defense; we have his war with the media; we have his Twitter wars against his foes; we have his war against any dissidents in his own party; and we have his war against the truth. All these aggressive, belligerent stances have helped him with his base, and sustained his support, as Plato predicted. This week, we risked a hot war with a country we have already crippled with economic sanctions, even as it had fully complied with the nuclear deal negotiated with all the major powers. Finally, as the full import of one-man rule sank in, the Congress has begun to push back. Nancy Pelosis proposal for a legal limit on Trumps war powers with respect to Iran is a start. More promising are those Republican senators, Mike Lee and Rand Paul, who actually appeared shocked by something they should long have known by now: that this president rules alone, and for all intents and purposes, Congress has become irrelevant. Heres the money quote from Lee: As I recall, one of my colleagues asked a hypothetical involving the Supreme Leader of Iran: If at that point, the United States government decided that it wanted to undertake a strike against him personally, recognizing that he would be a threat to the United States, would that require authorization for the use of military force? The fact that there was nothing but a refusal to answer that question was perhaps the most deeply upsetting thing to me in that meeting. Welcome, Senator Lee, to reality. We now operate in a political system in which one deranged man can take an entire country to war in a fit of pique, the legislative branch has been sidelined, and none among the toadies in the presidents own party will stand up to him. We live in one in which regular constitutional processes like an impeachment and congressional approval for a war are treated by the strongman with contempt. We have two remedies: a War Powers Resolution to rein Trump in on Iran, and conviction in the Senate impeachment trial for rank abuse of power. And the presidents cult of a party may well deny us both. Hospital As Airport Ive never stayed overnight in a hospital before, but I did this week for some sinus surgery. My septum is as deviated as my politics, it turns out, and my sinuses in general are gummed up to the eyeballs. Its a minor but grueling surgery, and they kept me overnight to monitor my sleep apnea and oxygen levels. I have zero complaints about how I was treated everyone was super-kind and professional but I had no idea how similar the whole experience was to being in an airport. First off, I had to get up at 4:30 a.m. for a surgery at 7:30 a.m. (4:30 typically happens only once a day for me as does 7:30, for that matter). The Uber in the dark was very much like catching an early international flight. Security check after security check followed at reception as I was asked the same health and identity questions again and again. Then I checked my personal belongings, and was wheeled into the operating room. Some of the superficial similarities ended there: After the two-hour surgery, I woke up strapped to a mobile bed in the post-op center, with dressings on my mustache and wads of cotton in my nostrils. Then I had my first experience with fentanyl, which was something Id thought about doing before writing an essay on opioids, but of course didnt risk at the time. It was quite lovely feeling this cold fluid flush into my left hand and arm as the world suddenly felt light and floaty. Still, I didnt move for 12 hours straight, waiting for a room to open up. I naively thought Id sleep all day, but that was impossible with all the lights and noise and conversations (and what conversations!) going on behind those curtains. I thought Id work instead, which was an even more stupid idea. Id brought my laptop and this column was due but well, you know, fentanyl, and the fact that my hands were all connected up to various tubes and wires. When I got a room just before midnight, I was psyched. Quiet! Sleep! Rest! But no. My roommate had the TV on, my lovely nurses had to prick and poke and wake me every couple of hours, and I only managed a couple of hours with my earbuds plugged into my iPhone with ocean-wave sounds on it. Im not complaining but being stuck somewhere propped up awkwardly, waiting in a public space for hours on end, with lighting like you get in Target, it did all feel like some airport nightmare dream with the added feeling of having been punched hard in the face a few times. Now, time to take some liquid oxycodone. See you next Friday. India is erecting a new non-cut 'steel fence' to plug vulnerable and infiltration-prone patches along its sensitive border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, officials said on Friday. They said the single-row fence, with loops of concertina wires on top, is being erected at a 60-km border stretch in near Amritsar in Punjab. A 'pilot project' of this new fence is also being tested at a 7-km stretch in Assam's Silchar along India's border with Bangladesh and is being analysed by the BSF, they said. This fence will cost about Rs 2 crore for a kilometre, official sources said. Based on the feedback of these projects, new fence will be erected at more places where either the old one has worn out or there was no fence owing to geographical challenges. The sources informed that the Union home ministry has also advanced a technology-based project of deploying 'laser fences' along these two borders, to five years as compared to the earlier 10-year deadline. The Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) that entails deployment of smart fences, advanced surveillance gadgets and anti-infiltration alarms has been speeded up by the border management division under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Border Security Force along these two borders, they said. These developments are being seen in the backdrop of developments where security agencies have detected the presence of 'Afghan fighters' along the India-Pakistan border. These terror operatives have travelled across borders from Afghanistan resulting in an enhanced vigil by the security forces to thwart infiltration and terror bids along the sensitive frontier in Jammu-Kashmir. Sources said that while infiltration bases and terror launch pads along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir are still intact, the latest concern of the security agencies are the well-trained terrorists from Afghanistan whose presence along the vulnerable infiltration spots along Pakistan border can be used to foment trouble in the newly-created Union Territory (UT) of Jammu-Kashmir and other locations in the hinterland. The BSF, they said, has also recently completed and exercise to fully "map and identify" vulnerable spots all along these two borders as part of a three-staged exercise carried out last year. There is lot of work that is happening to secure the borders along Pakistan and Bangladesh, they said. Latest measures include strengthening Indian defences along Pakistan, mapping of infiltration prone areas along the two borders, and erection of new steel fence along vulnerable patches, the sources said. According to an assessment, they said, the security agencies are also keeping a close tab on the activities of cross-border terror modules and terrorists as they anticipate some incidents of attack on security forces deployed in the Kashmir valley and around the Jammu area. Officials also refused withdrawal of more paramilitary units from Kashmir saying some "optimum" strength of these forces like CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB need to be kept there for regular law and order and counter-terrorist operations. About a lakh Central Armed Police Forces personnel were sent to Kashmir in the wake of scrapping of Article 370 provisions last year and the Centre has withdrawn about 100 companies (about 100 troops in each company) in the recent past stating the security situation was "conducive" for such a de-induction. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alzheimers support group for caregivers meets at Kannapolis Church of Christ at noon. The meeting is conducted by trained facilitators and is a safe place for caregivers, family and friends of people with dementia to develop a support system. The church is at 2315 Concord Lake Road, Kannapolis. The Cabarrus County Branch of the NAACP invites all people of good faith to join them at 6 p.m. The all-inclusive, all-welcoming group meets at the First Missionary Baptist Church fellowship hall, 192 Tournament Drive SW, Concord. Call Amos at 704-560-1877. Lifetree Cafe is a conversation cafe where everyone is welcome to join meaningful conversations that explore life and faith from 7-8 p.m. Light refreshments are served. This weeks topic is Is the Devil Real? An Exorcist Tells All. The cafe is at 113 First St., Kannapolis (next to the Gem Theatre). For more information, email lifetreekannapolis@gmail.com or go to Facebook Lifetree Cafe Kannapolis, and @Meet Up. Democrats have a full majority at the state house for the first time in a generation and have promised significant new gun restrictions, including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and a red flag law that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others. Assam minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that actor Deepika Padukones visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was for publicity. She went to JNU to grab limelight without investment on a publicity campaign by her (movie) producer, Sarma said at a press conference on Thursday. Padukones film Chhapaak - which is based on the life of an acid attack victim - is releasing on January 10. Terming it to be a trend among movie actors, Sarma said that ahead of a films release they create some controversy and visit public institutions. On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced that the movie will be tax free in their respective states. Padukone had visited the JNU campus in New Delhi on January 7 to take part in a protest by students and show solidarity with them against the violence unleashed inside the university on Sunday by some masked goons. Later, speaking to a television channel, Deepika said she was very angry at the situation. Her visit divided social media, where trends ranged from #ISupportDeepika to #BoycottChhapaak. Sarma accused Left leaning students and teachers of JNU of creating an atmosphere of intolerance where people who dont subscribe to their ideology are not allowed to express their views. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON YEREVAN. It has been several months that fake news has been circulating in Armenian groups through hacked profiles. Tigran Abrahamyan, Adviser to the President of the Artsakh Republic, wrote this on Facebook. "Various hacked users, who are administered by Azeris, are spreading posts aimed at the emergence or deepening of internal hostility, around the domestic political situation () in Armenia and Artsakh," he added, in particular. Fake news is circulating. In all places the post is the same: a call to take to the streets and to hold rallies against [Armenias PM] Nikol Pashinyan. Every time we write to the administrators, we try to prevent the Azeris from spreading fake news in the groups, but the vast majority of the administrators do not respond. Even leaving comments under the post is not particularly effective. This is a problem that requires a comprehensive solution. Yesterday's example is in this group. This user's profile has also been hacked, I have written in person, an Azeri responded. My request for the structures dealing with information security issues is to tackle similar security issues, prevent such incidents at an early stage, as well as to conduct public awareness campaigns on information security principles and their risks." Iranian regime will stop at nothing to ensure survival Tehran asks Canada to share its intel that Iran downed Ukraine jet International oi-PTI Tehran, Jan 10: Iran, alluding to "doubtful scenarios", challenged international suggestions that the Ukrainian airliner that crashed outside Tehran this week was mistakenly downed by an Iranian missile. The Iranian government, in a statement, urged Canada to share its information after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the Boeing airliner after it took off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Iran's foreign ministry also invited the US planemaker Boeing to "participate" in its enquiry into the crash. US to join Ukraine airliner crash probe, says got notification from Iran Canada's theory was swiftly backed up by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported an Iranian missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional". US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believe the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at American military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. Tehran said it was prepared to allow experts from the countries who lost people in the crash to help with the enquiry. US officials confident that Iran shot down Ukraine plane, killing 176 on board The ill-fated plane was carrying 82 Iranians,11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons, as well as the 63 Canadians. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 10, 2020, 10:04 [IST] We are divided between coal interests and politicians on the one side and then firefighters and volunteers on the other and the rest of us who are either impacted or our friends and family are on the front line, or in cities surrounded by smoke, Stanbrook said. We need to come together and say that we will not accept it anymore. Turkey has clearly formulated its goal, that is, to become the leading country in the region and a power center for making decisions. This is what Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Ruben Safrastyan told reporters today. According to him, if we look at Turkeys policy in the Middle East from this perspective, we will see that it is achieving this goal. Turkey has been aggressive and ensured its presence in North Syria, and it recently made an official statement that 8,000 square kilometers of Syrias territory are under Turkeys control, meaning Turkey has occupied 8,000 square kilometers of its neighboring countrys territory. Turkeys 40,000 soldiers are in Cyprus, and now the Turkish army is trying to move towards Libya. Turkey has military bases in Africa and Qatar. Last year, I came to the conclusion that Turkeys foreign policy is entering a new stage, the essence of which is to use the armed forces, be it in Syria, Libya or elsewhere, Safrastyan said and noted that Turkey has already officially declared that it supports the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. This is also the result of a calculation since the withdrawal of US troops will help Turkey achieve its new goals, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 03:40:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday expressed the hope that a cross-border aid mechanism for Syrians could be saved as the Security Council is making its last-ditch effort toward that end. On Friday afternoon, the Security Council is expected to vote on two competing draft resolutions, one prepared by Belgium and Germany, the other by Russia. Apart from the two competing draft resolutions, the Security Council is reportedly considering a third draft, which could either authorize a two-week technical roll-over of the current arrangements or present compromise language. The vote came after the council failed to re-authorize the mechanism on Dec. 20, 2019, as a result of division among members. "We very much hope that the members of the council will come together in agreement and permit us to continue our work doing cross-border operations," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "We have no alternative to reach the people in the northwest and northeast (of Syria) than through cross-border operations. So if there is no resolution (or) roll-over, the operations will cease by the end of today." The secretary-general, over the past week and before, has spent a lot of time on the phone with various members of the Security Council, stressing the critical need to continue the cross-border operations, Dujarric told a daily press briefing. Guterres and other senior UN officials have stayed in close touch with members of the Security Council on this issue, either in person or by phone with permanent representatives, and with their capitals as well, said the spokesman. Since 2014, the United Nations and aid groups have crossed into Syria from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan at four crossing points authorized by the Security Council. Millions of Syrians have been reached since the United Nations was permitted to run these cross-border operations, said Dujarric. P owersharing is set to return to Northern Ireland after Sinn Fein joined the DUP leadership in backing a deal to re-enter devolved government together. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said a draft agreement tabled by the UK and Irish governments provided a basis to resurrect parliamentary institutions that have been down for three years. The announcement came after a day of internal deliberations by the republican party. It followed a similar announcement by DUP leader Arlene Foster on Thursday night minutes after the text of governments proposals were published. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald at a press conference / AFP via Getty Images Peace process structures mean a ministerial executive can only function with the inclusion of the largest unionist party and largest nationalist party in the region. Later on Friday the SDLP announced it will enter the powersharing arrangement at Stormont. There has been no confirmation when the Assembly will officially resume business and a new first and deputy first minister will be elected, but it could be as soon as Saturday. We now have the basis to restore power sharing, and were up for that, said Ms McDonald. Theres no doubt there are serious challenges ahead; the impact of Brexit, austerity and other pressing issues. But the biggest and most significant challenge will be ensuring we have genuine power sharing build on equality, respect and integrity. I believe that the powersharing government can work. That requires everyone to step up. Sinn Feins commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. The wide-ranging deal, which was published by the governments on Thursday night, contains compromise solutions to the vexed disputes at the heart of the 36-month powersharing impasse, such as legislative provisions for Irish language speakers. Ms McDonald responded to those Irish language activists disappointed with provisions outlined in the deal. She insisted the New Decade, New Approach agreement was only a start, predicting that more gains for language would come in the future. I would say to Irish language activists take heart from the fact that this is now an historic moment because for the first time we have official recognition, she said. The republican leader also insisted Sinn Fein was committed to Irish reunification efforts and to make sure all people across the north and south divide enjoyed the same rights. Former Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams listens as Ms McDonald speaks during a media conference / AFP via Getty Images SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it was time to get down to work and deliver for the public. We have had big commitments from the two governments and other parties to ensure that the things that we are concerned about actually get done in this executive, he said. Thats why we have taken the decision, as a party, to go into government to make sure that we can deliver for the people we are concerned about. We will go in, probably sceptically, but we will go in and we will do our best to deliver for the public. The deal includes what the UK government has promised will be a major Treasury-funded financial package to tackle a host of acute problems facing a public sector that has been floundering amid the governance vacuum. One of the most high profile of those is a high-profile industrial dispute in the health service which on Friday saw nurses again walk out on strike. Under the terms of the deal, the new executive will also take action to reduce spiralling hospital waiting lists; extend mitigation payments for benefit claimants hit by welfare reforms; increase the number of police officers on the beat; and resolve an industrial dispute involving teachers. The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That row subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said history has been made, adding that an executive could be formed on Saturday. Speaking to reporters in Dublin after Sinn Fein backed the deal, he said: History is being made today. We now have confirmation from the two largest parties in Northern Ireland that they both are committed to re-entering an executive and establishing a functioning Stormont again. Of course, that is not the end of the story as we want this to be an all-party executive so I hope that the Alliance Party and SDLP will also be able to join Sinn Fein and the DUP in that new executive. We hope that it may be possible that executive will be formed tomorrow but if not tomorrow, certainly Monday and to build on the momentum that is being created in the past 24 hours so that people can see positive political activity, people working together and setting an example and signal of positivity and show that politics in Northern Ireland can be a force for good and brings people together. Thompson said it appeared there were two fires in the home -- the one in the bedroom and one that started in the furnace room. The blaze did not severely damage the home, which Leben said was rented by the Entzels. Police said they found a double-barrel shotgun with one spent shell in the chamber and a box of ammunition with two shells missing in the bedroom. State Medical Examiner William Massello concluded Chad Entzel had at least two gunshot wounds and died from them, according to the affidavit. Nikki Entzel on Jan. 2 reported the structure fire to authorities. She also is charged with conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Authorities say the homes security system was logged into several times and eventually deactivated. A search of her cellphone showed it was used to log into the security system at times that coincided with administrative logs from the security company, police say. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 20:35:17|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan has asked Interpol for its cooperation in arresting the wife of former Nissan Motor Co. chief Carlos Ghosn, sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday. The move came after Tokyo prosecutors on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant for Ghosn's wife Carole, 53, on suspicion of perjury during a court appearance last year. Investigators believe Carole, who is now in Lebanon with Ghosn who jumped bail and fled Japan late last month, may have destroyed evidence in connection with her husband's case involving financial misconduct. She is suspected of denying during a court appearance in Tokyo last April that she knew an acquaintance of Ghosn although she is believed to have had contacted the individual. Prosecutors believe Carole met with Ghosn's acquaintance and exchanged numerous messages with him following her husband's arrest on Nov. 19, 2018. Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, meaning that Carole's arrest may be unlikely as will Ghosn be handed over to Japan to face the charges against him, despite Japan petitioning Lebanon to cooperate. The latest move by the prosecutors, however, is believed to be aimed at restricting Carole's activities, sources close to the matter said Friday. The thunderstorms which could come with tornadoes, hail and dangerous winds were predicted to rip through south-central and southeastern states on Friday, with the greatest risks in northeast Texas, northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas on Friday night. Mr. Bunting also warned of the potential for nighttime tornadoes, which can be especially dangerous if people are asleep and not paying attention to weather warnings. Its really important that people respond to warnings and not wait until they have a visual, he said. By the time you sense danger, it will be on you. Rain, snow and ice were in the forecast for parts of the central and eastern United States, with threats of flooding looming from Arkansas to Ohio. In Kansas, officials warned of blizzard-like conditions. In Fort Wayne, Ind., city officials instructed residents to take home bags of sand to protect their belongings from flooding. In Texas, emergency management officials put boats, helicopters and rescue teams on standby. With rise in Omicron cases, SC to conduct hearings virtually for next two weeks Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC SC stays order reinstating Cyrus Mistry as Tata chairman India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)'s order to reinstate Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of the Tata Group. "The tribunal's decision to restore Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of Tata Sons may be an "adjudication error" which permeates the whole order, Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde observed while reading out the verdict. In its December 18 order, Cyrus Mistry was restored at the top helm of Tata Sons - one of the country's oldest and largest conglomerates - three years after his dramatic sacking at a board meeting. Review internet suspension in J&K forthwith rules Supreme Court SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week The scion of the wealthy Shapoorji Pallonji family, Mistry had in December 2012 succeeded Ratan Tata as the Executive Chairman of Tata Sons, a post that also made him the head of all Tata group listed firms such as Tata Power and Tata Motors. He was removed as the Chairman of Tata Sons, in an overnight coup, in October 2016. Along with him, the entire senior management too was purged and Ratan Tata was back at the helms of affairs four years after he took retirement. with PTI inputs After the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh declared Deepika Padukone-starrer "Chhapaak" as tax-free, opposition BJP on Friday demanded the same concession for Ajay Devgn's "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior". BJP leaders also asked their former ally Shiv Sena -- which is now sharing power with the Congress in Maharashtra -- to support the demand. Congress-ruled governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh declared "Chhapaak", which deals with the issue of acid attacks on women, tax-free after Deepika visited a protest against the violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. The National Student Union of India (NSUI), student wing of the Congress, distributed free tickets of "Chhapaak" in the state on Friday. Not to be outdone, BJP leaders distributed free tickets for "Tanhaji", which is about the 17th century Maratha warrior Tanhaji Malusare, an associate of King Shivaji. Both "Chhapaak" and "Tanhaji" released on Friday. "Tanhaji" should be tax-free. The movie is about defending one's country from foreign invaders. It is based on illustrious life of Tanhaji Malusare, an army leader and friend of Hindu king Chhatrapati Shivaji," BJP MLA from Huzur Rameshwar Sharma told PTI. "We also request Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to write a letter to MP CM, seeking tax-free status for "Tanhaji"," he added. "Thackeray should also declare the film tax-free in Maharashtra, otherwise we will consider that he has started following the thoughts of (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb," the MLA said. Former MLA and BJP leader Surendra Nath Singh and the party's district general secretary Anil Agrawal distributed free tickets to the people who turned up to watch the Devgn- starrer film at Rangmahal Talkies in Bhopal. "We have watched and also distributed 200 free tickets of Tanhaji," Agrawal said. "Deepika Padukone shared the stage with anti-national elements at JNU. We oppose her act of showing solidarity with such people who are harming the nation," the BJP leader said. The NSUI distributed free tickets of "Chhapaak" to college students. "We have distributed around 200 free tickets of Chhapaak at Sangeet Talkies here. Students who showed college ID cards were given tickets," said its spokesperson Vivek Tripathi. Padukone visited the JNU campus in Delhi on Tuesday to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by armed assailants on Sunday night. Her gesture earned her praise for taking a stand on a political issue, while some others dismissed it as a promotion stunt for her film. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spain finally has a "Frankenstein" government - a minority administration led by the Socialists, supported by leftist Unidas Podemos (UP) and reliant on the votes of smaller separatist parties to pass legislation. The country's political deadlock was becoming farcical, so it's laudable that Sanchez and UP leader Pablo Iglesias have brought it to an end. Yet the resulting setup is not technically a coalition, as has been reported in both Spanish and international media. It is a fragile power-sharing arrangement comprised of two parties that disagree on a lot - one that will find it difficult to get anything done without the support of a hostile congress ("exactly: a coalition," I hear you say). Top of the priority list for Sanchez and Iglesias is repealing labour market reforms introduced by Conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy in 2012. Under pressure from the EU, Rajoy introduced a raft of austerity measures, including legislation that made it easy and cheap for companies to lay off workers. Anything that combats the perilous instability of Spain's job sector should be welcomed, but the new administration will face formidable challenges in undoing Rajoy's widely hated reforms. Trying to do so will be an early test for a governing team that sits on just 155 of the 350 seats in congress - 21 short of a majority. Standing in its way are the the Conservative PP (Rajoy's party), right wing newcomer Vox and pro-market groups such as Ciudadanos and the Basque PNV, the latter of which nevertheless voted for Sanchez on Tuesday. The toxic issue of Catalonia also threatens to create problems in the Frankenstien government. Iglesias has previously said that he is in favour of holding a legal referendum on independence in the north-easterly region, something to which Sanchez is firmly opposed - although he had to agree to open dialogue with the ERC, Republican Left of Catalonia, in order to secure their votes this week. Speaking of which, PP leader Pablo Casado has accused Sanchez of being an "extremist" - a pointlessly inflammatory reference to the deal that the Socialist leader has struck with UP and his reliance on Catalan and Basque separatists. Such divisive, simplistic rhetoric reminds us why it's taken so long for Spanish politicians to put their differences aside in order to try and govern the country. Sanchez is far from being an extremist: rather, he's a centrist, pragmatic politician who eventually realised that compromise would be necessary in order to end Spain's political deadlock (let's not forget that last September he dismissed the idea of teaming up with UP as "unfeasible"). If this new patchwork administration is to achieve anything, much more compromise - from Sanchez and Iglesias and all the other main parties - will be necessary. The big, unanswered question now is whether Spain's politicians are ready to put their country's interests before their own. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Friday suggested forming an 'Election Commission cadre', as part of electoral reforms, to take care of the activity of the poll panel independent of any political interference. "I feel that Election Commission has an important role. I feel that it should have its own cadre. An Election Commission cadre should develop...," he said. "It can be a limited cadre but which takes care of the entire activity of the Election Commission, independent of any political interference...probably, it is time we have a separate cadre for them," he said. Madhav was speaking at a conference here on 'Indian Democracy at Work- Money Power in Politics'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts towards 'onenation and one election' would be an important milestone in the reforms process, he said. All political parties have to come together and discuss the modalities on how to do it, he said. For the purpose of 'one nationone election', the practice of tabling no-confidence motion should be done away with and there should only be a confidence motion, Madhav said. He referred to ideas like shifting to a presidential system (of government) or proportional representation and said there are faults and positive sides in every system. But, pending any such shift, delimitation of constituencies, in which the number of constituencies goes up (reducing the present size of constituencies), should be undertaken, he said, adding this would lead to reduction in powers concentrated in the hands of legislators at present. Former President Pranab Mukherjee suggested increasing the number of Lok Sabha constituencies to 1,000, Madhav said. "A rational way of reorganizing the constituencies has to happen. So that this superman image of our legislators has to change. They have to be more accountable," he said. Stating that political parties allocate "separate budget" for the last two days of election, an amount much more than what is allocated for the preceding days, he stressed that this practice should be "crushed." "For that, internal reform is required but a stricter regime should also be put in place. The EC should have more teeth to control the scenario. The strength of western democracies is a vibrant watchdog system and an election watchdog system is needed in the country as well," he said. Observing that 'volunteers' are hired by parties to for electoral work, he asked why volunteers cannot be hired as 'watchdogs' during polls. Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who was one of the panelists, hoped that some pending suggestions made on strengthening the Election Commission would get through for addressing loopholes in the system. He said electoral reforms should be given due importance by the governments. "I have spent 40 years in public life. I don't think thatI have come across any conference of Chief Ministers where electoral reforms have been discussed," he said. "Equally, any number of meetings of Home Ministers called by Ministry of Home Affairs, they do not discuss electoral offences and how they are being prosecuted or pursued. So, I thinkwe need to bring this on the top of our agenda by governments," he said. It is the state machinery which has to investigate and prosecute the cases registered during election time, he said. "The state machinery is not under the Election Commission.So, most issues, they are issues of governance and they have to be dealt with by governments," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India has deployed its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in the Arabian Sea at a time China and Pakistan are holding a nine-day mega naval exercise in the region, a move seen as New Delhi sending a signal to its two neighbours. Top officials of the Naval headquarters were on board the aircraft carrier when it was deployed in the strategic mission, military sources told PTI. Pakistan and China on Monday launched a major drill in the North Arabian Sea with an aim to increase inter-operability and strategic cooperation between their two navies. Read: From INS Vikramaditya to BrahMos: India's defence capabilities are a force to be reckoned with Read: Indian Navy deployed 'aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and its battle group warships along with fighter aircraft' during India-Pakistan tensions The exercise 'Sea Guardians' is taking place in the midst of heightened tension between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. Key platforms of both China and Pakistan, including submarines, destroyers and frigates are part of the exercise. Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, with MiG29K fighters on board, has been sent with a strategic objective, the sources said. China is developing Pakistan's deep water Gwadar port in North Arabian Sea and has ramped up its military presence in the region, triggering concerns in India. Gwadar is being connected through the over USD 60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to China's Xinjiang province, providing a key land route to China to access the warm waters of Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea provides entry to the Indian Ocean where China has built a logistics base at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. Image Credits: ANI January is Thyroid Awareness Month, and physicians from the Hilda and J. Lester Gabrilove Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease and the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System are emphasizing the importance of being aware of symptoms that may be related to thyroid disease. The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck and under the voice box. It produces hormones that help the body control the rate of metabolism, and regulate the production and consumption of energy. When thyroid function is accelerated, the condition is called hyperthyroidism; when slowed, it is called hypothyroidism. Imbalances in thyroid function may be a result of environmental, autoimmune, or genetic factors. Additionally, thyroid issues may lead to cancer. Thyroid disease affects roughly 200 million people worldwide, and thyroid cancer is on the rise, with roughly 52,000 new cases diagnosed in 2019, according to the American Cancer Society. Three out of four thyroid cancer diagnoses are made in women. Data from the American Thyroid Association shows that more than 12 percent of the U.S. population will develop a thyroid condition in their lifetime, and the cause of these problems is largely unknown. An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease and up to 60 percent of them dont know they have it, so they go undiagnosed and untreated. Women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid issues, and one in eight women will develop a thyroid disorder. People with a family history of thyroid disease and/or thyroid cancer, and exposure to high doses of radiation, are also at increased risk, said Terry Davies, MD, Co-Director of the Mount Sinai Thyroid Center at Union Square and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. How to Perform a Thyroid Neck Self-Exam: Use a mirror and focus on the lower middle area of your neck, above the collarbones and below the Adams apple (larynx). Your thyroid gland is located in this area of your neck. While focusing on this area in the mirror, tip your head back. Take a drink of water and swallow. As you swallow, look at your neck. Check for any bulges or protrusions in this area when you swallow. Reminder: Dont confuse the Adams apple with the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is located further down on your neck, closer to the collarbone. You may want to repeat this process several times. If you do see any bulges or protrusions in this area, see your physician. You may have an enlarged thyroid gland or a thyroid nodule and should be checked to determine whether cancer is present or if treatment for thyroid disease is needed. Symptoms and Facts about Thyroid Disease Hyperthyroidism is an overactive thyroid and hypothyroidism is an underactive thyroid. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism are rapid weight loss, high blood pressure, anxiety, and insomnia. Symptoms of hypothyroidism are weak or slow heartbeat; muscular weakness; constant fatigue; weight gain; depression; slow reflexes; sensitivity to cold; thick, puffy, or dry skin; slowed mental processes and poor memory; and constipation. Goiter is another thyroid condition; it involves a visibly enlarged thyroid gland, often causing difficulty swallowing or breathing. Thyroid cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women. The number of new cases of thyroid cancer is growing most rapidly among all cancers in both men and women, due to increased detection. Thyroid Disease and Pregnancy Pregnant women should be aware of changes to their thyroid gland, which can be affected by different levels of pregnancy hormones. The thyroid hormone greatly contributes to the development of a healthy baby, and it is important that expectant mothers be properly diagnosed with and treated for thyroid disease. Otherwise, they could be at higher risk of miscarriage or preterm delivery, and their children may have developmental delays. For that reason, thyroid function is routinely checked in pregnant women. When it comes to thyroid cancer, a large number of women develop this during their reproductive age. Since thyroid cancer tends to be mediated by hormones in the body, it tends to grow faster when patients are pregnant. There is no special cancer screening recommendation for pregnant women. Mount Sinai Is a Leader in Noninvasive Thyroid Treatment Radiofrequency Ablation for Thyroid Nodules Mount Sinai West is one of only two hospitals in New York State offering a minimally invasive procedure to treat non-cancerous thyroid nodules that are symptomatic and would have otherwise required invasive surgery for removal. The procedure is called radio-frequency ablation (RFA). It offers eligible patients a much quicker recovery, less pain and risk of infection, and no scarring. With RFA, surgeons use guided ultrasound to deliver radio-frequency current to heat up and shrink the thyroid nodule. RFA can be done on patients with large non-cancerous nodules that cause swallowing, voice, breathing, and neck discomfort. Patients who undergo RFA can return to normal activity the day after the procedure and can exercise within several days. Additionally, they are extremely unlikely to require permanent thyroid hormone medication. Patients who have standard thyroid nodule surgery typically cant resume normal activity for at least a month and 20 to 30 percent of these patients require thyroid medication. Radiofrequency ablation for thyroid nodules has been performed in Korea for over a decade and throughout Europe and their outcomes are excellent. The published data shows impressive nodule shrinkage rates of more than 80 percent with RFA that is maintained over years of follow-up, explained Catherine Sinclair, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of Head and Neck Surgery at Mount Sinai West. Thyroid nodules are very common and, although many people will never require any intervention for their nodules, there is a significant minority who will seek treatment due to symptoms. I expect RFA to be a terrific new option for these patients. Ethanol Ablation for Thyroid Nodules Another noninvasive procedure, performed at Mount Sinai-Union Square, ethanol ablation is when an alcohol solution is injected into thyroid nodules, killing cells and causing the masses to slowly shrink. The procedure leaves only a small scar and is performed in office with local anesthesia. The candidates for RFA and ethanol ablation are very similar, says Maria Brito, MD, Co-Director of the Mount Sinai Thyroid Center at Union Square. Dr. Brito and Michael Via, MD, both Associate Professors of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, are two of only a handful of physicians in the New York metropolitan region to perform ethanol ablation. The procedures will not necessarily eliminate the nodule completely, and patients will still need to have ultrasound follow-ups to monitor the nodule, Dr. Brito says. But in appropriate cases, they are a terrific option. They make it very easy for the patient. About the Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Lukes and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally. For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Coca-Cola Vietnam is required to pay over VND821 billion (US$35.4 million) in fines and tax arrears as the company had made incorrect tax declaration, a source told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday. According to the source, the General Department of Taxation has asked Coca-Cola Vietnam to pay more than VND471 billion ($20.3 million) in tax arrears, including over VND60 billion ($2.6 million) in value added tax (VAT), over VND359 billion ($15.5 million) in corporate income tax, and nearly VND52 billion ($2.25 million) in taxes levied on foreign contractors. In addition, Coca-Cola Vietnam will be fined more than VND288.6 billion ($12.5 million) for the late tax payment, overdue since December 16, 2019. The beverage company is also subject to a fine of more than VND61.6 billion ($2.7 million) for administrative violations. The firm had previously been told it would be required to complete its payment within ten days of December 25, 2019 and certain measures would be enacted if Coca-Cola Vietnam refused to follow the request. Addressing the issue in a discussion with Tuoi Tre, Peeyush Sharma, CEO of Coca-Cola Vietnam, stated that the company's business activities are always conducted with honesty, transparency, and absolute compliance with Vietnamese laws. According to Sharma, between March 2017 and March 2019, the General Department of Taxation launched an audit of the companys tax documents from 2007 to 2015. During the inspection, Coca-Cola Vietnam realized that the firm had made some small mistakes. The company told the tax department that it would work with them to ensure it was all paid up, Sharma said. However, Coca-Cola Vietnam had only paid VND38.254 billion ($1.65 million) by January 3, according the Ho Chi Minh City tax department. Moreover, the March 2017-December 2019 inspection also cut Coca-Cola Vietnams losses during the period by VND762 billion ($32.9 million), according to the General Department of Taxation. More than VND202.3 billion ($8.73 million) of losses from the 2002-2006 period was also wrongly carried forward into the 2007-2015 period. Meanwhile, deductible VAT brought forward since December 2015 was reduced by more than VND72.8 billion ($3.14 million) after the inspection. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had suspicions about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner outside Tehran that killed all 176 people aboard, as US officials reported it had been mistakenly shot down by Iran. Unnamed officials told US media that Iran fired two surface-to-air missiles at the aircraft as it took off on Wednesday morning, bringing it down in a blaze of flames before it exploded on the ground. The US conclusion was reportedly based on satellite, radar and electronic data indicating a tragic error. The disaster unfolded just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at US military targets in Iraq to retaliate for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general.- ABC News said an unnamed official called the two-missile scenario highly likely. Trump didnt directly confirm that conclusion, but strongly hinted at it. I have my suspicions, Trump said. It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake. Some people say it was mechanical. I personally dont think thats even a question, Trump said, adding that something very terrible happened. But the Iranian government ruled out a missile strike, saying such a scenario made no sense. Several internal and international flights were flying at the same time in Iranian airspace at the same altitude of 8,000 feet (2,440 meters), Irans transport ministry said. This story of a missile striking a plane cannot be correct at all, it said in a statement Canada calls for access Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said. According to eyewitnesses, a fire was seen on board the plane which grew in intensity, the organization added in an initial statement Wednesday. The Boeing 737 carried 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Thursday for a full, credible and transparent investigation into the crash, and Canada demanded that its own experts be allowed to join the probe. Canadas Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif that Canadian officials need to be quickly granted access to Iran to take part in the investigation of the crash, a foreign ministry statement said. Champagne told Zarif that Canada and Canadians have many questions which will need to be answered. Ukraine has already sent 45 crash investigators to Tehran to take part in the inquiry being led by the Iranian authorities. They arrived in the Iranian capital on Thursday and aim to help analyze the black box recordings from the plane, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. We are calling on Ukraines Western partners: If you have evidence to assist the inquiry, we call on you to provide it, the Ukraine presidency said in a statement. At the UN, a Ukrainian minister called for unconditional support for its investigators. Mounting evidence Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans civil aviation organization and deputy transport minister, said Iran and Ukraine were in the process of downloading information from black boxes retrieved from the crash site. But if more specialized work is required to extract and analyze the data, we can do it in France or another country, he added. Despite Iranian denials, evidence appeared to mount of an accident involving Irans air defense units. Analysts pointed to pictures shared widely online of the wrecked fuselage of the aircraft showing multiple apparent puncture holes consistent with a rocket that detonated just outside the plane, blasting shrapnel into it. The marks closely resembled those on the fuselage of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which was shot down in 2014 over Eastern Ukraine by a Russian-designed surface-to-air missile during fighting between Russian-backed rebels and Ukraine government forces. I think this has a very good possibility of being accurate, John Goglia, a former US aviation safety expert on the National Transportation Safety Board, told AFP. Airplanes that have just taken off and have made a climb to 8,000 feet, thats entering the safest period of time in the flight. So even an engine failure at that altitude should not cause the type of event weve just observed, he said. The Ukrainian airline crash brought back memories of another tragedy involving a US military error. In 1988, an Iran Air flight was shot down over the Gulf by a surface-to-air missile fired from the US warship USS Vincennes. All 290 people aboard, most of them Iranians, were killed, sparking outrage across the country. The US Navy mistook the aircraft for an Iranian fighter jet. SOURCE: AFP | PHOTO: AFP Special Services Group makes surveillance crapgadgets for cops and spies: cameras and mics hidden in tombstones, vacuum cleaners, children's car-seats, and other everyday items. Muckrock's Beryl Lipton used a Freedom of Information Act request to get a copy of "Black Book," SSG's massive sales brochure out of the Irvine police department, with minimal redactions. When Motherboard contacted SSG for comment prior to reporting on the document, the company's lawyer threatened to sue them, and Muckrock if they published. The lawyer made a bunch of outlandish claims, including that publication of the brochure would violate copyright law, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and that it would endanger US national security at a time of heightened international tensions (presumably the possibility of war with Iran). The Irvine police retained outside counsel to review the brochure, and they concluded that there was a public interest in releasing the materials and that doing so would be safe. The company does a brisk trade with government agencies and police departments $820k for "Mobile Video Platform Kits" to the Secret Service, $1m for surveillance kits to the IRS; as well as deals with local law enforcement, ICE, etc. "Certainly the idea of a 'Tombstone Camera' seems pretty far out there. I don't think I've seen a baby seat as a covert camera before either," Martinez added. The so-called "K-MIC In-mouth Microphone & Speaker Set" is a tiny Bluetooth device that sits on a user's teeth and allows them to "communicate hands-free in crowded, noisy surroundings" with "near-zero visual indications," the Black Book adds. Other products include more traditional surveillance cameras and lenses as well as tools for surreptitiously gaining entry to buildings. The "Phantom RFID Exploitation Toolkit" lets a user clone an access card or fob, and the so-called "Shadow" product can "covertly provide the user with PIN code to an alarm panel," the brochure reads. This Secretive Surveillance Company Is Selling Cops Cameras Hidden in Gravestones [Joseph Cox/Motherboard] A customer uses his card to withdraw money from an ATM (Reuters) The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has reportedly urged banks to make cash deposits at branches and automated teller machines (ATMs) interoperable, according to The Economic Times sources. All major public and private banks have been asked to comply, a banker told the paper. NPCI believes using the National Financial Switch (NFS) to facilitate the service would reduce the cost of currency handling for the banking system and cut costs involved in replenishing ATMs as well, four sources told the paper. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. Once in place, the system would enable customers to deposit cash at any ATM enabled with deposit facilities, also known as cash-deposit machines, or cash recyclers; regardless of which bank the ATM belongs to. This is not entirely an alien concept. As many as 14 banks, including Union Bank, Canara Bank and Andhra Bank already provide the service. NPCI estimates that around 30,000 ATMs may be brought live on the Interoperable Cash Deposit network without significant hardware upgrades, another source said. The interchange processing charge is fixed at Rs 25 for deposits below Rs 10,000 and Rs 50 for deposits above Rs 10,000, the ET source added. But, banks have concerns about counterfeit currency deposits via ATMs, the banker said, adding that widespread adoption would be seen after a thorough reconciliation framework. NPCI did not respond to ETs queries. The brownish-orange skies, choking soot, mass evacuations and deaths of people and wildlife are all familiar to Californians who have endured their share of fire disasters in recent years except that the bushfires raging across more than 15 million acres of Australia are orders of magnitude worse. Nearly 140 separate blazes have burned since November springtime in Australia sending plumes of smoke all the way to South America. They have burned at least 2,000 structures, killed 25 people, including three firefighters, and incinerated hundreds of millions of animals, including kangaroos and native endangered koala bears. And they may be a chilling foretaste of how much worse things can get in the fire-scarred Golden State, which has experienced a series of enormous and deadly fires over the past five years. Those fires, however, burned about 5.3 million acres, a third of what is burning Down Under all at once. Blanchard; John It is among the biggest fire disasters ever seen on Earth, generating an unprecedented response from 2,700 firefighters, 3,000 Australian army reservists and a contingent of 159 U.S. Forest Service firefighters, including 39 from California. What were watching is how accelerating climate change is transforming the landscape around us and is, in turn, driving the death of millions of animals and shifting the ecosystems, said LeRoy Westerling, a climate and fire scientist at UC Merced. And it is not a one-off. This is just one more exclamation point. We keep thinking, Well, it cant get worse than this, but it just keeps getting worse. The weather conditions and terrain in Australia are strikingly similar to California. The country is suffering from a prolonged drought similar to the five-year dry spell California endured until 2017, an event that is still impacting land and water use. Not only are both places dry in the summer, but the dry periods are lasting longer than they used to, leaving huge expanses of parched brush, chaparral and woodlands vulnerable. Matthew Abbott / New York Times Michael Mann, a climate scientist and professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University, said rainfall patterns in Australia are influenced by what is known as the Indian Ocean Dipole, much like El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean impact weather on the West Coast. The dipole is defined by positive and negative sea surface temperature variations. The positive phase is when temperatures are higher than average in the western Indian Ocean, which have been linked to droughts in Indonesia and Australia. It is a contributor to the current drought, Mann said in an email from Australia, where he is studying the linkage between climate change and extreme weather, and some scientists speculate that the positive dipole events are becoming more frequent and extreme due to climate change. Comparisons to California are difficult because Australia is so much larger it is nearly the size of the continental United States and because the wildfires there cover such a huge area. The fires have burned up to an estimated 15.6 million acres on the island continent. The two worst fire years in the United States over the past decade were 2015 and 2017, when about 10 million acres burned each year. Blanchard; John The most devastating year in California was 2018, when about 2 million acres burned, including the nearly 500,000-acre Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest in state history. The Australian fires have devoured considerably more land than the 2019 fires in the Amazon rain forest, which covered 2.2 million acres and caused worldwide outrage because they appeared to be connected to slash-and-burn deforestation in Brazil to make way for agriculture and mining. Out-of-control wildfires in Siberia in 2019 covered 6.7 million acres. Kasey Baines / Associated Press But the fires in Australia are being driven by strong winds just like the catastrophic wildfires in California, including the Mendocino Complex and the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, in Butte County. Michael Mohler, deputy director at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said high temperatures, low humidity, strong winds and dry fuels are the volatile ingredients that have made both places more susceptible to fire than ever before. The result has been dangerous fire behavior, including destructive fire tornadoes and pyrocumulus clouds, which send flames shooting 30,000 feet in the air. We are absolutely seeing similar fire behavior in Australia, with the same type of explosive fire growth, said Mohler, who declared Cal Fire ready to send personnel Down Under upon request. They have extreme wind events across the country. Were seeing fires spot miles ahead similar to the Camp, Carr and Tubbs fires. Explosive fire twisters and massive fire clouds plagued firefighters during the Carr Fire, which burned 359 square miles in Shasta and Trinity counties in 2018 and the 2017 Tubbs Fire, which incinerated more than 5,000 homes in Santa Rosa and killed 22 people. The conditions in Australia have been at least as extreme. A heat wave combined with the driest spring on record has helped the flames grow across six states. The average temperature across the country hit a record 107 degrees just before Christmas. The hardest-hit regions, in New South Wales on the east coast, and Victoria in the southeast, endured high winds and temperatures above 100 degrees through the New Year. The western Sydney suburb of Penrith recorded a high of about 118 degrees last weekend, according to Australias Bureau of Meteorology. It is, by all accounts, an ecological disaster. The blazes have killed people and wiped out towns, but most of what is burning is bushland, eucalyptus forests and national park land, where the countrys unique wildlife resides. Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2018 Ecologists estimate that some 480 million animals have died in New South Wales, including almost a third of the beloved koalas. Dead kangaroos, birds, reptiles, cattle and other mammals have been found in the blackened bush. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The smoke cover has drifted across the water to New Zealand and, according to some reports, South America. The hazy orange air has been measured at 11 times the hazardous level in some places, including Sydney. And Australia is only in the middle of its fire season. It is, to California firefighters, a familiar set of circumstances, but on a much larger scale. Kim Zagaris, the wildfire policy and technology adviser for the Western Fire Chiefs Association, said Cal Fire formed a partnership with fire officials in Australia after out-of-control bushfires in February 2009 killed 173 people and destroyed 2,000 homes in the state of Victoria. The wind-driven fires, dubbed the Black Saturday bushfires, prompted an official government inquiry and report and a new category purple on the countrys heat maps. Since then, Australian fire commanders have regularly come to California to share information. A large contingent happened to be visiting when the 2017 Wine Country blazes broke out. The Australians told Zagaris that the wind-driven infernos were eerily similar to Black Saturday. We have a very similar wildfire climate, with similar droughts and conditions, said Zagaris, a retired state fire and rescue chief for the Governors Office of Emergency Services. We are all fighting the climate issue. We both continue to experience more explosive fire conditions. Zagaris, who gave a series of talks in Australia in 2018, said firefighting there is a largely volunteer effort in rural areas, which is similar to the way things are done here. He said a third of the 55,000 firefighters in California are volunteers. The difference is that in California close to 40 million people are crammed together in a space only a fraction of the size of Australia, which is 18 times larger. Many Californians live next to forests and open space, known as the wildland-urban interface, often forcing urban and rural firefighters to join forces. The rangeland in Australia doesnt butt up against urban areas as much, he said, which is probably why Australians are generally expected to stay and defend their own property. Cal Fires Ready, Set, Go! program teaches residents how to prepare their property for wildfires, but residents are expected to evacuate and leave the firefighting to the professionals. Zagaris said Australians are still expected to protect their own property, but firefighters deploy air tankers a relatively new practice there, military aircraft and Chinook helicopters to help douse flames. Naval ships have also been used to evacuate beach communities surrounded by fire. The most populous cities, Melbourne and Sydney, recently looked into some of the strategies developed in the United States for fighting fire in the wildland-urban interface. Its not clear whether those techniques are being used in the unfolding disaster, but Zagaris said the collaboration will, by necessity, continue. California is like the Disneyland of disasters, he said, and as much as weve learned from our disasters, theres a lot we can learn from others around the world. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 1959 Some fainted, others sobbed with delight and still others surged toward him to gaze into his face, crowned with a crop of wavy hair. And so went the mass love affair between Edd (Kookie) Byrnes, 26, and a throng of 18,000 cheering bobby sox fans yesterday at Midway Airport. The Associated Press Edd Byrnes, who became one of televisions first teen idols as Kookie the hair-combing, jive-talking youth on the hit series 77 Sunset Strip but found ever after that he could not live the character down, died on Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 86. His son, Logan Byrnes, said the cause was probably a stroke. Broadcast on ABC from 1958 to 1964, 77 Sunset Strip starred Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Roger Smith as a pair of suave Los Angeles private eyes and Mr. Byrnes as the parking-lot attendant at the restaurant next door to their office. ANSAmed - Today's events in the Mediterranean (ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 10 - These are the main events scheduled for today in the Euro-Mediterranean area: ZAGREB - EU, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, together with the College of Commissioners, holds official meetings as part of the start of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union. ADDIS ABEBA - New meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on the 'great Renaissance dam', on the Blue Nile.(ANSAmed). Every day, millions of new medical images containing the personal health information of patients are spilling out onto the internet. Hundreds of hospitals, medical offices and imaging centers are running insecure storage systems, allowing anyone with an internet connection and free-to-download software to access over 1 billion medical images of patients across the world. About half of all the exposed images, which include X-rays, ultrasounds and CT scans, belong to patients in the United States. Yet despite warnings from security researchers who have spent weeks alerting hospitals and doctors' offices to the problem, many have ignored their warnings and continue to expose their patients' private health information. "It seems to get worse every day," said Dirk Schrader, who led the research at Germany-based security firm Greenbone Networks, which has been monitoring the number of exposed servers for the past year. The problem is well-documented. Greenbone found 24 million patient exams storing more than 720 million medical images in September, which first unearthed the scale of the problem as reported by ProPublica. Two months later, the number of exposed servers had increased by more than half, to 35 million patient exams, exposing 1.19 billion scans and representing a considerable violation of patient privacy. But the problem shows little sign of abating. "The amount of data exposed is still rising, even considering the amount of data taken offline due to our disclosures," said Schrader. If doctors fail to take action, he said the number of exposed medical images will hit a new high "in no time." Researchers say the problem is caused by a common weakness found on the servers used by hospitals, doctors' offices and radiology centers to store patient medical images. A decades-old file format and industry standard known as DICOM was designed to make it easier for medical practitioners to store medical images in a single file and share them with other medical practices. DICOM images can be viewed using any of the free-to-use apps, as would any radiologist. DICOM images are typically stored in a picture archiving and communications system, known as a PACS server, allowing for easy storage and sharing. But many doctors' offices disregard security best practices and connect their PACS server directly to the internet without a password. Story continues These unprotected servers not only expose medical imaging but also patient personal health information. Many patient scans include cover sheets baked into the DICOM file, including the patient's name, date of birth and sensitive information about their diagnoses. In some cases, hospitals use a patient's Social Security number to identify patients in these systems. Lucas Lundgren, a Sweden-based security researcher, spent part of last year looking at the extent of exposed medical image data. In November, he demonstrated to TechCrunch how easy it was for anyone to view medical data from exposed servers. In just a few minutes, he found one of the largest hospitals in Los Angeles exposing tens of thousands of patients' scans dating back several years. The server was later secured. Some of the largest hospitals and imaging centers in the United States are the biggest culprits of exposing medical data. Schrader said the exposed data puts patients at risk of becoming "perfect victims for medical insurance fraud." Yet, patients are unaware that their data could be exposed on the internet for anyone to find. The Mighty, which examined the effect on patients, found exposed medical information puts patients at a greater risk of insurance fraud and identity theft. Exposed data can also erode the relationship between patients and their doctors, leading to patients becoming less willing to share potentially pertinent information. As part of our investigation, we found a number of U.S. imaging centers storing decades of patient scans. One patient, whose information was exposed following a visit to an emergency room in Florida last year, described her exposed medical data as "scary" and "uncomfortable." Another with a chronic illness had regular scans at a hospital in California over a period of 30 years. And one unprotected server at one of the largest military hospitals in the United States exposed the names of military personnel and medical images. But even in cases of patients with only one or a handful of medical images, the exposed data can be used to infer a picture of a person's health, including illnesses and injuries. In an effort to get the servers secured, Greenbone contacted more than a hundred organizations last month about their exposed servers. Many of the smaller organizations subsequently secured their systems, resulting in a small drop in the overall number of exposed images. But when the security company contacted the 10 largest organizations, which accounted for about one-in-five of all exposed medical images, Schrader said there was "no response at all." Greenbone privately shared names of the organizations to allow TechCrunch to follow up with each medical office, including a health provider with three hospitals in New York, a radiology company in Florida with a dozen locations and a major California-based hospital. (We're not naming the affected organizations to limit the risk of exposing patient data.) Only one organization secured its servers. Northeast Radiology, a partner of Alliance Radiology, had the largest cache of exposed medical data in the U.S., according to Greenbone's data, with more than 61 million images on about 1.2 million patients across its five offices. The server was secured only after TechCrunch followed up a month after Greenbone first warned the organization of the exposure. Alliance spokesperson Tracy Weise declined to comment. Schrader said if the remaining affected organizations took their exposed systems off the internet, almost 600 million images would "disappear" from the internet. Experts who have warned about exposed servers for years say medical practices have few excuses. Yisroel Mirsky, a security researcher who has studied security vulnerabilities in medical equipment, said last year that security features set out by the standards body that created and maintains the DICOM standard have "largely been ignored" by the device manufacturers. Schrader did not lay blame on the device manufacturers. Instead, he said it was "pure negligence" that doctor's offices failed to properly configure and secure their servers. Lucia Savage, a former senior privacy official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said more has to be done to improve security across the healthcare industry especially at the level of smaller organizations that lack resources. "If the data is personal health information, it is required to be secured from unauthorized access, which includes finding it on the internet," said Savage. "There is an equal obligation to lock the file room that contains your paper medical records as there is to secure digital health information," she said. Medical records and personal health data are highly protected under U.S. law. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) created the "security rule," which included technical and physical safeguards designed to protect electronic personal health information by ensuring the data is kept private and secure. The law also holds healthcare providers accountable for any security lapses. Running afoul of the law can lead to severe penalties. "As Health and Human Services aggressively pushes to permit a wider range of parties to have access to the sensitive health information of American patients without traditional privacy protections attaching to that information, HHSs inattention to this particular incident becomes even more troubling." Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) The government last year fined one Tennessee-based medical imaging company $3 million for inadvertently exposing a server containing over 300,000 protected patient data. Deven McGraw, who was the top privacy official in the Health and Human Services' enforcement arm the Office of Civil Rights, said if security assistance was more available to smaller providers, the government could focus its enforcement efforts on providers that willfully ignore their security obligations. "Government enforcement is important, as is guidance and support for lower resourced providers and easy-to-deploy solutions that are built into the technology," said McGraw. "It may be too big of a problem for any single law enforcement agency to truly put a dent in." Since the scale of exposed medical servers was first revealed in September, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) called for answers from Health and Human Services. Warner acknowledged that the number of U.S.-based exposed servers had decreased 16 servers storing 31 million images but told TechCrunch that more needs to be done. "To my knowledge, Health and Human Services has done nothing about it," Warner told TechCrunch. "As Health and Human Services aggressively pushes to permit a wider range of parties to have access to the sensitive health information of American patients without traditional privacy protections attached to that information, HHSs inattention to this particular incident becomes even more troubling," he added. Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights said it does not comment on individual cases but defended its enforcement actions. "OCR has taken enforcement action in the past to address violations concerning unprotected storage servers, and continues robust enforcement of the HIPAA rules," said the spokesperson. "We will continue doing our best to improve the global situation of unprotected systems," said Schrader. But he said there was not much more he can do beyond warn organizations of their exposed servers. "Then it's a question for the regulators," he said. The fight being waged over the past few days to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus immunity removed even before the election on March 2 is the most effective opposition effort seen in the Knesset in years. On Jan. 12, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein will have to decide whether he will allow the formation of a new Knesset House Committee to discuss Netanyahus immunity. The Blue and White party has already threatened that if he vetoes the demand of 65 Knesset members to form the committee, they will take steps to replace him. This extremely aggressive tactic signals that the Blue and White party is starting to use the same methods against Netanyahu that he himself would have no qualms using to get what he wants. Will they go all the way with their threat? There is no way of knowing. What is clear now, however, is that there are finally people in the Blue and White party who understand the role of an opposition and are willing to take shrewd advantage of existing parliamentary and legal procedures. All of this places Netanyahu and the Likud party on the defensive. When Netanyahu submitted his request for immunity Jan. 1, he acted as if he had no choice and was compelled to do so and he did it on the very last day that the law allowed him to use this right. Had he not done so, his immunity would have been lifted automatically, which would have meant that his trial could commence. This request for immunity posed a crisis for Netanyahu, because it presented him as someone who was afraid of facing trial. Furthermore, just a few months ago, he denied that he would ever do that. Then, one day after he made his request, he could sigh in relief. Polls show that he survived the event. Support for him did not drop, and the Likud did not suffer as a result of it. As it turns out, this feeling of relief was premature. Netanyahu had a surprise waiting for him right behind the next door. The Blue and White party announced that if Netanyahu wants immunity, they will take steps immediately to form an impromptu House Committee to discuss his request. What this would mean is that Netanyahu could lose his immunity even before the election. Nevertheless, Netanyahu was not too upset. He assumed that the Blue and White partys initiative would fall apart, because forming a Knesset committee during an election campaign is such an exceptional move. But there was another surprise waiting for him. The Knessets legal adviser, Attorney Eyal Yinon, ruled Jan. 5 that there is nothing to prevent the creation of a new committee right now. The release of this legal opinion caused a serious commotion in Netanyahus circles and signaled the launch of a new delegitimization campaign this one against the Knessets legal adviser. Evidence that he allegedly acted while having a conflict of interest made its way quickly across social media. It was argued that he should have recused himself because his spouse Amit Marari was a member of the committee of attorneys in the state prosecutions office, which wrote the indictment against the prime minister. The battle over this is still being fought, with Netanyahus side having two of its top people spearheading the assault: Justice Minister Amir Ohana and Likud faction chairman Miki Zohar. In the next stage apparently on Jan. 12 Yinon is expected to submit another opinion to Edelstein over whether he can veto the creation of such a committee in his capacity as speaker of the Knesset. There is no one in the Likud who would be willing to trade places with Edelstein now. On the one hand, he is expected to act in an official manner. On the other hand, if he does take steps to bring about the formation of a new House Committee, he would be acting against the interests of Netanyahu and the Likud. This could hurt him within his own party. Meanwhile, the Blue and White party is enjoying every minute of this. Edelstein is sweating already, Netanyahu will likely end up caught in the kind of scenario that he never expected, and that in the middle of an election campaign. Meanwhile, Blue and White is successfully dominating the agenda. The media will continue discussing whether it will carry out its threat and replace Edelstein until Sunday at least. While this would serve that partys interest, it hardly helps Netanyahu. For years, Netanyahu has treated the Knesset as his personal playground. For the past few days, however, his position has been dire. During most of his many years as prime minister, he never had to face an opposition with teeth. He did what he wanted in the Knesset, dissolving it when it was convenient for him and advancing elections time after time. He was a cynical manipulator, who used the tools at his disposal to maneuver his opposition rivals into situations where they would suffer humiliating losses. Just a few months ago, in June, in a secret Knesset vote to select the next State Comptroller, Netanyahu was able to overcome his political weakness and ensure that his candidate, Matanyahu Engelman, got the job. This turned out to be an embarrassing defeat for the Blue and White party, which had run a very capable candidate, Brig. Gen. Giora Romm, and could have gotten a majority for him had it played its political cards right. Instead, the partys leaders appeared apathetic, as if they didnt understand the inherent potential. For the last week, the Blue and White party has been showing real signs of activity. One person having a hard time with this is Knesset member Zohar, who has been whining about being the victim. In interviews with the media, he calls the Blue and White partys insistence on forming a new House Committee political and unconstitutional. He also claims that if a committee is formed now, it could be used in Blue and Whites election campaign. Furthermore, he argues that the move is problematic from the outset, because the committee can be expected to have a majority to remove the prime ministers immunity, and that Netanyahus arguments would fall on deaf ears. Zohar is right. A debate over removing the prime ministers immunity after the Knesset was dissolved is certainly an unusual move and completely political. But this is what an effective opposition is expected to do, especially during such a dramatic election campaign against the Likud. The problem is that Zohar not to mention Netanyahu has gotten used to the idea that the Likud is in charge in the Knesset, and that they (the Likud) are the only people entitled to control its committees. They could even buy Knesset members from the opposition by promising them budgets, and no one would stand in their way. For many years it worked. The center-left camp was so divided that it never succeeded in presenting an alternative to Likud rule. Then, the Blue and White party came along and changed the balance of power. Of course, it didnt happen from the outset. Netanyahu found it fairly easy to dissolve the Knesset after the April 2019 election and then, much to everybodys shock, send the country to a second and third round of elections. The way it now looks, if he had been facing an effective, experienced and artful opposition, like the Blue and White party is becoming, it is not at all certain that he would have succeeded. YEREVAN. Irates newspaper of Armenia writes: It is said that the operation to apprehend [Yerevan State University (YSU) Student Council President] Davit Apoyan was organized through YSU Vice-rector Artur Israyelyan, who is a friend of Education, Science, Sport and Culture Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, his eye and ear at YSU. Israyelyan telephoned Apoyan several times, called to "watch" footage of some shots, to "ask" whom he knew from the shots, after which the head of YSU guard service, Lyova Arustamyan, testified that Davit Apoyan knew those boys, and the policemen came, apprehended Apoyan in a very demonstrative way. Arustamyan is waiting for a promotion soon in exchange for those services. After the holidays, he will be appointed director of the student dormitory as a demonstration of what is happening to the faithful and whatto the "unfaithful." After recent regime advances, oppositions forces have hit back and secured three villages in the eastern countryside of Idleb writes Zaman Al Wasl. Syrian armed factions took of three villages from regime forces in the eastern countryside of Idleb, military sources told Zaman al-Wasl Wednesday. The Turkish-backed forces launched a surprise attack on eastern Idleb where the Russian-backed regime force and allied militias have made rapid gains in the last rebel stronghold since mid-December. The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) sent reinforcements to face the military campaign last week and halt the regimes advance. A total of 140 SNA military vehicles were sent from the southern countryside of Aleppo to rebel positions in the southern countryside of Idleb, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. On Dec. 20, 2019, the regime and its allies launched a military campaign mainly in the cities of Maarat al-Numan and Saraqib as well as the surrounding rural areas, capturing 35 residential areas. So far, Bashar al-Assads offensive has displaced more than 300,000 people in Idleb, Turkeys interior minister said Tuesday. Speaking in Ankara, Suleyman Soylu said that Turkey will never abandon its neighboring countries, adding that Turkeys Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and the Turkish Red Crescent have helped many of those affected. Turkey is continuing with intensive efforts to help all displaced people with its official and non-governmental organizations, Soylu underlined. Airstrikes in the region were halted following a visit to Moscow by a Turkish delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal on Dec. 23, 2019. Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idleb into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited. Since then, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces in the de-escalation zone as the cease-fire continues to be violated. Over a million Syrians moved to the Turkish border due to the intense attacks last year. According to the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Idleb province is home to around 3 million civilians, 75 percent of them women and children. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. A Boeing 777 headed to Paris from Las Vegas made an emergency landing Thursday night at Boston Logan International Airport after the crew reported a vibration, officials said. Delta Air Lines Flight 148 left from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and was on its way to Paris when the crew declared an emergency around 9:30 p.m.and the plane was diverted, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. A spokesman for Delta said that plane had a cracked air duct, which controls air flow through the cargo bin. Another plane brought the passengers on an alternate flight to Paris, Delta said in a press release. We apologize to our customers on Flight DL148 from Las Vegas to Paris Charles de Gaulle, which diverted to Boston due to a mechanical issue," Delta said in the release. No further information was immediately available. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday that the United States believes a Ukrainian jetliner was likely shot down by Iranian missiles before it crashed in Iran earlier this week, killing everyone on board. When we get the results of that investigation I am confident we and the world will take an appropriate response, he remarked. Iran, via state-run media outlets, has denied claims that it was responsible for downing the plane, which had 176 people on board and went down shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport. Pompeo also said the United States would place more economic sanctions on Iran after it fired missiles at U.S. troops in Iraq on Tuesday. Hours later, the airplane reportedly crashed. It came a day after he gave an interview where he didnt rule out the possibility that the Ukraine International Airlines plane that went down over Iran was caused by a mechanical failure after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested Iran shot the plane down. Its possible its mechanical failure, but well have to see if, in fact, its the case that there was something more insidious than this, Pompeo told Fox News, according to a State Department transcript. If the plane was shot down by Tehran, Pompeo said that the American people should know that this would have been Iranian malfeasance that caused it. And importantly, you identified the Canadians that passed; my condolences to everyone who was on that flight, including the Iranian citizens who were traveling on that plane as well, he said. Of the 176 people who died on the plane, more than 60 of them were Canadian nationals. His comments came after Trudeau, Johnson, and a number of unnamed U.S. officials said Iran likely shot down the plane on accident after it had launched more than a dozen missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq on Tuesday night. The head of Irans civil aviation authority, via state-run media, said no missile hit the plane. According to IRNA, Ali Abedzadeh underlined that he is confident that the aircraft was not hit by a missile, the aircraft was flying for more than 1.5 minutes caught fire and the crash site indicates that the pilot had decided to return. But to add to the claims the plane was shot down, a video posted by the New York Times and other news outlets appeared to show a missile striking a plane over Tehran. Pompeo, in the interview, called on Tehran to cooperate with international investigations into the matter. I hope theyll make sure that the whole world can know that if there are planes traveling in and out of Iran that theyre safe, and if theres risk, that the commercial airlines that happen to make decisions about the lives of people who are traveling in and out of Tehran will know the risks, he remarked. If the international community needs to shut down that airport, so be it, Pompeo said. Weve got to get to the bottom of it, and its important that we get to the bottom of it quickly. Ive seen the reporting. I can only say that we need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly. Despite having established its earn-and-learn apprenticeship program in the U.S. several year ago, insurer Zurich North America for the first time hosted an Apprenticeship Week Summit for high school students last fall. With a goal of attracting 85 high school students, Zurich held the event in Chicago in November 2019 as part of National Apprenticeship Week. Far exceeding expectations, the summit ultimately brought in 115 high school students, accompanied by their high school counselors, career advisers and teachers, according to Al Crook, Zurichs Head of Human Resources Business Partners and Executive Sponsor of Zurichs Apprenticeship Program. In another first, we attracted students from high schools in the city of Chicago, in addition to the suburbs surrounding our headquarters in the northwest suburb of Schaumburg, which have produced some of our apprentices over the past three years, Crook said in an email to Insurance Journal. Crook said the apprenticeship summit was well received by attendees. He shared feedback from a High School District 211 career counselor who commented in an email after the event, saying: Thank you, again, so much for inviting us to the Apprenticeship Summit today. I am overwhelmed by all of the positive comments that I have received from staff members, career advisors and students. Everyone had nothing but amazing things to say about every presentation, panel, breakout session and interaction with the Zurich employees. I have never seen so many young people genuinely excited about career opportunities in insurance in my life; it is all they could talk about on the ride back to school. I have never seen so many young people genuinely excited about career opportunities in insurance in my life. Zurich partnered in 2015 with William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Ill., to create its U.S. apprenticeship program, which is basically a work/study program where students work on a two-year business administration degree while being employed at the insurer. Upon graduation, participants receive a Certified Insurance Apprentice designation through the Department of Labors ApprenticeshipUSA initiative. Zurich NAs parent company, Zurich Insurance Group, has long had an apprenticeship program in Switzerland, where the group is headquartered. In 2014, 94% of those who completed the three-year program in that country stayed on as Zurich employees, according to the company. The number of apprentices chosen to participate in Zurichs U.S. program varies from year to year, depending on the needs of its business units, Crook said. Since its inception, Zurich has hired a total of 85 apprentices and has a goal of reaching 100 by the end of 2020. He said the company is on target to meet that goal. High school students arent the only participants. Others include military personnel who are transitioning out of service, people who want to move from job to career and people wanting to re-enter the work force after a hiatus. Applicants must apply and be accepted to Harper College, our educational partner in the program, which means satisfying the college-ready requirements in English and math based on either college entrance exam scores or placement tests that Harper administers, Crook said. Candidates also are assessed for competencies that include initiative and accountability, as well as collaboration and teamwork, he added. In an interview with Insurance Journal in early 2018, Crook described the program as an earn-and-learn model. The apprentices are in the Zurich offices for three days of the week and they go to Harper College for two days of the week. Hired as full-time employees, they receive the same benefits as other Zurich employees. Through the program, apprentices are exposed to all the functions and units within the company, I had heard of apprenticeship programs for individuals in the trades, but not for individuals in a corporate environment. I knew right away this was the right opportunity for me. After the first week, I could see that the Apprenticeship Program was designed for me to succeed. Justin Williams Zurich Construction Property Underwriter Assistant and apprentice graduate Before the apprentice program, I worked full time and went to school at night and on weekends. The program allowed me to spend more time with my son while giving me the foundation to build my career. It also gave me the opportunity to participate in a project where I earned an Impact Award. Im beyond grateful. Noelia Salgado Zurich international service specialist and apprentice graduate Zurichs Apprentice Program gave me exposure to an industry that I never would have explored otherwise. Dane Lyons Zurich underwriting services specialist, apprentice graduate, Navy veteran, and an Apprentice Alumni Adviser The cyber apprenticeship has allowed me to develop a new set of in-demand skills and real-life experience that I would not be able to generate by solely attaining a degree. David Jaeger Zurich cyber apprentice The U.S. programs retention rate now exceeds 83%, Crook said. Upon completing the apprenticeship and earning their associates degree, apprentices are immediately promoted one level and remain in the area of their final rotation for one year. After that, they are eligible to apply for other posted positions within Zurich. Zurich employees who have completed a year of full-time employment are eligible for tuition reimbursement benefits if they wish to continue their education. For instance, Noelia Salgado who was an apprentice in our first cohort in 2016, was promoted when she graduated from the program and has since been promoted again to international service specialist. She also chose to continue her college studies after earning her associates degree at Harper College. She is on track to receive her bachelors degree from Loyola University, Crook said. The companys vision was to create a program that was not only viable for Zurichs commercial insurance business but was also flexible, scalable and sharable, he said. This would allow us to grow apprentices within our company, across our industry and within the regions that we work. Our success is not simply measured internally, but also includes the leverage we can gain by supporting the apprentice movement. Crook said the company evaluates the program on an ongoing basis, assessing both the carriers needs and workforce trends. The insurer also is looking at expanding the program beyond the Chicagoland area. Zurich is open to sharing what it has learned with other organizations, as well. Companies like Aon and The Hartford have approached Zurich for advice on setting up apprenticeship programs and both have since established their own. We also are sharing our successes and learnings through the Chicago Apprentice Network, of which we were a founding member. Ours was the first insurance apprenticeship program to be certified by the Department of Labor, and we are open to sharing our experience to help other organizations create apprenticeships. We see apprenticeships as an innovative way to contribute to global sustainability, Crook said. Apprenticeships are an innovative, win-win way to address labor shortages and barriers to professional advancement, Crook said. Zurichs Apprenticeship Program proves that exciting careers are not only predicated on a four-year college degree. Related: Topics USA Education Universities HONG KONG Voters in Taiwan are widely expected to deliver a victory on Saturday to President Tsai Ing-wen, in defiance of Chinas pressure campaign against the island democracy. If she wins a second term, as polls indicate she will, Ms. Tsai will have made a dramatic comeback from 2018, when her party was battered in local elections. In the 14 months since, she has rallied her partys leadership behind her and rebuilt public support by overseeing economic growth, despite Beijings efforts to isolate her government. Ms. Tsais rise has been driven in part by concerns about Chinese encroachment. Xi Jinping, Chinas leader, has lured away some of the few countries that formally recognize Taiwan, as well as stepping up military air patrols and sending carriers through the Taiwan Strait. But according to surveys, voters believe Ms. Tsai is better able to defend Taiwans sovereignty than her challengers. The issue took on increased importance last year as Hong Kong saw huge protests against Chinas increasing sway over that city. There is no sign of any investigators at the scene, according to the report. A CBS crew on Friday morning visited the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 crash site west of Tehran, saying that "virtually all pieces of the plane were removed yesterday", according to locals. CBS crew just visited the #Ukrainian airlines crash site west of Tehran. Nine am local time. Virtually all pieces of the plane were removed yesterday - say locals. Scavengers now picking site clean. No security. Not cordoned off. No sign of any investigators. pic.twitter.com/hhNJyokhjq Elizabeth Palmer (@elizapalmer) January 10, 2020 "Scavengers now picking site clean," CBS correspondent Elizabeth Palmer wrote on Twitter, posting a picture from the site. "No security. Not cordoned off. No sign of any investigators," the tweet said. As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 8, an UIA-operated Boeing 737-800, flight PS752 Tehran-Kyiv, crashed in Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport. All 167 passengers and nine crew on board died. On board the airliner were 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew members, as well as 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghanis, three Germans, and three Britons. All Ukrainian air carriers have been banned from flying in Iranian airspace pending the investigation. Read alsoPS752 crash: Ukrainian experts examining Boeing wreckage in Iran say fire didn't start from engines Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canadian officials have intelligence from their own sources and Canada's allies that shows the Ukrainian airliner was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the "missile hit" version is not being ruled out, while it is yet to be fully confirmed, and appealed to partners to share the factual evidence that could draw light on the cause of the crash. The Justice Department is expected to close a two-year investigation into the now-defunct Clinton Foundation after failing to turn up substantial evidence of wrongdoing, the Washington Post reported Friday. In 2017 then-attorney general Jeff Sessions ordered John Huber, U.S. attorney for Utah, to investigate allegations of corruption involving Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and a company called Uranium One. President Trump and had raised concerns that during the Obama administration, the State Department had approved the sale of Uranium One, which mines uranium for nuclear power, to Russia partly by using the companys contacts with the Clinton Foundation. Hillary Clinton was secretary of state at the time of the sale. Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isnt looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary and the Dems, Trump tweeted before the investigation got underway. Officials familiar with the investigation told the Post that Huber had found no hard evidence of corruption. Although the DOJ has not formally ended the investigation, it has largely wound down, according to the report. The DOJ declined to comment on the matter, as did a spokesman for Sessions. Officials indicated that few in the Justice Department expected the investigation to discover anything of significance. We didnt expect much of it, and neither did [Huber], said one person involved with the investigation. And as time went on, a lot of people just forgot about it. Trump has appeared focused on an investigation initiated by the current attorney general, William Barr, into the FBIs handling of the Russia probe into the Trump 2016 campaign. More from National Review Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe St. Vincent Medical Center, near downtown Los Angeles, will be closing its doors. The hospital's owner, Verity Health System, filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Since then, efforts to sell the facility have fallen through. A bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved Verity's request to close the hospital, which employs more than 1,000 people and has more than 350 beds. WHAT'S NEXT It's not clear exactly when the doors will close. Here's what we do know: Doctors with offices on the premises have been given until the end of April to vacate. Current St. Vincent patients will receive care until they're discharged or can be safely transferred to nearby hospitals. The company also said that ambulance service will be diverted to ER's in the vicinity. That will include the eight hospitals within a three-mile radius of St. Vincent. The decision to close the hospital "has not been taken lightly and comes only after exhausting every option to keep this hospital open," Verity CEO Rich Adcock said in a statement. "While we regret the closure of St. Vincent, we know that this community will continue to be well-served by nearby hospitals," he said. THE BACKSTORY St. Vincent was opened in 1856 by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, an order of nuns that dates back to 17th century France. The hospital's website describes it as the "oldest hospital in Los Angeles." WHAT ABOUT THE CURRENT EMPLOYEES? It's also unclear how many of the more than 1,000 employees of the facility will lose their jobs. Verity said it will hold a job fair for staff affected by the closure. California Nurses Association President Zenei Cortez said St. Vincent's nurses are "seasoned and marketable," and should have no trouble finding new jobs. CNA opposed the closure; it argued that a shutdown would deprive the area of a needed source of health care. "St. Vincent is not a retail store, where they can just decide to close down the next day," said Christine Chung, a registered nurse who's worked at the hospital for more than 13 years. "It is a hospital that has responsibility and accountability to the community to provide the services it needs," she said. The CNA also argued that Verity was violating a state law that requires hospitals to notify the public 90 days before the closure of a facility that has emergency services. WHAT ABOUT THE DOCTORS' OFFICES? Ten physicians at St. Vincent wrote a letter asking bankruptcy court Judge Ernest Robles to extend the deadline for them to close their offices from March 31 to June 30. The letter said the doctors received notice of the impending closure on January 6. "The unrealistic notice does not give us time to properly notify or transfer patients to other physicians for care," it said. Robles ended up giving them until April 30. WASHINGTON U.S. Reps. John Katko and Anthony Brindisi voted Thursday against a House resolution that would prohibit President Donald Trump from using military force against Iran without congressional approval. The Democratic-controlled House voted 224-194 to pass the non-binding resolution in the same week that the United States and Iran edged closer to war following a U.S. military strike that killed a top Iranian general. Brindisi, D-Utica, was among eight Democrats to join 186 Republicans who voted against the resolution. Some Republicans called the measure a partisan action aimed at limiting Trumps authority. Trump said he authorized the strike against Iranian Gen. Quassem Soleimani last week to prevent an imminent attack against the U.S. and its interests. His administration didnt notify Congress until after the strike. Katko, R-Camillus, said he voted against the resolution Thursday because he believes it was overly broad and would limit Trumps ability to act in the middle of the crisis with Iran. Lets not get political at a time when Iran has attacked our embassy through proxies and they fired missiles at our troops, Katko told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. Now is the time to support our national security. He said the resolution would serve no purpose other than to embolden Iran. Katko said he believes presidents must have the flexibility to act quickly to use military force and that its OK to notify Congress within 48 hours as required by the War Powers Act. The congressman said hes satisfied that the Trump administration complied with the requirement, even though Trump did not notify the eight members of Congress designated to receive such information. Brindisi said he thought the U.S. attack on Soleimani was justified and he didnt want to prevent Trump from acting quickly if Iran or its allies escalate the military response to his death. I think its dangerous to limit our ability to respond to imminent threats to Iran and its proxies, Brindisi told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard after the vote. Brindisi was among two New York Democrats to split with the party on the issue. Rep. Max Rose, D-Staten Island, an Afghanistan war veteran, said the resolution was playing politics with questions of war and peace. Brindisi said he also viewed the resolution as a political move. He said it would be more productive for Democrats and Republican to work with the Trump administration on a comprehensive strategy for the Middle East. At the same time, Brindisi said, he believes Congress should work in a bipartisan effort to update its rules for the authorization of military force. I fully believe this president and any president should come to Congress before declaring war on a nation, Brindisi said. Some Republicans in Congress questioned Thursday how far that authority should extend. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., argued that the Constitution gives the president not Congress the authority to conduct military operations. We CANNOT have 535 Commanders in Chief, Graham tweeted Thursday, referring to the 100 members of the Senate and 435 House members. Trump said in a tweet Thursday that he hoped all House Republicans would vote against the resolution, calling it an example of presidential harassment. Read more John Katko: US killing of Irans top military commander necessary and justified Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Moscow Region resident seeks in court DNA proof of his relation to Ivan the Terrible Fragment of Vasnetsov painting 1897 17:06 10/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI) The Krasnogorsk Town Court of the Moscow Region is to examine a petition of a local resident, who seeks to legally establish his relation to Russian medieval ruler Ivan the Terrible. As a result of a research I have carried out on my own basing on publicly available data, that is, Genealogical tables pertaining to the history of European states, it was established that the petitioner is a direct relative of Ivan IV the Terrible, now buried in the burial place of grand princes and tsars in Archangel Cathedral, Valery Kubarev, the petitioner, told RAPSI on Friday. Giving the fact that he cannot prove his relation to the royal dynasty under the procedure established by the civil legislation, he had to turn to courts, Kubarev explained. His purpose, the petitioner said, was to care about the burial place of his alleged relative, but he was not allowed to do so by law until providing proof of real kinship. In court, Kubarev intends to move for a DNA expert investigation of male Moscow princes, buried in the Kremlin. The hearings have been adjourned until January 31 as asked by Russias Culture Ministry, named as the defendant in the case. Residents at a county in northern China has been stunned to see what they called a 'mysterious' ice disc spinning non-stop in a pond. The piece of circular ice - formed by a natural phenomenon - had a diameter of about 20 feet and was big enough to hold three cars, the locals told reporters. One woman said the perfectly round slab started small and kept growing in size as it floated and rotated in a reservoir. Footage filmed in Faku in north-eastern China's Liaoning shows the plate of ice in a reservoir With a diameter of about 20 feet, it slowly turns anticlockwise and is said to be growing bigger Harsh weather recently caused the frozen spectacle in north-eastern China's Liaoning Province, according to Chinese video news outlet Pear. The slowly turning plate formed in Liaohe Water Dam of Faku County in Shenyang shortly after the reservoir was partially frozen, a resident told Pear. Shenyang, the province's capital with around eight million residents, has long and harsh winters. In January, temperatures can plunge to minus 30 degrees Celsius while the average daily low temperature of the month is minus 17 degrees Celsius, according to meteorological records. Discs like this form when warm and cold water form a vortex under the ice as it melts and sinks The slowly turning plate was spotted in Liaohe Water Dam of Faku County in Shenyang Footage shows the disc gradually going around anticlockwise when water flows around it. HOW DO ICE DISCS OCCUR? Ice disks, also known as ice circles, have been known to appear in the Arctic, Scandinavia and Canada. They occur at bends in the river where the accelerating water creates a force called 'rotational shear', which breaks off a chunk of ice and twists it around. As the disc rotates, it grinds against surrounding ice - smoothing into a perfect circle. Advertisement One resident said he was 62 years old and had never seen such a scene in his entire life. 'It is indeed a miracle of Dongbei (north-eastern China),' another resident, a young woman, told the reporter. Ice circles have been spotted in many sub-zero regions, from the United States to Russia. In January, 2018, a rotating ice circle appeared in Liaohe River, also in Faku County, and the unusual occurrence attracted swarms of tourists. Such incredible wintry sight is caused by a rare a natural phenomenon. A 300-foot-wide ice disc was filmed early last year in Presumpscot River in Westbrook, Maine Ice discs come into being due to the fact that warm water is less dense than cold water, therefore when ice melts and sinks, the motion creates a vortex underneath the chunk, causing it to turn, according to National Geographic, citing a 2016 study. The 'whirlpool effect' slowly erodes the plate of ice until its edges are smooth and its overall shape is perfectly round. It remains unclear why the latest disc in China had been expanding. One of the most famous ice discs in recent times was sighted early last year in Presumpscot River in downtown Westbrook, Maine. The spectacle was said to be about 300 feet in diameter and likely the largest spinning ice disc on record. WASHINGTON The U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division stationed in Fort Drum does not expect any additional deployments to the Middle East in spite of the recent tensions with Iran. A spokesman said Thursday the division has received no notifications regarding new deployments in the past week, although historically it is the most frequently deployed division of the U.S. Army. "It is business as usual for our soldiers here at Fort Drum," said Kamil Sztalkoper, a lieutenant colonel and the 10th Mountain Division's public affairs officer. More than 3,000 service members have been deployed to the Middle East following the killing of a top Iranian general by the U.S., which was followed by missile counter-strikes by Iran. Most of those soldiers are part of the Immediate Response Force of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will now pursue further economic sanctions, not military strikes, against Iran. The U.S. House of Representatives sent President Donald Trump a message to de-escalate military hostilities toward Iran, by passing a non-binding war powers resolution on Thursday requiring that such hostilities cease within 30 days. The vote tally was 224 to 194. The resolution needs Senate approval. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, whose district includes Fort Drum, voted against the resolution with most Republicans. "The presidents decision to strike the worlds bloodiest terrorist, Qasem Soleimani, was lawful under Article II of the Constitution and the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force, Stefanik said. This critical precision strike, which took out one of the most heinous terrorists responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers and allies and the wounding of thousands more, was an act of deterrence against current and future aggression. I oppose Speaker [Nancy] Pelosis partisan war powers resolution, which limits the presidents constitutional authority as commander-in-chief and threatens the security and safety of our United States military and our allies. The measure was also opposed by U.S. Rep. Max Rose, D-Saint George, a former combat veteran in Afghanistan. "Today's War Powers Resolution is a non-binding resolution that simply restates existing law and sends the message that war is imminent," he said. "I refuse to play politics with questions of war and therefore will not support this resolution." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. U.S. Reps. Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, and six other Democrats broke ranks and voted no, while three Republicans voted yes. In the past, some resolutions to repeal past authorizations of military action in the Middle East and limit action toward Iran have gained bipartisan support in the Senate. Since Sept. 11, 2001, elements of the 10th Mountain Division, which comprises thousands of service members, have been deployed 44 times to Iraq and Afghanistan, Sztalkoper said. Members of the division have been stationed in those countries on a continual, rotating basis since the Sept. 11 attacks. About 2,000 members of the 10th Mountain Division's Combat Aviation Brigade were deployed to Afghanistan three months ago and will remain in the country for about six more months, Sztalkoper said. Moreover, the division will deploy about 3,500 more soldiers from another brigade to Afghanistan in late winter. New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Delhi High Court on Friday turned down a plea seeking shifting of CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh area to some other place and removal of barricades and blockage in order to ease traffic movement in the connected area including DND flyway. A division bench of the court presided by Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Harishankar dismissed the plea filed by IGNOU student Tushar Sachdev. "Lakhs of people are suffering and it is also a issue for people in emergency. The protesters have put barricades and heavy stones on the side of the roads and are not even allowing pedestrians to pass. The protesters have also damaged the dividers and other public properties causing loss to the government exchequer," the plea said. In Meghalaya, the Border Security Force post has been targeted by criminals. They belong to Bangladesh, about two dozen suspected criminals have jointly executed this incident. These miscreants attacked two BSF jawans and took away their weapons. A Jawan was also injured in this incident. Superintendent of Police of Western Jaintia Hills, Lokdar Seyam, said that the incident took place in Rongtila area on Wednesday night. For your information, tell that this area is five kilometers from the India-Bangladesh border. He said that about 10-15 Bangladeshis allegedly surrounded two BSF jawans and escaped with their rifles after beating them. However, these weapons were later recovered from a nearby forest. The jawan has been admitted to the Dawki First Aid Center. After this incident, Deputy Inspector General of Police Eastern Range visited the spot along with senior officers. The BSF lodged its protest in a flag meeting with Bangladesh border guard guards of Bangladesh. On this, Bangladesh assured that it would increase patrolling to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. Apart from the incident with BSF jawans, another group of Bangladeshi criminals entered a house in Meghalaya and carried out the robbery. These criminals ran away with cash, mobile phones and their guns and assaulted the head of the house and injured them. Also Read: Fugitive Mehul Choksi gets relief, special court said this Yogi government's new plan on the maintenance of cow shelters, preparaing for additional recovery from mandis District Collector Adila Abdullah says "BJP misread photos..." Yogi government has cracked down on unbridled bureaucracy, may also come forward in the proceedings against corruption New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday notified through the Gazette of India that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 will come into force from January 10 onward. The Gazette, available on the Ministry's website, reads: "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 10th day of January 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force." The Act allows Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who faced religious persecution, and came to India before December 31, 2014, to get citizenship in India. The notification comes amid nationwide protests against the Act as well as concerns over the implementation of a pan-India NRC (National Register of Citizens). National capital Delhi and states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Assam observed massive protests against the citizenship act. Agitators also vandalised public properties during the anti-CAA protest, which led to the imposition of Section 144 and internet suspension in these states. Students from several universities including Jamia Milia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, JNU and Kolkata and Jadavpur University raised their voice on the issue and slammed the government over the move of implementation of CAA in the country calling it to be a move against secularism in the country. Live TV Known as CAA, the law evoked protest at various cities across the country since the Parliament passed it, leading to injuries to hundreds of security personnel, the strongest dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came into power in 2014. Over 2,000 people have been arrested and around 5,000 detained while protesting against the CAA. Clearing misconception fuelled by the opposition regarding the CAA, the government has, on many occasions, clarified that the law "absolutely nothing to do with citizens of India" as the rumour was raised that it is against Muslim community and the people belonging to the community residing illegally will be deported. "It has nothing to do with the deportation of any foreigner from India," the government has said. "The deportation process of any foreigners irrespective of his religion or country is implemented as per the mandate of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920." The CAA has absolutely nothing to do with any Indian citizens in any way, the government has stressed. Union Home Minister Amit Shah who tabled The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in the Rajya Sabha on December 11, assured that the Muslims in India dont need to fear about the Act. The ruling Bharatiya Janta Party launched several campaigns to educate people on the matter. The Citizenship Amendment Bill became an Act after receiving President Ram Nath Kovind's approval on December 13, 2019. Police chased and struck protesters with batons as about 1,000 JNU students and teachers rallied in Indian capital. Police have chased and struck protesting students with batons after they marched through the Indian capital on Thursday to demand the resignation of the vice chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the wake of an attack on the campus by masked assailants. About 1,000 students and faculties marched from the JNU to a government office to demand the resignation of the vice chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar, whom some accuse of allowing the assailants armed with sledgehammers, shovels and other weapons to ransack a university dormitory and beat up students on Sunday. The dorm occupants said the attack lasted about two hours, and that neither the security guards at the building nor any external help came to their rescue. More than 30 people were injured. https://twitter.com/dilseindiaa/status/1215329290968895488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw After reaching the government office on Thursday, a splinter group of dozens of students decided to continue marching towards the president of Indias official residence. The demonstrating students were stopped by baton-wielding police. Utkarsh, a JNU student, said an officer struck him in the head with his baton and attacked others. He gave only his first name, fearing police reprisal. Fee rise Footage captured by The Associated Press news agency showed an officer repeatedly hitting a female protester in the back of her legs while other protesters fled. Police then forced the students onto a bus, where one person could be seen bleeding from his head. It was not immediately clear where the students were being taken. Calls to police officials were not immediately answered. A banner is placed over a Delhi police barricade at a demonstration against Indias new citizenship law and against an attack on students and teachers at the JNU [Sajjad Hussain/AFP] Opposition parties and injured students blamed Sundays campus attack on Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation affiliated to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They say the attack was meant to stop a months-long protest against a fee increase announced in November. Left-wing student organisations say the fee rise makes education too expensive for many. Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik said Sundays incident was a clash between rival student groups. No arrests have been made into the incident, but the police have filed a case against JNU student leader Aishe Ghosh who was badly injured during the mob attack. New Delhi and cities across India have seen regular protests since a controversial citizenship law was passed last month that provides a path to naturalisation for religious minorities from three neighbouring countries but excludes Muslims. Opponents say the law violates Indias secular constitution. Indias Supreme Court is set to review petitions challenging the law on January 20. Iranian General Qassem Soleimani arrived at the Damascus airport in a vehicle with dark-tinted glass. Four soldiers from Irans Revolutionary Guards rode with him. They parked near a staircase leading to a Cham Wings Airbus A320, destined for Baghdad. Neither Soleimani nor the soldiers were registered on the passenger manifesto, according to a Cham Wings airline employee who described the scene of their departure from the Syrian capital to Reuters. Soleimani avoided using his private plane because of rising concerns about his own security, said an Iraqi security source with knowledge of Soleimanis security arrangements. The passenger flight would be Soleimanis last. Rockets fired from a U.S. drone killed him as he left the Baghdad airport in a convoy of two armoured vehicles. Also killed was the man who met him at the airport: Abu Mahdi Muhandis, deputy head of Iraqs Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the Iraqi governments umbrella group for the countrys militias. The Iraqi investigation into the strikes that killed the two men on Jan. 3 started minutes after the U.S. strike, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters. National Security agents sealed off the airport and prevented dozens of security staff from leaving, including police, passport officers and intelligence agents. Investigators have focused on how suspected informants inside the Damascus and Baghdad airports collaborated with the U.S. military to help track and pinpoint Soleimanis position, according to Reuters interviews with two security officials with direct knowledge of Iraqs investigation, two Baghdad airport employees, two police officials and two employees of Syrias Cham Wings Airlines, a private commercial airline headquartered in Damascus. The probe is being led by Falih al-Fayadh, who serves as Iraqs National Security Adviser and the head of the PMF, the body that coordinates with Iraqs mostly Shiite militias, many of which are backed by Iran and had close ties to Soleimani. The National Security agencys investigators have strong indications that a network of spies inside Baghdad Airport were involved in leaking sensitive security details on Soleimanis arrival to the United States, one of the Iraqi security officials told Reuters. The suspects include two security staffers at the Baghdad airport and two Cham Wings employees - a spy at the Damascus airport and another one working on board the airplane, the source said. The National Security agencys investigators believe the four suspects, who have not been arrested, worked as part of a wider group of people feeding information to the U.S. military, the official said. The two employees of Cham Wings are under investigation by Syrian intelligence, the two Iraqi security officials said. The Syrian General Intelligence Directorate did not respond to a request for comment. In Baghdad, National Security agents are investigating the two airport security workers, who are part of the nations Facility Protection Service, one of the Iraqi security officials said. Initial findings of the Baghdad investigation team suggest that the first tip on Soleimani came from Damascus airport, the official said. The job of the Baghdad airport cell was to confirm the arrival of the target and details of his convoy. The media office of Iraqs National Security agency did not respond to requests for comment. The Iraq mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment on whether informants in Iraq and Syria played a role in the attacks. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States had been closely tracking Soleimanis movements for days prior to the strike but declined to say how the military pinpointed his location the night of the attack. A Cham Wings manager in Damascus said airline employees were prohibited from commenting on the attack or investigation. A spokesman for Iraqs Civil Aviation Authority, which operates the nations airports, declined to comment on the investigation but called it routine after such incidents which include high-profile officials. Soleimanis plane landed at the Baghdad airport at about 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, according to two airport officials, citing footage from its security cameras. The general and his guards exited the plane on a staircase directly to the tarmac, bypassing customs. Muhandis met him outside the plane, and the two men stepped into a waiting armoured vehicle. The soldiers guarding the general piled into another armoured SUV, the airport officials said. As airport security officers looked on, the two vehicles headed down the main road leading out of the airport, the officials said. The first two U.S. rockets struck the vehicle carrying Soleimani and Muhandis at 12:55 a.m. The SUV carrying his security was hit seconds later. As commander of the Revolutionary Guards elite Quds force, Soleimani ran clandestine operations in foreign countries and was a key figure in Irans long-standing campaign to drive U.S. forces out of Iraq. He spent years running covert operations and cultivating militia leaders in Iraq to extend Irans influence and fight the interests of the United States. Reuters reported on Saturday that, starting in October, Soleimani had secretly launched stepped-up attacks on U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and equipped Iraqi militias with sophisticated weaponry to carry them out. The attack on the general sparked widespread outrage and vows of revenge in Iran, which responded on Wednesday with a missile attack on two Iraq military bases that house U.S. troops. No Americans or Iraqis were killed or injured in the strike. In the hours after the attack, investigators pored over all incoming calls and text messages by the airport night-shift staff in search of who might have tipped off the United States to Soleimanis movements, the Iraqi security officials said. National Security agents conducted hours-long interrogations with employees of airport security and Cham Wings, the sources said. One security worker said agents questioned him for 24 hours before releasing him. For hours, they grilled him about who he had spoken or text with before Soleimanis plane landed - including any weird requests related to the Damascus flight - and confiscated his mobile phone. They asked me a million questions, he said. Lawmakers approved legislation which will allow Britain to leave the European Union on January 31 with an exit deal, ending more than three years of tumult over the terms of the unprecedented divorce. They voted 330 to 231 in favour of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, which implements an exit deal agreed with the EU last year. That allows Prime Minister Boris Johnson to turn the page on one of Britain's deepest political crises in decades, putting an end to the fears of an immediate disorderly exit which had cast a shadow over the economy and fuelled divisions over the 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU. "It is time to get Brexit done. This bill does so," Brexit minister Stephen Barclay told lawmakers, summing up hours of debate in parliament. The legislation now heads to parliament's upper chamber and is expected to become law in the coming weeks, leaving enough time to allow Britain to leave at the end of the month with a deal to minimise economic disruption. In recent years, financial markets have been mesmerised by the twists and turns of Britain's Brexit drama, with its acrimonious negotiations in Brussels, knife-edge votes in parliament and heavy defeats for unstable governments. But after Johnson called a snap election late last year and then won a large majority by promising to deliver Brexit at the end of January, the uncertainty over when and how Britain will leave the EU has largely abated. The focus has instead turned to upcoming talks on long-term arrangements with the EU that will kick in when a transition period - during which Britain remains subject to EU rules - ends on December 31. Johnson is adamant that the free-trade deal he wants can be negotiated in time, but his EU counterparts are less convinced. On Wednesday, Johnson met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London hours after she had made a speech saying it would be "basically impossible" to agree everything by the end of the year. Johnson's opponents, many of whom argued to stop Brexit or give the public another vote, say his approach risks creating another 'no-deal' cliff-edge at the end of the year when the transition period ends. However, Von der Leyen has indicated that even if a whole deal cannot be negotiated in time, the most important and potentially disruptive parts can be prioritised. Chinese Government Shell Firms Buy Cash-Strapped Companies for First Time SHANGHAI/BEIJINGLocal government shell companies in China bought into struggling privately run listed firms for the first time last year, veering from their typical remit of financing infrastructure projects to pump over $2 billion into cash-strapped businesses. Local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) acquired controlling or near-dominant stakes in 11 China-listed firms, showed Reuters calculations based on stock exchange filings. They also bought into a handful of small, capital-starved banks. The stimulus comes amid central government calls to aid struggling private-run businesses at a time when economic growth has slowed to its weakest pace in almost 30 years. At the same time, the government has moved to curb LGFV activity to stem financial risk, calling on them to operate independently and banning local authorities from offering them implicit guarantees. Buying into struggling firms, however, raises concern about the weight of LGFVs own debt pile which S&P Global Ratings said was as much as $6 trillion in October 2019a year in which they sold a record $430 billion worth of bonds. Of last years 11 deals, the biggest was the $500 million Jinan Urban Construction Group paid for 26 percent of textile conglomerate Shandong Ruyi, which has racked up substantial debt after an international luxury brand buying spree. In another deal, Harbin Economic Development & Investment and another government-backed asset manager bought a 48 percent controlling stake in Harbin Bank, loosening the lenders ties with embattled conglomerate Tomorrow Holdings. LGFVs flourished in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis as local authorities used them to finance infrastructure projects while skirting central government budget limits. Today, some weaker LGFVs are themselves flirting with default and not all will get a local government bailout, Ivan Chung, head of Greater China Credit Research at Moodys said. If a company has a relatively big debt problem or operational issue, rescuing it today could lead to bigger woes tomorrow. In one sign of stress, an LGFV in Inner Mongolia narrowly missed a bond default in December, prompting calls from central bank advisors to draw up rescue plans for LGFVs themselves. To minimize systemic risk, the central government should gradually let weak businesses failincluding LGFVsrather than rescue them indiscriminately, said economist Chi Lo at BNP Paribas Asset Management. I believe eventually it will allow more and bigger LGFVs to exit the system, he said. By Samuel Shen, Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo Richard Lippard is a Massachusetts native, US Air Force veteran, and father of four grown children now living in retirement with his wife in Lakewood, Colorado. He has completed his new book The Abductors: A John Burton Novel: a fast-paced and suspenseful tale of loyalty, murder, and revenge. Retired Army Special Forces Major John Burton and his team travel to Denver, Colorado, to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy communications magnate. The FBI is called in, the ransom is paid, and the chase is on. Up-and-coming FBI agent Sally Martin and her boss, Jack Donovan, are assigned to track down the kidnapper and his crew, but nothing is as it seems. The two agents follow their target through the South and up the East Coast until Burton disappears from sight. Months later, the remains of a suspected crew member are found in the waters off the coast of the Bahamas, but what has happened to John Burton? Published by Page Publishing, Richard Lippards engrossing book is a must-read for detective fiction fans. Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchaseThe Abductors: A John Burton Novel at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. A Denver Post court report also describes incidents where a manager repeatedly commented on an employees breasts, and another in which a top saleswoman was ordered to get on her knees while her boss mimicked a sex act with a vodka bottle at a company party. The lawsuit was filed against the insurance company by thirteen black employees, seven white women and a vice president of the firm. While the court reached no conclusion of official violation by Jackson National Life Insurance, the firm agreed to a four-year consent decree, which includes a payment of $20.5 million in attorney fees, damages and costs, approximately $15 million of which will go to the 21 claimants. The Denver Post reported a Jackson National Life Insurance Company spokesman as saying: While there has been no finding by a court or jury that Jackson violated any laws, were humbled and recognize that the associates who made claims in this case believe they were not treated fairly or in a way that aligns with Jacksons core values. This is concerning to us, as it is not consistent with who we strive to be. EEOC regional attorney Mary Jo ONeill said she hopes the case sends a message to the whole financial services industry. She commented: This is an industry where there are very well-paying jobs and its long been the domain of white males. We hope this sends a message to the financial industry to take discrimination against people of color and women seriously. Reversing itself from a day earlier, the Harris County Democratic Party on Thursday said a constable candidate who was accused by another candidate with the same name of getting on the primary ballot to confuse voters and help the incumbent win, cannot withdraw from the race, after all. Party officials on Wednesday said candidate Jerry Garcia had withdrawn from the race, but his name would remain on the ballot for the March 3 primary. Any votes cast for him, a party spokeswoman said, would not count. The party revised its position Thursday, saying its legal counsel determined that the Texas Election Code does not allow candidates to withdraw from a general primary election after the first day after the date of the regular filing deadline, which was Dec. 9. Votes for Garcia will count, though he has the option to withdraw from the race should he make the runoff. If he wins the primary outright, securing more than 50 percent of the vote, he could withdraw from the general election before August, the Democrats determined. Garcia, a cousin of incumbent Precinct 2 Constable Chris Diazs wife, is one of two candidates by that name who filed to challenge Diaz in the primary. The other Jerry Garcia, a longtime law enforcement officer in a neighboring precinct, said he believes Diaz convinced his relative to enter the race in a bid to confuse voters and ensure the incumbent is re-elected. The cousin and Diaz deny they colluded to place Garcia on the ballot, though they separately refused to answer additional questions. Garcia the cousin, who has no law enforcement experience, did not appear to do any campaigning since filing hours before the Dec. 9 deadline. He never filed finance reports with the county clerk, appointed a treasurer or appeared to hold any events or fundraisers. Garcia the lawman will appear first on the ballot, followed by the words Harris County lieutenant. Garcia the cousin will appear below, with no label. The constable race is the second that has tripped up the Harris County Democratic Party this year. A criminal court judges re-election paperwork initially was rejected by party officials, who said he failed to pay the full fee. Judge George Powell on Wednesday prevailed in court after suing the party, and will appear on the primary ballot. Powell and the party agreed he had paid only $1,500 as a filing fee after a party worker told him the incorrect amount. His filing fee was supposed to be $2,500. zach.despart@chron.com Iran said on Friday it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner that crashed, killing all 176 people aboard, after Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Iran, which has denied the Boeing 737-800 was downed by a missile, said it could take one or two months to extract information from the voice and flight data recorders. If it needed help, it said it could ask Russia, Canada, France or Ukraine. An Iranian aviation official also said the probe could take one or two years. Ukraine said it could not rule out a missile strike but this had not been confirmed. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed on Wednesday, when Iran was on alert for a U.S. military response hours after firing missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq. The incident adds to international pressure on Iran, after months of tension with the United States and then tit-for-tat military strikes. Washington killed an Iranian general last week in a drone attack in Iraq, prompting Tehran's missile launches. On social media, ordinary Iranians voiced anger at authorities for not closing the airport after Iran's missile launches. Many passengers were Iranians with dual nationality. "We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we can't do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, told a news conference in Tehran. State television earlier showed the battered black boxes, saying their information could be downloaded and analysed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing intelligence from Canada and other sources, has blamed an Iranian missile for bringing down the plane that had 63 Canadians on board, although he said it "may well have been unintentional". "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," he said. ERROR France said it was ready to join Canada and other nations contributing to the investigation. "It is important that as much clarity as possible is made and as quickly as possible," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. French agency BEA helped analyse data from the flight recorder of a crashed Boeing plane in Ethiopia last year. A U.S. official, citing satellite data, said Washington had concluded with a high degree of certainty that anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane in error. The official said the data showed the plane airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. There was an explosion in the vicinity and heat data showed the plane on fire as it fell. U.S. military satellites detect infrared emissions from heat. The New York Times said it had obtained a video appearing to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran airport. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he did not believe the crash of the airliner was due to a mechanical issue, saying "somebody could have made a mistake - on the other side". A defence expert said the plane's radar signature would have been similar to a U.S. military transport plane. Iran denied the airliner had been hit by a missile, saying such reports were "psychological warfare against Iran." "All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box," government spokesman Ali Rabiei said. COOPERATION Iran's civil aviation organisation said in an initial report less than 24 hours after the incident that the three-year-old airliner, which had its last scheduled maintenance on Monday, encountered a technical problem after takeoff and was heading to a nearby airport before it crashed. Investigations into airliner crashes require cooperation of regulators, experts and companies across jurisdictions. They can take months and initial reports in 24 hours are rare. Iran said bodies and body parts recovered from the site of the crash were taken to the coroner's office for identification. Ukraine has outlined four potential scenarios, including a missile strike and terrorism. Kiev said its investigators wanted to search the crash site for possible debris of a Russian-made missile used by Iran's military. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was making arrangements to tour the site after an Iranian invitation. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it had designated a representative to join the probe. Boeing said it would support the NTSB. The company is still reeling from two deadly crashes of 737 MAX planes, including the one in Ethiopia, that led to the plane's grounding in March 2019. The 737-800 that crashed was built in 2016 and is the prior generation of the 737 before the MAX. BLOOMINGTON An eyewitness saw Dewon I.C. Griffin point a handgun at Tariq L. Houston following an argument on New Year's Eve and fire two shots, one of which struck Houston, according to a statement read at Griffin's first court hearing on murder charges. Appearing on Friday in McLean County Circuit Court via video link from the McLean County jail, Griffin was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the fatal shooting. Judge Scott Kording set bond at $2 million, with 10 percent to apply. Kording set Griffin's arraignment hearing for 10 a.m. Jan. 24. Griffin remains in the county jail. According to a statement read in court by Assistant State's Attorney Ashley Scarborough, Normal police were dispatched to the 1700 block of Putnam Avenue in northwest Normal at 11:39 p.m. Dec. 31 after a report of shots fired. Normal police found Houston, 17, of Springfield and recently of Decatur, lying on the ground. He was transported to Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, where he died, Scarborough said. McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder previously said Houston was shot in the abdomen and died of the wound. An eyewitness told police that they saw Griffin, 19, of Bloomington, pull a handgun following an argument with Houston and fire two shots, one of which struck Houston, causing him to fall to the ground, Scarborough said. Another person then fired five shots into the air. But those shots didn't hurt anyone, Normal police said previously. Garrett R. Ahlfield, 18, of Bloomington, was arrested last week for allegedly firing those shots. Police previously said the shooting occurred after two groups argued at or after a party. Normal police found Griffin hiding in a crawl space of a residence in the 400 block of West Chestnut Street, Bloomington, late afternoon Wednesday, Scarborough said. A handgun was found in the residence, she said. As police interviewed Griffin, he told different versions of what happened on the night of the shooting, provided inconsistent statements of his whereabouts when the shooting happened, and said someone else had shot Houston, Scarborough said. He also said that he was sleeping in the crawl space, not hiding from police. Scarborough said Griffin's prior convictions have included aggravated battery to a peace officer, aggravated robbery with a firearm and he once failed to appear in court, so he's a public safety and flight risk. She asked that bond be set at $2 million. Assistant Public Defender Bryan McIntyre, representing Griffin, noted the severity of the allegations but called the bond request "extraordinarily high." He said Griffin is 19 years old, works minimum wage jobs and has no access to a significant amount of money. But Kording said "a significant bond is warranted." Contact Paul Swiech at 309-820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech. 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. Northern Irish poultry farmers have been told to heighten biosecurity protocols following reports of a potential notifiable disease at a broiler breeder farm. Officials are currently investigating the suspected presence of a notifiable bird disease in a broiler breeder flock in County Fermanagh. Possibilities include both avian influenza and Newcastle disease. Results are expected in a few days. The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) is now urging farmers to be extra vigilant. Deputy president, David Brown said: I urge them to review their biosecurity measures and business continuity plans to protect their own flock and help safeguard the industry. The union is encouraging producers to implement a number of strict biosecurity protocols and to use the NI's Department of Agriculture (DAERA) services. He added: Maintaining high levels of biosecurity and practising good farm hygiene at all times is essential to reduce the risk of infection in poultry. This includes minimising all movement in and out of bird enclosures, cleaning footwear before and after visiting birds, keeping your farm clean and tidy, regularly disinfecting hard surfaces, ensuring that rats and mice are controlled, keeping food and water in confined areas away from wild birds, and where possible keeping birds separate from wildlife using suitable fencing. There is also a text alert service which sends immediate notifications if there is a disease outbreak. To subscribe, farmers are told to text BIRDS to 67300. It is important that producers make use of all the help and services that are available to them to protect their poultry business and if they have any suspicion of disease in their flock, they should contact their vet or local divisional veterinary office immediately, said Mr Brown. Outpouring Of Grief As Iranians, Canadians Mourn Plane Crash Victims By RFE/RL January 09, 2020 A newlywed couple returning from their wedding, a family of three, including a 1-year-old toddler, a doctoral student, and a mother and her 8-year-old daughter are among the victims of a Ukrainian plane crash in Iran that killed all 176 people on board. The tragedy led to an outpouring of grief for the victims, including many dual Iranian-Canadian nationals who were on their way back to Canada. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians were aboard the plane. There were also 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons, he said. At least 27 of the Canadian victims were from Edmonton, the capital of Canada's Alberta Province. Reza Akbari, the president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, was quoted by Canadian media as saying that "The majority of them are students of the University of Alberta, faculty members, members of our community." "Another dramatic story is the fact that a couple just got married," he added. "One of my wonderful PhD students, Ghanimat Azdahri, was on the plane that crashed in Tehran this morning," Faisal Mola, an associate professor in geography at the University of Guelph in Canada, tweeted. He added that Azdahri was on her way back after visiting her family in her native country, Iran. "The students and I are in so much pain," he added. "The number of young, brilliant, hopeful Iranians who were returning to their studies in Canada represent an unfathomable loss to Canadian higher education, arts, science & the world. And as a faculty member in Canada & Iranian American I am honestly just destroyed," said Neda Maghbouleh, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto. Iranian media reported that 14 of the victims were graduates of Iran's elite Sharif University. "It's very painful to read that Iranian elite who were on their way to start a new life lost their lives," Kousha Jamshidi said on Twitter. "My heart is with all the families of those lost," said Mahsa Alimardani, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford's Internet Institute. "I've had family take the Tehran to Toronto route via Kiev in the past year. It's been a new affordable route for many Iranian-Canadians who don't have direct flights from Canada," Alimardani added. Ahmad Halabisaz, an Iranian photojournalist who had taken photos of the aftermath of the crash, said on Instagram that the crash scene was "different" from anything he had seen before. "I have covered four or five air crashes in Iran so far. Yesterday was different," he said, adding that "I cannot easily forget those scenes." Others complained that Iranian authorities had failed to announce an official day of mourning for the tragic deaths. "We had...three days of mourning for a single person, [but] nothing for more than hundred killed in a plane crash," a man in Tehran wrote on Instagram, referring to three days of state mourning for Iran's top military commander, Qasem Soleimani. Many reposted the last tweet of one passenger, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto: "I predicted that a war would start right before my flight," he wrote with a smiley in what appeared to have been a reference to the rising tensions between Tehran and Washington following the assassination of Soleimani and Iran's retaliatory missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq. "Forgive me for my good and bad deeds," he added. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/outpouring-of- grief-as-iranians-canadians-mourn- plane-crash-victims/30368992.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A man who graffitied the word slutt on his ex-partners house was caught after he repeated the spelling mistake while being questioned by police. Following the break-up of their relationship, the man reportedly bombarded the woman with 20 messages in just a few days. Although numerous and sent mostly at night, the messages did not contain abusive or threatening language, Ouest France reported. When the woman did not respond, the defendant turned up at her house in Cote de Penthievre, Brittany, with flowers, but she refused to let him in. In response, he tried to force his way through the door and windows, prompting her to take refuge in the bathroom and call the police. 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 Then, some days later, the man spray painted the word salope meaning slut, or bitch on the womans house, misspelling it as saloppe, according to Ouest France. Quick-thinking gendarmes later asked him to write down the word on a piece of paper, whereupon he repeated the error and incriminated himself. Recommended Samira Ahmed wins equal pay case against BBC At court in Saint-Brieuc on Thursday the man appeared to suggest his former partner had not consented often enough to sex, the report said. He was ordered to pay 1,000 euros after being convicted of degrading and publicly insulting behaviour. The mans former partner said his actions had left her feeling unsafe. Properties worth millions of naira were destroyed at a plaza, CTUS Today Home Nigeria Limited on Thursday, following a fire outbreak. The raze which affected the four-storey building of the plaza located on Station Road, Osogbo, the state capital, did not record any casualty. Operation Commandant, Federal Fire Service, Osun State Command, Mr Isaac Adejobi, attributed the incident to a power surge. Adejobi who urged residents to always be conscious of fire, expressed the need for every resident to ensure that they have good fire extinguishers in their various business outlets and houses. He also urged them to possess Smoke Alert System to prevent fire incidents. Adejobi commended fire fighters for their prompt response and arrival at the scene of the incident few minutes after a distress call was made to their station. The Public Relations Officer, Federal Fire Service, Mrs Basiri Adija, also advised residents to always be cautious of fire disaster to prevent loss of lives and property in their various domains. Mrs Basiri listed the negative effects of fire outbreak to include hazards to lives and property, atmospheric pollution and water contamination. Human beings are the main factors and causes of fire due to human activities, he said. There are many factors responsible for fire outbreaks such as bush burning and use of outdated wires for electrical appliances without knowing how to use fire equipment. All these cause fire outbreak and we need to curb it, she stressed. Mrs Basiri explained that preventive measures could be taken through attitudinal maintenance, especially at home and on transit. She stressed that every individual needed to have the necessary fire equipment, including fire extinguisher, fire blanket and urged people to place their gas cylinders outside the home to prevent fire hazards. She explained that the Osun State command of the Federal Fire Service had been creating awareness on the safety measures to prevent fire outbreaks through jingles, fliers and other public enlightenment programmes. You are here: World Flash Eighteen UN peacekeepers from Chad were wounded Thursday in an attack on a military base in northern Mali, a UN spokesperson said. "The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali reported that this morning several mortars and/or rockets were fired at its camp in Tessalit in the Kidal region," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, adding that the UN mission shares the camp with Malian and international forces. Dujarric said initial reports indicate that 18 UN peacekeepers from Chad were wounded, including six who have suffered serious injuries. The mission immediately organized medical evacuations and security reinforcements, said Dujarric. "We strongly condemn the attack that took place on the camp." Mali has been suffering deteriorating political and security conditions as well as tribal fighting since March 2012. Trump said Thursday that Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general that he ordered killed with a drone strike, had been planning to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Trump and his aides have drawn sharp criticism from opposition Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans for refusing to disclose what they say was the "imminent threat" that Soleimani posed at the time he was killed in the car he was riding in at the airport in the Iraqi capital last week. Pompeo said the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the deputy chief-of-staff of Iran's military were among the senior officials who were targeted with sanctions. "We're striking at the heart of the regime's inner security apparatus," Pompeo said. The administration of President Donald Trump believes the sanctions will force Tehran to negotiate a new nuclear agreement, downsize its missile development program and end its support of militias in the Middle East. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at a White House news conference the new sanctions target Iran's construction, manufacturing, mining and textile industries. He said sanctions also target Iranian officials the U.S. maintains were involved in the January 8 missile strikes on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. Iran's attacks came in retaliation to the U.S. killing of Iran's top military commander. The U.S. placed more sanctions on Iran Friday in response to its missile attack on U.S. military troops in Iraq last week, and it threatened further action to weaken Iran's economy if Tehran continues to carry out what it considers terrorist actions. But Trump, speaking at the White House Thursday, offhandedly remarked, "We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died, one of our military people died. People were badly wounded just a week before." Trump administration officials had previously blamed Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp's Quds Force, for killing American armed forces and the U.S. contractor Trump referenced, while fomenting unrest in Iraq and Lebanon. But they had balked at disclosing specific reasons for the killing of Soleimani. After background briefings this week, some lawmakers complained that evidence of an "imminent threat" posed by Soleimani was scant. A senior U.S. Defense official said that when Trump was presented with options regarding Iranian threats, other proposals besides killing Soleimani would have involved the possibility of far more casualties. Trump's remarks came as U.S. officials say they believe Iran intended to kill American forces with its ballistic missile attacks on bases in Iraq early Wednesday as retribution for the drone attack on Soleimani. Their assessment followed Trump's Wednesday White House address in which he concluded that Iran "appears to be standing down" from new conflict with the U.S. On Wednesday, the top U.S. military leader, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, told reporters at the Pentagon, "The points of impact were close enough to personnel and equipment and so on and so forth. I believe, based on what I saw and what I know, is that they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and equipment and aircraft, and to kill personnel." No U.S. forces were injured by the 16 short-range ballistic missiles fired from three sites inside Iran, targeting two military bases in Iraq where U.S. armed forces are stationed. But Milley said, the absence of casualties "has more to do with the defensive techniques our forces used than it does with intent." The senior Defense official said the U.S. had learned hours ahead of the attack that Iran was planning to launch it. Milley said that Iran, in targeting the al-Asad air base in the western Iraqi desert, "put 11 large rockets with 1,000-pound, 2,000-pound (more than 900-kilogram) warheads in it, but we took sufficient defensive measures." Defense Secretary Mark Esper said damage at the al-Asad base was confined to "tentage, taxiways, the parking lot, a damaged helicopter, things like that. Nothing that I would describe as major. No friendly casualties, whether they're U.S., coalition, contractor." Iran on Thursday disputed the U.S. accounts of the missile attacks and their intent. Iranian state media quoted Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force, as saying, "We did not intend to kill. We intended to hit the enemy's military machinery." He repeated the Iranian government's claim that "tens of people were killed or wounded." Trump, in a nationally televised address Wednesday from the White House, signaled the U.S. would not take military action in response to the attacks, but instead would impose the additional harsh economic sanctions against Iran to further hobble its economy. Iran fired the missiles into Iraq early Wednesday in retaliation for the Trump-ordered drone attack that killed Soleimani, whom the U.S. leader said "was responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities" in the Middle East. The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to curb further attacks on Iran absent congressional approval, with a similar measure under consideration in the Republican-majority Senate. But Trump could veto any such congressional resolution, with lawmakers unlikely to muster the necessary two-thirds majority to override such a move. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The NYU School of Laws Brennan Center for Justice, in its annual report on crime, finds that the murder rate in Americas 30 largest cities rose 13.1 percent in 2016an alarming figure, especially considering last years identical increase. Striking a calming note, the Brennan Centers press release accompanying the report begins by reminding us that Americans are safer today than they have been at almost any time in the past 25 years. But downplaying the recent uptick in the homicide rate distracts from the fact that there is more than one America when it comes to violent crime: indeed, 51 percent of all U.S. murders are committed in just 2 percent of the nations counties, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center. No city more starkly illustrates this disparity than Chicago. Many scoffed at President Trumps tweets about federal help to stop the carnage there. Chicagos murder rate wasnt even in the top 10 among large cities, tweeted USA Today law and justice reporter Brad Heath in response. The Atlantic observed that there are a number of cities . . . that have much, much higher homicide rates. A CNN column argued that a deeper dive into the numbers shows fears over the citys violence can be overblown when compared to cities much smaller. But Chicagowhich, the Brennan Center concedes, accounted for 55.1 percent of the total increase in urban murders in 2016deserves its reputation as an American murder capital, or at least a significant part of it does. If policymakers, journalists, and others really wanted to take the deeper dive into the numbers that CNN suggests, they should try looking at neighborhood crime statistics. Doing so reveals that, within Chicago, a large sub-city exists that is, in fact, the most dangerous big city in the United States. Its true that Chicago, with a citywide homicide rate of 27.9 per 100,000 people, has relatively fewer murders than seven other large cities, including St. Louis, Baltimore, Memphis, and Detroit. Much of Chicago sees few murders. A better way to understand Chicago homicides is to break them down by police district. To see how concentrated the citys murders are, I isolated the precincts in which approximately 75 percent of the homicides occur and compared that areacall it Sub-Chicagowith the U.S. cities that are supposedly more dangerous than the Windy City. During the 365-day period beginning June 7, 2016, Chicago had 711 first- and second-degree homicides. Of those, 556 (or 78.1 percent) occurred in just ten of the citys police districts. Those districtswhich are contiguousconstitute a geographical area almost half the citys size and house 40.3 percent of the citys nearly 2.7 million residents. With a population of almost 1.1 million, Sub-Chicago would itself be one of Americas largest cities, and, with a homicide rate of 51.2almost double Chicagos 2016 citywide rateit would be in the running for the title of Americas most dangerous, as it is just shy of surpassing the 2016 citywide rates of Baltimore and St. Louis. Nowhere else in the country is there an area so large and so heavily populated with a murder rate this high. Even when you look at the areas of concentrated homicide in other citiesi.e., those that encompass close to 75 percent of a citys murdersSub-Chicago stands out. In St. Louis, for example, 184 murders were committed during the period beginning May 1, 2016, and ending April 30, 2017. Of those, 136 (or 73.9 percent) occurred in three of the citys six police districts (Sub-St. Louis). Those three districts cover 50.6 percent of the citys 63.8 square miles, which, according to the city website, house 135,920 (or 42.5 percent) of the citys 319,294 residents. A similar tract of Sub-Chicago, made up of police districts 11 and 15, with 140 murders and a population of 129,932, posted an annual murder rate of 107.7 per 100,000 during the 365-day period studiedslightly higher than the area constituting Sub-St. Louis (100.05). In Memphis, murders in 2016 were more evenly distributed than in Chicago and St. Louis. Last year, 76.3 percent of the citys 228 murders occurred in six of the citys nine police districts, which cover about 80 percent of the citys land area and house 76 percent of its population. The murder rate of those six districts was 34.8 per 100,000less than three points higher than the citywide rate and almost 20 points lower than that of Sub-Chicago. Analyses of Detroit and Baltimore yield similar results. In Detroit, 72.8 percent of the citys 302 murders in 2016 occurred in seven of the citys 11 police precinctsan area that constitutes 64.1 percent of the citys 137 square miles and accounts for almost 70 percent of its 672,972 residents. Sub-Detroits 2016 homicide rate was 47.1 per 100,000 residentssignificantly lower than Sub-Chicagos and less than three points higher than Detroits citywide rate. Seventy-six percent (242) of Baltimores murders occurred in six of the citys nine precinctsan area that houses 53.1 percent of the citys 624,271 residents. That areas murder rate is a scary 72.9 per 100,000 residents. But Sub-Chicago has almost double the population of Sub-Baltimore. Sub-Chicagos four most dangerous police districtsthe 11th, 7th, 15th, and 16thexperienced 273 murders during the period analyzed. With a population of 291,844, it posted a murder rate of 93.5more than 20 points higher than that of Sub-Baltimore. What this analysis shows is that, in many American cities, a substantial number of residents live through what can only be described as a homicide epidemic. And, despite assurances to the contrary, nowhere is that epidemic more pronounced than in Sub-Chicago, which happens to be 88 percent black and Latino. If were serious about improving life in places like South and West Chicago, we must confront the uncomfortable truths about crime concentration in U.S. cities. Step one is recognizing that while most of the country is relatively free from such violence, a portion of the country lives in the urban equivalent of a killing field. These Americans dont need to be told that crime is down nationwide; they need protection. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images Victorian climate campaigners say the state Labor government could kickstart its new round of cuts to carbon emissions by shutting Australias "dirtiest" brown coal power station within three years. Yallourn power station. Credit:Paul Jones The state government will sign off within three months on deep new interim targets for cutting Victorias carbon pollution, with a five-year plan for reductions of up to 40 per cent on 2005 levels being considered along with a 10-year plan for 60 per cent reductions. The governments adviser on the proposed cuts, former federal MP Greg Combet, says the national bushfire crisis has sharpened the focus on the climate change debate and that politicians must respond to the publics desire for action in the wake of the emergency. After US regulator banned countrys airlines from flying over Iran and Iraq, other carriers are also taking precautions. Singapore Did a missile, or even missiles, bring down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in a Tehran suburb earlier this week, killing all 176 people on board, a few hours after Iranian forces launched attacks against military bases hosting United States forces in Iraq? Western officials seem to be raising the possibility that a missile strike whether intentional or not did cause the tragedy. Iran has dismissed the comments by Canada and Ukraine suggesting a missile attack may have been responsible. But if it was the cause, it would seem to vindicate the decision this week by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ban US carriers from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, as well as the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The European Aviation Safety Agency also recommended that EU-based commercial airlines avoid Iraqi airspace, prompting many carriers to reroute or cancel operations through the region. But those decisions, while prudent, could add to the commercial and operational problems of many Asian and European airlines whose planes have to pass over the Middle East while travelling between Asia and Europe, aviation analysts say. Intense competition, a global economic slowdown, rising fuel prices and pressure from regulators to reduce emissions are some of the pressures already squeezing many carriers profit margins. A protracted rerouting of commercial aviation from Iranian and Iraqi airspace will mean longer flights and higher fuel costs for long-haul carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. And that could translate into significantly higher prices for passengers. When you have an airspace closure, air transport and airlines see a significant impact to their operating costs and their flight times as a result of them circumventing airspaces whilst finding alternate routes, aviation consultant Mark Martin told Al Jazeera. In such situations, the effective cost of tickets dramatically shoots up for the traveller by nearly 50 percent. The effective increase in flight time would be between 45 minutes to one hour depending on the type of aircraft, he added. Approximately 1,000 commercial planes fly through Iranian and Iraqi airspace each day, Albert Tjeong, assistant director of corporate communications for the Asia-Pacific region at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told Al Jazeera. Taking the long way round At the moment many carriers in Southeast Asia and Oceania have started to reroute their flight paths to Europe in line with the FAAs move, Shukor Yusof, founder of Malaysia-based aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, told Al Jazeera. Long-term this will have an adverse effect on an air carriers bottom line as a new route requires extra fuel burn, and possibly a mid-point transit. Oil prices initially surged on Wednesday to a near four-month high following the Iranian missile strikes on Iraqi military bases. Those were retaliation for the US strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Irans elite Quds Force, a unit of the countrys military. The markets have since stabilised as investors see a de-escalation in US-Iran tensions, at least for now. But oil prices have been on a steady rise for months. Brent crude has risen nearly 23 percent since early August, and they are up almost 37 percent since the end of 2018, according to data by Refinitiv. Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of aviation news site FlightGlobal, says oil prices could rise further if tensions around Iran worsen. Pieces of missile lie on the ground near al-Baghdadi town in Iraq after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted the Ain al-Assad airbase, a facility jointly operated by US and Iraqi forces [January 8: Handout/Al-Baghdadi township/Anadolu] That would be bad news for the airline industry globally because its going to influence fuel prices, and thats going to impact profitability, Waldron told Al Jazeera. Other consequences could include weakened consumer confidence in air travel and increased jet emissions, Waldron said. Even though airline profits have been growing recently, and may continue to do so in the short term, some forecasters see financial storm clouds on their radar screens. In an industry outlook released every six months, IATA in December expressed optimism for the new year, forecasting the global airline industry will produce a net profit of $29.3bn in 2020, up 13 percent from a net profit of $25.9bn expected for 2019. IATA predicted Asia-Pacific carriers will be helped in 2020 by a modest recovery in world trade and air cargo, showing a $6bn net profit in 2020 (up from $4.9bn in 2019) for a 2.2 percent net margin, the ratio of a companys after-tax profits to its revenue. Asia remains the manufacturing center of the world and revenues from transporting many of those goods are a significant proportion of sales for many of the regions airlines, the IATA report said. But the trade war [between the US and China] is assumed just to be on hold; trade tariffs are not reversed. Consequently, the rise in trade and cargo volumes is moderate. Feeling the squeeze IATA says many airlines around the world are already struggling due to the global economic slowdown, trade wars, geopolitical tensions, social unrest such as in Hong Kong and lingering uncertainties surrounding Brexit. And despite the rosy headline profit figures, profit margins are tight. IATA estimates the projected 2020 net profit per passenger for Asia-Pacific carriers at $3.34, compared with a global average net profit per passenger of $6.20 ($5.70 in 2019). Major air carriers in Southeast Asia, including Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, struggled with financial difficulties in 2018 and 2019, according to their respective annual reports. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has had to defer delivery of some new planes as it struggles with a plunge in visitor arrivals to the city due to months of pro-democracy protests [File: Thomas Peter/Reuters] Following Wednesdays early morning missile strike, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Germanys Lufthansa and Air France-KLM were among airlines charting new routes to go around Iraq and Iran. Many flights have been avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace by taking a more northerly route over Afghanistan and Pakistan or a more southerly route over Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Among those still using Iranian and Iraqi airspace, which remains open, is Qatar Airways, which is banned from flying over Saudi Arabia. The current re-routes will add some time to flights, but the actual disruption to traffic is minimal, Ian Petchenik of flight-tracking website Flightradar24 told Al Jazeera. However, given the congested nature of the airspace in the Gulf area, any escalation could include significant disruptions to civilian air traffic. Airlines based in Southeast and South Asia, such as Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, are among those with frequent flights to Europe whose routes could potentially be affected by changes in air traffic patterns. Airlines based farther north in Asia such as in Japan, Korea and northern China also have significant numbers of flights to Europe, but given their geography would generally fly north of the area anyway, aviation analyst Brendan Sobie told Al Jazeera. Potential impacts on specific airlines may be hard to gauge in the short term, analysts say. Routings vary depending on weather, winds, airspace availability, etc. Some airlines will have longer flights on average due to this issue, but it can vary and would be hard to quantify, Sobie said. But following the latest crash in Iran, and with memories of the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by a missile over Ukraine in 2014 killing all 298 people on board still fresh in the minds of pilots and their corporate bosses, most major airlines will likely consider rerouting their flights a price worth paying. The investigative unit of the Ararat Division of the Police of Armenia has initiated a criminal case under the elements of failure by persons providing medical aid and services to perform professional duties or improper performance of professional duties that has negligently caused death of a patient under treatment. According to Shamshyan.com, the mentioned criminal case has been instituted in relation to the death of three-year-old girl of Ararat village of Ararat Province at Ararat Medical Center. The girls relatives blame the medical centers doctors for what happened. We are so angry that we wont be at ease, no matter what we tell them. We transferred a healthy and active child with hot body temperature to a hospital, and four days later, doctors tell the mother that she is about to die and that she has to be transferred to Surb Astvatsamayr Medical Center. Why isnt the healthcare minister interested in the fact that there was no fuel in the ambulance truck transporting the child to the hospital? Why isnt the healthcare minister concerned about the fact that the chief doctor of Ararat Medical Center is spreading false information on television? Certain doctors of the hospital killed our child under the chief doctors administration. True, we cant bring our daughter back, but we want those doctors of Ararat Medical Center to no longer work as doctors, the relatives said. By IANS KOHIMA/AIZAWL/AGARTALA: Three Parliamentarians from the northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura are facing a strong local backlash for supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). While the Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland KG Kenye was suspended by his party Nagaland People's Front (NPF), the lone Lok Sabha member from Mizoram C. Lalrosanga has been facing strong protests by the local parties. Terrorist outfit National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) threatened to take action against the ruling BJP's Lok Sabha member Rebati Tripura for supporting the CAA. In Nagaland, the NPF, the main opposition party, on Wednesday suspended its Rajya Sabha member K. G. Kenye from the party for "anti-party" activity for voting in favour of the CAA. Kenye, however, said that he voted in favour of the amendment bill as it exempted Nagaland because the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regulation has been in force in the state. Last month, Kenye had quit as Secretary General of the NPF but had not quit the party. In Mizoram, various local parties specially the state's apex students' organisation, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), have been protesting against Lok Sabha member C. Lalrosanga who belongs to the ruling Mizo National Front. Lalrosanga, a former Director of Doordarshan, told IANS that he had voted for the CAA as per the decision of the party. On Tuesday a large number of MZP activists staged a demonstration at ALengpui airport and showed black flags to Lalrosanga as he arrived at the airport from Delhi. The opposition Congress, demanding Lalrosanga's resignation, called him a "traitor" for voting in support of the CAA. Mizoram Chief Minister and President of the ruling MNF, Zoramthanga had said that Lalrosanga had voted in favour of the bill in Parliament at the behest of the party as the union government had fulfilled the people's demand to exempt Mizoram from the purview of the amended act. In Tripura, the outlawed NLFT recently issued a threat letter to ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Rebati Tripura, who won from the Tripura East parliamentary constituency, reserved for the tribals. Rebati Tripura, a teacher-turned-politician said, "For the all round development of the tribals and the state he would be active both inside and outside Parliament." North Tripura district police chief Bhanupada Chakraborty told IANS that following the threat letter to important personalities, forcible collection of money from the villagers and acting on an intelligence input, the police arrested three militants -- Phanijoy Reang, Samprai Debbarma and Kanti Marak, from Panisagar and Dharmanagar railway stations. After violent protests in the northeastern states from local and regional parties including the BJP's allies -- Meghalaya's ruling National People's Party (NPP) and Mizoram's ruling MNF -- the central government also exempted the Tribal Autonomous District Council (TADC)-governed areas besides the ILP administered areas from the ambit of the CAA. Meanwhile, the ruling BJP's ally in Tripura, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), continued its indefinite sit-in for the fifth day on Friday. Braving the cold weather, several hundred activists including women led by the leaders of the IPFT, continued their demonstration in Khumulwng for keeping the state out of the purview of the CAA and for the creation of a separate state for the tribals. Other tribal parties, including the Joint Movement Against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (JMACAB), a conglomeration of many tribal parties which had called off their agitation against the CAA on December 11 after a meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, resumed the agitation from Tuesday. The JMACAB, led by the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), one of the oldest tribal-based parties in the state, demanded the exclusion of Tripura from the ambit of the CAA. Queen Bette, coming to Melbourne for this months Midsumma Festival, is in part shaped by two films in which Davis played the queen, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex in 1939 and The Virgin Queen of 1955. In Davis reckoning, Flynn, a young pup from Australia, might not be up to the task of such a classy romance. Cronin admits she worked hard to get the correct New England delivery. And given all the research shes done, you could have no better guide to the life of the screen icon. Her one-woman show, Queen Bette, begins with a distressed yell: No! Sonofabitch! Davis has just learned Errol Flynn has been cast as Essex opposite her Queen Elizabeth I, when shed wanted Laurence Olivier. It is uncanny to come face to face with the living image of Bette Davis on a hot day in a Southbank rehearsal studio. Yet Jeanette Cronins resemblance is so striking you cant imagine any other actor filling those glamorous shoes. Here is Bettes distinctive mouth, the bright eyes and, incredibly, the voice. When Cronin rattles off a droll Davis line, you could close your eyes and imagine yourself back in the Warner Bros. studio in Hollywoods golden age. Cronin has many such glittering anecdotes at her disposal, gleaned from Davis autobiographies, which she and director Peter Mountford drew on for Queen Bette. She has the passion of an enthusiast and admires the fighter in Davis. Anyone who runs their own race is a gift to play. Shes so intelligent and when you watch interviews with her, you see that she runs them, and when they try and get her to say something nasty, she just says, [in perfect Davis delivery] Oh, youre trying to make me say something bad about Joan are you? Joan Crawford was Davis offscreen rival. The lurid details of their careers were exhumed as recently as 2017 in the television miniseries Feud. Screen icon Bette Davis. Credit:Getty Images Queen Bette depicts Davis from childhood, when her beloved mother, Ruthie, encouraged her onto the stage, through silent films and onto the talkies, a few career restarts and the many films she made from the 1930s to 60s. Cronin shows us that in the span of 80 years, there is much more to the Bette Davis story than the arch, sardonic reputation. Reports of being demanding always threatened to overwhelm the actors performances even while she proved to be one of the more professional screen stars, someone who never feared playing unsympathetic or unattractive roles. Not that she always had a choice, while she was contracted to Warner Bros. and in its iron-clad grip. Icons are often reduced to one fixed image, and for Davis its her monstrous former child star in 1962s macabre Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? . The performance all lace, ringlets and gruesome layers of make-up is indelible, as Baby Jane creates a domestic realm of terror for her trapped, wheelchair-bound sister, played by Crawford. Yet in Cronins reading, Davis was full of joy; she always pushed things in a positive direction. She acknowledges the actor had a reputation for being tough. She often said she wasnt interested in making friends. She wanted people to deliver what they had to do. Shell is looking for buyers of its Anacortes refinery in Washington, unnamed sources told Reuters, adding that if a sale takes place it would leave Shells refining operations in North America concentrated in the Gulf Coast. The sale would be part of a divestment program announced by the Anglo-Dutch supermajor. It envisages the offloading of $5 billion worth of assets last year and this year, each. Shell already sold one other U.S. refinery last year, in Martinez, California. The deal, with independent refiner PBF Energy Inc, will see the supermajor get up to $1 billion. Another refinery, this one in Canada, is also up for sale. Thats the 75,000-bpd Sarnia refinery of Shell in Ontario. If Shell finds a buyer for the 144,000-bpd Anacortes facility, this will leave it with three refineries in the United Statestwo in Louisiana with a combined capacity of half a million barrels daily, and one in Texas with a capacity of 340,000 bpd. Reuters later reported that the Anacortes refinery is the seventh one that has been put up for sale in the United States. The seven account for 5 percent of refining capacity in the country. Buyers, however, are difficult to find for a number of reasons. These include unfavorable locations, a concern among energy companies about falling refining margins, and the competition prospects given the pending restart of refineries in the Caribbean. The margins problem, according to analysts, stems from the fact that all refineries are now trying to produce fuels compliant with the new IMO sulfur emissions regulations effective January 1 and this is eating into profits. The U.S. renewable fuel standard is not helping, either. When some of your really big companies have stopped buying refineries, that really slows things down, a Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. told Reuters. Refiners dont want to overpay for an asset with environmental liabilities that might require unknown capital expenditure to meet future requirements, according to Matt Flanagan, an executive from energy advisory firm Opportune. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Normally hes not this busy in early winter, when soil is typically colder and drier. Helitech, a foundation repair and basement waterproofing company, also reported an abnormal number of calls for this time of year. Our phones have been ringing off the hook today, said Burk Watts, general manager for the residential division of Helitech. Normally in January, Helitech gets 75 to 100 calls a day, Watts said. On Friday? He expected between 500 and 700. Helitech is based in Caseyville and covers much of Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and parts of Iowa. Watts said customers may be dealing with sump pump problems, backed up floor drains and gutters. He said the Midwest, and St. Louis especially, has heavy clay in the soil that tends to hold large amounts of water. Recent snow also probably left some moisture in the soil, Cooper added. Homeowners can prepare for rain by making sure gutters are working properly, having sump pumps checked and maintained, and seeing that the area around their house is graded so water flows away from the structure, Watts said. A representative panel of huckleberries to the members of Missoulas City Council sworn in this week, newcomers and incumbents alike. The three new councilors Amber Sherrill of Ward 4, John Contos of Ward 5, and Sandra Vasecka of Ward 6 join returning councilors Heidi West of Ward 1, Mirtha Becerra of Ward 2 and Gwen Jones of Ward 3, as well as six other council members who are midway through their four-year terms. As Mayor John Engen pointed out during the swearing-in ceremony in City Council Chambers, its not required that they all agree but they do have a duty to listen, to learn and to respect their fellow council members. That goes for their constituents too. Spray-painted chokecherries to whomever is responsible for the recent graffiti on a home in Stevensville. Dave and Golda Weber have wooden letters that spell Trump on the side of their house which someone apparently took as an invitation to add profanity and anti-Trump messages. Fortunately, kind-hearted neighbors Marie Noell and Steve Fryer took it upon themselves to paint over the graffiti, and one anonymous supporter even mailed the Webers a card with $20 inside. Further, Golda Weber says she has received expressions of support from people on both sides of the political divide. Apolitical huckleberries to these folks for their civic response to an unacceptable act of vandalism. Huckleberries heading in the right direction to the latest report from the Montana Department of Justice showing that the number of deaths from intimate partner homicide has dropped by almost 50%. Statistics tracked by the state Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission, which has studied domestic violence in Montana since 2000, show an average of 11 intimate partner homicides a year. However, the numbers spiked to 19 and 24 in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and then reduced to 11 in 2017 and 14 in 2018. While still far too high, the latest numbers are a hopeful indicator that fatal partner violence in Montana may be on the decline. An expanded field of huckleberries to the addition of 16,400 acres of land to the Lolo National Forest, thanks to a deal with The Nature Conservancy. The parcels, which include a checkerboard area east of the Flathead Indian Reservation and a big chunk along the east side of the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area, were previously owned by the Plum Creek Timber Company, then bought by The Nature Conservancy in 2015 as part of a deal for nearly 117,000 acres. The U.S. Forest Service used nearly $12 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is supported by offshore oil drilling fees and not taxpayer dollars, to purchase the new public land. An unsettled heap of chokecherries to the endangered state of some $80 million in state infrastructure projects due to a discrepancy in Montana Medicaid. Legislative auditors say up to 135,000 individuals half the total number of enrollees may be improperly enrolled. If true, that could cost the state $135 million in federal funds. However, the governors office says auditors used the wrong eligibility criteria. Auditors and administrators need to get this issue cleared up and settle on a mutually acceptable method of determining Medicaid eligibility in the future. Congratulatory huckleberries to Deena Mansour now that she has been officially named head of the esteemed Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center. Mansour, who has been with the center for the past decade and was previously a foreign service officer with the Department of State, was appointed interim executive director more than a year ago, and has amply proven her ability to lead it successfully in its mission to deepen global understanding and relationships. This editorial represents the views of Missoulian Publisher Jim Strauss, Editor Gwen Florio and Opinion Editor Tyler Christensen. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 25 Soldiers, 63 "Terrorists' Killed in Attack on Military Base in Niger - Reports Sputnik News 03:06 10.01.2020 According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, attacks in Niger have increased fourfold last year, with over 400 people killed, despite the efforts on the part of the international community to prevent Islamist raids in the region. On Thursday, a military base, located around 209 kilometres north of Niger's capital city of Niamey, was assaulted by unidentified militants, media reported. The attack left 25 Nigerien servicemen and 63 assailants dead while six soldiers were injured, the local defence ministry said as quoted by AFP. "The response with the combined air support of the Niger air force and partners made it possible to strike and rout the enemy outside our boundaries", defence spokesperson Colonel Souleymane Gazobi added. He has also said that the incident took place in Chinegodar, in the western Tillaberi Region, at 01:00 p.m. local time and that the heavily armed militants came in vehicles and on motorbikes. "The Defence ministry... offers its condolences to the victims and wishes the wounded a prompt recovery," the government statement said, adding that the army is trying to establish the identities of the attackers. In December 2019, terrorists attacked an army camp in western Niger near the Malian border killing at least 70 soldiers, while 30 others went missing. The Daesh* terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. Niger is part of the G5 anti-jihadist task force which also includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania and is fighting against Boko Haram militants as well as jihadists linked to the Daesh* group. *Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lottie Moss was left in floods of tears after her 'drunk cling-on' friends ruined her 22nd birthday bash just days before her move to LA. A source told MailOnline that she was left feeling 'lonely and sad' after many of her close friends failed to turn up to the celebration and those who did attend ruined the night after being thrown out of Brown's hotel in London where she is staying. The source also revealed that Lottie has adopted a sober lifestyle ahead of her LA move, which will be for at least two years, and is looking forward to living Stateside and close to her friend Sofia Richie. Hard times: Newly-sober Lottie Moss was left in floods of tears after her 'drunk cling-on' friends ruined her 22nd birthday bash on Thursday night (pictured) ahead of her move to LA Upsetting: A source told MailOnline that Lottie was left feeling 'lonely and sad' after her worst birthday ever which saw her friends being kicked out of her hotel suite at 4am The source said that Lottie's night started off well as she headed to her suite st Brown's hotel in London after leaving Chelsea's Bluebird restaurant with her pals. They said: 'She was celebrating her 22nd birthday before she goes to LA tomorrow to live for two years. It's the last time she will see them in a while.' 'But as 16 of her friends headed back to her 2k suite at top hotel Brown's, things got a bit out of control and they were thrown out at 4am by furious staff.' The calm before the storm: Lottie documented the early stages of her birthday celebrations in London on social media after packing up her Fulham flat ahead of her move Lottie was accompanied by a host of friends on the night, including Made In Chelsea's Emily Blackwell and Olivia Bentley, although there is nothing to suggest they were the cause of the trouble. The source continued: 'There were a lot of cling-ons, but she was upset because a lot of the Made In Chelsea cast she invited didnt show up.' Tabitha Willett was another of the attendees and she documented the evening on Instagram Stories, confirming that she didn't touch a drop of alcohol and was home again by midnight. The source said: 'Sixteen friends came back to the hotel for an after party, where she is staying after moving out of her Fulham flat, before she jets off on Saturday. Giddy: A source claimed that after leaving the Bluebird restaurant in London (pictured) Lottie took her pals back to the Brown's Hotel in London where she is staying in a 2k a night suite Naughty: Things took a turn when Lottie's friends left her feeling 'lonely and sad' when many of them didn't show up (there is nothing to suggest her friends pictured caused the trouble) 'She said she feels totally let down by her friends and questioned if this was the price of fame as it seems some of them were using her for a fun night out. 'Everyone was treated so nicely with free drinks, cake and champagne. Her friends tried to ruin what was meant to be a lovely stay.' Just like her half-sister Kate, Lottie has recently decided to go sober ahead of her two-year move to LA, and she's looking to spending time with her real friends. The source added: 'She's really good friends with Sofia Richie out in LA and shes looking forward to being with real friends who dont let her down.' Upset: In a cryptic Instagram Stories post on Friday Lottie hinted that all was not well as she posted about having the 'worst birthday ever' Lottie partially alluded to the disastrous end to her birthday celebrations in a cryptic post to Instagram Stories on Friday, writing: 'Honestly had the worst birthday I think ever, really makes you realise who your real friends are when you're moving.' A slew of posts earlier in the evening had hinted that things started off well, with the star larking about with her friends who donned cardboard masks of her face. It was previously reported that Lottie was planning a move to Los Angeles, as she bids to follow in the footsteps of her half-sister Kate Moss with success in the fashion industry. Despite making a name for herself on the runway, Lottie admits that she sometimes gets embarrassed when telling people she is a model. Drama: The source added that Lottie has gone sober ahead of her move to LA and is trying to focus on her real friends as she focuses on positivity Good start: A slew of posts earlier in the evening had hinted that things started off well, with the star larking about with her friends who donned cardboard masks of her face Best pals: The fashion star (left) is close pals with American model Sofia Richie (right) and the source said they are hoping to spend time together in California (pictured in October) Speaking with You magazine, Lottie confessed: 'I get so embarrassed some days when I say I'm a model. Sometimes I say it to people and I see them going, 'Ohhh, right really?' 'Well, they probably don't actually say that, but in my head, they do. They think I'm lying.' Although, she was quick to add that she feels incredibly lucky to work in the world of fashion and hopes to banish stereotypes typically associated with modelling. She said: 'I feel like when a lot of people think about modelling, they think you're dumb or you're anorexic. 'I love my job and I've never had any problems, never had any eating disorders or anything like that.' BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The preliminary results of Kazakhstan Bek Air's plane crash investigation will be announced today on Jan. 10, Trend reports with reference to Central Communications Service under the President of Kazakhstan. On the morning of Dec.27, 2019, the Fokker-100 plane of Bek Air airline implementing flight on the route Almaty Nur-Sultan lost its height during take-off and broke through a concrete fence, colliding with a two-story building. According to the latest data, 12 people died, and 66 were injured as a result of the Bek Air's plane crash. A total of 98 people were on the plane, including nine children and five crew members. Shortly after the accident, Bek Air companys operations were suspended, as well as the use of Fokker-100 type aircraft in Kazakhstan. As ordered by Kazakhstans Prime Minister Askar Mamin following the incident, the government commission was to investigate the causes of the accident and to summarize its preliminary results by Jan. 10, 2020. According to the information, the report will be made by Kazakhstans Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, Vice Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development Berik Kamaliyev, and The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) Chief Executive Victor Sorochenko. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh WASHINGTON - With Thursday's House vote to limit President Donald Trump's military actions against Iran, Congress took its latest stab at reaffirming its constitutional authority to declare war, part of a long-standing power struggle between the executive and legislative branches that has only grown murkier as the nature of global conflicts has changed. But nearly 50 years after Congress passed the War Powers Act to prevent presidents from embarking on military actions without approval from the legislative branch, lawmakers have repeatedly failed to fully exert the powers they granted themselves to authorize or halt the use of military force. And Thursday's largely symbolic, nonbinding resolution - though it passed the House 224-194 and perhaps will even pass the Senate - is another example, since it probably won't carry the full force of law. Not once since the 1973 law was adopted has Congress successfully used it to block a president's military actions, including some rather large-scale and long-term operations, such as President Ronald Reagan committing nearly 2,000 troops in Grenada in 1983 and President Bill Clinton committing thousands of troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995. "They attempted to assert themselves," said American University international relations professor Gordon Adams, "and then it just slipped away again." ADVERTISEMENT At the same time, only four times has Congress agreed to grant the president the authority to use military force since the War Powers Act passed: in Lebanon in 1983, in the Persian Gulf in 1991, and twice after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The threat, or attempt, to pass a war powers resolution has largely become a political tool that allows Congress to criticize a president's actions without taking a difficult vote themselves, said Columbia University law professor Matthew Waxman, a former national security official in the George W. Bush administration. "The president has vast power to use force - not only because the executive branch has taken it aggressively but because Congress has ceded it," Waxman said. "Congress has often been unwilling to accept responsibility for these issues, or to take very tough and risky decisions. Congressional members of the president's party are also usually reluctant to act against him in this area." Congress' unwillingness to rein in the executive became clear over the last 18 years. After lawmakers authorized military force against al-Qaida following 9/11, future presidents have continued to rely on the same authority for military actions that critics say exceed what was originally intended. President Barack Obama used the 2001 resolution authorizing military force to justify fighting militants in Libya, and for drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. Trump has used it to justify actions in Syria, and used a 2002 resolution authorizing force to justify his recent actions against Iran. Attempts to update, replace or repeal the 2001 authorization have failed. "Congress is missing in action," said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., the only member to oppose the 2001 authorization. She has led attempts to repeal it. "It may be just not wanting to cast a hard vote." In 2013, Obama - after being lambasted by lawmakers over his handling of U.S. military intervention in Syria's civil war - called their bluff by asking Congress to authorize a strike against the Syrian government in retaliation for its use of chemical weapons. Congress could not make a decision. More recently, Congress demonstrated unity in exerting its war powers authority, but again the effort failed. Last year both the House and Senate passed a joint resolution seeking to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, following the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia. But the measure was vetoed by Trump, and neither chamber had the votes to override it. ADVERTISEMENT The Constitution divides the war powers between the executive and legislative branches. Article 1 gives Congress the authority to declare war and raise and pay for the armed forces, while Article 2 makes the president the commander in chief of those forces. But questions have long lingered over the extent to which the president can engage the military in a conflict without consulting the legislative branch. Congress last formally exercised its authority granted in the Constitution to declare war in 1941 with the United States' entry into World War II. Alarmed by the lengthy Vietnam and Korean conflicts, both of which began without the president asking Congress to declare war, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 in an attempt to reassert itself. President Richard Nixon vetoed the resolution, but the House and Senate had the two-thirds vote needed to overturn his veto and make it law. The act requires the president to notify Congress when he engages the U.S. military in "hostilities" and then gives him 60 days to seek formal approval from Congress to continue, with the possibility of a 30-day extension. In the decades since, presidents have notified Congress that they have engaged in military action more than 160 times, including the drone strike last week that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Presidents have questioned whether the act is an unconstitutional infringement on their powers, though courts have not ruled on the matter. The Iran resolution that passed the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday has a chance of passing the Senate, but the type of resolution the House chose to use, called a concurrent resolution, may not hold the full force of law. The War Powers Act of 1973 allows Congress to use this avenue, but because this type of resolution does not have to be signed by the president, it's largely symbolic. In addition to not being subject to presidential veto, another benefit of a concurrent resolution for Democrats is that the Senate has to take it up for a vote. "We're taking this path because it does not require a signature by the president," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Thursday. "This is a statement of the Congress of the United States, and I will have not have that statement diminished by whether the president will veto it or not." ADVERTISEMENT House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., dismissed Pelosi's assertion that the measure has teeth. "This is the type of resolution that we use to invite the Soapbox Derby to the Capitol," McCarthy said. "This is a meaningless vote that only sends the wrong message." There is a second avenue for Congress to act. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is expected to force a vote as early as next week on his resolution barring the president from engaging U.S. troops against Iran. That resolution, called a joint resolution, would become law if passed by both chambers and signed by the president. Kaine's resolution may have a chance in the Senate. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., were so angered by the lack of answers provided in the administration's Iran briefing to Congress on Wednesday that they said they'd vote for Kaine's resolution. Trump on Thursday defended the briefing. He also offered a new justification for the attack, saying - without providing details or evidence - that Iran was attempting to "blow up" the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Trump would probably veto the Kaine measure if it passed both houses. In an election year, it is unlikely either chamber would get the support of two-thirds of their members needed to override his veto. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) The resolution is narrowly drafted to be only about military action in Iran at this time, and would leave the 2001 and 2002 authorizations of military force in place, probably an attempt by House leaders to get as much support for the measure as possible, Yale law professor Oona Hathaway said. Still, Hathaway said, the resolution was a "baby step" toward Congress reasserting its authority. "If Congress is totally silent while he's acting," she said, "it's often read as Congress agreeing to his actions." --- (c)2020 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Members of Montreal's Iranian community attend a vigil, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2019 in downtown Montreal. It is highly likely that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. Read more TORONTO The worst had passed, it seemed, and the United States and Iran no longer appeared poised at the edge of war. All is well! President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday night, days after a U.S. drone strike killed Irans most powerful general, and Iran, after a barrage of missiles, had signaled it was stepping back from further escalation. But 27 seconds before Trumps tweet, commercial flight trackers had lost contact with a Ukrainian International Airlines jet that had just taken off from Tehrans main airport. On board were 176 people, including 138 passengers on their way to Canada and at least 63 Canadian citizens and 11 Ukrainians. The plane, which never made a mayday call, slammed moments later into the ground. Everyone on board died. They were students, newlyweds, doctors and parents. The youngest was a 1-year-old girl, Kurdia Molani, who was flying back home with her parents to the Toronto suburb of Ajax. By late Thursday, Western leaders said that Iran had most likely shot down the jetliner with a surface-to-air missile probably by accident. The loss of so many lives transformed the U.S.-Iran confrontation, which had seemed to conclude with limited bloodshed. Instead, what had begun with a drone attack on Gen. Qassem Soleimanis motorcade at the Baghdad airport had suddenly rippled outward until dozens of Iranian-Canadians, dozens of Iranian students studying in Canada, were dead. The community is overwhelmed with mourning and sadness, said Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in western Canada, counting through the names of the friends he had lost. There was Pedram Mousavi and his wife Mojgan Daneshmand, both of them engineering professors, and their two daughters, Daria and Dorina Mousavi. There was Dr. Shekoufeh Choupannejad, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and her two daughters, Saba and Sara Saadat. It seemed impossible. Some in Canada quickly blamed Trump for the disaster. This is insane. Sickening. Imagine having a family member on that plane, said Rob Kent, a 42-year-old Toronto resident. One man, and only one, is responsible for those deaths. And he will never face consequences for them." But Parseyan wasnt so sure. It takes two to tango, he said. It's not hard to see the downing as a result of the escalation between the two countries. However, Iran is responsible for its own military defense equipment. While it has the right to defend itself, as it should to protect its own people, it should also have the responsibility with that right to make sure their defensive systems aren't targeting civilian aircraft." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has at times had a rocky relationship with Trump, was careful not to say the U.S. strike was responsible for what happened. I think it is too soon to be drawing conclusions or assigning blame or responsibility in whatever proportions," he told reporters. But, he said, an accidental missile strike would compound the grief of so many people. "My thoughts instantly went to how much harder this must make it for those families who are experiencing just a terrible amount of grief right now, he said. Many simply struggled to make sense of the disaster. If something like this happened as an accident, its much easier to take in than when you hear that maybe it got shot, said Nina Saeidpour, a Calgary real estate agent whose friend Kasra Saati was among the victims. We're just trying to figure out what happened." Ukrainian flights out of Tehran are often full of Iranian-Canadians and Iranian students studying in Canada, particularly after the long holiday break. Going back and forth via Kyiv is one of the most affordable routes between the two countries, and avoids stopovers in the United States, which is difficult for most Iranians. At least 17 Canadian universities have confirmed that they lost students, professors or researchers. Until the crash, the killing of Soleimani had seemed to end fairly quietly at least for the U.S. A stampede at the generals funeral, jammed with mourners, had left 56 people dead and Iranian missile strikes against Iraqi bases housing American troops had injured no one. Iran appeared to have carefully calibrated the missile attacks to avoid causing further U.S. retaliation, giving early warning to its Iraqi allies to avoid casualties. Iran has concluded proportionate measures, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted after the missile barrage. Canada is one of Americas oldest and closest allies, but Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, noted that Trump has said nothing about the dead Canadians. The unconcern certainly comes across, he said. Not a word of sympathy. By Thursday night, Trump had yet to mention Canadas tragedy. Instead, in a campaign rally in Toledo, he told crowds that Soleimanis killing was American justice, while deriding Democrats for questioning his decision to carry out the attack without first consulting Congress. He also noted that America was ready to retaliate if Irans missile attacks had caused any casualties. You have no idea, he told the cheering crowds. A lot of people got very lucky. Egypt is expected to welcome more than 15 million visitors in 2020, Saeed el-Batouti, economic advisor to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), was quoted as saying. This number is up 15% compared to the 13 million visitors registered by the country in 2019. According to WTO, the increase should be driven by the economic and security policies put in place by the government. These have helped stabilize the security situation, which has deteriorated since 2011 in the Maghreb country. Last year, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) announced that Egypts tourism sector is the fastest-growing in North Africa. The sectors growth rate hit 16.5 percent, which is quadruple the international average rate (3.9 percent). The WTTC further hailed the role played by the Egyptian Tourism Ministry in making tourism a priority sector and lauded its strategy to increase citizen awareness regarding the importance of the tourism sector. A recent report by the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) revealed that the number of Arab visitors to Egypt is expected to increase by 50 percent over the next three years from 1.49 million in 2018 to 2.23 million in 2022. Citigroup C has entered into partnership with YieldStreet, a digital wealth management platform, to offer its credit investments to a wide range of individual investors. Based in New York, YieldStreet has originated more than $1.2 billion of investment opportunities since its launch in 2015. It seeks to enable individual investors to access investments across a range of asset classes such as Real Estate, Marine Finance, Art Finance, Legal Finance and Commercial loans. Citis Spread Product Investment Technologies (Sprint) unit, created in 2018, is backing the partnership. It seeks to tie up with firms that aim to reshape the $40 trillion debt and private credit markets. We have always regarded YieldStreet as an innovative platform in the market, bringing institutional-style investments to a broad audience, said Matt Zhang, Head, Sprint, Citi. He added, Were really excited to partner with the YieldStreet team and believe there is a tremendous opportunity for us to scale our relationship together. Per a Bloomberg article, the partnership will be offering assets of about $2 billion over a period of 24 months. Our Take Citi continues to execute growth strategies, such as making entry into the booming digital consumer payments industry and expanding global market presence, thereby aiming to diversify revenue sources. This is also reflective of managements focus on enhancing the companys performance. Also, solid prospects, driven by revenue growth, expense management and inorganic expansion strategies keep us encouraged. However, pending litigation issues might lead to higher legal expenses. Shares of Citi have gained around 12% over the past six months compared with 15.7% growth recorded by the industry. Citi currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Stocks to Consider Northern Trust Corporation NTRS has been witnessing upward estimate revisions for the past 30 days. Additionally, the stock has jumped more than 18.4% over the past six months. It currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. Story continues The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc PNC has been witnessing upward estimate revisions for the past 30 days. Also, the companys shares have risen nearly 13.7% over the past six months. It holds a Zacks Rank of 2, at present. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation BK has been witnessing upward estimate revisions for the past 30 days. Also, the companys shares have risen nearly 18% in six months time. It carries a Zacks Rank of 2, at present. (We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on January 9, 2020, should no longer be relied upon.) 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 PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (PNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK) : Free Stock Analysis Report Citigroup Inc. (C) : Free Stock Analysis Report Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Looking beyond 2020, there has been a rise of quite a number of folks looking to the longer-term future. Heres the key ones Ive picked up on so far. First is Royal Bank of Canada with their Imagine 2025 series. Quite an investment and lots of interviews and insights. The main report talks about six key trends: The Calibrated and Augmented Self: the concept that the average consumer is vanishing as machine and quantum computing learn and predict behaviors, leading to hyper-personalized products and services, and the ability for mass customization with less friction. The Artificial Intelligence Race: software, enabled by machine learning (training algorithms on input data) and deep learning (using neural networks) can replicate and eventually surpass human cognition. In Cloud We Trust: the adoption and utilization of cloud technology is rapidly changing the landscape of corporate IT as well as corporate competition across industries. Collective Action: democratized power has never been greater given technology and the viral speed with which social sharing can occur. Escalating Uncertainties: even as we struggle with a staggering amount of change, we can envision a future where this change goes parabolic, heightening uncertainty and expanding the list of threats and challenges posed to the worlds nations, institutions, and corporations. Agility Imperative: the increasing need for companies to be flexible and able to quickly adapt to the societal change forces. But theres a whole load more on the website, including a specific discussion on the future of financial services and lots more. For example, this series came to my attention due to an interview with ING CEO Ralph Hamers, who clearly gets my discussion around purpose-driven banking. Next are these forecasts from The World Economic Forum, who asked members of their Global Future Councils academics, business leaders and members of civil society to imagine a world in 2030 that is better than 2020. As a result, most of the forecasts are about renewable energy, less inequality, more inclusion, digital for everyone and such like. In fact, there are thirty forecasts here, but my favourite is #19 as, yet again, it builds on my theme of purpose-driven banking. A new kind of capitalism takes root by Sonja Haut, head of strategic measurement and materiality, Novartis In 2030, a new economy is established that addresses the needs of all stakeholders communities, vendors, customers, employees and company owners. This new breed of new capitalism is enabled thanks to a new way of assessing the performance of companies based on a valuation of their overall impact a change in which policymakers and standard-setters have played a crucial role. Governments, stock markets and businesses fully embrace the new order that has given rise to a thriving new type of public-private partnership. This new type of public-private partnership has allowed mankind to effectively address major challenges and to resolve some of them; extreme poverty belongs to the past, as do increasing CO2 emissions levels and the huge volumes of plastic in the ocean. There have been improvements in tackling other challenges, too; forced labour, child labour and corruption to name a few have been significantly reduced. The new way of assessing business performance is based on standardized, comprehensive and simple impact-valuation metrics. These enhance the usual financial statements with other dimensions like society, human rights and the environment, leading to a total impact rating that is used by management and investors alike. Governments appreciate total impact as key information in understanding the relevance of a sector and individual business, beyond the GDP and employment figures that were the dominant measures of wealth contribution 10 years ago. Total impact is a simple way of assessing how much a sector or a business contributes to social coherence, citizens wellbeing, environmental protection and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Consumers and investors appreciate the transparency that total impact provides for each product. Impact valuation expresses what matters in monetary terms, allowing the full range of stakeholders to agree what good looks like in the economy and in society. Then there is Deutsche Bank yes, they do still exist who are also thinking about 2030. In a useful research document titled Imagine 2030, they begin by saying: A staggering list of incorrect decade-ahead predictions litter history. In the 1970s, some expected gold to lose all value in the era of fiat money. In the 1980s, most believed quartz watches would completely replace the mechanical sort. In the 1990s, a host of publishers rejected the Harry Potter manuscript, while in the 2000s, internet buffs said remote working would end the office. Herein lies the trouble with most decade-ahead predictions. Either, they merely extrapolate current, well-known trends, or they are so outlandish it is impossible to see a link between now and the future To start, we take a deep breath and predict that several underappreciated forces that have held together the global fiat money system may unravel in the 2020s. We also point out the three things Europe must do over the coming decade to avoid falling further behind its peers. Furthermore, while global debt accumulation is sustainable with low rates, populism and helicopter money may lead to a debt crisis. Beyond economics, there seems to be no question that our response to climate change will permeate through every aspect of society over the coming decade. We postulate that although the hurdles to effective international agreement are high, there is realistic and pragmatic cause for optimism. We then consider how a 2030-ite will live with everything on-demand, and against the backdrop of the seismic changes that quantum computing supremacy could bring. We also see the supply of food, not the demand, changing global food supply chains. Separately, while critics bemoan cryptocurrencies as constrained by regulatory hurdles, we believe the incentives of governments and card providers are such that digital currencies are inevitable. Furthermore, we also pour cold water on autonomous cars, but see an explosion in electrification. Without question, the biggest political shock of the 2010s was the rise of populism and, particularly, the changes in the US and UK. Given many claim these shifts were obvious in retrospect, we point out several of todays ignored signs that may drive seismic political change by 2030. Perhaps the most inevitable change of the coming decade is the ageing population. That implies precision medicine will be an inevitable winner. Yet, there are external forces that may stop it going mainstream. The 2020s may also bid farewell to several things ingrained in our world. We predict the end of plastic credit cards, the end of high profit margins, and the end of low corporate tax rates. What of the fate of a third of the worlds population? Indeed, many expect the Chinese and Indian economies to slow in the 2020s. Yet, Chinas decades tend to be defined by themes such as exports or investment. The coming decade will be defined by consumption and we explain why the untapped potential of the Chinese consumer is vastly underappreciated. Meanwhile, Indias recent structural reforms mean it could become one of the worlds leading sources of middle-class demand. Interesting and worth a read, as it builds on my reflections that no one could have guessed just how much the world would have changed by 2020 back in 2010. What will 2030 look like? Even more amazingly, what will 2040 look like? Thats a question that a young film director asked, and wondered whether technology could transform our landscape of emissions and climate. Hes made a full-length feature film envisioning this idea called 2040. Heres the trailer (2m14s): And if you really want to immerse yourself in 2040, watch BBC Clicks coverage about the film (28m34s). So, 2025, 2030, 2040 what will the future look like youll just have to wait and see. Posted on: January 10, 2020 Ellen DeGeneres is knocking on the hearts of those who have something to spare, starting a GoFundMe campaign in hopes to raise $5 million dollars. All the donations from this fundraiser will go to the Australian Red Cross for the ongoing bushfire relief efforts, as well as to WIRES, Australia's largest organization focused on wildlife rescue and conservation. Ellen has always been known for her good deeds and this time, she has offered her hand to help raise funds for Australia amidst the catastrophic fires that have greatly affected the East Coast. The talk show host has announced on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" this week that she has started a $5 million GoFundMe campaign. The goal is to raise enough funds to help the residents, firefighters, and animals of Australia as the problem on the bushfires continue. The Australian Red Cross and WIRES will be the main recipient of the funds that will be collected. The humanitarian aid and charity on community services will truly benefit from this new funding. DeGeneres openly spoke about how much she loved the country. In fact, she loved it so much that she even married an Australian. Her wife, Portia de Rossi, 46, is a natural-born Australian. Moreover, the Talk show host emphasized how much help Australia needs. She noted that the bushfires have been going on for four months and it continues to eat a huge part of Australia's natural resources. With the record-breaking heat that it comes with, the residents of the cpountry find themselves at huge health risks for the fire and smoke exposure. "Thousands of homes have been destroyed by the fire," DeGeneres said. Although there is truth to this, the more pressing concern is the huge portion of the country that has been devastated by the continuous fire. Thousands of people have been displaced because of the fire and many lives have been lost. Reports say that millions of animals and plants have died in the fire and the number continues to grow. Nearly one-third of the habitat has been destroyed by the fire. "It will take years for Australia to rebuild what was lost," DeGeneres said. The country needs help. Since she started the GoFundMe campaign on Tuesday, more than $1.1 million have already been raised. More than 13,000 donors from all over the world have given their share. A huge part of the donation came from Shutterfly. The United Airlines have also given $250,000 and Starbucks has shelled out $50,000. A spokesperson from GoFundMe has confirmed to PEOPLE that the donations have poured in from all 50 states of the US, including neighboring countries like Canada. Donations from Germany and Great Britain, too, have come in and the funding continues to climb. Ellen wrote on Thursday how amazed she was of the viewers of her show. She also expressed her gratitude to everyone who has responded to her GoFundMe campaign. DeGeneres has joined a long list of celebrities who have pledged their share to help combat the devastation that hit Australia. Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban, Kylie Jenner, Chris Hemsworth, Elton John and Shawn Mendes are among those who have donated to the cause. Celeste Barber, a comedian, has helped raised a whopping $32 million from a fundraiser on Facebook recently. The massive amount of devastation and the growing number of fatalities has indeed brought sadness all over Australia and the rest of the world. But with each little step to help, everyone remains hopeful that all will be well again. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 01:42:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close President Xi Jinping presented China's top science award to nuclear submarine designer Huang Xuhua and meteorologist Zeng Qingcun on Friday at an annual ceremony to honor distinguished scientists, engineers and research achievements. The ceremony also awarded 296 research projects and 10 foreign experts. It was part of the country's continuous efforts to boost innovation. BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping presented China's top science award to Huang Xuhua and Zeng Qingcun on Friday for their outstanding contributions to scientific and technological innovation. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, granted award medals and certificates to them at an annual ceremony held in Beijing to honor distinguished scientists, engineers and research achievements. Xi shook hands with them and expressed congratulations. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders, including Li Keqiang, Wang Huning, and Han Zheng, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, meet with representatives of the award winners before an annual ceremony to honor distinguished scientists, engineers and research achievements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Other leaders, including Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, were also present. Huang Xuhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is the chief designer of the country's first-generation nuclear submarines. Born in Guangdong Province in 1926, Huang later joined a research institute of the former China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and has been engaged in the research and development of nuclear submarines for about 30 years. He won the Medal of the Republic in 2019 for his outstanding contributions to the nation. "Nuclear submarines are a lifetime aspiration for me, and I have no regrets," Huang said. Zeng Qingcun, 85, is a famous meteorologist from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). His theory of numerical weather prediction solved the problems of timeliness and stability in calculating multi-scale weather change processes and is the basis of the global numerical weather prediction technology. Zeng learned to do farm work and was aware of the difficulty in weather prediction when he was young. In college years, he was impressed by a severe frost that froze 40 percent of the wheat in central China's Henan Province. "If we can predict the weather in advance and take precautions, we can certainly reduce losses," he recalled. Zeng's visionary study on global climate change has brought him a host of accolades and international acclaim, including the world's top prize for meteorological work. Xi presents China's top science award to Huang Xuhua (R) and Zeng Qingcun (L) during the ceremony. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Friday's ceremony also honored 296 projects, with 46 winning the State Natural Science Award, 65 the State Technological Invention Award, and 185 the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award. Ten foreign experts won the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. SCI-TECH PUSH On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Premier Li Keqiang extended congratulations to award winners and thanked foreign experts for their support of China's science and technology development. Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country has made brilliant achievements in scientific and technological development, with the past year witnessing a number of internationally leading advances. Li noted that China is striving to achieve the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects in 2020. The premier stressed the importance of following the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, further implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and accelerating the in-depth integration of science and technology with the economy, in a bid to maintain the economic growth within a reasonable range and promote the high-quality development. He called for the strengthening of basic research as the foundation of sci-tech innovation. "We will increase financial support and guide social forces including enterprises to increase investment," Li said, adding that the mechanisms for ensuring funds, evaluating achievements and rewarding talent shall all be optimized. China will support researchers in concentrating on their work without distractions and create more original achievements by respecting rules and tolerating failures, Li said. Those who dedicated themselves to the scientific work despite decades of obscurity shall be commended and awarded, he said. The premier also stressed that sci-tech innovation shall address the urgent needs of economic development and people's livelihood. China will accelerate the development of key technologies and transforming research achievements to products to help speed up industrial upgrading, he said. Research and development shall be intensified in major disease prevention and control as well as environmental management so that more people will directly benefit from technology and innovation, he said. The premier emphasized the role of enterprises in technological innovation and called for efforts to improve their ability and willingness to invest more in innovation by implementing tax and fee deduction policies as well as respecting and protecting their intellectual property rights. To expand international cooperation in innovation, Li pledged to facilitate scientists and technicians as well as enterprises from various countries to come to China for exchanges and development. Premier Li Keqiang delivers a speech on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council at the ceremony. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the ceremony, with about 3,300 people attending. Before the ceremony, Xi and other leaders met representatives of the award winners. DIVERSE ACHIEVEMENTS This year's ceremony highlighted major breakthroughs in basic research. Chemist Zhou Qilin, 63, and his team won the first-place prize of the State Natural Science Award for inventing a highly effective catalyst that has been widely used by giant pharmaceutical companies in drug production. Other research programs that were presented with the State Natural Science Award included studies on topological quantum materials, iron-based superconductors as well as the controllable growth and performance regulation of graphene. "Many perplexing problems look like technological ones. In fact, they are not backed by solid basic research. With no clear understanding of basic science problems, you cannot get original results," said Zhou. A batch of key technologies for industrial applications, such as the jetliner ARJ21 project, were also honored. Developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the ARJ21 is China's first domestically developed turbo-fan regional passenger jetliner. Other awarded technologies applied in industries and large engineering projects included those for building large-scale tunnels and ensuring highway safety in geographically complicated and dangerous mountain areas, as well as for the automatic transmission hybrid power system for commercial vehicles. Awards were also given to animal studies, medical breakthroughs and agricultural technologies. Wei Fuwen, a CAS academician, and his colleagues won the second-place prize of the State Natural Science Award, for their research on giant pandas. They focused on the evolution of the ancient species and contributed to endangered species conservation. The team led by Sun Lingyun, a doctor at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in east China, won the State Technological Invention Award, for developing a stem cell treatment for lupus erythematosus. Other award winners related to diseases included studies on cross-species infection of the animal influenza virus in humans as well as the new pathogenesis and treatment of depression. Research programs associated with safe food and stable grain output, such as technologies for accurately detecting pollutants in agricultural products and cultivating new high-yield wheat varieties, also received awards. INNOVATION NATION Since the 18th CPC national congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core has decided to take an innovation-driven development strategy, underscoring that scientific and technological innovation provides strategic support for increasing production and boosting overall national strength. Xi and other leaders pose for a group photo with representatives of the award winners before the ceremony. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) As Xi has reiterated, innovation is the primary driving force for development. During the past few years, he has made a number of visits to scientific research institutes, universities, high-tech enterprises as well as high-tech industrial development zones, where innovation elements are the most active. China has spared no efforts in building a domestic innovation environment with systematic resolve. In May 2016, China published a guideline on a national strategy that maps out three major steps to promote the country's innovation-driven development. It pledged to build China into an innovative nation by 2020, an international leader in innovation by 2030, and a world powerhouse of sci-tech innovation by 2050. China's expenditure on research and development (R&D) has seen double-digit growth for three consecutive years, and since 2013, the country has remained in the second place in terms of R&D spending worldwide, according to data given by the National Bureau of Statistics in August. China's spending on R&D hit a record high at 2.19 percent of its GDP in 2018, up 0.04 percentage points compared with 2017. Meanwhile, China has been improving the incentive mechanism and policy environment, issuing a series of reform documents concerning the promotion of sci-tech development, transformation of sci-tech achievements as well as the national science award system. From 2000 to 2018, China awarded 636 projects the State Natural Science Award, 946 projects the State Technological Invention Award and 4,246 projects the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award. The awarded projects included high-temperature superconducting materials, the manned space program, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, supercomputers and hybrid rice. (Reporting by Quan Xiaoshu, Li Mi, Yuan Quan, Guo Ying, Hu Tao, Liu Yiwei, Zhang Dan, Che Yunlong; Video reporters: Li Xueren, Shen Hong; Video editor: Peng Ying) OAKLAND (BCN) A judge ruled Friday that two homeless mothers who have been occupying a vacant West Oakland home for nearly two months have no valid claim of possession to the property. The ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Patrick McKinney means that mothers Dominique Walker, 34, and Sameerah Karim, 41, who are part of a group called Moms 4 Housing, have only five business days before they will be evicted from the house at 2928 Magnolia St. that they moved into on Nov. 18. Walker and Karim, along with four other women who joined them, said they want to call attention to Oakland's homelessness crisis and to vacant, investor-owned homes in the city. Real estate investment firm Wedgewood Properties bought the house, which had been vacant for two years, for $501,078, at a foreclosure hearing on July 31. Wedgewood served an eviction notice on the women in November but attorneys for Walker, Karim and the four other women filed legal claims asserting their right to live there. The mothers' supporters packed McKinney's courtroom when he held hearings on the matter on Dec. 26 and Dec. 30. McKinney previously issued a tentative ruling on Dec. 24 saying the women's claims didn't appear to provide a basis for a valid claim of right to possession. Attorneys for the women argued at the Dec. 30 hearing that the women should be allowed to live at the house in the interest of justice and based on a needs analysis of Oakland's homelessness crisis. McKinney noted in his ruling that at the Dec. 30 hearing Walker's attorneys offered to present testimony from expert witnesses about the right to housing. McKinney wrote, "The court recognizes the importance of these issues but, as raised in Ms. Walker's claim of right to possession, finds that they are outside the scope of the proceeding." Wedgewood said in a statement that "justice is served" and the ruling "is the correct legal, moral, and ethical judgment against the squatters that broke-in and illegally occupied the company's house." The real estate firm said, "Wedgewood takes no pleasure in having the Alameda County sheriff enforce the court's order to evict the squatters." Wedgewood said, "We urge the squatters to leave voluntarily and peacefully so the company, in cooperation with the non-profit Shelter 37, can renovate the home using at-risk Oakland youth--and provide them with job training as well as share the profits from its sale with Shelter 37 so that other at-risk youth can benefit." The firm said, "The solution to Oakland's housing crisis is not the redistribution of citizens' homes through illegal break-ins and seizures by squatters." The mothers' attorney Leah Simon-Weisberg, the legal director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), said in a statement, "We are not surprised by the ruling. We understand that the courts' hands are tied because in this country property rights are valued over human rights. That is why the California constitution needs to be amended to include the right to housing." ACCE Executive Director Christina Livingston said, "We stand in strong support of the moms' decision to reclaim this vacant property and will continue to support their decision to stay. We all have a right to housing and we need a state that recognizes and asserts that." In a twitter message, Moms 4 Housing wrote, "The moms, and the community behind us, will not leave the property." Moms 4 Housing planned to hold a news conference on Friday afternoon to discuss McKinney's ruling. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Iranian-American activist Saghar Erica Kasraie lit up right-wing social media this week with a YouTube video applauding President Donald Trump for taking out Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Unmentioned in her praise: Kasraie is a registered foreign agent for Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifters self-proclaimed Libyan National Army one of several lobbyists for various Middle Eastern clients whove cheered the Soleimani strike in recent days. Not to be outdone, lobbyists for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), which Hifter is trying to topple, came out with their own press release today praising the strike. They argue that just as Soleimani used foreign proxies to sow chaos across the Middle East, Hifter is doing the same in North Africa. The GNA is resisting Hifters renegade force, which has advanced fighters from Russia, Irans longtime partner in undermining US interests in Iraq, Libya and elsewhere, said Brad Gerstman, the founding partner of GNA lobby shop Gotham Government Relations. A win for Hifter is a win for Russia and Iran, and posthumously for Soleimani, he said, accusing Russia and Iran of seeking permanent instability in Libya. In a podcast interview after her video went viral, Kasraie, a former aide to ex-Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said she was inspired to create the video just for my friends, just in my own little network and was surprised when it garnered millions of views on social media. She does not mention Libya or her work as a consultant for Houston-based Linden Government Solutions, which the LNA hired for $2 million in May 2019. Gerstman, a former lobbyist for Trump in New York who helped orchestrate his presidential campaign announcement, told Al-Monitor that his press release wasnt a ploy to curry favor with the Trump administration. But he acknowledged that Soleimani was in the news and it made sense to highlight what he said were similarities between the chaos both the Iranian general and his Libyan counterpart Hifter have unleashed. The rival Libyan lobbyists are hardly the only ones applauding Soleimanis death. Saudi lobbyist Salman al-Ansari of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee tweeted photos of Soleimani and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi crossed out thanks to @realDonaldTrump. And Arthur Estopinan, who lobbies for Saudi rival Qatar as a consultant for Avenue Strategies Global, recorded a video thanking Trump for protecting our national security. Meanwhile, Maryam Rajavi, the president of the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran, which lobbies for regime change in Iran, called Soleimanis death an irreparable blow to Tehran. And the leader of Citizens for a Safe and Secure America, which lobbies for a hawkish US policy against Bashar al-Assad in Syria, thanked Trump for a great job in a tweet. The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, praised Trumps decisive action that brought to justice one of the worlds most dangerous terrorists. And perhaps no group has been as celebratory as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which recently registered to lobby for the first time. Announcing his return to the organization last week, Richard Goldberg, an Iran hawk on Trumps National Security Council, thanked Trump for his bold and decisive leadership to keep America safe and strong and said he was looking forward to keep up the fight for the presidents maximum pressure campaign. Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report. "My assessment is that the Iranians not only chose to target those missiles in a way that was going to minimize the risk of casualties--hitting hangars, not barracks for example--but they also warned us You may think, 'That is good, a bullet dodged. We got Gen. Qassim Suleimani and they got hangars; that is a good deal.' If you think that, you do not know Iran," Rice said. "You heard President Trump say yesterday, 'Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch.' They wouldn't have got one on his watch if he had kept the deal in place. Now, he faces a tough choice," Rice continued. "Iran has by some estimates maybe 10 months to [have enough material for a nuclear weapon]. And 10 months from now is guess when? We are less safe, we have lost a lot of strategic ground in the region." In conversation with Wellesley American studies professor Michael Jeffries, Rice also discussed her new memoir, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For, as well as her family, upbringing, challenges she faced early in her career, and her time in the Obama administration. The event was part of a series marking the 10th anniversary of the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs and its Wintersession program at Wellesley, founded by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a 1959 graduate of the College. "Since its founding, the Albright Institute has sought to address many of the most pressing global issues of our time, and to do so with a multidisciplinary approach. Central to its mission--and indeed, the College's mission--is the belief that the surest way to bring positive change to our fast-moving, complex world is through advancing women's leadership," said Wellesley College President Paula A. Johnson in her introduction. "How fitting, then, and what a privilege it is, to welcome one of our nation's most distinguished public servants to campus." Annually, 40 Wellesley students from across majors and disciplines are chosen to participate in the Albright Institute's three-week Wintersession program and a global internship later in the year. Over Wintersession, Fellows attend lectures about global issues and work in multidisciplinary groups on projects, which this year they will present before Secretary Albright. View the conversation with Susan Rice here. About Wellesley College: Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an outstanding liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to some 2,400 undergraduate students from 49 states and 58 countries. Media Contacts: Casey Bayer Director of Media Relations [email protected] Phone: 781.283.3321 | 914.584.9095 This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com. SOURCE Wellesley College Related Links http://www.wellesley.edu Devastated by the national emergency in Australia, Planetshakers Church, one of the fastest growing churches in Australia's history, invited its members to assist victims of the bushfires with a donation. The congregation responded, offering $252,875.89 for relief efforts through Empower, the community service arm of Planetshakers Church. All of the money collected has been forwarded to the Australian Red Cross, Salvation Army, Country Fire Victoria and ACC Bushfire Assist fund. Inspired by the charge in Proverbs 3:27, and joining the call heard from celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Chris Hemsworth and others as they encourage donations, Planetshakers Church Senior Pastor Russell Evans says, "In the face of such a catastrophe, it's inspiring to see so many individuals standing up and being generous. I'm thrilled with the love and financial support members of Planetshakers Church have contributed during this crisis." Planetshakers Church is further involved in numerous community and charitable causes around the world, including prison ministry, school programs, refugee outreach, disaster relief and welfare assistance. In recent years, it helped bring significant social and spiritual reformation to villages in the African nation of Malawi, where poverty was defeated after seven years into a 15-year plan. It also partners with World Vision to assist in urgent humanitarian crises around the world, and runs Planetshakers College in Melbourne, which equips local and international students to impact their world for Christ. While the fires continue to remain a major concern for all Australians, internationally recognized praise band from the church, Planetshakers, also has cause to celebrate. Today (Jan. 10) marks the global release of its Glory Part One EP, and Planetshakers will simultaneously host a "Praise Party" with 30,000 people at SMART Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines. A video trailer for the EP can be seen at https://youtu.be/H-yptxNKVYc, and the recording is available now from Venture3Media (V3M) at Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and more digital and streaming outlets globally. Recorded in Melbourne, Australia at Planetshakers Church, Glory Part One features over 30-minutes of music. A tangible, intentional expression of worshippers collectively pursuing the presence of God, the EP is led by Planetshakers' Joth Hunt (who also produced and mixed the EP), Sam Evans, Aimee Evans, BJ Pridham, Joshua Brown, Rudy Nikkerud, Chelsi Nikkerud and more. Continuing its trek across the globe following the event in Manila that also features planetboom, Planetshakers travels to Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre in Subang Jaya, Malaysia (Jan. 17 - 18) and Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore (Jan. 19). This latter event marks the band's return to the venue following 2019's sold out celebration there. Taking the new music and favorites like "The Anthem," "Endless Praise" and "Turn It Up" to audiences around the globe, all the latest Planetshakers tour, music and conference news can be found at Planetshakers.com, YouTube (942,000 subscribers), Instagram (564,000 followers), Spotify (750,000 monthly listeners), Twitter (173,800 followers) and Facebook (over 1.5 million followers). About Planetshakers: Since its inaugural gathering in 1997, Planetshakers has gone on to become a global movement through its annual conferences, international church campuses and numerous live recordings, including multiple Dove Award-nominated projects. The Australia-based collective, led by Senior Pastors Russell and Sam Evans, has hosted gatherings in cities around the world while also launching Planetshakers Church in 2004. With over 17,000 members in Melbourne, Planetshakers Church is one of the fastest growing churches in that nation's history, stretching across five campuses in Melbourne with additional locations in Singapore; Cape Town, South Africa; Geneva, Switzerland and Austin, TX. Celebrating over 20 years of ministry, Planetshakers honors the countless ways God has used its ministry and music to raise up a generation of Christ followers with a clear vision of taking the Gospel to the nations... "empowering generations to win generations." About Venture3Media: Venture3Media is a global music label and song publisher with sales, marketing, promotional, radio, television and movie expertise. V3M provides distribution platforms across all digital channels, including but not limited to Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, Tencent, 7Digital, Google Music, Facebook, Pandora, Tidal, Sirius and Rhapsody. Physical distribution includes online retailers such as Amazon, national retail chains, sub-distributors and internationally through well-established licensee's and distributors. V3M is excited to build a global ecosystem that serves the vision and heart of Planetshakers. Tags : Planetshakers Planetshakers Glory Part One australian bushfires planetshakers news A consignment of the Holy Quran weighing 25 tonnes sent from Saudi Arabia six months ago is going to be auctioned at the International Transshipment Container Terminal here after the importer, a College in Malappuram, expressed inability to pay the Rs 8 lakh customs duty, official sources said. Abdul Salam IP, principal of Darul Uloom Arabic College at Vazhakkad in Malappuram district, said he could not claim the huge quantity of holy books as the customs duty was "very high" and it was not affordable for him. He said he may take the books when it is auctioned by the current custodian of the books after the customs department fix a "correct rate" for it. The customs have reportedly fixed Rs 1 lakh as a base price for the consignment at the e-auction to be carried out on January 21. An officer told PTI that everything is being done online in a transparent manner. Salam said when he requested the customs department to send the consignment back to Saudi Arabia, he was informed that a huge amount has to be paid for that. He said he gave a letter to the Container terminal authorities seeking to carry out auction of the books after he was informed that Rs 8 lakh would be levied as customs duty. Salam said the books were sent free of cost from Saudi Arabia after he informed a contact in the Gulf country that a lot of books in his college neighbourhood were lost in the 2018 Kerala floods. "It is original text of Holy Quran. The books were brought here for free distribution," Salam told PTI. He said he had requested some of his friends for help but they could not as they were also facing financial problems due to floods. Salam said he was worried over the "unnecessary controversy" being generated over the issue by trying to give the whole episode a communal colour. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Anastasia Savchenko - Trend: Total, the French oil and gas company, which played an important role in Azerbaijans energy cooperation with France, is one of the first foreign energy companies in Azerbaijan that invested in the countrys oil and gas industry, Azerbaijans Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told Trend. Shahbazov was commenting on Azerbaijans cooperation with foreign companies. Total, one of the shareholders of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) main export pipeline, is currently the operator of the development and exploration of the Absheron field, which has significant gas and condensate reserves, the minister said. Drilling of a dual bore well has already been completed at the field in order to estimate the reserves and start extracting the gas, Shahbazov added. The first product is planned to be received in 2021. The minister also reminded that for the purpose of cooperation in the field of alternative energy with French Total Eren S.A. and Quadran International companies, corresponding documents were signed in 2019. In the future, it is desirable that these French companies participate in auctions for granting the right to produce energy in the territory of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan, Shahbazov added. The participants of the Absheron project include SOCAR and the French Total, with 50 percent each. The Absheron contract was signed Feb. 27, 2009, between SOCAR and Total. The Special Investigation Team probing the murder of activist-journalist has arrested one person in connection with the case. Rushikesh Devdikar alias Murali, 44, who was absconding was arrested on Thursday from his hideout at Katras in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, the SIT said in a statement. According to the probe team, Devdikar was part of the conspiracy to kill Lankesh. He is accused number 18 in the case. "His house is being searched for clues. He will be produced before the jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate tomorrow (Friday)," the SIT said. Lankesh, a left-leaning journalist, was shot dead on September 5, 2017 outside her house by a member of a gang that apparently planned to kill her after being inspired by a book brought out by right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha, that had identified Lankesh as a 'durjan' (evil person). Investigators said the gang had also prepared a list of people whom they wanted to kill. The list included noted playwright Girish Karnad and rationalist K S Bhagawan. The SIT had found that Lankesh was killed after a conspiracy was hatched by members of a right-wing group, which is also accused of killing rationalist M M Kalburgi. A Bergen County man was arrested Friday and charged with sexually assaulting a minor, authorities said. Mario Castaneda, 40, of Fairview, was charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a joint statement from the Fairview Police and Bergen County Prosecutors Office. He works as a delivery driver, the office said. The prosecutors office did not say what exactly led to the charges being filed, but said the allegations were reported to the Fairview Police on Dec. 21, police said. The department then contacted the prosecutors office and the two agencies began an investigation, officials said. The investigation ended with Castaneda being arrested and charged Friday. Castaneda was taken to Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, prosecutors said. 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. By Jackson Richman (JNS)-The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, announced the U.S. Department of Defense. "At the direction of the president, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization," the Pentagon said in a statement. Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, backed by Iran, were among those killed in vehicles at the Baghdad International Airport. Gold Institute senior fellow Matthew Brodsky told JNS that Soleimani's death is as significant as the assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011 by U.S. forces in Pakistan. "It's on par because if you recall before 9/11, Hezbollah was actually responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist leader," he said, referring to the Lebanese terrorist group that is backed by Iran. "When we got bin Laden, it was many years after [9/11]; he was still in control of many aspects of what was going on, but he was holed up in his one location in Abbottabad, Pakistan." "Soleimani is someone who [was] actively targeting Americans throughout the last decade since 9/11," continued Brodsky. "He [was] killing Iraqis, killing the rest of our allies [and was] in charge of all Iranian operations inside of Syria." The deaths of Soleimani and Muhandis occurred just days after Iranian-sponsored Iraqi riots at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. On Tuesday, a mob of Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. The attack came after the United States launched airstrikes on Sunday against the Iran-backed Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq. Two Iraqi foreign ministry officials told Reuters that the U.S. ambassador and other staff in Baghdad were evacuated from the embassy. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated since the United States withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, reimposing sanctions lifted under it along with enacting new financial penalties against the Islamic Republic. Regarding U.S. assassinations, "Bin Laden is the example of revenge is a dish best served cold. Soleimani is revenge best served hot," said Brodsky. Dana Gingras focuses on extremes in her choreography: from everyday moves like walking and running (though very, very fast) to virtuosic jumps with dazzling twists and turns. This is as much a sound and light show as a dance piece. While 10 dancers in styled street clothes and heavy-duty sports shoes form an action-packed core, the pounding music from four onstage musicians and curtains of light that reshape the space are integral elements. Loading For much of the time they happen together in a mesmerising staging of individually moving bodies criss-crossing the dimly lit space at hectic speeds and defined trajectories that nonetheless leave you fearing collisions at any moment though there were none that I saw among this skilled, bold Canadian company, Animals of Distraction. Its concerns with the state of humanity could be read in this sequence as has the world gone mad? in its digital reach that appears to have no barriers. But the dancers also present the physical opposite: national borders being tightened and terrified refugees attempting to get out. In this case the walls are formed by a row of spotlights that pierce the gloomy light as dancers hurl themselves back and forth across them. Later, individuals are mercilessly followed by a single spotlight and a narrow band of light rakes the dead struck down in action like the human remains of Pompeii under volcanic ash. Through all this the band named Fly Pan Am hammers out its message of horror on guitars, drums and percussion. It is loud and inescapable, the sound vibrating through the theatre seats for added effect. China Mobile has reportedly approached Indian operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to discuss a possible joint venture to deliver cloud services in the market. According to Live Mint, the Chinese market leader would be open to setting up a business with either operator, or indeed both, to offer cloud networking services. The business news outlet noted that China Mobile would hold enough of the business to make executive interventions, but wanted the Indian partner to manage the unit day-to-day. Within its home market, China Mobile offers Cloud Connect, which provides cloud services, infrastructure and platforms to the enterprise sector. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are also active in the sector in India; given its growth potential, both will likely be keen to launch cloud ventures with funding from China Mobile, particularly in the wake of the Indian Supreme Courts recent ruling. With the countrys highest court upholding the Department of Telecommunications new definition of adjusted gross revenue, Indias operators are now on the hook for spectrum usage and licence fees that were previous excluded from gross figures. The Economic Times estimates Airtels liabilities at around INR350 billion ($4.9 billion), and the operator has issued shares worth as much as $2 billion in order to generate funds. Additionally, it is looking to sell $1 billion in bonds to overseas investors. Vodafone Idea has earmarked INR257 billion ($3.6 billion) to address its bill. MONTREAL New evidence indicating that an Iranian surface-to-air missile caused the plane crash this week that killed 63 Canadians is likely to undermine Canadas already acrimonious relationship with Iran. But the disaster also threatens to damage Ottawas crucial but fraught partnership with Washington. On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said that his country had intelligence showing that Iran had downed the Ukrainian jetliner, which was carrying 63 Canadians among its some 176 passengers and crew, but he stressed that he wanted a thorough investigation before reaching any conclusions. The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers, he said. I want answers. If it is determined that it was an Iranian missile, Mr. Trudeau will have to grapple with the question of whether the United States, Canadas most important ally, played a role in provoking the events that ultimately resulted in the loss of Canadians lives. The plane crashed on Wednesday morning, only hours after Iran had launched a barrage of 22 missiles against two military bases housing American troops in Iraq. The Iranian attack was in retaliation for the United States killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, one of the most powerful figures in Irans leadership. N0ew Delhi, Jan 10 : Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for retracting their stand on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and said the government was "hastening" to cover its tracks. Addressing a press conference, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, "The Prime Minister shockingly said in Delhi that there have been no discussions on NRC. Everyone has seen Amit Shah speaking in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and in several interviews in which he said that CAA will be followed by NRC and the purpose of the NRC is to identify the non-eligible for the citizenship." He said that if NRC is conducted it will become an exercise to identify dubious citizenship from one religious community alone. "And that is not India and that is not that everyone can accept or tolerate," he said lamenting that "What they have said and what they have declared their intentions are clear." Tharoor was referring to Modi's speech at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi last month in which he had said that no discussions were going on about NRC. The Congress leader was responding to a question over the BJP accusing the Congress of misleading the people on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the NRC. Tharoor said that in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha the party took a very strong stand that bringing the CAA is a fundamental betrayl of the freedom struggle. He said: "We made it clear that on this issue we won't compromise. We are speaking for the soul of India, for the spirit of the nationalist movement of freedom struggle. And the CAA is an assault on the inclusive nature, pluralistic nature of the country and we are standing up for whole India." Tharoor also launched Delhi Congress' campaign for the February 8 Assembly elections on Friday and sought suggestions and ideas for the party's poll manifesto. He said, "Dialogue is important... We need a manifesto that reflects people's needs. A two-way communication is a system that we are trying to bring so that people's message to us is received," Tharoor said. To a question on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal not participating in any of the anti-CAA protests in the national capital, Tharoor said, "Kejriwal wants both pro- and anti-CAA votes on his sides." Targeting Kejriwal for not meeting the students injured in police lathi charge in Jamia Millia Islamia and in the violent clashes in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Tharoor said, "I don't know who asked the Chief Minister to stay quiet over violence on university campuses and not meet the injured students. Do we need such a helpless Chief Minister?" On December 15, the police resorted to lathi charge in Jamia after protests over CAA turned violent. On January 5, masked miscreants unleashed violence in JNU, leaving over two dozen students injured. To a question over a woman arrested in Maharashtra for showing 'Free Kashmir' placard while joining the protest over the CAA and the NRC, he said, "The lady that was arrested for the Free Kashmir poster has clarified that what she meant was to free Kashmir of the internet and the mobile connections suspension that Congress has been asking." He said the Congress has asked "why our leaders were arrested and why do we have no internet for five months in Kashmir." "Let the Kashmiris enjoy the freedom which is also their right to enjoy," he said. He also said that this was a pro-Indian and patriotic act to stand for the Constitution. To another question if the incidents of Jamia and JNU will have an affect on the Delhi Assembly polls, he said, "In every election the BJP tries to polarise the vote. And we hope that the voters of Delhi will resist any attempt to polarise." He said the assault on students is a "naked attempt" to divert attention from the real issues like economy in crisis, unemployment at 42-year low and failure on controlling air pollution. "BJP-led Central government has failed and in Delhi also they will fail if voted to power," Tharoor added. A 28-year-old man is dead three days after being shot by undercover Peel police officers who were conducting a drug investigation in Mississauga, according to the provinces police watchdog. At around 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, near Southampton Drive and Eglinton Avenue West in Mississauga, a man who was a suspect in a drug investigation began driving his vehicle toward the officers before several rounds were fired at the car, Peel police Const. Sarah Patten said at the time. The car then rolled into the garage of a townhouse. Patten said the man was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds. The Special Investigations Unit confirmed his death on Friday. Authorities will not be releasing the victims name, as requested by his family. The SIU is a provincial agency that investigates incidents involving police in which a person is killed, seriously injured or there are accusations of sexual assault against an officer. David Venn is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @davidvenn_ Read more about: By Rasana Gasimova Russias KAMAZ PTC is interested in deliveries of assembled K4 generation trucks including gas-powered ones to Azerbaijan, a source within the company told Russian media. It was noted that the deliveries of the new model range are in the planning stage and the volumes have not been disclosed yet. Earlier, the Azerbaijani government reported that the issue of importing KAMAZ vehicles, including gas-powered vehicles, was discussed at a meeting of the Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation in December 2019 in Baku. The company invited interested Azerbaijani companies to visit the enterprise to familiarize with the production and conduct negotiations on the supply and operation of equipment. It was also noted that KAMAZ did not supply gas-powered cars to Azerbaijan in the past. KAMAZ PTC is one of the world's top 20 heavy-duty truck producers and ranks 16th by production volumes of heavy-duty trucks. The production capacity is 71,000 vehicles a year. KAMAZ PTC produces a broad spectrum of commercial vehicles: trucks (more than 60 models), trailers, buses, engines, power packs and various tools. An agreement was signed between KAMAZ PTC and the Ganja Automobile Plant in February 2015. According to the agreement, Kamaz cars are assembled at the Ganja Automobile Plant. In 2019, KAMAZ PTC and Azerbaijans Ganja Automobile Plant signed an agreement for the supply of vehicle assembly. The agreement provide for the supply 400 million rubles ($6.26 million) worth sets to Azerbaijan. The company also considers the possibility of producing agricultural machinery and public transport in Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Howard Schneider and Chris Kahn WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The idea of imposing a wealth tax on the richest Americans has elicited sharply divergent views across a spectrum of politicians, with President Donald Trump branding it socialist and progressive Democratic presidential contenders Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders prominently endorsing it. But it may have broad public support, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that found nearly two-thirds of respondents agree that the very rich should pay more. Among the 4,441 respondents to the poll, 64% strongly or somewhat agreed that "the very rich should contribute an extra share of their total wealth each year to support public programs" - the essence of a wealth tax. Results were similar across gender, race and household income. While support among Democrats was stronger, at 77%, a majority of Republicans, 53%, also agreed with the idea. A wealth tax is levied on an individual's net worth, such as stocks, bonds and real estate, as well as cash holdings, similar in concept to property taxes. It is separate from an income tax, which applies to wages, interest and dividends, among other sources. Asked in the poll if "the very rich should be allowed to keep the money they have, even if that means increasing inequality," 54% of respondents disagreed. Rich people have a right to blow their money on Lamborghinis and world-wide cruises or whatever, said Esin Zimmerman, 53, a lifelong Republican from Madison, Minnesota, who wants higher taxes for the wealthy. But that money could be used in other ways that help people. Zimmerman said she would especially be in favor of a wealth tax that would help pay for government programs for U.S. military veterans, or help single parents with young children. It could put the border wall up, she said. The results may reflect how the economic changes of the past roughly 20 years, from globalization to the financial crisis, have shaped attitudes about economic policy. Story continues According to polling by Gallup, concerns about the rich paying too little actually declined through the 1990s and early 2000s, a relative boom period for the United States. But the concerns have been climbing since the crisis years of 2007 to 2009, from 55% to more than 60% as of 2016 https://news.gallup.com/poll/190775/americans-say-upper-income-pay-little-taxes.aspx. The Reuters/Ipsos results suggested even stronger support for an annual levy on total wealth, not just income. Warren and Sanders have touted the idea as a way to help pay for major social programs like Medicare for All and to reverse a stark rise in the share of wealth owned by the very richest Americans, known as the "1 percent." The poll also points to changing attitudes toward basic ideas such as keeping what you earn. That notion, central to a winner-take-all brand of capitalism, got mixed reviews. While 56% of Republicans agreed the very rich should keep what they have regardless of the impact on inequality, 35% of Republicans disagreed with the statement, as did 71% of Democrats. Republican survey respondents interviewed by Reuters said they did not see their support for a wealth tax conflicting with their party ideals or their support for Trump. Kathy Herron, 56, a Republican who lives in Santa Rosa, California, said her support for Trump - a self-proclaimed billionaire - stems from his hardline policies on illegal immigration. In her view, the president would do well to support higher taxes on rich Americans. Were taxed from one end to the other, and it just seems the rich dont pay their share," she said. In recent years in particular, mainstream economic institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve have taken seriously the possibility that high levels of wealth and income inequality may be not just politically corrosive, but bad for economic growth. At the most recent Fed policy meeting, staff members presented research on how families' differing access to credit might make a recession worse the sort of exercise that shows how unequal starting points among households can influence national outcomes. Economic and market trends have likely reinforced doubts about who gets ahead, and how fast. Since the start in 2009 of a now-decade-long recovery, the top 1 percent's share of national net worth has grown from 27.8% to 32.2%, driven by a record-setting boom in the stock market, according to Fed data. Trump has cited the rise in equity markets as a selling point in his campaign, which is centered on taking credit for historically low unemployment, and a tariff-heavy trade policy that he says will restore manufacturing jobs. But that has not changed the country's wealth picture. While the share of wealth held by the bottom 50% of Americans has increased since the crisis, to 1.5% percent, longterm the trend is down, with their share at less than half what it was in 1989. The shares of wealth held by the middle and upper middle classes - or all other Americans save for the richest 1 percent -- have all fallen since the crisis. (Reporting by Howard Schneider in Washington and Chris Kahn in New York; Editing by Dan Burns and Leslie Adler) Many employees in the Philippines pay for their monthly SSS contributions, but not as many know how to compute them. Many may also be unaware of the benefits that an eligible member can enjoy. What are the advantages of the service? Do you know how to compute for SSS contribution? Image: Instagram.com, @mysssph Source: Instagram Nearly every Filipino employed locally or overseas contributes monthly to the SSS or the Social Security System fund. This demographic includes those who are working for the public and private sectors. However, not everyone understands the benefits they qualify for, and most tend to overlook how they can enjoy the perks of their contributions. Knowing how to compute SSS contribution in the Philippines will leave you at a better place. SSS or Social Security System is an insurance program mandated by the Philippine government to cover all income earners or workers in the private sector, while those in the public sector are also encouraged to be a member. Hence, a valid SSS registration is one of the requirements asked by employers in the country from their new employees. SSS is one of the most supremely useful services readily provided by the Philippine government. Eligible members who do not miss their payments can enjoy many perks - such as compensation for maternity bills, disability benefits, burial claims for a deceased family member, retirement pension, and many more. Thus, it is very important to learn about the service. Requirements for SSS registration as an employee A person registering for the first time as an employee or as a voluntary member is required to secure a fully accomplished Personal Record Form (E1 Form) and present any of the following documents: Baptismal/birth certificate Driver's License Passport Professional Regulation Commission ID (PRC ID) The document submitted must be an original or a certified true copy, together with a photocopy. Upon securing the requirements, go to the nearest SSS branch and ask for further instructions. READ ALSO: SSS Maternity Benefit: Your guide on how to avail How to compute SSS contribution of employee based on monthly income The monthly contributions required from individual members are based on their income. The current SSS contribution rate is 12% of the monthly salary credit. The salary bracket cannot exceed 16,000 (regardless of the member having a monthly income of more than P16,000), and this is shared by the employer (8%) and the employee (4%). For example: Given that the monthly salary of the concerned member is 40,000, then his or her contribution will only be calculated based on 16,000 (which is the highest monthly salary credit). The member shall then pay the amount of 640.00, while his or her employer will pay 1,280.00, for a total contribution of 1,920.00 per month. If you want to know how to compute SSS contribution formula, it is as follows: For employees: (monthly salary) x (4%) For employers: (monthly salary) x (8%) Again, note that the monthly salary bracket for individual members will not exceed 16,000. Freelance workers and voluntary members have to follow a similar computation, which means their contribution rate is 12% of their monthly salary credit (MSC). This is based on the monthly earnings stated when the member signed up for the service. On the one hand, the minimum monthly salary credit is pegged at 5,000 for Filipino members who work abroad. On the other hand, non-working spouses monthly payment is based on half of the working spouses recently declared monthly salary. However, in no case shall the non-working spouses' contribution be lower than 1,000. For your reference, how to compute SSS contribution table can be found on the official website. This table will help you learn how to compute SSS contribution 2019. How to compute SSS contribution penalty Registered members should not miss any of their monthly payments towards their SSS account. Be that as it may, missed payments will not deactivate or nullify your active membership status. Upon registering as an SSS member, an individual becomes indefinitely covered even if they miss their monthly payments. There are no penalties served for individual members who fail to pay their contribution for an extended period. However, note that SSS prohibits members from making retroactive payments in order to qualify for a loan or a benefit, such as sickness benefits and salary loans. Members are only allowed to pay for the succeeding months or in advance, but not for the months they missed their payments. If you want to know how to compute SSS contribution with absences, look no further because your contributions will always be based on your basic salary regardless of your absences. How to compute SSS contribution in Excel Below is an Excel table sample showing how to utilize the software to keep track of your SSS contributions easily. To emulate the table, simply create columns for the month of your salary, the salary bracket where your contribution will be based on, and use the formulas as shown. Use the fill feature to fill the rest of the columns automatically. Image: sss.gov.ph (modified by author) Source: Original *This table is only an example to use as a reference. The computation may vary depending on your membership type. There is no need to know how to compute SSS contribution per day. The monthly contributions are computed based on your salary alone. Knowing the workarounds of the service can bring very useful benefits when an unexpected need arises. Unable to go to work due to an illness? Had to take a leave for maternity reasons? Became permanently disabled? SSS will have you covered like a security blanket. Now you know how to compute for SSS contribution. Go ahead and became a responsible adult. READ ALSO: Duterte signs SSS law that gives at least P10,000 monthly unemployment insurance Source: KAMI.com.gh Businesses in the Village of Boonville depend on each other to survive, so when fire destroyed several businesses along Main Street, the damage ripples throughout the community. Lisa Stanford is the Owner of Virtual Assistance Team. She spoke about how the fire is going to impact the local businesses. "Right now it feels like theres no way to make up for it in the near future. The loss is huge, its half the block. Right now weve only got people coming by just to look and see the destruction. Theres not really anybody coming by to do business. Its the focal point right now is what went wrong." Hair salons were lost in the fire, but local barber and hair stylists have offered up space in their businesses to their neighboring competitors. It may hurt their own businesses, but Mahaffys Barber Shop Owner Michael Maggiolino explains in this community, thats just the way they do business in Boonville. "Its probably going to affect these businesses because right now, the people are going to focus on helping those other people, and its probably going to involve money, and this and that, and its going to tighten some stuff up." Village Mayor Eric McIntyre knows theres going to be a hard financial hit to running the Village, but has turned to the County and outside agencies who are preparing to step in and help. "I mean everybodys been willing to help and do everything they can to help give us that boost we need, and anything they can do to try to get us there, so with any luck we can rebuild." The Village was going through a downtown revitalization project, but will now have to focus their efforts on cleaning up debris. The Village may never look the same, but rebuilding is the buzzword around town, and Pub Owner Kim Many Skerpon feels residents seem willing to make it happen. "I think were just a one big family, and everybody here is just here to help everyone, and I think because it is small, were able to be that. Everybody knows everybody, and everybodys here to lend a hand, and its just a big family around here." It may take some time before the remains of these businesses is cleaned up, but theres an entire community behind those who do want to rebuild. by Melani Manel Perera In 2009 Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated in broad daylight on his way to work as editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper. He had criticised abuses under former President Mahinda Rajapaska as well as Tamil Tiger violence. Colombo (AsiaNews) Sri Lankan advocacy groups and intellectuals are demanding justice for Lasantha Wickrematunge, a Christian journalist killed 11 years ago in broad daylight as he made his way to work. His murder is still unsolved. The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and journalists promoting press freedom, renewed its call on the Sri Lankan government to investigate the matter and bring those responsible to justice. Wickrematunge, who was the editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, was killed on 8 January 2009. From the pages of his newspaper, he bitterly criticised former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The latter is Sri Lankas current prime minister, and brother of recently elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and has always denied any involvement in the assassination. The journalist had exposed human rights abuses committed by the army against ethnic Tamils during the civil war, as well as the violence by Tamil Tiger rebels. He himself had predicted his own murder in an editorial published a few days before he was shot dead by killers on a motorcycle. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me, he wrote. Addressing then Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa directly, he said: In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. He believed however that any investigation into his death would drag on for a long time. In fact, following the assassination, the Criminal Investigation Department arrested a suspect, who mysteriously died in police custody. In 2016 the suspect's body was exhumed for medical examination on the request of investigators. A media report noted that although he officially died of gunshots, the body had stab wounds. For IPI Director of Advocacy Ravi Prasad, The Sri Lankan government has failed to investigate the murder of one of the leading journalists of his time, who exposed corruption in the highest echelons of the government. The government should expedite the investigation and hold the killers and those who masterminded the murder to account. A life that leaves but trace evidence of its existence would seem to be a life of minimum impact, small ripples and a shallow imprint. In the grand imaginations of children and the measured expectations of the middle-aged are the longings for lives that are unforgettable. Each of us aspires to leave in our wake something greater than trace evidence. In law enforcement, trace evidence has a specific meaning the microscopic fibers, hairs, fingerprints and other matter a perpetrator leaves in the commission of his crime. It is evidence the criminal didnt know he was leaving behind. At Tuesdays funeral for San Antonio ISD Detective Clifton Cliff Martinez, trace evidence was redefined and given a new meaning. Martinez had been with the department for 28 years, but he also worked a side job as security for the IHOP at I-10 and Hot Wells. If you were ever there for a meal in the early morning hours you would have seen him, exchanged greetings and smiles with him, and felt good about your encounter, however fleeting. On Dec. 21, Martinez was killed while breaking up a fight. After being knocked to the ground in the restaurant parking lot, he was deliberately run over twice by a man driving an SUV. Writing about the funeral, held in Community Bible Church, Express-News reporter Alia Malik quoted SAISD Lt. Michelle White: There exists a tenet in crime scene processing that says whenever you leave a scene, you take part of that scene with you and you leave part of yourself behind. We call this trace evidence. I resubmit to you today that the same can be said when someone leaves your life. He left behind amazing parts of his life that will ever be with us. Cliffs generosity, his compassion and his selfless service is a part of the trace evidence that he has left behind with us. We are never really gone. No life is so insignificant and so lacking impact as to not leave an imprint in its wake. We will leave the scene, yet no matter how brief or (we think) uneventful our stay, the scene has been altered by our presence. The stories told about Martinez since his death abound with his friendliness, his eagerness to help and how he made others feel. The trace evidence of a life that considered others. Trace evidence is an accumulation of our daily encounters with people. It is the residue of good will, or ill. We dont know were leaving behind something said or done that changed how someone felt about themselves and their world; those moments when we lightened anothers burden or through callousness, selfishness or meanness made someone feel small, and added to their burden and the difficulty of their daily lives. We all get the blues. Blues so thick we can hardly move and are stuck; blues so thick we cant breathe or see anything beyond the blue. But at that unexpected time when someone says or does something that lifts us for just a little so that we can move, take a breath and see beyond the blue, we remember that moment, even if they dont. You remember those who lightened the blues even more than you do those who thickened them. The website of the Trace Evidence Unit of the FBI says the physical contact between a suspect and a victim can result in the transfer of trace materials. Were we to reword that in the language of White as she spoke about Martinez, wed say, The interaction between two people can result in the transfer of trace materials of our humanity and basic decency. The trace evidence of a life well-lived is that it helped others to better live their lives. At the very least, it helped them to cope. We are never really gone. We never really leave the scene. When we possess little or think we have nothing, we still have the power to lighten a burden, brighten a mood or do something right that corrects a wrong. It may be the greatest and least-used power we each possess. But its a power, which is the trace evidence that we were here. That we lived. Cary.Clack@express-news.net A man suffered life-threatening injuries after he was shot in Tuscaloosa, authorities said Thursday. Tuscaloosa police were called to DCH Regional Medical Center between 1:20 p.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday on a report of a gunshot victim, according to Tuscaloosa Violent Crime Unit spokeswoman Deputy Jessica McDaniel. Police found the 31-year-old male victim with life-threatening injuries from being shot in the neck. A witness told authorities the victim was shot in the front yard of a home in the 600 block of Brooksdale Drive in Tuscaloosa. The victim was transported from DCH to UAB Hospital in Birmingham via critical care ambulance, McDaniel said. The shooting victim has not been able to speak to investigators because of his condition. The investigation into the shooting continued Thursday night. The Trump administration had begun deporting Mexican asylum-seekersadults as well as familiesto Guatemala as part of the bilateral agreement it had negotiated with the government of the Central American nation in July 2019. Initially, the deal was supposed to only apply to asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador, the two other Central American countries bordering Guatemala. The expansion of the so-called Safe Third Country agreement was first reported by Buzzfeed this week. The deportations were already underway when the story broke Monday; however, Buzzfeed reported yesterday that, in part due to the strong criticism from immigration advocates as well as within federal agencies, the Trump administration has since paused the program. The agreement with Guatemala, which came into effect in November of last year, had been justified by Trump administration officials as a humane and rational burden-sharing of the refugee crisis in the region. Asylum-seekers from Honduras and El Salvador, they claimed, had to make a perilous journey northward through multiple borders to get the United States, and were at the mercy of human traffickers every step of the way. Many of these perils, it was argued, could be avoided if those refugees simply sought refuge in neighboring Guatemala, often the first country they pass through on their way to the US. However, this logic cannot apply to asylum-seekers from Mexico who never set foot in Guatemala. That has, however, not prevented the US government from starting the deportation of Mexican nationals to the country on Mexicos southern border. The Trump administration tried to slip the expansion of its deportation program under the radar, merely informing asylum officials through an e-mailed guidance that Mexican nationals were to be included in the process. The program initially was focused only on El Paso, Texas, but was later expanded to the Rio Grande Valley as well. Only after Buzzfeed broke the story, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged its deportation of Mexican nationals to Guatemala. In characteristic double-speak, a DHS spokesperson announced on Monday: Certain Mexicans seeking humanitarian protections in the United States may now be eligible to be transferred to Guatemala and given the opportunity to seek protection there, under the terms of the Guatemala Asylum Cooperative Agreement. The bilateral agreement with Guatemala, the Trump administration had proclaimed earlier, would be a model that could be replicated with Honduras and El Salvador as well, ensuring that Central American refugees did not have to travel far to find safety and security, while at the same time reducing the supposed tidal wave of immigrants that had put the US asylum system under immense pressure. This claim cannot bear up to even the mildest of scrutiny. Given the decades of war and violence affecting the broader region and the ongoing systemic instability that has caused the outflow of migrants in the first place, the claim that each Central American country could provide a safe haven for refugees from neighboring countries makes absolutely no sense and is absolutely criminal. As was reported a few months ago, Guatemalas asylum office has a staff of fewer than 10, and in 2018, it processed a total of 262 claims. According to the latest available UN data, the country has one of the highest rates of poverty and malnutrition in the Western hemisphere, and the ninth highest homicide rate in the world. When the Trump administration commenced deporting detained migrants seeking asylum to Guatemala last November, it remainedalong with Honduras, El Salvador and Mexicoon the State Departments travel advisory list for US citizens. Even if one were to set all of this aside, the expansion of deportations to Central America to include Mexican nationals completely exposes the inhumane character of the onslaught against working class asylum-seekers. Refugees from Mexico do not travel through Guatemala to get to the United States. And for many Mexicans who seek a better life north of the border, Guatemala is much farther away than the United States. To be offered the choice to either be deported back to Mexico or Guatemala is in fact no choice at all. Already traumatized by the arduous trek to the US border, not to mention the necessity of making the choice to seek refuge, working class migrants are forced to face interviews with asylum officials, which determine whether or not an individual or family gets deported. The only way in which an asylum-seeker could avoid deportation is through explicitly stating that they fear torture or persecution in Guatemala, and also prove that it is more likely than not that they would be tortured or persecuted there. Setting aside the burden of proof, the fact that asylum-seekers have no access to legal counsel prior to the interviews makes it more likely than not that they have no idea what is required to avoid deportation. As a US asylum official, speaking anonymously, told Buzzfeed: Mexico is dangerous; Guatemala is even more so. This expansion of the [agreement] continues to prevent legitimate asylum-seekers from having their cases heard by the US and foists them upon the Guatemalan system. Guatemalan officials have registered their protests. Outgoing Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said on Wednesday, It is more than clear that within the agreement only Salvadorans and Hondurans were to be sent. ... The United States has talked about the possibility of discussing whether to include Mexican nationals, but that is something the incoming administration will have to discuss. Its totally false that we had negotiated that Mexicans be sent here. ... Those are rumors. For now, the Mexicans who were slated to be deported to Guatemala have been moved into the deceptively named Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP), which dramatically reduces the time the asylum-seekers have to prepare their immigration cases and aims to speed up a decision while they are in government custody. It is not clear how long the Trump administration plans to hold off the expansion of the deportation program, but it has made clear that it is committed to using any means to deter working class immigrants from seeking asylum in the United States. As the anonymous asylum official cited by Buzzfeed put it, bemoaning the spate of new rules, Asylum in the US is now practically available only for people wealthy and privileged enough to get visas, shutting out many of the most vulnerable groups asking for help at our borders. The telehealth market is likely to expand considerably with impetus from the ability of telehealth to serve the rural population. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Telehealth: Global Market Analysis, Insights, and Forecast, 2019-2026, the market was valued at US$ 49.8 Bn in 2018. Fortune Business Insights has predicted that the market will reach US$ 266.8 Bn by 2026, thereby exhibiting a CAGR of 23.4%. The ability of telehealth to access and manage healthcare services has led to their rising uptake across the world. Telehealth is used to enhance healthcare services as well as increase feasibility within the healthcare services. Recent technological advancements in telehealth services have created huge potential for growth of the global telehealth market for the forthcoming years. Report Highlights: Detailed Historical Overview Consumer and Pricing Analysis Market Dynamics of the Industry In-depth Market Segmentation Historical and Projected Market Sizing in Terms of Value Recent Market Trends and Impact Factors R&D Status and Technology Overview Extensive Industry Structure Coverage Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/telehealth-market-101065 Key Companies and Manufacturers Covered: The study covers key players operating in the market along with prime schemes and strategies implemented by each player to hold high positions in the industry. Such a tough vendor landscape provides a competitive outlook of the industry, consequently existing as a key insight. American Well GlobalMed Teladoc Health, Inc. Dictum Health, Inc., LLC InTouch Technologies, Inc. Doctor On Demand, Inc. MDLIVE Inc. Encounter Telehealth HelloMD SnapMD, Inc. Other players Technological Advancements to Fuel Demand for Telehealth Services The technological advancements in telehealth products and services have fuelled the demand for telehealth services across the world. The advent of user-friendly systems has contributed to a high demand, which in turn has led to an increase in the global telehealth market value in recent years. In 2019, InTouch announced the launch of a fully integrated end-to-end virtual platform aimed at providing enhanced patient care solutions. Solo was a flexible platform integrated with services such as enhanced emergency care solutions, direct-to-patient, and direct-to-customer, which in turn will contribute to the growth of the global telehealth market in the coming years. Company Collaborations Are Proving Chief Growth Drivers Due to the increasing demand, telehealth market companies are adopting collaborative strategies with the aim of expanding business on a global scale. Furthermore, leading companies in the telehealth industry are focusing on mergers and acquisitions to gain competitive strength. Companies are trying to incorporate modern industrial concepts with a view to gain more end users. Fortune Business Insights expects market collaborations will help companies generate substantial telehealth market revenue. In April 2018, American Well acquired Avizia Limited with the aim of strengthening its position among the companies in the telehealth industry. American Wells acquisition of Avizia will help the company take a big leap in the telehealth market, owing to the exceptional portfolio of telehealth services bolstered by Avizia. The report includes company mergers, similar to American Wells latest acquisition and signifies the impact of such M&As on the global telehealth market. Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/telehealth-market-101065 Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Overview of Telehealth Services Regulatory Scenario For Key Countries Reimbursement Scenario For Key Countries New Product Launch Overview of Countries with Telehealth Policies Technological Advancements in Telehealth Market Startups with their Funding Overview Key industry Developments Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Global Telehealth Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Type Products Services Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Telemedicine Patient Monitoring Continuous Medical Education Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Modality Store-and-forward (Asynchronous) Real-time (Synchronous) Remote Patient Monitoring Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End User Healthcare Facilities Homecare Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Research Methodology: Fortune Business Insights follows a robust research methodology that involves data triangulation based on top-down, bottom-up approaches, and validation of the estimated market numbers through primary research. The information used to estimate the market size and forecast for various segments at the global, regional, and country level is derived from the most credible published sources and through interviews with the right stakeholders. Growth rate or CAGR exhibited by a market for a certain forecast period is calculated on the basis of various factors and their level of impact on the market. These factors include market drivers, restraints, industry challenges, market and technological developments, market trends, etc. Reasons to Purchase this Report: Estimates telehealth market trends with SWOT analysis. Detailed business profiles including product offerings, recent developments, key financial information, and strategies employed by main market players. Analysis of various regions and countries that includes the demand and supply based actions, which consequently have a major influence on the markets expansion. Market dynamics and opportunities for growth for players in the near future. Competitive landscape describing the market revenue shares of key players. Market segmentation analysis that deals with quantitative and qualitative research, discussing the influence of policy-based and economical aspects. Order Full Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/101065 Key Questions Answered: What are the key technological and telehealth market trends shaping the market? What are the key opportunities in the market? What are the key companies operating in the market? Which company accounted for the highest market share? What is the market size and growth rate of the market for selective countries? Which region or sub-segment is expected to drive the market in the forecast period? What Factors are estimated to drive and restrain the telehealth market growth? Related Report: Vision Care Market Growth, Analysis, Size, Global Trends, Demand, Share, Top Players, Revenue and Forecast 2026 Guidewires Market Global Share, Growth, Potential Opportunities, Demand, Segmentation, Forecast to 2026 Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapeutics Market Global Trends, Growth, Share, Size and Forecast Research Report 2026 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Email:sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Linkedin | Twitter | BLogs live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Infosys, on January 10, stated that its Audit Committee found no evidence of financial impropriety or executive misconduct. According to a release filed with the exchanges, the committee looked into the allegations contained in the anonymous whistleblower complaints that the company disclosed on October 21, 2019 and, determined that the allegations are substantially without merit. The release noted that on the basis of the interviews conducted and forensics review undertaken, the committee concluded that the allegations regarding treasury policy are "unsubstantiated". "The Company strictly complied with its treasury policy, without any interference or pressure from either the CEO or CFO," read the release. It also stated that the allegations regarding the visa costs were unsubstantiated, and were appropriately accounted for. With regards to the allegations over large deal approvals, the committee found them to be unsubstantiated. "Large deals under the investigation teams review were approved by the necessary stakeholders. In the case of one large deal, a post-facto approval was sought. The joint ventures were approved by the Board and the Audit Committee. No evidence was found suggesting CEOs involvement in bypassing the deal approval process or issuing any instructions in this regard," read the release. Similarly, the release also noted that the allegations regarding revenue recognition of three large deals/ joint ventures (JVs) were unsubstantiated. The investigation also concluded that all allegations regarding personal matters of the CEO were "without merit." "The CEOs bonus was computed by the finance and HR teams in accordance with the applicable Company policies and his employment contract. Further, his bonus was paid after obtaining the approval of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC)," read the release. It further stated that no evidence was found of personal investments by the CEO in small companies in Mumbai. On October 21, 2019, a group of Infosys employees had anonymously written to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging that the IT major took unethical measures to boost profits and short-term revenue. The employees also sent the letter to the board of Infosys. The employees accused the Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh of bypassing reviews and approvals of large deals. The whistleblowers also wrote to the US-based office of the Whistleblower Protection Programme on October 3, 2019, alleging wilful misstatement and accounting irregularities for the last two quarters. Government earmarks US$1.7 mln to compensate for destroyed Donbas homes official 12:20, 10.01.20 5169 A total of 1.433 million IDPs from Donbas and Russian-annexed Crimea are registered in Ukraine. : A police inspector here was on Friday suspended for allegedly accepting a bribe for releasing a person on bail, The city police commissioner Anjani Kumar placed Jubilee Hills inspector on suspension for allegedly taking the bribe, a police press release said. "Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar has issued order for suspension of inspector Balwantaiah of Jubilee Hills for his role which led the ACB (Anti-corruption bureau) trap a sub-inspector of the Jubilee Hills on Thursday," the release said. Such black sheep in the department need to be exposed who are bringing bad name to the organisation, it said. The ACB on Thursday caught two police officials for allegedly taking Rs 50,000 and two liquor bottles as bribe. The inspector had demanded the bribe from a person who was released on police station bail on December 31 last year, the bureau said in a press release. The person in a complaint said he was charged under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust). Though, the complainant was released, the inspector demanded the bribe for having released him on police station bail and to refer the case to the Lok Adalat by deleting section 406, the bureau said. On December 29 last year, a case had been registered against the complainant at the Jubilee Hills Police Station under the sections. The inspector had demanded Rs one lakh as bribe from the complainant through a sub-inspector (SI), the statement said. On the request of the complainant, the bribe amount was reduced to Rs 50,000. Two liquor bottles were also demanded, it said. The sub-inspector was caught red-handed by the bureau when he demanded and accepted the bribe amount, along with the liquor bottles, from the complainant on the instructions of the inspector, the statement said. Further investigations are on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When the investigative operation with respect to third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan ended, a 6-page decision on engaging Serzh Sargsyan as an accused-on-trial was made two minutes later. This is what Sargsyans attorney Amram Makinyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. It was initially decided to declare the person as an accused-on-trial, he said. Today, the Special Investigation Service announced the end of the preliminary investigation into the case of Serzh Sargsyan. In regard to this, the attorney said the following: Operations were conducted, and now the case is being forwarded to the court. All the phenomena in this criminal case are conditioned by appropriateness. Touching upon the news that ex-agriculture minister Sergo Karapetyan had testified under the case of Serzh Sargsyan and had confronted the latter, Makinyan said the following: I cant say who confronted who, but I can say that the President said he simply felt pity that the person telling lies about him had given a false testimony. I dont share the view that there is no combination of sufficient evidence underlying the charge. The President has nothing to do with any act ascribed to him. Armenian News-NEWS.am had reported that the Special Investigation Service had announced the charge brought against third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on December 4, 2019. According to the official press release, holding the position of President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan used his official position and, in 2013, organized embezzlement of a sum in particularly large amount (AMD 489,160,310) through squander from the State by a group of officials. He is charged under an article of the Criminal Code, and a signature to not leave the country has been selected as a pre-trial measure. BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to send officials to Iraq to work out a mechanism for the withdrawal of American troops, according to his office, as the fallout from the U.S. assassination of a top Iranian general in Baghdad roils ties. The statement on Friday, citing a phone call the previous day between the two men, suggests that Abdul Mahdi is standing by demands from Iraqi lawmakers for American troops to leave following a killing which threatened to turn Iraqi territory into a proxy battleground. The Jan. 3 targeting of General Qassem Soleimani, who oversaw Iran's foreign military operations, outraged Shiite politicians in Iraq, many of whom have close ties to Tehran. Their majority in parliament was enough to win a vote on expelling U.S. forces, though Sunni Arab and Kurdish legislators boycotted. Iran's military then fired salvos of retaliatory missiles as bases in Iraq where U.S. troops are stationed. A Pentagon analysis of the attack suggested the missiles were aimed at unpopulated parts of the bases. ADVERTISEMENT Both sides have since backed away from military action, with President Donald Trump appealing for Iranian leaders to negotiate a peace. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Twitter that the missile attack "concluded" Iran's retaliation for Soleimani's killing. Even if Tehran refrains from further direct attacks, though, it might still seek reprisals through more covert means, such as attacks by proxy militias or in cyberspace. It's unclear how the U.S. will react to Abdul Mahdi's demand. President Donald Trump responded angrily to the parliament vote, threatening to sanction Iraq and demanding reimbursement for investments made in the country over the past two decades if the government insists on U.S. forces leaving. Pentagon chief Mark Esper said later that he believes the Iraqi people and lawmakers still want the U.S. to maintain a presence in the country, 17 years after it invaded to oust Saddam Hussein. Trump escalated tensions with Iran in 2018 by withdrawing from the nuclear accord negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and reimposing sanctions that have crushed the Iranian economy. Iran has responded by withdrawing from the atomic deal in phases, while its proxy forces in Yemen, Iraq and Syria are widely seen as having been behind attacks on a range of targets including critical oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the region. Trump ordered Soleimani killed after a Dec. 27 rocket attack on a joint U.S.-Iraqi base near Kirkuk resulted in the death of an American contractor. The U.S. blamed the attack on an Iran-backed militia and killed its leader in the strike on Soleimani. The assassinations are the latest test for a nation that has seen almost non-stop upheaval since the U.S. invasion. ADVERTISEMENT Iraqis fed up with corruption and the slow pace of recovery from the wreckage left by the war with Islamic State took to the streets in October for protests that also targeted Iran's dominance of the country's politics. Iraq's top Shiite cleric on Friday denounced the "repeated violations" of the country's sovereignty and the government's inability to deter attacks. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said that no outside power should decide Iraq's fate. "The latest dangerous aggressive acts, which are repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty, are a part of the deteriorating situation" in the region, he said, according to his representative Ahmed Al-Safi. --- (c)2020 Bloomberg News Visit Bloomberg News at www.bloomberg.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Alliance News) - Pembridge Resources PLC on Friday said Minto Explorations Ltd has received its third revenue payment from the shipment of copper concentrate. Pembridge bought Minto, which owns an underground copper-gold-silver mine in central Yukon, Canada, in June and restarted mining there in October. Minto produced 2,919 dry metric tonnes of concentrate in December, which was then sold to Japan's Sumitomo Canada Ltd for USD5.4 million. The payment represents a 90% advanced payment, with the remaining 10% to be paid when the concentrate is delivered to Japan. Transportation of the copper concentrate to the Skagway port is expected to begin early in the first quarter, followed by first shipment targeted for later in the quarter. This takes the total paid to Minto to USD12.5 million since it restarted mining in Yukon. Pembridge Chief Executive & Chair Gati Al-Jebouri said: "The December payment was a significant improvement on last month's due to the head grade improvements in the Minto East mining area, as well as a stronger copper and gold price." Shares in Pembridge Resources were 0.1% higher in London on Friday at 14.77 pence each. By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. In an address to the nation Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump said he will impose severe economic sanctions on Iran in response to a ballistic missile attack the previous night on two military bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops. The missile attack comes on the heels of the U.S. killing Irans military leader in a drone strike outside Baghdads main airport. While the back and forth appears to have abated, University of Miami Middle East faculty experts said, Irans ballistic missile response was a very calculated one, done as a show of its strength, but not quite hostile enough to provoke another military reaction from the U.S. At this stage at least, Iran sought to deliver a calibrated message, one that may have as its goal a measure of escalation control, said Bradford McGuinn, a senior lecturer of political science who has studied and written about the Middle East for 30 years. It demonstrated that Iran is capable of hitting U.S. targets, that they are willing to do it, and secondly, the nature of the attack suggests that Iran was also interested in conveying the message that there could be a containment to the action-reaction dynamic of these last couple of days. This aggressive volley between the U.S. and Iran has been intensifying for the past few years, but hit a climax Friday, when General Qasem Suleimani, Irans top military leader, was killed in a targeted drone attack carried out by the U.S. military and ordered by Trump. In Trumps address Wednesday, the first since Suleimani was killed, he explained his decision to the American public. At my direction, the United States military eliminated the worlds top terrorist, Trump said. In recent days, he was planning new attacks on American targets. But we stopped him. Despite the pause in military action, Trumps vow to impose harsh sanctions on Iran, which has been struggling economically for many years, may prompt further discontent among Iranians with the current government, which just last month faced widespread protests, said Brian Blankenship, assistant professor of political science who specializes in international relations. Four years ago, President Obama signed a deal with Iran that would roll back some of the U.S. sanctions in exchange for restrictions placed on Irans nuclear development program, but that deal was upended in 2018 by Trump. Its still unclear whether or not this is designed to bring Iran to its knees [financially] so the regime is overthrown, or to get them back to the negotiating table to get a deal thats more favorable than the one Obama made in 2015, Blankenship said. Trumps decision to throw out the nuclear deal was a low point for U.S. diplomacy with Iran and that extreme shift also sparked ire between the nations, said Costantino Pischedda, an assistant professor who teaches international relations and has spent time researching insurgent groups in Iraq. In 2015 an agreement had been reached, and then when Trump said the U.S. was not going to abide by it, which was followed in 2018 by a formal decision to abandon the agreement and re-impose crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy, said Pischedda. "This turnabout in the U.S. position likely made America appear even more untrustworthy in the minds of Iranian leaders. Yet, tension between the United States and Iran has a lengthy history. The fractious relationship can be traced back to 1979, when a popular movement led by Shiite clerics (Shiites represent the majority of people practicing Islam in Iraq and Iran) overthrew the U.S.-backed secular government and formed the Islamic Republic of Iran, led by the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who imposed religious law. Shortly after, protesters seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and 52 American hostages were held for 444 days inside. In 1989, Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khameini succeeded Khomeini, and his entire reign has been characterized by a resentment of American influence in the Middle East. Irans concept of itself, born of the 1979 revolution, contains a mandate more expansive than the defense of Iran: to protect the region as a whole from what it considers the predations of American imperialism, McGuinn said. In the last few days there have been several references to that preoccupation by Iranian leaders. Toward that goal, Iran readily supports the Shiite and associated communities beyond its borders, often visiting its allies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, McGuinn added. At the heart of that regional strategy was Suleimani, who rose to power as a young follower of Irans 1979 revolution, and later, as a soldier in the war with Iraq. In recent years, Suleimani became a more public figure as leader of the Quds Force within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which is the country's special paramilitary forces, said McGuinn. Suleimani was also responsible for building relationships with militias throughout the Middle East, which ironically, proved helpful in the United States-led coalition to weaken ISIS in Iraq. Suleimani was a figure of extraordinary importance to Irans regional agenda, McGuinn said. His task was to extend Irans influence, but also to counterbalance or to resist what he might have interpreted as the menace of American imperialism to the Middle East. His passing is a blow to Iran and its allies because of the structure and system of influence that existed around him. However, the United States attack on Irans second most powerful leader did not come unprovoked. Experts say there were several key incidents that led to recent clashes between Iran and the United States: Dec. 31, 2019: The American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq is stormed by hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters who break through an outer barrier, set fires and throw rocks over the walls. They continue to swarm the embassy for two days. Dec. 27, 2019: A U.S. contractor was killed, and several U.S. and Iraqi soldiers were injured in a rocket attack on a base in northern Iraq. American intelligence said the attack was orchestrated by Iran-backed militia Kateab Hezbollah, one of many militias that Suleimani may have coordinated. September 2019: Saudi Arabian oil facilities are attacked by drones, cutting off oil supplies at the plant and prompting an increase in prices. The U.S. blames Iran, and while the country says it was not involved, a Houthi rebel group from Yemenone of Irans alliestakes responsibility for the attack. June 2019: Irans Revolutionary Guard (led by General Suleimani) shoots down a U.S. military surveillance drone, which they said was flying in Iranian airspace. The U.S. asserts its drone was operating in international airspace. November 2018: The United States tightens sanctions on Irans oil industry, as part of President Trumps maximum pressure campaign. 2018: Iran nuclear deal upended by Trump. Signed in 2015 by Obama, the deal gave agents the ability to monitor Irans nuclear weapon program in exchange for Americas agreement to lift trade sanctions that were harmful to the Iranian economy. Further complicating matters is the fallout for Iraq, the nation caught in the crossfire of this growing conflict. Iraq has played host to a major U.S. military presence since troops invaded the country in 2003 to oust dictator Saddam Hussein, but since then, Iraqs economy has struggled to recover as well. U.S. forces left Iraq in 2011, but three years later they returned to help Iraq fight the Islamic State, which still has a small presence in the country. Yet now Iraq has become a battleground for the conflict between Iran and the United States, and they are in a difficult position because Iran is their neighbor and Shiite ally, but America has helped them get rid of ISIS. On the one hand, Iraq has relied on the U.S. since 2004 for a lot of support to rebuild their country after the fall of Saddam and to repel ISIS, but because Iraq is located next to Iran and shares a religion with them, its hard for them to openly side with the United States, Blankenship said. Even so, the report is unlikely to push policymakers at the central bank from their wait-and-see approach on further cuts to its benchmark interest rate. The labor squeeze has helped workers at the lowest end of the pay scale, giving their wages a push that exceeds the average increase. Minimum-wage increases across 21 states and 26 cities and counties this year could further help pull up paychecks at the bottom. By contrast, wage growth for managers slowed in December. Limp wage growth is puzzling when the jobless rate has settled at 3.5 percent, a half-century low. Finding qualified workers was the top challenge cited by small-business owners in December, according to a monthly survey by the National Federation of Independent Business. What the tightening labor market has done, though, is draw in people who were not previously job hunting. Nearly three-quarters of new hires have come off the sidelines. The unemployment rates for groups that have tended to receive a smaller share of the expansions rewards high school dropouts, African-Americans and Latinos have also dipped since December 2018. The share of the population in the work force remains at the top of the postrecession range, even though its lower than before the financial crash of 2008. Many of the new entrants have been women, who now make up a majority of the nonfarm payroll for the first time in nearly a decade and dominate sectors that are expanding fastest, like health care. Their participation in the labor force, though, still lags rates in most European countries, which tend to offer better parental leave and child care options. Right-wing leader Milind Ekbote, an accused in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, appeared before an inquiry commission here on Friday, but did not depose, citing changed political circumstances among other things. A commission headed by Justice (retired) Jai Narayan Patel is conducting an inquiry into the caste violence that broke out on January 1, 2018, near the Koregaon Bhima War Memorial in Pune district. Following his plea, Ekbote, a pro-Hindutva leader, was discharged by the commission. Ekbote submitted an application which stated that the police investigation was yet to be over and the charge sheet had not been filed, hence he would not like to depose. "One of the accusations against me is spreading communal disharmony....which is a false and politically motivated allegation," the application said. Further, "recent political developments in Maharashtra have indicated that whatever honest and impartial investigations carried out...by police authorities are likely to be "obliterated and /revisited" to ensure "safe passage for different hues of Marxists", Ekbote said in the application. He was apparently referring to the BJP losing power in the state to a coalition of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. "In the present scenario, I do not feel it is desirable to depose before the Hon'ble Commission at this stage to protect my interest in the court of law," he said. Ekbote also alleged that organizers of 'Elgar Parishad' conclave -- which was held in Pune on December 31, 2017, was responsible for the violence. According to the Pune police, the conference had been supported by Maoists, and 'inflammatory speeches' made there triggered the violence next day. "The crime registered against me at Shikrapur police station alleged that I had instigated the violence...out of my alleged hatred against the Dalit community," Ekbote said, adding that he denied this charge "in toto" (completely). No evidence was found against him, and the sessions court mentioned this while granting him bail after his arrest in March 2018, he added. He was targeted because of his "accidental birth" in the Brahmin community and his nationalist views, he claimed. Advocate Ashish Satpute, the commission's lawyer, said that after reading Ekbote's plea, the commission discharged him as a witness. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment To learn Biblical answers to your financial questions, you can #AskChuck @AskCrown your questions by clicking here. Questions used may be lightly edited for length or clarity. Dear Chuck, My pastor talked about sin in a recent message at church. I am curious to know what the Bible says about financial sins. Do you have a list? Needing Insight Dear Needing Insight, Thank you for your question. Like you, there are many in America and around the world who have lived in financial sin, some intentionally and others completely unaware. We live in a time where many people, even those who claim Christ as Lord and Savior, are Biblically ignorant. I certainly was ignorant in spite of having broad access to Bibles and training. Often, these warnings are ignored due to apathy or tyranny of the urgent. The world seduces believers who fail to consult God before making financial decisions. They follow the crowd or heed worldly advice. I know. I did. My Quick Story I will tread carefully on this topic to avoid being a Pharisee, since I not only have a list of some of the major financial sins referenced in the Bible but have committed them as well! I graduated from college with a desire to get rich and fast. My goal was to make millions of dollars, and by the way, I was millions of dollars away from that goal! My worldview was something like this: Make as much money as fast as you can, to retire as early as you can, to entertain yourself as long as you can. Even though I had grown up attending church, it was not until my early 40s that God got a hold of my heart while participating in a Crown Bible Study. The impact of that course was so profound that since that time, now twenty years ago, I have been committed to teaching others what the Bible says about money and stewardship. A Short List - Part I There are more than 2,350 verses in the Bible dealing with money and possessions. The vast majority of the principles that God gave us deal with our heart and mind. God is careful to tell us exactly what to believe and not to believe when it comes to material goods and wealth. This is in no way an exhaustive list of financial sins, but it will get you started on the right track. Dissatisfaction A clear indication of a misplaced dependency is complaining about our financial status in comparison to others. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV) Coveting When we desire what others have, we fall into the trap of coveting. And he said to them, Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (Luke 12:15 ESV) Greed The drive to have more, more, more leads us into conflict and turmoil. A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched. Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. (Proverbs 28:25-26 ESV) Love of Money Most people do not recognize their love of money until they lose it. It becomes their security in the place of God. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5 ESV) Selfishness Spending everything on ourselves is a common sin we often overlook. There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. (Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 ESV) Arrogance Accumulating money can often lead us to think more highly of ourselves. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. (I Timothy 6:17 ESV) I suggest that you and your church become aware of the courses available to you with Crown Online. These courses offer spiritual guidance as well as practical tools in your journey to become a faithful steward. Your question is so important that I have divided my response into two parts. More next week! UK court to decide whether children, teens can consent to taking puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The question of whether children and teenagers can consent to taking puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones to thwart their bodies natural growth as part of transgender experimentation will be adjudicated this week at the U.K.'s highest court. The case is being brought by attorneys for Susan Evans against the Tavistock and Portman National Health Service which operate the lone gender identity clinic in the nation. Evans is a psychiatric nurse and psychoanalytic psychotherapist who believes the medicalization of gender in young people is experimental and carries lifelong, harmful consequences. According to The U.K. Times, Evans' lawyers will stress that providing puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones at Tavistock for children age 18 and younger is against the law because minors are incapable of giving consent. There are so many unanswered questions that include the age at start, reversibility, serious adverse health events, long-term effects on mental health, neurological effects on cognitive functioning, the effect on bone density, circulatory systems and sexual functioning in adulthood," a crowdfunding page for Evans asserts. We cannot stand by and watch young people be part of an experimental medical treatment that exposes them to very significant risks. In 2004, Evans raised concerns about practices within the clinic. Though an internal inquiry was conducted, she ultimate left feeling nothing had changed substantially. The lawyers representing Evans are also representing a mother, whose identity has not been disclosed, of a 15-year-old autistic girl who's on the waiting list for the Gender Identity Development Service. The mother has said that no one, let alone her daughter, "understands the risks and therefore cannot ensure informed consent is obtained. Tavistock has been at the center of controversy in recent months as whistleblowers have exposed troubling internal protocols. In an July 18 open letter, Kirsty Entwistle, who until October 2018 was also employed at the GIDS in Leeds, accused Tavistock clinicians of misleading young patients, stressing that they had been making decisions that will have a major impact on children and young peoples bodies and lives ... without a robust evidence base. That many of the youth being treated at the clinic were victims of abuse and neglect or were poor was "minimized and dismissed" she explained, and the children and their families were told that chemical puberty suppressants were completely reversible, despite a lack of evidence for such a claim. Entwistle also recounted that an "unspoken rule" prevailed in the clinic, that families were never to be told that their children were not transgender. Critics of transgender medicine often point out that young girls are disproportionately impacted as are same-sex attracted youth, those on the autism spectrum, and victims of sexual trauma. In an interview with The Telegraph Monday, Evans noted that some children are referred despite having autism, being homosexual or suffering some form of trauma or sexual abuse. Children as young as 9 or 10 are being asked to give informed consent, she said in a separate radio interview, and the long-term repercussions of these treatments remain unknown. I really feel it's got to be questioned in the courts now because we've tried to talk to the Tavistock as have other staff at the Tavistock and it doesn't work, she said. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Huawei Technologies is pictured in front of the German headquarters of the Chinese telecommunications giant in Duesseldorf By Jack Stubbs and Alexandra Alper LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is making a final pitch to Britain ahead of a UK decision on whether to upgrade its telecoms network with Huawei equipment, amid threats to cut intelligence-sharing ties, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Britain is expected to make a final call on how to deploy Huawei equipment in its future 5G networks later this month, weighing U.S.-led allegations that the equipment could be used for Chinese state spying against Britain's relationship with Beijing and industry warnings that banning the firm outright would cost billions of dollars. Huawei, the world's largest maker of mobile networking equipment, has repeatedly denied the allegations. A company spokesman said UK lawmakers had confirmed Huawei equipment would not be deployed in networks used for intelligence sharing. "Our 5G equipment does not pose a threat to information security," he said. "We are confident the UK government will take an evidence-based approach when making its decision about Huawei's inclusion in the 5G network." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to press British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab over Huawei at a meeting in Washington on Thursday, the sources said. Ahead of the decision, Washington had also planned to send a delegation, including deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, to meet with British officials this week, sources said. But the trip was cancelled at the last minute, two of the people said, due to bad weather. Last month, the United States also passed legislation that included a provision bolstering threats to restrict intelligence-sharing with allies that use Huawei equipment. Washington is seen to be "cocking the pistol," said a person with knowledge of the British government's position on Huawei. "What's unclear is how, when or indeed if it will actually be fired." Story continues A UK government spokesman said: "The security and resilience of the UK's telecoms networks is of paramount importance. The government continues to consider its position on high-risk vendors and a decision will be made in due course." The U.S. State Department and National Security Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Britain is a key battleground in the geopolitical tug-of-war over Huawei. Officials decided in principle last year to block the company from critical parts of the 5G network but give it limited access to less sensitive parts. A final decision has yet to be made public. A provision of the U.S. 2020 defence spending law, signed by President Donald Trump in December, directs intelligence agencies to consider the use of telecoms and cybersecurity infrastructure "provided by adversaries of the United States, particularly China and Russia," when entering intelligence-sharing agreements with foreign countries. The provision, added by Republican Senator Tom Cotton, was aimed in particular at members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance made up of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and was intended as a "a first shot across the bow," said a person familiar with the matter. An aide to Cotton said the senator's team is working on a new draft bill that could be released this month and would "significantly restrict" intelligence-sharing with countries that use Huawei equipment in their 5G networks, following through on earlier U.S. threats to do so. "I'm profoundly concerned about the possibility that close allies, including the UK, might permit the Chinese Communist Party effectively to build their highly sensitive 5G infrastructure," Cotton told Reuters. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs in London and Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Elaine Hardcastle) Supreme Court to Hear That Abortion Disproportionately Harms Black Women Black pro-life organizations are arguing in an abortion case soon to be heard by the Supreme Court that unqualified and uncredentialed abortion providers have a long history of disproportionately harming black women. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 4 in the case cited as June Medical Services LLC v. Gee. The right to abortion, which the court established in Roe v. Wade (1973), isnt at issue in the case but some observers speculate that the increasingly conservative Supreme Court may adopt a narrower view of what constitutes a constitutionally impermissible burden on women seeking abortions. Views expressed in 2019 by Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Courts sole black justice, in a case cited as Box v. Planned Parenthood, go further than those expressed by groups in the current case. In a concurring opinion to deny a petition to review the case, Thomas argued that abortion itself harms the black community. As The Epoch Times previously reported, Thomas voted to deny an appeal from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down an Indiana law that outlawed abortions in cases where mothers opted to abort on the basis of a childs race, sex, disability, Down syndrome diagnosis, or other characteristics. Given the potential for abortion to become a tool of eugenic manipulation, the Court will soon need to confront the constitutionality of laws like Indianas, Thomas wrote. Thomas argued that the use of abortion for eugenics purposes is not merely hypothetical. He cited international examples of where the goals of eugenics are being achieved through abortion. And there are areas of New York City in which black children are more likely to be aborted than they are to be born aliveand are up to eight times more likely to be aborted than white children in the same area, Thomas wrote. Whatever the reasons for these disparities, they suggest that, insofar as abortion is viewed as a method of family planning, black people do indeed [take] the brunt of the planning, he added. In this case, the nations highest court has decided to review abortion restrictions in Louisiana, where Act 620, enacted in 2014, requires the abortionist to have active admitting privileges within 30 miles of where the procedure takes place. Act 620 was modeled after and is almost identical in wording to HB 2, a Texas law the Supreme Court struck down in 2016 in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, plaintiff June Medical Services, a clinic in Shreveport, stated in its petition filed with the high court. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Louisiana law, which officials say might only lead to short delays at one of three abortion-offering clinics in the state. On Feb. 7, 2019, the court stayed enforcement of Act 620 on a 54 vote. Chief Justice John Roberts, part of the conservative bloc on the court, joined with four liberal justices in that vote. Officials of black pro-life organizations signed a friend-of-the-court brief in the upcoming case, stating they believe that every persons life has value, whether that person is an unborn child or a mother seeking an abortion. Black women are the primary recipients of abortion services in Louisiana. Louisianas Act 620 helps to protect the lives of mothersespecially black womenwho seek abortions in the state. The signers are: Dr. Alveda King of Civil Rights for The Unborn (who is the niece of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.); Stacy Washington of Project 21; Ryan Bomberger of the Radiance Foundation; Troy Rolling of the Frederick Douglass Foundation; Dean Nelson of the Douglass Leadership Institute; Catherine Davis of the Restoration Project; Walter and Lori Hoye of the Issues4Life Foundation; Day Gardner of the National Black Pro-Life Union; and the Revs. Brian and Denise Walker of Everlasting Light Ministries. In the brief they state: The struggle for racial equality is not over. The black community experiences a disproportionate share of abortions, often from doctors that do not have the same credentials as those who perform other forms of surgery. Until Act 620, Louisianas abortion clinics were exempt from the admitting privileges requirement that applies to other outpatient and ambulatory surgical centers in the state. This disparity is significant to black women, who make up the majority of abortion clinic patients and thus bear most of the known risks of abortion in Louisiana. These known risks are life-threatening to mothers. The unhygienic, unsafe practices in place in many of the nations barely regulated abortion clinics came to light during the trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell. In 2013, Gosnell, whose clinic was filled with blood-covered furniture and dirty medical instruments, was sentenced to life imprisonment on three counts of first-degree murder for stabbing three babies born alive with scissors. Act 620 aims to prevent harm to pregnant women and their babies by creating a means for reports about individual doctors to be checked against a national database for the benefit of all patients, of all races, equally, the brief states. Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this article. The tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have hit firms in their own countries almost as much as the ones they were aiming at, according to research that shows the trade war has partly backfired on both nations. Academics scrutinised stock market responses in order the gain a real-time assessment of the impact of the trade war that was harder to retrieve from economic data that were often out of date or affected by other events. Since February 2018, the US has slapped tariffs on $550bn (420bn) worth of Chinese products. China, in turn, has set tariffs on $185bn (140bn) worth of US goods. Peter Egger a professor at ETH-Zurich university and Jiaqing Zhu at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, found that while the trade war tariffs of the US and China directly hurt targeted firms and sectors abroad as intended, they indirectly affect stock prices through global value chain linkages in the US, China, and in third economies which do not directly participate in the trade war. The research, published on the economic portal VoxEU, found that US tariffs boosted share prices of some American companies by up to 7 per cent but cut the value of others by up to 2 per cent. While some Chinese firms share prices were hit, others gained. Looking at China, tariffs imposed by Beijing had a similar negative impact on domestic firms as well as hitting US companies. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. Because of the way that modern supply chains extend cross borders, the business activities of virtually all sectors and countries are linked to each other, which meant that other countries firms suffered indirect impacts. Our analysis shows that there are unintended effects of the trade war on the US and China, as well as on third parties, mediated by global value chain interdependencies, they said. The results suggest that there is an irony to the US-China trade war in that it appears to have resulted partly in the exact opposite of what was intended. Instituting well-targeted protectionist tariffs in such a world is not easy and eventually, as in the example of the US-China trade war, hurts those they are meant to protect. The authors said that as with Brexit, stock market investors were much more concerned about the economic turmoil that protectionist policy announcements might trigger than the politicians proposing them appeared to be. Mr Egger and Mr Jiaqing added that slapping a tariff on the products of a sector was equivalent to raising the price for these products for domestic buyers. Their findings echoed research for NBER, the US think tank, that showed this week that US tariffs continues to be almost entirely borne by American firms and consumers. Just before the end of 2019, research by the US Federal Reserve found that Trump's tariffs had led to job losses in the manufacturing sector and higher prices for producers and consumers. Figures earlier this month showed that activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted in December 2019 for the fifth month in a row, falling to its weakest level in more than 10 years. Two men have been charged with vehicle theft after a minibus was stolen from outside Dublin Airport with three passengers onboard. It was then involved in a cross-Border chase involving gardai and the PSNI. The stolen minibus was eventually crashed in Co Monaghan before a car was stolen and chased by gardai. Stephen McDonagh (25) and John McDonagh (26), of The Steeples in Navan, Co Meath, appeared before Judge Denis McLoughlin at Cavan District Court yesterday on multiple charges arising from the airport incident and other incidents allegedly committed in recent weeks in Monaghan and Meath. Detective Garda Ciaran Marks, from Carrickmacross garda station, said John McDonagh made no reply when charged with two counts of unauthorised taking of vehicles in Dublin and Monaghan on January 8, as well as two counts of burglary, three of theft, an unauthorised taking of a vehicle, and four road traffic offences in recent weeks. Detective Garda Karen Mullen said Stephen McDonagh made no response when charged with two counts of unauthorised taking of vehicles in Dublin and Monaghan on January 8, as well as one count of burglary, two counts of unauthorised takings of vehicles, and one theft in recent weeks. John McDonagh wore a green jacket with a hood, and green trousers while being led to court. Stephen McDonagh wore a dark grey zip-up fleece and navy blue tracksuit bottoms but then changed to light grey tracksuit bottoms. Three tourists were driven away at high speed in a shuttle bus that was hijacked at Dublin Airport in the early hours of Wednesday. Having offloaded the tourists, the minibus was involved in a pursuit to the Border, after which it engaged with the PSNI before being driven back to Monaghan and crashed during a Garda chase. A car was then stolen nearby and involved in a pursuit with gardai until it too crashed and the accused were arrested. John McDonagh made an application for bail which was objected to by Detective Garda Marks. He outlined the seriousness of the charges against McDonagh, and outlined how the accused can be seen on CCTV at the Carlton hotel and Dublin Airport on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Judge McLoughlin denied John McDonagh bail, and both men were remanded in custody to appear again at Cloverhill District Court on January 16. Many people live on social media and use the internet 24/7, and few fully understand the privacy ramifications they face every day on the internet. The reasons for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) effective Jan. 1 should give each of us pause to consider the power that companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook wield over the public in selling their personal information. In essence, the CCPA allows the public more control over their personal information while limiting what a company can do with the personal information it collects. The CCPA allows consumers to prohibit companies from selling their profiles to third-party entities. Further, under the CCPA, a consumer can demand that a company disclose that consumers personal information it is holding about them, and to delete that information from databases upon request. Silicon Valley power brokers should not cause Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be hesitant about enforcement. At first glance, the CCPA looks like it is finally wresting control of our private information from these companies and returning it to the users. However, we shouldnt feel totally empowered yet. Some companies have expressed their intent not to follow the CCPA. Its been reported that Facebook claims it is not subject to the CCPA because it does not sell information, but instead, shares information. This is typical of the anything-goes attitude of the internet and the power that flows from personal information. This follows a $5 billion penalty and new restrictions on Facebook in July for violating consumer privacy. Many of these companies make extraordinary amounts of money by manipulating the movement, sale or sharing of information. The enactment of the CCPA could cost them billions in lost revenue as your private information is the raw asset through which they generate revenue. If they have to play semantics to keep that golden goose alive, theyre going to do it until theyre stopped in court. Ultimately, this matter comes down to two simple questions: How does information sharing differ from a conventional this-for-that transaction? And do you want your personal information shared throughout the cyberworld without your express consent? The answer is simple: There is no difference for the consumer between the selling and sharing of information. Once a persons information including name, social security number, telephone number, mailing address and email address become accessible commodities, a person loses control of their identity. Its now become currency in profit-driven hands and it will be used for any and all purposes. Facebook apparently believes that since its not directly taking money when it disseminates your personal information, the CCPA doesnt govern their business model. Thats not what the CCPA says at all, as there is no distinction between sharing and selling; disseminating personal information by either method is a violation of the CCPA and will bring penalties. But who will enforce this law? A host of companies are screaming foul, asserting that the Legislature was heavy-handed in drafting the language of the CCPA. What theyre really saying is that if they give up use or control of peoples personal information, theyll be cutting off their easy access to a source of income. Recent privacy breaches at Facebook underscore the need for swift and preemptive action: A bag of hard drives containing payroll records and personal identifiers of some 29,000 Facebook employees was stolen in November. This follows ongoing class-action litigation in which millions of Facebook users allege that their vital personal information was hacked, exposing them indefinitely to identify theft, and who knows what else. There is a long battle about to start in the courts over implementation of the CCPA, which will bring us circling back to its legislative intent and how the state intends to enforce the statute. In the end, a law is only as strong as the way its enforced. If Californias attorney general turns a blind eye to this game of semantics rather than taking a strong approach to violations of the CCPA, then the consumer will gain nothing. All of us should be concerned if your personal information continues to be peddled or shared on the open market to the highest bidder, without quick and decisive court rulings on the basic lesson of the CCPA. Joseph W. Cotchett is an attorney who has been deeply involved in protecting personal information in our courts. Founder and former CEO of Woowa Brothers Kim Bong-jin, left, answers staff questions at the company's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, last month. / Courtesy of Woowa Brothers By Kim Jae-heun The top antitrust regulator plans to grant "conditional approval" to Delivery Hero's $4 billion acquisition of Woowa Brothers the firm behind Seoul's most popular food delivery app. A condition is that the merged unit presents various "follow-up" measures to guarantee innovative activities. "The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) plans to grant a conditional approval of Delivery Hero's proposal to take over Woowa Brothers on the basis that the merged entity should help the relevant business segment create additional ecosystems utilizing its dominant position in the market," a government official told The Korea Times, Friday. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the regulator plans to ask for specifics of the management of the merged unit in terms of "innovation" because the deal, if finalized, would put the entity in an indisputable position in handling a massive amount of consumer data. "As far as my understanding goes, the antitrust regulator is to review similar cases to analyze their estimated impact," another government official said. "What matters about the deal is that the President Moon Jae-in administration is pushing ahead with initiatives to help companies monetize their innovative business ideas while properly protecting the best interests of other business areas that will be affected." Woowa Brothers owns Baedal Minjok (Baemin). Delivery Hero is one of the world's top online food delivery groups. It plans to pay $3.48 billion for 87 percent of the South Korean company, which is also part-owned by non-Korean investors. The total value of the deal is about $4 billion. The acquisition proposal has raised concerns over a possible delivery monopoly. According to the Korea Franchise Association, Baemin has a 55.7 percent market share, followed by Yogiyo with 33.5 percent and Baedaltong with 10.8 percent. The latter two are subsidiaries of Delivery Hero. Kim Dae-ho, of the Institute for Global Economy, said Baemin should not be sold to the German company. "Baemin is an iconic company in that it grew with the social trend of eating alone and one-person households," Kim said. "It also started its business with an idea to build a win-win relationship with small restaurant owners by creating a delivery service app." South Korean restaurant owners remain "very negative" about the impact of the deal, claiming Delivery Hero could easily increase commissions. The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises (KFME) recently held a joint press conference at the National Assembly with Rep. Choo Hye-sun of the minor Justice Party to express concern at Delivery Hero's possible moves to impose a "heavier burden on small businesses." The alliance warned that it will take collective action, including boycotting the delivery application, if Baemin raises commissions and advertising fees. Small business owners' anger is deepening after local media reports said there is no contract clause in the stock sale agreement preventing Delivery Hero from raising commissions or advertising fees. Woowa Brothers said: "In cases of global M&A's contract papers, it's normal not to include the specifics of the future operation plans like raising commissions or not. Rather, Woowa confirmed it will maintain its current policy in terms of maintaining the lowest commission fee, even after the completion of the takeover." Woowa Brothers earlier said it will lower the commission fee from 6.8 percent to 5.8 percent from May this year. "The 5.8 percent of commission fee that Baemin applies to users is not even half that other delivery service applications apply," a Baemin official said. "We have been maintaining the lowest commission fee for the last 10 years and we will keep it in the future." Woowa Brothers' top management also is under pressure in the market after Coupang Eats entered the delivery service scene. It is backed by Masayoshi Son's SoftBank. According to Euromonitor estimates, the Asia-Pacific will account for half the $221 billion global expenditure on online food delivery in 2019. Senior police official among dead as bomb explodes at mosque packed with dozens of people offering sunset prayers. Islamabad, Pakistan At least 14 people have been killed and more than 20 others wounded in a bomb attack on a mosque during sunset prayers in the southwest Pakistan city of Quetta. Currently we have 20 injured, and 14 people were killed, said Waseem Baig, spokesman for the citys main government hospital, where the casualties were taken on Friday. Eight people are critically injured. A senior police official, Amanullah, appeared to be the target of the bombing, and was killed in the attack, said police official Ali Muhammad. Images from the scene showed rubble and debris strewn across the prayer courtyard of the mosque. We went to offer our prayers, when we went to bow our heads there was a sudden explosion, Azmatullah, a survivor of the attack, told Al Jazeera. I was near the door, so I ran from there to my home, which is nearby. The attack is the second such incident to target security forces in Quetta this week. 180427074300008 On Tuesday, at least two people were killed and more than 14 wounded after an improvised explosive device mounted on a motorcycle exploded in a market area. That attack was claimed by Baloch separatist groups, who have been leading an armed uprising for independence for the ethnic Baloch areas of Balochistan province. The province is Pakistans largest and is rich in mineral resources, but its rugged terrain and arid climate also make it the countrys least densely populated region. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday. The roads are not safe anyway, but now were not even safe in our mosques, said Azmatullah, who was wounded in Fridays bombing. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim. A top House Republican apologized Friday for inflammatory comments he made earlier in the week accusing Democrats of "being in love with terrorists," and said that is not what he believes. Rep. Douglas Collins of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, faced widespread criticism for his remarks, including from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Iraq War veteran who said she lost parts of her body "fighting terrorists." "Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week," Collins began in the first of five tweets. Collins leveled the accusation at his colleagues Wednesday on Fox News as the House debated a War Powers Resolution requiring congressional authority for President Donald Trump to launch military actions against Iran. Trump's order for a lethal drone strike against a top Iranian commander and the partisan reaction have prompted accusations from some lawmakers and former Trump administration officials that those who criticized the commander in chief were less than patriotic and were empowering the enemy. Collins's apology came several hours after Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, published a scathing letter to the congressman on CNN.com. "You are not a talk radio host or a carnival barker," Bharara wrote. "You are a pastor, an attorney and a sitting member of Congress. Therefore, the evidence would suggest you should know better. To utter such garbage, which you know to be false and defamatory, goes against all the training and teaching you must have received. But you got your cheap shot across, and perhaps that's all that matters to you." Similarly, Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, condemned Collins's assertion that Democrats not only were in love with terrorists but "mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families." Collins was referring to Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad early Jan. 3. "Disgusting," McFaul tweeted. "As US ambassador to Russia, I became accustomed to addressing disinformation Putin propagated about Americans. I never expected that elected Members of Congress would engage in the same, making grotesque false statements about fellow Americans. Stop this nonsense." In his Twitter apology, Collins suggested it was his own service in Iraq in 2008 that made him so defensive of Trump's decision to target Soleimani. "I witnessed firsthand the brutal death of countless soldiers who were torn to shreds by this vicious terrorist. Soleimani was nothing less than an evil mastermind who viciously killed and wounded thousands of Americans," Collins said. "These images will live with me for the rest of my life, but that does not excuse my response on Wednesday evening." It's unclear what prompted Collins's apology. Just two hours earlier on Fox News, when asked about the comment, Collins defended it. "It was very frustrating to me that we don't call it what it is, and that's a president who attacked a terrorist," Collins said. Pressed on the question of whether Democrats "love" terrorists, Collins said: "I think their actions are betraying them at this point. Do all of them love terrorists? No. But they won't acknowledge he was a terrorist. They won't acknowledge the fact that this was a good thing for the world for Soleimani to be taken out." Almost simultaneous with Collins posting his apology, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called him out on the floor for the comments and urged him to apologize to every Democrat. Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., then read Collins's Twitter apology aloud. But Scalise also sought to explain the comment, saying it was said in the context of Republicans' broader disappointment in the response to Soleimani's death. Hoyer thanked Scalise for letting him know, adding: "We ought to deal with one another based upon the intellectual arguments, the constitutional premises, and the law. Not on personalities or assertions of malintent." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 22:06:28|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close by Marwa Yahya CAIRO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt is developing a diplomatic strategy as a shield against the risks of Turkey's possible military deployment in Libya, Egyptian political experts said. "The plans include shaping an international consensus against Turkey's involvement in Libya and backing multinational efforts to reach a negotiated settlement for the Libyan crisis," said Khalid Okasha, chairman of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies. "The Egyptian diplomatic moves are expected to limit very soon any form of military intervention that Turkey was planning for," Okasha told Xinhua. He highlighted Egypt's intensive efforts with European and North African countries to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria." On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Greece and Cyprus, who met in Cairo, highlighted "a comprehensive political solution" as "the only way out of the Libyan crisis and to restore stability in Libya." A statement issued by the four foreign ministers declared "null and void" the agreements between Turkey and the UN-backed Libyan government which entitle Turkey to a vast area of the eastern Mediterranean. The controversial agreements, signed in November 2019 by the head of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Serraj and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "undermined regional stability," the statement said. Ankara is a key ally of the GNA in its fight against the east-based Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar who was trying to capture Tripoli from the UN-backed government. While Cairo supports Haftar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry reiterated at a meeting in Algeria on Thursday his country's rejection of any form of foreign military interference in Libya. "Egypt's attempts to mobilize international and regional consensus over political settlement in Libya pave the way for the Berlin conference," which would draft a political operation to get Libya out of the fighting stage, said Okasha. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has held a series of consultations in the past few days with leaders of the United States, Russia, France, Italy, Britain and Germany on ending the conflict in Libya. On Jan. 5, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara will "gradually deploy soldiers" to Libya to support the GNA. Hafter later called on Libyans to take up arms in response to the prospective Turkish military intervention. Sisi said recently that "Libya for us is a direct national security, and we won't allow anyone to control it." Tariq Fahmy, a professor of international relations in Cairo University, expected the Berlin conference to resolve the crisis in Libya, while ruling out the possibility that Turkey will deploy military troops after sending some experts and consultants. "The political settlement in Libya has earned a positive international momentum and Egypt made efforts to hold positive talks with main players of Berlin conference," he explained. Notably no date has been set for the Berlin conference, which has been delayed more than once because of the differences among the participating countries. Photo: Soonios Pro/Pexels If the playground, park and movie routine is getting a little tired, why not do something different with the kids this week? From a family-friendly digital scavenger hunt to a chance to start playing the piano and more, these offers will win approval from everyone in the family. 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. Up to 57% Off Scavenger Hunt Walking Adventure From the Operation City Quest deal description: This digital family-friendly scavenger hunt game sends teams through city competing to find items and complete challenges with help of remote guide. Where: Operation City Quest, 1 Capitol Square, Uptown District Price: $17 for Two (57% discount off regular price); $34 for Four (57% discount off regular price); $52 for Six (56% discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to score this deal Up to 42% Off Haunted Ghost Tour From the U.S. Paranormal Tours deal description: Participants take part in a 90-minute walking tour through Columbus, learning the history of the city and listening to local ghost stories. Where: U.S. Paranormal Tours, 139 W. 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Books and study materials are included for the six-week course. Adult students are not required to have their own pianos, but having a keyboard is suggested. Child students are not required to have their own pianos. Where: Available at three Conservatory of Piano studios: Worthington, Albany and Dublin-Arlington-Hilliard Price: $80 for Piano Course for Children (46% discount off regular price); $87 for Piano Course for Adults (50% discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to take advantage of this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Randy Rorick has joined Colonial Savings, F.A., as Vice President of Retail Production at Colonial's corporate headquarters, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Rorick will oversee Colonial's team of more than 60 retail loan officers and other support staff at Colonial's current branches located in Colorado and Texas as well as Colonial's national relocation division. Rorick will supervise the recruitment of new loan officers, provide leadership for strategic sales and market planning and oversee staff training and development initiatives. Rorick brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry. He most recently served as Area Manager with Prime Lending, where he oversaw multiple branches and a team of more than 35 loan officers in North Texas. Rorick is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he received a Bachelor's degree in Business Marketing in 1988. "We are very excited to welcome Randy as Colonial's new Vice President of Retail Production," said David Motley, Colonial President. "Randy has a proven track record of success leading retail sales teams and helping them reach their full sales potential. With Colonial looking to add approximately 20 new retail loan officers in 2020, we feel that Randy's history of achievements is a perfect fit to lead our growth initiative and beyond." About Colonial Founded in 1952 as Fort Worth Mortgage Corporation, today Colonial is a national, multi-service financial institution headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A federally chartered thrift, Colonial is one of the largest servicers of residential mortgage loans in the United States, with a servicing portfolio of $24 Billion. Colonial operates three mortgage origination divisions, Colonial National Mortgage, a leading retail mortgage lender; CU Members Mortgage, which provides mortgage services credit unions nationwide; and Community Bankers Mortgage, which provides mortgage origination and servicing to community banks as well as a network of eight consumer/commercial banks located throughout North Central Texas. It is also affiliated with Colonial Life Insurance Company of Texas, DuBose & Associates Insurance and Colonial Lloyds. The privately held company provides a full array of personal and business financial products and originates approximately $1.5 billion in FHA, VA, Jumbo, conventional, condo and innovative single close construction loans annually. For additional information, please visit GoColonial.com. SOURCE Colonial Savings, F.A. Related Links http://www.gocolonial.com But, he added, what could be said was that the plane had not been hit by a missile and was likely on fire before it crashed. He also urged nations with intelligence on the crash, namely the United States and Canada, to share that information with Iran. We cannot just give you speculation, Mr. Abedzadeh said in footage televised and translated on Iranian state television. So far what I can tell you is that the plane has not been hit by a missile, and we have to look for the cause of the fire. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said during the same news conference that it could take more than a month to process the data recovered from the flight recorders and that the investigation could take up to two years. He also noted that Ukraine, France, Canada, and Russia have all said they are willing to assist Iran with the data extraction, and Tehran will send the black box to one of these countries if it fails to retrieve the data. Normally, Iran has the capacity to download black box data, but Mr. Rezaeifar said that since the devices had been damaged, it would be difficult to extract information. We need special software and hardware which are available in our country, but if we fail to extract the data due to the damages of the black box, we will get help from other countries, he said. The black box will begin to be evaluated on Friday, Irans state-run IRNA news agency reported, to assess and check whether it is possible to reconstruct and analyze the information inside the country. State television aired footage that it said showed the two black boxes that were recovered from the crash site. Video appears to show Iranian missile striking plane. A moving company owner from Passaic County was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for running a scam where vulnerable customers were given low-ball estimates on moves only to have the actual price hiked on moving day when their possessions were packed, officials said. Richard Bishara, 43, of Woodland Park, must also pay restitution of $72,709 and serve three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced in a statement. Bishara previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bishara and his conspirators ran numerous moving companies that offered the deceptively low price estimates for household goods, according to information filed in the case. The scammers raised final prices from the initial estimates above amounts allowed by federal regulations, including bills that jumped as much as 400 percent. "The collective difference between the many estimates and the final balances for the customers moves was more than $1 million, officials said in a statement. Authorities identified Bishara as the owner of several unnamed moving companies involved in the scheme and said he controlled bank accounts used by the businesses. 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 Illinois College student who studied in Puerto Rico said friends are struggling with electricity after an earthquake struck the island on Tuesday. Illinois College senior Stacy Bile first went to Puerto Rico as part of a breakaway trip in March with her Spanish class. During the March trip, Bile participated in service projects that included helping to build homes for Puerto Ricans who were affected by Hurricane Maria hitting the island in 2017. In 2018, the Puerto Rico Planning Board reported that Hurricane Maria had an economic impact of approximately $43 billion on the U.S. territory a significant cost for an island already dealing with an economic crisis. Thousands of Puerto Ricans were displaced. Anger over the Puerto Rican governments response to the crisis partially fueled last years movement that successfully demanded that Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello resign. Seeing Puerto Ricans who still were struggling after the hurricane made the tragedy they experienced feel more personal to Bile. In Spanish class we watched videos about Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Bile said. But being there and seeing them felt more personal than watching something on the internet. Bile fell in love with Puerto Rico on her first trip and chose to spend the fall semester studying as an exchange student at Universidad del Sagrado Corazon in San Juan. She finished her term in Puerto Rico in December; it wasnt long after she returned home that she heard from friends on Puerto Rico that she left at the right time. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake had rocked the island and a series of aftershocks also hit Puerto Rico. One man died in the quake and dozens of homes crumbled. Bile said she was hearing from friends who had to watch how long they talked to her because they had lost electricity. As of Wednesday, two-thirds of Puerto Ricans still were without power. Access to running water also is an issue for thousands of Puerto Ricans. The tragedy is especially sad, according to Bile, because of the kindness that Puerto Ricans showed her during her time on the island. The thing about Puerto Ricans is that they are so nice, Bile said. Its so sad that such kind people have to go through this. For Jacksonville residents interested in helping Puerto Ricans, Bile said they should consider donating to charities and shelters that work to help people affected by natural disasters. She recommended the World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization that provides food in the wake of natural disasters. Maria Fuertes, 92, was found lying dead in the middle of a streets in Queens early Monday, in what police initially thought was an accidental fall A man has been arrested for the murder of a 92-year-old whose body was found lying in the middle of the street in New York. The NYPD said they took a man into custody Friday over the murder of Maria Fuertes, who was found dead in Queens in the early hours of Monday. Ms Fuertes, who was well-known and liked in the area, suffered back and head injuries in what officers initially believed was an accidental fall. But investigators now believe she was approached from behind while walking home from a nearby deli where she often went to buy cat food before being punched to the ground, then strangled to death. The arrest came just hours after detectives published CCTV of the man they say is responsible. Images show a young, tall, slender man wearing ripped-effect jeans, a dark jacket and red beanie hat in the area on the night of the murder. Neighbors say Fuertes was known to locals as a 'cat lady' who would often go out late at night to a local deli to buy tins of tuna and cat food. Officers now believe she was approached from behind, punched, thrown to the floor and strangled. They have since arrested this man on suspicion of killing her She would then return home, open the tins and leave them near the front of her house for her own pets and other local cats to eat. It is thought she was on her way back from the deli when she was killed. Hugo Fuertes, Maria's son, said she was 'a very nice, very good lady' who never caused harm to anyone. Aneil Ram, who lived nearby, told ABC News: 'She was a sweet lady. 'We all knew her since we were small and it's sickening to even hear something like that happening to her.' Her remains have been sent to the Medical Examiner who will provide more details on exactly how she died. STAMFORD A attorney representing Fotis Dulos has filed to have the latest charges against his client dismissed in his estranged wifes homicide on the grounds that he has not been indicted by a grand jury pursuant to the Fifth Amendment. Fotis Dulos was charged Tuesday with felony murder, murder and kidnapping in the disappearance and homicide of Jennifer Dulos, who was last seen on the morning of May 24, 2019. After his clients arrest, attorney Norm Pattis called on the state during a press conference outside his New Haven office to prove that Jennifer Dulos is, in fact, dead. In the motion to dismiss, Pattis mentions the recent murder charges as well as previous charges of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in Jennifer Dulos disappearance. READ MORE: Lawyer: Was my client the wife that survived? READ MORE: Warrant: Fotis rode vintage childhood bike from park to Jennifer Dulos house READ MORE: Nanny: I knew something was wrong day Jennifer Dulos vanished The state chose to charge Mr. Dulos without indicting him by a grand jury a flagrant disregard for the rights guaranteed to him by the Fifth Amendment, the motion to dismiss reads. The state has blindly stacked charges against Mr. Dulos in hopes that one charge will fortuitously stick. In the motion, Pattis claimed the state does not possess the evidence necessary for any of its charges to withstand scrutiny by an average, impartial person in a grand jury proceeding. The Fifth Amendment states that no person can be held to answer to a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger... The Fifth Amendment also protects individuals from self-incrimination and double jeopardy. When Mr. Dulos chose to voice his opinions about the disappearance of his estranged wife and the states failures ... the state could not handle the truth, the motion claims. In the Wednesday filing, Pattis said the gag order was to shut Mr. Dulos up. Pattis claims through the motion that these additional charges appear to be pushing his client to avoid a trial. The defendant, Fotis Dulos, requests that the court dismiss all of the charges against him because the state failed to bring any of the charges by the indictment of a grand jury as required by the Fifth Amendment, the motion said. Fotis Dulos former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, 45, and his former attorney Kent Douglas Mawhinney were also charged Tuesday. They were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Troconis was also previously charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in Jennifer Dulos disappearance. In the arrest warrants released for the additional charges, a statement from Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner James R. Gill indicated that the 50-year-old mother of five likely suffered a non-survivable injury. Gill described Jennifer Dulos death as a homicide of violence, adding that she most likely suffered traumatic blunt-force injuries such as bludgeoning and stabbing, the warrants indicated. During the alleged attack, the warrants said, Jennifer Dulos was bound with four zip ties two of which were found with her blood on them. It appears the zip ties were used to secure and incapacitate Jennifer Dulos, the warrant reads. It is reasonable that Jennifer Dulos was alive at the time the zip ties were attached to restrain her movements and to prevent her escape. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday that peace is necessary for progress as it has been proven that violence has not solved any issues. He also disapproved of arson and damage to property and vehicles saying that if someone wants to oppose any measure, then they should "burn the idea" behind that instead of engaging in physical violence. Naidu's statements come in the wake of violent protests in the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He was speaking at the inauguration of the 100th 'All India Oriental Conference' being hosted by Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University here. "We have to see to it that we as a nation develop positive attitude, leave negativism, stop affliction, destruction and move towards construction...that should be the attitude of everybody," he said. "After all it is your own country. Burning a bus, burning a train and burning vehicles...you will have to burn the idea not the physical things. And violence cannot bring any solution, it has been proven," he said. "Peace is very much required for progress and if we have tension then you cannot pay attention. So we must all come together to create a peaceful co-existence, peaceful country and peaceful world so that the entire humanity can live happily, not only with prosperity," Naidu added. "Prosperity alone will not give happiness as you require something more for happiness. That is there in our Indian tradition and you should see to it that this tradition reaches the new generation," he said. He also said that "consultation, exchange of information and information with confirmation" are required in the society. "Try to enrich your knowledge and enrich the society, this is my appeal to all the participants here and there is no dearth of creative mind in our country," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Jan 10 : With less than a month left for the Delhi Assembly polls, the Congress will on Friday launch the campaign to crowd-source ideas and suggestions from people here to put together their manifesto, party leaders said. Former Union Minister and senior party leader Shashi Tharoor will launch the campaign along with Delhi unit chief Subhash Chopra. The Congress, which was in power here for 15 years from 1998 to 2013 was reduced to nil in the 2015 polls for the 70-member Assembly. It is looking to make a comeback and has accused the BJP at the Centre and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party for stalling the development in the city. The Congress has already launched its campaign highlighting the development in the national capital under the leadership of three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who passed away last year. The party is expected to release the first list of over two dozen candidates on Sunday after the meeting of its Chief Election Committee on Saturday. The voting in Delhi will take place on February 8 and counting on February 11. The AAP under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had stormed to power in 2015 winning 67 out of 70 seats, the remaining three seats went to the BJP. The Jan. 5 front-page article As fires intensify, Australia taps army at last acknowledged the plight of animals in the fires raging in Australia. So much of the reporting on the conflagrations in Australia, Brazil and California has limited its scope to the numbers of human lives lost and human-made structures destroyed. This information is important, but always in reading, listening to or watching such reports, I have been saddened by yet another way human-created climate change is upending, and ending, the lives of nonhuman animals. With verses like 'Mazhab se naagrikta ko kabse karne lage saabit', naqaab47 and Shoals challenge the constitutionality of CAA and NRC in ANDOLAN. As protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) gather momentum across the country, some musicians are voicing their dissent through music. The past few weeks have seen the emergence of thought-provoking music, often critical of the government's policies pertaining to citizenship, from artists backed by independent music labels. While rousing poetry continues to resound through protests, these musicians have been able to introduce elements of rock, funk, and rap in their tracks as well: Bakre Ki Amma by Gaurav Kadu In Bakre Ki Amma, Kadu sings of the "chaos" that is being "led by the government". The track is a comic take on the political events leading up to the nationwide protests. KRANTIKARI by PARK CIRCUS Krantikari, backed by Azad Music Factory, is a tribute to those on the streets protesting against the government's policies. Apart from taking aim at the government, the song also brings up tribal rights and women's emancipation. Fight. React. Be a part. by The Down Troddence ft Kel Released in light of the havoc wreaked by the CAA and NRC, The Down Troddence sings of 'betrayal' in their new track. Their visceral screaming complements the blood-soaked, electric visuals. ANDOLAN by naqaab47 and Shoals With verses like "Mazhab se naagrikta ko kabse karne lage saabit," naqaab47 and Shoals challenge the constitutionality of CAA and NRC in ANDOLAN. SANDA SEIVOM by Arivu (THERUKURAL) In solidarity with the students protesting against the CAA-NRC, Sanda seivom is Tamil-rapper Arivu's latest work. He draws inspiration from Dr BR Ambedkar's words - 'We are Indians, firstly and lastly' - and calls on everyone to save the constitution and stand against any form of discrimination. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 18:35:02|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- As Djibouti envisaged to harness the huge economic potential attributed to its strategic geographic position, Chinese engagement has propelled the country's aspiration of becoming an important economic, trading and marine logistics hub connecting three continents along the Red Sea. From the successful completion of an international free trade zone to state-of-the-art port infrastructure and Africa's first fully-electrified transnational railway that stretched 752-km all the way from the Djibouti Port to the landlocked Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Chinese engagement is widely considered as a connecting bridge to fulfill the Red Sea nation's socio-economic transformation. Here are some latest developments on the major Sino-Djibouti cooperation projects in the Horn of Africa nation. CHINA PROVEN ALLY HELPING DJIBOUTI BECOME GLOBAL TRADING HUB Courtesy to its strategic geographic position, Djibouti, located along the coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and linking three continents that are Africa, Asia and Europe, is poised to serve as a key maritime corridor and trading hub thanks to the Chinese-built Djibouti International Free Trade Zone (DIFTZ) as well as various other modern infrastructure projects. With a planned construction area of 48.2 square km, the free trade zone occupies one-tenth of the country's available land area and has attracted more than 20 companies that have decided to settle in the zone, which incorporates a tall modern office building, about 70,000 square meters of warehouses and 65,000 square meters of storage yards have also been completed. Being operated by a joint venture with investment by Chinese enterprises, including China Merchants Holdings and Dalian Port Corp Ltd, as well as the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority, the DIFTZ has attracted enterprises ranging from commerce and logistics to processing sectors. Economic experts and analysts also describe the Chinese-built international free trade zone, which started construction in January 2017 and inaugurated in July 2018, as a turning point injecting the much-needed economic development momentum in Djibouti, a country with a population of nearly 1 million. "The DIFTZ together with other vital development infrastructures in Djibouti has become a crucial junction linking other African countries involved in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), eventually transforming the Red Sea nation into a marine logistics hub in Africa and beyond," Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, who served as an economic advisor to the African Union (AU) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), told Xinhua in a recent interview. The vital economic infrastructure has also won the acclaim of Djibouti's neighboring countries, in which the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member East African bloc, had also lauded the Chinese-built infrastructure as "a clear demonstration of regional economic integration that the member states have been working for." The east African bloc, describing the 370 million U.S. dollar project to play "crucial" economic and employment roles in Djibouti and beyond the region, also hailed the project's successful completion as a "proud moment and milestone" in regional integration, and towards realizing the major aspirations of the IGAD free movement protocol and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. According to Djibouti's President Ismael Omar Guelleh, the importance of the Free Trade Zone extends beyond the IGAD region to the rest of the African continent, as it was also well articulated by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who noted that the vital infrastructure will not only serve Djibouti but wider regions of the African continent. COOPERATION WITH CHINA ENABLES DJIBOUTI WITH MODERN PORT INFRASTRUCTURE Recent figures from the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority (DPFZA), a governmental body that administers and manages the Port of Djibouti, and several other facilities in Djibouti that also oversees the management of DIFTZ, the import-export endeavor through Djibouti ports has augmented in recent years, a milestone attributed mainly to modern infrastructure developments such as the Chinese-built Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port that was officially opened back in May 2017. Aboubaker Omar Hadi, the DPFZA chairman, told Xinhua that the DPFZA had recorded over 41 billion U.S. dollars in exports and imports through Djibouti ports, stressing that the landmark achievement couldn't be achieved without developing proper infrastructure, such as sea ports and railway connections. The Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port was constructed by the Chinese construction giant, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), and was regarded as the largest port project by Chinese construction companies in northeast Africa upon its completion. The port, which was built with a contract amount of 421.7 million U.S. dollars and designed annual handling capacity of 7.08 million tons, is also CSCEC's first hydraulic project in Africa and its largest hydraulic project overseas by the time the port was inaugurated. The project construction was officially started in August 2014 with great enthusiasm and commitment, in which Chinese construction workers overcame "tremendous difficulties" with the scorching heat of Djibouti and austere working conditions, and finished building the port in March 2017, which was eventually officially opened in May 2017. The port has been also hailed by experts as a positive impetus in realizing the tiny Horn of African nation's development aspiration to harness its convenient geographic location of becoming an important link in the Asian, African and European markets, as well as a transport hub on the west line of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. "Beyond providing Djibouti with an important maritime foothold and strength, the opening of Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port has brought new hope and drive of a greater economic development for Djibouti," Costantinos told Xinhua. MODERN RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE The socio-economically connected neighboring Horn of African nations Ethiopia and Djibouti presently mark the two years' operational anniversary of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (also known as Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway), a 725-km Africa's first fully-electrified transnational railway. The Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, which stretched all the way from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, officially commenced its commercial operations for both passenger and freight services back in January 2018, eventually connecting landlocked Ethiopia with ports in Djibouti. Ever since the railway commenced its operations connecting the two countries, economic experts and analysts, as well as senior government officials from the two countries have hailed the vital development infrastructure's contribution in leveraging transportation needs of Ethiopia from Djibouti. Speaking to Xinhua, Gedion Jalata, a senior advisor to the UN Development Programme (UNDP)'s South-South Cooperation initiative, stressed that the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway has boosted the overall economic growth of both Ethiopia and Djibouti. "The railway has the potential to boost regional integration between the two countries through the enhancement of trade and social interaction," said Gedion, who is also a former consultant to UNECA's Capacity Development Division. "The railway has modernized the two countries transport infrastructure, and served as an economic belt by providing outlets to industrial products coming from various industrial parks in Ethiopia such as Adama, Hawassa and Eastern Industrial Parks with convenient and swift transportation to ports in Djibouti," added Gedion, who is presently serving as CEO of the Center of Excellence International Consult, an Ethiopian-based international consulting firm. The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, contracted by two Chinese companies China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Group Limited (CREC), is currently managed by a consortium of Chinese companies for a period of six years. Tilahun Sarka, Director-General of the Ethiopia-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway Share Company (EDR), told Xinhua that the modern fully-electrified railway "is a positive manifestation of the two countries' (Djibouti and Ethiopia) successful cooperation with China." The railway has created a suitable transportation corridor for landlocked Ethiopia's import-export trade through Djiboutian ports, with 9 industrial parks out of a total of 12 Ethiopian industrial parks being situated along or with close proximity to the rail line, according to Sarka. CHINESE ENGAGEMENT IGNITES JOBS, KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN DJIBOUTI The ever-expanding China-Djibouti cooperation, among other economic sectors, has effectively enabled Djibouti to harness its demographic dividend, mainly through the creation of tens of thousands of decent jobs across various economic sectors. According to recent figures from the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway management body, the railway during its construction had created in excess of 61,000 employment opportunities for Ethiopia and over 5,000 opportunities in Djibouti. The railway, after its commercial operations back in January 2018, also created approximately 3,900 direct jobs for nationals of the two connected countries, while its indirect employment opportunities also estimated between 25,000 to 30,000 across various economic sectors, according to the railway's management contractor. In addition to the tens of thousands of decent jobs created by the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, Djibouti has been able to tap into various other Chinese-contracted development projects in terms of creating much-needed jobs for its working populace. The DIFTZ, which was estimated to handle over 7 billion U.S. dollars' worth of trade during its first two years period, is in particular seen as instrumental in creating employment opportunities for Djibouti. According to the Djibouti government, the Chinese-built free trade zone is expected to create combined employment opportunities well over 15,000 through its integrated manufacturing unit, warehouse facilities, an export processing area as well as service centers. SUCCESSFUL SINO-DJIBOUTI CAPACITY DEV'T COOPERATION Chinese capacity development and knowledge transfer assistance to Djibouti, among other areas, also includes education and training opportunities targeting young Djiboutian youth across various sectors, knowledge transfer through the deployment of Chinese experts in Djibouti, as well as enabling Djiboutians in major technological developments. Amid Djibouti's new technological initiatives involve the latest technological advancements that are not common in the country, China's capacity development engagement has proven vital in filling the technology gap. The railway sector, which is regarded as a new technology to young Djiboutians who never had practical experience of modern electrified railway operation, has been in particular immensely benefited from Chinese capacity development and knowledge transfer assistance, as it enabled Djibouti's youth to acquire much-needed practical and theoretical knowledge and skills to master railway operations as they aspire to take over operation and management of Africa's first fully-electrified transnational railway from Chinese experts within the coming years. Speaking to Xinhua, Sarka hailed the ongoing comprehensive knowledge transfer initiative for augmenting the capacity of junior Ethiopian and Djiboutian professionals in the railway sector. According to Sarka, the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway is presently managed by Chinese experts for a period of six years, due to the shortage of electrified railway operation and management experience in the two countries. Sarka, noting that experts drawn from the two Chinese companies that built the railway are currently undertaking all the maintenance, rail captaincy and control operations, said that efforts are smoothly progressing to transfer rail captaincy to local engineers. "Our plan is to fully take over rail captaincy by local captains next year, then maintenance operations and finally control unity activities." Sarka told Xinhua. [January 09, 2020] Vim Announces Expansion of National High-Value Care Guidance for Self-Funded Employers Today Vim announced an expansion of the company's healthcare technology platform to support self-funded employers. The first stage of the expansion is in Washington state, where Vim has partnered with Premera Blue Cross to deliver the Premera Pulse (News - Alert) platform and guide employees of their largest self-funded customer to high-value care destinations based on the personal needs and benefit design of each individual. The partnership is specifically focused on providing employees and their covered dependents with a seamless experience scheduling appointments with high-value providers in their network, and in helping care providers guide their patients to high-value specialists through a process that is integrated with existing clinical workflows. "The Vim platform is a critical component of Premera Pulse, our navigation and advocacy model for self-insured customers that is guiding members at both a local and national level," said Rick Abbott, Premera Vice President of Product and Market Solutions. "We designed the Vim platform and business processes to directly align with the benefit designs of self-funded employers and value-based proider contracts to help people access high-quality, affordable care," said Oron Afek, CEO of Vim. In addition to their launch with self-funded employers in Washington, Vim delivered a more than 25% improvement in referrals to high-value specialty providers in Texas in 2019. The company is underway launching solutions across multiple states in 2020 that will support both fully insured health plan and self-funded employer members - with access to local recommendations and guidance that optimizes quality, cost, and member experience. "When we began working as Vim's business development partner in 2017, we believed in their innovative approach to engaging both members and providers, and in their performance-based business model," commented Richard Lungen, managing member of Leverage Health Solutions, the healthcare Venture-Catalyst firm. "Throughout 2019, we have seen Vim deliver material results for healthcare payers, and we are excited to see the company expand in 2020." About Vim: Vim partners with health plans and care providers to deploy a digital provider-network operating system for value-based care. Vim's platform empowers providers with actionable insights at the point of care, guides patients to top doctors in virtual networks, and rewards care providers for value-driven behavior. Backed by Sequoia Capital (News - Alert), Great Point Ventures, Optum Ventures, and Premera Blue Cross, Vim is headquartered in San Francisco with its main R&D hub in Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit https://getvim.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005863/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The moods in Iran were rather tranquil, to the extent that one can assess the situation as calm during mourning ceremonies. This is what Iranologist Vardan Voskanyan told reporters today, adding that the ritual of mourning ceremonies of Shiites implies wide participation, especially when it concerns a martyr or Shaheed. General Qassem Soleimani was the person whose death consolidated the whole Iranian society, he said, adding that there are still no moods in Iran for talks with the US. As far as the future of US-Iran relations is concerned, he stated that it is clear that the Iranians will take advantage of all of their opportunities to achieve their key objective, that is, to minimize the military presence of the US in the Middle East. This will first and foremost concern Iraq. The Iranians view the territory of Iraq as the sphere of their vital interests, and in general, the entire Middle East is a sphere of vital interests of Iran, he said and noted that the bombardment of US military facilities was a tribute to the general during mourning. The Iranians have already taken some actions in the political field. The Iraqi parliament made a decision on the withdrawal of US troops. Kurdish deputies boycotted this, and I believe the bombardment of the Erbil sector was a response to that boycott. Judging from the moods of the Kurds, they are rather concerned about the growth of Irans influence. On Thursday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took the world by surprise when they announced that they would be stepping back from their roles as senior royals, and they reportedly made the announcement without the knowledge of the other royals. Yes, that includes Queen Elizabeth. Meghan was pushed into the limelight and became the object of scrutiny the moment she and beau Harry announced their engagement. From sneers and demeaning comments from the whos who of British elite society to constant attention (often unwanted, as Meghan has herself admitted) from the media, the couple havent exactly had the fairytale journey that one would have imagined for them. Post their marriage, youd have expected that people would cut them slack, but alas. Things worsened when the duo announced that they were pregnant; in October 2019 after the birth of their son Archie, in a documentary by ITV, Meghan admitted for the first time on national television that she had been feeling vulnerable amid intense media scrutiny and that her husband Harry felt the constant need to protect her from a fate similar to that of his mother, Diana. Meghans journey as a royal has been one rife with controversy - from reports of her being arrogant and demanding to gossip magazines claiming that a rift between her and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William. Now that Meghan and Harry have announced their split, social media has gone into overdrive trying to decipher what exactly went wrong. Were the Queen and Meghan no longer getting along? Was Harry scared of succumbing to the pressures of royal life like his mother? Why were the other royals not informed beforehand? As fans of the royal family speculate what exactly went down, we bring to you crazy conspiracy theories that have surrounded the duo in the months leading up to the split. Rumors of a rift in the Royal Family When Meghan and Harry got engaged, reports of the Royal family being not too keen on the marriage flooded our timelines. Nevertheless, the wedding was approved by Queen Elizabeth who offered her blessings to the happy couple. But that wasnt the last time we were hearing of a possible rift in the family. Early last year, there were reports which claimed that Queen Elizabeth had banned" Meghan from using the family jewels. While Diana and Kate had been welcomed to borrow Royal jewels, it seemed unusual for the Queen to prohibit Meghan from doing the same. The same reports also suggested that the Queen did so because she had been unhappy with the way Meghan conducted herself before and after the wedding and that it wasnt quite according to protocol." What was even more bizarre is the fact that some people believe that Meghans breaking the shoe protocol" was behind the split. Yes, you heard that right, theres an actual shoe protocol. Turns out, the Queen isnt too keen on wedges and prefers to have her granddaughters-in-law wear stilettos. We kid you not, several fans of Meghan seem to think that her breaking the shoe protocol on multiple occasions may have been the final nail in the coffin. What Meghan wants, Meghan gets." Really? Meghan has no connections to the royal family. Shes American, a divorcee, has a mixed ethnic heritage and is also older than Harry. Naturally, for a certain section of orthodox Britishers, bringing Meghan into the royal family was a move that was bound to end in disaster. And the announcement simply served as fodder for critics to tear Meghan apart all over again. She has been called a fiend, a witch, a gold digger, a wrench, a family wrecker and whatnot in the last few hours. Its always been easy to simply blame the family whenever theres a rift in the family. To be honest, its always been rather convenient to vilify the woman. In most fairy tales, the evil always comes in the female form - an old hag or even a young, seductive woman. A study shows that this could very well be a product of an inherent fear of the power of women. Rings a bell? People say Im too critical of Meghan Markle - but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William & has now split him from the Royal Family.I rest my case. pic.twitter.com/xgKLTt2Y0Z Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 8, 2020 Why did Baby Archie not have a royal title? Archie Moundsbatten-Windsor. Thats it. Thats the babys name. While Kate and Williams children, George, Loius and Charlotte, are Princes and Princess respectively, Harry and Meghans son Archie doesnt have a title. He is Master Archie and has no royal title before his name. When the announcement was made after his birth, it did seem odd with several questioning if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were slowly breaking away from tradition. Also, a patent issued by Queen Elizabeth in 2012 allows William and Kate to name all their children " prince" and princess", but the same had not been extended to Harry and Meghan. Stirring the pot? Maybe. Meghan and Harry are avenging Dianas death." Seriously? In 1997, Princess Diana, oft referred to as Englands Rose", died in a car crash in Paris while being chased by the paparazzi. Diana - especially her life with Prince Charles and their consequent divorce, her candid interviews on how the Buckingham regime and the pressure of being a member of the Royal family had proved catastrophic for her mental health, and her death - is proof of how cruel constant scrutiny and criticism can be. More importantly, one cannot forget the plethora of conspiracy theories that flooded the internet post her death. Diana had been in the car with her friend, Dodi Fayed, when the accident happened. Dodi, who also died in the accident, was the son of billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, who had alleged that his son and Diana had been murdered. But in an absurd twist of events, Twitterati seem to think that Meghan and Harrys decision to step back may be an attempt to avenge Dianas death. Check out some of these tweets here: My new favorite thing is Harry and Meghans revenge on Rupert Murdoch media that chased Diana to her death.Dianas smiling Well done, Harry and Meghan." @RoyalFamily and @ClarenceHouse should have recognized that they had another iconic super star but no. JEALOUSY reigned. McBlondeLand (@McBlondeLand) January 8, 2020 Despite my republican soul, have always liked Harry and Meghan, as I always secretly loved Diana. They should be applauded for leaving posh Benefit Street & trying to define a progressive future for their family, however messy that looks. And its Dianas final revenge. pic.twitter.com/9uwMmRRMWf Real Britain (@realbritainros) January 8, 2020 I wrote this at the start of August. Harry and ameghan planned to take down the Monarchybas revenge for Dianas death. Harry despises them. Meghans a contract artist and Harry will end up a sadder lonelier embarrassed man without the love of his family. QueenNavarre (@queennavarre) October 23, 2019 Meghan-Harry Vs. Kate-William A rift between the wives leading to a feud between the brothers. Sounds like a masala Bollywood movie? Nope. Thats the royal family for you. Almost immediately after Meghan and Harrys dreamy wedding, reports started coming in about an alleged rivalry between her and sister-in-law, Kate. Kate, like the Queen, reportedly wasnt too happy about an outsider" making her way into the family. Nevertheless, the Kensington Palace categorically denied all such allegations. In October of 2019, the two brothers went on record to say that they were on different parts but still cared about each other the same way. Now, with Harry and Meghan leaving the Royal family behind, Meghan loyalists are pointing their fingers at Kate; the Duchess of Cambridge is being portrayed as the senior and more powerful loyal who manipulated the family against Meghan and made things tougher for her than they needed to be. This is ALL because William has cheated on Kate, Thats whats cause the rift between the couples. THEN the palace let Meghan be the fall guy in the media for the tensions so the could keep the affair secret! https://t.co/hpTxAicZlm (@kingshitbby) January 8, 2020 To be honest, well never really know what pushed Meghan and Harry to opt out of being Royals. While a statement by the Palace states that process of them stepping down is still in the early phases of discussion, one thing is clear - all that glitters is not gold in the royal household. Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here The Brexit bill is the piece of legislation that will formally take Britain out of the European Union so far as British law is concerned. The EU Withdrawal Bill must, in its various iterations over the past couple of years, hold the record for enjoying (if that is the word) the most tortuous and protracted passage through parliament, frequently amended, sometimes lost (by historic margins) and even withdrawn before being reintroduced like a battered old car in a banger race. Now, however, it looks well on its way to the statute book. It has passed its third reading in the House of Commons, which means that MPs can no longer amend it. Thanks to the governments thumping majority, the bill is now bound to have an easier time of it than under the previous minority administrations of Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Now the bill is to be presented to the House of Lords where the government does not hold a majority. Under the Salisbury convention, the bill cannot be rejected by the Lords. This is because Brexit was an (obviously) important part of the Conservatives 2019 manifesto and is deemed to have public support. However, their lordships can amend some details, and seem inclined to reinstate a clause from a previous version to make the government negotiate with the EU a deal whereby unaccompanied refugee children may join family members now legally in the UK. When that returns to the Commons, MPs may reject or accept it. Then the bill will go to the Queen for formal royal assent, and become law in time for Brexit Day, 31 January. Around one third of adults in Hong Kong have reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the protest movement escalated last June, according to a mental health survey published in The Lancet on . Around of 32 percent of adults surveyed in the study from September to November last year reported suspected PTSD or depressive symptoms, the study found. The medical journal said the increase in mental health problems, which also included depressive symptoms, was similar to that seen in war zones or in places subjected to terrorist attacks. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was six times higher than immediately following the 2014 pro-democracy movement in the city, when it stood at around five percent of those surveyed. The figures would translate into around 1.9 million adults with such symptoms, in a population of 7.4 million. Meanwhile, more than 10 percent of adults said they were suffering from depressive symptoms, compared with just two percent before the 2014 Occupy Central movement and 6.5 percent in 2017. "One in five adults now reports probable depression or suspected PTSD, which is comparable to those experiencing armed conflicts, large-scale disasters, or terrorist attacks," the report said. "Hong Kong is under-resourced to deal with this excess mental health burden," professor Gabriel Leung, dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong, who co-led the research, told reporters. In the largest study of its kind to date, the researchers compiled their figures from several surveys carried out on 18,000 people from 2009 through 2019, in a bid to understand the population wide mental health impact of social unrest. Rights groups have warned that Hong Kong is now in a state of humanitarian crisis after police fired more than 16,000 rounds of tear gas in recent months, with around 1,000 of those fired into the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) campus during a single day in November. Frontline protesters, eyewitnesses, journalists and human rights groups have repeatedly said that the majority of violence during the protests has originated with the Hong Kong police, who have been widely criticized for the excessive use of tear gas, water cannon, pepper spray, as well as both non-lethal and live ammunition weapons on unarmed protesters. Arrests of voluntary medical staff The Lancet has also published concerns over the handcuffing and arrests of voluntary medical staff, including nurses and doctors, during the siege of the Polytechnic University by riot police in. Concerns were growing on over the moderator of a Telegram group coordinating behind-the-scenes medical services for protesters too worried about arrest to seek treatment at hospitals. The activist, known only by their online nickname @Carriedothistoo, had been detained in mainland China and their cell phone confiscated, according to posts on social media linked to the protest movement. Civil Party lawmaker Alvin Yeung said the organization, known as National Disaster Loyal Medics, had been engaged only in humanitarian activities. He said any humanitarian workers who helped protesters are now vulnerable when traveling to mainland China. It seems that any Hongkonger who helped or offered support to the protesters in any way, whether in a humanitarian or another capacity, is now at risk of losing their freedom once they cross the border into mainland China, Yeung told reporters. A recent opinion poll by Reuters found that most of Hong Kong's residents support the five demands of the protest movement, with more than one third of respondents saying they had attended a protest. Only 30 percent said they were opposed, compared with 59 percent of those polled who supported the movement. The study authors said that the actual mental health impact may be even broader, however, as their study didnt include the under-18 age group, many of whom have been involved in frontline protests. Co-lead researcher Michael Ni said the study showed that unrest could lead to public health issues. "With social unrest rising around the world, including in major cities such as Barcelona, Delhi, Paris, and Santiago in 2019, the issue of how social unrest impacts population mental health is of great public-health importance," Ni told journalists. 'Under-resourced to deal with this' But Leung said Hong Kong lacks the mental resources to help people adequately. Hong Kong is under-resourced to deal with this excess mental health burden," he said. "With only around half the per-capita psychiatry capacity of the UK, and pre-existing average public sector outpatient waiting times of up to 64 weeks, it is important that we enhance mental health and social care provision so that all those in need are able to access high-quality services." Hong Kong food and health secretary Sophia Chan said on Nov. 30 that the government would investigate the mental health impact of the protests, but the results of that investigation have yet to be made public. Frontline protesters have spoken to RFA about the mental trauma they have suffered from facing off with fully equipped riot police over a prolonged period of time. Sometimes if I hear a sudden loud noise just going about my daily life, for example if a car drives over a plastic water bottle as I'm walking down the street, I hear that bang, and it makes me suddenly very anxious, a protester, Tom, told RFA in September. This is purely the result of hearing gunshots [at the protests]. Even meditation hasn't managed to calm me down, and I have palpitations. As the study was published, Simon Cheng, who was fired by the U.K. Consulate in Hong Kong after being arrested at a high-speed rail station in the city and tortured across the border in China, announced he had cut off ties with his family back home, in an apparent bid to protect them from reprisals. "The authorities told me during the interrogation that they knew who my family members were, and threatened them, saying that I would also have to take into account the status of my assets in mainland China, Cheng told the Epoch Times. I have cut off contact with relatives on the mainland, and I have very limited contact with relatives in Hong Kong, said Cheng, who was given a temporary, two-year visa to the U.K. after his ordeal. Plans by chief executive Carrie Lam to make amendments to extradition laws that would allow the extradition of alleged criminal suspects to face trial in mainland China sparked mass street protests, soon followed by widespread public anger at police use of force against peaceful demonstrators and demands for fully democratic elections. Lam has since formally withdrawn the hated amendments, but has stopped short of meeting protesters' demands for an amnesty for arrestees, an independent public inquiry into police violence and abuse of power, an end to the description of protesters as "rioters," and fully democratic elections. Reported by RFAs Cantonese and Mandarin Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. BUCKS COUNTY >> Police in Northampton, Lower Southampton and Upper Makefield townships report the following incidents and arrests: Lower Southampton THEFT >> In the early morning hours on Monday, Jan. 10 two individuals made off with the entire change machine from the Feasterville Laundromat along Bustleton Pike. The male appears to be "cracking himself up" while he hatches his scheme... US strike kills Taliban splinter commander in western Afghanistan Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 6:59 PM A US airstrike has killed a Taliban splinter group commander along with a number of comrades in the western province of Herat in Afghanistan, local officials and military sources say. Herat provincial governor's spokesman Jailani Farhad said on Thursday that the commander, identified as Mullah Nangyalay, was killed in Shindand district a day earlier. A senior provincial police source said the airstrike had been carried out by an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Afghanistan. The NATO military alliance's so-called Resolute Support (RS) mission in the country said its forces had launched an airstrike in support of Afghan forces, with a spokesman confirming US participation in the operation. Nangyalay separated from the main branch of the Taliban a few years ago to join a smaller breakaway faction after the death of Mullah Omar in 2013. The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and overthrew a Taliban regime in power at the time. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump. Some 18 years on, Washington is seeking a truce with the militants, who now control or have influence in about half of Afghanistan's territory. The Taliban have rejected calls for a ceasefire and instead stepped up operations across the country over the past few months. The main Taliban group has been negotiating with the Trump administration for more than a year over the withdrawal of US troops in exchange for security guarantees from the militants. Nearly 20,000 foreign troops, most of them Americans, are currently deployed in Afghanistan as part of a mission to purportedly train, assist, and advise Afghan security forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Looking to up your appreciation of the arts? We've rounded up four artsy events around Chicago this week that will scratch your cultural itch, from a stage adaptation of a children's book to wine and painting class. 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. Bunny's Book Club From the event description: Ever since she overheard the librarian reading outside of the library, Bunny has been enamored with books. But upon reflection, she isn't sure if animals are allowed in the library. With the help of her furry friends, Bunny decides to share her love for reading and start a book club, but how can they get their hands on those books? Celebrate the joy of reading in this world-premiere adaptation of Annie Silvestro's celebrated picture book. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 11 a.m. Where: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Price: $15 - $20 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets BYOB Mosaic Workshops From the The Chicago Mosaic School deal description: Professionally trained mosaic artists introduce novices to mosaics materials, composition, cutting, and laying out tesserae in a fun project. Where: The Chicago Mosaic School, 1127 W. Granville Ave. Price: $45 - $80 Click here for more details, and to take advantage of this deal Admission at K. Karaoke From the K. Karaoke deal description: Guests spend a creative evening singing their favorite songs and trying their hand at painting. All painting equipment is provided. Where: K. Karaoke, 4810 N. Kedzie Ave. Price: $20 - $39 Click here for more details, and to score this deal Wine and Paint at Color Cocktail Factory From the Color Cocktail Factory deal description: Participants can express themselves through painting while sipping beverages brought from home. Where: Color Cocktail Factory, 1735 N. Ashland Ave. Price: $29 - $58 Click here for more details, and to take advantage of this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Congressional Democrats will vote Thursday to curb U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to pursue open conflict with Iran. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran appeared to be easing Wednesday. Democrats said the administration has yet to outline a clear strategy for dealing with the Islamic Republic Texas Education Agency officials said they filed an appeal Thursday to overturn an injunction by a Travis County judge blocking it from replacing Houston ISDs trustees with a state-appointed board of managers. The appeal was sent to the Austin-based Third Court of Appeals, and if a panel of judges sides with the agency, it could resume its work to strip Houston ISDs board of power. If the injunction is upheld, the TEA would not be able to move forward until a lawsuit by the Houston ISD board of trustees has been decided. Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy on Wednesday set a hearing date for June 22. TEA officials had hoped to replace HISDs board by this spring. Hundreds of community members already have applied to serve on the board of managers, which likely would remain in power for two to five years. The education agency announced it would take over the HISD board Nov. 6, one day after voters ensured four new trustees would join the board this month. HISDs board sued the TEA last August to stop the takeover, arguing that the agency overstepped its authority in deciding to strip the trustees of their power. TEA officials point to a 2015 law that requires the agency to act if a campus fails to meet the states academic standard for five years in a row. The law, HB 1842, mandates that the TEA shutdown the low-performing campus or appoint a board of managers to assume control of the school district. After HISDs Wheatley High School received an F grade in the states accountability system last fall, failing to meet the states academic standards for a seventh year in a row, TEA announced it would takeover HISDs school board. TEA officials also cited an agency investigation that found some trustees violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when they tried to remove and replace Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan in October 2018. Lathan was removed but later reinstated. Houston ISDs attorneys argue a 2015 change to the law made it so Wheatley could not trigger sanctions until 2022, but the TEA argues the schools performance already has triggered action. Shepherd ISD, a small school district just south of Lake Livingston also is targeted for a board takeover by the TEA. That district also sought a temporary injunction this year to stop the education agency takover. On Thursday, Travis County District Judge Karin Crump denied that application for an injunction. HB 1842 was not the TEAs only potential option to replace Houston ISDs board. It could sanction the district over the state investigation. State law also allows the TEA to take over the board if a district has had a TEA conservator for two or more years. HISD attorneys argue that the TEAs investigation was biased and that because the TEA conservator was assigned to one campus, and not the district as a whole, her presence would not trigger a takeover. The injunction by Judge Mauzy also blocks the TEA from acting under either of those rules. Chronicle reporter Jacob Carpenter contributed to this story. shelby.webb@chron.com For decades, California fourth-graders marked a familiar ritual, collecting Popsicle sticks, cardboard and craft store items to build scale models of the states historic missions. In San Diego County, home of two of the historic missions, Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of the 21 California missions, and Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, the largest one, the project has been a rite of passage for many students and their sometimes frazzled parents. That tradition apparently is coming to an end. The new state framework for history and social studies curriculum declared the practice not only outdated, but inappropriate. Building missions from sugar cubes or Popsicle sticks does not help students understand the period and is offensive to many, the framework, adopted by the California Department of Education, explained. Missions were sites of conflict, conquest, and forced labor. Advertisement Instead, the framework urges, students should focus on daily life in the mission system, exploring the roles and interactions of different groups, from local Native Americans to Spanish explorers. What the framework calls for is that the students understand the impact the missions had on Native Americans, Spanish explorers, rancheros living in California, and the environment, said Juliana Liebke, history social science curriculum specialist for the San Diego Unified School District. So building a mission does not help students to understand any of that. Liebke and other local school officials said they havent had time to fully analyze the recommended changes, but said that steering away from model building is a move in the right direction. It became more about the artistic component, which is very important, but it became less about the phenomena of the missions and these groups living together, and creating what would become California, said Sharmila Kraft, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for Vista Unified School District. The creators of the state framework have harsher words for the project, which they say idealizes a troubled era of California history. I hate Mission Projects, Nancy McTygue, executive director of the California History-Social Science Project and one of the lead writers of the new project, wrote five years ago in a 2012 edition of the projects quarterly publication, The Source. This activity is just wrong on so many levels its offensive to the Native peoples whose lives were largely shattered by the mission system, its a waste of time and money, it doesnt build reading or writing skills, and it doesnt teach anything of substance about our past. The state directive to drop the project codifies changes that McTygue has long advocated. Thoughtful teachers abandoned this practice years ago, but Im still amazed when I hear it got assigned yet again, she wrote in the 2012 article. Mission models have been a mainstay of California elementary education for decades, becoming a source of both nostalgia and vexation to parents. Many of the parents who helped their own kids through the project remember building missions themselves in fourth grade, by gluing Popsicle sticks or stacking sugar cubes The projects involve elaborate engineering, as well as 11th-hour efforts to create the structures, and an increasingly diverse array of materials. Companies including Michaels craft stores and others offer kits for the models, and some students have recently constructed them from Lego blocks, or built digital versions on the popular video game Minecraft. Some local parents said they resented the assignment, which involved more work for the parents than kids. Others remembered it fondly, applauding the opportunity for hands-on creativity. I think any kind of a project helps a child to remember what they looked up, Oceanside resident Jan Lopez wrote in an e-mail. Our society is too involved in screens and not making things. Lon Safko, president of Paper Models Inc. in Lake Elsinore, said his company grew out of the desperation of panicked parents. Many contacted him at wits end, proclaiming, Oh my God, theyre going to fail fourth grade if we dont get some macaroni and toilet paper tubes together to build a mission, Safko said. Although the company has sold thousands of mission models over the years, that diminished as schools gradually forbade the use of kits, and he takes the elimination of the project in stride. The biggest thing Im interested in is making sure the kids get a good, balanced education, Safko said.Im all for that. Balance is the key, said John Putman, a history professor at San Diego State University, who studies California and the West. I agree with the decision to get rid of the models, he said. First of all, they romanticize the period by putting all this emphasis on the building. I think whats often lost is the larger significance of the Mission Era and the Mission Period. Second thing it does is encourages too much attention on the Mission Era, compared to the rest of California history. Putman said the states fascination with missions blossomed in the early 20th Century, and represented a kind of monument envy that Californians held toward the historic fixtures of the East Coast. Studying the periods socioeconomic complexities would serve students better than the models, he said. But he cautioned against oversimplifying the subject in the opposite direction, by equating it with slavery. Some American Indians have likened the mission projects to projects that require students to recreate plantations in the American South or concentration camps in Germany, Tuyen Tran, assistant director of the California History Social Science Project, wrote in a May 23 blog post. That appraisal also risks misrepresentation of the mission period, Putman warned. Its too easy of a comparison, and its dangerous in a lot of ways, he said. Its sometimes oranges and apples when we make these comparisons. There are a lot of dynamics involved, and thats how we should be presenting it to the children. In Oceanside, the Old Mission San Luis Rey Historic Foundation has long held a contest, inviting local students to write essays about the Mission Period, or build models of the building. The contest included a day-long festival, with an awards ceremony, Native American storytellers and tours of the mission. Theyre reconsidering the tradition, in light of the state framework changes, said board member Mary Gleisberg. Were rethinking now if were going to continue with the mission model building contest, which the kids and parents have really enjoyed, she said. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan Longest Internet Shutdowns in India Even as the Supreme Court of India held that access to the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution on January 10, a study by UK-based tech research firm Top10Vpn found that India imposed an internet blackout of close to 4,200 hours in 2019, which cost the country $1.3 billion in economic activity. The report said that India was the third worst-hit economy worldwide after crisis-hit Iraq and Sudan, and with Venezuela coming in fourth. India was also the country which imposed internet restrictions more often than any other country, with over 100 shutdowns documented in 2019, clocking 4,196 hours. Notably, the firm only took into consideration specific regions that faced large region-wide shutdowns, as they tend to be highly-targeted, even down to the level of blacking out individual city districts for a few hours while security forces try to restore order. The full economic impact is therefore likely to be higher even than our $1.3 billion figure. An average of 8.4 million internet users were impacted across the multiple incidents, the report stated. The most significant disruptions have been in the turbulent Kashmir region, where after intermittent shutdowns in the first half of 2019, access has been blocked since August. The five-month-long blackout is the longest ever imposed in a democracy, The Washington Post said. In what has come as a relief, the SC has asked the Jammu & Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory. The three-judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana has also directed the J&K administration to restore internet services in institutions providing essential services like hospitals and educational places. While Indian authorities have attempted to justify the digital blackout on national security grounds due to unrest in Kashmir, following their controversial decision to strip Indias only Muslim-majority region of its autonomy. The bench, which also comprised justices BR Gavai and R Subhash Reddy, said Section 144 CrPC (prohibitory orders) cannot be used indefinitely to suppress freedom of speech and expression and difference of opinion. Samuel Woodhams and Simon Migliano, authors of the Top10Vpn report told the Times of India that the shutdown in Kashmir is one of the longest internet shutdowns to have ever occurred and alone cost the Indian economy nearly $1.1 billion in 2019. Besides the J&K blackout, violent reactions in December to another change to Indian law the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), prompted internet blackouts across many districts of Uttar Pradesh, along with the nearby regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya. The other major shutdown also had its root in religious tensions. An SC ruling in November over the Ayodhya holy site, which simmered between Hindus and Muslims for over a century, prompted shutdowns 'to avoid the spread of misinformation' in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and also in Rajasthan. Iraq, which led the list on the basis of economic impact at $2.3 billion, imposed 209 hours of internet blackouts and an additional 54 hours of social media shutdowns. Sudan, which came in second, imposed 864 hours of internet blackouts and 696 hours of social media shutdowns, which cost the economy $1.8 billion. Venezuela imposed 60 hours of internet blackouts and 111 hours of social media shutdowns, causing a $1.07 billion damage to its economy. Notably, Iraq and Sudan are war-torn, while Venezuela has faced an extended social, political and economic crisis. In terms of hours of disruption, Africas Chad (4,728 hours of shutdown) and Myanmar (4,880 hours) ranked ahead of India with significantly lesser economic impact. The study arrived at the economic cost based on Netblocks and The Internet Societys cost of shutdown tool, which relies on data from The World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Eurostat, among others. Pundits get things wrong all the time. But in most cases the errors are about contingencies (like which candidate will win an election) or matters of judgment about complex issues (like whether it's a good idea to go to war). What's unusual about the Trump era is how easy it's been for so many of us and yes, I include myself in the indictment to misread the character of the Trump administration at the most basic level. For most analysts, Trump's victory in the GOP primaries in 2016 and then in the general election later that year represented either a significant break from the past for the Republican Party or at the very least a "fight for the soul of GOP," to deploy one of punditry's favorite cliches. The idea is that Trump was a populist who wanted to transform a party fixated on tax cuts into a "workers party" more oriented toward the suffering of average voters in the American heartland. Forces in the party might want to prevent this shift, and Trump's ignorance of government processes might make him ineffectual at enacting the change and getting it to stick. But the aim was clear and pointed toward an important evolution in the party, now and for the future. Three years into the Trump administration it is finally possible to say firmly that this is almost complete nonsense. On policy substance there has been a single actual change: the GOP is now far more nativist on immigration than it was from 1980 to 2008. Other than that, the only significant shift has been at the level of style. Trump is a lying, trash-talking BS artist who treats trolling as his preferred form of presidential address. A day during which he manages to "trigger the libs" is a good day for the Trump White House (and the days when he doesn't are exceedingly rare). That is the only meaningful respect in which Trump is a populist: He talks down to and encourages the meanest sensibilities of Republican voters rather than seeking to elevate them and the rest of the country with exalted rhetoric. Story continues That's it. In every other respect, the Trump administration might as well be the third term of George W. Bush. Think about it: The areas where Trump sounded like he aimed to make a change were immigration, trade, economic and social policy, and foreign policy. He ran for office talking about putting up a border wall and deporting undocumented immigrants, and that is indeed the one area where he's tried to move in a genuinely new direction (while often implementing it with such cruelty and ineptitude that the courts have pushed back at every step). But on trade? He's blustered a lot, pulled out of some trade agreements, and imposed some tariffs, but so far the results (to NAFTA and with regard to China) have changed very little beyond allowing him to slap a "Trump" brand on slightly adjusted versions of old deals. On economic and social policy, his single accomplishment is working with a Republican Congress to pass a plutocrat's dream of a corporate tax cut. After talking on the campaign trail about replacing the Affordable Care Act with a new health-care plan that would cover everyone, he worked in office (and failed) to repeal the ACA with nothing in particular an act that, had it succeeded, would have dealt a horribly painful blow to American workers. On foreign policy, Trump has certainly been tactically chaotic threatening North Korea with nuclear "fire and fury" at one moment; exchanging love letters with Kim Jong Un the next but strategically the watchword had been deep continuity. The president talks and tweets about "ending endless wars," but all he does is move troops around from one theater of battle to another in our myriad wars scattered across the globe while denigrating diplomacy and threatening military conflicts with other countries, from Venezuela to Iran, if they fail to bow to his will. All of this should sound familiar to anyone old enough to remember the administration of George W. Bush. The imposition of trade tariffs? Check. Draconian tax cuts to benefit the wealthy? Check. A swaggering posture on the world stage backed up with military threats? Check. And then there are the many overt ways in which Trump continues with Bush administration priorities including the appointment of as many conservative judges as possible, the broad assertion of executive power and privilege, and the shredding of federal regulations. This continuity has been growing increasingly obvious for quite a while, with more people realizing it all the time. But it's been easy to miss because of the continued prominence of Never Trump Republicans many of them veterans of the Bush 43 administration in the media. How could the Trump administration be broadly continuous with the Bush administration when senior members of that administration oppose Trump so loudly and vociferously? The answer, I think, is that these anti-Trump obsessives are intellectuals and moralists who work with words and ideas for a living. They loved when Bush did very similar things because he wrapped them in noble rhetoric about American ideals of liberty. Trump does no such thing, and it drives the Bill Kristols and Michael Gersons of the world positively batty. Presidents are supposed to proclaim permanent truths, not spout lies (at least not quite so flagrantly). They're supposed to use language to elevate the nation, not bring us all down into the gutter. They're supposed to foster a love of country rooted in high ideals, not talk in tribal terms about the nation's greatness. The difference is real, but it's window dressing. It matters mainly because it reveals the moral condition of the Republican electorate, which we now know can be much more effectively reached and moved by baser appeals than former presidential speechwriters and professional political operatives prefer and assume. That is the sense perhaps the only sense in which Trump is leading a populist movement out to tear down establishment elites: He "gets" the low and dirty way GOP voters talk and think about politics and the country. But he's using that ability to do things in office that are remarkably similar to what Republicans have been trying to do for a long time. The political analysts who have noticed and highlighted these continuities from the beginning of the Trump administration can mostly be found on the democratic-socialist left. Leading figures of the center left, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Michael Bloomberg, share many assumptions with Republicans about political rhetoric, and they have each had reasons to want to play up the discontinuities between Trump and his GOP predecessors. But those on the harder left are stirred by different notions of justice and the common good than conservatives. That has made them less reactive to the glaring rhetorical shift from Bush to Trump and thereby more capable of keeping their eyes on what the administration is actually doing policy-wise. This doesn't mean that the more leftward candidates are better placed to defeat Trump in November. But it does mean that those of us who make a living trying to understand politics might be better off taking our cues from left-wing critics of the president than from those who oppose him from closer to the center of the spectrum. Trump doesn't speak and act like previous Republican presidents. But he's using those differences to obfuscate the many continuities with his GOP predecessors. Confusing the rhetoric with the reality is the biggest delusion of the Trump era. More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman NFL's future, present on display Sunday thanks to a pair thrilling QB matchups Pelosi says delaying articles of impeachment achieved 'very positive' results P erhaps the Waipu Highland Games tug-of-war wasnt exactly how Id dreamed of welcoming in 2020, but after a sedate few weeks at my friends place in the New Zealand countryside, a bunch of burly men tugging each other promised to provide just the thrill I needed. I had ended up in Waipu after accepting an invitation to spend Christmas at my friends bach (Kiwi slang for a modest holiday home, which I have heard pronounced bitch). My friend had shared photos of her home and the general area, of course, but I hadnt taken that much notice of them. Id seen Jane Campions New Zealand film The Piano, so just assumed that it would be a bit like Cornwall with flatter vowels. Not quite. I was greeted by land and seascapes of heart-stopping wow. It was like Wordsworth on steroids. When my friend drove up to her architectural marvel of a house, it wasnt anything like the bitch I had been expecting. Having always been a serious consumer of house porn, Im normally difficult to arouse, but I must confess to having had a slight pseudo-sexual thrill when I saw the place. It makes the houses on Grand Designs look like Croydon office blocks. Once I had settled in and done all I could to get Clarke Gayford, New Zealands gorgeous First Man, to pay me some attention on Twitter (he ignored me), I immediately took to sharing my luck with my friends and the world. A flood of existential crises came back in response: What on earth am I doing with my life?, OMG its alright for some, and so on. I knew when I posted these images that I was showing off, and that people would be envious of my seemingly fabulous life, but when these responses came in, I questioned what I was doing. Why did these reactions to my wish-you-were-here photos matter? Everybody knows that practically all social media users, especially famous people, often play up their beauty and success while sweeping their crippling anxiety disorders and marital crises under the carpet. Yet, here I was, churning out images of this serene idyll despite being gripped by the terror of being stuck in the middle of nowhere for three weeks, and compulsively stalking my exs new boyfriend on Instagram. Then, on one of my long walks by the sea, while listening to a podcast (the only thing to do when confronted by that much nature), I heard the academic Malcolm Gladwell say that we measure our success against our peers. I knew he was bang-on. The social media age has led us to judge our insides based on our perceptions of others outsides. The odd thing is that we knowingly enter into these rather masochistic comparisons. We constantly harm ourselves by using depictions of others lives as a basis for wondering what we are doing with our own, even though online personas are smokescreens covering all kinds of chaos and drama. And so my new years resolution is to do all I can to avoid deriving my self-confidence from comparisons to others, and to take it from my own achievements instead. In the meantime, I must remember that I am delighted by my friends perfect life, perfect cheekbones and perfect house. Im not the tiniest bit jealous. Really. Im not. How to cure my fear of flying? I inherited my fear of flying from my mother, who has cured hers with mindfulness, Valium and vodka. As I have ended up travelling for work, my phobia has almost entirely cleared over the years, but I have never been free of that stomach-dropping, God-save-me terror when the seatbelt sign goes on. Somebody suggested I read a book about the mechanics and physics of aeroplanes, as it would definitely help. So I grabbed a few Flying for Idiots publications, but they only made my fear worse. I now understand the aerodynamics behind why planes stay in the air, but the more I read about the number of components that go into a commercial jet aircraft, the more convinced I became that this just afforded more chance of something going wrong that I am one faulty screw away from death. I understand this is irrational, but sometimes a rational approach does nothing. Too much information is not always good. Next time I fly Ill be following my mothers excellent example. Close encounter: Zeb Soanes Kochi, Jan 10 : Marine scientists on Friday demanded a complete ban on trawling in the country's territorial waters within 12 nautical miles. This emerged as one of the main recommendations of the third international marine symposium on marine ecosystems held at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here that concluded on Friday. "These areas should be demarcated as an exclusive zone for small-scale fishermen," the recommendation said. Among other aspects that meeting discussed was on reforming the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, in a way to make it effective in the conservation of India's marine species. "Authoritative science, knowledge and planning are required to assess the performance of the Act. A panel of experts have to look into the Act to bring in adequate changes in various schedules and categories of the Act. Since extinction risks are different between marine species within a group, proper assessment is required on the impact of the Act on marine ecosystems," was another recommendation. Considering the importance of community-based management of traditional fishers, the symposium suggested that community participation should strictly be ensured while implementing co-management in marine fisheries. The meeting also recommended that automation and digitisation be incorporated in capture fishery technologies. The leader of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the powerful business group will fight to reverse liberal policies being pushed in the states and by some Democratic candidates for president. We will lead the opposition to policies that undermine the job creators, that penalize the innovators and that target the wealth-creators, Chief Executive Officer Tom Donohue said Thursday in his annual State of American Business speech. While he said his group, one of the highest-spending lobbying bodies in Washington and a major advocate for pro-business policies, will not engage directly in presidential politics and could fault both parties, he criticized progressive ideas such as Medicare for All, redistributive taxation, corporate breakups and policies that would give part-time workers greater benefits from their employers. The business community must not, and will not, stand on the sidelines, Donohue said. He didnt name any candidates, but some policies he cited, such as Medicare for All, are favored by Democratic presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Donohue, who has led the chamber for 22 years, criticized plans that he described as the federalization of American business and hospitals, as well as major redistributions of wealth to pay for programs that would put the government in charge of many more aspects of our life. He said that anyone Republican or Democrat seeking to break up big companies should focus on increasing competition rather than adding more government intervention. Gig Law He repeatedly took aim at laws adopted in California. Donohue slammed a statute that could force technology companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. to classify workers as employees rather than contractors and thus guarantee employment protections including a minimum wage and overtime. The business model that has revolutionized an entire section of the economy will be seriously challenged and could screech to a halt, Donohue said. The same is true for the innovations that we are seeing from home-repair tasks to the grocery-delivery business. The labor law dictates that workers can generally only be considered contractors if they perform work outside the usual scope of a companys business. He said the chamber will be engaging in a hell of a fight over the California measure. The chamber will bring the full weight of our resources and federation of state and local chambers to reform or defeat these proposals, he said. After the speech, the chambers chief policy officer, Neil Bradley, told reporters the chamber and its affiliates would use experts on policy, research and communications, as well lobbyists, in the fight. Donohue said the challenges to business come from a range of institutions, from municipalities to the presidential race. States in particular would be a focus of the chambers work. Legislative Gridlock Yet, he urged Congress to end legislative gridlock and take on issues such as the worker-classification law, as well as privacy, where more-liberal states have already adopted laws opposed by business. Washingtons inability to make progress on data privacy is resulting in a patchwork of state rules and regulations that will stifle the free flow of goods and services across state borders, Donohue said. Can you imagine running a company when you have 50 different state sets of standards to comply with? Like an array of business groups, the chamber has pushed Congress to pass a privacy law overruling state laws in order to smooth compliance and extend protections across the U.S. Many consumer groups worry, though, any law that gets bipartisan support in Washington would fail to provide the robust protections available in individual states. Californias new privacy law took effect Jan. 1. Lawmakers on key congressional committees released a number of proposals for privacy legislation at the end of 2019, which revealed divisions between Democrats and Republicans over the role of state laws. In his speech, Donohue also rejected the conventional Washington wisdom that Congress rarely passes major legislation in election years, saying it was urgent that gridlock not take hold. The address comes at a moment of transition for the chamber. Long associated with Republicans and a reliable source of campaign funds for conservative politicians, the group in recent years has expressed frustration with partisan gridlock that stalled its ambitions on issues like infrastructure. It has also objected to the trade-skeptic mood that has taken hold in the capital and in the administration of President Donald Trump. Donohue, 81, who announced last year that his group would evaluate lawmakers bipartisanship while still emphasizing a pro-business agenda, is planning to step down after 2022. He took over the organization in 1997. In addition to regulatory issues, Donohue said trade is a key focus. The group worked for months to secure congressional passage of Trumps revamped North American Free Trade Agreement, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The chamber, which steered a coalition backing the deal, said in December that it had held more than 1,000 meetings with lawmakers and congressional staff. The agreement passed the House in December after Democrats negotiated to strengthen labor, environment, drug patent and enforcement provisions. A Senate vote may not come before next week. Trump has said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on Jan. 15. In that agreement, China would increase purchases of farm goods in exchange for lower tariffs on some products. Donohue is looking ahead to second-phase deal. between Washington and Beijing. Theres still a long way to go, he said. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics California Legislation USA Washington Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has called for the ouster of US forces from the region in response to the assassinations of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and the deputy head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Soleimani and Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3. In a Jan. 5 speech commemorating the death of the two men, Nasrallah said that putting an end to the US troop presence in the region was the appropriate retaliation. He further called for attacks on US military assets as a means to achieve the goal of the expulsion of US forces. Fair punishment is (aimed at) the American military presence in the region: American military bases, American naval ships, every American officer and soldier in our countries and region, Nasrallah said. He also hinted at possible suicide operations targeting American troops in the region. The suicide attackers who forced the Americans to leave from our region in the past are still here and their numbers have increased, he warned. Nasrallahs reference to suicide operations brought back to mind the attack on the US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. The United States holds Hezbollah responsible for that attack, which was carried out by a suicide bomber and left 241 US service members dead. Today Hezbollah is seen as a regional player, having sent fighters to places such as Syria. Nasrallah himself sounded more like a regional figure than a leader of a Lebanese movement, as his call for action was addressed to the resistance axis, which includes groups such as the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units, the Yemeni Houthi movement and Palestinian factions. According to Lebanese international affairs scholar, Hussam Mater, Nasrallahs statements may indeed resonate on a broader regional scale. Nasrallah is viewed by the resistance axis as a leader who enjoys the right to decision-making, Matar said in a phone interview with Al-Monitor. Matar added, There is an appreciation for Hezbollahs regional role in fighting the Islamic State (IS) in places such as Syria and Iraq, in addition to its support for the Palestinian resistance. These factors, he said, could enable Hezbollah to determine an integral part of the agenda of the resistance axis. Furthermore, Hezbollahs leader made it clear that any action taken by Irans allies against the United States would be separate and independent from action taken by Iran itself. Where, how and when the Iranians respond is their business and their decision, but this does not relieve the resistance axis of its responsibilities, Nasrallah said in his speech, adding, If any resistance faction in the region decides to carry out fair punishment, that would be its own decision. Iran, for its part, has already retaliated for the assassination of Soleimani. On Jan. 8, Iran launched over a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) described the attack as hard revenge for the killing of Soleimani, who was part of the IRGC. No casualties were recorded. If Nasrallahs words are translated into action, that would mean that the US military would have to also brace itself for attacks from Irans allies. Hezbollah, for its part, could play a major role in targeting US troops in Syria. The Lebanese movement maintains a military presence there, and could use this presence to launch attacks on the around 600 American troops stationed there. At the same time, it is unclear if Nasrallahs statements about ousting US forces from the region were in reference only to Iraq and Syria, or to the broader region to include Arab Gulf countries. According to retired Lebanese army Brig. Gen. Elias Farhat, Nasrallah was only making reference to the American troop presence in Iraq and Syria. Hezbollah cannot expel US forces from the Gulf countries, Farhat said in a phone interview with Al-Monitor, saying that the Lebanese movement lacks the military capabilities to carry out such missions. He further added that only states like Iran itself could attempt to do this. This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Kirby Corporation's (NYSE:KEX) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Kirby has a P/E ratio of 46.64. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying $46.64 for every $1 in prior year profit. View our latest analysis for Kirby How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio? The formula for P/E is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Kirby: P/E of 46.64 = $89.73 $1.92 (Based on the year to September 2019.) Is A High P/E Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each $1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E. Does Kirby Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (20.7) for companies in the shipping industry is lower than Kirby's P/E. NYSE:KEX Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 8th 2020 Kirby's P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So further research is always essential. I often monitor director buying and selling. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price falls, the P/E will increase in a few years. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell. Kirby shrunk earnings per share by 66% over the last year. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 17% per year over the last five years. This growth rate might warrant a below average P/E ratio. Story continues A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings. Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio. So What Does Kirby's Balance Sheet Tell Us? Net debt is 26% of Kirby's market cap. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us. The Bottom Line On Kirby's P/E Ratio Kirby has a P/E of 46.6. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 18.7. With some debt but no EPS growth last year, the market has high expectations of future profits. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. 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. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. Authorities are searching for a man they say fatally shot another man on a Jersey City street in November. An arrest warrant has been issued for 31-year-old Damien Morgan of Jersey City in the murder of Davon Deloach, 30, on Fulton Avenue Nov. 18. Deloach, who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead early on Nov. 19. Morgan is being charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. He also faces a charge of attempted murder in a separate incident that occurred earlier on Nov. 18, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. The 31-year-old was within the grasp of law enforcement the night of the shooting. He, too, had been shot in the incident, Suarez said. Morgan, who was discovered on Van Cleef Street a short time after the shooting, was transported by EMS to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was treated and released. The injured Deloach was located on Fulton Avenue, between Ocean and Garfield avenues. The other shooting also occurred on Fulton Avenue, but closer to Garfield Avenue, at 5:50 p.m. Morgan was charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. The Hudson County Prosecutors Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department are actively investigating these cases. Anyone with information as to the current whereabouts of Damien Morgan is asked to contact the Hudson County Prosecutors Office Homicide Unit at (201) 915-1345 or leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutors Office official website at http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. Morgan should not be approached and he should be considered armed and dangerous. All information will be kept confidential. (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Friday, having declined as much as 1% in the previous session, as de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions brought relief to markets and boosted investors' appetite for riskier assets. FUNDAMENTALS - Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,551.02 per ounce by 0045 GMT. Prices hit their lowest since Jan (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Friday, having declined as much as 1% in the previous session, as de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions brought relief to markets and boosted investors' appetite for riskier assets. FUNDAMENTALS - Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,551.02 per ounce by 0045 GMT. Prices hit their lowest since Jan. 3 at $1,539.78 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,551.40. - Markets received a respite after U.S. President Donald Trump responded to Iran's missile attacks with sanctions instead of military action. - World's shares hit a record high on relief as Mideast tensions subsided. - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday to stop Trump from further military action against Iran, days after he ordered a drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander and raised fears of war. - Investors are now focused on a 'Phase 1' trade deal signing between Washington and Beijing next week. - However, large Chinese purchases of Brazilian soybeans and a pair of unexpected policy moves by Beijing have dimmed U.S. hopes that China would double its imports of American farm products this year. - Trump said his administration will start negotiating the 'Phase 2' agreement soon but that he might wait to complete any deal until after November's U.S. presidential election. - The global trade wars may not be over, but U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday said the economy may have weathered the worst of it as risks begin to ease and businesses adjust to a new trade environment. - Sudan has begun allowing private traders to export gold, a measure designed to crack down on smuggling and attract foreign currency into the country's cash-strapped treasury. - Reflecting investor sentiment, holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust , fell 0.5% to 882.12 tonnes on Thursday. - Elsewhere, palladium gained 0.4% to $2,114.94 an ounce, having hit a record peak of $2,149.50 in the previous session on supply woes. For the week, the metal was set to register its best week since mid-June. - Silver was flat at $17.89 per ounce, and was on track to post its worst week in five, while platinum inched up 0.2% to $968.41. (Reporting by Sumita Layek in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Five people who had come to India from Pakistan around two decades ago were given citizenship papers by the district administration here on Friday. They have been living in the city with their relatives and had travelled to India from Abdu village in Sindh's Shikarpur village. They were garlanded and given the papers by Kota Collector Om Kasera. Those given Indian citizenship are Rekha Bhojwani, Sonam Kumari, Muskan, Sandeep Kumar and Sudaman. "A long-awaited dream has today come true with the citizenship of India," said one of them after receiving his papers. As soon as the citizenship papers were handed over to them, they raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata ji Jai' and 'Vande Matram'. The state government had organised a camp in the presence of a delegation from the Centre a few days ago, in which their documents were verified, Additional District Collector R D Meena said. Eight people were granted Indian citizenship on December 30, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) E xtinction Rebellion has defended its activists after being listed as an "extremist ideology" in a document produced by counter-terrorism police. The climate activist group was placed in a document entitled "safeguarding young people and adults from ideological extremism", the Guardian reports. The document, aimed at police officers, government organisations and teachers who by law have to report concerns about radicalisation, contained a whole page on Extinction Rebellion, also known as XR, and said they were a threat due to having "an anti-establishment philosophy". It added that "while non-violent against persons, the campaign encourages other law-breaking activities". It also highlighted the group's logo and some of its slogans as things to watch out for. There was a major police response to some of the protests / AFP via Getty Images Those behind the document have since said they accepted that the protest group was not extremist. The document is set to be pulled from circulation. In a statement, XR said: "How dare they. Children up and down the country are desperately fighting for a future. Teachers, grandparents, nurses have been trying their best with loving nonviolence to get politicians and big business to do something about the dire state of our planet. "And this is how the Establishment responds. "In a world of misinformation, where lies travel faster than the truth, we cant help but wonder was this a deliberate attempt to silence a legitimate cause." Activists were arrested as they shut down streets in London last year / Getty Images They also said that a "record number" of people in the UK expressed a concern over climate change in 2019. DCS Kath Barnes, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East which produced the document, told the Guardian the group's inclusion was an error. She said: I would like to make it quite clear that we do not classify Extinction Rebellion as an extremist organisation. "The inclusion of Extinction Rebellion in this document was an error of judgment and we will now be reviewing all of the contents as a result." The group rose to prominence last year as it held massive protests in London, throughout the UK and across the globe last year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) On Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was struck down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile on Wednesday. We have intelligence from multiple sources...including our own intelligence, that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, Trudeau said. This may well have been unintentional. Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne reiterated the prime ministers statement later in the day. The preliminary conclusions we have been able to draw, based on intelligence and evidence, are clear enough for me to share them with Canadians, the prime minister added in his address. Trudeaus message follows statements from two U.S. officials that it is highly likely an Iranian anti-aircraft missile took down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, with Trump suggesting that Iran was responsible, without directly blaming the country, but adding that the plane was flying through a pretty rough neighbourhood. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," the U.S. president said. Some people say it was mechanical...I personally don't think that's even a question." When asked directly if he believes the U.S. is responsible for this tragic event, Trudeau said it is too soon to be assigning blame or responsibility. The prime minister stressed multiple times during the press conference that is it imperative that a thorough, credible and complete investigation is conducted, going on to say that the information the government has suggests very clearly a possible and probable cause for the crash but it is all the more necessary therefore to gather all the information. I want answers. That mean closure, transparency, accountability and justice, Trudeau said. This government will not rest until we get that. Foreign Affairs Minister Champagne has made it clear that Canadian officials must be granted access to Iran. I made the case that Canada had the legitimate need to accesswe wanted to bring Canadas expertise and Canadas commitment to be an active participant in the investigation, Champagne said in a press conference. Story continues The prime minister said Iran has indicated an openness to Canada being involved in the investigation, but the degree of that involvement is being worked out. We have consular officials who are en route to Ankara, Turkey and Iran is open to issuing visas so that consular assistance can be given on the ground, Trudeau said. The foreign affairs minister described his conversation with Iran as open and encouraging, adding that he has received information that the discussion from Wednesday night was followed up on, regarding to the issuing of visas. A total of 63 Canadians died on the plane, with 138 passengers bound for Toronto on the flight. The crash occurred merely hours after Iran's missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops on Tuesday, following the killing of Iranian military leader Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani by the U.S. last week. An Iranian investigative report released Thursday indicates that pilots never called for help and claimed the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when it crashed. The report also states that the black boxes have been recovered but have sustained damage, causing some of the memory to be lost. On Wednesday, Irans Civil Aviation Authority said they would not be handed over to Boeing or America, but Garneau said Canada is prepared to with black box data interpretation. The BJP on Friday accused the Opposition parties of engaging in one-upmanship over minority appeasement by instigating Muslim brothers to disturb communal harmony on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It appears that the Opposition parties are engaged in a 20-20 match of appeasement politics. AAP, Congress Trinamool, Left parties are instigating Muslim brothers to ensure that an atmosphere of confusion and tension prevails across the country, BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said. He claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's distancing from other Opposition parties on the issue of CAA was an attempt to prevent the division of Muslim votes in West Bengal where the Congress and the Left appear to move in tandem. Patra also hit out at the AAP for admitting Congress leader Shoaib Iqbal into its fold ahead of Delhi Assembly polls. This is the same Shoaib Iqbal whom Kejriwal had wished to put in jail as he faced serious allegations of murder and loot, he said. Keeping up the attack on Left parties, the BJP latched on to the claims of Delhi Police that JNU Students Union leaders engaged in arson inside the university. Left design in JNU unmasked. They led mobs of mayhem, destroyed public property paid for by taxpayers, disallowed new students from being enrolled, used the campus as a political battleground, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani said. I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also spoke in similar vein accusing the Left-Wing students' organisations of master-minding the attack on JNU campus on Sunday evening. Javadekar said that revelations by Delhi Police had established that the chorus for the past five days was created deliberately to blame ABVP, BJP and others for violence in JNU. It is the left organisations that pre-planned violence, disabled CCTV and destroyed servers, he said. Congress leader Ajay Maken slammed Delhi Police for the shoddy investigation in the JNU attack case. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Friday her party will stand behind those arrested in Varanasi for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act as she met people in the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Priyanka Gandhi has been at the forefront leading her partys opposition to CAA and the proposed National Register for Citizens (NRC), meeting the families of those injured, killed or arrested during the violent protests against the citizenship act across Uttar Pradesh. More than 20 people were killed and hundreds injured in Uttar Pradesh as police and protesters clashed last month after the situation spiralled out of control in several areas in the state. Priyanka Gandhi has continuously accused the Yogi Adityanath-led government and the state police of highhandedness and brutality during the CAA protests. Watch l Priyanka Gandhi meets activists held during CAA stir in Varanasi, BJP lashes out On Friday, she interacted with all the 59 people, including social activists and 12 students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who were jailed for anti-CAA protest at Benia area of Varanasi in December last year. They were recently released on bail. At the instance of the government, police did injustice to the people who protested against CAA peacefully in Varanasi on December 19. We are with them, she said after the meeting at Rajghat. The Congress leaders said social activists and others told her that they are being threatened by the administration. They said that they are being targeted. There has been sheer injustice with them. I am with them. I am proud of them. I thank them for raising their voice in a peaceful manner. When asked about the BJP allegation that the Congress is instigating the youth, she said, These are the students of the university. They are not rioters. Meet them and listen to the series of incidents that happened to them for protesting against CAA. She accused the government of trying to break the country and going against the Constitution. It is a matter of great pride that children of the university raised voice for the country, she said. She also met 18-month old Champaks social activist mother Ekta Shekhar, who was also arrested along with her husband Ravi. Several students, Gandhians, Ambedkarwadis, and social activists were protesting peacefully against the CAA in Varanasi recently. Police has sent them all to jail. A one-year child is alone at home. Such harsh punishment for peaceful protest! This behaviour of the government has gone beyond limits, Priyanka Gandhi had tweeted in support of Champaks parents on December 24 in Hindi. The Congress leaders first stop in the temple town was Sant Ravidas temple at Rajghat, where she offered prayers and met the trustees. Bahut samay se yahan par aane ki ichcha thi jo aaj puri hui. Ravidas samaj ke sab logon ka wa mandir ke sabhi sevakon ko bahut bahut subhkamnaye wa dhanyawad (I had wanted to visit Sant Ravidas Temple for a long time now. My wish has been fulfilled today. Many many congratulations and thanks to the people of Ravidas community and all the workers of the temple, she wrote in the visitors book in the temple. Priyanka Gandhi then took a boat to Panchganga Ghat where she met those who agitated against the amended citizenship act. She interacted with the mahant of Shrimutt and offered prayers. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple was next in her itinerary. The Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at Priyanka Gandhi over her visits to those arrested as its spokesperson Sambit Patra accused her of selectivism. Patra also questioned her absence in Kota in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, where several children have died in a hospital. I give her Kota challenge and ask her when will she go to Kota where under the nose of the Congress government in Rajasthan so many children have died. She herself is a mother, she should realise the pain of other mothers as well, Patra said at a press conference at the BJPs office in New Delhi. It seems she understands the pain selectively as when she visited AIIMS Trauma Centre she chose to look away from the injured students who differed from her ideology. This reeks of selectivism, Patra alleged. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Malaysia Airlines has apologised to its passengers after leaving them starving after their flight was delayed twice in two days. Flight MH145 from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland was cancelled about 8.45pm on New Year's Day after passengers sat in the plane on the tarmac for hours. Once they were finally let off, a longer wait ensued as accommodation was being sorted. Hungry and frustrated at the turn of events, the airline distributed off-brand Oreos, a 'gross' croissant, a crispy treat, two crackers and a little cup of water for dinner, the NZ Herald reported. Hungry and frustrated at the turn of events, the airline distributed knock-off Oreos (pictured), a 'gross' croissant, a crispy treat, two crackers and a little cup of water for dinner The Malaysia Airlines flight was delayed twice leaving passengers fuming (stock image) Nimi Kaur and her 13-year-old daughter were on the flight at the time and said her hotel was booked an hour away from the hotel. They booked in at 3.15am and were given a wake up call two hours later at 5am. Upon arriving at the airport, the pair were given a breakfast voucher which was only valid for a muffin and a black coffee from a cafe near the gate, leaving Ms Kaur to pay for milk. Malaysia Airlines acknowledged the meals were 'too light' and apologised for not providing more time for the food vouchers. 'It has also been noted that due to the short duration of time between the flight departures on January 2, we were only able to provide snacks which proved to be rather too light considering most passengers did not have ample time to use the vouchers given for breakfast,' the airline said in a statement. As passengers boarded the plane, which was the same plane that was cancelled, the flight was once again aborted. Furious customers demanded a new flight saying they didn't want to be 'crash test dummies'. 'I was in utter shock and disbelief. The exact same issue that was meant to have been fixed was not and the lives of all passengers and crew on board were risked,' Sirjit Singh told the publication. As they waited, economy passengers were given another snack meal and weren't allowed off the flight to grab their own food. 'Gross' croissants (pictured) were also handed out to the passengers as they waited for take-off 'We were completely ravenous. Honestly, we were starving. We would have been happy to pay for the food ourselves, but we couldn't leave,' Ms Kaur said. 'It almost feels like you're in prison - you can't eat, you can't leave that area and you're all hungry. And there were people with little kids there as well.' A Malaysia Airlines spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that an investigation was launched into the incident and apologised to its customers for the inconvenience. 'Malaysia Airlines regrets the shortcomings in its service recovery after flight MH145 on 1 January 2020 encountered technical difficulties,' they said. '...due to the short duration of time between the flight departures on 2 January, we were only able to provide snacks which proved to be rather too light considering most passengers did not have ample time to use the vouchers given for breakfast. 'We wish to thank passengers who have provided us feedback, as we endeavour to continuously improve the quality of our services. 'Malaysia Airlines once again apologises to its guests for all the inconvenience experienced and disruption to their travel plans.' Stocks in the news: Shares of Infosys and YES Bank will be in focus today. Infosys, one of the top IT major of the country will announce its December quarter earnings in today's session. YES Bank shares will also be closely watched by investors, as the lender's board plans to meet today to discuss fundraising. Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus on Friday's trading session based on recent and latest news developments. Infosys: Stock of the IT major will be in focus on Friday's trade as the company is scheduled to release December earnings report today. YES Bank: Shares of the lender will be in focus today as the lender's board at its meet scheduled for today plans to discuss fundraising. "A meeting of the board of directors of Yes Bank will be held on Friday, January 10, 2020, in Mumbai to discuss and consider raising of funds," the filing added. Ashok Leyland: The company and ABB Power Products have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the public e-mobility space, to expand the ecosystem for efficient and greener electric bus transportation systems in India. Goa Carbon: The company informed the exchanges regarding the resumption of the operations at its Bilaspur Unit (Chhattisgarh). The Kiln has been lit up from yesterday, the filing said. "After preliminary heat up and commencement of feeding of raw material, normal production will resume shortly," company's regulatory statement added. Sterlite Technologies Limited: The company informed the exchange bourses that Sterlite Global Venture (Mauritius) Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 12.8% stake in ASOCS, a vRAN technology company based out of Israel. The privately held company is a pioneer in virtual Radio Access Networks (vRAN) and a provider of fully virtualized, NFV-compatible virtual Base Station solutions for Enterprise and Telco-Networks, the filing added. Berger Paints: Company said total commercial papers issue in December quarter stood at Rs 345 crores. The filing added the CPs were issued for the purpose of working capital and added that there has been no material change in the company's financial status which may hurt or affect the credit rating of the CPs. Tata Consultancy Services: In a press release, the company said it has expanded its partnership with Vipps AS to leverage company's Machine First Delivery Model (MFDM) and cloud services to accelerate the latter's growth and digital journey. TCS has played a vital role in Vipps' journey since it was launched in 2015 and went on to become a runaway hit in Norway. Emami Paper Mills: The company highlighted its Q3 earnings report. The company reported net profit for Q3 FY20 at Rs 18.5 cr compared to Rs 5.7 cr recorded in the same period late year. Its revenue grew 5.7% to Rs 400.1 cr in December 2019 compared to Rs 372.6 cr booked during December 2018. KNR Constructions: The company said it has entered into Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Cube Highways and Infrastructure III Pte Ltd, Singapore-based company investing in road and highway projects, in order to sell its entire equity stake (100%) in a toll road BOT asset viz KNR Walayar Tollways Private Limited. The enterprise value of the assets for this transaction is Rs 529.27 crore excluding claims receivable from NHAI and other governmental instrumentalities, which would be passed through to the Company as and when realised, the filing added. STL: The global data networks innovator announced to the exchanges about its investment in ASOCS, a developer of open, disruptive and virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) solutions, for delivering 4G and 5G for cellular networks. As a part of the overall transaction, STL has acquired a 12.8% stake in the company (on an issued and outstanding basis) and Board representation. Newsfrom Japan Beirut, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--Lebanon's interim Justice Minister Albert Serhan on Friday did not rule out the possibility of the country handing over former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn to Japan. If a Lebanese court rules Ghosn guilty and prosecutors of the country find special circumstances, it could be possible for Lebanon to send him back to Japan, Serhan told Jiji Press in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. But Serhan stopped short of referring to any exceptional circumstances that may lead to the handover of the former chief of the major Japanese automaker, who escaped to Lebanon from Japan late last month while on bail awaiting trial for financial misconduct charges. Japan and Lebanon have no extradition treaty. Serhan said that Lebanon does not hand over its citizens to foreign authorities in principle, suggesting that it is highly unlikely for Ghosn to be sent back to Japan. Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned Ghosn from leaving the country while asking Japan to provide all investigation materials on him to the Lebanese side. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Demanding the setting up of a House Committee to probe the Mangaluru violence, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday released multiple videos of the clashes that broke out during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest that claimed two lives on December 19. Janata Dal-Secular leader further demanded suspension of Police Commissioner PS Harsha and insisted that House Committee consisting of members of all the parties should be formed to probe into Mangaluru violence and said that magisterial inquiry ordered by the state government cannot be trusted. "Constitute a House committee and produce the fact. The main culprit is the commissioner of Mangaluru, remove the officer as he is the main culprit. I am going to take this issue on the floor of the House." Kumaraswamy said during a press conference here. Two people were killed in Mangaluru in the alleged police firing after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act turned violent. The Act grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31, 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A federal judge in Florida ordered Mrs. Florida 2016 to spend a month in jail for stealing her mothers Social Security checks rather than using the money to pay for nursing home care. U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart also sentenced Karyn Turk on Thursday to five months of house arrest when she gets out of prison and to perform 100 hours of community service in a nursing home, the Palm Beach Post reported. Turk, who lives in Highland Beach, must report to prison March 2. She and her lawyers sought to convince the judge that shes suffered enough and didnt deserve prison or house arrest. Attorney David Tarras said that since Turk pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanour charge of Social Security fraud, shes been harassed on social media. In addition, Turk, who was named champion of the year by teen mentoring group Best Buddies in 2019, has lost her position on various philanthropic groups. Turk is a conservative media commentator and her attorney told the judge her career is dead without the ability to hob-nob in the community, travel to interview celebrities for YouTube broadcasts and to host fundraisers. Her livelihood is based on networking and being a social media commentator, Tarras said. She brought a check for $46,000 to court to reimburse the government, the attorney told the judge, adding that should be enough. But Reinhart disagreed. He said that even though Turk had apparently led an otherwise law-abiding life, her crime was a serious one, and she couldnt buy her way out of jail by writing a check. Choices in life have consequences, Im sorry to tell you, the judge said. If you steal from the government, youre not going to have a reputation as an honest person. The judge said that as a social media commentator with a large following, Turk is well-placed to send an important message to others. The message Im sending is: You cant steal from the government and not go to jail. The decision was welcomed by about six employees at the Finnish American Rest Home who cared for Turks 83-year-old mother. She suffered from Alzheimers and died in July. Resident exploitation is a serious crime and Im glad he recognized that, Daniel Benson, executive director of the 45-bed home, told the newspaper. Palm Beach County Sheriffs detective Vaughn Mitchell said Turk used the money from her mothers Social Security, Veterans Administration and pension checks on shopping sprees, dinners and a nanny to watch her children rather than covering $219,000 in nursing home bills. Some of the expenses could have been covered by Medicare if Turk had filled out the necessary paperwork. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rabinowitz said Turk refused despite constant requests. The nursing home went to court to force her to pay. A Palm Beach County circuit court judge ordered Turk in August 2018 to pay $250 a month to defray the costs, but she didnt do it, Rabinowitz said. Attorney Guy Fronstin, who also represents Turk, said they plan to appeal the decision and ask that Turk not be required to report to prison until the appeal is decided. Democratic hopeful Marianne Williamson dropped out of the 2020 presidential race Friday. 'The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I dont want to get in the way of a progressive candidate winning any of them,' she explained in a note to supporters titled 'with love and gratitude.' 'As of today, therefore, Im suspending my campaign,' she said. Williamson said she planned to back whomever Democrats pick in the primaries. 'To the remaining Democratic candidates, I wish you all my best on the road ahead. It was an honor being among you. Whichever one of you wins the nomination, I will be there with all my energy and in full support,' she wrote. She made the announcement via tweet. 'A politics of conscience is still yet possible,' she wrote. 'And yes.love will 'prevail.' The writing was on the wall last week when WMUR reported that Williamson had laid off every member of her campaign staff. Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson quit the presidential race Friday, writing a note to supporters 2020 candidate Marianne Williamson said 'love will prevail' as she announced the conclusion of her long-shot bid for president Among them was former Rep. Paul Hodes, the Granite State's state director and a senior campaign adviser. At the peak of her longshot bid for the Democratic nomination, the spiritual guru employed about 45 people in the four early primary states and her main campaign headquarters. More recently, she had just two employees in New Hampshire, WMUR said. Williamson has had a much-Googled run for the White House, but never became a serious contender. She came from the self-help world, penning best-sellers including 'A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles,' of which Oprah Winfrey was a big fan. On the campaign trail and on the debate stage, she talked about big picture ideas, like paying reparations for slavery, creating a Department of Peace and getting rid of corporate political donations entirely. Marianne Williamson continued to campaign this week, appearing at an event in Iowa Thursday before announcing Friday she planned to drop out During the two debates she qualified for, she had some virals moments. And another one, when tweeting 'Miss me?' during the November debate, the third time she missed the Democratic National Committee's cut-off. She didn't make the cut for next week's debate in Iowa, in which only six candidates have so far qualified: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer. One clue that Williamson's bid was dwindling as 2020 began is how the spiritual guru spent her New Year's Eve. Marianne Williamson (left) only appeared on the Democratic debate stage twice, here she participates in the July debate in Detroit While a number of Democratic candidates hosted campaign events through the night, especially in New Hampshire, Williamson marked the official start of the election year at a private D.C. house party. But then Williamson was back talking presidential politics the next day, appearing at an event in Georgetown, a neighborhood in Washington. And she remained on the campaign trail this week, speaking at an event in Iowa Thursday. Democratic voters will begin voting on the 2020 contest on February 3, starting with the Iowa caucuses. If ever a treasure could be described as long-lost, the 665 pages of handwritten papers that Barbara Testa discovered inside a trunk in the attic of her California home in 1990 was one. "The minute I found it," the Los Angeles Times quoted her as saying. "I just had a feeling." She had stumbled upon the first half of the manuscript of Mark Twain's 1884 novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the story of a runaway boy, Huck, and a runaway slave, Jim, whose trip together down the Mississippi River became one of the most enduring narratives in American literature. The manuscript's journey to Testa's attic - and its ultimate deposit in a New York library where, to the relief and thrill of Twain scholars and aficionados, it was reunited with its other half - made her a protagonist in a modern-day literary drama. Testa died Dec. 16 at her home in Boulder Creek, California. She was 91 and had congestive heart failure, said her daughter Laura Testa-Reyes. A librarian whose father had been a mystery writer, Testa spent her life ensconced in books. Her family's literary inclinations could be traced at least to her paternal grandfather, James Fraser Gluck, a lawyer who in the latter 1800s began soliciting original manuscripts from authors of the era to build the collections of the institution that today is the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. In the course of that work, Gluck entered into correspondence with Twain - the pen name of Samuel Clemens - who agreed to donate the manuscript of "Huck Finn," or at least what he then believed remained of it, to the library. In 1885, he sent the second half of the manuscript, comprising 695 pages, explaining that the first half had been lost. Seventeen months later, according to extant correspondence, Twain found and sent the other half of the manuscript to the library. But for reasons that remain unknown, that portion - the opening half of the novel - was never entered into the collection. Gluck died in 1897, and the manuscript's whereabouts remained unknown until Testa began rifling through her attic a century later. The unearthing of the "Huck Finn" manuscript was "the most exciting discovery of Mark Twain material in my entire career - and probably in several careers if I had them," Robert Hirst, head of the Mark Twain Papers archive at the University of California at Berkeley, said in an interview. "It is something that scholars didn't expect to happen," he said. "We're talking about Mark Twain's masterpiece, his absolute best work, far and away above anything else that he wrote." In the famous final lines of the novel, Huck declares that "I reckon I got to light out for the Territory," lest his Aunt Sally try to "sivilize" him. When news of the discovered manuscript became public, William Loos, curator of the rare-book room at the Buffalo library, remarked to The New York Times on the irony of the manuscript's arrival in California. "Huck went to Hollywood," he said. "It's bizarre, but Huck's wish . . . to 'light out for the Territory,' to go West, came true." The manuscript continued on its journey - transported by armored car and jet - to the Sotheby's auction house in New York, where its authenticity was confirmed. At the time, its estimated value was $1.5 million. A legal dispute ensued, pitting Testa and her sister against the Buffalo library. USA Today described the battle as "the biggest tug of war over a document's ownership since Richard Nixon claimed presidential papers as his personal property." Through a private sale of the manuscripts, the sisters could have sold single pages to individual collectors, a course that would have maximized their profits, according to experts, but dispersed the manuscript perhaps beyond any possibility of reconstitution. But the sisters said in a statement at the time that they were "sympathetic to the possibility of reuniting the manuscript" and ultimately reached an undisclosed settlement in which, in 1992, their half of the manuscript was given to the library. "Not everyone would have been quite so principled," Hirst said. Barbara Ellen Gluck was born in Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1928. He father wrote mystery stories, aspiring to adapt them for Hollywood, and her mother worked for Disney and later Warner Bros. painting animation cels. Testa received a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Los Angeles State College, now California State University at Los Angeles, in 1951 and a master's in library science from the now-defunct Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles in 1969, according to her daughter. She later worked as a reference and children's librarian. Her husband of 45 years, Frank Testa, died in 2000. Survivors include four children, Jim Testa of Palo Alto, California, Lou Testa of Beaverton, Oregon, Laura Testa-Reyes of Boulder Creek and Kitty Schaller of Pasadena, California; a sister; and six grandchildren. Whatever the monetary value, the literary value of the long-hidden Twain treasure far exceeded it in the eyes of literature professors and admirers of the writer's fiction. Matthew Seybold, an assistant professor of American literature and Twain studies at Elmira College in New York, observed in an email that "the manuscript made three contributions of lasting importance": It helped scholars determine when various sections of the novel were written and therefore who and what events might have animated Twain's thinking; it allowed scholars to identify changes, intentional or not, that were made in the final version; and it revealed the degree of purpose Twain brought to his work and the extent to which Huck Finn was "a realization of his artistic vision." In his revisions, Twain fine-tuned the language that became a calling card of his young unlettered protagonist - eliminating highfalutin alliterations, rendering the contraction "wasn't" in the more vernacular "warn't" and replacing the French-derived "forest" with the Anglo-Saxon "woods." "You realize that this is not some natural genius who just tosses it off. This is somebody who had to work to achieve the effect that everyone says is so wonderful," Hirst said. " 'Woods' - who would think of that? But he did. He very carefully removed all the 'forests.' " In a celebrated passage in which Huck describes a sunrise, Twain amended the depiction to make it less sentimental, for even amid the beauty, the breeze might bring with it the stench of "dead fish laying around, gars, and such, and they do get pretty rank." He excised a long passage in which Jim recounts to Huck a frightening encounter with a corpse and professes his belief in ghosts. Twain eliminated those pages, Hirst contends, because he did not desire to traffic in a prevailing stereotype of black people as superstitious. Rather than the racist work that some critics allege it to be, "Huck Finn" is a powerful argument against racism, Hirst said, "if you know how to read it." As for Twain and how he might have felt about the resurrection of his manuscript, Hirst said that the author, in all probability, would have been pleased. He had a "lifelong habit of denouncing the proofreaders and typesetters" who at times took it upon themselves to make what they regarded as improvements to his punctuation. Twain did not regard those changes as improvements. Once, upon learning of such a liberty taken by a proofreader, he wrote to a friend: "I telegraphed orders to have him shot without giving him time to pray." Calendar year 2019 was not good for the South San Antonio Independent School District, and 2020 is not looking any better. The beleaguered school district has been under Texas Education Agency scrutiny since April, and just when it appeared that investigation might be coming to a conclusion, the district was notified the state agency is expanding the scope of its work. The agency is looking into the districts purchasing and contracting activities, according to a letter recently sent to the board president, Connie Prado, and Interim Superintendent Dolores Sendejo by Jason Hewitt, director of the TEAs special investigation units. The South San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees may have violated the states contract procurement process, competitive bidding, awarding and management of contracts, the letter states. The school districts newest woes come as no surprise given the boards track record, but there are few details on the expanded scope of the investigation. We have no idea what thats about. Im surprised because they havent concluded the original investigation. We thought that by now theyd conclude their original investigation, Prado said. We would like to think an extended investigation means the state agency is more likely to assign a conservator to oversee the district again. It is a drastic move but one that is desperately needed in the highly dysfunctional school district. The need for TEA intervention in South San is not new. Over roughly the past 40 years the state education agency has appointed monitors and conservators multiple times to oversee the operations of this low-property-wealth school district. The last time was in 2016 when a high turnover rate in the superintendents office prompted TEA action. The district was under the supervision of Judy Castleberry, a conservator, for two years ending in January 2018. It did not take long after her departure for things to deteriorate once again. The dysfunction really started to escalate after the November 2018 school board election brought a new slate of trustees and Prado, a longtime board member, became the new board president. The new board majority, led by Prado, spent the better part of 2019 trying to get rid of Superintendent Alexandro Flores, who had been hired by the previous school board. The new board tasked him with reopening three shuttered schools on a short time schedule, despite advice to the contrary. The new board then blamed him when the enrollment at the schools was not what trustees had anticipated. One of those schools, a high school, has only 25 students. After months of showing outright animosity toward Flores at public meetings, the board and Flores reached a separation agreement early last fall. It allowed Flores to receive a severance package and leave the district with more than three years left on his four-year contract. The superintendents departure prompted the immediate resignation of three trustees who were in the board minority and who were troubled by the direction the school board was taking the district. The board majority then appointed their replacements to positions that wont be filled by voters until the next school board election in November. South San is one of four local school districts currently on the TEAs radar. Two of those districts have had their boards replaced by boards of managers, and a third has been placed on notice that its board will be removed. Most of the problems in these districts are directly tied to dysfunction on the school boards and the trustees attempts to micromanage. The primary jobs of these elected bodies is to hire a superintendent and set policy. Unfortunately, their antics are costing taxpayers thousands of dollars every year in investigations and state-imposed oversight. That is money that would best be spent in the classroom. "In almost all markets where Lime and Uber operate, users will be able to turn to both the Lime and Uber app to unlock world-class products and services," the two firms said On Friday, Lime revealed that it would be closing up shop in 12 markets around the world including in San Diego, Atlanta and Phoenix. In many parts of the world, Lime is pulling its scooters from 12 markets total in order to be "the first next-generation mobility company" to turn out a profit" -- unfortunately, that also requires cutting 14% of their workforce, American news website Axios reported. While the company did make cuts over the past few years like its competitors including Bird and Lyft, this series is one of the most significant. The following are the areas that will be losing Lime scooters: US markets: Atlanta Phoenix San Diego San Antonio Latin American markets: Bogota Buenos Aires Montevideo Lima Puerto Vallarta Rio de Janeiro Sao Paulo European markets: Linz Along with these lay-offs, Lime's president Joe Kraus believes that the company will be able to earn a profit thanks to the improvement in scooter longevity -- which more than doubled from six months to 14 months -- that occurred in 2019. Despite removing themselves from so many areas, Lime told Axios that they intend to expand to brand-new markets over 2020. WASHINGTON - An Army general has denied a request by an officer pardoned in an open murder case by President Donald Trump to have his Special Forces tab reinstated, setting up a potential flashpoint with the commander in chief. The decoration for retired Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn was denied Dec. 3 by Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the Army disclosed Thursday. Beaudette's decision is not final, and the service said in a statement that it will next have an administrative panel consider whether it should reinstate the Special Forces Tab and a Distinguished Service Cross - the military's second-highest valor award - and expunge a letter of reprimand Golsteyn received in connection with his case. Golsteyn was awaiting trial this year in the alleged murder of a suspected Taliban bomb maker in Marja, Afghanistan, in February 2010. The service first opened an investigation into Golsteyn after he disclosed the killing during a 2011 polygraph as the CIA was considering him for a job. Army officials revoked the tab and valor award in 2014 while issuing the reprimand and charged Golsteyn with murder in 2018. Golsteyn has acknowledged the killing in media interviews, but said it occurred in a lawful ambush. He burned the body afterward to prevent disease, he said. The general's action to deny Golsteyn's reinstatement request follows Trump's decision in November to pardon Golsteyn along with former 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, an Army officer who had been convicted of murder in Afghanistan. Trump also decided to reinstate the rank of a Navy SEAL, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murder last year but convicted of posing with an Islamic State corpse in Iraq. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Golsteyn, reached for comment Thursday evening, said he had not yet heard about the decision until it was first reported by The Washington Post. A few minutes later, he and his lawyer, Phil Stackhouse, said they received notification from the Army in an emailed letter that had just arrived. "I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised," Golsteyn said. "I was really hoping they would do the right thing." Beaudette's decision has some parallels to the Navy's decision in November to convene a board to decide whether it would revoke Gallagher's Naval Special Warfare Trident pin, a move that effectively would oust him from the elite force. Trump responded angrily, blocking the move, a decision that led to the ouster of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer. RICHMOND, Va. - The House side of Mr. Jefferson's Capitol just changed its pronoun preference - from "he/him" to "she/her." One day after taking control of Virginia's House of Delegates, Democrats led by the state's first female speaker pushed through a set of rules governing how the chamber will operate. The rules package presented Thursday was a day late and highly anticipated, given that Democrats could have used it to ban guns from the House chamber or to stack committees in their favor. As it turned out, the rules took only an incremental step toward a potential firearms ban. And they afforded Republicans proportional representation on all but one committee, as was the case when the GOP was in charge. But that's not what Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, led with as she unveiled the written rules on the floor. "First," she began, "the pronouns are in the feminine gender." That's true for rules applying to Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax. (Such as, "She will immediately call the House to order.") And for those applicable to the house clerk, another post assumed for the first time Wednesday by a woman, Suzette Denslow. ("She will keep a journal of the proceedings of the House . . .") Yet it's also true for rules applying to the sergeant at arms, a job held by a man, Jay Pearson. ("She will attend to the display of the Mace during sessions of the House and direct all persons not entitled to privileges on the floor of the House to the gallery.") And for rules aimed at every delegate in the House, where women occupy a record 29 seats but still remain greatly outnumbered in a body of 100. ("No member will absent herself from the service of the House unless she has leave granted by the Speaker or is sick or otherwise unable to attend.") "We have updated the language of the House to reflect a Commonwealth that is open and welcoming to everyone," Filler-Corn said later. "For hundreds of years, the assumption was that male pronouns would cover everyone. Another step forward for Virginia." That's quite a change for a 401-year-old body so tradition-bound that Pearson, the white-gloved sergeant at arms, kicks off each daily session by reverently carrying an ornate gold mace into the chamber. The House parted with its practice of addressing delegates as "gentleman" and "gentlewoman" just two years ago, under Filler-Corn's Republican predecessor, as Virginia's first openly transgender legislator was preparing to take her seat. Republicans made no remarks on Thursday's pronoun change from the floor, although they pushed back on other aspects of the rules. They also declined to comment about the pronouns afterward. One male Democrat said the change seemed fair. "For years and years and years, female members have just had to sort of accept that 'he' and 'him' applies to them also," said Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax. "I think for a change, we male delegates are going to have to accept the fact that when the rule says . . . 'her, she' - 'Well, I guess hopefully that includes me, too.' " The rules passed on a party-line vote, 55-45. Republicans' chief objection centered on a rule that would allow the House Committee on Rules to unilaterally set firearms policy for the chamber, as well as other House-controlled parts of the Capitol and the adjacent Pocahontas Building. The Rules Committee is the lone panel that is heavily stacked against the GOP - with 13 Democrats and five Republicans. Whatever it decides on firearms policy will take effect without a vote from the full House. Currently, legislators are allowed to bring firearms onto the floor of the House and Senate. Visitors with concealed carry permits may bring guns into the Capitol and into the House gallery, although the Senate bans guns from its gallery. The rules approved Thursday also empower the Rules Committee to set policies on sexual harassment training. House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said Democrats undermined "centuries of precedent" by empowering the committee to make those decisions without review by the full chamber. "Ceding the authority of the entire House of Delegates to a single committee is as troubling as it is confusing," Gilbert said. "These rules do more than deprive Republicans of a vote on policy: They deprive the vast majority of the Democratic caucus of the same opportunity." San Antonio police arrested a woman in connection with human trafficking charges late Thursday night. Ashanti Pearnell Johnson, 27, was charged with trafficking of a person after detectives arrested her on the Northwest Side for an outstanding felony warrant. Police said she allegedly attempted to force a 34-year-old relative into engaging in sex acts for compensation, according to an arrest affidavit. The relative told police that on Sept. 8 she went with Johnson to a house party at an apartment northwest of downtown. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox When the two arrived, there was only one man, which the relative told police she found odd. A second man who Johnson said was her boyfriend eventually showed up at the apartment. The victim said that later, Johnson and her boyfriend, who has not been charged, began to act strangely and lured her into a bedroom where she said she was sexually assaulted, the affidavit said. READ ALSO: San Antonio man arrested for allegedly trafficking his wife for several years Johnson and her boyfriend only stopped after the other man heard the commotion and told them all to leave, the affidavit said. When the relative talked to Johnson about what happened later that day, Johnson allegedly told her she "should have known what was going to happen," the affidavit continues. The boyfriend also allegedly apologized to the victim, saying Johnson had planned the sexual encounter several days in advance, according to the affidavit. Johnson's arrest comes hours after police arrested another alleged trafficker Thursday afternoon. Jose Sanchez Davila, 39, is accused of forcing his then-wife into sex acts for money. San Antonio police ask if you suspect or know someone who is a victim of human trafficking, call 210-207-SAPD or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, MySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway Combining our organizations gives KWSM more resources and a larger foothold in Southern California. The partnership also gives existing Modi clients an expanded range of services and a larger team providing outsourced marketing solutions. KWSM President Katie Wagner. KWSM: a digital marketing agency, a full-service digital marketing agency with offices in Orange County, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Las Vegas, NV is merging with Modi Marketing, a 6-year-old marketing agency based in San Diego, CA. The two companies will move forward under the KWSM brand. Combining our organizations gives KWSM more resources and a larger foothold in Southern California, says KWSM President Katie Wagner. The partnership also gives existing Modi clients an expanded range of services and a larger team providing outsourced marketing solutions. Since its inception, Modi has served local clients under the leadership of Owner and Marketing Strategist Krystina Feucht. The agency provides small to mid-sized companies with marketing strategies and ongoing support designed to generate leads and grow revenue. "The opportunity to join the KWSM Team couldn't have come at a more perfect time, says Feucht. As Modi Marketing's business has grown, so has our continual need for expanded creative resources. The in-house team of journalistically trained storytellers at KWSM means that my clients, like me, now have a larger team of experts creating solutions for them. KWSM is based in Orange County, CA, with offices in Atlanta, GA and Las Vegas, NV. The agency is in its 10th year of business, and is home to a team of 30 marketing professionals, serving clients nationwide. KWSM is a full-service digital agency with services including social media management, digital advertising, influencer marketing, video production, website design & development, and search engine optimization. The agency works with clients of all sizes across a variety of industries. Feucht joins the KWSM Team as a Marketing Solutions Manager. From the moment I met Krystina, I have known her to be a smart, high-integrity marketer, says Wagner. She embodies the spirit of authentic communication and storytelling that guides the way we approach our work with clients, and we are lucky to have her on our team. Both Wagner and Feucht look forward to the future. From the culture and leadership to the talent and warmth of the KWSM Team, there's so much to be excited for, says Feucht. My new relationship with KWSM provides me greater efficiency and space to do the work I love most - building connections with business owners and helping them thrive through creative and thoughtful marketing." We look forward to continuing to provide Modi clients with the outstanding customer service and marketing results they have enjoyed under Krystinas leadership, says Wagner. Bringing Modi under the KWSM brand gives the agency the opportunity to grow and expand into new markets, fulfilling our ultimate goal, which is to help more businesses grow. ### About KWSM: We serve both small to mid-sized businesses that lack either the manpower or the expertise to run a social media marketing campaign in-house, and larger corporations who may have a full marketing department but need additional direction with the digital part of their overall marketing strategy. Weve handled social media for more than 700 organizations in many industries, including: Professional Services, Beauty, Fitness & Wellness, Mortgage & Real Estate, Fashion, Retail, Finance, Food & Beverage, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Government, Technology, Medical, Publishing, and E-commerce. Our clients are both corporate and small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, community organizations and non-profits. We work in both the B2B and B2C space. Learn more about KWSM: a digital marketing agency at http://www.kwsmdigital.com. Contact Katie Wagner Katie@KWSMDigital.com 949-436-5173 Ukraine says it has been granted access to the black-box flight recorders retrieved from the debris of Wednesday's plane crash in Iran. Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's foreign minister, said on Friday evening that Kiev would reserve judgement about what happened until the flight recorders had been analysed and that it would not discard any version of what happened. "Our task is to determine all the facts of the tragedy," he said. "We are looking at all possible explanations." Some confusion remained as to what Mr Prystaiko meant by "access". He later suggested that Ukraine's team of investigators were yet to be given access to the data contained in the black boxes. Ukraine is pushing to get the flight recorders analysed in their country, he said. Tehran has said it will process the information from the black box within Iran, inviting Boeing and Ukrainian officials to participate in the investigation. Concerns have been raised, however, about whether Iran has the capacity to process the information. Ukraine has so far toed a diplomatic line of not being drawn on western intelligence assessments and a growing body of evidence that the the plane was accidentally shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missiles. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian diplomats confirmed they had received "very important data" from the US that they would be feeding into the investigation. That announcement followed a remarkable plea for intelligence-sharing by the Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who suggested he had not been properly briefed by the Americans. Writing on Facebook, Mr Zelensky said that the possibility that the flight had been shot down cannot be ruled out but is not currently confirmed. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Mr Prystaiko insisted that the 50-strong Ukrainian investigation team were enjoying the "full cooperation" of Iranian authorities, including access to flight paths and conversations between the pilots and air-traffic control. These were completely normal up until the crash, he added, with the plane flying within its assigned flight corridor. Ivan Bakanov, head of Ukraine's security agency, said Kiev was prioritising two possible causes of the plane crash: a missile or terrorism. Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, a Boeing 737-800, came down near the Iranian capital shortly after take-off and a few hours after Tehran attacked US military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. At the time of the crash, Iran was on full alert and anticipating an aerial response. All 176 people onboard the plane died. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans Civil Aviation Organisation, echoed Ukraine's calls for intelligence to be shared with the investigating commission. Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, the aviation official confirmed that the accident took place at 8,000 feet, but he categorically ruled out a missile strike. That, he said, was "technically impossible" and incompatible with the pilots apparent attempts to turn the stricken plane back to the airport. From a very early stage, Tehran has insisted that the crash was caused by mechanical failure. This inflexible stance appeared to undermine the prospects of a transparent investigation. They were damaged further by reports that Iranian authorities had removed debris from the crash site and, according to one well-placed Ukrainian journalist, were withholding crucial evidence from Kievs investigators. Even before the intervention of western intelligence, much of the publicly available evidence contradicted the claims of an engine malfunction. According to flight data available online, the plane took off normally, but approximately two minutes into the flight stopped transmitting all data. This was consistent with a catastrophic event and engine failure would not usually be considered. The plane was almost new, had undergone scheduled maintenance just two days earlier, and there were no distress signals. Within hours of the crash, images began circulating that purported to show the heads of Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missiles near the area where the plane crashed. However, the images were not verified. Recommended Video shows the moment missile strikes plane in Iran There are conflicting reports that more than two anti-aircraft projectiles may have been fired at the plane. A resident of Parand, a town near the airport, who spoke to a soldier posted in a nearby garrison, said they believed three missiles may have been fired. Based on the research that I have done, I understood that the base that is near us was on alert, they saw the aeroplane and fired at it, the resident told The Independent. The soldier said the first rocket exploded before impact, the aircrafts fuel tanks were pierced, and the other two rockets fired caused the plane to catch fire and then crash. BBC Persian correspondent Jiyar Gol told the BBC World Service on Friday that he was told by another witness, also a soldier in a nearby barracks, that he saw three missiles fired at the plane, but that only one hit. The Independent could not independently verify the claims. Speaking about why the pilot did not send a distress call, Mr Abedzadeh suggested that the pilot was concentrated on saving the plane. After take-off, after a few minutes the pilot contacted the tower and had asked permission for 26,000 feet, so this has all happened within two minutes, he said. Overnight, US media quoted intelligence sources offering a very different interpretation. According to CNN, the plane was hit by not one but two Iranian missiles, with US satellites tracking their infrared signatures. CNN claimed that US authorities did not immediately go public with the data because they had decided to verify the data. News broadcaster CBS cited US federal sources as saying it was likely a SA-15 air-defence missile system, also known as Tor, that took down the plane. The medium-altitude short-range surface-to-air missile has a maximum range of 20,000 feet. New Delhi: In the episode, when robbers make Rakhi a hostage and lock her inside a room, they threaten her to keep shut while they look for the fake robber. Preeta decides to save Rakhi along with Srishti and uses a secret route to help the former. But Karan at the same time decides to save Rakhi and because of this, the robbers find Preeta, Srishti and Rakhi together. One of the robbers also finds Prithvi, who is trying to escape. Preeta manages to get all the robbers under one roof and electrocutes them until the cops turn up. Watch the latest episode here: In tonights episode, the police arrest the robbers and begin searching the rest of the place. Preeta and Karan argue about who called the police only to find out they both called different police stations and both responded. Prithvi is trying to hide from everyone but the police find him. Sarla tells the police that Prithvi is part of the family but no one else notices Prithvi. Prithvi tells Sarla he came to the hall as soon as he heard something was wrong there. Rishabh thanks Preeta for saving his family but Karan also wants some credit for it. Sarla interrupts them and says that Preeta did everything for Kumkum Bhagya hall and not for the Luthra family. She takes Preeta home and gives her a heros welcome for protecting the hall and keeping its reputation intact. Rakhi goes to Maheshs room and cries because she thought she would die without him. Rakhi tells Mahesh how Preeta saved her life and also mentions how she saw love for Karan in Preetas eyes. Mahira is passing by and overhears Rakhi. She hears Rakhi saying that Preeta belongs in the Luthra house as their bahu. Rakhi even asks Mahesh to get up and make Preeta the bahu of the house. Mahira goes to her mother crying and asks her to talk to Rakhi. She asks her to explain to Rakhi that Karan hates Preeta. Sherlyn overhears Mahiras conversation. She feels like her position in the house is under threat if Preeta does enter the Luthra family. Preeta and Karan are sitting in their rooms and remembering moments spent with each other. Preeta remembers that the mehndi fell on her hand which means Karan is her husband. Karan also feels happy that his mehndi fell on Preetas hand. They both deny that they have any feelings for each other still. Will Karan and Preeta get back together again? Stay tuned to find out. By Express News Service KOCHI: According to the Global Leprosy Update, 2018 released by World Health Organisation (WHO), the south east Asian region accounted for 71 per cent of new leprosy cases globally. India and Indonesia contributed to 92 per cent of the regions case load. The only silver lining being, 4,992 fewer cases (3.2 per cent) were reported in the region as compared to the previous year, mainly due to a reduction in the number of new cases reported in India. The report also states that active case detection campaigns conducted across the country with the involvement of female community health volunteersover the past four years have helped reduce the number of cases. The surveys conducted as part of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) reveal that 53 cases were registered in the district in 2018-2019 as compared to 36 in the year before. A total of 31 cases have been detected untill December 31, 2019 for the year 2019-2020. Even as there is an increase in cases, medical officers say that awareness, along with proper medication, is key to containing the disease. There are two strains of the disease, paucibacillery (PB) and multibacillery (MB). PB leprosy is a milder strain characterised by few (up to five) skin lesions (pale or reddish), whereas MB is associated with multiple (more than five) skin lesions, nodules, plaques, thickened dermis or skin infiltration. The multi-drug therapy (MDT) treatment for the disease is being provided free of cost at all public health centres in the district. PB patients require medication for six months while people disgnosed with the MB strain require 12 months of treatment for complete cure, said Dr Savitha K, district leprosy officer. Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae bacteria, which is transmitted through affected persons, therefore increasing awareness about the disease and its symptoms plays an important role in containing it. Awareness classes are being conducted at schools, colleges and residential areas by the district administration. ASHA workers are also trained to detect the disease. The stigma associated with the disease is yet to be completely eradicated. Patients prefer to get treated at health centres away from homes, but in most cases they receive complete support of the family, she added. The district has also successfully met two out three targets of the WHO sustainable development goals-2025, for complete eradication of leprosy. The district has reported zero cases of leprosy in children and less than one per million incidence of grade II deformity rate (visible deformity). Symptoms Dark-skinned people might have light patches on the skin, while pale-skinned people have darker or reddish patches Loss or decrease of sensation in the skin patches Numbness or tingling in hand or feet Weakness of hands, feet or eyelids Painful nerves Swelling or lumps in the face or earlobes Painless wounds or burns on hands or feet By Associated Press WASHINGTON: US officials said Thursday it was highly likely that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. They suggested it could well have been a mistake. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose nation lost at least 63 people in the apparent shootdown, said much the same at a news conference in Toronto. He said the strike appeared to involve a surface-to-air missile and "may have been unintentional." The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing US troops amid a confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said they had no certain knowledge of Iranian intent. But they said the airliner could have been mistaken for a threat. President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shootdown but wouldn't directly blame the Iranians. He dismissed Iran's initial claim that it was a mechanical issue. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood." Some people say it was mechanical, Trump added. I personally don't think that's even a question. The U.S. officials wouldnt say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. Two additional U.S. officials said the intelligence pointing to likely Iranian responsibility became clearer overnight into Thursday. It was not immediately clear how the U.S. and its allies would react to the downing of the airliner. At least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians were among the dead. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of a possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of the Iranian general and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes. U.S. troops were on high alert. The latest assessment comes just a day after Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they hadn't had a chance to review the intelligence on the incident. Both spent much of the day at the White House and on Capitol Hill briefing the administration on the killing of Soleimani and the resulting attacks by Iran. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down. Ukraine, meanwhile, said it considered a missile strike as one of several possible theories for the crash, despite Iran's early denials. The Iranian report suggests that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines late Tuesday, when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Investigators from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization offered no immediate explanation for the disaster, however. Iranian officials initially blamed a technical malfunction for the crash, something backed by Ukrainian officials before they said they wouldn't speculate amid an ongoing investigation. Before the U.S. assessment, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the of civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that "the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out. The Ukrainian International Airlines took off at 6:12 a.m. Wednesday, Tehran time, after nearly an hour's delay at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, the main airport for travelers in Iran. It gained altitude heading west, reaching nearly 8,000 feet, according to both the report and flight-tracking data. Then something went wrong, though no radio messages were received from the pilot regarding unusual situations, the report said. In emergencies, pilots reach out to air-traffic controllers to warn them and to clear the runway for their arrival, though their first priority is to keep the aircraft flying. Eyewitnesses, including the crew of another flight passing above, described seeing the plane engulfed in flames before crashing at 6:18 a.m., the report said. The crash caused a massive explosion when the plane hit the ground, likely because the aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine. The report also confirmed that both of the black boxes that contain data and cockpit communications from the plane had been recovered, though they sustained damage and some parts of their memory was lost. Hours before the plane crash the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had issued an emergency flight restriction barring US carriers and pilots from flying over areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace warning of the potential for miscalculation or misidentification for civilian aircraft due to heightened political and military tensions. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, told Ukrainian media that officials had several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike. "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," Danilov said. He did not elaborate on where he saw the information on the internet. Ukrainian investigators that arrived in Iran earlier on Thursday currently await permission from Iranian authorities to examine the crash site and look for missile fragments, Danilov said. The Tor is a Russian-made missile system. Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007 as part of a $700 million contract signed in December 2005. Iran has displayed the missiles in military parades as well. Iran did not immediately respond to the Ukrainian comments. However, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian armed forces, denied a missile hit the airplane in a comments reported Wednesday by the semiofficial Fars news agency. He dismissed the allegation as "psychological warfare" by foreign-based Iranian opposition groups. Ukraine has a grim history with missile attacks, including in July 2014 when one such strike downed a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard. Danilov also said other possible causes under consideration included a drone or another flying object crashing into the plane, a terrorist attack or an engine malfunction causing an explosion. However, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack and the plane was only 3 years old. The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. Many of the passengers were believed to be international students attending universities in Canada; they were making their way back to Toronto by way of Kyiv after visiting with family during the winter break. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he planned to call Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the crash and the investigation. Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash, Zelenskiy said. We will surely find out the truth. The crash ranked among the worst losses of life for Canadians in an aviation disaster. The flag over Parliament in Ottawa was lowered to half-staff, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to get to the bottom of the disaster. The British government said Thursday it is investigating very concerning reports about the crash. The US accident investigator, the National Transportation Safety Board, is talking to the State Department and the Treasury Department about traveling to Iran to inspect the U.S.-built aircraft and working with Iranian authorities despite U.S. economic sanctions against that country. Federal officials are concerned about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. President Donald Trump has lost a bid to block an advice columnist's lawsuit over his remarks that she lied in accusing him of rape. In a decision this week, a Manhattan judge declined to order a hearing on Trump's request to dismiss E. Jean Carroll's defamation suit and to put evidence-gathering on hold in the meantime. A lawyer for Trump, Lawrence Rosen, had argued the New York court shouldn't handle the case, saying that the president's statements weren't made in the state and that Trump currently lives in Washington, not New York, his longtime home. New York state judge Doris Ling-Cohan said the argument wasn't properly backed up by an out-of-court statement under oath or even a social media post. President Donald Trump has lost a bid to block an advice columnist's lawsuit's over his remarks that she lied in accusing him of rape. In a decision Monday, a Manhattan judge declined to order a hearing on Trump's request to dismiss E. JeanCarroll's defamation suit and to put evidence-gathering on hold in the meantime 'There is not even a tweet, much less an affidavit by defendant Trump in support,' Ling-Cohan wrote in a decision provided to lawyers in the case Thursday. In a decision Monday, a Manhattan judge had declined to order a hearing on Trump's request to dismiss Carroll's defamation suit and to put evidence-gathering on hold in the meantime. Now the longtime Elle magazine advice columnist may proceed with her lawsuit accusing Trump of defamation for denying he raped her approximately 24 years ago in Manhattan department store, Bergdorf Goodman. 'There is not even a tweet, much less an affidavit by defendant Trump in support,' New York state judge Doris Ling-Cohan wrote in a decision provided to lawyers in the case Thursday Carroll accused Trump last summer of raping her in the Manhattan luxury department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. In a New York magazine piece and a subsequent book - What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal - Carroll said the two ran into each other, bantered and went to the lingerie department for Trump to pick out a gift for an unidentified woman. She appeared on the magazine cover wearing the same coat from the day she says she encountered Trump in the Fall of 1995 or Spring of 1996. Then, she said, Trump grabbed her arm, maneuvered her into a fitting room and assaulted her. Trump said in June that Carroll was 'totally lying,' calling the accusation 'fake news.' He said they had never met, though a 1987 photo shows them and their then-spouses at a social event. Trump dismissed the picture, saying he was just 'standing with my coat on in a line.' 'I'll say it with great respect: Number one, she's not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?' he told The Hill newspaper in Washington. She claimed Trump grabbed her arm, maneuvered her into a fitting room at Bergdorf Goodman (above) and assaulted her in the Fall of 1995 or Spring of 1996 In a New York magazine (left) piece and a subsequent book, Carroll said the two ran into each other, bantered and went to the lingerie department for Trump to pick out a gift for an unidentified woman. What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal (right) Trump said last June that Carroll was 'totally lying,' calling the accusation 'fake news' Trump claimed that he had never met Carroll, but the advice columnist and author submitted photographic evidence that they had in the lawsuit. The photo above shows Trump and first wife Ivana (left and right) with Carroll and her then-husband John Johnson (center) Carroll alleges in the suit that Trump smeared her and harmed her career. Many readers of her longtime Elle magazine column stopped writing to her for advice, according to the suit. It seeks unspecified damages and a retraction of Trump's statements. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said she was pleased with the ruling. 'We look forward to moving ahead in this case and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client and had not even met her,' Kaplan said in a statement. Trump has denied accusations by more than a dozen women that he made unwanted sexual advances toward them before entering politics. One of those women, Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump's reality television show The Apprentice, is also suing him for defamation. A request for comment on the decision was sent to Rosen. Carroll (pictured June 23, 2019) alleges in the suit that Trump smeared her and harmed her career Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan (pictured) said: 'We look forward to moving ahead in this case and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client' Peart died in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday after a battling brain cancer for several years, the spokesman, Elliot Mintz, told CNN. Photo: Jeff Turner/Flickr Here's what you need to know about what's happening in Sacramento. 10 closures in 11 days: Inside the Sacramento-area restaurant bloodbath to start 2020 Many midtown and downtown Sacramento restaurants closed in late 2019 or 2020, plus some in the suburbs. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. Person hit by light-rail train in north Sacramento A pedestrian was transported to an area hospital after being struck by a light-rail train Thursday evening. Read the full story on CBS13 CBS Sacramento. Car windows shattered in south Sacramento neighborhood Multiple people in south Sacramento County woke up to find their car windows shattered, possibly shot out by a BB or pellet gun, on Tuesday morning. Read the full story on KCRA. Sacramento Convention Center makeover hurts nearby businesses A new and improved Sacramento Convention Center is continuing to take shape in downtown. The massive makeover began in August, with an estimated completion date in fall 2020. Read the full story on KCRA. Man critically injured in north Sacramento shooting on New Years Day dies at hospital Tymon Rodgers, 25, was identified as the man shot in the 2500 block of Traction Avenue on Jan. 1. Rodgers succumbed to critical injuries at the hospital, dying Saturday. No arrests have been made, police say. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:15:08|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close KABUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-six Afghan army soldiers have completed professional training and received graduation certificates from an army training center, the Afghan special forces command said on Friday. "The graduates included 26 captains and 30 officers and soldiers, who have completed a special training course earlier this week, at the Rishkhor Special Operations Corps Military training center and joined Afghan Special Forces," Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps said in a statement. At a ceremony held at the Rishkhor Garrison, Gen. Mohammad Farid Ahmadi, commander of Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps, said the new graduates should share what they have learned from their trainers with their colleagues to better meet the desires of the people of Afghanistan. "The people of Afghanistan want peace and stability and this could be reached through your loyalty," Ahmadi was quoted as saying. On Tuesday, a total of 314 soldiers have graduated from a military training course in the Afghan National Army's 203 Tandar Corps in eastern Afghanistan. The graduation came as fighting rages amid growing insurgency across the country. About 20 Afghan army personnel lost their lives during separate attacks since beginning of this month. If there are any criminals in the AAP, then put them behind bars, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said, responding to the criticism from the BJP over induction of five-time MLA Shoaib Iqbal into the party fold. In response to a question, Sisodia said Delhi Police has been under the Centre for the past six years and if Iqbal has committed any crime then he should be arrested and put in jail. "If any AAP leader or anyone joining the party is a murder accused, then the BJP should be ashamed that he is free and outside jail. For six years, Delhi Police has been under you (BJP). Arrest him and put him in jail. If you can't run Delhi Police, then leave it. We will run it and show," he said. "And if there is any murderer in our party or your party, we will put him behind bars," Sisodia said. Sisodia was responding to BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra's allegations that Iqbal has been convicted in several cases already and there is an unending list of grave offences under his names. Iqbal on Thursday joined the Aam Aadmi Party in presence of Chief Minister and AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) According to WIBV in Buffalo, Mark Croce, the owner of the building that houses Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Buffalo, was one of two men killed in a helicopter crash in Pennsylvania Thursday night. Authorities say Croce was piloting the helicopter when he and his passenger, 63-year-old Michael Capriotto, crashed into a Pennsylvania backyard. Authorities in Cumberland County say no one on the ground was injured. Both men were from Orchard Park, N.Y. The aircraft was headed to Buffalo from Washington, D.C., when the crash took place near Mechanicsburg. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday to stop President Donald Trump from further military action against Iran, rebuking the president days after he ordered a drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander and raised fears of war. The Democratic-controlled House voted 224-194, mostly along party lines, sending the war powers resolution to the Senate. The partisan vote reflected the deep divide in Congress over Trump's Iran policy and how much of a say lawmakers should have over the use of the military. Democrats accused Trump of acting recklessly and backed the resolution, while Trump's fellow Republicans, who rarely vote against the president, opposed it. "The president has to make the case first - first, not after he launches an ill-advised attack and then comes up with a reason why it was necessary and why it was legal," said Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Republicans said Democrats endangered the country by trying to pass a resolution they characterized as an empty political gesture, at the start of a U.S. general election year. "Instead of supporting the president, my Democrat colleagues are dividing Americans at a critical time," said Representative Mike McCaul, senior Republican on the foreign affairs panel. He said the resolution would "tie the president's hands." The White House also criticized the resolution's passage in the House, calling it "ridiculous" and "just another political move." The resolution "attempts to hinder the Presidents authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. UNCERTAIN FATE The fate of the resolution is uncertain in the Senate. Republicans hold 53 of the chamber's 100 seats, but at least two Republican senators - Rand Paul and Mike Lee - have expressed support for the measure. If passed by the House and Senate, the measure does not need Trump's signature to go into effect, although Democrats and Republicans disagreed over whether it was binding. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faulted the White House for failing to consult Congress before the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. "Last week, in our view, the president - the administration - conducted a provocative, disproportionate attack against Iran, which endangered Americans," Pelosi told a news conference. U.S. officials said on Thursday the government believed Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner shortly after Iran fired missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq, while Iran was on high alert. Trump called Pelosi "Crazy" on Twitter, and told reporters he did not need Congress' approval for military action against Iran. "I don't have to and you shouldn't have to, because you have to be able to make split-second decisions sometimes. Sometimes you have to move very, very quickly," he said. The War Powers Act, which was passed in 1973 as Congress reacted to secret bombings during the bitterly divisive Vietnam War, says the House and Senate can pass a resolution to force the withdrawal of troops engaged in a foreign conflict without Congress' consent. It was not immediately clear what would follow if the resolution passes the Senate. Legal questions about Congress' power over the president's role as commander in chief of the U.S. military are unresolved. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, insisted the resolution would have no power over Trump. He called it a "meaningless vote" at his weekly news conference. Democrats disagreed, noting that the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. The resolution's passage, they said, would send a strong message that Trump must work with lawmakers on national security. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 17:54:57|Editor: zh Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 19.05 billion U.S. dollars of foreign capital entered Shanghai in 2019, a new high in the city's history, the municipal government said Friday. An average of over 52 million U.S. dollars of foreign capital was invested in Shanghai daily, as the regional headquarters of 720 foreign-funded multinational companies as well as 461 foreign-funded R&D centers landed in the city by the end of 2019. A series of opening-up policies and business environment improvement contributed to the investment growth, according to the local government. A total of 60 foreign investment projects worth over 7.3 billion U.S. dollars were signed Friday at a ceremony organized by the municipal government. Among the signed projects, there were 39 in manufacturing with a total investment of 4.7 billion U.S. dollars, 20 mega-projects worth over 100 million U.S. dollars each, nine projects from Fortune 500 companies and nearly 20 regional headquarters projects. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would speak on Friday to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo following claims that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner. American, British and Canadian officials say intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the plane, killing all 176 onboard, perhaps unintentionally. "The version of a missile is not ruled out, but it has not yet been confirmed," Zelensky said on his Facebook page. He reiterated Ukraine's request to be sent all information needed to conduct a thorough investigation and said he would talk about the probe with Pompeo later on Friday. "Our goal is to establish the undeniable truth," he said. "The value of human life is above all political motives." Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council, earlier said investigators were pursuing several leads following the crash, including a strike with a surface-to-air missile like a Russian-made Tor, a collision with a drone, engine failure or an act of terror. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Edgewater man accused of holding one woman captive for 12 days and forcing her into prostitution was denied release once again Thursday after representing himself in court. Tyrone Washington, 34, whos been indicted in Bergen County on human trafficking charges for three separate woman, will remain in custody despite pointing to sworn statements by witnesses that say he did not abuse or hold one of his alleged victims captive. In November 2018, Washington and a co-defendant were arrested for holding a woman captive for 12 days and then forcing her to engage in prostitution. At one point during the womans alleged captivity, Washington slapped the woman in the right cheek and threatened her, according to the probable cause affidavit. But Washington says one witness who was in the apartment denied he ever hit the victim or held her against her will. "The prosecutors witness was present in the apartment and gave a sworn statement that the defendant did not force [the victim] to stay, said Washington, who was clad in an orange jumpsuit and in handcuffs during the appearance in Superior Court of Bergen County, in Hackensack. After Washington presented his case, Assistant Prosecutor Avon Morgan said that the argument Washington presented belonged in the trial, not in a hearing reconsidering his detention. Judge Keith Bachmann agreed, saying that while Washingtons argument might undermine the credibility of the victims during the trial, the argument didnt establish that Washington would not try to flee or pose a threat to the community. The defendants motion is denied, Bachmann said just prior to adjourning the hearing. Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10 2020 Living abroad for the next five or 10 years in order to build a career before eventually returning to Indonesia is the aspiration of Fadhil Saptady, a 26-year-old Indonesian entrepreneur in Turkey. He is one of more than 6 million Indonesians in the diaspora across the globe and among those who have been tasting the fruits of living overseas by running a hospitality business. First arriving in Turkey as a student in 2012, Fadhil decided to open an Indonesian restaurant six years later in Istanbul. I want to develop myself abroad and then come back to Indonesia to [contribute] to economic development, he said recently. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Dividend paying stocks like China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (SGX:G92) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. With China Aviation Oil (Singapore) yielding 3.4% and having paid a dividend for over 10 years, many investors likely find the company quite interesting. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying China Aviation Oil (Singapore) for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on China Aviation Oil (Singapore)! SGX:G92 Historical Dividend Yield, January 10th 2020 Payout ratios Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. China Aviation Oil (Singapore) paid out 29% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a medium payout level that leaves enough capital in the business to fund opportunities that might arise, while also rewarding shareholders. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Last year, China Aviation Oil (Singapore) paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable. With a strong net cash balance, China Aviation Oil (Singapore) investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective. Story continues Consider getting our latest analysis on China Aviation Oil (Singapore)'s financial position here. Dividend Volatility One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of China Aviation Oil (Singapore)'s dividend payments. The dividend has been cut on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.012 in 2010, compared to US$0.032 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 11% per year over this time. China Aviation Oil (Singapore)'s dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 11% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth. China Aviation Oil (Singapore) has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, but it might be worth considering if the business has turned a corner. Dividend Growth Potential Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. China Aviation Oil (Singapore) has grown its earnings per share at 6.8% per annum over the past five years. It's good to see decent earnings growth and a low payout ratio. Companies with these characteristics often display the fastest dividend growth over the long term - assuming earnings can be maintained, of course. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that China Aviation Oil (Singapore)'s dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. China Aviation Oil (Singapore) has a low payout ratio, which we like, although it paid out virtually all of its generated cash. Second, earnings growth has been ordinary, and its history of dividend payments is chequered - having cut its dividend at least once in the past. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than China Aviation Oil (Singapore) out there. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 4 analysts we track are forecasting for China Aviation Oil (Singapore) for free with public analyst estimates for the company. We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. DUBLIN, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Satellite Communication Market in the Defense Sector - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The satellite communication market in the defense sector is expected to register a CAGR of over 6.90% during the forecast period (2020 - 2025). With the penetration of IoT in military operations, it is significantly impacting military intelligence, operations, and surveillance. Technological advancement in miniaturization, connected technology, robust network environment, low power computing, radio frequency identification, and M2M communication are also expected to fuel the satellite communication market. In addition to that, the governments of several countries are taking numerous initiatives to facilitate the manufacturing of military communication systems and solutions, which is another strong factor that will support the growth of the military communications market. Governments of countries like China , US, UK, Indonesia , etc., play a vital role in promoting maritime security since the maritime industry adds to the regions' economic growth. , US, UK, , etc., play a vital role in promoting maritime security since the maritime industry adds to the regions' economic growth. For example, in April 2018 , ORBCOMM and Maerospace extended AIS contract with the Government of Canada . Through its Canadian subsidiary SkyWave, ORBCOMM will provide satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data used for ship tracking and other maritime navigational and safety efforts to the Government of Canada for monitoring Canadian and global marine traffic. , ORBCOMM and Maerospace extended AIS contract with the Government of . Through its Canadian subsidiary SkyWave, ORBCOMM will provide satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data used for ship tracking and other maritime navigational and safety efforts to the Government of for monitoring Canadian and global marine traffic. However, the high cost of manufacturing as well as of components of satellite communication equipment is likely to hinder the satellite communication market over the forecast period. Government Initiatives to Drive the Market Growth Artificial Intelligence is becoming a part of modern warfare. Implementation of AI in Satellite Communication is set to be a major trend in the coming decade. The governments of various countries are investing in communication technology such as navigation systems, vessel tracking, etc. Military satellites are a measure of the nation's military strength, operability, and the ability to attack or defend itself. These satellites give the military real-time data of movement of troops and regarding the arsenal at enemy borders. Nowadays, nanosatellites are coming into the picture because of their usability. Nanosatellites are defined as satellites with a mass less than or equal to 10 kg. Moreover, recent advances in optics and communication technologies have improved the smaller spacecraft capabilities for remote sensing and imaging. Heightened government interest coupled with increasing maturity of the technology is attracting companies to invest in this sector. For instance, the National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA) budget for the fiscal year 2020 is USD 21 billion . It's a 1.4% increase over by 2019. NASA will take a more active role in commercializing new space technologies. Many of its new initiatives have military and business applications. Asia-Pacific is Projected to Have the Highest Growth Rate China and India are largely responsible for the rapid growth of satellite communication market in the defense sector in the Asia-Pacific region. The governments of these countries have adopted conscious strategies to make maritime, aeronautical, and military sectors more secure. Appropriate communication channels make a big part of this strategy, which will inevitably fuel the demand for mobile satellite services. and are largely responsible for the rapid growth of satellite communication market in the defense sector in the region. The governments of these countries have adopted conscious strategies to make maritime, aeronautical, and military sectors more secure. Appropriate communication channels make a big part of this strategy, which will inevitably fuel the demand for mobile satellite services. China and India , the world's two emerging economic powers, are demonstrating a sustained increase in their military expenditure and contribute to the growth in world military spending. Joint military activities are increasing among the Asia-Pacific regions. These activities are creating a market for satellite communication market in the defense sector. and , the world's two emerging economic powers, are demonstrating a sustained increase in their military expenditure and contribute to the growth in world military spending. Joint military activities are increasing among the regions. These activities are creating a market for satellite communication market in the defense sector. For example, the government of India allocated Rs 4,04,365 crore (the US $62.8 billion ) for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The governments are increasing their military budgets as well. Key Topics Covered: 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Study Deliverables 1.2 Study Assumptions 1.3 Scope of the Study 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Introduction to Market Drivers and Restraints 4.3 Market Drivers 4.3.1 Increased Sea-borne Threats and Ambiguous Maritime Security Policies 4.3.2 Rise in the Demand for Merchant Shipping 4.4 Market Restraints 4.4.1 Lack of Awareness About Advanced Satellite Service Market 4.4.2 Reliance on High-cost Satellite Equipment 4.5 Value Chain / Supply Chain Analysis 4.6 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Force Analysis 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION 5.1 By Type 5.2 By Application 5.3 Geography 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Company Profiles 7 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS 8 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS Companies Mentioned Baker Hughes Incorporated Globecomm Systems Inc. Inmarsat Communications Iridium Communications Inc. KVH Industries, Inc. Orbcomm Inc. Rogers Communications, Inc SpeedCast International Limited Thuraya Telecommunications Company ViaSat Inc VT iDirect, Inc For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5p9fl4 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: 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 TWIN FALLS To maintain a safe society, communities depend on peace officers to defend the public and keep the peace. Officers are tasked with responding to emergencies, de-escalating violent situations and placing themselves in the line of fire to protect citizens. But in today's world, the basic training peace officers receive goes only so far. Modern law enforcement departments rely on an arsenal of high-tech equipment to protect officers, victims and suspects. In their line of work, self-defense is critical and accurate recording data is essential. Advances in portability and convenience have improved equipment over time and the police force is working with state-of-the-art equipment. Their utility belts equipped with a magazine pouch, flashlights, taser, baton, handcuffs, firearm and pepper spray commonly add 10 pounds to their uniform. While the belts contain daily tools necessary for self-defense and locking down a crime scene, these are only the most basic items used to fight crime. A long history of body armor On daily patrol, Magic Valley police officers commonly wear body armor to protect their vital organs in case of violence. Jerome City Police Chief Dan Hall considers the modern style of body armor to be critical protection. "The decrease in police injuries can be attributed to the use of more body armor," Hall said. And advances in body armor technology are increasing safety for officers in the field. The use of body armor dates back to the 1500s. When combatants started using gunpowder to afford projectiles greater range, the form of protection developed was, in Hall's words, "Plain ol' armor plate." Three centuries later, a primitive type of soft body armor was invented. By weaving materials such as cotton or silk tightly together, the effectiveness of the armor increased. "They layered a lot of (layers) together to get them to work," Hall said. By the time World War II rolled around, flak jackets were used primarily to stop shell fragments not bullets Hall said. When Delaware chemist Stephanie Kwolek discovered Kevlar in 1965, body armor was reinvented. Kwolek was seeking a type of fiber to replace steel in automobile tires but, instead, she stumbled across the components of Kevlar and found it to be five times stronger than steel. The strong, stiff material resembled nylon and soon became the standard material used in protective vests and helmets. It has changed not only the industry but also the statistics. "Body armor is a valuable and essential piece of equipment," Hall said. "In the early '60s and '70s, (before Kevlar was used) the mortality rate for officers was much higher." The pre-Kevlar types of body armor weren't affordable. Although bullet-resistant vests became popular in the 1980s, law enforcement agencies did not customarily supply officers with them. "The officers could buy their own," Hall said. Now, agencies provide body armor to all officers as a standard part of their uniforms. The Idaho State Police use Second Chance body armor, Lt. Robert Rausch said. Investigators use an external carrier, worn over their clothing. "It has ballistic front and back plates of ceramic or metal," Rausch said. "It protects against heavier rounds." In Jerome, the trend has moved away from military-style body armor, Hall said. "We avoid (the military) look as much as we can," he said. Instead, body armor is designed to blend in with the uniform, and a badge is imprinted on the fabric. The armor is easily removable. A different style of body armor can be worn under uniforms, but it is not breathable. Hall prefers the shirt-based body armor not only for the advantage of proper ventilation but also because gear can be stored in it, instead of on the belt, reducing the load on the hips. "The load is borne by the shoulders, instead of the back," Hall said. An office in the patrol car A Ford Interceptor patrol vehicle serves as an office for Twin Falls police, who operate a Mobile Data Computer system comprised of a laptop computer, scanner and printer without ever leaving the drivers seat. With the system, officers can print citations at the scene, scan drivers licenses or other documents, and enter critical incident notes that can be instantly shared with dispatchers. In the case of a missing child, for instance, Officer C.J. Wheeler explained that a photo from parents can be scanned in and circulated to other officers quickly. The system also reduces the dependency on radios and police scanners, which often garble communications. Wireless capabilities allow dispatchers to efficiently record details on emergency and non-emergency calls coded red, yellow or green according to urgency leaving the airwaves open for urgent situations. "It frees up air space," Twin Falls Police Officer J.P. O'Donnell said. The officer can use a hot-key function to select a particular dispatch call, another to indicate arrival on the scene, and yet another to announce that they are clear of the area, O'Donnell said. Law enforcement can also access information on a suspect or individual by checking the National Criminal Information Center or Idaho Law Enforcement Telecommunication System for active warrants, he said. Information can be transmitted to the department's records management division in a matter of seconds. "It's a great tool to have," Officer Candace Comeau said. When sensitive matters are involved that would be inappropriate to discuss over the airwaves, officers can message a dispatcher directly or send a message to an administrator seeking further information or clarification. If an emergency arises at a school or other Twin Falls building, the Mobile Data Computers contain tactical plans and information about those buildings to make responding easier, eliminating the need for officers to arrive at the site and spend valuable time assigning duties. Each Mobile Data Computer system is hooked up to the vehicle's battery, plus it has an internal battery for backup. The Wi-Fi connection remains active even when the engine isn't running. It disconnects after an extended period of inactivity, such as when the car is parked overnight. Mobile systems on two wheels Police motorcycles have a modified version of the system installed with a dual battery to ensure continued power. The screen is attached above the handlebars, and the printer and scanner are stored in a compartment behind the rider's seat. Sgt. Ryan Howe, who patrols on a department motorcycle, reported drawbacks to that system, however, when he is issuing traffic citations. In that scenario, he has to hook up the printer or the scanner to check the driver's record. The main screen similar to a tablet has a keyboard option, and there is a separate wireless keyboard kept in the storage compartment. The first priority for trainees while patrolling is to concentrate on the task at hand. "The last thing we want is for them to be a distracted driver," O'Donnell said. In the coming year, a new version of the software used for the Mobile Data Computers and dispatchers will allow Twin Falls police to be privy to ongoing calls in other jurisdictions, and enable them to monitor Twin Falls' activities. "It has a lot of capabilities we're excited about," O'Donnell said. Among those is the ability to see real-time additions to a record, instead of waiting for the entry to be saved. The new system Twin Falls City Communications Center which handles dispatch services for Twin Falls Police and Fire Departments, will have inter-operability with Southern Idaho Regional Communications, or SIRCOMM. "In the end, it's about better communications and being more efficient," O'Donnell said. Recording incidents aids in convictions Accurate data is essential in fighting crime. Jerome County Sheriff's Office uses the Watchguard System to capture video and audio from each patrol vehicle. At approximately $5,000 per system, the equipment includes multiple cameras, records activity of arrestees in the back seat, shows when the vehicle's emergency lights are activated, when the siren is sounding or when the brakes are depressed. Patrol videos are useful in court cases, Jerome County Sheriff George Oppedyk said, especially in the scenarios where suspects hide contraband when deputies aren't watching. "It's another way to have eyes on the person in the back seat," Oppedyk said. The cameras offer a panoramic view, in addition to a straight-ahead perspective, he said. The Jerome County Sheriff's Office selected the Watchguard System based on recommendations from the Idaho State Police District 4 post. The version of the Watchguard System used by Idaho State Police was older, however, and required transferring files using DVDs or memory sticks, Rausch said. Since 2015, the Idaho State Police has been using the Arbitrator video system in their patrol vehicles. "We no longer have to worry about DVDs or sticks," Rausch said. The same applies to the newer Watchguard System in Jerome County, Oppedyk said. Recording is constant, which doesn't require turning the equipment on and off. When a deputy returns to the office, the files are automatically downloaded via the vehicle antenna into the main server. "There are no SD cards," Oppedyk said. Files are coded by type, whether they are associated with a traffic stop, arrest or another incident. Prosecutors can directly access the recordings, reducing the time it takes to file written requests or copy videos on DVDs. The quality of the recordings is better than photos, Oppedyk said, and stills can be taken directly from the videos. But law enforcement is divided. "A lot of people have shifted to body cams," he said. Body cameras limit the view, however, whereas the Watchguard System provides more data that can be used to verify or dismiss a citizen complaint, Oppedyk said. For the Idaho State Police, body cameras are only used by those on motorcycle patrol, Rausch said. But there are limitations to the vehicle video systems too, Rausch pointed out. Like the Arbitrator system, if an officer must walk all the way to the cab of a semi hauling three trailers, audio recording may not be reliable. "For average, everyday use, it works wonderfully," Rausch said. A day in the life of a peace officer For officers in the field, depending solely on skill, intuition and a utility belt may not be enough. High-quality surveillance mechanisms and protective body armor are critical to ongoing safety. Citizens, society and fellow officers are depending on the police force to keep the peace. Fewer errors on the ground translate to fewer deaths. Some police equipment is heavy artillery machinery, including mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles known as MRAPs. The U.S. developed these vehicles in 2007 in response to an increased IED threat in the Iraq War. The interior of these vehicles contains state-of-the-art operational equipment. The heavily armored vehicles boast high clearance and their V-shaped hulls are "designed from the ground up to reduce casualties among personnel subjected to mine explosions, improvised explosive device detonations, and small arms fire," according to the Institute for National Strategic Studies. Equipment used by law enforcement is continually being modernized, giving peace officers more of an advantage in the field. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from various petitioners, challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act in different High Courts, on a plea by the Centre seeking transfer of these petition to the top court. A bench of Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to all petitioners and scheduled the hearing on January 22, along with other anti-CAA petitions. The Supreme Court had on Wednesday had agreed to hear on Friday the Centre's plea to transfer PILs filed in different High Courts, across the country challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, to the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice Bobde stating different High Courts may take conflicting views on the matter, especially against the backdrop where nearly 60 PILs have been filed in the apex court. The court observed that it is always good to have advantage to see the view of the High Court. But, at the same time, the Chief Justice said we feel that the high courts should not take a view on the matter when it is pending before the apex court. Mehta said that the PIL on validity of the law is scheduled for hearing in the Karnataka High Court this week. Earlier on December 18, hearing a slew of anti-CAA petitions filed before it, the SC refused to stay the law but agreed to examine its constitutional validity. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad, Calif., on Sept. 22, 2014. (Reuters/Mike Blake) Small Business Job Creation Sprints Ahead But Upward Wage Pressure Softens Small businesses continued to hire new workers at a solid pace in December, building on the previous months strong numbers and the U.S. labor markets continuing 10-year growth streak. An employment report released on Jan. 9 by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) shows that in the final month of 2019, small business owners continued to hire employees, add new positions, and raise wages. 2019 was a strong year for small businesses across the country, said NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg. Because of regulatory and tax relief, owners were able to invest in their businesses and employees throughout the year. Owners added an average of 0.29 workers per firm in December, continuing at the highest level since May, the report shows. Eleven percent of owners reported increasing employment an average of 2.3 workers per firm. Nineteen percent said they plan to increase total employment at their firm, while 5 percent indicated they plan cuts. Finding qualified workers remained the top problem for 23 percent of respondents, putting upward pressure on wages. The inability to assemble work teams is a key contributor to the comparably lackluster performance of the construction industry as evidenced by the December figures, Dunkelberg said. Owners are raising compensation in order to attract more qualified applicants to fill open positions. A near historically high percentage of owners said they raised or plan to raise worker compensation. Twenty-nine percent said they had raised wages in the last three months and 24 percent reported plans to do so in the coming months. While at near-historic levels, planned and realized small business wage growth softened compared to November, when a net 30 percent of owners, seasonally adjusted, reported raising compensation, while 26 percent said they planned to do so in the coming months. The report said that Novembers planned wage growth numbers hit their highest levels since December 1989. Despite a tight labor market, small business owners are doing exactly what they said they would do thanks to tax relief. Theyre creating new jobs and raising compensation at record levels, said NFIB President & CEO Juanita D. Duggan. The only thing holding them back continues to be finding qualified workers, but in spite of that challenge the small business economy is roaring. Still, weaker small business compensation growth in December mirrored that in the broader economy, with the pace of hourly wage growth falling below 3 percent in December for the first time in a year and a half, according to reports. Hard to Come By Fifty-three percent of owners reported hiring or trying to hire, but 94 percent said they found few or no qualified applicants, the NFIB report said. Difficulty finding qualified hires was particularly significant in construction and manufacturing. Sixty-two percent of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants and 46 percent said their biggest business issue was a shortage of qualified workers. The manufacturing sector reported similar figures with 63 percent and 24 percent respectively. Growth is clearly constrained in these important sectors by a shortage of workers, the report noted (pdf), with 61 percent of owners reporting job openings in construction that they could not fill. Historic Run The strong December figures build on November data, which showed that small business optimism posted the largest month-over-month gain since May 2018. This historic run may defy the expectations of many, but it comes as no surprise to small business owners who understand what a supportive tax and regulatory environment can do for their companies, Dunkelberg said of Novembers stats. As the two-year anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts passage approaches this month, small businesses, the worlds third-largest economy, are using those savings to power the American economy. The U.S. economy is now in its 11th year of a record-long economic expansion. Were in a virtuous economic cycle now where low unemployment, continued job growth, and rising household income are the fuel powering consumer spending. Consumer spending is the pillar on which the U.S. economy rests, with 68 percent of economic output tied to it, said Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst at Bankrate, in remarks to The Epoch Times. When that virtuous cycle starts to show crackssuch as rising unemployment that undercuts the ability and confidence of households to spendthats when we need to worry the expansion is coming to an end. December Job Gains Cap 10th Straight Year of Rising Payrolls The Labor Department released solid job growth figures Friday, signaling continued labor market tightening as the U.S. economy continues to grow. According to the nonfarm payroll figures, released on Jan. 10, 145,000 jobs were added in the final month of 2019. This is broadly in line with expectations that the numbers would come in lower than the exceptionally strong November data. Economists polled variously by Reuters and MarketWatch were expecting to see the pace of new job creation slowing in December from an unusually robust 256,000 jobs added in November, revised down in this report by 10,000. The outsized part of the November gains was widely attributed to General Motors workers returning from a strike. Another part of Decembers slowdown could be due to seasonal volatility associated with a later-than-normal Thanksgiving Day. The relevant comparison is not December versus November, but against economists expectations, explained Robert Johnson, Professor of Finance at Heider College of Business, Creighton University, in remarks to The Epoch Times. The consensus estimate was for 160,000 jobs to be added. While slightly lower than expectations, the December jobs number does not stoke fear that a long-anticipated recession in the U.S. is imminent. Kristoffer Kjr Lomholt, senior analyst at Danske Bank, said in a note (pdf) ahead of the jobs report that he expected a 175,000 headline print for December, which he acknowledged was slightly stronger than consensus expectations. Still, the new payroll data suggests the U.S. economy will continue to be buoyed by the positive labor market dynamics, which are tied to consumer sentiment. The key thing for markets is that the report shows a continued tightening of the labor market, Lomholt explained, which he defined as job growth staying above roughly 100,000. He added that weaker than expected data, which he believed was not in the cards, might unsettle investors and trigger a risk-off move, sparking a sell-off of riskier assets like stocks. Construction workers in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 3, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) The Labor Department said notable job gains took place in retail trade and health care, while mining lost jobs. Also of note in the new figures was a downward revision of both October and November nonfarm payroll employment figures. October numbers were revised down by 4,000 from 156,000 to 152,000, while the change for November was revised down by 10,000 from 266,000 to 256,000. After the revisions, job gains have averaged 184,000 over the last 3 months. Unemployment Rate The unemployment rate for December was 3.5 percent, according to the Labor Department. The jobless rate broke below 4 percent in April 2018 and has stayed at or below that level for 20 straight months, representing the longest such stretch since the 1960s. In December, the number of people unemployed remained unchanged at 5.8 million. A year earlier, the jobless rate was 3.9 percent with the number of unemployed persons at 6.3 million. Meanwhile, a broader measure of unemployment known as the U6 rate fell to 6.7 percent, the lowest level on record. Trump Says Wants to Include Middle East in NATO and Dub it 'NATO-ME' Sputnik News 03:23 10.01.2020 Addressing the nation on Wednesday, President Trump said he would ask NATO to boost its involvement in the process in the Middle East. The message came after Iran attacked US military facilities in Iraq. US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that Middle Eastern countries should join the North Atlantic Alliance. "I think that NATO should be expanded and we should include the Middle East, absolutely", the president said. He then ironically suggested calling the expanded alliance "NATO-ME". Following the president's address to the nation on Wednesday, NATO Chief Stoltenberg has agreed to become "much more involved" in the Middle East. "We can come home, largely come home and use NATO. We caught ISIS (Daesh*), we did Europe a big favour", Trump added. Trump has repeatedly vowed to limit the American military presence in the Middle East region, having claimed he would put "an end to these endless wars" during his presidential campaign. The Iranian army has also requested that the United States withdraw its troops from the Middle East, including Iraq, the national broadcaster reported on Wednesday. On Sunday, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution demanding that the US troops pull out of the country, though the resolution is non-binding. US Secretary of Defence Marc Esper said in response that "there's been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq. Period". In October, President Trump said that the US troops would be leaving Syria, with the announcement being made right before Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched an offensive along the Syrian-Turkish border. The move, however, turned out to be a "sort-of-withdrawal, similar to that of December 2018, when Trump also spoke of a withdrawal from Syria. *Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The leaders of Australia, Canada and the U.K. all believe evidence suggests an Iranian missile brought down a Ukrainian passenger plane earlier this week, killing all 176 people on board, with analysts expressing concern that intensifying international pressure against Tehran will trigger a diplomatic crisis. Most of the passengers on Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 were from Iran and Canada. Other passengers came from countries including Sweden and Ukraine. The crash occurred Wednesday morning, a few hours after Iran launched ballistic attacks on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, prompting a theory that the Kyiv-bound passenger plane may have been unintentionally struck by a stray missile. Government officials from Australia, Britain, Canada and the U.S. have since said they believe this theory is likely, based on new information. Iran has denied the plane was brought down by a missile. "If the preliminary assessments prove accurate, the diplomatic fallout for Iran will be significant in the short term," analysts at Eurasia Group said in a research note published Thursday. Analysts at the political risk consultancy suggested Tehran seemed to earn a "good deal of international sympathy and solidarity" after the U.S. killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani last week with many "quietly grateful" the Islamic Republic did not respond more forcefully. But, "the shootdown will jeopardize that diplomatic goodwill, especially if the evidence proves overwhelming and Iran continues to stridently deny it." 'Pretty rough neighborhood' Speaking to reporters on Friday, Iran's Civil Aviation Authority head, Ali Abedzadeh, said Tehran wanted to download black box recordings itself. It if needed help to decode the messages which could reportedly take one or two months Iran could ask for help from Russia, Canada, France or Ukraine, Abedzadeh said. Sixty-three Canadians were among the victims in the crash of the flight, which lost contact with air traffic controllers five minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday morning, officials said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference on Thursday that he had "intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence." "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Trudeau added. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued similar statements. Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 and, despite pledges to reengage, Trudeau has not yet sought to revive formal relations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the theory that a stray missile may have struck Flight 752 could not be confirmed yet. President Donald Trump said Thursday he does not believe a mechanical failure caused the crash. "It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood," Trump said. "Someone could have made a mistake." 'One or two years' to complete flight investigation Under international law, the country in which the crash occurs controls the investigation, and because the plane was U.S.-made, federal investigators and Boeing, the plane's manufacturer, would normally be involved. However, fraught relations between the U.S. and Iran could complicate the U.S. government's willingness or ability to send personnel to the country. (@FahadShabbir) CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) The Moldovan Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday issued a recommendation for the country's airlines to avoid Iraqi and Iranian airspace following Tehran's missile strikes against US bases in Iraq and a deadly plane crash in Iran. "In the context of heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf and the Hormuz Strait, the Civil Aviation Authority recommends that national airline avoid the airspace over Iraq and Iran following Iran's missile strikes at US military bases, and take necessary precautions to avoid danger for civilian aviation," the authority said in a statement. It also proposes to raise the level of control over the maintenance of aircraft with similar engines as the one in the Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 that crashed in Iran on Wednesday. The tragedy happened near Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport shortly after take-off and killed all 176 people on board. On the same day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps started an operation to retaliate against the US for killing one of its top generals, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq, launching dozens of missiles at the US' Ain Al Asad and Erbil air bases. The attack caused no casualties. Blackhorse Avenue, where it is alleged Gallagher tried to abduct the woman A Dublin man told gardai "it was a joke that went wrong" after he was charged in relation to the alleged abduction attempt of a woman aged in her late 60s. Martin Gallagher (20) also said he was "sorry" after two charges were put to him, a court heard yesterday. The accused, of Rusheeney Avenue, Hartstown, Dublin 15, is alleged to have falsely imprisoned the injured party on Monday morning while she was out walking. Mr Gallagher is further accused of assault causing harm to the same woman at Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7. Anxious Garda Paul Kirwan gave evidence of arrest, charge and cautioning the accused yesterday morning. He told Dublin District Court that after the charges were put to Mr Gallagher at 12.45am, he made no reply. However, defence solicitor Michael Kelleher said his client had claimed he did reply to the charge and that he was "anxious" that this be noted by the court. The court heard Mr Gallagher told gardai: "I'm sorry, it was a joke that went wrong" after being charged. No application was made for bail and the accused was remanded in custody to appear in court again next Thursday. Judge Bryan Smyth also granted the defendant legal aid after reviewing a statement of means. Mr Gallagher, who was wearing a navy tracksuit and did not speak during the hearing, blew a kiss toward a supporter in the public gallery after being brought into court. A garda investigation was launched on Monday morning after officers received reports of an alleged attempted abduction at Martin Grove, Blackhorse Avenue, at around 7.30am. A witness appeal was issued and the following day a man was arrested as part of the investigation. In a previous statement, a garda spokesman said detectives believe that at around 7.30am on the day in question, "the injured party spoke briefly to an elderly lady who was walking a dog. They met close to Cumiskeys pub". "Gardai are anxious to speak to this person who was walking their dog and who may be in a position to assist with the investigation," he added. "Anyone with information should contact Blanchardstown Garda Station on 01-6667008." The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the central government seeking certain directions on population control after hearing a petition filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. Upadhyay moved the apex court contending that "population explosion is more dangerous than bomb explosion". The lawyer claimed that the plan for "healthy India, literate India, prosperous India and other such measures will not succeed if the population keeps on increasing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Enterprise Ireland is calling on students from third level institutions nationwide with an innovative business idea, technology or solution to apply to this years 39th Student Entrepreneur Awards, which are co-sponsored by Cruickshank, Grant Thornton and the Local Enterprise Offices. Finalists will be selected to compete for several awards such as the Cruickshank Intellectual Property High Achieving Merit Award, the Grant Thornton Emerging Business Award and the Local Enterprise Office ICT Award. The overall winner will share in a 35,000 prize fund and receive mentoring from Enterprise Ireland to develop the commercial viability of their concept. The winners will also share in a 30,000 consultancy fund that will enable them to turn their ideas into a commercial reality. National University of Ireland Galway student Christopher McBrearty was named as last years Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year for his cancer detection technology, NanoDetect. Other award winners included Micron Agritech Limited, developed by students in Technological University Dublin and Crafted Equestrian created by Ulster University student, Jenny Gregg. Cork Institute of Technologys, StomAssure was recognised for their implantable alternative to the current stoma treatment method. Richard Murphy, Manager LEO Support, Policy & Co-ordination Unit, Enterprise Ireland said, The Student Entrepreneur Awards have been a breeding ground for entrepreneurship in Ireland for close to forty years. Students in Ireland are becoming more and more ambitious and focused on achieving entrepreneurial success this is clear from the 1,000 high quality, innovative entries in last years awards that identified challenges across a range of sectors and provided solutions to overcome them. Nurturing this talent and helping to foster that entrepreneurship is essential not just to turn ideas into thriving businesses but to help drive Irelands global reputation in business. We are looking to support great ideas with commercial and export potential and if you have an idea with commercial focus then the Student Entrepreneur Awards is the competition for you. It could be the first step on the way to becoming a business leader in 2020. The award winners will be announced at a ceremony in NUI Galway on June 12, 2020. He said his ability to build relationships makes him uniquely qualified to be president at a time when the country needs to come together. "What is this election about? It is about that aspirational leadership about values and common cause," Booker said. "President Trump uses his Twitter platform to demean, degrade, divide. The next president has to be the best healer, uniter and inspirer than we've ever had. Our tribalism is getting deeper in this country. It is keeping us from doing the things we want. "If you poll Obamacare, Republicans hate it. If you poll the actual policies that make up Obamacare with nobody's name, Republicans love it. That shows you we are in a distraught present where even our best interests are being undermined by our politics." Booker said, if elected, he will fight for the middle class by reversing President Trump's tax bill that gives tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy. By Trend Parliamentary candidates in Azerbaijan should be careful during the collection of signatures, and collect them in accordance with the requirements of the law, head of the Azerbaijani Central Election Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov said at the CEC meeting on Jan. 9, Trend reports. Panahov noted that officials, including members of municipalities, cannot participate in the collection of signatures for the candidate. Therefore, the parliamentary candidates should be careful in this matter, the chairman said. Earlier, the candidacy of Gabil Mammadov nominated by the 73rd Lankaran City Electoral District wasnt registered because deputy chairman of the Lankaran municipality participated in the collection of signatures for Mammadov's candidacy. Early parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on Feb. 9. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, January 11 2020 Brighter outlook: Teak forests are seen in Panggungrejo district, Blitar, East Java, in late September 2019. Forestry industry players are upbeat entering 2020 thanks to policy reforms after suffering an export drop in 2019. (JP/Asip Hasani) Exports of Indonesian wood products totaled US$11.6 billion in 2019, a 4 percent drop from the previous year due to declining demand caused by the ongoing United States-China trade war and the weak competitiveness of local products. Industry players, however, are upbeat entering 2020 thanks to policy reforms. Wood veneer, panel and woodwork products suffered the steepest declines, with annual exports falling 20 percent, 16.14 percent and 11.14 percent, respectively, said Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI) chairman Indroyono Soesilo. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Close Clive Lewis calls for Royal Family referendum Tory health minister Nadine Dorries has been widely mocked for claiming Brexit got done after the Withdrawal Agreement Bill cleared the Commons. The bill still needs approval in the Lords, and a UK-EU trade deal still needs to be forged after 31 January. It comes as Northern Ireland could see a return to power-sharing arrangements today after the UK and Irish governments published a draft deal, urging the five main parties to get back to work at Stormont. Meanwhile, Labour leadership candidate Clive Lewis has called for a referendum on the future of the monarchy, saying: Let the British public decide. It follows shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiners decision to rule himself out of the contest. To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below: WASHINGTON - Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has been called "the Trumpiest Congressman in Trump's Washington," a judgment from GQ magazine that he features proudly and prominently on his campaign homepage, along with quotes depicting him as "Trump's Best Buddy," "Trump's Ultimate Defender" and "Rising star of the Trumpian right." Gaetz wants so much to impress President Donald Trump that he sometimes wakes up around 5 a.m. so he can be on "Fox & Friends" as early as possible. That's when "the president is watching," he told The Washington Post's Dan Zak. He strives to please Trump in every way, every day. Every day except Thursday, that is. Gaetz was one of three Republicans who voted for a House resolution to prevent Trump from taking additional military action against Iran unless Congress declares war or in the event of "an imminent armed attack upon the United States." The president and the Republican leadership vigorously opposed it. He spent the rest of the day explaining himself, assuring the MAGA faithful that his vote wasn't aimed at Trump. It was instead a matter of principle. The need for Congress to approve or disapprove of war, he said, is "something I deeply believe." And that left House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs shaking their heads in disbelief. The "surprise there was Congressman Matt Gaetz," Dobbs said. "Stunning . . . I was just shocked." Not just "shocked," agreed McCarthy, but "very shocked." It was another telling snapshot of Washington in 2020. An otherwise hyper-loyal and sometimes boisterous defender of Trump, particularly during the impeachment proceedings in the House Judiciary Committee last month, casts a vote with the other side on a nonbinding, purely symbolic resolution, citing his principles - and the leadership is shocked. "I've got to ask him" why he did it, McCarthy told Dobbs. Gaetz had answered that question repeatedly Thursday on the House floor and on Fox News. "This resolution offers no criticism of the president, no critique," he said on the floor. "It doesn't criticize the president's attack on [Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem] Soleimani. I take a back seat to no member of this body when it comes to defending the president," he said. Yet, "it also articulates our non-delegable duty as members of Congress to speak to matters of war and peace. I represent more troops than any other member of this body," he said. "I buried one of them early today at Arlington, and that sergeant died a patriot and a hero. "If the members of our armed services have the courage to go and fight and die in these wars," he continued, "as Congress, we ought to have the courage to vote for them or against them." Gaetz, a lawyer whose district in the Florida Panhandle includes thousands of military and ex-military constituents in and around major military bases, is serving his second term in the House. For those who might not immediately identify Gaetz, he was the member who criticized Hunter Biden for his problems with drug addiction during the impeachment proceedings. "I don't want to make light of anybody's substance abuse issues," Gaetz said, "but it's a little hard to believe that Burisma hired Hunter Biden to resolve their international disputes when he could not resolve his own dispute with Hertz rental car leaving cocaine and a crack pipe in the car." For this he was called out by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., who reminded Gaetz of his 2008 arrest for driving under the influence. "I would say that the pot calling the kettle black is not something we should do," said Johnson. Gaetz does fawn over Trump, and he escalated the fawning Thursday. "I spoke to the president today," he told Tucker Carlson on Fox News. "He's more antiwar than I am, and I love the president for that." He was sure, Gaetz said, that it wasn't Trump but "a few of the advisers of the president" who "are trying to slow-walk the president into a war." In fact, Gaetz's position on war powers should have come as no shock. In July, he joined Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and other Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in sponsoring an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to bar expenditures on military action against Iran without congressional authorization. The amendment did not survive. Thursday's House resolution, which does not require a presidential signature, has no legal force. While taking care to condemn Iran as a "leading state sponsor of terrorism," and to blast Soleimani, who was killed Jan. 3 in a Trump-ordered drone strike, it was meant by Democrats, if not by Gaetz, not only as a rebuke of Trump. It was also a symbolic effort to reclaim Congress's constitutional war-related authority. The three Republican "aye" votes, cast by Gaetz and Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Francis Rooney of Florida made no practical difference. The Democratic-controlled House passed the resolution by a 224-to-194 margin. But they allow Democrats to tout the resolution as "bipartisan." That, in turn, may help parry Republican smears, that supporters of the resolution are somehow "in love with terrorists" or are Soleimani sympathizers or are "emboldening the enemy," as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said this week in response to Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky. They have said they will vote for a Democratic-sponsored Senate measure to constrain Trump's authority to launch future military actions without authorization. Debates over congressional versus presidential war powers have historically produced splits in both parties, as well as between parties, with fault-lines reflecting partisan, institutional and constitutional interests. Most modern presidents have jealously guarded their "commander in chief" roles, resisting most efforts by Congress to involve itself as unconstitutional, despite the fact that the Constitution gives the legislative branch numerous war-related powers. President Barack Obama faced criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for not seeking congressional authorization before deploying U.S. air power in Libya in 2011. The fault lines were visible on Fox News's website as well as on-air. During an interview with Tucker Carlson on Thursday, Gaetz said it thought it "ludicrous to suggest that we are impairing the troops from doing their job by not doing our job articulated in the Constitution to speak to these matters of war and peace." "I think the Constitution requires that," said Carlson. "I think it's pretty obvious that it does." Judge Andrew Napolitano, in his own opinion piece, agreed. Dobbs, meanwhile, along with National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy, flayed those who question presidential authority to wage war. As the night wore on, Gaetz's fate preoccupied a segment of Twitter. But he also had his fans. "You're doing the right thing here," one person said in a tweet. "And it's pretty clear . . . that a large share of your followers have never read the Constitution." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the driving force behind President Donald Trumps decision to kill a senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, CNN reported referring to sources in the administration. This high-stakes operation demonstrates Pompeo's status as the most influential national security official in the Trump administration. Taking Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani "off the battlefield" has been a goal for the top US diplomat for a decade. The Secretary of State brought this proposal to Trump. Pompeo was the one who made the case to take out Soleimani, it was him absolutely, this source said. According to numerous sources close to Pompeo, the Secretary of State throughout his career believed that Iran was at the heart of all the problems in the Middle East and focused on Soleimani, the shadow commander. The Secretary of State was so obsessed with the Iranian general that he even tried to get a visa to Iran in 2016 when he was a congressman. Pompeo, a West Point graduate who has many friends in military service in the Middle East, also believed that the blood of hundreds of American soldiers was in Soleimanis hands. A source told CNN that Pompeo has told friend and colleagues that "I will not retire from public service until Soleimani is off the battlefield." Sources believe that it is Pompeo who conducts the administrations policy on Iran. One former national security official believes Pompeo is so influential, he is like the "secretary of state, secretary of defense and director of the CIA" combined. From the moment he became Secretary of State, Pompeo became the person in charge of the maximum pressure campaign against Tehran. In April, Pompeo was the main force behind the Trump administration's controversial decision to recognize the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. This was the first time that the US recognized part of another government as a terrorist organization and laid the foundation for the legal rationalization of the Soleimani murder. After Iran shot down an American drone in June, Pompeo was disappointed when he failed to convince Trump to take aggressive action against Iran and Soleimani. The president canceled the decision to strike at the IRGC goals. But, according to many informed sources, Pompeo defeated the president, especially after the American civilian contractor died as a result of rocket fire in Kirkuk on December 27. A source in Congress claims that the death of an American contractor was crucial. "If an American hadn't died, I don't think any of this would have happened," the Republican said. New Delhi [India], Jan 11 (ANI): The British High Commission has launched 'Green is GREAT' campaign, an initiative to highlight the strength of the UK-India partnership on climate and sustainability in the run-up to COP26 which will be held in Glasgow later this year. The campaign is linked with climate, sustainability and business which lines up various planned activities. While speaking to ANI, British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith said, "It is the important decade for the climate. To start the decade with an important conference at the end of this year is crucial. We face so many challenges that won't be succeeding without the participation and collaboration of India. Partnering India is really important." When asked about the campaign's agenda, the commissioner replied: "When running these conferences you are successful when you collaborate and do it with the partners because setting an agenda in advance is not a good thing to do. We know what the challenges are and it is a matter of bringing people together." Praising India, Asquith said that New Delhi is hugely ambitious when it comes to renewable energy and to bridge the energy gap In addition, he said, "Good thing about India is the ambition and Prime Minister of India has made it clear. When it comes to renewable energy and to bridge that energy gap India is hugely ambitious and this is very impressive." Specifically mentioning the challenges, the commissioner said, "The key challenge is the real practical collaboration. We talk a lot about the problems. It is finding a way to deliver the answers in a way that makes sense to everybody who is affected by it." The convention, The 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Glasgow aims to prevent "dangerous" human interference with the climate system. \ India hosted 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 14) which witnessed a presence of 196 countries and 5,000 participants. (ANI) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 Defense Minister Prabowo Subiantos careful response to the tension between Indonesia and China over Chinese fishing vessels in Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea has drawn sharp criticism from some of the Gerindra Party chairmans former allies. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), formerly one of Gerindras closest partners, issued a statement criticizing Prabowos perceived lack of firmness. Prabowo had said that the government would handle the situation in a cool manner. We are cool. We are relaxed. We can resolve this amicably. After all, China is a friendly nation, he said last week. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the version stating that a missile downed a Ukrainian Boeing in Iran has neither been ruled out nor corroborated yet. "The missile strike on the plane is not ruled out but it has not been confirmed as yet either," he said via his Telegram channel. The president underlined that in light of the latest statements of leaders published in media outlets Kiev is calling on all its international partners, primarily the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, to submit data and evidence regarding the tragedy to the commission investigating its causes, TASS reported. Zelensky also informed that the commission continues working in Iran and that Kievs representatives are involved in this process. January 09, 2020 Technology has transformed and simplified many areas of our lives and is almost ingrained in daily human experience. More than we have ever imagined, technology has also transformed how the classroom experience and streamlined learning to make it easier for teachers and students. Traditional methods of learning are becoming outdated as tech tools are integrated into the classroom as opposed to being a distraction. New innovations have replaced the blackboard and the notebooks and interactive technology have allowed learners and teachers to interact in a practical way. At every level of schooling, technology is being used to impart learning and skills to students. In the college environment, it has become even more popular for real-time and immersive learning. Long-distance education and globalization Integrating technology into the classroom allows for more access to an international platform. Many colleges are now able to create interactive, virtual classroom platforms for long-distance learning. At the college level, students can enroll in international colleges and gain the best educational experience. In terms of the classroom environment, certain experiences can come alive in the classroom. In recent years, colleges and universities have offered eLearning experiences that have globalized access to some of the world's top learning institutions. Online learning opportunities also allow high school students to take courses for extra credits or to gain an understanding of what to expect once they are in college. Assisting differently-abled students A challenge in many colleges has been accommodating students who may be disabled or handicapped, whether temporarily or permanently. Instead of having to travel all the way to campus, tools like linking the lecture hall to an online learning platform allows students to attend class without physically being present. The simplification of access also ensures that a student is up to date if they are unable to physically attend school and do their coursework online. Saving the environment With the influence of technology, colleges can now go paperless and simply use electronic devices to communicate course content. The growing awareness around ensuring saving the environment has led to many institutions going paperless. eBooks are more popular than ever. eBooks allows students to carry fewer books when going to class. The online platforms where students can sell and buy textbooks are also highly popular. It leads to the optimum use of a textbook and reduces the need to buy new ones. Easier regulation and interaction with the lecturer In the past, it may have been difficult for a lecturer to keep up with questions or assist students who are struggling. Through the use of emails and interactive learning platforms, it becomes easier to track student progress and highlight improvements and red flags where necessary. Even for long-distance learners, contact with lecturers is simplified and usually done through email or a live learning platform. Simplified and unified note-taking At times, taking notes is a really tricky task for a student and they may struggle with jotting down fast enough or understanding what is being communicated by the teacher. This can lead to a lot of frustration. Now, devices there are different ways to capture notes such as taking a photo. In more synchronized tech-driven classrooms, notes will be automatically added and categorized in the student's phone or smart device linked to the classroom. Easy access means cheaper education Across the world, the call for colleges to provide affordable education is mounting and technology is responding to this need. Online tuition is one of the strategies that ensure a cheap and reasonably priced tuition is available for a student from any background. Furthermore, tech tools allow for more affordable ways to learn and less pressure is applied to having to buy too much study material and textbooks. The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict today on a number of petitions challenging the restrictions and internet blockade imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year. The Supreme Court had on November 27 reserved the judgment on a batch of petitions challenging restrictions imposed on communication, media and telephone services in Jammu and Kashmir pursuant to revocation of Article 370. A bench of Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy, and B R Gavai had heard the petitions filed by various petitioners including Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin. The petitions were filed after the central government scrapped Article 370 in August and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following this, phone lines and the internet were blocked in the region. The government has said that it has progressively eased restrictions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on Friday in the petitions challenging the internet and communication shutdown in the Kashmir valley. The judgment will be pronounced by a bench of Justices NV Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai in two pleas, one by Editor of Kashmir Times newspaper Anuradha Bhasin and the other by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. Besides these two, various intervenors had also argued against the imposition of such restrictions. The case has its genesis in the decision taken on August 5, 2019 by the central government to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution thereby revoking the special status of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The Kashmir valley was simultaneously placed under a shutdown in a bid to stifle protests and dissents which were widely anticipated. Telephone lines, mobile communication and internet services were stopped and restrictions were imposed on press and transport within the Valley. A slew of petitions were filed challenging such blanket restrictions on telecommunication and press which the petitioners argued were in violation of their fundamental right to speech and expression and the right to move freely under Article 19 of the Constitution. The central government had told the court that restrictions were imposed pursuant to orders under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure - a provision which enables District Magistrate to impose restrictions on movement and assembly in public. The Centre had sought to justify the restrictions on the ground of national security. Centres second senior-most law officer, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, told the court that misuse of social media and internet by separatists and military and political leaders of Pakistan had necessitated curbs on internet. While maintaining that there were no restrictions in the whole state, Mehta had underscored that tweets and trending hashtags on social media by mischievous elements justified the restrictions imposed. He had also argued that restrictions were imposed based on intelligence inputs and in specific areas where law and order problems could be expected. The petitioner had, however, maintained that blanket restrictions affecting a whole state cannot be imposed under Section 144 of CrPC and can be done only by proclaiming emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution. If their interpretation of Article 19 is accepted it will become worse than ADM Jabalpur. Tomorrow it can happen anywhere. If there are upcoming elections, they can impose Section 144 and shut down all communication, senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Azad had told the court. A brief timeline since abrogation of Article 370: August 5, 2019: Article 370 is revoked August 10, 2019: Anuradha Bhasin moves Supreme Court challenging restrictions on media September 12, 2019: Ghulam Nabi Azad moves Supreme Court challenging restrictions imposed in Kashmir November 5, 2019: Supreme Court commences hearing in the petitions November 27, 2019: Supreme Court reserves verdict January 10, 2020: Judgment to be pronounced European aircraft maker Airbus (PAR: EADSF) announced Thursday that it plans to expand in the U.S. by increasing the production rate of A320 aircraft and investing $40 million to construct an additional support hanger at its Mobile, Alabama, assembly plant. The company plans to build seven more of the single-aisle jets per month by the beginning of 2021 for a total of 63 per month. The increased operational tempo and the opening of a new assembly line this year for the A220 will result in the addition of 275 jobs during the next year, bringing total employment to almost 1,300, Airbus said. Last year, the manufacturer added 600 jobs in Mobile. So far, it has produced 160 A320-family jetliners there. Boeing Co.'s (NYSE: BA) main rival for large commercial aircraft opened the Mobile facility in 2015 to diversify its supply chain, add production capacity, be closer to major customers in the United States and improve chances to receive U.S. government contracts. The Trump administration late last year imposed tariffs on imports of large commercial aircraft from Europe as part of an ongoing dispute about government subsidies for Airbus. The tariffs could raise the price for planes delivered from Europe, as FreightWaves previously reported, but Airbus spokeswoman Kristi Tucker said the decision to increase production was based purely on operational needs. "All of our U.S. production is based on the fact that there is a tremendous demand for our single-aisle aircraft from this country. Our U.S.-based customers have always enjoyed taking delivery of their aircraft from Mobile. The growth is always something we've considered in our business planning," she said. "Tariffs should not be a permanent part of the economic/trade landscape, and we're hopeful that the U.S. and Europe will negotiate an end to the current trade dispute well before our Mobile production ramp-up is complete." U.S. airlines with orders being filled all, or in part, from Mobile include: Story continues Delta Air Lines (62 A220 planes, more than 100 A321neos) JetBlue (70 220s and 81 A321neos) Frontier Airlines (67 A321neos) Spirit Airlines (38 A320neos) Moxy Airways (60 A220s). Moxy is a proposed low-cost startup founded by former JetBlue co-founder David Neeleman. In early December, United Airlines placed a firm order for 50 A321neo extra-long range aircraft. Airbus has facilities in 16 states for engineering, training, research, drone data analysis, helicopter manufacturing and satellite manufacturing. Airbus acquired a majority stake in Canadian manufacturer Bombardier's flagship C-Series plane in 2018, renamed it A220 and began building a U.S. assembly line for it in Mobile. The A220 is a family of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range jet airliners. Airbus plans to produce four A220 aircraft in Mobile by mid-decade. It also produces the plane near Montreal. The move to Mobile added to the competition with Boeing. With the Bombardier transaction, Airbus entered the regional market and forced Boeing to respond with the takeover of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer's passenger jet unit. Single-aisle jets like the A320 have limited capacity for freight, but are widely used for mail and loose cargo. Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. VALLETTA, Malta - Maltas prime minister told the nation Friday night that he had paid the highest political price for a dark episode, a reference to the assassination of an investigative journalist whose work targeted his government and whose death led to demands for his resignation. In a farewell address to his Labor Party, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he was hurt by what Daphne Caruana Galizia wrote when she was alive, but I did not suffer as much as her family did when a bomb blew up her car and killed her in 2017. I am sorry for what happened to Caruana Galizia, Muscat added without referring to his former chief of staff being questioned and under investigation in the slaying. Muscat, who is halfway through his second term, announced on Dec. 1 that he would resign as leader of the ruling Labor Party and prime minister amid increasing demands at home and abroad for accountability in the assassination. He delayed his resignation by six weeks to let the Labor Party go through the process of electing a new leader. Wildly cheered by Labor members during his speech, Muscat said he would remain in Parliament and keep working to improve human rights. During his tenure, the government introduced legal same-sex marriage. In his remark about paying a personal political price for a dark episode, he did not directly mention the journalists killing. He said that once he realized he could no longer ensure his presence in office was positive for Malta, he decided to quit. His promise to step down failed to quell anti-government protests by Maltese angry over links between Muscats office and the bomb blast that killed Caruana Galizia, whose anti-corruption reporting targeted members of the government. A deputy premier and a lawmaker in his party are vying to replace him. The one picked to be Labors new leader in a party election on Saturday will become prime minister, and Muscat will step aside as premier within days. Both candidates Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and lawmaker Robert Abela say they will work to regain the Maltese peoples confidence in the government by upholding the rule of law. But each candidate has stopped short of criticizing Muscat even as they promise to heal the countrys reputation. Labor has a comfortable majority in Parliament. Concerned European Union lawmakers who visited Malta after the journalists slaying expressed concerns about the functioning of the tiny island nations police and judicial systems. Three men have been charged with murder for allegedly triggering the powerful car bomb that killed 53-year-old Caruana Galizia as she drove near her home on Oct. 16, 2017. No trial date has been set. Days before Muscat announced he was stepping down both as party leader and prime minister, his chief of staff, Keith Schembri, was arrested and questioned in connection with Caruana Galizias killing. Schembri was later released but remains under investigation. On Nov. 30, a day before Muscat told the nation he would leave office, a prominent Maltese businessman, Yorgen Fenech, was arraigned on charges that included complicity in the murder. He has pleaded innocent. A hearing is expected later this month before a court decides whether Fenech should stand trial. Loose financial and banking rules have made Malta an attractive place for money launderers. The Panama Papers leak of documents revealed that Schembri and a then-Cabinet minister, Konrad Mizzi, secretively opened companies in Panama. Both men have denied any wrongdoing. A helicopter came down into a Cumberland County, Pa., neighborhood Thursday night, killing two men on board but injuring no one on the ground. The aircraft crashed around 8:30 p.m. in the yard of a home on Surrey Lane, Silver Spring Township. No significant damage was reported to homes in the neighborhood, but debris from the crash scattered into several yards. Mark Croce, a Buffalo-area businessman, died in a Pa. helicopter crash. Photo courtesy the Buffalo News/Derek Gee, file The helicopters pilot, Mark D. Croce, 58, and a passenger, Michael Capriotto, 63, both of Orchard Park, N.Y., were killed, the county coroners office said. The helicopter was headed at the time from Washington, D.C., to Buffalo, New York. Croce was president of the Buffalo Development Corp., according to the Buffalo News, which described him as a restaurateur and developer. WBEN radio says Croce owned the Statler and Curtiss Hotel in Buffalo, and Capriotto owned businesses in Orchard Park. The Buffalo News says Croce bought Statler City out of foreclosure in 2011 and invested millions in the 18-story, 750,000-square-foot building. It has been operating successfully as a catering and banquet facility for the past few years. I am saddened by the passing of my friend Mark Croce. As owner of @Bflo_Chophouse, @CurtissHotel & @StatlerCity, Mark was part of our resurgence, adding jobs & creating destinations that have brought visitors to #Buffalo. His presence will be missed. https://t.co/sAUntsUE17 Byron W. Brown (@MayorByronBrown) January 10, 2020 WKBW-TV said that Croce had invested millions of dollars in the renovation and rehabilitation of several development projects in downtown Buffalo. He also owned the Buffalo Chophouse. Capriotto was a former Orchard Park village trustee who was part of several Orchard Park businesses and organizations. Among other things, he owned a gas station. Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw told the Buffalo News: A businessman who invested in Orchard Park, he always said yes and answered the call when people or charitable causes needed help. The cause of the crash wasnt immediately clear. It is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. This story has been updated with details about men who were killed. By IANS AURANGABAD: The alleged mastermind of Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh' killing, Hrishikesh Devdikar - who was arrested from Jharkhand's Dhanbad late on Thursday - has connections in the tourist destination of Aurangabad, official sources said here on Friday. Devdikar alias Murli, had been holed up in Katraj area of Dhanbad and was nabbed by a Karnataka Police' Special Investigation Team (SIT). Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Friday evening that the state government was aware of the progress in the case and monitoring all the developments. "Now, it remains to be seen how the (Lankesh) killing is linked to the murders of other prominent intellectuals in the past few years," he added. ALSO READ: Gauri Lankesh murder case - Absconding accused held in Jharkhand The reference was to the shooting of rationalist medico Narendra Dabholkar in Pune on August 20, 2013, and the killing of Communist writer Govind Pansare in the state's Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. Later, renowned author M. M. Kalburgi was shot dead in Karnataka's Dharwad on August 30, 2015, followed by Gauri Lankesh who was gunned down on September 5, 2017. The alleged brain behind the Lankesh murder, Devdikar, arrived in Aurangabad from Kolhapur in 2012 and lived in Sec. N-9 in the CIDCO complex in Aurangabad, with his parents, wife and a seven-year old daughter. The home was rented by Yashwant Shukla. Rushikesh Devdikar alias Murali Devdikar has acquired a franchise for leading Ayurvedic products company Patanjali, and ran it in a shop hired from a local, Jagdish Kulkarni but he vacated it in 2016, for reasons not known. However, while running the Ayurvedic shop, he also spent a lot of time attending activities of a right-wing organization, the Sanatan Sanstha, the sources said. Welcoming Devdikar's arrest, the late Dabholkar's daughter activist Mukta Dabholkar said: "It is a very significant development in the Lankesh killing case." She expressed hope that this would the investigators solve the cases of the shocking murders of progressives like Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi. In August 2018, the Maharashtra Police and Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had busted what came to be known as the sensational 'Nala Sopara arms haul case' in Palghar, north of Mumbai, which included a bomb and gun manufacturing factory. Investigations into the Palghar case led to the arrest of Sharad Kalaskar who spilled the beans on his friend from Aurangabad, Sachin P. Andhure, and their joint involvement in the Dabholkar killing. The CBI arrested Andhure from Aurangabad in August 2019. In the Palghar case - which was unearthed just seven months before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ATS said after investigations that all the accused had planned to carry out several high-profile killings. Some of their targets included: Nationalist Congress Party leader from Thane and now Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, Mukta Dabholkar, All India Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti President Shyam Manav and activist Ritu Raje. All the concerned probe agencies - SIT, ATS, CBI and police in both Maharashtra and Karnataka - believe that the four killings in the two neighbouring states may be connected and are attempting to unravel the extent of the nexus. By Express News Service MUMBAI: A Bollywood actress and a model were arrested after the Mumbai Police busted a high-profile sex racket late on Thursday night at a five-star hotel in the western suburb of Goregaon (East) and rescued two girls. Actress Amrita Dhanoa (32) and model Richa Singh (26) were placed under arrest by police for supplying the girls to clients. The raid was conducted by a local police station after receiving a tip-off about a sex racket operating at the plush hotel. Police officers posed as customers and contacted the accused. They met one of the suppliers in the hotel along with two girls and arrested them. The fourth arrest was made later. We raided Westin after a tip-off and have rescued two girls and arrested two people in the case. We cant disclose the names of the rescued girls, said DCP Dr D Swamy, who led the operation. A case has been registered under Sections 370(3) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 4 and 5 of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act, said police officials. Dhanoa is a struggling actress who was in the news last month after she lodged a police complaint against her ex-boyfriend and Big Boss contestant Arhaan Khan saying that he had borrowed Rs five lakh from her and later dumped her. She also blamed the actor after her arrest saying that she was being framed in the case. Police had busted a similar high-profile sex racket from another plush hotel in Juhu last week. Ten pimps were arrested during that incident. PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE American: FCO) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund, today announced that it will pay on January 28, 2020, a distribution of US $0.07 per share to all shareholders of record as of January 21, 2020 (ex-dividend date January 17, 2020). Your Fund's distribution policy is to provide investors with a stable monthly distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital. Under U.S. tax rules applicable to the Fund, the amount and character of distributable income for each fiscal year can be finally determined only as of the end of the Fund's fiscal year. However, under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") and related Rules, the Fund may be required to indicate to shareholders the source of certain distributions to shareholders. The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the sources of the distribution for purposes of Section 19 of the 1940 Act and the Rules adopted thereunder. The table has been computed based on generally accepted accounting principles. The table includes estimated amounts and percentages for the distribution to be paid on January 28, 2020 as well as the estimated cumulative distributions declared fiscal year to date (11/01/2019 - 12/31/2019),from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short-term capital gains; net realized long-term capital gains; and return of capital. The estimated composition of the distributions may vary from month to month because the estimated composition may be impacted by future income, expenses and realized gains and losses on securities and currencies. Estimated Amounts of Current Monthly Distribution per share ($) Estimated Amounts of Current Monthly Distribution per share (%) Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year to Date Cumulative Distributions per share ($) Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year to Date Cumulative Distributions per share (%) Net Investment Income $0.0287 41% $0.0861 41% Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains* - - - - Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains - - - - Return of Capital $0.0413 59% $0.1239 59% Total (per common share) $0.0700 100% $0.2100 100% *includes currency gains The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income." Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of the Fund's current distributions or from the terms of the distribution policy (the "Distribution Policy"). The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2020 will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. The following table provides the Fund's total return performance based on net asset value (NAV) over various time periods compared to the Fund's annualized and cumulative distribution rates. Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 12/31/20191 3.45% Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV2 10.61% Fiscal Year to Date (11/01/2018 to 12/31/2019) Cumulative Total Return on NAV1 2.94% Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV2 1.77% 1 Return data is net of all fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan, with the exception of the most recent distribution which is using an estimated reinvestment price. 2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of December 31, 2019. While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market. Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2010, the Fund may distribute any long-term capital gains more frequently than the limits provided in Section 19(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder. Therefore, distributions paid by the Fund during the year may include net income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains and/or a return of capital. Net income dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, while generally taxable at ordinary income rates, may be eligible, to the extent of qualified dividend income earned by the Fund, to be taxed at a lower rate not to exceed the maximum rate applicable to your long-term capital gains. Distributions made in any calendar year in excess of investment company taxable income and net capital gain are treated as taxable ordinary dividends to the extent of undistributed earnings and profits, and then as a return of capital that reduces the adjusted basis in the shares held. To the extent return of capital distributions exceed the adjusted basis in the shares held, capital gain is recognized with a holding period based on the period the shares have been held at the date such amount is received. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the terms of the distribution policy. The final determination of the source of all distributions will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report distributions for federal income tax purposes. The payment of distributions in accordance with the Distribution Policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expense ratio and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The Distribution Policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the distribution. The Fund's Board of Directors has the right to amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Policy at any time. The amendment, suspension or termination of the Distribution Policy may affect the Fund's market price per share. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances. Circular 230 disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. In the United States, Aberdeen Standard Investments is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd., Aberdeen Standard Investments Australia Ltd., Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Ltd., Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC, Aberdeen Standard Investments ETFs Advisors LLC and Standard Life Investments (Corporate Funds) Ltd. Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results. If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact [email protected] aberdeenfco.com SOURCE Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc. Related Links http://aberdeenfco.com by Nirmala Carvalho An ecumenical forum wants applicants to be judged on the merit of their cases, not on the basis of their religious affiliation. Indias amended citizenship law has sparked widespread protests across the country because Muslim migrants are excluded. Giving citizenship to all illegal migrants could bring justice and promote equality. Mumbai (AsiaNews) An ecumenical group that represents all Christian denominations in Karnataka is calling on the Indian government to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants on the merit of each individual case and not on the basis of religious affiliation. Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, president of the Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights, issued the appeal yesterday. This follows the adoption by the Indian parliament on 12 December of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which modifies Indias citizenship law. The ecumenical forum appreciates the reduction in waiting time from 11 to five years to acquire Indian citizenship, but highlights the danger of an amendment that has sparked widespread protests across the country because of its negative impact on Muslims. Many believe that appeals by Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) should not be ignored. The prelate warns about the "danger of polarisation of our people along religious lines, which is very harmful for the country". For the forum, Religion should never be the criterion for citizenship of a country. Nor is violence a solution when there is a difference of opinion. Instead, It is necessary that the Government dialogues [sic] with those opposing the Act, and come to an agreement about the way forward with justice, equity and fairness. There is no harm in backtracking: changing course if this is necessary for the good of the country and our people. According to the group, illegal migrants should be able to apply for Indian citizenship on the merit of their case, not on the basis of their religions. For Mgr Machado, such a move would bring justice to all illegal migrants and promote equality between them. Furthermore, the government should be able to convince the citizens of the country that it upholds the sacredness of the Constitution and respects the rights of all the linguistic and religious minorities without any discrimination. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 18:48:04|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- AirAsia announced Friday it has expanded its network with new direct flights to Chengdu, China from Penang, Malaysia. The low-cost carrier said in a statement that the new three times weekly direct flights will commence on March 8. AirAsia Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Riad Asmat said the Chengdu-Penang direct flight is the airline's first route from Penang to the Chinese mainland, adding that the group is confident the additional route will continue to boost visitor arrivals into Penang and vice versa. "We are excited to announce our first new route of the new year, welcoming Visit Malaysia 2020 and in conjunction with Experience Penang 2020. Penang is one of our largest secondary hubs in Peninsular Malaysia, to which we have flown more than 2.4 million guests to the island last year," he added. Cheetahs are best enjoyed from afar. Its a lesson one person had to learn the hard way after attempting to get an up close and personal experience with the animals at a New Jersey zoo. A man hopped over the first of two fences surrounding the cheetah exhibit at the Cape May County Park and Zoo earlier this week to take a picture of Buju and Beenie, two cheetahs, Cape May County Sheriffs Office spokesman Antwan McClellan said Friday. The man moved on to the second fence, but was apprehended by park officials before he could hop that one too. McClellan said the cheetahs ignored the man. After he was back on the right side of the fence, he told park officials a friend of his at another zoo did the same thing and was able to pet a tiger. The man thought he could do the same thing at the Cape May County Zoo, officials said. The man was not arrested. However, he was given citations and removed from the zoo. Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The government has expressed the fear that different high courts may pronounce conflicting judgments. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said efforts should be made to douse frayed tampers in the wake of the agitations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and to normalise the situation. As it is the country is going through difficult times. The object should be to bring about peace. Such petitions dont help that. There is a presumption of the constitutionality of law, said Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, who was heading a three-judge bench which comprised Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant. The strong observation from the bench came in the course of the hearing of a petition by one Puneet Kaur Dhanda seeking a declaration that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was constitutional. We have never heard of a petition like this to declare an act as constitutional, the Chief Justice said, adding: The job of the court is to determine the validity of a law, not declare it constitutional. The CJI then permitted the petitioner to withdraw the plea, with the liberty to intervene in a similar matter which the court is seized with. On Friday, the Supreme Court is likely to hear the Centres plea seeking the transfer of all cases which are the challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act pending before high courts across the country. The Centre has sought the transfer of cases contending that the Supreme Court is already seized of the matter as 60 petitioners have challenged the law that has led to protests across the country. The government has expressed the fear that different high courts may pronounce conflicting judgments. The Supreme Court had on December 18 sought a response from the Centre on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the amended citizenship law that provides for the grant of Indian citizenship to illegal migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Christian and Parsi religions, barring Muslims. The court will hold a further hearing on January 22, when it will also consider the plea for a stay of the which, has been described by one of the petitioners as contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. Michael Bloomberg is laying plans to have a major impact on the fate of the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee even if he loses the race he entered belatedly. Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City Mayor, has telegraphed plans to keep 500 staffers and his heavily-funded campaign effort in operation even if he fails to capture the Democratic nomination. Bloomberg has already deployed hundreds of staffers in battleground states and has spent millions on TV ads touting his candidacy. He is averaging 6 per cent in national polls. Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg's campaign manager and an advisor when he was a media baron and mayor, told NBC his big spending effort will continue regardless of the outcome. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will keep his army of campaign aides working all the way through the general election, a key advisor says 'Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president,' said Sheekey. 'He is dedicated to getting Trump out of the White House.' The posture could ease concerns of some Democratic loyalists, who fretted after Bloomberg entered the race that his TV spending blitz might be put to better used focused on the Senate. Keeping the substantial organization he is building would demonstrate the team commitment of the former Democrat who became a Republican and then independent and then a Democrat again. OUTSIDE HELP: The eventual nominee, even if it isn't Bloomberg, will get to benefit from his organization, although it couldn't coordinate with a campaign directly President Trump has amassed a huge war-chest which will give him an advantage while Democrats spend against each other Democratic presidential candidate former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at the Bounce Innovation Hub, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, in Akron, Ohio Bloomberg campaign chair Kevin Sheekey Bloomberg spent about $100 million helping Democrats in the 2018 mid-term elections. Officials told the network the effort would be a form of independent expenditure. Bloomberg can't simply lend his staff or operation to the Democratic nominee without it being counted as an in-kind contribution subject to spending limits. He has hired more than 800 staffers and spent $100 million on TV ads. But it is another billionaire, hedge funder Tom Steyer, who will be on the Democratic debate stage in Iowa next week. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Several factors are holding back wholesale carriers like TekSavvy and Distributel from claiming more market share, industry leaders say. Those factors include a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision on Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) final rates and the new wholesale high-speed internet rates, which are temporarily suspended until an appeal is heard. Wholesale rates are paid by competitors such as TekSavvy or Distributel to get access to high-speed networks of larger telecommunications companies like Bell, Rogers, and Shaw. Rates are set by the CRTC after a review of how much it costs to operate networks, so that larger companies can charge for access to their own infrastructure. New rates were set in August 2019 but did not include FTTH, which are direct lines to a residential home or condo building to provide internet access. According to the CRTCs Communications Monitoring Report (CMR) on fixed internet and broadband availability, wholesale carriers subscriptions still grew from 6.8 per cent to 8.9 per cent from 2014-2018, including a 0.6 percentage point increase between 2017-18. However, despite declines from 2016, cable-based carriers and bigger telecommunication companies still hold the overwhelming share of the market, at 85.5 per cent. Reza Rajabiun, a competition policy and industrial regulation expert, said the 2019 final rate changes were significant because it opens up some space for growth on high-speed internet, but because the CRTC has not made a decision on final rates for FTTH, that growth is limited. In 2015, the CRTC mandated that wholesale-based carriers must be given access to FTTH to sell to their customers. But because final rates were not set, those wholesalers say the price to access the infrastructure is too high and they aren't able to take advantage of the growing market. According to the annual report, FTTH internet services grew from 35.1 per cent to 44 per cent of households. Story continues [Rates right now] dont apply to the fibre, to the newer, faster fibre connections... its going to be challenging for the wholesale competition [without this], Rajabiun said. Because the CMR is for 2018, the final rates for 2019 are not reflected. The large carriers and cable-based carriers (Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco, Videotron, and Eastlink) have now appealed that rates decision stating they would have to pay over $225 million in retroactive payments to resellers and that wholesale retailers do not invest in network infrastructure. Reducing the rates that resellers pay to access carrier networks to below what it actually costs to build and maintain them will negatively impact investment in internet infrastructure and services, especially considering resellers invest little to nothing in infrastructure themselves, Marc Choma, a spokesperson at Bell, said in an email. In November, the federal court temporarily suspended the final rate changes pending the case of an appeal against the regulator. Rogers, Cogeco, Videotron, and Eastlink did not respond to a request for comment. Shaw declined to comment. 2019 rates temporarily suspended, will affect 2019 profitability: TekSavvy TekSavvys vice-president of regulatory and carrier affairs, Andy Kaplan-Myrth, doesnt think the market share growth in the report is significant and said 2018 was an incredibly challenging year. Kaplan-Myrth added that bigger carriers should lower their prices too so we [can] be in a competitive environment instead. When you average it all up, I think 2019 is going to look even more challenging than 2018, he said as a result of a halt in the CRTC rate changes. He also says TekSavvy isn't able to tap into the FTTH market until rates are finalized. Unlike Kaplan-Myrth, Matt Stein, CEO of Distributel, said he was pleased to see that market share grew for wholesale carriers in the report. I think its a shockingly low number at 8.9 per cent, but kudos to Canadians for seeking out solutions and moving the needle from 8.3 per cent to 8.9 per cent, Stein said referring to the increase from 2017 to 2018. Also you have to keep in mind that [growth] is at a time where competitors are not able to offer speeds on fibre. Dwayne Winseck, director of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, echoed Kaplan-Myrth in that the wholesale-based carriers have not had the opportunity to take advantage of the new rates. He said, however, the growth indicated in the report has been significant. These are not slow growth rates in my books I think thats a fairly significant growth rate, he said. Winseck said that even if the court upheld the CRTCs decision and final rates went into effect, there still isnt going to be a massive tidal change in market share. He added that if the final rates are fully implemented there may be a steady increment by a per cent a year. Registered users of over 4.6 million from over 200 countries or regions Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - Hello Pal International Inc. (CSE: HP) (FSE: 27H) (OTC PINK: HLLPF) ("Hello Pal" or the "Company"), a provider of rapidly growing international social messaging, language learning and travel mobile apps, is pleased to announce that it achieved record receipts in December 2020 as set forth below: Livestreaming Service Hello Pal's livestreaming service achieved record receipts of $255,000* and daily active livestream users of 10,000 for December 2019. This represents an increase of approximately 150% over the monthly receipts in November 2019. "Hello Pal is very pleased with the strong growth in the month of December, said KL Wong, Founder and Chairman of the Company. "Importantly, our growth was not due to the holiday season but rather due to in-app enhancements that stimulated user adoption." Strong Registered User Base As of the date of the news release, Hello Pal's registered user base is over 4.6 million users from over 200 countries and regions. The positive increase in registered users continues to be driven by our livestream service. ------ To download Hello Pal, Language Pal, Travel Pal or the proprietary Phrasebooks please visit the IOS or Android store. For information with respect to the Company or the contents of this news release, please contact the Company at (604) 683-0911 or visit the website at hellopal.com. Email inquiries can be directed to: investors@hellopal.com. About the Hello Pal Platform The Hello Pal Platform is a proprietary suite of mobile applications built on a user-friendly messaging interface that focus on social interaction, language learning and travel. Hello Pal, has been designed from the ground up to be easy to use and enables users' the freedom to speak in their own language regardless of the other person's language they are speaking to. Hello Pal's overriding mission is to bring the world closer together through social interaction, language learning and travel. By creating a platform where it is easy to instantly interact with others around the world and giving them the tools to communicate with each other in a joyful and fun way, we hope to do our part (however small) in fostering understanding and tolerance between all citizens of the world. The Hello Pal platform also includes a proprietary digital wallet allowing users to store and transfer popular digital assets and tokens, including Bitcoin and Ether, based on blockchain technology. Hello Pal, was the first app released to the public and experienced rapid growth building a diverse and active global user base. Travel Pal and Language Pal are the first and second companion apps to launch. Both apps benefit immensely from the existing and ever expanding globally based group of users. Each new app will launch with this established rapidly growing user base accelerating their adoption. Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. Hello Pal cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Hello Pal's control. Such risks and uncertainties are described in Hello Pal's Listing Statement dated May 10, 2016 available on www.thecse.com. Although Hello Pal is currently generating revenues, Hello Pal remains in the growth stage and such revenues are yet to be profitable. Accordingly, actual, and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Hello Pal undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. *Non-IFRS Financial Measure Readers are cautioned that "receipts" is a measure not recognized under IFRS. Total receipts includes the amount of cash received by the Company and its agents from the use of the Hello Pal app. Under IFRS, total receipts may be higher than revenue as a portion of the revenue is received by agents of Hello Pal. However, the Company's management believes that "receipts" provides investors with insight into management's decision-making process because management uses this measure to run the business and make financial, strategic and operating decisions. Further, "receipts" also provides useful insight into the operating performance of the Hello Pal app. "Receipts" does not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Readers are cautioned that "receipts" are not an alternative to measures determined in accordance with IFRS and should not, on their own, be construed as indicators of performance, cash flow or profitability. THE CSE HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN AND DOES NOT ACCEPT 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/51317 On Dec. 1 Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas political bureau, left Gaza for a series of meetings in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence regarding his movement's arrangement with Israel. On the same occasion, the Egyptians authorized Haniyeh, at his request, to travel to Muslim countries on the condition that he not visit Iran. Haniyeh agreed to the condition and left Gaza after having been imprisoned since his election to his current post in summer 2017, because Egypt had not allowed him transit through the Rafah crossing. Haniyeh had intended to use his permission to leave Gaza to prove that he can raise funds for Hamas at least as well as Mousa Abu Marzouk, the Hamas senior whiz who is thought to have set a movement record for fundraising from Islamic foundations around the world. Haniyeh even planned to travel as far as Indonesia. Egypts goodwill exit visa stemmed from the hope of creating a more conducive atmosphere to help advance a long-term arrangement with Israel. Against this backdrop, Haniyeh traveled to a number of countries, including paying visits to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamed Al Thani, the generous and primary supporter of Gaza. On Jan. 3, toward the end of Haniyeh's journey, the United States assassinated Gen. Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's Quds Force, after which Haniyeh decided to take a risk and fly to Tehran to attend the funeral and even deliver a eulogy. The Egyptians, angry of course, quickly responded with sanctioning: the price of cooking gas piped from Egypt into Gaza immediately increased. That appears to have only been the beginning. A political source in Hamas asserted to Al-Monitor that Haniyeh had had no choice. At the moment the news was received about the assassination, he [Haniyeh] made the right decision to express sadness and anger at the atrocious American attack, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. In conversation, the source tried to minimize the depth of the crisis the visit has cause between the Egyptians and Hamas. An Israeli security source told Al-Monitor that Israel must now, with arrangement talks at their most critical point, ascertain its next steps in light of Haniyehs public show of support in Iran. Will Israel retreat from the understandings thus far reached with Hamas? Its still too early to tell. In one way or another, the diplomatic-security establishment in Israel will face difficulty selling the arrangement outline to the Israeli public after a Hamas leader has traveled to Tehran and delivered a eulogy for its number one terrorist. Haniyeh has become persona non grata in Egypt's eyes. He violated a commitment he made to them, and as Hamas' senior leader in Gaza, he proved his loyalty to Iran. Thus, it seems that Haniyeh in short order flushed down the drain the many years of work by Hamas to please Egypt and appease President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Haniyeh and others in Hamas had worked hard in recent years to get closer to Egypt. Hamas' leadership even entered into an alliance with Mohammed Dahlan, a friend of the Egyptian president and someone they once considered Satan, and convinced him to help Hamas improve relations with Cairo. In a surprising move at the time, Hamas even announced the severing of ties with its mother movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that Sisi hates. One should remember that Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin established al-Mujma al-Islami (from which Hamas arose) as the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood. Yet, Yassin always understood Egypts important role in the region and steered clear of direct support for Iran, despite his admiration and enthusiasm for the Islamic Revolution. The Egyptians' response to Haniyeh's Iranian sojourn is especially interesting. In the long tem, the Egyptians intend to influence the year-long process starting this year to select representatives to Hamas' Shura Council and political bureau. The elections are blind; even the identities of eligible voters remain confidential, a vestige of an underground organization that feared assassinations by Israel. In a related matter, according to a Dec. 26 report by Gal Berger, former Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal is currently interested in running for his old job. To the Egyptians, Meshaal represents a thorn in their side, a puppet operated by its enemies Qatar and Turkey. Now Haniyeh has joined them on Cairo's enemies list. Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, is the only leader who understands the movement's situation caught between a rock and a hard place, i.e., Iran and Egypt. As an acolyte of Yassin and a co-founder of Hamas' military wing, Sinwar knows that they shouldnt put all their eggs in one basket. Iran is a friend, but a distant one, while Egypt is close. Sanctions by Cairo against Gaza could choke it. He knows well that Sisi must not be angered, especially after the huge investment made in appeasing him and having Egypt serve as moderator with Israel to guarantee the movement's survival. Egypt, said the Israeli security source, has a way to politically damage Haniyeh: Not only will they make it difficult for him to leave Gaza, the Rafah crossing will no longer be wide open to Palestinian movement. They will also hint that Haniyeh and his associates in the pro-Iranian and Turkish camp are to blame for the situation, because they lack good diplomatic judgment and fail to understand what it takes to manage Gaza responsibly. The Egyptians will make Hamas grasp that if the movement remains interested in surviving, its future leadership must choose the right side that is, Egypt, with disengagement from the enemy, Iran. Will it work? Hamas since its founding has proven that it is a movement that wants to succeed and survive. It shifts its horizons and even softens its hardline ideology according to circumstances and needs. Thus, going forward, every candidate for the Shura Council will know that Egypt controls Gazas oxygen supply. Its not worth going against it. "I'm excited by the continued growth of our cancer care program, and adding surgeons like Dr. Wallace to our team allows us to offer state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgery to a broader range of cancer patients," said Dr. Cataldo Doria, medical director of Capital Health Cancer Center. "Her training and expertise, particularly in robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System, are tremendous assets for the Cancer Center and reassure patients that they don't have to travel far to get advanced treatment for cancer and benign conditions in the chest cavity." Dr. Wallace completed her general surgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital and her cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pennsylvania. In addition, she completed fellowship training in minimally invasive thoracic and esophageal surgery at UPMC. "The ongoing expansion of services at the Cancer Center is a testament to Capital Health's mission of improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves," said Dr. Wallace. "I'm thrilled to be part of an organization that strikes a near-perfect balance between technology and talent under one roof at Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell." Dr. Wallace is part of Capital Health Surgical Group, a multispecialty surgical practice comprised of experienced surgeons who are experts in the surgical fields of acute care, bariatrics, breast, colorectal, general, gynecological oncology, hepato-pancreato-biliary, thoracic, vascular and surgical critical care. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Wallace, call 609.537.6000 or visit capitalsurgical.org for more information. Meet Dr. Wallace Dr. Wallace obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Harvard University and received a medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Dr. Wallace completed her general surgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital and her cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pennsylvania. In addition, she completed postgraduate training as a minimally invasive thoracic and esophageal surgery fellow at UPMC. Before joining Capital Health, Dr. Wallace was a thoracic surgeon at Piedmont Heart Institute, part of Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, GA. She has participated in research in the areas of thoracic oncology at University of Pennsylvania, cardiovascular biology at Harvard School of Public Health, rheumatology and immunology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and nephrology at Boston Children's Hospital. Some of her research has been published in medical journals and presented at numerous medical conferences. Dr. Wallace is currently secretary of the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society. She serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force of the Society of Thoracic Surgery. In addition, she is a member of the Women in Thoracic Surgery and Association of Women Surgeons. Her current research interests include racial disparities in the surgical management of thoracic cancers and clinical outcomes as they pertain to minimally invasive approaches to pulmonary and esophageal surgery. SOURCE Capital Health Related Links http://capitalhealth.org People may soon be able to file grievances related to central government departments in Indian languages, according to a Personnel Ministry statement issued on Friday. Addressing a Facebook Live session, first by any Union minister, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said the aim of the government is to reach out to the last man in the last queue. "This will help achieve maximum outreach, bring transparency in governance and help interact directly with the citizens, he said during an hour-long programme. Singh assured efforts are on to help citizens lodge their grievances on the Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal in Indian languages and the process will be expedited, the statement said. "Many states have already replicated the CPGRAMS model and already some states have provisions to lodge grievances in respective regional languages," he said. The minister said great headway has been made with the launch of this MyGov live platform on Facebook to carry forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mission of minimum government, maximum governance by deploying e-governance tools. Singh said a big leap has been taken in the newly carved out Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the launch of the "Awaaz-e-aam" UT grievance redressal cell and it will soon be linked with the CPGRAMS portal. "The government has nothing to hide," the statement quoted him having said without giving any further details. Interacting with more than 8,000 active viewers during the live programme, Singh appealed to citizens to submit their entries in the first online hackathon on data-driven innovation for citizen grievance redressal, being conducted by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The hackathon was made live on November 5, last year in a DARPG workshop and over 53 proposals have been submitted by 1,329 registered teams. Upon popular demand, the hackathon has been extended by two days, till January 12th, by 5 pm. "The response has been amazing and I appeal to the GenX to come forward with their ideas in Artificial Intelligence on designing innovative apps in improving the public grievances mechanism," Singh said. Also participating in the session, Secretary, DARPG, Kshatrapati Shivaji said the department's effort is to meet the aspirations of the people with effective and efficient solutions. "Pathbreaking innovations will help the government come to your doorstep; you don't need to run pillar to post to get your grievances redressed," he said. Additional Secretary, DARPG, V Srinivas said as many as 13 awards are up for grabs during the hackathon. "First prize worth Rs 1 lakh, 2nd prize Rs 50,000 and 3rd prize Rs 25,000 will be given to the three best entries. Ten consolation prizes of Rs 10,000 each, besides merit certificates for all participants who reach jury stage from the screening committee will also be given out," he said. The awards will be presented by the minister himself during the 23rd National Conference on e-governance to be held in Mumbai on February 7-8, 2020, Srinivas said. CEO, MyGov India, Abhishek Singh said this was the first hackathon on public grievances and offered an interactive opportunity with the citizens. He said, the MyGov portal has a base of more than one crore users. Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Alka Mishra also participated in the Facebook live session with Singh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Baghdad, Jan 10 : Turkey said it wanted to avoid Iraq becoming a stage for a proxy war and urged parties involved in the ongoing United States-Iran crisis to refrain from violating Iraqi sovereignty. Iraq's foreign minister, Mohamed Al al-Hakim, welcomed his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Aavusoglu to Baghdad to discuss the tensions, Efe news rported on Thursday. "Iraq is not alone, Turkey will work with Baghdad to overcome difficult days," Aavusoglu said during the joint presser with al-Hakim. "Turkey does not want Iraq to become foreign forces' battle zone," Aavusoglu said. The Iraqi minister stressed that both parties agreed to work to ease the tension in the region between the US and Iran. "Any escalation in the region would strengthen the abilities of Daesh (The Islamic State terror organization in its Arabic acronym)," he added. The tension has recently escalated in the wake of a US strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, a commander of the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for implementing the Iranian regime's foreign policies. The US attack also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi Shia militia. The killing of both represents a "dangerous escalation in the region," according to the Turkish minister. In response, Iran attacked two bases housing US troops in western and northern Iraq on Wednesday. "We condemn and reject the attacks that take place on Iraqi soil because it represents a violation to the Iraqi sovereignty," al-Hakim said. Following the US attack that killed Soleimani, Iraq's parliament approved a resolution asking the government to put an end to the presence of American troops in Iraq. "All foreign troops need to leave (Iraq)," al-Hakim said before clarifying that the troops' withdrawal has to be agreed "through diplomatic and dialogue". Aavusoglu met with Iraqi president Barham Salih earlier in the day. According to a statement from his office, Salih stressed the importance of cooperation so "Iraq and the entire region can avoid conflicts and wars." In the meantime, the US-led international coalition fighting the Islamic State terror organisation has partly suspended activities in Iraq until its status in the Arab country is clarified "We await further clarification on the legal nature and impact of the resolution on foreign troops no longer being allowed to stay in Iraq, passed on Sunday 5 January by the Iraqi parliament," the coalition posted to its Twitter account. In the meantime, the coalition "has currently paused military activities in Iraq to focus on protecting the Iraqi bases that host Coalition personnel." "Although military activities have been paused for the time being, other activity continues as normal including countering Daesh's (IS's) harmful propaganda, stabilisation and disrupting their finances," the coalition added. The coalition, comprised of over 50 countries, began its mission in Iraq in mid-2014 when IS controlled vast swathes of the country. Since then, it has provided the Iraqi government with military support, advice and weaponry to fight the extremists over the past few years. Iraq announced it had defeated the radical group in late 2017, but the coalition's activities continued beyond then. Apple AAPL is facing a lawsuit for health monitoring features of Apple Watch, per a recent Bloomberg report. Masimo and its subsidiary Cercacor have accused Apple of unduly exploiting their trademark technology in Apple Watch products, mainly to overcome performance issues. Lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the suit alleges that Apple Watch, including the latest Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 models, leveraged technology covered by 10 Masimo patents. Apple has been accused of multiple infringements in these 10 different patents. Notable among these is intellectual property detailing Apple Watchs blood oxygen monitoring system and heart rate detection through light emitters. Masimo wishes to prevent any further usage of its patented inventions. Apple has also been accused of hiring employees of Masimo for its own advantage, including former executive vice president of Medical Affairs Michael OReilly and Cercacor CTO, Marcelo Malini Lamego. Notably, Michael OReilly is currently the vice president of Apples health technology department. Apple Inc. Price and Consensus Apples Increasing Legal Woes The news comes at a time when Apples smartwatches are witnessing increased adoption in the market. Notably, per Strategy Analytics data, 6.8 million smartwatches were shipped by the company in third-quarter 2019, up 51% from the year-ago quarter figure of 4.5 million units. Apple has been increasingly facing antitrust investigations and lawsuits over patents, user privacy and App Store-related lawsuits among others. Last month, the tech giant was sued by a New York University cardiologist over Apple Watchs use of his patented heartbeat monitoring invention, per a Bloomberg report. Apple also faced a class action lawsuit in 2019, claiming that the companys Siri voice assistant violated customer privacy by recording users without their consent, per a Business Insider report. Moreover, Apple had faced legal issues with Qualcomm QCOM. However, the iPhone-maker settled with Qualcomm by making an undisclosed payment and inked a six-year global patent license agreement and a chipset supply agreement in April 2019. Further, Apple has been accused of unfair practices and stifling competition in the music streaming space. In March 2019, a complaint was filed by music streaming giant Spotify SPOT with the European Commission's antitrust regulators. Wrapping Up We believe that the removal of certain important features from Apples Watch may be a huge blow to the company. Thus, it is crucial for Apple to reach a settlement with Masimo, in case the lawsuit turns out to be legitimate. Although Apple currently dominates the smartwatch segment, the loss of key features like blood oxygen monitoring system and heart rate detection through the light emitters could hurt its competitive position against the likes of Fitbit FIT , Garmin and Samsung in the long run. Zacks Rank Apple currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Click to get this free report QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Fitbit, Inc. (FIT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Spotify Technology SA (SPOT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Friday to look for ways to avert war between the US and Iran and save the deal to stop Iran getting nuclear weapons. The 28 member states' foreign ministers ministers gathered for an emergency foreign affairs council meeting to decide the bloc's approach. Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, told reporters after the meeting that member states were "committed to preserving" the Iran nuclear deal, stating. "Without the JCPOA, today Iran would be a nuclear power. Thanks to this deal Iran is not a nuclear power. We strongly believe that it is in our interest to preserve the joint comprehensive plan of action as far as we can," he said. "We call for Iran to go back to full compliance with the JCPOA without delay." The high representative for foreign affairs added: "The ministers have given me a strong mandate to carry out diplomatic efforts with all parties, including Iran, to contribute to the deescalation in the region, to support political dialogue, and to promote a regional political solution." But he refused to be drawn on the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet over Iran this week, stating: "It would be quite irresponsible from my side to advance news about such a sensitive thing without having concrete information." UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab declined to attend the meeting, having sent FCO minister Andrew Murrison in his stead. "Iran's desire to prevent the crisis from escalating has bought us some time, it has the effect of cooling this down just a little," a senior EU diplomat told the Reuters news agency ahead of the meeting. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian however warned ahead of the afternoon meeting that the stakes were high. "If they continue with unravelling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option," Mr Le Drian told broadcaster RTL. The broader meeting follows sensitive talks between Germany, France, and the UK in the EU capital earlier in the week with the European Commission. Those discussions are understood to have focused on the question of how to enforce the Iran nuclear deal without escalating the situation. Iran has been gradually discarding parts of the deal, officially known as the JCPOA, since Donald Trump pulled the US out of it and began imposing sanctions on the country. Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Show all 24 1 /24 Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions Iranian mourners gather around a vehicle carrying the coffin of top general Qasem Soleimani during the final stage of funeral processions, in his hometown Kerman. Soleimani was killed outside Baghdad airport in a drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump, ratcheting up tensions with Iran which has vowed "severe revenge" AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranian people carry a coffin of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani during a funeral procession in Tehran Official Khamenei website via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions The assassination of the 62-year-old heightened international concern about a new war in the volatile, oil-rich Middle East and rattled financial markets AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Mourners packed the streets of Tehran for ceremonies to pay homage to Soleimani, who spearheaded Iran's Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and was killed in a US drone strike on January 3 Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranians set a US and an Israeli flag on fire during the funeral procession AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, centre, with Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, second left, and President Hassan Rouhani, third left, standing next to him as he leads a prayer over the caskets of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Tehran University Khamenei.IR/AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, openly weeps as he leads a prayer over the coffin of Qassem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Mourners holding posters of Qassem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Coffins of Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a US drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions An Iranian mourner holds a placard AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill as mourners flooded the Iranian capital Khamenei.IR/AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps chief Mohamad Ali Jafari prays on the coffins of Qasem Soleimani and of other victims during their funeral ceremony EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Official Khamenei website via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Satellite image Maxar Technologies/AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA But Iran, which is still allowing inspectors in under the agreement, says it could reverse its steps towards enriching uranium if the US returns to the table and drops its new crippling sanctions. The latest crisis was sparked after the US assassinated top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani while he was on a visit to Iraq, provoking a response from Iran, which launched ballistic missiles at bases with US troops. The Iraqi parliament has called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country, including Americans though there is little sign of this happening. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-08 22:22:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The photo shows a scene of a car bomb explosion in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi) At least 5 civilians were killed and 11 others injured in a car bomb explosion at a busy checkpoint in Mogadishu on Wednesday morning. MOGADISHU, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least five civilians were killed and 11 others injured in a car bomb explosion at a busy checkpoint in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday morning, a government official confirmed. Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar said an al-Shabab suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives into the Sayidka junction, a checkpoint where vehicles line up for security search, during rush hour. People are seen at the scene of a massive car bomb explosion in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi) Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-allied militant group, claimed responsibility for the latest attack, saying it targeted the heavily guarded checkpoint at the entrance of the presidential palace. Security officials said the suicide bomber was trying to pass through the checkpoint but detonated the explosive device when he was unable to do so. People are seen at the scene of a massive car bomb explosion in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi) Witnesses said three members of a family were among those killed in the attack, the first one in 2020. Lawmakers also use the same checkpoint to enter the nearby parliament building and the presidential palace. Any visits by Russian officials to Crimea without prior agreement with the Ukrainian government are unacceptable, diplomats stress. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has sent a note of protest to the Russian Federation over the latest visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the illegally annexed Crimea. "In connection with yet another visit of V.Putin to the temporarily occupied Crimea in order to monitor the illegal exercises of Northern and Black Sea fleets of the Russian Federation, a protest note was sent to Russia," the spokeswoman wrote on Twitter Thursday, January 9. Any visits by Russian officials to Crimea without prior agreement with the Ukrainian government are unacceptable, Zelenko stressed. Read alsoUNGA adopts updated resolution to protect human rights in occupied Crimea "This is a gross violation of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in violation of generally recognized norms and principles of international law," the tweet says. As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 9, Russian forces tested in the occupied Crimea their Kalibr cruise missile and the Kinzhal hypersonic aerobalistic missile. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the exercises. South Sudan looks to have a full environmental impact audit of all its oil-producing fields and conduct such audits ahead of any new exploration and drilling in the country, the government said on Friday. One of the newest countries in the world issued a tender this week, inviting companies to bid to conduct those environmental audits, under a petroleum act from 2012, a year after South Sudan gained independence. The Act is designed to better manage the environmental impact of the sector after years of neglect prior to independence, and the resulting pollution, the government said in a statement. The sector has in the past caused a loss of grazing land, deforestation, soil and water contamination, and health issues in and around oil-producing areas, it further noted. South Sudan broke from Sudan in 2011 and took with it around 350,000 bpd in oil production. However, the only export oil pipeline out of landlocked South Sudan passes through its neighbor to the north, Sudan. But then civil war in South Sudan broke out in 2013 that further complicated oil production. Currently, South Sudan pumps around 180,000 bpd. The government aims to hold an oil licensing round for 14 oil exploration blocks by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Understanding the pollution damage will allow the country to put systems in place to prevent further damage as the country looks to ramp up production, South Sudans Minister of Petroleum Awow Daniel Chuang said. At the same time, South Sudans President Salva Kiir said in August last year: I will not tolerate irresponsible activities in the oil sector. And while the government is eager to welcome new exploration and production, companies would be held to a high standard. The era of "bad business" was coming to an end, the president said. One of the worlds newest countries must now reconcile the timing of the environmental audits with its ambitions to increase oil production. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Donald Trump declared at his first rally of 2020 in Ohio that he hoped former Vice President Joe Biden was the Democratic presidential nominee because then he could repeatedly ask him 'Where's Hunter?' Trump was speaking to a rowdy crowd in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday night when he made the declaration. 'So where's Hunter, where the hell are you Hunter,' Trump said to the raucous crowd. He continued: 'I sort of hope its Joe because he will hear 'Where is Hunter' every single debate, nine times a debate. Where's Hunter?' Scroll down for video Trump was speaking to a rowdy crowd in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday night when he made the declaration Trump's first rally of the year comes less than a week after Iranian general Quassem Soleimani was killed, which led Iran to launch almost two dozen ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq that house U.S. troops, but no Americans were wounded or killed. The drone strike on Soleimani followed a New Years Eve breach of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq by protesters who support Iranian-backed Shia militia. Vice President Mike Pence warmed up the crowd where the thousands in attendance immediately began chanting, 'four more years.' 'I sort of hope its Joe (Biden) because he will hear 'Where is Hunter' every single debate, nine times a debate,' Trump said during the speech. 'Where's Hunter?' Pence focused his introduction on praising the president for his fast action in directing the strike that took out Soleimani. 'Donald Trump took big action and Qassem Soleimani is gone,' he cheered, and was met with chants of 'U.S.A' from the pro-Trump crowd. 'And when militants stormed our embassy in Baghdad, President Trump sent in the Marines, secured our embassy and this president said, 'No more Benghazis.' And when American lives were threatened by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, President Donald Trump took action and Qassem Soleimani is gone,' Pence said. Trump's first rally of the year comes less than a week after Iranian general Quassem Soleimani was killed 'Now the president said yesterday in his words the United States is always ready to embrace peace with all who seek it. But under this president, America will always seek peace through strength,' he continued, reminiscent of the Ronald Reagan foreign policy strategy. Trump will fly to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday for his second rally of the election year on the same night Democrats hold their first primary presidential debate of 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. Milwaukee is also the location of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which will take place in July. In financial and investment circles, mystery and high stakes frequently go hand in hand. For more than a decade, esoteric fracking companies have been hot cakes for investors - particularly private equities - chasing high yields and growth, in large part due to the industrys huge appetite for capital. But lately, the tables have turned. Investors are now shying away from energy plays amid growing concerns of dwindling cash flows, credibility and carbon. The E&P (Exploration and Production) sector is experiencing a 'crisis of perception' as investors shun it based on perennial underperformance as well as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects. Money continues to flow from the sector to better performing index funds and/or other "greener energy" sectors, as evidenced by shrinking stocks and the sectors weighting in the S&P 500 dropping from 13% at the height of the shale boom to just 5% currently. So, how are E&P strategies changing? Here are three main ways energy companies are tweaking their ethos. Strategy #1: Cost Discipline The growing reluctance to invest in E&P raises major concerns regarding capital availability for the sector. This is especially worrying in light of recent announcements by financial institutions, including banks and pension funds, to limit their allocations to certain or even all fossil fuel investments. Consequently, energy companies have moved from living on a wing and a prayer, hoping for another oil boom to get them out of the rut to a more proactive philosophy where capital and cost discipline have become the new mantra. Related: The U.S. Aims For Energy Storage Dominance Debt levels in the energy sector peaked in 2017 but have gradually been coming down. Debt and leverage ratios have steadily improved since then, driven by improved cash flows and increased capital discipline. Many companies turned to debt financing mainly as a stop-gap to keep production flowing in the hope that prices would rebound quickly. Obviously, this has not happened, with the WSJ reporting that North American energy companies now have $200 billion of debt maturities over the next four years with $40 billion due in 2020. Source: WSJ The bad part: Its unclear how they will repay that mountain of debt, and many might have to stick to the usual playbook of selling shares in the secondary markets. Investors hate share dilution, and this could trigger another wave of selling. Meanwhile, although organic capex in 2019 increased compared with 2018, its still a fraction of the levels recorded in 2013/2014. Strategy #2: Projects that Deliver Faster As part of capital and cost discipline, oil and gas companies are rapidly shifting to shorter-cycle projects with faster payback periods. In many cases, they are prioritizing investments with a lower carbon footprint, especially gas. According to IHS Markit Research, investments in low-carbon sectors by seven leading integrated oil & gas companies have exceeded $8 billion over the past decade. The strategy seems to be paying off: According to the IEA, energy companies are bringing capacity to the market 20% faster compared to a decade ago. The changing energy system is helping the industry better manage capital at risk. Source: EIA Strategy #3: Investing in Renewables Nowadays, many people dismiss even genuine attempts by the energy sector to adopt the language of climate action and sustainable production as a disgraceful and desperate attempt at greenwash. But truth be told, scores of fossil fuel companies really are at the forefront of the clean energy drive. Related: U.S. Drillers Rush To Hedge Production As Oil Prices Soar Evolving new technologies, shareholder pressure, and rapidly changing consumer preferences are forcing oil and gas companies to explore new business streams, renewables being chief among them. The last four years have seen a surge in renewables investments by oil and gas companies. In the first three quarters of 2019, oil companies closed about 70 deals in various renewable energy sectors including solar, wind and biofuels with Royal Dutch Shell Plc cutting the most valuable deals. Source: Bloomberg Interestingly, European companies lead their American counterparts by a wide margin, investing 7x as much in the renewable sector last year. Seven companies have accounted for about three-quarters of renewable energy deals since 2010, with all but Chevron Corp. and Saudi Arabian Oil Co. being based in Europe. Source: Bloomberg The question now is whether oil companies have missed the boat on changing their ethos to combat the crisis of perception among investors. With $40-billion in debt coming due already this year, our answer to that question may come sooner than we think. The adaptation strategies are working, but theyre going to have to work faster. Thats also whats likely to make 2020 a year of consolidation more than any other. Those whove managed to successfully tweak their ethos can likely scoop up those who havent for a nice discount. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Democratic presidential candidate, author Marianne Williamson addresses the audience at the Environmental Justice Presidential Candidate Forum at South Carolina State University on November 8, 2019 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson is suspending her 2020 presidential campaign, she told supporters in an email Friday. Williamson, who consistently polled near the bottom of the pack of Democrats vying to defeat President Donald Trump, said she stayed in the race "to take advantage of every possible opportunity to share our message." "With caucuses and primaries now about to begin, however, we will not be able to garner enough votes in the election to elevate our conversation any more than it is now," she said. "The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I don't want to get in the way of a progressive candidate winning any of them." "As of today, therefore, I'm suspending my campaign," Williamson said. Williamson wrote on Twitter shortly after her announcement that "A politics of conscience is still yet possible. And yes.love will prevail." Williamson TWEET The best-selling author entered the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race vowing to bring a "spiritual awakening" to American politics. She promised to "harness love" to defeat Trump. She was one of six women vying for the nomination. By the start of 2020, Williamson had fired her entire campaign staff, explaining that her campaign coffers had been stretched thin. But she vowed on Jan. 2 to stay in the race, saying, "a campaign not having a huge war chest should not be what determines its fate." While some failed to take the quirky candidate seriously, she clinched coveted spots in the first two Democratic debates weeks before career politicians like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and others made the cut. She used the national platform to her advantage, becoming a top trending candidate on Twitter during the second debate, after warning that Trump was bringing "this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred" to the country. On many issues she dovetailed with progressive Democrats, supporting "Medicare for All" and the Green New Deal climate change proposal. She was a proponent of reparations for descendants of slaves, calling for spending up to $500 billion on a payment plan. But the Texas native also faced an outcry when she said that the idea of mandatory vaccinations was "draconian" and "Orwellian," raising concern she was sympathetic to the anti-vaccine movement. Though she made inroads, her campaign never caught fire. She raised just $1.5 million in each of the first and second quarters of 2019. She doubled that figure in the third quarter, but still badly trailed the front-runners and rarely surpassed 1% support in the polls. But she has at times drawn outsize attention along the campaign trail notably in the first primary debate in June, when she vowed that her first presidential act would be to tell New Zealand's prime minister that "Girlfriend, you are so on." Williamson's unorthodox rhetoric, steeped in more "spiritual" language than most of her competitors, quickly set her apart from the rest of the field, even if her style points haven't translated into higher poll numbers. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. D onald Trump's administration has imposed new sanctions on Iran following this week's missile strikes on airbases housing US troops in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials, as well as companies in the steel and other sectors. Mr Mnuchin said President Trump will issue an executive order imposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction, manufacturing or mining sectors. The administration already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal. Donald Trump has threatened a severe response to any further actions against the US by Iran / AP It comes amid heightened tensions between the two nations after President Trump ordered an airstrike to kill Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani. Iran subsequently retaliated by attacking the Iraqi base - though know troops are believed to have been hurt in the reactionary strike. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the sanctions on Friday / AP President Trump has said his nation would "embrace peace" with any nation that seeks it amid the tensions - though has threatened a severe response should American citizens be targeted further by Iran. He said yesterday the attack on Soleimani was sanctioned due to intelligence of a plot to "blow up" a US embassy. The US leader accused Soleimani of organising violent protests by Iran-backed groups at the US Embassy in Baghdad earlier this month and said if he had not sent US troops to protect the embassy the demonstrators might have broken in and killed Americans or taken them hostage. It comes as Iran was accused of having shot down a Ukrainian airliner, in a crash which killed 176 people. As a technology neophyte, I learned from Facebook wont ban all doctored videos (Business, Jan. 9) that there are different degrees of manipulated videos, from cheapfakes to deepfakes. But as a political old-timer, I would advise this social media company to please stop spreading all types of misinformation online, since the current Oval Office occupant tweets and speaks a stream of falsehoods that are cheap, deep and everywhere in between each day in the offline world. Marcus Finnerman, San Francisco Unintended consequence The ill-advised AB5 gig law illustrates the problem of unintended consequences. Although this law was targeted at gig companies, many small businesses will be devastated by this law. It will likely devastate Uber and Lyft also, which will put us all back to waiting for taxicabs that never come. Its a shame because these ride shares are great inventions drivers who come promptly and predictably, who realize that they will be evaluated by riders and with no broken meters or cash needed for payment. I have taken dozens of Uber and Lyft rides over the years and have met only one or two full-time drivers whod like to be employees. Most work limited hours and require work flexibility. Many drivers are on the edge financially, which is why they are driving for extra income. A fixed schedule for driving wont work for most of them. Will some former drivers then end up on public assistance? Mandatory salaries and union membership sound good to progressives, but with AB5, well have job losses and more income inequality in the state. This is one of the problems of a one-party state, particularly one dominated by large donor trade unions. Robert Stenson, Larkspur Gross exaggeration Regarding Genius of Trump economy (Letters, Jan. 9): It is a gross exaggeration to say that the taxes proposed by the progressive Democratic presidential candidates would kill innovation and stop growth. This is a tried old trope that needs to be retired as a large portion of corporate profits go to stockholders rather than trickle down to services (health care, education, etc.) that contribute to the public good. Rather, these taxes would help provide a living wage and support basic needs for the vast majority of Americans whose labor, often through multiple jobs, fuel said innovation, products and services. Make no mistake the wealthy will not be penalized. They will simply be required to share a very small bite of their cake. Shannon Stanley, Lafayette A pie in the sky The genius of the Trump economy based on the theory that lowering taxes and eliminating government protections will result in a bigger pie that everyone can share is a pie in the sky disproven by decades of failed trickle-down economics that has resulted in a highly disproportionate share of increased wealth flowing to the top 1%. President Trumps major tax relief bill resulted not in substantial new investment but, instead, in a flow of money to shareholders (nearly one third of whom were foreigners) who reaped the benefits. Regulations are necessary stop signs for the protection of the public from laissez-faire capitalism. Tom Miller, Oakland Secure the evidence I would encourage House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to consider not forwarding the articles of impeachment until she receives every document legally requested and every legally subpoenaed witness to appear before Congress or committees. With likely Republican obstruction, the possible result could be the only impeached but not acquitted president in our nations history. Nice sound to that, and nothing would be more appropriate for the narcissistic Russian asset than such a historical legacy. Jim Prchlik, Oakland Carbon legislation According to Edward Johnsons article Australias wildfire crisis: Key numbers behind the disaster (SFChronicle.com, Jan. 8), hundreds of millions of animal lives were lost in Australia amid some of the most severe fires on record. This years remarkably arid summer, the fuel to these rampant fires, can be attributed almost entirely to global warming. As carbon emissions rise, more heat gets trapped within the atmosphere. This heat, paired with Australias naturally dry climate, creates the conditions needed to ignite violent bush fires. The occurrence of such violent wildfires is quite possible in the United States, which has the second-largest carbon footprint in the world. As emissions rise and already fire-prone states like California experience increasingly volatile conditions, Americans inch closer to an irreversible catastrophe. Through increasing fossil fuel prices, the Carbon Dividend Act (HR763) promises to cut carbon emissions by over 40% in just 12 years, which could save over 300 million Americans from the tragic fate many Australians are currently experiencing. This bill deserves our support. [January 10, 2020] Atlantic Broadband Expands Its Presence in Southeastern Connecticut Through Acquisition of Thames Valley Communications Atlantic Broadband, the nation's eighth-largest cable operator, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Thames Valley Communications, a broadband services company operating in Southeastern Connecticut. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close within three months. Upon closing of the transaction, Atlantic Broadband will add approximately 10,000 customers to its operations in Connecticut. This acquisition allows Atlantic Broadband to expand its presence in a market where the Company is already well established following its acquisition of MetroCast's (News - Alert) Connecticut operations in 2015. "The acquisition of Thames Valley Communications will nicely complement our presence in Southeastern Connecticut, as our businesses share the same values of customer focus and support of the communities we serve," said Frank van der Post, President, tlantic Broadband. "With a commitment to innovation, a first-rate customer experience, and stimulating economic growth in the region, we look forward to offering high quality Internet, video and phone services to homes and businesses in the communities of Groton, Mystic, Stonington, Pawcatuck and Gales Ferry." Bill Pearson, Chief Executive Officer of Thames Valley Communications added: "Over the past seven years we have invested heavily in TVC's network and technology to provide the best Internet, TV and phone services, including increasing our Internet speeds by nearly 50x, from 20 Mbps to 1 Gig, and bringing our network reliability to best-in-class. Going forward, Atlantic Broadband's strong management and larger scale will provide our residential and business customers with access to leading-edge, high quality technology and services." Atlantic Broadband was advised on this transaction by Morgan Lewis LLP as legal counsel. Thames Valley Communications was advised by RBC Capital Markets as M&A advisor and Lowenstein Sandler LLP as legal counsel. ABOUT ATLANTIC BROADBAND Atlantic Broadband, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA), is the eighth-largest cable operator in the United States, based on the number of television service customers served. The company provides its residential and business customers with internet, TV and phone services in 11 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Atlantic Broadband is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. To learn more about Atlantic Broadband, please visit https://atlanticbb.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005443/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] An exhausted German soldier peers out into No Mans Land. Just a few yards away, he sees a butterfly fluttering in front of a discarded tin. He wriggles forward and stretches out to grab it. As he does so, he breaks cover. A French sniper has spotted him. We are shown the soldiers hand and the butterfly in big close up. A shot rings out. The hand twitches and then falls still. The soldier is dead. These are the final images of Lewis Milestones classic anti-war movie, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). Its striking how similar the reviews of Milestones film, adapted from Erich Maria Remarques novel, are to those being written now, 90 years later, about Sam Mendess 1917 (which won Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Director at the Golden Globes earlier this week). Compelling in its realism, bigness and repulsiveness the best war picture ever filmed was Varietys verdict on All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930. Paige Logo Chavez will be instrumental in working with key executives as they grow the Companys product portfolio, commercialize their solutions and expand into biopharma services and new geographies. Paige, the leader in computational pathology transforming the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, welcomes Dr. R. Martin Chavez to its board of directors. Chavez joins Paiges board after recently retiring from Goldman Sachs, where he served 19 years in multiple roles including CIO, CFO, and Co-Head of Securities. Hes been credited as one of the key figures in elevating the roles of engineering and data science, both at Goldman Sachs and in the financial services sector more broadly. In this hands-on role at Paige, he will be working with the Company to help create a similar transformation in healthcare. Following Paiges recent close of its $45 million Series B funding round, Chavez will be instrumental in working with key executives as they grow the Companys product portfolio, commercialize their solutions and expand into biopharma services and new geographies. Im thrilled at the opportunity to put my experience at the crossroads of math, data, software, and machine learning to work for the crucial mission of revolutionizing cancer prognosis and treatment, said Chavez, who holds a Ph.D in Medical Information Sciences from Stanford University. Im looking forward to joining Paiges team in driving forward computational models for human tissue, while building a world-class culture of engineering, data science, and clinical decision analysis. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Chavez was CEO and co-founder of Kiodex, acquired by Sungard in 2004. He was also Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Quorum Software Systems. He currently serves on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, the Stanford Medicine Board of Fellows and the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Study. He was one of the key figures in elevating the roles of engineering and data science, both at Goldman Sachs and on Wall Street, more broadly. I couldnt be more excited to welcome Marty to our active and influential board of directors, said Leo Grady, CEO at Paige. He has been enormously successful as an entrepreneur and leader. At Paige, we intend to transform cancer care in the same way that Marty transformed finance, which will have a far-reaching impact on clinical medicine and drug development. Marty will be very hands on with us, along with Jim Breyer and our other board members, to build a truly transformative healthcare company. Chavez joins the Paige board of directors after a stellar year of significant momentum for the Company. Leo Grady, CEO, joined Paige in February 2019 and the Company went on to receive the first FDA breakthrough designation in the same month. Paiges technology was published in top peer-reviewed journals, highlighting significant advances is building robust AI solutions based on pathology data. The Company ended the year by receiving the first CE mark for a computational pathology solution, Paige Prostate, and announced a partnership with Philips to distribute the product. To close out 2019, the company announced its series B funding and is now working to expand its offerings for clinical pathology practices and the biopharma industry. ABOUT PAIGE Paige was founded in 2017 by world leaders in Pathology and AI at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The Company builds powerful, clinical-grade computational technologies to transform diagnosis, treatment, biomarker discovery and drug development for cancer. With AI positioned to open a new future of cancer care, Paige has created an AI-native ecosystem that enables pathology teams to achieve higher quality, faster throughput and lower cost diagnoses and treatment recommendations. Additionally, Paige accelerates new biomarker discovery and its platform is designed to generate new insights into pathways and drug efficacy. Paige is committed to delivering the technology in a way that integrates seamlessly with hospital and laboratory workflow systems and ensures safety, accuracy, security and data privacy. For additional information, please visit: http://www.Paige.ai, Twitter and LinkedIn. The idea of imposing a wealth tax on the richest Americans has elicited sharply divergent views across a spectrum of politicians, with President Donald Trump branding it socialist and progressive Democratic presidential contenders Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders prominently endorsing it. But it may have broad public support, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that found nearly two-thirds of respondents agree that the very rich should pay more. Among the 4,441 respondents to the poll, 64% strongly or somewhat agreed that the very rich should contribute an extra share of their total wealth each year to support public programmes - the essence of a wealth tax. Results were similar across gender, race and household income. While support among Democrats was stronger, at 77%, a majority of Republicans, 53%, also agreed with the idea. A wealth tax is levied on an individuals net worth, such as stocks, bonds and real estate, as well as cash holdings, similar in concept to property taxes. It is separate from an income tax, which applies to wages, interest and dividends, among other sources. Asked in the poll if the very rich should be allowed to keep the money they have, even if that means increasing inequality, 54% of respondents disagreed. Rich people have a right to blow their money on Lamborghinis and world-wide cruises or whatever, said Esin Zimmerman, 53, a lifelong Republican from Madison, Minnesota, who wants higher taxes for the wealthy. But that money could be used in other ways that help people. Ms Zimmerman said she would especially be in favour of a wealth tax that would help pay for government programmes for US military veterans, or help single parents with young children. It could put the border wall up, she said. The results may reflect how the economic changes of the past roughly 20 years, from globalisation to the financial crisis, have shaped attitudes about economic policy. But the concerns have been climbing since the crisis years of 2007 to 2009. Ms Warren and Mr Sanders have touted the idea as a way to help pay for major social programmes like Medicare for All and to reverse a stark rise in the share of wealth owned by the very richest Americans, known as the 1%. - Reuters Chennai, Jan 10 : Experts in brand building and market analysts are unanimous in their view that the allegation of gender bias against the promoters of the Murugappa Group will not have any impact on its brands or stock prices in short or long term. The Murugappa Group hit the headlines recently with the US-based Valli Arunachalam, the daughter of late M.V. Murugappan, alleging that the group promoters have a gender bias against women getting into family business and hence she and her sister were denied a board berth in Ambadi Investments Ltd after their father's death in 2017. Ambadi Investments is the family holding company of the promoters of the Rs 37,000-crore industrial conglomerate Murugappa Group which finds itself in the middle of a gender bias controversy. "I do believe there will be zero impact on Brand Murugappa Group. Consumers do not take cognizance of board level issues of this kind as yet in India," brand expert Harish Bijoor told IANS. "These are seen as back-end boardroom battles that have no impact on the products and services the company offers and consumers partake," Bijoor, also the founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, added. Largely a manufacturer of products used by industries, the Murugappa Group companies also roll out the BSA brand cycles, the Parry brand sugar, and financial products like general insurance, home loans, among others. "Nowadays investors dump the stocks of listed companies the moment they hear about any corporate governance issues. Institutional investors will take investment decisions based on corporate governance aspects," said Sunil Damania, Chief Investment Officer at research advisory company MojoMarkets Ltd. He said all the nine listed companies of Murugappa group have female directors and there is no issue of breach of any rules or corporate governance issues. "The markets have not reacted negatively in respect of Murugappa group's listed companies," Damania said. "Going by Valli Arunachalam's media interviews, she is more interested in selling off the family's stake in the holding company and has used the gender bias issue as a bargaining chip," he added. John Arokiasamy, perception strategist at Persona Leaders told IANS that "there are two aspects to the issue - legalese and the public perception - that are playing out for both the parties concerned". "Unfortunately, when it comes to female gender diversity of corporate boards the Indian average is abysmally low in comparison to the western average which is even around 40 per cent, where some companies meet the critical mass capacity,", said Arokiasamy, who has handled corporate crisis scenarios in the past and is now a noted poll strategist. According to him, the holding company of the Murugappa group family - Ambadi Investments - may have a temporary setback of being perceived as one lacking gender diversity or being biased towards females, despite the fact that it may not be a mandatory requirement in this case. "Also, I don't think it would have any major adverse impact on the other brands of the group now or in the longer run," Arokiasamy added. Meanwhile, the other members of the Murugappa family, including the group Executive Chairman M.M. Murugappan, are refusing to comment on the issue. Queried about their "no comments" response to the allegations made by Arunachalam, a communications professional told IANS: "This tactic is employed when one party feels, his or her case is strong, complying with legal provisions and following the family tradition or practice." Referring to Arunachalam's statement that her patience is running out, he said if the matter goes to court then the situation could change. According to him, the Murugappa family may not allow the matter to end up in court. A US Army general has refused to reinstate the Special Forces tab for a disgraced officer pardoned by Donald Trump last year, potentially setting up yet another high-profile clash between the president and the US military. The decision not to restore the military decoration to retired Major Matthew Golsteyn was was made early last month by Lt Gen Francis Baudette, the commander of US Army Special Operations Command, and disclosed by the Army on Thursday. The tab marks a soldier as a member of the elite US Army Special Forces, which are colloquially referred to as the Green Berets. Major Golsteyn, who was accused of murdering a suspected Taliban bomb maker in 2010, was awaiting trial for those actions when Mr Trump pardoned the veteran in November. The denial of his request for reinstatement followed just after the president personally reversed a Pentagon decision not to reinstate the rank and Trident pin for Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murder last year over the killing of a prisoner of war. Im disappointed, but Im not surprised, Mr Golsteyn told the Washington Post, responding to the decision by the Army. I was really hoping they would do the right thing. Army recruitment posters target millenials Show all 6 1 /6 Army recruitment posters target millenials Army recruitment posters target millenials Me Me Me Millennials MoD / Crown Copyright / PA Wire Army recruitment posters target millenials Selfie Addicts PA Army recruitment posters target millenials Binge Gamers PA Army recruitment posters target millenials Snowflakes PA Army recruitment posters target millenials Class Clowns PA Army recruitment posters target millenials Phone Zombies PA The retired Army major has publicly acknowledged killing the suspected Taliban bomb maker in media interviews, but has said that it occurred during a lawful ambush. He has said he burned the body to prevent the spread of disease. Major Golsteyn wasnt investigated by the Army until he disclosed the killing during a 2011 polygraph test with the CIA, which was considering him for a job. Three years later in 2014, Army officials revoked his special forces tab and valour award, and reprimanded. He was charged with murder in 2018. Some similarities exist between the circumstances Major Golsteyn faces and the situation Chief Gallagher faced, and senior Pentagon officials have reportedly handled Major Golsteyns case with care following the events last year. It is, however, unclear if Mr Trump plans on intervening in Major Golsteyns favour. Chief Gallagher was originally denied the reinstatement of his Naval Special Warfare Trident pin in November, which would effectively remove him from the elite force. But, Mr Trump responded angrily to the decision, and blocked the move. The decision led to former Navy secretary Richard Spencers ouster. Lt Gen Baudette wrote in a 3 December memorandum that he was denying Major Golsteyns request because his actions demonstrated a lack of adherence to the Special Forces Creed, and our American and Army values. Following Mr Trump's decision to intervene in Chief Gallagher's case, the Navy Seal was seen visiting with the president at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort with his wife over the holidays. Enterprise Ireland is calling on students from third level institutions nationwide with an innovative business idea, technology or solution to apply to this years 39th Student Entrepreneur Awards, which are co-sponsored by Cruickshank, Grant Thornton and the Local Enterprise Offices. Finalists will be selected to compete for several awards such as the Cruickshank Intellectual Property High Achieving Merit Award, the Grant Thornton Emerging Business Award and the Local Enterprise Office ICT Award. Read more County Kildare news The overall winner will share in a 35,000 prize fund and receive mentoring from Enterprise Ireland to develop the commercial viability of their concept. The winners will also share in a 30,000 consultancy fund that will enable them to turn their ideas into a commercial reality. National University of Ireland Galway student Christopher McBrearty was named as last years Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year for his cancer detection technology, NanoDetect. Other award winners included Micron Agritech Limited, developed by students in Technological University Dublin and Crafted Equestrian created by Ulster University student, Jenny Gregg. Cork Institute of Technologys, StomAssure was recognised for their implantable alternative to the current stoma treatment method. Richard Murphy, Manager LEO Support, Policy & Co-ordination Unit, Enterprise Ireland said, The Student Entrepreneur Awards have been a breeding ground for entrepreneurship in Ireland for close to forty years. Students in Ireland are becoming more and more ambitious and focused on achieving entrepreneurial success this is clear from the 1,000 high quality, innovative entries in last years awards that identified challenges across a range of sectors and provided solutions to overcome them. Nurturing this talent and helping to foster that entrepreneurship is essential not just to turn ideas into thriving businesses but to help drive Irelands global reputation in business. We are looking to support great ideas with commercial and export potential and if you have an idea with commercial focus then the Student Entrepreneur Awards is the competition for you. It could be the first step on the way to becoming a business leader in 2020. The award winners will be announced at a ceremony in NUI Galway on June 12 2020. The turmoil at the water utility serving New Jerseys capital has a new twist: For the third time in five months, there is a new face at the top. David Smith has been appointed as the acting director of Trenton Water Works, the 200-year-old utility that is owned and operated by Trenton and serves 217,000 people in the city as well as in Lawrence, Ewing, Hamilton and Hopewell Township. Smith made his first public appearance as acting director on Thursday night at the Trenton City Council meeting. Smith was appointed to the position earlier that day, three weeks after the Council voted against bringing back Steve Picco, the prior acting director. The turmoil at the top of TWW began in September, when Shing-Fu Hsueh abruptly resigned as director. Hsueh was one of the first appointments made by Mayor Reed Gusciora after his new administration moved in to City Hall. We were lucky that [Hsueh] took the job, and luckier still that he was able to make such strides for our community," Gusciora said in a news release at the time. "He faced tremendous scrutiny from the press, the public and City Council. But he exceeded all expectations in his duty to the people of Trenton. After Hsueh stepped down, Gusciora appointed Picco, a former assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, to helm the utility. That appointment was made for an initial 90-day term. In December, the Trenton City Council voted against bringing Picco back for a second 90-day term. Councilman Santiago Rodriguez, who was one of the votes against extending Picco, told NJ Advance Media at the time that the administration needs to hire a permanent director for the utility. In response the December vote, Gusciora told NJ Advance Media that he intended to simply reappoint Picco as interim director. But that move was not allowed under the rules set by the Faulkner Act, the law that dictates how Trentons government operates. Stymied, Guscoria turned to Smith, who had already been working for TWW as the utilitys chief engineer, to take charge of the system. Picco told NJ Advance Media that he felt TWW is in good shape and in good hands moving forward. I was brought in to do a bunch of things that are close enough to fruition that Im pretty comfortable with where everything is right now, Picco said, adding that he was not surprised that Council declined to bring him back, and that he had no intention of seeking the job as permanent director. "What I was trying to do was bound to ruffle feathers. My job was to get some unpopular things done, get whatever heat lands, and let another person start with a clean slate and a functioning organization, Picco said. Picco will continue to work with TWW as a consultant, Gusciora said. The Mayor added that the search for a permanent director remains ongoing. We expected to have Steve here for a little while," Gusciora said. "What we want to do is take our time and find a director that can permanently take the helm of the water department. How long Smith will last remains to be seen. I suspect that Council will be hostile to [Smith] in 90 days as well, Gusciora said. Several council members did not immediately respond to requests for comment. TWW is trying to repair its reputation after years of troubles, including elevated lead levels in 2017 and 2018 and operating with low staff levels for extended periods of time. Because of the past issues, the water system is currently under two administrative consent orders from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The water system has not exceeded the federal standard for lead in drinking water since the end of 2018. On Thursday morning, TWW launched an effort to replace more than 36,000 lead service lines over the next five years. Read more of NJ.coms coverage of New Jersey water issues here. Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The Mauritanian government has examined and adopted a bill aimed at clarifying the criteria for the entry into the law profession Ballymahons ever popular annual Still Voices Short Film Festival is ramping it up significantly for 2020 with the introduction of the Still Voices Film Society, bringing the best of world cinema to local audiences, in partnership with Creative Longford and Access Cinema. The Still Voices Film Society inaugural programme will fun from January to May 2020. The Winter/Spring selection includes award- winning films like the magical and disturbing Colombian combat epic, Monos, Pedro Almodovar's sublime Pain and Glory and what's been described as one of the defining British films of the decade Bait. There will also be the excellent Irish-produced documentary Shooting the Mafia and the critically acclaimed drug epic Birds of Passage as well as the wonderful Good Posture Of course, with short films always at the forefront of the Still Voices programming every year, the Film Society will be showcasing a fantastic selection of films from both Ireland and abroad. As this is a countywide initiative, screenings will take place in the Ballymahon Library and the Studio Space in the Backstage Theatre Longford and the organisers are encouraging people to travel to each screening to experience the full selection of films. For more information, or to find out what other films are screening over the coming months, you can visit stillvoicesfilmsociety.ie. GALLERY| Movie buffs descend upon Ballymahon for Still Voices short film festival Around a dozen graves have been vandalised in a Jewish cemetery in southwest France, including a commemorative plaque dedicated to a child victim of the Holocaust. The vandalism which took place in Bayonne, in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques area was discovered on Sunday by the president of the Jewish community of Bayonne and Biarritz, Deborah Loupien-Suares. She was visiting the graves of her grandparents at the time. Ms Loupien-Suares tweeted: Indignation and anger after the desecration of the Jewish cemetery of Bayonne. The investigation will be conducted calmly and those responsible will be punished. Speaking to local media Sud-Quest, she said there were no antisemitic phrases or inscriptions at the cemetery but there was significant damage to the gravestones with several left smashed and broken. This included a plaque dedicated to a Jewish girl deported by the Nazi regime during the Second World War. Ms Loupien-Suares added: There are very significant degradations on seven to ten graves in the cemetery, which have been exploded. 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 There were no antisemitic tags or inscriptions so I dont want to ignite the debate, I want the investigation to be carried out calmly. Ms Loupien-Suares believes the vandalism was targeted as she went to a Catholic cemetery opposite the site but there were no similar degradations. The mayor of Bayonne, Jean-Rene Etchegaray, said: It is the first time that this has happened in Bayonne, where the Jewish community has been fully integrated for years. Two Jewish cemeteries have been attacked in recent months in Alsace, eastern France, The Local FR reports. Over 100 graves were defaced with swastikas at the cemetery in Westhoffen in December and 96 tombs were targeted at Quatzenheim, Alsace, in February 2019. Reports of antisemitic offences in France have risen 74 percent in 2018 from the previous year. After the Westhoffen vandalism, Emmanuel Macron said: Jews are and make France and those who attack them, even their graves, are not worthy of the idea we have of France. According to the EUs Fundamental Rights Agency, antisemitism is defined as homicides and attempted homicides, terror attacks and attempted terror attacks, arson and attempted arson, defacing and vandalising, and physical violence and assault. It also includes Antisemitic threats which cover speech acts, threatening gestures and insults, graffiti, pamphlets and emails. Recommended Five face charges after police investigation into Labour antisemitism Although the number of antisemitic actions in France in 2018 were higher than the previous year, they were still lower than in 2014. However, a separate trend has found that antisemitic threats are consistently reported in higher numbers than in actions. The Service for the Protection of the Jewish Community (JPC) in its annual report on antisemitism found that the majority of the respondents in France, around 80 per cent, who experienced antisemitism before the 2018 survey did not report the most serious incident to the police or any other organisation. Over one-third of the respondents in France (37 per cent) experienced some form of antisemitic harassment in the five years before the survey and one quarter (27 per cent) encountered harassment in the 12 months before the survey. Mark Gardner, Director of Communications for the Community Security Trust (CST) - a charity established to ensure the safety and security of the UKs Jewish community told The Independent: Cemetery desecrations are an especially sickening and visible sign of deep Jew-hatred. There are problems of antisemitism across Europe, including Britain, with different problems coming from different political and theological directions. Then, there is also antisemitism from racist and anti-social behaviours that are offensive, but not ideological as such. The Independent has contacted the World Jewish Congress Paris community and Deborah Loupien-Suares for comment. 1 of 11 In a retaliatory attack against the U.S., Iran launched missile strikes against two bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed. A base in Asad, in western Iraq, was one of the targets. The other was a base near which city? Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Daniel Baker; Professor Ian Greer; President and Vice-Chancellor of Queens University Belfast; and Grainia Long, Commissioner for Resilience, Belfast City Council and Co-chair of the Belfast Climate Commission. Back row (L-R): Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive, Belfast City Council; Professor John Barry, Professor of Green Political Economy at Queens University Belfast and Co-chair of the Belfast Climate Commission; Professor Andy Gouldson, Chair of the Leeds Climate Commission and a co-investigator for PCAN; and Dr Amanda Slevin, PCAN Policy Fellow at Queens University Belfast. Belfast has joined three UK cities in an ambitious new green initiative to drive action on climate change. The Belfast Climate Commission was officially launched on Friday as a joint venture between Queens University and Belfast City Council, bringing together academics and decision-makers. Along with Edinburgh and Leeds, its hoped Belfast will play a key role in helping the UK government achieve a 2050 target of reducing carbon emissions to net-zero. The work is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council for the Place-Based Climate Action Network (PCAN), with the hope of translating climate policy into action on the ground. Speaking at the launch event, Belfast Lord Mayor Daniel Baker welcomed the move to counter the profound impact of climate change on the city. It is critical that we are well prepared, and protect all of our citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, he said. We must also be ambitious in the targets we set to reduce our impact on the planet. I am particularly pleased to be launching this commission today because of its focus on place-based action and on the work that we can do to ensure climate-resilient communities. Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queens University Belfast, said: The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time, and it is essential that we understand its impact for the places we inhabit. Queens University Belfast is delighted to be launching this major programme, in partnership with Belfast City Council, which brings together the research community and decision-makers in the public, private and third sectors to find solutions in a collaborative way. Green Party councillor Malachai OHara, said: This is an encouraging move towards making Belfast a climate-resilient city and delivering a just transition for all our citizens. People across Belfast want a healthier, cleaner and greener city. This can only happen if we tackle climate breakdown and deliver a Green New Deal. I back the work of the Climate Commission in leaving no community or group of people behind as we make the just transition towards a low carbon economy. The commission held its first meeting in December, co-chaired by John Barry, Professor of Green Political Economy at Queens University, and Grania Long who has been named the Belfast Commissioner for Resilience. The other groups represented on the commission include Trankslink NI, Unite the Union, Belfast Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland. As part of yesterdays launch, interim findings were presented on a study making the economic case for decarbonisation. The draft deal to restore Stormont published on Thursday evening also pledged a restored Executive will tackle climate change head on with a strategy to address the immediate and longer-term impacts of climate change. The document stated: The Executive will introduce legislation and targets for reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Change Accord. Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Several top Southern California elected officials are in the process of brokering a deal with the Trump Administration on homelessness. There's a lot that is not yet known. But a letter sent to President Trump and Housing Secretary Ben Carson talks about increased federal support to expand the region's homeless shelter system. Though Los Angeles County is home to nearly 60,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night, the county's shelter system has space for fewer than 16,000 people. Speaking on KPCC's AirTalk program on Thursday, Andy Bales, who heads the Union Rescue Mission in Skid Row, said local officials were in direct communication with the secretary of the Federal Housing and Urban Development department, Ben Carson. "They had a discussion yesterday [Wednesday] with Ben Carson, and I guess they've received an offer from the White House of federal assistance that asked the city and the county for a humble letter of request that that they need help," said Bales. "I believe that letter is going to be on its way from the Mayor of Los Angeles, [and] County supervisor Kathryn Barger and the county supervisors, requesting White House help." Bales said details are still "sketchy," but that he thinks the federal government will make federal land available for the construction of homeless shelters, and ask local non-profits to operate them. On Friday morning, the Los Angeles Times published a letter sent to President Trump and Secretary Carson from Mayor Garcetti. The letter is dated January 9, 2020: "I appreciate the federal resources that Secretary Carson offered yesterday, including support for service and housing programs; potential federal land for housing and shelter development; and leveraged resources needed to address critical public health needs." LA County is grateful for a constructive conversation with @HUDgov @SecretaryCarson & @mayorofLA to discuss amplifying housing & services in our communities. To tackle the homelessness crisis, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach in collaboration with the federal government. Supervisor Kathryn Barger (@kathrynbarger) January 9, 2020 Appreciate conversation w/ @SecretaryCarson @HUDgov & @KathrynBarger on the necessity of federal investment in confronting the homelessness crisis. We want to work w/ all levels of government on humane & lasting solutions & look forward to turning discussions into real progress. MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) January 9, 2020 Both Supervisor Barger and Mayor Garcetti tweeted on Wednesday evening about the partnership. HUD Secretary Ben Carson Carson also tweeted on Wednesday. The homelessness crisis in California has been an entrenched problem for a longtime. Per the request of @MayorOfLA & @kathrynbarger we look forward to a new partnership that will benefit our fellow citizens. Archive: Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) January 9, 2020 Speaking on AirTalk, Andy Bales said he is "thrilled" that the situation on the streets is finally being addressed as an "all hands on deck situation." "I know we need much more affordable housing, but what people who suffer the devastation of homelessness each and every night need right now is triage, like shelter, they need a roof of some kind over their head," Bales said on AirTalk. French New Wave icon Jean Seberg is being portrayed by Kristen Stewart in 'Seberg'. (Credit: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images/Universal) The tale of Jean Seberg is one of Hollywoods most tragic true stories, and it is now coming to the big screen in Seberg, with Kristen Stewart portraying the cinema icon. Her story is one of glittering stardom as one of the bright lights of the French New Wave movement, which was soured by the subsequent actions of the FBI. She was doggedly pursued by the bureau during the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a wide-ranging campaign of harassment, defamation and intimidation aimed at discrediting groups and people who were deemed to be subversive. Read more: Exclusive clip from biopic Seberg Seberg first rose to fame in 1960 as the star of Jean-Luc Godards lauded feature debut A bout de souffle, known in English as Breathless. Born in Iowa in 1938, she was plucked from a group of 18,000 hopefuls to appear in Otto Premingers 1957 film Saint Joan, which she hoped would be her big break. Poor reviews greeted her role and her subsequent collaboration with Preminger the following year Bonjour Tristesse. It was during the filming of that second movie that Seberg met her first husband Francois Moreuil and became based in France. As well as her star-making turn in Breathless, Seberg starred in numerous French films while also working in Hollywood. New Wave filmmaker Francois Truffaut at one point called her the best actress in Europe. He would later, unsuccessfully, attempt to cast her in his 1973 film Day for Night. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in 'Breathless'. (Credit: UGC) Seberg caught the attention of the FBI in the late 1960s when, as part of her support for numerous civil rights organisations, she made contributions worth $10,500 (8,050) to the Black Panther Party. She became a target of the bureaus COINTELPRO program, which was overseen by then-director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover. According to a 1976 Senate report into COINTELPRO, the aim of the campaign was "protecting national security, preventing violence, and maintaining the existing social and political order" by neutralising or disrupting groups and individuals considered to be a threat. Story continues The actions of COINTELPRO took the form of constant in-person surveillance of Seberg, as well as eavesdropping on her private phone calls. FBI records show that Hoover kept President Richard Nixon informed of the work to neutralise Seberg. Read more: Movies arriving in UK cinemas in 2020 The most infamous example of the FBIs work around Seberg, though, was a fake news story published in May 1970 by outlets including Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times. It was alleged on the information of an FBI informant that the child Seberg was carrying at the time was not conceived with her then-husband Romain Gary, but with leading Black Panther Party member Raymond Hewitt. Joyce Haber, who wrote the original LA Times gossip story, always maintained that the FBI was not her source. Seberg went into premature labour in August of that year and gave birth to a girl weighing just four pounds, who died two days later. At the funeral, Seberg opened the casket to prove the baby was white. Jean Seberg and Romain Gary attend party hosted by fashion designer Valentino in 1978. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images) Seberg and Gary sued Newsweek for libel, seeking $200,000 (153,000) in damages. They claimed that the shock and upset by the story had triggered her premature labour and therefore the less of their child. The couple were ultimately awarded $10,800 (8,284) by a French court. Separately, Sebergs career was stagnating and numerous people have since stated she was unofficially blacklisted by Hollywood as a result of the FBI attention. On 8 September 1979, Sebergs body was found wrapped in a blanket in her Renault car, parked close to her Paris apartment. She had disappeared just over a week prior, with her fourth husband, Ahmed Hasni, reporting that he believed her to be suicidal. A bottle of barbiturates, as well as an empty bottle of mineral water was also found, along with a note addressed to her teenage son, which included the words: Forgive me. I can no longer live with my nerves. She was just 40 years old. French police ruled the death a suicide, but did later file charges against persons unknown for non-assistance of a person in danger. They discovered a high level of alcohol in Sebergs bloodstream, which would have rendered her unable to climb into her car without assistance. Their belief was that someone must have either assisted her in taking her own life or allowed her to do so rather than seeking medical help on her behalf. At a press conference shortly after her death, Romain Gary stated that Seberg had never recovered from the turmoil of the false story and said she had frequently attempted suicide around the anniversary of her baby girls death. Gary took his own life in December 1980, aged 66. Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg in 'Seberg'. (Credit: Universal) A week after Sebergs death, the FBI admitted spreading the false story and trying to discredit the star, in response to a Freedom of Information request. They revealed memos in which it was stated that publication of the story could cause her embarrassment and cheapen her image with the general public. Meanwhile, LA Times editor Jim Bellows has since said he should have taken more responsibility and, in 2002, admitted that he did not vet the Seberg story enough, describing it as his biggest mistake in a 40-year editorial career. Sebergs legacy in the subsequent decades has been wide-ranging. Madonna was inspired by the stars Breathless look in her pixie-cut makeover for the Papa Dont Preach music video in 1986 and Sebergs hometown of Marshalltown in Iowa holds an annual film festival bearing her name. Read more: Kristen Stewart wants to play a gay Marvel superhero The latest memoriam to Seberg is the new, Stewart-starring film, directed by Benedict Andrews. Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughn, Anthony Mackie and Jack OConnell are also part of the cast. Since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last summer, the movie has received mixed reviews, but Stewart has come in for praise. Variety lauded her peculiar star magnetism, while Rolling Stone said she gives a fully-inhabited, body-and-soul performance. Seberg is in UK cinemas from 10 January. H-E-B was rated the top U.S. grocery retailer in a recent survey, knocking Trader Joes out of the spot. Dunnhimby, a U.K.-based research firm, surveyed 7,000 households and studied grocers performance based on price, quality, convenience, speed and other factors for its annual Retailer Preference Index. The firm looked at market share, grocery sales per square feet and sales growth. H-E-B came in at No. 1 for the first time, followed by Trader Joes, Amazon and Market Basket. The San Antonio companys move up the rankings reflects H-E-Bs sustained focus and excellence on assortment relevance and private brand, Dunnhimby noted. H-E-B also is well-prepared for the next economic downturn, the firm said, because of its private brands, promotions, price perception and lower cross-shopping by customers with competitors such as Walmart. Other regional grocers, such as Wegmans and Publix, also dominated the top 10 in this years ranking. A look at the top quartile suggests that traditional, regional grocers may be gaining momentum, Dunnhimby said in its report. Pier 1 closing stores Pier 1 plans to shutter up to 450 stores nearly half of its 942 outlets as well as some of its distribution centers. The home decor retailer also intends to cut employees at its corporate headquarters in Fort Worth. Although decisions that impact our associates are never easy, reducing the number of our brick-and-mortar locations is a necessary business decision, Robert Riesbeck, Pier 1s CEO and CFO, said in a statement. Its unclear how many workers will be affected, when closures would start and if any local stores will be closed. Pier 1 has roughly half a dozen stores in San Antonio, another in New Braunfels and one in Kerrville, its website notes. The company didnt respond to an inquiry. Store, eatery news Goodwill San Antonio plans to open a new store with a drive-thru donation station Monday, barring rain, a spokesperson said. The store is at 10422 Potranco Road. The Wash Tub Car Wash started construction this month on a new location on Sunset near Broadway, said Matt Vizza, president of Vizza Wash. The Vizza family owns the Wash Tub business. A new Rodkeys location recently opened at 9630 Huebner Road, Staff Writer Chuck Blount reports. The shop serves coffee, tea and CBD products. Another coffee shop, Lola Coffee Bar, also recently opened at Travis Park Plaza downtown. Maybelles Donuts, one of the original food vendors in the food hall at the Pearl development, closed Dec. 31, Blount says. The shop was known for its specialty donuts, which will still be featured at Bakery Lorraine locations. A Pearl spokeswoman said a new occupant for Maybelles old space will be announced soon. A barbecue supply store, Lone Star Barbecue Pro Shop, opened at 9708 Business Parkway this week, Blount writes. Local chef and restaurateur Kevin Chu plans to build a retail plaza at 6476 Babcock Road, Blount reports. Chu, who owns Nama Ramen and is a partner in Hong Kong-style ice cream business Kuma, plans to construct a bigger space for Nama and open a Kuma shop at the plaza. He also is working on a fast-casual idea for the building and aims to finish it between winter 2020 and spring 2021. By Hand Bazaar Istanbul, a shop at 519 East Houston Street downtown, is closing, according to signs posted at the store. The Good Feet Store plans to open a location at 5539 W. Loop 1604 North, a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation states. Work on the shop is expected to wrap up in May. Golds Gym recently sold the Shops at Walzem, a retail center near Randolph Air Force Base. JLL Capital Markets represented Golds Gym. The center was sold to Milton 7650 FM 78 LLC, a White Plains, N.Y., entity, deed records indicate. Alamo City Liquor plans to open a store at 1311 N. Alamo St., a TDLR filing shows. Bankruptcy filing Hillje Music Centers LLC, a Boerne-based business with four stores in the greater San Antonio area, and a connected entity, SCOSA Properties LLC, filed for bankruptcy reorganization this week. The business is seeking to restructure its debt and none of the stores will be affected, nor will any of the services Hillje provides, said Tony Hervol, the entities bankruptcy lawyer. Hillje Music Centers rents and repairs instruments, provides music lessons and sells accessories, according to its website. madison.iszler@express-news.net Bravo, President Donald Trump. And bravo to his core national security team of Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, national security adviser Robert O'Brien and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. And shame on every member of Congress and talking head who could not bring themselves to call Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani what he was: a ruthless killer, a terrorist, a murderer of Americans and Bashar Assad's right arm in the genocide of thousands of innocents in Syria. Gone is the mastermind of countless terrorist acts by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force for the past four decades. Soleimani was the right arm of an evil theocrat and the sword of a despotic, rogue regime that had murdered hundreds of its own citizens in the final weeks of 2019 and ordered its proxies to mow down hundreds of Iraqis in the weeks before the strike that ended Soleimani's run. Soleimani was behind the death of an American working as a contractor in Iraq late last month. The leader of the Shia militia responsible for the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was personally close to and operated alongside Soleimani, and was operating under his direction to step up attacks on Americans. It is inconceivable that the assault on our embassy occurred without Soleimani's blessing. Then Trump acted. Trump's red line isn't written in invisible ink the way President Barack Obama's in Syria proved to be. Trump and his team do not believe in appeasement as did Team Obama; they believe in peace through strength, and the message delivered on a road near the Baghdad airport has been received in Tehran. When Iran launched its missiles Tuesday, United States was prepared to launch a massive retaliation at Iran had another American been killed or wounded. The New York Times reports that the national security team had advance warning of Iran's plans, which meant our troops and contractors were moved to highly secure, protected places. No one was wounded. No one was killed. It seems likely to me that there are those within the Iranian government who might have assisted our intelligence agencies in making sure the wrath of the United States did not fall on Iran's infrastructure and its many military targets. They might have believed that Trump was prepared to "move up the ladder of escalation," as former senator James M. Talent, R-Mo., put it, if more Americans had been killed or wounded. "They had immunity in the past when they attacked through proxies," Talent said. "That is gone now. " Former military officials, including Adm. James Stavridis and Lt. Gen. David Deptula, praised the way the episode concluded. "The outcome probably could not have been much better," Deptula said. The threat of massive retaliation by Trump doubtless played a role: A regime that reportedly had to murder a thousand or more of its own citizens in the past two months knew it could not have survived such a counterstrike. So, the mullahs backed down. The attack on Soleimani is a reminder that we are at a crossroads on our conduct of foreign policy. Americans face a choice between the hardheaded line of Trump and the appeasement caucus of the Democratic Party that left Iran's missile program completely unrestrained by the 2015 nuclear agreement (now abrogated by Trump) and forked $1.7 billion in cash to Iran that did, as Trump charged Wednesday, pay for the missiles that hit Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops Tuesday. Such are the wages of appeasement. Americans can and likely will choose their president based on the events of the first week of January, a choice between appeasement and peace through strength. Those trapped inside the blue bubble of the Manhattan-Beltway opinion elites might not know it, but Americans are cheering the president's actions even if they don't like him personally. My bet is that millions of Americans are disgusted with talking heads who couldn't withhold their criticisms of Trump even while American troops were under fire or our embassy was under siege. Kill Americans, and this president and his team will try to kill you back. That's a message that has been sent and received. If we have allies within the Iranian regime, thank you for your help. We know we have allies within the Iranian people, and they know that their illegitimate, corrupt regime is weak and faltering and will not be bailed out by another American president. At least, not this one. - - - Hewitt, a Post contributing columnist, hosts a nationally syndicated radio show on the Salem Network. The author of 14 books about politics, history and faith, he is also a political analyst for NBC, a professor of law at Chapman University Law School and president of the Nixon Foundation. KITCHENER, ON, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medical Innovation Xchange (MIX), Canadas first industry-led hub for medtech startups, celebrated its official launch and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, January 10, 2020 at its Kitchener headquarters. Mr. Simon Kennedy, Deputy Minister, Innovation, Science & Economic Development provided the keynote address on what infrastructure is required to help retain and successfully scale Canadian medtech startups. Honoured guests included Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Member of Parliament Raj Saini, Member of Parliament Tim Louis, and industry leaders including prominent medtech CEOs, investors, hospital administrators, and government officials. MIX, spearheaded in June 2019 by Intellijoint Surgical CEO Armen Bakirtzian, joins the powerful community within the Toronto-Waterloo Innovation Corridor to offer Canadian medtech companies an environment to grow locally and go to market globally. MIX Residents have a unique opportunity to retain ownership in early stages and succeed by leveraging MIX resources to avoid early stage pitfalls and post-prototype growing pains. The successes of Intellijoint Surgical, which celebrated its landmark 10,000th surgery in April of last year, and other successful Canadian medtech strategic advisors, help illuminate the path to bootstrapping as an alternative to acquisition by, for example, global medical device and pharmaceutical companies or packing up and moving operations to the United States. Despite Canadas well-deserved reputation for nurturing startups, challenges remain -- especially for our peers in medtech. Not only do medtech startups have similar needs as any venture, such as recruiting top talent and managing a business without a lot of capital, we must also conquer hurdles facing both high-tech manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies, too, explains Bakirtzian. For example, we need to build physical prototypes, secure IP, and ensure early compliance by the FDA. All of this is surmountable with guidance. MIX is a non-profit incubator-hub with transparent terms, of which Bakirtzian emphasizes, we never take equity in participating companies. Our mission is simple: to pay it forward. MIX offers Residents a place to engage in impactful dialogues with peers and strategic advisors. It also provides assistance navigating costs associated with legal / IP requirements, manufacturing prototypes and products eventually used to diagnose and treat humans, and testing for compliance and medical trials. Too often, these costs overwhelm Canadian medtech startups and limit their ability to benefit from Canadas startup-friendly ecosystem and economy, where high-tech manufacturing and SMEs typically thrive. Michael Phillips, CEO of Vena Medical, joined MIX as part of the inaugural Resident cohort, after returning home to Canada from the U.S. in 2018. Vena felt compelled to travel to the United States in order to conduct our first preclinical studies and access very early funding from Y Combinator, recounts Phillips. While we went through some great programs in the U.S., we happily seized the opportunity to come back to Canada to access the awesome talent in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and the burgeoning medtech ecosystem we saw developing here. Being a MIX Resident company has already paid off for Phillips company. After moving into MIX we had the first external audit of our quality management system. When the auditor asked us a question we didn't have a great answer to, we were able to walk across the hallway to Intellijoints Quality team to ask for advice. We walked back into the room with a great strategy that we're implementing now. This access and proximity to experienced leadership and mentorship can't be found anywhere else for medtech companies like us. MIX Resident companies benefit from industry-specific advice critical to success but difficult to obtain from the more general startup incubators. At MIX, Residents navigate such milestones as de-risking device prototypes and product development; U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) compliance and ISO 13485 Quality Management Planning; audit readiness; go-to-market strategy planning -- how to take advantage of Canadas proximity to the largest healthcare market in the world and access to global markets; and handling Canadian healthcare market-specific hurdles. To that end, Bakirtzian has already assembled a roster of some of the most prominent Canadian medtech CEOs and clinicians to mentor MIX companies. As medtech companies mature and phase out of early stage incubators, they are left without the resources they need to continue product development and enter the most critical stage of their business: commercialization, said Alexa Roeper, CEO and founder of Penta Medical and MIX Resident. MIXs hub fills this gap. By taking advantage of a collaborative space designed to help overcome research and regulatory hurdles, Penta successfully identified clinical study opportunities essential to learning novel applications for our product and shaping our distribution strategy into new markets." Bakirtzian and MIXs inaugural Residents want to galvanize these realities for the medtech space and their many peers in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Their vision also includes addressing tough questions about healthcare procurement policies, which impact the domestic healthcare market, and channels to access more mature sources of funding. They are keenly aware of the immediate and broader impact of their work. Canada is a place where innovation thrives especially here in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. says Raj Saini, MP for Kitchener Centre. We offer one of the best economies in the world for new business ventures as well as small and medium enterprises. And medtech is an area rich in intellectual property -- something Canadians lead at developing. But we need to improve at commercialization. Of patents filed in the past two years, 60% ended up with global companies within a year. We are experiencing a tech boom right across our region, adds Tim Louis, MP for Kitchener Conestoga. We excel at IP development, and have a global reputation in high-tech manufacturing from automotive to aerospace. But we understand that more must be done to cultivate local successes. When IP leaves the country, we miss out on future opportunities, as well as the potential spillover effect from high-tech research. MIX will certainly help to address some of those gaps. Since the June 2019 announcement of its founding, MIX has already received dozens of inquiries from interested companies seeking to become part of the community. This will ensure Bakirtzian meets his commitment to fill the incubators office space with mature startups that would most benefit from peer-to-peer information exchanges over the course of their minimum 18-24 month occupancy. We are committed to helping grow our own says Bakirtzian, and it starts with ensuring the most promising medtech startups have a home here at 809 Wellington Street where they can thrive and scale. MIX is now formally accepting applications for the Spring 2020 Residency. ABOUT MEDICAL INNOVATION XCHANGE MIX is Canadas first industry-led hub dedicated to helping medical technology startups scale and succeed in Canada. Spearheaded by anchor tenant Intellijoint Surgical, MIX was created to reduce the barriers and bridge the resource gap facing medtech startups by fostering a collaborative community that helps develop, sustain, and retain these companies to establish the Waterloo region as a leader in medtech innovation. Our mission is to provide a collaborative environment for Canadian medical technology companies that supports their individual growth and contributes to the overall success of the Canadian medtech ecosystem. Attachments by Larissa Faw , January 10, 2020 Digital agency veterans Kenny Tomlin (founding CEO of Rockfish) and Dan Khabie (founding CEO of Mirum) are teaming up to launch CourtAvenue, a digital consultancy and product development company. This is about designing new models that maximize our clients interactions (both internally and externally), creating an efficient and time optimized ecosystem that supports their growth and future relevance, says Tomlin. I have been at the center of entrepreneurship and scaling large companies my entire career. CourtAvenue will effectively serve as the bridge between both. Both founders say their company is designed to meet the need for new business models to better support clients. Although each spent years in the trenches of holding companies and traditional agencies, they understand RFPs seek less advertising or project-specific work in favor of more nebulous assistance to achieve growth and success. advertisement advertisement As such, CourtAvenue is designed to be a partner for any and all client interests. People really like how we are open to anything, says Khabie, adding his company seeks to be flexible and agile. As part of this customization, the shop will embed its team of software engineers and developers within an organization to examine and overhaul both employee and customer-facing applications, resulting in bespoke applications and services. CourtAvenue is currently in final discussions with several clients, but Tomlin and Khabie say potential opportunities range from an automotive brand looking to expand its digital ecosystem to a retailer that is integrating in-person, computer-based and mobile operations (and helping with cloud migration) to a large consumer electronics company wanting to reinvent the way they work with agencies to drive speed, efficiency and innovation. Their first priority, however, is developing the proper internal framework. Frankly we are only as good as who we hire, says Khabie. Their company is designed to attract tomorrows best talent which means they are forgoing a big office in a large city in favor of smaller satellites placed where people want to live. For now, CourtAvenue has outposts in Austin, TX and San Diego, CA. We only have one chance to build the right structure, explains Khabie. Kahbie and Tomlin were both colleagues and friends at WPP (which owns both Mirum and Rockfish), and CourtAvenue serves as a perfect mix of their talents and experiences, they say. Tomlin co-founded Elevate, a commercial real-estate group focusing on connecting technology with high-value services. He was also founder and executive chairman of Subvrsive, a shop using AR, AI 360 video and digital production to build content, software and experiences. In March of 2020, Tomlin will also launch Kasita, a micro-boutique hotel development organization. Khabies background includes the formation of San Diego-based digital agency Digitaria, which was acquired by WPPs JWT in 2010. While there he also oversaw the development of the global digital agency network Mirum. They have high expectations for CourtAvenue This is not a build and flip story, quips Tomlin. The companys name selection underscores their plans for disruption as it is named for the first paved road in the U.S. We honor the innovation of its namesake by radically enhancing the end-to-end digital experiences of organizations and their stakeholders, they say. New Delhi: Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani has hit out at Deepika Padukone for visiting Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) saying that the Bollywood actress knew that she was standing with people who want the destruction of India. The Union Minister went on to say that Padukone's freedom to stand next to people who say Bharat tere tukde honge. It was not unexpected to us that she was going to stand with people who want the destruction of IndiaI think we should decide which side you want to stand. Do you want to stand with people who wanted the destruction of India? Every time a CRPF jawan is killed, they celebrate, Irani said at an event. She made her political affiliation known in 2011 that she supports the Congress Party. If people are surprised by this, it is because they didn't know. There were a lot of admirers of hers who have just discovered her position. As far as Deepika goes, I rather know where she stands. Stand. Stand next to people who said, 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge'," she added. Deepika Padukone's JNU Visit Actor Deepika Padukone on Tuesday reached the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to show her solidarity towards the students of the varsity, two days after 34 people were injured in a clash with the students of the JNUSU and ABVP. Her decision to not address the crowd prompted JNUSU student leader Aishe Ghosh to comment, "when you are in a position, you should speak up". The 34-year-old actor was in the capital to promote her upcoming release, Meghna Gulzar-directed "Chhapaak". A masked mob armed with sticks and rods on Sunday attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, injuring at least 34 people. On Monday, Deepika told NDTV that it was heartening to see people come out and raise their voices without fear. Bollywoodiyas taken out of the park. In style @smritiirani mam pic.twitter.com/KE3f7z9pUU a aaaa aaa (@indiantweeter) January 10, 2020 BJP Demands Boycott Of Her Movie Demanding boycott of her movie, spokesperson of the Delhi Unit of the BJP Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted: "RT if you will Boycott Movies of @deepikapadukone for her Support to #TukdeTukdeGang and Afzal Gang." Twitter went abuzz with two contradictory trends taking top slots, one being #ISupportDeepika and the other #BoycottChappak. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Video of US President Donald Trump saying he had a hand in the latest Nobel Peace Prize has gone viral in Ethiopia after Trump asserted that he had "made a deal" to save the country. The comments during a rally in the US on Thursday don't mention the East African country by name, but Trump says: "I just heard the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country...Did I have something to do with it? Yeah. But that's the way it is." Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accepted the prize in December for making peace with longtime rival Eritrea and other reforms. Abiy's office did not comment Friday. Trump almost never comments on Africa, and some critics have said his administration has neglected African issues. Many Ethiopians were puzzled by Trump's remarks. Some said his talk of a deal must have referred to the new peace with Eritrea. But one senior Ethiopian official told The Associated Press the remarks referred to preventing further tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt over a massive dam that Ethiopia is completing on the Nile river. Egypt says the dam threatens its water supply. Ethiopia says it's needed for development. Ministers from the countries, plus Sudan, are expected to meet in Washington on Monday to report on the failure of their latest round of talks. "He was talking about Egypt and Ethiopia," the official with Ethiopia's foreign ministry said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media on the matter. The official asserted that Egypt's president lobbied Trump over the disputed dam project, leading to the US taking a role in the discussions. "President Trump really believes he avoided a war as such...but that was not the case," the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In response to concerns about safety on the BART system, the transit agency's board voted unanimously Thursday to approve an ambassadorship program in which unarmed officers will ride trains from 2 p.m. to midnight seven days a week, with extra coverage on Saturdays. The six-month pilot program, which will cost $690,000, is scheduled to begin on Feb. 10. The ambassadors will be recruited from the ranks of the BART Police Department's Community Service Officers, non-sworn personnel who perform a variety of police services. The ambassadors will receive additional de-escalation and anti-bias training. "This team will be police employees and trained to provide a sense of safety and security for our riders on-board trains and deter crime," BART Interim Police Chief Ed Alvarez said in a statement. "I worked closely with our board members, the general manager (Robert Powers), and police unions to develop a program that is responsive to our riders and is able to launch seamlessly, safely, and quickly," Alvarez said. BART officials said 10 ambassadors will walk trains in teams of two and will focus their patrols on the most heavily traveled section of the system, the transbay corridor between the 12th Street Oakland and San Francisco Civic Center stations. During crowded evening commute hours, the ambassadors will increase their coverage areas to other sections of the system, such as from the Oakland Coliseum to Union City and Walnut Creek to Pittsburg/Bay Point portions. "Our ambassadors will serve as extra eyes and ears on-board trains," BART Board President Lateefah Simon said. Simon said, "It's a promising, first-of-its kind program at BART that will provide a welcoming presence focused on customer service and curbing inappropriate behavior." BART officials said the ambassadors will wear easily-identifiable uniforms that are distinct from those of community service officers or fare inspectors. The ambassadors will be equipped with radios to report safety and security concerns or biohazards and will also be trained to respond to customers' questions, complaints or requests for service. The ambassadors will observe and report and call an officer when enforcement is needed. BART Director Debora Allen said, "I am pleased existing community service officers who are vetted, hired, trained and supervised by sworn police officers will be on trains on nights and weekends." Allen said, "I've been urging BART to add additional layers of security on board trains since I was elected to the board and our vote today is a step in the right direction." Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Dr. Angela Gatzke-Plamann didnt fully grasp her communitys opioid crisis until one desperate patient called on a Friday afternoon in 2016. He was in complete crisis because he was admitting to me that he had lost control of his use of opioids, recalled Gatzke-Plamann. The patient had used opioids for several years for what Gatzke-Plamann called a very painful condition. But a urine screening one week earlier had revealed heroin and morphine in his system as well. He denied any misuse that day. Now he was not only admitting it, but asking for help. Gatzke-Plamann is the only full-time family physician in the central Wisconsin village of Necedah, population 916. She wanted to help but had no resources to offer. She and the patient started searching the Internet while still on the phone, trying to find somewhere nearby that could help with addiction treatment. No luck. Here was a patient with a family and job who had spiraled into addiction because of doctor-prescribed pain pills, yet the communitys bare-bones health system left him on his own to find treatment which he later did, 65 miles away. If that situation was going to change in Necedah, it was up to Gatzke-Plamann. That weekend I went home and I said, Ive got to do something different,' she recalled. In many ways, rural communities like Necedah have become the face of the nations opioid epidemic. Drug overdose deaths are more common by population size in rural areas than in urban ones. Amid a nationwide decline in prescribing rates since 2012, rural doctors prescribe opioids more often by far. Rural Americans have fewer alternatives to treat their very real pain, and they disproportionately lack access to effective addiction medication such as buprenorphine. It used to be rare for primary care physicians outside big cities to take on the challenges of opioid misuse, according to Dr. Erin Krebs, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota who researches chronic pain management. Now, Krebs said, its becoming increasingly common out of necessity. We just have a lot of people who need this kind of care, and they need it where they are, Krebs said. Both pain management and addiction treatment are specialties, calling for advanced training that many family physicians dont have. Specialists tend to practice in larger towns and cities, said Dr. Alan Schwartzstein, speaker of the American Academy of Family Physicians Congress of Delegates, so theyre not as accessible. For rural physicians, the burden of responding to the opioid epidemic falls squarely on their already loaded shoulders. And for Gatzke-Plamann, there was no question that she wanted to rise to the challenge. Reducing pain pill prescriptions When Gatzke-Plamann came to Necedah in 2010, U.S. opioid prescriptions were peaking. She estimates she inherited 25 to 30 patients with monthly opioid prescriptions. Soon she, like many of her peers around the country, noticed a rise in overdose and misuse. Around 2012, she stopped taking on new patients using chronic opioid medications to focus on current opioid patients. She weaned many off opioids and tracked how many pills she prescribed for acute issues, like surgeries. Instead of defaulting to prescribing a months worth of pills for a patient who underwent a cesarean section, for example, she might prescribe only three to five pills. Most of the time those patients really only have that much pain for a couple of days, Gatzke-Plamann said. We dont need to have those pain medications sitting in their medicine cabinets. Gatzke-Plamann helped shape her communitys wider discussion about opioids. That included joining the countys substance abuse prevention coalition and educating her peers. Today, the hospital Gatzke-Plamann is affiliated with sends her a monthly report of how many of her patients have opioid prescriptions. It varies each month, she said, but usually ranges from seven to 10. Managing chronic pain patients For 62-year-old Necedah resident Michael Kruchten, the chronic pain he suffers stems from chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments he received for lung cancer in 2011. Kruchten is cancer-free now, but the treatments left him with permanent and severe nerve damage in his hands and feet. Sometimes its a burning a continuous burning, Kruchten said. Sometimes its just like a sharp jolt of pain. And then sometimes its just pain, pain, pain. The pain was so bad he had to stop working at the ethanol plant in Necedah. Daily chores became challenging. The pain would keep him awake at night, leaving him pounding his pillow in frustration. One reason there are more opioid prescriptions in the rural United States is that Americans living in those areas report more chronic pain. Rural communities skew older, meaning they disproportionately deal with painful conditions related to aging, such as arthritis. Injuries also appear to be more common in communities more dependent on physically demanding jobs, such as mining and logging. For patients with chronic pain like Kruchten, Gatzke-Plamann tries to avoid prescribing opioids when she can, but alternatives are limited. Though evidence shows that physical therapy, exercise, psychotherapy or some combination of these techniques can help reduce the need for opioids, its not easy to get these treatments. The nearest physical therapy is in Mauston, a 17-mile drive south. Treatments such as cognitive therapy for pain require drives to Madison, Marshfield or La Crosse, each at least an hour away. She first tried prescribing Kruchten two non-opioid medicines: gabapentin and then duloxetine. Neither helped enough. Eventually, she prescribed the opioid hydrocodone, finally allowing him to sleep. Without the sleep, I was a couch potato, Kruchten said. Once I started to get to sleep [at night], I got rid of my TV and the couch and started becoming more active. Agreements for long-term opioid patients Gatzke-Plamanns efforts to carefully manage opioid use with chronic pain patients is supported by other efforts in the community. Around 2016, Mile Bluff Medical Center the hospital in Mauston with which Gatzke-Plamann is affiliated standardized a medication treatment agreement with patients, laying out rules for opioid prescriptions. Patients such as Michael Kruchten must agree to stipulations before getting a new prescription. That includes getting pills from only one doctor and filling prescriptions at just one pharmacy while also submitting to random pill counts and urine screenings. Kruchten is something of a model patient in that regard, according to Gatzke-Plamann. You come in for appointments regularly and youre always on time and youre respectful with the staff, she told him as they reviewed the contract at an appointment in November. Gatzke-Plamann can stop prescribing opioids to patients who violate the agreement. But the contracts aim less to punish than to keep communication open. Reviewing the contract with a patient allows them to revisit the risks and warning signs of addiction. On his recent visit, Kruchten told the doctor he took only one hydrocodone pill instead of his usual two the previous night, saying it was satisfactory in curbing the pain. And thats good that you dont take it to just put yourself to sleep, Gatzke-Plamann said. Because its not a sleep medicine. You understand that. Weve talked about that one before. Yep, Kruchten agreed. Addressing the rural addiction treatment gap The Friday call for help in 2016 made Gatzke-Plamann realize Necedah was missing a crucial resource in solving the pain puzzle: addiction treatment. We dont have as many resources here, Gatzke-Plamann said of the surrounding Juneau County, one of the poorest and least healthy in the state. When I see that theres a need for something, its on me to do something about that. She said thats why she decided to get the required training to prescribe the addiction medicine buprenorphine. Research shows buprenorphine effectively treats addiction, but the medicine is particularly scarce in rural America. More than 10 million rural Americans more than one-fifth of the countrys rural population live in counties without a single clinician licensed to prescribe the drug. (The rural-urban disparity in access has, however, shrunk since 2017.) In Wisconsin, 18 of 72 counties lack a buprenorphine provider, and 14 of those unserved counties are rural. Gatzke-Plamann is one of only two people in Juneau County licensed to prescribe buprenorphine. The other is a physician assistant she supervises. Catina Stoflet is among the buprenorphine patients who benefit. Stoflet, 35, got addicted to prescription opioids as a 16-year-old in 2001, during the first wave of the nations opioid epidemic. She started getting kidney stones in high school. Shes had many surgeries to remove the painful obstructions. That first prescription was for Tylenol 3, a combination of acetaminophen and the opioid codeine. Doctors soon escalated her to stronger drugs: Vicodin, Percocet, oxycodone. It was right around the time that people didnt know what [opioids were] doing to you, Stoflet said. Stoflet said she spent years in recovery beginning in 2007. But she relapsed in 2014, progressing to heroin and methamphetamine. Last year, she decided to quit for good. Stoflet said her primary care doctor introduced her to Gatzke-Plamann, who had recently begun prescribing buprenorphine. Just like Gatzke-Plamanns opioid patients, buprenorphine patients must sign contracts, agreeing to participate in a treatment program that includes counseling. Stoflet works with a counselor and community recovery specialist at the Roche-A-Cri Recovery Center in Friendship, about 20 miles from Necedah. The center opened in September 2018. Without its additional resources, Gatzke-Plamann said, she would not feel comfortable prescribing buprenorphine. I am just one part of their treatment plan, Gatzke-Plamann said. They need the counseling. They need the psychosocial support. They need the group meetings. Doctors like Gatzke-Plamann have an important role to play in the opioid crisis by treating patients where they live, said Erin Krebs of the University of Minnesota. But, she added, funding models dont always encourage this kind of work. Im not sure weve done all we can do to really support small practices taking on this effort, said Krebs. Theres hope for people with opioid problems, and we have treatments that work. And so I think the more we can hear about clinicians who are tackling these problems in their own communities and having success the better. This story is part of a partnership that includes Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News. Nancy Pelosi SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is under mounting pressure to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate. Pelosi has withheld the articles from the upper chamber since December chiefly over Republicans' refusal to agree to call witnesses to testify as part of the trial. But after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Tuesday that he will move forward with a trial even without Democratic votes, several Senate Democrats have come forward to urge Pelosi to transmit the articles. At least six Democratic senators so far have called on the House Speaker to let the process move forward. At the same time, former national security adviser John Bolton's Monday announcement that he's willing to testify in the Senate impeachment trial could make it more difficult for the GOP to prohibit witnesses from testifying. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The pressure is mounting on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to transmit the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate so the upper chamber can begin a trial. Following the December House vote to impeach the president, Pelosi decided to withhold the articles from the Senate until Senate Republicans agreed to hold a trial that Pelosi deemed fair. Among other things, Pelosi wants assurances that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would agree to call witnesses to testify and that Republicans would act as impartial jurors (McConnell has publicly said he is working closely with the White House on the trial and does not intend to be an impartial juror). But the speaker is facing a dilemma this week as several Senate Democrats call on her to end the delay and transmit the articles to the Senate. This comes after protracted negotiations between McConnell and Democrats over the terms of the Senate trial. Democrats pushed for the majority leader to commit to calling witnesses, which McConnell refused to do. On Tuesday, he announced he has the votes to move forward with the trial without calling for witnesses. Story continues Instead, he said, the chamber would decide on that question after the trial begins, as it did during former President Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998. Now, as Democrats come to terms with the fact that Republicans will not agree to their demands, a growing number are calling for Pelosi to send the articles of impeachment over. "The longer it goes on the less urgent it becomes," Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said in a statement. "So if it's serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn't, don't send it over." "If we're going to do it, she should send it over," Feinstein added, referring to Pelosi. "I don't see what good delay does." Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut echoed Feinstein, saying, "I think the time has passed. She should send the articles over." mitch mcconnell donald trump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Sen. Joe Manchin of Virginia a deep red state struck a similar chord. "I think it needs to start, I really do," Manchin said. "I can't tell the House how to do their business. I would never try to tell Speaker Pelosi. But the bottom line is, the holdout helped force [former national security adviser John] Bolton to step forward. Let us do what we have to do over here." Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut agreed: "We are reaching a point where the articles of impeachment should be sent." And Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said it is "time to get on with it," while Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said "the cake is already baked," referring to the expected outcome of the trial, according to Politico. Bolton throws a wrench into the GOP's plans Former national security adviser John Bolton's Monday announcement that he's willing to testify in the Senate impeachment trial has handed Democrats some amount of leverage in the battle over the terms of the trial. McConnell announced the Senate would move forward with the trial without deciding whether to call witnesses shortly after Bolton's announcement. But the former national security adviser's statement throws a wrench into Republicans' game plan. Throughout the battle over impeachment, Republicans have argued that Democrats held hearings with witnesses who only provided "hearsay" rather than witnesses with direct knowledge of the events at the center of the inquiry. Yet they refused to acknowledge that the very reason some of those direct witnesses didn't testify was because the White House itself barred them from appearing at Trump's order. Now, Democrats now have a key witness someone with direct knowledge of Trump's dealings with Ukraine ready and willing to make what could be very damaging claims against the president. And his announcement increases pressure on moderate and vulnerable Republican senators to take a more clear stance on the question of calling witnesses. Bolton's lawyer has said the former Trump adviser witnessed "many relevant meetings and conversations" that would shed new light on the president's effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponents and thus interfere with the 2020 election. Several career national security and foreign service officials who testified in the House impeachment inquiry also revealed that Bolton was staunchly opposed to Trump's efforts to strongarm Ukraine into delivering political dirt in exchange for US military assistance and a White House meeting. And Fiona Hill, formerly one of Bolton's top deputies and the National Security Council's Russia adviser, testified that Bolton had serious concerns about the shadow foreign policy campaign that Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was carrying out in Ukraine. Read the original article on Business Insider Former packaging giant boss Terry Cross has said he will open a new vodka and gin distillery at his grand estate in France Former packaging giant boss Terry Cross has said he will open a new vodka and gin distillery at his grand estate in France. The former Delta Print & Packaging boss, who sold his west Belfast company to Finnish firm Huhtamaki in 2016 for 80m, is currently developing his 15m Hinch Distillery at his Killaney Estate outside Carryduff. But he's now revealed that a new gin and vodka distillery could subsequently be built at his Bordeaux vineyard Chateau de La Ligne. "I looked at the market for Irish whiskey and also Irish gin," he said. "The market for Irish whiskey is on fire at the moment, led mainly by Jameson and Tullamore Dew." And a further distillery looks set to follow at his French estate - producing gin and vodka. "We are going to build a distillery in Bordeaux as well probably for gin and French vodka. We've established planning," he added. Mr Cross's current Hinch Distillery is an ambitious 15m project, already well under way, which will see a whiskey and gin distillery, complete with visitor centre, located right beside his own Killaney Estate. A former sailor, Mr Cross grew his business Delta Print & Packaging into a west Belfast giant employing more than 300 people, securing contracts with McDonald's and KFC before selling the company to Finnish firm Huhtamaki in 2016 for 80m. "It was never a plan (to sell). It was two years of due diligence," Mr Cross told Belfast Telegraph sister publication Ulster Business. "I'm very happy to say the Brexit issue was not foreseen by anyone - by the banks, markets or the politicians. "If it had been, the sale to Huhtamaki wouldn't have happened, or would have happened at a different price - and it would have been a hell of a lot less." Now, he's turned his attention again to the drinks industry, with Hinch Distillery and his France plan. "I was never going to do nothing," he said. You need a reason to get out of bed in the morning. "That (the Hinch project) came out of the difficulty with Bordeaux wines and the difficulty to make profit." Looking back on Delta Print & Packaging, he said printed packaging had been the major development which spurred on the business's success. The company then grew into a major entity, producing cartons and packaging for giants of the food world such as Kellogg's. Mr Cross grew up in the Antrim Road area of north Belfast. He was one of four children to father William and mother Rosaleen. He studied at St Mary's in Belfast before serving across the world on merchant vessels. His father, who lived to the age of 91, was responsible for shooting down planes of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. His chateau is also a wedding venue, and the vineyard - which covers 17 hectares - produces around 72,000 bottles a year. The January edition of Ulster Business magazine is out now How much Finnish firm Huhtamaki paid for Terry Cross's Delta Print & Packaging company in 2016 MNCs like Stryker, Medtronics are eyeing the growing robotic surgery space in India, reports Sohini Das. IMAGE: Robotic surgery performed on a dummy using da Vinci Surgical System. Photograph: Kind courtesy Cmglee/Wikimedia Commons As robotic surgeries pick up pace in the country, major multinational players are planning to bring their new technologies here. Analytics Insights says this market was worth $129.9 million in 2016 and will be $372.5 mn (Rs 2,600 crore) in 2025, a compounded annual growth rate of 19.2 per cent. The medical devices market here is expected to grow at 28 per cent a year, to touch $50 billion (Rs 3.6 trillion) by 2025. The industry claims about 30 Indian health care facilities are performing high-end robotic surgeries. These includes the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Fortis Healthcare, Medanta, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Apollo Hospitals, Max Hospitals, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Tata Memorial Hospital and Jaslok Hospital. Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies (JJMDC) says its platforms are currently unavailable in India but it is working to bring its global innovations here. "One example of this is a co-created digital eco-system, being led by DePuy Synthes (part of JJMDC) that will personalise solutions for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty," said a spokesperson. UK-based CMR Surgicals sold its first Versius robotic surgical system to a Pune hospital in October. This is used primarily for laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgery. The firm is also launching the world's first clinical registry for a surgical robotic system -- it would record and monitor patient outcomes of all Versius procedures. US-based Intuitive Surgical Inc is a fast growing robotic surgery systems company in India. Mandeep Singh Kumar, its general manager for India, said: "The robotic-assisted surgical market is in an early phase in India, still maturing. "India is a long-term, important market for Intuitive and we are investing here for the future. "In mid-2018, we moved to a direct business structure, rather than utilising distributors. "We have installed more than 70 of (our) da Vinci surgical systems throughout India." Some hospitals where this system is installed are Manipal and HCG Hospitals in Bengaluru, Max in Delhi and AIIMS in Delhi. Adds Kumar, "To strengthen our presence in India, we have invested in training centres, hiring employees, including teams that work closely with surgeons, and to support hospitals for the long run. We recently opened an additional training centre; we aim to provide training and support (in this technique) for surgeons." Cost/access: Hospitals, say once insurance companies start covering robotic surgeries, the demand can rise significantly. Says Ranjan Pai, chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group: "Robotic surgeries have come of age in India over the past five to seven years. "We are witnessing significant advances in it, especially in oncology, urology, gynaecology and thoracic surgeries." However, the number of centres that perform these procedures are limited, in the context of India, he says. "As the equipment is expensive, the cost to patients is higher than normal surgeries. "In addition, medical insurance schemes often do not cover robotic procedures, thus reducing the number of patients opting for it. "This becomes somewhat of a vicious cycle, as a higher number of patients choosing robotic procedures could have brought down the costs, making it much more affordable and accessible." Multinationals are readying their portfolio for India. Medtronic and Stryker, major entities in robotic surgical systems, have launched products here. Medtronic's Mazor X Stealth edition is used for spinal surgeries here. Stryker's expertise is in hard tissue or bone surgeries, and has products across the orthopaedic and other spaces. Stryker's MAKO is a robotic technology that uses three-dimensional CT data for reconstructing a patient's anatomy. MAKO has approval of the FDA, the US health regulatory agency, for hip and knee surgery. Says Meenakshi Nevatia, managing director at Stryker India, "We are seeing tremendous traction from both large corporate hospitals and hospitals in tier-II and tier-III cities. "There is a lot of interest to understand the global landscape of robotics and hospitals are keen to learn about the impact on patient outcomes. "Improved patient outcomes will be the most important conviction for adoption of robotic technology." Sats Ruchika Singhal, director, restorative therapies group, Medtronic Indian Subcontinent: "Robotic-assisted spinal surgery is at a nascent stage in the country and has developed only over the last couple of decades globally. "As we've just launched the technology in India, this year, we are currently focusing on the metros and will be expanding to other cities eventually." Ambassador of Belarus S.Aleinik visits Vatican 10-01-2020 On January 8-12, 2020 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to the Holy See concurrently Sergei Aleinik visits the Vatican. On January 9, 2020 the Ambassador of Belarus took part in the annual New Years audience of Pope Francis with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. On the margins of the event, S.Aleinik had a brief conversation with the Pontiff and conveyed to him congratulations on Christmas and New Year holidays from the leadership of Belarus. During the visit, Ambassador of Belarus met with the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The interlocutors discussed topical issues of Belarusian-Vatican relationship, positively assessed interaction in international organizations, and exchanged views on the situation in the region. S.Aleinik also held a number of meetings with other official representatives of the Vatican. print version LONDON, Ontario, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mr. George Lunick, CEO of Pearl River Holdings Limited (Pearl River) (TSXV: PRH), regrets to announce the recent passing of Mr. Jim Filer. Mr. Filer was with Pearl River since 2000, and has played an integral role with Pearl River as a director. Jims dedication and contributions will be greatly missed. George Lunick, President and CEO of Pearl River, as well as the Pearl Rivers Board and staff members, extend their deepest condolences to Mr. Filers family. About Pearl River Through its subsidiaries, Pearl River Holdings Limiteds principal business is the manufacturing and distribution of plastic products in China, Australia and the United States of America. For further information please contact: George Lunick CEO T: (519) 645-0267 E: george@lunick.ca 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. She recently returned from her sun-soaked trip to Bali, where she rang in the New Year. And Gabby Allen kept the good times rolling as she headed to Sheesh in Chigwell, Essex on Thursday for a fun-filled outing. The Love Island star, 27, commanded attention as she stepped out in a metallic silver dress, which she teamed with a thick black waistbelt. Night on the town: Gabby Allen kept the good times rolling following her recent trip to Bali as she headed to Sheesh in Chigwell, Essex on Thursday for a fun-filled outing Ensuring all eyes were on her, the professional dancer boosted her frame in a pair of black heeled boots. The fitness enthusiast maintained her glamorous appearance as she accessorised with choker necklace and dangle earrings, while she carried her essentials in a small handbag by Christian Dior. Blonde beauty Gabby opted for dewy make-up and added wavy extensions to her shoulder-length tresses, which were styled into a low ponytail. Looking good: The Love Island star, 27, commanded attention as she stepped out in a metallic silver dress, which she teamed with a thick black waistbelt Standing tall: Ensuring all eyes were on her, the professional dancer boosted her frame in a pair of black heeled boots Bling bling: The fitness enthusiast maintained her glamorous appearance as she accessorised with choker necklace and dangle earrings All in the details: She carried her essentials in a small handbag by Christian Dior At the end of last year, SHE was embroiled in resurfaced claims that she had an affair with Jacqueline Jossa's husband Dan Osborne back in 2018. It was reported that Gabby's ex, Myles Stephenson, 28, was quizzed about what he knew regarding the claims whilst appearing on I'm A Celebrity alongside actress Jacqueline. Myles is said to have told Jacqueline that he believed the pair DID have a fling, although Gabby has always maintained her innocence. Radiant: The blonde beauty opted for dewy make-up and added wavy extensions to her shoulder-length tresses, which were styled into a low ponytail Last week, Gabby shared a New Year's post where she reflected on 2019 and said she wants to fulfill her 'dreams' in the coming months. She shared: 'I have set myself goals and ambitions that I am adamant to achieve this year. I have dreams to fulfill and I have [been] dilly dallying around them, waiting for the right time. The time is now. 'I feel a change in my mindset and I going to climb this challenging, beautiful mountain we call life until I can shout from its peak that I have made myself proud.' Thomas Lee Zhi Xiong, 38, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing hurt and one count of mischief. (Photo: Getty) SINGAPORE A mans slap to a job seeker at a coffee shop in Sengkang was so hard that it caused the victim to fall backwards and hit his head on the ground, a court heard. The 50-year-old victim, who has mental impairment for years, had bleeding in the brain and a broken skull and has to stay in a nursing home as a result of the assault. At the State Courts on Friday (10 January), the 38-year-old assailant Thomas Lee Zhi Xiong was jailed for six months and four weeks. He pleaded guilty to two charges of causing hurt and one count of mischief relating to three separate incidents. Another charge of using abusive words was considered in sentencing. Hit victim and called IMH Lee worked as a consultant for a group which operates coffee shops. On 24 January 2018, the victim went to the coffee shop at Blk 279 Sengkang East Avenue to ask Lee for a job. The victim had head injury in childhood complicated by developmental delay and also has mental impairment. He had previously worked odd jobs for one of the stall tenants there. The victim was following Lee and tugging lightly at his shirt when Lee turned around, swung his hand and gave the victim a hard slap. The victim fell backwards and hit the ground with a loud bang. Lee then scolded the victim and went away to smoke. Some coffee shop patrons went to help the unconscious victim and wanted to call for an ambulance. But Lee told them not to do so and said he would call the Institute of Mental Health to take the victim away. Lee also told his staff to move the victim aside so as not to affect business at the coffee shop. Later, Lee called the IMH hotline and the police to say, One mental disorder person here causing trouble. Someone told the victims mother about the incident and she came by to help the victim home. At home, the victim bled from the nose, vomited and could not control his bladder. His mother took him to a clinic, where a doctor called for an ambulance. The victim was warded for 26 days before being transferred to a nursing home on 19 February and has remained there to date. He requires help in daily living due to poor balance and safety awareness, and his condition is unlikely to improve. Story continues Lee later told police he wanted the victim to remember the lesson better through pain, Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Low told the court. Slapped cooks face A few months later, on 16 June 2018, Lee went to a roasted meat stall at the coffee shop and demanded to know who had burnt some meat. A cook admitted to his mistake and stood still quietly as Lee berated him, uttering expletives in Hokkien. Lee then suddenly swung his right hand and slapped the cook on his left cheek, causing the latter to hit against the corner of a steel cupboard and suffer a cut on his left cheek just below his eye. The cook called the police and was given two days of medical leave. Kicked Cisco officers bike On 22 January 2018, Lee also kicked a parking enforcement officers motorbike. The officer from Certis Cisco Security was preparing to issue a parking ticket to Lee when the latter came out of the coffee shop and said, summon summon, keep summoning, siao eh, while pointing his fingers towards the officer. The same officer had given Lee summons on previous occasions at the same location. Lee went up to the officers motorcycle and kicked it, causing it to fall. He then walked back to his car and challenged the officer to call the police, which he did. When police officers arrived, Lee claimed that his leg had suddenly cramped and jerked. In mitigation, Lees lawyers Cory Wong and Josephus Tan of Invictus Law said their client has a short temper and was abused as a child. In pleading for leniency, they also noted that Lee was remorseful and his wife gave birth to their third child on Wednesday. The maximum punishment for causing hurt, before the latest amendments to the Penal Code took effect on 1 January, was two years jail and a $5,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the offence now is up to three years jail and a $5,000 fine. Other Singapore stories: Recalcitrant sex offender gets jail, caning for assaulting victim, 13 National Healthcare Group, SAFRA fined for PDPA breaches US government approves Singapore to buy up to 12 F-35 jets at US$2.75b Bangladeshi on trial for hacking compatriot to death after illicit cigarette syndicate clash Singaporean student charged for importing child-like sex doll in Australia Note: Nicole Curato is the author of the book Democracy in a Time of Misery: From Spectacular Tragedy to Deliberative Action (Oxford University Press, 2019). She is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Manila (CNN Philippines Life ) In the fullness of Gods time, I will be back. It was a humid Wednesday afternoon, in a makeshift stage in front of a mass grave, when Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made this promise to the people of Tacloban. In his speech, he assured typhoon survivors that help will come, that he will personally see to it that families will have a roof over their heads, that there should even be a swimming pool, because the people who survived the worlds strongest storm deserve nothing less. He made this promise on the eighth of November 2016, the third anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan. He had only been president for five months. Two years later, the President returned to a city seemingly back on its feet to celebrate the Festival of Lights. In between visits, new homes were turned over to families neglected for years. Road repairs and flood control structures were completed. A new airport project was even approved. The story of a compassionate yet strong-willed President is the story that makes Rodrigo Duterte the most popular president in recent Philippine history. Never mind that this is the same man who literally called for the genocide of all drug addicts. Never mind that as commander-in-chief, he told his soldiers to shoot female rebels in the vagina. Never mind that he pulverized the Islamic City of Marawi in Southern Philippines to the ground. And never mind that he is a self-confessed murderer. Three years into his term, the strongman enjoys a trust rating of 85%, a figure that other world leaders could only dream of. After the storm, a strongman Many observers lament the state of Philippine politics today. Some say that authoritarian nostalgia has taken over because more than 30 years of elite democracy has done little to lift the country out of poverty. It is no accident that Duterte is well-loved in Tacloban, the hometown of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcoss wife, Imelda. There was a time when food and drink flowed in the streets of Tacloban during the Feast of Santo Nino. The countrys longest bridge that connected the islands of Leyte and Samar was built in the 1970s as a birthday gift to Imelda. When the Marcoses were kicked out of power in 1986, Tacloban an aspiring politician told me became a city "people find easy to ignore." This feeling of neglect intensified in the aftermath of the storm, when many were left homeless, hungry, and grieving the death of more than 6,000 people. Dutertes rise to power signals the allure of a man who can get things done. The powerful combination of gangster charm and can-do attitude lays bare the weaknesses of a democratic system associated with his predecessors, that privilege bourgeois courtesies and a system of checks and balances that slows down progress. Coupled with an army of trolls and a super-majority in the House of Representatives, the Philippines, so the story goes, has turned its back on democratic life and embraced Dutertes illiberal project for the sake of shared prosperity. This observation is valid, but it is not complete. Politics is never a single story. To portray the Philippines as a country that has surrendered its fate to a strongman ignores the many, varied, and sustained attempts of ordinary citizens to take over their collective destiny. Amid constraints of economic precarity, threats of displacement, and relationships of patronage are everyday efforts to render the poors suffering visible, to get their demands heard, and imagine better futures for a people that, indeed, have become easy to ignore. I witnessed these efforts first hand when I conducted field research in some of the poorest communities in Tacloban. Over three years, I followed protest movements and young activists, mothers who mastered the art of hustling to make ends meet, and community organizers determined to translate people-led recovery from slogan to action. The people I met have different political views. Many of them love Duterte because he has been kind to them, but many have also grown skeptical of any politician who makes promises. All of them understand that they need to take matters in their own hands if things were to change, even if that means putting aside their trauma from losing their loved ones in the typhoon so they can fight for their right to survive. There are many lessons I learned from them, but here are some of the most memorable ones. They, to me, serve as inspiration for democratic action in times when politics seems to be nothing more than cheap rhetoric and empty promises. The importance of staying angry First, I learned the importance of staying angry. Once the 100th day since Typhoon Haiyan struck, over 12,000 protesters marched to downtown Tacloban to express their grievances. This was the first mass action of this scale in decades. The protest movement People Surge demanded better treatment from the state and called for accountability over the governments criminal negligence. Since 2013, People Surge has organized activities in Tacloban and Manila to remind the powerful that their survival is not negotiable. They tried to draw attention to their demands through symbolic and colorful protest action. They had a press conference timed for April 1 to expose how the government fooled the people. On Good Friday, they joined the clergy over a meal likened to the Last Supper, where disaster survivors played the role of Jesus Christ, their supporters were the apostles, and the government was Judas. On the anniversary of the typhoon, they laid a wreath on a mass grave, with the words Justice inscribed on a ribbon. When Duterte took over, the anger of People Surge did not waver. We are more than ready to occupy once again the streets of Tacloban, the groups spokesperson warned, for they found Dutertes quick action on rehabilitation programs was a foil for selling the city to investors profiteering from the peoples vulnerability to disasters. Six years after the typhoon, People Surge remains indignant. Anger can be mobilized by populist leaders to divide societies, but anger can also transform peoples experiences of humiliation and despair to collective demands for better treatment. The importance of getting organized The second lesson I learned is the importance of getting organized. The first time I visited the headquarters of Urban Poor Associates in Tacloban, I saw two women clutching Sharpies as microphones, practicing their dialogue with a city councilor about impending evictions. The womens voices were soft, but they were articulate. With the guidance of a community organizer, they were slowly gaining confidence to speak to people in power. This episode is just one of a series of initiatives by the Urban Poor Associates. The center of activity is a twelve-hectare property in a village twenty minutes away from downtown Tacloban. This is the site of Pope Francis Village a model community for people-centered rehabilitation. While most post-disaster housing projects were donated by philanthropic organizations or built by the government housing agency, Pope Francis Village involved communities in every step of the project. The partnership that developed between community organizers and disaster survivors was central to this project. Former residents of Barangay San Jose were organized to take part in a series of meetings to decide on the selection criteria of households who will receive homes first. They had discussions on the type and make of houses and eventually decided to build row houses instead of a more spacious quadruplex so more families can benefit. The community also agreed on their roles in building the community. Some were in charge of looking after the finances, others trained for livelihood programs, while there were those who volunteered in construction. I learned a lot from observing this community, but the message that struck me the most is the undervalued role of everyday democratic labor in sustaining efforts at collective action. People-centered rehabilitation takes time, attention, and resources to work. Orchestrating all this are committed democratic actors. These are not the larger-than-life populist leaders but the community organizers, volunteers, and households all of whom pulled their weight to make a housing project work for all. It is the seemingly mundane efforts of organizing meetings, running capacity building workshops, and holding forums for collective decision-making that shatter the sense of resignation among people who have felt beaten up for decades. Everyday political action demonstrates that democracy can work amidst constraints, in the aftermath of a tragedy. The importance of global solidarity Finally, the value of solidarity. In the slum communities I visited in coastal Tacloban, I noticed households displaying a green coin bank with the label "Accumulating Goodness to Mitigate Disasters." The coin bank was from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. After the typhoon, the Tzu Chi Foundation was among the first on the scene, giving cash grants for households involved in clean-up operations. They were even more loved for distributing what my respondents describe as rich persons rice, which is a stark contrast to the relief goods distributed by the government that were past their sell-by date. After losing everything in the typhoon, families had to scour whatever resources they could use drift wood, tarpaulins, plastic bottles to build makeshift homes. Tzu Chis kindness of giving cash gifts and decent meals restored the esteem of disaster-affected communities who felt that they had lost their dignity after their ordeal. Tzu Chis kindness followed the logic of pay-it-forward. Beneficiaries of their aid were expected to put in a few coins in the jar, which would be collected by their representatives every now and then. The proceeds of the coin bank drive would be sent to other disaster survivors around the world. It is a fascinating case of inter-survivor accountability. There is a grassroots ethic of cosmopolitan solidarity where precarious communities consider it their responsibility to look after each other. A respondent once sent me a text message asking if the storm in Nepal "was not fake news" because she could spare five pesos to help with the recovery of victims. This practice will outlast any populist leader if it is built on the most basic human principles of care, gratitude and reciprocity. The Philippines beyond Duterte In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, resilience has become a buzzword describing the people of Tacloban. I have witnessed how peoples daily lives are a constant struggle for survival, defined by mutual care, the desire to play fair, and the determination to live a dignified life. Many may have been turned off by democracy, but Taclobans stories of anger, collective action, and solidarity give me a sense of perspective. Yes, the Philippines is a country that continues to support a President willing to kill and offend for the sake of his bloody war on drugs. Yes, this a country divided by political persuasions, further torn apart by corrupt and opportunistic politicians. But politics in the Philippines is not limited to politicians. Every day, the poorest communities improvise ways to make democracy work amidst constraints. It is from them that, in democracys most trying times, our society can draw inspiration. A family have been left with only the clothes on their backs after heartless thieves stole their car which was filled with donated supplies. Michael and Carolina Wild were forced to flee with their children and puppy to escape the fierce blaze which destroyed their Tintaldra home, in Victoria on Saturday. They went to stay with a relative in Albury, in New South Wales. But when Mr Wild woke on Thursday morning, he was astonished to find that their white 2001 Toyota Tarago was missing, along with a hefty number of donated supplies stored inside. The merciless theft left the victims despairing. 'It just feels like we're not welcome anywhere at the moment,' Mr Wild said. RFS volunteers and NSW fire and rescue officers protecting a home on Wheelbarrow Ridge Road, NSW (above) Stock image of a white 2001 Toyota Tarago,(above) the car which was stolen from the family Mr Wild thought his wife had gone to the shops but soon realised their car had in fact been stolen, The Australian reported. 'I thought ''you dirty rat''. It was filled with all the gear we'd spent the day collecting, such as food from the relief centre, clothes we'd bought with vouchers we'd been given and toysdonated for the kids from the guys at the pub,' he said. The theft comes shortly after reports of alleged looting in bushfire-stricken areas, with scammers also attempting to exploit victims of the fires and creating fake donation pages. Having reported the crime to NSW police, the family now want to warn other victims of the bushfires to beware of opportunist thieves. Admitting the family have gotten through tough times before, Mr Wild reminisced on his home town, reporting that locals felt so safe they left keys in their cars and their doors unlocked. 'It's like that in the country, but up here it's different, of course,' he said. The family had first been given refuge in the Tintaldra Hotel in Queensland, with their two young children, Logan, four, and Summer, two, and their puppy Sparky, who was almost lost to the bushfire that destroyed their home. They were extremely grateful for the generosity they received from Darren Jones and other local residents. Mallacoota, Victoria (above) as bushfires tear through the quiet coastal town, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate A firefighter helicopter tackling a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region(above) She considered Jawaharlal Nehru University one of the safest campuses for women, but now Charukeshi Bhatt, pursuing her masters in Political Science from the university, feels insecure and disturbed in the wake of the violence unleashed by a masked mob on the campus on Sunday. IMAGE: A woman looks at damaged belongings of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University at a hostel room after it was attacked by a mob on Sunday, in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters The 24-year-old Varanasi native says the horrific incident has "hit the psyche" of students, affecting their daily lives and interrupting career plans. "I consider JNU as one of the best campuses in the country as far as the safety of women is concerned. Prior to the attack, I would feel free and safe to roam around here alone at any given time, day or night. But now, I generally ask a male friend to accompany me if I am stepping out at night in the campus," she said. On Sunday, a mob of masked young people stormed the JNU campus in south Delhi and systematically targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings. They also attacked a women's hostel. "However liberal the women of JNU may be considered, who step out fearlessly otherwise, the trauma of the violence is taking a toll on our minds. We feel disturbed," she said. The young student said she completed her Bachelor's in Political Science from Delhi University's Miranda House in 2018 before joining the Jawaharlal Nehru University and both the campuses have "taught me to live boldly and fearlessly". An uneasy lull prevailed on the campus on Friday as very few people were seen in the university streets and eating joints, otherwise brimming with students. The unease at the university's Sabarmati Hostel, which bore a heavy brunt of the mob violence, was palpable as a few students were seen leaving the campus fearing for their safety on Thursday evening as well. Shards of broken glass window panes lay swept on the main entrance of the residential facility, while inside the popular hostel's mess, a stark silence welcomed visitors. No readers were seen at newspapers' podiums and graffiti scrawled on walls and pillars described the incident as a "Black Sunday 2020". "Jan-5-2020 JNU will never forget" read graffiti, screaming in bold red, as students passed by in silence. While the atmosphere inside the sprawling campus remained in the grip of uneasy calm, outside the main gate (the North Gate of the JNU) a posse of police personnel kept a tight vigil to prevent any untoward incident. Many students attacked by the mob on that fateful evening have temporarily shifted to rooms of their friends, saying "the memories of the violence has left a deep scar on the psyche". "Many of my friends who came running into my room on the first floor of the hostel that evening, while being chased by a feral mob, later jumped off the balcony to save their lives. I jumped into the balcony of a neighbour's room and he sheltered me. The attackers banged the door but we had bolted it from inside," recalled a male PhD student who did not wish to be identified. His room still lay ransacked with shards of glass scattered on the ground as a gloomy air hung around it. "I have shifted to a friend's room in the campus. Memories of the attack send shiver down our spine," he said. Jyoti Kumari, another student who resides in the Sabarmati Hostel, recounted the "horrific evening" when she had seen "JNU girls in grip of abject fear". "This was not to just commit violence, to damage and vandalise property, but to terrorise us into submission. I was there when the mob attacked our hostel, who were armed with shovels and other sharp objects. As I was shooting a video to capture their act, one of the attackers threw a stone at me, injuring my hand," she said. "But we will not relent and continue to fight against what is wrong and unjust," she said. On the Baba Gang Nath Marg, students had to face hardship in hiring cabs or auto-rickshaws as barricades put up on both ends of the road, a little ahead of the North Gate, forced people to walk on foot for long before taking any public transport. Adding to their woes, several cab and auto-rickshaw drivers are not willing to take commuters to the JNU campus or pick them up from the varsity premises after the Incident took place. A woman student said the "atmosphere of fear" on the campus is "still palpable". "The whole episode was done to further vitiate the atmosphere of JNU because we are a thinking campus and we raise voice against what is wrong and unjust. Many politicians mock us, saying 'we should study and not agitate'. My question is, have they left an environment that is conducive for education in any central university. We saw what happened in Jamia Islamia or AMU before that," she said. Bhatt said the violence inflicted by the mob wanted to instil fear among the students and on Wednesday night the library was totally deserted, "something I have never seen in JNU". "One of my classmates who had an internship opportunity in France, declined to take it up. Bala Chauhan By Express News Service BENGALURU: Its 4 am. Their heads slumped on a table, weary to the bone, they try to catch some sleep. In no time, they get a wake up call to join duty. These days you see constables doing bandobast duty, almost round-the-clock, and living in police vans or police stations while having a packed meal in between. The anti-CAA protests, which started in the City on December 18, have become almost a daily affair taking a toll on the constables, the first responders in a public crisis or law and order situation. This is my eighth year of service. We have been on continuous duty for almost 25 days because of the ongoing protests. But for us, duty comes first because it is public service. I have never seen such long-drawn protests, a City police constable said on condition of anonymity. Another constable said that though they have been getting their weekly offs, most often they dont go home because they dont know when they will be called to cover the next protest. Bundobast duty does not mean ensuring law and order alone. We have to provide security to the public including the protesters, many of whom are students, he said. Senior police officers are worried about the constables. Most of the constables have been living in police vans or police stations and have been eating packed food since the protests started last month. They are now beginning to feel overstretched and stressed, said a senior City police officer. The officers have also been on continuous city rounds, strategising and monitoring the situation but unlike the constables, they get back home at the end of the day; to their families. Many constables have not been able to go home even on their off day, he added. Services of constables from the KSRP and the City Armed Reserve (CAR) have also been pooled in to reduce the burden on the city constables, said another officer. Since mid-December, when two protests were held -- at Mysore Bank Circle and Town Hall -- the City police have been on their toes. This is to prevent any breach of law and order like during the anti-CAA protests in Mangaluru where two people were killed in police firing. On December 23, Bengaluru witnessed an unprecedented gathering of around 2 lakh Muslims at Eidgah Khuddus Saheb to hold a peaceful protest against CAA. A day before that, the CAA supporters had gathered at Town Hall where BJP MP Tejaswi Surya had reportedly made a controversial statement, which he later said was taken out of context. The police were worried about the repercussion (of the statement) because the next day Muslims had taken permission to hold a peaceful protest. It was a tense day for the police, said the officer. In the midst of the pro- and anti-CAA rallies, there were other important events which called for police bandobast. The final rites of Pejawar Mutt seer Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji were conducted in Bengaluru on December 29. On December 31, the police had to be ready with foolproof security arrangements for the New Year Eve celebrations. A day later, highest security measures were put in place for PM Modis visit to inaugurate the Indian Science Congress on January 3. Four days later, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu was in the City to deliver a speech at the Science Congress. On Wednesday, there were multiple public protests along with the trade unions call for nationwide strike. Unlike other law and order situations or protests, which are controlled within a time period, there is no time frame for the pro- and anti-CAA rallies. The police have to be vigilant, the officer added. There is no question that Harry and Meghans desire to quit royal life threatens to damage the institution that his beloved grandmother, the Queen, embodies. What on earth has happened to the Prince the nation once held to its heart? He is pictured playing polo in 2011 What an explosive week this has been in the aftermath of the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs bombshell announcement that they wish to step back as senior royals. I share much of the anger, frustration and sorrow of the British public at their decision, which has been much-discussed over the past few days. But there is one aspect of this drama that concerns and saddens me: the behaviour of Prince Harry, and what appears to be him turning his back on the Royal Family. This is so out of character, and as his biographer who knows him better than many I fear something is seriously amiss. The Harry that the nation came to love, a charming, cheerful, self-deprecating Jack the Lad, has been missing for many months. As a close observer of him as man and boy, I am worried about the new approach he is taking to life. The recklessness shown in his and Meghans seismic decision effectively to quit the Royal Family (except, seemingly, when it suits them) and forge their own progressive path while pursuing financial independence does not speak to me of a balanced or careful strategy, even if they have, as alleged, been plotting it for months. Some people have expressed fears for the longevity of the marriage. In public, the pair still appear devoted to each other; yet I worry that they will find it difficult to adjust to their altered, ex-royal status Yesterday, the Mail revealed that Meghan had returned to Canada to be reunited with eight-month-old Archie, whom they had left with his nanny and a close friend. Surely it will not be long before Harry is back with them, if indeed hes not there already. He leaves his family the Firm in turmoil, desperate to contain the fallout after this shock announcement and, it seems, to appease the disgruntled Sussexes and keep them within the royal fold however they can. There is no question that Harry and Meghans desire to quit royal life threatens to damage the institution that his beloved grandmother, the Queen, embodies. What on earth has happened to the Prince the nation once held to its heart? The Harry that the nation came to love, a charming, cheerful, self-deprecating Jack the Lad, has been missing for many months. As a close observer of him as man and boy, I am worried about the new approach he is taking to life. He is pictured above in Wootton Bassett in 2010 The intense emotions of parenthood have surely been a factor. Harry made no secret of his desire for a family of his own, and his delightful rapport with childen showed what a devoted father he would become. His joy at Archies birth in May was wonderful to behold. Alarmingly, though, he has appeared determined since then on what might appear to be a trajectory of self-destruction and I do not use that phrase lightly. He is essentially rejecting his birthright, his closest family and a public role that he seemed to have embraced and flourished in. Everything, indeed, that helped transform a headstrong, troubled teenager into a fine soldier respected by his comrades, who saw military action twice and who became a hugely effective campaigner for wounded veterans. Harry has spoken about seeking counselling to deal with his ongoing grief about the death of his mother in 1997. The pair are pictured together visiting Thorpe Park in 1991 He has also distanced himself from longstanding, loyal friends. But perhaps the most alarming factor has been the apparent severing of his relationship with William, which has been tragic to behold. Theirs was a bond as close as any two brothers could have. Their situation was unique: what they had been through, including the sudden death of their mother, Princess Diana, could not be shared with anyone else. They trusted each other with everything. Yet now they appear to be barely speaking. They reportedly did not see each other in private for a full six months after Harry and Meghans lavish wedding in May 2018. Prince William is said to be incandescent about Harry and Meghans decision an event that totally overshadowed Kates 38th birthday celebrations on Thursday. (And didnt that photograph yesterday of a grim Kate at the wheel of her car illustrate just how draining this crisis is proving on all concerned?) Harrys former Private Secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, must be tearing out his hair. He was instrumental in helping Harry through his most troubled years, and I know his great hope was to see the brothers shoulder-to-shoulder, twin pillars of the Royal Family, for decades to come. Everything, indeed, that helped transform a headstrong, troubled teenager into a fine soldier respected by his comrades, who saw military action twice and who became a hugely effective campaigner for wounded veterans. He is pictured in a polo match in 2003 Yes, William and Harry have different strengths, but they complemented each other well. Something has gone badly wrong with that relationship. It is all too easy to lay the blame for this crisis on Meghan. Though she is a confident, thirtysomething actress, I think she has, not surprisingly, found it immensely difficult to adjust to life as a royal. These issues more likely have their roots in the fact that a besotted Harry has been doing his utmost to protect his wife. True, Meghans relationship with her own family is peculiar. Only one of them, her delightful mother Doria Ragland, attended their wedding; while Meghan isnt speaking to her father or half-sister. Now Harry is visibly estranged from his own family in a not dissimilar way. How much of all this is due to Meghans influence, I wouldnt pretend to know. Regardless, Harry has long struggled with what it means to be a royal. We felt for him during those years when he wanted to be just plain Harry, when he was drinking too much and being photographed in one compromising situation after another. But he went into the Army, trained as an Apache helicopter pilot and came good in spectacular fashion. Then he realised that, because of who he was, he could do fantastic things for others. The most dramatic example came in 2013 when he walked to the South Pole with wounded veterans to show the world that there is life beyond injury. Back home, he set up the Invictus Games for wounded and disabled military veterans a mammoth undertaking, organised in less than a year. That was possible only because of his royal status. And when Harry courageously spoke out about his own struggles with mental health, he did more than any other initiative had to raise awareness and persuade others to seek help. I thought he had properly recognised both the royal title and the good he can do with it. Now he and Meghan want to act alone: against the world, it seems. Perhaps the most alarming factor has been the apparent severing of his relationship with William, which has been tragic to behold. Theirs was a bond as close as any two brothers could have I am baffled, too, by the sheer disrespect he has shown to his grandmother. He was always so close to the Queen. Hed even call her on her mobile! Her Majesty will put up with a lot, but one thing she hates is surprises: she likes to know what will confront her in the morning papers. But Harry and Meghan ignored this. Coming on the heels both of Andrews disgrace and of the Sussexes decision to spurn Christmas with the Royal Family at Sandringham in favour of the comforts of an unnamed billionaires mansion on Vancouver Island, it is treatment that borders on the callous. The Queen has always loved and supported Harry, tolerating his misdemeanors. Yet now she is said to be hurt and furious at his behaviour. In my view, the turning point in this saga, which had been bubbling for most of last year, came in September with the couples visit to South Africa. They began so well, doing a cracking job highlighting the plight of deprived communities. After a rocky few months, following criticism over the unnecessary secrecy around Archies birth and christening, they appeared to have reset the dial of public opinion. And then they soured the whole thing, first by taking out a writ against the Mail on Sunday, the Mails sister paper; then by Harrys bitter verbal attack on the Press; then worst of all in that joint interview with ITVs Tom Bradby. When Harry courageously spoke out about his own struggles with mental health, he did more than any other initiative had to raise awareness and persuade others to seek help. I thought he had properly recognised both the royal title and the good he can do with it To bleat about their inability to thrive while standing in a country where so many people are desperately trying merely to exist was appalling. I couldnt understand it. Harry, who loves Africa, knows how important his charity work is. There, he was surrounded by people who have nothing and yet all he and Meghan could do was whinge. On that same trip, Harry suggested that the Presss treatment of Meghan was akin to the treatment of his late mother. That was extreme: the two cases are not comparable at all. Any negative stories about Meghan for example, those that questioned her taking a private jet, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, to New York for a baby shower, have been relatively mild compared to those printed about the Princess of Wales (or Camilla Parker Bowles, for that matter). And, by now, Harrry should have recognised that one of the sacrifices he has to make, in return for the palaces and the prestige, is to submit to the scrutiny of the Press which also enthusiastically cheers all his good works. Harry made no secret of his desire for a family of his own, and his delightful rapport with childen showed what a devoted father he would become. His joy at Archies birth in May was wonderful to behold In the past, he had a great relationship with most royal correspondents. Ive been on tours with him, watched him host receptions for journalists at Kensington Palace, and he has been utterly charming, even to those whom he knows have at times been less than kind. Why turn against the people who were, at that moment, in Africa with him, eating out of his hand? Meanwhile, any idea that there was a sustained campaign against Meghan least of all one founded on racism, as even the New York Times suggested yesterday is nonsense. The Press and public were thrilled when he fell in love with her, and instantly fell in love with her, too. Meghan is probably the stronger of the two, but that does not mean Harry is weak. He is, however, emotional and that is perhaps the heart of the problem. Harry has spoken about seeking counselling to deal with his ongoing grief about the death of his mother in 1997. He added he has felt anxiety at royal events and, when he was 28, was once on the verge of punching someone. [I was] very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions, he said. Her Majesty will put up with a lot, but one thing she hates is surprises: she likes to know what will confront her in the morning papers. But Harry and Meghan ignored this Those experiences were the driving force behind the Heads Together mental-health charity that, as a member of the Fab Four William, Kate, himself and Meghan he helped found. Just two years ago a year after he met Meghan he revealed he was in a good place. Yet during that Africa tour, Harry told a young man that he sometimes felt overwhelmed by the worlds problems. Such were his worries, he added, there were days when he struggled to get out of bed. Given all this, I suspect I am not alone in feeling great concern about the Princes emotional state at this moment of crisis for his family. Some people have expressed fears for the longevity of the marriage. In public, the pair still appear devoted to each other; yet I worry that they will find it difficult to adjust to their altered, ex-royal status. Harry in particular may discover he has lost some of his power to influence and persuade. That will be difficult for him to accept. His former friends, meanwhile, are desperately hurt. Many would love to help him, yet he has isolated himself. That is not healthy. For prince or pauper, life is lonely without friends to lean on. Harry was the best-loved of all the royals after the Queen. We have never forgotten the little boy who walked so bravely behind his mothers coffin. He has had our hearts ever since. It is tragic to see all that goodwill tossed away. I hope the situation can be rescued, but right now reconciliation for this unhappy couple is a long way off. Above all, Harry must not burn any more bridges. One day he might need a family to welcome him home and a nation to take him back. WASHINGTON - The United States launched an economic counterattack Friday in its high-stakes standoff with Iran a modest response likely owing to the lack of American casualties in Iranian missile strikes and the crash of an airliner allegedly shot down outside Tehran, but yet another wedge in the relationship between the West and a global pariah known for harbouring dangerous ambitions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, right, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, speak during a briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON - The United States launched an economic counterattack Friday in its high-stakes standoff with Iran a modest response likely owing to the lack of American casualties in Iranian missile strikes and the crash of an airliner allegedly shot down outside Tehran, but yet another wedge in the relationship between the West and a global pariah known for harbouring dangerous ambitions. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced an array of fresh sanctions against eight senior security and military officials in Iran, as well as several of the country's industries, including textiles, manufacturing, mining and the steel and iron sectors. Pompeo made a point of contrasting President Donald Trump's approach with that of the Obama administration, which he accused of opening up "revenue streams for Iran" a reference to the previous government's easing of sanctions as part of the international 2014 deal aimed at curbing the country's nuclear ambitions. "Under our administration, oil revenues are down by 80 per cent and Iran cannot access roughly 90 per cent of its foreign-currency reserves," Pompeo said. Iran's own president, Hassan Rouhani, recently conceded the country has lost more than US$200 billion in foreign income and investment, he added. "As long as Irans outlaw ways continue, we will continue to impose sanctions." Iran has been a target of American sanctions for more than 40 years, but Mnuchin shrugged off the suggestion they have in fact fostered unrest, such as the embassy protest in Baghdad and the killing of a U.S. contractor two events widely seen as sparking the latest tensions. "If we didn't have these sanctions in place, literally Iran would have tens of billions of dollars. They would be using that for terrorist activities throughout the region and to enable them to do more bad things," he said. "Theres no question, by cutting off the economics to the region, we are having an impact." Precisely what sort of impact is the question, said Brett Bruen, the White House director of global engagement during the final years of the Obama administration. "It's not that applying pressure is in and of itself a problematic strategy, but applying pressure without having a path forward is what gets us into the kinds of situations we saw over the last couple of weeks," Bruen said. Pompeo also publicly said for the first time Friday that it was likely an Iranian missile, fired in the aftermath of Iran's attack on two Iraqi military bases where U.S. soldiers are stationed, that downed Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 early Wednesday. The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 176 people 138 of them bound for a connecting flight to Toronto when it crashed in a fireball shortly after taking off from Tehran. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have spent the week seized with the question of whether Trump was justified in taking out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a drastic step that instantly triggered a tidal wave of fury across the Middle East and put the U.S. and Iran on a war footing. The plane crash has dragged Canada into the fray, creating for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau another trilateral diplomatic crisis of the Trump administration's making and prompting questions about whether the U.S. president himself should bear some of the responsibility for the tragedy. "I personally don't believe as much as I disagree with the president on so many things that he's done I don't believe the president is responsible," said Bruce Heyman, who was the U.S. ambassador to Canada under Barack Obama. "What has transpired, though, is the fog of war the anxieties of being on a knife's edge that create miscalculations and unintended consequences that take place. I believe the escalation has resulted in just that." Assuming the allegations of a missile strike prove true, the responsibility for the tragedy rests squarely with the Iranians, Heyman added, and Canada must first focus on ensuring the families of the victims can properly grieve their losses. "The complications for Canada right now are making sure that, first and foremost, the families can get the remains and can deal with the grieving," he said. "Second, they have to parallel this and get an investigation, a credible investigation that will result in understanding what happened and why." That could prove complicated, given Iran's lack of standing in the global diplomatic community. The former Harper government severed ties with the country in 2012. "The rest of the world needs to stand up and take a more assertive role in resolving the crisis," Bruen said. "Justin Trudeau has a unique moment here where he can and he should look at how to guide both Iran and the United States from the brink of crisis, and that something good should come of this tragedy before there is, quite frankly, another tragedy." The lack of a diplomatic relationship would make it impossible for Canada to play any sort of role as mediator, but the tragedy could prove to be a starting point for renewed ties, said Jeremy Wildeman, a Middle East policy analyst and visiting scholar at the University of Ottawa. "This might highlight that need for Canada, no matter what they think of the Iranian government, to have at least dialogue and open diplomatic representation between the two countries," Wildeman said. That way, "they can know what's going on in Iran, they can talk to the Iranian government and they can serve the many, many, many Canadians who are of Iranian heritage, and Canadians who visit there." Trudeau's Liberal government is no stranger to being caught in a diplomatic tug of war. In December 2018, Canadian authorities in Vancouver detained tech scion Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese communications giant Huawei and the daughter of the company's founder, in response to an extradition request from the U.S. Department of Justice. Weeks later, China detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in what has widely been seen as an act of retribution. They have been held ever since. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle BEIRUT - Syrian warplanes bombed a major rebel stronghold in the countrys northwest on Friday, less than 24 hours after a cease-fire went into effect there, opposition activists said. Nevertheless, activists reported an overall drop in violence in Syrias Idlib province compared to the past three weeks, which saw government forces capture more than two dozen rebel-held villages under the cover of airstrikes. The government offensive forced more than 200,000 people to flee for safer areas further north, near the border with Turkey. Idlib, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants, is also home to 3 million civilians. The United Nations has warned of the growing risk of a humanitarian catastrophe along the Turkish border. The latest cease-fire in Syrias only remaining rebel stronghold was announced Thursday by Russias state media. Turkey and Russia negotiated the truce at Turkeys request. Russia is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his forces, while Turkey backs some Syrian opposition fighters. Fridays airstrikes were reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said Russia warplanes executed intensive raids on the strategic rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan and surrounding villages. The Britain-based organization, which documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, also said government forces and insurgents clashed in eastern parts of Idlib province Friday morning. The Smart news agency, an Syrian opposition activist collective, said Fridays airstrikes concentrated on the western and northern neighbourhoods of Maaret al-Numan. The cease-fire was imposed in Idlib province early Thursday afternoon, according to Maj.-Gen. Yuri Borenkov of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria. The truce came amid soaring regional tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Russian President Vladimir Putin also made a rare visit to Syria this week for talks with Assad in Damascus. The immediate goal of Assads three-week offensive appeared to be taking Maaret al-Numan, which sits on the Damascus-Aleppo highway, in order to re-open the strategic road. Its been closed by the rebels since 2012. BEIRUT Unidentified planes struck targets in Syria near the border with Iraq on Friday, killing eight Iran-backed Iraqi militiamen, Syrian activists and two Iraqi officials said, an attack that comes amid soaring tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the planes targeted positions belonging to pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal area, near the border with Iraq. The organization, which documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said the planes struck, among other targets, weapons depots and vehicles belonging to the militias. At a time when the world faces rising protectionism and economic downturn, the launch of China's Foreign Investment Law has shed light on the country's perennial promise to foreign investors, providing them a larger share of the world's largest market on an equal footing with their Chinese counterparts. Passed by the country's top legislature in early 2019, the new law, which is a comprehensive and fundamental set of legal standards for foreign investment activities, took effect on the first day of 2020. With unified provisions for the entry, promotion, protection and management of foreign investment, the law is a milestone that addresses international concerns and enhances the sense of gain for foreign firms. Ensuring stable foreign investment has been a key task of China's six-plank campaign to counter downward economic pressure, as the country now ranks the world's second when it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI). According to China's Ministry of Commerce, a total of 36,747 new foreign-funded enterprises were established from January to November in 2019, while FDI into the Chinese mainland expanded six percent year-on-year to 845.9 billion yuan. The new law has replaced Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises and Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures passed between 1979 and 1990, as they could not address the emerging challenges regarding foreign investment, including intellectual property and negative lists. "The Chinese government has made great efforts to improve the business environment for foreign companies. Technology transfer and foreign investment will increase in China in the future if the law's implementation reaches expectations," said Ulla Nurmenniemi, Executive Director of Finnish Business Council in Beijing. Boosted confidence in Chinese market Ulla has been doing business in China for the past few decades. [Photo by Ulla Nurmenniemi] Having been doing business in China since the late 1990s, Ulla has witnessed the improvement of China's business environment, spanning decades. She noted that doing business in China is much more convenient for foreigners than it once was, when it was considered "another world." "Back in the 90s, some Finnish companies had to withdraw their business out of China due to intellectual infringement. Many Finnish companies decided to look for local distributors or partners to manufacture parts of their products, rather than set up their companies in China," said Ulla. Such concerns were the major obstacles that dampened foreign investor's enthusiasm to bring business to China, even though China's IP regime has made significant strides in just a few decades. However, the situation has changed following the launch of the new law, which stipulates that administrative agencies and their staff shall not use administrative means to force the transfer of technology and shall keep the business secrets of foreign investors confidential. At the same time, intellectual infringements shall be dealt with lawfully and punished severely. "As one of the most innovative countries in the world, technologies and innovation, rather than simple capital, are Finnish companies' major investment. The new law, if implemented well, would safeguard our core technologies, making it even safer to do business in China," said Ulla. Kobus Van Der Wath believes that the new investment law will bring more opportunities to foreign investors. [Photo by He Zhuoyan] Echoing Ulla, Kobus Van Der Wath, CEO of Axis Group International, a South African company that provides professional services including procurement and international sales activation, believed that the new law had given foreign investors confidence in doing business in China. "I think the new law sends a strong signal that intellectual property is crucial and will receive more attention and protection [from the Chinese government]. We're now expanding our business in China, and the law will help us incorporate new entities in China," said Wath. In addition to intellectual protection, various provisions on the national treatment of foreign investors have also interested business leaders worldwide. According to the new law, the state shall implement a foreign investment management system addressing pre-entry national treatment to include a foreign investment negative list, ensuring that investment standards given to foreign investors at the stage of entry are not lower than that of domestic investors and their investments. Tingwei Guan-Alapiha, head of government relations of Stora Enso, a Finnish company that runs forest plantation and a packaging board mill in China, said that the new law has granted foreign investors an equal footing with their Chinese counterparts, an unprecedented move that will boost fair and healthy business competition. "Being treated equally with Chinese state-owned companies and private companies is critical to us. For example, we operate a sizable forestry land base in southern China. If we can obtain our timber ownership certificates like some of the domestic owners, that would largely enhance our operation ," said Tingwei. Tom Tan, vice president of BorgWarner Inc., an American automotive industry components and parts supplier, noted that granting foreign companies national treatment offers them easier access to the Chinese market, providing a level playing field for all. "For foreign investors, our biggest concern is the complexity of entering and leaving the Chinese market freely. The new law has ensured our free access to the Chinese market, allowing us to freely remit our profits, which has strengthened our confidence in doing business in China," said Tan. Golden age for foreign investors Though ranking second globally when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment, China's ease of doing business only ranked 31 among 190 economies, according to the World Bank's newest index. In an effort to attract foreign investment, Chinese authorities have been making great efforts to create a better business environment, including establishing 18 free trade zones nationwide. According to the year-end Central Economic Work Conference that charted the course of China's economy in 2020, China's opening-up will continue to develop on a larger scale and at a deeper level, and foreign investment will be facilitated and better protected. Liao Yijian , Chief Executive of HSBC Bank China, added that the improvement of Chinas business environment has provided foreign investors more opportunities, as well as lucrative benefits. When HSBC Bank China started its business in China in 2007, we only had 35 branches in 14 cities. After years of development, now we have over 170 branches in 57 Chinese cities, while the number of employees has grown from 3,000 to over 8,000. In 2018, our total assets reached 470 billion yuan, he said. Tom Tan, vice president of BorgWarner. [Photo by He Zhuoyan] "When I came to China in 2003, our company had only two operations here, with a total revenue of 25 million yuan. By 2018, our annual revenue reached 12.3 billion yuan, while the number of employees has grown eightfold. Needless to say, China is a promising arena for foreign business," said Tan. According to Tan, over the past few decades, China has strengthened its opening-up policies in all areas, helping foreign companies set up business more swiftly and efficiently. "In the past decade, we've built seven factories in China. The time we spent on documents and acquiring governmental approval has been shortened 80 percent compared with a decade ago," said Tan. Echoing Tan, Ulla noted that the business environment in China is becoming more and more international. More language services are provided, while professionals familiar with both Chinese and foreign cultures are readily available. "Most Chinese cities have rolled out favorable policies to attract foreign investment, such as offering cheap or even free space for manufacturing, low taxes for the first year, or beneficial incentives to attract foreign technology transfer, which is quite amazing," said Ulla. "It's easier to find a mutual language between both parties, and a win-win attitude has replaced the win-lose attitude, Ulla added. Xian Jiangnan and Zhao Tong Contributed to the story. The All Progrogressives Congress, APC in Imo State has repudiated herself from the stall invasion of the 27 LG Council Offices in Imo State by suspended Local Government Officials last Monday. In a press briefing with journalists in Owerri on Tuesday, the state publicity secretary of the Party, Enyinna Onuegbu said that, the case between the suspended Imo State LGA Chairmen and councillors versus the State government was still in court and yet to be decided. Our party in Imo State believes in the rule of law, has respect for court orders/judgements, therefore we can never be caught empowering anyone or group to go against the law, Onuegbu said. According to Onuegbu, the Ekiti State LGA Court judgment is not applicable in Imo State untill same is affirmed by the Court sitting on that of the Imo State counterpart. APC and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria believe in the rule of law, APC is not part of the gang-up by some despairing politicians to take over the Imo State LGA administration by force. Imo State APC was never at any time informed, carried along or supported the event and the actions of the suspended LGA Chairmen. It is a total embarrassment to us the executive members of the party". It will be racalled that in the said attempt to take over the LG offices on Monday, one life was lost in Isu LGA and many others injured across other LG Council areas. Lastly, Onuegbu advised youths not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to halt peace and calmness in the state. The All Progrogressives Congress, APC in Imo State has repudiated herself from the stall invasion of the 27 LG Council Offices in Imo State by suspended Local Government Officials last Monday. In a press briefing with journalists in Owerri on Tuesday, the state publicity secretary of the Party, Enyinna Onuegbu said that, the case between the suspended Imo State LGA Chairmen and councillors versus the State government was still in court and yet to be decided. Our party in Imo State believes in the rule of law has respect for court orders/judgements, therefore we can never be caught empowering anyone or group to go against the law, Onuegbu said. According to Onuegbu, the Ekiti State LGA Court judgment is not applicable in Imo State untill same is affirmed by the Court sitting on that of the Imo State counterpart. APC and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria believe in the rule of law, APC is not part of the gang-up by some despairing politicians to take over the Imo State LGA administration by force. Imo State APC was never at any time informed, carried along or supported the event and the actions of the suspended LGA Chairmen. It is a total embarrassment to us the executive members of the party". It will be racalled that in the said attempt to take of the LG offices on Monday, one life was lost in Isu LGA and many others injured across other LG Council areas. Lastly, Onuegbu advised youths not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to halt peace and calmness in the state. SoftBank is still "the Berkshire Hathaway of tech" despite its recent pitfall at WeWork and key differences in investment style between Warren Buffett and Masayoshi Son, according to Bernstein. Analysts Chris Lane and David Dai explained in a 258-page report that poor trading among a few of SoftBank's Vision Fund components as well as an existential crisis at WeWork shouldn't scare investors away from what will be "enormous long-term gains" for the Japanese holding company. Investments in either SoftBank or Berkshire Hathaway would have served investors well over the past 10 years. As the analysts note, an investment in SoftBank would have generated returns of over 300% in Japanese yen and 230% in U.S. dollars. A stake in Berkshire would be up about 240% over the same period. But notwithstanding similar equity returns, the Bernstein comparison between Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Son's SoftBank may seem a bit rich to those familiar with their markedly different investment strategies. Also in Buffett's favor is his far-longer track record: Berkshire's compounded annual gain in per-share book value since 1965 is a robust 18.7%, double that of the S&P 500. But Lane and Dai anticipated the potential for pushback on their comparison. "Berkshire's original business, textile milling, seems as distant from insurance as SoftBank's original software distribution business. Synergies between NetJets, Coca-Cola, and BNSF railways are similarly low to nonexistent," Lane and Dai wrote. "Berkshire leverages the cash from its insurance business to invest into other companies." SoftBank "uses the cash flow from its core telco operation to invest in tech unicorns aiming to disrupt traditional industries," they added. "Berkshire favors existing moats, stability, and cash flowSoftBank favors disruption and long-term growth. Berkshire's approach is saferSoftBank's has higher risk." The consequences of that difference in risk appetite were on full display in 2019 as some of SoftBank's biggest investments made headlines for performance ranging from lackluster to tragic. SoftBank and its Vision Fund one of the company's largest pools through which it invests in promising young companies were forced to take billion-dollar write-downs on WeWork, Slack Technologies and Uber. SoftBank's equity is only available on Japanese markets. Son's growth at all costs stands in stark contrast to Buffett's investment style, marked by ruthless value hunting and the strictest assessment of a company's balance sheet. The so-called Oracle of Omaha has historically made bets on companies with ample free cash flow and reliable dividend payments like Coca-Cola. That's far from SoftBank's method of throwing cash at a handful of new, profit-bereft companies in the hopes of striking gold in the long term to more than compensate for its initial funding. Bernstein's analysts are convinced that a stake in SoftBank remains a compelling investment option for traders looking for long-term growth exposure and willing to endure periods of volatility. "As we argued in our initiation report, quarterly results will be volatile as the fund is required to mark these to market, especially during the early 'negative cash flow' phase of operations," Dai and Lane wrote. But "its global scale and access to unprecedented investment capital ensures it sees nearly every deal of consequence, which should in theory allow it to capture significant upside well before traditional market participants." The two highlighted Alibaba as an example of the types of investments they see as central to SoftBank's long-term success. Its core e-commerce business should enjoy sustainable growth as it expands geographically throughout Asia, which in turn will fuel its cloud computing ambitions, Bernstein said. Lane and Dai also like SoftBank's stake in Sprint and its merger with T-Mobile, its interest in multiple ride-hailing companies (not just Uber) and Son's 2016 investment in British processor designer ARM remains underappreciated. While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Indoor Skydive Australia Group Limited (ASX:IDZ) share price up 11% in a single quarter. But will that repair the damage for the weary investors who have owned this stock as it declined over half a decade? Probably not. Five years have seen the share price descend precipitously, down a full 98%. It's true that the recent bounce could signal the company is turning over a new leaf, but we are not so sure. The fundamental business performance will ultimately determine if the turnaround can be sustained. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway. See our latest analysis for Indoor Skydive Australia Group Indoor Skydive Australia Group wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth. Over five years, Indoor Skydive Australia Group grew its revenue at 22% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. So it's not at all clear to us why the share price sunk 54% throughout that time. You'd have to assume the market is worried that profits won't come soon enough. We'd recommend carefully checking for indications of future growth - and balance sheet threats - before considering a purchase. The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). ASX:IDZ Income Statement, January 10th 2020 We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Indoor Skydive Australia Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow. Story continues A Different Perspective Investors in Indoor Skydive Australia Group had a tough year, with a total loss of 78%, against a market gain of about 23%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 53% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid. If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. President Trump said in a new interview with Laura Ingraham Friday that there were 'probably four' U.S. embassies in the crosshairs of an attack orchestrated by Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. 'I can reveal that I believe it probably wouldn've been four embassies,' Trump told the Fox News Channel host. The president also offered that it was 'probably' going to be the embassy in Baghdad, which saw Iran-backed militia members attack it last week, further inflaming tensions between the U.S. and Iran, that led to Soleimani's death. Trump's comments come after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doubled down on the president's claims that embassies were Soleimani's targets. That's the reason the president has offered for ordering a drone strike on Soleimani's convoy leaving the Baghdad airport in Iraq last Thursday - killing the No. 2 most powerful figure in Iran. President Trump told Laura Ingraham in a new sit-down that 'probably four' U.S. embassies were in jeopardy of a Qassem Soleimani-orchestrated attack President Trump sat down with Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham (pictured) for an interview that will air Friday night at 10 p.m. EST President Trump first made the claim that multiple embassies were under threat during his Thursday night campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio 'We had specific information on an imminent threat and those threats included attacks on U.S. embassies. Period. Full stop,' Pompeo told reporters during a White House briefing Friday. Pompeo was then asked if he was mistaken when he said he didn't know precisely when or where the attacks would take place. 'Nope. Completely true. Those are completely consistent thoughts,' he answered. 'I don't know exactly which minute was plotting a broad, large-scale attack against American interests. And those attacks were imminent.' Pompeo then reiterated that embassies were among those targets. 'Against American facilities, including American embassies, military bases,' he told the press. 'American facilities throughout the region.' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Trump was accurate when he said Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was threatening multiple U.S. embassies Pompeo said lawmakers were wrong when they said they hadn't been briefed on potential embassy attacks. 'We told them about the imminent threat,' Pompeo said. 'All of the intelligence that we've briefed, that you've heard today, I assure you, in an unclassified setting, we provide in the classified setting as well.' Pompeo was then asked, specifically, about Trump's embassies claims. 'I'm not going to talk about the details of what we shared in a classified setting,' he answered. 'But make no mistake about it: Those leaders, those members of Congress who want to go access this same intelligence, can see that very same intelligence that will reflect what I described to you and what the president said last night, as well.' For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders - a top Democratic 2020 candidate - said Friday that when officials including Pompeo briefed lawmakers Wednesday no one claimed the Iranian terror leader was planning to attack American embassies overseas. The president told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office that Soleimani became a target because he aimed to 'blow up' the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. He expanded that claim hours later at a political rally in Toledo, Ohio, saying the Iranian Quds Force leader had more than one embassy on his hit list. 'Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad,' Trump said. 'But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold.' Sanders, on the TODAY show, brushed it off as bluster with little likely basis in truth. 'I sat in a intelligence briefing, [a] classified briefing, the day before. We had all of the top ranking intelligence people, military people. Not one word of that was mentioned,' the Vermont senator and presidential candidate said. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Friday that classified intelligence briefings about the drone attack that killed Qassem Soleimani didn't mention anything about the Iranian general plotting to blow up U.S. embassies Suleimani (right, pictured with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei), was killed by an American drone strike that Trump orded last week 'So is it true? I don't know. But we didn't hear it in the classified intelligence briefing,' the senator said. Sanders called the president 'a pathological liar' and warned that 'people don't believe much of what Trump says.' 'And when you lie all the time, the problem is sometimes maybe you're telling the truth and people are not going to believe you,' he said. Pompeo had conceded in an interview that aired just hours after Trump wrapped up in Toledo that the best U.S. intelligence on Soleimani was less specific than what the president suggested. 'There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by Qasem Soleimani,' he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 'We dont know precisely when and we dont know precisely where, but it was real.' Later, at the briefing, Pompeo explained what he meant by 'imminent.' President Trump appeared to let the cat out of the bag Thursday afternoon, telling reporters in the Oval Office that Soleimani was targeted because of imminent attack threats against the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq Sanders, a Vermont senator on the Democratic Party's left, spoke to the TODAY show on Friday 'This was going to happen, and American lives were at risk. And we would have been culpably negligent,' he said. 'As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, we would have been culpably negligent had we not recommended to the president that he take this action at Qassem Soleimani.' 'He made the right call, and America is safer as a result of that,' Pompeo added. The attack led to a media frenzy and social media speculation that the world would spiral into World War III as tensions continued to rise. Democrats insist the move was hasty and claim there wasn't adequate intelligence to justify killing Soleimani, but Trump says they should be happy he's dead. 'Now I see the radical left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist. And you know what? Instead they should be outraged by Soleimani's savage crimes, and that fact that his countless victims were denied justice for so long,' Trump said. 'Bernie Sanders, crazy Bernie, has condemned the U.S. military strike on Soleimani the world's top terrorist. Think of it, the world's top terrorist and we're having people like Nancy Pelosioh, that's a real genius. You believe that one? Nancy, Nancy, Nervous Nancy,' he continued. Richard Melzer has traveled to the many nooks and crannies of New Mexico. During his trips in the Land of Enchantment, hes been able to capture intricate and left-of-center art that makes the state so unique. His latest exhibit, The Weirdest, Most Creative Mailboxes in New Mexico, will be on display beginning Jan. 18 through Feb. 22, at the Museum of Hertiage & Arts in Los Lunas. I love to travel around New Mexico, Melzer says. Ive done different projects, like one on cemeteries and one on outhouses. As I was traveling around, I see things. Many mailboxes caught my eye, so I photographed them. The mailboxes reflect New Mexico and the folks here that are creative, artistic and funny. Melzer recently retired from University of New Mexico-Valencia after 40 years. He is an author, historian and photographer. While the exhibit features photos of mailboxes from around the state, he says there are a few that stand out to him. One is a mailbox held by a sculpted hand in Santa Fe off Airport Road. This one is tremendous, he says. I never knew how long it had been there. Its a staple in the community. Madrid, Melzer says, there has the biggest concentration of stylized mailboxes. And at El Cerro Mission in Valencia County, there is a UFO holding a mailbox. Each one is unique, he says. The exhibit features 50 photographs, and Melzer says it was difficult to choose from among hundreds. We wanted examples of various things, he says. Some mailboxes represent transportation. One is a U.S. mail truck. There are some tractors. Then we went into an assortment of animals. Theres a great carving of a cat, and it looks like hes waiting for the mail. Theres one in Las Cruces that is a green chile. Its amazing to see the imagination come to life. Cynthia Shetter, library and museum director, says the museum has worked with Melzer in the past on projects. Hes known for his photography of interesting items, Shetter says. Over the years, hes developed a great following and people do come out to see his work. Shetter says the museum routinely changes its exhibits every few months. The majority are art or history exhibits. Were working on creating Wonder Women of New Mexico, which takes a look at 100 years of womens rights in New Mexico, she says. That will be up in March. We try to keep the art and history exhibits balanced. We always try to have a local component, which makes our relationship with Richard so great. Hes a local photographer who has an interesting take on things. Melzer says the photographs have been taken over the past 10 years, although more seriously in the last two or three. Im a collector, he says. Since Ive retired, Im finding that I want to take more trips to photograph. Its something I really love to do. I like to tell the stories of New Mexico. The Weirdest, Most Creative Mailboxes in New Mexico by Richard Melzer WHEN: Opening reception, 2-4 p.m. Jan. 18; exhibit runs 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through Feb. 22 WHERE: Museum of Heritage & Arts, 251 Main St. NE, Los Lunas HOW MUCH: Free to attend CHARLOTTESVILLE A $20 million grant from a Washington, D.C., investment mogul will allow the University of Virginia School of Nursing to graduate more nurses, expand school programs and improve nurse training. The school plans to hire more nursing professors, expand hybrid education programs at off-Grounds sites, increase the number of transfer students and nurses seeking bachelors degrees and improve its clinical simulation program. The gift is from William and Joanne Conway. William Conway is a co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group and shares duties as the firms chief investment officer for global private equity and global credit. He has donated several million dollars to the school during the past 10 years despite having no academic ties to UVa. The Conways have been very generous and have given us a total of $15 million in the past because they really believe in nursing, said nursing school Dean Pam Cipriano. When we look at gifts given to schools, most of them come from alumni, but few nurses have careers that allow them to become millionaires and give large gifts. The gift will provide scholarships for nurses who transfer into the school from community colleges and current registered nurses who are working in medicine but want to obtain bachelors degrees in nursing. Currently, most registered nurses in Virginia are graduates of associate degree programs who have passed state-administered tests to become registered nurses. The number of people receiving bachelors degrees in nursing in the state is increasing, however; according to a recent report from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, bachelors degrees in nursing increased by nearly 20% from 2012 to 2017. The Conways gift also will allow UVa to open hybrid-education satellite schools in Richmond and Northern Virginia to allow working nurses to attend school while remaining employed. The sites include a mix of classroom and internet coursework. The gift allows the school to add faculty members with masters degrees and doctorate degrees in nursing to instruct the bachelors degree program. The added staff will help decrease by one year the time it takes for a nurse transferring to the school to complete the degree. Nursing school officials estimate the gift will increase by 1,000 the number of nurses who graduate with a bachelors degree from UVa in the next 10 years. The school currently has about 400 undergraduates and 400 graduate students, and officials estimate that there are 11,600 alumni from the nursing school. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine released a report that recommended as many as 80% of registered nurses should obtain bachelors degrees by this year. The number currently is about 70%, according to several studies conducted by colleges and nursing trade organizations in the past two years. Some states, including New York, have passed laws requiring all registered nurses to have bachelors degrees. In New York, registered nurses without bachelors degrees are required to obtain the degree within 10 years or have their licenses suspended. For many years, its been a priority that we want nurses to have more education and we really want more nurses to have bachelor degrees because studies have shown that patient outcomes are better when nurses have more education, Cipriano said. The goal for the last decade has been to have those who have not earned a bachelors to be able to get one. What were going to be able to do with this funding is expand our programs to make them available to more students. Among proposals the Conway gift will fund is an expansion of the schools clinical simulation education center. Conway is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He has supported other nursing schools, as well. Before co-founding Carlyle in 1987, he served as chief financial officer at MCI Communications from 1984 to 1987. Joanne and I believe that increasing the number of nurses in our nation is a lasting solution to the challenges facing our health care system, Conway said in a prepared statement. The murder of a 25-year old Sikh man, Ravinder Singh, hailing from the remote Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan was a case of contract killing and his fiancee has been arrested, the local media quoted police as saying on Friday. Ravinder was based in Malaysia and had come to Pakistan for his wedding to be held on January 28. He was found murdered in Chamkani area of Peshawar on Saturday night. Ravinders 18-year-old fiancee, Prem Kumari, did not want to marry him and planned his killing, police said. She promised the hitmen Rs 700,000 for his murder. Part of the committed money was paid in advance, while the rest had to be paid after the murder, a police official told local media on Friday. After a series of raids and interrogations conducted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police, local media quoted police on Friday as saying that Ravinder Singh was actually killed in town of Mardan, 68 kms from Peshawar, by hitmen who were hired by Ravinders fiancee. The breakthrough came when one of the hitmen was apprehended by the police in Mardan and he spilled the beans, police said. According to the investigation team, Ravinder was murdered in Mardan and later his body was shifted to Peshawar by the hitmen to create confusion about the circumstances of his death. Police said that they had taken Prem Kumari into custody and will continue investigation. The Indian ministry of external affairs had issued a statement saying it condemned the killing of minority Sikh community member in Peshawar targeted. Sex Education actress Gillian Anderson has admitted she wouldn't watch the teen comedy drama with her children. The actress, 51, who plays sex therapist Dr Jean F. Milburn on the show, jokingly urged fans 'not to watch the Netflix hit with their parents' as she discussed the upcoming second series at Wednesday's premiere. It has also been reported that the launch episode - set to air on January 17 - will open with a whopping 15 solo sex scenes in the first three minutes. 'Don't watch it with your parents': Sex Education actress Gillian Anderson has admitted she wouldn't watch the teen comedy with her children (pictured at the premiere on Wednesday) On watching the show - which often sees her engage in one-night stands - with her children, she confessed: 'I have a 25-year-old daughter and I have never watched it with her, although she has watched it herself... don't watch it with your parents.' Screen star Gillian shares daughter Piper Maru with ex-husband Clyde Klotz, and two sons, Oscar, 13, and Felix, 11, with former businessman beau Mark Griffiths. She added to The Sun: 'We talk about the sex bits. But thats a lot different than sitting next to your child and watching it together. 'I am not sure any parents would want to watch this with their teenagers in the same room.' Racy: The actress, 51, plays sex therapist Dr Jean F. Milburn on the show, who often engages in one-night stands Upcoming: Fans were recently treated to a first look at the new series (Asa Butterfield and Patricia Allison as Otis and Ola on the show) According to the publication, the new series will kick off with main character Otis Milburn seen pleasuring himself multiple times. MailOnline has contacted Netflix representatives for further comment. Sex Education premiered on Netflix in January 2019 and the British comedy follows a socially awkward teen Otis (Asa Butterfield) who sets up a sex advice business with his ex Maeve (Emma Mackey) for his fellow students. Earlier this week, fans were treated to a first look at the new series, as Netflix released a trailer showing the cast getting steamier than ever. Awkward! 'I have a 25-year-old daughter and I have never watched it with her', she admitted (pictured with daughter Piper Mary in 2017) Otis and Ola (Patricia Allison) take centre stage in the teaser, with the teen coming to grips with his newly discovered sexual urges in order to progress with his new girlfriend. The pair get more than they bargained for when they are horrified to walk in on his mother (Gillian) and her father (Mikael Persbrandt) getting intimate with Otis' friend telling him: 'You've finally got a girlfriend and she's basically your sister'. The trailer opens with Otis' mother Jean, a sex therapist, addressing the entire student body of her son's school about sex, leaving him humiliated. Otis is then heard saying: 'It's a new year, no more clinic, no more drama', before it is revealed Moordale Secondary is in the throes of a chlamydia outbreak. The outbreak highlights the need for better sex education in the school at the same time as a group of new students arrive who challenge the status quo. While he appears eager to move things along in his relationship with Ola, Otis is also dealing with ex girlfriend Maeve, who faced being expelled at the end of the first series, while Eric has a new love interest in a French student that joins the school. The series is written and created by Laurie Nunn with season two directed by Ben Taylor, Alice Seabright and Sophie Goodhart. On same day US strike killed Soleimani in Iraq, a US air strike targeted an Iranian official in Yemen, officials say. The United States military tried, but failed, to kill another senior Iranian commander on the same day a US drone strike killed the Islamic Revolutionary Guards top general, Qassem Soleimani, US officials said Friday. The officials said a military air attack targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a high-ranking commander in Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), but the mission was not successful. The officials spoke to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a classified mission. The Pentagon declined to discuss the highly classified operation. We have seen the report of a January 2 air strike in Yemen, which is long understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States. The Department of Defense does not discuss alleged operations in the region, said Navy Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokesperson. The Washington Post first reported the development. The US Department of the Treasury said Shahlai was based in Yemen and accused him of a long history of targeting Americans and US allies globally, including killing US-led coalition forces in Iraq. It has offered a $15m reward in connection with him under its Rewards for Justice programme. The US has accused Shahlai of coordinating a failed 2011 plot to assassinate Saudi Arabias ambassador to the US at a cafe in an upscale neighbourhood of the US capital. Shahlai approved financial allotments to help recruit other individuals for the plot, approving $5m as payment for all of the operations discussed, the Treasury Department said. A US drone strike on January 3 killed Soleimani shortly after he landed at Baghdad International Airport. Trump administration officials have justified the killing as an act of self-defence, saying Soleimani was planning military acts that threatened large numbers of US military and diplomatic officials in the Middle East. Iran, however, called the attack an act of terrorism, and on Wednesday launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house US and coalition forces. No one was killed in that retaliation. The unsuccessful operation against Shahlai may indicate that the Trump administrations killing of Soleimani last week was part of a broader operation than previously explained, raising questions about whether the mission was designed to cripple the leadership of the IRGC or solely to prevent an imminent attack on Americans as originally stated. The Trump administration has been under fire by Democrats and two Republicans in Congress over its decision to order the drone strike that killed Soleimani. In an interview that aired on Fox News on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that the US did not know precisely when or where the imminent attacks allegedly being planned by Soleimani would take place, but said the threat was real. Trump on Friday said Iran probably had targeted the US embassy in Baghdad and was aiming to attack four US embassies. We will tell you probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad, Trump said in a clip of an interview on Fox News. I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies. US military operations in Yemen, where a civil war has created the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, are shrouded in secrecy. US officials said the operation against Shahlai remains highly classified, and many declined to offer details other than to say it was not successful. WASHINGTON (JTA)-The black-Jewish coalition that has fought for civil rights since the 1960s has the city of Atlanta as its nexus. Folks there cite three reasons for this: a substantial African-American population, a relatively large Jewish community and John Lewis. Lewis, 79, the longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia who announced Sunday that he was suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer, has been close to Jewish groups for decades. And that longstanding relationship was on full display with the reactions from Jewish groups to the Lewis announcement. "Representative Lewis has been a fighter his entire life, from the dirt-poor farm he grew up on in Alabama, to the long struggle for civil rights and the promise of America for all its inhabitants, to his distinguished service as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 32 years," the American Jewish Committee said in a statement Sunday. Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League's CEO, called Lewis "our nation's moral compass" and said he has "set the standard for righteous pursuit of justice and what is right." "This is not an exaggeration: Mr. Lewis has transformed our country through his struggle and leadership," Greenblatt wrote in an email to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a Jewish congressman representing a black-majority district in and around Memphis, in a statement called Lewis "a heroic voice of conscience in an era of lessening values. He is America's saint." Other Jewish lawmakers praising Lewis included Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and the minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. Lewis has sought Jews as partners since his days helping to organize the 1963 March on Washington. He and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel were among the leaders of the 1965 March on Selma, and a photo of the two men forming a vanguard with 10 others-including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.-has become iconic. In 2012, speaking at an AJC event at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Lewis showed impatience with the schism that had developed between blacks and Jews in subsequent decades over issues like affirmative action and Israel. "If we know each other and understand each other, there would not be a schism," Lewis said. The AJC was the Jewish organization to which Lewis was the closest. Under its aegis Lewis, then an Atlanta city councilor, co-founded the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition in 1982. This year, he gave his blessing to and served as co-chairman of the Congressional Black-Jewish Caucus, which also is an AJC initiative. Lewis is backing Jon Ossoff, a Jewish U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia hoping to unseat the incumbent Republican, David Perdue, in 2020. His status as a near martyr of the civil rights movement-police savagely beat him in 1965 in Selma-has elevated Lewis to that increasingly rare creature: a politician beloved on both sides of the aisle. Kellyanne Conway, the often acerbic aide to President Donald Trump, said on Twitter: "Prayers and comfort for a courageous and timeless civil rights hero." Earlier this month, Sen. Johnny Isakson, the Georgia Republican who announced that he was quitting Congress because of Parkinson's disease, crossed to the House chamber to hear Lewis deliver a tribute. Lewis ended his paean to his colleague by crossing the aisle and embracing him closely, choking up some Republicans in the chamber. Jewish groups over the years have rallied to Lewis's causes-and to his defense. The Reform movement, the AJC and the ADL have joined Lewis in making protections for voting rights for minorities a top priority. And in 2017, when Trump attacked Lewis on Twitter as "all talk and no action" after Lewis questioned the legitimacy of his election, all three shot back at the president. "Wrong! His life has been all action & results. He changed US history," the AJC said. Lewis's legitimacy among Jewish groups has made it hard for them to ignore his criticism. Lewis lent his sponsorship this year to a resolution opposing laws that penalize Israel boycotters-measures supported by both the AJC and the ADL. Lewis did so not because he embraces the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement-he rejects it-but because boycotts were at the heart of the civil rights movement and he sees them as embodying speech freedoms. In 2015, Lewis was a spokesman for African-American lawmakers who boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress in which Netanyahu vigorously opposed President Barack Obama's efforts to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. The lawmakers saw the speech as a slight against the first black president by then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "I am saddened that the speaker would threaten this historic position, bipartisan support of our Israeli brothers and sisters, by this action," Lewis said. A statement from Lewis's office on Monday said the congressman would continue to serve in the House while he undergoes treatment. Doctors have given him a "fighting chance," the statement said. "I have been in some kind of fight-for freedom, equality, basic human rights-for nearly my entire life," Lewis said. "I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now." To receive Steve Gutterman's Week In Russia each week via e-mail, subscribe by clicking here. Despite Russias bad reviews of the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani -- it was a crude violation of international law, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to a statement -- there is clearly a potential upside for the Kremlin in the spike in tension between the United States and Iran. President Vladimir Putin could use the situation to try to accentuate divisions in the West, bolster Moscows clout in the Middle East, and grab for a role he has shown eagerness to play despite saber-rattling remarks about Russian weapons and despite his countrys now-substantial involvement in wars abroad under his rule: that of the peacemaker. Putin, in fact, quickly went about pursuing those aims: He voiced concern in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, and flew into Damascus on Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve for his first known visit to the Syrian capital since the war there began nearly nine years ago. At his side, in uniform, was Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu -- a symbol of Moscows boots on the ground in Syria, where it has backed President Bashar al-Assad throughout the conflict, and its bigger-than-before presence in the Middle East. At a meeting two days later, Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- whose countries are on opposite sides in Syria -- criticized the U.S. assassination of Soleimani and cast themselves as calm, clear-minded supporters of peace in a joint statement. While Russia has propped Assad up with a campaign of air strikes against his opponents since 2015, the statement said that in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran the use of force by any side is a bad idea and that foreign countries should not intervene in intercommunal conflicts. Rewards And Risks But along with the opportunities both for geopolitical point-scoring, the potential escalation also poses risks for Russia. It threatens to take the Kremlin out of its comfort zone, and points to the limits of a foreign policy that often relies on leveraging as much clout as possible while ceding dominance to others. In Syria, where Russia and Iran have intervened to support Assad in the nearly nine-year war and plucked him from what seemed like the jaws of defeat, Moscow benefits from a distracted Iran as well as a distracted United States, Jeffrey Mankoff, a senior fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank, wrote in an article published on January 6. But if the Soleimani assassination does accelerate the drift toward war between the United States and Iran, then Russias calculation changes, Mankoff wrote. Russia absolutely does not want another large-scale war in the Middle East, particularly one that could destabilize Iran, a country of over 80 million people that borders states in the Caucasus and Central Asia that Russia considers part of its sphere of privileged interests. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados during 1994-2008, will be the next Chairman of regional airline LIAT, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has revealed. Arthur replaces Dr Jean Holder, also from Barbados, who resigned last year. "You would recognise there will be a new chairman, in fact former prime minister of Barbados Owen Arthur, he will take over as the new chairman of LIAT, the prime minister announced. He said Arthur is the right man for the job, given his history of fighting for LIAT. "And I have to tell you I dont think there could be any better candidate, Browne said. He added that "Owen Arthur would have spent a large amount of his prime ministerial equity ensuring the survival of LIAT, and now that it is at the crossroads again, I think that Owen is the right person to lead LIAT out of these difficulties. Browne said there will be personnel and other changes, but did not go into detail. "We have come to a consensus on the way forward, so a lot of the differences that existed weve been able to resolve them and I believe LIAT has a very bright future ahead of it, the prime minister reported. He also said LIAT will be capitalised with the US$ 15 million loan Antigua obtained from the ALBA Bank as well as $5 million from Dominica "and the others will put in a few millions. He said the plan is to raise between 20-30 million dollars to recapitalise the airline. Meanwhile, the head of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA), Captain Patterson Thompson, has welcomed the appointment of former Barbados Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, as the new Chairman of the financially-strapped airline, but says he also wants him to pay more attention to the unions representing workers. "I hope he will give all the unions a fair hearing, listen to them and understand the issues, from both sides, said Thompson. "There are always three sides to any story. So he has to hear all three sides and, I hope, former Prime Minister Arthur does that, Thompson told listeners to Observer Radio, Antigua, saying his organisation has not been officially made aware of Arthurs appointment to the post. (Source: Pride Magazine, Barbados Today) DES PLAINES, Ill., Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alan Haskins, vice president of government affairs for the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), issued the following statement regarding Senate Bill 23 which would close a loophole related to unlawful entry of vehicles. "This bill will help protect the public by ensuring those who break into vehicles are subject to the consequences. Almost always, those who forcibly enter vehicles without the permission of the owner are doing so to steal items left inside and sometimes the vehicle itself. Thieves may also use personal papers left inside to commit identity theft. "Property stolen from vehicles can cost consumers thousands of dollars and this bill could deter thieves if they know they could potentially face a felony. Right now, if you steal items from within a vehicle, the owner must prove the doors were locked for it to count as a felony burglary. "We continue to remain optimistic legislators will take this issue seriously and close the loophole to protect consumers." REPORT FRAUD: Anyone with information concerning insurance fraud or vehicle theft can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 800.TEL.NICB (800.835.6422)or submitting a form on our website. ABOUT THE NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU: Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, learning and development, government affairs and public affairs. The NICB is supported by more than 1,300 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $496 billion in insurance premiums in 2018, or more than 81 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 92 percent ($254 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org. Get the latest on our social pages: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Snapchat Blog SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau Related Links http://www.nicb.org BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend: The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified bird flu of high pathogenicity in Polands Lublinsk and Velikopolsk administrative provinces, Trend reports via Azerbaijans Food Safety Agency. A decision was made to temporarily suspend the import of live poultry and poultry products from the administrative territories of Poland, where bird flu of high pathogenicity was registered. Also, to strengthen control measures, an appeal was made to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan due to the disinfection of vehicles at customs checkpoints arriving to the country from Poland, or passing through these territories, the agency said. Kieni MP Kanini Kega has spoken for the first time following his public tiff with DP Ruto when he delivered Sh500,000 at the funeral of Mathira MP Rigathi Gachaguas mother on behalf of President Uhuru. During the funeral, the MP appeared to have ruffled DP Rutos feather after he purported to be speaking for the president whom he claimed had sent him with the money. In his speech, DP Ruto said: You all know that there is only one person in Kenya who was sworn in to deputise the President. And I will do that very diligently. Everybody should do their job. Let us respect each other. If you are working in a hospital do that. If you are a watchman or MCA do your job. Let us respect each other, the DP added. Speaking Wednesday, Kanini Kega said he was shocked by DP Rutos harsh reaction. I was shocked. The President talks to many people. I am an elected leader and his (Uhurus) friend. In fact, I should be congratulated that I delivered the money, he told reporters. He wondered why he was chastised yet he delivered the money which included Sh100,000 from his pocket. He (Ruto) was not the one who was bereaved. I gave the money to the bereaved family. I delivered what I was given to the last coin. There are those who are sent and dont deliver the messages. I am an honest man who delivered a message in broad daylight, Kega said on phone. He added: I am not in Tangatanga or Kieleweke. At the funeral, my demeanour was good. I was not abrasive or aggressive. I dont know where the harsh reaction emanated from. My critics should be asking why I was sent. While receiving Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Sanae Takaichi in Hanoi on January 9, PM Phuc said the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership is developing comprehensively while their political trust has been enhanced in many aspects. Japan has remained an important economic partner, the biggest provider of official development assistance (ODA), the second biggest foreign investor and the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam, he stressed. The PM thanked Japan for its provision of ODA in almost 30 years, which, he said, has contributed remarkably to Vietnams socio-economic development, hunger elimination, poverty reduction and infrastructure development. In order to boost the bilateral extensive strategic partnership in the coming time, PM Phuc proposed Japan continue to assist the Vietnamese Government in reforming and improving efficiency of the administrative apparatus, building an e-government towards a digital government, digital economy and digital society and effectively implementing state management projects on information and communications. Takaichi said the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications have signed a cooperation agreement, opening up a new page for partnership in the fields of post, information and communications. Japan stands ready to cooperate and share experience with Vietnam in developing cyber security and apply information technology (IT) in statistical activities, she said. Japanese enterprises can contribute to the development of IT and take part in IT expos in Vietnam, the minister said. The two countries should cooperate in administrative consultation and settlement of administrative procedures to protect legitimate rights of Vietnamese citizens in Japan and Japanese nationals in Vietnam, Takaichi added. On this occasion, PM Phuc and Minister Takaichi witnessed the signing of a diplomatic note of exchange between the two governments on the provision of hardware of the government report information system by Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Kunio Umeda and Minister, Chairman of the Vietnamese Government Office Mai Tien Dung. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 20:15:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China will accelerate the implementation of green manufacturing projects and step up supervision and inspection on industrial energy conservation in 2020, an official said Friday. Since 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has inspected over 20,000 high energy-consuming companies, achieving the full coverage of 19 industries, Vice Minister of MIIT Xin Guobin said at a teleconference on industrial energy conservation inspections. Thanks to the tightened supervision, the market has seen the promotion and application of more efficient energy conservation technologies and equipment and lower energy consumption in industrial firms, according to Xin. Major industrial enterprises saw their energy consumption fall 15.6 percent on average from 2016 to 2019, according to official estimates. Xin said the ministry will take more measures to reduce the resource and energy consumption as part of the efforts to advance high-quality industrial development. WASHINGTON House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the House will send articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate next week, paving the way for a trial to begin. Pelosi sent a letter to fellow lawmakers announcing she asked the Judiciary Committee to draft a resolution for floor debate next week that would name the House managers, who will serve as prosecutors in a Senate trial. She said she would consult with the rank-and-file Democrats on Tuesday about how to proceed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he plans to move quickly to begin a trial once he receives the articles from the House. Pelosi has delayed sending the articles, which accuse Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, saying she wanted to learn more about how the Senate would conduct its trial before naming the lawmakers to serve as managers. She has said the Senate arena could help determine which lawmakers and how many to assign as managers. Garnering the votes to remove Trump appears unlikely in the Senate, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 53 to 47. Removal from office would require a two-thirds vote of the senators. Pelosis announcement ends a nearly month-long standoff between her and McConnell. Both leaders appeared to dig in their heels further over the last week as Pelosi demanded more information about the Senate trial and McConnell adamantly refused to release a resolution that would outline the proceedings. "Leader McConnell's tactics are a clear indication of the fear that he and President Trump have regarding the facts of the President's violations for which he was impeached," Pelosi said in her letter. Republicans were quick to categorize Pelosis announcement as a loss for Democrats, pointing out that just one day earlier, the speaker told reporters she wanted more information about the trial before transmitting articles to the upper chamber. Pelosi lost. Again, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Twitter. She's caving and sending her Articles of Impeachment to the Senate without getting a single one of her absurd demands because her own party got fed up with her games. Story continues Democrats, meanwhile, detailed the gains Pelosi made by delaying the articles, including forcing senators to face questions about witnesses and allowing time for a series of reports to raise new questions about the Trump administrations conduct with Ukraine. Former national security adviser John Bolton, who declined an invitation to testify in the House inquiry, said Monday he would testify under subpoena in the Senate trial. "The Senate does not appear to have a fair, open trial like as the Constitution requires, with swearing to be impartial, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. Laurence Tribe, a Constitutional law professor at Harvard who has consulted with House Democrats in their impeachment inquiry, said Pelosi achieved a great deal by waiting. McConnells game has been exposed, Bolton has invited a subpoena, more damning evidence has surfaced, he said. The readiness is all. But Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Pelosi's delay threw the Senate's schedule into chaos and that the trial would delay consideration of a trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. Speaker Pelosi threw the United States Congress into unnecessary chaos with this pointless delay," Grassley said. "Weve had three needless weeks of uncertainty and confusion, causing even more division." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., answers questions from reporters as she leaves the House chamber on Jan. 10, 2020. Pelosi asked Friday for Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., to draft a resolution naming the managers and transmit the articles to the Senate. The House already laid the groundwork for floor debate on the resolution authorizing and appointing the impeachment managers, as part of the rule for debating the articles of impeachment that were approved Dec. 18. That rule said the resolution could come to the floor at any time for 10 minutes of debate. The House accused Trump of abusing the power of his office by asking Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, withholding a White House meeting and $391 million in military aid. The House also accused Trump of obstructing Congress by directing aides and agencies to defy subpoenas for documents and testimony, although some officials did testify. Trump and congressional Republicans have argued he had the authority to set foreign policy and was justified in fighting corruption in Ukraine. Trump has said he expects to be exonerated in the Senate trial. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nancy Pelosi says House will send Trump impeachment articles next week Agua Bendita pursues the US. The Colombian company is taking its swimsuit wear to the United States at a fast pace and has openeda new point of sale at the Sawgrass Mills shopping mall, located in Florida. This opening takes place less than two months after the company opened a new point of sale located in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. The United States is currently one of our priorities, Catalina Alvarez, the co-founder of the brand told Mds in 2015 and by 2017 they started their conquest with their first store in the El Doral. The companys expansion plan is not limited to America, according to the companys chief executive officer, Esteban Gonzalez. Agua Bendita also contemplates to enter into new markets, such as Germany, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Agua Bendita operates with 14 stores in Florida through multi-brand Sawgrass Mills is owned by Simon Property Group. The mall has a commercial network of 350 stores which include brands such as Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Gap, Saks Fifth Avenue, among others. Agua Bendita founded in 2003 by Mariana Hinestroza and Catalina Alvarez has marked its path of its internationalization through its own stores and franchises, as well as multi-brand and department stores. Currently, the Colombian company is present in more than 54 countries such as the United States, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister Samantha claims she is selfishly dividing the royal family just like she broke apart her own. Prince Harry and Meghan announced on Wednesday they were quitting as senior royals and would split their time between Britain and North America. The decision caused turmoil among the royal family as even The Queen was not notified of the announcement until it was reported on TV. Prince Harry and Meghan announced on Wednesday they were quitting as senior royals and would split their time between Britain and North America Meghan fled back to Canada and Harry is locked in crisis talks with Her Majesty and his father Prince Charles. Samantha has been a frequent critic of her half-sister since before her wedding in 2018, to which she was not invited and their father Thomas didn't attend, and now claims to be vindicated. 'We all felt very ghosted... and I said if she'll do this to our family, she'll do this to yours,' she said on Sunrise on Friday. 'The world mocked me and [said] I was jealous and bitter but I was just being very honest and saying, I love her, she's my sister, but humanitarians and diplomats don't behave like this.' Samantha Markle said she saw division forming through reports about a rift between Harry and his brother Prince William caused by Meghan, and that she was selfish to not to repair it. Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister Samantha claims she is selfishly dividing the royal family just like she broke apart her own Samantha has been a frequent critic of her half-sister since before her wedding in 2018, to which she was not invited and their father Thomas didn't attend, and now claims to be vindicated The bitter half-sister, who was investigated by American police for allegedly cyber bullying Meghan, claims the couple were effectively taking money from the royal family and leaving. 'It's really insulting and I think quite hurtful and I'm shocked that this is happening to the British royal family,' she said. 'I can say I told you so... but it's hurtful for our family to see this. It's unconscionable, I don't understand how she could have allowed this to happen with no remorse.' Samantha Markle said Harry and Meghan's claims of wanting privacy, 'financial independence' and to step back from the spotlight as hypocritical. 'I think she knew very clearly what she was getting herself into,' she said. 'You don't go on the red carpet to celebrity gatherings and at the same time say you want your privacy. 'It seems as though she's enjoying the attention, so I don't agree that suddenly they want to go off and be private.' Samantha Markle claimed the couple were happy to be in spotlight when people were saying nice things about them, but then demand privacy when criticised. 'It's dodging a lot of responsibility. They're adults, they knew what they were getting themselves into and they made choices,' she said. Ndudi Elumelu, minority leader of the house of representatives, has described the proposed increase of electricity tariff in the country as unacceptable. Following the announcement by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of a review of the multi-year tariff order (MYTO) 2015 and the minimum remittance order (MRO), electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have said that they will increase their tariffs from April 11th. However, in a statement by Elumelu on Thursday, he asked NERC to end all contemplation in that direction. The minority leader said an increase in electricity tariff would further aggravate the economic situation in the country. Read Also: Its A Slight Increment: Electricity DisCos Speak On New Tariff He said, Nigerians are currently passing through grave economic stress and anything that would aggravate the situation such as an increase in electricity tariff is completely unacceptable. Electricity is pivotal to the economic and social lives of Nigerians and NERC should rather seek ways of making power affordable and available to Nigerians, in line with its establishment laws, instead of increase in tariff. Subsea Integration Alliance awarded contract offshore Senegal Luxembourg 10 January 2020 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Brs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announced today the award of a very large(1) contract by Woodside(2) to Subsea Integration Alliance(3) for the Sangomar Field Development Phase-1 project located in the Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Offshore Deep oil blocks, offshore Senegal. This contract was initially awarded in December 2018 subject to final investment decision, which has now occurred. The project work scope covers the engineering, procurement, construction, transportation and installation of the SURF system and associated subsea production systems (SPS). The development will include 23 wells, 107 km of rigid flowlines, 28 km of flexible risers and jumpers, and 45 km of umbilicals in water depths between 700 metres and 1400 metres. Offshore activities will take place from 2021 to 2023 using Subsea 7s reel-lay, flex-lay and light construction vessels. The Subsea Integration Alliance team established during the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase will now transition into the full EPIC phase based at Subsea 7 Global Projects Centre (GPC) in Sutton, UK. SURF engineering will be performed by Subsea 7 GPC centres in Sutton and Suresnes, France. A base in Senegal will support the offshore campaign and conduct site receipt testing and equipment storage. Gilles Lafaye, Subsea 7s Vice President Africa Region, said: We are delighted to expand our operations to Senegal adding to our network of local presences in West Africa. Subsea 7 brings decades of experience in working safely and reliably in the region as well as bringing global engineering and execution capabilities to support Senegal as it increases energy production. Stuart Fitzgerald, Deputy CEO of Subsea Integration Alliance LLC said: Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, through our Subsea Integration Alliance, have been working closely with Woodside since before the FEED award. This award reflects our successful experience of previous projects delivered by the Alliance and a strong relationship built over many years with Woodside. (1) Subsea 7 defines a very large contract as being between USD 500 million and USD 750 million. This value range refers to Subsea 7s share of the consortium contract and will be included in Subsea 7s order intake for the first quarter 2020. (2) Woodside is Operator of the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) joint venture comprising Capricorn Senegal Limited (a subsidiary of Cairn Energy PLC), Woodside Energy (Senegal) B.V., FAR Ltd and Petrosen (the Senegal National Oil Company). (3) Subsea Integration Alliance is a non-incorporated strategic global alliance between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, the subsea technologies, production and processing systems division of Schlumberger, bringing together field development planning, project delivery and total lifecycle solutions under an extensive technology and services portfolio. As one team, Subsea Integration Alliance amplifies subsea performance by helping customers to define, select, install and operate the smartest subsea projects, that eliminate costly revisions, delays and reduces risk across the life of field. ************************************************************************* Subsea 7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industrys partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs. Subsea 7 is listed on the Oslo Bors (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62. ************************************************************************* Contact for investment community enquiries: Katherine Tonks Investor Relations Director Tel +44 20 8210 5568 katherine.tonks@Subsea7.com www.subsea7.com Contact for media enquiries: Hariom Cavalcante Communications and CSR Manager Tel +33 (0)6 85 07 48 01 hariom.cavalcante@subsea7.com Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made in this announcement may include forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of words like anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, may, might, plan, predict, project, scheduled, seek, should, will, and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements reflect our current views and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The principal risks and uncertainties which could impact the Group and the factors which could affect the actual results are described but not limited to those in the Risk Management section in the Groups Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements 2017. These factors, and others which are discussed in our public announcements, are among those that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements: actions by regulatory authorities or other third parties; our ability to recover costs on significant projects; the general economic conditions and competition in the markets and businesses in which we operate; our relationship with significant clients; the outcome of legal and administrative proceedings or governmental enquiries; uncertainties inherent in operating internationally; the timely delivery of vessels on order; the impact of laws and regulations; and operating hazards, including spills and environmental damage. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could also have material adverse effects on our future results. Given these factors, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Attachment Albuquerques economy is now on an upward trajectory, and the Economic Development Department (EDD) is working to ensure residents and businesses participate in the success. Under Mayor Tim Kellers leadership, for the first time since 2008, we passed pre-recession peaks for total employment. Jobs are growing, workers have access to training, and businesses are staying open and in Albuquerque. We arent making the next Denver or Austin; we are building something uniquely local in measurable ways. More than 1,300 high-quality jobs were created this year through the mayor and City Councils Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) projects and three Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) projects. NBCUniversal is bringing 330 full-time jobs and $500 million in film and television production, an economic impact of $1.1 billion over 10 years. Jabil Inc. chose Albuquerque for a 3D printing center of excellence, building our tech hub assets, and investing nearly $42 million in new technology and equipment to create 120 jobs. And with a final vote from our City Council, clean-tech engineering company Kairos Power will invest up to $125 million, creating over 65 jobs with average salaries of at least $100,000. Weve committed $4.35 million in LEDA funds for these projects in partnership with the state. And, were using IRBs to revitalize key areas. Arrive Hotels & Restaurants will invest $22 million rehabilitating the iconic 1960s-era Hotel Blue at Central and Eighth, creating 75 jobs. Dozens of public-private partnerships are funding construction from Central and Unser up to the Northeast Heights, including Nuevo Atrisco, Elevate, Zocalo, The Rail Yards, The Highlands Marriott Spring Hill Suites, Broadstone Nob Hill and the historic De Anza Motor Inn. As we recover from the recession, private development is taking off at Saw Mill Market, Hilton Inn + Homewood Suites, Presbyterian Downtown and UNM Health Sciences Center just a sampling of the growth around the city. In recruiting new business, EDD is capitalizing on unique assets and existing industries where we are competitive, like film and technology. Establishing Albuquerque as a film and tech hub created quality economic base jobs and opportunity for residents and small businesses alike while laying a foundation to attract other companies which, in turn, create even more jobs. Six new initiatives led or supported by EDD in 2019 to close the opportunity gap are already having an impact. Each targets a specific demographic with business support and training tailored to specific needs and challenges. Job Training Albuquerque, a CNM partnership, provides skills to meet workforce needs, including support for artisans, supervisor skills, digital marketing, cyber security, accounting and finance, operations management, project management and more. The Small Business Office provides assistance to small businesses navigating city processes like permitting, licensing and contracting. Between September and the end of 2019 it already worked with more than 30 businesses. The Southeast Albuquerque Success Center, a community-led facility, provides high-skill job training, certificate programs and, ultimately, career pathways to underserved, impoverished or minority residents, particularly Native Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans. The International District Economic Development Center serves as a business incubator, assisting and connecting businesses in the historically underserved International District with resources and opportunities. A Cultivating Coders partnership funds free, project-based digital skill training to underserved communities. And the African American Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, established with $40,000 from the city, promotes the growth of black-owned businesses, leadership development, entrepreneurial excellence and mentorship. There is still much work ahead, to be sure. But with our focus on homegrown entrepreneurs, public-private partnership, progress in sectors where we know we have a competitive advantage, and investment in underserved communities, were turning the tide in our city. Billionaire Tom Steyer slipped in under the deadline for the next Democratic primary debate to qualify for the stage - after he spent $24.5 million on ads in Nevada and South Carolina. Steyer came in at double digits in polls of Nevada and South Carolina voters released Thursday night - a boost that came after his spending spree in the early voting states. The poll numbers were high enough to make Steyer the sixth candidate to qualify for the debate in Des Moines, Iowa next Tuesday. Deadline to make the debate is Friday night. Billionaire Tom Steyer slipped in under the deadline for the next Democratic debate to qualify for the stage Andrew Yang is the only one of the Democrats who made the last primary debate not to qualify for next week's 'This campaign is not about me. It's about the hard-working Americans who want clean air and water, a just economy, and a Washington that works for them. That's who I'll be talking about Tuesday night and who I'll be fighting for every single day in the White House,' he tweeted. Ad Spending Nevada Tom Steyer: $10.4 million Donald Trump: $859,000 Bernie Sanders: $147,000 Pete Buttigieg: $83,000 South Carolina Tom Steyer: $14.1 million Pete Buttigieg: $1 million Michael Bloomberg: $829,000 Donald Trump: $549,000 SOURCE: Advertising Analytics Advertisement Steyer, who also made the last debate, hit the 12 per cent mark in the Nevada and 15 per cent in the South Carolina one, both released by Fox News Thursday night. Steyer has bombarded the airwaves in both states, spending $10.4 million in Nevada and $14.1 million in South Carolina, according to Advertising Analytics. He has spent more than $115 million on his campaign so far. Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren also qualified for the debate, which is scheduled for January 14 but could be moved if President Donald Trump's impeachment trial begins in the Senate next week. Andrew Yang is the only candidate who made last month's debate in Los Angeles who has not qualified for next week's. Candidates need at least 5 percent in four pre-approved national polls between Nov. 14 and Jan. 10, or at least 7 percent in two polls in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada to qualify. The contenders also needed donations from at least 225,000 unique donors nationally, and a minimum of 1,000 unique donors in at least 20 states. Candidates have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to qualify. Yang has complained about the lack of polling leading up to next week's debate. The qualifying period took place over the holidays when pollsters do very little activity. Yang, who made the stage for the last debate, has only hit the qualifying marker in one poll and Cory Booker has not hit them in any poll. Both candidates have met the donor thresh hold. Additionally, Yang was the only minority candidate on December's debate stage in Los Angeles. The six contenders who qualified for next week's debate are all white. Michael Bloomberg has hit the polling thresh hold but is self-funding his campaign so will not make any debate stage under the current qualifications as he's accepting no donations. Andrew Yang has asked the Democratic National Committee to consider more polls for the debate qualifications The Democratic National Committee sets the qualifications and has shown no indication they will amend them - despite a plea from Yang for more polls to be conducted and a request from Booker to return to the early requirement that candidates meet either the donor thresh hold or the polling mark but not both. Yang pointed out the lack of qualifying polls for a candidate to prove their debate credentials. 'There has not been a poll in Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina or right where I am now in New Hampshire that satisfies the DNC in almost a month and a half. So all we want is for there to be polls so that we could show we would easily qualify by the DNC's own thresh hold. We're well over the donation thresh hold,' Yang told CNN's 'New Day' last Tuesday. 'All we need is there for to be some polls in the field.' Only five candidates - Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar - will be on stage January 14 debate in Des Moines He added he was fine with the thresh holds the party set but wanted there to be enough polling to give candidates a chance to meet the thresh hold. 'We don't have a problem with the DNC setting thresh holds as long as there are actually polls so candidates can meet those thresh holds. I want you to put yourself in the shoes of one of the almost 400,000 donors that have fueled this campaign and then there aren't any polls to even see whether our support has been growing over the past 45 days. That's not fair to the voter and the DNC should try to make the voice of the American people and not pushing it aside,' he said. But Yang did not meet the required debate thresh hold in either Fox News polls released Thursday night. He received 2 per cent in South Carolina and 4 per cent in Nevada. Aro Biotherapeutics Co. says it has signed a pact to develop drugs with Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. that could bring as much as $1.4 billion in cash, licensing, milestone, and royalty payments to Philadelphia-based Aro if it meets research, development, and market targets over the next several years. Ionis, a highly profitable Carlsbad, Calif.-based company, already has a broad pipeline of potentially transformational medicines, but Aro adds an even broader array of disease areas, said C. Frank Bennett, Ionis chief scientific officer. The investment reinforces the vitality of the biotech community here in Philadelphia, said Aro chief executive Susan Dillon. It shows the quality of the work and the talent of the teams that are here in Philadelphia, that we can attract partnerships with such major industry giants. She said Aro has other deals in the works. Aro was formed by Dillon and chief science officer Karyn ONeil to use technology that ONeils team developed at Johnson & Johnsons Janssen division in commercial drugs. Investors led by J&Js venture capital arm and BioMotiv LLC of Cleveland pumped $13 million in Aro in late 2018, enabling the firm to move from start-up offices at the Pennovation Center on Grays Ferry Avenue to larger lab and office space at Cambridge Innovation Centers Biolabs at 3675 Market St. in the University City Science Center and to hire a staff of veteran drug scientists that now totals 15. Aro holds licenses for J&Js Centyrin technology, used to build stable proteins produced in human E. coli gut bacteria that the founders say can be efficiently attached to Ionis medicines and directed to fight cancerous tumors, genetic diseases, and undruggable conditions. Dillon, a Thomas Jefferson University-trained immunologist, was a global therapeutic area head for immunology at Janssen. ONeil, a Penn-trained protein engineer, was director of antibody discovery and venture leader at Janssens Centyrex unit and is coinventor on the Centyrin patents. We are both scientists at our core, said Dillon in an interview. We were super excited that J&J supported us to get out there and see if we could attract additional investors and do the research that is required to translate the research to bring these molecules into drugs. Ionis calls itself the leading company in the development of medical therapies based on ribonucleic acid (RNA), which tells cells which enzymes to produce. RNA-based therapies are adaptable to fighting both genetic and acquired diseases. But RNA is also fragile. Aro makes proteins that, combined with RNA treatments, make it easier to deliver those treatments to hard-to-reach parts of the body. One of the challenges in the whole field of antisense medicines is getting those drugs to the tissues where the disease is, Dillon said. Other technologies deliver RNA-based treatments to fight liver diseases. Ionis Spinraza is administered by a pump into the cerebral-spinal fluid. By contrast, Aros therapies could be directed more remotely, and more efficiently, to engage tumors and other cells they were specifically designed to match. Aro will continue to develop its own medicines outside the Ionis partnership, Dillon added. Ionis has become a profitable company, collecting after-tax earnings of $430 million on sales of $821 million last year, thanks in part to sales of its Spinraza product, licensed by Biogen, to fight genetic spinal muscular atrophy. Its stock market value has lately topped $9 billion, the highest since its founding in 1989 by Stanley Crooke, a former research chief at Philadelphia-based SmithKline, now part of British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline. Ionis shares closed Thusday at $63.27, up 83 cents, or 1.33%. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 07:19:49|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close A visitor experiences a 5G smart phone at the booth of Huawei at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the United States, Jan. 7, 2020. The annual tech show, which runs from Tuesday to Friday, drew more than 4,500 exhibitors from over 160 countries and regions. Nearly 20,000 new transformative tech products are on show, encompassing 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart cities and resilience, sports, robotics and more. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Global leading radar company, Vayyar Imaging, unveiled new 4D home sensor at the ongoing 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The new sensor requires no wearables or buttons and works without the use of any camera. Its new features include detecting falls, identifying intruders and sending an alarm in case an anomaly is detected. Vayyar's intelligent sensors could monitor location, posture as well as vital signs, enabling behavioral monitoring such as time spent at rest, in and out of bed, nocturnal roaming, and restroom visits, Raviv Melamed, CEO and co-founder of Vayyar, told Xinhua. "With the new sensor, we can turn any room into a smart room, caring for people, especially the elderly, without violating their privacy through cameras. It is like living with a doctor and a security guard rolled into one," he said. Once placed on the wall, the sensor automatically scans the environment monitoring health and safety, he said. Information can be displayed on a real-time dashboard tracking activity throughout a facility, providing simultaneous visibility of location, activity levels and vital signs for multiple people. Melamed told Xinhua the company is seeking more cooperation with Chinese partners in the technologies of elderly care, automotive driving and medical treatment such as cancer detection. Vayyar also launched the world's first full 60GHz high-performance, high-resolution, low-cost automotive-grade radar on a chip at this year's CES. The annual tech show, which runs from Tuesday to Friday, drew more than 4,500 exhibitors from over 160 countries. Nearly 20,000 new transformative tech products are on show, encompassing 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart cities and resilience, sports, robotics and more. The Madras High court on Friday directed the Tamil Nadu Government to file a counter to a plea filed by Tamil orator Nellai Kannanseeking quashing of the FIR registered against him for alleged provocative remarks against the Prime Minister and Home minister. Justice Jagadeesh Chandra posted the case for hearing on January 20,after the government Advocate strongly objected to the petition seeking quashing of the case. In his plea, Kannan alleged that police filed the FIR without conducting any preliminary investigation as mandated by the Supreme Court. He claimed that the case was entirely misconceived as he was using a colloquial term in his speech and it was not his intention to hurt any community or religious group but only to voice for the aggrieved sections. Kannan made the alleged remarks at an event organised by the Social Democratic Party of India on December 28. He was arrested on January 1 and produced before a court the next day which remanded him to judicial custody for 12 days. The BJP had lodged a police complaint seeking his arrest and prosecution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Ukrainian airliner, a Boeing 737-800, went down in Iran on Wednesday morning, killing at least 176 people. American officials believe that the Iranians brought down the airliner by mistake, with two missiles fired from an Iranian air defense system, the SA-15. Here are some of the most prominent passenger jets to be shot down whether accidentally or, in some cases, deliberately: Entries are invited from Gibraltar residents attending years 9 to 13 in local schools or local artists aged up to 24 for the Annual Art Competition for Young Artists. The closing date is 6pm on 14 February. Entries must be original and previously unshown, and can be handed in at John Mackintosh Hall from 12 February. Three local theater troupes are quickly rolling out productions this early week of 2020, one a poignant play that inspired a Hollywood hit movie with Katharine Hepburn, another a musical romp through the 1970s and the third a production of a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical. The latter production is not Hamilton, of course, but In the Heights, a story of a vibrant community in New Yorks Washington Heights neighborhood staged in Wallingford by Square Foot Theatre at its performance space on Yale Avenue from Wednesday, Jan. 15, through Jan. 19. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Hispanic-American neighborhood in New York City. Farther north, Connecticut Cabaret Theatres 8-Track The Sounds of the 70s (A Streakin New Musical) is running Fridays and Saturdays from Jan. 10-Feb. 8 at CCT on Webster Square Road in Berlin. Conceived by Rick Seeber and directed by CCT owner/director Kris McMurray, the show will feature leisure suits, halter tops and platform shoes as cast members Jayson Beaulieu, Dan Frye, Emily Gray and Erica Whitfield cover songs by The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Marvin Gaye, The Doobie Brothers, Bee Gees and KC and the Sunshine Band. Also promised are some laughs; but you knew that when we said leisure suits. On Golden Pond will take place Wednesday through Sunday, Jan. 15-19, in the very theater named after Hepburn, the Katharine Hepburn Performing Arts Center (The Kate) in Old Saybrook. The Saybrook Stage Company presentation will feature Ralph Buonocore of Madison, Terri Corigliano of Old Saybrook, Mark Gilchrist of Madison, Jim Hile of Clinton, Amy Kirby of New London and Jake Totten of Granby. This serious but comedic piece by Ernest Thompson inspired the film for which Hepburn earned her fourth Academy Award for Best Actress. Its the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the 48th year. The Square Foot Theatre, 950 Yale Ave., Units 26-27, Wallingford. Jan. 15-19, 7:30 p.m. except 2 p.m. on Jan. 19. $28-$26. squarefoottheatre.tix.com Connecticut Cabaret Theatre, 31-33 Webster Square Road, Berlin. Friday-Saturday through Feb. 8, 8 p.m. $37. 860-829-1248. ctcabaret.com The Kate, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook. Thursday, Jan. 16-Sunday, Jan. 19, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 860-510-0453. TheKate.org Following Republican Criticism, Ilhan Omar Opens Up About Her PTSD Another day, another gaggle of Republicans revealing themselves to be the true sensitive snowflakes. In response to escalating military action against Iran, Rep. Ilhan Omar cited her childhood experience as a refugee as a motivating factor to her anti-war stance. "I feel ill a little bit because of everything that is taking place and I think every time I hear conversations around war, I find myself being stricken with PTSD," she said at a recent news conference. ADVERTISEMENT Rep. Omar fled war-torn Somalia with her family when she was only 8 years old, spending four years in a refugee camp before being settled in the United States. However, this apparently was not good enough for some critics. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana took to Twitter, calling Omars remarks a disgrace. Rep. Ilhan Omar complained shes stricken with PTSD because of recent events in the Middle East. This is a disgrace and offensive to our nations veterans who really do have PTSD after putting their life on the line to keep America safe. pic.twitter.com/twhZDuUDu0 Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) January 8, 2020 Veterans are not the only people who can experience PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault. Furthermore, research into the link between racism and PTSD shows that the daily lived experience of racist aggressions, both micro and macro, can have lasting damage on a person's psyche, making it especially heinous that Omar's critics refuse to take a Black woman at her word. Omar responded to Banks' comments on Twitter. "The trauma of war is not only felt by the soldier on the battlefield," she wrote. "It is felt by the child huddled under the bed as bombs go off outside her window." The trauma of war is not only felt by the soldier on the battlefield. It is felt by the child huddled under the bed as bombs go off outside her window. I am that child and here in Congress I will always speak out against war. Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 9, 2020 As the only current member of Congress to experience war as a civilian, Ilhan Omar is uniquely placed to understand the horrors of war. To discount that experience in order to justify your own bloodlust for carnage and destruction is the real disgrace, Jim Banks. Republicans might try to use Quasem Soleimani being a bad guy as the continuing rationale for endless war, but as Omar points out: If we are only focused on killing the monsters of the world, we forget the children, the elderly, the people with disabilities who are going to be caught in the crossfire... who, if they survive, become the walking dead like myself." Header photo via YouTube More from BUST Ilhan Omars Response To Trump's Racism Shows She Isn't Going Anywhere Why Trump Attacking Ilhan Omar Is An Issue For All Women Of Color In Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Urges Nancy Pelosi To Respect Newly Elected Women Of Color Emma Davey is a blog editor for BUST. She recently earned a B.A. in politics and gender, sexuality, and feminist studies from Oberlin College. She is originally from Houston and worships Beyonce accordingly. You can follow her on Twitter @navel_gazerr if you want to hear her rant about things. The United States and India are closer partners than ever before, and strong commercial ties mean creation of more jobs in both the countries, a senior US official said here on Friday. Consul General David J Ranz visited Bhopal and met government officials, members of civil society, business leaders, journalists and students. "In his discussions during his first visit to Bhopal he emphasized that the United States and India are closer partners now than ever before and stronger commercial ties means more jobs in both countries," US Consulate General's Mumbai spokesperson Nick Novak said. Ranz "reinforced the importance of free press" during his interaction with students, Novak's statement added. The Consul General also met Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Gopal Bhargava. "Discussed in detail on the issue of employment for Madhya Pradesh youths in collaboration with the centre and also new agriculture techniques," Bhargava tweeted later. Ranz would also be meeting governor Lalji Tandon and chief minister Kamal Nath during his visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By David Shepardson LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Wednesday signaled strong support for self-driving vehicles as it released new guidance from federal agencies at the annual CES tech conference. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao unveiled the administration's latest principles for autonomous vehicles -- dubbed 4.0, which she says unifies autonomous efforts across 38 U.S. departments and agencies. The proposal was first reported earlier Wednesday by Reuters. "The takeaway from AV 4.0 is that the federal government is all in -- for safer, better and more inclusive transportation, aided by automated driving systems," Chao said. The administration did not endorse new regulatory rules to ensure that automated vehicles are safe. Chao told Reuters in a recent interview that in contrast the Obama administration's approach was "very prescriptive... and in many ways it hampered innovation." White House technology adviser Michael Kratsios said the principles will "help foster an environment for innovators to advance safe AV technologies." The 51-page 4.0 policy document released Wednesday says the U.S. government will adopt and promote "flexible, technology-neutral policies that will allow the public, not the federal government or foreign governments, to choose the most economically efficient and effective transportation and mobility solutions." The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the March 2018 death of a pedestrian in a crash with an Uber Technologies Inc test vehicle, the first-ever attributed to a self-driving car. The NTSB faulted the distracted back-up who failed to intervene when the vehicle did not properly identify the pedestrian and Uber's safety culture. The NTSB said in November U.S. regulators should make those assessments mandatory and ensure automated vehicles have appropriate safeguards. Chao said she is still reviewing the NTSB recommendations. Advocates for Highway Safety said the administration's "voluntary guidelines are completely unenforceable, will not result in adequate performance standards and fall well-short of the safeguards that are necessary to protect the public." Story continues Chao said Wednesday "automated vehicles have the potential to save thousands of lives annually." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reviewing how it can remove regulatory barriers to self-driving cars and considering whether to let General Motors Co deploy some vehicles without steering wheels. Automakers must meet nearly 75 auto safety standards, many of which were written with the assumption that a licensed driver will be in control of the vehicle. "I want the federal government to support innovation but not at the risk of safety," Chao told Reuters. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Burma Karenni Activists Demand Meeting With Suu Kyi to Raise Issues Over Statues and Land During Visit State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis visit to Kayah State in 2017. / The State Counselors Office Yangon Ethnic Karenni representatives who opposed the erection of a statue of Gen. Aung San hope to meet State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to Kayah State next Wednesday. Strikes and protests were held in opposition to the statue, which was erected last February. The police used rubber bullets against protesters, some of whom were jailed. Six activists were given six-month prison terms for calling the states chief minister and another minister political criminals, enemies of ethnic unity and traitors to the Karenni people. Kayah States environment minister Tee Reh told The Irrawaddy that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be attending the 68th Kayah State Day celebrations on Jan. 15. She is due to deliver the opening speech at the ceremony and meet residents at the state hall. The State Counselor is due to leave in the afternoon after planting a cherry tree, Tee Reh said. The minister said around 2,000 people could be seated inside the hall. Karenni activists told The Irrawaddy that they want to tell the State Counselor about their anger over the statue, farmland seizures, military lawsuits and controversies surrounding industrial projects in the state. The Union of Karenni State Youth (UKSY) joint secretary Khun Thomas, who was jailed for criticizing the chief minister, said they were planning to send a letter asking Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to meet Kayah representatives. We will let the State Counselor know the issues we are suffering from. We also want to clarify the real situation over the Gen. Aung San statue, said Khun Thomas. However, he said they had limited hopes for the visit, which they saw as part of the 2020 general election campaign. The UKSY this week called on the military to return confiscated farmland and drop all charges against 41 farmers in two Kayah townships. The military sued the farmers in two Kayah townships for allegedly trespassing and farming on military-owned land. The farmers have been sued under Articles 447 and 427 of the Penal Code for trespassing and causing damage, and separately for breaking military fences under the Public Property Protection Act. The farmers say they have used the land for 50 years. The UKSY also called for the removal of the Gen. Aung San statue from Loikaw. The group asked the Union government to take responsibility for the conflict between its military and ethnic armed groups. Dee De of the Karenni State Farmer Union, who was among the six Karenni jailed activists, said they wanted to meet the State Counselor to ask for the return of confiscated farmland. He said they also wanted to report issues with investment projects that were endangering the environment and had been approved by the state government without the publics consent. Last year, President U Win Myint attended the Kayah State Day celebration and said he was working to create opportunities within the state. He promised even development across the country without discriminating against any state or region. You may also like these stories: NLD Expands Ethnic Affairs Committee Ahead of Myanmar Election Karenni Activists Who Were Jailed Over Myanmars Gen Aung San Statue Dispute Freed Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 10:59:09|Editor: yhy Video Player Close U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One to depart from the White House for a rally in Ohio, in Washington D.C. Jan. 9, 2020. U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a resolution aimed at restraining Donald Trump's power to take military actions against Iran without congressional approval. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) WASHINGTON,Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a resolution aimed at restraining President Donald Trump's power to take military actions against Iran without congressional approval. The House voted 224 to 194 to pass the resolution, roughly along the party line. The resolution directs the president to terminate the use of U.S. military to engage in hostilities in or against Iran, unless the president gets authorization from Congress or the use of force is necessary. The vote came days after a U.S. strike on Trump's order killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which has raised fears of an uncontrolled conflict between the United States and Iran. Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin, the lead sponsor of the resolution, said that "this resolution is intended to make clear that, if the President wants to take us to war, he must get authorization from Congress." Slotkin, who previously worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense, noted that the behavior of Soleimani did not mean that the Trump administration "can disregard the Constitution by engaging in a wider war, without consulting first with Congress." Earlier in the day, Trump called on all Republican congressmen to vote against the resolution. "Hope that all House Republicans will vote against Crazy Nancy Pelosi's War Powers Resolution," Trump tweeted, calling the vote "Presidential Harassment." Most Republicans argued in the floor debate that the resolution was a show vote intended to undermine Trump. The vote came one day after Democratic lawmakers, joined by several Republicans, voiced frustrations about the lack of information at a closed-door briefing on Iran from the administration officials. "I find this (the briefing) insulting and demeaning, not personally, but to the office that each of the 100 senators in this building happens to hold," Republican Senator Mike Lee said after the briefing. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment In 1976, after three years on the White House staff, I wrote a book, The White House Mystique (published by Fleming H. Revell) in which I tried to express the spiritual ethos and power of the presidency, and how it could be so beguiling especially in the view of a junior staffer. Henley has wiped the stardust from his eyes and provided a refreshing and revealing glimpse of the inner workings of the Presidency during this convulsive yet fascinating period, wrote Chuck Colson in his foreword for the book. Most of the books written in the aftermath of Watergate were from senior staffers, and hence presented a top-down view. I sought to show the perspective from the bottom of the pile, where the gritty hacking and sawing that gave form to lofty ideas took place. The single Amazon reviewer, a college professor, H.L. Ingle, lamented that after it was published, (the book) simply disappeared down what George Orwell referred to in 1984 as the memory hole. Graciously, Professor Ingle said, this memoir is a must. Perhaps now, even more than in the Watergate era, if you will excuse my horn-tooting. Actually, the book got washed down the memory hole in the hefty surf of volumes written by Nixons senior aides including Colsons own very important memoir, Born Again. Even I had not in recent years given much thought to The White House Mystique until I read what Jim Bakker said about people who do or do not support Donald Trump. Trump is a test whether youre even saved, said the TV preacher. Only saved people can love Trump, he continued. Bakker may have been trying to put the focus on the importance of forgiveness midst the fury of Trump-hatred. However, the unfortunate juxtaposition of support for Trump and true salvation became the focus of commentators. Bakker was injudicious to say the least. I confess that I believe literally in the prophetic word given by Daniel the prophet, recorded in Daniel 2:21. It is God, says Daniel, who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings Here the prophet is describing providential history, the belief that God is guiding the course of history for the fulfillment of His ultimate goal the global proclamation and manifestation of His Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17; see also Matthew 24:14) That brings up the theology of the will of God and how it works in time and history. Theologian Leslie Weatherhead, in his classic, The Will of God, explores biblical revelation of three types of Gods manifest will in the microcosm of individual human lives and the macrocosm of the world itself: Gods intentional will, His circumstantial will, and His ultimate will. The intentional will of God means the Lord of history is bringing about what He means to happen in accord with His ultimate will the coming of His Kingdom into the material, finite world. The circumstantial will is that which God permits to happen in our lives and institutions, including nations. Without this permissive will of God, we would have no freedom. To understand this, think of the Nile River. Ultimately every current, every whirlpool, every rivulet will pour into the Mediterranean. Nothing can stop it. However, within that larger flow there are many counterflows and contrary currents. Sailors are free to choose to take their craft into one of them, but eventually everything winds up in the Great Sea. This is the ultimate and inevitable encounter with Gods Kingdom in its full manifestation at the end of finite time. According to the Bible, this encounter will bring blessing or judgment, depending on choices we make while in the current of the present. Thus, to say that God raised up Donald Trump to the presidency is to acknowledge that all in earthly power are there because of the intentional or permissive will of God. Had Hillary Clinton been elected in 2016 the same claim that she was elevated to the presidency by Gods intentional or permissive will could have been made. So, Trump is there either through the intentional or permissive will of God. So was Barack Obama. To say that God put Trump or whomever in the Oval Office might really be described as God permitted or God intentionally put the person in power. We make a mistake when we rush to a conclusion about which of those was operative in a particular case. We must walk by faith in Gods providential guidance through the political jungles until we know fully just as we are fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) And in the meantime, we must continually pray for kings and all who are in authority (whether Nero, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Nancy Pelosi, etc.) so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) We see the principle of Gods permissive will with respect to national leadership in 1 Samuel 8. The elders of Old Testament Israel ask Samuel to appoint a king for us like all the other nations. Their request upsets Samuel, and he prays. Gods response: Listen to the voice of the people in regard all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. (1 Samuel 8:7) The permissive circumstantial will of God means that God removes His guiding hand and allows us to go where we will and have what we want. Often the permissive will is an act of judgment on Gods part, as in Romans 1. Bakkers declaration that truly saved people will support Trump made me think that perhaps The White House Mystique was written more for our present period than for the immediate post-Watergate age. It is perhaps the height of conceit to quote oneself, but please indulge me. Some five decades ago I wrote these words in The White House Mystique, in a discussion of The White House Warp: Essentially, the Warp means that reality filters into the White House as through a prism. It is colored, distorted, bent as it flows from the day-to-day universe into a cosmos where the very vulnerable appears invulnerable and the mediocre superior. One seeking to deal with real-world problems doesnt always have a fix on things as they are, but as they appear. Stardust. Whether it is the near-deification of Donald Trump or Barack Obama or whoever sits in the eight-hundred square feet of mundane space that is the Oval Office, we must get the stardust out of our eyes. DJIBOUTI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Thursday spoke highly of Djibouti-China strategic partnership and thanked the Chinese government and people for their assistance to Djibouti's economic and social development. During his meeting here with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Guelleh said the Djibouti-China relationship has developed in depth and yielded fruitful results in various fields, and Djibouti has friendly feelings towards the Chinese people and regards China as a sincere friend and indispensable partner. The president said the Horn of Africa nation looks forward to expanding cooperation with China in the fields of blue economy and digital economy. Noting that the Chinese-built Djibouti-Ethiopia railway has been conducive to promoting regional connectivity and economic integration, and has become a model for Africa-China cooperation, the president added that Djibouti is willing to actively participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and implement the projects related to the eight major initiatives agreed upon during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit held in 2018. On his part, Wang Yi said the strategic partnership between the two countries has maintained a high level of development, noting that President Guelleh has attached high importance to ties with China given that he visited China three times in the past three years. Wang said that China and Djibouti always respect each other, support each other, and help each other, which has become a model of mutually beneficial cooperation between large and small countries, adding that China firmly supports Djibouti's development path that suits its national conditions. "China appreciates Djibouti's active participation in the Belt and Road cooperation and regards Djibouti as a good friend, good partner and good brother," Wang said. He added that China stands ready to align the construction of the BRI as well as the implementation of outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit with Djibouti's development plan Vision Djibouti 2035, and strengthen cooperation in areas including blue economy, telecommunications, and digital economy. China is also willing to work with Djibouti to allow projects such as the Djibouti-Ethiopia railway and the Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port to bring about more economic and social impacts, so as to make Djibouti a regional trade and logistics hub through promoting the coordinated development of the Djibouti railway, port, and free trade zone, Wang said. China will continue to support Djibouti's economic and social development, Wang said. On Thursday, Wang also held talks with Djibouti's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and they jointly met with the reporters. A masked gunman killed three people, including a two-year-old girl, after opening fire in a shopping centre in Thailand. The killings occurred during the robbery of a gold shop in Robinson mall, Lopburi province, about 90 miles (145km) north of Bangkok. CCTV footage shows the man carrying a pistol with a long silencer approaching a counter around 8pm on Thursday local time and shooting a seller and another victim before jumping on the counter and snatching trays of gold necklaces. The regional police commander, Lt Gen Ampol Buaruppon, told reporters the man came into the mall alone and opened fire at a security guard who he came across and then started a shooting spree that killed three people and injured another four. The masked gunman killed three people, including a two-year-old girl, and injured four / MCOT Public Company Limited/AFP The two-year-old girl was shot moments after walking into the shopping centre, hand in hand with her mother. The robber was merciless. We are looking for him in every place. Please trust us, we will definitely get this man and bring him to justice, he said. He added that police have been authorised to use lethal force if he resists arrest. Police also offered 100,000 baht (2,500) for information leading to the gunmans arrest. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau spoke with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky about the tragic Ukraine International Airlines plane crash in Iran. According to the website of the Canadian prime minister, a conversation with the Ukrainian leader took place on January 9. The prime minister and the president expressed condolences for the Canadian, Ukrainian and other citizens who perished in the crash, and underscored that Canada and Ukraine were grieving together. The parties agreed to work closely together to ensure a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash. The prime minister conveyed Canadas readiness to provide expertise and support to ongoing investigative efforts, the statement reads. The two leaders reaffirmed the close friendship between Canada and Ukraine and looked forward to working together through this difficult time for both countries. Prime Minister Trudeau added that he also had a phone conversation with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. Prime Minister Rutte shared the experience of the Netherlands following the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 in 2014, he said. As reported, during a phone conversation with Justin Trudeau, Volodymyr Zelensky assured him that Ukraine was interested in a transparent and objective investigation of the crash and finding the truth. A Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on Wednesday, January 8. There were 176 people on board the aircraft - 167 passengers (including two Ukrainians) and nine crew (all Ukrainians). Most of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran are citizens of Iran (82) and Canada (63). Those killed in the crash also include ten Swedes, four citizens of Afghanistan, three Germans, and three Britons. ish Over the past few weeks, the media have been singing in 100-part harmony that America is headed to war. From Fox News and CNN, to MSNBC and the New York Times, media magpies have been proclaiming that America is going to war with Iran, thanks to the rube-in-chief who has no idea what he is doing. The New York Times declares the U.S. and Iran are, At the edge of war. The Wall Street Journal at least asks, Will the U.S. and Iran blunder into war? The Washington Post acknowledges that, War with Iran is not inevitable except for Orange-Man in the White House, adding But the U.S. must change course. Its interesting and instructive that for the left, its always the U.S. that is at fault, that we must change course. Granted sometimes it is, as in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, wars started by the past two presidents. We have been at war with Iran for 40 years, since the Georgia peanut farmer thought the semi-thuggish Shah of Iran was a bad guy, and a religious fanatic would be a better choice to lead the country. The reality is that President Trump is changing course, fulfilling a campaign promise to get America out of the endless wars instigated by his predecessors. His doctrine of national security through economic strength is paying dividends. YouTube screengrab Even Tucker Carlson at Fox News, usually a voice of common sense and reason, is beating the war drums. Its not that he wants war, but he views it as inevitable, as do many of his media colleagues on cable news. Several days ago, in his monologue, he was convinced war was coming. If you were in an airport over the weekend, you may have seen American troops on the move, leaving their families on their way to the Middle East. Now, just a month ago, not 1 in 100 Americans was thinking about Iran. Now, suddenly we are on the brink of war. Tucker didnt buy Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explaining on the Sunday talk shows that: "The risk of terror is increased by appeasement." No kidding. From Neville Chamberlain to John Kerry, history is replete with appeasement leading to war. Iran, while until a few weeks ago was all but forgotten, has always been on the back-burner of global turmoil. In 2002, George W. Bush labeled Iran as one of the trio of his axis of evil, the other two countries being Iraq and North Korea. Iraq was taken down by Bush and Cheney shortly after the axis of evil designation and remains one of Americas endless wars, costing American lives and treasure, with no clear purpose or endpoint. North Korea is behaving after the Trump-Kim bromance, despite Hillary Clintons predictions that Trumps twitter bluster against North Korea was dangerous, short-sighted. The Queen of Benghazi should look at her own track record, which beside being dangerous and short-sighted, was extremely enriching financially for her and her family. So where is the war with Iran predicted by hair-on-fire cable news hosts for the past week? Rather than a war, the recent sparring between the U.S. and Iran was more like punches between Mike Tyson and Pee-wee Herman. Iran foolishly attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad and killed an American contractor. They expected an Obama-Clinton-Kerry like response of a deep bow, followed by ankle grabbing and endless apologies for the past evils of America. If Pee-wee Herman slugged Mike Tyson in the nose, what would the likely response be? A battering ram of a punchback, as delivered by a MAGA missile to Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi, sending them to paradise along with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who met a similar fate. No war, just a disproportionate punch back as Trump promised. A few nights later, Iran offered up a faux retaliation, sending up a salvo of missiles which deliberately missed their targets, accompanied by a warning ahead of time to the U.S., just to avoid another Trump-Tyson right cross aimed at Irans vital economic or oil infrastructure. This was more like a choreographed dance rather than war, despite all the media and Democrat handwringing. Iran needed to save face with its fanatic political base, just as Democrats efforts at impeachment serve the same purpose, appeasing their rabid far-left base, while accomplishing nothing. Symbolism over substance. Trump campaigned on exiting our endless wars. The sensible view of Trumps foreign policy is that he has little appetite for starting a new war, whether in Iran or North Korea. Often a war can be nipped in the bud by a few gestures that demonstrate to your foe that they will lose any conflict, quickly and badly. Which is exactly what Trump did by taking out two top Iranian terrorists, precisely and efficiently. The American military is second to none, with $2.5 trillion over the past three years poured into making the US armed forces great again and the most lethal fighting force on earth. This is peace through strength, a concept lost on Democrats and many Republicans too, an approach last seen during the Reagan presidency, resurrected in spades in the Trump era. Its not a war. The U.S. is not the provocateur but stands up for her interests and people. That is how Trump is making America great again. As the president said in his Jan. 8 speech: Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. Meaning no war, only the lefts fantasy of a war as an albatross to hang around Trumps neck ahead of the upcoming election. What an optimal time for Trump to take it a step further and get out of the Middle East. Iraqs parliament wants us out, passing a non-binding resolution but nonetheless providing a rationale to exit. Let Iran and Iraq duke it out and take over the endless war. Or better yet, let the Gulf Cooperation Council clean up their neighborhood. We dont need Middle Eastern oil. But China and Russia do. Let them clean up the Middle East. Rather than building walls and highways in Iraq, lets do that at home. We avoided the predicted war, watching a fantasy war blow away in the breeze. Lets get out before deep state players of the military industrial complex can drag us into another real war. Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a Denver-based physician, freelance writer and occasional radio talk show host whose pieces have appeared in American Thinker, Daily Caller, and other publications. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and QuodVerum. Image credit: Alan Light, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 In what has become a norm at town board meetings, debate among the elected officials became heated and punctuated by arguing as the board met on Dec. 16 to consider the 2019 town fund and general assistance fund levies, which are reflected on the tax bills of all property owners within Maine Township. Facing unpredictable developments of many regions in the world, the protection of citizens has always been carried out by Vietnam under the motto "Active, timely, quick and effective protection". Proactively follow up on instable developments In 2019, the international security situation changed rapidly, complicatedly and unexpectedly with many risks, crises, natural disasters spreading over most regions of the world. Along with that is the presence of Vietnamese citizens in nearly 200 countries and territories for the traveling, residing, working, studying purposes, so the frequency of risks and distress abroad increased, making great challenges for the protection of Vietnamese citizens abroad. The truck with 39 Vietnamese victims found in Essex, the UK in October 2019. The situation in the East Sea continued to be complicated, not only strengthening the presence in the field, many countries threatened to use force and used force to seize fishing vessels and fishermen in overlapping, undefined sea areas. In such contexts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam proactively followed the instable developments in many regions of the world and in the East Sea; timely formulating plans and implementing the protection of citizens and fishermen at sea in accordance with international law and Vietnamese law. According to statistics of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019 is recorded as the year with the increase number of cases of citizen protection, with 13,643 citizens, 1,760 fishermen/206 fishing vessels protected; 961 fishermen assisted in terms of procedures to return home after being expelled by foreign parties; 36 ships/408 fishermen in distress at sea supported to shelter from storms or be rescued at sea. The citizen protection switchboard received and answered 5,400 incoming calls (an increase of about 31% compared to 2018) and there were 687,956 international roaming messages providing citizens' hotline to protect citizens when leaving the country. Ambassador Vu Viet Anh, Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: Looking back to 2019, it can be said that the protection of citizens is one of the positive points in implementing functions and tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Cases, especially key, complicated and unprecedented cases, were handled promptly and completely with high efficiency, which were appreciated by the public and people. The most important cause of this success is the efforts of the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local ministries and branches as well as the devotion and sense of responsibility of the officials who directly handled cases and overseas Vietnamese representative agencies. The most prominent cases include the bombing and terrorism on a bus carrying 15 Vietnamese tourists in Cairo, Egypt in January 2019, the case of Doan Thi Huong in Malaysia in March-May 2019, the case of 39 Vietnamese citizens died in truck in the UK in October 2019. Effective operation of the Citizen Protection Fund Doan Thi Huong An equally important cause that creates a positive highlight in the protection of citizens in 2019 is also a positive contribution of the Citizen Protection Fund. This is a fund established and operated by the Government on the principle of deposits, paying in advances and arrears later, similar to the provisions of the protection of citizens of other countries in the world. This principle has helped timely support Vietnamese citizens when they encounter difficulties in foreign countries that they cannot overcome themselves at that time as well as repatriate Vietnamese citizens quickly and smoothly. In 2019, the Citizen Protection Fund effectively used the fund to bring 523 citizens and fishermen who were imprisoned and faced difficulties abroad home, mainly fishermen in the provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Kien Giang and Quang Ngai. The world in 2020 continues to be predicted with many unpredictable risks, the East Sea will still be a hot area, along with increasingly sophisticated activities of related crime types, especially the crime of illegally taking migrants abroad, which will continue to be the major challenges. According to Mr. Vu Viet Anh, in 2020 the protection of citizens should be implemented in the direction of: attaching importance to proactive preventive measures; performing propaganda and warnings to people at the grassroots level; promptly, professionally and effectively handling arising cases on the basis of Vietnamese law, in accordance with international law and relevant countries' laws. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared a plan to propagate and implement the Global Agreement on Legal, Safe and Orderly Migration (GCM), condemning illegal migration and illegal acts in foreign countries. Besides, information technology will also be studied and integrated into the processing of citizen protection operations. Compiled by Hoang Anh Industrial Hemp and CBD Company Aims to Elevate Standards Within the Industry CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cumberland Extracts, Inc. is celebrating the company's 100% USDA Organic Certification, which extends to its farm, biomass and cutting-edge extraction facility. To obtain USDA Certification from farm to finished CBD product, the Cumberland Extracts team has implemented conservation practices and stringent procedural methods to uphold and exceed USDA Organic Guidelines, a step most emerging CBD companies have yet to take. Cumberland's business model and level of accreditation are virtually unheard of within the hemp community. Locally grown USDAOC hemp is processed, distilled, and quality-tested at the company's 9,000-square-foot state-of-the-art USDAOC facility in Clarksville, Tennessee, and then sold as CBD crude, isolate, and distillate to wholesale and product creators for use in their CBD lines. Cumberland believes USDA Organic Certification in hemp growth, product transparency, tracking, and testing paves the way for more lab-verified and uniformly high-quality CBD oils in a rapidly growing industry. Vice President Bradley Ray describes the enormous impact Cumberland's USDA Organic Certification has on bringing legitimacy to CBD companies and customers who incorporate Cumberland's wholesale CBD distillate, isolate and crude in their CBD product lines: "We have the public in mind with this effort to achieve USDAOC status across the board. While large agencies look to create a regulatory framework to shape the broader hemp industry, our team is striving to apply more controls and regulations internally. These efforts can only move the CBD and industrial hemp markets forward into mainstream products and recognizable, established brands who require stable and consistent material." About Cumberland Extracts, Inc. Cumberland Extracts, Inc. was founded in 2019 with the mission of heightening the standards of quality, traceability, and scientific testing in the booming industrial hemp and CBD markets. Cumberland Extracts, Inc. is the brainchild of four local business owners who have combined decades of ethical business experience with their strong-held advocacy for and belief in the powerful health and environmental benefits of hemp. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements also may be included in other publicly available documents issued by Cumberland and in oral statements made by our officers and representatives from time to time. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide management's current expectations or plans for our future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. They can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "would," "could," "will" and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Cumberland's actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others such as, but not limited to economic conditions, changes in the laws or regulations, demand for products and services of the company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking information provided in this release should be considered with these factors in mind. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. CONTACT: Cumberland Extracts, Inc. Charles Harris 931-542-4660 charles@cumberlandextracts.com Related Images image1.jpg Related Links Cumberland Extracts website DUBLIN Marian Finucane, who broke taboos as a radio broadcaster in Ireland by addressing topics like divorce, rape, contraception, homosexuality and the female orgasm, becoming one of the countrys most popular on-air personalities, died on Jan. 2 in Naas, County Kildare. She was 69. Her family said the cause was apparently heart failure. As the presenter of Women Today, a groundbreaking show that was introduced on state-owned RTE radio in 1979, Ms. Finucane (pronounced fin-OO-kan) broached topics that had largely been off-limits in a society dominated at the time by restrictive Roman Catholic teachings. Frank discussions of these subjects on her program led to protests by clergy and conservative leaders, but they also helped propel a secular tide that has since transformed Ireland into one of Europes most liberal societies, where popular votes have legalized divorce, gay marriage and abortion. An early highlight of her career was a 1979 radio documentary, The Lonely Crisis, in which Ms. Finucane accompanied an Irish woman as she, like thousands of others every year, traveled to Britain to seek an abortion. Taking a matter-of-fact, nonjudgmental approach, the documentary won a Prix dItalia from the Italian Press Association. Later, having settled into her studio role, Ms. Finucane earned a reputation as a sympathetic, sometimes mischievous interviewer but also as a deceptively tough one. Members of Left-affiliated AISA, who were named as suspects in the JNU violence case, on Friday denied any involvement in the January 5 violence on the campus and said they would cooperate with police in their investigation. The Delhi Police on Friday released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, a member Students' Federation of India, of the was one of them. Of the nine, seven belong to left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to a "right-wing students'' body, police said. Two of the suspects Dolan Samanta, a M.Phil student at JNU, and Chunchun Kumar, a former student of the varsity, who are members of the All India Students Association (AISA), denied their involvement in the January 5 violence and said they would cooperate with police. Besides Ghosh, Samanta and Kumar, Priya Ranjan, Sucheta Talukdar, Vhaskar Vijay Mech and Pankaj Mishra have been named as suspects. Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj, both from the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), are among the nine suspects in the case. The photos shared by police is from the School of Social Sciences and of January 5, Samanta claimed. "We had made a human chain outside the school's building against the ABVP violence. The person who is wearing a muffler in the picture was trying to make our videos despite us not stopping any student from entering the building and we were both comfortable with it," she said. She claimed one of the members of the Gender Sensitization Committee against Sexual Harassment, Shreya Ghosh, asked him to delete the video. "We knew his affiliation and we were stopping him from making the video. The police are trying to twist the story. Delhi Police has been complicit in this incident. Why are these things happening?" Samanta asked. She said she covered her face as it was cold and being a known face from JNU, anyone could "recognise her by her eyes". Samanta said she was nowhere near Periyar Hostel when the incident happened and in fact, when the masked mob entered the Sabarmati Hostel, she was inside the it and was assaulted. "I have submitted my complaint to police. I have not got any notice from them for questioning till now but I will cooperate with the probe," she said. Kumar, whose name has also been released by police said the investigation is "politically biased". "The police were under pressure and they stood at the main gate when the violence was happening inside the campus. I had nothing to do with the violence. They have even named Aishe who was injured," he said. A professor, who knows Mech, said, "I can't recognise him from the picture. We do have a student named Vaskar Mech in the School of Arts and Aesthetics". "I saw him being beaten up on Saturday and I was told by his friends that he had left the same day in the evening for North Campus. He told me himself that he was not on campus. I met him yesterday and as I was worried, I asked him about his health," she said. Talukdar, a masters student at JNU, who was named by the police, concurred with her fellow students and called the investigation "biased" and "unfair". "We are the victims. We have faced attacks from ABVP goons, police, our administration and the security guards. We have taken out marches against the hostel fee hike issue and have been lathicharged," she said. She said that on Sunday, she was injured in the stone-pelting at the Sabarmati T-point in the campus and a student had saved her by helping her to hide below the kitchen sink of the Sabarmati Dhaba. "We have been fighting for a cause. There is an attempt to divert attention from it," she said. ABVP's Bharadwaj refused to comment on the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-10 15:01:50 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 811 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Kontrol Energy Corp. (CSE:KNR)(OTCQB:KNRLF)(FSE:1K8) ("Kontrol" or "Company") a leader in the energy efficiency and smart building sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology, announces that it is embarking on an investor roadshow across select cities in the United States (the "US") during the month of January 2020.The Company will present to institutional funds, family offices and brokers. The roadshow will support the Company's stated efforts to ramp up business in the US and create awareness of its recent achievements and planned milestones for the year.Paul Ghezzi, CEO of Kontrol stated: "As we gear up for operational expansion in the United States this year with our customers, such as Beyond Meat and Toyota, we believe it is also important to share our story with investors in the US". Mr. Ghezzi continued: "We are focused on achieving our growth targets and with our US customer expansion we believe we have good story to share." Small Cap ConferencesIn addition to the upcoming roadshow Kontrol is planning to present at several small cap conferences in the US with conference details to follow.SmartSuite TechnologyIn conjunction with investor presentations and as follow up to the press release dated December 19th, 2019 Kontrol is planning to meet with new potential pilot customers in the US for the SmartSuite technology. The SmartSuite technology combines leading energy management in real-time with rich cloud analytics and smart learning algorithms.About Kontrol EnergyKontrol Energy Corp. (CSE: KNR) (OTCQB: KNRLF) (FSE: 1K8) is a leader in the energy efficiency and smart building sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology. With a disciplined mergers and acquisition strategy, combined with organic growth, Kontrol Energy Corp. provides market-based energy solutions to our customers designed to reduce their overall cost of energy while providing a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.Kontrol Energy is one of Canada's fastest growing companies in 2018 and 2019 as ranked by Canadian Business and Maclean's.Additional information about Kontrol Energy Corp. can be found on its website at www.kontrolenergy.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com For further information, contact:Paul Ghezzi, Chief Executive Officerpaul@ kontrolenergy.com Kontrol Energy Corp.,180 Jardin Drive, Unit 9, Vaughan, ON L4K 1X8Tel: 905.766.0400, Toll free: 1.844.566.8123Neither IIROC nor any stock exchange or other securities regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward-Looking InformationCertain information included in this press release, including information relating to future financial or operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of management or estimates of future performance constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding possible future/next acquisitions and/or investments in operating businesses and/or technologies, accelerated organic growth and revenue growth, strategic partnerships to promote and deploy energy and asset performance tracking software and technology deployment for improved emission compliance and real-time management of energy, acceleration of recurring SaaS revenues, the provision of solutions to customers and Greenhouse Gas emissions reductions, proposed financial savings and sustainable energy benefits and energy monitoring. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief are based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include, without limitation, that suitable businesses and technologies for acquisition and/or investment will be available, that such acquisitions and or investment transactions will be concluded, that sufficient capital will be available to the Company, that technology will be as effective as anticipated, that organic growth will occur, and others. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, lack of acquisition and investment opportunities or that such opportunities may not be concluded on reasonable terms, or at all, that sufficient capital and financing cannot be obtained on reasonable terms, or at all, that technologies will not prove as effective as expected that customers and potential customers will not be as accepting of the Company's product and service offering as expected, and government and regulatory factors impacting the energy conservation industry. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities law.SOURCE: Kontrol Energy Corp. The current crisis has fully demonstrated that the Trump administration is not ready to start a new big war in the Middle East, and attempts to put pressure on Iran through sanctions and military force have been ineffective Open source On the night of January 7-8, Ain al-Assad US military base and a military facility in Erbil in Iraq were targeted by rockets. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the elite Iranian unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. This was Tehrans response to the liquidation of al-Quds Iranian commander General Qasem Suleimani and the Iraqi Peoples Mobilization Forces commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as a result of a US missile strike at the Baghdad airport on the night of January 3. The Americans took such a step after the missile strike of the pro-Iranian Kataib Hezbollah group against US military facilities in Syria and Iraq at the end of December and the demonstrators attacked the US embassy in Baghdad. Iranian authorities have dubbed the military action Operation Martyr Suleimani and on the eve of the missile attacks, the Pentagon has been recognized as a terrorist organization. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed that as a result of missile strikes, 80 American soldiers were killed, 200 people were injured, and equipment was destroyed. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif said that his country has exercised the right to self-defense in accordance with Art. 51 of the UN Charter. Although there was no attack on the territory of the Islamic Republic. Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani have demanded the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Step back Trump's briefing looks like an attempt to get out of the vicious circle into which the White House has driven the United States in the Middle East. Murder Suleimani is a mistake because he was just a pawn of the Ayatollah regime. Instead, another officer, General Ismail Kaani, has already been appointed to command Al-Quds. Iran will not turn from the path of sponsoring terrorist organizations, interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Iran uses the death of Suleimani as a pretext for more aggressive actions in the Middle East in order to oust US influence from the region. Recent shelling is evidence of this. Trump took a step back in the confrontation with Iran, because he was not ready for a new armed conflict, despite the availability of a suitable occasion. Iranian security forces are already directly carrying out attacks on American military facilities like the Japanese militarists, who crushed the Pearl Harbor naval base in December 1941, which became the reason for the US entry into World War II. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called Irans attack an act of war. The United States refrained from a proportionate response to Iran in the form of targeted missile and bomb strikes on military units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in border areas with Iraq, as well as on Iranian military installations in Syria due to the threat of Iranian security forces to strike at other countries, including Haifu port in Israel and the city of Dubai in the UAE. The nearest US air bases are located in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and fall within the radius of destruction of Iranian ballistic missiles (2.000 km). Iranians can use the Shiite group Ansar Allah in Yemen, which last year fired on settlements in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, damaged oil refineries and the East-West pipeline in the kingdom. These countries are the most active in the Muslim world in support of the tough US policy towards Iran. The authorities of Qatar and Oman are trying to maintain a balance in relations with Iran and the West, and in Bahrain, Shiite Muslims - co-religionists of Iranians - make up the majority. They are not ready to aggravate relations with Tehran. The armed conflict between the United States and Iran could boomerang affect the security of Israel. The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, sponsored by Iran, threatened to wipe out Israeli cities after the liquidation of Suleimani. Israeli secret services are preparing to eliminate the consequences of possible missile attacks by Iranian-sponsored armed groups from Syria, Hezbollah terrorist organizations from Lebanon, and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip. Not all representatives of the US political elite support the idea of using military force against Iran. The U.S. Congress reacted coolly to the elimination of Suleimani by order of Trump. The possibility of depriving the president of authority in the use of military force abroad is being considered. Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Nancy Pelosi believes that it is necessary to ensure the security of the US military, demand from Iran to stop the violence, and from the Trump administration to stop provocative actions and prevent a new war. Senator Richard Durbin believes that in connection with the growing violence in relations between the United States and Iran, it is necessary to transfer to the Congress the constitutional right to decide when to declare war and when not to. The lion's share of the responsibility for the current Gulf crisis lies precisely with the Trump administration, and this is recognized by American lawmakers themselves. The United States showed restraint in order to avoid further destabilization of the situation in the Middle East, which will result in large losses among the military and civilians, waves of refugees in the direction of the West. Threat without a war The USs willingness to engage in direct negotiations with Iran does not mean that the Middle East is waiting for peace and stability. Iran perceives the restrained reaction of the United States as a manifestation of weakness and an occasion to persistently defend its interests. Irans Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said that there would be no more retaliation for the death of Suleimani, but his country would not negotiate with the United States as long as sanctions were in place. Iran is not going to make concessions, and this helps in new provocations. Irans unpredictable behavior will pose a threat to international security. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps may continue to seize foreign tankers in the Persian Gulf and impede free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. This may lead to interruptions in oil supplies to Europe, China, India, Japan, and South Korea, and may affect the growth of world prices for black gold. Recent shelling of US military bases in Iraq provoked an increase in oil prices by 4%. American oil rose from $ 61 to $ 65.5 per barrel. If oil exports from Iraq are blocked in the event of an escalation of the conflict, then prices could rise to $ 90 per barrel. Only major oil suppliers from OPEC, Venezuela, Russia, and the USA will benefit from this. Irans increased alert poses a potential threat to international air travel. It is not clear to the end what caused the crash on January 8 of the Boeing-737 passenger plane Ukraine International Airlines, which operated the Tehran-Kyiv flight. Either these were technical malfunctions of the new aircraft or Iranian anti-aircraft gunners shot down the aircraft by mistake, just like the illegal armed groups of Donbas separatists shot down the Malaysian Boeing 777 in July 2014 in the sky over the Donetsk region. Such a mistake cost the life of the entire crew and passengers. Tehran has returned to blackmail politics of the international community. In response to the liquidation of Suleimani, Iran has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan of 2015. Now, the Iranian leadership does not limit the increase in the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Uranium with an enrichment percentage of over 20% can be used to produce nuclear weapons. Iranian authorities are ready to return to compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal only if the United States lifts sanctions and respects their interests in the Middle East. It is unlikely that it will be possible to restore the sanctions of the UN Security Council against Iran. Russia and China will not vote for a decision in the face of difficult relations with the Trump administration. Washington's crisis of influence With his actions and inaction against Iran, Trump personally dealt a crushing blow to the international authority of the United States and its influence in the Middle East. The killing of Suleimani is no different from the contract killings of organized criminal groups or the actions of terrorist organizations that physically eliminate people for political purposes. The same methods. The Americans set a precedent for the use of military force to kill officials of other countries. The United States eliminated Suleimani in the same way as destroyed by rocket attacks of the field commanders of al-Qaeda, ISIS. The failure of the States to curb the ayatollah regime means a crisis of existing military-political alliances with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel. Washington had to come to terms with Tehrans aggressive actions to avoid missile attacks on the oil monarchies and Israel. Neither sanctions nor military force prompted Iran to pursue a more predictable policy towards the countries of the region. US loses to Iran in Iraq. Under the influence of the liquidation of al-Muhandis and Suleimani, the majority of Iraqi MPs voted to withdraw all foreign troops from the country, including 5.2 thousand US troops who have 12 military facilities in Iraq. Trump requires Iraqi lawmakers to reconsider the decision under threat of sanctions. It is not safe for the US military to be in Iraq, where anti-government protests are raging, and Iran is trying to put its man in the prime ministers chair after Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced his resignation. The cessation of the activity of the international anti-terrorist coalition in Iraq, whose participants trained the local security forces, will become a factor in the revival of the influence of ISIS. The United States and Shiite armed groups previously fought ISIS in Iraq, but now stand on opposite sides of the barricades. As the United States and Iran sort things out, ISIS cells will accumulate strength and resources to grab their piece of the pie in Iraq. Even if the United States leaves Iraq, the situation in the country will not become more stable. The leaders and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday took out a protest rally in Kolkata here against the "rising crime against women" and "worsening law and order situation" in the state. However, during the rally, protesters seen carrying posters with the name of the 18-year-old Kumarganj rape and murder victim, who was raped and burned to death on January 5. This is against the order of the Supreme Court, which had directed that the identity of the victims of rape and sexual assault should not be made public. "The police did not allow us to protest so we had to approach the High Court. We are protesting with the order of the High Court and will continue it until the victim gets justice," BJP Mahila Morcha president Locket Chatterjee told ANI. She said that the entire country grieved and protested for the Hyderabad veterinarian rape and murder victim but there is no outburst in West Bengal. Referring to the deaths during an anti-citizenship amendment act protest in Mangaluru, another BJP leader at the protest said, "It is unfortunate that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) sends delegation to other states but when a minor girl was raped and murder in West Bengal, no TMC leader has met the victims' family." BJP leaders Raju Banerjee, Sanjay Singh and Debjit Sarkar also participated in the rally. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China Aviation Daily | Jan. 10, 2020 As part of it's 2020 summer schedule, Swoop, Canada's ultra-low-fare airline and subsidiary of WestJet Airlines Ltd., announced its East Coast network expansion, with flights between Hamilton, Ontario and St. John's, NL; Moncton, NB; and Charlottetown, PEI. The new service will begin in June as Swoop receives its tenth aircraft. "The growth of our fleet means more opportunities for Canadians as we continue our mission of making air travel simple, affordable and accessible for every traveller," said Steven Greenway, President, Swoop. "Our growth in Eastern Canada is an exciting milestone for Swoop, proving our ability to develop our network domestically, while also adding to our U.S. and international destinations," The tenth aircraft means greater opportunities for Canadians to travel throughout North America, increasing the airline's weekly frequencies to popular domestic, U.S. and international destinations. The new service between John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport and St. John's, Moncton and Charlottetown will run from June through October 2020, serving those travellers looking to experience Canada's exceptional East Coast. "This announcement by Swoop is very exciting as these new routes into the Maritimes will allow customers from Hamilton to explore even more destinations from coast to coast within Canada," said Cathie Puckering, President & CEO, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. "These new services will offer a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Atlantic Canada and are a fantastic complement to the current Swoop schedule in Hamilton which includes destinations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean." Details of Swoop's new service to Atlantic Canada: Service Between Service Offered Weekly Frequency Service Run-time Hamilton, ON to St. John's, NL Daily 7 x per week June 22, 2020 - October 23, 2020 Hamilton, ON to Moncton, NB Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday 4 x per week June 24, 2020 - October 23, 2020 Hamilton, ON to Charlottetown, PEI Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 3 x per week June 27, 2020 - October 22, 2020 The ultra-low-cost carrier's Summer 2020 network serves 12 domestic, five transborder and three international destinations, offering the unbundled model to travellers across North America. Ensuring fares remain low, Swoop's model offers a base fare that starts with just a seat, giving travellers the power to add the things they want, and nothing they don't, fulfilling a need in the Canadian marketplace. "We're delighted to welcome Swoop as our newest airline partner, providing service to our community at competitive fares," said Peter Avery, CEO at St. John's International Airport. "This new link to Hamilton will increase accessibility to Ontario, our largest market, and will facilitate the already strong connections between Newfoundland and the Hamilton region." "We are thrilled to welcome Swoop to Charlottetown," said Doug Newson, CEO for Charlottetown Airport. "With Swoop's non-stop flight between Charlottetown and Hamilton, Swoop is making it easier for visitors to travel to our beautiful Island in the summer months while also providing Islanders with a direct, low-cost travel option to Ontario." "We are absolutely delighted to have Swoop serve our market and that they have selected the Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport as their New Brunswick destination partner," said Bernard LeBlanc, President and CEO of Greater Moncton International Airport Authority. "A low-cost carrier like Swoop will offer new travel opportunities for our community and this will ultimately benefit not only this region, but the Province of New Brunswick as a whole." Flights are now available for booking through October 2020. To learn more about Swoop's destinations, schedule and ultra-low-cost model visit FlySwoop.com or connect with Swoop on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Contributed by Swoop Jeremy Corbyn's miserable tenure as Labour leader took another hit today while MPs jostled to replace him, with more than four in ten voters rating him as a big fat zero in a new poll. Some 42 per cent of more than 5,000 people surveyed by YouGov gave the outgoing leader a zero rating after he led his party to an election humiliation in December. They included more than a fifth (21 per cent) of Labour voters, almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) Brexit supporters and 28 per cent of Remain backers. The figures were released after Mr Corbyn was given various marks out of 10 by MPs taking part in a leadership battle to take the party leadership. While loyalist candidate Rebecca Long Bailey gave him 10/10, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry gave him 0/10 for the election defeat, the part's worst since 1935. Following an election in which Labour was deserted by its working class supporters, Mr Corbyn also did worse among poorer economic groups than he did among the better off. Some 39 per cent of people in the ABC1 group gave him a zero, compared to 46 per cent of people who were in the C1DE group who are less well off. Some 42 per cent of more than 5,000 people surveyed by YouGov gave the outgoing leader a zero rating after he led his party to an election humiliation in December Mr Corbyn also appeared to poll worse among older people, and was rating lower by men than women. On Tuesday, Ms Long Bailey claimed Mr Corbyn was '10 out of 10' as Labour leader. The shadow business secretary made clear her attempt to harness her horse to the Corbynista wagons in the leadership campaign, despite continuing to insist she was not a continuity candidate. She was asked to rate Mr Corbyn's four years in power in an interview with ITV News, saying he was 'one of most honest kind principled politicians Ive ever met'. She told reporter Paul Brand: 'I'd give him 10 out of 10, because I respect him and I supported him all the way through. Yesterday Ms Thornberry put the boot in to Jeremy Corbyn, rating him 0/10 as a leader for overseeing Labour's election catastrophe. The shadow foreign secretary, an outsider in the leadership race to succeed him, said she had no option but to give him zero after the party suffered its worst defeat in 85 years to hand Boris Johnson an 80-seat majority. She also rated him just 2/10 for his handling of the Labour anti-Semitism crisis, while insisting that he was not personally anti-Semitic. But in an attempt to keep some of Mr Corbyn's left-wing followers onside she also gave him full marks for 'firing up the party'. In contrast, when he was asked the question, fellow candidate Sir Keir Starmer refused to give a rating, saying the leader was a 'colleague and a friend'. Sir Keir Starmer is the clear front runner with the backing of 63 MPs Ms Long Bailey currently has 26 backers, according to figures released by Labour, of whom 15 are MPs who were first elected in December despite the party's humiliation at the hands of voters. Newly-elected Corbynista MPs swooped in behind Ms Long Bailey last night to get her through the next round of the battle to become the new Labour leader. She was one of three MPs to pass the 22-nomination threshold to stay in the race to succeed Mr Corbyn in April. Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy also made the cut, joining clear front-runner Sir Keir. Ms Long Bailey currently has 26 backers, according to figures released by Labour, of whom 15 are MPs who were first elected in December despite the party's humiliation at the hands of voters. The rush of new nominations laves just Clive Lewis and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, struggling to make the cut on four and nine respectively. But it seems like they will be the final six runners, after shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner abandoned a plan to join the race after failing to receive support from his fellow MPs. In the first-ever genome-scale analysis of the puberty process in humans, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) outline distinct and critical changes to stem cells in males during adolescence. They further outline how testosterone, and the cells that produce testosterone, impact stem cells in male reproductive organs. The researchers believe this study adds dramatically to a foundation of knowledge that may yield insights into critical areas of human health, including infertility and cellular changes that lead to cancer and other diseases. The study, published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, was led by Bradley Cairns, PhD, cancer researcher at HCI and professor and chair of oncological sciences at the U of U, in collaboration with colleagues Jingtao Guo, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Cairns lab at HCI, James Hotaling, MD, associate professor of surgery at the U of U, and Anne Goriely, PhD, associate professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford. Puberty spurs numerous developmental changes in humans and other mammals. Hallmarks of puberty include physical characteristics easily visible to the naked eye, like rapid growth. These physical and hormonal changes signal the process of a maturing body preparing for reproductive years. In the testis, the male reproductive organ that makes and stores sperm and produces testosterone, puberty introduces monumental changes at a cellular and physiological level. Thanks to new genomic technologies, researchers are able to examine the expression of thousands of genes in each individual cell in an entire organ, providing unprecedented insights into cellular behavior during puberty. Several types of cells within the testis regulate reproductive health. Like the human body that changes along the path from infancy to adulthood, these cells undergo major changes as the body matures. These cells include spermatogonial stem cells that ultimately generate sperm production, and niche cells that help form parts of the testis, such as the seminiferous tubule, a tube-like structure within which sperm is formed. In this study, researchers characterized how, just prior to puberty, spermatogonial stem cells first expand significantly in number. These stem cells progress toward meiosis, a special type of cell division that splits the number of chromosomes from the parent cell in half, and also separates the male X and Y sex chromosomes to create cells that, after fertilization of eggs and considerable subsequent development, will ultimately result in either male (Y-containing) or female (X-containing) children. Late in puberty, these stem cells commit to creating mature sperm, which includes a tail piece for motility. The researchers showed how two of the cells that form the stem cell niche and chaperone this process--the myoid cells and Leydig cells--derive from a common precursor, and mature during early puberty. A major novel insight of this study was the first-ever genomic analysis of the testis of adult transfemales (individuals assigned male at birth, but who self-identify as female). For these individuals, gender confirmation surgery is preceded by hormone therapy that induces long-term testosterone suppression, enabling the examination of testis lacking testosterone. By using samples donated after surgery, researchers uncovered critical insights into the role of testosterone in maintaining testis development. Genomic analysis of the cells from the testis of transfemales showed that stem cells and other cells revert to earlier states of development when compared to samples from male adolescents. Thus, Cairns and his colleagues identified that testosterone is critical to maintaining the mature state of the testis: if testosterone is no longer present, the testis reverts to an earlier developmental state. The major changes that occur in humans during puberty give rise to numerous functions in normal development, like reproductive health and fertility. But, when these processes go awry, confounding challenges can result. Infertility is a relatively common health issue. About 50 percent of the time, the underlying cause is attributed to the male reproductive functions, which often include errors that occur during puberty. The team hopes these insights into how cells develop will help yield insights into what happens when developmental issues during puberty cause changes that result in infertility. The study also informs understanding of cancer and other diseases that arise due to errors in cellular processes. The majority of the time, testicular cancers arise when stem cells in the testis are misregulated. We want to understand how these changes can cause testicular tumors; however, we need to know what should normally happen before we can identify ways to prevent or more effectively treat these cancers." Bradley Cairns, PhD, cancer researcher at HCI In juveniles, cancers and reproductive health intersect via a medical process called oncofertility; that is, the study of how to retain fertility in adolescent and young adult cancer patients whose reproductive health and fertility may be impacted by their cancer, or as a result of side effects of cancer treatment. "Some chemotherapies can result in young men with cancer not being able to have children--the chemotherapy can cause changes to their stem cells," said Cairns. "My hope and expectation is that our research will provide a foundation for creating options to support the reproductive health of young men affected by cancer through a better understanding of how these stem cells survive, are supported, and develop." BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend: Uzbekistan has been appointed chairman of the Economic and Environmental Committee of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in 2020, Trend reports citing the press service of Uzbekistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2017 to 2019, the committee was headed by Kazakhstan. Ambassador Sherzod Asadov, Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the OSCE, became the head of the committee. The decision was made as part of a special meeting of the Organizations Permanent Council, during which the current Chairman-in-Office of OSCE, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, presented the priorities for the chairmanship in 2020. The Economic and Environmental Committee oversees a wide range of issues of cooperation and security in the economic and environmental fields in the OSCE area, including anti-corruption issues, energy and food security, transport and logistics, migration, the development of information and communication and green technologies. As noted, the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the Economic and Environmental Committee of the OSCE Permanent Council is evidence of recognition by the international community of the wide range of socio-economic reforms and measures taken to improve the environmental situation in the Aral Sea region under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, strengthen trade, economic and investment cooperation, and develop transport interconnectedness and expanding the transit potential of the region. The chairmanship of the Economic and Environmental Committee in 2020 will allow to actively promote regional and international initiatives of Uzbekistan that are consistent with the goals and principles of the OSCE and will contribute to deepening cooperation with the organization in terms of supporting the reform agenda in the country, the ministry said. Head of the United Kingdom's Delegation to the OSCE Neil Bush, was appointed Chairman of the Security Affairs Committee, and Czech Permanent Representative to the Organization Ivo Sramek was appointed Head of the Human Rights Committee. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri As the shock of the downed airliner sinks in a day later, mourning friends and loved ones in Winnipeg -- those with personal connections to the 176 killed, including at least eight Manitobans -- are getting support as they suffer. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. As the shock of the downed airliner sinks in a day later, mourning friends and loved ones in Winnipeg -- those with personal connections to the 176 killed, including at least eight Manitobans -- are getting support as they suffer. Forough Khadem was killed in the crash of a Ukrainian International Airlines jet moments after takeoff from Tehran, Iran, Wednesday. Counsellors with the University of Manitoba met Thursday afternoon with students and staff at the Bannatyne Avenue campus who knew Forough Khadem, the outgoing 38-year-old immunologist and business development specialist, and are seeking help with their grief. "This is more of a professional counselling program for people directly impacted," said U of M associate Prof. David Ness, director of the Student Counselling Centre who organized the support meeting, which he described as a "pretty structured process." "Sadly, we've done them for decades," said Ness. "We talk about what happened, and what the facts are." "In this situation, we have very few facts," Ness said Thursday, before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced evidence indicates the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, and "it may well have been unintentional." "The news will undoubtedly come as a further shock to the families who are already grieving," Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa, where he stressed the importance of there being a thorough investigation. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS David Ness, associate professor and director of the Student Counselling Centre at the University of Manitoba. For the mourners, the facts about what happened and why may never be known, and making peace with the unknown will be a challenge, said Ness. "We want to support the impacted community as much as possible," he said. More sessions are in the works in the days ahead for the Fort Garry campus where two of the crash victims -- Amirhossein Ghasemi, 32, and Amirhossein Ghorbani, 21, -- were students. Amirhossein Ghasemi. FACEBOOK Amirhossein Ghorbani. "We're working to see what's needed on our campuses," said Ness. "We want to tailor a response to the needs of the community." With a student population close to 40,000, there are tragedies every year. Each one, and the people affected, are different, but the response is similar, he said. A team of three or four counsellors meets with the group, trying to help people understand their own reactions to the traumatic event, and not be self critical of however they're handling it, Ness said. "We use this one phrase -- 'you're a normal person having a normal reaction to an abnormal event'," the counsellor said. "A plane crash is beyond what most people experience," and it's normal for people to react differently, said Ness. "Right now, there's students and faculty not able to study and work, and there are some who need to do that -- they're not being insensitive, this is what they need to do," he said. "If people don't have a reaction, that's normal." MEMORIALS SCHEDULED On Friday, a memorial service for the victims of Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS 752 is being held Friday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the University of Manitoba's Engineering and Information Technology Complex. The service is for the university community "and not intended for the general public," a U of M spokesman said. click to read more On Friday, a memorial service for the victims of Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS 752 is being held Friday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the University of Manitoba's Engineering and Information Technology Complex. The service is for the university community "and not intended for the general public," a U of M spokesman said. On Sunday, the Iranian Community of Manitoba is paying tribute to its members who perished in Wednesday's plane crash. Its celebration of their lives is taking place from 2 to 5 p.m. While the public is welcome, the organizers said they did not want to advertise it because the space may not be large enough for all those who want to attend. "We will share stories together and honour the memories of lives lived to the fullest," the community said, listing the names of those being remembered: Forough Khadem, 38 Mehdi Sadeghi, 44 Bahareh Haj Esfandiari, 41, Anisa Sadeghi, 10 Amirhossein Ghasemi, 32 Amirhossein Ghorbani, 21 Farzahen Naderi, 38 Nhujan Sadr, 11 Dr. Farhad Niknam, 44 Niknam was a dentist in Ontario with a brother in Winnipeg, a family friend in Toronto said. He was not a dentist in Manitoba. Carol Sanders Close The group sessions encourage people not to isolate themselves and to find a support network from their own communities. "Isolation in the long term doesn't usually work," he said. Friends of people who are grieving can reach out, he said. "You can say 'Is there something I can do to help?'" People who don't know those affected but want to help can keep their eyes open for different opportunities. "Look for obits asking people to give to a cause, or you can show you care when you attend a vigil." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Iran tells EU to take independent position far from 'detrimental' US stances Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 2:59 PM Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has urged the European Union to adopt independent stances on issues related to cooperation with Iran, especially with regard to the nuclear deal that Tehran signed with six world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), back in 2015. Rouhani made the remarks in a phone call with president of the European Council Charles Michel on Thursday, telling him that Iran is ready to work more closely with the EU. Blaming Washington's "erroneous and detrimental" miscalculations on lack of US understanding of the realities in the region, Rouhani said, "The European Union must adopt independent positions from Washington in order to prevent Iran from totally losing hope in Europe." In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and later reimposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran under the agreement and began unleashing the "toughest ever" fresh sanctions. The American president also directly ordered the assassination of Iran's top military commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a drone airstrike near Baghdad airport in the early hours of Friday, prompting Iran to take revenge by pouring more than a dozen ballistic missiles on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq early on Tuesday. "The US has resorted to economic terrorism against Iran by stepping up sanctions, even sanctions on drugs and food, and has violated all international regulations by assassinating Iran's great commander, and Europe must respond to these US terrorist acts," Rouhani added. "Iran and Europe seek to maintain regional stability and to strengthen implementation of the JCPOA; and it is very important for us that Europe, China and Russia would be able to play their important roles in preserving the JCPOA in order to safeguard Iran's interests," Rouhani further said. In response to the unilateral US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments five times, the last of which was taken on Sunday, within Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield mutual trade from the US sanctions. Tehran announced on Sunday that the country would no longer observe operational limitations on its nuclear industry, including with regard to the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the amount of enriched materials as well as research and development. Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president described Iran's five steps in scaling down its commitment to the nuclear accord as a means to achieve balance. "Iran will continue to cooperate with the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as was the case in the past," he said. Iran has criticized the three European signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France and Germany -- for failing to salvage the pact by shielding Tehran's economy from US sanctions. Michel, for his part, said Europe has also made every effort to play a positive role in dealing with global and regional political issues. Europe "has repeatedly urged the United States in recent days not to further escalate tensions in the region," the president of the European Council added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Germans spent about 73 billion euros (81 billion U.S. dollars) on vacation last year, an increase of 3 percent compared to the previous year, according to preliminary figures published by the research association for holidays and travel (FUR) on Friday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. The total number of vacation trips of at least five days in 2019 was up 1 percent to an estimated 71 million, according to FUR. More than three quarters of German citizens had taken at least one holiday in 2019, said FUR study author Martin Lohmann just before the start of the Holiday Exhibition CMT in the German city of Stuttgart. The expected number of short vacation trips with a duration of only two to four days was expected to remain at the previous years level of 92 million, according to FUR. The cruise industry continued its boom and recorded high growth figures. German citizens booked around nine percent more cruises last year than in 2018, Lohmann told the German news agency (dpa). "We expect a good year of travel in 2020," a spokesperson of FUR told Xinhua on Friday. But it would "remain to be seen whether there is still a lot of room for improvement", maybe in terms of travel expenses, but less so in the number of vacation trips. Germany was expected to be again the top travel destination for German citizens in 2020, FUR noted. It was expected to be followed by Spain, Italy, Turkey and Austria. The court has given the committee four weeks time to submit its report. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the cutting of trees, at times of heritage trees, to pave way for the construction of infrastructure projects resulting in the loss of oxygen released by the trees. When you cut a heritage tree, imagine the value of the oxygen the tree produced all these years. Compare it to how much you would have to pay for the equivalent amount of oxygen tree produced if you have to buy it from somewhere else, said CJI S.A. Bobde heading a three-judge bench also comprising Justice B.R.Gavai and Justice Surya Kant. Having expressed concern over the loss of oxygen produced by the trees that were cut or proposed to be cut, CJI Bobde set up a four-member committee that would explore the alternatives to the construction of five ROB in Kolkata city which would involve the cutting of over 400 tress, including 80 heritage tress about 70 to 80 years old. The court has given the committee four weeks time to submit its report. CJI Bobde said that the population explosion has led to need for more and more infrastructure at the cost of green cover in the country and pointed to tree-falling in Aarey forest area in Mumbai for the construction of shed for Mumbai Metro. Describing as fraud that the project proponents would plant five times of the trees that would be cut, CJI Bobde said, Our experience is that at the end three survives and sometimes it is a fraud of planting trees. CJI Bobde took dim view of the survival record of the trees planted by project agencies to compensate for the trees that are cut in the execution of projects as senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government, said that they would plant five times of the three that would be cut. Mr Singhvi said that the proposed road over bridge and the expansion of highways was necessitated because of the loss of nearly 700 human lives in road accidents in these areas. He assured the court that project proponents a state government agency would try to minimise the loss of tree on account of the project. As Mr Singhvi said that ministry of environment and forest which is the custodian of the trees too was with them, CJI Bobde in a loaded observation said that we know the kind of permission MoEF gives and referred to the permission to cut over 4000 trees for the construction of Nagpur-Jabalpur Highway. You dont know what kind of permission they give, CJI Bobde said referring to the permission to cut 4000 trees for the laying of Nagpur-Jabalpur road and many of the trees were very old. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has held talks with EU High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell, spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. According to her, the sides discussed ongoing security challenges in the Middle East, including Iran's destablizing role and the importance of maintaining the gains and future progress of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (terrorist organization banned in Russia), TASS reported. Pompeo and also discussed the need for a sustained ceasefire and for a political solution in Libya. Tensions around Iran flared up after the U.S. launched a strike on Baghdads airport on January 3 killing General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force. On January 8, Iran retaliated by launching missile strikes on two military facilities in Iraq used by the United States. According to the Pentagons spokesperson, Al-Asad Air Base and the airport of Erbil were targeted. Further deadlock and heightened pressure from China is the likely outcome if Taiwans independence-leaning president Tsai Ing-wen wins a second term this weekend, as is widely predicted. Ms Tsai, of the Democratic Progressive Party, was leading by a comfortable margin in most polls before the standard blackout period on surveys was imposed 10 days before Saturdays election. She and the other two main candidates patrolled city streets appealing for support during the day, as supporters gathered on Friday evening for final campaign rallies. In the southern city of Kaohsiung, backers of Ms Tsais chief opponent, Han Kuo-yu of the opposition Nationalist Party, waved red and blue Taiwan flags, blew horns and chanted their support. Another candidate, James Soong of the smaller People First Party, also planned a rally. Ms Tsais party lost badly in local elections 14 months ago. But she has gotten a boost from hostile words and actions from China and months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, which she says show Beijings one country, two systems formula for governing Taiwan is untenable. The islands high-tech economy has also helped. Stock prices have remained robust and wages risen slightly, partly thanks to Taiwanese exporters relocating from China to cut costs and avoid the bruising effects of the US-China trade war. 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 Ms Tsais chief opponent, Mr Han, has slumped in the polls following a series of gaffes and allegations of shady financial dealings. He has clung to a pro-China policy despite widespread distrust of the mainland and the backlash against Beijings handling of the Hong Kong protests. On Saturday, voters will also elect a 113-member legislature, where Ms Tsais Democratic Progressive Party currently has 68 seats. The Nationalists hold 35 seats, with the rest taken by minor parties and independents. Taiwan elections generally revolve around economic, public welfare and social justice issues, Chinas threat to annex the island by force always looms large in the background. Even more so this year. China has taken an especially hard-line against Ms Tsai since her 2016 inauguration, infuriated by her refusal to endorse its claim that Taiwan and the mainland belong to a single China. Beijing cut off all formal ties with her government, restricted visits by Chinese tourists, excluded Taiwans representatives from international gatherings and peeled away more of the islands dwindling diplomatic allies, leaving it with just 15. Stepping up its threats, Beijing has in recent months held military exercises across the Taiwan Strait, sailed both of its aircraft carriers through the waterway that divides Taiwan from the mainland, and flown air patrols around the island. However, in an apparent effort to avoid antagonising voters, Chinese leader Xi Jinping didnt renew the threat of using force against Taiwan during his annual New Years Eve address even though he reiterated Chinas firm opposition to Taiwans formal independence. Chinese state media have been notably silent on the election campaign. Analysts say the low-key approach masks a more subtle campaign to back Mr Han and Nationalist candidates for the legislature through media manipulation and social media campaigns. Seeking to scupper such attempts, the legislature last month passed an anti-infiltration bill laying out fines and prison sentences for those seeking to manipulate Taiwans political system on behalf of China or other foreign powers. In comments to the international media on Thursday, Taiwans foreign minister Joseph Wu said Ms Tsais government doesnt plan to rock the boat with a formal declaration of independence. Maintaining the status quo is in the best interest of everyone concerned. We will not provoke any conflict with China, but we are absolutely determined to defend Taiwans democracy, Mr Wu said. Associated Press Zymere Perkins died in 2016 after being waterboarded, savagely beaten and hung from the bathroom door by his t-shirt in a squalid Harlem apartment The broomstick and shower curtain rod used to beat a six-year-old boy to death have been shown to a New York court as the boyfriend of the child's mother stands trial for his murder. Zymere Perkins died in 2016 after being waterboarded, savagely beaten and hung from the bathroom door by his t-shirt in a squalid Harlem apartment. His mother's ex-boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, 45, is currently on trial in Manhattan over the little boy's brutal death. Zymere's mother, Geraldine Perkins, 29, has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a deal to cooperate against her now-ex-boyfriend. During Smith's trial this week, the court was shown pieces of the broken broomstick and the steel shower curtain rod that were used to beat the little boy. The hook that Zymere was hung from by his t-shirt on the back of the bathroom door was also shown in court. Horrific details surrounding Zymere's death have emerged during Smith's trial, including how he was starved as punishment, beaten and how his mother waited hours before taking his lifeless body to the hospital. Smith is accused of killing Zymere on September 26, 2016 after flying into a rage when discovering the boy had defecated in the living room and attempted to hide the mess. His mother's ex-boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, 45, is currently on trial in Manhattan over the little boy's brutal death. During Smith's trial this week, the court was shown pieces of the broken broomstick that was used to beat the little boy Prosecutors also showed the steel shower curtain rod that Smith allegedly used to beat the little boy The hook that Zymere was hung from by his t-shirt on the back of the bathroom door was also shown in court His mother testified that she stood by idly while Smith savagely battered her son with a broomstick and a shower rod before hanging him on the back of a bathroom door and throwing his body across the room inside their squalid apartment. She said she woke to find Smith towering over her son and poking him in the stomach with the sharp end of a broken broomstick. 'He started to strike him with the broomstick, beating him from his chest to his legs with the broomstick,' Perkins testified. 'Why the f**k did you take a s**t? Why did you take a f**king s**t in here? There's a bathroom, you could have used the bathroom,' Smith allegedly said to the boy everytime he beat him. Perkins testified that her son did not say a word during the beating and just lied on the floor shaking. The little boy's underwear and shirt were smeared in feces. She claims the abuse intensified moments later when Smith picked up a now-screaming Zymere, took him to the bathroom and waterboarded him. Smith allegedly pulled down the shower rod and continued beating the boy. 'He was going limp, like unresponsive,' Perkins testified. 'I figured he was just faking.' Rysheim Smith, 45, is currently on trial in Manhattan over the little boy's brutal death. He faces life in prison if he is convicted Zymere's mother, Geraldine Perkins, 29, has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a deal to cooperate against her now-ex-boyfriend Surveillance video captured Perkins carrying Zymere's lifeless body out of the building before a passerby helped flag down a taxi. The mother was captured on cameras walking into the hospital carrying her son's body Perkins said Zymere had previously pretended to be unconscious in a bid to get Smith's beatings to stop. Smith then allegedly hung the unconscious boy on a hook on the back of the bathroom door with his clothes dripping with water and blood. Perkins claims Smith took her son down a while later and threw his body into an unused bedroom. The little boy landed between the wall and the bed, authorities say, and Perkins testified that her son 'looked like he was dead'. Smith allegedly ordered Perkins to clean the apartment while he went out to get food. Perkins claims about 30 minutes later she realized her son wasn't breathing but went about cleaning and reading the Bible for several hours. Prosecutors say Perkins made a feeble attempt to resuscitate her son with mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions. She then bathed the little boy's body in the bath to wash off the blood before lying him on a bed and waiting for Smith to return home. His mother testified that she stood by idly while Smith savagely battered her son with a broomstick and a shower rod before hanging him on the back of a bathroom door and throwing his body across the room inside their squalid apartment After beating the boy with the broomstick, Smith allegedly took the six-year-old to the bathroom where he waterboarded him in the squalid tub The photos of the squalid bathroom were shown to the court during Smith's murder trial 'I was hoping he'll just wake up out of whatever was going on with him. I was just hoping he'll get up,' Perkins testified. '[I was thinking] that my baby is dead and I'm going to be in jail and I'm in a lot of trouble.' When Smith returned home, he allegedly ordered Perkins to take the boy out of the apartment through a back exit and to avoid mentioning his address to anyone. He allegedly told her to tell doctors or law enforcement that the boy had fallen ill with food poisoning at a homeless shelter. Before leaving, however, Perkins spent 10 minutes applying her make-up and putting on a wig. Surveillance video captured Perkins carrying Zymere's lifeless body out of the building before a passerby helped flag down a taxi. The mother was captured on cameras walking into the hospital carrying her son's body. Zymere sustained more than 30 rib fractures during the brutal attack. An autopsy showed his entire body was covered in cuts, bruises and scars. Smith faces up to life in prison if convicted. Brad Pitt has credited Bradley Cooper with helping him to overcome his battles with addiction. The actor, 56, made the surprise revelation after taking to the stage to accept Best Supporting Actor from his pal at the National Board Of Review gala on Wednesday. During his speech, Brad said that Bradley, 45, helped him 'get sober' following years of struggling with alcohol addiction, and that he's been 'happy everyday' since going teetotal. Close: Brad Pitt has credited Bradley Cooper with helping him overcome his addiction, after he was presented with Best Supporting Actor at the National Board Of Review Gala According to The Mirror, after taking to the stage to accept the award Brad said: 'Bradley just put his daughter to bed and rushed over here to do this. 'He's a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier ever since. I love you and I thank you.' Brad and Bradley also shared a sweet embrace as he picked up his coveted award, which came following his acclaimed performance in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Close: The pair shared an embrace as Bradley presented Brad with the award for his performance in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Lovely: In his speech Brad paid tribute to actor Bradley, saying he 'got sober' because of him Both stars skipped the red carpet before the event, but were later spotted palling around backstage after Brad accepted his award. The guys recently hung out at last Friday's AFI Awards, where the Cooper-produced film Joker was recognised as one of the top 10 films of the year. Brad has been incredibly open about his struggles with addiction, and has previously revealed that he joined Alcoholics Anonymous in the wake of the breakdown of his marriage to Angelina Jolie. Close: In his speech he said: 'He's a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier ever since. I love you and I thank you' Pals: Bradley and Brad have been spotted out and about together on several occasions, including the AFI awards last week He told The New York Times: 'I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges. 'You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard. 'It was this safe space where there was little judgement, and therefore little judgement of yourself. Candid: Brad has been open about his struggles with addiction, and has previously revealed he joined Alcoholics Anonymous following the breakdown of his marriage to Angelina Jolie Brad also visited Bradley at his Manhattan apartment on Tuesday, following the New York Film Critic Circle gala. They were also reportedly there for each other amid their respective high profile breakups. Back in August, they also saw the LA Philharmonic Orchestra perform at Hollywood Bowl. A source told The Sun: 'They have been busy juggling work with tricky family situations this year, and finally they have some time to themselves to hang out and be there for each other. 'Both Brads had the best night being away from the normal Hollywood crowd, but they still stopped to talk to a few industry friends in the audience.' Calling quits: Bradley split from model Irina Shayk, 34, in June, having been together since 2015. They share daughter Lea, two (pictured in January 2019) Cooper split with model Irina Shayk, 34, in June, having been together since 2015, sharing daughter Lea, two. Meanwhile, Brad' divorce with Angelina was finalised in April, after they fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2005 and married in 2014. They share sons Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, and Knox, 11, as well as daughters Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 13, and Vivienne, 11. (Newser) "Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week." What Rep. Doug Collins had said earlier was that Democrats are "in love with terrorists" and mourn the Iranian general killed by the US "more than they mourn our Gold Star families." On Friday, the Georgia Republican posted his apology on Twitter, the Hill reports. The reaction to his first comments had included Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who's a veteran, saying: "I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I dont need to justify myself to anyone." story continues below Collins' tweet also said he's "committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with my fellow citizens to keep all Americans safe." But his messages were a bit mixed, the Daily Beast points out. Earlier Friday on Fox News, Collins seemed to defend the comments he made Wednesday, criticizing Democrats for calling the killing of Qasem Soleimani an "assassination." Democrats' "actions are betraying them at this point," Collins said. Some posts on Twitter called for Collins to repeat his apology on Fox News, where he had made the accusations. (Read more Doug Collins stories.) Donald Trump is said to be considering reintroducing his much-maligned travel ban impacting several majority-Muslim countries, despite protests and protracted legal battles that argued the US cannot unilaterally prevent people from entering the country. According to the Associated Press, the White House is mulling an extension of the ban that the administration established in January 2017, which the president ordered through a series of executive actions to severely restrict travel by citizens of several majority-Muslim nations into the US. The latest iteration could include severely limit travel from seven additional countries, the AP reports. Despite several legal challenges and restraining orders, the ban remains in place for citizens travelling from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. Five of the seven impacted countries are majority Muslim. Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Show all 8 1 /8 Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Mishawaka, Indiana AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Washington DC AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy New York Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks in Tornillo, Texas alongside the many other US mayors who have called for detained immigrant children to be reunited with their families AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Albuquerque Mayor Tim Kelle leaves a teddy bear as a gift for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti leave sandals as gifts for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy US embassy, Mexico City AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA The news agency cites a redacted memo that has blacked out the names of potentially impacted countries in the administrations latest proposal, though it cites one person familiar with the policy as saying that Mr Trump could revive an attempt to ban travel from countries that were previously removed from the list, including Chad, Sudan and Iraq. A draft proclamation obtained by Buzzfeed says the latest round of countries were recommended by the department of homeland security after they failed to satisfy the baseline criteria, as informed by the outcomes of the new, enhanced methodology for identity management and security protocol reviews of 200 countries. The presidents order then says that people travelling from those areas are detrimental to the interests of the United States and that their entry should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations and exceptions. According to the documents, proposed restrictions would impact roughly 2.5 per cent of all immigrant visas issued by the US Department of State. Legislation from a group of Democratic officials would prohibit religious discrimination as a deciding factor in travel restrictions and require the president to explicitly state why countries are targeted in the travel restrictions. The administrations latest proposal arrives amid an election year with a renewed focus on immigration, following Mr Trumps hard-line anti-immigration efforts from zero tolerance border policing to an expansion of immigrant detention centres effectively jailing thousands of people throughout the US. Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphone that opens like a clamshell to be named the Galaxy Bloom has been leaked at the Consumer Electronics Show. The South Korean firm allegedly revealed the device to a select audience during a secret meeting held at the technology event currently taking place in Las Vegas. Reports suggest that the Bloom a successor to the troubled Galaxy Fold, which launched after many delays last year will come with a new type of glass screen. The Bloom's design styled like a powder compact was first teased by Samsung in a concept video released in October 2019. Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphone that opens like a clamshell to be named the Galaxy Bloom has been leaked at the Consumer Electronics Show. Pictured, a blurry photo of the Galaxy Bloom's promotional material, leaked by an attendee at the secret meeting The report of the leaked meeting also suggests that the Galaxy Bloom will feature an 8K video recording capacity and sport a screen made from a new material dubbed 'ultra thin glass'. Pictured, a concept shot of the upcoming phone released by Samsung in October 2019 GALAXY BLOOM RUMOURED SPECS Clamshell folding design Ultra thin glass screen 8K video recording capacity Targeted at young women Advertisement The 'Galaxy Bloom' designation had previously been rumoured to be the new folding phone's pre-launch code-name. Instead, it had been speculated that the clamshell device would take the name 'Galaxy Fold 2', after its vertically-hinged predecessor. However, 'Galaxy Bloom' is to be the phone's commercial name, a report by South Korean website ajunews alleges. The report of the leaked meeting also suggests that the Galaxy Bloom will feature an 8K video recording capacity and sport a screen made from a new type of material dubbed 'ultra thin glass.' This is will further set the upcoming model apart from the Galaxy Fold, which instead came with a display covered by a plastic screen. Samsung drew inspiration for the Bloom's clamshell design from the iconic powder compacts made by the French cosmetics company Lancome, CEO Dong Jin Koh reportedly informed attendees of the secret Consumer Electronic Show event. The design was chosen to appeal to young women an audience already familiar with clamshell-style form factor SamMobile has reported. Given the design homage, users of the Galaxy Bloom could end up resembling Thunderbirds character Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, who made video calls using her communicator device that was disguised as a powder compact. Samsung drew inspiration for the Bloom's clamshell design (left, seen here in a concept image released in October 2019) from the iconic powder compacts made by the French cosmetics company Lancome (right), CEO Dong Jin Koh reportedly informed attendees of the secret Consumer Electronic Show event Given the design homage, users of the Galaxy Bloom could end up resembling Thunderbirds character Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, pictured here in the 2015 reboot, who made video calls using her communicator device that was disguised as a powder compact Holding closed-door meetings for key partners at the Consumer Electronics Show is not a new move for Samsung. In fact, rumours of the Galaxy Fold's development similarly originated from year's iteration of the annual tech show. It is expected that the Galaxy Bloom will be formally unveiled at Samsung's Unpacked event, which has been scheduled for February 11, 2020. GALAXY FOLD SPECS Pictured, a Galaxy Fold smartphone Starts at $1,980 7.3-inch main display with Infinity Flex technology 4.6-inch outer display when folded 512 gb of Universal Flash Storage 3.0 7 nanometre processor 12 gb of RAM Three rear-facing cameras Two front-facing cameras on main display, one camera when folded 'App continuity' technology to run three apps at once Comes in cosmic Black, Martian Green, Astro Blue and Space Silver Advertisement New Delhi : Deepika Padukone's Chhapaak has been declared tax-free in Rajasthan as well. Media agency ANI on its Twitter handle shared the news that the biopic is now tax-free in Rajasthan. After Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan become the third Congress-ruled state to do the same. Inspired from the life of activist Laxmi Agarwal, Chhapaak chronicles the journey of acid-attack survivor Malti (Deepika Padukone) as she comes to terms with her trauma, and subsequently fights against acid violence. Chhapaak hits the theaters on January 10 and also stars Vikrant Massey in a pivotal role Earlier writer Rakesh Bharti had filed a suit in the HC claiming that he had originally penned a story on the life of an acid attack survivor. Bharti in his suit sought for his name to be included in the credits as one of the creative writers and also sought a stay on January 10, 2020, release of the movie. In reply, Meghna Gulzar filed an affidavit stating that the suit filed by Bharti is 'wholly misconceived, frivolous, legally untenable and unmeritorious.' After hearing brief arguments on the interim relief sought by Bharti, Justice S C Gupte made prima facie observations that copyright cannot be claimed over such stories. The suit will be going for further hearing after six weeks when the movie was released and both the scripts were compared by Bharatis counsels. Deepikas recent JNU visit in the wake of attacks on student stirred fresh controversy about her political stand. BoycottChhapaak started trending on social media. It was also alleged by a section of netizens that the filmmakers have changed the name of the attacker of Laxmi Agarwal taking a bias on his religion. The movie was premiered for select audience and is receiving positive reviews from critics and celebs. The movie is seen as Deepikas careers best performance very much deserving of a national award. Critics have also called the screenplay empowering! For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Love Island winner Greg OShea will get to grips with a new entertainment show with a focus on rugby which he will host with Muireann OConnell. Details about the new show "The Late Tackle" were unveiled today at the launch of Virgin Media Televisions (VMV) spring schedule. The show will be in addition to the stations Six Nations coverage on Virgin Media One where the live games will be shown, "I just think its going to be great craic, when you get onto a show like this," said Muireann who presents the Six OClock Show. "I am a big rugby fan. Im not going to sit there and say I know every single rule, and I know the 22 man panel for every single team in the Six Nations." But she said rugby was very much part of her childhood growing up in Limerick, a minute away from Garryowen Rugby Club. "So it was our playground." "I just think rugby is a great social occasion personally. Thomand Park is one of my favourite places, one of the coldest places in the world, but one of my favourite places," she said. "It is a social occasion and we get to go and we get to hang out with loads of people, thats whats going to be fun. "But this show isnt about being exclusionary to anyone. If you dont know anything about rugby, come and watch it anyway. If you know something about rugby there will be something there for you as well." "We will be sitting down on a panel bringing on different guests every week and they will all be interacting." The new Thursday night show will be launched at the end of the month. Meanwhile, Joe Molloy will present the stations Six Nations coverage, which begins on February 1, with expert opinion from Ronan OGara, Shane Horgan, Matt Williams and Alan Quinlan. Meanwhile, among the popular shows coming up include the launch of the winter edition of Love Island on Virgin Media One on Sunday, with new host Bray-born Laura Whitmore. Series two of acclaimed drama Blood, starring Adrian Dunbar, will also be broadcast next month on Virgin Media One. Reeling from the controversial death of his wife Mary, the crime drama series sees Dunbars character Jim Hogan dealing with the shock arrest of his eldest daughter Fiona for murder as his family crumbles around him. Commissioned by Virgin Media Television, Blood has been sold in over 60 territories around the world and was recently nominated for a prestigious Writers Guild of Great Britain Award. Among the new offerings on the spring schedule are The Guards: Inside The K, a brand new documentary series will launch in March, looking at work done by gardai in a busy Dublin district. Meanwhile, Prison Breaks which launches on January 22, follows businesswoman Domini Kemp as she trains prisoners in Wheatfield Prison to become entrepreneurs. For the first time cameras will follow Dominis prison students in the classroom and around the prison as well as meeting some of her graduates to find out if they stayed on the straight and narrow. Meanwhile, Virgin Media Television Director of Content, Bill Malone, said: "Be it on TV or on demand, this year we will broadcast more Irish made programming than ever before." W ho? Jessica Mulroney. Shes 39, Canadian, is the best friend of Meghan Markle, and has been a loud and proud supporter of the Duchess since she entered (and, well, exited) the royal fold. Shes just a friend of Meghans whats the big deal? Well, she has a pretty big role in the Duchesss life it seems. From pre-royalty holidays on the Amalfi Coast (a quick Insta search of #MJxItaly will bring up the full film reel) to helping to plan the royal wedding, Mulroney has been by Meghans side since day one. According to royal commentator Katie Nicholl (author of Harry: Life, Loss, And Love), the couple also stayed with the Mulroneys to hide from the press after their relationship became public. She was also reported to have been looking after baby Archie in Canada whilst Harry and Meghan sorted out all this Megxit business over here. So yes, a pretty big deal. So they go way back but whats Mulroneys story? Shes a well-connected lady; married to Canadian TV host Ben Mulroney (who is also the son of former Canadian PM Brian Mulroney) and stylist to the stars including Justin Trudeaus wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Meghan herself. Since helping the Duchess to organise her 2018 wedding, Mulroney has also been given her own Netflix wedding planning series and has even qualified as a marriage officiant. A wedding guru then what exactly has she helped Meghan with? The pair are thought to have first met when the Duchess moved from LA to Toronto in 2011 for the filming of Suits, finding a connection over their love of yoga, travel and fashion. Mulroney helped to pick outfits out for Meghans character on Suits including her wedding dress on the show. Mulroney was then rumoured to be the unofficial wedding planner for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, helping on everything from flowers to the seating plan. She attended Meghans final dress fitting before the big day (in a top-secret location), and was as close to a maid of honour as the Duchess had, while ushering along her own three children who were pageboys and a flower girl for the royal couple. Getty Images Mulroney at the Royal wedding with the Duchess of Cambridge (Getty Images) Since the wedding, Mulroney embarked on the royal tour of Australia and its surrounding islands with the Duke and Duchess (again, in an unofficial capacity theres a theme here). She has been a rumoured godparent to Archie, although no official information was ever revealed. Meghans rock, it seems. Does she have to follow a tight-lipped royal protocol? Boeing CEO Muilenburg testifies before Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing on grounded 737 MAX on Capitol Hill in Washington By David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski (Reuters) - Boeing Co's ousted chief executive officer, Dennis Muilenburg, is leaving the company with $62 million in compensation and pension benefits but will receive no severance pay in the wake of the 737 MAX crisis. Muilenburg was fired from the job in December as Boeing failed to contain the fallout from a pair of fatal crashes that halted output of the company's bestselling 737 MAX jetliner and tarnished its reputation with airlines and regulators. The compensation figures were disclosed in a regulatory filing late on Friday during a difficult week for Boeing when it also released hundreds of internal messages -- two major issues hanging over the company before new CEO David Calhoun starts on Monday. The messages contained harshly critical comments about the development of the 737 MAX, including one that said the plane was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys." The 737 MAX has been grounded since March following the second of two crashes that together killed 346 people within a span of five months. "It is incredibly heart wrenching to see the man at the heart of our loss walk away with a reward," said Zipporah Kuria, whose 55-year-old father from Kenya died in the second crash. Lawmakers also blasted Boeing. "346 people died. And yet, Dennis Muilenburg pressured regulators and put profits ahead of the safety of passengers, pilots, and flight attendants. He'll walk away with an additional $62.2 million. This is corruption, plain and simple," U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter. U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said minutes of a June 2013 meeting showed that Boeing sought to avoid expensive training and simulator requirements by misleading regulators about a anti-stall system called MCAS that was later tied to the two crashes that killed 346 people. The MAX has been grounded since the second crash in March. Story continues Speculation that Muilenburg would be fired had been circulating in the industry for months, intensifying in October when the board stripped him of his chairman's title - although he had also twice won expressions of confidence from Calhoun, Boeing's board chairman. A turnaround veteran and former General Electric Co executive who has led several companies in crisis, Calhoun will receive a base salary at an annual rate of $1.4 million and is eligible for $26.5 million in long-term incentive compensation, Boeing said in a filing. Boeing said in November Muilenburg had volunteered to give up his 2019 bonus and stock awards. For 2018, his bonus and equity awards amounted to some $20 million, according to filings. In addition to the $62 million in compensation and pension benefits, Muilenburg holds stock options that vested in 2013, Boeing said. They would be worth $18.5 million at the closing price on Friday. "Upon his departure, Dennis received the benefits to which he was contractually entitled and he did not receive any severance pay or a 2019 annual bonus," Boeing said in a statement. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Additional reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru, Peter Henderson in San Francisco and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Sonya Hepinstall and Sandra Maler) Freed from the grip of the decayed British nation and British state, England could finally be done with its delusions of grandeur. Fanciful beliefs about British importance in the world would crumble. England would be only around the eighth-largest economy in the world. And it would probably have to give up its nuclear weapons the United Kingdoms nuclear submarine base is in Scotland. England need not be, as many fear, a rump United Kingdom, parochial, perhaps even irredentist. Less cocksure and more understanding of its real place in the world, it may soon rethink its hostility to the European Union. Scotland suffered a process of deindustrialization similar to northern Englands and Waless but it voted to remain. As the writer Anthony Barnett and others suggest, a progressive English nation, on the model of the Scottish one, could emerge. This England might have an ordinary democratic nationalism that understands its own aspirations and those of others. The idea of breaking up the union isnt quite as outrageous as it might seem. The United Kingdom is neither ancient nor stable. Before 1945, national Irish, Welsh, Scottish and English identities were for many not local varieties of national Britishness but part of something much bigger: an imperial identity. British World War II propaganda explained that the United Kingdom was just one equal element of a British Commonwealth of Nations that, along with India and the colonies, made up the British Empire. It was the empire that fought the war, not the United Kingdom. Soldiers died for king and country but that country had no name. No one died for the United Kingdom. After 1945, Britain a national United Kingdom was one of many post-imperial constructions that emerged from the ashes of the British Empire. From then into the 1970s, the United Kingdom existed as a coherent economic, political and ideological unit, distinct from the rest of the world. There was a national British economy, a national British Army and a national British politics dominated by two national, unionist parties. It was a brief period of British nationhood. In fact, it was the only one. This national United Kingdom was broken up economically starting in the 1970s by the closely related processes of globalization and deepening economic integration with Europe. It is this decaying British nationalism, a leftover from the 1970s, that is now disrupting the union, not the self-conscious Scottish, Irish and Welsh versions. Strong in England but weak elsewhere, with the exception of a handful of hard-core unionists in Northern Ireland, this British nationalism manifested itself in the calls for Brexit, from before the 2016 referendum and up to today. The Brexiteers wrongly believe that independence from the European Union will make the United Kingdom great again. But Brexit and the delusions of the United Kingdoms grandeur that go with it are the politics of the aged, of those who remember that brief experience of a united, national United Kingdom. The young people of England, like those in the rest of Britain, overwhelmingly supported remaining in the European Union. They also understand we need liberation from the practices of Westminster and Whitehall, not Brussels, and from the self-defeating rage of the old. More than 30,000 protesters brushed off hot and humid conditions to voice their displeasure at the federal government's handling of the bushfire crisis and its attitude towards climate change. The event in Sydney's CBD was set up a few weeks ago by Uni Students for Climate Justice, in conjunction with Extinction Rebellion. Thousands attended a rally at Town Hall in Sydney's CBD to demand action on climate change. Credit:Cole Bennetts The marchers were moving from Town Hall to Parliament House. Organisers were hoping for a larger crowd than at the early December protests, which attracted roughly 20,000 to the same location. Inspector Gary Coffey said that the number this time around was "more than 30,000". Even if you agree with Tucker Carlson and Ann Coulter that America should get out of the Middle East, it's still hard to understand their immediate and very negative reactions to Trump's fatal air strike on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Some of the doom and gloom may come from paying too much attention to retroactive justifications and not enough to antecedent provocations. Hearing that Soleimani was killed pre-emptively because he was plotting some unspecified mayhem is bound to elicit an "oh, please" from anyone who remembers Saddam Hussein and his dangerous but ultimately nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. The resulting disastrous war is just one of many cases demonstrating that the U.S. Intelligence Community tries to influence events in much the same way most organizations do: it decides what it wants based on reasons it's unlikely to divulge and then gets the rest of us to agree by pushing information unlikely to be true. So, it's understandable that, when Army general Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, turned up on television after Soleimani was killed, many assumed that it meant yet another blood-soaked, never-ending, refugee-breeding misadventure. Even if Milley hadn't said a word, just seeing him standing behind that podium in his uniform might have been enough for anyone over forty with a functioning memory to assume we were in for another round of what Steve Sailor has pointedly termed "invade the world, invite the world." Unfortunately, Gen. Milley's remarks were so unreassuring that they could have been a parody of a Pentagon spokesman reciting a bogus casus belli: I'll stand by the intelligence I saw that was compelling. [Soleimani's planned attack] was imminent, and it was very very clear in scale and scope. Did it exactly say who, what, when, where? No. But he was planning, coordinating, and synchronizing significant combat operations against U.S. military forces in the region, and it was imminent. Who? What? When? Where? Petty details, apparently. As Hillary Clinton once famously remarked, "what difference, at this point, does it make?" This brings us to those antecedent provocations. As everyone knows, Mrs. Clinton made her seething statement of indifference while testifying to Congress about the four Americans killed when the Obama administration ignored repeated pleas for reinforcements against those attacking the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi. As some don't seem to remember, a few days before Soleimani's demise, the U.S. embassy in Iraq faced a similar attack a small but not insignificant part of which involved lots of graffiti signifying the attackers' allegiance to Iran, including, "Soleimani is my leader." The New Year's Eve attack couldn't help but bring Benghazi to mind. Some liberal commentators were even loathsome enough to celebrate it as "Trump's Benghazi." The Marine Corps unit deployed to make sure it wasn't were even part of a special task force created in the wake of Benghazi. And, though the Pentagon's subsequent flaccid justifications for killing Soleimani have overshadowed the embassy attack, as Trump's adviser on how to respond, Sen. Lindsey Graham, reported, brutally deterring anyone from even thinking about mounting another potential Benghazi was precisely the reason Soleimani was blown to bits. Trump also made that abundantly clear beforehand in several public remarks. So, contrary to Tucker Carlson's worry that Trump fell for a Deep State ruse designed to push the U.S. into a war, the subsequent unconvincing justifications for killing Soleimani had little to do with Trump's decision. But Carlson's and Coulter's more significant assumption that Soleimani's death has made a war with Iran more likely is also uncharacteristically unthought out. Granted, the corporate press went into overdrive making it seem as if we were at war with Iran the second Soleimani took his final breath. The New York Times barely waited for the body parts to get cold before giving us the headline "Is There a Risk of Wider War with Iran?" The Washington Post did the Times one better with the "when did you stop beating your wife" headline "How did the U.S get to the Brink of War with Iran?" Slate abandoned subtlety altogether and just straight-up lied: "Trump Just Declared War on Iran." That's just a tiny sample of the establishment media trying to generate a panic because the guy who just yesterday was supposed to be feckless for not retaliating against a string of less serious Iranian provocations finally reacted to a more serious one. So it may be that Carlson and Coulter, whose jobs require immersing themselves in corporate media dreck, inadvertently took some home. Of course, diplomacy is by no means an easy business, and it's certainly possible that Trump has taken the first inexorable step toward war. But to assume so at this early stage is worse than premature. Not decisively responding to aggression isn't always the way to avoid more. It depends on whether the response frightens or emboldens. And, not to put too fine a point on it, there's plenty of reason to think that Trump has scared the living crap out of Iran's leaders. His tweet to them the day after Soleimani's sudden and unexpected departure from their company was a masterful stroke: Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats! Trump's cold specificity and parenthetical reminder of that old unsettled score was guaranteed to make Iran's leaders sit up from their prayer shawls and take notice. They did make a lot of histrionic threats in the wake of their beloved comrade's untimely passing. And, the corporate press gave them plenty of hype to cement the impression that Trump had blundered into war. But incessant barking is at least as likely to indicate a disinclination to do much biting as it is a reliable indicator of future aggression. The fact is, as Trump emphasized in a recent speech responding to the halfhearted and perfunctory token bite Iran has offered thus far, the United States is now a net exporter of oil and doesn't need any of the Middle East's. Iran's military might amounts to less than a Lilliputian gnat's power against Gulliver should they provoke Trump into making good on finally paying back those 52 American hostages by obliterating an equal number of sites strategically and culturally important to them. And there always remains the possibility of a more limited but probably more effective direct targeting of Iranian leaders along the lines of Qassem Soleimani's sudden and unexpected demise. Again, anything can happen. But assuming Soleimani's death has hastened rather than forestalled war is, at a minimum, way premature. Moreover, if the nickname the Iranians gave Trump way back in 2016 is any indication, Soleimani's explosive end very likely put the fear of Allah into Iran's leaders. You don't call someone "Crazy Trump" unless you're at least a little alarmed by his unpredictable ways. If Iran's leaders aren't irrational, they'll think twice before giving Crazy Trump a reason for arranging a surprise reunion with their beloved comrade Qassem Soleimani. Michael Thau is working on a book about the fake Russian hack of the DNC. You can find all his work at his website, Aclearerpicture.net. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. 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. We'll use ROE to examine China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE:DL), by way of a worked example. Our data shows China Distance Education Holdings has a return on equity of 13% for the last year. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each $1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made $0.13 in profit. Check out our latest analysis for China Distance Education Holdings How Do You Calculate ROE? The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity Or for China Distance Education Holdings: 13% = US$16m US$124m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.) Most readers would understand what net profit is, but its worth explaining the concept of shareholders equity. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets. What Does ROE Signify? ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the yearly profit. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. Does China Distance Education Holdings Have A Good ROE? Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. You can see in the graphic below that China Distance Education Holdings has an ROE that is fairly close to the average for the Consumer Services industry (12%). Story continues NYSE:DL Past Revenue and Net Income, January 10th 2020 That's not overly surprising. ROE tells us about the quality of the business, but it does not give us much of an idea if the share price is cheap. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Why You Should Consider Debt When Looking At ROE Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking. China Distance Education Holdings's Debt And Its 13% ROE While China Distance Education Holdings does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.31, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. The combination of modest debt and a very respectable ROE suggests this is a business worth watching. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality. The Key Takeaway Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better. But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. But note: China Distance Education Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, made the legalisation of cannabis a key priority as he outlined his agenda for 2020 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has pledged for the second year in a row to legalise recreational cannabis. The state would become the 12th to do so and Mr Cuomo said it could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, made the legalisation of cannabis a key priority as he outlined his agenda for 2020, saying taxes imposed by a regulatory scheme could bring some $300m (270m) into the state's coffers and confront injustices in enforcement of drug laws. "For decades, communities of colour were disproportionately affected by the unequal enforcement of marijuana laws. "Last year we righted that injustice when we decriminalised possession," Mr Cuomo said in his annual State of the State address on Wednesday. Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. A sedition case has been registered against a group of students in connection with alleged display of a Free Kashmir placard during a protest in a campus of the Mysuru university against the attack on JNU students, police said on Thursday. The case has been registered against Maridevaiah, who was leading the protest, and others under Indian Penal Code sections 124-A (sedition) and 34 (acts done by several persons). Mysuru Police Commissioner KT Balakrishna said the case had been registered suo motu (on their own) based on video and photographs showing one of the protestors holding the placard which read Free Kashmir at the demonstration staged by some 100 students on Wednesday. Investigations are on to find out those who were involved in it, he said. The students were protesting against the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi on Sunday. The protest was held by a Dalit students forum, Mysuru Researchers Association, Bahujan Vidyarthi Sangh, Students Federation of India and other left-Leaning student bodies under the leadership of Maridevaiah at the Manasa Gangotri campus of the university in Mysuru, police said. The FIR said the organisers had not obtained permission for the protest. Registrar of the university R Shivappa said, We have also complained to the police against the organisations. They (protesters) had not taken permission from the university. Meanwhile, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh reiterated that the case registered against Mumbai woman Mehek Prabhu for displaying Free Kashmir placard during a protest against JNU attack, is being reexamined. The FIR can also be cancelled if her intention behind the placard found to not be malafide or anti-national. She may have been expressing herself in order to raise her voice against the restrictions on internet and house arrests of the political leaders in Kashmir. We are investigating her background and her side she released through a video clip..., he said. In June 1995, physicians Angus Wallace and Tom Wong were waiting for their flight to depart Hong Kong to London when they were asked to examine a woman complaining of arm pain caused by a "fall." After takeoff, the doctors returned to the woman to put a splint on her arm but they quickly realized that her injuries were much more serious than she had first reported. Not only did the woman have arm and rib fractures, her lung was punctured and air leaking between her lung and chest wall had caused a pneumothorax. The condition is life threatening if not treated and Wallace believed the change in air pressure upon landing would kill her. So Wallace and Wong had to improvise. From Wikipedia: The medical kit had lidocaine a local anaesthetic but the catheter in the kit was designed only for urinary catheterisation and was too soft for use as a chest tube. The doctors fashioned a trocar from a metal clothes hanger to stiffen the catheter, and a check valve from a bottle of water with holes poked in the cap. They sterilised their equipment in Courvoisier cognac, and began surgery by making an incision in the patient's chest, but with no surgical clamps available, Wong had to hold the incision open with a knife and fork while Wallace inserted the catheter. The whole surgery lasted about ten minutes; the doctors successfully released the trapped air from the patient's chest, and she passed the rest of the flight uneventfully, eating and watching in-flight movies. In the aftermath, Wallace and Wong published a brief article in the British Medical Journal about the incident. Wallace also testified before a Parliamentary committee investigating British airlines' alleged lack of investment in on-board medical equipment. He was even more critical of US airlines in this regard, noting that his efforts would have been impossible with typical US airline medical kits not even containing aspirin, and stated that "There needs to be a major change in attitudes in the U.S., both from the government and from the airlines." A man accused of deserting his position at a Washington military base was arrested Thursday morning at a visitor center on the Oregon coast. The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office said in a news release that deputies arrested Christopher Gardner, 32, around 8:30 a.m. Thursday after they responded to a report of a suspicious person at the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center. Earlier in the day, deputies had gotten an alert from the U.S. Army about a military deserter from Washingtons Joint Base Lewis-McChord named Christopher Lee Gardner. The alert said that Gardner was considered armed and dangerous. Based on descriptions of Gardner and his suspicious activity," deputies confirmed he was the same suspect the Army was seeking and arrested him without incident. Gardner was medically evaluated and lodged in the Lincoln County Jail on a federal detainer. Oregon State Police found Gardners car nearby at Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint. They found a gun inside the car. Gardner has not been charged with any local crimes. Information about how long Gardner was missing from the military base, his history with the U.S. Army and what he was doing at Cape Perpetua were not immediately available. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. If Democrats can't stop howling that President Trump's killing of Iranian terrorist chieftain Qassem Soleimani was some kind of failure that would mean war, maybe they should ask the terrorists on the ground over in Iraq. If they can find them. Turns out they're running for their lives. Sara Carter has an important bit of news about how they're taking it: U.S. officials have intercepted chatter and received confirmation that terrorist leaders in Iraq have been fleeing the region and have gone into hiding fearing United States intelligence capabilities after the successful airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani, according to multiple sources that spoke to SaraACarter.com. Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, was killed early Friday morning as he stepped off his plane and headed to the SUV at the Baghdad Airport in Iraq. The U.S. developed extraordinary actionable intelligence to target the most wanted terrorist in the world and it was a 'precision strike' that caught the Iranian government off guard, said a White House official, who spoke on background due to the sensitive nature of their work. This doesn't sound like the activity of people who are mobilizing for war. Terrorists run toward war, not away from war, it's why so many are in the Middle East in the first place. Remember all those "foreign fighters"? These guys don't want to be anywhere near some U.S. drone radar or whatever it is that enables the rockets to zero in on miscreants and leave them grease spots on the desert floor. They know there's not going to be a war, and more importantly, they know that with Iran's big terrorist dead, they no longer have any protection. Counting on Iran to mobilize them to get "revenge" for Soleimani's killing? These guys don't want to be around for it. Bottom line: They know that President Trump's deathblow to Soleimani was a deathblow to them. There's no regrouping. They're getting the hell out of Dodge at this point, and that's the move of desperate men. It's hard to say what they'll end up doing next, but it's pretty obvious they know that Iraq's not the "scene" anymore. Terrorists are a bellwether, and by their flight from Iraq, they're voting with their feet. They're like cockroaches before an earthquake, running before the coming crush. Their flight effectively says the jig is up, save yourselves if you can, there's no glory out there, just doom. It makes Democrats look utterly stupid as they howl about Trump being a warmonger, a bad strategist, a blunderer, a guy who's going to get us all killed by taking out Soleimani. They've since passed a resolution in the House seeking to curb Trump's wartime powers, in a sorry bid to tell Iran and its terrorist minions there's nothing to worry about. (Apparently, it will fall flat in the Senate.) Why they're doing this tells us a lot about what they fear most: not that Trump will fail, but that Trump is succeeding. They are that malevolent, that they'd rather terrorists be aided than Americans be protected at long last from this ongoing scourge. A few candidates for the four Lewis and Clark County positions up for election in 2020 filed to run on the first day Thursday. The filing period is now open for a district court judge position, a seat on the county commission, a new justice of the peace position and clerk of court. The county commission seat up for election is currently held by Susan Good Geise. Geise announced last year that she did not intend to run for reelection to the seat, which represents Augusta and part of Helena. No candidates officially filed for the position Thursday, but Tom Rolfe and Tyrel Suzor-Hoy have filed campaign finance documents for the position. Rolfe is a sales and leasing consultant at Helena Motors and Suzor-Hoy works for the Montana Department of Transportation. Suzor-Hoy unsuccessfully ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2018. The county is adding a second justice of the peace position, which is the one up for election this year. The new justice of the peace will work alongside Justice of the Peace Michael Swingley. Mark Piskolich filed for the position Thursday. Piskolich has worked for the past 26 years in Helena as a probation officer. He also spent six years with the Montana Department of Corrections and 20 with the United States District Court. Piskolich said he is currently back working with the Department of Corrections on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. "I'm running because the justice court is a critical part of the Montana justice system infrastructure. It is where most citizens will interact with their government," Piskolich said. "(It's) where they will seek to resolve disputes with their neighbors and look for justice when they've been wronged. I think my education and experience combine to make me ideally suited to run the justice court." Piskolich described that experience as working with hundreds of individuals serving felony sentences in the community and guiding them toward personal accountability and rehabilitation. He has also often written pre-sentence investigations and worked with judges to "balance society's interests in safety and security with the individual's rights and potential for redemption," he said. Though Piskolich was the only person to file for this position on the first day, Shawn White Wolf has filed campaign finance documents for the position. First Judicial District Court Judge Kathy Seeley's seat is also up for election in 2020. Seeley has held the position since 2009 and confirmed that she intends to seek reelection to another six-year term this year. "I look forward to continuing my service for one more term," Seeley said. Seeley hasn't officially filed for the position yet, nor has anyone else. Currently, no campaign finance documents have been filed for this position. Angie Sparks has filed for reelection to the clerk of district court position. Sparks has spent the past 20 years working for Lewis and Clark County and was first elected to the position in 2016. Over the past four years, Sparks has implemented a new jury and electronic filing system, which she said has increased responses from potential jurors and helped save the county a significant amount of money. "I like my job," Sparks said. "And I feel that I've been doing a good job for the county." There have been no other filings or campaign finance documents reported for electable positions in the county. The filing deadline is March 9, and the general election is Nov. 3. For the first time this year, candidates for county offices are filing without a party affiliation next to their names. This is due to a decision made by voters in November to hold nonpartisan elections in Lewis and Clark County. Love 2 Funny 1 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. Mr. Arden Tannis (front 2nd from left) hands over equipment to CoP Colin John (front centre) in the presence of reps of other Police-related organizations and members of the local constabulary. The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) now in possession of a quantity of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) equipment. The CCTV equipment was a donation from the SVG Ex-Police Association of New York and was handed over to Commissioner of Police Colin John during a brief ceremony at Police Headquarters Conference Room, Wednesday 18th December 2019. Mr. Arden Tannis, the immediate Past President of the SVG Ex-Police Association of New York, (currently headed by Pam Ferrari), on handing over the equipment said that he was very pleased to be making the donation, and mentioned that his organization has made donations to needy causes throughout SVG and in the Diaspora. He was confident that the equipment will enhance the crime-fighting work of the RSVGPF. Commissioner John, in his brief acceptance remarks, thanked Mr. Tannis on behalf of the members of the RSVGPF, and stated that the equipment will assist with the safety of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the members of the Police Force as well. Also making brief remarks at the handing over ceremony were Station Sergeant Mr. Brenton Smith, Chairman of the Police Welfare Association, and former Commissioner of Police Mr. Michael Charles who spoke on behalf of the Ex-Police Association of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Both Smith and Charles endorsed the sentiments of Commissioner John. Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said the government could reopen the investigation into the death of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge BH Loya, if there is substance in the evidence presented before him. Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case of Gujarat, died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter. The Supreme Court (SC) had, in August 2018, held that Loya died of natural causes and had also rejected pleas seeking a special investigation team (SIT) probe into the death, questioning the motive of the petitioners. Deshmukh said he will be meeting a few people who have claimed to have proof of foul play. According to home department officials, relatives and a few people close to Loya were expected to meet Deshmukh late on Thursday. The opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has described the statement as a politically motivated move. The home minister said the people who contacted them said they have videos and call detail records to substantiate their claims. I will personally go through the files and other documents and if need be, we will reopen the case, he said. According to the officials, the people meeting the home minister had submitted a similar set of documents to Congress leader and SC lawyer Kapil Sibal, who had said there was foul play in the death of the judge. Sibal had later held press conferences and demanded that the case needed to be investigated thoroughly. Raking up the Loya death case after the SC verdict is nothing but politics. The government cannot defeat the truth whatever it does, said Devendra Fadnavis, leader of Opposition in legislative Assembly and former chief minister. BJP leader Ashish Shelar criticised Deshmukh and questioned if the home minister was acting under political prejudice. By announcing to reopen the case disposed of by the SC, the question arises if the home minister is following the law or is acting with a certain prejudice?, he questioned in a press release. Meanwhile, Deshmukh reiterated that the case registered against Mumbai-based woman Tejal Prabhu for displaying a Free Kashmir placard during the recent protest at the Gateway of India against the attacks on New Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, is being re-examined. The FIR can also be cancelled if her intention behind the placard is found to not be malafide or anti-national. She may have been expressing herself in order to raise her voice against the restrictions on internet and house arrests of the political leaders in Kashmir. We are investigating her background and her side she released through a video clip. The decision over the FIR against her will be taken after that, he said. According to a minister, the police are expected to withdraw the FIR soon. The police have been claiming that the case has been registered to avoid any legal complications. They feared that the court will reprimand them if anybody moved court for not taking any action against her, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Progressive activists stage a rally in Seoul, Thursday, against latest U.S. attack on Iran and Korea's possible joining of a U.S.-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran. Yonhap Trump met with Moon's top security adviser in Washington By Yi Whan-woo The U.S. request for Korea to join a naval security mission in the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a new test of the two countries' alliance on top of other issues, such as negotiations over the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that covers defense cost-sharing for U.S, troops stationed here. In a rare move, the White House disclosed Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump had met with Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office (NSO). The spontaneous meeting between Trump and Chung, which took place while the latter was in Washington for a trilateral security meeting, seems to show the U.S. leader's keen interest in bilateral issues. Given the urgency of the situation in the Middle East, the two may have discussed Korea's participation in the budding naval mission, although Cheong Wa Dae said that nothing has been decided on the issue. U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that he discussed "Iran, DPRK-related developments and trilateral cooperation" with Chung and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Kitamura. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris expressed hope this week that Seoul would send naval assets to the region to help safeguard the strait, as Iran seized a foreign oil tanker and allegedly mined two others in the summer of 2018. His request, however, appeared to be problematic for the government, as it comes after a controversy over Seoul pulling out from a Korea-Japan military intelligence pact. The U.S. called this "disappointing," prompting speculation here that Washington favored Tokyo over Seoul. "The Hormuz mission is totally irrelevant when it comes to comparing the U.S.-Korea alliance with the U.S.-Japan alliance but it does not seem to be the case here," said Kim Dong-yeop, a research professor at the Kyungnam University Institute for Far Eastern Studies. The two East Asian countries are among other U.S. allies that have been asked to join the U.S.-led maritime coalition. Ministry lodges protest over Iranian envoy's reported mention of possible end of Seoul-Tehran ties Is Trump more presidential after Iran attack? Iranians shot down airliner, Western leaders declare [VIDEO] 'Korea's stance on Hormuz may not be same as US' How Korea should respond was produced much speculation after Japan's decision to send a naval force independent of the coalition. The diplomatic risk in joining the patrol mission in the Strait of Hormuz has become greater, following the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and Iran's retaliatory missile attack on two joint American military bases in Iraq. In several interviews with local media, Iranian Ambassador to Korea Saeed Badamchi-Shabestari warned that Tehran could sever ties with Seoul if the government agrees to the U.S. request. Against this backdrop, an analyst said the administration should take step-by-step measures with regard to the U.S.-Iran conflict. "The first possible measure to be taken will be sending a liaison officer, but only if the U.S. requests it to do so," Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said. "It is important to send a political message that South Korea stands with the U.S. as an ally but how to materialize such a message should be done by analyzing the circumstances very closely." Shin said Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha was "mistaken" Thursday, when she said that Seoul, in relation to the mission to Hormuz, cannot always be on the same page as Washington. Cha Du-hyeogn, a visiting fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, suggested sending a naval force of a similar size to the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit operating off the coast of Somalia. His suggestion was in line with the possible option of expanding the Cheonghae unit's mission parameters to join the U.S.-led coalition for the time being. Meanwhile, analysts said Korea should side with the U.S. over Iran, despite the decades-long economic partnership with Tehran. Cha specifically speculated that Iran might not be so quick to cut ties with Korea. New Delhi, Jan 10 : Deeply inspired by the Buddhist art of Asia, a French artist and Zen practitioner Guyseika will exhibit his unique vignettes of eastern culture and abstract expressionism. In a beautiful expression of East meeting West, his works will be on view in an exhibition titled 'Thread Through Asia'. On view at the Alliance Francaise de Delhi from January 11-16, Guyseika's debut India exhibition 'Thread through Asia' showcases the Asian influences on his art. The solo show is a glimpse into the 22 years of his Zen practice and artistic exploration - a thread piecing together traditional Zen and Taoist painting of China and Japan, shamanism, mandalas and folk rituals of India with Tibetan thangkas. The exhibition features over 50 contemplative works done in various media. Originating in eastern India, the core of Buddhism spread throughout Asia and beyond over centuries, with each country adapting to the religion and uniquely localising it over centuries. Guyseika was attracted to Asia right from childhood onwards, through the deep link that his grandmother had with Vietnam, having spent her childhood there. After travelling extensively within eastern countries and experiencing Buddhist culture first-hand, the Normandy-born artist started practicing Zen with a Japanese master. He later voyaged through India. Not surprisingly, upon his return to Paris, his works were strongly dominated by eastern cultures. Guy also became fascinated with the spiritual and geometric forms of yantras and mandalas, and the ritual use of pigments, that one finds in abundance in India. With bold, colourful strokes of the brush, Guyseika's work in acrylic on canvas represents fluid, dreamlike forms, and visualises his affinity for the mountains - spaces where much of his Zen exploration took place. Many of his works imagine Buddhist visuals mixed with manga, tattoo, street art and surfing culture. Rooted in Buddhist philosophy, his works beautifully combine the text and visual forms. Interestingly, Seika does not own a studio. He likes to work where life takes him and use the materials that directly surround him. Women walk past a banner of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone attack on Friday, in Tajrish square in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Read more WASHINGTON - On the day the U.S. military killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad, U.S. forces carried out another top secret mission against a senior Iranian military official in Yemen, according to U.S. officials. The strike targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai, a financier and key commander of Iran's elite Quds Force who has been active in Yemen, did not result in his death, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The unsuccessful operation may indicate that the Trump administrations killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week was part of a broader operation than previously explained, raising questions about whether the mission was designed to cripple the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or solely to prevent an imminent attack on Americans as originally stated. U.S. military operations in Yemen, where a civil war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, are shrouded in secrecy. U.S. officials said the operation against Shahlai remains highly classified, and many declined to offer details other than to say it was not successful. Officials at the Pentagon and in Florida were monitoring both strikes and had discussed announcing them together, had they gone well, officials said. "If we had killed him, we'd be bragging about it that same night," a senior U.S. official said, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a classified military operation. Another senior official said the two strikes were authorized around the same time and that the United States did not disclose the Shahlai mission because it did not go according to plan. The official said Shahlai may be targeted in the future, though both countries have signaled an interest in de-escalating the crisis. The rationale for the Trump administration's decision to kill Soleimani has come under scrutiny in Congress, with House lawmakers approving a resolution on Thursday to restrict the president's authority to strike Iran without congressional approval. Defense and State Department officials said the strike against Soleimani saved "dozens" if not "hundreds" of American lives under imminent threat. The strike against Shahlai potentially complicates that argument. "This suggests a mission with a longer planning horizon and a larger objective, and it really does call into question why there was an attempt to explain this publicly on the basis of an imminent threat," said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran scholar at the Brookings Institution. The Trump administration views Shahlai as a particularly potent adversary. Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, Pentagon spokeswoman, said the Defense Department does not discuss "alleged operations" in the Middle East. "We have seen the report of a January 2 airstrike in Yemen, which is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States," she said in a statement. The State Department offered a $15 million reward last month for information leading to Shahlai and the disruption of the IRGC's financial mechanisms. The announcement said that Shahlai is based in Yemen and has a "long history of involvement in attacks targeting the U.S. and our allies, including in the 2011 plot against the Saudi ambassador" at an Italian restaurant in Washington. U.S. officials have alleged Shahlai, born around 1957, is linked to attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, including a sophisticated 2007 raid in which Iranian-backed militiamen abducted and killed five Americans troops in the city of Karbala. In a news conference last year, Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran, said the United States remains "gravely concerned by his presence in Yemen and potential role in providing advanced weaponry of the kind we have interdicted to the Houthis," who continue to battle a Saudi-led coalition for control of Yemen. Iran has provided support and training to the Houthi rebels in their battle against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia, Iran's regional foe. It is unclear why the operation did not succeed. The State Department and White House declined to comment. The killing of Soleimani, the first U.S. targeted killing of a senior member of a foreign military since World War II, prompted Iran to retaliate early Wednesday in Iraq by firing ballistic missiles at U.S. locations there, though no casualties were reported. Following the strike, President Donald Trump said the United States would respond by imposing economic sanctions on Iran, and noted that the "United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." Trump's top aides have continued to tout the "imminent" nature of the threat from Soleimani, though have been less precise about the timing. "There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by Qasem Soleimani," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Friday. "We don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real." Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper have likewise supported the case for an imminent plot. "Did it exactly say who, what, when, where? No," Milley told reporters this week. "But he was planning, coordinating and synchronizing significant combat operations against U.S. military forces in the region, and it was imminent." Milley continued to emphatically defend the intelligence during a classified briefing with members of Congress on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Some lawmakers left the meeting complaining about the lack of specifics about the intelligence. "I believe this administration is after the fact trying to piece together a rationale for its action that was impulsive, reckless and put this country's security at risk," said Gerald Connolly, D-Va. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called it "probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I've seen in nine years I've been here." Republican leaders in Congress have stood behind the president's decision to take out an Iranian commander allegedly linked to the deaths of more than 500 U.S. soldiers following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The operation targeting Shahlai occurs as the United Nations presses for a political solution to the war in Yemen, which began in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched its campaign against the Houthi rebels. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government has struggled to regain the upper hand against the Houthis, allowing a massive humanitarian crisis to fester in which tens of thousands of Yemenis have died of fighting, deprivation or disease. U.S. officials believe that Iran has steadily expanded its support to the Houthis, placing what they say is a small number of Iranian operatives in Yemen to advise the rebel campaign. Experts say a larger number of Lebanese Hezbollah personnel are also helping the rebels. The Trump administration has showcased apparent Iranian weapons that have been intercepted or recovered in and around Yemen as proof that Iran is arming the Houthi rebels, including sophisticated missiles used to target Saudi Arabia. Experts say the Saudi-led coalition has dramatically reduced the tempo of its airstrikes against Houthi targets in recent months as the Yemeni rebels have largely halted their missile attacks into Saudi Arabia. Houthi leaders are divided between those who want to demonstrate loyalty to Iran and those who are open to striking a deal with their neighbor to the north. According to the Long War Journal, which tracks counterterrorism operations overseas, the United States conducted eight strikes against militants in Yemen in 2019, down from a high of about 125 strikes in 2017. The strikes have targeted al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and the local branch of the Islamic State. The attempted strike on Shahlai also marks a departure for the Pentagon's mission in Yemen, which has sought to avoid direct involvement in fighting between Houthi forces and those backed by the Saudi-led coalition. In 2018, the military halted a program in which U.S. planes refueled Gulf combat jets amid criticism of the civilian casualties caused by coalition air sorties. The United States has not previously taken any publicly acknowledged attacks on Houthi or Iranian leaders in Yemen, though Special Operations forces have sought to track Iranian movements and disrupt alleged smuggling of Iranian weaponry into the country. The Washington Posts Shane Harris and Souad Mekhennet contributed to this report. The proposed penalty comes as Boeing faces scrutiny over the development of the Max, which was involved in two deadly crashes in a span of five months between 2018 and early 2019 that killed 346 people. The plane was grounded shortly after the second crash and is still under safety review by U.S. and international regulators. Prisoners could be trained to fight blazes in one of the Australian regions worst hit by wildfires, authorities say. New South Wales is exploring options to establish inmate firefighting teams at a number of minimum-security correctional centres, a local prison service spokesperson told The Independent. They said inmates will have to meet conditions relating to offence history, security classification and release date to take part. NGO Penal Reform International said it encourages rehabilitation programmes that help people move away from offending behaviours and make a meaningful contribution to the local community. Training people serving prison sentences to fight bushfires certainly fits this profile, said Jane Rice, who leads the NGOs work on prisons and natural disasters. However, she said, this work must be entirely voluntary and sufficiently compensated. Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in the state of New South Wales on 31 December 2019 AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billows from a huge bushfire that has torched over 200,000 acres of land in East Gipplsand, Victoria on 2 January EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Residents look on as flames tear through bushland in Lake Tabouriee, Australia on 4 January on 4 January Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Boats are pulled ashore as smoke and wildfires rage behind Lake Conjola on 2 January Robert Oerlemans via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighting helicopter tackles a bushfire in East Gippsland, Victoria on 31 December EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter gives water to a parched koala in Cudlee Creek, South Australia AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters tackle a blaze as it tears through a farm in New South Wales on 21 December AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The sky is turned red over East Gippsland as fires continue to rage through Australian bushland on 4 January Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A kangaroo near bushfires in Nowra AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures An aerial view of a bushfire near Bairnsdale State Government of Victoria/EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters work to tackle a blaze on the outskirts of Sydney on 31 December 2019 Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighting helicopter dumps water on a bushfire on the outskirts of the town of Bargo near Sydney Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Children play at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A satellite image of the Batemans Bay showing smoke and fire from wild bushfires European Union, Copernicus Sentinel Data via REUTERS Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires in Nowra AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The sky glows red as bushfires continue to rage in Mallacoota, Victoria Jonty Smith via Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The remains of burnt out buildings along a main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters try to protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales NSW Rural Fire Service/AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale Glen Morey via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Business owners stand in front of their shop which was destroyed by a bushfire in Cobargo EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A helicopter dumping water on a fire in Victoria's East Gippsland region Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning/AFP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Think smoke from bushfires fills the air in eastern Gippsland Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures "Carmelised" snow caused by dust from Australian bushfires is seen near Franz Josef glacier in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park, New Zealand Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland, Victoria. More than 800,000 hectares have been burnt in East Gippsland EPA/DELWP Gippsland Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland EPA/DELWP Gippsland Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures LIFES.A.BREEZE via Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke and wildfire rage behind Lake Conjola Robert Oerlemans via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A house and van are seen destroyed after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A helicopter fighting a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region State Government of Victoria/AFP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Fire and Rescue personal run to move their truck as a bushfire burns next to a major road and homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Amy, left, and Ben Spencer sit at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter sprays foam retardant on a back burn ahead of a fire front in the New South Wales town of Jerrawangala AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Two bushfires approach a home located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Property damaged by the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield, Victoria EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Property under threat from the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The main street of the New South Wales town of Bombala is pictured shrouded in smoke from nearby bushfires AFP via Getty Prisoners have been taking part in other community projects, such as helping to rebuild a dingo shelter destroyed in the regions fires, according to the New South Wales Department of Justice. We just dont have the resources so its been fantastic to have extra hands to help with the clean-up, the sanctuary founder Luci Ellem said. The correctional staff and inmates have worked really hard and I cant thank them enough. A Corrective Services NSW spokesperson said prisoners are expected to help with other rebuilding projects across the year. Regional prison authorities are also working towards organising crews of inmates to go into areas ravaged by bushfire and undertake critical clean-up and maintenance work. New South Wales has been one of the worst-hit regions during Australias most devastating wildfire season on record. Prisoners have helped tackle blazes throughout the years in California. Campaigners called the system open to exploitation and abuse, as inmates in the US state were paid $1 (77p) an hour for firefighting services during the deadly 2018 wildfires. Californian prison authorities said inmates received the same amount of training as seasonal firefighters and could learn useful skills through the scheme. Ms Rice from Penal Reform International said in California, inmates trained as firefighters are not eligible to get regular jobs with fire departments because of their criminal record on leaving prison. Persons trained in these skills [in rehabilitation programmes] ought to be able to use these in jobs after they are released from prison, she said. Firefighters many of whom are volunteers have been working since September to tackle Australias blazes, which have killed 27 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Additional reporting by agencies A R T C E L S is the brainchild of Glencore commodities trader, Gijs de Viet and London-based contemporary art gallerist, Elio D'Anna of the House of Fine Art ( HOFA ), who designed it to open the lucrative world of blue-chip art investments to a wider and younger international market. The pioneering contemporary art exhibition will offer investors equity in the form of digital tokens similar to cryptocurrency backed by shares in the artworks as registered assets of a London UK based Limited company. Citing the Economist, Gijs de Viet explains that "Fine Art has been the single best performing asset class over the last 100 years, so it's about time this opportunity be opened up to a much wider group of investors." He adds, "A R T C E L S' mission, is to provide a new alternative to traditional ways of investing in art whilst building a bold and diverse portfolio of Contemporary Art with a focus on rare editions and works on paper to attract younger, web-savvy investors with an offer on high-end assets and high value shares." A R T C E L S parcels art into shares worth a minimum of 390 ($500) determined through proven quantitative strategies for art asset acquisitions and made available exclusively to subscribers. Art connoisseurs will get a chance to experience A R T C E L S at the two week 'XXI' exhibition, taking place at HOFA's new state-of-the-art Mayfair gallery, where artworks by Banksy, KAWS, Damien Hirst, George Condo, Jeff Koons and other blue-chip artists will be on display. Prospective investors can choose between sole acquisitions or investments in wider, diversified art portfolios which offer fractional ownership and reduced risk. Whatever their choice, they can be assured they are investing in carefully sourced art, whose value are projected to appreciate based on expert analysis of market trends. To minimise the risks inherent in art investments, pioneering features have been built into A R T C E L S, supported by strategic partnerships. Swiss-based company, 4Art-Technologies AG, generates cryptographic signatures that provide cutting-edge authentication for its art assets, while Swiss blockchain company Assetyze AG brings the blockchain based solution to create a secure, digital token that can reliably proof the existence of the digitally issued tokens. The incorporation of authenticity, ownership and asset inventory information into a single digital token is set to introduce a Gold Standard of transparency and trust into a market plagued by poor data quality in connection with tangible assets. A R T C E L S will also allow investors to enjoy their investments at exclusive art events held multiple times each year, with London, Los Angeles and Shanghai already planned for 2020 and up to 10 exhibitions by 2022. As co-founder Elio D' Anna explains, "...as a diverse investment, investing in art through A R T C E L S is both secure and engaging because there's also the aspect of enjoying your investment at public exhibitions, as well as private viewings with other shareholders. It's a pleasure that's only comparable to collecting classic cars, watches and fine wines." A R T C E L S will open to subscribers on the 20th February 2020. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1064031/Companion_KAWS.jpg Contact: Emma-Louise O'Neill, +44-7515-136909, [email protected] SOURCE A R T C E L S Related Links http://artcels.com/ UK ban on US-chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef to remain after Brexit Theresa Villiers, environment secretary, said the current European Union ban on both United States chlorinated chicken and beef treated with hormones will remain after the United Kingdom leaves the EU, reported BBC. Villiers spoke to BBC Countryfile, emphasising the legal barriers imposed on the imports of both foods which will remain. The issue had remained uncertain until it was clarified by Villiers. Previously, she spoke about imposing tariffs on future US chicken and beef imports. She said the country will uphold its high animal welfare standards, and protect its national interests and values. The EU has banned imports of chlorine washed chicken as it permits US farmers to be insensitive to chicken welfare. The ban on hormone-treated beef imports is due to growth enhancing chemicals in the hormones which may negatively affect humans who eat the beef, a statement which the US rejects. According to the US, these bans were imposed by the EU to safeguard its own local producers. The US said the trade of both chicken and beef is pivotal in any post-Brexit deal between the US and the UK. While the environment secretary's promise might make British consumers happy, it may derail Britain's trade negotiations with the US. - BBC She's set to take on the role of the superhuman Sersi in the big screen blockbuster. And Gemma Chan seemed to be in the midst of another intense scene as she was hosted into the air by a crane to film The Eternals at Hampstead Heath in north London on Thursday. The actress, 37, was joined by Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington, 33, to film scenes for the Marvel blockbuster, which also stars Angelina Jolie and will be released on 6th November. Dramatic: Gemma Chan seemed to be in the midst of another intense scene as she was hosted into the air by a crane to film The Eternals in London's Hampstead Heath on Thursday Gemma was wrapped up in a forest green wrap coat as she was lifted into the air by the towering crane. The Human star appeared to be in the midst of a transformation or sorts, or perhaps was character was in the midst of using her powers as her character Sersi. During the break from filming, Gemma was seen chatting to her co-star Kit, while presumably her stunt double filmed similar scenes while attached to the crane. Friendly: The actress was joined by Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington to film scenes for the Marvel blockbuster Important: Gemma was clad in an olive green wrap coat as she filmed an intense scene which seemed to feature her character displaying her powers Scary: She is set to play the superhuman Sersi, who posses the power of flight as well as incredible strength and durability Gemma is playing the role of the superhuman Sersi in the film, who possesses the power to fly as well as incredible strength and durability and the ability to manipulate atoms and molecules into any shape she wishes. The adaptation of the Marvel comic was confirmed in July at San Diego Comic Con along with much of the film's cast. Created by the Celestials, The Eternals are an immortal alien race who are required to protect humanity from their evil counterparts called the Deviants. They are known for their superhuman strength, stamina, speed, durability, agility and reflexes. Dramatic: Later during filming Gemma's stunt double was spotted filming similar scenes, ahead of the film's release in November Breather: Later Gemma and Kit were seen chatting as they took from filming the scenes in the Heath Exciting: Details about Kit's role in the film are yet to be disclosed, although it has been revealed that he plays a superhero who yields a sword Coming soon: The adaptation of the Marvel comic was confirmed in July at San Diego Comic Con along with much of the film's cast Leading the star-studded cast is actress Angelina, who has been spotted on set filming in Fuerteventura, and in Oxford University's Museum of Natural History. Angelina's character Thena was born in the city of Olympia in ancient Greece - originally with the name Azura. Aside from The Eternals' main superhuman abilities, the warrior also can manipulate cosmic energy to augment her life force which grants her virtual invulnerability and immortality. She also has total mental control over her physical form. She can also project cosmic energy from her eyes or hands in the form of heat, light, and concussive force. Drama: This will be Gemma's second big role in the Marvel cinematic universe, after previously playing Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel Epic: The Eternals are an immortal alien race who are required to protect humanity from their evil counterparts called the Deviants Big names: The film also stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden and Salma Hayek who were not present during filming Hanging in the balance: As part of the scene Gemma was held in the air on the crane in the midst of the Heath Richard Madden is playing leader Ikaris in the flick, who also boasts superhuman strength, matter transmutation and teleportation. Details about Kit's role in the film are being kept under wraps, but it has been revealed that he will play a superhero that is known for wielding a sword. At the panel dedicated to Marvel during San Diego Comic Con in July, Angelina said: 'Im so excited to be here! I think what it means to be a part of the MCU, what it means to be an Eternal, what it means to be in this family.' 'Weve all read the script and we know what the task is and so we are going to work very, very hard,' she added, according to Just Jared. The Eternals is set to be released in the US on 6th November 2020. Debris at the scene of the plane crash in Iran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) It is highly likely that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, US, Canadian and British officials have said. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. An Iranian official denied a missile hit the plane and called on both the US and Canada to release data backing their allegations. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the countrys national aviation department, said it is absolutely impossible that the armed forces would shoot down a civilian plane. Expand Close Mourners place candles and photographs during a vigil outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed (Codie McLachlan/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mourners place candles and photographs during a vigil outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed (Codie McLachlan/AP) He said authorities have recovered two black box flight recorders, saying they are damaged but readable, which may shed further light on what caused the crash. The crash on Wednesday morning came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing US troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Ottawa: We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Likewise, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Mr Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act, he said. The assessment that 176 people were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-US conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the US military operation that killed Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani. It was not immediately clear how the US and its allies would react. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of Gen Soleimani and Irans retaliatory missile strikes. US troops were on high-alert. At the White House, President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shoot down and dismissed Irans initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. Mr Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truthUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Late on Thursday, the US House approved a measure that aims to bar any further military action against Iran without congressional approval. However, the resolution approved by the Democratic-majority House is nonbinding and no similar measure could pass the Republican-controlled Senate. As for the airliner shoot down, the US officials would not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by a Russian Tor system, known to NATO as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. The New York Times posted a video it said it had verified showing the moment the apparent missile struck the plane over Iran. The video shows a fast-moving object rising before a fiery explosion. An object, apparently on fire, then continues in a different direction. A preliminary Iranian investigative report said the airliner pilots did not make a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when it went down. The Iranian report suggested a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Irans official news agency said the country is inviting Boeing experts to join the investigation into the plane crash. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. Expand Close Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile (Adrian Wyld/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile (Adrian Wyld/AP) The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries whose citizens died in the crash. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the US accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday that it would evaluate its level of participation, but its role could be limited by US sanctions on Iran. US officials have also expressed concern about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. Before the US assessment, Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the of civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truth. At prices of just VND100,000-180,000 (US$4-8), hamsters have become one of the most sought-after pets for Hanoians hoping to get their own lucky mascot before the upcoming Year of the Rat. According to the Vietnamese zodiac, January 25 marks the first day of the Year of the Rat, one of the 12 'signs' assigned to each lunar year in a repeating 12-year cycle. Though cute and 'adorable' are not always the first thoughts that come to mind when thinking of rats, the creature is listed first amongst the 12 zodiac signs. Those born in the Year of the Rat are considered to be full of spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, flexibility, and vitality. Tuan Anh, a resident of Dong Da District, Hanoi, took his daughter to a pet store on Phung Khoang Street, Thanh Xuan District, in search of a pet hamster before the forthcoming holiday. This will be the fourth hamster in my family," Anh said. "At first, I was anxious when my daughter told me she wanted one because I was worried about sanitary issues and also about that my daughter would not be able to take care of it [but] after learning a bit more about hamsters, I found out that theyre easy to raise and clean." "They also form bonds with humans pretty quickly. This year is the Year of the Rat so I want to buy a pet hamster because it will help us have a peaceful and fortunate new year. Two hamsters are seen at a pet shop in Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Tran Dong, the owner of a hamster pet shop in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, shared that his shop has been extremely busy over the past few weeks as customers come in to search for hamsters they can bring home as mascots before the Year of the Rat. In comparison to the same period last year, Dongs shop is selling three to four times her usual number of hamsters. On some days, that number increases fivefold. Hamsters, which belong to the subfamily Cricetinae, fascinate youngsters with their petite, lovely appearance and silky fur, according to a pet shop owner. The price for a 'bear' hamster ranges from VND110,000 ($5) to VND180,000 ($8) while 'white winter' hamsters sell for VND100,000-130,000 ($4-6). A container full of hamsters for sale is seen at a pet shop in Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Pet hamsters' favorite foods include vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts. Hamsters can keep themselves meticulously clean by bathing in the sand, meaning owners need not do much to care for their pets. However, raising hamsters requires that owners buy a variety of accessories such as cages, foods, toys, grindstones, and deodorant sprays. Linh Dan, a resident of Thanh Xuan District, who recently bought a white hamster, said she hopes the animal hamster will bring fortune in the New Year and help her feel less lonely when she is home alone. A hamster is seen at a pet shop in Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Three hamsters are seen at a pet shop in Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Three hamsters on a running wheel at a pet shop in Hanoi. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Linh Dan, a resident of Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, shops for a hamster at a local pet shop. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Linh Dan, a resident of Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, shops for a hamster at a local pet shop. Photo: Mai Thuong / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Budget carrier on Friday announced launch of its flight services to Dubai and Doha from Kolkata. will commence operations on the Kolkata-Dubai route from February 16, while the services to Doha from the capital city of West Bengal will begin from March 1, the airline said in a release. The services on the new routes will strengthen connectivity to the Middle East besides catering to the growing international traffic to and from Kolkata, it said. "We are pleased to announce new non-stop flights connecting Kolkata with Dubai and Doha to strengthen our connectivity between Middle East and Asia," Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Datta was quoted as saying in the release. "Over the last few years, Kolkata has emerged as a well-known tourist destination, witnessing growth in both domestic and international tourists," Datta said. Kolkata logged 13.3 per cent growth in foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) between April-December 2019, the highest among all the metro cities in the country, as per the airline. Dubai, as a destination, witnessed the highest outbound traffic from India on IndiGo network in 2019, and these new connections will help the airline cater to and stimulate demand for outbound travel to and from Kolkata, the release said. "These flights will be a step towards creating corridors of connectivity from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, with Kolkata as the gateway," it said. There are indications that European patience may eventually come to an end. Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Friday, German foreign ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said that discussions had taken place with Britain and France on whether European countries should trigger a dispute mechanism within the deal that could lead to a snapback in U.N. sanctions on Iran. A Delhi court on Friday dismissed a petition by an NGO that sought permission to meet four convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case to convey them a message regarding organ donation. The plea was filed almost two weeks before the four convicts are scheduled to be executed. Additional Session Judge Satish Kumar Arora while dismissing NGO's plea stated, "I am on the view that applicant has no locus to meet the convicts whatever reason, therefore, jail authority cannot be directed for any compliance." NGO RACO's founding member Rahul Sharma had requested the court to grant him permission to meet them and motivate them to donate their organs for social welfare. The court, however, refused to pass any direction to the Tihar Jail authorities in the matter. During the course of proceedings, Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmad opposed the plea stating that it is "legally not sustainable". "After issuance of the death warrant only family members and lawyers can meet them in jail, no stranger can meet in jail and this NGO has no locus in the matter," Ahmad said. A Delhi court had earlier this week issued a death warrant to the four convicts -- Vinay, Pawan, Akshay, and Mukesh. They are slated to be executed on January 22 at 7 am in the Tihar Jail premises. They were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013 for raping a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in the capital on the night of December 16, 2012. The death penalty was later also upheld by the High Court and Supreme Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Electric Powertrain Market by Component (Motor, 12V, HV/48V Battery, BMS, 48V ISG, Controller, PDM, DC/AC Inverter, DC/DC Converter & Others), Type (BEV, MHEV, Series, Parallel & Parallel-Series), Vehicle Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2027", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Electric Powertrain Market size is projected to reach USD 191.4 billion by 2027 from an estimated USD 62.9 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 14.9% The growth of the global Electric Powertrain Market is influenced by factors such as stringency in emission norms, government initiatives toward popularizing electric vehicles, and developments in various powertrain components. Therefore, the Electric Powertrain Market is expected to witness significant growth in the future. Browse in-depth TOC on "Electric Powertrain Market" 162 - Tables 53 - Figures 200 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=97605711 MHEV powertrain is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the Electric Powertrain Market The 48V MHEV is an attractive revenue pocket for automakers right now. It is capable of delivering 70% efficiency of a conventional ICE powertrain. Owing to slowdown in diesel-powered vehicles and stringency in CO2 targets, manufacturers are turning to this technology for the market. According to Emission Analytics, the mass adoption of mild hybrids over BEVs is an effective solution to cut down emissions. Also, owing to the dropping prices of lithium-ion batteries, various automakers are turning to optimize lithium-ion batteries in their 48V systems. To optimize costs and packaging, Hella developed a 48V power pack that combines a 48V battery, BMS, and DC/DC converter, making it easier to integrate into the existing vehicle architecture. Motor/generator is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the BEV powertrain component market Motor/generator is estimated to be the fastest growing segment in the BEV powertrain market. With the need to decrease CO2 emissions, automakers are switching to pure electric models. Various developments in motor/generators to improve the performance of the BEVs are also driving the BEV Electric Powertrain Market. For example, Tesla Model S uses two motors, and Rimac Concept One uses four motors for improved performance. The rise in sales of BEVs and developments in BEV powertrain motor concepts will drive this market segment in the future. Request FREE Sample Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=97605711 Asia Pacific is expected to lead the Electric Powertrain Market during the forecast period Asia pacific is estimated to be the largest market for electric powertrains as China is at the forefront of this technology globally. With the intention of curbing pollution and making China a manufacturing superpower, the Chinese government has already spent heavily on incentivizing and subsidizing electric vehicle sales. Also, the allocation of funds for building the necessary electric vehicle infrastructure has also propelled the Electric Powertrain Market in China with 466,100 public charging connectors-more than any other country in the world. India is also set to implement BS VI emission norms by 2020, encouraging the mass adoption of electric vehicles in the future. Government-owned power companies such as Energy Efficiency Services is planning to install 10,000 charging stations in the next two years. The South Korean government is offering subsidies for domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and R&D in chips and batteries to increase the production capacity of zero-emission cars from the current 1% to 10% by 2022. Additionally, the presence of major players in this region would drive the Asia Pacific Electric Powertrain Market in the future. The Electric Powertrain Market is dominated by globally established players such as Bosch (Germany), Mitsubishi Electric (Japan), Magna (Canada), Continental AG (Germany), and Hitachi (Japan). These companies developed new products, adopted expansion strategies, and undertook collaborations, partnerships, and mergers & acquisitions to gain traction in this high-growth electric powertrain market. Browse Related Reports: Electric Vehicle Market by Vehicle (Passenger Cars & Commercial Vehicles), Vehicle Class (Mid-priced & Luxury), Propulsion (BEV, PHEV & FCEV), EV Sales (OEMs/Models) Charging Station (Normal & Super) & Region - Global Forecast to 2030 Vehicle Electrification Market by Product (Start-Stop, PTC, EPS, Electric Air Conditioner, ISG, Starter Motor, Alternator, Actuator, Electric Pump-Vacuum, Oil & Water), 48V, ICE, BEV, HEV, PHEV, Vehicle Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2027 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. 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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/electric-powertrain-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/electric-powertrain.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Delaware Supermarkets, Inc., the family-owned company that operates six ShopRite supermarkets in the state, announced today that Melissa Kenny, the former Director of Sales and Marketing, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, effective January 1, 2020. In her new role, Kenny will have direct oversight of Operations, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Loss Prevention for the organization. "Our entire company and family could not be more proud of Melissa's work and the role she has played in the success of our stores," said Chris Kenny, President and CEO of Delaware Supermarkets, Inc. "As a second generation grocer, she understands our market, our customers and what our work means to the communities we serve. There could not be a better person to lead our company into the future." In addition to her new role as Executive Vice President, Kenny has also taken over responsibilities as Vice President of Real Estate at First State Plaza in Stanton, Delaware, the shopping center where one of the Kenny Family ShopRites is located. "I am honored to have the opportunity to lead, grow and represent Kenny Family ShopRites," said Melissa Kenny. "I want to thank my family and all our associates for their commitment to making our stores a great place to shop and a vehicle of economic growth in the communities where our stores operate. I look forward to continuing our tradition of providing sustainable stores, fresh and healthy food options, and a great shopping experience for our customers." With more than 20 years of experience, Melissa Kenny has trained in each of the different departments in her family's stores and spent time in all management posts. She has worked closely over the years with her brother Chris and father Bernie Kenny as she learned every part of the supermarket business. Bernie Kenny founded the family company in 1995, and today serves as Chairman of the Board. He remains involved in day-to-day operations of the business as well as community events that help drive the success of the company. Melissa Kenny brings the same dedication to her work. She is passionate about environmental stewardship and recently joined Keep Delaware Beautiful (a chapter of Keep America Beautiful) as a founding board member. She is also a member of the Delaware Energy Leaders Roundtable and served on Wakefern Food Corp.'s Environmental Committee for several years. She currently serves as Vice Chairman for the Delaware Food & Farm Policy Council, under the direction of DE Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse; and is currently concluding a two-year term as Chairman of the National Grocers Association Government Relations Committee. Kenny also serves as an Honorary Commander in the Delaware National Guard. Additionally, Kenny is currently Chairwoman of the Kenny Family Foundation's Board of Directors, where her work has been a contributing factor to the nonprofit's designation as the most active community-based charity in the state. Since 2011, the foundation has donated more than $2.3 million to more than 1,000 charitable organizations in New Castle County with micro-grants and partnerships. These organizations feed hungry neighbors, care for the elderly, educate children, and enrich lives through the arts and humanities. Kenny also directed operations for a decade with Delaware Gourmet Catering, which partners with St. Anthony's City Fare Meals on Wheels program to prepare and deliver high-quality meals to thousands of low-income residents 365 days a year. She has helped organize successful events for the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, which appointed her to its Board of Trustees in 2012, and served on the Boards of Directors for the Grand Opera House and Better Business Bureau of Delaware. Kenny lives with her husband Mark Maguire and their two rescue pups, Gemma and Ringo. About ShopRite ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, NJ, and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States. With nearly 280 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves millions of customers each week. Through its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, ShopRite is dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities it serves. Since the program began in 1999, ShopRite Partners In Caring has donated nearly $50 million to food banks that support more than 2,200 worthy charities. As a title sponsor of the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, ShopRite has donated $34 million to local organizations, hospitals and community groups. For more information, please visit www.shoprite.com. SOURCE Wakefern Food Corp. Related Links http://www.shoprite.com Alcohol deaths in the United States have more than doubled over the past two decades, pointing to a devastating health emergency spurred on by the social and economic crisis, a new study finds. The greatest increases were among women and people middle-aged and older. Across racial and ethnic groups, non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives (NH AIAN) had the highest alcohol-related death rates in 2017. The annual death toll from alcohol abuse has outpaced even deaths from opioids, which stood at 70,237 in 2017, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only cigarettes are deadlier than alcohol, with smoking-related illnesses accounting for more than 480,000 deaths each year. Based on data from the National Institutes of Healths (NIH) National Center for Health Statistics, the study was published Wednesday in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Researchers looked at death certificates from 1999 through 2017, as well as using alcohol-attributable fractions (AAFs), which specify the proportion of deaths from various causes that likely involved alcohol, based on previous research. This data showed that deaths from alcohol rose from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. Nearly 1 million (944,880) Americans died from alcohol-related causes during this period. According to the study, 70.1 percent of the US population ages 18 and older, about 173.3 million people, consumed alcohol in 2017. This averages out to approximately 3.6 gallons of pure alcohol per drinker annually, or about 2.1 standard US drinks per day. Consumption rates for heavy drinkers are much higher. Alcohol is not a benign substance and there are many ways it can contribute to mortality, said the NIHs National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director Dr. George F. Koob. The current findings suggest that alcohol-related deaths involving injuries, overdoses, and chronic diseases are increasing across a wide swath of the population. The report is a wakeup call to the growing threat alcohol poses to public health. Counted in the deaths are those due to liver disease and other alcohol-related illnesses, as well as accidents such as falls and car crashes. The increase in alcohol-related deaths is consistent with reports of increases in alcohol-involved emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations during the period studied. Between 2006 and 2014, rates of ED visits involving alcohol increased 47.3 percent among persons aged 12 and older, and the number of these visits increased from 3,080,214 to 4,976,136. Chronic causes were responsible for the majority of alcohol-related deaths, 86.5 percent, including liver and cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and other conditions. Acute causes, such as falls and accidents, were responsible for 14.6 percent of these deaths. In 2017, alcohol played a role in 2.6 percent of all deaths in the US, according to the study. Researchers say this figure is likely an underestimation, as alcohol is underreported as a cause of death in many cases. For example, alcohol was only listed as a contributing factor in one of six motor vehicle accidents, although the proportion is known to be considerably higher. The increase in alcohol deathsalong with other deaths of despair, including from opioids and suicideshas contributed to a decrease in life expectancy in the US, which fell each year from 2015 to 2017, a streak unprecedented in modern times. The increase in alcohol deaths also follows the 2008 financial crash and Great Recession, which plunged millions of working-class families into a dire economic situation and social distress. A study last year found that rising healthcare costs, along with lack of access to medical care, were a driving force in these deaths of despair. The overall prevalence of drinking and binge drinking was largest for people age 50 and older, relative to younger age groups. Despite a faster increase in alcohol-related deaths among younger adults aged 25 to 34, the overall rates of alcohol-related deaths are more than four times higher among middle-aged and older adults, aged 45 to 74. While long-term heavy drinking can be pointed to as the driving factor in alcohol-related deaths in seniors, social factors cannot be discounted. These include the financial strain of retirement and the axing of pensions, as well as the social isolation created by the lack of a social safety net for older Americans, who are often left isolated. Medicare, the healthcare program relied upon by the vast majority of retirees, only covers a portion of medical expenses, placing treatment for substance abuse beyond the reach of many. Another factor is the disjointed nature of the US healthcare system, in which little time is allotted by healthcare professionals for treating mental health issues. One of the most critical findings of the study is the increase in womens alcohol consumption and alcohol-related death rates. While the overall prevalence of drinking and binge drinking did not change for men between 2000 and 2016, there was a 10.1 percent increase in drinking and a 23.3 percent increase in binge drinking among women over these years. While men accounted for 76.4 percent of alcohol-related deaths over the past two decades, a greater increase was observed among womena 135.8 percent increase in numbers compared to a 92.9 percent increase for men. From 1999 to 2017, alcohol-related deaths numbered 721,587 for men and 223,293 for women, as the ratio of male to female deaths fell from 3.7:1 in 1999 to 3.0:1 in 2017. This can be traced to the increase in alcohol consumption by women during this period. Women are also dying of alcohol-related causes at younger ages. In 1999, the highest rate of deaths for women was among ages 65 to 74, followed by ages 55 to 64. However, in 2017 this had shifted to women ages 55 to 64 having the highest death rates, followed by ages 45 to 54. While non-Hispanic black males and females and Hispanic males saw an initial decline and then a leveling off of death rates from 1999 to 2011, this was followed by increases in alcohol-related mortality for these groups. The researchers say evidence suggests that alcohol consumption and binge drinking are increasing more among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics than among non-Hispanic whites. In 2017, death certificates recorded 10,596 deaths due to overdoses from a combination of alcohol and drugs and another 2,358 deaths from alcohol alone. As alcohol causes respiratory depression on its own, the risk of acute respiratory failure increases when alcohol is combined with other drugs with the same effect, such as opioids and benzodiazepines. This shows that the pharmaceutical industries flooding of communities with opioidsparticularly those affected by plant and mine closures and economic devastationhas intersected with the abuse of alcohol to deadly effect. Blame also rests with the alcoholic beverage industry, which is dominated by a small number of conglomerates that promote their products through pervasive advertisements while reaping billions of dollars in profits, with scant attention paid to the potential harms to public health. The author also recommends: Social counterrevolution and the decline in US life expectancy [28 November 2019] Rising US deaths of despair driven by health care costs, lack of access to care [14 June 2019] The villagers of Hassanabad live in constant fear. Above them the vast Shisper glacier dominates the landscape: A river of jagged black ice moving towards them at as much as four metres per day. Climate change is causing most glaciers worldwide to shrink, but due to a meteorological anomaly this is one of a few in the Karakoram mountain range in northern Pakistan that are surging. This means hundreds of tonnes of ice and debris are pushing down the valley at ten times the normal rate or more, threatening the safety of the people and homes below. "People's lives, properties and animals are in danger," warns villager Basir Ali. Flash floods caused by glacial lakes, ice and rock falls, and a lack of clean and accessible water are all serious risks for those close to its path. "When a glacial lake bursts there is an enormous amount of not only ice, water and debris that falls through, but also mud and this has devastating effects, it basically destroys everything that comes in its way," said Ignacio Artaza of UNDP Pakistan. But repercussions of the Shisper glacier surge extend far beyond its path: The mighty Indus River is reliant on seasonal melt for more than half of its flow and changes in Pakistan's ice fields affect this. That has implications not just for those living in its basin, but for the whole nation, which relies on it for much of its food. Shifting water levels also have implications for the fragile relationship between nuclear-armed neighbours Pakistan and India. Already ranked among the planet's most water-stressed nations according to the World Resources Institute, both need the Indus and its tributaries. Their access to the water is governed by the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which aims for fair usage. But there have long been fears India, which sits upstream, could weaponise the resource, it has threatened more than once to restrict Pakistan's access -- including just last year. - Millions in danger - The Karakoram, which contains some of the world's tallest mountains including K2, is just one of the mountain ranges that criss-cross the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region. Sometimes called The Third Pole, the region holds more ice than anywhere other than the Artic or Antartica. But a third of the glaciers here are expected to melt by 2100, endangering the lives of hundreds of millions, according to this year's Hindu Kush-Himalaya Assessment Report. Rising in Tibet, the Indus crosses through India and Pakistan fed by a multitude of tributaries before it reaches the Arabian Sea. The waterway's basin produces 90 percent of Pakistan's food, according to the UN, and agriculture is dependent on irrigation from the river, which heavily relies on meltwater from the ice sheets. With its surging population experts warn the nation faces "absolute water scarcity" by 2025, with the loss of the Himalayan glaciers a key threat. While scientists cite climate change and topography, it's not clear exactly what causes the Karakoram anomaly where glaciers are surging and in some cases growing. But many say these changes will also impact the Indus because they alter meltwater patterns, causing flash flooding or water shortages that are difficult to predict and manage. "The Shisper glacier is increasing its length and width, furthermore it is also moving downhill," explained Shehzad Baig of the Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority. He warned climate change meant there was heavier snowfall during the winters and warmer temperatures in the summers, leading to the ice mass producing more meltwater, swelling the Hunza River, a churning mountain tributary of the Indus. "This may cause harm to the local community and deprive the people of the Indus basin blocking or disturbing drinking water and irrigation channels," Baig warned, adding that changing weather patterns were also creating more glacial lakes. - Water wars - The UNDP estimates that more than 3,000 glacial lakes have been formed in the region, with 33 posing an imminent threat of 'outburst floods', known as GLOFs, that could impact as many as seven million people. Last year the surging Shisper glacier effectively dammed a meltwater stream from a neighbouring glacier creating a large lake. Authorites were forced to issue safety warnings to Hassanabad and local villages before the water was drained. But satellite data shows the lake is already reforming, leaving residents fearing not only the progression of the crushing ice sheet but that they will be swept to their deaths in flash floods. "This whole area will be devastated...the whole population and people's properties will go into river," cautions villager Didar Karim. Professor Andreas Kaab from the University of Oslo says Pakistan must adapt its "monitoring and response strategies, and risk management in general" to contend with both surging and shrinking glaciers. Authorities, working with the UN, are setting up early warning systems using sensors positioned on top of the Shisper glacier and downstream to alert communities. But the challenge for Pakistan extends beyond crisis management to the long-term water conservation and storage, experts say. "Pakistan has to increase its water storage capacity which is now 33 days -- it should be at least 100 days to ensure sustainable development," cautions Dr. Ghulam Rasul of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development. He estimates that 60 percent of water is currently lost as run-off to the sea. With few functioning resevoirs the nation is ill-equipped to harness the short-term excess water as climate change causes more glaciers to melt, or from the increasingly erratic monsoon deluges. And by 2050, with so much of the ice sheets lost scientists say the flow of the Indus will dramatically decrease, leaving Pakistanis more vulnerable than ever. Rasul says: "Water is the capital of agrarian economies and guarantees food and energy security. Shortage of water against increasing demand could lead to conflict." Large chunks of Internet Protocol address space in Africa were stolen with the help of at least one insider at AFRINIC. That was the conclusion of Internet investigator Ron Guilmette after five months of detective work. The primary function of the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) is to assign IP address blocks, and keep track of those assignments. If IP address space is like Internet real estate, then AFRINIC is the deeds office. AFRINIC maintains a database of IP address blocks and makes it publicly available through the WHOIS standard. Guilmette analysed the information in the AFRINIC WHOIS database and concluded that the records of many IP address blocks were manipulated by one or more bad actors. This happened between 2010 and 2016, Guilmette found, and allowed whoever manipulated the blocks to take control of them. It is estimated that the affected IP address blocks are worth around $54 million (R800 million). Some of the affected IP address blocks are so-called legacy blocks Internet resources that were legitimately assigned to various companies more than 20 years ago, but which had been forgotten and abandoned. Separate from the legacy blocks, there are also several cases of freshly-assigned address blocks which Guilmette believes were illicitly taken from AFRINICs free pool its inventory of available IPv4 addresses. In several cases involving both groups of blocks legacy and non-legacy there are subtle but clear indicators in the relevant official WHOIS records that, if followed like a trail of breadcrumbs, all appear to lead back to Mr Ernest M. Byaruhanga, Guilmette said. Byaruhanga was the second employee to be hired at AFRINIC in 2004, after former CEO and Internet Hall of Famer Adiel Akplogan. In addition to the information in the WHOIS database, documents obtained from industry sources and public records in Uganda also lead back to Byaruhanga, Guilmette said. One document shows that in 2012, a Ugandan company called Amiek Holdings Limited received $2,500 for the sale of a block of IP addresses to a South African email provider. A query to the government-run Ugandan registrar of companies revealed that Byaruhanga and his immediate family are the shareholders of Amiek Holdings. Police report Following MyBroadbands report about the theft of IP addresses from the African region, AFRINIC announced that it has reported the matter to the Central Criminal Investigation Division of the Mauritius Police Force. AFRINIC stated that before he resigned, former CEO Alan Barrett had alerted the board that the WHOIS database may have been tampered with. Barrett confirmed to MyBroadband that he informed the board about the manipulation of the AFRINIC WHOIS database in April 2019. He submitted a report to the AFRINIC board about the matter before his last day in July. After Barretts report, the AFRINIC board launched its own investigation into the allegations that someone had tampered with its WHOIS database. AFRINIC stated that it has sought the help of another regional Internet registry, the Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), to help with its independent investigation. AFRINIC CEO to close security holes The AFRINIC board said that in the meantime, it has tasked the current CEO with instituting internal measures to limit access and avoid manipulation of objects in the WHOIS database. Eddy Kayihura took the role of AFRINIC CEO on 4 November. Kayihura is to suspend or revoke the access of implicated and/or suspected parties who have access to infrastructure, services, and other resources. The board is considering what additional resources would be needed during the course of the investigation and action, AFRINIC said. AFRINIC action Kayihura said that they approached APNIC for help because AFRINIC and APNIC have a good working relationship. APNIC, like all the other RIRs, have the capacity and are always willing to help, Kayihura said. APNIC were willing and ready to do it the moment we asked. MyBroadband contacted Byaruhanga for comment. Several attempts were made to contact Byaruhanga by phone and email, but he did not respond. Kayihura told MyBroadband that neither AFRINIC staff members nor its directors are allowed to operate IP brokerages. This is against our policies, principles of ethics and standards, Kayihura said. Hence, AFRINIC will not hesitate to take such action as it may deem fit against any of its staff or directors who are found to have breached those standards. MyBroadband also contacted former AFRINIC CEO Adiel Akplogan for comment. Akplogan said he was not aware of IP addresses being stolen and sold on the black market. In-depth report An in-depth report, which contains a detailed account of the research conducted into how these IP address blocks were stolen, has been published on MyBroadband. Several of the key documents from which Guilmette drew his conclusions are also included in the report. Now read: How Internet resources worth R800 million were stolen and sold on the black market American and allied officials said on Thursday that they had intelligence that missiles fired by Iranian military forces were responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner and the deaths of all aboard this week in Iran, most likely by accident. The disclosures suggested that the deaths were a consequence of the heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran that have played out since an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general last week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, citing a preliminary review of the evidence, called for a full investigation to ... Kanwal Shauzab informed NA about CPEC projects ISLMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Development and Reform Kanwal Shauzab on Thursday informed the National Assembly that the total cost of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects including ML-1 stands at 50 billion dollars. Responding to a question during the question hour, she said out of the total projects, 13 projects worth around 11 billion dollars have been completed, while 13 projects worth 18 billion dollars are under implementation. Another 21 billion dollar projects are in the pipeline, she added. About 46 percent work on Gwadar East Bay expressway has completed, she said, adding that New Gwadar International Airport is being built with the Chinese grant. Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub informed the National Assembly that Rs 300 million was allocated for upgradation of 132 kilowatt grid station and electrification of villages in Chitral. He was responding to a calling attention notice of members of National Assembly Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali and Shahida Akhter Ali regarding delay in laying of electricity transmission lines to union councils Broze and Ayon and villages Kesu, Arsun, Ashreit and Arndu despite release of funds. The minister told the House that Rs 150 million will be spent on upgradation of grid station and Rs 150 million on laying of transmission lines and electrification. The finance ministry will soon release the allocated funds, he added. House told another 13 projects worth $18 billion are under implementation while projects worth $21 billion are in the pipeline While speaking on a point of order, MNA Shazia Sobia complained about the problem of overbilling at Parliament Lodges. The power minister assured the House that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) will announce new tariff to revise down electricity rates for community tube wells installed for purpose of supplying drinking water in different areas of Islamabad. He was replying to a calling attention notice of MNAs Ali Nawaz Awan, Raja Khurram Shahzad and Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak regarding electricity connections for tube wells meant for community-based supply schemes in Islamabad Capital Territory at the higher rate of A3 tariff instead of the lower DI tariff. Responding to concerns of MNAs over a recent incident in Nankana Sahib, Omar said Pakistan is a peaceful country and every Pakistan is a free citizen. He said the government is bound to protect life and property of every citizen. Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri said the Nankana Sahib incident occurred when people were protesting against the local administration over the arrest of some persons. Some miscreants gave it a religious colour and India used the incident to unleash propaganda against Pakistan, he said. The Ministry of Commerce informed the National Assembly that as a result of Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), Pakistans garments exports to European Union (EU) increased from $6.87 billion in 2013 to $7.98 billion in 2018. Her body was found around 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 2 inside a car along Ritchie Drive. Police said James Dorsey turned himself in to the Department of Corrections on Wednesday and is being held on a no-bond status. Each experience is highly assessed and chosen for value, quality and reputation. "Our Owners, Members and guests are looking for access to a destination's best experiences," said Ed Kinney, global vice president, corporate affairs and communications, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation. "With PlacePass, we've helped transform how our guests have fun on their vacations. We're connecting them to a one-stop shop where they'll find activities that can be conveniently booked ahead of time, based on their budget, itinerary and preferences. Using PlacePass, our guests get to do more of what they want to do on their vacations." Travelers can tailor their experiences and choose the adventure or activity that perfectly complements their vacation. They'll see helpful reviews and detailed descriptions, suggestions and directions for every offering. An easy-to-navigate calendar allows them to book on the day that best fits their schedule. Once the booking is confirmed, travelers receive a link to an easy-to-use, scan-ready voucher. Support is available 24/7. According to Owners, Members and guests, popular vacation experiences and adventures include: With PlacePass, Owners, Members and guests can also book tours, attractions and experiences while at homeno vacation required. Whether a special occasion, entertaining out-of-town guests or just a last-minute fun adventure, PlacePass has something for everyone! To browse activities, go to MarriottVacationClub.placepass.com, SheratonVacationClub.placepass.com or WestinVacationClub.placepass.com. About Marriott Vacation Club Marriott Vacation Club is a global industry leader in vacation ownership with a diverse portfolio of 61 resorts and more than 13,000 vacation villas throughout the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Australia. Marriott Vacation Club is a premium vacation ownership program that provides Owners and their families with the flexibility to enjoy high-quality vacation experiences. Follow on Twitter at Twitter.com/MarriottVacClub and on Facebook at Facebook.com/marriottvacationclub . About Sheraton Vacation Club Sheraton Vacation Club provides enriching and unexpected vacation experiences in fun family destinations like Florida, South Carolina and Colorado. This collection of nine Sheraton-branded vacation ownership resorts, with over 3,000 villas, allows Owners and guests to relax, play and experience what the world has to offer. Sheraton Vacation Club resorts are part of the Vistana Signature Network. About Westin Vacation Club Westin Vacation Club is a collection of 14 Westin-branded vacation ownership resorts, with over 2,000 villas, located in some of the most sought-after destinations and designed with well-being in mind. From the world-renowned Heavenly Bed to an energizing WestinWORKOUT and revitalizing Heavenly Spa by Westin treatments, every element of a vacation stay is created to leave Owners and guests feeling better than when they arrived. Westin Vacation Club resorts are part of the Vistana Signature Network. SOURCE Marriott Vacation Club Related Links https://www.marriottvacationclub.com WASHINGTON (AP) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will take steps next week to sent articles of impeachment to the Senate for President Donald Trump's Senate trial. In a letter Friday to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said she has asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the floor next week a resolution to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Pelosi has held on to the articles in a standoff with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The protracted showdown has scrambled the politics of impeachment and the congressional calendar three weeks after the House Democrats impeached Trump on charges of abuse and obstruction over his actions toward Ukraine. French and US aviation investigators on Friday said they will be involved in the investigation into a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week at a time of soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Frances BEA air accident agency said it had been notified of the event by Iran and we have designated an accredited representative to the safety investigation. The announcement came shortly after French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was ready to contribute its expertise if necessary to the crash probe. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing Canadian and other intelligence agencies, said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by an Iranian missile. The crash occurred hours after Iran targeted US forces in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general, Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike. Iran has however denied Trudeau and other Western leaders statements that one of its missiles hit the Ukrainian passenger jet. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's national aviation department, told a press conference in Tehran Friday. If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world" in accordance with international standards, he added. The Ukrainian airliner bound for Kiev crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehrans Imam Khomeini Airport, killing all 176 passengers, including Iranian, Ukrainian, Canadian, Afghan and other nationals on board. Iran invites Boeing, US investigators Iran initially said it would not send the black boxes to the US, with which it has had no diplomatic relations for four decades. But following Trudeaus disclosure of a missile strike likely downing the aircraft, Iran on Friday invited Boeing and US investigators to participate in the probe. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying Iran "has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. The spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said it will also welcome experts from other countries whose citizens had died in the crash. Story continues The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has accepted the invitation from Iran to participate in its investigation in Tehran. The NTSB said in a statement its Response Operations Center had received formal notification from Iran of Wednesday's crash. "The NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash," the agency said. A person briefed on the matter said it was unclear what, if anything, its representative would be able to do under US sanctions, Reuters reported. The US is allowed to take part under global rules since the Boeing 737-800NG jet was designed and built there. Canada, which had dozens of passengers onboard, has also assigned an expert, while a team from Ukraine held discussions in Tehran on Thursday. Tehran has said it will provide consular facilities and visas for accredited investigators, said Farhad Parvaresh, Iran's representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization. Candle-light vigils Families and friends of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash have been mourning the loss of their loved ones in Iran, Ukraine and Canada. Ukraine on Thursday held a national day of mourning. In Canada, hundreds of mourners held a candle-light vigil Thursday night in Toronto to remember 176 people killed. At the vigil, people in Toronto which has a large Iranian community expressed anger and sadness over the tragedy. "Somebody has to answer us back why this happened. They were innocent people who died," said one of those at the ceremony, Yasmin Roshan, 43. Roshan, who came with his nine-year-old daughter, said he lost two friends in the crash. He said he blamed US President Donald Trump, who last Friday ordered the killing of a top Iranian general in Iraq, sending tensions between Washington and Tehran soaring. (FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS) PHOENIX, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BeachFleischman PC, one of Arizona's largest locally-owned CPA firms, announces the promotion of Julia Miessner to Shareholder. Julia Allen Miessner, CPA/ABV/CFF, CGMA, is the Practice Leader for the firm's Financial Forensics and Valuation Services Group. As a forensic accountant and business valuation analyst, Julia works closely with attorneys and clients in Arizona as a litigation consultant and expert witness for civil and criminal litigation cases. She also performs complex financial calculations, authors reports, and testifies in connection with cases involving marital dissolution, economic damages, lost profits, fraud, and probate and trust matters. Hundreds of Seattle Students Excluded From School for Missing Vaccination Deadline Hundreds of students who attend Seattles public schools were kept out of classrooms on Jan. 8 after they failed to comply with an updated vaccination law in Washington state. Speaking to The Seattle Times, district superintendent Denise Juneau said as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the first day of school after winter break, an estimated 565 students in the district did not have the required immunization records or necessary documents that proved their exemption. That number dropped to 476 by the late afternoon. Students who showed up without the proper document were required to stay in a room with staff members until their parents or guardians could come and pick them up, reported Seattle Times. Per state law, student records must reflect updated immunization status by Jan. 8 or students cannot attend school. SPS staff have supported thousands of families in updating their records and will provide free immunization clinics. Read more: https://t.co/whMU1S0jcA #SPSConnects pic.twitter.com/VL40hfOyU6 Seattle Public Schools (@SeaPubSchools) January 2, 2020 A notice posted by Seattle Public Schools on its website stated that students have until Jan. 8 to get updated immunization records or theyll be excluded from attending school, citing Washington state law and the states recently-passed bill that eliminates the personal and philosophical options to exempt children from the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. The notice also warned the parents that any missed days because of outdated immunizations records would be counted as unexcused absences. Washington House Bill 1638 (pdf), which took effect in July 2019, removed personal and philosophical exemptions to MMR vaccines for every child at every public and private school, as well as every daycare center in the state. Despite the law change, parents can still, at least for now, exempt their children from receiving MMR vaccines for medical and religious reasons. The bill came about as Washingtons Clark County experienced a measles outbreak in early 2019, which led to the states health officials declaring a public health emergency. Washington Department of Health reported that 71 of out of all 87 measles cases were in Clark County, which is known for having a low child vaccination percentage compared with other counties. The year 2019 saw three states, including Washington, amending their vaccination laws in the hope to reduce the risk of another major outbreak. Maine House Bill 586 removes both personal and religious belief exemptions for public school immunization requirements. New York Senate Bill 2994, which was signed into law despite opposition from multiple religious communities, removes the religious exemptions to the MMR and other vaccines for students attending school. By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron over the telephone and the two exchanged views on a range of issues of mutual interest as well as regional and global situation, the Prime Minister's Office said on Friday. Modi also conveyed new year greetings to Macron. The Prime Minister recalled his earlier meetings with President Macron, including at Biarritz and Chantilly. Modi reiterated his commitment to further strengthening the Strategic Partnership between India and France. He expressed his satisfaction at the steady progress in the multi-faceted relationship between the two countries. "The two leaders exchanged views on a range of issues of mutual interest in bilateral relations as well as regional and global situations," the statement said. The telephonic conversation came on the back of tensions in the Gulf region, days after the killing of top Iranian commander General Qassim Suleimani in a US strike. The leaders agreed on keeping in touch and further enhancing all-round strategic cooperation between the two countries, including in the areas of defence, civil nuclear energy and maritime security, the statement added. President Trump has shrunk America's global presence in many ways, but he has also at times placed high-risk bets on its superpower status. Driving the news: Trump didn't want war with Iran, yet he ordered the killing of Iran's top commander. That requires enormous faith in the shield of American military superiority. Engaging China in a trade war requires a belief that the worlds second-largest economy will blink first in a showdown with the largest. The maximum pressure campaigns first on North Korea and then on Iran were testaments to American economic might and to Trumps confidence that countries and companies would fall in line, even when reluctant to do so. The results of Trumps geopolitical muscle-flexing are uneven. China has not made anywhere near the model-shifting concessions Trump has demanded. North Koreas nuclear capabilities are more formidable than before fire and fury. Crippling sanctions on Iran have led not to a tougher deal, but to a series of escalations. Asymmetric retaliation for Soleimanis death remains likely. Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro is still in power after a year of American insistence that his days were numbered. Closer to home, Trumps threats yielded significant tweaks to NAFTA and a pledge from Mexico to hold tens of thousands of U.S.-bound asylum-seekers. Holding NATO hostage over defense spending infuriated allies, but budgets have nonetheless increased. And Irans military retaliation to Trumps audacious strike in Baghdad came with an early warning and was clearly designed to avoid a showdown with the worlds most powerful military. The bottom line: Trump's America isn't much liked, and it certainly isn't trusted, as new Pew data shows. But it can't be ignored. Go deeper: SPRINGFIELD Some Illinois lawmakers say a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy responding to a growing trend of youth e-cigarette use does not go far enough. The federal public health watchdog announced in a memo last week it would crack down on the manufacture, distribution, and sale of fruit- and mint-flavored electronic smoking cartridges for cigars, hookahs and cigarettes, among others. The guidance excludes menthol and tobacco flavors. But that addresses only part of the problem, say health advocates and legislators who sponsor related bills. Even though the U.S. Congress banned all flavored cigarettes except for menthol over a decade ago, menthol is still popular among youth. A 2016 study found more than half of those smokers use menthol-flavored cigarettes, compared to roughly one-third of adult smokers. Vicki Vasconcellos, president of The Smoke Free Alternatives Coalition of Illinois, does not dispute that youth are abusing flavored products. She argues, though, lawmakers priority should be enforcement of the Tobacco 21 statute which prohibits the sale of products containing nicotine to those under the age of 21. That provision is also included in a 2019 amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA, in its memo, explained the policy change as prioritizing enforcement against companies that market to customers without actively taking steps to prevent minors from accessing their products. It also considers the potential risks created by extended availability of new tobacco products without scientific review, according to the document. Deerfield Democratic Sen. Julie Morrison said she is glad they went as far as they did, but a loophole remains in curbing youths access to flavored products. The FDA was ruling only on the pods, and one of the other sources obviously is the large containers that are sold so you can fill your own, she said. I think that should be subject to the same restrictions. Her legislation, proposed in late October, would prohibit all flavors of those goods bottled liquid users need to fill cartridges themselves and other nicotine devices. Chicago Democratic Sen. Mattie Hunter agreed. She said fully addressing the issue calls for a complete ban. Shana Crews, government relations director for the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network, said the administrations action doesnt preempt any strong, comprehensive state or local policies on tobacco, so Illinois can go forward and put a public health strategy in place to prevent kids [from] becoming addicted to e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Morrisons bill is similar to one introduced by Rep. Deb Conroy, a Democrat from Villa Park. Sen. Jim Oberweis, a Republican from Sugar Grove, and Rep. Grant Wehrli, a Republican from Naperville, both proposed measures that would allow the sale of menthol, mint and tobacco flavors. All three did not return requests for an interview. Legislative efforts to regulate flavored electronic smoking devices during the fall veto session were unsuccessful, Morrison said, due to the short period of time the General Assembly had to consider the initiative. She added attempts were further slowed because big tobacco is a huge interest. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzkers top priority is the health and safety of our young people, thats why he supports banning flavored vaping products that entice our youth, a spokesperson said in an email, though she did not say definitively if he agrees further state action is necessary. The federal administrations policy should have a minimal impact on vape shops, according to its memo. Vasconcellos, who owns several such stores, said her knee-jerk reaction is small business owners will not shutter as they likely would if a more restrictive state law is passed. At least 85 percent of the products Illinois shops sell, she estimated, are flavored. We are breathing a sigh of relief that we can continue to feed our families and pay our mortgages, she said. Vasconcellos added, Were not tobacco. Were anti-tobacco. The FDA has authority to regulate e-cigarettes and vapes, for example, through the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. In August 2016, it reinterpreted the legal definition of a tobacco product to include all electronic smoking devices. Manufacturers of e-cigarettes are required to apply for authorization before marketing their products as a modified tobacco device. That process (ensures) that FDA has the necessary information to exercise adequate, timely oversight over these relatively novel and potentially harmful products, according to the new policy. Because no electronic nicotine delivery systems have been authorized to date, all such products are considered illegally marketed, according to the administration. The FDAs guidance is not binding, which means it can be changed at any time the public health watchdog deems necessary. A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health said the agency is ready to review any legislation from the General Assembly. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in a news release, I believe that (last weeks) announcement is a positive step, but it is far from a comprehensive one. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A jury has been chosen to hear the case against a South Carolina woman accused of having a vacant trailer home burned for insurance money, not knowing her son had taken shelter there from a storm. The 12-year-old boy died. The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports that Marissa Cohen is charged with arson, conspiracy and unlawful conduct toward a child. The body of Dave Sycience Coombs was found in his former home near Andrews after a fire was reported there about 1:30 a.m. March 29, 2014, investigators said. He had died of smoke inhalation. Randy Collins is serving the minimum 30 years on the arson charge. He said that he was offered $5,000 of the $25,000 insurance to set the trailer on fire, and was with his nephew when the nephew set it ablaze. The nephew was killed by Coombs teenage brother, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving 16 years. Investigators said Cohen bought renters insurance for the trailer a month before the fire and then moved her items into storage, telling friends the trailer had electrical problems. A tipster reported that she bought kerosene the morning of the fire, according to the newspaper. A jury of eight women and four men was chosen Monday in Georgetown County to hear the case. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics South Carolina Arson How to Survive a Murder (Reelz at 9) A filmmakers mother-in-law was stabbed to death, and he delves into the killing and his personal investigation in this series. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Eisya A. Eloksari and Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Sat, January 11 2020 Talking business: International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) chief executive officer Adam Boehler (second left) and other executives of the company meet with President Joko Jokowi Widodo at the State Palace on Friday. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari) Indonesia is slated to secure US$5 billion in development funds from the United States financing arm for developing countries and more from the American private sector, following investments from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), said to be a direct competition to Chinas growing influence in projects across developing countries through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), arrived in Jakarta on Friday to cement its participation in Indonesias development projects. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Exclusive: AFRICOM Sends Top Brass to Kenya to Investigate al-Shabab Attack By Carla Babb January 09, 2020 The commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has ordered an investigation into the al-Shabab attack this week that killed three Americans, dispatching two of his top generals Thursday to Manda Bay, Kenya. "I want ground truth to assess the situation and hear from the troops to ensure they have what they need to accomplish their mission," AFRICOM commander U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend said. U.S. Africa Command said that U.S. Army Major General Michael Turello, the commander who oversees operations in the Horn of Africa, and U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Leonard Kosinski, the command's director of logistics, visited Camp Simba base and Manda Bay Airfield on Thursday with the command's top senior enlisted leader and an investigating officer. Three U.S. Department of Defense personnel, including one U.S. soldier, were killed Sunday when fewer than 20 al-Shabab fighters assaulted the Manda Bay Airfield, which is used by Kenyan and U.S. counterterrorism forces. U.S. and Kenyan forces repelled the attack after using indirect and small-arms fire for about an hour, according to an AFRICOM official. The Kenya Defense Forces said in a statement that five attackers were killed. An East Africa Response Force of between 50 and 100 troops arrived Sunday at the Manda Bay Airfield to augment security, according to officials. Manda Bay is used by U.S. forces to train African partner forces, respond to crises and protect U.S. interests in the region. The attack came days after al-Shabab fighters killed three people on a passenger bus in Lamu County. The Somalia-based militant group was also responsible for a massive explosion in Mogadishu that killed more than 80 people. "Al-Shabab is ruthless and must be dealt with," Townsend said. Al-Shabab has launched several attacks inside Kenya, including assaults on schools and shopping malls. U.S. airstrikes in Somalia targeting the al-Qaida affiliate have drastically increased during President Donald Trump's administration. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address For generations, Chicagoans have invested deeply in mentoring, tutoring, antiviolence and life-skills programs with the goal of keeping our regions most at risk youth on a positive track toward paying jobs and stable lives. The stakes have always been high we take pride in being the city that works, after all yet the proliferation of guns and the intractable presence of gangs in our neighborhoods has upped the ante. And while some pockets of Chicago are experiencing unfettered growth and prosperity, others remain burdened with chronic poverty and insecurity the bleakness, as Addams called it. Live in wealthy Streeterville and the life expectancy is 90 years, one recent study found. Less than 10 miles south, in Englewood, its just 60. Name: Chance Perdomo Age: 23 Hometown: Born in Los Angeles and raised in Southampton, England. Now lives: When he is not shooting (he is currently filming in Vancouver, British Columbia), he lives with his family in a small and quaint home in Southampton. Claim to fame: Mr. Perdomo is an actor who describes himself as a black child raised by a Latino mother in a white society with two nationalities. In Britain, he is best known for starring in Killed by My Debt, a TV film based on the true story of a young courier who killed himself when two traffic tickets grew into a soul-crushing debt. In the United States, he is known for playing a pansexual warlock on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a Gen Z spin on the Sabrina the Teenage Witch universe. Donald Trump and Stoltenberg spoke on Wednesday after the president made his call during a statement on a night of Iranian missile strikes on US bases in Iraq. (Photo Credit: PTI) Brussels: NATO will consider an increased role in the Middle East, particularly in training missions, the head of the alliance said Thursday, after US President Donald Trump demanded it do more. Responding to a call from the US leader for the transatlantic alliance to become much more involved in the troubled region, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this did not have to mean large deployments of combat troops. He pointed to training missions run by the alliance in Afghanistan and Iraqwhere some 500 NATO forces are deployed to train local troops. I strongly believe that the best way we can fight international terrorism is not always by deploying NATO troops in big combat operations, Stoltenberg told reporters. The best way is to enable local forces to fight terrorism themselves, and that is exactly what we do in Afghanistan, what we do in Iraq, and of course we can look into if we can do more of that kind of activity. Trump and Stoltenberg spoke on Wednesday after the president made his call during a statement on a night of Iranian missile strikes on US bases in Iraq. The 70-year-old alliance boasts that it is the most successful in history, and was the lynchpin of Western European security throughout the Cold War. But its role, and indeed its founding treaty, has been focused on Europe and North America, despite the challenges facing the allied militaries in Asia, North Africa and the Near East. Stoltenberg refused to speculate in detail about how NATO might boost its role but stressed that any changes would be made after consultation with all 29 member states as well as countries in the Middle East. NATO has suspended its Iraq training mission since Fridays US strike killing Iranian commander Qasem Suleimani in Baghdad because of security fears. Some of the allied troops attached to the mission have been withdrawn from Iraq for their safety, but Stoltenberg has described this as a temporary measure. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Standing on the lush green lawns of the Istana Negara (the official palace of Yang di Pertuan Agong, the present monarch of Malaysia), I dig into a piece of Chicken Satay. A juicy, soft chunk of meat perfectly marinated and dunked in the ubiquitous peanut sauce, it instantly dissolves on my tongue, leaving a plethora of flavours on my palate. I am distracted by the smell of some Rendang cooking a few feet away and quickly skip on to check on it. No, this isnt one of Kuala Lumpurs famous street food markets, but it is an Open House where people from all walks of life come together, share food and the joy of festivals. These Open Houses are an integral part of the Malaysian culture where different communities come together to share food under a single roof. As Malaysia is quite a diverse community made up of Malays, Muslims and even some Hindu and Christian minorities, these Open Houses help people from all these communities to come together and rejoice. Our guide, Aspliza tells us about her childhood memories as we get on our bus to get to our destination. Food and festivals are two things that Malays like quite a bit. 1743210299 So much so that most of them head back to their homes every time the festive season comes around. Aspliza herself heads back to her home (just like most of the Malaysians leading to a nickname for this mass exodus, balik kampung) at least 3 days beating the crazy jams on the way to help her mother and grandmother help prep up the giant smorgasbord of dishes: Rendang, Rice, Satay and many other dishes for people from nearby homes to come and enjoy the Open House. Although Open Houses were a traditionally rural concept held on a smaller scale, today the capital city of Kuala Lumpur hosts gigantic versions of these, some of which are even hosted by the Prime Minister and the King. These gigantic showpieces not only showcase the hospitality of the Malaysians but also their culinary prowess. Though Eid is the major festival when these Open Houses happen, it has readily trickled down to the Diwali, the Chinese New Year and even Christmas. These Open Houses also helps boost tourism, as it opens up the locals houses to the tourists allowing them to have quite a unique experience. B07PCJJ3NP Now lets see why Malaysian food is so famous all over the world. Sitting at the confluence of a major trading route, Malaysia has been populated by immigrants from China, India and the Middle East. As their cultures intermingled, so did their skills and flavours, creating a whole lot of new dishes. As most of these immigrants used to work throughout the day, they used to eat outside, from small street-side restaurants. Today it is typified in Mamaks, restaurants that stay open all day and serve out a potent mix of flavours. We duck into one such Mamak where we dig into some of the local grub on offer. Although the menu is vast and covers more than 300 dishes, the best way to order is to take a look around. The restaurant is a visual treat as hundreds of curries lie behind glass counters. There are meats of each and every kind along with a tandoor and grill to roll out the rotis and kebabs. All around me, I find people of varying ethnicities sitting with their partners and colleagues tucking in platefuls of noodles, rice and a curry of some sorts. The restaurant also doubles up as your neighbourhood grocery stocking up on cigarettes, candy and some other knick-knacks. We order some of the Goreng Paprik Seafood, a single bowl meal with chicken and seafood served on top of sticky rice and topped off with a spicy Indonesian curry. The Roti Canai Curry, on the other hand, features a spicy Mutton curry along with a flaky multi-layered Malabari style Parotta. We end our meal along with some of decadent Kuih Dadar (coconut shavings stuffed in rice crepes). At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Marines, soldiers and other U.S. service members that the Pentagon recently ordered to the Middle East for emergency deployment may get some special pays that go along with combat-zone duty. It's still unclear whether tensions with Iran will continue to escalate after the regime launched 15 ballistic missiles Tuesday evening at Al Asad and Erbil, two locations where U.S. forces are located in Iraq. While there were no casualties in the attack -- a retaliatory strike for the Jan. 2 U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani -- it's clear that the roughly 9,000 U.S. combat forces that began deploying to the region last week may not be coming home soon. Related: Iran's Supreme Leader Demands US Withdrawal from Iraq and Region The Pentagon compensates military personnel with special pays for time away from home and dangerous assignments. Here is a rundown of pays that service members deployed during tensions with Iran may be entitled to receive, according to Defense Department guidelines: Imminent Danger Pay and Hostile Fire Pay Imminent Danger Pay (IDP) is a location-based pay, while Hostile Fire Pay (HFP) is an event-based pay. Troops serving in a designated IDP area can receive $7.50 a day, or up to $225 a month. HFP cannot exceed $225 a month. Service members cannot receive both at the same time. For now, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to Kuwait to serve as reinforcements if needed. Kuwait is not an IDP-designated area, but if U.S. forces receive hostile fire from terrorist forces in Kuwait, they would receive HFP, according to J.D. Riley, deputy chief of Army Compensation. More than 100 Marines from the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command were sent to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to help reinforce security after hundreds of Iranian-backed militia stormed the compound Dec. 31. Iraq is designated as an Imminent Danger Pay area and a Hostile Fire Pay area. "So, let's say you are in an area where you are exposed to hostile for one day and, on that day you were exposed to hostile fire, you get the entire [HFP] amount," Riley said. "But if you are there in an Imminent Danger Pay area for the same amount of time, you get $7.50." Family Separation Allowance Service members are entitled to $250 monthly Family Separation Pay (FSA) when they are involuntarily separated from dependents, but it kicks in only after the first 30 days of the separation. "It goes back to the day that you arrived," Riley said. "The qualification says you have to be temporarily away from your permanent duty station for a period of more than 30 days. Once they cross the threshold for qualification, then they are qualified back to the day they left." Hardship Duty Pay-Location Hardship Duty Pay-Location (HDP-L) is additional compensation paid to service members in designated hardship duty locations where the quality of life is substantially below that which most military members generally experience at home station. In some cases, such as in Imminent Danger Pay areas, the HDP-L rate is capped at $100 per month. "Hardship Duty Pay is location-based," Riley said. "Depending on where they are, it varies in amount." Hardship Duty-Tempo Marines who are deployed in support of an operational requirement such as a contingency operation or Marine Expeditionary Unit for more than 220 days are paid Hardship Duty Tempo (HDP-T) pay at a rate of $495 per month, prorated daily at $16.50, according to Maj. Craig Thomas, a spokesman for the Marine Corps' Manpower & Reserve Affairs. Combat Zone Tax Exclusion Service members are entitled to receive their gross military income during any period they perform active service in a designated combat zone. There are three different types of combat qualification, Riley said. A combat zone that is designated by executive order. Places like Afghanistan and Iraq fall into this category, but so does Kuwait, which has been designated by executive order since the 1991 Gulf War. A qualified hazardous duty area, which is designated by law. Places like the Sinai Peninsula, where U.S. military personnel serve in the Multinational Force and Observer mission, fall into this category. A direct support area, which has been designated by the Defense Department. "The difference is, if you are in a combat zone, you don't have to be entitled to IDP or Hostile Fire Pay in order to get the benefit of the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE)," Riley said. "But if you are in a qualified hazardous duty area or a direct support location, you must be entitled to either IDP or Hostile Fire Pay in order to receive that CZTE benefit. Assignment and Special Duty Pay Service members who normally receive Assignment and Special Duty Pay (ASDP) will continue to receive these entitlements since they will still be in the assignment or position while they are temporarily deployed away from their permanent duty station. "We pay certain MOSs in certain locations ASDP," Riley said. "Generally, just because you left your installation ... you are still performing the duty or an assignment based on that pay. We have Special Forces that get special duty assignment pay; we have [explosive ordnance disposal] soldiers that get ASDP." Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay Deployed service members may continue to receive Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay (HDIP) while they are deployed, depending on their job. Individuals receive HDIP -- which ranges from $150 to $250 per month -- for duties such as being on parachute jump status, explosive ordnance duty and flight deck duty. "Jump pay is a pay that is started and continues to be paid because [paratroopers] are always under hazardous duty orders to perform it and they are meeting the requirements," Riley said. Service members on jump status have to at least perform one jump every three months to maintain proficiency, but a commander can waive that minimum requirement if service members are unable to perform a jump because they are on combat operations or operationally deployed. "But when you are looking at other hazardous duty pays like demolition and flight deck duty ... remember, they don't always give those pays every month because it is predicated on did they perform that duty during that month, Riley said. "So you've got a guy who receives demolition pay. If he performs demo operations in the month of January but doesn't perform it in the month of February, he gets paid for January. He doesn't get paid for February." Military compensation officials stressed that requirements for these special pays can vary based on location and other factors, so service members need to check with their chain of command to ensure they are clear on what they could receive. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Read More: As Military Units Deploy Amid Iran Tensions, Here's What Those Left Behind Are Doing The gunman shot dead people in a shopping centre in Thailand (Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division via AP) Thai police are hunting for a masked assailant who went on a shooting spree at a shopping centre, killing three people, including a two-year-old boy, and wounding four others as he robbed a jewellery store. Security camera footage from the spree at the shopping centre in Lopburi province, about 90 miles north of Bangkok, shows a man wearing a ski mask, camouflage pants and a backpack across his chest shooting a customer at the shop and a sales clerk. The man, carrying a handgun with a suppressor attached, then vaults on to the jewellery store counter and grabs several trays of gold necklaces. A separate security camera video shows the toddler walking hand-in-hand with an adult near the jewellery store when he falls limp to the ground. Expand Close The suspect leaves the scene (Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The suspect leaves the scene (Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division via AP) The robber was merciless. We are looking for him in every place. Please trust us, we will definitely get this man and bring him to justice, regional police commander Lt Gen Ampol Buaruppon said. He added that police were authorised to use lethal force if he resists arrest. The parents of the toddler, who was shot in the head and died after being rushed to hospital, posted a message to their deceased son on their Facebook page. We love you very much. We are so sorry that we cannot protect you, it read. Rest in peace our angel. A shopping centre security guard and a jewellery store saleswoman were also killed. Rewards from police and other sources for information leading to the gunmans capture mounted to 500,000 baht (12,500), the website of the Bangkok Post newspaper reported. We have to admit that the robber is an expert about guns, deputy national police chief Gen Weerachai Songmetta told reporters. He is able to add a suppressor on a normal pistol. We are still looking for him in Lopburi and adjacent provinces. Chicago-based broker Hub International Ltd. announced it has acquired RHC Insurance Brokers Ltd. and RHC Insurance Brokers (Cranbrook) Ltd. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, with nine additional offices across the province, RHC is an independent insurance brokerage that provides personal and business insurance. Tammy Darough, CEO and CFO of RHC, will assist Hub International Insurance Brokers, a division of Hub International Canada West (Hub Canada West), in an advisory role to ensure a seamless transition. RHC is an excellent addition to Hub, said David Moon, president of Hub Canada West. With RHC, we will continue to support long term growth throughout British Columbia and Western Canada. We are pleased to be able to meet the growing needs of both commercial and personal clients with our ever-strengthening suite of insurance solutions and risk management services. Hub has a stellar reputation in the industry, and I know our clients will benefit from Hubs extensive platform, according to Darough. We are dedicated to providing and maintaining a comprehensive, competitive and holistic insurance program. Source: Hub International Ltd. Topics Mergers Agencies Canada A man has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for storing the meat and eggs of the endangered olive ridley sea turtle. On April 13 last year, Vo Ngoc Trung, 39, bought the eggs, meat and organs of two olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) for VND5 million ($215) from two unidentified people in Con Dao District of the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Trung stored these in a freezer at his house. Three days later, Con Dao police searched Trung's house and found over four kg of turtle eggs and over 80 kg of turtle meat and organs in the freezer. Trung managed to escape the clutches of the police and get away. He was arrested in October last year in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta. The Con Dao District People's Court on Wednesday found him guilty of violating regulations on the management and protection of endangered animals. The olive ridley sea turtle is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The species is threatened by pollution, hunting and habitat loss through residential and commercial development. Turtles are often traded in Vietnam as exotic pets or for their body parts as food or traditional medicine. The country outlawed trade in turtles in 2002. AMID the emergence of more details on the mysterious pneumonia virus that has struck dozens of people in China, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) believes the Philippines must not let its guard down. In an interview, DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the country remains at low to moderate level of risk from the mysterious pneumonia virus that has caused an outbreak in China. "Given our proximity to China and the number of flights between the Philippines and China, we can say we are at moderate risk of a person with an illness coming into the country," said Domingo. "But the risk, even if someone enters the country with the virus, of him transmitting to another is very low," he added. Domingo issued the statement after receiving information from their counterparts in China and the World Health Organization regarding the mysterious virus that originated in Wuhan, China. According to the health official, they have been informed that it is likely from the same family of viruses as the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). However, Domingo said they have learned that the new virus is not as deadly as MERS and SARS. "It is not as severe like the previous ones SARS and MERS, which had higher mortality rate," said the official. He also pointed that the present virus is not as transmissible as its predecessors. Domingo noted how there have been no records yet of human-to-human transmission of the virus. "It looks like the virus came from animals, who infected people. There has been no record yet of an infected individual infecting others," said Domingo. Earlier, Chinese health authorities declared an outbreak after recording 59 cases of an unknown viral pneumonia from the city of Wuhan, China. (HDT/SunStar Philippines) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's announcement that they plan to step back from their royal duties has sent shockwaves around the country. And This Morning's decision to poke fun at the so-called 'royal retirement' did not sit well with viewers, as many took to Twitter to criticise the show for using lookalikes of the royal couple on Friday. Hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford joked that they would be happy to offer the couple a job on the show to help in their quest to become financially independent, before showing the doppelgangers doing various backstage chores. Scroll down for video Cheeky! This Morning tried to poke fun at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's [R] royal retirement by introducing lookalikes [L] did not sit well with viewers on Friday At the start of the show, Eamonn told viewers that he and Ruth would like to help Harry and Meghan form a new role outside of the Royal Family. He said: 'They said they wanted to carve out a new role, so we found them one independent of the royals.' Harry and Meghan's lookalikes Rhys Whittock and Sylvia Aliford then arrived on the set with cups of tea in hand, and handed them to Eamonn and his wife Ruth. Cheeky: Hosts Eamonn and Ruth joked that they were going to offer Harry and Meghan a 'job' on the show to help them be financially independent Giving the pair their next task Ruth then said: 'Thank you very much, theres a few things in the kitchen that need setting out for Phillip later!' The show then showed the 'Duke and Duchess Of Sussex' doing various chores backstage, including making coffee and ironing some of the clothes in wardrobe. Eamonn then jokingly said: 'Whether they could become commoners we will see, you [Ruth] could be royal though!' Ruth explained: 'They were looking for a new role, so we thought why not have them on this morning, giving them lots of jobs around the studio, looking after guests, wardrobe... they will be straying with us all morning.' Funny: Eamonn and Ruth told viewers that they'd given 'Harry and Meghan' some more backstage chores Hard at work: Throughout the show viewers saw the lookalikes backstage doing various chores, including making coffee Throughout the show fans got more glimpses of 'Harry and Meghan' completing more jobs backstage. The moment was clearly meant to be done in good humour, but it still didn't sit well with many fans who claimed that they were 'mocking' Harry and Meghan. One angrily posted: 'Shame on you, I hope they have a happy life I wish them the best they should not be mocked by this morning, show how pathetic this show is getting [sic].' Another simple described the segment as 'pathetic,' while another wrote: 'It's not even funny.' One viewer seemed to miss the point of the segment, posting: 'That is not Harry and Meghan. For one thing, that girl spoke with a British accent when Meghan is American.' Cheeky: Eamonn then jokingly said: 'Whether they could become commoners we will see, you [Ruth] could be royal though!' Bizarre: The segment did not sit well with many fans. who took to social media to claim that it was 'mocking' the couple Angry: Many irate viewers took to social media to share their outrage as the segment aired just two days after Harry and Meghan's bombshell statement Another fan also tweeted: 'Well how silly ???? it's never a serious show with Ruth and Eamonn though so what do you expect.' However some fans seemed to enjoy the comedic segment, with one sharing several crying laughing emojis with the words: 'Love it.' Another described: 'Meghan look-a-like was quite good, the Harry one was s***t.' That was good! However some fans seemed to enjoy the comedic segment, and took to Twitter to share their reaction Explosive: This Morning featured the segment in the wake of The Duke and Duchess' announcement that they plan to take a step back as 'senior members' of The Royal Family Drama: The show was rife with discussion about the explosive royal news, with hosts Eamonn and Ruth also offering their take Their views: Luisa Zissman also offered her take on the 'royal retirement' alongside broadcaster Andrew Castle This Morning featured the hilarious segment in the wake of The Duke and Duchess' bombshell announcement that they plan to take a step back as 'senior members' of The Royal Family. The 'royal retirement' was a hot topic throughout the show, as The Apprentice star Luisa Zissman and broadcaster Andrew Castle also offered their take on the drama. Luisa admitted she had sympathy for the couple, but added: 'I dont need to be lectured by their wokeness flying around on private jets some hypocrisy noted, you know what its like to be well-known and pursued.' 'We all know how life changes when you get a young child on board, he wants to make that change.' Open: Luisa said she did have sympathy for the couple, saying: 'We all know how life changes when you get a young child on board, he wants to make that change' Truth: Luisa also said that she doesn't think Meghan will completely give up the fame that comes with her royal platform, despite her and Harry's intention to 'step back' Asked whether she thinks Meghan underestimated the fame that came with being a member of the Royal Family, Luisa said she doesn't think the former actress will completely give up her royal platform. She added: 'She probably thought i know what it is like to be famous on an American show, papped at events, the type of fame and level of fame she went from and to are two completely different levels. I dont think shes giving up fame.' Discussing the issue of whether Harry and Meghan should keep their publicly-funded security, Luisa said she thinks the couple should fund it themselves. Dynamic duo: Eamonn and Ruth were once again hosts for the Friday show, as the first week of the show's extended running time came to a close Strong words: Discussing the issue of whether Harry and Meghan should keep their publicly-funded security, Luisa said she thinks the couple should fund it themselves She added: 'I think youre either on your own two feet or not, they either go and are stripped of royal titles, thats fine and great, we support that. See you later, we are now not paying for you. 'Or they are royal and doing royal duties, if they are taking our money, they can do those royal duties.' Harry and Meghan are poised to split their time between the UK and US, which means more time away from the royal family - and their British friends, and also announced that they are taking steps to become 'financially independent.' Harry and Meghan will remove themselves, at least in part, from their British social circles in order to focus on putting down roots in their new home, where they will be much closer to their posse of A-list pals. This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV. Here, we will look at Maryam Rajavis speech. Maryam Rajavi said that the martyrs sacrifice inspired and reinvigorated the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and that she sent her sincerest and heartfelt condolences to those who had lost loved ones in the regimes crackdown on the protests. She also encouraged the people of Iran, especially the youth, to fight on, as they have been since before the mullahs came to power in 1979. Then, Maryam Rajavi gave a short history of the Resistance, citing that it started officially on June 20, 1981, after the regimes Revolutionary Guards opened fire on 500,000 young people, who had gathered at a rally in Tehran to hear the leader of the Resistance Massoud Rajavi speak. The Resistance continued in spite of the crackdown, even as political opposition was banned, even as 30,000 political prisoners were massacred in 1988, and even as the Regime attacked the Resistance camps of Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq. Maryam Rajavi said: Throughout this 40-year struggle, countless number of my [Resistance] sisters and brothers and my fellow combatants have been slaughtered, executed or massacred by the mullahs. So, please remember that the Mojahedin and members of this Resistance feel your pain and suffering from their hearts and souls. But you must also know that these martyrs are still alive because they are eternal. They are the flowers of a rebellious generation. They burst into life out of the sacred will and determination of an arisen nation. They are the harbingers of freedom in Iran. She urged the Iranian people to hold their heads up and be proud of the martyrs and of the protests that have shaken the regime to its core. Maryam Rajavi then discussed the November 2019 uprising, noting that over 1,500 people were killed by the regime; a figure 60 times higher than of those killed during the December 2017-January 2018 uprising. She advised that the number is likely much higher, but this is being covered up by the regime, amounting to one of the most horrific crimes of the 21st century. Maryam Rajavi spoke about the mullahs murder of 13 and 14-year-olds, giving a partial list of the young people killed by the regime during the protests. She said: For what crime were Amir Reza, Nikta or Armin killed? Why was the blood of Khaled and Reza spilled? Their souls cry out: For what crime were we killed? Maryam Rajavi then spoke about the brave women who were taking to the streets in protest, even becoming martyrs as well. She said: Their valiance and audacity instilled fear in Khameneis Revolutionary Guards, so much so that they repeatedly acknowledged the significant role of women in the uprising. Hail to these brave heroines. In our next piece, we will look at Maryam Rajavis belief that the regimes crackdown signals its end. Sharif Austin was getting ready to spend his first Christmas as a father. Monserret Noyola-Narvaez was studying to become a nurse. Neither would see those plans through. Both were shot and killed separately during a six-month span of violence that began as revenge for a Somerset murder, authorities say. The gunman behind the violence was Kerron Parker, a 19-year-old arrested earlier this month on charges he killed Austin, who was 21. Once in custody, Parker was also charged with two different attempted murders last summer, and with murder for Noyola-Narvaezs killing in October. Authorities now believe her death - she was driving in her car - was a case of mistaken identity. The crimes are all shootings, and Parker may have been involved in a fifth one, in New Brunswick, court documents say. Parkers alleged wave of gunplay was fueled by his desire for revenge after a friend of his was murdered last spring, witnesses told police. Parkers friend, David Anderson, was shot and killed during a May 2019 gathering at a Franklin Township park. Witnesses to Parkers shootings told police he wanted to avenge his friends death, authorities allege. But none of the people targeted in Parkers alleged quest for revenge were charged in connection to Andersons death. While family members said Austin and Parker had "beef with each other, Noyola-Narvaez was not the target of the October shooting that killed her, officials said in court documents. An arrest has been made in Andersons death: Najee K. Croom, 27, of New Brunswick, also known as Na Murder, was charged with murder in November. He remains in the Middlesex County Correctional Facility. Parkers alleged crimes began on July 18, when Parker and some friends drove into a neighborhood behind New Brunswick High School, court records say. Parker began firing when he spotted a man from Robeson Village, the nearby apartments called the Ville by locals, records show. Its not clear if an armed, backseat passenger fired any shots during the crime. The second shooting on Aug. 22 unfolded almost identically, near the 101 Zebra Way apartments in New Brunswick. Both Parker and a backseat passenger began shooting when they saw the same person, who targeted in July, walking with a woman, officials said. The person they fired at was not charged in connection to Andersons death, court records show. Its unclear if anyone was wounded in those two shootings, but Parker is charged with attempted murder for each incident. Its not clear if the driver was the same person on both days, but the driver told police who Parker was looking for in both cases. The drivers name is redacted on two affidavits of probable cause filed by investigators. Exactly two months later, Parker is accused of committing his first murder in neighboring Franklin Township. Parker, who is from the Somerset section of the town, stood in the grass outside a Matilda Avenue apartment complex and shot into a car, records show. The driver, Noyola-Narvaez, was found injured behind the wheel of her car the next street over, police said. She died from her injuries at Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center several days later. Court records do not give a motive for the shooting, but the Somerset County Prosecutors Office has called it a possible case of a mistaken identity in statements. Deputy Chief Frank Roman, with the Somerset County Prosecutors office, declined to elaborate on the mistaken identity aspect, citing an ongoing investigation. He said Somerset officials were working closely with officials in Middlesex to determine if the shootings are all connected. Another two months later, Parker is accused in the final shooting of the alleged spree. Parker and a friend drove into New Brunswick from Highland Park, ostensibly to stop by a convenience store. Instead of heading into the store, Parker is accused of getting out of the car to shoot Austin at close range. Parker was driven back to Highland Park with the gun in his lap, the driver told police. Austin died early the next morning at a nearby hospital, on Christmas Eve. Austins family told investigators Austin had "beef with two people, including Parker, at the time of his death. The name of the second person involved in the dispute was redacted from documents. Parker was arrested at his Somerset home on Jan. 2, and charged with murder and weapons offenses. He is currently detained at the Middlesex County Correctional Facility. A fifth shooting linked to Parker does not appear to have resulted in any injuries. Bullets that matched those from the July, August and December shootings were found on Suydam Street in New Brunswick on Sept. 21, court records show. City police responded to a shots fired report on Suydam Street early that morning, New Brunswick Today reported. Police in New Brunswick did not respond to NJ Advance Medias request for more information about the cases. Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch. 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. New Origin album, "Joy," by Benjamin Boone with the Ghana Jazz Collective. [While in Ghana] I saw firsthand the power of music as diplomacy. I hope 'Joy' shines a positive light on Ghana, its historic connection to the U.S., and to the tremendous jazz musicians there. Saxophonist-composer Benjamin Boones "The Poetry of Jazz," a visionary collaboration with U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine, was praised in leading musical and literary publications, featured on NPRs All Things Considered, and voted the #3 Best Album of 2018 in DownBeats 83rd annual Readers Poll. Boone documents an equally compelling collaboration, this time from his year as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Ghana, on his newest project "Joy," set for a March 20th release on Origin Records. This album, the fifth under his own name, places Boone alongside an Accra-based cohort of Ghanaian jazz musicians known as the Ghana Jazz Collective. Tenor saxophonist Bernard Ayisa, pianist Victor Dey Jr., bassist Bright Osei, and drummer Frank Kissi join Boone (with further assistance on some tracks from vocalist Sandra Huson) on four of his originals, a reimagining of the classic Maiden Voyage, and intriguing covers of two lesser-known jazz compositions. Though created in a country some five thousand miles away, Joy is not out of the realm of a traditional jazz album. The polyrhythms that underpin the music are West African in origin, but nonetheless recognizable to fans of funk, R&B, and postmodern jazz. Nobody was more surprised than Boone, who had come to Ghana to study its musical traditions, when he was invited to sit in with the band at Accras +233 Jazz Bar & Grill. I was expecting to hear something like Ethiojazz or Hugh Masekela, he recalls, but these guys know American jazz inside and out, and play the heck out of itbut with a definite Ghanaian twist. More to the point, all of the musicians speak the international language of groove. Its as potent on Boones slithery head-bobber The 233 Jazz Bar as it is on his aggressive, shapeshifting The Intricacies of Alice, or his Hiromi Uehara-inspired Slam, or his punchy arrangement (with Dey) of Herbie Hancocks Maiden Voyage. Even the longing ballad Without You, a feature for Huson, offers the entrancing and danceable beat of an R&B slow jam. Music and dance are inseparable in Ghana, says Boone. In traditional music, if you dont know the dance, it is almost impossible to play the music. The grooves are incredibly tight. Nevertheless, distinctly African influences do make themselves known. For example, while the title track Joy was written by the late American saxophonist/flutist Gerry Niewood, Boone and Deys arrangement addresses the melody with West African cadences and emphasizes the interlocking rhythms within its basic waltz pulse. With Curtain of Light, the band reaches across the continent toward the Ethiopian musical context of composer Jonovan Cooper (who teaches jazz at Addis Ababa University, where Boone was also in residence). Based on an ancient Ethiopian mode, Curtain of Light reaches several almost religiously ecstatic climaxes. Where the spirit of Ghana truly manifests, however, is in the camaraderie of its musicians and the palpable joy that fulfills the promise of the albums title. In Ghana, music is participatory, egoless, and woven into the very fabric of existence, says Boone. People live with joy and make music with joy. Boone has garnered 18 national/international awards and honors for his music, which appears on 28 albums and has been performed in 36 countries at venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. As a Professor at California State University Fresno, he has won the campuss highest awards for teaching, service, and creative activity. In addition to serving as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ghana, Boone served as a U.S. Fulbright Senior Specialist to the Republic of Moldova in 2005. The U.S. Fulbright program seeks to build bridges to peoples across the globe. Taking this role seriously, Boone instigated the First Annual Ghana National Jazz Workshop Tour, where he and the Ghana Jazz Collective performed and led workshops on improvisation and how jazz is an embodiment of the historic link between the peoples of the U.S. and Ghana. I saw firsthand the power of music as diplomacy, says Boone. I hope 'Joy' shines a positive light on Ghana, its historic connection to the U.S., and to the tremendous jazz musicians there. Ghanaians have a love of life, a love of peace, and a culture of welcoming. What a joyous way to live and to make music. A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to 12 people arrested in connection with violence in Seemapuri area of northeast Delhi during recent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra granted the relief to the accused on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and one surety of like amount. The most of the accused were in judicial custody since December 21. It directed them to join investigation as an when required by the investigating officer and not to do "any act which may disturb the public peace". "Right to protest is recognized as fundamental right in a democracy but this right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies do not extend to disturb the public order, i.e., public peace, safety and tranquillity. "The Constitution of India also prohibits a person from making any statement that incites people to commit an offence," the court said. Those granted the relief are; Amjad Khan, Abdul Kalam, Rajaullah Khan, Nisar, Amiruddin, Suaib, Ahtmaad Ahmed, Waqar, Anis, Hazi Mehraj, Mohd Shoib and Mohd Amir. Advocates Zakir Raja and Satya Prakash Gautam, appearing for some of the advocates, told the judge that 10 out of 12 accused were in judicial custody since December 21 last year and some of them were not even present in the protest. While Shoib and Amir were sent to judicial custody on January 5. The advocates claimed that the accused were peacefully protesting against the CAA. The advocates further said that section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC was not attracted in the case since "admittedly the nature of the injuries sustained by police officials is simple in nature". Stone-pelting and incidents of violence were reported on December 20 from Daryaganj in Old Delhi and Seemapuri in northeast part of the national capital during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, police said. In Seemapuri, an additional deputy commissioner of police suffered minor injuries, it said. Police said the arrested people were part of an unruly mob and they were "threat" to peace. It further alleged that the accused damaged public property and pelted stones at the police. Some of the police personnel received serious injuries and, therefore, section 307 was slapped against them, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Updated: Feb 14, 2020 Sheila Watt-Cloutier will receive the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue recognizing her outstanding global leadership using dialogue in her work as an advocate for Indigenous, environmental and cultural rights. Watt-Cloutier is a respected Inuit leader and one of the worlds most recognized environment, climate change and human rights advocates. In 2007, Watt-Cloutier was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy showing the impact global climate change has on human rightsspecifically in the Arctic. We are thrilled that Sheila Watt-Cloutier has accepted this honour, says Shauna Sylvester, executive director of SFUs Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. Sheilas quiet determination has moved thousandsfrom global leaders to young climate advocates. She is an educator, dialogue innovator and elder who has helped us understand the experiences of the Arctic and learn about what this means for our shared future. The Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue will bestow the award on Feb. 18 followed by a week of programming: February 18, 2020 Award ceremony (SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue) The biennial Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue ceremony will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on February 18, 2020, to recognize the accomplishments of Siila Watt-Cloutier in using dialogue to address environmental and human rights issues.The event is celebrated with indigenous and non-indigenous leaders in climate action and friends of Simon Fraser University and SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. February 19/20, 2020 Womens Retreat (Squamish Eagle Valley Retreat ) This 1-night, 2-day retreat invites Indigenous women and allies in a curated space to connect and rejuvenate at a retreat centre. The crucial work that these women do can be deeply emotionally and personally demanding. As such, our goal with this retreat is to honour their deep work in climate action and social justice in your communities, by providing a space to rest and connect with each other. February 24, 2020 Youth Day (SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for the Dialogue, Concourse) This Youth Conference aimed to break down silos in climate action and convened 30- 40 Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth leaders working toward climate and social justice. The goal of the event is to build a safe space for dialogue and interactive activities that centre climate action as a holistic and justice issue - and learn from each others wisdom and experiences. February 25, 2020 Campus Day: Campus Indigenous Faculty Dialogue (Diamond Alumni Centre) The participants of this dialogue included Indigenous scholars in the SFU community, and is co-hosted by SFU's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). The purpose of this dialogue is to explore the current status of reconciliation and decolonization, collectively reflect on our position to intervene, and dialogue with Siila and FASS colleagues. February 25, 2020 Campus Day: Class visit (SFU Burnaby) As part of this year's progamming, Silla will conduct a class visit with 3/4th year undergraduate students in Indigenous Studies (formerly First Nations Studies) and 20 first year students in the Indigenous Bridging Program. February 25, 2020 Graduate Research for Social Justice: A Dialogue with Sheila Watt-Cloutier (SFU Burnaby) In under 3 minutes, graduate students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will present to Siila their community-engaged participatory research, which is centered around activist/ advocacy goals. Students will have the opportunity to ask Siila questions about their research, and Siila will be provided an opportunity to comment. This public event will provide a reflective space for dialogue on community-based research and uphold the wisdom of an Indigenous elder. February 26, 2020 Semester in Dialogue Class Visit (SFU Vancouver) This class visit is aimed to create a reflective space for Semester in Dialogue (SID) students and Siila to engage in dialogue on Siilas work and Semester in Dialogue students questions/ projects. Watt-Cloutier was previously elected the Canadian President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) later to become the International Chair where she worked extensively to open space for dialogue that welcomes and invites the voices of Indigenous Peoples. Watt-Cloutiers dialogue approach incorporates Indigenous storytelling as an empathy-driven connector between the minds and hearts of those she works with. Watt-Cloutier is author of the memoir, The Right to Be Cold, a chronicle of Canadas North detailing the devastating impact of climate change on Inuit communities. The book was nominated for the 2016 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. The Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue is presented every second year to an individual who has demonstrated international excellence in the use of dialogue to increase mutual understanding and advance complex public issues. Nominations are encouraged from around the world and the recipient is chosen with a robust selection process led by a strong committee. 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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(0x7f0482eafdc8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f04826c7a30)', '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(0x7f0482eafdc8)') 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(0x7f04826c7a30)') 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(0x7f047b42f7a0)') 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(0x7f04826c7a30)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f04826c7a30)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f0481f75cb8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f0482e756b0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f0482e756b0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 From: Meredith Annette < meredithannette2@yahoo.com > Sent: Tuesday, January 7, 2020, 3:56:29 PM GMT+3 Subject: Thanks for your message my dear How are you. I am pleased to send you email regarding my business proposal. I am the assistant marketer of my company in London UK (Invedia Industrial Diamond Plc). It may interest you to know that my company has developed business industrial empire for supplying assorted gold & diamonds in the Europe. Presently, I am in Moscow Russia where i am currently representing my company in a business program but I decided to contact you because the business is very urgently.I picked interest to share a business proposal with you. My company urgently need a product that is used for cleaning raw gold stones and diamond but the product is no more available in the Europe market. During my research, I found a company that is selling the product at a lower cost but i don't want my company to know about it. Please I would like you to handle the contract of supplying the product to my company at a higher cost and we could make good profits in the supply. My company urgently need 1000 cartons of a product that is used for cleaning raw gold stones, The product is called SILICA OIL (One bottle is 5.8 cm size and it contains 8 bottles in one carton). My boss usually buy a carton for 5000 euro until the product became scarce in the Europe market. On my research, Someone gave me the contact of a store in Africa that has this product and they are selling one carton for only 2800 euro but I don't want to tell my boss about it because I want you to supply the product to my company at higher price so we can make good profit. Here is the details on how you will do the supply You will be buying the product from the store for 2800 euro per carton My boss will be buying the product from you for 5000 euro per carton Our total profit in 1000 cartons will be EURO 2.2 million (EURO) Which You and Me will share (50/50) equal. This business is not difficult or complicated. Firstly, I will tell my boss that you are a trusted seller of the product and then my boss will contact you for the purchase of the product. Immediately my boss send full payment in advance to supply 1000 cartons in London, Then You will buy the product from the store in Africa and supply to my company in London. Meanwhile, You will keep our profit of EURO 2.2 million in your bank account because i will visit your country after you have finished supplying the product to my company. As soon as i confirm your interest in this business, I will quickly send you the information of the store to confirm if they still have Silica Oil in stock before we can proceed. Moreover. I have attached my photo and my roaming phone number to call me here in Russia (+447024096063) Thanks. Best from Mrs Meredith Annette Hello Dear,How are you. I am pleased to send you email regarding my business proposal. I am the assistant marketer of my company in London UK (Invedia Industrial Diamond Plc). It may interest you to know that my company has developed business industrial empire for supplying assorted gold & diamonds in the Europe. Presently, I am in Moscow Russia where i am currently representing my company in a business program but I decided to contact you because the business is very urgently.I picked interest to share a business proposal with you. My company urgently need a product that is used for cleaning raw gold stones and diamond but the product is no more available in the Europe market. During my research, I found a company that is selling the product at a lower cost but i don't want my company to know about it. Please I would like you to handle the contract of supplying the product to my company at a higher cost and we could make good profits in the supply.My company urgently need 1000 cartons of a product that is used for cleaning raw gold stones, The product is called SILICA OIL (One bottle is 5.8 cm size and it contains 8 bottles in one carton). My boss usually buy a carton for 5000 euro until the product became scarce in the Europe market. On my research, Someone gave me the contact of a store in Africa that has this product and they are selling one carton for only 2800 euro but I don't want to tell my boss about it because I want you to supply the product to my company at higher price so we can make good profit.Here is the details on how you will do the supplyYou will be buying the product from the store for 2800 euro per cartonMy boss will be buying the product from you for 5000 euro per cartonOur total profit in 1000 cartons will be EURO 2.2 million (EURO) Which You and Me will share (50/50) equal.This business is not difficult or complicated. Firstly, I will tell my boss that you are a trusted seller of the product and then my boss will contact you for the purchase of the product. Immediately my boss send full payment in advance to supply 1000 cartons in London, Then You will buy the product from the store in Africa and supply to my company in London. Meanwhile, You will keep our profit of EURO 2.2 million in your bank account because i will visit your country after you have finished supplying the product to my company.As soon as i confirm your interest in this business, I will quickly send you the information of the store to confirm if they still have Silica Oil in stock before we can proceed. Moreover. I have attached my photo and my roaming phone number to call me here in Russia (+447024096063)Thanks.Best from Mrs Meredith Annette From: Meredith Annette < meredithannette2@yahoo.com > Sent: Tuesday, January 7, 2020, 8:25:19 PM GMT+3 Subject: Contact the store company seller in Africa Togo about the product Hello My Dear Partner i am happy to meet your kind person in this business, I believe you will be the right person in this business because i need a honest person. please my dear partner i don`t need any money from you in this business because my boss in London will be sending you money to buy the product and supply to them in London successfully okay. What i need from you now is honest and trust please. Please my dear listening OK. Both of us will be buying this product at cost of 2,800 euro from the store company in Togo and supply the product at cost of 5,000 euro to my boss in London. My boss will be sending you money to buy the product and supply to them in London. I want you to know that this product is very urgent needed by my company because my boss is anxiously searching to buy this product but I didn't want my boss to know that i found it at a low price in Africa Togo because i want you to supply the product to my company at higher price which my boss normally buy it in the Europe market. I have noticed that you are serious and willing to do this business with you and I want to rely on you as my trusted foreign partner in this business because I have the confidence to do this business with you. I attached below the contact of the store where i found the product, Please contact them today and find out the cost of one carton and also confirm if they have up to 1000 cartons in stock because that is the quantity you will supply to my company in London. UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & STORES LTD. Location: TOGO AFRICA E-mail 1: mohamed.ali1038@yahoo.com Phone: (+228) 96617801 Product name: SILICA OIL. As soon as i get your positive feedback from the store, I will quickly contact my boss in London and introduce you as the seller of the product so that my boss will contact you for the purchase of the product because he will be sending you the money to supply the product in London. I want the transaction to be between you and my boss and I also want you to receive the product in your country and resend it from your country to my company so that my boss will not know the store in Africa because I want you to always supply this product to my company in future. Remember that when you received the cost of supplying 1000 cartons from my boss, You will remove our profit and keep it safe in your bank account because I will plan to visit your country after my program in Russia so i can obtain my 50% share in the business and I will be so glad to meet you in person too. Please contact the store today so that you will get quick response from them because it's urgent. Best regards Meredith From: Mohamed Ali < mohamed.ali1038@yahoo.com > Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 2:47:11 PM GMT+3 Subject: UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & STORES LTD 6027B Villa 2451 Medina - Grand, City Comic Togo Fax No: +228-97 122 82 3 Mobile No: +228-96670146 E-mail: Togo Africa DEAR CUSTOMER Thanks for making inquires on our product, Uni-Biz Chemical & Stores Ltd (UNI-BIZ) has been granted a worldwide non-exclusive license to manufacture and market chemicals and Our product are 100% guaranteed to the satisfaction of our customers. YOUR INQUIRY: Do you want to buy Silica oil from our company. We have the SILICA OIL and we are ready to supply any quantity demanded. Our company price for each carton is estimated EURO 2800 (Two thousand eight hundred EUR) with no discount charge and we have more then 5000 cartons in our store. FOR PAYMENTS: We only accept two payments methods depending on the quantity of goods ordered. 1. BANK TRANSFER PAYMENT 2. WESTERN UNION PAYMENT YOUR ORDER ESTIMATE: I have attached some of our company pictures here for more details. CUSTOMER NAMES. . . . . . . . . . . COUNTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STATE/CITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PHONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OUR SERVICE: We offer a quick and reliable service to ensure that PREPAID GOODS are delivered within one week of payment. Sincerely, Mohamed Ali Marketing Manager Tell: (+228) 9667014 UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & STORES LTD6027B Villa 2451 Medina - Grand, City Comic TogoFax No: +228-97 122 82 3Mobile No: +228-96670146E-mail: mohamed.ali1038@yahoo.com Togo AfricaDEAR CUSTOMERThanks for making inquires on our product, Uni-Biz Chemical & Stores Ltd (UNI-BIZ) has been granted a worldwide non-exclusive license to manufacture and market chemicals and Our product are 100% guaranteed to the satisfaction of our customers.YOUR INQUIRY: Do you want to buy Silica oil from our company. We have the SILICA OIL and we are ready to supply any quantity demanded. Our company price for each carton is estimated EURO 2800 (Two thousand eight hundred EUR) with no discount charge and we have more then 5000 cartons in our store.FOR PAYMENTS: We only accept two payments methods depending on the quantity of goods ordered.1. BANK TRANSFER PAYMENT2. WESTERN UNION PAYMENTYOUR ORDER ESTIMATE: I have attached some of our company pictures here for more details.CUSTOMER NAMES. . . . . . . . . . .COUNTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .STATE/CITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PHONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OUR SERVICE: We offer a quick and reliable service to ensure that PREPAID GOODS are delivered within one week of payment.Sincerely, Mohamed AliMarketing ManagerTell: (+228) 9667014 From: Meredith Annette < meredithannette2@yahoo.com > Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 5:01:53 PM GMT+3 Subject: I have contacted my boss in London now okay My dear trusted partner how are you today . I am so happy to meet your kind and serious person in this business my dear partner. I have contacted my boss in London now and i told my boss all about you as the marketer of this product and my boss will be happy that i find the product now. I told my boss that you are a good marketer and you have the product up to 1000 cartons or 2000 cartons in your store company and you are very serious and willing to supply the product to them in London once you receive the total payment complete and my boss said OK that he will transfer you the payment urgently once he confirm from you as the marketer. My dear partner please please Do not forget to tell my boss that each carton is 5,000 euro so that we will buy the product in Africa company for 2,800 euros and supply it to my boss in London for 5,000 euro and have our profit of 2,200 euro by each carton. Once my boss contacted you and ask you how much is the cost of the product for each one carton. You tell my boss 5,000 euro by one carton. Tell my boss that you are the marketer of the product and you have the good product up to 2,000 cartons in your company shop in Africa. So that my boss will transfer you the payment of 5,000 euro for each carton to 1000 cartons to your bank account so that we will buy it in Africa low price at 2,800 euro OK. My dear partner We needed this profit in this business so that we will share the profit of 2.20000 Million euro 50%50 OK. Notice: My boss Name. His Name is MR Davids Williams OK? He will contact you soon because of this product is very urgent and serious OK. I am so much happy that this business will work very well and fine soon so that i will come and meet you face to face and share our profit OK. God bless you and your family. From your Trusted partner From: David Williams < david.william12101@gmail.com > Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 5:30:39 PM GMT+3 Subject: INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM ATTENTION! SIR I WAS NOTIFIED BY MY MARKETER (MRS MEREDITH ANNETTE) THAT YOUR COMPANY TRADE SILICA OIL PRODUCT AND I TOOK INTEREST TO VERIFY FROM YOUR STORE AS WE URGENTLY NEED THIS CHEMICAL. PLEASE IF THE SILICA OIL IS STILL AVAILABLE AT YOUR STORE, KINDLY SEND US THE PRICE PER CARTON TO KNOW IF IT COINCIDES WITH OUR COMPANY BUDGET BEFORE MAKING ANY ORDER FROM YOUR STORE. WE ACTUALLY NEEDED 3000 CARTONS BUT OUR FIRST ORDER WILL BE 1000 CARTONS AND AFTER THE FIRST SUPPLY, I WILL BE CONFIDENT TO PURCHASE MORE CARTONS FROM YOUR STORE. IN THIS REGARD. I WISH TO KNOW YOUR BEST PRICE TO SUPPLY 1000 CARTONS TO LONDON UNITED KINGDOM. YOUR QUICK RESPONSE WILL BE MOSTLY APPRECIATED. THANKS CORDIALLY DR.DAVID WILLIAMS DIRECTOR-GENERAL MANAGER INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON , UNITED KINGDOM Head Office : 63-66 Hatton Garden London EC1N 8LE Fax:+44 (0) 1756 73766 | (0) 1746 73735 | Tell:+44 (0) 1784 437520 www.invedia.co.uk | david.william12101@gmail.com From: Meredith Annette < meredithannette2@yahoo.com > Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 7:20:08 PM GMT+3 Subject: My dear trusted partner how are you today My dear trusted partner how are you today. Please i want you to contact my boss in London by your self okay. Tell my boss in London that you are the company marketer owner of a product called SILICA OIL. Tell my boss that Mrs Meredith Annette told you to contact him for the product. Tell my boss that each carton cost is 5,000 euro. And also tell my boss that your company have the product up to 3000 cartons in store okay. Please contact my boss now through his Email address okay INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON , UNITED KINGDOM Head Office : 63-66 Hatton Garden London EC1N 8LE Fax:+44 (0) 1756 73766 | (0) 1746 73735 | Tell:+44 (0) 1784 437520 www.invedia.co.uk | david.william12101@gmail.com If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the Islamic Republics retaliation to the killing of its general Qassem Soleimani shows that they do not retreat in the face of America. The Islamic republic fired multiple rockets on US Airbase In Iraq on Wednesday. In a televised address, Rouhani said if America had committed a crime, it should know that it will receive a decisive response. He added, "If they are wise, they wont take any other action at this juncture." Read: No Casualties Among Troops On NATO's Training Mission In Iraq After Iran Missile Attack Read: Iranian Leader Saeed Jalili Mocked Trump With A Tweet Of Iran's Flag After Missile Attack Should receive a collective response from nations in the region The Iranian leader further said that it would not be enough if his countrys armed forces hit back for any other action taken by the United States and it must receive the main response from the nations of regions. Since the assassination of Soleimani, the Iranian president has constantly been repeating that US forces should leave the region. He said, They cut off the hand of our dear Soleimani. The revenge for him is to cut off America's feet from this region. If America's feet is cut off from this region, and its hand of aggression is cut off for good, this is the real and final response of the nations of the region to America. Read: Iraq's Speaker Calls Iranian Attack 'violation Of Iraqi Sovereignty' Read: France Condemns Iran Missile Attacks At Iraq Airbases Hosting US Troops Heaping praises for Qassem Soleimani, President Hassan Rouhani in a tweet reminded that Iran's top commander had 'heroically' fought against terror organisations including ISIS and Al Qaeda. In addition, he said that 'European capitals' would be in danger if it wasn't for Soleimani's 'war on terror.' In the same tweet, the Iranian President further asserted that the 'final answer' to Soleimani's assassination would be to remove US troops out of the Middle East region. This comes amid the escalation of tensions between Iran and the US over the killing of Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani and the missiles being fired at two Iraqi military bases housing thousands of US troops. The global medical imaging market is likely to grow in the coming years, favored by technological advancements in x-ray imaging and diagnosis. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Medical Imaging / Diagnostic Imaging Market: Global Market Analysis, Insights and Forecasts, 2018-2025, the market is likely to reach US$ 44,077.7 Mn by 2025. The market was valued at US$ 30,814.2 Mn in 2017, and the value will increment at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. Highlights of the Report: In-depth analysis of various insights, namely, Medical Imaging Market trends, growth drivers, opportunities, and other related challenges. Comprehensive details of key market players, their core competencies, and Medical Imaging Market share. The potency of suppliers and buyers to make better business decisions. Lists out the market size in terms of volume. For more information in the analysis of this report, visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/medical-imaging-equipment-market-100382 Key Players Operating in The Medical Imaging Market Include: Key players are involved in mergers and acquisition to strengthen their market position. Owing to increasing competition frequent innovations are taking place in the market. Some of the companies operating the industry are: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY Hitachi, Ltd. Shimadzu Corporation Siemens Healthcare GmbH Koninklijke Philips N.V. Supersonic Imagine Hologic, Inc. SAMSUNG Fujifilm Holdings Corporation. South Korean Government announces US$ 1 Bn for Development of Medical Devices In May 2019, the South Korean government announced that it plans to invest around 1 trillion Won, which is US$ 1Bn in the research and development of high caliber medical devices. The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced that after the preliminary study on research and development was concluded last month, it now aims to develop world class devices within the next 6 years. The MSIT made its intentions clear by announcing a huge sum that no compromises will be made in healthcare devices including imaging, scanning, diagnosis, treatment, and other devices. With a huge investment, the government aims at tackling issues such as treating physically disabled people, improving quality of rehabilitation for those in need, and providing high quality devices for early detection of fatal diseases such as cancer. This initiative is likely to have a positive impact on the global medical imaging equipment market and shall bode well for its growth in the coming years. Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/medical-imaging-equipment-market-100382 Novel Imaging Techniques including 3D and Colour Imaging to Boost the Global Market Recent advancements in 3D imaging have given impetus to the global diagnostic imaging equipment market. Increasing investment in improving pixel resolutions and other factors related to ensuring improved image quality have a direct impact on the global medical imaging devices market. Furthermore, the advances made in molecular imaging have led to exceptional discoveries and contributed to development of next-in-class devices. The high quality images produced by the latest medical imaging devices have allowed healthcare professionals to explore potentials within the molecular cell biology. The aforementioned factors have accounted for the growth of the global diagnostic imaging devices market. Some of the leading companies operating in the global diagnostic imaging market are GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, Hitachi, Ltd., Shimadzu Corporation, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Supersonic Imagine, Hologic, Inc., SAMSUNG and Fujifilm Holdings Corporation. Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Epidemiology Overview: Key Diseases, 2018 Overview: Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships Pricing Analysis, Key Players Installed Base Scenario, Key Brands/ Players Global Medical Imaging Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2025 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Type Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Equipment Computed Tomography (CT) Equipment X-ray Equipment Ultrasound Equipment Molecular Imaging Equipment Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Cardiology Neurology Orthopedics Gynecology Oncology Others (Urology, etc.) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End User Hospitals Specialty Clinics Diagnostic Imaging Centers Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/medical-imaging-equipment-market-100382 Report Focus: Extensive product offerings Customer research services Robust research methodology Comprehensive reports Latest technological developments Value chain analysis Potential Medical Imaging Market opportunities Growth dynamics Quality assurance Post-sales support Regular report updates Reasons to Purchase this Report: Comprehensive analysis of the Medical Imaging Market growth drivers, obstacles, opportunities, and other related challenges. Tracks the developments, such as new product launches, agreements, mergers and acquisitions, geographical expansions, and joint ventures. Identifies market restraints and boosters. Identifies all the possible segments present in the market to aid organizations in strategic business planning. KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED: What is the market size and growth rate of the global and regional market by various segments? What is the market size and growth rate of the market for selective countries? Which region or sub-segment is expected to drive the market in the forecast period? What Factors are estimated to drive and restrain the Medical Imaging Market growth? What are the key technological and market trends shaping the market? What are the key opportunities in the market? What are the key companies operating in the market? Which company accounted for the highest market share? Related Reports: Vision Care Market is Expected to Reach $ 192.85 billion by 2026 | Fortune Business Insights Vision Care Market is Expected to Reach $ 192.85 billion by 2026 | Fortune Business Insights About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We, therefore, offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Email:sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Linkedin | Twitter | BLogs The automotive skid plate market size is poised to grow at a CAGR of about 15% during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005256/en/ Technavio announced its latest market research report titled global automotive skid plate market 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) Off-road motorcycles are in demand due to several factors such as the increase in the number of off-road enthusiasts, growing awareness about recreational activities, and increasing disposable income. This has led prominent automakers to increase their product offerings in the off-road motorcycles segment. Therefore, the growing popularity of off-road motorcycles will drive the growth of the global automotive skid plate market, owing to standard fitment (or optional availability) of skid plates in such motorcycles. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR31305 As per Technavio, the growing availability of bumper skid plates as OEM fitment in compact SUV and crossovers will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2019-2023. Automotive Skid Plate Market: Growing Availability of Bumper Skid Plates as OEM Fitment in Compact SUV and Crossovers The demand for SUVs and crossovers has also been witnessing an upward trend over the last few years especially in the emerging markets of APAC. Within SUVs, the compact and small-size segment is dominating the sales. Looking at the market potential, automakers are differentiating their products by offering best-in segment features and functionalities. To enhance the overall appearance of vehicles, automakers are also offering various design elements to vehicle exteriors. For instance, Maruti Suzuki offers a faux silver side plate in its compact SUV, Vitara Brezza. The company also offers skid plate in its crossover, S-Cross. Other automakers that are offering SUV in this segment are also providing skid plates. Thus, the increasing use of skid plates in new SUV and crossover models is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. "Other factors such as the increasing availability of skid plates at online marketplace will have a significant impact on the growth of the automotive skid plate market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Automotive Skid Plate Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the automotive skid plate market by application (SUV, pickup truck, ATV, adventure motorcycle) and geographical regions (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA). The North American region led the market in 2018, followed by APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to continue dominating as well as register the highest incremental growth due to the high popularity of recreational vehicles in the region. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005256/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com ROME, N.Y. A local author will host a book signing event at Copperccinos Coffee House in Rome on Jan. 19. Alexis Bice, of Glenfield, has released her second book Life Unlocked, and will be donating 50% of the proceeds from the event to the American Suicide Foundation. Life Unlocked is about a teen struggling to adjust to life after being released from juvenile detention. Bice also wrote a romance novel that was published in September called This Love is Ours. The book signing will begin at noon on Jan. 19. Oprah Winfrey has denied claims she advised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their bombshell decision to step back as senior royals. The TV star, who is a friend of Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland, was reported yesterday to have been the 'first person' to discuss 'breaking free' from the Royal Family with the couple. An insider added that Oprah, 65, had encouraged the pair to 'do their own thing' and 'build their own brand' in North America. 'Oprah was the first person to talk to Harry and Meghan about breaking free and doing their own thing, building on their own brand', the source told Page Six. Oprah Winfrey has denied claims she advised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their bombshell decision to step back as senior royals 'She made them realize it was really possible'. But despite claims Oprah had advised the couple on their 'declaration of independence', the producer has since denied she was involved in the decision. She told People: 'Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out what's best for them'. Oprah, who attended Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018, added: 'I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family'. It was also claimed by Page Six on Thursday that Meghan's close friend Gayle King could secure the couple's first interview on the CBS show This Morning. 'It's hush-hush, but there's no one else they would turn to', a source added. Oprah was reported yesterday to have been the 'first person' to discuss 'breaking free' from the Royal Family with the couple The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Wednesday released a statement which detailed their plans 'step back' as senior members of the Royal Family The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Wednesday released a statement which detailed their plans to split their time between the UK and North America and 'carve out a progressive new role within this institution'. Harry and Meghan added they want to become 'financially independent' and will stop receiving money from the Sovereign Grant, which covers around five per cent of the couple's costs. In a statement, they said: 'We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. 'We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. Oprah said: 'Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out what's best for them' Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit Canada House in London after a six-week break 'This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity'. Buckingham Palace released its own statement shortly after the Instagram post on Wednesday, claiming the 'complicated issues will take time to work through'. It read: 'Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through'. Prince Charles and Prince William were reportedly left 'incandescent with rage' when they learned about the Sussexes' announcement 10 minutes before it was published on Instagram. Royal sources claimed yesterday that Prince Harry had ignored crystal-clear orders from the Queen on the subject, after she instructed him not to make announcement about his future plans at this time. Masoud Adibi spoke softly and with laboured breaths as he thanked people who gathered at the Al Rasoul Islamic Society centre in Bedford, N.S., for a vigil Thursday night. Adibi lost his wife, Dr. Sharieh Faghihi, in the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash Wednesday morning. The Halifax dentist was one of several women who lived in or had ties to Nova Scotia and perished in the crash. "This tragedy was very, very hard for all the passenger's families, and for Halifax community, even for Canadian people," Adibi said. Several elected officials, including Premier Stephen McNeil, former colleagues and religious leaders spoke to the hundreds of people present, many of whom are part of the local Iranian community. "It's a national disaster for Canada, we lost a lot, a huge asset," said Ali Nafarieh, president of the Iranian Cultural Association of Nova Scotia. Robert Short/CBC For the past several months, he worked with Masoumeh Ghavi at his Bedford information technology company, Hanatech. "I cannot still believe she's not coming back," he said. "In addition to skills, experience what she brought to the company, mainly, was energy. All the time she was wearing the smile, beautiful smile, you can see it in her picture Masi will be missed forever." McNeil said looking at photos of the people who were on board Flight PS752 has been a reminder of "so much lost potential and the impact this will have on our communities." Dal.ca/Instagram "To the family members who are with us today, your depth of loss is unthinkable for many of us. I hope the presence of everyone here is of some comfort that we are here to support you in this journey ahead and to know that you are not alone," said McNeil. No one at the vigil brought up the development that emerged Thursday afternoon that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence now indicates the Ukrainian passenger aircraft was shot down by an Iranian missile, perhaps unintentionally. Story continues Robert Short/CBC McNeil called the tragedy "senseless" and said he could appreciate that even answers might never alleviate the pain of the losses. Several graduate students on the plane were living in Halifax. Ghavi, 30, was studying engineering at Dalhousie and was travelling back to Canada with her younger sister, Mandieh Ghavi, 20, who planned to study in the city. Maryam Malek and Fatemeh Mahmoodi were both enrolled in the master of finance program at Saint Mary's University. Elizabeth Chiu/CBC Family members of Dr. Shekoufeh Choupannejad and her daughters, Saba and Sara Saadat, were also at the memorial. The family lived in Halifax before moving to Edmonton where Choupannejad worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist and her daughters attended the University of Alberta. "They were honestly the sweetest souls, the smartest people that we had ever met. They were on the way to becoming doctors, their mum was a doctor. I'm just really sad," said the girls' cousin, Fatemeh Saadat. LinkedIn/Supplied She and another cousin, Fatemeh Asadi, had Facetimed the sisters before their trip to Iran. Despite the move to Edmonton, they remained close. Asadi said Saba told her just on Monday about looking forward to a relaxing last semester of undergrad after finishing medical school applications. "We just love them and we miss them already. Our prayers are with them and their family," said Asadi. Submitted by Mehdi Hashemi One of the vigil's organizers, Hossein Mousavi, vice president of the Al Rasoul Society, said bring the community together gives people strength. He said it was moving to see so many politicians attend, in part, because it gives hope the relationship between Canada and Iran might improve. "Believe me, it helps. Because we don't have any embassy in Canada. It's very difficult for us," he said. The elected officials offered support to the local Iranian community. "There are no hyphenated Nova Scotians here. A Nova Scotian is a Nova Scotian is a Nova Scotian and we mourn their loss with you," said MLA Kelly Regan. Rafah DiCostanzo, the MLA for Clayton Park West, said hearing about the students flying back to Canada reminded her of the trips she made home to Iraq when she was a student. Her mother would start cooking her favourite dishes in the weeks leading up to her return. CBC "It was such a big celebration to get their daughter who was studying abroad home and it was so hard for me to say bye," she said. "All I want to say tonight is those mothers, I want to thank them for sending their daughters to study in Canada. It takes a lot of guts from mothers and fathers to allow their daughters to come and study. "We are so lucky here to get the best of the best who want to come and study here. They make our province, our country so much better." MORE TOP STORIES Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed an Iranian general last week at least in part due to fears about his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, according to a new report. An article in the Wall Street Journal indicates that Mr Trump has told associates that he ordered the killing of Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani amid pressure from Republicans who wanted him to take a stronger stance towards Iran. Mr Trump, after the strike, told associates he was under pressure to deal with Gen Soleimani from GOP senators he views as important supporters in his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, the report, published Thursday, says. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story. The line appears to confirm earlier reporting by the New York Times, which claimed the president had told at least one person over the phone that he had felt pressured to take a harder line on Iran by some Republican senators whose support he needs now more than ever amid an impeachment battle. In the week that has followed the attack, Mr Trump has been praised by many in the Republican Party. And, as stability in the Middle East has been seen as particularly precarious, Mr Trump has reportedly felt at-ease with the decision. US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday 3 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures The wreckage of the car in which general Soleimani was travelling when a targeted US airstrike struck outside Baghdad International Airport on 3 January Ahmad Al Mukhtar via Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Demonstrators burn the US and British flags during a protest in Tehran after general Soleimani was killed in a targeted airstrike by American forces Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike. The Pentagon said Thursday that the US military has killed general Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of Donald Trump AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn Israeli and US flags as thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of general Soleimani at the hands of America EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of Donald Trump pray at an 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held on the day following the killing of general Soleimani. At the event, the president praised the "flawless strike that eliminated the terrorist ringleader" AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A huge procession of mourners gather in Baghdad for the funeral of general Soleimani on 4 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani during an anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iraqis perform a mourning prayer for slain major general Qasem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the Great Mosque of Kufa AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A billboard reading 'Death to America and Israel', installed by Iran-backed shiite armed groups at a street in Jadriyah district in Baghdad, Iraq EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him visiting the family of Soleiman KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US flag as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Jalal Feiruznia, looks to a portrait of Soleimani, as he receives condolences at the Iranian embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures People make their way on the street while a screen on the wall of a cinema shows a portrait Soleimani in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Aziz Asmar, one of two Syrian painters who completed a mural following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani poses next to his creation in the rebel-held Syrian town of Dana in the northwestern province of Idlib AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A demonstration in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures An anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Mujtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers a speech in the holy shrine city of Najaf AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US and Israeli flags as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters demonstrate in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shi'ite Muslims hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, in Peshawar, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London PA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn a US flag in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A Syrian man offers sweets to children to mark the killing AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers attend a mourning prayer for Soleimani in Iran's capital Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshipers chant slogans during Friday prayers Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A protest against the USA, in Islamabad, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranians burn a US flag in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin, Germany Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol a road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel. Following morning's killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel's closest ally, to be avenged AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian women take to the streets in Tehran EPA The new report connecting Mr Trumps impeachment concerns to the attack come just after Trump administration officials conducted a classified briefing with members of Congress to discuss the reasoning behind the call, and as Washington has appeared divided over whether the airstrike was necessary. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed the strike was authorised in response to an imminent threat to Americans in the region. But, the administration has been criticised for its transparency from a group that includes most Democrats and even some Republicans Now I find this insulting and demeaning, not personally, but to the office that each of the 100 senators in this building happen to hold. I find it insulting, and I find it demeaning to the Constitution to which weve all sworn an oath. It is after all the prerogative of the legislative branch to declare war, senator Mike Lee, a Republican, told reporters during a press briefing alongside senator Rand Paul after the classified briefing this week. Mr Lee added: What we were told over and over again was, look, this action is necessary, this was a bad guy, we had to do it and we cant have division. We cant have division within our ranks, within our government, otherwise it sends a wrong signal to the Iranians. And I just, I think thats completely wrong. In response to the airstrike, Iran launched a strikes on US targets in Iraq, firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases where American troops are stationed. Those attacks had no reported casualties, and led Mr Trump to claim that Iran appears to be standing down in an apparent de-escalation of tensions. Going by the State of Forest Report 2019, 4.21 per cent of forests in Telangana state face a high risk of fire accidents. Hyderabad: At a time when Australia is struggling with bushfires, there are questions being raised over how safe forests in the state are from fire accidents. Going by the State of Forest Report 2019, 4.21 per cent of forests in Telangana state face a high risk of fire accidents. As per the report, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) issued to state government as many as 16,508 fire alerts from November 2018 to June 2019. Forests are spread across 26,903 square km in the state. Close to 1,700 square km of the forests are prone to fires. Most of the fires are caused by inflammable materials like improperly stubbed cigarettes or beedis, said a forest officer, requesting anonymity. However, some high-ranking officers say fire could be ignited on purpose as well. The growth of Mahua flowers in the state is high. This prompts certain people to set ablaze a few trees to get the flowers, said M. Padmanabha Reddy, a retired IFS official. Mahua flowers are used to make liquor and are thus targeted by people. Forests in the state are mainly dry and deciduous in nature. Leaves start drying up in the summer and fall. Whenever tribals or passersby throw a cigarette or beedi without fully extinguishing it, there is high likelihood of a forest fire. In 2018, as many as 13,002 fire alerts were communicated by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and the Forest Survey of India. The forest area that got burnt was spread over 18,000 hectares, which accounts to around 0.70 per cent of the states forest area. Analysis of data related to fire alerts from 2004 to 2018 by the IT wing of the principal chief conservator of forests office here reveals that erstwhile circles of Khammam, Warangal, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Amrabad Tiger Reserve account for a majority of forest fires. According to forest department officials, The other major cause of forest fires is beedi leaf collection. Beedi leaf contractors send their representatives to select villages and distribute match boxes to villagers for illegally setting fire to forest, so that they can get better quality beedi leaves. The contractors resort to this quick fix solution instead of undertaking shaktharaasi, the traditional pruning. AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Soul Machines, the ground-breaking company re-imagining how humans connect with machines, today announced its US$40 million series B financing. Soul Machines is an AGI Research company developing the worlds leading Autonomous Animation platform to help humanize brands and the ways people engage with them. The investment was led by Temasek from Singapore, with participation from Lakestar, a leading European Venture Fund, and Salesforce Ventures, along with further investment from existing investors Horizons Ventures, University of Auckland Inventors Fund and others from their earlier rounds. With the funds, Soul Machines plans to continue expanding globally with specific focus on R&D and increasing its operating footprint around the world to meet growing demand. Soul Machines was founded by Academy Award winner Mark Sagar and serial entrepreneur Greg Cross in 2016 when it was spun out of the University of Auckland. Together, technology pioneers Sagar and Cross are fusing AI, computational brain models and experiential learning to usher in a new era of customer experience. With Soul Machines technology, their clients Digital Heroes are able to democratize personal experience in a way that has not been previously possible. We have enjoyed getting to know and work with the teams at Temasek, Lakestar and Salesforce Ventures and believe they are the perfect partners to help as we continue to expand and grow our business, technology and client base globally, said Greg Cross, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Soul Machines. We are very grateful for the continued support from Horizons Ventures who are highly valued partners that understand how great technology businesses are built." Soul Machines has deployed its HumanOS platform and created Digital Heroes for some of the biggest global brands in retail, automotive, banking and finance with customers including Procter & Gamble, Bank ABC, The Royal Bank of Scotland and more. Key initiatives in the education and healthcare fields are underway as well with Soul Machines. The Soul Machines technology creates a new kind of customer experience and overall engagement. Brands now have the opportunity to create a digital version of their ambassadors or an entirely digitally employee, like a service agent, to more effectively interact with their fans and customers in meaningful ways. Were proud to announce Salesforce Ventures investment in Soul Machines because it has an obsessive focus on improving customer experience by using artificial intelligence technology in new ways, said Rob Keith, Head of Australia, Salesforce Ventures. We look forward to continuing to work with Soul Machines as it scales and realises its global aspirations. ABOUT SOUL MACHINES Soul Machines is a ground-breaking, high-tech company of AI researchers, neuroscientists, psychologists, artists, and innovative thinkers, re-imagining how we connect with machines. The company brings technology to life by creating incredibly lifelike, emotionally responsive, Digital Heroes with personality and character that allow machines to talk to us face-to-face. Their vision is to humanize artificial intelligence to better humanity. Soul Machines is now deploying the worlds first digital humans with some of the biggest corporate brands in the world in Banking and Finance, Software and Technology, Automotive, Healthcare, Energy, and Education industries. Soul Machines currently has over 120 employees with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, London, Tokyo, Melbourne and Auckland. The company has a deep research and engineering talent pool with 4 Professors and 18 PHDs. For more about Soul Machines, visit www.soulmachines.com . ABOUT LAKESTAR Lakestar is one of Europe's leading venture capital firm investing in technology companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs. Early investments included Skype, Spotify, Facebook and Airbnb. Since raising a first fund in 2013, Lakestar manages an aggregated volume of EUR 1bn across three early stage funds, and more recently a growth fund. Lakestar has expanded and broadened their portfolio, with more recent investments in Harry's, Opendoor, Oscar, GYG, Glovo, Sennder, Eigen, FiveAI and Revolut. Lakestar has presence in Berlin, Zurich and London. Lakestar helps companies to identify new markets and expand into them rapidly, with a focus on the US and Europe. The team advises and supports portfolio companies in business development, recruitment, technology and marketing. The investments range from early stage companies to those in their growth stage. ABOUT SALESFORCE VENTURES Salesforce VenturesSalesforces corporate investment groupinvests in the next generation of enterprise technology to help companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the worlds largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforces innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce has invested in more than 150 enterprise cloud startups since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures. Over the past months, broad swathes of Australia have been hit by bushfires unprecedented in their duration and intensity. Millions of hectares have been destroyed, 25 lives have been lost and over 2,130 homes destroyed. The crisis has highlighted the refusal of successive governments at every level to heed warnings by experts that fire seasons will continue to worsen. It has underscored the failure of the entire political establishment to take any action on climate change, which is a contributing factor to the blazes, and the dire consequences of the gutting of essential services. The devastation has demonstrated the immense growth of social inequality and the chasm between big business politicians, Labor, Liberal and Green, and millions of ordinary people. East Gippsland, in regional Victoria, has been among the hardest hit parts of the country. Mallacoota, a seaside town in the area, was surrounded by fires on all sides last month, trapping thousands. Scenes of hundreds of residents sheltering on the towns main beach shocked people around the world. After weeks of being unable to leave, most of Mallacootas population was evacuated by naval ships and aircraft over the New Year period. Suzanne This week the WSWS spoke with Suzanne Davies, who lives with her husband at the Point Hicks lighthouse in the greater East Gippsland region. The lighthouse is about 95 kilometres from Mallacoota and adjacent to Croajingalong National Park, famous for its diverse wildlife. Three-hundred-and-forty holidaymakers were staying at Point Hicks when a fire warning was issued on December 30, calling for residents to immediately evacuate. The only departure route is a poorly maintained dirt road that spans 45 kilometres to Cann River. Suzanne and her husband had to ensure that all those staying at the site, including campers in the sand dunes, left in time. After the road was cut off by fire, the couple were rescued by helicopter. Suzanne explained: With the fire between Point Hicks and Mallacoota, in the morning they were shutting down all the national parks in East Gippsland, but we were told we would be fine. But twenty minutes before 5pm, I was told that I had to evacuate over 340 people, whether in the accommodation at the light station or in camps. The fire wasnt impacting then, but there was a potential. So we had to tell everyonemost of whom had only arrived the day beforethat they had to leave. We had people who were upset, some who were angry and others who were refusing to go. We had to be very calm and advise them. They did all go, and we stayed that night in the head light-keepers home. The next morning, at about 4 a.m., my husband woke me. Usually one of us gets up at 5.30 a.m. to monitor the weather for the government bureau. He told me to look towards Mallacoota along the ocean. Even though we were in the dark, we said: Oh my god, were in trouble, and so is Mallacoota. They choppered us out to Orbost. I couldnt get back to Buchan, the community that I am from. Ive done a lot of recovery following fires over the years, but nothing as big as this one. This is our whole country, New South Wales, everywhere. It was lucky we got all those people out. After the fire came, the access bridge was just twisted metal. There was no way out. The light station hasnt been affected, but all the animals have been. We got to Lakes Entrance, where we have two grown-up children. Then we had to evacuate from Lakes Entrance. My husband stayed. The others came in a convoy, weve all come down to the Mornington Peninsula. I have to go back to Buchan. Remains of house in Holloways Road, Buchan South But there were no communications. No landline, no mobile phones, no internet. So I have been here, writing offers of support. When I go back, Ill be coordinating some of that. Everywhere that Ive gone, they ask me how I am. Everywhere that Ive gone, everyonemen, women, young people and the elderlyall say: This government has to go. The timber industry blames the greenies. We greeniespeople who want this planet and the environment for our children, and our grandchildren and beyondthey can call us whatever they like. This fire has shown that it has come to a tipping point. Now people are starting to realise about Rupert Murdochs papers and all those Liberal-National Party idiots for coal. Suzanne has been a community worker in Buchan, a small town in the forest, 285 kilometres from Melbourne, since the catastrophic fires there in 2003. Massive fire in Buchan South We had no communication in 2003 except landline, so we could have phone trees out to the areas. It played with everybodys psyche in 2003 in Buchan. The recovery process was very protracted. Some people are still having counselling from 2003. This time will be way more protracted. One man, Mick Roberts, perished when the recent fires swept through Buchan. Two friends were helping him paint his house. They left for the river, but Mick went back for something from the shed. There was a pyrocumulonimbus cloudlike an atom bombthe fires create their own weather. That cloud collapsed and then rained fire down on everything. People dont stand a chance. WSWS reporters noted that the 2003 fires were a warning of what was to come, which went unheeded by the authorities. Davies replied: I reckon thats true. In 2003, I had Country Fire Authority incident control teams from Queensland and South Australia here. They said: We have never seen fires like that. We then had fires in 2006, 2007 and 2009. And the ex-fire chiefs wanted to meet with [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison earlier this year but he didnt have time! Instead he flew to Rupert Murdochs party and then went to Hawaii! The scientists have been telling us for 35 years of the risks. We could have been the leading country for renewables. Every country has to step up. There have to be some leading countries. The US and Australia should be. The way the politics areit is impacting totally on this climate crisis. It is all the multinationals, big business, money and greed. The WSWS commented that despite power lines being a leading cause of fire ignition, in most areas no attempt has been made to move them underground. Davies commented: My father was a local electrician in the Dandenong Ranges before the SEC [State Electricity Commission] was privatised. After the 1968 fires there, thats when dad started to think about it. He went to the SEC and asked them to put all the lines underground. They didnt listen. They never listen. He said: This will cost money, but it wont cost money in the end. My dad was bloody well right. I dont usually swear but Im angry. People are really hurtingcommunities, forests, wildlife, and water. Our country is in crisis. The trauma and the stress. In Mallacoota 5,000 people stranded on the beach. We might be able to get this government out. Intense smoke haze The WSWS observed: Labor is just as much a part of big business. There was federal Labor and state Labor government in 2009 when 173 people died in the Victorian bushfires. Davies agree and replied: That was Kinglake, I went to their recoveryNeighbourhood Houses statewide provided support after the catastrophic firesit was shocking. What gets me about the Murdoch press, the Liberals and the Nationals is that they try and instill fear in people about overseas threats. The amount of money they spend on submarines and fighter planes, and Scomos personal plane that costs $250 million. That is taxpayers money, it should be spent on internal water bombers and resources. We have an internal threat, we dont have an external threat. Shanghai Huarui Bank appealed to the central bank to consider the difficulties of private banks and give strong support to their issuance of NCDs in 2020. Some of Chinas smaller banks could be in for a rough ride this year as one of their main sources of funding negotiable certificates of deposit (NCD) looks set to shrink as the fallout from the collapse of regional lender Baoshang Bank Co. Ltd. last year continues to reverberate. The struggle ahead was highlighted this week in an announcement from Shanghai Huarui Bank Co. Ltd., the citys first private bank that was set up in 2015 and focuses on servicing customers in the free trade zone, small and midsize companies and startups. In a statement published Tuesday to announce its 2020 NCD issuance plan, Shanghai Huarui acknowledged it had become more difficult to issue such debt in 2019 in the wake of the turmoil triggered by the fall of the Inner Mongolia-based lender. Noting the need to maintain stable liquidity and ensure the bank has enough funds to meet its operational requirements, Shanghai Huarui appealed to the central bank to consider the difficulties of private banks and give strong support to their issuance of NCD in 2020. In a sign of the sensitivity of the banks comments, its statement was withdrawn and is no longer available on the website of the Shanghai Clearing House, a clearing and settlement platform for interbank business. A new version was published on Thursday that did not contain those comments. Funding squeeze However, a source close to Shanghai Huarui told Caixin that there were work errors in the earlier release and some of the content had been misinterpreted. This was just a regular application for a quota, the source said. In this kind of application, what bank wouldnt call for support for its issuance plan? In its Thursday statement, the bank said it aimed to have an outstanding NCD balance of less than 4.9 billion yuan ($708 million) at the end of 2020, little changed from the 4.8 billion yuan outstanding at the end of 2019. Caixins study of the NCD issuance plans of 29 commercial lenders, mostly small and midsize banks, show many intend to have lower outstanding balances of certificates this year than last year. Tianjin Rural Commercial Bank Co. Ltd., for example, plans to keep its outstanding NCD value under 51.8 billion yuan, down from last years 57 billion yuan. Qingdao Rural Commercial Bank Corp. plans to keep its outstanding NCD value under 65.2 billion yuan, down from last years 70 billion yuan. NCDs are bonds that banks issue to one another on the interbank market that usually carry a maturity of less than a year and are a way for lenders to raise money to fund their business activities, mostly to make loans to customers. Since they were introduced in 2013, they have become an important tool for smaller banks, which do not have the huge national deposit base of the big state-owned commercial banks to draw on. In 2018, some small banks got as much as 40% of their funding from the sale of NCDs. Regulators started a crackdown on banks use of the interbank market to raise funds in 2017 amid growing concerns that NCDs were adding to financial risks in the economy. The collapse of Baoshang Bank last year and its subsequent takeover by the government exposed the dependence of smaller banks on NCDs. The disruption to the interbank market triggered by the event led the large banks who buy up most of the NCDs issued by smaller banks to shun such debt after the central bank said it would only guarantee about 90% of Baoshang Banks NCDs for any entity holding more than 50 million yuan of its certificates. The breaking of this implicit guarantee that the authorities would bail out holders of NCDs has left many smaller lenders struggling to sell. The central bank has included interbank liabilities as part of the Macro-Prudential Assessment a framework introduced in early 2016 to evaluate banks across a range of criteria such as bad debts, exposure to credit risk and capital adequacy. It requires a bank to have interbank liabilities of no more than a third of its total liabilities. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated when the PBOC introduced the Macro-Prudential Assessment. It was in 2016. The previous version also gave an incorrect figure for the share of Baoshang Banks NCDs that the central bank would guarantee. It was about 90%. Contact reporter Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com, Twitter: @timmyhmshen) Caixin Global has launched Caixin CEIC Mobile, the mobile-only version of its world-class macroeconomic data platform. If youre using the Caixin app, please click here. If you havent downloaded the app, please click here. 7 Cultural Sites Damaged or Destroyed By War A 1977 photograph of the Nergal Gate in Nineveh, Iraq, which was later destroyed by ISIS. ( Vivienne Sharp/Heritage Images/Getty Images) During World War II, countries on both sides of the fight destroyed a number of important cultural sites in Europe and Asia. In 1942, the Nazi Lufwaffe leveled the Royal Opera House in Valletta, Malta. And in 1945, the United States hollowed out the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall when it dropped the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan. While these sites may not have been intentionally targeted, the response to this devastation was the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The international community strengthened these protections in 1977 with additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Article 53 of these protocols prohibits "any acts of hostility directed against the historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples." According to these international agreements, targeting cultural sites is a war crime. But that doesn't mean that military groups have stopped doing it. In the past few decades, war and terrorist acts specifically targeting heritage have damaged cultural sites in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and West Africa. The Gates of Nineveh, Iraq The ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh dates to the seventh century B.C. The city was historically guarded by walls and multiple gates. Two of the most prominent gates were the Adad Gate and the Mashki Gate, also known as the "Gate of God." A 1977 photograph of the Nergal Gate in Nineveh, Iraq, which was later destroyed by ISIS. ( Vivienne Sharp/Heritage Images/Getty Images) In 2016, ISIS destroyed both of these gates as part of its ongoing campaign against cultural sites and relics. Old City of Dubrovnik, Croatia The city of Dubrovnik dates back to the 7th century, when Romans and Slavs settled on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It grew into a major trading power, and in the 19th century Lord Byron dubbed it the "Pearl of the Adriatic." In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization--or UNESCO--designated the "Old City" or "Old Town" part of Dubrovnik as a World Heritage site. Night bombing of the city of Dubrovnik 1991. ( Jon Jones/Sygma/Getty Images) In 1991 and 1992, the city suffered severe damage during the Siege of Dubrovnik, a part of the Yugoslav Wars. Over two-thirds of the Old City's buildings were hit by projectiles, and three were destroyed by fire. In 2005, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced the former Yugoslav general Pavle Strugar to eight years in prison for war crimes, including the destruction of historic monuments in Dubrovnik. VijeAnica (City Hall) of Sarajevo, Bosnia The historic City Hall, or VijeAnica, of Sarajevo dates to the 1890s. Its architecture was inspired by Islamic designs; specifically, the Mamluk architecture that flourished between the 13th and 16th centuries in Cairo, Egypt. In 1949, the city converted it into the National Library. A 1992 photograph shows Cellist Vedran Smailovic playing Strauss in the bombed National Library in Sarajevo. ( Michael Evstafiev/AFP/Getty Images) In 1992, the VijeAnica went up in flames during the Siege of Sarajevo, destroying almost two million books. The city worked to restore the VijeAnica, and in 2014, it reopened it to the public. Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan The Buddhas of Bamiyan were once the tallest monuments of Buddha in the world. Carved into the side of a cliff in the sixth century, the largest one was over 170 high. The Buddhas soon became known as a holy site. In 629 A.D., the Chinese traveller Xuanzang described tens of thousands of monks gathered near the statues. A 1997 photograph shows an Afghan walking near the world's tallest standing statue of Buddha in Bamiyan province of Afghanistan, which were later destroyed by the Taliban. ( Jean-Claude Chapon/AFP/Getty Images) But in 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas by bombing them over several weeks. The destruction followed a command by spiritual leader Mullah Mohammed Omar ordering the destruction of idolatrous statues in Afghanistan. Djinguereber Mosque of Timbuktu, Mali The Mali Empire built the Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu during the reign of Mansa Musa in the 14th century. It is made out of pounded earth and wood, and is still an important part of city life today. An undated photograph of Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu. ( Luis Dafos/Getty Images) However, the mosque suffered minor damage in 2012 when members of the militant Ansar Dine group attacked the city. The group damaged two of Djinguereber's tombs along with Islamic shrines in the city that the Ansar Dine deemed sacreligious. In 2016, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi pleaded guilty to damaging these sites in the International Criminal Court, marking the court's first prosecution of the destruction of cultural sites as a war crime. Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria The Great Mosque of Aleppo was built between the eighth and 13th centuries. Traditionally, it's believed to contain the remains of the prophet Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. It was one of the largest and oldest mosques in Aleppo, located within the wall of the Old City. A 2017 photograph in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, which was recaptured by government forces in December 2016, shows a general view of the destruction at the site of the ancient Great Umayyad Mosque in the old city. ( George Ourfalian/AFP/Getty Images) The Great Mosque's minaret, a tall tower from which a crier calls Muslims to daily prayer, was built in the 11th century. But in 2013, it was destroyed amid fighting in the Syrian Civil War. It remains unclear what caused the collapse of the tower. The mosque was occupied at the time by anti-government forces, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime blamed the damage on fighters from an al-Qaeda-linked group. Rebels, meanwhile, claimed the site was damaged by incoming Syrian Army fire. Temple of Bel at Palmyra, Syria The Temple of Bel was a major religious site in the ancient city of Palmyra. Built in the first century, the temple was consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel (or Baal). The site contained more than 1,000 columns, over 500 tombs and a Roman aqueduct. A photographer holds up his 2014 picture of the Temple of Bel in front of the remains of the historic temple in 2016 after it was destroyed by ISIS. ( Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images) In 2015, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, leveled the nearly 2,000-year-old temple. The attack followed the destruction of the Temple of Baalshamin, another ancient religious site in Palmyra. Lorena Gonzalez, Seattle, Wash., City Council president, said of the councils hope to pass a bill that would prohibit corporations from contributing to candidates or political action committees spending on local elections if foreign investors own a substantial stake in those companies. This bill is a direct response to Seattles 2019 elections when Amazon contributed $1.5 million to the local city council election. ( The Hill January 9, 2020) Savers trapped in Neil Woodford's flagship fund have been hit with a further setback after finding out they will have to wait ten more days before they get their first payment. Link Fund Solutions, the firm charged with overseeing the management of the Woodford Equity Income fund, had promised savers they would receive their first chunk of money on January 20. But it is understood that Link pushed the payment date back to January 30 because it wanted to give as much money to savers as it could in one go. Savers trapped in Neil Woodford's flagship fund have been told they will have to wait ten more days before they get their first payment More than 300,000 savers have been trapped in Woodford's Equity Income fund since June, when it was suspended after a run of poor performance. Justin Modray, of Candid Financial Advice, said: 'This is yet another kick in the teeth for investors who have been waiting for months to get their money back, while watching their savings dwindle. 'The news of a ten-day delay, less than two weeks before the date Link had promised savers they could expect their first payment, makes Link appear as though they are making up the process as they go along.' At the end of January, the fund is expected to return 63 per cent of money, or 1.9billion, to investors. Link will send a letter to savers outlining exactly how much they will get on January 28. This is the cash that Blackrock, which was appointed along with private equity firm PJT Park Hill to wind up the fund, has so far been able to raise by selling the listed stocks held by the fund. But crucially, because the value of the fund has fallen, savers will not get back as much as they put in. Someone who invested 10,000 when the fund launched in 2014 is facing an estimated loss of 16 per cent. And someone who had an investment worth 10,000 when the fund was gated in June will get back 15 per cent less than they would have done then or around 8,500. The rest of the money will be returned at some point in the future, but there are fears this could take years with savers receiving less than expected. Blackrock and PJT Park Hill must find buyers for the difficult-to-sell, illiquid holdings in the Equity Income fund's portfolio. These also include stakes in companies which are not listed on stock exchanges, and which focus on early-stage technology, making them more difficult to value. Critics believe that many such companies in the Equity Income fund's portfolio will not attract as much as Blackrock and PJT are accounting for. Some investors in the Woodford Equity Income fund have had to put major plans on hold because they were frozen out of their savings on June 3 last year. Susan and her partner Jane, both in their 70s (who did not want to disclose their surnames), invested all of their 30,000 pension pot in the Woodford Equity Income fund. Susan attempted to withdraw a chunk of her savings the day before Link announced the suspension, in order to replace her broken-down car. But her request was never fulfilled, and she had to wave goodbye to the car she hoped to buy. Industrial Hemp and CBD Company Aims to Elevate Standards Within the Industry CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cumberland Extracts, Inc. is celebrating the company's 100% USDA Organic Certification, which extends to its farm, biomass and cutting-edge extraction facility. To obtain USDA Certification from farm to finished CBD product, the Cumberland Extracts team has implemented conservation practices and stringent procedural methods to uphold and exceed USDA Organic Guidelines, a step most emerging CBD companies have yet to take. Cumberland Extracts, Inc. Cumberland's business model and level of accreditation are virtually unheard of within the hemp community. Locally grown USDAOC hemp is processed, distilled, and quality-tested at the company's 9,000-square-foot state-of-the-art USDAOC facility in Clarksville, Tennessee, and then sold as CBD crude, isolate, and distillate to wholesale and product creators for use in their CBD lines. Cumberland believes USDA Organic Certification in hemp growth, product transparency, tracking, and testing paves the way for more lab-verified and uniformly high-quality CBD oils in a rapidly growing industry. Vice President Bradley Ray describes the enormous impact Cumberland's USDA Organic Certification has on bringing legitimacy to CBD companies and customers who incorporate Cumberland's wholesale CBD distillate, isolate and crude in their CBD product lines: "We have the public in mind with this effort to achieve USDAOC status across the board. While large agencies look to create a regulatory framework to shape the broader hemp industry, our team is striving to apply more controls and regulations internally. These efforts can only move the CBD and industrial hemp markets forward into mainstream products and recognizable, established brands who require stable and consistent material." About Cumberland Extracts, Inc. Cumberland Extracts, Inc. was founded in 2019 with the mission of heightening the standards of quality, traceability, and scientific testing in the booming industrial hemp and CBD markets. Cumberland Extracts, Inc. is the brainchild of four local business owners who have combined decades of ethical business experience with their strong-held advocacy for and belief in the powerful health and environmental benefits of hemp. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements also may be included in other publicly available documents issued by Cumberland and in oral statements made by our officers and representatives from time to time. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide management's current expectations or plans for our future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. They can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "would," "could," "will" and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Cumberland's actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others such as, but not limited to economic conditions, changes in the laws or regulations, demand for products and services of the company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking information provided in this release should be considered with these factors in mind. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. CONTACT: Cumberland Extracts, Inc. Charles Harris 931-542-4660 [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg Related Links Cumberland Extracts website SOURCE Cumberland Extracts, Inc. Related Links https://www.cumberlandextracts.com They announced their separation in September last year, ten months after she was pictured kissing her former dancer partner Seann Walsh. But Strictly pro Katya Jones, 30, was seen for the first time on Friday without her wedding ring, after previously stating it was 'too pretty' to take off. The Russian born beauty appeared confident as she held up her bare hand in full display of the cameras as she left the Strictly tour rehearsals that took place in London. Dare to bare: Katya Jones, 30, was seen for the first time on Friday without her wedding ring, after previously stating it was 'too pretty' to take off She donned a stylish black coat and fluffy boots as she left the venue along with ex Neil Jones and her fellow 2019 Strictly cast. Katya told The Sun just two months ago that the ring would stay firmly on her finger, she said: 'Its just too pretty to take off and too expensive as well. I like looking at it but it doesnt fit any other finger.' However now clearly embracing single life, the dancing star was seen for the first time without it. On her way: The Russian born beauty appeared confident as she held up her bare hand in full display of the cameras as she left the Strictly tour rehearsals that took place in London Biker man: Neil Jones was in high spirits as he left the rehearsal after ex wife Katya. He looked dapper in a leather biker jacket and jeans She met Neil back in 2003 when the duo formed a dance partnership. They began dating in 2008 and five years later were married. Their relationship hit a rocky patch when Katya kissed her former dance partner in the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing which lead to great scrutiny from viewers. However the pair remained a united front, and just when we thought they had moved on they announced the shocking news that they were splitting on Instagram. Embracing single life: Katya previously said: 'Its just too pretty to take off and too expensive as well. I like looking at it but it doesnt fit any other finger' The heartbreaking post read: 'After 11 years we have made the mutual decision to separate. We will always love each other, just in a different way as friends. This will never change what a great team we make and we are really proud of everything we have achieved together. 'Our shared love of dance means we will keep working and dancing together as well as exploring individual projects. No matter what we do we will always support and respect each other.' Moving on: She met Neil back in 2003 when the duo formed a dance partnership. They began dating in 2008 and five years later were married Love lost: The pair split in 2019. In an Instagram post they said: 'After 11 years we have made the mutual decision to separate. We will always love each other'. (pictured 2018) They finished: 'We wish one another every happiness and we will remain the best of friends. We are really looking forward to getting back to the ballroom and cant wait to keep on dancing. Lots of love from us both xx.' Neil was seen leaving with a smile on his face, looking dapper in a biker leather jacket and jeans. Karen Hauer caught the eye in a pink hoodie as she left day four of rehearsals. Casually-clad: Strictly's Karen Hauer caught the eye in a pink hoodie as she left day four of rehearsals with the 2019 line-up in London on Friday Karen appeared in high spirits as she left the studio in the bright hoodie, which had the slogan 'be kind' emblazoned across the front. She teamed the look with black jeans, grey trainers and carried her dance costume in her hand. Catching the eye: Karen appeared in high spirits as she left the studio in the bright hoodie, which had the slogan 'be kind' emblazoned across the front Catherine Tylesdey led Neil Jones and Saffron Barker out of the studios. The actress, 36, cut a sporty figure in a tight pink vest top and black leggings. She shrugged a black leather jacket over her shoulders and sported a full face of make-up. Strutting her stuff: Catherine Tylesdey led Neil Jones and Saffron Barker out of the studios Pretty in pink: The actress, 36, cut a sporty figure in a tight pink vest top and black leggings Many of Strictly's professional dancers joined the girls for the rehearsals. Janette Manrara, Luba Mushtuk, Aljaz Skorjanec and Graziano Di Prima all headed to the studio to practice their routines ahead of the nationwide tour. Former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips headed to the rehearsals to oversee the routines and Craig Revel-Horwood was also in attendance. Strictly's pocket rocket: Many of the professional dancers joined the girls for the rehearsals including Janette Manrara Hometime: Luba Mushtuk waved to the camera as she made her departure Green with envy: Alex Scott emerged in an all-green ensemble Caffeine kick: Aljaz Skorjanec gave a thumbs up the camera as he clutched a coffee Legend: Former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips headed to the rehearsals to oversee the routines Low-key outfit: Judge Craig Revel-Horwood was also in attendance and wore a grey tracksuit Happy: Finalist Karim Zeroual flashed a large smile as he emerged from day four of rehearsals Practice makes perfect: Mike Bushell beamed as he descended the steps after practicing with his partner Katya The celebrities will be joined by professional dancers Luba, Karen, Dianne Buswell, Joshua Keefe, Jake Leigh and Robbie Kemetoni. 2019 champ Stacey Dooley will be hosting the events, while Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli join fellow judge and director Craig Revel Horwood on the panel. The tour kicks off on January 16 in Birmingham and will run for 33 sequin-filled shows across the UK, ending in London on February 9. As part of the live shows, there will be a special Relaxed Performance in association with the National Autistic Society at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on February 5 at 2pm. The performance is created to be accessible to those with autism, learning disabilities or additional sensory needs. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday called for Venezuelan negotiations to form a transitional government which would organize fair elections and end the country's long-running political crisis. Pompeo urged a swift democratic transition in 2020, after a year in which President Donald Trump's administration had been skeptical of Norway-mediated talks involving representatives of socialist President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido. Last January, Washington and dozens of other countries recognized Guaido as the OPEC nation's legitimate interim president and began ratcheting up sanctions and pressure. A year later, Maduro remains in power, backed by the military as well as Russia, China and Cuba. A senior administration official told Reuters in recent months that Trump's frustration over the lack of results had spurred aides to ready further actions. Pompeo, who has frequently denounced Maduro in strong terms, took a more toned-down approach in a statement on Thursday. "A swift negotiated transition to democracy is the most effective and sustainable route to peace and prosperity in Venezuela," he said. "Negotiations could open the path out of the crisis through a transitional government that will organize free and fair elections," he added, saying such a vote should take place by the end of this year. Pompeo's statement came days after Maduro's allies tried to install a rival opposition head and group of legislators after security forces blocked Guaido and his supporters from parliament. Though it has repeatedly called for a political solution, the Trump administration offered little encouragement for Norway-mediated negotiations between envoys of Maduro and Guaido last year, saying such talks should focus on Maduro's exit. The meetings broke down in August. Pompeo's call for elections under a transitional government would seem to rule out Maduro staying in office to participate in the process. Story continues Asked whether Pompeo's statement reflected any change in policy, a State Department official said, "U.S. policy towards Venezuela has remained consistent," adding that Maduro is "incapable of overseeing free and fair elections." Pompeo's statement, the official said, "helps to lay out the international standards" for those elections. Guaido invoked the constitution last January to assume a rival presidency, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was a sham. Maduro has called Guaido a U.S.-backed puppet. Venezuela this year holds congressional elections, though a date has not been set. Opposition leaders say they will only participate if the government provides adequate conditions, including the creation of a new elections council. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Lisa Lambert and Doina Chiacu in Washington and Brian Ellsworth in Caracas; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang) Research News Passion for textiles leads to research on childrens burial clothing By CHARLES ANZALONE Burials and burial clothing across ages are a representation of not only the individual, but of the wider community and their views of that individual as well. When Erika Ruhl came to UB as an anthropology graduate student, her adviser asked her what she wanted to study. Im interested in fabrics, Ruhl remembers telling him. And clothing. Ruhl has had a passion for weaving cloth together since she started knitting at age 5. She says she was a terror in her mothers fabric scraps basket; her most memorable birthday gift was a basic sewing kit, thread and a piece of velvet she could cut up. Ive been sewing for a long time, says Ruhl, who plans to defend her dissertation wearing clothes she has made. I am fascinated by the choices that are made along the way. With textile work, there is often more than one way to complete a given task. Some of these ways work better, or worse. So when her adviser gave her the email addresses of universities with scholars who study textiles, she followed through, eventually hearing back from a professor at the University of Oulu in Finland who studies childrens burial clothing from pre-modern Finnish churches. Research often happens when the stars line up, Ruhl says. So when the Finnish professor asked her back after her initial month-long visit in August 2014, she eagerly returned, eventually securing a Fulbright Scholarship with a unique and intriguing research topic: A Single Mitten: Childrens Identity and Agency in pre-Modern Finnish Burial Textiles. Ruhl is now 30, close to the end of a dissertation process that synthesizes that ardor for fabrics with her academic field of archaeology. Returning to Finland several times, most recently with her August 2018 to June 2019 Fulbright award, Ruhl studied the funeral textiles of children buried under the floors of several Finnish churches, and has recently shifted her work to how these materials were made. One of the things that is interesting is we are seeing two different kinds of clothing, says Ruhl. We are seeing items that were likely used in life, and were seeing items that were hastily assembled for burial. The thing I found fascinating is there is actually Finnish lore that states that to bury someone, they must be warm or they will come back to haunt you. The rallyists decried the "deteriorating law and order situation" and the continuing incidents of rape in the state, as they took a circular route from Nandan Cultural Complex to Birla Planetarium before coming back to Nandan. Kolkata, Jan 10 (IANS) Demanding maximum punishment for the perpetrators of the Kumarganj minor girl's rape and murder, the BJP on Friday took out a protest rally here after securing permission for the march through a court order. "We want maxium punishment for the culprits, we demand exemplary punishment for the culprits," said a banner in the forefront of the rally besides asking "erpor ar koto" (how many more now)." State BJP General Secretary Raju Banerjee, party's state Mahila Morcha chief Locket Chatterjee, fashion designer Agnimitra Pal and other leaders led the well-attended rally. Earlier, there was high drama as the BJP leaders tried to take out a march around noon on a pre-announced route from Nandan to Hazra in South Kolkata, but the police swung into action and arrested a number of party workers as soon as they assembled at the cultural complex for the programme. The police claimed the rallyists did not have the requisite permission, but the BJP had by then moved the high court pleading for a direction to the authorities to allow the march. The state government counsel told the court that the nod cannot be given for the march from Nandan to Hazra as another group has already secured permission for a rally on the same route. Following an alternate route suggested by the state government, the high court permitted the BJP to take out a rally from Nandan to Birla Planetarium. Earlier, Chatterjee targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the refusal of police permission. "After the heinous crime in Kumarganj, people wanted to hit the streets to protest. We sought police permission, but were refused at the instructions of the Chief Ninister as she did not want our voice of protest to reach across the country," said Chatterjee, an actress-turned politician. "The Chief Minister is trying to push things under the carpet in Bengal," she said. Chatterjee also wondered why Banerjee was silent about Kumarganj when she had sent a delegation to Hyderabad after the brutal gang-rape and murder of a young veterinarian there in November. "And where are the intellectuals who were so vocal after the Hyderabad incident? Why don't they bring out a candle light march," she asked, saying that it is a shame that a political party has had to approach the court for permission to take out a rally on such an issue. In a virtual rerun of Hyderabad incident, a minor girl was gang-raped allegedly by three persons at a secluded spot in the Belkhor area last Sunday. The perpetrators then killed the girl by slitting her throat and then burnt the body by pouring petrol to destroy the evidence of crime. On Monday, the body was discovered from under a culvert by locals after they saw stray dogs fighting over charred flesh. The body was sent for autopsy and was identified by the victim's family members. Following preliminary investigation, the police made three arrests. They were later sent to police custody for 10 days. On Friday, three family members of the victim and an employee of a textile shop she had visited on the fateful day recorded their statements before the police. On Thursday, the police had taken the three accused to Belkhor for reconstruction of the crime. ssp/arm Tegucigalpa, Jan 10 : Honduran authorities have detained seven undocumented migrants, including four Iranians, who were attempting to reach the United States, the National Immigration Institute said. Along with the Iranian citizens, two Yemeni nationals and a Somalian were stopped by immigration officials in southern Choluteca department and taken to a migrant detention center in the capital Tegucigalpa, said Julian Hernandez, the director of border police on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. Honduran authorities have contacted the US embassy in Tegucigalpa and the Transnational Criminal Investigation Unit, a department of the Police Investigation Bureau, to look into the matter, said Hernandez. Honduras lies on the migrant path toward the United States used by many undocumented migrants from other Central American countries, as well as Cuba and South America. Tensions between the United States and Iran were running high this week, after Washington's drone attack killed a top Iranian general. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: One of the residents of Azerbaijans Sumgait Technological Park (STP) - the metal smelting plant, which produces high-quality fittings used in the construction sector, has temporarily suspended its work, a source in STP told Trend. This is associated with repair at the plant, the source said. "Moreover, new types of equipment are planned to be installed at the plant. The equipment will be installed at the plant after the completion of repair. The plant is expected to be put into operation in March 2020. The plant produces fittings having a quality certificate in accordance with 34028-2016 state standard, the source said. All manufactured products are tested in a laboratory provided with modern equipment. Their compliance with the standard is also checked. STP, commissioned in December 2009, is a complex of big plants specializing in various fields of production. Being a unique project in the region, STP fully meets the demand in the domestic market and is able to export a sufficient quantity of products to the foreign market. Presently, STP residents are 12 plants and more than 30 production sites provided with the latest European and Japanese technological equipment. Some 2,000 people work there. The raw materials used in the production process are fully consistent with international standards. STPs plants have been provided with the laboratories produced in Europe and have been accredited in accordance with the AZS ISO / IEC 17025-2009 standards. The manufactured products have appropriate certificates. STP also applies the international standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump and war with Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. UPI-Yonhap By Oh Young-jin Has the United States been made to look mightier and Donald Trump more presidential after a U.S. military drone strike that assassinated an important Iranian general? The answers are yes, in a way that for Trump, the U.S. and the world, it has served a purpose for different reasons. Whether the killing and its purpose are justifiable is a different matter. Global politics are rarely about justice and cause, more about self-interest and one-upmanship. What Trump got out of the attack is a diversion from the impeachment process that is tightening the noose around his neck ahead of the November presidential election. Internationally, many wonder whether the U.S. has stopped its gun-shy policy that was carried out by the Obama administration and is taken up by Trump. Depending on the outcome of this potentially "aggressive" U.S. policy, the world may become less unstable. Now, here is the recap. The U.S. claimed it neutralized General Qassem Soleimani because he was behind hostilities mounted against it. It came as Iran is emerging as a powerhouse rivaling Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, in the complicated geopolitics of the Middle East that sits on the world's largest oil reserves. Shale gas has reduced the region's oil clout but the world's energy market is still greatly influenced by shifts there. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib D-Mich., speaks during a rally outside of the U.S. Capitol, during a house vote to measure limiting President Donald Trump's ability to take military action against Iran, on Capitol Hill. AP-Yonhap Trump carefully toned down his rhetoric against Iran, while the Iranians were profusely angry but their reaction to the general's death was limited to no-casualty rocket attacks on two U.S. bases in Iraq. Now, the world has been watching carefully for what might follow. Some people were predicting a full-fledged war like the Gulf War that drove out Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein from Kuwait that he forcefully occupied and the Iraq War that toppled Saddam. Others forecast the U.S.-Iran tit-for-tat was a one-off event. It is unclear which is right for now. Iran may use some of its affiliated terror groups to take revenge on U.S. targets, while the U.S. might pick one of many leads that tie Tehran with terror attacks to go after it again. For the U.S., Iran offers challenges. Bad blood was there as Trump declared he would seek to make null and void the global nuclear treaty to limit Iran's uranium enrichment program that was signed under President Obama in return for lifting sanctions. Then, Iran shot down a U.S. drone. But Trump let it go unpunished. He claimed he did not strike back because of potential collateral damage. The world mocked him for not standing up to Tehran and took it as sign of declining U.S. power, rather than complimenting him for exercising restraint. The U.S. attributed an attack on key Saudi oil facilities to Iran but it didn't go after it, even though world oil prices were destabilized. Trump has been ridiculed by critics at home and abroad for being a loose cannon, belittling traditional allies and bilking money from them under the very parochial slogan "Make America Great Again." By many standards, he has shattered the image of the American president, relegating it to a neighborhood bully. A man holds a portrait of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the slain chief of Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary force with close ties to Iran, as his body arrives in the southern city of Basra after it came from Iran. AFP-Yonhap His decision to pull American troops from Syria, where they were engaged in a war against the Jihadist Islamic State, virtually tossing the Kurds the erstwhile American allies to the mercy of the vindictive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reinforced the allies' view that he is untrustworthy. Now, the drone attack shifted the status quo. On the domestic front, Trump's decision was not welcome but it forced a freeze on the news cycle focusing on his impeachment that is heading for a Senate vote amid polls that show the incumbent trailing Democratic candidates seeking party nomination. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked about limiting Trump's power to go to war. But what if Trump upped the stakes, say, intensifying the confrontation with Iran? It is public knowledge that politicians and by extension voters will rally behind a leader when their nation is in jeopardy. Activists protest against U.S. military action against Iran in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Friday. When SpaceX's billionaire CEO Elon Musk isn't running his own private space program, he's leading Tesla's electric car revolution. But doesn't mean he doesn't make time to cut loose. That was the case Tuesday (Jan. 7) when Musk showed off some dance moves at a Tesla handover event. In front of a jumping crowd at Tesla Shanghai Factory in China, Musk (who is also Tesla's CEO) playfully opened his jacket, held the lapels and bobbed as the crowd cheered, as captured in a video by state media CCTV ( and which Space.com has put to music ). "At Tesla Giga Shanghai NSFW!!" Musk wrote of his performance on Twitter . Still dancing, Musk shrugged the jacket over his shoulders and tossed it to the left, showing off a black T-shirt and white long sleeves underneath. He tried a few different moves in front of the crowd, dancing back and forth and sideways on stage before stopping the routine a few seconds later. While it was the dance moves that got most of the attention on social media, Musk had a more serious purpose at the event to highlight the first Tesla gigafactory (or electric vehicle assembly plant) outside of the United States. "It will be our most advanced gigafactory as well," Musk said in a recent video . "We're going to make it extremely environmentally sustainable, for this to be a showpiece to the world." With Musk also very active in space, we're just disappointed he didn't do the moonwalk. This year, SpaceX is expected to launch its first Dragon commercial crew spacecraft with humans on board, after years of development and delays. The company is also ramping up missions with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, including launches of its Starlink broadband satellite series every few weeks. SpaceX is also developing a massive new rocket called Starship for eventual deep-space missions for big payloads and, eventually, astronauts. The company is expected to complete a new prototype of the reusable spacecraft for flight tests this year. At times, Musk's two companies have converged in a bit of high-tech cross-promotion. In February 2018, SpaceX launched a cherry red Tesla Roadster into deep space (in fact, it was Musk's personal car) as the payload for the first Falcon Heavy test flight. A mannequin called "Starman" in a SpaceX spacesuit was at the wheel. In November 2019, Musk unveiled Tesla's new Cybertruck, an electric truck that looks like something straight out science fiction. During that reveal, Musk announced that the Cybertruck is made out of the same type of stainless steel as SpaceX's Starship. Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. WASHINGTON - Reps. Barbara Lee and Elissa Slotkin are a generation apart and politically reside in very different wings of the Democratic Party. The 73-year-old Californian, who hails from one of the 10 most liberal districts, has been leading the antiwar moment for decades. The 43-year-old Michigander, coming from a district President Donald Trump won comfortably, spent almost 15 years working at the CIA, Pentagon and other national security posts, focused on Middle East policy. On Thursday, Lee and Slotkin helped lead the opposition to Trump's military actions against Iran over the last week, amid fears that fallout from the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad could spark a third war in the region. They knitted together a once unthinkable coalition that stretched across almost the entire Democratic caucus, as just eight Democrats opposed the war powers resolution that passed one week after Trump ordered a lethal strike against an Iranian commander. Three Republicans and one independent supported the Democratic resolution. Lee has come a long way since she cast the lone vote in Congress against the war resolution passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, at a time when everyone else rallied around a law that more than 18 years later would still be cited as the authorization for many military actions. "Going back to 2001, it was very lonely, because I was the only one who voted against the authorization to use force, a blank check," Lee recalled in an interview before Thursday's vote. This new Democratic majority demonstrated this week that it could unify the caucus, with Lee helping lead support for a resolution that Slotkin drafted. "If our loved ones are going to be sent to fight in any protracted war, the president owes the American public a conversation," Slotkin said during Thursday's floor debate. House freshmen get an education in limits of power and legislative pragmatism Within three days of the U.S. drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced that Slotkin would take the lead on a war powers resolution meant to rebuke Trump's handling of the situation. Having taken a high-profile role supporting Trump's impeachment last month, Slotkin had once again assumed a posture in a district where rallying around the flag and the president might be the safer political bet. On social media and in emails to her colleagues, particularly many of the more than 60 freshman Democrats, Slotkin reached into years of expertise in the Middle East to explain why she believed Trump's actions further destabilized the region. On Tuesday, during the first votes of the new year, Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., gave Slotkin a hug on the House floor. "So I just thanked her for being so explicit and explanatory and vocal and spelling out what this means and this is why, because that is her area of expertise," Hayes explained later. After Iran responded with an overnight missile attack on bases housing U.S. soldiers, the Democrats dug further in. During votes Wednesday afternoon, Slotkin worked the House floor and courted both members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where Lee is a leader, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a close Trump ally who was with him at his Mar-a-Lago resort the night of the drone strike. While he's close to Trump, Gaetz hails from a libertarian wing of the GOP and, after a few tweaks in the resolution, Slotkin won him over even as he still praised Trump. "I support the president; killing Soleimani was the right decision. But engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision," Gaetz said in a floor speech minutes before the vote. His support for the nonbinding resolution falls in line with Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., another pair with libertarian instincts who are working with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Senate Democrats on a more forceful resolution that would limit Trump's powers to escalate the conflict with Iran. But, for the most part, they remained outliers in the House and Senate GOP caucuses, where national security hawks still reigned. And those Republicans pinned the Democratic response on national security to their loathing of Trump, whose impeachment trial in the Senate remains stalled over an impasse about whether to call witnesses. "Not liking President Trump is not an excuse for failing to see that this president and his administration have a sensible - and deeply American - strategy for dealing with Iran," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said. The shift on national security has come over a long period since the Sept. 11 attacks, as two different wars seemed to morph into one and from that came several other fronts that left most voters confused. "The public has really begun to see the fact that these authorizations serve as the foundation, the basis for endless war, and the public is war-weary," Lee said. By 2002, in the run-up to the vote to approve war in Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power, a new member of Democratic leadership, Pelosi, rallied the opposition and got a narrow majority of her caucus to oppose the resolution, a symbolic victory that signaled her future ascension to take the Democratic reins of leadership. Yet even after winning the speaker's gavel in 2006 and an expansive majority in 2008, Pelosi oversaw a caucus that remained divided on how much leeway to give presidents, Republican or Democratic, with many newcomers hailing from conservative regions. Some of Pelosi's most divisive votes during her first stint as speaker came on bills to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, splitting the caucus as the GOP stood almost entirely unified. By 2018, after Trump's victory, Slotkin joined a group of national security experts to launch their first bids for office, helping propel Democrats back into the House majority. Still, for some, Thursday's vote went too far - six of the eight Democrats who opposed it were among the freshman class, including two, Reps. Elaine Luria, D-Va., and Max Rose, D-N.Y., with military backgrounds. Lee saw this debate as a first step, as only about 25 percent of the House members had actually been in office in 2001 and 2002. Slotkin saw it as a step toward remedying a long-overdue debate. "Congress has long abdicated its responsibility as laid out in the Constitution to make the hard decisions we owe our troops," she said. Self-confessed witches have been accused of fleecing vulnerable alcoholics out of hundreds of pounds by promising them they could be cured through a spell. MailOnline found African voodoo specialists offering bogus remedies to alcoholics from around the world on a website for freelancers seeking work. One described themselves as a 'very experienced' and 'professional' spell-caster, who could 'bring results very fast' to stop alcohol addiction. The Fiverr user an account called afrospells which had dozens of glittering reviews offered alcoholics a 'single cast' for 199.65. The Ugandan seller's premium service, which promised customers three witches would deliver a super-strength spell, cost 519.10. She claimed on her posting: 'My late mother was a very powerful witch and taught me how to perform powerful African Magic spells.' But leading addiction experts have slammed the listings, saying they were exploiting vulnerable patients desperate for a cure. And they warned giving up alcohol cold-turkey can be deadly, adding 'miracle cures dont exist' despite false promises touted online. The website on which the adverts were posted Fiverr removed the witch services after being alerted by MailOnline. One Fiverr user an account called afrospells with dozens of glittering reviews offered alcoholics a 'single cast' for 199.65. The Ugandan person's premium service, the promise of three witches delivering a super-strength spell, cost 519.10 Other spell-casters on the website promised they could 'make all wishes come true', turn you into a millionaire and get your ex back MailOnline found another Fiverr user shilohcyrus7 who promised 'supernatural spells to banish your troubles away'. The US-based user charged just 3.99 for a single spell, alongside a claim it could help banish addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex and shopping. They did, however, warn the spell is not a substitution for medical help. Shilohcyrus7 had 20 reviews, with all but one being five stars. The user, who offered two other more expensive packages, told customers: 'These spells really work because their supernaturally charged [sic].' And she added the spells are 'driven by the laws of creation, blessed by the master of fate and supported by sacred spirit guides'. Other spell-casters on the website promised they could 'make all wishes come true', turn you into a millionaire and even get your ex back. It is unclear how the spells are conducted, with some customers praising sellers for the 'instructions' being 'simple and appreciated'. Ian Hamilton, a senior lecturer in addiction at York University, told MailOnline he thought the alcoholism spells were 'truly bizarre'. Afrospells described themselves as a 'very experienced' and 'professional' spell-caster, who could 'bring results very fast' Afrospells said the spell would work within 30 days to 'free you of the urge to drink' He said: 'These type of listings are clearly preying on people who are at their most desperate and falsely giving hope when they feel at their most pessimistic about being able to get out of their problematic relationship with alcohol. 'What makes these websites attractive is people can interact with these "specialists" anonymously. 'That's likely to be seductive due to the stigma and shame many people with alcohol addiction experience.' Mr Hamilton feared anonymity was being used as a selling point, warning that the posts were 'exploiting this vulnerability in people with problems'. He added: 'The dangerous aspect to this is it encourages the individual to abruptly stop drinking, this can be life-threatening for some dependent drinkers. MailOnline found another user called shilohcyrus7 who promised 'supernatural spells to banish your troubles away' The US-based Fiverr user charged just 3.99 for a single spell, which claimed to help anyone who is addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex and shopping HOW CAN GIVING UP ALCOHOL 'COLD TURKEY' BE DEADLY? Giving up alcohol abruptly can be life-threatening for dependent drinkers, according to an expert. In a piece for The Conversation, Adam Taylor, from Lancaster University, says alcohol suppresses the production of some neurotransmitters. He wrote: 'After a while, the body adjusts to the continual presence of high amounts of alcohol by producing more of these neurotransmitters and their receptors. 'When people who are dependent on alcohol suddenly quit drinking, there is a surge in neurotransmitters, way above what the body needs. 'This surge explains many of the symptoms of sudden withdrawal, including sweating, racing heart, restlessness and feelings of anxiety.' However, he added it can cause fatal arrhythmias and overstimulate vital organs, including the heart. Advertisement 'So potentially if the person hasn't told anyone they are using this online approach to quitting they risk dying or severe fitting with no one around to help them. 'The advice and evidence for people dependent on alcohol thinking about giving up is absolutely clear. 'They [people with alcohol dependency issues] should only do this with medical help and supervision to reduce harming themselves further.' Paul Spanjar, chief executive of Providence Project a rehab clinic in Bournemouth, told MailOnline: 'Miracle cures unfortunately dont exist. Alcoholism is a dangerous and progressive illness, and, as with any illness, we would always recommend getting professional advice and help. He warned 'people can die' if they quit alcohol abruptly, adding: 'Alcohol is the most dangerous drug to stop if you are physically dependent.' After being alerted to the 'witch' adverts, a Fiverr spokesperson said: 'We have removed these services from the platform.' They did, however, warn the spell is not a substitution for a doctor's orders Shilohcyrus7 had 20 reviews, with all but one being five stars Alcohol dependency is when a person craves alcohol and will continue to drink it even if the consequences are obviously harming them. Public Health England says 1.6million adults in England have some level of alcohol dependency. Figures suggest there are 15million patients in the US. Alcoholism has damning effects on general long-term health, causing many forms of cancer, as well as liver and heart disease. But the immediate dangers, including injuries, sickness or violent behaviour, can land people in hospital regularly, too. People hooked to alcohol can suffer life-threatening withdrawal symptoms if they try to quit, including seizures. Treatment depends on how severe the alcohol misuse is. Some are offered drugs, others recommended to attend self-help groups or speak to a therapist. The NHS advises men and women to limit themselves to 14 units of alcohol a week, which is roughly the equivalent of six pints of beer or ten small glasses of wine. Shiasun.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 18 Feb 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the shiasun homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the shiasun homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the shiasun homepage on Twitter + the total number of shiasun followers (if shiasun has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the shiasun homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if shiasun has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the shiasun homepage on StumbleUpon. Basic Information PAGE TITLE | DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS admin , admin , admin , admin , admin, admin , admin CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE Persian UTF-8Persian SERVER Apache/2 (PHP/5.2.9) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux The language of shiasun.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for shiasun.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND A recent poll conducted by Morning Consult/Politico shows less than a quarter of American voters know where actually Iran is on the world map. The United States may potentially go to war with Iran and people would assume that at least the American voters by now would know where Iran is on the world map as the entirety of their media is talking about the current escalation with the Islamic country. The poll doesn't seem to be in any way linked to the political affiliations of the American voters. The unusual poll Almost 2,000 American voters took the poll and the majority of them couldn't pinpoint Iran on an unlabelled map of the world. People even went as far away as the United Kingdom and Russia to point out Iran. Some placing Iran in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Romania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Yemen, Oman, Turkey, Syria, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain. Most of the people who took the poll placed Iran in Iraq, which is a proxy battleground for Saudis and Iranians. Read: Trump Backs Off From His Earlier Threat To Bomb Iran's Cultural Sites Tensions between the United States and Iran are at an all-time high since Washington killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike on January 3. Washington accused Qassem Soleimani of planning and executing some of the deadliest attacks on US assets in the Middle East. The United States also accused Soleimani orchestrating attacks on the US embassy in Iraq on December 31. Read: France Condemns Iran Missile Attacks At Iraq Airbases Hosting US Troops After Soleimani's killing, Tehran fired a dozen missiles on Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition forces. After the missile attacks, Iraq issued a statement where it said that the country was subjected to bombardment by 22 missiles, of which 17 fell on Ain al-Asad airbase, hosting US troops, while five on the city of Erbil that all fell on coalition headquarters. The attacks took place between 1:45 am and 2:45 am on January 8, 2020. Read: Iran Says Missile Attacks On Airbases Housing US Troops Were 'legitimate Self-defence' After the missile attacks by Iran, United States President Donald Trump held a press briefing at the White House where he issued fresh sanctions on Tehran and notified that no Americans were harmed in the missile attacks by the Iranian regime. Trump further added that the US military is prepared for anything and everything. Read: 'We Should Work Together On Shared Priorities': Donald Trump To Iran Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - Silk Energy Limited (CSE: SILK) (the "Company") announces the resignations of directors Jay Vieira and Herb Brugh, effective January 10th, 2020. The Company wishes to thank Messieurs Vieira and Brugh for their contributions to the Company and wishes them success in their future endeavours. New Directors The Company is pleased to announce that Bryan Emslie has been appointed as a director of the Company effective as of January 10th, 2020. Mr. Emslie has over 35 years of experience in the evaluation of oil and gas reserves and preparation of economic evaluations for purposes of annual reporting, reserve certifications, reserves audits, due diligence reviews and acquisition and divestitures. He spent most of his career as Senior Vice President of McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd. in Calgary and was President of McDaniel International Ltd., the international oil and gas evaluation arm of McDaniel, during which time he traveled extensively throughout the world. Mr. Emslie traveled throughout the major oil basins of Kazakhstan on many occasions and prepared oil and gas reserves and resources evaluations for over 100 different properties in Kazakhstan for over 30 different clients. Mr. Emslie's regional Kazakh experience and knowledge of all of the major oil basins will be a major asset to the Company as it reviews new potential oil and gas assets in Kazakhstan. With Mr. Emslie's appointment, the Company's board of directors now consists of Mr. Emslie, Steve Kappella, Yerkin Svanbayev, Charles De Chezelles, and Aigerim Svanbayeva. For further information, please contact Steve Kappella, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, at info@silk-energy.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept 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/51334 A South Korean national was detained on Friday with unaccounted gold weighing 4.5 kg at Jaipur International Airport, a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) official said. The passenger was stopped during a search operation based on intelligence inputs that he was carrying a large cache of gold, the DRI official said. As soon as he landed from a domestic flight, the passenger was searched and interrogated about the transaction details of the gold he was possessing, the official added. The accused was detained when he could not provide any satisfactory reply, he informed. The gold, which is estimated to be worth Rs 1.85 crore in the market has been seized and the accused is being interrogated, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PIGGS PEAK Two pupils aged 17 and 19 are among three people who have been arrested in connection with the beating to death of an elderly man. The three appeared before Magistrate Sibonelo Dlamini yesterday following their prompt arrest by police officers. All the accused persons share the same surname and it is believed they are from the same homestead. The trio stands accused of tying the elderly man to a tree and later beating him to death following a disagreement emanating from the grazing of cattle. Allegations are to the effect that the elderly man drove out cattle that were grazing in his homestead into a neighbouring home. The trio is believed to have got wind of this and allegedly launched an attack on the elderly man. The incident is said to have happened around Hhelehhele under Ntfonjeni Inkhundla. Arrested Since the alleged murder, police officers had been patrolling the area as initially, only one person had been arrested. It is alleged that the gruesome murder happened on January 7, 2019, when Nkinkini Malambe (59) was killed. The trio is accused of using various objects, fists and kicks to attack the elderly man. Following the beating, the elderly man was later rushed to the Piggs Peak Government Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Within 24 hours of the alleged murder, one of the people accused of the attack was arrested. Police officers then initiated a manhunt for the two others who were arrested the following day. The younger accused person is a primary school pupil while the other is attending high school. For this reason, their names will not be mentioned because they are school-going. The identity of the third accused person, aged 31, will also not be mentioned as doing so will expose the pupils since all the accused persons are reportedly siblings sharing the same surname. A Social Welfare officer from the Deputy Prime Ministers (DPM) Office was present before the magistrate to assist the 17-year-old accused person. This is in line with the Childrens Welfare and Protection Act. When they arrived in court yesterday, the accused persons were first taken to the public gallery for their appearance before the magistrate but it was later resolved that their case should be heard in the magistrates chambers. This was done in order to keep members of the public away in order to protect the teenagers. They are all said to have instructed an attorney to represent them in the matter. The lawyer interacted with them while they awaited appearance before the magistrate for a remand. Before the remand, each of them appeared before another magistrate for confessions. A request was also made that one of the accused person should be released for 24 hours to assist with further investigations. The request was granted. The oldest of the three was also charged with the possession of dagga under the Opium and Habit-Forming Drugs Act of 1922. He was found with dagga weighing 0.043 kilogrammes despite that he is not a holder of a valid permit for him to carry such a substance. After their appearance, the three were taken back to police custody escorted by three uniformed police officers. The Gujarat Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for securing the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The resolution, which was opposed by Congress MLAs, claimed that persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were not offered Indian citizenship by earlier governments because of their "policy of appeasement". Last month, the Legislative Assembly of Kerala, where a CPI(M)-led LDF government is in power, had passed a resolution demanding scrapping of the controversial Act. The CAA promises Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. During a heated discussion on the resolution, Congress MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia, Imran Khedawala, displayed a poster against CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) written in his own blood. "You are not in Pakistan," Speaker Rajendra Trivedi told him while asking him to maintain decorum. His remark evoked a sharp response from other Congress MLAs. The House was adjourned for fifteen minutes following a ruckus when more opposition MLAs started shouting slogans and displayed posters saying "Boycott CAA/NCR/NPR". The resolution, moved by Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja, said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have shown far-sightedness by taking a bold and historic decision to amend the Citizenship Act by which Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis of three neighbouring countries will be able to get Indian citizenship. "Policy of appeasement of earlier governments had kept such people devoid of citizenship and other rights," it added. The "nationalist government of the BJP" brought in the new law to help these persecuted minorities, it said. Some "anti-nationals" and political parties opposing it were silent on the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan, and spreading rumours that the CAA will take away the citizenship of the members of the minority community in India, the resolution said. Minister Jadeja told the House that the Act will not take away anyone's citizenship. "CAA is only about granting citizenship to the religious minorities of three countries. It does not change citizenship status of Indian Muslims," he said. "I want to assure that no Indian will lose citizenship. This act is not at all unconstitutional. It will alleviate the pain of persecuted minorities," he added. Even Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh were of the opinion that persecuted minorities should be granted citizenship, Jadeja claimed. "People are being misled intentionally. Even Congress has joined hands with 'Tukde Tukde gang'. Congress was concerned about Rohingya Muslims. But why you never thought of wiping the tears of migrant Hindus all these years?" he asked. The population of Hindus dwindled drastically in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh due to persecution, the minister claimed. Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani sought to link the CAA with the NRC and National Population Register (NPR). "CAA will destroy the secular spirit of our Constitution. CAA is linked with NRC and NPR. People are afraid that they may lose their citizenship," said Dhanani. "This act will divide the nation. For granting citizenship to a few foreigners, you want to strip crores of our own people of citizenship," the Congress leader said. Congress MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh said Muslims were more worried about the NCR. He asked Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to give assurance that the NCR will not be implemented in Gujarat. Rupani declined, saying the states do not have any say in Central subjects. "NRC is meant to identify illegal immigrants. It's a central subject," he added. Referring to the fact that Rupani was born in Myanmar, state Congress chief Amit Chavda said he could not have become chief minister if Congress governments had brought in such an amendment. Independent MLA JIgnesh Mevani came near the Well of the House and sought an explanation from the government on the issue. When warned by the Speaker, he left the House in anger after tearing apart a copy of the CAA. Rupani said he was very much an Indian by birth. "When I was born in Myanmar, my parents were holding Indian passport. I am an Indian since my birth. My name was added in the passport as an Indian. We came back to India when I was around two and half years old," the CM said. The discussion went on for around two hours before the resolution was passed with a majority vote. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to 12 people arrested in connection with the violence in Seemapuri area in northeast part of the national capital during the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra directed the accused persons to join the probe as and when directed by the investigating officer/station house officer so that the police can clear their doubts regarding the CAA. Granting the relief on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and one surety of like amount, the court also asked the accused to not disturb public peace. "Applicants shall not do any act which may disturb public peace. Applicants shall put their appearance on January 19 between 2 to 4 pm at Seemapuri Police Station, where the IO/SHO shall make endeavour to remove the doubts of the applicants in respect of CAA," the court said. The court observed that everyone had the right to hold peaceful protest in a democracy but damaging public property was not acceptable. "Right to protest is recognised as a fundamental right in a democracy but this right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturbing the public order, i.e., public peace, safety and tranquillity," the court said. "The Constitution of India also prohibits a person from making any statement that incites people to commit an offence," the court said. Those who were granted bail included Amjad Khan, Abdul Kalam, Rajaullah Khan, Nisar, Amiruddin, Suaib, Ahtmaad Ahmed, Waqar, Anis, Hazi Mehraj, Mohd Shoib and Mohd Amir. Advocates Zakir Raja, Shahab Ahmad and Satya Prakash Gautam, appearing for some of the accused, told the judge that 10 out of 12 accused were in judicial custody since December 21 last year and some of them were not even present at the site of the protest. The advocates of Shoib and Amir, who were sent to judicial custody on January 5, claimed that the duo was arrested despite protesting peacefully. Police said the arrested people were part of an unruly mob and they were a "threat" to public peace. It also said that the accused damaged public property and pelted stones at them. On December 20, stone-pelting and incidents of violence were reported from Daryaganj in Old Delhi and Seemapuri during protests against the CAA. Claiming that some of their personnel were seriously injured in the Seemapuri protest, the police had slapped section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC against all the accused. The advocates, however, said told the court that section 307 was wrongly invoked since "admittedly the nature of injuries sustained by police officials is simple in nature". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A young girl who donned her fathers firefighter helmet and was pinned with a medal honoring his sacrifice at his funeral has made the rounds online. It symbolized the devastating toll that bushfires in southeast Australia have had on the firefighters and their families. When a vehicle that they were driving rolled over, New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteers Andrew ODwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, lost their lives. Both firefighters left behind families, both with 19-month-old toddlers born just two days apart. The mens funerals were gut wrenching. Keatons posthumous medal for bravery was pinned on his son Harveys chest at the much-publicized farewell, followed by ODwyers daughter Charlotte, who received her fathers medal in turn. Charlotte ODwyer, pinned with a medal for bravery and her fathers helmet, stands next to Geoffrey ODwyers coffin at his funeral service in Sydney, Australia. (Getty Images | Dean Lewins-Pool) The two firefighters were driving in the front of fire truck in the town of Buxton near Sydney on Dec. 19, 2019, when a falling tree caused their vehicle to roll over. While ODwyer and Keaton were both killed, three other firefighters in the back of the vehicle were taken to the hospital and managed to survive. The memorial service for Andrew ODwyer was held at Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in the Sydney suburb of Horsley Park. Little Charlottes mother, Melissa ODwyer, had also joined the RFS in order to spend more time with her husband. In addition to Mrs. ODwyer and Charlotte, the fallen firefighters father, Errol ODwyer, gave a speech in honor of his sons sacrifice. Charlotte ODwyer standing next to her fathers casket (Getty Images | Dean Lewins-Pool) RFS Chief Shane Fitzsimmons presented both families with posthumous medals for bravery, which were received by their children. Charlotte should know her father was a selfless and special man, who only left because he was a hero, Fitzsimmons said at the service, per The Daily Mail. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian were also in attendance. Like thousands of other firefighters standing between the bushfires and the populous states of Victoria and New South Wales, ODwyer and Keaton were volunteers. Close to 90 percent of the New South Wales RFSs active firefighters are volunteers, per the BBC. The order of the funeral service for Andrew ODwyer (Getty Images | Dean Lewins-Pool) To help recognize the round-the-clock work being done by the countrys firefighter volunteers and the impact it would have on their families, the Australian government announced just before the New Year that volunteers would be compensated for their time. After initially opposing the idea of changing the law in order to pay contracted volunteers, Prime Minister Scott Morrison changed his position in response to the unprecedented nature of the blazes. While I know RFS volunteers dont seek payment for their service, I dont want to see volunteers or their families unable to pay bills, or struggle financially as a result of the selfless contribution they are making, he said in a press release. This is not about paying volunteers. It is about sustaining our volunteer efforts by protecting them from financial loss. Thousands of people celebrating the holidays on New South Wales beaches were trapped by the blazes.(Getty Images | SAEED KHAN) On Jan. 4 and 5, New South Wales, and Australia as a whole, had something to celebrate as a weather front brought rain and cooler temperatures to the area, helping slow down the massive fires. However, overall conditions remain extremely dangerous, especially in forests and national parks. New South Wales Premier Berejiklian stated, per The National Post: New Delhi [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Asserting that terrorism is a growing problem across the world, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Friday said that India and Sri Lanka are working together to combat the menace. Gunawardena, who is on a two-day visit to India, told ANI, "Terrorism is a danger for India as well as for Sri Lanka. It is a growing problem across the world. In India and Sri Lanka, we are giving special attention to it and working together on this field." "India had announced special financial assistance to Sri Lanka to counter-terrorism after holding talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he visited New Delhi last year. As a Foreign Minister, I came here to consolidate and strengthen Sri Lanka-India relations," he said. Gunawardena also held meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Labour Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and other government officials. The visiting dignitary said that discussions have been "cordial and fruitful". "The discussions have been very cordial and fruitful. Indeed, we are very much satisfied with the outputs and India-Sri Lanka relations will be strengthened furthermore as we go along," the Sri Lankan minister said. Earlier today, Gunawardena paid a visit to a Buddhist temple near Birla Mandir here. This is Gunawardena's first official visit after taking over as Foreign Minister last November following the formation of the new government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Gunawardena is also scheduled to visit Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar. He will emplane for Sri Lanka later today. (ANI) Planned Parenthood's Profitable Mission NEWS PROVIDED BY Liberty Counsel Jan. 10, 2020 ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 10, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- While masquerading as a routine "healthcare" provider for women, Planned Parenthood killed a record number 345,672 unborn babies via abortion during its 2018-2019 fiscal year, which is an increase of 13,000 more than the previous year, according to its latest annual report. That means Planned Parenthood performed an average of 947 abortions each day in the United States and brought in more than $1.6 billion in revenue. In 2019, Planned Parenthood refused to comply with President Trump's Protect Life Rule and officially withdrew from the Title X Family Planning Program. The Trump administration's rule, which ensures compliance with the statutory prohibition against using federal funds for programs where abortion is a method of family planning, defunded Planned Parenthood by as much as $60 million in Title X funds annually. However, the annual report reveals the group's total government funding (including federal, state, and local funds) actually increased by $52 million to $616.8 million in 2018-2019. Additionally, seven states--Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts and Maryland-- refused to comply with the new Title X rule and continued to provide tax dollars to Planned Parenthood. Even though it is the largest abortion provider in America, Planned Parenthood's annual report claims that abortion is only four percent of the organization's "medical services" for the last fiscal year. However, Planned Parenthood arrives at this false statistic by dividing the number of children it aborted (345,672) for the year by the number of "services" the group provided (9.8 million). This means when a woman visits a Planned Parenthood facility to obtain an abortion, she is also given a pregnancy test, an STI test, a cancer screening and contraception. Therefore, the abortion procedure would be considered 20 percent of the "services" she received. This is why the group lists its annual "services" as much higher than the number of patients it saw last year (2.4 million). Using this deceptive formula, the report manipulates the data to make it appear as if abortion is a tiny percent of its "services," though a much higher percentage of actual patients who visit Planned Parenthood facilities are there, first and foremost, to obtain an abortion. To further increase its abortion income, Planned Parenthood is now using technology to directly reach patients as early and often as possible through PP Direct, their app to access birth control prescriptions and UTI treatment on the phone, and ROO, their sexual health chatbot, to give "non-judgmental, science-based information to teens." In order to increase access to chemical abortions, Planned Parenthood has expanded telemedicine abortions to three new states bringing the total to 16. This push included publishing a study on chemical abortions that presents telemedicine abortions as "safe and effective," in hoping to make them more accessible for women. However, the drug mifepristone/RU-486, which ends the life of the unborn child, has 19 pages of patient safety information with cautions and directions for those taking the drug. The FDA has documented at least 4,000 cases of serious adverse events, including more than 1,000 women who required hospitalization. As of December 31, 2018, there have been 24 reported deaths of women in the United States associated with mifepristone. Regardless of the danger, the chemical abortion process is paired with a telemedicine platform in two ways: a physician can examine a patient via telemedicine, then issue a prescription for mifepristone and misoprostol to the patient to terminate the pregnancy; or a remote physician can examine a patient at a clinic, then issue instructions to clinic personnel to dispense the drugs from a locked cabinet that is remotely opened by the doctor. There are 18 states that currently prohibit the use of telemedicine to prescribe medication for abortion remotely. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Planned Parenthood's annual report reveals once again that its primary mission is making huge profit by aborting innocent babies. Abortion is not healthcare, and it certainly is not safe. It is the intentional act of killing a human being. That is human genocide for profit," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. SOURCE Liberty Counsel CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org Related Links lc.org/ Gov. Pete Ricketts is acting illegally when his administration is systematically delaying Medicaid expansion for nearly two years and subjecting it to an array of newly created conditions, Sen. Adam Morfeld said Thursday. And Attorney General Doug Peterson is "not holding the governor accountable for following the law," the Lincoln senator said. The language of the Medicaid expansion initiative approved by Nebraska voters in 2018 clearly calls for the state to "take all actions necessary to maximize federal financial participation in the expanded program," Morfeld noted during an interview. "What the governor is doing is illegal in my opinion," Morfeld said. Expansion of Medicaid coverage to an estimated 90,000 Nebraskans was approved by Nebraska voters in November 2018. The state's Department of Health and Human Services is planning to launch the program on Oct. 1, almost two years after voters approved Medicaid expansion. The department has said it needed that time to build and implement a new system to manage Medicaid benefits targeted to a new category of recipients whose income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $16,000 a year. "Medicaid expansion is being delivered on time for the people," gubernatorial spokesman Taylor Gage said in response to Morfeld's remarks. "The State of Nebraska is awaiting federal approval, which is the next step in the process," he said. "HHS submits monthly updates to the Legislature," Gage added. With a lawsuit pending, the attorney general's office declined comment on Morfeld's remarks. Typical recipients of the expanded Medicaid program work at low-wage jobs and include food service workers and retail clerks. Ricketts opposed the 2018 initiative. On Wednesday, Morfeld introduced legislation (LB815) that would eliminate the ability of DHHS to pursue or implement any experimental, pilot or demonstration project waivers that would impact expanded eligibility for medical assistance. The purpose of DHHS should be to "provide health care services," he said, not prevent or delay them. Nebraska Appleseed filed a lawsuit last August in an effort to expedite Medicaid expansion but, Morfeld noted, "it takes time to go through the court system." "When you reduce the ability to receive benefits, you are restricting Medicaid," he said, and that violates the expressed will of Nebraska voters. "People are literally dying because of lack of care," Morfeld said. "Nebraskans are dying or suffering from chronic illness and the only way to get care is in the hospital emergency room," he said, often when it is too late to save their lives. The long delay in providing assistance is "against the clearly expressed will of the people," Morfeld said in earlier remarks last April. Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 After the 16 nations delegation made a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Vietnam's ambassador Pham Sanh Chau who was one of the 16 envoys to visit the union territory said that he witnessed signs of happiness among the local people during his interaction with them. Vietnam's Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau: We are not a fact finding delegation and not the judges of international court. We don't have that mandate, so we just came and observed and have assessment of our own. I see signs of happiness on faces of people when I talk to them. https://t.co/y6Y0ufXYmf ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020 READ | PDP Expels 8 Party Leaders For Supporting Abrogation Of Article 370, Meeting Intl Envoys 'I see normalcy in Kashmir' Over the interactions with different local groups in the union territory, the envoy said, "I see normalcy in daily life of the people, which is a very positive sign. We have interacted with different groups and feeling from those groups is that they are very happy with the current situation." READ | 'MPs Should Be Allowed To Visit J&K', Says AAP's Sanjay Singh After Int'l Envoy Visit The delegation included diplomats from the United States, Maldives, Norway, Argentina, Niger, Togo, Vietnam, Bangladesh, South Korea, Peru, Morocco, among others. The envoys have praised the government for handling situation on the ground after the historic decision of abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A. As they took stock of the current situation, the envoys agreed there were some difficulties faced by the people of J&K but it was necessary to maintain law and order. The envoys witnessed open shops, traffic, and people on the streets of Srinagar. Locals interacting with the envoys reiterated that they are looking forward to the future without interference from Pakistan. READ | 'Jammu & Kashmir Is Now Corruption Free' Claims Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi This is the second visit of a foreign delegation to Jammu and Kashmir since August 5. Earlier, International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, a Delhi-based think tank had taken 23 MPs of the European Union on a two-day visit to assess the situation in the union territory. READ | Envoys Praise Government On Kashmir Security Situation After Visit To The Valley The British monarchy scrambled Thursday to find urgent workable solutions for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan after their bombshell decision to quit front-line duties caught the royal family off guard. Queen Elizabeth II, heir to the throne Prince Charles and his eldest son Prince William, Harrys brother, have ordered their aides to work with Harrys household and Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government to come up with swift answers to the royal crisis. The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge have directed their teams to work together at pace with government and the Sussex household to find workable solutions, a Buckingham Palace source said, according to multiple British media outlets. Also Watch l Prince Harry & Meghan to step back as senior UK royals; Queen responds This process is expected to take days, not weeks, the source added. Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, rocked the monarchy on Wednesday with an announcement made without consulting any senior royals from the sovereign downwards. The couple said they would now balance their time between Britain and North America, rip up long-established relations with the press, and seek financial independence. They released their shock statement on a pre-prepared new website, their Instagram account and through Buckingham Palaces email communications system. An hour and 40 minutes later, the palace, seemingly rattled, issued a brief statement of its own, saying discussions were at an early stage and involved complicated issues. The mood in the palace was understood to be one of disappointment and even hurt, according to the BBC, while Thursdays newspapers were full of reports of a family split and the queens dismay. Londons Evening Standard newspaper said they had defied clear instructions from the queen not to go public about any future plans at this time. It added senior courtiers had warned the couple will be punished for this. Meanwhile Madame Tussauds London said it was moving its waxworks of the pair away from other top family figures to reflect the upcoming change in the royal line-up. Going Rogue Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said Harry and Meghan announcing this step without the 93-year-old monarchs blessing was extraordinary. This is symptomatic, clearly, of the fact that they are unhappy with royal roles and feel deeply pressurised, he told AFP. Theyve chosen to... go rogue. The result, therefore, could have very serious consequences. The couples decision follows a turbulent year, in which they admitted to struggling in the spotlight, and growing apart from William. They have also lashed out at negative news coverage and taken several papers to court -- another unusual move. We intend to step back as senior members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen, they said. We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. Meanwhile on their new website, they said they would no longer work with the royal rota -- a well-established system whereby media access is facilitated and the press take turns covering events and share the coverage. Instead the pair will attempt to invite only specialist, grassroots, credible and young, up-and-coming media to events. Royal analysts said the changes were unprecedented for senior family members. We would have them as members of the royal family carrying out some official duties but also operating privately as well, and there isnt really a precedent for that, said expert Victoria Murphy. Britons passing Buckingham Palace on Thursday appeared surprised at the news. They both knew what they were getting into and I think that they need to meet that challenge, said Roger Sainsbury, a member of the armed forces. Different paths Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are among the core members of the royal family and -- along with William and his wife Kate -- are seen as embodying the monarchys future. They spent six weeks over Christmas in Canada after speaking of the pressure of being in the spotlight following their fairytale wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and son Archies birth 12 months later. They skipped the royal familys traditional Christmas at Sandringham, the sovereigns private estate in eastern England, spending the festive season instead with Meghans US mother Doria Ragland. Rumours that all was not well with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex surfaced in October when Harry -- sixth in line to the throne -- admitted that he and William were on different paths and had good and bad days in their relationship. Asked whether she was not really OK and if life had really been a struggle after becoming a mother and living under intense media scrutiny, Meghan appeared emotional and replied simply: Yes. Fair trade regulator CCI said it has approved the acquisition of up to 2.39 per cent stake in Star Health and Allied Insurance Company by ROC Star Investment Trust under the green channel route. The green channel is an automatic system for speedy approval for certain categories of mergers and acquisitions. The proposed transaction involves the acquisition of up to 2.39 per cent of the equity share capital of Star Health from Snowdrop Capital PTE Ltd. After the completion of the proposed combination, ROC will have certain rights, including non-control conferring veto rights in Star Health, CCI said in a release. The proposed combination has been approved under the green channel concept. Star Health is a general insurer. It is involved in the business of health insurance and deals in personal accident, mediclaim and overseas travel insurance as well. The company operates its business of selling policies through licensed intermediaries such as corporate agents, brokers and insurance agents in India. ROC Star Investment is an investment vehicle managed by ROC Capital, an Australian investment management company. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mondi plc Incorporated in England and Wales Registered number: 6209386 LEI: 213800LOZA69QFDC9N34 LSE share code: MNDI ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47 JSE share code: MNP This announcement contains inside information. 10 January 2020 Peter Oswald to step down as Group Chief Executive Officer Mondi plc ("Mondi" or "the Group") announces that it has agreed with Peter Oswald, Group Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), that he will step down as CEO and from the board of Mondi plc, and will leave the Group, on 31 March 2020. Mondi's Nominations Committee will now begin the process of searching for a successor to Peter. We are pleased to confirm that Andrew King, Group Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), has agreed to take on the role of Interim CEO after Peter steps down and until a successor is appointed. David Williams, Chair of Mondi plc, commented: "Peter has made an immense contribution to the growth and development of Mondi since joining in 1992, most notably during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the former Europe & International Division and subsequently as CEO. His drive to grow the business and his focus on ensuring Mondi's long-term sustainable future have been invaluable to Mondi. The Board thanks Peter for his contribution to the Group and wishes him all the best for the future. Peter Oswald commented: "It has been an honour to have worked for Mondi and I am extremely proud of what we have achieved together. While I am sad to be leaving, I know the Group is in the hands of a strong Board and an experienced senior management team that will ensure its continued success." Notes: The remuneration details relating to Peter Oswald required to be made available pursuant to section 430(2B) of the UK Companies Act 2006 will be made available on our website (www.mondigroup.com) at the appropriate time. Enquiries: Investors/analysts: Clara Valera Mondi Group Head of Strategy and Investor Relations +44 193 282 6357 Media: Kerry Cooper Mondi Group Head of External Communication +44 193 282 6323 Richard Mountain (FTI Consulting) +44 790 968 4466 About Mondi Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, delighting its customers and consumers with innovative packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is embedded in everything we do. In 2018, Mondi had revenues of 7.48 billion and underlying EBITDA of 1.76 billion. Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP). Mondi is a FTSE 100 constituent, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index Series since 2007. Sponsor in South Africa: UBS South Africa Proprietary Limited. By Express News Service BHOPAL: A Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force posted at the IAF HQ in New Delhi has been arrested for posing as Union home minister Amit Shah while talking to Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon over the phone to facilitate the appointment of his Bhopal-based dental surgeon friend as Vice-Chancellor of the Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University (MPMSU) in Jabalpur. Wing Commander Kuldip Vaghela and the dental surgeon Chandresh Kumar Shukla were arrested by the MP Police special task force (MPSTF) on Friday and have been booked under Sections 419 and 420 of the IPC for cheating by impersonation. The MP Governor is the Chancellor of the MPMSU-Jabalpur -- the university and governing body for all Medicine, Dental, Nursing, Paramedical, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani and Yoga colleges in the state. According to additional director general of police (ADG-MPSTF) Ashok Awasthi, the process of selecting the next Vice Chancellor of the MPMSU was initiated in July 2019, as part of which the MP Governor had ordered the constitution of a Search Committee. A Bhopal-based dental surgeon Dr Chandresh Kumar Shukla (who runs a clinic Dental World in Bhopal) too applied for the MPMSU V-C post and appeared in the interview before the Search Committee on January 3, 2020. On January 3, he (Dr Shukla) contacted his friend Wing Commander Kuldip Baghel (who is posted on senior position at the IAF HQ in New Delhi) for using some high contact/office to facilitate the appointment as MPMSU VC. Subsequently, Dr Shukla made a conference call to the MP Raj Bhawan on January 3. During the call, Wing Commander Kuldip Vaghela, while impersonating Union home minister Amit Shah, talked to the MP Governor Lalji Tandon for facilitating his friends appointment as MPMSU VC, said Awasthi. But after the conference call, the MP Governor sensed something was wrong, after which the Raj Bhawan apparatus got in touch with the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to verify whether the Union home minister had actually rung the Governor or not. However, it then became clear that someone had impersonated the union home minister. The Raj Bhawan complained on Thursday to the MPSTF which immediately swung into action. The Wing Commander Kuldip Vaghela was arrested from Delhi on Thursday and his friend Dr Chandresh Kumar Shukla was arrested from Bhopal, the ADG-MPSTF said. Wing Commander Kuldip Vaghela, who hails from Ratlam district of MP, was posted as the aide-de-camp (ADC) to then Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav in 2014. The arrested duo was produced before a Special Court in Bhopal on Friday, after which the court sent the duo into three days STF custody for further questioning. Golden Globe nominee Jessica Alba bundled up and sat in front of a heater on the Los Angeles set of Spectrum series L.A.'s Finest on Thursday. The Bad Boys spin-off marks the 38-year-old mother-of-three's first small-screen role since playing supersoldier Max Guevara in Dark Angel, which ran for two seasons (2000-2002) on Fox. Jessica - who plays Detective Lieutenant Nancy McKenna - shed her black puffer coat to shoot a scene where she chases a suspect on foot for the second season. 'Set life': Golden Globe nominee Jessica Alba bundled up and sat in front of a heater on the Los Angeles set of Spectrum series L.A.'s Finest on Thursday Action! The Bad Boys spin-off marks the 38-year-old mother-of-three's first small-screen role since playing supersoldier Max Guevara in Fox's Dark Angel (2000-2002) In between takes, Alba took to Insta-story to call a flock of ducks and geese in a nearby pond 'filthy animals.' 'It smells like duck poop. Smells like s***. Those filthy animals,' the Honest Company boss - who boasts 31.7M social media followers - sneered. 'Something I like less than rodents, amphibians, insects, are birds. So this right here is basically my nightmare.' Sporting athleisure: Jessica - who plays Detective Lieutenant Nancy McKenna - shed her black puffer coat to shoot a scene where she chases a suspect on foot for the second season 'Smells like s***': In between takes, Alba took to Insta-story to call a flock of ducks and geese in a nearby pond 'filthy animals' The Honest Company boss sneered: 'Something I like less than rodents, amphibians, insects, are birds. So this right here is basically my nightmare' 'You're a [executive] producer!' On Friday, Jessica was shooting inside a restaurant and poked fun of how much gel her co-star D.J. Cotrona (R) had in his hair MIA: Missing from Alba's side was her castmate Gabrielle Union, who plays Special Agent/Detective Lieutenant Syd Burnett On Friday, Jessica was shooting inside a restaurant and poked fun of how much gel her co-star D.J. Cotrona had in his hair. The 39-year-old Shazam! actor replied: 'See, I'm not in charge of that so that's not my fault...You're a [executive] producer.' Missing from Alba's side was her castmate Gabrielle Union, who plays Special Agent/Detective Lieutenant Syd Burnett. Birthday boy! Friday marks the 41st birthday of the Pomona-born beauty's husband Cash Warren, whom she originally met on the 2004 set of Fantastic Four December 15 family portrait: Jessica and the Pair of Thieves designer are parents of (from L-R) eight-year-old daughter Haven, two-year-old son Hayes, and 11-year-old daughter Honor Friday marks the 41st birthday of the Pomona-born beauty's husband Cash Warren, whom she originally met on the 2004 set of Fantastic Four. Jessica and the Pair of Thieves sock designer are proud parents of 11-year-old daughter Honor, eight-year-old daughter Haven, and two-year-old son Hayes. The biracial couple celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary on May 19. Who doesnt want a happy kitchen? With the world so dreary, a little yellow can go a long way. In these uncertain times, were drawn to colors that dont need to be impeccable, that can hide the messiness of life. Theres a sense of energy and nourishment in bright colors, said Ingrid Fetell Lee, the author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. Alessandra Wood, the vice president of style for Modsy, an online interior-design service, told me that homeowners are looking for comfort and coziness in design choices, so why not our kitchens, too? In this really unstable world, we are looking for anything that makes us feel comfortable, and we are definitely turning to our homes to do that, she said. Just look at the color Pantone chose for its color of the year: classic blue, because it highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation. Paint companies Sherwin-Williams and PPG also ushered in the new decade with blue as their picks of the year in a collective nod to what might soon be our new neutral call it bluetral. Were also living in our homes differently. After decades of relentless moving, Americans are moving at the lowest rates since the U.S. census began tracking our mobility, with fewer than 10 percent of Americans moving between 2018 and 2019. Baby boomers are aging in place and millennials, facing rising housing costs and stagnating wages, are less likely to house hop. With no plans to stake a for sale sign in the front yard, why commit to the safe and listless colors of a staged house? Greige, that dreary hue that is neither gray nor beige, but took over our homes for over a decade, is decidedly out. The relentlessly white kitchen may be next. It made a lot of sense in the era of house flipping. White looks clean and is unlikely to offend a potential buyer. Who hates white? And if your home is perpetually one renovation away from its next open house, white is a natural go-to color. Its a kitchen designed for future buyers, not the specific tastes of the current inhabitants. But lets face it: White looks clean only when it is clean. The rest of the time, it is not the most practical color for a room that regularly gets splashed with marinara sauce. There is something to be said for a little color to hide the imperfections. Were living in our spaces longer, so theres an extra level of consideration that people are giving to them, Dr. Wood said. Were thinking, How do I make this space into a space that I really feel comfortable in? So if there is no buyer on the horizon, if the kitchen remodel is just for you, the view widens. Why not wash the whole room in turquoise? It doesnt really matter what some fictional buyer might think. You can be you and paint the cabinets pink. For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate. WALLINGFORD Truth is stranger than fiction, like the story in this years book selection for the librarys annual townwide reading program. Wallingford Public Library staff revealed Wednesday that they chose the non-fiction book Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep for this years One Book One Wallingford program, now in its third year. Cep is a Maryland-based journalist and recently joined the writing staff of The New Yorker magazine. In her debut book, she tells the true story of an African-American preacher in Alabama who was accused of murdering five family members in the 1970s for life insurance money, and then was murdered himself by a vigilante. The lawyer who defended the Rev. Willie Maxwell and got him acquitted, defended the vigilante, who was acquitted, as well. Harper Lee, author of the classic To Kill a Mockingbird, enters the picture when she attends the vigilantes trial, intending to write a true crime book years after Truman Capote didnt credit her for research she contributed to his best-selling novel In Cold Blood. Lee failed to produce the book, and until now Rev. Maxwells story which includes rumors he used voodoo to escape justice has gone largely untold. Furious Hours, released in May of last year, appeared on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, Amazons best books of 2019 and former President Barack Obamas favorite books of 2019. Julie Rio, librarian in charge of adult programs, said Ceps book is full of original research. Related programs, author visit The library held a book unveiling Wednesday evening, playing a video greeting by Cep and serving cake decorated with the books cover. Patrons can borrow Furious Hours from the library in paperback, audiobook and large print form. Three book discussions are scheduled for March, two at the library and one at the Wallingford Senior Center. The library has planned a slew of related programs culminating in a visit from the author in April. The programs, scheduled for February and March, are inspired by topics related to the book, including autopsies, serial murder and the Vodou religion of Haiti. Rio said that people dont need to have read the book to attend and enjoy the programs. The One Book One Wallingford book selection committee reviewed between a dozen and two dozen books beginning in the summer, Rio said, considering their literary quality, ideas for related programming, if the book is available in many formats, if the author is living and willing to visit Wallingford and other associated costs. We always try and pick a book thats a little bit different than what we had the year before, she said, to reach different reading interests. Thats why this year we decided to go with a non-fiction title. LTakores@record-journal.com 203-317-2212 Twitter: @LCTakores Most of these people were detained by the police immediately before or after August 5 when J&K was stripped of its special status and split up into two UTs. SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday revoked the detention of 26 persons under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) and ordered their release from prisons within and outside the Union Territory. Among them is Nazir Ahmed Ronga, a former president of Kashmir High Court Bar Association. The others being released from detention are mainly small-time activists of various political parties or alleged stone-pelters. The J&K government in a statement said that it has revoked detention warrants in respect of 26 persons detained under the provisions of Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978. Most of these people were detained by the police immediately before or after August 5 when J&K was stripped of its special status and split up into two UTs. They were subsequently booked under the PSA by the deputy commissioners concerned on the recommendations of the police authorities and then lodged in various jails in and outside J&K. Yesterday, Jan. 8, while leaving the UTC basketball game I was walking to the car when I noticed a 70+ year old man standing in pure disbelief and staring at a parking ticket. A parking ticket that was written on a Saturday at 4:20 p.m. This is 20 minutes after the UTC game started at 4 p.m. I talked to the man for 25 minutes. He is from Baltimore, he quickly said even a large city ... (click for more) If you live in Alabama, the chance youll test positive for COVID are now greater than not. In the state of Alabama 54.59 percent of COVID-19 tests are now coming back positive. This week in Georgia the test positivity rate is 37.82 and in Tennessee its 36.78. In all three states these are record numbers, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, as the virus ... (click for more) An Iranian national armed with knives has been detained by police in Palm Beach, Florida, and police bomb squads searched his car at the nearby airport. The suspect, Masoud Yareioeill Zoleh, was identified by his passport while being taken into custody on Flagler Memorial Bridge on Friday morning. He had in his possession $22,000 in U.S. currency, a machete and a pick ax, in addition to the knives, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. Zoleh was arrested by three Palm Beach Police officers and two plainclothes officers who were reportedly from a different department, Masoud Yareioeill Zoleh, an Iranian national, (left) was arrested on Friday with $22,000 in U.S. currency, a machete and a pick ax and several knives in his possession just four miles from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club Zoleh's (left) intentions have not yet been disclosed, but the investigation is ongoing and he has been given a notice to appear in court An investigation is open, and local police are cooperating with federal authorities. Public Information Officer Michael Ogrodnick revealed that authorities received a call about Zoleh and dispatched to the scene. Details regarding what the call entailed were not given. Zoleh has been given a notice to appear in court, according to the Palm Beach Post. The Palm Beach police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com. The man was taken into custody on Flagler Memorial Bridge (above) on Friday There were also reports of police activity at Palm Beach International Airport, where sources say a bomb unit was called in to check the Iranian man's car Police said that the man did not appear to have a fixed or known address. There were also reports of police activity at Palm Beach International Airport, where sources say a bomb unit was called in to check the Iranian man's car at the airport's short term parking lot. An 'all clear' was given at the airport on Friday afternoon and operations have returned to normal. It comes days after Iranian officials offered an $80 million bounty for the murder of President Donald Trump. The Flagler Memorial Bridge is about four miles from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club (above), but the president is currently at the White House in Washington DC The Flagler Memorial Bridge is about four miles from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, but the president is currently at the White House in Washington DC. Trump recently spent the holidays at Mar-a-Lago, and it is possible that he may return as soon as next weekend. The FAA issued flight restrictions over Palm Beach airspace effective January 17 to 19, a typical indication that a presidential visit may be scheduled. Sensata Technologies has announced the closure of its Carrickfergus site with the loss of almost 300 jobs. The company makes tyre pressure monitoring systems and was previously Schrader Electronics. It blamed a drop in demand for its products for the decision. It has had a significant manufacturing and research and development presence in Northern Ireland since its 2014 acquisition of Schrader, which was founded in 1988. It has been considered a world leader in the design and manufacture of valve, mechanical and electronic system components and sensing technologies. The company has 1,178 employees in Northern Ireland. The Carrick site is to close in early 2021 following a consultation with employees. A small number of jobs at its second Antrim site will also be affected. In total 270 jobs have been lost. The local council has put its rapid redundancy response plan into action. DUP MP Sammy Wilson described the announcement as a "serious blow". "It represents a very bleak start to the year for many families in the area and my thoughts are with all those who are employed at the plant and who now face an uncertain future," he said. Yann Etienvre, senior vice president, global operations at Sensata said: As a company we are facing a perfect storm of European market conditions which have led to a significant drop in demand for the product lines currently manufactured in Carrickfergus. There has been a well-documented fall in the global automotive industry and this has been further heightened by consolidation in our market, with existing customers being absorbed into large entities whose manufacturing processes use alternative products to our own. We had anticipated that a proposed tightening of European TPMS legislation would drive increased demand for direct sensing systems and, as a result, increased demand for TPMS products. Unfortunately, this has not happened as indirect sensing solutions continue to be permitted by the European authorities. In response we have had to review our organisational model. The proposed closure of our Carrickfergus site has been a very difficult decision for the company to make, and a number of actions were implemented to try to avoid reaching this point. Our focus now is on providing support to the affected employees and their families through the consultation period. To that end we have engaged external consultants LHH Penna to provide career transition advice and assistance for all affected employees. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has said support will be available to workers with its rapid redundancy response contingency put into action. The council will discuss the matter on Monday night. Councillor Gregg McKeen, chair of councils borough growth committee, described the news as a terrible blow to staff and their families, and to the economy of Carrickfergus and the wider Mid and East Antrim area. The council area has been dealt a series of blows to its economy with the jobs losses at JTI Gallaher's factory, Michelin and the recent administration of Wrightbus - which was later saved by industrialist Jo Bamford. Todays announcement is a devastating one for the 270 staff, the town and the entire Mid and East Antrim Borough," he said. Sensata Technologies has long been a major player in the local economy as one of Northern Irelands biggest manufacturing companies, so the closure of the site in Carrickfergus is a body blow for the area. That said, council will put its shoulder to the wheel and provide a package of support to the workers affected by this news, in the same way that Wrightbus workers were supported when they faced difficult times last year. I, along with the council chief executive, will be working to keep the gates open and to mitigate the impact of this development for all those affected." Mr Etienvre reiterated the companys commitment to maintaining and growing its engineering capabilities in Northern Ireland. He said: Sensata Technologies remains committed to our Northern Ireland operation. We continue to manufacture products at our Antrim site and we are on target with our plans to develop an R&D centre of excellence there. "This investment in new products and a new technology centre will result in the creation of additional jobs in the next two years. "I know people think it's like, 'oh, you had to spin around,' but I remember feeling like I put myself through school. I was offered a partnership at Jones Day, one of the best law firms in the world. I argued before federal courts of appeal all over the nation. I came here, I'm covering the United States Supreme Court. I graduated with honors from all my programs and now he wants me to twirl? The constitution of a special court to try Pakistan's former dictator Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf was illegal, a top attorney told the Lahore High Court on Friday as it heard his review plea against the formation of a special tribunal that handed him the death penalty for high treason. On December 17, the 3-judge special court, in a 2-1 majority verdict, found the ailing 76-year-old ex-Pakistan president, now living in Dubai on self-exile, guilty of high treason by abrogating the Constitution and imposing extra-constitutional emergency in Pakistan in November 2007 and handed him the death sentence. Subsequently, approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) with three petitions, challenging his conviction. He has challenged not only the conviction, but also the formation of the special court that handed him the death penalty for high treason, as well as the complaint filed against him by the government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif that resulted in the trial. A day earlier, a three-member bench of the LHD observed it could not hear the appeal against the death sentence handed out to Musharraf, but agreed to admit the petition against the formation of the special court in the high treason case. The bench, comprising Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangir, held another hearing into the case on Friday. Additional Attorney-General (AAG) Ishtiaq Khan and the counsels for Musharraf appeared in court today. While hearing the arguments made by Khan on Thursday, the court had summoned senior lawyer Ali Zafar on Friday to testify before the bench as a legal expert. "The complaint filed against the former president was not filed through the right authority, the formation of a special court to hear the case was also unlawful, and even the case that was made against the former ruler was not according to the law," Geo News quoted Zafar as telling the court. "The attorney general forwarded a summary to the PM Office dated June 2013 in which reference was made to the Musharraf case. However, it was on December 29, 2013, that the interior ministry was accorded the authority to file a complaint against the former president," he noted. Zafar, appointed as the court's amicus curiae in the case, also maintained that whenever a law mandated that a case be filed in these matters, the federal Cabinet was endowed with the authority to have the final say on the issue. "A case under Article 6 cannot be filed without the Cabinet's approval," Zafar insisted. The court asked if the matter was on the agenda of any Cabinet meeting, to which Zafar responded in the negative, Dawn newspaper reported. Zafar noted that the additional attorney general had already told the court that the federal Cabinet had not approved the complaint. "Under these circumstances, the grounds for the filing of the case are questionable. No meeting of the federal cabinet was held to discuss the case, according to my knowledge," Zafar told the bench in response to a question about the Cabinet meetings on the issue back in 2013. After hearing the remarks made by the senior lawyer, the court asked the interior ministry to produce the order under which the special court was formed. The hearing of the case was then adjourned till January 13, the report said. AAG Ishtiaq, representing the federal government, yesterday informed the LHC full bench that the formation of the special trial court and filing of a complaint against Musharraf were not approved by the Cabinet, as required by the law. The AAG informed the bench that only one letter was available in the record, which was written by the then prime minister Sharif to the interior ministry, requiring it to initiate an inquiry against Musharraf on the charges of high treason. Musharraf is the first military ruler convicted for subverting the Constitution. Musharraf's sentencing is highly significant moment in Pakistan where the powerful military has ruled the country for nearly half of its 72-year history. Musharraf, who is undergoing treatment in Dubai, expressed regret at the judgment. Musharraf seized power by ousting then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a 1999 bloodless coup. He has also served as Pakistan's president from 2001 to 2008. (image credit: ANI) The Queen has been treated 'shoddily' by Harry and Meghan and should not ask them to stay in the UK, the public believes. A Daily Mail poll also suggests there will be deep anger if the couple keep their titles and privileges while effectively quitting as royals and moving to North America. A majority said Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, should be evicted from their Windsor cottage and be made to pay back the 2.4million of public money spent on refurbishing it. A Daily Mail poll suggests there will be deep anger if Harry and Meghan keep their titles and privileges while effectively quitting as royals and moving to North America The Queen (pictured driving back to Sandringham today) has been treated 'shoddily' by Harry and Meghan and should not ask them to stay in the UK, the public believes Meghan is blamed for the couple's bombshell move, with just 4 per cent saying it was Harry. The poll came as: Sources said Prince Charles fears Harry is at 'tipping point' and vowed to rally round him; Meghan caught a BA flight to Vancouver to return to the island mansion where she stayed for Christmas and was believed to have left Archie with his nanny Harry remained in Britain to deal with the crisis as aides said talks between the royal households over the couple's future role were 'progressing well'; The Queen laid down a 72-hour ultimatum for Palace officials to thrash out a solution for Harry and Meghan's future; The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are 'hopeful' talks about their role will be concluded swiftly; The Palace strongly denied ITV presenter Tom Bradby's claim that Harry and Meghan were being 'driven out' of the monarchy; Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faced being dragged into the debate over continued taxpayer support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex; It emerged that the couple have been advised by Barack and Michelle Obama; Prominent black Britons claimed Meghan was driven out of Britain by racism. The poll reveals that both the duke and duchess have paid a heavy price in popularity since making the announcement on Wednesday night. Queen gives courtiers 72 hours to resolve Royal rift The Queen has ordered the new stripped-back roles of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to be resolved within the next 72 hours The Queen has ordered the new stripped-back roles of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to be determined within the next 72 hours. Her Majesty has reportedly also instructed officials to come up with a blueprint that could potentially apply to younger generations of the Royal Family. The Queen wants the crisis to last no longer than the six days that it took for Prince Andrew to announce his stepping back from royal duties after his car crash BBC Newsnight interview, the Telegraph reports. Her Majesty has reportedly also instructed courtiers to turn the crisis into an opportunity, and to hash out a 'workable solution' to the issue. According to the publication, the Queen has asked for a blueprint that is workable not just for Harry and Meghan but could also apply to following generations including Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Advertisement Meghan's public rating is now a net minus 2 per cent, down 22 points in three months. She is in a lowly tenth place among the royals, below Sophie Wessex. Harry, who not long ago was the nation's most loved prince, has seen his rating slump by 20 points to fifth. He has been overtaken by his hard-working aunt, Princess Anne. Asked whether they prefer Harry or William, the public chooses William ahead of his younger brother by 65 to 35. William has now overtaken the Queen as the nation's favourite royal. His wife Kate is further ahead than ever. She trumps Meghan in the popularity stakes by 73 percentage points to 27. The poll by JL Partners shows that the public has no wish to stop Harry and Meghan making a new life for themselves and Archie away from Britain. A total of 50 per cent believe they have the right to do so, against 36 per cent who say they do not. And 46 per cent think the Royal Family will not be better off without them. But the public is clear that Harry and Meghan cannot eat their royal cake and have it. And the Queen's subjects are appalled at the way her grandson and his American wife have treated her. There is deep sympathy for the 93-year-old monarch at a time when her husband Prince Philip, 98, is frail and recovering from illness. A total of 60 per cent say Harry and Meghan have treated her 'shoddily'. Only 23 per cent reckon they have not. Some 72 per cent of people say the Queen should let them go abroad, and just 16 per cent say she should ask them to stay. The survey shows that the public's attitude to Harry and Los Angeles-born Meghan is not 'good riddance'. Meghan Markle embracing Ahlam Saeid at the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London on Tuesday, before she and Harry plunged the Royal Family into crisis by announcing they were 'stepping back' from their official duties In the first glimpse of what their 'progressive' new role could look like, the couple met, embraced and laughed with the women who set up the community kitchen in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy Meghan and Harry 'hopeful' talks around their future will be concluded swiftly Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are 'hopeful' that crunch talks determining their new stripped-back role in the Royal Family can be thrashed out 'sooner rather than later', a source revealed tonight. The Duke and Duchess's announcement to 'step back' from their official duties and become 'financially independent' has thrown the Family into crisis, with the public demanding answers as to what their 'progressive' new role would be. The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have held discussions to diffuse the situation and ordered Palace officials to quickly develop a 'workable solution' for Meghan and Harry's future. The three senior Royals closed ranks following Wednesday night's bombshell Instagram statement, but today a steely-faced Her Majesty broke cover to drive her car through Sandringham - a move choreographed to play down the crisis and show she was continuing her activities as normal. But behind closed doors, officials are working furiously to draw up a blueprint for Meghan and Harry's future role. A source close to the couple claimed Friday night negotiations between the Palace and the Sussex household are 'progressing well', in consultation with both the UK and Canadian government. They said: 'They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later. 'It is in everyone's interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome.' Advertisement Some 60 per cent think the pair should hand over the keys of Frogmore Cottage near Windsor Castle, while 28 per cent say they should keep it. And 60 per cent believe they should also stump up the 2.4million cost of the controversial refurbishment of the home. Only 25 per cent say they should not have to find the money. An even bigger proportion, 76 per cent, reckon Harry and Meghan should not get another penny in support from Buckingham Palace or the Government or Metropolitan Police protection if they live abroad. Only 13 per cent say they should be able to retain these entitlements. Sources suggest the couple may be allowed to keep their royal titles. But if the decision was left to public opinion, they would be stripped of them, especially if they are making money from their new 'independent lives'. A total of 54 per cent want Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, to lose the right of accession, while 28 per cent think he should keep it. And 47 per cent of people say the couple should give up their right to have the HRH initials in front of their names. Some 40 per cent say they have the right to retain them. But these views harden if Harry and Meghan find new sources of income apart from the royals and the taxpayer. In that event 51 per cent say they should forego their HRH status. One in three 34 per cent believe they should hold on to it. Many of the public also think Afghan war veteran Harry should stand down from one of his most prized roles, as ceremonial head of the Royal Marines. A total of 36 per cent think he should carry on as Captain General, but 39 per cent say he should relinquish the post. The poll gives a revealing insight into the perception of the balance of power in the marriage. Harry and Meghan chat to the women who set up the community kitchen in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy The women behind a community kitchen which was set up in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy The couple say their decision was a mutual one. But a total of 44 per cent of people believe Meghan made the decision, 39 per cent say they had an equal say, and just 4 per cent think Harry was in charge. A total of 57 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 have a positive view of the duchess. The figure is only 30 per cent among over-65s. Despite the Royal Family being rocked by the crisis, the public overall has faith that the monarchy can weather the storm. A total of 44 per cent say the institution has not been damaged, while 38 per cent believe it has. Nearly one in two people 48 per cent say the monarchy will last 'forever', while 39 per cent reckon it will be around for up to 50 years, and only 13 per cent expect it to be gone within a decade. JL Partners interviewed 1,000 adults online on Thursday and yesterday. The earlier poll on royals' ratings was carried out in October by YouGov. 'It's always her way or the highway - she flees when things get heavy': Friends and family of Meghan Markle open up to DAVID JONES about Megxit - and NONE are surprised she jumped the royal ship Among the innumerable fascinating traits I uncovered when researching Meghan Markle's life story was her fondness for homespun mottos. She seemed to have an aphorism to suit almost every eventuality. One was recited to her friends whenever she embarked on some landmark venture, such as a career move or a new relationship. 'Never give it five minutes if you're not prepared to give it five years,' she would declare (omitting to say this mantra was originally coined by her first husband, Trevor Engelson). That it has taken Meghan considerably less time just 20 months to decide she cannot adjust to the rigours of royal duty may have shocked the British public. This week, however, I have canvassed many of my sources for the biography of the Duchess that I wrote for the Mail, including her oldest friends, maternal grandmother and relatives of the now happily remarried Mr Engelson. None of these people who know how Meghan conducts herself and the strategies she employs is surprised that this free-spirited and untameably headstrong woman has so prematurely jumped the royal ship, and 'cut and run' (as one friend put it) for a new life in Canada. Of course, she has not taken this momentous decision, which amounts to abdication, unilaterally. Prince Harry, who spoke so enthusiastically of the work he and Meghan would do together when their engagement was announced, has since become so disillusioned that his mental health is said to have been affected. Yet friends feel sure Meghan will have been the prime instigator of their hasty escape. Indeed, their official resignation statement drips with the laidback phraseology of surfside California they are not resigning but 'stepping back' to 'transition' into a 'progressive new role' and friends believe it was penned by Meghan herself. 'Never give it five minutes if you're not prepared to give it five years,' she would declare (omitting to say this mantra was originally coined by her first husband, Trevor Engelson). That it has taken Meghan considerably less time just 20 months to decide she cannot adjust to the rigours of royal duty may have shocked the British public. Pictured: Outside Canada House with Prince Harry on Tuesday 'Something must have gone very wrong for her to give all this up. But this is what they have decided, and we have to respect it.' Perhaps so. Others will take a different view. But Ava Burrows, who was married to Meghan's late maternal grandfather, Alvin Ragland, broadly agrees 'I saw this coming it was just a matter of time,' one of Meghan's oldest confidantes told me yesterday. 'With Meghan, it has always been her way or the highway. She is always the centre of the relationship, regardless of Harry's title. She wants to be in the limelight, but under her own terms. Prince Charles fears Harry is at 'tipping point' Prince Charles has rallied round his youngest son Prince Harry, who he fears has reached 'tipping point' as the fallout of his and Meghan Markle's decision to quit as senior Royals continues to rage. An insider claimed on Friday night the heir to the throne had vowed to support his son whatever the outcome of the turmoil currently engulfing the Sussexes. Meghan and Harry's bombshell announcement sent shockwaves reverberating throughout the Royal Family and forced crisis talks between the Queen, Charles and William, who was said to be furious with his brother for blindsiding them. Although Charles has been bunkered down in these discussions to develop a 'workable solution' to the couple's 'progressive' future, his primary concern is the welfare of his son. 'He [Charles] is absolutely clear in his mind that Harry is at a tipping point and has promised him he would do everything in his power to help him,' a source told the Mirror. 'Charles told him he would stand by him no matter what, but urged him to come up with a sensible plan that could be worked through in order to satisfy everyone.' Advertisement 'Now she will get to make her own rules. It's perfect for her. Meghan likes to flee when things get heavy, and observe from afar what she has done. I'm sure she wanted to get back to her inner circle (in Canada); her new creative team who are behind these plans. 'She has been able to move fast because this has been planned for months. She is running a campaign. This is not just an exit. It is a long-game strategy that has been set in motion for some time.' Yesterday the Mail revealed how Meghan had left her eight-month old baby Archie in Canada, in the care of his nanny and reportedly her close friend Jessica Mulroney, when she flew briefly back to Britain a few days ago, after she and Harry enjoyed a seven-week break, including Christmas and the New Year, on Vancouver Island. The Duchess has not been spotted at the sprawling Vancouver Island home where they spent their break, but the Telegraph report that after her BA flight Meghan was whisked back to the mansion where she was thought to have left her eight-month-old. 'It's easier for her to go to London and play this game without [Archie] there,' the friend continued. 'She has an ability to compartmentalise so she can succeed.' According to the friend this behaviour may be rooted in the early years of her life which, as for any child of divorced parents, were not always straightforward and her experiences may have taught her something about the intricacies of family diplomacy. 'I don't think [Meghan] is fully aware of how much backlash she will receive [but] I honestly don't think she cares at the moment,' adds the friend. 'What's one country when she's got the whole world at her feet? She won't set foot in the UK again, let alone live there, unless she gets what she feels she's worth.' 'I saw this coming it was just a matter of time,' one of Meghan's oldest confidantes told me yesterday. 'With Meghan, it has always been her way or the highway. She is always the centre of the relationship, regardless of Harry's title. She wants to be in the limelight, but under her own terms.' Pictured: Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson in East Hampton, NY in 2006 Like other friends and family members I spoke to, my source recalled, with irony, how Meghan had formed a fancifully romantic impression of British royalty as a Los Angeles schoolgirl. She developed a particular infatuation for Princess Diana, devouring books and videos about her life and humanitarian work then setting out to emulate her by serving the homeless in skid-row soup kitchens. Her obsession gathered pace when she visited London in 1996, making a beeline for Buckingham Palace and having her photo taken outside the gates. According to her school friend Ninaki Priddy, who posed beside her in that portentous snapshot, her avowed ambition was to become 'Princess Diana 2.0'. When Meghan became entwined with Diana's son, in 2016, her fantasy appeared to have been fulfilled. It was only after they were married, and Meghan awoke to the constraints and frequent monotony of her role that this girlish dream evaporated. She may have envisaged becoming a freewheeling global ambassador championing her causes which range from women's rights to improving Third World sanitation but the reality all too often entailed glad-handing crowds in some rainy Midlands town. So, as her old friend surmised: 'Her ideal princess fairytale didn't work out like she wanted. She thought she would be able to control her own narrative and she felt limited by the royal rules. 'She was cut off from her usual channels her Twitter account or Instagram which meant she couldn't speak out on causes the way she wanted. In that silence, I'm sure she convinced Harry to pick a "side" (either her chosen path or that which the Palace establishment had laid out for them). For her it was never about modernising the Royal Family. 'She made it look like she was on board and willing to play the game of "duty", but Meghan is not one to bite her tongue or take to the British stiff upper-lip.' Then there was the public criticism of her. Though the majority of British people have taken Meghan to their hearts, friends say she sees matters very differently. Behind the steely veneer she developed when climbing the greasy pole in Hollywood, she is highly sensitive to disapproval and needs adoration. That became evident when, speaking to ITN's Tom Bradby last year, she bemoaned the fact that nobody had bothered to ask how she was faring as a new wife and mother. Friends feel this was another major factor in the decision to cut ties with the Palace and limit her time in Britain. Raised in America, where standards are very different, they say she will be unable to countenance why she is attacked for spending lavishly on home refurbishments, for example; or using her social media platform to publicise the fashion designs and fitness workouts of friends in her social circle. 'I think, when she started to receive limitations from the Royal Family, and all of a sudden she couldn't control things any more, she no longer wanted to participate in the grand scheme of royalty,' the friend surmises. Meghan and Harry have, of course, blamed an over-intrusive, hyper-critical media for many of their problems, but she added: 'Meghan has been playing the narrative of "woe is me", but she knew what she was getting into. It was clear from the [ITN] documentary that she was already spinning the Press issue in a certain way.' Another woman who knows how Meghan's mind works is Sonia Ardakani, the mother of her closest school friend, Suzy Ardakani. During her teens, when her father Thomas worked long hours as a Hollywood lighting director and her mother, Doria, frequently worked away from LA, Meghan often stayed at Mrs Ardakani's house and her friend's mother became almost a surrogate aunt. Last year, she told me how Meghan's determination to use her royal role as a force for good, and her deep-seated respect for the institution of royalty, would make her a huge asset to the family. Digesting the news in LA yesterday, however, she revised that opinion. 'Yes, Meghan wanted to be a princess, but I guess a princess in her way,' she told me. (In LA, duchesses and princesses are interchangeable.) 'In a way I am surprised she has chosen to do this, but we know how independent Meghan is. She deals with business in her own way, and I guess the Queen didn't allow her to do that. 'Then there is all the attention she is getting. She might have been an actress, but nothing can have prepared her for that. Life seems to have become miserable for her and Harry, and they will remember what happened to Diana. 'Something must have gone very wrong for her to give all this up. But this is what they have decided, and we have to respect it.' Perhaps so. Others will take a different view. But Ava Burrows, who was married to Meghan's late maternal grandfather, Alvin Ragland, broadly agrees. Two years ago, when I visited her home in the Californian desert to break the news that Meghan and Harry were to be married, Mrs Burrows, a retired teacher, whooped with delight, slapped her thigh, and declared: 'Meggie marrying a prince? Who'd have thunk!' Yet her joy was tempered with the reality that Meghan, with her mixed-race heritage and dysfunctional family background, had been raised in a milieu light-years removed from that of her future husband, and, in her jocular manner, sounded a note of caution. The Daily Mail has learnt that Meghan (left on a previous trip) returned to North America, where their eight-month-old son, Archie, had been left with his nanny. The news of her travel plans come as her and Prince Harry (right) announced they would be stepping back from their Royal duties Idyllic: The royal couple have been living in a luxury 10.7million property on Vancouver Island, where it is believed Meghan has returned to after spending just three days in the UK The Queen is seen on Friday for the first time since the Duke and Duchess revealed they were stepping down as senior royals Meghan and Harry 'hopeful' talks around their future will be concluded swiftly Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are 'hopeful' that crunch talks determining their new stripped-back role in the Royal Family can be thrashed out 'sooner rather than later', a source revealed tonight. The Duke and Duchess's announcement to 'step back' from their official duties and become 'financially independent' has thrown the Family into crisis, with the public demanding answers as to what their 'progressive' new role would be. The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have held discussions to diffuse the situation and ordered Palace officials to quickly develop a 'workable solution' for Meghan and Harry's future. The three senior Royals closed ranks following Wednesday night's bombshell Instagram statement, but today a steely-faced Her Majesty broke cover to drive her car through Sandringham - a move choreographed to play down the crisis and show she was continuing her activities as normal. But behind closed doors, officials are working furiously to draw up a blueprint for Meghan and Harry's future role. A source close to the couple claimed Friday night negotiations between the Palace and the Sussex household are 'progressing well', in consultation with both the UK and Canadian government. They said: 'They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later. 'It is in everyone's interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome.' Advertisement 'I guess it's like your Downton Abbey, and we are the folks downstairs,' was how she put it. 'I'm kind of expecting the men in black suits (she meant either the FBI or Buckingham Palace officials) to check us out.' Her inference was that it would take a gargantuan leap for Meghan to adjust to her new life. As Mrs Burrows is too busy caring for her ailing mother to follow the news closely, it fell to me yesterday to inform her that her misgivings had proved prescient. 'No! Really? I hadn't heard!' she exclaimed, when I told her Meghan and Harry would be spending considerably more time on her side of the pond. After a pause, she offered a more considered response. 'I don't know if 'surprised' is the right word. I guess it's been just too hard for her (to adjust). I guess pressure is pressure, and you only know how much you can take when you're in the middle of it. Speaking as a grandmother, I think that when you have a baby you want to be near your own mother, and now Meghan will be able to see much more of Doria. I'm sure she will be delighted to see more of Meghan and her grandson. 'But I don't imagine Meggie will have made the decision by herself. Maybe with Harry's history with the situation with his mother maybe he's tired, too, and had been for a long time. I guess this is their exit strategy.' Whatever the fall-out from this bombshell break for freedom, declared without even the courtesy of a discussion with senior royals, we can be sure there will be no turning back. For as I discovered, Meghan has made a promise to herself to live her life in the manner of her own choosing, almost regardless of the consequences and when she decides on something there is never a backward glance. In many ways, this outlook was shaped by her experiences as an obscure actress struggling to make her name. In her 20s, she swung between periods of ecstasy and abject despair. When she landed a film or TV role the champagne corks would pop; when she was rejected she would wallow in bed for days, swallowing her misery with glasses of wine and junk food. Then, on August 1, 2014, her 33rd birthday, her outlook was transformed by a moment she calls her epiphany. 'I always dreamed, but I guess it's safe to say I never dreamed big,' she wrote in The Tig, the candid lifestyle blog she posted before meeting Harry. During the couple's brief return to the UK together, they paid a visit to the Grenfell kitchen in west London shortly before the bombshell news broke 'And then I made a choice to live my life less stifled. To try not to just live, but to live so fully that my life was bursting at the seams, my days felt purpose-driven and heart felt full. To stop living my life complacently and start taking risks, and to dream bigger than I ever imagined.' Meghan and Harry reveal pictures from secret Grenfell kitchen trip The Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to visit the women of The Hubb Community Kitchen Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have today revealed pictures of their secret visit to a Grenfell kitchen four days ago as she returned to Canada to be reunited with Archie. In the first glimpse of what their 'progressive' new role could look like, the couple met, embraced and laughed with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London. This afternoon's post to their 10.4million Instagram followers made no mention of the storm raging in the upper echelons of the Royal Family, as the public clamour for answers in the wake of Wednesday night's shock statement continues to be met with a wall of silence. The six pictures were accompanied by the caption: 'These women came together in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy to cook meals for their families and neighbours who had been displaced from the fire. 'With funds from the successful cookbook, they have now been able to share their spirit of community with so many more. In September 2018, it was revealed Meghan had been secretly visiting the Hubb Community Kitchen to meet with the women who put together the 'Together: Our Community Cookbook', for which she wrote the foreword. The kitchen was opened in the aftermath of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy, and Meghan's support for the project is widely credited with spurring a surge of donations. Advertisement Though she admitted it sounded 'dramatic and cheesy', she called this her 're-birthday'. The 'reborn' Meghan was as good as her word. Soon after, she divorced Engelson (returning his wedding and engagement rings by post) and began a relationship with Cory Vitiello, a celebrity chef she met in Toronto, where she was filming Suits, the TV soap that brought her the fame she craved. She also ditched her old friends in Los Angeles to join a more elevated circle in her 'adopted city', as she calls it, among them her baby-minder in absentia this week, Jessica Mulroney, the high-end stylist married to former Canadian Prime Minister's son Ben Mulroney. Those she 'ghosted' say they were so ruthlessly expunged from Meghan's new life that it was as though they had ceased to exist. Now, although she and Harry have deigned to pledge their support for the Queen, she has effectively dismissed the Royal Family in a similar manner. The news was greeted with a knowing sigh by Engelson's uncle, Mickey-Miles Felton. 'Meghan is very opinionated and doesn't like being told what to do,' he told me, adding: 'She knew what she was getting into when she married Harry. But we won't be gloating over this. That's not our style.' Mr Felton, 75, a top U.S. lacrosse coach, uses a sporting analogy to describe Meghan's 'desertion'. 'It's like me signing up to coach a team knowing it'll be a big challenge, then quitting as soon as the going gets tough,' he said. Meghan and Harry say they will live between Britain and North America. So, where might they settle across the Atlantic? A lover of the great outdoors since her childhood, when she fished and hiked on camping trips with her father, Meghan has a long-standing affection for Vancouver Island, where she and Harry spent their extended winter break, and where their momentous decision appears to have been finalised. Intriguingly, I am told that, in the dying days of her marriage to Engelson, he and Meghan retreated to the island, with its magnificent forests and wild coastline, in a last-ditch attempt to reconcile their differences. They stayed in a house belonging to the family of her fellow Suits cast member Patrick Adams. However, it is probably too remote for Meghan and Harry to make their home there. The betting among those I spoke to is that they will base themselves in Toronto, where, almost four years ago, their romance began. Leaving aside the harsh winter weather (the temperature sank to -17C two nights ago) there are many reasons they might return there. For one thing it is a city where privacy is sacrosanct and even the most famous celebrity could walk the streets without being troubled. For another, it is a short hop from New York and only five hours flying time from Los Angeles, where Doria lives. Then there are the many influential friends Meghan made there, the free-and-easy ambience and liberal attitudes, not to mention some of her favourite shops, restaurants, parks and yoga studios. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave holding hands after visiting Canada House in London on Tuesday where they gave thanks for the warm Canadian hospitality, despite knowing that they would be making a swift return days later Former next-door neighbour, Bill Kapetanos, 77, is confident she and Harry will choose to raise baby Archie in Toronto. 'Everything they need as a family is here, and the Canadians will leave them in peace, which seems to be what they want,' said Mr Kapetanos. He was among the first to see Harry secretly visiting Meghan at the house she rented in Seaton Village and often chatted to her over the garden fence. They will probably choose a more exclusive suburb, such as Rosedale or Deer Park where their friends the Mulroneys have their mansion. But settling there could present one drawback. They would almost certainly find themselves in the same circle as old flame Vitiello. A dog owner has issued a stark warning over the use of Zoflora after her pet was left with a life-threatening condition because of the disinfectant's main active ingredient. Its bacteria-killing power and heavenly smells make the disinfectant a firm favourite in UK households, especially after being continually endorsed by the likes of Instagram cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch. However, Donna Brydon's dog was left ill after ingesting the product while visiting her sister in Kilwinning in North Ayrshire, Scotland In a Facebook post, she revealed her 'poor furbaby' - 12-week old King Charles spaniel, Skye - was left lethargic and with badly swollen eyes because of the powerful chemicals it contains. MailOnline has approached Zoflora for comment. Donna Brydon took to Facebook with a warning after her pet dog, a 12-week old King Charles spaniel called Skye, was poisoned by an ingredient in the popular cleaning product 'I thought my poor furbaby was on her wayout,' she wrote on her Facebook page, adding: 'She was so sleepy and her eye swelled up. Straight to the vet and this was the answer. 'Amanda Kirkland had just washed her floor with Zoflora and it's poison to some dogs. 'So thankfully the medication the vet gave her has made her feel so much better. Love her wee face so much.' The ingredient that can harm pets within the product is benzalkonium chloride, a soluble organic salt known to be corrosive to the eyes and irritating to the skin, in both humans and animals. 'I thought my poor furbaby was on her wayout,' Donna wrote on her Facebook, adding: 'She was so sleepy and her eye swelled up' alongside a picture of the poor pup The ingredient that can harm animals within the product is benzalkonium chloride, a soluble organic salt known to be corrosive to the eyes and irritating to the skin It is likely that Donna's beloved pet ingested some of the disinfectant, whether that was directly from the floor or from grooming its paws after walking on a surface cleaned with the solution is unknown. Nicola Robinson, a vet and head of service at the Veterinary Poisons Information Service, told The Sun that benzalkonium chloride is particularly toxic in cats and 'can cause oral and tongue ulceration, hypersalivation and loss of appetite.' She added that its harder to keep the product away from our feline friends because they roam between houses. The Veterinary Poisons Information Service advises using 'more natural products' but Zoflora said that as long as the disinfected area is dry and the solution is 'correctly dilluted', pets should be fine. The Service also advises always using the guidelines for using Zoflora around all kinds of animals and children. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California could become the first state with its own prescription drug label. Newsom wants California, home to nearly 40 million people, to contract with generic drug companies to make prescription medications on its behalf so it could then sell them to the public. According to the governors office, the goal is to lower prices by increasing competition in the generic market. An example could be insulin for diabetes patients. The drug has been on the market for decades and has steadily increased in price. Three drug companies control most of the market for insulin. The cost of health care is just too damn high, and California is fighting back, Newsom said in a news release. State lawmakers must approve the plan before it can take effect. The idea is part of Newsoms forthcoming budget proposal, which he must present to the state Legislature by Friday. The governors office did not say how much the proposal would cost. The non-partisan Legislative Analysts Office says the state could have as much as a $7 billion surplus this year. Newsom, now in his second year in office, has sought to overhaul the states prescription drug market. Last year, in one of his first acts in office, Newsom ordered the state to take over the Medicaid programs prescription drug benefits, a program that affects 13 million people. That order also directed state agencies to begin buying drugs in bulk and using their leverage to negotiate lower prices. This year, Newsoms budget proposal would expand on that by creating a single market for drug pricing within the state. The governors office says drug makers would have to bid to sell their drugs in the state at a uniform price. READ: California governor seeks $1 billion to target homelessness This is the second budget proposal Newsom has announced this year. On Wednesday, he announced another $1 billion in spending to combat the state's growing homelessness problem. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. A new Italian restaurant in Buffalo has been named a top place to eat in 2020 by Yelp. The business directory and crowd-sourcing app released their annual list of must-visit restaurants for the new year, including Inizio at 534 Elmwood Ave. in Buffalo, NY. Opened in July 2019, the six-month-old Italian restaurant made number 86 on the list. The restaurant offers pasta made in-house, small plates, and several gluten-free options. According to Inizios Yelp page, their top items include cacio e pepe (translated to cheese and pepper), squid ink pasta, a romaine salad which is the restaurants twist on a traditional Caesar salad, and the panna cotta. Inizio is owned by Buffalo native, Chef Michael Gibney. BuffaloNews reports that he returned after being away for 18 years, working in high-end restaurants in New York City and Boulder, CO. After working in NYC kitchens from Greenwich Village, Brooklyn, and even Times Square, Gibney published his experiences in the book Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line." To determine Yelps Top Places to Eat in 2020, Yelps data science team pulled the top restaurants by ratings and number of reviews in 2019 across the U.S., with representation based on each places share of top-rated restaurants nationally, then curated the list with the expertise of our Community Managers around the country to finalize the rankings. Head to the Yelp blog to read the list of all 100 top places to eat in 2020. Read more Buffalos Beef on Weck: The Contenders Food Halls in Buffalo: Plenty of choices for all taste buds A dining guide to the 716: 50 cant-miss places to eat in Western NY Catwoman reunites with an old flame (and meets a new mystery man) as Tini Howard takes over DC ongoing comic Catwoman returns to Gotham City, with a nod to Les Miserables If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Naomi Fry in The New Yorker: The thought-provoking Israeli documentary Advocate, from the directors Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche, opens with its subject, the human-rights lawyer Lea Tsemel, making her way resolutely toward the elevators at the district court in Tel Aviv. A short and solidly built woman in her seventies, with a mop of dark hair and kohl-rimmed eyes, Tsemel is on her way to the courthouses detention cells to meet with a client. Is it going down? she asks as she approaches the elevators nearly closed doors, before sticking her leg between them and muscling her way in. Lea, what will become of you? When will you mend your ways? a man inside the elevator asks her. Who, me? Im a lost cause, she answers. The exchange is joshing, but Tsemel, an Israeli Jew who has been practicing human-rights law since 1972, is a controversial figure in her countryone whose determination to thrust a tenacious leg forward and crack open the doors of the uniform Zionist narrative has often been met with her compatriots deep anger. In her first trial, she defended members of the Arab-Jewish cell Red Front. Their leader, Udi Adiv, a politically radicalized former I.D.F. paratrooper, was charged with treason for delivering classified information to Syria. (Adiv claimed that he was attempting to work toward the liberation of the Palestinian people.) Over the past four-and-a-half decades, Tsemel has focussed her practice on defending Palestinians who, as she explains in a TV interview from the nineties that is included in the documentary, you call terrorists, but that the average person in the world would call freedom fighters. More here. London: Britian's Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have stunned the nation by announcing plans to step back as senior royals to divide time between the UK and US, a move being viewed as a split within the UK's royal household. In an extraordinary statement released on Wednesday night, the couple announced plans to step back from their current roles and split their time between the UK and North America with their eight-month-old son, Archie. Buckingham Palace described the process as "complicated" as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their intention after months of "reflection" to become financially independent and set up their own charitable entity as they carve out a new role for themselves in the New Year. "We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen," their statement notes. It adds: "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth and our patronages. "This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. As the couple unveiled their exciting next step, it seemed that the other royals, including Harry's 93-year-old grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, were taken by surprise. Their announcement, branded online as 'Megxit', has been described as "personal" and had not been approved by the palace. "Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through,? a Buckingham Palace statement noted in response. According to the BBC, the palace was ?blindsided? by the announcement as the couple did not consult any senior royal before issuing the unprecedented statement. Harry, 35, is sixth in line to the British throne, a position he will retain within the line of succession. He married 38-year-old former American actress Meghan Markle in May 2018 and the couple had son Archie in May last year. They had a particularly difficult year in 2019 when they spoke out about the media glare on their role in a television documentary and decided to take legal action against British tabloids over breach of privacy. Also, Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' absence from Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton's last two birthdays has stoked rumours of a royal rift between Prince William and Harry, the Daily Express reported. The latest move was finalised during a six-week sabbatical by the royal couple on Vancouver Island in Canada over Christmas. Their future plans are roughly outlined on their Sussex Royal website, where it says they will be making a ?transition to a new working model? and not be dependent on the Sovereign Grant of UK taxpayer funding to the royal family. Harry has some personal wealth through the money left to him by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, but he is supported by money from his father Prince Charles as well as the public funding. Under current rules, the pair are "prohibited from earning income in any form", but in their new stepped back roles they would be free to follow other title-holding royals in having full-time jobs. The costs of their official overseas visits will continue to be funded by the Sovereign Grant and contributions from the host country as appropriate. Harry and Meghan are classified as "internationally protected people", which means they must have armed security provided by Scotland Yard and they have indicated plans to hold on to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor as their family home in the UK. The couple are expected to continue their charitable work through the launch of their new Sussex Royal Foundation, which was set up after they separated from Prince William and wife Kate Middleton's foundation last year. The new charity is expected to be global, linked to Africa and the US, rather than with a UK focus and will have a commitment to female empowerment in line with Meghan's work before marriage. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex take great pride in their work and are committed to continuing their charitable endeavours as well as establishing new ones,? notes a statement on the official Duke and Duchess of Sussex website. The site also highlighted the couple's disdain for the British mainstream media, which has been tracking Meghan's strained relationship with her estranged father Thomas Markle, as their statement indicated plans to favour ?grassroots media organisations? and their own social media accounts. The couple are formally withdrawing from the royal rota, or the palace system that allows papers to share joint coverage of royal events, blaming ?frequent misreporting? and say their new strategy would enable them to share more with the public directly. But royal historian Prof Kate Williams said it will be "difficult" for Harry and Meghan to lead "normal" lives, as media interest in them will increase after their "unprecedented" move. "Harry and Meghan are global celebrities. Meghan was already famous (due to her former acting career)" as was Harry, who will become even "more significant" when his father - and later his brother - becomes king," William told the BBC. India curbs palm oil imports from Malaysia over their PMs anti-CAA stance Economic and diplomatic ties between India and Malaysia ties are likely to take a hit with New Delhi deciding to put curbs on palm oil imports from the South Asian country, reportedly following Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad's comments criticising the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM) said the ban meant Malaysia would now have to compete on crude palm sales to India. Photo courtesy: Pixabay India will now be urging Indonesia for more oil imports, a move that is likely to spark a price war between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta and also result in a loss of market share for Malaysia. Per reports, the Malaysian PM criticised the new citizenship law and questioned its "necessity" during a summit in Kuala Lumpur last month. New Delhi reacted to Mohamed's comments with the Ministry of External Affairs issuing a statement calling Mohamad's remarks "factually inaccurate" and said that the Malaysian Prime Minister, "has yet again remarked on a matter that is entirely internal to India". New Delhi also asked Malaysia "to refrain from commenting on internal developments in India, especially without a right understanding of the facts". Mahathir had in October criticised the revocation of Article 370 granting Jammu and Kashmir autonomy, stating that India "invaded and occupied" Kashmir, which had led to an Indian government advisory calling for importers to switch to buying palm oil from Indonesia. Member of the central government coalition in Malaysia P Ramasamy has questioned the Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and has said that he "may not have understood the purpose of the new amendment to the citizenship law in India." The Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM) said the ban meant Malaysia would now have to compete on crude palm sales to India, where Indonesia has traditionally been more cost-competitive. Malaysia last year overtook Indonesia as India's biggest palm oil supplier. Its been a terrible start to the year notably with the loss of 176 souls aboard flight PS752, unintentionally shot down by the Iranian military. The tragedy followed the opening round of the next US presidential election, which took the form of an assassination drone deployed into the powder keg of the Middle East. Forgive me if you have sought my advice in the past few days and I have so far failed to respond. Forgive me, too, if I have responded at least if you are among the many prospective holidaymakers who have asked whether they should forfeit their planned trip to Dubai in the next few days or weeks. My six-word response may have seemed unhelpfully brief: I wouldn't. Have a great trip. Let me expand upon it now, with a special nod to Gary, Hazel and Terry who, I hope, will meet next weekend in Southeast Asia, since they all happen to have contacted me about one specific cruise. Celebrity Constellation sails out of Singapore next Friday. Over the following two weeks she will call at a series of spicy and exotic locations including the Thai island of Phuket, Colombo, Cochin, Mumbai and Muscat. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Her finale comprises a cruise through the Strait of Hormuz followed by two nights in Dubai. I can think of worse ways to spend the second half of January. Yet each of those people says they are on the verge of cancelling because of events in the Gulf. Which, at the risk of sounding harsh, looks an odd decision. The geography of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf has not changed with the start of a new year. Dubai, where the cruise ends, is still 100 miles from the shores of Iran. The Strait of Hormuz remains 25 miles across at its narrowest point, and the waters are still shared between Iran and Oman. You may think the cruise trio are wisely displaying an abundance of caution in uncertain times. After all, would any sensible traveller choose to visit a place where the Foreign Office says: Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks or for which the State Department warns: Anti-western terrorist groups, some on the US government's list of foreign terrorist organisations, are active? Well, Gary, Hazel and Terry did. Because those cautions are, respectively, the official UK advice for Sri Lanka and America warning about India. Exactly the same official advice prevailed when they booked voyages on Celebrity Constellation calling in on those great nations. By comparison, the current warnings for the other locations, including Dubai, look mild. Were I fortunate enough to be onboard, the marine highlight would be the very last leg, through the Strait of Hormuz. Like its counterparts, the Bosphorus and the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the conduit between two worlds. To starboard, the might of Iran and central Asia; to port, the filigree fjords of Omans Musandam peninsula provide an overture to Arabia. And if her captain and crew are prepared to make this part of the voyage, I am happy to sail with them. Gary, Hazel and Terry could choose to miss the spectacle by jumping ship at Muscat and continuing by road to Dubai for their flights home. But travelling 280 miles overland in a part of the world with a horrifying road death toll looks too risky to me. Instead, they should make the most of the opportunity to sail this particular itinerary on Celebrity Constellation, because she will soon go west. Plans to base her in Dubai next winter were scrapped in August. Instead, perhaps through an abundance of caution, she will sail from Tampa in Florida into a very different body of water: the Gulf of Mexico. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (FM) Pham Binh Minh had meetings with countries leaders and foreign ministers that took part in a ministerial-level open debate held by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on January 9. Foreign minister Pham Binh Minh had talks with his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu at UN headquarters on January 9. VNA/VNS Photo In his meeting with Urmas Reinsalu, Foreign Minister of Estonia, a country that is also a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2020-2021, Minh suggested the two countries continue to strengthen bilateral relations, especially in trade and investment, and closely coordinate at the council, thus contributing to the UNs peace and security activities. Reinsalu congratulated Vietnam on its position as president of the UNSC, saying that his country supports Vietnams priorities to address conflicts and cybersecurity, and improve the working methods of the UN. Estonia attaches importance to strengthening its relations with Vietnam and other ASEAN members, especially as Vietnam acts as the chair of the group this year. He urged the two countries to expand cooperation in the fields of their strength such as agriculture and digital technology. Meanwhile, Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto said his country treasures its ties with Vietnam, and hopes to enhance multi-faceted cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation. He called on the two sides to accelerate the implementation of projects invested by Hungary in Vietnam. For his part, Minh agreed that the two countries need to coordinate to successfully hold activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties. He said after the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) are approved, they will contribute to promoting trade ties between Vietnam and the EU in general, and Hungary in particular. Meeting with the Vietnamese official, Michelle Muntefering, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, spoke highly of Vietnams dual responsibility as the chair of ASEAN and a non-permanent member of the UNSC. He hoped his country and Vietnam will expand coordination at regional and global forums, including the UNSC. The two sides discussed measures to push trade and investment relations, especially tapping opportunities when the EVFTA and the EVIPA are ratified. They also underlined the need to maintain peace, stability, aviation security and safety in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea). In a meeting between Minh and Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves, the two sides agreed to consider negotiating a framework agreement to create a foundation for cooperation between the two countries. Deputy PM and FM Minh conveyed Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs invitation to Gonsalves to visit Vietnam. VNS A team of leading scientists from Bath University UK, the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and the Colorado School of Mines USA has secured funding from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop better methods to assess the performance of topically applied drug products. These include creams and lotions for conditions like acne, psoriasis and eczema. Accurate, reproducible and non-invasive methods are necessary to effectively analyze topical drug delivery. Current approaches (such as skin penetration tests, microdialysis and tape-stripping) can be time-consuming, expensive and technically challenging. Therefore, both industry and the regulatory authorities are motivated to identify standardized, reproducible, and validated protocols that accurately reflect the quality and performance of these drug products. The project brings experts in advanced Raman spectroscopy and mass spectrometry imaging at NPL together with world leaders in topical drug delivery and formulation, dermal pharmacokinetic modelling and skin bioavailability at Bath University and Colorado School of Mines to address this challenge. NPL contributes a specialized imaging technique stimulated Raman spectroscopy a non-invasive, accurate and sensitive tool to determine the rate and extent at which a topically administered drug becomes available at its site of action within the skin. The method enables analysis of the drug and quantification of its transport across the skin in real time. Alongside this, NPLs mass spectrometry imaging expertise enables the results from the Raman experiments to be rigorously calibrated and validated. A key challenge that the team aim to overcome is to distinguish the signal from the drug in the skin from the background signals originating from the skin itself. These powerful imaging techniques will provide complementary information to allow a detailed analysis of drugs that are applied to the skin. This will lead to new and accurate methods for the measurement and standardization of topically applied drugs and, ultimately, the development and broader accessibility of more effective products. Professor Richard Guy at Bath University explained: The project aims to develop and validate a novel and noninvasive application of Raman and mass spectroscopic techniques to evaluate the bioavailability of a topically applied drug in the skin. The successful attainment of this objective will advance regulatory science and accelerate the route-to-market of new drug products. Dr Natalie Belsey, Senior Research Scientist at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) said: Algiers, 6 January 2020 (SPS) - Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune has reiterated Algeria's commitment to the consistent support of just issues, especially the Western Sahara issue. During his presidency of the Council of Ministers on Sunday, following the formation of the new Algerian government, Mr. Tebboune stressed Algeria's rejection to interference in the affairs of other countries and that it will respond vigorously to any attempt of interfering in its national affairs, which remains the foundation of its commitment to peace and security in the region, the Maghreb, Africa and the world, as well as its commitment to the constant support of just issues, especially the issue of Western Sahara and Palestinian issues. He emphasized that Algeria should not in any way give up its duty of solidarity and good-neighborliness, which continues to promote through cooperation aimed at achieving a regional integration that is beneficial to all parties. (SPS) 062/SPS/T 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? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). The controversial governor of Kenyas capital Nairobi has asked a court to lift the freeze on his bank accounts. The Kenyan authorities have frozen five accounts of Mike Sonko that are suspected to be holding proceeds of corruption. The Asset Recovery Agency, a state agency that recovers proceeds of crime, is investigating the accounts in connection to suspicious transactions at the Nairobi county government. But Mr Sonko said in his request that he cannot financially support himself, the Star newspaper reports. The governors lawyer has also questioned the validity of the court order used by the agency to freeze the accounts, according to Citizen TV. Last month Mr Sonko was barred from accessing his office by an anti-corruption court until he is cleared of charges of awarding tenders worth 357 million Kenyan He has vowed to fight the allegations, saying they are part of a witch-hunt carried out for political reasons. The director of public prosecutions Noordin Haji previously said he had enough evidence to prosecute Mr Sonko, and other officials, for money laundering and unlawful acquisition of public property. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Almost 10,000 street lights across Northern Ireland are out of order, according to an MLA. Mid Ulster SDLP representative Patsy McGlone said yesterday he'd been given the shock figure by the Department for Infrastructure. Expenditure on street light repairs in 2018-19 was 2.6m, while the current 2019-20 budget is just 0.9m, according to the department. Mr McGlone called for urgent action to remedy the street light blackout. "Over recent months we have been reporting street lighting faults on an almost daily basis in every part of my constituency," he said. "The response has sadly been that, due to budgetary constraints, the department is only providing a limited street lighting repair service, with priority given to emergency repairs, group outages and all day burners, followed by single light defects." Mr McGlone said good street lighting was essential to deter crime and give residents a sense of security. He expressed concern at the scale of the blackout. "This is alarming," he added. "Adequate street lighting is imperative to provide safe streets, deter crime and anti-social behaviour and - crucially -provides elderly residents with security and safety and the assurance that they are not isolated and alone. "In some areas a single light can be 50% of the lighting in a cul-de-sac, so the fact that one light is out makes a real difference. "I was advised this was due to budgetary constraints and, until additional funds became available, only a limited repair service would be possible. "I subsequently sought an intervention from the permanent secretary and sought details as to the extent of the problem. "To my astonishment, the department have now confirmed that almost 10,000 lights are out at present across the north. "This is unacceptable and is a direct result of budget cuts. "Do people really think that when you strip out vital financial and human resources from a basic service that it will have no impact?" Two years ago a Department for Infrastructure internal document said it was possible that all street lights in Northern Ireland may have to be switched off in 2020 if no new money was found to maintain and replace them. In the 'best possible' scenario, the budget document warned that a quarter of all Northern Ireland's 286,000 street lights would go dark. While the current figure of 10,000 is nowhere close to the 70,000 lights in that particular prediction, it still represents a significant worsening from the position in January 2018, when 8,811 lights were reported to be out of action by Stormont officials. The Department for Infrastructure was approached for a response to Mr McGlone's claims, but had not responded by the time we went to press. U.S. former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, talks to Classicist Mary Beard, at the Southbank Centre in London during the launch of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience, a book by Chelsea and Hillary Clinton, in London, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. Read more WASHINGTON A Justice Department inquiry launched more than two years ago to mollify conservatives clamoring for more investigations of Hillary Clinton has effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything. John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, was tapped in November 2017 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to look into concerns raised by President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress that the FBI had not fully pursued cases of possible corruption at the Clinton Foundation and during her time as secretary of state, when the U.S. government decided not to block the sale of a company called Uranium One. As a part of his review, Huber examined documents and conferred with federal law enforcement officials in Little Rock, Arkansas, who were handling a meandering probe into the Clinton Foundation, people familiar with the matter said. Current and former officials said that Huber has largely finished and found nothing worth pursuing though the assignment has not formally ended and no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers, these people said. The effective conclusion of his investigation with no criminal charges or other known impacts is likely to roil some in the GOP who had hoped the prosecutor would vindicate their long-held suspicions about a political rival. Trump, though, has largely shifted his focus to a different federal prosecutor tapped to do a separate, special investigation: U.S. Attorney in Connecticut John Durham, who Attorney General William Barr assigned last year to explore the origins of the FBIs 2016 probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. That FBI investigation was being supervised by special counsel Robert Mueller III in late 2017 when Trump and his supporters were pressuring senior law enforcement officials to appoint a second special counsel to pursue Clinton. "Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn't looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary and the Dems," the president tweeted at the time. Sessions did not appoint a second special counsel, but weeks later sent a letter to Huber telling him to "review" a wide array of issues related to Clinton. They included the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One matters, along with the FBI's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and alleged leaks by former FBI Director James Comey. At the time, the attorney general was facing persistent public and private criticism from Trump, who was upset over his recusal from the Russia probe. "Your recommendations should include whether any matters not currently under investigation warrants the opening of an investigation, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources or further investigation, and whether any matters would merit the appointment of a Special Counsel," Sessions wrote. A spokeswoman for Huber referred questions to Justice Department headquarters, where a spokeswoman declined to comment. Conservative lawmakers, particularly then-House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and members of the Freedom Caucus, were initially encouraged by Hubers assignment, seeing it as a sign that Clinton faced new legal jeopardy. Huber was prosecutor with bipartisan credentials having been named the U.S. attorney first by President Barack Obama before he was retained in the Trump administration. But from the start, senior officials inside the Justice Department viewed Hubers task as unlikely to lead to anything of significance beyond appeasing those angry lawmakers and the president. "We didn't expect much of it, and neither did he," said one person familiar with the matter who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity due to persistent political sensitivities connected to the 2016 election. "And as time went on, a lot of people just forgot about it." A spokesman for Sessions declined to comment. Clinton and her family have been subjected to significant law enforcement and other scrutiny over the years though the various probes have mostly delivered reputational blows, rather than legal ones. When she ran against Trump in 2016, the FBI probed her use of a private email server to determine if she had mishandled classified information when she was secretary of state. Officials ultimately determined the case should be closed without charges. The State Department more recently concluded a multiyear probe of its own into the matter, but concluded there was no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information by employees. The Clinton family foundation has separately faced investigation over the years on vague corruption allegations, though so far those probes have not produced any charges. Huber's work has been distinct from a number of sensitive investigations into politically fraught cases, including Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's probes of the FBI's handling of the Trump campaign investigation, and the FBI investigation into how Clinton used the private email server. Those two investigations resulted in lengthy reports documenting FBI missteps and failures. Huber's assignment was separate from the ongoing investigation overseen by Durham, and Justice Department officials believe the Connecticut U.S. attorney's work will be far more consequential. Durham is weighing whether to charge a former FBI lawyer for altering an internal email that misled other officials on a key fact related to surveillance applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He is also looking into other issues surrounding FBI and CIA activities during the Russia investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. Huber's tasking was nebulous from the start. Some people involved in the matters he was said to be reviewing expressed surprise that they were not contacted by the U.S. attorney, and wondered privately what he was doing. Some in the Justice Department considered him more reviewer than investigator. He would get involved, people familiar with the matter said, only if other cases were not being handled properly. By the time Mueller filed his lengthy report in the spring of 2019, Huber's work was largely done, these people said. When Trump pushed Sessions out of the Justice Department in November 2018, Matthew Whitaker became acting attorney general. Whitaker, according to people familiar with the conversations, tried to push Huber to be more aggressive in his work, but Huber felt he had looked at everything he could and that there was not much more to do, these people said. Whitaker did not respond to messages seeking comment. After Barr was confirmed as attorney general in early 2019, the department had still said nothing publicly about the result of Huber's work, focusing instead on releasing Mueller's findings. Barr, who served as attorney general during the George H.W. Bush administration as well, was among the conservative voices in Washington who had previously suggested there was possible criminal wrongdoing in the Uranium One matter, though he tempered those comments during his confirmation. Republicans questioned whether there was misconduct in the U.S. governments decision to not block a 2010 acquisition in which Russias atomic energy agency, Rosatom, acquired a controlling stake in Uranium One, a Toronto-based company. The deal meant that Rosatom got rights to about 20 percent of the uranium extraction capacity in the United States. That transaction had a tenuous connection to Clinton, who was running the State Department at the time. Under obscure government rules, the deal required approval from a multiagency board because it involved giving a foreign government control of an American business commodity with national security implications. The board, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, is composed of representatives from nine different agencies, including the State Department. Clinton herself was never on the CFIUS board. In rare cases, CFIUS can decide to intervene and block a corporate merger or acquisition if the board feels the risk to U.S. national security is too great. Conservatives questioned whether Clinton may have manipulated CFIUS to let the acquisition proceed, but current and former officials have denied that, saying such a decision was handled well below the level of the secretary of state. Conservatives also demanded an aggressive investigation into whether wealthy individuals and governments may have made donations to the Clinton Foundation in the hopes of getting favors from the State Department. That investigation became the subject of escalating tensions within the FBI and Justice Department in 2016, and was restarted after the election, but has not gained traction, according to people familiar with the matter. A questionnaire was handed over to Hafiz Saeed by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Friday which is hearing a terror financing case against the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief. Saeed's lawyers -- Naseeruddin Nayyar and Muhammad Imran Fazal Gul -- did not present any defence witnesses before the court, a court official said. "Deputy Prosecution General Abdur Rauf submitted the questionnaire for Hafiz Saeed in the Anti-Terrorism Court-I, Lahore here on Friday which was handed over to him (Saeed) for reply," the official told PTI after the hearing in terror financing case against the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and his three close aides. The court adjourned the hearing till Saturday. The content of the questionnaire was not known. Handing over a questionnaire to a prime suspect in the terror financing case seems weird, a lawyer said. "Why not Saeed was asked to record his statement in the court? Handing over a questionnaire regarding terror financing to Saeed means that the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police, which arrested him, was not allowed to quiz him," the lawyer said. Saeed and his aides -- Hafiz Abdul Salam, Muhammad Ashraf and Prof Zafar Iqbal -- were produced to the court in high security. On Thursday cross examination of prosecution witnesses against Saeed and others concluded during which the prosecution had produced a number of witnesses. The ATC indicted Saeed and others on December 11 in terror financing case. The Counter Terrorism Department has registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17. He is being held at the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the LeT which carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gauri Lankesh murder case: Maharashtra Police to seek info on accused held in Jharkhand India pti-PTI Mumbai, Jan 10: The Maharashtra Police would seek information from its Karnataka counterpart whether Rushikesh Devdikar, arrested in the , was also linked to the killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Friday. Personnel of the Karnataka Special Investigation Team, set up to probe Lankesh's killing, arrested Devdikar alias Murali (44), from Katras near Dhanbad in Jharkhand, on Thursday evening. Devdikar is accused number 18 in the case, Karnataka police have said. "We will seek information from the Karnataka government on whether there is a link of Devdikar with the murders of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare," Deshmukh said. While Lankesh was killed on September 5, 2017 in front of her house in Bengaluru, Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while he was on a morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries on February 20. The Dabholkar case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while a state police SIT is investigating the killing of Pansare. Meanwhile, the owner of the shop in Aurangabad, which Devdikar had taken on rent for a couple of years, said he used to sell Ayurveda products there. Jagdish Kulkarni, owner of the shop located in the Aurangabad's M2 area, said, "Devdikar used to sell Patanjali products in the shop. He would pay rent on time. He ran the business for about two years- between 2014 and 2016." Yeshwant Shukla, who had rented his house in Aurangabad to Devdikar, remembers him as a man of few words. "We rented the house to Devdikar in February 2016. He wanted a house on the ground floor for his elderly parents. At the time of finalising the deal, he stayed here for about one-and-a-half months at a stretch, his longest at this place," he said. "Devdikar then shifted to Solapur, but his parents continued to stay at the house till April 2019. He used to visit the parents once in a while just for a day," Shukla said. Devdikar's parents later shifted to Mumbai, where their another son resided, he added. "Rushikesh's involvement in ther Gauri Lankesh case has come as a shock to all of us," he said. Katie Jarvis has made her first acting appearance since it was revealed she worked as a a security guard at bargain store B&M last year. The former EastEnders star, 28, appeared in Million Youth Media's short film Take Me, which was released on YouTube in December, and sees her play a mother named Katy who struggles to make ends meet. In the gripping drama, directed by Cornelius Walker, Katy works in sales while her husband John (Oliver Alvin-Wilson) has two jobs - but they're still find that they're unable to support their son Connor's school trip. New job: Ex EastEnders star Katie Jarvis made her first acting appearance in short film Take Me, which was released in December, after it was revealed she had a job as a security guard Keen to make some quick cash for Katy decides to sell drugs for a dealer, but soon her decision comes back to haunt her as the police arrive at her home with a search warrant. When they find the drugs Katie's character and her husband are almost taken in by the authorities, but are saved when their eldest son Jay (Jedial Stiling) decides to take the blame for them. The short film was shared as part of the YouTube Channel's weekly release schedule and the platform was founded by Fully Focused Productions. Job: The former EastEnders star was pictured during a break from her job as a security guard at bargain store B&M in Romford, East London, last year Struggle: In the gripping drama, Katy works in sales while her husband John has two jobs - but they're still find that they're unable to support their son Connor's school trip In October Katie admitted she was 'hurt and embarrassed' for being 'made to feel ashamed for having a normal job'. The former EastEnders star was pictured during a break from her job as a security guard at bargain store B&M in Romford, East London, last year prompting an outpouring of support from the acting community. The star - who raises children Lillie-Mae, 10, and Alfie, eight - said she is proud to speak out on behalf of hard-working single mums because providing for her family is paramount to her. Speaking with Grazia magazine, Katie said: 'It's the nature of being an actor; gigs come and go, and after my contract with EastEnders ended in February, I found a new job as soon as I could. 'Doing work like this is also what keeps me grounded.' Katie revealed she 'crumbled' and was left in tears after a friend alerted her to the front page news. Upset: In October, Katie admitted she was 'hurt and embarrassed' for being 'made to feel ashamed for having a normal job' But upon reflection and thanks to the support of fellow thespians from Tamzin Outwaite to Nathalie Emmanuel, she is 'proud' to have changed the conversation. 'Their support gave me the strength to speak out and stand up for hard-working people - especially single mums', she told the magazine. Katie insisted her priority in life in naturally caring for her two children, saying: 'As long as I'm providing for them, nothing else matters. Everything I do is for them.' Work: Katie's soap character was last seen on screen in February last year when Stacey Fowler, played by Lacey Turner, went to hospital to collect her after treatment for her mental health She found fame in Hollywood before winning a part in the BBC soap with her breakthrough film 2009's Fish Tank. And she admitted that even from the beginning of the acting career, she was supplementing her acting income with extra work. In an appearance on Victoria Derbyshire at the time the pictures were released, Katie said: 'At 17 when I got Fish Tank I was doing doughnuts with my uncle at the time at festivals and things like that so I'd go on there and do the food carts. 'I've been a waitress, I've worked at a credit card company, I've done admin, I've done all types of things.' Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents advertisements NASA graduates new class of astronauts to join Artemis-era missions January 10, 2020 NASA's newest astronauts are ready to come out of their shells and walk on the moon. Nicknamed the "Turtles," the space agency's 22nd class of astronauts graduated from basic training and became eligible for spaceflight assignments on Friday (Jan. 10). A ceremony held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston honored the 11 Americans, together with two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts who trained with them. "Two years ago, this group of new astronuts arrived here at Johnson for the very first time and they already came in with very impressive resumes. Now they have become part of an elite group of people qualified for spaceflight and ready to train for the exciting missions ahead," said Mark Geyer, director of the Johnson Space Center. "They are beginning a journey that will take them on voyages of exploration like humankind has never seen before," said Geyer. The new class, which includes six women and seven men, expands NASA's active corps to 48 members. CSA has now doubled its ranks to four with the graduation of this, its fourth group of astronauts. Selected in 2017 from record-setting pools of candidates, the new astronauts are the first to receive their astronaut pins under NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. The class members may be some of the first astronauts to fly to the moon since the Apollo program 50 years ago, or they may be assigned to launch to the International Space Station aboard U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. "They represent the first wave of NASA's Artemis generation astronauts," said Jim Bridenstine, NASA's Administrator. "In addition to expeditions on the International Space Station, these astronauts could one day, in fact, walk on the moon as part of the Artemis program and perhaps one of them could be among the first humans to walk on Mars." "The significance of being the first class in the Artemis generation cannot be understated. Artemis, in greek mythology, is the goddess of the moon. She is also called the 'torch bringer' and we think about the light that you are going to bring not just to the United States of America but to all of the world," said Bridenstine. "This time, when we go to the moon, we will go with a very diverse, highly-qualified astronaut corps that includes women. We are so proud of what you guys are going to achieve," he said. To arrive at this point, the Turtles (nicknamed such by the prior astronaut class, the "8-Balls," after a joke about turtles on fenceposts), were put through more than two years of basic training. They took part in neutral buoyancy underwater dives to learn how to spacewalk, were sent out on geology field trips, received training in operating robotics and were taught wilderness survival skills. They also became proficient in space station systems, took Russian language classes, experienced weightlessness on parabolic aircraft flights and flew NASA's T-38 supersonic jets. Astronaut candidates graduate. Click to enlarge in a new pop-up window. (NASA) The NASA members of the Turtles include: Kayla Barron, a 32-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant who served as a submarine warfare officer and the flag aide to the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. Zena Cardman, 32, a marine biologist who studied microorganisms in subsurface environments, ranging from caves to deep sea sediments, on multiple expeditions to Antarctica and NASA analog missions in British Columbia, Idaho and Hawaii. Raja Chari, a 42-year-old U.S. Air Force colonel who served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. Matthew Dominick, 38, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who served on the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier as department head for a strike fighter squadron. Bob Hines, 44, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight test pilot and NASA research pilot at Johnson Space Center. Warren "Woody" Hoburg, 34, a commercial pilot and search and rescue unit member who led a research group as an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jonny Kim, a 36-year-old Navy SEAL, who completed more than 100 combat operations before becoming a physician resident in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Jasmin Moghbeli, a 36-year-old U.S. Marine Corps major who tested H-1 helicopters and served as the quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 in Yuma, Arizona. Loral O'Hara, 36, a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, where she worked on deep-ocean research submersibles and robots. Francisco "Frank" Rubio, a 44-year-old U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and served as a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado. Jessica Watkins, 31, worked at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and California Institute of Technology, where she collaborated on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. The CSA members of the Turtles are: Joshua Kutryk, a 37-year-old Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant colonel who worked as an experimental test pilot and fighter pilot, leading the unit responsible for the operational flight-testing of fighter aircraft in Canada. Jennifer "Jenni" Sidey-Gibbons, 31, an engineer who conducted research on flame propagation in microgravity in collaboration with CSA and as an assistant professor in combustion at the University of Cambridge. "I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our newest astronaut class, the Turtles. I am confident that as part of the Artemis generation, you will bring scientific and technological advantages to this nation and, in fact, the world that right now we cannot even imagine," said Bridenstine. The Turtles originally included a 14th candidate, Robb Kulin, a private pilot who worked as the senior manager for flight reliability at SpaceX. Kulin resigned from NASA in 2018 "for personal reasons." Kulin is now director of engineering for Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based launch services company for small payloads. NASA has been training astronauts since 1959 and the selection of the original Mercury 7 pilots. Including the Turtles, the U.S. space agency has qualified 347 men and women for spaceflight and has trained 34 professional astronauts from Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency (ESA). The space agency plans to begin recruiting its next astronaut class in the spring. NASA's 22nd class of astronauts, the "Turtles," poses with NASA officals and Texas politicians at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. In the front row (from left) are, new astronauts Jonny Kim, Jessica Watkins, Kayla Barron, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, Zena Cardman and Raja Chari and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. In the back row (from left) are, Chief of the Astronuat Office Patrick Forrester, Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, new astronauts Joshua Kutryk, Jenni Sidey-Gibbon and Frank Rubio, Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, new astronauts Matthew Dominick, Bob Hines and Warren Hoburg, Johnson Space Center Deputy Director Vanessa Wyche and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman. (NASA) New NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron examine rock samples during geology training in Arizona. Together with their class members, the "Turtles" are now eligible for assignments on future Artemis missions to the moon's surface. (NASA/Bill Stafford) "Turtles" members Bob Hines, Matthew Dominick, Jasmin Moghbeli and Raja Chari, together with a plush turtle, float weightless aboard a Canadian jet during a parabolic flight. (NASA/Robert Markowitz) The "Turtles" 22nd astronaut class patch. (NASA) NASA's 22nd class of astronauts, the "Turtles," participate in graduation ceremonies at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. In the front row (from left) are, Kayla Barron, Zena Cardman, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Bob Hines and Warren Hoburg. In the back row (from left) are, Jonny Kim, Joshua Kutryk, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara and Frank Rubio, Jenni Sidey-Gibbon and Jessica Watkins. (NASA) NASA's 22nd class of astronauts, the "Turtles," participate in graduation ceremonies at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. From left are, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, CSA astronaut Jenni Sidey-Gibbon, NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, Zena Cardman, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Bob Hines and Woody Hoburg. (NASA) 2022 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved. With recent resignations and multiple ongoing crises, this Government has lost control of the Dail and cant last much longer, writes political correspondent Juno McEnroe FEARFUL of being picked off and cornered by the opposition over voters winter complaints, coalition figures have been searching for the exit door from this Government for a while now. There are mixed opinions about when an election should take place, but amid fresh new-year political hurdles, some ministers are keenly aware that the Fine Gael-led coalitions race has been run. It is not just a case of leaving behind parliamentary spats and offering voters shiny new spending promises in an election campaign. It is also because the Coalition has lost control of the Dail. Most importantly, there is little reason for Fianna Fail, under the Government support pact known as confidence and supply, to continue its arrangement with Fine Gael. That relationship is burnt. The numbers game in the Dail For many months now, TDs around the corridors of Leinster House have been quietly grumbling to themselves (and to those willing to listen) that this Dail is a walking dead parliament, where votes in the main matter little and where opposition is neutered under the confidence and supply deal. This is the do-nothing-Dail, they say. There is a sense of fatigue; ideas are spent; political strategies are stunted; progress on policies have come to a halt; and every week feels like Groundhog Day, where events repeat (or fail) ad nauseum. Of course, this is not necessarily the Coalitions fault. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his team will argue that they are overseeing previously outlined projects and policies, such as rural broadband, the construction of the national childrens hospitals, as well as health and housing reforms. But politics is often a numbers game. And the numbers are up for the Coalition. With the resignation of Cork North-Central TD Dara Murphy prior to the Christmas break and a pledge by rebel Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness to vote against the Government in any confidence motion, the Fine Gael- Independents administration is now left to stumble through Dail votes. Its control is uncertain when it comes to passing through legislation and any opposition threats to topple a minister could very well come to fruition. Such have been made by rural independent TDs this week, who now have their sights on embattled Health Minister Simon Harris and a possible vote against him and effectively the Governments position in February. The worst of the Brexit shambles (hopefully) is behind us Another change is that the shackles which prevented this Government (and Fianna Fail) from cutting loose and going to the polls have now been taken off. The rolling crises over Brexit have more or less come to an end for the moment. And while there were all sorts of fears of a disorderly British exit from the European Union for most of last year, the deal agreed by British prime minister Boris Johnson late last year, as well as his strengthened mandate after elections over there, mean that Brexit will now go ahead but, at least at this stage, without the prospect of a crash-out and all that that would entail for the Irish economy. Granted, sensitive trade talks lie ahead. But for the moment, the main political parties here are free to take risks and go to the country. Nobody is confident anymore about confidence and supply Agreed in May 2016, this pact keeps the Fine Gael-Independents coalition in office through the parliamentary support (or confidence) of Fianna Fail. In return, the main opposition party benefits from seeing some of its policies, such as funds for public services, making it into budgets. Always tenuous and likely to suffer breakdowns, this pact between Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin is now all but a rag, torn and frayed at the edges with blurry lines and illegible. Recent tense exchanges between the two party leaders show that the deal has reached its end; Fianna Fail TDs are champing at the bit to go to the polls; there is little sense that the deal has a purpose still; and remaining TD numbers in the Dail have removed parliamentary control from the pact. Theres no chance this pact can last much longer. And both leaders (and the country) know this. The inbox tray is almost empty While Fianna Fail says the continuation of the 32nd Dail would give more time to legislate for over-70s medical cards, to introduce new drug-law reforms, and to ease nursing home costs, many of its TDs are ready and eager to begin campaigning. For the Coalition, it continues to argue that ongoing reforms in health must go ahead and that the housing crisis is being tackled. Furthermore, the rural broadband contract has only recently been signed. There are also important EU-UK trade talks looming which will decide how Britain is treated when it leaves the union. Crucially, Ireland needs to ensure that these terms are favourable and facilitate Irelands ongoing 1bn a week trade with Britain. Pending climate change legislation has also yet to come before the Dail. But much of Fine Gaels 2016 election promises have either commenced, are complete, or are spent. While ministers (files in hand) will say they they are busy and have more work to do, the boxes for most of the biggest projects and Coalition ambitions have been ticked. For Fine Gael to recover some of its support, it will need to effectively step aside from daily Government activity and enter election mode. Varadkar knows this. And his ministers, keen to move away from problems such as health and housing, have privately made clear their desire to seek a fresh mandate. Timing is everything If Varadkar deems the 32nd Dail has come to an end, the key thing for his party, and others, is the timing of that call. Winters dont favour campaigning politicians. Voters wont open their doors, campaigns are fought on the airwaves, and hospital overcrowding plus a general lack of consumer confidence in January often impact on the incumbents. Nonetheless, the last two general elections were fought in February, in 2016 and also in 2011. Martin wants an orderly wind-down of this Dail and Government for a vote to be held after Easter, possibly in April or early May. But it is difficult to see the limping Coalition under Varadkar lasting that long, especially with irate opposition TDs smelling blood. Captured from the New York Times website CLICK TO SEE VIDEO SHOWING UKRAINIAN PLANE BEING HIT OVER IRAN It is ''highly likely'' that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Ottawa: ''We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.'' In this file handout photo provided by the Iranian news agency IRNA on January 8, 2020, rescue teams work at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran. - US officials believe that Iran accidentally shot down the Ukrainian airliner, killing all of the 176 people on board, US media reported on January 9, 2020. Newsweek, CBS and CNN quoted unnamed officials saying they are increasingly confident that Iranian air defense systems accidentally downed the aircraft, based on satellite, radar and electronic data. (Photo by Akbar TAVAKOLI / IRNA / AFP) In this Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 file photo debris at the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. Two U.S. officials said Thursday that it was "highly likely" that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. President Donald Trump is suggesting he believes Iran was responsible. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Likewise, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. ''All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act,'' he said. The assessment that 176 people were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-U.S. conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the U.S. military operation that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. It was not immediately clear how the U.S. and its allies would react. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of the Iranian general and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes. U.S. troops were on high-alert. At the White House, President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shootdown and dismissed Iran's initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane. ''Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side.'' Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a ''pretty rough neighborhood.'' Late Thursday, the U.S. House approved a measure that aims to bar any further military action against Iran without congressional approval. However, the resolution approved by the Democratic-majority House is nonbinding and, at any rate, no similar measure could pass the Republican-controlled Senate. As for the airliner shootdown, the U.S. officials wouldn't say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. The New York Times posted a video Thursday it said it had verified showing the moment the apparent missile struck the plane over Iran. The video shows a fast-moving object rising before a fiery explosion. An object, apparently on fire, then continues in a different direction. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down. Dubai: Iran said on Friday it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner that crashed, killing all 176 people aboard, after Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Iran, which has denied the Boeing 737-800 was downed by a missile, said it could take one or two months to extract information from the voice and flight data recorders. If it needed help, it said it could ask Russia, Canada, France or Ukraine. An Iranian aviation official also said the probe could take one or two years. Ukraine said it could not rule out a missile strike but this had not been confirmed. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed on Wednesday, when Iran was on alert for a U.S. military response hours after firing missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq. The incident adds to international pressure on Iran, after months of tension with the United States and then tit-for-tat military strikes. Washington killed an Iranian general last week in a drone attack in Iraq, prompting Tehran's missile launches. On social media, ordinary Iranians voiced anger at authorities for not closing the airport after Iran's missile launches. Many passengers were Iranians with dual nationality. "We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we can't do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, told a news conference in Tehran. State television earlier showed the battered black boxes, saying their information could be downloaded and analysed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, citing intelligence from Canada and other sources, has blamed an Iranian missile for bringing down the plane that had 63 Canadians on board, although he said it "may well have been unintentional". "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," he said. ERROR France said it was ready to join Canada and other nations contributing to the investigation. "It is important that as much clarity as possible is made and as quickly as possible," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. French agency BEA helped analyse data from the flight recorder of a crashed Boeing plane in Ethiopia last year. A U.S. official, citing satellite data, said Washington had concluded with a high degree of certainty that anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane in error. The official said the data showed the plane airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected. There was an explosion in the vicinity and heat data showed the plane on fire as it fell. U.S. military satellites detect infrared emissions from heat. The New York Times said it had obtained a video appearing to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran airport. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he did not believe the crash of the airliner was due to a mechanical issue, saying "somebody could have made a mistake - on the other side". A defence expert said the plane's radar signature would have been similar to a U.S. military transport plane. Iran denied the airliner had been hit by a missile, saying such reports were "psychological warfare against Iran." "All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box," government spokesman Ali Rabiei said. COOPERATION Iran's civil aviation organisation said in an initial report less than 24 hours after the incident that the three-year-old airliner, which had its last scheduled maintenance on Monday, encountered a technical problem after takeoff and was heading to a nearby airport before it crashed. Investigations into airliner crashes require cooperation of regulators, experts and companies across jurisdictions. They can take months and initial reports in 24 hours are rare. Iran said bodies and body parts recovered from the site of the crash were taken to the coroner's office for identification. Ukraine has outlined four potential scenarios, including a missile strike and terrorism. Kiev said its investigators wanted to search the crash site for possible debris of a Russian-made missile used by Iran's military. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was making arrangements to tour the site after an Iranian invitation. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it had designated a representative to join the probe. Boeing said it would support the NTSB. The company is still reeling from two deadly crashes of 737 MAX planes, including the one in Ethiopia, that led to the plane's grounding in March 2019. The 737-800 that crashed was built in 2016 and is the prior generation of the 737 before the MAX. County commissioners and election officials wanted state House Speaker Mike Turzai to call three special elections to run concurrent with the April primary election. Turzai, a self-styled fiscal conservative, opted instead to spend tax dollars holding those elections on March 17. Read more Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai consistently casts himself as a fiscal conservative, a safekeeper of the Keystone States tax dollars. But one duty of the speaker calling for special elections to fill vacant state House seats brings out the big spender in the Allegheny County Republican. Turzai on Tuesday called for three special elections to be held March 17 just six weeks before the April 28 primary election for House districts that cover part of Bucks, Westmoreland, Mercer, and Butler Counties. County commissioners and election officials in three of those counties said they wanted Turzai to schedule the special elections on the same day as the primary. They share three concerns: Counties are ramping up with new voting machines, there is more pressure to prepare this year because its a presidential cycle, and it takes time for the state to reimburse counties for the six-figure expense of special elections. Diane Ellis-Marseglia, chair of the Bucks County Commissioners, called Turzais move a huge waste of money that could be put to better use. Jeff Greenburg, Mercer Countys director of elections, called it a tremendous waste of resources. Sean Kertes, chair of the Westmoreland County Commissioners, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the state should pay for the special elections upfront if they are not held during other elections. Turzais defense? This is the way he always does it. His chief of staff, Neal Lesher, said Turzai has consistently called special elections as soon as practically possible to ensure that all Pennsylvanians have a voice in the peoples House. Turzai, now mulling a 2022 run for governor, declined to talk to Clout about that. He is consistent. Tuesdays action came soon after Turzai rejected a request from Philadelphias City Commissioners to hold a special election for the 190th District during the primary. They have the same concerns as their fellow election officials in the other counties. Turzai ignored that and scheduled the special election for the West Philly district on Feb. 25. It costs about $175,000 to hold a special election in Philly. House Democrats, decrying Turzais behavior this week, accused him of wasting more than $1 million in tax dollars for the three special elections he just called, estimating the cost for each to be between $300,000 and $500,000. State Rep. Kevin Boyle, a Northeast Philly Democrat and his partys ranking member on the State Government Committee, on Wednesday said he will introduce legislation requiring that special elections be held concurrent to the closest primary or general election. That legislation will be submitted in the Republican-controlled House, where Turzai calls the shots. Democrat-turned-independent-turned-Republican seeking 190th District seat The Republican City Committee this week named Wanda Logan, an employment agency owner, as its nominee in the 190th District special election, vowing that she will change the tarnished reputation of politics-as-usual. The seat is open because former State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell, a Democrat, resigned last month after being charged with stealing more than $500,000 from a nonprofit. Johnson-Harrell won a special election last year to replace former State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown, another Democrat, who resigned after being convicted of bribery and other charges. Logan, the Republican Party said, left the Democratic Party due to her dissatisfaction with its continued corruption. Logan ran unsuccessfully four times as a Democrat from 2012 to 2018 in the 190th District, where 87% of the voters are registered in that party. Im still the same person, Logan said. Im just hoping people will judge me as an individual. Logan took a winding path to the GOP. She switched her voter registration from Democrat to Republican in June 2018. She switched back to Democrat in November 2018 and then registered as an independent 10 days later. She became a Republican again in January 2019. Logan will face Democrat G. Roni Green, a business agent for SEIU Local 668. Political consultant is paying back candidates after controversy Rasheen Crews, the Philadelphia political consultant who raked in big bucks last year for shoddy work on nomination petitions for several would-be judicial candidates, has a new gig. Crews started this week as a special assistant to the citys new register of wills, Tracey Gordon, who defeated 10-term incumbent Ron Donatucci in last years Democratic primary. Gordon spent the rest of 2019 ducking questions about Crews, who worked on her campaign. On Monday, she tried a new approach: rewriting history to suggest Crews had his attorney clear up the controversy last year. His attorney answered all the questions you had, Gordon claimed, shortly after being sworn into office, when Clout asked if the controversy gave her pause in hiring Crews. That never happened in 2019. Crews, who will be paid $112,000 per year, also dodged questions last year about the petitions he collected, rife with apparently forged signatures, which prompted some candidates who hired him to drop out of their races. Crews again declined to comment this week. So we tracked down his attorney, Craig Levin, who said Crews has accepted responsibility and is working out arrangements to reimburse any candidates who approach him regarding the services he provided in the last election. Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, was furious with Crews last year, especially after hearing him talking in August about landing a top job with Gordons new office. This week, Brady gave Crews credit for trying to pay back some of the judicial candidates. As for his new post with Gordon? I hope he does a better job with her, Brady said. Well see. Maha Energy AB (publ) Strandvagen 5A SE-114 51 Stockholm www.mahaenergy.ca Press Release Stockholm January 10, 2020 Maha Energy AB (publ) (Maha or the Company) announce its 2020 Capital Plan and Production Guidance Maha Energy AB (publ) ("Maha" or the "Company") is pleased to provide details of its 2020 Capital Plan and Production Guidance. 2020 Capital Plan Summary- Total Budget USD 20.71 Million Field Capital Program Quarter 2020 Description/Purpose Tie New Well TS-1 Q2 Q3 Maintain Tie field long term production plateau Tie New Well TS-2 Q2 Q3 Maintain Tie field long term production plateau (possible water injection well) Tie GTE-4 During 2020 Conversion to dual artificial lift system Tartaruga Facilities Upgrade Q1 - Q2 Increasing processing capacity for new production Tartaruga Delineation Well Maha-2 (MH-2)1 Q4 Well is contingent on results of Maha-1 well tests and partner approval. Purpose of well is to increase production at the Tartaruga field and fine tune/test completion technologies. LAK None N/A N/A 1 The well in Tartaruga is contingent on positive results of the Maha-1 (MH-1) well tests and Partner approval. Tie Field - Bahia, Brazil Tie- 2020 Capital Plan Tie South 1 and Tie South 2 Wells The previously announced Tie development wells (see Press Release dated 8 March 2019) will now be drilled during 2020. These wells were originally planned to be drilled at the end of 2019, but due to delays in environmental permitting, these two wells will now be drilled as soon as the environmental permits are approved. One well is planned as a water injector to further boost production in the field, and the second well is planned as a dual zone oil producer. GTE-4 The GTE-4 well is currently a dual completed free flowing well. The Sergi reservoir has started to show signs of reduced flow. Since 2017, the Company has been aware of the eventual decline in reservoir pressure in this well, and has therefore taken steps to implement an artificial lift system, similar to the GTE-3 well. The Jet Pump has already been installed at surface, and when timing and scheduling permits, GTE-4 will be converted to a dually completed Jet Pump well using a work over rig. It is not anticipated production at the field will be affected significantly during this operation. Tartaruga Field Sergipe, Brazil Tartaruga- 2020 Capital Plan Delineation Well (MH-2) The Company plans to drill a new well from the Tartaruga site during 2020 (MH-2). The objectives of the MH -2 well are to further build on the results of the recently drilled MH-1 well, maintain production at Tartaruga Field and evaluate potential completion technologies for these and future wells. It is not anticipated that the Tartaruga Facility will be shut in during the drilling of the MH-2 well. Facility Upgrade Work will continue during 2020 to upgrade the production facilities at Tartaruga to handle up to 2500 BOPD and 2,500 MSCFPD of gas. The previously announced Gas-to-Wire project is now up and running at Tartaruga with further expansion planned as and when more gas production is brought on. LAK Ranch Wyoming USA LAK- 2020 Capital Plan Production Optimization 2020 will continue to be a year of production optimization and evaluation. So far, no investment decision has been made for LAK in 2020. Capital will only be spent if: a) the results of the hot water flood show positive netback numbers for the field, b) further capital investments are ranked above other opportunities that the Company might have during 2020, and c) upon Board of Directors review and approval. Production The Company expects to complete most, if not all, of the Capital Plan prior to year-end 2020. The exact timing of the operations is dependent upon a number of factors including delivery of long lead items, rig availability, permitting and logistics which in turn might affect Companys total annual production As such, this 2020 production guidance, net to the Company (but before government or freehold royalties) is expressed in the range of 5,000 5,500 BOEPD, of which 12% is estimated to be gas. Please note that in order to align the Companys production guidance with the Companys financial reporting, it has been decided to provide this and future production guidance in Barrels of Oil Equivalents Per Day (BOEPD)2. As the exact timing of the above operations and expected production/offtakes becomes clearer through 2020 the Company will provide updated information by Press Release. The Company estimates its Operating costs for 2020 (including oil transportation costs), to range between $5.95 and $5.15 per BOE applying the production guidance range provided above. Funding of 2020 Capital Plan 2020 Capital Plan Budget The 2020 Capital Plan has a total budget of USD 20.73 million for the above incremental projects and is expected to be funded fully through operating cash flow. 2 Normal units for expressing gas production is m3/day or ft3/day. An average industry conversion factor to barrels does not use a simple volumetric conversion factor from m3 (or ft3) to barrels. Instead the energy produced by burning 1 barrel of oil is equated to the same volume of gas required to produce the same amount of energy. This is of course dependent on the type of gas being burned, but an industry average is that 6,000 standard cubic feet (scf) of gas generate the same amount of energy as 1 barrel of oil. As such in this and future production guidance 6,000 scf of gas will be equal to 1 barrel of oil equivalent. 3 Includes 100% of the cost of drilling Maha-2 at Tartaruga. Adviser Certified Advisor: FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, Telephone: +46-8-528 00 399. For more information, please contact: Jonas Lindvall (CEO) Tel: +1 403 454 7560 Email: jonas@mahaenergy.ca or Ron Panchuk (EVP) Tel: +1 403 454 7560 Email: ron@mahaenergy.ca Miscellaneous The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact persons set out above on January 10, 2020, at 3:00 a.m. (CET) Maha in Brief Maha Energy AB is a Swedish public limited liability company. FNCA Sweden AB has been engaged as Certified Adviser. The Company's auditors are Deloitte. The Company's predecessor Maha Energy Inc. was founded in 2013 in Calgary, Canada, by Jonas Lindvall and Ron Panchuk. In May 2016, the new group was formed with Maha Energy AB as parent company for purposes completing an initial public offering on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Jonas Lindvall, CEO and Managing Director, has 28 years of international experience in the oil and gas industry, starting his career with Lundin Oil during the early days of E&P growth. After 6 years at Shell and Talisman, Jonas joined, and helped secure the success of, Tethys Oil AB. Maha's strategy is to target and develop underperforming hydrocarbon assets on global basis. The Company operates three oil fields, Tartaruga and Tie in Brazil and LAK Ranch, in Wyoming, U.S. For more information, please visit our website www.mahaenergy.ca. Attachment Haftar's LNA Vows to Continue Tripoli Offensive Despite Russia-Turkey Ceasefire Initiative Sputnik News 22:26 09.01.2020(updated 22:48 09.01.2020) The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar welcomes the ceasefire initiative by Russia and Turkey, but will continue the fight for Tripoli, the LNA commander said in a statement on Thursday. On Wednesday, Russia and Turkey agreed on a common position with respect to a Libya settlement, and presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on all parties to cease fire from January 12. "The LNA command welcomes the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president of the friendly Russian state, aimed at establishing peace ... but declares that the efforts of the armed forces in the war against terrorist groups will continue," the statement said. Earlier, AFP reported Haftar rejected calls for a ceasefire by Turkey and Russia. Last week, the Turkish parliament approved Erdogan's initiative to send troops to Libya following an official request by the Tripoli-based UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), which is currently trying to repel the LNA offensive to capture Tripoli. On 12 December, Haftar announced the beginning of a decisive battle in his campaign to seize Tripoli. Libya has been in a state of a civil war since its longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was ousted and killed in 2011. Since then, political power in the country has been split between two rival governments: the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress. Following the signing of a UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement in December 2015, a Government of National Accord was established in the country and started working in late March 2016. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address On the same day the U.S. military killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, U.S. forces carried out another top secret mission against a senior Iranian military official in Yemen, according to a new report. The simultaneous strike targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai, a financier and key commander of Iran's elite Quds Force who has been active in Yemen, did not result in his death, four U.S. officials familiar with the matter told the Washington Post. The successful January 3 strike that killed Soleimani sparked fury from the Iranian regime, which retaliated with ballistic missile strikes on two Iraqi bases that host U.S. troops but caused no casualties. Officials say the Pentagon would have announced the two strikes together if they had been successful, but did not disclose the Shahlai mission because it did not go according to plan. Abdul Reza Shahlai is seen in a wanted poster issued by the US State department Shahlai was targeted on the same night that the American military killed General Qassem Solemani (above), who was the leader of Iran's elite Quds Forces It's unclear why the operation to kill Shahlai was unsuccessful, and the Department of Defense declined to elaborate when reached by DailyMail.com. 'We have seen the report of a January 2 airstrike in Yemen, which is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States,' said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, Pentagon spokeswoman, in a statement. 'The Department of Defense does not discuss alleged operations in the region,' Rebarich said. Shahlai, born around 1957, has been linked to attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, including a sophisticated 2007 raid in which Iranian-backed militiamen abducted and killed five Americans troops in the city of Karbala. Last month, the State Department offered a $15 million reward for information leading to Shahlai and the disruption of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's financial mechanisms. The announcement said that Shahlai is based in Yemen and has a 'long history of involvement in attacks targeting the U.S. and our allies, including in the 2011 plot against the Saudi ambassador' at an Italian restaurant in Washington. Shahlai's base of operation is in Sana'a, Yemen, where he serves as the Quds Forces' chief financier backing Iran's Shiite proxy forces in the region, as well as funding assassination and terror plots, according to the State Department. Sana'a is under the control of Houthi rebels, an Iran-backed Shiite faction fighting American-armed Saudis and local Sunni factions in Yemen's brutal ongoing civil war. Shahlai's base of operation is in Sana'a, Yemen, according to the State Department Members of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels military police parade in the streets of the Yemeni capital Sana'a on during 'martyrs' week' on Wednesday Yemeni supporters of the Houthi movement demonstrate in Sana'a on January 6 to denounce the US killing of Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani The failed mission against Shahlai suggests President Donald Trump envisioned a broader strike against the Quds Force in the Middle East, and not just Iraq. In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said he authorized the strike on Soleimani because four U.S. embassies, including the embassy in Baghdad, were under imminent threat of attack from Iran-backed forces. He said the decapitation strike on the Quds Forces, which essentially serves as Iran's combined CIA and Special Operations, was an act of self-defense to protect against an imminent threat. On Friday, Trump ordered new retaliatory economic sanctions on Iran, even as his administration faced persistent questions over its drone strike on Soleimani. Trump issued an executive order adding additional U.S. sanctions to an already long list his administration has imposed, aiming to force Iran to accept a new agreement that would curb its nuclear program and halt support for militant groups throughout the Middle East. Trump said he authorized the strike on Soleimani because four U.S. embassies, including the embassy in Baghdad, were under imminent threat of attack from Iran-backed forces The president, in a statement announcing the new measures, referenced Iran's nuclear program and use of proxy forces throughout the region while noting that the Iranians have threatened U.S. service members, diplomats and civilians - an apparent reference to his administration's justification for killing Soleimani in a drone strike last week in Baghdad. 'The United States will continue to counter the Iranian regime's destructive and destabilizing behavior,' he said. But Trump and his administration faced continuing questions over its claims of an 'imminent' threat as justification for killing Soleimani. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others in the administration have said the threat posed by Soleimani was imminent, but they have not offered evidence to support that. Members of Congress said officials did not provide sufficient detail or justification in briefings this week. Iranian officials have invited Boeing and Ukraine into the investigation of Wednesday mornings crash of Ukrainian Airlines flight PS752, amidst allegations that an Iranian missile shot it down. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. We advise the U.S. government to wait for the results of the accident investigation committee of the Ukrainian plane crash instead of spreading lie and carrying out their psychological operation, said Ali Rabiei a spokesperson for Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis administration. Abas Aslani, Chief Editor of Irans newspaper FrontPage quoted Ali Rabiei on Twitter. #Irans administration spokesman Rabiei: We advise #US government to wait for the results of accident investigation committee of #Ukranian plane crash, instead of spreading lies & carrying out psychological operation.#IranPlaneCrash Abas Aslani (@AbasAslani) January 10, 2020 Some western leaders cautiously proposed the idea that Iran mistakenly shot the plane down. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost 63 lives in the incident, said it is very possible the Uranians downed the jetliner, but it may have been unintentional. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile. President Trump dismissed Irans initial explanation that a mechanical problem might have caused the crash. While at the White House on Thursday Trump said: It (the plane) was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood, and somebody could have made a mistake, Trump said. Some people say it was mechanical. I personally dont think thats even a question. Ukraines National Security and Defense Council Chief Oleksiy Danilov wrote on social media that a strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main [theories], as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash, according to a Fox News translation. The crash came a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops. President Donald Trump later confirmed there were no casualties in the missile strike on the two bases and vowed to implement more sanctions on Tehran in response. Debris from the plane crash on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2020. (Mohammad Nasiri/AP Photos) The Ukrainian International Airlines flight took off at 6:12 a.m. Jan. 8, after nearly an hours delay at Tehrans Imam Khomeini Airport, the main airport for travelers in Iran. It gained altitude heading west, reaching nearly 8,000 feet, according to both the report and flight-tracking data, The Associated Press reported. The planes black boxes, which contain its flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder, were recovered. Iranian officials initially said they wont hand them over to Boeing, but later gave Ukrainian investigators access to them, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko. Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips and the Associated Press contributed to this report. US officials have announced new sanctions against Iran which are expected to target senior officials in the region, following recent airstrikes against US troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Friday that the US would impose new sanctions on anyone doing business with industries representing a significant portion of Iran's economy. Donald Trump will sign an executive order authorizing new sanctions against any individual owning, operating, trading with or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy, including construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining or any other sector which Mr Mnuchin or Mr Pompeo might designate in the future. The president said the sanctions will remain in place "until the Iranian regime changes its behaviour. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." Additionally, Mr Mnuchin said the US would also level 17 specific sanctions against Iran's largest steel and iron manufacturers, three entries based in the Seychells, and "a vessel involved in the transfer of products". The sanctions are expected to cut off "billions of dollars" to the country, Mr Mnuchin said. Mr Pompeo added that sanctions would be levelled against eight other individuals to strike "at the heart of the Islamic Republic's inner security apparatus", including the secretary of Iran's supreme national council, the head of Iran's Basij forces, and other individuals "close to" Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday 3 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures The wreckage of the car in which general Soleimani was travelling when a targeted US airstrike struck outside Baghdad International Airport on 3 January Ahmad Al Mukhtar via Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Demonstrators burn the US and British flags during a protest in Tehran after general Soleimani was killed in a targeted airstrike by American forces Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike. The Pentagon said Thursday that the US military has killed general Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of Donald Trump AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn Israeli and US flags as thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of general Soleimani at the hands of America EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of Donald Trump pray at an 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held on the day following the killing of general Soleimani. At the event, the president praised the "flawless strike that eliminated the terrorist ringleader" AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A huge procession of mourners gather in Baghdad for the funeral of general Soleimani on 4 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani during an anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iraqis perform a mourning prayer for slain major general Qasem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the Great Mosque of Kufa AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A billboard reading 'Death to America and Israel', installed by Iran-backed shiite armed groups at a street in Jadriyah district in Baghdad, Iraq EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him visiting the family of Soleiman KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US flag as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Jalal Feiruznia, looks to a portrait of Soleimani, as he receives condolences at the Iranian embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures People make their way on the street while a screen on the wall of a cinema shows a portrait Soleimani in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Aziz Asmar, one of two Syrian painters who completed a mural following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani poses next to his creation in the rebel-held Syrian town of Dana in the northwestern province of Idlib AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A demonstration in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures An anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Mujtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers a speech in the holy shrine city of Najaf AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US and Israeli flags as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters demonstrate in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shi'ite Muslims hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, in Peshawar, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London PA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn a US flag in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A Syrian man offers sweets to children to mark the killing AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers attend a mourning prayer for Soleimani in Iran's capital Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshipers chant slogans during Friday prayers Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A protest against the USA, in Islamabad, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranians burn a US flag in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin, Germany Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol a road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel. Following morning's killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel's closest ally, to be avenged AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian women take to the streets in Tehran EPA "The goal of our campaign is to deny the regime the resources to conduct its destructive foreign policy," said Mr Pompeo, adding that the US wants Iran "to act like a normal nation" and blaming the previous Obama administration for allowing Iran access to funds under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action anti-proliferation agreement. When asked how the regiment of sanctions the Trump administration has imposed over the past few years which have touched off a cycle of escalations as Iran has responded through proxies and the US has imposed more sanctions has contributed to keeping the US safe, Mr Mnuchin replied that "we have 100 per cent confidence...that the economic sanctions are working". "If we didn't have those sanctions in place...Iran would have tens of billions of dollars" which they could use for "terrorist activities throughout the region", he said before also blaming the Obama administration for allowing Iran access to its own money under the nuclear agreement. Following the killing of General Soleimani, Mr Trump appeared to suggest there was an imminent threat against US embassies. But Mr Pompeo said the threat was against US troops, though he couldn't say where or when those attacks would take place. At a press conference on Friday, Mr Pompeo said the statements are "consistent" and defined imminent as "this is gonna happen". He said the US "had specific information on an imminent threat and those threat streams included attacks on US embassies. Period. Full stop." The Trump administration's insistence on the accuracy of intelligence agencies' findings is a marked departure from the first three years of Mr Trump's presidency, during which his relationship with the US intelligence community has been strained at best and contemptuous at worst. When speaking to reporters about his plan to nominate Texas congressman John Ratcliffe to replace Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats with whom he'd clashed over Mr Coats willingness to contradict Mr Trump in public the president responded that the US intelligence community had "run amok" and needed "strong" leadership to "rein it in". Asked why Americans should believe the information from the same agencies Mr Trump compared to the Third Reich shortly before taking office, Mr Pompeo said he'd watched the president "rely on the capable men and women who are delivering exquisite information to the executive branch" during his time running the CIA and vouched for the accuracy of the findings supporting Mr Trump's decision to strike last week. The new sanctions are likely to continue escalating tension between the two countries, following the Trump administration's withdrawal from a 2015 deal to curb the country's nuclear capabilities. The US already has reinstated sanctions frozen by the previous deal, which have dealt a significant blow to Iran's economy and cut its oil exports to a record low. During a Tuesday address, Mr Trump said Iran appears to be "standing down" following increased pressure from the US. Following a parliamentary vote demanding the US leave the country, Iraq's prime minister urged the administration to begin the process of troop withdrawal to effectively end the US military's presence in the region as hostilities continue between the US and Iran. Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi reportedly told Secretary Pompeo on Thursday that recent US airstrikes in Iraq violated Iraqi sovereignty. According to a statement, the prime minister pressed the secretary to "send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliament's resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq". But a Friday statement from State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus suggested the US is unequivocally remaining in Iraq, and that any delegation sent to the country "would be dedicated to discussing how best to recommit to our strategic partnership" to combat ISIS in the region, "not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East". Mr Pompeo met with a Nato delegation to discuss increasing "Nato's role" in the area, while the US plans to keep its more than 5,000 troops in the country, effectively increasing foreign military presence. It may have been snowy Friday afternoon, but roughly 45 members of the Nebraska Army National Guard stayed warm while doing combat water survival tests at the Beatrice Mary Family YMCA. The soldiers took turns swimming the length of the pool and being pushed off a diving board while holding rifles. They also capsized and righted a 12-man Zodiac Rubber Raiding Craft, as they would in bad water or weather conditions, and pretended to continue their mission. When they weren't holding tests, the soldiers were throwing each other into the pool, jumping from the diving board into the boat and generally enjoying the pool. Captain Kevin Rose said every soldier in their unit does these tests, and they help get soldiers comfortable working in water and with the boats. "Not everyone in the National Guard or the Army will do this, it's specific to infantry reconnaissance units...It's very important for what we do. We do work a lot with the boats to infiltrate behind enemy lines," Rose said. Rose noted that in a real situation, the soldiers also have a 50 pound rucksack and 30 pounds of gear to handle while swimming and using the boats. "It's nice to have a nice, warm pool, but when we do it for real it's usually a lot colder, so it's important to get that aspect of the training, as well," Rose said. Throughout the training, several local children peeked through the YMCA's windows to watch the soldiers. "The citizens of Beatrice are wonderful," Rose said. "They really support the Army National Guard soldiers here in Nebraska. Every time we go out, they always greet us with a 'thank you for your service' and it's really appreciated, the community support." Rose said the Beatrice YMCA has donated their facility for tests for nearly 10 years, and that he's proud of the amount of support. "The YMCA has three areas of focus and one of them is social responsibility, so we always know to support our armed forces and do whatever we can," said Shely Bauman, the YMCA's Wellness Director. 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. Alleging that the decisions of the BJP-led government at the Centre have largely been discriminatory, TMC MP Derek O' Brien on Friday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), much like demonetisation, would hurt the poor most. O'Brien, while participating in a discussion on the CAA at a premier law school in the city, said the country was facing a "serious crisis" due to the Centre's decision to implement the new citizenship law. "Demonetisation (in 2016) had hit the poor hard. The impact remains the same (with regard to CAA, NRC). This time, too, the Centre's decision will affect housewives, students, bankers, farmers -- in short everybody. It will hit the poorest of the poor the hardest," the senior TMC leader claimed. He urged students to read the full report of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on the legislation. The Anglo-Indian MP in the Rajya Sabha, who had last July compared the government's move to pass bills in quick succession with little debate to "pizza delivery", recited the Preamble of the Constitution at the closing ceremony of a mock UN session. He requested the students to repeat after him. "I have been in public life for 16 years. Never have I seen a crisis like the one that has befallen us in the past one year," O'brien said. He commended West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for taking the lead in protests against the amended citizenship law and a pan-India NRC. Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his absence from Parliament during the debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the TMC lawmaker said, "He is not the prime minister of the BJP; he is my PM, your PM." According to sources, a group of students, who had earlier requested Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to attend the event, withdrew the invitation owing to his stance in favour of the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Toronto, Jan 10 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government had intelligence indicating that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 was shot down by an Iranian missile. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional," the prime minister said in a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Efe news reported. The Iranian government responded to the Canadian prime minister's comments, with spokesman Ali Rabiei denying in a statement that the commercial airliner had been shot down. "All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran ... all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box," Rabiei said. Trudeau said Canadian officials believe that the supposed shootdown of the airliner "may have been unintentional." The Canadian prime minister refused to answer questions from reporters about whether Canada considered the United States the ultimate party responsible for the accident because of Washington's confrontation with Tehran after the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3 by a US drone at the Baghdad airport. Trudeau said it was "too soon to be apportioning blame" for the crash or "drawing any conclusions" about what happened to the airliner. "The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers. I want answers. That means closure, transparency, accountability and justice," Trudeau said. "This government will not rest until we get that." UIA flight PS752, which was headed from Tehran to Kiev, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members. Sixty-three Canadians were aboard the Boeing 737-800, which crashed just outside Tehran. The plane was also carrying 82 Iranians; 11 Ukrainians, including two passengers and nine crew members; 10 Swedes; four Afghans; three Germans; and three Britons. The Boeing 737-800 went down shortly after Iran fired dozens of missiles at bases in neighbouring Iraq used by the US military in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. "It is now more important than ever that we know exactly how such a tragedy could have happened," Trudeau said. The prime minister said his government asked Iran to permit Canadian investigators to participate in the crash investigation, but Tehran has not agreed to do so even though Iranian officials demonstrated an "openness" to the idea. "Canadians have questions and they deserve answers," Trudeau said. The prime minister held his press conference in the capital not long after US President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" about what happened to the Boeing 737-800. "It's a tragic thing when I see that, it's a tragic thing. But somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," the US president said. Earlier in the day, Iranian Civil Aviation Organization director Ali Abedzadeh told the ISNA news agency that the plane was not shot down. "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumors are illogical," Abedzadeh said. Abedzadeh said eyewitnesses saw the UIA plane "on fire" before it went down and the pilots did not make any emergency calls before attempting to return to the airport. "Several domestic and foreign flights were flying in Iranian space at the same altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). The issue of the missile's impact on the aircraft cannot be true in any way," Abedzadeh said. The Boeing 737-800 took off early Wednesday and crashed minutes into its flight. Canada is home to more than 250,000 people of Iranian descent. Many of the Canadian victims of the UIA crash were families and students who had traveled to Iran for the holidays. Mitchell Historic Properties, the Galveston real estate arm of the late energy baron and developer George P. Mitchell and his wife Cynthia, is selling its two renowned Galveston hotels: the Hotel Galvez & Spa and The Tremont House, both historic properties and two of the most recognized landmarks on the island. The buyer, an affiliate of Texas-based hospitality management and investment group SRH Hospitality Holdings is expected to close on the properties in the first quarter of the year. Terms were not disclosed. Mitchell Properties, owned by the estate of Mitchell, a billionaire who died at 94 in 2013, plans to contribute the majority of the proceeds to the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, which supports environmental protection, social equity and economic initiatives. Its big news for Galveston and big news for us. Theres so much emotion tied up in those properties, said Grant Mitchell, president of Mitchell Historic Properties, board chair of the family foundation and one of Mitchells 10 children. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston First postpones vote on proposed downtown W Hotel deal Mitchell said the hotels hold many memories of his parents. The decision to sell them was a difficult one. The properties are still held in the Mitchell estate, and with much of the couples wealth going to their foundation, continuing to own the hotels was not a viable long-term option, Mitchell said, adding that the siblings remain dedicated to continue their parents legacy of giving back and enhancing the community. We love the hotels. Theyre successful and we have the privilege of being stewards of them, he said. SRHs hospitality portfolio includes a half-dozen hotels throughout Texas, some of which are in development. The company is based in the Dallas area. Were keenly aware of Cynthia and George Mitchells legacy and the familys importance to Galveston and the greater Galveston Island community, Paul Barham, CEO of Harrell Hospitality Group, a partner in SRH Hospitality, said in a press release released Thursday afternoon. We understand this is no ordinary transaction and one that was not taken lightly by the Mitchells. It will be our honor and privilege to serve as the new stewards of these iconic landmarks, and we are looking forward to investing not only in the continued success of these historic properties but just as importantly in the Galveston community. Galveston was George Mitchells hometown and he and his wife always considered it a second home. Mitchell made a fortune in oil and gas and was a pioneer in the technology of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, using it to tap oil and gas in the Barnett Shale of North Texas years before it unlocked a revolution in U.S. energy. He also developed The Woodlands, now a thriving master-planned community north of Houston. On HoustonChronicle.com: Listen: George Mitchell's unconventional journey to build The Woodlands As civic leaders in Galveston, the couple looked for ways to improve the towns economy and help restore its historic neighborhoods. The Mitchells bought The Galvez, a 1911-era Spanish Mission-style structure, in 1993 and rehabilitated the property, restoring the main entrance and removing additions made between the 1950s and 1980s. The 224-room property at 2024 Seawall Blvd. is a beachfront hotel with 13,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa, full-service restaurant and pool with a swim-up bar. It is appraised at $17.3 million, according to the Galveston Central Appraisal District. The Tremont House on Mechanic Street between 23rd and 24th is in the former Leon & H. Blum Building, which the Mitchells bought in 1985, transforming the 1897 property into a high-end hotel. The 119-room hotel is appraised at $6.2 million. Both properties are affiliated with Wyndham. Apart from the hotels, Mitchell Historic Properties owns about 20 other Galveston properties, including Pier 21 on Galvestons port and about 15 historic buildings in the downtowns Strand District. The Mitchells began buying properties in downtown Galveston in the 1970s, when the now-bustling Strand area was a blighted part of town. A lot of it was boarded up and abandoned, Mitchell said. They began to purchase and revitalize those buildings to light the spark of development. Mitchell said the family is still evaluating plans for the remaining properties. While nothing has been finalized, he said there could be ways to fill underutilized space in the downtown buildings, citing such ideas as incubators, coworking space and workforce housing. As a family, our intent is for these properties to be leveraged for the greatest social impact for the city, he said. Were figuring how to get that done. nancy.sarnoff@chron.com twitter.com/nsarnoff WINNIPEG - In his 38 years as a conservation officer, Gerry Rosset has never seen anything like the wildfires he helped battle during his five-week stint in Australia. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba firefighters Andrew Prokopchuk gets a hug from his wife Patti as he and Gerry Rosset return from fighting fires in Australia at the airport in Winnipeg Thursday, January 9, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods WINNIPEG - In his 38 years as a conservation officer, Gerry Rosset has never seen anything like the wildfires he helped battle during his five-week stint in Australia. Rosset and Andrew Prokopchuk, two Manitoba staff who were among the first wave of Canadians to travel Down Under in early December, returned home Thursday. "Very volatile conditions, especially the drought conditions they've had," Rosset said. Prokopchuk, who was greeted at the Winnipeg airport with a hug from his wife, said the fires are immense and fast-moving. "The one fire that we were on was over 400,000 hectares. It was over a thousand-kilometre perimeter around the fire itself," he said. "It just kept on growing substantially every day. Every day there was a hard wind, it just grew that much more." The two men worked in fire control centres in southeast Australia, helping to co-ordinate and deploy crews and resources. Even though they were at a distance from the blazes, Prokopchuk recalled the sky being very dark during the day. Rosset and Prokopchuk are among nearly 100 Canadian fire experts who have been sent to Australia since early December. The federal government has offered further aid as the unprecedented fire crisis shows no sign of letting up. The fires have claimed at least 26 lives since September and have destroyed more than 2,000 homes. The southeast region is tinder dry and temperatures there were expected to top 40 C on Friday. Prokopchuk said Australians were very happy to see assistance from other countries. "The public any place we'd go people wanted to hug us. There was tears," he said. "We spoke to a lot of people that have lost farms, buildings, houses, cottages. It really affects people hard." Both men are used to travelling to other jurisdictions to help out, although usually it's within North America. Rosset said they're glad to be home from Australia, but would likely return if asked. For now, the men have more immediate plans. Rosset said he has some shovelling to do at home after several centimetres of snow hit southern Manitoba this week. Prokopchuk said he plans to rest, at least a little. "Sleeping for a couple of days to get over the jet lag, I guess ... Monday, we'll be back to our regular duties as conservation officers." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2020 Comedian Celeste Barber has raised almost $48million to support firefighters and those affected by the devastating bushfires in Australia. And she was rewarded for her efforts with a 'Hemsworth sandwich' courtesy of Hollywood star brothers Chris and Liam at the Make It Rain fundraiser at The Beach Hotel in Byron Bay on Thursday night. The actors wrapped their arms around a clearly overwhelmed Celeste, 37, who was serving as MC for the charity event. Wow! Celeste Barber was rewarded for her philanthropic efforts with a 'Hemsworth sandwich' courtesy of Hollywood star brothers Chris and Liam at the Make It Rain fundraiser on Thursday At one stage, Chris, 36, even leaned over to give Celeste a kiss on the cheek, as his younger brother, 28, watched on in amusement. The Thor actor dressed casually for the event as he thanked Celeste for everything she had done to help her fellow Australians. The Make It Rain concert aimed to raise money for firefighters battling the blazes. The bushfires ravaging Australia have so far killed 26 people, an estimated billion animals, and destroyed thousands of homes. Thank you! The actors wrapped their arms around a clearly overwhelmed Celeste, 37, who was serving as MC for the charity event at The Beach Hotel in Byron Bay A $49 donation secured fans entry for one night, while $89 granted them admission for both nights. All of the tickets sold out. Chris is auctioning off a personal training session with himself and his wife, Elsa Pataky. So far, their one-hour workout has reached bids exceeding $26,000. Paying tribute: The Thor actor dressed casually for the event as he thanked Celeste for everything she had done to help her fellow Australians Other celebrity auctions include a half-day songwriting session with Bernard Fanning and a full-day recording session at Ian Haug's Airlock Studios. Also up for grabs are Stephanie Gilmore's surfboard, a dinner date with Simon Baker, and a surfing session with Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson. Bidding closes on Friday, January 17 at 11.55pm. See the auctions here You better work! Chris is auctioning off a personal training session with himself and his wife, Elsa Pataky. So far, their one-hour workout has reached bids exceeding $26,000 C allum Jones has been sent packing from the Love Island villa after he was voted off the show by his fellow Islanders. The scaffolder and his fellow Mancunian beau Molly Smith were both axed after the other contestants voted to save Mike Boateng and Priscilla Anyabu instead. Callum was one of the original 12 Islanders entering the luxury abode at the beginning January, and saw his fair share of drama while in the villa. But just who was Callum Jones? Here's the lowdown - including his age, job, Instagram handle and more... ITV Who is Callum Jones and how old is he? Callum is a 23-year-old scaffolder from Manchester who described himself as a "cheeky chap" with "builders' banter". He also rates himself a strong 9/10 in the looks department, crediting his smile as the main draw for the ladies. Who did Callum coupled up with? Callum left the villa with Molly Smith, after a dramatic recoupling in which he ditched Shaughna Phillips for his fellow Mancunian on his return from Casa Amor. Shaughna and Callum were in a relationship since the beginning, although it was tested thanks to the introduction of twins Eve and Jess Gale, with the former choosing Callum to pair up with. Shaughna wasn't happy and worked hard to get "her man" back, and in the show's first recoupling Callum ditched Eve for Shaughna. Another bombshell introduction saw Callum go on a date with former Miss Newcastle Rebecca Gormley, but the he stuck with Shaughna. However, the introduction of Casa Amor soon changed all that, and Molly turned his head in the new villa. Shaughna was devastated to see him return with Molly on his arm on his return to the villa, but despite her devastation he stuck with Molly and the pair remained as a duo. Is Callum on Instagram? If you're into guy who take pics holding beer, then you will definitely want to hit Callum up on the 'gram. You can follow him here @_callum_jones. Love Island 2020: Villa - in pictures 1 /48 Love Island 2020: Villa - in pictures ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV What's his type? Callum's celebrity crush is Transformers actress, Megan Fox. When it comes to real-life dating, he fancies "girls with dark hair, tanned skin, red lipstick and white nail polish." But we're not sure what the white nail polish bit is about. When did the new series of Love Island start? Winter Love Island kicked off on Sunday, January 12. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi made the request in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday. The United States rebuffed an Iraqi request on Friday to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened US-Iranian tensions following the US killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. Seeking to tighten pressure on its rival, the US, meanwhile, imposed more sanctions on Iran, responding to an attack on US troops in Iraq launched by Tehran in retaliation for the assassination of Soleimani. Iraq looks set to bear the brunt of any further violence between neighbouring Iran and the US. Its leaders are caught in a bind as Washington and Tehran are also the Iraqi governments main allies and vie for influence there. Iraqs caretaker prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, made his request in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late on Thursday in line with a vote by Iraqs parliament last week, his office said in a statement. Abdul Mahdi asked Pompeo to send delegates to put in place the tools to carry out the Parliaments decision, it said, adding without elaborating, that the forces used in the killing had entered Iraq or used its airspace without permission. However, the US State Department said any US delegation would not discuss the withdrawal of US troops as their presence in Iraq was appropriate. There does, however, need to be a conversation between the US and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership, spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. The latest flare-up in the long shadow-war between Iran and the US started with the killing of Soleimani in a US drone attack on January 3. Iran responded on Wednesday by firing missiles at US forces in Iraq. In the aftermath, both sides backed off from intensifying the conflict but the region remains tense, with Iranian commanders threatening more attacks. Suffered enough from wars Iraqs top Shia leader on Friday condemned the US-Iranian confrontation taking place on Iraqi soil, saying it risked plunging an already war-ravaged country and the wider Middle East into deeper conflict. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said it was Iraqis who stood to suffer most from the US-Iranian conflict. In a message delivered through a representative at Friday prayers in the holy city of Karbala, al-Sistani said no foreign powers should be allowed to decide Iraqs fate. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi speaking during a symbolic funeral ceremony of Major General Ali al-Lami, who commands the Iraqi Federal Polices Fourth Division [File: Khalid al-Mousily/Reuters] The latest dangerous aggressive acts, which are repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty, are a part of the deteriorating situation in the region, al-Sistani said. Al-Sistani, who wields huge influence over public opinion in Iraq, only weighs in on politics during times of crisis and is seen as a voice of moderation. The people have suffered enough from wars Iraq must govern itself and there must be no role for outsiders in its decision-making, Sistani said. Iraq has suffered decades of war, sanctions and sectarian conflict, including two US-led invasions and the rise and fall of al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). At Friday prayers in Tehran, an Iranian Muslim leader said US interests across the world were now exposed to threats. From now on, having too many bases, especially in this region, will not act as an advantage for them, Mohammad Javad Haj Aliakbari, a mid-ranking Muslim leader, told worshippers. Since Soleimanis killing, Tehran has stepped up its calls for US forces to leave Iraq. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said the retaliatory attacks were not enough and that ending the US military presence in the region was Tehrans main goal. Trump suggested on Thursday that Soleimani had been killed because he had planned to blow up a US embassy. He did not offer any evidence. Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in Baghdad, but we stopped him and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold, Trump, who is seeking re-election this year, told a rally in Ohio. The best hikes in Massachusetts are not only the ones that give people the feeling of getting away and reconnecting with nature, but those that also have a certain photogenic quality to them. Social media is no stranger to scenery shots and todays hikers often share their best photos of trails. Travel With Data, a travel blog that integrates math into trip planning, recently shared its list of the 28 most popular hikes in Massachusetts. The authors used search engine optimization tool Ahrefs to dive into all of the hiking spots in the state, as well as search results on Google and photos posted to Instagram. Last year, MassLive presented readers with some of the best day hikes in the state, some of which overlap with this list, but heres photos of the most popular ones, according to the data. 28. Battle Road Trail - Concord Monthly Searches: 350 Instagram Posts: 385 27. Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail - South Wellfleet Monthly Searches: 400 Instagram Posts: 474 26. Alander Mountain - Mount Washington Monthly Searches: 450 Instagram Posts: 1,440 25. Race Brook Falls - Sheffield Monthly Searches: 450 Instagram Posts: 2,008 24. Robert Frost Trail - Amherst Monthly Searches: 500 Instagram Posts: 562 23. Lynn Woods Reservation - Lynn Monthly Searches: 500 Instagram Posts: 929 22. Mount Misery - Lincoln Monthly Searches: 500 Instagram Posts: 1,894 21. Mount Everett - Sheffield Monthly Searches: 700 Instagram Posts: 942 20. Ashuwillticook Rail Trail - Lanesborough Monthly Searches: 700 Instagram Posts: 1,782 19. Bay Circuit Trail - Eastern Massachusetts Monthly Searches: 700 Instagram Posts: 95 18. Great Brook Farm State Park - Carlisle Monthly Searches: 700 Instagram Posts: 1,340 17. Horn Pond - Woburn Monthly Searches: 700 Instagram Posts: 16,800 16. Purgatory Chasm - Sutton Monthly Searches: 800 Instagram Posts: 1,591 15. Monument Mountain - Great Barrington Monthly Searches: 800 Instagram Posts: 3,821 14. Appalachian Trail - Massachusetts Monthly Searches: 900 Instagram Posts: N/A 13. Mount Watatic - Ashburnham Monthly Searches: 1,000 Instagram Posts: 877 12. Nashua River Rail Trail - Northern Massachusetts Monthly Searches: 1,000 Instagram Posts: 1,041 11. Bruce Freeman Rail Trail - Westford Monthly Searches: 1,400 Instagram Posts: 1,353 10. Harold Parker State Forest - Andover Monthly Searches: 2,600 Instagram Posts: 8,753 9. Myles Standish State Forest - Carver Monthly Searches, 2,600 Instagram Posts: 3,763 8. Mount Wachusett State Reservation - Princeton Monthly Searches: 3,100 Instagram Posts: 9,000 7. Middlesex Fells Reservation - Stoneham Monthly Searches: 3,100 Instagram Posts: 40,400 6. Cape Cod Rail Trail - Cape Cod Monthly Searches: 3,600 Instagram Posts: 3,240 5. Mount Greylock State Reservation - Lanesborough Monthly Searches: 3,800 Instagram Posts: 4,366 4. Blue Hills Reservation - Milton Monthly Searches: 5,200 Instagram Posts: 58,500 3. Cape Cod National Seashore - Cape Cod Monthly Searches: 6,400 Instagram Posts: 30,400 2. Bash Bish Falls - Mount Washington Monthly Searches: 8,000 Instagram Posts: 26,000 1. Walden Pond - Concord Monthly Searches: 31,000 Instagram Posts: 32,000 Related Stories Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A research report on Small Satellite Market 2019 Industry Research Report. This is a key document as far as the clients and industries are concerned to not only understand the competitive market status that exists currently but also what future holds for it in the upcoming period, i.e., between 2018 and 2027. The report has categorized in terms of region, type, key industries, and application. Global Small Satellite Market revenue was xx.xx Million USD in 2013, grew to xx.xx Million USD in 2017, and will reach xx.xx Million USD in 2027, with a CAGR of x.x% during 2018-2027. Major Geographical Regions The study report on Global Small Satellite Market 2018 would cover every big geographical, as well as, sub-regions throughout the world. The report has focused on market size, value, product sales and opportunities for growth in these regions. The market study has analyzed the competitive trend apart from offering valuable insights to clients and industries. These data will undoubtedly help them to plan their strategy so that they could not only expand but also penetrate into a market. The researchers have analyzed the competitive advantages of those involved in the industries or in the Small Satellite Market. While historical years were taken as 2013 2017, the base year for the study was 2017. Similarly, the report has given its projection for the year 2018 apart from the outlook for years 2018 2027. Like any other research material, the report has covered key geographical regions such as Europe, Japan, United States, India, Southeast Asia and Europe. Researchers have given their opinion or insights of value, product sales, and industry share besides availability opportunities to expand in those regions. As far as the sub-regions, North America, Canada, Medico, Australia, Asia-Pacific, India, South Korea, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe, Russia, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa are included. Request for Report Sample: http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/sample/498 Key Segments: Based on satellite type Nanosatellite Microsatellite Minisatellite Based on End User Civil Defense Commercial Based on Application Earth Observation & Monitoring Communication Scientific Research & Exploration Surveillance & Security Mapping & Navigation By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific South America Middle East and Africa The Key Players Profiled in the Report are as follows The small satellite market analysis covers in-depth information of major industry participants. Some of the major players in the market include Sierra Nevada Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Airbus S.A.S., Northrop Grumman Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., The Aerospace Corporation, Planet Labs Inc., Boeing, Thales Group, GomSpace, and Blue Canyon Technologies Request for Report More Information@ http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/enquiry/498 Other players in the value chain of the small satellite market include Orbital ATK, Space Systems Loral, OHB AG, Spire Global Inc., Geooptics Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, and others. The objective of the researchers is to find out sales, value, and status of the Small Satellite Market at the international levels. While the status covers the years of 2013 17, the forecast is for the period 2018 2027 that will enable market players to not only plan but also execute strategies based on the market needs. The study wanted to focus on key manufacturers, competitive landscape, and SWOT analysis for Small Satellite Market. Apart from looking into the geographical regions, the report concentrated on key trends and segments that are either driving or preventing the growth of the industry. Researchers have also focused on individual growth trend besides their contribution to the overall market. Report Objectives: Analysis of the global Small Satellite Market size by value and volume. To accurately calculate the market segments, consumption, and other dynamic factors of the various sections of the Global Small Satellite Market. Determination of the key dynamics of the global Small Satellite Market. To highlight key trends in the global Small Satellite Market in terms of manufacturing, revenue and sales. To summarize the top players of Global Small Satellite Market and show how they compete in the industry. Study of industry processes and costs, product pricing and various trends associated with them. To showcase the performance of different regions and countries in the Global Small Satellite Market. Make an Inquiry before Buying@ http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/buy/498 T.S. Eliot stays in control ... from the grave Miles Franklin-winning writer Steven Carroll has written three novels about T. S. Eliot and so was understandably intrigued by the opening up of the Princeton University stash of 1131 letters written by the great poet to the love of his youth, Emily Hale. There was also a surprise a statement by Eliot written before his death in 1965 in which he said Hale didnt read his poetry, was only interested in his reputation not his work, and would have killed the poet in him had they married. And he added their relationship was never consummated. But Carroll said he was not surprised by Eliots statement: He was always mindful of his name and reputation, paranoid of intrusive biographies about him, and always with an eye on posterity. Even from the grave hes orchestrating how he will be perceived by posterity. Emily Hale and T.S. Eliot pictured in 1946. Credit:Princeton University Library Carroll said he thought Eliot was being a bit unfair on Hale. It is reflective of the bitterness at the end of their relationship. And its fair to say that after he was married a second time and happy he basically ceased being a poet. The fluctuating relationship between the happiness of the artist and the quality of the art produced is something that Carroll ponders when he has Hale musing on her relationship with Eliot in his 2017 novel, A New England Affair. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, meeting activists held during protests against the amended Citizenship Act and accusing the government of acting against the Constitution. "They were holding a peaceful agitation," she said. Priyanka met activist couple Ekta Shekar Singh and her husband Ravi Shekhar, who were arrested. "Ekataji's little daughter was waiting for her. They told me everything. Injustice was meted out to them. They were thrown in jail, kept there for 15 days and serious charges were levelled against them. "I am proud that they struggled and raised their voice for their country. Whatever the government is doing is anti-constitutional," Priyanka told reporters. During her four-hour visit, Priyanka paid obeisance at Sant Ravidas temple. Later she reached Shrimath on boat and met social activists and those held "illegally and lodged in jail by the Yogi Adityanath government," a Congress statement said. Priyanka was also scheduled to visit Kashi Vishwanath temple before leaving for Jaipur. Priyanka met Dalit worker Anup Shramik, BHU student Deepak and students and representatives of civil society. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Comedian Jalango is one of the most successful entertainers in Kenya. However, the star was not born with all the glitters as he suffered just like most Kenyans to become who he is today. READ ALSO: Floyd Mayweather spotted rocking KSh 1.7 million jacket made of expensive mirrors READ ALSO: Short stature actress Tausi gives birth to healthy baby Well, having been through a tough life himself, the comedian understands the challenges the less fortunate face. For that particular reason, Jalango thought it wise to give back to the society by donating 600 of his expensive shoes to some of his fans. TUKO.co.ke learnt through his Instagram account that he will be sharing the shoes during an event dubbed Jalas Fans Lunch 2020. He did not mention the date but assured all the people invited to the event that he will be giving out the shoes which he also showed off online. READ ALSO: Ugandan socialite Bad Black accused of refusing to pay loan, blocking money lender on Facebook READ ALSO: Ndege iliyowaua abiria 176 iliangushwa na kombora, vyombo vya habari Marekani vyaripoti ''I am giving away 600 pairs. Jalas Fans Lunch 2020. Are you invited?'' he captioned. This, however, is not the first time the comedian who doubles up as a radio host pulled a philanthropic move. He has been helping numerous people financially and in other ways, including paying certain fees for certain things for people who could not afford. It should be noted the comedian is one of the highest paid events Emcee in the country hence the money. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Raila Odinga is behind Miguna miguna's problems - Moses kuria | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Farmers say retailers contribution to yesterdays meeting of the Beef Taskforce only raised further questions around the 30-month age limit on cattle. Last night, ICSA president Edmond Phelan said the major retailers attending the Beef Taskforce gave no coherent indication that the 30-month rule is as important a requirement in the Irish market as processors would have us believe. While all the retailers agree that quality assurance was of paramount importance, retailers are not as rigid on the issue of 30-months as we had been led to believe, said Mr Phelan. There were also varying and diverging views on other in-spec requirements including the four movement rule and the 60-day residency requirement on the last farm. This tallies with the results of a poll commissioned by ICSA and conducted through Red C which found that just over 12% of respondents or less than one in eight indicated a preference for beef from animals of under-30 months of age, while country of origin and quality assurance was a consideration for 89% and over 90% of respondents respectively. Mr Phelan said retailers were told current prices paid to beef producers fall way short of what is required. It has been made crystal clear that beef farmers cannot continue to produce at below the cost of production, he said. To this end, we are pleased the retailers have agreed to co-operate further with the price composition study. Aldi group buying director John Curtin said it is fully committed to making a constructive contribution towards the work of the Beef Taskforce and the future of the Irish beef market The retail sector only accounts for 6% of the beef produced in Ireland and does not determine the market price of Irish beef. Ahead of the talks, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed described some of the beef industry lobbying groups as flying columns. Holding one or two meetings at a central location nationally does not a national organisation constitute, he told Newstalks Pat Kenny Show. We have established farm bodies, we have relatively new established farm bodies, as well, but we also have these flying columns, so to speak. He said the agricultural lobby has been widely recognised over many years as an effective one. The real danger is with fracturing of that strength in terms of its lobbying capacity, the advent of the pop up farmer organisation, which was the hallmark of 2019, a series of strikes by independent, previously unheard of organisations, said Mr Creed. The Delhi Police, at a press conference on Friday, released pictures of nine suspects associated with violence that rocked Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 5. The incident has left over 30 students, including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, seriously injured. The investigation is being carried out by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, which has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by DCP Joy Tirky. DCP Tirky, while narrating the incidents from January 1 to 5, named members of the AISA, AISF, SFI and DSF (all organisations linked to Left parties), for breaking down the server's room in the campus in an attempt to stop students from registering for the winter semester online. While naming the nine students, he said that although none of them have been detained so far, the interrogation will begin soon. DCP Tirky also said that CCTV footage was lost because servers had been disabled. "Before the local police could take action, the mob had already moved out. For identification, had we got the CCTV, it would have been easier for us," he told the media. At the press briefing, Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa said that even though convention is to inform the media after the investigation is over, the police force felt that the briefing was needed to check the spread of misinformation. He added that this is the first press conference, which will be followed by many, in order to update the media about the findings of the investigation. EDMONTON - New numbers confirm that many Alberta drivers are getting hit with rate hikes, and even some sharp spikes, in their auto insurance. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews speaks with the media before attending a meeting of federal and provincial finance ministers, Tuesday, December 17, 2019 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld EDMONTON - New numbers confirm that many Alberta drivers are getting hit with rate hikes, and even some sharp spikes, in their auto insurance. The Automobile Insurance Rate Board says that 27 insurers operating in Alberta were granted rate hikes in recent months, ranging from less than one per cent to almost 30 per cent for basic coverage on private passenger vehicles. But the board, in its latest report, stressed that it now expects the changes to work not only for insurers, but also for drivers who were having trouble getting the coverage they needed under the old rate cap. "Following nearly two years of rate restriction, some Albertans found it difficult to obtain the coverage they required or access to payment plans," said the board in its fourth quarter report, issued Friday. "These actions by insurers were directly related to their inability to receive approval for rates commensurate with the risk. "The (board) expects insurers who received approval for a rate increase to cease practices that limit access to certain coverages for Albertans." The board said more than 92 per cent of the insurers offering coverage for private vehicles asked for rate changes. The move comes after the insurance industry warned repeatedly that sharply rising payouts in recent years had put it in a financial squeeze, and those problems were worsened when a five per cent ceiling on rate hikes was imposed two years ago by the former NDP government. Last fall, the new United Conservative government lifted that cap, saying it wasn't working because some Albertans were not able to access certain non-mandatory coverages or payment plans. Celyeste Power with the Insurance Bureau of Canada said the new hikes are about 10 per cent on average per insurers, but that average will vary widely depending on driver records and how many drivers each firm insures. She said the increase is not a surprise. "Insurers actually don't want to increase rates. They would rather keep their customer happy, give them the best rate possible," said Power. "But we have seen increasing claims costs over the past few years that have become quite unsustainable, and that's when you see premiums follow." She said she hopes longer term reform will come from a provincial panel currently reviewing the entire auto insurance system to determine ways to improve it for the industry and drivers. The panel is to report back in the spring. Alberta Finance spokeswoman Jerrica Goodwin, in a statement, stressed that the board makes its rate decisions independent of government. "Today's release shows many companies with combined rate hikes below five per cent," said Goodwin. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Given the numerous options available, we encourage Albertans to shop around for the best rate. "We will be taking action in the coming months to address long-term affordability in a sustainable manner." Jon Carson, the Opposition NDP critic on auto insurance, said the five per cent cap was reasonable, noting some firms in the latest report managed to keep their hikes to five per cent or less. He urged the government to bring the cap back, adding that the UCP removed it last August with no consultation. "Albertans are paying hundreds of dollars more in auto insurance alone and that's very concerning," said Carson. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. Funding for the raises would likely come from the state, rather than local school districts, said Paul Katnik, assistant commissioner in the departments Office of Educator Quality. He said he recognized that the proposal is a big ask from the Legislature. Theres not $300 million to $400 million sitting somewhere that people are saying, Hey gosh, if only we just had a good idea of what to spend this on, he said. Katnik said the options to fund the plan were to divert existing state revenue or raise more, but that lawmakers are in a better position to figure out where the money would come from. Rep. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, who chairs the House committee on education appropriations, said Thursday that he hadnt seen a proposal from the department to fund the raises. Black said increasing state support for education in general, through the foundation formula, would not guarantee any raises for teachers. He said he would need to see a specific request for the money in the state budget. YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The version stating that a missile downed a Ukrainian Boeing in Iran has neither been ruled out nor corroborated yet, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said, reports TASS. "The missile strike on the plane is not ruled out but it has not been confirmed as yet either," he said via his Telegram channel. The president underlined that in light of the latest statements of leaders published in media outlets Kiev is calling on all its international partners, primarily the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, to submit data and evidence regarding the tragedy to the commission investigating its causes. Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 travelling from Tehran to Kiev went down near the Iranian capital shortly after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. All people onboard, 167 passengers and 9 crewmembers, were killed. Most victims were Canadian and Iranian citizens. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images The consequences of President Donald Trumps decision last Friday to order the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani have not been as disastrous as many observers initially feared, leading some of Trumps supporters (including his biggest fan, himself) to describe the events of this week as a victory for the president and his Iran policy. That Trump is able to win praise for failing to provoke a catastrophic war is a sign of just how low he has set the bar for success. Taking a broader view, however, his strategy for containing Iran remains a failure, even on its own terms. Trump ran for president in 2016 pledging to undo all the work the Obama administration had done to get Iran to verifiably halt its nuclear-weapons program, calling the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action the worst deal ever negotiated and proposing to pull out of the deal, reimpose crippling economic sanctions on Iran, and use that leverage to negotiate a better deal. A campaign of maximum pressure, he and the Iran hawks in his administration argued, would deter Iran from continuing its proxy wars and sponsorship of terrorism throughout the Middle East, force Iran back to the negotiating table to sign a more stringent nuclear deal, and perhaps even help foment a popular uprising against the Iranian government, leading to regime change from within. Ever since Trump kicked off this new strategy by ditching the JCPOA in 2018, it has not only failed to achieve its goals, but in some respects had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of tamping down its regional proxy activities in response to Trumps pressure campaign, Iran stepped them up (though, in fairness, they had not abated while the deal was in place, either). Rather than capitulate to Washingtons demands for a new nuclear deal and some sanctions relief, Iran has evaded sanctions and resumed some of its nuclear activity including reopening its Fordow uranium-enrichment center on Wednesday as part of its reaction to Soleimanis assassination. In other words, while Trumps sanctions have taken a severe economic toll on the Iranian people, their government is more active in regional conflicts and closer to resuming its nuclear-weapons activities today than it was before Trump scuttled the nuclear deal. Tensions between Washington and Tehran are at a historic high, and the risk of open war, which Trump has repeatedly stated he wishes to avoid, has increased substantially. When it comes to bringing Iran to heel and preventing violence, Trumps strategy is plainly failing on both counts. For the Iran hawks in the Trump administration, those failures were all to the good, as they would eventually frustrate the president until he felt he had no choice but to launch a full-scale war on Iran. For these officials, the escalatory measure of killing Soleimani was intended to backfire and snowball into direct conflict. Even that dangerous ambition does not appear to be in the offing, however, as Irans response, a barrage of ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces resulting in no casualties, appears to have successfully shown force against the enemy and avoided providing Trump with a casus belli. Insofar as Trumps strategy was bearing any fruit, it was in stirring political unrest in Iran. In recent months, the country has seen political unrest at its greatest scale since the revolution of 1979, sparked by rising gasoline prices that were in part a consequence of Trumps sanctions. Soleimanis death, however, has presented the regime with an opportunity to muffle opposition and rally the country around a martyred hero and against the American aggressor. While many Iranians despised Soleimani, and much of the mourning was ginned up by the regime, the reaction to his death on Farsi-speaking Twitter was much more negative than positive. Time and again, Iranians have proven that concern for the integrity of their country comes before their opinions about the government, and they will back even a regime they hate against a belligerent foreign empire whose president threatens to bomb their cultural heritage to smithereens. Killing Soleimani has not been a strategic win for Trump, either, however his sycophants try to spin it. It was an unnecessarily provocative way to combat Irans regional influence, which Soleimani was already squandering on his own, and will make it that much harder for pro-detente Iranian politicians (if there are any left after this) to make the case for reopening talks with the U.S. It has harmed our alliances in the Middle East and Europe, which suits Russia just fine. It has perhaps irreparably damaged our relations with Iraq and could force American troops to withdraw from that country, leaving it in the hands of Iran and setting back the effort to clear out the remnants of the Islamic State. In some sense, it is overly generous to say that Trump has an Iran strategy at all. The administration appears not to have thought through the potential downside risks of its plan of action and to have no contingency plans for when things go awry. In that respect, Soleimanis assassination and its aftermath keenly illustrate a fundamental contradiction that causes Trumps foreign-policy initiatives to fail: He believes that with great power comes great leverage. Because the U.S. is by far the most powerful country in the world, we should get whatever we want from everyone else, all the time. The fact that this is not true keeps tripping Trump up. Here, he has run into a situation in which he has all the hard power in the world, but little ability to influence Irans behavior. Escalating tensions and threatening war have not succeeded at browbeating Tehran into compliance; they have only encouraged new forms of intransigence. This path does not lead to a peaceful resolution of the crisis he has created. Trump alone will decide how this chapter of the American-Iranian conflict ends. He can make good on his threat to attack Iran on its own soil, launching a full-scale war; or he can offer the Iranians a framework for a new nuclear deal that they can actually accept, which would probably look similar to the deal he tore up in 2018. As long as both options are anathema to the president, we will remain locked in a frozen conflict, neither going to war nor making peace. For the time being, that may be the best we can hope for. Babson College said a staffer who posted a message on social media urging Iran to list U.S. cultural sites to bomb is no longer a Babson College" employee. Babsons director of sustainability and adjunct professor Asheen Phansey had first been suspended by the college after the Facebook post. TB Daily News reported the post stated Iran should create a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural heritage that could be bombed after the killing of Irans Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was killed last week in an American drone strike in Baghdad. Babson College conducted a prompt and thorough investigation related to a post shared on a staff members personal Facebook page that does not represent the values and culture of the College. Based on the results of the investigation, the staff member is no longer a Babson College employee, the college said in a statement released Thursday. As we have previously stated, Babson College condemns any type of threatening words and/or actions condoning violence and/or hate. Phanseys post included the Kardashian residence and the Mall of America. Phansey, in a statement to the Boston Herald, apologized for the post and called it an attempt at humor. As an American, born and raised, I was trying to juxtapose our cultural sites with ancient Iranian churches and mosques, he said in the statement to the Herald where he further stated he opposed violence. When the announcement came about Phanseys suspension, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a national civil liberties organization that defends student and faculty speech rights, defended the adjunct professor. The organization sent a letter to Babson College earlier Thursday stating the college needed to uphold commitments to freedom of expression and end the investigation. FIRE then sent a statement after learning Phansey was no longer at Babson College. Babson College has terminated an adjunct professor for a personal Facebook post criticizing the President of the United States," said Adam Steinbaugh, director of FIREs Individual Rights Defense Program. "The professors post is obvious rhetorical hyperbole and cannot reasonably be read as a threat, incitement, or even a sincere endorsement of violence. Babsons process-free termination of the professor in an attempt to quell criticism on social media is censorship, plain and simple, and reveals Babsons stated commitment to freedom of expression to be worthless. It is the big Pongal weekend in Tamil Nadu, when normally half a dozen Tamil releases hit the screen. However this year the lone Pongal release is the Rajinikanth biggie Darbar, which hit the screens yesterday January 9. The film gets a dream one week solo run before Dhanushs Pattas hits the screen after Pongal on January 16. There are two significant Hindi releases, Deepika Padukones Chhapaak on an acid survivor and Ajay Devgns period drama Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior. The lone English release of the week is Like A Boss, only in multiplexes. And for Telugu festival of Sankranthi, there is Mahesh Babus Sarileru Neekevvaru on Saturday, January 11. Allu Arjuns Ala Vaikunthapurraaaamuloo hits the screens on Sunday January 12. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, and the Inspector General of Police (I.G.), Muhammed Adamu, say henceforth sanction await anyone that attempt to disrupt the countrys electoral process. The security chiefs gave the warning at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) expanded meeting of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on Friday in Abuja. Mr Monguno, while addressing the meeting, maintained there must be consequences for bad behaviour during elections. Bad behaviour not only in relation to thugs, criminal, outlaws and people who just want to upset the entire system, but our own elements and agents who either by design or default want to scuttle this process must be brought to book. For the first time in the history of this country, we must be able to carry through to a logical conclusion on any act that is contrary to what the state had placed. Anyone who behaves outside the confines of legitimacy will have to be dealt with, while anything that is illegal will not be pushed under the carpet, Mr Monguno, a retired major general, said. The NSA said lessons had been drawn from 2019 General Elections, including pre-elections preparations, the conduct of the elections and the post-election activities. He gave assurance that the lessons would be reflected on the elections to be held early this year. We have a responsibility to securing this process, because the voters and indeed, the wider society have a lot of expectations from us and we need to fulfil the legitimate expectations of the people by behaving in accordance with the status. For those of us in the security environment, what we need to do is to address the challenges we had in the previous elections and to ensure that these things do not reoccur. Securing the environment, the electorate and those who will actually engage the process, the officials of INEC and other state officials, is a responsibility for all of us. Without active collaboration, we cannot achieve confidence in the larger society. It is extremely important also for us to know that this time around, whatever be the problems we had in the last elections, we must be able to address them. Mr Monguno reassured the nation that the security agencies would do everything possible to secure the environment and those people who were engaged in the electoral process. The IGP and Co-Chair of ICCES, warned that serious action would be taken against anyone including security personnel, who want to compromise the electoral process. From now onward anybody either within the security agencies or INEC that want to compromise the electoral system will be sanctioned, starting from rerun elections scheduled for January. Immediately you are identified, we will take you out of the system to ensure that it is not disrupted, while such person will face serious sanction. The same thing with the politicians, if we do not do this, then removing violence and disruption of electoral process will not happen. The rerun election is going to be a test case of what I am saying, Mr Adamu said. Mr Adamu, however, called for synergy within security agencies performing election duties and INEC officials. He said no touts could commit any electoral offense on the Election Day without connivance from either security agencies or INEC officials or the politicians. The INEC Chairman and a Co-Chair of ICCES, Mahmood Yakubu, earlier expressed the Commissions concern that security deployment in some of the most recent elections left much to be desired. Mr Yakubu said there was more emphasis on numbers of security personnel to be deployed. He said less consideration on strategic deployment to protect the process, leaving the voters, election officials, party agents, observers, the media and even unarmed security personnel at polling units vulnerable to attacks by thugs and hoodlums. Advertisements Furthermore, there is emphasis on numbers of security personnel but less on synergy, coordination and collaboration among the various security agencies in line with the purpose for which ICCES was established in the first instance. We must adopt a different approach to election security. We must translate the new approach to reality in the forthcoming re-run elections such that Nigerians will see a qualitatively different security arrangement. No thugs and hoodlums can be more powerful than the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies. It is the failure to act decisively and collaboratively that encourages thuggery and serves as an incentive for bad behaviour, he said. Mr Yakubu disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) were now members of ICCES to curb vote buying. He recalled that the recommendation for their inclusion was made in the last ICCES meeting. We expressed concern about the dimension that illegal deployment of financial resources to influence the outcome of elections, including vote-buying at polling units on Election Day, has assumed. The meeting, recognising the existing collaboration with the anti-corruption agencies in tracking financial flows for illicit purposes as well as the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such flows. This is especially for the purpose of corrupting the electoral process through vote-buying, resolved that EFCC and ICPC should be included as members of ICCES. Mr Yakubu also expressed the commissions readiness for the re-run elections to be held on January 25 in 28 constituencies across 11 states in compliance with the orders of Election Petition Tribunals. (NAN) UAB comes to a contractual agreement to allow their third-year emergency medicine residents to ride with Alabama LifeSaver Program BIRMNGHAM, Ala., Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Air Methods, the leading air medical service provider, announced today that it recently signed a contract with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that will allow third-year emergency medicine residents to assist the Alabama LifeSaver program with providing emergency care. This is the first program in the state of Alabama to permit medical school residents to provide physician-level care in the sky. The UAB residency program will partner with the LifeSaver program, where residents will gain first-hand exposure to the needs of air medical patients. The LifeSaver 4 program is a division of Air Methods that have been providing critical care air transport since 1981. LifeSaver 3 has also operated since 1981, serving Alabama and the surrounding states. The residents will be assisting with and performing the same approved skills as the clinicians on board the aircraft. Here at UAB we aspire to provide our residents with the most relevant EMS field practice in the hopes of inspiring some to be involved in their respective EMS communities once their residencies are complete, said Dr. William Ferguson, medical director for the UAB residency program. This unique partnership is another excellent addition to UABs prestigious program, and we are certain that residents will gain valuable experience from it. This premier program will allow residents to contribute to the administration of care at the scene of an accident or the bedside of a smaller spending hospital. The partnership will provide an opportunity for residents to advance their knowledge of the emergency medical field and recognize the needs of a diverse population, which is crucial to providing top-tier care to patients. ### About the UAB Residency Program The UAB Emergency Medicine Residency Program provides some of the best comprehensive training in the United States. UAB is fully accredited by the Residency Review Committee in Emergency Medicine. They have a large patient population and the ability to gain deep exposure to various critical and non-critical conditions. The goal is to firmly establish a sense of confidence and discipline in their residents that promote the best patient care outcomes. Story continues About Air Methods Air Methods (www.airmethods.com) is the leading air medical service, delivering lifesaving care to more than 70,000 people every year. With nearly 40 years of air medical experience, Air Methods is the preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services. United Rotorcraft is the Companys products division specializing in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. Air Methods fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features more than 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Matthew Pera Amendola Communications (for Air Methods) 219-628-0258 mpera@acmarketingpr.com Boeing endorsed pilot simulator training on the 737 MAX prior to its return to service, a requirement that is expected to further delay commercial flights (AFP/File / Jason Redmond) The aviation giant, which has been roiled by a nine-month crisis after the plane was grounded following two deadly crashes, described the new stance as reflective of its "unstinting commitment" to safety. The company previously argued pilots would need only computer-based training, so the announcement was the first major shift in approach since Boeing replaced its chief executive in late December. But requiring pilots to train on simulators is expected to delay resumption of commercial flights because of the limited number of MAX simulators available. Focus now turns to the US Federal Aviation Administration, which previously resisted calls by Canadian and European regulators for the additional pilot training. The MAX has been grounded since mid-March following the second of the two fatal crashes that together claimed 346 lives. Boeing and the FAA have drawn intense criticism for their handling of the crisis as well as the process for certifying the plane to fly. "Safety is Boeing's top priority," the company's acting Chief Executive Greg Smith said in a statement. "Public, customer and stakeholder confidence in the 737 MAX is critically important to us and with that focus Boeing has decided to recommend MAX simulator training combined with computer-based training for all pilots prior to returning the MAX safely to service." An FAA spokesman said the agency will consider Boeing's advice during an upcoming meeting involving a board of US and foreign air carrier crews that will help inform the agency's official recommendation before it is opened for public comment. "The FAA is following a thorough process, not a set timeline, to ensure that any design modifications to the 737 MAX are integrated with appropriate training and procedures," the FAA spokesman said. Michel Merluzeau, aviation expert at Air Insight Research, said requiring simulator training would extend the delay before flights resume, but the step was essentially inevitable. "It's a common sense decision," Merluzeau told AFP. "It's something that shows that they are being very careful and not taking any shortcuts to speed the MAX's return to service." US Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat who is leading a congressional probe of the MAX crashes, said simulator training was the right decision but "it's remarkable that it took two deadly crashes, numerous investigations and untold public pressure before Boeing arrived at this decision." - Few simulators available - The debate over training requirements has loomed as an open question as Boeing worked on new software to address a problem with a flight handling system linked to both crashes. The FAA also has raised additional concerns against a backdrop of intensifying public and congressional scrutiny. Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III, who famously landed a damaged plane on the Hudson River in New York in 2009, forcefully endorsed simulator training in a July congressional hearing, saying "reading about it on an iPad is not even close to sufficient." A Boeing spokesman said Tuesday there are currently 34 MAX simulators around the world, 26 owned by airline operators and eight owned by Boeing. That is a fraction of the 387 planes already delivered and roughly 400 additional planes that have been built and stored since the regulators worldwide grounded the MAX in March. One option that has been discussed would be to conduct training through an updated simulator for Boeing's 737 NG, a predecessor to the MAX. Southwest Airlines, which has the most MAX planes in service, has three simulators in "various stages of FAA certification, and we expect to receive an additional three simulators in late 2020," a spokeswoman said. Having insisted that simulator training was not necessary, Boeing had promised Southwest rebate of $1 million per-plane if simulator training was needed, a source told AFP last year. An American Airlines spokesman said the carrier has one simulator, while United Airlines has one MAX simulator and three on order, a spokesman said. In December, Boeing ousted Dennis Muilenburg as chief executive and tapped long-time board member David Calhoun who takes over on January 13. Boeing's share price gained ground on the news, and finished up 1.1 percent at $337.28. LAGRANGEVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 25, 2019, through HQ's investigation of a phishing incident, HQ determined some patient information may have been contained in an email account accessed by an unauthorized party. HQ first learned of a potential incident in July 2018, when numerous HQ employees were deceived by a phishing scheme, which resulted in certain HQ employees being tricked into inadvertently disclosing their email account credentials to an unauthorized party. The employee email accounts in question were secured and a leading cybersecurity firm was engaged to assist HQ in its investigation. As part of the investigation, HQ performed a comprehensive review of the voluminous contents of the email accounts in question to determine if they contained any sensitive information. HQ mailed some notification letters in May, 2019. Upon further investigation, HQ determined additional notices were required. HQ determined emails and attachments in some employees' email accounts contained information pertaining to current and former patients. The information involved varied by individual, but may include names in combination with, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, Medicare Health Insurance Claim Numbers (HICNs), driver's license numbers, provider name(s), dates of treatment, treatment and diagnosis information, health insurance plan member and group numbers, health insurance claims information, financial account information with PIN/security code, and payment card information. On January 10, 2020, HQ began mailing additional letters to affected patients and established a dedicated call center to answer questions that patients may have. HQ recommends its patients review the statements they receive from their healthcare providers and health insurers. If they see services they did not receive, they should contact the provider or insurer immediately. For eligible patients whose Social Security number or driver's license number was found in the email account, HQ is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services. Health Quest is now part of Nuvance Health, a seven-hospital system in the Hudson Valley of New York and western Connecticut. HQ and Nuvance Health remain committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of its patients' information. To help prevent something like this from happening in the future, multi-factor authentication for email and additional procedures have been implemented to further expand and strengthen security processes. Additional training to employees regarding phishing emails and other cybersecurity issues has also been offered. If individuals believe they have been affected but did not receive a letter by February 15, 2020, please call 1-844-967-1236, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. EST with questions. SOURCE Health Quest Systems, Inc. Related Links http://www.healthquest.org A wet cough is a type of cough that brings up fluid, such as phlegm. This is the opposite of a dry cough, which does not produce any fluid. In some cases, the type of cough a person has can help indicate its cause. This is because some underlying conditions produce mainly wet coughs, while others produce mainly dry coughs. Read on to learn about some other differences between wet and dry coughs, as well as their potential causes. This article also outlines the various treatment options available for a wet cough. What is a wet cough? Share on Pinterest A person with a respiratory infection may experience a wet cough. Coughing is a reflex that occurs in response to irritation in the throat or lungs. It is the bodys way of removing irritants such as fluid and phlegm. A wet cough occurs when fluid in the airways triggers the coughing reflex. Another name for a wet cough is a productive cough, since it produces phlegm. A wet cough can occur for a variety of reasons. Some potential causes include: respiratory infections chronic lung conditions a heart condition Sometimes, a wet cough is accompanied by other symptoms, such as: shortness of breath wheezing bubbling, popping, or rattling sounds, called crackles continuous, low pitched, snore-like sounds, called rhonchi pink tinged phlegm These symptoms can provide a clue as to what is causing the wet cough. Wet cough vs. dry cough Various disease processes affect the lungs in different ways. A wet cough indicates that there is fluid in the airways. With a dry cough, however, there is little to no fluid in the airways. Therefore, a dry cough does not produce phlegm. Some conditions may produce either a wet cough or a dry cough. Other conditions may produce mainly one or mainly the other, but with both potentially present. Causes of a wet cough Some typical causes of a wet cough include: A respiratory infection A wet cough often occurs as a result of a respiratory infection. Various types of respiratory infection can lead to an increase in mucus, including: the common cold acute bronchitis pneumonia Other potential symptoms of a respiratory infection include: a sore throat fever or chills fatigue Bronchiectasis The bronchial tubes carry air in and out of the lungs. Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the surface tissue of the bronchial tubes becomes thick, floppy, and scarred, with a widening of the tube diameter as a result of chronic inflammation. This results in excess mucus production, which can trigger a wet cough. Excess mucus production, leading to a buildup within the bronchial tubes, also increases the risk of a lung infection. Some other potential symptoms of bronchiectasis include: wheezing breathlessness fatigue coughing up blood or blood stained phlegm chest pain joint pain clubbing of the fingertips Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for a group of chronic and progressive lung conditions. Some of these include: emphysema chronic bronchitis refractory asthma Some forms of COPD cause damage to the tiny air sacs within the lungs, while others affect the bronchial tubes, the bronchioles, or both. Some symptoms of COPD include: a wet cough wheezing shortness of breath tightness in the chest Congestive heart failure Congestive heart failure (CHF) occurs when the heart has difficulty pumping blood throughout the body. When this ineffective pumping occurs on the left side of the heart, it causes fluid to leak into the air sacs within the lungs. The result is a wet cough, crackles, and wheezing. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) , CHF may produce pink tinged mucus. Some additional symptoms may include: shortness of breath fatigue swelling of the legs or feet, due to right sided heart failure causing poor circulation Causes of a dry cough A dry cough differs from a wet cough in that it does not produce any fluid or mucus. It generally develops in response to irritation or inflammation of the airways. Some common causes of a dry cough include: gastroesophageal reflux disease asthma pulmonary fibrosis certain medications Does COVID-19 cause a wet or dry cough? According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are a dry cough, fever, and tiredness. In some people, however, coughing may produce sputum. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that a sore throat and a runny nose, or nasal congestion, can be prominent symptoms in some cases. The symptoms of COVID-19 are usually mild and tend to begin gradually. Severe COVID-19 can lead to pneumonia. If a person develops pneumonia, they may develop a wet cough. Treatment People with a persistent wet cough may seek treatments to suppress it. However, suppressing a wet cough can lead to a buildup of mucus in the air passages of the lungs. This can lead to further complications, such as breathing difficulties and infection. Instead of suppressing it, wet cough treatments typically aim to improve cough efficiency, thereby helping people clear the airways. Other treatments aim to clear phlegm and associated irritation in the back of the throat. If the cough is due to an underlying medical condition, a doctor will prescribe specific treatments for that condition. Treatments to improve cough efficiency and clear phlegm Some of the treatments below help improve cough efficiency. Others decrease mucus in the back of the throat, thereby reducing the need to cough. Expectorants and mucolytics Expectorants and mucolytics are medications that thin the mucus and make it less sticky. This makes it easier for people to cough it up. These medications work best for people who have a wet cough but are having difficulty getting the phlegm up. Airway clearance devices Airway clearance devices, such as the oscillating positive expiratory pressure (PEP) device, use pressure and vibration to help shift phlegm from the airways during exhalation. This helps improve cough efficiency. A 2014 review investigated the efficacy of PEP therapy in the treatment of stable bronchiectasis. The review included seven studies involving a total of 146 participants. The researchers found that PEP therapy improved cough effectiveness and sputum expectoration compared with no treatment. Gargling with salt water Gargling with salt water is an easy home remedy that may help alleviate a wet cough. The salt water may decrease mucus in the back of the throat, thereby reducing the need to cough. A range of different salt water recipes are available. Most, including that of the American Dental Association, recommend mixing half a teaspoon of salt with 8 ounces of warm water. People should consider gargling this a few times per day to reduce phlegm. Specific treatments The treatment options for a wet cough also depend partly on the cause. Some more specific treatments include: Antibiotics Antibiotics are helpful for a wet cough that occurs due to a bacterial infection. One 2017 review found that taking appropriate antibiotics can improve a chronic wet cough among children with bacterial bronchitis. Medications to treat CHF People who experience a wet cough due to CHF may receive drugs called diuretics, which help relieve fluid retention. This, in turn, can reduce the amount of fluid in the lungs, which can help alleviate a wet cough. People who have CHF may also receive drugs to: reduce the heart rate regulate the heart rhythm control the blood pressure reduce the cholesterol levels When to see a doctor In some cases, a wet cough may indicate a serious underlying health condition, such as a lung or heart condition. If a person is in any doubt as to the cause of their wet cough, they should make an appointment to see their doctor. People should see a doctor as soon as possible if they experience any of the following symptoms alongside a cough: foul-smelling phlegm green, yellow, or pink tinged phlegm coughing up blood swelling in the legs, feet, or ankles a wet cough that lasts for longer than a few days significant fever or chills People who experience the following symptoms should seek emergency medical attention: bluish skin or nails labored breathing confusion or loss of consciousness chest pain Former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw is 100% certain Scots will vote for independence (Laura Lean/PA) A former Labour Cabinet minister has said he is 100% certain Scotland will become independent. Ben Bradshaw MP said it was completely untenable for the UK Government to deny a second vote on the matter, adding he had no doubt voters north of the border would opt to leave the UK. The former culture secretary spoke out in an interview with the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. It is completely untenable that the Government in London is denying Scots the right to self-determinationBen Bradshaw MP He said: I have no doubt at all that Scotland will become independent. It is completely untenable that the Government in London is denying Scots the right to self-determination. The Scots expressed in the 2016 EU referendum, and in the two subsequent general elections, that they do not want to leave the EU. It is important to understand that the United Kingdom is based on the consent of all parts of the country. Expand Close Nicola Sturgeon has already written to the PM, demanding the power to hold a second independence referendum. (Jane Barlow/PA Wire/PA Images) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nicola Sturgeon has already written to the PM, demanding the power to hold a second independence referendum. (Jane Barlow/PA Wire/PA Images) First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson requesting powers to hold a referendum be transferred to Holyrood. The SNP leader has said previously she wants there to be a vote on independence in the later part of 2020. Mr Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter, revealed while members of his family had voted against independence in the previous referendum in 2014, they had since changed their stance. He said: I am married to a Scotsman. Every member of our family in Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum. But in Decembers general election they all gave their vote to the SNP for the first time in their lives. And they would now vote differently from 2014. Scotland will become independent. Im 100% certain about that. ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- King & Union is honored to again be named as a Red Hot Cyber company on DCA Live's annual list for 2020. For the past six years, DCA Live has honored and profiled business leaders and the fastest-growing companies in the greater Washington, D.C. region to identify and highlight those who drive innovation and growth for the region. "We are proud to be recognized as one of the companies representing the cybersecurity innovation, growth and entrepreneurship that's happening in the D.C. area," said John Cassidy, CEO and Founder of King & Union. "There is a tremendous amount of talent, vision and energy in the D.C. tech community, and the companies on this year's list definitely reflect that." The Washington, D.C. region has become ground zero for the cybersecurity industry as dozens of great entrepreneurs and innovators have chosen this area to build companies and help solve some of the biggest security issues facing Federal government, national security, and millions of American consumers. Since 2014, DCA Live has hosted events featuring the Washington, D.C. region's legal, association and nonprofit, entrepreneur, federal tech, real estate and corporate communities. To learn more about the DCA Live Red Hot Cyber event, visit https://dca-live.com/2020-red-hot-cyber. About King & Union King and Union enables security teams to easily create and deliver the right intelligence to the right person across all levels of their organization by unifying data from multiple tools and results from investigations into a single cyber-analysis delivery platform. With our platform, Avalon, security teams can quickly visualize threat data and investigate together in real-time, and once complete, efficiently create and deliver the finished intelligence required to key stakeholders. Avalon reduces the time on manual, administrative tasks, leaving analysts more time to focus on security, and empowers organizations to take full advantage of the security investments they've made - in people, information and technology. For more information, visit: https://www.kingandunion.com or contact ReseAnne Sims at [email protected]. Related Images king-union-logo.png King & Union logo King & Union logo SOURCE King & Union Investors looking to grab a slice of Brisbane's housing market should consider checking out the city's bayside, market watchers said. Suburbs in Brisbane's bayside are expected to perform strongly this year as the region continues to witness favourable market conditions, said Marc Sorrentino, director of Place Manly. Sorrentino said the low interest-rate environment has been enticing many buyers to take their chance in Brisbane's housing market, which is poised to witness a 20% growth. "It's for these reasons I think, come early January, we will see this growth in sales continue and 2020 will be one of the better years in real estate for the bayside," he told The Courier-Mail. Within the region, Gumdale rose as the strongest suburb last year, with median house prices increasing by 28.6% to $1.019m, according to figures from CoreLogic. Over the decade, this suburb was one of the best-performing in terms of average annual increases, along with Wakerley and Manly. Wakerley and Manly reported steady gains in median home prices last year, up by 4.4% to $787,000 and 3.6% to $790,000, respectively. "Interestingly this year we had many buyers coming from the Bulimba, Hawthorne and Morningside areas. Factors such as a second flight path and increased noise along with development making that area even busier seem to be the driving forces for the move to the bayside suburbs," Sorrentino said. And despite the low level of listings in some suburbs in the region, it appears that buyer interest remained strong, said Gail Gobey of Sash and Gable Property. "The sales we can report on in Wynnum, Manly, Manly West and Wynnum West all held their own with the end of the year showing strong growth with our auction clearance rate well above average," she told The Courier-Mail. Interstate investors, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, are also starting to notice the region. "This will see prices maintained or increasing over the next two quarters and we expect a greater increase in property prices in this mid to low price range in the second half of 2020," Gobey said. WASHINGTON - A Justice Department inquiry launched more than two years ago to mollify conservatives clamoring for more investigations of Hillary Clinton has effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything. John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, was tapped in November 2017 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to look into concerns raised by President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress that the FBI had not fully pursued cases of possible corruption at the Clinton Foundation and during her time as secretary of state, when the U.S. government decided not to block the sale of a company called Uranium One. As a part of his review, Huber examined documents and conferred with federal law enforcement officials in Little Rock, Arkansas, who were handling a meandering probe into the Clinton Foundation, people familiar with the matter said. Current and former officials said that Huber has largely finished and found nothing worth pursuing - though the assignment has not formally ended and no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers, these people said. The effective conclusion of his investigation with no criminal charges or other known impacts is likely to roil some in the GOP who had hoped the prosecutor would vindicate their long-held suspicions about a political rival. Trump, though, has largely shifted his focus to a different federal prosecutor tapped to do a separate, special investigation: U.S. Attorney in Connecticut John Durham, who Attorney General William Barr assigned last year to explore the origins of the FBI's 2016 probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. That FBI investigation was being supervised by special counsel Robert Mueller III in late 2017 when Trump and his supporters were pressuring senior law enforcement officials to appoint a second special counsel to pursue Clinton. "Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn't looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary and the Dems," the president tweeted at the time. Sessions did not appoint a second special counsel, but weeks later sent a letter to Huber telling him to "review" a wide array of issues related to Clinton. They included the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One matters, along with the FBI's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and alleged leaks by former FBI Director James Comey. At the time, the attorney general was facing persistent public and private criticism from Trump, who was upset over his recusal from the Russia probe. "Your recommendations should include whether any matters not currently under investigation warrants the opening of an investigation, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources or further investigation, and whether any matters would merit the appointment of a Special Counsel," Sessions wrote. A spokeswoman for Huber referred questions to Justice Department headquarters, where a spokeswoman declined to comment. Conservative lawmakers, particularly then-House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and members of the Freedom Caucus, were initially encouraged by Huber's assignment, seeing it as a sign that Clinton faced new legal jeopardy. Huber was prosecutor with bipartisan credentials - having been named the U.S. attorney first by President Barack Obama before he was retained in the Trump administration. But from the start, senior officials inside the Justice Department viewed Huber's task as unlikely to lead to anything of significance beyond appeasing those angry lawmakers and the president. "We didn't expect much of it, and neither did he," said one person familiar with the matter who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity due to persistent political sensitivities connected to the 2016 election. "And as time went on, a lot of people just forgot about it." A spokesman for Sessions declined to comment. Clinton and her family have been subjected to significant law enforcement and other scrutiny over the years - though the various probes have mostly delivered reputational blows, rather than legal ones. When she ran against Trump in 2016, the FBI probed her use of a private email server to determine if she had mishandled classified information when she was secretary of state. Officials ultimately determined the case should be closed without charges. The State Department more recently concluded a multiyear probe of its own into the matter, but concluded there was no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information by employees. The Clinton family foundation has separately faced investigation over the years on vague corruption allegations, though so far those probes have not produced any charges. Huber's work has been distinct from a number of sensitive investigations into politically fraught cases, including Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's probes of the FBI's handling of the Trump campaign investigation, and the FBI investigation into how Clinton used the private email server. Those two investigations resulted in lengthy reports documenting FBI missteps and failures. Huber's assignment was separate from the ongoing investigation overseen by Durham, and Justice Department officials believe the Connecticut U.S. attorney's work will be far more consequential. Durham is weighing whether to charge a former FBI lawyer for altering an internal email that misled other officials on a key fact related to surveillance applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He is also looking into other issues surrounding FBI and CIA activities during the Russia investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. Huber's tasking was nebulous from the start. Some people involved in the matters he was said to be reviewing expressed surprise that they were not contacted by the U.S. attorney, and wondered privately what he was doing. Some in the Justice Department considered him more reviewer than investigator. He would get involved, people familiar with the matter said, only if other cases were not being handled properly. By the time Mueller filed his lengthy report in the spring of 2019, Huber's work was largely done, these people said. When Trump pushed Sessions out of the Justice Department in November 2018, Matthew Whitaker became acting attorney general. Whitaker, according to people familiar with the conversations, tried to push Huber to be more aggressive in his work, but Huber felt he had looked at everything he could and that there was not much more to do, these people said. Whitaker did not respond to messages seeking comment. After Barr was confirmed as attorney general in early 2019, the department had still said nothing publicly about the result of Huber's work, focusing instead on releasing Mueller's findings. Barr, who served as attorney general during the George H.W. Bush administration as well, was among the conservative voices in Washington who had previously suggested there was possible criminal wrongdoing in the Uranium One matter, though he tempered those comments during his confirmation. Republicans questioned whether there was misconduct in the U.S. government's decision to not block a 2010 acquisition in which Russia's atomic energy agency, Rosatom, acquired a controlling stake in Uranium One, a Toronto-based company. The deal meant that Rosatom got rights to about 20 percent of the uranium extraction capacity in the United States. That transaction had a tenuous connection to Clinton, who was running the State Department at the time. Under obscure government rules, the deal required approval from a multiagency board because it involved giving a foreign government control of an American business commodity with national security implications. The board, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, is composed of representatives from nine different agencies, including the State Department. Clinton herself was never on the CFIUS board. In rare cases, CFIUS can decide to intervene and block a corporate merger or acquisition if the board feels the risk to U.S. national security is too great. Conservatives questioned whether Clinton may have manipulated CFIUS to let the acquisition proceed, but current and former officials have denied that, saying such a decision was handled well below the level of the secretary of state. Conservatives also demanded an aggressive investigation into whether wealthy individuals and governments may have made donations to the Clinton Foundation in the hopes of getting favors from the State Department. That investigation became the subject of escalating tensions within the FBI and Justice Department in 2016, and was restarted after the election, but has not gained traction, according to people familiar with the matter. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday alleged that the AAP has dealt a "crushing blow to the system", and accused the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation of failing to reimburse 70 per cent of the expense borne by the municipal corporations in Delhi. Alleging that the civic body-run schools in Delhi are made to operate with only 57 per cent of the sanctioned teachers strength, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister took a swipe at the AAP government's model, saying, "They call this a success." "It (AAP government) has failed to reimburse ?3,941 cr to North MCD, ?569 cr to East MCD & ?223 cr to South MCD. As a result, the MCDs have been unable to pay salaries, seventh central pay commission arrears and other benefits to the teachers. The schools operate with only 57 per cent of teachers... they call this a success," Puri tweeted. All the three municipal corporations in Delhi are ruled by the BJP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement A passenger on board the doomed Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran killing all 176 on board had a 'premonition' the jet was going down and even posted a selfie with a 'goodbye' poem. Sheyda Shadkhoo called her husband, Hassan, from on board the flight, asking him to reassure her everything would be fine as she was worried before take-off. It comes as British friends of teenage victim, Arad Zarei, paid tribute to their classmate yesterday who was named as the latest victim to have died in the disaster. Zarei, who moved from west London to Canada to be with his father when his parents divorced, was among those who died when UIA flight PS 752 went down shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport n the early hours of Wednesday morning. Also on the flight was Sheyda Shadkhoo, who posted a selfie on Instagram detailing her fears for the safety of the flight before the aircraft, believed is to have been shot down by Iranian anti-aircraft missiles, left Tehran. He husband told CBC from Toronto that he spoke to her 20 minutes before take off she was concerned about the rising tensions between Iran and the US following the assassination of Iranian general Qassam Soleimani with a drone strike in Baghdad last Friday. Alongside the selfie, Shadkhoo added a poem that read: 'I'm leaving but...what's behind me worries me. Behind me, behind me. I'm scared for the people behind me.' Scroll down for video Victim Arad Zarei (left) moved from west London to Canada to be with his father when his parents divorced and was visitn his mother in Iran. Mohammad Zadeh (right) of Brighton, East Sussex, who was also killed in the Tehran air crash Newlywed Brit victim Saeed Tahmasebi and his new Iranian wife Niloufar. They were among three other British victims Niloufar Ebrahim, who died in a plane crash involving a Ukrainian passenger plane along with her husband Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi in Iran on Wednesday Her husband, Hassan, told the network: 'She knew. Look at her face, look at the poem that she wrote. She was an angel. I wish I didn't exist right now.' Zarei had been returning from visiting the city of Shiraz in Iran to see his mother for the Christmas, who he had not seen since summer 2018, when disaster struck the aircraft bound for Kyiv. The 17-year-old spent part of his childhood in Britain went to school in Twickenham, south west London, before moving to Ontario, Canada. Yesterday as news of his death spread, his British classmates were allowed to stay off school to mourn, according to the Times. Many of his friends in Britain had kept in touch over social media and Zarei had planned to come back to Britain to celebrate his 18th birthday, then go onto study at a British university. Aiden Fenby, 16, who met Zarei at St Mary's primary school in west London told the Times: 'He was my best friend. He was just the nicest guy. When I found out what happened from someone online, it was so upsetting.' Briton Sam Zokaei.Zokaei 42, from Twickenham in west London was among those who died in the crash Zarei was in his final semester of studies at Richmond Green Secondary School in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Mehrzad Zarei, Zarei's father, said in a statement to Canadian media: 'He was the apple of my eye and his energetic demeanour and caring personality left a lasting impression on his classmates and many friends. 'His loss will undoubtedly leave a gaping hole in the lives of the many he touched.' A newlywed husband celebrating marriage with his bride was among three other British victims. Saeed Tahmasebi, from Chiswick west London, had flown to Tehran with new wife Niloofar Ebrahim for the second leg of their wedding. Dry cleaning firm boss Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda-Zadeh, from Brighton, East Sussex, and Sam Zokaei, am engineer from London, were also among those who died in the tragedy. In another twist of fate a ticket mix-up left a man stuck at the airport in Iran while his wife boarded the flight. When Mohsen Ahmadipour said goodbye to his wife Roja Azadian, he had no idea it would be their last. The couple had been visiting their families before they prepared to return home to Ottawa, Canada. But when they arrived at the airport in Tehran, Ahmadipour was told that his ticket was no longer valid, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The pair had planned to return home together, but instead Ahmadipour told his wife that he would join her in Canada as soon as he could get on another flight home. Azadian, 43, boarded the flight while Ahmadipour stayed at the airport. The flight took off. And within moments she was gone. Flight PS752 came down just minutes after leaving the runway at Imam Khomeini International Airport. Fifteen children, including a baby born in 2018, were named among the dead which comprised of 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons. Ahmadipour learned of the crash from inside the terminal. 'He was the lucky person who didn't get on the plane,' Kevin Manesh, a veterinarian and public relations director of the Iranian Arts and Cultural Society of Ottawa, told the Ottawa Citizen. Manesh explained that Ahmadipour had canceled a portion of his trip, assuming that the flight between Tehran and Toronto was still valid. The grieving husband's wife was among the 63 Canadians who lost their lives in the horrific crash. A satellite image showing the crash area where an Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 carrying 176 people that crashed near Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran A ticket mix-up left Mohsen Ahmadipour (right) stuck at the airport in Iran while his wife, Roja Azadian (left), boarded the doomed Ukrainian International Airline flight believed to have been shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile system When Ahmadipour said goodbye to his wife Roja Azadian, he had no idea it would be their last. The couple (pictured) had been visiting their families before they prepared to return home to Ottawa, Canada Canadian newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gourji, 25, from Edmonton, had gone to Iran to be married. The couple were computer science students from the University of Alberta. Four members of their wedding party were also on board. Of the 63 Canadians who died yesterday when the jet plu nged to the ground in a burst of flames near Tehran, 24 were from Edmonton and at least 13 were residents of British Columbia. Siavash Ghafouri-Azar and Sara Mamani, of Montreal, were also recently married. According to LinkedIn, Mamani was an engineer at Bombardier and Ghafouri worked as a performance specialist at Pratt and Whitney Canada. Many of the dead were Canadian-Iranian's flying back from the winter break. The University of Guelph in Canada said two PhD students, as well as the partner of one of the students died. Ghanimat Azhdari was a student in the department of geography and Milad Ghasemi was a student in marketing. Azhdari's partner, Hamed Alibeiki, also died. Sixty-three Canadians, including two recently married couples, were among the 176 passengers who were killed when a Ukrainian jet crashed in Iran on Wednesday. Canadian newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gourji, 25, (both pictured) from Edmonton, had gone to Iran to be married Dentist, Parisa Eghbalian (top right), and her nine-year-old daughter, Reera Esmaeilion (center), also died in the crash. Eghbalian co-owned Aurora Dentistry in Ontario with her husband (left), who was not on the plane The University of Guelph in Canada said two PhD students, as well as the partner of one of the students died. Ghanimat Azhdari (pictured) was a student in the department of geography and Milad Ghasemi was a student in marketing. Azhdari's partner, Hamed Alibeiki, also died Husband and wife, Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi and Niloufar Razzaghi, were killed along with their teen son, Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi (all pictured), while heading home to Vancouver after a holidays Another family, from Edmonton, Canada, was also wiped out. Pedram Mousavi (left), 47, and his wife Mojan Deneshmand (right), 43, who both work at the University of Alberta, Canada, also died along with their two young daughters Daria, 14, and Darina 10 Western University said four of their students died. Three were current graduate students and one was an incoming graduate student. They did not name the students. Doctoral candidate, Mari Foroutan, 37, who attended the University of Waterloo in Ontario, died in the crash. Payman Paseyan, a member of the Iranian-Canadian community in Edmonton, Alberta, said about 27 people from Edmonton, including international students and a family of four that he knew, were on the flight. A family from Edmonton, Canada, was also wiped out. Pedram Mousavi, 47, and his wife Mojan Deneshmand, 43, who both work at the University of Alberta, Canada, also died along with their two young daughters Daria, 14, and Darina 10. Paseyan said he often would go to the gym with Mousavi and described him as a nice guy who often visited his former restaurant with his family. 'I am not aware of any extended family members that they have here. It's just terrible,' Paseyan said. He said most of victims were visiting family in Iran over the holidays. He said many were dual citizens and many were international students. 'One of the reasons why you take that flight is you wouldn't want to take a flight that has a connection in the United States because international students can't do that,' he said. Bahareh Haj Esfandiari (right), 41, Mehdi Sadeghi (center), 43, and Anisa Sadeghi (being held by her father), 10, were among the dead Masoumeh Ghavi (pictured), of Nova Scotia, was studying engineering at Dalhousie University. She and her sister, Mandieh Ghavi, were killed in the crash as they were traveling back to Canada. They were in Iran visiting family for the holidays Forough Khadem (pictured), who worked in immunology and with CancerCare Manitoba, was also confirmed as one of the victims Evin Arsalani, 30, her husband, Hiva Molani (both left), 38, and their one-year-old daughter Kurdia (right, with Arsalani) were killed in the crash Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh (both pictured), of Montreal, were identified by friends as victims from the crash According to Global News, Masoumeh Ghavi, of Nova Scotia, was studying engineering at Dalhousie University. She and her sister, Mandieh Ghavi, were killed in the crash as they were traveling back to Canada. They were in Iran visiting family for the holidays. Husband and wife, Ardalan Ebnoddin Hamidi and Niloufar Razzaghi, were killed along with their teen son, Kamyar Ebnoddin Hamidi, while heading home to Vancouver after a holidays. A dentistry in Aurora, Ontario confirmed that Parisa Eghbalian, a dentist, and her nine-year-old daughter Reera Esmaeilion died. Eghbalian's husband, Hamed Esmaeilion, is also a dentist at E&E Dentistry, but was not traveling with his wife and child. According to Global News, Bahareh Haj Esfandiari, 41, Mehdi Sadeghi, 43, and Anisa Sadeghi, 10, were among the dead. The Winnipeg family's deaths were confirmed by Welcome Place, where Esfandiari worked. 'We are deeply saddened to have learned a recent former employee was on the flight with her husband and daughter travelling back home to Canada after the holidays,' the company shared in a Facebook post. Forough Khadem, who worked in immunology and with CancerCare Manitoba, was also confirmed as one of the victims. Evin Arsalani, 30, her husband, Hiva Molani, 38, and their one-year-old daughter Kurdia were killed in the crash. They were on their way home to Ontario from Iran where they had attended a wedding in December. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology announced on Wednesday that Dr Razgar Rahimi, an engineering instructor, at the college, was among the victims killed in the crash. During a press conference in Ottawa yesterday, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center), said that Canada expects to play a big part into the Iranian investigation into the flight crash due to the sheer number of Canadian victims A man weeps during a service at Western University in London, Ontario, on Wednesday. The service was held for the four graduate students who were killed in the Iranian plane crash A woman weeps during a ceremony to commemorate the four graduate students who were killed when a Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran on Wednesday In a letter to parents, the principal of Northern Secondary School says the school is grieving the loss of Maya Zibaie, a tenth grade student. Arvin Morattab and Aida Farzaneh, of Montreal, were identified by friends as victims from the crash. Pedram Jadidi was a civil engineering student at the University of Windsor. He was traveling back to Canada after visiting family for the holidays. Hamidreza Setare and Samira Bashiri were living in Windsor. Setare was also an engineer student at the University of Windsor. University of Windsor student, Zahra Naghibi, was a PhD candidate at the college's Turbulence and Energy Lab. Just before the crash the Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched missile strikes on US bases in Iraq. These strikes were a direct response to President Donald Trump's assassination of General Soleimani. Mourners light candles and place flowers outside the Amir Bakery in North Vancouver on Wednesday Mourners can be seen gathering during a service at Western University in London, Ontario, on Wednesday A woman mourns outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, yesterday. Twenty-four of the Canadian victims hailed from Edmonton Rescue workers in protective suits gather up the bodies of passengers who were killed in the Boeing 737 crash in Iran Rescue teams work amidst debris after the Ukrainian plane crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning on Wednesday Rescue workers recover the bodies of victims of a Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday The Iranian regime has insisted the plane's engine caught fire causing a loss of control, but has fueled suspicion of foul-play by refusing to hand over the craft's black boxes. Video footage appeared to show the plane already burning before it fell out of the night sky, while pictures at the crash site showed the mangled wreckage peppered with mysterious holes. The Boeing plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, with 'one of our best crews' manning the aircraft, the Ukrainian airline said. On Thursday it was revealed that US officials are 'confident' that Iran shot down the Boeing 737-800 jet after detecting a radar system being turned on before two missiles were launched, shortly before an explosion believed to have come from the jet. Two Pentagon officials added that the missiles were likely launched in error by Iranian anti-aircraft crews awaiting a US response to Iran's rocket strikes against American bases in Iraq, according to Newsweek. If true, the incident would be hugely embarrassing for Iran which had sought to avoid killing anybody in Wednesday's strikes, especially since 82 of the plane's passengers were Iranians. It could also spark fresh tensions in the Middle East just a day after Trump said Iran seemed to be 'standing down'. The jet which crashed was a Boeing 737-800 - a very common single-aisle, twin-engine jetliner used for short to medium-range flights. Thousands of the planes are used by airlines around the world. The black boxes (pictured) from the Ukrainian airliner were found but Iran says it will not hand them over to Boeing Pieces of debris are seen lying at the crash site in a picture released by an Iranian news agency today, showing what appeared to be holes in the fuselage of the Boeing aircraft Introduced in the late 1990s, it is an older model than the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months following the two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. According to flight tracking data from FlightRadar24, the jet reached an altitude of 7,925ft before tracking suddenly ended after three minutes. The plane had been delayed from taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran by almost an hour. 'The plane was in working order,' UIA company president Yevgeniy Dykhne told a briefing in Kyiv where he choked back tears. 'It was one of our best planes with a wonderful crew.' It was the Kyiv-based carrier's first fatal accident. Just hours before the crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration had banned US airlines from flying over Iran, Iraq and the waters of the Persian Gulf due to the Middle East crisis. An MoU being signed in Tien Giang Province on January 8 for building sustainable clam supply chains to benefit farmers in the Mekong Delta.-VNS Photo Ngoc Diep The MoU was signed with the Dutch company by the provinces' Fisheries Sub-departments, the International Collaborating Centre for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), and representatives of clam farmers and co-operatives. It was signed under the EU-funded Inclusive and sustainable clam and bamboo value chains development in Viet Nam project carried out by Oxfam, ICAFIS and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2018-22. All of them will work to establish closed clam supply chains encompassing all stages from breeding and harvesting to transporting and processing. It could hold the key to sustainable clam production in the country and help prevent overexploitation. Le Thanh Luu, director of ICAFIS, said clam farming has been developing in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region for many years, mostly in Ben Tre, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces. In 2009, Ben Tre Provinces small-scale community-based clam fisheries met Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards. Tien Giang this year and Tra Vinh in 2021 are also expected to achieve MSC certification. Nguyen Ho Nguyen, general director of Lenger, said his company mostly exports clam products to the US, Japan and the EU, and 80 per cent of all customers there demand MSC certification. Local clam breeders are able to reach consumers world-wide thanks to MSC certification. The company has developed a distribution channel comprising supermarkets and restaurants across the country. SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PREP Securities, LLC, the broker-dealer affiliate of PREP Property Group, announced today that the firm has expanded its distribution team with the addition of several senior professionals, and will no longer outsource its sales functions through CR Capital Distributors. PREP Securities manages the selling group of third-party broker-dealer firms that raise capital for offerings sponsored by PREP Property Group. Joining PREP Securities from CR Capital are eight experienced industry veterans, three of whom will join the executive team: Phil Meserve, chief executive officer; Adam Dooley, who serves as president and oversees the sales team; Sean "Mac" McEntegart, senior vice president of national accounts, whose primary responsibility is managing and cultivating selling firm relations. Additionally, the new PREP Securities external sales team consists of regional vice presidents Sean Ryan, Kevin Deacy, Nick Brakovich and associate vice presidents Mike Hassel and Michael Tootle. Kevin Hull, a veteran industry securities lawyer and PREP Securities' former chief executive officer, remains with the firm as its principal financial officer, principal operations officer and in-house counsel. Tim Brennan, vice president of fund management, and Danielle Ball, investor relations manager, remain registered with PREP Securities, serving in dual roles with PREP Securities and Prep Property Group. "This is a natural evolution of our sales and distribution team which allows PREP to have direct control while achieving meaningful cost savings and enhanced client service," said Hull. Meserve added, "The CR Capital team and I are extremely excited to be joining PREP as employees to further hone our focus on offerings sponsored by PREP Property Group. The integration of the sales team into the sponsor's broker-dealer can only make us more responsive to our valued selling group and contribute to the success of PREP and its investors overall." With more than 35 years in the investment industry, Meserve has comprehensive experience in the sales and distribution of life and annuity products, mutual funds and private placements through institutional and financial intermediaries. Meserve had overall responsibility for the sales of AXA Equitable's variable annuities to more than 650 broker-dealers. During his tenure with AXA, he oversaw $25 billion in annual variable annuity sales making AXA a top five ranked annuity company in the country. He also was part of the team that successfully launched and developed the distribution organizations for both MetLife Investors and Fidelity Investments, and subsequently oversaw the growth of these companies to a top five position within their respective markets. Most recently, Dooley was a senior partner of CR Capital Group where he oversaw marketing strategy, distribution, product design, financial management and operational performance of the organization's alternative investment offerings. Previously, Dooley led MetLife's Wealth Management business in Europe and the Middle East. Under his leadership, MetLife became one of the leading providers of retirement products in Europe and was instrumental in the successful integration of Alico after MetLife acquired the business from AIG. After returning to the US with MetLife, Dooley served as national sales director overseeing all aspects of distribution for the organization's life, annuity and disability income businesses. He began his career with Salomon Smith Barney as an investment advisor in the firm's Private Client Group. McEntegart has worked in the financial industry for 18 years, starting his career as a financial advisor with PRUCO Securities and then working for a decade at Sun Life Financial in a progression of leadership roles within their life and annuity distribution company. Prior to CR Capital, he was vice president at Stira Capital Markets Group and part of the team that raised more than $1.6 billion for the Steadfast non-traded real estate investment trusts. About PREP Property Group PREP Property Group is a vertically integrated real estate company founded by Michael C. Phillips, co-founder of Phillips Edison & Company, and built on the foundations of Phillips Edison's strategic and net lease real estate divisions that were spun out in 2015. PREP is focused on transforming retail real estate by repositioning lifestyle centers, power centers and enclosed malls that are undermanaged, capital starved, poorly merchandised and or distressed. PREP's Net Lease division seeks to acquire well-located, single tenant net leased retail properties from non-institutional sellers throughout the United States. The team aims to acquire a diverse mix of tenant credit, uses, and geographies including auto parts, convenience stores, pharmacies, casual dining, quick service restaurants, banks, dollar stores, and medical uses in active retail markets. PREP's investors benefit from its fully integrated operating platform for acquisitions, dispositions, development, redevelopment, leasing and property management. The focus of PREP's Net Lease division is to identify sites with strong real estate fundamentals and improve the leases, terms or creditworthiness creating value in the assets and the portfolio. For more information, please visit www.preppg.com. PREP Securities, LLC is the broker-dealer affiliate of PREP Property Group. PREP Securities, member SIPC, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC, FINRA and all states. Contact: Jennifer Franklin Spotlight Marketing Communications (949) 427-1385 [email protected] SOURCE PREP Securities, LLC Related Links http://www.preppg.com/ A brazen motorist tried to force his way between two cars by opening his car door to wedge himself in. Instead of letting him go in front, the car blocking his way drove straight into the door sending it swinging backwards. The bizarre clip was filmed on a dash-cam in Nanjing, east China, last month. A brazen motorist tries to force his way between two cars by opening his car door to wedge himself in in Nanjing, east China The footage shows numerous cars occupying a left-turn lane as they approach a red light at a junction. The motorist in a black saloon tries numerous times to cut in front of the vehicle with the dash-cam and merge but the driver does not let him in. Instead of attempting to merge at another spot, the stubborn saloon owner drives up to the gap between the two stopped cars. Instead of letting him in, the car blocking his way continues to drive forward, sending the man's door swinging backwards The motorist in a black saloon tries numerous times to cut in front of the vehicle with the dash-cam and merge into the left-turn lane but the driver does not let him in He tries to push in by wedging his drivers side door into the gap. The driver, presuming that the dash-cam vehicle will not drive forwards when the lights turn green, patiently waits for his opportunity to continue. But the mans plan fails when the dash-cam car continues straight into his door, breaking it at the hinges and leaving it swinging open. The clip ends with a police officer walking over from a crossing to inspect the damage. Nanjing authorities are understood to be investigating the case. The driver, presuming that the dash-cam vehicle will not drive forwards when the lights turn green, patiently waits for his opportunity to continue on This is an opinion column. Oh, say can you see, by Montgomerys first light, How profoundly we flail, as politicians start scheming, With broad stripes and low bars, they come to pick fights, O'er the years we all watched and saw nothing redeeming, If the coffers were bare, Dumb bills still passed down there, Giving proof, every time, That they really dont care. Oh, say do those self-serving panderers rave, O'er this land we call free, you cant find one whos brave. Oh say can you see by Montgomerys first light, That throughout this whole thing, kids still cant read and write. There are rules to politicking in Alabama. Its more effective to bluster about traditions than to deal with tough issues of taxation and education and healthcare availability and equity in the courts and in the workplace. The rules are tried and true. If you call for something in the name of God or country or guns or flags you cant lose, because people are more likely to fear coming off as atheist communist pacifist hippies than they are to consider what lawmakers should really stick their hands in. Discourage change, and you win. Nobody is better or more consistent at it than Alabama Sen. Gerald Allen, a Republican from Tuscaloosa. He has one every year, a bill designed to stir the grandpappy in you and make you curse the weirdos who dont see the world just like you do. Easy. Hes the guy who unsuccessfully pushed a bill years ago to ban all books or plays in public schools that were written by gay authors or contain gay characters. No more Picture of Dorian Gray, or Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, or Walt Whitman, or Truman Capote, or Emily Dickinson, etc. etc. etc. Of course he didnt want to be seen as a book burner, so he suggested the schools just dig a big hole and bury those volumes. Ever forward thinking, this guy. Allen has proposed bills to ban Shariah Law in Alabama courts which dont use Shariah Law, by the way. He proposed another to let adoption agencies reject gay couples, and he sponsored bills to do away with gun permits altogether. He was a sponsor of the Alabama Heritage Preservation Act, the bill that became a law and now prevents cities like Birmingham from moving or removing confederate monuments on their own soil. Gerald Allen knows the rules of Alabama politicking. Get people worked up in a cultural frenzy at the expense of different people and you dont really have to do anything else at all. Hes got it down to a science. If he believes in science. Allen has now introduced a bill, SB13, to require that all Alabama schools, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, broadcast or sanction the performance of the Star-Spangled Banner at least once a week, and at every school sporting event. Such performances are to be led by a vocalist selected by the principal of the school hosting the event. Of course Allen knows you cant say anything bad about the National Anthem. Thats his point. And I wouldnt dream of it. In moments of pride it stirs my heart and brings a tear to my eye. But Id go with the Whitney Houston version over Gerald Allens version any day. It means a whole lot more as a moment of reflection and pride and honor than it would if I were forced by law to listen to it. Let the schools teach the students. And be careful of Gerald Allens style of patriotism. Its not as American as he thinks. 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. Published on 2020/01/09 | Source Actor Lee Hyun-woong reserved the 2020 'scene stealer' seat through "Psychopath Diary". Advertisement He appeared in the final episode of the tvN drama "Psychopath Diary" in the role of 'Oh' who was locked up in prison under false accusations, but helped Yook Dong-sik (Yoon Si-yoon) escape. Tension increased as criminal Seo In-woo (Park Sung-hoon) entered the prison. In the final episode, it was proven to Seo In-woo that good does beat evil and despite his short appearance, Lee Hyun-woong managed to make an impression of his comical and charismatic character. Lee Hyun-woong was also in the drama "Liver or Die" and "The Fiery Priest" as a loan shark who is taught a lesson by Kim Nam-gil. His comic acting made viewers laugh and he stood out once again in "Psychopath Diary". Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-woong signed a contract with a new agency called G.Actor COMPANY. ___________ "Psychopath Diary" is directed by Lee Jong-jae, written by Choi Sung-joon-I, Kim Hwan-chae, Ryoo Yong-jae, and features Yoon Si-yoon, Jung In-sun, Park Sung-hoon, Lee Han-wi, Hwang Hyo-eun, Kim Kyeol. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/11/20~2020/01/09, Wed, Thu 21:30 on tvN. World's largest cryptocurrency moves in tandem with gold By Lee Min-hyung Bitcoin reported a bullish run with a very similar pattern to gold in recent days when external uncertainty escalated in the wake of the military conflict between the United States and Iran. As expected, gold and the U.S. dollar, deemed two of the safest assets in the world, have gained ground on the intensifying fear of a possible war in the Middle East. But also of note is that the price of bitcoin surged to a high of more than 9.5 million won ($8,189) as of Jan. 8 when financial market volatility reached a peak after Iran launched missiles at U.S.-Iraqi air bases. A weekly chart of the world's largest cryptocurrency and gold prices also showed a similar upward trend. This has raised the likelihood that bitcoin is on track to be perceived as another safe asset despite its inherent volatility. Some market experts even called bitcoin "digital gold," citing its recent valuation hike. "We expect movements in gold which appear as a nascent bull market to remain a proxy for bitcoin," Mike McGlone, a senior commodities strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, said. The cryptocurrency market expert maintained a rosy outlook for bitcoin in 2020. "Gold prices will keep climbing in 2020 and so should bitcoin, in our view," he noted. "The digital version of the metal is in the maturing process of consolidating the rapid price appreciation of its youth." "A primary factor supporting bitcoin's price advance is the limited supply," he said. "It is the opposite for the broader crypto market." The price hikes of the cryptocurrency over seven consecutive days is a key indicator that its value will rise in tandem with gold, according to McGlone. But with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing he was backing away from military conflict with Iran, the price went down slightly. This also fell in line with gold. Prices of the precious metal reported a sharp decline Jan. 8 to close at $1,560.20 per ounce, down 0.9 percent from the previous trading day on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This is the first time in 11 days that the gold price has returned to a downward cycle. Despite the recent trend, Korea's financial sector takes the position that it is too early to identify bitcoin as a safe asset. "It is hard to affirm bitcoin's status as a safe asset, as vulnerabilities surrounding the cryptocurrency are not expected to be resolved in a short period of time," Kim Yong-joon, an analyst at the Korea Center for International Finance, said in a recent report. The analyst said the prices of bitcoin and gold have become more correlated since 2017. But bitcoin is still an unstable asset, as its price fluctuates due to its super-volatile nature, according to the report. The Maharashtra police busted a sex racket being operated at a luxury hotel in Mumbais Goregaon and rescued two models in wee hours on Friday. The police also arrested two women pimps during the raid. The police received a tip-off and conducted the raid after sending a decoy customer who contacted the accused women. As part of the operation, decoy customers were sent to the hotel, who met the suppliers. After that the police team conducted the raid, during which two women were rescued, said a police official. The two women pimps will be produced before a court . The other two women who were pushed into flesh trade were sent to a womans shelter home, said Dindoshi polices senior inspector Sripal Kamble. They have been booked under section 370 (3) of IPC and 4 and 5 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act for trafficking and for acting as pimps for prostitution. The Dindoshi police have booked the accused under IPC sections 370(3) and 34 and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the official said. Soleimani is also known well and bitterly throughout the ranks of American armed services. According to a casualty estimate produced by the Pentagon last year, Iran was responsible for the deaths of 608 American troops in Iraq between 2003 and its withdrawal in 2011, or 17 per cent of all US casualties, as well as for the deaths of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians. They were killed mainly by Iranian-backed militias fighting with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, rockets and roadside bombs provided by Iran, and specifically by the Quds force. The most feared of these weapons was a particularly lethal form of improvised explosive device known as an explosively formed penetrator (EFP). These are typically convex shots of copper fired from a simple tube by an explosive charge. Once fired, the copper turns instantly into molten spears of metal that, travelling at over 2000 meters a second, can slice through the armour of American Humvees and even some of its most sophisticated tanks, cutting apart their crews inside. They cost Soleimanis militants around $30 a throw. Declassified military documents quoted by The Wall Street Journal quote one detainee telling US interrogators that "anyone can receive EFP training and Iran does not care who gets it This is because of the availability and low cost of EFPs." This is the sort of asymmetrical warfare that Soleimani has used to project Iranian power via proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas throughout the region, particularly in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, as well as in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Battered by American sanctions, the Iranian military might not be able to meet an American force on a battlefield, but Soleimani proved that it could inflict terrible damage on Americas armed forces and help reshape the region in Irans interests. Soleimanis expertise at killing far from the battlefield is what made him a target, and it is why so many analysts now presume that in time Iran will respond in kind that at some stage in some place an American official will die, not in a military strike but at the hands of an assassin or in a terrorist bomb blast. Loading I certainly would not be going out to many public places, because the risk of getting whacked or kidnapped is very high, Sir John Jenkins, a former British ambassador in Saudi Arabia, told The New York Times when discussing Irans potential response. Back in March 2016 a group of 122 senior Republican foreign policy experts were so concerned that their party was on the brink of nominating Donald Trump as its candidate for president that they signed an open letter saying they could not support a ticket with him at its top. The group included former homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff, former deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick, former homeland security adviser Frances Townsend and former undersecretary of defence Dov Zakheim, all of whom had served in Republican administrations. His vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle," they wrote. "He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence. Loading One of those who helped draft the letter and gather its signatories was Bryan McGrath, a retired naval officer, security consultant and adjunct fellow the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in DC. Speaking to me on the phone this week, he said nothing about the Trump presidency had caused him to resile from a word, and further that he hoped the President would be removed either by ballot or by impeachment. Yet he supports Trumps decision to strike Soleimani. The current wave of tit-for-tat incidents between the US and Iran that led to the Soleimani strike began with Trumps decision in May 2018 to abandon the nuclear deal carved out after years of negotiation between Iran and the permanent members of the UN security council as well as Germany, a group known as the P5+1. Barack Obama viewed the deal as a key achievement of his second term and Trump opposed it from the second he announced he was running from office. Under the deal Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program and extend access to inspectors to its nuclear sites in return for the P5+1 releasing $US50 billion ($72.8 billion) of Iranian money that was frozen in offshore accounts and ending crippling sanctions. McGrath was one of many Republicans who believed it was too generous to Iran. Many of the terms of the deal had sunset clauses, so Iran got permanent sanctions relief in return for time-limited concessions. Worse, as far as critics like McGrath are concerned, Iran got piles of money that could go back into revenue and be used [by Soleimani] to kill Americans, he said this week. He reckons the American show of force is an important signal to Iran. Sometimes youve got to escalate to deter, he says. It is not an uncommon view among Republican hawks. But sometimes escalation is only escalation. When and if Iran takes further vengeance for Soleimani's death, its impulsive leader will have to chose yet another response. And the implications are dizzying in their complexity. One of Americas leading experts on nuclear non-proliferation and Irans nuclear program is Matthew Bunn, who has served as a White House adviser on nuclear security and is now a professor Harvard University. He last saw the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif during a meeting at Irans UN mission in Manhattan sometime before Trump abandoned the deal but after he had made his intentions clear. I had never seen him so depressed, Bunn told me this week. He was slumped down in his chair, his shoulders down. As Bunn explained, Iranian backers of the deal had just made difficult concessions. They had surrendered centrifuges and stockpiles of enriched uranium, opened sites to inspectors and poured concrete into a reactor. As soon as they had finished, America walked away from the deal, Bunn said. As a result, potential reformists like Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani, who believed in engagement with the West, were undermined. Support for hardliners, such as Soliemani and his mentor, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hardened. Even before Iran fired off its retaliatory strike this week the government announced it would no longer adhere to the limits imposed on its nuclear program by the deal. Meanwhile, Americas relationship with its European allies who still back the deal has been battered by Trumps determination to destroy it. Loading This has been to the immediate benefit of Russia, which has considered fracturing the trans-Atlantic alliance as a key foreign policy goal since the end of World War II. At the same time Iran strengthened its ties with both China and Russia, with the three countries holding joint naval drills just before Christmas. But even as the renewed American sanctions started to bite, hundreds of thousands of protesters in Iran took to the streets to vent anger at their own regime rather than at the US. Such a spectacle is unimaginable now, after vast crowds at Soliemanis funeral chanted death to America in the same streets. India's federal power ministry has proposed a new deadline for coal-fired power plants around New Delhi to install equipment to reduce emissions, a government official said on Friday. If the proposal is accepted, it would pose a further challenge to authorities in India's capital New Delhi grappling with pollution that can cause lung disease and blights air quality. The ministry has said that the power plants be given deadlines starting July 2020 and ending December 2021 to install the equipment, the government official, who did not want to be named, told ... Chris Trotter writes: It says much about the health of our democracy that such a thing should come to pass. That two men holding radically divergent views were able to meet and drink coffee together without descending into loud and rancorous disagreement. That one of those men was Sir Roger Douglas says even more. To say I was surprised that the architect of the economic changes which transformed New Zealand between 1984 and 1990 wanted to meet with me would be to understate the case considerably. For most of my adult life I have, one way or another, fought and criticised what came to be called Rogernomics. Not just privately, down at the pub with my lefty mates, but publicly, in print and on the airwaves. I even helped to form, and stood as a candidate for, NewLabour the political party whose whole raison detre was to roll Rogernomics back. And yet, here was Sir Roger Douglas on the other end of the line, inviting me to assess his latest ideas for improving New Zealand kanohi ki te kanohi over coffee. I think it says a lot about New Zealand, and about both men, that two people with such radically different views can talk political ideas over coffee. That ideas still matter to this spry 81-year-old was obvious from the moment we settled into a quiet corner of the Orvieto Cafe on Aucklands Mt Eden Road. He had brought with him an impressive stack of papers each containing page-after-page of carefully calculated figures. And the way he argued from those figures swept me back more than 30 years to the Great Economic Debate initiated by Labour Party president, Margaret Wilson. That debate had become an urgent necessity as it began to dawn on Labours membership that the government of David Lange and his frenetic Finance Minister was going to be remembered for something more than declaring New Zealand nuclear-free. This is how I described Sir Rogers defence of his new Goods & Services Tax at the Otago-Southland regional conference of the Labour Party in April 1985: Douglas is messianic. He scrawls figures on the blackboard with violent energy, barking out his arguments like a Parade Sergeant. There is an aura of absolute conviction about the man that is taking its toll on the waverers. Will they hold? Well, we all know the answer to that question. Labours GST is internationally famous for being the only value-added tax that left the government responsible for its introduction as if not more popular after its implementation than before. Sir Rogers clean GST is one of his best legacies. It is precisely in this area that the present government is so woefully deficient. Neither in Labours ranks, nor NZ Firsts, nor the Greens, is there a policy aggressor remotely equal to Sir Roger. Jacinda Ardern is every bit as effective as David Lange at conveying emotion better even. But, just ask Jacinda to set forth a compelling case for transformational change in any of the policy areas dear to her heart: child poverty; affordable housing; climate change; and she is reduced to ums and ahs and buzzwords. Its embarrassing. Harsh but true. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Todays ruling clears the way for us to definitively prove at trial that a person living with HIV can perform the job of soldier or airman as well and as safely as anyone else, said Scott Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal, which filed the suit with the Modern Military Association of America and pro bono co-counsel Winston & Strawn. We are confident Roe and Voe will succeed because the government is unable to offer a reasonable justification for their discriminatory treatment of service members living with HIV. The Dugri police have arrested two men for allegedly sodomising a 21-year-old Rupnagar resident in their car on Thursday night. The victim told the police that the accused Kamalpreet Singh, 25, and Gagandeep Singh, 27, of Preet Nagar of Dugri, lured him on the pretext of getting him a job. He said he came to Ludhiana looking for a job, and met Kamalpreet, who assured him of finding him work. On Thursday night, Kamalpreet called him to Grand Walk mall on Ferozepur Road, where he and Gagandeep picked him up in their Hyundai i20. They then drove him to an isolated located and sodomised him in the car. Sub-inspector Davinder Sharma, station house officer (SHO), Dugri police station, said acting swiftly on the complaint, the police arrested the accused immediately. They were booked under Sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. They were produced before a court on Friday, and sent to one-day police remand. If proven, the charge under Section 377 will invite life imprisonment or a sentence that may extend to 10 years. Police have seized the Hyundai i20 car used in the crime. Australia's unprecedented bushfire crisis has exposed the vulnerability of phone and internet networks, prompting Communications Minister Paul Fletcher to warn telecommunications giants to prepare for increasingly severe disasters. As dozens of mobile towers went dark during this summer's catastrophic bushfires, people have been cut off from contact with emergency services and in some cases unable to pay for essential supplies. Telcos have scrambled to bolster their networks and respond to the outages, rolling out satellite trucks, portable reception towers and restoring disabled mobile base stations. Telstra is working to get telecommunications back up and running in fire-ravaged communities in Victoria. Telstra revealed its network experienced "critical damage" as 36 mobile towers were knocked out in bushfires in rapidly-changing conditions, but more than half of those were now back online. Mr Fletcher welcomed the rapid responses by Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and the government-owned national broadband network (NBN) but said questions need to be asked about the long-term resilience of telecommunications infrastructure critical to Australians' safety during emergencies. Self-employed workers and small-business owners who want an easy and inexpensive retirement plan should consider a Simplified Employee Pension IRA, or SEP IRA for short. Savers are also allowed to stash away more for retirement with a SEP IRA when compared to an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan. >>For more 2020 tax changes, see Tax Changes and Key Amounts for the 2020 Tax Year.<< SEP IRA Contribution Limits for 2020 For 2020, a self-employed business owner effectively can salt away as much as 20% of his or her net income in a SEP IRA, not to exceed the maximum contribution limit of $57,000. (That's up from the maximum in 2019.) In comparison, a traditional IRA limits contributions to $6,000 for 2020 for those younger than 50, or $7,000 for those 50 or older thanks to a $1,000 "catch-up" contribution. SEP IRAs are available for a variety of small-business types, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations and C corporations. The plans can be an especially attractive option for a small business with few employees, says Brad Ronsley, a certified financial planner in Glen Ellyn, Ill. There's a twist, however, when it comes to SEP IRAs. Unlike some other retirement plans, a SEP IRA allows only the employer to contribute. And whatever percentage of compensation employers set aside in the plan for themselves is the same percentage of pay they must contribute for each eligible employee. Morrison also called for a probe into the disaster. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday the downing of a Ukrainian plane in Tehran "does not suggest an intentional act." His comments come after multiple U.S. officials have said the U.S. increasingly believes that Iran mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner on Wednesday, as reported by CNN. "Australia has received similar intelligence to that which has been spoken to by both the Prime Minister of Canada and from the United States," Morrison told reporters in Canberra. "It is just a terrible, terrible event and we'll provide whatever support we can." Read alsoCNN: Trudeau says Canada has intelligence Iran shot down Ukrainian airliner The Australian Prime Minister also called for a probe into the disaster, saying "it is absolutely critical that full and transparent investigation is undertaken into this terrible event and that would include undertaking all efforts to ensure we get recovery of the black box recorder that can obviously inform that investigation." Australia's flag carrier, Qantas, said earlier this week it is "adjusting its flight paths over the Middle East to avoid the airspace over Iraq and Iran until further notice." As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 8, an UIA-operated Boeing 737-800, flight PS752 Tehran-Kyiv, crashed in Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport. All 167 passengers and nine crew on board died. On board the airliner were 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew members, as well as 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghanis, three Germans, and three Britons. All Ukrainian air carriers have been banned from flying in Iranian airspace pending the investigation. Read alsoZelensky says Boeing crash "missile hit" version not ruled out Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canadian officials have intelligence from their own sources and Canada's allies that shows the Ukrainian airliner was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile. Iran urged the United States on Friday to wait for the results of the investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner and dismissed as "a big lie" allegations coming from U.S. officials that missiles downed the plane, Iranian state media reported, quoting a government spokesman. Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to launch the XL5, which will be its latest offering in the premium hatchback segment. Though it was spotted testing ahead of its unveiling at the Auto Expo, it is speculated that the company could offer the car as a fully electric vehicle. The car was spotted with a BD indication on the gear selector, which could indicate brake regeneration. It was also spotted with cabin elements from the Wagon R, such as the climate control air-conditioning unit and the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Maruti Suzuki is expected to equip the car with a split headlamp setup, sleek grille and minor changes to the back, such as an EV badge. A report in Zigwheels states that the spy shots also reveal the 15-inch alloy wheels from the Ignis. Maruti Suzuki is also working on a fully electric vehicle called the Futuro-E. It has also imported a few Wagon R EVs from Japan to test in India. Though the company is yet to announce an official launch date of the EV, it is expected that it will showcase the Futuro-E as a concept at the Auto Expo. Currently, Maruti Suzuki should launch the XL5 with a standard internal combustion engine. FM Zarif: US behaving like ISIS in threatening to destroy Iran's cultural heritage IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 10, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US seeks to emulate the war crimes of DAESH, menacing the cultural heritage of the millennia-old civilization of Iran. Zarif made the remarks in a statement in the wake of a ban on his visa to take part in the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting in New York. The statement was read by Iran's envoy Majid Takhte Ravanchi to the United Nations Security Council who said "I am here today to deliver a statement on behalf of H.E. Minister Zarif whose visa was denied by the U.S. in contravention of the Headquarters Agreement." Zarif's statement read: "We are meeting today to discuss a momentous imperative we are all confronted with. The world is at a crossroads: with the end of monopolies on power, one unhinged regime is frantically clamoring to turn back time. This has meant more damaging American unilateralism in defiance of international norms and law: most recently a dastardly targeted assassination of the heroes who were the nightmare of groups such as ISIS. But since the regime's inauguration, more and more threats and attacks against the people of Iran and other sovereign nations in utter disregard of the Charter. It now even seeks to emulate the war crimes of DAESH, menacing the cultural heritage of the millennia-old civilization of Iran. Our January 8th action against an air base in Iraq from which the cowardly armed attack against Martyr Soleimani was launched, was a measured and proportionate response to a terrorist attack, in the exercise of our inherent right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter. This rogue US regime has withdrawn from several landmark accords, including the Paris Agreement, the INF Treaty, and not least, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. That, in an open affront to this very Council, has involved unprecedented and unlawful US punishment of anyone who attempts to comply with Resolution 2231, which unequivocally endorses the JCPOA. It has also adopted mob tactics to expand or gain market share in the face of the increasing diversification of the sources of power. In the case of my own country, US economic terrorism has involved the strangulation of access of ordinary Iranians to food and medicine as well as use of illegal unilateral sanctions to give American oil a foothold in Asia. No one is spared from this malign behavior, as evidenced by how the US approaches global trade including its targeting of European infrastructure to force the entry of its own natural gas. The question amidst this rogue behavior is how to protect the UN Charter. For if other states become "passive unilateralists"; if they succumb to unilateralism in their bilateral relationships or compromise Charter principles for the sake of short-term gains or the avoidance of immediate harm, they inadvertently encourage the lawless unilateralist to bully them. To protect multilateralism, we must never appease unilateralist regimes. We need political will as well as an instrument that will safeguard the values, principles and multilateralism enshrined in the Charter. Such an instrument should include - Renewed commitment to the Charter, particularly non-intervention in internal or external affairs and prohibition of the threat or use of force, - Rejection of all coercive unilateral measures including sanctions as unlawful, entailing international responsibility, including financial responsibility to compensate damages imposed on the target and third countries, - Assigning international criminal responsibility for obstructing in any way, shape or form humanitarian trade, - Prohibition on depriving individuals from their liberties and extradition upon judicial requests made on the basis of or related to unilateral coercive measures - including sanctions. Iran is dedicated to multilateralism and committed to the Charter and its principles. Our commitment to the JCPOA as well as our most recent inclusive initiative to promote peace and security in the Persian Gulf region (Hormuz Peace Endeavor, or 'HOPE') prove our strategic approach. With the engagement of other littoral States of the Persian Gulf, the objectives of HOPE can be realized. In this endeavor, we welcome the assistance of the United Nationsincluding by acting as an umbrella." 9455**1424 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A national news channel, which carried out a sting operation, has nail-ed the possible assailants who had engineered the assault on the Left-leaning students with the support of right-wing groups outside. NEW DELHI: Even as the nation continued to express outrage over the brutal attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and faculty by masked goons and polices inaction, the Delhi Police and at least two Union ministers on Friday tried to put the blame for the violence on the very students who were injured and student bodies affiliated to the Left. While the police held the JNU Students Union and its president Aishe Ghosh responsible for the violence, Union ministers Smriti irani and Prakash Javadekar gave a clean chit to the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and claimed that the Left groups were behind the violence. Reacting to the allegations, Ms Ghosh asked the police to make public their proof against her. I too have evidence of how I was attacked, she said. On Friday, the police named Ms Ghosh among nine suspects for the violence at the university last week and released their circled photographs to the media. Naming mostly members of the Left-controlled students union, the police gave just a few details of the Sundays campus attack. Focusing on clashes that took place on the campus before Sunday over increased hostel fees, the police named Ms Ghosh, Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukdar, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel. The last two, Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel, are said to be members of the ABVP. A national news channel, which carried out a sting operation, has nail-ed the possible assailants who had engineered the assault on the Left-leaning students with the support of right-wing groups outside. JNU attackers yet to be identified The channel caught one of the main attackers on camera, who confessed that he mobilised the mobs from within and outside the campus. A first-year student of the French degree programme at the JNU, Akshat Awasthi identified himself in the footage of Sundays attack as an ABVP activist. JNUs online records show that one Akshat Awasthi is a resident of Kaveri hostel on campus. Armed with a stick, his face covered with a helmet, Awasthi showed the video and said he could be seen rushing through the hostel corridors in maddening rage and knocking anything and anyone that came in his way. What did you have in your hand? an undercover reporter asked Awasthi. It was a stick, sir. I pulled it out from a flag lying near (the) Periyar (hostel). As the mystery deepened over the identity of the attackers organisation, the self-identifying assailant revealed his affiliation and the motive behind the raid. Awasthi said the attack occurred in retaliation to an assault allegedly by the Left students on Periyar hostel the same day earlier. It was a reaction to their action, he said. Asked how he was able to organise mobs in a matter of hours, Awasthi named office-bearers of the ABVP from outside the campus. Hes an organisational secretary of the ABVP. I called him. Left-wing students and teachers were holding a meeting at Sabarmati. When Sabarmati was attacked, they all ran away and took shelter inside, Awasthi explained. You were telling us that 20 of the ABVP activists belonged to the JNU and 20 others were mobilised from outside, the reporter asked Awasthi. I can tell you that I did all the mobilisation. They dont have that much mind. You know you need to act like a superintendent or a commander. Why its to be done and where exactly. I guided them about everything where to hide, where to go. I told them to do everything systematically. I didnt have any position or a tag. Still they listened to me carefully, the student claimed. The student recounted how mobs smashed vehicles and furniture on a street facing the Sabarmati hostel. All students and teachers standing there ran away when the attack happened. They had no idea that the ABVP would ever retaliate like this. Earlier on Friday, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Joy Tirkey, who is probing the case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but Left students groups were not allowing them to do so. He said that members of Left groups attacked the server room at JNU to stop online registrations and enforce a strike over their protest against the increased fees. Hours after this, a large group of masked people armed with iron rods and sledge-hammers entered the campus and attacked students and teachers. Ghosh was among those who suffered a head wound, and was bleeding when she was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre. None of the attackers were stopped or arrested, even though several policemen were outside the campus. The police admitted that it was facing difficulty in identifying those responsible for the attack on the Sunday and cited the lack of security footage, authenticated video recordings and witnesses. Ghosh, speaking to the media around the same time as the police, denied any role in the violence and accused the police of blatant bias. She said she had gone to the scene to stop the violence. I was not wearing any masks, I have done no wrong... I still have my blood soaked clothes, she said. The University of Kentucky recently received $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on General Medical Sciences to fund new opioid-related research in the criminal justice system. Known as the Geographic variation in Addiction Treatment (GATE) study, the 5-year project is led by Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts & Sciences. Oser and her colleagues will be focusing on the factors that influence a person's decision to use one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) - methadone, buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone. Although research shows that these medications are highly effective at reducing opioid use, infectious disease transmission, and drug-related criminal behavior, uptake of these medications is low - only about 7% of people with OUD receive medications - and more than half of KY counties do not have any providers who prescribe medications for OUD. It is even more challenging for those involved in the criminal justice system. In the past few years, the Kentucky Department of Corrections has addressed this issue by making naltrexone available inside their institutions and is currently piloting expansion of MAT at three prisons by offering buprenorphine to individuals who OUD that meet clinical and medical protocols. The GATE study aims to identify how a person's individual characteristics, personal networks and structural factors influence their decision whether or not to take medication for OUD both during incarceration and following release, and it will specifically look at the differences between urban and rural populations. While other studies have looked at individual and structural factors as predictors of medication use, this study is unique in its focus on the people surrounding the person with OUD and how their support - or lack thereof - and opinions influences decisions on taking medication. The goal is to study how the behaviors, beliefs and attitudes of people's decisions to take medications are shaped through contact and communication with other people in their network. We are interested in how the networks positively or negatively influence their outcomes. That will help us identify points where we can intervene in that person's network, and if there are geographic network differences." Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts & Sciences For example, Oser says, if a person with OUD has a parent who says that using medication is "just trading one drug for another," that provides an opportunity to implement an educational intervention on how OUD medications actually work with the family members in a person's network, which could positively impact that person's chances at recovery and a successful re-entry into society. "We're also interested in the dynamic nature of these social networks," Oser said. "Especially when you go through a big life experience - if you're re-entering society after being incarcerated for a long period of time, your network may change." Throughout the duration of the study, Oser and the research team plan to interview approximately 450 people with OUD, beginning with a baseline interview while they're incarcerated and doing follow-up interviews in the community at six and 12 months after they are released from prison. Additionally, they'll be working with substance abuse counselors and staff inside the prisons to better understand the process of initiating medications, and with social service clinicians who can help link people to further resources for OUD following release. The ultimate goal, Oser says, is to figure out which interventions should be offered to help more people understand how medications for OUD can save lives. "I think the stigma surrounding medications for opioid use disorder is a big part of the problem, but it's also people just not understanding why medications might be needed," Oser said. "Opioid use disorders are different than other substance use disorders - if someone with an OUD relapses, especially after their tolerance is low due to incarceration, there's a high chance that they could experience an overdose and die. That's what we want to prevent, and medications are one avenue to help prevent fatal overdoses." In addition to working with the Kentucky Department of Corrections on this project, Oser is working closely with fellow UK researchers Michele Staton and Hannah Knudsen, project director Maggie Campe, and a team of investigators at Indiana University. Investors in Neil Woodford's flagship fund face an extra 10-day wait for their first payout as administrators try to help them cash out. The LF Equity Income Fund, formerly the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, will be wound up from next Saturday. But administrator Link Fund Solutions said its promise to start paying out to anxious investors from January 20 has been put back until January 30 due to requirements from regulators. The delay will also allow investors to benefit from being exposed to the market for as long as possible before the fund's assets are sold. Ryanair expects profits to be higher this year after the airline experienced a strong Christmas period. The Irish firm estimates that post-tax profits for the financial year will range from 806million to 891million. Julian Dunkerton's Superdry company did not have a good Christmas though, with revenues at the Cheltenham clothing retailer dropping 16 per cent in the 10 weeks to January 4. Deloitte has released a survey of chief financial officers' which finds that Brexit is no longer their chief concern. 'The fog of uncertainty that has lingered over the UK since the 2016 EU referendum is lifting,' said Ian Stewart, Deloitte's chief economist. Regulatory News: Sensorion (FR0012596468 ALSEN) a pioneering clinical-stage biotech company which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat and prevent within the field of hearing loss disorders, today announces that its management team, including CEO Nawal Ouzren and CBO Juergen Heitmann, will be present in San Francisco, USA, during the 38th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, to be held January 13-16, 2020. Sensorion will meet with potential partners and investors to highlight the latest progress made on SENS-401 in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), including new, non-dilutive funding for the Phase 2 trial, the recent Positive Data Safety Monitoring Board Review as well as progress on the gene therapy programs. About Sensorion Sensorion is a pioneering clinical-stage biotech company, which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat and prevent within the field of hearing loss disorders. Its clinical-stage portfolio includes one Phase 2 product: SENS-401 (Arazasetron) for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Sensorion has built a unique R&D technology platform to expand its understanding of the pathophysiology and etiology of inner ear related diseases enabling it to select the best targets and modalities for drug candidates. The Company has also identified biomarkers to improve diagnosis and treatment of these underserved illnesses. Sensorion has launched in the second half of 2019 two preclinical gene therapy programs aiming at correcting hereditary monogenic forms of deafness including Usher Type 1 and deafness caused by a mutation of the gene encoding for Otoferlin. The Company is uniquely placed through its platforms and pipeline of potential therapeutics to make a lasting positive impact on hundreds of thousands of people with inner ear related disorders; a significant global unmet medical need. www.sensorion-pharma.com Label: SENSORION ISIN: FR0012596468 Mnemonic: ALSEN Disclaimer This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the "Document de reference" registration document filed with the "Autorite des Marches Financiers" (AMF French Financial Market Authority) on September 7th, 2017 under nR.17-062 and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Sensorion shares in any country. The communication of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of local laws and regulations. Any recipient of this press release must inform oneself of any such local restrictions and comply therewith. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005760/en/ Contacts: Financial advisor Catherine Leveau catherine.leveau@sensorion-pharma.com +33 4 67 20 77 30 Financial Communication LifeSci Advisors Sophie Baumont sophie@lifesciadvisors.com +33 6 27 74 74 49 TEHRAN, Iran, Jan.10 Trend: Canada and Sweden have introduced their representatives to Iran Civil Aviation Organization to be part of the investigation of the Ukraine airline Boeing 737 plane crash, said top Iranian official responsible for the investigation. "There is no problem over presence of representatives of related countries to review the incident, according to ICAO regulation," said Reza Jafarzadeh, Trend reports citing IRNA. "The international community will be informed about the process. Iran's Civil Aviation Organization is not preventing these representatives from participation," he added. "The international aviation regulations indicate that the country that incident occurred in should review the issue, while the country that registered the plane and the manufacturing company can attend the reviews," Jafarzadeh said. The official mentioned that Iran's Civil Aviation Organization has invited all the involved countries to attend the review session. According to Iranian sources, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane with 167 passengers (including Iranian and foreign citizens) and 9 crew members on board crashed Jan. 8, after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran due to technical issues. The plane was heading for Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. The plane took off at 06:12 (GMT+3:30), and at 06:18, it lost connection with the dispatcher center. The plane crashed at 6:22. Iran's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is in charge of the investigation according to international aviation rules. A Ukrainian delegation has been reportedly working on site with the Iranian authorities. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday his government has intelligence indicating that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane. However, the Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied allegations or speculation that the crash of the Ukrainian flight was caused by an Iranian missile attack. A man described by a judge as a street level drugs dealer has been jailed for two years A man described by a judge as a street level drugs dealer has been jailed for two years. Niall Waterkamp pleaded guilty to being concerned in supplying cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis, diazepam and Xanax at Londonderry Crown Court. Judge Philip Babington said Waterkamp (28), from Moss Park in the Galliagh area, was effectively caught red-handed when details of his drugs offences were found in the form of text messages on his mobile phones. Waterkamp, who committed the five offences over an 18-month period starting in May 2017, had 53 previous convictions, 10 of them for public order offences, two for serious assaults and three for drugs offences. He was caught when the police called at his home in June 2018 and arrested him for domestic violence matters. His mobile phone was seized and on it police found a trail of drugs-related text messages. The phone was further examined in October 2018. As a result of further drugs-related text messages being found, police searched his home and found two more phones which contained similar text messages. When arrested for the drugs offences, Waterkamp admitted his involvement. Judge Babington said Waterkamp was heavily involved as a street-level drugs dealer. He said the text traffic on Waterkamp's mobiles proved he was sourcing and supplying the drugs. Jailing Waterkamp for two years, Judge Babington said it was disturbing that Waterkamp did not consider the impact his crimes had on the community. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:52:12|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Landry Doko who co-founded Agrix Tech, a mobile application that detects plant diseases at primary stage by analyzing photos of the sick crops, is seen at the field in Dibombari, Cameroon, Dec. 6, 2019. (Photo by Jean Pierre Kepseu/Xinhua) By Arison Tamfu YAOUNDE, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Bienvenue Nzonje Ngoul has been growing tomatoes in southwestern Cameroon for four years. His yields have dwindled recently due to unknown diseases. "My crops are regularly attacked by illnesses and these can cripple you in one day," Ngoul said. To avoid a repeat of the shock, the young farmer set out to look for a solution. That is when he met 27-year-old Landry Doko who co-founded Agrix Tech, an artificial intelligence (AI) based mobile application that detects plant diseases at primary stage by analyzing photos of the sick crops, and offers both chemical and physical treatment as well as preventive measures. Last December, Doko went to Ngoul's farm to test his work. The farm is in a remote area in Dibombari where the network signal is weak like in most of Africa's rural zones, but Doko's app has everything built inside and can be used without internet. It turned out that Ngoul's tomatoes suffered from early blight, a common disease that can occur nearly every season. The diagnosis is delivered through text and voice for the easy understanding of farmers who could be less literate. Users can chose standard or pidgin English and French, as well as African languages like Hausa. "I will go to the market to buy the recommended treatments. This could increase my output," Ngoul said. With backgrounds in machine learning, software development, and crop pathology, Doko's team has now made available a working prototype covering tomato, grape, potato, and corns. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are around 33 million small farms of less than two hectares in sub-Saharan Africa, representing about 80 percent of all farms in the region. The ambition of Doko's team is to help these smallholder famers "sufficiently live from the fruits of their production and at a lower cost." "According to our provisional plan, we would be able to help our users avoid up to 40 percent harvest losses in 5 to 10 years," he said. If Doko helps farmers clear headache of crop diseases, how to profitably sell the agricultural products remains a key challenge. For 31-year-old entrepreneur Herve Epome Nzengue, Cameroon farmers hardly get fair pricing of their hard work. Some middlemen buy from them at almost give-away prices then sell at high prices to the consumers. In March 2019, Nzengue and his team created AgriApp, an online shopping application that connects local farmers directly to final consumers. By the end of last year, some 700 farmers, primarily from the outskirts of Cameroon' economic center Douala, have put their products online. Boris Youdom Kamgo runs fish farm in Douala. Three months ago, he was introduced to the app. "Before, we produced a lot but had difficulties to sell them," Kamgo said. "Now people can just order for fish from homes and we finally have a solution to commercialize our products." Express delivery is one of the key concepts of Nzengue's business. In Douala where the start-up is headquartered, he built up a team of deliverymen riding made-in-China electric bikes through the city to make sure Kamgo's fish could still pop out when consumers open the bucket. "Agriculture is an economic engine for Africa. Agricultural innovations like what we have in Cameroon should provide sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty on the continent," Nzengue said. Lawmakers of the ruling Liberty Korea Party (LKP) hold a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Friday, against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's recent reassignment of senior prosecutors. They are holding a sign that reads "the people are angry with the massacre of the prosecution." Yonhap Main opposition protest 'massacre of prosecution' at Cheong Wa Dae By Do Je-hae New Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's Jan. 8 reassignments of key prosecutors has sparked intense strife among the political parties. The main opposition Liberty Party of Korea (LKP) staged a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Friday, to protest the reassignment which the party called a "massacre of the prosecution." LKP floor leader Rep. Shim Jae-chul was joined by 30 lawmakers who strongly denounced Choo's removal of senior prosecutors as a "clear violation of relevant law and procedures." "The justice minister is required by law to listen to the opinion of the prosecutor general in the nomination of top prosecutors before recommending them to the President. The minister completely ignored this process," Shim said. "The Moon administration has destroyed teams that were investigating allegations involving Cheong Wa Dae to cover them up and interfere in the probes. Getting rid of the investigative teams will not erase all the corruption of Cheong Wa Dae. Its meddling in the investigation will only fuel the people's anger toward the administration," the LKP floor leader added. The LKP claimed that the reassignment was ultimately aimed at ousting Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl for leading a meticulous investigation into the close aides of President Moon Jae-in. This includes Cho Kuk who served as Moon's first senior presidential secretary for civil affairs before being appointed justice minister in September 2019, only to leave 70 days into the job amid a corruption scandal involving him and his family members. Impact on elections The LKP is taking full advantage of the contentious move as a way to tarnish the Moon administration's reputation ahead of the April general election, widely seen as a midterm judgment on the President. During a party meeting earlier in the day, Shim compared the so-called "massacre of the prosecution" to the even worse "barbaric acts" that happened under the oppressive regime of Chung Doo-hwan. The party is vowing to push an impeachment motion to remove Choo from office and will seek other parties' cooperation in this regard. The main opposition's backlash against the justice minister is a huge blow for Moon, who had hoped to revive the momentum for his cherished policy objective of "prosecutorial reform" with Choo's appointment and finally put the corruption saga of his previous justice minister Cho behind him. The Choo-Yoon clash comes at a very bad time for Moon, who has been striving to mend severe public and political divisions in the aftermath of the Cho scandal, which cast mounting doubts about the integrity and sincerity of his administration. Public support for the President has been declining noticeably since his "unilateral" appointment of Cho despite a strong backlash. The President is due to give a New Year press conference Jan. 14 and is expected to be bombarded by questions regarding "prosecutorial reform" and what he plans to do to settle the dispute between the ministry and the prosecution. Cheong Wa Dae has indicated that it is standing by Choo, and expressed regret toward the clash between the heads of the prosecution and the justice ministry. "The ministry's reshuffle is duly comprised of balanced appointments and also reflects the need for investigations that respect human rights. There are some prospects that the reshuffle could impact the investigations involving [Cheong Wa Dae]. Such doubts reflect the deep mistrust in the prosecution. But we firmly believe that a fair and strict investigation will still take place with the reshuffle," a presidential aide said. DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan also sided with Choo, saying the prosecution's "insubordination" could not be overlooked. Ministry vs. prosecution Cheong Wa Dae had underlined Choo's formidable leadership built through her experience as a five-term lawmaker and former ruling party chairwoman as one of the key reasons for her appointment last month. In addition, the presidential office showed strong confidence in her ability to move ahead with overhauling the prosecution given her past experience as a judge. Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae sends a text message at the National Assembly, Friday. Yonhap Establishment of friendly relations between Saudi Arabia-Iran,Pakistan goal: Imran Khan ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday reiterated that contrary to the past, Pakistan will never become part of anyones war and rather play a role for promoting peace among countries. We will fully strive for the establishment of friendly relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, he said, while addressing the launching ceremony of Rs 30 billion Hunarmand Pakistan programme here. The prime minister said he has also offered US President Donald Trump that Pakistan is ready to play a role in promoting friendly relations between the United States and Iran. No one wins the war, and the one that wins, also loses, Imran Khan remarked, adding Pakistan has paid a high price in the war against terrorism. He vowed to transform Pakistan into a model and peaceful country which will play a lead role in promoting peace among states. The prime minister described the youth as the biggest asset of the country, saying the Pakistanis are the second youngest population and its skilled youth alone can change the destiny of the country and the nation. He said the present government is hugely investing in the countrys human resource, particularly the youth, which were neglected in the past through various education systems based on discrimination between the rich and the poor. The prime minister said under the Hunarmand Pakistan programme, 500,000 youth will be equipped with the skills of modern technology such as artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, etc, during the next four years. In the first phase, the government has allocated Rs 10 billion for the training of 170,000 youth, he added. Imran Khan said that under the programme, 500 technical training centres will be opened across the country, with 70 of them in Madaris (religious seminaries). The present government has adopted 2.5 million children of Madaris which were never taken care of in the past and brought them into the national mainstream, he said. The prime minister said under the programme, 300 smart technical centres, affiliated with international quality institutes, will also be opened across the country. He lauded the establishment of the National Accreditation Institute, which will ensure standardization and certification of the skills and technical training centres, and help the skilled youth in getting jobs. The prime minister in this respect referred to NAMAL College Mianwali and said over 95% of the NAMAL graduates and degree holders easily got jobs due to the standard and quality of education there. We have to train and give skills to our youth so that they can get jobs and feed their families, he said, and questioned how many jobs the government can offer. The governments job is to create an environment for job opportunities, he added. Prime Minister Imran Khan said the present government is striving to make Pakistan a truly welfare state in line with the vision of founding fathers as well as the philosophy of State of Madina, the main principles of which were justice and humanity. The government, he said, has allocated a huge amount of Rs 190 billion for the Ehsaas Programme under which efforts are being made to lift the poor and neglected segments of country for the first time. The prime minister said 170 shelter homes have so far been established in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces so that the poor and homeless people get shelter and food for free. I have asked the patrolling police in Islamabad to check and take the poor people sleeping on footpaths and open areas during night hours, to the shelter homes, he added. The prime minister said the government has launched Sehat Insaf Card (health insurance system) for the poor under which a family having the card is entitled to spend Rs 720,000 for medical treatment. With 6 million people already benefitting from the facility, the government is committed to provide health insurance to all the poor families across the country. Similarly, the prime minister said the government is opening Langar (free food points) for the poor and destitute near slums. He also referred to the governments low-cost housing schemes and said five million housing units will be constructed during the next four years, which, besides creating jobs, will stimulate economic growth by boosting 40 allied industries. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blox, an industry-leading platform for crypto accounting, tax and asset management, has collaborated with Origin Protocol to enable automated tools for helping marketplace operators, investors and finance professionals within their decentralized marketplace. The recent launch of the Origin Token (OGN) on Binance and marketplace platform marks one of the first ecosystems to facilitate peer-to-peer crypto transactions for the buying, selling and trading of goods and services online. This collaboration signals the strengthening relationships between crypto companies working together to securely and easily engage and transact in digital economies. The new Blox collaboration enables access for OGN investors and marketplace operators with powerful tools to review and export transaction history, monitor portfolio revenue or prepare for tax reporting. By simplifying the syncing and connecting of Origin marketplace operators into the Blox platform, Blox enables intelligent finance and bookkeeping tools to help professionals protect their bottom line. The Origin Platform supports a variety of currencies, including OGN, and businesses must accurately maintain comprehensive records of asset history, track profit and loss, review end of day balances or calculate cost basis. Until today, businesses have never had access to such tools. "Traditionally in a distributed ecosystem, most businesses are ill-equipped to manage crypto finances using traditional tools, making it difficult to operate effectively. Origin Protocol relies on Blox for our crypto accounting and asset management needs, and now we are sharing these same features and powerful solutions to our users, investors and marketplace operators," said Matthew Liu, Co-founder of Origin Protocol. Origin Protocol, a startup disrupting the future of peer-to-peer commerce, has launched a marketplace for peer-to-peer transactions, removing intermediaries to directly connect vendors with consumers. Additionally, they have listed their new token, OGN, which allows investors to own a piece of the network, participate in its governance and to encourage new users to join in on the Origin marketplace. "Businesses big or small that enter the gig-economy workplace are generally underpowered when it comes to managing their business finances, daily bookkeeping, annual accounting or tax preparation. We are proud to provide this amazing marketplace with the tools needed to help their businesses and marketplace to succeed,'' said Alon Muroch, CEO and Co-Founder of Blox. About Blox Blox is an industry-leading platform that provides crypto tracking, management, and accounting solutions for professionals and businesses. Established in 2017, the company is headquartered in Tel Aviv, with offices in Shanghai, San Francisco, and Gibraltar. Customers of the platform include industry giants such as eToro, 0X, Dash, Aeternity and thousands of global users. Blox's API technology is helping to empower businesses and professionals with the best productivity tools to manage all their crypto transactions, portfolios and assets. For more information, visit Blox.io. About Origin Protocol Origin's mission is to enable true peer-to-peer commerce. Using Origin, buyers and sellers can meet and transact directly without any intermediaries. Today, users can buy or sell goods and services on Origin's flagship marketplace without any middlemen, and developers can create their own peer-to-peer applications that implement Origin's open-source standards. The Origin Token (OGN) is an important component of the Origin platform, acting as an incentive mechanism to ensure the health and growth of the network while giving Origin's users stakes in the network. For more information, visit originprotocol.com. PR Contact: Michael Soussan Head of Communications [email protected] +1-972-050-985-5511 SOURCE Blox American firefighters got a hero's welcome when they arrived in Australia to help battle the country's devastating fires. Travelers at Sydney's international airport cheered and clapped Wednesday as the group, with members from across the United States, walked by. Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service posted video of the scene on social media. Sean Snyder of Alabama was part of the group. His wife, Autumn Snyder, was "very humbled" by the response, she told CNN. "It's so refreshing and gratifying to see them be welcomed and appreciated," she said. Sean Snyder, an assistant fire management officer for the U.S. Forest Service in Talladega, Alabama, volunteered for the assignment, which will last at least 30 days, his wife said. Snyder was excited to have been chosen, his wife said, even though it will be challenging for them and their three children. "We are a public service family and believe in doing all the good we can," Autumn Snyder said. "We are super proud of the work he is doing over there." Australia and New Zealand have been sending firefighters to the United States for more than 15 years, the Forest Service says. The most recent example was in August 2018, when 138 arrived, a federal spokeswoman said. The last time U.S. firefighters worked in Australia was 2010. Australia's fires have been going for months and have burned more than 7.3 million hectares (17.9 million acres) across its six states an area larger than the countries of Belgium and Denmark combined. The fires are blamed for 27 deaths. Photos: Deaths, damage mount in Australian fires Warning: Some photos contain graphic content. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Maryaprude, the wife of Citizen TV presenter Willis Raburu, has been invited to join the Atheists in Kenya Society(AIK). This is after Marya appeared to sever her ties with God following the loss of her unborn child. Never ones to shy away from courting controversy, Kenyan atheists led by AIK founder and Chairman Harrison Mumia, pounced on the opportunity to grow their numbers and sent the special request to Mary via Twitter. According to AIK, Maryaprude has finally realised that God does not exist. Its time for Willy Raburus wife to join our Society! She has finally realized that God doesnt exist! posted Atheist in Kenya Society. Also Read: Why Atheists in Kenya Want State to Declare February 17 a Public Holiday In a candid social media post this week, Maryaprude appeared to take issue with God for leaving her in her time of need. She noted how people have been encouraging her to turn to God, adding that she always trusted Him but He didnt prove himself. Everyone is so quick to tell me about God. What they dont know is that every way I knew Him, He was tested and He didnt prove Himself, Marya wrote. She added that she does not know God and doesnt want to know Him. So, as they say, you should know God for yourself, I now can say, I dont know Him. And I dont think I want to know him coz He left me when I needed him the most. The gunman shot dead people in a shopping centre in Thailand (Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division via AP) Thai police are hunting for a masked assailant who went on a shooting spree at a shopping centre, killing three people, including a two-year-old boy, and wounding four others as he robbed a jewellery store. Security camera footage from the spree at the shopping centre in Lopburi province, about 90 miles north of Bangkok, shows a man wearing a ski mask, camouflage pants and a backpack across his chest shooting a customer at the shop and a sales clerk. The man, carrying a handgun with a suppressor attached, then vaults on to the jewellery store counter and grabs several trays of gold necklaces. A separate security camera video shows the toddler walking hand-in-hand with an adult near the jewellery store when he falls limp to the ground. Expand Close The suspect leaves the scene (Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The suspect leaves the scene (Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division via AP) The robber was merciless. We are looking for him in every place. Please trust us, we will definitely get this man and bring him to justice, regional police commander Lt Gen Ampol Buaruppon said. He added that police were authorised to use lethal force if he resists arrest. The parents of the toddler, who was shot in the head and died after being rushed to hospital, posted a message to their deceased son on their Facebook page. We love you very much. We are so sorry that we cannot protect you, it read. Rest in peace our angel. A shopping centre security guard and a jewellery store saleswoman were also killed. Rewards from police and other sources for information leading to the gunmans capture mounted to 500,000 baht (12,500), the website of the Bangkok Post newspaper reported. We have to admit that the robber is an expert about guns, deputy national police chief Gen Weerachai Songmetta told reporters. He is able to add a suppressor on a normal pistol. We are still looking for him in Lopburi and adjacent provinces. SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge on Friday delayed a gun possession trial against a Mexican man who was acquitted of killing a woman on a San Francisco pier in a case that became a national flashpoint, saying he has questions about the mans mental competency. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria postponed a trial expected to start next week until a psychiatrist evaluates Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate. He said he made the decision after having a conversation with Garcia-Zarate, who is charged with two counts of illegal gun possession. It appears that Garcia-Zarate may not understand the charges against him, and its possible that hes not currently taking any medication for his apparent mental illness, Chhabria wrote in his ruling. The judge said he reviewed the police interrogation, video of a jailhouse interview Garcia-Zarate gave to a reporter after his arrest and an audio recording of his recent arraignment in which he gave sometimes nonsensical responses to questions. Chhabria also disclosed that in a criminal case in Texas in 2009, a court-appointed psychologist diagnosed Garcia-Zarate with schizophrenia and that while in the prison system, he received evaluations and treatments for serious mental illness. Garcia-Zarates defence lawyer disagrees, saying he believes his client is sufficiently rational. Hes not schizophrenic now, and hes taking medication, attorney Tony Serra said. The judges decision puts on hold a case that touched off a national debate over immigration and sanctuary city policies. President Donald Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly pointed to the case as a reason for toughening the countrys immigration policies. Garcia-Zarate was living in the country illegally and had been deported five times before the shooting. Jurors in California court found him not guilty of killing Kate Steinle in 2015 but convicted him of being a felon in possession of a gun, leading to a three-year jail sentence. A state appeals court threw out the conviction last August after ruling that jurors received improper instructions from the trial judge. Federal prosecutors charged him with gun possession in 2017. Garcia-Zarate acknowledged holding the gun that killed Steinle but said it fired accidentally when he found it wrapped in a T-shirt under a bench on the pier, where she was walking with her father. The weapon belonged to a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger who reported it stolen from his parked car. The case also fueled criticism of San Franciscos sanctuary city policy, which limits local officials from co-operating with federal immigration authorities on deportations. The San Francisco sheriffs department released Garcia-Zarate from jail several weeks before the shooting despite a federal request to detain him until immigration authorities could take him into custody. Hundreds of cities have adopted similar immigration policies, saying it helps police have better ties with the community. Late last year she took a jab at Prince William and wife Kate as she asserted, in an unfavourable tone, that they reminded her of American President and First Lady Donald and Melania Trump . Now shes pouring oil onto the flames by claiming Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle had no obligation to tell the Queen that they would be stepping back as senior royals because of her advanced age. She also stopped herself mid-monologue to address the Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, to tell her nobody cares about her birthday yesterday. Wendy host of The Wendy Williams Show has voiced her support in the past for Harry and Meghan. The couple who hold the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been in the spotlight even more so than usual recently after the announcement that theyd be stepping back as senior royals. Contrarian Wendy said: I dont think [the Queen] needed to be consulted. These are these peoples new lives. The Queen is about to cross over at some particular point. After the audience gasped in shock, she demanded: Are we gonna talk or are we gonna talk? Not one to mince her words, she once again took aim at the Duchess of Cambridge. She paused after making mention of Meghan but not without a sly jab at her. The thing [Prince William] had to do was choose the right woman, she reckoned, And certainly a woman like Kate was not the right woman. Kate wanted to be royaloh, by the way, happy birthday Kate, nobody cares. Her scolding words drew more gasps from the audience as Wendy made plain again that she doesnt care about filtering her opinions. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates A scenic island day trip included a gruesome discovery for a group of shocked tourists on Monday. G'Day Adventure Tours owner Jason Brown was leading a 4WD tour of Bribie Island off Queensland's Sunshine Coast when he and six tourists came across the half-eaten carcass of a dead shark washed up on a popular swimming beach. Photos of the carcass found on the northern side of the island show blood around the jaw area. Bribie Island tourists came across the horrifying discovery of a dead shark on Monday 'The tourists all thought it was very cool as it's not something you see every day,' Mr Brown told Daily Mail Australia. He believes the carcass was of a bull shark who had been mauled by a tiger species and understands it was still washed up on the beach the following day. 'Crazy seeing this on the beach today! Something big has had a nice feed on it,' G'Day Adventure Tours posted on its Facebook page afterwards. The beach where the shark was found is a popular swimming spot on Bribie Island. 'Was swimming right at that spot on Friday,' one person commented on the post. Tourists came across the carcass (pictured) at a popular swimming spot on the island The carcass sparked fears a bigger predator is still out there. 'We were swimming in this water all day and sharks are eating sharks,' one woman commented. While sharks are often spotted off shore, attacks and carcasses being washed up on the island are rare. 'There hasn't been a proper attack there in 43 years,' Mr Brown said. Bribie Island (pictured) off Queensland's Sunshine Coast is a popular swimming spot Earlier this week, swimmers and divers were warned stay out of the water after a shark was spotted near the Tangalooma wrecks off Moreton Island, which is 30 kilometres from Bribie Island. A nine-year-old girl was bitten on the leg by a suspected lemon shark around 500km further north in central Queensland near Yeppoon on Wednesday night. She was taken to hospital in a stable condition. A man in his 30s was treated for injuries to his hand and knee, reportedly caused by a shovel nose shark in nearby waters a week prior. A new submarine volcano was formed off the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean in 2018. This was shown by an oceanographic campaign in May 2019. Now an international team led by the scientist Simone Cesca from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ has illuminated the processes deep inside the Earth before and during the formation of the new volcano. It is as if the researchers had deciphered a new type of signal from the Earth's interior that indicates a dramatic movement of molten rocks before the eruption. With their specially developed seismological methods, the researchers are reconstructing the partial emptying of one of the deepest and largest active magma reservoirs ever discovered in the upper mantle. The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Since May 2018, an unusual sequence of earthquakes has been recorded off-coast the island of Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago between Africa and Madagascar. Seismic activity began with a swarm of thousands of 'seemingly tectonic' earthquakes, culminating in an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 in May 2018. Mostly since June 2018, however, a completely new form of earthquake signal has emerged that was so strong that it could be recorded up to a thousand kilometres away. These 20 to 30 minute long signals are characterized by particularly harmonic, low frequencies, almost monochromatic, similar to a large bell or a double bass, and are called Very Long Period (VLP) signals. Although the centre of the seismic activity was located almost 35 kilometres offshore the east of the island, a continuous lowering and eastward motion of the earth's surface at Mayotte had begun at the same time as the massive swarms of VLP events started, accumulating to almost 20 centimetres to date. Although there was no evidence of earlier volcanic activity in the epicentre of the seismic activity, GFZ scientists had suspected magmatic processes from the beginning, as quake swarms in the upper earth crust often arise as a reaction to the rise of magma and VLPs in earlier years were associated with the collapse of large caldera volcanoes. The special frequency content of the VLP signals is caused by the resonance oscillation of the buried magma chamber. The deeper the vibrations, the larger the magma reservoir. However, the earthquake swarms under the ocean floor were much deeper than with other volcanoes and the resonance tones of the VLPs were unusually low and strong. An international team led by GFZ scientist Simone Cesca analysed seismological and geodetic data from the region to study these observations and their evolution over time. However, the investigations were complicated by the fact that there was no seismic network on the ocean floor and therefore only measurements were available at great distances on Mayotte, Madagascar and in Africa. "We tried to improve the unfavourable initial situation by developing special new analytical methods such as cluster and directional beam methods," says Cesca. The team identified different activity phases within the sequence of events from May 2018 to today. The initial swarm phase indicated a rapid upward movement of magma from a deep mantle reservoir more than 30 kilometres below the Earth's surface. Once an open channel had formed from the Earth's mantle to the seabed, the magma began to flow unhindered and form a new underwater volcano. A French oceanographic campaign recently confirmed the formation of the submarine volcano, whose location coincides with the reconstructed magma rise. In this phase, the apparent tectonic earthquake activity decreased again, while the lowering of the ground on the island of Mayotte began. Likewise, long-lasting monofrequency VLP signals started. "We interpret this as a sign of the collapse of the deep magma chamber off the coast of Mayotte," explains Eleonora Rivalta, co-author of the scientific team. "It is the deepest (~30 km) and largest magma reservoir in the upper mantle (more than 3.4 cubic kilometres) to date, which is beginning to empty abruptly." "Since the seabed lies 3 kilometres below the water surface, almost nobody noticed the enormous eruption. However, there are still possible hazards for the island of Mayotte today, as the Earth's crust above the deep reservoir could continue to collapse, triggering stronger earthquakes," says Torsten Dahm, Head of the section Physics of Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the GFZ. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Snow showers this morning. Becoming sunny later. High 26F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Low near 25F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. BEIRUTUnidentified planes struck targets in Syria near the border with Iraq on Friday, killing eight Iran-backed Iraqi militiamen, Syrian activists and two Iraqi officials said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the planes targeted positions belonging to pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal area, near the border with Iraq. The Britain-based organization, which documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said the planes struck, among other targets, weapons depots and vehicles belonging to the militias. An Iraqi security official and another official, who was from the Iran-backed Iraqi militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, said warplanes targeted two vehicles carrying missiles on the Syrian side of the border. The strike was most likely carried out by Israeli warplanes, they said, but offered no evidence. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the Syria bombing, which comes at a time of high tension between Iran and the United States. The Iraqi officials identified the eight casualties as Iraqi militia fighters while the Observatory only said the eight were not Syrians, without giving their nationality. The death toll could rise further, officials said, as there were also wounded militiamen, some reportedly in serious condition. Another Iraqi official said those targeted belong to the Imam Ali Brigades, an Iran-backed faction within the PMF. The three Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make statements to the media. Israel has repeatedly struck Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent years and has warned against any permanent Iranian presence on the frontier. Deir Ezzor 24, an activist collective that reports on news in the border area, said the planes struck trucks carrying weapons as well as depots for ballistic missiles in the area. Omar Abu Laila, a Europe-based activist from Syrias eastern Deir el-Zour area who runs the group, said the attack triggered a huge explosion heard in the Syrian-Iraqi border. The Sound and Picture, another activist collective in the Deir el-Zour area, said unidentified planes struck militia targets in Boukamal. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities. The United States carried out military strikes in the area on Dec. 29, killing 25 members of Iran-backed Iraqi terror group Kataeb Hezbollah, in retaliation to a rocket attack on a military base in Iraq that killed a U.S. contractor. The reported airstrikes Friday came days after a U.S. drone strike killed Irans most powerful general after he landed at Baghdad airport, dealing a massive blow to the Islamic regime and drawing angry calls for revenge. The strike sparked fears of tensions escalating to an all-out war between the two sides. Iran responded by firing a barrage of missiles at military bases in Iraq that host U.S. troops. The Pentagon reported zero U.S. casualties from the attack. Since then, both sides have signaled they were stepping back from further escalation but tensions remain high and the region is on edge. Amid the tensions, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Syria this week for talks with President Bashar Assad in Damascus. Russia has been a key ally for Assad, offering crucial military and political backing throughout the countrys civil war. The area struck Friday is key to a land corridor for Tehran that links Iran across Iraq and Syria through Lebanon. The Observatory report on Friday claimed that Putin had informed Assad during the visit of a U.S. intention to close the land corridor for good. By Zeina Karam and Qassim Abdul-Zahra NTD News contributed to this report. CAIRO - Egypt is blaming Ethiopia for the failure of the latest round of talks on the construction of a controversial Nile dam, a critical issue for Cairo as it seeks to protect its main source of freshwater for its large and growing population. The construction of the $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which is around 70% complete and promises to provide much-needed electricity to Ethiopias 100 million people, has been a contentious point among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, the three main Nile Basin countries. On Thursday, officials from the three countries concluded a two-day meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, without reaching an agreement on technical issues related to the dams construction. The Blue Nile flows from Ethiopia into Sudan where it joins the White Nile near the capital, Khartoum, to form the Nile River. Eighty-five per cent of Nile waters originate in Ethiopia from the Blue Nile, which is one of the Niles two main tributaries. Egypts Irrigation Ministry, in a statement released late on Thursday, said that despite its delegations attempts to narrow differences among the three countries, the Ethiopian government failed to prove that it would take all necessary precautions to ensure that its dam will not affect Egypts water supply, especially in times of drought. Earlier, Ethiopian Minister for Water and Energy Sileshi Bekele told reporters that the Egyptian delegation was in no spirit of reaching an agreement during this last round of talks. He added that his government would not accept an Egyptian suggestion to extend the time to fill up the dam from 12 to 21 years. He said Ethiopia would start filling the dam in July 2020, at the start of its rainy season. Months of meetings have so far failed to yield consensus, including on a timetable for filling the reservoir. Egypt fears the project, set to be Africas largest hydraulic dam, could reduce its share of the Nile, a lifeline for Egypts 100 million people. Ministers from the three countries are now expected to meet in Washington D.C. on Monday to report on the progress they made so far. The United States and The World Bank observers are expected to attend the talks. Last year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi had pleaded to the United States and the international community to mediate a solution to the ongoing Nile dispute. Foreign ministers of the three Nile Basin countries had met in Washington D.C. in November and agreed to resolve the matter by mid-January. Leading specialist academic publisher Taylor & Francis Group, part of Informa plc, has today announced the addition of cutting-edge open research publisher F1000 Research Ltd. United by their shared goals of amplifying and democratizing research, the addition is an important further step in strengthening Taylor & Francis' capabilities in open access and open research and extending its range of innovative publishing services. "The addition of F1000 Research significantly strengthens and extends our capabilities in open research and broader publishing services. It also brings with it a strong culture of innovation and challenging the status quo. This will be invaluable as we evolve to meet the research needs of the 21st century; offering options to create the impact needed to convert research into solutions quickly," says Annie Callanan, Chief Executive of Taylor & Francis. F1000 Research is a trail-blazer in the evolution of research communication. In 2013, it launched the world's first open research publishing platform, combining the opportunities offered by technology with a passion for identifying new ways to validate and share research. F1000 Research's publishing model combines the benefits of pre-printing, including the ability to publish rapidly, with functionality that ensures the robustness, quality, reproducibility and transparency of research through rigorous editorial checks, open data support and invited open peer review. Authors are provided with autonomy throughout the publishing process. Building upon the growth and success of its core platform, F1000 Research also provides fully managed, open research publishing services directly to research funders and institutions, including Wellcome, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Health Research Board Ireland, as well as to other scholarly publishers such as Emerald Publishing. F1000 Research combines opportunities offered by technology with a passion for identifying new ways to validate and share research. Taylor & Francis will provide investment, expertise and ongoing support to enable F1000 Research to continue to develop its range of publishing services, supporting continued innovation in scholarly communication and accelerating impact across the whole research ecosystem. Rebecca Lawrence, Managing Director, F1000 Research Ltd said: "Having the expertise and support of a large, historic and established publisher will strengthen our ability to innovate in scholarly communications, bringing benefits to the whole research ecosystem. We will be super-charged with the resources not only to maintain our philosophy and collaborative partnership approach, but to grow, flourish and continue to innovate in support of our shared commitments to customers on speed, transparency, quality and impact." The move also opens up new opportunities to connect the humanities and science communities who currently partner with Routledge and Taylor & Francis to F1000 Research's innovative services. Whilst continuing to operate independently, F1000 Research will become a key component of Taylor & Francis's range of open research services and Plan S-compliant platforms, complementing its extensive and growing portfolio of Open Access journals and supporting the company's ethos of evolving to deliver what researchers across the world expect by championing choice, whatever their field of research or source of funding. Vitek Tracz, founder of F1000 Research and Chairman of Science Navigation Group said: "The default way for researchers to share their findings, the Research Journal, is evolving. F1000 Research proposed an efficient, transparent mechanism to respond to the rapidly growing range of needs and opportunities in the way information is shared. The task now needs input and support from a more established partner and I am happy that in the leadership of Taylor & Francis and Informa, we have found a team who understands and is committed to continuing this evolution." F1000Prime and F1000Workspace are not included in this transaction and will continue under the ownership of Vitek Tracz. ### By Brian Dickerson Most of us would think it strange if a teacher charged with sexually molesting his students or a surgeon accused of maiming his patients were allowed unrestricted access to other potential victims while awaiting a jury verdict. So why is a president who stands formally accused of abusing his constitutional authority for personal political gain permitted to exercise that authority with no restrictions whatsoever, even as he faces his own trial before the U.S. Senate? It's a question that has acquired new urgency in the week since President Donald Trump rang in the new year by authorizing a drone strike that killed Iran's top general, an act of war that Iran has now answered by firing ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq. Because the attack came from Iran rather than from some Iraqi militia group in thrall to Tehran, alarmists are calling it a game-changing escalation that demands an even-harsher U.S. response. Trump signaled his own intentions by threatening even before the missiles were launched to answer any Iranian retaliation in kind, "perhaps in a disproportionate manner." But Iran provided Iraq with advance warning of Tuesday's missile attack, allowing both Iraqi and U.S. forces time to move their personnel out of harm's way, and there is evidence Iranian missiles may have been deliberately targeted to minimize human casualties. Whether an attack that may have been more bark than bite restores a fragile equilibrium, or triggers an increasingly destructive cycle of escalations depends largely on what Trump does next. Did Trump deliberately court the prospect of all-out war merely to distract his constituents from the impeachment articles he faces at home? Perhaps not. The president has indignantly rejected any insinuation that the assassination of Qasem Soleimani was a diversionary ploy, insisting he ordered the hit only after reviewing "exquisite" intelligence suggesting that Soleimani was poised to launch new terrorist attacks on U.S. assets in the Middle East. In an Oval Office exchange with reporters, Trump said Soleimani "was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people, and we stopped him." But lawmakers who received no advance notice of the assassination say the White House has yet to disclose evidence of such an imminent threat, even in classified briefings, and Trump has spent most of his three-year-tenure disparaging the reliability of the intelligence analysts he now credits for spurring his initiative. "Between no weapons of mass destruction, no clear and present danger, the Afghanistan papers _ there's plenty to be skeptical about," Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Which brings us back to Trump's unique credibility burden, and the dearth of resources available to congressional and military leaders worried about the president's motives. We're fortunate to live in a country where even those accused of the most heinous crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Even so, the government routinely restricts the liberties of criminal defendants awaiting the judgment of their peers. Those accused of serious crimes are typically required to surrender their passports, and many must seek the court's permission to travel outside their home county. Defendants charged with financial crimes may see their assets frozen, and those whose professional conduct is at issue may find themselves barred from teaching, selling securities, or practicing medicine while they await trial. Employers and financial institutions take their own precautions. Police officers, corporate executives, and elected officials indicted on felony charges are often suspended, sometimes without pay, until those charges have been resolved. Impeachment is not a criminal process, and President Trump has not been charged with any crime (although his susceptibility to indictment upon relinquishing office is an open question). But Trump's current circumstances are strikingly similar to those of a defendant who has been accused but not yet tried in court. You needn't believe the president deserves to be removed from office to understand that the prospect of such a verdict, however remote, has dramatically altered his risks and incentives. But though he stands accused of abusing the highest office in the land, Trump faces fewer restrictions than a storefront accountant accused of cheating his clients. He can still issue executive orders, veto bills adopted by Congress, order the assassination of a foreign leader or put American lives and assets at risk as effortlessly as any president not encumbered by impeachment. This makes no sense. The 25th Amendment, adopted after the assassination of President John Kennedy, establishes a process by which a president disabled by illness or injury can be temporarily relieved of his duties until those impediments are resolved. Surely the threat of imminent removal could pose as serious an impairment of sound executive judgment. It's standard operating procedure for corporations to require that CEOs indicted for serious crimes step aside while charges are pending, but allowing the House of Representatives to sideline a president merely by adopting articles of impeachment would radically alter the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches. Even so, wouldn't it make sense to require that any impeached president face conditions on the exercise of his most powerful executive prerogatives? Should some other executive authority _ the president's cabinet, say, or the Joint Chiefs of Staff _ be required to sign off on presidential orders that threaten to embroil the nation in war or destabilize financial markets? I'm not enough of a constitutional authority to guess which mechanism would be most practicable and least disruptive to the legitimate exercise of presidential authority. But surely that the meager restraints currently in place are unequal to the dangerous circumstances our country confronts today. Brian Dickerson (bdickerson@freepress.com) is the editorial page editor of the Free Press. His commentary was distributed by Tribune Content Agency. Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung (3rd R) is greeted by Vietnamese residents of Dong Tam village, My Duc district, in Hanoi, April 22, 2017. A civilian killed during a violent clash over a land dispute that also left three policemen dead has been identified as the elderly leader of a group of villagers protesting a military airport construction site near Vietnams capital Hanoi, state media said Friday. Le Dinh Kinh, 84, was killed Thursday as farmers from Dong Tam commune threw grenades and petrol bombs at police in the latest flare-up of the long-running dispute, which also saw a fifth unidentified person sustain injuries. According to media reports, the Dong Tam Commune Peoples Committee handed Kinhs body over to his family on Friday, although sources told RFAs Vietnamese Service that relatives had yet to receive it because they refused to sign documents related to the land dispute, without providing details of what the papers said. RFA was unable to contact Kinhs family members or residents of Dong Tam commune to confirm the state media report on Friday. Kinh was among the farmers taken into custody in the initial arrests in April 2017 that sparked a hostage showdown and had been identified by Vietnams official media as the head of the group after signing a letter of complaint that was sent to local government officials over the dispute. On Thursday, a woman who had just escaped from Dong Tam told RFA's Vietnamese Service that police had destroyed Kinhs house after deploying explosive charges and pepper spray, and arrested several of the 20 or so people inside. She said that Kinhs grandchildren, his two sons, and daughter-in-law had been arrested, and that Kinhs son Le Dinh Quang had tried to run away but was detained and kicked by police with sniffer dogs. Police said Friday that they had released four residents, including two men and two women, who were arrested during the clash, but did not provide their names. The official VN Express cited the Ministry of Public Security spokesman To An Xo Friday as saying that 30 protesters had been arrested on Thursday, and that eight grenades, dozens of knives and 20 unused petrol bombs, among other weapons, were recovered at the scene. An investigation has been launched into the clash that will cover charges of murder, storing and using illegal weapons, and resisting law enforcement, he said, adding that at least three people will be prosecuted under the charges, without revealing their names. According to Xo, the situation in Dong Tam has been stabilized on Friday, and barricades have been erected on the main road leading to the commune, while those wishing to enter or leave the area are required to show identification to authorities. Tensions over the Mieu Mon military airport in Dong Tam village, 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Hanoi, had simmered for nearly three years. Farmers in Dong Tam say the government is seizing 47 hectares (116 acres) of their farmland for the military-run Viettel Groupthe countrys largest mobile phone operatorwithout adequately compensating them. The farmers say their families had tilled the land for generations and paid taxes and fees to the government. Scene of 2017 hostage standoff In April 2017, police arrested several farmers for allegedly causing social unrest during a clash between authorities and commune residents over the 47 hectares of Dong Tam land. Other farmers responded to the arrests by detaining 38 police officers and local officials, threatening to kill them if police moved against them again. The standoff lasted a week and ended after police freed jailed farmers and the farmers freed the officers and officials, following a pledge by the Mayor of Hanoi, Nguyen Duc Chung, to investigate their complaints and not prosecute the villagers. In July 2017, government inspectors in Hanoi ruled that the disputed land should be administered by the military and, in October, police ordered the farmers involved in the incident to turn themselves in. In August, a Hanoi court sentenced 14 officials to between one and a half and six and a half years in prison for abusing their authority to manage land deals in Dong Tam commune. VN Express quoted the security ministry as saying Thursdays violence came a week after the Ministry of Defense and local authorities began building a fence for the Mieu Mon military airport. While land disputes are not uncommon in Vietnam, it is the first time in years that policemen have been killed in one, the state news website said at the time. Call for accountability Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), urged Vietnam to hold accountable those who used violence and permit access to Dong Tam by journalists, diplomats, U.N. agency officials and other impartial observers. "Vietnam's national authorities must launch an impartial and transparent investigation of these events that gets to the bottom of what happened, who is responsible for the violence, and whether police used excessive force," he said in a statement. He also called on Vietnam to permit immediate and unfettered access to the area to local and international journalists, diplomats, United Nations agency officials and other impartial observers to assess what happened and monitor the government's investigation of this incident. In the Dong Tam dispute, the authorities maintain that the farmers have illegally occupied land earmarked for the military nearly 40 years ago, which was allocated to Viettel in 2015 to build a defense-related project. While all land in Vietnam is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint as residents accuse the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to those whose land is taken. "Unfair and arbitrary land confiscation for economic projects, displacing local people, has been a major problem in the country for the past two decades," said Robertson of HRW. "Vietnam government officials need to recognize the importance of carrying out dialogues and negotiations with farmers to solve land disputes like Dong Tam in a peaceful manner rather than using violence," he added. The U.S. State Department detailed numerous reports of clashes between local residents and authorities at land expropriation sites in Vietnam during 2018 in the latest edition of its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, noting that disputes regarding land expropriation for development projects remained a significant source of public grievance. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huynh Le. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. This story was originally published by Wired and has been republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Australians havent seen anything like the bushfires currently tearing through their country. The conflagrations are obliterating landscapes and their ecosystems, reshaping the continent in irreparable ways. Bushfires arent supposed to behave like this. In a normal world, every so often a lightning-sparked fire will roll through a landscape, clearing away old foliage to make way for the new. Such periodic, relatively mild fires allow many animals to escape: Birds fly away and koalas shimmy farther up trees as fire burns the ground vegetation below. Insects and small mammals might even take refuge in a log to wait out the firestorm passing above. Advertisement But this is not a normal world. Climate change has supercharged these wildfires, turning whole landscapes into tinder. Fires are marching so fast across Australia that untold numbers of animals cant escape, even kangaroos and birds, who should have the means. The numbers are fairly hard to determine, because nothing like this has happened before, especially across this scale, says University of New England entomologist Nigel Andrew, former president of the Ecological Society of Australia. Previously, its that fires have been patchy in their distribution. They havent been completely taking out entire landscapes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ferocious bushfires have killed at least 25 people, with 15 million acres scorched so far. On South Australias Kangaroo Island, perhaps half of the koala population has been killed. One estimate puts the bushfires total tally at over 1 billion mammals, birds, and reptiles, but that doesnt include other animals like insects, whose toll could be much, much higher. One of Andrews colleagues estimates that more than 3 trillion insects from one family alone, the rove beetles, may have perished so far. (A note of caution here, though: Scientists have no way of knowing exactly how many organisms diedthese calculations are done by scaling up species surveys done in smaller areas.) Advertisement Advertisement Previously, fires have been patchy in their distribution. They havent been completely taking out entire landscapes. Nigel Andrew We wont know the real toll for some time, but this much is clear: The bushfires burning in Australia have crippled iconic habitats that make the continent an ecological wonder. Not even the continents rainforests, which typically can resist the advance of a blaze, are safe from the firestorm. There will be a lot of species that are going to go extinct because of this, says Andrew. For species already threatened with extinction, already clinging to the edge, this may have been the swift and final blow. Advertisement Australia is a continent of fire, and as such, its organisms have adapted to the flames. Some trees, for instance, time their germination to occur after a fire, when nutrients have been injected into the soil and fewer trees are competing for light and other resources. But seeds that can survive a typical bushfire might not be able to withstand these uber-fires. Scientists wont know which species made it until the first rains come and they can watch what germinates. Advertisement The decimation of a landscapes vegetation may draw in opportunists as well. Weedier species that grow quicker could take hold, perhaps turning what used to be a thick forest into a thinner, grassier one. Hardier invasive species could rapidly dominate. A lot of the potentially more charismatic or more unique species might not be able to survive in their natural landscapes, says Andrew. So thats going to be the biggest issue: The diversity of our natural environments is going to change. Advertisement Advertisement Plants also make up a critical link in the food chain, and when they exit, so too does the food source for a range of animals. Even if plant-eaters survive the blaze itself, they may starve in the aftermath. If the youngsters survive and their parents cant find enough food to produce enough milk, says Andrew, then the parents will just abandon the offspring, so they cant survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For animals that seek shelter in burrows during a typical wildfire, suffocation is a big risk as these superfires suck the oxygen out of every crevice. Birds can become disoriented by smoke and extreme winds. These gusts are also pushing bushfires forward with unreal speed, blowing embers perhaps miles ahead of the fire front, setting new fires, in a phenomenon known as spotting. The animals that are running forward then run into another front, says Andrew. So thats really unprecedented in terms of the ferocity of these fire fronts. Normally, animals like kangaroos might dart into the safety of a lush rainforest, yet the bushfire tears right through what used to be a refuge. The landscape is so parched, lightning strikes seem to be starting fires even within rainforests. Advertisement Keep in mind that no single species lives in isolationit feeds on other organisms, and other organisms feed on it. Losing one species in an ecosystem can have devastating ripple effects up and down the food chain. And losing an entire habitat to wildfire will have a downright apocalyptic effect on an ecosystem. Its really difficult to know what will be able to bounce back from this, says Andrew. And what does bounce back could be a very different type of flora, and also from that, different fauna. Advertisement The question now: How can Australias conservationists save species from this new age of supercharged fires? Advertisement Itd be impossible for humans to rebuild an ecosystem from scratch at this scale. But in the aftermath of a fire, conservationists can help key species. One group of researchers has been experimenting with placing tunnels made of wire in burned environments. Small animals can get inside, where theyll be protected from all the different predators that take advantage of the open country that the fire produces, says Don Driscoll, director of Deakin Universitys Centre for Integrative Ecology. We know that foxes and cats, which are introduced here, they will travel long distances to get to these fire regions, because its easy pickings for them. Advertisement Conservationists can also focus their efforts on the pockets where fire-threatened animals have managed to survive. As ecologists, weve now got to not only understand what the climatologists predict will be the future but also work out how we actually protect what refugia weve got left in these landscapes, says Michael Clarke, an ecologist at La Trobe University. To do that, Australia might conduct controlled burns around critical habitats, creating a sort of barrier to stop approaching wildfires. As an ecologist, that goes against my grain to be more interventionist, but I dont know what the alternative is, says Clarke. Do you stand by and say, Sorry, theyre gone, and there will be no sources in the future? That doesnt sit well with me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere in Australia, conservation groups are finding success with controlled burns. The organization Bush Heritage, for example, manages fuel loads on its lands by burning vegetation during cool months, when the controlled blazes wont get out of hand. Its too early in the fire season to say how well the strategy has worked, but theyve had a number of lightning strikes on their lands, and no rampant bushfires. I think the fact that none of those fires has taken off and turned into an uncontrollable blaze is due to that preparation, is due to that really hard work, says Rebecca Spindler, the groups head of science and conservation. Controlled burns can be a tool, but theyre not a panacea. The capacity for a fire to burn through an area becomes less dependent on the amount of fuel the more extreme the weather is, says Driscoll. So if its really hot, its really dry, and theres strong wind, then a fire requires very little fuel to burn right across it. To keep those conditions from getting even worse, theres only one solution: Stop climate change. Thousands of Iraqis rallied across the country on Friday, reviving a months-long protest movement against the government and adding criticisms of both the US and Iran to their chants. The anti-regime demonstrations had been overshadowed recently by spiralling tensions between Tehran and Washington, which led each country to carry out strikes against the other's assets in Iraq over the last week. Fearing their movement would be eclipsed by war, Iraqi activists posted calls on social media in recent days for a mass protest on Friday, which marked the inverse date, 10/1, of the first rallies on October 1, or 1/10. Iraqis turned out across the country, with hundreds streaming into the capital's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the anti-regime movement, AFP journalists said. "Screw Iran! Screw America!" they cried out in the iconic square, still lined with tents and stalls set up three months ago. Thousands more took to the streets in the country's Shiite-majority south, including the main protest hotspots of Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, the oil-rich port city of Basra and the twin shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala. Protesters in Karbala clashed overnight with security forces and others were arrested in Basra on Friday. "By relaunching the protests, we're showing our commitment to the demands of the October revolution: that our leaders stop monopolising our country's resources," said Haydar Kazem, protesting in Nasiriyah. Iraq is OPEC's second-largest crude producer, but one in five people live in poverty and unemployment is rife among youth, according to the World Bank. Transparency International ranks Iraq the 12th most corrupt country in the world. Outraged by government graft and inequality, Iraqis launched an anti-regime protest movement in October that saw unprecedented numbers hit the streets. But the rallies were met with violence, with nearly 460 people killed and more than 25,000 wounded since they began. The protests began to slip out of the spotlight in late December after a US contractor was killed in a rocket attack on a northern Iraqi military base where American and other international troops are stationed. The US blamed a hardline group in the Hashed al-Shaabi, a military network incorporated into the Iraqi state, and launched an air strike that killed 25 Hashed fighters. Supporters of the group then besieged the US embassy in Baghdad and days later, the US killed a top Iranian commander and the Hashed's deputy chief in a drone strike outside the Baghdad airport. In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles on Iraqi bases where US and coalition forces are stationed. The rallies persisted throughout the developments, but shifted to include calls for Iraq to be spared any conflict between Iran and the US, both of them allies of Iraq. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taliban Says US-Iran Dispute Will Not Harm Afghan Peace Process By Ayaz Gul January 09, 2020 The Taliban said Thursday it believes escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran are unlikely to hurt the insurgent group's negotiations with Washington aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan. The first official reaction from the Taliban comes a day after Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops, though they did not cause any casualties.The attack was a retaliation to Friday's American airstrike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad that killed Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani. Suhail Shaheen, who speaks for the Taliban's negotiating team, told VOA their meetings with U.S. interlocutors over the past year have brought the two adversaries in the 18-year-old Afghan on the verge of signing a peace deal. He dismissed reported concerns U.S.-Iran tensions threatens the peace initiative. "The developments will not have negative impact on the peace process because the (U.S.-Taliban) peace agreement is finalized and only remains to be signed (by the two sides)," Shaheen asserted. The progress, he insisted, has been achieved because both the Taliban and the U.S. agree the Afghan conflict could only be settled through peaceful means. The Trump administration has been negotiating an agreement with Taliban representatives in a bid to wind down the stalemated Afghan war, America's longest in the history. The U.S. is seeking counterterrorism assurances and pressing the Taliban to reduce violence as well as open negotiations with Afghan stakeholders on reaching a power-sharing deal to end decades of hostilities in the country. American's renewed conflict with Iran, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, has raised concerns Iranian authorities could attempt to derail the U.S.-Taliban peace process by increasing Tehran's alleged covert military assistance for the insurgents to encourage them to step up attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces. Pro-Iranian Shi'ite Afghan factions have also denounced the killing of Soleimani. U.S. chief peace negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad had acknowledged in early September a draft agreement had been reached with the Taliban and it could begin a U.S. troop drawdown process in a few months. Just days later, however, President Donald Trump temporarily suspended the peace process citing a Taliban attack that killed an American soldier and 11 other people in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The dialogue was resumed early last month only to be paused again after the Taliban staged a major attack on the largest U.S. military base of Bagram. Khalilzad has demanded the Taliban reduce attacks or observe a brief ceasefire before the talks could be resumed.But the Taliban has refused to cease hostilities until the proposed agreement is singed with the U.S. Insurgent sources say Khalilzad is currently visiting the Qatari capital of Doha, where he has made informal contacts with Taliban representatives to find out whether they are ready to meet his demand for a ceasefire or reduction in the violence. Neither Taliban nor U.S. officials have commented on Khalilzad's presence in the Gulf nation, which has played host to the U.S.-Taliban talks since late 2018. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address I remember it was the day after Christmas because I was struck and disappointed that my new friend had to work on Christmas. She was a Christian Israeli Arab and was working with an elderly Jewish philanthropist to counsel him on funding programs that would combat substance abuse in the Arab community. It was my first Christmas in Israel since moving to Israel. Everything was a new experience. We met in a conference room of a Nazareth hotel including Mr. Green, the philanthropist, my new friend as his adviser, representatives of the Arab community and the Israel Anti-Drug Authority, and me. The conversation bounced interchangeably between English, Hebrew, and Arabic. At one point, Mr. Green mentioned that it was important to support initiatives like this in the Arab community because Israeli Arabs are second-class citizens. I nodded. The meeting concluded with specific ideas of what could be done by way of programs to make a substantial difference to tackle substance abuse within Israels Arab community. As the meeting broke up, I walked toward the exit. My new friend, who until that point I had only spoken to across the conference table, pursued me. After brief pleasantries she confronted me, wagging her finger in my face as my mother would do in anger. What had I done to earn this admonishing? Dont ever let me hear you say that Israeli Arabs are second class citizens, she said firmly in Arabic accented English. When you say that, you give them the opportunity to blame Israel for all their problems rather than taking personal responsibility. Them? Here I am talking to a Christian Israeli Arab woman who separated herself enough from the rest of the Arab community, at least for the purpose of this conversation, to tell me how my silent nodding affirming Mr. Greens comment was wrong. I later learned how the Arab leaders present at that meeting would speak openly among themselves, in Arabic, about how they really werent committed to combating substance abuse, but they wanted his money to use for other priorities. She was bothered by this as a matter of integrity, driving her all the more to serve Mr. Green and make sure his generosity was not abused. She was bothered by this because it was another example of how members of the Arab community would seek ways to take advantage, rather than take responsibility. As a nonprofit professional for 30 years, it became another example (of which there have been many) of nonprofits taking advantage of the goodwill and finances of thoughtful and generous donors. It has driven me to work with the highest integrity to make sure that nonprofit organizations and their leaders dont abuse the trust and funds with which they are entrusted, and to always advocate for the donors. As a new immigrant, it was all eye opening to me. Since then, my Christian Arab friend has become like a sister, and her family like my family. Ive had multiple opportunities to visit them in the Galilee, and host them in my home even for Shabbat. Speaking together once with a group of diplomats, I introduced myself as the only Orthodox Israeli Jew with a Christian Arab sister. Dont tell my friend, but I still think to a degree Arabs in Israel are second-class citizens. This is a reality, first because of the inevitable distrust and discrimination by Israeli Jews due to the political reality and challenges that strain Israeli society. Its not good but its a reality. This is a reality both among those on the right the left, but for different reasons. They are second-class citizens because far too often their leaders separate themselves from the majority of Israeli society, rather than engage and be a part of it. This is a symptom of the broader issue that my friend called me out on that very first day we met: blaming others rather than taking responsibility. A consequence of this is Israeli Arabs put themselves in the place of being second class rather than equals. This is evident by the rhetoric thats common among Arab Israeli political parties, and the fact that despite the growing number of (particularly Christian) Israeli Arabs serving in the army, hostility toward them in the wider Arab community means they are often shunned and threatened. A third, and tragically too common human phenomena, is that even among societal groups that are second class, too often there are subsets and discrimination within that very group. My friend blames their cruel, ruthless culture in which they dont even have mercy on their own. Over the years Ive learned about the discrimination against Christian Arabs who are a minority within the overall Israeli Arab community. Israels Arab population makes up about 20 percent. Of that, fewer than 10 percent are Christian. For that reason, I am referring to my friend anonymously because she and her family have been subject to violence from within the broader Arab community and I dont want to be the reason they have a bigger target on their backs. I will say however that people like her give me hope for the future of Israel, and Arabs in Israel integrating within and casting off their second-class status by taking responsibility. Nurturing this model could be the framework for a much wider solution of conflicts that exist throughout the Middle East where Israel is only one small factor. All this is not to say that Israel as a state, and the overall Jewish community within Israel, dont have a responsibility as well. Of course we do. But, like substance abuse, in order to fix a problem one must first recognize and except the problem, and take responsibility for their own circumstances. With Arab friends like these who are not just loyal Israeli citizens but good friends in every sense of the word, I have hope for Israel. U.S.-born and educated Jonathan Feldstein immigrated to Israel in 2004. Throughout his life and career, he has fellowshipped with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes a regular column for Standing With Israel at charismanews.com and other prominent web sites. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/10/2020 -- The report presents a highly detailed, comprehensive, and scientific research study on the Global Automotive Intelligent Key market. The Research report presents a complete valuation of the Market and contains a forthcoming trend, current growth factors, attentive views, facts, and industry-validated market data. The report provides the historical as well as present growth parameters of the global Automotive Intelligent Key market. The report features salient and unique factors, which are expected to significantly impact the growth of the global Automotive Intelligent Key market throughout the forecast period. Scope of the report: The report commences with a scope of the global Automotive Intelligent Key market that includes the key findings and vital statistics of the market. This market research report also consists of the market value of the major segments of the global Automotive Intelligent Key market. QY Research has found a detailed taxonomy and the definition of the global market that helps the readers to better understand the basic information of the Automotive Intelligent Key market. It also highlights the exclusions and inclusions that help the client to understand the scope of the Automotive Intelligent Key market. 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Geographical Outlook: In 2018, the global Automotive Intelligent Key market size was increased to xx million US$ from xx million US$ in 2014, and it will reach xx million US$ in 2025, growing at CAGR of xx%% between 2019 and 2025. QY Research report provides a detailed information to the clients about the various factors that are impacting on the growth of the regions across North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam), Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC Countries, Egypt and South Africa), and South America (Brazil and others). Segment Analysis: The report provides detailed segments based on product type and applications so that the readers can better understand each segment that influences the Automotive Intelligent Key market growth. By the product type, the market is primarily split into Single Function Multi Function By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments Commercial Vehicle Passenger Vehicle Other Competitive Landscape: The report provides a list of all the key players in the Automotive Intelligent Key market along with a detailed analysis of the strategies, which the companies are adopting. The strategies mainly include new product development, research, and development, and also provides revenue shares, company overview, and recent company developments to remain competitive in the market. The Automotive Intelligent Key key manufacturers in this market include: Continental Denso TRW Omron Delphi Tokai Rika HELLA Calsonic Kansei Kostal Valeo Lear Mitsubishi Alps Electric For Further Detailed insights and 'Any Query About Automotive Intelligent Key Market', Place your Query Here!- https://www.qyresearch.com/customize-request/form/1045455/global-automotive-intelligent-key-market Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Report Summary 4. Automotive Intelligent Key Composites Market Overview -Introduction -Drivers -Restraints -Industry Trends -Porter& Five Forces Analysis -SWOT Analysis 5. Automotive Intelligent Key Composites Market Review, By Product 6. Automotive Intelligent Key Composites Market Summary, By Application 7. Automotive Intelligent Key Composites Market Outline, By Region North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa 8. Competitive Overview 9. Company Profiles: Continental, Denso, TRW, Omron, Delphi, Tokai Rika, HELLA, Calsonic Kansei, Kostal, Valeo, Lear, Mitsubishi, Alps Electric 10. Appendix India and the US are making a "very good progress" on a trade package and were looking to engage in a long term framework for preferential or free market access to goods from each other's countries, India's outgoing envoy here has said. The Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who would take up his new assignment as India's next foreign secretary later this month, said that there are a lot of complementarities in trade between India and the US. In September, the two nations failed to announce a limited trade deal in New York during the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, due to still prevailing differences over the package, including access Washington sought to Indian markets for medical devices, such as stents and knee implants, information and communications technology (ICT) products and dairy products with the removal of price caps. India is keen on a fair and reasonable trade deal in which its request for market access is secured while also addressing the trade deficit issue raised by the US. "We are happy that we are making very good progress on our trade package between our two sides. But, what we are really looking at is to engage in a long term framework under which our two countries can provide preferential or free market access to goods from each other's countries," Shringla said. Noting that there are a lot of complementarities in trade between the two countries, Shringla said they can open up windows that are exclusively for "our companies and thereby take our trade" figure from the current USD160 billion to double it, if the conditions are correct. "It's a strategic partnership that we look to not for the next four to five years of an election cycle, but a long term relationship in which we must see a mutuality of benefits between the two countries, that have the same values, same shared principles and the same way of looking at how we'd like to see the rest of the world evolve," he said. Shringla has served as India's envoy to the US for about one year. "In that one important aspect is the fact that we must look at ways to provide a policy framework and facilitation that could secure, a partnership and relationship on the economic side that is a sustainable in the long term," Shringla said at farewell in his honour by US Chambers of Commerce, and US India Business Council. In her remarks, USIBC president, Nisha Desai Biswal, said that Shringla in a very short period of time became "a very important fixture" here in Washington DC, in the corridors of power in the policy conversations around the city and also across the country. She said she has been struck with the tenacity and the enthusiasm with which Shringla approached his very broad and expansive mandate here in the United States in this role. I also want to acknowledge the fact that you have been, open, direct and ready to engage across the broad spectrum of constituencies of relationships that you manage. While your main counterparts have been in the administration, I have to say you've been equally active with governors and mayors, with members of the Congress, with business executives and with community leaders, she said. In about a year, Shringla visited 21 US states. Ralph Voltmer, partner Covington and Burling and a USIBC Global Board of Directors said that Shringla has written extensively on conflict prevention and how to promote peace and prosperity among nations. "Mr. Ambassador, your reflections on supporting an area of diplomacy are all the more relevant today as we sit here in Washington and see the potential for increased conflict, he said. "I know your wise guidance and steady hand as Foreign Secretary will benefit our countries and our peoples as we navigate international diplomatic challenges in the years ahead, Voltmer said. In March, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that the US will terminate India's designation as beneficiary developing country under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme. India imposed retaliatory tariffs on 28 US products including almonds and apples from June 5, after the Trump administration revoked its preferential trade privileges. Trade tensions between India and the US have been rising with President Trump complaining that tariffs imposed by New Delhi on American products were "no longer acceptable". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) St. Petersburg, FL, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carillon Tower Advisers, a global multi-boutique asset management firm with $65 billion in assets under management and advisement,* is now a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), as are all of its affiliates. Partner affiliates Eagle Asset Management, Cougar Global Investments, and Scout Investments are new signatories, while Reams Asset Management and ClariVest Asset Management have been members of the PRI. Having all of our affiliates join the PRI further underscores and publicly confirms their investment teams longstanding commitment to sustainable investing, said Carillon Chairman and President Cooper Abbott, CFA, CAIA, CFE, who also holds the FSA credential from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Our affiliates portfolio managers have always incorporated a longer-term view towards shareholders and stakeholders into their investment processes both to reduce risk and create opportunity for positive client outcomes. We are excited to equip all of our affiliate managers with the tools to best serve clients who are increasingly looking for top-notch ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing capabilities across various asset classes, said Ed Rick, Executive Vice President of Carillon Tower and Head of Investments at Eagle Asset Management. We look forward to working with the investment teams to evaluate new products that align with our clients needs. We anticipate adding them to our slate of offerings in the near future. The PRI features six specific principles signatories commit to, promising to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into investment analysis, decision making and ownership practices, as well as promote the principles within the investment industry. Carillon is also a member of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF), the leading voice advancing sustainable, responsible and impact investing across asset classes, focusing on long-term investment and generating positive social and environmental impacts. Visit our website to learn more about Carillon Towers affiliates ESG investing capabilities. About Carillon Tower Advisers, Inc. Carillon Tower Advisers is a global asset management company that combines the exceptional insight and agility of individual investment teams with the strength and stability of a full-service firm. Together with our partner affiliates ClariVest Asset Management, Cougar Global Investments, Eagle Asset Management, Reams Asset Management and Scout Investments we offer a range of investment strategies and asset classes through multiple vehicles. Our focus is on risk-adjusted returns and alpha generation. We believe this lineup of institutional-class portfolio managers can help investors meet their long-term business and financial goals. Ultimately, our structure allows affiliated investment teams to focus on what they do best: managing portfolios. Visit www.carillontower.com. * Includes Carillon Tower Advisers affiliates: Eagle Asset Management ($33.2 billion), ClariVest Asset Management ($6.3 billion), Cougar Global Investments ($1.3 billion), Scout Investments ($5.9 billion) and Reams Asset Management ($18.5 billion), a division of Scout Investments. CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study released today by wealth management research specialist Spectrem Group, updates the views of retail investors on proxy advisors and shareholder proposals from a previous April 2019 survey, and shows both heightened awareness and apprehension among respondents. The initial survey, which gauged awareness and sentiment around the U.S. proxy process, found significant concern among retail investors over the role of proxy advisory firms. Today's survey re-examines their views, following the SEC's proposed amendments to improve the accuracy and transparency of proxy voting advice and modernize the shareholder proposal rule, which retail investors were found to widely support. The survey was again designed in collaboration with J.W. Verret, board member of the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission and an expert in corporate governance law. The results come at a critical time as the SEC is currently gathering public feedback on the proposed rule amendments. The study's key findings include: At the start of the survey, 69% of retail investors supported increased SEC oversight of proxy advisors broadly. Following the survey, support grew to 81%. Retail investor support of the specific SEC amendments proposed for proxy advisors is 75% or higher. 90% of retail investors support disabling robo-voting when a hyperlink to additional information is included in proxy advisor reports. Retail investor support for the SEC's shareholder proposal amendments is 68% or higher, and investors are at least twice as likely to indicate they expect to engage more with companies as a result of the changes. Commenting on the findings, J.W. Verret said, "These results are a true measure of investor sentiment and clearly show that mom and pop investors support the Commission's attempts to protect the value of their investments. It's critical that the SEC hears more of these voices, and that the general public and retail investors have their say in how additional oversight of proxy advisors is incorporated into the regulations that protect them and their investments. "While this analysis largely focuses on the survey's findings regarding proxy advisors, it's important to note and briefly discuss the other subject of the SEC's proposed rules: shareholder proposals. State corporation law originally envisaged that those proposing resolutions would bear the proxy solicitation costs themselves. Today that situation has reversed, and many proposals effectively function as a tax on company shareholders." The most notable change since the April 2019 survey is the growing awareness by retail investors of the issues and flaws of proxy advisors. Retail investors also support further measures by the SEC to protect their investments and address robo-votingthe most concerning proxy advisor issue to investorsdespite not being included in the proposed rule amendments. "As the research shows, the well-being and success of their investments, which they have entrusted to money managers and institutional investors, is incredibly important to retirees and ordinary investors," said George H. Walper, Jr., President of Spectrem Group. "They are not only aware, but actively concerned about the impact of proxy advisory firms and their practices, and rely upon the SEC to implement the proper rules and procedures to safeguard this wealth." ***** Notes to Editors Survey Methodology A continuation of the April 2019 study, Spectrem conducted an online survey of 5,000 qualifying persons between November 13, 2019 to November 21, 2019. Respondents were required to be at least 19 years old and have at least $10,000 in assets in any combination of stocks and bonds, mutual funds and ETFs held in various types of accounts, such as defined contribution plans (such as 401ks) advisory accounts, brokerage accounts, IRAS and other similar investment accounts. The survey was conducted to mirror the age distribution of the overall U.S. population above the age of 19. Of all respondents contributing to the sample, 61% have a defined contribution plan, 26% have a managed or advisory account, and 56% have an IRA. All survey data, including detailed demographic data, can be found on Spectrem's website. Additional findings include: 79% of retail investors support the SEC's new proposed rule requiring proxy advisory firms to give companies an opportunity to review and provide feedback on an advice before it is issued. 78% of retail investors support the proposed rule to require proxy advisors to disclose conflicts of interest, and 75% support the proposed hyperlink rule. 77% of retail investors support the proposed rule requiring shareholder-proponents to provide their identity, role and interest when submitting proposals, and 73% support requiring shareholder-proponents to meet with companies to discuss proposals. 71% of retail investors support the SEC's proposal to limit proposals to one per shareholder, and 68% favor increased thresholds for resubmission of previously failed proposals. 72% of retail investors support modernizing criteria requiring shareholders to own higher amounts of shares for longer to be eligible to submit proposals. Respondents who are aware of proxy advisors increased from 50% in April to 57% in November. 47% of retail investors are familiar with the issue of robo-voting, up from 39% in April. 80% of retail investors are concerned (35% said they're very concerned) with robo-voting guided by pre-determined "custom policies." 90% of retail investors support disabling robo-voting when a hyperlink to additional information is included in proxy advisor reports. SOURCE Spectrem Group Uumnan.1free-host.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 15 Jul 2018, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the uumnan.1free-host homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the uumnan.1free-host homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. 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The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The future of several major stud farms in Co Kildare is under threat from the proposed development of a quarry near Kilcullen, according to leading figures in the horse racing industry. Former jockey Ruby Walsh and racehorse owner Aga Khan are among over 200 locals who have become involved in a planning row over plans by Kilsaran Concrete to develop a quarry near their stables. A representative of the Aga Khan warned that he might have to consider moving horses to stud farms in France if Kilsaran was allowed to proceed with its plans to extract three million tonnes of sand and gravel over a 12-year period from a 32-hectare site at Racefield, around 10km outside Kilcullen, Co Kildare. The company, a leading manufacturer of concrete products based in Dunboyne, Co Meath, has submitted an appeal to An Bord Pleanala against the recent decision of Kildare County Council to refuse planning permission for the development. Kilsaran said the proposed facility would provide vital material for the building industry and its plans were designed with consideration of national, regional and local planning policies and objectives. A ruling in the case is due in early May. Ever since the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by both Houses of the Indian Parliament, several misunderstandings have floated around not only throughout India, but globally as well. Ever since the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by both Houses of the Indian Parliament, several misunderstandings have floated around not only throughout India, but globally as well. While this law is named because of the fact that it amends the Citizenship Act, 1955, a law governing immigration and nationality in India the real import of the amendment is to accord a special refugee status to specific groups from specific nations with citizenship as the final destination in a refugees journey. Ordinarily, refugees seeking entry or immigration status in a country are required to individually demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country. In the US, this requirement is found in Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the principal law governing immigration. Notably, however, back in 1989, Senator Frank Lautenberg recognised that some refugees belonging to specific religions from specific countries could be identified as historically persecuted groups and, hence, given refugee status without requiring them to show that they individually had been persecuted. He, therefore, spearheaded a law: Public Law 101-167, also popularly referred to as Lautenberg Amendment which specifically benefitted the following among others: Nationals and residents of [former] Soviet Union who are Jews or Evangelical Christians Present or former nationals of [former] Soviet Union participating in religious activities of the Ukrainian Catholic Church or the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Nationals and residents of Islamic Republic of Iran who are members of a religious minority [this specific group was added in 2004 through an amendment to the law] This law, therefore, specifically enlists religious communities in former Soviet Union and religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to confer a benefit on them to the exclusion of all other refugees, the benefit being that they dont need to individually demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution. Sub-section (d), in fact, permits applicants belonging to these categories to reapply if their refugee applications were denied due to the fact that they could not individually demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution. What the Western critics of Indias CAA fail to understand are two vital points: Firstly, India has a refugee policy similar to Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act pursuant to which refugees fleeing any country individually demonstrating a well-founded fear of persecution on any ground (race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity, membership of a particular social group or political opinion) are provided long-term visas. This benefit is accorded through the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) dated 29 December, 2011, which permits such refugees to take up employment in private sector and undertake studies in academic institutions. After proving eleven years of residency in India, they become eligible to apply for Indian citizenship pursuant to the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955. Indeed, migrants who arrive solely in search of better economic opportunities are purely economic migrants and no refugee protection is, and can logically be, afforded to them. Bangladeshi Muslims predominantly fall into that category. It is also critical to note here that, for some categories of refugees such as Rohingya from Myanmar, national security considerations as well as bilateral relations override granting refugee status. Secondly, the only effect of the CAA is to enlist specific categories of people (six religious minorities) from specific countries (three neighbouring nations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh) as historically persecuted groups similar to the Lautenberg Amendment obviating the need for them to meet the individual demonstration requirement. In addition, the CAA fast-tracks the amount of time these specific categories need to physically be in India in order to be eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. Back in 2013, when Senator Lautenberg passed away, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) deeply mourned his loss, stating that, for more than two decades, he championed a measure which provides a vital lifeline to freedom for persecuted religious minorities. USCIRF went on to urge the US Congress to make this law permanent. As of now, the Lautenberg Amendment is required to be renewed annually. In February 2018, when the Trump administration denied asylum to around 100 religious minorities from Iran (mostly comprising of Christians), the USCIRF urged the US government to reopen their cases and grant them asylum status, stating that few policies embody this commitment [of protecting religious freedom] more than the Lautenberg Amendment. When the CAA was passed by the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Parliament), a law which seeks to give historically persecuted minorities special benefits without rendering anyone else worse off in any manner, USCIRF published an ill-informed press release raising serious concerns and mulling sanctions recommendations on India for enactment of the law which, according to it, was a dangerous turn in the wrong direction. The tone and tenor of USCIRFs press release was effectively carried through in mainstream newspapers and news media. The USCIRF went on to state that CAA enshrined a pathway to citizenship for immigrants which specifically excluded Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion. That the Lautenberg Amendment specifically excluded Muslims of Iran and Soviet Union indeed, it identified beneficiaries persecuted due to religion just like the CAA does didnt dawn upon the bipartisan federal commission USCIRF. That the Lautenberg Amendment specifically mentioned religions in regard to nationals and residents of former Soviet Union wasnt an obstacle in urging the US Congress to make this law a permanent measure. - Judy Ann Santos is one of the most loyal and trusted artists of the Kapamilya network - She has been doing films and television series with ABS-CBN for the past 28 years - Recently, a rumor about her transferring to another network circulated on social media - The veteran actress addressed the speculation and she also aired her theory about where the rumor is coming from PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Judy Ann Santos did not hesitate to respond to the speculation in the online world that she will already leave the Kapamilya network. KAMI learned that the rumor was fueled by the fact that the latest teleserye of the veteran actress will already end its short stint on national television. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! The Bastat Kasama Kita star stated through an interview with the press that she will not leave ABS-CBN, contrary to some hearsays on social media. She also pointed out that the end of her contract with her current network and the finale of Starla might be the reasons why such rumor circulated online. The celebrity also mentioned that she is one of the actresses who has yet to sign contracts with other networks so a lot of people wonder about it. "Ewan ko ba, parang ganun nga yata siguro yun. Baka nagkakataon lang siguro yung everytime na may matatapos akong soap, mag-e-end na rin yung contract and everything. So everybody's assuming na baka lilipat ng station, she quipped. Siguro hindi naiiwasan yun, kapatid, kasi ako na lang yata ang hindi umaalis dito sa [ABS-CBN]. Parang hinihintay na lang yata nilang baka this time! she added. In a previous article by , Judy Ann explained the reason behind the short stint of Starla on national television. Judy Ann Santos is one of the most critically-acclaimed actresses in the Philippines. Many people adore her because of her excellence in the field of acting. POPULAR: Read more news about Judy Ann Santos! Please like and share our Facebook posts to support KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinion about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts! Source: KAMI.com.gh Many Michigan farmers have chosen to forego 2018 Farm Bill meetings across the state, erroneously thinking that what has worked for them in the 2014 Farm Bill, will work again this time, but MSU Extension educators warn choosing the same program as last farm bill could result in a vastly different outcome. Farmers signing up for 2018 Farm Bill programs are probably missing out if they are signing up for the same programs they did in 2014. While the programs may have the same titles, they are handled slightly different than in previous years, which can have a big impact on a farm's bottom line. When the 2014 farm bill was signed, farms had profited from years of high prices and many felt confident that PLC wouldn't pay for the first few years. In 2014, the price situation indicated that only one program option in Michigan was going to provide the highest payment revenue and that program was ARC County. That's what most of the farmers went with and was the best choice in nearly all Michigan counties. Today, circumstances are very different. For the 2018 Farm Bill, commodity prices the last 6 years have been much lower as compared to 2014. Some commodities are expected to fall below the reference price level for the 2019 and 2020 crop production years, a situation that wasn't expected to happen at sign up time for the 2014 Farm Bill. Prices have greatly changed, which opens up the possibility of PLC being not only an option, but probably the best choice for wheat and maybe for corn depending on a farm's specific FSA base acres and PLC yields. For soybeans, ARC County appears to be a good option in most counties and is possibly a good choice for corn. The 2019 actual county yields in relationship to previous 6-year yields are critical in making the ARC County vs. PLC decision. Producers have the advantage of knowing their yields for the 2019 production year. Normally, the decisions are made going into the crop year with a greater amount of uncertainty. Because the 2018 Farm Bill programs took so long to be announced, producers have a lot of useful knowledge on both county and farm yields and what prices will be for the 2019 production year. This makes the decision for 2019 much more certain. Farmers didn't have this kind of information when they made the 2014 Farm Bill decision. In the 2014 the one decision as to which program was chosen lasted for 5 years. With the 2018 Farm Bill, the first decision is for 2019 and 2020 combined but then 2021, 2022 and 2023 each stand alone. And the ARC County/ARC Individual/PLC choice can be changed each year after 2020. Prevent Plant is another game changer for these decisions. Producers with FSA Farms who have 100% Prevent Plant will max out the ARC-IC program. This is a program that was not popular in 2014, but now in 2019 it's a big deal, because a zero yield and maximum payment will be assigned for the 2019 ARC Individual payment calculation. There's also the potential that FSA farms with low yields should also consider ARC Individual, as that program choice could provide higher total farm payments. Several business-savvy farmers have reported they did not realize all the significant differences between the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bill programs and were planning to just go with what they chose last time until they had attended a 2018 Farm Bill Meeting or talked with MSU Extension educator. To avoid this, MSU Extension encourages that all farmers, regardless of farm size, attend one of the remaining 2018 Farm Bill meetings. Farms that have Prevent Plant acreage are highly encouraged to attend these meetings so that they fully understand how the 2018 Farm Bill programs will affect their farms. MSU Extension has partnered with local FSA offices to offer multiple Farm Bill Meetings across Michigan during January 2020. At these meetings producers will: Hear highlights of the 2018 Farm Bill and assessments of today's market compared to five years ago. Learn about the process of updating their yields with FSA. Work through case examples using the MSU Extension 2018 Farm Bill Calculator to help make better decisions on ARC versus PLC (Each crop and FSA farm number may result in a different choice.). Discuss specific program details with local FSA staff. Speakers include both MSU specialists/educators as well as your local FSA staff. For a complete listing of locations, dates and times, please visit our MSU Events page at https://events.anr.msu.edu/farmbill/. Additionally, farmers attending the 2020 Great Lakes Crop Summit in late January can visit the ARC and PLC assistance help room staffed by MSU Extension farm management educators. The help room will be open during the 2020 Great Lakes Crop Summit at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, from 12 - 6 p.m. on Jan. 29 and 9 - 11 a.m. on Jan. 30. Please bring base acres and PLC yield information for each farm number, which can be requested from your local Farm Service Agency office. You will also need actual crop yields for 2013 to 2017 for each farm number. This can be collected from crop insurance or farm records. For more information contact Sean Corp, corpsean@msu.edu, 517-884-7083; Educators/Authors: Jonathan LaPorte, laportej@msu.edu, 269-445-4438; Roger Betz, betz@msu.edu, 517-439-9301 "We are honored to provide this large donation to Convoy of Hope to help thousands of families this holiday season," said Aly Sill, SKIPPY P.B. & Jelly Minis brand manager at Hormel Foods. " SKIPPY P.B. & Jelly Minis are a delicious and convenient snack or meal." "Convoy of Hope is grateful for this generous donation of SKIPPY P.B. & Jelly Minis," said Bill Whitworth, Convoy of Hope's procurement director. "This donation will serve more than 90,000 people across the country. Convoy of Hope would not be able to do the work we do without partners like Hormel Foods." About Hormel Foods Inspired People. Inspired Food. Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three straight years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for the 11th year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement Inspired People. Inspired Food. to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/. Media Contact: Kelly Braaten 507-434-6352 [email protected] SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation Related Links http://www.hormelfoods.com In the world of special education advocacy, Texas has a reputation and its not a good one. For years the Texas Education Agency has systematically denied public school students with disabilities access to the education federal law guarantees them, and efforts to address disparities continue to progress slowly. Recent reporting by John Tedesco and Shelby Webb about the specific failures of some Texas charter schools comes as no surprise to education advocates and parents of students with disabilities. Nevertheless, its essential to examine the context in which these schools are allowed to operate to expose how our leaders are failing to take action to prevent schools from discriminating against students with disabilities. Charter schools are public schools governed by independent boards, meaning that theyre required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide special education and related services, just like traditional public schools. Practices that exclude students with disabilities are illegal, plain and simple. Its clear that some Texas charters are failing to fulfill these obligations. Over a decade of evidence from Texas has shown that parents are no match for a system intent on discrimination, whether in traditional public or charter schools. Sadly, it is often easier to leave a school entirely than to get it to follow legally mandated practices. BASIS Texas is a vivid example of a school with impressive test scores that hide systemic discrimination. Only 1.58 percent of enrolled students have disabilities, an unacceptable rate compared to the national average of 12-14 percent. Though BASIS prides itself on being a college prep program, we know that fewer than 10 percent of students with disabilities have cognitive impairments that would keep them keep them from performing on par with their peers, given proper support. BASIS is simply choosing not to invest its resources in these students. BASIS has stated that the school doesnt choose its students and families a tired excuse weve heard over and over from schools with low enrollment of students with disabilities. Hiding behind the lottery system makes a mockery of the school choice process. While its true that parents may be reluctant to enroll their children with disabilities in charter schools with unproven special education programs, we know that charters can effectively increase their enrollment of students with disabilities in Texas. We need only look to the case of Harmony Public Schools, which changed its enrollment practices in response to federal scrutiny and has since increased its enrollment of students with disabilities more than twofold. Charters must actively seek to recruit and welcome students with disabilities. This is not a complex challenge. It can be as simple as discussing supports for students with disabilities in the schools materials, sharing testimonials, talking to wary parents and highlighting special education teachers at open houses. The fact that schools that appear to be implicitly or explicitly discriminating remain in operation reflects the failure of the Texas Education Agency and charter school authorizers to ensure that charters are aware of and complying with their legal obligations. While it is nice to hear that Matthew Montano, TEAs deputy commissioner of special populations, is concerned, we need that concern turned into an action plan, which must include the following: TEA must collect and analyze data on the enrollment and education of students with disabilities in both traditional public and charter schools and examine schools that are outliers. TEA must use its authority under IDEA to place schools with persistent low enrollment on corrective action plans. Charter school authorizers must ensure schools are fulfilling their responsibilities. The National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools partnered with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers to develop a toolkit to help them do so. Charter school authorizers must help schools communicate with parents and address concerns about resources for students with disabilities. As charter schools fight for legitimacy on the national scene, authorizers, charter support organizations and peers need to address the narrative that charter schools don't serve students with disabilities. Both traditional public schools and charter schools in Texas are slowly improving their approaches to educating students with disabilities and while all schools must be held to account, focusing only on problems within charter schools fails to acknowledge the systemic problems that remain within the state. Texas students and parents deserve real change, and theres no time to waste. Morando Rhim is the executive director of the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools. The Centers funders partners include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Newark Charter School Fund and others. A man accused of trafficking his wife for several years was arrested Thursday by San Antonio police. Jose Sanchez Davila, 39, was charged with trafficking of a person for allegedly transporting his then-wife to various locations and forcing her to perform sex acts. His bail was set at $35,000. Police Chief William McManus said Davila advertised her on websites with a price for prostitution. Davila was very abusive to his wife, McManus said, doing things to her that are just unimaginable. The 34-year-old woman has since divorced Davila, with whom she has children. Police were first made aware of the case when the woman reported the trafficking in August, McManus said. They were unable to find corroborating evidence at the time, but they recently located someone willing to testify against Davila. It took us this long to find someone who would corroborate the human trafficking charges, McManus said. The investigation, conducted by the Special Victims Unit, involved the woman taking police to one of the places where she said she was trafficked. Police found an individual involved in the crime at that location. A man who answered one of the advertisements told police that after his encounter with the woman, he gave Davila $20 for gas money, according to Davilas arrest warrant affidavit. As we locate other people who participated in this crime, we will bring further charges, McManus said. Not only against Mr. Davila but also the individuals who engaged in sex with the victim. The chief noted that it was appropriate that the Police Department made the arrest during Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Victims of sex trafficking are subject to controlling behavior by their traffickers, McManus said, to the point where they dont speak or make eye contact. The husband threatened her in a variety of ways which made her fearful fearful enough not to leave the situation, he added. Detectives allege that Davila continued to harass her by constantly calling her phone, even after she would change her number. He would also show up to their childrens school at the same time she would arrive, as though he were following her, according to the affidavit. McManus acknowledged that a person unaware of the dynamics involved may question why victims dont simply leave their traffickers. Its not that easy, he said. Staff writer Jacob Beltran contributed to this report. mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy SOUDERTON Plans for new playgrounds in Souderton Community Park have been completed, Borough Manager Mike Coll told Souderton Borough Council at its Jan. 3 meeting. "Where the former softball field was is where we are looking to install two playgrounds a playground for smaller toddlers in an age group up to five and a larger playground structure for... Students in this country should not face violence at varsities at any cost, said Father Francis Debrito, president of the 93rd All India Marathi Literary Meet, at Osmanabad in Maharashtra on Friday. In an indirect reference to the violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, he said "we will not sit quiet" if such attacks continued. The noted Marathi writer and environmental activist was delivering his presidential address on the first day of the meet. "Should students be awarded scholarships, degrees or should they be attacked with sticks?" he asked. "We will not sit quiet if the heads of our students are being smashed. We don't care about the consequences," he added. "Farmer suicides, droughts, unemployment, sick industry, declining economy, these are the important issues our country is grappling with. But they are being ignored," Debrito added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) OSLO, Norway, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiPlex, the Nordic leader for innovative, secure and sustainable data centres, has been shortlisted for two prestigious Finvest awards. Winners will be announced in Zurich on 13th February 2020. The Finvest awards are the first truly global awards for the financers, legal experts and advisory firms in the data centre, cloud and edge computing markets, and celebrate those driving global deals that change the industry. DigiPlex has been shortlisted for Hyperscale Investment of the Year and its chairman, Byrne Murphy, is one of three shortlisted for the Global Financial Leader Award. The speedy upgrade of DigiPlex Fetsund from a single tenant facility into a multi-tenant co-location facility was possible due to the stability and flexibility afforded by innovative financing via publicly listed bonds. This allowed it to move fast to meet the time to market needs of hyperscale customers. As a pioneer in the industry, Byrne Murphy foresaw the critical role of the emerging digital infrastructure in Europe and formed DigiPlex in 2000 to capitalize on the Nordic region's low cost, renewable energy and cool climate. He has driven its growth through innovative financial initiatives including the world's first pre-construction data center bond, issued and publicly listed in Norway in 2015. Recently he helped secure NOK 1.8 billion to finance DigiPlex facilities through one of Norway's largest-ever high yield bonds. CONTACT: Elisabeth Lennhede Head of Communications +46703322705 [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/digiplex/r/digiplex-recognised-for-financial-innovation-and-transformation,c3006339 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/7526/3006339/1172668.pdf DigiPlex Recognised for Financial Innovation and Transformation https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/digiplex-fetsund-,c2734876 DigiPlex Fetsund https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/byrne-murphy--chairman-digiplex,c2734873 Byrne Murphy, Chairman DigiPlex SOURCE DigiPlex Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn's lawyer on Friday told Japan's government that the authorities had failed to arrange for a fair trial that respected universal rights. Francois Zimeray, French lawyer for Ghosn, said that it had been for Japan's prosecutors to prove Ghosn's guilt, not for Ghosn to prove his innocence. "It belongs to the prosecution to prove guilt and not to the accused person to prove its innocence," Zimeray said in a statement. Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori launched a rare and forceful public takedown of auto executive-turned-fugitive Ghosn after he blasted the country's legal system as allowing him "zero chance" of a fair trial as he sought to justify his escape to Beirut. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped a huge bombshell on the world this week. They announced that they would be stepping back from their positions as senior royals in order to forge a new path for themselves. Though this isnt the first time that a royal has stepped back from his duties for love, people have been shocked that a modern royal would actually want to be independent. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/WireImage Since the announcement, the public has broken up into two distinct camps. One group of people is thrilled that the Sussexes will get to have more freedom and will get a bit of a reprieve from the constant scrutiny of the media. The other side feels that Prince Harry and Markle are ungrateful for the privilege of being royal and accuse them of using the British publics money to fund their wedding. But despite the backlash, the couple is moving forward with their plans. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce they are stepping down Markle and Harry made their big announcement via Instagram. After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution, they captioned a picture of the two of them. We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity, the caption continued. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Meghan Markle leaves England After the news came out that the couple was stepping down, people were waiting with bated breath to see what the royal couple would do next. Surprisingly, Markle flew back to Canada, which is where the family had spent the majority of their Christmas break. Harry, on the other hand, stayed behind in England, to discuss how to move forward with his family. The pairs son, Archie, remained in Canada after the holidays when Harry and Markle flew back to London. It has been reported that Archie stayed with Markles friend, stylist Jessica Mulroney, when his parents left. Hopefully, Harry will be able to join his family in Canada soon and the trio will be able to get the peace that they deserve. Melba Pearson, the former deputy director of Miamis American Civil Liberties Union, is challenging longtime incumbent Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. Pearson, who spent 16 years as a Miami-Dade prosecutor, filed paperwork Thursday to run against her former boss. Her entry into the race was no surprise. For months, rumors had swirled in South Floridas legal community that Pearson would run in hopes of capitalizing on nationwide calls for criminal-justice reform. Pearson, 46, officially started her campaign after a political committee, Real Reform for Miami-Dade, formed to back a challenger to oust the longtime top prosecutor. I will bring a fresh approach to criminal-justice reform, Pearson said on Thursday night. I will bring bail reform, juvenile-justice reforms and other types of reforms that will keep our community safe and save taxpayers money in the long run. Both Fernandez Rundle and Pearson are Democrats and will square off in the August primary. No Republicans have joined the race; if one does, he or she would face the Democratic candidate in November. I welcome the opportunity to have a robust conversation with Miami-Dade voters this election year on my unwavering commitment to keep our communities safe and continue to advance important criminal justice reforms, Fernandez Rundle said in a statement on Thursday. In her statement, the incumbent pointed to her own record on initiatives designed to keep people out of jail, including through civil-citations programs and courts designed for people with addiction and mental-health problems. Since the day I was sworn in as State Attorney, my promise has been to achieve justice for victims and prosecute those who do great harm to our residents, she said. Fernandez Rundle, 69, is an entrenched and well-known politician in Miami-Dade. She was first appointed in 1993 to replace Janet Reno, who left for Washington, D.C., to become the U.S. attorney general under President Bill Clinton. Fernandez Rundle has won four contested elections, the last in 2012, when she defeated defense lawyer Rod Vereen in the Democratic primary. Story continues But in recent years, Fernandez Rundle has come under scrutiny for her offices handling of certain high-profile cases, including those of police officers accused of excessive force or misconduct. In September, the Smart on Crime Innovations Conference apologized for asking Fernandez Rundle to speak on a panel about how the justice system deals with people with disabilities. The conference appeared to be reacting to Twitter critics ripping Fernandez Rundle for not charging prison officers in the death of Darren Rainey, a mentally ill inmate at Dade Corrections Institution who died after being left in a hot shower for nearly two hours. Pearson last month also criticized Fernandez Rundle over her offices decision to not charge Hialeah Police Officer Jesus Menocal Jr., who is accused of sexual misconduct. The FBI, which was referred the case by Miami-Dade prosecutors, arrested Menocal on allegations of civil rights violations. The State Attorneys Office has defended its handling of the case, saying it referred the case to the feds because there wasnt enough evidence to ethically file state sexual assault charges. Pearson and Fernandez Rundle know each other well. Melba Pearson, the former ACLU deputy director, and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle at an event in 2018 for the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association. A graduate of Hofstra University School of Law, Pearson worked in 1997 and 1998 as a certified legal intern with the State Attorneys Office, then returned as a prosecutor in 2002. During her time at the office, Pearson worked prosecuting domestic-violence crimes, then relaunching a Community Prosecution Unit, intended to find creative solutions to prevent crime and provide outreach, according to her bio. Pearsons last role was as the assistant chief of the Career Criminal Robbery Unit. The passion and dedication of the people in the office is one of the reasons I want to run, Pearson said Thursday. Pearson left the office in early 2017 to join the ACLU. There, Pearson worked on a host of criminal-justice issues, including the ultimately successful campaign for Floridas Amendment 4, which was to restore voting rights for many former felons. Voters approved the measure. The two remained friendly. Fernandez Rundle supported the ACLUs Amendment 4 efforts. In 2018, Pearson even got Fernandez Rundle to introduce her at an event installing her as the president of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association. But Pearson said that the State Attorney Offices lukewarm response to an ACLU study on racial disparities in Miami-Dade, as well as its handling of the Rainey, Menocal and other cases, spurred her to run. Its nothing personal to Kathy. I respect her and she has done some good things in her career, Pearson said. But its time for a new direction. Pearson, who is a blogger and writer who writes often on criminal-justice issues, left the ACLU in mid-December to start her own private firm. Terribles Road House Casino in Pahrump, NV made a customers 2020 a lot sweeter by awarding a $779,384.13 Progressive Jackpot on Saturday, January 4th. Cathy, who is retired and lives in Canada, frequently travels to Pahrump to visit her mother. During her January 4th visit, she decided to try her luck on a Buffalo Grand machine (Aristocrat). She told her mother that she was going to play the max bet of $3 to hopefully hit the progressive jackpot. Soon thereafter, bells were ringing, lights were flashing, customers were cheering and Cathy was $779,384.13 richer! During her Pahrump visits, Cathy and her mother go to Terribles Road House Casino because they enjoy the service, the food and the atmosphere within the casino. Cathy said that she will use the money to help her mother. Congratulations, Cathy! High alert ahead of Amarnath Yatra: Here is how the pilgrimage is being guarded Curfew imposed in Kishtwar after rifle is snatched from PSO 94 civilian and 52 deaths of security personnel: Reds were most violent in 2018 India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: The latest NCRB data shows that in the year 2018, the Leftwing extremists had committed the most crimes. There were 355 attacks on police stations along with government and private property as well in the year 2018, the latest data shows. In the report titled Crime in India 2018, it states that 163 civilians, including four informers were killed by anti-national elements. Further 117 security personnel also lost their lives. They included central paramilitary forces, Army, Home Guards and special police officers. The Jihadis on the other hand were involved in 163 attacks. In the year 2018, the total number of terrorists killed stood at 247, which included 142 naxalites, 52 Jihadi terrorists and 51 other terrorists. In 2017 they had killed 132 security personnel and 137 civilians. Average 80 murders, 91 rapes reported daily in 2018: NCRB data Further the report states that naxalites were responsible for 94 civilian deaths and also caused 52 fatal casualties among the security forces. The anti-national elements also looted 1,051 arms-including 54 rifles, 15 AK series guns, 15 INSAS and 14 SLRs from police and central forces. They also snatched 17 night vision cameras, 18 GPS sets and 17 binoculars. Among the recoveries were 302 mobile phones, 70 kilograms of drugs, 18 wireless sets and Rs 49 lakh in cash. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 10, 2020, 16:18 [IST] Bottles of gasoline are recovered following a clash between police and civilians in Dong Tam Village, Hanoi, January 9, 2020. Photo courtesy of the police. An investigation has been launched into Thursdays deadly clash over a land dispute that left three policemen and a civilian dead in Hanoi. The investigation will cover charges of murder, storing and using illegal weapons, and resisting law enforcement, Hanoi police said Friday. 30 protestors were arrested Thursday following the clash that occurred in Dong Tam Commune, My Duc District, 40 km (25 miles) south of the capital city. Several people used grenades, petrol bombs and knives to attack police forces and disrupted public order, the Ministry of Public Security said in a website statement. Eight grenades, dozens of knives and 20 unused petrol bombs, among other weapons, were recovered at the scene. As of Friday, the situation in Dong Tam has been "stabilized," said To An Xo, spokesman for the public security ministry. Barricades have been erected on the provincial road 429, about 5 km away from Dong Tam. Stores on either side of the road have been closed. People wishing to enter or leave Dong Tam need to show identification papers. Thursdays clash happened a week after some units of the Ministry of National Defense, in collaboration with local authorities, began building a fence for the Mieu Mon Military Airport in Dong Tam, the Ministry of Public Security said. While land disputes are not uncommon in Vietnam, it is the first time in decades that policemen and civilians have been killed in one. The deadly clash was the latest incident in a long-standing dispute over the land. Protestors had said that they were not properly informed that the land was transferred to the military at some point. Officials however said the land belonged to the military. In April 2017 the Hanoi police detained four people from Dong Tam Commune for allegedly causing public disorder related to land clearance in their commune. Protesting villagers then held 38 district officials and police officers hostage in a communal house. The standoff was resolved a week later, but in July 2017 Hanoi investigators said the land in Dong Tam had always belonged to the military. They proposed that city authorities should instruct the My Duc District Peoples Committee to "coordinate with military units to deploy decisive measures forcing citizens occupying military lands illegally to remove their assets and crops and return the land for Viettel to implement defence projects." Whats your salary range? Its a question that can cause even the most seasoned interviewee to panic. Suddenly, youre caught off guard, hemming and hawing and wondering how to respond professionally and not shortchange yourself the compensation you know you deserve. We checked in with three hiring managers to find out exactly how to approach this dreaded query and how to answer if (and when) it comes up. 1. First, Do Your Homework Ahead of Time About Your Salary Expectations Whether its the first interview or the fifth, always assume that salary could be a talking point. Prepare yourself by having a clear (and research-backed) understanding of your expectations in regard to a range. The number you give should encapsulate three things, says Chandra Turner, CEO of Ed2010 and Talent Fairy, a career website and recruitment agency for media professionals. You need to know what you want or need to get paid to keep or improve your lifestyle, but also the comparative rates in the industry youre looking at (say, technology) and also for the role itself (say, product manager). To figure out the first part, look at your current or most recent salary. Are you happy with it? Do you need to make more in order to afford your lifestyle? For the second part, check out online resources and calculators. Salary.com lists salaries for all kinds of jobs and now allows you to search by industry, then the role. Glassdoor also provides pretty detailed information. Some companies now even fill in the range on their LinkedIn postings. Just be sure you check, Turner adds. Last, she advises talking to your peers in the industry for final insight on the going rate. Its as simple as asking, Whats the market rate for someone in X role? Perhaps theyve hired someone in that position personally or have previously worked in that role. That way they can answer without getting too personalalthough Im also a big proponent of just flat out putting it out there since it helps others learn how to value their own work. Story continues 2. Dont Be Afraid to Flip the Script Remember that you dont always need to give a number. If there is a box where you can type an answer, its completely acceptable to put the word negotiable, says Maria Dunn, head of people and culture at Managed by Q, a company that builds tools for workplaces that help improve the office experience. If the conversation is taking place in person and you are in the beginning stages, its fine to answer the question with a question, like What is budgeted for the role? At Q, we are typically very up front with what we are willing to offer since open roles have to be approved by our finance team in advance, Dunn says. 3. Just Because You Commit to a Salary Range Doesnt Mean Its Set in Stone The interview process is a learning opportunity for both sides, and just because you write down a certain number or range at the outset, that doesnt mean youre married to it, says Turner. After you learn more about the role, you can always ask for a higher salary by saying, Now that I have a better understanding of the responsibilities for this position, I feel that $X is more in line with what I would like to make in this role, she explains. One caveat: Just be sure you dont throw this out during the offer stage. Youll want to update your ask with the hiring manager or recruiter after your first interview or whenever you realize that the role is worth more than your initial guess. 4. Know the Law Many statesincluding New York and Californiaprohibit companies from asking a candidate to share their current compensation, according to Jennifer Ruza, SVP of the people and experience team at VaynerMedia. She explains, As a result, in many cases, organizations have done away with asking for salary requirements and have shifted the narrative to say, The position is budgeted for a range of $X. Is that within what youre looking for? This may not be the case across the board, but its worth keeping in mind as you go through the interview process. 5. Bottom Line: Dont Overinflate Your Ask According to Dunn, if youre answering with a number, you are going to have to justify it. For an in-person conversation, when the salary question comes up, say, Based on my research on compensation for a role like this and a company at your stage and size, I would expect to be in the $75,000 to $80,000 range, considering I have X years of experience and Im confident Id be able to hit the ground running. That said, Im very interested in this position and the total compensation package is what is most important to me. I look forward to hearing the details on that as well. Turner adds, I think it can be dangerous to overinflate yourself. If you are currently making $60,000 but your research shows that the market rate for your role (or the one you want to move in to) is closer to $75,000, then go ahead and ask for $75,000. But if you were to ask for $90,000, which is 20 percent more, chances are they wouldnt call you in because they have plenty of candidates in the $70,000 to 80,000 range already. Of course, you dont want to leave money on the table, but you also need to be at the table to begin with. Thats why doing your research is so important. RELATED: Open Salary Policies at the Office Are TrendingBut Is It a Good Idea? Hunter Biden's Arkansas baby mama Lunden Roberts has denied including the businessman's Los Angeles address in court filings just to add fuel to the 'Where's Hunter' campaign, according to papers filed on Friday and obtained by DailyMail.com. Roberts, 28, insisted her legal team didn't facilitate or participate in the bid to publicly track down the 49-year-old, who was found to be living in California, as she fights him for child support for their 17-month-old child. President Trump called for Biden to come forward to testify during his impeachment trial and his campaign started selling T-shirts with the slogan 'Where's Hunter?', as he brought up the matter again at his rally on Thursday night. Earlier this week, Biden accused Roberts of 'intentionally' including his address in filings so the 'media and his political adversaries' would know where he lives, which brought 'an onslaught of harassment' to him and his pregnant wife Melissa Cohen. But Roberts said if Biden didn't want his home address known, he should have made use of his 'ample' time and set up a post office box so he could be served mail there. Hunter Biden's Arkansas baby mama denied disclosing his Los Angeles address to add fuel to the 'Where's Hunter' campaign, according to papers filed on Friday. Biden accused Roberts of 'intentionally' including his address in filings so the 'media and his political adversaries' would know where he lives, which brought 'an onslaught of harassment' to him and his pregnant wife Melissa Cohen (pictured) Roberts, 28, insisted her legal team didn't facilitate or participate in the bid to publicly track down the 49-year-old, who was found to be living in California, as she fights him for child support for their 17-month-old child Her attorneys added that Biden 'should not make speculative, disreputable, and offensive allegations about the motives of [Roberts] simply because her attorneys followed the long established, written rules governing civil actions in Arkansas.' Earlier this week, DailyMail.com revealed Biden would not fight Roberts for custody of their 17-month-old, whose initials are NJR and gender is being kept secret. Roberts was given primary legal and physical custody of their child and Biden was named as the non-custodial parent of the toddler. Biden's legal team didn't object to the Independence County judge's paternity order in papers filed on Wednesday morning, but disputed Roberts' demand for him to be held in contempt of court for allegedly not handing over his financial records. He denies that he failed to provide Roberts with any paystubs or tax returns with his affidavit of financial means, and asked the court to throw out her motion. The issue of Biden's visitation rights to the child will be determined later as they prepare for an in-court hearing at the end of January. Circuit Court Judge Holly Meyer said on Tuesday that DNA testing determined that Biden is the father of Roberts' child with 'near scientific certainty.' Roberts said if Biden didn't want his home address known, he should have made use of his 'ample' time to set up a post office box so he could be served mail there Judge Meyer, who took over the case after Judge Don McSpadden recused himself on New Years Eve, asked Biden's lawyers on Friday to send over papers that redacted the name of the child, whose gender is being kept secret. In November, DNA testing proved Biden, 49, as the father of Roberts' child, after she filed a paternity suit in May 2019 in Independence County, Arkansas. The two had met while Roberts, 28, worked as a stripper in Washington D.C. and she wants full custody, and Biden to pay child support and foot her legal bill. Biden had tried to postpone his Tuesday's court appearance, claiming he didn't receive 'proper notice' and wouldn't be able to make it because he lives in California. The judge granted his motion and delayed the in court hearing until later this month. Biden seems mostly unbothered amid the heightened focus on his paternity case, as he was seen over the holidays shopping with his new South African wife Melissa Cohen, 32, who is pregnant and in her second trimester. Earlier this week, DailyMail.com revealed Biden would not fight Roberts for custody of their 17-month-old, whose initials are NJR and gender is being kept secret. Biden's legal team didn't object to the Independence County judge's paternity order in papers, but disputed Roberts' demand for him to be held in contempt of court for not handing over his financial records Judge McSpadden's recusal on New Years Eve week came two hours after 'defrauded investor' Joel Caplan, who wants to be made a party in the case, filed a witness statement from ex-Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. Shokin claimed he was fired in 2016 because he was leading an investigation into Burisma, the company Biden was a board member of, and refused to shut it down, despite pressure from Hunter's father, then-VP Joe Biden. Hunter's finances are currently in the spotlight over his former position at the Ukrainian energy company, which has been at the center of Hunter's entanglement in President Trump's impeachment. Trump's impeachment was sparked by his phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, where he asked Zelensky to meet with Rudy Giuliani and US AG William Barr over claims Joe lobbied for Shokin's dismissal because of his investigation into Burisma, in an alleged attempt to protect Hunter from any possible prosecution. This led to a whistleblower complaint from an officer within the CIA, and eventually led to Trump's impeachment in December. Dominic Casey also wants in on Biden's Arkansas case, filing papers in late December, claiming he had provided Roberts with 'electronic access' to Biden's bank account records, which are 'subject of known felonies including fraud and counterfeiting.' A News Corp employee has accused the organisation of a "misinformation campaign" filled with "irresponsible" and "dangerous" coverage of the national bushfire crisis, urging executive chairman Michael Miller to think about the "big picture". In an email distributed to News Corp Australia staff and addressed to Mr Miller, commercial finance manager Emily Townsend said she had been filled with anxiety and disappointment over the coverage, which had impacted her ability to work. News Corp's coverage of the Australian bushfire crisis has received attention from around the world. Credit:Nick Moir Ms Townsend, who has worked for News Corp Australia for five years, thanked Mr Miller for the email about fundraising initiatives in relation to the fires, but said the efforts did not offset the company's coverage of the bushfires. "I have been severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires, in particular the misinformation campaign that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts)," she said. Planners have identified 700 collisions, where cables and ducts are blocking one anothers routes and therefore also the air, water and electricity they are supposed to circulate, Mr. Braun said. They are still working out how much of the building will need to be dismantled and rebuilt to accommodate the technical infrastructure and meet stringent fire regulations, he said. In makeshift offices a short walk from the deserted building site, Mr. Streitberger, the crisis manager, was coordinating a team of 40 people working overtime to formulate the plans. The organizational structure had broken down: There was no schedule, there were 63 firms involved, and the main technical planner had been fired, he said. We had to start again with all the contracts, we had to build a team, we had to seek a new technical planner. We had a huge problem. But then he struck a more hopeful note, saying: We are back on course. We will solve it. John Litz, NZ6Q, appointed as San Joaquin Valley Section Manager John Litz, NZ6Q, has been appointed as the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section Manager to succeed Dan Pruitt, AE6SX, who died on December 27. Litz will complete the remaining term of office that runs through June 30, 2021. ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, made the appointment, effective immediately, after consulting with Pacific Division Director Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, and San Joaquin Valley Section Leaders. Litz, from Stockton, California, was first licensed in 1974, and he is an ARRL Life Member. He is active in many facets of amateur radio, and has served as an Assistant Section Manager in San Joaquin Valley for the past year Rey in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker writer Chris Terrio has once again put his head into the lions mouth that is the internet, by opening up about the thought process behind the reveal of Reys parentage in the blockbuster. WARNING: There are SPOILERS ahead for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. So if youre still yet to see the final installment to the Skywalker saga then you really shouldnt read ahead. HOLLYWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 16: Chris Terrio arrives for the Premiere Of Disney's "Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker" held at The Dolby Theatre on December 16, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images) The revelation that Daisy Ridleys Rey is actually the grand-daughter of Emperor Palpatine was met with a divisive reaction by Star Wars fans. Especially since it was completely at odds with Rian Johnsons declaration in Star Wars: The Last Jedi that there was nothing special about her past. Read More: Daisy Ridley says Reys Star Wars ending felt 'really right' In the weeks since The Rise Of Skywalkers release, Terrio has looked to explain the thinking behind this revelation, doing so again during a recent discussion with GQ Magazine, where he was asked about resolving the mystery of Reys heritage after it was seemingly cleared up in The Last Jedi. Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX Well, we weren't convinced that it had been cleared up, explained Terrio. Because there's still this highly troubling vision that Rey had in Episode VII, which is the shop with her parents leaving the planet. Read More: 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' writer on how 'The Last Jedi' impacted Reys parentage Also, the events of The Last Jedi are literally just after the events of Episode VIIwithin 48 hours, Rey has had a force-back to her parents and then the very next day is told your parents were no one and they were junk traders. None of that matters. And we thought in a way that would be too easy because of the idea that Rey had been longing for her parents for so many years. We just felt like there was something more going on. Burma Myanmar Supreme Court Declines to Increase Sentences of Pair Jailed in Murder of NLD Legal Adviser U Ko Ni / The Irrawaddy YANGONMyanmars Supreme Court on Friday dismissed prosecutors appeal to increase the prison sentences of two of four men convicted in connection with the 2017 murder of U Ko Ni, a prominent lawyer and legal adviser to the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). The court also upheld the death penalties handed out to the other two men convicted in the case. Prosecutors appealed to the highest court in the Union, claiming that Zeya Phyo and Aung Win Tun did not receive fitting punishments for their roles in the assassination. An earlier appeal to the Yangon Region High Court was rejected. U Ko Ni was shot dead in broad daylight on Jan. 29, 2017 outside Yangon International Airport. He was returning from Indonesia with a Myanmar government delegation that had just completed a weeklong study tour on democratic transition and peaceful coexistence. Yangons Northern District Court delivered the long-awaited verdict on Feb. 15 last year following a trial that included more than 100 court hearings. Hired gunman Kyi Lin and main conspirator Aung Win Zaw, a former lieutenant, were sentenced to death for the lawyers killing. Kyi Lin also received an additional 20-year prison term for killing taxi driver U Ne Win as he tried to apprehend the shooter. Aung Win Tun was given a three-year prison term for harboring one of the men. Zeya Phyo, a former captain with the Military Intelligence unit, was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor for destroying evidence in the case. The alleged mastermind of the killing, former Lieutenant-Colonel Aung Win Khaing, remains at large after evading authorities. His last known whereabouts were in Naypyitaw. The sentences handed to Zeya Phyo and Aung Win Tun were widely denounced as light treatment, given that the men were convicted of involvement in a coordinated crime that shocked and frightened the nation. Zeya Phyo initially faced charges of premeditated murder and aiding and abetting an offender by giving financial support to the conspirators to carry out the murder. But at the last minute of his trial, he was acquitted of those charges and sentenced for a different violation under the Penal Codes Article 201. Article 201 carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. In Aung Win Tuns case, the offense of harboring a criminal carries a maximum five-year sentence. The prosecution lawyers told reporters on Friday that they would make a special appeal to have the sentences reconsidered by two Supreme Court justices. The rejected appeal was decided by one justice. Kyi Lin and Aung Win Zaw, both sentenced to death, appealed their sentences directly to the Supreme Court. On Friday, the Supreme Court also rejected their appeals and let their sentences stand. Many have speculated that U Ko Ni was targeted because of his strong criticism of the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. The constitutional expert and legal adviser to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) had long advocated for constitutional reforms to reduce the militarys dominant political role. He is also believed to have played a key role in advising the NLD to create the position of State Counselor for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after the partys landslide victory in the 2015 elections. You may also like these stories: Former Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram Arrested in Corruption Case Ex-Soldier Shot Dead in Myanmars Rakhine State Myanmar to Appeal to Thai King on Behalf of 2 Death Row Convicts on Oct. 21 From left to right: Elyse Buxbaum, executive vice president of strategy and development for the Museum of Jewish Heritage; Evelyn Cruz, the Brooklyn district director for Rep. Nydia Velazquez; Rep. Grace Meng, Rep. Gregory Meeks, Rep. Eliot Engel, Rep. Max Rose, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Yvette Clarke at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, Jan. 2, 2019. NEW YORK (JTA)-In the wake of several attacks on Jews in the New York area in recent months, seven House Democrats representing districts of New York City held a news conference to emphasize that they are committed to stamping out anti-Semitism. But in addition to discussing initiatives designed to help decrease anti-Semitic attacks, the lawmakers admitted that finding specific root causes of the recent incidents is proving difficult. Reps. Max Rose, Yvette Clarke, Eliot Engel, Hakeem Jeffries, Gregory Meeks, Carolyn Maloney and Grace Meng held the conference at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Holocaust remembrance museum in lower Manhattan. Evelyn Cruz, the Brooklyn district director for Rep. Nydia Velazquez, was also at the event. "It's not clear what is going on, but we are going to get to the bottom of it, and that's why you've seen African-American leaders like [Reps.] Greg Meeks, Yvette Clarke, [Brooklyn Borough President] Eric Adams, and myself step up to speak out and to say we're not going to tolerate this in our community," Jeffries told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after the event. The lawmakers did not address the specific motivations behind recent attacks in the area, which have included a shooting at a kosher market in Jersey City and a machete stabbing at a rabbi's home in Monsey, a suburb of New York City. Jews have been harassed and sometimes violently assaulted on the streets of Brooklyn for months. Perpetrators of attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh in 2017 and Poway, California, last spring had expressed white supremacist sentiments, but assailants in the recent attacks in Monsey and Jersey City were African-American. The Jersey City shooters expressed sympathy for the Black Hebrew Israelites, a movement of African-Americans who believe they are descended from ancient Israelites. The Monsey attacker cited the movement in his journals. Some adherents of that movement subscribe to anti-Semitic beliefs. Many but not all of the assailants in the incidents of harassment and assault in Brooklyn also have been African-American. Clarke told JTA after the event she was not sure why the incidents were happening but that she was hopeful that recent initiatives announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio-including neighborhood safety coalitions, anti-hate education in middle and high schools and an advertising campaign to promote diversity-could help. "I don't know what's in the mind of most of these young folks who we've seen in these incidents. I don't think it's reflective of a conspiracy of any sort of an ongoing dialogue of anti-Semitism. We have to figure out what it is," she said. Meanwhile Engel said he wanted to steer away from blaming any one group for the attacks. "I don't think their background is that important," he told JTA following the news conference. "What's important is that they have committed an anti-Semitic act, which we will not tolerate and we will speak out loudly against. Look-we know that anti-Semitism is mired in the right, with white supremacists, it's been like that for years. And frankly in the left, we're starting to see a little bit of that as well. So I am committed to fighting against anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head." Engel, the chairman of the House's Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rose, who is part of a group of moderate Democrats who held out before announcing their support for the Trump impeachment inquiry, are both Jewish. "Each and every person standing behind me today, just within this last week, has heard the following from their constituents in New York City: 'I'm afraid to go outside with my kippah on. I'm afraid to speak Hebrew in public. I'm afraid to go to the synagogue. I'm afraid to congregate with my family for Hanukkah here in New York City,'" Rose said during the conference. "This is a reality that we refuse to accept," continued Rose, who led the conference. "Now in this time, thoughts and prayers though, in this time of skyrocketing violence, tweets are not enough. Action is what is required." Rose said the group of lawmakers had fought for an increase in grants for nonprofit security this year. Last month, Congress announced it was increasing that category of grant funding to $90 million, up from $60 million the previous year. Rose also said that the group was working with partner organizations in New York City to hold workshops in the coming months to help religious organizations file grant applications. Maloney mentioned a bill she introduced to improve Holocaust education and said that she and others were calling for a special FBI unit to combat anti-Semitism and hatred nationwide. Meeks and Rose also spoke about the need for social media sites to fight hate on their platforms. Engel talked about the significance of having the event at a Holocaust museum. "I remember as a little boy growing up in the Bronx and I was learning about the Holocaust, I thought, 'It couldn't happen here, could it? It couldn't happen here,'" he said. "You know what? It could happen here, and it could happen here if people of goodwill say nothing. It could happen here if people excuse it and say, 'These people are mentally ill and therefore you've got to cut them a little slack.'" A statement issued Sunday night in the name of the family of the Monsey attacker said he "had a long history of mental illness and hospitalizations" and "no known history of anti-Semitism," The New York Times reported. Rose, who flipped his district from red to blue last year, was asked whether he blamed the rise in anti-Semitism across the U.S. on President Trump. "I'm not standing here today, and this is speaking for myself and not the delegation, to point the blame on the rise of anti-Semitism at the president. With that being said though, I have found the president's statements like, 'Good people on both sides,' his woeful and wiling defense of the rise of white nationalism as horrendous, xenophobic in nature and despicable," he said. "But this problem that we see today is far more complicated than just pointing to the president." The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] The FAA said it had reviewed the more than 100 pages of documents and our experts determined that nothing in the submission pointed to any safety risks that were not already identified as part of the ongoing review of proposed modifications to the aircraft. Asserting that terrorism is a growing problem across the world, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Friday said that India and Sri Lanka are working together to combat the menace. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: Asserting that terrorism is a growing problem across the world, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Friday said that India and Sri Lanka are working together to combat the menace. Gunawardena, who is on a two-day visit to India, told ANI, "Terrorism is a danger for India as well as for Sri Lanka. It is a growing problem across the world. In India and Sri Lanka, we are giving special attention to it and working together on this field." "India had announced special financial assistance to Sri Lanka to counter-terrorism after holding talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he visited New Delhi last year. As a Foreign Minister, I came here to consolidate and strengthen Sri Lanka-India relations," he said. Gunawardena also held meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Labour Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and other government officials. The visiting dignitary said that discussions have been "cordial and fruitful". "The discussions have been very cordial and fruitful. Indeed, we are very much satisfied with the outputs and India-Sri Lanka relations will be strengthened furthermore as we go along," the Sri Lankan minister said. Earlier on Friday, Gunawardena paid a visit to a Buddhist temple near Birla Mandir here. This is Gunawardena's first official visit after taking over as Foreign Minister last November following the formation of the new government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Gunawardena is also scheduled to visit Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar. He will emplane for Sri Lanka later today. Pizza Italia is a survivor. Owned by the Basore family, the pizzeria has been serving its Northeast Side community off Thousand Oaks since 1987. It has undergone a few location changes, including one that was a result of a devastating fire in 2009, but it never left the neighborhood. Since moving into its current strip center spot in 2010, located across the street and a few blocks down the road from its old spot, Pizza Italia has thrived, focusing on a large lineup of specialty pies built on soft yet durable crusts and beer. And lets talk about the beer, because its a collection that might be the largest in the city. There are more than 200 varieties of cans and bottles, and after owner Terry Basore knocked out a wall that adjoined a vacant property in the strip center to make room for a larger bar area, he added another 30 beers on tap. On ExpressNews.com: New yearlong series 52 Weeks of Pizza launches search for San Antonios best pizza restaurants Pizza Italia Rating: Solid neighborhood option Location: 3023 Thousand Oaks Dr., 210-494-8646 Online:pizzaitaliasa.com Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays See More Collapse Best pizza: Pizza purists probably have as much disdain for swapping tangy barbecue sauce for traditional marinara as they do for putting pineapple on a pie. But barbecue sauce tastes good and the ultra-cheesy Texas Smokehouse Chicken ($16.25 for a 12-inch pie) dominates the Pizza Italia taste experience with generous amounts of chunked chicken, red onion and just enough jalapeno bite to let you know its there. Other pizzas: Pizza Italia delivers the toppings with a very heavy hand, so every bite has a sample of them all. The Veggie Mia ($15.25 for a 12-inch pie) tastes like a farmers market bounty with layers of sliced black olives, mushrooms, crunchy green peppers, chopped onion and tomato slices. On ExpressNews.com: 52 Weeks of Pizza review: Big Lous Pizza But if you want a slice loaded with protein, the Meatie Mia ($15.75 for a 12-inch pie) blends the world of beef and pork with thin pepperoni, beef, ham and spicy Italian sausage that brings it all home meat sweats guaranteed. The Margherita Mia ($15.25 for a 12-inch pie) was the only big menu miss, with lifeless tomato slices and such scant amounts of olive oil and garlic, I had to wonder if they were down to the final bulb in the kitchen and had to make it last through dinner service. All of that was magnified by the unspirited use of dried ground basil flakes vs. fresh, aromatic leaves that are a requisite for a true pizza margherita experience. Chuck Blount is a food writer and columnist covering all things grilled and smoked in the San Antonio area. Find his Chuck's Food Shack columns on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com, or read his other coverage on our free site, mySA.com. | cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount | Instagram: @bbqdiver A group of United States firefighters received a grateful welcome from Australians at the Sydney airport this week, as they arrived to assist with the historic fires plaguing the country. Shane Fitzsimmons, the commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service posted a clip Thursday of the firefighters arrival. In the post, the people in the airport are applauding the firefighters, which Fitzsimmons says reflects the gratitude and admiration they have for those helping. US fire fighters arrived at Sydney Int Airport this week, on their way to assist with fire fighting in Victoria. Coming through, all gathered gave a spontaneous & lengthy round of applause, reflecting the gratitude & admiration we all have for their generosity. #NSWRFS @NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/5epg5y4qxX Shane Fitzsimmons (@RFSCommissioner) January 9, 2020 The Los Angeles Times reported that this is the first time since 2010 that the U.S. government has sent firefighters to Australia. The fire has already burned 12.35 million acres of land and killed at least 26 people. As of early January, about 100 firefighters had already been sent, the Times reported. Canada is also preparing to send firefighters, for the first time in the countrys history. These crews are heading to help out Australias firefighters, including the largest volunteer firefighter organization in the world, Fitzsimmons New South Wales Rural Fire Service. The AP reports the NSWRFS consists of 72,000 people from across the state. The group has been fighting the historic fires since September, the AP reported. Three volunteer firefighters are among the fires victims. The United States firefighters deployed to Australia included firefighters from Oregon, California, and other western states that have battled their own wildfires in recent months, the Times reported. Back in August 2018, Australia sent their own firefighters to the US to help with wildfires that ravaged the west coast, the Times reported. Read more on PennLive: Elizabeth Warren Holds Campaign Rally in Brooklyn Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday held a campaign rally at Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York. Among those attending Warrens 42-minute speech was Liah Margulies, 75, both for the fun of it and out of curiosity about the people coming out for her. She said she tends to agree with a lot of things Warren says or supports, but hasnt read all of her policy proposals. Just whats in the newspapers or when shes interviewed on MSNBC or something, she said. She couldnt name something in Warrens proposals that caught her interest, but said she admired the senator for developing them. I like that fact that she even has them versus other people who dont articulate, you know, what they are really standing for, she said. A lifelong anti-corporate activist, musician, and public interest lawyer, Margulies said shes still unsure whether to pull the lever for Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whom she supported in the 2016 primary. Sharon Shapiro, 29, on the other hand, is already fully on board with Warren and ready to help with the campaign as well. I love that she has so many detailed plans and that she really lays out her vision in a very accessible way, she said. Shapiros top policy picks were Warrens proposals on health care and student loans. The health care plan centers around a transition to a single-payer, Medicare for All model, in which the federal government takes over financing and eliminates private health insurance. Two University of CaliforniaBerkeley economists tapped by Warren estimate her plan would need more than $20 trillion in new government spending over 10 years. She plans to pay for it mostly with administrative savings, negotiating lower prices for drugs, military spending cuts, better tax collection enforcement, and new taxes on the rich. She promises savings of $11 trillion for the middle class over 10 years. Some experts have called Warrens predictions unrealistic, saying health care services would be affected or additional middle-class taxes would need to be imposed to pay for the plan, as well as the issue of 2 million people currently employed by the private insurance industry who would lose their jobs. Republicans have also opposed the plan on the grounds that it eliminates peoples freedom to pick their insurance provider. Shapiro, who works for a tech startup, disagreed with the criticism regarding financing. Shes clearly laid out how shes going to pay for it, she said. The biggest problem, however, seems to be the lack of appetite in Congress for Medicare for All, even in the Democrat-majority House, whose speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has said shes not a big fan. Warrens student loan plan proposes that the government pay off about 41 percent of the $1.56 trillion students owe for their higher education. She plans to pay for it, among other things, with a new 2 percent tax on all assets above the first $50 million a person is worth, including residences, businesses, items worth more than $50,000, stocks, bonds, retirement savings, as well as assets in trusts or held by minor children. Billionaires would hand over another 4 percent of all of their assets above $1 billion every year. Some experts have questioned whether the tax would raise the $3.75 trillion that Warren expects it to over 10 years, saying people have been able to find various ways to make their net worth look smaller to avoid paying tax. Most other developed countries have abandoned wealth taxes, citing reasons such as trouble with collection and negative effects on investment. Warren has responded with promises of tough enforcement, including boosting the budget of the IRS, and a 40 percent exit wealth tax on anybody who would renounce their citizenship to avoid the tax. Then theres the question of whether confiscating somebodys wealth, albeit gradually, is constitutional. Some lawyers say the Constitution bars a wealth tax, while others say its legal. From a principled point of view, Warren argues that its fine to take more from the rich since they built their fortunes partly using taxpayer-funded services and infrastructure. You built it at least in part using workers all of us helped pay to educate. You built it at least in part getting your goods to market on roads and bridges all of us helped pay to build. You built that fortune at least in part protected by police and firefighters all of us help pay their salary, she said to a cheering crowd at the rally. The services she described, however, are mostly paid at the state and local level. Only a fraction of federal spending goes to such causes, such as education expenditures, which are just 3 percent of the federal budget. Federal transportation expenditures are funded by their own dedicated taxes on fuel and air tickets and are about 2 percent of the budget. The entire Justice Department and Homeland Security Department spending is less than 1.5 percent of the budget. The top 0.1 percent of Americas highest-earning families are estimated to pay more than 15 percent of all federal taxes while pocketing 9 percent of all cash income in 2019, according to the Treasury (pdf). Their dollars will mostly pay for Americans Social Security payouts, health care for the poor and the elderly, the military, and the interest on government debt. As for repaying a chunk of the student debt, Shapiro doesnt see it as a dangerous precedent, saying education is far too expensive in the United States. Its inhibiting people from going to school and doing things that they want to be doing and growing and moving up in the ladder in terms of their socioeconomic status, she said. Warren also dismissed the idea that the bailout would send a message to the higher education system that it can charge students whatever it wants and the government will eventually foot the bill. I dont think it would set that kind of precedent at all, she said. I think its a problem that needs to be solved. In the long term, the price of that education does need to be worked on, but I think this is the place to start in fixing it. Doctoral student Aaron Doughty, 31, said hes in line with Medicare for All and believes Warren has a greater chance of drafting a plan that supporters of the policy can all agree on. He said he hasnt looked at her policies in-depth. Thats partially, like, why Im here, he said. He noted that the senator has a meticulous nature to the way she addresses policy, contrasting Warren with some other candidates who, in his view, have taken a more laid back approach and present more of a vision rather than policy proposals. Hes also still considering Sanders, although he said Warren is a better candidate to cross the liberal, left-leaning and the more progressive leftist politics. The rally was attended by 3,300 people in the main hall and another 1,500 in a spillover venue, Warrens campaign told The Epoch Times via email. Update: The article has been updated with information about the attendance at Sen. Elizabeth Warrens rally. After the Delhi Police on Friday identified nine Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students as suspects in the recent violence, Union minister Smriti Irani took to twitter and said the Left partys design in the varsity is unmasked. Left design in JNU unmasked. They led mobs of mayhem, destroyed public property paid for by taxpayers, disallowed new students from being enrolled, used the campus as a political battleground. #LeftBehindJNUViolence becomes public knowledge as @DelhiPolice releases evidence, she tweeted. Left design in JNU unmasked. They led mobs of mayhem, destroyed public property paid for by taxpayers, disallowed new students from being enrolled, used the campus as a political battleground. #LeftBehindJNUViolence becomes public knowledge as @DelhiPolice releases evidence. Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 10, 2020 Aishe Ghosh, the JNU students union president was named by the Delhi Police as one of the nine suspects identified by them in connection with three criminal cases registered by the police. Ghosh, the student leader who was allegedly thrashed by masked hooligans on Sunday evening, was part of one of the groups that attacked students at Periyar hostel at about 3.45 pm, the police said. Joy Trikey, the deputy commissioner of police who heads the special team investigating the violence at JNU, said they would serve notices to the people identified so far on the basis of photographs and videos being circulated and explain what they were going there. Meanwhile, Ghosh described the police attempt to pin the blame on them as an effort to build a false narrative for the ruling party. We are not afraid and we will not budge. False narrative being created, she told reporters. Trikey did not go into the political affiliation of the nine suspects but spelt out the Left groups that were part of the JNU students union. There was no answer to a question around links of any suspect to the ruling BJP-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. ECUs Main Campus Student Center has been host to thousands of students and visitors per day since it opened on Jan. 7, 2019. | Photos: Rhett Butler Danielle Graham, an ECU College of Nursing December graduate, poses in front of the Main Campus Student Center. | Photo: Joan Avilez "Student centers have only one job: to be everything to everyone." Dean Smith, ECU student centers director The student centers ballroom provides enough space for large events like the 2019 Fall Part-Time Job Fair. Melvin Carter grabs a hot dog during the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center picnic on the lawn at the Main Campus Student Center. It seems like yesterday that dignitaries from East Carolina University and across the state gathered to cut the ribbon opening the Main Campus Student Center on 10th Street, but it has now been a full year since that momentous occasion.The building, a 220,000-square-foot multipurpose facility, is LEED certified and received Best Overall Design in North Carolina from Business North Carolina Magazine and a 2019 Award for Excellence in Stuctural Engineering from the Structural Engineers Association of North Carolina. It pairs cutting-edge technology like electrochromatic glass windows and radiant heating with nods to Pirate traditions - the ECU creed appearing on the main staircase and the ballroom floor featuring the outline of eastern North Carolina.Outside, large letters spelling ECU declare the building's purpose and pride - and have already become a popular spot for photos, especially during graduation, orientation and campus tours. The landscaping, made up largely of native species and watered in part with collected rainwater from an underground cistern, was designed to minimize the site's environmental impact.But it's inside the building where students have found themselves at home, quickly incorporating the facility into the steady routines of campus life as if it had been there all along. The 14,000-square-foot ballroom stays busy, either as one huge event space or divided into three. Smaller multipurpose rooms are used for group study sessions and student organization meetings.And with thousands of hungry students coming and going, it should go without saying that the dining spots, including Raising Cane's, 1907 Grill, Au Bon Pain, Panda Express, Starbucks and The Confectionary, are in steady demand.Bryan Tuten, director of Dowdy Student Stores , credits the new location with a 20% increase in sales of general merchandise items such as ECU-licensed clothing and gift items.he said.Thousands of visitors per day come through the building - Dean Smith, ECU student centers director, said the daily average of 3,484 visitors (June-November 2019) represents a 600% increase in foot traffic over that recorded at Mendenhall, the previous student center. The first day of classes last August brought more than 19,000 people into the Main Campus Student Center.Smith said.Dr. Mark Rasdorf, associate director of the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center , the largest of its kind in the UNC System, said the LGBTQ center is inviting and offers social space, study space and quiet space, providing the versatility to simultaneously serve several needs at once.Rasdorf said.Among the student organizations located in the student center, the Student Government Association is perhaps the most visible. SGA's second-floor space overlooks the 10,000 square-foot commons area.said SGA president Colin Johnson.Dr. Virginia Hardy, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the center is doing exactly what it was intended to do - give ECU students a sense of belonging.she said.said Dr. Erik Kneubuehl, associate vice chancellor for student affairs. IMPACT Justice has partnered with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College to host two Restorative Practices Workshops this week, addressing violence and conflict in schools. Held from January 6 to 9, the workshops targeted students of the Colleges Teacher Education Programme. Facilitators for the Workshops include Ann Hamilton Dopwell, Lecturer in Teacher Education at the Community College; and Restorative Practices Trainer Patricia Warner, Senior Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, in Barbados. Remarks were given by Professor Velma Newton, Regional Project Director of the IMPACT Justice Project, gave opening remarks to get the Workshops going. Addresses were also by Nigel Scott, the Director of the Community College, and Harriette Da Silva, Dean of the Teacher Education Department. The IMPACT Justice Project aims to improve access to justice for citizens in the 13 CARICOM countries in which the Project is being implemented. The Project is a regional justice sector reform project funded by the government of Canada and operating from The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The situation in the Middle East during the next few years will not be calm, argues academician Ruben Safrastyan, the director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. In my assessment the first phase of the Iran-USA conflict is over. The tactical phase is over, and now the conflict will shift to the strategic phase. Iran has very clearly announced that it will do everything to end the American military presence in the Middle East. This is an important strategic goal for Iran which it has set before itself, a big goal, a goal having truly important consequences. I think there will be no calm in the Middle East during the next one or two years, Safrastyan said. On January 8, Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps targeted an airbase housing US led coalition troops in Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq in response to the US assassination of the IRGC's Quds Forces commander Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran fired more than a dozen of ballistic missiles on the base. The Pentagon confirmed the report but said none of its troops were killed or harmed. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Donald Trump used his first campaign election rally of 2020 to argue that he served up 'American justice' by ordering a drone strike to take out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani while jeering Democratic leaders for questioning his decision to carry out the attack without first consulting Congress. Toldedo, Ohio: President Donald Trump used his first campaign election rally of 2020 to argue that he served up American justice" by ordering a drone strike to take out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani while jeering Democratic leaders for questioning his decision to carry out the attack without first consulting Congress. Trump's remarks on Thursday careened from mockery of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep Adam Schiff, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, to a suggestion that he should have won the Nobel Prize, a preview of the sharp-edged reelection campaign that he will wage. The president made his comments shortly after the Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution asserting that Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Trump mocked Pelosi's metal acuity and called Schiff a pencil neck." He also tagged Sen. Bernie Sanders as Crazy Bernie for raising objections to how he carried out the strike on Soleimani. We got a call. We heard where he was. He knew the way he was getting there," Trump told cheering supporters in Toledo. We didnt have time to call up Nancy, who isnt operating with a full deck. They want us to tell them so they can leak it to their friends in the corrupt media, Trump added. Last weeks killing of Soleimani brought long, simmering tensions between the US and Iran to a boil. Iran, in retaliation, fired a barrage of missiles this week at two military bases in neighboring Iraq that house hundreds of US troops. But with no casualties to US or Iraqi troops, Trump said he had no plans to take further military action against Iran and would instead enact more sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The Iran crisis, which momentarily overshadowed Trumps looming impeachment trial, has also opened a new front in the 2020 presidential campaign for Trump, who in 2016 campaigned on a promise to end American involvement in endless wars. Vice President Mike Pence, who joined Trump for the rally, said the president deserved credit for taking out a dangerous terrorist" while managing to keep the engagement from escalating into an all-out war. "And when American lives were threatened by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, President Donald Trump took action and Qassem Soleimani is gone," Pence said. And in the wake of that attack, Iran responded, but thanks to the professionalism of the military, we suffered no American casualties and Iran appears to be standing down. That's what leadership looks like. Trump also sought to compare his response to the recent attack on the US embassy in Baghdad to the 2012 attack on the US government facility in Benghazi. A US ambassador to Libya, a foreign service officer and two CIA contractors were killed in the Benghazi attack, which led to a two-year Republican-led investigation into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was not found to have committed wrongdoing. No Americans were killed in the Baghdad assault. The protesters managed only to breach the edge of the sprawling embassy complex. This was the anti-Benghazi," he said. We got there very quickly. This is the exact opposite." Trump also turned to a topic that frequently rankles him: the fact that he has never won a Nobel Prize. Referencing the 2019 Nobel Prize winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Trump said that he himself deserved the honour instead. I made a deal. I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country, Trump said. I said, What? Did I have something to do with it? Yeah. But, you know, that's the way it is. As long as we know, it's all that matters. Abiy was awarded the prize in October for his sweeping reforms and surprising embrace of a bitter rival. Trump enters the election year flush with more than $100 million in campaign cash, a low unemployment rate, and an unsettled Democratic presidential field. Yet, polling shows he remains vulnerable. In December, an AP-NORC poll showed Trumps approval rating at 40%. There have not been more recent polls to gauge support for the president in the wake of the targeted killing of Soleimani, though opinions of Trump have changed little over the course of his presidency. Trump has never fallen into historic lows for a presidents approval ratings, but Gallup polling shows his December rating registers lower than that of most recent presidents at the same point in their first terms. Notably, approval of Trump and former President Barack Obama in December before their reelection bid is roughly the same. But Obamas approval rating never fell below 40 percent in Gallup polling, and he recovered slightly in the months leading up to his reelection to finish his first term with an average rating just below 50%. Trump's approval rating has never been higher than 46 percent in Gallup polling. For Trump to win reelection, securing Ohio's 18 electoral votes will be critical. He won Ohio by 8 points in 2016, after Obama held the state in 2008 and 2012. The visit to Toledo marked Trump's 15th appearance in Ohio as president. Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Benin has decided to build the museum of the epic of Amazons and Kings of Danxome Abomey, sources close to the ministry of Culture and Tourism told PANA here Friday SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Michael Bloomberg is adding three experienced California Democrats to his presidential campaign in the state that awards the most primary delegates, including the former head of Sen. Kamala Harris state campaign operation. Courtni Pugh, who led Harris strategy in the senators home state, is joining Bloombergs team as a senior adviser focused on paid media targeting constituency groups such as Latino and black voters, the campaign announced Friday. Bloomberg also has hired Crystal Strait, the former head of the states Planned Parenthood chapter, as political director, and Alex Gallardo Rooker, a vice chair of the state Democratic party, as a senior adviser. Strait, who also has worked for the state party and former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, said shes joining the campaign because she believes Bloomberg is the partys best chance of beating President Donald Trump. Winning is the only thing that we need to be focused on right now, she said. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman, launched his campaign in November and is counting on success in California to capture the nomination. He is skipping the first four early voting states to focus his energy on California and the other states that vote on Super Tuesday, held on March 3. His latest hires join Chris Masami Myers, who heads his California operation and previously served as executive director of the state party. Bloombergs pattern of bringing on operatives with party experience could bring his campaign needed expertise on the partys rules for picking up delegates. California has more than 400 delegates, the most of any state. But Bloombergs rivals have also been flexing their muscles in the heavily Democratic state. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti endorsed former Vice-President Joe Biden on Thursday, just days after appearing with Bloomberg. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, is aggressively campaigning in the state, holding rallies often and targeting Californias 5 million independent voters, who can vote in the Democratic primary. Harris ended her 2020 presidential campaign in November, saying her team didnt have the financial resources necessary to continue. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dave Chan (Agence France-Presse) Ottawa, Canada Fri, January 10, 2020 06:46 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32195eb4 2 World #Iran,#Canada,justin-trudeau,Ukraine,plane-crash,missile Free Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Trudeau's comments came as images posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defense batteries bringing the down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in flames Wednesday. Citing information from allies as well as Canada's own intelligence, the prime minister said the plane appeared to have been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air (SAM) missile. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters. The prime minister was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional." US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. It was carrying 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons. The disaster unfolded amid worries of a possible war between the United States and Iran, just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at American military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. The Iranian government said the missile strike scenario made "no sense," however, arguing that several internal and international flights had been sharing approximately the same airspace. Tehran later asked Ottawa to share its information with Iranian investigators. - 'Canadians want answers' - Trudeau said Canada was working with allies to ensure a credible probe takes place. "The families of the victims want answers, Canadians want answers, I want answers," he said. "That means closure, transparency, accountability, and justice. This government will not rest until we get that." Johnson called Thursday for a full, transparent investigation. "It is vital that there should be an immediate and respectful repatriation of those who've lost their lives to allow their families to grieve properly," the British leader said. "The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region." - 'I have my suspicions' - Trump would not directly confirm what US intelligence was saying privately. "I have my suspicions," Trump said. "It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake." "Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question," he said, adding that "something very terrible happened." But unnamed officials told US media satellite, radar and electronic data indicated Tehran's air defense units downed the aircraft. ABC News reported that an unnamed official said it was "highly likely" the plane was brought down by two SAMs. Black boxes Ukraine called for United Nations support for a broad investigation, and sent 45 crash investigators to Tehran to take part in the inquiry led by Iranian authorities. Investigators are pursuing several possibilities, including engine failure, a missile strike or an act of terror. "If any country has information that can help conduct a transparent and objective investigation into the tragedy, we are ready to receive it and cooperate in further verification," the Ukraine presidency said in an English-language statement. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's civil aviation organization and deputy transport minister, said Iran and Ukraine were "downloading information" from the aircraft's black boxes retrieved from the crash site. "But if more specialized work is required to extract and analyze the data, we can do it in France or another country," he said. Analysts were examining photographs posted online of the wreckage and a private video apparently taken of the flight when it was struck for evidence that it was downed by a missile. The New York Times said it had verified the video showing a small explosion apparently when a missile struck the aircraft. "I think this has a very good possibility of being accurate," John Goglia, a former US aviation safety expert on the National Transportation Safety Board, said of the missile theory. "Airplanes that have just taken off and have made a climb to 8,000 feet, that's entering the safest period of time in the flight. So even an engine failure at that altitude should not cause the type of event we've just observed," he told AFP. The Ukrainian airline crash brought back memories of another tragedy involving a US military error. In 1988, an Iran Air flight was shot down over the Gulf by a surface-to-air missile fired from the US warship USS Vincennes. All 290 people aboard, most of them Iranians, were killed, sparking outrage across the country. The US Navy had mistaken the aircraft for an Iranian fighter jet. Santwana Bhattacharya By From an activist arrested for doing an FB Live in Lucknow, to a Kashmir poster in Mumbai, to a banner hung from a balcony in Delhis Lajpat Nagar in front of a mob whats the common strand? Yes, the geography of protest is quite awe-inspiring. Yes, an Act that was attempting to regulate refugeesall religious groups, except one (well, the Jains are also not mentioned, but they are a wealthy lot and do not look for government succour)has ended up giving refuge to a Pakistani poet in the Indian landscape of dissent. How did Faiz Ahmed Faiz, popular among a small niche of Urdu poetry aficionados, become the first one to be granted honorary citizenship by an Act primarily devised to exclude his community? Well, narratives have a life of their own: They cannot be always controlled by the bound script of political strategists. And the narrative being presently written in campuses and on the streets also has a gender. Faiz was of course a commie, of the Soviet-CPGB era, and national borders cannot much contain internationalists. But it was Iqbal Bano in a sari that made his poem iconic. (Make no mistake, Faiz also had enough friends among Pakistans powerful elite, to have escaped the noose in his land multiple times!) Why are young rebels and their supporters going #HumDekhenge, for Deepika Padukones film Chhapaak, in a sense telling the powers-that-be #HumBhiDekhenge ( or, in a more street-savvy way, hum-bhi-dekh-lenge, ignore us at your peril)!And pray, whos showing all this gumption? Not necessarily Anurag Kashyap those of his fraternity are merely celebrity guest artistes in the ongoing carnival of protests. Not even Kanhaiya Kumar, despite JNU having been once his playground. Its Indias angry young women. They are opinionated. They are articulate. They are angry. They are not afraid to speak up. And they are leading from the front out on the streets and on social media. How did this happen? How are so many young women throwing off the yoke of a disabling system, not caring for parental advice to play safe, to be safe, and standing up for what they believe in? In protest after protest, whether at Bengaluru Townhall or on the JNU campus (and now, St Stephens College) or the Gateway of India, its women who are shouting slogans, singing songs and reading out the Preamble. Not as part of the chorus, but as the lead. Look at Shaheen Bagh. This is the most abiding visual iconography of recent weeks. How and why? Do they fear they will be disenfranchised, or is it because they know disenfranchisement already? Who else but women to appreciate the cruel irony of making land or property the primary marker of citizenship? Their angst does not come out of being suddenly jolted out of complacency: Its a knowing, sad wisdom. When the state and its security apparatus cannot guarantee safety to its young womenwhen rape is offered as a daily punishment for daring to be equalcan they be expected to be cowed down by the same apparatus? This is their moment. Their pushback is not just about citizenship but about the very right to exist without fear, without intimidation and retribution. In the 80s, when the womens movement was spreading across campuses, Kamala Bhasins chants for azadi from patriarchy, misogyny, from dowry deaths and forced marriages, for the right to work in every sphere and get paid on equal terms, were similarly popular. The scale was much smallerthere was no television or social media to amplify those voices. But always, laws had to be eventually amended. Its no surprise that its a woman filmstar who landed up at JNU and that other female actors have spoken up in favour of these young women protesters, who come from across castes and religions. They have dared despite the threat of facing vilification, physical attack, or boycotts for disagreeing with the dominant narrative. They are showing the nerve their male counterparts are not able to muster. Why is a regime that regularly congratulates itself for political canniness unwilling to read the writing on the wall? Why do they not try to calm the rage? Simple, this is a movement about equal rights. The various strandssubsidised education, secularism, citizenshipare all subsumed under that. Solidarity, therefore, can only come from those who feel threatened. In the political context, it will get caught in the Hindu/Muslim binary, though its far deeper than that. If the protests help consolidate Hindu votes in UP in 2022, and before that if CAA/NRC polarises the Bengali bhadralok in 2021, the BJPs 2024 thrust is secure. Little wonder the Union home minister has vowed not to give an inch, and promised to fight the Delhi election on the CAA theme. No matter what their own internal survey seems to suggest about Arvind Kejriwal. For them, UP is a must win and Bengal is a dream to be conqueredthose two big states can easily deliver another Lok Sabha, the state of the economy notwithstanding. Else, the government would have cared. About the middle class finding dissent to be kosher. About even elite campuses adopting the language of slogansslogans that just the other day were seen to be markers of sedition. About the angry young women. Investing.com - The U.S. dollar remained strong on Friday and was set to end the week on a high note just days before the signing of a phase one trade deal between the U.S. and China. The US Dollar Index Futures was flat at 97.45 by 9:30 PM ET (02:30 GMT). The AUD/USD pair was down 0.02% to 0.6855 and the NZD/USD was down 0.11% to 0.6607. The Australian dollar was helped on Friday by strong retail sales data. Australias statistics agency said retail sales jumped 0.9% in November, more than double the expected 0.4% increase. The USD/JPY pair was up 0.02% to 109.53. The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) set the reference rate of the yuan at 6.9351, stronger than the 6.9497 fix set on Thursday. The yuan has been strengthening over the past few weeks. On Thursday, Chinas National Bureau of Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 4.5% in December from a year earlier while producer prices fell 0.5%. Meanwhile, markets continue to look forward to the signing of a phase one trade deal between the U.S. and China next week. The GBP/USD was down 0.01% to 1.3064 after the passage of Prime Ministers Boris Johnsons Brexit bill, which sets the stage for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union by January 31. Related Articles Dollar wins reprieve as Mideast tensions ease, payrolls in focus Forex: Dollar Inches Higher as Focus Shifts to U.S-China Trade Deal Canadian dollar seen losing upside momentum over coming year: Reuters poll Jamtara: Sabka Number Ayega Director - Soumendra Padhi Cast - Sparsh Shrivastava, Anshumaan Pushkar, Monika Panwar, Aksha Pardasany, Amit Sial At a time when the nexus between politics, the police, and the press is being keenly observed, Netflixs latest Indian original series, Jamtara, makes a somewhat assured attempt at exposing it for what it really is. Its something that weve always known few crimes, big or small, can ever be committed without the law being either aware of or prepared for it, and news isnt limited to what has happened but also what the consumer wants it to be. This is, however, just one of the many narrative threads the 10-episode show weaves through its intricately designed plot. While it has been billed as a true-crime story presumably to capitalize on the genres global popularity, towards which Netflix has played a major part Jamtara is really a small-town family drama that mixes in familiar tropes with a fresh-faced energy; a show that feels at once sprawling yet rather simplistic. Watching it unfold, without tripping over itself, I was convinced that Netflix India might finally be onto something. Its about time. Watch the Jamtara trailer here Despite a distressingly cynical premise that suggests greed can corrupt just about anybody, Jamtara is, in its soul of souls, rather hopeful about humanity. By pitting its criminal protagonists against a morally unimpeachable police officer, and to make her a woman in this very masculine world, sends a subtle, yet strong message. The rest of the time, however, the show resembles the sort of thing Im sure Anurag Kashyap must be offered on a weekly basis a rustic crime drama, lyrically written, about power and ambition; a dressing down of the deluded Indian male. The boys at the centre of Jamtara are all chauthi fail, a slur of sorts that is often thrown about here, directed at dropouts whod much rather spend their days harassing women on the streets than staying in school, and despite it all remaining their mothers favourite human beings. But their lack of education can barely be compared to their immaturity. They might have lived wholly different lives from ours, but they are, after all, also millennials. The central characters are all essentially millennials. What happens when you provide the uneducated youth of our country with unlimited data? Some choose to spread lies and hate, others allow themselves to be exploited by the political party with the most amount of petty cash in its registers. The more crafty ones, Jamtara suggests, use technology to get back at an invisible adversary. In the show, this takes on the form of a virtual status struggle. These boys have never had anything, and so their first exposure to power ends with them taking out all their frustrations on imagined masters the urban elite, the rich, the privileged; representatives of the forces that have always kept boys like Sunny and Rocky under their boots. The show humanises criminals, but never celebrates their actions. Jamtara is the name of a small town in Jharkhand, infamous for having produced and cultivated a legion of criminals that specialize in phishing a scam through which individuals pose as reputable companies in order to extract personal information such as passwords and credit card details from unsuspecting victims. This isnt simply a case of the poor scamming the poor. The majority of victims who fall from scams such as this live in big cities; theyre educated and wealthy (just ask my old editor). Politics in Jamtara isnt restricted to corrupt, kurta-clad uncles, but also extends to class. By targeting the rich, the boys inadvertently expose the vast class divide our country has been burdened by. Amit Sial plays the local political bigwig in Netflixs Jamtara. As business booms, the group of boys must not only contend with the police and local political dons, but also infighting. Its an all too familiar set-up, explored on screen as recently as Amazons massively inferior Mirzapur. That show was far too preoccupied by outward posturing - the violence, the swearing, the mayhem - to investigate systemic problems with any intelligence. And while Jamtara is a much tighter show the episodes are around 20-minutes long, thankfully, excluding credits it feels grander in scope. This is partly thanks to director Soumendra Padhis lush visual style. His use of digital cameras and anamorphic lenses reminded me of the great Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who also tells rugged rural stories with an unmistakably slick aesthetic. This juxtaposition of the flawless images that digital cameras produce, and the unpolished environment that they are photographing, also has thematic relevance. But alas, the writing is often far too simplistic by comparison, despite strong central performances across the board. In the six episodes that were provided for preview, the show appeared to be oddly constrained. Whether or not this is a result of a small budget or a limited imagination remains to be seen. Im also quite divided on whether the show plays into age-old stereotypes about this region and its inhabitants, or whether it is simply telling their stories with an attention to authenticity. There is a reason why Bihar (and effectively the state of Jharkhand) was once described by author Suketu Mehta as the disaster of modern India. It wouldve been insightful of the filmmakers to address this reputation meaningfully, without relying on tired tropes. Jamtara is too slight to sway the fortunes of Netflix India, which has tossed itself into a stew of its own making with recent disappointments such as Chopsticks, Bard of Blood, Drive, House Arrest and Ghost Stories. But with dozens of originals in various stages of production already, it would be foolish to believe that the refreshing success of a show so small could change the course for a corporation so huge. But once again, like Delhi Crime and Little Things and Typewriter, it is the underdog upon which the streamer must rely on to save face. This is why we signed up. (The first six episodes of the 10-episode series were provided for preview. This should be considered a review of those six episodes only.) Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar By Express News Service CHENNAI: The AIADMK will continue to be like a protective shield for minorities, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Thursday. He appealed to members of the minority community not to believe in rumours being unleashed with political motives. He said: Over the last 30 years, AIADMK governments have safeguarded interests of minorities. Following the footsteps of late leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, we will continue to do so... Minorities need not have an iota of apprehension, he said, while responding to arguments regarding the Citizenship Amendments Act and National Register of Citizens. Speaking about the NRC on Wednesday, minister RB Udhyakumar had said: It has not come in yet. Even if it affects a single member of minority communities, the AIADMK will be the first to raise its voice to defend them. Speaking for over 70 minutes on Thursday, the Chief Minister touched upon various subjects, such as the Kudimaramath scheme, Prime Ministers Crop Insurance Scheme, distribution of Pongal gift hampers, Athikadavu-Avinashi Scheme, and Kalvi Educational Channel among others. Palaniswami said he had inaugurated tertiary treatment plants in Koyambedu with 45 million litre capacity. They will be expanded soon to treat 60 MLD of waste. With this, Chennai will become the only Metro to recycle 20 per cent of its effluent. Speaking about the economy, he said five of the 41 MoU signed during his foreign visits have already been executed. Of the 63 MoU signed at the second Investors Meet, worth over Rs 3 lakh crore, over 272 companies have already started operations. This amounts to 90 per cent of all MoU signed. This shows the investor confidence cultivated by the AIADMK government, he claimed. After the second edition of the GIM, 63 MoU have been signed with an investment of Rs 19,000 crore. This would generate employment opportunities for 83,000 persons. Nokia plant, which was closed due to industrial disputes, has been reopened by Salcomp. Foxconn has started manufacturing unit in the Nokia SEZ, and this would provide jobs for 20,000 persons, he added. He said TN had attracted foreign investments worth over Rs 47,000 crore in the last three years, as per the NACER report. Will consider demands Chief Minister Palaniswami promised to consider Durai Murugans demands on a few issues such as regularisation of TNEB workers on Nominal Muster Roll basis and removal of restrictions in MLA Constituency Development Funds Will come to power in 2021 Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said in the Assembly that AIADMK will come to power for the third consecutive term. His remark came as a reply to Deputy Leader of the Opposition Durai Murugan who said DMK will capture power in the State in 2021 elections. In the next elections too... you will be in the same place, said CM. 15 Bills passed Chennai: A total of 15 Bills were passed in the Assembly on Thursday despite opposition from the DMK and Congress. Among the important Bills passed are, to revise the qualification for the post of registrar of the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University and to conduct indirect election to the offices of the Mayors and municipal chairpersons. Youd think, after more than 30 years on the job, Id never be wowed again by a chicken Parmesan, but Avanzares version is terrific, highlighted by a long-simmered tomato sauce that bursts with concentrated flavor. Veal limone is another expertly executed classic, with a nicely balanced lemon-caper-butter sauce that also graces the branzino, roasted in a sea-salt crust. (The branzino, $32.95, is one of the few dishes priced higher than $25, but its worth the splurge.) Australia is being ravaged by bushfires, with thousands of homes destroyed and more than a billion animals estimated dead. New Jersey isnt standing idly by, with many businesses hosting fundraisers throughout the month of January to help those fighting the fires and those who have been affected. Here are 15 ways you can help fight the Australian fires from here in New Jersey. Dinner at Common Lot Common Lot in Millburn is hosting a fundraising dinner Jan. 26: a three-course dinner inspired by Australian cuisine that will benefit WIRES Wildlife Rescue and New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Dinner at Caffe Anello Caffe Anello in Westwood is raffling off a five-course dinner for two for those who donate at least $10 to any charity benefiting fire relief in Australia. Drinks at The Crosby The Crosby in Montclair is hosting a fundraising event on Jan. 30. to benefit WIRES Wildlife Rescue featuring specialty cocktails, plant-based snacks, live music and guest speaker Alyssa Fasciano, aka @animal.babe on Instagram, who will be discussing ways to help the environment. Dinner at Cardinal Provisions Cardinal Provisions in Asbury Park is hosting a pair of pop-up dinners Jan. 17 and 18 with part of the proceeds going to Australias First Nations, which protects and defends indigenous people in Australia. Glo Salon & Spa fundraiser Glo Salon & Spa in Parsippany is hosting a fundraiser on Jan. 18 featuring food, cocktails and more. Those that attend will receive a free gift voucher. Koala cupcakes at Sugarplum Studio Sugarplum Studio in Cherry Hill is hosting a koala cupcake workshop to benefit WIRES Wildlife Rescue on Jan. 12. Greetings from Aus-bury Park at Asbury Lanes Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park is hosting Greetings from Aus-bury Park on Sunday, Jan. 12, featuring Australian food, drinks, games, trivia, music and a silent action, all benefitting the Australian Red Cross. Koala painting at Wine & Design in Rahway Wine & Design in Rahway is hosting a painting event where attendees will paint koala canvases Jan. 31 to benefit the Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors emergency fund. Yoga for a cause in at Birch Fitness Birch Fitness in Belmar is hosting a yoga class Sunday Jan. 12 with 100% of proceeds going to WIRES Wildlife Rescue. Train at F45 Training Crosskeys F45 Training Crosskeys in Sicklerville, a company with Australian roots, is hosting three training sessions Jan. 18 to benefit the Australian Red Cross and WIRES Wildlife Rescue. Yoga at Spiral Essence Spiral Essence in Haddon Township is hosting a yoga class Jan. 18 with all proceeds going to WWF-Australia. Crochet nests at Pretty Handy Pretty Handy in Nutley is hosting a crocheting event Jan. 17 where those in attending will be making nests and blankets for small animals displaced by the fires. Yoga at Laughing Buddha Laughing Buddha Hot Yoga in West Deptford is hosting a class Feb. 2 with all proceeds being donated to charity. Coffee at Bluestone Lane Bluestone Lane, an Australian-based coffee shop with locations in Jersey City and Hoboken, is donating all profits to the Australian Red Cross and the Australian Bushfire Emergency Relief fund through Jan. 10, and Jan. 26 select locations will be hosting additional fundraising events. Koala cookies at Two Sweet Boutique Two Sweet Boutique in in Deptford Township is selling koala cookies starting Jan. 11 with half of sales being donated to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. 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. United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres expressed his sympathy and sadness on the death of 176 passengers who were on board on the Ukrainian airliner. The airplane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International airport in Tehran on Wednesday. Condolences to families According to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Governments of all the countries whose nationals lost their lives in this tragedy. The official statement read, The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the crash of the Ukrainian airliner near Tehran." A Ukrainian aircraft with at least 176 people aboard crashed on January 8 due to technical glitches just after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport, according to Iranian media reports. As per the reports, all 176 passengers on board the PS752 airliner have died. A spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation, Reza Jafarzadeh told the media that rescue teams were immediately sent to the spot near the airport where the aircraft belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed but they could not assist since the place was ablaze. Read: Ukraine International Airlines Plane Crashes In Tehran; All 176 Aboard Dead Read: Ukraine President's Tribute To Crash Victims According to media reports citing Ali Khashani, a senior public relations official at the airport, the plane was heading towards Kiev and had 167 passengers and nine crew on board. The Boeing 737 took off early Wednesday morning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post that he would cancel the rest of his trip to Oman and would return to Kiev due to the crash. My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of all passengers and crew, Zelenskiy said. Read: World Cannot Afford Another War, Warns UN Chief Amid US-Iran Tensions Read: UN Chief Warns World Cannot Afford Another War Amid US-Iran Tensions The Ukraine Embassy in Iran have reportedly ruled out any terrorism cause and said that the plane had suffered engine failure. The Iranian local media reported that 32 of those on board were foreigners. Local media further reported that the pilot of the ill-fated plane did not declare an emergency. Ukraine Security Council said that 11 Ukrainian citizens were killed in the plane crash, including nine crew members. According to air tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane was three years old and was a Boeing 737. Samira Ahmed arrives at the Central London Employment Tribunal Samira Ahmed has triumphed in the employment tribunal she brought against the BBC over sex discrimination and equal pay. The presenter, 51, took action after claiming that she was not paid enough for hosting the show Newswatch. She compared the 440 per episode she pocketed to Jeremy Vines salary of up to 3,000 for an episode of Points Of View. Read more: Samira Ahmed applauded as she arrives for tribunal Ahmed claimed the work was comparable, and the tribunals judgment agreed. The judgment in Samira Ahmed v BBC handed down by Judge Harjit Grewal in the Central London Employment Tribunal is now available online: https://t.co/oevWxPgTVN Judicial Office (@JudiciaryUK) January 10, 2020 In its judgment, the tribunal ruled that under the Equality Act 2010 her work on Newswatch was like Jeremy Vine's work on Points Of View. Read more: Samira Ahmed taking BBC to tribunal It also said that the BBC has not shown that the difference in pay was because of a material factor which did not involve subjecting the claimant [Ahmed] to sex discrimination. Journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed (right) and Naga Munchetty (left) arrive at the Central London Employment Tribunal, Victory House, London. According to the BBC, Ahmed said she was glad it had been resolved. The corporation said Ahmed was an excellent journalist and presenter, adding: We regret that this case ever had to go to tribunal. LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 19: Jeremy Vine leaves BBC Wogan House after presenting his Radio 2 Show on July 19, 2017 in London, England. The BBC has published the pay of its top earning employees today as part of the corporation's annual report. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) The BBC also said: We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender. Presenters female as well as male had always been paid more on Points Of View than Newswatch. The tribunal ended in November, but the judgement was released today (January 10). On Thursday, a military base, located around 209 kilometres north of Niger's capital city of Niamey, was assaulted by unidentified militants, media reported. The attack left 25 Nigerien servicemen and 63 assailants dead while six soldiers were injured, the local defence ministry said as quoted by AFP, Trend reports citing Sputnik. "The response with the combined air support of the Niger air force and partners made it possible to strike and rout the enemy outside our boundaries", defence spokesperson Colonel Souleymane Gazobi added. He has also said that the incident took place in Chinegodar, in the western Tillaberi Region, at 01:00 p.m. local time and that the heavily armed militants came in vehicles and on motorbikes. "The Defence ministry... offers its condolences to the victims and wishes the wounded a prompt recovery," the government statement said, adding that the army is trying to establish the identities of the attackers. In December 2019, terrorists attacked an army camp in western Niger near the Malian border killing at least 70 soldiers, while 30 others went missing. The Daesh* terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. Niger is part of the G5 anti-jihadist task force which also includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania and is fighting against Boko Haram militants as well as jihadists linked to the Daesh* group. Byjus has emerged as the leader in the Indian education-tech sector. They are pioneering technology shaping the future of learning for millions of school students in India. IMAGE: The edu-tech firm was started in 2011 by maths teacher Byju Ravindran, joined by a handful of his early students.. Photograph via Twitter. Education technology company Byjus is learnt to have raised $200 million in a funding round from Tiger Global Management, which has valued the Bengaluru-based start-up around $8 billion, making it the third largest unicorn (startup valued over $1 billion) in the country. With this, the Byju Raveendran founded company has seen over 50 per cent jump in its valuation in just around nine months. In March 2019, Byjus was valued $5.4 billion, when it raised around $31 million from General Atlantic, and Chinese investment giant Tencent. At the current valuation, Byjus has now replaced home-grown cab hailing major Ola as the third largest unicorn, next only to Paytm and OYO, which are valued around $16 billion and $10 billion, respectively. Byjus confirmed the transaction through a press statement, though the company declined to share any specific details of the deal. Tiger Global could not be immediately reached for its comments. We are happy to partner with a strong investor like Tiger Global Management. "They share our sense of purpose and this partnership will advance our long-term vision of creating an impact by changing the way students learn, said Raveendran. This partnership is both a validation of the impact created by us so far and a vote of confidence for our long-term vision. This is Tiger Globals second investment in the edutech space in India after Vendantu, an online tutoring platform, where it led a $42 million round along with WestBridge Capital in August. An early backer of Indias internet growth story, the New York-headquartered Tiger Global has been a prolific investor in the Indian startup space. Its portfolio in the country ranges from consumer focused e-commerce companies that are vital for the growth of the sector, such as Flipkart, Delhivery, Grofers, Quikr and PolicyBazaar to mention a few. After tasting success with Flipkart, one of its earliest investments, where it had pumped in around $1 billion, the PE major is now doubling down its focus on the Indian strartup space, under its new investment head Scott Shleifer. Shleifer, who set up international private equity practice for Tiger Global, is said to be as aggressive deal maker like his predecessor Lee Fixel, who left the investment firm in March. Since then, Tiger has also invested in a host of technology-focused companies in diverse sectors including Ninjacart, CRED, NoBroker and Facilio to mention a few. Byjus has emerged as the leader in the Indian education-tech sector. "They are pioneering technology shaping the future of learning for millions of school students in India, Shleifer was quoted in the press statement issued by the edutech firm. For Byjus, the fresh investment is also a testimony to the scorching pace of its growth and its prospects. It claims to have over 42 million registered users and three million paid subscribers across the country. The company has also seen the average time a student spends on the app increase from 64 minutes to 71 minutes per day over 2019. In the financial year 2018-19 (FY19), Byjus saw its revenues grow close to three-fold to Rs 1,480 crore, while the company claimed to have achieved profitability on a full-year basis. For FY20, the company which is also backed by investors like Sequoia Capital, Light Speed Ventures, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Naspers, among others, has set a target of hitting Rs 3,000 crore in revenues. Last January, Byju's had forayed into the US with the acquisition of Silicon Valley-based educational gaming startup Osmo, which it bought for around $120 million. It is also looking to launch its platform in several English-speaking countries in Europe, and Australia. While these are early days, there is tremendous potential in this segment to create a highly scalable and sustainable model that can equip and prepare the current generation for the unseen jobs of tomorrow, Byju added. Britain set to exit EU on 31 Jan as lawmakers approve Brexit deal British lawmakers finally approved a legislation which will allow the country to exit the European Union by the month-end, three years after the landmark referendum that paved the way for Brexit. The House of Commons on Thursday voted 330 against 231 to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which sets the terms of Britain's departure from the 28-nation bloc. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party had ensured a comfortable majority backing for the Brexit deal after last months election to parliament. The legislation, approved after three days of wrangling, now has to pass through Parliament's unelected House of Lords - which can delay but not overturn the decision of the lower House. The bill now only needs approval by the European Parliament to become effective. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said he welcomed the "constructive scrutiny'' of the Lords but hoped the upper house would not try to delay the bill. "I have no doubt that their lordships will have heard the resounding message from the British people on the 12th of December,'' he said. For Prime Minister Johnson who made Brexit delivering the main plank of his election win, Thursday's vote was a major victory. Johnsons problems wont end with the Brexit as planned on 31 January. It will only help start negotiations on Britains future relationship with the EU, which may extend to the year-end. "Leaving the EU doesn't mean that we will have got Brexit done,'' said Paul Blomfield, a Brexit spokesman for the main opposition Labour Party. "We'll have completed the first step, departure, but the difficult stage is yet to come." Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said Thursday that Britain's goal of striking a full free trade agreement by the end-of-year deadline that Johnson insists on was unrealistic. "We cannot expect to agree on every aspect of this new partnership,'' Barnier said, adding "we are ready to do our best in the 11 months.'' Johnson has ruled out extending a post-Brexit transition period agreed by the two sides beyond the end of 2020, although the EU has offered to prolong it until 2022. The two sides will have to strike deals on everything from trade in goods and services to fishing, aviation, medicines and security. The EU says that with conflicting demands, it may require more than a year to deal with all these issues. That, perhaps, could leave Britain with a "no-deal'' Brexit at the start of 2021. The British monarchy scrambled Thursday to find urgent "workable solutions" for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan after their bombshell decision to quit front-line duties caught the royal family off guard. Queen Elizabeth II, heir to the throne Prince Charles and his eldest son Prince William, Harry's brother, have ordered their aides to work with Harry's household and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government to come up with swift answers to the royal crisis. "The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge have directed their teams to work together at pace with government and the Sussex household to find workable solutions," a Buckingham Palace source said, according to multiple British media outlets. This process is "expected to take days, not weeks", the source added. Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, rocked the monarchy on Wednesday with an announcement made without consulting any senior royals from the sovereign downwards. The couple said they would now "balance" their time between Britain and North America, rip up long-established relations with the press, and seek financial independence. They released their shock statement on a pre-prepared new website, their Instagram account and through Buckingham Palace's email communications system. An hour and 40 minutes later, the palace, seemingly rattled, issued a brief statement of its own, saying discussions were at an early stage and involved "complicated issues". The mood in the palace was understood to be one of disappointment and even "hurt", according to the BBC, while Thursday's newspapers were full of reports of a family "split" and the queen's "dismay". London's Evening Standard newspaper said they had "defied clear instructions from the queen" not to go public about any future plans at this time. It added senior courtiers had warned the couple "will be punished for this". Meanwhile Madame Tussauds London said it was moving its waxworks of the pair away from other top family figures "to reflect the upcoming change in the royal line-up". - 'Going Rogue' - Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said Harry and Meghan announcing this step without the 93-year-old monarch's blessing was "extraordinary". "This is symptomatic, clearly, of the fact that they are unhappy with royal roles and feel deeply pressurised," he told AFP. "They've chosen to... go rogue. The result, therefore, could have very serious consequences." The couple's decision follows a turbulent year, in which they admitted to struggling in the spotlight, and growing apart from William. They have also lashed out at negative news coverage and taken several papers to court -- another unusual move. "We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen," they said. "We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution." Meanwhile on their new website, they said they would no longer work with the royal rota -- a well-established system whereby media access is facilitated and the press take turns covering events and share the coverage. Instead the pair will attempt to invite only "specialist", "grassroots", "credible" and "young, up-and-coming" media to events. Royal analysts said the changes were unprecedented for senior family members. "We would have them as members of the royal family carrying out some official duties but also operating privately as well, and there isn't really a precedent for that," said expert Victoria Murphy. Britons passing Buckingham Palace on Thursday appeared surprised at the news. "They both knew what they were getting into and I think that they need to meet that challenge," said Roger Sainsbury, a member of the armed forces. - 'Different paths' - Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are among the core members of the royal family and -- along with William and his wife Kate -- are seen as embodying the monarchy's future. They spent six weeks over Christmas in Canada after speaking of the pressure of being in the spotlight following their fairytale wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and son Archie's birth 12 months later. They skipped the royal family's traditional Christmas at Sandringham, the sovereign's private estate in eastern England, spending the festive season instead with Meghan's US mother Doria Ragland. Rumours that all was not well with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex surfaced in October when Harry -- sixth in line to the throne -- admitted that he and William were "on different paths" and had good and bad days in their relationship. Asked whether she was "not really OK" and if life had "really been a struggle" after becoming a mother and living under intense media scrutiny, Meghan appeared emotional and replied simply: "Yes." Newspaper headlines included The Sun's "Megxit", saying the couple had sparked civil war at the palace The couple married in May 2018 The British royal line of succession Meghan also admitted that it had been a "struggle" becoming a mother while living under an intense media spotlight Rumours that all was not well with the Sussexes surfaced in October when Harry, sixth in line to the throne, admitted that he and William were "on different paths" and had good and bad days in their relationship Auckland, Jan 10 : Top-seed Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki entered the semi-finals of the ongoing ASB Classic in Auckland after winning their matches on Friday. Williams came out with a solid straight sets performance against Laura Siegemund of Germany, winning the match 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and a half. The 23-time Grand Slam winner struck 26 winners to Siegemund's 20, and outpaced her six aces to one. "It was good for me to just fight, you know," Serena was quoted as saying by WTA after her win. "She has a really good game, and she stepped up and hit a lot of good winners, so it wasn't really easy. I just had to step up and play a little better, and hopefully get through it. On the other hand, Wozniacki handed Julia Goerges her first loss at the ASB Classic in three years. The former World No.1 overcame the two-time defending champion and No.5 seed, 6-1, 6-4, to advance to the last four. "I've had so many tough matches against Julia in the past, and I knew this one was going to be tough as well," Wozniacki said after the match. "She has a big serve and big shots, so I needed to be ready for every point. I've been serving really well this week, so I hope it can continue." She will next face American Jessica Pegula, after she advanced past Alize Cornet via a retirement. TIGHTROPE Americans Reaching for Hope By Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn As the United States awakens from one of its foundational myths that we are a democracy without castes the official record of our times is being written largely by people born to socioeconomic advantage. This irony, in which those on the fortunate end of historic wealth inequality attempt to chronicle a populist movement produced by that inequality, often results in dubious journalism. Even well-intentioned urban, coastal, college-educated scribes commit obliviously condescending word choices (flyover country), illogical assumptions (everyone in red states voted for Trump) and variations on poverty porn, in which subjects are conveyed as helpless and joyless (observe this sorry case in Appalachia). To those who know something about, say, rural poverty firsthand, earnest nonfiction narratives understandably may read as voyeuristic studies predicated on the dangerous idea that we are a nation of two essentially different kinds of people. In fact, we are a nation of essentially similar people shaped by vastly different circumstances of place, wealth, education and culture. Those best able to document our socioeconomic divide with humility and accuracy typically have occupied more than one class, remain connected to the one they left and attribute any upward mobility to good fortune rather than to personal exceptionalism. One such journalist is the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who grew up tending sheep on a small family farm in rural Oregon in the 1960s and 70s. In Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, he and the journalist Sheryl WuDunn, who is also his wife, offer a litany of stories from across the country, revealing the structural causes of countless so-called personal failures among the working poor. Most of these stories come from Kristofs hometown of Yamhill, population 1,105. Mayor Kenney poses with members of Sen. Elizabeth Warren's field office staff during the opening in West Philadelphia Thursday. With him from left are: volunteer Beth Finn; Elizabeth Vale, a college classmate and senior adviser to Warren; Rachel Tait, PA campaign Mobilization Hub Manager; and Anne Wakabayashi, Warren's newly hired Pennsylvania state director. Read more Sen. Elizabeth Warrens presidential campaign opened its first Pennsylvania field office Thursday, far earlier than most of her rivals and a sign she sees the 153 delegates available in the states late April Democratic primary as a potentially coveted prize. The investment is also a nod to the growing grassroots campaign Warren has in Philadelphia. Now, that network of political activists and operatives will have a home base in the Cedar Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia. We have an amazing grassroots network that is active in Pennsylvania right now, said Anne Wakabayashi, Warrens newly hired Pennsylvania state director and a former member of Philly for Warren. The movement is already happening on the ground. The campaigns investment in a state that doesnt hold its primary for more than three months suggests a belief that Pennsylvania will still be relevant after the early nominating contests and that Warren will still be in the fight. Warren doesnt poll as well in Pennsylvania as former Vice President Joe Biden, who has roots in Scranton and his national headquarters in Philadelphia, but she has a contingent of Democratic supporters in the city, including Mayor Jim Kenney, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier. All three attended the opening of the campaign office in the 500 block of South 52nd Street on Thursday. Kenney, who said hes headed to New Hampshire to stump for Warren in a few weeks, commended the offices location on the 52nd Street corridor of West Philadelphia. I think the location you picked is absolutely fabulous," he said. I just think its the right people to go after. Kenney said some people seemed shocked" when he endorsed the Massachusetts senator. I guess people expected it to be Biden because Im an old white guy, the mayor said. But theres just something about her that shows strength and fearlessness. She just has the tenacity to kick [Trumps] ass." Increased turnout in Philadelphia can help win the state for Warren, Krasner said. Make no mistake, this city all by itself has the capacity to change the outcome of this next election," he said, "not just in the primary but in the general election. The office will host phone banks seven days a week, targeting the early voting states. Wakabayashi, who has spent her career working in Pennsylvania politics, is originally from San Diego. She is the former executive director of Emerge Pennsylvania, a group that works to recruit women to run for elected office and a past board member of the Liberty City Democratic Club, Philadelphias LGBT political organization. She also worked on Councilman Allan Dombs race for Philadelphia City Council and at the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. She led Superior Court Judge Anne Lazarus failed campaign in the Democratic primary for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court against Justice Kevin Dougherty. What really drew me to [Warrens] campaign was that she gets what the impact of corruption and business interests do to politics, and thats something I saw at the state and local level with women and queer folks trying to get into politics, Wakabayashi said. I saw it as a real continuation of work diversifying elected officials in Pennsylvania. Warren trails Biden in polls of likely Pennsylvania voters by an average of about 10 points. She has made only a handful of appearances in the state thus far, including a visit to Philadelphia in March to talk to the American Federation of Teachers. Warren brought in about as much from Pennsylvania donors ($301,836) as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the last quarter. Both trailed Biden, who got $453,783 from Pennsylvanians. Warren does well with younger, more educated and more progressive voters a demographic reflected in Philadelphia and its suburbs but she trails in rural working-class areas. Wakabayashi, who previously worked on races in Berks County, said she thinks Warren can win across the state. We have a big, complex state here and so many of her plans address the things were seeing," she said. "I think as we talk to more and more folks, the more youre going to see folks connecting with what shes saying. The Philly for Warren group has already organized canvassing and phone banking locally and a contingent will travel to New Hampshire this weekend to campaign for her. The group that started with a single debate watch party in June now holds up to half a dozen around the city for the monthly Democratic primary debates, and it has organizers leading efforts in designated neighborhoods. Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sanders also have active volunteer groups in the city and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened a field office in Philadelphia last month. New Delhi, Jan 10 : December of 2019 was the deadliest month in five years for the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), according to officials in the department. The figures available with the fire service show that 2,437 distress calls were received in December. In addition to this, a total 603 distress calls were received at the fire services' control room from new year's day till January 10. In December alone, 46 people died in four fatal incidents in different parts of the city. In the wake of Friday's incident, a high-level meeting comprising top government and DFS officials was convened to find out the reasons behind the deadly Delhi fires. The DFS is worried about the increasing number of deaths in the fire incidents. In fact, the factories where the blaze broke out, were found ignoring fire safety norms. Moreover, commercial activities are being carried out in residential areas without proper fire prevention arrangements. Such ignorance helped the infernos turn deadly within no time. Fire department officials have suggested that people should be made aware of the fire safety measures. In fact, even minor fire incidents led to the death of people in Delhi. According to the officials, a major fire claimed at least 43 lives and left several people injured on December 8 in Anaj Mandi area because highly inflammable items were blocking the passages, and narrow lanes to the building restricted the firemen's access. "Safety measures were not available at the places where the incidents took place. Sufficient facilities are also not available for entry and exit in the factories and in houses which are illegally operating commercial activities," DFS Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg told IANS. In most of the incidents, the fire was caused by a short circuit as people owning the old buildings that house factories as well, have installed lesser capacity equipment which cannot bear the load, Garg said. Often, due to lack of awareness people keep inflammables near electrical and mechanical equipment, that works as a conductor in spreading the fire, he said, adding that they should be made aware. Fire timeline: December 8: A big fire broke out early in the morning in Delhi's Anaj Mandi. At least 43 people died and DFS personnel rescued several people while 53 people were injured in the fire. According to a senior Delhi Police official 59 people were inside the factory operating from a residential area when the blaze broke out. December 23: In a residence-cum-cloth godown fire near Fauzi vatika, Prem Nagar Kirari, three persons died and 12 persons were rescued. December 24: In the industrial area of Narela a fire broke out in a shoe factory due to a cylinder blast. Three fireman got injured during the rescue operation. December 26: A major fire tragedy was averted in east Delhi's Krishna Nagar by timely action taken by firemen who rescued 40 people from the building. January 2: A rire broke out in a factory at Udyog Nagar, Peeragarhi in which fireman Amit Kumar Baliyan died while he was rescuing trapped workers. The Delhi government announced Rs 1 crore as financial assistance to his family. January 9: A fire broke in Patparganj industrial area in a printing press building. One person died and several were rescued by the DFS. (Prateek Chauhan can be reached at prateek.c@ians.in) China likes to contrast its own policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries with US interference in places such as the Middle East. After the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil last week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging all parties to abide by the purposes and principles of the basic norms of international relations. It said the US in particular should exercise restraint. Wang Liqiang says he was the subject of an extortion attempt by people aligned with the Chinese Communist Party. Credit: Yet the latest twist in the case of Wang Liqiang, who is seeking political asylum in Australia and claims to be a former Chinese spy, provides an insight into how China is spreading its influence worldwide. The details are confusing and, like everything to do with Mr Wang, open to multiple interpretations. But, as The Age reported this week, Mr Wang says he was the target of an extortion attempt by figures aligned with the Chinese Communist Party who wanted him to take part in a plot to influence the result of this Saturdays crucial elections in Taiwan. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory and is backing the more pro-Beijing Kuomintang, which is currently in opposition, to beat the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Mr Wang, who claims he used to run campaigns for Beijing against independence and democracy movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan, says a Kuomintang official and a Chinese businessman threatened him and offered inducements to make a video statement implicating the DPP in corruption. The story has been denied by the Kuomintang official and it raises as many questions as it answers. But Australian officials have taken the matter seriously enough to brief Taiwanese authorities about what they know. The Chadron Police Department has been made aware recently of a possible issue and concerns involving reports related to an internet search for urgent care in Chadron and is providing this information for the protection of area citizens trying to locate health care in our area. An internet search for urgent care in Chadron Nebraska will bring up links to legitimate health care facilities located in Chadron as well as a link to Almacare Urgent Care located at 200 202 Spruce Street in Chadron. There is no Almacare Urgent Care business located at their internet advertised street address of 200 202 Spruce Street, Chadron, Nebraska. The phone number (402) 987-8750 in the link is not a local phone number. The Chadron Police Department called this number yesterday and was asked to provide a cell phone number and someone would text us back. We received a text from 402-987-8750 and was told they were fully booked for walk-in appointments at this time and told us they do not accept insurance via a text message, but they can call in scripts directly to a pharmacy. The police department was told via a text messages that they could call in a prescription for 30 days but it would cost $196.00 and they do not accept insurance. We were asked to provide our name, date of birth, an email address and the pharmacy phone number, which we did not provide via text, but provided a picture of our police patrol car. Over the past couple of days the department has done some follow up and found that the name provided during the text messages was that of an Emergency Certified Nurse Practitioner licensed out of Georgia, whose license to practice has since been suspended in multiple states as of November 2019. We have tried to call the number and follow up several times today, but the number now goes un-answered and they are not responding to text messages or our requests to contact us for further follow-up. We are currently in contact with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which licenses health care providers in Nebraska. A Google search today finds that Almacare Urgent Care in Chadron is now advertised as being Permanently Closed. We want everyone to be careful when dealing with a businesses over the phone or via text messages unless you have verified that the business is legitimate. You can research business at the Better Business Bureau online at bbb.org or by phone at 800-649-6814. You should never provide any personal information over the phone, via text messages or by email unless you are absolutely certain it is safe to do so. You can never be certain about any information you find on the internet unless you are able to verify it through other avenues such as the Better Business Bureau. The Chadron Police Department urges everyone to be cautious when using the internet. If you used Almacare in the recent months, we would be interested in visiting with you as we have an open investigation, so please call the Chadron Police Department at 308-432-0510 and ask to speak with an officer. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 AUTHORITIES are still confirming the identities of the burned bodies found inside the vehicle owned by former Batangas Congressman Edgar Mendoza in Tiaong, Quezon on Thursday, a police official said on Friday. Kasalukuyan pa po nating pinapa-DNA test yung pagkakakilanlan nung tatlo kung talagang si ex-congressman Mendoza po yung nandoon at saka yung driver niya at guard, Tiaong police chief Major Lawrence Panganiban said. Pinapa-DNA test natin yun para malaman natin kung yung mga labi ay match doon sakanilang family, he added. Shortly after midnight on Thursday, January 9, policemen received report about a burning vehicle in Barangay San Francisco. Found in the backseat of the burned vehicle were three charred bodies. Mendozas family earlier, confirmed that the said vehicle was the one used by the former congressman when he along with his driver, Ruel Ruiz and body guard, Nicanor Mendoza left home on Thursday to meet someone in Laguna. Police said they are still facing a blank wall as of the motive and the possible suspects in the killing. Investigation is still ongoing. (SunStar Philippines) Iran, in early 2019, revealed a new solid-fuel ballistic missile, the Dezful, with a range of 1,000 kilometers. Iran also claimed they produce most of their missiles in underground factories that are immune to airstrikes. The Dezful is supposed to have completed tests and entered service in late 2019. The Dezful appears to be an upgrade of the earlier (2016) Zolfaghar missile, which had a range of 750 kilometers. In 2018 at least one Zolfaghar was fired from Iran against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) targets in Syria. This confirmed the range was 750 kilometers. Israeli and American efforts to gain more information about the use of Zolfaghar in Syria revealed that the missile was not as accurate as claimed and further investigation found that it was not very reliable either. It is unclear how many Zolfaghars Iran has, especially since this missile is difficult to manufacture. In 2017 it was discovered that the Zolfaghar was the same size as the earlier Fateh-313, which had a range of 500 kilometers and that the body of Zolfaghar was not made of steel, like earlier models, but much lighter carbon fiber. That would account for the 40 percent increase in range claimed for this new version of an old missile. Zolfaghar in turn appeared identical to the Fateh-313, which appeared in 2015 with a claimed range of 500 kilometers. It was initially believed that both Fateh-313 and Zolfaghar achieved their longer range by using larger and more efficient solid fuel rocket motors. Iran has been switching from liquid fueled rockets to solid fuel as quickly as they could but the technology is difficult to master. The United States began doing this in the late 1950s and many details of the problems involved in producing reliable and efficient solid fuel missiles had appeared in print over the years. But knowing the details of the exact chemical mixture and production techniques was less easily obtained. Solid fuel rocket motors are cheaper to maintain and enable a missile to be made ready in less than 30 minutes compared to several hour for liquid fueled missiles like the SCUD. It was known that Iran has put a lot of effort into developing better solid fuel rocket motors. No one was paying much attention to what they were doing with carbon fiber materials. It is no wonder that the manufacture of carbon fiber cases and solid fuel rocket motors is underground because Iran apparently has limited production capability for both items. Knock out the handful of plants manufacturing these items and missile production is halted. Iran was also known to import much of the technology for the guidance systems. These are believed to be INS (unjammable inertial) and GPS plus claims of optical terminal guidance which is more complex still. This makes Iran eager to get sanctions lifted because raw materials and components for the lightweight cases, solid fuel rockets and guidance systems depend on imports. These items can be smuggled in, but that costs a lot more and the sanctions have sharply cut Iran's oil sales and that is the main source of foreign currency (dollars or euros) needed to pay for imported or smuggled goods. Solid fuel rocket developments are more obvious than carbon fiber cases or guidance systems. Iran began the switch from liquid fuel motors in in 2002 with the Fateh 110. This was a copy of the 1980s era Chinese DF-11 ballistic missile (range 300 kilometers, 800 kg warhead). Subsequent versions of Fateh followed the same development pattern the Chinese DF-11/15 went through years earlier. This included the use of GPS (American or Chinese) guidance in addition to the less accurate INS as a backup. For nuclear warheads either guidance system is accurate enough. For conventional warheads GPS is essential to avoid missing the target and being wasted because of the smaller explosive power of a conventional warhead. The Fateh 110 is an 8.86 meter (27.5 foot), 3.5 ton rocket with a half-ton warhead. The first version had a range of 200 kilometers. By 2010 there had been two improved models, with ranges of 250 and 300 kilometers plus improvements in reliability and accuracy. The Fateh 110 was developed to replace the liquid fueled SCUD ballistic missiles Iran first obtained from North Korea in the 1980s. SCUD was developed in Russia using German World War II era V-2 missile experience. North Korea continued to supply Iran with ballistic missile technology and that evolved into the two countries trading solid fuel rocket motor and guidance system technology. Iran appears to be adopting the same ballistic missile tactics China developed for shutting down Taiwanese air defenses during the first hours of a war. This involves using a massive number of short range ballistic missiles. Since 2009 China has maintained a force of at least 1,400 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan. That's up from 200 in 2000, 800 in 2004 and 1,300 in 2008. Most of these are DF-11 and DF-15 models. The DF11 (also known as the M11) has a range of 300-800 kilometer depending on warhead size plus rocket motor and flight control tech. The DF15 (M9) is basically a redesigned DF-11 that is more reliable and accurate. From the Chinese coast across the Taiwan Straits to targets in Taiwan is about 200-300 kilometers across the Taiwan Straits. The distance from Iran to key targets in Saudi Arabia or other Arab oil states is about the same. The Chinese missiles would use high explosive or cluster bomb warheads and would basically be bombs also delivered by aircraft, but those delivered by missile are much more difficult to intercept. For that reason Taiwan is investing in an anti-missile system that would negate a large number of the Chinese missiles and so are the Arab states within range of Iranian missiles. If used, perhaps 75 percent of the Iranian missiles would actually hit their target. The others would suffer failures in propulsion or guidance systems. Each missile is the equivalent of a half-ton or one ton aircraft bomb. Initially the Chinese missiles had primitive guidance systems, meaning that the warheads will usually hit up to 500 meters from the target. The Chinese equipped their missiles with several generations of GPS tech, in response to advances in Taiwanese jamming technology. Guidance systems that are more difficult to jam are always being worked on. This technology has been much sought after by Chinese spies in the United States over the last few years. In 2011 Iran claimed to have created an anti-ship missile, called the Khalij Fars, with a range of 300 kilometers based on the Fateh 110. What all this implies is that Iran is claiming to have developed a ballistic missile that can hit moving ships at sea. China has also claimed to have developed this technology (the DF-21D). But neither country has demonstrated their anti-ship ballistic missiles actually working. The problem is that there is no evidence that Iran has developed accurate and reliable guidance systems for these missiles and none of them have been used in combat. Israel has an active and often very effective intelligence effort to obtain details of Iranian ballistic missiles. Israel does not make public much of what it discovers in order to keep secret its sources and methods. However there have been leaks indicating that the quality control on the more advanced ballistic missiles, like Zolfaghar and Dezful, is uneven and that these missiles are difficult to build in large quantities. Iranian press releases like to indicate otherwise and that is one thing Iran often uses press releases for. It is also telling that the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes against Iranian missile shipments to Syria and Lebanon are destroying a lot of the older Fateh 110 missiles, along with upgrade kits for older, and shorter range rockets. Israel has also bombed several factories in Syria and Lebanon that Iran has built to upgrade the older rockets with guidance systems. This involves more than just fitting nose of the rocket with the guidance system, you also have to install the control flaps which the computerized guidance system manipulates to achieve the accuracy. This is not a simple or quick update and without a facility resembling one used to actually build these rockets and missiles, the upgrade does not get done. Israel has also introduced the new Magic Wand (Davids Sling) air defense system in 2016 which can more effectively intercept these guided rockets. This is the Israeli replacement for existing American Patriot and Hawk systems. In development for over a decade, Magic Wand was designed to be an improvement over American made Patriot systems Israel already has. The Magic Wand missiles (called Stunner) have a longer range (300 kilometers) and better capabilities. The American manufacturer of Patriot is cooperating with an Israeli firm to develop and produce Magic Wand and will apparently adopt some Magic Wand features for Patriot upgrades. Stunner and Magic Wand are meant to complement the Iron Dome anti-rocket system, which can take down rockets with a range of up to 70 kilometers. Iron Dome has a unique feature in which the radar system computes where the incoming rocket will land. If the rocket will not hit an inhabited area, it will be ignored. Otherwise, an interceptor missile will be fired. Stunner will be used against larger rockets that will be aimed (by Syria or Hezbollah) at large urban areas, and these will almost always get a Stunner fired at them. This is part of the Magic Wand system for defending Israelis from rocket attacks. Magic Wand is expected to eventually replace the 17 Hawk anti-aircraft batteries and, eventually, the six Patriot batteries. Because of the long range of the Stunner, two Magic Wand batteries can cover all of Israel. If Israel can destroy enough of the guided rockets and ballistic missiles Iran is shipping to Syria and Lebanon, as well as ones already there, in wartime Magic Wand could handle what the airstrikes missed. Highly effective cancer therapies. Handheld hematology analyzers. A new and untapped world market. Social media selling life science tools. Science and Medicine Group publications, including Kalorama Information, Strategic Directions International (SDi), Bioinformatics, and IMV have made various projections for the new year in imaging, diagnostics, biotechnology, and life science instrument and supplies that can help marketers determine their plans next year. These projections are the result of analysis in the scores of detailed publications produced by these brands. The list below includes the top 10 predictions for 2020: 1. CAR-T therapy revenue will exceed $1 billion next year: CAR-T cancer therapeutics, which use the patient's own immune cells to attack cancer, will earn more than $700 million this year for the two companies that market them. And its likely these therapies will exceed $1 billion in revenue in 2020 as new products are approved. This is according to Kalorama Information. The reason is their track record in treating patients with little or no treatment options. CAR-T therapy involves using T cells from the patient and genetically engineering those cells using a disarmed virus so that the cells produce receptors called CARS that can attack cancer. It has shown effectiveness in some lymphomas and leukemias, and next year one or more products for myeloma are expected. Science and Medicine Group thought leaders and representatives were at the American Society of Hematology meeting in Orlando, FL, where significant studies were released on CAR-T safety and efficacy, as well as new products announced. 2. Social media will be the best tool for selling life science instruments: According to "Life Science Customer Purchasing Journey: Finding Customers Along the Way" scientists look to other scientists when they need a tool to solve an experimental problem. The report, which describes the purchasing habits of life science tool buyers, is the result of a survey of scientists. Among the findings were that 72% trust their colleagues over websites and 71% look to fellow scientists over sales reps. These are just two of the many facts detailed in the report. Instrument buyers will need to see feedback from their colleagues in order to be influenced in a purchase decision, according to the report. Social media reflects the best forum for this to happen. The report also gets into other topics and finds that good customer service will be essential for sales in 2020. 3. Instrument makers will target the ASEAN countries: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a multinational economic and political alliance founded in 1967 by Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. If the ASEAN group were a single nation, it would rank third in population, after India. It would also be the eighth largest market in the world. While not one nation, in 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community was established to create a single market for free trade of goods, services, and labor across the region, similar to the single market free trade within the European Union. According to SDi's report on the Southeast Asia instrument markets, this group of Southeast Asian nations is projected to have the fastest growth in the analytical instrumentation market in the next five years due to its burgeoning pharma/bio sector. Furthermore, the ASEANs policies and foreign investments will bolster the pharma/bio sector contributing even more to the regions growth. While places like Singapore and Taiwan have well-established pharma/bio industries, other countries like Thailand and Malaysia look to grow domestic production and research for pharmaceuticals. 4. Imaging procedure volume, especially for CT and MRI, will increase around the world: Results are in from IMV's Global Radiologist Survey, part of its "Global Imaging Market Outlook Report". Over 300 respondents participated in IMVs global survey, and they represent key opinion leaders, with nearly half of the respondents being the chair/chief/heads of their radiology departments and over half being practicing radiologists. Overall, these opinion leaders are optimistic about the growth of imaging in their countries, with 80% saying their imaging procedure volume will increase. Respondents in the emerging markets are more optimistic about their outlook for increases in imaging procedures than those in the developed markets. The top two modalities planned in all 10 global regions are CT and MRI. 5. That doesn't mean all global hospitals are ready: IMV's survey also found that solutions to address this procedure growth may be a challenge. Only one-quarter of the respondents feel their capacity is sufficient to meet their needs over the next two to three years, but their prospects for acquiring imaging equipment may be inhibited by delays in their internal and governmental approval processes and local economic conditions. Respondents in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa are particularly concerned about their local economy limiting their capital budgets for imaging equipment, and they are very cost-conscious about equipment and service pricing while seeking reliable equipment and responsive service in their environments. 6. Preparation for sequencing will be a $2 billion+ market: The increasingly routine use of sequencing in clinical settings is creating tremendous opportunities for suppliers of sequencing instrumentation and consumables, including those required for preanalytical preparation of samples from biological materials. In fact, clinical applications will drive double-digit growth for the NGS sample preparation market over the next five years. SDis newly published report, Sample Preparation for Next-Generation Sequencing, provides an in-depth analysis of how precision medicine and other applications are shaping demand for next-generation sequencing (NGS) sample preparation techniques. The report finds these products earned $1.8 billion this year and will push beyond $2 billion in 2020. 7. AI will find its best home in imaging: IMV's Global Radiologists Survey findings also confirmed the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning tools for imaging in 2020 and beyond. The top-ranked potential use for AI that respondents cited was capabilities to more precisely diagnose patient conditions and enhance personalized medicine. Its not all positive -- in their comments on potential uses, some radiologists see the potential for AI to improve clinical decision support and image quality, but others expressed concern on when and how AI applications will be integrated into their routine practice and daily workflow, as well as work seamlessly with their imaging equipment, PACS, and RIS. 8. Ascendance of mass spectrometry as a clinical instrument continues: Within the analytical instrumentation industry, mass spectrometry is certainly one of the most dynamic areas for growth over the next several years. Its increasingly sensitive analytical capabilities and enhancements continue to bring the technology to the edge of new scientific discovery and research applications. While SDi covers the market for eight separate mass spectrometry techniques in its flagship publication, the "Global Assessment Report," it does so from a broad perspective that looks across all end markets. Clinical mass spectrometry, however, is one particular end market that has been at the root of very rapid mass spectrometry growth over the past few years -- and will continue to be in 2020 and for the foreseeable future. SDis latest publication, "The 2019 Mass Spectrometry Market for Clinical Applications", dives into the world of clinical diagnostics to examine how robust the demand from laboratories in this space is shaping the market for mass spectrometry technologies. The report presents market data and insights into six categories of clinical mass spectrometry, although two categories in particular are responsible for the most disruptive market influences in recent years: MALDI-TOF and triple quadrupole LC/MS. 9. Multiphoton microscopy makes gains: According to SDi's "2019 Market for Live Cell Imaging" report, the total market for live cell imaging instruments, assays, and labeling reagents is projected to reach $1.9 billion in five years. Among the factors driving this high growth is the increasing adoption of advanced microscopy techniques for live cell imaging, namely multiphoton microscopy and light sheet microscopy. Multiphoton microscopy, also called two-photon excitation microscopy, makes use of nonlinear optics to provide finely localized, three-dimensional imaging. Instead of using optics to control the light returning to the detector, multiphoton optics ensure that the stimulated part of the sample is restricted to a small point, which reduces the risk of photobleaching effects. Light sheet microscopy, also called single-plane illumination microscopy, illuminates only a thin plane of just a few micrometers at a time using a laser. As the sample is moved through the light sheet, three-dimensional images are generated. Since only a thin slice of the sample is exposed at a time, light sheet microscopy is a relatively gentle technique for live cell imaging and can be used to image cells in living animals. 10. Hematology testing goes handheld: Hematology is important for a workup in annual exams and hospital inpatients. The basis of hematology testing is the complete blood count (CBC) that provides information on blood components: hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells, white blood cells, reticulocytes, and platelets. Kalorama Information has covered hematology for decades in its "The Worldwide Market for In Vitro Diagnostic Tests" and says these devices are now getting smaller and useable at the point of care (POC) -- a trend that will continue in 2020. A number of handheld and benchtop analyzers are available for POC professional hematology procedures. Among the producers of these products are Beckman Coulter, Diatron, GlysBy Diagnostics, HemoCue (Radiometer/Danaher), Horiba, Roche, and Sysmex. Hematology will remain the second-largest volume of global in vitro diagnostic procedures, with the number of tests increasing 5.3% per year to nearly 6.7 billion in 2024. The total worldwide volume of POC professional hematology testing procedures conducted is predicted to expand 4.4% annually to 424 million in 2024. Uses in general health screening and the diagnosis and monitoring of blood-related disorders during hospital stays, emergency room visits, and physicians consultations will account for growth. The availability of complete blood counts on high-throughput clinical chemistry systems will moderate a faster rise in procedure volume. About Science and Medicine Group Science and Medicine Group supports companies seeking to commercialize the rapidly changing marketplace at the intersection of science, medicine, and technology. Comprised of industry leading brands, Science and Medicine Group serves analytical instrument, life science, imaging, and clinical diagnostic companies by helping them create strategies and products to win markets and provide platforms to digitally engage their markets through a variety of innovative solutions. Our clients, including some of the top Fortune 500 companies in the world, use our business intelligence, market research and publications, and marketing platforms to grow their businesses globally. Prison staff and management are set to face beefed up scrutiny in the form of the first full inspection of jails in Portlaoise and elsewhere by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons. The first full inspection in a revamped process is set to take place this year some 12 months later than had been hoped by the Inspector of Prisons, Patricia Gilheaney. In her first annual report published just before Christmas, the Inspector, Ms Gilheaney said the process is set to start following a review of the inspection regime which found that it is not fit for purpose. The Inspector sets out the findings of the review by PA Consulting Services in her annual report for 2018. While she said the report highlighted the hard work and dedication of the Inspector's Office, it found that the office is not fulfilling its role. Ms Gilheaney sets out the findings as follows. - Only three prisons have been formally inspected in the last five years. - Half of the prison estate has not been formally inspected since the Office of the Inspector of Prisons was set up 10 years ago. - There have been multiple visits but a lack of formal inspection reports means necessary openness, transparency and rigour are not evidenced. - Insufficient funding and resources to investigate anything above deaths in custody. The current inspection and investigation regime withing the existing Office of Inspector of Prisons is not fit for purpose, said Ms Gilheaney in her summary of the independent review. The inspector outlined the ambition to carry out a significant amount of work to complete its first inspection in 2019 under a new inspection regime with the first report to be published early this year. However, she also admitted that this target had to be pushed out. There is slippage in terms of original timeframes and the first full inspection of a prison under the new inspection regime is likely to occur in 2020. This first full inspection will be announced and conducted in a manner that supports collaborative learning with the Irish Prison Service. After an initial inspection, all other prisons should be aware of how the new inspection regime will operate. This first inspection will be critical in setting both a new quality standard and a new tone in the work of the renewed Prison inspectorate, said Ms Gilheaney. The independent review of shortcomings in the inspection process was sent to Minister for Justice and Laois TD Charlie Flanagan in December 2018. Following her own appointment in 2018, Ms Gilheaney visited all Irish Prison Service places of detention to familiarise herself with the service. She identified areas of concern related to protection, solitary confinement, restricted regimes, overcrowding, broken windows, contraband, prisoner health, rehabilitation, education and training, equity and women prisoners and chaplaincy. Chris Fang Brehm, an environmental consultant who participated in the climate workgroups, said he was impressed that the county is considering Passive House a model of energy efficiency that strives to dramatically reduce the need for space heating or cooling through passive design, such as windows oriented to maximize exposure to sunlight. The concept has roots in Europe and is not yet widespread in the United States, Fang Brehm said. America has upgraded its travel alert for people travelling to Australia because of the deadly bushfires. Americans are warned to 'exercise increased caution', the second of the country's four advisory levels. 'Exercise increased caution in Australia due to natural disaster/bushfires. Some areas have increased risk,' the alert updated on January 8 reads. America has upgraded its travel alert for people travelling to Australia because of the deadly bushfires, while UK has also warned citizens of blazes 'The current bushfire season is one of the worst in Australia's recorded history.' The advice warns the fires may continue through to March or April and suggests people consider postponing their trip, even to areas not fire-affected because of smoke creating poor air quality. Americans are warned to 'exercise increased caution', the second of the country's four advisory levels The U.K. is also warning the 700,000 Brits who visit Australia each year to be aware of the fires. 'Authorities in some regions have declared a state of emergency and ordered road closures and evacuations,' their advice reads. 'Poor air quality can occur some distance from the sites of the fires and provoke respiratory conditions.' With federal deficits exceeding $1 trillion per year, any changes to government spending must be fully justified. The proposal by state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, to establish a VA inpatient hospital in Southeast Texas might qualify. The need for such a facility is undisputed, with thousands of veterans living in this region and also western Louisiana. In Jefferson and Orange counties alone, Phelan says there are 22,000 vets. Yes, these veterans and others can drive to VA hospitals in Houston, or in Louisiana at Shreveport or Alexandria, if they have transportation for that journey. But Southeast Texas also has not one but two vacant hospitals that could easily be adapted by the VA the former Baptist Orange Hospital and Christus St. Mary Hospital in Port Arthur, which were closed in 2015 and 2019, respectively. The cost of the new facility would be limited to its operation, not construction, and thats a major benefit. Its even possible that some city or county clinics in the region would want to move into these larger sites to provide better service or be more accessible. A proposal like this faces major challenges, but it is doable. The first thing that Southeast Texans can do is sign the petition to signify our support. Phelan is shooting for 100,000 signatures in 30 days, and theres no reason that goal cant be met or exceeded. The petition is available only on online at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/establish-new-va-hospital-texas Our story about this issue on Wednesday recounted the tale of a veteran who has been waiting two years to get surgery on a torn rotator cuff. That kind of delay is inexcusable, and as any veteran or their family members will testify, its all too common. The only way to get better service to our veterans is to make it easier for them to get an appointment with the specialist they need at a facility thats fairly close to them. A new site in Southeast Texas would clearly advance those goals. Our country has thousands of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere who are going to need more treatment in coming years. They have made incredible sacrifices for the rest of us, often at a severe cost to their personal health. We must provide the medical care they need, whether its in VA hospitals or through private facilities. What were doing now isnt good enough. We need something better, and this proposal could be part of the solution. German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz India emerged as the largest selling luxury car brand in India in 2019 even as its sales skidded by 11.3 per cent, the steepest ever in a year in well over a decade. With this, Mercedes has held on to the number one position for the fifth consecutive year bettering the four-year reign of arch rival BMW between 2009 and 2012. The Stuttgart-based company, which also holds the pole position in global luxury car sweepstakes, sold 13,786 units in India last year against 15,538 units in 2018. "We are satisfied with our sales performance in 2019 despite facing strong macro-economic headwinds, specifically in the first three quarters. We were, however, able to create a strong growth momentum in the market during the festive period and are glad to carry it for the rest of the year. Our growth in our Q4 sales, which is the highest ever for us, is a testament of this fact," said Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. The slowdown in the overall Indian economy in general with GDP growth projections sliding to just 5 per cent for 2019-20, and in the domestic passenger vehicle market in particular, where sales have declined in double digits this fiscal so far, has impacted the luxury car segment as well. Industry volumes are estimated to have declined by over 13 per cent, the steepest ever in a year and for the first time since 2016 when sales had declined by nearly 8 per cent. Volumes have remained range-bound in the 35,000-40,000 unit per annum band since 2015 and is significantly lower than earlier projections of about 100,000 units by 2020. Schwenk said he was cautiously optimistic about this year, which is likely to see another round of disruption in the automobile industry with the onset of BS VI emission norms in April. "2020 is going to be another important year for us in India and we continue to be optimistic with the country's mid to long-term prospect. We had an overwhelming response to our entire BS IV portfolio and we are now ready with the all-new BS VI portfolio, way ahead of the deadline," he said. "This year the market will witness a strong product offensive from us beginning with the new GLE SUV, followed by some of the most significant product introductions from our global portfolio for the Indian market, including those without any predecessors. These products will redefine luxury and performance motoring and chart new avenues for sustainable mobility in India. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz will also witness strategic network expansion in key existing as well as new markets." Arch rival BMW managed to sell about 9,641 units in 2019, a 13.2 per cent decline over 11,105 units of 2018 while Audi registered its third consecutive annual decline as sales crashed 29 per cent at 4,594 units in 2019. For the Volkswagen group's Ingolstadt-based luxury carmaker, this was a significant climb-down from its performance in India between 2012-15 when it had emerged as the leader of the pack and was the first to top sales of 10,000 units in a year. "The auto industry faced strong headwinds in 2019. Economic slowdown in India last year tapered customer sentiment and potential car buyers delaying their buying decision. It was a challenging year as there was ambiguity about the life of BSIV vehicles on- road in the customer's mind and an anticipation for GST reduction on cars; both of these topics were later clarified by the government. The year also saw the tightening of loans availability to dealers and customers, which negatively impacted the sales of luxury cars. Also, some markets did not perform as per our expectations," said Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India. Dhillon added that while he expected sales to remain subdued in 2020, a revival could be in the offing next year. "We have been optimistic about the growth of luxury car segment for many years on the back of the India growth story, which still remains intact. We believe that the luxury car market will take a leap jump sometime in the future, we only don't know when," he said. "In terms of growth estimates for the luxury car market, we estimate it to remain flat in 2020 and we are hopeful of positive growth / revival starting 2021. We will bring in new BSVI compliant models, new technologies, introduce digital measures and other services in India that will boost the sale of Audi cars in the year 2020 and beyond." Also Read: Nifty hits fresh lifetime high of 12,311, Sensex surges 300 points on global optimism Also Read: Tata vs Mistry case: Relief for Tatas as SC stays NCLAT order Also Read: Relief for financial firms! RBI launches video-based identification process for KYC The working session between officials of Can Tho city and the German Development Bank (KfW) on January 8 (Photo: VNA) Vice Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Dao Anh Dung made the remark while meeting with KfW Country Director for Vietnam Simone Wunsch on January 8. Dung said Can Tho has devised a plan on climate change response until 2030 with a vision to 2050. However, the work covers not only the settlement of flooding but also many other issues, including wastewater collection and treatment. The city plans to raise the capacity of its wastewater collection and treatment plant from 30,000 cu.m. to 60,000 cu.m. per day to serve Cai Rang and Ninh Kieu districts and part of Binh Thuy district. The plant has an investment of 494 billion VND in total (over 19 million EUR), including more than 281 billion VND (nearly 10.5 million EUR) sponsored by KfW. Besides, some districts of Can Tho are also in need of similar plants at present, he said, noting that the city is interested in this issue during its socio-economic development process. Therefore, it will prioritise inviting investment to such projects in the future. The official added Can Tho also pays attention to the life of and jobs for the vulnerable groups amid climate change, along with transport infrastructure projects which will help boost local economic growth. At the meeting, the KfW official said the German Government prioritises funding for projects in the fields of energy, vocational training, and environment climate change response in Vietnam. Through the working session, the KfW wished to learn about the investment programmes that Can Tho is planning to carry out so that both sides can explore cooperation directions for the time to come, he noted. A teal velvet armchair draped with an orange cashmere blanket. Assouline art books on a Chinoiserie tea table. A Classical nude standing on a geometric colorblock carpet. Some might call it overwhelming but at J.K. Place Paris, a just-opened hotel that infuses Left Bank eccentricity with Italian bella figura, it's entirely intentional. Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris In the lobby, a black marble clawfoot fireplace is framed with spear-shaped red-leather wall sconces, created by Jacques Adnet who designed furniture for Hermes and salvaged from the flea market in Saint-Ouen. In fact, the hotel contains hundreds of objects gathered from Parisian markets: Chinese theater costumes, Tom Ford reading lamps, a mirrored chest by David Hicks. This aesthetic is something of a J.K. Place signature. The Paris townhouse is the fourth project by hotelier Ori Kafri, and his first outside Italy and as with its sisters in Florence, Capri, and Rome, its interiors are the work of Florentine architect Michele Bonan. To furnish this former government building in the 7th Arrondissement, Bonan and team went out collecting once a month for more than three years. I first heard of him when he designed Ferragamos Gallery Hotel Art, which totally reinvented the concept of a hotel in Italy, Kafri told me over Negronis in the living room lobby. It was genius and unexpected and people criticized it because it was too modern. I thought, If this architect is good enough for Ferragamo, hes good enough for us. Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris Kafris love for boutique hotels like Gallery is part of his origin story in the business, and why hes so damn good at it. One conversation with him will reveal he has been cataloguing them for years storing meaningful experiences or inventive touches in his brain for future reference. I fell in love with hospitality as a student, he told me. Traveling was always a part of our family. Knowing that his fathers dream was to open a hotel, Kafri took an internship at the Lungarno in Florence, his hometown. In a hotel, the world comes to you. You meet people from all cultures, ages, nationalities, religions. At Lungarno, he said, I saw the relationships they made with guests, how they became a point of reference in the city, how they helped people discover Florence and fall in love with the city through their eyes. In 2003, he opened the J.K. Place Firenze the J.K. stands for Jonathan Kafri, his father and collaborator to do the same, and better. Capri followed in 2007, and Rome in 2013, each earning a devoted following for J.K. Places particular brand of Italian hospitality and unprecedented luxury. Story continues Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris So why Paris? When I asked Kafri this question, he corrected me: Its not, Why Paris? Its Why not? While he noted that Paris is somewhat of a proving ground for hotel brands with moxie Its the city that everyone compares things to the real answer comes from somewhere deeper. The first trip I took with my dad was to Paris, and thats where I was inspired to work with him, he said. Kafri later returned, and had a transcendent experience when he caught sight of the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Elysees. Something happened, he said. I felt a certain energy, an emotion that I havent felt in my life again. I think Paris was always inside of me. J.K. Place, an unmarked door on Rue de Lille is, in many ways, the most exciting hotel opening Paris has seen in years. For one thing, it's a welcome arrival on the bohemian Rive Gauche, which has few luxury players and even fewer boutique options. But moreover, it injects a bit of Italian warmth into a destination that can be a bit difficult to crack. In this city of broad boulevards and immense squares, many of the most celebrated hotels are Haussmannian behemoths with hundreds of rooms. Kafri hopes to bring a new perspective: Italian identity and heritage is crucial, he told me. Im trying to hire as many Italians as I can so we dont lose that identity. His goal was to give the French property a sense of place, without sacrificing the mentality that has made J.K. Place an Italian icon. We need it to feel Parisian, he explained, but with an Italian heart. Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris Each of the 29 rooms is unique, while still united by the common thread of Kafri and Bonan's artistic vision. The hotel should feel like its full of things you gathered on your travels, Kafri said. The handmade Italian beds, mother of pearl cabinets, and heated slate bathroom floors are not vintage, of course. But many elements were inspired by flea market finds. If the team found something they liked, they worked with an Italian firm to replicate it from the low-slung chairs to the oversized metal door pulls. The rooms and suites contain everything you need, but you dont see much of it; the walk-in closet can be closed off completely from the rest of the space, and less-than-beautiful things like toilet paper are hidden behind trap doors or in beautiful boxes. Even the essentials are treated with a luxurious touch, like Dyson hair dryers in their own custom leather cases, shave kits from Le Marche, and amber room fragrances by Lorenzo Villoresi. A J.K. Place signature: most rooms have griffe du lion marble fireplaces. Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris The building is centered around a glass enclosed courtyard restaurant. At breakfast, the tables are laden with fig tartes, madeleines, and other precious patisserie; when the sun sets and Paris lets its hair down, the airy space transforms into a sultry outpost of Miami restaurant Casa Tua, a formidable entry into a dining scene long lamented for its lack of good Italian restaurants. Here, it attracts a crowd not unlike that in Miami (expect glitter, gold, and beautiful people) but the food is, by many accounts, in a league of its own. Chef Michele Fortunato serves Italian-ish dishes with a delicate touch and some creative updates: cheesy "Scotch" quail eggs over carrot puree; ricotta gnudi, dressed with pine nuts and velvety black-eyed peas; a perfectly-cooked bistecca crowned with caramelized foie gras. They don't mess too much with perfection, though the wine list is packed with Italian favorites, and the olive oil is straight from Tuscany. Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris Soon, the hotel will unveil a subterranean Sisley spa, complete with fitness center and marble-and-tile swimming pool. The team is also putting the finishing touches on their very own bateau mouche the French name for the famous riverboats that ply the Seine. Unlike most, packed with tourists and helmed by a guide on a megaphone, this boat will have luxuries like a below-deck movie theater and a dining room with an open kitchen. It will be available for guests as part of a program of curated excursions that will soon begin rolling out. Kafri mused about the possibility of leading guests on a shopping tour of the fish market at Rungis Paris famously hectic wholesale market, the largest in the world and then bringing guests on board for a seafood lunch cooked by a private chef. Courtesy of J.K. Place Paris But for all its amenities, the thing that has made J.K. Place one of the most beloved names in luxury is its people whether they are recommending a local bistro, booking a tour of the Louvre, or joining you for Cremant and truffled peanuts at the bar. (This sounds like a press release talking, but trust me, its not.) There are no fees for things like the minibar, so you can snack with abandon and feel comfortable asking for help. Those who feel uneasy about white-gloved butlers and silent service staff hallmarks of "luxury" in a more outdated sense will find no ostentation or exploitation here. Everyone introduced themselves to me, joked with me, and helped connect me to my fellow guests. Kafri summed it up: "We want this to be your home. If only. To book: jkplace.paris, doubles from $885. J.K. Place Paris provided support for the reporting of this story. Megha Chopra, American Express American Express Banking Corporation (AEBC) India, has announced the appointment of Megha Chopra as General Manager and Vice President, Global Commercial Services (GCS) India. In this role, Chopra will be responsible for leading the companys commercial services business, providing payment solutions to corporates throughout India. With over 18 years of diverse experience across the corporate and commercial banking segments, Chopra comes with a deep understanding of financial services, digital solutions and the evolving business landscape shaping customer demand, a company press statement said. She joins American Express from Citibank, where she led the transaction business for the Northern region of India. Prior to this, Chopra was with Standard Chartered Bank, where she was responsible for origination, structuring and syndication for large value, complex and structured financing solutions for large corporates in north and east, the statement said. Robert McClean, Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Services International, American Express said, We are delighted that Megha is joining the team to lead the Global Commercial Services business in India. Meghas deep industry experience will be invaluable as we grow American Express commercial payment offerings in India. Manoj Adlakha, Senior VP & CEO, American Express Banking Corp India, said With close to two decades of experience in the financial industry, Megha has the leadership track record and the business understanding which are vital for our Global Commercial Services Business in India. The cast of upcoming G.I. Joe spin-off movie Snake Eyes received a traditional Japanese blessing today ahead of the start of filming in Tokyo. Also known by the rather more cumbersome moniker Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, the film follows Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding as the titular martial artist a fan favourite character in the G.I. Joe world. Robert Schwentke, who directed comic book movie Red as well as two Divergent films, is behind the camera on Snake Eyes, which will serve as an origin story for the character. The cast and crew of 'Snake Eyes' at the Hie-Jinja Shrine in Tokyo, Japan on January 10, 2020. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) Ahead of cameras rolling in Japan, key members of the cast and crew paid a visit to the Hie-Jinja Shrine in Tokyo a Shinto site dating back more than 500 years. Read more: Golding responds to James Bond rumours Those in attendance received a traditional blessing, including Golding, Schwentke and co-stars Iko Uwais, Andrew Koji, Haruka Abe and Takehiro Hira. Samara Weaving is also a part of the cast as G.I. Joe team member Scarlett, but was not present in Tokyo. Henry Golding attends the "Snake Eyes" event at the Hie-Jinja Shrine on January 10, 2020. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) The Tokyo leg of filming for Snake Eyes comes in the wake of previous production in Vancouver, Canada last year. Read more: Weaving on her Ready or Not role Its the first G.I. Joe movie since 2013 sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation received a poor critical response, sending Paramount back to the drawing board. That film and its predecessor both featured martial arts performer Ray Park best known as Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as Snake Eyes. Ray Park and Dwayne Johnson in 2013 sequel 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'. (Credit: Paramount) Snake Eyes is traditionally depicted as a ninja commando who wears a mask and doesnt speak, though it is unclear whether this will be the case in his origin story. Golding has recently appeared in films including festive romcom Last Christmas and Guy Ritchies crime thriller The Gentlemen. Read more: Hugh Grant on going dark for The Gentlemen Despite negative reviews from film critics, Last Christmas has been a major box office success, raking in $121m (92m) at the global box office. Snake Eyes will arrive in US cinemas on 16 October, with a UK release date yet to be confirmed. Gold bars and coins are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich By Eileen Soreng (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Friday, and was on track to post a weekly gain for fifth straight week, as fresh sanctions on Iran by the United States stoked uncertainty supporting demand for the bullion. The targets of the sanctions included Iran's manufacturing, mining and textile sectors as well as senior Iranian officials who Washington said were involved in the Jan. 8 attack on military bases housing U.S. troops. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,557.86 per ounce by 2:12 p.m. EST (1912 GMT) and was up about 0.4% for the week. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.4% at $1,560.1 per ounce. "The main catalyst for gold prices is the dialogue that's taking place over Iran and weather or not we are going to see an acceleration of the conflict... The instability over that is causing all the volatility," said Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments. With the sanctions its becoming obvious that there is going to be even economic consequences, Sica added. Gold, often considered a safe investment during political and economic turmoil, surged above $1,600 on Wednesday after Iran launched missile strikes on U.S. forces in retaliation for the killing of its top commander in a drone attack. However, prices retreated 4% after the two sides softened their stance. "The pullback that we saw the last couple of days gave people an opportunity to buy today," said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors. "There's some resistance at $1,562 but if it trades up through there, that's going to be a key level to where short-term traders are going to be involved." Meanwhile, data from the U.S. Labor Department showed job growth slowed more than expected in December helping prop up the bullion further. The U.S. dollar also fell from four-week highs against the safe-haven yen and slid versus the Swiss franc on the possibility of renewed tensions in the Middle East. [USD/] Story continues Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust , fell for the second straight session on Thursday. [GOL/ETF] Elsewhere, palladium was up 0.4% at $2,115.88 per ounce, having hit a record peak of $2,149.50 in the previous session on supply constraints. The metal was still on track for its biggest weekly rise since mid-June, up more than 6% so far. Silver was up 0.9% at $18.06 per ounce. Platinum gained 1.3% to $978.48 per ounce but was down 0.2% for the week so far. (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Marguerita Choy) The 2018 increase in Ontarios hourly minimum wage to $14 was perhaps the most substantial victory for low-wage workers in decades, including workers at Pearson International Airport. In a recent survey, it was found that 1 in 5 of the airports 50,000 workers earns minimum wage. The Fight for $15 and Fairness continues the struggle, confronting a Conservative government that cancelled the scheduled increase to $15 per hour and froze minimum wage for a decade when last in power. It may be time to rescale approaches to raising minimum wages. The province is the primary regulator of labour standards, the exception being federally regulated industries, such as air transportation. The Trudeau government is considering a new federal minimum wage, breaking with the tradition of matching provincial rates. Any increase that challenges the Doug Ford regime would be welcomed by federally regulated workers in Ontario. If the Conservatives do, however, take power federally we can predict how short-lived these gains may be. Minimum wages can also be established at a local level. The Ontario Living Wage Network calculates local living wages based on local costs of living with Toronto set at $22 per hour. A few institutions and municipalities have been certified as living wage employers as they pay employees the local established rate. While this approach takes into consideration the cost of living differentials among communities, it remains a voluntary system and applies only to workers employed by agreeable bosses. Municipal governments could be tasked with setting local minimum wages or federal and provincial governments could establish local rates. Thousands of minimum wage workers at Pearson live in the GTAs most expensive communities. What if the federal government mandated that all workers with a Restricted Area Identity Card (RAIC) enabling them to work at the secure airport must be paid a minimum Pearson Premium wage? It is economically feasible given the revenue generated by the industry and would assist in the retention of airport workers. Decreeing a local living wage for a vital economic region and strategic sector that can afford to pay is a much easier sell for politicians. Living wage agreements for airport workers have proven achievable in other jurisdictions. In New York, workers recently fought for and won minimum wage increases to $19 per hour by 2023 at Newark, La Guardia, and JFK. In 1997, Los Angeles passed a living wage ordinance that covered thousands of workers at LAX, who will make a minimum of $15 per hour this year plus mandated benefits. The upcoming change in leadership at the Greater Toronto Airport Authority may be an opportunity for change. Deborah Flint, incoming president and CEO, was previously CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, the living wage employer that administers LAX. A living wage that starts at YYZ and spreads to other employment zones is one way of circumventing intransigent provincial governments determined to protect low wage employers at the expense of workers. In a hard-hitting response, India said Pakistan "epitomises the dark arts, but there are no takers for its "malware after Islamabad raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council. One delegation that epitomises the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today. These we dismiss with disdain, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said on Thursday. "My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware, Akbaruddin said, addressing the UN Security Council open debate on Maintenance of International Peace and Security Upholding the United Nations Charter.' Akbaruddin's strong response came after Pakistan's envoy to the UN Munir Akram raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir while addressing the Council during the open debate. The Pakistani envoy also raised the abrogation of Article 370, communications lockdown in Kashmir and referred to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan after an aerial combat in February last year after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. Akram called on the Security Council and Secretary General Antonio Guterres to act decisively to prevent a disastrous war between Pakistan and India. Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcating it into two union territories. Reacting sharply to India's decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled India's high commissioner. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. In his statement to the Council, Akbaruddin said that it is increasingly acknowledged that the 15-nation Security Council faces crises of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks; the weaponisation of new technologies; the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council. Akbaruddin noted that in a world constantly in flux, the challenges to international peace and security are a step ahead of the systems designed to tackle them. It is evident now that fires are all around the horizon. To undertake a fair evaluation of the available mechanisms without belittling their importance, we need to ask ourselves are they still fit for the purpose of implementing the fundamental principles of the Charter? He underscored the need for the Council to be part of the political tool kit to address ongoing and future threats to global peace and security, emphasising that the Council should represent current global realities and be fit for purpose. The answer to the crises the Council faces, lies in invoking and working through Charter provisions that provide for reform and change. We need a Council that is representative of current global realities, credible, and legitimate, rather than one that rests merely on the claim that it existed at the inception. The Council needs to be fit for purpose for the 21s?t? century. Alluding to Mahatma Gandhi's quote of One must care about the world one will not see', Akbaruddin said resilient organisations are those that are not resistant to change, or else current emergencies can turn into catastrophes, even while we continue our endless prevarication. Humanity, it is said, progresses when it collectively rises to its responsibility to the future. It is now time to do that. The Indian envoy said there is a case to be made for innovations that enlarge the vision of global rule of law. It is possible that just as Generals often re-fight the last war, the drafters of the Charter responded to the factors and forces that led to World War II, without anticipating what we are now faced with. Further he said notwithstanding all its imperfections, the UN Charter is still the main incarnation of the global spirit. Moving away from a formal system which is well understood, to one which is based on untested interpretations, may have unexpected consequences. Justice dispensed on the fly may come to be resented. It got weirder. A label was added that tagged the story as sponsored editorial. Then the label disappeared. Then the story disappeared. I dug into the mystery with my colleague Rachel Abrams. The article was, in fact, a piece of paid content. Teen Vogue and Facebook both said the labeling fracas was all a big misunderstanding. On Thursday, Facebook was back to serious news: It released its policy on political ads, cementing a decision to allow lies by politicians to go unchecked and for campaigns to micro-target those ads to specific audiences. The reaction was swift and partisan. The Trump campaign lauded the policy and other Republicans said it was an affirmation of free speech. Democrats, including the leading member of the Federal Election Commission, were angry, and said the decision was nothing short of a threat to democracy. Will the encryption fight be rebooted? The F.B.I. and Apple have reignited their battle over encryption. As reported by Jack Nicas and Katie Benner, the F.B.I. asked Apple for the data on two iPhones that belonged to the gunman in the shooting last month at a naval base in Pensacola, Fla., possibly setting up another showdown over law enforcements access to smartphones. This is an old battle, covered almost three years ago by Katie and Matt Apuzzo, now a European investigative reporter for The Times. At the heart of the dispute is a disagreement over user privacy and national security, and well be watching closely how this plays out. Sonos takes Google to court Antitrust enforcement of Big Tech will be a central focus for Washington regulators. And competitors are taking notice. Sonos sued Google in two federal courts. As reported by Jack Nicas and Daisuke Wakabayashi, the speaker company claims Google stole its secrets and used its market dominance to develop lower-priced speakers to squash competition. The United States has announced new sanctions on eight senior Iranian officials and that country's steel and other metals industry, along with a presidential executive order that promises further moves to curb the Iranian leadership's access to revenues. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the sanctions at a press conference in Washington on January 10, following this week's Iranian missile strikes on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. The Iranian attack came days after a top Iranian commander was killed in a U.S. air strike in Iraq. "Today's sanctions are part of our commitment to stop the Iranian regime's global terrorist activities. The president has been very clear -- we will continue to apply economic sanctions until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commits that it will never have nuclear weapons, Mnuchin said. Among others, Iranian individuals targeted include: Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council; Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces; and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Mnuchin said these officials were advancing "the regime's destabilizing activity and were involved" in the January 8 missile attack. The sanctions also target 17 mining and metal-producing companies, a network of three China- and Seychelles-based entities," and a vessel involved in the metals trade. "As a result of these actions we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime and we will continue our enforcement of other entities, according to Mnuchin. Mohsen Rezaee, a senior member of Irans influential Expediency Council and a military officer in the IRGC who was also targeted by the January 10 sanctions, tweeted: "Imposing sanctions is symbolic for America and for me because this measure will have no economic impact." A Treasury Department statement outlining the punitive measures cites an executive order from President Donald Trump "expanding authorities to target additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regime." "Concurrently with todays designations, the President is signing a new Executive Order (E.O.) that targets additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regime to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence," the statement said. U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook said in a telephone call with reporters on January 10 that the U.S. exit from the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA) that traded curbs on Iran's nuclear activities for relief from international sanctions has put Washington "in a much better position to deny Iran a nuclear weapon." "It allows us to then forcibly respond to Iran's regional aggression, and that is what we have done with our sanctions," he said, according to Reuters. The latest sanctions target exports that help keep the Iranian economy "on life support," he added. The new sanctions follow more than a year of tightening U.S. sanctions since Trump left the JCPOA in 2018 and with tensions high following a January 3 U.S. drone strike that killed IRGC Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, prompting Iran's targeting of two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops with missiles on January 8. Pompeo told reporters on January 10 that Soleimani was planning an imminent "large-scale attack against American interests" when he was killed. He said the United States had "specific information" on threatened attacks against American facilities, "including American embassies, [and] military bases throughout the region." In an interview on Fox News that partially aired on January 10, Trump said that he thinks Soleimani was planning attacks against four U.S. embassies. "Probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad," he said. The fresh sanctions also come with U.S., Canadian, and British officials saying evidence suggested that a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight that crashed in Iran hours after the January 8 missile attack had been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, probably in error. "We do believe that its likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile," Pompeo said during the press conference. "We're going to let the investigation play out before we make a final determination," Pompeo added. "When we get results of that investigation, I am confident we and the world will take appropriate actions in response." Mnuchin said the Treasury Department would grant sanctions waivers to allow any Americans or anyone else to participate in the investigation of the crash. Under U.S. sanctions law, the U.S. Treasury must grant approval for U.S. nationals or entities to take part in an investigation in Iran and potentially travel there. Iranian officials have flatly denied as "impossible" that a missile shot down the Boeing 737-800 passenger plane after takeoff from the Iranian capital. With reporting by Reuters A still from a video showing the flight recorder recovered from the Boeing 737-800 in Tehran - via REUTERS Ukrainian investigators said they had gained access to the black boxes that may reveal whether an airliner that crashed in Tehran was shot down by an Iranian missile as fears rose that the crash site had been tampered with. Vadim Prysatsko, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said on Friday that Iran had allowed a 50-strong Ukrainian team access to the black boxes and the crash site, but refused to comment on Western governments' claims that it was hit by anti-aircraft fire. "We're analyzing pieces of the plane, we're analyzing the bodies and we're analyzing chemical residue," Mr Prystaiko said at a press conference in Kyiv. "We want to come to conclusions. We don't want to come to them right now. Right now, we're not ruling out any theories." Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed six minutes after taking off from Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport early on Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people on board. Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystayko refused to comment on Western reports that the aircraft had been shot down Credit: Efrem Lukatsky/ AP The crash came hours after Iran launched a missile strike against US forces in Iraq, prompting speculation that the aircraft was a casualty of crossfire. The United States, Canada, and Britain said on Thursday that they had intelligence suggesting the aircraft had been shot down, probably unintentionally, by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. The Netherlands on Friday said its intelligence services had reached the same conclusion. But Iran on Friday insisted all its anti-aircraft weapons were accounted for and accused Mr Raab of politicizing the tragedy. "From our side we can confirm that no missile was triggered in the area," Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran's ambassador to London. "We need to avoid politicisation of the issue. The victims need sympathy and calm. We should not allow ourselves to go to judgments that are not credible at this time," he said. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of Iran's investigation team into the crash, said that the black box analysis will be done in a laboratory in Iran and that it will take up to two months to extract its data and that the entire investigation into the crash could take more than one year. Story continues He said that Tehran will use expert help from Russia, Ukraine, France and Canada "if we cannot recover data" from the plane's recorders. Iran also said it was expecting a 10-person delegation from Canada, which lost at least 57 citizens in the crash, to take part in the investigation, and would welcome officials from Boeing and the United States National Transportation Safety Board, reversing initial statements that it would not cooperate with the US. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada's foreign minister, said on Friday that he believed some debris from the crash site had been moved to a hangar in Tehran. Steve Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary, said he would issue sanctions waivers to anyone involved in the investigation. Iran faced accusations of attempting to cover up evidence on Friday as reports emerged that the crash site had been cleared and footage emerged that appeared to show a missile impact. CBS News said much of the site had been cleared of wreckage when its journalists were allowed to visit the scene on Friday morning. Ukrainian media published several reports suggesting the area had been cleared by bulldozers. Iranian officials denied the reports, saying any heavy equipment was part of the recovery effort. Mr Prystaiko also dismissed the suggestion of tampering, but added that the debris is spread over a large area and that Ukrainian experts are present only at one spot. Earlier The New York Times released footage it said it had verified, showing a fast-moving object rising to an angle into the sky before a flash is seen, which dims and then continues moving forward. Several seconds later an explosion is heard. The video was taken in Parand, near Tehrans international airport, was originally published on the Telegraph messaging service. The investigative organisation Bellingcat said it had geolocated the video and believed it to be credible. Rescue crews at work on Wednesday morning. Iran denied reports on Friday that the site had been tampered with Credit: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, confirmed that the US believes it likely the airliner was shot down but that it would wait for the outcome of the investigation before making a final determination. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, on Friday changed official travel advice to warn British nationals not to travel to Iran given the body of information that UIA Flight 752 was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile, and the heightened tensions. He said the FCO also recommended against taking a flight to, from and within Iran. The British and Irish governments urged all parties in Northern Ireland to sign up to a draft agreement published on Thursday to restore devolved government for the first time in three years, just before a deadline to strike a deal. Sinn Fein, the largest nationalist party, withdrew from the power-sharing government in January 2017 saying it was not being treated equally. Since then, Sinn Fein and the largest pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), blamed each other for a number of failed attempts to break the deadlock. The United Kingdoms Northern Ireland Minister Julian Smith said he asked the speaker of the house to recall the regional assembly on Friday and hoped the parties would support the deal. They have until Monday to break the deadlock or risk fresh elections. The importance of the devolved administration has increased following a provision in the UKs European Union withdrawal deal that will give the assembly the right every four years to consider whether to maintain alignment with EU market rules. As Brexit nears, Sinn Fein has increasingly called for a referendum to end the nearly century-old partition of the island and reunite Northern Ireland, part of the UK with a Protestant majority, with the mainly Roman Catholic Irish Republic. Ciudad Victorai (Mexico) A Mexican migrant trying to request asylum in the United States slit his throat at the border after being turned away, authorities said Thursday. The suicide occurred after the man was denied entry to the US at the bridge between the Mexican city of Reynosa and Pharr, Texas, said officials in Mexico. "He was attempting to cross to the US side to request asylum. When he was denied entry, he walked several meters (yards) toward the Mexican side and cut himself with a knife," the prosecutor's office for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas said in a statement. The tragedy came two days after the United States announced it would begin sending some Mexican asylum-seekers to Guatemala, the latest move by President Donald Trump's government to reduce the number of undocumented migrants entering the US. The policy has drawn criticism from rights groups, who argue that Mexicans fleeing a wave of brutally violent crime in the country could face similar dangers in neighboring Guatemala. Trump has been pressuring Mexico to stem a surge of asylum-seekers crossing the border, often fleeing poverty and violence in Central America. Under threat of US sanctions, Mexico has deployed 27,000 National Guardsmen to its northern and southern borders to stop them, and begun allowing the United States to send Central American asylum-seekers back to Mexico while their cases are processed. The US said Thursday it had arrested or stopped 40,620 migrants along the southern border in December. The figure -- a widely watched indicator of how many undocumented migrants are crossing the border -- was down more than 70 percent since May. 1 big thing: Evidence of a deadly Iranian error Iran faced a growing chorus of international accusations today that it shot down Ukraine Airlines Flight 752 over Tehran early Wednesday morning, killing all 167 passengers and nine crew members in the process. Why it matters: A tragedy that was initially overshadowed in the U.S. by Iran's ballistic missile strikes on Iraqi bases just a few hours earlier has now become a massive international incident. What theyre saying: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference today that Canada, which lost 63 citizens in the crash, has intelligence from multiple sources that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson echoed that statement. Both leaders noted that the strike may well have been unintentional. echoed that statement. Both leaders noted that the strike may well have been unintentional. President Trump called the event tragic and said somebody could have made a mistake. He did not directly blame Iran. called the event tragic and said somebody could have made a mistake. He did not directly blame Iran. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said Ukrainian investigators were looking into reports that a Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missile (which Iran uses) had been found near the crash site. He added that other possibilities were being investigated. secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said Ukrainian investigators were looking into reports that a Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missile (which Iran uses) had been found near the crash site. He added that other possibilities were being investigated. American satellites detected the firing of the Iranian short-range interceptor," and U.S. intelligence later intercepted Iranian communications confirming that the SA-15 system brought down the Ukrainian airliner, the NY Times reports citing U.S. officials. The flight had only been in the air for two minutes when a the heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected another official told Reuters. Tehran has vehemently denied such suggestions, which a government spokesman labeled psychological warfare against Iran. The head of Irans aviation authority said it was impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane. There were 82 Iranians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons on the flight, which was bound for Kiev. Many of the passengers planned to travel on to Canada. My thought bubble: If this was United Airlines instead of Ukraine Airlines and dozens of Americans had been on board, we could well be in the midst of a rush to war. As it happens, the U.S. and Iran appear to have stepped back from the ledge after Trumps White House address yesterday, in which he said Americans should be "extremely grateful and happy" that Irans strikes resulted in no casualties, and that Iran was standing down. On Capitol Hill, at least, that relief was paired with growing skepticism about the administration's claim that Gen. Qasem Soleimani posed an "imminent threat" to American personnel and interests. Democrats and some Republicans left an intelligence briefing yesterday far from convinced. Driving the news: The House passed a symbolic war powers resolution tonight, by a 224-194 vote, calling on Trump to halt the use of military force against Iran unless he obtains approval from Congress. Three Republicans and independent Rep. Justin Amash voted in favor, while eight Democrats voted against. Go deeper: Trump administration's mixed messages on the Soleimani strike Union minister from BJP Smriti Irani slammed Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone over her recent visit to Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Union minister Smriti Irani on Thursday slammed Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone over her recent visit to Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), saying "I want to know what her political affiliation is." "Anybody who has read the news would know why she would stand with the protesters," Irani said at a conclave organised by The New Indian Express. "It's Deepika Padukone's freedom to stand next to people who call for the destruction of India. "I think that anybody who has read the news knew where you are going to stand... knew that you are standing with people who celebrate every time a CRPF jawan is killed," Irani claimed at the event in Chennai. "I would rather know what her (Deepika Padukone's) political affiliation is than not know... I can't deny her that right that she will stand next to people who will beat up other girls who don't see eye-to-eye ideologically in private parts. That's her freedom (sic)," the BJP leader said. Amid criticism over top Bollywood celebrities maintaining silence over the violence in JNU, Padukone joined the protesting students at the JNU's Sabarmati hostel on Tuesday. Padukone also spoke to a news channel about protests against the amended Citizenship Act, the National Register of Citizens and violence in JNU, saying that it was necessary for people to express their point of view to bring about change. Padukone's visit to the JNU campus received both criticism and appreciation on social media with some calling up for a "boycott" of her films and others lauding the actor's "bold" move. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar earlier spoke about Padukones visit to JNU. "Why only artistes, any common man can go anywhere to express his opinion, there cannot be any objection," Javadekar said amid calls for boycotting Padukone's movie Chhapaak, which hits theatres today. Students and faculty members were assaulted on 5 January after a mob went on a rampage, attacking students with sticks and iron rods and vandalising property. There was an atmosphere of unrest in the campus for a few days preceding the incident over the sustained protest against the proposed fee hike for the varsity's hostel along with demonstrations against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A prototype for a Segway "transporting pod" has crashed during the first public demonstrations of the vehicle. The Segway S-Pod, which resembles a futuristic wheelchair, was on display at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Thursday when the accident occurred. The journalist who was riding it at the time accelerated into a wall, the BBC reported, though Segway said no one was injured. The pioneering personal transportation firm describes the S-Pod as a "safe, self-balancing vehicle that is operated by an intuitive assistive navigation panel". It is designed to ferry people around enclosed campuses like airports, theme parks and shopping centres and can travel at speeds of up to 24mph. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty Unlike other Segway vehicles, the S-Pod does not require the rider to physically lean forward or back to accelerate or slow down. It instead relies on "an adaptive centre-of-gravity automatic control system" that uses a knob to change speed and direction. This system is inspired by the Gyrosphere featured in Jurassic World, which transports visitors around a dinosaur park. Recommended The penalties for riding an outlawed hoverboard on the pavement "The seating of the S-Pod offers wide angle views that provides an expansive viewing field for passengers," states Segway press materials. "The S-Pod is also the first step in Segway working towards their goal of bringing new transportation options to cities." Segway did not reveal how much money was spent developing the S-Pod, which is due to be released in 2021, though previous Segway vehicles have cost up to $100 million in research and development. The prototype demonstrated at CES is not the final version of the vehicle, with production models expected to feature a seatbelt. During questioning by authorities, Lump said the video was uploaded from his cellphone and was meant to be a joke. He admitted it could have been construed as a threat against the president and Broward County, but said he had no intention of going through with the implied threats. The national death toll of Australia's 2019/2020 bushfire season was 33 as of Monday, March 2, with 25 confirmed deaths in New South Wales, three in South Australia and five in Victoria. OCTOBER New South Wales: Robert Lindsey, 77, and Gwen Hyde, 68, were found in their burned out Coongbar home near Casino on October 9th. NOVEMBER New South Wales: The body of 85-year-old George Nole was found in a burnt out car near his home in Wytaliba, near Glen Innes. Vivian Chaplain, a 69-year-old woman from Wytaliba, succumbed to her injuries in hospital after attempting in vain to save her home and animals from the blaze. The body of 63-year-old Julie Fletcher was pulled from a scorched building in Johns River, north of Taree. Barry Parsons, 58, was found in a shed at Willawarrin, near Kempsey. Chris Savva, 64, died after his 4WD overturned near burnt-out South Arm bridge, near Nambucca Heads. A 59-year-old man was founded sheltered in a Yarrowitch water tank on November 7. He died of injuries on December 29. Victoria: David Moresi, 69, died after being involved in a traffic incident while working at the at the Gelantipy fire in East Gippsland on November 30. DECEMBER New South Wales: Firefighters Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, died on December 19 after a tree fell on their truck while they were travelling through Buxton, south of Sydney. Samuel McPaul, 28, was battling a blaze in Jingellic, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on December 30 when a 'fire tornado' caused his 10-tonne firetruck to roll. South Australia: The body of 69-year-old Ron Selth was found in his Charleston home, which was destroyed by the Cudlee Creek blaze on December 21. NEW YEAR'S EVE FIRES New South Wales: Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to save their property in Cobargo, near Bega, on December 31. A 70-year-old man, named by local media as Laurie Andrew, was found dead outside a home at Yatte Yattah, west of Lake Conjola. The body of a 70-year-old man was found in a burnt vehicle on a road off the Princes Highway at Yatte Yattah on the morning of New Year's Day. The body of a 62-year-old man was found in a vehicle on Wandra Road at Sussex Inlet about 11.30am on New Year's Day. A body, believed to be a 56-year-old man, found outside a home at Coolagolite, east of Cobargo on New Year's Day. An off-duty RFS firefighter, believed to be 72-year-old Colin Burns, was found near a car in Belowra after the New Year's Eve fires swept through. Victoria: Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts, 67, from Buchan, in East Gippsland, was found dead at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. Fred Becker, 75, was the second person to die in Victoria. He suffered a heart attack while trying to defend his Maramingo Creek home. JANUARY New South Wales: David Harrison, a 47-year-old man from Canberra, suffered a heart attack defending his friend's home near Batlow on Saturday, January 4. A 71-year-old man was found on January 6. Police have been told the man was last sighted on December 31, 2019 and was moving equipment on his property in Nerrigundah. An 84-year-old man who stayed to defend his home in Cobargo, NSW, dies in hospital three weeks after fire hit. His pet dog Bella, who stayed by his side as fires raged, was also killed in the disaster. Three American firefighters are killed when Coulson Aviation C-130 Hercules water bomber Zeus crashed while fighting fires near Cooma on Thursday January 23. They have been named as Capt. Ian H. McBeth, 44, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr, 43. On January 24, Michael Clark, 59, was found in a Bodalla home destroyed by bushfires near the NSW South Coast town of Moruya. Victoria: Forest Fire Management firefighter Mat Kavanagh, 43, was killed Friday January 3 when he was involved in a two-car crash on the Goulburn Valley Highway. Bill Slade, a 60-year-old father of two from Wonthaggi was fighting fires with Parks Victoria at Omeo when he died on January 11. He has been remembered as one of the longest serving, most experienced and fittest firefighters. South Australia: Well-known outback pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son, Adelaide surgeon Clayton Lang, died in the Kangaroo Island bushfire after their car was trapped by flames. Vietinbank could retain profits in 2018 and 2019 to serve the capital hike plan. - Photo vietnamfinance.vn These four banks are Viet Nam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) and Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV). At a recent meeting reviewing last years performance of Vietinbank, Minh said four State-owned banks have contributed more than VND92 trillion (roughly US$4 billion) to the State budget in the past five years, of which VND60 trillion was tax and VND32 trillion was dividend payments. But these banks have not raised charter capital during that period. Minh said the Government has allowed the banks to increase capital as they need more funds to ensure growth and provide capital to the economy to help maintain the countrys high economic growth. He said Vietinbank could retain profits in 2018 and 2019 to serve the capital hike plan, but profits of 2019 and 2020 need evaluation to be consistent with its business activities. The Ministry of Finance is revising regulations to report to the Government about the capital hike plan for these banks. Minh said Vietinbank needed to report to the finance ministry about its capital plans based on its 2019-20 growth and business results. The Governor also said current regulations allow banks with more than 50 per cent of State capital to issue bonds to increase tier 2 capital (supplementary capital) without permission from the central bank. In 2019, Vietinbank reported profits of nearly VND11.5 trillion ($496 million), up 26 per cent over its yearly plan and up 83 per cent compared to 2018. By the end of the year, the bank had assets of VND1.24 quadrillion, up 6.5 per cent compared to the previous year, while outstanding loans reached VND952 trillion, up 7.2 per cent. Total deposits increased 5 per cent to VND892 trillion. Its bad debt ratio was reduced to less than 1.2 per cent from 1.59 per cent in 2018. Vietinbank targets a 10 per cent growth for pre-tax profit this year on the basis of not raising capital. Total assets, loans and deposits are expected to growth by 6-10 per cent. However, in 2020, the Governor asked the bank to better control the growth of risky assets, quickly divest from non-performing investments in the past year and focus more on priority areas. In addition, the bank must reduce at least 30 per cent of the internal bad debt and bad debt at Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC). Vietcombank and BIDV have yet to disclose business results of the whole year of 2019, while BIDV on Wednesday posted a record pre-tax profit of VND10.8 trillion last year. This composite image shows the progression of the partial lunar eclipse in Ankara, Turkey on Jan. 10, 2020. (Image credit: Ali Balikci/Anadolu Agency/Getty) Viewers in Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa were treated to a very subtle type of eclipse Friday (Jan. 10) a penumbral lunar eclipse that just barely darkened the moon. The Wolf Moon passed through the faint outer shadow of the Earth, which is called the penumbra, and made the moon's usual black, gray and white tones take on a tea-stained color. The eclipse took place over four hours starting at 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 GMT), with maximum eclipse occurring at 2:10 p.m. EST (1910 GMT). "You can see this isn't an evenly illuminated full moon, but it's getting more and more difficult to see now," said Slooh astronomer Paul Cox around 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT), during a live astronomy broadcast as the eclipse was nearing its last phases. Photo Gallery: See the Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse in Amazing Pictures! Related: Lunar Eclipse 2020 Guide: When, Where & How to See Them An airplane crosses in front of the Full Wolf Moon during the penumbral lunar eclipse on Jan. 10, 2020, in this photo taken by Stojan Stojanovski near Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. (Image credit: Stojan Stojanovski Cox pointed out the penumbral eclipse to viewers using a live telescope view of the moon, from the Canary Islands. "Down at the bottom right hand corner, about the 4:00 or 5:00 position, you can see it's just darker," he explained. "[The shadow] is not like the dark seas up above, but there is a slight shade, and there is a slight curvature to it." A penumbral eclipse happens due to a slight misalignment between sun, moon and Earth. This type of eclipse needs two key ingredients: for the moon to be at the full moon phase (which it reached at 2:21 p.m. EST, or 1921 GMT) and for the three celestial bodies to come close to aligning close enough for the moon to pass through the outer region of Earth's shadow, but not the central part of the shadow. (Image credit: Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency/Getty) When the three bodies are more tightly aligned, more spectacular eclipses happen. Partial lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into the deeper part of the Earth's shadow (known as the umbra), and total lunar eclipses also known as Blood Moons happen when the Earth completely blocks the sun's light from reaching the moon. During total eclipses, the moon only receives refracted light from Earth, turning the surface red. A couple kiss as the Full Wolf Moon rises over the horizon at the beach on Jan. 10, 2020, during the first lunar eclipse of the year. (Image credit: Jesus Merida/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty) Solar eclipses, by contrast, have to do with how perfectly the moon covers the sun in the sky when it passes in between the sun and the Earth. If the moon partially crosses over the sun, a partial eclipse happens. If it perfectly aligns, a total eclipse happens but only for a few minutes, until the moon's orbit moves it past the sun. (Always use proper safety equipment to view a solar eclipse.) The Full Wolf Moon rises above the mountains near Kuratica, Macedonia, in this photo taken by Stojan Stojanovski on Jan. 10, 2020 before a minor penumbral lunar eclipse. (Image credit: Stojan Stojanovski If you missed this penumbral eclipse, you can catch three more opportunities in 2020: June 5, July 5 and Nov. 30. The last 2020 eclipse will have the deepest darkening of the trio. All four lunar eclipses in 2020 are of the penumbral variety; the next total lunar eclipse isn't until May 26, 2021. Check out our lunar eclipse viewing guide to check if your location will experience the eclipse. If not, you can always catch the show online at Space.com. Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Six-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has pledged to donate $500,000 to bushfire relief. The 35-year-old Brit took to Instagram on Thursday to say he was 'deeply saddened,' after it was reported that more than a billion animals have died in the Australian crisis. Lewis told Australians to 'keep fighting' and encouraged his 14 million followers to donate. 'It saddens me deeply': British Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton (pictured) has donated $500,000 to bushfire relief after more than a BILLION animals die 'It saddens me deeply to know that over 1 billion animals in Australia died a painful death, no way out, not their fault,' Lewis said, underneath a heartbreaking clip of a koala surrounded by flames. 'My love of animals is no secret and I can't help but grieve for the defenceless animals thought to have died so far, pushing certain species closer to extinction.' He continued: 'I'm lucky enough to visit Australia often and I know first-hand how beautiful the country is. Keep fighting Australia.' Heartbreaking: Lewis shared the viral video of a koala stuck in the middle of a bushfire (pictured), urging family, friends and his 14 million followers to contribute what they could Lewis added that he was 'filled with admiration' for those who are battling the fires and who are supporting the bushfire relief. 'I'm donating $500K to support Wires Wildlife Rescue, WWF Australia and the Rural Fire Services. If you are able and haven't already, you can donate too.' More than $200million has been donated by celebrities, sportspeople, businesses and the general public and it continues to climb each day. Doing their bit: More than $200million has been donated by celebrities, sportspeople, businesses and the general public and it continues to climb each day. Comedian Celeste Barber (pictured) who has so far raised almost $50million from her social media campaign The largest pledges have come from billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who promised to donate $70million, comedian Celeste Barber who has so far raised almost $50million from her social media campaign and James Packers' family who pledged $5million. Thor star Chris Hemsworth and his family donated a million dollars, while Kylie Minogue donated $500,000. The fires are devastating the country, with thousands of people losing their homes and 26 people dead. United States officials accuses Iran of mistakenly shooting down the Ukraine plane which crashed on Tuesday killing all 176 people on board. KanyiDaily had reported that a Ukrainian commercial airliner crashed on January 8 soon after taking off from Irans capital, Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranian nationals, but also Western and Ukrainian citizens. US officials reportedly believes it is highly likely that Iranian anti-aircraft missiles downed the plane shortly after it took off from Tehran. Donald Trump, the US president, said he believed a mistake had happened and that a mechanical fault was not to blame, but did not make explicit his suspicions. He suspected the crash was not due to mechanical issues, indicating that somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. Asked during a White House event what he thought happened to the plane, Trump said, Well, I have my suspicions. The timing of the crash has fueled speculation about its cause, coming just hours after Iran fired dozens of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for the killing of its top leader, General Qasem Soleimani. Clinton and her family have been subjected to significant law enforcement and other scrutiny over the years though the various probes have mostly delivered reputational blows, rather than legal ones. When she ran against Trump in 2016, the FBI investigated her use of a private email server to determine whether she had mishandled classified information when she was secretary of state. Officials ultimately determined the case should be closed without charges. The State Department more recently concluded a multiyear probe of its own into the matter, but concluded there was no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information by employees. A change is coming for the Ravalli County Commission. Commissioner Chris Hoffman announced Thursday that he would not seek a third term. Hoffman, the current commission chair, has one year left in his term. His seat is the only commission seat open for election this year. Thursday was the first day that county and state candidates could file. Fourth-generation Bitterroot native Dan Huls didn't waste any time. Shortly after 9 a.m., he officially became a candidate for the commission. Huls and his family own and operate Huls Dairy, located northeast of Corvallis. Huls is a Corvallis High School graduate and studied agriculture at Northern Montana College before purchasing farmland to begin his agricultural career. Huls currently serves on several boards, including the Teller Wildlife Refuge in Corvallis, Mountain West Cooperative, the Corvallis Canal and Water Company and Humble Drain. He is a founding member of the Ravalli County Right to Farm and Ranch Board, which, under his leadership, pushed for the passage of the $10 million Ravalli County Open Lands Bond. He served on the Ravalli County Planning Board for a decade, including several stints as its president. Huls is currently an advisory committee member for the Western Montana Agricultural Research Center and has served on various statewide committees regarding agriculture. Huls is also the past president and board member of the Montana State Motorcycle Racing Association. Huls and his wife, Joan, have two sons and two grandchildren who live in Ravalli County. This is something thats been on my list for quite some time, Huls said. When I found out that Chris wasnt going to do that, it seemed like now is the time. Huls said his many experiences with county government, coupled with the fact that hes a multigenerational native who has been involved with agriculture, help him understand the challenges residents face on a variety of county-wide issues. I think there are a lot of issues that I think that I can contribute to and make a difference, Huls said. Hoffman, who is also Bitterroot native, started his public safety career in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1984 before moving back home five years later to Corvallis, where he was hired by Ravalli County Sheriff Jay Printz. Hoffman also served with the Hamilton Police Department for 10 years before being elected sheriff in 2002. After 14 years as sheriff, Hoffman ran for a seat on the county commission. At the end of his term, he will have served two two-year terms in that position. Hoffman said the current board works together well. While we are a diverse group, we are united in our dedication to serve our community, Hoffman said. The board is very stable and is focused on issues that are important for the valleys future. Hoffman said he feels blessed for the opportunity to serve the Bitterroot Valley for the past 30 years. It is very humbling to have had the support and trust of this community, particularly being allowed to serve both as sheriff and as a member of the board of county commissioners, Hoffman said. I will be forever grateful to my neighbors for the incredibly rewarding career that Ive enjoyed here. Hoffman said hes looking forward to exploring opportunities that the future might hold. Huls was second in line at the Ravalli County elections office. Clerk of Court incumbent Paige Trautwein was first through the door shortly after 9 a.m. The commission's District 2 seat and clerk of court are the only two Ravalli County positions that will be on the 2020 ballot. Several Ravalli County candidates filed Thursday for state legislative races, including some that opened after current legislators came up against term limits. They include: Nancy Ballance, Theresa Manzella and Scott Roy McLean, all of Hamilton, filed for Senate District 44. The position is currently held by Sen. Fred Thomas. Hollis Poe filed for House District 85. The position is currently held by Manzella. Incumbent David Bedey filed for House District 86. Ron Marshall filed for House District 87. The position is currently held by Ballance. Incumbent Sharon Greef filed for House District 88. All filed as Republicans. The Ravalli County Election Office is recruiting electors to serve on the election judge teams at polling places for both the June 2 primary election and the Nov. 3 general election. Election judges are responsible for greeting voters as they come into the polling place, directing them to the correct precinct and issuing ballots, along with many other activities happening at the polls on election day. Poll hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is a required two- to three-hour training that will be held the week of March 10. Election judges must be registered to vote in Ravalli County. Judges will receive $9 per hour for their time. Anyone interested can call the county election office at 375-6550. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 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. Harry and Meghan have announced they are stepping back as senior royals [Photo: Getty] The dust is just beginning to settle following Prince Harry and Meghan Markles bombshell that they will be stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family. The couple made the shock revelation both on their new website and on Instagram, explaining how they would be splitting their time between the UK and North America and intend to become financially independent, raising questions as to what - if anything - taxpayers will be contributing to. While there has been much speculation about what the move will mean for the couple and the impact it will have on the royal family, experts believe some clues can be sought from the language used and timing of the announcement itself. Popular culture expert, Nick Ede, found the tone of the revelation quite cold and matter of fact. I think that not giving much indication of the reasoning and not referencing prince Charles or William in any family way rather coldly speaking about Royal responsibility it makes this all look very calculated, he explains. To say they have been thinking of this for two years basically means from the day they got married this was their intention. READ MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down as senior royals: What's next? Anthony Burr, who runs PR consultancy Burr Media agrees that the tone was to the point. The statement from the Sussexes is as bold as it gets, he says. They want out and the language they have used paints that picture for us in no uncertain terms. READ MORE: Meghan Markle's blog designers create new Sussex Royal website Emma Serlin from London Speech Workshop believes that the message was very clever and well thought out. This message is well written, careful and very clear, she explains. Firstly there is no apology whatsoever. Every phrase near the start of a sentence is considered and creates a firm message using verbs which are final eg. 'chosen', 'we intend'. It's not 'we are thinking about' or 'we're considering'. Story continues Serlin believes the couple will have chosen their words and tone carefully to strike a balance between outlining their intentions, while being respectful. The language is very non-aggressive and positive and about a 'progressive new role' and nothing about 'we are struggling with negative attention' or anything like that, she explains. But could a little bit of disingenuity have crept into the statement? Burr believes so. The statement did read: we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties, he explains. But according to media coverage, Her Majesty The Queen, the Prince of Wales and even his brother, the Duke of Cambridge have been blindsided by the announcement. Serlin agreed that there was something of a contradiction between the respectful language used and the lack of information provided to the royal family in advance. The tone is incredibly respectful of the Royal Family even though not telling them their plans - as apparently is the case - is not that respectful in reality - as it would not be in any family. But she has a theory about why the couple decided to do this. I suspect that it was done strategically so that Harry didn't become embroiled in political and emotional negotiations with other members of the Royal Family or their internal bureaucracy to deviate from their chosen path. As might happen within any other family too. READ MORE: Meghan Markles father disappointed by their decision What does the language and tone of the announcement reveal? [Photo: Getty] For Burr signs of a potential split from Royal protocol have always lingered. The couple set up their own Instagram account, used different media advisors and even broke off from William and Kate's charity with their new charitable foundation, which they mention with the launch of our new charitable entity, he says. Harry has always seen himself as a Royal with a licence to do things his way and his partnership with Meghan has now compounded this further, he continues. With her influence and the closeness of their young nuclear family, they are determined to move away from the institution of the Royal Family as they see themselves as more progressive two key words used in the very first sentence. Serlin agrees that Meghans influence can be seen within the announcement itself. I sense that Meghan has been hugely influential in this and the tone of setting the scene where the chance for negotiation has gone is very 'American'. She has clearly made her view known that they can build the life they want for themselves - especially now that they have a child and probably want more children, while trying to remain respectful of the deeply embedded respect for the Royal Family. The couple also seem to have given consideration to the publics role in the move. The sentence 'it is with your encouragement...make this adjustment' - while I don't understand it from a psychological point of view it is very clever, explains Serlin. It suggests that it's the public support which has led them to feel they can make this decision, an almost 'fait d'accompli' that the public will support them - before that's known to be the case. Xanthe Vaughan Williams Director and Co-founder at Fourth Day PR notes that the statement is very much addressed to the general public. [It is] more like a note from a band to its fan base, referring to the encouragement they have received, she says. Also, they've chosen language that wouldn't usually apply to a formal statement - I don't think "exciting next step" would make an appearance in any correspondence from the Buckingham Palace press office. It is very much in contrast to the Buckingham Palace response, which doesn't disguise its irritation. And what about the timing of the announcement? Is it possible that Harrys uncle, Prince Andrews recent headlines have played a part? When Prince Andrew was side-lined following his car crash interview on BBCs Newsnight, this may just have presented the opportunity the Sussexes were looking for, he suggests. Harry may have thought: If Uncle Andrew is allowed to not carry out his full Royal duties then why shouldnt I be? But Burr also suspects Harry and Meghan may have joined many others in hopping on the new year, new start bandwagon. January is a time for New Years resolutions and we have seen reports of family lawyers being inundated with record spikes in divorce filings this week after strained relationships are exacerbated over Christmas and New Year, he explains. It seems that now is the time the Sussexes have decided that they are ready to begin the long winded transition and adjustment to prepare for an amicable separation and even a potential future divorce from the Royal Family. They came in their thousands and their anger burned as fires continued to rage in the nation's south. Brisbane's King George Square was packed on Friday evening as thousands of people gathered to protest the Morrison government's climate policies and demand more funding for firefighters. King George Square filled on Friday night as thousands protested the federal government's handling of the bushfire crisis. Credit:Cameron Atfield There was no mistaking the target of the crowd's anger - Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "Sack ScoMo" banners dominated the protest, set up by Uni Students for Climate Justice, in conjunction with Extinction Rebellion. Burma Myanmar, China to Sign Agreements on SEZ, Border Economic Cooperation During President Xis Visit Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as they attend a welcome ceremony for the Belt and Road Forum at Yanqi Lake in Beijing on May 15, 2017. / REUTERS YANGONMyanmar and China are planning to sign at least three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) paving the way for the construction of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rakhine State and promoting economic cooperation in border areas, during Chinese President Xi Jinpings two-day visit to Myanmar next week. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Thursday that Xi will visit Myanmar on Jan. 17-18 at the invitation of Myanmar President U Win Myint. Experts said the trip demonstrates Myanmars geographic importance to Chinas effort to establish a strategic presence in the Indian Ocean, and is aimed at seeking Myanmar leaders support for backbone projects planned in the country as part of Xis ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Deputy Commerce Minister U Aung Htoo told the media on Thursday that the two sides plan to sign MOUs to promote trade ties and border economic cooperation, as well as on the Kyaukphyu SEZ. The deputy minister said there are seven agreements under the Framework Agreement for the Kyaukphyu SEZ. During Xis trip, two of these will be signed, including a concessional agreement. In November 2018 Myanmar renegotiated the share ratio agreement and signed a framework agreement for the Kyaukphyu SEZ, a key strategic component of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), itself a part of the BRI. The project is expected to boost development in Yunnan province and provide China with direct access to the Indian Ocean, allowing its oil imports to bypass the Strait of Malacca. The developer, China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), hired Canadian company HATCH to oversee the environmental and social impact assessments (EIA, SIA) and a geological survey for the port project in July, not including the SEZ. However, criticism has arisen among legal observers as to whether the developers are following the proper frameworks in line with Myanmars Environmental Law. The law states that any mega-project requires a site-wide environmental and social impact assessment. CITIC has not responded to the criticism. U Aung Htoo said it will take at least a year to complete the EIA/SIA process. Work on a further agreement on construction of the deep seaport could begin after that process, he said. Myanmar joined the BRI in 2018 by signing a 15-point MOU establishing the CMEC. Utilizing the interconnected transportation infrastructure of China and Myanmar, the 1,700-kilometer CMEC will run from Kunming in Chinas Yunnan Province through Shan States Muse to Mandalay in central Myanmar, and then branch out to Yangon and the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in western Rakhine State. The BRI is Xis signature foreign policy project. Unveiled in 2013, it is also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The project aims to build a network of roads, railroads and shipping lanes linking at least 70 countries from China to Europe passing through Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia, fostering trade and investment. On Thursday, Commerce Minister U Than Myint told media that the Chinese presidents trip is a positive sign for China-Myanmar relations. U Than Myint said an agreement would be signed between the two countries in which China would ease restrictions on imports of products from Myanmar. It will enhance trade relations with China, he said. Xi would be the first Chinese president to visit Chinas southern neighbor in nearly two decades. With China and Myanmar due to celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations this year, preparations for Xis trip have been under way for some time. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met in early December in Naypyitaw to discuss preparations. It will be Xis second visit to Myanmar. He visited the country in 2009 as vice president. During that trip, China and Myanmar signed 16 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on technical cooperation, the implementation of hydropower projects, the China-Myanmar Oil and Gas twin pipeline project, and the Kyaukphyu SEZ. You may also like these stories: Chinese Presidents Upcoming Visit Seen as Bid to Gain Myanmar Leaders Commitment on BRI Projects Japan, China to Craft New Political Document for Xis State Visit China-Backed Venture Proposes $800M Development Near Kyaukphyu Seaport Arunachalam, her sister Vellachi Murugappan and their mother MV Valli Murugappan together hold 8.15 percent stake in the holding entity that controls 28 registered entities and 10 listed companies Mumbai: Fighting a boardroom battle at multi-billion dollar Murugappa Group previously headed by her late father, US-settled nuclear scientist Valli Arunachalam on Thursday said she would be forced to take legal recourse if an amicable settlement is not reached soon, and alleged that she is being denied a board seat just because of being a woman. "I have lots of patience but it's not infinite," said Arunachalam, the New York-based eldest daughter of late Murugappa Group patriarch MV Murugappan. In an interview here, she accused her extended family of uncles and male cousins of denying her to execute her father's will "just because I am a woman". After being the executive chairman of the nearly Rs 40,000-crore diversified group that runs around 30 companies, ten of them listed, for over two decades, MV Murugappan passed away in September 2017, leaving probate will bequeathing his 8.15 percent stake in the group holding firm Ambadi Investments to his wife and two daughters. It can be noted that Arunachalam has chosen to go public with her grievances weeks after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLT) reinstated Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of the Tata Group, and also declared that his family is legally qualified to hold a board position in the group as a minority shareholder. "After I went public with my demand for a board position or an amicable settlement through a buyout of our significant stake in the Ambadi, both of which have so far been rejected by the board of my extended family members, who run it. I have read last week that they are working on a corporate governance plan at the company. I am keen to know how they are going to execute it and how soon. Though I have lots of patience, I would like to remind them that my patience is not infinite" Valli, who holds a PhD in nuclear engineering, told in an interview. She also said that if an amicable settlement is not happening at the earliest, she will be "forced to take legal/regulatory recourse" (including moving the NCLT and the ministry of corporate affairs). But despite pressing for a timeline, she refused to put a deadline for resolutiongetting a board position or selling the 8.15 percent stake to other family members, according to her late father's will, at a fair value. Though she said that they had submitted a valuation, but refused to quantify the same, citing confidentiality. Her family is not represented on the board, which she squarely blames as "gender discrimination". "I am being denied a board position just because I am a woman," she said, and points out that "my uncle MV Subbiah, who has long ago retired as the chairman still controls everything at the group and is also the sole spokesperson for the rest of the family barring my immediate family. He has been on record in an email in October that I am not eligible for a board position as the Murugappa family has no history of a woman getting into the company nor I have any experience". She wondered if working with some of the top Fortune 500 companies for 23 long years is not good enough experience to be a board member of the company her father built. All the eight board members are male and of them six are from her extended familytwo uncles and four cousinswho while joining the company in their early youth had no experience at all, she claimed. Arunachalam, her sister Vellachi Murugappan and their mother MV Valli Murugappan together hold 8.15 percent stake in the holding entity that controls 28 registered entities and 10 listed companies like EID Parry, Cholamandalam Investment, Coromandel Fertilisers, Tube Investments, TI Financial Holdings, Shanthi Gears, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance and Carborundum Universal among others. The fifth-generation Murugappa family also runs businesses like bicycles, engineering, fertilisers and finance and the group employs 50,000. "My sister and I are well-educated, we have many years of experience, and there is no reason why our skills cannot be transferable or applicable to the family business," she said, adding her sister is a software engineer with a decade of experience. Arunachalam said she first wrote an email to chairman MA Alagappan and company secretary P Eswaran and the board members on 13 August, 2019, seeking a board position or asking them to buy out their stake at a fair value. "The mail was responded to in later October not by any of the addressees but by MV Subbiah who clearly ruled out the first demand saying 'Murugappa family clearly keep women out of business' and with no experience I am not eligible and ignored the second demand," she said, adding that her family gets paid the dividends and bonuses on time and the issue is not money but getting her rights and also securing corporate governance at the company her father built. Prior to that, Ambadi had AGM on 19 August, wherein they refused to take her proposals and the questions sent via emails to the company secretary, forcing her to seek a copy of the video recording. But that was also denied, saying it was meant for board members only, she alleged. Then there was the board meeting on 26 November, but when she asked for the minutes of the meeting, it was not complied with. Not just that, the company secretary replied to her on 26 November email only on 11 December stating that the minutes of the board meetings can be shared only with the board. "This was the trigger for me to go public," Arunachalam said, adding that she had first suggested them to buy her family stake more than two years ago to settle things amicably. Phuket officials dodge confirmation of womans death during Seven Days campaign for New Year PHUKET: Phuket did suffer one death during the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign for the New Year holidays, The Phuket News has confirmed, but the death will not be added to the official tally until the end of the month. tourismtransportdeathaccidentspatong By The Phuket News Friday 10 January 2020, 03:31PM Ms Thanaporn was included in the DDPM report for Jan 1 as injured: Image: DDPM The DDPM report on the final day of the campaign reported zeros deaths on Phuket roads from Dec 27 to Jan 2. Image: DDPM The DDPM report on the final day of the campaign reported zeros deaths on Phuket roads from Dec 27 to Jan 2. Image: DDPM The news follows the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) reporting last Friday (Jan 3) that Phuket concluded the Seven Days campaign, from Dec 27 to Jan 2, with 53 people injured in 47 accidents but with zero deaths. (See story here.) On receiving that report, The Phuket News asked for confirmation from the administrators of Thai Road Safety Committee (ThaiRSC) official website to explain why they had recorded one death on New Years Day. The answer was simple: a woman had died in a motorbike accident in Patong at 3am that day. One of the website administrators, who asked not to be named, said that ThaiRSC had received confirmation directly from Vachira Phuket Hospital the main government hospital on the island that Thanaphorn Masalee, 43, had died from injuries sustained in a road accident on Phrabaramee Rd. The hospital reported her death at about 3am on Jan 1, the administrator said. However, DDPM-Phuket Chief Prapan Kanprasang on Wednesday (Jan 8) maintained that he had no knowledge of any deaths from road accidents in Phuket on Jan 1 despite The Phuket News informing him of the ThaiRSC report last Friday (Jan 3). I have no idea who died on that day, he said. Our reports still confirm that the number of deaths [for the Seven Days campaign] is zero, Mr Prapan repeated. I have not yet had any updates from the hospitals on the number deaths and injuries from road accidents. I will not get that until the second part of safety campaign is over. Mr Prapan explained. The seven days from Dec 27 to Jan 2 is only the first part of the campaign. After that, from Jan 3 to Feb 1, is the second, or following up part. Then we will know the updated information, he said. For reasons unexplained, the accident that resulted in Ms Thanaphorn's death was recorded in the daily DDPM report for Jan 1 presented to Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai at Phuket Provincial Hall on Jan 2 - but her death was not. The daily report noted that Ms Thanaphorn was a passenger on a motorbike bring driven by Kingfa Yoiyam, 20, when the motorbike collided with another motorbike. Both Kingfa and Thanaphorn were drunk, and both were not wearing helmets, the report said. Ms Thanaphorn suffered serious head injuries and was reported as unconscious at the scene. She was taken to Patong Hospital, then later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where she died. (See report here.) Regardless, Mr Prapan maintained, There have been no changes to the number [of people killed during the Seven Days campaign]. It is remains zero for the Seven Days campaign from Dec 27 to Jan 2. I have already sent a request to the Phuket Provincial Health Office [PPHO] for an update to the statistics. So now it is up to the PPHO to collect the information about the people who were taken to hospital. They [the PPHO] can submit their report about the number of deaths during the campaign anytime within 30 days after Jan 2, Mr Prapan said. Meanwhile, one PPHO officer involved in providing the reports who asked not to be named told The Phuket News, These reports must wait for the hospitals, so we have to wait for 30 days. Then we will report back to the DDPM. It is DDPMs responsibility to publish this information. A plaque could be erected at the Beatles' Penny Lane to explain how it was named after a slave ship owner. It comes as part of a wider push by the city of Liverpool to introduce signs on buildings and streets to make clear its slave trade history. Penny Lane was made famous by the 1967 Beatles' song of the same name, in which Paul McCartney recalls the sights and characters of his upbringing in the city. The street has been visited by excited fans of the 'Fab Four' from all around the world. The famous Penny Lane in Liverpool. A plaque could be erected to explain that it was named after a slave ship owner Penny Lane was made famous by the 1967 Beatles' song of the same name, in which Paul McCartney recalls the sights and characters of his upbringing in the city James Penny was a prominent 18th century Liverpool slave merchant Its history reveals a darker significance as it is thought the street was named after 18th century Liverpool slave merchant James Penny. Penny was a prominent anti-abolitionist who argued against the abolition of slavery in the British parliament. He was active in the slave trade until the American Revolutionary War. There has been some debate around whether the street was named after James Penny, with some historians asking why the merchant would not have been named after a more prominent street in the city. Other areas named after merchants linked to the slave trade in the city include Blackburne Place, named after slave trader John Blackburne, and Tarleton Street, named after the Tarleton family who produced three generations of slave traders. Liverpool's economy prospered from the slave trade and the city has retained many street signs and paintings which are linked to its past (Pictured: Castle Street in Liverpool's centre) Liverpool's economy prospered from the slave trade and the city has retained many street signs and paintings which are linked to its past. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson argued that paintings, street names and buildings should not be concealed as they are 'important parts of the historical record'. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson (pictured) called for the new sings to give people an 'honest account' of the city's links to slavery He is instead calling for the new signs to give people an 'honest account' of the city's links to slavery. The proposed plaques would explain the street name or painting's origin and its history within the context of the slave trade. The Council have also suggested plaques at Liverpool's town hall explaining the history of notable merchants. Mr Anderson said the city should 'accurately reflect how some of the wealth and prestige accumulated for the benefit of Liverpool was gained through the business of slavery'. 'It is important to ensure that city visitors and residents are given an honest account of the historical role which our city and such figures played in history,' he said. Lord Mayor Anna Rothery added that it is 'crucial we have a healthy conversation about the city, our history, and more importantly where we go in the future.' She said: 'It's part of a healing process, and is about where we are as a city and the work we are committed to doing around anti-discrimination.' The motion will be put before Liverpool City Council next week. Liverpool's International Slavery Museum welcomed the decision, telling MailOnline: 'International Slavery Museum (part of National Museums Liverpool) fully supports the ideas presented by the council on 9 January 2020, and welcomes the opportunity to work together. 'A museum such as ours can offer a route to reach out to communities and to meet the needs that have been identified. We would work in consultation with the National Museums Liverpool RESPECT group, on a strategic and supportive level. 'The International Slavery Museum is committed to being involved in conversations with Liverpool City Council, other interested organisations and, more importantly, Liverpool's Black communities. 'This is all a positive step in revealing the honest connections to the transatlantic slave trade.' (TNS) Biometric screening may soon be in place at St. Louis Lambert International Airport to get passengers through security lines a bit faster. But theyll have to pay up to $179 a year for that privilege.The city Airport Commission on Wednesday endorsed a contract with a New York-based company to bring its CLEAR biometric system to Lambert.It was among several actions taken at the first meeting of the panel since Mayor Lyda Krewson announced on Dec. 20 that she was dropping the citys controversial consideration of leasing Lambert to private operators.The biometric service, which identifies people by their fingerprints and irises, already is offered at 34 airports around the country.People who buy the service show up at a CLEAR kiosk in the terminal, go through the screening and then are escorted by an employee through a special line leading to the Transportation Security Administration employee checking documents.After showing their boarding pass, they go through security screening like everyone else, whether theyre in a regular line or in an expedited TSA pre-check line. Passengers already pay $85 for five years for TSA pre-check status It just makes the travel process that much easier, Mitch Nadler, a vice president with Alclear LLC, owner and operator of the CLEAR platform, told the commission. You go up to the document checker quicker. Nothing about the physical screening changes.Samuel Jenkins, one commission member, said: So the people who are in the TSA precheck line, Im going to get in front of them? Theyre going to be pissed.Jenkins, however, said later that Im all for it after hearing a detailed explanation.Under the contract, the company will pay Lambert $66,000 a year plus 10% of the fees paid by residents of the metro area and more than 40 other Missouri and Illinois counties who sign up.However, Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said for Lambert, its more of a consumer convenience than a way to bring the airport more revenue. Were excited to bring it, she said.Hamm-Niebruegge said the service has mainly been used so far at larger hub airports and has been expanding to medium-sized airports such as Lambert. She said Cincinnatis airport got the service a few months ago, for example.Nadler said his company hopes to begin operating in Lamberts two terminals in the next few months. The three-year contract still needs approval from the city Board of Estimate and Apportionment.While the standard fee is $179, Nadler said, people in loyalty programs with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines pay nothing or get a discounted rate, depending on what level of membership they have.Lambert officials said they didnt put this service out for competitive bidding because only AlClear had responded when other airports went through that process.Jim Gregory, a TSA spokesman, said Thursday that it hasnt been decided yet how the CLEAR process will be affected when the federal agency on Oct. 1 begins requiring every traveler to present a federally compliant REAL ID card before boarding.At issue is how to handle CLEAR members who havent used a REAL ID card to sign up for the service. More identifying documents are required to get a REAL ID card than for many older driver's licenses.We are working with CLEAR to determine how that process works, Gregory said.The commission also briefly discussed what happens now after the demise of the privatization idea, which is expected to be officially killed at a meeting of the estimate board next Wednesday.Hamm-Niebruegge said that Lambert has resumed seeking competitive bids when existing contracts with vendors expire, usually for three-year periods.While privatization was under consideration, the city had imposed a partial freeze on seeking bids and instead extended current agreements by a year or so at a similar price.That was done, Lambert officials had said, because various companies might not want to submit bids given the uncertainty over what would happen with privatization.Commission member Rik Nemanick asked whether a new Lambert strategic plan will now be devised. Hamm-Niebruegge agreed that the current five-year plan, which runs through June, needs updating and that she and other city officials would discuss how to proceed.We had the whole region involved in the last go-round, she said. I think we could look at doing the same thing.Hamm-Niebruegge said plans call for most documents compiled by the city committee that studied privatization, the Airport Advisory Working Group, to be released.But Mario Pandolfo , Lamberts attorney, said there would be exceptions, such as information related to litigation. And for public safety reasons, he said, information on Lambert access points and specifications for its facilities would be kept private.Asked by one commissioner about efforts to get more international flights, Hamm-Niebruegge said she has been negotiating with some local organizations she would not name to try to get dollar guarantees to offer to airlines that might offer such routes.The St. Louis County Port Authority in 2017 had approved offering up to $5 million to try to lure regular air service to continental Europe but that was dropped earlier this year.The authority also had committed $600,000 for Wow Air flights to Iceland but those incentives were never paid, and that company ended up discontinuing those flights after just a few months. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops as Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and others look on. Read more WASHINGTON - A day after President Donald Trump signaled that he would not use military force to escalate a tense standoff with Iran, that nation's supreme leader responded with a message of his own: a doctored photo of Trump's face imprinted with red welts from a slap to the face. The creation on the official website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered a trolling visual meme to echo his previous warning that Tehran's missile attack on two Iraqi facilities housing U.S. troops was only the first salvo in a campaign to avenge the fatal drone strike on Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. The barb took on the juvenile tone found on Internet message boards of the unruly dark Web. But it was a fitting coda in a geopolitical confrontation that escalated rapidly in part through taunting on social media between a U.S. president more comfortable issuing tweets than holding news conferences and an authoritarian regime that, experts said, employs Internet trolling as a cornerstone of a disinformation and propaganda campaign. Through a two-week crisis that brought the two countries to the brink of a full-on war, Trump and his rivals traded Twitter insults and threats - seeking to one-up one another with rejoinders in the virtual world amid bloody consequences in the real one. In his first public statement after ordering the drone strike on Soleimani, Trump posted a solitary image of an American flag - one that quickly went viral, garnering more than 814,000 likes. Days later, after Iran's missile barrage, a senior adviser to Khamenei, Saeed Jalili, mocked Trump by posting an image of Iran's flag. Conservatives in the United States, including prominent Trump supporters, swarmed to mock Jalili in the comments, posting more images of American flags. Experts called the display an example of a new era in international diplomacy in which official letters, telephone hotlines and secure video conference calls have been replaced, in some cases, by high-octane and instantaneous social media messaging. The shift has been accelerated by Trump, who has scrapped formal White House briefings in favor of a near-daily stream of boastful, belittling and bellicose tweets. "We're at a unique point in time in which Iran's senior leadership sees this as a more effective way to communicate a message to the president because the president uses Twitter to message policy and orchestrate threats," said Jason Blazakis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who was a counterterrorism official at the State Department from 2008 to 2018. Blazakis said there have been moments when the social messages might have helped de-escalate tensions, pointing to tweets from Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Trump after Iran's missile attacks that appeared to signal both sides would be willing to halt overt military action. Blazakis also emphasized that there are significant risks to relying on a communication model that is often aimed a provoking the other side. In July 2018, with Trump engaged in mutual threats with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Soleimani shared on Instagram a manipulated image of the White House exploding. The image appeared to have been taken from the 2013 film "Olympus Has Fallen," and it was doctored so Soleimani appeared in front of the inferno with a walkie-talkie in his hand. This week, a senior Iranian adviser to Rouhani, Hesameddin Ashena, tweeted a link to a business magazine profile about Trump's private properties, including Mar-a-Lago in South Florida and Trump Tower in New York, along with a quote from the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - a post some viewed as a threat to those buildings. "For somebody who makes decisions on gut instincts or emotion, we're left to wonder: Is the trolling from the Iranians factoring into the decision-making and leading to a situation where [the Trump administration] is engaging in the targeted killing of Soleimani?" Blazakis said. "We're not in the president's head, but given his use of social media, maybe those things resonate." From the time he announced his presidential campaign, Trump has rewritten the rules of communication for U.S. political figures. Since taking office, he has shown no compunction about mocking rivals, threatening foreign leaders, disseminating false statements and misleading news stories and sharing memes or retweeting accounts run by automated bots or other unreliable sources. At times in the faceoff with Iran, Trump appeared to be freelancing official U.S. policy through 280-character missives, threatening to attack Iranian cultural sites even as his top Defense officials suggested doing so would violate international law. He retweeted a post that shared images of Soleimani and former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who killed himself during an October U.S. raid in Syria, along with one of Trump winking at the camera. On Twitter and Instagram, Trump shared a video from Senate Republicans celebrating Soleimani's death by announcing that his "20-year span of terror is finally over" - with a big red X over his name. Trump's tweets racked up some of the highest levels of engagement from his supporters of his tenure, suggesting that the president's conservative base was rallying behind his projection of Twitter toughness. But critics faulted Trump for, like his adversaries, using social media tools to spread disinformation and propaganda of his own. "We can all give him credit for being politically astute about what his base is looking for while also being diplomatically dangerous in how he uses these images," said Jennifer Psaki, who served as White House communications director and a State Department spokeswoman in the Obama administration. Psaki acknowledged that President Barack Obama's team was perhaps "outdated and mechanical" in its use of social media. But she said Trump is spreading "inaccurate information at a time when the public is susceptible to that - some are fearful, and some will believe anything." U.S. social media companies have also been pressed by counterterrorism experts and others to do more to crack down on the exploitation of their platforms by authoritarian regimes, especially those that impose Internet bans on their citizens. In November, Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, called on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to shut down the accounts of Khamenei, Zarif and Rohani. Twitter has previously suspended thousands of accounts with ties to the Iranian government, but it has not acted against the top leadership. Trump and his top aides have also peddled in disinformation. The president retweeted a prominent alt-right conspiracy theorist who claimed that Soleimani helped plan the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans in 2012. There is no evidence to support such a claim. Vice President Mike Pence used a tweet to suggest Soleimani helped facilitate the travel of al-Qaida terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The 9/11 Commission Report concluded that there was no evidence that the Iranian government played a role and did not mention Soleimani. Such statements amount to outright propaganda, said Jennifer Grygiel, an assistant professor of communication at Syracuse University who specializes in social media. Grygiel called Trump's tactics dangerous and said it was an example of the need for social media companies to employ greater controls - including the pre-screening and moderating of tweets during a crisis. Tweets cant be recalled, Grygiel said. Theyre like an instant [news] wire. They can move stock markets. Lets not assume a tweet could not start a war. Iran said Thursday that the missile strike on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops was not intended to killed Americans. We did not intend to kill, said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force. We intended to hit the enemys military machinery. The Iranian commander nevertheless claimed that tens of people were killed or wounded, conflicting the Trump administrations statement that the missile strike caused no casualties. Tehran on Tuesday launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles aimed at two Iraqi bases in Ain al-Asad and Irbil in Kurdistan. The act of aggression was a response to the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the head of Irans elite Quds Force, who was killed Friday in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. The U.S. airstrike was launched in retaliation for the attacks by Iran-backed militiamen on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad last week, which Soleimani signed off on. Irans ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi echoed the Iranian commanders insistence that Iran was not looking after killing Americans within this operation but added that he is not a military man and cannot tell you exactly what was going on. But what I can tell you is that the target was chosen in order to show that we are capable of hitting the target where the plan to kill Soleimani was organized, the ambassador said. As I said, we are not interested in we are not looking after killing Americans within this operation. Vice President Mike Pence contradicted the Iranian ambassador on Thursday, saying the missiles were intended to kill Americans and that the U.S. had intelligence to support that that was the intention of the Iranians. Irans supreme leader warned Wednesday that the missile attack was not enough retaliation against America. They were slapped last night, but such military actions are not enough, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. More from National Review In his long life, voodoo priest Kpohinto Medji has seen his religion flourish and then go into decline, banned for years by the authorities and pressured by other faiths. Today, the ageing priest with mischievous eyes is somewhat happier. Benin is gearing for its annual voodoo festival -- an event that lures an influx of visitors to the capital Porto-Novo and underscores voodoo's comeback in the country of its birth. Houngo Hounto Square is among a number of squares, once owned by voodoo-worshipping families, that are being renovated. Painters have been putting the finishing touches to its ochre walls ahead of the January 10 festival, and fetishes and tokens of the old religion are proudly on display. Dilapidated squares owned by voodoo-worshipping households are being renovated -- they are a vital part of social and spiritual life in Porto-Novo. By Yanick Folly (AFP) "Before, it was a run-down, abandoned square," the old priest said, speaking in the local language of Goun. "Today, it's lovely." Voodoo, more often called "vodun" in West Africa, has a hierarchy of deities and tribal spirits of nature and sees revered ancestors living alongside the living. It uses fetishes, magical practises and healing remedies, which followers consider to be divine. But its rituals have often been distorted by Hollywood, which tends to stereotype the religion as a source of black magic. Years of decline In Benin itself, voodoo was battered by French colonisation, when it was demonised by Catholic missionaries. An iroko tree, where people people in Porto-Novo make offerings to Ogou, the god of metal. If a loved-one dies from contact with metal, such as in a car accident or a shooting, relatives hang up a garment of the victim to ease the god's anger.. By Yanick Folly (AFP) A dozen years after Benin gained independence, voodoo was banned by Mathieu Kerekou, a Marxist-Leninist who came to power in a military coup. His elected successor, Nicephore Soglo, lifted the ban, but the religion came under pressure once more with the spread of evangelism in West Africa, whose preachers often compare native religions with sorcery. According to the latest available official figures, which date from 2013, practitioners of voodoo, who are called vodounsi, account for just 11 percent of Benin's population, against nearly 30 percent Muslim and 25 percent Christian. "There are so many religions which have arrived in Benin, they have turned our brothers away from our faith," said Raymond Zannou, a printer. He ancestors built Houngbo Hounto Square. Today, "a minority of people take care of maintaining the squares, and often they are elderly," he said. City of squares Porto-Novo, a city of about a quarter of a million people, originally developed as a port for slave trade under the Portuguese empire in the 17th century. Mito Akplogan Guin, voodoo's supreme leader in Porto-Novo. By Yanick Folly (AFP) Its squares -- 44, according to Gerard Bassale, head of a local cultural association called Ouadada -- are one of its most distinctive features. Many of them belong to local families, who built their homes there and established temples and housed their divinities as protection. But many of them fell into sad disrepair, becoming a symbol itself of voodoo's marginalisation. Many blamed squabbles within families about sharing out the cost of renovation. "They are the identity of our town. They create links between people, they are where important ceremonies take place," said Bassale, whose organisation is refurbishing the squares. Voodoo's comeback has lured tourists to Porto-Novo, providing work for tourist guide Messie Boko. By Yanick Folly (AFP) "If they disappeared, part of the town's history would go with them." Restoring each square costs the equivalent of around $66,000 (60,000 euros). The funding comes from Cergy-Pontoise, a town in the greater Paris region that has twinning links. Porto-Novo's authorities are paying for solar-powered lighting for the the squares and for cleaning them, but does not maintain the voodoo shrines there, which it considers to be private areas. Sacred tree King Te Houeyi Migan XIV, the descendant of a long line of local chiefs, is delighted at the rebirth of the squares. King Te Houeyi Migan XIV. By Yanick Folly (AFP) French colonisersused a forest that was sacred to his forebears to build Porto-Novo's cathedral and governor's palace. The chief, clad in a magnificent purple gown, pointed to an ancient kapok tree towering over one of three renovated squares near the old palace. "It is a sacred tree. Spirits live there," said the king. "Every five years, we hold a great party and make sacrifices there." Paul Nouatin, treasurer of an association that maintains two of the squares, said there had been an upturn in interest in voodoo -- around 20 young people had been initiated into the religion in December alone, he said. Mito Akplogan Guin, the supreme head of voodoo in Porto-Novo, said he was optimistic. "Catholics, Protestants, Muslims.. all their ancestors (in Benin) were followers of voodoo. Our religion can't disappear in a flash." Taiwan heads to the polls on Saturday with the island sitting in the center of a struggle for regional dominance between the United States and China. "Taiwanese voters, for the first time, are voting between two candidates that have completely different visions of what Taiwan's relationship is with China and the world," said Shirley Lin, Compton Visiting Professor in World Politics at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. In the race are incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Party's Han Kuo-yu, also the mayor of Kaohsiung city. The presidential vote on January 11 is seen as a referendum on Taiwan's identity, sovereignty and Chinese influence. Legislative elections will also be held on the same day, although the race is traditionally focused more on local issues and less on national sovereignty, noted Eurasia Group, the geopolitical consultancy. Communist China has never ruled over Taiwan, but Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has never renounced the use of force to achieve "reunification." Taiwan's relationship with China has cooled significantly since Tsai, an independence-leaning politician, took office in 2016. And Tsai has set out to steer Taiwan's reliance away from mainland China both economically and in other respects, said Lin. On the other hand, the KMT's Han "believes that we should integrate more closely with China economically may not be politically, in order to solve many of Taiwan's socioeconomic problems and many of his supporters also support unification," said Lin. The third candidate James Soong is a veteran politician who is the chairman of the smaller People First Party. Soong announced his candidacy in November and is not seen to be posing a serious challenge to Tsai or Han. Hong Kong factor Tsai's popularity tanked after she won the 2016 presidential election, but things have been turning around for her since early last year, when she responded forcefully to Chinese President Xi Jinping's aggressive New Year's speech where he said Beijing reserved the right to bring Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary. Xi has been "a fantastic campaign manager for her," said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, managing director for Taiwan at BowerGroupAsia, a government affairs and public policy consulting firm. Tsai scored points with the Taiwanese when she "defended the island's democracy and she spoke out clearly about the shortcomings of 'one country, two systems' and the fact that it's a non-starter for Taiwan," noted Hammond-Chambers. The "one country, two systems" applies to Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, which has seen months of pro-democracy protests as its young people fight to keep out Beijing's growing influence. Under that principle, Hong Kong is given self-governing power, a largely separate legal and economic framework from China, and various freedoms including limited election rights. But citizens say their freedoms have eroded. Tsai got a further boost in 2019 when she rejected Beijing's policy. "As long as I'm President, 'one country, two systems' will never be an option," she proclaimed on Twitter on June 9, in support of the Hong Kong protests. What the results will mean The fate of Catalan separatist politicians continued to heavily feature in the national political debate this week. Last week the Junta Electoral (electoral commission) said that Quim Torra, Catalan president, had to stop being a regional MP after a court disqualified him for allowing pro-separatist symbols to be shown on public buildings during an election. The electoral commission added, however, that it was down to the Catalan parliament to stop him from leading the government. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court said ERC party leader, Oriol Junqueras, cannot be let out of prison to be an MEP. Junqueras was sentenced in October to 13 years over the independence declaration. But an EU advisory court last month said that before he was sentenced he could have had immunity and attended Euro parliament sessions. The Spanish court has now told his lawyers that, as his prison term has since been confirmed and he isn't on remand, he can't be freed. Self-exiled ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and two others have asked the Constitutional Court to end their arrest warrants, as they are "recognised" as MEPs. WASHINGTON In a briefing with reporters on Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that the U.S. government had specific information that Iran was planning an imminent attack on American facilities before President Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3. We had specific information on an imminent threat, and those threats ... included attacks on U.S. embassies. Period. Full stop, Pompeo said. Soleimani was one of the most powerful figures in the Iranian regime. He led the countrys Quds Force, which carried out military operations outside of Iran. His work included overseeing forces who have been responsible for the deaths of U.S. troops. The drone strike that killed Soleimani came after a group that included Iranian-backed militiamen attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Dec. 31. Iran retaliated for Soleimanis death on Jan. 8 by launching missile strikes at military bases in Iraq that housed U.S. troops. Pompeo said other American facilities in the Middle East, including military bases, were also being targeted by Soleimani. Pompeos comments followed criticism from lawmakers, including some Republicans, that the Trump administration did not provide sufficient information about the justification for the strike in a classified briefing with members of the Senate on Wednesday. Those concerns have led some Republicans to support a push by Democrats to curb Trumps power to order military action in Iran without congressional approval. During Fridays briefing, Pompeo was asked how his claim that the threat was imminent squared with prior comments he made indicating that he did not know when the attacks allegedly being planned by Soleimani would take place. Those are completely consistent thoughts. I dont know exactly which minute, we dont know exactly which day it would have been executed, but it was very clear Qassem Soleimani himself was plotting a broad, large-scale attack against American interests, and those attacks were imminent, Pompeo said. Story continues Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing new sanctions on Iran on Friday. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Pompeos comment that U.S. embassies were being targeted echoed statements President Trump made at a Thursday campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio. After Trump made that claim, multiple senators said that information was not included in the closed-door briefing the day before. Pompeo was asked about this discrepancy and whether the Trump administration had told senators multiple embassies were targeted. We did, Pompeo said. A reporter pressed him on whether the senators who said they didnt receive this information were lying. We told them about the imminent threat, all of the intelligence that weve briefed that youve heard today. I assure you, Pompeo said. He was also asked about the contradiction between the administrations insistence that intelligence should be trusted and the myriad attacks Trump has launched against members of the intelligence community who investigated him in conjunction with former special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe. We all challenge their work. We have to make sure we get it right, Pompeo said. The intelligence community is not flawless. We get it wrong. In this case, the intelligence community got it fundamentally right. Pompeo spoke to reporters along with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The pair held the briefing to announce additional U.S. sanctions against Iran on Friday morning in response to the missile strikes against the bases in Iraq. The president has been very clear we will continue to apply economic sanctions until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commits that it will never have nuclear weapons, Mnuchin said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: The trip was tough, but the end result was sweet for Slick Tony who dug down deep to take home top honours in Thursdays $30,000 Preferred for pacers at Dover Downs. With Ross Wolfenden at the controls, Slick Tony got away fourth while Rock M shot to the top and served up fractions of :26.2, :55.1 and 1:22.3. Slick Tony started a first-over bid on the way to the half, and he was just a length away from the leader as the field headed into the final quarter of the rich contest. Slick Tony used a :27.3 closing panel to win by a neck over race favourite Wiggle It Jiggleit in 1:50.2. Quality Bud took home the show dough. George Leager owns and trains the five-year-old son of No Spin Zone-Queen Kathy who went 16-for-40 last season. The 35-time winner has banked over $630,000 to date. Wins have been tough to come by for quite some time for Little Ben, but he put it all together on Thursdays card and took home top honours in the $27,500 Blue Hen Open for pacers. Tim Tetrick got away fourth with the Jim King, Jr. trainee while Sicily and Blazing Bobby Sox battled to the quarter pole in :26.4. Sicily was the leader at the mid-way point in :55.2, but Little Ben was on the move and pressing from first over. Little Ben showed a short lead while racing parked past the three-quarter pole in 1:21.4, and his :28.2 closing panel was enough to earn him the win by a neck over even-money favourite Sicily in 1:50.1. Silver Fox J took home third prize. Little Ben won for the 40th time in his career while pushing his overall cash stash to $556,693 for owner Joann Looney King of Harrington, DE. Armed gardai swoop on four suspects on the motorway near Naas This is the dramatic moment when almost 20 heavily armed gardai swooped on four members of a Dublin biker gang following an alleged firearms incident in Co Wexford. The suspects - one aged in his 30s, two in their 40s and one 50s, who have close links to the Kinahan cartel - were arrested near Naas, Co Kildare, following a number of incidents yesterday morning in Co Wexford. It is alleged that during one incident in the village of Clonroche, a man was threatened with a gun and chased by the gang before he managed to escape. After this it is alleged that the mobsters, whose base is Crumlin in the capital, threatened a local businessman at his workplace and warned him not to associate with the man they had chased earlier. "They warned him that they would be back if he continued to associate with the man they had targeted and they then took all the CCTV from the man's business in Clonroche," a senior source said. The Herald can reveal that the man who had been chased and threatened with a firearm had fled from the mob after receiving death threats five years ago and had only just returned to Co Wexford. Drugs Before the Clonroche incidents, the gang is suspected of collecting "drugs cash" from someone in the Castlebridge area 24km away. They then left Wexford in a car but a garda alert was sparked and four suspects were detained by the ERU and RSU in Co Kildare. However, no cash, drugs, CCTV tapes or firearms were recovered. The suspects were being held at garda stations in Enniscorthy and Wexford last night. "These are four significant arrests following separate calls about armed men at a private house and at a business," the source added. "There is a gap in time between these reports and when the men were arrested, so gardai are attempting to determine if there were firearms and where they are. "One theory being explored is that another associate of the gang travelled separately back to Dublin with the equipment and remained undetected." One of the men arrested has been described as the leader of the Dublin-based biker gang, whose headquarters was raided last year by gardai. Last February, detectives seized three imitation firearms and a large number of swords in a raid on the gang, whose members led the procession at a Kinahan gang funeral, in an operation also involving the ERU. Sources said around 100 knives and swords were taken from the property along with three "realistic-looking" imitation firearms. The Crumlin property is the headquarters of the gang and has been described as a "compound" with a number of small buildings inside. Gardai believe that the gang is headed by a father and son, with six people at the core of the motorbike crew. DECATUR Central Illinois is smack in the middle of a "multi-hazard" storm path that may unleash heavy rains and possible floods from Texas to the Great Lakes, the National Weather Service projected Thursday. For the Decatur region, the most serious conditions are forecast for Friday afternoon, when a Flood Watch kicks in, through mid-day Saturday. Heavy winds and precipitation are expected during the period, giving way to possible snow and sleet Saturday night. Anybody out traveling, particularly Friday night into Saturday morning, definitely needs to be on the lookout for standing water, said Chris Miller, a weather service meteorologist. "The ground, although its not frozen, it is pretty moist in a lot areas so a lot of this rainfall is going to be running off into creeks and streams and into roadways. Herald & Review media partner WCIA-TV reports that 3 to 4 inches of rain are possible Saturday night. Heavy rainfall could result in the flooding of low-lying or poor drainage areas, "and ultimately dangerous flash flooding on smaller creeks and streams," the weather service warned. A Wind Advisory also was issued Thursday night, with gusts of 45 mph or more projected. Dan Mendenall, municipal services manager with Decatur, said he expects to be busy in the next few days with the amount of predicted rain. But its nothing that we havent experienced before, he said. At least its not snow. For every inch of rain, theres 10 inches of snow. For the last two and a half months, Mendenall has sent two or three sweeper crews out into the city. And catch basins are being cleaned out by the sewer crews, he said. Weve been cleaning for the past four months. Mendenall suggests those who live on a street that has a storm inlet to clean them out. When people rake the leaves, they sometimes move them to the street, he said. Then they collect in the storm drains. We recommend putting them in bags. Those who witness flooding problems in the streets during off hours, city officials recommend the community call the police non-emergency number at (217) 424-2711. We have someone on call 24/7, Mendenall said. More serious conditions are expected in the south. The national Storm Prediction Center said more than 18 million people in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma will be at an enhanced threat of storms that could include strong tornadoes and flooding rains. The area includes several Texas cities including Dallas, Houston and Austin. A more tightly defined area that includes the Louisiana cities of Shreveport and Monroe and stretches into northeast Texas will be at an even greater risk of damaging winds on Friday, the Norman, Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center warned. A key concern in this area is the likelihood of a relatively focused corridor for damaging wind," the Storm Prediction Center warned in a briefing Thursday. We could see some very strong tornadoes possibly those that may stay on the ground for some time not just the brief spin-up tornadoes, Matt Hemingway, a weather service meteorologist in Shreveport, said. Wind gusts of up to 80 mph will be possible in Louisiana as the storms move through, the weather service said. Many streams already are at or near flood levels because of earlier storms, and heavy rains could lead to flash flooding across the region, forecasters said. Parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and southern Illinois were under a flash flood watch on Thursday in anticipation of the drenching rains. The Associated Press contributed to this report. History photos: Past winters in Decatur Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Devastated Australians in Singapore are knitting pouches for joeys and baby bats orphaned by the blazes burning around the country. Kris and her daughter Paisley Parkinson are helping by knitting and sewing pouches and wraps for the orphaned animals. 'The fires have really caused a lot of destruction and theres been so many animals orphaned,' Ms Parkinson told the BBC. 'So these little pouches just give the babies that the carers are working with and trying to save a similar sort of environment to their mum.' Volunteers are knitting and sewing pouches for orphaned bats, koalas, kangaroos and possums Adelaide wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with koala rescued at a burning forest near near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, on January 9 An estimated one billion animals have been killed as massive bushfires ravage across Australia. Firefighters are working around the clock to save the wildlife who are in direct threat of death and losing their homes. Nearly one-third of Australia's koala population have died and more than 800million animals have been killed by bushfires in New South Wales alone. The Australia-based Animal Rescue Craft Guild Facebook group which has more than 183,000 members put a call out for volunteers to knit pouches for the animals. Donors from all over Asia, Europe and the US are contributing to the cause with The Rescue Collective, based in Queensland working to distribute the pouches. An estimated one billion animals have been killed as massive bushfires ravage across Australia Donors from all over Asia, Europe and the US are contributing to the cause with The Rescue Collective, based in Queensland working to distribute the pouches (koala in a pouch) With her own sister evacuated by the fires and not being able to be there, Ms Parkinson said knitting the pouches for the orphaned animals helps. 'It's time like this we really feel like we need to do something because were here away from Australia,' she said. 'The idea of all the little animals orphaned it makes you feel helpless. Although were not there, we cant actually pitch in and help the animals. This is something we can do. 'If one of these little pouches can help save a baby then awesome.' Animal rescue carer Judith received the Parkinson's package and said people have been 'really kind' in their donations. 'Ive been getting parcels of absolutely amazing stuff from all over the place.' Twenty-six people have died, more than 2000 homes destroyed and at least seven million hectares of bushland incinerated by the blazes that have raged all summer. A few years ago, Adalberto Martin began to see some troubling changes at work. As a veteran member of the room service staff at Marriotts W Hotel in downtown San Francisco, he was an expert in delivering carefully assembled trays of food and drink to hungry guests. But the number of orders had sharply decreased. What was once 50 glasses of orange juice every morning had dwindled to 10, and Mr. Martins tip income fell accordingly. At lunchtime, he seemed to make more deliveries of plates and silverware than actual food. Room service, as we imagine it in the movies, with white tablecloths and silver cloches, has long been in decline, even at the fanciest hotels. But Mr. Martin attributes his loss of earnings to the proliferation of food delivery apps such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Postmates, successors of online ordering services like Seamless. Now he wonders if soon hell be out of a job altogether. Were always worrying and concerned when we see other hotels nearby closing room service, Mr. Martin told me. Its just a matter of time. His co-workers at the W and staff members at other hotels report similar trends: The doormen and bellmen who once summoned cabs for guests, and were tipped in return, now watch lines of Ubers and Lyfts coil in front of the lobby doors, while concierges have had their work outsourced to iPad consoles. Some hotels offer tablets in every room preloaded with food-delivery apps, and give guests vouchers for Uber and Lyft rides. In the microcosm of the hotel, the app economy has expanded choices for some (the guests) and shrunk options for others (the workers). These currents in hospitality represent a subtle, sneaky form of technological displacement, care of the gig economy. Theyre not robots stepping in for humans on a factory floor, but rather smartphone-based independent contractors and supplemental cobots (a portmanteau of co-worker and robot) chipping away at the careers of full-time and in some cases unionized employees. - Darrell Hall was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1991 for possessing a minimal amount of prohibited substance which he planned to distribute, but he was released in December 2019 - The ex-convict has been offered a job by Tyler Perry, the founder of Tyler Perry Studios - Hall gained his freedom after spending nearly three decades in jail courtesy of the Fulton County District Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit - Under today's laws, Hall's sentence will be considered unfair and unjust Darrell Hall, an inmate serving a life sentence for having in his possession a minimal amount of prohibited substance which he planned to distribute has been offered a job by Tyler Perry, the founder of Tyler Perry Studios. Hall, who was convicted in 1991 at a time Georgia law required a life sentence for drug offences, was released from prison in December 2019, CNN reports. Legit.ng gathers that Hall was released courtesy of the Fulton County District Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit. The unit reviews sentences that under today's laws would be considered unfair and unjust. It reviews convictions for credible claims of actual innocence and wrongful conviction. In a press release on Thursday, January 9, district attorney Paul Howard Jr said: "In addition to his freedom, Tyler Perry Studios and Mr. Tyler Perry agreed to offer Hall a job so he can rebuild his life and move forward as a productive citizen of Fulton County." Paul Howard Jr and Darrell Hall. Photo credit: Fulton County District Attorney's Office Source: UGC Until December 2019, Hall was the only prison inmate from Fulton County serving a life sentence for a drug offence. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that ace producer and actor Tyler Perry was set to build a compound for homeless women and displaced youths in his N90 billion film studio. Perry launched the massive film studio located in Atlanta, GA, USA, making him the owner of the first-black owned multifaceted film studio in America. Ex-prisoner turns advocate for release of former inmates | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Families whose homes were ravaged by bushfires in New South Wales are devastated after being denied disaster relief payments. In the fire-damaged town of Mogo, south of Batemans Bay, several residents were told they weren't eligible for the $1,000 payment as the fire 'didn't hit their area'. Incredibly, mum Melinda Evans, who lost huge parts of her rural property including fences and sheds to the fires, was denied the cash. Ms Evans lives near the village of Mogo (pictured) which was hit by terrible fires on New Year's Eve Melinda Evans (pictured with her seven-month-old son Michael) said she was denied a vital disaster relief payment, with officials saying her home 'hadn't been hit by fire' 'We're not in the area according to Centrelink. They're looking at their own map but if you look around here you can tell we're in the thick of it' she told Nine News. She applied to Centrelink for the payment, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised help for those most in need. To qualify for the payment, which is $1,000 per adult and $400 for a child, a home must have been destroyed, badly damaged or contaminated. For Ms Evans, parts of her property were destroyed and her home filled with toxic ash - even in her seven-month-old son Michael's bedroom. Melinda Evans and her partner Robert (pictured) survey the damage done to their rural property in the village of Mogo A destroyed bus (pictured) is seen next to burnt bushland in the village of Mogo, which was hit by fires on New Year's Eve A chimney is all that is left of a house (pictured) in Mogo after the area was destroyed by bushfires The family also lost all power for 10 days and were cut off from accessing any food, forcing them to rely on donations. 'His breathing's terrible. He's stuffy, he's got a cough,' she explained of her infant son. 'There's nothing else we can do about it, there's nowhere else we can go. It's hard. A measly $1,000 would mean the world to us. It would mean the world.' Centrelink's 'guide maps' showed the area was not a fire zone, but the maps were out of date. Daily Mail Australia approached Centrelink for comment. The sky turned red over Mogo Zoo (pictured) on New Year's Eve as the out-of-control bushfire approached Charred cars are seen lined up in the village of Mogo (pictured) after the area was destroyed by bushfires Ms Evans and another Mogo local have since received their payments, 21,000 of which have been handed out since September. On New Year's Eve, the historic town was devastated by the raging Clyde Mountain Fire, which is still out-of-control after burning across 83,000 hectares. The inferno later crossed the Princes Highway, after destroying much of the 170-year-old town of Mogo, and was fast approaching the 65-acre Mogo Zoo. In news which touched hearts across Australia, zookeepers bravely stayed behind to battle the blaze and protect the 200 animals on-sight. Zoo Director Chad Staples use his home to shelter smaller animals including monkeys and red pandas. Mogo Zoo director Chad Staples (pictured) was hailed as a hero for saving vulnerable animals during the bushfires 'At 6am we started putting water everywhere we could, wetting everything that could become fuel,' Mr Staples told Sunrise. 'Lions, tigers, gorillas and orangutans went into their night dens and we kept them calm.' 'We drove around and whenever we saw a flame spring up, we jumped onto it.' The zoo is home to the nation's largest collection of primates. At least 200 homes were destroyed on the NSW south coast and the main streets of towns such as Cobargo and Mogo are now unrecognisable. Nearly 20 people were feared dead in a road accident involving a double-decker bus and a truck as the two collided near Chhibramau in Kannauj district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday night. Initial reports say some passengers were trapped in the bus, while others managed to escape. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has rushed the district magistrate and the superintendent of police of Kannauj to the accident site to manage rescue operations. It was a private double decker bus run by Vimal Bus Service. It collided with a truck near Ghiloi village. The bus was headed to Jaipur, Rajasthan from Farrukhabad via Chhibramau. Station house officer (SHO) Chhibramau Shailendra Kumar Mishra said, The fire tenders are trying to control the fire. There could be casualties as people are inside. How many are in there or how many are hurt is not clear. It will be clear only after the fire gets under control. It was a private and collided with the truck head-on. The Police said a total of 25 people boarded the bus from Gursahaigunj (Farukhabad) and some people also took it from Chhibramau but their number is not clear. Twenty-one people were brought to a government hospital in Chhibramau. All are out of danger. Fire tenders were called in from several places. Fire has been controlled and assessment of casualties would begin shortly. UP CM announced 2 lakh each to the kin of those who died in the accident and 50,000 each to the injured. He has expressed grief over those who list life in the incident, said a government spokesman. The CM has also asked the cabinet minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri to go to the spot. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Russian-flagged tanker and a Turkish fishing boat collided in the Black Sea near Istanbul this morning, sinking the fishing vessel. Istanbul governors office said in a statement three Turkish citizens are missing while three were rescued by fisherman after the collision . Authorities were searching for the missing with divers and boats, the AP reported. The Russian ship Glard 2 was en route from Rostov-on-Don in Russia to Izmir in Turkey, according to marine traffic trackers. It is categorized as an oil and chemical tanker. Heavy fog has prompted the temporary closure of Istanbuls Bosphorus strait, the governors office said on Twitter. YEREVAN. Armenias mothers who are victims of the criminal case on illegal adoption, and who are protesting in front of the Prosecutor General's Office today, have met with Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan. They demand the arrest of Razmik Abrahamyan, the director of the Republican Maternity Hospital, and Arshak Jerjeryan, the deputy director. "Officials were present at the meeting," Haykuhi Khachatryan, one of these mothers, said. "They promised that the case would be investigated objectively, we would get the desired result, our entire goal is to solve the case, they appealed against the decision not to arrest Razmik Abrahamyan." Asked if the meeting with the attorney general satisfied them, she said: "Partly. After seeing further results, we will say whether we are fully satisfied. Khachatryan said she had asked Davtyan about the information that he regularly met with Razmik Abrahamyan, in response to which the prosecutor general denied noting that he had been with Abrahamyan's lawyer. Khachatryan expressed her doubts in this regard, and the attorney general promised to give clarifications after the investigation of the case. Haykuhi Khachatryan said they will continue their protest in front of the court. Razmik Abrahamyan is accused under the Criminal Code article on illegally separating a child from his parents, or changing a child, and on commercial bribery. On December 22, 2019, the Yerevan court of first instance denied the Investigative Committees petition to arrest Razmik Abrahamyan. NEW YORKNasstoys is returning to the January ANME show with a brand new booth and a full set of new releases. I am so proud of the new Nasstoys booth and appreciate all of the hard work that Kathryn put into making this a reality. The new booth is more reflective of where we are headed as a company in 2020 and beyond. I am excited for everyone to see what we have created and spend some time browsing through our inviting new booth filled with amazing products, said Elliot Schwartz, Nasstoys president. Pleasure product pioneer and ANME founding member Nasstoys has big plans for 2020, and they are kicking them off at ANME with a brand new futuristic booth designed to enhance customers experience and lend itself as a beautiful backdrop to display Nasstoys latest items and best-selling pleasure products. Longtime Nasstoys team member Kathryn Hartman designed the booth alongside Chris from MB Exhibits Las Vegas, who built the creation. The booth has clean lines, high arching beams, and beautiful signage with interactive components. Along with a new booth, Nasstoys will be unveiling sixteen new products in various colors for a total of twenty-five new releases. Nasstoys new Devine Vibes Collection will be front and center with five new products displayed in gorgeous white, floral adorned boxes. The new Devine Vibes products include the Devine Vibes Vibro Tongue Clit Hugger, Devine Vibes Dual Wand Climaxer, Devine Vibes Ultimate G-spot Thumper, Devine Vibes Exciter, and The Devine Vibes Heat Up Clit Licker. Other releases include the addition of six new dual-layered RealCocks in brown, anal focused products, the Fanny Hills Silicone Butt Plug, Dragonz Tale Anal Pleasures, and the Anal-Ese Collection Buttplug Cockring. Nasstoys has also added The Triple Tickler to their recently released Vibes of New York Collection. All of the new releases and more can be seen at ANME; customers will also have the opportunity to see the latest releases during the upcoming AVN Novelty Expo in Las Vegas. To schedule a meeting during ANME January 12-13, email your Nasstoys sales representative or [email protected]. For Spanish speaking customers, please email Christina directly at [email protected] to schedule a meeting. Stop by Nasstoys booth at ANME in the main room to see all of the new releases and best-selling products. Northern Youths Council of Nigeria, NYCN, on Thursday, have opposed the formation of Operation Amotekun in the Southwest zone of the country. This was made known by the National President of NYCN, Alhaji Isah Abubakar, in a statement issued in Kaduna, describing it as unconstitutionality. Abubakar asked President Muhammadu Buhari, not to allow it prevail, saying Amotekun is the military wing of the Oodua Peoples Congress in disguise. He said, Amotekun group in Southwest is OPC Military wing in disguise and in the same league with the proscribe IPOB. The President must not allow this unconstitutionality to prevail. Read Also: Ondo Is A Poor State: Governor Akeredolu He added also that governors in the southwest must resist the urge to back groups like Amotekum. He stressed further that Amotekun is a threat to peace and national security and an attempt to jeopardize Nigerias sovereignty. Abubakar said the Nigerian Police, DSS and Army shouldnt take this lightly with the governors of Southwest, while he urged the National Security Adviser to take steps that will avert the looming threat to Nigerias national security by Southwest governors, OPC and others. CC BY Aphiwat Chuangchoem, Pexels / CC BY 2.0 Unfair Restrictions As reported by the Albuquerque Journal, a January 2019 ruling on a lawsuit filed by a medical cannabis exhibitor against EXPO New Mexico was recently posted on a public database by the General Services Department upon the completion of a six-month period thats established under New Mexico law. In that Memorandum Opinion and Order, US District Judge James Parker notes that New Mexico State Fair officials enforcement of unreasonable booth display restrictions on a medical cannabis exhibitor violated that companys First Amendment rights. Ruling in favor of the lawsuits complainant, Ultra Health LLC (a sponsor of Weekly Alibis Leaflet newsletter), the federal district judge permanently enjoined EXPO New Mexico officials from imposing such overly broad restrictions to protect the companys right to free speech and prevent further instances of censorship. As part of a settlement agreement, Parker ordered EXPO New Mexico to pay the complainant restitution for legal fees amounting to $69,600. In that opinion, Parker notes: A picture of a tractor tilling a field to prepare it for planting corn would be allowed in a vendors booth pertaining to corn, but the State Fair would prohibit the very same picture of the tractor tilling a field if placed in Ultra Healths booth because it would constitute paraphernalia in that context. Under Defendants expansive interpretation of the restrictions on implements and their images, even the most innocuous items [a shovel, a microscope or farm equipment] are rendered objectionable when displayed in the context of medical cannabis. CC BY Abdiel Ibarra, Unsplash / CC BY 2.0 Green Tech Freeze-out Hyperlocal issues of freedom of expression for medical cannabis providers are mirrored in international cannabis news by commercial cannabis tech companies fight to showcase their innovations at CES, the worlds largest consumer technology conference. CNET reports that CTA, the organizer of the annual CES conference, barred Keep Labswhich garnered a CES Innovation award for its smart cannabis storage solutionfrom using the word cannabis on its booth or on any marketing materials; never mind that cannabis is legal in Nevada, where CES is hosted. In a statement, CTA said, Marijuana is illegal at the federal level, as well as in public parks and hotels in the state of Nevada and suggested Keep Labs brand its product generically, as a home or storage appliance. Keep Labs co-founder Phil Wilkins told CNET, We are a cannabis storage device, we are not a generic storage device. It would be a major disservice to the industry and to our brand if we water down and say we were a generic storage device. So we decided not to attend. In 2019, sexual tech company Lora Dicarlo won an Innovation Award from CES before a nervous CTA rescinded the award. Thanks to the ensuing controversy, CTA is officially allowing sex tech at CES in 2020. Perhaps a similar furor will eventually cause CTA to decide that cannabis tech also deserves a spot on the CES expo floor. Unidentified Aircraft Strikes Iran-Backed Group in Syria, 8 Dead: Rights Group Unidentified aircraft struck targets in Syria near the border with Iraq on Friday, killing eight Iran-backed Iraqi militiamen, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The rights group, which is based in the United Kingdom, obtains information through a network of activists on the ground in Syria, documenting the war in Syria over the past decade. The attack, carried out by unknown drones, targeted vehicles and armories, according to the organization. However, the head of the Syrian Observatory said it was unidentified aircraft that launched the attacks, without elaborating. Unidentified aircraft targeted vehicles and arms depots in the Albu Kamal area, causing a large explosion. At least eight Iraqi Hashed fighters were killed, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported the Times of Israel. He was referring to Iraqs Iran-backed Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Force) militia. In a post on its website, the Syrian Observatory said the strikes targeted Iranian-backed militias at the Syrian-Iraqi border, Friday morning, where at least eight people of non-Syrian citizens were killed in the airstrikes. It said the death toll is likely to rise. As noted by the Times of Israel, the area where the drones struck is a corridor for Iran to link the regime across Iraq and Syria into Lebanon. No governments or militant groups in the area have confirmed the airstrikes. The strike follows high tensions in the region after the United States last week killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who headed the Iran Revolutionary Guards Quds Force and has been blamed by American officials for facilitating terrorist attacks on troops, before Tehran launched about a dozen missiles at U.S. soldiers in Iraqi bases. On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced economic and diplomatic sanctions against Iran. Two days ago, President Donald Trump, in confirming no American soldiers died in the Iran missile attack, said Washington desires peace with Iran. The goal of our campaign is to deny the regime the resources to conduct its destructive foreign policy, Pompeo told reporters at the White House on Friday. We want Iran to simply behave like a normal nation and we believe the sanctions that we impose today further that strategic objective. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Syria this week and spoke with President Bashar Assad in Damascus. The two didnt mention the airstrike to kill Soleimani. The situation didnt just changein fact, were witnessing the restoration of Syrias statehood, Syria as a state, the countrys territorial integrity, Putin said, reported The Associated Press. Details added (first version posted on Jan. 9 at 17:13) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 9 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received the Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Abunayyan, and the Chief Executive Officer of Masdar of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi. Welcoming the guests, President Ilham Aliyev said: - Welcome to Azerbaijan! I am very glad to see you. I would like to extend my congratulations to you on a very important Executive Agreement signed today with ACWA Power and Masdar, the leading companies in the energy sector, especially in the alternative energy sector. This agreement will open up a new page in the development of energy projects in Azerbaijan, because renewable energy is one of the energy sector priorities for us today. Azerbaijan is already securing its own electricity reserves and exporting it. However, our goal is to attract investors to the renewable energy sector, and the significance of the Executive Agreement is that wind and solar power plants will be built at the investors expense. You are thus showing interest in working in Azerbaijan. We view this as a sign of confidence in our country and its future, because very large investments are involved. I was informed that after the signing of the Executive Agreement today there will still be some time to prepare other agreements, and we look forward to taking part in the groundbreaking ceremony for solar and wind power plants this year. These are very important projects for us. As I have already mentioned, Azerbaijan has made large investments in the electricity sector and power lines connect us with our neighbors. We have invested heavily in electricity generation. We now have 1,000 megawatts of additional electricity capacity and we export it. We have export markets. I also want to inform you that our investments in this sector are acknowledged by leading international institutions, in particular the Davos World Economic Forum. In terms of accessibility of electricity, it has awarded Azerbaijan second place in the world. Our entire country is provided with power lines and, as I have already noted, Azerbaijan has become an exporter. Also recently, just over a month ago, together with our partners, we completed the important TANAP gas pipeline project, which has already reached the borders of the European Union. The more energy we get from the sun and wind, the more natural gas we will save for our own needs and exports. Therefore, I attach great importance to today's ceremony. It testifies to the fact that we are on the right track. It also shows that Azerbaijan has created excellent conditions for investors. Your investments will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. The total volume of electricity will be 440 megawatts. It will be a truly major transformation in Azerbaijan in terms of renewable energy. I am also glad that your companies have been selected as partners in these projects. I believe that this was not a surprise. I was informed that ACWA Power has a total of more than 30,000 megawatts of electricity. It also produces 8,000 megawatts of electricity in the field of renewable energy. Masdar produces 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy. So you are quite experienced and leading companies in this field. Therefore, I am very glad to see you. I am sure that our cooperation will be long-term, all projects and technical issues will be resolved in a timely manner. We will start these two large projects, and they will allow us the opportunity to attract other investments, other investors to Azerbaijan because our country has a lot of wind and sun. Sometimes the wind creates some inconvenience, but at the same time cleans the air. And now wind and sun will serve our energy production, thanks to which a large amount of natural gas will be saved for domestic use and exports. Welcome, and thank you again for the decision to invest in Azerbaijan. The Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Abunayyan, said: - Mr. President, let me express my gratitude to you and convey the greetings of our government, the King and the Crown Prince. The excellent relations you have already established with the government of Saudi Arabia and our leaders can be cited as an example. Thanks to the trust you have placed in the company from Saudi Arabia, we will now be able to implement your plans for renewable energy in Azerbaijan. As for investments, economic and social benefits, we will be able to meet your expectations in terms of attracting renewable energy to our projects. We will direct Azerbaijans resources for use in other energy generation. We will improve the fuel balance to achieve the most optimized economic solution for Azerbaijan. I am very glad and grateful to you for choosing us, as this reflects your confidence in relations with Saudi Arabia. The detailed program you used made a very positive impression on us. Indeed, the technical, commercial and contractual process was based on the best experience. We have extensive experience in working with other countries and launching renewable energy programs. However, Azerbaijan is unique because you have already embarked on this program. You have very professionally and transparently attracted the best companies to compete. You also applied very rare competition values. Mr. President, these investments will be consistent with our high-level political relations. In addition, as our Crown Prince always notes, we also want to see strong economic ties underpinning our political relations. Mr. President, this is the beginning of Saudi Arabia's investment in various fields. Mr. President, as you know, our relations are at a high level. As for the social sphere, over 100,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited Azerbaijan last year. Every year, the number of tourists increases by 20-30 percent. This suggests that our relations today cover not only the political and social, but also the economic sphere. The positive point is that this is already happening in Azerbaijan. Mr. President, we are jointly implementing these projects to realize your views. As for economic and social values, we will conduct trainings for local citizens and transfer knowledge and know-how. Our shareholders, the board of ACWA Power decided to use Azerbaijan as a platform for the region. You know that this is being done not only for Azerbaijan. Therefore, our office will start full-fledged activities here in April. We will conduct trainings to develop human capital because under your leadership a huge human capital has emerged in this country, and we will try to use it internationally. Yes, this will be done for a project we strive to develop in Azerbaijan. But at the same time, we will use human capital to enhance our competitive edge on a global scale. We remain committed to our obligations, and I convey to you the greetings of our government. At the same time, as part of this project, we commit ourselves in terms of health and safety, time, quality and reliability. The project cost is $200 million. At the same time, we are committed to long-term cooperation related to both renewable energy and highly efficient production of gas and fuel. We are very happy to be here. Yes, we are Saudis, but we work and will work as a local company because we are proud to be part of your system, part of the development of Azerbaijan and the region as a whole. It is a great honor for me to meet you. I am happy that you provided us with the opportunity for this meeting. I am very pleased. I know that you have a busy schedule. We are grateful for the opportunity. Thank you, Mr. President. President Ilham Aliyev said: - Thank you for the kind words about our country. Please convey my personal greetings and best wishes to His Majesty King Salman and the Crown Prince. As you noted, the relations between Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan are at a very high level, we are friendly, partner and fraternal countries. I would describe these relations as fraternal. We support each other in international institutions. We interact in the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. As you know, Azerbaijan has recently taken over chairmanship in the Non-Aligned Movement. We will preside over this organization for three years. With your support and with the support of friends from the United Arab Emirates, we, as the country chairing the organization, want to be very active, support members of the organization and their interests, and create a stronger unity within it. Of course, as we always note during discussions with my friends, the leaders of your country, the ties between Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan require economic support. Therefore, we have always talked about ways of bringing economic cooperation to the level of political. This is not easy, but we have taken a very important step today. It paves the way for many other investors. They will see that ACWA Power and Masdar are present here, invest hundreds of millions of dollars and have confidence in our future. Therefore, many other investors will follow you. In addition, we already saw interest in this area in the process of selecting partners. This interest is generated by many factors. First, political stability, predictability, economic development, as well as a diversified infrastructure and export opportunities in Azerbaijan. As I have already noted, we export not only oil and gas, but also electricity today. There is great potential, especially in the renewable energy sector. So this project is very important for us. I want to thank you for making this decision. As you know, such important decisions are made with the support of the government. We know that the Saudi government supports this decision, and we are very grateful for that. This is another sign of close friendships between us. The Chief Executive Officer of Masdar of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said: - Mr. President, please allow me to thank you on behalf of my Government, the United Arab Emirates and shareholders of Masdar for this opportunity. We have committed ourselves to participate in your plans aimed at decarbonization and to support them. The world is reducing its dependence on traditional methods of energy production and is heading towards decarbonization, towards a cleaner future. Masdar is committed to sustainable urban communities, renewable energy and the technology of the future. Mr. President, it is a great honor for us to participate in this process and to have been selected by you. We know that if it hadnt been for your support, clear instructions and your approach, we would not be here today. Thank you very much again, Mr. President. You can trust us on achieving a result the country and the world will be proud of, Inshallah. President Ilham Aliyev said: - Thank you very much. We are witnessing a new stage in the development of energy projects in Azerbaijan today. I am very glad to start 2020 with such an important event. It will have a good future and bring our countries closer together. You have mentioned tourists from Saudi Arabia. I believe that the number of tourists from the United Arab Emirates is the same. The number of Azerbaijanis visiting your countries is also growing. This is due not only to what we offer tourists. The reason is that people feel comfortable. Azerbaijanis visiting your countries and your citizens visiting Azerbaijan feel absolutely at home. The signing ceremony of this Executive Agreement will also strengthen the ties between our countries. Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims on January 10 gathered in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar to protest the U.S. assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force -- an elite unit in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Protesters chanted Death to America" and held photos of Soleimani, who was killed January 3 in a U.S. air strike outside Baghdad. They also chanted slogans against Israel, and burnt an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump. The protests were organized by an alliance of Shi'ite Muslims in Peshawar that called on Prime Minister Imran Khan's government to back Shi'ite Iran in its dispute with the United States. Protests were also held in other cities in Pakistan. They followed similar protests by Shi'ite groups on January 3 and January 5 in the capital, Islamabad, and in the port city of Karachi. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on January 5 issued a statement saying that Islamabad will not "let its soil be used against any other state," and will not become part of "any regional conflict." Khan later instructed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States to seek de-escalation in regional tensions. Most Senegalese farmers sell peanuts and vegetables, but in one hamlet lost in a mangrove swamp in the West African country's south, only one crop is commercially viable -- cannabis. Kouba, a village deep in the mangroves of Casmance and inaccessible by road, teems with caiman crocodiles and rare birds. Locals say no police officer has set foot there since the 1980s, and a recent crackdown on cannabis cultivation has passed them by. "Ever since I was born, people have been cultivating cannabis," says Philippe Diaba. "If you don't grow cannabis here, you can't get by." Kouba villagers say the drug fetches between 15,000 and 30,000 CFA francs ($25-$50, 23-45 euros) a kilo -- compared with just 500 CFA francs for a kilo of onions. The money is attractive in Senegal, where two in five people live below the poverty line. Senegal seized 12.8 tonnes of cannabis or cannabis resin in 2017, a marked increase on hauls over previous years, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). "Casamance is one of the regions in Senegal where the most cannabis is produced," an officer from the narcotics division of the Senegalese police, who declined to be named, told AFP. Cottage industry Village women separate cannabis stalks by hand and leave them to dry on tin roofs, unafraid of the 10-year prison sentence marijuana cultivation carries in the former French colony. They sort a recent harvest into bales for pickup by traffickers arriving by canoe. Gaston Diaba, Philippe's brother and the village mason, gestures to large plots of cannabis lying beside rice fields. "All these fields are reserved for hemp," he says. Lacking other viable economic options such as tourism or conventional agriculture, the villagers have tended marijuana plantations in their lush backwater for decades. "There is no road to market for vegetables, so we grow them only for our own food," Philippe Diaba said. Kouba's 200 or so residents are secluded even within Casamance, a region already cut off from much of the north of Senegal by neighbouring The Gambia. A separatist conflict simmering since the 1980s in the region has also provided cover for their activities. Cannabis funds education But majority-Muslim Senegal is trying to clean up its reputation as a cannabis growers' paradise. Sheikh Toure of the UNODC office in the capital Dakar said Senegal is one of the first West African countries to target cannabis traffickers. "The repressive actions of recent years are sending a strong message to networks and producers," Toure said. Cannabis crackdown: Police in Dakar unpack sacks of cannabis for burning (2014 file picture). By SEYLLOU (AFP/File) Philippe Diaba, who spoke to AFP while home in Kouba on holiday, said marijuana profits funded children's education in the village. In a garage owned by his neighbour Ousmane, hundreds of kilos of market-ready product stand packed in brown bundles. "It's worth millions of (CFA) francs," Philippe said, visibly uncomfortable amid the contraband. 'Enormous potential' While other African countries such as Zimbabwe and Lesotho have relaxed cannabis-growing restrictions or are considering doing so, Senegal is stepping up controls, according to the police. Looking to tighten security along a key trafficking route, the government in Dakar agreed to strengthen border controls with The Gambia last year. Authorities have also launched slash-and-burn sorties into parts of Casamance, where drug profits are suspected of funding separatists. "Casamance is not beyond the law," said Matar Diop, comptroller general of the Senegalese police, told AFP. "If illicit plantations are discovered they are destroyed by defence and security forces," he said. Yet Kouba villagers operate in peace. Victor Diatta, Kafountine's mayor, noted: "It is easy for law enforcement authorities (elsewhere in Casamance), but not in the (river) islands, which are difficult to reach." Diatta said he would like to see Kouba develop legal industries, pointing to "enormous potential" in sectors such as tourism and fisheries. But these need investment to take off, he said, and for the moment, growing cannabis is a question of survival. "The lure of easy money has taken precedence over other considerations," Diatta said. Indian benchmark indices extended rally for the second straight session on Friday, with the 50-share index Nifty hitting a fresh record high on firm global cues. In a similar trend, the 30-share BSE Sensex was also on firm footing and was trading some 34 points shy of its all-time high of 41,809.96 touched on December 20, 2019. The domestic market rally was in line with bullish Asian equities which were trading higher over the announcement of US and China signing the phase-one deal by the next week. Further, ease in US-Iran tensions also helped improved investor sentiments. During days' trade so far, Nifty has crossed its previous all-time high of 12,293.90 and recorded a fresh lifetime high of 12,311, 96 points higher than its previous close. The BSE S&P Sensex rose as much 41,775.11, up 322 points. Kotak Bank, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Hero MotoCorp and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers on Friday. On the other hand, PowerGrid, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, SBI and Nestle India were among the top losers today. The investors will also keep an eye on corporate earnings as Infosys will kick-off December quarterly earnings season today and the pundits expect a muted report card. Infosys shares were trading nearly 2 per cent higher ahead of its third quarter numbers which will be released after market hours today. Riding high on reports of the US-China trade deal with China, metal stocks were trading higher and were among the top gainers on Friday's trading session. On NSE, Hindustan Zinc grew over 4.2%, Coal India rose 4%, followed by SAIL and Vedanta shares that traded 2.5% higher. Shares of Tata Steel and Welspun Corp shares were rising nearly 2%. By Rupa Burman Roy Share Market LIVE: Sensex climbs 155 points, Nifty above 12,240; Infosys up almost 2% ahead of Q3 results Stocks in focus: Infosys, Ashok Leyland, YES Bank, Goa Carbon, Sterlite Tech, Berger Paints, TCS, Emami Paper Mills and others Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses with Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicle owners during a ceremony in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) A year ago on January 7, Tesla CEO Elon Musk attended the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory groundbreaking ceremony in Shanghai, China. In less than a year after construction of the factory started, it delivered its first Model 3, taking Tesla one-step closer to achieving its ambitious goal of becoming a true global carmaker. How is that possible? Not everyone thought that Tesla would be able to start production at its plant just one year later, but that is exactly what happened. In fact, the plant is already pumping out more than 1,000 vehicles a week and it aims to bump that up to about 3,000 per week. A new multibillion-dollar plant seemingly rising out of nowhere in about half the time it took the Gigafactory in the US state of Nevada to start churning out batteries shows that there is something special about China. Over the past 70 years, China has developed at a rapid pace. It has become the world's second largest economy and the country has made huge strides in economic development and technological innovation, especially since reform and opening-up. For example, official data shows that China has lifted some 850 million people out of poverty over the past 40 years, accounting for about 70 percent of the global total. China also leads the world in high-speed railways, with a network that stretches about 35,000 kilometers. Behind this is "China speed." "China speed" is what turns the "impossible" into the "possible" and it reflects the strength of China's unique model of development. Tesla was able to build a massive plant in record time because China has a comprehensive industrial system, a pragmatic approach to governance, construction expertise, abundant talent, and fast logistics to name a few. There are many destinations worthy of foreign investment, but Musk chose Shanghai. Photo taken on Jan. 7, 2020 shows China-produced sedans at Tesla's gigafactory in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) Tesla's multibillion-dollar investment was the result of careful consideration and it is a strong signal regarding Tesla's plans and intentions. On multiple occasions, Musk has expressed appreciation at the speed at which China can do things. In February 2018, he said that China's progress in advanced infrastructure is more than 100 times faster than the United States. Months later in December, he praised China for its amazing space progress. China's development and efficiency impress Musk, and he is betting big on China. If we zoom out and look at the bigger picture, we can see that Tesla's success in China is a win for everyone. By setting up shop in China, the American company can leverage "China speed" for production and other projects and Tesla has positioned itself for big growth in a country with a growing electric vehicle market and a middle class that is already bigger than the entire US population. In return, Chinese enterprises can learn from and compete with a company that places high value on innovation. Musk's decision to make a significant investment in China and his desire to increase the investment mean that he is very optimistic about China. With billions of dollars, Musk has expressed strong confidence in the future of China. At the same time, by welcoming the foreign automaker with open arms, China has shown that it is determined to deepen opening-up and improve its business environment. For years, people have been waiting for China's economic collapse. Some people have even made entire careers out of this sort of thing. However, the decisions of visionary entrepreneurs like Musk, who believe that China is the future, should remind us that China's economy is more resilient than sometimes presumed and that the amazing China story is far from over. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. About 4 a.m., the semi-truck rolled over on the embankment of the local I-90/94s outbound right shoulder near the Chicago Skyway. Waste inside the truck that was headed to a landfill instead spilled over the expressway, according to Illinois State Police. The closure was cleared before 9 a.m. WASHINGTON, D.C. The lawmaker representing Eastern Washingtons 5th Congressional District is backing President Trumps move to kill Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, called Soleimani a terrorist who actively aided and supported groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. President Trumps action sends an important message to those who wish to do us harm, the congresswoman said. This decisive strike was a defensive action against imminent threats and plans to attack more Americans and allies. On President Trumps orders, Soleimani was targeted and killed in a drone attack last Friday, Jan. 3, in Baghdad, Iraq. The drone strike followed the killing of a U.S. contractor in Iraq and the attack on a U.S. embassy in Iran. The president said the attack also came as Soleimani was planning another attack on U.S. diplomats and military personnel. Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on diplomats and military personnel. But we caught him, and terminated him..., Trump said in a video released on his Twitter feed Friday, Jan. 3. We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war. Trump said the world is a safer place with Soleimani eliminated. I support our commander-in-chief, McMorris Rodgers said. McMorris Rodgers represents the 5th Congressional District, which includes Spokane Valley, Cheney, Pullman, Colfax, Asotin and other areas. Call it a lesson in workplace etiquette and policies and the power of social media. A branch manager in Canada for the Minnesota-based company Fastenall was fired just before New Year's Day for violating company policy when he lobbed a tweet criticizing the company's choice of a holiday gift of BBQ sauce and a wooden grill scraper, the CEO confirmed Monday. "I am not going to deny it. We did terminate an employee," said Fastenal CEO Dan Florness. He said that Fastenal's policy about acceptable standards of conduct is given to every employee and posted on the company website. The tweet, which tagged Fastenal, went viral after at least one news outlet reported it. When the employee's critical tweet was discovered, his supervisors reached out to Fastenal's human resources department to ask what to do. The recommendation? "Terminate." "I was very surprised by the whole thing," said Florness, who learned of the firing Friday night after a Canadian article and odd messages began appearing on the company website. Florness called the HR department himself to find out what was going on after some Fastenal customers and web visitors began hurling insults online Friday or saying they would no longer buy construction supplies from Fastenal, which has more than 2,200 locations. "Calmer heads didn't prevail over this," Florness said. "Nobody reached out to me to say, 'Really? I am getting fired over a tweet?' It's an incredibly unfortunate event." News of the firing has since gone viral and prompted a backlash on social media, including several website posts and phone messages that were deleted immediately because they were "vulgar" or "threatening," Florness said during a phone interview Monday. Florness said the company followed all Canadian termination and severance laws. Human resource consultants, employer-training groups and the National Labor Relations Board said the issue of disciplining workers over social media violations is not new but it is growing. The issue is definitely something workers should be aware of. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) advises its member companies to adopt clear warnings in employee manuals about how workers should conduct themselves online and what consequences exist for ignoring policies. SHRM spokesman Cooper Nye said many corporations are advised to adapt policy wording such as this: Before creating online content, consider some of the risks and rewards that are involved. Keep in mind that any of your conduct that adversely affects your job performance, the performance of fellow associates or otherwise adversely affects members, customers, suppliers, people who work on behalf of (employer) or (employers) legitimate business interests may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Florness said Fastenal has similar policy language in its employee manual. "It's standard," he said. Asked if Fastenal would consider rehiring the worker, Florness said that while the firing decision may have been "an overreaction" and he may have made a different determination, he was "not going to second guess" his staff. He added that the fired worker was a manager and that HR staffers may have thought he should have known better. Plus, a lot has transpired in the four days since the firing, including the worker identified as Hussien Mehaidli, 27, in the CTV News article giving a phone interview to the outlet. Florness said reaction was so swift that he made a video and sent it to all his general managers in Canada on Saturday morning to set the record straight. Beyond the facts, he worried that Mehaidli's tweet hinted that Fastenal's 22,000 workers in Canada were being treated unfairly. The barbecue sauce and grill scraper sets Canadian workers received was worth $27 each. While U.S. workers received a different gift, the value of the package was the same. In the past, all workers received the same gift, but customs regulations changed, so operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico were given a budget and each chose a gift sourced from the respective country. Mehaidli, who could not be reached for this story, tweeted: "What kind of multi billion company gifts its Canadian employees barbecue sauce as a holiday gift? Yet the USA employees stuff their face with an actual holiday giftbox? @FastenalCompany @FastenalCanada." The tweet has since been taken down. By Dee Depass | Star Tribune (Minneapolis) The 47-year-old Castro neighborhood hub Flore, formerly known as Cafe Flore, is undergoing significant changes. Its doors have been closed for weeks, but owner Terrance Alan says thats not permanent. Instead, hes transitioning the cafe into a seasonal operation thats only open during warm months and otherwise functions as an events space. I remember when sitting on the patio in the winter was a badge of honor. Being on the Cafe Flore patio said I belong to the hearty band of LGBTQ crusaders out to change the worlds attitude towards queers! and that was worth the discomfort of a wet butt and cold feet, Alan said in a written statement sent to The Chronicle. Apparently thats no longer the case, with customers seeking cozier options in the winter than Flores largely outdoor space. News of the cafes potentially permanent closure was first reported in Hoodline. Even though the cafes doors may reopen, San Franciscos queer community is already mourning the neighborhood institution. They took to social media to talk about how Cafe Flore was a crucial center for LGBTQ folks in the 1970s, 80s and 90s a place where people gathered to hang out and trade ideas before the rise of smartphones and Facebook. I am also sad about the loss of Cafe Flore. I am sad for the people who missed it, wrote local comedian Marga Gomez. Maybe if we didnt rely on social media to catch up wed force ourselves to go sit in the fresh air and talk to people over a cold omelet. But Gomez and others also lamented the gradual changes that occurred at Cafe Flore, starting in the early 2000s, when a series of new owners took over, the decor changed and some observed a drop in food quality. Craig Lee / Special to The Chronicle 2017 Historian Gerard Koskovich recalls visiting Cafe Flore for the first time in 1976 at the age of 19. It looked different back then: There were no walls blocking off the sidewalk, creating an easy flow from the streets to the lush terrace. The interior was notably funky, with ratty little chairs you could easily move around. And it was full of very down-home gay and lesbian folks who looked more like they came from the late hippie era than the late 1970s, Koskovich said. It was already, strangely, the legendary Cafe Flore, even though theyd only been open for a few years, he added. If you were a gay person going to the Castro and you wanted to see what was happening, Cafe Flore was the place. Back then, there was no official LGBTQ community center in San Francisco instead, Cafe Flore functioned as one. It attracted queer culture makers like direct action organization Queer Nation and filmmaker Marc Huestis. Artists erected massive installations like an annual upside-down hanging Christmas tree. The cafe hosted events honoring internationally renowned gay activists. Drag queens danced on top of its tables in Huestis 1982 cult film Whatever Happened to Susan Jane? By the early 2000s, though, it wasnt just new owners that brought change to Cafe Flore. We were seeing the after effect of the massive wave of deaths from the AIDS crisis, Koskovich said. The Castro as a residential neighborhood was becoming less and less gay. The rise of the internet meant people didnt need to meet at a cafe to organize, and the skyrocketing costs of living in San Francisco meant people could no longer move to the city simply because they wanted to be part of its queer culture and politics. Others moved away. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. At some point, Cafe Flore no longer had the regulars that made it so vibrant and vital. Michael Macor / The Chronicle 2017 Alan and Aaron Silverman bought the business in 2017, but Alans focus appeared to be more on cannabis than lattes. He wanted to turn Cafe Flore into a cannabis cafe, where diners could eat THC-infused salads while sipping a beer. San Franciscos pot regulations dashed those hopes, and instead, Alan started plotting a traditional dispensary across the street from the cafe called Flore Store. The Planning Commission approved the project in October, and on Friday, he announced the launch of a community funded model to bring it to life. Stu Gerry, who co-owned Cafe Flore for three years before Alan and Silverman purchased it, called the change a shame and evidence of the Castros transition from a queer and party destination neighborhood to a regular one. Its sad to lose an institution like that, and its not the first nail in the coffin: This is very emblematic of whats going on in that area, Gerry said, noting the Castros many empty storefronts. The sky is falling. Everything is for sale. Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker Storyful An affable deer created somewhat of a buzz in a neighborhood near Salt Lake City, Utah, he regularly visited over the holiday period.The deer, nicknamed Cooper by local residents, has been playing with children in the neighborhood of Herriman and was even spotted posing for photos, reports said.Herriman resident Angelica Lujan recorded footage of the tame deer interacting with her children outside of her home on South Rowell Drive.Speaking to KSTU, a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources representative said despite the deers friendly attitude, the best thing for the animal is for people to leave him alone.People dont realize these beautiful, cute deer can be aggressive as they get older. Weve had times in the past where these friendly deer, they do get aggressive, said Scott Root, Conservation Outreach Manager, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.Weve had kids hurt at bus stops. Bad things happen when we feed deer in a residential area, Root added. Credit: Angelica Lujan via Storyful MUSKEGON, MI -- Muskegon Public Schools went into lockdown earlier this week, and officials are implementing other precautionary measures, in response to gun violence in the community. On Monday and Tuesday, some Muskegon schools went into soft lockdown following requests from Muskegon Countys central 911 dispatch, district superintendent Matthew Cortez told MLive. Their doors were locked and staff was told to be on extra alert as students passed between classes. The affected schools were near to shooting incidents, one fatal, on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, schools across the district experienced heightened security measures, including keeping students inside for recess. On Tuesday night, Cortez sent an email updating district parents, but wrote that nothing has happened directly to our district. There was never any danger or threat within any school nor directed toward any school, student or staff, he wrote. Violence has shaken the community this week. On Monday afternoon, a 21-year-old man was shot on the 600 block of Orchard Avenue. Police have identified the victim as DaMonte Neal, a Muskegon High School graduate, and a suspect was charged with open murder Thursday. In response, Muskegon Middle School, 1150 Amity Ave, and the Oakview and Marquette elementary schools, each less than two miles away, went into soft lockdown. On Tuesday afternoon, a shooting occurred around the Community Party Store, previously known as Wood Street Market, at 1149 Wood St. A police spokesperson told MLive that it was an attempted robbery. No injuries or property damage were reported, and no arrests have been made, the spokesperson added. That day, it was Muskegon High School, and the Moon and Oakview elementary schools, each about one mile from the shooting, that were locked down. Rumors swirled on social media as concerned parents wondered why their children were on lockdown. One rumor said that a gun had been spotted on the campus of Muskegon High School. Cortez said the district has conducted an investigation into that rumor, including reviewing video, and has not found evidence to substantiate that or a broader theory that a fight had occurred. Nothing has confirmed that story in any way, shape or form, he told MLive. Cortez said he understands the anxiety that takes hold when parents learn of lockdown measures, but that he took them in order to make students feel less stressed, not more. Its hard on kids, he said of the violence in the community. If kids arent feeling safe in the building, theyre not going to learn." US President Jimmy Carter announces new sanctions against Iran in retaliation for taking US hostages, at the White House, Washington, DC, April 7, 1980. REUTERS KP Nayar Seven months ago, Irans Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni confidently told a group of six Indian journalists at his residence over lunch that United States President Donald Trump would not win re-election as President in November this year. Chegenis confidence in Trumps defeat startled some of the journalists who at once asked him for the reasons behind such certainty. The ambassador, who has a PhD in national security affairs, merely smiled the smile of a Cheshire cat. He has plenty of personal experience in confronting hostility by the most powerful country on earth. Before coming to India, Chegeni was ambassador in Havana for four years. No other country has faced acts of destabilisation and attempts at regime change by Washington as has Cuba. However, the small island on the gateway to Florida has survived all these attempts for 60 years and continues to thumb its nose at the US. In the last 86 years since re-election laws affecting the presidency were changed, only three US presidents have failed to win re-election after one term. Jimmy Carter was one of them. Throughout 1980, when Carter was in the midst of his re-election campaign, Ayatollah Khomeini, the founding father of the Islamic Republic and Irans then supreme leader, confidently told his visitors in Qom that Carter would be defeated in his re-election bid. Khomeini forced Carter into 100 days of complete isolation at the White House after Irans Islamic revolutionary students occupied the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. They were released only after Carter was defeated and soon as Ronald Reagan was sworn in as his successor. Meanwhile, in April of his re-election year, Carter sent US aircraft in a failed mission, Operation Eagle Claw, to rescue the hostages from Tehran. The two planes were destroyed by Iranians and eight US Armed Forces rescuers were killed. Unlike in 1979, when the nascent Islamic Republic faced the full wrath of the White House, Iran is no longer alone in its neighbourhood in opposing America. Tehran has successfully put together what regional experts are calling an Axis of Resistance as a riposte to former US President George W Bushs famous coinage, the Axis of Evil, in which Iran was a central element. Today, a Shia arc in the Gulf waits readily to do Irans bidding whether it is against the US or in support of Shia and Islamic causes by any legal or illegal, overt or covert actions. These include Syria, which has largely repulsed attempts at a US-sponsored regime change, Lebanon, where the Hezbollah is in the driving seat for all practical purposes, Yemen, where Iranian proxies are running riot and threatening Americas chief Sunni ally of Saudi Arabia, and, most humiliating for the US, the Iraqi people, whom Washington had promised in 2003 to lead into a new dawn after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. It must not be overlooked, in addition, that 55 per cent of Bahrain is Shia, according unofficial statistics since the islands last official census diving population sect-wise was done 78 years ago. Iran considers Bahrain as its 14th province and has kept vacant seats in its Majlis (parliament) for the time the island is integrated with the mainland. Saudi Arabias eastern province is Shia, who account for about 15 per cent of the kingdoms total population. Irans preference is for an asymmetrical war with the US because the ayatollahs are acutely conscious that they have no chance in a conventional war with a big power. Trump knows this too: that is why he is sending big reinforcements of troops, aircraft and naval attack vessels to the Gulf. However, it may be no more than bravado because secretly the US is actually readying to move its troops out of Iraq, as demanded by that countrys parliament. This became known by the accidental leak of a memo by General William Seely, the American Army Commander in Iraq. It said that in due deference to the sovereignty of Iraq, the US would be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks. The Americans are not leaving the Gulf, only relocating out of Iraq to avoid being sitting ducks in low intensity attacks by Iran and its proxies. Trump will face pinpricks from Iran throughout his re-election campaign. Whoever becomes his Democratic opponent will make the most of the presidents discomfiture all along the campaign trail. History may be repeating itself as in Carters failed re-election bid if these pinpricks are combined with closure of oil-carrying sea lanes in the Gulf. That can push up prices in American petrol stations and the world economy including the US economy can be significantly affected. If Democrats succeed in pinning the blame for all this on candidate Trump he may have to leave Washington and move back to a Trump Tower in New York next January. That explains the enigmatic smile on the face of Ali Chegeni as he sits pretty on New Delhis Barakhamba Road. Rotunda Rumblings Trump time: At his first campaign rally of 2020, President Donald Trump boasted to a Toledo crowd of thousands that Ohio had its best year ever economically, even as the state lost jobs in 2019, cleveland.coms Seth Richardson reports. In a winding, 90-minute speech, Trump also fiercely defended his order for the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and mocked Democrats who questioned his actions. Guilty: Hours before Trumps Toledo rally began, a Hamilton County Municipal Court found Dallas Frazier guilty of a misdemeanor assault charge involving an incident outside an Aug. 1 Trump rally in Cincinnati. Frazier was charged after cell phone video showed him land three punches to Trump protester Michael Alters head, the Enquirers Kevin Grasha reports. House votes to limit Trumps war powers: Also before the rally, the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted 224-194 to limit Trumps ability to take further action against Iran without authorization from Congress, writes cleveland.coms Sabrina Eaton. All Ohios Democrats supported the resolution, and all the states Republicans opposed it except for Mariettas Bill Johnson, who missed the vote. He was at Trumps rally. $650 million: Ohios 11 casinos and racinos took in a record $1.94 billion in gambling revenue in 2019, bringing the total to $11.9 billion since Ohios first casino opened in Cleveland in 2012, reports cleveland.coms Rich Exner. Gambling revenue is what the house keeps after paying out winnings on slots and table games. About a third of that then goes to Ohio governments as taxes or fees, about $650 million last year. The top three gambling houses: MGM Northfield Park ($253.6 million), Hollywood Casino Columbus ($229.2 million), and JACK Cleveland Casino ($212.1 million). Big Fund: J.D. Vance, the Hillbilly Elegy author, investor and maybe-future Ohio political candidate, has started a new venture-capital firm in Ohio. As cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias reports, Vances partners at the Cincinnati-based Narya Capital include Falon Donohue, who resigned this week from her position leading VentureOhio, a non-profit in Columbus that promotes VC investing in Ohio. Saving suggestions: The Ohio Department of Transportation could save $10 million to $21 million a year by reducing its use of consultants in inspecting the agencys construction projects, according to a new state audit. Per Tobias, State Auditor Keith Faber said he plans to complete a larger second phase of the audit by the end of the year. The review was ordered as part of last years transportation budget. Reaching the summit: Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday held his offices inaugural Human Trafficking Summit, an event designed to bring together law-enforcement officials, victims advocates and others involved in anti-trafficking efforts. As cleveland.coms Jeremy Pelzer writes, Yost said he hopes the summit helps identify gaps in the work being done to stop human trafficking. Judging by the label: A bipartisan House bill would allow judicial candidates to display their party affiliations on general election ballots. But good government groups caution against expanding partisanship to even more offices. Many Ohio municipal and school board elections are nonpartisan for instance in Cuyahoga County there are only four communities with partisan elections -- and the experts say a candidates party may not matter for issues like garbage pickup, cleveland.coms Laura Hancock reports. Can I get an Amen? State Sen. Matt Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican, is hitting the church circuit to talk about the STRONG Ohio gun violence prevention bill he is sponsoring on behalf of Gov. Mike DeWine. Dolan will be at St. Christophers in Rocky River Monday night. The bill hasnt moved in the legislature, dominated by gun-rights supporters. Kucinich revisited: Former Cleveland mayor and congressman Dennis Kucinichs views on topics like corporate exploitation, the loss of manufacturing jobs, and the failures of American military policy, are no longer dismissed as fringe, according to Rolling Stone. Im glad to see the party accepting a number of things that I had been talking about then, he told the magazine. But political parties can never be trusted. There are always some factors that are not consistent with the public interest. Math problem: The Ohio Board of Pharmacy is proposing to change the amount of medical marijuana that can be purchased by a patient or caregiver from the current whole day unit of 2.83 grams to 2.52 grams for lower-potency flower and 1.67 grams for higher potency flower. Although it appears to be a decrease, Ohio law limits patients to purchasing no more than 90 days and 2.83 grams would technically count as two days supply if bought in a single unit, so many patients were running out of supply, the Enquirers Jackie Borchardt reports (hard paywall). Buckeye Brain Tease Question: Ranked in order, what were the five largest private employers in Ohio in 2018? Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter. Thanks for responding to the last trivia question: The 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies is set in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and offers a fictionalized, supernatural explanation of the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River that killed 46 people. Which Ohio city was on the other side of the bridge? Answer: Gallipolis The Silver Bridge carried U.S. Route 35 over the Ohio River, connecting Gallipolis, Ohio and Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It collapsed under the weight of rush hour traffic on Dec. 15, 1967, submerging 75 vehicles and killing 46 people. The bridge opened in 1928, and had been the first bridge in the U.S. to forgo a wire cable suspension for an eyebar link suspension, according to the West Virginia Mail-Gazette and the West Virginia Encyclopedia. The annual Mothman Festival now is held each year in Downtown Point Pleasant. Capitol Letter reader Rep. Mary Lightbody of Westerville was the first to send in the correct answer. Thanks to everyone who responded. On the Move Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Greg Hartmann to the University of Cincinnati board of trustees. Hartman, a Republican, is a former Hamilton County commissioner and clerk of courts. Birthdays Friday: Torey Hollingsworth, senior policy aide for Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and ex-state Sen. Charleta Tavares Saturday: U.S. Rep. Michael Turner and Karen Kasler, Ohio Public Radio/TV Sunday: State Sen. Matt Dolan; Jesse Hathaway, Columbus-based research fellow at The Heartland Institute; Benjamin Lynn, legislative aide to state Rep. Lisa Sobecki; Randall Routt, Ohio Senate Democrats policy adviser/communications assistant; Ethan Zucal, deputy director of legislative affairs at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Straight from the Source This election is about more than just defeating Trump. Its about transforming this country and changing the material conditions of the poor and barely middle class. This is what SBSs lifes work is about. This is what our campaign is about. -Nina Turner of Cleveland, former state senator and co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, in a texting conversation with Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Reaching out to victims of the anti-CAA stir including the BHU students who were jailed during the protests, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Friday, assured them in Varanasi that if the party returned to power at the Centre, it would not implement such laws which, she claimed, were against the spirit of the Constitution and had created so much unrest across the nation. Arriving in PM Narendra Modis constituency early on Friday morning, the Congress leader met a host of activists who were arrested during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Bajardiha locality. A number of activists and BHU students were arrested for anti-CAA protests at Benia area of Varanasi on December 19 last year. They were recently released on bail. Notably, an eight-year-old kid had died in the stampede during the anti-CAA protests in the holy city on December 19. The Congress leader also exhorted the people to take to the streets in large numbers to oppose any law which did not conform to the Constitution of the country. She pledged support to farmers, workers, youth and students in the fight for their rights. Priyanka Gandhi also announced that her party would set up a legal cell which would extend legal help to the anti-CAA protestors who were sent to jail and slapped with serious charges across the country. The Congress general secretary also met an activist couple Ekta Shekhar Singh and her husband Ravi Shekhar at Rajghat. The couple, who have an 18-month daughter, were arrested and jailed for 15 days after the anti-CAA protests. I have come to know about their agony and the sufferings of their little daughter who had to live without her parents for so long. They were put in jail on serious charges but I am happy that they fought for the nation, said Priyanka after meeting the couple. She also met a Dalit worker Anup Sharmik, a group of BHU students and others at Shrimath temple where she arrived by boat. The Congress leader also met the family of eight-year-old Mohammad Sageer, who succumbed to the injuries he received in a stampede after police baton-charged the anti-CAA protesters in Bajardiha area on December 20 last year. Earlier, the Congress leaders first stop in the temple town was Sant Ravidas temple at Rajghat, where she offered prayers and met the trustees. She then took a boat to Panchganga Ghat where she met people who agitated against the amended citizenship act. More than 20 people were killed and hundreds injured in Uttar Pradesh as police and protesters clashed last month after the situation spiralled out of control in several areas in the state. Priyankas four-hour visit to the holy city culminated at Kashi Vishwanath temple where she paid obeisance before leaving for Jaipur in the afternoon. Thousands of climate change protesters rallied in Melbourne on Friday evening calling for Scott Morrison to be sacked, undeterred by pleas to reschedule the event to a less risky fire day. As a cool change threatened to intensify Victorias raging bushfires, large crowds gathered at the State Library to demand climate change action, funding for firefighters and the sacking of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Thousands have attended a climate change rally in Melbourne Credit:Jason South Under heavy winds and pounding rain, students, professionals and parents with children vented their anger at Mr Morrison, holding placards with messages such as Time is Running Out, Declare a Climate Emergency and You have blood on your hands, Morrison. ScoMo has got to go! ScoMos got to go! the crowd started chanting as the rally began. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkNewsAudio -- Ceylon Graphite Corp. (Ceylon Graphite) (TSX-V: CYL) (OTC: CYLYF) (FSE: CCY) today announces that it has been featured in a broadcast via NetworkNewsAudio (NNA), a solution that delivers additional visibility, recognition and brand awareness in the investment community via distribution to thousands of syndication points. The audio press release covers Ceylon Graphites recent announcement that Don Baxter has joined its Board of Directors. To hear the audio production, visit: http://nnw.fm/s94wO To read the original press release, visit: http://nnw.fm/AHY5q Don Baxter is one of the premier graphite experts outside of China, having built one of only two producing graphite mines in North America. He is presently Chief Executive Officer and Director of Applied Graphite Technologies Corp. Prior to this, Don served as President, CEO and Executive Director of Alabama Graphite Corp, successfully completing the companys disruptive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and introducing a new, battery-focused strategy. Im excited to join the Board of Ceylon, said Baxter. As I look at the market today and the incredible demand for high quality graphite products, I see that Ceylon is the real deal a production level operation, with purity and easy upgradability you cannot find elsewhere. The potential is incredible. About Ceylon Graphite Corp. Ceylon Graphite Corp. is a public company focused on exploration and development of graphite mines in Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka has granted the company exploration rights in a land package of over 120km. These exploration grids (each one square kilometer in area) cover areas of historic graphite production from the early twentieth century and represent a majority of the known graphite occurrences in Sri Lanka. Graphite mined in Sri Lanka is known to be some of the purest in the world, and currently accounts for less than 1% of the world graphite production. For more information, visit: www.ceylongraphite.com About NetworkNewsAudio NetworkNewsAudio (NNA), one of 40+ brands within our InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN), allows you to sit back and listen to market updates, CEO interviews and a company AudioPressRelease (APR) . These audio clips provide snapshots of position, opportunity and momentum. NNA can assist your company by cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNA brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. IBN is where news, content and information converge. IBN is a comprehensive provider of news aggregation and syndication, enhanced press release services and a full array of social communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and distribution company with an extensive team of journalists and writers, IBN has the unparalleled ability to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public with an ever-growing distribution network of 5,000+ key syndication outlets across the nation. For more information, visit: www.NetworkNewsAudio.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published: http://IBN.fm/Disclaimer FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking information as such term is defined in applicable securities laws, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. The forward-looking information includes statements about Ceylon Graphites grids, Ceylon Graphites plans to undertake additional drilling and to develop a mine plan, Ceylon Graphites Mining License application and to commence establishing mining operations. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to Ceylon Graphite, including the assumption that, the drilling exercises will confirm the presence of high quality graphite, sufficient financial resources will be available, the records from the drilling exercises prove to be accurate, there will be no unanticipated delays or costs materially affecting Ceylon Graphites exploration, development and production, there will be no material adverse change in metal prices, all necessary consents, licenses, permits and approvals will be obtained, including various Local Government Licenses and the market. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking information include, among other things, an inability to reach a final acquisition agreement, inaccurate results from the drilling exercises, a failure to obtain or delays in obtaining the required regulatory licenses, permits, approvals and consents, an inability to access financing as needed, a general economic downturn, a volatile stock price, labour strikes, political unrest, changes in the mining regulatory regime governing Ceylon Graphite, a failure to comply with environmental regulations and a weakening of market and industry reliance on high quality graphite. Ceylon Graphite cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, Ceylon Graphite does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com ) Supporters of opposition candidate Han Kuo-yu at a Taipei election rally - Getty Images AsiaPac Joanna has often visited Taiwan, an easy one-hour flight from her home in Hong Kong. She is a fan of the islands dramatic landscapes and the friendly demeanor of the Taiwanese. But this week, she is visiting for a different reason - to witness democracy at work. She is on a four-day tour to immerse herself in Taiwans election culture ahead of presidential and legislative polls on Saturday. Incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen is being challenged by the KMT's Han Kuo-yu Credit: Sam Yeh/AFP Unusually for a tourist itinerary, the election-themed tour organised by Hong Kong travel agency GLO Travel is taking a group of 30 people to seminars with government officials and academics. In the evenings, they are joining fervent Taiwanese crowds at the final campaign rallies. To vote directly for leader is a luxury that Joanna and other Hong Kong people long for as protests demanding democratic elections in their city head towards an eighth month with little sign of dying down. In Hong Kong, we cant vote for our chief executive, but here in Taiwan, you can cast your vote for president, so of course we are quite envious, Joanna, who declined to give her last name, said outside a cafe in downtown Taipei. She hopes Tsai Ing-wen, the incumbent president, wins over Han Kuo-yu, her main opponent, because of Ms Tsais refusal to cave to pressure from Beijing, which seeks to annex Taiwan and threatens it with force. Han and his party, the Kuomintang (KMT), advocate closer trade ties with China. I can understand why economic issues matter more to some people, but if you lose your freedom, its gone, she said. Joannas tour first stopped to hear a data analytical firm explain how social media and disinformation campaigns are affecting the elections. That was followed by a visit to the Mainland Affairs Council, the official body in Taiwan handling interactions with China. The protests in Hong Kong started last June against a now-withdrawn extradition bill. They have since evolved into a broad movement calling for more democratic rights and protection of Hong Kongs autonomy. Story continues Hong Kong pro-democracy protests have so far lasted seven months Credit: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters Police officers excessive use of force and teargas have also angered and mobilised protesters, who are also using increasingly violent tactics. Ms Tsais early vocal support for Hong Kongs movement have helped boost her numbers especially among younger voters. By contrast, Mr Han was slower to voice his support although he later called on Beijing to give Hong Kong free elections. Hong Kong people have always cared about Taiwanese elections, but the interest is even more enthusiastic this time, said Rubio Chan, a co-founder of GLO, the travel agency which also offers trips to less popular destinations including North Korea, Iran, and Palestine. Spots on the Taiwan election tour were snapped up within two weeks of advertising online. Mr Chan said that Taiwan is a popular travel destination for Hong Kong people as an escape from a stressful city where work hours are long and housing prices are the most unaffordable in the world. He added: Taiwan is the only Chinese democratic society, so they also want to experience that, and envision that one day [Hong Kong] might also have real elections. [January 10, 2020] The New York City Department of Transportation Counts on Mindbreeze InSpire Mindbreeze, a leading provider of appliances and cloud services for knowledge management, in partnership with premium partner Collective FLS, adds the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to its Mindbreeze InSpire public sector customer base. The New York City Department of Transportation currently uses a large number of different data sources to collect detailed information. NYCDOT's objective is to deliver this widely scattered but valuable information to the appropriate users and departments at the right time and in the right context. Using Mindbreeze InSpire it is now possible to conduct targeted searches across the entire range of data in the organization and immediately access the information that is relevant. James Dudla, CEO of Collective FLS: "NYCDOT had been looking for a tailor-made solution to make searching its more than 50 million records more efficient. We are delighted that with Mindbreeze we have found the ideal solution to this challenge. Employees can now access all the information they need at the touch of a button. This enables DOT to significantly reduce the amount of personnel needed for Universal Legal Searches (ULS) while leveragingits knowledge more effectively providing optimal service to New York City residents." "NYCDOT marks the acquisition of yet another public sector customer for Mindbreeze InSpire. This reinforces our endeavors and our commitment to product development and our process model. We always have our customers test our products with their own data so that they can see the added value for themselves in advance," adds Daniel Fallmann, founder and CEO of Mindbreeze. About NYCDOT DOT's mission is to ensure the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible transportation of people and goods in the City of New York and to maintain and improve the transportation infrastructure. About Mindbreeze Mindbreeze is a leading international provider of appliances and cloud services for enterprise search, applied artificial intelligence, and knowledge management. Mindbreeze's global network of partners makes it possible to serve customers across time zones anywhere in the world. You can find more information at www.mindbreeze.com or follow us on LinkedIn (News - Alert) and Twitter @Mindbreeze. About Collective FLS FLS, Inc. is a technology-independent provider of information solutions and services designed to support technology transformation for customers in the areas of federal civil, defense, and public administration. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005148/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser YEREVAN. It's hard to remember a New Year when the anthem was played at midnight, though it is a requirement of the law. Vahagn Tevosyan, a member of the majority My Step faction in the National Assembly of Armenia, wrote this on Facebook. "Yesterday the Committee on Television and Radio convened a meeting to discuss the issue of not broadcasting Armenias anthem on New Year's Eve by a number of TV companies," he wrote, in particular. First, let's note that it's hard to remember a New Year when the anthem was played at midnight, though it is a requirement of the law (...). In addition, the law stipulates that this obligation is put especially on the shoulders of television companies. Such partial adjustments, in some cases even their absence (...), make the work () of television companies) vulnerable. All of this will be taken into account in the quite extensive legislative reforms expected in the near future." Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has written a letter to Rowing Federation of India (RFI) to share the rules of the player suspension and the mechanisms of appeal for an athlete against such ban. IOA president Narinder Dhruv Batra in his letter to RFI president Rajlaxmi Singh Deo wrote, "Please share with me the rules of IF of Rowing which allow for a 2 year ban except in cases of doping or causing wilful serious injuries to another athlete during an event. NSFs do not have criminal powers & they rest with the police." "As per RFI by not participating in a race or not starting in a race cannot lead to a ban for 2 years, please share RFI rules with me which allow that. Have Athletes reasons been given consideration," the letter added. Batra's letter comes after the Chairperson of Athletes' Commission, Anju Bobby George had written to IOA requesting a review of the two-year ban imposed on rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal. "An Athlete spends the best part of his/her life to prepare to get glory for the country and we Administrators should keep that in mind while taking such strong decisions. I do understand from your letters that there are issues against the Athlete but do they warrant a 2 year ban, my request to RFI will be to please relook into once again with an open mind and open heart and I do also understand that discipline is also mandatory & Important," the letter conclude. The Rowing Federation of India (RFI) imposed a ban on Bhokanal on March 29 last year. However, the Olympian wrote a letter to Athletes' Commission requesting them to reduce the period of a ban to enable him to qualify and compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "After studying the matter based on the communications between the RFI and the athlete we feel it should be reviewed if the alleged lapse from the athlete deserves a 2 year ban which is too harsh on an athlete having very good performance record in the past in international level including Olympics," Anju had written. Anju further said that IOA should discuss the matter with RFI as this 'harsh punishment' might spoil Bhokanal's sporting career. Batra, who is out of India currently, will be back in the country on January 14 and will then meet RFI president, Bhokanal, and George to discuss the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BERLIN - European foreign ministers on Friday said that the escalation between the United States and Iran had risked progress against Islamic State militants, and they rallied behind their tattered nuclear deal, despite President Donald Trump's renewed call for allies to abandon it. The European Union has said that it will "spare no effort" to keep the 2015 deal alive, even though Tehran said it would no longer be bound by the agreement's restrictions on centrifuges and uranium enrichment following the Trump administration's killing of Maj. Gen.Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force. "It's not dead, we have to bring it back to life," Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said of the deal as he arrived for the emergency meeting with counterparts from the 28-member bloc. Analysts say Europe is reticent to give up on the effectively dead deal as they attempt to maintain relevancy and lack any diplomatic alternatives. European leaders have struggled to come up with a unified and committed response, and they largely watched from the sidelines as the crisis of the past week unfolded. While not directly criticizing the Trump administration's decision to kill Soleimani - which European officials indicated they were not informed of in advance - EU leaders raised concerns about the fallout. Their statements were tepid and, in some cases, slow. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took nearly four days to comment. The Trump administration's frustration was underscored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when he said last week that European leaders had not been "as helpful as I've wished." "The crisis risked jeopardizing years of effort to stabilize Iraq," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles said Friday, citing implications for the "decisive work" of the international coalition fighting Islamic State militants. Some European countries have pulled troops out of Iraq, while others have repositioned them for what they said would be a temporary period. A NATO training program for Iraqi troops has paused operations due to security concerns. Iraq's parliament has called for U.S. troops to withdraw. Amid the tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested an expansion of NATO to include Middle Eastern countries and said the organization should play a bigger role in the region. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that he had spoken to Trump and that the organization is looking into what it can do further to combat "international terrorism." The European foreign ministers also discussed possible consequences for Iran if it is determined that one of its missiles shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people near Tehran on Wednesday. Early Saturday, Iran said its military "unintentionally" shot down the plane and blamed "human error" for the incident, confirming claims made by Western intelligence agencies. Much would depend on Iranian cooperation going forward, said Stef Blok, the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, adding that the investigation first needed to be concluded. The foreign ministers called on Tehran to return to its commitments under the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Tehran has gradually reduced its adherence to the deal - intended to put curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief - since the United States withdrew in 2018 and reimposed its sanctions. But as recently as Sunday, Tehran said it was open to negotiations with the Europeans. There are indications that European patience may eventually come to an end. Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Friday, German foreign ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said that discussions had taken place with Britain and France on whether European countries should trigger a dispute mechanism within the deal that could lead to a "snapback" in U.N. sanctions on Iran. However, Fontelles said that was not discussed by the wider group on Friday. "What is clear is we stick to the survival of this deal," he said. - - - Quentin Aries in Brussels and Luisa Beck in Berlin contributed. A strong wind change in Australia merged three enormous bushfires into a mega-blaze as the inferno crisis continued to pose serious threat across the country. Since September last year, Australia's raging bushfire crisis, one of the worst in its history, has killed 24 people, burned over six million hectares of land, reduced to ashes hundreds of homes and pushed many species towards extinction. The 233,000-hectare Green Valley fire on Friday evening merged with the nearby East Ournie Creek blaze and the huge 312,000 hectare-Dunns Road fire, which were already at emergency level, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the merged fire straddles the country's most populous states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Anthony Bradstreet said the fires were burning very quickly and could impact rural properties in the area as winds reach 90 km/hour. Authorities on Friday issued fresh warnings and evacuation orders in Victoria as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires. Around 23 fires were still burning in Victoria, according to the state's emergency management department. Emergency warnings were issued for Buchan due to spot fires sparking and a new warning was issued for the area around Swifts Creek. The Victorian town of Combienbar was hit by a grassfire threatening homes and the Combienbar Hall, officials said. Military helicopters were deployed for the evacuation operation. A cool change has started to sweep through Melbourne on Friday. However, it is expected to worsen the conditions at the fire front. "When the change hits, wind gusts could reach up to 90 km/hour on the Gippsland coast, where a severe weather warning has been issued. This is of concern for the fires further inland, as firefighters will have to cope with a few hours of heavy wind before a band of rain moves through," Steven McGibbony, forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology was quoted as saying by 'The Age'. In New South Wales, about 135 fires are still burning, with nine at 'watch and act' levels. On the South Coast, four fires, including the Border and Werri Berri blazes, are in the 'watch and act' level. Kosciuszko National Park, where vast land tracts were destroyed in the blaze, is again at risk. Several beaches on the south coast, including Narooma, Dalmeny, Tuross Head, Moruya, Broulee, Malua Bay, Surf Beach and Aslings Beach, have remained closed for the entire weekend. A "cool and gusty southerly change" was moving through New South Wales and was expected to reach Sydney by 1 am (local time) on Saturday. However, the Bureau of Meteorology warned that the change "will bring difficult conditions for New South Wales fires" and issued a warning. In South Australia, fire situation on Kangaroo Island was downgraded on Friday with no emergency warnings now present. The area received significant rainfall and a drop in temperatures which is assisting crews to control multiple fires that flared up overnight. SA Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Corrections, Corey Wingard, has lauded the community of Kangaroo Island for their resilience and also thanked emergency services for the efforts. Meanwhile, a team of UK experts was on its way to Australia to help the country to prepare for the unprecedented bushfire crisis. In addition to this, US firefighters landed in Sydney on Friday to help fight the bushfires. Over 70 firefighters have arrived from the US and Canada this week to help with firefighting efforts apart from the 157 New Zealand firefighters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Red Arts Capital announced that it has partnered with Prudential Capital Partners and Brightwood Capital Advisors to acquire MME Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries Midwest Motor Express Inc. and Midnite Express Inc. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1918, Bismarck, North Dakota-based Midwest Motor Express is a top 25 less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier operating 32 service centers throughout 16 states in the Upper Midwest and Northwest. The carrier utilizes marketing partnerships and other alliances to provide shipping service globally, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim. The carrier uses its regional carrier partners to provide next- and second-day service on the majority of the lanes it serves. Midwest Motor Express has 800 employees. Based in West Fargo, North Dakota, Midnite Express Inc. offers dry van truckload (TL) and brokerage services throughout the continental U.S. Combined, MME's subsidiaries generate more than $120 million in annual revenues. The two carriers have 431 power units according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's SAFER website. Specifically, Midwest Motor Express generated just north of $100 million in revenue with an operating ratio just below 94% in 2018. In the same year, the company's balance sheet was levered at 0.6x debt-to-equity. Below 1.5x is generally viewed as healthy. Midwest Motor Express' capital expenditures are typically below $9 million on an annual basis. Red Arts Capital is a supply chain- and industrial-focused investment firm based in Chicago. The firm partners and invests in mature largely family-owned, privately held businesses. Prudential Capital Partners has invested more than $3 billion in over 100 companies since 2000. The group is part of Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU). Image by Chris Sharkman from Pixabay 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. TOKYO - A lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman who skipped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon, on Friday slammed a gaffe by the Japanese justice minister who said that Ghosn should prove" his innocence. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Nissans fugitive ex-boss Carlos Ghosn, center, confers with a media adviser at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Ghosn said Wednesday that his arrest in Japan, from which he escaped last month, was a plot against him and described his detention conditions as a travesty against human rights. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) TOKYO - A lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman who skipped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon, on Friday slammed a gaffe by the Japanese justice minister who said that Ghosn should prove" his innocence. Francois Zimeray said in a statement addressed to Justice Minister Masako Mori that her mistake reflected Japanese justice, which goes against the human rights principle of presumption of innocence. Mori has apologized for the error and said she meant to say the suspect should assert innocence, not prove it. The presumption of innocence, respect of dignity and rights of defence have been essential components of what constitute a fair trial, he said. Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori speaks about Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn during a press conference at her ministry in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Mori is denouncing Ghosn's criticism of the nation's criminal justice system. Mori said she wanted to prevent his spreading an "erroneous" understanding abroad about Japan's system. Ghosn, who skipped bail while awaiting trial here, said in Beirut that Japan's system was unfair and rigged. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Japan is an admirable, modern, otherwise advanced country. It deserves better than an archaic system that holds innocent people hostage. The onus is on you to abolish it." He stressed it is up to prosecution to prove guilt, not the other way around. Ghosn, who was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges, fled Tokyo and appeared in Beirut Dec. 30. He is unlikely to face trial here as Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. He reiterated in a news conference in Beirut this week that he was innocent and that he faced trumped up charges because Nissan Motor Co., prosecutors and Japanese officials sought to block a fuller merger between Nissan and alliance partner Renault SA of France. Japan's conviction rate is higher than 99%, and human rights advocates have long questioned the fairness of its judicial system. Ghosn has said it is rigged and unjust. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Japan's judiciary has come under the spotlight over Ghosn's case and his harsh words earlier this week about how he was treated in detention, stuck in solitary confinement and grilled by prosecutors without a lawyer present, as well his bail conditions that barred him from seeing his wife. Mori has said Japan's system upholds human rights, provides a fair trial and has made for a low crime rate. She accused Ghosn of propagating both within Japan and internationally false information on Japan's legal system and its practice. That is absolutely intolerable, she said Thursday. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama Revenue officers at Portlaoise Mail Centre, seized approximately 1kg of herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of 10,000 on Thursday. The illegal drugs were discovered in two parcels which originated in the United States. The concealed drugs were declared as Toys and were destined for addresses in Dublin. Also on Thursday, Revenue officers at Dublin Mail Centre, assisted by detector dog Bailey, seized almost 1.2kg of herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of 23,580. The illegal drugs were discovered in 6 separate parcels which originated in the United States, the UK and Spain. The concealed drugs were declared as Dog Toys, Disney Frozen Figure, Childrens Toys and Dried Honeycomb and were destined for addresses in Dublin, Sligo and North Kildare. Additionally, on Thursday, as a result of routine profiling, Revenue officers at Cork Airport seized 14,600 cigarettes of various brands including Marlboro Gold, Lucky Strike, Camel Blue and Winston Xspression. The unstamped cigarettes were discovered following a positive indication by detector dog Eva and a subsequent search by Revenue Officers of the checked luggage of a male passenger arriving on a flight from Kiev, Ukraine via Amsterdam. Investigations are ongoing in relation to all seizures. These seizures are part of Revenues ongoing work targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity. If businesses, or members of the public have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free-phone number 1800 295 295. Labour MPs who lost their seats at the general election last month have lashed out at posh politicians after admitting they had been to the jobcentre to seek work. Laura Smith and Karen Lee both spoke of their need to find a new source of income after they lost their Crew & Nantwich and Lincoln seats to the Tories on December 12. They were among the swathe of Jeremy Corbyn's MPs who lost their seats as he led the party to its worst election performance since 1935, giving Boris Johnson an 80-seat majority. Mother-of two Ms Smith, 35, a former teacher, proudly defended her work ethic on Twitter, writing: 'Someone just took a picture of me at the job centre. 'Another person said ''are you the actual Laura?'' 'Ive lost my job and unlike many in Parliament I dont have a family fortune to fall back on. What do people expect you to do? Bizarre.' Mother-of two Ms Smith, 35, a former teacher, proudly defended her work ethic on Twitter. She was visited before the election by Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) but lost her seat by 8,000 votes Her admission prompted a message of support from Ms Lee, 60, who added: 'Me too, I was at the Jobcentre at 10am this morning' Her admission prompted a message of support from Ms Lee, 60, who added: 'Me too, I was at the Jobcentre at 10am this morning. 'Like you & millions of others I need a job too. 'Its weird too how local Tories are really nosey about what Im going to do next...they seem awfully insecure.' MPs are entitled to redundancy payments of double the statutory minimum based on their length of service. Both MPs were elected for the first time in 2017 after taking seats off the Conservatives, before they swung back in December. Ms Smith had been defending a majority of just 48, one of the smallest in the UK, and was replaced by Tory Kieran Mullan. Ms Lee lost her Lincoln seat to Karl McCartney, who she had defeated two years earlier. Oil slipped towards $65 (49.77 pounds) a barrel on January 10 as the threat of war in the Middle East receded and investors focused on rising US inventories and other signs of ample supply. Crude is now below where it was before a US drone strike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on January 3. Iran responded with a missile attack on Iraqi air bases hosting US forces this week that left no casualties. "Immediate escalation has been avoided," said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix. "There has been some de-escalation, but the return of risk is still there." Brent crude , the global benchmark, was down 20 cents at $65.17 by 0928 GMT, and was heading for its first weekly decline in six weeks, down about 5%. US West Texas Intermediate crude was 25 cents lower at $59.31. "Tensions between the US and Iran appear to have eased almost as quickly as they escalated," said Craig Erlam, an analyst at OANDA, a brokerage. "Brent is trading back around $65 and is looking pretty stable at this point. Barring any further escalation in the Middle East, we could see oil prices stabilize around these levels in the near term." With Middle East tensions easing for now, investors are focusing on areas away from the conflict. Crude inventories in the United States rose last week by 1.2 million barrels, the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. That compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.6 million-barrel drop. "There's too much supply out there," a Japan-based based oil executive told Reuters. In a bid to tackle any build-up of excess supply, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus allies including Russia are embarking on a further cut in production as of Jan. 1 this year. Industry surveys, including from Reuters, showed that OPEC output declined in December ahead of the new pact. Still, production remains higher than the forecast demand for early 2020, according to some analysts. "The oversupply on the oil market is sizeable," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank. Percival Kofi Akpaloo 10.01.2020 LISTEN The Founder and leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Percival Kofi Akpaloo,has recommended Ghanas Parliament for approving the 2020 budget estimates of the Electoral Commission for 2020 elections. Kofi Akpaloo also reiterated the need for a new voter's register. The current register is not credible but it has been stretched to a point where you dont want to take that same risk. We want to have something that is more credible and ensure peace after the elections, Kofi Akpaloo told Kwaku Dawuro on Pae Mu Ka on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7. According to him, the current voter's register is bloated and cannot be trusted for a clean election. He says he dont understand why the opposition NDC is resisting the Electoral Commissions call for a new voters register. Background Parliament has approved an amount of 98 billion for governments spending in the 2020 financial year. Meanwhile, the largest opposition party and minority in parliament, National Democratic Congress (NDC) has kicked against the note, saying, there is no need for a new register. For the governing New Patriotic Party, once the Commission can justify the need to compile a new register, they would support it. With the NPPs majority in the House, the ECs budget is likely to be approved. The Appropriation Act 2019 once passed gives the government the green light to spend the 2020 financial budget. In its budget, the EC also allocated GH287,842,511 for the conduct of elections. The House through a majority vote authorised the Finance Minister to withdraw the 98 billion from the Consolidated Fund for spending by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies from January 1 to December 31, 2020. NASA's 22nd class of astronauts, the "Turtles," participate in graduation ceremonies at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. From left are, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, CSA astronaut Jenni Sidey-Gibbon, NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, Zena Cardman, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Bob Hines and Woody Hoburg. (Image credit: NASA) HOUSTON NASA's newest astronauts are ready to come out of their shells and walk on the moon. Nicknamed the "Turtles," the space agency's 22nd class of astronauts graduated from basic training and became eligible for spaceflight assignments on Friday (Jan. 10). A ceremony held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston honored the 11 Americans, together with two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts who trained with them. "Two years ago, this group of new astronuts arrived here at Johnson for the very first time and they already came in with very impressive resumes. Now they have become part of an elite group of people qualified for spaceflight and ready to train for the exciting missions ahead," said Mark Geyer, director of the Johnson Space Center. Related: Welcome, Space Cadets! Meet NASA's 2017 Astronaut Class "They are beginning a journey that will take them on voyages of exploration like humankind has never seen before," said Geyer. The new class, which includes six women and seven men, expands NASA's active corps to 48 members. CSA has now doubled its ranks to four with the graduation of this, its fourth group of astronauts. Selected in 2017 from record-setting pools of candidates, the new astronauts are the first to receive their astronaut pins under NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. The class members may be some of the first astronauts to fly to the moon since the Apollo program 50 years ago, or they may be assigned to launch to the International Space Station aboard U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. "They represent the first wave of NASA's Artemis generation astronauts," said Jim Bridenstine, NASA's Administrator. "In addition to expeditions on the International Space Station, these astronauts could one day, in fact, walk on the moon as part of the Artemis program and perhaps one of them could be among the first humans to walk on Mars." "The significance of being the first class in the Artemis generation cannot be understated. Artemis, in greek mythology, is the goddess of the moon. She is also called the 'torch bringer' and we think about the light that you are going to bring not just to the United States of America but to all of the world," said Bridenstine. "This time, when we go to the moon, we will go with a very diverse, highly-qualified astronaut corps that includes women. We are so proud of what you guys are going to achieve," he said. To arrive at this point, the Turtles (nicknamed such by the prior astronaut class, the "8 Balls," after a joke about turtles on fenceposts), were put through more than two years of basic training. They took part in neutral buoyancy underwater dives to learn how to spacewalk, were sent out on geology field trips, received training in operating robotics and were taught wilderness survival skills. They also became proficient in space station systems, took Russian language classes, experienced weightlessness on parabolic aircraft flights and flew NASA's T-38 supersonic jets. "Turtles" members Bob Hines, Matthew Dominick, Jasmin Moghbeli and Raja Chari, together with a plush turtle, float weightless aboard a Canadian jet during a parabolic flight. (Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz) The NASA members of the Turtles include: Kayla Barron, a 32-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant who served as a submarine warfare officer and the flag aide to the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. Zena Cardman, 32, a marine biologist who studied microorganisms in subsurface environments, ranging from caves to deep sea sediments, on multiple expeditions to Antarctica and NASA analog missions in British Columbia, Idaho and Hawaii. Raja Chari, a 42-year-old U.S. Air Force colonel who served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. Matthew Dominick, 38, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who served on the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier as department head for a strike fighter squadron. Bob Hines, 44, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight test pilot and NASA research pilot at Johnson Space Center. Warren "Woody" Hoburg, 34, a commercial pilot and search and rescue unit member who led a research group as an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jonny Kim, a 36-year-old Navy SEAL, who completed more than 100 combat operations before becoming a physician resident in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Jasmin Moghbeli, a 36-year-old U.S. Marine Corps major who tested H-1 helicopters and served as the quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 in Yuma, Arizona. Loral O'Hara, 36, a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, where she worked on deep-ocean research submersibles and robots. Francisco "Frank" Rubio, a 44-year-old U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and served as a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado. Jessica Watkins, 31, worked at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and California Institute of Technology, where she collaborated on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. The CSA members of the Turtles are: Joshua Kutryk, a 37-year-old Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant colonel who worked as an experimental test pilot and fighter pilot, leading the unit responsible for the operational flight-testing of fighter aircraft in Canada. Jennifer "Jenni" Sidey-Gibbons, 31, an engineer who conducted research on flame propagation in microgravity in collaboration with CSA and as an assistant professor in combustion at the University of Cambridge. "I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our newest astronaut class, the Turtles. I am confident that as part of the Artemis generation, you will bring scientific and technological advantages to this nation and, in fact, the world that right now we cannot even imagine," said Bridenstine. New NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron examine rock samples during geology training in Arizona. Together with their class members, the "Turtles" are now eligible for assignments on future Artemis missions to the moon's surface. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Stafford) The Turtles originally included a 14th candidate, Robb Kulin, a private pilot who worked as the senior manager for flight reliability at SpaceX. Kulin resigned from NASA in 2018 "for personal reasons." Kulin is now director of engineering for Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based launch services company for small payloads. NASA has been training astronauts since 1959 and the selection of the original Mercury 7 pilots. Including the Turtles, the U.S. space agency has qualified 347 men and women for spaceflight and has trained 34 professional astronauts from Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency (ESA). The space agency plans to begin recruiting its next astronaut class in the spring. Click through to collectSPACE to see the Turtles' 22nd astronaut class patch. Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. Chinese phone maker Xiaomi today teased MIUI 12 - the next version of its custom Android skin and successor to MIUI 11. The company didn't reveal anything about MIUI 12, other than sharing an image on Chinese social network Weibo with its logo. MIUI 11 was announced last September and its global stable ROM began rolling out in October, so we expect the MIUI 12 to arrive during the same period. MIUI 11 brought along system-wide dark mode, improved always-on display, and Mi Lan Pro system font. It also came with new animations, wallpapers and themes, and the company also announced Mi Go Travel suite to help you with booking tickets for different modes of travel. What MIUI 12 will bring in and how big an upgrade it will be over its predecessor remains to be seen, but more information about it is likely to surface in the coming weeks or months. Source (in Chinese) More than two months after Election Day, the bond election contest between Christine Foreman and Dave Joyner and Rick Davis will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday in the 142nd Court at the Midland County Courthouse. Mackey K. Hancock of Lubbock, a retired senior justice of the Texas Seventh District Court of Appeals, is to preside over the hearing. Foreman and Joyner served as the co-chairs of We Choose Our Future, the special-purpose action committee in support of Midland ISDs $569 million bond. After a new ballot box -- containing 836 ballots that were not counted during the Nov. 22-23 recount -- was discovered on Dec. 16, Foreman and Joyner filed a petition to contest the election and requested that all ballots, including those that were missing, be counted manually to determine the true outcome of the bond election. Brandon Hodges, Kenye Kay Murchison, Thomas Wolfmueller and James Beauchamp who serve as representatives from the opposing-bond committee, Better Bond for Midland have intervened in the contest and requested that the election outcome be voided and a new election be ordered, despite comments by Joyner and Davis who said they believe the manual count would determine the bond election did not pass. Though Hodges has requested that a new election be ordered, he said he hopes that MISD rejects it, so this current bond election can end, and the district can begin to discuss a new bond proposal that would receive greater community support. Davis, who is being contested against because he is board president, approved the contestants petition on Dec. 19 and informed the judge that he agreed to a manual recount of all legal ballots. On Dec. 30, he denied the intervenors stance that the true outcome of the original election cannot be legally ascertained. He requested in his answer that the court orders a manual recount and does not avoid the election outcome. In his answer to the intervenors, Davis wrote: Contestee accordingly believes that this Court can ascertain the true outcome of MISDs bond election through a manual count of all the ballots, including the recently discovered ballots, to ensure that all legal ballots cast in the election are counted. Upon information and belief, to the extent there is any question as to the legality of the newly-discovered ballots or any other ballots, any such questions can be resolved by accessing the digital copies of such ballots that are to reside in the voting machine(s). A manual recount of all ballots would also have the potential benefit of demonstrating that the voting machines correctly tallied all ballots which if so proven would help restore confidence in them for this and future elections. Davis previously told the Reporter-Telegram he does not expect Mackey to void the outcome, but if that relief was chosen, he personally would not support the granting of a new election, and he expects that this election would end, then. If the bond election fails, or a judge orders a new election that is rescinded, a new bond could be back on the ballot as early as November. The current outcome for the bond election is that is passed by 11 votes. '2020 will show whether India's troubled domestic economic and political house reveals a mismatch in their strategic association or whether closer strategic ties are yet possible,' says Anita Inder Singh. What is the outlook for India-US ties in 2020? The upswing in the relationship that was highlighted by the signing of the civilian nuclear deal in 2008 started abating when Donald Trump became US president in 2017. Economic progress was the outstanding reason why India went up in America's estimation after 1991. Its high growth rates over a 15-year period persuaded Washington to believe that it could become a counterpoise to rising authoritarian China. Additionally, India's stability as a multicultural democracy also impressed the US, especially after the collapse of the authoritarian Soviet Union in 1991. By 2019, however, it was obvious to the world that India's economy had fallen into decline over the last six years. Moreover, political and social polarisation, symbolised by increasing communal violence since 2014 and the large-scale protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have raised questions about the quality of its democracy. The economic downturn and New Delhi's ruling out a quick recovery brings into question India's ability to counter China in Mr Trump's 'Indo-Pacific'. Over the last decade, India and the US have signed more than $15 billion worth of arms deals - and Washington recently offered India another $1 billion worth of naval guns. But to New Delhi's chagrin, the US still refuses to transfer sensitive military technology because India is not a formal ally. While sovereignty decrees that India has a right to buy Russia's S-400 missiles, this air defence system blocks closer military ties with the US which sees Russia as a security threat. If the absence of an alliance reflects India's determination to uphold its strategic autonomy, it simultaneously makes Washington doubtful about the viability of Indo-US ties. Trade issues are another sticking point in their ties. India's cat's cradle of red tape and protectionist tariffs irk Washington. They take the sheen off India as a trading partner. A mere 2.1% of US exports come to India; and 2.2% of imports come from India. Fifteen per cent of India's imports come from the US, 16% of its exports go to the US. As India's economy has taken a nosedive, China has shown off its economic progress by expanding its Belt and Road Initiative worldwide. Several member-States of the European Union and all of India's neighbours have joined the BRI. China's financial clout has established it as the largest investor in their economies. It is also the largest arms seller to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Its growing presence in the Indian Ocean poses tough queries about India's standing as the dominant South Asian power. The other domestic development -- the passing of the CAA and the large-scale protests that it provoked -- have led many in the US to question India's secular democratic credentials. Even before that, the state department in June reported that religious intolerance in India had grown under Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's government. India predictably riposted that a foreign government had no right to comment on the country's internal affairs. At December's 2 +2 dialogue in Washington, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US cared deeply about protecting minorities and religious rights everywhere. He voiced confidence in the Indo-Pacific partnership, as being grounded in democratic values. Official Washington speaks in more than once voice. If Pompeo's statement appeared to dispel any idea that the Trump administration was putting pressure on New Delhi on domestic conflicts, the attitude of US lawmakers told a different story. The situation in Kashmir since last August and the strong-arm tactics used to deal with popular protests against the CAA have led the US congress to question India's commitment to secularism -- implying equal rights for all communities and the maturity of its democracy. Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's recent refusal to meet the US congressional committee on foreign affairs to discuss Kashmir sparked the response that shutting out US lawmakers who were standing up for human rights was what they expected from authoritarian regimes -- not New Delhi. Despite the strategic partnership, the India-US relationship will sail in choppy waters in 2020. But the economic gap between India and China raises questions about India's value as a contributor to Mr Trump';s game plan for the Indo-Pacific. China's gross domestic product per capita is more than four times that of India. At $177.6 billion, China's 2019 defence budget was over three times that of India. And as China aims to build a world class military by 2050, India is finding it hard to upgrade its armed forces. The fact of India's economic and military dependence on the US rankles with New Delhi and annoys Washington. The Trump administration likes prosperous allies because they are better able to face common threats. In the New Year, India's democratic stability and economic upturn appear uncertain. Although the widespread anti-CAA protests also reflect anger at declining job opportunities, the government shows little sign of harnessing financial and human resources to overcome India's economic and socio-political crises. Instead, its insistence on going ahead with the CAA shows that it ignores warnings that any move away from secular democracy could spark destabilising conflicts. India's strategic position in the Indian Ocean rules out its being ignored by the US. 2020 will show whether India's troubled domestic economic and political house reveals a mismatch in their strategic association or whether closer strategic ties are yet possible. Anita Inder Singh is a founding professor at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution in New Delhi. Part of the wreckage from Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport on Jan. 8, 2020, is seen in this still image taken from Iran Press footage. (Iran Press/Handout via Reuters) Iran Denies Shooting Down Ukrainian Plane With Missile, Calls for Evidence Several Iranian officials on Friday denied allegations that the regime shot down a Ukrainian International Airlines plane, killing all 176 people on board. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans national aviation department, said that what is obvious to us and we can say for sure is that no missile has hit the plane, according to the state-run Tasnim News Agency. The aircraft was flying for more than one and a half minutes after it caught fire, he said. He also rejected claims lodged by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and unnamed American officials who said that Iran likely shot the plane down with a missile, perhaps by accident. If U.S. politicians have received any data on the crash of the Ukrainian plane, they have to declare it to the world through ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), Abedzadeh remarked. Debris is seen from an Ukrainian plane which crashed as authorities work at the scene in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehrans main airport, killing all onboard. (Ebrahim Noroozi / AP) At the same time, another Iranian aviation official said the evaluation of the black boxes of the Boeing 737 that crashed near Tehran will start on Friday, according to the state-run IRNA news outlet. The black boxes contain the flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder. That data will be transmitted and evaluated at a suitable laboratory, the report said. If that doesnt work, Irans Director-General of Accidents/Incidents for the Investigation Board of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Hassan Rezaiefar said Russia, France, Ukraine, or Canada can help download the information. We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence, Trudeau told reporters on Thursday at a news conference. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that he didnt rule out the possibility that mechanical failure downed the plane, which had more than 60 Canadian nationals on board. Its possible its mechanical failure, but well have to see if, in fact, its the case that there was something more insidious than this, Pompeo said, according to a State Department transcript. But if Iran was involved, he stressed that the American people should know that this would have been Iranian malfeasance that caused it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also stressed that people should not speculate yet on what caused the crash. The missile theory is not ruled out, but it has not been confirmed yet, he said on Facebook before calling on international experts to share relevant data related to the crash. To bolster the claim that the plane was shot down, a video was posted by several news outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, and Associated Press, that appeared to show a missile or projectile striking a plane. The NY Times and AP said it appeared the plane was flying over Tehran in the area where the Ukrainian Airlines flight stopped transmitting signals. Ukraine Airlines flight PS752 crashed near Tehran shortly after takeoff from its international airport after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Iran said it fired the missiles in retaliation after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani. Advertisement Iran fired two missiles at the Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed near Tehran and killed 176 people, it is believed. Satellite data detected two surface-to-air missiles being launched just minutes after the Boeing 737 took off, the US government says. It is believed that Iran may have shot the plane down unintentionally, possibly mistaking it for a military jet just hours after Tehran had attacked US bases in Iraq. Footage which emerged last night showed the Ukrainian International Airlines jet exploding in mid-air after it was hit, killing all 167 passengers and nine crew on board. Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson have all blamed Iran for the downing of the plane as Western governments rejected Tehran's claims of a technical failure. Iran called the Western claims a 'big lie' and 'psychological warfare' in a fresh burst of angry rhetoric, after its relatively inconsequential strikes on US bases had sparked hopes that Middle East tensions were calming. Tehran says it is 'opening' the plane's black boxes today, but has sent mixed signals about who will be allowed to investigate them. The crisis forced Western planes heading to Iran to turn around in mid-air last night, with many of today's flights to Tehran cancelled by the carriers. America's Federal Aviation Administration had banned US airlines from flying over Iran just hours before the crash, potentially saving American lives from a misdirected shoot-down. New video appears to show a missile hitting the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran moments before it went down. The footage released by BNO News on Thursday emerged hours after Pentagon officials said they believe the Ukrainian Airlines flight which crashed in Tehran killing 176 people Wednesday was shot out of the sky by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile system An image from the flight tracker website Flightradar24 showing the path of the Ukranian International Airlines jet which crashed just over two minutes after taking off from Tehran An image of anti-aircraft missile debris, supposedly from near the site of the downed Ukrainian Airlines flight, shared on social media New video has emerged that seems to show the moment an Iranian missile hit the passenger plane just before it crashed, killing everyone on-board Sources believe the Ukraine International Airlines jet may have been destroyed by accident by surface-to-air anti-aircraft fire Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, holds a candle on Parliament Hill during a vigil for the victims who were killed in the plane crash The solemn Prime Minister was joined by dozens of people as they paid tribute to the passengers who died in the plane crash Iran is 'one or two years' away from a nuclear weapon if it breaches deal, France warns Iran could have nuclear weapons within two years if it continues to breach its 2015 deal with the West, France has warned. French foreign minister Yves Le Drian said Iran was 'between one and two years' away from being nuclear-armed if it entirely abandoned the pact. 'If they continue with unravelling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option,' he told French radio. Iran has taken a series of steps away from the deal in recent months, announcing after Soleimani's death that it was no longer abiding by any of the enrichment limits. Donald Trump abandoned the deal in May 2018 and re-imposed tough US sanctions on Iran, but European powers want to keep it alive. Tehran has said it is willing to return to the limits if its demands are met, which include greater European efforts to bypass US sanctions. Under the deal, Tehran had pledged to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years, including by capping its enrichment of uranium at 3.67 per cent, far below the more than 90 per cent required for a nuclear weapon. Once a country enriches uranium to around 20 per cent, scientists say the time needed to reach 90 per cent is halved. Iran continues to insist that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. EU foreign ministers are today holding an emergency meeting in a bid to de-escalate the Middle East crisis. Advertisement Tehran has been insisting for two days that the crash was an 'accident' unrelated to the wider Middle East tensions and caused by a technical failure which had forced the pilot to turn around in mid-air. But last night Western governments came down firmly on the side of a missile strike. Justin Trudeau, who has demanded answers for the families of 63 Canadians killed in the crash, said he had 'intelligence from multiple sources' pointing to a shoot-down. 'The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,' he said, adding that the strike 'may well have been unintentional'. Donald Trump also rejected Iran's claims of a mechanical fault. 'It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood. Somebody could have made a mistake,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. 'I have a feeling that something very terrible happened, very devastating.' UK prime minister Boris Johnson said there was 'now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile', while France has also offered help with the investigation. US intelligence says the Boeing 737 was tracked by satellite data which showed the plane airborne for two minutes before detecting the heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles. That was quickly followed by an explosion, officials say, before infrared emissions from the plane showed it burning as it crashed to the ground. Multiple videos have shown the plane already ablaze before it hit the ground. It was unlikely the flight crew had time to react to any missile, said Michael Duitsman, a research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. 'They probably wouldn't have even seen it coming,' he said. 'Right after takeoff, the pilots were probably preoccupied with other things.' Tehran-bound flights turned around last night after Western leaders blamed a missile strike for the crash. With a coincidental engine failure ruled out, there are now fears that an accidental missile strike could happen again, meaning many airlines are avoiding Iranian airspace. The FAA had banned US-based operators from the airspace over Iran three hours before the crash took place - possibly saving American lives - and the Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS) remain in force. Austrian Airlines said it was cancelling its flight to Tehran on Friday 'due to the latest reports and the changed assessment of the security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport'. Thursday's flight to Tehran was ordered to return to Vienna after a stopover in Sofia, the airline said. Lufthansa - the parent company of Austrian - said its flight between Frankfurt and Tehran on Thursday had returned an hour after take-off because of security concerns. British Airways has also diverted flights via Egypt and Saudi Arabia to avoid Iranian airspace on the way to the Middle East. Etihad Airlines, Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline are still using the airspace, which remains open. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau (pictured last night) led Western governments in blaming an Iranian missile strike for the Ukrainian International Airlines crash which killed 176 people President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has serious doubts that the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran was caused by mechanical failure after Pentagon officials claimed that the jet was shot down Rescue teams gather at the scene after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital A makeshift memorial to Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has sprung up near Baghdad airport (pictured), where the general was killed in a US drone strike seven days ago Iran has already rejected the West's claims, calling them a 'big lie' and 'psychological warfare'. 'It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government and those supporting it are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimising them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies,' government spokesman Ali Rabiei said. 'No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent,' he was quoted as saying by Press TV. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the country's national aviation department, also denied the allegations today at a news conference in Tehran. 'One thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile,' he said. 'If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world' in accordance with international standards, he added. Changing Iran's story, Abedzadeh said the pilot had asked to turn back to the airport after the engine caught fire - although Tehran previously said the crew had not reported any problems. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of an Iranian investigation team, told the same press conference that recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. The Islamic republic issued similar denials last year when US investigations blamed Iran for mysterious attacks on Gulf shipping. An Austrian Airlines flight was supposed to stop at Sofia before heading onto Tehran but instead turned back to Austria A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Tehran was turned around over Romania before heading back to Germany, instead of going on to Iran Iranian officials have made an array of contradictory statements about what will happen to the Boeing jet's black boxes. The flight recorders are being 'opened' in Iran today, Tehran says, but are also said to be faulty and may need international expertise to be analysed. Iran previously said it would not share the black boxes with Boeing, but today invited the company to send a representative to help investigate them. Abedzadeh suggested they could be sent to Russia or Canada to be analysed, while Rabiei invited 'all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane' to send representatives - which does not include the US. Iran has also sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation for the death of general Qassem Soleimani is complete and the crash has added to the wider tensions. Soleimani was killed last Friday in a drone strike near Baghdad airport, where a makeshift memorial to the Quds Force commander has since sprung up. The Canadian prime minister, at a vigil for the victims of the plane crash, was the first world leader to say Iran had downed the passenger jet Despite Trudeau's statement, Iran refuses to take responsibility for downing the jet and has invited Canadian officials to observe the crash site Trudeau places a candle on Parliament Hill during the vigil for the victims who were killed in the plane crash in Iran on January 8 Ukraine has said the plane could have been shot down by a Russian-made Tor missile, the weapon believed to have brought down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in 2014. 'Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truth,' said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. It is not believed that Iran shot down a passenger jet on purpose, especially because it had taken off from Tehran with 82 Iranian nationals on board. However, tensions were at their height on Tuesday night after Iran attacked US bases in revenge for the death of Qassem Soleimani and it is feared that a nervous Iranian air defence could have mistaken the plane for a bomber. Kyiv yesterday sent missile specialists to examine the wreckage of the Boeing jet, saying a shoot-down was one of the 'main theories'. A special commission of experts sent to Tehran includes specialists who found evidence that the Russian weapon had brought down MH17. Ukraine also referred to images which circulated on Wednesday night showing what appeared to be the charred remnants of a rocket. The images were unverified and could be a hoax, but Ukraine said the 'information [which] has surfaced on the internet' had bolstered the missile strike theory. Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007, and Iran has displayed them in military parades. Commercial flights have transponders which broadcast their identity, speed and altitude at an internationally agreed frequency. Flight 752 would have been visible on the radar screen of the Tor battery. The US National Transportation Safety Board said late last night that it would 'evaluate its level of participation in the investigation.' The extent of the NTSB's role could be limited by US sanctions on Iran. Under rules set by a United Nations aviation organization, the NTSB is entitled to participate in the investigation because the crash involved a Boeing 737-800 jet that was designed and built in the US. US intelligence is 'confident' that Ukraine Airlines Flight 752 which crashed just outside Tehran on Wednesday morning was shot down by Iranian anti-aircraft batteries (pictured, missile wreckage reportedly found near the scene) Questions were first raised when pictures of the plane debris appeared to show shrapnel holes in the fuselage. US officials now say they detected two missile launches just before an explosion, believed to have come from the jet Witnesses said they heard 'two very loud noises' coming from Parandak garrison moments before the Ukrainian airline crashed in farmland just after take off from Imam Khomeini International Airport. A section of rocket was said to have been found in front of a home in the city of Parand Wreckage of the plane which investigators in Iran say was trying to turn back to the airport when it crashed as the result of a mechanical fault, killing 176 people New footage shows the moment a burning Ukrainian passenger jet exploded into pieces near Tehran early yesterday morning NORTH LIBERTY Cory Booker acknowledges that he may not have the best 15-point policy plans of the candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. However, the New Jersey senator doesnt think thats what the 2020 election will be about. It is about us challenging each other to understand that we are not each others enemy. We have to have a deeper, more courageous empathy, and our politics must begin to reflect core values, Booker said a Thursday campaign event in North Liberty. It would be easy to blame Republicans for what ails the country, but Booker said Democrats have to accept responsibility for not turning out to vote in 2016. In 2020, he said, Democrats have to build new coalitions, strengthening bonds, by coming together in common cause and common purpose. Calling for healing and unity, Booker said it wouldnt be enough for Democrats merely to win the 2020 election. You could win the White House and not heal the country, Booker said during 90 minutes before an audience of more than 100 people at the North Liberty Recreation Center. We need a wave election, a new American majority, he said. We need to awaken each other to our common pain and turn that into common purpose. He encouraged people to vote not just with their heads, but also with their hearts. Booker acknowledged the challenge he faces in the three weeks before the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses. Hes running sixth or lower in most polls and appears unlikely to qualify to be in the Democratic National Committee debate in Des Moines on Jan. 14. This is one of the most frustrating things in this presidential campaign, he said when asked about not being in the debate. This is the first time weve had top-level Democrats in Washington telling Iowa who their choices are, he said. But you guys never cared much for national polls. He noted Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards were polling at 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively, in 2004 before campaigning in Iowa. They wouldnt have made the debates, but they came in here, and you guys made them finish No. 1 and No. 2, he said. He faces the additional challenge of potentially being off the campaign trail to sit as a juror in the Senate impeachment trial later this month. Were not deterred, he said. We have to upset expectations here. Later, in Mount Vernon, Jewish and Palestinian activists challenged what they called Bookers contradictions between progressive values and his opposition to any form of accountability for Israels denial of Palestinian freedom or cuts in military funding. I have been standing for justice in that region long before I became a United States senator, he said in North Liberty. Im proud of my record, and I will stand for the right of Israel to exist and the right for the Palestinians to have a country of their own. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 , Cookies . cookies. Fifty years ago this month, President Richard Nixon signed one of the most effective laws ever written to protect the environment and strengthen democracy by ensuring that citizens would have a say over projects like highways and pipelines that directly affect their well-being. Now President Trump is trying to cripple it. New rules that he proposed on Thursday for carrying out the law would strike at the heart of the publics right to know what our government is doing or failing to do on our behalf and to speak to the lasting impact those actions might have. Often called the Magna Carta of environmental law, the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act requires that major energy and infrastructure projects receiving federal funding or requiring federal approval must undergo environmental reviews. Citizens have a right to weigh in on these proposals in hearings and through a public comment process. Mr. Trumps proposed changes would reduce the number of projects subject to such reviews, by setting new criteria for what qualifies as a major federal action requiring review by excluding projects deemed to be minimal. Its not possible, from the vague language in the proposed rules, to predict which kinds of projects might escape reasonable review, but the enthusiastic response to the proposed changes from the oil, gas and construction industries offers a clue. As more projects are exempted, less information will be available about their potential impacts on communities and the environment. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 09:13:56|Editor: yhy Video Player Close CANBERRA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has raised the issue for a "comprehensive" inquiry into the nation's bushfire crisis. Morrison on Thursday raised the prospect of establishing a royal commission into the bushfires, which have claimed at least 27 lives and burned about 10 million hectares of land. Morrison told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that any inquiry into the crisis would need to investigate climate change and other possible causes. "There'll be a time, I think, to ensure that we work with the states and territories to get the proper inquiry in place," he said. "It needs to be comprehensive, it needs to deal with contributing factors, which is everything from hazard reduction to climate change, through to the response issues, the national coordination matters and, of course, resilience and planning for the future. "But right now, the states and territories and ourselves are very focused on responding to these fires and the immediate recovery operations." Members of Morrison's government, including Deputy PM Michael McCormack, have come under criticism for failing to acknowledge the link between global warming and the increased fire danger. However, the prime minister denied that the government has been complacent about climate change. "It is the policy of the government to acknowledge the link between these events," he said. "What we've always said, though, is you cannot link any individual single emissions reduction policy of a country, whether it's Australia or anyone else, to any specific fire event, I mean, that's just absurd." As Iran and Western states offer diverging explanations for what caused Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 to fall out of the sky just a few minutes after takeoff on January 8, there are growing concerns that crucial evidence may have been compromised. On the day the Boeing 737-800 carrying 176 people slammed into the ground just outside Tehran and before Ukrainian investigators had even arrived, Iran began using heavy machinery, including bulldozers, to help clear parts of the crash site. Two days later, on January 10, CBS reported that there were no investigators or security left and that scavengers were already combing the site. Officials in Tehran have said the crash, which killed everyone on board, was caused by a technical malfunction, while officials in Washington say it was highly likely a surface-to-air missile. Iran's decision to immediately clear parts of the site has raised suspicions it is seeking to cover up evidence and avoid blame for the tragedy. Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency that works with countries and industry groups to help set standards and recommended practices, states that the country of the crash's occurrence should "take all reasonable measures to protect evidence" as well as protect site access from "unauthorized persons, pilfering and deterioration." WATCH: Investigator Explains Video Evidence Iran is one of 193 member states of the ICAO. The Montreal, Canada-based organization declined to comment to RFE/RL on whether Iran appeared to be complying with standard practices. When asked by RFE/RL if wreckage should be removed from such a major crash site on the same day, aviation accident investigator Anthony Brickhouse said, "absolutely not." "In the first day or so, you don't remove anything. You want everything as sterile as possible in that wreckage," said Brickhouse, who is also an aviation professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. Site Walkthrough A crash site should be immediately cordoned off by police -- or military, depending on the country -- until investigators arrive, Brickhouse said. In the case of the United States, local police secure the site until investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) arrive. Those two agencies will then determine who else gets access to the site. The investigators will generally first do a walkthrough of the crash site to get a "mental picture" of what possibly happened, Brickhouse said. For a large crash site like a commercial jet, investigators can be at the site for several days. "Getting on the ground and examining the wreckage is going to be paramount. Because depending on what happened, and depending on how badly the wreckage is damaged, certain signatures should be there," Brickhouse said. A missile would likely leave shrapnel holes in the fuselage of the aircraft emanating inward as was the case with MH17, the Malaysia Airlines flight which, according to the findings of a Dutch-led investigation, was downed by a Russian-made missile on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 abroad. Damage emanating outward would be an indication of an onboard explosion as was visible in the wreckage of the Pan-Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, which was downed in December 1988. However, such signs wouldn't be conclusive on their own, he said. Among the most important pieces of evidence are the cockpit voice recorder and the data flight recorder. Eyewitness accounts, including any video taken by bystanders, are also valuable in determining the cause. "You never take one piece of evidence by itself and say, this is what caused the accident. You typically corroborate different bits of information," he said. At the same time, photographs are taken of the crash site using digital cameras on the ground and drones for a bird's eye view. The geolocations of the pieces of wreckage are also recorded. More recently, investigators have been using laser scanners attached to tripods to make a digital recording of a crash site for future usage in 3D or virtual-reality format, he said. After the site is photographed, certain parts of the plane are moved to a secure location for investigators to study further. Who Investigates? According to Annex 13, the country where the crash occurred -- in this case Iran -- has the right to lead the investigation. Ukraine and the United States have the right to participate as the owner and manufacturer, respectively, of the plane. Ukrainian investigators, who arrived in Tehran on January 9, have been given access to the cockpit voice recorder and the data flight recorder Iran initially said it would not allow the United States to participate in the investigation. However, Iran later sent notification of the crash to the NTSB -- the federal agency responsible for investigating all aviation crashes in the United States -- a formal process that then allows the United States to exercise its right to join the investigation. The NTSB said on January 9 that it had named an accredited representative to the case, but could not say when or if the representative would visit the site due to U.S. sanctions that prevent it from cooperating with Iran's civil aviation authority. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on January 10 he would give sanction waivers so that Americans can participate in the crash investigation. It didnt take long for World War III to become a trending topic on Twitter in the hours after news broke that a drone strike by U.S. forces resulted in the death of a top Iranian military commander. Almost simultaneously, those whod never heard of the now-late Qasem Soleimani until cable news and social media blared his name began debating whether the latest escalation in tensions between the United States and Islamic Republic of Iran would inevitably result in a hot war between the two countries. There is bipartisan agreement that the airstrike personally ordered by President Donald Trump meant that there was one fewer terrorist in the world. And there is some wisdom to that, considering Soleimani was believed responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans during the Iraq War. But and this is a significant but Congressional leaders had not been briefed on the attack, and expressed fears that the White House was moving toward yet another undeclared war in the region. While the administration has made positive noises about wanting to draw down the American presence in the Middle East, as was the case during last years disastrous withdrawal from northern Syria, its actions have not matched the rhetoric. The Washington Post reported late last week that the U.S. was deploying an additional 3,500 service people to the region in the wake of that Iranian vow to extract severe revenge. Thats on top of the battalion of 750 soldiers sent to Kuwait. The additional security is undoubtedly necessary, as American installations across the Middle East brace for retaliation. But its also a reminder of how easy it would be for the United States to slide into another conflict in a part of the world thats claimed thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars in American resources. As president, Trump has broad latitude to prosecute foreign policy. But the War Powers Act requires the executive branch to brief Congress within 48 hours of unauthorized military action. New York Mags Ed Kilgore writes that the administration is likely to claim it had grounds to act under the congressionally enacted Authorizations of Military Force in 2001 and 2002 that, respectively, gave the nation the Forever War on Terror, and an Iraq War that doesnt seem to want to ever end. Not surprisingly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, raised serious questions about the legality of the attack, saying it had been carried out without legislative authorization. In reality, Republicans and Democratic administrations have been abusing their war-making authority for decades. That includes the Obama administrations pernicious preference for drone strikes. Think about this: The United States last issued a formal declaration of war after the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Every military action since has come without a formal declaration of war. Though some, such as the Korean War and the 1990 Gulf War, have come with congressional authorizations or through United Nations resolutions, as was the case with the Bosnian War under President Bill Clinton in 1992-93. It might be too late to get the genie back into the bottle. But this slow creep of executive power is one that badly needs to be reversed. Which means its a mistake to dismiss Democratic complaints about White House overreach. The president wields no power more terrifying nor more broad-reaching than the ability to wage war. But he (and someday she) wields that power in all our names, not just his own. Thats what declarations of war and congressional authorizations are for: To ensure we speak, as a nation, with one voice. Its a quaint notion, perhaps, but its one worth remembering before we blunder into another endless war. John L. Micek is editor in chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg. Email him at jmicek@penncapital-star.com and follow him on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek. Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - Enablence Technologies Inc. (TSXV: ENA) ("Enablence" or the "Company"), a leading supplier of optical components and subsystems for access, metro and long-haul markets, today announced a change to its executive management team. Scott Larin has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective immediately, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Mr. Larin replaces Gerald Leahy who has stepped down as Interim CFO of the Company. Mr. Leahy has been a valued member of Enablence since 2012 and has made numerous contributions to the business. The Company would like to thank him for his work over the years and wish him success in the future. Mr. Larin is a seasoned finance executive with over 20 years of finance, capital markets and financial advisory experience. Mr. Larin has held senior positions at several blue-chip independent and bank-owned investment dealers and has previously served as Chief Financial Officer of a privately held non-bank financial company. Mr. Larin is a CFA charterholder and graduated from The Ivey Business School with an Honors Business Administration (HBA) degree in 1997. Effective immediately, Yifan (Evan) Chen has resigned as a director of the Company. The Board thanked Mr. Chen for his service both as an executive and a director CFA and Chartered Financial Analyst are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute. About Enablence Technologies Inc. Enablence is a publicly traded company that designs, manufactures and sells optical components and subsystems to a global customer base. It utilizes its patented technologies, including planar lightwave circuit intellectual property, in the production of an array of photonic components and broadband subsystems that deliver a key portion of the infrastructure for current and next-generation telecommunication systems. The Company's product lines address all three segments of optical networks: access - connecting homes and businesses to the network; metro - communication rings within large cities; and long-haul - linking cities and continents. For more information, visit www.enablence.com. Forward-looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the business of the Company based on current expectations and assumptions which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business and the economic environment in which the business operates. All such statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, applicable Canadian securities legislation. Any statements contained herein that are statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution our readers of this press release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations. Please refer to the risks set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure documents that can be found on SEDAR www.sedar.com. Enablence does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information contact: Enablence Technologies Inc. +1 613 656-2850 ext. 2 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/51323 Brusthom Ziamani, 24, 'slashed and stabbed a guard' at the prison in Cambridgeshire while wearing a fake suicide vest An attack on a prison officer by two inmates wearing fake suicide belts at HMP Whitemoor is being treated as a terrorist attack, police said today. One of the inmates suspected of behind the assault on staff at the prison in Cambridgeshire yesterday was revealed as a jihadi called Brusthom Ziamani who had plotted to behead a soldier. He 'slashed and stabbed a guard' at the prison while wearing a fake suicide vest inside the maximum security facility. Counter-terrorism police have since launched an investigation after the attack, which is thought to have involved another inmate. A prison source claimed the duo shouted 'Allahu Akbar' meaning 'God is Great' in the attack. Police said both attackers were 'wearing belts with various items crudely attached'. The prison officer who was attacked received injuries to his head and neck and it is believed the attackers used improvised bladed weapons during the assault. The two prisoners were subsequently detained by other prison staff, some of whom also suffered injuries. Ziamani is pictured above in 2015 in London holding a sign which reads 'democracy go to hell' Five members of staff, including the seriously injured officer, were subsequently taken to hospital following the incident. All five have since been released. The 24-year-old had been acting with a man who had been serving time for violent offences and had converted to Islam. Ziamani had been inspired by the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby and in 2015 was found guilty of preparing an act of terrorism. Prior to his conviction he had been known to authorities due to a string of offences such as robberies, fraud and prostitution. According to the Henry Jackson Society, Zimani had appealed his sentence which had been 22 years. He managed to get it down to 19 years, due to his youth. A Prison Service spokesman said the incident was 'quickly resolved by brave staff' at the 458-capacity HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire. He did not state the nature of the injuries to the officers amid reports the inmates were wearing fake suicide vests and shouting Islamist slogans. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, has now confirmed the matter is being treated as a terrorist attack. A Prison Service spokesman said the incident was 'quickly resolved by brave staff' at the 458-capacity HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire Back in 2011 a report from the Cambridge Institute of Criminology stated that prisoners had been converting to Islam for 'gang reasons'. As part of the report staff claimed converting to the religion was a 'protection racket'. The spokesman said: 'Five members of staff at HMP Whitemoor attended hospital following a serious assault on an officer by two prisoners on January 9. What does Category A and B mean? Across England and Wales prisoners are categorised by a number of factors. These include how likely they are to try and escape, danger to the public and if they were to escape how the threat would be controlled. Category A: These are high security prisons. They house male prisoners who, if they were to escape, pose the most threat to the public, the police or national security. Category B: These prisons are either local or training prisons. Local prisons house prisoners that are taken directly from court in the local area (sentenced or on remand), and training prisons hold long-term and high-security prisoners. Source: Ministry of Justice Advertisement 'The incident was quickly resolved by our brave staff and our thoughts are with the injured officers at this time. 'We do not tolerate assaults on our hardworking officers and will push for the strongest possible punishment. 'We have referred the incident to the police and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.' The incident is being investigated by counter-terrorism officers and no arrests have been made, the Met Police said. A spokesman added: 'Due to certain circumstances relating to this incident, it was deemed appropriate for the investigation to be carried out by officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command. 'However, we must stress that at this early stage of the investigation we are keeping an open mind with regards to any motives and inquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident are ongoing.' The prison houses more than 400 Category A and B prisoners. They are house across three wings and include a number of the highest-risk inmates. Almost a year ago, staff at the prison had to receive medical treatment after a fight broke out. Back in 1994 the prisoners tried to escape. Six of which, including IRA member Paul Magee, escaped from a secure unit after smuggling a gun - they were all later recaptured. LONDON, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TauC3 Biologics Limited, a newly established privately held British biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative immunotherapy with the demonstrated potential to prevent the spread of tau pathology in the brain, today announced the appointments of Andrew J. Heath, MD, PhD as Non-Executive Chairman of its Board of Directors and Shafique Virani, MD as Non-Executive Director. The company is developing an extremely potent humanized monoclonal antibody targeting an especially noxious form of tau with the aim of slowing or halting the progression of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Alzheimers disease (AD). Dr. Heath is a biopharmaceutical executive with in-depth knowledge of US and UK capital markets and international experience in marketing and sales, R & D and business development. Dr. Heath was Chief Executive Officer of Protherics PLC from 1997 to 2008, taking the Company from 30 to 350 staff and managing its eventual acquisition by BTG for 220 million. Prior to this, Dr. Heath held senior positions at Astra AB and Astra USA, including Vice President Marketing & Sales. Dr. Heath is currently Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director to Oxford Biomedica PLC. He obtained his PhD and trained in medicine at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He is based in London. Dr. Virani brings 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and was instrumental in building an industry-leading portfolio in neuroscience, ophthalmology and rare diseases at Roche through academic collaborations, licensing and acquisitions. He joined Roche in 2004 and held various positions of increasing seniority globally within medical affairs, marketing and business development culminating as Global Head of Business Development, Licensing and M&A for neuroscience, ophthalmology and rare diseases. Dr. Virani recently served as CEO-in-Residence at BridgeBio Pharma and was appointed as CEO of Navire Pharma and CoA Therapeutics, building both companies from Lead Generation to IND ready. He trained as a neurosurgeon in Cambridge, UK and Boston. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are delighted to welcome Andrew Heath and Shafique Virani to our board, said Dr. Daniel Chain, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of TauC3 Biologics. Their deep expertise and exceptional talents will be invaluable as we work to develop and commercialize our novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of devastating neurodegenerative diseases for the ultimate benefit of patients and society." I am delighted to join TauC3 Biologics as the company transitions from the laboratory to a commercial venture, stated Andrew Heath. With its deep insight into tau pathology, this company has the potential to have an impact on the outcome of one of our generations biggest medical conundrums. I look forward to working with Daniel, Shafique and the board to take our program for AD and PSP into the clinic. Its an exciting time to join TauC3 Biologics, with the company at a critical cross-road in understanding the toxic moieties relating to mis-folded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases, stated Shafique Virani. Alzheimers Disease poses perhaps the greatest unmet medical need of our time and exploring new approaches that could potentially ameliorate the disease is certainly warranted. I look forward to working with the company management and fellow Board Directors to help guide the mission at TauC3 Biologics. About TauC3 Biologics Limited: A privately held British biopharmaceutical company developing an exceptionally potent, humanized monoclonal antibody uniquely targeting an especially noxious protein metabolite in the brain of patients with Alzheimers disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. The company believes that the antibody has the potential to be a standout immunotherapy for these diseases whereas other more advanced tau programs are unlikely to be as efficacious and pose potential safety concerns. The humanized antibody was generated in partnership with LifeArc, a UK medical research charity. About AD AD is the most common cause of dementia and represents an enormous and growing global public health challenge. It is a uniformly fatal neurodegenerative disorder with no cure or substantially effective treatment. AD currently affects more than 5 million Americans, 7 million Europeans and, in total, about 44 million people worldwide according to the most recent report by the Alzheimers Association with an estimated cost of more than one percent of global GDP. No disease-modifying treatments have been approved. About PSP PSP is a rare and fatal degenerative neurological disorder affecting about 20,000 people in the United States. It causes progressive impairment of balance and walking; impaired eye movement, abnormal muscle tone, speech difficulties, and problems related to swallowing and eating. Affected individuals also frequently experience personality changes and cognitive impairment. Symptoms typically begin after age 60 but can begin earlier. The exact cause of PSP is unknown. PSP is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson disease, AD, corticobasal degeneration and other neurodegenerative disorders. No disease-modifying treatments have been approved. Defying pressure from Congress, Facebook said on Thursday that it would continue to allow political campaigns to use the site to target advertisements to particular slices of the electorate and that it would not police the truthfulness of the messages sent out. The stance put Facebook, the most important digital service for political ads, at odds with some of the other large tech companies, which have begun to put new limits on political ads. Facebooks decision, telegraphed in recent months by executives, is likely to harden criticism of the Menlo Park company heading into this years presidential election. Political advertising cuts to the heart of Facebooks outsize role in society, and the company has found itself squeezed between liberal critics, who want it to do a better job of policing its various social media services, and conservatives, who say their views are being unfairly muzzled. The issue has raised important questions regarding how heavy a hand technology companies like Facebook which also owns Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp and Google should exert when deciding what types of political content they will and will not permit. By maintaining a status quo, Facebook executives are essentially saying they are doing the best they can without government guidance and see little benefit to the company or the public in changing. In a blog post, a company official echoed Facebooks earlier calls for lawmakers to set firm rules. In the absence of regulation, Facebook and other companies are left to design their own policies, Rob Leathern, Facebooks director of product management overseeing the advertising integrity division, said in the post. We have based ours on the principle that people should be able to hear from those who wish to lead them, warts and all, and that what they say should be scrutinized and debated in public. Other social media companies have decided otherwise, and some had hoped Facebook would quietly follow their lead. In late October, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey banned political advertising from his network, citing the challenges that novel digital systems present to civic discourse. Google quickly followed suit with limits on political ads across some of its properties, though narrower in scope. Reaction to Facebooks policy broke down largely along party lines. The Trump campaign, which has been highly critical of any attempts by technology companies to regulate political advertising and has already spent more than $27 million on the service, largely supported Facebooks decision not to interfere in targeting ads or to set fact-checking standards. Our ads are always accurate, so its good that Facebook wont limit political messages because it encourages more Americans to be involved in the process, said Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign. This is much better than the approaches from Twitter and Google, which will lead to voter suppression. Democratic presidential candidates and outside groups decried the decision. Facebook is paying for its own glowing fake news coverage, so its not surprising theyre standing their ground on letting political figures lie to you, Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted. Warren, who has been among the most critical of Facebook and regularly calls for major tech companies to be broken up, reiterated her stance that the company should face tougher policies. The Biden campaign was similarly critical. The campaign has confronted Facebook over an ad run by President Trumps campaign that attacked Joe Bidens record on Ukraine. Donald Trumps campaign can (and will) still lie in political ads, Bill Russo, the deputy communications director for Biden, said in a statement. Facebook can (and will) still profit off it. Todays announcement is more window dressing around their decision to allow paid misinformation. But many Democratic groups willing to criticize Facebook had to walk a fine line; they have pushed for more regulation when it comes to fact-checking political ads, but they have been adamantly opposed to any changes to the ad-targeting features. On Thursday, some Democratic outside groups welcomed Facebooks decision not to limit microtargeting, but still thought the policy fell short. These changes read to us mostly as a cover for not making the change that is most vital: ensuring politicians are not allowed to use Facebook as a tool to lie to and manipulate voters, said Madeline Kriger, who oversees digital ad buying at Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC. Facebook has played down the business opportunity in political ads, saying the vast majority of its revenue came from commercial, not political, ads. But lawmakers have noted that Facebook ads could be a focal point of Trumps campaign as well as those of top Democrats. Facebooks hands-off ad policy has already allowed for misleading advertisements. In October, a Facebook ad from the Trump campaign made false accusations about Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The ad quickly went viral and was viewed by millions. After the Biden campaign asked Facebook to take down the ad, the company refused. Our approach is grounded in Facebooks fundamental belief in free expression, respect for the democratic process and the belief that, in mature democracies with a free press, political speech is already arguably the most scrutinized speech there is, Facebooks head of global elections policy, Katie Harbath, wrote in the letter to the Biden campaign. In an attempt to provoke Facebook, Warrens presidential campaign ran an ad falsely claiming that the companys chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, was backing the re-election of Trump. Facebook did not take the ad down. Criticism seemed to stiffen Zuckerbergs resolve. Company officials said he and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebooks president, had ultimately made the decision to stand firm. In a strongly worded speech at Georgetown University in October, Zuckerberg said he believed in the power of unfettered speech, including in paid advertising, and did not want to be in the position to police what politicians could and could not say to constituents. Facebooks users, he said, should be allowed to make those decisions for themselves. People having the power to express themselves at scale is a new kind of force in the world a Fifth Estate alongside the other power structures of society, he said. Facebook officials have repeatedly said significant changes to its rules for political or issue ads could harm the ability of smaller, less well-funded organizations to raise money and organize across the network. Instead of overhauling its policies, Facebook has made tweaks. Leathern said Facebook would add greater transparency features to its library of political advertising in the coming months, a resource for journalists and outside researchers to scrutinize the types of ads run by the campaigns. Facebook also will add a feature that allows users to see fewer campaign and political issue ads in their news feeds, something the company has said many users have requested. There was considerable debate inside Facebook about whether it should change. Late last year, hundreds of employees supported an internal memo that called on Zuckerberg to limit the abilities of Facebooks political advertising products. For now, Facebook appears willing to risk disinformation in support of unfettered speech. Ultimately, we dont think decisions about political ads should be made by private companies, Leathern said. Frankly, we believe the sooner Facebook and other companies are subject to democratically accountable rules on this, the better. Mike Isaac and Cecilia Kang are New York Times writers. ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - John Crosbie had a tart tongue, a dry wit and what many have described as an unflinching devotion to Newfoundland and Labrador. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Newfoundland and Labrador Lieutenant Governor John Crosbie inspects the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary as he enters the House of Assembly to deliver the throne speech in St.John's, Monday, March 21, 2011. John Crosbie, a former federal cabinet minister and lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador who was known as much for his sharp wit as for his politics, has died at the age of 88. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - John Crosbie had a tart tongue, a dry wit and what many have described as an unflinching devotion to Newfoundland and Labrador. The former federal cabinet minister often made headlines with his off-colour quips and stinging barbs, but as news of his death spread Friday, he was hailed as a national builder and a tireless advocate for his province. "He relished the cut and thrust of politics throughout his life, not for sport, but for people, whose best interests he embraced as his own," his family said in a statement confirming his death Friday morning at the age of 88. "On the wharf or around a table, he listened, he heard and he resolved to deliver." As an outspoken fisheries minister under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Crosbie faced his biggest political challenge as Newfoundland and Labrador struggled with the collapse of the northern cod stocks, for centuries the backbone of the province's economy. Crosbie shut down the fishery in July 1992, eliminating the jobs of more than 19,000 of the province's 25,000 fishermen, plant workers and trawlermen. Defending himself in a crowd of enraged fishermen, shortly before he announced the moratorium, Crosbie shouted: ''I didn't take the fish from the God damned water!" He would describe the moratorium, which was later expanded, as the most difficult moment of his political career. Mulroney issued a statement Friday praising his former colleague as "one of the giants of our generation," saying Crosbie would be remembered for his courage, humour and passion. "He was one of the most valuable public servants for Canada and his province during our challenging debates over resources and our Constitution," Mulroney said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Tory warhorse was "a true force of nature." "Mr. Crosbie made lasting contributions to his province and country," Trudeau said in a statement. "Over a remarkable career, he served his community at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. As a federal cabinet minister, his work to promote free trade changed the face of our country." When Crosbie was born is 1931, Newfoundland and Labrador had yet to join Confederation. At a young age, he was steeped in politics. His father, Chesley Crosbie, was a prominent St. John's businessman and politician. He formed the Party for Economic Union with the United States in 1948, but his plans were dashed when Newfoundland joined Confederation the following year. Sir John wanted to promote free trade with America instead of a union with Canada, but his dream was dashed when Newfoundland joined Confederation the following year. As a young man, John Crosbie was an outstanding student, graduating with honours from Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and the Dalhousie Law School in Halifax. A practising lawyer, he entered politics in 1965 as a city councillor in St. John's. Within a year, he was appointed to the cabinet of Liberal Premier Joey Smallwood. After a dispute with Smallwood over leadership in 1969, Crosbie crossed the floor to join the Opposition Progressive Conservatives led by Frank Moores. The Tories were elected to govern in 1972, and Crosbie held a number of cabinet positions before deciding to run federally in 1976. As finance minister in the short-lived minority government of Prime Minister Joe Clark, he tabled a tough budget in 1979 that included tax increases. Clark's government fell on a motion of non-confidence after less than nine months in office. "Long enough to conceive, just not long enough to deliver," Crosbie quipped at the time. He ran for the party's leadership in 1983 but, hobbled by his inability to speak French, he lost to Mulroney. Questioned about his unilingualism, Crosbie shot back, "I cannot talk to the Chinese people in their own language either." Mulroney became prime minister in 1984 and Crosbie was appointed justice minister the first of six cabinet posts he would hold. In an exchange in the House of Commons in 1985, Crosbie told Liberal MP Sheila Copps to "Just quiet down, baby," prompting Copps to reply, "I'm nobody's baby." He riled Copps again in 1990 during a fundraiser in Victoria, B.C., saying Copps made him think of the song lyrics: "Pass the tequila, Sheila, and lie down and love me again." The sexist quip was caught on camera, sparking an uproar. Crosbie later acknowledged the comment was "ill-considered." He said he and Copps played up their squabbles for mutual gain. "She's a professional politician, and I was as well," he said in 2011. "We're good pals now. We're very friendly, and she's married to a Newfoundlander, so she's a fine woman as far as I'm concerned." While serving in Mulroney's government, Crosbie was one of the most vocal proponents of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. He also pushed the government to support Newfoundland's first major offshore oil development the wildly successful Hibernia offshore platform. However, his penchant for headline-grabbing jests seemed to draw more attention than his political accomplishments. In response to ribbing about his affluence, Crosbie once replied: "What do you want? A politician who's rich going into office? Or one who's rich when he leaves?" And in July 1998, after he had left politics, he characterized the Reform party as "a boil that has to be lanced." Marjory LeBreton, a former Conservative senator and longtime party insider, said Crosbie was ahead of his time with his ill-fated 1979 austerity budget. She also hailed his tough stand in the face of the cod crisis. "He is revered in the Conservative party for his intelligence, his courage and for his incredible wit," she said. "We could fill a book with Crosbie-isms, some of which would not pass the 'political correctness' restrictions we currently live with." Crosbie was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1998, and he went on to serve five years as lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. On his first day as vice-regal representative in 2008, Crosbie said he had no regrets about his straight-shooting style. "I have never hesitated to offer my opinions from time to time, verbally or in writing, on the public issues of the day," he said. "What's the point of being around if you don't give your opinions, whether anybody wants to hear them or not? I never gave a darn if they wanted to hear them or not, I'll tell you that." Crosbie is survived by his wife Jane, and children Michael, Beth and Ches, who is leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's Progressive Conservative party. The family's statement said Jane Crosbie had lost the love of her life. "To us as kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, he was simply dad, granddad, great-granddad our bedrock of support," the family said. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball described Crosbie as a tireless advocate for the province. "Mr. Crosbie was a spirited and proud Newfoundlander and Labradorian," Ball said in a statement. "Known for his colourful personality, he ensured that the interests of Newfoundland and Labrador were heard loudly and clearly over the course of his storied career." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. By Michael MacDonald in Halifax and Kevin Bissett in Fredericton Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Japanese government for further assistance in developing an e-government and cyber security during his talk with Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Sanae Takaichi. The meeting took place in Hanoi on Thursday evening, as part of Minister Takaichis visit to Vietnam from January 8 to 10. During the conversation, PM Phuc stated that the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership is developing comprehensively, while political trust has been enhanced in many aspects. Japan has remained an important economic partner, the biggest provider of official development assistance (ODA), the second biggest foreign investor, and the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam, he stressed. The premier thanked Japan for its provision of ODA in the past 30 years, which has contributed remarkably to Vietnams socio-economic development, hunger elimination, poverty reduction, and infrastructural development. To boost the bilateral extensive strategic partnership, PM Phuc asked Japan to continue supporting the Vietnamese government in reforming and improving the efficiency of its administrative apparatus, building an e-government toward a digital government, digital economy and digital society, and effectively implementing state management projects on information and communications. According to Minister Takaichi, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications have signed a cooperation agreement, opening up a new page for partnership in the fields of post, information, and communications. Japan stands ready to cooperate and share experience with Vietnam in developing cyber security and applying information technology in statistical activities, she said. Japanese enterprises can contribute to the development of information technology and take part in IT expos in Vietnam, the minister said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The United States continues to value its relationship with the Philippines, American lawmakers said, after passing a measure seeking to sanction Filipino officials involved in human rights violations. Senate Resolution No. 142, passed by the US' upper chamber on Thursday, calls on President Donald Trump to deny entry to and freeze the assets of Philippine government officials behind alleged extrajudicial killings in the country and the contested detention of Senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs. It also urged the Philippine government to immediately release De Lima and drop all charges against Maria Ressa and online news site Rappler cases that are perceived to be part of the Duterte administration's crackdown on its critics. Four legislators who introduced the bipartisan resolution in the US Senate said it should lead to the end of human rights violations in the Philippines and not to the severance of ties between Washington and Manila. "While we remain a steadfast ally of the Philippines, we also remain resolute in defending human rights and the rule of law," U.S. Senator Edward Markey said in a statement. "In passing this resolution, the United States Senate makes clear that the Duterte government must end its human rights abuses." U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn likewise said, "We value our relationship with the Philippines. But the U.S. Congress expects to see real change to the current practices of the Duterte government." Malacanang has repeatedly denied that there are state-sanctioned killings, and stresses that the cases of De Lima and Ressa are now being tried by the country's independent courts. Government data shows an estimated 6,000 people have been killed in the anti-drug campaign. However, local and international advocacy groups say there are thousands more of extrajudicial killings, as a result of Duterte's public pronouncements to finish all drug addicts. The United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Criminal Court are looking into the country's human rights situation. Travel restrictions on US senators, citizens 'not helping' Duterte recently got back at Markey by banning him from entering the Philippines. Two other American Senators, Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy, can no longer set foot in Manila as well, for their proposal to ban De Lima's accusers an amendment that was passed along with U.S.' 2020 budget. Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo has said the government would require all Americans to secure a visa before entering the Philippines regardless of the purpose and length of their visit if the U.S. enforces the ban on Filipino officials. At present, U.S. citizens visiting the Philippines for not more than 30 days do not need a visa. READ: 'Just tit for tat': Gov't bans 2 US senators, threatens to require visa for all Americans "Preventing Senators and Americans from setting foot in the Philippines will not help the Duterte government brush under the rug state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings. No arbitrary detention or illegitimate charge can obscure the fact that Senator De Lima, Maria Ressa, and all those who speak truth to power exemplify the highest democratic ideals," Markey stressed. Durbin said the U.S. Senate is one in condemning the Duterte government's "troubling behavior and democratic backsliding." U.S. Senator Chris Coons pointed out that America has the responsibility to call out the Duterte government's violations on the human rights of political leaders, activists, and journalists. The U.S. Senate wants sanctions for human rights violators in the Philippine government pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. This American law allows Washington to punish foreign officials implicated in significant corruption and gross human rights violations in any part of the world. The U.S. President has 120 days to decide on requests to impose sanctions on foreigners. The recall effort against embattled state Rep. Larry Inman still doesnt have enough valid signatures to proceed, Michigans Bureau of Elections determined late Thursday evening. In a staff report, the Bureau of Elections once again concluded the Recall Inman Committee did not collect the 12,201 signatures needed to recall Inman, R-Williamsburg, who last year was accused of trying to sell his vote on a controversial issue. The committee filed 13,859 signatures with the Michigan Bureau of Elections last November. In an initial review, officials found the group came up 94 valid signatures short of the 12,201 signatures necessary to put the recall into motion. Following challenges on 911 signatures initially deemed invalid from the recall committee and 785 signatures initially deemed valid from Eric Doster, the bureau found the petition had 11,993 valid signatures - 208 less than what was necessary to trigger a recall. Issues with the signatures deemed invalid included registration and jurisdiction issues, meaning the person signing the petition was not registered to vote or didnt live in the city or township listed on the petition. Upon additional review, the Bureau of Elections also found more duplicate signatures, invalidating a total of 293 signatures from the list. Committee organizers have scheduled a 4:30 p.m. press conference Friday in Traverse City to address the reports findings. In a statement, committee leadership acknowledged the decision and said they believed the attempt to recall Inman was worth it despite the outcome. Of course we are disappointed with this result, but that doesnt mean it wasnt worth the effort, recall attorney Michael Naughton said. Im proud of our community for taking on this recall, regardless of the result. State officials initially disqualified the recall petition because of a typographical error on the petitions signed by voters. The Michigan Supreme Court disagreed with the bureaus finding, allowing the petition to move forward, but committee members needed to prove theyd submitted enough valid signatures to get Inmans recall on the ballot. Inman, R-Williamsburg, was accused of soliciting a bribe, extortion and lying to police stemming from a request for campaign contributions in the lead-up to a close vote last legislative session. A jury found Inman not guilty of making a false statement to an FBI agent, but could not decide on whether or not to find him guilty for the bribery and extortion charges, resulting in a mistrial. Inman is still a sitting member of the House of Representatives and continues to vote, although hes been stripped of his House office, staff and committees and is no longer a member of the House Republican Caucus. House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, recently said Inmans status in the House hasnt changed, adding that he will continue to monitor developments in Inmans case. Expressing oneself through the medium of Internet is an integral part of fundamental right to speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution and any restrictions imposed on it should be reasonable, the Supreme Court on Friday held. The top court said that right of trade and commerce through Internet is also constitutionally protected subject to reasonable restrictions. It said that complete blocking or prohibition cannot be accepted by the court and achievement of peace and tranquillity within the erstwhile state of requires a multi-faceted approach without excessively burdening the right to A bench of justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai said, "We declare that the and expression and the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of internet enjoys constitutional protection under Article 19(1)(a) ( and expression) and Article 19(1)(g) (right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business)." The bench said the restriction upon such fundamental rights should be in consonance with the mandate under Article 19 (2) and (6) of the Constitution, inclusive of the test of proportionality. It added that in today's world the internet stands as the most utilised and accessible medium for exchange of information but there is a consistent criticism that the development of technology is not met by equivalent movement in the law. The bench said in a catena of judgments, the apex court has recognised free speech as a fundamental right and "expression through the Internet has gained contemporary relevance and is one of the major means of information diffusion." Dealing with trade and commerce over Internet, the bench said that the globalisation of the Indian economy and the rapid advances in information and technology have opened up vast business avenues and transformed India as a global IT hub. "There is no doubt that there are certain trades which are completely dependent on the Internet. Such a right of trade through Internet also fosters consumerism and availability of choice. Therefore, the freedom of trade and commerce through the medium of the Internet is also constitutionally protected," it said. The top court's verdict came on a plea of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin and others who challenged the restrictions imposed in post August 5, last year decision of Centre abrogating Article 370. They had contended that the restrictions under Article 19 of the Constitution cannot mean complete prohibition. "In this context we may note that the contention cannot be sustained in light of a number of judgments of this court wherein the restriction has also been held to include complete prohibition in appropriate cases," it said. Referring to the situation of Jammu and Kashmir, the bench said that erstwhile state has been a hot bed of terrorist insurgencies for many years. Noting the J&K's submission, the top court said that since 1990 to 2019 there have been 71,038 recorded incidents of terrorist violence, 14,038 civilians have died, 5292 security personnel were martyred, 22,536 terrorists were killed. It added that modern terrorism heavily relies on the internet and the operations do not require substantial expenditure, are not traceable easily and the internet is being used to support fallacious proxy wars by raising money, recruiting and spreading propaganda/ideologies. The top court there is no doubt on power of government to restrict under the Constitution but the question is about the extent, the degree of restriction and scope both territorially and temporally which must stand in relation to what is actually necessary to combat an emergent situation. It said that doctrine of proportionality must be followed by the authorities before passing any order intending on restricting fundamental rights of individuals and they must assess the existence of any alternative mechanism. "It is undeniable that only the least restrictive measure can be resorted to by the State, taking into consideration the facts and circumstances. Lastly, since the order has serious implications on the fundamental rights of the affected parties, the same should be supported by sufficient material and should be amenable to judicial review," it said. The top court rejected the contention of J&K administration that they lack technology for providing selective internet access saying if the said argument is accepted then the government would have a free pass to put a complete internet blockage every time. "Such complete blocking/prohibition perpetually cannot be accepted by this Court," it said, adding, "a decision which curtails fundamental rights without appropriate justification will be classified as disproportionate". It accepted the contention of that the internet could be used to propagate terrorism thereby challenging the sovereignty and integrity of India. "This Court would only observe that achievement of peace and tranquillity within the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir requires a multi-faceted approach without excessively burdening the freedom of speech," it said. Seoul, Jan 10 : US President Donald Trump has formally congratulated North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his birthday, South Korea's top presidential security adviser said on Friday, returning from his trip to Washington. Chung Eui-yong, head of presidential palace's national security office, had a brief meeting with Trump at the White House during the trip, reports Yonhap News Agency. Trump had some congratulatory words for Kim on the occasion of his January 8 birthday and asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in to deliver the message, according to Chung. "As far as I know, the message was conveyed to North Korea in an appropriate manner," Chung told reporters at the Incheon International Airport here. Friday's development comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, said Yonhap News Agency. Last week, Kim said the world will witness North Korea's new strategic weapon, noting there is no reason to keep its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. Denuclearization talks have been stalled since the second summit between Kim and Trump ended without an agreement due to wide differences over how to match Pyongyang's denuclearization measures and Washington's sanctions relief. The two sides held working-level talks in October 2019 but failed to narrow their differences. Will Smith demonstrated his bold fashion sense in two eye-catching looks this Friday. The Bad Boys For Life actor, 51, was bright and cheery as he arrived to the set of Good Morning America wearing a multicolored zig-zag sweater. After his interview the star stepped out in a completely different outfit which included of leather pants and tough-looking boots. Later on he made time for a third look. Two is better than one! Will Smith made an outfit change while out promoting his film Bad Boys For Life on Thursday Triple threat! Later on he made time for a third look Will looked dapper as he arrived wearing a burgundy coat over a colorful sweater. He kept the cold out with a plum and green scarf around his neck. Matching his jacket were wine colored pants. The Aladdin star was kind enough to spend a second with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures before making his way inside. During the show he appeared besides co-star Martin Lawrence. Handsome: Will looked dapper as he arrived wearing a burgundy coat over a colorful sweater. He kept the cold out with a plum and green scarf around his neck Signing off! The Aladdin star was kind enough to spend a second with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures before making his way inside There, they sat down with Michael Strahan and Cecilia Vega to talk about what it was like to return to their beloved characters once more. Asked what has changed since the original film, which came out in 1995, Martin joked: 'I'm a little heavier... I put on a little more pounds but it's for a role.' Will ribbed him a bit nodding his head and saying: 'Oh, it was an acting choice.' Jokes aside, Smith said 'The big change for us was probably the amount of stunt work.' Chit chat: Will and co-star Martin Lawrence sat down for an interview with Michael Strahan and Cecilia Vega at the AM show Getting older: Talking about one big difference between Bad Boys For Life and the 1995 original, Will admitted they let the stuntmen do way more work this time around 'When I started I was like "We doing all the stunts. We doing everything, every one of these, you know Bad Boys 25 years later, all the stunts... and then probably three days in I looked over to [Martin] and I was like "Hey, what you thinking?" 'And he was like "We should probably let the stuntmen earn their money"' Will laughed. After the interview, Will emerged in a much more low-key look, wearing leather pants with boots, a dark jacket and a white V-neck tee. Leather look: After the interview, Will emerged in a much more low-key look, wearing leather pants with boots, a dark jacket and a white V-neck tee Will has been busy promoting the new film. In addition to his GMA appearance, he made a stop by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon the night before. Bad Boys For Life comes out Friday, January 17. Oil and gas lobbyists are finally feeling the heat on climate change, but sadly, they remain committed to misleading the American people. The American Petroleum Institute, the premier industry organization that establishes standards and engages politicians, is out with a nationwide advertising campaign. Oil and gas companies, the group would have you believe, have been fighting climate change and possess the solution. Our paths are not all the same, we have different perspectives on the best way forward, a new television ad says. But on issues that matter, like climate change, were more alike than we think. We want cleaner solutions, and that means working with each other. So, the innovators in Americas natural gas and oil companies have teamed up with the countrys brightest minds and reduced carbon emission levels to the lowest in a generation, the narrator continues, as happy, well-dressed millennials file past. Lets make tomorrow better, together. More Tomlinson: U.S. oil and gas companies lag on climate pledges Rarely has a copywriter packed so much poppycock into 30-seconds. Lets break it down. Our paths are not all the same; we have different perspectives on the best way forward. True, because the bottom line is we must ban greenhouse gas emissions, something API adamantly opposes. But on issues that matter, like climate change, were more alike than we think. We want cleaner solutions, and that means working with each other. Hogwash. For over fifty years, API and its members have disputed climate change and fossil fuels role in warming the planet. The most duplicitous move came in 1998 when the API drafted the Global Climate Science Communications Plan. The goal was to derail the United Nations Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions. API launched a similar campaign that exaggerated uncertainties in climate science. API lobbyists then used their influence to kill proposed regulations and turn climate science into a partisan issue where Republicans feel obliged to ignore science. The API communications team secretly recruited five scientists to stir debate, while hiding the industrys financial backing for their research, according to internal API documents made public in 2015. These will be individuals who do not have a long history of visibility and/or participation in the climate change debate, the API memo said. Rather, this team will consist of new faces who will add their voices to those recognized scientists who are already vocal. One of those scientists was Wei-Hock Soon, who from 2003-2012 incorrectly declared that solar flares play a significant role in global warming. The scientific community has since discredited his work. API also produced teaching materials questioning climate change for the National Science Teachers Association. The API said it hoped to erect a barrier against further efforts to impose Kyoto-like measures in the future. That continued through 2015. In 2011, API fought the EPAs decision to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act as well as proposed limits on methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases. In May 2017, senior API lobbyist Howard Feldman urged EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to relax methane limits, and last year the group celebrated victory. When it comes to climate change and addressing greenhouse gas emissions, no API, we are not more alike than we think. The day API acknowledges its past behavior and embraces a ban on all methane and carbon emissions, then we might be alike. Lastly, the ads final line implies that a happy accident was intentional: The innovators in Americas natural gas and oil companies have teamed up with the countrys brightest minds and reduced carbon emission levels to the lowest in a generation. The developers of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing were innovators who forever changed the world. But they were not fighting climate change. More Tomlinson: Investment in Aramco is an investment in dictatorship Oil and gas companies experimented with fracking because natural gas was $13 for a million BTUs. Fracking has since brought the price down to $2, which is why electricity companies shut down dirty coal plants and replaced them with natural gas, reducing carbon emissions. The reduced emissions were coincidental since most of the industry rejected climate change while developing the technology. Today, wind and solar energy costs are dropping so low they compete with natural gas, and Democrats want to phase out fossil fuels. Young people detest the oil and gas industry. These are the reasons for APIs natural gas and oil campaign, with the emphasis on natural. API strategists know climate change denial no longer works, so they are rebranding their polluting industry as clean energy. For the first time in 150 years, the industry is worried about its future. Not to worry too much, the world will always need oil and gas, we just need to combust less of them. But what we dont need is APIs cynical disinformation campaign; weve had plenty of that already. Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy. twitter.com/cltomlinson chris.tomlinson@chron.com Stockholm, Jan 10 : The UK is a member of the EU in 600 international agreements, which expires at the end of the year when the transition period for Brexit expires and "the time to negotiate is very short", said EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier here. "Britain has 600 international agreements. We have to rebuild everything and time is very short," Xinhua news agency quoted Barnier as saying on Thursday at the European Commission Representation. "If we agree on everything that is on the 36 pages, it will take much longer than 11 months." He listed three areas he wants to prioritize: firstly, to create a structure where the European Union and the UK continue to meet regularly to coordinate their interests in climate issues, the Middle East peace and more. Secondly, to work closely with security issues to combat terrorism, cybercrime, threats from foreign powers and so on. Thirdly, to agree on a far-reaching trade agreement, including fishing, which is based on the UK's compliance with EU laboUr law, environmental standards, tax levels and state aid. "Competing for social and environmental standards only leads to a downward spiral where workers, consumers and the planet lose out," Barnier emphasized. According to Swedish Daily News (DN), Barnier came to Stockholm directly from a meeting in London. And he is on a tour of EU Member States to listen to various national interests ahead of the new negotiations pending with Britain. India has deployed its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in the Arabian Sea at a time China and Pakistan are holding a nine-day mega naval exercise in the region, a move seen as New Delhi sending a clear signal to its two neighbours. Top officials of the Naval headquarters were on board the aircraft carrier when it was deployed in the strategic mission earlier this week, military sources told PTI. Pakistan and China on Monday launched a major drill in the North Arabian Sea with an aim to increase inter-operability and strategic cooperation between their two navies. The exercise 'Sea Guardians' is taking place in the midst of heightened tension between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. Key platforms of both China and Pakistan, including submarines, destroyers and frigates, are part of the exercise. Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, with MiG29K fighters on board, has been sent with a strategic objective, the sources said without elaborating. A Navy spokesperson said Deputy Chief of Naval Staff M S Pawar reviewed INS Vikramaditya's operations in the Arabian Sea. The deputy chief was extremely pleased to witness the "intense air operations" with high levels of motivation and will to win that were evident on-board the "Queen of the Battle", the spokesperson said. He expressed confidence that INS Vikramaditya will "live up to the name and remain victorious in battle - always", the spokesperson added. China has been expanding its presence in the North Arabian Sea and is developing Pakistan's deep water Gwadar port in the region. Gwadar is being connected through the over USD 60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to China's Xinjiang province, providing a key land route to China to access the warm waters of Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea provides entry to the Indian Ocean where China has built a logistics base at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. In September, the Indian Navy drove out a Chinese PLA ship from India's Exclusive Economic Zone and had warned that such activities will be dealt with sternly. The INS Vikramaditya, commissioned into the Indian Navy in November 2013, is considered one of the top rated aircraft carriers globally. The Russian-origin ship is often called a floating airfield. The 44,500 tonne is about 284-m-long and its height is around 60 m, which is like a 20 storeyed building from keel to the highest point. The ship has a total of 22 decks and it has the ability to carry over 30 aircraft comprising an assortment of MiG 29K/Sea Harrier, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak helicopters. PTI MPB A Navy Spokesperson said Deputy Chief of Naval Staff reviewed the operations by the INS Vikramaditya in the Arabian Sea which was carried out to check its operational readiness. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff was extremely pleased to witness the "Intense air operations with "high levels of motivation and "will to win ", that were evident onboard the "Queen of the Battle". He expressed confidence that INS Vikramaditya will "live up to the name and remain victorious in battle - always ", the spokesperson said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a chargesheet against former Ranbaxy owners, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivender Mohan Singh, in connection with the Religare Finvest fraud case. The prosecution complaint filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav, also named former CMD of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) Sunil Godhwani as an accused in the case. Apart from the three person, the prosecution complaint also named RHC Holdings Pvt Ltd as accused. The prosecution complaint, filed by the agency through Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana, has accused the three of money laundering under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The judge, after taking cognisance of the charge sheet, posted the matter for scrutiny of documents on January 20. The court also issued production warrants against the three accused persons who are currently lodged in the Tihar Jail. The accused had acquired proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 150 crore through Star Artworks Pvt Ltd, derived out of criminal activities and utilised the amount in repayment of its existing liability towards RFL by projecting it as untainted, the agency said in its complaint. Commenting on the development, Religare said that it is happy that the law has taken its course. "We have learnt that the Enforcement Directorate(ED) has filed its charge sheet today and we are encouraged by this development, which brings to fruition, over 18 months of intensive effort and hard work of bringing to book, the perpetrators of the frauds," the company said in a statement. "It also vindicates our claim that the erstwhile promoters and Sunil Godhwani were at the helm of affairs when the frauds were committed and in fact, used the powers vested in them, to commit fraud by siphoning off money from REL and RFL through shell entities controlled by the brothers." It further said that Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL) has undergone a complete revamp of its Board of Directors and the new Board, comprising entirely of Independent Directors, hired a new management team to professionally manage the company. The new management has since been striving to revive the company by resolving its asset liability mismatch and bringing the capital adequacy to desired regulatory levels, the Religare statement said, adding that the company is now professionally managed and run with good governance practices forming the bedrock. "We are happy that the law has taken its own course. The focus of the new Board and management is to ensure that the ethos of good governance, ethics and accountability become the hallmark of the Religare Group," the company statement quoted Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson of Religare Enterprises Ltd as saying. "All efforts continue to be made to rebuild the business, mobilise fresh capital and correct the transgression and legacy issues of the past. The management and internal controls at the Group and all subsidiaries' level have also been revamped, bringing in much needed assurance to employees about a stable and action-oriented management," she said. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's close confidante Tom Bradby claims the Palace told the couple that there were plans for a 'slimmed down monarchy' and they 'weren't really a part of it.' The ITV News presenter insisted that it was 'certainly not true' to suggest the royal household was 'blindsided' by their decision to step down from senior roles within the monarchy. He said it was only the timing of their bombshell announcement that angered Her Majesty, which came after they returned from a six week trip to Canada during a break from royal duties. His comments come as The Queen holds crisis talks with Prince Charles and Prince William to hammer out a deal to keep them in the royal family, and Meghan fled across the Atlantic to be with baby Archie. Bradby, is now considered to be close friends with Harry and Meghan and his brother William, and spoke to the Duke and Duchess during an ITV documentary where they told of their struggles of living in the spotlight. The ITN News at 10 host's claims of a 'slimmed down monarchy' - in which Charles is said to want to cut the number of working royals - is said to be one of the key reasons why Harry and Meghan decided to step down. And it has also been suggested that a portrait released by the monarch to mark the start of a new decade may have been the final straw, confirming to the Sussex's that they were considered to be on the 'sidelines.' But blaming the decision to walk away from royal duties on the issue of a 'slimmed down' royal family may be seen as just a convenient excuse to leave their life behind in the UK and start a new life in North America. Bradby said: 'It's certainly not true to say the palace were blindsided by this. The couple's view was they came back and wanted to talk to the family about their plans. 'It had been made clear to them in their absence there was going to be a slimmed down monarchy and they weren't really a part of it.' The Queen drives through Sandringham today as she holds crisis talks with Prince Charles and Prince William to hammer out a deal to keep Harry and Meghan in the royal family The ITV News presenter said that it was 'certainly not true' to suggest the royal household was 'blindsided' by their decision to step down from the senior roles in the monarchy Mr Bradby said Harry and Meghan wanted to speak to the family about their plans when they returned from Canada He added that the couple were asked to put down their suggestions on paper - but initially declined to do so for fear of a press leak. But when some details of their decision leaked, the couple decided to go public without alerting the other Royals they were doing so. He added: 'Harry has been talking to his family for some weeks at least about all this and certainly my understanding of what happened is he was asked by some members of the family or at least their officials to put some of these ideas in writing. He said I really don't want to do that because it normally leaks, and they were very insistent in order to go forward and discuss it properly it had to be put in writing. He did put it in writing and it did leak. So i don't think they got much heads up as to the actual announcement but they certainly knew what was going on.' He continued: There needs to be a peace deal really soon, this is so toxic, there is so much anger, it looks like it might get worse not better.' The Queen was 'deeply disappointed' and 'hurt' by the release of the statement announcing their plans to step down, and had begged them to delay announcing their 'nuclear' plans. Prince Charles and Prince William only got a copy of the statement ten minutes before it went live on their secretly developed website sussexroyal.com. Mr Bradby spoke to the couple during an ITV documentary (pictured) where they told of their struggles of living in the spotlight Meghan told Tom Bradby in October that they are just 'surviving' intense media attention and the scrutiny they face is unfair The photograph considered to be the final straw showed the Queen, 93, alongside the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and six-year-old Prince George. It was taken in Buckingham Palace's throne room on December 18, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were away in Canada. ITV News Correspondent Chris Ship said: 'The portrait that Buckingham Palace released to mark the start of the decade. 'It was the Queen and the three future kings - and there was also a bit of video of them stirring the Christmas pudding. 'I'm not saying they were cutting Harry and Meghan out because it was a brutal fact that Harry was never part of that line of succession but start of a decade it felt like the royal family was very much focusing on the future - the Queen and her three heirs.' The Queen didn't have any photos of the couple or baby Archie on display during her Christmas message. The photograph of the Queen, 93, alongside the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and six-year-old Prince George was taken in Buckingham Palace's throne room on December 18, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were away in Canada In 2016 this image was released showed Prince George standing on foam blocks during a Royal Mail photoshoot for a stamp sheet to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II 2019: Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George preparing special Christmas puddings in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, London, as part of the launch of The Royal British Legion's Together at Christmas initiative The photograph was only the second time that a portrait of Her Majesty and her three heirs has been issued. The first was released in April 2016 to mark the Queen's 90th birthday, with the picture then printed on commemorative stamps. A similarly 'slimmed-down' image of the royal family was presented during the Queen's Christmas speech last year following reports that Charles, 71, wanted to cut down on the number of working royals. His plans were believed to have been accelerated last year when the Duke of York stepped back from public life following November's 'car crash' BBC interview over his links to US padeophile Jeffrey Epstein. The photo came just two weeks after the royals marked the festive season with another series of photos. The Queen, Charles, William and George made Christmas puddings in Buckingham Palace pictured in front of a Christmas tree adorned with regal corgi and crown decorations. The Daily Mail has learnt that Meghan (left on a previous trip) returned to North America, where their eight-month-old son, Archie, had been left with his nanny. The news of her travel plans come as her and Prince Harry (right) announced they would be stepping back from their Royal duties Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland was spotted for the first time on Thursday since her daughter and son-in-law Prince Harry dropped the bombshell news that they were quitting their royal duties Bradby is now considered a close friend of the royal family, having known William and Harry for many years. He spoke to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in October during their royal tour of Africa. The interviews fuelled speculation that they were considering their futures, as they spoke of their struggles with their public roles. Meghan revealed how she and Harry are just 'surviving' intense media attention and the scrutiny they face is unfair. The Duchess of Sussex has told of the unbearable pressure of life in the spotlight, saying she had 'no idea' of the struggles she would deal with as a member of the royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first Christmas with baby Archie at this 10million waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island and may be heading back to the west coast of Canada She even revealed her friends warned her not to marry Harry because the media focus would 'destroy your life', admitting that since the wedding and during her pregnancy she felt 'vulnerable.' Tom Bradby and Meghan Markle's October 2019 interview in full Tom Bradby: 'This has been quite a journey really, one way or another. Up in the bush I did talk to Harry about the pressure you're under. Its clear, and its clear from last night's statement the pressure you're under. You've talked about the pain behind the brave face. I don't think a lot of people really understand what that is, so perhaps you could give us an idea of what the last year has been like? Meghan: 'It's hard. I don't think anybody can understand that. In all fairness, I had no idea, which probably sounds difficult to understand, but when I first met Harry, my friends were so excited, my US friends were happy because I was happy. But my British friends, they were sure he was lovely, but they said I shouldn't do it because 'the British tabloids will destroy your life.' Because I'm American I very naively didn't get it. I'm not in any tabloids. It's complicated.' Bradby: 'I talked to him up in the bush about mental health and the impact on his mental and physical health and he is obviously very concerned about protecting you and protecting you from what his mother went through. This is obviously an area one has to tiptoe into very gently, but I don't know what the impact on your physical and mental health and all the pressure that you clearly feel under. Meghan: Look, any woman especially when they are pregnant you're really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a new born you know 'And especially as a woman, it's a lot. 'So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed it's, well' 'Also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I'm OK. But it's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.' Bradby: 'And the answer is, would it be fair to say, not really OK, as in it's really been a struggle?' Meghan: 'Yes.' Bradby: 'Look, the pressure you are under is pretty obvious, its been obvious to me in a growing sense throughout this tour and before it started I kind of knew some of the picture but not all of it, so can you put up with this? Can you deal with it, can you manage it, can you handle it and what happens if you can't? Meghan: 'I've said for a long time to H that's what I call him it is not enough to just survive something. That's not the point of life. You've got to thrive and feel happy. 'I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. Bradby: It has its advantages I guess. Meghan: I tried, I really tried. But I think what that does internally is probably really damaging. I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair and that's the part that's really hard to reconcile. I take each day as it comes. Bradby: The counter argument is that you have this power, this privilege, you have this fame, this wealth, and that comes with scrutiny. Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad. How do you counter that argument? Meghan: Things are fair. That completely tracks with me if things are fair. I'm the first one to go, 'oh my gosh I'm so sorry I would never do that.' When people are saying things that are just untrue and they have been told they are untrue but they are allowed to still say them, I don't know anybody in the world that would feel like that's ok. And that's different to just scrutiny. What would you call that? Bradby: I don't know.. Meghan: It's really a different beast. You know? I think the grass is always greener. You have no idea. It's really hard to understand what it's like. I know what is seems like it should be. It's a very different thing. The good thing is I've got my baby and I've got my husband, and they're the best. Advertisement Prince Harry, who said his wife has faced 'relentless propaganda', also told the programme of the pressure he felt trying to 'protect' his family from unwanted media attention, because he doesn't want a 'repeat of the past.' He also spoke about his relationship with his brother William, admitting that they are travelling on 'different paths' in what is the first public acceptance of a rift. The searingly honest interviews came following months of controversy involving Meghan and Harry, who came under fire for their privacy demands over Archie's christening, their use of private jets, and Meghan's Wimbledon appearance when she banned fans from taking photos. The couple also waged war on the media, announcing they were suing the Mail on Sunday over its publication of Meghan's estranged father's letters, and began legal action against the Sun and Mirror news groups over allegations of phone hacking dating back to the early 2000s. Today it emerged that Prince Harry will follow Meghan to Canada as soon as possible after she fled across the Atlantic to be with Archie having left him with their nanny and her best friend following their Christmas break. The couple want to spend more time together in North America in a move that has 'simply astonished' aides as the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William called crisis talks to hammer out a deal to keep them in the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to have left Archie in Canada after their six-week trip and the eight-month-old is being cared for by their nanny and Meghan's best friend, Jessica Mulroney. Ms Mulroney lives in Toronto but it is not known if she was with them in the 10million waterfront mansion in Vancouver they occupied between Thanksgiving and the new year. Meghan flew from London to Canada in the hours after the Sussexes shocked the world and quit as senior royals, the Daily Mail revealed last night. The couple horrified and shocked Harry's family including the 'hurt and furious' Queen, who had begged them to delay announcing their 'nuclear' plans. Prince Charles and Prince William only got a copy of the statement ten minutes before it went live on their secretly developed website. Last night Her Majesty held a series of calls involving herself at Sandringham, Charles at his Scottish home Birkhall, William at Kensington Palace and Harry without Meghan at Frogmore Cottage. But as the abdication crisis rumbled on the Duke of Sussex was also plotting to fly out of Britain, it has emerged, although it is not yet confirmed when he intends to join his wife in Canada. Meghan may stay there for the foreseeable future and Harry will not be apart from his wife and son for long - but he must also be at Buckingham Palace for an engagement next Thursday. On a day of behind-the-scenes drama, the monarch convened an extraordinary series of calls between herself, the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Harry. She told them to come up with a 'workable solution' to the crisis within days, and tasked aides with presenting a series of options to put to the unhappy couple. Insiders last night predicted that Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, would be allowed to keep their royal titles and also enjoy a measure of the independence they have demanded. But they added that the couple's string of demands had sparked a genuine crisis which will not be easy to solve. As a sign of how serious and sensitive the issue has become, Home Secretary Priti Patel has been asked to take part in the negotiations. She will be tasked with ensuring the couple's ongoing security is not compromised, but she also has to monitor the cost to taxpayers if they split their lives between the UK and North America. Yesterday palace insiders were still reeling from the Sussexes' decision to release a bombshell statement on Wednesday night, in which they announced their plans to step back as senior me Kate Middleton is seen arriving at Kensington Palace for her 38th birthday celebrations, which are set to be tempered by decision of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step back from family roles. The Queen, pictured on Christmas Day, has been trying to broker a deal to keep Harry and Meghan in the royal family Members of the Royal Family and work to become 'financially independent'. 'No blank cheques': Prince Charles 'threatens to STOP Harry's 2.3m annual handout if he steps away from public duties' Prince Charles could pull funding from his son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle if they go ahead with their plans to step away from royal duties. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week said they wanted to become 'financially independent' and claimed they would stop receiving money from the Sovereign Grant. But earlier today sources close to the Prince of Wales claimed he could stop Harry's 2.3 million hand out from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate. The news that Charles is not prepared to continue to bank roll his son comes as a YouGov poll suggested that over two thirds of people believed the couple should no longer receive funding from the Duchy. Speaking to the Times, a source said that Prince Charles 'had made clear that he will not be writing his son a blank cheque'. Advertisement Although the Queen, Charles and William had been told of their plans a week earlier, the couple 'detonated the nuclear button' by announcing their intention and launching a glossy new website without warning anyone. In a terse statement in response, Buckingham Palace made clear its displeasure. It said it understood the couple's desire to do things 'different' but stressed these were complicated matters that needed to be worked through carefully. Senior royal aides made clear the Queen was deeply hurt by her grandson's actions, while other family members had reacted furiously to Harry and Meghan's arrogance. Yesterday, however, sources told the Mail that after an emotional 12 hours, matters had calmed and everyone was 'working with a clear head'. 'One of the things the family has learnt over the years is that if you don't move quickly and leave things like this that the fester,' said a source. 'And that would benefit no-one in this case.' It is understood the Queen initiated the series of calls involving herself at Sandringham, Charles at Birkhall (his Scottish seat), William at Kensington Palace and Harry without Meghan at Frogmore Cottage. As a result they agreed to instruct staff, led by their respective private secretaries, to work 'with pace' on a series of proposals which would allow the couple to find a solution they were happy with. 'The bigger the crisis, the calmer the Royal Family seem to get,' said an insider. 'There is a pragmatic attitude that seems to run through the Queen and Prince of Wales. One source told the Mail yesterday that Harry had privately been consulting friends about his plans as far back as late spring The Queen, who is in Sandringham, wants the situation resolved as quickly as possible. Prince Charles (left), currently in Scotland, was also involved in the conference call along with Prince William (right), at Kensington Palac 'They are not railing against whether the situation is right or wrong, they just know this needs to be dealt with. 'They have accepted it and are trying to resolve it. 'The interesting bit will be the next part when, presented with a series of possible scenarios. 'Will they [the Sussexes] accept them or will they brief that they are being forced to do something against their will? And no-one knows the answer. 'Is there any version of a solution that they will deem acceptable? 'They have talked in broad brush strokes about what they want, this hybrid model of being a member of the Royal Family, but even they haven't nailed down the fine detail and may say that they don't like what is being put on the table. 'What does being a progressive royal mean?' Sources said that nothing was set in stone but that lessons had been learnt from the past, and despite the late Princess of Wales giving up her HRH title, people still blamed the Royal Family for that decision. 'I don't think anyone wants to go down that road with her son,' they added. One source told the Mail yesterday that Harry had privately been consulting friends about his plans as far back as late spring. On Jan. 3, the United States assassinated, with a drone strike, Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who had coordinated Iranian proxy militias in the region. It was an escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict, to which Iran responded with missile attacks on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. soldiers; there were no casualties. Soon after the drone strike, Michael Doran, a Hudson Institute scholar, declared in an op-ed in the New York Times that the world was now a better place, suggested that celebrations were occurring throughout the Middle East ignoring Iranian popular outrage over the attack and argued that this show of American resolve could produce a seismic diplomatic shift in the region. Regional allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia would breathe easier, and the assassination would instill in the protesters in Iran, Lebanon and, especially, Iraq, the hope that they will one day wrest control of their governments from the talons of the Islamic Republic. No talk of the risks of a protracted, bloody conflict. ASEC signs 3-year O&M contract extension with Sinai White Cement 10 January 2020 ASEC, the leading O&M operator in the MEA region, announced the renewal of its Technical Management contract with Sinai White Cement Co until December 2022. The two-line cement facility has a total capacity of 2800tpd of clinker, located in north Sinai, Egypt. ASEC and Sinai White's two-decade collaboration started back in 1999 when ASEC was assigned as the consultant of choice for the first white cement production line in Sinai. The relationship was furthered with signing the Technical Management contract in 2001 and later in 2008, the second line was added to ASEC's scope of operation and maintenance. "Another milestone in our remarkable journey with our trusted partner Sinai White," said Eng Khaled El-Sebaie, ASEC's managing director. "Weathering numerous challenges across the years have bolstered our partnership with Sinai White, standing as a testament to this authentic partnership. I would like to extend my personal thanks to each and every member of our team who are the cornerstone to sustaining and supporting this successful relationship." Published under In 2006, Erik Helwig created the Rickroll. Maybe. Over at MEL Magazine, Brian VanHooker's "An Oral History of Rickrolling" takes us back to a time when the worst of the weaponized Internet memes were those created by advertising agencies, not corrupt politicians and warmongers. And if you're curious what I mean by that, watch the rather shocking video above. From MEL: Erik Helwig, founder of Rickrolling (maybe) : This was small-town, rural Michigan and there was this radio program called the Postgame Show that covered local sports. People would call in and say stuff like, "My son Christopher played on the team tonight, and he did a real great job!" Stuff like that, so my friends and I started pranking it and the calls started getting weirder and weirder. We'd call in and talk about our favorite Nicolas Cage movies and other weird stuff like that. Then one day I called them and just played "Never Gonna Give You Up" on the air. I didn't say anything, I just played the song. The host had absolutely no reaction to it, he didn't say, "I'm being Rickrolled" or anything like that because it was before all that. I don't know if I want to call myself the "founder" of Rickrolling. That's difficult for me because it was something that I did on a whim and later realized that I did this six months before anyone else, which I thought was cool, but that's about it. I only picked that song because I really like the song it's a great 1980s song that's fun to laugh at in the best way. There's nothing more to it than that, but I don't know if somebody else thought of that song as something to prank somebody else with. The Wikipedia page links it back to a 2005 episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and then there's Duckrolling also, so I really don't know if I'm the founder or not. All I know is that I called my radio station in 2006 and pranked them with the song. (Don Caldwell, internet historian and editor-in chief of Know Your Meme): One of the first Rickrolls and possibly the first one was disguised as a preview for Grand Theft Auto 4 in May 2007. Because that was such a hugely anticipated game at the time, a lot of people fell victim to Rickrolling. This prank mostly remained on 4chan for about a year, then on February 10, 2008, members of the internet group Anonymous protested the church of Scientology for trying to censor videos about Scientology. During these rallies, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was played from boomboxes by Anonymous members. A 43-year-old Indian national, who was extradited from Singapore, has pleaded guilty for his involvement in a multi-million dollar India-based call centre scam that targeted Americans, according to the Department of Justice. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel played a "prominent" role in operating and funding the call centres whose callers and US-based conspirators defrauded American victims between 2013 and 2016, it said on Thursday. Patel, also known as Hitesh Hinglaj, of Ahmedabad, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and general conspiracy to commit identification fraud, access device fraud, money laundering, and impersonation of a federal officer or employee, the department said. "Hitesh Patel played a prominent role in this massive, India-based fraud scheme that bilked vulnerable Americans out of millions of dollars," Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said. "This important resolution would not have occurred without the assistance of our Singaporean colleagues, to whom we extend our deep appreciation," he said. Patel was prosecuted in the US after being extradited from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges in the telefraud and money laundering case. Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the US, following a provisional arrest warrant in September 2018, after he flew there from India. The Singaporean Minister for Law issued a warrant on March 25, 2019 for Patel to be delivered into custody of the US. In his guilty plea, Patel and his co-conspirators perpetrated a complex fraudulent scheme involving a network of call centres based in Ahmedabad. Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the employees of the call centres impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and engaged in scams designed to defraud victims throughout the US. The Justice Department said the American victims were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay monies, like taxes or penalties, owed to the government. Those who fell victim to the scammers were instructed how to make the payment, including by purchasing general purpose reloadable (GPR) cards or wire transfers. Upon payment, the call centres would immediately turn to a network of "runners" based in the US to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds, the department added, it said. In his plea, Patel admitted to operating and funding several India-based call centres from which the fraud schemes were perpetrated, including the HGlobal call centre conglomerate. Patel corresponded by email and WhatsApp messaging frequently with his co-defendants to exchange. He also received monthly income and expense reports on his personal email from the call centres, and used his Indian cell phone number to access GPR cards through automated telephone systems on many occasions. A co-defendant described Patel as "the top person in India and the boss for whom most of the other defendants worked" and the owner of multiple call centres. Patel was arrested in India in 2016, but was later released, another co-defendant said. Patel admitted that a reasonably foreseeable loss of more than USD25 million but less than USD65 million was attributable to him, based on the government's evidence against him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed concern over security deployment in some of the most recent elections. Mr Yakubu spoke at the expanded meeting of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on Friday in Abuja. Apart from the 2019 general elections, governorship polls were held in Kogi and Bayelsa States on November 16 last year. Mr Yakubu said at the meeting attended by the National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno, and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, that security deployment in some of the elections left much to be desired. He said there was more emphasis on numbers of security personnel to be deployed. He said less consideration on strategic deployment to protect the process, leaving the voters, election officials, party agents, observers, the media and even unarmed security personnel at polling units vulnerable to attacks by thugs and hoodlums. Furthermore, there is emphasis on numbers of security personnel but less on synergy, coordination and collaboration among the various security agencies in line with the purpose for which ICCES was established in the first instance. Read also: We must adopt a different approach to election security. We must translate the new approach to reality in the forthcoming re-run elections such that Nigerians will see a qualitatively different security arrangement. No thugs and hoodlums can be more powerful than the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies. It is the failure to act decisively and collaboratively that encourages thuggery and serves as an incentive for bad behaviour, he said. Mr Yakubu disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) were now members of ICCES to curb vote buying. He recalled that the recommendation for their inclusion was made in the last ICCES meeting. We expressed concern about the dimension that illegal deployment of financial resources to influence the outcome of elections, including vote-buying at polling units on Election Day, has assumed. The meeting, recognising the existing collaboration with the anti-corruption agencies in tracking financial flows for illicit purposes as well as the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such flows. This is especially for the purpose of corrupting the electoral process through vote-buying, resolved that EFCC and ICPC should be included as members of ICCES. Mr Yakubu also expressed the commissions readiness for the re-run elections to be held on January 25 in 28 constituencies across 11 states in compliance with the orders of Election Petition Tribunals. (NAN) During the United Kingdoms recent general election, the subject of religion was not mentioned. Unlike in the United States, religion has rarely been a vote-winner in British politics, particularly during elections. This election proved different, however. Although not recognized as such by the media, there was a religious sect taking part in the 2019 British general election. Perhaps one might call it the Church of Corbyn (CoC). Recently founded, this church comprised members who swore blind obedience to the thinking and personality of Jeremy Corbyn, who also for the moment happens to be the leader of the U.K.s Labour party. Corbyns unexpected crowning as Labours leader came after decades in the political wilderness. In those days, far from the then-centers of power within his party, Corbyn was a lonely voice crying in a wilderness of his own making, calling to anyone who would listen to the one thing that would save not only the Labour party but the whole of society and, indeed, the world: namely, socialism. But no one listened. He was politely ignored, or viewed as an eccentric. During the Blair era, when electoral success came easy to the Labour party, Corbyn decried the partys betrayal of its socialist ideals. Flushed by electoral success, those whom he lectured saw him as an embarrassment, a relic of another age. By the 21st century, Corbyn should have quietly disappeared. That was the expectation. He was to retire to his allotment and grow organic vegetables, there to sit and lament the hijacking of the pure socialist ideals of the Labour party by neo-liberals. Instead, in 2015, following another Labour defeat at the ballot box, he was proposed as a candidate for the partys leadership. There was, on one level, nothing unusual about this. What is known as the Left of the Labour party had always run a candidate from that wing of the party, but with the expectation from the party as a whole that such a candidacy was hopeless. Normally, this expectation was right, not least because, up until then, the leadership contest was decided by balloting Labours Members of Parliament, who were as pragmatic as some were ambitious, and traditionally more to the right than the wider party membership throughout the country. Story continues In 2015, the leadership contest was different, though. Voting was opened up to the whole of the Labour party to Labour MPs and the partys rank-and-file membership. That membership had recently swelled because of a new and significantly discounted rate a mere 3 fee to join the party before the leadership contest. Many of the new members, who were suspected to have come from other extreme left-wing groupings, determined once and for all to move the Labour party and its leadership in a Marxist direction. Thus was elected the most unlikely leader the Labour party has ever had: Jeremy Corbyn. This event sent shock waves through the party. But, as in all the best revolutions at least as those leading them would have us believe the forces of reaction stepped in to try to snuff out these embryonic flames of revolutionary fervor. So it was with Corbyns election as leader, and with what quickly became known as Corbynism. The party elite, mainly its elected Members of Parliament, tried to oust Corbyn when he was barely a year into the job. They failed in their attempt and, in so doing, made the target of their failed coup stronger and also more determined to carry through his mission. And so gradually was born the Church of Corbyn. Its members would talk of Jeremy as if he were an oracle, a prophet, a messianic figure a long-awaited real politician in whom people could at last believe. A general election was called in 2017. It was an election dominated by one issue: Brexit. With a 20-point lead in the opinion polls, the prime minister, Theresa May, began her campaign to achieve an even greater parliamentary majority than the one she already possessed. It was a fair gamble. No one, either in the media or in the Conservative party, took Corbyn and his party seriously. Of course, we know now that the final result was as unexpected as it was welcome to those in the CoC, confirming all they believed in namely, that Jeremy was indeed a messiah. He was the one who would be able at last to convince the British electorate of the benefits of socialism and reveal to them how, for centuries, they had been the unconscious dupes of international capitalism. As the 2017 election results came through, the complacent smiles were wiped off the faces of Corbyns opponents, to be replaced by broad smiles all round at the CoC. What is more, the true believers of the CoC knew that if the 2017 election campaign had been run just one week longer, then Jeremy would have been handed the keys to No. 10 Downing Street. Their day would come, however, they told themselves; for now, at least their leader was unassailable within the Labour party and, what is more, taken seriously at last by his political opponents and the media. The 2019 election was to prove yet another gamble. With the country divided evenly by Brexit, and with Jeremy at the head of the Labour party bearing a message of national healing, there was an expectation that 2017s result could be equaled, or better still that the vote would result in a Labour majority. As the election campaign got underway, however, the Tories took nothing for granted this time. Instead, they fought as keenly on this occasion as they had been complacent in 2017, as no one was under any illusion: There was a real possibility of Corbyn being elected prime minister with the most left-wing manifesto in a generation. The ensuing result was spectacular. Corbynism was seen off, well and truly, by Boris Johnson. It was rejected not just by marginal constituencies but even by great swathes of Labours traditional heartlands in the north and midlands of England. As the scale of the defeat became known, however, the CoC began to construct another narrative: Clearly, the devastating election result was all Brexits fault. They had a point, of course, but it was far from the whole truth. CoC adherents told themselves that Jeremy and his manifesto and its irresistible charms had been drowned out by Brexit, and that this had occurred with the connivance of the media which is shorthand for any media outlet not fully signed up to the CoC worldview. In the theology of the CoC there are three divisions of the human race: victims, villains, and saviors. The saviors are, of course, socialists, with Jeremy as a kind of pontifex maximus. The victims are all those who have been oppressed by the forces of imperialism and all the other isms that the CoC can muster. The identification as victims is especially vital to communicate to those who do not feel oppressed even when the CoC knows definitively that they are. The villains are the agents of capitalism, principally the international networks of bankers and others who, like pantomime figures, awake each morning with a sole objective: to oppress and exploit as many people as they can until they retire to dinner, where they toast the success of their misdeeds. To free the victims from these villains, the victims need saviors, and that is where their socialist friends enter and set the world to rights. It was a straightforward narrative that ran through all the pronouncements of the CoC during the election campaign. It was, and still is, the standard narrative of every left-wing group since Karl Marx borrowed money from friends so as to drink between writing bouts at the British Library. Yet, when in 2019 the CoC built this narrative into and around the manifesto and campaign of the Labour party, the British electorate wholly rejected it. The Left knew immediately, following the election results, that their analysis of the campaigns failure was correct: It was all a plot one concocted with foreign backing, supported by reactionary media. It was these forces that had frustrated the message of Jeremy, preventing it from reaching the ears of all those victims the length and breadth of the United Kingdom who needed to hear it. That was the true reason why Jeremy was not now sharing No. 10 with a homeless family. The real reason was more prosaic, however. The British electorate is no fool, but they recognize one when he appears. The vast majority of the British electorate did not feel oppressed, and they did not need a savior who came promising a socialist paradise. Rather, they are people living quiet lives with their families, and whose main concern is making ends meet, getting by. These people are good neighbors and reliable workers who have a passing interest in politics but, other than voting when asked to do so, have better things to be getting on with. So they get by; they make do; they know that life is not perfect but, nevertheless, have ambitions for themselves and their children. The CoC, however, does not recognize such people. These ordinary people do not fit the critique of capitalism that the CoC knows. The CoC also knows that these people believe all the lies they have been told; otherwise they too would welcome the gospel of Corbynism. Those unfortunately outside the CoC do not realize, so the story goes, that their lives are built on lies and deceit; they do not understand just how oppressed and in turn oppressive they are. But for the CoC, the British electorates greatest crime is the one committed on December 12, 2019: namely, not voting for the savior in their midst and, instead, putting into office the living, breathing embodiment of an Anti-Jeremy. More from National Review Taiwan's KMT, Chinese 'Businessman' Tried to Frame Taiwan's Ruling Party: Report 2020-01-09 -- Allegations have been reported in an Australian newspaper of apparent dirty tricks by Beijing, in cahoots with Taiwan's pro-China opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, ahead of the presidential election on Saturday. The allegations relate to self-identified Chinese spy Wang Liqiang, also known as William Wang, who is currently in hiding in Sydney with his wife and child after making information available to Australian intelligence officers about Beijing's overseas infiltration and influence campaigns, particularly in Taiwan. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last year ordered an investigation into allegations by Wang that China has been using a Hong Kong-based real estate company as cover to infiltrate the democratic island and influence its politics and media. Authorities on the democratic island then detained Xiang Xin and Kung Ching, two directors of the Hong Kong-based China Innovation Investment firm. Australia's The Age newspaper reported on Wednesday -- citing sources in Australian security agencies -- that Wang had received attempted bribes and threats from two men beginning on Dec. 24 in a bid to get him to record a video retracting his information and claiming it was planted by Tsai's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Tsai is seeking a second term as president in an election on Saturday, and her popularity has been boosted by her insistence that Beijing is a major threat to the island's freedom and democracy. Taiwan's national security agency has repeatedly warned of Chinese efforts to infiltrate and influence the outcome of Saturday's poll, and the island recently passed a law banning political campaigning and donations linked to foreign powers. According to The Age, former KMT legislator and opposition party deputy secretary general Alex Tsai sent Wang text messages, including one which read: "If you take up the offer by the end of this month, everyone will help ensure you safely return to mainland China, and at the same time will help you resolve all your debts." Tsai later offered Wang the opportunity to settle in Taiwan. Wang said in a series of interviews with Australian media outlets in November that he engaged in espionage in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia, including infiltrating Taiwan's city elections of 2018 and the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Wang said he was hired by China Innovation Investment Ltd. (CIIL) CEO Xiang Xin as a spy. A 'businessman' named Sun A Chinese man who identified himself as a "businessman" and gave the surname Sun also warned Wang that he could be extradited to China and killed or his family on the Chinese mainland punished if he did not co-operate, The Age reported. If proven, the approaches to Wang would be in breach of Australian foreign interference laws, which ban using bribery or threats in order to advance the interests of a foreign power. Tsai confirmed to the paper that he and Sun had been in contact with Wang, but denied any wrongdoing. However, the paper cited security sources as saying that Tsai had sent Sun a message in which he appeared to refer to the script Wang was being pressured into reading on camera. Speaking to journalists in Taipei, Tsai echoed Beijing's claim that Wang Liqiang is not a spy, and said he had been trying to get Wang to "tell the truth." But the DPP said Tsai wasn't admitting the whole truth, in a reference to the reported attempt to frame the DPP as having "fabricated" Wang's spy story ahead of the election. DPP lawmaker Kuan Bi-ling said there is no evidence backing the claim that the DPP had done any such thing. "These people are trying to save Xiang Xin [who is currently being investigated by Taiwan over the spying allegations] and strike a blow to the Taiwan general election at the same time," Kuan said. "They are trying to cook something up to drag the DPP into this." The Australian Federal Police said they were investigating allegations of threats made against a man, after being contacted by Reuters. Front company for Communist Party? Xiang Xin and Kung Ching, the two directors of China Innovation Investment are being investigated over suspected violation of national security laws, and are currently unable to leave the country. The couple are suspected of violating Article 2, section 1 of the law, which forbids people to "set up, finance, host, manipulate, direct or develop organizations on behalf of [China]." If found guilty, those who break this law can receive a jail term of more than seven years and a multimillion-dollar fine. Wang alleged that Xiang and Kung's company was used as cover for the ruling Chinese Communist Party to wield political influence in Taiwan and Hong Kong, via the media and other organizations. Xiang, Kung and others had applied to the Investment Review Commission for approval for a NT$100 million investment on Dec. 30, 2016, officials said. Chang Ming-bin, executive secretary of the Investment Review Commission under the ministry of economic affairs, said at the time of Wang's initial allegations that China Innovation Investment's history was "not straightforward," and that it had been turned down for an investment application on national security grounds as early as 2016. Taiwan began a transition to democracy following the death of Chiang Ching-kuo in January 1988, starting with direct elections to the legislature in the early 1990s and culminating in the first direct election of a president, Lee Teng-hui, in 1996. It has never been controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, nor formed part of the People's Republic of China. Beijing wants to rule Taiwan under the "one country, two systems" concept used to take back the former colonial cities of Hong Kong and Macau, and has refused to rule out annexing the island by force. Tsai has repeatedly said that Taiwan's 23 million people have no wish to give up their sovereignty. She has also been an outspoken critic of the Hong Kong government since the anti-extradition, pro-democracy protest movement gripped the city in early June, and has repeatedly warned that Taiwan could suffer a similar loss of freedom and democracy if it entertains China's plan. Reported by Hwang Chun-mei for RFA's Mandarin Service and by Chung Kuang-cheng for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content January not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday he had no reason to doubt reports from Western capitals suggesting an Iranian missile brought down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people. "I will not go into details about our intelligence but what I can say is we have no reason to not believe the reports we have seen from different NATO allied capitals," Stoltenberg said. Canada and Britain have both said Iran shot down the plane outside Tehran, possibly mistakenly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Moscow court seizes assets of three former top managers of bank RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 15:04 10/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court has attached the assets of three persons formerly in control of the Military-Industrial bank (Voenno-promyshlenny bank ,VPB) satisfying a 37 billion-ruble ($600 million) claim of Russias Deposit Insurance Agency, the court materials read on Friday. The amount of seized assets owned by ex-Chariman of the bank board Eldar Samerkhanov, Chairman of board of directors Yury Koltok, and the VPB former beneficiary Victor Druzhkov corresponds to the amount of the DIA claim. According to DIA, at present there is developing a practice of concealment of assets by dishonest managers when hold subsidiary responsible for debts of bankrupt banks, what makes impossible to enforce later court rulings. The court has found that the injunctive relief applied in the case is directly related to the dispute subject matter, is proportional, aimed to sustain the current state of relations between the parties, and ensures a balance of interests of all persons involved in the bankruptcy of the debtor; nevertheless, it has denied a DIA motion to attach assets of nine other ex-managers of the bank. In September 2019, DIA turned to the Moscow Commercial Court seeking to recover about 37 billion rubles (about $600 million at the present exchange rate) subsidiarily from 12 persons formerly controlling VPB, alleging that in the framework of the bankruptcy proceedings it was established that the said persons by unlawful acts or omissions had provided clearly unrecoverable loans to corporations and stripped the bank of liquid assets pledged as collateral for such loans. At the same time, there were discovered facts of embezzlement through unlawful bank operations with clients accounts, DIA said. The Deposit Insurance Agency also alleged that VPB managers failed to undertake measures preventing the banks bankruptcy as prescribed by the law and committed other violations, what resulted in VPB inability to meet the demands of its creditors in full. In December 2016, the Moscow Commercial Court declared VPB bankrupt. WASHINGTON On the desk of U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney is a photo of a young staff sergeant from Waterford, Connecticut. In Loving Memory the prayer card says. The young sergeant and other members of the U.S. military, some killed in action, some still serving, were on Courtneys mind as he cast a vote against further military hostilities toward Iran Thursday afternoon, he said. Representing the men and women in Connecticut who wear our nations uniform, and the veterans who wore it before them, is my top priority as a member of Congress, and it always has been, said Courtney, D-2, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. With the support of Courtney and all Connecticut House Democrats, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution directing President Donald Trump to stop military actions toward Iran within 30 days. It would not stop the U.S. from acting in self-defense. The final tally was 224 to 194. Three Republicans voted in favor, while eight Democrats voted against. The resolution needs Senate approval. It is is not binding law, but a statement of Congress indicating lawmakers desire to avoid a new lengthy war in the Middle East and the loss of more American lives. Democrats have said Trump lacks a coherent strategy in the region and fear his decision to assassinate Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was motivated by impulse instead of intelligence. The high-anxiety week of strikes and escalating tensions with Iran has been a reminder of the long-range reverberations of Congresss earlier decisions to authorize war in the Middle East. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House may soon vote to repeal a 2002 authorization of military force (AUMF) against Iraq, which has been part of presidential justifications for strikes and other military advances in the Middle East for years. Its possible the House may also draft a new AUMF dictating the present bounds of warfare in the Middle East with a definitive sunset date, Pelosi said. A bipartisan group of senators have also introduced a resolution stating that the 2002 AUMF and one issued after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks do not apply to present conflict with Iran. U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, and John Larson, D-1, both served in the House in 2002 and voted against the authorization with over 100 Democrats. A year earlier, they both supported a 2001 authorization of military force against nations, organizations and people who participating in orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks. Larson said Thursday he supports repeal of the 2002 and 2001 AUMFs. He has pushed to repeal the 2001 AUMF for years, including during President Barack Obamas tenure. Congress needs to assert itself, Larson said. Whether it was President Obama in Libya, whether it was President [George W.] Bush or President Trump, they have a responsibility to come before Congress and especially in as volatile a region in the Middle East and especially given our most recent history with Iraq. In classified briefings and comments from the president and other officials, all week members of Congress have been learning about the intelligence prompting the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and the strategy Trumps administration has crafted to address the killings consequences. On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, spoke by phone with Matthew Tueller, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, where the strike on Soleimani occured. A spokesperson for Murphy said the call was classified and declined to provide details, but the senator made a short statement on Twitter. The situation there remains serious and unstable, Murphy said. I am so grateful for the heroic work that our diplomats in Baghdad are doing at this perilous moment. As soon as next week, the Senate may cast a vote on its own war powers resolution similar to the one passed by the House Thursday. Both Murphy and Blumenthal have indicated their support for a resolution directing Trump to de-escalate military action toward Iran. Trump said Wednesday he would pursue economic sanctions, not further military action against Iran, for the time being. Democrats have been highly critical of his strategy, which they believe is thin to non-existent. Some Republicans also blasted the White House for presenting inadequate information to Congress in briefings Wednesday. DeLauro said the way the administration tried to obscure facts from Congress and the public was unprecedented. The rationale is in doubt. The ramifications are, as well, DeLauro said. The U.S. announced it will suspend our fight against ISIS. Iraqs Prime Minister and the legislature moved to expel our troops. The Iranian leaders announced they would no longer abide by the 2015 nuclear deal. emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 16:45:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China has released a guideline for punishing assault against police officers, clarifying the application of the law in such cases, said the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Friday. It makes it explicit what kinds of behaviors will lead to criminal liability and tougher punishment in accordance with the law and shows China's determination to punish violence against police officers, Sun Ping, deputy director of the ministry's legal affairs bureau, said at a press conference. Chinese procuratorates approved the arrest of 51,658 suspects involved in crimes of obstructing official duties and prosecuted 79,024 from 2016 to 2019, quite a few of which were offenses against the police, Gao Jingfeng, an official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPR), said at the press conference. Jointly released by the Supreme People's Court, the MPS and the SPR, the guideline was the first of its kind China has ever released and went into effect on Dec. 27, 2019. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 20:20:15|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Members of Tunisian parliament attend a plenary session dedicated to the vote of confidence in the government proposed by Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli in Tunis, Tunisia, on Jan. 10, 2020. The plenary session started on Friday morning. A total of 188 out of the 217 members attended the session at the parliament's headquarters in the capital Tunis. The new cabinet needs at least 109 out of the 217 possible votes for approval. (Photo by Adele Ezzine/Xinhua) TUNIS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The plenary session dedicated to the vote of confidence in the government proposed by Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli started on Friday morning. A total of 188 out of the 217 members attended the session at the parliament's headquarters in the capital Tunis. During his inaugural speech, Jemli said his proposed cabinet will focus on a series of socio-economic issues such as the fight against corruption, promotion of growth by encouraging investment and creation of wealth. The new proposed government will give priority to the security including the fight against terrorism in the light of changes at the regional and international levels, he added. "I formed the new government on the basis of a series of criteria mainly including the credibility, the political independence, the competence and the ability to lead the country in the most difficult social and economic conditions," the prime minister-designate noted. The government is open to "all political parties, components of civil society as well as the main social partners," he said. The new cabinet is composed of 42 members, including 25 ministers, three ministers to the prime minister, and 14 secretaries of state. The new cabinet needs at least 109 out of the 217 possible votes for approval. Jacqueline Jossa has revealed a trick she uses to make herself look slimmer - by always buying jeans in a size bigger. The mother-of-two, 27, from London, admitted that she's 'not a fashionista' and often 'wings' her style, before confessing that she often struggles to find jeans that properly fit her 'chunky legs'. 'EastEnders' star Jacqueline, who lost a stone during her stint on I'm a Celeb, insisted during her fashion edit for In The Style, that when you 'wish you were a size smaller'. the trick is to go bigger. 'I would always say go up a pair. A size of clothing mean absolutely nothing, you will look better and feel better rather than squeezing in.' Jacqueline Jossa 27, London, admitted during an In The Style fashion edit that she always buys a pair of jeans in a size bigger, as it makes her look slimmer During the first segment of the Instagram video, she insisted: 'Let's face it i'm not a fashionista - I'm a mum of two winging it so anything helps.' Trying on a causal pair of mum jeans teamed with a white jumper and matching trainers, she said: 'To be honest whenever, I put a jean on I feel a little bit more dressed up. 'I feel like everybody needs a nice jean in your wardrobe. I struggle with jeans because I've got big chunky legs and usually I find it hard to find one that fits the waist and legs.' She went on: 'Tip from me, you know when you are trying to look "slim thick" and all that jazz and you are like I wish I was a size smaller and try and squeeze into jeans? 'I would always say go up a pair. A size of clothing mean absolutely nothing, you will look better and feel better rather than squeezing in.' Trying on a causal pair of mum jeans teamed with a white jumper and matching trainers, Jacqueline insisted that it makes her look slimmer if she wears a bigger pair Earlier this week, Jossa took to social media to try to encourage her fans to accept their bodies. The I'm A Celeb champ took to Instagram to slam beauty expectations and ideals, insisting appearance can be deceptive on social media. Sharing a video, she said: 'Hi guys, just quickly wanna show you something, OK? Look how small, well I'd say small, my waist looks. Yeah, quite deceiving. 'I look like I could be skinny, a skinny Minnie. Then if you bring the trousers down to that awful length, you see, you know, she got love handles, she got something to grab. Truth: Jacqueline Jossa encouraged her fans to accept their body as she grabs her 'love handles' in an Instagram video on Tuesday, to show that social media is not always as it seems Important issue: Jacqueline wanted to illustrate how someone can look different in two different frames taken at the same time on social media 'This is life and this is just the way it is and, you know, I thought about it in the bath, right, and was like, "I've literally got about eight rolls down there." 'Well, I'm lying there washing and thinking, "I don't even hate it,' genuinely, when I look in the mirror I don't think it's bad. That's the truth, I don't think it's bad, I don't mind it, I quite like it".' Meanwhile, Jacqueline previously discussed how she is still affected by being called 'the new fat Lauren Branning' 10 years ago when she joined the cast of EastEnders. She wrote on Instagram: '10 years ago I landed the BEST job in the world! Loved ever second of it, this picture changed my life. Hurt: Jacqueline recently recalled the pain caused by trolls who branded her 'fat Lauren' when she took from original actress Madeline Dugganover (pictured right) in the EastEnders role aged 17 in 2010 (pictured left) Past struggles: While reflecting on the end of the past decade and the 10 year anniversary of her casting, the actress said that the hurtful criticism caused years of pain 'I used to hate this picture so much I got trolled so so badly. [People said] "the new fat Lauren branning" and "Why recast and then get someone so much uglier and what is the hair cut". 'I admit I really hate the hair cut now ... but jeez ppl can be mean, and to a 17 year old girl, words hurt a lot! It effected me for a LONG time! 'Probably still does actually if I'm being honest. Still 10 years on, I done 7 years on the show of my dreams and had 2 beautiful children. 'To end this year I just became QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE! WOW!! My life has changed so much and had so many ups and downs in these 10 years. She continued: 'I can honestly say heading into 2020 I'm excited, happy and content! Thank you for supporting me... 'Also big shoutout to the people who will remember this first girl 17 year old me that just landed a role that would change her life ... 'Feeling overwhelmed and so lucky, thanks a million. HAPPY NEW YEAR (sic)' Food, Wine, & Dining By Ls Cohen Published: January 10 2020 First true Italian restaurant from the Anthony Scotto in over 50 years. The crown of Anthony Scottos Long Island dinning empire has another jewel with One10, a trendy new Italian restaurant in Melville. This is the first true Italian restaurant that Scotto has opened since he started here on Long Island with Scotto's Pizzeria in Port Washington in the late 1960s. While the restaurant had been hosting private parties over the holidays, the grand opening for ala carte dining was on Monday, January 6th, according to a representative from Anthony Scotto Restaurants. One10 - aptly named for the Route 110 corridor where its located across from the Huntington Hilton - is on the old Wonder Bread Hostess warehouse and distribution center property that was torn down to accommodate the new building. The chef is Ron Gelish, who had been at a number of the other Anthony Scotto Restaurants over the years. Image: One 10 Facebook page. The reception has been good so far and theyve been busy for opening week. While its too early to say what dish will be the standout, people are definitely gravitating to a few of the menu items including the one-pound meatball, which is a sharing dish for the table and is a blend of wagyu, sausage, and veal served with herb ricotta and plum tomato. Happy hour has been busy as well, which is Monday through Friday 3-6pm with drink specials including $7 glasses of wine, $2 oysters, $5 draught beer, $8 classic cocktails, $9 whiskey of the week and $5-$7 apps at the bar. The unique main bar is over 40 feet and spans both indoor and out. One10 adds to a number of other upscale dining options in the Anthony Scotto family of restaurants, including Blackstone in Melville, Insignia in Smithtown and Rare 650 in Jericho. This new restaurant does offer a little bit of a friendlier price point than some of the others. Location: 569 Broadhollow Road, Melville, (631) 694-3333. A new study shows that a test physicians commonly used to guide chemotherapy treatment for post-breast cancer surgery patients may also help them decide whether radiation therapy may be of benefit. Known as the 21-gene recurrence score, the test is a personalized analysis of the activity of 21 genes found in a patient's breast tumor tissue. The score can be used to predict whether, after undergoing surgery, that patient's breast cancer is likely to return in another part of their body, like the bones or lungs, and whether that patient will likely benefit from chemotherapy treatment. Study results suggest patients with an intermediate or high 21-gene recurrence score are more likely to see their cancer return to the breast and nearby lymph nodes and, thus, could benefit from radiation. Findings appear today in JAMA Oncology. The study was conducted by the SWOG Cancer Research Network, a cancer clinical trials network funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and part of the oldest and largest publicly funded research network in the nation. The Canadian Cancer Trials Group, with co-sponsorship by the NCI, is enrolling patients on a trial called TAILOR RT, which will confirm whether the recurrence score - all by itself - can identify low risk node positive patients who do not need radiation. Because randomized trials represent the gold standard in clinical research, TAILOR RT results could change the standard of cancer care. Until that data is in, the SWOG findings provide evidence that the recurrence score can be an effective, additional tool - along with tumor size or stage - that physicians can use to determine whether to recommend radiation therapy, particularly for patients whose cancer presentation makes the need for radiation uncertain. For a decade, radiation oncologists have been banging on the doors of precision medicine, looking for genomic tools they can use to personalize treatment for their patients. Radiation oncologists want these tools because they can help their patients. Radiation treatment can help wipe out local disease, saving or lengthening a patient's life. And omitting radiation treatment could spare other patients pain, time, and cost." Wendy Woodward, MD, PhD, lead investigator of the SWOG study Woodward is also the chief of the clinical breast radiotherapy service at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The 21-gene recurrence score test is sold as the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score and was developed by the California-based company Genomic Health, Inc. In multiple research studies, the test has been proven to predict the likelihood of disease recurrence - and chemotherapy benefit - in patients with invasive, early-stage breast cancer. The test made international headlines in June 2018 when the results of the Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment, or TAILORx, were released at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Results from TAILORx, the largest randomized post-surgery breast cancer trial ever mounted, showed that the test could predict who would, and would not, benefit from chemotherapy. Woodward and her team wanted to see if the 21-gene recurrence score could also be useful in predicting the local breast cancer recurrence that radiation can prevent. Radiation is much more targeted than chemotherapy, focusing on specific areas in and around the breast. Woodward was particularly interested in how recurrence scores might help add to the clinical tools that currently guide radiation for patients - especially when the need isn't clear. Breast cancer patients who have undergone mastectomy, have low-risk clinical factors, and cancer-free lymph nodes often do not require radiation treatment after their cancer surgery. However, those with large tumors and cancer in four or more lymph nodes almost definitely get radiation. But what about patients with a more ambiguous presentation - say, a smaller tumor and one to three cancer-positive lymph nodes? Can scores help safely guide radiation decisions? To find out, Woodward and her team dove into data generated by S8814, a long-closed SWOG trial that compared post-surgery treatments in post-menopausal women with breast cancer. In this randomized trial, postmenopausal women with node-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned to one of three treatments. Physicians recommended radiotherapy based on clinical factors, such as tumor size and the number of lymph nodes that contain cancer. As part of S8814, 367 patients took the 21-gene recurrence score test. Woodward and her team reviewed all these records to see which patients had radiation therapy and which had what's known as locoregional recurrence (LRR), when cancer returns after treatment close to the site of the original tumor - in this case, the breast, chest wall, or lymph nodes. After winnowing out certain patients, the SWOG team wound up with a pool of 316 patient records. They logged every patient's recurrence score, and also whether and when LRR occurred. In all, after a median of eight years of follow-up, 34 patients went on to have an LRR event - 27 with intermediate or high recurrence scores and seven with low recurrence scores. Regardless of other factors, such as number of cancer-positive lymph nodes, the recurrence score proved to be an independent predictor for LRR. "We believe these data support using recurrence scores - along with standard clinical factors like age or tumor size - to determine risk of recurrence and radiotherapy decisions for patients," Woodward said. "Our findings are clearly limited, as we had some small patient numbers and looked at data retrospectively. But these results provide additional evidence of the value of this test in node positive patients. And they suggest it might be possible to skip radiation in patients with low recurrence scores and one to three cancer-positive nodes, a question now being rigorously tested in TAILOR RT. "There are large clinical trials going on looking at radiation care for breast cancer patients, like TAILOR RT, and I encourage people to enroll. The more data we have, the more we'll know how to use this new precision medicine tool." Canadian taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of dollars a year in security expenses if Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan move there, even part time, as they step away from their royal duties, security experts have said. Larry Busch, an ex-Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who directed security for US presidents and royals, said the government would likely have a legal obligation to provide security - especially considering the Queen is Canada's head of state. 'I don't believe they can refuse the government of Canada's security,' he said. Canada would have a legal obligation to pay for security for Harry and Meghan if they move to the country which could end up costing millions per year, experts have warned (pictured, Harry escorted by his security detail in Toronto) Larry Busch, an ex-Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, said he doesn't think the royal couple would be able to refuse Canadian security, even if they wanted to (pictured, the Queen inspects Mounties during a visit to Canada in 2010) Meghan (left, file image) has already flown back to Canada to be with Archie, leaving Harry (together right) to deal with the family fallout of their decision to step down as senior royals Meanwhile Mike Zimet, whose eponymous New York security firm has protected clients including Bernie Sanders and actors Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alec Baldwin, said the cost could easily run into the millions per year. 'If they want private protection, then a whole machine needs to be built around them,' he said. The level of security they need would be defined by a threat assessment, said Joe Balz, president of GloProSec Preventative Services, a Toronto-based security company, and an ex-RCMP officer who has worked with the royal family and other heads of state in the past. 'There's always going to be the odd idiot who causes some type of problem,' Balz said, adding that they would be safer in Canada than in the United States, where gun laws are much laxer. They also would need to worry about kidnapping of their son, Archie, said Zimet, who called that threat a 'major situation, especially when it comes to terrorists. Kidnap a kid, hold them for ransom, what are the parents going to do?' Prince Harry and Meghan have said gaining financial autonomy is a key goal, but declined to say whether this extends to the cost of security, stating that their security detail is mandated by the British Home Office. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stunned Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family this week by saying they plan to spend much of their time in North America. While the pair have not said where they plan to reside, many observers pointed to Canada as a logical choice. The couple spent the last six weeks of 2019 in that nation, part of the British Commonwealth of countries that have the queen as their head of state. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first Christmas with baby Archie at this 10million waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island, and there is speculation they could make Canada their permanent home overseas News of a potential move to Canada has split public opinion, with some praising it as a 'fairy-tale' but others accusing the couple of 'divorcing their duty'. Writing in the Globe and Mail, Anne Donahue hailed the couple's decision to break with royal protocol and forge a new path as 'the stuff of real fairy tales' while describing it as 'the type of change in which everybody wins'. 'Theyve begun to help dismantle an institution that often seems a historical relic. And theyre very publicly choosing to stop putting up with the nonsense, on their own dime and in their own way a power move,' she said' 'If they get their way, and a happy ending, that will make it even more of a fairy tale.' But that enthusiasm was not shared by Judith Timson, writing in the Toronto Star, who saw a couple 'selfishly or in desperate self-preservation demanding to have it both ways' by living the life they want while also 'dipping into the royal till'. She added: 'Why have a royal family at all which is supposed to represent duty as well as privilege if you can walk away just from the bits you dont like any time at all?' Perhaps in answer to that question, a poll for Canadian news company Postmedia found a majority of the country would support Harry becoming the next Governor General of Canada - the Queen's representative in the country. When asked, 60 per cent of the 1,515 they spoke to said they liked the idea. The poll was conducted on January 6, two days before the couple announced their plan to move away from their senior royal roles. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to have left Archie in Canada after their six-week trip and the eight-month-old is being cared for by their nanny and Meghan's best friend, Jessica Mulroney. Ms Mulroney lives in Toronto but it is not known if she was with them in the 10million waterfront mansion in Vancouver they occupied between Thanksgiving and the new year. Meghan flew from London to Canada in the hours after the Sussexes shocked the world and quit as senior royals, the Daily Mail revealed last night. Queen Elizabeth is said to have been kept in the dark about the timing of Harry and Meghan's departure from the UK, and heard about it from television Harry is said to have been involved in four-way crisis talks with the Queen, Prince Charles (left) and Prince William (right) as they attempt to work out the fine-print of his move The couple horrified and shocked Harry's family including the 'hurt and furious' Queen, who had begged them to delay announcing their 'nuclear' plans. Prince Charles and Prince William only got a copy of the statement ten minutes before it went live on their secretly developed website. Last night Her Majesty held a series of calls involving herself at Sandringham, Charles at his Scottish home Birkhall, William at Kensington Palace and Harry without Meghan at Frogmore Cottage. But as the abdication crisis rumbled on the Duke of Sussex was also plotting to fly out of Britain, it has emerged, although it is not yet confirmed when he intends to join his wife in Canada. Meghan may stay there for the foreseeable future and Harry will not be apart from his wife and son for long - but he must also be at Buckingham Palace for an engagement next Thursday. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 04:57:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department said Friday that any U.S. officials going to Iraq would not discuss U.S. forces withdrawal, rejecting the Iraqi government's earlier request that the two sides start to work on such a process. "At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership -- not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East," State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. U.S. military presence in the country is to continue the fight against the Islamic State (IS) and to protect Americans, Iraqis and coalition partners, the statement said. The statement followed a phone conversation earlier in the day between Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during which the former requested Washington "to send delegates to Iraq to lay down mechanisms for implementing the Iraqi parliament resolution to withdraw (foreign) forces safely from Iraq," according to Iraqi government. The phone call came amid immense tensions between Iran and the United States on Iraqi soil. The Iraqi parliament on Sunday passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq, two days after the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, near Baghdad airport. On Wednesday, Iran retaliated by launching 16 ballistic missiles on two military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, which U.S. President Donald Trump said caused no American or Iraqi casualties. Trump threatened to impose harsh sanctions on Iraq if Baghdad and Washington fail to solve the pullout issue on "a very friendly basis." "We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that's there. It costs billions of dollars to build ... We're not leaving unless they pay us back for it," he added. Roughly 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against the IS militants, mainly providing training and advising to the Iraqi forces. VANCOUVER - The Department of Justice says the allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou would be a crime in Canada and she should be extradited to the United States on fraud charges. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VANCOUVER - The Department of Justice says the allegations against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou would be a crime in Canada and she should be extradited to the United States on fraud charges. The department says in documents filed in British Columbia Supreme Court that the allegations meet the crucial extradition test of "double criminality," meaning if they had occurred in Canada they would be criminal under Canadian law. The U.S. alleges Meng lied about Huawei's relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom to one of its bankers, HSBC, putting the financial institution at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against the country. "Simply put, there is evidence she deceived HSBC in order to induce it to continue to provide banking services to Huawei," says the Justice Department in the court documents released Friday. The Huawei chief financial officer denies the allegations and is free on bail, living in one of her two multimillion-dollar homes in Vancouver, ahead of a hearing set to begin Jan. 20 that will focus on the double-criminality test. Her legal team has argued the alleged misrepresentations do not amount to fraud. It says the case is really about the U.S. trying to enforce its sanctions against Iran even though Canada does not have the same sanctions. However, lawyers for the Department of Justice say in the court documents that Meng's alleged conduct put HSBC at risk of economic loss and is sufficient to make a case of fraud in Canada. "To establish HSBC's deprivation, there is no need to consider American sanctions law," they say. The documents say Huawei controlled the operations of its affiliate Skycom in Iran from at least 2007 to 2014. Skycom employees used Huawei email addresses and access badges and the company's bank accounts were controlled by Huawei, the documents say. At the same time, they say HSBC was Huawei's most important international bank. HSBC and its U.S. subsidiary cleared more than US$100 million worth of transactions related to Skycom through the U.S. between 2010 and 2014, the Justice Department alleges. It alleges that Meng met with a senior HSBC executive in 2013 and assured them in a PowerPoint presentation that Huawei no longer held a shareholding interest in Skycom and she had resigned from Skycom's board. She also told them Huawei subsidiaries in Iran would not have business transactions with HSBC, the court documents say. HSBC has a long-standing policy prohibiting relationships with Iran-based clients and processing Iran-related transactions through the U.S. to avoid exposure to American civil and criminal liability, the documents say. "Had HSBC known of Huawei's activities that breached American sanctions against Iran, HSBC would have re-evaluated its relationship with Huawei," they say. The bank risked fines and penalties for violating Iranian sanctions law by doing business with Skycom, both as a result of violating a previous deferred prosecution agreement and attracting additional penalties, the documents add. The Department of Justice also says there is precedent for the court to consider a foreign legal context in a limited way in an extradition proceeding. Doing so would only reinforce the conclusion that the allegations meet the double-criminality test, it says. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Consideration of American sanctions law only serves to assist this court to better understand why HSBC's economic interests were at risk." Meng's arrest at Vancouver's airport on Dec. 1, 2018, has fractured Canada-China relations. Beijing detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in a move widely seen as retaliation and restricted some imports including canola. The double-criminality hearing starting Jan. 20 is scheduled for five days. If the judge rules the test has not been met, Meng will be free to leave Canada, though she'll still have to avoid the U.S. if she wants to evade the charges. If the judge finds there is double criminality, the hearing will proceed to a second phase. The second phase, scheduled for June, will consider defence allegations that the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP and Federal Bureau of Investigation conspired to conduct a "covert criminal investigation" at the airport. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. By David Bautz, PhD OTC:VIVXF READ THE FULL VIVXF RESEARCH REPORT Business Update Preparing for OxC-beta Approval in China On December 17, 2019, Avivagen, Inc. (OTC:VIVXF) announced it has entered into an agreement with COFCO Biotechnology Co. Ltd. in which COFCO will assist Avivagen in securing regulatory approval for OxC-beta Livestock in China. COFCO is a leading supplier of agriculture products in China, and with 12,000 employees and sales of more than $17.5 billion in 2018 we believe they are a great partner to assist Avivagen in determining what trials of OxC-beta Livestock will be necessary to secure approval for use in chicken feed along with advising on other aspects of the Chinese regulatory pathway. China represents a tremendous opportunity for Avivagen as the Chinese government has announced a plan to ban all antibiotics in livestock feed by July 2020. In addition, African Swine Fever (ASF) decimated Chinas swine herd in 2019, with an increase in poultry production set to fill the protein supply gap. This increased demand for poultry is being filled by both increased imports to China as well as increased domestic poultry production, which is up 20% since 2018. Some estimates call for Chinese poultry feed production to nearly double over the next five years (Feed Strategy). OxC-beta Approved in Malaysia On December 5, 2019, Avivagen announced the approval of OxC-beta Livestock for broilers and swine in Malaysia, bringing the total number of countries in which Avivagen has approval to eight, including the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines. Shortly thereafter, Avivagen announced the first order of 100 kg for OxC-beta Livestock in Malaysia. Malaysias government intends to move all chicken production to be antibiotic-free by 2020, thus representing a nice growth opportunity for Avivagen. Most of the 4.8 million metric ton Malaysian feed market is directed toward poultry broilers and layers due to the growing popularity of chicken-based fast food restaurants in the country, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Nandos, The Chicken Rice Shop, Kenny Rogers Roasters, and Ayamas (USDA, 2017). Story continues New Distribution Agreement in the Philippines On December 16, 2019, Avivagen announced a memorandum of understanding has been reached with INPHILCO, Inc., in which INPHILCO will become a new, key distribution partner for OxC-beta Livestock in the Philippines. INPHILCO will sell OxC-beta Livestock to large integrated feed producers as part of INPHILCOs premix offerings as well as a standalone product. The memorandum of understanding with INPHILCO is part of the negotiation process toward signing a definitive distribution agreement, which should be completed within the next 60 days. In addition to the working on a definitive distribution agreement with INPHILCO, Avivagen is also working to finalize rights to sell OxC-beta Livestock directly to Universal Robina Corporation, one of the Philippines largest integrated livestock producers. Universal Robinas Agro-Industrial and Commodity Food Groups (URC AIG), one of largest pork and poultry producers in the Philippines, is currently testing OxC-beta Livestock in its integrated-feed for use in its internal swine production. The Philippines had an estimated annual feed production of 19 million metric tons in 2019, which is up from 11.75 million metric tons in 2016, and produces as much pork and poultry as Canada. Financial Update On December 20, 2019, Avivagen announced financial results for the 2019 fiscal year ending October 31, 2019. Revenues for the twelve month period ending Oct. 31, 2019 were CAD$0.98 million compared to CAD$1.07 million for the twelve month period ending Oct. 31, 2018. The decrease was due to decreased sales of OxC-beta products due to the timing difference on a significant order. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, Avivagen secured a 2.1 metric ton order for OxC-beta Livestock from UNAHCO, a distribution partner in the Philippines. Selling, general, and administrative expenses for fiscal year 2019 were CAD$3.8 million compared to CAD$4.3 million for fiscal year 2018. The decrease was due to decreased salaries, professional fees, and share-based payments. Research costs were CAD$0.6 million for the twelve months ending Oct. 31, 2019 compared to CAD$0.5 million for the twelve months ending Oct. 31, 2018. The increase was due to an employee termination expense incurred during the most recent 12 months partially offset by lower product trial expenses. Avivagen exited fiscal year 2019 with approximately CAD$1.1 million. On January 3, 2020, the company announced the closing of a CAD$1.25 million private placement through the issuance of 2.5 million units at CAD$0.50 per unit, with each unit consisting of one share of common stock and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. The warrants have an exercise price of CAD$0.75. Following this financing, we believe Avivagen is sufficiently financed to fund operations into mid-2020. As of Oct. 31, 2019, Avivagen had approximately 34.9 million common shares outstanding and when factoring the recent financing, approximately 2.3 million stock options, and approximately 6.6 million warrants a fully diluted share count of approximately 46.3 million. Valuation We value Avivagen using an EV/EBITDA multiple based on projected revenues of OxC-beta Livestock. We believe Avivagen is laying the groundwork for a very steep growth rate in revenues in the coming years through a combination of new market opportunities and market expansion. For example, the company is making steady progress on sales in the Philippines and we believe it is only a matter of time before sales begin to ramp up considerably in Asia and other parts of the world, particularly as additional data showing the benefits of the OxBC technology is published. Due to the fact that Avivagen has a limited commercial history, the financial forecasts we have prepared are educated guesses and are heavily reliant on the company continuing to execute on its business plan to get OxC-beta Livestock approved in as many jurisdictions as possible, signing distribution agreements in each of those jurisdictions, and continuing market expansion through adoption of OxC-beta Livestock by major animal producers. Our model estimates sales of OxC-beta Livestock of CAD$60 million in 2025, as we believe the company will hit an inflection point following the adoption of OxC-beta Livestock by multiple major animal producers over the next couple of years. Using an EV/EBITDA ratio of 16 (which is derived from the average for pharmaceutical companies found here) and an EBITDA of CAD$23 million leads to an EV of CAD$368 million. Using a discount rate of 20% (derived from CAPM) we arrive at a present day EV of approximately CAD$148 million. The company has approximately CAD$3.5 million in debt, approximately CAD$1.6 million in cash (estimated following the January 2020 financing), and CAD$6.3 million in potential financing from warrant exercises. Accounting for that leads to an NPV of CAD$152 million. Dividing this by the fully diluted share count of 46.3 million leads to a valuation of approximately CAD$3.29 per share. Using the current exchange ratio of $1 CAD = $0.77 USD leads to a valuation for VIVXF of approximately $2.50. SUBSCRIBE TO ZACKS SMALL CAP RESEARCH to receive our articles and reports emailed directly to you each morning. Please visit our website for additional information on Zacks SCR. DISCLOSURE: Zacks SCR has received compensation from the issuer directly, from an investment manager, or from an investor relations consulting firm, engaged by the issuer, for providing research coverage for a period of no less than one year. Research articles, as seen here, are part of the service Zacks provides and Zacks receives quarterly payments totaling a maximum fee of $30,000 annually for these services. Full Disclaimer HERE. BRANDON The Town of Virden is once again hoping it has found a solution to the lingering problem of arsenic in its drinking water. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. BRANDON The Town of Virden is once again hoping it has found a solution to the lingering problem of arsenic in its drinking water. Mayor Murray Wright says, with the help of the provincial government, a new source well has been located that might finally do the trick. "Its preliminary as of yet," Wright said this week. "It sounds like its going to be good, but water has been sent to Toronto for tests, so we cant really say yes, or no or maybe... It is positive so far." The town of 3,200, located 280 kilometres west of Winnipeg, has for years dealt with arsenic levels that surpass maximum concentrations set out Health Canada. A water quality notice was issued Dec. 11, 2019, by Manitoba Health in conjunction with the Office of Drinking Water after concentrations of arsenic in treated water were above the maximum acceptable concentration of 0.01 mg/L. "Were monitoring the arsenic level very closely, and it does go up and down (from test to test)," the mayor said. "It is something Mother Nature does control, and we just try to keep with technology to alleviate as much of it as possible." In addition to finding a new water source, the town is changing some filters in the water treatment system. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Gradually, over time, they have to be replaced," Wright said. "Im sure thatll help, and with the new well, if the tests all come back positive, itll be a step forward to help get this (arsenic problem) alleviated." Wright said he would like to see the new system up and running by early summer. The cost of tying in the new well with the towns water treatment system is estimated at around $6.2 million. Wright said they are hoping for provincial and federal assistance to help with the cost. The other part of the equation is how much water is available, and local officials hope to find that out in March, Wright said. One option being considered is supplementing the existing well with water from the new well, thus dropping the level of arsenic further. Brandon Sun The first visit of foreign envoys to Kashmir organised by the government is being seen as an effort to shape the narrative after months of bad press over the communications blackout and security lockdown in the region. A group of 15 senior diplomats, including the envoys of the US, Norway and South Korea, interacted with political leaders, civil society representatives, elected grassroots politicians and the media in Srinagar on Thursday. They are meeting top officials and others in Jammu on Friday. From all the reports that have emerged, the envoys did raise pointed questions on the impact of the Indian governments decision of August 5 last year to revoke Jammu and Kashmirs special status, whether Pakistan is meddling in the region and the current situation in the Kashmir Valley. Also Watch l Team of 15 foreign envoys visit Kashmir; Congress slams Modi govt The political leaders and others who met the envoys too brought up their long-standing demands the full-fledged restoration of internet connectivity, the release of all detained political prisoners, economic development, restoration of statehood and adequate safeguards for land ownership by locals. However, the envoys did not meet the politicians who have been detained since last August, including three former chief ministers. Nor did they meet the top rung of the leadership of the National Conference or the PDP, the two major political players in Kashmir. The meetings with the envoys were conducted in strictly controlled conditions, which is understandable in view of the severe security threats from terrorists. The visit also exposed fissures within the PDP, with the party moving to expel some leaders who met the envoys. The government conveyed its position on the situation during a briefing for the envoys by security officials and army commanders, which focused on the threat of cross-border terror and the situation along the Line of Control (LoC). The envoys were also shown videos of infiltration along the LoC. This visit is expected to address some of the international communitys long-standing concerns about the situation in Kashmir. The presence of US ambassador Kenneth Juster in the group adds diplomatic heft to the exercise, especially since Washington has been among the capitals that have been calling for an end to the internet shutdown and the release of all detained politicians. As the external affairs ministry said on Thursday, this visit is just a beginning and more such trips are expected to be organised as the situation in Kashmir progressively normalises. The next test for the government could be a planned visit by envoys from European Union states, who are believed to be holding discussions with the external affairs ministry for more unfettered and unregulated access to Kashmir and the people. Some of the sharpest criticism of the governments actions in Kashmir has come from EU leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has said the situation in the region is not sustainable. At the same time, the government will have to step up efforts to deliver on its promises of better security conditions, improved governance and rapid economic development three factors cited repeatedly for the August 5 move to scrap Kashmirs autonomy. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON (TNS) City officials are willing to take a look at installing cameras that can read vehicle license plates at key intersections, though no exact locations have been designated.I think thats what the residents want us to do to make the island safe for people of all ages, City Councilman Tony Daysog said Tuesday, when the council unanimously decided to ask city staff to come back with a report about the cameras.The city initially considered installing the cameras in February 2018.But it held off moving forward until a city policy was in place to protect peoples privacy by placing restrictions on who has access to any personal information that the city has collected, an action the council took last month, when it also banned the use of face recognition technology.On Tuesday, Councilman Jim Oddie said he was concerned that the license plate readers could undermine peoples privacy, and that the data collected could be misused.Police officers, Oddie said, may detain someone based just on their race or because their vehicle matched one reportedly involved in a crime.That potential for racial profiling is concerning for me, Oddie said.But Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said people should know that they can be under greater scrutiny in public.Theres no expectation of privacy driving down a street or highway in your car, Ashcraft said, adding: I think we owe it to our police department and to our citizens to make these tools available.The council wants city staff to come back with a report on the effectiveness of the cameras in reducing auto theft and on recovering stolen cars, as well as the impact the devices might have on reducing property crime.The council also wants to hear about error rates and the misidentification of vehicles.In February 2018, the council considered a proposal to install 13 cameras at various locations near Alameda entry and exit points, including at Doolittle Drive and Ron Cowan and Harbor Bay parkways.The effort to have the surveillance devices at key locations follows Alameda police being allowed in May 2014 to equip four cruisers with similar cameras, which register hundreds of license plates per minute on moving and parked vehicles.The collected information includes a photo of each plate, GPS coordinates and the date and time the image was captured. The data is stored for six months and then purged, unless investigators are using it or think they might need it for a case, according to Alameda police policy.The data is also shared with the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, which coordinates information among first responders and other agencies.Vice Mayor John Knox White, who put the cameras on Tuesdays agenda, said he wanted to take the temperature of the council about developing a program for their use. Hollywood veteran Jeremy Irons will be presiding over the jury of 2020 edition of Berlin International Film Festival. The announcement was made by the artistic director Carlo Chatrian in a statement posted on the festival's website. "With his distinctive style Jeremy Irons has embodied some iconic characters that have accompanied me throughout my journey in cinema, making me aware of the complexity of human beings. "His talent and the choices he has taken both as an artist and as a citizen make me feel proud to welcome him as president of the Jury for the 70th edition of the Berlinale," Chatrian said. Irons, who most recently featured in HBO's "Watchmen", said he has "admired" and "always enjoyed attending" the annual film gala. "Being in Berlin for the festival will be a treat giving me the opportunity not only to remind myself of that great city but also to watch this year's crop of films chosen by the festival, followed by the opportunity to discuss their merits with my fellow jury members," Irons said. The 71-year-old actor has previously attended the festival as a guest in 2011 when his film, JC Chandor-directed "Margin Call" participated in the main competition. He returned to the festival in 2013 with Bille August's "Night Train to Lisbon", which the Berlinale showed out of competition. Irons is best known for starring in films such as "Brideshead Revisited", "Moonlighting", "Betrayal", "The Mission", "Die Hard with a Vengeance", "Lolita" and " Kingdom of Heaven", among others. He won an Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of the accused attempted murderer Claus von Bulow in 1990's "Reversal of Fortune". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rail passengers made almost 17,000 compensation claims every day over the summer because of late-running trains. The official figures lay bare the chaos facing the railways. The Office of Rail and Road said there were 1.4million claims from disgruntled passengers for trains which were at least 15 minutes late between July 21 and October 12 last year. There were 1.4 million claims for late trains between July 21 and October 12, according to figures. The rise is due to recent changes which mean more passengers (file image) are eligible for compensation Of those, almost 85 per cent were settled in passengers favour around 1.1million, or 13,000 a day. This is up two per cent on the same period the year before. A total of 1.4million claims were lodged over the summer, up 13 per cent in a year. The rise is due to recent changes which mean more passengers are eligible for compensation. Previously, many operators would only pay out if a train was delayed by 30 minutes or more. Many have now switched so that passengers can claim a 25 per cent refund on the cost of a single ticket if there train is delayed between 15 and 29 minutes. Much of the compensation bill will have to be settled by taxpayers, because the state-funded Network Rail is liable when delays are caused by faulty infrastructure, including signal failures, broken tracks and overhead lines. Almost 85 per cent were settled in passengers' favour - around 13,000 a day (file image) Private train companies are responsible only if the delay was caused by a fault with the train or a member of staff for example, a driver not turning up. Crisis-hit South Western Railway and West Midlands Trains were among the operators who received the largest number of claims. Both are facing the prospect of having their contracts torn up by the Government. Ministers are preparing to announce major changes to the franchising system after a review by former BA boss Keith Williams (file image) Yesterday, ministers announced a possible renationalisation of Arriva-run Northern Rail after years of strikes, cancellations and delays. Earlier this year, auditors revealed that South Western Railway could be renationalised within a year because of losses of 139million. Yesterday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the Government will decide within the next three weeks whether to renationalise Northern, or give the operator a short-term contract to stabilise performance. Arriva boss Chris Burchell, said many of Northerns problems were outside its control, such as strikes. Elsewhere, campaigners are demanding ministers take action against TransPennine Express. It has had to cancel almost half of services due to the late delivery of new trains. Passengers have also poured scorn on West Midlands Trains because of delays. On Wednesday, Boris Johnson said the bell is tolling for West Midlands rail. Ministers are preparing to announce major changes to the franchising system after a review by former BA boss Keith Williams. Under the current arrangements, private companies pay the Government a premium to run lines as a franchise, keeping the profits. The Williams review is expected to recommend the Government receives fare income and pays operators based on performance. David Sidebottom, of independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: Passengers must claim compensation every time. HARTFORD, Conn. - Long before she disappeared, Jennifer Dulos told the court handling her divorce case that her husband was verbally abusive and she feared for her life. And well before Fotis Dulos was arrested this week on murder and kidnapping charges, advocates noted the highly publicized case appeared to be an all-too-common episode of domestic abuse. That was driven home by the Connecticut State Police officers involved in Wednesdays arrest who wore purple neckties and pins depicting purple ribbons, in a nod to victims of domestic violence. In Connecticut and around the country, advocates say the case has helped bring attention to the scourge and highlighted questions about how to improve the family court system. Jennifer Dulos experience is that which is experienced by so many survivors of intimate partner violence in the family courts, said Karen Jarmoc, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. We hear about this all the time. It is cookie cutter. The 50-year-old mother of five from New Canaan vanished May 24. State police say Fotis Dulos killed her that day and enlisted friends to help cover it up. Fotis Dulos, who is under house arrest after posting $6 million bond, has denied any involvement in his estranged wifes disappearance. In filings in the divorce case, Jennifer Dulos said she was worried for her safety and that of the couples children, who are now living with her mother in New York. I am afraid of my husband, Jennifer Dulos wrote in an a 2017 affidavit. I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him. I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way. Lauren Almeida, the familys nanny, told investigators her first thought was that Fotis did something after discovering Jennifer Dulos hadnt shown up for a childs orthodontist appointment. According to a police affidavit, Almeida and Jennifer Dulos friend Laurel Watts later contacted New Canaan police to report that a mother of five was missing and that she was going through a divorce with a man that has threatened her in the past and owns a gun. Fotis Dulos, 52, denied his estranged wifes claims and argued Jennifer Dulos was unfit to have sole custody of the children. Warning signs in the case may have gone unheeded, Jarmoc said. Jennifer Dulos concerns really didnt seem to be viewed as a red flag in the court by the judge, she said. Jennifer Dulos emergency request for full custody of the children in 2017 was initially denied because the plaintiff has not established by a preponderance of the evidence that there is an immediate and present risk of physical danger or psychological harm to the parties children, according to court documents. Jennifer Dulos was ultimately granted full custody less than a year later. Nationally, more than half of killings of girls and women are related to intimate partner violence, according to a 2017 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Connecticut couple also had filed 300 motions in their divorce and child custody cases before Jennifer Dulos disappeared. State and national advocates say that reflects a need for judges to better recognize and address so-called litigation abuse, long stretches of drawn-out court motions and appearances they say can be their own form of abuse or become a possible warning sign for possible violence. We find that abusers often file multiple things in order to drag their ex-partner into court, to do that to harass them, to be near them, to cause them financial hardship and stress, said Jarmoc, whose group is exploring legislative proposals that could lead to criminal penalties for unnecessary filings in family court. Most family court cases in Connecticut are resolved in under a year and dont involve hundreds of filings, Michael Albis, the states chief administrative judge for family matters, said during a July hearing about how the family courts could better handle cases involving domestic violence. He noted that new judges in Connecticut go through 14 days of training before they appear on the bench and that four are dedicated to handling domestic violence cases. State Sen. Alex Bergstein, a Democrat from Greenwich, called Friday for new legislation that would require family court judges to first consider claims of domestic violence and child abuse when handling child custody cases and weighing 16 factors. The bill calls for holding an evidence-based hearing on the abuse claims. This would really increase awareness, focus and elevate the standards by which peoples lives are being determined, she said. Bergstein said she is also interested in pursuing legislation concerning litigation abuse, noting that Jennifer Dulos was her constituent. Danielle Pollack, an ambassador specializing in family court reform with Child USA, a Philadelphia-based organization, said abuse gets lost, it gets discredited when courts look simultaneously at other factors when granting custody, especially claims of alienation. Were helping states build their custody statutes in a way that puts the safety of the children first, said Pollack, whose group helped to pass legislation in Louisiana and his currently on a similar bill in Pennsylvania. Theyre based on a recent resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Kids are still getting in these very dangerous situations. Manchester United have opened talks with Sporting Lisbon over Bruno Fernandes and could make an offer in the coming days, according to reports in Portugal. O Jogo say that United are preparing a proposal to buy the Sporting Lisbon captain, with his club holding out for 60million. United have a shortage of midfielders with Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay injured and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes to do business in the January window. Manchester United have reportedly opened talks with Sporting Lisbon over Bruno Fernandes Both United and Tottenham tried to entice Fernandes away from Sporting in the summer transfer window but were unsuccessful. The Portugal international even signed a new contract in November, but the deal hasn't deterred United. Fernandes has been in strong form for Sporting this season, scoring 13 goals in 24 games. New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Friday released images of the suspects, caught on the CCTV camera, during the violence that took place in Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on January 5. Delhi Police named nine people involved in incidents leading up to the violence. It named JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, Chunchun Kumar, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Samanta, Sucheta Talukdar, Yogendra Bharadwaj, Pankaj Kumar, Vaskar Vijay, and Vikas Patel as those identified so far. Reacting on Delhi Police probe, Aishe Ghosh said that the cops can do their enquiry but she has evidences to show that she was attacked. I have full faith in the law & order of this country that investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police bias? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault, Aishe Ghosh said. "We have not done anything wrong. We are not scared of Delhi Police. We will stand by the law and take our movement ahead peacefully and democratically," she added. Also Read: JNU Violence: Police Release Images Of Suspects, Name 9 Including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh Joy Tirkey, who is heading the SIT, said, the unrest had begun on January 3. The Students' Federation of India and other 3 groups, tampered the server and due to this, registrations were halted, he said. A large majority of students wanted the registration to be done but some people were not allowing it. On her meeting with MHRD secretary Amit Khare, Aishe Ghosh, We demanded that JNU VC should be removed from his post immediately as he is not able to run the university. We need a VC that can help in a fresh beginning and can help in bringing normalcy at the campus. Also Read: Deepika Padukone Knew She Stood With People Who Want Destruction Of India: Smriti Irani They have assured that they will have positive intervention in the matter and release a circular on the issue soon, she added. Our Demand For VC's Resignation Stands: JNUSU The JNU Students Union stands on its demand for the removal of Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, but any decision on whether to call off the agitation against the fee hike will be taken later, said its president Aishe Ghosh on Friday after meeting HRD Ministry officials. She also said that the university students union has sought the HRD ministrys intervention in FIRs and proctorial inquiry initiated against them by varsity administration. Our demand for JNU VCs resignation stands. We will call meeting with counsellors and office bearers and take call on whether to call off the agitation or not. We have put forward our points, waiting for HRD Ministrys decision to take final call, she said. Advertisement Demonstrations calling for 'no war with Iran' took place in 370 communities across the country on Thursday with protesters stepping out in the likes of Washington DC, Nevada, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and LA to do their part to deescalate tensions between the countries. Politicians including Ilhan Omar got up on the podium to speak during a rally in Washington DC as crowd flocked to the Capitol and protested against the president's policies and further escalation of tensions with Iran. But in Toledo, Ohio, it was anti-Trump versus pro-Trump demonstrators while the president was in the city for his first rally of the year. 'Imagine going to war over a tweet': One protestor in Ohio held a sign calling out Trump for his social media posts The atmosphere was fairly positive at an anti-war protest at the Federal Courthouse in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada Pro and anti-Trump protesters face each other near the Huntington Center in Toledo Democratic representative from Minnesota Ilhan Omar speaks at a protest against a war with Iran outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC MoveOn, Indivisible, Win Without War, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and About Face: Veterans Against the War groups protest against a war with Iran outside the US Capitol One sign held by a man wearing a Trump mask read 'I am your worst enemy'. Another man wearing a mask held a placard reading 'No War or Sanctions on Iran!' One woman's sign read '9/11 An inside job to lead to war and Guantanamo'. Pictured, Witness Against Torture demonstrators stand with their heads covered Shortly after the protest, the House of Representatives was slated to vote on a war powers resolution to limit any military action from the Trump administration against Iran A liberal website promoted rallies in response to a series of events kicked by the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Lieutenant general and commander of the Quds Force Qassem Soleimani last Friday. President Donald J. Trump ordered the drone strike which killed the general near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. MoveOn, Indivisible, Win Without War, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and About Face: Veterans Against the War groups protested against a war with Iran outside the US Capitol in Washington DC. One sign held by a man wearing a Trump mask read 'I am your worst enemy'. Another man wearing a mask held a placard reading 'No War or Sanctions on Iran!' Beside a woman's sign reading '9/11 an inside job to lead to war and Guantanamo', were Witness Against Torture demonstrators standing with their heads covered. Shortly after the protests, the House of Representatives was slated to vote on a war powers resolution to limit any military action from the Trump administration against Iran. Signs at a demonstration in San Francisco, California read, 'End American Imperialist War' and 'Impeach the Climate Denier + Warmonger Trump' Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California Protestors participate in the 'No War with Iran' demonstration in San Francisco, California 'Trump's reckless action has needlessly endangered countless lives of U.S. troops, Iraqis, Iranians, and countless other civilians,' MOVEON.ORG states. 'The devastation that a war with Iran could bring upon the earth and humanity cannot be overstated millions of lives hang in the balance. 'We've learned our lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and global endless war.' The website stated the aim of the gathering was for the 'anti-war majority' to get together in a grassroots visibility effort. Signs at a demonstration in San Francisco, California read, 'End American Imperialist War' and 'Impeach the Climate Denier + Warmonger Trump'. Another read: 'War is wrong. Trump is a terrorist. Lock him up!' One man was seen wearing a Trump mask and walked with his wrists in handcuffs in Riverside, California on Thursday In Riverside, California activists rallied at the intersection of 14th Street and Lime. An activist rallies at the intersection of 14th Street and Lime for "No War in Iran" demonstration in Riverside, California In Riverside, California, activists rallied at the intersection of 14th Street and Lime. One man was seen wearing a Trump mask and walked with his wrists in handcuffs. A young woman spoke via a loud speaker and a mature woman held a placard calling for 'no war' as she held up an American flag. But a supporter of the president smirked as anti-Trump protesters chanted slogans near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio on Thursday Another supporter of the US president walks past protesters gathered near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio A supporter of the US president speaks during an interview holding a box of "Trump O's" cereal near the Huntington Center in Toledo A mobile home with flags in support of the US president is parked near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio Political buttons of the US president are displayed near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio A protester holds a 'No More War' sign near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio One man's sign accused the American leader of loving war crimes 'Make America GOOD Again': A demonstrator (left) stood beside others who protested 'No Trump' 'No trust': A man carries a sign as protesters gather near the Huntington Center in Toledo A supporter of the US president holds a banner near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio Anti-Trump protesters chanted slogans near the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday where the president held his first campaign rally of the year. One man's sign accused the American leader of loving war crimes. But there were some supporters of the president. One man smirked as he held up a campaign poster. A woman was seen smiling as she walked past the protesters. Nearby 'Women for Trump' banners could be seen, along with 'Build a Wall 2020' pins. Another supporter wearing a Make America Great Again red cap, held up a banner with the same slogan on the stars and stripes. Peace activists attend the 'No War with Iran' vigil, organized to send an anti-war message to legislators, in front of the Torch of Friendship Park in Miami, Florida Peace activists also attended the vigil, organized to send an anti-war message to legislators, in front of the Torch of Friendship Park in Miami, Florida. The atmosphere seemed fairly positive at an anti-war protest at the Federal Courthouse in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada Anti-war activists even held a rally outside the US embassy in Seoul calling for a deescalation of tensions between the US and Iran. Anti-war activists hold a rally outside the US embassy calling for a deescalation of tensions between the US and Iran, in Seoul Anti-war activists stage a 'die-in' as they hold a rally outside the US embassy calling for a deescalation of tensions between the US and Iran, in Seoul TAMPA, Fla. - Patients with advanced melanoma who develop metastases in the leptomeninges, the fluid filled membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, have an extremely dismal prognosis. Most patients only survive for 8 to 10 weeks after diagnosis. One reason for this poor prognosis is that very little information is known about the molecular development of leptomeningeal melanoma metastases (LMM), making it difficult to develop effective therapies. Researchers in Moffitt Cancer Center's Donald A. Adam Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center of Excellence and the Department of Neuro-Oncology sought to change this by performing an extensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with LMM. Their findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Cancer development and progression are highly regulated by intricate interactions between cancer cells and the surrounding environment. Melanoma cells that invade and metastasize into the leptomeninges interact with the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid. Moffitt researchers wanted to improve their understanding of the development of LMM by analyzing the protein and RNA composition of cerebrospinal fluid from patients with LMM. They compared the molecular profiles of 8 control patients without LMM to 8 patients with LMM, including one LMM patient who had an extraordinary response to treatment and was still alive more than 35 months after diagnosis. They discovered that the cerebrospinal fluid from LMM patients was enriched for proteins involved in innate immunity, proteases and the IGF-signaling pathway. The most commonly altered protein was TGF-1. Interestingly, the one patient who had an extraordinary response to treatment displayed high levels of these proteins at baseline, but expression levels decreased as the patient responded to treatment. However, the protein expression patterns in the remaining LMM patients who had poor responses to treatment were high at baseline and remained high throughout treatment and disease progression. The researcher team, led by Keiran Smalley, Ph.D., director of the Donald A. Adam Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center of Excellence and Peter Forsyth, M.D., Chair of the Department of Neuro-Oncology, hypothesized that the cerebrospinal fluid of LMM patients could impact melanoma cells by modulating their molecular profile. They confirmed this hypothesis by incubating cerebrospinal fluid from the LMM patients with melanoma cells and discovered that the fluid was able to induce activation of proteins and signaling pathways involved in malignant progression, including the PI3K/AKT pathway, integrins, B cell signaling, mitotic cell cycle progression, TNFR, TGF- and oxidative stress. Their findings demonstrate that the cerebrospinal fluid from LMM patients who did not respond to treatment promoted survival of melanoma cells, while the cerebrospinal fluid from the extraordinary responder did not promote survival. These observations suggest that molecules exist within the cerebrospinal fluid that can stimulate melanoma cell survival and prevent cell death. The researchers reported that one of these survival molecules is TGF-. The patient who responded well to treatment had very low to undetectable levels of cerebrospinal fluid TGF-, while those patients who did not respond to treatment had much higher levels of TGF-. The researchers hope that their data will provide important knowledge about LMM and offer insights into potential therapeutic targets. "It is likely that the environment of LMM is a key regulator of both disease progression and therapeutic response. Improved knowledge about the microenvironment of LMM may allow novel therapeutic strategies to be developed that can delay disease progression," explained Smalley. ### This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the State of Florida. About Moffitt Cancer Center Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's scientific excellence, multidisciplinary research, and robust training and education. Moffitt is a Top 10 cancer hospital and has been nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report since 1999. Moffitt's expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet status, its highest distinction. With more than 6,500 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $2.4 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the momentum on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia has a specialized division whose mission is to combat corruption occurrences which are obstructing foreign investments, the NSS said. It said the division is functioning as part of the Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption which was formed in October 2018 as result of reforms. The division is studying the overall investment picture and is revealing the sectors having risks of corruption. The National Security Service Department of Economic Security and Anti Corruption is willing to provide continuous support to the governments steps in the direction of development of favorable investment environment, ensuring equal competition conditions and encouraging investments in the real sector of the economy, the NSS said in a news release. It urged any individuals or companies carrying out foreign investment programs to contact the NSS at +37415579193 or [email protected] in the event of facing any corruption manifestations in the state system during their operations. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan A trove of documents released by Boeing, which showed employees boasting about bullying regulators and customers, are more "troubling" to the public than U.S. regulators, a former air safety investigator told CNBC on Friday. "It paints a very bad light on Boeing, especially in the wake of two 737 Max accidents," said Greg Feith, formerly of the National Transportation Safety Board. "It's really important that the FAA, having looked at these emails ... didn't see any safety-related risk that they didn't already know about." Over 100 pages of internal messages released Thursday by Boeing showed employees bragging about pressuring regulators to approve the now-grounded 737 Max without requiring pilots to undergo simulator training. The emails, shared with the Federal Aviation Administration and lawmakers, "are incredibly damning," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation Committee, which is investigating the Max. "They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally." The FAA, for its part, said the newly released documents don't present any safety risks that weren't already known. And Feith stressed that the emails should be kept in context. "It's troubling from the perspective of the public, seeing the types of internal communications between the employees. I think overall yes, it paints a very bad light on Boeing, especially in the wake of two 737 Max accidents," he said on "Squawk Box." But Feith said the emails don't necessarily show any new safety issues that would worry regulators. "It's really important that the FAA, having looked at these emails, saw some cultural issues, the fact that there is internal bantering, but they didn't see any safety-related risk that they didn't already know about." Boeing had told regulators to remove simulator training from requirements before the FAA approved the jets, which became the company's bestselling aircraft, in 2017, partly due to easily transitioning pilots from older models to the Max. Though on Tuesday, Boeing reversed its stance and said it would recommend simulator training for pilots before the 737 Max can return to service. The announcement comes ahead of Monday's arrival of Boeing's new CEO, David Calhoun. CNBC reported in December that Calhoun's goals include improving transparency with its airline customers and regulators. To that point, Feith said that Calhoun should bring on an internal and external group of auditors to probe the company. "And compare and find out if, in fact, these organizational issues did have a very detrimental effect on safety," Feith said. "Now, while the general public may perceive that, when you look at how long we've been certifying airplanes in the United States and how long Boeing's been certifying these airplanes, I really have a hard time believing that with all of these comments and these emails that Boeing would turn out an unsafe airplane." CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report. Their firm friendship is well-known following their career-defining Friends stint. And best pals Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox were again hanging out on Wednesday as they hit the town at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica for four hours. The Golden Globe winner, 50, and nominee, 55, didn't leave the luxurious Italian restaurant until well after 11PM, where they were joined by jewellery designer Jennifer Meyer and Tom Hanks' second wife Rita Wilson. Cheers! Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston (R) and Courteney Cox (M) wined and dined with several gal pals at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Wednesday night for over four hours Jennifer and Courteney out on glamorous displays as they hit the town in skin-tight jeans, flaunting their age-defying figures in all their glory. The Horrible Bosses actress donned a pair of racy knee-high leather boots tucked into jeans as she emerged from the restaurant. Courteney wore a pair of oversized clear lens glasses paired with a silk shirt tucked into grey washed jeans and sky-high court shoes. She wore her dark tresses in a centre parting with locks falling loose over her shoulders for the perfect glam look. Ladies night! The 50-year-old Golden Globe winner (R) and the 55-year-old Golden Globe nominee didn't leave the luxurious Italian restaurant until well after 11PM Black, blue, and grey all over: Also joining Jennifer and Courteney on Wednesday were Tobey Maguire's ex-wife Jennifer Meyer (L) and Tom Hanks' second wife Rita Wilson Lovely: On Thursday Courtney also cut a stylish figure in a cream ruffled blouse and leather jacket as she stepped out for dinner with her pals at Craig's in West Hollywood Chic: The actress highlighted her slender physique by tucking the blouse into her indigo denim jeans as she stepped out for the evening Off she goes! Following her reunion with Jennifer the previous evening, Courtney was in high spirits for the outing Dressed to impress: The TV star finished her look with her gold jacket hanging on her shoulders and red knee-high leather boots as she headed out of the eatery Jennifer is godmother to Courteney's daughter Coco, 15, from her 11-year marriage to Scream co-star David Arquette, which ended in divorce in 2013. On November 12, THR reported that 'the six leads and creators would participate' in an unscripted Friends reunion special to air on $15/month HBO Max, but 'a deal is far from done.' Courteney, Jennifer, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc from the NBC sitcom - which concluded 2004 after 10 seasons - recently celebrated their 25th anniversary together. Maternal: Jennifer is godmother to Cox's 15-year-old daughter Coco (L) from her 11-year marriage to David Arquette, which ended in divorce in 2013 (pictured Tuesday) Cross your fingers! On November 12, THR reported that 'the six leads and creators would participate' in an unscripted Friends reunion special to air on $15/month HBO Max, but 'a deal is far from done' (pictured October 15) For her role as Alex Levy in The Morning Show, Jennifer is up for best actress in a drama series trophy at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards, which air January 19 on TNT/TBS. Jennifer faces heavy competition against The Crown duo Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as The Handmaid's Tale star Elisabeth Moss and Killing Eve's Jodie Comer. Apple TV+ has already renewed The Morning Show - which the Valley Girl co-produces - for a second season despite its 63% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Showrunner Kerry Ehrin told THR of season two last month: 'It's like a huge building fell on everybody and it's about escaping from the wreckage.' Airing January 19 on TNT/TBS! For her role as Alex Levy in The Morning Show, Jennifer is up for best actress in a drama series trophy at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards I began to wonder what was happening down the hill at Lake Conjola, about 3 or 4 kilometers away. As I came into town, I noticed that it was not as badly affected as Conjola Park. Here, there was a stretch of about four or five homes. But one home that was in the middle of this main street was engulfed in flames. The neighbors on each side of it were trying to hose down their own houses to stop the fire from spreading. They were using their shirts as masks because there was smoke everywhere. I moved some garbage bins that were burning and melting. A neighbor moved some bins, too. At that moment, a little after 1 p.m., a power line to the house that was burning fell and nearly hit him. It was then that I saw a group of kangaroos coming up the middle of the road. They were obviously running from another fire. And this one kangaroo, for whatever reason, ran right in front of the fire between me and the house. I reacted and raised the camera so I could compose that one image. At the time, I remembered thinking to myself, Yeah got it, good shot, but I never allow myself to get too excited about a photo in the middle of something. Im always pushing myself and thinking: Whats next, whats next? A photojournalist is trying to tell the story with pictures, and you need a series of strong images. Youre looking to document everything thats happening. So I kept moving. I went down to the water at Lake Conjola, and I saw over a thousand tourists seeking refuge there. Some had walked out in the water itself. Ive been very lucky to learn from experienced professionals how to read fires and stay safe. Its incredibly important to stay calm and not make any irrational decisions. I wear special, full body protective clothing thats fire retardant. I also have a respirator with air filters. But my face is exposed to the heat, which singes your skin. The worst part? My ears. They get so hot I photograph with my arm up against them when close to the flames. And then youve got the smoke to deal with. Jennifer Faerber and her three-month-old son, Harrison, are packing their bags to leave Canberra in search of clean air, having barely left their house since December 8. "I've cried, apologising to my baby as I feed him for bringing him into this and for not being able to protect him from it," Ms Faerber says. "His little lungs have probably smoked a pack a day for a third of his life, even while we shelter inside." Jennifer Faerber and her three-month-old son, Harrison. Although the comparison with cigarette smoke is inexact, on the first day of 2020, parts of Canberra had an air quality index (AQI) reading of above 7500. Anything above 200 is considered dangerous to your health. The advice from ACT Health has been to stay inside with windows and doors closed and avoiding the use of airconditioners that rely on outside air. While Ms Faerber has taken the ACT Health advice and stayed indoors during this time, inside her home isnt much better. After buying an air purifier, she was shocked to see the readings in her sons nursery surpassed an AQI of 450, almost 10 times higher than is considered healthy. Rick OShea arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Joe Duffy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney U2s Larry Mullen arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Moya Doherty arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Eileen Grace, widow of Brendan Grace, arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Dickie Rock arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Lorraine Keane arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Ryan Tubridy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Ryan Tubridy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Mike Murphy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney U2s Larry Mullen arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney U2s Larry Mullen arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Tom Dunne arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Dave Fanning arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Maura Ryan arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Larry Gogan funeral. Larrys remains in the hearse after the funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney The trick to success is simple, Larry Gogan used to say. Stick around long enough to become a habit. And after 59 years on air, listening to the man with the golden voice had become a reassuring habit for many thousands. Most of us cant remember life without Larry, his lifelong friend, Father Brian DArcy, said in his funeral homily in the Church of St Pius X in Templeogue. Expand Close Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Picture; Gerry Mooney Hundreds of mourners gathered at the church on a frosty morning to pay respects to the late DJ who died on Tuesday surrounded by his family in the care of Kiltipper Woods Care Centre. Chief mourners were Larrys children Gerard, Orla, David, Grainne and Sinead, and his 12 grandchildren. Expand Close Dave Fanning arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dave Fanning arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney We won the lottery to have him as a Dad and Granddad, his daughter Orla told mourners. We were truly blessed to have had the coolest and most-with-it Dad and Granddad, better known to you and his grandchildren as Larry but as Lorcan to us, his children. Expand Close U2s Larry Mullen arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp U2s Larry Mullen arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney We loved him so much. Not only as a father, but as a great pal. He was always there for us. He was never negative. His motto was 'there's always a solution.'" The family took comfort in believing that he will finally be reunited with the love of his life - Florrie who died 18 years ago of breast cancer. Expand Close Maura Ryan arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Maura Ryan arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Larry met Florrie when she was 15. Both their fathers ran newspaper shops in Dublin, and he was immediately struck by her beauty. They were engaged two years later and married when she was 21. He remained devoted to her for not only for the rest of her life, but his too. They were inseparable, Father DArcy said. When Florrie died, Larry was heartbroken, but now they are together again. His grandchildren Poppi, Seb, Ben, Zoe, Jamie, and Jodie brought symbols of life to the altar; a thesaurus he used when labouring over his crossword puzzles, treasured photographs of Larry and Florrie and Larry smiling widely, surrounded by all his 12 grandkids. Expand Close Tom Dunne arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tom Dunne arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney They also brought up the tools of Larrys trade in the form of the most battered set of headphones on the RTE lot, a newspaper filled with celebrity gossip, and a pack of wine gums which his grandchildren used to pinch when he wasnt looking. DArcy spoke of Gogans skill as a broadcaster telling mourners that he was the greatest DJ in Ireland. Expand Close Mike Murphy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mike Murphy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney And thats undoubtedly true; he was a skilled and shrewd broadcaster with an encyclopedic knowledge of music, but that wasnt the only or perhaps even the main reason people tuned in. It was also for his character, his avuncular charm, his authenticity, humour and warmth. He brought you along with the music, swept you up in the energy, fan Eddie OBrien (60) from Churchtown said. Expand Close Ryan Tubridy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ryan Tubridy arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney He had a youthful enthusiasm on the radio. I liked that. And he kept his voice till the end. Father Brian DArcy described him as an extraordinary man who was very ordinary. "His gift was the extraordinary things he could do. For he himself remained rooted in the ground. Expand Close Lorraine Keane arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lorraine Keane arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney "He was very honest, obliging, happy and easy to work with." News of Gogans death broke on Tuesday shortly before the funeral of RTEs Marian Finucane, and weeks after the death of Gay Byrne. It truly is the end of an era, DArcy said. Expand Close Dickie Rock arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dickie Rock arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney Colleagues from RTE including Director General Dee Forbes, Moya Doherty, Bryan Dobson, Louise McSharry, and Doireann Garrihy were in attendance. U2s Larry Mullins, Dickie Rock, Brendan Graces widow Eileen Doyle, Marty Whelan, Eoghan McDermott, Ronan Collins, Ian Dempsey, and former head of 2FM John Clarke were also among mourners. The President of Ireland was represented by Aide de Campe, Colonel Liam Condon, while the Taoiseach was represented by Commandant Caroline Burke. Expand Close Eileen Grace, widow of Brendan Grace, arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eileen Grace, widow of Brendan Grace, arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney The funeral service was punctuated with songs performed by Larrys grandniece Rachel Goode. She sang a particular powerful rendition of U2s One - one of Larrys favourite songs. Father Brian DArcy concluded by commenting on Larrys likability. Expand Close Moya Doherty arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Moya Doherty arrives for the Larry Gogan funeral mass in Templeogue. Picture; Gerry Mooney He loved fun. He was adored by everyone. We all knew that he was without doubt the greatest disc jockey we were ever likely to hear or see. He was a hero to everybody. He helped us all on our way. The last thing I'll say is this. There's only one person in the world that can think of that I never heard anyone say a bad word about. Never in my life did anyone ever say a bad word about Larry Gogan to me, and that is over a period of well over 50 years. I think that's a great legacy of Larry Gogan." The number of properties bought by foreigners in Vietnam remains modest. A report presented before the National Assembly showed that 800 foreign institutions and individuals have bought houses in Vietnam, a very small figure if noting that Vietnam opened the market five years ago. The 2014 Law on Housing which took effect on July 1, 2015 allowedforeigners to buy houses in Vietnam. The house prices in Vietnam are attractive to foreigners, especially those from Eastern Asia such as China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. However, the number of transactions remains inconsiderable and this is attributed to the legal framework. The Korea Times cited Korea Wealth Report 2019 by KB Finance Group as showing that Vietnam is one of the most attractive foreign property markets in the eyes of Korean wealthy people. 57.1 percent of surveyed people said they want to invest in Vietnam. 800 foreign institutions and individuals have bought houses in Vietnam, a very small figure if noting that Vietnam opened the market five years ago. South Korean individuals and businesses spent $56.1 million to buy real estate in Vietnam. The survey was conducted of 400 South Korean wealthy people with assets of over 1 billion won ($831,000). Singapore, China and Malaysia are the other countries which have interest in the Vietnamese market, with 32.1 percent, 30.7 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively. Vietnam ranked second, after the US, in the list of countries that South Korean individuals and businesses bought properties in 2018. According to the Ministry of Construction, there are 400,000 foreigners living and working in Vietnam. The number is expected to increase in the time to come as Vietnam is expanding global economic integration, which will lead to foreigners higher demand for houses. Loki, a Japanese citizen, has just bought an apartment in Thu Duc district in HCM City, though he has been living there for five years. He said in Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon that the Law on Housing allows foreigners to own houses in Vietnam, but this issue is covered by many laws. I found that there are many laws that cover the foreigners purchases of houses in Vietnam and I still feel uneasy, he said, adding that there are many foreigners who want to buy houses but are still hesitating to make transactions. Foreigners say that Vietnams laws are amended often. Do Hoang Duong, general director of Gia Phu Real Estate, advocates a policy on opening the market to foreigners to buy houses in Vietnam. The law is now open to allow foreigners to buy houses, but there should be more guidelines and more concrete regulations on the issue, he said. Linh Ha Real estate retains second position in FDI attraction Real estate remained the second biggest magnet for FDI in 2019, following processing manufacturing, as it attracted $3.88 billion FDI, equivalent to 10.2 percent of the total registered. The Plug Poetry Project returns to the fifth floor of The Edney Innovation Center on Feb. 22 to feature award-winning poet Jose Olivarez. The Plug is an arts initiative started by Christian J. Collier in 2019 that strives to honor and grow Chattanooga's poetry community by providing resources, classes, and events. Jose Olivarz is the son of Mexican immigrants and the author of the book of poems, Citizen Illegal, a finalist for the prestigious PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. In 2018, he was awarded the first annual Author and Artist in Justice Award from the Phillips Brooks House Association. Along with Felicia Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he is co-editing the forthcoming anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT. He is the co-host of the poetry podcast, The Poetry Gods and a recipient of fellowships from CantoMundo, Poets House, the Bronx Council on the Arts, & the Conversation Literary Festival. A recipient of the 2019 Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Paris Review, Chicago Magazine and elsewhere. On the afternoon of Feb. 22, a poetry workshop will take place from 12-2 p.m. Interested writers should email Mr. Collier at thespeakeasypoetry@gmail.com to secure a spot as soon as possible due to limited space. The evening reading will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Local poets Moll King and Tiffany Herron will open the night with sets of original material. Tickets are available here. By PTI LONDON: Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle has returned to Canada following the couple's bombshell announcement that they were quitting their frontline royal duties, their spokeswoman said on Friday. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent an extended Christmas break in Canada with their baby son Archie, before returning to break the news that has rocked the royal family. "I can confirm reports that the duchess is in Canada," the couple's spokeswoman told AFP, without providing further details. The Daily Mail newspaper reported that the royals left eight-month-old Archie with his nanny in Canada when they flew to Britain earlier this week. It said Meghan, a former US television actress, headed back to rejoin him on Thursday and "she may stay there for the foreseeable future". An unnamed source was quoted as saying by the domestic Press Association news agency the duchess had travelled to the UK "to attend some meetings" before returning to Canada Senior royals were caught off guard by Wednesday's announcement that the couple wanted to "step back" from their roles. Queen Elizabeth II reportedly held crisis calls on Thursday involving Harry, his brother Prince William and their father Prince Charles, the heir to the throne. William, Harry and their wives have been viewed as the modern face of the royal family, hailed for bringing fresh energy into the institution. But Harry and Meghan last year admitted to struggling with the spotlight following their wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and Archie's birth a year later. The couple have lashed out at negative news coverage -- Harry calling some of it racist -- and taken several papers to court. The prince also confirmed he was growing apart from his brother, who is second in line to the throne. The couple said they wanted to forge "a progressive new role", split their time between Britain and North America and become financially independent. A palace source on Thursday said the queen had instructed aides to work "at pace" with Meghan and Harry and the government "to find workable solutions". Key questions include whether they will keep their royal titles and how much of their funding -- mostly from Prince Charles -- they will maintain. The couple's decision follows a turbulent year for the wider royal family. Prince Andrew announced he was retiring from public duties after a disastrous TV interview about his friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Supreme Court ruling on curbs in Jammu and Kashmir expected today Supreme Court will on Friday pronounce its verdict on a bunch of petitions against the internet and communication blackout imposed in Jammu and Kashmir. Read more here. Magh Mela begins today, 32 lakh to take Paush Purnima dip The stage is all set for beginning of the 43-day long Magh Mela from Friday with the first official bathing of Paush Purnima wherein about 32 lakh devotees are expected to take a dip in the Sangam. Read more here. Anti-TB drive to focus on women, trans persons Governments tuberculosis (TB) elimination programme will focus on reaching out to women, transgenders and vulnerable populations that fall through the cracks because of discrimination in access to treatment. Read more here. DGCA suspends two GoAir pilots over runway excursion The aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the license of a GoAir captain for six months and that of a co-pilot for three months for a runway excursion that took place in November last year. Read more here. At pre-budget meet, sops for rural sector, SC/STs among suggestions More sops for scheduled tribes and castes, the agriculture and the rural sectors, apart from measures to revive the economy were some of the suggestions presented to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman by her party colleagues at a pre-budget interaction. Read more here. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma meet Amit Shah to plan strategy over CAA Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi late on Thursday evening. Read more here. Jamtara review: Netflix Indias underdog series washes away the stench of recent big-budget failures At a time when the nexus between politics, the police, and the press is being keenly observed, Netflixs latest Indian original series, Jamtara, makes a somewhat assured attempt at exposing it for what it really is. Read more here. India vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I | Indias No. 1 debate: Shikhar Dhawan or KL Rahul? As India face Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday, Shikhar Dhawan would want to revive form with KL Rahul hitting top gear. Read more here. The now engaged duo slept in a temporary bedroom in the boot of the Toyota Land Cruiser during the trip They passed through 3 continents, 23 countries, and avoided a suicide bomber in the mountains of Pakistan Advertisement A Briton moving from New Zealand to Gloucestershire couldn't bear to part with his Toyota Land Cruiser so he drove it 9,000 miles all the way home. Joss Quilty spent 10 months in his beloved jeep over three continents and 23 countries - at one point narrowly avoiding a suicide bomber. The 30-year-old decided to take on the epic journey with his girlfriend Romy Romagnoli - because he didn't want to leave his motor Down Under. The pair shipped the 6,000 car to Malaysia and began the 9,000 mile trek from there - arriving back in time for Christmas. Joss Quilty can be seen uncorking a bottle of wine as he sets up camp with his girlfriend Romy Romagnoli (not pictured) on a Turkish beach last year This image shows Joss driving the Toyota Land Cruiser through the Indian Himalayas last year The Toyota Land Cruiser sits surrounded by mopeds on a ferry crossing in Thailand last year They passed through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran before reaching Europe. They then worked their way across Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montengro, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France - ending up at home in Thornbury, Glos. Joss proposed to Romy, 30, upon their return - bringing the trip to a perfect end. Pictured is the route that Joss and Romy would have taken during their trip last year This photo, taken last year, shows Joss having a morning shave in Turkey. The pair shipped the 6,000 car to Malaysia and began the trek from there The Land Cruiser can be seen as the couple arrive in Malaysia with a flat battery last year. The couple passed through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran before reaching Europe Romy Romagnoli can be seen sandwiched between two Pakistani policemen last year. Joss said the pair had a close shave on the Pakistan-Afghan border after an armed guard saw they were approaching a female suicide bomber The van and Romy are pictured facing the vast Laos mountainscape during the couple's journey last year. The couple then worked their way across Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montengro, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France - ending up at home in Thornbury, Glos A man carrying a bundle of grass is pictured chatting to Joss in Nepal last year. Joss proposed to Romy, 30, upon their return - bringing the trip to a 'perfect end' He said: 'I had bought this old Toyota and kind of wanted to keep it. It's a really good car and I'm just amazed that it was possible. 'Our budget was very tight for the whole trip. We tried to sleep in the vehicle the whole way, with mattresses in the back. 'Romy and I were very much in this together in terms of making decisions - to drive the car back, choosing the route, splitting the money 50/50. Joss is pictured leaning on the land cruiser as the couple crossed the Indian Himalayas last year. Joss said that the budget for the trip was incredibly tight and they tried to sleep in the cruiser as much as possible A pair of elaborate trucks photographed by the couple during their travels in Pakistan last year. Joss said that the interactions with people outweighed the potential danger risks Romy can be seen meeting children close to Osama Bin Laden's former compound in Pakistan last year. The duo were guarded by men with AK-47s for certain parts of the trip 'There is no way I could have done the trip without her. She's tough and very keen on a challenge!' He added: 'There is danger but everyone you meet is so kind and welcoming - that's what makes it. 'We had to have armed guards for some parts - when you follow the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This photo shows the couple driving through India's Baralachala pass, which is close to Jammu and Kashmir This photo shows Romy smiling behind Myanmar officials at the border last year This photo shows the couple having dinner in Pakistan during their travels last year. On their return, Joss proposed to Romy (pictured) The Land Cruiser sits at the edge of a lake as the couple get set up for a beer in Bulgaria last year The couple can be seen parked on a beach, ready to camp, in Montenegro during their travels last year The Land Cruiser is pictured as Joss takes it through the Indian mountains last year 'We had a close shave with the Taliban there, after leaving a military base. We had a guy with an AK-47 with us in the car. 'We were driving along when he leaned forward and told us to drive fast because there was a female suicide bomber nearby. 'I was s******* it - the car could only do a maximum of 50mph! I don't know what happened next. We never heard.' The Land Cruiser can be seen surrounded by armed guards during the couple's journey along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border last year The land cruiser is pictured parked in front of a Pakistani mountain range Joss is pictured looking out to sea on a hammock on a Thai beach last year Joss also had problems getting into trouble-hit Iran with his UK passport - although Romy sailed through with her Italian credentials. He said: 'It was really difficult. It took me a few months of effort to get a visa - and $1000 (765).' But the pair said the majority of people they encountered were lovely - and willing to do anything for them. This photo shows the couple camping near the Russian border in Georgia last year This photo shows the couple camping in front of mountains in Pakistan last year An 'English wine shop' that the couple passed in the Indian Himalayas is pictured in this image from last year He said: 'They all wanted to help - even though they had nothing. It's the people you meet that make the places. 'One woman brought out her baby to look at me because it had not seen a white person before.' Accountant Joss bought the red car while he was living and working in New Zealand. He and Romy then spent another 6,000 on renovations as it had suffered some wear and tear since its manufacture in 2000. The couple were inspired to take on the challenge after getting fed up of hearing their friends talk about their experiences. Joss said: 'All of our friends are adventurers. We would go to the pub and they would make you think: "I should be doing something with my life". 'After that we just decided to do it.' This photo shows the couple having lunch in Laos last year. For the entirety of the journey, the pair tried to sleep on mattresses in the back of the cruiser This photo shows the couple driving along a Cambodian road last year The couple can be seen after arriving at a mosque in Pakistan last year This photo shows the couple on their first night camping in New Zealand before their mammoth journey began This photo shows the couple camping in the Laotian hills last year Joss proposed to social worker Romy in a pub when they finally arrived back home, after five years together. She said yes and the couple have now decided to move up to Scotland - with the Toyota. But they are hoping to do another trip before they go - possible travelling from Alaska, in the USA, to Argentina. Joss said: 'Walking around Bristol doesn't exactly have the same appeal. 'The people we saw, the way they live [when travelling] - we came back and people were arguing about vegan sausage rolls. It was just depressing.' Taiwan is an Asian democracy of strategic interest to the US and China - Getty Images Europe When the islanders on the windswept Taiwanese archipelago of Matsu go to the polls this Saturday, Lii Wen, the enthusiastic young candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, knows he has little chance of winning a seat. But he still considers his electoral race a victory. Matsus 13,000-strong population will make their free choice between the DPP and opposition Kuomintang (KMT) parliamentary and presidential candidates within sight of China, where many have extended family in Fujian province, a few short miles away, who are not afforded the same rights. Merely by holding elections in Matsu, its a testimony to how Chinese culture and democracy are not incompatible and its not what some in the Chinese Communist Party would want people to think, said Mr Lii. Elections in Taiwan, an East Asian democracy of 23 million, are a joyful affair. After Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese Nationalist leader, fled the Communists and retreated to the island with his Kuomintang forces in 1949, he ruled mercilessly, pursuing critics and imposing martial law that was only lifted in 1987. Elections in Taiwan are colourful events Credit: Ng Han Guan/AP Five election cycles since the first direct presidential poll in 1996, Taiwan now presents a dynamic, democratic alternative to Chinas authoritarian police state, boasting one of the most free societies in Asia. In contrast to its overbearing neighbour, which views Taiwan as its own territory to annex by force if necessary it enjoys a vibrant press and uncensored internet, has strong ties with the United States, and champions liberal values and human rights, moving recently to legalise same-sex marriage. A successful Taiwanese democracy shows that democracy can not only work in a Chinese-speaking country but it can thrive in a Chinese-speaking country. That is very important for 1.4 billion folks on the other side of the [Taiwan] Strait, said Enoch Wu, another DPP candidate running in the capital, Taipei. That tells us that this part of the world can look very different for a lot of folks, not to mention our friends in Hong Kong. If we can imagine a democratic China, that would make life easier for a lot of people. Story continues Enoch Wu is one of the DPP's most prolific candidates Credit: Betsy Joles/Bloomberg Taiwans contested status and strategic importance as a close US ally in the Asia-Pacific region mean that its election will be closely, and nervously, observed from Beijing and Washington, as well as in other regional capitals. It exists in limbo, formally recognised by only 15 diplomatic allies but operating like any other nation and maintaining de facto independence, in part thanks to political support and weapons sales from the US. In broad terms, voters are being asked to choose between a closer relationship with the US or China. Tsai Ing-wen, the incumbent president seeking a second term, is regarded by the White House as a steady hand who will back US interests in a volatile region, but she is mistrusted and frozen out by Beijing who suspect her DPP will pursue a path towards full independence. Her KMT opponent, populist Han Kuo-yu, is an unknown factor on the global stage and his views on US and China relations have been inarticulate. He advocates for closer trade ties with China without conceding political ground, but his critics claim he cannot be trusted not to sell out Taiwanese interests. Supporters of opposition candidate Han Kuo-yu at an election rally Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters Chinas increasing military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the island put Taiwan in a unique position to offer insights on how to deal with Chinese expansion, argued Enoch Wu. Taiwan has been on the frontline against Chinese aggression, influence, infiltration over the past few decades. This is something a lot of the rest of the world and our regional friends now experiencing firsthand, he said. We have a lot of knowledge to share. Everything from the way the Chinese government wields its economic influence to achieve political ends, intelligence operations, military operations around the region. But the outcome of this weekends election and its implications for Taiwans future direction could also have global repercussions from an economic and security point of view. Taiwan was a major exporter and trading partner with the US, as well as a vital tech hub and one of the worlds most significant semiconductor producers, pointed out Kharis Templeman, a political scientist and Taiwan expert at Stanford university. President Tsai Ing-wen is currently leading the polls Credit: Ng Han Guan/AP They are an important link in production chains that criss-cross the entire Pacific and if Taiwan were to be further enveloped in an exclusive PRC-led economic sphere in the region that would have a significant negative impact on US interests, he said, referring to the Peoples Republic of China. He added: Given the rising concerns about high technology imported from China and the possible security implications of that, Taiwan is a much preferable supplier as long as it remains a free, open, democratic ruled-by-law society." Meanwhile, from a hard, strategic point of view, Taiwan is at a critical midpoint of the so-called first island chain, a thread of major archipelagos off the East Asian continental mainland coast that runs from Russias Kuril Islands to the Malay Peninsula. Han Kuo-yu, a populist mayor, is the opposition KMT candidate Credit: Ann Wang/Reuters The first island chain is integral to both Chinese and US military doctrine. Annexing Taiwan would grant China much desired open access to the Pacific coastline, presenting an additional challenge to Washingtons free and open Indo-Pacific strategy. As long as [Taiwan] remains outside PRC control it presents a real obstacle if the PRC were ever to try to move militarily to assert itself in the Asia-Pacific region, said Mr Templeman. Its beneficial for the United States to have a friendly regime on this island. - An online post has claimed that Pope Francis was caught staring at the chest of a woman in Argentina - It was mentioned in the post that the woman is Victoria Xipolitakis, a model in Argentina - However, the claim was reported to be false and misleading the netizens - The photo came from two different images during the homecoming tour of the pontiff that were fabricated together PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed A social media post has claimed that Pope Francis was caught looking at a womans chest. However, KAMI learned that the claim was false and misleading the public. In a report by Rappler, the photo was posted by a certain Jenifer Rabanal on January 2. By looking at it, the Pope is a human being after all, it read in the caption. The post gained about 169 reactions, 111 shares, and 48 comments. Rappler reported that the photo of Pope Francis with the woman came from two different photos that have been edited. The photo of Pope Francis was taken during his visit to Bolivia. Meanwhile, the woman is the Argentine model Victoria Xipolitakis in Paraguay. Both of the photos were taken during the homecoming tour of the pontiff in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay in 2015. The original photo of Pope Francis was first published on July 9, 2015, in an article by the HuffPost. Pope Perplexed By Gift Of Hammer And Sickle Carved With Crucifix, it read in the headline. Screenshot from HuffPost Source: Facebook PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Meanwhile, the photo of the Argentine model only showed that she was waving a flag. As reported by the Daily Express, Xipolitakis wanted to meet the pontiff in Paraguay but she was escorted away for wearing a revealing top. Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His papacy began on March 13, 2013. He preceded Pope Benedict XVI. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh - A North Carolina resident has recounted an experience during a visit with her father to Ghana - Then 15 years old, @CharisKalt narrates that a Ghanaian man stopped his wedding to ask her father to allow him to make her his second wife - @CharisKalt was responding to a tweet that requested that people share an experience that sounded too good to be true Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in In what may seem an absurdity but very true, a white lady recounted how a Ghanaian man had his wedding halted just so he could ask her father to give her off as a second wife. According to the lady currently resident in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with Twitter handle, @CharisKalt, she was only fifteen at the time. She indicated that the Ghanaian man was getting married to his new bride at the time when he stopped the marriage proceedings to ask her father to give her over in marriage as well. @CharisKalt detailed her experience when she visited Ghana with her father as a minor. She shared her story in response to a tweet that requested that people should ''tell me a story about yourself that sounds like a lie but is absolutely true' . @CharisKalt said the groom made the demand of her becoming his second wife in front of his bride. READ ALSO: Medikal builds new mansion for his 'sweet' mum; flaunts huge house in cute video @CharisKalt, ''When I was 15 I visited Ghana with my family and a man stopped his wedding and came over to haggle with my dad about adding me as a second brideall in front of his other bride.'' ''Ghana Twitter found me so fast Loved Accra, such an awesome place with awesome people!!! But to this day I believe Im in his professional wedding album sitting on a mantle somewhere,''@CharisKalt added in another tweet. The bizarre and absurdity of her story make it hard to believe, however, considering her age at the time and even now, child marriage is still permitted in some families and African communities. Girls below the accepted legal age for marriage are given to older men to pay off family debts among other reasons. @CharisKalt's response to the tweet attracted some interesting reactions. Kofi Asante teased: ''For real? Short men are jus brave.'' ''The actual wedding pictures are taking me out lmaooo like ur parents really said go & take a picture w/ this dude thats tryna buy u off of us,'' Hot Gyal A said. In other stories, YEN.com.gh reported that recent motivating photos of Ama Animas set of twins have surfaced on social media and the kids are looking all grown-up and adorable. Photos of the boys have already generated some pleasant reactions since they were shared online. YEN.com.gh reported that Ama Anima was given a 5-year jail sentence after she failed to pay a court fine of GHC1,200 whilst she was pregnant with the twins. The fine was imposed on her for allegedly biting the hand of a family member during a fierce altercation and was jailed because she was unable to pay the fine. READ ALSO: Akosua Sika: Ghanaian slay queen who went viral for leaked sex tape gives birth to baby girl (photos) Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh The Boston Public Health Commission confirmed a student at Northeastern University has been diagnosed with measles. The student was diagnosed on Wednesday and BPHC officials released a series of locations that people may have come into contact with the virus. Exposures at Northeastern University occurred from Jan. 3 through Jan. 6 including the dormitories, dining halls and classrooms. The symptoms of measles can be deadly, and the infected will often experience fever, rash, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Complications can include ear infection, diarrhea, pneumonia and in some cases brain damage. BPHC urges anyone who does not know their measles immunization status to get vaccinated with at least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. 2019 marked a dramatic increase in the number of measles cases in the U.S., an increase attributed to a rising number of unvaccinated children. Last year, saw 1,282 cases across the U.S., 907 more than 2018. The majority of cases were among people who were not vaccinated against measles. Other possible locations are: Friday, Jan. 3, 8:50 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.: Logan International Airport Terminal E Saturday, Jan. 4, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Blick Art Materials, 333 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston Saturday, Jan. 4, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Tatte Bakery & Cafe at the Marino Center, 369 Huntington Avenue, Boston Saturday, Jan. 4, 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.: Wollaston Market in the Marino Center, 369 Huntington Avenue, Boston Sunday, Jan. 5, 11:55 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., CVS, 231 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston Monday, Jan. 6, 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Rebecca's Cafe at Churchill Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston Monday, Jan. 6, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., AT&T Store, 699 Boylston St., Boston Monday, Jan. 6, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., UNIQLO, 341 Newbury St., Boston Monday, Jan. 6, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Brandy Melville, 351 Newbury St., Boston Monday, Jan. 6, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Amelias Taqueria, 1076 Boylston St., Boston Measles is a dangerous disease and can cause serious complications, but it is preventable. The best way for everyone to protect themselves is to get vaccinated, said BPHC Medical Director Dr. Jennifer Lo. If you dont know your immunity status, call your healthcare provider. For additional information, please contact: Boston Public Health Commission: 617-534-5611 Northeastern University: 617-373-2772 Massachusetts Department of Public Health: 617-983-6800 Uber will halt its operations in Colombia at the end of the month, after a judge found the transportation company violated the country's competition rules, Reuters reports. Why it matters: Uber is likely to look for ways to get back into Columbia, though this comes as a blow to a business that is trying to show investors it can turn a profit and continue growing, especially in regions like Latin America. Uber called the decision "arbitrary" in a statement, and said it violated its right to due process, per Reuters. Go deeper: Uber rolls out changes to California ride-hailing in wake of new law The Samajwadi Party will take its workers to a screening of the Deepika Padukone starrer, Chhapaak, here on Friday. The partys official Twitter account shared a tweet on the subject. On the instructions of the national president, Samajwadi Party will show Chhapaak film to its workers. A hall has been booked in Lucknow for this, said a tweet on the partys official Twitter handle. The film releasing Friday is based on the struggles and triumphs of an acid attack survivor. Also read: Deepika Padukone walked the crowded Mumbai streets as Chhapaaks Malti to see peoples reactions. Watch A senior Samajwadi Party leader said party workers will watch the film in Lucknow on Friday. The previous state government, led by Akhilesh Yadav had worked for the rehabilitation and welfare of acid attack survivors, he added. Deepika Padukones latest release was on Thursday declared tax-free by the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Meghna Gulzar-directed film, based on the life of acid attack survivor and activist Laxmi Agarwal, releases on Friday. The chief ministers of the two Congress-ruled states made the announcement on Twitter. Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath tweeted, Deepika Padukones film on acid attack survivor, Chhapaak is releasing across the country on January 10. I declare it tax-free in Madhya Pradesh. This film which spreads a positive message regarding the treatment of acid-attack victims in the society, tells the story of their courage, struggle and their passion for life and aims to bring a change in the societys mentality on the same, he added. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel also appealed to people to watch the movie along with their families. The state government has decided to make Hindi film Chhapaak tax free in Chhattisgarh. The film spreads awareness among people against heinous crime like acid attack on women in society. You all should go to watch the movie along with your families and become aware, as well as spread the awareness, Baghel tweeted. Deepika on Tuesday visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by a mob on January 5. She earned bouquets as well as brickbats from various people, including politicians, for her act of showing support to the JNU students. Follow @htshowbiz for more With Prime Minister Narendra Modi slated to reach Kolkata on a two-day visit on Saturday, the Congress, Left Front and other political outfits have lined up a series of protest rallies across the state against the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed pan-India NRC. Several organisations, including those linked to the Left parties, have declared they would stage protests against Modi and show him black flags. Several students organisations are scheduled to organise a protest march from Nandan area - the city's cultural hub - to Raj Bhawan at 2 pm against the CAA and recent violence at JNU and Jamia Milia University campuses. Prime Minister Modi will be on a two-day visit to the city from January 11 and will arrive in the city in the evening. As per protocol, he will be staying at Raj Bhawan. Some Muslim organisations has also called for a rally at Rani Rashmoni Road at a stone's throw from Raj Bhawan against the CAA and NRC at around 1 pm. Although the CPI(M) and Congress, didn't disclose the timings of their protests but have announced that protest would take place across the city and black flags would be shown to the prime minister. The Trinamool Congress has also decided to make human chains at various parts of the South Kolkata against CAA and NRC. Modi will arrive here on Saturday for a two-day visit to West Bengal amid ongoing protests over the new citizenship law, with the state administration claiming a "foolproof" security cover has been put in place to thwart attempts to create disturbance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 05:08:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun on Thursday reaffirmed China's commitment to upholding multilateralism as well as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Speaking at a Security Council open debate on upholding the UN Charter, Zhang said that as a cornerstone of multilateralism, the charter establishes the basic norms governing international relations in the present day, develops generally recognized principles of international law, and charts the way forward for human society. Unilateralism is dealing heavy blows to the international rule of law and the international order, while protectionism is plunging the world economy into a pit of uncertainties and acts of bullying is threatening global peace and stability, he said. Against this backdrop, Zhang said "revisiting and reminding ourselves of the spirit of the charter is all the more relevant" as this year marks the 75th anniversary of the UN. Zhang noted that China was the first country to sign the UN Charter. "It has consistently and scrupulously adhered to the purposes and principles of the charter and has unfailingly supported efforts to defend the authority and functions of the United Nations." China's proposal of building a community of shared future for humankind is a continuation and sublimation of the purposes of the UN Charter, he said, affirming that China will honor its commitment, uphold the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, and uphold sovereign equality, political independence and territorial integrity of all countries and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, and the principle of no threat or use of force. China will fulfill its responsibilities under the UN Charter, actively participate in UN peacekeeping operations, seriously fulfill its financial obligations to the UN, and support the organization's central role in international and multilateral affairs, he added. China will actively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and continue to promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, so that the dividends of China's development can benefit all countries in the world, Zhang said. Regarding the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf, Zhang emphasized that the "unilateral adventurist act" of the United States has led to a high degree of tensions in the region. He said China supports the UN secretary-general's call for peace, adding that China has been actively engaged in diplomatic efforts and is committed to playing a responsible and constructive role in safeguarding international law, equity and justice, and regional peace and stability. China calls on the relevant parties to exercise maximum restraint, do the utmost to return to dialogue and consultation without delay, jointly work for the de-escalation of tensions and uphold the Iran nuclear deal, he said. Zhang warned that if the situation in the region spun out of control, it would not serve the interests of any party. "Restoring peace is of crucial importance to the entire world. The Security Council should uphold its responsibility vested by the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security." The Delhi Police have claimed that they have identified nine people in connection with the violence in JNU. Delhi Police named Aishe Ghosh, the JNU students union president who was brutally attacked as one of the nine suspects identified by them in connection with three criminal cases registered by the police. Joy Trikey, the deputy commissioner of police who heads the special team investigating the violence at JNU, said Ghosh, the student leader who was allegedly thrashed by masked hooligans on Sunday evening, was part of one of the groups that attacked students, the police said. The others identified by the cops are Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Aishe Ghosh, Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukdar, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj, and Vikas Patel. Out of these except Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel, all are affiliated with leftist student groups while the other two are members of the BJP-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP. Bharadwaj, a Ph.D. student was the administrator for Unity against Left, one of the four-five WhatsApp groups created that day. The cops said the nine people named were identified from photographs and videos being circulated and said that they would serve notices to the people identified and seek explanation on what they were doing there. According to the Police, Ghosh and other members of the Left groups attacked the server room at JNU to stop online registrations and enforce a strike over their protest against the increased fees. Incidentally, those identified so far have been accused of the clashes that took place on the campus before Sunday over increased hostel fees. Despite their identities being revealed online, the police who said the invention is still ongoing was silent on the masked assailants who entered the campus in the evening and attacked both students and teachers. Reacting to the police's comments, JNUSU leader Aishe Ghosh said she has evidence to show she was attacked. Delhi Police can do their inquiry. I also haI have full faith in the law and order of this country that investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police bias? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault. I have evidence to show how I was attacked, she said. Gosh also said that the Delhi Police should make public whatever proof they have against her. She also said that their faith in the JNU vice-chancellor has completely eroded. Thirteen years after Oregon lawmakers adopted a law against labor trafficking, there have been no prosecutions of the crime in the states courts, according to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. On Friday, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced the creation of a new Labor Trafficking Task Force to try to change that. The task force will study labor trafficking across Oregon and identify ways state lawmakers and other leaders can address the problem. The state made involuntary servitude a labor trafficking crime in 2007. Labor trafficking includes the use of threats of violence and coercion to force people to work against their will, sometimes with no or little pay or inhumane conditions. Common industries that may engage in labor trafficking include domestic servants, farmworkers, factory workers and other day laborers. Human trafficking includes both sex trafficking and labor trafficking, but almost all of our public awareness focuses on sex trafficking," Rosenblum said in a statement. "What we hear so far is that labor trafficking is very real, and it is happening under the radar in all corners of the state. I want this task force to dig into this terrible crime. All sources suggest we lack the tools to identify, investigate and prosecute labor trafficking in our communities. Among the major challenges to prosecutions: Undocumented workers are reluctant to come forward because they fear deportation. There are language barriers and a lack of trust in law enforcement, according to prosecutors and police. Rosenblum will lead the task force along with state Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Milwaukie. The group includes immigration lawyers, organized labor representatives, law enforcement, district attorneys, representatives from the Mexican Consulate and other state agencies. While significant work has been done to understand the impact of labor trafficking at the national level, there has been no organized attempt to gather information in Oregon, Rosenblum said. The task force will meet throughout the year and make recommendations for the 2021 legislative session. In 2018, federal prosecutors in Oregon pursued their first forced labor case in federal court in Oregon in recent history, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Horsley said. A former owner of two Thai restaurants fraudulently obtained visas to bring cooks from Thailand to work for him and then compelled them to work long hours with minimal pay. He was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison. That federal case resulted from a tip to the U.S. Department of Justices Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., which was forwarded to federal prosecutors in Oregon in 2015. -- 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. Subscribe to Facebook page (Natural News) They may have died out 66 million years ago, but thanks to a photographers new series, dinosaurs such as the fearsome predator Tyrannosaurus rex and the imposing behemoth Triceratops are coming back to life. I sought to really bring these animals to life, Christian Voigt said about his project, which he has dubbed Evolution. According to Voigt, the project all started with wanting to bring the prehistoric animals out of their glass boxes. Known for his hyper-realistic landscape photography and architectural work, Voigt, in an interview with the Daily Mail, said that through this project, he wants to remind people that dinosaurs arent Hollywood images, or Game of Thrones props, but rather real animals that lived millions of years ago. (Related: Scientist fired from university after discovering shocking dinosaur bones believed to be only 4,000 years old.) One problem Voigt faced while capturing the fossils portraits was finding new angles and capturing images no one has ever seen, a situation that he said is akin to shooting Frances famed Eiffel Tower. If you shoot the Eiffel Tower, for instance, probably 50,000 tourists have taken the same shot that day, he said. According to Voigt, he managed to solve this dilemma by isolating his subjects. In a museum, when you look at certain collections of animals and skeletons, theyre always very packed together, he said, adding that museums often pack up to 20 specimens in a single room. To bring out their individuality and beauty, I needed to make them stand alone, to take them out of the crowd, Voigt, who visited five museums throughout Europe to shoot the project, said. Get more news like this without being censored: Get the Natural News app for your mobile devices. Enjoy uncensored news, lab test results, videos, podcasts and more. Bypass all the unfair censorship by Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Get your daily news and videos directly from the source! Download here. Its not just famous dinosaurs that Evolution has put on the spotlight: Voigt also photographed lesser-known ones such as the Elaphrosaurus, extinct reptiles such as pterosaurs and mammals such as the American mastodon, saber-toothed cat and even the weird-looking Gomphotherium for the project. Despite opting to shoot even the most unknown of prehistoric creatures, Voigt has one rule: He only photographs original fossils. Replicas or reconstructions that use plastic or plaster to fill in gaps arent welcome. I can see the difference, and I wont use those skeletons, Voigt said in an interview with Business Insider. Shooting Evolution, according to Voigt, was done by mixing traditional, analog photography with digital compositing techniques: he would rig a black cloth around the skeletons as a backdrop, using only ambient, natural light to illuminate his prehistoric subjects. After that, Voigt would shoot the specimens with a medium-format ALPA camera, before digitally removing the rest of the background in post-production. Its a deceptively simple process, but Voigt said it can get tiring he would sometimes spend hours trying to perfect just one shot. I cant touch them, or ask them to move a little to the left, so I have to look for the best angle, Voigt said. Still, this process allowed him to create extraordinarily life-like images images hes now selling as limited-edition prints, with each copy selling for up to $56,000. Despite having shot in some of Europes most prestigious museums, however, Voigt said hes still waiting for the chance to shoot dinosaurs in his dream locations: the Chicago Field Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. Those places have animals that are in perfect condition, and thats what Im hunting for, Voigt told Business Insider in an interview. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk BusinessInsider.com Metro.news Edition.CNN.com Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Prime Minister of Romania, Ludovic Orban NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 09 Jan. 2020 (As delivered) Prime Minister Orban, Ludovic, A warm welcome to NATO Headquarters. It is great to see you here. And congratulations on your appointment as Prime Minister. Romania plays a key role in our Alliance. You contribute to NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo. You host our ballistic missile defence site in Deveselu. And your troops deter aggression as part of our multinational battlegroup in Poland. You also make essential contributions to Black Sea security. Leading a multinational battlegroup in Craiova, And participating in joint exercises and maritime patrols. We agree on the strategic importance of the Black Sea region. And we have strengthened NATO's presence on land, at sea and in the air. *** To keep our people safe in a more dangerous world, we also need to invest in defence. So I welcome Romania's plans to spend 2 percent on defence this year. And I welcome the fact that you have already reached 2 per cent of GDP to defence. And also your plans to modernise your armed forces over the next decade. I count on Romania, as on all Allies, to keep up the momentum. *** Prime Minister, we have just discussed the current tensions in the Middle East. The situation in this region remains volatile and fragile. It is in nobody's interest to have a new conflict. Peace and stability in the Middle East is important for NATO Allies. So Allies continue to consult closely. Yesterday, I spoke with President Trump. He asked NATO to become more involved in the Middle East. NATO has the potential to contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism. And we are looking into what more we can do. This week, I also spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mahdi. I reiterated NATO's strong commitment to the fight against terrorism. And to our training and capacity-building mission to prevent the return of our common enemy, ISIS. We agreed on the need for restraint and de-escalation in the region. Let me thank Romania for its contributions to NATO's mission in Iraq. The safety of our personnel is paramount. For the time being, we have suspended our training. And we are taking all precautions necessary to protect our people. This includes the re-positioning of personnel to different locations both inside and outside Iraq. But NATO maintains a presence in Iraq. And we remain in close contact with the Iraqi authorities. So, Prime Minister, let me once again welcome you to NATO and thank you for Romania's strong commitment to our Alliance. And I look forward to continuing working closely with you. Thank you. Oana Lungescu [NATO Spokesperson]: Okay, we have time for a few questions, we'll start with CALEA EUROPEANA, gentleman in the glasses. Question [CALEA EUROPEANA]: Thank you. So as we know, NATO has adapted its posture on the Black Sea, but at the same time we see a challenging situation because Russia is building up its military and so on, ships, missile . . . missiles. In this context, does NATO intend to update its posture on the Black Sea Region? And also, on the Middle East crisis, during the attacks on the Iraqi bases, where were . . . where were hosted Allied forces, does the Aegis Ashore missile defence system, which is hosted by Romania as part of the . . . NATO's defence system, it was . . . it has functioned, let's say, properly? Thank you. Jens Stoltenberg [NATO Secretary General]: So, first of all, the Black Sea is of strategic importance for NATO. And NATO has increased its presence in the Black Sea Region on land, at sea and in the air, with enhanced air policing, with more naval presence and also with more presence with land forces, especially with the tailored forward presence and brigade we have in Craiova. We are constantly assessing the need to further strengthen our presence. We have to remember that three of our member states are littoral states to the Black Sea: Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. And then we have two close partners, Ukraine and Georgia, who are also Black Sea countries. So we are also working closely with them, helping them, working with them, exercising with them. I recently visited Ukraine, the whole North Atlantic Council visited Ukraine. And . . . and we saw how we are helping them to, for instance, build naval academies and strengthen their naval capabilities. So on top of that, we have increased the readiness of our forces so we can easily re . . . quickly reinforce. And we are also conducting more exercises. So the Black Sea Region is of importance, great importance for NATO. And we have to remember that what triggered the adaptation, the strengthening of NATO's collective defence, which we have seen over the last years, was actually the illegal annexation of Crimea in the Black Sea. Then, when it comes to the ballistic missile defence site in Romania, in Deveselu, we are, of course, vigilant. We are following the situation very closely. But there is no reason to change our posture level, because we have no indication of an increased threat of ballistic missiles to NATO territory. But we remain vigilant. We follow the situation closely. And the missile defence site and the radars are, of course, providing us with valuable information. And we continue to follow the situation very closely. Oana Lungescu: Romanian TV, lady in grey. Lady in grey there. Question [TVR]: Hello. Can you tell . . . please tell us, what do you mean by 'larger involvement in the Middle East'? Can you be more specific? Jens Stoltenberg: NATO is already playing an important role in the fight against terrorism. And NATO is already present in the Middle East in different ways. If you look at the wider Middle East region, we are, of course, present in Afghanistan with our Train, Assist and Advise Mission there. We have a Training Mission in Iraq. And we are also working with partner countries in the region, for instance, Tunisia and Jordan. We help them with intelligence, with special operation forces, because we strongly believe that building local capacity, training local forces, is the best way to fight international terrorism. We . . . just before Christmas, we also visited a new Regional Centre, which NATO has developed and established together with some countries in the Gulf region, a Regional Centre in Kuwait, which is also contributing to our presence and our activities, capacity-building activities, in the wider Middle East region. So NATO already plays an important role in fighting international terrorism and we are present in the region. What we . . . what President Trump called for yesterday was more NATO involvement. And we are looking into what more we can do. I will not speculate about the outcome, but I will say that I think that NATO has a potential to do more. If we look at NATO's history, we have conducted big operations before in different theatres in different ways. So we have the command structure, we have tried and tested structures to do capacity-building, to do training. And we have also the structures to do this in a way where we ensure political transparency and consultation and decision-making, involving all the countries being part of this, which is not always only NATO Allies, but also, very often, partner countries. As, for instance, we have seen both in Afghanistan and Iraq, where NATO Allies work with partners. Then I will highlight the importance of talking with countries in the region. If NATO's going to do more, of course we're going to do that together with countries in the region, as we do in Afghanistan, as we do in Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia and elsewhere. So I spoke with the Iraqi Prime Minister a few days ago. Today I had a meeting with the Iraqi ambassador to NATO. And of course, we will consult, discuss closely with countries in the region, because if we are going to do more, we're going to do that based on agreement with them. Oana Lungescu: Okay, NRK, gentleman in the second row. Question [NRK]: Secretary General and Prime Minister Ludovic Orban. Secretary General, could you please, without concluding, just give us an insight into what capacities and resources that you could deploy in the Middle East that would satisfy what President Trump is asking for? And Prime Minister Orban, tomorrow there will be a meeting in the European Union among the foreign ministers that have been moved forward. President Trump has asked European countries to pull out of what remains of the Iranian deal. Do you support this position? And again, Secretary General, Europe has been challenged because of the situation between Iran and the US. How will this affect the EU and NATO partnership? Will NATO and the EU collaborate tighter and more closely when it comes to the Middle East? Thank you. Jens Stoltenberg: So we are now looking into what more we can do to help to stabilise the Middle East and to fight international terrorism. We already do a lot, especially when it comes to training, advising and assisting local forces, as we do in Afghanistan with our Training Mission there. And we do with the Training Mission we have in in Iraq. I visited Iraq last fall and I saw how NATO trainers are helping the Iraqi forces to improve their skills, their capabilities to fight ISIS, to fight Daesh, to fight international terrorism. And I strongly believe that the best way we can fight international terrorism is not always by deploying NATO troops in big combat operations. Sometimes we have to do that. But the best way is to enable local forces to fight terrorism themselves. And that's exactly what we do in Afghanistan, what we do in Iraq. And of course, we can look into if we can do more of that kind of activities. We can also do other things. But I will be very careful about speculating too much about that. Because we are now looking into the different options. We need a proper decision-making process in NATO involving, of course, all Allies. And we need to discuss this with the countries in the region. Because what we do in Afghanistan, what we do in Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia and elsewhere is always, of course, dependent on that we work together with the countries in the region. And this is also one of the issues I then discussed with the Iraqi Prime Minister earlier this week: how we can make sure that NATO can continue and help them in fighting terrorism in Iraq. Sorry, the other question was about NATO-EU. Well, for me, it is extremely important to work together, NATO and the European Union, because we face the same security environment, the same challenges. We have different capabilities. And when we fight international terrorism, when we try to stabilise the Middle East, we need many different tools. We need political tools, diplomatic tools, sometimes military tools. We need economic tools. So neither EU nor NATO have all these tools. So we need to work together to make sure that we have all the different capabilities, all the different tools we need in the fight against international terrorism. Ludovic Orban [Prime Minister of Romania]: I think the appeal is not addressed to Romania, because our position was very clear. From our point of view, Iran should respect the provision regarding the non-proliferation of nuclear . . . and for other things, are very clear. I cannot answer in the name of other countries, European countries. Oana Lungescu: Very last question, NPR/Deutsche Welle? Teri Schultz [NPR/Deutsche Welle]: Hi, Teri Schultz, thank you very much. Since you've already given lots of answers on this, I've got to try more. When you told President Trump that you believed that NATO could do more, surely you hadn't had time to discuss in that very few moments since he made the . . . made the announcement with . . . with all of the Allies. So did you already have the feeling that all 29 . . . or 28, are going to support, perhaps diverting some resources to this new request of the United States? And to the Romanian Prime Minister, do you believe that, given your concerns are in a different part of the world than the Middle East, as are many of the other Allies, is that something you would like to see: NATO money, NATO resources, NATO planning go to the Middle East, when you feel that there are pressures right on NATO's borders? Thanks. Jens Stoltenberg: I will just say that President Trump has been very consistent in his message about NATO. He has called on European NATO Allies and Canada to invest more. And he has called on NATO to do more in the fight against international terrorism. We are delivering more, when it comes to investing, to spending, burden-sharing. We still have a long way to go. But I think all NATO Allies, including the United States, recognises that we are making progress when it comes to burden-sharing, defence spending. We are also, and we have also, stepped up our efforts in the fight against international terrorism, working with countries in the region, North Africa, the Middle East. We have established a Training Mission in Iraq. NATO has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh. We provide support to the Global Coalition, to the efforts of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh. And all NATO Allies are part of the Global Coalition. So for me, it's no surprise that the United States is calling for NATO to do more, because that has actually been the message from the United States for a long time. We are looking into what more we can do. Of course, we make decisions in NATO by consensus. So we need a process. We need agreement within the Alliance, but also with the countries in the region. And this will take some time. But I welcome the fact that we now are looking into what more we can do, because we need to fight international terrorism. There is no way we can avoid doing that. It's a threat to all of us. And to stabilise, to help to create more predictability, peace, stability, in the wider Middle East region is, of course, important for the people living there. But it's also extremely important for the people living in NATO countries. We are more secure when our neighbours are more stable. And that's exactly why NATO has been addressing these challenges for a long time and why we are looking into what more we can do. Ludovic Orban: We prove . . . we proved from the moment we became a member of NATO that our involvement was very important. And if NATO will consider it necessary to have a stronger presence and stronger involvement in the fight against terrorists in Middle East or in other parts, we will be part of this action, decision and movement. Oana Lungescu: Thank you very much. This concludes this press point. Thank you. Jens Stoltenberg: Thank you. Ludovic Orban: Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A 34-year-old Chelsea foster father has been arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court after being accused of repeatedly raping the 11- and 12-year-old foster daughters in his care between 2017 and 2019, officials said Friday. Michael Diaz is charged with four counts of aggravated rape of a child, six counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, one count of dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, one count of posing a child in a state of nudity and one count of possession of child pornography, according to the office of Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins. Diaz was a Department of Children and Families approved foster parent to the two victims when the sexual abuse occurred. He allegedly told the girls to keep the assaults a secret, officials said. This is the most evil betrayal of trust I can imagine, Rollins said in a statement. Remember, foster children are brought into strangers homes during some of the darkest, most frightening times in their young lives. Foster parents are supposed to provide the children in their custody with the safety, support, stability, and care they need in order to move forward and recover from the trauma many have experienced prior to Department of Children and Families involvement. That an individual would further harm the most innocent and vulnerable among us represents unfathomable depravity." Rollins office became aware of the allegations early last year and the children were removed from the home, the statement said. The 12-year-old told her biological mother in June that Diaz had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions and expressed concern about her 11-year-old foster sister, authorities said. Both girls participated in multidisciplinary forensic interviews and separately disclosed the abuse by Diaz, the statement said. Diaz is accused of giving the 12-year-old two cell phones to communicate with her after she was removed from his care. Those phones are now in custody of the Chelsea police, the statement said. Photos on Diazs cell phone depict the 12-year-old unclothed. The defendant and victims phones also contain a photo of the defendant and an adult woman engaging in oral sex, as described by the 11-year-old victim, according to the statement. I promise the children and families who have contact with DCF and our foster care system that we will do everything within the power of this office to ensure they receive exceptional care and protection," Rollins said. "Further, I promise that this individual will be held accountable for his egregious, depraved, and criminal behavior and we will continue to investigate this matter. Diaz was arrested in June and arraigned the next month. He was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail and ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victims, have no unsupervised contact with any child under 18, and to wear a GPS monitor if released on bail. Later, the bail was reduced to $25,000, which Diaz posted, officials said. Survivors of child abuse and exploitation and their non-offending caretakers in Suffolk County can receive comprehensive services at the Childrens Advocacy Center of Suffolk County. The CAC can be reached at 617-779-2146. Anyone who believes that a child in Massachusetts may be the victim of abuse is asked to call the DCF Child at Risk Hotline at 1-800-792-5200. Gogglebox favourites Lee and Keith welcomed their first grandchild on Wednesday. The pair, who have been married for 34 years, took to Instagram on Friday to announce the new addition to their family - a little girl named Riley. The Melbourne-based couple posted a series of snaps and videos online of the newborn, sweetly saying that she is 'pa's girl.' 'Pa's girl!' Gogglebox favourites Lee and Keith (pictured) revealed on Friday that they've become grandparents for the first time, sharing snaps and videos of newborn granddaughter Riley 'The love is huge, Riley is Pa's girl,' the pair captioned one video of Keith holding Riley. 'Hi there Riley, I'm your Pa, welcome to the clan!' Keith can be heard saying in the clip. They captioned another clip of Keith and Riley: 'So excited our first grand-baby, Riley.' Quality time with pa: Lee posted a video showing Keith's softer side as he cradled his new granddaughter So sweet! Riley was born on Wednesday and weighed in at a healthy 2.7kg Underneath a collage of snaps of Riley and their family, they wrote: 'Well here she is, our first grandchild Riley.' Riley was born on Wednesday and weighed in at a healthy 2.7kg. Lee and Keith have two adult children, daughter Shannon, 23, and son Joel, 27, but it remains unclear who welcomed the child. Gogglebox co-star Tim, who shares the couch with his sister Leanne, congratulated Lee and Keith on becoming grandparents. 'Congratulations Nan and Pa,' Tim wrote. Thrilled: Gogglebox co-star Tim, who shares the couch with his sister Leanne, congratulated Lee and Keith on becoming grandparents (Tim and Leanne are pictured) In September 2018, Lee and Keith told New Idea about their marriage and how they first met. The pair met at the Carlton footy club disco in 1979, when Lee was just 18 and Keith 19. 'I remember seeing some bloke with long curly hair leaning over the table kissing a girl and I thought, ''what a douchebag this guy must be! Who does he think he is?'' Lee told the publication. Keith added with a laugh: 'And that's how we first met!' ST. LOUIS Domestic abusers would be barred from carrying concealed weapons in the city under a measure to be introduced Friday at the Board of Aldermen. Its a very common problem and hugely concerning not just for women, but mostly for women, said the sponsor, Alderman Christine Ingrassia, D-6th Ward. She said creating the new municipal ordinance violation would allow city police to more easily pull guns from people convicted in the past of committing domestic violence or who are subjects of abuse-related restraining orders. The measure mirrors a similar federal law which isnt often prosecuted here, she said. The City Council in Kansas City in November passed a similar municipal measure. Missouri state law generally bars local governments from passing gun laws stronger than weak restrictions in effect statewide. However, Ingrassia asserts that it would be an exception because it simply repeats what is in federal law. Two other bills attempting to get around the state gun laws were passed by St. Louis aldermen last month. They said the court should not grant a motion by the House of Representatives and Democratic-led states to expedite review of a decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit last month. The panel struck down the laws mandate that individuals buy health insurance but sent back to a lower court the question of whether the rest of the statute can stand without it. PORTLAND, Ore. A Medford man is fighting for his life at Providence Hospital in Portland after coming down with the flu over the Christmas holiday. Now his family members want to warn others that getting a flu shot could keep them from a similar fate. 32-year-old Eric Valencia was rushed to the Portland hospital from Medford after being first admitted on Christmas Day. While in the hospital, his condition continued to worsen. In addition to the virulent flu, Valencia came down with pneumonia. Valencia has been surrounded by family members from the beginning, but they admit that it's been a scary two weeks. Now, Providence says, Valencia's lungs are only functioning with the help of technology known as an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine. "I'm very thankful because, basically, when we came in here it was like life or death . . . and right now we have hope," said Valencia's mother. The ECMO machine functions as a lung bypass, taking over breathing function while his lungs work to recover and regain strength, Providence said. Valencia's family says that he did not get a flu shot this year. They hope that others will hear his story and take it as a warning. "I see it on television, on the news, and it's like, 'these poor people' . . . but everybody needs to get a flu shot. I don't know how I could stress it more," said Ronnie Valencia, Eric's father. Valencia remains in critical condition at Providence Portland. Even if all goes well, he is expected to remain in the hospital for the next several weeks. Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls announced just today that it would add visitor restrictions on Friday in an effort to prevent the spread of the flu. Anyone who is ill or under the age of 18 will not be allowed to visit Emergency patients or those in the inpatient areas of the medical center. Our primary responsibilities are to care for acutely ill patients and to ensure the safety of the people who provide that care, said Annette Cole, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president for Patient Care Services at Sky Lakes. One of the best ways we can do both is to prevent the spread of germs, and we can help accomplish that by restricting visitors. There will be case-by-case exceptions to the restrictions, Cole said. The nurse in charge of the shift will be able to make those decisions when the questions arise. In those cases, visitors will be asked to take special precautions to minimize the risk to patients. KGW in Portland contributed to this report. [January 09, 2020] KIOSK Information Systems Features Next Gen Self-Service Solutions for Retail at NRF 2020 KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK), and parent company, Posiflex, are demonstrating a full array of retail self-service solutions at NRF 2020 - Retail's Big Show (Booth #5800). Brand new hardware platforms are paired with innovative software applications and technologies from the growing global partner ecosystem of the Posiflex Group (including Posiflex, KIOSK, and Portwell). To meet the increasing demand in quick service restaurant (QSR) ordering automation, KIOSK is featuring several models for self-service ordering. The newest platform provides ticketing, food, and beverage order automation, adding cash and coin payment capabilities into mainstream guest services. Kim Kenney, KIOSK's President, comments, "We are excited to provide a highly reliable and innovative platform that has cash payment automation options in addition to ordering capabilities for the food service vertical, which plays an integral role in the retail environment. Our team has a long history with cash, card, and NFC automation in retail bill payment, and we've seen first-hand the efficiency and profitability benefits for retailers who add cash payment options to universally serve their customer base." In addition, KIOSK is featring new modular card-based ordering models, ranging from compact countertops to dual-sided large-screen pedestals. Two in-store bill payment models further demonstrate the popularity of kiosk technology for high-volume transaction automation. KIOSK is featuring its proprietary, licensable bill payment application, as well as a premier partner software solution serving major telecommunications and cable retailers, among many others. New interactive digital signage models ranging from countertop to slim freestanding form factors with facial detection technology integrated with AI will be demonstrated to illustrate the power of data-driven targeted ad content and retail customer analytics. Furthermore, a loyalty platform will be featured to show how retailers can leverage kiosk technology to cost-effectively implement customer retention programs as well as engage customers with personalized benefits. Additional booth solutions include standardized and modular kiosks for scalable flexibility as well as best-in-class point of sale (POS) equipment from parent company Posiflex. Both companies will be demonstrating IoT remote monitoring capabilities, enabling real-time visibility of system, application, and component-level alerts. Kenney adds, "KIOSK's ability to offer active remote monitoring and professional managed services enables us to provide customers the best uptime and SLAs available in the industry. Our team is focused on the customer experience and prides itself on executing wholistic, turnkey solutions including hardware, software, field and managed services. We are delighted to showcase our best Group-level customer and partner solutions from the U.S., Europe, and Taiwan." To learn more, visit NRF booth 5800. About KIOSK Information Systems: As the market leader in self-service solutions, KIOSK provides proven expertise in design engineering, application development, integration, manufacturing, field support, and managed services for even the most sophisticated self-service platforms. A deep portfolio of standard and custom KIOSK designs are deployed among Top 100 Retailers and Fortune 500 clients in a wide array of self-service vertical markets. www.kiosk.com About Posiflex: Since 1984, Posiflex has designed and manufactured award-winning POS terminals and peripherals. Posiflex has since grown exponentially to provide not only full-service POS stations, but also versatile self-service kiosks, state-of-the-art mobile tablets, and scalable embedded PC solutions. Renowned worldwide in the retail and hospitality industries, Posiflex is a proven leader in POS hardware. And, with the acquisition of KIOSK Information Systems and Portwell, Posiflex has become a worldwide force in the kiosk and embedded PC industries. Over 30 patents and numerous awards have been won for product innovation, design and reliability. www.posiflexusa.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005872/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Scott Farrell Joins Bentec Ltd Published: 10 January 2020 by Chelsey Drysdale by Chelsey Drysdale JANUARY 2020 BENTEC, The Global Master Distributor for SMT Equipment, announces that Scott Farrell joins the team from Mirtec Europe Ltd. Scott has been involved with Mirtec SPI and AOI automated inspection systems for more than 10 years and was part of the highly successful Mirtec Europe team. I am delighted to rejoin the team and continue my role of supporting the Mirtec product line in UK, Ireland & India as well as the other exciting opportunities that the Bentec product line offers, said Scott Farrell. The Bentec team has over 10 years selling and supporting the Mirtec line across UK, Europe, Middle East, S. Africa and India. Now they purely concentrate on the UK, Ireland and India for Mirtec, but they also have several exciting global distribution product lines as Bentec has offices strategically situated around the globe offering sales, support and sourcing for their distribution partners and customers. We are delighted to have Scott back with the team. His professionalism and exceptional customer support have been some of the foundations for the success we previously enjoyed together, said David Bennett Managing Director, Bentec Ltd. BENTEC Ltd. Bentec stands out as the only global Master distributor offering sales channels in Europe, the Americas and Asia. They have recently begun the process of setting up a global distribution network for the Insituware Insight material testing system which launches at APEX in February. To learn more about this and any of the other Bentec products visit www.bentec-int.com or use any of the means below. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:24:08|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close QINGDAO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A "magic soil" made out of modified clays has been proved effective in fighting red tide along China's coastal waters and introduced to other countries like Chile, the United States and Peru. The "magic soil" won second prize of China's State Technological Invention Award that was presented Friday in Beijing for its breakthrough in eliminating the threat of red tide, a harmful algal bloom (HAB) causing damage to marine aquaculture. The modified clays are sprayed onto the red tide using a special apparatus aboard vessels, and can take the majority of algae down to the seabed through flocculation and inhibit the growth of residual algae, said Yu Zhiming, chief scientist for the "magical soil" program at the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Science (IOCAS). Yu's team has developed and upgraded the technology since 1993. The synthetic material was first applied in Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing, capital of eastern China's Jiangsu Province in 2005, to mitigate harmful algae bloom. In August 2008, a massive red tide hit 86 km of seashore near the Olympic Sailing Center of Qingdao, threatening the sailing events of the Beijing Olympic Games. About 320 tonnes of the modified clays were continuously dispersed into the water within 30 hours, and the water quality was restored the day after. The threat to the sailing events was eliminated. In 2014, the technology was included as a standard method in the "Technical Guidelines for the Treatment of Red Tide Disaster" in China. Currently, it is the only large-scale field application method available to mitigate algae bloom in the country. Yu said by changing the surface charges of clay particles from negative to positive, the modification can increase attractive interaction between clay particles and algae cells, incurring flocculation. "A total of 4 to 10 grams of modified clay per square meter is needed to eliminate algae, which doesn't harm the ocean," said Yuan Yongquan, a member of Yu's team. Laboratory investigations revealed that the reaction between modified clays and algae can generate a large number of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are widely used in sterilization, also effective in curbing algae growth and proliferation. Production of modified clays has been industrialized in China, and raw materials of the modified clays are common, like those used for producing ceramic or for construction. TEST WATERS ABROAD The material made its first overseas application in 2018 in Chile, where red tide caused economic losses of 1 billion U.S. dollars to the aquaculture industry between the end of 2015 and early 2016. "Chile sprayed more than 30 tonnes of the modified clays in summer of 2018, and the harmful algae blooms were extinguished effectively," said Yu, adding that Chile has decided to import more modified clays and apply them nationwide. Also troubled with red tide, Florida tried China's modified clays in 10,000 square km and invited a third-party to do an evaluation in 2018. About 30 scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of the United States and other institutes concluded: "Results to date are generally consistent with published studies from China (reviewed by Yu et al, 2017) which support the view that clay dispersal can be effective without significant adverse environmental impacts." Thus, Florida passed a bill to import 2.4 million dollars worth of modified clays from China. "The HAB control team at the IOCAS has been a world leader in the development and application of this promising technology," said Donald Anderson, director of the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms. In November last year, Peru also signed a contract with IOCAS to use the modified clays to protect scallops from red tide, according to Yu. Photo: Vancouver Police Vancouver police would like to talk to the driver of this red minivan. Vancouver Police are asking people to come forward with any dashcam video they may have to assist in the investigation of an attempted child abduction on Tuesday. Investigators from our Special Investigations Section are working to identify the vehicle involved and are now looking for dashcam footage from anyone who may have been in the area around the time of the attempted abduction, said Const. Tania Visintin. Police are looking for dashcam video from anyone who may have been in the area of St. Georges Street to Prince Albert Street and between 49th Avenue to 51st Avenue between 3-4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The investigation is related to an abduction attempt that occurred on Tuesday at about 3:20 p.m., when a 12-year-old girl was walking home from school in the area of 50th Avenue and Fraser Street. She was approached by a red minivan and the driver got out of the van and asked her if she wanted to come with him. She said no and ran back to her school where she alerted school administration, said Visintin. Investigators believe the suspects vehicle is an older Dodge Caravan or Dodge Grand Caravan, with a model year of 2001-07. Anyone who has information, or who passed through the area and has dashcam video, is asked to contact investigators at 604-717-0603 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. ALTON Area Congressional members want a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged rape cover-up in Champaign. U.S. Reps. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, on Thursday joined U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, and Adam Kinzinger, in releasing a joint statement calling on the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged rape and cover up in Champaign in 2012. Lawmakers from both parties are calling for an investigation of the 2012 email exchange between a government insider and then-Gov. Pat Quinns staff regarding a possible cover-up of rape and other criminal activity. A 2012 email uncovered by WBEZ radio was written by McClain, a retired lobbyist, to the top staff of Quinn. In it, McClain sought leniency for an employee facing discipline, noting that He has kept his mouth shut on (former state Sen. Emil) Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the administration. The Congressmens statement on Thursday called the revelations extremely troubling and urged a thorough immediate independent investigation. We are very concerned that the Champaign County States Attorney has determined she will not investigate this alleged crime, the statement reads. If these disturbing allegations, that were revealed this week, are true theres a victim out there that deserves justice and a criminal that should be prosecuted. Given the unwillingness of the local states attorney to investigate this alleged crime and ties to the governors campaign, we believe a special prosecutor is warranted. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday denounced the email as horrific. He told reporters his office had referred the email written by McClain, a confidante of House Speaker Michael Madigan to the Office of the Executive Inspector General for investigation. Madigan on Thursday endorsed that approach, rejecting a call from Republicans to let a House committee dig into the issue. There are two crimes that are discussed in this email: One is rape and the other one is ghost payrolling, Pritzker said. All of us want to know, what are they referring to? While Pritzker said he hadnt talked to Quinn or Madigan as of Thursday morning, a Thursday afternoon letter from Madigan referred to a conversation with Pritzker that occurred later in the day. Madigan, a Chicago Democrat whose friendship with McClain dates to the early 1970s when both began their political careers, said Wednesday that he was unaware of the email or the incidents it mentions. No one associated with the email has been charged with any wrongdoing. When asked if Madigan should resign, at least as Illinois Democratic Party chairman, Pritzker did not directly answer but again pointed to the lack of facts and the ongoing investigation. He said his office has no further evidence regarding the emails than what was released publicly. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, has sought Madigans consent to allow the State Government Administration Committee to probe the matter and compel sworn testimony from McClain, Forrest Ashby the employee facing discipline and others. Neither McClain or Ashby, both Quincy residents, could be reached for comment, according to The Associated Press. Ashby retired in January 2018 after a three-decade state government career and working on Pritzkers 2018 gubernatorial campaign. He had most recently been working on contract for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board; the agency has confirmed it has suspended a consulting contract with Ashby. Capital News Illinois, The Associated Press and The Center Square contributed to this story. Joseph Gobrick, 45, has been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison after dozens of child porn images, including some of children being raped, were found on his computer A convicted sex offender in Michigan who claims he identifies as an eight-year-old girl has argued that the child porn stash he was caught with on his computer is protected by free speech. Joseph Gobrick, 45, has been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison after dozens of child porn images, including some of children being raped, were found on his Grand Rapids home computer. He tried to argue that the images were computer-animated and protected under the first amendment, WLTX reports. Police, however, said the images recovered from his computer identified eight child victims. Some of the images showed victims ranging from infants to about five years of age being sexually assaulted. Gobrick, who represented himself at his trial, claimed he is not sexually attracted to children. 'I would no sooner have sex with a child than you would with a rattlesnake,' he told the judge during the trial. 'It's just not safe.' He also bizarrely claimed that he was an eight-year-old girl. He tried to argue that the images were computer-animated and protected under the first amendment. Police, however, said the images recovered from his computer identified eight child victims 'I've always been an eight-year-old girl,' Gobrick said. 'And even my drawings and fantasies, I am always an eight-year-old girl.' During his trial, prosecutors called him a 'danger to the public' and said he had been bragging in prison about raping babies. He drew images while in prison of child pornography and regularly argued that it was his constitutional right to do so. 'Based on everything he's said and done, including bragging about what he was drawing in his cell, he obviously doesn't think child sexually abusive material is wrong,' the Kent County Circuit Court judge said. 'This isn't just virtual stuff; this is also real people being harmed.' Gobrick was arrested in 2018 after police found a 17-year-old girl at his home. The girl had been listed as endangered or missing. It was during that investigation that authorities found the child porn on his computer. Gobrick already had a prior sexual abusive conviction in New York from back in 2001. He was sentenced in the child porn case to between 10 and 20 years in prison. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-10 03:42:08 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 615 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2020 / Digital Nomad and entrepreneur, Stephen Munson has transformed his life, and now wants to help people transform theirs. Having overcome sixteen years of addiction and a decade of being broke, hopeless, and even homeless. He began his business with just $1.71, and has now made over $1,000,000 in just two years. Heal WorldWide is a unique hands-on digital transformational company helping people become their greatest backed by phenomenal content, an amazing community and a digital nomad's dream commerce engine. At Heal WorldWide, Stephen has helped 100,000's of people create a transformation in their life and become their greatest.Stephen has spent the last ten years as a full time digital nomad, struggling for eight years until his success. He traveled to over fifty countries helping digital nomads from all over the world, from ages twelve to eighty-two to set up their own remote business that is real and reliable. His desire to start his business came from the hunger to help others overcome physical, spiritual, emotional and financial battles. He also had a desire to travel and have a business that was real, reliable and remote.His first real goal was to make $100 a day. He believed this would give him the ability to live a very simple life, afford a place to sleep that night, food, and access to wifi. This also helped him keep daily focuses on effort and results vs fantasy focused on $1,000,000 marker. Once he hit this goal he knew that the sky was the limit. Now earning $1,000 a day is a bad day and generating $10,000 a day is a common factor.Being broke for over a decade, and starting a business with $1.71 with a credit score of 380 until he was thirty-eight years old, he sees money in a very unique way."Financial freedom is to not owe others to a point you feel burdened not blessed. Being able to seed into people daily, having the resources to build and create, earning income 365 days a year, and having currency in 3+ forms is financial freedom," he says.To Stephen, there is no competition but himself. He doesn't entertain himself with doubts, fears, or limiting beliefs. He is always able to learn from others and keep growing. Being a CEO that is the face, the story, the artist, the creator all in one makes it more authentic. Being very raw and transparent. The number one thing he has that can't be compared is his community."You can copy a system, a product, and a message but you can't copy a community. The Heal Community is our #1 competitive advantage. This community is built on real-life stories such as my life and the birth of Heal. Our competition is hiring actors and we are helping our neighbors experience true transformation," he shares.Stephne is now working on publishing his book. He plans on raising a new generation by building better schools for the youth and providing digital nomad education, helping them find their mission and life's purpose. Backed by faith-based principles, fundamentals of relationship, emotional mastery, and real world health, he wants to help transform the lives of youth. He also wants to help 1,000 families earn an additional $100,000 a year.Stephen Munson continues to make progress on his life's purpose by staying connected to his calling. Helping as many people as he can reach their maximum potential, all while building an amazing community of people that are all on the same path to success. Stephen has done a complete 180 change in his life, and now he's helping others do the same.To follow his journey, click here.Contact Information:Paula Henderson202-539-7664phendersonnews@ gmail.com SOURCE: VIP-Media "Serving in the military changes you. The shades and degrees of change vary for everyone, but no one is ever the same as... An average of one child per day has been killed over the past year by violence in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, according to Save the Children, as a humanitarian crisis in the last rebel-held region of the country threatens to spiral even further out of control. Entire towns and cities have emptied in the last month as some 300,000 people have fled a new Syrian government offensive to recapture the province. The grim toll on children has shown no signs of slowing down in the new year. Since the latest round of fighting began in December, 36 children have been killed and more than 150,000 have been displaced, the charity said. Despite months of dire warnings from aid agencies and charities about a looming catastrophe in northern Syria, the worst-case scenarios for civilians appear to be coming true. The United Nations has repeatedly warned about the unfolding of the worst humanitarian disaster in Idlib if the violence does not stop. The humanitarian disaster is now unfolding, said Diana Semaan, Syria researcher at Amnesty International. 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 Harsh winter weather has piled misery on the thousands of families who have fled recent fighting and now have nowhere to go. Twelve displacement camps have flooded in the past few weeks, and rising fuel prices have made it extremely difficult for people to escape the cold. People gathered what they could of their belongings and left everything else behind, said Obaida Dandoush, 33, an activist and a volunteer from the town of Kafranbel, who was displaced to Idlib. They headed to northern areas where its safer, many took shelter in the open air, farms, schools, mosques and under-construction buildings. They have no access to medical care, food or water. Their situation is catastrophic, he told The Independent. Hanin al-Sayed, 27, a journalist and activist from Maarat al-Numan who fled her hometown with her family in May last year and has been documenting the humanitarian crisis ever since, said the exodus of the last few weeks has been one of the worst yet. The other day there was a pick-up car in front of me, theyve put whatever furniture they could carry, the mother was sitting on their furniture, crying, while carrying her daughter in her arms to keep her warm from the freezing cold. It was really heartbreaking, she said. So many people couldnt carry anything of their belongings as they didnt have cars or vehicles. Many had to flee on foot. Theyd wait by the roads for volunteers to pick them up. Nobody should be subjected to such brutality, she added. Syrian children in a camp for displaced people in Kafr Dariyan, a short distance from Syrias border with Turkey, on 28 December 2019 (AFP via Getty) (AFP via Getty Images) The situation could be made even worse if world powers are unable to agree to renew a mechanism for cross-border aid into Syria. The UN Security Council is set to vote on rival resolutions on Friday to continue aid deliveries through border crossings to mainly rebel-held areas in Syria, which currently reaches millions of people. The current mandate expires on Friday, and if it is not extended, the delivery of food, medicine and other essential items will stop. Veto-wielding members China and Russia, both of which are allies of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, have put forward a resolution that limits deliveries to two border crossings from Turkey. A rival draft resolution co-sponsored by Germany, Belgium and Kuwait and supported by the UN humanitarian office would continue the delivery of aid through two crossing points in Turkey and one in Iraq. Russia and Chinas successive vetoes have effectively blocked over the years any attempts to move towards a path of accountability and justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria, said Ms Semaan. But this time, the consequences will have an immediate and direct impact on the lives of millions of civilians already struggling for survival, and in particular in Idlib, where the civilian population is reeling under the Syrian governments fiercest yet round of military escalation. The failure to come to an agreement puts at risk humanitarian assistance to some 2.7 million people in Idlib, according to Amnesty. They have no access to medical care, food or water. Their situation is catastrophic Obaida Dandoush, activist The Syrian army, backed by Russia, launched a new offensive in Idlib three weeks ago alongside massive aerial bombardment. Syrian government forces captured more than two villages before declaring a ceasefire on Thursday. But violence has continued despite the declared pause. Russian warplanes carried out intensive raids on the strategic rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan and surrounding villages on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based organisation, which documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, also said government forces and insurgents clashed in eastern parts of Idlib on Friday morning. Turkeys Defence Ministry said Friday that it had agreed with Russia that a new ceasefire will be implemented in Idlib at midnight on 12 January. The move appears aimed at stemming the flow of displacement caused by the fighting. Idlib is mostly controlled by al-Qaeda-linked militants, but is home to three million civilians who are trapped in the middle of the fighting with no way to escape. Residents hold regular demonstrations against both the Syrian government and the militants that hold sway in Idlib. The immediate goal of Assads three-week offensive appeared to be taking Maaret al-Numan, which sits on the Damascus-Aleppo highway, in order to re-open the strategic road. It has been closed by the rebels since 2012. Sonia Khush, Save the Children Syria response director, said: Thousands of families have begun the new year trying desperately to escape violence with no destination in mind, fleeing with just the belongings they could carry. For many its not the first time theyve had to do this. Save the Children is calling on all parties to stop this war on children. The Syrian conflict must not be allowed to set the precedent for the violation of fundamental human rights and international laws, designed to protect vulnerable children, to become the new normal, Khush added. NEW HAVEN Mayor Justin Elicker and interim Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey said the school district and city are prepared to accept students and families displaced by an earthquake in Puerto Rico. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake displaced thousands on the island this week and left many more without power or water. The City of New Haven and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) are prepared to receive residents and students from Puerto Rico in the wake of this most recent disaster-including those unaccompanied by a parent or guardian-and provide them with supplies, clothing, and transportation, the Elicker and Tracey statement said. Students will be assessed for bilingual education and special needs and will be placed in the appropriate classrooms. Resources to support all students and families received during this disaster will be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the statement said. The gesture is not unprecedented in the Elm City. In the 2018-19 school year, an estimated 200 students who had evacuated Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017 enrolled in New Havens schools. Former Gov. Dannel Malloys administration ultimately allocated additional funding to the school district midway through the 2017-2018 school year, although the district was educating students at a lower cost per pupil for months before then after accomodating young evacuees and their families. The NHPS Youth, Family, and Community Engagement Department will be coordinating communications and will be a resource to students and families if they arrive in the school system, the joint Elicker and Tracey statement said. We stand with Puerto Rico, and our hearts go out to all those affected by this disaster. The Elm City is ready to accommodate those seeking refuge in this perilous time. Following Hurricane Maria, other New Haven agencies found themselves stretched thin. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro became involved when a FEMA housing program for evacuees living in New Haven nearly ended. Junta For Progressive Action reported in August 2018 that it was helping 425 families, months after a number of federal resource centers were stripped of the designation, leaving Junta as the only federal resource center for Hurricane Maria evacuees in the state. Although New Haven gained students mid-year following the hurricane, there was no immediate evidence the classrooms would be unable to accommodate the additional students. In 2018-19, the districts enrollment was 21,264; although this years enrollment account has not been verified by the state, district officials reported to state officials that its enrollment is 20,994 for the current academic year. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is facing sharp criticism after suggesting the innocent civilians killed in a plane crash shot down by Iran's military died in a 'unwanted tit for tat' between Washington and Tehran. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, made the controversial statement on Twitter after reports revealed the downed Ukrainian aircraft was mistakenly shot after it was thought to be a U.S. bomber by Iran. He wrote: 'Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat.' 'My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all 176 souls lost aboard this flight,' he added. Pete Buttigieg addressed the Ukrainian plane crash, saying: 'Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat' The tweet quickly gained traction on social media as a wave of conservative critics blasted Buttigieg for apparently arguing that the U.S. was also to blame for the tragedy. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz responded to Buttigieg, saying that Iran's 'military incompetence' caused the incident. 'Uh, Pete, they werent caught in the middle. They were shot down BY IRAN. Military incompetence by the leading state sponsor of terrorism,' he wrote. 'Just because Dems hate Trump doesnt justify false equivalence w/ Iran. Soleimani was a brutal terrorist who killed hundreds of Americans.' Republican Sen. Ted Cruz responded to Buttigieg on Twitter and blasted him for suggesting America played a role in the plane crash French: 'Iran launched a missile strike against our own troops, and then blundered by shooting down a civilian airliner when it wasnt even under attack. Thats the story. This is on Iran' Dana Loesch, a former NRA spokeswoman, joined several other conservatives in condemning Buttigieg's tweet Conservative columnist David French also weight in by tweeting, 'Nope. Nope. Nope.' 'Iran launched a missile strike against our own troops, and then blundered by shooting down a civilian airliner when it wasnt even under attack. Thats the story. This is on Iran,' he said. Former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said: 'The I, R, A, and N keys must be missing from his keyboard.' Buttigieg (pictured) is a Democratic presidential hopeful running against several other candidates Jerry Dunleavy, a reporter for Washington Examiner, maintained 'there was no crossfire.' 'If reports are true, it means an airliner full of hundreds of people was shot down by Iran just after Iran launched strikes against Iraqi bases housing U.S. service members,' he said. 'The U.S. didnt fire back then or since. No crossfire only Iran fired that night.' The managing editor for NewsBusters, Curtis Houck, said: 'If running for president doesn't work, Mr. Mayor, you should apply to be a host, correspondent, or even president of Iranian state-run @PressTV.' Jerry Dunleavy, a reporter for Washington Examiner, said: 'The U.S. didnt fire back then or since. No crossfire only Iran fired that night' Curtis Houck took a jab at Buttigieg by suggesting he could apply for a job for PressTV, Iran's international news network On Tuesday, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed outside of Iran's capital, killing all 176 people on board. The plane was carrying 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons. After speculation, U.S. officials are 'confident' that airliner was shot down by Iran after detecting two missile launches. Rescue workers sift through the plane's wreckage after a crash killed all 176 passengers and crew on board Pictured: part of the Boeing 737-800's wreckage after it crashed outside of Tehran on Wednesday Pentagon officials said that the missile launch was most likely an error made by crews looking for a U.S. response to airstrikes made against American bases in Iraq hours earlier. The plane, a Boeing 737-800 leaving Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport to Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport, was struck shortly after takeoff. President Donald Trump issued a response to reporters at the White House after the crash. 'It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood. Somebody could have made a mistake. I have a feeling that something very terrible happened, very devastating,' he said. President Donald Trump (pictured): 'It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood. Somebody could have made a mistake. I have a feeling that something very terrible happened, very devastating' Video of the crash show the Boeing 737 flying through the night sky when it suddenly explodes into flames before falling to the ground several feet below. Iran officials say the plane was not shot down, but instead suffered a technical malfunction mid-air. 'The plane, which was initially headed west to leave the airport zone, turned right following a problem and was headed back to the airport at the moment of the crash,' the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization says. 'The plane disappeared from radar screens the moment it reached 8,000 feet. The pilot sent no radio message about the unusual circumstances.' 'According to eyewitnesses, a fire was seen on board the plane which grew in intensity.' This latest missile launch in the Middle East has stoked fears amid skyrocketing tensions between Iran and the U.S. Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims around the wreckage after an Ukraine International Airlines jet crashed in Iran yesterday Rescue crews search the site of the Ukrainian plane crash after U.S. officials believe it was mistakenly shot down by Iranian military An airstrike killed a top Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani, on January 3. Soleimani was killed by missiles outside Baghdad's International Airport around 12.03am local time after arriving from Syria. Trump said in a press conference that Soleimani was killed to prevent a war, adding that the commander was plotting 'imminent and sinister' attacks against Americans. The general was the architect of Iran's shadow warfare and military expansion in the Middle East 'We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,' the president said in brief remarks at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. Iranian officials and Soleimani's supporters have since vowed vengeance for the military leader's death. President Hassan Rouhani said the U.S. has made a 'grave mistake' for by killing the leader of Iran's Quds force and will face consequences for years to come. Rouhani has said that Iran has the right to seek revenge, saying that that retaliation will come when the 'dirty hands of the US' are removed from the region indefinitely. 'The Americans did not realize what a grave mistake they have made. They will suffer the consequences of such criminal measure not only today, but also throughout the years to come,' Rouhani said. 'This crime committed by the US will go down in history as one of their unforgettable crimes against the Iranian nation.' The President of Iran has issued a chilling warning that the U.S. made a 'grave mistake' by killing the leader of Iran's Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, in an airstrike and that it will face consequences for years to come Ayatollah Khamenei (left) lashed out at Iran's enemies in a Saturday morning tweet, calling the Trump administration 'villainous' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei visited Soleimani's family on Friday evening where he said the airstrike that killed the architect of the country's infamous militia was 'villainous'. He also warned Iran's 'enemies' that the Jihad of Resistance' supposed victory will be 'bitter.' Trump: 'we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!' He wrote on Twitter: 'All friends& enemiesknow that Jihad of Resistance will continue with more motivation & definite victory awaits the fighters on this blessed path. The loss of our dear General is bitter. The continuing fight & ultimate victory will be more bitter for the murderers & criminals.' After an Iranian official said that at least 35 U.S. targets, including warships and Tel Aviv, have been identified for retaliatory strikes, Trump fired back on Twitter. 'We have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!' Trump has since said that Iran appears to be 'standing down.' Their swanky Christmas Eve party has become a tradition for celebrities and influencers. Though the settings are ornate enough, Kim Kardashian revealed Thursday that her mom also gave each of their guests gift baskets filled with appliances valued at hundreds of dollars each. The lucky recipients went home bursting with holiday cheer and weighed down with Dolce & Gabbana and Smeg appliances valued at $650 per item. Pricey presents: Kim Kardashian revealed Thursday on Instagram that her mother Kris Jenner gave their Christmas Eve party guests $650 appliances from Smeg and Dolce & Gabanna Kim showed off the gorgeous gifts, which appeared to be stacked in boxes around her home. Her first short video zoomed in on an array of Smeg toasters, which were produced in collaboration with Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. The small appliances were decorated with ornate, colorful designs inspired by traditional Sicilian ceramic designs. 'Did I ever mention for our Xmas eve party my mom makes the best gift bags! This year we were blessed with @smegitalia & @dolcegabbana appliances!!!' Kim captioned the clip. Her first short video zoomed in on an array of Smeg toasters, which were produced in collaboration with Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana Bright: The small appliances were decorated with ornate, colorful designs inspired by traditional Sicilian ceramic designs Winners: 'Did I ever mention for our Xmas eve party my mom makes the best gift bags! This year we were blessed with @smegitalia & @dolcegabbana appliances!!!' Kim wrote Kim filmed a wall of boxes with a delicate toaster, which featured a red color scheme and panels with rustic rooster and bluebird designs. The classic citrus juicer was also decked out in elaborate designs and fruit illustrations. The final appliance Kim revealed was a white kettle covered in swirling floral decorations. Fruity: The classic citrus juicer was also decked out in elaborate designs and fruit illustrations Expensive: Smeg hasn't announced prices for its Dolce & Gabbana, but Digital Trends reports that all three items Kim showed retail for $650, and all the items stacked in Kim's home would retail in the ballpark of $150,000 It's not clear if Kris gave the party guests all three items or just one. Kim also didn't mention if the boxes were leftovers or if the videos were filmed prior to handing them out on Christmas Eve. The presents were certainly pricey though, with each item retailing for hundreds of dollars.. Smeg hasn't announced prices for its Dolce & Gabbana, but Digital Trends reports that all three items Kim showed retail for $650, and all the items stacked in Kim's home would retail in the ballpark of $150,000. Lovely: The final appliance Kim revealed was a white kettle covered in swirling floral decorations Proud: Kris also shared a photo of herself posing in striped pajamas next to all of her appliances on Christmas morning The brand also sells a larger toaster for $850 and a mixer for $1,500. Though Kris was feeling generous, she steered clear of the outrageously expensive Smeg/Dolce & Gabbana refrigerator, which costs a whopping $50,000. Kim's sharing may have been inspired by a photo of herself in front of two refrigerators that only included bottles of water, ginger ale and milk cartons, while the majority of the space was unused. After online critics poked fun at her for having an empty fridge, she clapped back with videos of multiple additional refrigerators stocked with a bevy of fresh fruit and vegetables. Generous: After proving she was the supreme gift giver the night before, she again showed off her skills on the the big day when she gave all of her family members massive Aritizia gift bags Standing out: The huge bags were printed with a large photo of each recipient, including some of Kim and Kendall Jenner's modeling images Kris also shared a photo of herself posing in striped pajamas next to all of her appliances on Christmas morning. After proving she was the supreme gift giver the night before, she again showed off her skills on the the big day when she gave all of her family members massive Aritizia gift bags. The huge bags were printed with a large photo of each recipient, including some of Kim and Kendall Jenner's modeling images. NEWARK Sudhan Thomas, the mercurial ex-official accused of embezzling funds from the Jersey City Employment and Training Program, pleaded not guilty during his first appearance in Newark federal court Thursday. Wearing a blue button-down shirt and gray pinstripe pants, Thomas was handcuffed when he was led into the courtroom of Judge Leda Dunn Wettre on Thursday afternoon. He remained handcuffed for the duration of the hearing and will be held on $75,000 bail. Wettre said Thomas was in custody because an out-standing matter in Hudson County needed to be resolved. A spokesman for the Hudson County Sheriffs Office later confirmed that Thomas was wanted for unpaid child support. Thomas, who previously served as the executive director of JCETP and president of the Jersey City Board of Education, is represented by attorney Christopher Adams, who declined comment following the hearing. U.S. Marshals led him back downstairs following the appearance. Thomas, 44, was embroiled in a public fight last year with former Gov. Jim McGreevey, the previous executive director of JCETP, whom he accused of misappropriating money from the autonomous city agency. But in a classic Hudson County twist, federal authorities say Thomas embezzled $45,000 from the nonprofit agency between March and July 2019. The charges are more serious because JCETP receives grants in excess of $10,000 from federal government agencies like the Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The penalty could be up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted. Thomas resigned as the agencys executive director in July 2019, ending his six-month stint which began after he led the firing of McGreevey from that same post in January 2019. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop had appointed McGreevey to the position six years earlier. Thomas was the JCETP board president at the time of the former governors firing from the agency. While Jersey City officials over the summer supported Thomas claims that McGreevey misappropriated money from JCETP, the city stated that it cooperated in the FBI investigation into Thomas and therefore was not surprised by the charges. JCETP provides job training and reentry services for Jersey Citys unemployed and ex-offenders. Federal authorities allege Thomas used his position at JCETP to either transfer checks in the agencys name to separate accounts he also had access to or cash them directly. Thomas then used the monies, according to the criminal complaint, to pay his rent and even fund a trip to Hawaii. The federal charges came two weeks after Thomas, in his position as the citys Board of Education president, was charged by the state Attorney General with accepting thousands of dollars in bribes. The major corruption case alleges that Thomas and four other public officials and/or political candidates accepted bribes. Thomas term on the board expired Dec. 31, 2019, after failing to get reelected in November. Thomas has not yet had a court appearance on the state charges, which allege he accepted $35,000 in cash bribes disguised as campaign contributions in exchange for the individual to be named as a special counsel for the Jersey City school district. Thomas was preparing to run for city council in 2021. The federal charges focus solely on Thomas time at JCETP, while the state charges apply to his tenure on the Board of Education. UPDATE: The bullets hit the bus; cops search for the shooter. Click here for the story. --- STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are looking for a man who allegedly fired a gun following a dispute on an MTA bus in Mariners Harbor early on Friday morning. Two males were involved in a dispute about money on an MTA bus. A male stepped off the bus and fired a gun around 12:25 a.m., according to a spokesman for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The bullets did not strike the bus, riders or the driver. Police searched the area in a level-one mobilization, but did not make any arrests, the police spokesman said. Police described the suspect as a black male in his 20s, wearing an all-black jacket. More information will be posted when it becomes available. After pulling back from the brink of war, leaders in the United States and Iran may well be evaluating what they have gained and what they have lost in a conflict that has been waged for 20 months. Looking to de-escalate and mindful of political pressures at home, both sides are publicly declaring victory. But objective assessments might not be sunny, analysts say. Since President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear accord and imposed crushing sanctions on Irans economy in May 2018, kicking off a cycle of tit-for-tat escalation, both countries have suffered consequential losses in each major issue at stake in their rivalry. And while each has also made gains, they have been modest in comparison, analysts say. Ostensible victories have mostly had the effect of harming the other side without bringing clear and concrete gains. Union minister Smriti Irani has reacted to actor Deepika Padukone visiting the JNU campus in support of protesting students on Tuesday night. Speaking at an event in Chennai on Thursday, Irani said the actor had made her political affiliation known in 2011 that she supports the Congress party. . @smritiirani takes down Deepika Padukone for supporting Bharat Tere Tukde Gang pic.twitter.com/XzqTmSjeaN Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 10, 2020 I think that anybody who has read the news knew where you are going to stand... knew that you are standing with people who celebrate every time a CRPF jawan is killed, Irani said. Also read: Kanhaiya Kumar to Deepika Padukone, support builds for JNU after attacks I would rather know what her political affiliation is than not know... I cant deny her that right that she will stand next to people who will beat up other girls who dont see eye-to-eye ideologically in private parts. Thats her freedom (sic), she said. ALSO WATCH | Deepika Padukone visits JNU to support students protesting violence She made her political affiliation known in 2011 that she supports the Congress party, she said. Its her right (to) stand next to people who say Bharat tere tukde honge, the minister added. She was referring to an old interview of the actor being shared by her critics, in which she reportedly supports Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minster Padukone visited JNU on Tuesday and stood in solidarity with the protesting students. The actors visit sharply divided social media, with BJP leader Tajinder Bagga urging people to boycott her film. Union minister Prakash Javadekar, responding to his party leaders comments, had said on Wednesday: Why only artistes, any common man can go anywhere to express his opinion, there cannot be any objection. ALTON Area Congressional members want a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged rape cover-up in Champaign. U.S. Reps. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, on Thursday joined U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, and Adam Kinzinger, in releasing a joint statement calling on the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged rape and cover-up in Champaign in 2012. Lawmakers from both parties are calling for an investigation of the 2012 email exchange between a government insider and then-Gov. Pat Quinns staff regarding a possible cover-up of rape and other criminal activity. A 2012 email uncovered by WBEZ radio was written by McClain, a retired lobbyist, to the top staff of Quinn. In it, McClain sought leniency for an employee facing discipline, noting that He has kept his mouth shut on (former state Sen. Emil) Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the administration. The Congressmens statement on Thursday called the revelations extremely troubling and urged a thorough immediate independent investigation. We are very concerned that the Champaign County States Attorney has determined she will not investigate this alleged crime, the statement reads. If these disturbing allegations, that were revealed this week, are true theres a victim out there that deserves justice and a criminal that should be prosecuted. Given the unwillingness of the local states attorney to investigate this alleged crime and ties to the governors campaign, we believe a special prosecutor is warranted. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday denounced the email as horrific. He told reporters his office had referred the email written by McClain, a confidant of House Speaker Michael Madigan to the Office of the Executive Inspector General for investigation. Madigan on Thursday endorsed that approach, rejecting a call from Republicans to let a House committee dig into the issue. There are two crimes that are discussed in this email: One is rape and the other one is ghost payrolling, Pritzker said. All of us want to know, what are they referring to? While Pritzker said he hadnt talked to Quinn or Madigan as of Thursday morning, a Thursday afternoon letter from Madigan referred to a conversation with Pritzker that occurred later in the day. Madigan, a Chicago Democrat whose friendship with McClain dates to the early 1970s when both began their political careers, said Wednesday that he was unaware of the email or the incidents it mentions. No one associated with the email has been charged with any wrongdoing. When asked if Madigan should resign, at least as Illinois Democratic Party chairman, Pritzker did not directly answer but again pointed to the lack of facts and the ongoing investigation. He said his office has no further evidence regarding the emails than what was released publicly. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, has sought Madigans consent to allow the State Government Administration Committee to probe the matter and compel sworn testimony from McClain, Forrest Ashby the employee facing discipline and others. Neither McClain or Ashby, both Quincy residents, could be reached for comment, according to The Associated Press. Ashby retired in January 2018 after a three-decade state government career and working on Pritzkers 2018 gubernatorial campaign. He had most recently been working on a contract for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board; the agency has confirmed it has suspended a consulting contract with Ashby. Capital News Illinois, The Associated Press and The Center Square contributed to this story. New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a chargesheet against former Ranbaxy owners, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivender Mohan Singh, in connection with the Religare Finvest fraud case. The prosecution complaint filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav, also named former CMD of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) Sunil Godhwani as an accused in the case. Apart from the three person, the prosecution complaint also named RHC Holdings Pvt Ltd as accused. The prosecution complaint, filed by the agency through Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana, has accused the three of money laundering under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The judge, after taking cognisance of the charge sheet, posted the matter for scrutiny of documents on January 20. The court also issued production warrants against the three accused persons who are currently lodged in the Tihar Jail. The accused had acquired proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 150 crore through Star Artworks Pvt Ltd, derived out of criminal activities and utilised the amount in repayment of its existing liability towards RFL by projecting it as untainted, the agency said in its complaint. African grey parrots spontaneously lend a wing Science Daily (Kevin W) Scientists Give Cuttlefish 3D Glasses To Prove They Perceive Depth PopSci Mathematicians put famous Battle of Britain what if scenarios to the test PhysOrg (Robert M) Mysterious radio signal is coming from a nearby galaxy, scientists announce Independent (Chuck L) Australia bushfires: Mega blaze likely on Friday evening BBC :-(. My mothermakes sure to watch nightly news for updates on Australia. As huge tides bear down on Oregon coast, researchers warn this is the future OregonLive (David L) Worst Drought in 40 Years Looms Over the Struggling Thai Economy Bloomberg. Furzy; Check out the photos of the Mekong River. Researchers Develop Universal Flu Vaccine With Nanoparticles That Protect Against Six Different Viruses Georgia State University China? India Indias Supreme Court finds Kashmir internet ban unlawful Financial Times Brexit Meghan flees to Canada where she left baby Archie with nanny and leaves Harry to deal with fallout from abdication crisis after spending just three days in the UK following holiday Daily Mail. A regular reader, who reads tabloids for mental health breaks and zeitgeist watch the way some of us turn to YouTube cat videos, predicted months ago that Meghan would divorce Harry in no more than five years. One of the elements of that forecast was that Meghan apparently hadnt understood that Harry was not notably rich (among other things, not able to afford private jet travel) but was in fact on an allowance. The fact that Meghan seems keen to leverage the royal name for Clinton Foundation-level grifting income enhancement bears out that take. Millions march in France as strikes against Macron pension cut spread WSWS Syraqistan Big Brother is Watching You Watch Trump Transition Impeachment What Will Happen to Trumps Republican Collaborators? Frank Rich, New York Magazine (furzy). Hoo boy. 2020 Laffaire Epstein Surveillance video from Jeffrey Epsteins first apparent suicide attempt no longer exists NBC. I suspect that our tech oriented readers will confirm that deleting a file permanently is not a trivial operation. Our Famously Free Press PayPal blocks donations to The Grayzone that mention Iran The Grayzone (Paul R) Boeing training pilots ask to decertify union Seattle Times (Mike C) Worlds largest asset manager BlackRock joins $41 trillion climate-change investing pact MarketWatch (David L) Boeing Employees Mocked FAA In Internal Messages Before 737 Max Disasters NPR and Internal Boeing Documents Show Cavalier Attitude to Safety Wall Street Journal SoftBank-backed Zume is laying off half its staff and shuttering its pizza delivery business CNBC. Robert H: It seems like they pulled the plug faster than usual this time. Amazon Warned Holiday Shopper That Honey, a Popular Browser Extension, Was a Security Risk Wired. Amazon being not nice. Reality Check Northan Trader (RR) More Modernizing of Auditor Independence, Part 3 Francine McKenna. Important. Lambert featured an earlier piece in this series yesterday. Guillotine Watch Life on the Run Is Proving Expensive for Carlos Ghosn Bloomberg Class Warfare Antidote du jour (CV): And a bonus from Dan K. See the entire thread. Related video here: The living northern lights of the deep sea. The comb jelly Cestum can change its shine in seconds, from clear to blue, pink, & even green. Growing up to a meter long, its so delicate it feels like moving water. #openoceans #dailyjelly Video by A. Semenov: https://t.co/zcXzTXEFgg pic.twitter.com/D1WVgkcGtT Open Ocean Exploration (@RebeccaRHelm) January 7, 2020 See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Michel Barnier revealed the EU is still planning for a no-deal Brexit (Getty) Despite the Government standing down no-deal Brexit planning with immediate effect, the EU has not followed suit. In fact, no-deal planning is still very much in full flow, according to the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. During a speech in Sweden on Thursday morning, Mr Barnier said there was still a possibility of a trade deal not being struck by the end of 2020, while Boris Johnson has already ruled out an extension to the transition period. Boris Johnson has ruled out any extension to the transition period (AP) Mr Barnier said: If Prime Minister Johnson does not want an extension of the transition period beyond the end of the year and yesterday when we met him with Ursula von der Leyen, he told us very clearly that he does not want such an extension we will have less than 11 months to conclude a deal. If we fail, the transition period will end on 1 January 2021 without any arrangements for a new future relationship in place. This would not affect the issues covered in the withdrawal agreement But it would mean the return of tariffs and quotas: a total anachronism for interconnected economies like ours. Read more from Yahoo News UK: MP calls for Union flag to be flown from all public buildings to mark Brexit Jess Phillips says hundreds of men 'tell her to shut up and not run' for leader Scientist warns of extinction crisis as Australia wildfires wipe out a billion animals Of course, this is not what the EU wants. But it is nonetheless a scenario that everyone must continue to prepare for at EU level, but also at national level, and here in Sweden. Mr Barnier made it clear that he believes a full trade deal by the end of the year was unrealistic. "We cannot expect to agree on every aspect of this new partnership," Mr Barnier said, adding "we are ready to do our best in the 11 months. The EU does not believe a trade deal can be struck by the end of 2020 (AP) During a transition period ending on December 31, a new relationship between the EU and the UK will be negotiated. Full trade covers everything from fisheries to the airline industry to medicines, but the EU insists to deal with all these issues in one year is a pipe dream. The Prime Minister has insisted he will not agree to any more delays - leading to fears that the country will face a no-deal Brexit at the start of 2021. Watch more from Yahoo UK Las Vegas, Jan 10 : LG Electronics Inc. has said it has joined hands with Microsoft Corp. to develop advanced automotive infotainment and build management solutions. The two sides agreed to strengthen their cooperation in automotive and business-to-business (B2B) solutions after signing a strategic partnership on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 here. Under the deal, LG aims to mix the company's newest technologies with Microsoft's Cloud-based platforms to provide better services to consumers, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday. The South Korean tech firm said it plans to combine the company's in-vehicle infotainment platform, webOS Auto, with the Cloud-based Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform (MCVP) to offer upgraded internet radio and video streaming services. LG also agreed to develop an air conditioning and heating solution for large buildings through its building energy control system using Microsoft's cloud platform Azure. LG added it will actively use Microsoft's cloud infrastructure when it develops new solutions or business models on Cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing technologies. LG and Microsoft previously joined forces to develop AI-powered autonomous driving software. The US government believes Iran accidentally shot down a Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people aboard, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday. Citing an extensive review of satellite data, one official said the U.S. government had concluded with a high degree of certainty that Iranian anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane. The officials said the plane had been tracked by Iranian radar before the missiles were fired. The data showed the Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 bound for Kiev was airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran when the heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles were detected, one of the officials said. That was quickly followed by an explosion in the vicinity of the plane, this official said. Heat signature data then showed the plane on fire as it went down. Iran's head of civil aviation was quoted by ISNA News Agency as saying that it was "impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane." U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the deadly crash could have been a mistake and he did not believe it was a mechanical issue. The three officials said Washington believed the downing of the plane was an accident. It occurred shortly after Iran had fired missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq and Iranians were on high alert for a U.S. military response. An Iranian report on Thursday cited witnesses on the ground and in a passing aircraft flying at a high altitude as saying the plane was on fire while in the air. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on Thursday, as did the Pentagon. Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment. Boeing is still reeling from two deadly crashes of 737 MAX planes in five months that led to the plane's grounding in March 2019. The 737-800 that crashed was built in 2016 and is the prior generation of the 737 before the MAX. Boeing has built about 5,000 of those planes, which has a good safety record. Boeing shares rose 1.7% on Thursday. ROSEBURG, Ore. A new partnership is looking to create better care for cancer patients in Douglas County. The Community Cancer Center in Roseburg is teaming up with Oregon Health and Science university in Portland. Theyre now sharing doctors and other resources, which means patients received the best treatment possible. RELATED: OHSU PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE RADIATION ONCOLOGY SERVICES IN ROSEBURG The radiation oncologists at the center are now staff members at the university. It will actually improve the service we are doing already, said Tammy Turner with the Community Cancer Center. Well collaborate with them and learn techniques they may be doing at their facility and protocols at OHSU, and the Community Cancer Center will be able to adapt those protocols to our facility as well. The community cancer center is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It was created by a group of people frustrated that they had to travel to Portland or Eugene to get care. They started treating patients in 1980 and in 2009, they moved into their state-of-the-art facility on Northwest Stewart Parkway. Its 44,000 square feet, which means they have enough room to expand and patients can get all their care under one roof. KEZI 9 Checks In is a monthly reminder for women to do a self breast exam to check for any lumps or changes. You can sign up for KEZI 9 News Checks In, and well send you a reminder each month. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for popularising the usage of Sanskrit by simplifying its words and noted that culture and history associated with a language will disappear if it becomes extinct. Inaugurating the 50th session of All India Oriental Conference here, the Vice President said that Sanskrit should be simplified so that common man understands it and new words should be added as and when required. Noting that a language should not be seen through the prism of religion or community, Naidu said Vedas, Upanishads and Sanskrit belong to the entire country. "Everybody should have access to learn a language," he said. Naidu said ancient books should be translated into various regional languages for the younger generation to understand the culture, traditions and history of India. Pointing out that extensive research on Sanskrit was being undertaken in Germany, he said India was not paying adequate attention to the growth and promotion of the language. Highlighting the importance of literary and linguistic sources in history writing, Naidu said that a language was not just a medium of communication but represents a whole culture, a whole civilisation. "Our languages are a common thread that connects us with our past and the future," he said. Naidu said India has around 19,500 languages and dialects and expressed his concern that around 196 languages were reportedly facing extinction. According to an official release, Naidu said no nation can make progress if it neglects its history and called for revamping the system to include "real Indian history" and stories about heroes such as Tukaram, Gyaneswar, Narayan Guru, Alluri Sitaramaraju and Veerapandian Kattabomman. Naidu called for increasing the use of Indian languages in education, administration and in daily life. He urged all state governments and Centre to provide up to high school in local official languages or mother tongue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Katy man who claims he was pushed to the limit by his wifes affair was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the 2015 shooting death of her lover during a penalty hearing Thursday. Dennis Patrick Gibson pleaded guilty to murdering his long-time friend, 66-year-old Vernon Burger, who hed recently discovered was having an affair with his wife. Gibson also received an additional 10-year prison sentence for shooting his wife of 23 years in the back of the head. She survived. On HoustonChronicle.com: Fort Bend County DA Brian Middleton brings change to diverse county in first year During his closing argument, defense attorney David Ryan argued Gibsons now ex-wife, Jacqueline, set the stage by rubbing her husbands nose in the affair and bringing the two men to face one another. There are no angels in this case. But, there certainly is one demon and she still thinks shes the victim. She had multiple affairs during her marriage, and it wasnt about being in love, Ryan said. Ryan said he thought the sentence was fair but maintained Gibson was also a victim in the passion-fueled crime brought on when his wifes lover came to the couples home to pick her up for a weekend tryst to celebrate his birthday at a Louisiana casino. I had no problem with him getting prison time for his actions. He could have gotten a divorce lawyer. He could have stayed away, and the solution was not to grab a gun and shoot people. But, the lack of responsibility for everybody else involved in this was stunning. She really doesnt believe she did anything wrong, he said. During the trial, Jacqueline Gibson recounted that the day of the shooting started with an argument with her husband over her ongoing affair, the truth of which he discovered several weeks earlier when she went to her high school reunion in Pennsylvania with her boyfriend. Related: Ex-Katy football coach David Temple found guilty in murder retrial The couple agreed to continue living together for the sake of their two grandchildren, a 4-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, who had been adopted by the couple. On the day of the shooting, his simmering anger erupted, and violence ensued. After walking the lovers to Burgers truck, Gibson took out a gun and shot his wife in the back of the head at point-blank range and then again in the arm. He then turned the gun on Burger, shooting him twice. The couples next-door-neighbor intervened, demanding Gibson give her the gun and go back to his home. You dont want to do this, Dennis, neighbor Sherry Rosso said and reminded Gibson of the couples two grandchildren who were home at the time. A video of Gibson sitting in the back of a Fort Bend County sheriff deputys patrol car shortly after the shooting was played during the hearing. In the roughly 30-minute recording, Gibson appeared to be without remorse, alternatively screaming obscenities out the window of the patrol car, calling Burger a slimy snake in the grass and yelling to his grandchildren that he loved them. It was not the defendants life to take. Engaging in an extra-marital affair is not justification for the defendant taking the law into his own hands and shooting his victims. The remedy for infidelity is divorce, not death. The defendant made a choice and must suffer the consequences of his actions, Chief Domestic Violence Prosecutor Chad Bridges said during his closing statement. After the ruling was announced, Jacqueline Gibson took the stand to face her former husband and testified how the shooting had caused her physical and emotional suffering, including severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, I have many bad memories and scars that will last forever. But you didnt kill me; you didnt break my spirit. You didnt take my will to live, she testified, The past does not define my future and I want you to spend the rest of your life in prison. Gibson must serve half of his sentence before he can be considered for parole. Photo: The Canadian Press Mourners gather around the Centennial flame in Ottawa for a candle light vigil for victims of downed airliner. Mounting questions surrounding the circumstances of a plane crash outside Tehran that left no survivors fuelled confusion, fear and anger Thursday among those grieving the deaths of dozens of passengers bound for Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence from multiple sources indicates the Ukraine International Airlines flight was downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, echoing statements from Ukrainian officials and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day. Both Trudeau and Trump said the strike might have been unintentional. The prime minister has said 138 of the 176 passengers aboard the Kyiv-bound plane that crashed Wednesday morning, local time, had a connecting flight to Canada, and the identities of the dead were slowly coming to light through relatives, friends and employers. When Hassan Shadkhoo learned his wife Sheyda Shadkoo, 41, had died in the crash, he flew to Istanbul overnight in the hopes of making his way to Tehran. He was still in Turkey waiting to board a plane as Trudeau spoke of Iran's possible involvement in the incident. "It was no accident, no accident," he said through heavy tears after hearing the news. "These are acts of terrorism. My wife was murdered." Nina Saeidpour, a Calgary real estate agent whose friend, Kasra Saati, was among the victims, said the latest developments made the loss even harder to bear. "If something like this happened as an accident, it's much easier to take in than when you hear that maybe it got shot," she said Thursday afternoon. "It makes it much harder for people to take in and everybody right now in the community is in shock and sad and of course they're really mad if something like this happened not as an accident." Bijan Ahmadi, an Iranian-Canadian in Toronto and the executive director of the not-for-profit organization Peace and Diplomacy, said the community needs answers, particularly in light of the claims of an Iranian missile strike. "I'm speechless to explain that," he said. "If that is the case, it will be very difficult for Iranian people to absorb that, to accept that. The impact is huge." Confusion surrounding the cause of the crash, combined with concern over the escalating political conflict, could deter some Iranian-Canadians from visiting relatives back home, said Majid Zohari, another Iranian-Canadian living in the Toronto area. "Every single Iranian I know personally has some ties to Iran to the community, not the regime. So this is a story that unfortunately has a huge impact on everyone, directly or indirectly," he said. General Naravane said it has always been his intention to visit Siachen. Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane writes in the visitors register after paying homage at the war memorial during his visit to the army base camp in Siachen. (Photo: PTI) Srinagar: Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Thursday visited Siachen to review security situation and overall operational preparedness of troops to tackle any eventuality at what is known as the worlds highest battleground in eastern Ladakh. Siachen, at a height of 19, 600 feet, has apart from witnessing fighting between the Indian and Pakistani troops intermittently since April 1984, has been the scene of many natural disasters. This was Gen. Naravanes maiden visit to Siachen after taking over as Chief of the Army Staff on December 31. He took charge as the Army chief succeeding General Bipin Rawat. General Naravane said it has always been his intention to visit Siachen. I am glad that this is my first visit to Siachin as the Army chief, he added. Defence spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said in Srinagar that Gen. Naravane, who was accompanied by Lt. Gen. Y.K. Joshi, Chief of Staff, HQ, Northern Command, and Lt. Gen. Harinder Singh, General Officer Commanding of Leh-based, Fire & Fury Corps, visited forward posts in Siachen sector. He was briefed on the operational readiness being maintained in the sector by the Commander, Siachen Brigade, the spokesperson said. He added that the Army Chief also met and interacted with troops deployed at the forward posts in the Siachen sector and while complimenting them for their tenacity and high morale despite the extreme challenges posed by inclement weather, difficult terrain and super high altitude conditions, he said that the entire nation is proud of the soldiers who are deployed in Siachen, defending the territorial integrity of India. According to the defence spokesperson, the Army Chief also exhorted them to continue to discharge their duties with the same enthusiasm and zeal and also assured them the full support of the country as well as the Army. At the Siachen Base Camp, Gen. Naravane laid a wreath at the iconic Siachen War Memorial. Leading tyre manufacturer Michelin is back on the Indian outdoor landscape, putting its iconic brand mascot, the Michelin Man, in a new brand awareness campaign. The campaign tagline For those who drive the change focuses on safety, longevity, and fuel-efficiency of Michelin tyres. The campaign is currently widely visible across various mediums such as TV, OOH, and Digital. Ignite Mudra won the OOH mandate to strategically design and execute the campaign. The campaign has been crafted to endorse and to create awareness about the brand targeting the car owners who seek premium driving pleasure. The larger-than-life and attention grabbing OOH media adorned with the Michelin Man and the punch line was created to garner high visibility for the brand. The campaign has been executed across 15 cities including metros and mini- metros. A rich mix of outdoor formats have been incorporated by Ignite Mudra to give a wider dimension to the campaign and create high value impact supporting the TV and Print campaigns currently running across the country. The impact has been created due to strategic selection of media units, but what made the lasting impact is undoubtedly the strategy backed planning used for the campaign. The agency mapped the TG, their congregation and their typical day part analysis to develop the best plan that yielded the most effective impact. Michelin Indias #IndiaDrivesChange is our commitment to be a reliable partner in progress. We have woven this ethos in this 360-degree communication approach, with OOH as a key pillar. We are happy with the innovations that Ignite Mudra has been able to bring in this space, said Saradamani Dey, Director: Digital, Brand and Image, Communications, Africa India Middle East, Michelin. I feel extremely proud of our association with Michelin and would like to thank the client in trusting us with their OOH mandate. Our endeavour is always to deliver beyond the expectation of our esteemed clients. A brilliant creative by Michelin and backed with superior planning and execution has created a huge impact for the brand, remarked Gour Gupta, Founder - Tribes & MD, Ignite Mudra. Rahul Kakar, COO, Ignite Mudra, added here, At Ignite Mudra, we always try and analyse what would work best for the brand, be it use of technology, creative input or integrating experiential with OOH. With Michelin, we strongly felt that the Bibendum, a.k.a the Michelin Man, was the area of focus and innovations highlighting the same have been executed across cities further adding to the impact. At times a simple medium needs a simple solution which works best for the brand. Ignite Mudra is one of Indias leading marketing solutions provider with expertise in the Out-Of-Home, Experiential & Retail domain. They have a rich portfolio of Blue Chip clients such as Pernod Ricard, Honda Motorcycles, Toyota, ITC, Michelin, United Spirits, One Plus, Pepsico, Axis bank, Gulf Oil, Oracle, HP, Legrand to name a few. Ignite Mudra today is one of the fastest growing agencies in India. We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is, Mr. Pompeo said at a news conference after the State Department had made its announcement. He stressed that the mission of the United States in Iraq was to train Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State, and were going to continue that mission. But as times change and we get to a place where we can deliver up on what I believe and the president believes is our right structure, with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so, he added. Pressed on the issue, Mr. Trump on Friday sounded less like his secretary of state and more like he did during the presidential campaign in 2016, when he pledged to withdraw American troops from overseas conflicts. In an interview on Fox News, the president was asked whether this was an opportunity to bring American troops home from Iraq. Im O.K. with it, Mr. Trump said. But the president also said that while Iraqi officials may call for an American withdrawal in public, They dont say that privately. Iraqi lawmakers voted on Sunday to expel United States forces after the American drone strike that killed 10 people in a two-car convoy Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a top Iranian commander, four of his Iranian aides and five Iraqis, including a senior militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The prime minister has not signed the bill yet, but had been criticizing the American troop presence in Iraq since a series of recent actions by the United States military. Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for prog-rock band Rush, has died aged 67. According to reports, Peart died on 7 January in Santa Monica, California, three years after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Elliot Mintz, a spokesperson for the Peart family, confirmed the news to Rolling Stone. Peart, who retired from Rush and professional drumming in 2015, was considered as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, known for his virtuosic playing and lyrics that drew on science fiction books and the works of Ayn Rand. According to the Detroit Free Press, he dominated the annual best-of polls in Modern Drummer so often during the Eighties that he was eventually removed and placed on a special honour roll, instead. The Canadian musician, who grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, joined Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson in Rush in 1974. He wrote several books about his life, including the memoir Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times. Rush released 19 studio albums and have sold more than 40 million units worldwide. The band rank third, after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, for most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Show all 93 1 /93 Culture stars we lost in 2020 Culture stars we lost in 2020 Derek Acorah TV medium presenter Derek Acorah died aged 69 on 3 January, 2020 after suffering "a very brief illness". He was best known for presenting Most Haunted. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Christopher Beeny 'Upstairs Downstairs' actor Christopher Beeny died aged 78 on 3 January, 2020. He also starred in 'In Loving Memory' and 'Last of the Summer Wine' alongside Thora Hird. Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 Elizabeth Wurtzel American writer and journalist Elizabeth Wurtzel died aged 52 on 7 January, 2020. The author of Prozac Nation, who sparked a boom in confessional writing, had been suffering from cancer. Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 Buck Henry The acclaimed screenwriter behind The Graduate and Get Smart died of a heart attack on 8 January, aged 89. He received critical acclaim for co-writing the 1967 Oscar-nominated film The Graduate, and also received a Best Director Academy Award nomination for the comedy Heaven Can Wait, alongside Warren Beatty. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Harry Hains Actor Harry Hains starred in shows including The OA and American Horror Story, as well as working as a model and musician. He died aged 27, his mother confirmed on Instagram, after struggles with mental health and addiction. The cause of his death was not disclosed. Harry Hains / Instagram Culture stars we lost in 2020 Alexis Eddy Alexis Eddy was a contestant on season six of MTV's 'Are You the One?' She died after suffering a cardiac arrest on 9 January, aged 23. Instagram Culture stars we lost in 2020 Edd Byrnes Edd Byrnes played smooth-talking dance contest host Vince Fontaine in 1978 musical 'Grease'. He died suddenly on 8 January. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Stan Kirsch Stan Kirsch, who starred in the Highlander TV series and in an episode of Friends, died on 11 January at his Los Angeles home. He played Richie Ryan in Highlander: The Series and Monica's underage love interest Ethan in the season one Friends episode 'The One With the Ick Factor'. YouTube Culture stars we lost in 2020 Derek Fowlds Derek Fowlds died on 17 January, aged 82. The British star was best known for playing Bernard Wooley in Yes Minister and its spin-off Yes Prime Minister, as well as Sgt Oscar Blaketon in Heartbeat. Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Jim Lehrer Jim Lehrer, the famed host of PBS NewsHour, died at the age of 85 "peacefully in his sleep", according to the network. Lehrer was also a frequent debate moderator during elections. David McNew/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Tyler Gwozdz Tyler Gwozdz died of a suspected drug overdose aged 29 on 13 January 2020. He appeared on US reality series 'The Bachelorette' in 2019 ABC Culture stars we lost in 2020 Terry Jones Monty Python co-creator, writer, actor and director of 'Life of Brian' Terry Jones died aged 77 on 21 January 2020. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Nicholas Parsons Broadcaster Nicholas Parsons died aged of 96 on 28 January after a short illness. He presented BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute and popular ITV game show Sale of the Century. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Kirk Douglas Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas died aged 103 on 5 February. United Artists Culture stars we lost in 2020 Raphael Coleman Raphael Coleman, who starred in Nanny McPhee, died at the age of 25 on 6 February. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Orson Bean Veteran actor Orson Bean, who appeared in more than 100 TV shows and films over a career that spanned over six decades, died aged 91 after being struck by two cars in Venice, California. Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Joseph Shabalala Shabalala, the founder of the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, died in February aged 78. He is known around the world for leading one of the most recognised acts from South Africa. AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek Culture stars we lost in 2020 Caroline Flack Caroline Flack died on 15 February, aged 40. The presenter was best known for presenting Love Island. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Nikita Pearl Galigwa Child star Nikita Pearl Waligwa, who appeared in Disney film Queen of Katwe, died aged 15 on 16 February. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Culture stars we lost in 2020 Jason Davis Former child star Jason Davis, who voiced Recess character Mikey Blumberg, died aged 35 on 16 February. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Andrew Weatherall The DJ and musician Andrew Weatherall died 17 February at the age of 56. A pioneer in the genres of acid house and electronica, Weatherall produced albums, remixed musicians and worked as a DJ, artist and journalist. He died "swiftly and peacefully" in a London hospital, his management confirmed, after experiencing a pulmonary embolism. John Barrett Culture stars we lost in 2020 Esther Scott The actor Esther Scott died on 18 February aged 66 after suffering a heart attack. She's remembered for her roles in Boyz n the Hood, Hart of Dixie, and many other programmes including Beverly Hills, 90210, Full House, Melrose Place, The King of Queens, Sister, Sister, 7th Heaven, and ER. Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival Culture stars we lost in 2020 Pop Smoke Rapper Pop Smoke was "shot and killed" in a suspected armed burglary on 19 February when he was just 20. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 James Lipton James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors Studio, died on 2 March from bladder cancer. He was 93. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Max von Sydow Oscar-nominated actor Max von Sydow, best known for roles in The Seventh Seal, The Exorcist, Flash Gordon and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, died on 8 March aged 90. He also played the Three-Eyed Raven in Game of Thrones. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Roy Hudd Actor, comedian and entertainer Roy Hudd died 16 March at the age of 83. Hudds death was confirmed by his agent. We are sad to announce the passing of the much-loved and amazingly talented Roy Hudd OBE, his agents statement read. After a short illness, Roy passed away peacefully on Sunday 15 March, with his wife Debbie at his side. Hudd found fame as a comedian, before transitioning into radio and screen acting. He hosted the BBC Radio 2 satire The News Huddlines from 1975 until 2001, and voiced Max Quordlepleen in the original radio production of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. On television he starred in Dennis Potters acclaimed mini-series Lipstick on Your Collar, and made appearances on Coronation Street, Ashes to Ashes and Call the Midwife. Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Lyle Waggoner Lyle Waggoner died on 17 March after battling an illness at the age of 84. He was best known for his roles on The Carol Burnett Show and Wonder Woman. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Mark Blum The actor, who starred in 'Desperately Seeking Susan' and recently appeared in 'YOU' as bookstore owner Mr Mooney, died of coronavirus complications in March. He was 69 years old. Alli Harvey/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Andrew Jack A dialect coach for many actors who himself starred in two Star Wars films, Andrew Jack died in March of coronavirus complications. He worked on many high-profile films, leaving a mark on franchises such as Lord of the Rings and Avengers. Disney + / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Culture stars we lost in 2020 Bill Withers US singer-songwriter Bill Withers, whose hits included Lean On Me, Lovely Day and Aint No Sunshine, died aged 81 on 30 March. Mike Coppola/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Adam Schlesinger Adam Schlesinger, the Fountains of Wayne bass player and co-songwriter, died of coronavirus on 1 April aged 52. His song credits included "Stacy's Mom" and the Oscar-nominated title song from Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do (1996). Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 Eddie Large Eddie Large died on 2 April aged 78 after contracting coronavirus in hospital, his agent confirmed. He had been suffering from heart failure. Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Honor Blackman Honor Blackman, best known for her iconic roles as Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger and Cathy Gale in The Avengers, died 6 April at the age of 94. In a statement, her family confirmed she died of natural causes in Lewes, Sussex. Outside of her two star-making roles, Blackmans credits included Jason and the Argonauts, Bridget Joness Diary and the Nineties sitcom The Upper Hand. Danjaq/Eon/Ua/Kobal/Shutterstock Culture stars we lost in 2020 Tim Brooke-Taylor Comedian and actor Tim Brooke-Taylor, best known as a member of the Goodies, died on 12 April at the age of 79 after contracting coronavirus. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Shirley Knight The actor, whose work in 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs' and 'Sweet Bird of Youth' earned her two Oscar nominations, died in April aged 83. In recent years, she starred as Bree Van de Kamp's mother-in-law Phyllis Van de Kamp in 'Desperate Housewives'. Larry Busacca/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Fred the Godson The prominent New York rapper, who collaborated with the likes of Diddy, Pusha T and Jay Pharoah, died in April aged 35. He had previously said on social media he was being treated for Covid-19. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Lynn Faulds Wood Lynn Faulds Wood, best known for presenting Watchdog, died on 24 April after suffering a stroke. Wood helped to create the worlds first evidence-based guide to symptoms of bowel cancer, and the guide was officially adopted by the Department of Health in Britain in 2000. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Irrfan Khan The actor and Bollywood icon Irrfan Khan died on 29 April at the age of 53. Khan was hospitalised in Mumbai after suffering a kidney infection. He had been fighting infeneuroendocrine cancer since 2018. In a statement, a spokesperson said: Its saddening that this day, we have to bring forward the news of him passing away. Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him." Khan appeared in films including The Warrior (2001), Life of Pi (2012), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for DIFF Culture stars we lost in 2020 Cady Groves The US singer/songwriter Cady Groves died on 2 April at the age of 30. Groves' death was confirmed by her brother as being a result of natural causes, following the spreading of "twisted misinformation" about her death. The medical examiner has completed [an] autopsy and there was no indication of foul play or self harm. Simply put, Cady Groves died of natural causes. She had some medical problems last fall and our best guess at this point until further testing is complete is that they had resurfaced. Please respect her name and family before sharing information that did not come directly from here. Groves was best known for her singles "This Little Girl" and "Oil and Water". Vel Records Culture stars we lost in 2020 John Mahon The actor, who played a language laboratory director in The Exorcist and also starred in LA Confidential, died aged 82 on 3 May. Amazon Prime / Warner Bros Pictures Culture stars we lost in 2020 Florian Schneider The death of Florian Schneider, the co-founder of Kraftwerk, was reported on 6 May. He formed the acclaimed German electronic band with Ralf Hutter in 1970 and, over four decades, released 10 studio albums, including the seminal five-track record Autobahn (1974). A friend of Schneider's said he had been diagnosed with cancer. Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Brian Howe Brian Howe, the lead singer of Bad Company, died on 6 May at the age of 66. The musician, who was the British supergroups main vocalist, is said by a family member to have died from cardiac arrest on his way to hospital. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Ty The rapper died in May aged 47 after contracting Covid-19. Born Ben Chijioke in London to Nigerian parents, Ty was a beloved member of the British hip hop scene. PA Culture stars we lost in 2020 Little Richard The legendary pioneer of rock'n'roll died aged 87 from bone cancer on Saturday 9 May. Born in Georgia, US, Little Richard enjoyed a string of hits in the Fifties including 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Long Tall Sally', and inspired a generation of artists including The Beatles, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince. AFP/Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Corey La Barrie YouTube star Corey La Barrie was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles on his 25th birthday, on Sunday 10 May. Instagram/Corey La Barrie Culture stars we lost in 2020 Michel Piccoli The French actor, who made history in films such as Jean-Luc Godards 'Le Mepris', died on 12 May aged 94. VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Ken Osmond The 'Leave It to Beaver' star, who portrayed the iconic Eddie Haskell, died on 18 May at the age of 76. Kevin Winter/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Richard Herd The actor, who played Mr Wilhelm on 'Seinfeld', died on 26 May aged 87. Sony Pictures Television Culture stars we lost in 2020 Bonnie Pointer The singer, a founding member of the Pointer Sisters, died aged 69 on 8 June. Leon Bennett/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Dame Vera Lynn Dame Vera Lynn, the British singer whose songs were hugely popular during the Second World War, died aged 103 on 18 June. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Ian Holm Veteran English actor Ian Holm died on 19 June at the age of 88. The theatre-trained actor, who appeared as Ash in Alien and Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, was Oscar-nominated for his role in 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Carl Reiner The comedy pioneer, who created 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', died aged 98 on 29 June. Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM Culture stars we lost in 2020 Louis Mahoney The actor and anti-racism campaigner, who starred in 'Doctor Who' and 'Fawlty Towers', died in June aged 81. Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Nick Cordero Broadway actor Nick Cordero died on 6 July from coronavirus at the age of 41, after battling the illness for 95 days. Corderos wife Amanda Kloots, who had been chronicling her husbands condition on social media, confirmed the news. God has another angel in heaven now, Kloots posted on her Instagram. My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth. Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Naya Rivera Glee star Naya Rivera drowned in Lake Piru by accident on 8 July, aged 33. (2020 Getty Images) Culture stars we lost in 2020 Ennio Morricone Italian film composer Ennio Morricone died on 6 July at the age of 91. His credits include Sergio Leone films A fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as well as The Thing, The Untouchables and The Hateful Eight. AFP via Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Kelly Preston Kelly Preston, best known for her roles in Twins and Jerry Maguire, died after a two-year battle with breast cancer on 12 July, aged 57. She was the wife of John Travolta. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Grant Imahara Grant Imahara, the host of MythBusters and Netflix series White Rabbit Project, died on 13 July, aged 49. The electrical engineer and robotocist died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 Galyn Gorg Twin Peaks and Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor Galyn Gorg died on 14 July, aged 55 Instagram Culture stars we lost in 2020 Haruma Miura Haruma Mirua, the Japanese actor known for playing Eren Jaegar in the adventure film Attack on Titan, died on 18 July, aged 30. Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Michael Brooks Michael Brooks, the host of political web series The Michael Books Show and The Majority Report, died of "a sudden medical condition" on 20 July, aged 37. YouTube Culture stars we lost in 2020 Demitra Roche Bad Girls Club star Demitra Mimi Roche, nicknamed the Miami Maverick, died on 20 July, aged 34 Twitter Culture stars we lost in 2020 Tim Smith Cardiacs frontman Tim Smith died from a heart attack on 21 July, aged 58 Cardiacs Culture stars we lost in 2020 Olivia de Havilland Gone with the Wind star Olivia de Havilland died on. 26July, aged 104. Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Chris Needs BBC Radio Wales presenter Chris Needs died from a heart condition on 26 July, aged 66. BBC Culture stars we lost in 2020 Malik B Malik B, a longtime member of The Roots, died on 29 July, aged 47. @mpozitolbertphotography / Courtesy of The Roots Culture stars we lost in 2020 Sir Alan Parker Sir Alan Parker, the director films including Bugsy Malone and Evita, died on 31 July, aged 76. Stuart Wilson/Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Wilford Brimley Cocoon star Wilford Brimley died on 1 August, aged 85. He had been ill with a kidney condition for two months. Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Tony Morris Acclaimed broadcaster Tony Morris hosted the regional ITV news series for 17 years. He died on 1 August, aged 57. Culture stars we lost in 2020 Daisy Coleman Netflix star Daisy Coleman, the subject of documentary Audrie & Daisy, died by suicide on 4 August, aged 23. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival Culture stars we lost in 2020 Linda Manz Linda Manz, who appeared in Terrence Malick's 1978 film Days of Heaven, died from lung cancer on 14 August, aged 58. Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 Ben Cross Ben Cross at an event on 25 February 2011 in West Hollywood, California. David Livingston/Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Chi Chi DeVayne Chi Chi DeVayne onstage during the finale party for RuPaul's Drag Race season eight in 2016 Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Justin Townes Earle Justin Townes Earle performs onstage in Indio, California in 2013 Culture stars we lost in 2020 Joe Ruby Ruby launched the beloved cartoon with co-creator Ken Spears in 1969 Culture stars we lost in 2020 Chadwick Boseman Boseman died aged 43 in August 2020 Getty Culture stars we lost in 2020 Bruce Williamson AFP via Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Dame Diana Rigg La estrella de James Bond Diana Rigg, que murio a la edad de 82 anos, en el Festival de Cine de Cannes en 2019 AFP via Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Toots Hibbert Toots Hibbert has died just weeks after releasing his final album Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Helen Reddy Obit Helen Reddy Culture stars we lost in 2020 Frank Windsor Frank Windsor was best known for his role in the hit BBC series 'Z-Cars' Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 presidency-numbers-4.jpg Thomas Jefferson is said to be the cleverest of all US presidents Public domain Culture stars we lost in 2020 Clark Middleton 'The Blacklist' actor Clark Middleton has died of West Nile Virus AFP via Getty Images Culture stars we lost in 2020 Margaret Nolan Sean Connery with Margaret Nolan in Goldfinger Rex Culture stars we lost in 2020 Johnny Nash Johnny Nash YouTube Culture stars we lost in 2020 Paul Matters Steve Cowley, Peter De Jong, Paul Matters Armageddon Culture stars we lost in 2020 Spencer Davis Britain Obit Spencer Davis 1966 AP Culture stars we lost in 2020 Frank Bough Frank Bough y Selina Scott, los presentadores de BBC Breakfast Time. PA Culture stars we lost in 2020 Sir Sean Connery Sean Connery in The Untouchables' Rex Features Culture stars we lost in 2020 Bobby Ball.jpg Bobby Ball as Frank in Not Going Out' BBC Culture stars we lost in 2020 Archie Lyndhurst Archie Lyndhurst, the son of 'Only Fools and Horses' actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, has died Instagram Culture stars we lost in 2020 Ben Watkins Fox Entertainment Group Culture stars we lost in 2020 Thomas Jefferson Byrd (left) Thomas Jefferson Byrd and Spike Lee Getty Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland said of Peart in 2015: Neil is the most air-drummed-to drummer of all time. [He] pushes that band, which has a lot of musicality, a lot of ideas crammed into every eight bars but he keeps the throb, which is the important thing. And he can do that while doing all kinds of cool s**t. Peart first retired from Rush in the late Nineties, following the death of his daughter, Selena, in a car crash, and after losing his first wife, Jacqueline, to cancer. His second wife Carrie Nuttall, whom he married in 2000, persuaded him to return to the band, which led to something of a career renaissance for Rush. In 2013, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ceremony included a tribute performance by the Foo Fighters, who wore wigs and flowing satin robes similar to what Rushs members wore in the Seventies. Foos frontman Dave Grohl said he cried after meeting Peart for the first time. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The highest possible compliment is if someone that you admire respects your work, Peart said in 2017. To those that have said I inspired them to start drumming, the first thing I say is: I apologise to your parents. But its wonderful just to be a little part of someones life like that. In a statement, Lee and Lifeson called Peart their friend, soul brother and bandmate over 45 years and said he had been incredibly brave in dealing with an aggressive form of brain cancer. We ask that friends, fans, and media alike understandably respect the familys need for privacy and peace at this extremely painful and difficult time, they said. Those wishing to express their condolences can choose a cancer research group or charity of their choice and make a donation in Neil Pearts name. Rest in peace, brother. Brian Wilson tweeted: I feel real bad about this - he was way too young. Neil was one of the great drummers and hell be missed. Peart is survived by his wife, Carrie, and his 10-year-old daughter, Olivia. Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass kicks off the annual January Thaw Festival Jan. 11, bringing its unique mix of music -- including classical, big band, swing and jazz --to Hackettstowns Lackland Performing Arts Center. The Centenary Stage Company launched the concert series about 20 years ago, offering three musical acts on three consecutive weekends. This years line-up is rounded out by Diego Figueiredo & Ken Peplowski on Jan. 18 and Sam Reider & The Human Hands on Jan. 25. January Thaw Fest started as a series of jazz performances at the Little Theatre, a venue on the Centenary University campus. That focus changed when the concerts moved to the Lackland Performing Arts Center, a much larger venue, said Carl Wallnau, Centenary Stage Companys artistic director and the chairman of Centenary Universitys Fine Arts department. We decided to broaden the scope of our programming by looking at jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass and world music. We have presented everything from Igor Buttman and the Moscow Swing Band to the Martha Redbone Roots Project, Wallnau said. We look for world class musicians who represent a broad spectrum of musical disciplines. Broadening the offerings has broadened the audience, Development Director Georgia Mallory Guy said. Every year, the festival brings in first-time visitors attracted by one of the international acts. Centenary hopes that introduction leaves the visitors wanting more. Our hearts in theatrical storytelling ... but weve found concerts generate good, positive vibes and bring in a diverse audience, Guy said. Its a win-win. Centenary Stages 2020 schedule includes individual music and dance events, a summer series, programming for young people and full-scale musical and dramatic works, including Joe DiPietros The Toxic Avenger and the world premiere of Darrah Clouds Turning, which was developed through Centenarys Women Playwright Series. The January Thaw Festival line-up was actually set about 11 months ago after Centenary Stage leaders attended the annual Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference, a showcase for performers of all kinds, including magicians, comedians and musicians. We look for acts we think fit our audience and we know they like, but were also wiling to take a chance, Guy said. This year were looking for acts for 2021 and 2022. The diverse musicians performing in the 2020 January Thaw are: Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass mixes classical, big band jazz and New Orleans swing. The ensemble, led by trumpeter Marsalis, includes musicians who have performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony. Guitarist Diego Figueiredo and clarinetist/saxophonist Ken Peplowski present music from Jazz Samba, the 1962 bossa nova album by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd credited with igniting the popularity of the bossa nova sound in the U.S. Figueiredo won the Montreux Jazz guitar competition in 2007 and was nominated for a 2019 Grammy Award for his arrangement of Marry Me A Little. Peplowski has been called "the greatest living jazz clarinetist and has collaborated with Byrd, Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney and Marianne Faithful. Sam Reider and the Human Hands are a Brooklyn-based collective of acoustic musicians led by pianist/accordionist Reider. Songlines magazine described the groups music as a mash-up of the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France and the Punch Brothers. Concert promotor Paul Shafer said the collectives sound is hard to pin down: Its Gypsy jazz at times, with Cajun swamp soul thrown in, and a little Parisian sidewalk manouche. Latin rhythms sneak in from time to time, then outright rock and roll, then Appalachian hollow spookiness. ... You wont see or hear anything like this from anyone else." JANUARY THAW MUSIC FESTIVAL Featuring Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, Diego Figueiredo & Ken Peplowski: The Bossa Nova Wave, and Sam Reider & The Human Hands Sitnik Theatre at the Lackland Performing Arts Center 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown Tickets: $17.50 - $27.50, available online at centenarystageco.org. Jan. 11 25. Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook. (Newser) As promised, the US has imposed more sanctions on Iran after the missile strike on American targets in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury chief Steven Mnuchin announced them Friday, reports Reuters. They hit Iran's manufacturing, mining, and textile sectors, but they also target eight military and national security officials accused of involvement in the missile strike. We are striking at the heart of the regimes inner security apparatus, said Pompeo. The impact? Maybe more symbolic than painful. "Sanctions now touch every part of the Iranian economy and are unlikely to have any further impact," former Justice Department prosecutor Ryan Fayhee tells ABC News. Related developments: story continues below About the plane: After fresh denials from Iran, Pompeo reiterated that the US thinks Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet this week. We do believe that its likely that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile, he told reporters, per Politico. We're going to let the investigation play out before we make a final determination. It's important that we get to the bottom of it. After fresh denials from Iran, Pompeo reiterated that the US thinks Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet this week. We do believe that its likely that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile, he told reporters, per Politico. We're going to let the investigation play out before we make a final determination. It's important that we get to the bottom of it. No to Iraq: The State Department rebuffed a request from Iraq that the US send a delegation to discuss a quick withdrawal of America's 5,200 troops, reports a separate story in Politico. "At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnershipnot to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East," said a department spokesperson. (Read more Iran sanctions stories.) Victims Ukraine Crash Reuters/Nazanin Tabatabaee;Imperial College London A Ukraine International Airlines flight carrying 176 people crashed minutes after it took off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport early on Wednesday. There were no survivors. The victims included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians, as well as nationals from Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK, according to Ukraine's foreign minister. The airline posted a list of all of their identities later on Wednesday, and stories are starting to emerge about their lives. Among those killed were students at some of the world's top universities, and families who had spent the holiday season in Iran visiting relatives. One was Saeed Tahmasebi, a student at Imperial College London. "His story embodies the dedication and struggle that Iranian students around the world experience when advancing their careers abroad," a colleague told Business Insider. If you knew one of the victims and would like to share a story, you can contact this reporter at sesfandiari@businessinsider.com Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A Ukraine International Airlines plane carrying 176 people crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran, Iran, to Kyiv, Ukraine, early Wednesday morning, killing everyone on board. Investigations into what caused Flight PS 752's fatal crash are still underway. US and Canadian intelligence services believe the plane was shot down by a missile, while Iranian authorities deny this and have cited technical problems with the aircraft. The victims included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians as well as nationals from Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK, according to Ukraine's foreign minister. An initial report released by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization in Iran has differing figures, placing the numbers at 146 Iranians, 11 Ukrainians, ten Afghans, five Canadians, and four Swedes. These numbers are different likely because there were a number of dual citizens on board, and Iran's figures relate to the passports used to leave Iran. Story continues Iran crash SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images The airline posted a list of all the passengers and crew members' identities later on Wednesday, and stories are starting to emerge about their lives. According to testimonies posted by the victims' family and friends, many of them were traveling home from visiting relatives during the holidays, and students heading back to universities around the world for the start of the new academic term. Newlyweds, students, wives, and daughters Among those killed is Saeed Tahmasebi, a PhD student in systems engineering at Imperial College London, a top university in the UK. The university described Tahmasebi as a brilliant engineer with a bright future, and said his contributions to systems engineering will benefit society for years to come. Shirin Hakim, the president of the university's Iranian Society, told Business Insider that Tahmasebi had been on their way back to the UK from Tehran with his wife on Flight 752. Both died in the crash. "His story embodies the dedication and struggle that Iranian students around the world experience when advancing their careers abroad," she said. The Iranian-Canadian community has been hit particularly hard, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling reporters Wednesday that 138 passengers on Flight 752 had been flying to Kyiv to connect to Canada. Many of the 63 Canadians on the flight were also students at Canadian universities. Newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gourji, 25, were graduate students at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, Reuters reported. They had been traveling back to Canada after celebrating their wedding one week ago, the news agency said. Mohammad Hossein and Zeynab Asadilari, a Canadian-Iranian brother and sister, both died in the crash. According to the BBC's "Today" radio program Wednesday, Asadilari was in her 20s and a close friend described her as "such a traveler, she loved exploring the world." Nikitah Tarabian, another friend, told the BBC: "I don't know how to react this person we were literally texting two days ago. She was online on social media and then within a few minutes she was gone." Trudeau paid tribute to the Canadian academics on the flight, calling them "bright students and dedicated faculty members, all had so much potential, so much life ahead of them." Neda Maghbouleh, an Iranian assistant professor at the University of Toronto, also tweeted that the death of "young, brilliant, hopeful Iranians who were returning to their studies in Canada represents an unfathomable loss to Canadian higher education, arts, science." Hamed Esmaeilion, who lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario, lost his wife and daughter in the crash. He told CBC Toronto that it was "not fair what happened," and said he had to call his daughter's school to tell them she will not be returning. Sheyda Shadkhoo, who lived and worked in Toronto, had been in Tehran to visit her mother and sisters and on her way home, according to CNN. Her husband, Hassan Shadkhoo, told CNN she had called him 20 minutes before the flight took off, saying she was worried about tensions between Iran and the US following the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. "She wanted me to assure her that there wasn't going to be a war. I told her not to worry. Nothing's gonna happen," Shadkhoo told CBC. One family has been split forever after a ticket error meant that Ottawa resident Roja Azadian boarded the flight, while her husband Mohsen Ahmadipour stayed at the airport. He was still in the terminal when he found out about the crash and his wife's death, according to local Canadian newspaper the Ottawa Citizen. The couple had been visiting family and were due to board the plane together, but when they arrived at the airport Ahmadipour was told his ticket was no longer valid, according to the Ottawa Citizen. Saharnaz Haghjoo and her eight-year-old daughter Elsa were also killed in the crash. Her father provided a photo of the pair to Global News as they were sat on the plane waiting for it to take off. According to Global News Haghjoo had a career as television host in Iran before moving to Canada where she worked with refugee women at the YWCA, a Canadian association working with vulnerable women. The plane's model, Boeing 737-800, is the previous generation of Boeing's 737 family of jets. The current generation, the 737 Max, is currently grounded worldwide following two fatal crashes in October 2018 and March 2019. If you knew one of the victims and would like to share a story, you can contact this reporter at sesfandiari@businessinsider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider Ravinder Singh, the 25-year-old Sikh man who was found murdered in Peshawar, was shot dead by hitmen contracted by his fiance, Peshawar Police told local media on Friday. His murder, which was reported a day after an angry mob threatened to storm the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara, was seen to be a targetted killing of a member of the Sikh community. Ravinder Singhs body was found in a stormwater drain in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Sunday with a bullet injury to the head. His brother Harmeet Singh is the first Pakistani Sikh to join the electronic media. Local media reports quoting the Peshawar Police as saying that Ravinder Singh was shot by hitmen hired by his fiance, Prem Kumari. Prem Kumari has been taken into custody in Mardan, one investigator told local media. Police claim that Prem Kumari had hired hitmen because she did not want to marry Ravinder. She had agreed to pay 7 lakh for the contract killing and had paid half the amount in advance. Ravinder Singh, who hails from the remote Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, had moved to Malaysia and was in Pakistan for his wedding. The hitmen, police said, killed Ravinder Singh in Mardan town, about 50 km from Peshawar city. The breakthrough in the case came when one of the hitmen was apprehended by the police in Mardan, police said. The hitmen dumped his body at a deserted place and called the family from Ravinder Singhs phone to demand a ransom. According to the police, this was done to divert investigations into the murder. Ravinder Singhs brother Harmeet Singh had responded to news of his brothers murder with an appeal to Pakistanis to highlight the tragegy so that his brothers killers are brought to justice. We do not have personal enmity with anyone, he said. He added that Sikhs were being repeatedly targeted and there is no protection for Pakistans minorities. India strongly condemned Singhs murder, describing it as the targeted killing of [a] minority Sikh community member in Peshawar that follows the recent despicable vandalism and desecration of the holy Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib and the unresolved case of abduction, forced conversion and marriage of a Sikh girl, Jagjit Kaur. President Donald Trump on Friday called Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's decision to quit their roles in the British royal family "sad" and said he felt sorry for the queen. "I think it's sad, I do," Trump said in an excerpt of an interview to air later on Fox "I don't want to get into the whole thing," he said. "I just have such respect for the queen. I don't think this should be happening." Speaking of Queen Elizabeth II, the grandmother of Harry, he said "she's a great woman. She's never made a mistake, if you look. I mean she's had like a flawless time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress asked the World Bank to clarify its hiring practices, following an Axios report in December that revealed the international financial institution told staff, contractors and consultants from Taiwan to present Chinese travel documents to maintain or pursue employment. What's new: Bipartisan leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committees in both chambers sent a letter to World Bank President David Malpass on Jan. 7, citing concern that the rule could be considered "discrimination based on nationality," which would be inconsistent with the World Bank Group's Code of Conduct and Articles of Agreement. Signatories included House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), along with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). Where it stands: The World Bank revised its rule to represent a compromise in December, stating it gives hiring preference to people from member states, but does not ban hiring those from non-member states. Taiwan isn't a member state, but Taiwanese nationals have historically worked at the World Bank. The new rule added that: "The Bank Group's recruitment policy is to hire staff of the highest caliber, on as wide a geographical basis as possible, with preference to nationals of WBG [World Bank Group] member countries or countries of operations." Why it matters: Taiwan is self-governed, but China maintains the island is part of its sovereign territory. China has long sought to squeeze Taiwan from multilateral institutions, and Taiwanese people from the international community. Read the letter: Go deeper: China steps up political interference ahead of Taiwan's elections 5 1 of 5 Contributed Photo / Loyal Companion Animal Rescue Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Contributed Photo / Loyal Companion Animal Rescue Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Contributed Photo / Loyal Companion Animal Rescue Show More Show Less 5 of 5 NEW HAVEN Local residents and police are looking for three puppies reported stolen on Clinton Avenue in New Haven Friday morning. Officials with Loyal Companion Animal Rescue said a driver was mugged and had his car stolen, along with the puppies, after pulling over to clean up after the dogs. A man in his 20s is due in court this morning in connection with the theft of ATM machines in the north-west and east of the country. He was arrested in Castleblayney in Co Monaghan on Monday and was held at Monaghan Garda Station. Party and tower speakers, the devices shall have multiple control functions with even bass and treble changing ones German technology brand Blaupunkt recently launched its Vocano Series of party speakers in India. Called the Blaupunkt PS100 Volcano 100, Volcano 600 and BT400 Volcano 40 these come with outputs of 120w, 500w and 40w. Both BT400 & PS100 have inbuilt batteries, with capacities of upto 8,000mAh according to the company. Party and tower speakers, the devices shall have multiple control functions with even bass and treble changing ones (atleast on the Volcano 100 and 600). Priced starting from Rs 5,990 the series of products shall be available for sale on e-commerce website Amazon. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The war between hackers and banks over ATM security will be dynamically redefined, notes Atanu Biswas. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com At least 22 people of the same locality in Kolkata lost more than Rs 5 lakh in early December as fraudsters possibly using skimming machines at multiple ATMs emptied bank accounts within hours of salaries and pensions being deposited. On another 'Black Sunday' in August 2018, more than 50 people lost over Rs 20 lakh. How vulnerable are ATMs worldwide? About five or six years ago, a restaurateur in the American state of Tennessee, along with his associate, withdrew more than $400,000 in $20 bills around Nashville over a period of 18 months. Using a special button sequence and some insider knowledge, they allegedly reconfigured ATMs to believe they were dispensing $1 bills, instead of the twenties actually loaded into cash trays. The vulnerabilities of ATMs can be illustrated in numerous such instances. ATM jackpotting is the exploitation of physical and software vulnerabilities to get the machines to dispense cash. There are mostly three ways to rob an ATM -- remote (involving remote-controlled malware), almost remote (a Bluetooth keyboard) and physical. There has been a string of smash 'n' grab robberies in countries such as the US, where trucks are crashed into stores and ATMs hauled out. Poor security, defunct CCTV cameras and easy availability of cheap, high-tech skimming devices are major reasons for ATM frauds around the world. Skimer, a Trojan able to steal funds and bank card data, was introduced in 2009. Logic attacks have become increasingly popular among cybercriminals since then, through other malware families, including GreenDispenser, Alice, Ripper, Radpin and Ploutus, among others. Micro cameras are also sometimes placed either above the keypad or where bank forms are kept. They capture PINs, which enables card-cloning for fraudulent cash withdrawals. How can ATM security be enhanced? It can be done by increasing awareness, tightening security measures, and incorporating new technologies for security. Many customers are careless; they use overly simple and non-random PINs (such as date of birth), and do not change PINs periodically, compromising security. Are banks careful about such issues? In 2014, two 14-year-old boys of Winnipeg, Canada, cracked the password of a Bank of Montreal ATM on the first try, using a default factory password (000000) that had apparently never been changed. They had used the operating manual of the ATM, available online, to find almost all the information needed to reprogramme the ATM. The implementation of chip technology to prevent card skimming has been successful in many places. Also, we know that the PIN is encrypted and decrypted during transactions, and several computations occur within the ATM where the PIN is converted into a binary string. Several sophisticated modes of attack, such as side-channel attacks, are practised by attackers using this simple feature. Essentially, side-channel attacks are based on statistical methods used to estimate the PIN. American cryptographer Paul Kocher pioneered such techniques. Several types of side-channel attacks are practised by hackers. The 'power-monitoring attack', for example, uses the fact that a '1' involved in computation consumes more power, and a '0' consumes less power. The power consumption curve, if recorded by a sensor, can be statistically analysed to estimate the PIN. In similar fashion, a 'timing attack' is based on measuring how much time various computations take within the ATM -- the PIN can be statistically estimated by analysing this. Similarly, an 'electromagnetic attack' relies on leaked electromagnetic radiation, which can directly provide plain-texts and other information, and 'acoustic cryptanalysis' uses sound produced during a computation. To make a system perfectly secure, 'mutual information', which is a measure of association between the message to be sent and stored, actually should be zero. Such an idea was introduced by Claude Shannon, known as 'the father of information theory'. This essentially requires that when any information is converted to binary string, they are needed to behave like the outcomes of repeated independent flips of a coin, so that no pattern can be identified from the binary string of data. This can be ensured by introducing suitably designed fake computations within the ATM, so that the power consumption curve, time consumption, electromagnetic radiation, and produced sound curves become either flat or completely random, bearing no information of the PIN or the user. Also, financial institutions have been experimenting with viable implementation of biometric-enabled authentication systems for their customers. Banks in Japan, for example, have widely deployed biometric-enabled ATMs using fingerprint or finger vein scans. Citigroup in the US attempted to use iris scans of customers. In such cases, the ATM communicates with the bank server by encryption and decryption of biometric information only. Also, cardless ATMs are now coming in the domain. So, the dynamics of ATM usage is being changed with added security features. However, privacy might be a serious issue for biometrics-enabled ATMs, and the system should comply with the law of the land. To conclude, the continual war between hackers and banks over ATM security is going to be dynamically redefined -- no doubt about that. Atanu Biswas is professor of statistics, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata/ A Millville police officer accused of brutally beating several suspects has admitted to a third-degree aggravated assault charge in one of the incidents, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutors Office. Jeffrey E. Profitt, 40, was previously indicted on 24-counts involving separate incidents, but pleaded guilty Friday in a 2016 case involving a 62-year-old man he allegedly threw to the concrete floor of the police stations sally port, causing serious facial injuries. The plea deal calls for Profitt to serve 364 days in county jail, resign from his police job and forfeit future public employment in New Jersey. The remaining charges will be dismissed when he is sentenced Feb. 14. Profitt was accused of using excessive force in five arrests described in the indictment and of filing false reports in about 10 arrests made between 2013 and 2016. His charges included multiple counts of official misconduct, aggravated assault, endangering another person, terroristic threats, tampering with physical evidence, tampering with records and obstructing the administration of law. Prosecutors allege Profitt failed to file "truthful, accurate and complete" reports about the five arrests for which he is accused of using excessive force, and five other cases. The victim in the sally port incident, identified in court documents as A.W., was arrested at a liquor store where he was causing public alarm. EMTs arriving at the police station because of the mans apparent intoxication testified they saw Profitt pick up A.W. and throw him to the floor face-first. "A.W.'s face, according to one of the EMT witnesses, hit the concrete floor like 'a pumpkin smashing,'" according to details from an earlier ruling in the case. Prosecutors alleged Profitt misled his superiors about the extent of A.W.s injuries, which required three hours of surgery to repair. Profitt joined the Millville department in 2012 and is currently suspended without pay pending the outcome of his case. He remains free pending his sentencing. The officer, who has also played a cop in low-budget films, is the head of 856 Films, LLC, described on its website as a producer of micro-budget feature films and series programming. In one of his films, titled Violent Justice, Profitt plays a detective who quits his job and takes the law into his own hands. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. North Korea, a nation known for harsh rules and its constant banter with the US over nukes also has some strange priorities. These strange priorities of the state have now resulted in a mother of two facing prison for reportedly trying to save her kids from a house fire instead of saving portraits of the North Korean leaders. A fire broke out in a home shared by families in Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province, close to the Chinese Border. When the fire broke out, parents of both the families were out and rushed straight back on seeing the fire. However, the parents tried saving their kids and in the process, portraits of North Korea's leaders burnt. Read: North Korea to end moratorium on nuclear, intercontinental ballistic missile tests While one family was successful in saving the portraits of Supreme Leader Kim's families, one could not. The mother now faces charges by the North Korean State. She will be sentenced to lengthy prison time with hard labour if found guilty. The mother has also reportedly been banned from tending to her children who are in the hospital as a result of the ongoing investigation. According to international media reports, neighbours wanted to help the family in saving the portraits but were afraid to do so as they were afraid that the mother would be charged for a political crime. Read: North Korea begins key meeting before year-end deadline for US The Hermit Regime's strict laws The North Korean regime has made it mandatory for homes to display paintings of its past leaders of the Kim family, including Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. The regime, quite popular for its strict laws, also sends inspectors, incase any house fails to display the leader's paintings. According to North Korea's laws, all depictions of the Kim family must be treated with the same kind of respect that the leaders are treated with. The failure to care for portraits of leaders is a serious political crime. The Hermit regime, on the other hand, also considers people who save the State's leader's paintings from floods and fires as heroes, especially if these people die in the process of doing so. Read: US strike on Iran could have consequences in North Korea (with inputs from agencies) (image credits: AP news) Negotiations for the second phase of a pending US-China trade deal will begin promptly but the outcome may wait until after this year's elections, President Donald Trump said. Trump's remarks come days before Beijing's trade envoy is due in Washington to sign a "phase one" agreement, marking a pause in the two sides' nearly two-year trade war. The US leader also openly cast doubt on whether American farmers would be able to supply China with the massive increases in agricultural exports expected to be part of the deal. "We'll start right away negotiating phase two. It will take a little time," Trump told reporters. "I think I might want to wait to finish it until after the election because I think we can make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal." After efforts to reach a grand bargain proved elusive last year, the two sides agreed in December to a partial deal addressing only some of Washington's grievances about Chinese trade practices. Since the trade war began, talks have broken down acrimoniously more than once. And observers have speculated in recent weeks there may be little appetite for Phase Two even though many of the tariffs put in place during the conflict remain in place. As part of the "Phase One" deal, China has committed to a minimum of USD 200 billion in increased purchases over the next two years from the United States, including USD 50 billion in additional farm exports, according to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Annual US farm exports to China peaked in 2012 at USD 26 billion, a time when commodity prices were higher. "The big question I have is whether or not the farmers will be able to supply all that much more," Trump said Thursday. "It's the biggest contract ever signed." Earlier on Thursday, China's commerce ministry confirmed Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington next week to sign the "Phase One" agreement. Markets have been cheered in recent weeks by the continued cooling of trade frictions between Washington and Beijing. Teenagers in the US simply don't get enough shut eye. The consequences of this epidemic of sleep deprivation are extensive and include increasing rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents, as well as suicidal thoughts and actions. Sleep-deprived teens are more likely to be involved in car crashes, and run a higher risk of injury during sports-related activities. Experts have pointed to various reasons for the chronic teenage sleep deficit: growing homework loads, too many extra-curricular activities, caffeine consumption, school start times that run counter to middle and high schoolers' natural circadian rhythms, and the use of electronic devices and backlit screens, which may disrupt sleep patterns, before bedtime. But researchers at the University of Rochester have found that a simple and timeworn solution yields solid results: a clear bedtime that parents consistently adhere to. "Greater enforcement of parent-set bedtimes for teenagers aged 14-to-17 are associated with longer sleep duration," says Jack Peltz, lead author of a recent study, which was published in the academic journal Sleep. Peltz, now an assistant professor of psychology at Daemen College, earned his PhD in psychology at Rochester in 2013 and conducted the study as part of a research appointment at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Department of Psychiatry. Study participants included teenagers and their parents. The team asked their teenage participants to keep twice-daily sleep diary entries over seven days, collecting reports of sleep duration, daytime energy levels, and depressive symptoms. Parents, meanwhile, provided information about their enforcement of sleep-related rules and bedtimes. Among the key findings: Parent-enforced bedtimes--along with later school start times--are the greatest predictors of sleep duration, daytime energy level, and depressive symptoms. More than 50 percent of parent respondents reported no specific or enforced bedtime rules, consistent with rates measured in previous research across families in the US. Evening screen time and caffeine consumption did not, contrary to the researchers' hypotheses, significantly affect teenagers' sleep duration over the course of the study. In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics responded to the sleep deprivation epidemic by urging school districts to start classes no earlier than 8:30 am, especially for middle and high schoolers. But to date, only about 14 percent of US high schools have heeded the recommendation, which makes the rule-setting role of parents all the more important. The researchers acknowledge that setting a bedtime for teenagers might be difficult; but their results suggest that even with pre-bedtime conflict, parents' enforcement of bedtimes yielded better mental health outcomes for their offspring. That said--"ideally parents should be able to work collaboratively with their teenagers to develop bedtimes that still support the child's autonomy," says Peltz. The bottom line, according to coauthor Ronald Rogge, an associate professor of psychology at Rochester, is that "even though adolescents start gaining self-sufficiency and independence, they still need sleep and might not prioritize that if left to their own devices." Absent an iron-clad rule, there are nevertheless healthy ranges, says Heidi Connolly, a professor of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Pediatric Sleep Medicine at Rochester, who is also a coauthor of the study. Most teenagers need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night, she says, mirroring recommendations made by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. As for an appropriate bedtime, that of course depends on the wake-up time. It's inherently more difficult for teenagers to fall asleep earlier than later because of their circadian rhythm. That's why it's so important for high school start times to be later, as the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended across the board." Heidi Connolly, coauthor of the study The ideal is to feel well rested during the daytime, and spontaneously awaken at around your scheduled wake-up time even when allowed to sleep in. The team notes that future studies may be necessary to determine if their findings hold true across a range of populations; they caution that their sample was predominantly white, well-educated, and economically advantaged. Pune Friday saw Pune witness a slight nip in the air, with the minimum temperature being recorded at 12.8 degrees Celsius, as compared to 14.8 degrees Celsius recorded on January 9, according to the IMD. On January 11 the city will witness a clear sky with a haze at isolated places and a minimum temperature of 14 degrees Celsius and the maximum at 28 degree Celsius. As of January 12 and 13, the city will still be under a cloud of haze with the minimum temperature hovering around 15-16 degrees Celsius, and the maximum at 29 degrees Celsius. January 13 and 14 will also be partly cloudy with minimum temperature at 16 degrees Celsius and maximum at 29 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast. If one notices, theres a slight fall in day temperature but the night temperature is recorded way above normal due to the moisture from the Arabian Sea, which has been causing slight rain, clouding in the morning that is affecting the day temperature, said AK Srivastava, head, Climate Research Division, IMD. Pune is yet to witness a winter chill which has not yet reached the city due to hurdles in the form of moisture from Arabian sea and South-Easterly activity which is causing hurdles for the Northerly winds which have precipitation in the form of ice and rain. There is also a western depression in the northerly part which is causing haze and cloudy weather to prevail, said Srivastava. With Marist High School closing in June, the countys three remaining Catholic high schools say they have the room to welcome Marist students next year. Hudson Catholic, which will become the only coed Catholic school in the county, can handle at least 100 more students than its current population of about 500, its president and principal, Richard Garibell, said. The other two St. Peters Prep for boys and St. Dominic Academy for girls also have space and will match Marists lower tuition, enrollment officials at both school said. Marists administration announced Wednesday that the Bayonne school will close at the end of the current academic year because low enrollment has caused it to lose more than $1 million annually. Marist currently has 230 students, 59 of whom are expected to graduate this year. The three remaining Catholic high schools are all in Jersey City. The transfer application process typically begins after midyear grades are released, so Marist High School students are on track to apply and make decisions by the end of the school year, said St. Peters Prep director of admissions John Irvine. For a lot of families, theyre probably just feeling anxious and panicked right now, but the reality is they dont have to rush into making decisions, he said. Weve got the spring to find the right fit. Marists $9,150 tuition is lower than each of its three peers. Tuition last year at St. Peters Prep was $17,888, plus fees. Marist President Peter Kane said each of his students will receive personalized guidance on their options for next year and that administrators at the other high schools have been very supportive. Nothing would make me prouder than to see our Marist students continue with a values-based education in another Catholic high school, he said. Kristen Mallon, the enrollment manager at St. Dominic Academy, said the school plans to welcome interested Marist students to visit for a day. The school currently has just over 200 students, she said. Catholic school is a tradition, a way of life, a path that many of us were raised on and that we continue to have our children follow to this very day, said Head of School Sarah Degnan. It should then come as no surprise how shocked and saddened I was when I learned that Marist High School will close in June. The student population at St. Peters Prep, meanwhile, has been steady. About 900 students are currently enrolled, Irvine said. Welcoming students whose schools have closed has become a bit of a familiar, unfortunate routine there, he said. Its a sad day and for many of them its traumatic, but the reality is theyve hopefully had a great experience there and can find a home for the next one year, two year or three years, he said. There are a lot of schools that would be happy to welcome them. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NRF 109th Annual Convention and EXPO - Customers and innovative technology again take center stage as SAS' focus during the annual NRF 2020 Big Show and EXPO. Whether shopping for new shoes for a family vacation or hardwood flooring to complete a remodeling project, consumers are in the driver's seat as never before. The dynamic between retail companies and consumers is pivotal, and SAS helps retailers like Belk (US), Sodimac (South America) and Shop Direct (UK) use data to develop rich, lasting relationships that can help propel the businesses for years to come. "Consumers are eager to interact with retailers in new, innovative ways made possible by data-hungry technologies like computer vision, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning," said Dan Mitchell, SAS Global Director of Retail and CPG. "SAS' job is to help our retail customers use their relevant data as fuel that brings the most current technologies artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision - to life in ways that enhance consumer relationships in mutually beneficial ways today and tomorrow." Spend a transformative 15 minutes on the SAS analytics tour For those with dreams of becoming the next supermodel, SAS will use artificial intelligence (AI) analytics like computer vision to gain mood and style insights from video images captured from the passing NRF crowd. Apparel retailers will be able to enjoy a "runway to closet" technology demonstration that charts the ways computer vision, predictive analytics and AI moves merchandise from the fashion runway to a consumer's closet. Analytics in the grocery and CPG industries will also get attention through a "grape to grocer" technology tour that highlights precise forecasting and inventory optimization. And, to wrap up Monday's show schedule, SAS invites NRF 2020 attendees to a wine tasting from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET at the SAS booth (4924). Retailers share SAS analytics successes throughout NRF 2020 Using AI-fueled inventory precision, Belk transforms its localized assortments to deliver revenue and margin improvements and richer customer experiences online and in its more than 300 stores throughout the Southern United States. Tim Carney, Belk Vice President of Allocation, will discuss how his team uses SAS to solve complex challenges and make faster decisions that help them stay competitive. Carney's Big Ideas Session takes place on Monday, Jan. 13, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET, in EXPO Level 1, Stage 2, of the Javits Center. In addition to Belk, two more customers will share their stories of success with SAS during in-booth sessions at the SAS booth on both Monday, Jan. 13, and Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 10 a.m. to noon ET and again from 1 to 3 p.m. ET. Sodimac South American home improvement retailer Sodimac uses SAS for optimizing pricing. SAS team member Cristian Figueroa will represent Sodimac at NRF 2020. South American home improvement retailer Sodimac uses SAS for optimizing pricing. SAS team member will represent Sodimac at NRF 2020. Shop Direct Tom Goulden , Director of Retail Planning and Operations for UK-based Shop Direct (soon to be known as The Very Group), will discuss how the company uses SAS analytics to make shopping easier for customers. SAS presents NRF Foundation Next Generation Scholarship James Vickers, SAS Vice President of Consumer and Communications, will present the NRF Foundation Next Generation Scholarship on Sunday, Jan. 12, during the NRF Foundation Honors program. SAS helps The Twig retail boutique analyze clothing needs for foster children The Twig, a Florida boutique created in 2016, provides free new clothes to more than 250 foster children monthly. SAS analytics helps The Twig (which stands for "The Way to Inspire and Give") forecast clothing needs by gender and age. During NRF 2020, SAS will survey interested retailers about participating in this Data for Good initiative. Learn more about helping retailers effectively connect with consumers by downloading the whitepaper, Experience 2030 The Future of Customer Experience is Now. Follow SAS on Twitter at @SASsoftware and @SASRetail. Follow NRF 2020 news at #SASatNRF. About SAS SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW. SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright 2020 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial Contact: Laura Fleek Brumley [email protected] +1-214-803-6692 sas.com/news SOURCE SAS Related Links http://www.sas.com The Boeing Company has released hundreds of internal messages that raise serious questions about its development of simulators and the 737 MAX that was grounded in March after two fatal crashes, prompting outrage from the United States legislators. In an April 2017 exchange of instant messages, two employees expressed complaints about the MAX following references to issues with the planes flight management computer. This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys, one unnamed employee wrote, the messages released by Boeing on Thursday show. In one message dated November 2015, which appears to shed light on lobbying methods used when facing demands from regulators, a Boeing employee notes regulators were likely to want simulator training for a particular type of cockpit alert. We are going to push back very hard on this and will likely need support at the highest levels when it comes time for the final negotiation, the employee writes. The planemaker said some communications raise questions about Boeings interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in connection with the simulator qualification process. In releasing redacted versions of what it called completely unacceptable communications, Boeing said it was committed to transparency with the regulator. Unredacted versions of the messages were turned over to the FAA and the US Congress in December. House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, who has been investigating the MAX, said the messages paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally. He added: They show a coordinated effort dating back to the earliest days of the 737 MAX programme to conceal critical information from regulators and the public. The FAA said after its review of the documents it determined that nothing in the submission pointed to any safety risks that were not already identified as part of the continuing review of proposed modifications to the aircraft. It also said: Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed. The FAA added: The tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing. The internal messages are hugely embarrassing and also dangerous for Boeing and its employees, Matthew Driskill, the editor of Asian Aviation, told Al Jazeera. If its proven that [Boeing employees] actually lied to federal officials, thats a felony. They could go to prison for that, he said. Boeing said on Thursday it is confident all of Boeings MAX simulators are functioning effectively after repeated testing of simulators since the messages were written. The communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable, it said. The released internal messages include some from a former Boeing senior technical pilot, Mark Forkner, company officials said. In October, Boeing disclosed other messages from Forkner that said he might have unintentionally misled regulators and raised questions about a key safety system in testing. The planemaker may face deeper scrutiny into its other models such as the 777X and the 787 due to insider complaints filed by Boeing employees that theres sloppiness on the production line [and] that Boeing is putting profit over people or profit over safety, said Driskill. But while Boeings commercial airline business will still be around for a long time, the grounding of the 737 MAX and the latest outrage over the internal messages could cost the planemaker its profitability, he said. Boeing planes arent going to go anywhere. That business is still viable but it is going to be a drag on Boeings earnings for a long time to come, Driskill said. Ceasefire in last opposition stronghold paves way for pause in bombardments by Syrian government forces. Russia and Turkey have announced a ceasefire in Syrias Idlib province, paving the way for a pause in continuing government-led bombardment in the countrys last rebel-held stronghold, while allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid. According to the agreements with the Turkish side, the ceasefire regime was introduced in the Idlib de-escalation zone starting from 14:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT) on January 9, 2020, Russian Major-General Yury Borenkov was quoted as saying. Turkey had asked Russia to establish a ceasefire in the region and it sent its delegation to Moscow in December to discuss the issue. That month, the Syrian government and allied Russians launched a large-scale campaign against rebels in Idlib. As the offensive intensified, in December alone, almost 300,000 people fled to safer areas towards Turkey from southern Idlib, according to the United Nations. Al Jazeeras Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Ankara, said Turkey has been pushing and calling for the ceasefire, in part because it is already under enormous strain from the influx of Syrian refugees already within its border. This agreement is significant because it will not only stem the flow of refugees from Idlib but will also allow for much-needed aid by humanitarian organisations to reach desperate people inside that Syrian city. Kenan Rahmani of the Syria Campaign, said conditions are dire in southern Idlib, and were made worse by the deliberate targeting by the Assad government on hospitals. He also pointed out that Russia had repeatedly vetoed humanitarian aid at the UN. The ceasefire, we hope it will stay, he said, adding that previous ceasefire deals were broken, with the regime continuing its brutal military onslaught. We hope this time will be different. The civil war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. In total, 11,215 people including more than 1,000 children were killed in 2019, the least-deadly year on record since the beginning of the conflict. Amid reports of eviction faced by 500 Sikhs from a scheduled tribe block in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday decided to send a fact-finding team to ascertain facts and ensure that the evacuees are not rendered homeless or harassed. The Punjab chief minister has conveyed the decision to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Kamal Nath, with whom he spoke over the telephone to discuss the issue,an official release said here. The delegation will be led by Punjab Revenue Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar and MLAs Kuldpeep Vaid and Harminder Singh Gill. During his conversation with Kamal Nath, the Punjab CM requested to make alternate arrangements for the settlement of the Sikhs. If it was not possible to rehabilitate them in the same area where they had been living for the past two decades due to tribal land protections and laws, then alternate land should be provided for their resettlement, Amarinder told the Madhya Pradesh CM. Kamal Nath assured Amarinder that his government would do everything possible to ensure that the Sikhs get their due and were not subjected to any harassment, the release said. The issue has cropped up as a result of the MP government's drive against encroachments. The MP government says these Sikhs had been illegal occupants of land in the notified tribal block of Karahal tehsil in Sheopur district. But the Sikhs, originally hailing from Punjab and Haryana, have denied the charges, saying they had purchased the land back in the 1990s. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Now, the directors latest work Chhapaak, based on the life of the acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, continues to be inundated with controversies and legal issues even after its release. Making biopics on people who are alive has become almost impossible in India. Meghna Gulzar and her producers faced their share of legal hassles while trying to make Talvar based on the infamous Aarushi Talwar double murder case. Now, the directors latest work Chhapaak, based on the life of the acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, continues to be inundated with controversies and legal issues even after its release. The latest problem to plague Chhapaak is a legal notice from Laxmi Aggarwals lawyer Aparna Bhat who fought a long and hard battle to get justice for her client. After watching the film, Aparna feels that she has been sidelined in the film. In a Facebook post, she wrote, Have never been the one to demand attention to my work. Deeply disturbed by the turn of events post watching Chhapaak. Compelled to take legal action to protect my identity and preserve my integrity (sic). While Meghna is battling another legal issue, a source very close to her angrily blames the films producer Fox Star for the faux pas. Even after knowing that it is a sensitive story based on true events, why did the producers hold previews days before the films release? Everyone knows such real-life stories are vulnerable to attack and bound to become a casualty of last-minute delaying tactics. In the latest development, a Delhi court had ordered the Chhapaak makers to acknowledge Aparnas contribution to the film. This court is of the considered view that facts are indicative that the pique of the plaintiff for interim injunction is well-founded and it is necessary that her contribution be acknowledged by providing the actual footage and the images, says the court order. Accordingly, Aparnas name will now appear in the credits of the movie. Iran's civil aviation chief dismisses reports of Ukrainian plane being hit by missiles Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 5:58 PM Iran's civil aviation chief has rejected as "illogical rumors" reports that the Ukrainian plane that crashed south of the capital Tehran was hit by missiles. Head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Thursday, adding, "From a scientific viewpoint, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane." "The plane caught fire three minutes into the flight, according to what the witnesses have reported and the data collected from the parts of the airplane," Abedzadeh told Press TV. "The pilot tried to return the airplane at the altitude of 8,000 ft., but due to the fire, the airplane crashed and exploded," he added. "We can say that the airplane, considering the kind of the crash and the pilot's efforts to return it to Imam Khomeini airport, didn't explode in the air. So, the allegation that it was hit by missiles is totally ruled out," the official noted. Asked if the cause of the crash was to be determined after a probe, Abedzadeh said, "According to international regulations, it is the responsibility of the country, where the incident happened, to probe into the incident. So Iran Civil Aviation Organization is in charge." "But because the airplane was Ukrainian, Ukraine is obliged to cooperate with us, and has started cooperation. Their team of experts has arrived in Tehran, and we have coordinated the issue with them on different aspects. Iranian experts and the Ukrainian ones have had a meeting so that we could determine the cause of the incident in cooperation with the Ukrainian side." His remarks came after unnamed American officials claimed that the Ukrainian passenger plane was mostly likely brought down by anti-aircraft missiles. The unnamed US officials alleged that the Ukrainian airliner, whose crash killed all 176 people aboard, was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian anti-aircraft missiles. Earlier on Thursday, Iran's minister of road and urban development dismissed as "untrue" rumors that suggest the Wednesday crash of the Ukrainian airliner was because of a missile attack. Mohammad Eslami said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed after encountering a technical malfunction. Eslami said Iran will not hand over the black boxes recovered from the crash site to Boeing or any other countries. The Ukraine International Airlines flight, en route to Kiev and carrying mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians, crashed hours after Iran fired missiles at bases housing US forces in Iraq, leading some to speculate that the plane may have been hit. Meanwhile, foreign intelligence sources also believe that the crash - which killed all the 176 on board - was likely caused by a technical malfunction. Five security sources - three Americans, one European and one Canadian - who asked not to be named, told Reuters that based on initial assessment of Western intelligence agencies, the plane had suffered a technical malfunction and had not been brought down by a missile. There was evidence one of the jet's engines had overheated, the Canadian source said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Contractors Question: I'm a Dutch contractor currently contracting in the UK since October 2019 for a client in England. I will likely stay in the UK until August of 2020, but I'll be going back to the Netherlands regularly to visit friends, family and my Dutch customers. For now, I'm still legally in the Netherlands. I'm registered there as a freelancer and I'm also still technically living in the Netherlands.The VAT invoices to my English clients are shifted to them according to EU regulations. I get paid into my Dutch bank account. But it seems this strategy can only work for so long, as I think if I work longer than three months in the UK, I need to start paying VAT in England, instead of in the Netherlands; is that the case? Also, I heard that my UK end-client companies will this year only want to work with contractors that are registered in the UK. Is that likely to be the case and, if so, why? Since I'm only staying for a short time in the UK (about six months more until summer 2020), I'd preferably to just use my Dutch company to write invoices, without the hassle of having to set up and operate two different companies/accounts for both countries. Would that be compliant, and what's the best way to proceed, taking Brexit and tax-efficiency into account? Experts Answer: You do not need to worry about the implications from Brexit as this assignment will fall within the 'transition period' that the government has stated will last until December 31st 2020. It sounds as if you invoice your clients from your Dutch company and the VAT managed under the Reverse Charge provisions where you charge them no Dutch VAT, but they account for UK input VAT on your outputs. Your first question is regarding the VAT implications for you and your company. You can find some answers on this .gov webpage. The relevant sections appear in Section 9, stating: A non-established taxable person (NETP) is any person who is not normally resident in the UK, does not have a UK establishment and, in the case of a company, is not incorporated in the UK. A UK establishment exists if either the: place where essential management decisions are made and the businesss central administration is carried out is in the UK; or business has a permanent physical presence with the human and technical resources to make or receive taxable supplies in the UK. You say that your company is a Dutch one and that you are a Dutch tax resident; therefore, your company would appear to be a NETP. However, HMRC could decide that you, as the sole director and shareholder of your business, have created a fixed place of business because you have moved here. As an NETP, your Dutch company must register and account for UK VAT on any taxable supplies made in the UK. There is no threshold for registration, and it must be done immediately. If, however, HMRC considers that a UK establishment exists, your company is not a NETP and it must register for VAT when its outputs exceed the VAT registration threshold (currently 85,000). This can be done online or by using Form VAT1. To be safe, I recommend you register as a NETP and account for UK VAT on all your supplies in the UK. Also, be aware that the Reverse Charge provisions do not apply to your company because the place of supply of services is in the UK, and not the Netherlands, so your company should charge its UK clients UK VAT. Moving to your second question; from April 6th 2020, UK businesses will not be able to accept your assessment of whether or not you are self-employed. Instead, they will decide. Should they determine that you are not self-employed, they will withhold UK PAYE and National Insurance Contributions from payments that they make to your company, as new IR35 legislation will stipulate. The law applies if your company is a UK company or a foreign one such as yours. In regard to tax compliance, you will automatically become UK tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in the tax year (April 6th to the following April 5th), and this means that you will become subject to UK tax on your worldwide income. If you are not in the UK for more than this time, then you will be subject to UK tax on your UK-sourced income alone. Please note -- you will be subject to UK social security charges (NICs) unless your company obtains an A1 from the Dutch authorities that will exempt you from having to pay in the UK. In our view, the most straightforward plan would be for you to use an umbrella company to employ you in the UK on your UK-sourced income. They would bill your UK client and tackle the UK VAT. This will minimise your administrative work for your company, ensure compliance and ease your concerns. If your client decides that you are self-employed, then opening a UK company for the duration of your contract and closing it when you leave the UK, is another option that is more complicated but slightly more financially rewarding. Finally, you should know that registering your Dutch company in the UK as a foreign employer is not a possibility and the costs and complexity of staying within the law in any other way is full of difficulty and will almost certainly not be worth your while. Good luck! The expert was Kevin Austin, managing director of overseas contracting specialists Access Financial. Two prisoners were released from an Israeli prison on Friday (January 10) , including one jailed for spying for Syria. Israel called the move a goodwill gesture after the Russian-assisted repatriation of the body of an Israeli soldier who died in the '80s. Last April, Russia -- a key ally of Syria -- handed Israel the remains and personal effects of Zachary Baumel. He was declared missing in action along with two other Israeli soldiers following a 1982 tank battle with Syrian forces in Lebanon. The two men released are thought to be from a Druze village in the Golan Heights territory that Israel captured from Syria in the1967 Middle East war. The region was later annexed in a move not recognized internationally. One prisoner was jailed for treason and espionage and the other for the killing of a Syrian civilian. The move follows Israel's release in April of two Syrian prisoners, which it also called a goodwill gesture for the return of Baumel's body. Gujarat: CM talks to fishermen as part of Mokla Mahe interactive session January 10,2020 | Source: Daily Pioneer In his attempt to reach out to the communities across Gujarat, Minister Vijay Rupani has started meeting people to understand their genuine grievances and also understand their expectations from the Government. Keeping with his initiative, Rupani met 65 fishermen from 15 coastal districts, extending from Saurashtra & Kutch to south Gujarat, as part of the State Governments Mokla Mane interactive session at his official residence. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that a Rs 1,200-crore project to build nine new harbours in the State has been started in consultation with the Central Government. The State will take steps needed to develop inland and marine fishery in sync with Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modis call for total revolution. Fishermens children will live so long fishlings live, he said. Talking to The Pioneer, the Chief Minister said, Gujarat Government considers fishermen as Sagar Khedut, meaning farmers of the sea. They have requested me to issue Kisan Credit Cards to them on the lines of farmers, I have directed concerned department it out for them. We have also started to provide big trawlers to small fishermen for their survival he said. The State Government is also mulling issuing permits to fishermen of neighbouring states for fishing in the Gujarats territorial waters. This is imperative since others States do not allow fishermen from Gujarat to fish in their waters since the coastal areas are well defined. A problem typical to Gujarats fishermen is the States territorial water bordering that of Pakistan, inadvertently entering one anothers territory or being forcibly captured a sensitive international issue. Gujarat has asked the Central Government to ensure early release of such Gujarati fishermen from Pakistans detention, the Chief Minister added. We are providing subsistence allowance of Rs 300 per day to the families of each of such detainee. As far as fishermen declared missing in high sea during storms or cyclone, the State Government provides ex-gratia compensation as compassion towards the kin of such fishermen who do not return for five years, Ruapni said. During interaction, a farmers representatives from Devbhumi-Dwarka suggested that Chief Minister should inaugurate the new harbour at Okha. It may be noted that Rupani had earlier held Mokla Mane interactive session with representatives of slum-dwellers, teachers, differently abled and nomadic tribes. After every interactive session, officials of the concerned departments work on the feedback and petitions that are received from people. This initiative has gone a long way in ameliorating the condition of the underprivileged class. I hold this session with the representatives of various sections of the society on the fourth or fifth of every month the chief minister said. A senior official of the chief ministers office said that participants are mostly from the underprivileged and disadvantaged classes of society and they are called to meet the Chief Minister irrespective of religion, caste or sex to be a part of the programme. These informal interactions help in solving problems as they provide instant feedback, the official added. The National Police are searching for three men, possibly of Moroccan origin, after a car was stolen in the Malaga neighbourhood of Puerto de la Torre recently while two babies were in the back seat. The alarm was raised when someone who knew the family saw a man getting into the driver's seat. They then tried to obstruct the car as it drove off but failed to do so. This caused a great commotion and one person offered to take the father in their vehicle to pursue the thieves. After a chase of more than two kilometres, the thieves abandoned the vehicle and the father was reunited with his children. Police arrived shortly after and started a search of the area but failed to locate the perpetrators. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 04:16:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Friday that articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump will be sent to the Senate next week. Pelosi, in a letter to her Democratic colleagues, said that she has asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the House floor "a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate." "I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further," the California Democrat said. The Democrat-led House impeached Trump last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, charges the White House has refuted. Pelosi, who initiated an impeachment inquiry into Trump in September 2019, has been withholding the articles of impeachment and has refused to name impeachment managers, who will make the House's impeachment case in a Senate trial. Pressure is mounting on Pelosi, who is trying to give Democrats more leverage in setting rules for the trial in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has criticized Pelosi's moves, has said that the Senate should model Trump's impeachment trial after that of former President Bill Clinton's case in 1999 by dealing with potential witnesses after the trial begins. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, has said that he wants to make sure certain witnesses would be called upon for the trial before it starts, which McConnell has so far rejected. As part of a pressure campaign on Pelosi, McConnell on Thursday signed on to a resolution backed by over a dozen Republican senators that would alter Senate rules to dismiss articles of impeachment against Trump. In her letter on Friday, Pelosi accused McConnell of engaging in "tactics of delay in presenting transparency, disregard for the American people's interest for a fair trial and dismissal of the facts." "Yesterday, he showed his true colors and made his intentions to stonewall a fair trial even clearer by signing on to a resolution that would dismiss the charges," Pelosi wrote. "A dismissal is a cover-up and deprives the American people of the truth." McConnell hasn't weighed in on Pelosi's letter. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday accused Pelosi of hypocrisy. In an anonymous complaint last summer, a whistleblower raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine, resulting in the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry against Trump. The president was alleged to have pressed his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, into launching investigations that could politically benefit him. Furthermore, the White House allegedly tried to cover it up. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoings and called his impeachment case "a hoax." According to the nation's Constitution, the House shall have the sole power of impeachment, while the Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. Conviction can only happen in the Senate and requires at least two-thirds of its members, or 67 senators, to vote in favor after a trial. Currently, the Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents. Ripple Science, an Ann Arbor, MI-based SaaS clinical research management platform provider, completed a $2.5M equity financing round. The round was led by Dundee VC, with participation from Mercury Fund, SpringTime Ventures, Red Cedar Ventures, M25, Revolutions Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and previous investors including ID Ventures, Invest Michigan, and the MINTS fund out of the University of Michigan. Greg Beaufait, Partner at Dundee VC, will join the Ripple board. The company intends to use the funds to scale sales and marketing efforts, expanding its commercial reach among private and public clinical research organizations. Led by Peter Falzon, President and CEO, Ripple Science is a HIPAA compliant, SaaS platform that saves researchers time by effectively managing all levels of participant recruitment and retention for clinical trials. The company provides real-time analytics to track progress and mitigate risks and empowers research and clinical trial teams through data-driven insights and a centralized communication platform. With Ripple, researchers are automatically building their own participant registries which can be shared and leveraged for future trials. Its flagship product, Ripple, is currently being used by research investigators at more than 100 academic and research centers around the world, including Johns Hopkins University, Pennsylvania State University, University of California Los Angeles, the Brain Research Foundation Canada, University of East Anglia (UK), Cognito Therapeutics (Boston, MA) and the University of Michigan. FinSMEs 10/01/2020 Zomato | The food ordering aggregator raised $250 million from Kora Management, Tiger Global and Temasek in August 2020.Zomato | The food ordering aggregator raised $250 million from Kora Management, Tiger Global and Temasek in August 2020. (Image: Zomato) Zomato has raised $150 million (Indian equivalent of Rs 1,050 crore) from existing investor Ant Financial, peaking the food delivery platforms valuation to $3 billion (Rs 2,100 crore), The Economic Times reported. The online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform was valued at $2 billion after it sold its UAE business to German company Delivery Hero for $172 million (Indian equivalent of Rs 1,220 crore) and raised $105 million last year. Moneycontrol couldnt independently verify the report. This infusion is part of the startups $500 million funding round due to end in March, sources confirmed to CNBC-TV18. Ant, which is affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, had raised its stake in Zomato to 23 percent in November 2018. The move is significant as reports emerged in December last year that Zomato is in talks to acquire UberEats India in a $300 million stock-swap. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the funding paves the way for Zomato's deal with Uber Eats, which would help the company expand into 550 cities and boost its presence in the southern markets."The Zomato-Uber Eats deal could close by January-end," a source added. The funding push comes amid nationwide protests by restaurants, partners and industry associations against Zomatos 'deep discounting' policies; and will also help bolster the company against competitor Swiggy. Swiggy had in 2017 raised $1billion from existing backer Naspers, and brought onboard Chinese companies Tencent and Hillhouse Capital, and US-based Wellington Management. Former Newark archbishop Theodore McCarrick, removed from the priesthood in 2018 amid decades-old allegations of sexual abuse, reportedly is no longer residing at a friary in Kansas. The disgraced former priest, who rose to become a cardinal in 2001, has moved to a residential community of similarly banished priests, according to the Catholic News Agency. His new location has not been disclosed, the news agency reported. McCarrick, who could not be reached for comment, has previously denied all allegations of misconduct. Church officials have said the Vatican plans to release a report about its handling of allegations against McCarrick. McCarrick was removed from the priesthood, or laicized one the harshest forms of punishment that can be issued by the church in February 2019 after the Vatican found him guilty of soliciting for sex while hearing confession, and sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians. McCarrick, 89, was ordained as a priest in New York in 1958. Prior reporting from NJ Advance Media staff writers Ted Sherman and Sophie Nieto-Munoz was used in this story. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Last March, Mr. Allen held a hearing on a new version of the Second Look Act, which could reduce the sentences of violent criminals (including rapists and murderers). The new bill would expand eligibility to adults who committed their crimes before they turned 25 years of age. This proposed legislation is the third version of the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, conceived to provide leniency to 16- and 17-year-olds tried and convicted as adults. If the new bill passes (and it looks as though it may sail through), more than 500 violent criminals will be immediately eligible for release. D.C. residents who believe, as I do, that extending leniency to dangerous criminals is irresponsible have an obligation to raise their voices and to marshal their votes. The Abu Dhabi City Municipality and SAP have organised a graduation ceremony for 16 students who have completed an international training course on innovative technology. The ceremony was held in the presence of Ernst Peter Fischer, Ambassador of Germany to the UAE; Salem Almemari, Executive Director Municipality Services Abu Dhabi Municipality; a number of representatives from Abu Dhabi City Municipality as well as further representatives from global and local organisations. Abu Dhabi Municipality thanked SAP for supporting students and providing the training courses. Graduates have become empowered and enabled with digital skills knowledge and expertise, so they can succeed in the labor market. The Municipality praised SAPs local, regional, and international corporate social responsibility initiatives to develop the specialized, educated, and trained Millennial workforce. The municipality added that the graduation, which gained further significance in the presence of the German Ambassador, underlines the municipalitys commitment to collaborating with leading strategic partners. This training course, which lasted for more than three months, enhances the municipality's support for societal transformation, and provides the labor market with expert and trained talent. SAP continues to foster partnerships with its ecosystem of customers, partners, universities, and government and public sector institutions to offer the Young Professional Program in many countries worldwide. The Young Professional Programs success is yielding diverse benefits to stakeholders. The Young Professional Program helps young people to find suitable and rewarding jobs, and makes it easier for SAPs customers and partners to hire young talent. The program is also enriching SAPs customer and partner ecosystem, and is fostering local economic growth with a vibrant digital job market. Supporting the UAEs Emiratization agenda as well as the UAE Vision 2021, we are proud to celebrate the successful graduation of our talents from the SAP Young Professional Program in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Municipality. Our program graduates are ideally-positioned to enable the digital transformation of organizations that make the UAE a great place to live and work, and enhance economic competitiveness, said Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President Digital Skills, SAP South Europe, Africa and Middle East, and Managing Director of the SAP Training and Development Institute. The UAE continues to be a global leader in driving public-private partnerships to boost the digital economy, foster job creation, and develop young talent to take on digital careers, added Marita Mitschein. We thank Abu Dhabi Municipality and our customers and partners which joined our efforts to enable todays youth for the Digital Era with the SAP Young Professional Program. The Young Professional Program course encompassed a wide range of subjects including presentation and communication skills, design thinking, business model innovation, as well as interview and sales skills in addition to two globally recognised SAP certifications. During the Abu Dhabi ceremony, SAP, Abu Dhabi City Municipality representatives along with the German Ambassador handed out graduation certificates and recognition gifts.-- Tradearabia News Service Devastated by the national emergency in Australia, Planetshakers Church , one of the fastest growing churches in Australias history, invited its members to assist victims of the bushfires with a donation. The congregation responded, offering $252,875.89 for relief efforts through Empower, the community service arm of Planetshakers Church. All of the money collected has been forwarded to the Australian Red Cross, Salvation Army, Country Fire Victoria and ACC Bushfire Assist fund. Inspired by the charge in Proverbs 3:27, and joining the call heard from celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Chris Hemsworth and others as they encourage donations, Planetshakers Church Senior Pastor Russell Evans says, In the face of such a catastrophe, its inspiring to see so many individuals standing up and being generous. Im thrilled with the love and financial support members of Planetshakers Church have contributed during this crisis. Planetshakers Church is further involved in numerous community and charitable causes around the world, including prison ministry, school programs, refugee outreach, disaster relief and welfare assistance. In recent years, it helped bring significant social and spiritual reformation to villages in the African nation of Malawi, where poverty was defeated after seven years into a 15-year plan. It also partners with World Vision to assist in urgent humanitarian crises around the world, and runs Planetshakers College in Melbourne, which equips local and international students to impact their world for Christ. While the fires continue to remain a major concern for all Australians, internationally recognized praise band from the church, Planetshakers, also has cause to celebrate. Today (Jan. 10) marks the global release of its Glory Part One EP, and Planetshakers will simultaneously host a Praise Party with 30,000 people at SMART Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines. A video trailer for the EP can be seen at https://youtu.be/H-yptxNKVYc, and the recording is available now from Venture3Media (V3M) at Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and more digital and streaming outlets globally. Recorded in Melbourne, Australia at Planetshakers Church, Glory Part One features over 30-minutes of music. A tangible, intentional expression of worshippers collectively pursuing the presence of God, the EP is led by Planetshakers Joth Hunt (who also produced and mixed the EP), Sam Evans, Aimee Evans, BJ Pridham, Joshua Brown, Rudy Nikkerud, Chelsi Nikkerud and more. Continuing its trek across the globe following the event in Manila that also features planetboom, Planetshakers travels to Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre in Subang Jaya, Malaysia (Jan. 17 18) and Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore (Jan. 19). This latter event marks the bands return to the venue following 2019s sold out celebration there. Taking the new music and favorites like The Anthem, Endless Praise and Turn It Up to audiences around the globe, all the latest Planetshakers tour, music and conference news can be found at Planetshakers.com, YouTube (942,000 subscribers), Instagram (564,000 followers), Spotify (750,000 monthly listeners), Twitter (173,800 followers) and Facebook (over 1.5 million followers). About Planetshakers: Since its inaugural gathering in 1997, Planetshakers has gone on to become a global movement through its annual conferences, international church campuses and numerous live recordings, including multiple Dove Award-nominated projects. The Australia-based collective, led by Senior Pastors Russell and Sam Evans, has hosted gatherings in cities around the world while also launching Planetshakers Church in 2004. With over 17,000 members in Melbourne, Planetshakers Church is one of the fastest growing churches in that nations history, stretching across five campuses in Melbourne with additional locations in Singapore; Cape Town, South Africa; Geneva, Switzerland and Austin, TX. Celebrating over 20 years of ministry, Planetshakers honors the countless ways God has used its ministry and music to raise up a generation of Christ followers with a clear vision of taking the Gospel to the nations empowering generations to win generations. About Venture3Media: Venture3Media is a global music label and song publisher with sales, marketing, promotional, radio, television and movie expertise. V3M provides distribution platforms across all digital channels, including but not limited to Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, Tencent, 7Digital, Google Music, Facebook, Pandora, Tidal, Sirius and Rhapsody. Physical distribution includes online retailers such as Amazon, national retail chains, sub-distributors and internationally through well-established licensees and distributors. V3M is excited to build a global ecosystem that serves the vision and heart of Planetshakers. ### In 2013, Dexter Filkins wrote the definitive profile of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Irans Axis of Resistance, whom the US assassinated last week. On this weeks Kicker, Kyle Pope, editor and publisher of CJR, speaks with Filkins about the nuances of Iranian public opinion that the Western press has missed, and why Irans response may be far from over. SHOW NOTES: The Shadow Commander, Dexter Filkins, New Yorker A guide to navigating the Trump-Iran story, Andrew Lee Butters, CJR The White House wages war on transparency: Iran edition, Jon Allsop, CJR Sign up for CJR 's daily email PREVIOUSLY: Carole Cadwalladr and disinformation at the ballot box Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) makes no bones about his position on the likely upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind, he tells CNN Internationals Becky Anderson. Im not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here. Well, OK, then. Graham has publicly disqualified himself as, and should be excused from serving as, a juror. Republican politicians, including Graham, have spilled quite a bit of verbiage whining ineffectually and incorrectly about a lack of due process in the House segment of the impeachment drama. Their errors on those claims are simple: Impeachment isnt a criminal prosecution, nor is a House impeachment inquiry a trial. There wont be any nature and cause of the accusation for Trump to be informed of until the House passes articles of impeachment. If impeachment was a criminal matter, he would be constitutionally entitled to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence at trial. And in fact he will be treated as entitled to those things, even in the Senates non-criminal equivalent. But Graham and friends want to talk about due process, so lets talk about due process. In addition to those aforementioned items, the Sixth Amendment also mandates an impartial jury. If youre accused of armed robbery, your brother wont be allowed to serve on the jury at your trial. Neither will the bank teller who was ordered to stuff money in a sack at gunpoint, or the police officer who arrested you, or anyone else whos known to likely be prejudiced either way. Is there any particular reason why the due process requirements Graham hails as paramount wouldnt mandate a similar standard for impeachment trials in the Senate? I cant think of one. In Senate trials of impeachment cases, the Chief Justice of the United States (in the current controversy, John Roberts) presides as judge. Once the House passes articles of impeachment, Roberts should order his clerks to drop everything else and get to work examining the public statements of all 100 members of the Senate. His first order of business at the trial should be to excuse any and all Senators who have publicly announced their prejudices on Trumps guilt or innocence from jury duty. Yes, Democrats, too. That should come as a relief to several Democratic presidential aspirants who would probably rather spend their time on the 2020 campaign trail than as impeachment jurors. The Constitution only requires the votes of 2/3 of senators present at the trial to convict, so excusing those members who have announced their prejudice and partiality wouldnt prevent a valid verdict. Would impeachment voir dire render future impeachments more fair and less partisan? Probably not. But it would at least spare us some theatrics from the likes of Lindsey Graham by making pretrial silence a condition of participation. Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism. By Rasana Gasimova The Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy and Saudi Arabias ACWA Power company and the UAEs Masdar company executive agreements on the implementation of pilot renewable energy projects in the Cabinet of Ministers on January 9. Addressing the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Ali Asadov noted that as a result of the successful economic policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev, energy security is fully ensured in the country. He noted that the development of economy and the growth of the non-oil sector put the country face to face with new challenges and require new approaches. Part of the reforms carried out in recent years is related to the production of renewable energy. A number of initiatives have been successfully implemented in this area and the renewable energy sector has recently occupied an important place in the development of the green economy, he said. Asadov also stressed that the signing of new agreements with foreign companies is one of the serious steps taken in this area, as these agreements provide for the investments to Azerbaijan, which, will stimulate the national economy and contribute to the creation of new jobs. He went on saying that these projects will ensure the energy sustainability of the country. Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov noted that diversification of electricity production through renewable energy sources is one of the countrys priorities. By signing these agreements, we are entering a new stage in the development of renewable energy in the country. Our cooperation with ACWA Power and Masdar, as the first foreign partners in the field of renewable energy, will contribute to ensuring mutual interests in achieving goals related to sustainable and clean energy, he emphasized. We are proud to sign this agreement with the government of Azerbaijan. This project, which contributes to increasing the share of renewable energy in order to diversify energy sources in the country, will support the initiatives of the Azerbaijani government on the creation of new services, industrial sectors and new jobs, Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power Mohammed Abunayyan said. The Chief Executive of Masdar Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi noted that the company, which plays a leading role in implementing renewable energy projects in more than 30 countries, is pleased to be Azerbaijans partner in the implementation of a 200-megawatt solar energy project. With 10 years of experience, we are proud to support Azerbaijan and its transition to clean energy, he said. Then the documents were signed. According to the agreements, pilot projects will be implemented with ACWA Power for the construction of a 240-megawatt wind farm, and with Masdar for the construction of a 200-megawatt solar power station. These projects are expected to produce 1.4 billion kilowatt / hours of electricity per year. Note that according to the presidential order On Accelerating Reforms in the Energy Sector signed in 2019, partnerships were established with nine international energy companies and intensive discussions were held in order to expand the use of renewable energy sources. The ACWA Power and Masdar companies were selected from seven companies that submitted their proposals after a three stage selection process. ACWA Power currently has a total installed capacity production portfolio of 30,200 megawatts, reaching 8,000 megawatts globally in renewable energy, and a $45 billion investment portfolio. As to Masdar company, currently it has a production portfolio in the field of renewable energy with a total installed capacity of 4,000 megawatts, and has so far invested $ 8.5 billion in this area. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Chanting "This is our soil, this is our India" and waving the India flag, hundreds of fishermen on their boats took to the waters in Kerala to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The fishermen took out a unique 'water march' in Kozhikode's Chaliyam where hundreds of fishing boats moved in tandem. These are the same fishermen, who both in 2018 and 2019 saved thousands of lives during the floods. They became the unlikely heroes in 2018 when hundreds of fishermen from the coastal regions who had no experience in flood relief volunteered to join the rescue and relief mission. And, in their hundreds they came, towing along their simple fishing boats to some of the worst flood-hit areas where sophisticated boats NDRF and the Navy couldn't reach. They were also instrumental in supplying food to thousands who were stranded in the waters without anything to eat for days. Some 3000 fishermen on with 669 boats had participated in the rescue mission during the floods. After the floodwaters receded they went back to their daily life even refusing to accept the cash award announced by the Kerala government for their selfless service. Even in 2019, the fishermen had come to the rescue of their fellow men and women in trouble during the floods. The fishermen are the latest to join the ongoing protests in Kerala against the CCA and NRC. The state has seen some of the biggest protests against CAA so far when last week more than two lakhs people converged in Kochi's Marine Drive to register their protests against the contentions legislation. Several others have come up with creative ways of their own to make their voices heard. Many people have used their save the date photoshoots and wedding invites to spread the message. A church in Kerala had made a bold statement on Christmas when the church choir sang the Christmas carol wearing hijabs and skull caps in solidarity with the Muslim community. The song was sung in the tune of Mappilappattu, the traditional Muslim folk song. Even the Kerala government has been leading in its own ways, from passing a resolution in the Assembly against CAA and making students read the preamble to the Constitution during assemblies. Kerala Chief Minister had also written to 11 other state chief ministers including Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banarjee urging them to pass similar resolutions in their respective assemblies. Washington Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday approved a resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insisted it "has real teeth" because "it is a statement of the Congress of the United States." The measure will "protect American lives and values" by limiting Trump's military actions, Pelosi said. "The administration must de-escalate and must prevent further violence." The House passed the measure, 224-194, with just three Republicans voting in support. Eight Democrats opposed the measure. A similar proposal by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., faces an uphill fight in the GOP-run Senate. Kaine's efforts received a boost Thursday as Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, an ex-Marine, said he might support the war powers measure. Two other Republican senators said Wednesday they would back Kaine's plan. "We are members of a separate and distinct branch of government. It is our duty not to take anyone's word for things as we are dealing with matters of life and death," Young said, adding that he wished Trump administration officials had provided more intelligence information during a briefing Wednesday on a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. Pelosi, in announcing the House vote, called the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani "provocative and disproportionate." Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, denounced the Democratic measure as little more than "a press release designed to attack President Trump," while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California called it a "meaningless vote" on a measure that will never be sent to the president or "limit his constitutional authority to defend the American people." The House vote came a day after the Trump administration briefed lawmakers on its actions in Iran. Democrats and several Republicans called the briefings inadequate, adding that officials did not provide enough details about why the attack was justified. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Soleimani "was traveling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces." He said it was not possible to share full details of the intelligence with lawmakers. "When it comes to intelligence we have to protect sources and methods, there's only certain amount we can share with every member of Congress," Pence said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "But those of us who have seen all the evidence know that there was a compelling case of imminent threat against American personnel." Trump said Thursday that he "had calls from numerous senators and numerous congressmen and women saying it was the greatest presentation they've ever had." Referring to criticism by GOP Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul, Trump said: "They want information that honestly I think is very hard to get. ... It really had to do with sources and information that we had that really should remain at a very high level." Lee, a conservative from Utah, said the briefing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials was "probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue," in the nine years he's served in the Senate. Paul, of Kentucky, said administration officials justified killing Soleimani based on the 2002 authorization of force in Iraq. "That is absurd. That's an insult," he said. Pelosi scheduled the House vote after Iran retaliated for the Soleimani killing by launching missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops. No casualties were reported. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The five-page resolution says "Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military" unless Congress declares war on that country or enacts legislation authorizing use of force to prevent an attack on the U.S. and its forces. The resolution's sponsor, freshman Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said it is intended to "make clear that if the president wants to take us to war, he must get authorization from Congress." If loved ones are going to be sent to fight in a protracted war, "the president owes the American people a public conversation about why, and for what ends," said Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who served in Iraq. Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to uphold in authorizing use of military force, Slotkin said, adding, "We are owed concrete, specific details on strategy." Trump did not consult with congressional leaders ahead of the attack that killed the Iranian general and afterward sent Congress a notification explaining the rationale, but kept it classified. Congress has allowed its war powers role to erode since the passage of Authorization for Use of Military Force in 2001 to fight terrorism after the 9/11 attacks, and passage of another AUMF for the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Fallout from those votes deeply divided Congress and the nation, with many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, now saying they were mistakes. Yet Congress has been paralyzed on the question of whether to repeal or change those authorities. Trump, facing one of the greatest tests of his presidency, said Wednesday that Iran appeared to be "standing down" and said the U.S. response would be to put in place new economic sanctions "until Iran changes its behavior." The strikes by Iran had pushed Tehran and Washington perilously close to all-out conflict and put the world's attention on Trump as he weighed whether to respond with more military force. Republicans have largely supported Trump's actions, saying the president was well within his power to take out Iran's architect of proxy operations against Americans in the Middle East. The U.S. considered Soleimani a terrorist. Democrats were unconvinced that the threat posed by Soleimani was imminent or that other alternatives to the killing were pursued in good faith. By not disclosing many details of the threat, Trump was asking the American public to trust the very intelligence reports he has often disparaged, Democrats said. MOSCOW, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheremetyevo International Airport showed impressive results in 2019, with the number of passengers served increasing by 8.9 percent over 2018, to 49.9 million*. Takeoff and -landing operations (TLO) increased 8.2 percent in the same period, to 386,370. In 2019, the passenger flow on international airlines was more than 26.6 million, an increase of 7.8 percent; growth on domestic airlines was 10.3 percent, or more than 23.3 million. The most popular international destinations by the end of the year were Antalya, Yerevan, Paris, Beijing and Tel Aviv. The most popular domestic destinations were St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Sochi, Yekaterinburg and Krasnodar. Sheremetyevo is Russia's busiest airport and one of the world's best in terms of punctuality. The British research company OAG recognized Sheremetyevo as the most punctual airport in the world in the Mega Airports category (more than 30 million departing seats per year), with 87 percent of departures on time. Sheremetyevo Airport was also recognized as the world leader in punctuality in 2019 by the Cirium analytical agency. Between December 27, 2019 and January 8, 2020, the heavily-traveled New Year holiday season, Sheremetyevo Airport served 1.64 million passengers, with a total of 12,523 takeoff and -landing operations. The most popular international destinations during the holiday season were Phuket, Prague, Yerevan, Bangkok and Paris, with St. Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar and Simferopol the most popular domestic destinations. Despite the extremely heavy passenger load on the busiest days, the vast majority of flights from Sheremetyevo during the New Year holiday season departed on schedule. The airport's operations services, Sheremetyevo Handling and other subsidiaries, worked intensively to ensure high-quality passenger transportation and uninterrupted takeoff and -landing operations. In 2019, the following new airlines began operating flights to Sheremetyevo: Belavia, Brussels Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, and Turkish Cargo. These flights have made Sheremetyevo a gateway to 19 new destinations. Sheremetyevo International Airport is one of the TOP-10 airport hubs in Europe and the largest Russian airport in terms of passenger and freight traffic. At the end of 2018, the airport served 45.8 million passengers, 14.3% more than in 2017. At the end of 2018, Sheremetyevo was rated best in quality of service among airports in Europe with a passenger flow of more than 40 million a year by the ASQ ACI program and was cited as one of the best airports in the world by the International Council of Airports. The British company Stasher rated it as the best airport in the world. It holds the highest 5-star rating by Skytrax. SOURCE Sheremetyevo International Airport Related Links https://www.svo.aero Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan broke his silence on the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani on Jan 5. Erdogans interview was well-prepared: He was respectful toward the slain major general but also was restrained. Yet while Erdogans words showed sympathy for the commander, Turkeys pro-government media has been demonizing Soleimani, portraying him as a murderer of Sunni Arabs and a former collaborator of the United States. Erdogan said Soleimani had no intention of being a caliph and had proven himself as a commander. While Iranian reports said Erdogan had referred to Soleimani as a martyr, Turkey said this was not the case. And Erdogan, who spoke with US President Donald Trump hours before Soleimani was killed, made clear that he was not made aware of the US plans, saying the Iranian commander's death came as "a shock. Although Turkey did not send any officials to the funeral, Erdogan said he had advised caution to both Iraq and Iran. He also added that he believed Iran would respond to the killing. This indeed occurred Jan. 8, when Iran launched Operation Martyr Soleimani against two US bases in Iraq. There are two crucial questions about Turkey as this earthquake hits the region. First, where will Erdogan stand as the conflict between the United States and Iran escalates? Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis call for unity against US aggression with friends and neighbors was rebuffed by pro-Erdogan columnists. Hilal Kaplan, a columnist for Sabah who frequently accompanies Erdogan on his trips abroad, wrote that Turkey would not join in Rouhanis call for resistance against the United States. Other columnists followed her line, penning pieces declaring that this is not Turkey's fight; other conservative media outlets questioned whether it would be wise to get involved. It is significant that Sabah Daily also ran a piece that cautioned against sectarianism; political elites are divided in Turkey, with some saying that Soleimani should be mourned even if he was Shiite and Turkey is predominantly Sunni. There is a rift over how to deal with the aftermath of his death, and numerous questions. Did Iran help Erdogan during the 2016 coup attempt? Did Iran support the Kurdistan Workers Party or the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units? Was Soleimani the reason why Turkey lost in Syria? Or did he help curtail Islamic State (IS) attacks on Turkey? Pro-government figures have started to question all these landmark events in an effort to reconstruct the Turkish approach to Iran. To complicate matters further, a piece published by The Intercept, based on documents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), claimed Soleimani was fond of former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and director of intelligence Hakan Fidan. Davutoglu now has formed his own political party. A senior bureaucrat in Ankara told Al-Monitor, There was a good, respectful working relationship between Fidan and Soleimani, as with other counterparts. Yet, I would have thought the admiration was the other way around before these alleged MOIS documents were revealed. I guess now we see the feeling was mutual. Other officials said the Quds Force, which had been under the command of Soleimani since the late 1990s, was seen as both a military organization to be reckoned with and an idea that inspired Ankara. One senior official said, Soleimani reached out to militias, Shiite but also others such as Hamas [Sunni] in ways that formed a strong allegiance. We tried to understand how he did it. We studied several videos in Arabic his team shot after 2013 to convince Arab audiences to join the fight against IS. Soleimani worked for Iranian interests and some of them were in conflict with ours, but his methods and his dedication were of interest to Ankara. So how did the killing affect Erdogan and his immediate circles? Officials Al-Monitor spoke with concurred in saying that the initial reaction was fear. Trump topped the unpredictability scale, said one senior bureaucrat. Ankara seems to understand the message that not all that Trump says on Twitter is a bluff. If any senior military official can be eliminated within seconds on orders of Trump and be declared a terrorist, what does this say about the future of Turkish military intervention in Libya? Another issue was the realization, contrary to Erdogans hopes, that the United States is not leaving the Middle East anytime soon. Ankaras plans designed on a US departure will have to be recalibrated. The next issue is how the escalation will affect Turkeys relations with other players in the region. Iran wants to count on Turkish support against the United States, said Gulriz Sen, assistant professor of International Relations at Ankaras TOBB University. According to some Turkish media outlets, the representative of Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] was to meet with the members of anti-American, ultranationalist political parties to shore up support for Iran. Besides, one of the major expectations of Iran from neighboring countries is to prevent any sort of attack being launched on Iran from their bases, Sen told Al-Monitor. During the early hours of Jan. 8, as Iran launched missiles onto the US bases in Iraq, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a four-item memorandum. One of the conditions said Iran is warning that any country that allows US forces to use its soil to attack Iran will in return be targeted. [The] US military's heavy use of Turkish airspace for its resupply mission in Iraq and elsewhere suggests that the Trump administration will continue its policy of not taking harsh action against Turkey while the US is actively confronting Iran, said Micha'el Tanchum, a senior associate fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Studies. What China and Russia will decide on Iran is also important. Erdogan is now in a weaker position to challenge Trump as well. Tanchum added the Libya factor in Ankaras decision-making, saying, As long as Turkey does not significantly undermine US policy toward Iran, the US unlikely to directly challenge Turkey's operations in Libya. If the United States enforces further sanctions against Iran and possibly Iraq, as Trump suggested, Turkey could be even further pressed to make a choice. For sanctions to work effectively, the United States tries to compel compliance from all other players, particularly neighbors. Tanchum summarized Turkish-Iranian economic relations by saying, In 2018, Iran was Turkey's sixth largest trading partner, with the total volume of trade being slightly less than half the Turkey-US bilateral trade volume. As a result of the 2019 maximum pressure sanctions, Iranian capital has been flowing to Turkey. Iran accounts for the largest number of new foreign joint ventures in Turkey, for example. Vahid Yucesoy, a doctoral degree candidate in political science at the University of Montreal, told Al-Monitor that despite Turkish and Iranian differences in Syria, Ankara and Tehran have various reasons to collaborate regionally, especially on the Kurdish issue. This was evidenced by both countries common interests in preventing an independent Kurdistan after the Kurdish referendum in northern Iraq. Their lack of trust in the American administration and their common opposition to the Saudi dominance of the region are other factors that are likely to keep the relations afloat. Indeed, how Turkey will balance its relations with Iran depends much on the health of its continued alliance with Qatar and whether it can mend bridges with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Although there are several factors at play when it comes to how Ankara will make its decisions if the conflict between Iran and the United States escalates, these choices could depend in a major way on how much Turkish officials learned from Soleimanis methods of running the Quds Force. An example from recent history may help explain this. In January 2012, Hamas departure from Damascus was a jubilant moment for Ankara but one that disappointed Tehran, which was backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Over the years, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party governments have supported Hamas despite international criticism. But Hamas now openly mourns the death of Soleimani and declares its support for the resistance, indicating a strong allegiance to Iran. Ankara has observed over the longer haul how Irans more understated moves have turned out to be more successful than strident and rash declarations and actions. The learning curve of the Syrian civil war has been a steep one for Ankara. However, if conflict between Tehran and Washington compels Ankara to take sides, Erdogan's level of success in this could largely depend on how well he can manage his team, particularly the National Intelligence Organization, to continue some degree of coordination with Iran while not alienating the United States. In his Jan 5 interview, Erdogan repeatedly emphasized the value of utilizing diplomacy, which contrasts with his erratic unilateralism of recent years. As the stakes in the region come into greater focus, Erdogan may find it wiser to speak with less missionary zeal. France's Orange moves closer to IPO of MidEast, Africa operations The logo of French telecoms operator Orange is pictured in a retail store in Bordeaux PARIS (Reuters) - France's biggest telecoms group Orange is bringing its operations in the Middle East and Africa into a single entity, paving the way for a potential listing of the operations that could raise cash to invest in overseas expansion. The Middle East and Africa, where Orange has a presence in 18 countries, is the company's fastest-growing market, generating annual sales of about 5 billion euros (4.30 billion pounds). The region makes a large chunk of its revenues from payment transfers - a key part of the group's diversification into financial services. "Orange has decided to bring together all our regional activities in a single company, OMEA (Orange Middle-East and Africa), to create a separate entity and provide the Group with various options for growth," Orange said in a statement, following the inauguration of its local headquarters in Casablanca, Morocco. "An IPO (initial public offering) of OMEA is one of these potential scenarios, and the decision will depend on a number of factors, including strategic opportunities and market orientation, always with the central criterion of accelerating the growth of this business," it said. The Paris-based group, which competes with the likes of Vodafone-controlled Vodacom , Airtel Africa and South Africas MTN in the region, has been weighing a listing of its operations there for about six years. At Orange's last investor day in December, Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard said the group was "technically ready" for a potential listing of the combined operations, adding a possible expansion in Ethiopia could be a catalyst for the IPO. The combined enterprise value of the operations amounts to about 10 billion euros, an analyst said. That valuation was echoed by a source close to the matter, who confirmed earlier reports that Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas were working as global coordinators for a listing. Story continues This valuation is based on a OMEA's yearly core operating profit of 1.7 billion euros in 2018 and a premium to the valuation of Airtel Africa, which trades at 5.5 times its expected core earnings, the same source said. Morgan Stanley had no immediate comment. BNP Paribas declined to comment. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Mathieu Rosemain and Arno Schuetze; Additional reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter) Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, we are living in the United States of Propaganda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices LONDONWhen Prince Harry and Meghan announced this week that they would be stepping back from their royal duties and spending extensive time in North America, many of Britains minority residents said they felt a burst of relief. At long last, many said in interviews, the couple might finally escape the abuse, much of it racially tinged, that has been heaped upon them by the British press, particularly the countrys raucous tabloids. Thank God they are free, said Sanaa Edness, lifting her arms to the sky as she walked through Fordham Park in southeast London. Nobody should tolerate bullying and abusive behaviour because of the colour of their skin. All of this is about her race. I know it because as a Caribbean woman who did not grow up here, I have experienced it myself. It wasnt supposed to end up like this. When an African American bishop preached and a gospel choir sang at Meghan Markle and Harrys wedding ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018, it set a precedent for many of Britains people of colour, who until then had felt excluded from the profoundly white culture and traditions of the British monarchy. Young black women with no particular interest in the royal family gathered around their televisions and watched with excitement as the beautiful biracial American actress walked down the aisle of St. Georges Chapel and became the Duchess of Sussex. They hoped that her union with the popular prince would mark a new era for the royal family, one that would usher in fresh and more relatable values. But even before the wedding, Meghan had come under frequent attack in the British tabloids, prompting Harry, while they were dating, to issue a pointed statement condemning the racial undertones of opinion pieces and news articles. And since the Daily Mails 2016 headline, Harrys girl is (almost) straight outta Compton, the duchess has been the subject of dozens of racist and sexist stories with references to her exotic DNA and descriptions of her family history going from cotton slaves to royalty via freedom in the US Civil War. After the couple married in 2018 and Meghan officially joined the royal household, the tabloids shifted gears, presenting her as a termagant who shouted at her staff and brought her sister-in law Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, to tears. Some headlines referred to her as Hurricane Meghan, the Difficult Duchess and ME-GAIN. They wanted to show her up as the angry black woman like a thorn against the sweet English rose petals that is Mrs. Kate, Edness said. In a rare ITV television interview broadcast in October, the duchess opened up about her struggles and acknowledged that her friends had warned her that if she married Harry, British tabloids would destroy her life. The tabloids deny that their coverage shows racial bias, saying they have a right to scrutinize the couple when they are being supported by public funding. Most of the media is ignoring the whole racism factor that has clearly played a big role in the couples decision, said Nadine Batchelor-Hunt, former president of Cambridge Universitys Black and Minority Ethnic campaign. Racism issues are spoken about more in the popular discourse in the United States, she continued. People are more conscious of it, whereas here the black community is a lot smaller, and its not really raised as a significant issue regularly. In the latest census in 2011, black residents made up only around 3 per cent of Britains population, with 87 per cent white and the rest from other ethnic groups. In the United States, by contrast, non-Hispanic white people account for only 60.4 per cent of the population in 2019, while black people were the largest minority at 13.4 per cent. Batchelor-Hunt also pointed out that royal correspondents and commentators are predominantly white. Many of them are unaware when they are being outright racist and how their comments become amplified across social media, she said. In an opinion piece published in The New York Times on Thursday, Afua Hirsh, author of Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, looked at the relationship between the coverage of the duchess and Britains class culture. In Britains rigid class society, there is still a deep correlation between privilege and race, she wrote. The relatively few people of colour and even fewer if you count only those who have African heritage who rise to prominent success and prosperity in Britain are often told we should be grateful or told to leave if we dont like it here. In the interviews, a persistent theme was surprise that senior members of the royal family had not shown enough support for Meghan. Many said they have watched in astonishment as Buckingham Palace has released several statements in defence of Prince Andrew, who has been embroiled in a child sex trafficking scandal, while staying silent on the systematic attacks on the duchess. She didnt get the support she needed from the royal family, said Carol Lengolo, a mother of two from southeast London who grew up in South Africa as a big fan of the monarchy. You never see them speaking out about the racism, standing beside her, defending her. Shes been all alone. Lengolo said she was happy and relieved that the couple would finally be free of all the abuse and negativity. She could not understand why anyone was surprised by the announcement. These people needed to do this for the sake of their mental health and to protect their newborn son, she said. I support them 100 per cent. Im truly happy for them. Tabloid columnists expressed shock and outrage at the announcement by Harry and the duchess Wednesday, accusing them, among other things, of being selfish and scheming hypocrites who had shown an atrocious lapse of judgment and were trying to bring down the monarchy. Ive seen some disgraceful royal antics in my time, but for pure arrogance, entitlement, greed and wilful disrespect, nothing has ever quite matched the behaviour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, wrote Piers Morgan, a columnist for the Daily Mail. I put inverted commas around those titles because I sincerely hope they wont exist much longer. Popular black comedian Gina Yashere responded to Morgans column on Twitter saying, Please. Every black person knew this was coming. Constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism. Morgan responded, Oh Gina, stop being so ridiculous. The criticism of Meghan Markle has nothing to do with her skin colour and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family. Lengolos 13-year-old daughter, Tshego Lengolo, sees it differently. She idolizes Meghan and hopes to be an actress in Los Angeles one day. She said that while she was disappointed the duchess would be distancing herself from the royal family, she was also proud of her for making such a brave and powerful decision. I think its just appalling how they can just judge someone by their skin tone, Tshego said, her voice rising with emotion. Take Kate, for example, she continued. She got married to a member of the royal family, and we dont hear much said about her. But all of a sudden, a person of colour comes into the royal family, and everyone just jumps and goes after her. If she was white, she wouldnt be treated like this, and that is just the cold reality. Read more about: Canberra [Australia], Jan 10 : Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said that the Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran "does not suggest an intentional act." "Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran does not suggest an intentional act," said Morrison while talking to reporters in Canberra, as quoted by CNN. Morrison's remark comes in the backdrop of a Boeing 737 jet crash in Iran with 176 people on board, minutes after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday morning. Earlier in the day, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: "the shooting down of Ukrainian airliner by Iranian surface-to-air missile may be 'unintentional." "We have intelligence from multiple sources including our alliance and our own intelligence and the evidence indicate that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface to Air missile. This may have been unintentional," Trudeau said during a conference. Meanwhile, Ukraine has opened an investigation to find out the cause of the crash. The country's officials said they are looking into multiple causes for the crash including a missile strike or terrorism. The crash took place on the same day that Iran launched missiles against US targets in Baghdad in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military leader General Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani's death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the US and Iran that has often been high since Trump, in 2018, chose to unilaterally withdraw Washington from the 2015 nuclear pact the world powers had struck with Tehran. The German government is preparing to support a possible US war against Iran. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPDSocial Democratic Party) and Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDUChristian Democratic Union) made this clear once again on Wednesday. Having previously defended the US assassination of Irans leading general Qassim Suleimanian illegal act of state terrorismthey condemned the Iranian retaliatory strike against US targets in Iraq. In an official statement by the Federal Foreign Office, Maas stated: We condemn the Iranian missile attack on Iraqi military bases where coalition forces are also stationed. We call on Iran to refrain from any steps that could lead to further escalation. Kramp-Karrenbauer expressed a similar opinion in an interview with the ARD television network. I can say on behalf of the federal government that we reject this aggression in the strongest possible terms. It is now crucial that we do not allow this spiral to continue to turn upwards. It was now above all up to the Iranians not to escalate further. That is why the appeal goes in particular once again to Tehran. The day before, Kramp-Karrenbauer had already attacked Iran and blamed it for the escalation of the conflict. At a press conference on the fringes of a CSU (Christian Social Union) closed-door meeting in the Bavarian monastery of Seeon, she stated: At this point, I would like to emphasise quite clearly that those who have also in the past been responsible for escalation in the region is particularly Iran. It is therefore now also the responsibility of Iran to contribute to de-escalation. Who is the federal government trying to fool? Everyone knows that in the Middle East the US and its European allies are the aggressor. The imperialist powers have left a trail of devastation there over the past 30 years in their attempt to subject the geostrategically important and resource-rich region to their interests. The first Gulf War in 1991 was followed by the illegal wars of aggression and regime change operations in Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Libya (2011) and Syria (since 2014), which cost millions of lives and reduced whole countries to rubble. The current escalation against Iran is also coming from the US. Since the Trump administration unilaterally abrogated the nuclear agreement with Iran in May 2018, it has been constantly tightening sanctions and issuing military threats against the country. The targeted killing of Soleimani on January 3 was a de facto declaration of war against Iran. In his speech to the nation on Wednesday, Trump surrounded by high-ranking generals made it clear that he will further intensify the course of aggression against Iran. He announced new sanctions and threatened the nuclear powers Russia and China, which have close economic and political ties with Tehran. With their statements, Maas and Kramp-Karrenbauer signal that the German government, in contrast to its stance during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, is supporting the preparation of a war of aggression in violation of international law. This war threatens millions of lives and could trigger a third world war. In a guest article for the German daily Tagesspiegel, former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned of a 1914 moment: nobody wants war and yet it is coming to pass Because the conflict between Iran and the USA could quickly not only affect Iraq, but could spread in a conflagration to the entire Gulf region, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. When representatives of the ruling class like Gabriel warn against a massive war and criticize the US, this has nothing to do with pacifism. They fear that the Trump administrations ruthless actions will undermine their own economic and military influence in the region and draw the conclusion: Germany and Europe must in future pursue their interests more independently of the US and ultimately establish themselves as the hegemonic powers in the region. Gabriel writes: Europes intervention must be [...] so courageous and strong that it is also prepared to take political risks itself in order to be credible, especially vis-a-vis Iran. For Europe has so far only little influence in this conflict in the Gulf. Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU), member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, was even clearer in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio. I could imagine that we Europeans would even increase our presence and the Americans withdraw from the region, that we would gain more European weight in the region, so to speak, within the framework of a transatlantic burden sharing, he declared, adding: I rather see advantages of a stronger European engagement if Iraq wants it. And the Americans could withdraw from the region they already do so to some extent if the Europeans take on more responsibility. Kiesewetter made clear that Brussels and Berlin are just as concerned as Washington about imposing imperialist subjugation over the entire region and pushing back Iranian influence. It is simply a matter of ensuring stability in the region, because otherwise Iran has a zone of influence that extends from Iraq and Syria to Lebanon. If the West loses this, then we will also lose the influence to fight the terrorist militia ISIS, and we will lose a region in a really difficult period... This is why we Europeans have a massive interest in being present in the region. Under conditions of acute danger of war and explosive tensions between the great powers, all political tendencies are forced to show their true colours. The Left Party, which has postured as pacifist, at least in public speeches, is advocating most aggressively for a more independent German-European foreign and great power policy. Kieswetters position is still too weak, stated Alexander Neu, chairman of the Left Party group on the Bundestags defense committee, in his own interview with Deutschlandfunk radio. One would have to really distance oneself from the US and he hopes that the Europeans or the European Union will pursue an independent foreign and security policy, i.e. detached from the USA. Neu left no doubt that he and the Left Party seek to increase European influence in the region also by military means. He proposed cynically that one should perhaps ask in Tehran and Baghdad whether it is really desirable for Europeans to take over the role of Americans. I think it really makes sense for all foreign forces to withdraw and try to rebuild Iraq only by civilian means. And if you think that you can handle a training mission, then you can just as easily bring Iraqi military personnel to Germany and train them there. Its a possibility that even we as the Left Party would not reject. At the end of the interview Neu made it clear that Germany could not, however, all at once leave NATO. This was a position of his party, but not the subject of this debate now. It was simply a matter of the Europeans making an independent foreign and security policy on a case-by-case basis... and not unconditionally backing the US. In other words, the Left Party also operates within the framework of the war policy of NATO and the USA and is a pro-war party in the Middle East. The only party that opposes war and mobilizes the massive opposition among workers and youth is the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP), the German section of the International Committee of the Fourth International. Next Tuesday its youth and student organization IYSSE is organizing a rally entitled No war against Iran at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In the leaflet for the meeting it declares: The attack on Soleimani is an expression of the extreme crisis and despair of a capitalist class that threatens to plunge humanity into the abyss. At the meeting we want to talk with an editor of the World Socialist Web Site about the background of the war development and discuss why an international socialist movement is necessary to prevent a catastrophe. Lesotho's ruling party on Thursday asked Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to resign over alleged links to the 2017 murder of his wife, calling him a "threat to the nation." In court documents seen this week, the country's police chief accused Thabane of involvement in the killing of Lipolelo Thabane on the outskirts of the capital Maseru two days before her husband's inauguration. The accusations came after the prime minister suspended police commissioner Holomo Molibeli whose investigations revealed that communication records from the day of the murder picked up Thabane's mobile phone number. Thabane, who is now 80, and wife had been embroiled in bitter divorce proceedings. "It's obvious that the prime minister is a suspect in a horrendous criminal matter that involves his estranged wife," said Nqosa Mahao, deputy leader of the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. "And most importantly, the action he took to remove Molibeli from office is an attempt to defeat the ends of justice and frustrate justice being done," he told a news conference in Maseru. "It is on this basis that the party ... urges him to step down as prime minister. "He has become a threat to the nation and the country". The killing of Thabane's 58-year-old wife shocked the tiny poverty-stricken country, which is ringed by South Africa. Thabane's spokesman Sentle Rabale did not respond to calls. The ruling party leads a coalition government in a country with a long history of political instability and coups. The number of people who signed up for health coverage through Louisianas individual exchange fell to its lowest point on record for the second straight year in 2020, amid a double-digit rate hike and a Republican-backed lawsuit seeking to throw out the law. Enrollment in the Affordable Care Acts individual market--commonly known as Obamacare fell to 87,748 this year, from 92,948 last year. Nationwide, enrollment was relatively steady, dipping slightly to about 8.3 million in the 38 states that, like Louisiana, use the federal HealthCare.gov website. Its not what we want, said Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. We want to see it grow. But the decrease is not out of the ordinary. Donelon pinned the drop of 5,200 people in Louisiana on several factors. Premiums are rising by an average of 12% in the individual exchange this year, after falling by nearly 7% the year prior. People in the market continue to leave Louisiana, he said. Plus, as the state adds jobs, more people are moving to employer-sponsored insurance. The individual exchange was established in 2014, and peaked at 214,148 enrollees in Louisiana in 2016. Since then, though, insurers have fled the market and those remaining have raised rates by double digits. The number of people signing up for coverage has dropped continuously. Since that peak, enrollment has fallen by 59%. The vast majority of people in Louisianas individual exchange receive subsidies to offset the costs. As New Orleans court prepares ruling on Obamacare, Louisiana's alternative remains in infancy A federal appeals court in New Orleans could declare Obamacare unconstitutional any day, setting up a U.S. Supreme Court showdown, but Louisia In late 2017, Republicans zeroed out the fine on people who dont carry insurance, a key part of Obamacare called the individual mandate. Donelon said people are increasingly aware that they are no longer required to have health insurance, something that probably accounts for a small part of the decline in enrollment here. Brian Burton, CEO of the Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center, said the states navigators, which help consumers get coverage through the exchange, received less money this year about $200,000, down from $300,000 last year and $1.1 million during the Obama administration. Louisiana did welcome a new insurer, the hospital-run Christus Health Plan, to the individual market this year. But Burton said the low cost of the plan inadvertently reduced the amount of tax credits people in the market receive from the government. Those credits are based on the second-lowest cost plan offered in a given state. 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 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana insures the majority of people in the individual exchange in this state, and the federal government gave the insurer approval last year to purchase the other insurer that has offered individual market plans here, Vantage Health Plan of north Louisiana. Still, Burton pointed out Louisiana is insuring more people than other states in the South, mainly a factor of the Medicaid expansion component of the ACA. New health care insurer enters Louisiana market Christus Health Plan Louisiana has been licensed as a health care insurer selling policies in the western third of the state and also will sel The value of the Affordable Health Care Act is not how many people enroll in the federal marketplace, its the number of people insured in the state of Louisiana, Burton said. Meanwhile, a group of Republican officials, including Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, are trying to overturn the entire ACA through a lawsuit that argues the mandate is unconstitutional because lawmakers eliminated the penalty, and that the rest of the law must also be struck down. A federal appeals court in New Orleans recently sent the suit back down to a lower court. Nearly half a million people who get free health coverage through Medicaid expansion in Louisiana, along with the nearly 90,000 who are covered through the individual exchange, rely on the ACA for coverage. Critics of the lawsuit, like Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, argue it puts at risk hundreds of thousands of additional people in Louisiana who have pre-existing conditions. The ACA had a list of requirements for health insurance, including that people with pre-existing conditions cant be denied coverage. Landry and Donelon have teamed up to come up with a potential state-level replacement to the individual market here, passing a framework piece of legislation last year. But the idea remains far from reality, and it does not address the bigger Medicaid expansion component. Researchers in Australia believe they have solved one of the key problems holding back the battery of the future, a breakthrough that would allow them to develop cells that could run a smartphone for four days. Lithium-sulphur batteries can theoretically store six times as much energy as the lithium-ion batteries currently used in phones and electric vehicles, but that extra power can cause them to swell and break. Mahdokht Shaibani, Matthew Hill and Meysam Mirshekarloo at their Monash University battery lab. Credit:Scott McNaughton The international research team discovered a simple tweak to the manufacturing process, which they said fixes the problem. Their patented design was published in Science Advances earlier this week. A stack of battery prototypes have been built in Germany and will be tested in electric cars in the next few months. A cartoon character, nian yeye, or Grandpa Year, representing China's Spring Festival culture, has been unveiled in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. [chinadaily.com.cn] A cartoon character, nian yeye, or Grandpa Year, representing China's Spring Festival culture, has been unveiled in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The character is designed as a logo for this year's Luoxia Hong Spring Festival Cultural Expo, held in the Sichuan Town of Langzhong in Southwest China, which dates back 2,300 years. This year's expo started on January 2 and lasts until February 8. Over the 38 days activities to take place include artistic performances, such as Chuan opera, said Shen Yifan, Deputy Mayor of Nanchong Municipal Government. The festival has been held since 2018. Reunion is the theme of this year's event, and the main venue is designed in the shape of a lantern, about 40 meters in diameter and nearly 10-stories high. A cartoon character, nian yeye, or Grandpa Year, representing China's Spring Festival culture, has been unveiled in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. [chinadaily.com.cn] The character nian yeye is based on a prototype of the ancient Chinese astronomer Luoxia Hong, who lived during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC to 24 AD). Luoxia, born in Langzhong, invented the tai-chu calendar, created the 24 solar terms and laid the foundations for today's Chinese lunisolar calendar. "As one of China's most important national festivals, Spring Festival needs a cultural symbol, like rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival, and Santa Claus for Christmas," said Tian Zhaoyuan, professor of anthropology at East China Normal University. Naming the character yeye and the depiction of it carrying a red lantern aims to convey the idea of peace and harmony. (Source: chinadaily.com.cn) Nasdaq100 (NQ) Trying to Bounce Off Weekly Chart Upchannel Support Tradable Patterns - 7 minutes ago The Nasdaq100 (NQH22) is consolidating yesterdays reversal off downchannel support (on the 4hr and daily chart), but remains vulnerable in todays European morning. Significantly, although NQ is... NQH22 : 15,610.00 (+0.01%) QQQ : 380.11 (+0.07%) US Mint begins shipping quarters honoring Maya Angelou AP - Mon Jan 10, 6:14PM CST WASHINGTON (AP) The United States Mint said Monday it has begun shipping quarters featuring the image of poet Maya Angelou, the first coins in its American Women Quarters Program. $SPX : 4,670.29 (-0.14%) $DOWI : 36,068.87 (-0.45%) $IUXX : 15,614.43 (+0.14%) Cotton Closes Black on Monday Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:48PM CST Cotton futures were off their high at the closing bell on Monday, but were still 10 to 40 points in the black. New crop cotton also bounced on Monday, ending the session 40 to 76 points firmer. The Seam... CTH22 : 115.69 (+0.41%) CTK22 : 113.50 (+0.38%) CTZ21 : 111.55s (+0.25%) Wheat Markets Close Mixed Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:48PM CST Mondays wheat market ended with winter wheat gains to HRS weakness. Spring wheat futures ended the session a nickel to 9 cents in the red. March MPLS wheat has posted losses in 9 in the last 11 sessions... ZWH22 : 759-0 (-0.39%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.2051 (+0.47%) KEH22 : 776-2 (-0.26%) KEPAWS.CM : 7.5951 (+0.45%) MWH22 : 915-4 (+0.14%) Corn Weakens out of Weekend Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:48PM CST Mondays corn trading session left prices 5 1/2 to 7 cents weaker. May futures were able to hold above the $6 mark, while Marcha and July closed less than a penny under. New crop futures were fractionally... ZCH22 : 601-0 (+0.21%) ZCPAUS.CM : 5.8670 (-1.13%) ZCK22 : 602-2 (+0.17%) ZCZ21 : 588-6s (+0.77%) ZCPZ21US.CM : 5.7930 (-0.49%) File Photo: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu holds a news conference at the DENR office in Quezon City, Philippines, April 6, 2018. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will no longer require its citizens to leave Iran and Lebanon as worries of a broader conflict in the Middle East eased, but the mandatory evacuation order for workers in Iraq remains in force, officials said on Thursday. Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, a retired general named by President Rodrigo Duterte as special envoy to the Middle East, left for Qatar on Thursday to oversee the evacuation effort. "The situation is unpredictable, sometimes there are some instances of a very surprise missile attack," he told reporters. "They have the option to press the trigger. We have to be ready in case there will be some incidents along the way." More than 2 million Philippine citizens live and work in the Middle East, sending home billions of dollars in annual remittances that could be dented by a full-scale conflict. More than 30,000 of these are in Lebanon, and more than 1,000 in Iran, excluding undocumented labourers. The United States and Iran have backed away from the brink of further conflict in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump responded overnight to an Iranian attack on U.S. forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it would retaliate further over a Jan. 3 U.S. strike that killed one of its senior military commanders. Eduardo Menez, a spokesman at the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the government is prepared to respond to any changes in the situation in the region and will assist citizens who wish to return home. "Alert levels are constantly reviewed and adjusted as needed," Menez told reporters. The foreign ministry said more than half of the 1,600 Filipinos working in Iraq, were in the Kurdistan region and the rest at U.S. and other foreign facilities in Baghdad and in commercial establishments in Erbil. (Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Michael Perry) 'Their brave resistance keep our hopes alive that this youth upsurge is strengthening India's democracy and pluralism,' states Mohammad Sajjad. IMAGE: Students in Mumbai protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, December 16, 2019. Photograph: PTI Photo Right-wing authoritarianism hates universities. Because universities offer antidotes to the opium of religious fanaticism that it administers to the masses. The present BJP regime, having failed miserably on the economy, is trying to mislead the people. They are trying to show the country-wide youth upsurge as a 'Muslim-only' agitation. They don't seem to succeeding in their designs, evident by the fact that campus after campus are joining the protests. The incumbent regime has revealed that the only thing it knows is to create communal polarisation and win elections. It does not know how to govern, how to manage the economy. By this time, this particular weakness has become well known to the common people. The sudden shock of cruel demonetisation failed to achieve its stated objectives. The NPR-NRC too will possibly meet the same sorry fate. Since, the upsurge against the CAA-NPR-NRC erupted first in the north east, it had to be deflected. With this diversionary intent, on December 15, Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university was targeted. Concurrently, Aligarh Muslim University was also targeted. In both universities, the police used stun grenades, which had expired in 2014-2015. Before this, did the police ever use stun grenades against student protests? No! The pattern of unprovoked police brutalities against the students were similar in both universities. This clearly suggests that both the Aligarh police and Delhi police received similar pre-planned commands to repress the students agitating against the blatantly discriminatory citizenship laws. This inevitably gave rise to a country-wide student upsurge. IMAGE: Police personnel lathi charge protesters in Lucknow, December 19, 2019. Photograph: PTI Photo The protests across Uttar Pradesh further exposed the police. The chief minister, having made it known that his regime would resort to violent retributive repression, provided further credence to the police excesses against Muslims. Audio and video recordings of the chief minister's instructions to the Bijnore SSP, and brazen Islamophobic outpourings of another policeman, reveal much about the anti-Muslim repression that has been unleashed in UP. Apologists of the regime unsuccessfully try to justify the killings across UP by concocting lies that at some specific place someone shouted treasonable slogan of 'Pakistan Zindabad'. Only for argument's sake, if there is proof to that effect, then the police must take specific action against the offender, according to the law. It certainly cannot justify repression across the province. There have been many mass protests in the past prior to the recent protests. No collective fine was imposed upon those agitators. This time, Muslim victims have been made to pay such fines. The police acted in such a reckless manner that even people long dead have been served with notices of confiscation of properties. Yet, it appears that the wide and deep communal polarisation the regime anticipated to create does not appear to have happened. Thanks to the students agitations, and circulation of information on social media, gradually more and more disadvantaged classes of Indians are finding out about the agonies they will undergo in order to produce documents for the NPR 2020. For example, compared to NPR 2010, NPR 2020 has added few more columns in which they ask for date of birth of the parents of citizens. A huge chunk of the Indian population do not have certificates of date of birth, particularly of their mothers. Those who have is the one issued by the school boards. The government has not made it clear that it will accept this document as proof. A huge chunk and a larger number of women are not educated to even have matriculation certificates. The Union home minister, having said that no existing documents (not even Aadhar), will be acceptable, has added to the people's woes. Shockingly, the government is not advertising what documents it will ask for in NPR 2020, which, according to the law, is the first step towards the NRC. Let us make no mistake! IMAGE: Protesters gather at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi, December 31, 2019, to oppose the amended Citizenship Act. Photograph: PTI Photo The more the Union ministers (home, defence, law, etc) have tried to explain and convince, the more they have revealed the problems accompanying the NPR-NRC. These contradictions among the Union ministers have further eroded the justification for police excesses. And precisely because of this, the protests against the NPR-NRC have gained increasing legitimacy. Huge civil disobedience of a large number of women has further de-legitimised police action. Even semi-literate and illiterate women of 90 years of old age are able to articulate the deep flaws in the law and the agonies involved in it, with utmost clarity, assertion and confidence. They have overcome their fear of the regime. They have helped others overcome their fear. As the police and the BJP-led government, both, have not been able to put forward convincing justification and explanation for such excessive brutalities, they employed a different method at JNU on January 5. Dozens of masked goons, allegedly from the ABVP, entered the campus, made murderous assaults on the teachers and students, and went away. The police remained a complicit onlooker. IMAGE: Shattered glass of doors at the Sabarmati hostel following the January 5, 2020 violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo The JNU administration has not yet lodged any FIR against those goons despite many of them have been identified. Even more outrageous is the fact that though someone from an outfit called the Hindu Raksha Dal has claimed responsibility for the violence at JNU, no action is being taken against him. He -- as well as the BJP MP from Aligarh, Satish Gautam -- has released videos threatening to carry out similar violence against AMU students if they continue to agitate against the citizenship laws. Let us recall that the Union home minister had talked of 'teaching a lesson' to JNU students, who are referred to in saffron circles as 'tukde tukde gang'. This falsehood is propagated through doctored video on a television news channel. Why cannot the BJP and its affiliates engage itself in debates? Why cannot the government talk to the agitated people? Universities are meant to raise most uncomfortable questions and attempting to find answers. Raising questions has to be appreciated and encouraged. The BJP regime resorts to criminalising and penalising it. Armed with State power, when they lose arguments, debates and discussions, they resort to violence against their ideological adversaries. As if they are not dissenters, but enemies! This is extremely sad. This is extremely dangerous for the nation. This is a self-destructive exercise. The government turning against its best universities is a huge tragedy. JNU is already fighting its battle against the fee hike. The IITs, which hiked its fees for MTech courses four fold, has kept it in abeyance in the face of resistance. Many private institutes of technology and management have shut down. Confronted with unemployment, students don't feel like investing money to obtain such degrees. IMAGE: A candlelight protest in Amritsar, December 16, 2019, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and to show solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia. Photograph: Munish Sharma/Reuters Despite being a core insider in academia -- that too at the biggest residential university -- of late, I was becoming a cynic, thinking that the students and youth of today are hedonists, de-politicised, consumerists; that they don't think for the larger world and for disadvantaged people. I must confess, our students have proved us wrong. This makes me immensely happy and proud as a teacher. Their brave resistance, joined by millions of other, keeps our hopes alive that this youth upsurge is strengthening India's democracy and pluralism. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some students joined with the peasants in eastern India to launch an armed revolution. In 1974, students challenged Indira Gandhi's authoritarianism through Jayaprakash Narayan's Sampoorna Kranti movement which had many flaws within it. The rise of menacing majoritarianism in our times has much to do with some of those tactical flaws of 1974. Now, this lesson and historical experience is certainly before the current movement. Just as the rural elites, particularly upper OBCs, having studied at provincial universities in local towns, became critical mass support for JP's movement in 1974-1975, the current student upsurge has also got something to do with a certain kind of demographic composition. Right now, Hong Kong campuses have become violent battlegrounds following the extradition law which would further colonise Hong Kong under mainland China. The province's police have sought to crush tghe students movement with violence. In May 1968, France witnessed a huge student upsurge, later joined by the working classes. All these movements added to the strength of nations and injected necessary correctives in their societies and State systems. Does India stand to gain with this current youth upsurge? Professor Mohammad Sajjad teaches history at the Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University. He can be contacted at news@rediff.co.in Border Collie Saves Flock of 900 Sheep by Herding Them Away From Raging Bushfires in Australia The content is not available due to expiration. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts declares statewide day of prayer for Roe v. Wade anniversary Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation Wednesday declaring Jan. 22 a statewide day of prayer as abortion rights advocates prepare to celebrate the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. I, Pete Ricketts, Governor of the State of Nebraska, do hereby proclaim the 22nd day of January 2020 as a statewide day of prayer in Nebraska, and I do hereby urge all individuals to pray on their own or with others, according to their faith, for an end to abortion, said a statement on the document shared on Facebook by Ricketts Wednesday. Be it further resolved that the citizens of the Great State of Nebraska are encouraged to take direct action to aid mothers, fathers and families in need, especially those expecting a child who cannot provide for themselves. He also noted that since the Roe v. Wade decision, more than 50 million unborn children have been killed by abortion. Nebraska state law states that it is the will of the people of the State of Nebraska and the members of the Legislature to provide protection for the life of the unborn child whenever possible, the proclamation further added. Nebraskans display our pro-life values in a multitude of ways from the crisis pregnancy centers that provide free care for expecting parents to the prayer vigils held across the state every year. Ricketts signed the proclamation the same day that a group of pro-life lawmakers introduced a bill to ban dismemberment abortion, a common abortion method in Nebraska, and shortly after plans for the annual Walk for Life were announced an Omaha World-Herald report said. Residents in Michigan are also seeking to ban dismemberment abortion and last month delivered 379,418 petitions to the state capitol in an effort to end the procedure. Michigan Values Life submitted well above the 340,047 signatures required by state law. If enough of the petitions are certified as valid, then the legislature will have 40 days to pass the initiative. A week ago, some 207 members of Congress 39 senators and 168 members of the House of Representatives, representing 38 states asked the Supreme Court in an amicus brief to "reconsider" the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and the court's 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld Roe v. Wade and barred states from placing an "undue burden" on access to abortions. With regard to June Medicals question presented, Amici submit that while the Fifth Circuit understandably struggled with the meaning of the undue burden standard put forth in Planned Parenthood of Se. Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), the court appropriately distinguished Hellerstedt on a record that reflected greatly dissimilar facts and a demonstrable absence of burden on abortion access due to the operation of Louisiana Act 620, the congressmen argued in the brief. Finally, Amici respectfully suggest that the Fifth Circuits struggle to define the appropriate large fraction or determine what burden on abortion access is undue illustrates the unworkability of the right to abortion found in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and the need for the Court to again take up the issue of whether Roe and Casey should be reconsidered and, if appropriate, overruled, they added. Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, a pro-abortion group, recently told Newsweek there is now a real possibility that Roe v. Wade could be overturned but the battle for abortion rights will continue to be waged at the state level. "The Supreme Court matters. It matters a lot," Miller said. "But it does not have the ultimate last word. No matter what the Supreme Court does, it's important to look to the states." Several states have recently passed laws like New Yorks controversial "Reproductive Health Act" which codifies federal abortion rights guaranteed under the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision and removes abortion from the state's criminal code. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Thursday that evidence suggests an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian plane on Tuesday. He added that the strike may have been an accident. The plane went down after it took off from Tehrans main airport. All 176 people on board were killed. At least 62 were Canadian. Trudeau did not give details about the evidence. But he said a surface-to-air missile appeared to strike the plane. Earlier, two United States officials said it is very possible that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile shot down the plane. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. They did not explain why Iran would shoot down the plane. One U.S. official told the Reuters News Agency that U.S. satellites had recorded the launch of two missiles just before the plane crashed. The launch was followed by an explosion. Two U.S. officials told Reuters they believe the missiles were launched accidentally. These officials all spoke anonymously. U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the issue at a news conference this morning. He dismissed Iranian claims that the plane suffered a mechanical failure. Somebody make a mistake on the other side, Trump said, adding, Some people said it was mechanical. I personally dont believe that is even a question. Iran has asked the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States to assist in the investigation. The request came through the International Civil Aviation Organization, anonymous sources told The New York Times. Investigators from Irans Civil Aviation Organization offered no explanation for the disaster. Iranian officials first said the crash was caused by a technical problem. Ukrainian officials agreed. Then, Ukrainian officials appeared to back away from the Iranian decision. They said they could not come to a conclusion while the investigation was ongoing. Ukraine said a missile strike could be one of several possible causes of the crash. Oleksiy Danilov is secretary of Ukraines Security Council. Danilov also said there are other possible causes being considered, such as some kind of flying object hitting the plane, a terrorist attack, or a mechanical problem. However, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the plane was only three and a half years old. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. The attack answered the killing in Iraq last week of an Iranian general by a U.S. airstrike. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he planned to call Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the crash and the investigation. Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash, Zelenskiy said. We will surely find out the truth. Im Kelly Jean Kelly. The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story anonymity - n. not named or identified aviation - n. airplane manufacture, development, and design priority - n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first This year, the AARP Foundation is again providing free tax assistance, return preparation and electronic filing for taxpayers through the Foundations Tax-Aide program in west Houston and Katy. The Katy-area locations are: Living Word Church, Maud Marks Library, Cinco Ranch Library and the Katy Library. AARPs Tax-Aide program, now in its 52nd year, is the nations largest free, volunteer-run, tax assistance and preparation service. Developed in 1968 for elderly, retired and low-income families, it now welcomes all. Helping senior citizens is the main charter of AARP. Nationwide, Tax-Aides 35,000 volunteers provide over 2.5 million people annually with free tax help preparing over 1.6 million returns. All volunteers are trained and IRS-certified each year to ensure their knowledge of revisions to the U.S. tax code, and to ensure that tax returns are accurate and help people maximize their tax refunds. This program is offered at 35 sites in the Houston area in various libraries and community centers. In the West Houston and Katy district, there are nine locations that prepared almost 4,000 returns last tax season. Taxpayers should bring the following documents to a convenient site near them: Social Security cards for all family members, photo identifications, tax and income records, Form 1095-A if health insurance was purchased through the Marketplace, and last years tax return if available. Visit www.aarp.org/taxaide to locate a AARP Tax-Aide sites. Hours and locations of the Katy-area sites are: Living Word Church, 16607 Clay Road, Houston: Tuesdays and Fridays: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Maud Marks Library, 1815 Westgreen, Katy: Mondays and Fridays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Cinco Ranch Library, 2620 Commercial Center, Katy, Mondays 1-5 p.m. Katy Library, 5414 Franz Road, Katy Tuesdays: 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Technavio has been monitoring the global soft drinks market since 2015 and the market is poised to grow by USD 316 billion during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of nearly 6% during the forecast period. Request Free Sample Pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005266/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global soft drinks market 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) Read the 122-page research report with TOC on "Soft Drinks Market Analysis Report by Product (Carbonated soft drinks, Juices and juice concentrates, Bottled water, RTD tea and coffee, and Others), by Geography (Americas, APAC, and EMEA), and Segment Forecasts, 2019 2023." https://www.technavio.com/report/global-soft-drinks-market-industry-analysis Factors such as product innovations and increasing demand for craft soft drinks are anticipated to boost the growth of the market. Vendors in the soft drinks market are focusing on improving their sales by innovating their products in terms of formulation, packaging, ingredients, and other aspects. They are also introducing products with added benefits based on data on growing health and wellness trend among consumers. Sprite launched a reformulated product in the UK market in April 2018. This product has about 50% less sugar content as it uses a combination of sugar, acesulfame K, and aspartame. Similarly, Perrier launched a new flavor, peach, to its existing lineup of carbonated mineral water in April 2018. Such continuous product innovations by different vendors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Soft Drinks Market Companies: Danone Danone is headquartered in France and operates the business under various segments such as Specialized Nutrition, Essential Dairy and Plant-Based North America, Waters, and Essential Dairy and Plant-Based International. The company offers Evian, Volvic, AQUA, Font Vella, Mizone, SALUS, and others. Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper is headquartered in the US and offers products through the following business units: Coffees, Flavored soft drinks, Teas and waters, and Juices, juice drinks, mixers, and more. The company offers various soft drink products such as juices, juice drinks, flavored soft drinks, and other products. Monster Energy Company Monster Energy Company is headquartered in the US and operates under various business segments, namely Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, and Others. The company offers its energy drinks under the brand name, Monster. Nestle Nestle is headquartered in Switzerland and offers products through the following business segments: Zone AMS, Zone EMENA, Zone AOA, Nestle Waters, Nestle Nutrition, and Other businesses. The company offers bottled water under brands such as Poland Spring, Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, ACQUA PANNA, and others. PepsiCo PepsiCo is headquartered in the US and offers products through the following business segments: Frito-Lay North America, Quaker Foods North America, North America Beverages, Latin America, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, Middle East, and North Africa. The company offers carbonated soft drinks, juices, and more. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Soft Drinks Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 2023) Carbonated soft drinks Juices and juice concentrates Bottled water RTD tea and coffee Others Soft Drinks Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 2023) Americas APAC EMEA Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Related Reports on Consumer Staples include: Energy Drinks Market in Latin America Energy Drinks Market in Latin America by product (sparkling energy drinks and still energy drinks) and geography (Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and the rest of Latin America). Alcohol Ingredients Market Global Alcohol Ingredients Market by beverage (beer, spirits, and wine), ingredient (flavors and salts, colorants, and others), and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America). About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005266/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: https://www.technavio.com NSUI has won on all four crucial seats. (Photo Credit: @SaimonFarooqui) Varanasi: The Congress NSUI has swept the students Union poll Sampurnanand Sanskrit University here, defeating the rival ABVP candidates on all four crucial seats. The candidates of BJP-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad were trounced by candidates of National Students Union of India on all four seats of president, vice-president, general secretary and librarian in the varsity students union poll held on Wednesday. As per the poll results declared on Wednesday by varsity election officer, Professor Shailesh Kumar Mishra, NSUIs Shivam Mishra won the presidents post by securing 709 votes, defeating ABVP Harshit Pandey who polled only 224 votes. Chandan Kumar bagged the vice-presidents seat and secured 553 votes while Avinash Pandey won the post of general secretary and got 487 votes. Rajnikant Dubey of NSUI won the librarians post by securing 567 votes. Anurag Shukla was elected unopposed for the representative post of Sahitya Sanskriti Sankaya of the varsity. University vice-chancellor Professor Rajaram Shukla administered the oath in Sanskrit to the newly elected office bearers. Out of a total of 1,950 voters, only 991 caste their votes in which 931 were boys and 60 girl students. Mention Lyon, Frances third-largest city, and Francophile food fans perk up. Thanks in part to its location at the heart of Frances agricultural larder, Lyon has always enjoyed a glowing reputation as a gastronomic hub. But things heated up in 1935 with the release of a guidebook titled Lyon, Capitale Mondiale de la Gastronomie, penned by esteemed food critic Curnonsky with writer Marcel-Etienne Grancher. As famous for his poetic culinary musings as for his colossal appetite, Curnonsky (alias the Prince of Gastronomes) was one of the first writers to espouse the concept of culinary tourism. Salvage logging and re-seeding a forest after a wildfire helps reduce flooding and returns water levels to normal faster, according to a new paper from a Washington State University researcher. The paper, just published in the journal Hydrological Processes, shows that water levels are still increased up to 40 years after a fire. "Trees work like straws, pulling water up out of the ground," said Ryan Niemeyer, an adjunct faculty member in WSU's Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR). "When you remove them, the water has to go somewhere. Flooding is common after a wildfire, as is elevated stream flow in subsequent summers. But seeing that the effect lasts for up to 40 years is a little surprising and certainly a new finding." Niemeyer wrote the paper with Kevin Bladon at Oregon State University and Richard Woodsmith of Woodsmith Watershed Consulting. Natural fire starts a long-term experiment Their research looked at the U.S. Forest Service's Entiat Experimental Forest in north-central Washington, which burned in 1970. The fire likely started from a lightning strike, Niemeyer said. Three distinct areas of the forest were observed, with two of them having salvage logging done to remove what remained of the burned trees. Those areas were also fertilized and native seeds were dropped on the area. The third area was left untouched. The fire interrupted a planned logging experiment in the forest, so researchers at the time switched to monitoring the effects of wildfire, said Niemeyer, who grew up hunting and fishing in the Entiat watershed. The original studies in the early '70s showed that water levels in the watershed increased significantly after the fire. But the measurement equipment was removed after a few years, said the native Washingtonian. Past decisions impact today Fast forward to 2004, when a new grant allowed for stream flow monitoring equipment to be re-installed to measure the long-term impact the fire had on water levels. The measurement period was from 2004-11, after which Niemeyer, a hydrologist who is also a post-doctoral researcher at UC-Santa Barbara, and his colleagues spent five years analyzing the data. After roughly 40 years, only one of the three areas still had water levels above the pre-fire baseline: the section that was left alone to recover. "If you visit today, you can easily see that area has less mature vegetation compared to the re-seeded sections," Niemeyer said. "The trees in the re-seeded sections are much bigger, and water levels are back to normal." Increased water levels can be positive and negative, he said. If you want more water coming down a stream for increased access to water for irrigation, for example, then you wouldn't want to salvage any of the logs or re-seed the area. But that extra water can have other impacts on the land, he said. Trees help hold soil in place when it rains, so erosion is higher in areas that aren't re-seeded. That increases sediment going into the watershed, which can impact fish and other wildlife. "It's really a complex set of interactions, and each wildfire situation effects water and water usage differently," Niemeyer said. "But now we know how long a fire impacts nearby water, and that those impacts can be reduced faster." Since it's now been eight years since the sensors were removed, and 15 since they were first re-installed, the researchers are hoping to start another round of monitoring in the area. They plan to write a grant proposal to fund re-installing the sensors to see if, and when, the untouched area returns to normal water levels. ### New York [USA], Jan 10 (ANI): India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, on Thursday (local time) lambasted Pakistan for peddling false narrative on New Delhi and said there are no "takers for your malware here". "It is increasingly acknowledged that the Council faces crises of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks, the weaponisation of new technologies, the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council," Akbaruddin said during an open debate at the UN Security Council. "One delegation that epitomises the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today. These we dismiss with disdain. My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware," he added. The diplomat stressed upon the Council as "part of the political toolkit" to address ongoing and future threats to global peace and security. He also said that there needs to be a Council which is a "representative" of current global realities. "The answer to the crises the Council faces, lies in invoking and working through Charter provisions that provide for reform and change. We need a Council that is representative of current global realities, credible, and legitimate, rather than one that rests merely on the claim that it existed at the inception. The Council needs to be fit for purpose for the 21st century," Akbaruddin further said. (ANI) U.S. should have warned Canada of plan to kill Iranian general, say government sources Canada should have been warned in advance by the Americans of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to kill a high-ranking Iranian military general with a drone strike, say two senior government sources. Ottawa also wants a more thorough explanation from the Trump administration of the thinking behind the attack, according to federal government sources with direct knowledge of the situation. CBC News spoke with the sources on the condition of anonymity, as the individuals are not authorized to speak publicly. It's not clear exactly what the Trudeau government saw as unsatisfactory in Washington's stated rationale for killing a senior military official in a foreign country. One source said that it's hard to work as part of a military coalition, like the one pursuing the remnants of ISIS in Iraq, without solid cooperation among members and with the most powerful partner in that coalition pursuing a path its allies don't fully grasp. Searching for an explanation Asked today by host Chris Hall of CBC Radio's The House whether Canada had received any advance notice of the plan to kill Soleimani, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he could not "go into the specifics of operations or intelligence." Champagne said that, "following the death of Gen. Soleimani, we had and I think that's what Canadians would expect from us put our force (in Iraq) under what we call force protection ... So despite the missiles that were fired by Iran, all the Canadians and coalition troops and Iraqis were safe." Trump administration officials have claimed Soleimani was actively planning attacks against Americans. President Trump himself claimed the infamous Iranian military leader was scheming to "blow up" an American embassy, but offered no evidence to back that up. Members of the U.S. Congress on both sides of the aisle have complained bitterly about the lack of information about the attack coming from the administration. Story continues Canada has about 500 troops in Iraq; some have been moved to Kuwait in recent weeks in response to the ongoing volatility on the ground. About half of those Canadians are with the NATO training mission, while the others including up to 250 special forces members are involved in the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition. The recent tensions in the region flared up on Dec. 27, when an Iranian-backed militia group killed an American contractor in Iraq. Those tensions escalated to the brink of open warfare one week ago, when the U.S. retaliated by launching a drone strike that killed Iran's top military general, Qassem Soleimani. He is said to be responsible for at least 600 American deaths. Dire consequences In response to Soleimani's killing, Iran launched 16 ballistic missiles early Wednesday at two military bases in Iraq housing U.S. military personnel. Some Canadian military personnel were also present at one of the bases at the time of the attack. In the immediate aftermath of Soleimani's death, Canada recognized the significance of the Americans' action and security officials immediately began gathering information to brief Prime Minister Trudeau, the first source said. The PM was on vacation in Costa Rica at the time. The first source said officials at the highest levels of the Canadian government feared that the act of killing Soleimani threatened to trigger dire consequences in the region. That source stressed, however, that the event won't fundamentally change the Canada-U.S. relationship. Canada remains fully committed to the principles of the NATO mission in Iraq and continues to share the overall security objectives of the U.S., the source said. Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency/Reuters The stakes for Canada in the standoff in the Middle East ramped up Thursday when Trudeau announced that Canada has evidence indicating that Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by Iran, possibly by accident. The passenger jet crashed outside Tehran early Wednesday morning local time, hours after the Iranian missile attack, killing all 176 people on board 57 of whom, the government now says, were Canadians. The first source said that, at this stage in the investigation, Canada is not focusing on who's to blame for the crash. Trudeau was asked multiple times during Thursday's press conference whether he thinks the U.S. is partially responsible for the crash, given the sequence of events. "I think it is too soon to be drawing conclusions or assigning blame or responsibility in whatever proportions," Trudeau told reporters gathered at Ottawa's National Press Theatre. "Right now, our focus is on supporting the families that are grieving right across the country and providing what answers we can in a preliminary way, but recognizing that there is going to need to be a full and credible investigation into what exactly happened before we draw any conclusions." Due to the time difference with Iran, top government officials in Ottawa first learned of the crash late Tuesday night as they were wrapping up a top secret briefing on the Iran crisis. The first source said some officials had gathered together in an office, while others joined the confidential meeting by a secure telephone line. As the meeting was coming to a close, David Morrison, the foreign and defence policy adviser to the prime minister, was told a plane had just gone down in Tehran. Canadian authorities were ordered to gather information throughout the night. The source said it was clear from the start that there would have been Canadians on that flight. The source added that Canada did not have credible information about the probable cause of the crash until late Wednesday, after Canadian officials had spent much of the preceding 24 hours gathering information. Top officials, including Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance and senior bureaucrats, gathered to discuss all of the available intelligence Thursday morning, the source said. They came to the conclusion that the most probable cause of the crash was an Iranian missile strike, then briefed Trudeau and some members of his cabinet. Shortly afterward, Trudeau held his second press briefing in two days. CBC News reached out to the Prime Minister's Office but received no comment on the record by publication time. A former Downing Street and Treasury adviser has been selected as SDLP Assembly member for South Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) A former Downing Street and Treasury adviser has been selected as SDLP Assembly member for South Belfast. Matthew OToole replaces Claire Hanna following her election to Westminster last month. He has a background in economic policy and communications. The absence of powersharing has put immense pressure on public services, especially the health service, which is felt acutely in places like South BelfastMatthew O'Toole Mr OToole said: Im delighted to be asked to serve the people of South Belfast at this critical moment. The absence of powersharing has put immense pressure on public services, especially the health service, which is felt acutely in places like South Belfast. Brexit has also made Northern Ireland immensely vulnerable and been damaging to community relations. He said the election to Westminster of progressive, Remain voices like Ms Hanna and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was good news and pledged to defend Northern Ireland from the effects of Brexit. Im humbled to be asked to serve a constituency that is Northern Irelands most diverse and open. I believe deeply in building in a shared society and South Belfast is an example of how a diverse community can live and work together I am proud to be their representative. Mr OToole left the UK Government in September 2017 and works for communications consultancy Powerscourt, as well as regular journalism on UK and Irish politics. Expand Close SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was delighted to announce that someone of Mr OTooles calibre was stepping forward (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was delighted to announce that someone of Mr OTooles calibre was stepping forward (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Eastwood said: I am delighted that we are able to announce that someone of Matthews calibre is stepping forward to join our Assembly team and represent the people of South Belfast. With a strong background in economic policy, having worked across government and the private sector, Matthew brings an immense amount of experience that will be critical to our efforts to rebalance Northern Irelands economy, attract new jobs and defend people here from the impact of Brexit. I look forward to working with him at a critical time for politics in the North. Ms Hanna said he will make an outstanding Assembly member. What does the Republican Party stand for? Lately, thats been hard to figure out. In 2016, the party adopted a platform that talked about moral leadership, the cause of liberty, fighting tyranny and injustice, and standing up to countries with repressive governments. For three years, President Donald Trump, backed by Republicans in Congress, abandoned those commitments. Then last week, Trump reverted to the old Republican habit of using force. He killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani with a drone strike. And when Democrats questioned the wisdom of the strike, Republicans accused them of disloyalty to America. Advertisement From hawkishness to appeasement, the GOP has zigged, zagged, and zigged. Only one thing has remained constant: its partisan exploitation of the military and the flag. Republicans dont believe in standing up to enemies abroad. They believe in impugning the patriotism of Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 2016 Republican platform pledged to support the Kurdish people, continue our partnership with the Iraqi people, and press for change in North Korea, the Kim familys slave state. It promised assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia until Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored. Trump has proved that all these statements were lies. He has excused Russian aggression, extorted Ukraine, threatened Iraq, betrayed the Kurds, and glorified Kim Jong-un. Youd think that Republicans, having defended these betrayals and capitulations, might hesitate to lecture others about weakness or anti-Americanism. But youd be wrong. Advertisement Advertisement In June 2018, Trump held a summit with Kim, dismissed questions about North Koreas human rights abuses, and declared, There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. U.S. intelligence debunked Trumps assurances. But on Fox News, Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia said Trumps fake deal was working, and he denounced Democrats for refusing to give the president credit. This is a pattern for the Democrats, said Collins. Were seeing results. Now that Trump has killed an Iranian general for orchestrating the deaths of Americans, Pompeo has rediscovered piety and slander. Now that Trump has taken the opposite position in Irandenying that it complied with its 2015 denuclearization agreement and killing its top generalCollins says Democrats are sucking up to Americas enemies. In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, the congressman accused Democrats of trying to limit Trumps war powers because theyre in love with terrorists. We see that. They mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families. Advertisement Advertisement Collins later apologized, but his accusation is part of an ongoing propaganda campaign and a pattern of Republican hypocrisy. Take the case of Mike Pompeo, Trumps secretary of state. In October 2018, a Saudi hit squad murdered and dismembered Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and U.S. resident. The CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing. In response, Trump and Pompeo tried to cover up the princes complicity. Pompeo said there was no direct reporting that proved the princes guilta misleading technicalityand he suggested that sometimes you have to put up with the murder of an American resident. Its a mean, nasty world out there, he argued. Advertisement Advertisement But now that Trump has killed an Iranian general for orchestrating the deaths of Americans, Pompeo has rediscovered piety and slander. The Obama-Biden administration essentially handed power to the Iranian leadership and acted as a quasi-ally of theirs underwriting the very militias that killed Americans, Pompeo raged on Fox News Sunday. On Meet the Press, he said President Barack Obamas policy was designed to guarantee that the Iranian regime would have power, authority, capacity to take Americans hostage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the spring, when special counsel Robert Mueller reported that Trump and his campaign had solicited Russian help in the 2016 election, Sen. Lindsey Graham tried to cover up Trumps treachery. Mueller said there was no evidence of collusion between President Trump or anybody on his campaign with the Russians, period, Graham lied. In a press conference, the senator falsely claimed that Muellers conclusion was firm, without equivocation, that no one on the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians. But this week, when Grahams colleagues proposed to constrain Trumps authority to use force against Iran, Graham accused them of treachery. He told the media, Im going to let people know that at this moment in time, to play this game with the War Powers Act, which I think is unconstitutional whether you mean to or not, youre empowering the enemy. Advertisement In the fall, after Trump secretly urged the president of Ukraine to investigate Trumps political opponents, Sen. James Risch of Idaho insisted, I saw nothing in the conversation that was inappropriate. Now, in the debate over Iran, Risch says Democrats are betraying our country. What you come away with after listening to the Democrats, Risch told reporters, is there is so much hate and vitriol and animosity against this president that they are willing to put at risk lives of American citizens and American military people. Advertisement Advertisement Steve Scalise, the House minority whip, also excused Trumps attempts at collusion. In a November interview, ABCs George Stephanopoulos asked Scalise six times whether it was appropriate for the president to ask the Ukrainiansor the Chinese, which hes also done in publicto investigate his domestic political opponents. Six times, Scalise refused to say it was wrong. Scalise also claimed, falsely, that according to Mueller, Trump and his associates never even came close to accepting offers of campaign help from Russian-affiliated individuals. Advertisement Now Scalise accuses Democrats of using Iranian talking points to criticize the president. On Wednesday, at a House Republican briefing, he repeated that some in the Democrat leadership were trying to criticize those actions that kept America safer, using some of the same talking points that are coming out of Tehran. In October, Trump deliberately removed U.S. troops from Syrias northeastern border so that Turkey could invade Syria and expel the Kurds who had helped us defeat ISIS. When Democrats offered a resolution to oppose the withdrawal and Turkeys invasion, 60 Republicans, including Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, defended Trumps betrayal and voted against the resolution. Advertisement Advertisement Now these Republicans are preening about national honor and slandering Democrats. Theyve run and helped our enemies, Gohmert said on Wednesday. He accused Democrats of having helped [Iran] fund the terrorism that has continued to kill Americans. On Fox News, Biggs said Democrats hate [Trump] more than they love this country. Theyre trying to overthrow the country. And in so doing, they do put our men and women in jeopardy. In foreign policyas in morals, trade, criminal justice, fiscal policy, and the rule of lawRepublicans have no firm principles. Sometimes they stand for human rights and against tyranny. Sometimes they ignore human rights and defend tyrants. But rain or shine, you can count on Republicans to attack the patriotism of Democrats. Thats what the Republican Party is. Burt Ward, the actor who played Robin on the 1960s TV series, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday. The Los Angeles native's new star neighbors the star of the late co-star Adam West, who played Batman to Ward's Robin on the show, which ran for three seasons from 1966 until 1968. Also on hand for the proceedings were director Kevin Smith, Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman on the series, Revenge of the Nerds actor Robert Carradine, and TV stars Nancy O'Dell and Maria Menounos (who wore a purple Batman costume). Many Batman cosplayers were on hand as well to celebrate. Ka-boom! Burt Ward, 74, the actor who played Robin on the 1960s TV series, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday outside of the Guinness World Records museum 'It's only been 50 years, and I am a patient person,' the 74-year-old joked Thursday to Variety about the honor for the show. Ward said he was inspired to purse a career in show business when his family moved to Beverly Hills, California. 'I grew up with other people whose families were in show business,' he said, 'and I always wanted to be an actor, and so I studied a lot.' Ward said he kept an even demeanor throughout his career, noting that he 'worked really hard' while having fun. He said: 'As a result, things that were great were great, and things that weren't so great didn't bother me.' Fun time: Kevin Smith and Ward chat as Smith recorded the occasion on his phone Beaming: The veteran entertainer wore a black polo shirts and slacks to the function Happy: Ward proudly displayed a plaque he received at the ceremony Fans: Nancy O'Dell, Ward, Smith and Maria Menounos posed for a group shot Ward recalled a big break he got in his career when producer Saul David helped him get an agent after they crossed paths while doing a real estate deal. 'He was kind enough to send me to an agent, and the agent said, "I never take on a new person, and the only reason I'm taking you is because Saul David asked me to. Don't expect to work for a year, and if you do, you're going to get one line." Ward joked the meeting was 'not exactly highly encouraging!' He eventually scored an audition for the show with 20th Century Fox and got the role of The Boy Wonder Robin. Selfie time! Menounos took a picture of the quartet in Hollywood The big moment: Ward clapped as his star was unveiled at the proceedings Gorgeous: Menounos looked amazing in a purple Batman costume 'I was just a starry-eyed young guy that had a great time, and I loved playing the role,' he said. 'Batman was the No. 1 and No. 2 show in the world. It was tremendous, and you just almost can't conceive how people reacted to our show. 'This was when television had just recently come in color. Nobody had ever played with an audience like we did.' He said of West, who died in 2017, 'We just were really good friends, and it stayed that way for more than 50 years.' In recent years, he's been involved with business and philanthropy, as he and his wife preside over the dog food and recuse organization Gentle Giants Products, which caters to large canines. Happy: Lee Meriwether, 84, who played Catwoman on the series, was on hand Then and now: Meriwether was also seen on The F.B.I. and Barnaby Jones Familiar face: Robert Carradine of Revenge of the Nerds fame was there for the occasion A Democratic lawmaker has slammed Wells Fargo for passing on the costs of its numerous scandals to third-party vendors. Last year, the lending giant pressured 14 of its IT vendors to return 2.5% of what theyd earned from the bank in 2018. The bank said it was requesting voluntary rebates from the vendors because theyd benefited from increased business as a result of its never-ending parade of scandals and regulatory woes. At least seven of the vendors reportedly agreed to issue the rebates, with many feeling that a refusal to do so could cost them Wells Fargos business as the bank reduced its use of outside contractors. Under its highest settings, a Tesla Model S can hit 96 km/h in 2.4 seconds. Thats an extraordinary speed faster than most things electric and not electric. It beats a Lamborghini Huracan by half a second. For some people, thats not fast enough. Enter Unplugged Performance, the tuning shop next door to Tesla headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., that guarantees its modifications will shave seconds off your personal best lap times. Not only people who have BMW M3s should be able to look cool and go fast around a track, says company co-founder Ben Schaffer. Our Tesla can beat them around the track, too, and look cool doing it. Schaffer was calling from Thailand, en route to Tokyo, on his way to evangelize Asian auto enthusiasts who have tuned Toyotas, Nissans, and Mazdas for decades but who, until recently, would not have considered giving an American-made electric sedan the same treatment. (Japan, it seems, is one of the last holdouts when it comes to Tesla proliferation.) The six-year-old company evolved out of Schaffers former career in modifying Japanese cars such as the Nissan GT-R. Its not the only tuner that works exclusively with electric vehicles Evannex does it in Deerfield, Fla.; Mountain Pass Performance soups up Model 3s in Ontario but Unplugged Performance is the best-known. The brand organizes Tesla Corsa, an enthusiast group that operates track-driving days exclusive to Tesla owners across the country. The market for electric driving clubs is small but growing, say insiders. We are seeing more and more Tesla owners who want to do stuff together, says Kyle Conner, an electric-vehicle enthusiast and the founder of Out of Spec Motoring, which operates an EV-dedicated racetrack in North Carolina. He set a record for the fastest coast-to-coast drive in an electric vehicle last summer, when he drove a Tesla Model 3 from New York to Los Angeles in 45 hours and 16 minutes. Its cool to see people getting into the fun side of electric motoring, he continued. We need more of that. But tuning a battery-powered vehicle is very different from tuning something powered by an internal combustion engine. The upgrades and modifications do not include adjusting the power settings on the cars motor. Most of the improvements involve making the car lighter or more aerodynamic. Kevin Lee, whose 2018 Tesla Model S P100 underwent four months of tuning, says Its not about increasing the performance of the electric motor its more about amplifying the experience. For Lee, Unplugged Performance added a wide-body kit of 19 separate carbon fibre panels, lightweight forged wheels, Michelin Pilot sport tires with titanium lug nuts, carbon ceramic brakes, high-performance shocks and air suspension, an interior upgrade of royal blue leather and dark grey Alcantara, satin-white exterior wrap, and a ceramic clear coat on the outside of the car for additional protection against rock chips. (The car has its own Instagram page.) Such upgrades give the cars an edge over the stock options that come direct from the factory, even if they lack the significance of horsepower and torque improvements in a gas-fueled car. The companys 20-inch UP-03 Carbon Fibre wheels, for instance, use carbon fibre barrels to achieve a fighting weight of just over 16 pounds per wheel. According to company diagnostics, they reduce the rotational mass (how easy it is to stop and start a rolling object) of each wheel by more than 50 per cent. The companys 20 employees also make carbon fibre aero kits of side skirts, spoilers, and front fascia from an impact-resistant, proprietary blend of polymer. The kits extend the width of each car and increase the arch of the front lip or the rear spoiler, all in the name of enhancing aerodynamics. A front lip spoiler bolted onto a Model 3 will decrease drag by 6.6 per cent, Schaffer says, and increase downforce by 35.4 per cent improvements that admittedly will be imperceptible to all but the most discerning drivers over hours of track time. Pricing for the most basic aftermarket adjustments starts at $1044; performance brake pads, which decrease the time it takes to stop, start at $195. The Model 3 package that Unplugged Performance debuted at the Special Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) meeting in Las Vegas in November runs about $45,679. The full treatment on a Model S can go up to $65,256. As with anything Tesla, there is more than one field of detraction. For starters, any work on the car from Unplugged Performance renders Teslas warranty null and void. (Unplugged Performance offers its own terms and conditions to cover the guarantee.) Other critics say such bolted-on upgrades like the body kits are superficial, at best. But the biggest argument against Tesla-tuning is that the hardware and software inside Teslas not a front fender or spoiler kit is where the real boost is needed. The true aftermarket on Tesla is going to be software, something the average person cant do, says Alex Roy, an outspoken automotive TV host. In 2007, Roy set the record for transcontinental driving across the U.S. in an internal combustion car; starting in 2017, he held the same record for an EV before it was broken in 2019. He currently leases two Teslas: a Model 3 and a Model S. Hed never own one, he says, because a lease allows him the best, most efficient access to all of the hardware and software upgrades that Tesla installs on its new cars. He also questions the quality and style of the EV modifications currently available on the market. People who are doing Tesla aftermarkets now are often people who have never owned a nice car, Roy says. Theyre, like, 30 to 40 years behind the car community in judgment and taste, and that explains their excitement over aero kits and tire stem caps. No Ferrari or Porsche owner does that or has since 1978. Nonetheless, Schaffer contends that business is robust. Tesla has never really devoted a lot of resources to differentiation among its cars, so there is a lot of room for us to do that, he says. All told, Unplugged Performance tuned 1,000 Teslas in 2019, double the figure for the previous year. Some 70 per cent were Model 3s, 20 per cent were Model S, and the rest were Model X. California, Texas, and Florida are the strongest markets in the United States; Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, and Switzerland also have loyal fan bases, he says. Clients include YouTube personalities such as Erik Strait, who posts frequently about his modified Model 3. Tesla has yet to comment officially on its stance regarding aftermarket tuners. (A representative for the company did not respond to requests for comment.) But Schaffer says he hopes Elon Musks electric manufacturer, which hit a record-high stock price of $471 per share on Jan. 7, will eventually welcome and even embrace the small company in the same way that Mercedes-Benz partnered with AMG, which started as an independent tuning shop before being integrated into Mercedes. A lot of our clients are starting to buy performance cars and going to track days, Schaffer says. Its not black and white anymore: You can still love cars and look to the future and embrace electric and still have fun. Read more about: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday demanded a thorough investigation into the massive explosion of alleged firecrackers at Naihati when police tried to diffuse them. Dhankhar said another explosion at an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit at Naihati's Devak area a week ago, which had claimed four lives, was a "big threat to the peace situation" in the state. The investigation should find out who benefitted financially by running the illegal firecracker manufacturing units and unmask those responsible for running them, he said. "It's (explosions) a big threat to the peace situation in West Bengal. We must have a thorough investigation into the explosions. We must go to the bottom of the matter to find out who all are being financially benefited by these (illegal fireworks units)," Dhankhar said on the sidelines of a programme held here. "We also need to find out under whose custody all these people (at the illegal firecracker manufacturing unit) were working. We must unmask all those irrespective of their political, administrative and social identity ... Only then peace will be reinstated in the society," he added. The explosion took place on Thursday when police tried to defuse a huge quantity of seized firecrackers. It had rocked Naihati's Ramghat area and damaged several houses there and also at Chinsurah in Hooghly district on the otherside of the Ganga. Three residents of Naihati Ramghat area were injured in Thursday's explosion. On the explosion at Devak area, he said "It was told that these firecracker units had no licence. How come anything run without any licence? "In such cases, two are equally responsible. One who was running these illegal units and also the casual approach of those who were responsible to grant licence to them. We must know the reason of the laxity of the administration ... So many innocent people have been killed in the explosion." The governor had demanded a probe into the explosion at Devak. Meanwhile, the IG of Special Task Force Ajay Nand, and Barrackpore City superintendent of police Manoj Verma visited the explosion site at Ramghat on Friday. A team of sleuths from the state CID Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad also went to the site on Friday morning. Senior officers of the forensic team is likely to visit the explosion site on Saturday and collected samples. The CMO on Friday sought a report on the explosions from the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GAF, North America's largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer, announced the nationwide launch of Timberline HDZ shingles, powered by new and innovative LayerLock technology. 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Roofing contractors can now also offer homeowners a GAF WindProven limited wind warranty, the first wind warranty for roofing shingles with no maximum wind speed limit, when installing GAF shingles with LayerLock technology and four qualifying GAF accessories. For information on qualifying GAF roofing accessories, please visit www.gaf.com/LRS. GAF Timberline HDZ shingles will be on display for a national audience for the first time at the 2020 International Roofing Expo from February 4-6 in Dallas, TX. Conference attendees can visit GAF at booth 4404 and the neighboring GAF CARE Corner for live demonstrations, or go online at www.gaf.com/layerlock to learn more. About GAF GAF is North America's largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer and a part of Standard Industries, a global company focused on building materials. GAF's products include a comprehensive portfolio of roofing and waterproofing solutions for residential and commercial properties as well as for civil engineering applications. The full GAF offering is supported by an extensive national network of factory-certified contractors. GAF continues to be a leader in quality and offers comprehensive warranty protection on its products and systems. The company's success is driven by a commitment to empowering its people to deliver advanced quality and purposeful innovation. Learn more at www.gaf.com. GAF Contacts: Adrienne Teofrio, +1 (973)-872-4441 [email protected] Clayton McGratty, +1 (212)-821-1604 [email protected] SOURCE GAF Related Links https://www.gaf.com More African swine fever outbreaks reported in Bulgaria The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency said laboratory tests confirmed the outbreaks, with measures already taken to control the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the country, reported The Sofia Globe. The new cases are in addition to the ASF case reported in Brestak, Varna province. The food safety agency had ordered to cull the 24,500 swine in the area, with a three-kilometre wide quarantine zone and 10-kilometre monitoring zone declared. New outbreaks were reported at a swine breeding farm in Vesselinovo, Shoumen district (125 swine in the area), a smallholding swine farm in Gergini, Gabrovo district (29 swine in the area) and a backyard swine farm in Boboy Dol village, Sliven district. A three-kilometre quarantine zone and 10-kilometre monitoring zone have been imposed. According to the food safety agency, action has been taken to manage and eliminate ASF according to the European and national legislation and the Emergency Control Plan for African Swine Fever rules. The agency added that culling of swine, whether infected or in contact with infected swine, will be conducted subject to regulatory requirements. According to the Bulgarian Agriculture Ministry, Bulgaria reported 42 ASF outbreaks with eight located in industrial swine farms last year. 140,000 swine were culled and 70 million BGN (~US$39.6 million; 1 BGN = US$0.57) was allocated towards farmers compensation and ASF prevention measures. To improve control and management of ASF outbreaks, the Bulgarian government have planned amendments to its agricultural legalisation early this year. - The Sofia Globe. Backing Deepika Padukone, former RBI Governor said the actress' silent protest against JNU violence as also Election Commissioner doing his duty impartially despite harassment to his family, showed that for some people, truth, freedom and justice are not just lofty words, but ideals worth sacrificing for. In a blog on Linkedin, Rajan said the news of a gang of masked assailants breaking into one of India's leading universities, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and then going on a rampage for hours, attacking students and faculty, entirely undisturbed by the police, is "worrisome". Without naming Padukone, who has won both bouquets and brickbats for her silent protest by meeting victims of the attack on JNU, he said despite putting attendance at her latest movie, 'Chhapaak' at risk, the actress "inspires us all to take stock of what is truly at stake." Rajan, who was denied a second term as RBI Governor by the Modi government, said it is elevating to see "young people of diverse faiths march together, Hindus and Muslims arm-in-arm behind our flag, rejecting artificial divides stoked by political leaders for their own gain." "They show that the spirit of our constitution still burns brightly," he said. Without naming Lavasa - the sole member of the Election Commission who refused to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in the matter of electoral process violations - he said: "When an Election Commissioner carries out his duties impartially despite the harassment it brings upon his family, he asserts that integrity has not been completely cowed." Soon after BJP won a second term, investigations were initiated against five members of Lavasa's family. Rajan went on to praise bureaucrats resigning and some media working tirelessly to get the truth out. "When officers of the administrative service resign their dream jobs because they do not believe they can serve in good faith, they are living testimony that the sacrifices made by the generations that got us freedom still inspire emulation," he wrote. "When some members of the media work tirelessly to get the truth out even as their colleagues succumb to government pressure, they demonstrate what it means to be a dutiful citizen of the Republic." And when a Bollywood actress "registers her silent protest by meeting with the victims of the attack on JNU, even though she puts attendance at her latest movie at risk, she inspires us all to take stock of what is truly at stake," he said. Rajan said one has to be truly cynical to not be moved by these actions. "These people show through their actions that they think truth, freedom, and justice are not merely lofty words, but ideals worth sacrificing for. It is they who are fighting today for India that Mahatma Gandhi gave his life for. It is they, who never marched to win freedom, but today march to preserve it, who give us hope that Rabindranath Tagore's dream into that heaven of freedom, My Father, let my country awake will continue to be a reality," he wrote. The former governor said makers of Indian constitution had come through the horrors of a fratricidal partition and sought to create a more united future by drafting "a document that attempts to draw out the best in us in a spirit of common purpose and pride." "What better resolution for the new decade than to re-dedicate ourselves to ensuring that this spirit burns strongly in each one of us?," he said. "In these troublesome times, let us work together to make India that shining example of tolerance and respect that our founders envisioned, a beacon once more for a weary world. Let that be our task for the new decade." Rajan said while the identities of the JNU attackers remain unclear, many of those attacked were activists, and neither the government-appointed administration nor the police intervened. "When even elite universities become literal battlegrounds, accusations that the government is attempting to suppress dissent - even if by apathy rather than design - gain substantial credibility," he said adding it was easy to blame leadership but in a democracy the public also bears responsibility. "After all, it was the citizenry that put our leaders into office and acquiesced in their divisive manifesto, which they have taken as their marching orders," he said adding democracy is not merely a right but also a responsibility -- a burden to be the keepers of the Republic, not merely on election day but every day. Nonviolence in action in the Palestinian territories: An Evening with Ali Abu Awwad On Tuesday, Jan, 14, 2020, The Roth Family JCC will host Ali Abu Awwad from 7:30 p.m. 9 p.m. In 2016, Ali Abu Awwad and Taghyeer Movement co-founders gathered more than 3000 Palestinians in Jericho to share a dream and a vision. "Together, we can build a grassroots movement through nonviolence in action to better Palestinian lives and forge a path to freedom." Since then, village by village, embattled community by embattled community, Taghyeer has been equipping hundreds of emerging Palestinian leaders and activists to build trust and capacity for independent self-development projects in and with their communities. Through asserting nonviolent identity, Taghyeer is combatting despair, fragmentation, and the denial of rights. By the summer of 2019, Taghyeer leadership and its local coordinators were coalescing around two flagship efforts and a major strategic planning exercise to reach deeply into Palestinian society. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Keith Dvorchik at 407-645-5933. To RSVP go to orlandojcc.org/calendar/nonviolence-in-action ACT for America hosts Laura Cardoza-Moore On Jan. 22, 2020, 6:30 p.m., ACT for America will host Laura Cardoza-Moore at its new location, The Roth Family JCC, Senior Center Meeting Room, 851 Maitland Ave. Laura Cardoza-Moore This meeting is a family-friendly event, so everyone is welcome. Students are encouraged to attend because the issues of the day that will impact students directly in the next 5-10 years will be discussed. Topics to be discussed include: Marxist disinformation taught to our children in Florida classrooms across the state; the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement being taught to our children and promoted in the halls of Congress and Senate; the escalating violence by the Shia Muslims terrorist group, Hezbollah and other proxies of Iran, in Iraq, Syria, and here in the United States. These same Shia Muslim terrorists attacked our embassy in Iraq on Dec. 30, 2019. This even is free and open to the public. West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar wants to meet chief minister Mamata Banerjee over a cup of coffee at a place of her choice. Dhankhars invitation in a tweet has come amid the numerous spats with Mamata Banerjee since he appointed as the constitutional head of the state in July last year. There have been many incidents of a verbal clash between Jagdeep Dhankhar and Mamata Banerjee over several issues, including law and order situation in the state to the running of universities. The governor tweeted on Friday morning a day after he spent some time at the iconic Indian Coffee House opposite Presidency College in central Kolkata on Thursday. Memorable moments at a Kolkatas famous coffee house. Greatly touched by warmth. Indicated Let there be a meeting between me and Mamata Banerjee at any place of her choice with coffee supplied by the Indian Coffee House, We must always give precedence to the welfare of WB State (sic), Dhankhar tweeted. The Indian Coffee House in the heart of the city has been for a long time a regular hang out and a renowned meeting place of people, including poets, artists and literati. It is famous for its adda or chat sessions and as the breeding ground for several political and cultural personalities and movements. Many people come here just for the sake of adda and to be a part of the long chats. During the pre-Independence era, Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore were regulars here. Its patrons also include film directors Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Was at the coffee house at the invitation of the organisers of a blood donation camp on the second floor of the cafe. Myself and Mrs Sudesh Dhankhar relished coffee on the first floor of the establishment and greeted those enjoying coffee there (sic), Dhankhar also tweeted. Banerjee is, however, yet to respond to Dhankhars invitation. A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to 12 people who were arrested for being allegedly involved in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in the Seemapuri area of national capital Delhi. The bail was granted on a personal bond of 20,000 each and one surety of like amount. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra also told the accused to not disturb public peace and directed them to join the probe as and when directed by the investigating officer (IO), conditions that are often imposed by courts in such criminal cases. Judge Malhotra, however, went one step further. He fixed a two-hour slot for them with the local police so that they can seek clarifications about the law. Applicants shall put their appearance on January 19 between 2 to 4 pm at Seemapuri Police Station, where the IO/SHO (Station House Officer or police chief station chief) shall make endeavour to remove the doubts of the applicants in respect of CAA, the court said. The judge also remarked that everyone had the right to hold peaceful protest in a democracy but damaging public property was not acceptable. Right to protest is recognised as a fundamental right in a democracy but this right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturbing the public order, i.e., public peace, safety and tranquillity, the judge said in his order. On December 20, stone-pelting and incidents of violence were reported from Daryaganj in Old Delhi and Seemapuri during protests over the amended citizenship law. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron over telephone and the two exchanged views on a range of issues of mutual interest as well as regional and global situation, the Prime Minister's Office said on January 10. Modi also conveyed new year greetings to Macron. The Prime Minister recalled his earlier meetings with President Macron, including at Biarritz and Chantilly. Modi reiterated his commitment to further strengthening the Strategic Partnership between India and France. He expressed his satisfaction at the steady progress in the multi-faceted relationship between the two countries. "The two leaders exchanged views on a range of issues of mutual interest in bilateral relations as well as regional and global situations," the statement said. The telephonic conversation came on the back of tensions in the Gulf region, days after the killing of top Iranian commander General Qassim Suleimani in a US strike. The leaders agreed on keeping in touch and further enhancing all-round strategic cooperation between the two countries, including in the areas of defence, civil nuclear energy and maritime security, the statement added. New Delhi: After successfully hosting the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Feb 2016, the City of Destiny Visakhapatnam is gearing up to host another International Naval event MILAN in March 2020, said a Ministry of Defence statement. MILAN 2020 is a multilateral naval exercise aimed to enhance professional interaction between friendly foreign navies and learn from each others strengths and best practices in the maritime domain. The Exercise with the theme Synergy Across the Seas would provide an excellent opportunity for Operational Commanders of friendly foreign navies to interact with each other in areas of mutual interest. Live TV Of the 41 navies invited, confirmations from over 30 navies have been received towards their participation in MILAN 2020. With about two months to the mega event, the preparations were reviewed at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) by Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, Chief of Staff ENC on January 7, 2020. The review meeting saw an overwhelming and positive response from the civil administrators and stakeholder organisations, with participation by Dr G. Srijana Commissioner GVMC, Rajiv Kumar Meena, City Police Commissioner, A Srinivas Secretary VMRDA, RN Hari Krishna, Chief Mechanical Engineer VPT, representatives from HSL, HPCL, IOCL, EPCL, Coromandel Fertilizers Ltd and Senior Police Officers from Special Branch, Law & Order, and Traffic, said the government statement. A detailed presentation to apprise the attendees of the planned activities of MILAN was conducted. Vice Admiral SN Ghormade has solicited wholehearted support and cooperation from the City Administration, Civic Bodies, Police Department and PSUs in co-hosting the multinational Naval event as was done during IFR in 2016. The review meeting was followed by site visits to various venues by the Nodal officers from the Navy and the attendees representing stakeholder organisations towards drawing out time bound action plans, the statement added. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco city officials broke ground on new housing for seniors in the heart of the city's Mission District--the historically Latino neighborhood that's often described as ground zero for the city's housing crisis. The building currently at 3001 24th St. is set to be demolished in order to make way for a new four-story building called Casa de la Mission with 44 permanent supportive housing units. "We need more housing of all types in San Francisco, especially for our most vulnerable residents," Mayor London Breed said in a statement. "I'm committed to creating more housing in San Francisco so that our seniors can exit homelessness and find a permanent home. With funding from our Affordable Housing Bond, which voters approved back in November, we'll be able to open even more senior housing like Casa de la Mission throughout the city." "I can't think of a better way to kick off the new year than by breaking ground on affordable housing in the heart of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District!" said Hillary Ronen, the neighborhood's supervisor. "I applaud Mission Neighborhood Centers for recognizing that seniors are struggling to stay in this community, for responding in such a concrete way by building housing on this property they've owned for many years, and for their persistence in making this long-planned dream come true," she said. Both Mercy Housing California and Mission Neighborhood Centers are partnering on the $30 million development, which is expected to be completed by mid-2021. The new building will not only provide senior housing but will also be built with two commercial ground floor spaces along 24th Street. The existing building formerly housed Mission Neighborhood Centers' Girls Youth Program, but it has since moved to another site. However, MNC has proposed launching a hospitality workforce development program for marginalized youth in the commercial spaces of Casa de la Mission. In addition to 44 units for seniors and two commercial spaces, the new building will also feature a lobby, management offices, a meeting room, a community room, and a landscaped courtyard. The building's fifth floor will also feature an outdoor rooftop terrace and laundry room. Sam Ruiz, CEO of Mission Neighborhood Centers, said, "Senior citizens in our community--the Mission--have been disproportionately affected by high-levels of displacement over the last few decades. True to our settlement house roots, MNC continues to remain responsive to the needs of the communities we serve." Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. After days of teetering brinkmanship after Irans killing of an American contractor and the U.S. elimination by drone of Iranian terror master Qassem Soleimani, the world breathes easier today. If the relative calm holds, and thats a sizable if, American interests come out decisively ahead. Tuesdays apparently face-saving missile firing by Iran caused no American casualties, seemingly on purpose, with Iran signaling no desire to escalate further, at least through conventional military means. In a late-morning address Wednesday, President Donald Trump generally refrained from more incendiary rhetorical bombast, though he did essentially blame his predecessor, President Barack Obama, for giving the rockets Tehran fired. The question now becomes whether there will be severe turbulence beneath a superficially calmer surface. Pressing a perceived advantage, Trump called for new economic sanctions on Iran, in an attempt to push the mullahs into ending their destabilizing behavior. Good luck with that; Tehran has been lashing out to date in large part because of punishing sanctions already on its economy, imposed despite what was documented compliance with the multi-nation nuclear deal. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 11:14:11|Editor: yhy Video Player Close LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A change of trade policy, particularly in the United States, has had a disruptive effect on the global economy, said Dr. Ira Kalish, chief global economist of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. "We've already seen a pretty substantial deceleration of economic growth globally ... And it has a lot to do with the fact that the U.S. has over the past three years essentially turned inward," said Kalish when addressing a session titled Global Economic Landscape: A Look at China at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Wednesday. He said the United States has moved from a postwar development in which it promoted trade liberalization and economic integration toward quite the opposite. The United States withdrew from the TPP, imposed tariffs on China and other countries, undermined the World Trade Organization by refusing to allow the appointment of new members to its appellate body, which no longer can adjudicate trade disputes between countries, the economist pointed out. Imposing tariffs on foreign goods means U.S. consumers and businesses are effectively paying a higher tax that has a negative impact on their incomes and their purchasing ability. So far the tariffs haven't had that much of an impact because it takes time, he said, noting that the largest tariffs the U.S. imposed on China only began in May, so the substantial impact will probably appear not too late this year. He said the trade war has unleashed a high degree of uncertainty. Businesses don't know if tariffs will go up or slow down, what kind of retaliation will take place if the U.S. imposes similar tariffs that it did on China to other countries like Mexico and Vietnam, which it has threatened to do. "That uncertainty has evidently had a chilling effect on business investment. And in fact, in the United States, Europe, China and Japan, we've seen a possible slowdown in the growth of business investment as well as in the growth of trade," he said. "And that's the principal reason why we've seen a slowdown in economic growth." The growth of U.S. economy has slowed down, principally because of a sharp slowdown in business investment and exports, he said. On the other hand, consumer spending has continued to grow, housing market has rebounded, and those are factors that have enabled the U.S. economy to continue growing at a modest pace. However, the U.S. industrial production and real business investment growth have slowed down very sharply, and exports overall have showed slowdown as well. All of this is a consequence of the uncertainty about the trade war, he added. "There's still some risk of recession in the coming years for the United States largely in consequence of the uncertainty unleashed by this trade conflict," he said. When talking about the Chinese economy, Kalish said despite the fact that the economy growth has slowed down, China still holds a lot of promise, and there is a very favorable outlook for the consumer sector in China. "China is likely to continue growing at a reasonably healthy pace, even though it has slowed down," he said. China has gone from being a poor to a middle-income country, so it's reasonable to expect slower growth, he said. The Chinese government has focused more on stimulating domestic demand, particularly consumer demand, and expanding trade with countries other than the United States, and has sought trade liberalization with other parts of the world. "So we're going to see a substantial increase in discretionary purchasing power in China, and that is going to help to fuel the global consumer industry," he said, noting that China has a rapidly growing middle class and a large number of online shoppers. It means that China will move away from growth based on exports and investment and more toward growth based on consumer spending. So for consumer-oriented companies, China will be the most important market in the world that will drive the global consumer industry, he said. WILLIAMSPORT The man at times referred to as the guru" of mass transportation in Pennsylvania is out of a job but a demonstration project that could result in local bus service in four central Pennsylvania counties will proceed at least for now. William E. Nichols Jr. was fired Wednesday by Williamsports new Mayor Derek Slaughter after serving as general manager of the citys River Valley Transit since 1978. He also was the citys finance director. In his 40 years he built a transit system that is second to none, said Mark Murawski, chairman of the Central Pennsylvania Transportation Coalition. Slaughter, who spent two years on City Council before being elected mayor, on Thursday declined to say why he chose not to keep Nichols calling it a personnel matter. The new mayor said he is aware of the proposal for River Valley to provide bus service to parts of Columbia, Montour, Northumberland and Snyder counties but not the details. Until he has completed his review of projects such as this one they will continue, he said. Two River Valley staffers, not Nichols, are directly involved in the project planning as are SEDA and shared-ride operators in those counties, Murawski said. River Valley carries more than 1.4 million passengers annually serving much of the populated area of Lycoming County. Since February 2018 it has provided service to Lock Haven. That service also is a three-year demonstration project to determine if local bus service is sustainable financially, Murawski explained. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation pays 85 percent of the cost of such projects, he said. The proposed demonstration project planned for Columbia, Montour, Northumberland and Snyder counties would provide local bus service to places like Danville, Sunbury and Selinsgrove. Union County has been invited to join but its commissioners have not taken action, Murawski said. Commissioners in the other four have passed resolutions endorsing the project and agreeing to pay their share. The next step is for PennDOT to give its approval, Murawski said. The project will show if people in those counties who say they want local bus service will use it, he said. I believe its a worthwhile initiative, he said. It will be a benefit to those living in the four counties and River Valley, he said. River Valley also provides managerial services to the Endless Mountain Transportation Authority in Bradford County. and all the promises made by the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei for deadly revenge on the US, many still remain illusional about the power of the regime, and they were expecting a very large and serious response by the regime. Some even feared that Irans reaction to the US airstrike that killed Soleimani in Iraq could even spark a war in the region, but events unfolded differently, and the rocket attack carried out against the US airbases by the regime was even milder than the regimes recent missile attack on the Saudi Aramco facilities. Saving face After firing several missiles at the two US Air Force bases in Iraq, Mohamad Javad Zarif, the regimes foreign minister, wrote in a tweet that Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting the base from which the cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. The reflective point for the regime was how it could withstand the pressure of threats and brag that it carried out revenge against the United States while being able to defend itself from the next retaliation attacks by the US. Various global news agencies that follow the events in the region step by step for several days have quoted US and European sources as saying: US and European government sources told Reuters news agency that they believed the Iranians had deliberately sought to minimize casualties and avoid hitting US facilities in order to prevent the crisis escalating out of control while still signaling their resolve. (BBC, 8 January 2020) Informing the US before the missile attack Anyone familiar with military operations knows that information about an operation should not be published before. And the regime has never asked for permission from the Iraqi prime minister or any other officials of any country before a terrorist operation being carried out on the territory of their countries. And it came as a surprise to everyone why the regime had informed Iraqs outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi before attacking the US sites. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdis spokesman said on Wednesday Iran had sent him a verbal message about an imminent response to the U.S. killing of its top general before the attack was launched. (Radio Farda, 8 January 2020) Not once, but several times, has the regime thought that there would be no doubt about the military operation that had been broached by its own brigades, but what came to the mind of foreign analysts after the result of this Operation Shining! What was the outcome of this action for the regime? A warning from Iran also meant that coalition forces knew in time that the missiles were incoming and that steps could be taken to avoid casualties as the al-Asad and Erbil bases. People had enough time to take cover, a defense source said. (The Guardian, 8 January 2020) Tony Tata, a former brigadier general in the United States Army, also said the missile attacks might have been orchestrated to miss the intended targets. The Iranian response might have been an intentional miss with 15 ballistic missiles not harming any U.S. soldiers, Tata said, according to WECT news. If this is true, it would allow Iran to save face by insisting internally that they took action. (BPR Business & Politics, 8 January 2020) Fear of other critical consequences What is very clear is that Khamenei tried to design this adventure of military attack so that no further crises could engulf him. But on the other hand, he wanted not to lose his honor while the regimes people expected the great revenge by him. But whether this would have any positive results will be seen in the coming days. In the aftermath of the political conclusions of this pre-announced rocket attack, the remarks of the regimes foreign minister are significant. Sending Javad Zarif to the scene right after firing missiles to reassure them that there will be no further missile attacks and of course no other attacks is just a sign of the regimes extreme weakness, politically and militarily, fearing another crisis within the country. The regime overwhelmed by the crisis Two months ago, Iranian cities witnessed a popular uprising that began over a gasoline price hike, although it was brutally suppressed by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Basijis. More than 1500 people were killed, especially young people and poor people of deprived areas of the country. The same people are still waiting for the smallest opportunity to ignite another uprising and sweep the regime in its entirety. There is also a growing economic stranglehold, especially as the regime faces a budget deficit of 20 trillion tomans for the budget of 2020, according to the Parliament Research Center. The divide between the regime and the people is so deep, that there is no room for maneuvers related to the parliamentary elections in March. The gap that even with the ceremony holding for Qassem Suleimani could not be filled even a bit. Khamenei tried to demonstrate a political and powerful maneuver by mobilizing all his potential for the funeral of Suleimani, but these movements in the international community failed to have the result that Khamenei wanted to achieve which was international condemnation of Suleimnis death. And it failed to scare the US by the hard revenge so that the US would retreat. Missile attacks on two military bases with no casualties followed by a wave of political propaganda that they have slapped on America. Certainly, the result of this so-called Operation was not what the regime had been waiting for, and experts believe there will soon be a display of deepening tension within the regime. The regimes latest achievement The US president, while saying that more sanctions are awaiting the Iranian regime, urged European countries, Russia and China to take a stronger stance on the regime and exit the international nuclear deal known as the JCPOA. The regime, of course, did its best during this week to try to show that the killing of Soleimani has led to a confrontation between the Iranian people and the US, but this was just an illusion. The Iranian people showed that they have only one enemy, which is the regime self. A subject causing the people to revolt against this regime, whatever opportunity they may have. The outcry of slogans chanted on the streets of Iran, No to Gaza, no to Lebanon; my life for Iran or Let go of Syria; think of us instead, is the main demand of the Iranian people, and the death of Suleimani for the Iranian people along with the Iraqi, Syrian and Lebanese people is a qualitative step forward. No cause for panic, new media rules will benefit all: Javadekar Will raise our climate ambitions but not under pressure: Javadekar Now Ferraris and Lamborghinis can test in India: India gets Asias longest high speed track #LeftBehindJNUViolence trends on Twitter, Javadekar says malafide campaign launched to defame ABVP India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 10: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on JNU Violence on Friday blamed on Left-wing students for the January 5 violence on varsity campus. He said that malafide campaign launched to defame ABVP but Delhi Police cleared picture. He said,'' Today's police press* conference established that for last 5 days the chorus that was created deliberately to blame ABVP, BJP and others, that wasn't true. It's the left organisations that pre-planned violence, disabled CCTV & destroyed server,'' he said. His remarks come after the Delhi Police named Aishe Ghosh, the JNU students' union president as one of the nine suspects identified by them in connection with three criminal cases registered by the police. However, JNUSU president-elect Aishe Ghosh said she has evidence to show she was attacked, moments after Delhi police named her in the campus mob attack. She said,'' We have not done anything wrong. We are not scared of the Delhi Police. We will stand by the law and take our movement ahead peacefully and democratically.'' Meanwhile, #LeftBehindJNUViolence started trending on Twitter as Delhi Police releases evidence. Check out some of the tweets here: Interesting picture found of prime suspect of JNU violence.#LeftBehindJNUViolence pic.twitter.com/UgOgUSfzxb Suresh Nakhua ( ) (@SureshNakhua) January 10, 2020 CCTV cameras are fascist and communal. #LeftBehindJNUViolence Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) January 10, 2020 Todays Press Conference by Delhi Police has asserted what we have been saying since JNU violence erupted - that it is the #LeftBehindJNUViolence! pic.twitter.com/IpsWb5JLMV ABVP (@ABVPVoice) January 10, 2020 Never forget this image. Deepika is folding hands infront of @aishe_ghosh who lead the violent mob in to JNU and beat the students who were registering for the semester !#LeftBehindJNUViolence pic.twitter.com/6GsTT2woov Vinita Hindustani (@Being_Vinita) January 10, 2020 Delhi police releases proof of Left Terrorists attacking JNU Hostel. These are the goons Deepika is supporting? #LeftBehindJNUViolence pic.twitter.com/XBzDp5eV6f Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) January 10, 2020 Delhi Polices initial investigation corroborates ABVPs stand l President of JNUSU Ms Aishe Ghosh has led the violent masked goons on Periyar Hostel in broad daylight. Truth is out in open #LeftBehindJNUViolence pic.twitter.com/SzFBXaeRfU Ashish Chauhan (@AshishSainram) January 10, 2020 Union minister Smriti Irani also cited the information shared by Delhi Police on JNU violence to say that the "Left design" in the varsity has been "unmasked" and accused it of turning the campus into a political battleground. Left design in JNU unmasked. They led mobs of mayhem, destroyed public property paid for by taxpayers, disallowed new students from being enrolled, used the campus as a political battleground. #LeftBehindJNUViolence becomes public knowledge as @DelhiPolice releases evidence. Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 10, 2020 Petrol prices has increased by 15 paise and diesel prices increased by 11-12 paise across the Golden Quadrilateral on Friday. In Delhi, petrol prices have shoot up to 82 paise since January 1, 2020 in Delhi. On 1 January, prices of petrol were at Rs 75.14 whereas, on January 10, it were at Rs 75.96 . During the same interval, in Mumbai, the prices have risen by over Rs 1. From Rs 80.79, petrol has touched Rs 81.55 in Mumbai today. In Kolkata also, petrol prices have surged by Rs 1, since January 1. The petrol prices on January 1 were Rs 77.79 and on Friday it were Rs 78.54. In Chennai the petrol price was at Rs 78.92 per litre on Friday. Meanwhile, the price of diesel went up by Rs 1.09 in first ten days of January 2020. In Delhi, the diesel is available at Rs 69.05 per litre on Friday. And, in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, diesel prices stood at Rs 72.41 per litre, Rs 71.42 and Rs 72.97 per litre, respectively. On Thursday, state-run oil marketing companies hiked the pump price of petrol and diesel by 6-8 paise and 15-16 paise per litre respectively across the country. The prices of fuel in the country are dependent on the global crude prices and the rupee-US dollar exchange rate. Domestic petrol and diesel prices are reviewed by oil marketing companies on a daily basis. Price revisions are implemented at the fuel stations with effect from 6 a.m. Also read: US-Iran conflict: Petrol costs Rs 75.54 per litre in Delhi now, highest in more than a year Also read: Petrol, diesel prices likely to rise as brent crude price crosses $70 mark LONDONPrince Harry and Meghans shocking announcement that they plan to become part-time royals caused a painful rupture in his family. But it has also forced Buckingham Palace to confront the changing nature of British royal life as the era of Queen Elizabeth II draws to a close. On Friday, the palace convened an emergency meeting to address the couples proposal that they step back from their royal duties, seek financial independence and live part of the year in North America. The goal, according to people with ties to the palace, was to find a quick accommodation with the couple, who have become dangerously isolated in the House of Windsor. That could come in a matter of days, they said. Meghan, also known as the Duchess of Sussex, flew to Canada alone after the announcement to care for the couples eight-month-old son, Archie, who was staying there with a friend. Her hasty departure suggested that, however the palace chooses to respond, things are not going to return to normal. While Fridays meeting was aimed at easing the crisis and finding a new arrangement for Harry and Meghan, people with ties to the palace said it would have broader implications. Whatever concessions or stipulations Buckingham Palace agrees to could potentially be applied to other members of the family, since the royal family has always been guided by precedent. Private secretaries for the queen, Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry all took part in the session. William had a particular interest, one person close to the palace said, because his younger children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will face the same predicament as his brother unlikely ever to sit on the throne, but still highly-visible members of the family. For all the bruised feelings, experts on the royal family said they did not expect the queen to lash out against the duke and duchess. Harry and Meghan, along with Archie, have come to symbolize the familys future global stars, with a multiracial family that has appeal throughout the Commonwealth. Britains news media continued to subject the couple to scathing coverage, with the Daily Mail noting, Meghan Flees to Canada and the Sun pointing out, Theyve Left Archie in Canada. The Daily Telegraph listed all the concessions it said the queen had given the couple, concluding, they still wanted more. John Jay Johnson and his wife, Kimberly, are shown in an undated photo. Johnsons family this week reached a $10.5 million out-of-court settlement with the New Jersey construction company he was working for in January 2016 when he fell through a hole in a work site on Pier 78 on the Delaware River. Read more Four years after John Jay Johnson fell to his death through an opening in the Delaware River pier where he was working the night shift as a laborer, his family has reached a $10.5 million out-of-court settlement with the New Jersey company that was in charge of the site. Johnson, 50, of Wilmington, a husband, father of three, and grandfather, was working apart from other laborers in his fourth day on the job on the evening of Jan. 14, 2016, when he fell through a 5-by-10-foot man-made cutout on the Pier 78 Rehabilitation Project in South Philadelphia. After other crew members realized he had not been seen for about an hour, they began calling his cell phone at 7:30 p.m. before spotting his hard hat floating in the river. Failing to find him in 10 feet of water, the workers called 911 and Philadelphia Police Department divers located Johnsons body at 9:20 p.m. under the pier. Johnson, a member of Laborers International Union of North America Local 57, was the third worker since 2012 killed or seriously injured on a job site managed by Agate Construction Co. of Clermont, Cape May County. Michael McQuade was killed in February 2013, and Patrick Montgomery lost most of his left hand in April 2012, said attorney Brian Fritz, who won sealed settlements in those cases and represented Johnsons family with Kevin Durkan, also of the law firm Fritz & Bianculli. Jay was a good man, Fritz said. He and every worker deserve a safe work site. This accident could have and should have been prevented. The defendant has a history of allowing poor and unsafe working conditions that have led to other workers being put in harms way. The settlement reached Thursday with Agate preempted a trial scheduled to begin Feb. 7 and brought a measure of closure to Johnsons family. We hope that no other families know the suffering we have gone through, or the suffering the other prior victims have gone through, too, said his widow, Kimberly. Agate was the general contractor on the job, having won the contract from the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. Johnson was employed by subcontractor Atlantic Concrete of Mount Holly. The settlement money was paid by Agates insurance provider, Fritz said. Calls to Agates Center City attorney, John T. Donovan, were not returned. Asserting that terrorism is a growing problem across the world, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Friday said that India and Sri Lanka are working together to combat the menace. Gunawardena, who is on a two-day visit to India, told ANI, "Terrorism is a danger for India as well as for Sri Lanka. It is a growing problem across the In India and Sri Lanka, we are giving special attention to it and working together on this field." "India had announced special financial assistance to Sri Lanka to counter-terrorism after holding talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he visited New Delhi last year. As a Foreign Minister, I came here to consolidate and strengthen Sri Lanka-India relations," he said. Gunawardena also held meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Labour Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and other government officials. The visiting dignitary said that discussions have been "cordial and fruitful". "The discussions have been very cordial and fruitful. Indeed, we are very much satisfied with the outputs and India-Sri Lanka relations will be strengthened furthermore as we go along," the Sri Lankan minister said. Earlier today, Gunawardena paid a visit to a Buddhist temple near Birla Mandir here. This is Gunawardena's first official visit after taking over as Foreign Minister last November following the formation of the new government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Gunawardena is also scheduled to visit Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar. He will emplane for Sri Lanka later today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Or consider China. Trump was right to take on Beijings illiberal trade practices, and he promised to push the country to make real reforms such as ending or at least reducing its state subsidies to domestic companies, its favorable regulatory treatment of local businesses and its theft of intellectual property. He raised tariffs and kept announcing that he would hold out for a big deal that got at these issues. Then, suddenly, he announced a phase one agreement that punts on most of them. Instead, the pact seems to be a familiar managed trade deal in which Beijing promises to buy more American goods. That is precisely what the Chinese had been willing to do from the start, making it unclear why the United States had inflicted the pain of tariffs which are paid for by American consumers. RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ), which is in the reits business, and is based in United States, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of US$18.14 and falling to the lows of US$16.33. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether RLJ Lodging Trust's current trading price of US$16.83 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at RLJ Lodging Trusts outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. See our latest analysis for RLJ Lodging Trust What is RLJ Lodging Trust worth? Great news for investors RLJ Lodging Trust is still trading at a fairly cheap price. According to my valuation, the intrinsic value for the stock is $22.68, which is above what the market is valuing the company at the moment. This indicates a potential opportunity to buy low. Although, there may be another chance to buy again in the future. This is because RLJ Lodging Trusts beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company's shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity. What does the future of RLJ Lodging Trust look like? NYSE:RLJ Past and Future Earnings, January 9th 2020 Future outlook is an important aspect when youre looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. Though in the case of RLJ Lodging Trust, it is expected to deliver a negative earnings growth of -2.8%, which doesnt help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? Although RLJ is currently undervalued, the negative outlook does bring on some uncertainty, which equates to higher risk. I recommend you think about whether you want to increase your portfolio exposure to RLJ, or whether diversifying into another stock may be a better move for your total risk and return. Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on RLJ for a while, but hesitant on making the leap, I recommend you dig deeper into the stock. Given its current undervaluation, now is a great time to make a decision. But keep in mind the risks that come with negative growth prospects in the future. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters the fundamentals before you make a decision on RLJ Lodging Trust. You can find everything you need to know about RLJ Lodging Trust in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in RLJ Lodging Trust, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will prepare a resolution to appoint managers and send articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has threatened to coordinate with the White House as the president faces trial, and Speaker Pelosi refused to send impeachment articles passed by House Democrats without assurance from Senate Republicans that witnesses could be called and evidence be presented in an impartial trial. In a statement announcing next week's plans, Ms Pelosi said "McConnell does not want to present witnesses and documents to Senators and the American people so they can make an independent judgment about the president's actions." She said that "every senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the president or the Constitution." The standoff with Mr McConnell followed Republicans' repeated attempts to undermine the impeachment hearings around the president's abuses of power in dealings with Ukraine, which he is charged with having pressured to investigate his political rivals in exchange for military aid that the US withheld. He also is charged with obstruction as Congress attempted to subpoena and question members of his administration to no avail. Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Show all 26 1 /26 Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Donald Trump Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clintons deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Whistleblower Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Second Whistleblower The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rudy Giuliani Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trumps personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the presidents enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a shadow foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trumps behalf and has called himself a hero. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Volodymyr Zelensky The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the favour he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin. AFP/Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pence The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had one or two phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trumps actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rick Perry Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didnt even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Joe Biden The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trumps opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Bidens son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Hunter Biden Joe Bidens son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Bidens lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Barr The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trumps preoccupations with the Bidens and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a cover-up of a cover-up. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pompeo The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president. AFP via Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Nancy Pelosi The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Adam Schiff Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a parody of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a four Pinocchios rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Taylor The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff later identified as diplomat David Holmes overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about investigations the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trumps opponents, saying: It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support." Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal George Kent A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, of leading a campaign of lies against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Marie Yovanovitch One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack very intimidating. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: Shes going to go through some things. Yovanovitch said she was shocked, appalled and devastated by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation. REUTERS Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Alexander Vindman A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trumps 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Jennifer Williams A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it unusual because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Kurt Volker The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraines reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Tim Morrison An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Gordon Sondland In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: Was there a quid pro quo? Yes, said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the presidents political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a great American a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Laura Cooper A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August undermining a Republican argument that there cant have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didnt know that aid was being withheld. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Hale The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Fiona Hill Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was being involved in a domestic political errand. She said: I did say to him, Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up. And here we are. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Holmes The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line because his voice was so loud and distinctive and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear asking about the investigations and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate. REUTERS The majority leader also said he will support a resolution to consider dismissing the impeachment charges. The House Speaker responded, saying: "If Republican Senators move for a quick dismissal of the charges against the president, with no witnesses or documents, it will be because they are afraid of the truth." A move to begin assigning case managers and transmitting the articles to the Senate ends her gambit to force Senate Republicans, who had hoped for a speedy trial and acquittal as public support for impeachment continues, into setting rules for a fair trial, including testimony from new witnesses. Mr McConnell said he has the votes to set rules for a trial, which he could start before he agrees to House standards. In a Friday statement, Ms Pelosi said: "A dismissal is a cover-up and deprives the American people of the truth. Leader McConnell's tactics are a clear indication of the fear that he and President Trump have regarding the facts of the president's violations for which he was impeached." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will pressure Senate Republicans to consider a vote to subpoena new witnesses and documents, saying that every Senator will have to answer whether they want to participate in a fair trial. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has signalled his willingness to testify, could be among those witnesses. House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff said he doesn't intend to subpoena Mr Bolton for that committee, leaving his fate with the Senate. David Hogness, PhD, a Stanford biochemist who helped found the field of genomics, died Dec. 24 at his home on campus. He was 94. Hogness conceived of and conducted an influential series of experiments in the 1970s and 1980s that bridged the gap between molecular biology and genetics, and that played a key role in launching the fields of molecular genetics and genomics. The research techniques he developed in his Stanford laboratory, and the insights derived from his studies, served as the bedrock for the Human Genome Project and have been used to identify thousands of disease-associated genes. Its impossible to overstate the magnitude of Dave Hogness founding contributions to the fields of developmental biology and of genomics, said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine. His legacy includes not just his scientific discoveries, but the scores of researchers who trained in his lab who have become leading scientific thinkers. His influence is far-reaching, his loss will be deeply felt, and his impact on medicine enduring. A meticulous writer, Hogness was reluctant to publish many of his most important findings as he mulled over concepts and word choices that would best convey his discoveries. This perfectionism, together with a seeming indifference to fame and deadlines and a mischievous impulse for rule-breaking, often kept him out of the wider public spotlight. It also sometimes rankled trainees eager for publications and letters of reference with which to launch their careers. Dave was famous for not publishing many papers, said Roel Nusse, PhD, professor of developmental biology at the School of Medicine and the Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Professor in Cancer Research. Not everyone was happy about it, because you typically need to publish papers to establish your career. But those papers he did publish were excellent, and his reputation was so strong that even those trainees with a pretty thin publication record would get jobs just because they came out of his lab. Dave was truly beloved by everyone who worked with him, said Rockefeller University President Richard Lifton, MD, PhD, who studied under Hogness. He was a person fascinated by big ideas and filled his lab with people who had interesting thoughts about what could be done in science. He encouraged really audacious projects and was very supportive of his trainees. All of us who came out of Daves lab left thinking Wow, science is so cool. What are the most important questions I can tackle next? Amazing vision Hogness many trainees and colleagues remember a man with a towering and wide-ranging intellect eager to tackle big-picture questions, be they scientific or philosophical, that appeared out of reach to many of his contemporaries. Dave conceptualized a whole field of research long before the necessary technical capabilities to accomplish it existed, said Stanford professor of developmental biology William Talbot, PhD, a former graduate student in the Hogness lab, now senior associate dean for graduate education and postdoctoral affairs at the School of Medicine. He knew exactly what he was doing and what he wanted to be able to do from at least the early 1970s. He had amazing vision. Hogness seminal research in the 1970s and 1980s united the fields of molecular biology and genetics, allowing researchers for the first time to identify the position of particular genes along the chromosome and to begin to understand exactly how mutations in key genes affect the embryonic development of the fruit fly. His discoveries revealed that genes of higher organisms can include intervening sequences called introns and showed that their activity is controlled by noncoding promoter sequences, including a stretch of DNA known as the TATA box that serves as a starting point for transcription of many genes. The realization that many developmental and regulatory pathways are shared across species is a key reason that the field of developmental biology exists today. He also was a key participant in discussions in the mid-1970s about the safety of combining the DNA of different species in one organism in a process known as recombinant DNA technology. Outside the lab, Hogness enjoyed traveling and hiking and spending time with his family, friends and many dogs usually Labrador retrievers. He was keenly interested in politics and matters of social justice. He enjoyed studying topics as diverse as architecture, history and dog training. He was fascinated not only by the idea of mapping genes but by historical and contemporary maps in general. He owned a blue Chevy Suburban on which he had a professional sign painter inscribe Bartholomews Equal Area Projections: Land and Lakes Survey on the doors. It served on occasion as the perfect vehicle for sneaking onto logging roads usually off-limits to the public. Long summer holidays to places like Puget Sound and Glacier National Park to hike, camp and kayak with his family each year helped him to disconnect from the day-to-day work of the lab and focus on the bigger questions in his field. The big questions Hogness was born on Nov. 17, 1925, in Oakland, California, and grew up in Chicago, where his father, Thorfin Hogness, PhD, was a professor at the University of Chicago. He was tackling big questions as early as high school, when he considered whether to follow in the footsteps of his father, who served as the director of plutonium research for the Manhattan Project at the end of World War II, or instead aim to become a Supreme Court justice. In the end, science trumped law. Correspondence with his father, who advocated after the war for the civil control of atomic energy research, revealed him toying as a college student with the idea of merging the fields of chemistry and biology as early as the 1940s. He earned a bachelors degree in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1949 and a PhD in biology and chemistry there in 1952. As a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of biochemist Jacques Monod at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Hogness studied how the bacterium E. coli induces the expression of the enzyme beta-galactosidase in the presence of lactose. Together with immunologist Melvin Cohn, PhD, Hogness showed that the enzyme was assembled from scratch from its constituent amino acids rather than from preexisting inactive protein subunits. The discovery was a foundational step in Monods studies of how bacteria genetically control enzyme synthesis, for which he later shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But Monod, who was active in the French Resistance during World War II and a noted musician and philosopher, also inspired Hogness in his personal life. Jacques Monod was a real mentor to Dad as a scientific thinker and in so many other ways, recalled Peter Hogness, David Hogness son. He admired how Monod was engaged with art, culture and political questions throughout his life. David Hogness and his wife, Judith, whom he married in 1948, frequently contributed to political races and causes advancing human rights and racial justice. Hogness returned to the United States to join the Washington University in St. Louis in 1955, first as an instructor in microbiology and then as a member of the faculty. While there, he studied the genetic organization of a virus that infects bacteria, bacteriophage lambda, and created the first physical maps of genes along DNA. In 1959, he joined the Stanford faculty with biochemist Arthur Kornberg, MD, and three other members of the microbiology department at Washington University Paul Berg, PhD, A. Dale Kaiser, PhD, and Robert Lehman, PhD to populate Stanfords newly formed biochemistry department. Designing family home After the move, Hogness applied himself to the role of amateur architect when he designed his family home on the Stanford campus under the auspices of Joseph Eichler, known for popularizing the midcentury modern style of home to Northern California. He drew out some plans and showed them to Eichler, recalled his son, Chris Hogness, MD. Eichler looked at it and liked it. With Kaiser, Hogness continued to work on understanding how the bacteriophage lambda genome functions and is organized, helping to generate the first maps of the physical positions of genes on DNA. But in the late 1960s, he wanted to branch out into other model systems like the fruit fly Drosophila that were more amenable than viruses to the study of genetic regulation of development. In 1968 he spent his sabbatical year traveling to key Drosophila labs around the world, including Edward Lewis laboratory at CalTech, James Peacocks lab at CSIRO in Australia and Wolfgang Beermans lab at the Max-Plank Institute in Germany. Hogness settled on Drosophila due to a remarkable feature the existence of what are known as polytene chromosomes in the flys salivary glands. These chromosomes are repeatedly replicated but never segregated into daughter cells. As a result, the chromosomes clump together along their lengths, generating distinct dark and light bands that serve as genetic signposts. Daves genius was to realize that the recombinant DNA technologies newly developed at Stanford, which allowed researchers to isolate and replicate to very high copy numbers distinct segments of DNA, could be used to map the locations of those DNA segments to specific bands on the polytene chromosomes, said Philip Beachy, PhD, professor of developmental biology and the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Professor at Stanford. He also figured out how to use randomly generated overlapping segments from the Drosophila genome to walk along the chromosome to identify distant genes. Dave had the completely novel vision of unifying the genetic and physical maps of genomes, allowing us to find any gene for which we have a phenotype, said Lifton. Hogness described the concept of chromosome walking, and what would come to be known as positional cloning, in an extraordinary grant proposal in 1972 that many people consider to be the foundation of the field of genomics. When he published the proof of principle in a landmark paper in 1974, identifying for the first time the location of specific DNA segments on polytene chromosomes, his colleagues were staggered. You could see the future in that paper, Lifton said. TATA boxes and introns Hogness went on to develop a technique known as colony hybridization, which allowed researchers to identify a single bacterial colony out of thousands that was expressing any gene of interest, and to subsequently identify a DNA sequence called the TATA box that prompts the expression of a gene into a protein in nearly all higher organisms a discovery for which he is well-known but which he never published. He also showed for the first time that genes of higher organisms contain noncoding sequences called introns. All of these discoveries set the stage for his examination of Ultrabithorax, one of the key genes critical to the development of Drosophila. Certain combinations of mutations in this gene caused the duplication of an entire body segment, resulting in flies with four wings rather than two, and eight legs rather than six. The rough location of the region had been localized to specific bands on the polytene chromosome, but biologists were stymied in their efforts to learn exactly where the gene was or how it functioned. Dave figured out a way to find the gene based on isolating the DNA sequences within that region of the genome, said Stanford professor of biochemistry Mark Krasnow, PhD, who was a postdoctoral scholar in Hogness lab at the time. In the early 1980s, Hogness published a detailed description of the positional cloning of the Ultrabithorax gene, which he went on to show as a master regulator of development. This paper demonstrated the ability to clone the gene underlying any genetic trait, and simultaneously proved there were genes specifically devoted to regulating normal development. Its one of the great papers in the history of biology, Lifton said. It was immediately apparent how profound this would be for the future of the field, said Krasnow, who holds the Paul and Mildred Berg Professorship. It brought a precision and beginning of a molecular understanding that led to the transformation of developmental biology. It was like meeting your pen pal for the first time. These were genes that people had been studying for decades and that had a profound effect on the development of a whole organism. And when we began to understand that these pathways were conserved through evolution that is, we now had the key to understanding at a molecular level development in all organisms that was a real oh my goodness moment. Gentle encouragement, hands-off guidance Along the way, Hogness recruited and trained countless young scientists with the same particular blend of gentle encouragement and hands-off guidance that he used in raising his sons. He was a bit of a laissez-faire parent, in that he let me do whatever he thought I could safely do, Chris Hogness said. When I was 14, he let me bike with an older cousin from Stanford to Seattle during the summer. As he did with his trainees, he gave us a fair amount of freedom. He wanted us to develop our own confidence. By the late 1980s, Hogness felt that Stanford needed a new department focused solely on developmental biology. He made his case by writing an 11-page white paper outlining his reasoning. He prevailed. One of his first moves was to convince noted researcher Lucy Shapiro, PhD, then chair of the microbiology department at Columbia University, to chair the new department a position that he had no interest in filling himself. To do so, he flew across the country unbidden, and walked into Shapiros lab bearing a dozen yellow roses and a sheaf of blueprints for Stanfords as-yet-unfinished Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. And just like that, I was coming to Stanford, Shapiro recalled. Hogness was awarded the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal by the Genetics Society of America in 2003 and the International Prize for Biology in 2007. He is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Developmental Biology, the March of Dimes Prize of Developmental Biology and a Genetics Society of America Medal. In 2013, he shared the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize with Stanford professor of genetics and of biochemistry Ron Davis, PhD, and former Stanford professor David Botstein, PhD, for their seminal contributions to the creation of a human genetic map leading to the discovery of thousands of disease genes. Hogness is survived by his sons. A celebration of his life is planned for early 2020 at Stanford. A new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons suggests that prenatal exposure to flame retardants may increase the risk of reading problems. The study was published in the January 2020 print edition of Environmental International. An estimated 2 million children have learning disorders; of these, about 80% have a reading disorder. Genetics account for many, but not all, instances of reading disorders. In the current study, the researchers hypothesized that in utero exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)--a type of flame retardant that is known to have adverse effects on brain development--might alter the brain processes involved in reading. (While use of PBDEs has been banned, exposure to the compounds is still widespread because they do not degrade easily in the environment.) The research team analyzed neuro-imaging data from 33 5-year-old children--all novice readers--who were first given a reading assessment to identify reading problems. They also used maternal blood samples, taken during pregnancy, to estimate prenatal exposure to PDBEs. The researchers found that children with a better-functioning reading network had fewer reading problems. The also showed that children with greater exposure to PDBEs had a less efficient reading network. However, greater exposure did not appear to affect the function of another brain network involved in social processing that has been associated with psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. "Since social processing problems are not a common aspect of reading disorders, our findings suggest that exposure to PDBEs doesn't affect the whole brain--just the regions associated with reading," says Amy Margolis, PhD, assistant professor of medical psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Although exposure to PDBEs affected reading network function in the 5-year-olds, it did not have an impact on word recognition in this group. The finding is consistent with a previous study, in which the effects of exposure to the compounds on reading were seen in older children but not in emergent readers. "Our findings suggest that the effects of exposure are present in the brain before we can detect changes in behavior," says Margolis. "Future studies should examine whether behavioral interventions at early ages can reduce the impact of these exposures on later emerging reading problems." The paper is titled "Functional Connectivity of the Reading Network is Associated with Prenatal Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Concentrations in a Community Sample of 5 Year-Old Children: A preliminary study." Additional authors are Sarah Banker (Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY), David Pagliaccio (CUIMC), Erik De Water (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY), Paul Curtin (Icahn School of Medicine), Anny Bonilla (Icahn School of Medicine), Julie B. Herbstman (CUIMC), Robin Whyatt (CUIMC), Ravi Bansal (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA), Andreas Sjodin (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA), Michael P. Milham (Child Mind Institute, New York, NY), Bradley S. Peterson (USC), Pam Factor-Litvak (CUIMC), Megan K. Horton (Icahn School of Medicine). This work was supported by funding from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (K23ES026239 to A.E.M., R00 ES020364 to M.K.H; R21 ES016610-01 to R.W.) The authors report no financial or other conflicts of interest. ### The Columbia University Department of Psychiatry is among the top ranked psychiatry departments in the nation and has contributed greatly to the understanding and treatment of brain disorders. Co-located at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in Washington Heights, the department enjoys a rich and productive collaborative relationship with physicians in various disciplines at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Columbia Psychiatry is home to distinguished clinicians and researchers noted for their clinical and research advances in the diagnosis and treatment of depression, suicide, schizophrenia, bipolar and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and childhood psychiatric disorders. Columbia University Irving Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Irving Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. For more information, visit cuimc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org. [January 09, 2020] Jesta I.S. Inc. Announces the Launch of Its AI-Driven Advanced Analytics Platform Jesta I.S. Inc., a global leader in integrated ERP solutions for wholesalers and omnichannel retailers, is excited to announce the launch of its latest Vision CRM powered by Snowflake and Tableau. The newest Vision CRM builds on Jesta's industry-leading Analytics foundation and leverages AI-driven algorithms to provide businesses with holistic insights on its customers across all channels. Armed with powerful personalized views, businesses can segment shoppers and capitalize on system-suggested opportunities for converting them into loyal brand ambassadors. 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Our industry-leading platform gives clients an exhaustive profile of shoppers for more agile business predictions, planning and execution." About Jesta I.S.: In business for more than 50 years, Jesta I.S. is a global supplier of integrated software solutions for retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers specializing in branded goods, apparel, footwear, hardlines, furniture and other speciality industries. Jesta's end-to-end Vision Suite platform helps simplify the omnichannel journey from product design to direct-to-consumer deliveries. Customers include Designer Brands, Puma, Carter's, Perry Ellis International, Genesco, Guess, Cole Haan, Harry Rosen and Stokes. For details, visit jestais.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005882/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] NSDC Secretary meets with Ambassadors of Canada, UK, Sweden to discuss investigation into causes of UIA plane crash in Iran Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov has discussed with ambassadors of Canada, Britain and Sweden the investigation into the causes of the crash of the Ukrainian Boeing 737 of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) in Iran. "Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine Larisa Galadza, the United Kingdom - Melinda Simmons and the Kingdom of Sweden - Tobias Thyberg. During the meeting, the parties discussed the current situation regarding the investigation of the Boeing 737 flight PS 752 crash in Iran," it says. Danilov assured that the group of Ukrainian experts is actively working at the crash site and receive operational reports hourly. "Our main task is to find out why this happened," the NSDC Secretary noted. In their turn, the ambassadors expressed their condolences regarding the disaster and assured of their readiness to provide all necessary assistance to Ukraine during the investigation. Those think-tanks and analysts who were publicly sceptical of HS2s over-optimistic budget early on were not thanked for questioning the official figures. In 2013, the Institute of Economic Affairs estimated the true cost to be around 80 billion. In 2017, the TaxPayers Alliance forecast a low-range bill of 90.8 billion. Their reward was for various figures in Government, and supposed specialists in the sector, to pooh-pooh these concerns. If only the sceptics had been listened to, because they have turned out to be correct. The Transport Secretary conceded in the Autumn that the bill was set to run to between 81 billion and 88 billion, meaning that the official estimate is now a figure strikingly similar to the supposedly unhelpful IEA/TPA numbers. It gets worse to the extent that those foresighted critics might yet prove to have been too optimistic. Lord Berkeley, the former Deputy Chairman of the Governments official review of the project, has now issued a minority report estimating the true cost to be 107 billion. He argues, not unreasonably, that the original budget was so unreasonable as to amount to deliberately misleading Parliament in order to secure consent for the project. The question of what will actually happen to HS2 is becoming more political and less economic, however. That Berkeley felt the need to go rogue with his own number implies that outright opposition to the line is not a very popular view in Government. The argument bolstered by energetic campaigning by Andy Street, the imminently up for re-election West Midlands Mayor, among others appears to be that HS2 is totemic of a Government commitment to supporting the swing areas which proved so decisive in the general election. Im not sure its quite so simple. There are undoubtedly some places, and some strata of society in various areas, which are specifically set to benefit from HS2. If it runs to your door, or aids your sector, then great; likewise, if it helps your re-election campaign, then youll go great guns to back it. But that leaves quite a lot of people for whom the project isnt of particular interest or relevance. In these early days of Westminster learning again where the North of England is and how large it is, we still hear people talk of HS2 connecting the North to the South without realising how inaccurate (and therefore annoying) that is. It connects some bits of the North, but a railway to Leeds and Manchester is essentially irrelevant to the North East, where people get understandably peeved at being bundled in with places miles away, and thereby overlooked. Dualling the A1 north of Newcastle mentioned by Dominic Cummings in his recent blogpost would change more lives, more quickly, in the North East than faster trains from London to Sheffield. That also links in to the question of whether improved connections down to London are really the biggest need; bigger than, say, links within and across the North of England itself. With HS2s costs rising all the time, a growing number of more modest, more localised schemes look affordable compared to its massive bill. Sometimes the debate on HS2 sinks into an uninformative row about whether its popular or unpopular. The fact is that it has supporters and detractors, but they are not evenly distributed. Even more confusing, there still seems to be only limited insight into who and where they are. I reported back in 2018 that Michael Gove was operating on the basis of private polling which suggested that there was political mileage in potential swing seats in the idea of cancelling it and reallocating the money elsewhere. With the political map redrawn by the the recent general election, and with key local elections in a range of important areas not least the West Midlands and the Tees Valley coming up, there is surely new work to be done to find out if the political case for HS2 has held up any better than its financial plans. People's privacy is being breached amid a rise of online groups posting about police radio activity on social media. Police warn they will shut down social media pages that publish sensitive information mined from police channels. At least four Facebook pages in Manawatu have been chronicling crime and police activity heard on scanners, three having started in the past three months. The pages share more than 50,000 follows between them. Administrators for the pages listen to scanners then post details of events in real time such as car chases, domestic violence, assaults and drink-driving. Some posts include full names, specific addresses and vehicle registration numbers. Police Central District Command Centre has contacted the pages via private message offering guidance about what they can legally publish and the dangers of breaching people's privacy. Palmerston North acting area commander Ross Grantham is concerned victims won't report crimes out of fear their identities will be exposed on such pages. "While it's not illegal to listen to police radio through a scanner, it is illegal to act ... [and] reproducing names, addresses and post registration numbers of vehicles breaches privacy, which is an offence." He says there is a real possibility that reporting this type of information could interfere with a fair trial. "It's so easy to post this online and feel nothing because you're not actually dealing with the person. It is really irresponsible." Publishing identifiable details from police scanners can lead to mistrials in court, says Manawatu's acting area commander Ross Grantham. Maarten Holl/Stuff A scanner page with more than 10,000 followers received a second complaint from police on Thursday. It was a bridge between the community and police, an admin told Stuff. They wanted to share with the public what police and criminals were doing to keep communities safe. Some of their posts breached privacy by reporting names and addresses, but they wouldn't be altering their style of publishing, he says. "For me, personally, I prefer to be informed and keep the page updated." Police would "unhappily live" with scanner pages due to the public's interest in them, Ross says, but they will ask Facebook to shut them down if they continue to identify suspects or victims. One of the scanner pages has already stopped posting after being told by police they were breaching people's privacy. The first police scanner page in Manawatu, which was started in 2015, adopted guidelines, following consultation with police, so its admins could report scanner events within the law. An admin for the page, which had almost 39,000 followers, says they are mindful of what they post. "I think other pages probably see it as being transparent but that transparency will cause issues and make people vulnerable." They say they have noticed one of the new pages lacked restraint, "posting updates on abuse and suicides, including addresses". "There are plenty of noisy people in the community that thrive off names, addresses or just private information ... We have learnt and continue to understand what people enjoy and what is generally interesting, while also timing things to not interfere with police like searches or road blocks, etc." Maxine Jacobs/Stuff. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 12:57:24|Editor: ZD Video Player Close JINAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A direct air route will be reopened after four years' suspension of air service, linking Jinan, capital city of east China's Shandong Province, with Tokyo, capital of Japan. The route will be operated by Shandong Airlines with round-trip flights every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, according to the Shandong Airlines. On Tuesday, the outbound flight will depart Jinan at 08:20 p.m. Beijing time and arrive in Tokyo at 01:00 a.m. local time, while on Friday and Sunday, the outbound flight will take off from Jinan at 08:50 p.m. Beijing time and arrive in Tokyo at 01:30 a.m. local time. The inbound flight will leave Tokyo at 02:30 a.m. local time and land in Jinan at 05:10 a.m. Beijing time. The direct flight to Tokyo will offer more options for local tourists who travel abroad during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays. ISTANBUL - An Iranian military commander said Thursday that missiles fired at bases used by U.S. troops in Iraq were not intended to inflict casualties, in the latest sign that Iran was seeking to avoid further escalation of hostilities with the United States. After more than a dozen missiles slammed into the bases early Wednesday local time, both sides for now appear to be stepping back from further conflict. "We did not intend to kill," said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force, according to Iranian state media. "We intended to hit the enemy's military machinery." However, he repeated the government's claim that "tens of people were killed or wounded." U.S. and Iraqi officials said the strikes caused no casualties. Iran and the United States had been on a war footing since President Donald Trump approved the killing last week of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard's elite expeditionary Quds Force and Iran's most prominent military leader. Iran retaliated with the missile strike. By Wednesday, Iranian officials were suggesting that Iran did not intend any further attacks, and Trump said he would not respond militarily to the Iranian strikes. Trump administration officials have offered conflicting justifications for the killing of Soleimani, saying he was targeted to avert an "imminent" threat and otherwise to retaliate against Iranian aggression more generally. Trump, speaking at the White House on Thursday, said that "we did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy." It was not clear whether he was referring to previously undisclosed intelligence or to the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by supporters of an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia a few days before Soleimani was killed. "We did it for other reasons that are very obvious," Trump added, mentioning the killing of a U.S. contractor in a missile strike on Dec. 27. "We didn't start it. They started it by killing one of our people and wounding badly other of our people," Trump said. "So that you call retribution." A senior defense official on Thursday said the imminent nature of the attacks Soleimani was planning can be debated. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. military operations and intelligence, said there was a history of escalating violence attributed to Soleimani and the Quds Force over time. He described killing Soleimani as a proportionate response to Iran's aggression and that the administration had considered other options that would have resulted in more casualties. The official didn't elaborate on what those options were.The official also said, however, that Trump's claim about the nature of the threat at the embassy were true. He did not say how officials think Soleimani would have carried out such an attack. The soaring tensions had alarmed officials in Iraq, the main stage for the conflict between Tehran and Washington, and spooked governments throughout the region. Rocket attacks in Baghdad late Wednesday showed that the risk of escalation remained. The strikes highlighted fears that Iraqi militias, backed by Iran, could pursue revenge for the killing of one of their leaders in the same attack that killed Soleimani. Two rockets struck Baghdad's Green Zone, which hosts the U.S. Embassy and other foreign diplomatic missions, but caused no injuries, Iraqi authorities said. Jawad al-Talibawi, a spokesman for the network of Iraqi militias known as the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces, told the Iraqi News Agency that the network was not responsible for the attack. "The bombing of the Green Zone might be an individual reaction, or an attempt by some parties to distort the reputation of the Hashd and shuffle the cards," he said. "We are calling on those behind the bombing to stop these actions that distort the reputation of Hashd factions." The statement was part of the broader effort to de-escalate tensions, but "we should all take a moment before popping the champagne," Rand Corporation political scientist Ariane Tabatabai said in an email. Even as the violence abated, the Trump administration was "doubling down on the maximum pressure campaign, which got us here to begin with," she said, referring to U.S. sanctions and other measures aimed at isolating Iran. And Tehran, she added, could take further action. A tweet by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that his government had "concluded" its military response "could mean a lot of things: It could mean that Iran is done for now, which is the interpretation many have chosen to embrace. But it could also mean that this specific operation is done. Others may be in store." Iran tried to counter the United States on the diplomatic front Thursday after Trump called on Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China to "break away from the remnants" of the 2015 nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers. Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday, "underlined the UK's continued commitment to" the nuclear deal and "ongoing dialogue to avoid nuclear proliferation and reduce tensions," according to a British government statement. Rouhani also called European Council President Charles Michel asking for a response to U.S. sanctions, which Rouhani described as "economic terrorism," the Iranian Fars News agency reported. In a statement, Michel emphasized the need for de-escalation in the region. The tensions have continued to affect the main mission of U.S. forces in Iraq - fighting the Islamic State. The coalition said in a statement Thursday that military operations against the extremist group in Iraq would remain "paused" while the coalition focuses on "protecting the Iraqi bases that host Coalition personnel." The conflict between the United States and Iran sparked concern that operations against the Islamic State, or ISIS, would be sidelined at a moment when the extremists, driven from the vast swath of territory they once held, are trying to regroup in parts of Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, hundreds of Islamic State fighters have made their way to rural areas in the north, stepping up their attacks in recent weeks, including ambushes and mortar strikes. U.S. military officials first announced the suspension of anti-Islamic State operations Sunday, as the Trump administration braced for possible Iranian attacks on military bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. The same day, Iraq's prime minister urged parliament to take "urgent measures" to force the withdrawal of foreign forces after the killing of Soleimani. Lawmakers responded by passing a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to end the foreign troop presence in Iraq. The coalition's statement Thursday said it was awaiting "further clarification on the legal nature and impact of the resolution on foreign troops no longer being allowed to stay in Iraq." training and support of troops fighting the Islamic State has been suspended, although other activities, including countering the militant group's propaganda, would continue, the statement said. - - - Dadouch reported from Beirut. The Washington Post's Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim in Baghdad and William Booth in London contributed to this report. The head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organization denies the plane could have been hit by a missile. "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane and such rumors are illogical," ISNA quoted Ali Abedzadeh as saying. Video of the aircraft shows it breaking up in the air in a fireball over Iran. The crash early Wednesday occurred hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers in response to last week's U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. A U.S. official confirmed to VOA that he is "confident" the plane was shot down by Iran. "At some point they'll release the black box. Ideally, they'll get it to Boeing" [the U.S. company that built the 737-800 airliner], added President Trump in remarks to reporters in the White House Roosevelt Room on Thursday. But government sources tell VOA that U.S. officials have examined satellite data and imagery leading them to believe the airliner, just after taking off from Tehran, was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile after being targeted accidentally. Iranian officials have maintained the Boeing 737-800, at an altitude of 2,400 meters, suffered a catastrophic engine failure early Wednesday (local time). All 176 people on board the plane bound for Kyiv died, including 63 Canadians. U.S. President Donald Trump is publicly voicing suspicion that Iran may have accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner. "Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," said Trump of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. "Some people say it was mechanical. Personally, I don't think that's even a question." The governments of Ukraine and Canada are not accepting the initial assessment by Iran that the cause of the crash appeared to be a mechanical issue. Citing what he called "intelligence from multiple sources," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference on Thursday that "the intelligence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." Trudeau added, "This may well have been unintentional." Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, said there were several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike. "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main [theories], as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," he told reporters. In Britain, Downing Street told reporters it is looking into "very concerning" reports the plane had been struck by a surface-to-air missile. Following a phone call Thursday between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Downing Street said there needs to be "a full credible and transparent investigation in what happened." But British officials added that they did not think the downing of the jet was intentional. The global security risk company IHS Markit issued a briefing Thursday claiming that the UAL flight was hit by an SA-15 missile fired by a unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, who was attending a UN Security Council meeting in New York Thursday, said his government has sent a team of experts who are on the ground in Iran, working with their Iranian counterparts to sift through the crash debris for evidence of the cause. "Our priority is that all the pieces of information should be collected and preserved," Sergiy Kyslytsya told a small group of reporters. "On the black boxes, there are rules and they should be followed, and I am looking forward to the full cooperation of Iran -- it is in their best interest." He discouraged speculation and conspiracy theories, saying they would hurt the families of the victims. "My other concern is that the international protocols, conventions and regulations should be duly implemented when it comes to the investigation," said Ukraine's deputy foreign minister. Investigators in Iran said the voice and data recorders from the Boeing 737 aircraft, built in 2016, were recovered from the crash site, a swathe of farmland on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, but that the so-called "black boxes" were damaged and some data had been lost. "I hope the Iranians will work with us and provide us with the black box," U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, said on MSNBC, calling for the Trump administration to grant exemptions to the sanctions law so Boeing investigators from the United States could travel to Iran to cooperate with investigators there. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board typically participates in investigations of overseas air crashes when a U.S. airline or plane manufacturer is involved. But given the heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, and the fact that the two sides have no diplomatic relations, it is uncertain whether the NTSB or Boeing would be involved in the investigation of the UIA crash. In a statement sent to VOA's Ukrainian Service, the NTSB said it was "monitoring developments surrounding the crash of UIA flight 752" and was "following its standard procedures" for international aviation accident investigations. "As part of its usual procedures, the NTSB is working with the State Department and other agencies to determine the best course of action," it said. The Convention on International Civil Aviation, to which Iran is a signatory, does not require Tehran to hand over the data recorders to the NTSB or Boeing, Andriy Guck, a Ukraine-based attorney and aviation expert, said. "There is a duty to investigate," Guck told VOA's Ukrainian Service in a phone conversation. "Iran can decide to investigate the black boxes by itself or transfer them to a foreign laboratory. But if the Iranians do not allow anyone else to participate in the examination of the boxes, it will raise doubts about their investigation." Gasification goes green HOUSTON -- (Jan. 10, 2020) -- Rice University engineers have created a light-powered nanoparticle that could shrink the carbon footprint of a major segment of the chemical industry. The particle, tiny spheres of copper dotted with single atoms of ruthenium, is the key component in a green process for making syngas, or synthesis gas, valuable chemical feedstock that's used to make fuels, fertilizer and many other products. Researchers from Rice, UCLA and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), describe the low-energy, low-temperature syngas production process this week in Nature Energy. "Syngas can be made in many ways, but one of those, methane dry reforming, is increasingly important because the chemical inputs are methane and carbon dioxide, two potent and problematic greenhouse gases," said Rice chemist and engineer Naomi Halas, a co-corresponding author on the paper. Syngas is a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas that can be made from coal, biomass, natural gas and other sources. It's produced at hundreds of gasification plants worldwide and is used to make fuels and chemicals worth more than $46 billion per year, according to a 2017 analysis by BCC Research. Catalysts, materials that spur reactions between other chemicals, are critical for gasification. Gasification plants typically use steam and catalysts to break apart hydrocarbons. The hydrogen atoms pair up to form hydrogen gas, and the carbon atoms combine with oxygen in the form of carbon monoxide. In dry reforming, the oxygen atoms come from carbon dioxide rather than steam. But dry reforming hasn't been attractive to industry because it typically requires even higher temperatures and more energy than steam-based methods, said study first author Linan Zhou, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP). Halas, who directs LANP, has worked for years to create light-activated nanoparticles that insert energy into chemical reactions with surgical precision. In 2011, her team showed it could boost the amount of short-lived, high-energy electrons called "hot carriers" that are created when light strikes metal, and in 2016 they unveiled the first of several "antenna reactors" that use hot carriers to drive catalysis. One of these, a copper and ruthenium antenna reactor for making hydrogen from ammonia, was the subject of a 2018 Science paper by Halas, Zhou and colleagues. Zhou said the syngas catalyst uses a similar design. In each, a copper sphere about 5-10 nanometers in diameter is dotted with ruthenium islands. For the ammonia catalysts, each island contained a few dozen atoms of ruthenium, but Zhou had to shrink these to a single atom for the dry reforming catalyst. "High efficiency is important for this reaction, but stability is even more important," Zhou said. "If you tell a person in industry that you have a really efficient catalyst they are going to ask, 'How long can it last?'" Zhou said the question is important for producers, because most gasification catalysts are prone to "coking," a buildup of surface carbon that eventually renders them useless. "They cannot change the catalyst every day," Zhou said. "They want something that can last." By isolating the active ruthenium sites where carbon is dissociated from hydrogen, Zhou reduced the chances of carbon atoms reacting with one another to form coke and increased the likelihood of them reacting with oxygen to form carbon monoxide. "But single-atom islands are not enough," he said. "For stability, you need both single atoms and hot electrons." Zhou said the team's experimental and theoretical investigations point to hot carriers driving hydrogen away from the reactor surface. "When hydrogen leaves the surface quickly, it's more likely to form molecular hydrogen," he said. "It also decreases the possibility of a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and leaves the oxygen to react with carbon. That's how you can control with the hot electron to make sure it doesn't form coke." Halas said the research could pave the way "for sustainable, light-driven, low-temperature, methane-reforming reactions for production of hydrogen on demand." "Beyond syngas, the single-atom, antenna-reactor design could be useful in designing energy-efficient catalysts for other applications," she said. The technology has been licensed by Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston-based startup whose co-founders include Halas and study co-author Peter Nordlander. Halas is Rice's Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and materials science and nanoengineering. Nordlander is the Wiess Chair and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and materials science and nanoengineering. Additional co-authors include Chao Zhang, Dayne Swearer, Shu Tian, Hossein Robatjazi, Minhan Lou, Liangliang Dong and Luke Henderson, all of Rice; John Mark Martirez and Emily Carter, both of UCLA; and Jordan Finzel and Phillip Christopher of UCSB. ### The research was supported by the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0022) and the Department of Defense. -30- Links and resources: The DOI of the Nature Energy paper is: 10.1038/s41560-019-0517-9 The paper is available at: nature.com/articles/s41560-019-0517-9 High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at: https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2020/ 01/ 0108_SYNGAS-fig-lg. jpg CAPTION: Rice University researchers boosted the stability of their low-energy, copper-ruthenium syngas photocatalysts by shrinking the active sites to single atoms of ruthenium (blue). (Image by John Mark Martirez/UCLA) https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2020/ 01/ 0108_SYNGAS-lz03-2-lg. jpg CAPTION: Linan Zhou, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics, designed a copper-ruthenium photocatalyst for making syngas via a low-energy, low-temperature, dry-reforming process. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2020/ 01/ 0108_SYNGAS-nh30-lg. jpg CAPTION: Naomi Halas, director of Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics, is an engineer and chemist who's spent more than 25 years pioneering the use of light-activated nanomaterials. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) This release can be found online at news.rice.edu. Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on Nancy Pelosi, claiming without evidence she and other Democrats would have leaked secret details of operation to kill Qassem Soleimani to the media. Hours after the House of Representatives passed a resolution seeking to limit the presidents ability to launch further military operations against Tehran, Mr Trump mocked the speaker at a rally in Ohio. Referring to last Fridays targetted killing of Soleimani, the leader of the Quds Force of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mr Trump claimed the radical left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist, who was the king of roadside bombs. Heres a guy who slaughtered and butchered civilians all over, said Mr Trump. And we have Bernie and Nancy Pelosiall trying to say, How dare you take him out that way? You should get permission from Congress. You should come in and tell us what you want to do. You should come in and tell us so that we can call up the fake news back there and we can leak it. Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Show all 24 1 /24 Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions Iranian mourners gather around a vehicle carrying the coffin of top general Qasem Soleimani during the final stage of funeral processions, in his hometown Kerman. Soleimani was killed outside Baghdad airport in a drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump, ratcheting up tensions with Iran which has vowed "severe revenge" AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranian people carry a coffin of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani during a funeral procession in Tehran Official Khamenei website via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions The assassination of the 62-year-old heightened international concern about a new war in the volatile, oil-rich Middle East and rattled financial markets AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Mourners packed the streets of Tehran for ceremonies to pay homage to Soleimani, who spearheaded Iran's Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and was killed in a US drone strike on January 3 Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranians set a US and an Israeli flag on fire during the funeral procession AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, centre, with Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, second left, and President Hassan Rouhani, third left, standing next to him as he leads a prayer over the caskets of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Tehran University Khamenei.IR/AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, openly weeps as he leads a prayer over the coffin of Qassem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Mourners holding posters of Qassem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Coffins of Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a US drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions An Iranian mourner holds a placard AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill as mourners flooded the Iranian capital Khamenei.IR/AFP via Getty Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps chief Mohamad Ali Jafari prays on the coffins of Qasem Soleimani and of other victims during their funeral ceremony EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Official Khamenei website via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions AFP via Getty Images Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Kerman - Final stage of funeral processions West Asia News Agency via Reuters Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran Satellite image Maxar Technologies/AP Qassem Soleimani: Mourners fill Iran streets for funeral Tehran EPA Mr Trump claimed he and his top advisers needed to make a rapid call on whether or not to kill the 62-year-old, a move that Mr Trumps predecessors Barack Obama and George W Bush both considered but decided would be too inflammatory for the region. He added: We had to make a decision. We didnt have time to call up Nancy, who is not operating with a full deck. He also used the event to issue a warning to those considering attacking the US. We seek friends, not enemies. But if you dare threaten our citizens, you do so at your own grave peril. Mr Trumps rally, both the first in 2020 and the first since taking the decision to kill Soleimani, was held at the Huntington Centre, in Toledo, Ohio. Video purports to show moment Ukrainian airliner is hit by missile over Iran The midwestern state, once considered a political bell-weather for the nation, has in recent years become increasingly Republican, and Mr Trump beat Hillary Clinton 52 44 there in 2016. He did so, despite Barack Obama taking it in both 2012 and 2008, and Mr Trump will need to hold such states if he is going to have a genuine shot at reelection in November. USA Today said two other rallies planned for later this month were scheduled for the battleground state of Wisconsin, which he narrowly won in 2016, and New Jersey, which he would love to win in 2020. The state, which Ms Clinton breezed 55 41 in 2016, has 14 electoral college votes. The rally, during which Mr Trump also attacked other Democratic Party progressives including Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocassio-Cortez, came as controversy continued to rage over whether Soleimani genuinely represented a threat to the US. In addition to doubts raised about the timing of the killing of the Iran leader by many Democrats, at least two Republican legislators have questioned the information they were given. It was probably the worst briefing Ive seen at least on a military issue in the nine years Ive served in the United States Senate, said Republican Mike Mike Lee, of Utah. I find this insulting and demeaning. They had to leave after 75 minutes while theyre in the process of telling us that we need to be good little boys and girls and run along and not debate this in public. I find that absolutely insane. Before Democrats, along with three Republicans, passed a measure in the House to press Mr Trump to seek Congressional approval before launching further attacks on Iran, Ms Pelosi told reporters nothing she had seen made her think America was safer now Soleimani was dead. She said the way the administration had treated Congress was disdainful. Last week, in our view, the president the Administration conducted a provocative, disproportionate airstrike against Iran, which endangered Americans. And did so without consulting Congress. NAIROBIA report from the United Nations office for human rights said Friday that killings and rapes committed by ethnic militias in Congos northeastern Ituri province may amount to crimes against humanity and even genocide. The attacks displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom remain in refugee camps within Ituri, as well as in neighbouring Uganda. They were carried out largely by members of the Lendu community against the Hema, a larger but politically weaker group. The Congolese military and local police did not do enough to stem the violence, the report added. Allegations of such an extreme nature are rare, since both crimes against humanity and genocide have stringent definitions, but the fact that the United Nations created those definitions lends credibility to the accusations. The barbarity that characterizes these attacks including the beheading of women and children with machetes, the dismemberment and removal of body parts of the victims as trophies of war reflects the desire of the attackers to inflict lasting trauma to the Hema communities and to force them to flee and not return to their villages, the report said. At least 701 people have been killed and 168 wounded, and an additional 142 were victims of sexual violence, according to the report. Almost all the victims were Hema, but the report did mention cases of Hema retaliatory attacks that killed and wounded Lendus. The Lendu and the Hema have a long history of violence that dates back to the Belgian colonization of Congo. Lendu leaders claim that Belgian administrators favoured the Hema, giving them access to jobs and land while depriving other communities. The latest bout of violence is the fourth major instance. In April 2018, the Post documented the dismal conditions many Hema faced in makeshift refugee settlements in Uganda, which they reached by harrowing journeys through thick forest and across a large lake on boats whose owners extorted them. The International Criminal Court sentenced former Congolese military leader Bosco Ntaganda, who belongs to the Hema community, last November to 30 years in prison for atrocities including murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers for battles mostly targeting the Lendu. EU Council chief urges Iran to comply with nuclear deal Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 11:05 AM The European Council president says he has spoken to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and urged Tehran to comply with the landmark nuclear deal it clinched with major world powers in 2015. In a tweet on Thursday, Charles Michel, who coordinates EU government positions in Brussels, described the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as key to global security. "Just spoke with @HassanRouhani about recent developments. JCPOA remains crucial for global security. I called Iran not to pose irreversible acts," he tweeted. Michel's remarks came after Tehran announced in a statement on Sunday that from now on, the country will observe no operational limitations on its nuclear industry, including with regard to the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the amount of enriched materials as well as research and development. "By taking the fifth step in reducing its commitment, the Islamic Republic of Iran eliminates the last key operational restriction it faced under the JCPOA, which is the limitation imposed on the number of centrifuges," it said. US President Donald Trump, a stern critic of the historic deal, unilaterally pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018, and unleashed the "toughest ever" sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticism in an attempt to strangle the Iranian oil trade. In response to the US unilateral move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the US sanctions. Iran's latest nuclear announcement coincided with a major escalation of tensions with Washington after the US assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in a drone strike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad early on Friday. Iran has criticized the three European signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France and Germany -- for failing to salvage the pact by shielding Tehran's economy from US sanctions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and Monash University, Australia have suggested that geothermal energythe use of the Earths heat to generate power is better than solar energy in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The researchers also suggest that a combination of renewable energy technology must be adopted in this era of dwindling fossil fuel reserves and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This analysis was undertaken by Prof D Chandrasekharam of the department of civil engineering in IIT Hyderabad and Prof G Ranjith Pathegama from department of civil engineering in Monash University. Their research paper was recently published in the journal Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources. The total CO2 emissions during the life cycle of a solar photovoltaic cell are about 3,312 million kg, which is far higher than geothermal energy source, which emits about 450 g/kWh, according to researchers report. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (centre), and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill (right) with party colleagues speak to the media in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings, Stormont. Friday January 10, 2020. Brian Lawless/PA Wire Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has announced that the party has agreed to back a deal to restore powersharing at Stormont a move that confirms the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland after a three-year absence. Ms McDonald said that "Sinn Fein has met today and has taken the decision to reenter the powersharing institutions and to nominate ministers to the powersharing executive". The Dublin TD said she believes that "powersharing can work". "It requires everyone to step up. Sinn Fein's commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. We need to have an inclusive executive," Ms McDonald said. Expand Close DUP leader Arlene Foster. Picture: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp DUP leader Arlene Foster. Picture: PA "At these historic times we will also continue to work for Irish reunification and we want to ensure that the criteria for the triggering of an Irish unity poll are set out and that planning for Irish Unity is stepped up. Including the convening of the national forum to discuss and plan for the future. "Three years ago, Martin McGuinness set down a challenge to all of us to get it right and deliver for all, for every single citizen. And now we need to go to work. "We believe that the changes that have been achieved in the negotiations in the last year build on what was agreed in February 2018. We now have Acht Gaeilge with official legal recognition of the Irish language for the first time. An Irish language commissioner and increased Irish language funding." The first action of the incoming executive will be to deliver pay parity for health workers, she added. Read More The DUP, the party blamed by both governments for holding up a deal in December, responded positively to the 'New Decade, New Approach' text published by the governments. DUP leader Arlene Foster said the deal recognised there were people in Northern Ireland with an Irish identity and those with a British identity and that they were "ready to go back into Assembly". Expand Close Roundtable talks at Stormont House before Christmas failed to secure a breakthrough (Liam McBurney/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roundtable talks at Stormont House before Christmas failed to secure a breakthrough (Liam McBurney/PA) "This is a deal that recognises that we live in a shared society, this is a deal that recognises that no one identity should be placed over another," she told BBC Radio Ulster. "I very much hope that the Assembly can meet as quickly as possible so that we can get back to do what we need to do and, indeed, get Northern Ireland moving again." The SDLP has also confirmed it will enter into the powersharing agreement. Earlier today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urged all parties to sign up to a new agreement to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive. Mr Varadkar was speaking after the Irish and British governments last night published proposals to break the three-year deadlock at Stormont. The Taoiseach said he had spoken to Ms McDonald about the deal this morning. "I think this is the opportunity. I'd really appeal to all of the parties now to sign up to the agreement, to come on board, to have the Assembly meeting again, to have the Executive up and running and crucially to have the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) operating again." Mr Varadkar said re-establishing the NSMC would allow ministers on both sides of the border to press ahead with plans for a number of all-island infrastructure projects and more cooperation on Health. He identified projects including the A5 road to Derry and Letterkenny; the Ulster Canal; cross-border greenways; upgrading Dublin-Belfast train line; and building a university in Derry to link up with Letterkenny IT. "That opportunity is now there for us to seize. This government is up for it, the Irish government is up for it and the British government is too and I'd really appeal to all of the parties now to come on board and let's get working again," Mr Varadkar added The suggested deal came as Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith wrote to the speaker of the defunct Assembly requesting him to convene a sitting on Friday - so issuing a challenge to the parties to turn up and get back to business. Read More The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That dispute subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. The deal represents the governments' joint assessment of how long-standing wrangles can be resolved. The document includes: A new office for identity and cultural expression will promote diversity and inclusion. Commissioners will protect the Irish and Ulster Scots languages which are cherished by Sinn Fein and the DUP. The long impasse on the Irish language issue revolved around whether provisions would be enacted as a stand-alone piece of legislation or as part of a broader piece of legislation. The governments have proposed to do it by amending the 1998 Northern Ireland Act with three separate bills - one specifically dedicated to provisions for the Irish language. Reform of the petition of concern voting mechanism, which was originally designed to protect minority rights in Assembly votes. Improvements in how civil servants, special advisers and ministers conduct themselves following the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal which led to the Assembly collapse. More time to appoint a replacement if a Stormont First or Deputy First Minister resigns, as Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness did three years ago, bringing down the institutions. Reacting to the publication, Ms Foster said: "On balance we believe there is a basis upon which the Assembly and Executive can (be) re-established in a fair and balanced way." She added: "This is not a perfect deal and there are elements within it which we recognise are the product of long negotiations and represent compromise outcomes. "There will always need to be give and take." Tanaiste Simon Coveney said of the deal to restore the Northern Ireland institutions: "history is being made today." He also praised the family of murdered journalist Lyra McKee and said it was that tragedy that kick-started the formal talks again. He said both the DUP and Sinn Fein are committed to re-entering an Executive and the Stormont Assembly and he hopes the other parties will join them. "What is most important about that is that the people of Northern Ireland will have a government again, will have political leaders that can make decisions for them, and that they will no longer have to rely on a really an unacceptable lack of governance." He said "of course there's relief" that a deal has been reached and thanked his own team, that of the British government and the party negotiators. "We have put an enormous amount of time into trying to get to where we are now." Mr Coveney added: "This process started again formally about nine months ago, after the tragic murder of of Lyra McKee. "I spoke to Lyra's sister this morning, who I think was really relieved and excited about the prospect of a functioning Stormont again." He said that "tells you a lot about the kind of family they are and the kind of person she is." Mr Coveney said the tragedy "was an injection of urgency into the political system. We began a formal talks process on the back of that." Ontarios auditor general says she will examine the cost of cancelling an eastern Ontario wind farm, as the opposition New Democrats call for a special investigation of a move they say could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Bonnie Lysyk confirmed in a letter to the NDP on Tuesday that she will look at the costs to scrap the project near Cornwall, Ont., in her annual audit. But in order to conduct a full probe, Lysyk said she would need a request from a cabinet minister, the legislative assembly or a legislative committee. Environment Minister Jeff Yurek revoked the Nation Rise Wind Farm projects approval late last year, citing the risks to three bat species. The company has launched a legal challenge of the decision, asking the Ontario divisional court to set it aside. The auditor said her review of the cancelled deal will be similar in scope to one her office conducted into scrapped energy agreements by Premier Doug Fords government in 2018-2019. We assessed the reasonableness of the provinces estimate for the cancellation of other energy contracts, Lysyk said. As part of this, we looked at contract cancellation terms, liability limits and supplier claims. NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns wrote to the auditor general last week to request that she review the cancellation costs, which the government has not disclosed. Party Leader Andrea Horwath said Thursday she is concerned the cancellation could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, given a recent revelation that the province is spending $231 million to cancel more than 750 renewable energy contracts. The public has a right to know the cost of tearing down and scrapping the Nation Rise project, Horwath said. Thats why the NDP ... wrote to the auditor general requesting an investigation into the costs as well as an investigation into the flimsy excuse given by the environment minister to justify this cancellation. Yureks decision last month came despite a ruling from the provinces Environmental Review Tribunal that determined the risk the project posed to the bat population was negligible. A spokesman for Yurek said Thursday the government cannot comment on the wind farm matter because of the pending court challenge. The Progressive Conservative government has blamed the previous Liberals for signing bad energy deals while the province had an oversupply of electricity. It has also said that by cancelling contracts last July, it would ultimately save ratepayers $790 million a figure industry officials have disputed. At the time, the government also said it would introduce legislation that would protect hydro consumers from any costs incurred from the cancellation. It has since acknowledged it will have to pay some companies to cancel the deals and set aside $231 million to reach agreements with those firms. Read more about: Life on the run is proving expensive for Carlos Ghosn. The cost of his escape included $14 million in forfeited bail money while the operation that saw him celebrate New Year's Eve in Beirut could have cost $15 million or more. That includes $350,000 for the private jet that spirited the former auto executive from Osaka to Istanbul and millions of dollars for his multicountry extraction that would have taken a team of as many as 25 people half a year to plan, according to a private security expert who said he wasn't involved and asked not to be identified given the nature of the operation. Such outflows have seen Ghosn's fortune shrink by 40% since he was arrested more than a year ago at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, according to estimates by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune is now calculated to be about $70 million, down from around $120 million at the time of his first court appearance a year ago. In fiery, freewheeling form at a two-and-a-half hour press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, Ghosn, 65, repeatedly proclaimed his innocence against allegations he understated his income and raided corporate resources for personal gain, accused Japanese prosecutors, government officials and Nissan executives of conspiring to topple him, and insisted he would clear his name. "I am used to what you call mission impossible," he said in response to questions from the assembled reporters. "You can expect me in the next weeks to take some initiatives to tell you how I'm going to clear my name." That might include a tell-all book. Ghosn plans to publish the story of his arrest, according to a report by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. His downfall has already seen him lose millions in payouts. Last year, Nissan canceled retirement and stock-linked compensation and Renault SA said he won't benefit from a non-compete agreement he signed in 2015 and stock-based payments that were conditional on his staying at the company. Many of the charges against him center on retirement payments, totaling more than $140 million, which he hadn't yet received. That may be just the start. French investigations examining the possible misuse by Ghosn of Renault's money to host lavish parties and pay consulting fees are at a preliminary stage. The former auto executive also agreed to pay $1 million to settle a civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which said he failed to properly disclose potential retirement payments, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. At his press conference, Ghosn claimed he had done nothing untoward in hosting an event at the Palace of Versailles. Regarding the SEC fine, Ghosn's lawyers said previously, "We are pleased to have resolved this matter in the U.S. with no findings or admission of wrongdoing." Ghosn's U.S. law firm, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, declined to comment on Bloomberg's wealth estimates or on the SEC settlement. Ghosn's Lebanese lawyer also declined to comment. Nissan is looking at bringing legal action against Ghosn in Lebanon, people familiar with the company's plans said, to recover money it claims he used improperly. The carmaker is trying to evict him from the pink villa in Beirut to which he still has access. Nissan purchased it for $8.75 million, renovated it and furnished it for him, according to a person familiar with the matter. "Ghosn's flight will not affect Nissan's basic policy of holding him responsible for the serious misconduct uncovered by the internal investigation," the Yokohama-based automakeer said on Tuesday. Authorities may be looking to seize some of his assets. In Switzerland, where Ghosn reportedly banks with Julius Baer Group Ltd., Swiss authorities received a legal-aid request from the Tokyo District Attorney's Office a year ago, a spokeswoman for the agency that received the notice said. It examined the request before forwarding it to the Zurich prosecutor's office in March. A spokesman for the Zurich prosecutor's office declined to comment on the nature of the request or what they are doing with it.At Japan's request, Interpol issued a so-called Red Notice in Ghosn's name, making it known to other law enforcement authorities that the country considers him a fugitive. Lebanese prosecutors issued a travel ban for Ghosn and asked him to hand in his French passport after the notice was issued, the Associated Press reported. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. It's not clear if any of Ghosn's assets have been seized. In criminal court cases in Japan, a defendant's assets cannot be confiscated until a court verdict is reached, according to Taichi Yoshikai, a law professor at Kokushikan University. Assets can only be frozen if they are linked to certain types of offenses, related mainly to organized crime, and a judge determines that they are likely to be seized in case of a guilty verdict, he added.There are exceptions in civil cases, but it's unclear how this will be applied when a defendant is overseas, he said. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, which rarely makes public comments, posted an English-language statement on its website Thursday saying Ghosn had only himself to blame for his strict bail conditions. It vowed to bring him to justice in Japan. Ghosn had been "propagating both within Japan and internationally false information on Japan's legal system and its practice," Justice Minister Masako Mori said. Renault declined to comment. Bloomberg's calculation of Ghosn's net worth assumes none of his assets at the time of his arrest - which included shares in Renault and Nissan now valued at about $60 million - have been seized or sold. Even if that is the case, the costs that come with being the world's most famous runaway will continue to be formidable. Legal bills for fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low came to $15 million, according to an October deal with U.S. federal prosecutors. Efforts to burnish Low's reputation cost $1.1 million over seven months, according to the New York Times.Such expenses are likely sizeable enough to pressure even a fortune as large as that of the Ghosn family.Still, some costs may be lower than expected. The $350,000 contract for Ghosn's Osaka to Istanbul flight was to be paid in two tranches. The charter company has so far only received the first half. - - - Bloomberg's Reed Stevenson, Hugo Miller, Gearoid Reidy, Ichiro Suzuki, Dana Khraiche, Lisa Du, Greg Farrell and Ania Nussbaum contributed to this report. Life Is Good will go off in clubs thanks to both artists Midas touch. Photo: YouTube Drake and Future are an odd couple, a duo with differing skill sets that often complement each other but sometimes dont. Theyve scored classics together. (See: Honests Never Satisfied, Scorpions Blue Tint, DJ Dramas We in This 1.5, Lil Waynes Love Me, FBG the Movies Fo Real, FUTUREs Used to This, and the best songs from the collaborative album What a Time to Be Alive.) Theyve also made songs that feel like one is carrying the other. With Future around, Drake can have a little gangster cred, as a treat. Future singles can enjoy a wider reach with mainstream musics top dog along for the ride. Sometimes, the pairing illuminates a qualitative deficit between the two. On DS2s Where Ya At, Drake was a riot trying to match Futures gravelly vocal tone, but he ate on Pluto 3Ds Tony Montana remix (exaggerated accent notwithstanding), leaving a short, memorable verse that marginally edged out Future because the Atlanta artist was a little too deep into his bag of Scarface references. (I know Sosa!) This week, the latest Drake and Future mind meld, Life Is Good, sets the two on opposite sides of a two-part beat and side by side in a music video where they dance through different scenes, like the trailer for a buddy comedy. Drakes intro delivers more of the passive-aggressive, despondent-ruler energy he pivoted to on 2015s If Youre Reading This Its Too Late, covering 2018s dustup with Pusha-T in a pithy one-liner (Niggas caught me slipping once, okay, so what?) and setting his audience on notice about the impending follow-up to Scorpion. The beat quickly switches from airy synths to heavy low end for Futures part, where our patron saint of toxic energy talks trash and flexes on wealth and sexual prowess. Its energetic and catchy, as most Future songs tend to be at a minimum, but the lack of interplay between rap heavyweights makes it feel lesser to a team-up like Drake and Travis Scotts Sicko Mode, where the back-and-forth between the two lives on the record as well as in the video. The video for Life Is Good is a laugh because Future clips are usually about the man being impeccably dressed and a little distant. The intentional slapstick here feels new for him. The scenes where hes required to be a bit of an actor add a secondary level of unintentional humor. Memeable videos are Drakes bread and butter, so while Future carries the song, its Aubrey leading the way in most of the comedic bits here, although tellingly, the clip is most enjoyable at the end where the pair seems to be trying the least. Whats the verdict? Life Is Good will go off in clubs thanks to both artists Midas touch. The video seems destined to live as a constellation of GIFs. If you need a shot of Future baking a pie, or Drake doing a double-cup toast behind a drive-thru window, or the two of them doing synchronized moves on a glowing dance floor, Saturday Night Fever style, youre covered. Personally, I wanted a little more. Retired NRL star Braith Anasta proposed to Rachael Lee in October, after three years together. And on Friday, the bride-to-be revealed that she has officially begun planning their big day. Taking to Instagram, the brunette beauty shared snaps of herself while trying on a glamorous gown by Sydney-based designer J.Andreatta - the designer behind Jasmine Stefanovic's wedding dress. 'Can't wait!' Braith Anasta's fiancee Rachael Lee revealed on Friday that she is officially planning their big day... and tried on wedding dresses 'Dressing up with J.Andreatta. 2020 for wedding planning. Can't wait to see my three little babes all dressed up too! Excitement,' she captioned the post. In the pictures, Rachael stunned as she posed in the elegant princess-style gown with white straps. The frock also featured a corset-like bodice with delicate floral detail that showed off her curves. Exciting! She took to Instagram to share photos while trying on the dress by Sydney-based designer J.Andreatta and wrote: '2020 for wedding planning' Designer to the stars: J.Andreatta is the Sydney-based designer behind Jasmine Stefanovic's wedding gown. Pictured with husband Karl at their wedding in Mexico in December 2018 Rachael's post comes after she revealed that she is planning to marry her fiance next year. Taking to Instagram, she asked her followers advice on wedding venues and location ideas, writing: 'We're not planning on becoming husband and wife until sometime in 2021.' The bride-to-be also revealed that she and Braith are currently considering hosting their wedding on a 'Greek Island.' The couple share daughter Gigi, one, while Braith has a daughter Aleeia, five, with ex-wife Jodi Anasta, and Rachael Lee has son Addison, eight, from a previous relationship. Wedding bells: Rachael's post comes after she revealed that she is planning to marry her fiance Braith (pictured) in 2021 in an Instagram post asking her followers advice on wedding venues and location ideas In October, Rachael announced her engagement by sharing a short video of Braith's romantic proposal. In the footage, the couple's three children, Aleeia, Gigi and Addison, wore matching T-shirts which spelled out the phrase, 'Will U (sic) marry me?' The former Canterbury Bulldogs player then stepped forward, took out the ring and asked: 'I love you, bubba. Will you marry me?' [January 10, 2020] Alison Gleeson Elected to Elastic's Board of Directors Elastic N.V. (NYSE: ESTC), the company behind Elasticsearch and the Elastic Stack, announced that its shareholders elected Alison Gleeson to the company's board of directors at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders that took place earlier today. The term of office for Ms. Gleeson will expire at the end of the 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders. Gleeson is a globally recognized executive who was previously Senior Vice President of Cisco's (News - Alert) Americas organization, where she was responsible for nearly 9,000 employees across 35 countries. In more than 20 years at Cisco, Ms. Gleeson focused on a customer-first mentality, building go-to-market and data-driven initiatives, and strengthening Cisco's relationships with its top partners. This includes managing the sales efforts in Canada and Latin America, as well as segments such as US Commercial, US Public Sector, and the Global Enterprise Segment, which included Cisco's top 28 customers. She is also a highly-regarded international speaker on the drivers for digital disruption across industries, the role of technology in enabling business transformation, and empowering women in technology. Gleeson maintains a commitment to professional development and inclusion and diversity in the workplace. In 2018, she received the Connected World's "Woman of IoT" award for her role in advancing the field. In 2017, she received the Diversity Best Practice's "Above and Beyond Legacy Award" and the Michigan Council for Women in Technology's "Woman of the Year Award" for her work in advancing women in IT roles. She was previously the Global Executive Sponsor and Board President for Cisco's Connected Women's Network, an organization with 7,000 members worldwide. Gleeson currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Ei Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, her alma mater. Holders of approximately 79.96% of the company's ordinary shares were represented at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. About Elastic Elastic is a search company. As the creators of the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, and Logstash), Elastic builds self-managed and SaaS offerings that make data usable in real time and at scale for use cases like application search, site search, enterprise search, logging, APM (News - Alert), metrics, security, business analytics, and many more. Founded in 2012, Elastic is a distributed company with Elasticians working in countries around the world. Learn more at elastic.co. Elastic and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Elastic N.V. and its subsidiaries. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements herein are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements as a result of uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties related to: Elastic's ability to successfully develop an effective go-to-market strategy; Elastic's ability to improve its customer and partner relationships; the future conduct and growth of Elastic's business and the markets in which Elastic operates. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC (News - Alert)"), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019 and any subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K filed with the SEC. SEC filings are available on the Investor Relations section of Elastic's website at ir (News - Alert).elastic.co and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Elastic assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release, except as required by law. Source (News - Alert): Elastic N.V. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005538/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement outside Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast, where meetings with parties involved in talks to resurrect the devolved government in Northern Ireland have been taking place. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has urged all parties to sign up to a new agreement to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive. Mr Varadkar was speaking after the Irish and British governments last night published proposals to break the three-year deadlock at Stormont. Crucially the DUP has signalled its willingness to sign up to the deal but Sinn Fein is meeting on Friday to discuss the proposals with fresh Assembly elections to be called by the Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith on Monday if the deal is not agreed to. Speaking at a special Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting in Dublin today, Mr Varadkar urged all parties to "come on board" and sign up to the deal. He said it was a "very sensitive stage" in the process and that he spoke with Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald this morning as well as the leaders of the SDLP and Alliance Party in recent days. "I think there's a real chance that today or if not, by Monday, we can have the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive back up and running again," he said. "I've always felt that there would be a window of opportunity between the British election and their decision to ratify the withdrawal agreement, and the 13th of January to get those institutions up and running again. "I think this is the opportunity. I'd really appeal to all of the parties now to sign up to the agreement, to come on board, to have the Assembly meeting again, to have the Executive up and running and crucially to have the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) operating again." Mr Varadkar said re-establishing the NSMC would allow ministers on both sides of the border to press ahead with plans for a number of all-island infrastructure projects and more cooperation on Health. He identified projects including the A5 road to Derry and Letterkenny; the Ulster Canal; cross-border greenways; upgrading Dublin-Belfast train line; and building a university in Derry to link up with Letterkenny IT. "That opportunity is now there for us to seize. This government is up for it, the Irish government is up for it and the British government is too and I'd really appeal to all of the parties now to come on board and let's get working again," Mr Varadkar adde The suggested deal came as Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith wrote to the speaker of the defunct Assembly requesting him to convene a sitting on Friday - so issuing a challenge to the parties to turn up and get back to business. The DUP, the party blamed by both governments for holding up a deal in December, responded positively to the 'New Decade, New Approach' text published by the governments. Party leader Arlene Foster said there was a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a "fair and balanced way". Ms Foster said the deal recognised there were people in Northern Ireland with an Irish identity and those with a British identity. She said it offered an "entirely different construct" to Irish language legislation that had been proposed previously. "This is a deal that recognises that we live in a shared society, this is a deal that recognises that no one identity should be placed over another," she told BBC Radio Ulster. Ms Foster added: "We are ready to go back into the Assembly. "I'm not sure other parties are, but we will see where we are during the course of the day. "I very much hope that the Assembly can meet as quickly as possible so that we can get back to do what we need to do and, indeed, get Northern Ireland moving again." Ms Foster said there was a need for the government to be "generous" in respect of financial support that accompanied the deal. She said she had spoken to Sinn Fein's Stormont leader about the deal and expressed hope that the Assembly sitting would go ahead. "I spoke to Michelle last evening," she said. "Of course, they will have to go through their own internal discussions and I respect that - I had to go through my internal discussions and, indeed, those discussions will continue during the day, and hopefully we can get to a place where we can have the executive up and running again." All eyes will now turn to Sinn Fein - the other party whose agreement is required to secure the return of a mandatory coalition executive. Read More The republican party has called a meeting of its ruling council to deliberate on the proposals to resolve long running wrangles on issues such as legislative protections for Irish language speakers. It is understood the Ard Chomhairle (ruling council) will meet in Belfast around lunchtime. The national officer board will meet in the morning and subsequently make a recommendation to the Ard Chomhairle members to either accept or reject the deal. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said: "We are studying the text and will give it careful consideration." The events will all play out as workers in Northern Ireland's crisis-hit health service stage another day of mass strike action over pay and staffing shortages. With the UK government promising major financial support if devolution returns, Mr Smith said he had received assurances from trade union leaders that if the parties re-enter government they will call off the action. Despite the secretary of state's request, the Assembly authorities - in a post-midnight statement - made clear Speaker Robin Newton could only convene a sitting if the main parties indicated they had agreed a deal to form a new ministerial executive. "The speed and timing of any sitting therefore depends entirely on when the Speaker hears positively from the parties," said an Assembly spokeswoman. The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That dispute subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. "Now is decision time," Mr Smith said as he stood in front of Parliament Buildings on Thursday night. "We have had three years of talks, finally there is good deal on the table that all parties can support and on that basis I have tonight written to the speaker of this Assembly and asked him to recall it tomorrow to enable the restoration of the executive before the weekend. "I urge all parties to come here tomorrow and serve the people of Northern Ireland." Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the deal was "filled with compromises". Mr Coveney said the people needed to tell their MLAs to take the opportunity and seal the deal. "It's now time their politicians stepped up and fully represented their constituents," he said. "It's time to show leadership and get back to powersharing in Stormont." The deal represents the governments' joint assessment of how long-standing wrangles can be resolved. The document includes: A new office for identity and cultural expression will promote diversity and inclusion. Commissioners will protect the Irish and Ulster Scots languages which are cherished by Sinn Fein and the DUP. The long impasse on the Irish language issue revolved around whether provisions would be enacted as a stand-alone piece of legislation or as part of a broader piece of legislation. The governments have proposed to do it by amending the 1998 Northern Ireland Act with three separate bills - one specifically dedicated to provisions for the Irish language. Reform of the petition of concern voting mechanism, which was originally designed to protect minority rights in Assembly votes. Improvements in how civil servants, special advisers and ministers conduct themselves following the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal which led to the Assembly collapse. More time to appoint a replacement if a Stormont First or Deputy First Minister resigns, as Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness did three years ago, bringing down the institutions. Reacting to the publication, Ms Foster said: "On balance we believe there is a basis upon which the Assembly and Executive can (be) re-established in a fair and balanced way." She added: "This is not a perfect deal and there are elements within it which we recognise are the product of long negotiations and represent compromise outcomes. "There will always need to be give and take." Mr Smith said the parties realised they had reached a critical juncture. "We have got one chance to get this right and I am under no doubt that everyone realises that this chance is now," he said. Mr Coveney said the deal was not about winning or losing. "I want to urge all political leaders and their teams to grab this opportunity and get back to work in a multi-party executive," he said. "Forget the language of win or lose - this is a deal filed with compromises. "They are fair compromises but, most importantly, they are compromises in the interests of all of the people in Northern Ireland." Mr Coveney said there was no such thing as a "perfect deal" and political leaders had a choice - whether to meet the proposals with generosity or negativity. The parties had been working to a Monday deadline to restore the institutions. On Monday, legislation to give civil servants extra powers to run the region's troubled public services expires and the UK Government assumes a legal duty to call a fresh Assembly election. A Southeast Texas-grown liquor store chain is in the middle of an expansion to two Houston communities as a part of its plan for sustained growth. Longhorn Liquor, a nine-store chain with locations ranging from Lake Sam Rayburn to southern Jefferson County, is planning stores in Katy and Mont Belvieu. Dennis Williams, co-owner of the chain, said the new stores are the latest step in their plan to open at least two new stores a year. We cant exactly grow east into Louisiana, but we can grow west into the Houston market and beyond, Williams said. Weve already kind of branched out of our original base when we headed to Sam Rayburn. The locations are still being built, but Williams said the Mont Belvieu area store is expected to open in mid-February and the Katy store could open sometime in April or May. The company was able to find a 3,500-square-foot space being built at I-10 and Eagle Drive where the new H-E-B in Mont Belvieu opened in mid-2018. The 4,200-square-foot store in Katy is being built in the Firethorne neighborhood on FM 1463. Williams said the company already has letters-of-intent signed for properties in Pasadena to open in 2021, and is looking at two other sites in The Heights neighborhood of Houston and in Montgomery County. Independently owned stores are still the primary driver of growth in the package store industry and are continually cropping up in growing communities across Texas, according to experts. Of about 2,600 liquor stores in Texas, 1,600 to 1,700 stores are owned by a store owner with only one property, according to data from the Texas Package Stores Association. That leaves 800 to 900 stores owned by individuals or groups with more than two stores. Lance Lively, executive director of the Texas Package Stores Association, said the industry has hit a stride where it is mostly meeting demand in the state, leaving opportunities for expansion to communities experiencing population growth and investments in subdivisions. For the most part, consumers are finding what they want and they dont have to wait in line to get it, Lively said. I hear from the legislators I talk to that the number of stores hasnt increased dramatically over the past 50 years. Trust me, if there is a demand for a store, one is going to go in. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well amongst liquor store owners. Lively said the palate of the average customer is also getting more sophisticated, meaning small liquor stores and chains able to spend more time communicating with their customers will be better suited to draw in patrons. That kind of strategy is exactly what Williams said drove Longhorn Liquors plan for expansion. We look for places where product is overpriced, people are underserved and there is a lack of selection, he said. We think of ourselves as the liquor destination in Southeast Texas, and we are bringing that to Houston. The chain touts its role as one of the first in Southeast Texas to go directly to distilleries and wineries to source its product, even sometimes allowing customers to pick which barrel is tapped and bottled for the store. While the company is looking to the west, there is apparently still room to grow in its home region. Most cities in Jefferson County have a Longhorn Liquor store, but Williams said he could see new locations coming to Winnie, Bridge City or Pinehurst. We still think there are two or three viable locations in Southeast Texas, but we just havent seen the right property yet, he said. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jdickjournalism High temperatures and strong winds were expected to fan massive bushfires blazing across southeastern Australia on Friday, as authorities issued new emergency warnings after several days of cooler conditions brought some reprieve to affected communities. Thousands of firefighters were preparing for the worst with temperatures expected to soar above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of New South Wales and Victoria states and with a late southerly change forecast to bring damaging winds. "The conditions are difficult today. It's the hot, dry winds that will prove once again to be the real challenge," New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters. "We are going to see winds coming through around about 35-50 kilometres per hour (around 20-30 miles per hour), gusting up to 70-90 (kilometres) an hour, in some areas... and we are going to see that through most of the day." New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there were more than 130 fires burning in the state, with just over 50 not yet under control. In neighbouring Victoria state, evacuation orders were issued for some areas near the New South Wales border over an uncontained blaze. Officials in Victoria on Thursday had extended a "state of disaster" declaration for a further 48 hours ahead of Friday's forecast of scorching temperatures. On Kangaroo Island off South Australia state, the largest town was cut off as firefighters battled out-of-control infernos, forcing some residents to flee to the local jetty. The catastrophic bushfires have killed at least 26 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched some eight million hectares (80,000 square kilometres) -- an area the size of Ireland. University of Sydney scientists estimate one billion animals have been killed in the fires. The figure includes mammals, birds and reptiles, but not frogs, insects or invertebrates. The severe fire conditions have been fuelled by a prolonged drought and worsened by climate change, with experts warning that such massive blazes were becoming more frequent and intense. Australia experienced its driest and hottest year on record in 2019, with its highest average maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius (107.4 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in mid-December. LANSDALE Several dozen parents, students, and community members got to see the latest version of plans to renovate Knapp Elementary School on Tuesday night and sent a clear message to the districts school board: Job well done. Im extremely proud that you guys have listened, and really reacted to the situation, said parent Shannon Whiting. It wasnt good, and it wasnt good for the staff, and wasnt good for the students. it just wasnt safe, all around, so I just want to thank you for responding the way you did, she said. Various upgrades or renovations to Knapp have been discussed by the board over the past two years, by the school boards facilities committee and subsequently by Lansdales planning commission and Code committee. In addition to renovating the entire current facility, plans call for a new classroom addition south of the current school and east of the front parking lot, and a new driveway for school buses along the north side, parallel with Knapp Road from Sycamore Drive. The boroughs zoning hearing board approved several variances in August, and the towns planning commission gave similar approvals in September. In early October councils Code committee voted the updated plans ahead, and full council did so on Oct. 16. As of late October, the most recent version of the plans now include a proposed floor plan showing the dedicated uses of all areas within the new addition and the rest of the building, and state law requires a public Act 34 hearing to show the public the latest plans and cost estimates. That hearing was held Tuesday night at Knapp, and architect David Schrader showed the school board, administrators, and about 50 residents the latest version of those plans, including a movie showing aerial-to-ground-level views of the new bus entrance, heading into the schools new wing, then to a reconfigured entrance and large group instruction area to be created by the project. Its a nice way to bring a bunch of these concepts into a space that can be used in two or three different ways, Schrader said, showing renderings of the instructional area partitioned off, then wide open. The presentation was held in the current Knapp gym, and color-coded maps showed where current classrooms would be renovated with new utilities, the new classroom wing would be added and current modular rooms removed, and the new secure entrance would lead to the multi-use cafeteria area. As you walk into this building, about two years from now, this building will look brand new, throughout, he said. After that hearing, the board could seek bids on the project as soon as February, with a goal of starting construction in March and running in phases, moving students into the new addition as other portions are renovated, through summer 2022. After Schrader outlined the look of the new school, he and bond advisor Scott Shearer outlined the estimated costs: roughly $26.9 million is the latest cost estimate submitted in documentation to the state, with $9.5 million borrowed last year and the rest likely in 2020. All of these are estimates: the project will be out to bid shortly, and well know what the real costs are, but we have to give you the estimated costs today, Schrader said. Several students and residents then took to the microphone for public comment, including Knapp fourth-grader Nadia Popek, who said she hopes the renovations help with her health problems. I like the idea of the renovation, because when I was in kindergarten, I had to go to the nurses office every single day to use my inhaler, because of the bad air in the school, Nadia said. What would she tell the school board? That the renovation needs to happen. Sisters and students Gideon and Esther Cerveny said they both also backed the project, but for different reasons: Esther asked if the new bus driveway would remove the schools current playground area, and board President Tina Stoll answered that extra play areas would be established elsewhere on the site. Gideon said his favorite part was the added classroom space, since quarters are extremely tight now. We have a few desks and at least three teachers sharing the same room, and its just a little room in the back. And there are others where theres barely enough room to fit a table, to sit, he said. Knapp home and school association president Jennifer Kollar said she thought the project would help not only the parents and students of Knapp, but also nearby neighbors, like hers on Norway Drive. I honestly think it will benefit the community in so many ways. Not just the students, but also the people around it, because their property values will go up. Ive been here for seven or eight years, and its new families, left and right, coming in, which is what the community needs, she said. Im still kind of taking it in, the fact that its actually happening, Kollar said. Even one of the boards most frequent critics, resident Bill Patchell, said he had no problems with the latest version of the Knapp project, but warned the board to keep in mind the rising costs of upcoming teacher contract negotiations and other projects, including a large renovation of North Penn High School, still on the drawing board. Im all on board on this, but some of these other projects that were talking about, have to be thought about, and deleted. We cannot keep borrowing money, like the federal government does, he said. Board member, and Knapp parent, Juliane Ramic said she was glad to see the strong turnout at the special meeting, and said the planned renovations and upgrades have been sorely needed for years. Knapp is a 1955 construction, with a 1968 addition, and a 1998 addition and construction, she said. Teachers have been part of the design process over the past year, as have students, and Ramic said she led several groups of parents on tours of the school to show how well it has been maintained by staff, and areas in need of fixes before they get any worse. Im a proud Knapp parent, and very proud to be part of this project, and proud to hear the impact, and the ideas, from all of you, she said. North Penns school board next meets at 7 p.m. on Jan. 16 at the district Educational Services Center, 401 E. Hancock St. For more information visit www.NPenn.org. FRANKLIN, Ky., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Trying to figure out the grain markets can be a daunting task for farmers. Should you sell? Should you wait? When it's your livelihood on the line, any errors can be costly mistakes. Ag Watch Grain Market University teaches students how to look at the markets, understand the indicators and know when to make decisions. Dewey Strickler, a commodities expert with more than 40 years experience in the grain marketing industry, talks to a student in his Ag Watch Grain Market University program. Ag Watch Grain Market University offers one-on-one training to help farmers and ag professionals gain the tools and understanding they need to be successful at marketing. Stephanie and Sam Halcomb, owners of Walnut Grove Farms, in Kentucky, are graduates of Ag Watch Grain Market University. Stephanie said before she participated in the training, the commodities markets "felt like a foreign language." She added, "Working with Dewey Strickler helps you feel more comfortable analyzing the technical aspects of grain marketing." Ag Watch Grain Market University is a mentorship program led by Dewey Strickler, a commodities expert with more than 40 years of experience in the industry. During the four-month program, participants will spend 45-50 sessions working one-on-one with Strickler to gain the tools needed to be successful at marketing. "For those who don't have a method or system, there's fear," said Strickler. "They're afraid they'll miss a rally in the market or they'll hold out too long." Ag Watch Grain Market University provides students with a 7-point checklist to help analyze indicators and patterns in the market. "The mentorship gives students discipline and direction. It helps remove the fear from marketing and gives them a system to better see what the market's going to do," he said. Stephanie Halcomb and her husband, Sam, are graduates of Ag Watch Grain Market University. "I had very little marketing background and no degree in agriculture," said Stephanie. "Marketing was nervewracking. I'd look at the markets and charts and not understand what was going on. It felt like a foreign language." The Halcombs operate Walnut Grove Farms, in Kentucky, and farm 7,000 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat. "Working with Dewey helps you feel more comfortable analyzing the technical aspects of grain marketing," said Stephanie. Ag Watch Grain Market University sessions are conducted over the phone with data and charts e-mailed to students in advance. "We go over real-time information to learn how to make price projections, how to understand market cycles and how to look at indicators," said Dewey. "The first sessions might be 30 minutes, and then we drop it down to 20, 15 or 10 over the course of the program. I teach them what I've learned as a trader." In many cases, Dewey's students are the next generation taking over a family farm or a husband-and-wife team working together. "A lot of times, women do a better job of marketing. They're looking for value. They know what their breakevens and profit margins are. They'll ask questions," he said. The Halcombs participated in Ag Watch Grain Market University classes together. "It's an intense course. You learn a lot in a short amount of time, but it's valuable because you're able to apply it to the work you do daily," said Stephanie. "Because Dewey understands marketing, he's able to tailor sessions to our needs and focus on the crops we grow." She added, "Before, I'd look at grain prices and think, 'OK, that looks good,' or 'That looks bad," but I didn't have the technical understanding. I'd highly recommend Ag Watch Grain Market University to any farmer who wants to understand more about how the markets work." "The program's results are based on a student's own commitment and willingness to put time and dedication into it," said Strickler. "When we're done, they can use the 7-point checklist to determine if they should make a sale. Each point is a different factor. It's not a perfect world, so all 7 points might not line up, but they'll still know other parameters to look at and consider. I tell people there's a time to look at the forest (big broad picture) and a time to look at the trees (day-to-day developments)." To enroll in Ag Watch Grain Market University, or for more information, visit www.agwatch.biz. ABOUT DEWEY STRICKLER Dewey Strickler has more than 40 years of grain marketing experience. He's worked for marketing brokerage firms and as a fund manager. Strickler owns Ag Watch Market Advisors, LLC. His market report can be viewed weekly on RFD-TV. He also provides market reports for the Red River Farm Network. Strickler has provided expertise to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters. Contact: Dewey Strickler Ag Watch Market Advisors, LLC (270) 586-9051 [email protected] www.agwatch.biz SOURCE Ag Watch Grain Market University In his New Year's comments, Kim vowed the world would witness an unspecified "new strategic weapon in the near future." Kim also said he no longer felt bound by his self-imposed suspension of long-range missile and nuclear tests. Trump and Kim have exchanged personal letters during nearly two years of diplomacy. Trump has hinted the two also talk on the phone. Trump insisted last week the relationship remains "very good," despite U.S.-North Korea talks being stalled. Chung, who spoke with reporters at the airport after returning to Seoul Friday, said he believed the message was delivered through "proper channels." It is not clear what else, if anything, was in Trump's message, what form the message took, or how it was delivered. Trump asked that South Korea deliver the birthday message to Kim, according to South Korea's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, who met briefly with Trump this week in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a happy birthday message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is believed to have turned 36 Wednesday. It is the first recent reported contact between the two leaders amid stalled nuclear talks. Kim did not, however, announce a formal end to negotiations, and North Korea has not delivered its threatened "Christmas gift" to the U.S., which many analysts guessed could be a weapons test. "He likes me. I like him. We get along," Trump said last week. "He's representing his country. I'm representing my country. We have to do what we have to do." "And I think he's a man of his word. So we're going to find out," Trump added. The talks have not progressed since February, when Trump and Kim were unable to reach a deal at a summit in Hanoi. Kim later set an end-of-year deadline for the U.S. to offer more concessions and subsequently tested 13 rounds of short-range missiles and artillery. It's not yet clear what Kim may do to enforce the deadline. For now, North Korea may look to benefit from maintaining a low-key profile, said Duyeon Kim, a senior adviser for Northeast Asia and nuclear policy at the International Crisis Group. "It can continue to advance toward its nuclear and economic goals without ruffling Trump's feathers," she wrote in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Many analysts are pessimistic about the short-term chances for talks, though, given Kim's New Year's comments about a long-term standoff with the U.S. "North Korea has made clear it will not return to the talks unless the U.S. offers new proposals," Kim Dong-yub, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said at a conference in Seoul on Friday. The North Korean leader has not likely abandoned talks altogether, however, Kim said. "The U.S. is the only country that can help North Korea be a normal nation in the international community," he added. Although the birthdays of Kim's father and grandfather, Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, are celebrated as major national holidays in North Korea, the younger Kim's birthday is not yet observed. There were no reported celebrations in North Korea and state media did not mention the birthday. North Korea has not revealed Kim's age, but South Korean and U.S. officials believe he is 36. New Delhi, 10 Jan : Union Minister Smriti Irani has come down hard on Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone for mingling with the pro-Left students lobby at JNU. Deepika Padukone had visited the JNU campus late on Tuesday and stood in solidarity with JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and others who had been assaulted by masked men who were allegedly ABVP activists. On Friday, Smriti Irani questioned Deepika's motives in standing in solidarity with the pro-Left JNUSU leaders and ignoring the ABVP activists who had also complained of being assaulted earlier. "She knew that she is standing with people who beat other girls at their private parts with lathis who don't see eye to eye with them ideologically," the Minister said. "She stood next to them, that is her right. I can't deny her that right. She made her affiliation known in 2011. It was a shock for people who admired her and watched all her films but did not know (about her political affiliation). "It was not a shock for me. I think the vibrance of the democracy that we are in depends upon that... we live with so many people who say so many things. We live in a democracy where communists want to come to power through democratic process. It is an oxymoron (sic)." Deepika has recently produced and acted in 'Chhapaak' a movie based on an acid-attack victim, and has been busy promoting the movie. But after her visit to JNU campus on Tuesday, Deepika has been at the receiving end for siding with anti-BJP elements. JNU campus has been simmering with tension after a group of masked people attacked several students on campus. The injured were mostly pro-Left student union activists, who have accused the right-wing ABVP. The ABVP activists have on the other hand, accused pro-Left students of starting the cycle of violence. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed The maximum contribution limit for a Roth 401(k) has been raised for 2020. The "catch-up" contribution limit went up, too. That's especially good news for workers who have access to Roth 401(k) accounts through their employer and expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement. >>For more 2020 tax changes, see Tax Changes and Key Amounts for the 2020 Tax Year.<< Roth 401(k) Contribution Limits for 2020 The maximum amount you can contribute to a Roth 401(k) for 2020 is $19,500 if you're younger than age 50. If you're age 50 and older, you can add an extra $6,500 per year in "catch-up" contributions, bringing the total amount to $26,000. (These amounts are higher than in 2019.) Contributions generally need to me made by the end of the calendar year. The Roth 401(k) first became available in 2006, and a majority of companies now offer it to employees, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America. The Roth 401(k), as the name implies, combines features of the tax-friendly Roth IRA and the traditional 401(k). A Roth 401(k) vs. a Roth IRA and a Traditional 401(k) As with a Roth IRA, you make after-tax contributions to a Roth 401(k). This won't lower your tax bill now, but it will provide you with income in retirement that is free from taxes. You can make withdrawals from a Roth 401(k) tax-free, and without incurring a 10% early-withdrawal penalty, once you've turned age 59 1/2 and have had the account open for at least five years. (If you retire after holding a Roth 401(k) for only two years, for example, the money must sit for three more years to be fully tax-free, even if you own an older Roth 401(k) account from a previous employer that meets the five-year test.) The US on Friday imposed fresh sanctions on Iran over missile attacks on US forces in Iraq. It also announced that it will continue to stay in Iraq to carry out the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group. The new sanctions that were indicated by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday - the morning after Iran fired 16 missiles on the al-Assad and Irbil bases in Iraq that housed a significant number of US personnel but did not wound or kill anyone - will cover textiles, construction and mining sectors. The sanctions would be in addition to curbs already in force over the oil and gas, and banking sectors, among others. Today, I am holding the Iranian regime responsible for attacks against US personnel and interests by denying it substantial revenue that may be used to fund and support its nuclear programme, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence, US President Donald Trump said in a statement. Announcing the latest sanctions, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the US had specific information about large-scale attacks that were being planned by Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani that led to the US killing him in a drone strike in Baghdad on January 3. In a statement issued earlier, the US state department said US military presence in Iraq is to continue the fight against the IS and we are committed to protecting Americans, Iraqis and our coalition partners. It added that in defiance of the Iraqi governments demand that the US pull its troops out of the country, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership - not to discuss troop withdrawal. The US state department also said discussions will start with the NATO on increasing the latters role in Iraq. There does, however, need to be a conversation between the US and Iraqi governments, not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership, the US state department said. Under amicable deal, Gazprom agrees to non-return of its assets seized in Ukraine Naftogaz 09:40, 10.01.20 5560 The anti-trust agency managed to recover millions of dollars in Gazprom's assets in Ukraine. By Trend Georgian government is looking for a new investor for the construction of the deep sea port of Anaklia, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Maya Tskitishvili said, Trend reports citing Georgian media. On Jan. 9, 2020, the Georgian government has decided to terminate the investment agreement with the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC). We have said many times that our country needs Anaklia port for economic security and for full realization of material and technical potential. The Anaklia port project belongs to the state, not to a private investor. The state initiated the implementation of this project; the state expressed interest in implementing this project back in 2014," the minister said. According to her, a financially strong investor is needed to implement the project. Georgia needs this port, so we will look for a new partner who can quickly implement this project, said Tskitishvili. We are confident that the process of finding a new investor will be transparent, said Natia Turnava, minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. Meanwhile, ADC is going to appeal to the International Court of Justice in response to the Georgian governments cancellation of the investment agreement with the consortium to build the Anaklia Deep Sea Port, the report said. More than two years ago, ADC committed to build a deep-sea port in western Georgia but failed to fulfill the obligations. Thus, the Georgian government plans to announce a new tender for the development of the Anaklia port project. In December 2019, ADC for the seventh time was unable to fulfill its obligations and provide the government with documentation of loan agreements with banks Anaklia Port Development Consortium was founded by TBC Holding and joined by American companies Conti International LLC and SSA Marine, British Wondernet Express and G-Star Ltd. (Bulgaria). However, in August 2019, Conti International LLC announced its intention to leave the consortium, and ADC was left without the main investor. The construction of the new port began in December 2017, and in July 2018, work commenced on deepening the bottom to 16 meters. However, at this stage the work was suspended. The total project cost is $2.5 billion. Dr Spio-Garbrah is a former Trade Minister 10.01.2020 LISTEN Pressure group, Patrons for Peace and Democracy (PPD), has said claim by former Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio- Garbrah, that the John Mahama administration built 1000 factories is palpable falsehood. We consider Dr Spio-Garbrahs comments as a desperate one with no iota of truth and we are calling on all well-meaning Ghanaians to treat it with the contempt it deserves, the group said in a press statement. The statement issued by PPD leader, Dr Richard Danso, challenged the former Minister to list the 1,000 factories he claimed the Mahama administration has established, their locations, the number of people have these factories employed, among others, to prove his claim. He should stop throwing dust into our eyes, because if you claim you have built 1000 factories that should automatically scale down the unemployment situation we have in this country, but what do we see now? the press statement queried. Media reports say the former Minister of Trades and Industry claimed recently that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under John Dramani Mahama built more factories than has been made known. A report by 3news.com states: He [Dr Spio-Garbrah] cites how most of the factories secured funding and support from government agencies like the National Board for Small-Scale Industries, Export Development Bank as well as Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC). He said the New Patriotic Partys One-District One Factory Programme pales in comparison to the over 1,000 factories created under former President Mahama. If you are trying to look at whoever built factories and employed people, we did far more than anything the NPP has done so far, he told 3news.coms Komla Klutse on the sidelines of the 31st December commemoration in Winneba, Central Region last week. According to Dr Spio-Garbrah, the difference between what happened under the NDC and what is happening under the NPP is branding and sloganeering difference. But PPD said the claims by the former Minister are unsubstantiated. We consider his comments as irresponsible, because if you claim you have built 1000 factories, then the country should not be at where it is now, the group said. Read the full PPD press release below. ---Myjoyonline.com There are over 200 species of coral in the Mediterranean Sea (out of 5,600 species that have been described worldwide), and they need greater protection in order to survive in an environment affected by overfishing and climate change. Researchers have been trying to save deep-sea corals, which live at depths of over 150 meters, but their efforts have come up against a lack of political will. Every step we take represents an enormous effort. Were in a race against the clock to locate them Pilar Marin, Oceana Every step we take represents an enormous effort. Were in a race against the clock to locate them, because we still know very little about them, and meanwhile the trawlers that use large nets to sweep the seafloor keep advancing, sais Pilar Marin, a marine scientist at the ocean conservation organization Oceana. We need to get there before the colonies disappear. Once these colonies are found, countries should establish protection zones forbidding destructive fishing methods or any other activity that could endanger the corals, says this group. As part of this ongoing fight, in 2017 the 22 members of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (which answers to the United Nations), expanded the list of endangered species to include the four remaining deep-sea corals that were still not on it: Isidella elongata. Dendrophyllia cornigera, Dendrophyllia ramea and Desmophyllum dianthus. Yellow coral in the Mediterranean. Oceana That same year, in Spains Balearic Islands, researchers found a colony of the critically endangered bamboo coral at a depth of over 400 meters somewhere between Ibiza and Formentera. This habitat, and another one in the Aeolian Islands in Italy, are the best-preserved examples known to exist in the Mediterranean. Experts estimate that the population has diminished by 80% in the last century. The fact that they are on the list means that they are endangered and that something needs to be done, but the Barcelona Convention has no powers over fishing, which is the greatest danger the corals face, notes Marin. Countries should have adopted protection measures, but to this day absolutely nothing has been done. In November, Oceana scored a victory: the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, a UN body made up of 23 countries including Spain, agreed to adopt a regulatory framework to preserve these delicate ecosystems. There are a lot of people who make a living out of fishing, but they must keep in mind that if the habitat is exterminated, the resources will disappear Covadonga Orejas, Spanish Oceanographic Institute Weve spent the last three years trying for these regulations to be established, because this is the commission with powers over fishing, says Marin. But the framework is still not binding, nor have any specific actions been drafted. In the meantime, the practice of bottom trawling continues to ravage everything it finds in its way, and can destroy centuries-old colonies in a very short space of time, says Covadonga Orejas, a scientist and coral specialist at the Spanish Oceanographic Institute in the Balearics (IEO). Other fishing techniques that use fixed nets, longlines or traps can also cause damage if the gear snags on corals. When coral structures disappear, many other forms of marine life, including species that are fished commercially, lose their habitat. Recovery is complicated by corals slow growth rate of just a few millimeters a year. Growth is particularly slow in species that grow a calcareous skeleton or create large, branching masses. Commercial exploitation can also hamper conservation efforts. The red Mediterranean coral, for instance, is used in jewelry, notes Orejas. For now, scientist have not managed to increase its protection status. There are a lot of people who make a living out of fishing, but they must keep in mind that if the habitat is exterminated, the resources will disappear, she says. A forest without trees will have no animals, because these go where they can find shelter and build their homes. In the case of the ocean, corals play the role of the trees. Through their structures they create a three-dimensional space where the other marine life can live. Besides human activity, corals have to put up with the effects of climate change, rising sea temperatures and a larger quantity of carbon dioxide in the ocean. These two factors increase the acidity of the oceans and reduce the calcification rate at which corals build their skeletons. English version by Susana Urra. Rep. Robin Smith said she plans to take part in the Women's March event set for Jan. 18 at Miller Park after being invited to do so. Rep. Smith said she and Rep. Patsy Hazelwood got the invitation, and she said earlier this week she was asked to be on the program. Some "activists" who took part in earlier Women's Marches here say the event has been "hijacked" and they object to the Republican legislators taking part. Rep. Smith said she and Rep. Hazelwood are particularly interested in the fact this is the 100th anniversary of Tennessee being the state to make voting rights for women possible. She said they have been serving on a state committee on the topic and have been working to provide curriculum for the schools on womens' suffrage. She said she had received this invitation: Dear Supporter of Women, On Saturday, January 18, the 2020 Chattanooga Womens Rally and Celebration of 100th Anniversary of Tennessee Womens Right to Vote will be held at Miller Park, 11 am 3 pm. We will honor all women elected to political office in Hamilton County as well as the female leadership of the Chattanooga police department. We will have live music, a childrens area and 100 booths for local non-profits that serve women and their families in the local Hamilton county area. We will also have food trucks and booths for local women business owners to sell their products. The theme of this event is Call to Action. We want to honor those who have stepped up in the past and encourage attendees to support local organizations that serve women and their families with their time, efforts or donation. There are numerous women and their families in our community that will benefit from an event to connect the organizations that serve them with engaged persons who want to make our city and county better for everyone. Dr. Paula Casey, a Tennessee native who now resides in Memphis, will be our featured speaker. Paula Casey has a vision of women taking their rightful place in the halls of power. She has worked tirelessly and creatively to make that vision a reality. We will also have local speakers. Paula is a co-founder of the Memphis Womens Political Caucus, was president of the Tennessee Womens Caucus, served as a charter member and secretary of the Economic Justice for Women Coalition, and is currently a board member of Womans Party Corp. in Washington, D.C., which maintains the Sewall-Belmont House, a depository for womens suffrage memorabilia. She has served as President of the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument, Inc., and currently chairs the Memphis Suffrage Monument Committee. In 1989 Paula founded VOTE 70 and incorporated it with others to celebrate the 70-year history of womens right to vote. Frustrated with the lack of information concerning the suffragists in history books, she decided to take action. The result is a 12.5-minute video, Generations: American Women Win the Vote, detailing 70 years of struggle for the right for women to vote. It is now available in all 50 states and at the Smithsonian Institute. Attached is sponsorship availability, vendor and volunteer opportunities offering numerous ways for support. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit so all sponsorships, vendor fees and donations are tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request. Here is the schedule: Opening Music - TBA Opening Remarks from Mistress of Ceremony- Tenesha Irvin Dance Performance by The Pop-up Project Poem by Carla "Poetess Phenominal C" Elliot Key Note Speaker - Dr. Paula Casey Introduction by Robin Smith, TN Women 100, 1920-2020 TN Womens Suffrage Centennial Dr. Paula Casey Author of The Perfect 36: Tennessee Delivers Woman Suffrage Produced Generations: American Women Win the Vote Served as president of Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument, Inc. Fiscal agent for Jacksons statue of Sue Shelton White, the only TN woman jailed fighting for suffrage Chairs the Memphis Suffrage Monument Committee Casey has spoken extensively around the country at conferences, universities, colleges, and junior colleges Casey is a TN native: From Nashville, Attended College at UT-Knoxville, and currently resides in Memphis Dr. Casey will be telling the story of the Tennessees Womens Suffrage movement. She will discuss the racial politics of the movement and how women of color had to continue the fight after the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Finally, she will talk about how this story is still unfolding in modern times. Music Performance by Courtney Reid Local Advocacy Organizations: La Paz A Step Ahead Tennessee Mayors Council for Women Womens Fund League of Women Voters of Chattanooga Tennessee Voter Revival Alliance/TN Campus Democracy Network Chattanooga Womens Leadership Institute Latina Professionals of Chattanooga Board Connector The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Girls, Inc. LGBTQIA - A Veteran's Story Honoring Hamilton County Female Elected Officials Dance Performance by Weave Dance Company The City of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs -Announcement of MLK Day Close of Speaking Program by Planning Committee Closing Music Performances by Call Me Spinster, Ashley & The X's (Natural News) A year ago this month, a group of young men from Covington Catholic School in Kentucky were in Washington, D.C., attending a pro-life event and sightseeing when they were accosted by a Native American activist named Nathan Phillips. While the teens were taking in the Lincoln Memorial, Phillips approached one, Nick Sandmann, and began banging a drum in his face. Sandmann did nothing except stand there and smile at Phillips; he didnt accost the older gentleman, did not call him a name, did not touch him or try to harm him in any way. But because he and most of the kids in the group were wearing iconic red Trump Make America Great Again hats, the disgustingly dishonest mainstream media fabricated the narrative that Sandmann and his group approached (and harassed) Phillips. Video of the incident that soon went viral clearly showed that Phillips was the aggressor, that Sandmann and the group of Catholic teens were the ones who were accosted and abused. Sandmann and his family sued three media outlets CNN, the Washington Post, and NBC Universal for libel, and this week CNN settled their case with the teen for $275 million. It remains to be seen whether the other two media outlets will do so. But in the meantime, another round of lawsuits has been filed, this time against Leftist press and political figures who attempted to incite violence and threaten the Covington teens over the misinformation that was put out by the #NeverTrump media. As reported by Lifesite News: Following CNN and pro-life teenager Nick Sandmanns settlement of a defamation suit over the formers coverage of the 2019 March for Life, it appears the next round of suits has been filed against media and political figures who falsely accused other pro-life teens of harassment. As video of the incident went viral, many of these media and public figures deleted their nasty condemnations and threats, including one from Reza Aslan, a former CNN journalist who tweeted a picture of Sandmann accompanied by the question, have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kids? (Related: Judge dismisses defamation lawsuit against Nick Sandmann, affirms that the Washington Post can lie, smear and defame anyone with malicious fictions.) These lawsuits needed to happen In fact, as The New American reported this week, Aslan only deleted his tweet after the announced settlement between Sandmann and his network. Thats likely because he was served this week with a defamation claim that was filed by Sandmanns attorney, Robert Barnes, over the summer. Aslan, an Iranian immigrant, was fired from CNN because he repeatedly called President Trump a piece of s**t. He wasnt at all apologetic for his threatening tweetuntil now, apparently. Aslan is just one of 12 people whom Sandmann is suing, according to Barnes. In addition to Sandmann, eight other Covington Catholic boys have sued as well. Those being named are 2020 Democratic presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), Ann Navaro of CNN, Maggie Haberman of The New York Times, and Trump-hating comedienne Kathy Griffin. The suits allege that the defendants smeared the boys illegally. False and Defamatory Accusations against the plaintiffs are defamatory per se, as they are libelous on their face without resort to additional facts, and as clearly demonstrated here, [the plaintiffs] were subjected to public hatred, contempt, scorn, obloquy, and shame, it reads. It also states: The conduct of the plaintiffs, based on the false facts the defendants placed and circulated into the court of public opinion, led to these lifetime labels on these minors: display of hate, disrespect and intolerance; heartbreaking; decency decayed; racist; cried for America; infamous; gall; shameful; darker chapters; compared to genocide; laughing and egging on; hurtful behavior; awful; cavemen gestures; taunting; harassing; stalking; mocking; bullies who should be doxed, named and shamed, expelled from school, denied admission to college, be punched in the face, and their lives ruined. Barnes said in an interview with American Greatness he is representing nine of the Covington Catholic families for free and that additional lawsuits are tied up in state court but for one, which is on appeal in the 6th Circuit. This needed to happen. And these people and their media outlets need to be punished. Enough is enough. Sources include: AmGreatness.com LifesiteNews.com USAFeatures.news NaturalNews.com Iran, alluding to "doubtful scenarios", challenged international suggestions that the Ukrainian airliner that crashed outside Tehran this week was mistakenly downed by an Iranian missile. The Iranian government, in a statement, urged Canada to share its information after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the Boeing airliner after it took off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Iran's foreign ministry also invited the US planemaker Boeing to "participate" in its enquiry into the crash. Canada's theory was swiftly backed up by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported an Iranian missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional". US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believe the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at American military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. Tehran said it was prepared to allow experts from the countries who lost people in the crash to help with the enquiry. The ill-fated plane was carrying 82 Iranians,11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons, as well as the 63 Canadians. MISSISSAUGA, CanadaSuccessful business leaders famously draw inspiration from Chinas ancient books, be it leadership, strategies, or wisdom about humanity. Tonight, that tradition came to life when C-suite executives and company founders attended Shen Yun Performing Arts. Story of Overcoming Persecution Touches CEOs Heart I loved it, I would recommend it to anybody, said Heather Welner, CEO of Organic Potash Corp., who took in New York-based Shen Yun at Mississaugas Living Arts Centre on Jan. 9, 2020. I love the stories. I love the color. I love the vibrancy. I love the enthusiasm. It was amazing. It was all very good, she said. The stories that stood out to her the most, told through classical Chinese dance, were Abetting the Wicked and Lantern Grace. For example, the young lovers, and what happens to them, and how the brothers come together at the end of it. I just thought that was a lovely story, she said. Abetting the Wicked depicts a young man who steps in when his sweetheart becomes the target of a brutal attack by Chinas ruling force, the Communist Party. Its a story thats unfortunately true to lifethe Party persecutes those who practice the spiritual discipline Falun Dafa, which teaches truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, along with five simple exercises. Practitioners of this tradition are regularly abducted and tortured in jail. Other Shen Yun dances may depict a beautiful scene in the heavens, an ancient dynastys court, or in a setting where folk dances take place. In Lantern Grace, court ladies bearing exquisite bronze lanterns glide to and fro. The dancing with the lanterns, that was just amazing! Welner remarked. Finally, Welner couldnt help but remark on Shen Yuns original orchestral compositions, performed live by one of the companys seven orchestras that tour with the dancers of each company. The music is beautiful, the tempos. Its just beautiful. Its very different. The music tells the story. It was very potent, very potent, Welner said. Shen Yuns music is unique in the world for blending a Western orchestra with Chinese instruments and melodies. The result, audience members report, is familiar and pleasing, and also delightful and surprising. It was all a beautiful show. Its well worth coming to see this show, she added. Corporate Founders Appreciate Integrity and Heritage in Shen Yun Heather and Claus Lenk founded ReSource Group Canada 25 years ago to help Canadas top retail brands succeed, and grew it into a thriving corporation. Tonight, they found themes and inspiration required in successful business leadership. I liked the stories, and the movements, the costumes, the history, the explanations. It was great. They talked about integrity, Claus pointed out about Shen Yun. Shen Yuns mission is to revive the traditions and guiding principles in Chinas ancient culture. Once almost lost, this culture is being reborn and shared with the world through Shen Yun artists techniques, artistry, and their spiritual aspirations. I think the various parts of China and the various ethnicities and the geographies, I think thats most interesting, Claus continued. The nights performance included dances inspired by the Manchurian court of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolias horsemen, and folk culture of Shandong Province among others. I think the backdrop, and the video part is really very, very good. Its very good quality, Claus said. Heather was also deeply touched by Shen Yuns dances, stories, and animated backdrops depicting, at times, gorgeous landscapes. Amazing. Its such a beautiful country, she said. This was amazing. I just learnt so much. The depth of it, the history, 5,000 years, you know it was amazing to be able to grasp the heritage that they are bringing with this. It was wonderful, just enjoyed the music, the presentation, the dance. We got lost in the magic of everything the fairies coming, you just let yourself go, and you are able to fly with them, to just get caught up in the music, and the exuberance. Theres a mysticism, there is a magic. You go with it, its a good experience, Heather said. With reporting by NTD Television and Brett Featherstone. 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. Peter Reed was admiring the picturesque view from the jetty at Paynesville, a usually sleepy holiday town on the Gippsland Lakes, when an exhausted man in a six-metre boat pulled up begging for help. He just rocked up and I took one look at him and knew he was in strife. He just said, Mate, I need your help, and I knew he wasnt messing around, Mr Reed said. Peter Reed took his boat to rescue people from Mallacoota. Credit:Joe Armao Geoff Smethurst had set sail from Mallacoota just after midday on January 2 to raise the alarm. When he landed in Paynesville at 6pm he said the tourist town was under siege and hundreds of young families were panicked and vulnerable. Mr Reed was the first man he saw. With the Delhi assembly poll process underway, the city government on Friday cautioned all its department heads to ensure that neither the proposals sent by them breach the model code of conduct nor the compliance of court orders are delayed due to the fear of their breach. The government's Services Department has issued a circular to all secretaries and principal secretaries, saying the proposals where the MCC provisions are attracted, should be submitted to a screening committee constituted for examining the same. The Delhi assembly elections will be held on February 8 and the results declared on February 11. "All departments of the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, while forwarding the proposals to the chief secretary for consideration or approval, should clearly mention that provisions of the Model Code of Conduct are not attracted," it stated. It also said the proposal cleared by the screening committee will be submitted to the chief electoral officer of Delhi government along with full details and a note on urgency which would state why the proposal cannot wait till completion of the poll. "Court-mandated tasks are to be disposed off in a time bound manner. The proposals which are to be processed in compliance of the directions or orders of a competent court or tribunal, should be submitted for consideration or approval, clearly mentioning the directions of the competent court or tribunal along with a copy of the order," the circular stated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after the Congress, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Zilla Parishad polls held in six districts, the Sena said that with the tonic of power gone the BJP has been routed in the five districts. The Sena, in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, said that the shocking and sensational defeat for the BJP came in Nagpur, the home district of union minister Nitin Gadkari and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The zilla parishad (ZP) and panchayat samiti polls were held in Nagpur, Washim, Akola, Dhule, Nandurbar and Palghar districts on Tuesday. The results were declared on Wednesday where the Congress, NCP and Sena managed to keep the BJP out of five districts except Dhule in north Maharashtra. The Sena rubbed it in. The BJP, after losing power in the state, has lost control of the local bodies. Barring Dhule, the makeup of the BJP has come off, it said. The BJP lost control of the Nagpur zilla parishad with only 15 out of the 58 seats while the Congress and NCP bagged 30 and 10 seats, respectively. The Saamana editorial said, Though Nagpur was their bastion, Fadnavis-Gadkari could not stop their defeat? The outcome shows the rural population was fed up with their nonsense. The Congress had performed well in the assembly elections in Nagpur (held in October) and now it has wrested the district council from the BJP. The Sena added that if the three parties had contested the polls in an alliance in Dhule, it would have managed to wrest control of the zilla parishad as well. It added that in Nandurbar ZP, the Sena has the key to power with seven members as the Congress and BJP both secured 23 seats each. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that the city "because of the possibility of a criminal act" notified Manhattan prosecutors after news reports that the Trump Organization gave conflicting information about income and expenses to city tax officials and investors. "This is a real problem, and I think there could be some real exposure here," de Blasio told WNYC when a reporter asked if the city had conducted an inquiry into the reports, by that radio station and ProPublica, of discrepancies in how President Donald Trump's company reported financial information to different entities. "It was looked at [by the city] and one of the specific issues within your story or ProPublica story originally was referred to the district attorney because there is the possibility of a criminal act having been committed," said de Blasio, who until September had sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. ProPublica and WNYC reported in October that documents showed that Trump's businesses gave lenders and New York City tax authorities "different figures" for "some expenses, profits and occupancy figures for two Manhattan buildings." "The discrepancies made the buildings appear more profitable to the lender and less profitable to the officials who set the buildings' property tax," the news site noted. Nancy Wallace, a professor of finance and real estate at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, told ProPublica that such discrepancies are "versions of fraud." "This kind of stuff is not OK," Wallace said. "Certainly, if I were sitting in a prosecutor's office, I would want to ask a lot more questions," said Anne Milgram, a former attorney general for New Jersey who is now a professor at New York University School of Law, in an interview with the news outlets. A spokeswoman for de Blasio later told CNBC that city made the referral to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in November on the heels of the reports by ProPublica and WNYC. "ProPublica and WNYC's investigation raised questions about what was reported to the Tax Commission versus bank lenders," said Laura Feyer, the spokeswoman. "The Manhattan DA is the proper jurisdiction to investigate these claims, as the City can only review what is directly reported to us. The DA has the jurisdiction to take appropriate steps if they find wrongdoing." Danny Frost, a spokesman for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. told CNBC, "We will decline to comment." "Our office does not confirm investigations," Frost said. A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, when asked about de Blasio's comments, told CNBC, "Given the rash of investigations launched against the mayor's presidential campaign and administration, he is the last person to be pointing fingers." "But even more troubling is his admission that, at or around the time he was running for president, he was using the power of his office to try and launch an investigation into his political opponent," the spokeswoman said. "The allegations are unfounded and clearly motivated by politics." After this story was first published, de Blasio's press office in an email to CNBC said the comment from the Trump Organization was inaccurate because the mayor no longer was running for president at the time of the reports about discrepancies in financial statements by the company, much less at the time the city made its referral to Vance's office. Freddi Goldstein, de Blasio's press secretary, said in that email, "President Trump is a con-artist and his refusal to release his tax returns says more than enough about what he is trying to hide." Trump, unlike all other presidents in the past four decades, has refused to release his income tax returns publicly. Vance's office is seeking eight years of Trump's personal and corporate tax returns from his longtime accountants through a state grand jury as part of an ongoing criminal inquiry into the Trump Organization. A federal judge and appeals court refused Trump's requests to block that subpoena, rejecting arguments by his lawyer that a president is immune from criminal investigation, much less criminal prosecution, while serving in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in December said it would hear Trump's appeal of those decisions, as well as two other cases in which he is trying to block demands for his taxes and other financial records from two House committees controlled by Democrats. The cases will be argued this year before the high court. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives for a briefing with members of the House of Representatives about the situation with Iran, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 8, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Pompeo on Soleimanis Imminent Attacks: We Dont Know Precisely When or Where U.S. officials dont know precisely when or where Iranian General Qassem Soleimanis imminent attacks were going to take place, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said early Friday. There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Soleimani, and we dont know precisely when and we dont know precisely where, but it was real, Pompeo said during an appearance on Fox News The Ingraham Angle. We had specific information on an imminent threat and that threat stream included attacks on U.S. embassies, Pompeo added at a briefing at the White House later Friday. Pompeo said information gleaned by the intelligence community and other sources was used in giving classified briefings to members of Congress. We provided them information that I dont think any reasonable person could say that to have not actedhad the President not made that choice, that we would have been culpably negligent in the recommendations that we made to the President. We saved American lives by taking this action, Pompeo said. Attackers waving the Kataib Hezbollah terrorist group flag burn property in front of the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 31, 2019. (Khalid Mohammed/AP Photo) President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday that intelligence suggested Soleimani was planning to try to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, among other plans. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died, one of our military people died, he added. Asked about Trumps statement, Pompeo didnt answer directly. He said that Soleimanis forces, or Iran-backed militias, penetrated the outer walls of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad just days prior to the strike. I dont think theres any doubt that Soleimani had intentions not only to take action against our forces, our diplomats in Iraq, but in other countries around the region and world as well, Pompeo said. A number of lawmakers, primarily Democrats, have questioned whether the information gathered about Soleimanis plans was sufficient to order a strike to take him out. A U.S. airstrike killed the general in Baghdad overnight on Jan. 3. Mourners react as they attend the funeral of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, top commander of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an airstrike at Baghdad airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 4, 2020. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, called the briefing given to lawmakers sophomoric and utterly unconvincing. He said the rationale to take out Soleimani couldnt pass a graduate school thesis test. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) added: The basic theme of it was essentially the administration saying: Trust us. Shortly after the briefing, a war powers resolution was introduced in the House and approved the next day. There are several other pieces of legislation aimed at curtailing military action against Iran currently in the House or Senate being considered by members of Congress. Pompeo defended the briefing and said all top U.S. military officials agreed that the strike against Soleimani was the correct course of action. We made clear to every member of CongressI can say this publiclythere was enormous consistency across all of the senior leaders and the national security team that ultimately this was the right thing to do and it would keep America safer, he said. And I am happy to own that recommendation. Iceland remains one of Europe's least forested countries in Europe but it wasn't always like that. In fact, Iceland boasted countless forests before the Vikings colonised the country and razed the lush woods to the ground. Historians believe that the vikings set off from Norway in the ninth century to invade Iceland. At that time, forests covered around a quarter of the island. The Viking settlers proceeded to cut down no less than an estimated 97% of the forests and used the wood as building material. The new spaces were used as grazing pastures. Centuries later, the lack of trees still poses a considerable threat to Iceland's ecosystems: there is no vegetation to protect the soil from eroding and store water, which is increasingly triggering desertification of the mesmerising island. Restoration efforts have kicked off in the 1950s and are still ongoing. Iceland hopes to cover 12% of the land in forest by 2100. Scientists have shown for the first time that brittle stars use vision to guide them through vibrant coral reefs, thanks to a neat colour-changing trick. The international team, led by researchers at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, described a new mechanism for vision in the red brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii, a relative to sea stars and sea urchins, which lives in the bright and complex reefs of the Caribbean Sea. Their findings are published in Current Biology today. This species first captured scientific attention more than 30 years ago thanks to its dramatic change in colour between day and night and its strong aversion to light. Recently , researchers demonstrated that O. wendtii was covered in thousands of light-sensitive cells, but the exact behaviours they control remained a mystery. The new research shows that O. wendtii is able to see visual stimuli, and that its signature colour-change might play an important role in enabling vision. Lauren Sumner-Rooney, a research fellow at Oxford University Museum of Natural History who studies unusual visual systems, has been working with Ophiocoma for several years at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin. Alongside team members from the Museum fur Naturkunde, Lund University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Sumner-Rooney ran hundreds of behavioural experiments to test the brittle stars' 'eyesight'. "These experiments gave us not only the first evidence that any brittle star is able to 'see'," says Sumner-Rooney, "but only the second known example of vision in any animal lacking eyes." The animals were able to seek out areas of contrast, which the researchers think may mimic structures that could offer shelter from predators. Although it appears that their vision is very coarse, on the crowded tropical reefs disturbed brittle stars never have to look too far to make a dash for the nearest cover. However, an unexpected discovery raised new questions about how this visual system worked. "We were surprised to find that the responses we saw during the day disappeared in animals tested at night, yet the light-sensitive cells still seemed to be active," says Sumner-Rooney. The team set about trying to identify what caused this dramatic shift in behaviour, eliminating possible factors such as loss of motivation and low light intensity making vision too difficult. The one they couldn't rule out was O. wendtii's characteristic change in colour, from a deep red during the day to beige at night. Previously, Sumner-Rooney's team showed that another closely related brittle star, Ophiocoma pumila, was also covered in light sensors, but it doesn't exhibit the same colour change. Curiously, this paler species also failed their eye-test. Combining a suite of techniques, the researchers reconstructed digital models of individual light-sensing cells in the two species, with and without O. wendtii's dark daytime pigmentation. They demonstrated that, during the day, the pigment restricted light reaching the sensors to a narrower angle that corresponds to their hypothesised visual resolution. Without this pigment -- in O. pumila, or during the night in O. wendtii -- light could reach the sensors from a much wider angle, making vision impossible. "It's a very exciting discovery," explains Sumner-Rooney. "It had been suggested 30 years ago that changing colour might hold the key to light-sensitivity in Ophiocoma, so we're very happy to be able to fill in some of the gaps that remained and describe this new mechanism." Although this is the first visual system proposed to work using whole-body colour change, the scientists have also identified potential similarities with a sea urchin, distant relatives of brittle stars. Only one species of sea urchin has 'passed' the same tests for vision, and it also, independently, changes colour in response to light levels. Future work will probe whether this sea urchin, the only other animal in the world known to see without eyes, might be using a similar trick to Ophiocoma. Heroes come in all stripes, including a freshly minted second lieutenant who had the courage to take control of a bomber from his superior officer. I dont tell hero stories very often, primarily because I dont have many to tell. But there was one occasion in a Boeing B-50 when I earned my U.S. Air Force pay. Shortly after my arrival at Castle Air Force Base in California in January 1953, newlywed and wet behind the ears, I was crewed up with a distinguished veteran of World War II, Captain Chet Schmidt. That March we were sent to Hunter AFB in Georgia for simulator training. The B-50 simulator was pretty primitive compared to modern three-axis simulators, but it was impressive to us, and by the end of a session it was realistic enough for me to open the window to look out and see if the chocks were in place. One of the last simulator lessons involved an emergency the Boeing engineers assured us could never happen in the B-50: a complete electrical failure. But, in the unlikely event it did, the flap indicator would drop from full up to full down, the propellers would run away and the electric flight instruments would remain relatively static for an interval until the gyros wound down. No problem, it was never going to happen. Right then is when we should have been suspicious. On my first flight in a B-50 upon our return to Castle, I was asked to substitute as a copilot with another crew. The aircraft commander was a fine pilot and a good man, but he was suffering under a handicap. Humor in the Air Force then was fierce and personal. No flaw was too private to be the butt of a joke, and we were, in fact, not very sensitive. The aircraft commander had had one major accident and a couple of minor scrapes. His nickname, naturally, was Crash. It was totally unfair, and the nickname made him bitter. It was natural that Crash and his crew would be skeptical about a green-bean second Louie like me, and the general message I got was Watch but dont touch. Still, they were nice enough and we went through the usual preflight drill, including the copilots task of getting the inflight lunches. It was a typical winter day in the San Joaquin Valley, with fog, low ceilings and clouds forecast up to about 10,000 feet. One has to experience the San Joaquin fog to truly understand iton more than one occasion I had to drive to the base by opening my car door and following the highways white dividing line. Everything was normal on the takeoff, and we climbed out through the luminous early morning light, engines roaring in a wet sea of mist. The B-50s big Plexiglass windows seemed to part the clouds in rivulets of water, and I was glad that it was too warm for structural icing. At about 3,000 feet on the climb out, I suddenly noticed that my needle and ball indicated a slip, with the needle moving to the left and the ball skidding to the right. As I checked the instrument panel, the flap indicator dropped from full up to full down. I can still see it in my minds eye a fall as sinister as the drop of a guillotine blade. I glanced at the aircraft commanders attitude indicator, and it showed a level climb. I realized at once: complete electrical failure! I also realized that I was a brand new copilot, with maybe 20 hours in the airplane, flying with a strange crew and an aircraft commander who was understandably a little sensitive about criticism. Nothing happened, my ball slipped more to the right, the needle dipped more to the left, and I saw the rate-of-climb indicator pass through zero to about a 300 feet per minute descent. We were in trouble! In a move that was not unlike Mr. Christian grabbing the ships wheel from Captain Bligh, I yelled, Ive got the airplane! At the same time that I booted right rudder I grabbed the prop controls, pulling them back just as the tachometers began to surge. I yelled cruise power to the irate flight engineer, who wondered what the hell I was doing, but I didnt want the props to run away. Using the needle and ball, airspeed indicator and altimeter, I fought the airplane, which by that time was in a fairly steep bank with the nose coming down. We were already below 3,000 feet; in another 20 seconds we would be in an unrecoverable dive. As the airplane slowly leveled out, Crash looked at me like I was crazy, and I could hear the flight engineer bitching about me messing with the power settings. Even when I yelled complete electrical failure they didnt get itthey had not been to the simulator yet. Finally, when they looked closely at the panel and saw that the electrically operated flight instruments were not working, they began to understand. Crash watched me as I began a 300-foot-per-minute climb on needle, ball and airspeed until we broke out of the clouds, by which time the flight engineer had worked the problem through and gotten electrical power back on. Crash shook the wheel, indicating he was resuming control, and we flew the rest of the mission without a hitch. When we got back, Crash got out without a word and went into the debriefing, but as I edged past the flight engineer, he grinned, turned his thumb up and said, Good job. It was high praise coming from a seasoned NCO to a new guy. We convened for the informal debriefing, and not a word was said about the incident. I was naive enough to think that maybe Crash would commend me for saving the airplane. Not a chance, for it would have reflected poorly on him. As I later realized, Crash couldnt take any more blows to his reputation. I was too new to the squadron to mention the incident myself, and the whole matter dropped. Oddly enough, I never really felt shortchanged, for I knew what I had done, and the simple thumbs-up and good job from the flight engineer was praise enough. Longtime Aviation History contributing editor Walter J. Boyne passed away on January 9, 2020. Boyne was a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former director of the National Air and Space Museum. Blue skies, Walt! For more on Boynes life in aviation, see this article from our sister publication Air Force Times. Lucknow, Jan 10 : The Samajwadi Party (SP) workers will watch Meghna Gulzar's "Chhapak" , starring Deepika Padukone, at a multiplex in Lucknow on Friday while the Congress has put up posters supporting the film.. The move is aimed at expressing support to Deepika Padukone, who has been in the eye of storm after she visited the protesting students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday and came on the target of right wing activists. A senior SP leader said: "We are also watching the film because our president Akhilesh Yadav has always been concerned about the problems of acid attack survivors. He, as chief minister, had set up the Sheroes Hangout cafe in Lucknow for acid attack survivors." Deepika Padukone had celebrated her birthday on January 5 at Sheroes Hangout cafe with acid attack survivors. The Samajwadi Party had booked the entire hall for a show of "Chhapak" which tells the story of an acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. It is not yet known if Akhilesh Yadav will also watch the film along with party leaders and workers. Meanwhile, Congress leader Shailendra Tiwari has put up posters supporting the film and urging people to watch it. This comes in the wake of a section of right wing leaders calling for a boycott of the film. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Actor Deepika Padukone visited the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai on Friday morning to seek blessings of Lord Ganesha for the release of her latest film, Chhapaak. The actor was seen praying at the temple while being dressed in a simple white kurta-churidar. The film has got a positive response from the critics and their industry friends who watched the film before its release. Deepika had attended the screening of her film with husband Ranveer Singh on Wednesday. Deepika Padukone prays at Siddhivinayak Temple. Deepika Padukone at the Siddhivinayak Temple. Deepika Padukone prays to Lord Ganesha. Deepika Padukone arrives at Siddhivinayak Temple. (Varinder Chawla) Deepika Padukone spotted at Siddhivinayak Temple. (Varinder Chawla) The Hindustan Times review of the film read, Deepika Padukone gets into the skin of Maltis character without any difficulty. Two years after playing a queen in Padmaavat, she eschews all vanity to play an acid attack victim and does full justice to it. Even her prosthetic makeup deserves applause because with such a sensitive and delicate subject, you can easily go wrong. Deepikas recent visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi had led to trends such as #bycottdeepika and #Boycottchhapaak on Twitter. However, film trade analyst Girish Johar had said the actor need not worry about it. Twitter is an indicator but not a major influencer. Something similar had happened with Deepikas last film, Padmaavat. Those who want to watch the film will watch it after all. It wasnt affected in the long run. If Chhapaak appears to be a good film, it will definitely perform well, he said. Ranveer had also penned a detailed note praising Deepika, director Meghna Gulzar and the film. Talking about the stellar performance by Deepika, he wrote, My baby. Ive witnessed you toil relentlessly to create this special piece of work. Youve been an engine behind the project, and are the soul of the film. This is the most important installment in your body of work. You laboured with such honesty in intent and action. You dug deep and fought through your challenges, faced your fears, overcame your struggles and today you and your team stand triumphant as the creators of one of the films of our times. Also read: Ranveer Singh hugs fan with Ranveerian tattoo at Chhapaak screening, fans call him humble. See pics, video Your performance is way more than everything I thought it could and would be. Its moved me, stirred me and stayed with me. You blended strength with vulnerability and lent dignity to an immensely complex portrayal in such a fine manner that Im simply awestruck at your craft. Its staggering and astonishing what youve achieved with Malti. A glowing gem in your repertoire. I love you, baby. Ive never been more proud of you. @deepikapadukone #chhapaak, he wrote further. Follow @htshowbiz for more (PHOTO: An F-35 Lightning II with afterburner on/Getty Images) SINGAPORE Singapore has been given formal approval by the US government to buy the F-35 jet fighter. Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament last March that the Republic may acquire up to 12 aircraft with stealth capabilities. In a statement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which comes under the US Department of Defence (DOD), said the DODs endorsement would allow Singapore to take the next step in procuring the 12 aircraft and related equipment at an estimated cost of US$2.75 billion. This proposed sale of F-35s will augment Singapore's operational aircraft inventory and enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense capability, adding to an effective deterrence to defend its borders and contribute to coalition operations with other allied and partner forces. DSCA added, This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Singapore is a strategic friend and Major Security Cooperation Partner and an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia Pacific region. Also included in the deal are up to 13 Pratt and Whitney F135 engines, as well as electronic warfare and communications systems. Ng said in his speech to Parliament that the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) intends to buy an initial four F-35s from Lockheed Martin Corp, with an option to purchase eight more, as MINDEF replaces its fleet of F-16s. In response to media queries, MINDEF said, The Congressional Notification (CN) of Singapores request of purchase adheres to the formal requirement within the US for possible sale of military equipment to foreign countries. It is routine and Congress has 30 days to respond to the CN. The CN is not a formal contract of purchase. If the CN passes, formal terms will be negotiated for the Letter of Offer and Acceptance. Related stories Budget 2019 debate: 'Next-generation' SAF upgrades in land, air, sea forces to guard Singapore's future Budget 2019 debate: SAFTI City, new NS Hub by 2023, says Ng Eng Hen Budget 2019 debate: NSmen no longer need to notify authorities of overseas trips under 6 months The government is making all efforts to promote use of Hindi in and diplomacy, and raise the stature of the language globally, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Friday. He was addressing a gathering of diplomats, students of the Hindi language from various countries, poets and other personalities on 'Vishwa Hindi Diwas' at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan here. The Union minister reiterated that the Centre has been making efforts for the promotion of Hindi as an official language of the United Nations and its propagation worldwide. Secretary (East) in the MEA, Vijay Thakur Singh, said the next regional Hindi conference is being organised in Fiji and Muraleedharan is slated to attend the event. The ministry and the Indian Missions have been celebrating 'Vishwa Hindi Diwas' on January 10 annually since 2006 by organising various events. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message was also read out by a senior MEA official on the occasion. "Hindi's stature has gone up world over, and it is becoming a language of science and technology, and the information revolution. It is essential to spread this language," the message said. Muraleedharan said, "The government is making all efforts to promote use of Hindi in and diplomacy and raise the stature of the language globally." The government had signed an MoU with the UN Secretariat in March 2018 for increasing the volume and frequency of Hindi content produced by the UN to serve Hindi language audiences around the world, he said. The UN, later, had also launched Hindi versions of its social media content on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the minister said. Various foreign students also shared their experiences of India and of learning Hindi. Sahib Khan, 26, a university student from Afghanistan, praised Indian culture and its diversity. "In my country, we hear a different kind of 'crackers', but in India, I heard cracking sounds of joy in Diwali. In our country, its just explosions," he said. Shamshul Qamar from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, recited a poem of former prime minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To the Editor: Re Missiles Fired by Iran Downed Passenger Jet, U.S. and Allies Believe (front page, Jan. 10): Under the law, we are responsible for accidental consequences of our actions that a rational observer would anticipate. Knowing the tensions, animosities and distrust that cut across Iran and the region, a rational observer would have anticipated the possibility, even the likelihood, of such an accident as the Iranian downing of the Ukrainian jet following the turmoil that our presidents assassination of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani unleashed and the belligerent posturing with which he continues to aggravate that turmoil. The deaths of the 176 passengers and crew are added to those of Kurds in Syria and Puerto Rican hurricane victims, for which our presidents actions and cruel lack of interest in others suffering are responsible. Through books, op-eds, blogs, etc., hundreds of mental health professionals have warned of the danger represented by the presidents self-absorption, cruelty, recklessness, impulsivity and absence of empathy. That danger is now demonstrably and tragically real. Congress must act to limit his ability to continue killing. Edwin B. Fisher Chapel Hill, N.C. The writer is a clinical psychologist at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a contributor to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:09:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close LUANDA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of eight Angolan commercial banks taking part in the government's Credit Support Project (PAC) have approved 23 applications for credit worth 71.8 million euros (79.7 million U.S. dollars), the country's Ministry of Economy and Planning announced Thursday. The move aims to increase domestic output and decrease reliance on imports in the southern African country, with nine institutions joining the PAC after the signing of an agreement with Savings and Credit Bank (BPC), the ministry said. It was also announced that the banks have approved 23 requests for credit from September to December last year, from a total of 107 applications valued at 527 million euros (584.7 million dollars). Work is also underway by the ministry to capitalize the Credit Guarantee Fund and eliminate the risk of the credit line provided to BPC by the African Development Bank to increase the project's credit line, it said. The PAC is an initiative to facilitate access to credit for companies which want to dedicate their production to the 54 products of the nation's basic food basket. A 55-year-old woman suffering from a high fever was declared dead by a team of doctors at a private hospital after they failed to revive her in India's village Belagavi in Karnataka. The woman, identified as Malati Chougale, was rushed to a nearby hospital by her relatives when she fell unconsciousness during her illness, The Hindu reported. At the hospital, a team of doctors tried to revive her but failed and declared her dead. The hospital administration asked family members to take her body after clearing the hospital dues. The woman's relatives took her back to the village and were preparing for her funeral. Her body was kept on the veranda while relatives paid their last respects. All of a sudden the woman opened her eyes and got up in the middle of the procession leaving everyone dumbstruck. "We see more cases of carbon monoxide poisoning this time of year than any other," said Max Rose, owner of Four Seasons Plumbing. "Although CO is invisible and odorless, it's really harmful and can send families to the hospital, or worse. Luckily, there are a few ways to prevent CO poisoning and stay safe this winter." Rose recommends a few ways to prevent CO buildup, or detect it if it occurs: Don't burn fuel indoors. Since CO is produced when fuel burns, gas-powered generators, propane space heaters, grills and even open ovens can all be sources of CO. Even if the power goes out, keep these items outdoors where they belong. Install and maintain CO detectors. Without a detector, there's no way to know if you've been exposed to CO. Make sure every level of a home has a detector, and the batteries are replaced regularly. CO detectors also expire after a few years, so homeowners should replace them when necessary. Keep chimneys and flues clear. Even a beautiful fireplace can be dangerous if the chimney isn't venting effectively. Have the chimney, and flues for any heating appliances, cleaned regularly. Invest in regular maintenance. Gas-powered heating systems, like water heaters and furnaces, can leak CO into the air around them. Seasonal maintenance can ensure these systems are operating properly. "When it comes to carbon monoxide, there's no such thing as being too cautious," Rose said. "Western North Carolina homeowners are required to have detectors installed. If you don't have any, or they need to be replaced, an expert can make sure they're installed right and functioning correctly." For more information about how to detect and prevent carbon monoxide, visit http://callfourseasons.com or call 1-828-216-3894. About Four Seasons Plumbing Four Seasons Plumbing is a family-owned and operated home services company serving Asheville and Hendersonville areas. Four Seasons Plumbing has established itself as the leader in providing reliable, professional plumbing services throughout the entire Asheville and Hendersonville area and surrounding communities. We pride ourselves on a commitment to customer service and can answer any and all of your plumbing needs, even emergencies. For more information, call 1-828-216-3894 or visit http://callfourseasons.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 [email protected] SOURCE Four Seasons Plumbing Related Links https://callfourseasons.com So far, the police have spoken to more than 100 people from the JNU campus. (Photo Credit: File) New Delhi: Five days after masked people thrashed students and teachers inside Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Delhi Police has received three more complaints, officials said on Friday. With this, the number of complaints in connection with the last week's incident has gone up to 14. All these 14 complaints are being investigated by the Crime Branch which is probing Sunday's violence on campus, he said. Out of these, one complaint was lodged by a teacher while the others were lodged by the students. Over 30 people were injured when masked men barged into the varsity premises and thrashed students and teachers. Earlier, police had received 11 complaints in connection with the violence. Out of these, one complaint was lodged by a teacher while the others were lodged by the students. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police on Thursday said it had zeroed in on a few suspects behind the attack. A senior police officer said they had identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups, where the attack on members of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) was allegedly planned. According to the police, they were very close to identifying the culprits behind Sundays attack and had zeroed in on a few suspects. The dump data of the mobile phones of those present on the university campus on Sunday was collected and being scanned, the police said. So far, the police have spoken to more than 100 people from the campus, including students, teachers, wardens, and witnesses. After the incident, several students shared screenshots of conversations in certain WhatsApp groups, alleging that the attack on them was planned. A police officer said they had now identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups. The police, however, said they were trying to identify all the members of the two WhatsApp groups and will be questioning them to probe their involvement in the attack. Police Appeal People After the police made a public appeal requesting people to share information, footage and video clips related to the incident, several students came forward to share the details. The police said they were also scanning the video clips and CCTV footage shared on social media platforms to verify its authenticity. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory had also visited the university to collect more evidence, the police said. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Targets Modi Govt In a rare show of support, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday defended the Delhi Police for its conduct during the JNU mob attack. While addressing media in Delhi, Kejriwal indirectly blamed the Narendra Modi government for the way the cops remained mute spectators on the day when the masked thugs terrorised the JNU students. Delhi Police kya kar sakti hai? Oopar se aadesh agar aayega ki aapko hinsa nahi rokni, law and order theek nahi karna hai to vo bichare kya karenge? Agar nahi manenge to suspend ho jayenge (sic) (What would have Delhi Police done? They had the order from the above to not stop the violence, not to restore the law and order. They would have been suspended if they had acted on time), Kejriwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. With Agency Inputs In November, the landscape in the northern Indian territory of Ladakh is barren. Prickly sea buckthorn bushes and red-limbed willows are among the few species that can survive in the regions cold desert climate and high altitudes. The mouth of the Ulley Valley in central Ladakh is about 12,000 feet above sea level. The village of Ulley, the last in the valley and the end of the scrawny, pitted road that is the areas only connection to the rest of India and the outside world, is about 14,300 feet in elevation. What happened Pity shareholders in Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB), once a highflier on the cannabis scene. In a one-two punch to investor sentiment on Thursday, analysts at investment bank Piper Sandler cut their rating on Aurora Cannabis stock to underweight, TheFly.com reported. And today, Bank of America followed up with its own downgrade to underperform. Both analysts predict a $1 price target for Aurora Cannabis stock, and with shares down 11% as of 3:07 p.m. EST on Friday, the stock already seems to be moving in that direction. So what Piper Sandler says that a slowdown in Germany, where regulators have halted Aurora's cannabis sales pending evaluation of its sterilization procedures, is putting a strain on the company's finances. Aurora's cash from operations will probably run negative (and free cash flow even more so) "until F3Q21" at best, Piper Sandler said. To plug the hole in its balance sheet, Piper Sandler notes that Aurora has already sold enough shares to raise 80 million Canadian dollars ($61.3 million), yet will need to raise CA$200 million more. This could prove difficult, however, in this capital environment, Piper Sandler said. Lenders aren't enthusiastic about lending money to unprofitable cannabis producers right now. And that probably leaves additional share issuances (and additional dilution) as the most likely solution. Now what Bank of America's concerns also center on Aurora's balance sheet risk. Although so far, neither analyst is using the word "bankruptcy," BofA notes that it "struggles to envision a scenario where shares have sustainable support." Even after losing more than 80% of its stock market value in less than a year, Aurora Cannabis could still go lower. 10.01.2020 LISTEN January 15 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Nigerian Civil War and the official end of the short-lived Republic of Biafra. It is unlikely there will be any national event to mark the occasion other than the annual Remembrance Day ritual which has become nothing but a cash cow for those involved in organizing the ceremony. But the civil war was not only a defining moment for Nigeria, it has continued to define the country. As Prof. Yakubu Ochefu notes in the introduction to the 2013 book, Nigeria is Negotiable, The corporate existence of the country has been tested twice. It was formally broken once (1967-70) and pronounced broken once (April 1990). It took a horrible civil war to restore the entity when it was broken and an equally brutal attempted coup when it was pronounced. Fifty years after the end of the civil war, what lessons have we learnt as a nation? It appears not much. At the end of the war in January 1970, when the remnants of the Biafra high command signed the article of surrender, the victors, the Federal forces proclaimed, No victors, No vanquished. Unfortunately, 50 years after, it has become evident that the cheque of No victors, No vanquished issued in 1970 is not cashable. The debate is still raging whether the war was necessary and if the region that became known as Biafra had a moral right to secede. Answers vary depending on who is responding. But one thing is certain. That war was preventable if only the government of the day led by Yakubu Gowon was intent on presiding over a country built on justice and equity. Here is Gowonquoted in The Man Died, the prison notes of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinkanot only appeasing the genocidaires but proclaiming a divine right to rulea right that has become the refrain of the relics of the born-to-rule ideologues: Fellow Northerners, Today, I want to direct this appeal specifically to you allYou all know that since the end of July, God, in his power, has entrusted the responsibility of this great country of ours, Nigeria, to the hands of another NorthernerSince January this year, when some soldiers put our country into confusion by killing our leaders, both political and military, the country has not recovered fully from that confusion. The sadness caused in peoples minds by the January event has led to troubles by civilians in the North in May, causing loss of lives. I receive complaint daily that up to now, Easterners living in the North are being killed and molested, their property looted. I am very unhappy about this. We would put a stop to these. It appears that it is going beyond reason to the point of recklessness and irresponsibility That was Gowon as head of state in October 1966, nine months before the civil war began in July 1967. Fifty years after, those who still live with the victors mentality that because a people were defeated in a civil war, they should perpetually stay under have remained in control of the country. Looking back, it appears the vanquished have not paid the full pricewhatever that isfor daring to test the supposedly divinely ordained and non-negotiable corporate existence of the country. A little example will suffice. On Sunday, September 29, 2019, I arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport wearing a T-shirt with the inscription, We Are All Biafrans, the title of my book first published in May 2016, later updated, and republished in November 2018. I was arrested by officers of the State Security Service (SSS) and detained for more than six hours, first at their office at the airport and later at their headquarters in the Aso Drive area of Abuja. The first question I was asked at the airport was, You are a Biafran, how come you have a Nigerian passport? I am not aware there is a sovereign nation called Biafra and I made that known to my interrogators. That question was not altogether surprising but coming from what is supposed to be the nations elite intelligence agency, it struck me that we were in a deeper mess than I had imagined. We can play the ostrich as much as we want, but the truth is that the division that precipitated and characterized the civil war looms large. We will be deluding ourselves to think for once that the civil war is over. Everywhere you turn in Nigeria, the angst, fear and loathing that were the hallmark of the civil war impose themselves. Fifty years after the end of the civil war, we have expanded the scope of the vanquished. Our country is as divided, if not more divided, as it was at the beginning of the war in 1967. Today, the chickens of impunity and injustice have come home to roost. Yesterdays men who supervised this tragedy in its infancy are today looking for an easy way out. In 1996, exactly three decades after he became head of state, Yakubu Gowon, with the permission of then murderous dictator, Sani Abacha, set up Nigeria Prays to put an end to the various problems plaguing Nigeria. I am not averse to prayers, but we cannot pray our way out of the current mess whose origin goes back to more than five decades. In what looked like a bitter homecoming, the other retired general, the billionaire businessman, Theophilus Danjuma, who was front and centre in Ibadan in July 1966 when Nigerias second coup took place, was in the ancient city again in December 2019. This time, in a sombre mood, he told a bewildered audience: If I tell you what I know that is happening in Nigeria today, you will no longer sleep. This catharsis which ought to be amea culpa came on the heels of his earlier statement describing the Nigerian Army as an army of occupation. All I can say is, speak, general, speak! Say what you know. The country needs to reconcile its past with the present. As part of the healing, on Monday, January 13, there will be a Never Again conference in Lagos to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the civil war. Organized by Nzuko Umunna, a pan Igbo socio-cultural group comprising Igbo professionals both at home and in the Diaspora and Ndigbo Lagos in collaboration with civil society organizations, the aim of the conference is to address the seeming lack of political will towards a robust and focused interrogation of the civil war, its causes, and hard lessons. The January 13 conference is aptly named Never Again. It is going to be a tall order because remembrance entails an appreciation of history, that is, where it exists. Today, there is no official history of the Nigerian Civil War, not even from the victors. Last year, I attended the public presentation of the book, Elections in Nigeria: The Long Road to Democracyby Prof Shehu AbdullahiY.Shehu. Both retired generals, Olusegun Obasanjo, a civil war commander, and Yakubu Gowon were at the event. Obasanjo joked about how his boss, Gowon, set up a high-powered committee at the end of the civil war in 1970 to write the history of the war. By the time Gowon was overthrown by Murtala Muhammed and his cohorts, which incidentally included Obasanjo, on July 29, 1975, not a single line had been written. The audience erupted in laughter. That is the tragedy of Nigeria! Nigeria can still redeem itself. It has been 50 years since we proclaimed, No Victors, No Vanquished. It is time to truly end the war; and it is not just the war against Biafra, as Soyinka noted, but that against the millions of duped and dispossessed citizens. That is the only way we can avert another war! Onumah is author of We Are All Biafrans, A Participant-Observers Interventions in a Country Sleepwalking to Disaster. The US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and Irans announcement that it will no longer abide by restrictions on enrichment agreed under the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement mean that its now time for the UK to reexamine its support for that deal. Agreed in 2015 between Iran, the UK, US, France, Russia, China, Germany and the EU, the nuclear agreement known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) provided a basis for a better relationship with the Islamic Republic. The agreement helped ensure that Iran didnt move forward with its interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. It was painstakingly negotiated by leading powers, benefiting heavily from the UKs technical expertise on nuclear matters, including my own. The deal was hard won the result of years of increasing economic pressure and coordinated diplomatic initiatives. It effectively cut off every pathway for Iran to get the bomb. These facts led the UK and its European allies, France and Germany, (known as the E3) to continue to support and champion the agreement even after the US president, Donald Trump, withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018. With the UKs support, the E3 created new mechanisms to skirt reintroduced US sanctions, including a payment system to allow continued trade called INSTEX. The UK took this action in spite of US pressure because it was clear that upholding the JCPOA was in the UKs interests. We are only a few days into 2020 but already circumstances have changed such that the UKs full-throated support of the JCPOA must now evolve. That is not to say that the UK should withdraw its support at least not yet. Instead, I believe it should change its stance so that it is reviewing its position while watching for signs that Iran is committed to implement the letter and spirit of the agreement. This nuanced wording is intended to provide the UK with flexibility while also pursuing specific interests. Why the situation has changed Story continues Before examining these, its useful to recap the two key recent developments. First, regardless of your reaction to the US airstrike in Baghdad which killed Soleimani, this use of force creates a new paradigm for relations with Iran that cannot be ignored. The killing of a uniformed military official of a foreign country is a de facto act of war, and Iran said it would retaliate. While escalation is not in the British national interest, nor would be continuing to support the JCPOA if Iran were to commit egregious acts against the US. Second, on January 5, a few days after the killing, Iran announced it was taking another step back from full implementation of the JCPOA this time by unilaterally removing the restrictions on enrichment capacity which were a central element of the agreement. This was but the latest in a series of step backs from Irans commitments intended to pressure other parties to fully implement the agreement including with regards to the easing of sanctions. It is understood that the Iranian action was already planned before Soleimanis killing to pressure the EU to further facilitate circumvention of the ongoing US economic sanctions. However, the step must also be understood in the context of Irans domestic political need to respond to Soleimanis assassination. This leads to the question of what approach the UK should now take. Britain is an important player with regards to Iran, not least because of its formal role in the JCPOA and seat on the UN Security Council. Britain holds the power to unilaterally cancel the agreement and reintroduce sanctions against Iran. Britains decision-making calculus will be influenced primarily by Irans compliance (or otherwise) with the terms of the agreement. But in practice, the UKs position will be informed by broader aspects, including Irans actions outside of the agreement. A nuanced position It is for this reason that I argue that the UK should now evolve its stance on the JCPOA into one in which it is reviewing its position. This would allow the UK to pursue a number of otherwise competing objectives. First, this move to review the UKs stance could be taken without prejudice to any E3 decision to formally trigger the JCPOAs dispute resolution mechanism in the weeks and months ahead an approach which is now being discussed. The modalities of that process mean that, once triggered, it is likely to lead to a formal end of the JCPOA. Second, it could support maintenance of the JCPOA at least in the immediate weeks ahead, and perhaps for longer. If the UK were to fail to take any action now to mark its objection to Irans breach of the agreement, its ability to object later on would be hindered. Third, the UK should state that it is looking for signs that Iran intends to comply with the letter and spirit of the JCPOA in creating an enduring improvement in relations with an Iran free of nuclear weapons. This phrasing is carefully chosen. Iran would understand that any egregious action against US forces would be taken in the UK as a negative sign. But the UK would maintain a degree of ambiguity regarding the level of Iranian action which might trigger it to withdraw from the JCPOA. While the nuclear issue should be kept separate from other issues, for example, the illegitimate imprisonment of British dual-nationals in Iran such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Iranian regime would also understand that its actions were under scrutiny. This approach should buy the UK some time to see how the situation evolves and whether escalation would necessitate a further re-evaluation. But the UK needs to help find a path forward. The purpose of the JCPOA was never to fully solve the Iran nuclear issue in the long term its purpose was to buy time for relations to improve and broader understandings with Iran to be achieved. Based on the timeline set out in the agreement, restrictions on Irans activities are scheduled to start easing from later 2020, despite no parallel signs of relations improving. Over the course of the weeks and months ahead the UK must decide whether the JCPOA is salvageable, whether a broader understanding can be achieved and what the implications are if not. The UK will have to engage with the US, its European partners and Iran in order to understand the outlook for the agreement. It cant assume that its a positive one. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Conversation Ian J. Stewart runs one the largest non-proliferation research organisations worldwide and receives funding from a wide range of grant-making organisations including foundations and national governments. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-05 19:52:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Kep city, Kep Province, Cambodia, on Jan. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Mao Pengfei) 36 people have been killed and 23 others wounded so far in a building collapse in Cambodia's Kep province on Friday, and the rescue mission has ended on Sunday. PHNOM PENH, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Death toll in the collapse of a six-story building in southwest Cambodia's Kep province on Friday rose to 36, as rescue had completed, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Sunday. "A total of 36 people, including 14 females, were pronounced dead, as 23 others, including eight females, were injured in the collapsed building," he said at a press conference at the end of the rescue operation. All victims were Cambodians, and among them were a male-contractor, construction workers and their family members, including children. The building came down at around 4:30 p.m. on Friday in Kep city when workers were pouring concrete to build the seventh floor. Hun Sen expressed his deepest sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured people in the incident. He said families of the victims who died received 52,500 U.S. dollars each and those who were injured got 10,000 dollars each. Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Kep city, Kep Province, Cambodia, on Jan. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Mao Pengfei) 43-HOUR RESCUE According to the provincial authority, more than 1,000 rescuers, including Chinese experts, have taken part in the rescue efforts. Some 14 excavators, three crane trucks, two bulldozers, 10 ambulances, five firetrucks, and more than 10 dumper trucks have been used to remove the debris of the collapsed building. During the rescue operation, excavators were used to dig out the rubble and loaded it onto waiting dumper trucks, as firetrucks sprayed waters onto the site in order to reduce dust and heat as weather was hot. Some rescuers cut steel bars, as others tried to search victims through holes of the collapsed building. Hun Sen said the rescue operation took 43 hours and 20 minutes, explaining that it was necessary to proceed carefully to ensure that the diggers would not harm people trapped under the rubble. "In our rescue, we gave priority to save people's lives, so we had to remove debris carefully," he said. "When we suspected that any locations had victims trapped, we stopped excavators from removing the debris and used other means to search for them." Hun Sen highly praised the rescuers, particularly the Chinese friends, for their active involvement in humanitarian activities. "I'd like to thank the experienced Chinese experts, who are working in Preah Sihanouk province, for coming to help us rescue victims here," the prime minister said. He also hailed their methods in identifying the locations that victims could be trapped under the debris. "I also asked them (Chinese experts) to help train Cambodian forces in order to improve their rescue capacity," Hun Sen said. One of the rescuers said he tried to search for people under the rubble through the holes of debris and tried to hear their voices. "When we suspected that there were victims, or we heard their calls for help, we removed debris very carefully," Kol Rom, 50, a rescuer from the Kep Provincial Military Region 3, told Xinhua. The Chinese embassy in Cambodia on Sunday expressed its profound condolences to the families of the dead and wished the injured people a speedy recovery. The embassy said in a statement that representatives of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (CCCC)'s branch in Preah Sihanouk province had visited the site, brought donations and expressed condolences to the victims and their families. Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Kep city, Kep Province, Cambodia, on Jan. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Mao Pengfei) ON-GOING INVESTIGATION As a probe into the incident has been conducted, Hun Sen blamed a male-contractor, who was also killed in the rubble, for the collapse of the building. "A preliminary probe indicated that there were two mistakes already," Hun Sen said. First, the contractor used smaller steel bars than the steel bars required in the building's masterplan and second, the contractor removed the wooden scaffolding supporting wet concrete slabs in 10 days, while the safe period for the removal was 28 days, he said. "The contractor's mistake resulted in this tragedy," the prime minister said, adding that the building's owners -- a local man and his wife -- have been arrested and will be sent to court for prosecution. An official at the Kep Provincial Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction said on Friday that the building's owner had applied for a license to construct a five-story building, but he illegally built it up to seven floors. A file photo of the building shows that before the accident, people were living in the under-construction project. Workers who survived the tragedy also said that they had been living inside with their family members for several months. Hun Sen said such an incident will be reduced or eliminated in the future when the recently-adopted construction law is fully enforced. [January 10, 2020] PAR Technology Corporation to Present at the 22nd Annual Needham Growth Conference on January 14, 2020 PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR), a leading global provider of point of sale (POS) software and integrated technical solutions to the restaurant and retail industries, will be presenting at the 22nd Annual Needham Growth Conference. The conference is being held on January 14-15, 2019 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York, NY. PAR CEO & President, Savneet Singh, is scheduled to present on Tuesday, January 14th at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The presentation will be webcast and available for live listening and replay on the PAR investor relations website. Management will also hold one-on-one meetings with investors and analysts at the conference. ABOUT PAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION PAR is a leading global provider of software, systems, and service solutions to the restaurant and retail industries. Today, with 40 years of experience and point of sale systems in nearly 100,000 restaurants and more than 110 countries, PAR is redefining the point of sale through cloud software and bringing technological innovation to all corners of the enterprise. PAR's Government Business is a leader in prviding computer-based system design, engineering and technical services to the Department of Defense and various federal agencies. PAR Technology Corporation's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PAR. For more information, visit www.partech.com or connect with PAR on Facebook (News - Alert) at www.facebook.com/parpointofsale or Twitter (News - Alert) at www.twitter.com/Par_tech. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005449/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Its not easy to classify the diverse body of work (and work-in-progress) left by native Houstonian Carroll Parrott Blue when she died Dec. 12. Blue was an award-winning filmmaker, author and interactive multimedia producer. Although she used a variety of media and genres to tell her stories, one theme was ever present: honoring the lives and contributions of African Americans and bringing positive change to their communities. Houston has a global reputation for the quality of its art museums, both the architecutre and collections of art from around the world amassed with oil and gas wealth. What many Houstonians may not realize is that Houston artists have drawn international acclaim as well, but not so much for a painting style. Rather, Houston is known for art that seeks to engage, uplift or heal communities a movement often labeled social practice and synonomous with Project Row Houses. Unfortunately, we tend to overlook artists and women of color in particlar, such as Blue, who embodied this socially engaged way of working for decades. Born in 1943, Blue grew up in Third Ward during segregation. Her seminal work, The Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing, is an interactive multimedia project (book, DVD and website). In it, Blue tells her own story of growing up in a racist society, describing the daily injustices she and her community experienced and the enduring pain it caused. The Dawn at mMy Back won the 2004 Sundance Online Film Festival Jury Award and spawned the Dawn Project, a local nonprofit organization. Blue received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Boston University in 1964 and a Master of Fine Arts in motion picture production from UCLA in 1980. Between 1984 and 1985, she was a producer fellow at the American Film Institute. During her years in Southern California, she was a member of the L.A. Rebellion (1967-1989), a group of filmmakers who worked against Hollywoods negative portrayal of African Americans. The aim of the group was to cast people of color in leading roles as realistic characters in their films. Blue was professor emerita at San Diego State University (1980 to 2005). In 2006, she became a research professor at the University of Houstons College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. She served as a visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2011-2012. Beginning in 2016 until the time of her death, she held a number of visiting scholar positions at Rice University working primarily in Rices Humanities Research Center and the Fondren Library. One of Blues largest and most visible projects during the past several years was the Southeast Houston Arts Initiative, which received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Blue and project co-organizers, Steve Spillette and Gwen Fedrick, marshaled the interest and support of numerous stakeholders to plan and develop a major revitalization of Southeast Houston. The Southeast Houston Transformation Alliance (SEHTA), a local nonprofit, was formed to continue that work. In December 2017, a few months after Hurricane Harvey, Blue collaborated with the Esri Story Maps Team, the Houston Chronicle, the Dawn Project, UH Bauer College of Business, Rice Universitys Fondren Library and Executive Service Corps of Houston to research and produce a post-Hurricane Harvey story map that presented stories gathered by Chronicle staffers from people across the Houston area who were effected by the storm. Everybody flooded the rich, the poor, the in-between, the immigrants, no one was spared, Blue said at the time of the project. Houston has now become a different kind of a city, and thats one reason why this project is important. At the time of her death, Blue was energetically engaged in planning a new project related to yet another of her interests, the inclusion of global art, particularly from the developing world, in the mainstream art world. She had hoped to collaborate with the Houston Museum of Fine Arts on a project related to the inauguration of a commissioned piece by the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui, a longtime friend of hers and the subject of a documentary she had produced some 30 years ago that helped launch his career. A few days after Blues death, Rice University tweeted out the following message: We were saddened to hear of the passing of Carroll Parrott Blue, who devoted so much of her talent and herself to preserving Houstons historic African American communities and their stories. Carroll was a constant presence on campus and will be missed. The tweet sums up the feelings of Blues many friends, family and colleagues. A celebration of Blues life will be held Jan. 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the University Museum at Texas Southern University. Geyer is a writer based in Houston. PARIS and BOSTON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardiologs , a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) cardiology diagnostics, today announced that it has secured $15 million in Series A funding, bringing the total capital raised since Cardiologs' inception to more than $25 million. The financing round was led by Alven , a leading venture capital firm in Paris known for its impressive track record of investing in and expanding into the U.S. successful technology startups founded by French entrepreneurs. Previous backers Bpifrance, ISAI, Kurma Diagnostics, Idinvest Partners and Paris Saclay Seed Fund also participated in the round. "We have developed a new category of heart disease diagnostic products powered by AI that promise to revolutionize healthcare by delivering accurate, cost-effective and timely expert-level diagnostics," said Yann Fleureau, co-founder and CEO of Cardiologs. "We are excited to work with our new partners at Alven and other earlier investors as we enter the next critical stage of our evolution as a company." Building off of strong revenues growth in 2019, notably in the U.S., Cardiologs intends to use the new funding to immediately grow its market share by ramping up sales and marketing efforts across North America and Europe. The money will also be used to further build the pioneering technology platform with new integrations and expanded applications. "With its unique software built around a cutting-edge technology that blends deep learning with diagnostic clinical science and workflow, Cardiologs is already improving a traditionally manually-processed industry to generate substantial improvements in the speed, cost and accuracy of diagnostics." says Francois Meteyer, Partner at Alven. "This will be a key differentiator to build a new AI-based category in the cardiology field, democratizing the access to instant, reliable and affordable expertise for every patient, every test, everywhere. We're excited to support this European-rooted global business in its development ." "We've been impressed by Cardiologs' achievements since the seed round and we're very excited to invest again and help build a category leader in the medical diagnostic industry," commented Jonathan Userovici, Investment Manager at Idinvest Partners, an opinion shared by Jean-Patrice Anciaux, Investment Director at Bpifrance Digital Venture and also an early investor in the company. Cardiologs' ability to quickly detect and diagnose heart conditions as effectively as the world's top human cardiologists has promising implications. The AI model, which was trained on more than 1.4 million ECG recordings, is capable of spotting more than 100 different cardiac abnormalities and is FDA- cleared for all clinically-relevant arrhythmias. In addition, the system can interpret data from a broad range of cardiac monitoring devices and generate a report within minutes, enabling faster and more efficient diagnosis for patients. Founded in Europe in 2014, Cardiologs has grown into a global brand and is already assisting clinicians across four continents with identifying heart rhythm abnormalities. The company continues to grow due to strong demand for accurate, cost-effective and timely heart disease diagnostics in the global healthcare market. About Cardiologs Cardiologs is a medical technology company committed to transforming cardiac diagnostics using medical-grade artificial intelligence and cloud technology. Developed in partnership with leading physicians, the Cardiologs ECG Analysis Solution empowers clinicians worldwide to deliver expert cardiac care faster and more efficiently. CE-Marked and FDA cleared for detection of 14 cardiac arrhythmias, the Cardiologs ECG Analysis Solution is built on a growing database of more than 1.4 million ECG recordings and is supported by a number of clinical publications. About Alven Alven is an independent venture capital fund with over $500 million in assets under management and nearly 130 companies financed in 20 years. Alven's mission is to support the long-term success of outstanding European digital & technology entrepreneurs. Amongst the investments made by Alven are Algolia, Dataiku, Drivy (bought by Getaround), Happn, Captain Train (Trainline/KKR), Bime Analytics (Zendesk), Webhelp, Peopledoc, Sqreen, Meero, Qonto, or MeilleursAgents (recently bought by Axel Springer). Find out more at www.alven.co About Idinvest Idinvest Partners is a leading European mid-market private equity firm. With 8bn under management, the firm has developed several areas of expertise including innovative startup venture capital transactions; mid-market private debt, i.e. senior and subordinated debt; primary and secondary investment and private equity advisory services. Founded in 1997, Idinvest Partners used to belong to the Allianz Group until 2010, when it branched out as an independent firm. In January 2018, Idinvest Partners became a subsidiary of Eurazeo, a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of 17.7bn in assets under management, including nearly 11.6bn from investment partners, invested in nearly 400 companies. About Bpifrance and Bpifrance Digital Ventures Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses at every stage of their development through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra financial services (training, consultancy.) to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export). Bpifrance Digital Venture is the VC team within Bpifrance, dedicated to digital and tech companies aiming to become global leader on their market. It focuses on Seed and Series A/B stages. With 650 million under management, the team backed nearly 80 companies and had 10 exits since 2011. Amongst the investments made by Bpifrance Digital Venture team are Teads (bought by Altice), Talentsoft, Netatmo (Legrand), Meilleurs Agents (Axel Springer), Balyo, Manomano, Evaneos, Openclassrooms, GitGuardian, Strapi, Numworks. For more information, please visit: www.bpifrance.fr and presse.bpifrance.fr Follow us on Twitter: @Bpifrance - @BpifranceDV - @BpifrancePresse About Kurma Partners Kurma Partners is a key European player in the financing of innovation in healthcare and biotechnology, notably through Kurma Biofund I and II, Kurma Diagnostics and strategic partnerships with prestigious European research and medical institutions. www.kurmapartners.com About ISAI Launched in 2010, ISAI is the Tech Entrepreneurs' Fund and brings together a community of over 250 entrepreneurs around the world. Nearly 200 successful entrepreneurs, who have invested in ISAI funds, and more than 50 ISAI-backed start-up co-founders share the collective ambition of co-writing great entrepreneurial stories. ISAI invests in differentiated projects run by ambitious teams that it selects rigorously and actively supports. ISAI Gestion, an investment management company approved by the AMF, with over 400 million under management, aims to finance and support high potential Tech companies, at the seed/post-seed stage (venture capital, ticket from 150k ticket to 2m with participations in successive rounds) or when they have already reached the break-even stage (Tech Growth/LBO, tickets from 5m to 30m). More information on www.isai.fr/en Media Contact Andrea LePain [email protected] eMedia Junction 617-275-8112 SOURCE Cardiologs Related Links https://cardiologs.com/ Following the success of last years event, the ANON Summit is coming back to Vienna for its second edition. The comprehensive two-day technology conference will take place on April 15-16 in the picturesque Austrian capital and is expected to draw a large crowd. Organisers are projecting that more than 2,000 attendees and 100 speakers will gather to discuss the most salient issues in the blockchain and emerging technologies space. Among the confirmed speakers so far are none other than the legendary author of Mastering Bitcoin Andreas Antonopoulos, Krakens Head of Banking Maximilian Marenbach, and the EU Commissioner for Innovation and Youth Mariya Gabriel. Interoperability is the key to mass adoption This years summit will focus on the much-debated issue of interoperability and how different technologies and organisations can work better together. Industry influencers, entrepreneurs, investors, representatives of key corporations, and government officials will educate, enlighten, debate, and strike up important discussions over two separate stages. Informative keynotes, lively panels, educational workshops, and plenty of breakout sessions will all complement the programme as ANON Summit 2020 looks to bridge the gap between the traditional and tech sectors. To get an idea of what attendees can expect to get out of the ANON Summit, check out the highlights from last years edition below: The conferences goal this year is to unite large corporations with young start-ups complementing experience with innovation. Besides the action on stage, there will be ample opportunities to network. ANON Summit 2020 will provide attendees with a state-of-the-art networking tool, as well as a dedicated networking area in which one-on-one meetings can be arranged, allowing delegates to get down to business and build long-lasting partnerships. This years message is innovation through collaboration, said Daniel Lenikus, co-organiser of the event. Story continues We have created ANON Summit intending to become a platform to facilitate partnerships and encourage conversation. ANON Summit 2020 will also cover AI and IoT With the theme of the conference being interoperability, it makes sense that the ANON Summit should shine a light on artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies as well. Not only does this cast a wider net for potential delegates, but it showcases Austria as a country primed and open for the business of the future. We want to show the possibilities of the three technologies. Not only each one on its own, but especially in conjunction with each other, Lenikus commented. For those who attended the conference last year, 2020 will not disappoint. And for new guests, you can expect to find a thriving and educational event divided into two different tracks: digital currencies and assets and the interoperability of technologies in mobility, energy, banking, and finance. This years summit will also feature a 100,000 pitch challenge, which is sure to draw the attention of many hopeful projects. To find out more about the event, visit its official website or click on this link to purchase tickets. You can receive 10% off by signing up to the official newsletter. If you were looking for an additional excuse to visit one of Europes most stunning cities in the spring, ANON Summit 2020 might just be right up your street. The post Viennas ANON Summit 2020 looks set to draw a large crowd appeared first on Coin Rivet. Family dog Boone had an adorably excited reaction when his owners, Austin and Kelsey Woods, returned from the hospital to their home in Grand Forks, North Dakota, with their newborn son on December 27. New mom Kelsey Woods recorded the footage and posted it to a Facebook group with the caption, Boone meeting his little brother for the first time. In the footage, after a thorough snuffle, Boone wags his tail, runs around, and brings the newborn a stuffed toy, to which Kelsey laughingly responds, Are you going to show him your toys? The babys due date was January 7. The early arrival undoubtedly contributed to the familys excitement. Credit: Kelsey Woods via Storyful Cyclones in the Caribbean and Pacific, devastating bushfires in Australia, recurrent floods and droughts in Asia and Africa, increasingly bring tragic loss of life to our nations and communities, inflicting physical and mental trauma on survivors, and causing irreparable damage to centuries old ways of life and undermining prospects for future prosperity and growth. The current bushfires in Australia have been among the most distressing manifestations, leading the government to declare a state of emergency. The total cost to the economy of the bushfires with which Australia is grappling seems likely to run into billions of dollars. Continuous drying of undergrowth creates optimal conditions for bushfires, leading to tragic loss of human lives and destruction of infrastructure. There is devastating impact on the precious biodiversity of flora and fauna, threatening drastically to affect the ecology of the region. Heightened levels of air pollution in the affected and adjoining regions are having adverse impacts on the respiratory health of scores of people. Such extreme events are occurring with rising frequency, destroying the means of livelihood for millions people in Commonwealth countries, increasing vulnerability and reducing resilience. The Commonwealth collectively recognises that without well-planned and integrated national and international action, natural disasters and extreme events will continue to challenge the resilience of affected communities and smaller countries. The Commonwealth Secretariat is working alongside member nations to protect the environmental health of fragile and susceptible ecosystems, including through increased national preparedness for tackling natural disasters and mobilising resources. For the arid and drought-prone member countries, which are highly vulnerable to dryness and bushfires, the Commonwealth provides support for governments to develop projects on sustainable and resilient landscape management, with the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH) helping to unlock necessary financial resources. Similarly, by pooling information into a streamlined platform for better and more convenient access to information, the Commonwealth Disaster Risk Finance Portal currently in development will help countries find suitable sources of finance and support to deal with disasters. On behalf of citizens of all Commonwealth countries, I express my heartfelt condolences to all families and communities who have lost loved ones in the tragic events of recent days. I commend the courage and commitment of firefighters, emergency service personnel and all others who are battling to rescue and protect people and property, wildlife and natural resources, or human infrastructure. In these testing times, the wider Commonwealth family stands in solidarity alongside the Government and people of Australia. The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking a $5.4-million fine against Boeing for faulty wing parts on dozens of 737 Max planes. The planes have been grounded worldwide since March after two fatal crashes, but FAA's proposed penalty does not refer to the flight-control software that was implicated in those two deadly flights. The proposed fine caps a devastating week for Boeing. A Boeing plane crashed in Iran killing all 176 people on board and hundreds of internal messages were released that revealed employees boasted about bullying regulators to limit government scrutiny of the 737 Max. In other states where recreational marijuana became legal, many employers continued to test for it. In Nevada, 91% of companies that used Quest included marijuana in their testing in 2017, when it was legalized there. The numbers were even higher for employers in Colorado and Washington, where 96% and 97%, respectively, of companies using Quest still tested for marijuana in 2017 even though those states also allow recreational use. Why do some politicians even open their mouths? They don't have the brain cells to form any intelligent thought but are still so entitled to share their idiotic and downright sexist opinion. And then we have to suffer the pain of listening to them. As we all saw recently, Deepika Padukone just showing up at JNU and standing in solidarity with the students who were brutally attacked caused a controversy. While half the people praised her for her powerful gesture, the other half attacked her and her upcoming movie Chhapaak. Twitter One person, however, was so bothered by Deepika's presence at JNU, he resorted to saying something very misogynistic about 'heroines' of Bollywood. Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Gopal Bhargava said, "Heroines should dance in Mumbai. Why should she go to JNU? I do not know. There are many people like her. If they want to do politics then you should enter politics and contest elections." Twitter There's a lot to unpack here; first of all, is he saying a heroine's job is just to dance in movies? Just to be objectified for sleazy people like him? Moreover, how is her going to JNU related at all? She didn't go there as an actress, she went there to stand with the students and show her solidarity. Also, I'm pretty sure he doesn't know that this is a democracy where every citizen has a right to comment and criticize. You don't need to enter politics to have an opinion on what's happening in the country. He, obviously, got called out for his sexist remarks, and rightly so. Politicians shld STFU and do their work. 'Heroines should be in Mumbai and dance': BJP's Gopal Bhargava takes dig at Deepika Padukone over JNU visit | India News - Times of India https://t.co/6KNZptN9tt manjula narayan (@utterflea) January 10, 2020 It's so problematic and disgusting. 'Can it get more disgusting. People like these spread the idea of females being the lower sex and a commodity. 'Heroines should be in Mumbai and dance': BJP's Gopal Bhargava takes dig at Deepika Padukone over JNU visit | India News - Times of India https://t.co/sEcK1K5ui6 Sapangeet Rajwant (@Sapangeet) January 10, 2020 Sad that it's so common. I give you today your daily sexist remark by a politician. 'Heroines should be in Mumbai and dance': BJP's Gopal Bhargava takes a dig at Deepika Padukone over JNU visit. Read more at:https://t.co/OxIcbvtSE2 Kiran Manral (@KiranManral) January 10, 2020 How to fight stupidity with sarcasm. This is just no way to talk about ministers in your party. So what if they've been actresses before? Today they are capable members of the governing party ! Sheesh. So sexist! https://t.co/UfHMbt1Fjd TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) January 10, 2020 Every year? That's being generous. HYDERABAD: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday asked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to clarify why he was hesitant in announcing that CAA, NRC and NPR will not be implemented in the state. In a live interaction with Congress workers on Facebook, he pointed that chief ministers of other states, including Kerala, Odisha, Bihar, Punjab and West Bengal, had announced that they would not support CAA, NRC and NPR. The TPCC chief went on to ask MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi why the latter has not questioned the CMs silence on CAA and NRC, that too when Mr Rao continued to support the BJP government in all its decisions at the centre. Alleging that the TRS government has not developed a single municipality or corporation in the last six years but went on to damage existing roads in the name of Mission Bhagiratha, Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy said neither the Chief Minister nor his son, municipal administration minister K. T. Rama Rao, had paid any attention towards providing basic civic amenities in municipalities and municipal corporations. He charged though nearly 40 per cent of the population lives in municipal areas, people have been deprived of proper drinking water facilities, better roads, quality electricity and other basic amenities. The TPCC chief said the forthcoming municipal elections were the best opportunity for people to force the TRS government into fulfilling all its election promises by defeating it in the ensuing municipal polls. He pointed to several irregularities in conduct of these elections, including discrepancies in electoral rolls and releasing the poll schedule much before the announcement of reservations. He said all objections raised by the Congress party were ignored or overruled. Alleging a larger conspiracy, Uttam Kumar Reddy wondered how the State Election Commission could issue the election notification within one hour of the High Court dismissing his petition on January 7. He pointed out that the High Court's verdict came at about 7 pm and by 8 pm, the SEC issue notification and began the process of accepting nominations from the next day at 10 am. The TPCC chief appealed to minorities not to trust the fake promises and false assurances of TRS leaders. He alleged that TRS has a secret pact with the BJP and voting for TRS would be like voting for BJP. Airbus boss says company committed to UK after previous warning it could move wing-building out of Britain This article is old - Published: Friday, Jan 10th, 2020 Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has said the company is still committed to the UK, despite a warning given by his predecessor it could move wing-building out of Britain. Faury who took up his role in April last year was speaking at the companys New Years reception this week. He said, Airbus is committed to the UK and to working with the new government on an ambitious industrial strategy. We see great potential to improve and expand our operations in the UK this year. Former Airbus chief executive, Tom Enders, had branded the UK Governments handling of Brexit a disgrace and gave a stark warning it could move future wing-building out of Britain as a result of a no-deal Brexit in a video message published by the company last January. Airbus employs 6,000 staff at its site in Broughton from across north east Wales, and a further 7,500 in the rest of the UK including 450 at a site near Newport. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Andrea Leadsom, was also at the event, said: While Airbus is undoubtedly a European company its also something of a national treasure. For decades, the UK has had the privilege and it is a privilege of being one of Airbuss 4 home nations. And it was great to hear Guillaume say that Airbus remains committed to the UK. Shadow Minister for North Wales, Mark Isherwood AM welcomed the comments, He said: This is great news for North Wales, proves the value and quality of the workforce in and around Broughton, and is a vindication of Boriss stance on Brexit. Wales and the rest of the UK is a hive of aerospace and tech industries, and this commitment from M. Faury and Airbus is further evidence of this. By PTI COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will purchase 500 buses from India for USD 15 million by utilising the line of credit extended to it during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's visit to New Delhi, officials said on Friday. The new buses for Sri Lanka Transport Board would be procured to strengthen the country's public transport, according to a memo approved by the Cabinet this week. "The Cabinet of Ministers has given their consent for procurement of 400 new buses with 5054 seating capacity and 100 new buses with 32-35 seating capacity utilising USD 15.03 million under the Indian loan grant/scheme," the memo said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November announced a financial assistance of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka including USD 50 million to fight terrorism after he held "fruitful" talks with the island nation's newly elected President Rajapaksa. In his first overseas tour after taking over the reins of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa travelled to India on a three-day visit. A bomb attack on a mosque in Pakistan has killed at least 13 people, including a senior police officer. The explosion happened on Friday in the city of Quetta in south western Pakistan, police have confirmed. At least 20 worshippers were injured in the blast, many of whom are in a serious condition. Local police chief Mohammad Ajmal said the slain police officer was the likely target of the attack, but authorities were still investigating. Police said an improvised explosive device had been planted in the mosque inside a seminary. The death toll from the blast is likely to rise officials say / AFP via Getty Images "So far, 13 bodies and 20 injured have been brought here," Dr Wasim Baig, spokesman for a local hospital told Reuters, adding that many of the injured were in serious condition. The death toll from the bombing is likely to rise, authorities have said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. But the attack came just days after a roadside bomb in Quetta hit a paramilitary force vehicle, killing two troops. Hizbul Ahrar, an offshoot of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. Security officials examine the site after a bomb blast / AFP via Getty Images Last May, a bombing at a mosque in Quetta killed two people, including the prayer leader, and wounded 28 worshipers. In August, a powerful bomb exploded inside a mosque during Friday prayers on Quena's outskirts. Although Pakistani militants often carry out such attacks, Baluchistan province is also the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatists demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the region's natural resources such as gas and oil. The Afghan Taliban have had a strong presence in Quetta. The province shares a long border with Afghanistan and Iran. Donald Trump's trial in the Senate could begin as soon as next week after Mitch McConnell said Nancy Pelosi could transmit the impeachment articles as soon as Friday. Pressure has increased on the speaker to send over the two articles - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress - so the Senate can begin proceedings on the president. Even some Democratic senators have said it is time. McConnell made his prediction on the timing at lunch with Republican senators Thursday on Capitol Hill and, while he has no inside knowledge of the speaker's intentions, his remarks serve as a warning to lawmakers to prepare to go into trial mode. Early predictions have the trial starting Monday or Tuesday. Mitch McConnell told senators Speaker Pelosi could send Donald Trump impeachment articles to Senate as soon as Friday Early predictions have Donald Trump's impeachment trial starting Monday or Tuesday 'The sense is that even if they got here at this very moment right now, there's still a process involved to notify the White House and chief justice and turning it all around,' Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told Politico. 'I'm not sure he has any specific knowledge, but the gut feeling is that it will come over there tomorrow and set up for a Monday start.' As for Pelosi, she simply said she will send the articles 'soon.' 'We need to see the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?' she said, complaining about a lack of transparency on McConnell's part. 'I'm not withholding them indefinitely. I'll send them over when I'm ready, and that will probably be soon,' she said Thursday at a press conference on Capitol Hill. The Senate has been in waiting mode as it can't formally begin its trial until the impeachment articles are transmitted. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, a prominent Trump ally on Capitol Hill, proposed legislation on Monday that would let the Senate begin the trial even without the articles if Pelosi waits longer than 25 days to send them. McConnell has signed on to that measure - another move that will increase pressure on Speaker Pelosi. But the chamber is also not currently scheduled to debate Hawley's resolution, a sign lawmakers believe the arrival of the articles is imminent. It's been 23 days since the House approved the two articles of impeachment against the president. 'We're going to have to do something or we could be here on day 200 or day 400,' Hawley told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. 'I mean, really, there's no end in sight.' Some Democratic senators have urged Pelosi to send the articles and Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested the speaker should transmit the articles to the Senate. 'The speaker has said all along she wanted to see the arena in which she was playing when it came to a trial so she could appoint impeachment managers. Now it's becoming clear that Mitch McConnell wants to do everything he can to avoid a fair trial so she has some idea of what's happening,' he said Tuesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she'll transmit the articles soon Schumer also praised Pelosi for with holding them over the holidays. 'By not sending the articles immediately she has already accomplished two things,' he added. 'One, Mitch McConnell could not do what some thought he might want to do: right before or after Christmas just dismiss. And second in two weeks there's been a cascade of evidence that bolsters the case strongly bolsters the case for witnesses and documents. So now we have a greater feel for where we're headed and Speaker Pelosi I have great confidence in the decision she will make. But she's accomplished a great deal already.' Schumer wants to hear from four additional witnesses, including acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former National Security Adviser John Bolton. But Trump suggested on Thursday the White House would continue to block Bolton or others from testifying. 'When we start allowing national security advisers to just go up and say whatever they want to say, we can't do that,' the president said. 'So we have to protect presidential privilege for me, but for future presidents. That's very important.' Bolton said this week that he would testify if subpoenaed. McConnell, however, announced that he has the votes from Republican senators to begin Trump's impeachment trial with no witnesses. 'We have the votes, once the impeachment trial has begun, to pass a resolution essentially the same, very similar to the 100-0 vote in the Clinton trial,' McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, announced after having lunch with the members of his party. The pronouncement doesn't preclude witnesses from being called during the trial. It simply means senators will vote on the matter further down the road after opening arguments have been heard. A delegation of 15 foreign envoys, who are on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, met administration officials of the Union Territory here on Thursday. The delegation had arrived in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday and met political leaders, civil society members and senior Army officials in Srinagar. The delegation is visiting Jammu and Kashmir to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation after the revocation of the erstwhile state's special status in August last year. The group of 15 foreign envoys are from the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Guyana. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) GUATEMALA CITY - The head of a congressional commission in Guatemala says prosecutors should open a criminal investigation into the now-disappeared U.N. anti-corruption commission known as the CICG. President Jimmy Morales forced the commission out of Guatemala, and his supporters have accused it of using strong-arm tactics in corruption probes that included Morales relatives. Rep. Juan Ramon Lau heads a congressional commission that heard testimony from people caught up in corruption probes about the alleged abuses. Laus commission sent a report to prosecutors Friday recommending they open criminal investigations into former CICIG employees, as well as Guatemalan anti-corruption agents. The CICIG won praise for bringing corruption cases against hundreds of the countrys powerful and privileged, including two ex-presidents and then-sitting President Otto Perez Molina, who remains behind bars. It is unlikely prosecutors can act before President-elect Alejandro Giammattei takes office on Jan. 14. The Eastern Army Commander Lt General Anil Chauhan on Friday concluded the five-day-long security review of the North East region, a Defence release said. The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) of the Eastern Army command commenced the review of the prevailing security situation in the region on January 6, said the release issued by PRO Defence Lt Col Sumit Sharma. During the period, the Eastern Army Commander visited the Assam Rifles formation and Headquarters in Manipur and Nagaland. On Thursday, the GoC-In-C inspected the border locations of Eastern Nagaland and front areas of Indo-Myanmar border, he said. The local commanders of the field formations of Assam Rifles briefed Lt Gen Chauhan on the prevailing security situation and the operational preparedness for any eventuality, the PRO said. The Lt Gen expressed his satisfaction with the security measures undertaken by the troops of Assam Rifles and expressed his compliments for efficiently carrying out a commendable job in maintaining peace and normalcy in the region. The Eastern Army Commander along with general officer commanding Spear Corps and Inspector General Assam Rifles called upon the Governor of Nagaland R N Ravi at Raj Bhavan here on Thursday. Chauhan apprised the governor of the action being undertaken by the Indian Army and Assam Rifles in coordination with civil agencies in the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the state and along the Indo-Myanmar border. The Governor reportedly accredited the indefatigable efforts of the armed forces in arduous conditions and complimented them for their people-friendly initiatives, the PRO said. Lt Gen Chauhan left the region on Friday morning, the PRO added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YEREVAN, 10 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 10 january, USD exchange rate stood at 479.62 drams. EUR exchange rate stood at 532.33 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 7.84 drams. GBP exchange rate stood at 624.85 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price stood at 24239.69 drams. Silver price stood at 284.04 drams. Platinum price stood at 14988.38 drams. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the version of a missile hit in a Boeing 737 in Tehran has not been confirmed. In this regard, he requires evidence from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. He stated this on his Facebook page. "The version of a missile hitting a plane is not excluded, but as of today it is not confirmed. Given the latest statements by state leaders in the media, we urge all international partners - primarily the governments of the United States, Canada and the UK - to provide information and evidence regarding the accident, at the disposal of the commission of inquiry," Zelensky wrote. He added that Ukrainian experts continue to investigate the causes and circumstances of the accident. As we reported, Canadian intelligence and that of the country's allies confirm that the Ukrainian civilian aircraft in Iran was shot down by a missile. Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada said so at a press conference DONALD Trumps Doonbeg Hotel and Shannon Airport are not being targeted for revenge attacks, the Iranian ambassador to Ireland has said. Masoud Eslami made the remarks in the wake of the assassination by the United States of Irans Major General Qassem Soleimani last week. Mr Eslami said that Mr Soleimani is held in the same esteem in Iran as Irish revolutionary hero Michael Collins is here. He claimed Mr Soleimanis assassination in Iraq was outrageous state-sponsored terrorism which was ordered by Mr Trump. Mr Eslami initially said he would rule out any Iranian retaliation targeting Shannon Airport for the time being but later moved to offer further reassurance that clarify that neither the transport hub or Mr Trumps hotel in Co Clare are targets. He said he could "absolutely" rule it out adding: I dont want to make a statement that brings worry or makes people worry about this but I can tell you that it is not in the interests of Iran. Iran is not speculating to target this kind of facilities. He did urge the Irish Government to reconsider the use of Shannon Airport to facilitate military action by the US which has been an issue at local level, a national level in Ireland. This is a reference to the protests that have taken place at the airport. On the prospect of an attack on Mr Trumps hotel in Co Clare he said: It has not been intended to threaten personal properties of Trump anywhere, and it is definitely not going to be the case in Ireland. The United States have defended the killing of Mr Soleimani insisting it was aimed at preventing future attacks against their forces and that he was responsible for the deaths of more than 600 US soldiers through proxies during the war in Iraq. Mr Eslami made a comparison between Mr Soleimani and Michael Collins saying that it would allow a "glimpse of the the and sorrow that tens of millions of people are feeling because of his loss". He argued that both men were "icons of resistance and bravery" in repelling foreign intervention. LIVORNO - Livorno puts the high school report cards of Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920) on display, while a large successful exhibition dedicated to the artist for the centennial of his death continues. The report cards emerged from research at the historical archive of the Niccolini Guerrazzi high school in Livorno, where Modigliani was a student. They are being displayed in the exhibition "At Dedo's School", a look at high school life during the years Modigliani attended, at the library in via Ernesto Rossi in the current Niccolini Palli high school. The exhibition was made possible after never-before-seen documents and materials were found, including the grade register, report books, and the register of the autumn session of 1898, allowing for a reconstruction of the artist's school life when he was enrolled at the Niccolini Guerrazzi high school from 1893-1898 from year one to year five. The exhibition will be open to the public with free entrance from January 16 to February 17. Meanwhile the exhibition "Modigliani and the Adventure of Montparnasse" continues at the Museo della Citta through February 16, which has thus far welcomed more than 45,000 visitors. A total of 133 works representing the Ecole de Paris are on display. The 100th anniversary of Modigliani's death will take place this year on January 24, and in the exhibition the artist is represented by his unmistakable portraits and a collection of rarely displayed drawings, works accompanied by masterpieces by Soutine, Utrillo, Derain, and Kisling. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:45:28|Editor: yhy Video Player Close SUVA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Fijian government aims to plant 30 million trees in 15 years to save the environment, a Fijian government minister said on Friday. Speaking at the launching of the 2020 tree planting initiative for Naitasiri, one of the 14 provinces on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu on Friday, Fiji's Minister for Forests Osea Naiqamu said his ministry is committing 60 percent of its employees towards the government's tree planting initiative this year. The employees will also help in the monitoring of illegal cutting of trees which is becoming a serious concern on the island nation, he said, adding that the aim is to plant around 512,500 plants by the end of the year in Naitasiri, Tailevu and Rewa provinces. The minister encouraged landowners to plant trees that can be traded for money in the long run. Naiqamu challenged the people of Naitasiri alone to plant 211,500 plants. This initiative builds on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development particularly the Sustainable Development Goal 15, life on land, and supports the New York Declaration on Forests, which aims at ending natural forest loss globally by 2030. Naiqamu said given the seriousness and the urgency to address climate change, the government has now increased the tree-planting target from "4 Million Trees in 4 Years" to "30 Million Trees in 15 Years". He said this new target is a part of Fiji's nature-based solutions to the threat of climate change. Advertisement Donald Trump used his first 2020 campaign rally to celebrate killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who he said Thursday was planning to attack multiple targets. 'Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad,' Trump told the crowd in Toledo, Ohio Thursday night. 'But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold,' Trump said. The first rally of the year comes less than a week after Soleimani was killed, which led Iran to launch almost two dozen ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq that house U.S. troops, but no Americans were wounded or killed. The drone strike on Soleimani, whom Trump called one of the biggest 'monsters' on the planet, followed a New Years Eve breach of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq by protesters who support Iranian-backed Shia militia. Trump now insists that Soleimani was planning more attacks on American embassies before he was taken out. 'He ordered the violent assault on the American Embassy in Baghdad,' he continued of the Iranian military leader, calling the response the 'anti-Benghazi.' 'And you saw, this was the anti-Benghazi. We got there very quickly. We got there very quickly. This is the exact opposite. We did it exactly the opposite of Benghazi where they got there so late,' Trump touted. Donald Trump held his first Keep America Great rally of 2020 in Toledo, Ohio Thursday night He used the rally to tout ordering the drone strike that took out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Friday, and said the terrorist leader was planning more attacks on American Embassies other than the one carried out New Years Eve on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad 'Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad,' Trump said at the rally in the rust belt swing state that voted for him in 2016 Protesters holding anti-war signs that read 'NO WAR' and 'TRUMP=HATE' interrupted the rally and were escorted out of the arena War and Iran became a theme surrounding Trump's rally as Washington deals with the fall out from rising tensions with Tehran Crowd Poll: Trump asked supporters if they like his old slogan 'Make America Great Again' better than 'Keep America Great' Vice President Mike Pence warmed up the crowd by listing Trump's accomplishments, including the attack that took out Soleimani The attack led to a media frenzy and social media speculation that the world would spiral into World War III as tensions continued to rise. The rally was interrupted twice by anti-war protesters holding signs written on sheets that said 'NO WAR,' 'MAGA=HATE' and 'REMOVE'. Democrats insist the move was hasty and claim there wasn't adequate intelligence to justify killing Soleimani, but Trump says they should be happy he's dead. 'And yet, now I see, the radical left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist. And you know what, instead they should be outraged by Soleimani's savage crimes, and that fact that his countless victims were denied justice for so long,' Trump said. 'Bernie Sanders crazy Bernie has condemned the U.S. Military strike on Soleimani the world's top terrorist. Think of it, the world's top terrorist and we're having people like Nancy Pelosi oh that's a real genius. You believe that one? Nancy, Nancy, Nervous Nancy,' he continued in his attack against Democrats. Democrats have lambasted Trump for directing the strike without first notifying Congress, but the president said at the rally Thursday that if he would have told Congress, they would have leaked the attack before it was carried out. 'We have Bernie and Nancy Pelosi, we have them all they're trying to say, 'How dare you take them out that way. You should get permission from Congress. You should come in and tell us what you want to do. You should come in and tell us so that we can call up the fake news that's back there and we can leak it,'' Trump said, hypothetically quoting Democrats. The crowd cheered and booed at Trump's mention of the 'fake news,' one have his most often targets. 'That's a lot of corruption back there, folks,' Trump said, pointing to the back of Huntington Center where media are set up to cover the rally. Vice President Mike Pence warmed up the welcoming crowd where the thousands in attendance immediately began chanting, 'four more years.' Pence focused his introduction on praising the president for his fast action in directing the strike that took out Soleimani. Trump said he did not notify Congress before carrying out the strike because he claims they would have leaked it to the media. He specifically attacked 2020 candidate Senator Bernie Sanders and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Trump also said Adam Schiff, who he calls 'pencil neck,' would have leaked the story. 'Schiff is a big leaker, you know. He leaks to crazy CNN,' Trump accused of the House Intelligence chair Trump also said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, who chairs the Intelligence Committee and headed the House impeachment investigation, would have leaked the information. 'They're so pathetic. So they want us to call them. Now, Schiff is a big leaker, you know. He leaks to crazy CNN,' Trump said. 'Not too many people are watching CNN. But he leaks!' 'So he'll say: 'You know, uh, off the record I got to hurry up because everyone's watching me in the hallway on my cell phone off the record, they've got the No. 1 terrorist in the world Soleimani. And they're going to get him, they're going to take him out in the next 10 minutes. Please, don't tell anyone I told you,'' Trump said, imitating Schiff leaking the story to CNN. Before heading to the rally he touted his approval rating among Republicans on Twitter and said he was going 'for a big 2020 sin.' 'Heading to Toledo, Ohio, for first Rally of the year. Tremendous crowd. Here we go for a big 2020 Win!' Trump tweeted as he flew aboard Air Force One to the swing state. '95% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you!' he wrote in another tweet. Ohio, a rust belt swing state, voted for Trump in 2016 with 51.3 per cent of the vote. Ahead of the rally, Trump touted Republican approval and said he was going 'for a bug 2020 win!' 'Donald Trump took big action and Qassem Soleimani is gone,' he cheered, and was met with chants of 'U.S.A' from the pro-Trump crowd. 'And when militants stormed our embassy in Baghdad, President Trump sent in the Marines, secured our embassy and this president said, 'No more Benghazis.' And when American lives were threatened by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, President Donald Trump took action and Qassem Soleimani is gone,' Pence said. 'Now the president said yesterday in his words the United States is always ready to embrace peace with all who seek it. But under this president, America will always seek peace through strength,' he continued, reminiscent of the Ronald Reagan foreign policy strategy. Trump will fly to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday for his second rally of the election year on the same night Democrats hold their first primary presidential debate of 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. Milwaukee is also the location of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which will take place in July. Hillary Clinton did not campaign in Wisconsin, another rust belt swing state, during the 2016 general election against Trump and ultimately, feeling ignored, the state turned from blue to red with less than 1 per cent more voters opting for Trump. Trump brought up some potential Democrats he could face in the 2020 general election, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who the president says he hopes he goes up against. Iranian terrorist military leader Qassem Soleimani (pictured) was killed Friday at an airport in Baghdad, Iraq by a drone strike ordered by the president. Trump's defense and national security officials have claimed Soleimani's threat against the U.S. was 'imminent' 'I sort of hope it's Joe because he will hear 'where's Hunter' every single debate, nine times a debate,' Trump said to a roaring crowd. The frontrunner 2020 candidate's son, Hunter, was on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma holdings from 2014-2019. Trump held a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the summer where he urged his Eastern European counterpart to investigate potential corruption in regards to Hunter's position and his father's involvement. That conversation led to the Democrats filing two articles of impeachment against the president in late December: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The president still denies any wrongdoing and instead claims Congress should be looking into the Bidens business dealings in Ukraine. 'I went to one of them and said we have to have 'Where's Hunter' as a witness. They said, 'What do you mean Where's Hunter.' I said, 'That's his first name. I have now made his first name Where's,'' Trump said. He also trashed Democrats running in the 2020 primary, claiming their debate are much lower than the ratings were when he was on the debate stage against Republican challengers in the 2016 primary. Trump criticized the Democratic primary field, but focused mainly on former Vice President Joe Biden, who he said he hopes he goes up against. 'Biden doesn't know the difference between Iran and Iraq. He's gotten it wrong four times,' Trump said at the rally He also claimed if Biden was the nominee, he would hear 'Where's Hunter' nine times at every debate in reference to his son Hunter Biden's (pictured) position with a Ukrainian natural gas firm from 2014-2019 Trump tweeted after the rally concluded He said his administration is 'putting AMERICA FIRST!' 'We never missed center stage in the debates. Remember those great debates? We actually got high rating. They don't get very good ratings anymore. They're like it's like death,' Trump said. The first 2020 Democrat debate will be on the same night of Trump's second Keep America Great rally of the year. 'Watching I should watch. You know, I'm supposed to watch, it's like my job. Try and watch. Watch the competition. But, it's like watching death. Those debates are boring. They're boring. You got to sit through those things for two or three hours you've got to be really committed to the country to do that,' Trump said, and was met with laughter. 'And you have some real beauties. You see what Pocahontus is slipping badly,' Trump said, using his offensive nickname for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren claimed on law school and professorship applications and documents that she was of Native American heritage. In 2018 she took a DNA test, after much chiding from Trump over her aboriginal claims, and the results showed she is as little as 1/1024th Native American. 'Bernie's crazy Bernie he's surging. And Biden doesn't know the difference between Iran and Iraq. He's gotten it wrong four times,' he continued in rounding up his criticism of the top three Democratic candidates. He finished his criticism of the Democratic crowd by lambasting former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, claiming 'nobody has any idea how the hell to say his name.' Following the rally, Trump continued his criticism of the Democratic field, which has narrowed to 14 contenders from a high of more than two dozen. 'Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, socialism, and blatant corruption,' Trump tweeted as he headed back to D.C. 'The Republican Party is the party of the American Worker, the American Family, and the American Dream! #KAG2020' Trump also tweeted his thanks to Toledo, Ohio after the rally concluded. 'Under my administration, we will NEVER make excuses for America's enemies we will never hesitate in defending American lives and we will never stop working to defeat Radical Islamic Terrorism!' he said in a second tweet. He also claimed it was time for the U.S. to focus on putting 'American first. 'After years of rebuilding OTHER nations, we are finally rebuilding OUR nation. We are finally putting AMERICA FIRST! #KAG2020,' Trump posted to Twitter. 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:
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Trumps plan has been one of the most divisive issues of his presidency, stretching back to racist comments he made during his 2016 campaign labeling some Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists. Politico reports that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans made their decision along party lines, with two Republican-appointed judges ruling to approve the move. The appellate court pointed to a similar decision made by the Supreme Court last year, siding with Trump against another injunction on his plan to fund wall construction with military money. Given that building the wall was Trumps No. 1 campaign pledge, it is no surprise that he has been so obsessed with building it, Peter Andreas, a border wall historian at Brown University, tells PEOPLE. It is still a long way off, so much so that finish the wall will undoubtedly be a lead campaign pledge in the next election. In a statement on Thursday, the White House lauded the courts decision and insisted we will finish the wall. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has lifted an illegitimate nationwide injunction entered by a lower court, and in doing so has allowed vital border wall construction to move forward using military construction funds, Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said. This is a victory for the rule of law. RELATED: Trump Declares a Sweeping National Emergency at the Border to Build His Wall. Now What? President Donald Trump | Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock Last year, President Trump declared a national emergency in an effort to secure funding for the border wall after Congress only agreed to pay $1.375 billion toward the project instead of the $6 billion hed requested. Story continues People that should have stepped up did not step up, he said during his emergency declaration, according to Politico. They didnt step up and they should have. We are stepping up now. A number of entities filed lawsuits against the president, including 20 states and the House of Representatives, according to Politico. The wall plan has faced intense criticism at every phase, including from Democratic lawmakers who say it would be ineffective border control to those who say his bid to use military money is an illegal end-run around Congress. Trump has often described problems at the southern border in broad, hyperbolic terms. Its very simple: We want to stop drugs from going into our country, we want to stop criminals and gangs from going into our country, he said last year, though those claims are unsupported by much data. They say walls dont work, Trump continued. Walls work 100 percent. But many border wall historians disagree. If you look at more recent walls, actually, none of them have worked in the way that they were meant to, mainly if we speak about anti anti-immigration, anti-smuggling, anti-terrorism walls, Elisabeth Vallet told Rolling Stone last year. People go around or under, or [the wall] will be overwhelmed in one way or another, like the Maginot Line. RELATED: President Trump Wants Billions for a Border Wall Heres What Hed Cut to Pay For It Another federal judge in Washington, D.C., previously denied the Houses efforts to block Trump from getting the $6 billion in funding for his border wall, Politico reported in June, and the judge directed lawmakers to find other means to fight Trumps border wall funding outside of the courts. Congress has several political arrows in its quiver to counter perceived threats to its sphere of power, judge Trevor McFadden wrote. These tools show that this lawsuit is not a last resort for the House. Trumps border wall plan has raised debates around the country over immigration reform and the language politicians use when discussing immigration issues. Calling it a wall rather than a barrier or a fence has had enormous symbolic importance, so much so that it is fair to say that the very idea of the wall itself has divided the country more than divided the U.S. and Mexico, says Andreas, the historian at Brown. Trump has essentially walled himself off from much of the country, while at the same time gambling that walling himself in with his base can get him re-elected. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 23:35:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Germans spent about 73 billion euros (81 billion U.S. dollars) on vacation last year, an increase of 3 percent compared to the previous year, according to preliminary figures published by the research association for holidays and travel (FUR) on Friday. The total number of vacation trips of at least five days in 2019 was up 1 percent to an estimated 71 million, according to FUR. More than three quarters of German citizens had taken at least one holiday in 2019, said FUR study author Martin Lohmann just before the start of the Holiday Exhibition CMT in the German city of Stuttgart. The expected number of short vacation trips with a duration of only two to four days was expected to remain at the previous years level of 92 million, according to FUR. The cruise industry continued its boom and recorded high growth figures. German citizens booked around nine percent more cruises last year than in 2018, Lohmann told the German news agency (dpa). "We expect a good year of travel in 2020," a spokesperson of FUR told Xinhua on Friday. But it would "remain to be seen whether there is still a lot of room for improvement", maybe in terms of travel expenses, but less so in the number of vacation trips. Germany was expected to be again the top travel destination for German citizens in 2020, FUR noted. It was expected to be followed by Spain, Italy, Turkey and Austria. A funding application for a public realm project in Manorhamilton was described by Cllr Felim Gurn as: vital for the economic survival of Manorhamilton. With an estimated cost of 2m the public improvement works are a major investment in the future of the North Leitrim town. The project includes the provision of town centre car park spaces, increased pedestrian areas and enhancement of the town's Main Street area and business park. The roll out of high-speed broadband to over 11,000 premises in the county moved a step closer when it was announced that Leitrim will receive an investment of 45 million to provide fibre broadband to 11,297 homes in the Intervention Area. The areas in Leitrim that fall under the Intervention Area include Glenboy, Aughavas and Corry. August brought some very positive news for Carrick-on-Shannon with the county town featuring prominently in two national surveys which will further enhance the town's image as a retail and tourist destination. Three retailers, McMahon Opticians, one of only two independent opticians in the country on the list, Cafe Lounge which specialises in coffees and teas from around the world, and the multi award-winning restaurant and pub, The Oarsman were named in the Top 100 stores in Ireland by Retail Excellence, the largest retail industry representative organisation in the country. The Jofir Drengir re-enactment sports team who put on a medieval battle display which drew a large and appreciative crowd at Lough Rynn Castle grounds In another boost for the town's image, the latest litter survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) found the River Shannon at Carrickon-Shannon to be among only seven sites of the 42 surveyed nationally to be deemed clean and the area assessed as very well maintained. In less positive news it was revealed that Leitrim has the second highest commercial vacancy rate in the country. Figures showed the west of the country is the worst affected by commercial vacancy rates with Sligo recording the highest vacancy rate (18.9%) followed by Leitrim (16.7%), Roscommon (16.3%), Mayo (16.3%) and Galway (16.2%). Over two dozen students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were booked for allegedly raising objectionable slogans against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) organised on the campus on Thursday. The police claimed the students also formed a human chain in solidarity with the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University-- several of whom were beaten-up by a masked mob of armed miscreants in Delhi last Sunday-- and raised Azadi slogans. They were booked under Section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the IPC, police added. The case was registered at Civil Lines police station. Circle officer (III) of Aligarh police, Anil Kumar Samania said: About 25-30 unidentified students have been booked for raising objectionable slogans during a protest at the AMU campus. The students also demanded a probe against the JNU administration and Delhi Polices role in the whole episode. Delhi police was accused of inaction against the violent mob that allegedly went about its business in the presence of the city police. AMU students also sought the withdrawal of FIRs lodged against JNU students including its union president Aishe Ghosh, who was also injured in the attack on the afternoon of January 5. Delhi Police on Friday named left leader Aishe Ghosh, as one of the nine suspects, identified for their alleged involvement in the violence. Ghosh, according to the police, was part of one of the groups that attacked students at JNUs Periyar hostel at about 3.45 pm. AMUs winter break has been extended and it is now scheduled to reopen in a phased manner from January 13. The winter break was advanced after a violent clash between the students and the police on the night of December 15, during a protest against alleged police atrocities on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. The Jamia students anti-Citizenship Amendment Act march had turned violent earlier that day in New Delhi, leading to a police crackdown that resulted in injuries to several students and cops. Despite winter vacation, anti-CAA protests have continued at AMU since December 9. Meanwhile, the Friday namaz was held peacefully in the city amid heavy security. O prah Winfrey has spoken out after reports in the US claimed she advised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about breaking free from the royal family and building their own brand. Sources told the New York Post that Oprah, 65, had encouraged the couple to seek a new life in North America backed by the creation of a powerful new Sussex Royal identity. But Oprah, who was among the celebrity guests at the couples 2018 wedding, said: Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out whats best for them. The American former daytime TV star told People magazine: I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry / Getty Images The media mogul worked with Harry on a documentary about mental health for Apple TV+ which will be broadcast later this year. The pair were said to have had frank conversations about the struggles the prince and Meghan have faced in the media spotlight in Britain. An insider was quoted as telling the New York Post: Oprah was the first person to talk to Harry and Meghan about breaking free and doing their own thing, building on their own brand. "She made them realise it was really possible. Oprah Winfrey - In pictures 1 /50 Oprah Winfrey - In pictures Oprah Winfrey as Sofia in 'The Color Purple' (1986) Oprah Winfrey speaks after accepting the Cecil B. Demille Award at the 75th Golden Globe Awards Reuters Oprah Winfrey Network, shows Oprah Winfreys exclusive interview with Lance Armstrong in 2013 AFP/Getty Images US President Barack Obama (back) awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Oprah Winfrey (front), in the East Room of the White House in 2013 EPA Oprah Winfrey as Sofia in 'The Color Purple' (1986) Oprah Winfrey pictured at The Savoy, London in 1989 Associated Newspapers Oprah Winfrey collecting her Daytime Emmy award for her TV show in 1992 Oprah Winfrey receiving a BAFTA award in London in 1996 PA Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey delivers the keynote address at Wesleyan University in 1998 AP Danny Glover as Paul D and Oprah Winfrey as Sethe in 'Beloved' (1999) Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush kisses talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2000 AP U.S. Vice President Al Gore appears in 2000 with Oprah Winfrey on her television show while campaigning in Chicago, Illinois Reuters Oprah Winfrey poses with former South African President Nelson Mandela during the Agenda for Earth Turning Ceremony for The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa in Henley on Klip south of Johannesburg in 2002 Reuters Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey displays her award at the 54th annual Emmy Awards in 2002 Reuters Former President Clinton reads an excerpt from his book "My Life" to talk-show host Oprah Winfrey in 2004 AP Oprah Winfrey embraces Christine King Farris in 2006, sister of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, as they attend a musical tribute for Coretta Scott King at the new Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia AFP/Getty Images U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama is joined by entertainer and talk show host Oprah Winfrey at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa on 8 December 2007 Reuters U.S. talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, center, with learners, during an opening ceremony of her Leadership Academy for Girls School at Henley-on-Klip, South Africa in 2007 AP Oprah Winfrey takes a HIV test before families and learners at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy family day Celebration in South Africa in 2007 Reuters Barack Obama waves to the crowd while talk show host Oprah Winfrey and wife Michelle Obama look on at a campaign event in 2007 Getty Images Oprah Winfrey attends the opening night after party celebrating Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 50th anniversary at the New York City Center in 2008 Getty Images Former Olympic medalist Marion Jones with talk-show host Oprah Winfrey in 2008 AP Oprah Winfrey is honored with Minerva Award at Maria Shriver Women's Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center in 2010 Getty Images Piers Morgan interviewing Oprah Winfrey in 2011 AP Oprah Winfrey is kissed by singer Usher next to actor Will Smith, former NBA basketball player Michael Jordan, Tom Cruise, talkshow host Rosie O'Donnell, and Simon Cowell during the taping of "Oprah's Surprise Spectacular" in 2011. Reuters Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney listen to U.S. President Barack Obama as he gives a speech during the 2010 Kennedy Center Honorees to a reception in the East Room of the White House Getty Images Oprah Winfrey talks with Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston during an interview in 2012. Ms Brown, the only daughter of Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown died in July 2015 Reuters Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines and Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines in 'The Butler' (2013) Media mogul Oprah Winfrey acknowledges the cheers from students and audience after she received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during Harvard University's 362nd Commencement Exercises in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2013 Reuters Oprah Winfrey at The EE British Academy Film Awards 2014 at The Royal Opera House, London Dave Benett "Selma" producer Oprah Winfrey arrives at the 87th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California in 2015 Reuters First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to talk show host Oprah Winfrey during her final interview at the White House Oprah Winfrey as Deborah Lacks with Rose Byrne as Rebecca Skloot in 'The immortal life of Henrietta Lack' (2017) Oprah Winfrey presents the award for outstanding drama series for "The Handmaid's Tale" to Elisabeth Moss at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2017 AP Oprah Winfrey attends the premiere of HBO Films' "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" at the SVA Theatre in 2017 AP Oprah Winfrey poses backstage with her Cecil B. DeMille Award at The Golden Globe Awards in 2018 Reuters Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham pose for a photo on the red carpet at the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios Invision/AP Oprah Winfrey speaks during the WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined) & Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life In Focus Tour at BB&T Center on January 4, 2020 in Sunrise, Florida Getty Images The Post also claimed that Oprahs best friend, US broadcaster Gayle King, who was at Meghans baby shower in New York, will get the first interview with the couple in the wake of their shock announcement. TODO: define component type apester The report claimed that Oprah was one of a number of influential US-based friends close to Meghan and Harry, including Barack and Michelle Obama, George and Amal Clooney, Serena Williams, James Corden and fashion designer Misha Nonoo. According to the Post, Ms Nonoos new husband Michael Hess has offered the couple the use of one of his oil familys three homes in the exclusive gated Malibu Colony, which is dubbed Billionaires Beach in southern California. The prince is said to be considering styling his new life on Mr Obamas post-White House career, involving philanthropic causes, speeches, book deals and making documentaries. Listen to today's episode of The Leader: BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The CIS observer mission which will be involved in the Azerbaijani parliamentary elections is planned to open on January 19 or January 20, the CIS observer missions department told Trend. "The CIS Executive Committee received an invitation from the Azerbaijani government to monitor the parliamentary elections, the message said. In accordance with the Regulation on the CIS observer mission, we sent letters to the CIS countries asking them to send candidates within the mission." The early parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on February 9, 2020. Some 689 candidates have been registered for participation in the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn 10.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Donald Trump tried to take credit for new data showing a decline in cancer deaths, but the American Cancer Society (ACS) was quick to shoot down his victory lap. According to a new ACS report, cancer deaths saw the largest single-year drop from 2016 to 2017, falling overall for the 26th year in a row. Trump, of course, took credit for the news, saying in a tweet, A lot of good news coming out of this Administration. U.S. Cancer Death Rate Lowest In Recorded History! A lot of good news coming out of this Administration. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2020 Despite Trumps fantasy that he swept into office and single-handedly cured cancer, the American Cancer Society was quick to tell Trump he had nothing to do with the decline in deaths. According to CNN, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Gary M. Reedy said nothing done by the Trump administration has contributed to the decline in cancer deaths. Since taking office, the president has signed multiple spending bills that have included increases in funding for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute though the impact of those increases are not reflected in the data contained in this report, he said, according to the reporting. The American Cancer Society urges Trump to increase access to health care Not only did the American Cancer Society slam Trump for taking credit for a decline in cancer deaths, but the group also urged him to increase access to health care in America the opposite of what hes done over the past three years with his constant assault on the Affordable Care Act. The administration has an opportunity to significantly impact future declines in both cancer incidence and mortality by increasing access to comprehensive health care, supporting robust and sustained increases in federal funding for cancer research and passing and implementing evidence-based tobacco control policies, Reedy said. After three years of waging war on health care in America, Donald Trump is the last person who should be taking credit for the ACSs findings. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter CHICAGO - DNA tests to determine if a coyote captured on Chicagos North Side is the same animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy will take weeks to complete, a city animal control official said Friday. Jenny Schlueter of the Chicago Animal Care and Control said the coyote that was captured Thursday night will be held at a Chicago-area animal rehabilitation centre until the tests are completed. Kelley Gandurski, the agencys executive director, said at a news conference Thursday that the coyote would eventually be relocated outside the city. The animal was captured after being chased by Chicago police and animal control officers for several blocks. It was shot with a tranquilizer dart and taken in an animal control van to the animal rehabilitation centre. Schlueter said another coyote was spotted in the same part of the city on Thursday night but it eluded capture. Animal control officers continued to search for coyotes in the Lincoln Park neighbourhood where a coyote attacked the 6-year-old boy, as well as downtown where a coyote was spotted and a man reported he was also bitten. Experts say the majority of cases in which people believe they or their pets have been bitten by coyotes turn out to have been attacks by dogs, but Chicago officials remain confident, after talking to witnesses, that the animal that attacked the boy on Wednesday was a coyote. If that is the case, it would be the first confirmed coyote attack on a human in Illinois, according to a wildlife biologist with the Urban Coyote Research Project. The two reported attacks on Wednesday, several recent coyote sightings and the rescue from Lake Michigan of a young coyote by the fire departments marine unit have focused intense attention on the citys wild coyote population. On Thursday, after a coyote was spotted in the Lincoln Park neighbourhood, officials briefly locked down two schools to prevent students from going outside. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters at news conference Friday that she has been impressed with the response by Gandurskis agency and the police department after the attack on the boy. We were able to quickly identify the location of the coyote, get him into custody without doing further harm, she said. She said she was also particularly impressed with Gandurskis leadership handling of the search for and capture of an alligator in a city lagoon over the summer. Never did I think I would be talking about alligators in one breath and then a coyote in the next, she said. She reiterated what Gandurski and others have said to calm coyote-attack fears: the animals pose little risk to people. Experts say attacks on humans have been extremely rare in the decades they have lived in the city and typically the animals are so afraid of people that their first instinct is to run away. They really thrive in cities by avoiding us, by moving around and eating rats and rabbits and squirrels and not getting in the face of any humans, said Seth Magle, director of the Lincoln Park Zoos Urban Wildlife Institute. We know that we live around a large number of coyotes, and almost all of them are never going to create any problems or hazards for anyone. But, he and others have said there may be circumstances in which the animals could become more bold. For example, there were reports that the coyote spotted downtown near Northwestern Memorial Hospital was limping, something that experts say might make a coyote change its behaviour because it no longer has the speed to capture small animals as it typically might and search for scraps that could put it closer to humans. Magle said another factor could be the weather. Its also the dead of winter, and some of these animals may just be in a desperate situation, where theyre really trying to find food, he said. The number of people flying in Sweden dropped by 4 per cent last year, suggesting that the home-grown flight shame movement is starting to have an impact. Official statistics from Swedens airport operator, Swedavia, show that more than 40 million people flew through the countrys 10 airports in 2019, a 4 per cent drop year on year. In 2018, a record high of more than 42 million people flew through Swedish airports. The decrease in 2019 was primarily in domestic travel, said Swedavia, and international travel decreased to a lesser extent. In 2019, 12.4 million domestic passengers flew through Sweden, a 9 per cent year on year drop. World's best train journeys Show all 10 1 /10 World's best train journeys World's best train journeys Belmond Andean Explorer Explore Peru with this luxury train service Belmond World's best train journeys Coast Starlight Gorgeous: take in the scenery on a train ride from Seattle to Los Angeles Amtrak World's best train journeys TranzAlpine See stunning views on this New Zealand train journey TranzAlpine World's best train journeys Rovos Rail This rail service takes you to the heart of Africa Rovos Rail World's best train journeys Interregional Portugal Explore all the beauty Portugal has to offer by train Interregional Portugal World's best train journeys Glacier Express Take in jaw-dropping views of Switzerland from a train Glacier Express World's best train journeys East Lancashire Railway Travelling back in time in northern England East Lancashire Railway World's best train journeys Durango & Silverton Enjoy one of America's most scenic train rides Durango & Silverton World's best train journeys Caledonian Sleeper Wake up to the beauty of Scotland with this overnight train Peter Devlin World's best train journeys Belmond Eastern & Oriental A breezy observation car on a luxury Asian train Belmond International traffic declined by 2 per cent to nearly 28 million. The Swedish concept of flygskam, which translates as flight shame, is an anti-flying movement that originated in Sweden in 2018. It encourages people to stop taking flights to lower carbon emissions. It was originally championed by Olympic athlete Bjorn Ferry and has gained momentum thanks to teenager Greta Thunberg, who has given up flying. In Gothenburg airport, Swedens second biggest airport after Stockholm Arlanda airport, international traffic actually increased. By contrast, there was a 4 per cent year-on-year decrease in traffic through Stockholm Arlanda. The most recent global passenger data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) shows that 4.4 billion passengers flew in 2018, an increase of 6.9 per cent from 2017. Additionally, more Britons travelled abroad in 2018 than any other nationality, according to the international trade body for aviation. In 2018, 126.2 million passengers were British totalling 8.6 per cent, roughly one in 12, of all international travellers. Read why The Independents Helen Coffey is going flight-free for 2020 here. WASHINGTON Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday approved a resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insisted it "has real teeth" because "it is a statement of the Congress of the United States." The measure will protect American lives and values by limiting Trump's military actions, Pelosi said. "The administration must de-escalate and must prevent further violence.'' The White House called the resolution ridiculous" and completely misguided." And Trump, at a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, claimed he had no obligation to give lawmakers advance warning, saying Democrats like Pelosi want us to tell them so they can leak it to their friends in the corrupt media. ROSE VOTES AGAINST The House passed the measure, 224-194, with just three Republicans voting in support. Eight Democrats opposed the measure, including Staten Island Rep. Max Rose. Before the vote, he told the Advance/SILive: I appreciate the presidents efforts to de-escalate conflict in the face of Iranian retaliation and support his diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions to advance our goals of ensuring Iran does not gain nuclear weapons and to end their support of terrorist activities. I know all too well the real costs of war and sending troops into harms way is the most consequential decision I could make. Unfortunately, todays War Powers Resolution is a non-binding resolution that simply restates existing law and sends the message that war is imminent, he continued. I refuse to play politics with questions of war and peace and therefore will not support this resolution. ACTION IN THE SENATE A similar proposal by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., faces an uphill fight in the GOP-run Senate. Kaines efforts received a boost Thursday as Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, an ex-Marine, said he might support the war powers measure. Two other Republican senators said Wednesday they would back Kaines plan. We are members of a separate and distinct branch of government. It is our duty not to take anyones word for things as we are dealing with matters of life and death, Young said, adding that he wished Trump administration officials had provided more intelligence information during a briefing Wednesday on a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. Pelosi, in announcing the House vote, called the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani provocative and disproportionate." Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, denounced the Democratic measure as little more than a press release designed to attack President Trump,'' while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California called it a meaningless vote" on a measure that will never be sent to the president or "limit his constitutional authority to defend the American people.'' White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said, This House resolution tries to undermine the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to prevent terrorist activity by Iran and its proxies, and attempts to hinder the Presidents authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats." The House vote came a day after the Trump administration briefed lawmakers on its actions in Iran. Democrats and several Republicans called the briefings inadequate, adding that officials did not provide enough details about why the attack was justified. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Soleimani was traveling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces. He said it was not possible to share full details of the intelligence with lawmakers. When it comes to intelligence we have to protect sources and methods, there's only certain amount we can share with every member of Congress, Pence said on ABC's Good Morning America. "But those of us who have seen all the evidence know that there was a compelling case of imminent threat against American personnel. Trump said Thursday that he "had calls from numerous senators and numerous congressmen and women saying it was the greatest presentation theyve ever had.'' Referring to criticism by GOP Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul, Trump said: "They want information that honestly I think is very hard to get. ... It really had to do with sources and information that we had that really should remain at a very high level.'' Lee, a conservative from Utah, said the briefing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials was probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue," in the nine years he's served in the Senate. Paul, of Kentucky, said administration officials justified killing Soleimani based on the 2002 authorization of force in Iraq. "That is absurd. That's an insult,'' he said. Pelosi scheduled the House vote after Iran retaliated for the Soleimani killing by launching missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops. No casualties were reported. Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military" unless Congress declares war on that country or enacts legislation authorizing use of force to prevent an attack on the U.S. and its forces, the five-page resolution states. The resolution's sponsor, freshman Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said it is intended to "make clear that if the president wants to take us to war, he must get authorization from Congress.'' If loved ones are going to be sent to fight in a protracted war, "the president owes the American people a public conversation about why, and for what ends,'' said Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who served in Iraq. Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to uphold in authorizing use of military force, Slotkin said, adding, "We are owed concrete, specific details on strategy.'' Trump did not consult with congressional leaders ahead of the attack that killed the Iranian general and afterward sent Congress a notification explaining the rationale, but kept it classified. Congress has allowed its war powers role to erode since the passage of Authorization for Use of Military Force in 2001 to fight terrorism after the 9/11 attacks, and passage of another AUMF for the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Fallout from those votes deeply divided Congress and the nation, with many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, now saying they were mistakes. Yet Congress has been paralyzed on the question of whether to repeal or change those authorities. CLOSE TO THE BRINK The strikes by Iran had pushed Tehran and Washington perilously close to all-out conflict and put the world's attention on Trump as he weighed whether to respond with more military force. Republicans have largely supported Trump's actions, saying the president was well within his power to take out Iran's architect of proxy operations against Americans in the Middle East. The U.S. considered Soleimani a terrorist. Democrats were unconvinced that the threat posed by Soleimani was imminent or that other alternatives to the killing were pursued in good faith. By not disclosing many details of the threat, Trump was asking the American public to trust the very intelligence reports he has often disparaged, Democrats said. Young told reporters Thursday that lawmakers "need to ensure that Congress is involved in future decision-making so we end up exactly where the president wants to end up, which is the avoidance of a major ground war in the Middle East.'' He called Kaine's resolution a mechanism to force us to debate this.'' Three Republicans supported the measure: Reps. Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney of Florida and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The eight Democrats who opposed it were Reps. Anthony Brindisi and Max Rose of New York, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Ben McAdams of Utah and Stephanie Murphy of Florida. Gaetz, one of Trump's strongest supporters, said "killing Soleimani was the right decision, but engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision.'' Rose, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said the resolution simply restates existing law and sends the message that war is imminent. I refuse to play politics with questions of war and peace and therefore will not support this resolution. Hyderabad, Jan 10 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday appeared before a CBI special court here in the disproportionate assets case. Reddy, who landed at Begumpet Airport in a special aircraft from Vijayawada, reached the special court at Nampally Court Complex amid tight security. This is the first time Reddy has personally appeared in the court as the chief minister in the case registered against him in 2011. Reddy, who took over as the chief minister in May last year, has been seeking exemptions from personal appearance every Friday. However, the special court, hearing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases, last week took exception to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief seeking exemptions every week. Along with the chief minister, his close aide and YSR Congress MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, who is accused number two in the case, former minister and party leader Dharmana Prasad Rao, IAS officer Sri Laxmi, industrialist Shyamaprasad Reddy, retired IAS officer Samuel and other accused appeared before the court. The court on November 1 last year had dismissed Jagan's petition for exemption from personal appearance in the case. The chief minister had sought the exemption from personal appearance in the court on the ground that he is holding a constitutional post and needs to attend several important programmes. However, the CBI had opposed the plea on the ground that there is a change only in personal capacity of the petitioner and not in the circumstances of the case. The federal agency had also argued that Jagan may influence the witnesses. In what is known as ''quid-pro-quo'' cases, Jagan was accused of getting investments into his businesses by firms and individuals in return for the undue favours by the government headed by his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy between 2004 and 2009. The CBI has filed 11 chargesheets against Jagan and others. However, the YSRCP leader denied all the charges and termed them as political vendetta. The CBI arrested Jagan and sent him to jail on May 27, 2012. After 16 months in jail, he was granted bail. Heres something you dont often hear: British Airways staff got a round of applause at Athens airport from grateful passengers. Even more strangely, this took place about 24 hours after they were due to land at Heathrow, on Thursday 9 January. My man on the ground was Michael Robinson, chief executive of ESG Global and a passenger on flight BA134. The Boeing 777 had departed from Mumbai in the early hours of Wednesday, and was about 1,700 miles into the flight when it reached the western end of the Gulf. The British Airways jet had planned to take the normal corridor northwest through Iraq, parallel to the Iranian border. But above Kuwait, the pilots were told to divert. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP The extremely tense military situation in the region was about to get worse, with an expected Iranian attack on US positions in Iraq. According to Mr Robinson, the captain was asked to fly through Iranian airspace but refused. Instead, the plane headed southwest into Saudi airspace, and kept south to avoid Lebanon, Israel and Syria. The extra distance meant BA134 needed more fuel. The plane touched down at Athens. One delay led to another, and quickly it was clear the flight crew would exceed their allotted hours if the flight continued to Heathrow. So they were decamped into hotels. As the day unfolded they learnt the fate of another passenger aircraft: Ukraine International flight PS752 had crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran airport, destination Kiev. It was a good decision, reports Mr Robinson. It looks like the missiles were fired about 20 minutes later. BA have done a pretty good job. Which explains the round of applause at Athens. Finally, on Saturday morning, Iran admitted that the 176 people on board were victims of a shoot first, ask questions later decision. The foreign minister, Javad Zarif, tweeted: A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster. Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations. As with the Malaysia Airlines MH17 tragedy in eastern Ukraine, and before that the loss of a Siberia Airlines flight over the Black Sea, military hardware is easily capable of taking out passenger aircraft. In a world where aviation is becoming ever safer, tragedies involving unintended shootdowns are all the more prominent. By Friday, the Department for Transport (DfT) warned UK airlines of a potential risk from heightened military activity and dedicated anti-aviation weaponry in both Iran and Iraq. Airlines are advised not to enter the territory and airspace of either country. Yet plenty of flights are still using Iranian and Iraqi airspace. On Friday morning, the Qatar Airways service from Doha to Manchester flew over Iraq, while the contemporaneous departure to Edinburgh took a route over Iran. And in the opposite direction, Emirates flight EK8 from Heathrow to Dubai followed a standard track over Iraq. Following the latest tragedy, there are difficult decisions to be made and balances to be struck. Emirates, for example, could technically follow British Airways in switching to a southerly track between Heathrow and Dubai, crossing Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt and flying down to the Gulf of Aqaba to turn east. But it will add typically 30 minutes extra to the journey time. Whats half an hour when safety is at stake?, you might reasonably respond. The trouble is, Emirates flies six giant Airbus A380s a day, each way, between the two busiest airports in the world for international flights. Dubai is at the heart of Emirates complex scheduling choreography, and if a round-trip arrives back in Dubai an hour late, half the connections may be missed. Besides, the Sinai Peninsula, which lies astride the alternative flight path, is not exactly a conflict-free zone. The airline industry is accustomed to balancing risks, and pilots are paid to assess and manage them. Especially in troubled times, I put my trust in the professionals. President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Abubakar Garba as the new Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). A former Minister of State for Defence, Ademola Seriki, was also appointed as the Chairman of the Board of the Commission, according to a statement of the new appointments posted on the Twitter handle of the Commission on Friday. Presenting the appointment letter to the new Registrar-General, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, said the constitution of the new board has put to rest the lingering leadership tussle in the Commission. The minister urged all directors and the staff of the Commission to give the new Registrar-General maximum support and cooperation to move the agency forward. The appointment of the new Registrar-General is coming almost two weeks the former Registrar General, Azuka Azinge, was directed to step aside after she was accused of false declaration of assets. Mrs Azinge was arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on December 23 last year on an 11-count charge of false declaration of assets. She was also accused of receiving unauthorised allowances while in office. Mr Abubakar pledged his unflinching support and loyalty to President Muhammadu Buharis administration and pledged to be fair to all to enable his management to transform the Commission to a world-class institution. We promise to fulfill the confidence reposed on us by the government. Mr Garba, who hails from Bauchi State, is a lawyer. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989. Abubakar Garba, Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) He joined the CAC in April 2004 as a principal manager, compliance and later became a director in January 2016. Between August 2017 and October 2017, Mr Garba was the special adviser to the former Registrar-General. Powersharing is returning to Northern Ireland after Sinn Fein joined the DUP in backing a deal to re-enter devolved government together. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said a draft agreement tabled by the UK and Irish governments provided a basis to resurrect parliamentary institutions that have been down for three years. The Assembly will sit once again at 1pm on Saturday a plenary session that will see the election of a DUP First Minister and Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister along with a team of ministerial colleagues. The SDLP has confirmed it will take up its entitlement to one ministry. There has yet been confirmation whether the Ulster Unionists and Alliance Party will also take seats in the executive, with both parties still engaged in internal discussions. The wide-ranging deal, which Read More: We now have the basis to restore powersharing, and were up for that, said Ms McDonald, making the landmark announcement in Parliament Buildings in Belfast. Pearse Doherty, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill among party colleagues at a press conference today. Picture: PA The move, which came after a day of internal deliberations by the republican party, followed a similar announcement by DUP leader Arlene Foster on Thursday night. The sign-off of both leaders was vital, as peace process structures mean a ministerial executive can only function with the inclusion of the largest unionist party and largest nationalist party in the region. The UK's Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith, who helped broker the deal alongside Tanaiste Minister Simon Coveney, welcomed confirmation that devolution would return. He tweeted: A devolved government can now start delivering the reforms needed in our public services. After three years, its time to get back to work for the people of Northern Ireland. #StormontDeal. Ms Foster, who has experienced a turbulent number of years at the helm of the party, is now set to return as Northern Irelands First Minister. She conceded there were parts of the deal that would be challenging for the people that she represents. But overall and on the whole I feel that its a fair and balanced deal and thats why we were able to recommend it last night to our party officers and to the elected representatives, she said. I think people will note that whilst there is a recognition of the facilitation of Irish language, there is also very much a recognition of those of us who are Ulster British and live here in Northern Ireland as well, and there is many mechanisms to strengthen the union. Ms Foster responded to Read More: I think if anybody reads the agreement they will see that it is a fair and balanced deal, she said. Ms McDonald, flanked by Sinn Feins likely Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill, said the executive faced many challenges, including the impact of Brexit and austerity. But the biggest and most significant challenge will be ensuring we have genuine powersharing built on equality, respect and integrity, she said. I believe that the powersharing government can work. That requires everyone to step up. Sinn Feins commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. Ms McDonald responded to those Irish language activists disappointed with provisions outlined in the deal. She insisted the New Decade, New Approach agreement was only a start, predicting that more gains for language would come in the future. I would say to Irish language activists take heart from the fact that this is now a historic moment because for the first time we have official recognition, she said. The republican leader also insisted Sinn Fein was committed to Irish reunification efforts and to make sure all people across the north and south divide enjoyed the same rights. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it was time to get down to work and deliver for the public. We have had big commitments from the two governments and other parties to ensure that the things that we are concerned about actually get done in this executive, he said. Thats why we have taken the decision, as a party, to go into government to make sure that we can deliver for the people we are concerned about. We will go in, probably sceptically, but we will go in and we will do our best to deliver for the public. Government funding is set to help tackle a host of acute problems facing a public sector that has been floundering amid the governance vacuum. One of the most high-profile of those is an industrial dispute in the health service which on Friday saw nurses again walk out on strike. Under the terms of the deal, the new executive will also take action to reduce spiralling hospital waiting lists; extend mitigation payments for benefit claimants hit by welfare reforms; increase the number of police officers on the beat; and resolve an industrial dispute involving teachers. The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That row subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. Mr Coveney said history has been made. Speaking to reporters in Dublin after Sinn Fein backed the deal, he said: History is being made today. We now have confirmation from the two largest parties in Northern Ireland that they both are committed to re-entering an executive and establishing a functioning Stormont again. Of course, that is not the end of the story as we want this to be an all-party executive so I hope that the Alliance Party and SDLP will also be able to join Sinn Fein and the DUP in that new executive. We hope that it may be possible that executive will be formed tomorrow but if not tomorrow, certainly Monday and to build on the momentum that is being created in the past 24 hours so that people can see positive political activity, people working together and setting an example and signal of positivity and show that politics in Northern Ireland can be a force for good and brings people together. Instead of pursuing her passions and contributing her talents to our community and economy, Carter navigated a culture of cruel judgment and condemnation. She spent much of her adult life homeless, trying to survive in the dark shadows and dangerous margins of our city. In that netherworld, extreme poverty, housing instability and being transgender made her an other, vulnerable prey. Her situation was further complicated and her vulnerability amplified by mental illness and substance abuse. It did not take a medical expert to recognize that her use of alcohol and drugs was a desperate form of self-treatment made all but inevitable in a city with a long history of failure to successfully deliver community mental health care. The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Mt-Glen Farms has been selected for the 2019 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award. Dean and Rebecca Jackson own and operate the third-generation dairy farm located near Columbia Cross Roads in Bradford County. Mt-Glen Farms is known for protecting the environment while raising high-quality dairy cattle. The Jacksons use agricultural conservation practices that to retain nutrients on the soil, while protecting water quality Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes farmers, ranchers and foresters in 20 states who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working land. The Jackson family was presented with $10,000 award and a crystal award at the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show, January 10 in Harrisburg. The award is presented in Pennsylvania by Heinz Endowments Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and Sand County Foundation The Heinz Endowments sustainability program promotes community health and vitality through sustainable food systems, and as part of this work we are pleased to cosponsor the Leopold Conservation Award. We believe the Leopold Conservation Award, and the outstanding leadership in agriculture that it recognizes, plays an important role in encouraging the growth of Pennsylvanias sustainable agriculture movement, said Andrew McElwaine, Vice President of Sustainability for The Heinz Endowments. Dean and Rebecca Jackson provide us with the ultimate example of how farmers build upon their environmental stewardship successes. Throughout the years, theyve added new conservation practices after new conservation practices to improve overall soil quality, while preventing runoff and erosion at Mt-Glen Farms, said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert. The Jacksons commitment and attention to detail is also demonstrated in the internationally-recognized genetics of their Holstein cows and the overall success of their dairy and crop farm. Farmers make their living off the land so its intuitive for these private landowners to apply conservation practices in a way that benefits their business the environment, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. When we use best conservation practices, it shows respect to the communities beyond our own property. Leopold Conservation Award recipients are at the forefront of a movement by Americas farmers and ranchers to simultaneously achieve economic and environmental success, said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer. Among the many outstanding landowners nominated for the award were finalists: Glen Cauffman of Millerstown in Perry County, and Troy Firth of Spartansburg in Crawford County. The first Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award was presented last year to the DiFebo family (Harvest Home Farms) of Bangor. The Leopold Conservation Award in Pennsylvania is made possible thanks to the generous contributions from platinum sponsor, Heinz Endowments, and the assistance and support of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Sand County Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Center for Dairy Excellence, Pennsylvania Dairymens Association, and The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity. For more information on the award, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org. ABOUT MT-GLEN FARMS When it comes to cows and conservation, Mt-Glen Farms is known for quality. Just as families of prized Holsteins have produced superior genetics, a strong conservation ethic has been passed down among the farms owners. Dean and Rebecca Jacksons herd of high-quality dairy cows is internationally known within the registered cattle industry. Sales of their offspring has benefited the farms bottom line while improving the Holstein breeds bloodlines. Mt-Glen Farms is also a place where conservation and production agriculture have been inseparable for three generations. Deans grandfather, Scott Jackson, began farming amid the scenic hills of Bradford County in 1929. He practiced contour strip cropping, planted trees and hedgerows, built surface water diversions, and preserved habitat for wildlife after developing the farms first conservation plan. After Deans father Ben took over the farm, he voluntarily constructed a manure storage facility that allowed him to efficiently use manure nutrients to grow crops while protecting water quality by limiting the need to spread manure during the winter. Like father like son, Dean built heifer housing with enough capacity to provide the same flexibility needed for proper manure management. As he gained greater awareness of the importance of soil structure and the negative effects of compaction from tires, Dean began changing the way he farmed. Motivated to farm in a way that mimics the natural system, he adopted a no-till system for crop production and implemented a rotational grazing system on 20 acres of pasture. Trees were planted on 40 acres near a creek. The riparian area provides habitat for wildlife and space for runoff to infiltrate. He says these changes have made farming fun all over again. Dean showed leadership by adopting a nutrient management plan in the 1990s, even though it was only required of Pennsylvanias largest livestock farms. Every crop field at Mt-Glen Farms is surrounded by a permanent grass border to prevent soil erosion, and is regularly soil sampled to evaluate its nutrient needs. In recent years, the Jacksons have planted rye grass as a cover crop into standing fields of corn and soybeans. This conservation tool improves soil health, prevent erosion and naturally control weeds. Dean has been described as having a contagious enthusiasm for agricultural conservation. Last spring another 2,000 tree seedlings were planted on the farm. Two-thirds of the farms energy needs come from a solar energy array on a machinery sheds roof. All three of Dean and Rebeccas children are involved with the farm, including daughter Katie who is the full-time herd manager. The Jacksons regularly host groups from 4-H clubs to legislative leaders who want to learn how conservation can work alongside production agriculture. The family behind Mt-Glen Farms have emerged as conservation and dairy industry leaders who simply love what they do. LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD PROGRAM The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. Sand County Foundation presents the award in California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). www.leopoldconservationaward.org SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION Sand County Foundation inspires and enables a growing number of private landowners to ethically manage natural resources in their care, so future generations have clean and abundant water, healthy soil to support agriculture and forestry, plentiful habitat for wildlife and opportunities for outdoor recreation. www.sandcountyfoundation.org HEINZ ENDOWMENTS The Heinz Endowments is devoted to the mission of helping our region prosper as a vibrant center of creativity, learning, and social, economic and environmental sustainability. Core to our work is the vision of a just community where all are included and where everyone who calls southwestern Pennsylvania home has a real and meaningful opportunity to thrive. http://www.heinz.org/ PENNSYLVANIA FARM BUREAU Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is the states largest farm organization, representing farms of every size and commodity across Pennsylvania. www.pfb.com Seoul: South Korea and the US will hold a new round of talks in Washington next week on sharing the cost for stationing American troops here amid expectations the two sides were closer to a deal, the Foreign Minister said on Friday. Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's chief negotiator for the talks, is set to meet his US counterpart, James DeHart, for the two-day talks starting on January 14, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Ministry as saying. The planned negotiations come as the two allies were under pressure to clinch a fresh deal on determining how much Seoul should pay for keeping some 28,500 US soldiers on its soil. Last year's cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), expired on December 31, 2019. A Seoul official has told Yonhap that the allies are at "a crossroads" of a possible deadlock or major compromise. The allies have held five rounds of talks since launching the negotiations in September last year. They remain far apart on key sticking points, such as the amount of Seoul's contribution and what should be included in the SMA. South Korea paid around US$870 million under last year's SMA, an 8.2 per cent increase from the previous deal. Since 1991, Seoul has shouldered partial costs under the SMA, for Korean civilians hired by the US Forces Korea, the construction of military facilities to maintain the allies' readiness and other forms of support. FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2018, file photo, American flags are displayed together with Chinese flags on top of a trishaw in Beijing. China's economy czar will visit Washington next week for the signing of an interim trade deal, the government said Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) BEIJING (AP) Chinas economy czar will visit Washington next week for the signing of an interim trade deal, the government said Thursday. Vice Premier Liu He, Beijings chief envoy in talks with Washington over their tariff war, had been expected to attend the signing but the Commerce Ministrys statement was the first official confirmation. Washington postponed planned tariff increases following the announcement of the Phase 1 deal in October. But earlier punitive duties imposed by both sides on billions of dollars of each others goods stayed in place, dampening global trade and threatening to chill economic growth. Liu will lead a delegation to Washington from Monday through Wednesday, said ministry spokesman Gao Feng. Under the Phase 1 deal, Beijing agreed to buy more American farm goods and Washington's chief negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, said it would make changes to respond to complaints about its industrial policies. Details have yet to be announced and Chinese officials have yet to confirm any regulatory changes or the size of purchases of American soybeans and other exports. Both sides have soothed financial market jitters by announcing conciliatory steps including postponing planned tariff hikes. Beijing also has resumed purchases of soybeans, the biggest American export to China, and pork. Washington, Europe, Japan and other trading partners complain Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. Washington is pressing China to roll back plans for state-led creation of global competitors in robotics and other industries that its trading partners say violate its market-opening commitments. President Donald Trump announced last month he would sign the Phase 1 agreement Jan. 15 and travel to Beijing after that to start the second stage of talks. Trump hailed the interim agreement as a step toward ending the tariff war, but Beijing has been more measured in its public statements. Economists say concluding a final settlement could take years. Potential hurdles include Chinese insistence that U.S. tariff hikes be canceled once an agreement takes effect. The Trump administration says some must remain in place to ensure Beijing carries out any promises it makes. WELLINGTON, Fla., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Spearhead, a premier wealth management and administration solutions provider to ultra-high net worth investors, family offices, and private placement markets, is pleased to announce that Christopher Mahes has joined its team as Managing Director of Operations. Mr. Mahes joined in January 2020 and will be working out of Spearhead's principal offices in Wellington, Florida. "The addition of Christopher to our Investment Services team further demonstrates Spearhead's ongoing dedication to the management of client assets in an efficient and effective manner," remarked Todd Walters, Managing Member & Co-Founder. He further commented, "We are very excited to add the depth of experience and knowledge that Christopher brings to our team." Scott Sandstrom, Managing Director, Liquid Markets Strategies, commented, "Securing talented individuals like Christopher is never easy, but always worth the effort. We look forward to having someone of Christopher's caliber joining our team." Prior to joining Spearhead, Mr. Mahes served as Operations Manager for The Colony Group. As manager of the Boca Raton office's operations team, he oversaw the firm's day-to-day activities and information technology infrastructure, and also partnered with executive management to develop and execute strategic initiatives. Christopher began his career in financial services as an Investment Operations Specialist for Northern Trust. Mr. Mahes graduated summa cum laude from Florida Atlantic University with Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Economics. Mr. Mahes earned his Master's of Science in Finance from Florida International University and holds a Series 65 registration. About Spearhead Spearhead is a privately held financial services firm exclusively focused on providing premier wealth management and administration solutions to ultra-high net worth investors, family offices, and private placement markets. The firm strives to provide long-term value to clients on an after income and estate tax basis by combining balance sheet risk management techniques with investment strategies. Spearhead has offices in Florida and Massachusetts. All Securities are offered through Spearhead Capital, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services are offered through Spearhead Capital Advisors, LLC. Consulting and Administration services are offered through Spearhead Innovative Solutions, LLC and its subsidiaries. Contact: David Reynolds [email protected] SOURCE Spearhead Irish language proposals represent an historic advancement on what came before, activists said. But advocacy organisation Conradh na Gaeilge said provisions for bilingual signage and wider visibility fell far short of what was envisaged in the 2006 St Andrews Agreement. It had been pressing for a separate stand-alone Irish language act. RAITEAS STATEMENT Historic Advancement for Irish language community but proposed legislation falls very much short of 2006 St Andrews promise Proposed legislation will face huge tests in coming hours, days and weeks pic.twitter.com/bc8LKxg1XK Conradh na Gaeilge (@CnaG) January 10, 2020 Under the proposals, a special commissioner will work within parameters set by Stormonts First and Deputy First ministers, and concerns remain among some speakers about a DUP veto. Conradh na Gaeilge president Dr Niall Comer said: This legislation is undoubtedly an historic advancement for our community, and for those who wish to use the language, by providing historic official status, legal protection and an Irish language commissioner for the first time in the history of the state. This has only come about as the result of a tireless, inspirational and bottom up campaign which has transformed how people here now view the language and ultimately how the state will interact with our community and shared language moving forward. The organisations Ciaran Mac Giolla Bhein said the proposals fall far short of the commitments made in the 2006 St Andrews Agreement, which promised an Irish language act based on the Welsh legislation, and does not contain provisions that are made for language in Wales or in the south, as was explicitly committed to by the British and Irish governments. The complete omission of visibility and signage is hugely frustrating and will undoubtedly be a source of tension and will expose major fault-lines on contested cases of signage in the coming period. An internally displaced man looks down a rural road in El Salvador in January 2019. Street gang harassment drove him from his home in San Salvador. UNHCR/Diana Diaz UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes El Salvadors passage of legislation to protect, aid and offer durable solutions to people internally displaced in the Central American nation due to violence from organized crime and criminal gangs, as well as those who may be at risk of displacement. The legislation, passed by a resounding majority in El Salvadors National Assembly on January 9, opens the door for tens of thousands of victims of forced displacement in the country to gain access to life-saving humanitarian assistance, and to have their basic rights restored, including effective access to justice. The law further provides for the establishment, for the first time, of a comprehensive national system that brings together a wide variety of State institutions to collaborate in responding to and preventing forced displacement. Once signed by President Nayib Bukele, the law can have a lasting positive impact on the lives of the 71,500 Salvadorans estimated to have been forcibly displaced between 2006 and 2016 within their countrys borders, as well as tens of thousands more who are at risk of being forced to flee their homes. The text of the legislation on internal displacement, drafted with technical support from UNHCR, aligns with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and with other international standards that describe the rights of internally displaced persons, including the right to request and receive humanitarian assistance, protection of family unity, an adequate standard of living and durable solutions. It also establishes mechanisms to allow those affected by internal displacement to protect and reclaim property they may have been forced to abandon in their flight. The law reflects the growing momentum In Central America and beyond to recognize and respond to the phenomenon of internal displacement. In Honduras, where an estimated 247,000 people have been displaced by violence within their own country, the National Congress is considering legislation similar to the law passed in El Salvador. Mexico also recognizes the serious impact of internal displacement and has expressed its commitment to pass legislation on the issue at the federal level. UNHCR reiterates its readiness to continue offering technical and operational assistance to the governments of Central America and Mexico to help them mitigate the causes and consequences of forced displacement, in line with their commitments as part of a regional alliance to provide comprehensive protection and solutions to the issue called the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework, known by its Spanish-language acronym, MIRPS. In October, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, established a High-level Panel on Internal Displacement to increase global attention and advance solutions for this issue which affects more than 40 million people worldwide due to conflict and violence. For more information on this topic, please contact: Volunteers for the Interfaith Welcome Coalition for years have provided humanitarian aid to migrant families released from nearby detention centers and dropped off at the downtown Greyhound bus station. Theyve often found them distraught and unsure of where they are. In 2018, the volunteers started to notice something different: The families were arriving unusually fearful and clutching each other tightly. Something had changed in U.S. immigration policy and the evidence was right in front of them. You could tell just by looking around which families had been separated, because even the bigger kids were very clingy to their moms, sitting tight next to them. The look in their eyes, you could tell, said Catholic Sister Denise LaRock, who runs the bus station program for the coalition. That was the seed of us trying to get more politically active. The previously small coalition of faithful volunteers has become one of the most prominent organizations dedicated to migrant aid in the city. Immigration arrests surged after the brief family separation policy which largely was scuttled in the face of protests overwhelmed detention space and led to other crackdowns, including a policy forcing migrants to wait in Mexico for their U.S. asylum hearings. Since 2018, about 32,400 migrants released at the border have passed through San Antonio. The border crisis thus placed the Interfaith Welcome Coalition on the front lines. IWCs budget of $243,300 has more than quadrupled since 2016, and its backpack program has grown 10 times over the same time period from 2,465 backpacks of food and clothing handed out to asylum-seekers in 2016, to 25,577 last year. Its roster of vetted volunteers has soared from 250 in 2018 to 866 by the end of last year. People have come from across the country to lend a hand. IWCs mailing list grew to 1,850 email addresses. I had no idea it would become this, LaRock said. Its really amazing. LaRock describes IWCs growth as a proportionate response to need: Under the Trump administration, immigration enforcement policies frequently have changed, and asylum-seekers need for humanitarian aid has increased. The Interfaith Welcome Coalition has changed and grown accordingly. Before it was just humanitarian care. Now its so much bigger, LaRock said. As policies have changed, weve realized that more needs to be done for advocacy, for protecting the rights of seeking asylum. Several other immigration-focused groups in San Antonio grew tremendously amid the surge, most notably RAICES, a legal aid group that received tens of millions of dollars from donations in 2018. The city stepped up, too, opening a pop-up migrant aid center at a vacant office space it had been looking to lease, located near the bus station. On ExpressNews.com: City seeks funding to assist migrants The IWC volunteers often are some of the first people migrants interact with after theyre released by immigration officials. Maria Aldaba, 30, a Mexican asylum-seeker fleeing gangs in Zacatecas, arrived at the bus station with her children last week after a few weeks in Dilleys immigrant detention facility, 75 miles south of San Antonio. She watched IWC volunteers play with her 3- and 7-year-old and smiled. God bless them, she said. Tipping point The Interfaith Welcome Coalition was born in response to a similar immigration crisis. In summer 2014, tens of thousands of Central American minors were crossing the border without their parents. The Obama administration temporarily detained up to 1,200 of them at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, and opened the Dilley family detention center, the largest in the country, with 2,400 beds. On ExpressNews.com: Inside the countrys largest immigrant family detention center The influx of migrants overwhelmed federal facilities and migrants were released, disoriented and penniless, in San Antonio. Kelly Allen, then pastor of University Presbyterian Church and a longtime community advocate, met with Jonathan Ryan, executive director of RAICES. She said Were going to help. She didnt give him a choice, said Lenna Baxter, one of the founding members of the IWC. Allen, who died in 2016, assembled a small group of mostly retired, religious women to help migrants at the bus station and later, those who were dropped off by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a RAICES shelter. At the time, wed try to give the children a coloring book or food or something, but it was very informal. People would just show up when they could, Baxter said. We were not organized to know how many people were doing what. There were just a lot of people who were trying to help. Then came what LaRock called the tipping point families separated at the border, followed by increasing numbers of people seeking asylum and quickly-changing policies as the Trump administration lobbed various directives to reduce immigration. Terry Burton, a volunteer who joined the IWC in 2017, said things started to move quickly. Day to day, weve seen so much change in the last year. From a stable system two years ago when we knew what to expect we knew how many backpacks to create, how many people wed have and then last summer, when it was almost like there was a policy just to attack our system in place, Burton said. By May, San Antonio was the way station for migrants released by Border Patrol agents in small, border communities with limited bus services. Hundreds began arriving at the bus station at all hours. Volunteers were staying overnight to receive them. During one week in June, some 2,192 migrants arrived in San Antonio. Travis Park Church opened its doors to serve as an overnight shelter, as it had done years ago for Hurricane Katrina refugees. Since these migrants werent coming from ICE detention facilities, they didnt have bus tickets. They also had no money and didnt speak English. The coalition printed maps and built a system using clipboards of Greyhound bus schedules and stickers that the migrants wore with the name of their destination and the time of the buss departure. Volunteers began unloading larger and larger boxes of donated items, making multiple trips to the bus station to bring enough for the multitudes of waiting families. The coalition became a point of contact with Border Patrol, which sometimes alerted it about large migrant groups that were just released. The IWC began to partner with other organizations. Its a founding member of a new borderwide collaborative called the Southern Border Relief Network, through which different immigration groups can share best practices and work together to streamline aid based on need. The coalition also has an advocacy team with a monthly letter-writing campaign and a program for volunteers to tag along with migrants during routine ICE check-ins for moral support. Its also sending donations and raising money for the migrants subject to Remain in Mexico, who are spending months in shelters in dangerous Northern Mexico cities while they wait for their court hearings. IWC has two large storage facilities in Laredo to hold donations. Volunteers head down there every week with truckloads of donations to add to the storage facility, which Pastor Lorenzo Ortiz of Laredo distributes to the migrants in Nuevo Laredo shelters. The IWC also started a fundraiser for the pastor, who feeds, transports and cares for migrants waiting in Nuevo Laredo. The effort has raised more than $17,380 for him. If theres an emergency right now, we have an army of volunteers ready, LaRock said. And there have been some emergencies. The city closed its migrant center at the end of October soon after Trumps Remain in Mexico program rolled out in Texas because it drastically decreased the number of migrants showing up in San Antonio. However, some asylum-seekers from non-Spanish-speaking countries are exempt from the program, so the Migrant Resource Center has had to reopen last-minute since it closed, LaRock said, for unexpected, large groups of migrants mostly from Haiti, Angola and the Congo. Our growth has been a response to whats going on with immigration. Its like, things change, so we change, Baxter said. The rules continue to change, what the needs are continues to change. But with every change weve had, weve found a way to serve. Gracias Volunteer Gilbert Chili Ornelas ran his hand over a crinkled sheet of paper with the map of the United States, held by Selena Paraison Ruiz, 16, from Haiti. Here we are, in San Antonio, he said in Spanish. Though she and her mother speak a French creole, Spanish still was closer than English. The IWC paper says in large letters Please show me where to take my next bus. Ornelas pointed at where a red pen had circled San Antonio, and traced it north. First you get to Dallas, at medio dia, or mid-day, he said. Medio dia, Selena said, letting the foreign words roll of her tongue. Her mother sat beside her, talking with someone on Ornelas phone. He pointed out emergency numbers on the paper and double-checked with Selena that hed given her and her mother food. Gracias, she said, before resting her head on her mothers shoulder. The asylum-seekers usually stay on one side of the bus station, where the coalition has taken over a corner with boxes of food, toiletries, toys and blankets. The IWC also has containers of shoelaces and belts - items that border agents strip from migrants after they apprehend them. A network of churches provides lunches, and the coalition has a hospitality team to coordinate overnight stays. Usually, the migrants end up at the San Antonio Mennonite Church shelter, Catholic Charities shelters, hotel rooms or host families. Ornelas has hosted several migrant families. In the past year, IWC members have spoken at rallies across the state. It won the Dialogue Institutes Community Service award, and LaRock won the First Unitarian Universalist Churchs Courageous Love award. Allen had won it in 2015. On ExpressNews.com: Rev. Kelly Allen, 50, was an immigrant, LGBT advocate This is a way of bringing people together to help and provide humanitarian care. To feel like were making a difference. It gives the families hopes and it helps us have hope ourselves during difficult times, to see how many good and generous people are there, LaRock said. To see the difference it makes to a family, even its something s simple as a backpack with some supplies. When you have nothing, thats a really big deal. Selena and her mother left for Dallas that afternoon. Burton, the volunteer, and his wife, Lucretia, helped them get in line at the station. Several other migrants left later in the day, headed to Houston and New York. We just want them to know: people do care about you, and you are welcome, Burton said. And as the asylum-seekers headed out to the bus, the volunteers who had welcomed them smiled and waved, bidding them farewell. Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF Nabil Maghnie once escaped a hail of gunfire but was left with a lifetime souvenir a bullet lodged in his neck. The underworld figure, a Comanchero associate and habitually violent man, had driven himself to the Northern Hospital after the attack despite being shot in the face. Nabil Maghnie leaves Melbourne Magistrates Court last July. Credit:Chris Hopkins Most of the shrapnel was removed from his body as he lay in the intensive care unit. Maghnie checked himself out of hospital two days later. During a court hearing several months after the shooting, Maghnie explained why he had discharged himself: I had been shot, just the whole thing of being shot too, in the head, takes a bit out of you as well." Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday alleged that the AAP government has dealt a crushing blow to the system, and accused the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation of failing to reimburse 70 per cent of the expense borne by the municipal corporations in Delhi. Alleging that the civic body-run schools in Delhi are made to operate with only 57 per cent of the sanctioned teachers strength, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister took a swipe at the AAP government's model, saying, "They call this a success." "It (AAP government) has failed to reimburse ?3,941 cr to North MCD, ?569 cr to East MCD & ?223 cr to South MCD. As a result, the MCDs have been unable to pay salaries, seventh central pay commission arrears and other benefits to the teachers. The schools operate with only 57 per cent of teachers... they call this a success," Puri tweeted. All the three municipal corporations in Delhi are ruled by the BJP. In a series of tweets, Puri said, "Delhi government has dealt a crushing blow to the education system & morale of teachers in MCD run schools..." Earlier this week, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia had challenged the BJP to present its education model while claiming that 109 primary schools run by the saffron party-administered civic bodies of the city have been shut in the last nine years. Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, had claimed that enrolment of students in Delhi government schools has increased in the last five years, whereas according to the central government data on elementary education, it has witnessed a huge drop in schools run by the city's civic bodies. "It is appalling how Delhi govt claims success in the education system where none exists. They have craftily built a fake narrative to divert attention from their failures. "Pass percentages of students have steadily declined. They are imperilling the future of the children," Puri, who is also co-incharge of Delhi BJP for assembly elections, said in another tweet. "Amongst secondary school students alone, it has come down from 99.4% in 2014 to 68.9% in 2018. Is this something they are proud of? Learning outcomes of classes 3,5 & 8 are nearly 10 percentage points lower than the national average & they call this a success story," the Union minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Alexander Salerno Throughout New Jerseys medically underserved areas, vulnerable patients will have critical, long-established relationships with doctors severed. For half a century, my family-run practice has catered to elderly and impoverished Medicare and Medicaid patients in Newark, Orange and East Orange. Now, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is terminating doctor contracts, mine included, without cause. In a series of studies funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, nearly 40% of low-income consumers in poorer health felt disrespected, and patients feeling disrespected are three times more likely to believe doctors are inaccurate and two times more likely to not take their medications as directed, compared with patients who feel respected. It is evident, patients who dont trust their doctors or the healthcare system experience poor health outcomes, so we work to both treat and educate chronically underserved communities by taking the fear out of going to the doctor. Profit-mongering UHC is severing ties between doctors like us and the highest-needs, least-trusting Medicare or Medicaid patients. We believe UHC wants to steer our patients to new providers who work for a healthcare system that its subsidiary, Optum, owns. In 2017, UHC recognized my practice as a top provider for delivering consistent and innovative healthcare outcomes, and in 2019, we received a $130,000 bonus from the healthcare company for delivering great outcomes for our patients. Yet my contract, and the contracts of all 14 other providers in my practice, were not renewed by this healthcare behemoth. Its decision to not renew our contracts and countless others in the region is driven by the desire to monopolize New Jerseys healthcare system by controlling payer and provider. For patients to understand and trust the message, they need to trust the messenger. We treat nearly 3,000 Medicare and Medicaid patients annually and eight to 10 new Medicaid patients each day, so we have dedicated decades to building relationships and consequently trust, to radically transform statistically poor health outcomes. If unhindered, this move by the insurance company will erode decades of trust built between providers and underserved patients wary of the healthcare system. The likelihood is that many of these patients will stop going to the doctor altogether. They will return to putting off proactive care like cancer screenings, annual physicals, diabetes care and behavioral health consultations that are critical to preventing chronic diseases. This population of patients will end up in emergency rooms instead, diminishing years of progress to prevent chronic conditions and costing the state millions in reactive medicine - 90% of the nations $3.5 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions. To capsulize a complex issue, the health outcomes of New Jerseys most vulnerable people and the well-being of our metro areas hang in the balance, all so UHC can turn a greater profit. The repercussions for our states federally designated medically underserved communities would be catastrophic. UHC claims to want to work with physicians and healthcare providers to improve the healthcare experience of its customers, yet this action shows its hypocrisy. To be sure, this behavior is not universal across all of UHC but specific to the insurance companys Medicaid and Dual plans. We continue to work with the AARP and Commercial plans to provide quality care to our patients. My practice and a host of other healthcare providers and associations, including the Medical Society of New Jersey, filed a class action lawsuit against UHC. I urge other providers impacted by this decision to join us. Taxpayer monies for government-run Medicare and Medicaid are funding UHCs self-serving efforts to monopolize healthcare and take away freedom of choice. We have the utmost concern that UHCs unilateral actions will result in a divided and exclusionary healthcare system for New Jersey. We aim to hold the insurance company liable for its destructive actions. If we dont hold UHC accountable, a healthcare void for New Jerseys underserved populations will be left in its wake. Dr. Alexander Salerno is a physician at Salerno Medical Associates, a family-run, second-generation practice that serves East Orange and Newark. Hes also the founder of The Urban Healthcare Initiative Program (UHIP), a community-based health and education provider. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. An 11-year-old boy has penned a heartfelt letter to a young victim of the Australian bushfires. Finn, from New Zealand, wrote the letter to the boy, also named Finn, to offer his admiration and support in his time of desperation. He was inspired to reach out after seeing an image of the boy fleeing the Mallacoota bushfire in a boat, donning a gas mask and life jacket. The dismal image went viral, capturing the extent of the devastation in Australia. Finn, 11, from Wellington, New Zealand offered support to another boy by the same name ehose family had to flee from bushfires Finn, 11, from Mallacoota, steers the boat as his family flees bushfires The touching letter wrote by a young boy from Wellington New Zealand, as he saw a boy with his name and of his age fall victim to the devastating bushfires The New Zealand boys' mother took to Facebook where she posted the heartfelt letter, where it has caught the attention of many who have reposted, stirring a lot of responses to the kind act. 'Dear Finn in Mallacoota, Australia. My name is Finn too and I am also 11,' the letter began. He went on to commend the young boy on his bravery, offering his best wishes to Finn and his family. 'I think you are really brave and I hope you and your family are in a safe place now, I'm sorry this is happening'. He then addressed the severity of the climate crisis, reporting that he would be joining a strike to protest world leader's responses. The raging blazes in Mallacoota have forced thousands of residents and tourists to flee the popular holiday spot 'This year I am joining 'School Strike 4 Climate NZ' because it sucks this is going to be our future norm if our leaders don't act now.' He ended the message: 'Take care Finn from Wellington, NZ.' Users have flooded the comments with admiration for the empathetic youth. One wrote: 'Beautiful and caring' Whilst another said: 'I hope Finn sees your message sweetheart' Finn Marion's mother Alison took the photo of her 11-year-old son as they fled the bushfires via boat, but said had no idea how much impact it would have, ABC reported. The stirring photograph showed Finn steering the boat as it carried Allison, her other son Caleb and the family dog, away from the shore of the popular holiday spot to shelter on Goodwin Sands. The plumage of the Himalayan monal is a striking combination of electric blue, bright brown, orange and various shades of green, and only an artist trained in the style of Mughal miniature art could show each iridescent colour, feather by feather. For Sheikh Zain al-Din, an 18th century Indian master artist, the bird belonging to the pheasant family was only one of depictions for which his atelier and he were most sought after. Lady Mary Impey, wife of the chief justice of Bengal Sir Elijah Impey, was a natural historian who built a menagerie while the family lived in Calcutta. She and her husband commissioned several paintings of these birds. Zain al-Din and his fellow artists would work painstakingly to create what were nothing less than masterpieces for albums that served a dual role for their English patrons. On the one hand, they recorded what the photograph began to do within a century and on the other, furthered the colonial enterprise of Enlightenment through such scientific discoveries. Its little wonder that the scientific name, Lophophorus impejanus, commemorates the Impeys and the Himalayan monal, whose habitat lies along the Himalayan range from Afghanistan to Bhutan, is often also called the Impeyan monal. MARRIAGE PROCESSION OF A MUSLIM BRIDEGROOM NIGHT SCENE, BY SEWAK RAM A new exhibition of artworks made in the 18th and 19th centuries by such Indian masters as Zain al-din is on display at Bonhams, an auction house headquartered in London. None of the works all of which belong to a private collection is for sale in the exhibition curated by the founder of an Instagram account, Arts of Hindostan. The Instagram handle, which was started over a year and a half ago, offers a wide range of images pertaining to various kinds of subcontinental art, architecture, and design aesthetics. Its founder, who wishes to remain anonymous, told HT that previous collaborations with the auction house in 2018 and 19, showcased works of Mughal and Rajput art, as well as Company art: paintings made by artists for English East India Company patrons after the patronage of the Mughal empire began to wane. The Impeys werent the only patrons of the arts. The exhibition showcases individual works and albums of paintings depicting the rich flora, fauna and domestic scenes of the subcontinent. It pays tribute to the Indian masters who achieved great fame for their realistic style which deviated from their learned lineage of Mughal and Rajput art in both, medium and subject matter. The Company school emerged in Murshidabad and spread to other centers of British trade, including Patna, Benares and Lucknow. Many artists migrated and began to work out of these centres. For instance, Marriage procession night scene, circa 1810, forms part of a series made by noted Indian master artist Sewak Ram and sold to high ranking British officials in the early 19th century. According to the Bonhams catalogue, Sewak Ram migrated from Murshidabad in West Bengal to Patna in 1790, where he worked till 1826. He seems to have had different styles of painting, with his larger compositions seeming closer to European water colours with an emphasis on modelling, transparency and neutral tones. HIMALAYAN MONAL (IMPEYAN PHEASANT) Another prolific master painter was Sita Ram, whose works now form part of the collection in the British Library. Sita Ram was hired to record the travels of Sir Francis Rawdon, Governor General of Bengal from 1814-1821. In fact, between June 1814 and October 1815, he produced no less than 230 large water colours, including several botanical specimens such as frangipani, lilies, custard apples and mangoes, made in a photo realistic style. Besides fauna and flora, the artists also captured scenes of everyday life of the Company sahibs. One of the paintings that forms part of the exhibition is Horse and groom made by Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya (in Calcutta province). It is part of an 1840 album commissioned by an unknown Englishman whose house, servants, horses and dogs formed the subjects of the paintings. The focus of the painting is the magnificent steed, and it is also signed by the artist another clear departure from the previous traditions of courtly paintings. Another ongoing exhibition curated by author William Dalrymple titled Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company, showcases similar Company art which now forms part of the Wallace Collection. In Good Company is on view at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London till January 17 (weekdays only). Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Migrant mural 'Todomondo' in Cagliari 'Shows our belonging to the community'. Inauguration 16/1 (ANSAmed) - CAGLIARI, JANUARY 10 - A group of migrants, students in the project "Tottus impari", painted a mural as a gift to the city of Cagliari to demonstrate their sense of belonging to the community. The work, which will be inaugurated on January 16 in via XXVIII Febbraio, is an "urban texture" that calls to mind the technique of batik. It tells the story of the young migrants, who are from various countries in Africa and Bangladesh. The mural is a collective patchwork that reflects the colours of the world seen from above: the white of the ice, the yellow of the sand, the brown of the earth, the green of the vegetation and the blue of the sea. The 35-metre-long mural was painted on an exterior wall of the Maria Ausiliatrice Institute in Cagliari, in contact with students in nearby schools and under the eyes of curious passersby who watched the work of art as it was being created. The laboratory is part of inclusion efforts in the Sardinia Ciofs-Fp professional training courses project. Ciofs-Fp Sardegna President Anna Locci said the young migrants participated with "great enthusiasm". "They're proud of the work they created and the change that art can make in an urban environment. They felt like active citizens making an effort in taking care of the city. They left a beautiful mark in the community that welcomes them and their sense of belonging grew," she said. (ANSAmed). [January 10, 2020] North Carolina Company Piper Lou Donates $50,000 to help fight Australia Wildfires CLAYTON, N.C., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- North Carolina based company Piper Lou Collection is raising funds to fight the Australia Wildfires. The online retailer is using the sale of its products to crowdsource donations to the Australian Red Cross. To this point, they have donated over $50,000 and plan to extend that above & beyond $100,000, which is their current goal. Piper Lou is donating 100% of Net Profits from its "Hearts for Australia" Campaign directly to the Australian Red Cross. Their large following on social media has helped bolster the company's efforts. "Our brand has such an amazing following of customers and supporters. They really have rallied around this cause with us. We like to call what we do Fashion with a Function. We are able to give customers a great product that is directly tied to a great cause. Furthering the awareness of how drastic these fires are is paramount to helping aid the relief efforts," said Corey Rush, CEO of Piper Lou. At least 25 people have been killed, many communities and ecosystems completely destroyed, and an estimated loss of 1 billion animals. The chaos is inviting the opportunity for humans to display tremendous acts of compassion. Relief efforts from celebrities have been impactful as awareness continues to grow. Comedian Celeste Barber raised over $32 million dollars on Facebook, breaking the platform's fundraising record. Chris Hemsworth has also donated $1 million along with many other celebs. "Our goal is to raise over $100,000 and hopefully much more. If we are but a blip on the radar of what is being donated, that is great as it means much more aidis being delivered to Australia in a time of need. I cannot fathom the pain they are experiencing at the moment," said Keegan Rush, Co-Founder of Piper Lou. Piper Lou sells Tumblers, Hats, T-Shirts, Hoodies, etc. All of these items are available in the donation's items referenced above. If you would like to support the cause and purchase one of the items that donate to the wildfire relief, please visit www.piperloucollection.com today. North Carolina based company Piper Lou Collection is raising funds to fight the Australia Wildfires. The online retailer is using the sale of its products to crowdsource donations to the Australian Red Cross. To this point, they have donated over $50,000 and plan to extend that above & beyond $100,000, which is their current goal. Piper Lou is donating 100% of Net Profits from its "Hearts for Australia" Campaign directly to the Australian Red Cross. Their large following on social media has helped bolster the company's efforts. "Our brand has such an amazing following of customers and supporters. They really have rallied around this cause with us. We like to call what we do Fashion with a Function. We are able to give customers a great product that is directly tied to a great cause. Furthering the awareness of how drastic these fires are is paramount to helping aid the relief efforts," said Corey Rush, CEO of Piper Lou. "Our goal is to raise over $100,000 or more. If we are but a blip on the radar of what is being donated, that is great as it means much more aid is being delivered. I can't fathom the pain they are experiencing at the moment," said Keegan Rush, Co-Founder of Piper Lou. Piper Lou sells Tumblers, Hats, apparel, etc. Since 2016, Piper Lou has donated to over 50 causes and charities with similar campaigns around the globe. If you would like to support the cause and purchase one of the items that donate to the wildfire relief, please visit www.piperloucollection.com today. Media Contact: Corey Rush 919.622.2869 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/north-carolina-company-piper-lou-donates-50-000-to-help-fight-australia-wildfires-300984711.html SOURCE Piper Lou Collection [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh, two of the four men sentenced to death in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, filed curative petitions in the apex court in what is being seen as their last legal option to escape the noose. Sharma, through his lawyer A P Singh, had approached the top court two days after a Delhi court declared that the four rapists will be hanged on January 22. Hours later, Singha also filed a curative petition. Sharma, Singh, Pawan Gupta, and Akshay Kumar Singh are to be executed together at Tihar jail. All four had reportedly broke down in jail after the death warrant was confirmed. To eliminate systemic and political bias against the petitioner, it is imperative that this case be reheard in open court by the senior-most judges of this Honble Court without the Damocles sword of an execution warrant hanging over the proceedings (sic), the plea stated. The Supreme Court has already turned down review petitions against the death sentence from three of the convicts. ALSO READ: Death will ruin my family, says Nirbhaya case convict Vinay Sharma in curative plea In his curative plea, Vinay said his young age has been erroneously rejected as a mitigating circumstance. The petitioners socio-economic circumstances, number of family dependants including ailing parents, good conduct in jail and probability of reformation have not been adequately considered leading to gross miscarriage of justice, the plea said. It said the judgment has relied on factors such as collective conscience of society and public opinion in deciding the sentence to be imposed on him and others. The impugned judgment is bad in law as subsequent SC judgments have definitely changed the law on death sentence in India allowing several convicts similarly placed as him to have their death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, the plea said. This expertly crafted First World War film, which follows a pair of British soldiers on an urgent frontline mission and is meant to look as if it has been shot in two long, unbroken takes, is a remarkable technical feat. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. This expertly crafted First World War film, which follows a pair of British soldiers on an urgent frontline mission and is meant to look as if it has been shot in two long, unbroken takes, is a remarkable technical feat. As a concise and visceral statement of the horror and waste of trench warfare, 1917 which last week won Golden Globe awards for Best Director and Best Drama Motion Picture is an extraordinary achievement. Filmmaker Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) has crafted a physically immersive experience. As gripping as this on-the-ground approach can be, however, the story struggles to be equally emotionally immersive. This is partly due to weak spots in the script, which Mendes co-wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. But theres also a paradox in the films technical bravado, which is stunning but at times self-defeating. There are key points in 1917 when we should focus on what the characters are doing. Instead were marvelling at what the cinematographer (Academy Award winner Roger Deakins) is doing. The set-up is simple, delivered in a terse briefing by Gen. Erinmore (Colin Firth at his most clipped). The Germans have seemingly retreated from their fortifications, but aerial reconnaissance shows they are actually planning a trap. Lance Cpl. Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman of Game of Thrones) and Lance Cpl. Schofield (True History of the Kelly Gangs George Mackay) have just a few hours to deliver a message to the commanding officer of a nearby battalion and save 1,600 men, including Blakes older brother, from walking into a massacre. From this clear starting point, we move through a landscape of chaos, confusion and slaughter. The camera tracks Blake and Schofield in a nightmarish walk-and-talk, which gradually reveals their complementary characters. Blake, thinking of his brother, is chipper and keen, while Schofield remains weary and wary. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Imdb/TNS George MacKay plays a soldier sent on a harrowing mission in 1917. Staying close to the pair, the film drags the viewer alongside, first through the press and muck of the British trenches and then through the hellscape of no mans land, a wasteland of mud and flooded craters and blasted trees, of rats and carrion birds and the clawing hands of corpses. Another stand-out sequence takes us through a ruined French town, alternately lit up by mortar fire and plunged into pitch darkness. This films evocation of the physical terrain of war is incredibly effective, but its depiction of human encounters is uneven. Some scenes are indelible. Andrew Scott (Sherlocks Moriarty and Fleabags "Hot Priest") is the sardonic lieutenant who sends Schofield and Blake on their way toward the German lines, and his parting "cheerio" expresses all the bitter fatalism and dark irony of the Lost Generation that managed to survive this war. Theres also a brief, funny scene of working-class infantrymen doing savage impersonations of their posh officers. Other sequences, however, such as a quiet interlude with a French civilian, feel forced. At times, Mendes seems to try for the raw realism of the Normandy invasion sequence in Saving Private Ryan. At other points, he seems to be yearning after the strange poetry of The Thin Red Line, especially with a suspended, dreamlike scene set in an Edenic forest as a soldier sings Wayfaring Stranger. Mendes never quite finds his own tone. The films unique strength lies in its hyper-focused approach. The concentration on one minor mission might feel limiting, but at its best 1917 becomes a refracting lens for the vastness of the Great Wars suffering and loss. We dont know whether Blake and Schofield will manage to save this one battalion on this one day. We do know there will be many other battalions and many other days. alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. George MacKay in 1917. (Universal) Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star... HOUSTON Texas will no longer accept the resettlement of new refugees, becoming the first state known to do so under a recent Trump administration order, Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday. Abbotts announcement could have major implications for refugees coming to the United States. Texas has large refugee populations in several of its cities and has long been a leader in settling refugees, taking in more than any other state during the 2018 governmental fiscal year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Since the 2002 fiscal year, Texas has resettled an estimated 88,300 refugees, second only to California, according to the Pew Research Center. In a letter released Friday, Abbott wrote that Texas has been left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system. He added that Texas has done more than its share. Abbott argued that the state and its non-profit organizations should instead focus on those who are already here, including refugees, migrants, and the homeless indeed, all Texans. It wasnt clear how Abbotts letter might affect any currently pending refugee cases. Refugee groups sharply criticized the Republican governor. Ali Al Sudani, chief programs officer of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, predicted that some refugees with longstanding plans to come to Texas would have flights rescheduled or delayed. Al Sudani settled in Houston from Iraq in 2009 and now works to resettle other refugees. You can imagine the message that this decision will send to them and to their families, Al Sudani said. Its very disappointing and very sad news, and honestly, this is not the Texas that I know. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he had met refugees in Dallas who had previously served as interpreters or aides for U.S. soldiers. You have people who are fleeing violence, people who are assisting us in the war on terror, who are having the door slammed in their faces, said Jenkins, a Democrat who is the countys chief administrative official. President Donald Trump announced in September that resettlement agencies must get written consent from state and local officials in any jurisdiction where they want to help resettle refugees beyond June 2020. Trump has already slashed the number of refugees allowed into the country for the 2020 fiscal year to a historic low of 18,000. About 30,000 refugees were resettled in the U.S. during the previous fiscal year. Governors in 42 other states have said they will consent to allowing in more refugees, according to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which works with local agencies throughout the U.S. to resettle refugees. The governors who havent chimed in are from Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Wyoming. Fierce debates have occurred in several parts of the country, including North Dakota and Tennessee, over whether to opt into refugee resettlement under the executive order. Many Republican governors have been caught between immigration hardliners and some Christian evangelicals who believe helping refugees is a moral obligation. LIRS is also part of a lawsuit challenging the order. A federal judge on Wednesday heard arguments on a request by resettlement agencies to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing it. Krish OMara Vignarajah, LIRS CEO, called Abbotts decision a devastating blow to a longstanding legacy of refugee resettlement in the state. Local officials in Houston, Dallas, and other cities will not be able to take in refugees over the governors objection, she said. There are some refugee families who have waited years in desperation to reunite with their family who will no longer be able to do so in the state of Texas, she said. Abbott has tried to stop refugees before, declaring in 2015 that Texas would not welcome people from Syria following the deadly Paris attacks that November. At the time, the administration of former President Barack Obama continued to send refugees to Texas and other states led by Republican governors who were opposed to it. Al Sudani, of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, pointed out that even if refugees are resettled in a different state, they can travel freely within the U.S. and move wherever they choose. Literally you can take the bus the next day and come to Texas, he said. ___ This story was first published on Jan. 13. It was updated on Jan. 14 to correct the number of states that had not yet said whether they would continue to accept refugees. It was seven states, not six. Official (and Unofficial) News of Soleimani Killing Spreads in North Korea's Capital 2020-01-09 -- As news spreads in North Korea's capital about the U.S. drone strike last weekend that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, citizens are surprised that North Korea's media has been so quick to acknowledge the incident. New modes of accessing news from outside the country have made it difficult for authorities to control what people are allowed to see, so sources say that the country's coverage of the incident is a clean break from how similar events were reported in the past. "[The news] is spreading fast among the people," said a senior official from Pyongyang in an interview with RFA's Korean Service on Sunday. "Pyongyang has a developed Internet network that's connected to foreign embassies and foreign trade agencies, and there are many officials visiting foreign countries, so important outside news reaches [some of] the residents immediately," the source said. "[The assassination] is the hottest topic of the New Year for people living in Pyongyang," said the source. The source said the topic dominates public discourse, and even mandatory political education sessions are derailed by people wanting to talk about the drone attack. "We have to attend educational sessions daily," the source said, adding, "But people are not interested in the education session. They just want to learn about the Iranian general who was killed by the U.S." "[This] is a greater shock than when we heard about the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi [in 2011]," the source said. The source recalled that incident, noting that the government was quick to put its spin on it. "When Gaddafi's death resulted in the toppling of Libya's autocratic regime, the Central Committee [of the Korean Workers' Party] quickly organized lectures saying, 'We are different from Libya. We will never surrender to the U.S. without first using nuclear and biochemical weapons," the source said. The source said that the drone-strike was reported in detail in a 'reference newsletter,' a secret document distributed to various high ranking officials who lead the government's ministries. "But most Pyongyangers already knew that [Soleimani] had been killed by the U.S. in a drone strike," the source said. A resident of Pyongyang told RFA that news articles about the attack appeared in North Korean newspapers on Monday. "Today's [state run] Rodong Shinmun [newspaper] reported that the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers condemned the U.S. attack on an airfield in Baghdad Iraq that killed an Iranian general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an Iraqi paramilitary commander," the second source said. "It is very unusual that the Rodong Sinmun to quickly reveal that the Iranian general was killed in a U.S. attack," said the second source. "The authorities seem to have decided that it would be useless to hide facts that all Pyongyangers already know," the second source said. The second source also said that the people were surprised by the attack and that North Korea's government might also be as well. "The fact that Iran, a country that is more economically and militarily advanced, with an anti-aircraft defense system better than North Korea's, was defenseless is a shock to most people here," the second source said. Although the leadership is clamoring for an all-out confrontation with the U.S., the recent death of Soleimani may have some implications for the supreme leadership." Reported by Jieun Kim for RFA's Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Copyright 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content January not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. And in their study titled Who Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?' Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes. In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies like North American Construction Group (TSE:NOA). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed. View our latest analysis for North American Construction Group North American Construction Group's Improving Profits In the last three years North American Construction Group's earnings per share took off like a rocket; fast, and from a low base. So the actual rate of growth doesn't tell us much. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Like the last firework on New Year's Eve accelerating into the sky, North American Construction Group's EPS shot from CA$0.60 to CA$1.24, over the last year. You don't see 106% year-on-year growth like that, very often. The best case scenario? That the business has hit a true inflection point. I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. While we note North American Construction Group's EBIT margins were flat over the last year, revenue grew by a solid 83% to CA$661m. That's progress. You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart. Story continues TSX:NOA Income Statement, January 9th 2020 The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. To that end, right now and today, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for future North American Construction Group EPS 100% free. Are North American Construction Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? Like the kids in the streets standing up for their beliefs, insider share purchases give me reason to believe in a brighter future. That's because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right. Like a sturdy phalanx North American Construction Group insiders have stood united by refusing to sell shares over the last year. But the bigger deal is that the Chairman & CEO, Martin Ferron, paid CA$202k to buy shares at an average price of CA$15.55. On top of the insider buying, it's good to see that North American Construction Group insiders have a valuable investment in the business. Indeed, they hold CA$38m worth of its stock. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. That amounts to 9.7% of the company, demonstrating a degree of high-level alignment with shareholders. Is North American Construction Group Worth Keeping An Eye On? North American Construction Group's earnings per share have taken off like a rocket aimed right at the moon. The incing on the cake is that insiders own a large chunk of the company and one has even been buying more shares. This quick rundown suggests that the business may be of good quality, and also at an inflection point, so maybe North American Construction Group deserves timely attention. Now, you could try to make up your mind on North American Construction Group by focusing on just these factors, or you could also consider how its price-to-earnings ratio compares to other companies in its industry. The good news is that North American Construction Group is not the only growth stock with insider buying. Here's a list of them... with insider buying in the last three months! Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction 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. 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. Thank you for reading. 'Like a bad nightmare that doesn't end' is how a daughter of the murdered man whose partially dismembered body was found in a derelict house in Cork described the 15 days since his death. Detectives are liaising with Interpol in relation to a person of interest who is believed to have travelled to Eastern Europe two days after Francis 'Frankie' Dunne's body was found. It is now understood that gardai may be investigating a possible link between the case and robbery at the place where that person of interest was working. Approximately 1,000 in cash was stolen during a break-in 24 hours after Mr Dunne's body was discovered, it is reported. Clothing, including two pairs of runners and a tracksuit were discovered by gardai during a search at the premises which will now be sent for forensic examination, Virgin Media reports. One of Mr Dunne's daughters, Catherine, said that the family hopes that those responsible for her father's brutal death are brought to justice. My dad was taken so suddenly and so shockingly," she said in a statement to Virgin Media News. " The grief and pain is unbearable. I hope the person responsible is caught and justice is served for such a horrific crime. "As a family we are absolutely heartbroken. It's like a bad nightmare that doesn't end." Mr Dunne's headless, armless torso was found behind the unoccupied Castlegreina House on Boreenmanna Road on December 28. The 64-year-old's head and arms were found during a subsequent search of the property. It is believed that the father-of-three was beaten before he was dismembered. Gardai in Cork said they are looking to speak to 90 people in connection with Mr Dunne's murder and they are following up to 300 lines of inquiry. Senior gardai said that a European Arrest Warrant has not been issued for the person of interest who may now be in Eastern Europe. They said that this man is currently wanted as a potential witness rather than a suspect. Bangkok, Jan 10 : Thai police have launched a search operation for a group of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled a detention centre in the south of the country, an official said here on Friday. Nineteen Rohingya, who were slated to be deported to Myanmar, escaped on Wednesday from the detention centre in Songkhla province and so far four have been apprehended - three of them in Thailand and one by Malaysian authorities, Chalit Chokamonpanich, Immigration Police director in the region, told Efe news. "The Rohingya were arrested three months ago when they tried to cross the border between Thailand and Malaysia and now we are carrying out the procedures for deportation with the cooperation of the Department of Social Development," Chokamonpanich said. Many Rohingya flee to Malaysia, a Muslim majority country that already has a large community of the minority. Thailand, a transit country for Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia, is not a signatory of the UN refugee convention, so it regularly stops refugees and asylum seekers it considers undocumented migrants and returns them to their countries of origin. In 2015, Thai authorities dismantled a human trafficking network with links to police and soldiers. In Myanmar, a Buddhist majority nation, the Rohingya are not recognized as citizens and suffer a strict deprivation of human liberties that has rendered many stateless. In 2016 and 2017 the Burmese army led a major crackdown targeting the Rohingya in the Rakhine State, northwestern Myanmar, resulting in an ethnic cleansing campaign some international observers have termed a genocide, according to UN researchers. The Myanmar government has said the army was responding to a series of attacks by Rohingya armed groups against Burmese security forces. As a result of the military operations during those years over 730,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh where they live in overcrowded conditions on refugee camps lacking access to healthcare and education. At least 400,000 Rohingya remain in the Myanmar state of Arakan, where 120,000 of them have been confined in camps for seven years. It wasnt a bloody night, of which there have been many broadcast live - over six months of Hong Kong protests, but it laid bare the breakdown in relations between police and a population. International media converged on Hong Kong last year, on alert for an event that could shake the world: Would the Peoples Liberation Army and martial law arrive on the streets of Asias sophisticated financial hub? Despite the rumbling of troops on the border, fears strategically fanned by the Chinese state propaganda machine, it didnt happen. Instead, Hong Kongs police became, to many residents, the unwelcome occupying force on city streets, in shopping malls, university campuses and subway stations, making more than 6500 arrests. As protests roll into 2020, it becomes less likely the PLA will be deployed from their garrisons already inside the city - or that Hong Kong will see another Tiananmen. The bigger threat to the population is less spectacular and more insidious: Beijing may move to dismantle the citys lifeblood of liberal education, judicial independence and press freedom. The Chinese flag flutters in the breeze outside China's liaison office building in Hong Kong. Credit:AP These would be devastating events, just as likely to spur an exodus of international capital from the city. The ghosts of history may have held Beijing back from deploying the PLA the isolation that followed the massacre of students in Tiananmen 30 years ago seen as too high an economic cost to repeat. The signals now are that the communist leadership believes the fix, to what it has painted as terrorism on its doorstep, is reshaping minds and tightening control. Beijing may move to dismantle the citys lifeblood of liberal education, judicial independence and press freedom. Recent statements from Beijing refer to the urgent need for a new law to uphold national security. Hong Kong dropped an attempt to introduce a national security law, covering treason and foreign interference, that was demanded by Beijing in 2003, after mass protests. But the top Chinese official with responsibility for Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, has now blamed the 2019 protests on the absence of a national security agency in the city. In a Letter to Hong Kong for the New Year, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said it had been a year of unremitting shocks. Detailing a toll that included 740 sets of traffic lights destroyed, 52 kilometres of roadside railing removed (for protester barricades) and 2600 people injured, Cheung went on to say that rule of law was a most cherished core value. A worker cleans a road sign vandalised by protesters in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Credit:AP He praised a fiercely independent judiciary, along with freedom of press, freedom of religion and free education. But the business community is worried Beijing may seek to interfere in Hong Kongs judiciary. The High Court has overturned the ban on face masks introduced by Lam under emergency powers, and declared it unconstitutional. This prompted an angry response from Beijings legislative affairs committee, which claimed Hong Kongs courts had no power to rule on the constitution. An appeal against the High Court ruling will be heard this month, with Lams government arguing Hong Kong is executive led and there is no separation of powers. Loading Beijing has also made it known through state media it expects judges to toe the line on protest cases. Yet as these cases come to court, many are being dismissed on weak police evidence, and high-profile democracy figures such as Joshua Wong have been released on bail. Hong Kong officials have said one of the five protester demands pardons for those arrested may be possible after a court process. Beijings public statements show no tolerance for leniency. In a worrying sign for a free press, police have attacked public broadcaster RTHKs reporting on police brutality and accused the network of spreading fake news. Former chief executive and Beijing loyalist CY Leung called for RTHK to be audited and its funding cut. Loading Hong Kongs Education Secretary Kevin Yeung told a series of mainland Chinese newspapers that a government inquiry into liberal studies in Hong Kong schools would soon be completed, and text books would be modified in time for the next school year. He also said the government would sack any school principal who refused to dismiss a teacher because of protest activity. Police, in their daily press conference, took up the theme, accusing teachers of leading students in criminal acts during weekend protests. Yet any attempt to brainwash Hong Kongs students with the patriotic education that dominates in mainland China ignores the fact that it was an earlier, failed attempt to do so that spawned Hong Kongs protesters. Loading Many of Hong Kongs top schools are run by Christian churches. The Umbrella movement of 2014 grew from Scholarism, Joshua Wongs school student push against a plan to introduce compulsory patriotic education in 2012. Those students have grown into 20-somethings who defiantly refuse to speak Mandarin, the language used in mainland China. Police had arrested hundreds of school students, some as young as 11, in 2019. A 17-year-old bludgeoned across the head on live television by police at a train station dropped out of school after developing PTSD. The District Council election in November delivered a decisive message from Hong Kong citizens to Beijing 90 per cent of these local government seats went to pro-democracy and pro-protester candidates. Hong Kong toned down its official New Years Day celebrations amid ongoing protests. Credit:AP That may open a small window for concessions if only to stem the loss of pro-Beijing parliamentarians in the more significant Legislative Council elections in September. Fifty per cent of 70 seats are popularly elected. Lam walked out of her most important annual policy speech when faced with opposition heckling from pro-democracy parties. The shouts inside the chamber will only get louder if public sentiment holds. Lam has agreed to only one of five protester demands. A report into policing of the protests is due from her police complaints council this month. The report will have no credibility an international panel of experts appointed by Lam has quit an oversight role and declared the council toothless. Beijing has now sacked its top appointee in Hong Kong Central Liaison Office chief Wang Zhimin. His failure to read public sentiment meant the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China leadership was caught off-guard by the intensity of opposition to the extradition bill that sparked the protests, and the November election result. A policy shift may follow. A Hong Kong student pats Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's dogs during a visit to the campaign headquarters for the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Thursday. Credit:AP But dont expect any big moves from Beijing until the end of January, and after this weekend's Taiwan election. Taiwans independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen is leading in the polls on fears that Hong Kongs turmoil shows Xi Jinping's formula for reunification - One Country, Two Systems - cannot work. Israel has announced the release of two prisoners -- one of whom was convicted of spying for Syria -- as part of a swap deal brokered by Russia. Sidqi al-Maqt, from the Druze community in the annexed Golan Heights, was jailed in 2015 to 11 years for spying, treason, contact with a foreign agent and transfer of information to the Syrian government. He had already spent several years behind bars in Israel for spying. "Security prisoner Sidqi Al-Maqt will be released tomorrow (Friday) January 10, before the scheduled end of his imprisonment," Israel's prison authority said late Thursday. Authorities also announced the early release of another Golan resident, Amal Abu Saleh, who was jailed for the murder of a Syrian who crossed the Israeli border. He had been due to remain behind bars until 2023. The early releases are a "gesture of goodwill" after the repatriation to Israel last year of the remains of Zachary Baumel, an Israeli soldier missing since the 1982 war in Lebanon, the prisons authority said. Israeli authorities had promised the release of two Syrian prisoners after the repatriation of the remains. According to Israeli media, the release of Maqt and Abu Saleh was delayed because the two men wanted to return to the town of Majdal Shams in the annexed Golan Heights, rather than travel to Syrian-held territory. Maqt told Syrian state agency SANA his release was "without conditions and that is a victory of the will of the Syrians over the will of the occupier". SANA said Maqt had been released in August 2012 after 27 years in Israeli detention. "He was re-arrested on February 25, 2015... after he documented cooperation between the Israeli occupying army and the terrorists of Al-Nusra Front," it said, referring to Syria's then Al-Qaeda affiliate. After midnight, SANA said Abu Saleh has arrived at his birthplace of Majdal Shams. Some 23,000 Druze still live in the part of the Golan Heights Israel seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognised by most of the international community. The majority still consider themselves Syrian. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TEHRAN, Iran, Jan.10 Trend: Head of Iran's Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Commission Hassan Rezaiefar has dismissed rumors that the crashed Ukrainian airplane in Iran, was hit by a missile, Trend reports via IRNA. "The pilot of the aircraft was trying to return to the airport. The issue of the aircraft being hit by an air defense missile was investigated at a special meeting and was dismissed at the same meeting," he said. "The country's defense plans are coordinated with the flight network and there has been no inconsistency," Rezaiefar said. According to Iranian sources, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane with 167 passengers (including Iranian and foreign citizens) and 9 crew members on board crashed Jan. 8, after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran due to technical issues. The plane was heading for Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. The plane took off at 06:12 (GMT+3:30), and at 06:18, it lost connection with the dispatcher center. The plane crashed at 6:22. Iran's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is in charge of the investigation according to international aviation rules. A Ukrainian delegation has been reportedly working on site with the Iranian authorities. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday his government has intelligence indicating that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane. However, the Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied allegations or speculation that the crash of the Ukrainian flight was caused by an Iranian missile attack. A white supremacist who was a speaker during the 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville smiled as he was denied bond on kidnapping and domestic violence charges. Augustus Invictus, 36, was arrested on Monday at a Florida mall by Brevard County Sheriff's deputies on a warrant issued out of South Carolina. The Orlando-area attorney, who has called for violent uprisings, smirked as charges including kidnapping his family at gun point were read against him. Augustus Invictus (pictured in court), 36, was arrested on Monday at a Florida mall by Brevard County Sheriff's deputies on a warrant issued out of South Carolina The Orlando-area attorney, who has called for violent uprisings, smirked as charges including kidnapping his family at gun point were read against him His estranged wife claimed he forced her and their children to go to Florida before they escaped. Invictus was flanked by armed cops as he appeared at his first bond hearing in Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina, yesterday. He could be caged for more than 50 years for the charges. He appeared to ridicule the idea he was a flight risk, but Detective Matthew Beech read from the defendant's online writings to show his mindset. Reading from Invictus's writings, Detective Beech said, according to WBTV: 'The destruction I incite is not terrorism. The only aim is the destruction of buildings or person plaguing the Earth. During his 2016 Senate bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, Invictus got widespread attention for claiming that he killed a goat and drank its blood as part of a pagan ritual 'The long-term aim is the overthrow of this civilization. It has absolutely nothing to do with causing fear. 'This is terrorism the same way removing a tumor is terrorism. Although you are the cancer, and I am the Earth's physician.' Invictus demanded an apology from Detective Beech, disputed the claims and said he was innocent. The defendant rose to prominence during his 2016 bid to unseat US Senator Marco Rubio. He got widespread attention for claiming he killed a goat and drank its blood as part of a pagan ritual. Richard Spencer, who organized the Charlottesville rally that saw 32-year-old Heather Heyer die in a car attack, had credited Invictus (pictured at the rally) with drafting the core tenets behind the meet up But he failed to win the nomination from Florida's Libertarian Party to challenge Rubio. Richard Spencer, who organized the Charlottesville rally that saw 32-year-old Heather Heyer die in a car attack, had credited Invictus with drafting the core tenets behind the meetup. Invictus was taken into custody on Monday afternoon by deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff's fugitive unit, public information officer Tod Goodyear said. He had been under surveillance since Christmas Day, when South Carolina authorities notified officials in Florida Invictus may be in the area. The defendant was denied bond by the judge and assigned him a court-appointed lawyer. He will be hauled back before the court on February 3. The ruling AIADMK on Friday defended the Centre over the removal of VIP security cover for Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and M K Stalin while the DMK chief mocked at the move. While Panneerselvam said he didn't think there was any ulterior motive behind the Centre's decision, Stalin in a sarcastic tweet said the government can utilise the CRPF personnel to protect universities and students from those perpetrating violence in the name of religion "As far as I am concerned, there is no ulterior motive in the removal of security. It was done since the Home Ministry felt that it was not necessary," Panneerselvam who is also the AIADMK coordinator-the top party post, said. Responding to a question on an allegation by a senior DMK leader that the security cover removal for Stalin had ulterior motives, the deputy chief minister told reporters here he did not think so. Stalin, also Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly tweeted: "I wholeheartedly thank each and every one of the @crpfindia personnel for providing security cover for me over the past many years." In a sarcasm tinged criticism, he added: "I urge the Govt to utilise CRPF personnel to protect universities and students from those perpetrating violence in the name of religion." Apparently, he was taking a swipe at the Centre over the violence at the JNU campus in New Delhi. The security cover of the two leaders was taken off by the Union government after a review of threat assessment by central security agencies. To a question if the removal of security cover was an endorsement of the AIADMK government's refrain that the State is a "heaven of peace," he said Tamil Nadu was a frontrunner in several parameters. Be it maintenance of law and order or administrative efficiency, the State was a topper and the Centre recognised this, he said adding such higher benchmarks will continue to be maintained. Congress leader Su Thirunavukkarasar also condemned the security removal. Last night, DMK MP and Stalin's sister Kanimozhi too had condemned it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It will be nice to have a little company, Krienke said. Mattox declined to say how much she was paying Krienke, but said it was about a quarter of what a nearby apartment would cost. Odd Couples suggests an amount based on how much the seeker the younger housemate will help out, but doesnt call the payment rent because that would trigger a tax liability for the homeowner. The company also provides a template for the topics to cover before an agreement is signed: daily habits, idiosyncrasies, special needs. Each case is different, said Levis. He and a partner used their own capital to launch the company. Eventually, he said, homeowners will pay a fee to look for a match. He also thinks the website will draw advertising from companies that target seniors and millennials. Odd Couples, which has four full-time employees, recently added an on-campus recruiter and community outreach coordinator to help drum up interest. Sally Lorino, 68, the first homeowner to be matched, heard about the program from a neighbor. The retired Webster University dean uses a wheelchair and had two upstairs bedrooms sitting empty in her Crestwood home. Why Creation Of 32 States Was Unconstitutional "In sum, the creation of the 32 states was a political act carried out in violation of the Transitional Constitution. The fact that an amendment was made to the Transitional Constitution ex post to give the President such power is immaterial..." By Mark A Deng* Dr Santino Ayuel Longar recently published an article in SouthSudanNation.com, in which he makes two principal claims. The first is that the creation of a plethora of states in South Sudan was not a political act. The second is that the decision had a valid legislative ground. In his words, the establishment of 28 States in 2015 (and later 32 states) was a result of due parliamentary process, not by the operation of the Order. This opinion seeks to provide different interpretations of the subject matter (creation of states) in response to the two claims. Creation of states, not a political act? Dr Longar claims that the division of South Sudan into the 32 states was not politically willed, or a political act itself. He states, in part:- Its technically inaccurate to characterize the question of states as inherently political. Presenting it as a political issue, it seems, organically arises from a mistaken belief that since the creation of more states in 2015 was a result of the Presidential Executive Order #36 (the Order) With all due respect, this totally misrepresents the matter. Clearly, the decision was inherently political. The decision was taken by President Kiir, a political executive, acting in his capacity as a politician and head of nation but a military General at the same time. The decision was made operative through an executive order, known asthe Establishment Order No.36 (the Order). Executive orders (official directives or instructions) may seem to carry the force of law but they are not legislations; for they are not subject to parliamentary approval, nor can they be vetoed by Parliament. The South Sudanese Parliament (National Legislature), being a mere rubber-stamp institution, has never vetoed any presidential act (ie presidential appointments), let alone an executive order which can be altered only by another executive order. While the Order does not explain what prompted it (not unusual for any executive order), theres absolutely no question that it was politically driven, not taken in the public interest. If it were taken in the public interest, President Kiir should not have acted unilaterally and did so swiftly. The South Sudanese public ought to have been consulted first to ascertain what popular support there was for it. Of course, some government officials have claimed ex post facto that the move was popularly inspired but thats merely a defence for a bad decision. (For the record, the author is not against the 32 states. His principal concern is one of the means for creating the states because such issue normatively requires a popular process. This is not to mention the states long-term financial sustainability in view of the dire economic situation in the country). There are suppositions about what prompted this controversial decision. One such supposition holds that the move was designed to deny the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) control over oil-producing states (former Upper Nile State and Unity State) in relation to appointing transitional governors for these former states under the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) 2015. (The ARCSS collapsed in 2016 but it has been revived, earning a new name as the R-ARCSS). The power-sharing provisions of the ARCSS gave the SPLM-IO the discretion to nominate prospective governors for these former states for appointment by the President. However, the government was extremely uncomfortable with this arrangement presumably because of the special economic significance of these states (oil being the main source of income for the government). To get around this issue, an abrupt decree was issued, declaring the oil-producing areas of these two states as new states that allegedly fall outside the terms of the ARCSS, thereby allowing the government to assume control over them. However, to justify this decision, to make it appear as though it was done in the interest of the people of South Sudan, the division was applied across the board. Hence, the 32 states. The decision, contestable it remains, raised all sorts of issues, one of which is its constitutional legality. The establishment of [states] was a result of due parliamentary process, not by the operation of the Order Dr Longar asserts that the creation of the 32 states was a result of due parliamentary process but does not provide any proof of this. To have been a result of due parliamentary process means, if one understands it correctly, that Parliament duly debated the creation of states and approved it by voting on it. This never happened, however. There are not any locatable parliamentary debates about this. The important question, however, is whether the Transitional Constitution, 2011, the nations supreme law, gives the President power to create more states in the country. Put directly, does the Order have a constitutional basis? The answer is no. The Transitional Constitution confers no power on the President to create more states, at least not expressly. The Order lacks a constitutional basis, as such. Numerous articles of the Transitional Constitution (articles 36 (1), 166 (6) (a) and (b) etc) were cited as sources of authority for the Order but these articles are silent on the creation of states presidentially. They are generally about promoting decentralised governance system, which is yet to materialise in the country, and ensuring popular participation in the government. However, in 2015 the Parliament passed an amendment Act practically two weeks after the Order was issued to give the President power to create more states as he deems necessary (if less about constitutionally validating the initial decision). Particularly, article 162 (1) was amended. The original text of article 162 (1) declared South Sudan as having ten states governed on the basis of decentralization. The new wording reads: Article 162 is amended by replacing its sub-article (1) with the following: The President may for the purpose of efficient discharge of functions of the governments, divide the territory of South Sudan into states and other areas in accordance with procedures prescribed by law or provisions of such law as may be enacted by the concerned House of the Legislature. Dr Longar does not account fully for these changes in his article, which, if he did, would have given his argument legal teeth. Rather, he seems to base his argument for the constitutional legality of the Order on article 101 (f) of the Transitional Constitution. Sub-article (f) allows the President to initiate constitutional amendments and legislation and assent to and sign into law bills passed by the National Legislature. The problem with relying on this article to validate the Order is that the President acted before seeking or initiating any constitutional amendment. The amendment Act, as mentioned, was passed only retrospectivelyone way to fail to make law as Lon Fuller would put it. This leaves Dr Longars argument without a firm ground on which to stand. However, it seems that the end justifies the means in this case, in the sense that a majority of the South Sudanese people seem content with the 32 states. This makes it practically impossible to abolish the 32 states, at least not unilaterally as it were. Popular support for the 32 states is also working to the governments advantage, making the SPLM-IOs demand to reduce the number of states virtually redundant. Yet the SPLM-IOs position remains intact. It is highly likely that the parties (SPLM, SPLM-IO etc) wont reach a consensus on this issue, in which case a referendum, as the R-ARCSS stipulates, could be the last resort. In sum, the creation of the 32 states was a political act carried out in violation of the Transitional Constitution. The fact that an amendment was made to the Transitional Constitution ex post to give the President such power is immaterial because the amendment applies prospectively, not retrospectively. Dr Longars attempt to defend this unfortunate decision is his personal opinion, not constitutionally justifiable. *Mark A. Deng is a PhD student at the University of Queensland, Australia. New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Congress on Friday hailed the Supreme Court order to Jammu and Kashmir administration to view all its restrictive orders within a week as a historic decision as a big jolt to the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at Centre for curbing internet services since August 4 last year. The opposition party said the Prime Minister has been reminded that nation bows before Constitution, and not him. "Supreme Court delivers first big jolt of 2020 to illegal activities of the Modi government by stating importance of internet as a fundamental right. Double shock for Modi-Shah that dissent cannot be oppressed by imposing section 144. Modiji reminded that nation bows before Constitution and not him," Congress spokesperson and national media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted. Former Finance Minister and senior party leader P. Chidambaram taking a pot shot at the government said, "Supreme Court rules that tactics like indefinite internet shutdowns and indiscriminate use of Section 144 to silence dissent are unacceptable in a democracy. We hope this serves as a reminder to the tyrant duo that law & constitution is above their divisive policies." Senior party leader and noted lawyer, Jairam Ramesh while addressing a press conference said, "There is doubt in public's mind about the situation in Kashmir. Section 144 was in force throughout Kashmir, internet shutdown, communication was down. So, we had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to lift section 144 and decide criteria for implementing it." He said, historic verdict has been pronounced by a three-Judge Supreme Court bench. "The conclusions of the verdict are that the respondent state or competent authorities are directed to publish all orders in force and any future orders under Section 144, Cr.P.C. and for suspension of telecom services, including internet, to enable affected persons to challenge it before the High Court or appropriate forum. "We declare that freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of internet enjoys constitutional protection under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(g)," Ramesh said. He said that the "restriction" upon such "fundamental rights" should be in consonance with the mandate under Article 19(2) and (6) of the Constitution, inclusive of the test of proportionality. He further said that the Court also said that an order suspending internet services indefinitely is impermissible under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017. "Suspension can be utilised for temporary duration only and any order suspending internet issued under the Suspension Rules, must adhere to the principle of proportionality and must not extend beyond necessary duration," he noted. The Congress leaders remarks soon after the Supreme Court on Friday directed the administration of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to view all its restrictive orders within a week and publish them publicly for them to raised before a court of law. The court orders come as blow to the Centre that has been garnering support for its move in the Kashmir Valley. The court also called the restriction on the internet as against the Constitution. A bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana said the restrictions imposed on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir by the administration of the newly formed Union Territory will have to be reviewed in seven days. The Supreme Court in its verdict observed that the use of internet enjoys constitutional protection as tool, which is under the ambit of freedom of speech and expression and also enables people to carry on with their respective profession. On Section 144 of the Cr.P.C., the apex court said it cannot be used to curb liberty, and this section can be used only where there is likelihood of incitement of violence and danger to public safety. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston Ruth Bader Ginsburg has said she no longer has cancer, months after a diagnosis made the liberal Supreme Court justice's health a major concern for many Americans. The 88-year-old justice announced her cancer-free status during a wide-ranging CNN interview on Tuesday in which she celebrated her successful treatment. "I'm cancer-free," she said, noting she has resumed an active schedule. "That's good," she added. The most recent treatment was the fourth time the liberal justice has battled cancer since she was nominated to the court in 1993 by then-president Bill Clinton. 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes Show all 13 1 /13 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On feminism 'Feminism I think the simplest explanation, and one that captures the idea, is a song that Marlo Thomas sang, 'Free to be You and Me.' Free to be, if you were a girldoctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Anything you want to be. And if youre a boy, and you like teaching, you like nursing, you would like to have a doll, thats OK too. That notion that we should each be free to develop our own talents, whatever they may be, and not be held back by artificial barriers - manmade barriers, certainly not heaven sent.' (Interview with Makers, 2012) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how she wants to be remembered 'Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. Cause Ive gotten much more satisfaction for the things that Ive done for which I was not paid.' (Interview with MSNBC, 2015) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the advice she'd give women today 'Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.' (Speech at Harvard University's 364th Commencement, 2015) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On women being included in the conversation 'Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. I don't say [the split] should be 50-50. It could be 60 per cent men, 40 per cent women, or the other way around. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.' (Interview with USA Today, 2009) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how she copes with criticism 'Well, Im dejected, but only momentarily, when I cant get the fifth vote for something I think is very important. But then you go on to the next challenge and you give it your all. You know that these important issues are not going to go away. They are going to come back again and again. Therell be another time, another day.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On women's rights 'Women's rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy.' (ACLU) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On rejection 'You think about what would have happened ... Suppose I had gotten a job as a permanent associate. Probably I would have climbed up the ladder and today I would be a retired partner. So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.' (Interview with Makers, 2012) AFP/Getty 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the biggest issue women face 'In some ways its the most familiar issue and the largest one. Its, Who will take the responsibility for bringing up the next generation? That, I think, is the hardest problem. There can be incentives and encouragement, but women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On sexist, unconscious bias 'I think unconscious bias is one of the hardest things to get at. My favorite example is the symphony orchestra. When I was growing up, there were no women in orchestras. Auditioners thought they could tell the difference between a woman playing and a man. Some intelligent person devised a simple solution: Drop a curtain between the auditioners and the people trying out. And, lo and behold, women began to get jobs in symphony orchestras.' (Interview with Elle magazine, 2014) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On having a supportive partner 'If you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it. I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his, and I think that made all the difference for me.' (Interview with Yahoo, 2014) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how many women should be on the Supreme Court 'People ask me sometimes, when when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.' (Talk at Georgetown University, Washington, 2015) (There are nine judges on the US Supreme Court) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the impact of discrimination 'We should not be held back from pursuing our full talents, from contributing what we could contribute to the society, because we fit into a certain mold because we belong to a group that historically has been the object of discrimination.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On her most treasured talent 'If I had any talent in the world, any talent that God could give me, I would be a great diva.' (Talk at Georgetown University, Washington, 2015) AFP/Getty Images And it marked the second major scare during the Trump presidency, which has seen two new conservative Supreme Court justices who many progressives fear could reverse or undermine past legislative victories on issues ranging from women's rights to gun rights. In 2018, Justice Ginsburg underwent surgery to remove two malignant nodules from her left lung, and doctors at the time determined that the cancer had not spread. Before that, she underwent surgery in 2009 for early-stage pancreatic cancer, and for colon cancer in 1999. During the latter, did not miss a day on the bench. Patients generally do not show symptoms of pancreatic cancer before it spreads to other organs, according to medical experts, at which point survival rates decrease significantly. Justice Ginsburg is the senior member of the court's four liberals, a grouping that makes up a minority on the nine justice court. The Supreme Court is this year is set to take up landmark cases on a range of issues including a Second Amendment case, an abortion case out of Louisiana and a case surrounding Democratic efforts to compel Mr Trump to release his tax returns. Trump rally AP Photo/ Jacquelyn Martin President Donald Trump is now saying that former Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was plotting attacks against four US embassies when Trump ordered an airstrike that killed him. "Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad," the president said on Thursday night at a rally in Ohio. On Friday, according to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Fox News aired a clip in which Trump told host Laura Ingraham that four embassies were involved in the plot, though he didn't specify which ones. Trump's remarks to Ingraham are the most specific any US official has been so far about what they said was an "imminent threat" posed by Soleimani to American lives. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump is now saying that former Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was plotting against four embassies when Trump ordered an airstrike that killed him. "Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad," the president said on Thursday night at a rally in Ohio. "But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly, and we stopped him cold." On Friday, according to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Fox News aired a clip in which Trump told host Laura Ingraham that four embassies were involved in the plot, though he didn't specify which ones. Trump's remarks to Ingraham are the most specific any US official has been so far about what they said was an "imminent threat" posed by Soleimani to American lives. The Trump administration first announced the strike against him last week. Soleimani's assassination kicked off a series of escalatory actions from both Washington and the Iranian capital of Tehran that simmered down earlier this week after Iran fired several missiles at US bases in Iraq that resulted in no American casualties. Trump subsequently announced that "all is well" and that the conflict had been de-escalated. Story continues The president's actions also invited harsh blowback from Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans who expressed concern that Congress had not been consulted or notified before the drone strike. The House of Representatives subsequently passed a war-powers resolution on Thursday that would drastically curtail the president's ability to take further military action against Iran. It passed on a largely party-line vote, though eight Democrats voted against it, and three Republicans voted in favor of it. Since the strike was first announced, questions have swirled about how robust the underlying intelligence supporting the strike was and whether Soleimani really did pose an "imminent threat," as Trump and his deputies have said. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper was asked whether the Iranian attacks against US personnel were days or weeks away before Soleimani's death. "I think it's more fair to say days, for sure," Esper said. But several Democratic and Republican lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the administration's briefings on the strike against Soleimani, who was Iran's most powerful military official and a widely revered figure within the nation. Asked if she was convinced that there was evidence that Soleimani was planning an "imminent" attack on US personnel, as the administration has said, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts replied, "No" but said she could not elaborate further. Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal echoed that, saying, "There was no raw evidence presented that this was an imminent threat." Additional reporting from The New York Times' Rukmini Callimachi indicated that the underlying intelligence for the strike was "razor thin." Callimachi reported that one source told her there wasn't evidence of an "imminent" attack on US interests that could kill hundreds, as the White House has said. "The official describes the reading of the intelligence as an illogical leap," she wrote on Twitter. Read the original article on Business Insider Actually, real life has illustrated it well too. The history of planned communities, even aspirational utopias, in the Chicago area is long and rich. And also mixed, said Robert Bruegmann, an architecture historian at the University of Illinois at Chicago: "The problem inherent in many is that the founders tend not to know what demands will be. So conditions change, and they can't." In the late 19th century alone, there was the founding of Pullman on the South Side, created for employees of the Pullman rail car company; south suburban Harvey, started by a Moody Bible Institute associate and intended as a haven of religious values; and Riverside, next to Berwyn, a planned community designed in part by Frederick Law Olmsted. Said Tim Ozga, president of the Olmsted Society of Riverside, "I don't think he used 'utopia' exactly, but the idea was to put citizens in a happy mood. So, parks, riverside lots of green space. Just not enough tax-revenue sources." Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections next month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will attack the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government on two areas considered the state governments strength -- education and health, Union minister Hardeep Puri said on Friday. Earlier this week, Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia challenged the BJP?to compare its record in school education in states ruled by it with AAPs record in Delhi. He also added that the Delhi government-run schools are managed much better than those run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). All three MCDs (North, South, East) are run by the BJP. Puri said that the Delhi government has dealt a crushing blow to the morale of the teachers in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools by not providing the organisation with the funds to pay the arrears of the 7th central pay commission to the teachers. The Delhi and central governments have been sparring for several years on the funding of the MCDs. The AAP government wants the Centre to directly fund the MCDs. The Centre wants the state government to fund them out of its share of central funds. The expenditure that MCDs have to incur which has not been reimbursed on education comes to 70%: ~3,914 crore is owed to north MCD, ~569 crore to East MCD and ~223 crore to South MCD, Puri said. The MCD schools are running with only 57% of their sanctioned strength of teachers, he added. What is even more alarming is that the state governments policies have forced several private schools to close down. I am subjecting his claims to tough scrutiny, Puri said. Puri also alleged that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has not implemented central schemes such as the Ayushman Bharat and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), depriving the city-states residents of valuable benefits. Left to Right: Dr. Jen Bruns and Dr. Mary Luebbers LEADWELLwithWOMEN.community will serve as the communitys online hub to connect members through conversations and resources around leadership, wellbeing, and personal and professional development. WellHaven Pet Health, a family of companion animal veterinary hospitals headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, today announced their partnership in a new online community coming in February 2020, LEAD WELL with WOMEN. The community will be showcased at the VMX 2020 Womens Pavilion in the Health and Wellbeing Village. The vision of LEAD WELL with WOMEN is to empower women, engage all, connect, and help you lead your best life. Founding members, Doctors Mary Luebbers and Jennifer Bruns, describe the communitys goal as serving those within the Animal Health industry and beyond to empower individuals through connection, and to support your journey of personal and professional growth. A key aspect were proud of is serving the community in a way that removes the physical and geographical barriers to participation. And best of all, its available for anyone to join with no membership fees thanks to our partnership with WellHaven Pet Health, added Dr. Bruns. LEADWELLwithWOMEN.community will serve as the communitys online hub to connect members through conversations and resources around leadership, wellbeing, and personal and professional development. The community will also feature expert contributors, groups and forums, a live feed, 1:1 messaging, mentor and mentee connections, and event planning for both online and in-person events, meetups, and networking. This partnership supports our shared values of wellbeing, community and the advancement of women leaders within their profession. To learn more, look for the WellHaven Pet Health Womens Pavilion booth in the VMX 2020 Health and Wellbeing Village, or go to LEADWELLwithWOMEN.community. About WellHaven Pet Health Happy vets and teams, healthy pets and families. You cant have one without the other. WellHaven Pet Health buys and builds outstanding veterinary practices across the country. We are committed as servant leaders to ensure the success of our doctors and teams. Connect with LEAD WELL with WOMEN Instagram: Instagram.com/leadwellwithwomen Facebook: facebook.com/leadwellwithwomen LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/leadwellwithwomen When Allison Hulett, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Food Bank, found nonprofit work she knew its what she was meant to do. Since then, she said she hasnt actually worked a day in her life because the job isnt work. Hulett sat down with The Woodlands Villager to talk about her work, her kids, and how, despite her community-facing job, shes secretly an introvert. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. The Woodlands Villager: Have you always been in nonprofits? Allison Hulett: As a kid, I was quiet, which people that know me now would be surprised by, I was a quiet kid who wanted to be in the thick of everything because I loved being around people. Ive just always been fascinated with people, watching them, why do they do what they do, why do they not do what they dont do, the human experience. I loved the drama of it, in a completely non-judgmental way. I went on to A&M and I was an English major there and I loved it. Its that human experience. I was going to teach, but then I found social work. I didnt know social work was a profession and when I did it seemed like it was made specifically for me and my personality and what I love to do. So, I have a masters in social work from Boston University and over my career I started out with teen moms in their 20s, Ive worked in the foster care system, I worked with home-bound senior adults, Meals on Wheels, and I loved all of those positions. With every nonprofit that Ive worked in, of course, theres a service that we provide. It may be counseling services, it may be parent classes, it may be a home-bound meal for them. Here at the food bank, what I love is that we serve all of those clients. That was the big opportunity here was I get to work with every population. But when youre handing them that service, really, in every instance, what youre telling somebody is that you matter. Villager: Is that what you like about the non-profit industry? Hulett: What I like about the non-profit industry is that the product that we provide is service to people in need. What I like about running a non-profit is that I love competition. Im always and this is my team, really we are always sitting together and trying to decide what is the best way to serve the clients. Villager: This work can be very demanding, what do you do to take care of yourself? Hulett: Spending time with my kids at home. Im an outgoing introvert so I like to go home and spend time with them. Theyre just great people. I like to work out, thats a good stress reliever. Downtime with people I love is relaxing to me. Villager: Is there anything about the job that would surprise people? Hulett: I think in non-profits, what would surprise people is how we are different from for-profits, but also how much alike we are. We need good software, we need good numbers, we need skilled staff. My board chair, Kelly Holmes, hes the CFO of Woodforest Bank, when I was talking to him about becoming board chair, he said the same thing, you dont want to short-change yourself in a nonprofit, because its at the expense of the clients. Villager: Whats something about yourself that you think might surprise people? Hulett: When you leading an organization, youre often leading the meeting, leading the town all, youre leading the conversation. So, I think what would surprise people is that Im actually very much an introvert. Im sort of all the way back to that introvert who likes to quietly sit in the back of the room and observe and watch people and read books. Villager: Are you reading anything currently? Hulett: Over Christmas, my boyfriend and I started a book club with my dad, so its just the three of us right now. Im reading two books right now. One is a very thick but good biography on Ernest Hemingway, and the book club book that we started is called Super Pumped, its the guy who started Uber, and all the rough and tumble that it took to do that, for good or for bad. Its a fascinating book. Villager: Is there anything you want people to know about you? Hulett: I feel incredibly blessed with this position that I have here. I feel it every day with the responsibility from the community, the volunteers, the clients, my board, our donors. Its just humbling to sit at that desk and look across the warehouse and look across all these partner agencies and all these people that come together and unite to fight hunger here. To be in the middle of that, its just such a huge honor. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com Protesters queue up at a booth of Hong Kong Construction and Engineering Employees General Union to apply for membership during pro-democracy protests on New Year's Day, to call for better governance and democratic reforms in Hong Kong, China, on Jan. 1, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) Hong Kong Workers Flock to Labor Unions as New Protest Tactic HONG KONGBefore the Hong Kong protests began in June, Chris Ngai spent most of his free time playing World of Warcraft and finding new cocktail recipes. Now the bespectacled 24-year-old junior engineer is launching a trade union. His aim is to ramp up pressure on Hong Kongs government, which has so far made no political concessions to protesters demands for greater democracy in the Chinese-ruled city, despite millions of people marching in the street. The ongoing pro-democracy movement has fundamentally changed peoples lives, Ngai told Reuters, the day before he set up a booth along the route of a Jan. 1 march, to sign up new members. It has forced many who were ignorant about society to stand up. As violent clashes with police become more common, the pro-democracy movement has reached a point of anger and hopelessness, said Ngai, and needs new tactics. Ngai said he and his team persuaded about 90 engineers, architects and construction workers to join his Hong Kong Construction and Engineering Employees General Union in the past month. His booth was only one of dozens along the 4 km (2.5 mile) route of the New Years Day march, each with a distinct flag and logo, attracting queues of hundreds of people to join new unions for civil servants, hotel staff, theater professionals and others. Ngai and his fellow organizers are spearheading the biggest push to unionize the laissez-faire, ultra-capitalist finance meccawhere collective bargaining rights are not even recognizedsince Britain handed the city back to China in 1997. They are also at the forefront of the ever-experimenting Hong Kong pro-democracy movement as it looks for more effective forms of protest. The movement has been thriving on its ad-hoc character, said Ma Ngok, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Now more people think the movement may be a long haul, so they need a more organized base to sustain it. Chris Ngai, Chairman of Hong Kong Construction and Engineering Employees General Union, talks to people near his unions recruitment booth set up along the route of the New Year pro-democracy march in Hong Kong, China on Jan. 1, 2020. (Sarah Wu/Reuters) About 40 pro-democracy unions, including Ngais, have formed in recent months or are in the process of registering with the government, with dozens more starting to organize, according to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). The confederation, which last month started running crash courses on establishing unions, said about 2,000 people have already joined unions this year and thousands more joined in late 2019. The city has a population of about 7.4 million. Labor Department records show that 25 new unions registered last year, compared to 13 in 2018. Of those, 18 formed in the second half of the year, as protests escalated. Like many new protest tactics, the call to unionize first spread via the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where a channel promoting labor organization has grown to more than 74,000 subscribers in less than three months. Time to Strike Traditional unions in Hong Kong are seen by citizens primarily as clubs for hobby classes, banquets and retail discounts. The new unions are motivated more by protecting workers from being punished by employers for expressing their views. About two months after protests began in June over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed extraditions of suspected criminals to China, protesters got a wake-up call on Beijings powers of coercion. The mainlands aviation regulator demanded Hong Kongs flag carrier Cathay Pacific suspend staff involved in or supporting demonstrations. Many new unionists say the problem is widespread, especially where bosses are keen to avoid conflict with China for fear of damaging business. Anti-extradition bill demonstrators attend a protest at the departure hall of Hong Kong Airport, China on Aug. 12, 2019. (Issei Kato/Reuters) A 26-year-old woman who identified herself as Cynthia told Reuters she heard of an auditing firm that hastily organized a lunch for all employees at the same time as a large protest which many of her fellow professionals wanted to attend during their break. She described that as oppression and said it was one of the reasons she is helping to establish the Accounting BroSis Labor Union. Some employees have been reprimanded for expressing political views on their personal Facebook accounts, said Gary Chan, secretary of the Hong Kong Financial Industry Employees General Union, which he said has recruited 160 members since late September. Programer Alex Tang said his newly formed, 280-member Hong Kong Information Technology Workers Union was developing a database of employers who would not threaten or dismiss staff for supporting protests. Many believe unions will provide safety in numbers. If we strike as individuals, we may be suppressed by companies, said a 23-year-old assistant architect surnamed Lam, who was lining up at Ngais booth, wearing a black face mask, on Jan. 1. The drive to unionize comes as Hong Kong is grappling with a recession as tourist numbers and retail sales decline amid the ongoing protests. While the new unions cannot promise much in terms of immediate economic benefits, they may in time be able to organize more effective strikes and address the citys deep inequalities, said Eli Friedman, an associate professor at Cornell University who studies labor in China. Its too soon to tell if they will get the union density to exercise that kind of power, said Friedman. Many new union leaders say they recognize that gaining members and changing cultural attitudes to unions will take time. But they are committed to improving workers rights, with a long-term goal of organizing mass strikes to increase pressure on the government to allow everyone the right to vote for the citys leader. Its a numbers game, said Lee Cheuk-yan, general secretary of HKCTU and a former pro-democracy politician. We have to stay organized in the long run and consolidate the consciousness of the people of Hong Kong that has arisen over the past half-year, Lee said. All of the unions will decide together when it is time to strike. By Sarah Wu [January 10, 2020] Notice Regarding Acquisition of Shares in Overseas Stock Market TOKYO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Prospect Co., Ltd. (the "Company") has been acquiring shares of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. (hereinafter "Pinnacle") since February 2018, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. The Company hereby informs its shareholders that its ownership in Pinnacle has exceeded 10.00%, and has reported to the Ontario Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the country's National Instrument 62-103. Note 1. Overview of the acquired shares as of today Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. Number of shares owned (as of December 27 , 2019) 3,348,600 shares , 2019) 3,348,600 shares Total shares outstanding 33,308,516 shares Ownership % 10.053 % Annual dividend forecast 0.60 CAD per share 2. Purpose of holding As the demand for wood pellets in Japan's biomass power generation is increasing and expected to grow further in the future, the Company has been strategically investing in Pinnacle as part of its renewable energy business expansion strategy. In addition, Pinnacle engages in long-term fixed price contracts with the buyers of wood pellets, so the Company is expecting high growth potential and high dividends. 3. About wood pellets and Pinnacle Wood pellets are a type of fuel for base load power generation (power eneration that can be operated continuously, low power generation unit price, and stable supply). In order to achieve Japan's medium-term goal of reducing greenhouse gases under the Paris Agreement, the expansion of renewable energy is expected to accelerate in the future, predicated on the reduction in the use of coal and nuclear power. Pinnacle Renewable Energy is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of industrial wood pellets for use by global utilities and large-scale independent power producers (IPP) as a renewable fuel to produce reliable baseload power. The company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with 9 wood pellet production facilities in operation and 2 more under development across Western Canada and Southeast United States, with annual production capacity of almost 3 million metric tons. Pinnacle is a major supplier of wood pellets to both Europe and the rapidly growing Japanese biomass power generation market, with Japanese contracts representing 48% of its CAD 7.1 billion contracted backlog as of Q3 2019, up approximately 40% year-on-year. (Reference) Pinnacle's latest news release December 19, 2019 ?Capital investment? Announced plans to build a new industrial wood pellet plant (360,000 tons per year, Southeastern US). Production will start in the second quarter of 2021. December 16, 2019 ?Raw material contract? Announced agreement with Alkali Resource Management Ltd. for a three-year supply of wood pellet raw materials to use at the Pinnacle plant in British Columbia. October 17, 2019 ?Off-take contract? Announced a new off-take agreement with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (TSE: 8031) to supply 100,000 tons of wood pellets per annum for domestic biomass power generation starting 3rd quarter of 2023. Please visit the official website of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. for more information https://www.pinnaclepellet.com/ 4. Future outlook The impact of this matter on the business results for the current consolidated fiscal year is expected to be minor. About Prospect Prospect Co., Ltd. is listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and engages in condominium sales and renewable energy businesses. The Company is developing new businesses from the conventional condominium sales business alone and conducting M & A as a business diversification strategy to continuously maximize corporate value. Revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 was 3.9 billion, with 41 employees. For more information about our company, please visit https://www.prospectjapan.co.jp. Contact: Mr. Sudo / Mr. Otsuka General Affairs Department Prospect Co., Ltd. Tel: +03-3470-8411 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, Eashwar Khandre on Friday said that his party has extended its support to the demand made by the former chief minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy, that a House Committee should be formed to probe into Mangaluru violence. Emphasising the need for a judicial probe into the incident, Khandre said, "Congress has always said that the truth should prevail and that there should be a judicial inquiry and investigation by a sitting Supreme Court judge or a High Court judge into the incident." "We support his (HD Kumaraswamy) statement that a House Committee should be set up to probe into the incident of Mangaluru violence. Two innocent people lost their lives during the anti-CAA protest, it is very unfortunate," he added. Two people were killed in Mangaluru in the alleged police firing after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act turned violent on December 19. The Act grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31, 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protesters in New York City on Thursday rallied against the threat of a potential war between the US and Iran. Demonstrator Naomi Saphra said protests did not work before the Iraq war and she didn't necessarily believe they will work now. But, she added, people feel like they "need to do something." Demonstrators in dozens of US cities gathered on Thursday night to protest the Trump administration's killing of an Iranian general and the decision to send thousands of additional soldiers to the Middle East. The progressive political action committee "MoveOn" organized the national "No War With Iran" protests. The group previously held rallies against President Donald Trump's travel ban against travellers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen - six mainly Muslim countries - and white nationalism. Photo: Matthias Wagner/Unsplash Looking to get some laughs? When it comes to comedy, there's plenty to keep you busy this week, from Hideout Comedy to an improv show. 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. 'Hideout Comedy' From the event description: "Hideout Comedy" is back at a brand new location right around the corner, the White Bull Tavern. Located in the heart of historic downtown Boston, come get a taste of the absolute best stand-up comics working today. Many having had their comedy featured places like Comedy Central, Funny or Die, Netflix, and more. Past performers include Gary Gulman, Myq Kaplan, Rich Vos, Corinne Fisher, Alonzo Bodden and Mark Normand. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m. Where: The White Bull Tavern, 1 Union St. Price: Free - $5 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Stand-Up Comedy at Nick's Comedy Stop From the event description: One of Boston's oldest comedy houses "and" one of the top clubs in the country, Nick's Comedy Stop has hosted such legendary comedians as Denis Leary, Jerry Seinfeld, Phyllis Diller, Lenny Clarke and Jay Leno for more than 30 years. Nick's draws national headliners while providing a space for up-and-coming talent, as well as the leading local stand-up comics in Boston, including Steve Sweeney and Joe Wong. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m. Where: Nick's Comedy Stop - Boston, 100 Warrenton St. Price: $10 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Comedy at Bill's Bar From the event description: Experience the best of Boston stand-up comedy, next door to Fenway Park! Held every week on the main stage at Bill's Bar, we bring you some of the funniest comics in the country. Our lineups regularly feature headlining comedians who've appeared on Comedy Central, "Last Comic Standing" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live", to name a few. Great beer, great food, very funny! Story continues When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m. Where: Bill's Bar & Lounge, 5 Lansdowne St. Price: $5 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Riot Improv Mainstage: Your Quirky Family From the event description: Come see Riot Improv perform a show inspired by the quirks of your family, like Uncle Jim's love for Parcheesi, Aunt Carol's quilt collection, or your brother's tendency to pick his nose and fling it across the table. Riot Improv is the flagship group of The Riot Theater Company performing every Saturday. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m. Where: The Rozzie Square Theater, 5 Basile St. Price: Free - $7.50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets NYC Comedy Invades Boston From the event description: Jordan Raybould is a rising star on the New York comedy scene, and now he's hitting Sixth Gear - Cask & Kitchen in Boston to share the love. As if that weren't enough reason to make you want to turn off the TV and head out for some real laughs, Jordan's bringing some of his funny New York friends with him. They're people you've seen on Comedy Central, MTV, Netflix and other places. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 10:15 p.m. Where: Sixth Gear - Cask & Kitchen, 81 L St. Price: $7.50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Mr Akwasi Addae Odike, the Founder and Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP) has chided some of his party executives for backing some other political parties to reject the compilation of a new voters' register by the Electoral Commission (EC). Hon. Odike said some of his party executives were cited at a forum organised by the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for Good Governance expressing their displeasure about the Electoral Commission (EC) decision to compile a new register. "I support the ECs idea of compiling a new register to eliminate ghost names to enable Ghanaians get a credible register ahead of December Elections, anybody who represented the party at the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) forum yesterday is a criminal, Akwasi Addae Odike exclusively told Kwaku Dawuro on Anopa Nkomo on Accra-based on Kingdom FM 107.7 . He stressed that some of his party executives dont have the capacity to represent the United Progressive Party (UPP) in any forum. The NDC has accused the EC of being biased in favour of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). According to the NDC, everything pointed to the fact that the EC, especially its chairperson, Jean Mensa, was clearly in favour of the NPP to retain political power through the means of creation of new voters register. They stressed that the new register defies logic and must be fiercely resisted as we in the NDC intend to do. The Electoral Commission said there is a need to replace outmoded biometric machines. Many parents have objected to the plan to transition Central to the sequence of science courses that starts with physics in freshman year, followed by chemistry in sophomore year and biology for juniors. Not only will the sequence of classes change, but some of the content will, as well. The East Penn School District is in the midst of a pertussis outbreak with 17 cases reported since Nov. 15. The latest case was reported at Emmaus High School this week, which is where the majority -- 12 -- of the cases have been reported, according to the district. There also have been two cases at Lower Macungie Middle School, two at Shoemaker Elementary School and one at Macungie Elementary School. Pertussis or whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory illness marked by uncontrollable coughing fits which often make it difficult to breathe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After a coughing fit, someone with pertussis may need to take a deep breath, causing the telltale whooping" sound. Pertussis can affect anyone, but it can be dangerous, even deadly, for babies under one. There have been no other outbreaks of whooping cough in Northampton and Lehigh counties, according to Nate Wardle, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. At the western end of the state, Indiana County grappled with a pertussis outbreak throughout the fall, resulting in more than 45 confirmed or probable cases reported in several school districts, he said. The department considers three or more cases an outbreak. The department encourages everyone to check and make sure they are up-to-date on all immunizations, which includes the DTaP vaccine for children under 7, and the Tdap vaccine for older children and adults, Wardle said. The East Penn School District included this CDC chart on whooping cough in its letter home to families. East Penn sent a letter home to families this week notifying them of the latest case and providing Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines. If a child is frequently coughing or experiencing coughing fits, parents should contact their childs doctor and explain they may have been exposed to pertussis in school, according to the tips. If the illness is suspected, the doctor can prescribe an antibiotic. Children can return to school after taking an antibiotic for five days, according to the guidelines. If a child is not coughing, families could consider contacting their childs doctor about the possible whooping cough exposure. If a doctor prescribes an antibiotic as a precaution, the child can still attend school. The best way we currently have to protect against the spread of pertussis is by being fully immunized, according to the districts letter. From 2016 to 2018, Lehigh County had the highest whooping cough rate in the state with 30 cases per 100,000 people, according to data from the state Department of Health. Statewide the rate was 7.9 per 100,000 people. Neighboring Northampton County was also much higher with 13 cases per 100,000 people, data show. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. - South African hospitality group Tsogo Sun has announced it will be closing its Southern Sun Mayfair Hotel in Nairobi on Friday, January 31 - The group will not renew its lease in Kenya and has since fired all its employees - This comes at a time the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge has warned of tough times ahead The bad economic situation witnessed in 2019 continues in 2020 with job losses and rising cost of living. This is even as Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge warned of tough times ahead. READ ALSO: Western leaders convinced Iran accidentally shot down Ukrainian passenger plane killing 176 Nairobi's Southern Mayfair Hotel is set to end operations in Kenya on Friday, January 31. Photo: Southern Sun Mayfair Nairobi. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Kenya Airways seeks more funds from govt to help turn around airline South African hospitality group Tsogo Sun is the latest company to announce its exit from the Kenyan market after announcing it will be closing its Southern Sun Mayfair Hotel in Nairobi whose employees have been fired. According to the Business Daily, the group will not renew its lease and will officially cease operations on Friday, January 31. The hotel which has 171 rooms has faced increased competition over the last decade as the number of hotels in the country have increased. Photo: Southern Sun Mayfair Nairobi. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Mbunge Moses Kuria taabani kwa tuhuma za kumpiga mwanamke Employee contracts have been terminated after due consultation. All staff have been provided with the necessary support aligned with the labour laws, the group said in a statement. The hotel which has 171 rooms has faced increased competition over the last decade which has seem the number of hotels in the country increase. The number of available hotel rooms has increased over the last decade as established brands have increased presence. Photo: Southern Sun Mayfair Nairobi. Source: Facebook According to a 2019 report by the Hotel Chain Development Pipelines, 27 new hotels will soon be opened in Kenya as launch of new properties has seen the number of available rooms hit over 20,000. In 2019, at least 2,000 jobs were lost between July and October of that year as some companies closed while others experienced significant losses leading to retrenchment of workers. Some of the firms that closed shop were Betin and Sportpesa while the East African Breweries Ltd, East African Portland Cement, Telkom and Sanlam Kenya reduced their staff capacity. The hotel's imminent closure has sparked reaction on social media. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Raila Odinga is behind Miguna miguna's problems - Moses Kuria | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke SACRAMENTO, Calif. Federal officials and an environmental group this week issued rewards totaling $7,500 for the unsolved 2018 killing of an endangered wolf in Modoc County, Californias first wolf poaching investigation since the predators returned to the state. On Dec. 2, 2018, Oregon wildlife biologists notified California officials that a black-furred yearling male theyd labeled OR-59 had traveled from a pack in northeast Oregon and crossed the state line into Modoc County. The biologists were able to track its movements because the wolf was wearing a GPS collar, which biologists had put around its neck a few months earlier when theyd trapped it for study in northeast Oregon. Three days later, the wolf was spotted by a rancher feeding on a calf, which investigators later determined may have died from pneumonia. Then, on Dec. 9, 2018, Oregon biologists received a mortality signal from its collar indicating the wolf had died, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. In the year since, Californias wildlife officers have revealed little about the case, including where OR-59s body was found, how the wolf died or why they found its death suspicious. In a news release this week announcing a $2,500 federal reward, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided more details. The wolf was shot once with a .22 caliber center-fire rifle along County Road 91 near the small communities of Lookout and Bieber, the wildlife agency said. Officials urged anyone with information about the killing to call 916-569-8444. On Thursday, the environmental group, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, offered its own reward of $5,000. We grieve the senseless and illegal killing of this precious wolf, Amaroq Weiss, the groups Petaluma-based wolf advocate said in a written statement. This loss is a terrible blow to wolf conservation in California. It underscores why our endangered wolves need the strongest possible protection at both state and federal levels. OR-7 was the first known wolf to return to California after they were killed off early last century. OR-7, a 2-year-old gray male, had left Oregons Imnaha Pack and traveled hundreds of miles to Californias northern border. He spent months wandering the state before returning to Oregon, finding a mate and starting his own pack. OR-7s appearance prompted the California Fish and Game Commission to grant gray wolves endangered species protections, over objections from ranchers and big game hunters who fear the predators will harm livestock operations and deer and elk herds. In the years since OR-7 arrival, around 30 wolves have either passed through, settled or been born in a remote, five-county region about the size of West Virginia in Californias northeastern corner. Some, like OR-59, wander in as they disperse from packs in Oregon and elsewhere looking for a mate. Most of the wolves have either died or wandered back out of state. But a couple of packs have settled. The states first wolf pack the Shasta Pack had pups in Siskiyou County in 2015, but the wolf family disappeared before officials were able to put tracking collars on them. Just one wolf family the Lassen Pack is confirmed to reside in the state. Officials have put tracking collars on two members of the Lassen Pack, the matriarch female and one of her young female progeny. Meanwhile, there have been at least 15 confirmed or probable cases of wolves preying on livestock so far in California, including by members of the Lassen Pack. In Oregon, wolves have been responsible for more than 130 confirmed livestock depredation events since the late 1990s, according to Oregons wildlife agency. OR-7s family group the Rogue Pack has killed several cows and a ranchers guard dog, according to the agency and local media reports. Wolves tend to have few fans in the cattle-dependent regions theyve resettled and poaching cases are common. In Oregon alone, wildlife officials say at least 15 wolves have been killed illegally in recent years. Environmentalists estimate around two dozen wolves have been illegally killed in Washington since 2008. Under the federal Endangered Species Act, anyone convicted of deliberately harming an endangered wolf faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. 2020 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) US threatens India with sanctions over purchasing Russia's S-400 missile systems Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 8:13 AM The United States has warned India not to purchase advanced Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems, urging New Delhi to reconsider purchasing Russia's air shield systems or face the "risk for sanctions." A senior official at the US State Department made the remarks during a press briefing on Wednesday, stressing that the Asian country was not immune to Washington's sanctions over the deal with Moscow, just like Turkey, which is also under the threat of US sanctions over a similar deal purchasing the same missile platform. "There is not a blanket waiver. Congress certainly never designed that or anticipated that, nor did the administration," he said. The unnamed official stressed that some might wrongly think that since Congress designated India's current military status several years ago, then, New Delhi enjoys "a protection from any sort of sanctions." However, this is a misinterpretation, he emphasized. Taking any punitive measures against New Delhi would be adopted in line with the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), signed into law in 2017. The act, despite what its name suggests, has largely been brandished by Washington as a warning to allied nations mulling weapons deals with Russia namely Turkey and India. "While there's not a blanket waiver, there's also not a blanket application. And so what I mean by that is there is a case-by-case analysis on where CAATSA sanctions could be applied. CAATSA sanctions also can range in depth as to how deep-cutting and to the entities and the people. And those options are always there," further said the US official added. The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. A number of NATO member states, the US in particular, claim that Russian-made S-400 missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance, prompting it to threaten to impose sanction on Turkey, which has purchased the air defense system. "The challenge we have with any state like India is new acquisitions on significant systems that would either put at risk our platforms or expose our technologies to an adversary. And so we said this very simple Turkey was a perfect example," the official added. Moscow and New Delhi had signed an intergovernmental agreement on the sale of five units of the air defense systems during the 17th India-Russia summit back in October 2016 in the Indian coastal region of Goa. During a visit to India on October 5, 2018, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, signed a contract with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to deliver the five regiment sets of the S-400 systems worth 5.43 billion dollars. Back in February last year, Moscow said that India would receive "without any delays" the advanced missile systems and that Russia's "commitments under the contract will be fulfilled." Moscow has promised to deliver the first missile system by the end of 2020. India, for its part, has emphasized that it can make its own arms purchases independently, with its external affairs minister stressing last November that New Delhi would "not be influenced by other countries on what we do in terms of our national security and defense." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: AFP/VNA) Addressing a meeting with 131 ambassadors and heads of Indonesias diplomatic missions overseas on January 9, the President expressed his wish that 70 to 80 of workloads of the Indonesian diplomatic representative agencies overseas will focus on economic diplomacy because that is what the country needs. Besides, he called on the heads of missions to attract more investors, particularly those who showed interest in investing in industry sectors that have high import contents, such as the petrochemical or oil and gas sectors. He also asked them to attract investors who would dole out funds for the downstream natural resource sectors to help diversify Indonesias exports portfolio, according to the Jakarta Post reported. Throughout 2019, Indonesia rolled out several policies to court investments, particularly for the production of goods that substitute imported raw materials for export-oriented companies. Earlier, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced five priorities in Indonesia's foreign policy in 2020 and the next five years with the first on promoting economic diplomacy./. ImpactGuru.com, Indias leading healthcare financing platform for patients, completed five years of its business operations in India. To revel in this feat, ImpactGuru.com has associated with Chhapaak starring Deepika Padukone, releasing on 10th January, 2020. As the films official Healthcare Crowdfunding Partner, ImpactGuru fundraiser pages include a special banner urging donors to support any medical cause. One lucky donor will get a chance to meet with Deepika Padukone. Matching Donation from ImpactGuru In addition, ImpactGuru will be providing 10%-20% matching funds on selected fundraisers while it will be celebrating its 5th anniversary. These are additional funds, capped to a limit, that will be paid by ImpactGuru to patients to match the funds received from the donors. Example: 20% matching would mean, for every Rs. 1 lakh, ImpactGuru would provide up to additional Rs. 20,000 in matching funds for the patient's treatment, subject to terms and conditions on ImpactGuru.com and successful fundraiser verification. Five years in business Since its inception in 2015, ImpactGuru has helped more than 6,000 patients raise funds from over 400,000 donors. The fastest fundraisers were raising Rs. 21 lakhs in 15 hours for a waiters son in need of funds for his kidney transplant and raising 16 lakhs in 3.5 hours for a 15-Year-old boys mothers rectal prolapse surgery. Reinforcing brand message via TV Commercial featuring Deepika Padukone Deepika plays the inspiring character of an acid attack survivor Malti in the film Chhapaak. The TVC featuring Deepika Padukone unveils a beautiful story of a brave acid attack survivor. Also, the Advertisement highlights how ImpactGuru can help raise funds for patients who are not in a position to pay for their own medical treatment due to lack of insurance and inability to secure loans. Jis tarah aap Malti ke mushkilein samajhte hai, ImpactGuru aapki mushkilein samajhta hai. Deepika Padukone says in the co-branded TVC. Khushboo Jain, Co-Founder and COO, ImpactGuru.com said, We are pleased to associate with an inspiring film such as Chhapaak. Just like Deepikas character Malti emerges victorious fighting the toughest of battles, ImpactGuru aims to bring about positive outcomes in the interest of everyone who fights any medical emergency, be it acid attack, cancer, or accident. As black skies loomed overhead during one of their drives to work in New South Wales, Australia, Andrew Prokopchuk and Gerry Rosset knew they had many long nights ahead. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. As black skies loomed overhead during one of their drives to work in New South Wales, Australia, Andrew Prokopchuk and Gerry Rosset knew they had many long nights ahead. "It was very eerie," Prokopchuk said moments after he embraced his wife Patti after landing back at Winnipeg's airport Thursday afternoon. The two Manitoba conservation officers were part of the first group of 21 Canadian firefighters deployed to help battle massive wildfires in Australia at the beginning of December. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Andrew Prokopchuk is all smiles as he's greeted by his wife Patti. They returned home Thursday after a 38-day stint helping Australian officials chart a course for the continuing firefight, leaving behind three other Manitobans who are still deployed in other areas of the country. Rosset and Prokopchuk have nearly 70 years of firefighting experience between them, and when conservation officers with their specialized training were asked to go to Australia to help emergency officials plan and direct front-line resources, they were among the first Manitobans to volunteer. They were stationed on the southeastern coast of New South Wales, about 200 kilometres south of Sydney. When they got there, they saw the largest, most complex fire either of them had ever encountered. The fire they were assigned to, one of many bushfires that have taken the lives of more than 20 Australians and millions of animals since August, had burned 400,000 hectares. The outer limits of the fire stretched on for more than 1,000 kilometres. "It's a difficult situation, but the people are coping, they're managing. They have a lot of support amongst themselves, there's many donations coming in for the people that have lost everything. The support is there from what I can see," Rosset said. "The country is rallying together." Dan Himbrechts / The Associated Press Files Rural fire service crews fight the Gospers Mountain Fire in New South Wales on Dec. 21, 2019. Rural firefighting services are state-based and mostly voluntary. While happy to be home, both conservation officers said they would be glad to return to Australia if needed, acknowledging crews there have a long fight. "There's no real good rains in sight for months," Prokopchuk said. "It's going to be a hot, dry summer for them yet. They've got a battle ahead of themselves." RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Andrew Prokopchuk (left) was responsible for mapping fires, while Gerry Rosset worked to plan strategies for front-line firefighters. Rosset said he's proud Canadian teams were able to help. "The co-operation is great and it's good to see that Manitoba is offering up resources because one day we may request Australia's assistance (if we) need it," he said. "It's a good experience. It's good to help out a country in need." In his role, Prokopchuk was responsible for mapping fires, while Rosset worked to plan strategies for front-line firefighters. "With their technology, they have jet planes that fly over and scan the fire, it's called line scanning, so they take pictures of all the hot spots, and that's how we map our fire, through the line scan. It's really high-tech," Prokopchuk said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. NASA via The Associated Press Thick smoke blankets southeastern Australia along the border of Victoria and New South Wales in a Jan. 2 file photo captured by NASA's Terra satellite. Working nights through the holidays, including Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the pair planned for and witnessed volatile conditions. They said they were well-briefed by Australian officials once they arrived. Through their office work, they came into contact with many who've suffered loss due to the fires. "We spoke to a lot of people that have lost farms, buildings, houses, cottages," Prokopchuk said, adding that as Canadians, they were warmly welcomed. "All the staff that you work with, and the public, any place we'd go, people would want to hug us. There was tears. Yeah, really well-received," he said. On Nov. 29, the Winnipeg-based Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre received an official request to send staff to help with the wildfires. Prokopchuk and Rosset flew to Sydney Dec. 3. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay Police on Friday put Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh under house arrest at his residence in Undavalli residence. Lokesh was earlier detained at Kaja toll plaza in Guntur district along with the party's state unit president Kala Venkata Rao, who was also placed under house arrest. The police issued notice to Lokesh stating that in view of the orders promulgated by the competent authority under section 144 of CrP.C., as well as section 30 of the Police Act respectively, no public gathering and protest causing inconvenience to the general public is permitted. That all political parties called for Rally to Kanaka Durgamma Temple from Mandadam village and also continuations agitations regarding the capital of Andhra Pradesh which ultimately result in inconvenience/restraining of the lawful passage to the general public which amounts to a cognizable offence, the order stated. Lokesh expressed fury over this notice, saying that he is returning from Ongole trip and he did not provoke anybody and did not violate any act. The police then moved Lokesh in his own vehicle. At first, the police said that Lokesh is being taken to the TDP office in Mangalagiri, however, later they changed course and took him in another root. Lokesh is scheduled to visit Mandadam and Venkatapalem villages in the Amaravati region this evening. Earlier on Wednesday, TDP president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu was detained by police in Vijayawada, he was later on that day dropped off at his residence in Undavalli. The other detained leaders were also dropped off at Naidu's residence. Police had detained Naidu ahead of the flagging-off ceremony of Amaravati Parirakshana Samiti's bus yatra against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led state govt's decision of three state capitals. People of 29 villages in the region have been demanding Amaravati to be retained as the sole capital of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New York/IBNS: Strongly responding to Pakistan, India on Thursday said the neighbouring nation should stop peddling falsehoods and heal itself of its "malaise". Speaking at the UN Security Council, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin described the country as the one which epitomises the dark arts. "It is increasingly acknowledged that the Council faces crises of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks, the weaponisation of new technologies, the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council," Akbaruddin said. "One delegation that epitomises the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today. These we dismiss with disdain," he said. The Indian representative added, "My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware." Akbaruddin made the comments after Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram said if Pakistan is attacked, it will respond resolutely and effectively, as was demonstrated in February last year. Pakistan does not want war with India, Ambassador Munir Akram told the UN Security Council which held a debate on upholding the U.N. Charter, the organizations founding treaty, nearly 75 years since its adoption as reported by Associated Press of Pakistan. Calling unilateral measures imposed on Jammu and Kashmir a first step in Indias efforts to suppress Muslims and claims that normalcy has been restored false and duplicitous, Ambassador Akram warned that India could initiate another military adventure against Pakistan as quoted by APP. One of two University of Connecticut students facing up to 30 days in jail for violating a Connecticut law prohibiting ridicule will complete probation, community service, and diversity and bias training as part of an accelerated rehabilitation deal. Jarred Karal was arrested with Ryan Mucaj after the two were playing a game in which they yelled vulgar words, according to the police report. A video allegedly shows the 21-year-olds saying n***** when they reached the parking lot of a student apartment complex. The two students were charged under a Connecticut State law that criminalizes ridiculing any person or class of people on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality, or race. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $50, or both. Appearing in court, Karal requested accelerated rehabilitation, a deal generally for first-time offenders charged with nonviolent offenses which will result in the charges being dismissed after probation. On Tuesday, a judge accepted the application and gave Karal six months of probation, 20 hours of community service, and diversity and bias training. Per court records, Mucajs case is still pending. Karals lawyer, T.R. Paulding, said his clients conduct was very out of character, and said that Karal is scheduled to graduate in the spring. The incident caused outrage on UConns campus, with the universitys NAACP chapter published a letter to the editor in the campus newspaper lambasting the universitys administration, followed by student protests chanting its more than just a word. Democratic State Senators Mae Flexer and Gregory Haddad, both UConn alums, appeared at the protests and voiced support for the students, who aimed criticism at university president Thomas C. Katsouleas, who was singled out for a slow and inadequate response. White people cant just say they care about this with words,Flexer said. You cant just say youre an ally. You need to be a co-conspirator. Story continues Im here because I want to lift your voices up, Haddad added. More from National Review NEW YORK - A cryptocurrency expert charged with violating economic sanctions against North Korea has been released on $1 million bond despite federal prosecutors concerns he might flee the United States before trial. Virgil Griffith was placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring at his parents home outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His release came two days after a grand jury in New York indicted him on charges he violated sanctions by presenting at a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea after the U.S. government denied his request to travel to Pyongyang. Griffiths defence attorney, Brian Klein, told The Associated Press on Friday that Griffith should not have been indicted. We are going to vigorously contest the charge, Klein wrote in an email, and look forward to getting all the facts in front of the jury at trial. Griffiths release followed a hearing last month in which prosecutors said Griffith had a strong incentive to flee the country. They estimated Griffith faces nearly two years behind bars if convicted and told U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick their investigation is continuing. We are extracting information from (Griffiths) phones, etc., that will possibly lead to further charges, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Krouse said. Griffith, 36, is known for creating WikiScanner, a tool that aimed to unmask people who anonymously edited entries in Wikipedia, the crowdsourced online encyclopedia. He is an American citizen but lives in Singapore. He was arrested in November at Los Angeles International Airport. Klein said Griffith co-operated with the FBI during its investigation. He added that Griffith, a well-known hacker, also helped educate law enforcement about the so-called dark web, a network of encrypted Internet sites that allow users to remain anonymous. Prosecutors have said Griffith secured a visa through a (North Korean) diplomatic mission facility in Manhattan and then travelled to the country through China. At the April conference, Griffith talked about how North Korea could use cryptocurrency to achieve independence from the global banking system, according to a criminal complaint. The conference was attended by 100 people, including several who appeared to work for the North Korean government. The reason why these sanctions are in place on North Korea is exactly to prevent them from gaining access to those resources and this information, Krouse said at Griffiths bail hearing. Mr. Griffith knew that in advance, was told that he was not permitted to travel to North Korea and did so anyway. The U.S. and the U.N. Security Council have imposed increasingly tight sanctions on North Korea in recent years to try to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The U.S. government amended sanctions in 2018 to prohibit a U.S. person, wherever located from exporting technology to North Korea. Broderick, the Manhattan-based federal judge, lectured Griffith about the seriousness of charges before releasing him on bond. Laws in this country are not suggestions, the judge said. Ive never been in North Korea, but what I know about North Korea is one thing ... you wouldnt be having a bond hearing. That wouldnt happen. Baton-wielding police broke up a protest in Algiers on Friday, cracking down on demonstrators vowing to keep up the anti-regime movement that has rocked Algeria for nearly a year. Police charged a group of several dozen people chanting anti-regime slogans, after demonstrators were blocked from gathering at the central Algiers rallying point of the weekly protest marches, now in their 47th week. "Civil state, not military state," shouted protesters, a week after President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the formation of a new government. Police had been deployed in force in the centre of the capital and several protesters were arrested, according to witnesses. "The Hirak (protest movement) must continue until the complete removal of the 'gang' -- these traitors who sold out the country and hurt the future of our youth," said protester Farida Loukam. "This Tebboune was designated, he was not chosen by the people," Loukam told AFP after she was violently shoved as police tried to tear away her banner. A former prime minister under ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned in April 2019 under pressure from the street, 74-year-old Tebboune was elected president on December 12 after a vote marked by record abstention and boycotted by the protest movement. Almost a year since its launch, the unprecedented protest movement continues to demand the dismantling of the political system and its representatives who have been in power for several decades. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CareDxs Presence at the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Winter Symposium SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareDx, Inc. (CDNA), a leading precision medicine company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers, maintains a leading presence at the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Winter Symposium January 9-12, 2020 in Miami, Florida. CareDx is prominently featured in a lunch symposium on Friday, January 10, 2020 at ASTS. The symposium titled Changing the Care Paradigm with AlloSure features five leaders in the transplant field: David Axelrod, MD, University of Iowa Joseph Scalea, MD, University of Maryland Stan Jordan, MD, Cedars-Sinai Robert Redfield, MD, University of Wisconsin Ty Dunn, MD, University of Pennsylvania CareDxs commitment to continued innovation in transplantation is highlighted at ASTS with the data. New data being presented at ASTS demonstrates AlloSures ability to differentiate patients with ambiguous rejection, said Velma Scantlebury, MD, Christiana Health. The focus on AlloSure and KidneyCare for patient management is a key discussion for us in the transplant community. The CareDx theme for 2020 is Transplant Proud, exemplified in our relationships with the transplant community and the presence we bring to the American Society of Transplant Surgeons meeting, said Peter Maag, CEO of CareDx. About CareDx CareDx, Inc., headquartered in Brisbane, California, is a leading precision medicine solutions company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers. CareDx offers products, testing services and digital healthcare solutions along the pre- and post-transplant patient journey, and is the leading provider of genomics-based information for transplant patients. Story continues For more information, please visit: www.CareDx.com. CONTACTS: CareDx, Inc. Sasha King Chief Marketing Officer 415-287-2393 sking@caredx.com Investor Relations Greg Chodaczek 646-924-1769 investor@caredx.com Brazil Envisions Space Progress With New US-Brazil Safeguards Agreement RECIFE, BrazilOn his first official visit to the United States in March 2019, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced, alongside President Donald Trump, that they had signed a technology safeguards agreement to enable U.S. companies to launch from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil. A similar agreement was signed 20 years ago, but wasnt ratified by the Brazilian Parliament under then-President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 2000. But on Nov. 12, 2019, the Brazilian Senate approved the terms of the pact signed with the United States. The new partnership between Brazil and the United States provides for the protection of U.S. technologies and patents contained in the launch vehicles and associated equipment exported to Brazil. The pact doesnt allow for the launch of missiles or other weapons, being only for peaceful purposes. After signing the agreement with Bolsonaro, Trump celebrated the new relationship with Brazil and stressed the economic importance of the act. Because of [Alcantaras] location, tremendous amounts of money would be saved, he said at a joint press conference. The Alcantara Base, for us, is in deficit. And the U.S. entry helps to catapult the Launch Center, as well as improve the economy and create new jobs, Bolsonaro said at a press conference after a White House meeting. The agreements main objective, as part of the Brazilian Space Program headed by the Brazilian Space Agency, is to explore the potential that the country has to offer. Potential Advances In an interview with The Epoch Times, Brazilian Space Agency President Carlos Teixeira Moura detailed several points of the new agreement and highlighted the advances that the pact will bring to Brazil and the United States. According to Moura, the agreement will allow Brazil to enter a market dominated by U.S. technology, and explore various segments of the aerospace industry. The requirement that the U.S. government made was to respect the intellectual property of their technology. On the other hand, U.S. technology is present in about 80 percent of rocket and satellite artifacts, so this agreement places us more significantly in this market, he said. In addition to being a safe option for carrying out launches, Alcantara offers the United States economic benefits because costs are lower, Moura said. The current lack of activity at the Alcantara Launch Center could also greatly favor U.S. companies because of the availability for launches. Immediately, the United States will benefit from the current idleness of launches, with the opportunity to have a more flexible schedule and not have to wait a long time to do the activities they need to do, Moura said. The center is located in Maranhao state, in the northeastern region of Brazil. It is close to the equator, which enables larger payloads to be placed in orbit and also offers a wider range of launch angles. The U.S. has several launch sites, but with very restricted orbit inclinations, and Alcantara covers more than 100 degrees of launch possibilities, ranging from north, south, east and west, Moura explained. Therefore, in just one place, with a single infrastructure, they can launch rockets in any direction and dispense much less money for these jobs. U.S. Support The reissued agreement signed by Bolsonaro and Trump was approved by a high number of votes in the Brazilian Parliament in November 2019. There is an understanding in the current Parliament around the necessity to approve the agreement, Mato Grosso do Sul state Sen. Nelsinho Trad said in an interview with The Epoch Times. Trad, a member of the Social Democratic Party, is the president of the Commission of Foreign Affairs in the Senate and was part of the presidential entourage that visited Washington in March 2019. At the time, the senator met with some members of the U.S. Senate who, according to him, were pleased with the terms of the new agreement. The senators understood the benefits that the agreement will bring to Brazil, as this will generate economic currency for the country and will provide a greater development of the state of Maranhao, in addition to all the technology that comes from the Americans, Trad said. I consider that Alcantara is the most favorable place for launching rockets and satellites. Trad noted that the agreement improves Brazils relationship with the United States and enables other partnerships with U.S. companies. (Alliance News) - Regal Petroleum PLC shares rose on Friday as it reported increased production numbers in Ukraine. Regal Petroleum shares were up 6.2% in London at 23.90 pence each on Friday. The oil & gas firm said for the three-months to December 31, total aggregated production increased 15% to 4,776 barrels of oil per day from 4,139 barrels of oil per day a year ago. The company said overall production volumes received "significant" boost in October from the commencement of production from the MEX-119 well in the Mekhediviska-Golotvshinska field. However, a decline in production rates from VAS 10 well impacted overall production at the Vasyschevskoye field during the quarter. The work is now under way to install compression equipment designed to increase production from the well, the company noted. The average daily production for 2019 was 4,263 barrels of oil per day compared to 3,391 barrels of oil per day in 2018. Regal Petroleum said drilling continues at Mekhediviska-Golotvshinska and Svyrydivske fields, with another well planned to be spudded later in the year. In March 2019, the company had said its production licence at its Vasyschevskoye gas field in had been suspended by the State Service of Geology & Subsoil of Ukraine. The company had issued legal proceedings in the Ukrainian courts over the suspension. Regal Petroleum said that legal proceedings to challenge the validity of the order are ongoing. Sergii Glazunov, chief executive officer, said: "We are pleased with our progress and achievements made during 2019, with strong production from our fields, an excellent result from the MEX-119 well in October 2019." By Loreta Juodagalvyte; loretajuodagalvyte@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. On Tuesday, Jan. 10, 1950, Marian Baker left her desk at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster to go to the bank and the post office and to pick up her engagement ring from a jeweler. She made it to the bank and the post office but never picked up the ring and never returned to work. Baker had been engaged recently to Edgar Rankin of Conestoga. This photo of Marian Baker was used in a story in The Patriot on Jan. 13, 1950. (Source unknown) According to newspaper reports at the time, The body of pretty Marian Baker, 21, her head crushed with an iron pipe was found under a summer cottage in West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County. She was killed by an F&M student, Edward Gibbs, 25, described as a normal, slightly spoiled only son of devoted parents. And Gibbs said he had no idea why he did it. Baker had mailed a registered letter at 2 p.m. on Jan. 10. Four days later, on Jan. 14, around 4:45 p.m., the owners of the cottage discovered her body stuffed under the porch and covered with corrugated roofing materials. Gibbs had encountered Baker in town that Tuesday and offered her a ride back to campus. Gibbs had at one time worked in the same office as Baker on campus. Gibbs was an Air Force veteran having served in Italy. He was married and was from Pitman, N.J. State police remove the body of Marian Baker from where it was found under a cottage on Jan. 14, 1950. (Source unknown) Gibbs told police that instead of going back to campus he drove to the cottage and parked. He said he grabbed her throat, she jumped from the car. Gibbs chased her and continued to choke her then hit her with a lug wrench. He said he tried to dig a hole with his hands but the ground was too hard so he drove back to campus to get a shovel. Tree roots made him unable to dig so he drove back to campus to meet his wife then went back again and dragged Baker under the cottage and covered her with the roof materials. He threw her rings, pocketbook and the wrench into Mill Creek. Edward Gibbs is escorted from a building after a hearing. Gibbs was convicted of killing Marian Baker. Note the sign on the right of the building that says 'Psychopathic Department.' (Source unknown) As the police investigation appeared to be moving in his direction, on Jan. 18, 1950, Gibbs went to the college presidents office and confessed. On Jan. 19, he was formally charged before Alderman J. Edward Wetzel. Baker was buried in New Bloomfield, Perry County. In The Patriot on Jan. 18, 1950, a reporter writing about the investigation wrote, "Meanwhile, the slain girl was buried in the New Bloomfield Cemetery while weeping relatives and friends stood by the graveside. Missing was her father, Walter Baker, Mahanoy Valley, near New Bloomfield, whom she had seen only three times since he and his wife separated when Marian was 3 years old." The cottage in Lancaster County where Marian Baker's body was found. (Source unknown) Gibbs was convicted and later appealed the conviction on the grounds that some evidence - Bakers clothing and some photographs - presented at trial were used solely to inflame the jury. He also alleged some trial errors. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, however, upheld the conviction in a ruling in November 1950. Gibbs was executed by electrocution on April 23, 1951. Marian Baker was buried near New Bloomfield in Perry County after services were held in Lancaster County. (Source unknown) Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The following editorial appeared in Friday's Japan News-Yomiuri: - - - The United States and Iran share the view of not seeking a war. The leaders of the two countries likely recognized that restrained responses would lead to avoiding a clash. Taking this opportunity, the two countries must continue with a relaxation of tensions. Iran attacked military bases housing U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. As a retaliatory measure, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Washington will impose additional economic sanctions. Trump rejected the idea of conducting retaliatory attacks, saying that he does not want to use military force. Trump, who had showed off the U.S. military's strong capabilities, likely dared to opt for economic sanctions because he wants to avoid a scenario in which exchanging military attacks escalates into a large-scale conflict. This is a sensible judgment. In retaliation for the U.S. military's killing of an influential commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran fired more than 10 ballistic missiles at military bases in Iraq. Iran's direct military attacks on U.S. troops were the first since the end of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Given the murder of the commander, who was worshipped as a national hero, the Iranian leadership was pressed on the need to demonstrate domestically a hard-line stance against Washington. The Iranian missiles hit the parking lots of military bases and elsewhere but there were no casualties among U.S. personnel. Iran's foreign minister said that the strikes "concluded" Tehran's retaliation against the killing of the commander. The Iranian side likely scrupulously calculated measures that would not add fuel to Trump's anger, thereby preventing an all-out war. The worst situation was avoided for now but there remain flash points for confrontation and clashes. Iran has been increasing its presence in the Middle East by supporting pro-Iran armed groups in such countries as Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. There is concern that tensions will heighten again if these groups attack U.S. troops, Israel or Saudi Arabia, among other targets. Washington and Tehran are struggling for the power of influence in Iraq. Pro-Iran forces in the country are calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed there. If U.S. forces playing a role of mopping up radical elements pull out, public safety will inevitably worsen. To begin with, the U.S.-Iran confrontation intensified after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the multinational agreement on Iran's nuclear program and resumed sanctions against Tehran. The nuclear accord concluded in 2015 had brought about certain results in terms of restraining Iran's uranium enrichment, which could lead to the production of nuclear weapons, and putting Iran's nuclear program under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Five other signatories to the agreement - Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia - emphasize the necessity for maintaining the accord. Trump advocates for concluding a nuclear agreement anew, but his strategy of ramping up pressure on Iran to make concessions has hit a snag. Japan and European countries are supposed to play a big role in mediating between Washington and Tehran. They are called on to deepen talks with other countries concerned in a bid to find breakthrough measures. Britain's parliament finally approved Brexit on Thursday, allowing the United Kingdom to leave the European Union later this month. The House of Commons erupted in cheers after MPs ratified Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with Brussels by 330 votes to 231, ending one phase of an extraordinary era of political drama and chaos. The 2016 Brexit referendum divided the British public and parliament over how, when or even if Britain should leave its closest trading partners after nearly 50 years. Some view Brexit with horror, fearing it will strip them of their European identities and diminish British trade. Others embraced the departure with fervour, viewing it as a chance to "take back control" from officials in Brussels and see Britain regain some of its past might. Businesses and governments in Europe, puzzled by Britain's struggles over what they viewed as a self-inflicted wound, hoped that Brexit could still somehow be undone. Johnson's comprehensive victory in last month's general election brought an abrupt end to the turmoil, giving his Conservatives a parliamentary majority with which to push the legislation through. MPs gave their initial blessing to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill before Christmas, and the government set aside just three days this week for detailed scrutiny of the complex text. But few even bothered to turn up on Tuesday and Wednesday, with both sessions ending early. Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. Image Source: IANS News Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. Image Source: IANS News Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. Image Source: IANS News Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. Image Source: IANS News Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. Image Source: IANS News Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, Jan 10 : Actor Abhay Deol has shared a series of paintings on police brutality on Instagram. This comes in the wake of Delhi Police being accused of teargas shelling and lathicharge inside Jamia Milia Islamia University campus a while back. The actor shared a few paintings and sketches that show the police mercilessly beating up people. Hinting at the recent incident, the actor captioned: "Art on #policebrutality. You can add #policeapathy and #policecollusion to that. As we have witnessed only recently!" The incident of police brutality on students protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) in Jamia had left many students injured and campus property ransacked. Commenting on Abhay Deol's post, Sussanne Khan expressed: "Dont understand where our planet is heading.. w all these monsters around." Delhi Police this time has been accused of inaction after they failed to act during the brutal incident of thrashing of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students by masked outsiders on January 5. Bollywood celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha and Varun Dhawan have condemned recent incidents of violence against students. Immediately after the United States' drone assassination of Iran's visiting senior general Qassem Soleimani, the Iraqi Parliament voted to expel all foreign forces. This includes some 5000 Americans along with more than 300 Australians. If President Trump gave his allies any forewarning of this act of war against both Iraq and Iran, neither Britain, France, Canada, nor Australia have admitted it. Even his own general in Iraq didn't know, for he had just written to the host government anticipating withdrawal of US troops. The poor man must now be sending a letter about the dispatch of thousands more. HMAS Toowoomba during her 2018 deployment. Credit:Royal Australian Navy War is clearly the last thing the Morrison government needs, beset by a national bushfire disaster in which it has been forced to mobilise the Australian Defence Force and its reserves. The government's budget surplus is already blown. We have a window of opportunity to do as Canada has done, and suspend military operations in Iraq. The government should keep Australia out of a proxy war between the US and Iran in Iraq, and refuse to commit to an illegal war of aggression against Iran. Chinese fintech companies, hoping to diversify from increasingly stiff competition at home, are aggressively seeking to expand in Southeast Asia, where the digital economy is expected to triple in size to $300 billion over the next five years. Following in the footsteps of e-commerce giants such as Alibaba Group Holding, Chinese fintech companies -- with their established prowess in digital payments -- are leading the charge, often using Singapore as their jumping-off base into the region. Malaysia for some is a likely next step. On Tuesday, Singapore's central bank said it had received 21 applications for its new digital bank licenses. Although applicants' names were not revealed, at least four Chinese companies, including Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, have confirmed their participation. Singapore has said the eventual winners of the up to five licenses available will have to offer innovative financial products to underserved businesses and individuals -- an area where Chinese companies are world leaders. Some $17tn of transactions were conducted online in China in 2017, more than 50 times the level in the U.S. "Singapore is the pivotal base of fintech development in Southeast Asia," Hong Feng, co-founder and senior vice president of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, said. Xiaomi, which has joined a consortium led by Hong Kong-based financial company AMTD Group, will bring "new energy" to Southeast Asia with its 5G and other technologies, he added. Ant Financial, which operates the Alipay mobile payments service with about 900 million users in China, is another hopeful. Last year, it acquired a digital bank license in Hong Kong and invested in Indian payment startup Paytm. A successful Singapore bid would be a significant step for Ant in Southeast Asia. "We look forward to building stronger and deeper collaborations with all participants in the financial services industry in Singapore, as we work together to make financial services more accessible for small and micro enterprises," a company spokesperson said. Meanwhile, China's Yillion Group, which counts Hong Kong-listed food delivery operator Meituan Dianping as a major shareholder, has also joined a consortium led by Singaporean fintech company iFAST. Yillion operates a digital bank in China, according to the consortium. Hande Group, another Chinese fintech service provider, is also in the consortium. Chinese fintech companies are interested in Singapore's new digital licenses as way of expanding into the region because "Southeast Asia has a lot of opportunities where digital banks can make a difference with financial inclusion," Zennon Kapron, director of financial industry research firm Kapronasia consultancy in Singapore, told the Nikkei Asian Review. Southeast Asia, he added, is "one of the largest yet most accessible markets" for Chinese companies. Kapron favorably compared Southeast Asia to the U.S., a saturated market with a lot of regulations and challenges, he said. He also said stiff competition in China's fintech sector, particularly in the digital payment and wealth management fields, are pushing companies to expand overseas. Singapore's central bank, which will issue up to five digital banking licenses, will announce results of the bidding in June. If these Chinese companies win licenses, they would start taking deposits from and providing loans and investment products to local business customers by the middle of next year. Later, they could use the know-how gained in Singapore to venture into other Southeast Asian nations. Malaysia will also issue digital banking licenses. "Up to five licenses may be issued to qualified applicants to establish digital banks to conduct either conventional or Islamic banking business in Malaysia," the central bank said in a statement on Dec. 27. The application period will open this year. Several Chinese e-commerce companies have already expanded into Southeast Asia, via both acquisitions and local partnerships. Alibaba has acquired Singapore-based Lazada and has invested in Indonesia's Tokopedia. JD.com has launched online shopping in Thailand through a partnership with local retail giant Central Group. This year, Chinese tech companies will likely increase their Southeast Asian presence in other sectors too. Online health care provider Ping An Healthcare and Technology, better known as Ping An Good Doctor, in December started smartphone-based telehealth consulting services in Indonesia through a joint venture with Singapore's Grab. Many Southeast Asian countries are short of doctors, which presents opportunities for online health care businesses. Last year, Chinese online insurer ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance tied up with Grab to build a digital insurance marketplace for the ride-hailer's drivers in Southeast Asia. "We'll see those footprints [by Chinese tech companies] continuing to grow [in Southeast Asia]," Kapron said. According to a 2019 report from Singapore's Temasek Holdings and Google, the size of Southeast Asia's digital economy will triple to $300 billion in 2025 from $100 billion last year. The report also forecasts the penetration rate of online lending will rise to 8% from 3%, while that of investing will go to 11% from 3% during the same period. Nikkei PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday afternoon January 9th, 2020 afternoon about 04.00 pm, the Central dispatch directed the Police patrols and paramedics to Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg on after getting reports that a person had drowned in the waters of Great Bay. The male victim was seen floating a few hundred meters offshore by some jet-sky riders, who pulled the victim out of the water and brought him shore. The bystanders began immediately applying first aid to the man who was not breathing at the time. Shortly after the paramedics appeared on the scene and continued giving the victim Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but could not revive the victim. The doctor who appeared sometime later stated that the victim had died supposedly of drowning. The victim had no signs of injury to his body. According to onlookers, the victim went into the water, and at one point was not seen anymore. He was later brought over the funeral home. Respecting the victims privacy and the family, no further information is provided concerning the identification of the deceased. The Sint Maarten Police Force is expressing its sympathy to the family of the deceased. KPSM Press Release. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought stands of various petitioners, challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act before different high courts, on a plea by the Centre for transfer of their petitions to the apex court. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to all petitioners, seeking their replies, and slated the matter for further hearing on January 22 along with a slew of other anti-CAA petitions, already pending before the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the court that different high courts adjudicating the same question of CAA's constitutionality may lead to the emergence of conflicting views from different high courts, eventually necessitating the apex court's intervention. Additionally, it may also inconvenience lawyers, obliging them to rush to different high courts to attend proceedings, he pointed out. The bench, however, said lawyers moving to different states for attending hearing in CAA matter is not its concern. Earlier on December 18, hearing a slew of anti-CAA petitions filed before it, the apex court had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its operation. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. President Ram Nath Kovind had assented to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act. The top court had on December 18 issued notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January on a batch of pleas challenging the CAA's legality. The apex court had fixed January 22 for hearing a total of 59 anti-CAA petitions, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. The petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, before the court include those filed by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Other anti-CAA petitioners include Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, CPI, NGOs 'Rihai Manch' and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma. Several law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act. Over 87 percent of children in Fort Bend County Title 1 schools are on free or reduced breakfast and lunch, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. For the thousands of children in Fort Bend County facing food insecurity, free school meals may be their only source of nutrition. During extended school holidays, many children go hungry. Lunches of Love provides meals for children during weekends and school gaps like summer vacation, spring break, Christmas and Thanksgiving. The 501(c)(3) charity currently provides free meals for over 4,000 children in the county. The program is offered in 16 Lamar Consolidated ISD schools and two Fort Bend ISD schools. Each meal includes a main entree, such as spaghetti, a sandwich or hotdog, a carbohydrate snack, like crackers or pretzels, a fruit or yogurt and juice or water. The meals cost $.75 to make. Lunches of Love hosted its largest fundraising event, Taste of Fort Bend on Jan. 9 at the Briscoe Manor in Rosenberg. Several restaurants in the county served their most famous dishes to patrons, who also enjoyed live music, a silent auction and live auction. Emcee for the evening was Troy Nehls, sheriff of Fort Bend County. Nehls has emceed the event for the past two years. Fort Bend County is prosperous, but there are still children out there that are not eating on weekends, Nehls said. He encouraged people of the county to donate and volunteer to help children in need. It costs 75 cents a day to feed a child. That's not even a half a cup of coffee anymore, he said. These are our children. We cant let them go hungry. Theyre our most prized possession. Adriane Gray, founder and director of Lunches of Love, started the organization in 2009 as a ministry of First United Methodist Church. In the beginning, the Lunches of Love served 150 children during the Christmas break. The organization now hands out 4,100 meals a day on the days students are out of school. When we first started, I had no clue just how many kids were right here in our backyard who were going hungry, Gray said. For children who are chronically hungry, Lunches of Love hands out 2,700 bags of food for weekends. Gray saw the need for weekend meals when she spoke with school nurses who explained the predicament of children coming to school on Monday after going hungry on the weekends. The children would save crackers from their free school lunches and try to subsist on them over the weekends. When they got to school on Monday, they would scarf their free breakfast, and then they ended up in the nurse's office because they were sick, Gray explained. When we started our weekend care package program, the visit from sick kiddos on Monday morning decreased by 92 percent. Jordan Briscoe Mahler and his wife, Stephanie Mahler, own the Briscoe Manor. They donated the space for Taste of Fort Bend after learning about Lunches of Love and the impact it was making on children in the community. Stephanie was introduced to the program through a friend, and when she heard about the hunger of thousands of children in Fort Bend, she knew she wanted to be involved. When I heard the story, I just cried, she said. I ran home and told Jordan we needed to be involved. We have children, and the thought of any child going hungry is devastating. Jordan added, One story I will never forget: one child told her mother she was hungry, but there was no food in their home. Her mother told her to drink water until she was full, he said. That just broke my heart. No child should ever go hungry. Lunches of Love is always in need of monetary donations, but as the organization is run entirely on volunteers, the organization also has a great need for people to make sandwiches and pack lunches. Even small children can be helpful volunteers. Lunches of Love likes to decorate the brown bags they give out, if possible. When we hand out the bags, the children always say, Can I have that one? and point to a bag thats been decorated. Its so special for them, Gray said. We always say, we need people from age 2 to 92, Gray added. We call it Lunches of Love because it really is made with love. And love is something everyone can give. To learn more about Lunches of Love, or to donate or volunteer, visit www.lunchesoflove.net claire.goodman@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 03:25:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DOHA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Qatar on Thursday voiced support for the calls by Turkey and Russia to reach a cease-fire in Libya as of Sunday midnight, Qatari Foreign Ministry said. Qatar also welcomed the western-based Government of National Accord's acceptance of the calls, it said. Doha hopes all factions in the Libyan crisis, as well as the regional and international actors, would support this initiative, said the statement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, following their meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday, called on the warring factions in Libya to reach cease-fire at midnight on Jan. 12. Also, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, at a joint press conference with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Istanbul on Wednesday, said he wished the cease-fire would encourage the Berlin process aimed at bringing an end to the conflict in war-torn Libya. During her longshot campaign in 2018, Lina Hidalgo at times sounded like a candidate for mayor or Congress. With talking points on immigration, criminal justice reform and education, her critics contended she surely misunderstood the role of county judge. Hidalgo insisted the incumbent crop of leaders had a too-narrow view of what county government could accomplish. She unseated Ed Emmett, the popular three-term county judge, in an Election Night stunner amid a Democratic sweep of countywide posts. And then she set about enacting her vision. After a year in office, Hidalgo has mollified many concerns about her inexperience, marshaled the countys response to a series of chemical fires and presided over a Commissioners Court of older men who often clash. With her two Democratic colleagues, she has broadened the size and scope of county government, and pledged to do so further in 2020 with a focus on early childhood development. Weve begun to transform the way we do things in the county, Hidalgo said. The county used to be in this box that was just about roads and bridges. Now, weve seen and weve shown it can be about environmental investment. It can be about criminal justice reform. It can be about voting access. She has also seen her national stature rise. Forbes magazine named her to its 30 Under 30 list. Presidential candidates have sought to meet her during trips to Houston, attention she said makes her feel humbled. Locally, the public views Hidalgo with a curiosity her predecessors did not elicit. After Hidalgo appeared on a BBC panel in November with a state senator and two members of Congress, she was the one several attendees waited to greet afterward. During a holiday toys for kids event at the George R. Brown Convention Center in mid-December, Hidalgo greeted families waiting in line in English and Spanish. Young women, in particular, asked to take photographs with her. They asked how a person like her ended up in a position like this. They ask how did you do it? How did you manage to break into the machine? Hidalgo said. My biggest message to young people is to get involved to volunteer, to participate. We need smart people in government. Of course, she is not without her share of critics. Harris County Republican Party Chairman Paul Simpson is one, criticizing Hidalgo for promoting what what he called her radical, liberal agenda, instead of looking out for taxpayers. He cited the countys landmark bail reform settlement, which could cost as much as $97 million over seven years, as an example of wasteful spending. Voters deserve better for the top leadership position in the county, and were all looking forward to replacing Lina Hidalgo with a more experienced, fiscally responsible county judge, he said in a statement. Hidalgo has yet to decide whether to seek re-election in 2022. Trial by fire The Harris County judge wields far less power than the mayor of Houston and has a smaller budget than the four commissioners. Apart from being the public face of the county and managing its emergency response functions, the clout of a county judge depends on his or her ability to influence commissioners. That she swept into office amid a Democratic wave alarmed some residents, who worried how a 27-year-old who never had held public office and lacked formal management experience could oversee the government of the third-largest county in the nation. Hidalgo had a brief period to settle in before she was tested. Last March, in her 11th week on the job, a petroleum product tank farm ignited at Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park, sending an acrid, black plume of smoke over much of Harris County. The blaze burned for more than 60 hours and exposed weaknesses in the countys ability to respond to disasters. The company answered few questions during the incident; its spokeswoman cried at several news conferences. In contrast, Hidalgo and other county leaders were firm and calm, even when they had little information to offer. Even fans of Emmett, whose reassuring presence during hurricanes made him among the most popular Houston leaders, conceded she could play the role. Hidalgo also helped the county implement several policy reforms, made possible by factors beyond her control. The first is Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who had little influence over countywide policy as the lone Democrat on the court from 2017 to 2019. A former state senator, Ellis hired policy analysts at a time when commissioners largely concerned their precincts with building parks and roads. When Democrats took control of the body, Ellis was ready to push progressive proposals that previously were unlikely to receive a second vote. Hidalgo praised Ellis for his institutional knowledge and success hiring policy wonks; she poached three of them, including one who became her chief of staff. Ellis said he thinks Hidalgo has done an outstanding job to date. Judge Hidalgo worked incredibly hard this past year to fulfill the promises she made to voters who put their trust in her to lead the county in a new direction, guided by the principles of transparency, fairness and inclusion, he said in a statement. Second, Commissioner Adrian Garcia won election in 2018 by an even narrower margin than Hidalgo, providing a pivotal third vote for Democrats. The trio voted in lockstep on every major issue that came before the court last year. On 3-2 votes, the group approved the bail settlement and nearly doubled the size of the public defenders office. Commissioners Court did give unanimous approval to several major investments, including new staff for the pollution control department and fire marshals office after the series of spring chemical fires in east Harris County caught the county flat-footed. The group also worked well together on flood control initiatives. Hidalgo and the Democrats also have revamped the twice monthly Commissioners Court meetings. Once brief affairs that concluded by lunchtime and featured little discussion of agenda items, the sessions now are all-day engagements with extensive debates and many public speakers. The county plans to build a new, larger court chamber to accommodate larger crowds. The Texas Organizing Project, which focuses on engaging black and Hispanic voters, was one of Hidalgos largest campaign contributors in 2018, when local Democrats were skeptical she could win. Michelle Tremillo, the groups executive director, said Hidalgo has represented TOPs contituency well. She cited Commissioners Court decisions to raise the minumum wage of contractors and ensure flood control dollars are spent equitably. She has really taken the county judge's office and maximized having a positive impact in communities of color, in low-income communities, the very communities that are traditionally ignored by our government, Tremillo said. We're proud to have supported her from day 1. Lessons learned Her tenure to date has included a few defeats. Key among them was Democrats failure to pass a one-time property tax hike Hidalgo said was necessary to fund crucial services before a state-mandated revenue cap takes effect in 2020. The two Republican commissioners, Jack Cagle and Steve Radack, used a unique Texas law requiring a quorum of four for tax rate votes to block the proposal. On the day of the vote, the pair simply skipped the meeting. Hidalgo criticized the move as dangerous and short-sighted. Not only did Democrats go on the record supporting the first county tax rate increase in decades which Ellis conceded would be a tough sell they failed to pass it. Worse, they left themselves open to a charge frequently lobbed at Democrats: Elect them, and they will rush to raise your taxes. The two Republican commissioners have taken different approaches to working with Hidalgo during meetings. Cagle is exceedingly polite, though he has at times urged her administration to be more transparent. Radack, who has tormented several county judges in his 31 years in office, more than once has addressed Hidalgo as young lady instead of Judge. She shrugs it off. Hidalgo said she was unconcerned with political fallout from pushing the tax hike. She said in conversations she has had with residents, they understand the consequences when the county hospital system, for example, is unable to serve as many patients. The county judge, who turns 29 next month, is preparing to unveil a plan to spend more on early childhood development, the focus of her State of the County address. She also wants to reform how the county allocates its annual $3 billion general fund budget. Too much money is spent, she said, without measuring the value of investments to county residents. There was no way to track failure, success, progress, long-term vision, nothing, Hidalgo said. Its been steering this enormous ship to try to get to a place where budgeting is made based on impact, where were able to track success. zach.despart@chron.com GULF airline Emirates carried 448,000 passengers between Dublin and Dubai last year, with the figure largely unchanged on 2018, the carrier said yesterday. The number of passengers visiting Dubai from Ireland was up 11pc, it said. That represented passengers out of Dublin who did not book a connecting flight from Dubai with Emirates. Emirates launched its route between Dublin and Dubai eight years ago. The airline said that it carried 15,700 of cargo on the route last year, with goods also destined for onward travel to destinations including Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. Emirates pointed out that those are strong markets for food exports from Ireland including oysters, crab and salmon. Pharmaceuticals accounted for more than 2,500 tonnes of cargo carried on the route in 2019, with destinations in Australia, India and the Middle East. The country manager for Emirates in Ireland, Enda Corneille, said the airline was "really pleased" that passenger numbers on the route were maintained during 2019 despite the "threat of restrained consumer spending, which was a concern across many sectors". He added that while many of its passengers out of Ireland are travelling to onward destinations, a "significant number" are remaining in Dubai for business and leisure. Emirates said the most popular destinations for passengers out of Ireland are Dubai, Bangkok and Sydney. The carrier also managed to hold passenger numbers steady despite competition from Etihad on the Dublin-Abu Dhabi route, and new services such as Cathay Pacific's Dublin-Hong Kong route. Cathay Pacific last year cancelled that service until the end of next March. Filmmaker Soctt Derickson has quit Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" as director. In a statement to Deadline, the studio cited "creative differences" as the reason for Derrickson's departure. "Marvel Studios and Scott Derrickson have amicably parted ways on 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' due to creative differences. Derrickson will stay on as an executive producer and we remain grateful to Scott for his contributions to the MCU," the statement read. Derrickson also confirmed the on his Twitter account. "Marvel and I have mutually agreed to part ways on 'Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness' due to creative differences. I am thankful for our collaboration and will remain on as executive producer," he tweeted. The search for the replacement in currently underway and the studio plans to start the production in May. Featuring British actor Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular superhero, the sequel to 2016's "Doctor Strange", is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2021. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Giant panda Er Xi. (Photo/Courtesy of Wild World Jinan) Two giant pandas from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Ya Shuang and Er Xi, recently had great fun in the first snow of winter in Wild World Jinan, a wildlife park in Jinan, capital of east Chinas Shandong Province. These two had great fun this time. Its the first snow of winter in Jinan. I feel so relieved to see you two enjoy yourselves in the snow, said a giant panda keeper in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding after receiving messages about the giant pandas enjoying the snow in Jinan. Giant pandas in southern China yearn for snow more than southern people do, according to experts from the giant panda base, explaining that wild giant pandas usually live in high-altitude areas, and spend most of their time in snowy mountains. They have adapted themselves to their environment during the past 8 million years and grown thick fur and the black and white coat color that enables them to hide in snowfields, said experts. Kingstown is earmarked for extensive port facility expansion. Inset: Dr. Ralph Gonsalves looked ahead into 2020 with much anticipation and optimism. There is a shortage of "aggregate in the whole region. And Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has expressed concern about the demand for such material in view of what he terms "loads of work that are earmarked for commencement here, over the next year. The anticipated heightened activity in construction was highlighted by the Prime Minister in an end of year address. Some 20 containers, he said, arrived here recently, and among the cargo were stone crushers, part of the equipment brought by the Royal Mill Resort for construction of a 200-room hotel at Indian Bay. That venture is slated to cost about US$60 million. According to Dr. Gonsalves, this will add to the construction of the Holiday Inn Express, a hotel expected to be built at Diamond. And these will be complemented by the Marriott-run facility scheduled to start at Mt Wynne in June this year, and the ongoing construction of a 400-room outlet at Peters Hope, both in the Central Leeward district of mainland St. Vincent. The Vincentian Prime Minister also factored in provision being made to accommodate medical students and overall visitors to the state. Plans, the Prime Minister said, were advanced for the construction of the Acute Referral Hospital, slated for construction on lands at the former E. T Joshua Airport site. Towards this end, Dr Gonsalves disclosed that talks are in progress with the World Bank for some $50M US. And, of a Modern Port in Capital City Kingstown is expected to begin during the New Year, and is estimated to cost some US$180M. The Caribbean Development Bank has already earmarked $110M in the form of soft loan, and the British Government is providing a US$30M grant towards the Modern Port. That project will see the construction of some 30 houses to accommodate persons who are occupying space on the area where the Port is slated to be built. It was at this point in his address, that the Prime Minister raised concerns about the availability of building material, more specifically about the availability of aggregate for the construction. "Where are we going to get all that aggregate from?, he pondered as he noted the amount of work planned. "It is an issue which we are addressing, he assured. In addition, the Prime Minister pointed to an air of optimism about 2020, encouraged by the regulatory and administrative requisites in place to support the Medical Cannabis Industry, that will help to energise other agricultural undertakings in root crop and vegetable production. The Prime Minister also highlighted the start of construction for the Rain Forest investment in fish and conch. By June this year, energy from the Geothermal Plant located at the North eastern end of mainland St. Vincent is expected to reduce the reliance on oil supplies. The laying of fibre optic cable to Grenada, and from Fancy to Fitz Hughes on mainland St. Vincent will provide "first world internet data service, according to the Vincentian leader. And with the assumption of a sitting on the UN Security Council, the Prime Minister declared, "We are already beginning to make our presence felt. BBC presenter and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) member Samira Ahmed today won a landmark equal pay victory against the BBC. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) congratulate her and the NUJ for its excellent and inspiring work and hope this victory will encourage all women journalists seeking equal pay to make sure they are in a union and media employers to learn the lessons . Journalist Samira Ahmed, backed by the NUJ, first appeared at The Central London Employment Tribunal on Monday 28 October to challenge unequal pay at the BBC. The journalist has been presenting the BBC programme Newswatch since 2012 and claimed she was paid 6 times less than another presenter, Jeremy Vine, in relation to his work on Points of View between 2008 and July 2018. Both programmes were presenter-led programmes just under 15 minutes long, which considered audience feedback on BBC programmes and offered the public the opportunity to air their opinions on BBC content. On 10 January the London Central Employment Tribunal ruled that the presenting work of Samira Ahmed on BBCs Newswatch programme was equal to that of Jeremy Vine on Points of View. The panel found that the work of the two presenters was like work the same or broadly similar alleging that any differences between the two programmes were minor and had no impact on the work that the two presenters did, or the skills and experience required to present the programmes. In its written judgment the panel acknowledged that "Jeremy Vine was paid more than six times what the claimant was paid for doing the same work. The judgement also highlights the lack of transparency and inconsistency in the BBCs approach in setting pay. Samira Ahmed, said: No woman wants to have to take action against their own employer. I love working for the BBC. I'm glad it's been resolved. I'd like to thank my union the NUJ, especially Michelle Stanistreet the general secretary, my legal team Caroline Underhill of Thompsons Solicitors and my barrister Claire Darwin and everyone all the men and women who've supported me and the issue of equal pay. I'm now looking forward to continuing to do my job, to report on stories and not being one." NUJ General Secretary, Michelle Stanistreet said: It was an incredibly brave decision on Samiras part to take forward this case. No-one wants to battle their employer in a public tribunal hearing, but the BBCs failure to meaningfully negotiate made legal proceedings inevitable". IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger said: "We congratulate Samira Ahmed for her victory and our union for its relentless support. We hope this landmark decision will encourage all our female colleagues to be part of the union, to take a stand for equal pay and for our affiliates to fiercely support them. Media employers must address cases of inequality and solve them before those have to be brought to court. We hope they learn a lesson". IFJ Gender Council Chair, Maria Angeles Samperio said: "Samira's victory is a victory for all of us and women should feel empowered by it. There is a widespread issue of unequal pay in the media. What Samira and her union managed to achieve must be replicated everywhere in the world . Time for action!". EFJ General Secretary, Ricardo Guitierrez EFJ said: "This case has the merit of shedding light on hidden discrimination. Such wage gaps can no longer be tolerated. These economic abuses are as serious in their scope as sexual abuse. We must put an end to this particular form of male domination". The NUJ is now pressing the BBC to resolve all of its outstanding cases on equal pay. As reported by us earlier, Malayalam actor Lal plays a pivotal role in Dhanush's upcoming film Karnan. Now, the actor shared the character names and looks of Dhanush and him from the film. Yes, Lal plays Yemen in the film and Dhanush plays the titular role Karnan. Produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu's V Creations, Rajisha Vijayan of Anuraga Karikkin Vellam fame plays Dhanush's pair in the film. Comedy actor Yogi Babu who played a pivotal role in director Maari Selvaraj's Pariyerum Perumal will be seen playing an important role in the film and cinematographer turned actor Natty also plays a pivotal character. Santhosh Narayanan is composing the music for 'Karnan' which is likely to release in the second half of this year. As Dhanush is shooting in Tirunelveli for Karnan, he watched his father-in-law's Darbar in Ram Cinemas. India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane brought out his foodie side on Friday as he asked his fans on social media about their preference when it comes to eating "vada pav". Image Source: IANS News India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane brought out his foodie side on Friday as he asked his fans on social media about their preference when it comes to eating "vada pav". Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, Jan 10 : India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane brought out his foodie side on Friday as he asked his fans on social media about their preference when it comes to eating "vada pav". "How do you like your vada pav? 1. Vada pav with chai, 2. Vada pav with chutney, 3. Just Vada pav," Rahane said in a tweet with a picture of him indulging in one. On Thursday, the Mumbaikar had shared a photo of his wife Radhika Dhopavkar, Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh with a caption saying: "2020: Dinners filled with conversations about our daughters & parenting." Rahane, who plays only the five-day format, is gearing up ahead of the New Zealand tour. He will take part in the second India 'A' four-day game against New Zealand between February 7 to 10. India will play two Tests against the Kiwis from February 21. Brussels (AFP) - European leaders warned Friday that Britain could become a formidable rival, just hours after a big victory by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conservatives all but sealed the UK's Brexit divorce. But the EU chiefs, meeting in Brussels, also expressed relief that British voters had sent a clear message, bringing to an end the first phase of a crisis that has dogged Europe for more than three years. Led by France and Germany, EU member states said they would pursue a swift trade deal with a tight deadline of end 2020, but insisted that any new arrangement must uphold European values and norms. "There is no question of concluding a deal at any price," EU Council President Charles Michel told a news conference after the talks. "Negotiations are over when the results are balanced and guarantee respect for the different concerns," the former Belgian premier said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Britain would be an economic "competitor at our door" after it leaves the EU and French President Emmanuel Macron saw a threat that London would become an "unfair competitor". This reflects concern that Britain could become a kind of "Singapore on Thames", a trading hub where multinationals can gain access to the EU's huge market without playing by its rules. "Talks about a trade deal with Britain will be a lot of trouble. They won't be any easier than those over the withdrawal agreement," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. Dutch interests lie with the "widest possible" agreement with London, including trade, fisheries and security cooperation, Rutte told the ANP news agency. Rutte said he "had an idea what Boris Johnson wanted" but he did not want to elaborate, adding that the idea of a Singapore on Thames was "all dreams". Brussels is also worried about the breakneck speed with which Johnson would like to strike a trade deal with Europe, as well as any British effort to undermine the unity among the remaining 27 members. Story continues "The time frame ahead of us is very challenging," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will pilot the talks with her chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. With Brexit now expected on January 31, on the "first of February, we go to work," she said. - 'Fed up' - In a text released after the talks, the 27 EU leaders called for "as close as possible a future relationship with the UK" while warning that it "will have to be based on a balance of rights and obligations and ensure a level playing field". Barnier will direct trade negotiations, which the leaders will follow closely "and provide further guidance as necessary, fully consistent with the EU's best interest," conclusions added. The deadline currently stands at the end of 2020, but Johnson has until July 1 to ask for a one or two year extension to the post-Brexit transition, although he insisted throughout his campaign that he would never take this an emergency option. If he refuses to extend the negotiation period, a no-deal Brexit will loom at the end of 2020, with Britain in danger of an abrupt cut in trade ties with Europe, endangering its economy. With the clear win, leaders hailed the end of three and half years of Brexit chaos, including three delays. "A lot of remainers voted for Johnson because they were fed up. They wanted clarifications," said Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. And Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez added: "Politically, it is a loss ... but now we must have the best relations possible, and that is what we will do over the next 11 months. "We want relations to be as close as possible, but we'll take care that they respect the rules of the single market," he warned. Airports levy charges such as FTC, infrastructure charge, and into-plane charges on sale of jet fuel. The levy is passed through to airlines, pushing up costs. The fuel bill of airlines is set to reduce as the civil aviation ministry has ordered discontinuation of the fuel throughput charge (FTC) collected by airports from oil companies. People in the know said the move will help airlines save close to Rs 500 crore per year. Fuel is one of the highest cost components for airlines. Airports levy charges such as FTC, infrastructure charge, and into-plane charges on sale of jet fuel. The levy is passed through to airlines, pushing up costs. FTC varies from airport to airport. At Mumbai airport, Rs 1,000 is levied per kilolitre of jet fuel. A kilolitre of ATF is priced at Rs 64,529 in Mumbai. In addition, various taxes such as GST and VAT are levied on the FTC, pushing up the cost. For every Rs 100, tax components including GST and VAT push up the cost by Rs 60. "Airports are not providing any kind of service in return. "Why should we pay for that? Abolishing throughput charges is a big impetus at a time when oil prices are rising, said the CEO of a private airline. It was seen that the global best practices at airports avoid levying a double charge by way of land rental on fuel suppliers for the use of the land at the airport, and a market access or concession fee for providing commercial opportunity when there is no underlying tangible service being rendered by the airport operator, the government said in the circular. The move will negatively impact cash flows of airports in the near term, but operators will get compensated during tariff revision. FTC has been a source of dispute between airlines and airport operators for 10 years now. Global carriers Emirates and Air France, too, had opposed the charges. Airlines have opposed the levy and urged the government to scrap it on the lines of Europe. Airlines have also complained of double taxation as both airports and oil companies collect tax in the process. IATA is opposed to airports levying charges on aviation fuel services that are not cost-related and justified, wrote the global lobbying firm for airlines in its letter to the government. The civil aviation ministry had set up a committee in 2019 to rationalise taxes on jet fuel, which are among the highest in the region. On their part, airport operators had asked the government not abolish FTC due to an ongoing litigation. The ministry said the FTC, in its all its manifestations, shall be discontinued at airports, airstrips, and heliports with immediate effect. The ministry said airports will be compensated during tariff fixation, and charges will be recalibrated factoring in the revenue loss. The order will bring immediate relief to airlines but we will have to see what impact it causes on overall airport charges, said an airline executive. The Mumbai and Delhi airports have challenged the Airport Economic Regulatory Authoritys decision to treat FTC as aeronautical charges. The airports contend that these are non-aeronautical in nature and should be outside the regulatory tariff fixation process. Photograph: Reuters Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 22:49:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close RABAT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and British Minister for International Trade Conor Burns discussed on Friday in Rabat trade and commerce issues. The meeting focused on bilateral cooperation and the means to strengthen relations between the two countries, a statement of the Moroccan foreign ministry said. The two sides also discussed cooperation in green technologies and renewable energies, it added. They also talked about the African Investment Summit to be held in London on Jan. 20. Morocco and Britain signed in October 2019 in London a post-Brexit trade agreement that restores all advantages under the terms of Morocco-EU association agreement. The agreement, which will enter into force after Brexit, will ensure a smooth transition and maintains fluidity of trade. Trade between Britain and Morocco hit 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. Thursday was a remarkable day in Sudans Nuba Mountains, with senior officials including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok visiting the rebel stronghold for the first time in a decade alongside officials from the UN, which was itself forced out of the area in 2011. The big picture: The region remained part of Sudan after South Sudan broke away in 2011. That led to a rebellion that was put down through a relentless bombing campaign. The war-ravaged area remained almost entirely cut off from international aid until now. That all happened on the brutal watch of dictator Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled last April after a popular uprising and replaced by a government that includes both generals and civilians. What they're saying: David Beasley, chief of the UNs World Food Program and a former South Carolina governor, helped facilitate dialogue between that government and rebel leader Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu, who joined Hamdok on Thursday for a meeting that was rich in symbolism and hope. Its earth-breaking, its historic, its remarkable to see these two leaders who represent such a history of war, conflict and division come together with a new spirit. It was so great to see this take place today, Beasley told Axios in a phone interview after taking part in the meeting. When you think about how much has been achieved in the last 90 days, we really are on the right track. Its unprecedented." Where things stand: The political situation remains precarious, as does access to food and other resources. The next 12 months are going to be critical to Sudan, Beasley told Axios. They're going to need the international community to step up in a significant way. And I believe Sudan, they will make the changes that need to be made. But in this economic transition, theres going to have to be substantial humanitarian support. Go deeper: Heroic doctor on the need for help in the Nuba Mountains Catalan premier Quim Torra. David Zorrakino (Europa Press) The Spanish Supreme Court on Friday decided against temporarily freezing a decision by electoral officials to strip Catalan premier Quim Torra of his seat in the regional parliament. The Catalan charter of rights does not specify that the premier needs to retain his seat in parliament throughout his term in office Magistrates are considering an appeal by Torra against a ruling by the Catalan regional High Court, which in December found him guilty of disobedience for refusing to remove pro-independence banners from public buildings during an election campaign, which violated regulations on political neutrality. The ruling, however, is not definitive until the Supreme Court issues a decision on Torras appeal. Based on the regional courts decision, which bars Torra from office for a period of 18 months, Spains Central Electoral Board (JEC) agreed to strip the separatist premier of his lawmaker credentials in the Catalan parliament. The Supreme Court feels there is no need to put the JECs decision on hold while it considers the merits of the case. The JEC was divided over its decision to strip Torra of his lawmaker credentials The Supreme Court justices believe that Catalan parliamentary officials will allow Torra to continue serving as the regional premier despite losing his seat in the chamber. Catalonias charter of rights, the Estatut, says that the head of government is elected by parliament from among its own members, but it does not specify that this seat has to be retained throughout the premiers term in office. Torra on Friday insisted that he will not obey the JEC, and called the Supreme Courts decision a new, serious and unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of the Catalan parliament. He also recalled that the regional chamber, which is controlled by a pro-independence majority, last week approved a motion calling the JECs decision a coup. On Friday, the Catalan premier used this expression again. The JEC a body made up of eight randomly selected Supreme Court judges and five university professors named by political parties with congressional representation was divided over its decision. Six members entered dissenting opinions, arguing that the JEC lacks the powers to deprive Torra of his seat, and that this privilege falls to the Catalan parliament, once the regional courts ruling has become final. Puigdemont and Comin Fernando J. Perez Supreme Court Justice Pablo Llarena, in charge of the investigation into the 2017 secession attempt, on Friday requested permission from the European Parliament to bring criminal proceedings against Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin. The former Catalan premier and his regional minister fled Spain in late 2017 to avoid prosecution for their role in holding an outlawed referendum and making a unilateral declaration of independence. Both successfully ran in the European elections of May 2019, but their eligibility to take up their seats was the subject of a prolonged legal wrangle as they are still wanted in Spain, where other leaders of the breakaway attempt were tried and sentenced to prison last year. Puigdemont and Comin have benefited from a recent decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stating that a third Catalan separatist politician who was elected as a MEP, Oriol Junqueras, enjoyed parliamentary immunity from May 26. Both men collected their permanent credentials at the European Parliament earlier this week (not Junqueras, who is serving his sentence in Spain). Justice Llarena is now asking the EU Parliament to suspend this immunity, and maintaining the European and Spanish arrest warrants against Puigdemont and Comin. English version by Susana Urra. LONDON Prince Harry and Meghans shocking announcement that they plan to become part-time royals caused a painful rupture in his family. But it has also forced Buckingham Palace to confront the changing nature of British royal life as the era of Queen Elizabeth II moves toward a close. On Friday, the palace convened an emergency meeting to address the couples proposal that they step back from their royal duties, seek financial independence and live part of the year in North America. The goal, according to people with ties to the palace, was to find a quick accommodation with the couple, who have become dangerously isolated in the House of Windsor. That could come in a matter of days, they said. Meghan, also known as the Duchess of Sussex, flew to Canada alone after the announcement to care for the couples eight-month-old son, Archie, who was staying there with a friend. Her hasty departure suggested that, however the palace chooses to respond, things are not going to return to normal. While Fridays meeting was aimed at easing the crisis and finding a new arrangement for Prince Harry and Meghan, people with ties to the palace said it would have broader implications. Whatever concessions or stipulations Buckingham Palace agrees to could potentially be applied to other members of the family, since the royal family has always been guided by precedent. Photo: Jennifer L./Yelp There's a brand-new sushi bar in town. Called Sizka Restaurant, the fresh addition is located at 1030 S. Linwood Ave. in Canton. Sizka Restaurant, a Japanese-fusion spot, serves up sushi and specialty entrees, with menu items ranging from pan-fried dumplings to bluefin tuna rolls to rib-eye steak. There's also dessert like black sesame or ginger ice cream. The newcomer has gotten good reviews thus far, with a 3.5-star rating out of three reviews on Yelp. Ryan M., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on Jan. 4, wrote, "Kimchi dumplings were really good as well as the yellowtail scallion roll and the spicy salmon." And Emily C. wrote, "The Ora King salmon appetizer was as fresh as you can get with a smooth rich flavor. Complimented nicely with mango, beet root and orange sauce. We tried a few different roles, including spicy tuna and salmon, shrimp tempura and Caribbean-style roll." Head on over to check it out: Sizka Restaurant is open from 4 p.m.10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m.10 p.m. on Sunday. Want to keep your finger on the pulse of new businesses in Baltimore? Here's what else opened recently near you. 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. 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. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets Virginia House Delegate-Elect Nancy Guy (not seen) at a coffee shop in Norfolk, Virginia on Nov. 25, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Bloomberg Has Spent Over $200 Million on 2020 Campaign Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg has dropped over $200 million on his bid for the presidency, outpacing most rivals and putting up almost as much money alone as the rest of the field has. As of Friday, Bloombergs spending surpassed $200 million while the rest of the field has spent $222 million combined, Advertising Analytics said. Bloomberg, 77, and fellow billionaire Tom Steyer, 62, have spent the bulk of the money in the race. Kantar Media said the total spending on television advertisements through this week showed Bloomberg on top with $153.1 million and Steyer second with $116.5 million. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was thirdwith just $11.7 million. Bloomberg has been spending heavily since before entering the race in November 2019, blanketing the airwaves in dozens of states after his late entry. Hes taken an unconventional path, essentially ignoring the four early voting states and focusing on voters who will cast their ballots later in the primary. Hes also not expected to qualify for any debates because he isnt seeking contributions and one of the two thresholds revolves around the number of donations. The former New York City mayors deluge of spending has caused issues for rivals, who face heightened costs for ad rates, Advertising Analytics said previously. Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer speaks at the National Action Networks Southeast Regional Conference in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 21, 2019. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) The typical [TV] market increased their rates by 22 percent as the political spending poured in, the firm said last month. Houston was among the markets that responded most actively to the new advertiser. This is partially attributable to Bloombergs $1 [million] buy increasing the political spending in the market tenfold. This shock spending increase was matched by a 45 percent increase in rates, which is among the highest of any market. Bloomberg has a net worth of $54 billion. A campaign spokesman told the New York Post last year that Bloomberg would spend whatever it takes to ensure that Donald Trump is not re-elected. Campaign officials said this week that Bloomberg would continue spending money even if he doesnt win the Democratic nomination. Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president, Kevin Sheekey, Bloombergs campaign manager, told NBC. He is dedicated to getting Trump out of the White House. Bloomberg has already spent $10 million in donations to House Democrats. Hawkfish, a digital company that Bloomberg founded, has been tasked with advertisements for the campaign. The firm will be employed by the campaign through election day, campaign officials said. Rivals have repeatedly denounced the major money Bloomberg and Steyer have poured into the race, but Bloomberg dismissed their concerns during an interview last month using an argument he used when running for mayor. Im doing exactly the same thing theyre doing, except that I am using my own money, theyre using somebody elses money, and those other people expect something from them, he said. Nobody gives you money if they dont expect something. And I dont want to be bought. All across Puerto Rico, residents continued to reel from the damage inflicted by the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the impoverished US territory on Tuesday. At least two thirds of the islands population remained without electricity as of Thursday, and 250,000 without clean water. Everywhere, residents could be seen sleeping outside, fearful of aftershocks. One death has been attributed to the earthquake so far, a figure likely to rise as officials continue to assess the damage. As many as 40 aftershocks with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher have occurred since the quake on Tuesday, further damaging structures and slowing relief efforts. Thousands of homes and other structures have already collapsed, with many more fatally compromised by the tremors. Most of the island's infrastructure was constructed before new building codes were enacted in 1987 to require modern seismic safety standards. This includes as many as 95 percent of the island's schools, according to a statement made by Eligio Hernandez, Puerto Rico's education secretary. 67 year-old William Mercuchi, center, and his daughter Joan pose for photos in front of their house that collapsed after the previous day's magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Yauco, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. More than 250,000 Puerto Ricans remained without water on Wednesday and another half a million without power, which also affected telecommunications. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Classes for public schools were canceled indefinitely as officials assessed the safety of school buildings across the island. According to the New York Times, an effort to retrofit schools up to modern safety standards was enacted a decade ago but abandoned after only around 100 schools were renovated. Many of Puerto Rico's power plants are located along the southern region of the island most affected by the earthquake, including the Costa Sur power plant in Guayanilla that provides power for a quarter of the island and suffered heavy damage. Jose Ortiz, the CEO of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) predicted that it could take up to a year to repair the aging plant, telling CBS This Morning, "To be honest, those plants have over 60 years, basically... Imagine you have a taxi, 60 years old, and you are required to run that 24/7." The Trump administration declared an emergency in Puerto Rico after Tuesday's earthquake, ostensibly allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to release funds for disaster relief. Given FEMA's record in responding to natural disasters generally, it is unlikely that an adequate amount of funding will ever be provided to the victims of the earthquake. Tuesday's quake was the strongest so far in a series of tremors that have affected the island since December 28th. The epicenter of the earthquakes has been located approximately eight miles offshore of the town of Indios on the southern coast of the island. The US Geological Survey has warned that there is an 82 percent chance that another earthquake of 5.0 magnitude or higher will occur in the next week. The impact of the earthquakes has been compounded by the fact that the island has still not recovered from Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed 5,000 residents and destroyed much of Puerto Rico's infrastructure. In the aftermath of that disaster, both local and federal officials sought to minimize the extent of the damage, claiming initially that only 16 people lost their lives. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that, of the $19.9 billion appropriated by Congress in Housing and Urban Development funds for disaster relief in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, only $1.5 billion has been disbursed so far, with the Trump administration claiming they are withholding funds due to concerns about corruption on the island. This is in spite of the fact that the disaster relief bill passed by Congress mandated that $8.3 billion be made available by September 4th of last year, meaning the current withholding of funds is illegal. The criminally inadequate response by both federal and local officials has illustrated the fact that nothing has fundamentally changed since the mass protests last year that saw the ouster of Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello and his eventual replacement by current Governor Wanda Vasquez. Both are members of the New Progressive Party, which is politically aligned with the Democratic Party in the US. Those protests, which were ignited by the release of text messages between government officials demonstrating their corruption and disdain for the victims of Hurricane Maria but ultimately inspired by the squalid living conditions and vast levels of social inequality on the island, saw the participation of up to 1 million Puerto Ricans, or nearly a third of the population. In the aftermath of the protests, the Vasquez administration has done nothing to improve the living conditions of Puerto Rican workers. Just as with the previous government under Rossello, the primary goal of her administration has been the imposition of austerity measures upon the working class and the privatization of state-owned infrastructure to make the bogus debt payments demanded by Wall Street loan sharks. The mechanism for enforcing these payments is the Financial Oversight Management Board created under the Obama administration and staffed by a bipartisan group of bankers, corporate lawyers and other parasites appointed by the President. Included among the measures promoted by the board is the privatization of both PREPA, the islands publicly held electrical utility, as well as the public-school system. In July of 2018, the FOMB released a plan calling for the elimination of thousands of government jobs, the slashing of pension and benefit payments and the elimination of labor protections, among other measures. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu will lead a all-party delegation to New Delhi soon to urge the Home Minister to expedite the process of creating a separate cadre of IAS, IPS and IFoS for the state, the Assembly was told on Friday. Khandu told the Assembly during a discussion that the state government had on several occasions convinced the Centre to create a separate cadre of administrative officers for Arunachal Pradesh keeping in view the ethnic diversity of the state. "When a tribe of the state cannot understand the language and culture of other tribe, how can an outside officer will understand? We are not able to implement our policies properly because the bureaucrats are not permanent in the state as they are being posted for five years with two tenures of two and half years each," the chief minister said. He added that the government is serious on the issue which is in the states interest. The chief minister disclosed that the state assembly had on October 18, 2017 adopted a resolution which was forwarded to the Union Home Ministry. "I discussed the matter with the Prime Minister besides President, Vice President and DoPT minister and even state governor discussed it with several central leaders on many occasions, Khandu said adding, the Centre had already instructed the DoPT Ministry to work on it but the process remained stagnant. He said the Centre is serious on the issue and considering it. Earlier, initiating the discussion, Congress MLA Ninong Ering said that when smaller states like Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim could have separate cadre why not Arunachal? "Separate cadre for the state will minimize the perceived alienation feelings and will help in formulating long-term policies and improve administrative set-up with feeling of oneness," he said. All the members who participate in the discussion supported the issue and demanded the government to impress upon the Centre for creation of separate cadre for the state. Presently, the IAS, IPS and IFS officers working in the state are from AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and other Union territories) cadres. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) T he man who played The Incredible Hulk in a hit US TV series is to take on a real-life crime fighting role in a New Mexico town. Lou Ferrigno, 68, who starred as the green superhero for CBS between 1977 and 1981, has been named as the new deputy sheriff of Socorro County. The former actor and fitness instructor has already served as a volunteer deputy sheriff in both Arizona and Los Angeles. Officials at Socorro County say he will bring decades of law enforcement experience to the department and be instrumental in recruiting for the department and the county. The former bodybuilder-turned-actor trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger The retired bodybuilder trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger in his youth, winning silver and bronze medals in the Mr Olympia competitions and gold in Mr Universe in 1973. But, Mr Ferrigno insists, there's more to him than muscle. His Twitter bio reads: I'm not just The Incredible Hulk or Mr. Universe. I'm also a husband, a father, and a pug lover. He can now add deputy sheriff to that list. AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon. ARBOR ALLIANCE Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704. BEIT ABBA Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba. CALVARY CHAPEL NAPA Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets as well on Wednesday nights at 6:30 in the Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. Check out our website at calvarynapa.org. CARMELITE MONASTERY Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. Confession Days for English and Spanish: Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon; 3-5 p.m.; 8-9 p.m. First Saturdays: Confessions at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. 944-2454. oakvillecarmelites.org. CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING Services are 9 and 10:30 with Teen Group at 10 and Youth Program at 10:30. Guest speaker Kristen Moore will talk about The Power of Thought. Course in Miracles on Tuesday from 6:15-8:15 p.m. Open Meditation on Wednesday from 6:30-7:15 p.m. Spanish Meditation Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. Into the Light Meditation Retreat Saturday, January 23-25. Spiritual Cinema Night on Friday, January 10 features Brene Brown: The Call to Courage at 7 p.m. Annual Community Meeting on Jan. 26 at 11:45 a.m. New 8-week seminars are Rev. Jay's The Creative Genius Within You starting Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. and Building a Healing Consciousness with Kristen Moore starting Thursday, Jan. 30, from 7-9 p.m. 1249 Coombs; 252-4847. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase. 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com. CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA SECOND WARD Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496. CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM Congregation Beth Shalom will honor Napa Valley Lutheran Church's Pastors, Rev. Julie Webb and Rev. David Hamilton this Friday, January 9th, at a community Service at 60 p.m.. CBS is located at 1455 Elm Street, Napa, 94559. www.cbsnapa.org; (707) 253-7305. COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH This week at CPC is Baptism of the Lord Sunday. Join us at 10:30 a.m. as we listen for the Word of God and reflect upon our own baptisms, transformations, and renewals. Rev. Linda S. Powers takes a look at Isaiah 42:1-9, and Matthew 3:13-17; welcoming passages like raindrops on thirsty soil. Her sermon title is First Hand Witness at the Font and were sure to be well pleased. Liz Groelle is Liturgist and will lead the call to worship. Mark Osten is on grand piano to accompany the choir and organ to guide us through some of our favorite hymns. The Arts in Worship Area is open to all for drawing, journaling, or coloring with the children. Stick around for coffee and treats after church. See you Sunday. 1226 Salvador Ave. (707) 255-9426 www.cpcnapa.org. CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266. CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH CrossWalk Community Church services started Sept. 1, with service times at 8:30 and 10 a.m. with children's programs during the 10 a.m. service. New series beginning titled God Can't, featuring Thomas Jay Oord's book. Because God loves everyone and everything, God never controls anyone or anything. Hope to see you. Check out our website, www.CrossWalkNapa.org. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH We welcome you to come and experience a Sunday morning at First Christian Church. Be inspired and encouraged by a message from the Bible that you can apply to your daily life. Our Sunday service is at 10 a.m. Our Kids Ministry has a great time planned for your kids (babies through 5th graders) We are located at 2659 First St. fccnapa.org. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH We invite you to worship with us this Sunday, Jan. 12 at First Presbyterian Church! Dr. David Stoker will be preaching, and his sermon title is: "Here I Am Lord" with a Scripture reference of I Corinthians 12:4-13. We have two services each Sunday: A 9 a.m. traditional service (with hymns) and a 10:30 a.m. contemporary service (with praise music). Nursery care is available during both services and children are welcome in worship! The PATH Sunday School for kids ages preschool through 5th grade is at 10:30 a.m., and NEXT, a gathering for youth, grades 6 through 12, is also at 10:30 a.m. We offer an Adult Bible Study on Sunday mornings that meets at 10:30 as well as the Friendship Class for developmentally disabled adults. Stay after worship for coffee and treats in the visitor center. Be sure to stop by the church during Napa's Lighted Art Festival. Our online calendar may be found at: http://fpcnapa.mhsoftware.com/. We look forward to seeing you soon. 1333 Third Street; 707-224-8693; www.fpcnapa.org. GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY Grace Church of Napa Valley: Worship service at 10 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 8:45 a.m.; Childrens Sunday School at 8:45 a.m. and Childrens Church at 10 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior High and High School ministry meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave.; Napa. 255-4033; GraceNapa.org. HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30. Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga. HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036. hccnapa.com. HOLY FAMILY PARISH Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses, there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461. HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015. LIVING VINE CHURCH We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551. MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE Sunday worship service 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840. The public is welcome. MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all at the chapel of the De La Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 11 a.m. NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH We welcome you to join us in worship at 10 a.m. every Sunday. Pastor Dave Buurma presents Gods Word to us each week after the music/worship time. The children are dismissed at this time for Sunday School and Childrens Worship. After the service, we have refreshments and fellowship, and then we start a Question & Answer time (in lieu of adult Sunday School), for those who are able to stay and attend. Nursery is provided throughout. www.napavalleychurch.org. Napa Valley Community Church is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. NAPA METHODIST CHURCH You are invited to worship each Sunday at the Napa Methodist Church at 625 Randolph where ALL are welcome! Sunday at 9:30 a.m. worship the Cathedral Choir will present the Word and Song based on the musical "Brigadoon." The 11 a.m. worship will include the Fusion Band, a message and Communion. We would love to worship with you. NAPA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS) Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. Childrens program available with advance notice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505. NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL Dr. Don Tinder will start a new series in the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, Jan. 12. An internationally recognized church history scholar and dean of the Zinzendorf School of Doctoral Studies at Olivet Theological College and Seminary, Tinder has served as associate editor of Christianity Today and earned his doctorate in historical theology from Yale University. We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching, and a class is available for children and youth during this service. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. 1559 Second St., Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com. NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH We welcome you to join us at 10 a.m. as we study Acts 21. This has been an exciting study of the transforming power of the Gospel of Christ. Sunday School & Childcare provided, Refreshments, and Open Forum discussion afterwards. Napavalleychurch.org. NVCC is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. NAPA VALLEY LIFE CHURCH Napa Valley Baptist Church is now Napa Valley Life Church. Join us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 2303 Trower Ave. for exciting worship, relevant message and a safe and fun childrens program. A well-staffed and trained nursery is provided. Tony Valenti is Senior Pastor. nvlife.org. NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN Sunday worship at 10 a.m. includes Children's Time. Fellowship time follows. All are welcome. The church is located at Jefferson and Elm. 226-8166, www.napavalleylutheran.org. NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS Sunday, Jan. 12, 9:30 a.m.: Leader: Rev. Leisa Huyck, Ministers Discussion: Integrity and Generosity When have you been generous with others? When have others been generous with you? How have you felt at these times? How are generosity and integrity related? Bring your stories of generosity and we will see what common threads emerge. 11 a.m.: Generosity As A Spiritual Practice Traditional service with Rev. Leisa Huyck, and Celebrant, Jeff Leles. Generosity is the most fundamental spiritual practice in every religion known to humankind, and takes many forms in many cultures. How can this ancient practice both transform our personal lives and help heal the world? And what does it have to do with integrity? Come learn how we can bless the world with our generosity. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; www.nvuu.org; 707-226-9220. NEW LIFE TABERNACLE Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com. ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH All masses are in English. Visitors are welcome. Sunday Mass times: 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m., noon, and 5:30 p.m., Saturday evening (Vigil for Sunday); 4:30 p.m. Daily mass times: Monday-Friday: 7 and 8:45 a.m.; Saturday: 8:45 a.m. Confession: Saturdays: 3:30-4:15 p.m., Monday-Friday: 6:30-6:50 a.m., Monday-Saturday: 8:15-8:35 a.m. 3700 Lassen St., Napa. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome streets in downtown Napa. ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH Worship at 8:30 a.m. (traditional) and 10:15 a.m. (contemporary, communion, childrens church). All are welcome. 3521 Linda Vista. stjohnslutheran.net. ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org. ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com. SALVATION ARMY Worship meetings every Sunday at 9 a.m. breakfast included. Everyone is welcome and we always include solid Bible teaching. Need something less churchy? Try our 10:30 a.m. Coffee and Conversation time: A Bible study that allows anyone to bring their questions about life, spirituality, and Jesus to the table. Join us for one or both each week. Childrens meetings are available too. The Salvation Army, 590 Franklin Street, Napa. 707-226-8150; Salvationarmy.org. THE FATHERS HOUSE Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org. UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY Sunday Service- Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. This Sunday, Unity will welcome Rev. Robert Brach with his message The Christ Spirit. The theme of his message is: Having rebirthed our awareness of the Christ within us during the Christmas season, we will look deeper at what this Christ spirit is, using the material from Chapter 13 of Unity Co-Founder Myrtle Fillmores book, How to Let God Help You. Please join us for another wonderful Sunday morning experience. At 11:40 a.m. after a brief refreshment break, Rev. Bob will facilitate a discussion group pertaining to his message. Sunday Service and Forum are held at the historic Welcome Grange Hall, 3275 Hagen Road (1 mile east of the Silverado Trail), Napa. Parking is next to the building. 707-255-6881. www.Facebook.com/USCNV, www.UnitySpiritualCenterNapa.org YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH We have our weekly Prayer meeting at 9 a.m. in the conference center. The main church building is under repairs and we are meeting in our Sunday School classrooms on the North side of the church. Come join us for coffee, doughnuts, and learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sunday School is for all ages. We have an Adult Bible class, Youth Group (fifth-eighth grades and high school students), and Children's classes "Jesus and Me", (Birth-Kindergarten) and first through fifth grades are offered. Church office hours, Tuesday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; 6619 Yount St., Yountville; 707-944-2179. Fear, misinformation, misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about feline immunodeficiency virus, aka FIV, has led to euthanization of thousands of cats (millions if you count euthanization at animal shelters) since FIV was first identified in 1986. Disagreement about what to do with cats diagnosed with FIV continues among veterinarians in private practice. Some veterinarians inform clients with FIV-positive cats that, given good care, the cat can have a long, healthy life. Other veterinarians recommend immediate euthanasia. Sadly, cats continue to die because of this misinformation. We agree with the wise information from the first of the veterinarians referenced above. Experience shows that cats with FIV can live long, healthy lives, and that it does not transmit to other cats that live together in harmony. Some of you may remember Charles and Melynda Chatham, who lived in Morganton in the 1990s when Charles was rector of Grace Episcopal Church. They moved here with 10 or 12 cats that lived in the rectory. One of those cats was FIV-positive. None of their other cats caught FIV from this cat, and this cat was still alive and well many years later when the Chat-hams moved back to the Southwest. English French Marseilles, January 10, 2020 Sale of BOURBON Corporation's assets to SPP Following the decision of the Marseilles Commercial Court on December 23, 2019, the assets of BOURBON Corporation (including the Bourbon brands) have since this morning been sold to Societe Phoceenne de Participations (SPP). The next meeting of the Court, scheduled for January 20, will have to rule on the future of BOURBON Corporation and its eventual liquidation. A new press release will specify the consequences of the Court's decisions, concerning notably the listing of the share. CONTACT: Communication and investors/analysts/shareholders relations +33 140 138 607 / investor-relations@bourbon-online.com test Attachment Workers of the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday launched a massive protest outside Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singhs residence in Chandigarh against the recent hike in power tariff in the state. Police used water cannons on the protesting AAP workers, who were led by the partys lawmaker Bhagwant Mann. Power rates in Punjab went up by 36 paise a unit from January 1 for domestic consumers in the state. The AAP had submitted memorandums to the Congress-led state government seeking scrapping of power purchase agreements signed with private thermal plants by the previous SAD-BJP led government. The party, last month, had accused the Congress of failing to honour its poll promise of cancelling the agreements with private thermal plants after forming the government. It claimed that there had been recurring hikes in electricity rates allegedly because of pressure from private power companies. It said the implementation of the hike of power tariff was the result of the coal washing charges of Rs 1400 crore to be paid to two private thermal power plants. The balance amount of Rs 1300 crore, it said, would be paid in coming months and it would also result in a further burden on the consumers. The protest by the main opposition party in the state AAP comes after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) spoke against the Congress government over the issue of power tariff. On Wednesday, the SADs chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had alleged that private power thermal plants were given undue benefits of Rs 2500 crore by the Congress-led state government and sought an independent probe into it. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the former deputy chief minister, had accused the state government of deliberate laxity in pursuing disputes involving Rs 2500 crore on account of coal washing charges. (With agency inputs) CITY HALL -- Moderate Democrats in Albany are teaming up to try to make changes to the states controversial bail reform law. That group includes Island state Sen. Diane Savino, who co-sponsored legislation introduced by Long Island Democrat James Gaughran, that would give judges more discretion to determine whether a criminal defendant should be held in custody or be required to post bail or bond as a condition of pretrial release. As of Jan. 1, cash bail has been eliminated for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, including most drug offenses, in the state of New York. The reforms were passed as part of the state budget in April. Under the law, bail was eliminated for all misdemeanor charges, with the exceptions of sex offenses and criminal contempt for violating an order of protection in a domestic violence case. Bail and pretrial detention are also scrapped for nearly all nonviolent felonies, with the exceptions being witness intimation or tampering, murder conspiracy, contempt charges involving domestic violence and some offenses against children, sex charges and terrorism-related offenses. There should be some discretion given to judges to make determinations about public safety, Savino said. Every other state that has done bail reform has included that, we need to fix this Were going to aggressively push to have that [legislation] adopted as soon as possible and were going to get pushback from people who say we are fear mongering or were trying to turn the clock back on bail reform and the answer to that is no, we can accomplish bail reform and still give judges discretion in particular cases and thats all people are suggesting, the senator continued. Fellow Island Democrats and Republicans have also taken issue with the new bail reform law. Island District Attorney Michael McMahon has warned that the new law will allow prosecutors to seek bail and detention for only a handful of drug defendants, those specifically charged with operating as a major trafficker. The Islands DA has also said he is even more concerned about releasing witnesses and victims names and contact information to the defense in the early stages of the case. That information typically had been turned over shortly before the start of trial. In the coming days, McMahons office said it plans to launch a public awareness campaign about the new bail reform law to inform the public about how it will affect public safety. They are also urging constituents to ask the governor and state Legislature to make changes to the laws. On Friday, McMahon is also meeting with local Island elected officials, police and community leaders during his annual legislative breakfast where they will be discussing a number of issues including bail reform. South Shore Republican elected officials Assemblyman Michael Reilly and Councilman Joe Borelli have been vocal critics of the law. Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore) recently penned a letter to Cuomos office asking the governor to issue an executive order that would suspend the provisions of the bail reform law for 30 days, giving the state Legislature time to reconvene and amend the law. Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis has also been very critical of the new law. She has organized a petition against the reform and voiced her opposition to top lawmakers. Instead of leaving a law in place that puts the public at risk, the governor should halt it to allow for public hearings to collect the input of legal experts and law enforcement so it can be replaced with a responsible law that ensures the right to a speedy trial, considers criminal history and dangerousness, restores judicial discretion and protects witnesses," Malliotakis said. So far, Attorney General Letitia James, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousins said that they are open to revisiting some of the provisions in the law like discretion to set bail. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called the bail law a work in progress. Bail reform is right. But changing the system is complicated and then has a number of ramifications," the the Daily News reported the governor as saying during a Manhattan event this week. "There is no doubt this is still a work in progress. And there are other changes that need to be made. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, on Friday tore into Pakistan for peddling false narrative on New Delhi and said there are "no takers for your malware here". During an open debate at the UN Security Council, Akbaruddin said, "It is increasingly acknowledged that the Council faces a crisis of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks, the weaponisation of new technologies, the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council." 'Heal thyself of your malaise' "One delegation that epitomises the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today. These we dismiss with disdain. My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware," he added. The diplomat stressed upon the Council as "part of the political toolkit" to address ongoing and future threats to global peace and security. He also said that there needs to be a Council which is a "representative" of current global realities. "The answer to the crisis the Council faces lies in invoking and working through Charter provisions that provide for reform and change. We need a Council that is representative of current global realities, credible, and legitimate, rather than one that rests merely on the claim that it existed at the inception. The Council needs to be fit for purpose for the 21st century," Akbaruddin further said. READ | Rajasthan: Minister deploys drones to combat locust army invasion from Pakistan READ | Pakistan's passport ranked fourth-worst for international travel out of 107 countries 'Repeat offenders, Old habits die hard." Earlier, this week Akbaruddin lambasted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for peddling a seven-year-old violence video from Bangladesh as a case of what he claimed to be "Indian police pogrom against Muslims in UP." While taking a jibe at Khan, Syed Akbarudding took to Twitter and wrote, "Repeat offenders, Old habits die hard." Khan had soon deleted the video after facing a backlash from the Indian side. READ | Pakistan's Asif Ghafoor makes pointless remarks over 'Free Kashmir' placard READ | Hindu & Sikh groups protest at Pakistan High Commission over Nankana Sahib Gurdwara attack (with ANI inputs) Boeing employees mocked federal regulators as inept and blasted the designers of the flawed 737 Max as clowns ... supervised by monkeys in communications released by the plagued airplane manufacturer on Thursday. Emails and instant messages show employees bragging about misleading the Federal Aviation Administration about problems with flight simulators before the 2018 and 2019 deadly crashes of 737 Max planes. In one exchange, an employee told a colleague they wouldnt let their family ride on a 737 Max, which has been grounded for 10 months and led to ongoing turmoil for Boeing. The company said the statements raise questions about Boeings interactions with the FAA in getting the simulators qualified. But said the company is confident that the machines work properly. These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable, Boeing said in a statement. Employees also groused about Boeings senior management, the companys selection of low-cost suppliers, wasting money, and the Max. This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys, one employee wrote. Names of the employees who wrote the emails and text messages were redacted. The Max has been grounded worldwide since March, after two crashes killed 346 people. The crash that month of an Ethiopian Airlines flight had been preceded in October 2018 by the crash of a brand-new Max operated by Indonesias Lion Air. Boeing is still working to update software and other systems on the Max to convince regulators to let it fly again. The work has taken much longer than Boeing expected. The latest batch of internal Boeing documents were provided to the Federal Aviation Administration and Congress last month and released on Thursday. The company said it was considering disciplinary action against some employees. An FAA spokesman said the agency found no new safety risks that have not already been identified as part of the FAAs review of changes that Boeing is making to the plane. The spokesman, Lynn Lunsford, said the simulator mentioned in the documents has been checked three times in the last six months. Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed, he said in a statement. A lawmaker leading one of the congressional investigations into Boeing called them incredibly damning. They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally, said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation Committee. DeFazio said the documents detail some of the earliest and most fundamental errors in the decisions that went into the fatally flawed aircraft. DeFazio and other critics have accused the company of putting profit over safety. The grounding of the Max will cost the company billions in compensation to families of passengers killed in the crashes and airlines that canceled thousands of flights. Last month, the company ousted its CEO and decided to temporarily halt production of the plane in mid-January, a decision that is rippling out through its supplier network. Russia's hybrid military forces mounted six attacks on Ukrainian Army positions in Donbas in past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and another one as wounded in action (WIA), the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported. "The armed forces of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire six times engaging Ukrainian troops with grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms on January 9. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another one was wounded as a result of enemy shelling," the JFO staff said in its update on Facebook on Friday morning. Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Pavlopil, Vodiane, Nevelske, Pisky, and Khutir Vilny came under attack. FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn accompanied by his wife Carole Ghosn, arrives at his place of residence in Tokyo (Reuters) - Carlos Ghosn, the ousted boss of the Renault-Nissan <7201.T> carmaking alliance who fled house arrest in Japan last week, denies the allegations of financial misconduct made against him. Following are the court charges against Ghosn, his responses and counter-claims: UNDER-REPORTED EARNINGS After arresting him in November 2018, Tokyo prosecutors the following month charged Ghosn and fellow board member Greg Kelly with conspiring to hide 5.2 billion yen ($48 million) in Ghosn's earnings over five years from 2010 in filings to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In January last year, when Ghosn was still being held in Tokyo's main jail, prosecutors brought a second charge for allegedly under-reporting a further 4.1 billion yen in the subsequent three years. Nissan, which has also been charged in connection to the under-reporting, declined to give further details about the allegations, but the Nikkei business daily, citing unidentified sources, said Ghosn had received share price-linked compensation of about 4 billion yen over a five-year period to March 2015 and it went unreported in Nissan's financial reports. The financial reports also did not mention annual compensation of 100 million to 150 million yen Ghosn received from the automaker's overseas subsidiaries, the newspaper said. In a statement made during his first court appearance, Ghosn said all earnings had been disclosed and that any deferred compensation due to him after retiring had been approved. In what he referred to as a "death test" he argued that none of his heirs would have received payments apart from his retirement allowance, meaning that it did not count as earnings. BREACH OF TRUST A third charge brought by prosecutors in January 2019 was for alleged breach of trust for transferring personal losses of 1.85 billion yen from investments in currency derivatives to Nissan in October 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. Story continues The charge also alleges Ghosn authorized a total of $14.7 million in payments from a Nissan subsidiary to a company owned by another individual when the investments were transferred back to the asset management company between June 2009 and March 2012. Ghosn, in a court filing, said he invested in the financial instruments to avoid currency fluctuations because he was paid in yen rather than dollars. After his banks asked for more collateral, he said he asked Nissan to temporarily, and at no cost to the company, take on the currency swaps. His only other choice, he said, would have been to resign from the automaker in order to access his retirement allowance. MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS The fourth charge brought by prosecutors in April 2019, alleged Ghosn illegally misappropriated $5 million from Nissan between July 2017 and July 2018. They accuse the former Nissan chief of approving three payments totalling $15 million to a Nissan dealership, a portion of which was then transferred to a company controlled by Ghosn. OTHER ALLEGATIONS In April, former Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa said a months-long internal investigation had also uncovered evidence that Ghosn used company funds for personal purposes and misrepresented the company's investments. Nissan said it had filed a criminal complaint against Ghosn in relation to the matter, saying it had determined that some of its overseas payments had been ordered by Ghosn for his personal enrichment. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Nissan paid billions of yen to buy and renovate homes for Ghosn in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam, citing unidentified sources. The properties had no business purpose and were not listed as benefits in filings to the Tokyo bourse, it said. The Nikkei reported that Nissan - through a British Virgin Islands unit of a Dutch venture fund subsidiary - bought and renovated homes for Ghosn in Brazil and Lebanon worth around $18 million. Nissan, the report added, also paid several hundred thousand dollars for Ghosn's family vacations. The Yomiuri, Japan's biggest-circulation daily, said Nissan had been paying Ghosn's elder sister $100,000 a year since 2002 for a non-existent advisory role. She lived in a luxury Rio de Janeiro apartment funded by a Nissan subsidiary, according to the report, which cited unidentified sources. DENIAL In statements released through his lawyers in Japan and court filings seen by Reuters, Ghosn has denied any wrongdoing, saying that all payments were approved and above board. He asked the courts to dismiss the charges against him before fleeing to Lebanon. Ghosn says he was ousted as chairman of Nissan as part of a government-backed coup to destroy any possibility of a merger between Nissan and its French alliance partner Renault . Ghosn's legal team also says prosecutors withheld evidence, citing concerns voiced by Nissan that it included sensitive information about operations and employees. (Reporting Tim Kelly; Editing by Mark Potter) A Harrisburg man wanted in a 2019 bar shooting that left one person with serious injuries is in custody, after an operation with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Marshals announced Thursday. Kuami Wright, 36, was wanted in connection with a shooting at a bar on Aug. 4, 2019, the Marshals said. Wright was also wanted by the Lower Paxton Township Police Department on charges of terroristic threats and had a warrant for failure to appear by the Dauphin County Sheriffs Office for not showing up to a court date on a charge of false reports to law enforcement. Wright is charged with attempted homicide and lesser offenses in the shooting, the Marshals said. Around 3 p.m. Thursday, the Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Wright without incident in the 1400 block of Herr Street, and he was turned over to the Dauphin County Booking Center. We place a high priority on fugitive cases in which the use of violence against victims occurs," United States Marshal Martin J. Pane said. "By working with our law enforcement partners to ensure violent offenders are brought to justice, communities throughout Pennsylvania become safer and more secure. State police, the state board of Probation and Parole, Harrisburg police, Swatara Township police, Lower Paxton Township police and the Dauphin County Adult Probation office all participated in the investigation. Read more on PennLive: Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram New York, January 10, 2020 Malawian authorities should drop the prosecution of three journalists who wanted to cover the return to the country on January 8 of a European Union electoral observer mission, but were instead detained for two hours at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, the capital, and charged with disorderly conduct, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Three journalists from the privately owned Nation Publications Limited (NPL) and Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) were at the VIP section of the airport to cover the arrival of the delegation, who were due to present their final report on the disputed May 21 election, according to media reports. The arrival of the EU delegation was of public interest and for airport police to detain and charge the journalists is unacceptable given that they were not committing a crime, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa Program Coordinator. We urge Malawian authorities to drop the charges immediately and not waste the courts time on a frivolous case. Golden Matonga, who is an investigative journalist but also reports on current affairs for NPL, told CPJ via messaging app that he had gone to the airport to cover the visit by the delegation at a time the countrys constitutional court was expected to hand down a judgment on the disputed presidential election. Both Malawis Law Society, as well as the opposition leaders who have challenged the presidential election result in court, say publishing the report is ill-timed because the court has yet to rule on the matter. He was asked for his press credentials by the EU security team and the Malawi police and complied. While the EU team was happy for him to cover the delegations arrival, Matonga said, the local police told him he was not able to take photographs or work there as he did not have permission to do so. Matonga also described his experience in a post on his blog. When ZBS editor-at-large Steve Zimba and his cameraman Francis Chamasowa arrived they were told the same thing, said Matonga. We argued that the area was a public space and journalists conduct interviews there all the time. However, a senior policeman ordered that the trio be arrested and they were held in a police cell at the airport for two hours, said Matonga. Zimba told CPJ via messaging app that when he and Chamasowa arrived at the VIP lounge he was taken aside and asked to accompany a police officer. Since the flight had already touched down I resisted as I wanted to talk to the EU delegation, Zimba said. He added that the officer then harassed and insulted the journalists. The officer was then joined by about 30 other police officers in uniform and civilian clothes who too began showering insults on us, said Zimba. One of the police officers received orders on the phone to arrest them. Their equipment was confiscated, their footage deleted, and they were locked in a police cell in the airport, he added. Police first charged the trio with conduct likely to cause breach of the peace, according to Zimba. After the journalists were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department, the charge was changed to disorderly conduct under the Aviation Act, said Zimba. They must appear in court on January 18, he said. According to Regulation 12 of the Aviation (Airport Security) Regulations, if found guilty they could be fined 10,000 Malawian kwacha (US$13.56) and given a prison term of five years, according to a copy of the relevant section of the act viewed by CPJ. Malawian police spokesman James Kadadzera told CPJ via messaging app that the three journalists were detained by airport police for disorderly conduct at an airport contrary to the Aviation Act because they had not sought the necessary permission to cover airport activities. The arrests were effected as a result of the three journalists failure to follow protocol in line with the Aviation Act, he said. They did not have the necessary permit in terms of Regulation 12 of the Aviation (Airport Security) Regulations, said Kadadzera. It is not the wish of airport police to apprehend or arrest media practitioners whenever assigned to carry out official duties he said, adding that police were committed to maintaining a good working relationship with the media. The EU spokeswoman in Malawi, Aurelie Valtat, told CPJ on January 14 that the delegation did not have a problem with journalists present and that they were not aware of what was playing out in the other area of the airport. She added, Our Ambassador has since called the journalists to get more info and also expressed concerns about these arrests with the competent authorities. EDITORS NOTE: The last paragraph is updated with comment from the EU. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 23:51:41|Editor: zyl Video Player Close People celebrate along the road as they wait for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to pass during the last day of a 195-km walk in honor of liberation fighters who won a five-year guerrilla war in 1986 in Kakumiro district, Uganda, Jan. 9, 2020. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) KAMPALA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has completed a 195 km walk in honor of liberation fighters who won a five-year guerrilla war in 1986. Museveni on Friday told hundreds of supporters at the decommissioning ceremony of the trekkers at Birembo, in the western district of Kakumiro, that the six-day walk showed interesting elements of endurance and maneuver. "These same elements I witnessed with the National Resistance Army fighters during the 1986 liberation struggle," he said. "Bazukulu (grandchildren and youths) prepare yourself ideologically and physically to push forward the struggle," Museveni said. Museveni began the walk, dubbed "Afrika Kwetu," loosely translated as "Our Africa," from Galamba, in the central district of Wakiso. He was joined by 1,500 veterans, youths and well-wishers in the trek through seven districts. The trek aimed at retracing some of the tough routes used by Museveni, his fellow guerilla fighters and the heroic exertions of the country's freedom fighters in the resistance war, which was launched on Feb. 6, 1981. Museveni led a similar walk in 1999. A British employment tribunal on Friday ruled in favour of a 51-year-old Indian-origin journalist who took legal action against the BBC over unequal pay. Samira Ahmed, whose mother hails from India, had claimed that she was being unfairly underpaid by the media organisation for similar work on a news-related television show and was owed 700,000 pounds (USD 9,14,952) in back pay. The presenter of the BBC's audience feedback show called 'Newswatch' said her low pay -- compared to the salary of her fellow presenter Jeremy Vine for a similar show called 'Points of View' was unjustified. Ahmed was paid 440 pounds (USD 575) an episode in comparison with Vine's 3,000 pounds (USD 3,921) per episode. The BBC had countered that the two presenters performed very different roles, an assertion the employment tribunal said had not been satisfactorily established by the corporation. "Her work on 'Newswatch' was like Jeremy Vine's work on 'Points of View' under Section 65(1) of the Equality Act 2010," concluded the judgment by a three-member employment tribunal led by Judge Harjit Grewal. The "unanimous judgment" in what has been described as a landmark case on equal pay notes that the corporation had not shown that the difference in pay was because of a "material factor, which did not involve subjecting the claimant (Ahmed) to sex discrimination". "The terms relating to pay in the claimant's contracts for presenting 'Newswatch' from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2018 should be modified so as not to be less favourable than the terms relating to pay in Jeremy Vine's contracts," it added. Ahmed, who had found the backing of a number of high-profile media personalities including fellow Indian-origin BBC presenter Naga Munchetty, welcomed a resolution to the affair. "No woman wants to have to take action against their own employer. I love working for the BBC," she said. The BBC responded by describing her as an "excellent journalist and presenter" and regretted that the issue had to be taken to an employment tribunal. "We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender. Presenters female as well as male had always been paid more on 'Points of View' than 'Newswatch'," a BBC statement said. "We'll need to consider this judgment carefully. We know tribunals are never a pleasant experience for anyone involved. We want to work together with Samira to move on in a positive way," it noted. Ahmed is the latest female journalist at the BBC to voice concern over pay equality within the organisation after former China editor Carrie Gracie resigned for equal pay in January 2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Burma Detained NLD Lawmaker From Myanmars Chin State Wont Be Released Soon: Arakan Army U Whei Tin at the Upper House in September 2019. / Moe Moe / The Irrawaddy Yangon The Arakan Army (AA) says it will continue to detain U Whei Tin, parliamentarian for Chin States Paletwa constituency, saying the group has security concerns if he is released. The group would not offer proof he was still alive, said AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha, in response to rumors of his death. We can assure you that he is still alive and in good health. But we cant show him due to security concerns, U Khaing Thukha told The Irrawaddy. Myanmars military or Tatmadaw had also refused family members visits to Rakhine hostages, said U Khaing Thukha. Releasing information about U Whei Tin risked military attacks, he said. We have to give priority to our security. What we can promise is that U Whei Tin is in good health. There is no need to worry, said U Khaing Thukha. However, he said the AA had evidence that U Whei Tin collected military intelligence on the AA for Myanmars military. His release will incur risks for the security of our troops and Rakhine people in Paletwa. Thats why we continue to detain him, U Khaing Thukha said. The AA had not determined how long to hold U Whei Tin in custody, he added. Former Chin State electricity and industry minister Salai Issac Khin recently told The Irrawaddy that the AA lied about U Whei Tin, and the group must take full responsibility for the safety of its detainees. Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said no updates had been received about U Whei Tin. What they said is just an excuse. That they said the Tatmadaw would attack is just an excuse, he said. The spokesman also denied the AAs allegation that the ethnic Chin lawmaker spied for the military. He has no ties with us. As a lawmaker, he cant do that. The Tatmadaw didnt work with him, said Brig-Gen. Zaw Min Tun. Myanmars military was making investigations about rescuing detainees from the AA, including security personnel, civil servants and U Whei Tin, he said. Chin State lawmaker U Aung Than of Mindat Township called on the AA to prove that U Whei Tin was alive and demanded his release. We are not happy that he is still held in custody. We hoped that he would be released not so long after he was arrested, said U Aung Than. Information officer Monywa Aung Shin of the National League for Democracy (NLD) said the AAs reasons were unconvincing. Clashes will happen whether U Whei Tin is released or not. Their reasons are not rational. In fighting, gathering intelligence is normal. It doesnt make sense that his release would leak military intelligence, he said. Monywa Aung Shin warned that taking civilian hostages damaged the image of the AA as an ethnic armed group. The AA detained 10 civilians, including four Indian citizens working on the Kaladan transport project and U Whei Tin, who was traveling to Naypyitaw to attend Parliament, in Kyauktaw Township in Rakhine State on Nov. 3. The AA released them all except U Whei Tin. In late November, a parliamentary motion was approved demanding action to secure his release. Earlier U Khaing Thukha said the AA could not guarantee the safety of detainees in northern Rakhine State. In December, it blamed a Tatmadaw artillery attack for the death of the Buthidaung Township NLD chief, who died while being detained by the AA. You may also like these stories: Taang Rights Group Blames Myanmar Military for Targeting Civilians Myanmar Army Attacks Kachin Independence Army Base Bangladeshi Army Installs Barbwire Fence Along Rohingya Camps U.S., British, and Canadian officials say its highly likely that Irans military accidentally shot down a Ukrainian civilian airliner outside of Tehran early on January 8, just hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops. But Iranian authorities say it is "impossible" that a missile brought down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 shortly before dawn on January 8, killing all 176 people on board. Official Tehran's statement contradicts U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- who cited multiple intelligence sources indicating the plane was probably shot down by Iranian air defenses just minutes after it left Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport. Its a tragic thing. But somebody could have made a mistake -- on the other side, Trump said. We know this may have been unintentional, Trudeau told reporters in Canada, where more than one-third of the victims were residents. But Iranian government spokesman Ali Raberi denounced those who say the Boeing 737-800 was shot down by his country's air defenses. He said such claims are a form of psychological warfare against Iran. Iran has also criticized Kyivs announcement that a team of 45 Ukrainian investigators sent to Tehran on January 9 will investigate whether the crash was caused by a missile strike. Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Irans civil aviation agency, said on January 10 that it is scientifically impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane and that such rumors are illogical. Known, Unknown UIA Flight 752 originally was scheduled to take off from the Tehran airport at 5:15 a.m. for a flight to Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv. But its departure was delayed by one hour. Just hours earlier, Iran had launched a ballistic-missile attack on two Iraqi air bases that house U.S. forces in response to a January 3 U.S. air strike that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. When civilian air-traffic controllers in Tehran finally gave the Ukrainian airliner clearance for take off, Iranian air defenses were on high alert and bracing for potential U.S. retaliatory air strikes. According to the aviation website Flightradar24, visibility was good at the time of the planes departure. Officials from the airline say the plane had an excellent, reliable crew that was very experienced. The aircraft was only 3 1/2 years old and had its last scheduled maintenance just two days earlier, on January 6. Flight data, which is openly available online, shows that the airliner climbed at a normal rate after takeoff until it reached an altitude of 2,400 meters. Then the aircrafts data stream suddenly disappears. Experts say the Boeing 737-800 is designed to keep flying if there is engine failure. They say that in the case of engine failure, flight data also normally would show the planes climb becoming less steep. That, crash investigators say, suggests some kind of catastrophic event happened suddenly while the aircraft was in the air. The New York Times says it has confirmed the authenticity of a high-resolution video it received that purportedly shows a missile being fired at Flight 752. The New York Times reported that the person who filmed the incident did so after hearing some sort of shot fired. Investigators at the British-based open source investigative website Bellingcat say they geolocated the video footage and verified that it was shot from a residential area in Parand, a suburb to the west of Tehrans international airport. The video shows a small explosion occurring near the plane from what appears to be a projectile. The plane did not explode but was set ablaze. The aircraft continued flying briefly and had a spreading fire on it before it crashed into a fireball -- spreading debris across a wide area of open fields. An initial Iranian report said the plane was in flames before it hit the ground but did not send any distress signal. Some Iranian officials questioned Western claims, saying the plane would have exploded immediately if it had been hit by a missile. But Pentagon and senior U.S. intelligence officials, as well as an Iraqi intelligence official, say they believe Iran fired two Russian-made Tor missiles at the aircraft -- leading a satellite to detect infrared flashes from two missile launches followed by another flash of an explosion. Tor air-defense missiles do not directly hit their targets but rather are designed to explode near an aircraft and strike it with a blast of shrapnel rather than hitting a plane with a direct hit. Regardless of what caused the airliner to crash, what remains unknown for now is the kind of coordination that was in place at the time of the crash between Iranian civilian air-traffic controllers and the Iranian armed forces. It remains unclear why the Ukrainian airliners flight was put on hold for one hour, or how the flight could have been allowed to proceed without careful warnings from civil aviation authorities and Iran's military. It is not known who gave an all clear order that allowed the civilian passenger flight to take off while nearby air defenses reportedly remained on high alert so soon after Irans ballistic-missile attack on the Iraqi air bases. It also remains unclear whether civilian air-traffic controllers informed Irans military that the Ukrainian airliner was taking off. Immediately after the first Iranian investigators arrived at the crash scene, Tehran claimed that the disaster was the result of a technical malfunction. But a growing number of international experts are rejecting Tehrans claim that a missile strike was impossible. They suggest Tehran may be trying to hide embarrassing details about the disaster. Those concerns have been bolstered by photographs posted online from the scene of the crash showing a bulldozer lifting a large piece of plane wreckage. Other pictures show the crash site looking as if it had been bulldozed or grated over by officials. They also showed passersby walking around the fields where the plane crashed and scavenging things. There is no sign in the photos of investigators and the site is not cordoned off. Bellingcat investigator Giancarlo Fiorella says his organization has confirmed that the photo of the bulldozer was taken at the site of the crash of UIA Flight 752. He says the presence of such machinery at the site is disturbing because, if the airliner was shot down, the area is a potential crime scene. The U.S. television network CBS quotes Iranians at the scene of the crash as saying that authorities already have disturbed the crash site by using bulldozers to push the plane wreckage into large piles that were later removed. But the Iranian ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, said those reports are "absolutely absurd." He added that "a plane accident is a very technical issue" and that no one "can judge" what actions should be taken except for the "experts." Larry Vance, an aviation investigator who served more than two decades on Canadas Transportation Safety Board, told RFE/RL that the planes instantaneous loss of communication with officials at the airport was more indicative of an exploding bomb or missile. Vance said that if the Ukrainian airliner crashed as a result of a mechanical malfunction, as Iran claims, it would be something quite unique. Imagine what type of engine event would have to happen in order for it to disable the airplane completely, make it unflyable, Vance said. That is not an engine fire. That is more like an engine explosion. Those engines just dont do that. There is no history of them exploding like that. Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw says Iran needs to keep politics out of the crash investigation, invite international experts and investigators to determine the cause, and keep grieving families well informed. Bociurkiw is a former Ukrainian-Canadian monitor with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who was among the first international experts to reach the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in separatist-controlled territory of eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Bociurkiw says if there was any lesson from the MH17 crash and other crashes near conflict zones, it is that there is no way the Ukrainian Airliner should have been flying out of Tehran after the Iranian ballistic-missile attack a few hours earlier. But the Ukrainian airliner that crashed was not the only flight that took off from Tehran that morning, with reports that there were five others before it that had departed. Other airlines cancelled their flights two or three or four days before, knowing that the risk level was very high, Bociurkiw told the Canadian television broadcaster CBC News. That to me indicated that the risk was very high. I hope, given what has come out right now, that the Iranians will step up to the plate and open up the investigation to everyone, Bociurkiw said. These were noncombatants in that plane. These were innocent men, women, and children -- and the Iranians need to recognize that and allow very wide access, including for Canadian experts. Best Home Cook contestant Georgia Salamat has emerged as an early favourite on the BBC cooking show, winning fans both on and off the camera. Georgia, 24, a model and economics graduate from London, has impressed judges including Mary Berry with her 'incredible' dishes that landed her in the top three in the first episode last week. Last night brought more success for Georgia, the shows youngest participant, judge Chris Bavin hailing her her Persian-inspired pistachio meringue 'perfect' and Mary declaring it her favourite of the group. Best Home Cook contestant Georgia Salamat has emerged as an early favourite on the BBC cooking show, winning fans both on and off the camera. Pictured, in an Instagram snap Georgia, 24, has impressed judges including Mary Berry with her 'incredible' dishes. Pictured, Georgia on the show (left) and on holiday in Turkey in an Instagram snap from September Last night brought more success for Georgia, the shows youngest participant, judge Chris Bavin hailing her her Persian-inspired pistachio meringue, pictured, 'perfect' The praise from viewers has been similarly enthusiastic. One fan tweeted: 'Absolutely loving #Georgia on #besthomecook my favourite contestant so far. Her food looks amazing.' Another added: 'Georgia from #besthomecook gets hate for being very pretty and very good at cooking. She deserves more love.' Fans have been impressed by Georgia and have taken to Twitter to shared their praise. Pictured, some of the excitement shared after her performance last week and last night It remains to be seen whether Georgia will win the series, which sees 10 amateur chefs battle it out for the title of Britain's Best Home Cook, but her talents are undeniable. This month she starts at celebrated culinary school Le Cordon Bleu. Outside the kitchen Georgia works as a model and shares snaps of her glamorous life on Instagram, where she boasts 34,400 followers. The economics graduate (she secured a 2.1 from University College London) escaped the dreary British weather for a touch of winter sun over the festive season and shared a string of bikini-clad snaps on social media. It remains to be seen whether Georgia will win the series, which sees 10 amateur chefs battle it out for the title of Britain's Best Home Cook, but her talents are undeniable. This month she starts at celebrated culinary school Le Cordon Bleu. Pictured, Georgia in an Instagram snap Outside the kitchen Georgia works as a model and shares snaps of her glamorous life on Instagram, where she boasts 34,400 followers. Pictured, on holiday in Barbados last month Georgia spent Christmas with her family in Barbados, which she described as 'home' in one Instagram posts. Pictured, Georgia in one of the Instagram snaps shared from the holiday Georgia spent Christmas with her family in Barbados, which she described as 'home' in one Instagram posts. Elsewhere the talented 24-year-old shares photos and videos of the food she has whipped up at home, including an impressive spread of nine dishes. Recent highlights also include ceviche, which she insists is 'so easy' to make, and a vibrant Mexican salad. Elsewhere the talented 24-year-old shares photos and videos of the food she has whipped up at home, including an impressive spread of nine dishes, pictured, posted in November Back in London, Georgia shows off her style credentials with fashionable street shots, including the ones above. Right, Georgia wears labels including Off__White and Louis Vuitton WASHINGTON Confronted by persistent questions about his military action in the Middle East, President Trump and his top officials offered a string of fresh explanations Friday, with Trump now contending Iranian militants had planned major attacks on four U.S. embassies. Just hours earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the U.S. didnt know when or where attacks might occur. Trump and other officials insisted anew that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani had posed an imminent threat to the U.S., but they rebuffed repeated attempts to explain what they meant by imminent. Trump, meanwhile, announced additional sanctions against Iran, which he had promised after a barrage of missiles fired by the Islamic State against American bases in Iraq earlier this week. Those Iranian missiles, which caused no casualties, were prompted by the U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week in Baghdad. That U.S. assault set off a chain of events that may have included the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner, possibly by an Iranian missile, and calls by the Iraqi government to expel U.S. troops from their country. At the White House, Trump issued an executive order adding additional U.S. sanctions to the already long list his administration had imposed in an effort to force Iran to accept a new agreement that would curb its nuclear program and to halt support for militant groups throughout the Middle East. But Trump and others faced continuing questions over their claims of an imminent threat. Members of Congress said Pompeo and other officials did not provide sufficient detail or justification in briefings this week. Both Pompeo and Trump had said U.S. embassies were threatened. The secretary of state broadened it to include American facilities, including military bases throughout the region. This was going to happen, and American lives were at risk, he said. Trump gave a more worrisome number but still no specifics in a later comment. I can reveal that I believe it probably wouldve been four embassies, he told Fox News Friday. He spoke amid revelations by U.S. officials that the American military had tried, but failed, to kill another senior Iranian commander on the same day that Soleimani was killed. The targeting of Abdul Reza Shahlai was apparently part of an effort to cripple the leadership of Irans Quds Force, which the U.S. has designated a terror organization along with the larger Islamic Revolutionary Guard Force. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the killing of Soleimani provocative and disproportionate, and other members said they were unconvinced after a closed-door briefing on the intelligence. Ben Fox is an Associated Press writer. Irish fashion will push even more boundaries in 2020 and these are the designers that will rock the industry, writes PaulMcLauchlan. Jonathan Anderson, artistic director at JW Anderson and Loewe, added board member at the V&A Museum in London to his extensive resume. Simone Rocha, the Dublin wunderkind, opened the doors to her third global flagship store in Hong Kong. Richard Malone presented a breakthrough collection at London Fashion Week in September before dipping his toes further in the art world at the Irish Museum of Modern Arts latest exhibition, Desire. Sharon Wauchob, RIXOs Orlagh McCloskey, Richard Quinn, Natalie Coleman, and Paul Costelloe, along with the above, continue to prove themselves on a global scale. 2020 will see the 10th anniversary of CREATE at Brown Thomas, an annual showcase in the department store spotlighting a cohort of Irish makers across the disciplines of fashion, accessories, jewellery, millinery, homeware and interiors, and food. With the Irish fashion scene primed to assert its presence on the worlds stage for another year running, meet the designers preparing to take the industry by storm in 2020. Roisin Pierce From: Rathfarnham, Co Dublin. Roisin Pierce Dublins Roisin Pierce was the only Irish designer selected to showcase her work at the 34th Festival de Hyeres in the South of France in April, in collaboration with Chanels Maison Michel, a metier dart (or workshop) which specialises in millinery. She was awarded the first Metiers dart Prize at the Festival. The starting point for Pierces collection was the Magdalene Laundries, where Irish women were silently and secretly sent away for having children born out of wedlock. The collection started from learning that the women were forced to create needlework, Irish lace, baptism, smocked communion and bridal dresses for the Catholic Church to sell for profit, said Pierce. I used white broderie anglaise which is commonly associated with baptism dresses but using white was also important as it touched on the idea of purity and how the women were put to work to amend and clean for their past sins. I really focused in on the handcrafted textiles they were forced to make; the Irish lace and smocking which have been reinvigorated with new contemporary application and uses, said Pierce. Winning the prize at Hyeres has blossomed into a collaboration that will be launched in 2020s festival, a continuation from Mna i Bhlath, with the help and unlimited resources three Chanel ateliers, Verneuil, Paloma, and Maison Michel, who specialise in bags, finishings, and millinery, respectively. Sinead ODwyer From: Tullamore, Co Offaly Unlike any other womenswear designer to emerge from Ireland, Offaly born Sinead ODwyers artful approach to fashion is questioning our perception of the female body and its representation in fashion. ODwyer features inclusive casting in all her presentations, encompassing a broad range of sizes. I would love to see luxury brands making all sizes, not just the smallest ones and across the board all fashion brands, luxury and fast fashion slowing down and producing fewer collections, said ODwyer who is facilitating in the industry by marching to the beat of her own drum. Her process involves life-casting a model before pouring hot oil-based clay into the alginate and sculpture, and finally, a fiberglass mould is constructed from this. Fibreglass moulds create her silicone casts which for spring/summer 2020, presented at London Fashion Week, came in a range of bright colours. Entitled Martina, the collection was named after Martina Dolcimascolo, the woman she moulded the pieces on. I was inspired by her proportions and developed all aspects of the work with this in mind, said ODwyer. What will 2020 bring? I am working on a collaboration with choreographer Grace Nicol for a performance at the V&A for the Friday Lates in March, Im also working towards a new collection which will emerge at some point next year. Katie Ann McGuigan From: Newry, Co Down Katie Ann McGuigan At London Fashion Week, Co Downs McGuigans presentation was aglow with a panoply of bold colours, taking cues from the roller-disco scene of the early 70s America. Amongst tartan and other graphic prints, there was neon pink, candy-floss shades, icy blue, and deep teal synonymous with her punchy femininity. Given the current political climate, especially within the UK, I feel that its important to offer a light-hearted collection something that is fun and uplifting. Escapism to distract people from the worries and woes that we are all forced to endure on a daily basis, she said. Of course, McGuigan is mindful of the world around her. In an attempt to reduce her carbon footprint, she hand-dyed and screen-printed tie-dye hoodies in her Brixton studio, meanwhile lace-up boots were made in East London. Not only do I feel that its vital to support other creatives and small businesses, but I also hope that Im building a community as well as simultaneously decreasing my brands carbon footprint, said McGuigan. In 2019, she was one of the centrepieces of Brown Thomas CREATE showcase with Fashion Director Shelly Corkery praising her international appeal. Straddling the lines between harsh and soft, McGuigan is drawn to leather and organza. Organza dresses, floaty and ultra-feminine, are counterbalanced by leather jackets colour-blocked in candy-floss shades. Rory Parnell-Mooney From: Galway, Co Galway Rory Parnell-Mooney Ireland counts few menswear designers but Galway-born Rory Parnell-Mooney was one of the first in the modern age to emerge. While Ireland boasts a range of independent suit-makers, there arent many with the forward-thinking, artistic approach of this bright spark. His spring/summer 2020 collection, presented as a lookbook rather than a formal runway presentation, was influenced by Cruising (the 1980 film starring Al Pacino), John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. I find the performance of masculinity interesting, the idea that maleness is something that can be put on and taken off. In Cruising, Al Pacino is straight but undercover as a gay man in New York to catch a serial killer targeting gay men. So its this weird performance of a straight man pretending to be gay but also preforming this straight-acting gay stereotype. The style culture Parnell-Mooney refers to characterised by an appearance-aware perfection, manifesting itself in sharp lines (blue denim and black faux leather with 90s-inspired branding; cotton jerseys with drawstring details) and a slick polish. Im thinking about something small in terms of a show in June for S/S21. Honestly, it feels really nice to think about the future now, said Parnell-Mooney, who spent years off the official schedule. I think when I thought about future seasons when I was doing shows I looked forward with a bit of dread thinking of all of the work, Im looking forward now thinking about all of these new ideas I can explore in my own time, no pressure, just exploring. By IANS NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday turned down a plea seeking shifting of CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh area to some other place and removal of barricades and blockage in order to ease traffic movement in the connected area including DND flyway. A division bench of the court presided by Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C. Harishankar dismissed the plea filed by IGNOU student Tushar Sachdev. "Lakhs of people are suffering and it is also a issue for people in emergency. The protesters have put barricades and heavy stones on the side of the roads and are not even allowing pedestrians to pass. The protesters have also damaged the dividers and other public properties causing loss to the government exchequer," the plea said. A recall election will be held May 2 in Leon Valley to determine whether two City Council members should be removed from office after they voted last summer to oust a council colleague after a long, arduous public hearing that continued off and on for weeks. City Secretary Saundra Passailaigue told the council this week that of the more than 1,600 total signatures appearing on petitions to remove City Councilors Donna Charles and Monica Alcocer, 518 targeting Charles and 512 supporting Alcocers removal were valid. The minimum number of valid signatures needed to trigger a recall under the city charter is 500. An additional 250 signatures on Charles petition and 256 on Alcocers were left unchecked once the required numbers were determined to be valid, Passailaigue said. On ExpressNews.com: Leon Valley councilman removed from office The council will call for a recall election at its next regular meeting, Jan. 21, City Manager Kelly Kuenstler said Thursday. She did not know whether Charles or Alcocer would request a public hearing to provide up to 30 minutes of rebuttal to the petitions, as allowed by the charter. The petitions center primarily on last years hearing that resulted in the removal of City Councilor Benny Martinez. Theres specific verbiage in the charter as to what the recall will say, Kuenstler said. They actually get an opportunity to give a response. Charles, elected in May, and Alcocer, who is in her third term, have until Tuesday to decide whether to request a hearing, to be held as early as March 21 and no later than April 5, before early voting begins April 20. Such a hearing would be held as a special council meeting. Although the charter does not provide for public comment at the meeting, a new state law would require that a citizen comment period be included, Kuenstler said. Under the charter, a recall election must be held on the next available uniform election date unless the person targeted for recall resigns. Neither Charles nor Alcocer had any comment Thursday on the recall efforts. Petitioners in the Northwest Side suburb have been upset that Charles and Alcocer voted to remove Martinez from the council at the end of a hearing that spanned eight nights over six weeks. The proceeding focused on whether Martinez should forfeit his seat because of numerous city staff complaints alleging abuse of power. Martinez lost his seat in a 2-1 vote Aug. 14, when Charles and Alcocer found that he had violated the charter multiple times, interjecting himself in police procedures, giving inappropriate orders to city employees and undermining the city managers authority. Councilor Will Bradshaw disagreed and was the lone no vote on removal. Joshua Stevens, a business owner and one of the recall petitioners, said many residents have felt that the hearing, held under Section 3.12 of Leon Valleys 3-year-old charter, undermined the will of residents who first elected Martinez to the council in 2014. Critics have argued that, if anything, a recall election process should have been used to remove Martinez from office. On ExpressNews.com: Recall effort under way in Leon Valley Residents were also disappointed that neither Charles nor Alcocer supported multiple attempts by Bradshaw to let citizens speak during Martinezs hearing, Stevens said. If theyd done this in a more democratic style, this recall might not be happening, he said. I believe a lot of citizens are on board for wanting a systemic change. I see it optimistically. Residents also are expected to cast votes for mayor and two council seats in the May election, as well as a slate of proposed charter amendments. If the recall efforts succeed, remaining council members would appoint replacements for Charles and Alcocer under the charter. 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 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - Para Resources Inc. (TSXV: PBR) (WKN: A14YF1) (OTC: PRSRF) (the "Company" or "Para") is pleased to announce that Colombia Milling Ltd. ("CML") a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company has entered into a binding letter of intent (the "Agreement") with Mineros, S.A. ("Mineros") to acquire 100% of the shares of Operadora Mineras S.A.S. ("Operadora") for US$5.5 million in cash. Photo - El Bagre Plant (El Bagre, Antioquia, Colombia) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3819/51318_fec1c57664b1caf5_001full.jpg The purchase of Operadora includes the shares and assets (including mineral properties and all mining assets), mining and environmental permits, exploration equipment, data, inventory, and administrative assets, including the El Bagre Operation and the Nechi Gold Project. The El Bagre Operation includes the La Ye and Los Mangos operating underground gold mines and the Cordero gold project located in the municipality of Zaragoza, Antioquia, Colombia. The Nechie Gold Project includes the El Catorce, Santa Elena, and Santa Maria gold exploration projects located in Bajo Cauca Antioqueno in Antioquia. The terms of the Agreement call for a two-phase purchase, starting at closing for the transfer of 60% of Operadora's shares, and the remaining 40% when the necessary permits are in place for the construction of Cordero, an additional mine portal for the El Bagre Operation. The Agreement has a 60 day period for the signing of a definitive agreement of the sale, at which time Para will take operational control of the operations. Geoff Hampson, Para's CEO, stated, "The purchase of Operadora is a strategic purchase for Para Resources with the operating gold project of El Bagre. The purchase creates a significant contiguous concession package in Colombia, including our Zara Concessions and El Limon projects. In addition to an operating gold mine and plant, the purchase will incorporate a veteran team of operators, engineers, and geologists, and exploration equipment that creates an important center of gravity for the exploration and development of all our assets in Colombia." The Company will, in due course, provide an additional update with technical information on the project and transaction. The acquisition of Operadora is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. ABOUT PARA RESOURCES: Para Resources Inc. ("Para") is a junior gold mining and exploration company. The Company owns two projects that both include existing or near-term mining and milling operations as well as highly prospective exploration properties. The Company has acquired fully permitted mines and facilities with adjacent properties that have either been past producers or where there are an abundance of small artisanal miners, dramatically reducing the exploration risk. Para is unique in that the Insiders have invested more than US $30 million of their own capital and own approximately 70% of the Company's equity. Para's management team is seasoned and proven, having discovered, built, managed and sold several different mines over the last 40 years. The Company has two major projects: The Gold Road Mine in Arizona, USA and the El Limon Mine in Zaragoza, Colombia. ABOUT MINEROS: For more than 45 years, Mineros S.A., a Colombian company, has worked with the commitment to implement sustainable mineral exploitation processes that contribute to the protection of the environment and diversity, the well-being of all its stakeholders and the economic and social growth of the regions in which it is present. Today, these practices make Mineros an important industry benchmark. For more information: www.mineros.com.co On behalf of the Board of Directors "C. Geoffrey Hampson" C. Geoffrey Hampson, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director For further information, please contact Andrea Laird, telephone: +1-604-259-0302 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51318 (GETTY) Investment scams involving cannabis are on the rise as fraudsters exploit hype around new products like edibles and vapes hitting the market in Canada, according to Albertas securities watchdog. For a second year in a row, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) highlighted cannabis among the investment categories being exploited by scammers. Other themes cited by the regulator include crypto currency and foreign exchange. Cannabis is one of the industries most commonly used by scam runners, ASC director of communications and investor education, Alison Trollope, told Yahoo Finance Canada on Thursday. There have been increasing incidents. The ASC did not release details regarding the extent of the increase, past or current investigations, and the number of investors impacted. Trollope said most scams originate online, and many ask investors to send money overseas, where the funds are virtually impossible to recover. Essentially all of these scams will have promises of high rates of return with low or no risk. They will promise you the sky and also indicate that there is some kind of time factor involved, like You must get in now, Trollope said. Old scams are often rebranded with the latest high-flying tends like cannabis, crypto, and other flashy investment themes that appeal to retail investors. Trollope said the ASC first noticed cannabis-based scams around the time of recreational legalization in the fall of 2018. It had that first wave. I think what we are seeing is now a second wave, she said. Cannabis is now a bit more in the headlines. So it sounds like something new and interesting to the consumer. Those who have been burned are often reluctant to come forward. The ASC estimates only one-in-10 victims of fraud disclose the situation to regulators, denying them critical information to investigate perpetrators and protect the public. A lot of times people are embarrassed. Or they think, I only lost a small amount of money. Whatever that small amount of money is to them, whether it's $500 or $5,000, they think, 'Well, lesson learned, Trollope said. Story continues No one is immune to investment scams. We've had people who were very sophisticated investors that still fell victim. Trollope said parties offering securities generally have to be registered with provincial securities regulators in Canada, and its important that investors check for that registration before buying. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. By IANS NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has virtually issued an ultimatum to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar Mamidala to defuse the long-standing face-off between the varsity administration that led to a section of students to indulge in violence in the campus on January 5. The development comes amid growing perception that the VC has failed to communicate the decision of service and utility charges waiver announced by the MHRD in December last year. The verbal warning came during a recent meeting between the JNU administration and the MHRD officials when the administration informed officials that the Service and Utility charges were actually waived-off for students and were to be paid by the University Grants Commission (UGC). ALSO READ | JNU impasse: MHRD panel to hold fresh talks before submitting report However, the administration had not communicated the point to the students and media effectively which led to the face-off between a section of students and the administration. A senior official from MHRD had reportedly told the Vice-Chancellor during the said meeting, "If you have made sure that students were to not pay the Service and Utility charges, then why was it not advertised properly? "The move must have been promoted appropriately to make sure students knew it," highly placed sources in MHRD said. Amid an outrage by students over a proposed fee hike, the HRD Ministry had intervened last month and formed a three-member committee to resolve the stand-off. ALSO READ | 'Tukde-Tukde' gang not out to divide country but break BJP: Former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar According to the formula decided on December 11th, the utility and service charges were supposed to be borne by the UGC and not the students, who had to only pay the room rent. The administration of the university was told to follow the formula, and was supposed to not include service and utility charges in the registration process for winter semester. Although the charges were waived off, the administration had failed to explain the point to the students, leading to tensions on campus. Following, Thursday afternoon's meeting, the administration issued a circular informing students and media about the waiver. Mamidala along with the HRD ministry is under huge pressure after veteran BJP leader MM Joshi added his voice to all those asking for the VC's removal following a spate of unprecedented violence at the varsity campus and outside during protests over several issues raised by the students. By Trend Some 831 Azerbaijani citizens voluntarily returned from Europe to Azerbaijan in 2019, Trend reports on Jan. 9 referring to International Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM rendered assistance to 831 Azerbaijani citizens as part of assistance programs on the voluntary return and reintegration in the country of origin. According to the report, 460 people voluntarily returned from Germany, 264 people from the Netherlands, 27 people from Latvia, 16 people from Turkey, 13 people from Austria, 10 people from Georgia, nine people from Belgium, eight people from Lithuania, seven people from Poland, six people from Switzerland, four people from Hungary, three people from Finland, two people from Ireland, one person from the Czech Republic and one person from Bosnia and Herzegovina. A special NIA court on Friday remanded RTI activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, arrested under the stringent UAPA following his participation in protests against the amended Citizenship Act last month, to 14 days of judicial custody once again. Gogoi, the chief adviser of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), had been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody on December 26 by the NIA court. "The judge has sent him to 14 days of judicial custody again," Gogoi's advocate Santanu Borthakur told PTI. The RTI activist was instrumental in mobilising protests across several districts in upper Assam against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act. He was arrested in Jorhat on December 12 when the protests over the CAA was rocking Assam. He was later handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which booked him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. While he was taken inside the court, Gogoi shouted 'Jai Aai Asom' (Hail Mother Assam). "I congratulate all the people of Assam for carrying forward the agitation. It must continue to fulfill the defined objective. All people must have a united fight against the CAA and it has to be repealed," he told the media. Noted litterateur, educationist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Hiren Gohain and BJP leader turned anti-CAA activist Mira Borthakur met Gogoi in the courtroom. Later talking to journalists outside the court, Gohain said, "This is a fabricated case. Police does many things to suppress the voice of protest. They had even filed a sedition case against me." Gohain asserted that the RTI activist has been a bright student and used to study various books, including those on world leaders such as Mao Zedong. "Even I have read Mao. Reading Mao does not make one Maoist. We have to make a united fight for the release of all the persons arrested for the anti-CAA movement," he added. Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass recently termed the KMSS led by Gogoi as an "overground Maoist organisation" as books on Maoist ideology were found in its Guwahati office. Borthakur claimed that Gogoi is going through "immense mental stress and is very unhappy". The NIA had approached the Gauhati High Court on Monday seeking the custody of Gogoi again. The case will come up for hearing on February 3. On December 17, Gogoi was sent to NIA custody for 10 days, after which he was taken to Delhi. However, the court was not informed about it and the judge had pulled up the anti-terror agency for that. KMSS General Secretary Dhairjya Konwar and its students' wing Satra Mukti Sangram Samiti president Bittu Sonowal are also in NIA custody after the agency took over their cases from the state police. Various organisations such as the Congress, All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) have been demanding immediate release of Gogoi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hong Kong: Anthem bill debate to resume The Government today said the drafting of the National Anthem Bill had undergone stringent procedures during which views from various sectors were gauged and adopted, adding that it will introduce the bill to the Legislative Council for resuming the second reading debate at an appropriate time. In a statement responding to media enquiries, it reiterated that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has the constitutional responsibility to implement the National Anthem Law locally. In implementing the National Anthem Law by local legislation, the Government has given full consideration to Hong Kong's common law system and actual circumstances. The main spirit of the National Anthem Bill is "respect", which bears absolutely no relation to "restricting freedom of speech" as claimed by certain members of the community and is definitely not a so-called "evil law". The statement also noted the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress adopted the decision to add the National Anthem Law to Annex III to the Basic Law on November 4, 2017. In accordance with Article 18 of the Basic Law, the national laws listed in Annex III to the Basic Law shall be applied locally by way of promulgation or legislation by the Hong Kong SAR. It is thus the constitutional responsibility of the Hong Kong SAR Government to implement the National Anthem Law locally. Having regard to Hong Kong's common law system and the actual circumstances in Hong Kong, the SAR Government decided to implement the National Anthem Law in Hong Kong by local legislation. This approach fully reflects the spirit of one country, two systems. The Government said the legislative principle of the National Anthem Bill is clear, i.e. to fully reflect the legislative purpose and intent of the National Anthem Law, which is to preserve the dignity of the national anthem so that members of the community will respect the national anthem, whilst taking into account Hong Kong's common law system and actual circumstances. During the drafting of the bill, the Government consulted the LegCo Panel on Constitutional Affairs and attended two special panel meetings lasting for a total of 15 hours, during which it listened to the views from 190 members of the public and representatives of various organisations. The Government also met different political parties, professional groups, representatives from the legal sector and academia to listen to and adopt their views. The bill was introduced to LegCo last January for the first and second reading. The relevant Bills Committee has subsequently convened 17 meetings and used over 50 hours to scrutinise the bill in a clause-by-clause manner. Members of the public were invited to express their views at one of these meetings. In the process, the Government listened attentively to the views of members of the Bills Committee and the public. This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. WASHINGTON The White House is considering dramatically expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration by President Trump, according to six people familiar with the deliberations. A document outlining the plans timed to coincide with the third anniversary of Trumps January 2017 executive order has been circulating the White House. But the countries that would be affected are blacked out, according to two of the people, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Its unclear exactly how many countries would be included in the expansion, but two of the people said seven countries a majority of them Muslim would be added to the list. The most recent iteration of the ban includes restrictions on five majority-Muslim nations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as Venezuela and North Korea. A different person said the expansion could focus on several countries that were included when Trump announced the first version of the ban but later removed amid rounds of contentious litigation. Iraq, Sudan and Chad, for instance, had originally been affected by the order, which the Supreme Court upheld in a 5-4 vote after the administration released a watered-down version intended to withstand legal scrutiny. Trump later criticized his Justice Department for the changes. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the effort. Trumps original order sparked an uproar when it was announced on Jan. 27, 2017, with massive protests across the nation and chaos at airports where passengers were detained. Trump ran his 2016 campaign promising to crack down on illegal immigration and spent much of his first term fighting lawsuits trying to halt his push to build a wall along the southern border, prohibit the entry of citizens from several majority-Muslim countries and crack down on migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., amid other measures. He is expected to press those efforts again this year as he ramps up his re-election campaign. Just this week, a coalition of leading civil rights organizations urged House leaders to take up the No Ban Act, legislation to end Trumps travel ban and prevent a new one. Jonathan Lemire, Lisa Mascaro and Jill Colvin are Associated Press writers. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram On December 17, 2019, authorities at Abu Dhabi International Airport denied entry to Stevan Dojcinovic, a Serbian national and editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative news outlet, according to Dojcinovic, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and news reports. Authorities took Dojcinovic to a police station within the airport where they photographed him and took his fingerprints and passport, and said he was on a blacklist and could not enter the country, Dojcinovic told CPJ. Dojcinovic said that the officers told him the Emirati government was not responsible for the blacklist, but would not provide further details about it. He was in the airport for about twelve hours before he was put on a flight back to Serbia, he said. Dojcinovic was scheduled to speak at an international anti-corruption conference organized by the United Nations, according to a report by his employer. CPJ emailed the Emirati Ministry of Interior and its embassy in Berlin for comment, but did not receive any replies. In 2015, Dojcinovic was detained and denied entry to Moscow, where authorities also said he was on a blacklist, he told CPJ. Briefing journalists in Abakaliki, the State Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Barr Orji Uchenna Orji said that the payment of the Minimum Wage was in consonance with the agreement reached by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the State government. According to him, the payment of the Minimum Wage to workers was in line with the Governor's promise of improving the welfare and standard of living of workers at all levels. The Commissioner further noted that apart from the payment of the National Minimum Wage which commenced today (yesterday), all public office holders have so far received their salaries. "I wish to use this medium to inform the general public of the payment of Minimum wage by the State government. The government has again kept it's promise of paying minimum wage in the country. The first to pay in the Southeast geopolitical zone. "He has not reneged in his responsibility. The government negotiated with NLC and consensus was reached. He has paid the 13 LGA and State workers. In addition to the 13 month, he paid the minimum wage. He has the welfare of workers at heart. It will spur them to work better. He is taking the lead." Orji also added that the State government has begun the inumeration of all unemployed Ebonyi citizens in order to make them self reliant. Ends DENVER Two coal-fired power plants and a coal mine in Colorado and New Mexico will close, the utility Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced Thursday. Tri-State, which serves 43 electric associations in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nebraska, announced the closures as part of its Responsible Energy Plan, the Denver Post reports. The utility plans to close the Escalante Station in New Mexico by the end of this year. It said it will close two units at the Craig Station plant in Craig, Colorado, and its operation at the Colowyo Mine in northwest Colorado by 2030. The closures will affect about 600 employees and Tri-State plans to work with state and local officials to support them and their communities, the utility said. Tri-State has come under pressure from its members and renewable energy advocates for its reliance on coal. The company shut down its coal plant in Nucla, Colorado, last year ahead of its original closure target in 2022. It previously said it would close one unit of its Craig plant by the end of 2025. Serving our members clean energy and affordability needs, supporting state requirements and goals, and leading the fundamental changes in our industry require the retirement of our coal facilities in Colorado and New Mexico, Tri-State Chairman Rick Gordon said. Colorados Democratic Gov. Jared Polis lauded the decision during his state of the state speech Thursday. Tri-State and its members announced that they will be replacing their remaining coal power in the state with thousands of megawatts of cheaper and cleaner renewable energy sources by 2030, resulting in a 90% reduction in the utilities in-state greenhouse gas emissions, Polis said. The Colorado Mining Association believes closing the coal facilities will hurt electricity customers in the state and the communities that have built economies around the industry. The lower costs afforded by plants such as Craig Station currently help to balance the increased costs of adding renewable energy and transmission to the system, the association said in a statement. In New Mexico, news of the planned closure of the Escalante Station came with little warning. State and local officials said they were concerned about the economic impacts the closure will have, especially in a rural region where jobs are scarce. A community meeting was planned for next week so officials could get a better handle on how many workers would be affected and what options Prewitt and the surrounding communities have for replacing the lost jobs. We have to do everything in our power to help the workers and communities affected by this closure, said Bill McCamley, head of New Mexicos Department of Workforce Solutions. New Mexico last year adopted its own renewable energy mandates that call for utilities to be emissions-free by 2045. The law also aims to ease the economic pains of closing the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington by providing $40 million in aid to the workforce attached to that plant and local economy. As we make the urgent and necessary transition away from coal, there are very real, immediate economic effects of Escalantes closing to the surrounding pueblos, tribes and counties, said Camilla Feibelman, director of the Sierra Clubs Rio Grande Chapter. We are calling on Tri-State to support the impacted communities, who have committed decades to keeping our lights on. Tri-State said Escalante employees will receive a severance package, the opportunity to apply for vacancies at other Tri-State facilities, assistance with education and financial planning and supplemental funding for health benefits. Tri-State will also provide $5 million in local community support. Why has the news media been so enamored with the Iranian terrorist Soleimani? Holly Williams of CBS called him inspiring, revered and a military genius. The New Yorker Magazine went gaga describing him as the former body-builder with snowy-white hair and a dapper beard. Others like Ryan Cooper lavished syrupy praise on the deadly bully while declaring George Bush, Dick Cheney and General Petreaus blood-drenched warmongers. Given all that convoluted fawning, its no surprise to see Martha Raddatz in Tehran ominously warning America of retaliations while wailing Iranians were panning to the ABC cameras. Iran is a totalitarian dictatorship full of people who have been chanting Death to America for 40 years. They force their people into the streets to protest America but then shoot their people when the Mullahs dont like what else they protest. Raddatzs gullibility is no different than CNN reporter Jim Acosta in 2018 claiming the mass of humanity attempting to illegally cross our southern border represented no danger only a week later to have hundreds of males from that caravan storm the border, throwing rocks and being repelled by tear gas. See a pattern there by the news media? Also consider some of the Democrats reactions to Soleimani. Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted about what she called the assassination of a foreign official. In 1984 Iran was officially designated by the U.S. government as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. But of course Omar wouldnt be expected to know that being an immigrant and only three years old in 1984. But isnt she a member of Congress? Later the State Department identified Qud, the militant force headed by Soleimani, to be a terrorist organization. Omars pal, Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib tweeted Trump was trying to start a war. Remember the left used to say we started wars to control oil? Wake up Democrats, we are no longer dependent on Middle Eastern oil, no thanks to Barrack Obama, Joe Biden or Tom Steyer. So its not about their oil. Its about the War on Terror and attacks on Americans. Trump is not trying to start a war. Again these Democrats let their made up facts get in the way of the truth. Some may see this as still another article of impeachment they can withhold instead of the War on Terror which Democrats dont like to talk about. What they do like talking about is portraying Trump as the villain. Now instead of turning over the impeachment articles to the Senate, Nancy Pelosi wants to limit the presidents ability to battle terrorists, Americas enemies. But their political maneuvering could turn the bloodthirsty Soleimani into some kind of martyr. So what should we expect next from the Democrats? Will Speaker Pelosi invite Soleimanis family to be their guests in the Congressional Gallery at the State of the Union Speech? Ralph Miller * * * Thank you, Ralph Miller, for speaking the truth. And may I also add the fact that back on Dec. 22, 2011, a federal district court in Manhattan entered a ruling that revealed facts about Irans support of al Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks. U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels ruled that Iran and Hezbollah materially and directly supported al Qaeda in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and are legally responsible for damages. The recently deceased terrorist (General Soleimani) was and has been a major influence in Irans military since before the 9/11 attacks. He did in fact lead an unconventional war against the U.S. called Shaitan dar Atash (Satan in Flames) He should have been taken out years ago. James A Bolt Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 01:46:23|Editor: yhy Video Player Close United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C, front) addresses a Security Council open debate on the topic of "maintenance of international peace and security upholding the UN Charter" at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 9, 2020. The United Nations Security Council on Thursday adopted a presidential statement urging all member states to fully comply with the UN Charter while recognizing the critical importance of the Charter to the maintenance of international peace and security. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council on Thursday adopted a presidential statement urging all member states to fully comply with the UN Charter while recognizing the critical importance of the Charter to the maintenance of international peace and security. "The Security Council calls on member states to fully comply with the Charter of the United Nations. In this regard, the Council calls on all member states to promote and uphold the Charter, including through raising public awareness of the Charter and the importance of compliance with the Charter in the maintenance of international peace and security," said the statement adopted at a ministerial-level open debate on the topic of "maintenance of international peace and security upholding the UN Charter." "The Council also stresses the need for enhanced inclusive dialogue in the interest of all member states to share different experiences, national best practices and lessons learned in implementing their obligations under the Charter," the statement said. The council stressed the importance of commitment to the Charter "on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations," adding that "the Council reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations." "The Security Council reaffirms its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security under the Charter of the United Nations, and in this context, underscores the need for all states and international and regional organizations and others to have respect for the Charter," according to the statement. "The Council encourages the United Nations Secretary-General to continue his efforts to assist member states and regional organizations in upholding the Charter," the statement noted. The council also underlined the importance of the role of regional and sub-regional organizations and arrangements and of cooperation with them and stressed its determination in upholding the UN Charter in all of its activities. BOSTON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The China Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CHN) (the "Fund") announced today that the Fund's annual stockholder meeting (the "Meeting") will be held Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 9:00 AM at the offices of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP at 101 Park Ave, New York, NY. Stockholders of record as of January 10, 2020 will be entitled to notice of, and to attend and vote at, the Meeting. The Fund is a closed-end management investment company with the objective of seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities (i) of companies for which the principal securities trading market is the People's Republic of China ("China"), or (ii) of companies for which the principal securities trading market is outside of China, or constituting direct equity investments in companies organized outside of China, that in both cases derive at least 50% of their revenues from goods and services sold or produced, or have at least 50% of their assets, in China. Shares of the Fund are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CHN." For further information regarding the Fund and the Fund's holdings, please call (888)-CHN-CALL or visit the Fund's website at www.chinafundinc.com. SOURCE The China Fund, Inc. Related Links http://www.chinafundinc.com SARATOGA SPRINGS - When she died last summer, socialite, philanthropist and horse-racing enthusiast Marylou Whitney left $17,200,000 to her children, homes to two employees and the rest of her vast fortune to her husband, John Hendrickson, according to a copy of her will filed last month in surrogates court.11 Related: Marylou Whitney's widower puts staggering price tag on Adirondack estate The will, written two years ago in Lexington, Ky., and filed Dec. 12 in Ballston Spa, comes with an admonishment to her heirs that warns they risk the loss of their inheritances if they contest her will. "I have given a great deal of thought to the division of my property at my death," Whitney wrote in the will. "... I do not want any of those persons or entities named herein to contest the distribution being made to them or others, or in any way challenge my decision." Whitney left $10 million to her youngest daughter, Cornelia Whitney Tobey, the only child she had during her marriage to the late Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney. She left another $5 million to her daughter, Heather Ann Mabee, her youngest child with her first husband, John Deere heir Frank Hosford. Her other three children with Hosford, Henry Deere Hosford, Frank Hobbs Hosford, and Marion Louise Llewellyn, received $1 million, $1 million and $200,000, respectively. Whitney took care of two long-term employees who lived in homes that adjoin her historic mansion, Cady Hill, on Geyser Road. Karrie Steuer was given 20 Geyser Road and Deana Signor inherited 14 Geyser Road. Like the rest of the Cady Hill compound, the homes are secluded by trees. The remainder of Whitney's money, property and other holdings - including Cady Hill, a home in Kentucky and 36,000 acres in the Adirondacks, were left to Hendrickson, who was also named the executor of the will. I would give everything back for one more quality day with her, said Hendrickson who was married to Whitney for 22 years. I would give my life, freely, willingly for one more great day." He said none of the five children are contesting the will and all, as court papers show, have consented to Hendrickson as the executor. Hendrickson said he believes Whitney tried to divide the money between her children while taking into account money they were given over the years. There is no animosity, Hendrickson said. No one is complaining ... she loved her children. They are her blood. She has always taken care of them. They all miss their mother. We are all grieving." Hendrickson took note that the will bequeathed homes to Steuer and Signor, both longtime staff members at Cady Hill. These are people who worked for her for many years and were devoted to her, Hendrickson said. Earlier: Saratoga socialite, philanthropist MaryLou Whitney dies at 93 Marylou Whitney, a deserving Hall of Famer Whitney was 93 years old when she died on July 19. She died at Cady Hill, the family estate not far from the Route 50 entrance to the Avenue of Pines at the Saratoga Spa State Park, after a brief stay in the Saratoga Hospital. Whitney was a fixture in Saratoga Springs, for years hosting a summer party that was a high point of the racing season. She donated money to institutions around the community and in the 1990s, she sold more than 14,000 acres in the Adirondack Mountains to the state for $17 million. Her imprint in the community extended far beyond the world of racing, which she helped preserve in Saratoga Springs with her second husband Whitney, and included generous support for the Saratoga Hospital, contributions to the founding of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in 1966 and donating time and money to the track's backstretch workers. Currently, $1.3 million of Whitney's money is going toward renovating the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Her first marriage, to Hosford, ended in divorce. Sonny Whitney, whom she wed in 1958, died in 1992 at age 93. When he died, Whitney left her a fortune estimated at $100 million. Hendrickson would not comment on what her estate is worth now. She married Hendrickson, then a top aide to the governor of Alaska, in 1997, and the two became fixtures in Saratoga. Whitney came from humble beginnings in Kansas City, where she was born Marie Louise Schroeder on Christmas Eve 1925. She attended the University of Iowa and began working as an actress, with appearances on radio, movies and television. It was at her insistence that Saratoga Springs become her home following her wedding to Whitney. He had been planning to sell Cady Hill, one of his nine residences, but she fell in love with the property on first sight. And while she described the city as a "ghost town" in 1958, she was widely recognized for her role in city's revival. Hendrickson said Whitney never discussed her will or her final wishes with him. However, he said he knew what she was passionate about especially the backstretch workers at the Saratoga Race Course. With that in mind, Hendrickson, in coordination with Saratoga Hospital, will auction off some of her belongings to build a health clinic on the backstretch. Right now, the clinic is housed in a trailer. The online auction, set to happen in the runup to the Whitney Stakes in August, will include one of Whitneys cars as well as her jewelry, hats, gowns and other items. She would want this to benefit something greater than herself, Hendrickson said. Im trying to do my best to honor what she would want me to do. There is an old Spanish saying, If you go to bed with someone you wake up with the same dreams,' Hendrickson said. I think whatever she wanted to do, I was fine with that. My job was only to honor what she wanted to do. CLEVELAND, Ohio More new apartment construction may soon come to Euclid Avenue, where two high-rise towers have recently filled in gaps among downtown Clevelands rehabilitated historic buildings. Michigan-based apartment developer City Club Apartments has submitted plans to the city to build a 23-story mixed-use building on what is now a parking lot at 720 Euclid Ave., next to the City Club of Cleveland. The project will be presented for early-stage approval to the downtown/Flats design-review committee, an advisory body to Cleveland City Planning Commission, on Thursday, according to an agenda released this week (scroll to the bottom of the page to see the agenda, with project renderings). The project is then slated to be in front of the planning commission next Friday. The tower would rise atop a half-acre parcel on Euclid, which is currently part of a nearly 2-acre site that also includes a parking garage and a surface parking lot on Prospect Avenue. The site is owned by local real-estate investor David Goldberg and his family, Goldberg confirmed Friday. The deal with City Club Apartments would include only the half-acre development site on Euclid. Goldbergs family has owned the site since 2002, according to Cuyahoga County property records. He told The Plain Dealer the family had been waiting for the right time to seek out a developer. [The site has] been available, and I think we just needed to wait until the city of Cleveland was really ready for new development. As you can see, most of the projects downtown until the last couple of years have been existing historic rehabilitations, and now were entering a new phase, he said, noting construction of the Beacon apartment tower on the 500 block of Euclid, and the soon-to-be-complete Lumen project in Playhouse Square. Its been a pleasurable experience working with City Club Apartments and we have every confidence they will develop a great project for the city and downtown Cleveland, Goldberg said. Goldberg declined to discuss a potential sale price. He noted that a land lease, rather than a sale, is also a possibility. Jonathan Holtzman, co-founder and CEO of City Club Apartments, noted in a statement that CCA was previously involved in developing, owning and managing apartments in Cleveland in the 1990s. We are impressed with downtown Cleveland, its leadership and all of the great things that have been taking place over the last several years, he said. We are looking forward to presenting our plans to the city next week and working through the appropriate processes. We will share additional details about the mixed-use community when the time is right. A Vocon representative declined to comment on the project at this time. According to the plans submitted to the city, the project would include first- and second-floor retail, topped by apartments ranging from studio to three-bedroom units. Site plans show an amenity space on the top floor. City Club Apartments has developed projects across the region, including in Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and in several parts of Michigan. Click here to see the downtown/Flats design-review agenda, with project renderings: tinyurl.com/qnz6f2k. Embed code: The body of missing firefighter Anthony Knott was found by police this morning, three weeks after he mysteriously disappeared. A member of the public alerted police at 9.41am to the body of a man in the water at Denton Island. The 33-year-old father-of-four, from Orpington, Kent, vanished on December 20 after going to the Lamb pub in Lewes, East Sussex, with friends. The dead body of missing firefighter Anthony Knott has been found by police. A member of the public alerted police at 9.41am on this morning to the body of a man in the water at Denton Island He left The Lamb in Fisher Street at around 7.16pm and was captured on CCTV approximately half an hour later walking nearby. Detective Inspector Mark Rosser said: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Anthony at this difficult time. 'We too are saddened by this update and would ask the public and media to respect the family's privacy at this time. 'We would like to thank the public for their tremendous support with our investigation into the disappearance of Anthony, along with our partner agencies and volunteers who assisted with the search.' Police carried out extensive searches on foot and in the River Ouse for 12 days, but called them off on January 1. Lucy Otto and her fiance Anthony Knott, a 33-year-old father-of-four from Orpington in Kent Mr Knott had been on a work night out with 12 fellow London firefighters, and police said there was nothing to suggest he had left the town. Speaking last week, his fiancee Lucy Otto told Sky News: 'I just feel numb... it's very strange. It's the not knowing, it's terrible. I don't understand how someone can just walk out a pub and disappear. 'There's no eyewitness statements, there's not much CCTV, there's nothing really to go on. And to be gone for this long, I just don't get it, I just do not understand it. Mr Knott was seen walking along Market Street towards The Lamb at 7.41pm on December 20 Searches of the River Ouse in Lewes for missing firefighter Mr Knott on December 23 'I know the weather was really bad that day and there was bad flooding, I don't know if he's tried to come home and come across some water and hurt himself. But there's been search and rescue teams looking for him.' She added that they had been 'really excited' for Christmas and had been looking forward to 'fun, family time'. She called for anyone in the vicinity of the pub to contact police with any details they can remember. In a direct message to her fiance, she added: 'If... you're worried and you're thinking, 'Oh I can't come home, this is too big now', honestly, you don't realise how many people want you back regardless of the situation you left in - if that is the case. So just come home, please just come home.' London Fire Brigade Commissioner Andy Roe, said: 'I'm saddened to hear the news about Firefighter Anthony Knott. All our thoughts remain with his family, friends and colleagues. This is understandably extremely difficult for Firefighter Knott's family and I ask that we all respect their privacy.' According to Pews data more than half (62%) of Americans believe businesses and the government is tracking their actions daily, and about three-quarters (79%) are concerned about how their personal data is used by both businesses and the government. Many also report feeling powerless as to how their personal data is used and most (79%) say they are not confident that data collection companies and others would admit if data was misused. Some Americans also admit they struggle to understand the privacy laws that govern use of their data. Roughly six-in-ten Americans (63%) say they have very little or no understanding of the laws and regulations that are currently in place to protect their privacy. Only 3% of adults say they understand these laws a great deal, and 33% say they have some understanding, write the report authors. Other interesting findings from the report include: a 97% say they approve privacy policies when asked but fewer than 13% report always or often fully reading those policies a 28% of Americans say theyve been the victim of identity theft within the past year a 57% say they are not too confident in how businesses handle personal data a 79% report concerns over how businesses use personal data, 64% report concerns over how government uses personal data More data from the Pew report can be accessed here. ALBANY - An Albany County Department of Public Works employee is accused of shooting a nail gun into a co-workers arm. New Scotland resident Jesse J. Burby, 31, was charged with felony assault, misdemeanor counts of weapons possession and menacing in the Monday incident, Sheriff Craig Apple said Friday. Deputies said Burby used a Bostitch nail gun to shoot the co-worker in the arm, and then threatened the victim further by pointing the nail gun at the victim's kneecap and chest. The victim had to have surgery to remove the nail, officials said. Burby has been a county DPW employee for eight years, Apple said. County spokesperson Mary Rozak said Burby has been suspended from his job, but it was not immediately clear whether he was off the job with, or without, pay. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Rozak said county Executive Daniel McCoy requested a "thorough" investigation into the incident. "We always do everything and anything possible to make sure our county employees are safe and there is a safe working environment," she said. A touching testimony from South Africa of reconciliation and restoration after years of madness, homelessness and family separation has been shared on TB Joshuas official Facebook Page. According to the testimony shared by Geogina Gumindega, she had visited Joshuas popular church in Lagos, Nigeria in October 2019 and received some Morning Water an item believed to be anointed by Jesus Christ. Geogina subsequently learned of a heart-breaking situation from one of her close friends whose brother had mysteriously disappeared for twelve years after leaving Zimbabwe for South Africa. According to the lengthy tale, the man whose name was given as Leon Ayamu - left home without the blessing of his parents and also ran away from a woman who had just given birth to his daughter. The situation deteriorated in South Africa to the point that Ayamu started to live in the bush and fell into mental degradation. It was so bad that he was surviving solely on fruits and vegetables with monkeys for companionship in his homeless state. His discovery was nothing short of miraculous! We ministered the Morning Water on his sister at 11pm on December 7th, Miss Gumindega explained. At 9am on December 8th, she saw her brother by the roadside on her way to the supermarket, God had put him in the right place to be seen by his sister who was not even looking for him that morning! The family were apprehensive due to his rude and violent nature at the time but managed to convince him to follow us home. Thereafter, Joshuas Morning Water was ministered to Ayamu and placed in the water in which he took his bath. After this first bath, he went on to sleep for six hours that afternoon. According to him, he started to remember his family and actually miss them after waking up from this sleep! The path to mental stability had begun as the dishevelled man told his family he began to crave human companionship instead of merely staying with animals. A matter of weeks later, with plenty of prayer with the Morning Water and tender care, Ayamu has regained consciousness, accepted Jesus as his Saviour and watches Emmanuel TV 24/7! Reflecting on his old life, the restored mad man said it felt as though he lived in the jungle for only a month yet, in reality it had been over a decade! He has since reconnected with his estranged family members in Zimbabwe, apologised to his parents for his rebellion and broken free from an addiction to codeine and marijuana that fuelled him in the bush. However, Ayamus tale is marked with disturbing and sordid details. He confessed to having suffered physical and sexual abuse from other men who took advantage of the vulnerability of homeless and mentally ill people, Geogina revealed, explaining that at times he would wake up with male semen all over his body. Gumindega hoped his testimony would challenge our perspective of the kind of help we give to vulnerable people in his former state. Pictures of Ayamus condition when he was discovered in the bush and his current state a month later after returning to normalcy were equally included in the remarkable testimony to authenticate its contents. With the abundance of such testimonies, TB Joshuas church continues to attract followers from around the world, with official immigration statistics revealing six out of every ten visitors to Nigeria are bound for The SCOAN. SOURCE: TB Joshua Ministries Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/tbjministries/posts/2915367191917371 Attorneys explain how Aaron and Melissa Klein would serve everyone who visited their bakery, but should not be forced to endorse messages that conflict with their beliefs SALEM, Ore., Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Oregon Court of Appeals again heard oral arguments in the case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, former owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Last June, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated an earlier decision by the state court that effectively forced Aaron and Melissa out of business by penalizing them $135,000 for refusing to create a government-approved message in conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs. The government should not be in the business of deciding whose faith is or is not acceptable, said Keisha Russell, Counsel to First Liberty Institute. Government officials must remain neutral. When government decides whose faith is or is not acceptable, it discriminates against people of faith. Former Ambassador to the European Union, C. Boyden Gray and Adam Gustafson of Boyden Gray & Associates are the lead appellate counsel for the case along with First Liberty. Melissa said, We welcomed and served everyone in our bakery, but we could not endorse all messages. We lost everything we loved and worked so hard to build. Our hope is that maybe someday we can, once again, reopen our bakery and serve everyone without being forced to celebrate events that conflict with our religious beliefs. The Supreme Court sent the case back to Oregon courts for further review in light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The State of Oregons Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) found that the Kleins had violated Oregons public accommodations statute after Aaron and Melissa declined to design and create a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage. In court, attorneys for the Kleins argued that BOLIs Commissioner, Brad Avakian, abandoned the constitutional requirements of neutrality, tolerance, and respect when, even before their case even came before him, he spoke dismissively of the Kleins religious objections. Story continues In addition to the $135,000 penalty for emotional damages, BOLI issued a gag order, limiting the Kleins ability to talk publicly about their beliefs. After BOLIs decision, the Kleins were forced to shut down their bakery. To learn more about the case, visit KleinFacts.com . About First Liberty Institute First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans. To arrange an interview, contact Lacey McNiel at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453. SPRINGFIELD Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday denounced as horrific an email from a powerful lobbyist and close confidant of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan that hinted at a rape cover-up, and said hes relying on a state watchdog agency and law enforcement officials to find out if any wrongdoing was committed. Also Thursday, Madigan said that he will not initiate a House-led inquiry into the email and Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady, of Bloomington, asked that the Illinois State Police investigate. Pritzkers comments came during his first public appearance since the disclosure of a July 2012 email to aides of then-Gov. Pat Quinn in which lobbyist Mike McClain advocated for state worker Forrest Ashby in a disciplinary matter. In the email, first reported Tuesday by WBEZ, McClain said Ashby, who later worked as a consultant on Pritzkers campaign, kept his mouth shut about Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the administration. The email did not include any other details about the rape, nor was it clear who McClain was referring to in connection to the ghost workers. Pritzker reiterated that his office had referred the matter to the Office of Executive Inspector General, the state agency charged with investigating allegations of misconduct within the executive branch. The inspector general will determine whether the matter should be referred to law enforcement, he said. The investigation will be hugely important in uncovering details about the alleged rape and ghost payrolling, Pritzker said. House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said he isnt satisfied with an inspector general investigation. Durkin sent a letter to Madigan on Wednesday requesting that the speaker assign a House committee to an investigation that would include subpoenas for testimony from McClain, Ashby, two former Quinn administration officials who corresponded with McClain, and Lorrie Rickman-Jones, who headed a state agency where Asbhy worked and is the wife of former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones. Madigan denied Durkins request in a letter Thursday, writing that Pritzker has assured him the matter had been referred to the appropriate authorities. Recognizing the sensitivity of the matter for any potential survivors, any investigation should be handled by the appropriate investigative entities without interference by the General Assembly, the letter stated. Pritzker, who is wrapping up his first year in public office, treaded carefully around questions from reporters about how the emails reflect on Madigan, the longtime House speaker who also leads the state Democratic Party. Lets start with getting all of the facts, Pritzker said. Pritzker said he had not spoken with Madigan or Quinn about the emails. He pointed to a Wednesday statement in which Madigan said he had no knowledge of the incident referenced in the email. McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist, has been under federal scrutiny for months as part of a far-reaching probe that includes the powerful utilitys lobbying practices in Springfield. The Tribune reported in December that FBI agents and prosecutors have been asking about connections between ComEd lobbyists and Madigan, notably McClain. The newspaper previously reported that federal authorities have recorded some of McClains phone conversations. The probe has rocked Chicago City Hall, the Illinois state Capitol and several south suburban municipalities. Madigan was named among many others in a subpoena and search warrant executed by the FBI in May at the City Club of Chicago seeking recommendations from the organizations then-president, Jay Doherty, who was also then a ComEd lobbyist. Doherty resigned as the organizations president last month. Ashby, a 30-year state employee at the Department of Corrections and other agencies who retired in January 2018 before going to work as a consultant on faith-based outreach for the Pritzker campaign, had been doing contract work for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. The boards executive director said Ashbys contract was suspended Wednesday pending an independent investigation in light of media reports about the McClain emails. Neil Olson, general counsel for the state Office of the Executive Inspector General, said Thursday he could not comment on any ongoing investigations. But generally, employees who do work for the state on a contract basis, like Ashbys work for the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, would fall under the offices jurisdiction, Olson said. Late Thursday, Brady sent a letter to Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly requesting he initiate a criminal investigation. You are the lead law enforcement officer in the state of Illinois, and I believe the people of Illinois, the victim, and the seriousness of this issue demands that your agency conduct a full and thorough investigation. Illinois residents deserve to know that justice will prevail no matter how connected or powerful the wrongdoers, he said in the letter. 15 new Illinois laws for 2020 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The former Earth Animal Sanctuary board member said she grew concerned when she learned months later about a fire that killed dozens of animals - a blaze that officials say was started by arson. Then Melissa Pena visited the central Illinois property in Thawville that was once home to hundreds of rescued creatures, finding strangely empty pastures inhabited by just a couple of feral cats - and a ditch with bags containing hundreds of animal remains, some decomposing and others just bones. An hour into tearing through plastic, she said, she couldnt take it anymore. I know that I have never thrown any of the animals I have ever loved in a ditch like they were trash, Pena wrote on Facebook in June over a picture of skulls strewn on the grass. The discovery provoked a revolt against Earth Animal Sanctuarys founder this past summer, as advocates who once worked alongside Corinne DiLorenzo launched a petition calling for her arrest and turned the rescue sites Facebook page into a campaign demanding answers for the deaths. They estimate 700 animals are still missing. Now DiLorenzo faces a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty that carries up to three years in prison. Prosecutors say she intentionally caused the death of companion critters including dogs, turtles and raccoons. The Washington Post was unable to reach DiLorenzo, who has yet to enter a plea, and court records do not name an attorney. She told the Ford County Record last year that the allegations of cruelty were slanderous. Her sanctuary in the tiny village of Thawville was founded in 2014 and took in all sorts of animals from shelters, Pena said. Some were strays, while others were unwanted. Many were probably abused before they arrived. They came to the sanctuary with the promise that they could live there for their entire natural lives and be cared for, Pena told The Post, but in the end thats not what they got. DiLorenzo built a reputation as a dedicated advocate and vegan, say the former board members and activists now organizing against her. A 2015 video of her singing to a blind piglet to comfort him in the hospital garnered almost 24 million views. DiLorenzo said she visited the piglet every day to reassure him that he is loved. So Pena was shocked, she said, to see one of the freshest bodies in the ditch at Earth Animal Sanctuary - a pig that DiLorenzo called her heart animal. The horror deepened, Pena and other advocates say, as their analysis of the remains revealed many of the animals to be young. Goats often live a decade or longer. But the vast majority in the ditch appear to have been less than 2 years old, Pena said. The charge filed against DiLorenzo in November and just recently publicized is based on months of investigation that began last January, prosecutors said. Thats when authorities got a call about deplorable conditions at DiLorenzos home in Thawville, according to a sheriffs report. Investigators arrived to find a door falling off its hinges and wood floors strewn with animal feces, hair and unknown other excrements. Rabbit droppings covered an upstairs bedroom. Feces also filled the dirty cages of dogs, cats, mice, birds and a chinchilla. DiLorenzo told investigators that the two pigs outside were fed daily, but officials found them thin and noted that one drank quickly when the ice on its water bowl was broken. Alarmed by the houses condition and bare electrical wiring, they told DiLorenzo she could not stay, and she responded that she would leave that night, the sheriffs report says. She also said she would give some of her animals away - a few to a sanctuary out of state, a few to a no-kill shelter, the report says. Then the investigators noticed a carcass under a tarp, the report states. It was a third pig, reportedly four weeks dead, that DiLorenzo said shed been unable to bury in frozen ground. It was clear that other animals had been feeding on the carcass, the sheriffs report states. Concerns about DiLorenzos treatment of her animals mounted last summer with discoveries on the site by Pena and others. Activists have also wondered whether DiLorenzo could be culpable in a 2018 fire at the sanctuary that destroyed two buildings and left pigs, ducks, geese and chickens dead. But no one has been arrested in the apparent arson and DiLorenzos animal cruelty charge is not based on that incident, said Iroquois County States Attorney James Devine. The accusations against DiLorenzo have outraged the animal rescue community that once put their full trust and support in her, a petition now signed by nearly 10,000 people says. Her mug shot now adorns Earth Animal Sanctuarys cover photo on Facebook, where an event page invites people to show up to her first court date on Jan. 23. DiLorenzo was released after posting her $10,000 bond, according to county records. Her critics are planning a vigil after the court appearance for the dead and missing animals. Jodie Wiederkehr, executive director of the Chicago Alliance for Animals, told the Ford County Record that she wants jail time imposed. She should get the book thrown at her, she said. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Thursday hes having second thoughts about a state tax credit program to lure film and TV projects to New Jersey and may block the Senate from voting on a bill extending it through 2028. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said hes undecided whether hell put the bill (S3842) up for a vote Monday the final day of the legislative session even as the Senate budget committee voted it out of committee Thursday. I read some articles that I dont think that are wrong, Sweeney said of a news report that raised questions about the long-term benefits to the state. We have nothing to show for it afterwards. Im not saying Im not, it just caused me to pause. The bill would extend for five more years corporation business tax and gross income tax credits for some film, TV and digital productions that locate in New Jersey. The program would otherwise expire in 2023. It would also increase the annual cap on awards to film productions from $75 million to $100 million and allow any money not used one year to roll over to the next. Gov. Phil Murphy, Democrat, and the Democratic-controlled state Legislature brought back the controversial tax incentive program in 2018 after a three-year hiatus. Former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who was critical of tax credits doled out to Jersey Shore, the reality show starring Snookie and the Situation that Christie said reinforced negative stereotypes of New Jersey, allowed the program to expire and vetoed efforts to revive it. But Murphy said this new generation of tax credits would spur economic growth and industry development. The film and digital media industry is poised to become a dynamic part of New Jerseys economy, one that will create good-paying union jobs and countless residual benefits to the economy, Murphy said upon signing the bill. The law allows film productions to apply for savings of 30 percent on their expenses from 2019 to 2023 if they film in the upper half of the state. It allows them up to 35 percent if they choose to film in the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, or Salem. Digital companies could apply for 20 percent, or 25 percent if they choose south Jersey. Productions are also eligible for diversity tax credits if they take steps to recruit and hire women and minorities. Tens of millions of dollars have been awarded recently, including $10.2 million to HBOs adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Plot Against America," $6.9 million to Steven Spielbergs West Side Story, $2.8 million to WWEs Wrestlemania 35 and $2 million to Joker," among others. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved the five-year extension bill Thursday, but committee Chairman Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, warned it might go no further. There was a recent article that were not gaining long-term jobs, and I understand that, Sarlo said, while voicing his own support and saying the state and local economies get an economic jolt" from the production, however brief it is. Youre seeing a lot of this in Jersey City, in Newark, Bergen County, because of the high cost of shooting on-location in Manhattan. But there are those who have concerns with these types of credits, so I understand that. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. We have been watching the horrific Australian bush fires for months and finally international news and celebrities have been talking about it too to raise awareness. An incredible amount of money has been raised to help those firefighters who have been working around the clock, the wildlife that has been rescued and those who have lost family members, homes and possessions. And while the fires still blaze in parts of the country, some good news to come out of the disaster has emerged on social media and put a sprinkle of hope in the hearts of many. New life is already beginning to grow in fire-ravaged Australian bush. When Jennifer Gobrecht was 17, doctors told her that she would never carry her own child. But on Thursday, researchers at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia announced that Ms. Gobrecht had delivered a son by cesarean section in November, the second baby in the United States to be born using a transplanted uterus from a deceased donor. We were beyond lucky, Ms. Gobrecht said. Ms. Gobrecht, now 33, was born with a congenital condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, meaning she was born with ovaries, but without a uterus. In 2017, she and her husband were exploring the possibility of implanting frozen embryos into a surrogate when Ms. Gobrecht was selected to be the first patient in a trial at Penn Medicine that hopes to help five women who otherwise couldnt carry their own children. Uterine transplantation, as the process is known, is a relatively new frontier in reproductive medicine. Doctors say it could help women who have a condition called uterine factor infertility, which means they were either born without a uterus, had it removed or had uterine damage. About 5 percent of reproductive-age women worldwide are affected, according to Penn Medicine. Shares of Tata Group firms extended gains on BSE and NSE today after Supreme Court (SC) stayed NCLAT order reinstating Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Sons. Tata Global Beverages share traded 3.32% higher followed by 2.5% gain in Tata Power and Tata Coffee. Share prices of Tata Chemicals and Tata Steel were trading 1.8% higher each. Tata Motors stock rose 1% on BSE. Similarly, shares of Tata Metaliks and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra traded 0.45% higher. Tata Communications and Tata Investment Corporation advanced 0.25% each. A three-judge Supreme Court bench on Friday noted that NCLAT "seems to have committed errors in adjudicating and seems to lack powers to pass the directions that it has." The SC added that it looked at the judicial attitude with which the NCLAT passed the December 18 order and found that it was sorely lacking. On December 18, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal said Tata Sons illegally removed Mistry as chairman three years ago at the behest of Ratan Tata, calling the action of the chairman-emeritus "oppressive" for minority shareholders. NCLAT ruled in favour of Cyrus Mistry, restoring him as the executive chairman of Tata Sons. The tribunal also ruled that the appointment of N Chandrasekaran as head of the holding company of the $110-billion salt-to-software conglomerate was illegal. Following this, Tata Sons Private Ltd (TSPL) moved the SC against NCLAT's order last week, saying the judgement "undermined corporate democracy" and the 'rights' of its board of directors. "Restoring Cyrus Mistry to the position as Chairman has undermined corporate democracy and the rights of the board of directors," Tata Sons had said in its filing. Tata Steel Europe stares at bleak future amid global and local concerns Tata vs Mistry case: Relief for Tatas as SC stays NCLAT order Director Trivikram Srinivas, whose upcoming film Ala Vaikuntapurramloo is hitting screens this Sunday, is also popular for his dialogues, especially his one-liners. Unsurprisingly, he has a huge fan following especially for his writing. Given our curiosity about his inspiration when writing dialogues, we ask him of it. I look at myself as a spontaneous writer, preferring to work in an easy manner rather than getting into a pressure of writing dialogues. I dont prefer to head off to Goa to write, watching the beach, or to go abroad and take a cottage to write. I cant write like that because it plays on my mind that someones putting all that money on me to just write dialogues. Instead, I prefer writing at home, where I can listen to my kids playing and my wife at her chores, says Trivikram. Then, speaking about the film, the filmmaker reveals that he likes Samuthirakani as a director and actor, which is why he roped him in for a role in the film. I like his films, especially Sambho Siva Sambho, Trivikram tells us. I requested him to do a role in my film and he agreed. He learnt to speak and write in Telugu because in the film, he needs to speak Srikakulam dialect. We also requested writer Chinni Krishna to help us. Our talks move to the familiar motifs in his movies, a big house and either the atha (aunt) or amma (mother). Previously, only women took care of everything at home. And back then, when parents stepped out, they dropped off their kids at the fathers sister (called atha in Telugu) home because athas usually loved her brother and his family and kids. I also have similar memories of my aunt, which is why in my films youll find a big house, well-bonded family and women taking care of everything, explains Trivikram as he signs out. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is aiming for her second term as a defender of Taiwan's liberal values. Her rival Han Kuo-yu is in favor of establishing closer ties with mainland China. Both candidates have organized huge end-of-election rallies tonight. Taipei (AsiaNews / Agencies) - These are hectic hours for Taiwanese politics, because tomorrow over 19.3 million citizens will be called to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections. According to analysts, the result of the election round will define the course of relations between Taipei and Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who is aiming for her second term, proposes herself as a defender of Taiwan's liberal values against China's growing interference under the rule of Xi Jinping. Ms. Tsai's rival is Han Kuo-yu, mayor of Kaohsiung. Considered a populist, the politician has long been in favor of establishing closer ties with mainland China and accuses the current administration of unnecessarily antagonizing Beijing. Both candidates have organized huge end-of-election rallies tonight. Taiwanese law prohibits the publication of polls within 10 days of the election, but according to experts, Ms. Tsai is ahead with a wide margin over her rival. Beijing has not hidden its desire to see her lose. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) tends towards independence. In addition, the president rejects the Chinese government's idea that Taiwan is part of "one China". In the four years since Ms. Tsai won the presidential election for the first time, Beijing has tightened the screws on its neighbor; cut off official communications with the Taiwanese government and increased economic and military pressure. China has also snatched seven of the few remaining diplomatic allies from Taiwan, hoping that this will persuade Taiwanese voters to punish Ms. Tsai at the polls. The results of tomorrow's vote will be closely followed by regional powers and the United States, especially in light of the stalemate that currently characterizes relations between Washington and Beijing. Taiwan has long been a potential critical point for relations between the Chinese and US government, which remains the island's main military ally. You may be fooled into thinking food in supermarket 'free from' aisles are healthy because they don't contain dairy, gluten or wheat. But MailOnline can reveal dozens of the section's popular products have a higher sugar percentage content than most chocolate biscuits. The NHS says any food made up of more than 22.5 per cent of total sugars per 100g is too much. But some items in the free from aisle, including health bars, energy treats and dairy-free baked goods, had more than double that amount. Nakds Blueberry Muffin bar, which is made from the fruit, served up 18.2g of the sweet stuff (52 per cent) in one tiny 35g bar. Thats the same as four McVities Chocolate Chip Hob Nobs (4.2g) or four Digestive Dark Chocolate biscuits (4.6g). A side-by-side comparison of the free from aisle and biscuit section in Sainsbury's showed 30 products marketed as 'healthy' had a higher sugar percentage than a packet of McVitie's Chocolate Hob Nobs. A side-by-side comparison of the free from aisle and biscuit section in Sainsbury's showed 30 products marketed as 'healthy' had a higher sugar percentage than a packet of McVitie's Chocolate Hob Nobs The claim is 'health' snacks are better for us because they are made up of 'natural sugars' from fruit, as opposed to refined sugars in biscuits. But the NHS warns that all sugar is bad in high doses because it acts on the body in the same way. Experts say it's better to get natural sugars from wholefoods such as fruit, rather than products with other additives. Dr Aseem Malhotra, a consultant cardiologist and co-founder of Action On Sugar, told MailOnline the maximum daily intake should be 'no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day - regardless of whether they are natural or free sugars'. 'They both have the same effect on increasing heart disease risk if consumed in high concentration,' he said. Dr Yvonne Bishop, a clinical nutritional therapist, said free from doesn't necessarily mean healthy. She added: 'I find, every day, that my clients are horrified by the amount of sugar in snacks they chose because they looked like healthy choices, and were displayed in the Free From or health food sections of the supermarket. 'The Free From section may be free from the allergen that needs avoiding but is often packed with sugar. 'We need quick-to-understand food labels and I think we should label the sugar in our food by teaspoons as we can all visual that. Nakds Blueberry Muffin bar, which is made from the fruit, served up 18.2g of the sweet stuff (52 per cent) in one tiny 35g bar Livia's Salted Caramel Millionaire Squares contained 27.1g of sugar - more than five teaspoons - per 60g packet 'Different sugars are processed slightly differently in the body, and so bring slightly different health risks. 'But generally sugar is still sugar and overeating it brings health risks including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.' Dr Bishop said consumers should steer clear of health bars that are made with mostly dates or raisins. She added: 'Using fruits instead of sugar does of course bring some powerful, health-boosting antioxidants. 'But its important to choose fruits with a lower glycaemic load as this determines how quickly we will release the sugar in our portion of food, and how disruptive the blood sugar high and low will be. 'Dates and raisins are the most popular choices for bought and home-made snack bars, but they come with a high glycaemic load.' Analysis showed Trek's Peanut Power Wholefood bar was crammed with 21.1g of sugar. That's almost four times the amount in a McVitie's Caramel Chocolate Digestive (5.3g) Having too much sugar in the blood for long periods of time can cause serious health problems if it's not treated. Known as hyperglycemia, it can damage the vessels that supply blood to to vital organs, which can increase the risk of heart disease, strokes and type 2 diabetes. Dr Bishop said: 'Snacks made with these [high glycaemic loads] can often have half of their calories coming from sugar. 'Instead, look for bars sweetened with low glycaemic load fruits like cherries or plums. 'Good old dried plums shouldn't be forgotten, they have a nice low glycaemic load and theyre packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.' HOW MUCH SUGAR IS TOO MUCH? The amount of sugar a person should eat in a day depends on how old they are. Children aged four to six years old should be limited to a maximum of 19g per day. Seven to 10-year-olds should have no more than 24g, and children aged 11 and over should have 30g or less. Meanwhile the NHS recommends adults have no more than 30g of free sugars a day. Popular snacks contain a surprising amount of sugar and even a single can of Coca Cola (35g of sugar) or one Mars bar (33g) contains more than the maximum amount of sugar a child should have over a whole day. A bowl of Frosties contains 24g of sugar, meaning a 10-year-old who has Frosties for breakfast has probably reached their limit for the day before they even leave the house. Children who eat too much sugar risk damaging their teeth, putting on fat and becoming overweight, and getting type 2 diabetes which increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Source: NHS Advertisement Analysis showed Nakds Strawberry Sundae, Banoffee Pie, Gingerbread, Caramel Fruit & Nut Nibbles and Lemon Drizzle flavours were all made up of more than 50 per cent sugar. They each had upwards of 17g of the sweet stuff - more than four teaspoons - per 35g bar. Livia's Salted Caramel Millionaire Squares contained 27.1g of sugar - more than five teaspoons - per 60g packet. It means 45.1 per cent of its entire ingredients are sugar. Similarly, the firm's Chocolate Orange flavour has 26.8g of sugar, accounting for 44.6 per cent of its ingredients. Analysis showed Trek's Peanut Power Wholefood bar was crammed with 21.1g of sugar. That's almost four times the amount in a McVitie's Caramel Chocolate Digestive (5.3g). A gluten-free Eat Natural Dark Chocolate with Cranberries & Macadamias (45g) was made up of 35 per cent of sugar, around 16g. By comparison, a Sainsbury's Dark Chocolate Digestive has 4g of sugar, making up 24 per cent of its ingredients. Dr Abbi Lulsegged, a consultant physician who specialises in diabetes, said: 'Out of all the major food groups, sugars get absorbed quicker into the blood stream than protein and fats. 'This rapid arrival of sugar into the blood stream can potentially cause too much insulin, the hormone that reduces blood sugars and prevents diabetes, to be released.' A Which? investigation in September found sugar was also being increasingly hidden behind innocuous-sounding aliases, making it harder to spot and avoid. Its report discovered the white stuff was being disguised as coconut blossom nectar, oat syrup, agave, date syrup and grape sugar on labels. Other forms of sugar were listed as hydrolysed starch, dextrose - a sugar produced from corn and levulos, essentially another name for fructose. These are often found in foods that may be perceived as healthier options, such as protein balls or energy bars. Some of these sugars may slightly differ in their nutrient make-up, colour or taste. But it doesnt matter if the label says nectar or syrup, refined or unrefined, brown or white - they all pose the same risks to the body if consumed in high doses. Rohingya refugees are seen aboard a vessel in the Andaman Sea before they are picked up by the Myanmar Navy in waters off southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi region, Dec. 15, 2019. Scores of Rohingya Muslims detained in December by the Myanmar Navy aboard a boat in the Andaman Sea as they attempted to leave the country have been transferred to western Myanmars Rakhine state, a coastal forces commander and state immigration minister said Friday. We sent these 172 Muslims to Sittwe on Jan. 8 by navy vessel No. 617, Colonel Thant Zin Oo, regional chief of the Coastal Command, told RFAs Myanmar Service. The Rohingya left a detention center on an island where they were being held and were being taken to Rakhines capital Sittwe, he said, but added that he did not know where they would be sent once they arrived there or if any further action would be taken against them, The group was accompanied by 42 officials from the military, the police, and the health, immigration, and general administration departments, said Kyaw Min, minister of Rakhine states Immigration and Human Resources Ministry. I dont think they have arrived yet in Sittwe, he said. It will take at least three or four days to get there. We havent heard any news, he added. If they arrive there, they will have to inform the Rakhine state government and then they will be receive orders about what they should do next. Immigration officials in Sittwe will check the members of the group to determine whether they are from Rakhine or Bangladesh and will do whatever they have to, Kyaw Min said. RFA was unable to reach Win Myint, Rakhines minister of municipal affairs, for comment. The Myanmar Navy discovered the boat with the 172 Rohingya on Dec. 15 in waters off the countrys southern tip, about 150 nautical miles west of Kawthaung town in Tanintharyi Region. Military officials believe that those aboard had run away from refugee camps in Bangladesh. They were picked up just days after Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi defended the country before the U.N.s top court in The Netherlands on genocide charges for the armys alleged expulsion of more than 740,000 Rohingya Muslims in 2017. The Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh where they now live in sprawling displacement camps. Aye Lwin, a Muslim community leader working toward interfaith unity in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, told RFA in an earlier report that authorities should treat the Rohingya boat people humanely by returning them to their homes without taking action against them. Otherwise, authorities would risk looking bad for punishing Muslims for running away from oppression and discrimination. Activist Nickey Diamond from the Southeast Asia-based NGO Fortify Rights told RFA on Dec. 22 that Myanmar authorities should issue travel documents for the Rohingya so that they can go wherever they want rather than being forced to return to Rakhine state. Myanmar views the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and systematically discriminates against them by denying them citizenship, freedom of movement, and access to jobs, health care, and education. Reported by Nay Myo Htun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. SAN DIEGO The number of people arrested or stopped entering the United States on the Mexico border fell for a seventh straight month in December, with Mexicans outpacing Central Americans among the detainees, authorities said. The tally helps explain why the U.S. has turned more attention to Mexican asylum-seekers as President Trump seeks to highlight his dramatic reshaping of immigration policy in his campaign for a second term. The Department of Homeland Security plans to send Mexicans to Guatemala with an opportunity to seek protection there, a highly unusual move among developing nations trying to curb asylum claims. Mondays announcement drew criticism from the Mexican government, which has so far worked closely with the U.S. to address an unprecedented surge of asylum-seekers, many of them Central American families. The Trump administration has begun other enforcement measures affecting Mexicans, including a test in El Paso, Texas, to quickly determine asylum claims and flights to deport them to Guadalajara to discourage repeat attempts. U.S. authorities made 40,620 arrests of people who crossed illegally or who presented themselves at official crossings in December, down 5% from 42,651 in November and down 72% from a 13-year high of 144,116 in May. Mexicans accounted for half of arrests and people stopped at official crossings, more than three times more than any other nationality and a major shift from much of last year, when Guatemala and Honduras were the primary countries of origin. The U.S. has used a carrot-and-stick approach in bilateral agreements struck since July with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to deny people an opportunity to apply for asylum in the U.S. They are instead to be sent to Central America with an opportunity to ask for protection there. However, only Guatemala has begun accepting U.S.-funded flights of asylum-seekers from other countries. As of Wednesday, the U.S. had sent 94 asylum-seekers to Guatemala, only six of whom chose to seek asylum there. The rest returned to their countries. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, who leaves office next week, said Wednesday that his government has not agreed to take Mexican asylum-seekers only those from El Salvador and Honduras. He said a decision rests with his successor, Alejandro Giammattei. Mexican asylum-seekers waiting in Tijuana come largely from the states of Michoacan and Guerrero, where towns have been terrorized by drug-fueled violence for more than a decade. Gangs threaten children and young adults to join or face retaliation. Elliot Spagat is an Associated Press writer. CITY HALL -- City Hall plans to take the Archdiocese of New York up on its offer of shuttered parish sites on the Island and around the city for its homeless shelter program. Earlier this week, the Archdiocese, through Catholic Charities, announced it would offer five sites on the Island to the city as well as other locations in Manhattan and the Bronx as potential locations for The Journey Home initiative established by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Our Safe Haven beds help our most vulnerable find lasting paths to stability. As stated during our announcement, we are thrilled that Catholic Charities has agreed to submit proposals for five sites as part of our commitment to opening 1,000 new beds for New Yorkers in need across our city, mayoral spokeswoman Avery Cohen said Thursday. We look forward to reviewing them, and will continue to work with faith leaders across the city to end unsheltered street homelessness as we know it. The Archdiocese has declined to say which sites on the Island it plans to offer the city and City Hall also avoided elaborating on particular sites it is eyeing. In 2017, the Advance took a look at churches that either closed or merged as part of the Making All Things New initiative to restructure parishes and properties throughout the Archdiocese. Shuttered or merged sites spanned from Port Richmond to Rosebank, the Advance found at the time. City Hall would only say that no final determination has been made about locations and that the Archdiocese plans to submit site proposals through the citys procurement process. SHELTERS IN THE WORKS Last year, the city confirmed plans to build a 200-family, mostly women and children homeless shelter at 44 Victory Blvd. on the North Shore in addition to a 22-bed all-female shelter at Mount Loretto on a site owned by Catholic Charities. But the site of the slated North Shore shelter set to be constructed in the heart of the future Bay Street Corridor has upset many Island politicians and residents in the area. Island elected officials had sent over a list of alternative sites to the city when plans for the 200-family shelter were announced and Borough President James Oddo and Rep. Max Rose had been in discussions with the Salvation Army about potentially building the controversial shelter at its Bayley Seton Hospital campus. The city had appeared to be willing to work with elected officials in looking at alternate sites to 44 Victory Blvd., but while Oddo and Rose were still in active discussions with the Salvation Army, the city suddenly announced it would stick with the North Shore site. When the city confirmed details about the two planned shelters last year, in plans obtained by the Advance, the Department of Homeless Services said it was also looking for 300 more shelter beds over the course of our plan specifically in the Mid-Island and South Shore areas. But DHS later told the Advance the agency would look for additional sites all around the Island. In those initial plans, DHS had also said the 200-family shelter would be built by winter 2020, but construction is still underway. NO UPDATE ON TIMELINE FOR PLANNED ISLAND SHELTERS AND FUTURE SHELTER PLANS DHS did not respond to multiple requests for comment about when it planned to open 44 Victory Blvd. or the Mount Loretto shelters or exactly how much more shelter space the agency was looking for in the new shelter, or multiple shelters, it plans to open on the Island. The Islands new homeless shelters are part of the Mayor Bill de Blasios plan to build 90 homeless shelters across the five boroughs over the next five years. DHS has said the goal of the program is to move the citys homeless to their home boroughs and that there are about 1,300 homeless New Yorkers from Staten Island in shelters citywide. Former convents, rectories and churches that are selected will be renovated before they house a total of at least 100 people, according to Catholic New York. The facilities will be proffered as part of the citys Safe Haven program of transitional housing, according to Catholic New York. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. RTHK: Washington unveils new measures against Iran The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions against eight top Iranian officials it accused of working to destabilize the region, as well as against more than a dozen leading producers of metals in the Islamic republic. "As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a White House briefing. Among the senior Iranian officials targeted in the new measures were Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the regime. The US Treasury also slapped sanction on 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies which it said generated billions of dollars in revenue. The sanctions also included a network of three entities that are based in China and the Seychelles as well as a vessel "involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products," the Treasury said in a statement. Mnuchin said the officials and companies were being targeted in response to Iranian ballistic strikes targeting Iraqi military bases where US forces are stationed. That attack was launched after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Mnuchin said that the measures hitting Iran's economy "will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons." (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announce that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (Fiat or the Company) (NYSE: FCAU) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Eastern District of New York, and docketed under 20-cv-00202, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded Fiat securities from February 26, 2016 through November 20, 2019, inclusive (the Class Period). Plaintiff seeks to recover compensable damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). If you are a shareholder who purchased Fiat securities during the class period, you have until January 31, 2020 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Fiat, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, distributes, and sells vehicles, components, and production systems. The Complaint alleges that the statements were materially false and misleading when made because they failed to disclose the following adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them as follows: Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company employed a bribery scheme to obtain favorable terms in its collective bargaining agreement with UAW; (ii) high-ranking Fiat officials were aware of and authorized the scheme; and (iii) as a result, Defendants statements about Fiats business, operations, and prospects were materially false and/or misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. On November 20, 2019, while the market was open, General Motors (GM) filed a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat in the Eastern District of Michigan styled as General Motors LLC, et al. v. FCA US LLC et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-13429-PDB-DRG, for damages caused by a bribery scheme perpetuated by UAW and the Company. According to the lawsuit, the illegal activity was authorized by the high-level officers of the Company, including Marchionne, and helped the Company win union acceptance of cost concessions in 2011 and 2015. The lawsuit also contended that Fiat executives bribed UAW leaders to pressure GM into a merger with Fiat. On this news, shares of Fiat fell $0.58 per share, or 3.72%, to close at $15.00 per share on November 20, 2019, damaging investors. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com . CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a senior IAF officer for allegedly posing as Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a phone call to state Governor Lalji Tandon to facilitate his friend's appointment as the vice-chancellor of a medical university, an official said on Friday. Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Kuldeep Baghela, currently posted at the IAF headquarters in Delhi, was arrested along with his Bhopal-based dentist friend Chandresh Kumar Shukla, who had posed as Shah's personal assistant (PA) during the phone call, the official said. Talking to PTI, Additional Director General (ADG), STF, Ashok Awasthi said, Baghela had recommended Shukla's name to the governor for the post of the vice-chancellor of the Jabalpur-based Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University (MPMSU). "We have arrested IAF Wing Commander Kuldeep Baghela on the charge of impersonating as Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a phone call to the state governor to influence the appointment for the post of vice-chancellor," he said. "His dentist friend Dr Chandresh Kumar Shukla has also been arrested. Both of them are in the age group of 35 to 40 years," Awasthi added. According to him, Baghela was earlier posted as the aide-de-camp (ADC) to former MP governor Ramnaresh Yadav for three years. Shukla was aspiring to become the V-C of the MPMSU and had applied for it when the process of appointment to the post begun, he said. The ADG said that Shukla had contacted Baghela expressing his wish that he wanted to become the V-C of the university and told him that it could be done if some senior leader recommended his name. "Later, both of them hatched a conspiracy and called the state governor (Lalji Tandon). While Shukla posed as Amit Shah's PA, Baghela impersonated as the union home minister and talked to the governor," Awasthi said. However, the officials of the governor's house got suspicious and found it to be a fraud when they cross-examined it. Subsequently, the case was reported to the STF, another official said. The STF is interrogating the arrested duo, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shortly before noon, a fire broke out at a house in the 5900 block of South Union Avenue. A neighbor tried to help a man who he believed was inside the house and was injured, fire officials said. An Army naik and two others have been arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs and weapons from across the Indo-Pak boarder using GPS-fitted drones in collusion with their Pakistani accomplices, Punjab Police said on Friday. Punjab police chief Dinakar Gupta said they seized two Chinese-made drones, 12 drone batteries, some custom-made drone containers, an INSAS rifle magazine and two walkie-talkie sets, besides Rs 6.22 lakh in cash from them. The cash is suspected to be the sale proceed of the smuggled drugs, said Director General of Police Gupta, adding that no drug, however, has been recovered from them as yet. He said three persons, including an Army naik, Rahul Chauhan, were arrested. Now we have come across a module in which three people were arrested where they were launching drones from India to across the border (Pakistan) and they were to bring back drugs payloads, Gupta said, adding they suspected both drugs and small weapons like pistols came from the other side of the border. Detailing about the two drones seized from smugglers, Gupta said the first drone, a Quadcopter was recovered from an abandoned government dispensary in Modhe village in Amritsar (Rural). The second one, a Hexacopter, was recovered from the house of a friend of arrested Army Naik Chauhan in Karnal in Haryana on his disclosures, DGP Gupta said. During the probe, it has transpired that such drones were being used to drop weapons, hand grenades, satellite phones and fake currency notes in India. Detailing Naik Chauhan's role in the novel modus operandi of smuggling drugs and weapons using drones, the DGP said he was involved in not only procuring and supplying drones but also training the cross-border smugglers how to use them. Police said Rahul, an Ambala cantonment resident, even operated its to-and-fro sorties of drones across the border for smuggling consignments of heroin and weapons from Pakistan. The two other accused were identified as Dharminder Singh of Dhanoa Khurd village in Amritsar and Balkar Singh of Sara Amanat Khan in Amritsar. While Dharminder was arrested from village Hardo Rattan, about 3 km from the Indo-Pak border, Balkar, who was lodged in Amritsar jail in a drug case, was into smuggling drugs and weapons through drones, along with his accomplices, said police. The police secured his custody on production warrant on Thursday for his custodial interrogation in the case. The arrests and seizures were made nearly four months after the emergence of the novel modus operandi of smuggling weapons and drugs from Pakistan using drones, after the discovery of two crash-landed unmanned areal vehicles in a boarder village in Amritsar district and other in a Karnal village in Haryana in September and August 2019 respectively. One of the drones, recovered from a paddy field in Mohawa village of Amritsar district in September was found to be a GPS-fitted 'hexacopter drone of Chinese make, powered by six electric motors with 25 kgs of weight and payload capacity of 21 kg, enough to carry weapons and bulky consignments. Asked whether the Border Security Force had any role in seizure of drones and arrest, Gupta said this narco-terror module was entirely busted by the Punjab police. Two members of this terror module were still absconding and efforts were on to nab them, said the DGP, adding that further investigations were underway to ascertain details about the accused's ties with terrorist outfits, radicals, drug smugglers and other anti-national elements. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were involved in cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons over drones over the past few months, he said. Certain Pakistan based drug smugglers who were sending drugs and weapons from across the border in Pakistan had also come to notice, DGP said. Police claimed accused Rahul was directly involved in operating drone sorties across the border for picking up heroin as well as weapons from Pakistan, along with his accomplices in India and Pakistan. He and his accomplices were in direct contact with Pakistani smugglers, said the DGP, adding the plan was to send one of the walkie-talkie sets across the border to Pakistan to facilitate two-way communication. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will take steps next week to transmit the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, ending a three-week standoff but confronting the Senate with only the third trial in U.S. history to remove a chief executive. In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said Friday she was proud of their courage and patriotism and warned that senators now have a choice as they consider the charges of abuse and obstruction against the president. In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, Pelosi wrote. Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution. The trial could begin next week. The Constitution gives the House the sole power to impeach a president, but the Senate the ability to render a verdict when it convenes as the Court of Impeachment. Pelosi was particularly upbeat Friday as she strode through the Capitol, despite the mounting pressure on her to quit delaying the trial. Her decision to end the showdown with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does not fully bring closure to the question of whether the Senate will consider new witnesses, as some want, shifting pressure on senators to decide. Trump swiftly signaled his intention of blocking any testimony from John Bolton, the brash former national security adviser who could be a wildcard witness in the trial. Bolton has said he would appear before the Senate if he received a subpoena. At the same time, a key centrist GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote is among those most watched, announced Friday she was in discussions with other Republicans on a strategy that would allow the Senate to hear new testimony. While the rules of Senate trial remain unsettled, the outcome is not. Trump is widely expected to be acquitted of the charges that he abused power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, then obstructed Congress in its investigation. No president has ever been removed by the Senate. Ridiculous, Trump told Fox News Laura Ingraham about the speakers gambit. Nancy Pelosi will go down as the least successful speaker of the House in the history of our nation, he said. Asked if he would invoke executive privilege to block Boltons testimony, Trump said, Well I think you have to for the sake of the office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working closely with the White House on strategy, said Friday afternoon that the Senate is anxious to get started. Republicans have the leverage, with a slim 53-47 Senate majority, if McConnell can keep GOP senators on board with his strategy. So far, they are supportive of modeling the trial after the one used in the last presidential impeachment, of Bill Clinton, 20 years ago. It set out a path for starting the trial and voting on witnesses later. Despite McConnells wishes for a speedy trial, some Republicans in his caucus have indicated that they are open to witnesses. It takes just 51 senators to set the rules, and Democrats have been trying to win over wavering GOP senators to vote with them on hearing new testimony. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for witnesses for both the House managers and the Presidents counsel if they choose to do so, Collins said. It is important that both sides be treated fairly. Since the House vote on Dec. 18 to impeach the president, the showdown between Pelosi and McConnell, the two power centers in Congress, has consumed Capitol Hill and scrambled the political dynamics. The speaker declined to send the articles to the Senate until she knew there would be a fair trial with witness testimony. She also asked McConnell for details on the trial structure she could decide who to appoint as impeachment managers. McConnell rebuffed all over her demands. On Friday, Pelosi ended the stalemate by saying she had asked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler to be prepared to bring to the floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate. She did not announce a date for the House vote. McConnell indicated Friday the trial would start soon. Well get about it as soon as we can, he said. Transmittal of the documents and naming of House impeachment managers are the next steps needed to start the Senate trial. Yet questions remain in the Senate on the scope, format and duration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is eager to test Senate Republicans, especially those like Collins who are up for re-election in 2020, with votes to compel testimony from Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and others who have so far resisted appearing before Congress. Senate Democrats are ready for the trial to begin and will do everything we can to see that the truth comes out, Schumer said. Bolton, who was present for several of the internal White House discussions about Ukraine policy that were at the heart of the Democrats impeachment case, is among the most compelling of four witnesses suggested by Schumer. The former national security adviser clashed with the presidents Ukraine policy, saying he didnt want to be part of any drug deal being cooked up. He called Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who others have testified was orchestrating an alternative foreign policy outside of official channels, a grenade that was going to go off. Chuck Cooper, an attorney for Bolton, declined to comment. The House impeached Trump in December on the charge that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraines new leader to investigate Democrats, using as leverage $400 million in military assistance for the U.S. ally as it counters Russia at its border. Trump insists he did nothing wrong, but his defiance of the House Democrats investigation led to an additional charge of obstruction of Congress. On a July telephone call with Ukraines new president, Trump asked his counterpart to open an investigation into Democrat Joe Biden, who is running for his partys presidential nomination, and his son Hunter while holding up military aid for Ukraine. A Ukrainian gas company had hired Hunter Biden when his father was vice president and the Obama administrations point man on Ukraine. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden. Its still unclear who Pelosi will appoint as impeachment managers to prosecute the case in the Senate. Nadler, D-N.Y., and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., will most likely lead the team. What was more certain is that the group will be more diverse than the 1999 team in Clintons trial, who were all male and white. Pelosi is expected to ensure the managers are diverse in gender and race, and also geographically. __ Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor, Darlene Superville and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report. Panaji, Jan 10 : For the second time in a year, the Goa cabinet witnessed a no-holds barred abuse fest, with ministers having a go at their cabinet colleagues over difference of opinion. While a verbal slug-fest between then PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude almost threatened to go physical when the ailing Manohar Parrikar was at the helm of affairs in July 2019, this time around, on Wednesday (January 8), Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho hurled abuse at one another during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the state Secretariat. The tussle between the two Ministers -- both of whom are former Congressmen and late inductees into the Bharatiya Janata Party -- over differences over cabinet-related decisions, has handed the opportunity to the Opposition to accuse Sawant of losing his administrative grip. "It shows, number one, that there is no harmony among ministers. If there is some problem, CM can meet ministers individually and sort it out," Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat said. Kamat himself has led a rickety Congress-led coalition government from 2007-2012, leading a bunch of bickering aides. "For five years I gave a stable government. My cabinet had stalwarts, former CMs, former Home Ministers. I was running a coalition government. Some were not seeing eye to eye. But not a single day, did anyone have the nerve to fight or raise their voices during my cabinet meetings," Kamat also said. State Congress chief Girish Chodankar also said that Sawant neither has control over the state administration nor over his cabinet ministers. "What kind of a cabinet is this? What kind of role models are these for the people of Goa. They are not fighting for Goa, but for their own gains. CM has no control over state and administration," Chodankar told IANS. When contacted Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho did not deny the exchange of words with Rane, but added that "a mountain was being made out of a molehill". Rane could not be contacted for comment. Sawant preferred not to comment on the issue. At a function organised to mark Legislators Day on Thursday, the Chief Minister made a reference to the need for maintaining the dignity of forums like the state legislature and the cabinet. "Whether it is the legislature or cabinet, they occupy the highest position in democracy. It is important to its retain its honour," Sawant said. A former Newark police officer has admitted guilt in a case in which he was charged with taking more than $100,000 in bribes from brothel owners as protection money, authorities announced Thursday. The officer, Julio Rivera, pleaded guilty to two counts of a 14-count indictment, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Rivera, 50, of Old Bridge, accepted payments from an owner of brothels on Emmet Street and Lafayette Street to protect from police those and other brothels owned by others, an indictment filed U.S. District Court in Newark says. Thursdays statement announcing the plea - to one bribery count and another charge related to tax returns - says Rivera took between $40,000 and $95,000 from the Emmet and Lafayette owner, identified in court papers as Individual 1. He first accepted payments from that owner in 2011, starting at about $200 per week, but growing to as much as $800 per week. He would accept lower payments in the winter, which is a slower season for brothels, the indictment says. The payments continued from 2011 through November 2016, as Riveras salary rose to more than $123,000. In 2015, Rivera began sending his girlfriend to receive the payments at a clothing store. In text messages, he referred to the payments as food. In one text message quoted in court papers, Rivera asked: Do you think that you can go by today and bring the food? In another exchange, an owner sent him to a competing brothel on Jackson Street that had taken clients. My clients tell me that on Jackson theres good food, an owner texted Rivera in Spanish, this time food" referring to the women working there. Many who go, all of a sudden dont come up to my office," meaning the owners brothel. Rivera later texted that he visited the brothel but could not get in. The tax charge refers to a U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finding that Rivera did not report the bribery money as taxable income. Judge Madeline Cox Arleo heard Riveras plea and scheduled sentencing for April 30. He faces up to 10 years in prison on the bribery count, and up to three years for the tax charge, along with a fine of up to $250,000. Newark Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening. Carpenitos statement made clear that Rivera was no longer with the department. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. SC stays NCLAT order reinstating Cyrus Mistry as Tata Group chairman The Supreme Court today stayed an order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) reinstating Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of the Tata Group. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant ordered a stay on the NCLAT order on a petition filed by Tata Sons challenging tribunals decision and issued notices to Mistry and others. Observing that there were "lacunae" in the orders passed by the tribunal, the apex court bench said the NCLAT decision suffers from "basic errors and we have to hear the matter in detail". The bench also said, "You (Cyrus) have been out of the saddle quite a long time. Does this hurt you....How does it hurt you today". The bench also noted that there was no prayer in Cyrus Mistrys petition for reinstatement but the tribunal went ahead with it and ordered his reinstatement. Mistry, however, has made it clear that he was least interested in the post of executive chairman of Tata Group. "We find there are lacunae in the judicial orders passed by the NCLAT," the bench said issuing notices to Mistry and others. NCLAT also held the appointment of N Chandrasekaran as the groups chairman illegal, in a loss of face for the conglomerates chairman emeritus Ratan Tata. Tata Sons Private Ltd (TSPL) challenged the December 18 decision of NCLAT that gave a big relief to Cyrus Investment Pvt Ltd and Mistry. The NCLAT had, also, last week, refused to allow a review petition filed by Mumbai bench of the Registrar of Companies (RoC) seeking amendments to its 18 December judgement on the Tata-Mistry dispute that made the transition of Tata Sons from a public company to a private one illegal. No ground is made out to amend the judgment dated 18th December, 2019, in absence of any factual or legal error apparent on the body of the aforesaid judgement," the NCLAT bench said, adding that Tata Sons reversal of status to a public company following the NCLAT judgement stands. The appeals court, in its 18 December judgement, had said the RoCs decision to convert Tata Sons Ltd from a public company to a private entity was illegal". NCLAT in its 172-page judgement, had used the terms illegal" and with the help of the RoC", and the RoC in its review petition had sought deletion of these references from the judgement ...to correctly reflect the conduct of RoC, Mumbai, as not being illegal". RoC, which functions under the corporate affairs ministry, had further sought directions from NCLAT for amendment in certain portions ...to delete the aspersions made regarding any hurried help accorded by the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai, to Tata Sons Ltd, except what was statutorily required to be done". At least two people have been killed and four more injured during shooting at a school in northern Mexico, according to reports. The shooting occurred in the northern Mexico city of Torreon on Friday morning, in the state of Coahuila, according to the television station Milenio. A motive for the killings was not immediately clear, nor was the identity of the killer made public. In video and photos posted on Twitter apparently from the scene, a crowd can be seen forming outside of the school as parents embrace their children. In some images, a black handgun can be seen alongside what appears to be the bodies of two children. The poster of the video and images said that the posts were obtained as they circulated on social media and in Whatsapp groups. Local news originally indicated that three people had been killed, but that tally was later lowered. Torreon, a city with around 679,000 residents, is a round 350 miles southwest from Laredo, Texas, and 200 miles west from the Mexican city of Monterrey. Mexico has been gripped by spiking rates of homicide in recent years, with the first years of last year seeing more murders during that time than any other year in recent history. During that period, the country's National Public Security System reported that 17,608 people were killed during that time 5 per cent more than the same period in 2018. That high death toll has been fuelled in part by cartel violence in northern Mexico, where clashes involving police and gangs have become increasingly commonplace. The violence has led to international concern, with US president Donald Trump threatening last year to designate the Mexican cartels as terrorist groups, raising concern that he could approve unilateral action against the groups. But, he ultimately said that he would hold off on going through with that designation, after a request from Mexican president Manuel Lopez Obrador. Labour leadership outsider Clive Lewis called for a referendum about dumping the Royal Family today as he defended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The left-winger, who is trailing sixth and last in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn, made the suggestion as he launched his campaign with a speech in London. The Sandhurst-trained former British Army officer, who is now a shadow Treasury minister, said that the Duchess of Sussex had been the victim of racism and invasion of privacy. He said he agreed with their decision to 'step back' from roles as full-time royals, which have sparked uproar in the Royal Family. Speaking in Brixton, Mr Lewis said: 'One of the things I always talk about is democracy. 'Why not have a referendum in this country on the future of the Royal family? 'We're a democracy, I'd rather see us as citizens than subjects.' The Duchess of Sussex returned to Canada last night as the Queen and other senior royals took decisive action and ordered their teams to find a 'workable solution' to Harry and Meghan's future roles. The couple had only recently arrived in the UK after spending an extended festive break in the Commonwealth country but the duchess is now back with baby son Archie who remained behind, reportedly looked after by a nanny and friends of the duchess. The left-winger, who is trailing sixth and last in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn, made the suggestion in a campaign speech in London The former British Army officer turned shadow minister said that the Duchess of Sussex had been the victim of racism and invasion of privacy The shadow Treasury minister said that the Duchess of Sussex had been the victim of racism and invasion of privacy Mr Lewis said: 'I completely respect the right of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to do what they have done. It is a matter for them. 'It is extremely unfortunate and a sign of the media we have that they feel they have to do this. From soldiering to socialism: Former Army officer and increasingly fervent left-winger Like many of his leadership rivals, Clive Lewis comes from a working class background. He was raised by his single-parent father on a Northampton council estate and went on to become the first member of his family to go to university. After studying economics at the University of Bradford he became involved in student politics and was vice president of the National Union of Students. He later worked as a journalist, including for the BBC local television. At the same time he became a Territorial Army soldier and served a tour in Afghanistan in 2009 with 7 Rifles. Afterwards he spoke about how the time on the frontline had left him with depression. He was chosen to fight Norwich South after ex-minister Charles Clarke was defeated by the Lib Dems in 2010 and retook it for Labour in 2015. But he faced controversy ahead of that election when he suggested he would only lose if he was 'caught with my pants down behind a goat with Ed Miliband at the other end'. He was made a shadow energy minister and then, with his Armed Forces background - in short supply on the Labour benches - became shadow defence secretary in 2016. But he was removed from the post after a speech he was due to make, saying Labour would not alter its policy of retaining British nuclear weapons, was removed from a speech by Mr Corbyn's comms chief Seamas Milne. The following year the avid Remainer resigned as shadow business secretary in protest at Mr Corbyn's decision to back the triggering of Article 50 to quit the EU. Mr Lewis was forced to apologise in October 2017 after he was heavily criticised by colleagues for telling an activist at Labour conference to 'get on your knees b****'. Mr Lewis admitted at the time that his language had been 'offensive and unacceptable'. But in 2018 he yet again returned, as a Treasury minister working for hardline shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Advertisement 'I know it is not the only reason. But if you look at the intrusion on their lives, if you look at the racism that Meghan Markle has experienced in the British media, then I can understand why, given what's happened, given the difficulties within their family, it can't be easy being a royal.' Despite its tilt to the left under Mr Corbyn, republicanism had very much been a side issue within the socialist party, despite its popularity among the membership. But previously left-wing MPs have criticised Meghan and Harry. In 2018 republican MP Emma Dent Coad, who lost her Kensington seat last month, accused the duchess of Sussex of only doing charity work while TV cameras were present. In a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference she said: 'I know some people find it really encouraging when members of the royal family support local charities - people have told me ''So and so came in, they helped us with this, and it was really encouraging''. 'I don't have any problem with that at all, but when the cameras are gone let's remember those volunteers are back doing 99 per cent of the work completely unsung, completely unappreciated. 'Their support is important to some, not to others, but it's peripheral.' Mr Lewis used his speech today at Brixton's Black Cultural Archive to set out his vision for the Labour leadership as he looks to claw on and stay in the contest. But he later tried to row back on his comments, tweeting: 'I didn't say they should be abolished, I have lots of respect for the hard work they do. 'I simply think the question about their size & the money they receive should be one for the public. 'Asking these questions is democratic.' But people on Twitter jumped on his remarks. Both the shadow Treasury spokesman and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry face a race against time to remain in the battle for the top job, with the deadline for nominations from MPs and MEPs looming on Monday. The latest figures from the Labour Party showed that Mr Lewis and Ms Thornberry are the only two in the six-candidate field who have failed to reach the threshold of 22 nominations. Mr Lewis has four signatories - 18 shy of the target figure - and Ms Thornberry has nine. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips all secured the 22 backers required to continue in the competition on Thursday. As of Friday, Ms Long-Bailey currently has 26 supporters, Wigan MP Ms Nandy has 24 and Ms Phillips has 22. Early front-runner Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, was the first to cross the line earlier this week. He stretched his lead over the rest of the pack, with the party confirming that, as of Friday, he has 63 backers in the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Candidates who pass the magic number of 22 - 10 per cent of Labour MPs and MEPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party, who total 212 - will then need to secure the backing of 5 per cent of constituency Labour branches or at least three affiliate groups, two of which must be made up of trade unions. Sir Keir has already been backed for leader by Unison, one of the country's largest trade unions. Unite is expected to back Ms Long-Bailey - labelled the 'continuity candidate' by her critics - with the trade union's general secretary Len McCluskey closely aligned with Mr Corbyn. The others in the so-called 'big four' of trade unions - GMB and Usdaw - will be sought after by the remaining candidates, along with other smaller worker representative organisations. Those who fail to secure enough union backing face a trek across the country in the coming weeks to convince constituency Labour Party (CLP) branches to nominate them. The Queen drives through Sandringham today as she holds crisis talks with Prince Charles and Prince William to hammer out a deal to keep Harry and Meghan in the royal family Last night Mr Lewis, speaking on BBC's Question Time, said Labour needed to collaborate with 'other parties and movements' in order to mount a challenge to the Conservatives in five years' time. He said the party had 'paid a price' for failing to strike a deal with other Remain-supporting parties at the election. Addressing Labour's future, the Norwich South MP told the panel-show audience: 'Ultimately, unless the Labour Party can appeal to the centre ground of British politics then you know, you're right, it can't win. 'But the centre ground of British politics changes and shifts.' There are certain topics that can stop a conversation in its tracks like aging, terminal illness and death. Dr. Samuel Harringtons book, At Peace: Choosing a Good Death After a Long Life, provides guidance on how to keep the dialogue going and prepare for the inevitable. The author will discuss ideas and answer questions at the Jung Center Thursday. The talk is co-presented by the Jung Center and the Community for Conscious Aging, a volunteer-led, peer group for older Houstonians. We wanted to create something for seniors, a community and a place to go where there are others of our own age, said Maryann Tebbe, one of the peer groups founders. Finding purpose in later years and an antidote to loneliness were also part of the groups mission. In addition to regular get-togethers, there are planned coffee and conversation sessions, book study groups and guest speakers. We knew that we wanted to do something about death, said Tebbe. We need to start thinking about this now. We need to be learning about this now, but we just never had a vehicle to do it. More Information Author talk What: Dr. Samuel Harrington will discuss his book, "At Peace: Choosing a Good Death After a Long Life," When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16 Where: Jung Center of Houston, 5200 Montrose See More Collapse Then she read At Peace and learned that Harrington was willing to travel to speak about the book. Hes so passionate about what he does, about his message, Tebbe said. We can be educated about death. It is your decision. Whatever you decide is okay. Its helping people make the best decisions for themselves. Harrington started writing At Peace after he retired from medicine in 2013. When his father died in 2015, he had further insights to add to the book. Harrington read other books on the subject of mortality, but felt a need to provide more of a guide for readers. When I was in practice, I felt it was my responsibility to outline options for patients, he said. Instead of simply giving his prescription for treatment, Harrington tried to include or you can do this. He wanted individuals to know their options when it came to dying as well. His book offers suggestions, alternatives to aggressive medical treatments, in-depth looks at various illnesses and a range of deathbed scenarios. It is not a question of whether we are going to die or not, Harrington explained. We have to die. But being educated and informed can add purpose to life, he said. In the book, Harrington writes: To accept that death is inevitable is the first step toward peace. To be ready to die at the appropriate time is the foundation for a better death. Neither readiness nor acceptance indicates that one wants to die . . . Still, readiness and acceptance can lead to better communications and planning. Harrington, who resides in Maine, graduated from of Harvard College and the University of Wisconsin Medical School. He practiced internal medicine and gastroenterology for more than 30 years in Washington, D.C. In his practice, and acting as a consultant for patients in emergency rooms and intensive care units, he observed as elderly patients received complicated medical care that often proved futile. At Peace outlines specific steps for how individuals can assume control of the dying process. Theres a discussion in the differences between prognosis and diagnosis and how commercialization of health care can be inconsistent with compassion. The book also includes an example of a living will, advance directive definitions, an in-depth look at dementia and a dive into what hospice care can offer. A list of chapter-by-chapter resources is provided at the end of the book. The story of Harringtons own parents deaths illuminate a number of lessons in At Peace. For example, Harringtons father told his children his vision for how he wanted to die. It informed our decisions later on, Harrington said. You can take that vision and expand it. Defining a good death can be difficult, Harrington explained. But we sure can define a bad death, he said. Thats when were getting worthless, ineffective treatments and suffering. When treatments are not effective, we should be told and given the option to say, No thank you. Harrington also suggests opening conversation with family members about end of life wishes. And talk to your doctor, he said. Dont let them not talk to you about it. If your doctor wont talk about it, find another doctor. At Peace benefits adult readers of all ages, who are either ready to start thinking about death proactively or might want to prepare for conversations with their family on the topic. Harrington is often asked how to start the conversation about death. There isnt a good way, he said. No one wants to talk about it. But if you dont blunder in, it will never get addressed. This book offers permission to start talking, to look differently at death, to develop a healthy skepticism in medicine and to ask questions. As a doctor, Harrington often asked himself, How would I treat my mother? What advice would I give her? He follows the same guidelines in the book. The goal isnt to be a perfect doctor, he said. The goal is to keep patients from suffering more, unnecessarily. Festival lanterns were lit in the "pit yards" of Sanmenxia, central China's Henan province, on Jan. 9 to welcome the upcoming Spring Festival. The Shanzhou district of Sanmenxia holds an annual lantern fair, and this year a total of 153 sets of large lanterns will be exhibited. These courtyard pits, a unique kind of underground cave-dwelling, are claimed to be the "world's only underground domestic architecture" by the local government. They were declared a national intangible cultural heritage in 2011. Penn Station is both a functional and an aesthetic failure, and its improvement is desperately overdue. This has prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo to announce a new plan for reconstruction of the station, including eight new tracks built on the block directly south of the existing complex. While Cuomos ambition to improve the stations capacity is to be applauded, the recently announced plan is all wrong. Cuomos proposal, which would likely cost a bare minimum of $9 billion including land acquisition, was drawn from the original Gateway Tunnel project, first announced in 2011 in the wake of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies cancellation of the previous trans-Hudson tunnel project, and currently in limbo awaiting federal funding. What Penn Station needs isnt more platform tracks its capacity limitations come from poor pedestrian circulation and a lack of coordination between railroads. The budget-busting purchase and demolition of a block of Midtown would draw funds that could be far better spent on delivering the much-needed Gateway tunnels themselves. Counterintuitively, Penn Stations capacity could actually be increased by reducing the number of tracks to widen the platforms and add additional stairs and escalators. This is because the platforms are so narrow that they take a long time to disperse passengers when a train arrives. This can be easily understood in analogy with the subway. Even at the busiest subway stations, trains never stop for more than a minute since platforms with many stairs and trains with numerous doors allow the quick loading and unloading of passengers. At Penn Station, trains routinely take ten minutes or more to load and unload. This means that even a reduction in dwell time to five minutes an unimaginable eternity on the subway could double capacity. If dwells could be cut down to more like two minutes, thats a fivefold increase in capacity easily cancelling out the loss of capacity from eliminating some tracks. Thats how Paris Chatelet-Les Halls handles 493,000 riders per day on only six tracks, while Penn Station struggles to accommodate 600,000 per day with 21 tracks. At the most extreme, JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo handles 1.5 million riders every day on 16 tracks. Alon Levy of NYUs Marron Institute has written extensively on the need for wider platforms, and the University of Pennsylvanias School of Design carried out a 2013 studio that also examined this approach. Put simply, Penn Station should have much wider platforms, more like the existing Long Island Rail Road platform for tracks 18 and 19. This greater width would enable larger staircases, so that people can come and go more quickly. It would also mean that passengers could wait for their trains on the platform, as they do on the subway, rather than slowly crowding down staircases all at once with the train already sitting at the platform. Equally important, when buying new trains, the commuter railroads need to choose models with more doors to speed loading and unloading. Finally, the stations pedestrian circulation spaces need to be rebuilt to be spacious and easy to navigate, rather than the narrow, mazelike warren of today. The current stations layout is largely a relic of the old Penn Station obviously with all of its beautiful adornments stripped which was not designed for the kind of heavy commuter use that makes up most traffic today. New York knows how to build an efficient, high-capacity rail station: it has dozens of them in the subway. Effectively, a proper plan for Penn Station should mean making it work much more like a subway station. The key to unlocking Penn Stations capacity doesnt involve new construction of an additional city blocks worth of infrastructure. Instead, it means true cooperation between the commuter railroads using the station Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, and, one day, assuming East Side Access is ever completed, Metro North. Today, most riders go through a handful of staircases while others are barely used because each agency directs passengers to use the facilities in its own section of the station. Every platform access point should be shared, and there should be a common wayfinding system for the whole station. Furthermore, every LIRR and NJ Transit train currently turns around at Penn Station or continues empty to a yard. The procedures required to turn trains take many minutes, uselessly occupying platform space in the most expensive real estate in the country. Empty trains obviously use capacity while providing no transportation value. The solution is better coordination between the railroads so that they share trains and no train has to unnecessarily be turned at Penn or run empty. In Japan, for decades, privately owned commuter trains have run directly into the public subway, and many then continue onto another private commuter railway at the other end. Paris RER regional rail system emulated the Tokyo approach. So these commuter trains go through the urban core and out to the periphery on the other side, like subway lines that go from Brooklyn to the Bronx or Queens via Manhattan. At the boundary between the agencies, train drivers of one agency would swap out for a driver of the other (the need to swap was later eliminated in Paris), and the trains would switch between different electric supply systems. This takes place in seconds, and passengers are completely oblivious to the change. The same approach could be used between the LIRR and NJ Transit to replace the in-and-out model that makes Penn Station the terminus and necessitates turning around there. Trains would be shared, fare systems would be coordinated, and staff would quickly swap at Penn Station. This would not only increase capacity at Penn Station by reducing dwell times and empty train movement: it also would significantly improve travel options across the region, making previously unimaginable commutes between Queens and New Jersey, for example, much more doable. People travelling from Newark Airport to Queens would no longer need to add to the crowding at Penn Station and on the E Train. Turning of trains could take place at locations in Long Island, Queens, or New Jersey where there is ample real estate available for numerous platforms. An even higher level of coordination already exists in the New York area: Metro North trains run seamlessly into Connecticut, and NJ Transit trains run into Rockland County, New York. With political will, it is achievable. The money saved by on expanding Penn Station should be applied to the desperately needed Gateway tunnel, which should be redesigned to connect with the East River tunnels to create a seamless four-track railroad across Manhattan. Those three moves would make finally make Penn Station something New Yorkers can be proud of once again. DENVER, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- RxRevu achieved unprecedented growth in 2019, advancing its position as the leader in Prescription Decision Support. In only eight months, use of RxRevu's integrated prescription cost transparency solution, SwiftRx Direct, grew from less than ten health systems, primarily in Colorado, to more than 320 health systems across the country. The company is on-pace to have more than 500 health systems using the solution by the end of 2020. Partnerships with industry leading electronic health record (EHR) providers, Epic and Cerner, as well as premier pharmacy benefit managers and payers like Humana and OptumRx / United Healthcare, allow RxRevu to bring cost savings to millions of patients and alleviate administrative burdens on healthcare providers. In April 2019, RxRevu launched SwiftRx Direct a tool that gives providers access to real-time, patient- and pharmacy-specific cost information, coverage restrictions and therapeutic alternatives. The data is available within the native workflows of providers' EHR platforms. Giving providers drug cost and coverage information on 120 million patients at the point-of-prescribing enables data-driven and evidence-based prescribing decisions that help patients get the medications they need at prices they can afford. Through SwiftRx Direct, providers can see covered and non-covered drugs, avoid medications requiring prior authorization, choose lower cost alternatives from the patient's health plan and provide coupons that may offer even lower prescription costs for patients. "In 2019, RxRevu brought personalized, real-time out-of-pocket cost data to the forefront for millions of patients, tens of thousands of providers and hundreds of healthcare systems. We believe that a new level of accuracy and completeness in cost information is essential, compared to generalized or previously-aggregated cost estimates," said Carm Huntress, co-founder and CEO of RxRevu. "We are proud to have the most comprehensive real-time benefit check network in the market, which is as an important early step in addressing healthcare costs. The RxRevu team will continue our amazing growth throughout 2020 with expanded adoption of SwiftRx Direct and the launch of several new solutions designed to take cost out of healthcare." According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), spending on healthcare has increased to one of every five dollars spent, and patients are required to pay higher deductibles and copays. As a public official and CMS Administrator, Seema Verma sees the increasing cost of healthcare as an impending crisis that can, in part, be addressed by empowering patients with cost information they need to make better informed decisions. "Giving patients access to data is just the first step we also need to drive towards consumer-friendly tools presenting information that is both personal and actionable at the time people seek care," explained Verma in a recent blog post. "We need to meet patients where they are and integrate cost information into their healthcare decision making process. The case for price transparency throughout the healthcare system is clear." RxRevu is proud to play a leading role in addressing healthcare's cost transparency crisis and is dedicated to making prescription cost discussions a standard part of doctor-patient interactions. RxRevu's cost-saving tools are available at no cost to hospitals and healthcare systems. Industry leaders interested in driving out the underlying cost of prescription drugs and improving the patient financial experience are invited to contact RxRevu. About RxRevu RxRevu is a Denver-based company on a mission to improve healthcare through more informed, consistent and frictionless prescription decisions. RxRevu's Prescription Decision Support technology promotes condition-appropriate prescribing and patient cost transparency, to improve safety and satisfaction. The SwiftRx platform helps clinicians quickly and easily find affordable alternatives to more costly medications specific to a patient's health needs and out of pocket cost. It also enables health systems to holistically manage and measure clinicians prescribing performance. For more information about RxRevu, its solutions and innovative advancements visit rxrevu.com . SOURCE RxRevu Related Links http://www.rxrevu.com What is it like to spend a night in a sleep lab? How easy is it to sleep hooked up to numerous cables? And is there a link between the microbiome and sleep? What happens during a sleep study? Sleep is an essential part of our daily routine and health. Lack of sleep can be detrimental to our well-being. Insomnia is a sleep condition that affects around one-third of the population of the United States, with 1015 % of people experiencing severe and chronic insomnia. The National Sleep Foundation describe insomnia as a condition in which a person experiences unsatisfactory sleep despite having the opportunity to sleep. In practical terms, this means trouble falling or staying asleep. My mother has been living with insomnia for many years. Sleep is a regular topic in our conversations. In my role as Research Editor at Medical News Today, I come across research studies into sleep regularly. But, despite our insights into why sleep is important, what causes insomnia is not entirely clear. A few months ago, my mom took part in a study looking into a link between the microbiome and sleep. I was very keen to speak to both her and the researcher leading the study afterward. So, here is what happened when Mama Martin spent a night in a sleep lab. A night at the sleep center I arrive at the Advanced Sleep Research Institute in Berlin, Germany, at 8.00 p.m. A medical student is on duty. There are two people here today that she is looking after. She will stay awake all night to monitor our progress. The medical student takes me to a room with a single, hospital-style bed. There is also a TV. When you lie in the bed, you can see the camera that will record your sleep. Next, she attaches the electrodes. She puts two on my legs and several on my upper body, which are linked to the ECG. She then places more electrodes on my upper arms, hands, and a lot on my head. The student also attaches a mask to screen for sleep apnea to my face. Its hard, and the indents will remain visible on my face for a while after I take it off in the morning. Finally, she attaches an oxygen monitor to my finger. It has only taken about 5 minutes to get me prepped, but I find it hard to imagine that I will ever go to sleep like this. As soon as my preparation is complete, I lie down. A few minutes later, the medical students voice comes on over the speaker. She asks if I can hear her. Then she asks me to do a vision test look left, look right, open eyes, close eyes. Next, we do a breathing test. I breathe in, breathe out, through my nose, through my mouth, hold my breath. This way, she can check that all the monitors are working correctly. If I need to go to the bathroom, I need to call her so that she can detach me from cables. I dont drink much in the evening so that I wont need to use the bathroom in the night. The lights go off at 10.00 p.m. Once I fall asleep, the clock starts ticking down the 8 hours allotted sleep time. The cables are not very comfortable, and I notice them every time I wake up. But, contrary to my expectations, I still manage to sleep fairly comfortably. Surprising results I have had trouble with my sleep since 2007. At the time, I had a lot of stress at work, including some incidences of bullying. Then I lost my husband in 2010. My insomnia has been the same since the start. Most nights, I listen to audiobooks when I wake up and cant go back to sleep. I listen to stories that I already know, so they are not too exciting and pick soothing stories. During my night at the sleep center, I slept relatively well, but I thought I had slept really badly. I was awake at around 4.00 a.m. I wasnt allowed to listen to my audiobook that night, so I used a relaxation breathing technique. I thought I was awake for a long time then. When I find out the results, I am surprised. I was, in fact, not awake for long at all. And there were some unexpected revelations in the data. I didnt know that I sleep on my front. I also apparently sleep a lot on my right side, although I know that I mostly fall asleep on my left side. I never knew that I move so much when Im sleeping. At the end of my 8 hours of sleep, the medical student wakes me up. Then comes the rather lengthy job of washing the sticky residue left over from the electrodes out of my hair. I was told before my visit to bring shampoo, but I wasnt prepared for quite how long this would take. After my night at the sleep center, I send off my sample for the microbiome analysis. The results show a possible imbalance in the composition of my gut microbiome. Specifically, they indicate that I have a higher risk of leaky gut syndrome and histamine intolerance. How that links to my sleep is not clear at the moment. Studying the microbiome and sleep After speaking to my mom, I also caught up with Katharina Lederer, who is a medical practitioner in Berlin. This study is part of her medical Ph.D. thesis. Firstly, I asked Lederer if she had spent a night in a sleep lab herself. Yes, I have, and my experience was surprisingly [good]. Most patients ask how they are supposed to sleep with cables on their heads, legs, chest, and sensors on their fingers. But most people, as I did, fall asleep quite quickly. Katharina Lederer Lederer also explained that most people are surprised how long they actually sleep. Our perception of how long we sleep can be hours off our actual sleep time. Especially, people with insomnia feel that they sleep [for a much shorter time] than they mostly do due to the frequent sleep interruptions, she told me. Is there a link between the gut microbiome and sleep? Lederer thinks so. In my daily practice in the sleep laboratory, I encountered many patients who dont just have trouble sleeping but also problems with their bowels, including pain, diarrhea, or constipation, she explained. Both conditions have some common risk factors, such as high stress levels, insufficient movement during the day, and also nutrition. Lederer explained that research links our brains and our bowels via the gut-brain axis. So, what is happening in this sleep study? The first step was to find out if people with insomnia suffer from more gastrointestinal problems than their healthy counterparts. This seems to be the case, but the numbers of the study are still too small to give a statistical significance, Lederer said. In a second step, we are examining the microbiota of a group of patients with insomnia and comparing them to a healthy control group. Unfortunately, this is still in process. But could changing a persons microbiome improve their sleep, or would changing their sleep affect their microbiome? There are a few studies already showing that sleep restriction can have an effect on the microbiota, Lederer explained. I suspect that there is also an influence the other way around, of the microbiota on our sleep, but this has only been shown in limited studies with mice yet. Missile strike was start of series of attacks across region: Iranian commander. A handout picture of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with President Hassan Rouhani and newly-appointed commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Esmail Qaani (right) during a mourning ceremony for slain Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in Tehran on Thursday. (Photo: AFP) Washington/Tehran: The United States has said it is ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran following the countries exchange of hostilities, according to agency reports. In a letter to the UN, the US justified the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani as an act of self-defence. US ambassador Kelly Craft told the United Nations that the Trump administration was ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran, with the goal of preventing further endangerment of international peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime. Craft cited Article 51 of the UN Charter while justifying the killing of Soleimani stating clearly that the United States is prepared to take additional actions in the region as necessary to continue to protect US personnel and interests. The US strike on Soleimani also killed members of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, who have vowed revenge. However, US Vice-President Mike Pence told reporters that intelligence indicated that Iran had asked its allied militias not to attack US targets. However, Irans ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi said the US offer of talks was unbelievable while America continued to enforce harsh economic sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile, Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, said that strikes against US forces in Iraq could have been just the beginning of a great operation across the region if the US had responded. In a news conference covered by Iranian state media, Hajizadeh said Iran had been prepared to fire hundreds or even thousands of missiles. The intention had not been to kill any US troops, he said, but the operation could have been planned in such a way that as many as 500 died in the first stage, and more if the US had responded. We had thought that the clash would continue for three days to one week. We had prepared a few thousand missiles for such circumstances, he said in remarks carried by the Fars news agency. Hajizadeh also said that Iran had launched cyber attacks which had disabled US systems for tracking missiles during the strikes. However, US officials say casualties at the bases were prevented because early warning systems worked effectively. Vicar back from USA for Norwich book launch Vicar back from USA for Norwich book launch A former Norwich vicar, and now inter-faith pastor in Colorado, has returned to the city from the USA this week to help launch his new book Living the Life Force ... and Finding Your Own Way to Do It. Keith Morris reports. President Donald Trump smiles while speaking at a campaign rally in Ohio on Thursday: AP Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed an Iranian general last week at least in part due to fears about his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, according to a new report. An article in the Wall Street Journal indicates that Mr Trump has told associates that he ordered the killing of Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani amid pressure from Republicans who wanted him to take a stronger stance towards Iran. Mr Trump, after the strike, told associates he was under pressure to deal with Gen Soleimani from GOP senators he views as important supporters in his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, the report, published Thursday, says. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story. The line appears to confirm earlier reporting by the New York Times, which claimed the president had told at least one person over the phone that he had felt pressured to take a harder line on Iran by some Republican senators whose support he needs now more than ever amid an impeachment battle. In the week that has followed the attack, Mr Trump has been praised by many in the Republican Party. And, as stability in the Middle East has been seen as particularly precarious, Mr Trump has reportedly felt at-ease with the decision. The new report connecting Mr Trumps impeachment concerns to the attack come just after Trump administration officials conducted a classified briefing with members of Congress to discuss the reasoning behind the call, and as Washington has appeared divided over whether the airstrike was necessary. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed the strike was authorised in response to an imminent threat to Americans in the region. But, the administration has been criticised for its transparency from a group that includes most Democrats and even some Republicans Now I find this insulting and demeaning, not personally, but to the office that each of the 100 senators in this building happen to hold. I find it insulting, and I find it demeaning to the Constitution to which weve all sworn an oath. It is after all the prerogative of the legislative branch to declare war, senator Mike Lee, a Republican, told reporters during a press briefing alongside senator Rand Paul after the classified briefing this week. Story continues Mr Lee added: What we were told over and over again was, look, this action is necessary, this was a bad guy, we had to do it and we cant have division. We cant have division within our ranks, within our government, otherwise it sends a wrong signal to the Iranians. And I just, I think thats completely wrong. In response to the airstrike, Iran launched a strikes on US targets in Iraq, firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases where American troops are stationed. Those attacks had no reported casualties, and led Mr Trump to claim that Iran appears to be standing down in an apparent de-escalation of tensions. Read more College professor fired after joke about bombing US cultural sites British victim of Iran crash got last minute seat on doomed plane Democracy advocates fear Iran commanders death will trigger crackdown Trump suffers legal blow over sex assault accuser Historian, professor and author Deborah Lipstadt had the chance to stand up for her beliefs and she took it, fighting in court against a Holocaust denier. The story of the libel lawsuit brought against Lipstadt by British writer David Irving in 1996 was later told on the silver screen in Denial, starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkenson. The film follows the authors battles in the British justice system. Lipstadt, professor of Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, has taught about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism for 40 years. She is also the author of several books, inlcuding Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory and Holocaust: An American Understanding. Last year, she released Antisemitism: Here and Now, a fictional correspondence that delves into current issues of stereotypes and hatred for the Jewish people. Sadly, given the unending saga that is anti-Semitism, I feel comfortable predicting that by the time this book appears, there will have been new examples of anti-Semitism that should have been part of the narrative, she wrote in the books introduction. Lipstadt will give Houston further insights into anti-Semitism in her appearance at 7 p.m. Monday at Congregation Beth Israel. The event is free and open to the public. An Evening with Professor Deborah Lipstadt is the inaugural presentation of the synagogues Alfred and Paula Friedlander Forum, created to honor its late board president. It will include a question-and-answer session, moderated by Beth Israels Senior Rabbi David Lyon, as well as a book signing and reception. People are really concerned, and some are frightened, about the degree of anti-Semitism today, said Lipstadt. The guardrails that kept people from saying and doing harmful things are down on both the right and the left. Lipstadt points to a rise in populism, which she distinguished from patriotism. Patriotism makes room for different points of view, said Lipstadt, who believes disseminating anti-Semitic views has become easier with technology. Theres now a delivery system, which is the internet. David M. Scott, executive director at Congregation Beth Israel and director of lifelong learning, said Lipstadt spent time at the synagogue in 2016 as a scholar-in-residence. She has a real sense of integrity, Scott said. Shes been in the trenches. Shes fought her own trial, and shes inspiring for that reason. Lipstadt also speaks to everyone, regardless of their religion or background, on how they can join together to combat anti-Semitism, Scott said. Author appearance When: 7 p.m. Monday Where: Congregation Beth Israel, 5600 N. Braeswood. Details: Free and open to the public; beth-israel.org/events/deborah-lipstadt. RSVP to the event by emailing Liza Abrams labrams@beth-israel.org. See More Collapse Shes present and articulate in a way thats meaningful, he said. Lipstadts talk at Beth Israel is especially pertinent right now, Scott said. Were living in a time in which its no longer something kept under wraps or in the fringes, he said. Its because its expressed and tolerated in our own media and our culture that people feel OK to act out their resentment. Its time for all members of society to stand together to fight hatred, he said: This is not tolerated by the vast majority of people. Lipstadt testified before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Jan. 8. She told them that the perpetrator, not the victim, of racial prejudice should be asked to solve the problem. Anti-Semitism is a problem for everyone, she explained. What then can we do about it? If it is irrational, must we simply throw up our hands in defeat? I think not, she told the commission. We must expose its conspiratorial, irrational, and delusional nature. We must challenge others who engage in it. We must familiarize ourselves with its history and understand the terrible consequences of ignoring it. There is no magic pill to fix the problem, she added. This fight might be one that can never result in total victory, she said. The roots of this hatred may be too deeply embedded to ever be fully eradicated. However, we must act as if we will be able to achieve that victory. The costs of not doing so are too great. Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-based writer. Water has been a source of death as well as a source of life for a generation in Shenqiu, a region fed by a tributary of China's heavily polluted Yangtze river and pockmarked with notorious "cancer villages". Residents often faced a bitter choice: drink dirty, discoloured water and risk sickness, or pay high prices for bottled water and risk poverty. But artist-turned-environmentalist Huo Yalun has been on a mission to change that, installing filters to purify groundwater in the area in a bid to offer a safe alternative for ordinary people. "We have seen many people in villages get cancer and skin diseases because of drinking the polluted water. But I wanted to ... actually find a solution to the villagers' drinking water problems," he told AFP. It has been a monumental task. Decades of rapid development has left the world's third longest river and its tributaries choked with toxic chemicals, plastic and garbage, threatening the main drinking water source of nearly 400 million people -- a third of China's population. Protecting the Yangtze -- which irrigates an area responsible for 45 percent of the country's GDP -- is now a priority, with President Xi Jinping calling for an end to "destructive" development along it. But impatient citizens, like Huo, whose father was an award-winning environmental reporter who first highlighted the issue in the 1990s, have already taken action. His prototype water filters were created before authorities even publicly disclosed the existence of more than 250 "cancer villages" in 2013 -- mostly in the Yangtze river basin, including the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Henan, where Shenqiu is located. Death rates from stomach, oesophagus or liver cancer in these places were two or three times the national average, according to the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, which linked the increases to water pollution. Huo has installed more than 50 filters and offered safe drinking water to some 100,000 families. "Before we installed the filters, a few villagers who could afford it were spending nearly 14 yuan (2 dollars) a day to buy bottled water," said Huo. "The others were still drinking the discoloured, smelly river water," he added. - 'Buried my neighbours' - Shenqiu sits on the Huai river basin, a major tributary to the Yangtze the country's "mother river" which stretches 6,300 kilometres (3,900 miles) from Tibet to Shanghai. The major causes of water pollution in the region were factories producing MSG, paper, and leather, with toxic industrial run-off pouring into the waterways. The county has more than a dozen cancer blackspots, including Huangmengying village that sits on the Shaying river, which feeds into the Huai. Here ponds and streams, traditionally sources of drinking water, turned rust-red. Little survived in the waterways and the birds all but disappeared. Cancer rates rose 196 percent from 1973 to 2004 -- nine times the national average -- according to a government report. "Many villagers were suffering from cancer. The doctor only started telling us not to drink the river water several years ago. By then I had already helped bury my three neighbours," recalled local Wang Shiying. Most residents have died or moved away to protect their health, he added. Earlier this year China unveiled an action plan to restore the Yangtze by the end of 2020. As part of this, the city of Yichang aims to close all 134 of its riverside chemical factories, while authorities in Hunan have been using drones with infrared cameras to spot factories dumping unprocessed waste water into the river. Central government is also considering stricter laws to punish "ecological crimes" such as dumping untreated sewage and industrial waste in the Yangtze basin, state media reported in November. "There has been a flurry of activity in recent months to save the Yangtze. But many of them are patchwork solutions that don't address core issues" said Ma Jun, a Beijing-based environmentalist. Lax environmental standards and tampering of pollution data by local officials has meant that "the Yangtze river basin was cleaner on paper than on the ground", Ma warned. - 'Signs of life' - But government pressure has forced more businesses to start investing in water treatment facilities, Huo said. One such project is a waste-water treatment plant at a leather tannery in Shenqiu where massive concrete vats hold 400 tonnes of chemical-tainted water used to process rawhides. The frothing black liquid which smells like rotten eggs is now run through special filters and purifiers, while real-time updates on the level of toxins in the purified water are sent to the provincial environmental authority. Huo is hopeful a combination of citizen environmentalism and government action will soon mean clean water for all. He spent 15 years honing his system where groundwater is pumped through a series of membranes that remove bacteria. He uses reverse osmosis to remove pollutants before the water undergoes ozone and UV sterilization, and is filtered through charcoal from coconut shells, a process he says ensures the water is free of contaminants and tastes good. Villagers can then fill their cans at a water dispenser, after swiping a loyalty card or paying using their mobile phones. Six litres -- a day's worth of drinking water for a family of four -- costs less than one yuan. The waterways too are showing signs of recovery. "The birds have returned this year after nearly 30 years," said Huo. "There are signs of life along the once dead river. I can now even go swimming with my daughter in summer." Water has been a source of death as well as a source of life for a generation in Shenqiu, a region fed by a tributary of China's heavily polluted Yangtze river and pockmarked with notorious 'cancer villages' Map of Yangtze River, the longest river in both China and Asia and third longest in the world. Cancer rates in some areas of the Yangtze basin rose 196 percent from 1973 to 2004 -- nine times the national average -- according to a government report Decades of rapid development has left the Yangtze, the world's third longest river, and its tributaries choked with toxic chemicals, plastic and garbage, threatening the main drinking water source of nearly 400 million people Earlier this year China unveiled an action plan to restore the heavily polluted Yangtze by the end of 2020 Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who promoted the religious and political influence of the Iranian regime across the Middle East with covert military operations, was an important figure in the Iranian government. But thats not the only reason his targeted killing by the United States has elicited explosive grief and outrage in Iran. Soleimanis killing is also roiling Iran including some people who dont necessarily follow military affairs for religious and cultural reasons related to the countrys Shii Muslim history. Veneration of martyrdom Islam, the worlds second largest religion, has two main denominations: the Sunnis and the Shiites. Iran is about 95% Shiite. While these two branches have the same basic beliefs, they differ somewhat in their interpretation of the Quran and whether imams are seen as divinely guided leaders. Nonetheless, as I teach the students in my courses on Islam and politics, the main conflict between the Sunnis and Shiites is a political one. A power struggle between the two sects have long created tensions in the Middle East. Today, it plays out in a growing competition between the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shii-majority Iran and Iraq. Most relevant to the killing of Soleimani but absent from most analysis of Irans response to the United States military action is that Shiism as a separate sect was born of political assassinations. Following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 A.D., in Medina, one group believed that leadership of the community should go to Abu Bakr, Muhammads father-in-law, a trusted friend and one of the first converts in Islam. A second group disagreed: They wanted Muhammads cousin Ali to become caliph, or leader. This group became known as Shiat-Ali partisans of Ali or Shi'a. Eventually, Ali did assume leadership of the Muslim community, becoming Islams fourth caliph. Four years later, he was murdered by his political rivals. Because Ali had agreed to arbitration to resolve Shiite differences about the future direction of the Muslim community, followers saw his assassination as an act of high treason. Story continues Ali was succeeded by his two sons Hasan, who was later poisoned, and Hussein, who was also murdered. Husseins martyrdom is remembered each year on the Shiite Muslim holiday of Ashura. So when a prominent leader like Soleimani who joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at age 24 after Irans 1979 revolution, expanding Shiite influence across the Middle East for four decades is killed in a targeted attack, the death necessarily recalls this dark history of assassinations in the Shiite culture. Extreme and cruel injustice Another element of Shiite historical memory relevant to Soleimanis killing is the concept of extreme injustice, or zulm. Zulm is an Arabic word that in Shii Islam may be used to describe everything from a false accusation to government tyranny. According to the Shiite scholar Ayatullah Dastaghaib Shirazi, zulm refers to various kinds of oppressions [that] include insulting, abusing, degrading or imprisoning a person. Shirazi, who was imprisoned by the shah of Iran several times for preaching against his rule, before the 1979 revolution, was intimately familiar with this form of zulm. Another form of oppression is to usurp someones property, Shirazi writes in his book Greater Sins, or to forcefully occupy a position reserved for someone else. This is the supreme injustice committed against Muhammeds cousin Ali, his sons and their descendants, Shiites believe. Their right to lead Islam was repeatedly usurped. Because Soleimanis death is widely seen by Iranians to have been unprovoked, it is likely to evoke memories of extreme injustices past. Soleimani had run military operations targeting Americans, but the Trump administration has offered no evidence that he presented a direct threat to the United States when he was killed. Acute awareness of injustice is a defining feature of the Shiite faith, according to the Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi. Millions of Iranians have turned out to mourn Soleimani in recent days, calling him a martyr and vowing revenge for his killing. Unity in dissent Such public support for the government is not necessarily common these days in Iran. Mass youth-led protests in 2018 and 2019 demonstrated a clear backlash against the regime of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. When the government cracked down on dissent in November 2019, Soleimani himself was in charge of the Revolutionary Guard forces that killed up to 1,500 protesters. But when the Iranian people agree that an extreme injustice has occurred, history shows, they can become powerfully united in opposition to it. Several scholars point to the 1979 Iranian Revolution as an example of an uprising inspired by zulm. By the late 1970s, the Shah of Iran was abusing his absolute power both politically and economically to create a huge gap between the ruling elite and the Iranian people. Iranians understood these actions as tyranny, Dabashi argues. When they rose up in revolt, overthrowing the monarchy to establish an Islamic republic, Dabashi says, Iranians were invoking qiyam meaning to rise in ones defense. Zulm and qiyam are thematically related in the moral universe of Shi'i political culture, he writes in his 2011 book Shiism: A Religion of Protest. Those who died in the revolution are considered martyrs. The Iranian Revolution succeeded not because all Iranians thought the same way, according to the late British academic Michael Axworthy, but because for a brief time a large majority, despite differences between the social and ideological groups to which they belonged, came together. Today, the religious and cultural symbolism of Soleimanis killing appears to have inspired Iranians once again to set aside their differences, at least temporarily, to mourn a new martyr. [ Youre smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversations authors and editors. You can get our highlights each weekend. ] This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Read more: Deina Abdelkader does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make a previously planned visit to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, Reuters reported. Earlier, Asahi TV reported that the trip will be canceled after the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and Irans retaliatory missile strike against US forces in Iraq. However, Abe will visit the region, as expected, from January 11 to 15, Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday. Given the rising regional tensions, this trip is taking place to exchange opinions with these three nations as one part of Japanese diplomacy aimed at diffusing the overall situation, Suga said. At the same time, Minister of Defense Taro Kono signed a decree sending a warship and two P-3C patrol aircraft to the Middle East to protect ships delivering goods to Japan. Patrol planes will leave Japan on Saturday and are set to operate from January 20. The destroyer will fly from Japan to the region on February 2. Ninety percent of our oil travels through those waters and so its a lifeline for the Japanese economy, Kono said at a media briefing. The now-closed Green Chile Kitchen in NoPa. | Photo: R.A. Schuetz/Hoodline In September, Green Chile Kitchen fans mourned the closure of its flagship location in NoPa, which served stews, burritos and other New Mexican specialities to the neighborhood for 14 years. The good news is that the restaurants former space at 1801 McAllister St. (and Baker) wont sit vacant for long. After years of pop-ups, Automat chef Matthew Kirk announced in an Instagram story that he's found a permanent home in the space. Kirk, a former sous chef at the Mission's Lazy Bear, will be teaming up with Lazy Bear chef/owner David Barzelay on the project. Barzelay also co-owns Mission cocktail bar True Laurel, a collaboration with Lazy Bear's onetime bar director Nicolas Torres. Automat chef Matthew Kirk (center) at a pop-up he hosted at El Rio. | Photo: James Carnes/Flickr It is going to be A LOT of hard work," Kirk wrote in an Instagram story announcing the partnership. "But I cant wait to have a place in the community where everything startedwhere my kids can come visit and see all your faces." Kirk did not respond to a request for comment. But a recent article in Vogue offers a brief blurb about the coming restaurant, noting that it will offer New American items such as a fried chicken sandwich with seaweed and green goddess dressing and dill-pickle-spiced bagels. It will likely debut in the late fall or early winter of 2020. Automat's chicken sandwiches. | Photo: Automat/Facebook Over the past three and a half years, Kirk has hosted pop-up meals at Wesburger, New Taraval Cafe, and Daily Driver. He also offers a monthly "bread box" delivery that allows customers to receive three types of bread delivered to their door for $35. At the moment, it's unclear if the pop-ups will continue while Kirk gets the new restaurant off the ground. We'll update this story if we learn more. Tata Motors rose 2.76% to Rs 197.25 after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported retail sales of 52,814 vehicles for December 2019, up 1.3% over the previous year. For the month of December, Jaguar Land Rover retail sales were boosted by China (up 26.3% year-on-year), a sixth successive month of double-digit growth. This offset lower sales in North America (-1.1%), UK (-2.9%), Europe (-5.3%) and in overseas markets (-7.6%). The new Range Rover Evoque continues to perform very well (up 33.2%) and the refreshed Land Rover Discovery Sport is gaining traction (up 19.6%). Sales of the Land Rover Discovery were also up, while other models were lower. Tata Motors has risen 23.55% in the past one month, outperforming the Nifty Auto index's 5.43% rise in the same period. On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 66.602. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Traditionally the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30. The stock was trading above its 50-day moving average (DMA) placed at Rs 173.15 and its 200-day moving average (DMA) placed at Rs 161.60, both of which would serve as a support levels in the near term. On a consolidated basis, Tata Motors recorded a net loss of Rs 227.62 crore in Q2 September 2019 compared with net loss of Rs 873.27 crore in Q2 September 2018. Net sales fell 9.2% to Rs 64,763.39 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Tata Motors is engaged in manufacture of motor vehicles. The auto firm is engaged mainly in the business of automobile products consisting of all types of commercial and passenger vehicles, including financing of the vehicles sold by the company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON Evidence indicates it is highly likely that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran late Tuesday, U.S. and Canadian officials said Thursday. They said the strike, which killed all 176 people on board, could well have been a mistake amid intentional airstrikes and high tensions throughout the region. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid a confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Four U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said they had no certain knowledge of Iranian intent and the airliner could have been mistaken for a threat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in a Thursday press conference in Toronto: "We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Earlier Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shootdown but wouldn't directly blame the Iranians. He dismissed Iran's initial claim that it was a mechanical issue. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood." Some people say it was mechanical, Trump added. I personally don't think that's even a question. The U.S. officials wouldnt say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. Two additional U.S. officials said the intelligence pointing to likely Iranian responsibility became clearer overnight into Thursday. It was not immediately clear how the U.S. and its allies would react to the downing of the airliner. At least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians were among the dead. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of the Iranian general and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes. U.S. troops were on high-alert. The latest assessment comes just a day after Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they hadn't had a chance to review the intelligence on the incident. Both spent much of the day at the White House and on Capitol Hill briefing the administration on on the killing of Soleimani and the resulting attacks by Iran. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down. Ukraine, meanwhile, said it considered a missile strike as one of several possible theories for the crash, despite Iran's early denials. The Iranian report suggests that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines late Tuesday, when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Investigators from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization offered no immediate explanation for the disaster, however. Iranian officials initially blamed a technical malfunction for the crash, something backed by Ukrainian officials before they said they wouldn't speculate amid an ongoing investigation. Before the U.S. assessment, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the of civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that "the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out. The Ukrainian International Airlines took off at 6:12 a.m. Wednesday, Tehran time, after nearly an hour's delay at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, the main airport for travelers in Iran. It gained altitude heading west, reaching nearly 8,000 feet, according to both the report and flight-tracking data. Then something went wrong, though no radio messages were received from the pilot regarding unusual situations, the report said. In emergencies, pilots reach out to air-traffic controllers to warn them and to clear the runway for their arrival, though their first priority is to keep the aircraft flying. Eyewitnesses, including the crew of another flight passing above, described seeing the plane engulfed in flames before crashing at 6:18 a.m., the report said. The crash caused a massive explosion when the plane hit the ground, likely because the aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine. The report also confirmed that both of the black boxes that contain data and cockpit communications from the plane had been recovered, though they sustained damage and some parts of their memory was lost. Hours before the plane crash the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had issued an emergency flight restriction barring U.S. carriers and pilots from flying over areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace warning of the potential for miscalculation or misidentification for civilian aircraft due to heightened political and military tensions. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, told Ukrainian media that officials had several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike. "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," Danilov said. He did not elaborate on where he saw the information on the internet. Ukrainian investigators that arrived in Iran earlier on Thursday currently await permission from Iranian authorities to examine the crash site and look for missile fragments, Danilov said. The Tor is a Russian-made missile system. Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007 as part of a $700 million contract signed in December 2005. Iran has displayed the missiles in military parades as well. Iran did not immediately respond to the Ukrainian comments. However, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian armed forces, denied a missile hit the airplane in a comments reported Wednesday by the semiofficial Fars news agency. He dismissed the allegation as "psychological warfare" by foreign-based Iranian opposition groups. Ukraine has a grim history with missile attacks, including in July 2014 when one such strike downed a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard. Danilov also said other possible causes under consideration included a drone or another flying object crashing into the plane, a terrorist attack or an engine malfunction causing an explosion. However, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack and the plane was only 3 years old. The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. Many of the passengers were believed to be international students attending universities in Canada; they were making their way back to Toronto by way of Kyiv after visiting with family during the winter break. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he planned to call Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the crash and the investigation. Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash, Zelenskiy said. We will surely find out the truth. The crash ranked among the worst losses of life for Canadians in an aviation disaster. The flag over Parliament in Ottawa was lowered to half-staff, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to get to the bottom of the disaster. The British government said Thursday it is investigating very concerning reports about the crash. The U.S. accident investigator, the National Transportation Safety Board, is talking to the State Department and the Treasury Department about traveling to Iran to inspect the U.S.-built aircraft and working with Iranian authorities despite U.S. economic sanctions against that country. Federal officials are concerned about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. Last year Insight Partners invested $500 million in cloud data management company Veeam. It apparently liked the company so much that today it announced it has acquired the Swiss startup for $5 billion. Veeam helps customers with cloud data backup and disaster recovery. The company, which has been based in Baar, Switzerland, says that it had $1 billion in revenue last year. It boasts 365,000 customers worldwide, including 81% of the Fortune 500. Ray Wang, founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research, says that data management is an increasingly important tool for companies working with data on prem and in the cloud. "This is a smart move, as the data management space is rapidly consolidating. Theres a lot of investment in managing hybrid clouds, and data management is key to enterprise adoption," Wang told TechCrunch. The deal is coming with some major changes. Veeams EVP of Operations, William H. Largent, will be promoted to CEO. Danny Allan, who was VP of product strategy, will be promoted to CTO. In addition, the company will be moving its headquarters to the U.S. Veeam currently has around 1,200 employees in the U.S., but expects to expand that in the coming year. New CEO Allan says in spite of their apparent success in the market, and the high purchase price, he believes under Insight's ownership, the company can go further than it could have on its own. "While Veeams preeminence in the data management space, currently supporting 81% of the Fortune 500, is undeniable, this commitment from Insight Partners and deeper access to its unmatched business strategy [from its scale-up] division, Insight Onsite, will bring Veeams solutions to more businesses across the globe. Insight Onsite is Insight Partners' strategy arm that is designed to help its portfolio companies be more successful. It provides a range of services in key business areas, like sales, marketing and product development. Veeam has backup and recovery tools for both Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, along with partnerships with a variety of large enterprise vendors, including Cisco, IBM, Dell EMC and HPE. The company, which was founded in 2006, had a valuation of more than $1 billion prior to today's acquisition, according to Crunchbase data. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter this year. As the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisting stares Pakistan, the Anti-Terrorism Court in the country has summoned 26/11 mastermind, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ul Dawa (JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed to record his closing statement on Friday. The Pakistani Court is hearing the trial of two terror financing cases against him. Statements of as many as 23 witnesses were recorded. On December 11, 2019, Saeed and four others were indicted by the court, six months after they were booked for offences pertaining to terror financing. Pak passes crucial bill to meet FATF requirement Pakistan faces FATF Pakistan currently faces FATF's scrutiny as its delegation presents a compliance report in France. The FATF had given the country four months to improve 'counter-terrorist financing'. The FATF had also said Pakistan failed to complete its plans. Not only did Pakistan fail to complete its action plan items by January deadline; it also failed to complete its action plan items due May 2019. Pakistan was told to implement a 27- point action plan to block financial loopholes, terror financing and money laundering in the country. The FATF also placed Pakistan on Grey List in June 2018. 7 more witnesses testify against Hafiz Saeed in terror financing case In August 2019, the Asia Pacific Joint Group (APJG) placed Pakistan in the enhanced follow up list for failure to meet the standards. The list was based on technical compliance and rated 'satisfactory' on meeting 10 points out of the 40. In 2012, Pakistan was placed on the grey list and remained on it till 2015. The country was put on the list again on June 29, 2018. Pakistan was given 15 months for implementation of the 27-point action plan, with a warning that in case of failure the country would be added to the blacklist a list of the countries branded as uncooperative and tax havens for terror funding.Currently, only Iran and North Korea are on the blacklist. Pakistan court adjourns trial of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed till Jan 2 Pakistan will achieve all FATF targets in time: Shah Mehmood Qureshi Meghan Markle certainly knows how to play her part. And she should she wrote it, after all. Soon after getting engaged to the English prince, the Hollywood star announced her retirement from acting. It was an odd choice for a self-proclaimed progressive feminist: To marry into the most conservative institution in the Western world and have a wedding ceremony that would not be out of place in a 1950s Disney princess movie. But then again, she looked gorgeous in her wedding dress and the people adored her, so to hell with all that. The job of a royal is straightforward enough. Be graceful and self-effacing. Enjoy the unearned money quietly; resent the unwanted attention privately. And whatever you do, do not get on the wrong side of the press: It makes the whole family look bad. But Markle had a different idea of what happily ever after should look like. Episode one: She meets handsome prince and falls in love. Episode two: She marries handsome prince as all the kingdom rejoices. But the Meghan show took the same turn as every TV drama. Episode three: An evil villain (the press) turns against her (mostly because of the hypocritical things she has said and done since the wedding), while certain family members (her quieter sister-in-law, for instance) brought additional tension. This takes us to episode four and the part we have all been waiting for when the heroine retreats into a barren wilderness (Canada) . . . Get the popcorn ready! On Instagram, the couple shared their plan to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, which is all part of a plan to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. But did anyone tell the queen? Shock, horror no. According to reports, Her Majesty was disappointed. Dickie Arbiter, her former press secretary, said that she was probably more angry over this than she had been over [Prince] Andrews car-crash interview last year (referring to his failed attempt to talk himself out of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal). But of course, this only strengthens the development of Markles character arc. Now she is misunderstood, as well as mistreated. Brilliant! Story continues Of course, the monarchy hasnt seriously mattered since around 1215. And out in the real world, the celebrity of it gets tedious quickly. But Markle and Harry-since-Meghan have taken this tedium to a whole new level. The couples politics are predictable; their causes, vacuous; their public statements, self-regarding and sanctimonious. And they just wont shut up, either. If they were being honest about it, theyd have followed their promise to step back with and into the limelight where we intend to stay while appearing pained and aghast. Piers Morgan, host of Good Morning Britain, has an interesting insight with respect to Markle. He claims that she was initially very friendly toward him but then ghosted him after meeting the prince. In his Daily Mail column, he has said that such behavior signified a worrying social-climbing character trait that has seen her ditch many friends and almost all her family if she feels they may threaten her ferociously ambitious rise up the celebrity ladder. Morgan has also been unimpressed by Markles decision to cut her father out of her life after, attempting to counter rumors her friends had spread about him in People magazine, he had published in the Daily Mail a letter she sent him. The British public were far more unimpressed by the couples virtue-signaling about climate change while flying around the world on their private jets and lecturing them about poverty while enjoying a multimillion-dollar home, courtesy of the taxpayer. A recent ITV documentary took a more supportive view, however. Following the couple on their trip to South Africa, it opens with dramatic music, and the voice of the presenter a friend of the couple, incidentally narrates: As this journey wore on, another human story emerged, of a man still wrestling with the legacy of his background, his birth, and of the tragic death of his mother [Princess Diana, a royal troublemaker of greater credibility and fame than Markle, died in a car crash driven by a speeding drunk while being chased by paparazzi], and of one particular fear: that history might repeat itself, as his wife struggles to adapt to a life in the spotlight. Then over to Markle: Markle: You add this [media attention] on top of just trying to be a new mom, or trying to be a newlywed and also, thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if Im okay. . . . But its, uh . . . a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes. Presenter: And the answer is, would it be fair to say, Not really okay? The dramatic music continues as the camera zooms in on her best fighting back tears face. Is this a documentary or a soap opera? In case anyone needs reminding, Meghan Markle is not Princess Diana. Not even close. Her husband has less claim to the throne than his tiniest nephew. This Hollywood climber has been more than happy to take media attention when it was positive and much of it has been but unwilling to shrug off the bad with the good or to learn from her PR mistakes. In doing so, she has committed the cardinal sin in British public life: taking oneself too seriously. More from National Review GRAND RAPIDS, MI Concerns over housing affordability and gentrification were front and center Thursday as the Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved conceptual plans to build new housing, retail space and more in an aging 9-acre stretch of the Boston Square neighborhood. More than 20 people spoke during a lively public comment period in which supporters of the project framed the development as a generational opportunity to strengthen a neighborhood that has suffered from a lack of investment. Opponents, meanwhile, said not all residents were given an opportunity to weigh in on the plans, and said the changes being proposed could drive up rental rates and hurt low-income people. These homes will be affordable for someone, but who? asked Barbara Howard, a member of the advocacy group Grand Rapids Homes for All. The development is being pitched by Amplify GR, a nonprofit created by the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation and the Cheri DeVos Foundation with the goal of supporting community redevelopment in the Boston Square, Cottage Grove and Madison Square neighborhoods. Its founders and partners spent an estimated $10 million to purchase at least 32 blighted and underused properties in the three Southeast Side neighborhoods starting in 2015. The nine-member planning commission unanimously supported the proposal. It now goes to the Grand Rapids City Commission for further consideration. The project would be built in phases and could take up to a decade to complete, officials say. While public comment during Thursdays meeting centered on affordability, city staff said its not legal to factor rental prices into their decision. Instead, commissioners focused on factors such as how the development fit into the overall neighborhood and the citys master plan. I cant bind them to anything, Commissioner James Davis said when discussing the issue of affordable housing. Amplifys plans call for the construction of about 20 townhomes as well as seven buildings containing roughly 250 apartments and commercial space intended for a bank, grocery store, food hall, and office or commercial space for neighborhood entrepreneurs. It also includes a park and greenspace. A significant number of the rental units would be reserved for families and senior citizens. Portions of those apartments would be earmarked for people earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. Information presented Thursday by Amplify said 80 percent of the rental units would be affordable." The townhomes would be sold, not rented, to buyers, and would consist of both market rate and income restricted units. The income restricted units would be for residents whose income is up to 120 percent of the area median income. In response to concerns over housing and rental prices, project officials said they were dedicated to ensuring the developments units are affordable. Were a mission driven organization, said Peter Levavi, Sr. Vice President of Northbrook, Illinois-based Brinshore Development. We did not come here to Grand Rapids to build anything other than mixed-income housing. Brinshore Development is serving as Amplifys development partner. The Amplify development is bordered to the east and west by Fuller and Kalamazoo avenues, and to the north and south by Adams and Ramona streets. Six rental houses and five commercial buildings, including the Modern Hardware store, would be demolished to make room for the new structures, officials say. Modern Hardware would remain in business and relocate to a new building in the development. Residents who participated in community feedback sessions hosted by Amplify this summer said they were confident the nonprofit will deliver on its promises surrounding affordability. Amplify says more than 200 people attended its feedback sessions. Whitney White, who lives in the Boston Square neighborhood, said Amplify GR took significant steps to solicit feedback from her and other neighborhood residents. She said shes eager to see development in the neighborhood because when she looks at the Boston Square area now she sees a lot of condemned buildings, trash on the floors and things like that. So whatever they do is going to be better than whats being done now, which is nothing, she said. The plans approved Thursday mark the first large-scale development put forth by Amplify. The nonprofit has drawn applause for its mission, but its also been the subject of suspicion by some residents. In 2017, after its purchase of the area properties became public, the organization began hosting town hall meetings to discuss its purpose. It was greeted by skeptical residents and outsiders who questioned the motives of the DeVos family. Residents also worried that development efforts would gentrify the neighborhoods, drive up rental rates and force out poor residents. Rachel Scott, vice president of business development at Rockford Construction Co., which is a partner on the project and owns some buildings in the area, said if the project ends up displacing people and not creating the wealth and the ownership that the community has asked for, it will have failed. But, she added: I dont believe thats whats going to happen, and I appreciate our community holding our feet to the fire so that we can prove them wrong. The Trump administration today announced new sanctions for Iran even as it appeared to step back from initial claims that it ordered the drone strike on Gen. Qassem Soleimani because of an imminent strike he was planning on U.S. personnel. This was gonna happen, and American lives were at risk, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said when asked for his definition of imminent." The new sanctions cover construction, manufacturing, textiles, mining, steel and iron, while other sanctions target specific Iranian officials, USA Today reported. The president has been very clear: we will continue to apply economic sanctions until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commit that it will never have nuclear weapons," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said. The world is anxiously waiting to see if there will be more fallout after the Jan. 3 drone strike that killed Soleimani and several others. On Wednesday, in retaliation for the generals death, Iran launched dozens of missile strikes at Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. There were no casualties in the attacks, although U.S. intelligence and other world leaders believe Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran, hours after the missiles were launched. The crash killed all 176 passengers. So how did the United States get to this point? Are the U.S. and Iran so different? Are Christians really being persecuted by the Islamic country? Here are 5 things you may not know about Iran: Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Naruedom Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative therapies to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cancer, today announced the results from an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of TERN-201, a semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) inhibitor, being developed for the treatment of NASH. These findings were presented today at the NASH-TAG Conference in Park City, Utah, taking place January 9-11, 2020. The study demonstrated that a single oral dose of TERN-201 resulted in sustained, near-complete suppression of SSAO-specific activity in the plasma. At each dose level studied (1 mg, 3 mg, 6 mg, and 10 mg) this corresponded to >90% inhibition of the SSAO activity in the plasma. These decreases were observed four hours after a single dose of TERN-201 and inhibition was detectable up to one week. No clinically relevant adverse events or laboratory abnormalities were reported. "The data we have observed from the single-ascending dose phase of our first-in-human clinical study of TERN-201 are very encouraging and show that single doses of TERN-201 result in sustained SSAO inhibition and are very well tolerated," said Erin Quirk, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Terns. We remain confident in our approach to SSAO inhibition, and we look forward to sharing the results of the second phase of the study in the near future, which will evaluate the effect of repeat dosing with TERN-201. These clinical data have further validated our belief that TERN-201 can become a valuable new treatment for patients with NASH, who currently have no approved treatment options, said Weidong Zhong, Ph.D., President and CEO of Terns. It has been demonstrated that SSAO inhibition can reduce hepatic inflammation and we believe TERN-201 has significant advantages, as it is highly selective for SSAO and which we believe could minimize off-target effects in the NASH patient population." The first-in-human trial of TERN-201 is a multiple phase, single- and multiple-ascending dose study in healthy human participants. In the first phase, 32 study volunteers receive a single dose of TERN-201 or placebo in ascending dose cohorts. In the second phase of the study, healthy participants receive repeat doses of TERN-201 or placebo, also in ascending dose cohorts. The primary endpoint for each phase of the trial is safety and tolerability. Secondary endpoints include pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) biomarker assessments of SSAO target engagement. About Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase (SSAO) Inhibition and TERN-201 SSAO, also known as VAP-1 (Vascular Adhesion Protein-1), is a dual-function amine oxidase which increases oxidative stress through the generation of H 2 O 2 and promotes recruitment of pro-inflammatory cells to the liver, which results in increased inflammation and hepatic fibrosis. The level of surface SSAO is upregulated in the vasculature of inflamed tissues, and soluble SSAO levels are elevated in patients with NASH. Inhibition of SSAO is believed to have therapeutic benefit for the treatment of NAFLD, NASH, and other chronic fibrotic liver diseases. TERN-201 is a potent SSAO inhibitor that could provide a new treatment mechanism for NASH by reducing oxidative stress and recruitment of pro-inflammatory cells to the liver. TERN-201 is highly specific for SSAO, with a preferential in vitro selectivity index to SSAO over off-target monoamine oxidases (MAO) of >7,000-fold. Certain MAOs could be associated with potential drug-drug interactions in the NASH patient population. About NASH Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is caused by the accumulation of excess fat in the liver. NASH is associated with chronic liver inflammation and liver cell injury, and it can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and eventually liver cancer or liver failure. Global rates of NAFLD and NASH are increasing rapidly, in tandem with rising rates of obesity. There is currently no approved medication for the treatment of NASH. About Terns Pharmaceuticals Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that is focused on the discovery and development of medicines for chronic liver disease and cancer. Based in China and the United States, the company is advancing a pipeline of drug candidates for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cancer, across multiple modalities. Terns leverages world class expertise in disease biology, medicinal chemistry, and clinical development in order to bring promising new therapies to patients in China and other global markets. For more information, visit www.ternspharma.com and www.ternspharma.com.cn View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005030/en/ The police on Friday announced a reward of 1 lakh to anyone providing information about Aman Bawa, one of the three owners of travel agency World Leisure Holidays. Aman and his parents, Anuj Bawa and Rajinder Bawa, are accused of duping 148 students of Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, of 222 lakh in all, after promising to arrange an educational tour for them to NASA in the US. While Rajinder was arrested October 15 last year and is currently in judicial custody, his son and wife continue to be on the run since September 26, 2019, after the Division Number 5 police lodged the first FIR against them. In all, the family is facing three cases of duping the students and management of Sacred Heart Convent School. The first FIR was registered against the accused on September 26 on the statement of the school principal, followed by another case on November 4 on the complaint of Inderjit Singh, Kawaldeep Singh and Ankush Jain, parents of three students. The third FIR was registered on November 8 following a complaint by Dalip Chopra and Pankaj Sachdeva. Announcing the reward on their Facebook page, the Ludhiana police have asked the informers to contact the Division Number 5 SHO or call at 783-701-8605, while assuring that the informers identity will be kept secret. Sub-inspector Richa Rani, SHO, Division Number 5 station, said the court had already issued arrest warrants against the accused. Commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal said a hunt was on to arrest the absconding mother-son duo. THE CASE The school had roped in the travel agency for the educational tour and a total of 148 students had paid money for it. However, the visas of all students and staff members were rejected, following which the travel agency refused to return the money. The complainants, Dalip, Pankaj and Anand, parents of three students, had alleged that the travel agency took 2.8 lakh per student to arrange US visas for their children for the educational tour. However, the agency failed to secure the visas. Dalip said when the police complaint was filed, the agency returned 1.3 lakh each in two instalments, but refused to return the rest. The increase in his security cover has now fuelled speculations that he could be named the head of the proposed trust for Ram temple construction in Ayodhya. Lucknow, Jan 10 (IANS) Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, who heads the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, will now be given "Z" category security. The Mahant, till now, enjoyed "Y" category security. The announcement for the trust is expected to take place after January 16. Mahant Nritya Gopal Das had recently said that temple construction should begin on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami. The Ram Janambhoomi Nyas is a trust formed by the Vishva Hindu Parishad in January 1993 soon after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. It was headed by Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans then and after his demise in 2003, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das took over the reins. According to reports, in 2001, the Mahant was attacked by unidentified assailants and he survived with minor injuries. After this incident, he was provided security by the government. In November last year, the Supreme Court gave its verdict in the Ayodhya title dispute case ruling that the property will be managed in Lord Rama's name but a trust will be set up by the Central government within three months to build the temple. A 5-acre land was allotted for the construction of a mosque for the Muslims. amita/vd Jacksonville Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Donald S. Surratt, 51, of 537 Strafford Lane was booked into the Morgan County jail at 9:02 p.m. Wednesday on a domestic battery charge. Taylor R. Bennett, 33, of 341 E. Chambers St. was booked into the Morgan County jail at 1:51 a.m. Thursday on charges of criminal trespass to land, retail theft and resisting a peace officer. ACCIDENTS A 15-year-old girl was cited on a charge of failure to yield after the vehicle she was driving and a vehicle being driven by Brooklynn D. Jones, 20, of Jacksonville collided at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday at Massey Lane and West Morton Avenue. Greene County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Scott P. Winters, 39, of Carrollton was booked into the Greene County Jail at 2:58 a.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is suspended. Jami Lynn Harris, 37, of Carrollton was booked into the Greene County Jail at 2:23 p.m. Tuesday on a petition to revoke probation. Ramon G. Colon-Melendez, 37, of Roodhouse was booked into the Greene County Jail at 10:28 a.m. Monday on an obstructing justice charge. Trevor W. Hardwick, 38, of Patterson was booked into the Greene County Jail at 9:28 a.m. Monday on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Roodhouse Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Westley E. Parsons, 27, of Murrayville was booked into the Greene County Jail at 6:35 a.m. Wednesday on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, squealing or screeching tires, illegal transportation of alcohol and littering from a motor vehicle. White Hall Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Amanda R. Douglas, 30, of Hillview was booked into the Greene County Jail at 8:41 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended. Jeremiah D. Briggs, 31, of White Hall was booked into the Greene County Jail at 10:22 p.m. Sunday on a domestic battery charge. Victor T. Rector, 60, of White Hall was booked into the Greene County Jail at 10:27 p.m. Jan. 2 on a disorderly conduct charge. Scott County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Morgan L. Reich, 20, of Bluffs was booked into the Greene County Jail at 2:31 p.m. Monday on charges of domestic battery and criminal damage. Compiled by Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree, David C.L. Bauer and Marco Cartolano Police are treating a fire which caused significant damage to a Londonderry nightclub as arson. The fire broke out on the roof Envy nightclub on Strand Road shortly before 7pm on Thursday. Four Northern Ireland Fire Service pumps and two aerial appliances were sent to the scene. Read More Premises nearby were evacuated as firefighters dealt with the blaze, while those in other properties nearby were advised to close their windows due to fears to the roof of the building contained asbestos. Police on the scene of the major Derry fire say that the roof of the Envy nightclub which is well ablaze contains asbestos. Loud bangs can be heard as the fire takes hold pic.twitter.com/Vc63aUYxCH Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) January 9, 2020 A number of roads were also closed and the public were told to avoid the area on Friday morning. Following an investigation, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service ruled the blaze was the result of a deliberate ignition and police are treating the incident as arson. Detective Sergeant Gavin McLaughlin said: The investigation is still at an early stage and we have no motive for the attack and we are keeping an open mind. I want to appeal to anyone who saw a male acting suspiciously in the Strand Road area last night between 6.30pm and 6.45pm, or anyone who may have witnessed any other suspicious activity to get in touch with detectives in Strand Road on 101, and quote reference number 1523 of 09/01/20." Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Washington: The Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this week's missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on US bases in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved in "destabilising" activities in the Middle East as well as Tuesday's missile strike, which came in retaliation for the US killing of a senior Iranian general in a drone strike. Mnuchin said President Donald Trump will issue an executive order imposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction, manufacturing or mining sectors. They will also impose separate sanctions against the steel and iron sectors. "As a result of these actions we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime," said Mnuchin. The administration has already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, which has caused significant economic hardship in Iran and cut its oil exports to historic lows. Iran this week launched the strikes in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani, the country's most powerful commander, in Baghdad last week. The prince of WA's only micro-nation, the Hutt River Principality, announced it will close its doors until further notice due to financial hardship. In an official media release, Prince Graeme Casley, said he made the decision "with a heavy heart" after consulting the principality's cabinet. Hutt River's Graeme Casley. Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola According to the monarch, the principality had run into financial hardship since founder Prince Leonard's passing in February 2019. Successor Prince Graeme, a former school teacher, blamed a decline in agricultural revenue - the micro-nation's main source of income - as well as a drop in tourist visits and an increase in running costs. Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews aka Osofo Kyiri Abosom 10.01.2020 LISTEN The Founder of Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Reverend Christian Kwabena Andrews, popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom, has backed the decision by the Electoral Commission to compile a new voter's register ahead of the 2020 elections. Osofo Kyiri Abosom said the electoral register in its current state cannot be trusted in anyway because the register is bloated, incurably and flawed which cannot be relied on for the all-important 2020 elections. The founder of the new political party with the slogan Arise for Development argues that a new register is the only way for free and fair elections. Osofo Kyiri Abosom, who is also the Founder and General Overseer of the Life Assembly Worship Centre in Accra stated, The EC should not be denied the appropriate tools to do a credible job for December 2020 polls. Peace is priceless, hence the need for Ghanaians to rally behind the EC to compile a new biometric voters register. Osofo Kyiri Abosom exclusively told Kwaku Dawuro on Anopa Nkomo on Accra-based on Kingdom FM 107.7. Meanwhile, the main opposition NDC says the current voters register is credible enough for the 2020 elections, maintaining that we dont need a new register for the 2020 general elections. The EC has entrenched its stance for a new voter's register following advice from its Information Technology (IT) personnel and external IT consultants. It explained that an assessment by the experts revealed that the current biometric register is obsolete, hence the need to acquire a new one. But the opposition claims the same voter's register was used to declare President Akufo-Addo winner of the 2016 general elections, the same register was adopted by all prior to the 2016 general elections as credible and sacrosanct. Mourners holding posters of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani attend a funeral ceremony for him and his comrades, who were killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone strike on Friday, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The processions mark the first time Iran honored a single man with a multi-city ceremony. Not even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, received such a processional with his death in 1989. Soleimani on Monday will lie in state at Tehran's famed Musalla mosque as the revolutionary leader did before him. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Associated Press The US and Iran started this year exchanging blows, with the US killing a senior Iranian commander and Tehran firing ballistic missiles at US troops in Iraq. Neither side has escalated tensions further, but Iran's sprawling network of proxies and assets has raised concern it could strike US interests around the world. The US and others have accused Iran and Hezbollah of involvement in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, which killed 85 people, and the 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people. Officials and experts say Iran has loose ties to drug cartels and money launderers. One regional expert described the possibility they will use these connections to launch an attack on Americans in the region as "very low." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In the days since Iran fired ballistic missiles at bases used by US forces in Iraq in response to the US killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, both Washington and Tehran appear to have stepped back from the edge of war. But there are still concerns Tehran could harm US interests elsewhere around the world. That includes Latin America, where the US has tracked Iran and its proxies, particularly Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah, for some time. With escalation in the Middle East seemingly halted, "I imagine the Iranians will soon begin their real retaliation," said Fernando Cutz, who worked for the National Security Council during the Trump and Obama administrations, focusing on Latin America. "The real retaliation will be taking place in the shadows, not in open battlefields. This is both a space that the Iranians tend to thrive in, and one that allows them a cloak of deniability," Cutz, now a senior associate at The Cohen Group, told Business Insider in an email. "The Iranians have spent decades building capacity to fundraise and to strike in many corners of the world, including Latin America." Story continues 'Malign actors' Hezbollah Member Lebanon REUTERS/Ali Hashisho In its 2018 report on terrorism, the US State Department said Hezbollah that year had "continued its long history of activity in the Western Hemisphere," including its use of financiers operating in the tri-border area where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. It operates there mainly using "loose connections with low-level merchants of Syrian and Lebanese origin," Fernando Brancoli, a professor of international security at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, told World Politics Review in September. Hezbollah in South America doesn't have an organized structure, and while it uses contacts in the area for money laundering or smuggling, that doesn't generate significant revenue, Brancoli said. Right-wing leaders, especially in Brazil and Argentina, have been more willing to act against Hezbollah at US behest, but the Trump administration has pushed for more, even proposing Israel provide training and equipment. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in February 2019 that Hezbollah has "active cells" in Venezuela and throughout South America, and the US government has accused Venezuelan officials, including former Vice President Tareck El Aissami, of ties to Hezbollah, though public evidence for those claims is considered thin. Javad Zarif Iran Nicolas Maduro Venezuela Miraflores Palace via REUTERS At a counterterrorism conference in Buenos Aires last summer, Pompeo pointed to "Iran-backed Hezbollah" as a particular threat in Latin America. Pompeo's visit coincided with the 25th anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, which killed 85 people and for which the US and others in the region blame Iran and Hezbollah. The group was also behind a 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people. Hezbollah has been accused working with Mexican cartels to traffic drugs, launder money, and in a poorly conceived attempt to hire the Zetas cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC. (People in the US have also been charged with providing financial and material support to Hezbollah.) Speaking to reporters in October, Adm. Craig Faller, head of US Southern Command, which is responsible for US military operations in South America, named Iran alongside Russia and China as "malign actors" working against long-term stability in the region. "We know there's a significant Lebanese Hezbollah presence through the region with connections back to Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran," Faller said. "Some of that is long-term ... ties, but some of it, there's some financing that goes on. We're not complacent about that, and we're continuing to monitor it." A real presence but low risk Pompeo Buenos Aires Argentina AMIA bombing Natacha Pisarenko/Pool via REUTERS But the presence of Hezbollah and by extension Iran in Latin America is largely limited to that kind of financial and logistical activity, and for that reason, as well as the present circumstances, there is doubt that Tehran will use Latin America as a venue for active attacks agains the US, its partners, and their interests. "I would imagine that the Iranians will be careful to not escalate this situation to the point of war," Cutz said, "but they will likely increase the tempo of their decades-long ongoing targeting of Americans, American facilities, American interests, and American allies all over the world, including in Latin America." The chance Iran or a proxy will carry out an attack "that causes significant casualties or property damage is very low," James Bosworth, founder of political-risk firm Hxagon and an expert on the region, wrote in a newsletter Thursday. Tehran has increased its diplomatic and economic ties to Latin America since the 1990s, and Hezbollah has trafficking and money-laundering operations in the region, Bosworth wrote. Those operations have included weapons trafficking, which means they may have access to firearms and explosives. Argentine Israelite Mutual Association AMIA Buenos Aires Argentina ALI BURAFI/AFP via Getty Images But Iran doesn't want to anger countries in Latin America, and there's no public evidence of Iran having significant capabilities or intent to conduct an attack in the region since 1994, Bosworth wrote, adding that anything Iran or its proxies do attempt in the region is likely to be very narrowly focused against the US. "The evidence of Iran and its various proxies having a presence and doing bad things in [Latin America] is real," Bosworth wrote. "Still, in spite of all of Iran's activities, that sort of presence doesn't signal a plan for terrorism." Iran's purported links to the Maduro government in Venezuela would likely mean Colombia a close US ally and longtime foe of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez is high on the list of potential targets, but such a threat seems low, according to Sergio Guzman, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a political-risk consulting firm in Bogota. Iran would likely attack targets where the US interest is more direct, and attacks in Colombia would be seen there as attacks on Colombia, Guzman told Business Insider on Thursday, adding that "there is little to gain by them targeting government assets or even military targets." "Although the proxies have low capability in Venezuela, which focuses on sanctions evasion and money laundering, their capability (especially their military [capability]) in Colombia is very limited," Guzman said. Read the original article on Business Insider The number of people waiting longer than 12 hours in Northern Ireland's emergency departments over Christmas more than tripled compared to the previous year. In an unprecedented move, health bosses have released comprehensive figures showing the 12-hour waits in casualty units between December 20 last year and January 3. The Health & Social Care Board (HSCB) statistics also included figures from the same period the previous year, which highlighted a startling spike in the number of 12-hour emergency department (ED) breaches. According to the figures, the number of people who waited more than 12 hours over the two-week period increased from 723 to 2,435. This represents a 237% rise from last year to this, and an average of 173 people waiting on trolleys every day throughout the Christmas fortnight. Most alarmingly, while the number of 12-hour breaches have rocketed, the number of people attending EDs over the two-week period compared to the same time last year was down by 8%. However, the HSCB said there had been a 7% increase in the number of patients aged over 65 in the most urgent categories. The figures have been released ahead of today's strike action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unison. Pat Cullen, director of the RCN in Northern Ireland, said: "It is with great dismay that nursing staff begin the third day of strike action to address unsafe staffing and deliver pay parity back to Northern Ireland. "Nurses do not want to be standing again on picket lines, losing another day's pay, and feel totally let down that they have been put in this position yet again. Our members are absolutely determined to fight for a health service that patients in Northern Ireland deserve. "Nurses have shown courage and resilience during this dispute and will continue to do so until we can achieve a system that is fit for purpose." Ms Cullen said the RCN would not postpone the strike action without written confirmation that the requirements for full funding for pay parity and safe staffing will be met. She said the next scheduled dates for strike action were January 20, 22 and 24. And she reiterated calls for the political parties to act to address the crisis. Thousands of nurses, ward clerks, domestic staff, porters and other healthcare workers will stage strike action across Northern Ireland today. The second day of strike action this week is expected to cause widespread disruption, with more than 1,800 outpatient appointments and 205 day case and surgical procedures cancelled. A number of special schools are closed, while some transport services will be affected. Health bosses have warned there will be a knock-on effect on emergency departments, particularly as a number of minor injury units are closed. Appointments in GP surgery treatment rooms have been cancelled and some school and baby immunisation programmes have been affected. Test results may also be delayed, while the Ambulance Service has warned it expects turnaround times for paramedic crews to be affected by the strike action today. Publishing the figures ahead of today's strike action, the HSCB apologised for the delays being experienced by patients seeking emergency treatment. The statistics showed that, of the 1,714 additional 12-hour breaches this year, 1,052 were aged 65 or over. The Belfast Telegraph has highlighted a number of cases in recent weeks of seriously ill pensioners spending up to two days on trolleys as there were no beds available in the hospital. Across the region, for the 15-day period, the average waiting time for those to be seen, treated but not admitted was three hours and 30 minutes. However, the average waiting time to be admitted to a hospital bed was 11 hours and 45 minutes. An HSCB spokesman said: "The figures show that, similar to other parts of the UK and Ireland, health and social care services in Northern Ireland have and continue to be under sustained pressure over the holiday period. We would pay tribute to our staff who are working tirelessly to ensure that patients receive the care that they need. "Health service organisations have repeatedly made it clear that the 2019/20 winter period would again bring serious challenges. Despite the plans in place, some patients have had to wait for unacceptably long periods in emergency departments - for that we sincerely apologise. "The challenges are in part due to an increase in older, sicker patients attending EDs. "These patients will often require longer in-patient stays and then more complex social care packages when they are ready to leave hospital. "The well documented workforce shortages, as well as the impact of flu and the norovirus have also compounded the pressures. All health and social care organisations will continue to work closely to ensure that the most urgent and sickest patients are prioritised." It was their second phone call on the investigation into the Ukraine plane crash in Iran. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have discussed by phone the status of a probe into the crash of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 in Iran. "The parties agreed that there should be a thorough approach to the study of information, as well as close cooperation of the international partners in data exchange," the Ukrainian president's press service said on January 10. Read alsoUkraine to demand compensation if downing of its plane in Iran proved Foreign Ministry It was their second phone call on the investigation since the Ukrainian plane crashed in Iran on January 8. During the recent phone call, Zelensky confirmed that the Iranian party had facilitated the investigation and provided access to the site of the plane crash, to the aircraft fragments and black boxes. The parties agreed that speculation on the tragedy should be ceased and that an objective and comprehensive investigation should be facilitated in every possible way. Zelensky said he was in contact with numerous countries. In particular, he had a conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 10 and met with representatives of the U.S. and UK embassies in Ukraine. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 22 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Jan. 10, Trend reports. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. 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 regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Britain is preparing to activate a new post-Brexit sanctions regime, Financial Times reported, citing British government insiders. According to the newspaper, individuals likely to be targeted in the first wave of asset freezes include citizens of Russia, Libya and North Korea. They could also include citizens of Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Office said the new sanctions regime could be activated immediately after Brexit on January 31. Secondary legislation to beef up the new regime including a list of new asset freezes is expected in February or March. According to Financial Times, British foreign secretary Dominic Raab wants to use the new sanctions regime to show that Britain will play a global leadership role after Brexit, addressing fears that the country might pursue an aggressive new trade policy which disregards human rights. The foreign secretary is expected to introduce the new British sanctions regime next month. It would be followed by a specific list of people whose assets in the UK will be frozen. Raab claims the UKs departure from the EU will allow Britain to act more decisively to tackle human rights abuses. He will use a so-called Magnitsky clause in the legislation that allows him to introduce asset freezes and visa bans. The ships came within 60 yards of a collision In the North Arabian Sea on Thursday, a Russian warship "aggressively approached" the US Navy destroyer USS Farragut, the US Navy says. Defense officials say the Russian warship ignored warnings, which increased the risk of a collision. Video posted to Twitter by the U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) below shows the Russian warship rapidly approaching the USS Farragut. On Thursday, Jan. 9, while conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, USS Farragut (DDG 99) was aggressively approached by a Russian Navy ship. pic.twitter.com/SCVyTINNqe U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020 Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road. pic.twitter.com/OGCeAGKOy3 U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020 The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another. U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020 While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision. The U.S. Navy continues to remain vigilant and is trained to act in a professional manner. U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020 Defense officials told CNN the Russians got as close as 180 feet to the US ship before veering away. The incident is the latest example of a close encounter between US and Russian military forces that American officials have described as unsafe or provocative. It comes roughly seven months after another incident in the Pacific when US and Russian warships came so close the US ship had to perform an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Billionaire Tom Steyer qualified Thursday for next weeks Democratic presidential debate, putting him on stage in Iowa alongside five other candidates. This campaign has a fair bit of momentum right now, he said while campaigning in New Hampshire after learning hed qualified. Hell join former Vice-President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday in Des Moines. The debate comes just weeks before the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses, the first voting contest of the primary campaign. Steyer qualified by hitting polling and donor thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee. A new Fox News poll conducted in South Carolina put Steyer at 15%, and another Fox News poll in Nevada put him at 12%. A candidate can meet the polling qualifications for the debate based on having received 7% support or higher in at least two qualifying early state polls released between Nov. 14, 2019, and Jan. 10, 2020. Hes been running television ads in both South Carolina and Nevada. In previous early state and national polls, Steyer has mostly been in the low to mid-single digits. I think hes shown a lot of durability and is growing incrementally, and hes going to continue to be well financed, said Bill Carrick, a longtime California and Democratic presidential strategist. Steyer hit the requirement of getting 225,000 unique donations with at least 1,000 each coming from 20 states. Asked if he was surprised to have earned a spot in the debate, Steyer said he knew the interest in his campaign was there. Look, Ive said repeatedly, these are the numbers that we thought existed, Steyer said. I just didnt know if it would be revealed in time to qualify for the debate, he added. Steyer has tapped his personal fortune to finance his campaign. The billionaire, who was a hedge-fund manager before committing his money to charity and political causes, argues that his record as a successful businessman makes him a strong contender against Trump, whom he brands as a fraud and failure in his television advertisements. Hes invested heavily in California and national political causes in recent elections, including through his Need to Impeach campaign that called for Trumps impeachment long before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to move ahead. Hes also spent millions arguing for political action to fight climate change. Businessman Andrew Yang is the only remaining candidate who was on the December debate stage but has not yet qualified for next weeks debate. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has hit the polling threshold but is not accepting donations, so he is unable to qualify for the debate stage. ___ Associated Press journalists Emily Swanson in Washington and Hunter Woodall in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. The long-awaited rail study by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, looking at the costs and economic opportunities of improving rail access between Greater Springfield and Boston is expected to be completed this spring. One of the possible solutions to be examined in the study is the building of a new high-speed rail line with a travel time of 80 minutes between Springfield and Boston. I think were in a hinge moment for Western Mass. and Massachusetts right now for the first time in a long time, said Sen. Eric P. Lesser. Well see a real feasibility study done by the state on the Springfield-Boston rail service coming this spring and I think you know all eyes are going to be on this study. Last year, MassDOT said that the study would be completed by winter 2019, but that deadline soon changed and by July it had changed to spring 2020. Lesser has been pushing the idea since 2014 and said he has made it clear to MassDOT that he wants to see the full economic impact analysis to finally see how it will benefit communities. Sen. Jo Comerford also introduced a bill to study the feasibility of restoring the passenger rail, which was passed in the Massachusetts State Senate on May 21, 2019 that looks at connecting the more northern cities of North Adams and Greenfield to Boston. We want to see what its going to unlock for our communities. Whats it going to do for job creation, whats it going to do for new businesses, whats it going to do for helping keep our young people here in Western Mass., Lesser said "We have our eyes wide open about what is involved and how challenging it will be and how long it might take, but it has to start. The feasibility study lets it get started," said Lesser. https://t.co/p6kiuc5L7F Eric Lesser (@EricLesser) January 9, 2020 A study from MassINC found that many residents in the states gateway cities cant afford to use the commuter rail - which extends as far west as Worcester - and in effect lack access to major job centers and economic opportunities elsewhere in the state. MassLive published a report in Nov. 2019 on a super commuter in Massachusetts. Ricarte Burgos is one of the thousands of Hampden County residents who regularly makes an 85-mile commute across the state through Eastern Massachusetts increasingly congested roadways to tap into Bostons thriving job market, according to data from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization. Burgos says he spends roughly $230 a week on gas and tolls, excluding parking, to make the trip from East Forest Park in Springfield to the Greater Boston area and back. How many people here have a son or daughter, family member, or friend that grew up here in Western Mass.? Lesser asked of the audience at the Western Mass. Transportation Forum in Sep. 2019. But had to leave to find a good job. Sen. Eric P. Lesser delivers his keynote speech at the Western Mass. Transportation Forum in Northampton's Center of Arts. (Douglas Hook / MassLive) Lesser has highlighted residents who moved to Western Mass. to escape the high rental costs of Boston. The challenge we have is were not producing enough jobs, and our population, as a result, is aging and a lot of our young people are leaving. That creates a self-reinforcing cycle, Lesser continued, of fewer students leading to less state aid and fewer workers to support the regions businesses. And the proposal is a deliberate inversion of how economic subsidies often work in Massachusetts. Lesser cited the incentive package given to General Electric when it moved its headquarters to Boston, which included $25 million in property tax relief and $120 million in infrastructure commitments from the state. Lesser filed a proposal in Jan. 2019 to reimburse people up to $10,000 in expenses if they were willing to move to one of four Western Massachusetts counties and work from home or in a co-working space. We need to make sure that any plan thats put together is fair to Western Mass. and doesnt disproportionately burden a region of the state that has been left out of a lot of the economic growth of the last 10 years and has often not been a beneficiary of a lot of the infrastructure investment, said Lesser. So thats something were going to be paying close attention to as well. Oral arguments for a case involving access to federal courts via diversity jurisdiction have been set for between March 17 and 20. CUNA filed an amicus brief in May in Navy FCU v. LTD Financial Services et al, noting to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District that the diversity jurisdiction is one of the two methods for a federal court to have jurisdiction. The suit stems from a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that found Section 1332 of the U.S. Code is the sole source of diversity jurisdiction and that Section 1332 does not apply to federally chartered corporations. (Newser) The sale of its parent company has pulled the rug out from under CollegeHumor. Once IAC/InterActive has turned over CH Media to Sam Reich, a longtime executive, about 100 employees will be gone and five to 10 will be left, Bloomberg reports. IAC, which also owns Vimeo and the Daily Beast, quit bankrolling the comedy site. "While we were on the way to becoming profitable," Reich said, "we were nonetheless losing money and I myself have no money to be able to lose." Many video sites are struggling to collect sufficient advertising revenue. CollegeHumor says it has more than 15 million unique visitors per month. Its parent company also owns Dropout, a comedy video streaming service without ads. story continues below IAC said the sale "places CH Media with an owner who is beloved by fans, passionate about the business and sees a future we believe in." Reich's first move was to ask for help, telling fans "this won't be the last time I ask for your support." His plan, per Verge, is to try to save Dropout, CollegeHumor, Drawfee, Dorkly "and many of our shows." CollegeHumor has been around for 20 years and has been owned by IAC since 2006. (Read more CollegeHumor.com stories.) Some prove to be bolder than the others when going on an adventure, from kayaking through South Florida's expansive river network to cage diving with sharks in South Africa. Going out of your comfort zone on a life-altering trip may be the best form of education. Traveling has an unmistakable appeal in your 20s and when you hit the 30-year mark, suddenly your tastes, time constraints, and career demands can get in the way. Most of us never lose that child's desire for excitement and new experiences, but as we grow older, we grow accustomed to comfort and safety. Fortunately, opportunities to see new places, learn new skills and gain confidence in our abilities are more plentiful than ever. You can pursue active travel through "soft adventures" such as bird watching, hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking, or more extreme activities such as multi-day trekking, climbing, or bungee jumping; any adventure that gets you close with nature and gets your adrenaline pumping. 1. Hiking in Antarctica Antarctica is the destination is the adventure in and of itself from the minute you begin crossing the world's most treacherous sea to your last iceberg sighting. You will definitely want to bring your winter jackets for this trip! You'll sail past spectacular glacial lagoons, kayak around dramatic icebergs, and observe incredible wildlife that includes breaching whales, penguin colonies, and deep-diving seals in Antarctica's ecosystem. You can trek across glaciers and visit scientific research bases, but for the truly adventurous, the polar plunge into sub-freezing waters is a rite of passage for travelers. Because Antarctic cruises generally offer a variety of hikes of different difficulties, you should still be in reasonably decent health to take on the easiest of the hikes. 2. Bird watching in Latvia Check out the dense forests of Kemeri National Park are famous for bird watching from observation towers, above marshes crisscrossed by wooden walkways. Latvia is among the world's three most important bird migration paths, and a multitude of birds can be seen in one place. Its location by the sea, its lakes, rivers, forests, and flood lands make it a good dwelling place for many species of migratory birds. 3. Butterfly watching in Mexico The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is adorned with millions (if not billions) of butterflies. You will see tree branches bend under the weight of the butterfly colonies. A multitude of these orange and black butterflies begin a remarkable migration that sees them fluttering south 2000km to central Mexico where they migrate in winter in the dense oyamel forests that cover the high mountain slopes. 4. Road trip in the Pacific Coast Highway Have a road trip in the iconic cliff-hugging route along California's Highway 1. You will marvel at the cinematic coastlines, crashing waves and twisting turns in their natural grandeur on the drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles. You can also take a detour at the Avenue of the Giants - home to towering redwoods - and cruise along Big Sur's rugged 90-mile coastline. Visit the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, which boasts marked trails, redwood grove forests and the photogenic McWay Falls for memories (and pictures) to last a lifetime. RELATED ARTICLE: Animal Adventure Park Reveals Top Suggestions for the Name of April the Giraffe's Calf Netflix has gained some excellent new K-Dramas in 2019, and now the year 2020 is already shaping up to be even more exciting for the popular genre. One of the first titles to be released on NETFLIX this year is the highly anticipated adaptation of the webcomic" Itaewon Class". We will give you everything you need to know about the drama "Itaewon Class", including the plot, cast, and let us not forget the episode release schedule. "Itaewon Class" is an upcoming K-Drama series that was internationally licensed by Netflix for global distribution. The series is based on the famous Korean web-comic of the same title by Gwang Jin and at the same time was also written by Jin for television. The director for the series is Director Kim-Sung-Yoon who formerly directed popular K-Dramas such as "Love in the Moonlight" and "Discovery of Love". Let us give thanks to the recently renewed partnership between jTBC and Netflix, "Itaewon Class" will be the first of many K-Dramas coming to Netflix all throughout the year 2020. Here are some most asked questions and answers about "Itaewon Class" to be shown on NETFLIX: Q: When is the drama Itaewon Class release date on Netflix? A: The first episode of "Itaewon Class" will be aired to stream on Netflix on the 31st of January 2020. Q: How many episodes will the first season of Itaewon Class air? A: The management of the drama has confirmed that "Itaewon Class" will have a total of 16 episodes. It is reported that there will be a total of two episodes available to stream on Netflix per week. Q: When is the episode release schedule for Itaewon Class? A: Episodes of the drama will be released on the following dates: Episode 1- January 31, 2020 Episode 2- February 1, 2020 Episode 3- February 7, 2020 Episode 4- February 8, 2020 Episode 5- February 14, 2020 Episode 6- February 15, 2020 Episode 7- February 21, 2020 Episode 8- February 22, 2020 Episode 9- February 28, 2020 Episode 10- February 29, 2020 Episode 11- March 6, 2020 Episode 12- March 7, 2020 Episode 13- March 13, 2020 Episode 14- March 14, 2020 Episode 15- March 20, 2020 Episode 16- March 21, 2020 In the country of South Korea, the K-Drama will be airing on JTBC at 23:00 pm every Friday and Saturday nights. Q: What is the plot story of Itaewon Class? A: The story of Itaewon Class is as follows: Park Sae Roy gets into trouble on the first day of attending his new high school after he punched his classmate Jang Geun-Won, who was bullying his other classmate. Jang Geun-Won who was the bully is the son of Jang Dae Hee a the CEO of the restaurant business Jagga, and at the same time also the boss of Park Sae Roy's father. CEO Jang Dae Hee demanded an apology from Park Sae Roy but he refused to issue an apology. Due to the refusal of apology, Park Sae Roy was expelled from school and his father also got fired from the company. Soon a motorcycle accident takes over involving his ex-classmate Jang Geun-Won causing the death of Park Sae Roy's father. Flaming with hatred and anger due to his loss, Park Sae Roy viciously beats Jang Geun Won, earning himself time in prison. Soon upon deciding to take revenge and to take down the Jagga company and the Jang family, Park Sae Roy opens his own restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Let us watch out for "Itaewon Class" on NETFLIX another k-drama to look forward to! A friend of Prince Harry believes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's split from the royal family will have positive results. Participating in a debate about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior royals on This Morning, Dean Stott from Aberdeen, explained to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes why he thought the royal split was a good idea. Dean, who has been friends with Prince Harry for 12 years since they served in the army together, said: 'I think we're focusing on the negatives when there's a lot of positives that we're not highlighting at the moment. Dean Stott appeared on This Morning to talk about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to step down from their senior roles within the royal family 'They've also talked about their charitable foundation. They've got a position now where they can be great ambassadors without the royal boundaries and I think there's going to be a lot of good from this when they break away.' However, Dean added that the news is still so new. 'It's very early stages. It's less than 48 hours and w'ere all second guessing what it's going to look like, but they've highlighted their intention and what they would like.' Predicting that the royal family will be able move on from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision in time, Dean added: 'The talks will be resolution which suits all parties.' During the debate, Dean revealed that Prince Harry was very much the same person he was when they first met. 'I think he's very much the same person. He's very level headed,' the former British Special Forces Soldier said. 'He is very astute. In the military, it's probably the only environment that he could be himself. Stott has been friends with Prince Harry for 12 years ever since they met whilst serving in the army together The former British Special Forces Soldier claims that 'a lot of good' will come from the couple's decision to step down 'He was away from the media and he could do normal day to day jobs.' Dean, who is still in regular contact with Prince Harry, also highlighted how his life has changed since becoming a husband and father. 'His personal circumstances have changed in the last two years. You can fall in love with anyone and he's fallen in love with a woman who has opened his eyes that there is another way of living. 'He's a young father as well. He will always serve his country but he's priorities have changed.' Reacting to the question about whether Prince Harry's royal title should be maintained, Dean added: 'That's not for me to say but I think their decision to live across the pond and here, that opens up that possibility that they can still maintain that and fulfill their duties.' Camilla Tominey also shared her thoughts on the issue during a debate with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning The debate also featured royal correspondent Camilla Tominey as she addressed the unrest within the royal family since Prince Harry and Meghan made their announcement. 'I think the execution of how they've done this and announced it basically trying to bounce the Queen and other royals into negotiating a new future for them has gone down badly,' she said. Referring to the changes that have already been made by the royal family, Camilla added: 'They've tried to accommodate all of their needs. 'They've accommodated their needs to break away from Kensington Palace and move to Windsor. 'They went on the tours they wanted to go on, the Queen broke with royal tradition and allowed them to surround Archie's birth with a bit more secrecy then would have been the case with previous royals and I think there's just a sense that the way this has been carried out has been a bit of a slap in the face.' (JTA)-Pianist Igor Levit says he has received death threats and is warning about an increase in hate crimes in Germany. The Russian-born musician, 32, whose family immigrated to Germany in 1995, said he received an email in mid-November threatening an assassination attempt against him at a concert in southern Germany. His spokeswoman told the German media that Levit informed the police and then played the concert under tight security. In an essay for the Sunday edition of the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Levit wrote that the threat was "loud and clear." The email's author said he would silence this "Jewish pig" in front of his audience. Levit said he was afraid, but "not for myself." "[I'm afraid] for this country. My country. Our country," he said. Levit warned that the dangers of racism, anti-Semitism and right-wing extremist terror are underestimated in Germany, driven largely by social media. "We are in the middle of a massive shift in norms," Levit wrote. "Our democracy will no longer be the same if we allow anti-Semitism, racism and misogyny to gain more and more ground." Direct threats are not the only problem, Levit said, noting a recent incident in which a journalist asked him if "Israel is my homeland, because after all I'm a Jew." "He probably just wasn't thinking. But it hit me like a slap," Levit said. "I flinched because this is how it sounded: 'You are different. You are not one of us... Somehow you do not really belong here.'" In May, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office reported that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in the country had risen from 1,691 in 2001 to 1,799 in 2018. The office reported 442 offenses, most of them hate speech, between January and June 2019. Most anti-Semitic acts of violence were motivated by right-wing sentiments, though a small percentage are ascribed to left-wing extremists and Islamic extremists. In the most spectacular case in October, a gunman attacked a synagogue in the city of Halle on Yom Kippur. Unable to make his way inside, he shot and killed two nearby pedestrians. "It's not about 'cases,' or 'incidents,'" Levit said in his essay. "It's about victims, time and again. And it is about perpetrators and a pattern! A pattern of anti-Semitism and racism, right-wing extremism, terror and national-related violence." Levit has appeared in major concert halls and music festivals around the world, and has won several international awards. Meanwhile, on Sunday night two hooded men vandalized a Jewish cemetery in the town of Geilenkirchen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The suspects, ages 21 and 33, allegedly knocked down more than 40 gravestones and defaced some with blue spray-paint. A witness called police, who arrested the suspects. Calaveras County Seal View Photo San Andreas, CA A Calaveras community advocacy group suing the supervisors and the county over its General Plan Update elevated its concerns another notch. This week, the Calaveras Planning Coalition (CPC) sent out a notice regarding the countys recent adoption of the updated plan to 18 state and local agencies. General plans, which are required by law for jurisdictions to have and regularly update, are considered as constitutions and roadmaps for local development. The notice to the agencies is required when a party files a case under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and a similar required notice was issued to the California Attorney Generals Office back in December when CPC filed its case. The group deemed the General Plan Update unsafe and legally deficient because it does not adequately address various impacts as some other jurisdictions have and fails to provide timelines for dealing with them. CPC officials say a required settlement conference in the case is scheduled for Jan. 15 but will be limited to a telephone discussion among the litigants attorneys. CPCs notice argued, Indefinitely deferring fire safety efforts, delaying emergency response funding, and making fire safety measures optional in new development threatens lives. These threats are all part of the 2019 Calaveras County General Plan Update. It requested that agencies encourage State Attorney General Xavier Becerra in the interest of public safety to get involved in the case. CPC is part of the groups overall Community Action Project (CAP), which promotes its mission to protect and improve the natural and built environments in Calaveras County by empowering people to claim their rights and participate in local government. CAP Governing Committee member Muriel Zeller comments, I dont think enough people recognize the extent to which our local General Plan impacts our lives each and every day. She states that as the document directly affects the condition of local roads, community safety, water quality and quantity, and many other environmental and aesthetic concerns, it is critical to the quality of life. Among the highlighted concerns in the notice was that most families in the county have to live in homes they can afford regardless of the fire risks. The CPCs position is that it is especially for the health and safety of the families that the county must establish a foundation of fire-safe building and zoning codes upon which all legitimate development is based. After months of terrible drought plaguing communities across Australia, a few have been blessed with a little rain. But it seems no one enjoyed it as much as two-year-old Archie Saunders, who took the opportunity to play in the mud with his dad for the first time ever. In heartwarming pictures, the thrilled tot is seen grinning and giggling as he enjoys fun outdoors with his dad Nick outside their home in Uralla, New South Wales. Nick Saunders (pictured) holds his two-year-old son Archie as they play together in the mud as the drought-stricken area finally got some rainfall Little Archie (pictured) splashed around in the mud with his dad outside their home in northern NSW The father and son share a tender kiss (pictured) in heart-warming pictures taken by Archie's mother Nkala Forest Playing happily with his son, Nick Saunders seem to take a tumble in the mud (pictured) as they enjoyed the first rain in months Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, little Archie's mother Nkala Frost explained they hadn't seen rain in months. And despite not being sure what it was at first, the happy little boy soon enjoyed playing in the mud with his dad. 'Our son has only seen rain a few times and he absolutely loved getting down and dirty, when he realised what it was,' she said. 'Everyone in the New England region is suffering in one way or another. We were just so glad that our fun little pics brought so many smiles to our close friends, family and now many other people through either the news or social media.' Archie Saunders, 2, (pictured) enjoys a belly-flop into the mud, much to the delight of his dad Nick The two played happily in the mud as Archie's mother Nkala took the heart-warming pictures after the area suffered months of droughts Their town is so badly hit by drought that at first little Archie (pictured) didn't even know what rain was Little Archie (pictured) is held by his dad Nick Saunders as they splashed around in the mud outside their home in northern NSW Ms Frost said the heart-warming pictures were a timely reminder that communities must support one another during tough times. 'We love nothing more than making people smile and laugh,' she said. 'Through such hard times, we must stick together and hope and pray for rain. 'There are many others way worse off than us, who need rain more than us. 'But we will take what we can get. Any rain is good rain. 'And we pray for all the farmers out there who are either suffering from drought or bushfires, for things to settle down soon.' Despite being unfamiliar with rain, Archie (pictured) wasted no time getting stuck into the wet and muddy game Archie (pictured) was fascinated by the mud and rain and thoroughly enjoyed playing outside with his dad Archie's dad Nick Saunders (pictured) got well and truly into the spirit as he played with his two-year-old son in the rain after months of drought Earlier this week, the Bureau of Meteorology revealed 2019 had been Australia's driest and hottest on record. Increasingly ferocious bushfire seasons that raze homes, claim lives and scratch wildlife from the Australian landscape are threatening to become the new normal. And this year's bushfire season has only been made more difficult thanks to the drought plaguing areas across the country. 'Australia's climate is warming,' Dr Karl Braganza, head of climate monitoring at the BoM said. 'We're getting certain kinds of weather, particularly heatwaves and fire weather, they're becoming more frequent and more extreme. 'That information really is going through to those responsible for managing climate risk.' Crop farmers, like this man in Parkes, NSW, (pictured) have struggled with months of drought That cold front could pose a new challenge for fatigued firefighters by increasing the size of the firefront when the changed wind moves the blaze in a different direction. A strong south-westerly change is expected to sweep through the state's north-east, East Gippsland and surrounds from the afternoon, bringing gusts of up to 90km/h. Bushfires tearing through Victoria could flare when a wind change brings dangerous gusts to the disaster zones. "Any change of direction can be pretty dangerous for any firefighting, especially a really strong one like this," said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Keris Arndt. A severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued, naming Wodonga, Wangaratta, Sale, Bairnsdale, Orbost and Falls Creek. Winds are expected to average 50 to 60km/h and bring gusts of up to 90km/h, before finally easing by midnight. Mr Arndt said the change would hit the western parts of the firegrounds about 4pm and clear the state by 7pm or 8pm. Jammu: Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau, who was part of a 15-member delegation of foreign envoys undertaking a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, said on Friday, January 10 that he witnessed "normalcy in the daily lives of people" during his trip to the region. "I want to say that it was a very worthwhile trip. Seeing is believing. That has us to have a fuller picture of the situation here," Sanh Chau said. "My observation is that we see normalcy in the daily life of the people, which is a very positive sign," the envoy said, adding that his interactions with different groups in the region had him feel that they are "very happy with the current situation". Pham was part of a 15-member delegation of foreign envoys visiting J&K to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation after the revocation of the state's special status in August last year. The envoy added that he was not a "fact-finding delegation, nor the judges of the international court". Live TV "We don't have that mandate, so we just came and observed and have an assessment of our own. I see signs of happiness on the faces of people when I talk to them," he added. A father and son duo were also seen showing placards to the visiting envoys which read ''Free Kashmir from Islamic terrorism.'' During the visit, they met political leaders, civil society members and senior Army officials in Srinagar and were briefed about the security situation in the region. The envoys reached Srinagar around 11 am on Thursday and passed through the middle of Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar. Their first meeting was with the security officials to understand the challenges of maintaining security in Jammu and Kashmir including the threat of terrorism. The group of foreign envoys included those from United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Guyana. (With Agency Inputs) Gale-force winds in Australia merged two enormous fires into a megablaze across land almost four times the area of New York City on Friday, while thousands rallied to again demand action on climate change. The conditions are difficult today, said Shane Fitzsimmons, rural fire service commissioner for New South Wales state, after days of relative calm. Its the hot, dry winds that will prove once again to be the real challenge. Temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of New South Wales and neighbouring Victoria, where attention was focused on the two fires that linked to form yet another monster blaze. A state of disaster was extended 48 hours ahead of Fridays forecast of scorching temperatures, and evacuation orders were issued for areas around the New South Wales-Victoria border. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there were more than 130 fires burning in the state, with just over 50 not yet under control. On Kangaroo Island off south Australia, the largest town was cut off as firefighters battled dangerous infernos, forcing some residents to flee to the local jetty. The catastrophic bushfires have killed at least 26 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched some eight million hectares (80,000 square kilometres) -- an area the size of Ireland. University of Sydney scientists estimate one billion mammals, birds and reptiles have been killed in the fires. The severe conditions have been fuelled by a prolonged drought and worsened by climate change, with experts warning that such massive blazes were becoming more frequent and intense. Australia experienced its driest and hottest year on record in 2019, with its highest average maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius recorded in mid-December. In Sydney and Melbourne, thousands of people again took to the streets to demand Australias conservative government do more to tackle global warming and reduce coal exports. Change the politics not the climate read one sign, reflecting an increasingly charged argument over the cause of the fires. Researchers say the bushfire emergency has sparked an online disinformation campaign unprecedented in the countrys history, with bots deployed to shift blame for the blazes away from climate change. One hashtag in particular, #arsonemergency, has gained traction rapidly and conservative-leaning newspapers, websites and politicians across the globe have promoted the theory that arson is largely to blame, rather than climate change, drought or record high temperatures. Timothy Graham, a digital media expert at the Queensland University of Technology, told AFP his research showed half of the Twitter users deploying the hashtag displayed bot- and troll-like behaviour. Our findings show a concerted effort aimed to misinform the public about the cause of the bushfires, Graham said. The campaign is nothing on the scale of what we have been seeing in other countries, such as the 2016 US election, but this amount of disinformation in Australia is unprecedented. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday tried to parry journalists questions about whether climate change would make horrific bushfire seasons the norm. Look, we have covered that on a number of occasions now, Morrison said testily, adding that reviews will take place once the bushfire season is over. Towamba volunteer firefighter Tony Larkings, 65, said battling the fires in recent weeks had been a hot, dirty and dangerous task. Its been horrendous. Its never been like this before, he told AFP. He was deeply critical of Morrisons response to the bushfires, calling it mere lip service and slamming the leaders response to public criticism. His great statement was I dont take this personally. Scott, take it personally, Larkings said. Istanbul: An Iranian military commander says missiles fired at bases used by US troops in Iraq this week were not intended to inflict casualties, in the latest sign that Iran was seeking to avoid further escalation of hostilities with the United States. After more than a dozen missiles slammed into the bases early on Wednesday, both sides for now appear to be stepping back from further conflict. "We did not intend to kill," said Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force, according to Iranian state media. "We intended to hit the enemy's military machinery." Head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division General Amir Ali Hajizadeh looks at debris from what the division describes as the US drone which was shot down in Tehran in 2019. Credit:Tasnim/AP However, he repeated the government's claim that "tens of people were killed or wounded". US and Iraqi officials said the strikes caused no casualties. (JNS)Following a preliminary hearing on Tuesday by Israels High Court of Justice on the question of whether an indicted lawmaker can be tasked with forming a government, a three-judge panel ruled that a decision will be handed down at a future date. The hearing followed a petition filed by 67 citizens with academic, security and culture backgrounds arguing that even though Israeli law allows a prime minister to continue serving in his position until proven guilty in courtand even until all appeals are exhaustedthe same law should not permit a candidate under indictment to be tasked with forming a government and becoming prime minister. Netanyahu submitted a letter to the court on Monday countering the basis of the petition, writing: In a democracy, the people decide who leads them and no one else. Otherwise, its not a democracy. This petition is an attempt to drag the court into an issue which is not under the courts jurisdiction. The respectable court has no authority in this matter, and the issue should not have been brought before it. It should have been left to the decision of the voters. For this reason alone, the petition must be rejected out of hand. Netanyahu added that the law already specifies that a prime minister can serve until convicted in a final ruling for transgressions that carry with them moral turpitude... There is no reason to veer from this constitutional principle, outlined in the Basic Law and in an explicit law only because a specific prime minister is not liked by the petitioners. He is not alone in his rejection of the court dealing with this issue. Political leaders on all sides of the spectrum have criticized the petition. One of Netanyahus political opponents, Knesset member Ofer Shelah of the Blue and White Party, told JNS, In my opinion, it would be best for the courts not to invalidate Netanyahu from putting together a government. It is best for the public to make this decision and not the court. Professor Yedidia Stern, vice president of the progressive Israel Democracy Institute, told JNS that it would be far-reaching judicial activism to establish that the president cannot give the mandate to form a government to someone who the citizens of the country vote for, assuming that they vote in high numbers of Netanyahu. It is better for decisions regarding who the countrys leader will be to remain in the hands of the citizens and not the legal system. Stern added that if Netanyahu wins the next election, I believe the president should not be held back from giving [him] the mandate to form the next government even while under indictment. Professor Aviad HaCohen, president of the Shaarei Meida UMishpat Academy and an expert in constitutional law who has argued cases before the Supreme Court, said on Monday that given the politically explosive nature of this case, one can assume that the judges will listen to the petitioners, but it would be best for them to make their decision after the March election. He noted that at this point, such a ruling would be purely theoretical, as Netanyahu has yet to win the election. Even once it is no longer theoretical, HaCohen said, the court should be careful not to overstep its boundaries. In general, I think that the courts should do whatever it can to refrain from dealing with subjects which are mostly political and societal and not law, he said. Meanwhile, Israels Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has declined a court request to issue his opinion on the matter due to the theoretical nature of such an opinion. He said that he would issue an opinion only if Netanyahu wins the election, and the president then considers tasking him with forming a government. The petitioners, on the other hand, have argued that voters deserve the right to know whether or not Netanyahu will be allowed to form a government before they go to the polls. Members of the Likud Party have stated that should the court invalidate Netanyahu from forming a future government, the Knesset can employ a mechanism to overturn the ruling. Knesset member Miki Zohar said that if the High Court makes the scandalous decision to mix into politics and prohibit Netanyahu from forming a government, we will pass the override clause, which refers to a bill that would allow a Knesset majority to overrule a decision made by the court. MP for Die Linke at the Bundestag Andrej Hunko said that the Russian language's position in Germany should not only be preserved, but also strengthened. "The response [of the German government] to my request clearly shows that knowledge of the Russian language is very much in demand in the federal government's structures," he said. The MP asked the federal government for information on the current situation of the Russian language in Germany. With the development of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Russian language is obviously becoming increasingly important in the Eurasian space as the language of economic cooperation. Against this background, I am very concerned that they plan to close the conference-translation into Russian master course at the University of Applied Linguistics and Translatology in Leipzig. I urge the administration to continue this course," Andrej Hunko noted. According to him, the importance of the Russian language for Germany can be seen, for example, in financing the the Russian version of Deutsche Welle. In recent years, which were especially tense for German-Russian relations, the budget of the broadcaster's Russian version has almost doubled. However, the Russian language should not become an instrument of media impact, the MP emphasized. At the same time, he pointed out that language should be regarded primarily as a key to Russian society and its culture. Although the Russian language ranks fourth among employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after English, French and Spanish, only about a third of German diplomats in Russia speak the language of the country of their residence. This fact surprises me very much, since we know that its impossible to understand the country and its people without knowing its language, Andrej Hunko concluded. Kochi, Jan 10 : Four months after the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of four multi-storey illegal apartment complexes at Maradu, near here, experts and authorities on Friday engaged in last minute checks for the first round of demolition on Saturday and another on Sunday. A mock drill was carried out to ensure safety of citizens. Everything was enacted except for the pressing of the button, which will trigger the collapse. The demolition will be around 11 a.m, when the first building will be razed to the ground within seconds, followed by the second demolition. The final round of demolition will take place on Sunday. The Maradu complex comprises 356 flats in four buildings and had housed 240 families. After all the occupants moved out, authorities had removed all the windows and other things from the building and all what remains is a skeleton structure. The apex court had on September 6 ordered its demolition by September 20 for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone Arules, but Kerala government dilly dallied it. It was only after the court went hammer and tongs against Chief Secretary Tom Jose, did the Kerala government finally decide that there was no other way out but to get ready for the demolition. After various rounds of discussions the date was finalised and through an open tender process, the demolition was handed over to companies who have done similar operations in the past. Inspector General Vijay Sakhare told the media that everything is ready and Section 144 of the CrPC will be enforced on Saturday on land, air and water. "Around 800 police officials will be keeping close watch when the demolition process begins, in the waterfront area of the flat, there would be no movement of boats allowed. "In the air, in and around the demolition area, flying of drones has been banned. If any drone is spotted, it would be shot down and criminal procedures would be initiated against the drone owner," said Sakhare. Dozens of women dressed in black and red danced in unison as they chanted lines from the viral Chile protest 'A Rapist In Your Path' , outside of Manhattan criminal court where Harvey Weinsteins sexual assault trial is held on Friday (January 10). Women shouted The rapist is you, Patriarchy is our judge, given to us at birth, our punishment is the violence you see. "It's not my fault not where I was, not how I dress," in this chilling demonstration. Weinstein's attorneys said a pool of prospective jurors may be tainted by the protest outside the courthouse, Justice James Burke disagreed. The women who formed the flash mob chanted the words from Lastesis, a feminist collective in Chile. A senior administration official said Friday that the intelligence showed that Mr. Suleimani was planning to have forces carry out some sort of attack in the region that would result in mass casualties of Americans, with the intent of getting the American military to withdraw from Iraq, one of his main missions. But the official provided no further details. Some Pentagon and State Department officials have said since the killing of General Suleimani that there was nothing in intelligence that showed threats that were out of the ordinary. They said the United States was aware that General Suleimani was always capable of lethal attacks on Americans and at any given time would have various plans underway. Administration officials say General Suleimani and the Quds Force, which is an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans, most of them soldiers who were fighting in Iraq in the mid-2000s. At the time, the Quds Force passed technology and training to Iraqi Shiite militias that allowed the militias to make powerful explosives that could penetrate armored vehicles used by the American military. They were the deadliest types of roadside bombs encountered by Americans in the war. Last April, the Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization the Revolutionary Guards, a wing of the Iranian military. It was the first time the United States had used that label against a part of another government. On Friday, Mr. Pompeo and the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, announced new sanctions on Iranian officials and on a few companies including two in China involved in the production and export of Iranian steel and other metals. The Trump administration had already imposed major sanctions on Irans metals industry after Mr. Trumps withdrawal in 2018 from a landmark nuclear agreement with the country, so analysts said the new sanctions would have little additional effect. The damage to Iran from the new sanctions will be negligible, said Peter Harrell, a sanctions expert at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. When it comes to putting materially more economic pressure on Iran, the Trump administration is something of a victim of its own success and I think we are reaching the end of the road for what maximum pressure can achieve when it comes to Irans economy, Mr. Harrell said. The successful drone strike against General Suleimani on Jan. 3 at Baghdad International Airport, which Iraqi officials say killed five Iranians and five Iraqis in a two-car convoy, and the unsuccessful attack in Yemen appeared aimed at knocking the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps back on its heels. Some senior military and intelligence officials had argued internally that significant strikes against the group would effectively damage Irans ability to direct its proxy forces. Sri Lanka will purchase 500 buses from India for USD 15 million by utilising the line of credit extended to it during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's visit to New Delhi, officials said on Friday. The new buses for Sri Lanka Transport Board would be procured to strengthen the country's public transport, according to a memo approved by the Cabinet this week. "The Cabinet of Ministers has given their consent for procurement of 400 new buses with 5054 seating capacity and 100 new buses with 3235 seating capacity utilising USD 15.03 million under the Indian loan grant/scheme," the memo said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November announced a financial assistance of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka including USD 50 million to fight terrorism after he held "fruitful" talks with the island nation's newly elected President Rajapaksa. In his first overseas tour after taking over the reins of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa travelled to India on a three-day visit. PHILADELPHIA - Police were searching Friday for the person who killed a mother of five inside her Philadelphia home. Lexus Jawanda Brices mother called police after finding the back door kicked in on Thursday night. Officers discovered the 25-year-old woman dead in an upstairs bedroom, police said. There were signs of a struggle, and Brice likely died of blunt force trauma to the head, police said. No weapon was found. Were just not sure what its over yet. We dont have many problems in this area. Its a pretty well-kept neighbourhood. We dont have many issues, so we think it was someone who knew who this person was at this point, police Capt. John Walker said. The attack took place in the citys Mayfair neighbourhood. Brices two biological children and three foster children were not home at the time, police said. The biological children were taken to their father, while the foster children were turned over to child welfare officials. Brice drove a school bus. The Right to Freedom of Expression through the internet is part of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, the Supreme Court held on Friday. It is subject to reasonable restrictions, which apply to all fundamental rights, and is subject to judicial review, it said. Those carrying out business via the internet also have the fundamental right to continue it, the apex court said, and directed the government to review the internet suspension in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) within seven days. The court, however, did not provide immediate relief to petitioner Anuradha Bhasin, Kashmir-based ... A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer tests the new United States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology program at the Ambassador Bridge December 13, 2004 in Detroit, Michigan. In addition to fingerprints, U.S. border guards will now collect additional biometric data from detainees. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) A pilot project at the U.S. border that involves the collection of DNA from detainees will likely be a reality in the future, according to one expert. Earlier this week, the U.S. government announced that for 90 days, it would collect DNA samples from people in immigration custody at two border crossings - Detroits Ambassador Bridge and Eagle Pass Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas. Toronto-based immigration lawyer Joel Sandaluk explains that the Detroit point of entry was chosen because it has historically low rates of detention. What theyre trying to do is ascertain the operational impact of DNA collection at border crossings, he tells Yahoo Canada. They should be able to gauge what kind of impact that DNA collection will have on border crossings with higher rates of detention. Sandaluk says the pilot project isnt surprising as its something the U.S. government has been talking about and been committed to for some time. The DNA will be collected and then transferred to the FBI database, where it will retained indefinitely and used for other law enforcement purposes. A detainee can be categorized as someone who is trying to enter the country without legal means, but it can also include anyone whos taken into custody at the border. A number of American politicians have mentioned that there will likely be a disproportionate effect on who will be affected by this new policy, Sandaluk says. In recent weeks, there have been reports of Americans of Iranian descent being stopped at the border and questioned about their political opinions and feelings on the situation in Iran. As a result, a number of concerns are being raised: What is the purpose of this DNA collection and can it be used for non-immigration motives? And will certain people be affected by this? That disproportionate effect is causing a lot of concern, says Sandaluk. He goes on to point out that Americans and Canadians entering each others countries are applying for a benefit, which means its not their legal or constitutional right to enter the other country. And the border has a long history of collecting DNA. Story continues In many cases fingerprints are collected, he says. (The pilot project) isnt the only biometric information thats taken from people. What it is is a different kind of biometric information. There are legitimate reasons for DNA to be sampled at the border. Canada sometimes collects DNA from people on request, when the parentage of a child is questioned. In those circumstances a DNA test will be conducted to confirm if the child is related to the adults he or she is travelling with. However, the U.S. has acknowledged that the DNA samples collected in the pilot project may not serve an immediate purpose. The DNA tests may be taken but not processed until well after the person is released from custody or removed from the United States, says Sandaluk. The only Canadians who will be affected by the DNA pilot project are those who are taken into custody at the border. While the DNA test wont necessarily have an immediate effect on them, the samples will be retained in an American criminal justice database, potentially indefinitely. Sandaluk says the main and most immediate effect this will have is a loss of privacy for travellers. Since border guards have a broad range of discretion, American citizens of specific backgrounds may be illegally detained, which could result in the extraction of DNA and its storage in a database. Sandaluk describes this as disturbing. However, travellers from all over should learn to get used to it This could be the future, he says. The main reason this hasnt happened yet is because of administrative concerns and operational issues...but I expect that this is the direction the American government, the Canadian government and other governments will go. It doesnt really represent a change in policy as it does an intensification of policy. HISTORY THE ZOOKEEPERS' WAR by J.W. Mohnhaupt (S&S 18.99, 272 pp) Here's a tale from the Cold War that's little-known but deserves not to be. After World War II, as you know, Berlin was split into two. West Berlin was under the control of the Allies, while East Berlin was under the Soviet yoke, and an altogether greyer and more menacing place. Berlin as a whole, of course, was embedded in East Germany, so West Berlin was connected to the rest of West Germany only by road, rail and air. What a bizarre state of affairs it must have been. But imagine if you were a zookeeper at the time. Imagine if you were one of two zookeepers, one in West Berlin and one in East Berlin. And imagine if you were one of two zookeepers who, for purely temperamental reasons, hated each other's guts. Book reveal the two zookeepers located in both East and West Berlin who hated each other's guts Berlin Zoo, as it originally was, was a tourist attraction of legend and much loved by the city's inhabitants. Like much of the city, the zoo was horribly damaged in the war, and one of the city's first priorities afterwards was to rebuild and restock it. The problem was, the zoo was in West Berlin. And before the Berlin Wall was built, East Berliners were still travelling across the border in huge numbers to visit it, which annoyed the East Berlin government inordinately. So they decided they needed their own zoo. Thus the Tierpark (literally, 'animal park') came into being. It used the converted grounds of a large house fallen into disrepair, and was several times the size of the poor, shrunken, urban West Berlin Zoo it was a zoo for the new post-war order. There was no money, there were no raw materials, and there weren't that many animals, but the Tierpark somehow got what it required to launch, function and grow. East German zookeeper, Heinrich Dathe (pictured), was a slightly older man in a hurry. Their mutual detestation is the theme of this book It thus attracted the hordes of visitors it needed, many of them curious West Berliners who travelled in the opposite direction to see the new place. The irony is that in the 1950s, when all this was happening, the two zoos' keepers had got on rather well. Then the incumbent in West Berlin was replaced, and the new keeper, Heinz-Georg Klos, was a different sort of fish. He was a young man in a hurry, while his East German counterpart, Heinrich Dathe, was a slightly older man in a hurry. Their mutual detestation is the theme of this book. If one got a rhino, the other one wanted a rhino. Dathe couldn't get any apes, so Klos spent a fortune building an ape house. And so on. Zookeeping turns out to be a tricky business. On one hand you have to be an internationalist, reaching out with the hand of friendship to your fellows overseas, in order to secure the best animals for your zoo. Berlin Zoo, as it originally was, was a tourist attraction of legend and much loved by the city's inhabitants On the other, it's dog eat dog. Klos learned this the hard way when he secured an antelope from a zookeeper he knew in Frankfurt without looking at the animal in advance. 'Grzimek surely wouldn't take advantage of him, Klos thought; they were friends. When the antelope arrived, however, it was missing half its lower jaw.' In 1962, U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy visited West Berlin and brought a bald eagle, which he named 'Willy Brandt' in honour of the city's mayor. East Berlin's main newspaper was soon providing exhaustive coverage of 'the habits of Willy Brandt, who loves to eat dead rats'. Unfortunately Willy Brandt turned out to be 'one creaky old bird'. He was barely able to swallow and his calloused claws made it impossible to sit on a branch. Then the incumbent in West Berlin was replaced, and the new keeper, Heinz-Georg Klos (pictured), was a different sort of fish The eagle died two years later, but Klos had already acquired a younger one who was passed off as the real Willy Brandt to an unsuspecting public. This all went on for years and years. There are also tales, after the Berlin Wall was built, of East German zookeepers hiding in moose crates to escape to the West. And of the day in 1966 when the TV series Flipper started running on German television. Suddenly every zoo that had a dolphin was mobbed by crazed Flipper fans. And every zoo that didn't looked rather dowdy and incompetent by comparison. When both Dathe and Klos had been in their jobs for a quarter of a century, in the late 1980s, Klos bought some new elephants and opened an elephant enclosure. When both Dathe and Klos (pictured) had been in their jobs for a quarter of a century, in the late 1980s, Klos bought some new elephants and opened an elephant enclosure Elephants are prized possessions in zoos, and now Klos had more of them than Dathe (pictured) Elephants are prized possessions in zoos, and now Klos had more of them than Dathe. Courtesy dictated that Dathe be invited to the opening, but when Dathe criticised the elephants for looking 'a little puny', Klos had reached the limit of his patience. 'One word led to another, and eventually a shoving match ensued between the two ageing men neither much taller than 5ft 5in right there among the elephants.' J.W. Mohnhaupt is a youngish German journalist and zoo nut, and this is his first book to be translated (by Shelley Frisch). At times it's a little dry and, let's face it, Germanic, but the story he has to tell is so strange and funny that his deadpan style actually suits it rather well. The book is subtitled 'An Incredible True Story From The Cold War', and for once that's no exaggeration. - FY 20 revenue guidance increased to 10.0%-10.5% BENGALURU, India, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "Q3 results further underscore that we remain steadfast in our journey of sustained client relevance and deepening engagement with them, as they partner with us in navigating their next in the digital transformation era", said Salil Parekh, CEO and MD. "For us, this has translated into double digit growth year-to-date, leading to an increase in revenue guidance, accompanied by expanding operating margins." 40.8% YoY 9.5% YoY 1% QoQ 21.9%$1.8 bn Digital CC growth Cc growth CC growth Operating Margin Large deal signings Q3 20 revenues grew year-on-year by 8.6% in USD; 9.5% in constant currency Q3 20 revenues grew sequentially by 1.0% in USD and in constant currency Q3 20 Digital revenues at $1,318 million (40.6% of total revenues), year-on-year growth of 40.8% and sequential growth of 6.8% in constant currency (40.6% of total revenues), year-on-year growth of 40.8% and sequential growth of 6.8% in constant currency Q3 20 operating margin at 21.9%, 0.2% improvement over Q2 20 Year-to-date revenues grew by 11.1% in constant currency Year-to-date operating margin at 21.4%, within the margin guidance for the year Increased FY 20 revenue guidance; revised guidance is 10.0%-10.5% in constant currency Maintained FY 20 operating margin guidance range of 21%-23% 1.Financial Highlights - Consolidated results under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) For the quarter ended December 31, 2019 Revenues were $3,243 million , growth of 8.6% YoY and 1% QoQ , growth of 8.6% YoY and 1% QoQ Operating profit was $711million , increase of 5.4% YoY and 2.2% QoQ. Operating margin was 21.9%. , increase of 5.4% YoY and 2.2% QoQ. Operating margin was 21.9%. Basic EPS was $0.15 , growth of 27.7% YoY and 10.2% QoQ , growth of 27.7% YoY and 10.2% QoQ For nine months ended December 31, 2019 Revenues were $9,583 million , growth of 9.7% YoY , growth of 9.7% YoY Operating profit was $2,049 million , growth of 0.6% YoY. Operating margin was 21.4%. , growth of 0.6% YoY. Operating margin was 21.4%. Basic EPS was $0.41 , growth of 9.7% YoY "Overall performance during the quarter was satisfactory on multiple counts - broad-based growth, steady increase in client metrics and healthy large deal wins", said Pravin Rao, COO. "Large deal wins continue to be robust with growth of 56% so far this year. We had a further reduction in attrition, demonstrating the results of our continued efforts towards strengthening employee engagement and value proposition." "Operating margins improved further during the quarter driven by relentless cost optimization and operating leverage", said Nilanjan Roy, CFO. "Cash generation was extremely strong with cumulative free cash flow crossing $ 1.5 bn. Return on Equity increased further to 25.9% driven by margin expansion and increased shareholder payouts." 2.Update on Whistleblower Matters The company has issued a separate press release announcing conclusion of the independent investigation into allegations contained in the anonymous whistleblower complaints disclosed earlier. 3.Client wins & Testimonials We were selected by Telenet , a Belgian telecommunication provider as its preferred IT partner to deliver several digital and data initiatives for the next five years. Telenet plans to leverage Infosys' ecosystem to drive simplification of its existing landscape, build new digital and data capabilities, extract relevant insights from data and leverage existing talent more effectively. , a Belgian telecommunication provider as its preferred IT partner to deliver several digital and data initiatives for the next five years. Telenet plans to leverage Infosys' ecosystem to drive simplification of its existing landscape, build new digital and data capabilities, extract relevant insights from data and leverage existing talent more effectively. We entered a strategic long-term partnership with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) to support its digital transformation journey. Infosys will provide end-to-end IT infrastructure transformation of SGRE, including hybrid cloud transformation, roll-out of a software defined network, set-up of an intelligent service desk and digital workplace services. (SGRE) to support its digital transformation journey. Infosys will provide end-to-end IT infrastructure transformation of SGRE, including hybrid cloud transformation, roll-out of a software defined network, set-up of an intelligent service desk and digital workplace services. We were selected as the main supplier to deliver Volvo Cars ' digital transformation services for its Enterprise Digital Commercial Operations Applications and Products. As part of this engagement, Infosys will offer next generation application services leveraging its Global Delivery Model (GDM), agile delivery, automation and other service optimization levers to deliver effective service operations. ' digital transformation services for its Enterprise Digital Commercial Operations Applications and Products. As part of this engagement, Infosys will offer next generation application services leveraging its Global Delivery Model (GDM), agile delivery, automation and other service optimization levers to deliver effective service operations. Infosys entered an agreement with the Australian Federal Government's Services Australia to transform the entitlement calculation engine for the nation's welfare system. The project will enable Services Australia to more quickly implement policy changes for the benefit of Australians without disrupting services and deliver operational cost savings. The Welfare Payment Infrastructure Transformation (WPIT) programme will replace a significant portion of Centrelink's 30-year-old platform, modernizing the way Services Australia calculates entitlements for Australians needing government support. to transform the entitlement calculation engine for the nation's welfare system. The project will enable Services Australia to more quickly implement policy changes for the benefit of Australians without disrupting services and deliver operational cost savings. The Welfare Payment Infrastructure Transformation (WPIT) programme will replace a significant portion of Centrelink's 30-year-old platform, modernizing the way Services Australia calculates entitlements for Australians needing government support. Benjamin Kreider , Global Traceability Director, Mars Global Services , said, "At Mars, we are delighted to enter into a partnership with Infosys for our Digital Supply Chain initiative focused on improving the ongoing market traceability of all of our products, across all business segments, by using Infosys' Traceability Solution for the Food, Beverage, and CPG Industry on their TradeEdge Market Connect Platform. The efficiency and agility of this platform make it strongly suited to meet the unique needs of our industry, across a variety of ERP and warehouse management systems in our factories and third party manufacturers who service our global markets." , said, "At Mars, we are delighted to enter into a partnership with Infosys for our Digital Supply Chain initiative focused on improving the ongoing market traceability of all of our products, across all business segments, by using Infosys' Traceability Solution for the Food, Beverage, and CPG Industry on their TradeEdge Market Connect Platform. The efficiency and agility of this platform make it strongly suited to meet the unique needs of our industry, across a variety of ERP and warehouse management systems in our factories and third party manufacturers who service our global markets." Christian Bornfeld , Chief Innovation & Technology Officer (Group COO) and Executive Board Member at ABN AMRO Bank , said, "At ABN AMRO Bank, we're excited to be working with Infosys and accomplish our strategic goals and deliver this very key IT transformation in the coming years. Infosys' strategic investment in Cloud, Digital and DevOps has helped create best in class solutions and we are confident that this partnership will help us transform our IT environment in a timely and cost-effective way." , said, "At ABN AMRO Bank, we're excited to be working with Infosys and accomplish our strategic goals and deliver this very key IT transformation in the coming years. Infosys' strategic investment in Cloud, Digital and DevOps has helped create best in class solutions and we are confident that this partnership will help us transform our IT environment in a timely and cost-effective way." Jean-Luc Galzi, CIO, GEFCO, said: "We are pleased to begin our digital transformation journey with Infosys. Digital innovation in the supply chain sector is key and our new partnership will help strengthen GEFCO's expertise and bring value to our customers." 4.Recognitions Infosys was recognized as a 2020 Top Employer in Australia , Singapore and Japan , and Our flagship global internship program, Infosys InStep, has been ranked number one in the Best Overall Internship category in 2020 Internship Rankings by Vault.com, a career intelligence organization Recognized as a leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Testing Services, Worldwide Ranked as a leader in IDC MarketScape: Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Microsoft Dynamics 365 Implementation Services 2019 Vendor Assessment (Excluding Japan) Microsoft Dynamics 365 Implementation Services 2019 Vendor Assessment Rated as a leader by ARC Advisory for Engineering Services by Global Service Providers in India Global Market 2018-2023 Global Market 2018-2023 Recognized in HFS Top 10: IOT Service Providers 2019 Recognized in HFS Top 10: ServiceNow Services 2019 Recognized in HFS Top 10: Retail and CPG Services 2019 Recognized in HFS Top 10: Insurance Services Providers 2019 Recognized in HFS Top 10: Life Science Services 2019 Recognized in HFS Top 10: Industry 4.0 Services Recognized as a leader in NelsonHall's Agile & DevOps Services - NEAT Analysis Recognized as a leader in Enterprise Blockchain Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2020 by Everest Group Recognized as a leader in Application and Digital Banking PEAK Matrix Vendor Assessment 2020 by Everest Group Recognized as a leader in Healthcare Payer Digital Services PEAK Matrix 2020 by Everest Group Recognized as a leader in Application and Digital Services Capital Markets Peak Matrix Vendor Assessment 2020 by Everest Group Recognized as leader in Insurance Application and Digital Services Life Insurance Peak Matrix 2020 by Everest Group Awarded the Excellent Partner Award by Mazda Infosys Finacle won the Juniper Research Future Digital Awards in the category Banking Innovation for Best Banking Platform 2019 Infosys Finacle awarded the Banking Technology Awards for Best Use of Emerging or Innovative Technology Infosys Finacle won the IBS Global FinTech Innovation Awards 2019 for Best Payments System implementation Conferred with the 2019 Asia IP Elite award excellence in developing innovative Intellectual Property (IP) functions and creating IP value Compass - The career enablement platform at Infosys won the international Association for Talent Development (ATD) Excellence in Practice Award Awarded the IT Ratna of Karnataka for 2018-19 for outstanding performance in IT Exports and being the biggest exporter and employer in the state of Karnataka Awarded the NASSCOM Corporate Award for Excellence (2019) for the Inclusion of Persons with Disability About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients to navigate their digital transformation, leveraging our teams from over 46 countries. With over three decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements mentioned in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law. Infosys Limited and subsidiaries Audited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as at: (Dollars in millions except equity share data) December 31, 2019 March 31, 2019 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 2,422 2,829 Current investments 431 958 Trade receivables 2,529 2,144 Unbilled revenue 914 777 Prepayments and other current assets 820 827 Income tax assets 1 61 Derivative financial instruments 5 48 Total current assets 7,122 7,644 Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment 1,896 1,931 Right-of-use assets(B4) 540 - Goodwill 584 512 Intangible assets 185 100 Non-current investments 594 670 Deferred income tax assets 195 199 Income tax assets 739 914 Other non-current assets 255 282 Total non-current assets 4,988 4,608 Total assets 12,110 12,252 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities Trade payables 263 239 Lease liabilities(B4) 79 - Derivative financial instruments 13 2 Current income tax liabilities 216 227 Client deposits 2 4 Unearned revenue 438 406 Employee benefit obligations 268 234 Provisions 85 83 Other current liabilities 1,438 1,498 Total current liabilities 2,802 2,693 Non-current liabilities Lease liabilities(B4) 501 - Deferred income tax liabilities 88 98 Employee benefit obligations 6 6 Other non-current liabilities 136 55 Total liabilities 3,533 2,852 Equity Share capital- - 5 ($0.16) par value 4,800,000,000 (4,800,000,000) equity shares authorized, issued and outstanding 4,239,766,436 (4,335,954,462) equity shares fully paid up, net of 18,781,564 (20,324,982) treasury shares as at December 31, 2019 (March 31, 2019) 332 339 Share premium 300 277 Retained earnings 10,458 11,248 Cash flow hedge reserve (2) 3 Other reserves 560 384 Capital redemption reserve 17 10 Other components of equity (3,141) (2,870) Total equity attributable to equity holders of the company 8,524 9,391 Non-controlling interests 53 9 Total equity 8,577 9,400 Total liabilities and equity 12,110 12,252 Infosys Limited and subsidiaries Audited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the period: (Dollars in millions except equity share and per equity share data) Three months ended December 31, 2019 Three months ended December 31, 2018 Nine months ended December 31, 2019 Nine months ended December 31, 2018 Revenues 3,243 2,987 9,583 8,740 Cost of sales 2,159 1,956 6,420 5,660 Gross profit 1,084 1,031 3,163 3,080 Operating expenses Selling and marketing expenses 169 161 502 464 Administrative expenses 204 195 612 578 Total operating expenses 373 356 1,114 1,042 Operating profit 711 675 2,049 2,038 Other income, net(A3) (B2) 116 105 312 317 Finance cost(B4) (6) - (18) - Reduction in the fair value of Disposal Group held for sale(A1) - - - (39) Adjustment in respect of excess of carrying amount over recoverable amount on reclassification from "Held for Sale" (A2) - (65) - (65) Profit before income taxes 821 715 2,343 2,251 Income tax expense 194 213 597 633 Net profit 627 502 1,746 1,618 Other comprehensive income Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss: Re-measurements of the net defined benefit liability/asset, net (16) (4) (22) (3) Equity instrument through other comprehensive income, net (6) 8 (5) 10 (22) 4 (27) 7 Items that will be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss: Fair valuation of investments, net (1) 6 1 (3) Fair value changes on derivatives designated as cash flow hedge, net (4) 8 (5) 5 Foreign currency translation (40) 295 (247) (634) (45) 309 (251) (632) Total other comprehensive income/(loss), net of tax (67) 313 (278) (625) Total comprehensive income 560 815 1,468 993 Profit attributable to: Owners of the Company 626 502 1,741 1,618 Non-controlling interests 1 - 5 - 627 502 1,746 1,618 Total comprehensive income attributable to: Owners of the Company 559 815 1,465 993 Non-controlling interests 1 - 3 - 560 815 1,468 993 Earnings per equity share Basic ($) 0.15 0.12 0.41 0.37 Diluted ($) 0.15 0.12 0.41 0.37 Weighted average equity shares used in computing earnings per equity share Basic 4,239,607,543 4,347,673,466 4,263,569,478 4,347,130,342 Diluted 4,245,716,437 4,352,731,387 4,270,509,294 4,352,705,150 NOTES: A. Notes pertaining to previous quarters / periods In the quarter ended June 30, 2018 , the Company had recorded a reduction in the fair value amounting to $39 million in respect of its subsidiary Panaya. In the quarter ended December 31, 2018 , the Company had recorded an adjustment in respect of excess of carrying amount over recoverable amount of $65 million in respect of its subsidiary Skava Other income includes interest on income tax refunds amounting to $7 million for the three and nine month ended Dec 31, 2018 . B. Notes pertaining to the current quarter The audited interim condensed consolidated Balance sheet and Statement of Comprehensive Income for the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2019 have been taken on record at the Board meeting held on January 10, 2020 Other income includes interest on income tax refunds amounting to $34 million for the three month ended Dec 31, 2019 and $35 million for the nine month ended Dec 31, 2019 . A Fact Sheet providing the operating metrics of the Company can be downloaded from www.infosys.com. On account of adoption of IFRS 16- Leases effective April 1, 2019 . INR: https://www.infosys.com/investors/reports-filings/quarterly-results/2019-2020/q3/documents/ifrs-inr-press-release.pdf Factsheet:https://www.infosys.com/investors/reports-filings/quarterly-results/2019-2020/q3/documents/fact-sheet.pdf Contact Investor Relations Sandeep Mahindroo +91-80-3980-1018 Sandeep_Mahindroo@infosys.com Media Relations Mehak Chawla +91-80-4156-3998 Mehak.Chawla@infosys.com Chiku Somaiya +1-71367-06752 Chiku.Somaiya@infosys.com LOGO: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg Qantas and other airlines will continue to divert around Iran and Iraq following a military escalation in the region that appears to have caught one civilian aircraft in the crossfire, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The United States and its allies on Friday said they had intelligence that Iranian milliary forces shot down a Ukrainian International Airlines jet bound for Kiev shortly after it taking off from Tehran on Wednesday. Qantas is diverting flights around Iran and Iraq until further notice. Credit:Getty Government leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said the shooting down of the Boeing 737-800 jet with a surface-to-air missile appeared to not be deliberate. International airlines were already diverting around Iranian and Iraqi airspace after Iran launched a missile attack on a military bases housing US and allied troops in the neighbouring country. (Natural News) An archaeological site in Ethiopia has discovered some of the earliest evidence of stone tools known to the world. Previously, the oldest unearthed evidence was dated at between 2.58 and 2.55 million years ago. In the dig site known as Bokol Dora 1 (BD1) in the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia, researchers have found evidence of stone tools dated to be older than 2.58 million years. Their research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, wherein they described the substantial amount of stone tools they found in BD1. Christopher Campisano, a co-author of the study and professor from Arizona State University, stated that he and the team saw sharp-edged stone tools sticking out of sediments on a steep, eroded slope. When he peered over the edge of a small cliff, he saw rocks sticking out. He then found two stone tools by scaling up from the bottom of the said cliff and using his rock hammer. (Related: Human evolution may have to be rewritten after scientists discover monkeys can create stone tools like humans.) Luckily for Campisano and his team, the stone tools were discarded near a water source and were subsequently buried. Vera Aldeias, an archaeologist and researcher from the University of Algarve in Portugal, said that when they looked at the sediments at the dig site under a microscope, they could tell that the site was exposed only for a short period of time. This means that when the stone tools were effectively preserved when they got buried. Campisano, Aldeias and the other researchers took years of slow, meticulous excavation before they could fully unearth the stone tools. In the process of digging these out, the researchers also came across a layer of bones and hundreds of other stone tool fragments, indicating that there was human activity in the area and that these humans were chipping away at stones in order to make knives. Support our mission to keep you informed: Discover the extraordinary benefits of turmeric gummy bears and organic "turmeric gold" liquid extract, both laboratory tested for heavy metals, microbiology and safety. Naturally high in potent curcuminoids. Delicious formulations. All purchases support this website (as well as your good health). See availability here. Human development can be seen in stone tools Early human relatives were using tools long before modern humans even began working with stone. The difference lies in how the BD1 tools were made and used. Stone tools dating back 3.3 million years in Kenya were described as percussive stone tools, meaning that they were used for hammering and breaking food. These are known as Lomekwian stone tools. The tools discovered in the BD1 dig site are known as Oldowan tools, with the main difference being that these tools were chipped to create sharper, more precise edges. We expected to see some indication of an evolution from the Lomekwian to these earliest Oldowan tools, said researcher Will Archer. Yet, when we looked closely at the patterns, there was very little connection to what is known from older archaeological sites or to the tools modern primates are making. This suggests that the development of stone tools and tool production went through different stages of progress over the years. David Braun, the lead author of the study, believes that many human ancestors developed their use of stone tools independently of each other in order to extract resources specific to their environment. If our hypothesis is correct, Braun said, we would expect to find some type of continuity in artifact form after 2.6 million years ago, but not prior to this time period. He then stated the need to find more dig sites and to do more research. At the very least, their study provides a link between the evolution of human ancestors and the development from Lomekwian to Oldowan tools. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk PNAS.org Earth.com Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Abuja, January 10, 2020 Authorities in Sierra Leone should investigate recent attacks against journalists covering local politics, and should ensure that reporters can do their jobs safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 4, a group of men slapped and hit Foday Conteh, a reporter with the privately owned Calabash newspaper, after he arrived at the home of Musa Bamba Fodey Jalloh, a minister of parliament, to interview the politician, Conteh told CPJ in a phone interview. The attack took place at Jallohs home in Sierra Leones northern Bendugu village, and Conteh said he was afraid and confused but did not sustain serious injuries. The week before, on December 24, 2019, several Jalloh supporters harassed and threatened two other reporters, Abdul Jalloh, with the privately owned broadcaster Hamzas Radio, and Ibrahim Mansaray, with the government-owned Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, according to a report by Calabash and both journalists, who spoke to CPJ via phone and messaging app. The attackers slapped Abdul Jalloh and poured alcohol over his head, and threatened to kill both reporters, the journalists told CPJ. Authorities in Sierra Leone should conduct swift and credible investigations into the violent attacks and death threats made against journalists covering Musa Bamba Fodey Jalloh, said CPJs Africa program coordinator, Angela Quintal, from New York. Covering local politics should not be a dangerous beat, and authorities must ensure that reporters can do their jobs without fear. Conteh told CPJ that he had been invited to Jallohs home to interview the politician about the previous weeks attacks against Mansaray and Abdul Jalloh, and had just arrived at the politicians residence when a group of young men accused him of impersonating a reporter, even after he showed them a copy of his press card saved to his phone. The men beat Conteh and then turned him over to police custody, where he was held for 17 hours on allegations of impersonating a journalist, Conteh said. Jalloh was present during the attack and did not intervene, Conteh said. A police officer told Conteh that Jalloh had ordered his detention, the journalist said. Conteh told CPJ he was released on bail with the requirement to return to the police station on January 8. He said he ultimately did not return to the police station on that date because a representative from the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, a local media union, said he did not have to. Abdul Jalloh told CPJ that he was covering a local community meeting as part of an investigation into allegations that Jalloh had neglected members of the Sambaia Chiefdom, when the politicians supporters accused he, Mansaray, and others present of smearing the politicians image. The supporters threatened to kill Abdul Jalloh and slapped him in the face, and he told CPJ that the slaps hurt but that he was not seriously injured. Mansaray told CPJ he could have been assaulted but he convinced the attackers that harming a state media journalist would damage the Jallohs image as a politician. The attackers warned him not to film the events if he wanted to make it out alive, Mansaray said. When Abdul Jalloh and Mansaray tried to leave the area via motorbike taxis, the politicians supporters followed them and threatened multiple drivers not to take the journalists, but one eventually agreed to take them, Mansaray told CPJ. When contacted over the phone by CPJ on January 10, Brima Kamara, a spokesperson for the Sierra Leone police, said he was not aware of the attacks and threats. CPJ called Jalloh for comment. He said he knew nothing about the attacks against Abdul Jalloh and Mansaray until after they had occurred, and denied having sent supporters to the community meeting. Jalloh said that Conteh was arrested for failing to present a hard copy of his press credentials, and he denied allegations that Conteh had been beaten. Jalloh, a parliamentarian with the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party, is also known as Musa Bendugu, according to the reporters who spoke with CPJ. Political reporting was the most dangerous beat in 2019, according to CPJ research on journalists killed in connection with their work. U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating whether Russia is targeting Joe Biden in the 2020 election by promoting the controversy in the Ukraine over his and Hunter Biden's roles there. American intelligence agencies concluded that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 contest in a way that boosted Donald Trump's candidacy and a new report from Bloomberg on Friday sparks concerns there could be a repeat of that this year. 'Vladimir Putin has interfered in our elections before and it's no surprise he's doing so again to prop up President Trump,' Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates told the news outlet. U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating whether Russia is targeting Joe Biden in the 2020 election President Trump has made Joe and Hunter Biden a frequent political target Russia's been using its state-run media to promote favorable and unfavorable information about American presidential candidates, according to an analysis by the Foreign Policy Research Institutes Foreign Influence Election 2020. Biden received the most negative coverage by RT and Sputnik News through December, the analysis found. Russian media repeatedly referenced his role in the Ukraine as vice president and Hunters's work there. And their work could be boosted by the narrative being pushed by President Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and other allies that has put the Bidens and the Ukraine into the public zeitgeist. 'Biden is to 2020 what [Hillary] Clinton was to 2016,' Clint Watts, a former FBI agent who has been tracking Russia's foreign influence operations, told Bloomberg. Concerns about foreign interference in this year's election have been voiced for some time. Late last year Trump officials warned of possible attempts by foreign countries to interfere in this year's presidential contest. 'Our adversaries want to undermine our democratic institutions, influence public sentiment and affect government policies,' a joint statement from the head of seven federal agencies warned. 'Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions.' And, in 2019, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned that 'Russia's social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities, and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians. Moscow may employ additional influence toolkits - such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and leak operations, or manipulating data - in a more targeted fashion to influence US policy, actions and elections.' Compounding concerns, an analysis by The New York Times found the 2020 contest still has many of the same vulnerabilities that the 2016 election faced: 'Most political campaigns are unwilling to spend what it takes to set up effective cyberdefenses. Millions of Americans are still primed to swallow fake news. And those charged with protecting American elections face the same central challenge they did four years ago: to spot and head off any attack before it can disrupt voting or sow doubts about the outcome.' Hunter Biden told ABC News last year he did nothing wrong in his work in the Ukraine U.S. intelligence agencies have warned Russia could interfere in the 2020 election like they did in the 2016 contest The Ukraine has become a flash point in all this now that President Trump is facing an impeachment trial in the Senate on allegations he with held nearly $400 million in U.S. military assistance from the Ukraine in exchange for promises from officials there to investigate the Bidens. Trump denies the charges and Republicans point out the money has been sent to the Ukraine. Democrats counter it was sent only after a whistleblower revealed the contents of a call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump said his call was 'perfect.' The Bidens say they did not wrong doing in their work in the Ukraine but Trump has used their work to make them a political target. Hunter Biden stepped down from the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, last year after continual questions about his role there, where he had sat on the board since 2014. He told ABC News last year he exercised poor judgement in his business deals with the Ukraine but emphasized he did nothing wrong. 'In retrospect, look, I think that it was poor judgment on my part. Is that I think that it was poor judgment because I don't believe now, when I look back on it - I know that there was - did nothing wrong at all,' he said. Additionally, Trump and his allies have charged Joe Biden - in his time as vice president - urged the Ukraine to dismiss a top prosecutor who was investigating corruption to the benefit of his son's company. Joe Biden denies this and points out he urged the prosecutor to be dismissed for not doing enough to combat corruption. He also noted he was following U.S. and international policy in doing so. Hunter Biden told ABC News he never spoke with his father about his business dealings with Burisma and noted 'there's been a lot of misinformation about me.' The Bidens have never been charged with any wrong doing in regards to their work in the Ukraine. But they remain a favorite political target of the president, who mentioned them repeatedly in his rally in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday night. Trump said he hoped Biden was the Democratic presidential nominee because then he could repeatedly ask him 'Where's Hunter?' 'So where's Hunter, where the hell are you Hunter,' Trump said to the raucous crowd. He continued: 'I sort of hope it's Joe because he will hear 'Where is Hunter' every single debate, nine times a debate. Where's Hunter?' An accountant could face up to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Friday to embezzling tens of millions of dollars from a wealthy Chicago family and using the money to finance a luxurious lifestyle that included more than two dozen homes, private jets, yachts and a Lamborghini luxury car dealership. Sultan Issa also admitted in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that he stole millions more from from individual investors, including $500,000 from a widow who trusted him to invest funds from her dead husbands estate. In all, Issa admitted to stealing at least $65 million over a seven-year period, but prosecutors warned that they were still tabulating the losses and the final number could go even higher. Dressed in a dark gray suit and blue striped tie, Issa, 46, of Hinsdale, told U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood that hes been seeing a psychologist and is taking daily prescription medication to treat his anxiety and depression. When the judge asked him to say in his own words what he did wrong, Issa, who pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud, cleared his throat and said in a clear voice, I just basically lied to a lot of people. Wood set sentencing for May 21. With such extensive losses, Issa faces about 20 to 25 years in prison under preliminary sentencing guidelines. For years, Issa served as the personal accountant for banker and philanthropist Roger Weston, a life trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, where a wing of the museum bears his name. According to the plea agreement, Issa began embezzling from the familys funds in 2010 by forging signatures to gain control of assets and providing banks with fraudulent documents to secure millions of dollars in loans for himself. One of the accounts Issa stole from was a trust fund that Weston had set up explicitly to pay for his mothers treatment while she was suffering from an incapacitating illness, the plea deal said. The plea agreement refers to Weston only as Individual A, but details in the court record confirm he was the victim. For more than seven years, ending in October 2017, Issa regularly lied to Weston about the status of the familys assets and cooked the books to make it look like investments were earning money, authorities said. Instead, Issa was using tens of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains to buy 25 residential properties in Illinois, Montana, Michigan, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as well as two private jets, four yachts, about 60 firearms,and numerous watches and jewelry. according to the plea agreement. Among the Chicago properties Issa bought during the scheme were three condos in the Trump Tower in Chicago, real estate records show. The shell company he set up to purchase them was called Combover LLC -- an apparent jab at President Donald Trumps hairstyle. The plea agreement said Sultan sank another $15 million in stolen funds to pay expenses for Global Luxury Imports, a dealership he owned in Burr Ridge that sold Lamborghinis and other luxury vehicles. According to a 2012 news release, the dealership housed the bulletproof 1979 Rolls-Royce that Princess Diana and Prince Charles used during visits to Washington, D.C., in the 1980s. The dealership has since closed, records show. The charges also alleged Issa used his position to solicit at least another $8.8 million from individual investors by claiming he would invest their money in legitimate opportunities. In April 2016, prosecutors said, Issa convinced a widow to give him $500,000 to invest even though he knew she was unusually vulnerable due to the recent loss of her husband." Instead, Issa used the funds in furtherance of his ongoing scheme to defraud, according to the plea deal. Weston, from Winnetka, sold Lisle-based GreatBanc to Charter One for $180 million, according to reports in Crains Chicago Business. A collector of Asian art, Weston became a life trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 and has donated many pieces to the museum. Weston sued Issa in Cook County Circuit Court in 2018 seeking $100 million in damages, court records show. Weston claimed in a separate suit that Issa forged his name on bank documents as collateral to obtain a $5 million loan using antique Chinese ceramics and other artwork owned by Weston. The lawsuits are pending. Issa, who remains free on bond pending sentencing, left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Friday without comment. His lawyer, Daniel Collins, also declined to speak. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Over 2.1 million children under five will be administered polio vaccine in a three-day campaign to be launched from January 13 in northwest Pakistan. Pakistan is one of the three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio is still endemic. Launched by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, the campaign will be conducted in the eight districts of Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Mohmand, Malakand, Swat and Buner, officials said. A total of 7,800 immunisation teams and 1,790 area in-charges will be deployed to monitor and ensure quality of the campaign, which aims at vaccinating 2.14 million children during the three days. Pakistan has been fighting to combat polio since 1994. However, attempts to eradicate the crippling disease have been seriously hampered by deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years by militants, who oppose the drives, claiming that the polio drops cause infertility. Attacks on immunisation teams have claimed 68 lives since December 2012. PTI CORR SCY New Delhi, Jan 10 : After announcement of the post of the country's first Chief of Defence Staff and appointment of General Bipin Rawat to the critical position, the government on Friday approved a formal structure of the newly-created Department of Military Affairs which Rawat is going to head. The Department of Military Affairs will be two joint secretaries, 13 deputy secretaries and 22 under secretaries who will assist the Chief of Defence Staff to carry out his responsibilities. Rawat will push the three services to truly integrate in planning, procurements, logistics, doctrines and training. The CDS provides single-point military advice to the government as well as function as the military advisor to the Prime Minister-led Nuclear Command Authority. Though the three service chiefs will retain full operational control over their forces, the CDS will clearly be the "first among equals" in the hierarchy. At present, India has as many as 17 single-service commands, with each force reluctant to give up its command. India has only one joint command that is the Andaman and Nicobar Command till now. The Department of Military Affairs will be the fifth department in the Ministry of Defence. The existing ones are the Department of Defence, the Department of Defence Production, the Department of Defence Research and Development and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare. The Department of Military Affairs deals with the armed forces, the integrated headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, comprising the Army, Naval and Air and defence staff headquarters and the Territorial Army. After taking charge as CDS, General Rawat's first directive to his tri-service integrated defence staff (IDS) was to prepare a plan for the creation of an Air Defence Command (ADC) and common logistics support pools for the armed forces. The proposal for the ADC should be prepared by June 30, said General Rawat, while also setting out the priorities for execution of synergy among the armed forces in different arenas in a time-bound manner by December 31. Dennis Prager, a conservative commentator and founder of Prager University, dismissed Anne Frank as hopelessly naive during a broadcast late last year. He specifically took issue with a statement in her celebrated diary that reads: In spite of everything, I still believe that people are basically good at heart. The Frank family in 1942 went into hiding in the city of Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. Two years later, they were discovered by the Gestapo. Anne Frank died of typhus in February of 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. I dont get my wisdom from teenagers, Prager said of Frank, who was 15 when she died. While conceding that she was a wonderful young woman who had written an unquestionably powerful document that will last forever, Prager then qualified his praise noting that Franks literary accomplishment is beside the point. Prager, who grew up in a family of Orthodox Jews, believes that Frank made such a bold declaration of belief in humanitys goodness because she was a secular Jew and most kids believe that. But it is not true. This wasnt the first time that Prager has taken Anne Frank to task. In a May 4, 2019 article for The Jerusalem Post titled What have Jews learned from the Holocaust? Not much, Prager criticized those American Jews who share Franks perspective. At any time in history, the belief that people are basically good was irrational and naive, he stated. To believe it after the Holocaust and after the communist genocides in China, Korea, Cambodia, and the Soviet Union, the Turkish slaughter of the Armenians, and the mass murders in Rwanda, the Congo, Tibet and elsewhere is beyond irrational and naive. Prager cited three reasons why American Jews and many non-Jews believe in humanitys goodness. A secular people need to believe in something and if you dont believe in God, youd better believe in humanity. Abandoning scripture has led Americans to adopt foolish beliefs. What are people really like? Prager declared that both Jews and Christians learned Gods statement about human nature from Genesis 8:21: The inclination of mans heart is toward evil from his youth. He then blamed what he regards as the naivete of American Jews on Anne Frank. He quoted this remarkable girl and then added a parenthetical comment. In spite of everything, I still believe that people are basically good at heart . (I have always wondered whether she continued to hold this belief when she was in the concentration camp.) In the interest of full disclosure, this columnist concedes that he has wondered the same thing. Prager cited Genesis 8:21 to support his argument that humans are essentially evil. Thats by no means an isolated quotation. For example, Ecclesiastes 9:3 declares the heart of the sons of man is full of evil and madness is in their heart while they live. Prager believes American Jews and Christians who know scripture summarily reject a belief in humanitys goodness. But consider this assertion in Psalm 8:5: For thou has made him (mankind) a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Genesis 1:26 maintains that humanity was created in the image and likeness of God. Were Anne Frank and six million other Jews killed by beings made a bit lower than angels and who mirror the image of God? Such a prospect is even more troubling than those scriptural verses that declare we humans are evil to the core. Toward the end of her brief life, Anne Frank might well have questioned her belief that people are basically good. She had no way of knowing, however, that many non-Jews such as Tina Strobod, Si Kaddour Benghabrit, Raoul Wallenberg and Abdol Hossein Sardari were risking their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust. Such knowledge surely would have given that poor child some comfort. John J. Dunphy is an author, the Godfrey 15th Precinct Democratic Committeeperson and recording secretary for the Godfrey Democrats. Engaging with Suraj Yengdes book Caste Matters, an attempt has been made to negotiate with the notion of Dalitness and the idea of Brahmin, by problematising the relation between the discrete jatis and the political categories. Yengdes thesis of Brahmins against Brahminism is analysed through the idea of Brahmin, which is intrinsically related to the practice of untouchability. Suraj Yengde (2019) in his book Caste Matters attempts to conceptualise the lived experience of the Dalits. He brings the narrative of Dalit politics to the present and also interrogates the various possible positions that the Dalits adopt towards their present problems. Based on how the Dalits respond, varying from either adaptation to opposition of Brahminism, he classifies them as empirical Dalits, conservative Dalits, reactive Dalits, salaried hypocrites, third-generation Dalits, harmful Dalits, and radical Dalits. Not only are these shades fuzzy in nature, but, as Yengde notes as well, these can also be found in any category of people and need not be limited to the Dalits alone. Let us consider the two typesconservatives and radicals. I do not see the conservatives negatively or the radicals positively. Each one depends on the other; in particular, the concept of the radical depends on the concept of the conservative. What has been achieved by the radicals at a particular historical juncture has to be conserved in society. Hence, I feel that the author is sometimes too harsh on Dalits, and with their normal life. But, we need to ask what it is that the conservative Dalits really conserve or attempt to conserve?1 Do the Dalit jatis have really anything to conserve? Non-Dalits have something to conserve. What do the Dalits have? If they have nothing to conserve, can the term conservatives be applied to them? Similarly, what does the word radical mean when applied to Brahmins or non-Brahmins? How can we conceptualise a radical Brahmin? These questions cannot be easily answered, and they pose a greater challenge to our existing understanding of caste. WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives, as expected, on January 9 passed a nonbinding resolution limiting President Donald Trump's ability to take military action against Iran. The resolution passed by a margin of 224-194 in the Democratic-led chamber, where many lawmakers were unconvinced with the White House's justification for the targeted killing last week of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Iran's most prominent military commander. Three Republicans voted for the measure, while eight Democrats voted against it. Sponsored by Representative Elissa Slotkin (Democrat-Michigan), a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who served in Iraq, the War Powers Resolution directs Trump to "terminate the use of the United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran." It also requires the president to consult with Congress "in every possible instance" before introducing the military in hostilities with Iran. The military could also be deployed against Iran if Congress declares war. Hours before the vote in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California) said she did not believe Trump's administration had made the United States "safer" by killing Soleimani. A day earlier, Pelosi said that "members of the Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the administration's decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward." Pelosi said that, although the measure does not require Trump's signature and is not binding, it "has real teeth" because it is "a statement of the Congress of the United States." Before the vote, Trump wrote on Twitter that he hoped "all House Republicans will vote against Crazy Nancy Pelosi's War Powers Resolution." The January 3 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad has raised fears of a conflict between the United States and Iran. The 62-year-old Soleimani, who helped orchestrate Tehran's overseas clandestine and military operations, was designated a terrorist by the United States as was the secretive military unit he led the Quds Force. In response to the Iranian commanders death, Iran on January 8 fired missiles at bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. Trump later in the day said Tehran was "standing down" and made no mention of further military action. However, the U.S. president announced further sanctions against Iran. Speaking at the White House on January 9, he said the additional sanctions had already been imposed. "It's already been done; we've increased them," Trump said, without providing details. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News: "We continue to receive word that Iran is standing down, but at the president's direction we're going to remain vigilant." Pence also told CBS News that the United States was receiving "encouraging intelligence that Iran is sending messages" to its allied militias not to attack U.S. targets. However, a senior Iranian commander said on January 9 that the firing of missiles at U.S. targets a day earlier was "the start of a series of attacks across the region," according to state television. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Sheyda Shadkhoo was afraid as she boarded the flight from Tehran that was supposed to have eventually returned her to her family in Toronto. She thought she was leaving trouble behind, not flying into it. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Sheyda Shadkhoo was afraid as she boarded the flight from Tehran that was supposed to have eventually returned her to her family in Toronto. She thought she was leaving trouble behind, not flying into it. "Behind me, behind me," she wrote in a poem she sent her husband minutes before the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing taxied down the runway. Pedram Mousavi and his wife Mojgan Daneshmand and their two daughters (from left) Daria and Dorina are shown in a handout photo. The family of four from Edmonton is among the victims of the plane crash in Iran. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Twitter, @zaghtweet1 *MANDATORY CREDIT* "I'm scared for the people behind me." The poem and the fears she expressed for Iranian people amid growing tensions between that country and the United States were the last Hassan Shadkhoo heard from his wife of 10 years. Flight PS752 was leaving Tehran for Kyiv with a connection to Toronto at a time of extraordinary uncertainty. Iranian missiles had just rained down on two American military bases in neighbouring Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of a popular Iranian general. Nobody knew how things would play out. But it was a normal morning at Imam Khomeni International airport, a large, modern facility designed to handle millions of travellers. International hotel chains and a new terminal had opened last June. Many Canadians on the doomed plane 138 of 176 on board were destined for Canada had been taking advantage of the Christmas break to visit family or celebrate milestones. The passenger list includes at least two pairs of newlyweds. It was an early flight and sleepy goodbyes would have been exchanged in predawn darkness. Despite the route's 18-hour length, it's a popular one for Iranian-Canadians. There are no direct flights between the two countries and the Ukrainian carrier offers fares affordable for the families and students who made up the bulk of those heading back to Canada that day. The weather was fine, just above zero, a bit milder than normal. The Boeing 737 aircraft had just passed a safety inspection days before. It began taxiing down the runway at 5:45 a.m., right on schedule, and lifted into the air about 30 minutes later. Sahan Hatefi Mostaghim and Shahab Raana, friends who were training in Montreal to become welders, snapped a selfie of themselves shortly before takeoff. They looked calm and relaxed as they settled into their seats. Raana was already wearing his earbuds. Fatemah Pasavand, 17, may have been looking forward to the special meal she had requested her father in Vancouver prepare for her on her return with her mother, Ayeshe Pourghaderi. Nasim Rahmanifar, a master's student in the University of Alberta's mechanical engineering department, may have been bracing herself for her first winter in Edmonton. She had repeatedly asked her colleagues about what kind of coat she'd need, despite their assurances she'd get used to the cold. Roja Azadian, making her first trip to Canada, may have also been nervous. She was joining her husband, a student at Ottawa's Algonquin College, and friends said she was apprehensive about her new home-to-be. A ticket mix-up put her husband on a later flight. Perhaps Arash Pourzarabi and Pouneh Gorji, returning to Edmonton just days into their married life, snuggled in to each other as the plane rose above the tarmac. Perhaps Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand, a husband and wife who were University of Alberta engineering professors, were getting their daughters, Daria and Dorina, settled for the long flight ahead. Everything seemed fine, until it wasn't. A preliminary report from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization says the plane climbed to about 2,500 metres, then veered right. About five minutes after takeoff, it lost contact with air traffic control. The path suggests pilots were trying to return to the airport, the report says. Instead, the aircraft crashed into a park, killing everyone on board. Witnesses say and security camera video shows the plane was on fire before it crashed. The pilots made no call for help before the plane went down. On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence from multiple sources indicates an Iranian missile downed the plane, although the strike might have been unintentional. No matter why Flight PS752 crashed, people like Shadkhoo's husband are left grieving lives as truncated as the last message he received from her. "She said, 'OK,'" Hassan told CBC. "'They're telling me to turn off my phone. Goodbye.' "That was it." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2020 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 Residents of the Pluit Putri housing complex in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, claim to have been reported to police for protesting against the citys plan to turn a green space in their residential area into a private school, marking yet another legal dispute over land use in the capital city. PT Jakarta Utilitas Propertindo (JUP), a subsidiary of city-owned developer Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), plans to build a three-story building for the private Bina Tunas Bangsa (BTB) school on the 3,999-square-meter lot, which Jakpro claims to legally own. In November residents staged a protest by padlocking the main gate to the plot and putting up posters decrying the project and alleging Jakpro and BTB were not transparent in the construction project and that they were taking over a green space that the residents had used for social activities for years. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Advertisement Three out-of-control bushfires have merged into one dangerous megablaze, which now threatens to cause unprecedented devastation in NSW and Victoria. A strong wind change late on Friday brought 90km/h gusts to dozens of dangerous fire grounds. The huge 312,000 hectare Dunns Road fire in the Snowy Mountains had merged with the East Ournie Creek blaze - both of which were already at emergency level - in the afternoon. But the evening's terrible conditions brought yet more misery for firefighters, as they also merged with the uncontainable 233,000-hectare Green Valley fire. Scroll down for video Three fires (pictured), the Green Valley Fire, the Easy Ournie Creek Fire and the Dunns Road Fire all merged together late on Friday night The Dunns Road Fire is seen on Friday night (pictured) in Mount Adrah, as it merged with two other out-of-control fires The NSW RFS has confirmed that three enormous fires in the Snowy Valley region have lined up, creating a mega blaze almost 600,000 hectares in size (pictured is Tumbarumba) All together the blazes, including sections that have burnt out, cover well over half a million hectares - more than five times the size of Canberra. The Rural Fire Service forecast extreme danger for the fireground and warned of 'erratic behaviour' - meaning the flames can move and change direction quickly. A similar megafire formed at Gospers Mountain last month, destroying an area seven times the size of Singapore. The Green Valley blaze jumped Jingellic Road at Lankeys Creek as it moved toward the Alpine communities of Mundaroo, Tumbarumba and Mannus. Residents in the area south of Tumbarumba (pictured) to Khancoban, and west of the Kosciuszko National Park were told to leave Rural Fire Service firefighters (pictured) conduct property protection at the Dunns Road Fire on Friday night NSW is bracing for severe fire conditions, with high temperatures and strong winds forecast across the state (pictured, the Dunns Road Fire) Scott Morrison considers a royal commission into the bushfire crisis Scott Morrison says any national inquiry into the bushfires needs to be wide-ranging and examine what impact climate change has had on the crisis. The prime minister is weighing up calling a royal commission into the disaster, which would also look at hazard reduction burns and national coordination. 'I think Australians, because of the scale of this particular disaster, will be looking for something more holistic,' he told 2GB radio on Friday. 'That's not the focus right now - today there are severe and extreme fire forecasts in Victoria and NSW - but down the track, that's what premiers and I, I am sure will discuss.' Advertisement NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Anthony Bradstreet said the fires were burning very quickly and could impact rural properties in the area as winds reach 90km/h. 'We are seeing embers burning ahead of the fire front and we could see properties threatened before that main fire front arrives,' he said. Another six blazes - including the massive 156,000 hectare Border fire - were at watch-and-act level on Friday evening, with most in the state's scorched southeast. The RFS said the Erskine Creek blaze which is an extension of the Green Wattle Creek fire near the Blue Mountains was put at watch-and-act level because of fears strong winds could move it towards Leura and Wentworth falls. The southwesterly wind change brought gusts of up to 90km/h across the Riverina, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning the change will be 'particularly gusty' and 'very significant' across the state. Rural Fire Service firefighters (pictured) are seen monitoring the Dunns Road Fire on Friday night Burnt-out cars (pictured) are seen on a property which was affected by bushfire on New Year's Eve in the NSW town of Verona It will blow up the coast throughout the evening and was expected to reach Morouya about 11pm and Sydney by 2am on Saturday. A firefighter in his 20s has been hospitalised and is in a stable condition after he suffered burns to his face in the Snowy Valley region when fierce winds pushed the fires in different directions. At Thredbo, snowmaking machines have been running non-stop for days to wet village grounds to combat any potential spot fires from the Pilot Lookout fire south of the ski resort. Meanwhile, NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said two new blazes - the Yearinan Station Rd fire near Coonabarabran in the state's north and another in a remote region of the Blue Mountains appeared to have begun due to lightning strikes. An intentionally lit controlled fire burns intensely near Tomerong (pictured) on Wednesday in an effort to contain a larger fire nearby A bushfire is seen along Putty Road (pictured) in Colo Heights, as out-of-control blazes continue to rage across NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier urged communities to remain vigilant amid warm and windy conditions. 'In essence, we know it's going to be a long and difficult night,' Ms Berejiklian said. About 65 of the 137 bushfires burning around NSW are uncontained. The fires have closed several roads across the state including the Snowy Mountains Highway between the Hume Highway at Mount Adrah and Adelong and between Talbingo and Kosciuszko Road. A fire at Tumbarumba (pictured), which is on the edge of the Dunns Road Fire, is seen earlier this week The Princes Highway remains closed between Wonboyn Road at Narrabarba and the Victorian border, along with other roads across the NSW-Victorian border. Communities on the Victoria-NSW border were also warned they may be unable to contact triple zero due to telecoms outages. Conditions are due to ease later on Saturday with showers and isolated thunderstorms in coastal parts and adjacent ranges expected, Bureau of Meteorology spokesman Grahame Reader said. The Dunns Road Fire (pictured) was blazing out-of-control on Friday, and thanks to high winds, was merged with two other fires Australian Defence Force national coordinator Major General Jake Ellwood on Friday said just under 2,000 reservists are on duty to provide support during the bushfires. The number of homes confirmed destroyed since January 1 has increased to 1079, the RFS confirmed on Friday. At least 1,995 homes have been lost since the start of the fire season. Another 816 have been damaged. SALEM - A Gresham bakerys refusal to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple has returned to court, six years after the bakerys co-owner told one of the brides he wouldnt bake a cake for the wedding of two women and more than five years after the state civil rights division fined the bakery $135,000 for illegal discrimination. At issue during oral arguments before the Oregon Court of Appeals Thursday: whether a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a similar Colorado case undermines Oregons earlier Appeals Court ruling upholding the finding of discrimination and the large fine. A state civil rights investigation overseen by then-Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian concluded Sweet Cakes by Melissa violated the womens civil rights. The bakerys owners appealed Avakians determination and civil penalty attached to it. They said baking a cake for a same-sex wedding went against their Christian beliefs. Oregon law bans discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in jobs and in places that serve the public, such as bakeries. The debate over equal rights and religious freedom has drawn national attention to both the bakers and the couple at the center of the case. On Thursday, a lawyer for the bakerys owners, Aaron and Melissa Klein, contended that the Appeals Court should reverse Avakians ruling because of the clear hostility Avakian and others demonstrated toward the Kleins religion. An attorney representing Oregons Bureau of Labor Industries urged the three-judge panel to reaffirm the courts 2017 decision to uphold the determination and damages as lawful. Two of the three judges considering the case Thursday, Joel DeVore and Bronson James, were part of the panel that issued that unanimous 2017 opinion. In June, the nations highest court ordered the state appellate court to hear the case again in light of its ruling in the Colorado case. That case centered on a bakery found by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to have discriminated against a same-sex couple who wanted to buy a cake for their wedding. Supreme Court justices ruled on narrow grounds that because one of the commissioners was openly hostile to religion, the commissions decision violated the First Amendments requirement for governmental religious neutrality. Adam Gustafson, lawyer for bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, argues before three judges of the Oregon Court of Appeals that they should dismiss the case against his clients because decision-makers showed signs of hostility toward the Kleins' religious beliefs when deciding the case.Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian|OregonLive The Kleins attorney, Adam Gustafson, listed several instances during the Bureau of Labor and Industries process that he said showed hostility toward the couples religious beliefs, including that Avakian posted on Facebook about the case before his commission reached a conclusion about the case. The post said everyone had a right to their own religious beliefs but that doesnt mean they could violate state laws. DeVore asked what about Avakians post was wrong, if his statement was true. Gustafson said the post spoke directly to neutrality: If Avakian already prejudged the Kleins, how could he fully and accurately consider the facts of the case? Gustafson said the 2018 Supreme Court decision set a high bar that even subtle departures of neutrality constitute an infringement of constitutional religious rights. The Kleins sat directly behind Gustafson as he addressed the judges. At times, they nodded in agreement. Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, who lodged the complaint against the Kleins that triggered the civil rights investigation, sat several feet away. Two dozen other people filled the small courtroom, a temporary home for the states two highest courts while their historic building is renovated. Each attorney had 30 minutes to address the judges and answer questions. They also filed court papers that outlined their positions. Gustafson contended the states $135,000 fine was another indicator of the states religious hostility because the levy was based in part on Aaron Kleins recitation of the Bible. He quoted a verse from Leviticus to one brides mother: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. The mother relayed Kleins quotation to the couple, telling them he called them an abomination. The pair testified during the initial proceedings that they were deeply affected by being described that way. The term factored into the calculation of the damages against the Kleins. Other penalties issued by the Bureau of Labor and Industries around that same time for discrimination based on race, disability or other protected status that caused only emotional, not physical or economic, damage were much smaller, from $10,000 to $60,000, Gustafson said. The disproportionate levy shows an evident bias against the Kleins, he told the judges. Carson Whitehead, the assistant attorney general representing the state Labor Bureau, argues that the Oregon Appeals Court should again uphold a discrimination verdict and $135,000 fine against bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, who can be seen seated behind him.Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian|OregonLive Carson Whitehead, the Bureau of Labor and Industries lawyer, said that courts often rely on what people say to assess penalties, in criminal and civil proceedings. He said several days worth of testimony established the deep and long-lasting emotional damage the women suffered as a result of the Kleins conduct. All the evidence here was about the harm the complainants suffered by the manner service was denied, he said. Whitehead said the Kleins did not clearly establish hostility on the part of decision-makers in the case and contended that was the bar set by the Supreme Court decision in the Colorado case. But Presiding Judge Erin Lagesen questioned whether the decision established such a clear standard. James, another of the judges, quoted from the labor commissions order against the Kleins that referred to copious hate-filled comments supportive of the Kleins. Doesnt that equate those who support the respondents as being motivated by hate? James asked Whitehead. Whitehead said the sometimes vicious comments about the Bowman-Cryers on social media could accurately be categorized as hateful, but that did not necessarily mean Avakian viewed the Kleins beliefs about same-sex marriage to be motivated by hate. The judges also pressed whether civil rights investigatory process can be neutral, given that the labor commissioner both chooses which investigations to launch and signs off on any ultimate findings. Whitehead said the states procedural rules and processes werent at issue in the case, and the Supreme Court decision did not call a similar process into question in the Colorado ruling. He also noted that an independent administrative law judge first determined the Kleins had broken the law and decided the size of the fine before Avakian signed off on those decisions. The problem in (that case) was specific statements by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that exhibited clear hostility, coupled with different case law treatment, he said. James asked both attorneys what the Court of Appeals should do if judges conclude the Kleins did face some hostility at some point during the process. Whitehead said that would depend on the courts exact conclusion and could include ordering the labor commission to reconsider the case or damages. Oregon Court of Appeals judges, from left, Joel DeVore, Erin Lagesen and Bronson James listed to oral arguments Thursday from lawyers representing bakers Melissa and Aaron Klein and a same-sex couple to whom the Kleins refused to sell a wedding cake.Beth Nakamura / The Oregonian|OregonLive Gustafson said the courts only option -- based on the Supreme Court decision -- was to reverse the order and damages and declare the case completely over. The Kleins have been put through too much to have to endure this all over again, he said. The Kleins closed their Gresham shop in 2013 and stopped selling cakes in 2016. DeVore asked Gustafson to point to another case in which the appellate court had issued an outright dismissal. Gustafson said he had none and continued to address other points during his remaining time. As the hearing concluded, two judges circled back to Gustafsons assertion that the court had no other option but to fully set aside the case without remanding it back to the labor commission or some other venue if it found so much as what James called a specter of impropriety by decision-makers. That cannot possibly be the answer, James said. -- Molly Young myoung@oregonian.com The near-collapse of Virgin Australias Hong Kong code-share partner has heightened the challenge for boss Paul Scurrah in making the loss-making destination profitable. Months-long anti-government protests have ravaged airlines operating in the Asian financial hub, with dominant local carrier Cathay Pacific's passenger numbers down 46 per cent in November compared to a year earlier. Virgin Australia believes Sydney to Hong Kong flights can become profitable. Credit:AAP Virgin will end its Hong Kong to Melbourne service in March but will continue to fly Sydney to Hong Kong, which Virgin boss Paul Scurrah believes can become profitable. Industry experts say that has become more difficult because of strife at its code-share partner Hong Kong Airlines, which narrowly avoided collapse last month. The airline is facing an uncertain future and is looking to cut jobs and routes. The snow is expected to accumulate, despite recent high temperatures in the 60s, said Joe Sellers, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa. "It really depends on the rate of fall, but we've got some really cold air coming in," he said. "It may be warmer below the (ground) surface, but it's going to be cold at the surface and it's going to accumulate." He said a transition from rain to freezing rain and sleet, then snow will also allow wintry precipitation to accumulate on streets and highways. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman also had much of the south-central United States including Tulsa in the "enhanced" to "moderate" category for severe weather on Friday. "Review your severe weather safety procedures for the possibility of dangerous weather today," the SPC said. "The most dangerous corridor for strong tornadoes and intense damaging winds should be centered on northeast Texas through northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas this evening through the overnight," the center said. Tulsa and all of eastern Oklahoma and much of Arkansas also is under flash flood watch from noon until late Friday night. WESTPORT More affordable housing could be on the way to Westport if a new plan introduced by the Planning and Zoning Commission comes to fruition. The proposal, spearheaded by Planning and Zoning Chairman Danielle Dobin, involves requesting a portion of the state Department of Transportations maintenance lot at 900 Post Road E. to create a townhome community. First Selectman Jim Marpe has also signed off on preliminary efforts to contact the DOT. SIGN UP here to get daily Westport News and alerts on breaking news Building and creation of substantially more affordable housing in Westport is not optional, Dobin said at Thursdays meeting. Theres a state law statute 8-30g which requires municipalities like Westport in Connecticut to have 10 percent of all of their dwelling units qualify as affordable. By failing to meet this requirement, developers could use the statute to propose developments that circumvent the towns zoning regulations. Westport was able to attain a moratorium in 2019, which gives the town nearly four years to control its own affordable housing developments. We are charged by the state during this time to not rest on our laurels, but to actively work to create an affordability plan, Dobin said. In addition to that, we need to create actual affordable housing to meet our next potential moratorium application. Dobin, who also chairs the Affordable Housing Subcommittee, said it was important to ensure affordable housing was created that fits Westport. Without a moratorium, she warned developers could construct buildings out of character with the town. Working with the Westport Housing Authority, the preliminary plan would create an affordable housing complex that is 80% to 90% affordable, with the remainder being market-rate units. The commission looks to request 4 of the 10.73 acres along West Parrish Road to build the complex. The need for affordable housing has long been a concern in Westport. In 2019 the affordable housing pre-application waitlist opened for the first time in four years, causing a flood of applicants. One of the driving factors in lack of affordable housing has been the cost and availability of town land. Westport is between 90% and 99% fully built out, Dobin said, meaning there are few opportunities to build fresh on vacant land. The land requested has been underutilized by the state, Dobin said, but has the potential to provide families an opportunity to live in Westport. Dobin noted she has already contacted neighbors of the property to gather their input on the process. Though commissioners stressed this was only the first step, they all voiced support for starting a conversation. This is just a starting point. This is holding out an idea and looking for the possibilities, Commissioner Chip Stephens said. Nobodys going to get shortchanged in this action, and everybodys going to be involved. While he commended Dobin for the idea, Stephens said he wished state officials did similar proactive thinking, adding the current 8-30g law neglects to recognize many spots in Westport that are affordable. Youre doing a nice proactive thing. I would ask that our representatives do the same and help us out here, he said. This is a quagmire we have to work through. The commission will discuss the proposal again at its Affordable Housing Subcommittee on Jan. 10 at noon. dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com In his January 7 NR column The Steele Dossier bacillus, Victor Davis Hanson assesses responsibility for the Russia hoax in the aftermath in light of the recent Department of Justice Inspector General report on the FBIs FISA-related misconduct. The column is animated by the the same spirit I have brought to this series. Dr. Hanson first sets the context: In 2016, Hillary Clinton presidential candidate hired an ex-intelligence officer and foreign national, British subject Christopher Steele, to use Russian sources to find dirt (opposition research) on her then political opponent Donald Trump. So much for the worry about foreign interference in U.S. elections. It took the exertions of then House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes to ferret out the hoax operation: The public would take years to learn of the funding sources of Steele, because Clinton camouflaged her role through three firewalls: the Democratic National Committee; the Perkins-Coie legal firm; and Glenn Simpsons Fusion GPS opposition-research firm. Dr. Hanson continues with an exposition of what we now know about the sinister fabrications of the Steele Dossier. As a result, he concludes, all who trafficked in the infectious dossier as if it were factual and disinterested have lost all credibility. Many are now seeing their careers demolished and in ruins. Im not sure about that, but would that it were so. Here Dr. Hanson identifies a few of the perpetrators as he sees them: Rachel Maddow: She is a Stanford graduate, Rhodes scholar, and MSNBC host and she is emblematic of how academic progress often accompanies ethical and intellectual regress. Many of her 201619 evening cable news commentaries focused on the supposed dangers that candidate and then president Trump posed to the republic. She cited the Steele dossier chapter and verse as factual in making her arguments that Trump was dishonest and amoral and therefore an illegitimate president who should be removed. It will be difficult for any audience to take Maddows on-air assertions seriously in the future. She rose to high ratings promoting the dossier, and she will likely suffer the consequences in reverse. Again, would that it were so, but you get the point. James Comey and the FBI: It is no exaggeration that James Comey, the former director of the FBI, knew intimately of the dossier, approved its use to spy on American citizens and to launch an investigation into Donald Trumps purported Russian connection, and then serially lied about both the dossiers authenticity and his own agencys use of its author Christopher Steele, who at times was a paid informant for the FBI. More than a dozen top FBI agents, investigators, and lawyers who worked for Comey in the FBIs Washingtons office have now either been fired, disgraced, reassigned, demoted, or they quit or have abruptly retired. The late Senator John McCain: McCain was tipped off about the dossier by a British intelligence official, who apparently in turn had been prepped by the ubiquitous Steele in an effort to promulgate his work among high American officials. McCain, who had engaged in a well-publicized feud with Trump, almost immediately met with federal officials and sent his former associate David Kramer to the UK to talk with Steele. McCain himself then gave the dossier to FBI Director Comey. Kramer made sure that the unverified dossier was leaked to media sources before the 2016 election and well after it also. In McCains final memoir, he and his coauthor were defiant about the senators role in spreading the unsubstantiated gossip around Washington James Clapper and John Brennan: [B]othhave not told the full truth about their own knowledge of the Steele dossier, its unverified and mostly false information, and the role they both played in circulating and promulgating the dossier to the media and high government officials. That both directors were deeply involved in spreading the dossier around Washington, leaking its comments, and then denying their roles while they worked as paid television commentators on CNN and MSNBC only ensured the rapid erosion of their beltway careers and reputations. And both still may have a rendezvous with federal prosecutors in regard to the dossier. Well, let it be. The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court: A number of federal judges approved FBI and DOJ requests to surveille Carter Page both before and after the 2016 presidential election, supposedly as a way to learn of Trump-Russia collusion.Fairly or not, the impression remains that FISA judges either were incompetent or simply did not wish to learn evidence that might have discredited their decision to allow the FBI to surveil a former Trump official, as part of a larger effort to discredit Donald Trump. And like it or not, the entire reputation of the FISA court is now in shreds, both for being so easily or willingly fooled, and for so opportunistically and belatedly criticizing those who deluded them. Hillary Clinton: Think of the paradox: While Clinton pounded president Trump for supposedly using Russians to win an election, she herself had used fraudulent Russian sources to obtain political advantage by smearing her opponent, apparently in the expectation that she would win the election and her modus operandi would never be discovered, or, even if Steeles work were publicized and thus discredited, her own fingerprints would never appear or no one would dare to question President Clinton. Adam Schiff: Schiffs two-year insistence that Steeles research was reliable and that it nonetheless did not provide the chief basis for FISA warrants was demonstrably untrue. (How paradoxical that Steeles promoters both defended the dossier and yet denied that it was pivotal.) Schiff may remain a hero to the Never Trump fringe for his any-means-necessary efforts to destroy Trump, but even the media now distrust him. His own party will come to see him as a transiently useful dishonest prevaricator whose utility is already waning. Finally: let it be. Dr. Hanson briefly discussed the column excerpted above on the John Batchelor Show (audio below). Just days after teasing the highly-anticipated Lizzie McGuire revival in a Disney Plus trailer, the show is being put on hold. Original series creator Terri Minsky, who had signed on to return as showrunner for the revival, has stepped down from the series, according to Variety. A new showrunner has not been named, with a spokesperson revealing that two episodes of the series have already been filmed. On hold: Just days after teasing the highly-anticipated Lizzie McGuire revival in a Disney Plus trailer, the show is being put on hold 'Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series,' said a Disney spokesperson. 'After filming two episodes, we concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show,' the spokesperson added. Production has been put on hiatus as the streaming service searches for a new showrunner. Sentimental: 'Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series,' said to a Disney spokesperson Series star Hilary Duff is currently on her honeymoon in Mozambique with her new husband Matthew Koma. The 32 year old actress shared several photos on Instagram with Koma, getting close and kissing on their honeymoon. Duff has yet to respond publicly to the show going on hiatus or to the show's original creator Terri Minsky parting ways. Honeymoon: Series star Hilary Duff is currently on her honeymoon in Mozambique with her new husband Matthew Koma Getting close: The 32 year old actress shared several photos on Instagram with Koma, getting close and kissing on their honeymoon The original series ran from 2001 to 2004 with two seasons spanning 64 episodes, following Duff's McGuire as a teenager. The series also starred Adam Lamberg as Gordo, who was also confirmed to return in November, though it isn't known if other series regulars like Lalaine are returning. The original series also spawned 2003's The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which grossed $55.5 million worldwide from a $17 million budget. Original show: The original series ran from 2001 to 2004 with two seasons spanning 64 episodes, following Duff's McGuire as a teenager Cast: The series also starred Adam Lamberg as Gordo, who was also confirmed to return in November, though it isn't known if other series regulars like Lalaine are returning The new series will follow Duff's McGuire as a 30 year old navigating her life in New York City. Like the original, the show will also feature an animated version of Lizzie McGuire, who pops up from time to time to reveal what Lizzie is really thinking. Duff first revealed the new series herself while on stage at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California last August. New series: The new series will follow Duff's McGuire as a 30 year old navigating her life in New York City The Iranian general whose killing sparked a week of heightened tensions between the US and Iran ran an organisation which Donald Trump once indirectly did business with, according to reemerged reports. During Major Gen Qassem Soleimani's nearly two decades at the top of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds force, the organisation cultivated connections to oligarchs and their businesses as it established a network of sanctions-evading entities which it has used to fund itself and support clandestine activities across the Middle East and around the world. In 2008, an Iranian construction company controlled by two of those oligarchs - Kamal and Keyumars Darvishy - won a contract with Azerbaijani billionaire Ziya Mammadov to build an apartment complex in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. Mr Mammadov, who was then Azerbaijan's transport minister, was once described by the US as notoriously corrupt" even by that country's standards (it was 139th on Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Index). According to the New Yorker, the Darvishy's company, called Azarpassillo, was actually a front for the IRGC used to evade sanctions by laundering money into Iran. The project initially went nowhere, but four years later was reimagined as a luxury apartment and hotel tower with spectacular views of the city and Caspian Sea when Mr Mammadov took on a new partner: The Trump Organisation. Recommended Trump ordered Soleimani attack over impeachment fears Though the company was then headed by Mr Trump - who was the company's chair and chief executive officer - the point person on the project was the future president's daughter (and future senior adviser) Ivanka, who in 2015 told the magazine Baku that the hotel would open in June of that year and feature a "huge spa area", which she said she was looking forward to patronising. While Mr Trump's administration took the unprecedented step of designating the IRGC - part of Iran's military - a terrorist organisation in April 2019, it had been a sanctioned entity for years as part of the massive sanctions regime the US and other entities have imposed on Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Some of those sanctions were in place since at least 2015, when the Republican-controlled Congress enshrined sanctions on the IRGC into law to prevent then-president Barack Obama from lifting them pursuant to the nuclear nonproliferation agreement Iran had signed that year. 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range Show all 6 1 /6 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range The mug 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range The tee 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range The tee 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range The can cooler 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range The tee 'WITCH HUNT!' Trump cashes in on Mueller report with merchandise range The can cooler A Trump Organisation lawyer, Alan Garten, told the New Yorker that the company had learned of the Baku project's possible ties to the IRGC through the Mammadovs in 2015, but didn't pull out of the project until December the next year. Garten said the company didn't immediately exit the project upon learning of ties to sanctioned entities because of contractual obligations, even though Mr Trump had for years routinely failed to abide by numerous contracts with vendors who he'd hired to supply parts or labour for his buildings. WASHINGTON Representative Doug Collins of Georgia apologized on Friday for accusing Democrats of being in love with terrorists, a claim he hurled during a bitterly partisan dispute over whether to curtail President Trumps war-making power in Iran. Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week, Mr. Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter. Mr. Collins, a strident ally of the president and a leading force in his impeachment defense in the House, made the remarks in a television interview this week as the House was preparing to debate a Democratic-led resolution to force Mr. Trump to go to Congress for authorization before taking further military action against Iran. Nancy Pelosi does it again, and her Democrats fall right in line, Mr. Collins told the TV host Lou Dobbs of Fox Business Network on Wednesday night. One, they are in love with terrorists, we see that. They mourn Suleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families who are the ones who suffered under Suleimani. Thats a problem. Out of Japan and free to speak to the media, a fugitive Carlos Ghosn is proving a fresh headache for his old firm Nissan as it struggles to rebuild its reputation. The tycoon who once headed the automaker jumped bail and fled Japan last month while awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges. And he has not pulled any punches when it comes to the firm he helped turn around. He accuses executives there of effectively setting him up, in a bid to block his plans for further integration with Nissan's French partner Renault. And in a press conference on Wednesday in Lebanon, where he emerged after his audacious escape, he slammed the firm's executives, accusing them of losing shareholder value and pursuing a vendetta. Nissan has remained largely silent, waiting until January 7 to release a statement calling his decision to flee "extremely regrettable" and insisting it had uncovered "numerous acts of misconduct" by the tycoon. The firm faces its own legal proceedings linked to the case, which limits what it can say, a source close to Nissan told AFP. "We have responsibilities, we must respect the law, we have obligations. It will be painful, but we have to do it." Ghosn meanwhile, in Lebanon and apparently beyond the reach of Japanese prosecutors, "can say what he wants, he has no more constraints," the source said. - Morale hit - In a lengthy and at times combative press conference on Wednesday, the former auto magnate once again accused Nissan executives of plotting his downfall and sought to rebut the charges against him. "For the moment there is nothing new in Mr Ghosn's allegations against Nissan," Koji Endo, an automotive analyst at SBI Securities, told AFP. "But if Ghosn continues with his negative campaign... the market will get more sceptical about Nissan's fundamental recovery and its brand image," he said. And internally there is "no doubt" that seeing the firm slammed so publicly is hitting morale, Endo said. "I've been told that lots of people continue to resign from Nissan, young engineers" in particular, he added. The Ghosn scandal has already cost Nissan dearly. Its market cap has fallen more than $10 billion since his arrest. "They lost more than $40 million a day," Ghosn said on Wednesday. The losses coincide with an overall crisis in the auto industry, which has hit earnings, but Ghosn argues Nissan's desire to push him out has hurt profits and shareholder value. Bloomberg News has also reported that Nissan spent $200 million on lawyers, investigators and private detectives during the scandal, a claim that insiders dismiss. "The figure is ridiculously exaggerated. You probably need to take one zero off," one source inside Nissan told AFP. - 'A one-man show' - But there have been other costs related to the case. Nissan was forced to pay a $15 million fine in September to settle an investigation by US securities regulators, who charged that the firm hid more than $140 million in Ghosn's expected retirement income from investors. And in December, it said it would not contest a $22 million fine levied by Japan's Securities and Exchange Commission for filing documents that under-reported Ghosn's compensation. It still faces questions from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to avoid being delisted, and is the subject of legal action by shareholders in the United States. Internally, the firm says it has tried to clean up shop implementing governance reforms and internal investigations. Among those caught up in that were former CEO Hiroto Saikawa, who stepped down last year after admitting he had received more pay than he was entitled to. Current Nissan executives have remained largely tight-lipped on their former colleague's broadsides. "I don't have time to deal with a one-man show by someone who fled the country in violation of the law," Masakazu Toyoda, an external administrator told reporters acidly when asked for comment. And Nissan's new management likely has more pressing things on its mind: profits have fallen to their lowest level in ten years and sources say a strategy will be presented to the board next week to reverse the slide. Stephen Colbert asked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday's Late Show if he'd like to respond to Republicans who claim Democrats are "mourning" Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed by a drone strike in Baghdad on President Trump's orders. "No, nobody I know is 'mourning' Soleimani, but I'll tell you what we are fearful of," Sanders said: Trump is dragging the U.S. into another Vietnam or the Iraq War, "the two worst foreign policy blunders in the modern history of this country, and both of those wars were built on lies." "I will do everything that I can to stop a war with Iran that I think will be a disaster," Sanders said. He agreed with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and others that Wednesday's classified breifing on Soleimani's killing was unpersuasive, with CIA and military briefers unable to even give a clear answer about whether Trump thinks he would need congressional authorization to assassinate the leadership of Iran. "Mike Lee is a conservative Republican with whom I disagree on almost everything, but he and I have worked together because Mike is maybe old fashioned enough, as I am, to believe in the Constitution of the United Sates," something "Trump, I think, has not yet read or understands," Sanders said. "The Constitution is extremely clear: It is the Congress of the United States that has war-making powers, not the president," Sanders said. "It has been a long time since Congress has exerted that power," Colbert noted, and Sanders agreed, pointing to political demagoguery and the sad reality that diplomacy isn't as "sexy" as militarism. Sanders said the "vast majority" of Senate Democrats want to hear first-hand evidence in Trump's impeachment trial, and he's "very distressed the Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, wants to have a so-called 'trial' but does not want to bring up witnesses." Story continues "Iowa's coming up," Colbert said. "Yeah, I heard about that," Sanders deadpanned. Colbert asked about rumors that "in order to sit for the Senate trial and campaign in Iowa, you're going to be using private jets at night." "Well, probably one jet," Sanders quipped, adding that he'd consider jetpooling to Iowa with his fellow Senate Democrats running for president. Watch below. More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy wonders what would happen if the U.S. accidentally shot down a jet. Geraldo Rivera reminds him 'we did.' 1917 beats Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at the box office An incredible photo has emerged of a luxury BMW car melted by intense heat from a bushfire that swept through a rural town. The car was parked next to a home in the town of Conjola Park, on the New South Wales mid-south coast, which was devastated in the Currowan bushfire on New Year's Eve. Streams of melted steel from the engine can be seen hardened on the ground in the photograph, having dripped from the front of the car. The tyres were burned away but the charred remains of the bonnet and unmistakable BMW grille were still intact. An incredible photo has emerged of a luxury BMW car melted from the intense heat as a bushfire swept through a rural town The car was parked next to a residence in the town of Conjola Park, on the New South Wales mid-south coast, devastated in the Currowan bushfire on New Year's Eve Smoke and wildfire rage behind Lake Conjola, Australia, Thursday, January 2, 2020 Conjola Park is still reeling from the one thousand degree inferno that swept through the town reducing many of its buildings to ash. The federal government has committed $2 billion to help bushfire affected residents, businesses, and councils. The state government has also pledged $1 billion for the rebuild effort - though many of the residents of Conjola Park don't know where to begin. The bushfires destroyed 89 homes in the town and three lives were lost. Power is still out in the town and HAZMAT teams are scoping for asbestos. Caravan Parks, cafes, and the local bowling club are heavily reliant on the tourist trade with the locals saying it will take years for holidaymakers to return. The immediate focus for the town is restoring power with diesel generators running esssentials in the meantime. 2019/2020 FIRE SEASON DEATH TOLL The national death toll of Australia's 2019/2020 bushfire season was 33 as of Monday, March 2, with 25 confirmed deaths in New South Wales, three in South Australia and five in Victoria. OCTOBER New South Wales: Robert Lindsey, 77, and Gwen Hyde, 68, were found in their burned out Coongbar home near Casino on October 9th. NOVEMBER New South Wales: The body of 85-year-old George Nole was found in a burnt out car near his home in Wytaliba, near Glen Innes. Vivian Chaplain, a 69-year-old woman from Wytaliba, succumbed to her injuries in hospital after attempting in vain to save her home and animals from the blaze. The body of 63-year-old Julie Fletcher was pulled from a scorched building in Johns River, north of Taree. Barry Parsons, 58, was found in a shed at Willawarrin, near Kempsey. Chris Savva, 64, died after his 4WD overturned near burnt-out South Arm bridge, near Nambucca Heads. A 59-year-old man was founded sheltered in a Yarrowitch water tank on November 7. He died of injuries on December 29. Victoria: David Moresi, 69, died after being involved in a traffic incident while working at the at the Gelantipy fire in East Gippsland on November 30. DECEMBER New South Wales: Firefighters Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, died on December 19 after a tree fell on their truck while they were travelling through Buxton, south of Sydney. Samuel McPaul, 28, was battling a blaze in Jingellic, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on December 30 when a 'fire tornado' caused his 10-tonne firetruck to roll. South Australia: The body of 69-year-old Ron Selth was found in his Charleston home, which was destroyed by the Cudlee Creek blaze on December 21. NEW YEAR'S EVE FIRES New South Wales: Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to save their property in Cobargo, near Bega, on December 31. A 70-year-old man, named by local media as Laurie Andrew, was found dead outside a home at Yatte Yattah, west of Lake Conjola. The body of a 70-year-old man was found in a burnt vehicle on a road off the Princes Highway at Yatte Yattah on the morning of New Year's Day. The body of a 62-year-old man was found in a vehicle on Wandra Road at Sussex Inlet about 11.30am on New Year's Day. A body, believed to be a 56-year-old man, found outside a home at Coolagolite, east of Cobargo on New Year's Day. An off-duty RFS firefighter, believed to be 72-year-old Colin Burns, was found near a car in Belowra after the New Year's Eve fires swept through. Victoria: Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts, 67, from Buchan, in East Gippsland, was found dead at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. Fred Becker, 75, was the second person to die in Victoria. He suffered a heart attack while trying to defend his Maramingo Creek home. JANUARY New South Wales: David Harrison, a 47-year-old man from Canberra, suffered a heart attack defending his friend's home near Batlow on Saturday, January 4. A 71-year-old man was found on January 6. Police have been told the man was last sighted on December 31, 2019 and was moving equipment on his property in Nerrigundah. An 84-year-old man who stayed to defend his home in Cobargo, NSW, dies in hospital three weeks after fire hit. His pet dog Bella, who stayed by his side as fires raged, was also killed in the disaster. Three American firefighters are killed when Coulson Aviation C-130 Hercules water bomber Zeus crashed while fighting fires near Cooma on Thursday January 23. They have been named as Capt. Ian H. McBeth, 44, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr, 43. On January 24, Michael Clark, 59, was found in a Bodalla home destroyed by bushfires near the NSW South Coast town of Moruya. Victoria: Forest Fire Management firefighter Mat Kavanagh, 43, was killed Friday January 3 when he was involved in a two-car crash on the Goulburn Valley Highway. Bill Slade, a 60-year-old father of two from Wonthaggi was fighting fires with Parks Victoria at Omeo when he died on January 11. He has been remembered as one of the longest serving, most experienced and fittest firefighters. South Australia: Well-known outback pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son, Adelaide surgeon Clayton Lang, died in the Kangaroo Island bushfire after their car was trapped by flames. Advertisement The burnt out 'Conjola National Park' sign is pictured on January 5, 2020 in Conjola, Australia Locals have formed community action groups to determine how to proceed and where to direct supplies and rebuilding efforts. Conjola Park, like so many towns impacted by bushfires on a scale the country has not seen before, will now begin the slow rebuilding process. The crises is still far from over with NSW Rural Fire Service saying 137 fires are still burning in the state - 66 of which are out of control. Thousands of firefighters continue to work tirelessly to maintain containment lines and control the blazes. At least two unnamed directors at one of Ireland's best known charities have donated 1.15m to the charity over the past seven years. New accounts filed by Adi Roche's Chernobyl Children's Project International Ltd (CCPI) show the two 'mystery' directors donated 169,000 to the organisation in the 12 months to the end of last January. This followed a donation by the two of 200,000 in the year to the end of January 2018. Accounts show that since 2013, two directors - and possibly more, as the identity of the directors are not revealed each year - have donated 1.15m to the charity. The board of CCPI includes Ali Hewson; former government minister Liz O'Donnell; voluntary ceo of CCPI Adi Roche; and the MD of NK Management talent agency, Noel Kelly, who represents the likes of Joe Duffy, Ryan Tubridy, Pat Kenny and Dermot Bannon. However, the charity is remaining tight-lipped over the identity of the directors concerned or how much each donated individually. Asked the identity of the directors or if one of directors to donate was Ms Hewson, a spokeswoman for the charity said: "We will not make any comment on donations by directors other than the disclosure in the annual accounts." Some of the charity's achievements include delivering aid worth 107m across the Chernobyl region since 1986 and giving rest and recuperation holidays to 26,500 children with host families in Ireland. The tragedy of the Chernobyl disaster was last year back in the spotlight with the broadcast of the multi-award winning 'Chernobyl' TV drama. According to CCPI, the drama resulted in an increase in donations. The CCPI spokeswoman said: "Our view is that this powerful drama did lead to an increase in donations although it is impossible to be sure as these figures will be in next year's accounts." Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister Piyush Goyal chaired a meeting yesterday in New Delhi to review the remaining recommendations of the Baba Kalyani report on Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy of India. The meeting was attended by members of the Baba Kalyani group along with representatives from the Department of Revenue, Department of Legal Affairs and legal firms. Commerce and Industry Minister examined the revamp of the SEZ policy with a view to meeting the global challenges being faced by Indian exporters. Discussions were also held to find a way out for implementation of the remaining recommendations in order to facilitate the ease of doing business in the present global market scenario. The recommendations which have been completed include review of specific exclusions proposed in NFE computation in light of Make in India initiative, sharing of duty exempted assets/ infrastructure between units to be allowed against specific approval, and formalization of de-notification process for enclaves and delinking its present mandatory usage for SEZs purpose only. The other implemented recommendations are support to servicification of manufacturing zone, allowing manufacturing enabling services companies, broad-banding definition of services/allowing multiple services to come together and flexibility to enter into a long term lease agreement with stakeholders in Zones in line with the State policies and the application for constructing minimum built up area by Developer or Co-developer beyond a period of ten years from the date of notification of the SEZ on merits of each case. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LONDON The relationship between Britains royals and the media is awkward, mistrustful and seemingly inescapable. But now Meghan and Harry want out. After years of growing tension with the media, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced plans to quit their senior royal duties, move part-time to North America, seek financial independence and withdraw from regular media scrutiny. In a challenge to the media, the couple slammed the countrys long-standing arrangements for royal media coverage, saying they preferred to communicate directly with the public through social media. The British media were stung by the snub, reacting Thursday with articles, columns and editorials that ranged from disappointment to fury. The Daily Mirror said in an editorial that the couples failure to tell Harrys grandmother Queen Elizabeth II about their plans shows shocking disregard for a woman whose entire life has been ruled by a sense of public duty and honor. The Times of London accused Harry of petulance and hot-headedness, while the Daily Mail said the couple wanted the status of being senior royals but the privacy and freedom of being private citizens. The Sun and the New York Post described the departure as Megxit, a play on Brexit, Britains impending departure later this month from the European Union. Harry and Meghans shock announcement drew comparisons to the abdication of the queens uncle King Edward VIII, who gave up the throne in 1936 so he could marry divorced American Wallis Simpson. Once again, waspish commentators noted, an American woman has caused a ruction in the royal family. But the relationship between royals and the media has changed dramatically in the intervening decades. The trauma of World War II and the social revolution of the 1960s demolished that tradition of deference to royalty and the establishment. For decades, the British media has proclaimed its reverence for the queen while treating the travails of her family as fair game, from the divorces of three of her four children to second son Prince Andrews troubling friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jill Lawless is an Associated Press writer. Pawan Jallad, the executioner chosen by Tihar Jail administration to hang the four Delhi gangrape case convicts, reached Meerut jail on Friday to inspect the gallows and the premises. Tihar Jail authorities are keen to hire Pawan for the execution on January 22. They have even written to the Uttar Pradesh jail directorate expressing their preference for Pawan Jallad for execution. There are many reasons why Tihar jail administration wants Pawan to conduct the execution, news agency IANS quoted a Tihar Jail source as saying. The main reason is that he comes from the family of executioners so there will be minimum chances of any mistakes. Secondly, he is physically fit and his eyesight is also fine as per the requirement, the source said. The security arrangements for Pawan will also be secret. The order of the Delhi court has been given to the convicts whereas the death warrant will remain with the administration. The order copy given to the convicts has mention of the death warrant, said Sandeep Goyal, Director General (Prisons). Pawan too is keen to perform his duty. For months I have been waiting for this opportunity...Bhagwan ne meri sun hi li (God finally heard my prayers), Pawan said after he got to know that Tihar Jail has sought his services. Pawan lives in one-room set house allotted to him by the Meerut administration under the Kanshiram Awas Yojna. He is the fourth generation Jallad (executioner) of the Laxman Kumar family in Meeruts Bhumiyapull area. According to the orders of Delhi court, the four convicts - Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Singh (31), and Pawan Gupta (25) - are to be hanged to death on January 22 at 7 am. A 23-year-old woman, who was accompanied by a male friend, had boarded a bus in the national capital on the night of December 16, 2012. The woman was gangraped by six men and then brutalised while her friend was also beaten with rods. Both were later thrown out of the bus. The woman, who had suffered serious internal injuries, died later. All six accused were arrested. One of the accused, Ram Singh, committed suicide inside the Tihar jail while another accused who was a minor at the time of the incident was freed after spending three years in a juvenile. Chennai, Jan 10 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Friday announced a solatium of Rs 1 crore to the family of Special Sub-Inspector Wilson who was shot dead in Kanyakumari on Wednesday night. In a statement issued here, Palaniswami said considering Wilson's ultimate sacrifice, a sum of Rs 1 crore as solatium has been ordered to be paid to the slain policeman's family. On Thursday, Palaniswami announced in the state Assembly that financial assistance to the family of Wilson and a government job to one of the family members based on their qualification will be given. He said Wilson were carrying out routine checks at Kaliyakkavilai check post in Kanyakumari district on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border when two unidentified persons shot at him and also stabbed him, killing him, before fleeing the scene. Palaniswami had said two bullets were recovered from the site and the police are investigating the crime. He said four special teams had been formed and they are analysing the footage from CCTVs installed in that locality. The police have also issued pictures of two persons as the suspects in the case. A 42-year-old Helena man has been charged with three felony counts of criminal possession with intent to distribute, criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal production or manufacture of drugs, as well as a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Trampus Hoy was listed as a probation absconder in 2018 after failing to respond to letters and emails sent by the Montana Department of Corrections. Hoy's probation officer was alerted on Nov. 12 that Hoy's juvenile son brought marijuana to his middle school. The child told officers he received the drugs from his father. Child Protective Services, the probation officer and law enforcement proceeded to Hoy's Porcupine Drive residence to investigate. They found an unlocked garage housing "two round drying racks with a green leafy substance and green sticks on it," according to documents filed in court Monday by the Lewis and Clark County Attorney's Office. While on the scene, Hoy's young son and daughter arrived from school and told officers Hoy was not home, that he comes and goes, and that they were unsure when he would return. The CPS representative made contact with Hoy via his cellphone and informed him that they were at his home with his children, probation and law enforcement, and that he needed to meet them. Hoy refused to come home but said he would report to his probation officer the next day. That did not happen, and his phone was disconnected at that time. As a result, law enforcement was granted a search warrant for Hoy's residence. They discovered about 30 grams of loose-leaf marijuana and about 4 milligrams of commercially packaged THC concentrate in an unlocked safe in the master bedroom in addition to dozens of marijuana seeds and Montana City Cannabis-branded containers labeled with names of strains such as "green crack," "super glue" and "blue dream." In Hoy's garage, officers found more than 20 grams of loose-leaf marijuana, 10 dried leaf clusters from marijuana plants and a 5-gallon bucket containing nearly 4 pounds of marijuana. Hoy was also in possession of multiple smoking devices and a homemade "assembled metal tube" commonly used to infuse the marijuana with butane to extract the THC, creating a powerful concentrate referred to as "wax" or "budder." Police also found 15 Montana City Cannabis business cards, 11 of which had Hoy's name and cellphone number handwritten on them. According to records, Hoy is not a registered medical marijuana provider, and his medical marijuana license is expired. Hoy has one prior conviction for distribution of dangerous drugs. Hoy was arrested and booked into Lewis and Clark County Detention Center. All charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Matthew Kirk After roaming the city for nearly four years, former Lazy Bear chef Matthew Kirks Automat pop-up, where buckwheat zucchini bread with cocoa nibs and fried chicken sandwich Fridays were the norm, now has a permanent San Francisco home. Kirk is making the concept permanent at the former Green Chile Kitchen space at 1801 McAllister St., which closed in September. The restaurant does not yet have a potential opening date. The walls of Sabarmati and Periyar hostels in JNU were on Friday found plastered with a slew of posters accusing three varsity professors and one of Delhi University of being behind the January 5 violence on the campus by masked hooligans. The four professors who have been accused in the posters of being behind the violence are Tapan Kumar Bihari and Prakash Chandra Sahoo of JNU besides its chief proctor Dhananjay Singh. The fourth professor blamed in posters is DU's Abhinav Prakash, a former JNU student. Dubbing the four academics as 'traitors', the posters proclaimed, "Nothing will be forgotten, nothing will be forgiven." Professors Prakash and Singh denied their involvement in the incident. "I was on the campus trying to stop the violence and protect students. My family stays on the campus and I fear for their safety. I have never been biased towards students from any ideology," Singh told PTI. Prakash blamed the students' union for the posters. "Dear @JNUSUofficial kindly stop cheap theatrics. I know JNU Left doesn't like my dissent & challenge to their narrative but this is new low even by ur standards. This slandering & fake accusation by kangaroo court may force me to take legal action. Kindly inform those involved," he posted on Twitter. Bihari was not available for reaction. Sahoo is the warden of Sabarmati Hostel. The JNU vice-chancellor had said he, along with another warden, was forced to resign by students. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Another death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Mukesh filed the plea, after fellow convict Vinay Sharma moved the apex court. A court here, while issuing death warrants against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case on Tuesday observed that "despite being afforded sufficient time and opportunity", the convicts didn't exercise their legal remedies. The court has fixed January 22 and 7 a.m. as the date and time for execution of the the four convicted persons. After a 23-year-old woman was gangraped and tortured on December 16, 2012, leading to her death, all six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail. The four convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld in May 2017 by the Supreme Court, which also dismissed their review petitions. A federal grand jury handed up hate crime charges Thursday against the man accused of stabbing five people with a machete during a Hanukkah celebration north of New York City. The indictment charges Grafton Thomas with five counts each of attempting to kill victims based on their religion and obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon. Thomas, 37, also faces state charges in the December 28 attack inside the home of a rabbi in Monsey, NY. He is being held without bail on the federal charges. Scroll down for videos The indictment charges Grafton Thomas with five counts each of attempting to kill victims based on their religion and obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon 'We now allege that he did this with the intention of targeting his victims because of their religion,' Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a news release. 'Thomas faces life in prison for his alleged violent acts of prejudice and intolerance.' A message was sent to Thomas' defense attorney, Michael Sussman, seeking comment. Sussman has said Thomas had a long history of mental illness. He has requested Thomas undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Authorities have said they found a blood-stained 18-inch (45-centimeter) machete in Thomas' car, along with a knife smeared with dried blood and hair. They also said Thomas had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references and recently used his phone to look up information on Hitler and the location of synagogues. The picture above shows the apparent moment Grafton Thomas stormed into a rabbi's house in Monsey with a machete before allegedly attacking five Hanukkah celebrants An image was taken apparently moments before the attack shows Rabbi Chaim Leibush Rottenberg (sitting), who is the leader of Congregation Netzach Yisrael-Kosson One of the men wounded in the machete attack remains in serious condition. His family has said he may have permanent brain damage. Thomas is accused of storming into the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, a prominent Hasidic Jewish leader in a predominantly ultra-Orthodox community of Monsey, New York, and attacking guests gathered there for a Hanukkah celebration. Thomas allegedly took out a machete and started stabbing and slashing people in the home packed with dozens of congregants. The five victims suffered serious injuries - including a severed finger, slash wounds and deep lacerations. The most gravely injured is reported to be a 72-year-old man who suffered machete blows to his head, leaving him partially paralyzed, comatose and breathing on a respirator. Josef Neumann, a father-of-seven children from New York, sustained a 'fractured skull' and had been 'sliced through his neck'. Authorities said Thomas fled by car to Manhattan, where he was arrested later that night. Josef Neumann, a father-of-seven children from New York, sustained a 'fractured skull' and had been 'sliced through his neck'. He is pictured following the horrific attack Thomas' attorney, Michael Sussman, has said his client's actions were likely an expression of psychosis rather than bigotry. Thomas was arrested within two hours of the attack. When police pulled his car over in Manhattan, he allegedly had blood all over his clothing and smelled of bleach but said 'almost nothing' to the arresting officers. Authorities say they discovered a blood-stained 18-inch machete and a knife smeared with dried blood and hair in Thomas' car after the attack. The stabbings, which occurred on the seventh night of Hanukkah, came amid a series of violent attacks targeting Jews in the region that have led to increased security, particularly around religious gatherings. An attorney retained by the alleged attacker's family, Michael Sussman, said Thomas had been hearing voices and may have stopped taking psychiatric medications recently. The Today show newsreader Tracy Vo raised more than a few eyebrows on Friday when she made a cheeky comment about being in a 'Hemsworth sandwich'. She made the joke during a segment about the Make It Rain charity concert, which took place in Byron Bay on Thursday and was hosted by bushfire fundraiser Celeste Barber. After watching footage of actors Chris and Liam Hemsworth hugging Celeste on stage, Tracy laughed and said: 'Well, there is no sandwich better than a Hemsworth sandwich, apparently!' Say what? The Today show newsreader Tracy Vo (pictured) raised more than a few eyebrows on Friday when she made a cheeky comment about being in a 'Hemsworth sandwich' After delivering her news report, Tracy said: 'That was quite the fundraiser there in Byron Bay. Wish we were there!' 'You can't go past a Hemsworth sandwich,' joked co-host Allison Langdon, to which Tracy replied: 'I don't think anyone can pass that, Ally.' Karl Stefanovic then interrupted in mock outrage: 'We are not pieces of meat!' Cheeky! After watching footage (above) of actors Chris and Liam Hemsworth hugging Celeste Barber on stage at a fundraiser in Byron Bay, Tracy laughed and said: 'Well, there is no sandwich better than a Hemsworth sandwich, apparently!' Lucky Celeste! After delivering her news report, Tracy said she 'wished' she'd attended herself Ally responded cheekily: 'We're not talking about you.' Having been shot down by his female colleagues, Karl then said: 'I was saying generally men... Anyway, whatever.' The Make It Rain concert aimed to raise money for firefighters battling the blazes. The bushfires ravaging Australia have so far killed 26 people, an estimated billion animals, and destroyed thousands of homes. Not impressed! After Tracy and Allison Langdon (second from right) joked about the genetically-blessed Hemsworth brothers, Karl Stefanovic said: 'We are not pieces of meat!' A $49 donation secured fans entry for one night, while $89 granted them admission for both nights. All of the tickets sold out. Chris is auctioning off a personal training session with himself and his wife, Elsa Pataky. So far, their one-hour workout has reached bids exceeding $26,000. Bidding closes on Friday, January 17 at 11.55pm. See the auctions here DGAP-News: AFFiRiS AG / Key word(s): Study results AFFiRiS announces Phase 2 study in Parkinson's and new focus on neurodegenerative diseases 10.01.2020 / 10:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. AFFiRiS announces Phase 2 study in Parkinson's and new focus on neurodegenerative diseases - Proof of concept for AFFiRiS' disease-modifying specific active immunotherapy (SAIT) achieved in cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases - Long-term safety data and novel treatment approach support further clinical development in Parkinson's disease Vienna, Austria, January 10, 2020 - AFFiRiS, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel disease-modifying specific active immunotherapies (SAITs), today announced a realignment of its development strategy on neurodegenerative diseases, a core area of expertise of the company. Affiris will now focus on ongoing preparations of a phase 2 clinical trial to treat patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. AFFiRiS has achieved proof of concept of its unique AFFITOME technology in humans for hypercholesterolemia and Parkinson's disease with respect to safety, specific antibody production, in vivo target engagement and clinical effect, including positive long-term safety data in Parkinson's. The company's focusing on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's addresses the urgent medical need and a large attractive commercial opportunity. Noel Barrett, Chief Executive Officer at AFFiRiS commented: 'Neurodegenerative disease has always been AFFiRiS' strength. The company's work with cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases has been a great journey, enabling us to refine our approach and prove that the technology works in multiple settings. We have taken the strategic decision to concentrate our skills and experience, using our deep understanding of targets and pathogenesis, to progress our exciting pipeline in neurodegenerative diseases.' Rossella Medori, Chief Medical Officer at AFFiRiS added: 'Patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease face an all-too-predictable future and are in urgent need of therapies that alter the course of disease progression. Although there are many treatments available to manage the devastating symptoms, sadly none of these acts on the underlying cause of the disease. However, AFFiRiS' unique immunological approach provides a disease-modifying therapy with an excellent competitive profil in the field of neurodegenerative treatments.' Michael Motschmann, chairman of AFFiRiS' supervisory board, said: 'We are very pleased about the significant progress of the company under new leadership. The great expertise in neurodegenerative diseases and the unique treatment approach the company is applying to Parkinson's disease, holds a great promise for patients and care takers. ' About the AFFITOME technology and SAITs: AFFiRiS has devised a unique immunological approach - AFFITOME technology - which mimics the epitopes of pathologic forms of proteins. The result is a treatment modality called specific active immunotherapy (SAIT). It harnesses the power of the body's own immune system to target rogue proteins that are involved with the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. It stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies against potentially pathologic forms of these proteins, helping the body to eliminate them. Via this mechanism, the aim is to inhibit disease progression and improve the lives of patients. The AFFiRis Leadership Team: Noel Barrett, PhD, former Vice President of Research & Development Vaccines at Baxter Healthcare took over the role as Chief Executive Officer at AFFiRiS in March 2019. Dr. Barrett has more than 30 years of experience in the vaccines and biologics industry bringing products through the development process to the market. He led the development and licensure of Baxter's FSME tick-borne encephalitis vaccine, Meningococcal C vaccine, and cellculture derived H5N1, H1N1, and seasonal influenza vaccines. His contribution to the Baxter scientific community was recognized with the title of Baxter Distinguished Scientist, the most prestigious scientific recognition within the company, and the Baxter Bioscience President's Leadership Award. Rossella Medori, MD, has accepted the role as Chief Medical Officer in March 2019. Dr. Medori brings more than 20 years of neuroscience expertise to AFFiRiS and has an extensive track record in successful CNS drug development. Before joining AFFiRiS, she led Prexton Therapeutics to a successful early exit, had key leadership roles at Biogen (including Vice President of Translational Neurology and Vice President of Late Clinical Development) and served in European and Global Medical leadership roles at Janssen-Cilag, BMS and Lilly. Rossella practiced as a Clinical Neurologist in Italy, the United States and Germany and held various academic positions at Case Western Reserve University, Washington University and Columbia University. The identification of the DNA mutations associated with different forms of muscular dystrophy and the description of a new prion disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia are among her most important scientific contributions. Gunther Staffler, PhD, is Chief Technology Officer at AFFiRiS, where he is responsible for preclinical development and technology. Prior to his appointment to the executive board, Gunther led the immunology department. Before Joining AFFiRiS, he held various positions at Intercell and Biovertis AG, which he co-founded. Gunther completed his doctorate degree in biochemistry and immunology at the Institute of Immunology, University of Vienna, Austria, and has authored many publications in international journals. He was awarded the "Forderungspreis" from the Austrian Society of Chemistry in 1996 and the "Fritz and Ursula Melchers Preis" from the Austrian Societ of Immunology in 2003. Contact: AFFiRiS AG Dr. Cornelia Kutzer E cornelia.kutzer@affiris.com W www.affiris.com Media Contact: MC Services AG Julia Hofmann P +49 89 210228 0 E affiris@mc-services.eu Supplementary information: About AFFiRiS www.affiris.com LinkedIn About SAIT https://affiris.com/approach/#overview-of-sait About neurodegenerative diseases https://affiris.com/neurodegenerative-diseases/ About Parkinson's disease https://affiris.com/neurodegenerative-diseases/#parkinsons-disease KENT Kent Affordable Housing got the OK to apply for a grant to sustain and ensure the future of one of the towns affordable housing complexes. With the approval of the towns treasurer, Barbara Herbst, the Board of Selectmen voted during its special Jan. 2 meeting to support the organization in applying for a federal grant of no more than $1.2 million for the South Common apartment complex. This complex is now 15 years old. We have maintained it well and we dont have a great deal of deferred maintenance and the point of this grant is to make sure that 15 or 20 years from now, we dont have deferred maintenance, said Virginia Bush-Suttman, president of Kent Affordable Housing. Bush-Suttman approached the Board of Selectmen about submitting the federal grant application for the 24-unit affordable housing complex on South Commons Road last month. South Common has been beneficial to both residents and the town as a whole over the years, Bush-Suttman said, but there are now concerns about the buildings future. Since 2018, we have been concerned about replacements and upgrades that will be needed at South Common for the next 15 to 20 years, she said. Bush-Suttman said a capital needs assessment revealed at least $1 million worth of repairs and upgrades are needed at the complex. We will do everything in our power to sustain the property, but we need the funds, she said. To cover the cost, Kent Affordable Housing wants to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Housing for a grant through its Community Development Block Grant program, which provides federally-funding on a formula basis to more than 1,000 local and state governments each year. The grant application is due in April, according to Bush-Suttman. The operating budget for this proposal includes about $30,000 for administrative purposes, but about $15,000 is due before the funds are received to pay for that administrator, she told the Board of Selectmen last month. Bush-Suttman said Kent Affordable Housing has offered to cover the $15,000 cost for a grant-writer. After looking into the grant requirements, Herbst said she gave Kent Affordable Housing the go-ahead seek the Board of Selectmens approval to go ahead with applying for the grant. Herbst said would be additional costs associated with the grant including a federal single audit that could take two to three years and additional record-keeping in the treasurers office. The federal audit would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 a year, Herbst said. Bush-Suttman said she is unsure if the grant would include money for the audit. Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to recommit to their partnership. Thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in the capital and southern Iraq, many calling on both Iran and America to leave Iraq, reflecting their anger and frustration over the two rivals both allies of Baghdad trading blows on Iraqi soil. The request from Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pointed to his determination to push ahead with demands for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, stoked by the American drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In a phone call Thursday night, he told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that recent U.S. actions were unacceptable breaches of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of their security agreements, his office said. He asked Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism" to carry out the Iraqi Parliaments resolution on withdrawing foreign troops, according to the statement. The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities, and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements, the statement added. Abdul-Mahdi signaled he was standing by the push for U.S. forces to leave despite signs of deescalation by Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death by firing missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where American troops are based but caused no casualties. Iraqis feel furious and helpless at being caught in the middle of the fighting. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and U.S. strikes. The State Department flatly dismissed Abdul-Mahdi's request, saying U.S. troops are crucial for the fight against the Islamic State group and it would not discuss removing them. Pompeo indicated Friday the troops would remain, adding that the U.S. would continue its mission to help train Iraqi security forces and counter the Islamic State group. We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is," Pompeo said at the White House during an unrelated appearance. Our mission set there is very clear. Weve been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, to continue the counter-Daesh campaign, he said, using alternate acronyms for the militant group. "Were going to continue that mission but, as times change and we get to a place where we can deliver upon what I believe and what the president believes is our right structure with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so," Pompeo said. He said a NATO team was at the State Department working on a plan to get burden-sharing right in the region, as well, so that we can continue the important missions to protect and defend, and keep the American people safe while reducing costs and burdens borne by the U.S. Earlier in the day, Pompeo's spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, said any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership - not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East. Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution Sunday to oust U.S. troops, following the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad's airport. The nonbinding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi urged lawmakers at the time to take urgent measures to ensure the removal of the troops. In speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal, allowing time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure. In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdi's request on the troops. It said Pompeo, who initiated the call, reiterated the U.S. condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes and underscored that President Donald Trump "has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests. There are some 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counterparts to fight IS. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of its resurgence during the political turmoil. Both the U.S. and Iran have fought to defeat IS, and neither wants to see it stage a comeback. IS gloated in its first comments on Soleimani's slaying, saying his death pleased the hearts of believers, in an editorial in the group's al-Nabaa online newspaper. It carried a photo of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, saying that God brought their end at the hands of their allies. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said future talks between Baghdad and Washington were expected to focus on the nature of their strategic relationship, We provide assets that no other coalition ally can provide. ... If the United States wasnt in Iraq, its hard to imagine the coalition being in Iraq," he told reporters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the end of a visit to the region in which he met with Iraqi officials in the northern Kurdish region. Schenker added that the U.S. and its partners have provided $5.4 billion to the Iraqi military in the last four years. Ortagus said the U.S. and Iraqi governments need to talk about security as well as "our financial, economic and diplomatic partnership." She did not elaborate. Iraq is highly dependent on Iran sanctions waivers from Washington to continue importing Iranian gas to meet electricity demands, and the U.S. has consistently used this as leverage. The current waiver expires in February, and without a new one, Iraq could face severe financial penalties. The demand for a troop withdrawal is not universal among Iraqis. Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers, who oppose the Parliament resolution, see the U.S. presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran. Kurdish security forces have benefited from U.S. training and aid. Protesters criticized the ongoing crisis involving Iraq, the U.S. and Iran in demonstrations across the capital and in the southern provinces. Thousands massed in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement, and many chanted Damn Iran and America! Large demonstrations also were held in Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Diwanieh provinces as the movement seeks to regain momentum after regional tensions overshadowed the uprising. Amid the protests in Basra, Iraqi journalist Ahmed Abdul Samad was found dead in his car outside a police station from a gunshot wound to the head, according to a security official who requested anonymity in line with regulations. A photographer covering the protests was injured and is in critical condition. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged rival political factions to unite and put private interests aside, saying they risked creating more unrest. The factions have yet to agree on a nominee to replace the outgoing Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from the protesters. "Everyone is required to think carefully about what this situation will lead to if there is no end to it, he added. Caption: The Holy Faith H2O, one of the four towers to be imploded in Kochi. (DC Photo) Kochi: From the Kundannoor-Thevara Bridge on the outskirts of Kochi, you cannot miss the beautiful skyscrapers of Maradu. They dominate the skyline along the shoreline of the Vembanad lake punctuated by verdant groves. The bridge serves as a vantage point for hundreds of people, some from out of town, who have come to see the high-rises. Of particular interest to these onlookers are four towers: Alfa Serene, Holy Faith H2O, Jains Coral Cave and Golden Kayaloram. They are to be demolished by order of the Supreme Court which ruled that they are in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules. Alfa Serene and Holy Faith H2O will be felled on Saturday January 11 and Jains Coral Cave and Golden Kayaloram the next day. They are among the tallest structures to be brought down by controlled implosion in India. The demolition tourists on the bridge think its gonna be quite a sight. M Radhakrishnan, a trader from Chalakudy in Thrissur district, came to Kochi to make some purchases, and decided he must see what everyone is talking about. This is the first time I am seeing these structures. Everyone is curious because the Maradu buildings are the most debated issue in the newspapers these days, he said. Its going to be a demolition derby. The authorities expect more than 10,000 people to turn up to watch the buildings crumble, and have made arrangements. They can watch from no closer than 200 m. Police and Fire and Rescue personnel have been busy securing the perimeter. People are being evicted from within a 2 km radius of the flats. Section 144 of the CrPC will be in force within a 200 m radius of the buildings from 9 am Saturday until the authorities issue a green signal for people to return. The demolition sites and nearby buildings have been covered up to limit dust pollution. Its a big challenge: demolition agencies For the two agencies contracted to do the job it is a huge challenge. Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering will carry out the demolition of Jains Coral Cave, Golden Kayaloram and Holy Faith H2O; and Chennai-based Vijay Steels and Explosives will bring down Alfa Serene. The total cost of the four demolitions is estimated at Rs 2.32 crore. At an average of 60 m and 17-19 storeys high, the towers are among the tallest structures to be imploded in India. Plus, they are all water-front properties, barely a stones throw from the ecologically sensitive Vembanad lake. Being not very old, they all have strong pilings and therefore deep foundations. According to S.B. Sarwate, a Bhopal-based implosion expert appointed to monitor the demolition, the impact of the implosions will be within 100 m of the site. But then, there are several houses and a government school within 10-12 m of the apartment complexes. Understandably, people living next door are worried about the impact on their houses, as are fishermen about debris falling into the Vembanad. The assurances given by the administration and the demolition companies are not entirely convincing to them. Some of the residents in the neighbourhood have had to shift after cracks developed on their walls due to preparatory dismantling of parking areas and swimming pools. A comprehensive insurance scheme worth Rs 125 crore, with a validity of one year, has been announced to assuage them. A controlled implosion is a quick sequence of explosions designed to limit the fallout. It is carried out according to a strict protocol. 1. Preparatory to the implosion, pre-blasting is undertaken to remove structures such as parking lots and swimming pools. 2. Interiors walls are torn down. 3. Cartridges of explosives are studded into holes made into the pillars and outer walls on each floor. Each cartridge is fitted with 125 grams emulsion explosives with ammonium nitrate. It would take more than 1600 kg of explosives to bring down the four towers. 4. Cartridges are connected with a detonating fuse and a non-electrical detonator. These are in turn connected with electric detonators that will determine the time of explosion on each floor. 5. The exploder switch is set up at initiation points within a 100 m radius of each building. 6. There will be many explosions within gap of micro seconds. 7. Sirens will be sounded. 8. Boom: The first blast will go off inside Alfa Serene at 11.30 am Saturday. A federal judge declined for now to compel a Michigan-based health system to advance legal costs for a doctors defense against murder charges in the deaths of 25 Ohio hospital patients. U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh in Michigan concluded its in the public interest to deny the preliminary injunction sought by William Husel. The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System fired the intensive care doctor after concluding he ordered excessive painkillers for dozens of patients who died. Husel has pleaded not guilty in the resulting criminal case. His pending lawsuit against Mount Carmels parent company, Trinity Health Corporation, and its insurer argues his ability to defend himself is hurt if they wont cover his legal costs in the criminal case as happened in dozens of related civil cases. The judge concluded the public interest supported denying the preliminary injunction to protect THCs Catholic principles on end of life issues, to comport with public policy that liability insurance does not exist to relieve wrongdoers for intentional criminal conduct, and to fulfill the courts obligation to read the insurance contract by its plain and unambiguous terms. A spokeswoman for Mount Carmel said by email that it and Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health, are pleased with the decision and focusing on patient care. Husels lawyer in the matter called the decision disappointing and accused those health care systems of misleading the public. Mount Carmel and Trinity both know that Dr. Husels care was entirely appropriate and did not cause harm to any patient, and they should be standing up for their employees and defending them against all baseless allegations, attorney Adam Ford of Ford OBrien LLP said in an email. In a separate defamation lawsuit against Mount Carmel and Trinity, Husel contends the patients died because of their illnesses, not the drugs he ordered. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Michigan Ohio Medical Professional Liability State prosecutors on Friday raided a division at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae as part of its ongoing probe into an election-meddling case involving the incumbent Ulsan mayor, a close presidential confidant. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it launched a raid on a Cheong Wa Dae unit that covers policies on supporting provincial governments in relation to election-meddling allegations in the industrial city 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The raid apparently aimed at securing evidence on whether presidential officials conspired to help Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho win an election in June 2018, in which he beat then-mayor Kim Gi-hyeon, who ran as the main opposition Liberty Korea Party candidate. Friday's raid was carried out through a process in which the prosecution submitted to the presidential office a court-issued search warrant and a list of documents it planned to obtain. Investigators were reportedly focusing on finding links between the presidential unit and Song's campaign pledge to build a public hospital in Ulsan on suspicions that some officials helped design the mayor's election pledges. The election-meddling allegations triggered a massive investigation after former mayor Kim claimed that the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency deliberately raided his office a few months ahead of the election and that the presidential office was behind the move. Kim alleged that some presidential officials compiled a document on bribery allegations involving his confidants based on tips from the city's Vice Mayor Song Byung-gi, which led to the raid that negatively affected his election campaign. The raid marks the second search of Cheong Wa Dae in a month. In December, prosecutors searched the presidential office in connection with another probe into an alleged cover-up of an inspection into an ex-vice mayor who faces bribery charges. Prosecutors were seeking to secure evidence on why a special inspection into the former Busan vice mayor was abruptly suspended, leading him to avoid punishment for an unknown reason and become the port city's vice mayor in 2018. (Yonhap) Prosecutors say a Massachusetts man posed as a ride-share driver last month to kidnap a woman who was leaving a Boston nightclub before raping her at a Rhode Island home. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Alvin Campbell picked up the victim Dec. 7. She had called for an Uber, but the driver canceled and prosecutors said Campbell pulled up to the curb and called the victim's name. Campbell allegedly drove the woman to Cumberland, Rhode Island, where the sexual assault allegedly occurred. Investigators said they have surveillance video and cellphone records to use as evidence in the case, but DNA evidence is what they used to tie Campbell to the crime. Campbell, a convicted felon, is being held on $250,000 cash bail after being arraigned on charges including kidnapping and rape. DNA evidence also connects Campbell to two other rape cases in Suffolk County, prosecutors said. The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office confirmed they are also investigating a possible connection with a case in Medford, Massachusetts. Watch the video above to learn more about this story. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion at 5 PM. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhars Mumbai house attached by ED The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday provisionally attached the Mumbai apartment and other assets of former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, who is being investigated for loan fraud. Read more Her political affiliation known: Smriti Iranis dig at Deepika Padukone Union minister Smriti Irani has reacted to actor Deepika Padukone visiting the JNU campus in support of protesting students on Tuesday night. Read more In between 2 temple stops in UP, Priyanka says Cong with jailed CAA protesters Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Friday her party will stand behind those arrested in Varanasi for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act as she met people in the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read more Shivangini Gohain, 12-year-old Assam archer struck by arrow, shifted to ICU Shivangini Gohain, the 12-year-old Assam archer who was injured when an arrow shot accidentally during a training session pierced her neck and upper body, underwent a surgery on Friday and a 15-cm part of the metal rod removed from her body. Read more You can now choose to see fewer political ads on Facebook if you want Facebook said it will soon give users the option to see fewer political and social issue advertisements in their feeds, but the company held firm on its controversial stance against fact-checking political ads despite months of criticism. Read more Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior movie review: Ajay Devgns classic century, Saif Ali Khan goes bad in style Hindi cinema loves revisiting Indias glorious past and telling the stories of heroism and bravery. After last years Panipat paid tribute to Maratha pride, 2020 has begun on a high note with the story of yet another unsung Maratha hero, Tanhaji. Read more Happy Birthday Hrithik Roshan: His recent top 5 most stylish looks Hrithik Roshan is as of today, 46 years old although he does not look it considering he was recently voted Sexiest Asian Male of The Year in the UK-based Eastern Eye newspapers 16th edition. Read more Amid tight security, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday appeared before a CBI special court here in connection with the quid pro quo investments cases filed against him. This is Jagan's first appearance in the court after he assumed charge as Chief Minister on May 30, 2019. In view of Jagan's court appearance, security was strengthened near the court's premises. Media was not allowed in the court premises. The Court of Principal Special Judge for CBI cases had on January 3 directed Jagan, who has been shown as accused number one in the cases, to appear in person before the court, rejecting the latter's plea for an exemption. The YSR Congress president has been charge sheeted in at least 11 cases as the prime accused in alleged quid pro quo deals. On Friday, the court also issued summons to Telangana Education Minister Sabitha Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao and others asking them to appear before it on January 17. The summons were issued after the court took cognisance of the supplementary chargesheet filed by CBI in one of the cases, which is part of the case against Jagan, against them. Sabitha Reddy was added as an accused in the supplementary chargesheet for allegedly giving undue favours in allotting mine leases to a firm during her earlier stint as minister in united Andhra Pradesh. On Friday, along with Jagan, his close aide andYSR CongressRajya Sabha member V Vijaysai Reddy, Dharmana Prasada Rao and other accused in the cases, too appeared before the court, which posted the matter to January 17. "Jagan marked his presence (in the court) and the matter was posted to January 17. There is no need for him to appear in person on that day," a defense counsel told PTI. The counsel further said arguments were on Friday completed with regard to joint hearing on charges pertaining to the 11 cases and also on clubbing of discharge petitions filed by the accused after which the court posted the matter for orders to January 17. Jagan had also earlier filed discharge petition. "Whether all the cases to be heard together or not will be decided on January 17," the defense counsel said. The cases relate to investments made by various companies in Jagan's firms as quid pro quo for various favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as Chief Minister between 2004 and 2009. Several former ministers and bureaucrats are also accused in the case. Jagan is currently out on bail, having spent time in jail as an "un-convicted criminal prisoner" in the Chanchalguda Central Prison from May 2012 to September 2013. In the run up to the State Assembly polls last year, Jagan's presence in court had reduced after he urged it to dispense with his appearance and the court had allowed his pleas. Soon after becoming Chief Minister, Jagan had filed a petition seeking exemption from personal appearance as he would be busy with official duties. Jagan had not been attending trial proceedings citing his official engagements as the reason for his absence. Not impressed by this, the Court of Principal Special Judge for CBI cases had on January 3 directed that Jagan attend the proceedings on January 10. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a bid to streamline its portfolio, Genuine Parts Company GPC divested its wholly-owned subsidiary S.P. Richards Canada to the Canadian multichannel operator, Novexco Inc. While the financial details of the deal are kept under wraps, Genuine Parts intends to utilize the cash proceeds of the transaction in compliance with its capital allocation strategy. S.P. Richards Canada is a nationwide wholesaler of office products that had generated sales of $50 million in 2019.The firm distributes around 16,000 products of both branded and private label business supplies. The acquisition by Novexco will offer its customers access to a broader selection. The deal bolsters Novexcos prospects and Canadian presence. The buyout complements Novexcos distribution channel. Notably, S.P. Richards warehouses in Western Canada will serve Novexcos customers in the West and Novexcos warehouses in Eastern Canada will reduce delivery time to S.P. Richards Canada customers in the East. Notably, in 2018, Genuine Parts had entered into an agreement to spin off S.P. Richards, as part of a merger with Essendant Inc. However, the deal did not work out as Essendant received a better offer from Staples Inc. and Genuine Parts chose not to make a superior counter offer. Genuine Parts, one of the leading U.S. automotive replacement parts distributors, constantly focuses on optimizing its portfolio through strategic deals. Genuine Parts acquisition of PartsPoint and Alliance Automotive Group is bolstering the companys growth. Further, Alliance Automotives deal to acquire Todd Group for expanding heavy-duty parts and service offerings also bodes well. Moreover, buyouts of Axis New England and Axis New York are fueling Genuine Parts Industrial Parts Group. However, declining sales in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, amid the effects of Brexit and softer economic environment remain a headwind. The companys escalating SG&A expenses remain a major headwind. The Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) firm has downwardly revised its 2019 guidance. It expects sales to increase 3.5% versus the prior view of 4.5-5.5% growth. The company currently expects adjusted earnings per share within $5.60-$5.68 compared with the previous forecast of $5.65-$5.75. Story continues Interested in Auto Stocks? Check out These Some better-ranked stocks in the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector include Tesla, Inc. TSLA, Visteon Corporation VC and SPX Corporation SPXC, each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2, at present. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Tesla has an estimated earnings growth rate of 1,951.8% for fiscal 2020. Visteon has a projected earnings growth rate of 69.8% for fiscal 2020. SPX has an expected earnings growth rate of 8.1% for fiscal 2020. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> 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 Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Visteon Corporation (VC) : Free Stock Analysis Report SPX Corporation (SPXC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Genuine Parts Company (GPC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research A man who was beaten in an unprovoked attack while eating at a Miami restaurant shot his attacker just moments later. The CCTV footage was recorded inside The Licking restaurant in North Miami, Florida, at around 6.30 on Tuesday evening. In the video, 21-year-old Tamario Rolle can be seen in the left-hand corner of the screen sitting at one of the tables with a box of fries in his hands. He continues to eat his meal as he exchanges glances with another of the takeaway shop's customers, 24-year-old Henry Poumier-Cristo. The interaction between the pair appears to become increasingly heated before Poumier-Cristo, who is sat at the next table along wearing a blue t-shirt, gets to his feet. He strides toward Rolle before punching at his head repeatedly in an unprovoked attack. The CCTV footage was recorded inside The Licking restaurant in North Miami, Florida, at around 6.30 on Tuesday evening as two customers, Tamario Rolle and Henry Poumier-Cristo, exchanged glances Poumier-Cristo gets to his feet and strides toward Rolle before punching at his head repeatedly in an unprovoked attack Rolle, who has remained seated up until this point, then tries to stand up but Poumier-Cristo holds him down in a kind of headlock. The pair continue to grapple with each other until Rolle manages to break free and darts past his opponent. Rolle is only off screen for a few seconds before he walks back into shot holding a black Glock pistol in his right hand that he has pulled from his waistband. Poumier-Cristo stops in his tracks before hurriedly turning around to run through the shop and out of the front door. Rolle, who has remained seated up until this point, then tries to stand up but Poumier-Cristo holds him down in a kind of headlock The pair continue to grapple with each other until Rolle manages to break free and darts past his opponent Other customers standing near the counter huddle together as they try to dodge out the way of the action. Poumier-Cristo manages to reach the road before Rolle raises the gun and fires seven rounds from about three meters away. Flashes of orange can be seen as the gun sparks repeatedly. Rolle then calmly turns around and strolls back into the fast-food shop. Rolle walks back into shot holding a black Glock pistol in his right hand that he has pulled from his waistband. Poumier-Cristo stops in his tracks before hurriedly turning around to run through the shop and out of the front door Poumier-Cristo manages to reach the road before Rolle raises the gun and fires seven rounds from about three meters away and the video ends shortly after In a second angle of the attack, Poumier-Cristo can be seen dropping to the floor in the middle of the carriageway after the shots are fired. The video ends shortly after. Emergency services arrived on the scene a short time later. Poumier-Cristo had been hit four times in the right leg. In a second angle of the attack, Poumier-Cristo can be seen dropping to the floor in the middle of the carriageway after being hit four times in the leg He was taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in a stable condition. Rolle had remained at the scene where he was detained and co-operated with investigators. Rolle had entered the restaurant first before Poumier-Cristo, who is a Grubhub driver, sat down to wait to collect orders, according to the arrest report. Tamario Rolle (pictured) now faces one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon Authorities say that Rolle claimed that the initial attack was unprovoked. But officers added that as the Grubhub driver was retreating outside the business he was not justified in the shooting. Speaking to CBS4, North Miami police officer and spokeswoman Natalie Buissereth said: 'What we have here is a victim who turns into an aggressor and an aggressor who becomes a victim... 'From what we know these two men did not know each other. 'They were strangers to each other.' Rolle now faces one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Poumier-Cristo will not be facing any charges in relation to the attack despite having appeared to start the fight. The Licking is a popular chicken restaurant chain that is owned in part by hip-hop star DJ Khaled. IRNA/AFP via Getty Images Ukraine says it has been granted access to the black-box flight recorders retrieved from the debris of Wednesday's plane crash in Iran. Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's foreign minister, said on Friday evening that Kiev would reserve judgement about what happened until the flight recorders had been analysed and that it would not discard any version of what happened. "Our task is to determine all the facts of the tragedy," he said. "We are looking at all possible explanations." Some confusion remained as to what Mr Prystaiko meant by "access". He later suggested that Ukraine's team of investigators were yet to be given access to the data contained in the black boxes. Ukraine is pushing to get the flight recorders analysed in their country, he said. Ukraine has so far toed a diplomatic line of not being drawn on western intelligence assessments and a growing body of evidence that the the plane was accidentally shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missiles. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian diplomats confirmed they had received "very important data" from the US that they would be feeding into the investigation. That announcement followed a remarkable plea for intelligence-sharing by the Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who suggested he had not been properly briefed by the Americans. Writing on Facebook, Mr Zelensky said that the possibility that the flight had been shot down cannot be ruled out but is not currently confirmed. Mr Prystaiko insisted that the 50-strong Ukrainian investigation team were enjoying the "full cooperation" of Iranian authorities, including access to flight paths and conversations between the pilots and air-traffic control. These were completely normal up until the crash, he added, with the plane flying within its assigned flight corridor. Ivan Bakanov, head of Ukraine's security agency, said Kiev was prioritising two possible causes of the plane crash: a missile or terrorism. Story continues Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, a Boeing 737-800, came down near the Iranian capital shortly after take-off and a few hours after Tehran attacked US military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. At the time of the crash, Iran was on full alert and anticipating an aerial response. All 176 people onboard the plane died. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans Civil Aviation Organisation, echoed Ukraine's calls for intelligence to be shared with the investigating commission. Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, the aviation official confirmed that the accident took place at 8,000 feet, but he categorically ruled out a missile strike. That, he said, was "technically impossible" and incompatible with the pilots apparent attempts to turn the stricken plane back to the airport. From a very early stage, Tehran has insisted that the crash was caused by mechanical failure. This inflexible stance appeared to undermine the prospects of a transparent investigation. They were damaged further by reports that Iranian authorities had removed debris from the crash site and, according to one well-placed Ukrainian journalist, were withholding crucial evidence from Kievs investigators. Even before the intervention of western intelligence, much of the publicly available evidence contradicted the claims of an engine malfunction. According to flight data available online, the plane took off normally, but approximately two minutes into the flight stopped transmitting all data. This was consistent with a catastrophic event and engine failure would not usually be considered. The plane was almost new, had undergone scheduled maintenance just two days earlier, and there were no distress signals. Within hours of the crash, images began circulating that purported to show the heads of Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missiles near the area where the plane crashed. However, the images were not verified. There are conflicting reports that more than two anti-aircraft projectiles may have been fired at the plane. A resident of Parand, a town near the airport, who spoke to a soldier posted in a nearby garrison, said they believed three missiles may have been fired. Based on the research that I have done, I understood that the base that is near us was on alert, they saw the aeroplane and fired at it, the resident told The Independent. The soldier said the first rocket exploded before impact, the aircrafts fuel tanks were pierced, and the other two rockets fired caused the plane to catch fire and then crash. BBC Persian correspondent Jiyar Gol told the BBC World Service on Friday that he was told by another witness, also a soldier in a nearby barracks, that he saw three missiles fired at the plane, but that only one hit. The Independent could not independently verify the claims. Speaking about why the pilot did not send a distress call, Mr Abedzadeh suggested that the pilot was concentrated on saving the plane. After take-off, after a few minutes the pilot contacted the tower and had asked permission for 26,000 feet, so this has all happened within two minutes, he said. Overnight, US media quoted intelligence sources offering a very different interpretation. According to CNN, the plane was hit by not one but two Iranian missiles with US satellites tracking infrared signatures of missiles as they scuttled towards the Boeing. CNN claimed the US authorities did not immediately go public with the data as they decided to verify the data. Iran has said it will process the information from the black box within the country, but has invited Boeing and Ukrainian officials to participate in the investigation. Concerns have however been raised about whether Iran has the capacity to process the information. American news outlet CBS cited US federal sources as saying it was likely a SA-15 air defence missile system that took down the plane. The medium altitude short-range surface-to-air missile has a maximum range of 20,000 feet. Most were attempts to replicate the 2016 hack of Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, who was successfully baited into turning over his email credentials, said Oren Falkowitz, Area 1s chief executive. But in about a fifth of the attacks, hackers compromised the accounts of campaign consultants and affiliates, and used those to send malicious lures to people inside the campaign. It is an extra step for hackers, but individuals are softer targets than the campaign, and people are far more likely to click on a link if they know the sender. An episode during the run-up to Britains recent parliamentary election highlighted the potential, but also the limits, of disinformation campaigns based on real information. In November, an anonymous Reddit user who has since been linked to a wide-ranging Russian disinformation campaign posted internal British government documents that detailed preliminary talks with the United States on a trade deal. Though the post did not gain much attention initially, it eventually made its way to the opposition Labour party, which said it offered proof that the Conservatives, if re-elected, planned to privatize the National Health Service as part of a deal with the United States. News of the documents forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deny that his party planned to privatize the health service, though his government acknowledged that the leaked materials were genuine. But with the Conservatives well ahead in the polls, the episode did nothing to alter the elections outcome. Mr. Johnson won a commanding majority in Parliament and a clear mandate to proceed with Britains exit from the European Union and cut a trade deal with the United States. The other pieces of the Russian campaign, which targeted a number of Western countries between 2016 and 2019, had even less impact, according to a report last month by Graphika, a firm that tracks social media activity. Called Secondary Infektion, the campaign was run by trolls who used hundreds of social media accounts to spread 44 stories in at least six languages. The stories ranged from fictitious claims about the 2016 American election to an article that sought to link President Emmanuel Macron of France to Islamist militants. Most were demonstrably false and based on faked interviews or manufactured documents. The trade-deal story appears to have been the only one based on real material, and the only one that made international headlines. A Gold Coast man accused of backing a terrorist group in Syria has been remanded in custody. The case of Agim Ajazi was briefly mentioned in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, where it was adjourned to April 17. Agim Ajazi remains behind bars after his case was mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday. Credit:Robert Shakespeare Mr Ajazi is charged with five commonwealth terror offences over his alleged support of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria between 2014 and 2016. The charges include incursion into a foreign state with the intention of engaging in hostile activity, engaging in hostile activities in a foreign country, membership of a terrorist organisation, providing support to a terrorist organisation and advocating terrorism. The HRD Ministry held a series of meetings on Friday with the JNU Vice Chancellor, students union and later the UGC on the JNU fee hike issue and appealed to the protesters to call off their agitation, saying their basic demand of fee revision has been agreed to by the university. Officials of the ministry told the members of the students' union that they are not supposed to pay utility and service charges and the cost will be borne by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as promised earlier. The ministry, however, remained non committal on other demands of the students including notification of the students' union and dropping of proctorial enquiries. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' expressed "distress" over the involvement of JNU students in the January 5 violence as pointed out by Delhi Police. In a series of tweets, he said that the ministry will not tolerate any violence and anarchy on the campus as it is committed to ensuring academic atmosphere in educational institutions. "JNU has agreed to basic demand of students, they are requested to call off agitation. We met the Vice Chancellor and his team in morning. Later we met the students union representatives and we told them that the students are not supposed to pay any utility fee and service charges but only the increased room rent," HRD secretary Amit Khare told reporters. "There can be as many demands," he said responding to a question on notification of the students' union. The ministry first had a meeting with a five-member team from JNU including VC M Jagadesh Kumar, Registrar Pramod Kumar and three rectors. "All decisions taken earlier at the HRD Ministry about hostel fee being implemented in totality. We have already written to UGC with estimated expenditures to release the funding. The deadline for registration will be extended, if need be. The classes will resume from January 13," Kumar said after the meeting. The ministry officials then met four members of JNUSU. While the meeting was underway, the Delhi Police made public names of nine suspects involved in the violence and claimed JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh was one of them. "Our demand for JNU VC's resignation stands. We will meet counsellors and office bearers and take a call on whether to end our agitation or not. We have put forward our points, waiting for HRD Ministry's decision to take final call. Have also sought HRD Ministry's intervention in FIRs and proctorial inquiry initiated against us by the university admin," Ghosh told reporters after the meeting. JNUSU Vice President Saket Moon said they have faith in the HRD Ministry but not in the Home Ministry which is "helicoptering" the whole issue. The ministry later called an urgent meeting with UGC officials including chairman DP Singh. "We discussed the issue and the modalities are being worked out," the HRD Secretary said. The HRD ministry had in November formed a three-member panel to mediate between the agitating students and administration and restore normalcy in the campus. According to the formula proposed by the ministry in December, the JNU administration would charge only the increased room rent and the service and utility charges were to be borne by the University Grants Commission. In return, the students would call off their agitation and engage in dialogue with the university administration. To compensate for the lost academic period, JNU was asked to extend the semester by two weeks. The university was also advised to notify the students' union and withdraw police complaints against students. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims say they have doubts that the billionaire took his own life last year. Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 and pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of girls as young as 14 years old. He was found dead on August 10 in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan and an autopsy concluded that he hanged himself. But in special that aired on ABC on Thursday night, Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein, some of his accusers say they don't believe he committed suicide. 'Now they've made sure we never know everything,' said Maria Farmer, who is believed to be the first person to report Epstein his 'madam', Ghislaine Maxwell, to the FBI. 'There's no way that guy took his life.' Maria Farmer (pictured), one of Jeffrey Epsteins accusers, told ABC News she doesn't believe the billionaire took his own life. Farmer says Epstein and his 'madam' Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused her as a teenager (left). Epstein (right) was found dead on August 10 in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center and an autopsy concluded that he hanged himself The night of Epstein's death, two guards - Tova Noel, 31, and Michael Thomas, 41, -were allegedly shopping online for furniture and napping instead of checking in on Epstein. The pedophile's jail cell was just 15 feet away from them. Guards are supposed to conduct five checks, counting and observing every inmate and to walk around every 30 minutes to make sure inmates were alive. Prosecutors say surveillance video shows the officers did not conduct a single count despite them logging that they did. After the guards discovered Epstein dead, the officers allegedly told a supervisor they had 'messed up' and 'didn't do any checks' in the hours before he killed himself, according to a criminal complaint. However, his death has prompted widespread conspiracy theories and speculation that he was actually murdered. Some of his accusers seemingly feel the same way. Farmer, who said she doesn't believe Epstein killed himself, says she and her sister were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell in the late 1990s. Aside from Farmer, two alleged victims - Jena-Lisa Jones and Michelle Licata - made similar points. On hearing the news of Epstein's death, Jones told ABC News: 'My heart started racing and I was just like: "This has to be fake."' Another accuser, Jena-Lisa Jones (pictured) said that she thought 'this has to be fake' upon hearing the news of his death Chauntae Davies, 40 (pictured), who was Epstein's personal masseuse, for several years. She said she felt robbed of being able to confront him (right) in court upon hearing the news of his death Licata added: 'There's a lot of questions surrounding his death. I mean, are you kidding me? Jones and Licata said they were both sexually assaulted by Epstein as teenagers in Florida, at ages 14 and 16, respectively. But, regardless of how he died, many of his accusers say they are angry they will never get the chance to face him in court. Chauntae Davies, 40, who was Epstein's personal masseuse, and had what she described as 'non-consensual sex' with him for several years, said she felt robbed. 'I was yearning for the moment to look him in the eye,' Davies told ABC News. 'I needed him to hear my words, and that justice has been robbed from me and from many others. San Andreas, CA A decades-old murder case in Murphys is going before a jury in Calaveras County. Weve reported previously that Kristina Karlsen died in a 1991 house fire on Pennsylvania Gulch Road, which at the time was deemed accidental. Her husband Karl, and their three children, escaped the flames. Karl later received $200,000 in insurance money following the death of his wife. 17 years after her death, In 2008, the couples 23-year-old son, Levi, died in what was initially reported to be an accident on the familys property in upstate New York. Levi was crushed underneath a truck and his father Karl was the sole beneficiary of his $700,000 life insurance policy. The father was later charged with murder, as detectives determined that he orchestrated the death, and a day before the trial was set to begin in December of 2013, he pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide. The earlier fire incident in Calaveras gained additional scrutiny around that time, and 2014, Karlsen was charged with murder for the death of his wife. He is currently serving a 15-years-to-life sentence in New York for the death of his son and has been extradited to California to face the local charge. Jury selection got underway this week at the Courthouse in San Andreas and the Calaveras County District Attorneys office anticipates opening statements to come next week, and the trial continuing until the last week of January. Islamabad: Pakistan's Parliament on Friday passed a landmark child protection law, making it mandatory for the police to take action in a child abuse case within two hours of it being reported. The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill 2019 was passed by the National Assembly, exactly two years after a nine-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Punjab province's Kasur city in 2018. The bill, which was moved by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, mandates action against a police officer who fails to respond timely in a case of child abuse. A special helpline will be set up for this purpose. The bill also increased the imprisonment period in child abuse cases to a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 14 years. The bill has been named after the Kasur rape victim. Her death sparked countrywide protests. Later in 2018, the rapist was convicted and hanged in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail. Three men are facing drug dealing charges after they were caught in a cocaine-selling conspiracy that included hiding narcotics in a Mercedes Benz, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced Thursday. In all, authorities seized a total of 43 kilograms, or over 94 pounds, of cocaine and heroin. Agents from the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began watching Robin Peralta, 37, of Trenton, in June 2018 after they believed he was selling drugs, and on Jan. 3 of this year, they saw him drive a Honda Pilot to a Hamilton parking lot to meet with Luis Susana-Delossanto, 32, of Trenton, according to a criminal complaint in the case. Peralta and Susana-Delossanto parked their cars close to each other and officers saw Peralta take a large object from the Pilot and place it in the backseat a Mercedes Benz that was already parked, covered and surrounded on three sides by tractor-trailers, federal prosecutors said. After a second meeting in the Hamilton parking lot on Tuesday, where Peralta removed a white bag from Mercedes, officers followed him to the city of Passaic, where he was met by several other people. One was Ramon Fabian-Pena, 59, of Passaic, to whom he handed the bag, according to the complaint. When the officers approached the group and announced their presence, Fabian-Pena ran inside a nearby apartment building and dropped the bag, which was later recovered and contained about 6 kilograms of cocaine, authorities said. Fabian-Pena and Peralta were later arrested. A search of Peraltas home turned up 3 kilograms of heroin and $100,000 in cash while investigators found about $5,000 and a .40 caliber, Glock handgun, fully loaded with a 15-round extended magazine in Susana-Delossantos home, officials said. Police, with a help of a drug-sniffing K-9 dog, returned to the Hamilton parking lot and discovered 34 kilograms of cocaine in the Mercedes, the complaint stated. Investigators also determined that the Pilot contained a trap, a secret compartment often used by narcotics traffickers to hide drugs and other items, authorities said. Peralta was charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 1 kilogram or more of heroin, according to the statement. Susana-Delossanto was charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, while Fabian-Pena was charged with one count of the crime. Peralta and Susana-Delossanto were released on bail while Fabian-Pena was detained pending trial. 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. Bay of Plenty residents are set to experience a fine weekend as most of the North Island is going to be experiencing pre-settled weather for most of the weekend. We do have a front that comes in tomorrow that affects the South Island, but all it really does for the North Island is perhaps increase a bit of wind, says MetService meteorologist Kyle Lee. He says for Tauranga for the rest of Friday, weve got some southwest winds with a fine day expected and a maximum temperature of 25 degrees. Tomorrow, it looks like pretty much the same. Maximum, again around 24 degrees and we do see some fine weather again with sea breezes as the southwesterly dies away. Sunday is very much the same again. Its fine with light winds and weve got a maximum of 25 degrees. With the temperatures expected to rise over the next few days and into the next working week, Kyle says there are some regions around the country that are starting to get into a high risk for fire over the next little while. But it doesnt look like the Bay of Plenty has quite reached that criteria yet. It does seem like a lot of the North Island is starting to get a little bit to the high side but it looks like Tauranga is okay for now. TobyMac pens honest, heartfelt song '21 Years' after son's death Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Grammy Award-winning artist TobyMac released a song Friday dedicated to his late son, Truett Foster McKeehan, titled 21 Years. The song is an honest letter from the artist to his 21-year-old first-born who died unexpectedly at his home on Oct. 23, 2019. TobyMac announced the song both on Instagram and Twitter. The last couple of months have been the hardest Ive ever faced. Thank you for the love and support. Part of my process has always been to write about the things Im going through, but this went to a whole new level. What started out as getting some of my thoughts and feelings about losing my firstborn son down on paper, ended up a song, he wrote on Instagram. Although he admits he never wanted to pen such a song, the Christian pioneer hopes the new single will help others who are also grieving a loss. He tweeted, "'21 Years is a song I wrote about the recent passing of my firstborn son, Truett Foster McKeehan. I loved him with all my heart. Until something in life hits you this hard, you never know how you will handle it. The McKeehan family has been surrounded by people who've been helping them through this tragic loss and the artist says he is grateful. Writing this song felt like an honest confession of the questions, pain, anger, doubt, mercy and promise that describes the journey Im probably only beginning. The rest is yet to come. One thing I know is that I am not alone. God didnt promise us a life of no pain or even tragic death, but He did promise He would never leave us or forsake us. And Im holding dearly to that promise for my son as well as myself, he added. Some of the emotional words of 21 years say, Why would You give and then take him away? Suddenly end, could You not let it fade? What I would give for a couple of days The cause of the 21-year-old's death has not yet been released. What is known is that on Oct. 23, the Nashville Fire Department responded to an emergency call to his home for a person suffering cardiac arrest. Upon hearing the tragic news, TobyMac, who was on tour in Canada, flew back home to Franklin, Tennessee, to be with his wife and four other children. The family has since launched the Truett Foster Foundation where donations made in Truetts name will help send vulnerable youth to college, that they may realize their God-given potential to change the lives of others, according to the foundation's website. One hundred percent of the donations will be used to fund scholarships in partnership with the Global Orphan Project. The Christian organization will underwrite all general and administrative expenses in honor of the aspiring musician. Talking politics: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for Disability Finian McGrath at the Cabinet meeting at the Marino Institute, Dublin. PHOTO: GARETH CHANEY/COLLINS Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will turn to controversial Independent TDs Noel Grealish and Michael Lowry in a bid to cling to power for the next four months. Mr Varadkar is under pressure from his ministers to put distance between recent controversies, including the Black and Tans debacle, and the forthcoming general election. Mr Varadkar said he would spend the coming days speaking to his party, Independent ministers and also Independent TDs who had supported the Government in the past, in an attempt to remain in power. This will include Mr Grealish, whom the Taoiseach has criticised for his comments on migrants, and Mr Lowry, who has been convicted of a tax offence. The move means Mr Varadkar has dropped his demand that Fianna Fail supports the Government on crucial votes in return for him agreeing to an election date. Last night, Mr Varadkar met Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and discussed legislation that could be passed if the Dail was to return next week. They have agreed to hold further talks next week. Meanwhile, Fine Gael was given a significant election boost as it emerged economic growth is expected to soar this year after a no-deal Brexit was avoided. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe expects growth to be 3.9pc this year, with an estimated Budget surplus of around 2.4bn. At the hour-long meeting between the two party leaders, both sides set out their legislative priorities and agreed to consider each others proposals. The meeting was said to have been "cordial" and "amicable", with both sides agreeing there was basis for a further discussions. They also discussed whether Mr Martin could guarantee the support of his entire party on important votes. In a joint statement released afterwards, the two parties said it had been a "constructive meeting". "They discussed Dail numbers and possible legislative proposals which could be passed in a further Dail session," it said. "They agreed to consider matters further and to meet again next week." It came after the future of the minority Government was thrown into fresh doubt after three rural Independent TDs threatened to table a motion of no confidence in Health Minister Simon Harris. The motion, which would be put before the Dail on February 5, was proposed by TDs Michael Collins, Mattie McGrath and Michael Healy-Rae. Yesterday, Mr Healy-Rae called on Mr Martin and Mr Varadkar to end the election debate and agree to have the vote on February 1 or 2. Mr Martin has said there was "no question" of his party supporting the Government in confidence motions. The Taoiseach said he considered a motion of no confidence in one of his ministers to be a judgment on the whole of Government. This would imply that if the vote of confidence in Mr Harris was lost, it would result in the Dail being dissolved. Before Christmas, Mr Varadkar said he did not believe he had the numbers to run a stable government without Mr Martin committing to supporting him on crucial votes. However, yesterday he appeared to change his stance by saying the Dail could continue with Mr Martin's party abstaining in votes rather than supporting the Government. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, he said: "It is the case that with Fianna Fail continuing to abstain that the Government can continue and that we have, I believe, sufficient votes to get our legislative programme through, but obviously the numbers are also very precarious. "I need to consult with Fine Gael, the Independent Alliance, other independent ministers, independents who support the Government and indeed other parties - that's where the situation lies," he added. The move means the Taoiseach may have to entirely rely on Mr Lowry and Mr Grealish to pass legislation or survive confidence motions. Neither TD responded to requests for comment on whether they would continue to back the Government. However, one Cabinet minister said last night he was "100pc sure" they would. Meanwhile, Roscommon TD Denis Naughten, who also supports the Government, said he had yet to decide whether he would vote with the Government on confidence motions. Inevitable He said he was waiting to see the outcome of the meeting between the two leaders. In response to questions about the motion of no confidence in him, Mr Harris yesterday said: "I do think we are arriving at a point where an election becomes inevitable pretty quickly." The minister said the election debate now centred on whether to have the vote within the next four weeks or within the next 14 weeks. However, other ministers and TDs are far less eager to go to the polls in the aftermath of the controversy surround the planned State commemoration for Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) officers. The public backlash over the postponed commemoration resulted in voters inundating offices of Fine Gael TDs with complaints. "The complaints were coming from right across the board - it was not from just one political persuasion," a minister said yesterday. Fine Gael is holding a parliamentary party meeting and the election date debate is expected to be discussed. Mr Martin is also set to come under pressure from his own TDs to pull Fianna Fail's support from the Government and go the polls. Yesterday, senior Fianna Fail TDs were insisting they should strike while Fine Gael was still damaged from the RIC debacle and the hospital trolley crisis was hitting record numbers. Authorities arrest 8 on Fifth Avenue for animal abuse Playa del Carmen, Q.R. Seven exotic animals being used for photographic purposes have been seized by authorities along Fifth Avenue of Playa del Carmen. On Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor initiated an investigation for animal abuse after a complaint was filed. Authorities found that the animals were being exhibited outside an establishment located on Fifth Avenue. The Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo reported that in all, eight men were arrested and seven exotic animals seized which included five cats and two monkeys. In their possession, federal authorities found a black panther, two Bengal tigers, one of which was an albino, a jaguar and a lion. Taken into custody were Alfonso S, Isai M, Carlos G, Jesus H, Bersain M, Gabriel A, Alvaro J and Fredi R. The animals were seized and transferred to the General Prosecutors Office where they were delivered to the corresponding environmental authorities. The animals were delivered to el Arca-Zona Jaguarto in Tulum where they will receive the protection and care they require. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday multiple intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Trudeau's comments came as video emerged that appeared to show the moment the airliner was hit. That and other footage posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defense batteries in bringing down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 early Wednesday. The video, which The New York Times said it verified, shows a fast-moving object rising at an angle into the sky before a bright flash is seen, which dims and then continues moving forward. Several seconds later an explosion is heard. Citing information from allies as well as Canada's own intelligence, Trudeau said the plane appeared to have been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air (SAM) missile. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters. He was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional." US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. The US National Transportation Safety Board late Thursday said it had received formal notification of the crash from Iran and would send a representative to join the crash probe. Iran's foreign ministry earlier invited the US plane maker Boeing to "participate" in the inquiry. The flight went down in the dark just minutes after takeoff, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. It was carrying 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons. With tensions high between the United States and Iran, the disaster unfolded just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles towards bases in Iraq housing US troops. Iran retaliated for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. The Iranian government said the missile strike scenario made "no sense," however, arguing that several internal and international flights had been sharing approximately the same airspace. Tehran later asked Ottawa to share its information with Iranian investigators. Trudeau said Canada was working with allies to ensure a credible probe. "The families of the victims want answers, Canadians want answers, I want answers," he said. "This government will not rest until we get that." Canada's transportation safety board on Thursday said it had accepted an invitation from Iran's civil aviation authority to join the inquiry. Britain's Johnson called Thursday for a full, transparent investigation. Trump would not directly confirm what US intelligence was saying privately. "I have my suspicions," Trump said, adding that "somebody could have made a mistake." But unnamed officials told US media that satellite, radar and electronic data indicated Tehran's air defense units downed the aircraft. ABC reported that an unnamed official said it was "highly likely" the plane was brought down by two SAMs. Ukraine called for United Nations support for a broad investigation, and sent 45 crash investigators to Tehran to take part in the inquiry led by Iranian authorities. Investigators are pursuing several possibilities, including engine failure, a missile strike or an act of terror. "If any country has information that can help conduct a transparent and objective investigation into the tragedy, we are ready to receive it and cooperate in further verification," the Ukraine presidency said in an English-language statement. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's civil aviation organization and deputy transport minister, said Iran and Ukraine were "downloading information" from the aircraft's black boxes retrieved from the crash site. "But if more specialized work is required to extract and analyze the data, we can do it in France or another country," he said. Analysts were examining photographs posted online of the wreckage and a private video apparently taken of the flight when it was struck for evidence that it was downed by a missile. "I think this has a very good possibility of being accurate," John Goglia, a former US aviation safety expert on the National Transportation Safety Board, said of the missile theory. "Airplanes that have just taken off and have made a climb to 8,000 feet, that's entering the safest period of time in the flight. So even an engine failure at that altitude should not cause the type of event we've just observed," he told AFP. The Ukrainian airline crash brought back memories of another tragedy, involving a US military error. In 1988, an Iran Air flight was mistakenly shot down over the Gulf by a surface-to-air missile fired from the US warship USS Vincennes. All 290 people aboard, most of them Iranians, were killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran has refuted the claims that the Ukranian plane crash was the result of a ballistic missile hitting the jetliner. Calling the reports psychological warfare against Tehran, Iran government's spokesperson said that all the countries, whose citizens were victims of the crash, and Boeing can send their representatives to join the process of investigation. According to an Iranian news agency, Ali Abedzadeh, head of countrys Civil Aviation Organization, called these claims illogical rumours. Abedzadeh said that it is scientifically impossible that a missile can hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical. Read: Donald Trump Has 'suspicions' Over Crash Amid Reports Iran Downed Plane 'Share intelligence inputs' Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that the preliminary review of evidence indicated that the Boeing 737-800, carrying 63 Canadians, was hit by a surface-to-air missile. He added that the evidence suggests very clearly a possible and probable cause for the crash but maintained that this may have been done accidentally. Iran has asked Canada to the share intelligence inputs referring to which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that an Iranian missile brought down the Ukranian airliner. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has invited Boeing, the plane manufacturer, to take part in the enquiry after reports emerged that the crash was a result of a ballistic missile hitting the aircraft. Read: Canadian PM Trudeau Cites Multiple Reports Claiming Iran Downed Ukrainian Plane On January 8, the Ukranian plane crashed in Tehran soon after take-off and 176 people were killed in the accident. The people aboard the crashed jetliner belonged to Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Ukranian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs said that the circumstances of the crash are still unclear. It is now up to the experts to investigate it and to find answers to the question of what caused the crash. To do so, our experts must receive unconditional support for their investigation into the incident, said the minister in a statement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also called for a full, credible and transparent investigation after reports of a surface-to-air missile strike hitting the aircraft surfaced. Read: UK Demands Full Probe Into Iran Air Crash, Even US Officials Say It Was Downed By Missiles Read: Iranian Missiles Could Have Shot Down Ukraine Flight By Mistake, Report US Sources (With inputs from agencies) US authorities have arrested an Indian American doctor for allegedly prescribing to multiple patients a combination medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. Gurpreet Singh Bajwa, 48, allegedly issued about 15,000 Adderall prescriptions to over 1,000 patients, a total of more than 700 prescriptions per month, officials said. Several local pharmacies in Oakton in Virginia had flagged Bajwa and would no longer fill prescriptions from him, they said. The Virginia Department of Health Professions had previously suspended his medical licence in 2012 for issues related to his prescription practices, the officials said. Beginning in summer 2018, two undercover law enforcement officers posed as patients and made appointments to see Bajwa, according to an affidavit in court. During each visit, Bajwa allegedly prescribed the officers a 30-day supply of Adderall, despite them not having a need for the medication, it said. One of the officers told Bajwa that she was a fitness model and needed the medication for her workouts, which is not a legitimate use for the substance, as per the affidavit. The undercover officer also asked Bajwa to prescribe her extra pills that she could give to a "friend" and he readily agreed. Bajwa is charged with illegal distribution of Adderall, a Schedule II controlled substance, it said. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A new study revealed that the increased freshwater resulting from melting ice sheets in Antarctica, combined with the added Antarctic wind, has reduced the oxygen level inside the Southern Ocean. This has made the ocean warmer and more acidic. The scientists, whose study was published in Nature Geoscience, observed the trend in the Southern Ocean waters by using comparing shipboard measurements obtained between 1990 and 2004, with those taken by using a chain of robot floats between 2012 and 2019. The warming and loss of oxygen on the Antarctic coast are more notable than estimated in the climate model. These observations also have implications in predicting the melting of ice sheets. This locating pushed the researchers to beautify the prevalent climate alternate PC models with a purpose to better indicate the environmental changes occurring around Antarctica. This is the first-ever study to apply the expanded freshwater of the Southern Ocean and further wind to an alternate climate model, Russell added. The researchers used the ESM2M model of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Russell, a geoscience professor of the University of Arizona, pointed out the present chemical and physical adjustments occurring within the Southern Ocean had been not predicted with the aid of worldwide weather trade models before. The researchers "underestimated" how an awful lot affected additional freshwater and wind caused. Russell said they added two components to their model and noted how it reproduced over the past three decades. According to Russell, improved climate model trends are currently capable of estimating upcoming environmental adjustments each in and across the Antarctic coast greater efficiently. She similarly delivered that the Southern Ocean takes up a significant element of the heat generated by using anthropogenic international warming. "One out of every eight carbon molecules from the tailpipe goes into the Southern Ocean," Russell said. "Our model says that we may not have as massive of a carbon sink as we have been hoping in the future," she added. Researchers usually improve their international climate trade fashions with a purpose to benefit more in-depth expertise surrounding the climate gadget of the Earth. As a part of this endeavor, the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling Project, or SOCCOM for short, explore the Southern Ocean and its effect on weather. SOCCOM is financed through the National Science Foundation, in addition, support extended by way of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). SOCCOM group, headed via Russell, complements the manner the Southern Ocean is represented in international climate computer models. For 25 years, Russell has been analyzing the sea around the Antarctic region. Along with different researchers, Russell has been taking shipboard measurements in the oceans around Antarctica for many years. However, it didn't prove very easy to take measurements because of winter conditions. Furthermore, the extent of the cold sea ice makes it impossible to take near-shore measures from ships, she brought. That difficulty was solved when SOCCOM robot floats were deployed in 2014. The robot floats showed the number of Antarctic waters that had changed in the last numerous years-a development that becomes not anticipated with the aid of the worldwide climate exchange models. Previously, Russell and her co-researchers have brought higher freshwater levels from the melting ice sheets to the climate change fashions, but this transformation did not recreate the new modifications within the chemistry of the Southern Ocean. The hassle becomes solved by elevating the freshwater and the extent of Antarctic wind in the climate model; currently, the model correctly represents the existing kingdom of Antarctic waters. In addition, the researchers utilized the enhanced climate trade model to predict the Southern Ocean conditions. The forecast indicates that within the days to come, the Southern Ocean is not probable to take up as a lot of atmospheric carbon dioxide as assumed earlier. Russell has planned to pursue the wintry weather winds within the Antarctic coast. She said they initially had no plans of examining that portion, but they would be pursuing it due to the new results. The researchers would offer NASA a satellite to hunt for "the missing wind," Russell said. Kolkata: The Indian Navy has deployed a specialist diving team at Gangasagar Mela in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. This deployment of the Indian Navy Diving Team from Eastern Naval Command comprises 12 divers and is being coordinated by the Naval Officer-in-Charge, West Bengal. On special request from the state government, Indian Navy (IN) has positioned specialist Diving Teams from 08 - 18 January 2020 for rescue and relief operations in case of any eventuality during the Mela, said an Indian Navy statement. Live TV Notably, lakhs of pilgrims converge at the Sagar Island - the Island on the confluence of river Ganga and Bay of Bengal, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. Pilgrims take a dip in the holy waters and pray in the Kapil Muni Ashram. With Kumbh Mela not being held this year, as many as 30 lakh pilgrims are expected to converge at the Gangasagar Mela. Several devotees from not just the country but neighboring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh congregate at the mela to pay obeisance at Kapil Muni temple after taking a holy bath at the confluence of river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal. (@FahadShabbir) Thomas Greminger, the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has reiterated the organization's commitment to the media freedom after the Estonian government threatened Sputnik journalists working in the Baltic country MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2020) Thomas Greminger, the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has reiterated the organization's commitment to the media freedom after the Estonian government threatened Sputnik journalists working in the Baltic country. On December, 24 Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya news agency, which Sputnik is a part of, and the RT broadcaster sent a letter to Greminger informing him that employees of Sputnik Estonia had received warnings from the Baltic country's Police and Border Guard board that they would face criminal prosecution unless they stopped working for the news agency by January 1. "Commitments to freedom of the media and the free flow of information is enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act," Greminger said in his reply. He added that the OSCE representative on media freedom was monitoring the situation. "I understand that my colleague Harlem Desir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, is closely following the situation of Sputnik Estonia, and that he has already conveyed his concerns to the Estonian authorities and requested more information about the case. He has also encouraged the Estonian authorities to refrain from putting any unnecessary limitation on the work of foreign journalists or media," Greminger stated. Rossiya Segodnya has urged all international and European organizations to state their positions on Estonia's actions. The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe was signed in 1975 in the Finnish capital to ease tensions between Western and Eastern Europe and pledges the signatories to respect various categories of human rights, including the freedom of information. Cappas set a trial to begin Aug. 3, with a status hearing May 20 and a pretrial conference July 8. In a ruling granting Stokes' petition for post-conviction relief, Cappas endorsed a magistrate's finding that former Lake Criminal Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak, who now presides over Lake Juvenile Court, failed to advise Stokes of his privilege against self-incrimination during a plea hearing March 16, 2010, in a courtroom at the Lake County Jail. Stokes rejected a plea agreement during the morning court call that day, but returned to court that afternoon with defense attorney Alexander Woloshansky and pleaded guilty to murder in the perpetration of robbery, records state. The other counts were dismissed as part of the deal. Stokes testified during a hearing in May that he felt rushed into making a decision to accept the plea and tried to withdraw it before his sentencing in April 2010. Stokes said his attorney never guided him through the plea agreement line by line and never explained the rights he was giving up by pleading guilty. Instead, Stokes' discussion with his attorney focused on the likelihood that he would lose at trial and could receive a shorter sentence by pleading guilty, Cappas' ruling states. The killing of Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike has deepened the sharp divisions across the world writes Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Why did most Syrians rejoice in the death of the leaders of the Iranian al-Quds Brigade? Put simply, he made them taste woe. He killed their men, women and children, and displaced their families, and during sieges made them eat grass and watch their children starve and fall ill before their eyes. Every Syrian who has lost a son or a sibling or mother felt something like justice in the death of a man who had committed horrific human rights violations in Syria, as in Iraq and Lebanon. He was the de facto ruler of the Middle East. But there are a large number of Syrians who were saddened by his death and who held mourning sessions. President Bashar al-Assad described Soleimanis death as an insidious and cowardly American aggression, and lamented the loss of Soleimani, saying that he would remain, immortal in the souls of the Syrian people, who will not forget how he stood alongside the Syrian Arab Army in defending Syria against terrorism and its backers, nor his clear and many victories against terrorist organizations. This was forgetting that Soleimani himself described the Syrian Arab Army as useless and that he wished he could be given the authority to use a single brigade of the Basij (the Iranian security apparatus),Give me one brigade of the Basij, and I could conquer the whole country, he said. The deep division among Syrians is not exceptional. Americans were also sharply divided around Soleimanis death, between those who were excited to cheer on President Trump and those around him, and those who criticized his recklessness and irresponsibility. Major Republican figures declared their support for the killing of Soleimani, and some did not hide their childish elation. The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, said in a tweet: I appreciate President Donald Trumpss bold action against Iranian aggression. To the Iranian government: if you want more, you will get more. He added: Thank you, Mr. President, for standing up for America. The minority leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, expressed his support for the airstrike. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, focused on President Trump and his administrations justification that the operation came as a preemptive response to operations Soleimani had been planning against American interests. In a TV interview on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not hesitate to say that killing the terrorist Soleimani was also because of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians he had killed and millions displaced. In contrast, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, complained repeatedly that President Trump had left her and other Congressional leaders out of the loop before carrying out the operation. Democratic presidential candidates warned that Trumps behaviors would certainly meet with revenge from Tehran, and that the United States could be pushed into another war in the Middle East. Former Vice President Joe Biden, now running in the Democratic primaries, said that, President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation, while Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said that, This is a dangerous escalation that brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East, adding that, Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one. Hundreds of Americans went out to demonstrate in Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, meeting the calls from leftist groups and calling for the immediate withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and rejecting war against Iran and the sanctions imposed on it. The liberal American press in general stood against Trumps operation, but they did not reach the degradation of their leftist media colleagues in Europe, which bases it policies on a defiance of American policies in general, and as a result was driven to seeing Soleimani as a revolutionary fighter, nor did they get close to the degradation of some Arab and Palestinian leftists, with a member of the Fatah Movements central committee, Abbas Zaki, describing Soleimani as the Che Guevara of the Middle East. This came in addition to the statements of the pro-Iran Al-Mayadin channel that, Soleimanis assassination will have dangerous consequences for the region, predicting that, its results will be very costly for the United States. In his death, as in his life, Qassem Soleimani has deepened the sharp divisions among Syrians, Americans, Iraqis and Lebanese. This was his aim. He had himself overseen the killing of Syrians, the bombardment of civilians, and the destruction of hospitals and schools. He used his influence over the Iraqi government to get permission to use Iraqi airspace to transport the soldiers and equipment Assad needed to Syria, from Iran via Iraq, throughout the years of the war. In his speech before Irans Assembly of Experts in 2013, Soleimani said: Syria is the first line of defense for the resistance. This fact is beyond doubt. In Iraq, he played a role in repressing the popular protests against the regime by giving orders to Iraqi puppets he controlled, such as the Popular Mobilization Forces. For Syrians to celebrate the death of the butcher is legitimate and justified, but what is not justified is what we have seen on social media in terms of the exaggerated praise of President Trump. The man did not kill Soleimani for the sake of Syrians or Iraqis, but for his interests and those of his party. I think that this praise will subside in the coming daysespecially given that it is likely that Tehran will swallow the insult and put salt in the wound, and then work with greater insistence on its nuclear project. But this is another subject. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. After 14,266 days out in the world, the picture book Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus is back on the shelves of the Bethlehem Area Public Library. The book by playwright Charles Mee was due to be returned Dec. 18, 1980. It did not find its way back to Bethlehem for 40 years until its mysterious temporary owner handed it over to Holly Bennett, director of the Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity. Bethlehem library Executive Director Josh Berk first learned of the book when Bennett dropped him an email this week saying someone had asked her to return the book to Bethlehem. She said they apologized and that it was 40 years overdue. I thought she was exaggerating, Berk said. But then it got here in our inter-library delivery and looking at the slip in the back it does seem to have been due December 18, 1980! The Bethlehem library doesnt know who originally checked the book out because its circulation records dont go back that far and it predates the computer system. The person who returned the book did not give their name, Berk said, so its truly a mystery where life took Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus. Did it get lost under a bed for years or accidentally packed away in a box during a move? Did a relative unearth the book in the belongings of a recently departed family member and feel compelled to finally return it? Was it a prized possession or relegated to a pile? We may never know. Its fun to think about where the book has been for 40 years I suppose, and its also just fun to look at the old-school hand-stamped due date on the back, Berk said. I think it brings a feeling of nostalgia for a lot of people to look at an old library book, myself included. Those of us older than the automated computer systems have fond memories of checking out books as kids, getting them stamped, that whole thing. Reached this afternoon, Bennett said she was given the book by a friend whose acquaintance knew they had ties to a library director. The acquaintance did in fact find the book cleaning out some old boxes. It is unclear if the person who turned over the book was the actual patron who borrowed the book, however the person who found the book wanted to make sure the book found its way back to its home at the Bethlehem Public Library, Bennett said. I gladly took the book knowing that Josh Berk would be pleased to know the community wanted to make sure it was returned. Book returned today that was due Dec 18, 1980. That's 14,266 days overdue! At least the slip was included so they avoided the 25 cent additional fee. pic.twitter.com/KGwHzEbD96 BAPL (@paBAPL) January 9, 2020 The author was shocked to hear the book was still out in the world. I am delighted, Mee, who was reached at Columbia University where he is a professor in the theatre arts department, said. It is a little amazing it took somebody this long to read it because its a really short book. While the book may be 14,266 days overdue, it managed to hang on to the paper due date slip for all this time, so that saves them 25 cents in library fines. Berk chuckled at a notation on the books slip pocket indicating it should be shelved in a storage closet that no longer exists. We were like, Oh no, what do we do?! The closet is gone, quipped Berk. The librarys unsure what the daily overdue fine charge was back in 1980, but it is 20 cents today. Theoretically, the original borrower couldve racked up a fine of $2,853.20, although the fines really max out at the actual price of the book. Its not unusual for a library book to go missing when you circulate about half a million items a year, Berk said. There are no angry Seinfeld-style Bookman library cops searching for old overdue books out there, at least not at BAPL, Berk said. Everyone who works at the library is quite amused by this sort of thing and so is the public judging by the social media reaction, he said. It remains to be seen if youll be able to check out Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus" from the Bethlehem Area Public Library. Berk noted it boasts some unique artwork, which is what got the author involved in the project. Mees friend Ken Munowitz was an artist interested in making some books and he enlisted Mee to write the words. Im not sure what well do with it -- seems sad to not keep a book that is finally home after so long, but an out-of-print picture book from the 1970s probably isnt in very high demand, Berk said. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Twelve tourists on a visit to a hilltop temple here had a harrowing time after cable car operators refused to ferry them back, citing safety concerns. On Thursday, the tourists who had come from various parts of the country had to walk 2.5 km from Jakhu temple on a snow-hit, slippery road to return to the Ridge in Shimla city. The Jakhu temple is located at the highest peak of Shimla city. Jagson International Limited (JIL), the firm that runs the operations, pointed to "court orders" for not being able to take the tourists back. Jakhu ropeway manager Madan Sharma told PTI that the twelve tourists could not be taken back in the cable car to the Ridge as court orders restricted the firm from running it after sunset. However, Sachin and Tamanna, a couple from Amritsar, told PTI that they had reached the ropeway at Jakhu much before sunset. Responding to this, the ropeway manager admitted that the twelve tourists had come before sunset but the firm was obliged to ferry the passengers who had arrived before them. As a result, the 12 tourists had to travel the entire distance on foot. The manager claimed the firm had returned the entire amount of the return ticket of Rs 550 to each of the ten tourists. The remaining two tourists can also get their money refunded after showing their tickets, he added. On their way back to the Ridge, Sachin told PTI that they had a harrowing time midway through their journey near Holy Lodge. Prem, a tourist from Delhi, said, We had to walk very cautiously on the slippery road in this cold to avoid skidding on it. Sachin and Prem claimed the ropeway operators had left them in the lurch at Jakhu temple itself. They further said that two elderly tourists, who were suffering from joint pain, were unable to walk and remained stranded at the hilltop. The ropeway manager said, We usually drive tourists having return tickets back in our cars to the Ridge after sunset but as vehicles could not ply on the snowbound road, we sent five men to accompany the 12 passengers and help them reach the Ridge by holding their hands. However, Sachin claimed that no one helped them to reach the Ridge. When contacted, Shimla deputy commissioner Amit Kashyap told PTI that he would take action against the ropeway operators after getting a written complaint from the affected tourists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:31:27|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close CHANGSHA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court on Friday upheld the death sentence for criminal gang leader Du Shaoping, who has been convicted of multiple crimes including murder. The court has submitted the death sentence to the Supreme People's Court for approval. The court also upheld the verdicts of seven other defendants who were members of the crime group including Luo Guangzhong, Du's accomplice in the murder, who has been handed a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. An investigation found that Du was contracted to build a playground for Xinhuang No. 1 Middle School in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County in December 2001 and hired Luo to take charge of the project. During the construction, Du became dissatisfied with Deng Shiping, a staff member of the school who oversaw the construction. Du and Luo killed Deng on Jan. 22, 2003 and buried Deng's remains under the playground. Since 2008, a 13-member crime group led by Du used violent and threatening means to collect usury principal and interest, meddled in civil disputes and sought illegal benefits. They also committed crimes including illegal detention, gathering crowds for fighting and forced transactions. 2 suspects arrested in connection with blast outside Hafiz Saeed's house in Pak 26/11: As India grieved, Saeed grew in Pak, while Lakhvi fathered a child in jail Hafiz Saeed summoned to give closing statements in terror financing case International oi-Vicky Nanjappa Lahore, Jan 10: Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief, Hafiz Saeed has been summoned by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan to record his closing statements. The summons has been issued in connection with two terror financing cases. On Thursday, the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses in terror financing case against Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his three close aides before an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan concluded. The anti-terrorism court-I indicted Saeed and his close aides - Hafiz Abdul Salam, Muhammad Ashraf and Zafar Iqbal - on terror financing charges on December 11. "Lawyers of Saeed and his close aides completed the cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses in the anti-terrorism court-I Lahore, on Thursday," a court official told PTI after the hearing which lasted for more than six hours. Cross examination in Hafiz Saeed terror financing cases concludes He said that the prosecution had produced a good number of witnesses against Saeed and others. ATC judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta directed the defence lawyers - Naseeruddin Nayyar and Muhammad Imran Fazal Gul - to present its witnesses from Friday, the official said. The court adjourned the hearing till Friday. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week Separately, the ATC-II held the hearing against Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) spokesperson Yahya Mujahid and Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki in the terror-financing case against them and recorded the statements of the witnesses. The ATC-II adjourned the hearing of this case till January 14. On Wednesday, the revenue department officials were among witnesses who testified against Saeed and others. The revenue officials had submitted the record of the JuD centres, seminaries and mosques in Lahore. The witnesses told the court about Saeed's collections of funds for terror financing. Strict security measures were taken in and outside the court premises during the appearance of the JuD leaders. Journalists had not been allowed to enter the court premises to cover the court proceedings against Saeed and others since they were indicted on December 11. More come forward to testify against Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan The CTD had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17. He is held at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore. Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a specially designated global terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. The US has also welcomed Saeed's indictment, urging Islamabad to ensure a full prosecution and expeditious trial of the charges against him. The indictment followed growing international pressure on Pakistan to stop terrorist groups from collecting funds in the country and to take immediate action against those still involved in terror activities. Tensions rise as US hits Iran with more sanctions following Tehrans retaliatory attack in Iraq after Soleimani killing. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani posed a grave risk to US troops in the region and had to be dealt with. Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone attack near Baghdad on January 3, prompting Iran to retaliate with a series of missile attacks on US facilities in Iraq several days later. Fears of imminent war between Iran and the United States have since subsided somewhat after US President Donald Trump appeared to shy away from a direct military response to the Iranian missile attack. Here are all of the latest updates as of Saturday, January 11: Democrats react to Trumps embassies claim Democratic Senator Chris Murphy responded to Trumps claim that four US embassies were under threat from Iran. Lets be clear if there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the Administration would have said so at our Wednesday briefing. They didnt, Murphy wrote on Twitter. So either Fox News gets higher level briefings than Congress or wait for it there was no such imminent threat. Let's be clear if there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the Administration would have said so at our Wednesday briefing. They didn't. So either Fox News gets higher level briefings than Congress orwait for it there was no such imminent threat. Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 10, 2020 Friday, January 10: Trump believes Iran was targeting four US embassies Trump said Iran probably had targeted the US embassy in Baghdad and was aiming to attack four US embassies when Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike. We will tell you probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad, Trump said in a clip of an interview on Fox News. I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies. US imposes new sanctions on Iran following missile strikes The US is imposing additional sanctions on Iran as a result of its attack on US troops in Iraq this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday. We are announcing additional sanctions against the Iranian regime, Mnuchin said at a White House news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The sanctions will target Iranian industries, including steel and iron manufacturers, as well as at least eight senior Iranian officials, Mnuchin added. US says any delegation to Iraq wont discuss troop withdrawal Any delegation the US would send to Iraq would not discuss the withdrawal of US troops from the country, the US State Department said, saying the force presence there was appropriate. There does, however, need to be a conversation between the US and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership, department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. Germanys Maas says Iran nuclear deal still makes sense Germanys foreign minister said he believed the Iran nuclear deal was still relevant and European ministers would reaffirm their commitment to the accord despite Tehran vowing to scrap uranium enrichment limits enshrined in the pact. We believe that this [nuclear] deal makes sense because it binds Iran into not developing any nuclear weapons. So we want this agreement to have a future, but it only has a future if it is adhered to and we expect this from Iran, Heiko Maas told reporters on arrival in Brussels for a European Union foreign ministers meeting. He added that a full investigation was needed into the causes of a Ukrainian airliner crash near Tehran, adding that the reasons for its plight could not be hidden under the table. Pompeo: US didnt know when, where Soleimani attacks would take place Pompeo has acknowledged that the US did not know precisely when or where attacks allegedly being planned by Soleimani would take place. There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qassem Soleimani, Pompeo said in a Fox News interview that aired on Thursday. We dont know precisely when, and we dont know precisely where, but it was real, he added. The Trump administration has come under fire for its decision to assassinate Soleimani without consulting Congress. The administration maintains it did not need to consult Congress before the strike because of the imminent threat US forces faced. Iran could have a nuclear weapon within 1-2 years: French minister Iran could have nuclear weapons in one to two years if the country carries on violating the 2015 nuclear accord, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. If they continue with unravelling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option, Le Drian said on RTL radio. Saudi defends US attack, condemns Iran Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir condemned Wednesdays missile attacks by Iran. We take issue with the violation of Iraqs sovereignty by Iran, al-Jubeir said on Friday during a news conference in Prague where he was on a routine diplomatic visit. Al-Jubeir reiterated the Saudi position, supporting the USs right to defend itself but called for calm in the region. We believe that there should be a way to avoid escalation because we believe escalation would be damaging to all parties and not just one or the other, he added. Al-Jubeir also made reference to the Iranian nuclear deal, saying it is flawed in its current form and that it should be amended. Iraqi PM tells US to decide mechanism for troop withdrawal Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told the US secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, according to a statement. In a phone call on Thursday night the Iraqi leader requested US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliaments resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq, the statement said. The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements, the statement added. Iraqi legislators passed a non-binding resolution to remove US troops following the US strike last Friday. European leaders to hold summit to save Iran deal European Union foreign ministers are set for a rare emergency meeting on Friday afternoon, hoping to guide the US and Iran away from confrontation. However, if it is proven that a Ukrainian airliner was this week downed by an Iranian missile, that will likely complicate matters again for the diplomats. On Monday, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell tweeted his regret at Irans recent decision to step away from more aspects of the nuclear deal, which, he said, was now more important than ever. Read more here. Two hours before a classified briefing on Iran, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, received an email from the Speaker of the Houses office. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was tapping four Democrats to question the White House about the surprise killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani the week before. She wanted Himes to be one of them, according to a source with knowledge of the exchange. In addition to Himes, a House Intelligence Committee member, Pelosi selected U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chair of the Intelligence Committee, Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and freshman Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who would lead the Houses War Powers Reforms Resolution, the source said. Pelosi handed Himes a moment to demonstrate his intelligence expertise and snag some leadership points in his caucus. Later, some of his Democratic colleagues would applaud Himess work at the microphone. I watched as one congressman slapped Himess back outside the House chamber Wednesday afternoon and told him Hey, you were great in there. Its a small anecdote, but a reminder that the public only sees half the play when it comes to the U.S. Congress, especially in matters of war and peace. As the fear and drama of an escalating military hostilities with Iran gripped the nation over the past week, many other storylines were unfolding behind closed doors. On Wednesday, all members of Congress participated in classified briefings on Iran with administration officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and others. When Himes took the mic, he directed his attention at Pompeo, he said. I asked what was the strategy, what is probability that it works, Himes said Wednesday. We dont get know most of the details of what was said in the briefing because, again, it was classified, like many issues of national security and war. But some Democratic and Republican members of Congress very publicly blasted the White House on Wednesday afternoon for presenting them with insufficient information in the briefing. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the briefing almost an insult to our intelligence on Twitter. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, slammed it as probably the worst briefing I have seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years Ive served in the United States Senate. He added it was un-American and unconstitutional, not to mention way too short. They had to leave after 75 minutes while theyre in the process of telling us that we need to be good little boys and girls and run along and not debate this in public, Lee said. I find that absolutely insane. Even as the Senate readies for an impeachment trial likely to start in the next week or two, war powers will probably remain another front for skirmish between the Congress and the President. The Senate may vote on one of a few resolutions including the Houses regarding Iran and presidential war powers. Between further media reporting and possible public debate, its likely the public will continue to learn in dribs and drabs more about the administrations strategy toward Iran and military advances in the Middle East. And by the way, there are some members of Congress who know more than others about Iran intelligence. U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, had a phone call with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Thursday. That gives Murphy an inside look into U.S.-Iraq relations, which could be better after the U.S. killed Soleimani on Iraqi soil and the Iraq parliament voted to expel U.S. troops from the nation. (Pompeo has said troops would remain.) But we dont know much more about the call because it, too, was classified. Another member with greater insight is Himes because of his role on the House Intelligence Committee. On Thursday morning, Himes had another classified briefing on Iran, he said. He also returned early from Connecticut on Monday to spend much of Tuesday locked behind closed doors, reviewing intelligence documents in the House Intelligence SCIF in the basement of the U.S. Capitol. I cant talk about a specific briefing or what was in it, but let me put it this way, Himes said Friday. Ive been deeply briefed on the material and I am far from convinced that the motivation for this attack on Soleimani was truly about an imminent attack [on U.S. interests]. In my opinion, he added, this was about deterrance. I think that the president realized he hadnt responded to the drone, he hadnt responded to the attack on the Saudi oil fields, and his people probably told him, this is going to get a lot worse if you dont have a response. So, my conclusion based on everything Ive seen is the imminence argument is very, very thin and that what was happening here was about deterrance. When we imagine Ned Kellys accent, we think of a bloke with a strong Irish brogue addressing his gang like the leader of a revolution. But hang on, wasnt Ned Kelly born in Australia? What was that, Ned? Ned Kelly fanatics disagree over what accent the bushranger had. Yes, his birthplace was the small town of Beveridge, 50 kilometres north of Melbourne. So perhaps we should be thinking of a country drawl, or a bogan twang. Its a hot topic among Kelly fanatics, and is set to fire up due to the release of the latest film inspired by the famous bushranger. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's assertion that the Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed over Iran Wednesday was hit by an Iranian missile. 'We do believe that it's likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile,' he told reporters at a White House briefing Friday. Pompeo said that the investigation was ongoing, so the U.S. hadn't come to a final conclusion. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that 'we do believe that it's likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile.' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that intelligence from 'multiple sources' suggested that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile Workers sift through the wreckage from the Ukrianian plane that crashed near Tehran on Wednesday 'And when we get the results of that investigation I am confident that we, and the world, will take appropriate actions,' Pompeo said. He told reporters in the White House briefing room that he had been in touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier Friday. He also said he'd been in touch with his Canadian counterpart. Of the 176 people on board who perished, at least 63 were Canadians. Thursday in Ottawa, Trudeau made public Canada's impression of what caused the fiery crash. 'We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,' Trudeau said. 'This may well have been unintentional.' The plane was downed in the hours following Iranian missile strikes on American bases in Iraq. Iran was firing missiles in retaliation for President Trump's decision to kill Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week in a drone strike. Ofelia Martinez, the director of clinical skills at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, was awarded a prestigious two-year fellowship by the National Board of Medical Examiners. Martinez, M.D., M.P.H., was one of only eight recipients of the inaugural Strategic Educators Enhancement Fund (SEEF) Medical Education Research Fellowship, selected from a nationwide pool of 52 applicants. "This is an honor not only for me, but for the medical school and everything we are achieving here," said Dr. Martinez. Dr. Martinez, one of the founding members of the school, oversees the longitudinal clinical skills curriculum, one of the cornerstones of the institution's educational philosophy. Her responsibility is the development, implementation, and assessment of the students' clinical skills which start for students when they don a white coat on their first day of their first year. Key to her job, Dr. Martinez says, are "the principles of humanistic doctoring" touted as a core tenet by the leadership of the school. This is a wonderful honor for Dr. Martinez and for the School of Medicine and Hackensack Meridian Health. There were over 50 applications and only eight persons were accepted. I am thrilled that she has been invited to serve and not at all surprised as she is an excellent educator and doctor." Bonita Stanton, M.D., Pediatrician and Founding Dean of the school Dr. Martinez was trained as an internist and pediatrician at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Prior to joining the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, she directed the New York Medical College Foundations of Clinical Medicine Program for First and Second Year Medical Students for five years and has served as the medical director for the Clinical Skills Training Center during the inaugural three years. She was a Global Health Fellow during residency, which she says trained her to care for patients in resource limited settings which further prepared her for diverse health care settings. Her passion for the underserved led students at New York Medical College to recruit her as faculty advisor for the recently established NYMC Center for Human Rights and the Community Outreach & Advocacy Coalition. The first chance for this inaugural SEEF Medical Education Research Fellowship research cohort to meet in-person will be at the NBME Invitational Conference for Educators (NICE) in Indianapolis, in June. The goal is to collaborate and share the best practices and ideas, resulting in the best doctors of the future, said Dr. Martinez. "This fellowship opportunity will let me apply my passion for valuing diversity in our patients, communities and learners to advance medical education here in New Jersey and beyond," said Dr. Martinez. Earlier last month, Airtel rolled out VoWiFi a.k.a Wi-Fi Calling in Delhi and gradually expanded to other cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. The company later officially launched the service and made it available in many cities. Now, Airtel has officially announced that its Wi-Fi Calling service is available across India and has crossed 1 million users. Airtel VoWiFi now works with non-Airtel broadband connection too and supports over 100 devices across 16 brands. The service is now available across India and the brands that support Airtel VoWiFi include Xiaomi, Samsung, OnePlus, Apple, Vivo, TECNO, SPICE, ITEL, Infinix, Mobiistar, CoolPad, Gionee, ASUS, Micromax, Xolo, and Panasonic. In related news, there is no official support for Jio Wi-Fi Calling on OnePlus smartphones, but you can check out our workaround guide to enable Jio VoWiFi on OnePlus smartphones. In case you missed, Airtel Wi-Fi Calling leverages cutting edge technology to enhance the indoor voice calling experience for Airtel smartphone customers. The innovative service uses Wi-Fi networks to create a dedicated channel for voice calls and allows customers to make high-quality calls to any network. This dramatically improves customer experience as one can seamlessly switch to Airtel Wi-Fi Calling. Furthermore, Airtel Wi-Fi Calling is a free service, does not require any app, and can be configured on the smartphone by following the steps mentioned below: Check smartphone compatibility on airtel.in/wifi-calling Upgrade device operating software to the latest version that supports Wi-Fi Calling Go to Settings on your mobile phone and Switch On Wi-Fi Calling Keep VoLTE switched on as well for a seamless experience Commenting on this, Randeep Sekhon, CTO Bharti Airtel said: We are delighted with the extremely positive customer response for Airtel Wi-Fi Calling. The technology has truly transformed the indoor network quality for Airtel mobile customers, particularly in high population density areas in urban markets. Airtel is also the first to make the service LIVE across India and our customers can use the feature on any Wi-Fi. You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person. Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else. (Natural News) Last month, Democrats fulfilled their campaign pledge to their perpetually angry, always deranged voting base: They officially impeached President Donald Trump, though he hasnt committed a single high crime or misdemeanor, as required by the Constitution. Though a couple of Democrats voted against the two articles, all Republicans voted against them, making Trumps the first true partisan, political impeachment in the history of our nation. One of the articles accused the president of abuse of power for allegedly demanding that the government of Ukraine investigate Democratic corruption and 2016 election tampering and collusion before they could receive military aid promised by Congress. But as noted by The National Sentinel, not only did the president not seek that quid pro quo, one of the Democrats impeachment witnesses U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland specifically said so under oath. On September 9, 2019 I asked the president: What do you want from Ukraine? The president responded, Nothing. There is no quid pro quo. The president repeated, No quid pro quo multiple times. This was a very short call. And I recall the president was in a bad mood, he testified. But its the second article of impeachment that is particularly galling: Democrats have also accused the president of obstructing Congress because he refused to provide administration officials as witnesses to the inquiry. Mind you, the president as head of the Executive Branch has constitutional rights and authorities too. Executive privilege is a real thing, and if he asserts that (like most every president before him in the modern era), hes allowed to do so. Democrats obviously dont see it that way, which is by choice because Obama asserted it all the time, especially after Republicans took control over one, then both, chambers. But heres the thing. Per the Constitution, once articles of impeachment have been returned by a majority House vote, they are to be transmitted to the Senate where the president stands trial. Yet, as of this writing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has never transmitted the articles to the Senate, despite demands for her to do so. What a gargantuan hypocrite This week, pressure mounted for her to finally act and much of that pressure was coming from members of her own party. On Thursday, Pelosi said she wont hold the impeachment articles from the Senate indefinitely and will send the articles when she is ready. And that will probably be soon, Breitbart News reported. The last time we checked the Senate was part of the Legislative Branch; isnt Pelosi doing the same thing she and her party have accused Trump of doing, obstructing Congress? (Related: Dems, mainstream media rush to convict Trump of impeachable offense involving Ukraine but ignore 1999 treaty REQUIRING cooperation in criminal matters.) The Constitution does not provide a timeline for when articles must be transmitted to the Senate, most constitutional scholars believe the founders, when they wrote the provision, understood that it would be done immediately after the vote. And throughout our history, the few times impeachment and trial have occurred, thats been the case: Immediate transmittal of the articles to the Senate. Not this time, though. Pelosi, playing political games as usual, shocked everyone after the vote December 19 when she said she had no intentions of actually sending the articles to the Senate until she was assured of a fair trial. Republicans and constitutional scholars pounced on that, noting correctly that she is leader of the House, not the Senate, and that per our founding document, the Senate makes the rules for the impeachment trial, not the lower chamber. Not Nancy Pelosi. The hypocrisy is thick. By failing to immediately send over the articles of impeachment against Trump, Pelosi is obstructing Congress in the way she claims the president has done. The difference is, Trump hasntand she really has. Sources include: Breitbart.com TheNationalSentinel.com 20 People, Including UN Peacekeepers, Reportedly Injured in Rocket Attack on Military Base in Mali Sputnik News 12:53 09.01.2020(updated 13:57 09.01.2020) The UN peacekeeping mission was established in northern Mali in 2013 following a Tuareg uprising, seeking independence for the northern portion of the country. Around 20 people, including 18 UN peacekeepers have reportedly been wounded in a rocket attack on a military base in northern Mali, according to a statement by UN mission spokesman Olivier Salgado. The rocket attack reportedly targeted a military base housing UN, French, and Malian forces. The base is located in the town of Tessalit in the Kidal region, Salgado revealed to Reuters. Six peacekeepers were "seriously" wounded, according to the UN spokesman. The source of the rocket, as well as the number of casualties, has not been confirmed by Mali's authorities yet. Last January, 10 UN peacekeepers were killed by a terrorist attack targeting the MINUSMA camp in Aguelhok, also in the Kidal region. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established in 2013 following serious protests against the Malian government. The Kidal region has been under the control of Tuareg rebels since 2012, who are seeking the independence of northern Mali. MINUSMA has over 13,000 troops in Mali to contain violence caused by various armed groups, including jihadists linked to the terrorist groups Daesh* and al-Qaeda*. *Daesh and al-Qaeda are terrorist groups banned in Russia and a number of other countries Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A total of seven human skeletons have been found at a local house in the southern Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh after two others had been discovered in the yard of another, with one house owner claiming her late husband had bought them many years ago. According to preliminary information, Dinh Van Phong, a resident in Phuoc Thanh Commune, Go Dau District, burned garbage in his yard, located behind a rubber tree plantation, on Wednesday afternoon. The next morning, Phong returned to the burn site and noticed a suitcase containing two human skeletons, at which point he chose to call police. Police officers examine the skeletons in Tay Ninh Province on January 9, 2020. Photo: Tuoi Tre Contributor After Phongs notification, local authorities initiated an investigation and eventually happened on seven other similar skeletons being stored inside plastic bags at the home of Cao Thi Cam Van, Phongs neighbor. During a working session with police officers, Van, 63, stated that her husband, Dinh Van Xuong, who had passed away 11 months ago, had bought the skeletons approximately five or six years prior. Van said Xuong had told her somebody wanted to buy a skeleton for VND100 million (US$4,300), so he decided to purchase several skeletons with the intention of reselling them. The woman, however, does not know from whom and how much Xuong bought the skeletons. The house of Cao Thi Cam Van where seven skeletons were found on January 9, 2020. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Prior to his passing, Xuong told Van where he had been keeping the skeletons, so that she could sell them if anyone wanted to buy. Van asserted that she had only found two skeletons and had no idea about the other seven. About four months ago, she decided to get rid of the two skeletons by throwing them into an empty pond near Phongs house. A police investigation into the case is ongoing. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! When a wife loses her husband, she is called a widow. When a child loses his/her parents, he/she is called an orphan. But what do you call a parent who has lost his/her child? English has no word for it, perhaps because the pain is so unimaginable, there is no word that can describe it. Unfortunately, Iwi Wilaiwan Triton is now that parent. Her 2-year-old son was shot dead in the head during an armed robbery in a gold store that took place in Lop buri, Thailand on Thursday night, 9 January 2020. She had recently shared a heartbreaking post on her Facebook page over the loss of her child. Mum Shares Grief Through Facebook Post I never thought that this kind of event would happen to myself, Triton wrote. She apologised for failing to protect their little angel and expressed how she and her husband are almost suffocating from their loss. She hopes that he would not suffer such a tragic fate in his next life. The post has since gone viral, with over 104,000 shares. Many Facebook users sending their condolences to the parents in their comments. Sharing Memories of Their Little Angel In the same post, the mum shared moments shared with her little one. Photo: Iwi Wilaiwan Triton / Facebook A trip to the aquarium, a walk at the park, amongst other day to day moments, while the family brimmed with joy and laughter. Photo: Iwi Wilaiwan Triton / Facebook She also wrote that she loves her little angel very much and hopes he rests peacefully. Photo: Iwi Wilaiwan Triton / Facebook Thailand Armed Robbery: 2-Year-Old Sustained Injuries, Dies The boy had walked past an Aurora gold shop inside the Robinson shopping mall with his mother, only to be confronted with a gold robber. Clad with a full-face woollen balaclava, black shirt and camouflage trousers, the robber started shooting people as soon as he arrived into the store. Story continues thailand armed robbery Robber jumps across the counter as he snatched three trays of gold necklaces worth about 500,000 baht, reported the Bangkok post. | Photo: Screengrab from Mcot TV After being shot in the head, the 2-year-old landed in a local hospital and eventually died from the injuries sustained. Two others also lost their lives from the shooting, including a security guard. The unidentified man fled the scene in his motorcycle after causing many casualties. thailand armed robbery The aftermath of the shooting. | Photo: Saraburi / FB Source: Bangkok Post Also READ: A Complete Guide to 24-hour Clinics in Singapore The post Mum Shares Grief After 2 Year Old Boy Dies From Thailand Store Armed Robbery appeared first on theAsianparent - Your Guide to Pregnancy, Baby & Raising Kids. January 10, 2020 by Sarah Wild - Undark Magazine Ten years ago, it wasnt possible for most people to use 3D technology to print authentic copies of human bones. Today, using a 3D printer and digital scans of actual bones, it is possible to create unlimited numbers of replica bones each curve and break and tiny imperfection intact relatively inexpensively. The technology is increasingly allowing researchers to build repositories of bone data, which they can use to improve medical procedures, map how humans have evolved, and even help show a courtroom how someone died. But the proliferation of faux bones also poses an ethical dilemma and one that, prior to the advent of accessible 3D printing, was mostly limited to museum collections containing skeletons of dubious provenance. Laws governing how real human remains of any kind may be obtained and used for research, after all as well as whether individuals can buy and sell such remains are already uneven worldwide. Add to that the new ability to traffic in digital data representing these remains, and the ethical minefield becomes infinitely more fraught. When someone downloads these skulls and reconstructs them, says Ericka LAbbe, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, it becomes their data, their property. Digital bone repositories already exist around the world, and while viewing those bones in a computer environment is often an option, most such repositories keep the underlying data which could be used to print new, physical bone replicas private. The repositories that do make the data open access typically only include human remains that are older than 100 years because of the legal issues surrounding the potential to identify a person from their remains, as well as the value of the data their remains might yield. Such are the vagaries now facing LAbbe and her colleagues, who launched a project called Bakeng se Afrika, or For Africa, in 2018. It is a collaboration with local and international partners to digitize about 700 recent, identified skeletons from university collections around South Africa. The scans will go in a single repository, and it is hoped that research arising from the new database will have immediate social applications. For instance, LAbbe works with police to help identify people whose bodies are discovered in Gauteng province in South Africa, which is home to the countrys administrative and economic capitals, Pretoria and Johannesburg, respectively. More than 20,000 people are murdered in the country each year, with a disproportionate number in Gauteng. The team hopes to share their data with researchers from other institutions in different countries, but they will need to resolve the ethical and legal concerns before their digital repository goes live. Sorting out whats right and whats wrong, LAbbe concedes, wont be easy: What are the ethics, she asks, behind printing a bone and using it? Skeletons are fundamental tools for teaching anatomy, as well as researching human diversity. Understanding human variation can also help a variety of researchers and clinicians. In addition to forensic science, for instance, dentists can use data about cranial variation to improve the fit of dental implants; plastic surgeons can review studies of the average ear or nose for specific populations to help reconstruct a face after an injury; researchers can create databases to study bone abnormalities; and prosecutors have used prints of human bones in courts to illustrate how a person died. Digital databases which may have just a small number of bones from a private institution or as many as hundreds in larger collections advance the relevant fields even more. And with the evolution of new scanning and viewing technologies, researchers are able to look inside bone images and manipulate them in ways that would not be possible with the real thing. Bone-scanning technology may also preserve remains for future generations, allowing researchers to avoid physical wear and tear on the originals. And for researchers in many developing countries, digital scans may be the only opportunity to research skeletal collections, as working on specimens in person is often limited by funding constraints. But these repositories come with loaded ethical questions that have often kept access to human-skeletal data under lock and key. LAbbes South African project isnt the first to grapple with these issues, but the creators of other repositories havent managed to devise universal solutions. Digitized Diseases, a collaboration between the University of Bradford, the Museum of London Archaeology, and the Royal College of Surgeons of England is one such database that launched in 2013 and showcases the variety of bone pathologies that can manifest in the human skeleton. But the collaboration had to suspend downloads from its repository after curators discovered that someone had downloaded a skeletal model and uploaded it into a publicly-available online 3D software platform divorced from its original context. It is hard to police, says Andrew Wilson, principal investigator on Digitized Diseases and a senior lecturer in forensic and archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford. We have a real dilemma there. We want it to be open and freely available for education and research. That was the wish of our partners and funders. When the project launched, 3D imaging software and 3D printers werent as common as they are now, Wilson adds. These technological developments have made the team wary of posting additional downloadable data. Moving forward, Wilson says the company plans host their data directly on that same publicly-available online 3D software platform themselves and link directly back to Digitized Diseases, in order to retain a degree of visibility of the resource that people can link back to. Duke Universitys MorphoSource, an online library of skeletons where researchers can share data, avoids some ethical dilemmas by only containing human skeletons when all of the consent documentation is in place. And MorphoSource curators dont upload data themselves: They oversee the infrastructure that allows any researcher or museum curator to upload and share data, or to simply use the site as an archive for private data. Bioarchaeological remains, which are older than 100 years, are explicitly not made publicly available, says Julie Winchester, co-director the project. A member of the public will not be able to find them in a search of the site. We would additionally not allow the publishing of any human remains (regardless of age) that could be identified to an individual or whose relatives could be identified. Meanwhile, John Kappelman, an anthropologist at the University of Texas at Austin, has set up numerous sites where it is possible to view human remains, such as eanthro.org and eskeletons.org. But none of it is available for download. Kappelman says his team has no idea or any way to find out the identities of the original skeletons. Most of what we have here, its been here for pushing on 100 years, he says, so I dont have any good provenance on that. Like Wilson, Kappelman says he is unsure how one would manage those who abuse online repositories: I dont think there is any perfect way to police it, same as any kind of hacking. Keeping data safe is something the South African team will have to navigate. LAbbe says that the new South African digital repository, for which her team received $1.1 million at the beginning of 2019, will serve as research infrastructure. The collaboration includes Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University and Stellenbosch University, both in South Africa, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, the University of Bordeaux in France, the University of Coimbra in Portugal, and K.U. Leuven in Belgium. Initially, the new digital collection will include three types of bones most commonly used in research and forensics bones from the forearm (radii), the thigh (femurs), and skulls from identified cadavers of colored, black, and white South Africans. (Colored is one of four officially recognized racial groups in the country put in place during apartheid along with black, white, and Asian/Indian.) The team plans to scan more people and bone types as the project progresses. But creating the database will be slow going. It can take a full weekend to capture a single adult cranium using the groups scanning equipment, called a micro-CT. While the database will widen the access to the bone collection, it may also erode restrictions on how the bones are used. In order to access real human bones, researchers in South Africa require ethical clearance from their institution, but scientists from other countries do not. Researchers will have to follow the same procedures to access the digital repository, which will be housed and backed up on servers at the University of Pretoria. But once the data are downloaded, the original curators cede control. Researchers who work in countries with less stringent ethical reviews could then use the skull images in research that is considered unethical in South Africa. One example is race science, which is premised upon the scientifically-invalidated idea that humans can be broken into distinct racial categories, and that these differences can be measured. Race science is a sore topic in South Africa, where it underpinned the policy of apartheid, in which a persons race determined where they lived, their employment, and who they could marry. In general, race science is deemed a morally and scientifically unacceptable area of study in South Africa. Still, while plenty of evidence counters the core claims of race science, the field has resurged in recent years, which worries LAbbe: What if someone prints 20 skulls of people from South Africa 20 skulls of black people? She also worries that someone could take data from the repository, print copies of a persons skull, and sell it. In South Africa, we need to have an ethics constitution, so they cant download it and sell it, she says. The National Health Act which lays out the rules for the countrys public health system doesnt touch on what you do with an image of something. The issue extends beyond South Africa. There is no way to enforce any countrys legal and ethical framework on researchers in other countries. And the laws on human remains are uneven. In the United States, for example, the only federal law regulating the sale and ownership of human remains is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which has criminal penalties for trafficking in Native American remains. A first-time offender can face a fine of up to $100,000 and a one-year jail sentence. But many U.S. states allow commerce in other human remains, thanks in part to a major shortfall in American legislation: There is no law articulating whether human remains are people or objects. Meanwhile, in South Africa and the United Kingdom, researchers require special dispensation to work on recently deceased human remains, according to the National Health Act and Human Tissue Act, respectively. There is also a distinction between recent human remains, which fall under laws governing forensics, and older remains, which are regulated by archaeological heritage laws. Despite the legal variations, countries have a long history of transporting human biological material across borders, whether it is blood for research or bodies for repatriation. Digital copies, on the other hand, are difficult to regulate because they dont have to go through official channels and could be emailed to anyone anywhere in the world. For a digital image, even if you ask conditions to be met, it is out there, says Francisca Alves Cardoso, a biological anthropologist at the Center for Research Network in Anthropology in Lisbon, Portugal, who is investigating the ethics surrounding printed human bones. You are not able to control it. Digitized databases of human remains, or artifacts made from those remains, have potential ethical problems beyond data access: The databases potential source materials may have complicated pasts. Scientists have been using and replicating human skeletons, faces, and bodies for hundreds of years, including resin castings, which were popular in the 19th century. But throughout this history, the question of consent has plagued the fields that most commonly use such replications of human remains, including anthropology, archaeology, and medical science. Consent is one of the cornerstones of biomedical ethics, and affects any field that works with human remains. The issue is particularly prominent in South Africa, where science and anthropology in particular has a history of unethically representing people and their remains. And today, South African curators are unsure of what to do with several types of relevant artifacts, including life and death masks, which are plaster casts made of peoples faces that were once used to show physical differences between races. Some of these masks are on display in the Wits University Hunterian Museum in Johannesburg, although parts of the collection, including the death masks, are in a restricted area accessible only to medical students and museum staff. Some of the casts came from unidentified bodies in the Johannesburg mortuary, without the necessary ethical clearance. It is possible that family members could, in fact, recognize lost loved ones in these casts. Other examples include the Bushman lifecasts, once thought to typify the countrys first inhabitants, which have been in storage at Cape Towns South African Museum since the early 2000s, after an outcry that the casts reinforced racist stereotypes and impugned the dignity of this group of people. The term Bushmen has a fraught history and is sometimes considered a pejorative, but there is no other collective name for the diverse tribes that make up the regions first people. Other remains from these early tribes have similarly difficult pasts. It took years for South Africa to reclaim and inter the remains of Sarah Baartman, a young Bushman woman whose body was displayed as a curiosity in Europe in the early 19th century both in life and death because it allegedly typified a Bushmans physique. Baartman, who became known as the Hottentot Venus, traveled Europe as a stage curiosity in part because of her large buttocks. When she died in 1815, her manager, without her prior consent, sold her body to scientists at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Until the 1970s, the museum displayed a cast of her body, skeleton, and preserved brain and genitals. There is also great sensitivity in South Africa, given its history of race science, around the provenance of skeletal collections. While the 700 skeletons earmarked for digitization in LAbbes project are from identified people, the country's museums have many skeletons of unclear or dubious origins. Today, some institutions are working to correct these past errors. The University of Cape Town, for example, is identifying pieces from its skeletal collections that were not collected ethically and negotiating with the respective communities to repatriate the remains. But repatriation takes time, and even if some researchers are trying to remedy past mistakes, it isnt clear what will happen if the remains are scanned in the meantime. What if someone wants to 3D scan Bushman remains from the McGregor Museum? LAbbe asks. The museum has acknowledged that some of the skeletons in its collection may have been unethically obtained. What does it mean if you print a skull of someone who was classified as Bushman? LAbbe adds. What will someone do with that print? What will the community think? And the issue of data possession leads to questions of ownership and power. Who owns the right to print which bones? asks Brenna Hassett, an archaeologist at University College London in the U.K. Is it even possible to own the rights to part of a person? What happens, for example, if people build a business around selling 3D models of a leg from a skeleton that was freely available online. And then later, those people find that skeleton should not have been published in the first place, because it was stolen from a cultural group with deep sensitivities to the representation of the dead? Hassett wrote by email. Where would they stand? At the heart of this issue is whether the underlying data and the resulting images are the same as human bone. According to research from Cardoso and Vanessa Campanacho, a bioanthropologist at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, many researchers, often from Western countries, argue that the data and source material are distinct that a print of a bone is not human biological material, although the latter should still be treated with respect. But other groups, including aboriginal communities and indigenous groups, strongly disagree, and consider data and replicas to be part of the deceased individuals personhood. Meanwhile, researchers have been digging into the abilities and limitations of 3D scanning technology, as well as discussing the possibility of a digital database of skeletons that would be open-access and available to anyone. But while there is much focus on the potential of the technology, says Priscilla Ulguim, a bioarchaeologist at Teesside University in the U.K., most of the research has bypassed ethical questions. How we share these 3D models and how we communicate is just as important as the technology were using to create them, Ulguim adds. For example, in a 2018 paper published in Archaeologies, the authors point to a 2015 study that showed it was possible to create high-resolution models of Native American remains prior to repatriation, and also ignored arguably the more pertinent question of whether these digital data [should] be created and stored. Other researchers are exploring how society feels about 3D printed human remains. Im often told the general public thinks this, says this, but then there is no communication, says Campanacho. We dont know what the general public thinks. Campanacho is also working with Cardoso to investigate attitudes in Portugal and the U.S. via online surveys and social media. In Portugal, where the team has so far received about 310 responses, the majority would be okay having their own skeletons and those of their family members digitized after death, but there may be some conditions, Campanacho says. Respondents, she says, also seem positive about the creation and sharing of 3D digital models. In a study of attitudes in the U.S. toward 3D bone replicas, the team says their preliminary data which includes about 230 participants suggests that many people would be happy to have their remains digitized and printed, with one exception. Regarding Native American human remains, the response was negative, Campanacho says. Respondents felt these remains should never, under any condition, be 3D digitized. As is often the case with fast-moving technology, the law, ethical standards, and research practices havent had time to catch up with 3D printed human remains. While LAbbe fears that her teams new digital repository could open the door for illicit or unsavory commercial endeavors, how her team addresses the ethical dilemmas in South Africa may show one possible path forward. Still, the answer in South Africa wont necessarily translate to other skeletal collections across the world. The circumstances of each skeletal collection are very different, says Gwen Robbins Schug, a professor of anthropology at Appalachian State University. People create and share models for such a variety of reasons that it would be difficult to make a blanket statement about what is and what is not ethical. The ethical considerations will also differ between communities and countries. But the advantages of sharing information including bone data between countries are significant. Many of the researchers involved in the work so far are acutely aware that dealing with human remains, or even the data derived from human remains, comes with a heavy responsibility. We always have to treat human remains with respect, says Ulguim. They are individuals, people. They are someones mother, someones father. One idea for ensuring consistency for dealing with digitized remains is forming a consensus set of ethical guidelines. Such guidelines are still some way off, but researchers at the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology have made a start by drafting rules they consider essential. And a resolution on digital bioarchaeological ethics, adopted by the Eighth World Archaeological Congress in 2016, lays out suggestions for how to deal with digital collections. For new remains, one important step would be to include digitization on consent forms for people who want to donate their bodies to science. But that isnt possible if the human remains are older. For Ulguim, context is vital. Sometimes it is not possible to engage with relatives or communities because researchers dont know who they are, she says. In this case, the best thing to do is to contextualize the research and try to account for the lack of consent. Talk about your site, how you find it, the associated materials, give context about what youve found in your research. Whether the data is of the recently deceased or a body that is centuries old, researchers require a strong rationale for wanting access to digital repositories of human remains or being able to print the bones, something which would be determined on a case-by-case basis. Why would you want a skeleton of a person, a replica of a real person in your house to hang hats or coats on? asks David Errickson, a forensic archaeologist and anthropologist at Cranfield University in the U.K. There has to be a real scientific reason. I think it comes down to justification. Why are you doing what youre doing? Do you have permission to do this? Curators of repositories should require more control over the datasets, Errickson suggests, not like Big Brother, but some kind of data string, a chain of custody like we would have in forensics. This is MorphoSources solution. The library allows researchers to track who views and downloads their data. Researchers have complete control over the data, and the onus is on them to ensure that they have the ethical permissions to publish it. We encourage the contributor to set access levels such that they feel comfortable with the risks incurred, says founder Doug Boyer, an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke. If theyre publishing datasets, he adds, it means theyre taking on the risks that someone may use the data for something they were not intending it be used for. For LAbbe, her work wrangling with the ethics of the digital repository is just beginning. In South Africa, this is a nascent field with little written on the subject, so she is building the repositorys constitution from scratch. Her own research will have to wait, she says with a sigh, since the constitution will take time to complete: Ill spend the next year writing it. This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article. Bonchon delivered on its aggressive U.S. expansion plan in 2019 with the addition of 18 new locations. Their signature chicken and Korean-fusion fare can now be found in 21 states in the U.S. and six countries around the world. The popular restaurant's coast to coast expansion signifies a 20% growth rate making it one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the U.S. The growth continues in 2020 as the brand has already opened its first restaurant of the new year and plans to match or exceed the 20% growth target for the year. Bonchon is well on its way to reaching the five-year goal of 500 domestic restaurants and 1,000 total restaurants around the world. VIG Partners acquired a majority interest in Bonchon in December of 2018 fueling the brand's expansion including the appointment of industry veteran Flynn Dekker as Bonchon CEO. Tasked with aggressively growing Bonchon, Dekker has implemented a series of strategic enhancements including supply chain development, technology improvements, marketing initiatives, and the formation of an executive team comprised of industry veterans focused on building on the brands track record of success over its first decade and a half. "Bonchon's U.S. debut was on the east coast, so it seems only fitting that we celebrate our one hundredth store milestone on the west coast, reflecting the growth of our brand and the success of our franchise partners," said Flynn Dekker. "Bonchon's authentic Korean take on fried chicken has resonated with consumers both domestically and internationally. We are excited to continue to share our delicious version of comfort food with new communities across the U.S. and around the world as we continue our rapid expansion." Bonchon prides itself on its hand breaded, double-fried chicken and proprietary sauces crafted in the Bonchon global kitchen in Busan, South Korea. The made to order Korean fried chicken has made the restaurant chain one of the most revered in the U.S. and internationally. The fine-casual dining restaurant also features a full menu of Korean fusion cuisine like Bibimbap, Japchae, Bulgogi, and more. To learn more about Bonchon, visit bonchon.com, and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @bonchonchicken ABOUT BONCHON: Founded in South Korea in 2002 by Jinduk Seo and established in the United States in 2006, Bonchon, Korean for 'my hometown,' currently has 101 U.S. restaurants in operation with franchise outposts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Bonchon has over 350 locations worldwide including Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Bonchon was recognized by Business Insider in 2019 as "the gold standard for fried chicken" beating out five major restaurant chains as "best chicken wings." The traditional sit-down restaurant provides a friendly, fine casual experience great for dining with family and friends. For the ultimate convenience, Bonchon fried chicken is just as enjoyable at home, and most restaurants also offer take-out and delivery services. SOURCE Bonchon Related Links https://bonchon.com The ongoing nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) are showing no signs of slowing down and if anything it is only gaining momentum by each passing day. More and more people across the country are coming out on the streets every day to oppose the polarizing legislation. Friday was no different. The day saw several 'Tiranga marches' across the country against the law passed by the parliament in December. In Delhi, thousands of protesters took part in the Tiranga rally which began from the Jafrabad Eidgah to Seelampur. In the national capital, there was a huge anti-CAA NRC gathering outside Delhi's Jama Masjid after the Friday Protesters carried placards one of them read Save Constitution, save countryCAA NRC Rejected. In Shaheen Bagh too where the protests have been going on for nearly a month, thousands gathered on Friday and staged peaceful protests. However, the biggest anti-CAA protests on Friday took place in Hyderabad. The rally that started from Mir Alam, Eidgah was called by the United Muslim Action Committee comprising various Muslim groups and headed by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Wow!! HYDERABAD. Anti CAA protests. Look at the sheer number of national flags. This is what real patriots can do and RSS can never do. #TirangaRally pic.twitter.com/08Z3sjO0s7 Arun Gandhi INC (@SpiritOfCongres) January 10, 2020 It saw the participation of people from all sections of society The participants were seen singing the National Anthem, chanting Azadi slogans, and Dil Diya Hain, Jaan Bhi Denge songs, as they marched through the streets, braving the midday heat. Similar rallies with the national flag were also held in other cities like Kolkata, Jaipur, Pune, and Bengaluru. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi was in Varanasi for an anti-CAA protest and also met with students of Banaras Hindu University and civil society members. Little Neshaminy Creek is one of several local waterways that has been contaminated by PFAS. Area drinking water is clean and treated for PFAS, but cleaning up environmental contamination remains a challenge. Read more The House of Representatives on Friday passed a sweeping package of measures that would establish federal regulations for the toxic, persistent chemicals known as PFAS and compel the cleanup of contaminated areas. President Donald Trumps administration threatened this week to veto the bill if it passes the House and Senate, saying the legislation would bypass regulatory processes and impose unnecessary costs on the Environmental Protection Agency and other departments. The bill contains measures that were nixed from other legislation passed in December after an impasse between Republican and Democratic leaders, and that would be a major step in addressing a pressing environmental issue. An estimated 1,400 communities including some in Bucks and Montgomery Counties and more than 300 military bases nationwide have some PFAS contamination, lawmakers said Thursday. As many as 100 million Americans could have drinking water affected by PFAS, the Environmental Working Group estimated. The EPA is not going to take care of this problem. Congress needs to act, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D., Mich.) told colleagues on the House floor Friday morning. The longer we wait, the worse the contamination becomes. The legislation would set our country on track to effectively begin to confront this PFAS contamination crisis, Rep. Andy Levin (D., Mich.) said on Thursday. The legislation reflects 3 years of growing anxiety in communities from Pennsylvania to Michigan to California, growing research about the potential health effects of the chemicals, and growing agitation by lawmakers to add the chemicals to federal regulatory and cleanup programs. I now urge the Senate to quickly vote on this bill, said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.), one of the Philadelphia-area lawmakers who contributed to the bill. Its time we rectify this ongoing crisis. After passing with 247 votes, including those of 24 Republicans, the legislation now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are murky. Lawmakers on the Houses PFAS Task Force, which is cochaired by Bucks County Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, tried to pass many of the measures in the latest defense spending bill, but several opposed by Republicans were stripped out before that bill passed as negotiations fell apart. They said Thursday that they were working with senators, and that Republicans on the PFAS Task Force were trying to help bring counterparts in the Senate on board. If theyre willing to act, were willing to work with them, Rep. Dan Kildee (D., Mich.) said of Senate Republicans. The EPA is researching and monitoring PFAS and developing some guidelines, all processes that began in February or earlier and are not complete. The EPA had pledged to take the next step in creating a drinking water regulation by the end of 2019, but failed to do so. For the first time in agency history, we utilized all of our program offices to construct an all-encompassing plan to help states and local communities address PFAS and protect our nations drinking water, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said this week. The bill would designate two common types of PFAS as hazardous substances, require the EPA to establish drinking water regulations for them under the Safe Drinking Water Act, add them to the Toxic Release Inventory, and list them as hazardous air pollutants. It would also require polluters to clean up PFAS contamination under the Superfund law, provide for some monitoring, testing, and funding, prohibit burning PFAS for disposal, and minimize the use of firefighting foam and other equipment containing the chemicals. New Jersey Democrat Andy Kim, whose House district includes Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, said he often gets questions from community members concerned about the chemicals. I think about my neighbors, I think about my two baby boys and what kind of water theyre drinking, and whether or not its going to be safe, Kim said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:57:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Caretaker Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by phone the recent the U.S.-Iran conflict in Iraq and the need to prevent escalation leads to open war, the Iraqi government said Friday. "Iraq rejected and rejects all operations that violate its sovereignty, including the recent operation that targeted Ayn al-Asad and Erbil," Abdul Mahdi told Pompeo who made the phone call late Thursday night, according to a statement issued by Abdul Mahdi's media office. "Iraq is exerting efforts and is contacting all parties to avoid turning Iraq into a battlefield," he said. The Iraqi caretaker prime minister also asked Pompeo "to send delegates to Iraq to lay down mechanisms for implementing the Iraqi parliament resolution to withdraw (foreign) forces safely from Iraq." "There are American forces entering Iraq and American drones flying in its sky without permission from the Iraqi government," Abdul Mahdi noted. For his part, Pompeo promised to follow up on Iraq's concerns while affirming his country's respect for the sovereignty of Iraq. The phone call came amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States on the Iraqi soil, which began late in December when a rocket barrage hit K1 military camp housing U.S. troops in Kirkuk Province, leaving a U.S. contractor killed. The attack prompted the U.S. forces to launch airstrikes on the Iran-backed Shiite militia of Kata'ib Hezbollah in western Iraq, leaving 25 killed and 51 injured. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone attacked a convoy near Baghdad International Airport, killing Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. Two day later, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq and prevent them from using Iraqi airspace and waters. Early on Wednesday, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq's western province of Anbar and near the city of Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. More than 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against Islamic State militants. With at least 40 other governors already agreeing to allow refugees to settle in their states this year, Gov. Greg Abbotts decision Friday to bar them from Texas in 2020 is both shocking and incomprehensible. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abbott conflated concerns over illegal immigration with the pressing needs of refugees, who have a legal right to seek asylum in the United States. He told Pompeo that the broken federal immigration system means that Texas is already over-taxed with dealing with unwelcome migrants. In May 2019, for example, around 100,000 migrants were apprehended crossing this states southern border, Abbott wrote. In June 2019, individuals from 52 different countries were apprehended here. And in FY2018, the apprehensions included citizens from disparate countries like China, Iran, Kenya, Russia and Tonga. Texas continues to have to deal with the consequences of an immigration system that Congress has failed to fix. But Abbott should know better. Asylum-seekers and refugees are some of the most heavily vetted individuals to seek a home in the United States. As he noted, Texas has long been a leader in welcoming refugees. In fact, in recent years, more refugees have resettled in Houston and Texas than any other city or state in the country. On HoustonChronicle.com: Editorial: Texas should welcome refugees Instead of continuing that proud tradition, Abbott has cut it short leaving men, women and children, coming from places where they fear for their lives, shut out of a state that might well have instead offered them shelter and a fresh start. His decision also deprives cities like Houston of the new residents who might have helped our city grow and prosper, as so many refugees in the past have. Thats why leaders of all Texas biggest cites including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin had already provided their consent letters. Now, however, those agreements have been essentially vetoed by Abbotts decision to keep Texas out of the program. Abbotts letter is in response to a Trump administration mandate issued in September 2019 that requires states and local governments to opt into the resettlement program. Refugees previously had been placed by the federal government in cooperation with local aid groups. We argued recently that the administrations change to allow states to opt out was a sign of respect for state leaders. Most states, and especially ones with such a long and successful relationship with refugees, would understand both the value and the humanitarian need to remain in the program. Were deeply disappointed Abbott has decided otherwise. In his letter, Abbott acknowledged Texas long history in welcoming refugees, and notes the obvious reality that refugees who settle in other states will be permitted to move to Texas if they please. Any help refugees already here are receiving will continue, he wrote. But he then wades into familiar complaints about border security and the nations broken immigration system. Hes forgotten that America has long accepted refugees because its morally imperative that we do so. By definition, they are in need and in danger and they are scrupulously vetted for security risks. Plenty of his fellow Republican governors avoided that trap, keeping the politics over illegal immigration out of the question of whether their states would welcome newcomers in such need. More than a dozen GOP governors have opted into the program. In addition, many faith groups, including Catholic Charities and other Christian ministries, have lobbied for keeping the program as part of their effort to serve those fleeing violence, persecution and war. That also has been a mission of the Texas and the United States. How sad it is that our governor has failed to see that. Shikhar Dhawan roared back to form with a muscular half-century in company of a sublime KL Rahul as India posted a competitive 201 for 6 against Sri Lanka despite a middle-order collapse in the third T20 International here on Friday. Dhawan, who has been under pressure for some time smashed 52 off 36 balls (7x4; 1x6) in his 97-run opening stand with the in-form Rahul (54 off 36 balls, 5x4;1x6). However, the hosts suffered a middle-order collapse with Sri Lankan wrist spinners Wanidu Hasaranga (1-27) and chinaman Lakshan Sandakan (3-35) spun their web around the batsmen on a flat track. But Manish Pandey, playing his first game of the tournament, hit an unbeaten 31 off 18 balls and Shardul Thakur once again revelled as a lower-order pinch-hitter (22 not out off 8 balls; 1x4, 2x6) to ensure that the hosts crossed 200-run mark. Rahul set the tone playing a cut shot off rival skipper Lasith Malinga for his first boundary. Dhawan got an early 'life', when Dasun Shanaka dropped one at deep square leg. Rahul, then hit two consecutive boundaries, both drives, off Angelo Mathews as India raced to 22/0. The visitors introduced off-spinner Dhananjaya De Silva in the fourth over, but Dhawan welcomed him with a four over long-on. Rahul then dispatched a Silva full-toss over long leg for a maximum as India amassed 13 runs in it. Dhawan changed his gears as he hammered two boundaries in fifth over as India reached team total of 50. Making optimum use of the life, Dhawan smashed back-to-back fours, slashing one over backward point and another through extra cover off pacer Lahiru Kumara. The duo was coasting along well as India after 9 overs were 82/0. After two quiet overs, Dhawan smashed Hasaranga over deep mid-wicket for a six. Soon after completing his 10th T20I fifty, Dhawan perished after giving a sitter to Dhanushka Gunathilika off Sandakan at deep mid-wicket. However his innings certainly will make Virat Kohli's choice of Rohit Sharma's partner difficult for the upcoming Australia series. Sanju Samson (6) got his much-awaited chance as he was promoted at No 3 and smashed a six on the first ball but was trapped in the front by Hasaranga as India slumped to 106/2. Sandakan then pegged back the hosts by removing Rahul and Shreyas Iyer (4) in the 13th over as the hosts were in spot of bother at 122/4. While Rahul was stumped, Shreyas gave a return return catch to Sandakan. However, then skipper Kohli (26 off 17 balls, 2x4; 1x6) and Pandey tried to rally the innings before Kohli and Washington Sundar (0) were dismissed in the 18th over. But Shardul's slogging got India past par-score mark. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHICAGO, Illinois Residents in Chicago have been rattled after two people, including a 6-year-old boy, were attacked by coyotes on the same day ... after at least a decade without an incident. Both attacks occurred Wednesday. The Chicago Tribune reports the boy was walking on a path near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. A coyote lying on a grassy hill bit the boy on the head and had to be fought off by the boys nanny and other bystanders, the Tribune reports. USA Today reports the boy is recovering and is in good spirits in Lurie Childrens Hospital. Later in the day, a 32-year-old man went to a hospital, saying he had been bit in the buttocks by a coyote while walking in the city, CNN reports. He was treated and released. Wildlife officials could not confirm his injury was from a coyote bite, Fox News reports. Stanley Gehrt, a professor of wildlife ecology at Ohio State University and researcher with the Urban Coyote Research Program, tells the Tribune its estimated that 2,000 to 4,000 coyotes live in Cook County, where Chicago is located. On Thursday, two schools in Chicago were put on soft lockdown because a coyote was spotted in the area, Fox News reports. On Tuesday, a coyote was rescued after falling into the water at Monroe Harbor, the Tribune reports. Wildlife officials tell the Tribune that coyotes pose little risk to humans. But USA Today reports that officials have seen an increase in the coyote population. The reality is, it is very rare for coyotes to approach people, let alone to attack like that, Stan McTaggart, the wildlife diversity program manager with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, tells the Tribune. Theres just something about a coyote that brings out an extra level of fear in people, and I dont know that its justified by the numbers. Were not downplaying what happened at all, but its important to put it into context. Northeast Ohio is no stranger to coyotes, which live in all 88 counties in the state. According to Cleveland Metroparks, they live in both rural and urban areas. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says the coyote population in Ohio has increased steadily over the past two decades. Residents in Middleburg Heights recently expressed concern because of increased sightings of coyotes. In Lakewood in 2017, officials had several reports of coyotes acting aggressively, attacking small dogs. Endo Pharmaceuticals has reached an out-of-court settlement totaling $8.75 million for the companys alleged role in Oklahomas opioid crisis, state Attorney General Mike Hunter reported in a media release issued by his office. The majority of the money will go into the Opioid Lawsuit Settlement Fund with the Teva settlement that was reached last June. The money will remain in the account until legislation is passed to deploy the funds. The state will receive the funds today, the AGs office said. Hunter said the agreement avoids legal action the state was considering against the company. The money from this settlement as well as the money from other settlements will allow us to begin abating Oklahomas problem, Hunter said in the statement. Communities in our state continue to struggle with addiction and the fallout from the ongoing opioid crisis. Its estimated as many as 100,000 Oklahomans continue struggling with addiction and every 25 minutes a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal. We look forward to working with members of the legislature and executive branch to ensure this money goes toward helping those who have been affected by or those who continue to struggle with opioid addiction. In addition to the settlement funds for abating the opioid epidemic, Endo agrees it will not employ or contract with sales representatives to promote opioids in the state; in the state, the company will not use speakers, key opinion leaders or speaking events to promote opioids; and the company will not provide direct or indirect financial support for branded or unbranded information promoting opioids, such as brochures, newsletters, books and guides. In 2016, Endo changed its executive leadership team and shortly thereafter stopped promoting opioid products to healthcare professionals and eliminated its entire pain product salesforce. Endo also withdrew Opana ER from the market, discontinued the research and development of new opioid products and implemented additional anti-diversion measures, including product serialization aimed at stopping counterfeiting and theft to protect patient safety. The measures taken by Endo to alleviate the opioid epidemic are commendable, Attorney General Hunter said. When they saw a problem, corporate executives proactively worked, internally and with stakeholders, to find a solution, not a cover-up, as we have discovered with numerous other companies during our years-long investigation. Endo previously reached an $11 million settlement in an opioid-related lawsuit against the company brought by two Ohio municipalities . The settlement agreement with Oklahoma is available online at https://bit.ly/2t55pyn. Source: Oklahoma AGs Office Related: Topics Oklahoma Members of the Shia community in the city on Friday staged a protest to express solidarity with Iran in its conflict with the US which killed a top military commander of the West Asian country last week. A delegation of the Shia community also submitted a memorandum to District Collector Naval Kishor Ram, demanding the Indian government's intervention in the US-Iran conflict. The protesters gathered at Imam Wada in the Camp area in the heart of the city and voiced support for Iran which is engaged in a tense stand-off with the US in the volatile Gulf region. They expressed grief at the killing of Iran's most powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike at the Baghdad airport on January 3. Iran, an oil and gas-rich country which shares close ties with India, had been facing punitive sanctions from the US over the nuclear programme of the Shia majority country. The US drone strike, ordered by President Donald Trump, brought the entire Gulf region closer to a full-blown conflict. Regional tensions remain high after Iran on Wednesday fired missiles at two bases in Iraq used by US forces in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani. The protest was organised by a local organisation of the community, 'Shia Brothers of Pune', and supported by some Muslim and Left outfits, including Mulnivasi Muslim Manch, Lokayat and Bhim Army, among others. Soleimani had played a key role in development of Chabahar port with India's financial support, a Shia community representative said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Veteran broadcaster, poet and academician Obaid Siddiqui passed away in a Ghaziabad hospital due to health related problems. Siddiqui, 63, was quite unwell due to multiple ailments and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, for the past one week where he breathed his last on Thursday morning, said Qurban Ali, his former colleague. His burial will be held at Jamia Qabaristan after Friday prayers at 2 PM, Ali said. Siddiqui is survived by a daughter and two brothers. Born in Meerut in 1957, Siddiqui received higher education a the Aligarh Muslim University and joined the All India Radio at Srinagar station in 1988, Ali said. He later moved to London to work with BBC Urdu service, where he stayed till 1996. In 2004, he joined Jamia Millia Islamia's AJK Mass Communication Research Centre and later rose to become its director. Siddiqui, who also worked with NDTV, was also known as an Urdu poet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 1 Scope and effect of the main judgement and its impact on the relief Generally Kat Specifically Super Kat Image: nadja robot 2 The terms of the injunction Tuning in Image: Ewen Roberts 3 Costs As set out in, Mr Justice Birss found that (most of) the services of TuneIn Radio amount to an act of communication to the public of the relevant works of Warner Music and Sony Music. TuneIn infringes the copyright of Warner Music and Sony Music under section 20 of the CDPA 1988 by providing a platform that links its users to radio stations that are not licensed in the UK or elsewhere, or are licensed outside of the UK. They was also found liable for copyright infringement for providing a recording function within the Pro version of their app, and liable for infringement by authorisation and as a joint tortfeasor.Part 2 of this post covers thejudgement that deals with the terms of the injunctive relief and costs.At trial, the case was managed using samples of sound recordings and radio stations, e.g. under 40 radio stations, discussed in four categories. In reality, TuneIn provides its users with access to about 70,000 to 100,000 internet radio stations. The defendants argued that the relief should be limited to the sample stations unless and until there was a finding about other stations, but the claimants submitted that the relief should be in general terms.Mr Justice Birss agreed with the claimants that the conclusion reached in the main judgment justified relief in general terms, not limited to the individual samples. This was because the findings did not turn on any details about individual sound recordings or distinctions between stations in the four categories.In terms of damages, it is a commonplace in intellectual property disputes that liability is decided by reference to particular instances of the activity alleged to infringe (i.e. samples) but that the scope of the damages inquiry is general. Although issues of liability not decided at the liability trial can be decided in the inquiry, should such issues arise, in the present case the judge saw no justification at all for limiting the inquiry to the sample stations.An injunction is an equitable remedy and therefore a matter of discretion. The Info Soc Directive (2001/29/EC) and IP Enforcement Directive (2004/48/EC) provide that Member States must provide sanctions and remedies that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive as well as fair and equitable. Further, as Arnold J set out in EMI Records v British Sky Broadcasting [2013] EWHC 379 (Ch) proportionality and fair balance with fundamental rights must also be taken into account.The claimants sought an injunction to restrain the defendant from infringing their copyright, but without defining their repertoire.Birss aligned this case with those cases brought by collecting societies such as PPL and PRS against defendants such as retailers and public house owners who do not have a licence to play the works in public. In such circumstances, once infringement has been established based on samples, a general injunction to restrain infringement of the collecting societies' rights is granted but it is limited to a defined repertoire. Crucially, the collecting society also gives an undertaking to maintain an up to date searchable database of its repertoire online and to answer reasonable questions about particular sound recordings. Birss stated that this strikes a fair and proportionate balance between the rights of the copyright owners and the position of the infringer.The defendant attempted to limit the scope of the injunction by using a notice and takedown regime that would put the onus on the rights holder to notify the defendant of unlicensed content. However, Birss distinguished TuneIn from an internet service provider and agreed only that the claimants provide notice of their repertoire. When the defendants complained that taking the proper steps to ensure there was a relevant licence in place (for the category 3 stations; freely available and aimed at the UK) would make its business unprofitable, Birss frankly put it:[at 23]. Moreover, he points out that the rights the defendant have infringed are available to be licensed in the UK, which would easily solve all the practical problems at a stroke.[at 25].The applicable rule is CPR rule 44.2, that the unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay the costs of the successful party, but the court may make a different order, considering all the circumstances, including the conduct of the parties, whether a party has succeeded on part of its case, even if that party has not been wholly successful, and any admissible offers to settle.Birss stated that his conclusion was, broadly, that Warner and Sony succeeded on the large majority of issues. However, there was one important issue on which the claimants did not succeed, relating to the category 1 stations infringe already freely available and aimed at a UK audience (as the public was not new in this circumstance).As such, the claimants argued for a modest deduction in costs of 5% based on various analyses of counting pages and paragraphs of various documents in the case. On the other hand, the defendant submitted that, taking into account that an average of approximately 67% of the listening hours in the UK via TuneIn were of category 1 stations, the claimants should be deprived of 75% of their costs.Birss took the view the claimants should be deprived of more than 5%, but 75% would be grossly unfair and bear no relation to the reality of the way this case has gone, taking account of all these matters and including the importance of category 1. He decided that a fair, proportionate and reasonable deduction would be 25%.As mentioned in, both parties sought and were granted permission to appeal the decision of the case and so we will stay tuned for further developments! In the wake of the U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iraq says it wants Americans gone once and for all. In a conversation with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked the U.S. to send a delegation to set up a mechanism for withdrawing U.S. troops from his country. This came after a confusing and violent week in which the Iraqi Parliament voted to demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the U.S. sent and then disavowed a letter agreeing to do so, and Iran launched a missile strike against bases hosting U.S. troops. Advertisement The U.S. response to Mahdis demand has been more or less No. A State Department statement on Friday, after beginning dramatically, America is a force for good in the Middle East, made clear that any future negotiations would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnershipnot to discuss troop withdrawal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If neither side backs down, were facing a situation where U.S. troops remain in Iraq without the Iraqi governments permission. Thats unknown territory for the U.S.-Iraq relationship, and it could be interpreted as an act of aggression under international law. The principle of seeking a countrys permission to keep troops in its territory is about as fundamental as you get in international law. U.S. troops are deployed in dozens of countries around the world, generally under Status of Forces Agreements with the host countries that define the legal framework for their operations. Advertisement In Iraq, U.S. forces were authorized by a United Nations mandate from 2003shortly after the invasionuntil 2008, when the George W. Bush administration agreed to a formal Status of Forces Agreement with thenIraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. That agreement expired in 2011. Barack Obamas administration tried to renegotiate the agreement with Maliki to allow for a continued U.S. troop presence, but hit an impasse over whether the Iraqi Parliament would grant those troops immunity from prosecution under international law. The last U.S. service members left Iraq at the end of 2011, but they returned in 2014 to fight ISIS at Malikis invitation at a time when Iraqs own military forces were collapsing. There was no formal agreement this time, but Malikis successor, Haider al-Abadi, provided assurances that U.S. troops would enjoy immunity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Iraqi constitutional issues may be a bit murky, but its clear that U.S. troops were in Iraq at the prime ministers invitation and that that invitation has now beenor at least will very soon berescinded. The closest parallel to what might happen if U.S. forces just stay without permission might be the current situation in Syria, where the U.S. is fighting ISIS without the permission of the Bashar al-Assad regime. But in that case, its operating in areas outside the governments control and with the cooperation of the local de facto authorities, the Syrian Kurds. Thats a tougher argument to make in Iraq. Advertisement Advertisement Oona Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale and former State Department legal adviser, writes in an email that the U.S. would almost certainly be violating international law if it insists on staying in Iraq despite Iraqs wishes. She points to Article II of the U.N. Charter, which forbids countries from use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Advertisement Advertisement Its also arguably a declaration of war, Hathaway said. Were not quite there yet. U.S. troops in Iraq are mainly operating on Iraqi bases, training Iraqi forces. So if Mahdi is serious, he would need to evict those troops and cancel that training. Theres reason to believe he may back down, given who swooped in after their last departure in 2011. Scott Anderson, a former State Department legal adviser now at the Brookings Institution, says its likely that both sides are signaling to their domestic audiences. He believes that an agreement will still be worked out that the Iraqis will frame as slow withdrawal, and the Americans will frame as repositioning. Still, its clear that the Soleimani strike has enormously complicated the future status of U.S. forces in the country and their mission to fight ISIS. The Trump administration is going to have to clean up this mess in a hurry unless it wants to either abandon that mission or effectively reinvade Iraq. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Three local airlines have committed free flights home for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) ordered to leave the Middle East amid tit-for-tat attacks between the United States and Iran. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Friday that flag carrier Philippine Airlines and budget carriers Cebu Pacific and AirAsia have pledged to help the government in its repatriation efforts for Filipinos in conflict areas, following a series of retaliatory attacks in Baghdad, Iraq. US forces on high alert for possible Iranian drone attacks, and intelligence shows Iran moving military equipment In a statement, CAAP Director General Jim Sydiongco said Cebu Pacific and PAL have agreed to accommodate stranded Filipinos to their flights from the United Arab Emirates or any other available flights from the region heading to the Philippines "once the plans for the repatriation have been outlined." Meanwhile, Malaysian airline AirAsia said it will provide free domestic plane tickets to repatriated Filipinos who would be returning to their provinces. TIMELINE: US-Iran conflict and how it gravely affects Filipinos An inter-agency meeting on Thursday outlined the Philippine government's strategy in bringing home thousands of OFWs from the Middle East. Mandatory repatriation has been declared for Filipinos in Iraq. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Iran appears to be standing down. However, Special Envoy to the Middle East and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said evacuation must be done as soon as possible to ensure the safety of Filipinos working in Iraq. TULSA, OK, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Laredo Petroleum, Inc., a Delaware corporation (NYSE: LPI) (Laredo or the Company), announced today the pricing of $600 million in aggregate principal amount of 9.50% senior notes due 2025 and $400 million in aggregate principal amount of 10.125% senior notes due 2028 in a registered underwritten offering for a total of $1.0 billion, representing a $100 million upsize from the previously announced offering. Interest is payable on January 15 and July 15 of each year. The first interest payment will be made on July 15, 2020, and will consist of interest from closing to that date. The offering is expected to close on January 24, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to refinance the Companys $450 million in aggregate principal amount of 5 5/8% senior unsecured notes due January 2022 and $350 million in aggregate principal amount of 6 1/4% senior unsecured notes due March 2023 through tender offers or, if applicable, redemptions, and to pay tender premiums and fees and the fees and expenses related to the offering and for general corporate purposes, including repaying a portion of the borrowings outstanding under the Companys senior secured credit facility. The new notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the Company and will be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Companys existing subsidiaries and all of its future subsidiaries, with certain exceptions. BofA Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, BMO Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays and Capitol One Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. This offering is being made pursuant to an effective automatic shelf registration statement, including a base prospectus and a prospectus supplement related to the offering, previously filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of the base prospectus and the prospectus supplement, when available, may be obtained by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the base prospectus and the prospectus supplement may be obtained by contacting any of the joint book-running managers at: BofA Securities Wells Fargo Securities BMO Capital Markets NC1-004-03-43 Attn: Client Support 3 Times Square 200 North College Street 608 2nd Avenue New York, NY 10036 3rd floor South Minneapolis, MN 55402 Attn: Sherman Lee Charlotte, NC 28255-0001 wfscustomerservice@wellsfargo.com sherman1.lee@bmo.com Attn: Prospectus Department 1-800-294-1322 dg.prospectus_requests@bofa.com Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Barclays Capital Inc. Capital One Securities, Inc. Prospectus Department c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions 201 St. Charles Ave. 200 West Street 1155 Long Island Avenue Suite 1830 New York, NY 10282 Edgewood, NY 11717 New Orleans, LA 70170 telephone: 1-866-471-2526 (888) 603-5847 Attn: Gabrielle Halprin facsimile: 212-902-9316 barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com Prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Any offer or sale of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the related registration statement. This press release and any statements of intent contained herein do not constitute a notice of redemption under the applicable indenture, and the redemption of the existing notes, if any, is being or will be made only by and pursuant to the terms of the applicable notice of redemption. About Laredo Laredo Petroleum, Inc. is an independent energy company with headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Laredos business strategy is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties, primarily in the Permian Basin of West Texas. Forward-Looking Statements This press release and any oral statements made regarding the subject of this release contain forward-looking statements as defined under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities that Laredo assumes, plans, expects, believes, intends, projects, indicates, enables, transforms, estimates or anticipates (and other similar expressions) will, should or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on managements current belief, based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing of future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, among others, that our business plans may change as circumstances warrant and that the new notes may not ultimately be offered to the public and the existing notes may not be purchased because of general market conditions or other factors. General risks relating to Laredo include, but are not limited to, the decline in prices of oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas and the related impact to financial statements as a result of asset impairments and revisions to reserve estimates, the increase in service and supply costs, tariffs on steel, pipeline transportation constraints in the Permian Basin, hedging activities, possible impacts of litigation and regulations, the suspension or discontinuance of share repurchases at any time and other factors, including those and other risks described in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the prospectus supplement and those set forth from time to time in other filings with the SEC. These documents are available through the SECs Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval System (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. Any of these factors could cause Laredos actual results and plans to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, Laredo can give no assurance that its future results will be as estimated. Laredo does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statement. Contact: Ron Hagood: (918) 858-5504 - RHagood@laredopetro.com Uttarayan, also known as the International Kite Festival Ahmedabad 2020, is amongst the biggest festivals celebrated in India. It takes place during the period of Makar Sankranti every year. It marks the end of the winter solstice and start of the summer solstice. Every January 14, the festival commences in the City of Ahmedabad. Here is all you should know about the International kite festival Ahmedabad 2020. Read Also| Bhumi Pednekar's Faux Pas Creates A Stir On Social Media, 'Gudi Padwa Not Makar Sankranti,' Say Netizens International kite festival in Ahmedabad 2020 The International Kite Festival Ahmedabad 2020 dates are from January 14 to January 15. In this competition, everyone is welcomed to take part, irrespective of their religion, gender, or nationality. In India, three places host the kite festival. It is held in throughout Gujarat, but also in cities in Telangana and Rajasthan. The main event happens in the city of Ahmedabad. Participants and spectators from all over the world attend this event. The International Kite Festival Ahmedabad 2020 will happen on the Sabarmati Riverfront. It has the capacity to have over five lakh people. For two whole days, the sky is filled with colourful kites held by people with smiling faces as they look at various kites. You will see kites come to the sky as early as 5 in the morning. Other than the Sabarmati riverfront, Ahmedabad Police Station is also a location where you can lay down and enjoy the mesmerizing view. Most visitors come from around India, but there is a lot of international tourists who visit the festival too. Participants from countries like Japan, the UK, China, Malaysia, and France are expected to participate in the International Kite Festival Ahmedabad 2020. Approximately eight to ten million people participate in the festival every year. Read Also| Makar Sankranti Is Incomplete Without A Kite; Here's How To Make Yours At Home The International Kite Festival Ahmedabad 2020 has been celebrated for years now. It is said that the Persians brought the culture to India. It was a sport that the kings and nawabs used to use the kites to display their skills and power. Today people from all over the world come here with various kinds of kites to showcase their power. Kites that look like various animals and birds can be seen, too. The first kite festival was celebrated in 1989 and from then on the festival has become the part of the culture and heritage of the City. This year also people from all over the world will be participating in the event. You can also view the amazing kites by using kite festival hashtags on your social media platforms. Many individuals also share the details of the festival on their blogs. Read Also| WATCH: Akshay Kumar Flies Kites With Daughter Nitara To Celebrate Makar Sankranti In Adorable Video, Extends Greetings To Fans Read Also| These Makar Sankranti Kites Featuring PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi To Fly High In The Sky Image Courtesy: Canva Recap: People were excited about Bitcoin back in 2017the year when the cryptocurrency reached its peak of almost $20,000. Tech legend John McAfee was certainly optimistic about the coins future: he promised to eat his d*ck on national television if it didnt reach $500,000 in three years, eventually changing that prediction to $1 million. Its now 2020, and Bitcoin is worth around $7,700, but dont expect to see McAfee consume his genitals anytime soon; he claims the whole thing was just a ruse. Despite his name being synonymous with one of the worlds leading anti-virus products, most people know McAfee for his exploits outside of tech, such as being the prime suspect in a murder in Belize, his presidential run, and giving his opinion on pretty much everything. But his promise to eat his junk on TV if Bitcoin fails to reach one million dollars by December 31, 2020, has brought plenty of attention. As noted by the website The Dickening (via TNW), Bitcoins price needs to increase around $992,258 this year to reach McAfees prediction. That works out at $2,787 per day. Surprisingly, the crypto has experienced equivalent growth surges in the pastin 2011 and 2012/2013, when its price was a lot lowerbut it seems McAfee has lost confidence that his claim will come to pass. In a recent tweet, McAfee said the whole thing was a ruse to onboard new users. It worked. Not surprisingly, this has invoked the anger of many Twitter and Reddit users. Eat my dick in 12 months? A ruse to onboard new users. It worked. Bitcoin was first. It's an ancient technology. All know it. Newer blockchains have privacy, smart contracts, distributed apps and more. Bitcoin is our future? Was the Model T the future of the automobile? John McAfee (@officialmcafee) January 5, 2020 Its unlikely that many people thought Bitcoin really would hit a million dollars, of course, whether McAfee ever believed it is up for debate, but he does have a history of pulling similar ruses. When the FBI was trying to crack the iPhone belonging to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farooksomething Apple refused to help withhe said his team of mohawk-sporting super hackers with face tattoos could crack the handset in three weeks. He later admitted that this was a lie to bring more attention to the case. Find out more about McAfees antics in our Drama, Drugs, and Data feature. On the night of December 28, Sohail Shaikh, a resident of suburban Kurla got home drunk and ended having a spat with his mother over his alcoholism and being jobless for months. The argument riled Sohail up so much that he ended up killing his own mother in the most gruesome possible way. Facebook/Picture For Representation According to reports, nine days after the headless body of Sohail's mother was found from Mumbai's Kurla area, the police dug up some gory details about the murder. After the fight, Sohail hammered his mother so hard that she died on the spot. The next morning when he woke up, he thought of ways to get rid of her body. In an online statement, a police official investigating the case said that Sohail, 'first visited a local dargah as he could not figure out what to do with the body. Then, he watched a crime show on television from which he got the idea to chop the body.' Twitter/Picture For Representation According to a TOI report, he then pulled out two gold bangles from his mother's body, sold them to a jeweller in Ghatkopar for Rs 50,000. "Of this, he gave Rs 25,000 to his girlfriend who works at a beer bar. He used Rs 20,000 to get his mortgaged two-wheeler released." "Shaikh later chopped the body into some pieces and disposed of the body parts separately," the official said. He used the two-wheeler to cart away the chopped body parts and disposed of it in different places. The headless torso was found on December 30 on Kirod Road in Vidyavihar area following which police registered a murder case. The two chopped legs, wrapped in a rexin sheet, were found dumped in a dustbin in suburban Ghatkopar. On January 4, police recovered the severed head from under a bridge on Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. "Since the body parts were highly decomposed, it was difficult to establish the victim's identity. We worked on a facial reconstruction by drawing sketches of the woman's face based on the skeletal remains," the official said. Twitter/Picture For Representation On examining CCTV footage of areas where the body parts were found, the police noticed a two-wheeler near all the three spots and identified Shaikh as a suspect. "We first enquired with a person in Shaikh's neighbourhood who informed that the man's mother was not seen for some days. We also found that when Shaikh's sister asked him about their mother, he told her that she had gone to Delhi to meet some family members," he said. Based on the information, the police picked up Shaikh from his residence on Wednesday afternoon. "During the course of the investigation, Shaikh confessed to having killed his mother," the official said. The accused was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder), he said, adding that further probe in the case was on. PTI INPUTS Description GIS 10 January 2020: The commercial operation service of the Metro Express started, this morning, on the stretch from Place Margeot, Rose-Hill to Victoria Station, Port-Louis, in both directions after having operated free of charge from 22 December 2019 to 09 January 2020. In this context, the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun, and the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo, were on board the metro to make the first paid trip from Rose-Hill to Port-Louis, in presence of other personalities. In a statement, President Roopun pointed out that the commercial operation service of the Metro Express marks a milestone in the history of Mauritius and represents advancement and progress the country has made throughout the years. It also represents a first step in the modernisation of the local transport system, he added. The President expressed his appreciation regarding the completion of phase one of the Metro Express project within the set time frame and paid tribute to all the stakeholders that have contributed to make the project a reality. He also thanked the residents along the Metro Express track for their patience and understanding during the work carried out to complete this project. He further made an appeal to the population to use this new modern mode of transport as often as possible, while respecting safety standards. As for the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo, he expressed his confidence that the second phase of the Metro Express, from Rose-Hill to Curepipe, will be completed before September 2021. He recalled that from 22 December 2019 to date, some 270 000 persons have travelled on board the metro, representing almost one quarter of the population of the country. This, he said, demonstrates the enthusiasm and interest of the public for this new mode of transport. Metro Express The Light Rail Vehicles will operate in both directions on the Rose Hill/Port Louis stretch. Around 2 400 persons can travel per hour in both directions with 15-minutes headway. As from 10 January 2020, the public will pay the prescribed fare to travel onboard the light rail vehicles. The fare will be deducted and controlled through an Electronic System, that is, the MECards. The MECards for adults and children are available at the seven stations along the Rose-Hill Port-Louis stretch, as well as at Emmanuel Anquetil and Air Mauritius buildings in Port-Louis and SICOM Tower in Ebene. An official from Metro Express Ltd will be present at each point of sales to assist in the procurement and any transaction with the MECards. Chennai, Jan 10 : DMK President M.K. Stalin on Friday urged the Central Government to utilise the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel withdrawn from his security to protect universities and students. In a tweet, Stalin said: "I wholeheartedly thank each and every one of the @crpfindia personnel for providing security cover for me over the past many years." "I urge the Govt to utilize CRPF personnel to protect universities and students from those perpetrating violence in the name of religion," Stalin added. The Centre has decided to withdraw the VIP security of Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and Stalin based on the Threat Assessment Review. Panneerselvam had "Y+" category security cover while Stalin had a "Z+" protection being provided by CRPF. New Delhi: IRCTC has launched South tour package covering Tirupati, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, and Trivandrum for six nights and seven days. IRCTC has fixed three dates for the tour which includes February 14, March 12 and March 20. The major tourist spot covered under the tour includes Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Ramanathaswamy Temple, Meenakshi Temple, Lord Balaji Temple, and Sri Kalahasti and the significant temples and tourist places of Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Tirupati, and Kochi. The package tariff begins from Rs 39,970 per person on double occupancy, Rs 51,570 per person on single occupancy, Rs 39,050 per person on triple occupancy. The charges for children are different which include Rs 35,770 for child with bed, Rs 31,080 for child without bed. The IRCTC tourism has released day-wise details of trip which also includes meals and flight facilities. Know the day-wise details here: Tour Itinerary: Delhi - Chennai - Tirupati - Madurai - Rameshwaram - Kanyakumari - Trivandrum - Delhi Day 01: Delhi - Chennai - Tirupati Meals: In-flight Breakfast and Dinner Board Indigo Airways flight 6E 2985 at 06:30 hrs and depart for Chennai. Arrival Chennai Airport at 09:15 hrs. Proceed to Tripupati. Enroute visit of Sri Kalahasti Temple. Proceed to Tirupati. Arrival Tirupati and check-in to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel in Tirupati. Day 02: Tirupati Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Breakfast at the hotel. Proceed to Lord Tirupati Balaji Temple. Return to hotel. Visit Padmavati Temple, Iskcon Temple and Kapila Teertham. Dinner and Overnight stay at Tirupati. Day 03: Tirupati - Chennai - Madurai Meals - Breakfast & Dinner Breakfast at the hotel. Checkout from the hotel. Transfer to Chennai. Arrival at Chennai. Proceed to Airport and Board Indigo Flight 6E 7197 departing at 1620 Hrs. Arrival at Madurai Airport, Check-in to the hotel. Dinner and Overnight stay at the Hotel. Day 4: Madurai - Rameshwaram Meals: Breakfast and Dinner. Visit to Meenakshi Amman Temple. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out from the hotel. Transfer to Rameshwaram. Check in to the Hotel. Visit to Dhanuskodi Beach. Dinner and overnight Stay. Day 5: Rameshwaram - Kanyakumari Meals: Breakfast & Dinner Visit to Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga Temple. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out. Visit Dr A. P.J Abdul Kalam Memorial. Proceed to Kanyakumari. Arrival at Kanyakumari. View Sunset point at Kaynakumari if time permits. Check in to hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay at Kanyakumari. Day 6: Kanyakumari - Trivandrum Meals: Breakfast and Dinner View Sunrise at the Seashore on your own. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out from Hotel. Visit to Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar Statue (photo session only), Kumari Amman Temple and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial. Proceed to Trivandrum. Check into hotel. Visit Kovalam Beach. Free time to enjoy Kovalam Beach. Return back to hotel. Dinner and overnight stay. Day 7: Trivandrum - Delhi Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Visit to Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Trivandrum. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out from the hotel. In time transfer to Trivandrum Airport to board flight no. 6E 5062 at 12:45 hrs. Arrival at Delhi Airport at 16:05 hrs. For more details visit the official site of IRCTC tourism. JNU Students Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh asked the Delhi Police for evidence after being named a suspect in Sundays violence by the cops. The police, in press conference on Friday, released photographs of nine people - seven from Left-backed AISA and two from RSS-backed ABVP - in the JNU violence case and named Ghosh as one of the suspects. Those identified include Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Aishe Ghosh, Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukraj, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj, Vikas Patel, Dr Joy Tirkey, the head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Delhi Police wo investigate the violence. Delhi Police can do their inquiry. I also have evidence to show how I was attacked, Ghosh said at a press conference minutes later. She also asked for proof from the Delhi Police of her involvement, saying there is no video to shows her indulging in violence. Ghosh said the photograph released by the police shows her because being the students union president, I was there after being informed about violence by fellow students. I have full faith in the law and order of this country that investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police biased? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault, she said after meeting HRD Secretary Amit Khare. Delhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against me, said Ghosh. The police held a press conference to explain the chronology of events in connection with the violence in JNU campus. The SIT chief said that a total of three cases are being investigated by the police team. On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods. Investing.com Gold prices continued to fall on Friday in Asia as U.S.-Iran tensions deescalated, sending relief to market. Gold Futures traded 0.44% lower to $1,547.45 per ounce by 11:00 PM ET (04:00 GMT). Prices of the precious metal dropped nearly 4% from this weeks peak. On Wednesday, gold prices soared to $1,611, a seven-year high, after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two Iraqi air bases housing U.S. forces. But the day after, U.S. President Donald Trump said he opted to impose new economic sanctions on Iran rather than calling for military action against the country. Investors appetite for riskier assets improved as the move cooled down the tensions between the two countries and a war in the Middle East became more unlikely. Most Asian markets continued to climb on Friday morning as well, as trade negotiations between the U.S. and China continued to move forward. Chinas Vice Premier Liu He, head of the countrys negotiation team in China-U.S. trade talks, is set to visit Washington next week to sign a trade deal with the U.S. We will have a symbolic event of Sino-U.S. dialogue. Given the current strength of the market, it is hard not to expect this rally to continue for the time being, Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo, told Reuters. Related Articles Top Quality Oil Sold Near $100 a Barrel on New Ship Rules Oil prices fall further as threat of Middle East war recedes Puerto Rico's biggest power plant could be offline for a year, executive warns UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply saddened by the deaths of two Eritrean asylum-seekers, who are reported to have been shot inside their accommodation in Tripoli on Thursday, 9 January. Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families and friends. The circumstances of this incident are still unclear. The two asylum-seekers were among the 4,000 Eritrean asylum-seekers and refugees who have been registered by UNHCR and live in urban areas in Libya. UNHCR is in close communication with the Eritrean community and with relevant authorities, and will provide all necessary assistance. These two deaths are a terrible reminder of the worsening security situation in Libya since April, which has left many civilians killed or injured. Last week, shelling took place near to the Gathering and Departure Facility in Tripoli showing there is no safe place for refugees and asylum-seekers in Tripoli right now. We reiterate our call to provide more additional resettlement places to allow us to safely evacuate refugees from Libya. Seqrite a specialist provider of endpoint security, network security, enterprise mobility management, and data protection solutions has highlighted the growing cyber threat to Indian enterprise ecosystem with the Seqrite Annual Threat Report 2020. The report is based on insights analysed by Quick Heal Security Labs, a leading source of threat research, threat intelligence and cybersecurity, and is based on the telemetry threat data sourced from enterprise endpoints and networks during 2019. The most prominent trend highlight by the latest Seqrite threat report was the drastic increase in the volume, intensity, and sophistication of cyber-attack campaigns targeting Indian enterprises. Over the last 12 months, Seqrite detected and blocked more than 146 million enterprise threats marking a year-on-year growth of 48% compared to 2018. Interestingly, almost a quarter (23%) of the threats were identified through Signatureless behaviour-based detection by Seqrite, indicating how a growing number of cybercriminals were deploying new or previously unknown threat vectors to compromise enterprise security. The sharp spike should be a cause for concern for CIOs and CISOs in the country, especially given the growing digital penetration within their enterprise networks. With network vulnerabilities and potential entry points increasing at a rapid pace, threat actors are expected to leverage AI capabilities to power their malware campaigns in the future to capitalise on newer attack vectors. Speaking on the threat report, Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director and CTO Quick Heal Technologies, said, Indian enterprises and government departments are facing an unprecedented risk within the cyberspace today. Their digital transformation is leaving them vulnerable to sophisticated threats and attack campaigns conducted by organised cybercrime cells and hostile nation-states with a view of disrupting the larger socioeconomic activity and stealing critical, important, and sensitive information. With the latest Seqrite Annual Threat Report, we want to empower CIOs, CISOs, business leaders and all key public stakeholders with the insights they need to combat the growing complexity of the threat landscape. Indias digital journey depends on ensuring robust cybersecurity for all stakeholders within the enterprise ecosystem. At Seqrite, we remain committed to providing the most cutting-edge enterprise security solutions to defend against the scale and sophistication of cyber threats, at present and in future. Manufacturing, BFSI, Education, IT/ITES, Healthcare, and Government emerge as the most lucrative sectors for cybercriminals The growing penetration of new-age digital technologies and services in enterprise networks has driven widespread transformations across all industries. Organisations across sectors have benefitted from this digital adoption and the unparalleled optimisation that it delivers. However, this digital transformation is also giving rise to multiple cybersecurity concerns across the entire enterprise ecosystem. For instance, the rapid integration of IoT devices, BYOD, and third-party APIs into enterprise networks has created newer security vulnerabilities that might go unnoticed until a major breach occurs. In 2019, cybercriminals were found trying to capitalise on this trend by targeting enterprise networks across multiple industries. Sectors such as manufacturing, BFSI, education, IT/ITES, healthcare, and government were identified as the most at-risk, as the massive volumes of high-value data that they process have made them lucrative targets for threat actors. Threat researchers at Seqrite also observed several large-scale advanced persistent threats (APT) attacks deployed against organisations in the government sector, including prominent attack campaigns such as Operation m_project and BackDoor.DTrack. This trend highlighted how cybercriminals were now turning to newer, more nuanced attack methodologies to steal sensitive data of national importance. The entry of nation-states and organised cybercrime cells into the fray is expected to add more complication to this situation and will require Indian government bodies and corporate enterprises to shore up their cyberdefence strategies in 2020 and beyond. Cyber-attacks grow more complex, even as simple attack surfaces remain undefended Amongst other interesting trends highlighted in the Seqrite Annual Threat Report 2020 was the growing sophistication of malware attacks. Open-source tools, for instance, were used to drive the success of Emotet and Phobos ransomware campaigns, while BlueKeep-based RDP attacks have also grown due to the availability of freely-available exploit kits on popular exploitation frameworks. More alarming, however, was the continued lack of security awareness amongst enterprises and government organisations. Unsecured Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Server Message Block (SMB) protocols continued to be targeted through brute-force attacks. Spear phishing attack campaigns leveraging Office exploits and infected macros were also used extensively by cybercriminals to gain access to enterprise networks and steal critical data. A third University of Oklahoma student has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against a former university administrator. The 21-year-old student claims in a lawsuit filed on Jan. 6 that former OU Vice President Jim Tripp Hall III performed a sex act on him last year without his consent. The student claims Hall befriended him in 2017 when he was a sophomore and Hall was the vice president of university development. Through the guise of mentorship and friendship, defendant Hall maliciously manipulated plaintiff into believing the relationship was appropriate, the lawsuit states. Halls attorney, Clark Brewster, said in a statement that he looks forward to defending his clients good name and pursuing those who file specious lawsuits. The student is the third man to claim Hall acted inappropriately with them while they were students at OU. A former server at a university restaurant, Levi Hilliard, claims that Hall groped and kissed him on several occasions in 2017 and 2018, and another former student, Jess Eddy, claims Hall touched him inappropriately during a trip to Houston in 2010. Eddy also has accused former OU President David Boren of sexual misconduct. The Associated Press typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but both Hilliard and Eddy spoke publicly about their allegations and agreed to the use of their names. Hall was among dozens of university employees who were fired by Borens successor, James Gallogly, as part of a cost-cutting move on his first day on the job in 2018. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has confirmed it is investigating allegations against both Hall and Boren. Both men have denied wrongdoing, and no charges have been filed against either man. Both Hilliard and the 21-year-old student are represented by attorney Rand Eddy, who is Jess Eddys father. In response to a lawsuit Hilliard filed last year, Hall denies all of Hilliards accusations and argues his claims are barred by the statute of limitations. A Cleveland County judge in that case has scheduled a Jan. 30 hearing on a motion by the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma to dismiss the claims against it. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Claims Education Oklahoma Universities A man was sentenced to natural life in prison Wednesday in the fatal stabbing of another inmate in the state prison in Tucson in 2017, an official said. Tim Westly Weaver, 52, pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Joseph Zawacki, 46, who was targeted by Weaver and three other previously-convicted men on Sept. 5, according to Krisanne LoGalbo, a Pima County Superior Court spokeswoman. Investigators determined Zawacki was in the recreation yard when attacked by Weaver, Christopher Gregory Simpson, 33, Ryan Wayne Bohannon, 31, and Scott Mitchell Elrod, 28, according to court documents. When Arizona Department of Corrections Officers responded to the early-morning altercation, they reported Weaver, Bohannon and Simpson running away with bloody clothes to the recreation bathroom. There the men attempted to get rid of four 11-inch prison shanks made with steel pieces and cloth handles. Officers attempted to aid Zawacki, who had been stabbed 50 times, but pronounced him dead at 6 a.m., according to court documents. The three men were found in the bathroom while Elrod remained in the recreation yard near the barbers station. Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy appeared personally before a CBI special court in connection with the disproportionate assets case and quid pro quo cases in Hyderabad on Friday. Andhra CMs close aides, YSRC parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy and YSRC lawmaker Dharmana Prasada Rao along with some IAS officers attended the court session in connection with the same case which is being investigated by the CBI. The CBI court would be questioning Jagan and others with regard to the charge sheets filed against them by the CBI in 2011 and 2012. This is the first time that the YSR Congress party president made a personal appearance in the court after assuming charge as the chief minister on May 30. Jagan had earlier avoided attending the court personally every Friday by filing a petition under Section 317 of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking exemption from personal appearances, stating that he was not able to attend the court due to compelling reasons. He filed the petition when he took over as the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and said that he needs to be exempted from appearing in the court as he had the constitutional responsibility to rule the state as the chief minister and also because his personal appearance in the court would cause huge burden on the state exchequer. The CBI court had rejected the petition filed by Jagan on November 1 last year after facing strong opposition from the CBI. The investigation agency said that nothing has changed in the case except for the YSRCP Congress party president is now the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The CBI Court on January 3rd refused to further entertain any more petitions while pointing out that the Andhra CM has been given 10 exemptions in a row. There will be no more exemptions. The accused will have to attend the court on Fridays, the CBI court judge conveyed to Jagans counsel. After the questioning, the CBI court has scheduled January 17 as the next date for hearing. The court also rejected the fresh petition filed by the Andhra CM and directed him to attend the court on next Friday. The CBI argued that Jagan might influence the witnesses if given exemption. The Andhra CM, who has been facing the CBI case since 2011, had been in jail for 16 months between May 2012 to September 2013, before coming out on bail. He had been attending the court regularly except during compelling circumstances. The CBI had filed a total of 11 chargesheet against Jagan and the other accused in the disproportionate assets and quid pro quo cases. In all the 11 charge sheets, the petitioner (Jagan) stands as an accused in his individual capacity and as representative of his privately owned companies and therefore should attend the court as such, it argued. Hyderabad police made heavy security arrangements at the Nampally criminal court complex for the smooth passage of Jagan in the court and the media persons were restricted to the main entrance gate of the court. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON WESTBY Wilmer E. Homstad, 98, lifelong resident of the Westby area quietly passed away Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, at the Bethel Home in Viroqua. He is survived by two sons, Keith (Torild) of Northfield, Minn. and their children, Hans of Minneapolis and his son, Haakon also of Minneapolis, and Maia also of Minneapolis, and Larry (Edwina Christie) of Westby, and Larrys son, Gregg (Sarah Mannes) of Yankton, S.D. and their children, Henry and Ellia; as well as the children of Christie and Larry, Emma (Samuel Lavang), of Cambridge, Mass., and Grace (Partner Jovan Radicevic) of Madison, Wis. Wilmer was born May 31, 1921, on his familys farm in Christiania Township in Vernon County, Wis., the only son, and youngest child of William August Homstad and his wife, Emma (Christianson) Homstad who were the parents of Carol, Ruth and Naomi, all of whom have predeceased him. Early photos show him as a six foot tall, strapping, strong young man with a sunny smile and big hands. While yet in school he worked hauling milk cans with his future brother-in-law, Archie Sloane, soon to be the husband of Carol. He belongs to the greatest generation that endured the full brunt of the Great Depression, as well as the burdens of World War II, and then built our country into the nation it is today. When he graduated from Cashton High School in 1938 he made the choice to enroll in the teacher preparation course at Vernon County Normal School. There he met and fell in love with his future wife and lifelong partner, Betty Marie Shreve. After graduation, they were married in 1942. Their marriage lasted until Betty died in August of 2014, 73 years later. Their teacher training brought immediate employment during the war, Wilmer continued in education as teacher, principal or elementary supervisor for 44 years until retirement. Betty took a break from teaching to be a full-time mother to their two sons, Keith (born in 1944) and Larry (born in 1948). After the boys were well launched in their school years, she returned to teaching in rural schools and later became an administrative assistant at Tri-State Breeders Co-op for some years as well as retail sales at the former Roehls Department Store in Westby. Wilmer Homstad will be long remembered for his advocacy for the most vulnerable and fragile among his pupils. He made countless trips to Madison to lobby with State of Wisconsin authorities for additional resources for students who had to deal with every sort of impediment and handicap. Wilmer also loved camping and being a Boy Scout Leader. He and his best friends, Vic Bakke and Ed Storbakken, were a team of adult leaders who raised a generation of boys that grew up and went on to leadership roles and fathers, teachers, business careers and community volunteers. Wilmer and Betty were long time members and active in Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Westby. Wilmer loved teaching and used every professional tool in his kit of to impart to his students his own love of knowledge and learning about new things. His sixth and eighth grade class rooms were always filled with projects and experiments, maps and globes, aquariums and terrariums, plus a few giant hornets nests and probably a couple of hamsters. They were a magic kingdom that prepared his students for success in high school and beyond. In retirement, Wilmer and Betty were avid hobbyists, noted for their violin repairs, model circus wagons and Bettys doll houses. Wilmer was one of the founders and an active member of the Coulee Region Antique Engine Club. Blessed be he for his devotion and love to his family and students. Thanks Dad we love you. Funeral services for Wilmer will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Westby. Pastor John Dumke will officiate with burial to follow the service at North Coon Prairie Cemetery, Newry, Wis. Friends may call during a visitation for one hour before the service, from 1 until 2 p.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers or plants, memorials can be directed to Our Saviors Lutheran Church or to the Salvation Army. On-line condolences may be offered at www.vossfh.com. The Vosseteig Funeral Home, 708 S. Main St. in Westby is serving the Family. (608) 634-2100. By SA Commercial Prop News Edgars Stores has decided to close its doors at the trendy Rosebank Mall owned by JSE-listed Hyprop Investments. Struggling clothing retailer Edcon Holdings, which owns Edgars Stores has decided to shut its doors at the trendy Rosebank Mall owned by JSE-listed Hyprop Investments. The retailer has been in trouble for some time, suffering slowing consumer demand in recent years as have other businesses amid the struggling SA economy. Also not helping Edcon has been its massive debt. The closure of the 5,971m store equivalent to about 70% of the size of a large rugby field is one of the first Edgars outlets to shut its doors in a high-end mall. This follows last years closure of 150 other underperforming stores under the group, including various Jet, Edgards and CNA stores. "Our strategy is to have Edgars stores in the regional malls and in community malls," Edcon CEO Grant Pattison said in statement. According to the group, the closure of these stores is largely in line with a cost reduction strategy to ensure profitability. The impact of this initiative is a reduction of our trading space, right sizing of our store portfolio, nodal store consolidation and repositioning of our key products. This involves the closure of some of our underperforming stores including Edgars Rosebank, said Mike Elliott, Chief Executive Edgars. Last year, Edcon reached a refinancing deal with its lenders, landlords and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), securing over R2.7 billion rand. A number of landlords including Redefine Properties, Growthpoint Properties, Vukile Property Fund, Liberty Two Degrees met with Edcon Group and agreed to reduce rent in exchange for a stake in the business in a bid to stave off liquidation and save jobs. Edcon employs about 30,000 people. Landlords would have missed the Edcon shops, which are regarded as anchor tenants that serve as magnets for shoppers. With other South African retail staples like Stuttafords disappearing from malls, it is unsurprising that big landlords were keen to do a deal to keep occupancy levels up. Best IT Services Company in Lubbock, TX We are thankful to be selected for this award for the second year in a row, said Chief Technology Officer, Rob Garrison. For the second consecutive year, CoNetrix Technology is selected as the best IT/Technology Services Company in Lubbock, TX during the KCBD Best of the West competition. Each year, the public casts votes on the KCBD News Channel 11 website to select the best businesses in the Lubbock area. CoNetrix was selected as the best IT company in Lubbock, TX by those who participated. We are thankful to be selected for this award for the second year in a row, said Chief Technology Officer, Rob Garrison. We are glad to know our customers continue to recognize our commitment to excellence. CoNetrix Technology provides managed IT services, computer network support, and network security services in Lubbock, TX and to businesses across Texas and New Mexico. The CoNetrix staff of 25 network engineers and support personnel hold more than 200 years of combined network and security experience. CoNetrix services are based on individual business requirements, making CoNetrix a first choice for small, medium, and large businesses in Lubbock and the region. About CoNetrix CoNetrix, LLC is a family of technology companies and the parent company to CoNetrix Technology. CoNetrix Technology offers managed IT services as well as a suite of secure cloud computing offerings marketed as Aspire. CoNetrix Security provides information security consulting and testing to financial institutions. Tandem Security & Compliance Software is online software helping organizations comply with information security requirements and regulations. nQativ offers a suite of accounting software (ERP) modules to companies throughout the United States and Canada. The global digital radiography market is likely to gain significant impetus from recent technological advancements. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Digital Radiography Market Size, Share and Global Trend by Product Type (Computed Radiography, Direct Digital Radiography), Application (General, Radiography Dentistry, Oncology, Orthopedic) End User (Hospital, Clinics, Diagnostic Centers) and Geography Forecast till 2026, the market is likely to expand at an in impressive rate of 5.0% CAGR due to exceptional advancements made in the field of medical X-Ray technology. Fortune Business Insights has predicted a market to reach value of US$ 2,978.3 Mn by the end of 2026. The report has pegged the global market at US$ 1,905.5 Mn in 2018. With high precision devices, it is possible to obtain images of the highest calibre for simplified treatment and diagnosis. Digital radiography principles enable quick image diagnosis and detection due to their ability to transfer the medical image into a computer or any other device for that matter. As people around the world demand faster methods to treat and diagnose their injuries or disorders, the global digital radiography market is likely to grow rapidly in the forecast period. Highlights of the Report: In-depth analysis of various insights, namely, Digital Radiography Market trends, growth drivers, opportunities, and other related challenges. Comprehensive details of key market players, their core competencies, and Digital Radiography Market share. The potency of suppliers and buyers to make better business decisions. Lists out the market size in terms of volume. For more information in the analysis of this report, visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/digital-radiography-market-100162 Key Players Operating in The Digital Radiography Market Include: Key players are involved in mergers and acquisition to strengthen their market position. Owing to increasing competition frequent innovations are taking place in the market. Some of the companies operating the industry are: Varex Imaging Corporation Agfa- Gravaert Group FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. Canon U.S.A., Inc. KA Imaging, Imaging Dynamics Company Ltd. Detection Technology Plc. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. Teledyne Digital Imaging Inc. Rising Geriatric Population: A Major Driving Force The increasing geriatric population is one the key factors giving tailwinds to the growth of the digital radiography market. According to the report, pace of gains for the market will accelerate in response to the increasing geriatric population. Among all age groups, aged people are most vulnerable to chronic diseases, as their immunity decreases with time. Furthermore, their mobility is often compromised with due to prolonged illness, which also mars their ability to travel to hospitals, diagnosis centres, or clinics Thus, the demand for digital radiography devices is likely to remain high among geriatric population. Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/digital-radiography-market-100162 Philips Receives FDA Clearance for ProxiDiagnost N90: Claims Dose-Rate Reduction up to 68% In 2018, Philips received FDA approval for its product ProiDiagnost N90. This device was a first of its kind digital radiography fluoroscopy system, aimed at diagnosis and medical imaging of the highest precision. ProxiDiagnost N90 allowed diagnosis within no time, and at the same time, enables high quality x-ray images. The device use the mechanism of a flat-panel x-ray detector. With its optimum efficiency, the device also carries out the work of several frames and operates within a single frame. Furthermores, the company went out to state that with its grid-control fluoroscopy (GCF) method, it will massively reduce patient-dosage rates up to 68%. The product is most likely to be adopted rapidly in the forthcoming years due to its hugely successful initial reviews. Encouraged by the success of ProxiDiagnost N90, Fortune Business Insights expects newer products to follow, soon. Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights PESTEL Analysis Pricing Analysis Reimbursement Scenario recent industry developments such as mergers & acquisitions New Product Launch Key Industry Trends Global Digital Radiography Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2025 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Computed Radiography Digital Radiography Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Type Dynamic Static Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application General Radiography Dentistry Oncology Orthopedic Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End User Hospitals Clinics Diagnostic Centers Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Country North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/digital-radiography-market-100162 Report Focus: Extensive product offerings Customer research services Robust research methodology Comprehensive reports Latest technological developments Value chain analysis Potential Digital Radiography Market opportunities Growth dynamics Quality assurance Post-sales support Regular report updates Reasons to Purchase this Report: Comprehensive analysis of the Digital Radiography Market growth drivers, obstacles, opportunities, and other related challenges. Tracks the developments, such as new product launches, agreements, mergers and acquisitions, geographical expansions, and joint ventures. Identifies market restraints and boosters. Identifies all the possible segments present in the market to aid organizations in strategic business planning. KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED: What is the market size and growth rate of the global and regional market by various segments? What is the market size and growth rate of the market for selective countries? Which region or sub-segment is expected to drive the market in the forecast period? What Factors are estimated to drive and restrain the Digital Radiography Market growth? What are the key technological and market trends shaping the market? What are the key opportunities in the market? What are the key companies operating in the market? Which company accounted for the highest market share? Related Reports: Spinal Fusion Devices Market Global Industry Demand, Recent Trends, Size and Share Estimation by 2026 with Top Players Fortune Business Insights Spinal Fusion Devices Market Global Industry Demand, Recent Trends, Size and Share Estimation by 2026 with Top Players Fortune Business Insights About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We, therefore, offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Email:sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Linkedin | Twitter | BLogs Moscow's insistence on the release of the alleged Maidan shooters, who have no formal relationship to Russia or to the Russian-occupied Donbas, has now confirmed that the Kremlin regards these operatives as its own agents or proxies. The true significance of the latest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and the Russian-occupied Donbas may lie in the identities of the prisoners demanded by the Kremlin. By insisting on the release of figures unconnected to the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia has tacitly admitted its involvement in the coordination of terrorist acts and other forms of hybrid warfare across Ukraine, reads a piece by Adrian Karatnycky published on the Atlantic Council website. Technically, the prisoner exchange occurred between the Ukrainian state and "separatist rebels", with Russia, Germany, and France acting as neutral arbiters and facilitators. In reality, the details of the transaction have shattered this diplomatic fiction and underscored the scope of Russia's hybrid campaign against Ukraine. Formally a straight swap involving prisoners held by Ukraine and the Russian-controlled eastern regions of the country, the exchange went far beyond such bounds. Those released to the Russian side included numerous individuals with no relationship whatever to the Donbas conflict. Among them were people accused or convicted of terrorist acts in the cities of Odesa and Kharkiv, hundreds of miles away from the frontlines. There was particular public anger over the release of snipers suspected of murdering scores of Ukrainian activists during the country's 2013-14 Revolution of Dignity. In defense of their decision, the Ukrainian authorities said Russia had made it clear that without the release of these individuals, there would be no broader prisoner exchange. The answer to the question, why Russia insisted the exchange include so many seemingly unrelated parties is to be found in the Kremlin's longstanding hybrid war against Ukraine. The release of Ukrainian riot police sharpshooters suspected of Maidan killings bolsters suspicions of their direct links to Russian officials. On February 20, 2014, the very day the shooting took lives, a team of high-ranking intelligence operatives from Moscow arrived in Kyiv, led by FSB Colonel General Sergei Beseda, responsible for operations in the former Soviet republics. Ukrainians believe these Russian security officials came to take over coordination of flagging efforts to suppress mass protests. Read alsoHuman rights activist: At least 89 people held in Russian prisons on "Crimean cases" Russia had previously admitted to Beseda's presence in Kyiv, explaining it as part of efforts to shore up security at Russian diplomatic and commercial offices at a time of unrest. Ukrainians, in turn, have long suspected that Beseda aimed to join Putin's grey cardinal Vladislav Surkov in taking charge of local assets, including Russian agents of influence who had been appointed to top security and defense positions in Ukraine. Moscow's insistence on the release of the alleged snipers, who have no formal relationship to Russia or to the Russian-occupied Donbas, has now confirmed that the Kremlin regards these operatives as its own agents or proxies. Moscow's choice of prisoners has also corroborated additional charges leveled against the Kremlin. In 2016, Ukraines Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko released intercepts of communications from 2014 between Sergei Glazyev, an advisor to President Putin, and Konstantin Zatulin, deputy head of the Russian legislatures committee on relations with the former Soviet republics and Russians living abroad. The two were recorded discussing the financing of separatist agents to foment unrest in such cities as Kharkiv and Odesa as part of a wider uprising dubbed the "Russian Spring". The prisoner exchange confirms the veracity of these recordings, as the list of prisoners demanded by Russia included figures engaged in some of the very actions discussed in the intercepted conversations. Among those released were operatives from Kharkiv implicated in the terrorist bombing of a peaceful march on February 22, 2015, that claimed a number of lives. Individuals tied to deadly May 2014 clashes in Odesa were also released, including one of the alleged chief instigators, pro-Russian activist Sergei Dolzhenkov. Other operatives handed over to Russia had participated in a range of sabotage operations, blowing up bridges and railway hubs, as well as a Ukrainian security service headquarters in locations far from the conflict zone. Read alsoLutkovskaya on Donbas prisoner swap: Russia refused to swap Ukrainian military without return of ex-Berkut troops The case of Eduard Kovalenko is particularly interesting. For years, Russia has trumpeted the myth that Ukraine's leadership is populated by ultranationalists and neo-Nazis. Yet Moscow insisted on the release of Kovalenko, a particularly well-known and notorious neo-Nazi. For more than a decade, Kovalenko has been suspected of acting as an agent provocateur within Ukrainian nationalist circles. He was a radical figure whose attention-grabbing actions, including Nazi salutes at public rallies, were widely covered by Russian state media intent on painting Ukraine as a land where Nazism was on the march. By 2017, Kovalenko had morphed into the role of pan-Slavist. He was eventually sentenced to five years imprisonment for planning to disrupt Ukraine's military draft. Far from denouncing this "Ukrainian Nazi" poster boy, Russia demanded his release. The list of criminals, terrorists and agent provocateurs featured in the recent prisoner exchange reveals a great deal about how diligently Russia works to protect its proxies and operatives. It also serves as a reminder of the scale and scope of the operations Russia has undertaken to infiltrate and destabilize Ukraine. Despite certain public criticism, President Volodymyr Zelensky's difficult decision to go for such swap has produced one initially overlooked but important benefit. It has provided compelling new proof that Russia is waging a violent, multi-dimensional hybrid war against Ukraine. New Delhi: Delhi Police in a press conference on Friday said that the Crime Branch is investigating the criminal case filed in the Jawaharlal Nehru University violence incident which took place on Sunday (January 5). It also said that as many as nine people, seven from Left including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and two from ABVP have been recognised through CCTV footage. Addressing the presser, DCP Crime Branch Joy Tirki said this is an update on the findings of the investigation in the case so far. Because of the involvement of the institution and its students he claimed that it was a sensitive case and requested that media sees it in "proper perspective". The police revealed the sequence of events they found during investigations. The varsity decided to commence provisional registration online between January 1 to January 5. Four groups who had been demanding that old problems be solved first started opposing this move. Investigations reveal that they were not letting students register and were threatening and intimidating the ones who had registered. Live TV The protesting students started messing with the server and started shoving the on-duty staff out of the office, JNU authorities told investigators. This incident happened at 11.30 am on January 5. At 3.45 pm on the same day, Periyaar hostel was attacked. WiFi had been disabled and so CCTV footage could not be used. As many as nine people have been identified through viral videos provided by students, authorities. People from JNUTA have helped the police and administration. People named identified on CCTV: 1. Chunchun Kumar (Ex-student JNU) 2. Pankaj Mishra 3. Bhaskar Vijay 4. Aishe Ghosh 5. Sucheta Talukdar (JNU) 6. Priya Ranjan (Student) 7. Yogendra Bharadwaj 8. Dolan Samanta 9. Vikas Patel Meanwhile, a delegation of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) meet with the MHRD Secretary Amit Khare. The JNUSU along with a few teachers of the JNUTA have demanded the removal of V-C M Jagadesh Kumar. After the Delhi Police named her as one of the suspects, JNUSU president-elect Aishe Ghosh said, Whats the proof against me? She asserted that until and unless Delhi Police conducts a fair probe, she would continue to protest in a peaceful and democratic manner. Delhi Police can do their inquiry. I also have evidence to show how I was attacked, Ghosh said. Ghosh also said that she has full faith in the law and order of this country and that she would get justice. Asserting that her complaint has not been filed as an FIR, she wanted to know why the Delhi police was biased. I have full faith in the law & order of this country that investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police bias? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault, she said. On January 5, some masked men with sticks and iron rods entered the JNU campus and launched an attack on students and teachers, they entered students' hostel and vandalised campus property. Several people, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, JNUSU General Secretary Satish Chandra and many teachers received grievous injuries. Smoke and flames have turned Australia's skies blood-red, and wildfires still rage. Dozens of people died in recent floods in Indonesia, and Puerto Rico was hit with a series of earthquakes. The torrent of troubling news swelled in the early days of 2020, as tensions with Iran flared after the United States killed Iran's Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike in Baghdad. Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump sought to ease Americans' fears by tweeting, "All is well!" But as conflict in the Middle East intensified and natural disasters struck, some voices are taking the opportunity to offer biblical interpretations. Religious teachers and authors, especially some conservative Christians, often draw on these kinds of current events as examples of how various predictions and descriptions in the Bible could be coming true. Many of these religious leaders view actions in Iran, a Muslim-majority country, as playing a special role in these predictions, which usually focus on the apocalypse, or the end of days. California-based prophecy writer Bill Salus told viewers this week on the show "Prophecy Watchers" that "Iran is the elephant in the room in the Middle East . . . he's the bully." Salus suggested on the show that God is angry with the current Iranian leadership and that Christians should watch recent events as likely to fulfill biblical prophecies. "I really do believe this is going to lead to other things," Salus said. "This is number one on my radar." Christian novelist Joel Rosenberg, who in recent years has led trips of evangelical leaders to meet with leaders in the Middle East, said that while he is cautious about saying that prophecies from the Bible are unfolding right now, he takes those forecasts from the Bible seriously. He interprets biblical texts, such as Ezekiel 38, which describes a forthcoming war, as meaning that Iran will ally with Russia and attack Israel. And he says that Jeremiah 49, which describes the destruction of a nation, promises God's judgment, as well as his eventual blessing, specifically on the nation of Iran. But, he says, Christians should not look at every flare-up as biblically significant. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of prophecy nuts," said Rosenberg, who attended McLean Bible Church in Virginia for two decades and now lives in Jerusalem. "These are people who have websites in capital letters, 90 exclamation marks, and it's like: 'Have some decaf, it's going to be okay.' " Hormoz Shariat, an Iranian-born Christian teacher who moved to the United States in 1979, teaches Iranians via a satellite channel. Through his Dallas-based ministry, Iran Alive Ministries, he says, he tells them about the biblical prophecies that include Iran. "It prepares people to see a meaning in suffering that is now and wars in the future. It gives them hope that God will save Iran," he said. "We could be in the end times. There are prophecies left to be fulfilled. I say: 'I don't know. It could be very close.' " While some leaders are offering specific predictions about the end of days, others are sounding less apocalyptic in their teaching under Trump's administration than they did in the past. That's because many of them are pleased by his presidency, according to James Beverley, a research professor at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto and author of the forthcoming book "God's Man in the White House: Donald Trump in Modern Christian Prophecy." Trump has "eased the prophetic anxieties of his evangelical defenders" by advancing their religious liberties and granting some of their leaders access to the Oval Office, Beverley said. The religious leaders who favor Trump, Beverley said, see him as the one chosen by God to restore Israel, resist globalism - as in his slogan "Make America great again" - and reverse what they see as the moral decay of America, particularly through policies to restrict abortion and crack down on illegal immigration. But, Beverley wrote in an email, "even pro-Trump evangelicals can envision how Trump's volatile nature could factor into the chaos envisioned in various apocalyptic scenarios." He added: "The recent killing of the Iranian military leader led to a spike in prophetic chatter." On the website "Rapture Ready," prophecy writer Matt Ward hints that the United States could be facing a world war moment with Iran. "I have been watching the Middle East intently for 25 years now, and this is one of the most frightening set of circumstances I have ever seen," he wrote. Predictions about the end of the world tend to be more common among conservative Christians known as charismatics, who believe God uses signs and miracles in the modern world. The widely read Charisma magazine recently published a piece comparing the recent events to Daniel 5, in which an ancient king is confronted with writing on wall that suggests his kingdom will be destroyed. Date-setting and specific predictions about the end of days fueled sales of many books in previous decades, especially as the end of the second millennium was approaching. Hal Lindsey's "The Late Great Planet Earth" from 1970 and the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins each sold tens of millions of copies. But as those dates came and went, many evangelical leaders learned to be cautious, Beverley said. Still, many conservative Christians continue to show deep interest in end-time prophecy. "What is alarming this year (the Australian fires, for example) fills the slot of the alarms of earlier times (the Y2K debacle or the creation of the bar code)," Beverley wrote. Beverley said that some of the most popular prophetic teachers right now include David Jeremiah, Jim Bakker and Jack Van Impe, as well as Jonathan Cahn, a New Jersey-based author who uses fiction to spread his ideas, including last year's "The Oracle," which puts Trump at the center of God's prophetic will. Americans have different ideas about how the world will end, from nuclear war to zombies. Online pollster YouGov found in 2015 that 28% of Americans think the world will end in a nuclear war, 16% think it will end as a result of climate change, and another 16 percent think it will end with a judgment day. In some circles, climate change has stirred end-times fears, and Australia's raging fires have prompted some observers to use apocalyptic language on the subject of climate change. Republicans (20%) are much more likely than Democrats (12%) to believe that the world will end in a judgment day, according to the poll. Twenty-seven percent of Democrats said climate change will cause the world to end, compared with 5% of Republicans. The apocalypse or dystopian futures have been popular tropes in mass media and fiction in recent years, in shows such as "Game of Thrones" and "The Walking Dead," but the conversation has especially escalated since we entered the nuclear age, said Robert Joustra, an associate professor of international studies at Redeemer University College in Toronto and co-author of the book "How to Survive the Apocalypse." " 'Apocalypse' holds up the hope for there being meaning and judgment for many people," he said. "We reach for those concepts because they help organize our understanding of suffering and tragedy." I ran has again denied suggestions one of its missiles downed a Ukrainian passenger jet outside its capital, Tehran, killing 176 people on board. It's head of the national aviation department Ali Abedzadeh told a press conference on Friday he was "certain" the plane had not been hit by a missile. The Iranian ambassador to the UK has also on Friday said he was "clear" and "confident" that the Iranian military is not responsible. Their comments came as new video emerged appearing to show a plane being hit by a projectile over Tehran. Mr Abedzadeh was responding to claims by Western leaders that evidence suggested the plane had been hit by a surface-to-air missile just hours after Iran launched around a dozen ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq. Dominic Raab: UK agrees that Iranian missile downed plane "What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane," Mr Abedzadeh said. "If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world" in accordance with international standards, he added. The Iranian ambassador Hamid Baeidinejad told Sky News he is confident that there was no missile launched in that area at that time. Asked about footage which purports to show the incident, he said there is a lot of footage and such videos which he suggests contradict one another. There has been a video that the same model of Boeing airplane has been set fire in other countries, he said, adding: We should be very, very careful not to jump to any judgements and let the experts see and in fact verify first the black box, which is the most important element to help us to have the full story and voice recorder. Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures 1 /13 Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures via Reuters AP AFP via Getty Images People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Images AP AP via Reuters AP Rescuers check the debris following the plane crash via Reuters Part of the wreckage from Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran shortly after take-off via Reuters In fact the voice of the captain also has been recorded, and we have the hard evidence on the ground, so these are the main elements that should be verified. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Friday called for an independent, full and transparent inquiry into what caused Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 to burst into flames just minutes after take-off. US and Canadian intelligence officials believe the plane was downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, by mistake. Debris from the jet is already believed to have been bulldozed from the crash site in farmland on Tehrans outskirts, heightening suspicions of an attempted cover-up, particularly as Iranian authorities claim some of the aircrafts black box memory has been lost. Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau point finger at Iran for Ukrainian plane tragedy Speaking on a visit to Canada, Mr Raab said: We urgently now need an independent, full and transparent investigation. The Iranian regime must open up to the international community, including access to the crash site, so we can get to the truth as quickly as possible to give the families of the victims an understanding of what happened to their loved ones. Iran this morning strongly denied that the Boeing 737 was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile. Boris Johnson also spoke with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Friday morning to discuss developments. A spokesman for the PM said: The leaders expressed condolences to all those who lost loved ones on the Ukraine national airlines flight, including from the UK and Sweden. They agreed there must now be a full, transparent investigation and committed to working closely together and with other international partners to ensure families of the victims get the answers they deserve. They also underlined the importance of the continued fight against the shared threat from Daesh (so-called Islamic State) and urged the de-escalation in the region. Asked about why the PM thought the alleged missile strike on the plane had been unintentional, the Number 10 spokesman added: Im not going to get into speculation. We have been clear there now needs to be a full and transparent investigation. A video appeared to show a missile streaking through the early morning darkness on Wednesday before an explosion, which is believed to be the moment of impact on the plane which had taken off from Imam Khomeini international airport at 6.12am local time (2.42am UK time). Unconfirmed reports on social media also show images of parts of a Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missile, reportedly found close to the crash site. Tor missiles are guided by radar and fly at almost three times the speed of sound. If launched at a target three miles away, they will arrive within about five seconds. Lord Ricketts, former UK National Security Adviser and ex-mandarin at the Foreign Office, told the BBCs Today programme: The Iranians have a very difficult and important choice to make very quickly... are they going to open up to a proper, co-operative air safety investigation and follow the evidence where it leads, in which case I think they would deserve respect and this incident ought to be treated separately from all the other areas of confrontation with Iran. Or are they going to cover up, try and hide evidence, obfuscate, in which case, I think the reputation of Iran will be further damaged. Loading.... Experts believe the Iranian military, fearing reprisals after a series of missile strikes were launched hours earlier targeting Iraqi bases housing US soldiers in retaliation for the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, may have mistakenly targeted the jet which had climbed to nearly 8,000 feet and was heading for Ukraines capital Kiev. The victims included 82 from Iran, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four British citizens and three Germans. The three known British victims were engineer Sam Zokaei, from Surrey, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi of west London, and Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh, from near Brighton. It also emerged that a 17-year-old boy who went to school in London, Arad Zarei, was among the dead. He attended school in Twickenham, before moving to Canada when his parents divorced. Britains Air Accident Investigation Branch is ready to offer its expertise and Ukraines President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke to Boris Johnson yesterday, invited the UK to join an inquiry. A senior British official said the details of an international investigation were not clear yet. Amid the heightened tensions, the Foreign Office advised UK citizens against travelling to Iran or taking a flight to, from or within the country. Listen to today's episode of The Leader: In August, the company announced that users searching for vaccine-related information would be shown results from authoritative sources like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rather than being led down rabbit holes filled with misinformation. The company also introduced a compassionate search experience, which offers mental health advice and exercises to users whose behavior indicates they might be feeling anxious or depressed, such as people who search for things like sad quotes or who look up terms relating to self-harm. And in December, Pinterest joined other wedding websites in announcing that it would limit the promotion of wedding venues that were once slave plantations. Representative Image Gold prices slipped Rs 110 to Rs 39760 per 10 gram in the Mumbai bullion market on January 10 on the back of rupee appreciation and as easing tensions in the Middle East boosted sentiment investor appetite for riskier assets. The precious metal had tumbled Rs 970 yesterday after US President Trump retorted Irans missile attack with sanctions instead of military action. The rate of 10 grams 22-carat gold in Mumbai was Rs 36,420 plus 3 percent GST, while 24-carat 10 gram was Rs 39,760 plus GST. The 18-carat gold quoted at Rs 29,820 plus GST in the retail market. The gold/silver ratio currently stands at 86.01 to 1, which means the amount of silver required to buy one ounce of gold. Silver prices dipped Rs 195 to 46,180 per kg from its closing on January 9. The precious metal is down Rs 1082 for the week but has been up 1.35 percent for the year. While silver prices eased Rs 1,150 in the same period and down 1.03 percent in 2020. According to Navneet Damani, Vice President, Motilal Oswal, Gold prices edged lower, declining as much as 1 percent in the yesterdays session, as de-escalation in US-Iran tensions brought relief to markets and boosted investors' appetite for riskier assets. After the US Iran tensions, market participants have got their focus back on the Phase one deal signing between US and China. Positive private labor data reported earlier in the week has got the investors focus on the Non-farm payroll data scheduled today. Broader trend on Comex could be $1,530-1,560 and on domestic front prices could hover in the range of Rs 39,400- 40,000, said Damani. In the futures market, gold rate touched an intraday high of Rs 39,798 and an intraday low of Rs 39,568 on MCX. For the February series, the yellow metal touched a low of Rs 36,098 and a high of Rs 41,293. Gold futures for delivery in February slipped Rs 198, or 0.50 percent on the MCX trading at Rs 39,632 per 10 gram in evening trade in a business turnover of 12,611 lots. Gold contracts for April delivery eased Rs 182, or 0.46 percent, at Rs 39,818 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 10,094 lots. The value of the February contract traded so far is Rs 2,906.47 crore and April contract saw the value of Rs 248.20 crore. Similarly, Gold Mini contract for February was down by Rs 193, or 0.48 percent at Rs 39,613 in a business turnover of 8,965 lots. Gold price is trading under descending triangle pattern, price is expected to trade negative. Sustaining below Rs 39,700 may drag price lower towards Rs 39,500-39,400 levels, according to Axis Securities. On hourly chart, price is trading below 9, 21 and 60 EMA which is a bearish sign. The Relative Strength Index at 35 which indicates low momentum in prices. The brokerage firm advised its clients to sell February gold at Rs 39,700 with stoploss at Rs 39,850 and target of Rs 39,500. MCX Gold has intraday support at Rs 39,570-39,500 whereas resistance is at Rs 39,885-40,050. Sideways to positive move will be seen for the session, according to Motilal Oswal. The brokerage firm said spot gold has intraday support at $1,535 whereas resistance is at $1,563-1,575. At 12:49 pm (GMT), spot gold was down $2.30 at $1,549.52 an ounce in London trading. The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. A police watchdog has urged the government to crack down on county lines drugs gangs using anonymous pay-as-you-go 'burner phones'. Current rules that allow people to buy the phones anonymously are being exploited by drug dealing gangs, the policing watchdog for England and Wales said. The watchdog called for a Home Office review of the 'criminal abuse' of pay-as-you-go mobile phones, which can be bought for as little as 10 from high street stores. Current rules that allow people to buy the phones anonymously are being exploited by drug dealing gangs, the policing watchdog for England and Wales said (file image) Officers suggested people 'should have to register personal details when buying a mobile phone or replacement SIM card' to prevent the handsets and numbers being used for drug dealing, the findings by the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said. In its report looking at how forces tackle the gangs, inspectors recommended the Home Office carry out a review of the criminal abuse of mobile phones which should 'explore' the regulations of the communications industry. They added: 'The present arrangements that enable criminality by allowing the anonymous acquisition of phones and numbers, should be re-examined.' Former detective Mark Powell, one of the HMIC inspectors who worked on the report, told reporters the 'impression' from officers they spoke to was that restrictions on buying phones anonymously would be 'welcome'. Current rules that allow people to buy the phones anonymously are being exploited by drug dealing gangs, the policing watchdog for England and Wales said He said: 'Officers have to resort to lengthy investigations to try to prove who had a phone. But clearly there's a wider debate to be had. 'We are not saying anonymity should no longer be available to everybody but we are saying there needs to be a review of the criminal abuse of mobile phones', adding that this should look at whether regulations need 'strengthening' - but this was 'not the end of pay-as-you-go'. Chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Thomas Winsor, said: 'People regard their communications as a species of privacy that should not be intruded into. That's why we say the matter should be considered.' There was 'little support' among officers for the use of court orders which block phones and numbers suspected of being used for drug dealing because dealers 'obtain replacement phones and numbers quickly and anonymously'. Officers suggested people 'should have to register personal details when buying a mobile phone or replacement SIM card' to prevent the handsets and numbers being used for drug dealing, the findings by the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said (file image) In one instance, officers told inspectors a drug gang received and shared a new phone number within an hour of the service provider acting on an order. A dedicated team proposed by the National Crime Agency to co-ordinate the use of such orders should be set up while the review is carried out, the report added. Latest analysis suggests there are more than 2,000 individual deal line phone numbers in the UK, linked to around 1,000 county lines. London, Birmingham and Liverpool are the main exporting areas, with other county lines originating from a further 23 forces, inspectors said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government had intelligence indicating that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 was shot down by an Iranian missile. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional," the prime minister said in a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Efe news reported. The Iranian government responded to the Canadian prime minister's comments, with spokesman Ali Rabiei denying in a statement that the commercial airliner had been shot down. "All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran ... all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box," Rabiei said. Trudeau said Canadian officials believe that the supposed shootdown of the airliner "may have been unintentional." The Canadian prime minister refused to answer questions from reporters about whether Canada considered the United States the ultimate party responsible for the accident because of Washington's confrontation with Tehran after the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3 by a US drone at the Baghdad airport. Trudeau said it was "too soon to be apportioning blame" for the crash or "drawing any conclusions" about what happened to the airliner. "The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers. I want answers. That means closure, transparency, accountability and justice," Trudeau said. "This government will not rest until we get that." UIA flight PS752, which was headed from Tehran to Kiev, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members. Sixty-three Canadians were aboard the Boeing 737-800, which crashed just outside Tehran. The plane was also carrying 82 Iranians; 11 Ukrainians, including two passengers and nine crew members; 10 Swedes; four Afghans; three Germans; and three Britons. The Boeing 737-800 went down shortly after Iran fired dozens of missiles at bases in neighbouring Iraq used by the US military in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. "It is now more important than ever that we know exactly how such a tragedy could have happened," Trudeau said. The prime minister said his government asked Iran to permit Canadian investigators to participate in the crash investigation, but Tehran has not agreed to do so even though Iranian officials demonstrated an "openness" to the idea. "Canadians have questions and they deserve answers," Trudeau said. The prime minister held his press conference in the capital not long after US President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" about what happened to the Boeing 737-800. "It's a tragic thing when I see that, it's a tragic thing. But somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," the US president said. Earlier in the day, Iranian Civil Aviation Organization director Ali Abedzadeh told the ISNA news agency that the plane was not shot down. "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumors are illogical," Abedzadeh said. Abedzadeh said eyewitnesses saw the UIA plane "on fire" before it went down and the pilots did not make any emergency calls before attempting to return to the airport. "Several domestic and foreign flights were flying in Iranian space at the same altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). The issue of the missile's impact on the aircraft cannot be true in any way," Abedzadeh said. The Boeing 737-800 took off early Wednesday and crashed minutes into its flight. Canada is home to more than 250,000 people of Iranian descent. Many of the Canadian victims of the UIA crash were families and students who had traveled to Iran for the holidays. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) A Quezon City court has ordered a temporary stop to the rider limit for motorcycle taxis for another 20 days. An order from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223 dated January 9, granted the petition of DBDOYC Inc. the company behind motorcycle ride-hailing app Angkas for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the decision of transport officials to limit the number of motorcycle taxi riders to 30,000 in Metro Manila and 9,000 in Cebu. The technical working group under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it imposed the cap since two new apps JoyRide and Move It also sought to provide motorcycle ride-hailing services. The limit would mean that each ride-hailing app would only have 10,000 riders in Metro Manila and 3,000 in Cebu. Angkas contested the cap, saying 17,000 of its riders may lose their jobs if they do not transfer to their competitors. The court order heard Angkas's plea, saying the cap would result in "irreparable injury" to its riders. The TRO takes effect after transportation officials receive the order. Angkas was also told to pay a bond of 1,000,000, 24 hours after receiving the court order, to cover damages the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board may suffer. On January 6, a Mandaluyong Court issued a similar TRO on the rider limit for 72 hours. Angkas also asked the Quezon City court to exclude JoyRide and Move It from rendering motorcycle taxi services under the TWG's pilot implementation program. The court noted, however, that the providers are already operating. It cited a previous Supreme Court ruling that stated "consummated acts can no longer be restrained by injunction." The Katy Prairie Conservancys Matt Cook Wildlife Viewing Platform near Hockley offers spectacular views of winter ducks, hawks and grassland birds within a 40-minute drive from Houston. A short trail from the parking lot leads through the tall grasslands of Shrike Prairie to a viewing platform with a lower and upper deck. Panoramic views of the sprawling prairie and of Warren Ranch Lake are reasons enough for a visit. Mild winter days envelop you in soft breezes that carry fresh scents of native grasslands. Take your time walking the trail. Butterflies like Gulf fritillaries and even monarchs may flutter up to greet you. You may also hear an eastern meadowlark sing a flutelike song, in which they seem to say spring of the year. Savannah sparrows, with their unremarkable brown plumage, along with LeContes sparrows, with their remarkable orange-toned faces, may pop up on nearby grass stems. They arrived with other sparrow species from northern breeding grounds to spend the winter on the prairie. Warren Lake is about 100 yards east of the viewing platform and stretches north and south over 140 acres. Look for scores of wintering ducks congregating in large groups like giant quilt patches on the lake. Katy Prairie Conservancys Matt Cook Wildlife Viewing Platform Where: 15299 Warren Ranch Road, Hockley, mile north of United Salt Corporation What: Rafts of ducks, grassland sparrows and songbirds, crested caracaras, usually a bald eagle, great landscape photography Cost: Free Hours: Daily 7:00 a.m. - dusk. Info:www.katyprairie.org/visit/ See More Collapse Most are dabbling ducks, which upend their rears and dunk their heads below water to feed on aquatic vegetation. They then right themselves horizontally to paddle placidly over the water. The female dabbling ducks have varying shades of brown and typically show up in proximity to their male counterparts. Male northern pintails are elegant ducks with cinnamon-brown hoods, dapper white breasts and white stripes rising up the sides of the neck, narrowing into a point. Long pin-shaped tails are held at an oblique angle. Male American widgeons have gray faces marked by a green band extending from behind the eye to the back of the neck. Bright white crowns give them the nickname baldpates. Youll need binoculars to see the ducks and a telephoto camera lens to take pictures. A spotting scope offers the best viewing, but its not essential. Scan the scrawny trees along the lakes edges to spot red-tailed hawks waiting to catch a duck or a cottontail rabbit in the prairie. Itll be your lucky day should a bald eagle soar over the lake on a broad 6-foot wingspan, spooking great flocks of quaking ducks that will not feel so lucky. Email Gary Clark at Texasbirder@comcast.net Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat on Thursday said that there is a section of film actors and politicians that stands with the people who support terrorists by raising slogans for them. "Not only film actors, (but) there is also a section among political leaders too which insults the culture and deities of this country. It stands with people who support terrorists by raising slogans for them and raise slogans to divide the country into pieces," Shekhawat told reporters. He said that the people of the country have now come to know such people. "This section considers itself progressive and becomes part of the gang which raises slogans of 'Afzal hum sharminda hain, tere qaatil zinda hain'(Afzal, we are ashamed that your killers are still alive) and 'Bharat tere tukde honge insha allah insha allah' (India will break to pieces, God willing) and supports them," Shekhawat said. The BJP leader's remark comes after actor Deepika Padukone, on January 7, joined the protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) against the recent violence in which over 30 students were injured after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods. (ANI) Open accession talks on N.Macedonia, Albania - von der Leyen Calls Croatian EU rotating presidency 'historic moment' (ANSAmed) - ZAGREB, JANUARY 10 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic as part of celebrations for the start of the Croatian turn in the European Council rotating presidency, said it is a "historic moment for Croatia, which is not only taking up the rotating presidency of the European Council for the first time, but also the presidency of our first 100 days, and our success also depends on you". Von der Leyen said the European Commission will "soon, certainly before the summit in Zagreb in May" present a "new methodology for the accession process", which the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, is working on. At the same time, however, she said the EU needs to "move ahead on the dossier for the start of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania", two countries that have already met the expected criteria. Last fall, France vetoed the start of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. (ANSAmed). Under rules established by the Senate to handle impeachments, Nixons case was referred to a committee of senators to receive evidence and take testimony. After four days of hearings and 10 witnesses, the committee presented the full Senate with a transcript of its proceedings and a report. The House managers and Nixon submitted briefs to the full Senate; after oral arguments from the Senate floor, a personal appeal from Nixon and questions from several senators, the full Senate voted to remove him from office. He appealed, claiming that the Senate had not really tried him: Delegating so much work to a small committee was a shirking of its duty, he argued, and not what the founders had intended. BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz Prime Minister Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev has ordered security along the border with Tajikistan to be beefed up following an incident overnight where gunshots were fired. The Kyrgyz Border Guard Service said in a statement on January 10 that gunshots were fired from the Tajik side, while regional authorities said they had moved 254 Kyrgyz nationals, including 139 children, from the village of Damkha, near the location of the clashes. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry added that it had summoned the Tajik ambassador over the incident, in which no casualties were reported. The segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in the southern Batken region where the incident took place has seen similar clashes in the past, including at least 10 skirmishes last year. The Tajik Border Guard Service blamed residents of Kyrgyzstan's Kok-Tash village for provoking the January 10 clash. In December, six Kyrgyz nationals and three Tajik nationals were wounded in clashes in the area, while violence in September claimed four lives. Many border areas in Central Asian former Soviet republics have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan meet. Ungoverned spaces The group has struggled to reassert itself in former strongholds such as Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, where IS attacks have become rare. Memories of its brutal rule and the horrors of the airstrikes used to dislodge the militants deter any desire to see them return, according to Rasha al-Aqeedi, the editor of Irfaa Sawtak (Raise Your Voice), an Iraqi newsletter. But the militants have already proved adept at infiltrating ungoverned spaces, such as the gap between Kurdish and Iraqi army lines, said Major Johnny Walker, spokesman for the US Special Operations forces that conduct most of the anti-IS operations. While [IS] is at a serious disadvantage, finding it while its hiding in the complex human and physical terrain is a complex task requiring significant resources, he said. IS also appears to be gaining momentum in Syrias eastern Deir al-Zor province, where the group made its last stand in March and where tribal and ethnic rivalries help sustain support for the militants. Assassinations have been on the rise in recent weeks, in part because the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces pulled fighters out of the area to confront Turkish troops to the north, according to an employee of a US-backed NGO in the province, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns. Over a typical Syrian breakfast in one of the towns IS once ruled, he described having to take back roads through the desert to avoid a cluster of towns where the militants still command loyalties. The group is now making a strenuous effort to rearm, he said. IS fighters have also found refuge in the vast, barely populated desert that lies across the Euphrates River from where US troops are deployed. The area is nominally under Syrian government control, and there are indications that the militants there have established a measure of command over cells elsewhere in the country, Syrian Kurdish officials say. For now, fewer people are being killed in IS attacks than in the anti-government protests in Iraq and the battles unleashed by Turkeys invasion of north-eastern Syria. But these new conflicts illustrate the danger posed by the groups residual presence, analysts and military officials say. IS owed its conquest of territory to the collapse of state authority over a big part of Syria and the implosion of the Iraqi army in Iraq. Any further deterioration of security in Iraq or Syria would create a new opportunity for IS fighters hiding out or lying low. The militants have not gone away and could yet rise again, cautioned Major-General Eric Hill, who commands US Special Forces in Iraq and Syria. Sleeper cells Over the eight months that Muawiyah Abdul Khader Akraa operated as part of a secret IS cell in Raqqa, he said he participated in 17 attacks. He doesnt know how many people he killed because, he said, he didnt linger to find out whether his victims died. I did it to avenge our brothers in the battles, he said, displaying no remorse during an interview at the prison in the town of Tabqa, where he has been detained by Kurdish forces since his arrest in August. He and two other confessed members of the cell agreed to be interviewed in the presence of Kurdish officials, who said they had verified the information the prisoners provided after months of interrogations. Their accounts offer a rare glimpse into the world of IS sleeper cells, which lie at the heart of its efforts to reassert its influence. Akraa, 22, said his missions were assigned at meetings arranged during hurried calls over the encrypted Telegram app. He would be told a time and place to rendezvous, typically a landmark such as the clock tower, a park or Naim Square, where IS carried out public beheadings during its rule over Raqqa. There he would be met by an emir (commander) who picked him up in a car and would deliver the orders, usually to plant a bomb but sometimes to assassinate a local official. Akraa said he had been fighting with IS in Deir al-Zor province when he was approached by an emir in the area and asked to become an undercover operative in Raqqa. Akraa was given a fake ID identifying him as a Raqqa resident and assigned a smuggler to escort him across the front lines. After arriving in Raqqa in January, Akraa was introduced to the head of the cell, whom he knew only as Baraa. He gave Akraa S25,000 ($165) to rent an apartment, the promise of a $US200-a-month salary and a small bomb, which he was instructed to plant outside a bakery whose owner had refused to pay zakat - alms observant Muslims donate to the poor - to IS. The bomb exploded at night and caused no casualties. It was only a warning, Akraa said. He paid the zakat. Working with two others, he embarked on a series of attacks. On one day, it was to detonate a bomb in a vegetable cart near a hospital. On another, the task was to drive up to the home of a local official on a motorcycle, knock on his door and shoot him when he came to answer it. In May, Akraa participated in the biggest attack of the year in Raqqa, setting off a small bomb in Naim Square to attract security forces, which were then targeted in a larger suicide bombing. At least 10 people were killed. The two other prisoners interviewed said they had been recruited in June, months after sneaking away from ISs last battle. Ibrahim Hassan al-Haji said he received a Telegram message out of the blue telling him to report to an emir in a Raqqa park, who informed him he was being activated to be part of a secret cell and offered him a salary of $US80 a month. He said he complied because he had been unable to find a job and had no money and because my ideology is jihad. The third man said he was recruited after he sought the help of an IS smuggler to free a relative from al-Hawl camp, where tens of thousands of people related to former IS members are detained. He said he had no choice but to follow the groups orders. They knew where I lived, he said. The emirs changed frequently. In April, Baraa disappeared and a new leader known as the doctor showed up to arrange the bombing of Naim Square, said Akraa. Then the doctor vanished and was followed by two more. Then Kurdish forces infiltrated the cell, and one day in August they burst into Akraa's apartment and detained him. The two other sleepers were apprehended shortly afterward, as were eight other members of the cell. Attacks in Raqqa have fallen off since the cell was cracked. There hasnt been an assassination inside the city since June, according to Raizin Dirki of the Raqqa Internal Security Forces, which is affiliated to the Syrian Democratic Forces. The only significant bombing came in early October, when three IS suicide bombers tried to storm a Kurdish intelligence office where IS prisoners were detained. None of the cells emirs have been tracked down, however, said Heval Sharwan, the commander of the unit responsible for rounding up the cell. The captives have told him that two emirs relocated to Turkish-controlled territory in the Syrian province of Aleppo, while others are thought to be hiding out in the desert. We havent arrested any of the brains, said Sharwan, referring to the leaders. So we cannot confirm that Raqqa is safe. No-mans land Kulajo, a tiny, drab town of flat-roofed concrete homes, lies along one of Iraqs most fraught faultlines in the troubled province of Diyala. Arabs and Kurds have wrangled over territory here since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein began settling Arabs in the area in the 1980s as part of his campaign to quell the rebellious Kurds. And the area has long been home to Islamist insurgents, including al-Qaeda, according to Darwani, the Kurdish forces commander, who has been fighting the militants in the area for the past 12 years. Today, Kulajo is populated mostly by Arabs but is under the control of Kurdish forces. The Iraqi army mans a checkpoint about half a kilometre farther south. But in some spots along the disputed Iraq-Kurdistan region border, the no-mans land between the two forces is as wide as 30 kilometres. It is in that space that IS fighters lurk, Darwani said. Earlier this month, he escorted a Washington Post reporter to the town in his familys pickup truck because, he said, a military vehicle would attract unwelcome attention. Three nights earlier, three of his men had been killed in an ambush. Pausing the pickup at the spot where they died, Darwani described the terrifying event. A dense fog had reduced visibility and diminished the ability of the US-led coalition to launch air strikes in support of his troops. IS fighters hiding in the palm groves barely 200 metres away had first fired mortars into the town. When reinforcements arrived, they were gunned down. At a post on the edge of the town, little more than a ring of sandbags atop an earth mound, Kurdish fighters said they felt vulnerable, armed only with the Kalashnikov rifles common across the country. IS fighters, however, have mortars and sniper rifles with infra-red sights enabling them to strike at night, said Burhan Nouri Hamasayi, one of the posts guards, pointing to the palm groves nearby. They could easily kill us all, he said. Darwani put the number of IS fighters in his area at about 300, but said he believed many more people in the area were sympathetic to them. These were the Arabs supported by Saddam when he was oppressing Kurds. They will join any group that is against us. Even people who say they are with us are secretly with [IS], he said. A matter of time As many as 3000 fighters have gathered along the 240-kilometre length of the no-mans land, according to General Sirwan Barzani, who commands Kurdish forces farther north in the Qara Chokh mountains. US military officials say they put the number at closer to 500, strung out in remote terrain and operating in groups of around five. Barzani said the militants are living off the land, shaking down local villagers for food and money. A local television station, Rudaw, has filmed IS fighters clambering down a cliff face in his sector of the no-mans land, stripping naked and bathing in a river. I dont think the strategy of [IS] now is to do big things. They need more time, he said. They are reorganising themselves, getting weapons and arms. They dont have the power now to do a big attack. Turkey and Russia have urged Libyan leaders on Wednesday to declare a ceasefire on Sunday as warring factions clashed and carried out air strikes. After talks in Istanbul, President Erdogan and Putin said the ceasefire should come into force at midnight on Sunday. The call came amid a warning by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of a Syrian-style civil war in Libya. Last week, Turkey sent troops to the North African state to bolster the embattled UN-backed government. Turkey accuses Russia of having about 2,500 mercenaries in Libya to support the UN-backed administrations main rival, Gen Khalifar Haftar. Russia denies the allegation. Turkey decided to send troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government against rivals and boost Ankaras claims in the Mediterranean, while Russian military contractors have been deployed alongside General Khalifa Haftars eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA). The Tripoli-based GNA has been struggling to repel a months-long offensive by the LNA, which is supported by Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and France. Ankara, with NATOs second-largest army, has hinted for weeks that it would flex its military muscle in Libya to defend the embattled GNA government, which is also supported by Qatar. It has already sent weapons and drones to the GNA and allied Islamist militias despite a UN arms embargo. Gen Haftars LNA said on Monday that its forces had captured the coastal city of Sirte, which is near Libyas oil crescent. Pakistan said on Thursday that any visit by foreign envoys to Kashmir should take place without any restriction and the diplomats should be allowed to meet the Hurriyat leadership. In the first such trip by foreign diplomats post-August 5, envoys of 15 countries, including the US, visited the Kashmir valley on Thursday where they interacted with select political representatives, civil society members as well as military top brass with the Indian government rejecting criticism that it was a "guided tour". "We hope that the visit would take place without any restriction by the Indian Government so that envoys would have access to all areas," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said. "They may also be allowed to freely interact with Hurriyat leadership and Kashmiri people in an atmosphere free from intimidation and coercion, she told the media, commenting on the envoys' visit to Kashmir. She also rejected the reports of the persecution of minorities in the country and vandalism at the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, describing them as part of a smear campaign against Pakistan. When asked about a letter written by Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Gillani to Prime Minister Imran Khan last year, Farooqui said the response had been "conveyed to him in line with Pakistan's historical and steadfast support and commitment to the Jammu and Kashmir cause" Many Manitoba drivers acknowledge switching to an electric vehicle would be doing the right thing. But is this the right time? Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Many Manitoba drivers acknowledge switching to an electric vehicle would be doing the right thing. But is this the right time? For many Manitoba vehicle owners, its a question of when not whether to go green by purchasing a personal vehicle without an internal combustion engine. Its possible the answer became more clear in recent weeks because, finally, Canada has a coast-to-coast network of fast-charging stations. For many Manitoba vehicle owners, its a question of when not whether to go green by purchasing a personal vehicle without an internal combustion engine. (Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files) Late last month, Petro-Canada completed a chain of 50 such stations along the Trans-Canada Highway from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Locations include Brandon, Dugald at the site known locally as Deacons Corner, Kenora, Ont., and Whitewood, Sask. Another is planned for Portage la Prairie. Until now, there were gaps in Trans-Canada charging stations between Calgary and northern Ontario, a drawback that caused some drivers to postpone switching to electric because they feared getting stranded on road trips. That threat is eliminated with the new chain of fast-charging stations that are strategically positioned close enough to keep electric vehicles powered up. The new infrastructure was immediately tested by two guys in a Tesla 3. Kevin Belanger and Don Goodeve set out from Victoria on Dec. 23, passed through Winnipeg on Dec. 30 and, at the time of this writing, were well on their way to Halifax, all without using a drop of fossil fuel. Manitoba already had relatively low-powered Level 2 chargers scattered throughout the province, but the new additions are Level 3 superchargers, which provide a 200-kilowatt charge in about 30 minutes. Every electrical vehicle in Manitoba is a vote of confidence for the cleanenergy power Manitoba is trying to sell. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Might this be the tipping point for Manitoba drivers? Will the availability of highway superchargers be the assurance needed to increase the historically slow sales of electric vehicles in Manitoba? The lack of adequate chargers in the sparsely populated geography in and around Manitoba has often been cited as a reason for the low number of electric vehicles, compared to places with higher concentrations of drivers and service centres for vehicles. And questions still remain regarding the charging options available to travellers to Manitobas far-flung north. MPI says the number of electric vehicles registered in Manitoba jumped 48 per cent from 2017 to 2018 from 126 to 187 and there are about 6,000 hybrids, a number which includes plug-in hybrids that can run on gas when the battery runs out of charge. Consumer interest in electric vehicles was heightened eight months ago with the introduction of a federal-government rebate of $5,000 on any electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles costing less than $55,000. Electric-vehicle evangelists urge us to crunch the numbers: they say the initial sticker-price difference between all-electric and fossil-fuel vehicles evens out after seven years of ownership, thanks to government rebates and the much-lower costs of fuel and maintenance. In Manitoba, another important factor could be the impending availability of all-electric vehicles larger than the models that are currently most popular, the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt. A glance at any Manitoba parking lot shows a large percentage of this provinces drivers still prefer their trucks and SUVs, and a selection of all-electric versions of these larger vehicles is apparently coming soon to market. For Manitoba drivers still undecided about whether the time is right, there remains the appeal to regional pride. This province has invested heavily in developing hydroelectric power; do we believe in the product were producing? Every electrical vehicle in Manitoba is a vote of confidence for the clean-energy power Manitoba is trying to sell. GRAND RAPIDS, MI After his son killed and mutilated a woman, James Chance told Grand Rapids police that his son needed to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Those are the words Jim Chance spoke those are not the words of a man who tried to help his son get away with anything, defense attorney Laura Joyce told jurors Friday, Jan. 10, in Kent County Circuit Court. James Chance, a retired Rock Island, Illinois, police officer, is charged with being an accessory after the fact in the mutilation along with perjury. After listening to testimony over the course of four days, jurors began deliberating around 11 a.m. Friday. Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Lawrence Boivin said Chance - whose son is serving at least 100 years in prison for second-degree murder - lied to investigators to protect his son as well as himself. Chance, 77, drove Jared Chance, 30, from Grand Rapids to his home in Holland. The son loaded boxes of what turned out to be body parts and other evidence into the fathers vehicle. The next day, in his parents kitchen, Jared Chance said he killed and mutilated Ashley Young, 31, a friend from the Kalamazoo area, the father said. He took his son to Grand Rapids Police Department but soon left, and took him home to he 900 block of Franklin Street SE. The minute he walked out of GRPD and they left, the evidence was tampered with and moved with the purpose to help Jared, Boivin said. 28 Jared Chance sentenced in murder, mutilation of Ashley Young The victim was with Jared Chance late Nov. 28, 2018, into the early morning. Her mother, Kristine Young, a Grand Haven resident, became frantic when she could not contact her daughter. They were supposed to meet that day. Testimony showed that Jared Chance killed her daughter early Nov. 29, 2018, then began dismembering her body about 12 hours later. On Dec. 1, 2018, he called his parents and asked for a ride to their home for the weekend. They showed up within an hour. He put boxes of body parts, a fan box containing the victims shoes, a reciprocating saw, a mop and bucket, into his parents Holland CR-V. Based on cellphone records, the family, including another son, Konrad, stopped at an apartment complex, where Jared could have discarded the victims body parts, the prosecution says. Her head, hands and feet have not been found. They also stopped at a Costco, where a gun conceivably could be been thrown away. James Chances wife, Barbara, pleaded no contest Monday, Jan. 6, to charges of accessory after the fact and perjury. She faces up to one year in jail under advisory sentencing guidelines. Boivin said the father, as a former investigator, used his knowledge and specialized skills to help his son get away with this. He said the father told police he was frightful of looking into one that investigators ultimately determined held body parts. He also did not look closely into the garbage container at his home for potential evidence. He said the father was calculated and lied when he talked to investigators. Joyce, the defense attorney, said her client was overwhelmed that his own son could be behind such a horrific crime. He brought his son to the Grand Rapids Police Department on Dec. 2, 2018, but said he wanted an attorney for his son before he was interviewed. He told police his son did something unspeakable, twice, and how hes being called a liar. Police did not talk to the son, who left after about a minute. The father left a minute later. He told a lieutenant that he was making the biggest mistake of your career by letting his son walk out. He is begging them to do something. That is desperation," Joyce said. The father drove his son home with most of his belongings. Later that day, Mario Nelson, who lived in the lower unit of Chances home on Franklin, spotted blood in the basement while looking for the source of a strong odor. Police arrested Jared Chance a little later. The father did what he was supposed to do, Joyce said. He took him to face his consequences and it didnt work. What was he supposed to do then? Joules has blamed online stock shortages and supply chain problems for a drop in sales over the festive period, joining a lengthy list of retailers left devoid of Christmas cheer. The plush fashion group warned its shareholders that annual profits looked set to come in 'significantly below' expectations, sending its share price falling over 30 per cent. Joules' sales fell by 4.5 per cent in the seven weeks to 5 January, against a rise of over 11 per cent at the same point a year earlier. Poor sales: Joules' sales fell by 4.5 per cent in the seven weeks to 5 January The group's annual profit had been expected to reach around 16million. Shares in AIM-listed Joules are currently down 21.35 per cent or 48.25p to 177.75p, having fallen over 33 per cent earlier. Joules, which is known for its outdoor-focused fashion and floral wellies, blamed 'disappointing online sales performance due to an internally generated stock availability issue', which it claims has now been addressed. 'The group's other retail channels, including stores and third-party concessions performed in line with expectations', the company added. Boss Nick Jones said the retailer was 'disappointed' with its 'inability to fully satisfy our customers' demand' for online shopping during its Christmas sale. Colourful: Joules is known for its outdoor-focused clothing and vibrant wellies He said Joules has identified the root cause of the 'one-off issue' and has taken steps to prevent its re-occurrence. The company said that, while traffic to its website grew by 8 per cent, the 'stock availability issue' resulted in disappointing revenues from its online shop. Joules said it had signed a partnership deal with a 'leading logistics leader' to iron out its supply chain issues. Mr Jones said: 'Demand for the Joules brand and its unique products remains strong, with continued growth in total customer numbers and website traffic as well as robust results in our stores and partner retail channels. 'We remain focused on continuing to expand the Joules brand and are making significant enhancements to our supply chain operations in the UK and US to deliver both future capacity growth and efficiency.' Peel Hunt and fellow house broker Liberum have slashed Joules's target price from 400p to 250p and 260p respectively, forecasting pre-tax profit to come in at 10.5million and 10.1million respectively. Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Friday said he was "distressed" over the involvement of JNU students in the January 5 violence as pointed out by the Delhi Police. The ministry will not tolerate any violence and anarchy on the campus as it is committed to ensuring academic atmosphere in educational institutions, he said. "Distressed over involvement of JNU students in violence as pointed out in Delhi Police's preliminary probe. This is unfortunate," Nishank said in a series of tweets. "Those students who were stopped from registering themselves and others are appealed to register and participate in smooth conduct of academic activities," he added. The Union minister also appealed to the students to maintain a "dignified" atmosphere in the university. The Delhi Police on Friday named nine suspects involved in the violence and claimed JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh was one of them. Of the nine, seven belong to Left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to Right-wing students' body, the police said. DCP (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey, who is probing the violence case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but the Left-leaning student bodies were not allowing them to do so. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With rise in Omicron cases, SC to conduct hearings virtually for next two weeks Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC On govts plea to transfer all petitions relating to citizenship law, SC issues notices India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court has issued notices on the government's plea that all cases related to the citizenship law be transferred to the Supreme Court. The court while issuing notices said that it would hear all petitions regarding the new law on January 22. "We are of the prima facie view that high courts should hear petitions challenging CAB and in case there is a conflict then we may look into it," the court had said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre said, there will be a problem as different high courts may take conflicting views and lawyers will be moving to different states to attend proceedings. Review internet suspension in J&K forthwith rules Supreme Court The top court said lawyers moving to different states for attending the hearing in CAA matters is not its priority. Mehta informed the top court that a petition will be coming before the Karnataka High Court on Thursday. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week The top court said it will hear the transfer petition on Friday. On December 18, the apex court had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the new law but refused to stay its operation. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act. All eyes on adjudication of Citizenship Law, Article 370 as SC resumes post winter break The top court had then issued notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January on a batch of pleas challenging the CAB. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde had fixed a batch of 59 petitions, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, for hearing on January 22. Several petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, including by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Canadian PM Says Evidence Indicates Iran Shot Down Ukrainian Airliner January 09, 2020 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says evidence suggests that an Iranian missile downed the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Trudeau said on January 9. "This may well have been unintentional," he told a press conference, calling for a "complete and credible investigation" into the cause of the crash. Earlier, unidentified U.S. officials said they were confident that Iranian air-defense systems downed the Boeing 737-800, based on satellite, radar, and electronic data. Iran ruled out a missile strike as the cause of the crash, saying such a scenario makes "no sense." Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS 752 en route to Kyiv crashed the previous day soon after taking off from the Iranian capital, killing all 176 people on board. The victims included 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. There were also 11 Ukrainians on board, including nine crew. The tragedy came hours after Iran fired missiles at bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq, prompting speculation that the plane may have been attacked. Echoing Trudeau's words, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson later said in a statement: "There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." "This may well have been unintentional," Johnson added. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" about the crash, saying the plane "was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake." "Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question," Trump said, adding that "something very terrible happened." Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, earlier said the country was examining whether a missile strike brought down the aircraft. Newsweek magazine quoted a Pentagon and a senior U.S. intelligence official, as well as an Iraqi intelligence official, as saying they believed the Ukrainian plane was hit by a Russian-made Tor missile. CBS News, citing U.S. intelligence, said a satellite detected infrared "blips" of two missile launches, followed by another blip of an explosion. The Pentagon declined to comment. Iran's Transport Ministry said in a statement that "this story of a missile striking a plane cannot be correct at all." "Several internal and international flights were flying at the same time in Iranian airspace at the same altitude of 8,000 feet (2,440 meters)," the ministry said. "Such rumors make no sense," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization and deputy transport minister, said in the statement. The Boeing crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport with 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons on board, along with 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said on January 9 that initial evidence gleaned from eyewitnesses on the ground and in a passing aircraft showed that the Ukrainian plane was on fire and had turned back toward the airport before it crashed. The crew flying the three-year-old plane, which had its last scheduled maintenance on January 6, initially headed west to leave the airport zone, sent no distress signals, nor did they contact ground control, it said. A video aired by Iran's state broadcaster appeared to show the plane already on fire as it fell from the night sky. Ukrainian investigators, 45 of whom arrived in Tehran on January 9, said that they are seeking to search debris at the crash site to help determine the cause. Iran and Ukraine have agreed "to coordinate further actions of our investigation groups closely" to determine the cause of the crash, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko. In a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, "stressed that Iran would provide the Ukrainian expert group with prompt access to all the necessary data," according to Zelenskiy's office. Johnson also spoke to Zelenskiy and called for "a full, credible, and transparent investigation into what happened," Downing Street said. And Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to stress Canada's desire to be a part of the investigation into the crash. Canada broke diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, and Italy normally acts as a proxy for communication between Ottawa and Tehran. Amid tensions heightened by the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad last week, Iran has said it will not give the plane's so-called black box, which contains flight data and cockpit voice recorders, to either U.S. authorities, nor to representatives of American plane maker Boeing. Tehran is not obliged to do so and under international aviation rules is expected to be the lead investigator, while Ukraine, as the country where the plane was registered, would participate. As aviation authorities searched for answers after the crash, Ukraine observed a day of national mourning on January 9, with Zelenskiy saying the state was prepared to provide families who lost relatives in the accident "with all the help they need." He also cautioned that the disaster "is not a topic for social-media hype, sensationalism, or conspiracy theories." With reporting by AP, Reuters, Newsweek, CNN, AFP, and CBS, Fars, dpa, IRNA, and RFE/RL's Radio Farda Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/reports- ukraine-plane-was-brought- down-by-iranian-missile- u-s-officials-say/30368793.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NEWARK, N.J. This is not going to end well. Those words spoken by a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official in the summer of 2013 could hardly have been more prophetic. The plot to create gridlock near the busy George Washington Bridge that September to punish a mayor for not endorsing Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie left a trail of wreckage in its wake. The scandal, dubbed Bridgegate, derailed Christies 2016 presidential bid, led to criminal convictions for two of his top aides, damaged the credibility of the Port Authority and reinforced New Jerseys reputation as a cesspool of political corruption. It also left state taxpayers on the hook for more than $15 million in legal fees. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide if prosecutors misapplied the law at the outset. The court will hear arguments next week on whether to throw out the fraud and conspiracy convictions of Bridget Kelly, Christies former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, a top Christie appointee to the Port Authority, the operator of New York-area bridges, tunnels, airports and ports. Among the central questions the justices will consider: Did Baronis position give him the authority to reduce the number of traffic lanes from the town of Fort Lee to the bridge, and can such actions by any public official be considered federal crimes? The courts decision, expected this spring, could have a far-reaching impact on how public corruption investigations are handled, similar to rulings in recent years involving former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. Those decisions restricted the governments latitude in bringing corruption cases. Is the Supreme Court going to continue down the Skilling-McDonnell limitation path and tie the hands of the government even more, or is it going to say, Weve decided those cases and we think theyre now finished, heres the contours of what we consider an appropriate prosecution when its politically based? asked Michael Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in New Jersey. Both defendants are free on bail. Kelly was weeks from beginning a 13-month sentence last year when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Baroni had begun serving his 18-month sentence but was released from prison after the court granted certification. Kelly, author of the infamous time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee email, has contended she was a scapegoat for people higher up in the Christie administration who knew about the plan but escaped prosecution. Christie wasnt charged and denied knowing about the plan ahead of time or as it was unfolding. Several witnesses at the trial, including Kelly and Baroni, contradicted his account. Three dedicated toll lanes from Fort Lee to the bridge connecting New Jersey to New York City were reduced to one on several mornings, causing massive traffic jams. Pleas from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who had declined to endorse Christie, fell on deaf ears. David Porter is an Associated Press writer. It's hard to recall, but once upon a time, the majority of American politicians, including Democrats, were able to set aside partisan bickering for at least a moment in the face of foreign aggression against the United States. After 9/11, for example, Congress spontaneously responded by singing Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." Things are different now. Immediately after news broke that Iran had shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, Leftists began blaming America, using phrases such as "crossfire" (there was none) and "tit-for-tat" (none of that, either). Pete Buttigieg was the first big-profile Democrat caught embracing that concept. In the hours since Buttigieg put himself out there as a "blame America first" person, other big-name Democrats and media types began to echo that same theme: even though it was Iran that fired the missile after attacking American bases, somehow or other, it was America's fault that innocent people died in the air over Iran. Barbara Boxer, a former Democrat senator from California, thrust herself back into the spotlight for an attack on her own country: The tragic crash of a civilian aircraft shows everyone in the world how war leads to heart wrenching unintended consequences. We need a president who understands this. Dump Trump 2020. https://t.co/azGQHub3q9 Barbara Boxer (@BarbaraBoxer) January 9, 2020 Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) also couldn't resist blaming America for the deaths of innocents: .@RepSpeier blames Trump for Iran shooting down a passenger jet: This is yet another example of collateral damage from the actions that have been taken in a provocative way by the president of the United States." pic.twitter.com/DBeGdIozxW Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 9, 2020 Not to be left out, Chris "Fredo" Cuomo incoherently tried to shift the blame to the United States for those innocent lives lost: David, the ability to escape responsibility for this, there's the suggestion, oh, they'll probably blame the United States. Well, how? Forensically, are you going to be able to determine where these missiles came from if they let the NTSB in on the investigation as has been ping ponged back and forth? The latest word is that Iran would let Boeing, the manufacturer, have a representative there, which may well be an NTSB rep to go. Would you be able to rule out that this was anybody but them and then how do you escape responsibility? NBC's Heidi Przybyla threw in her two cents about America's responsibility: [images] https://twitter.com/HeidiNBC Faced with pushback, Przybyla deleted the tweets. This tweet is being taken as something I did not intend so I am taking it down to prevent any confusion. https://t.co/bj9Bf846e0 Heidi Przybyla (@HeidiNBC) January 9, 2020 Outside the U.S., a talking head on the Canadian Broadcasting Company said it was America's fault that a paranoid Iran intentionally shot down a civilian plane over Iran: DISGRACE: Watch As CBC Tries To Blame Trump For Iran Shooting Down Plane Carrying 63 Canadians. https://t.co/s66lComyfC Spencer Fernando (@SpencerFernando) January 9, 2020 The reality is that the blame for those civilian deaths rests squarely on Iran's aggressive and itchy trigger finger. As is always the case with tyrants, they know that their victims are stalking them, and that knowledge engenders a paranoia that makes them ever more dangerous. Aside from the Leftist blame game, we now have footage that purports to show the moment the plane dropped from the sky after one of two surface-to-air missiles struck it. Although the video is not at all graphic (just lights moving and flaring), it's sickening to know what it means: The one thing the footage shows unequivocally is that there's not an America plane or missile in sight. This is all on Iran. It would be nice to think this footage would silence the "blame America first" voices on the Left, but that's unlikely. They will continue to believe that placating a tyrant is the safe thing to do. The lesson of Neville "Peace in Our Time" Chamberlain is lost on them. I like to remind people that there's a message running parallel to Passover's central message about the great miracle of God liberating the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land. Because of Pharaoh's rigid intransigence in the face of the escalating harm to the Egyptian people from the Ten Plagues, the Passover story reminds us that tyrants do not care about the well-being of those groaning under their tyranny. They will stop the abuse and slaughter only when their own lives are at risk, and it's at that moment that, like trapped rats, they can be at their most dangerous. One way or another, if there is a tyrant in power, people will be hurt but the only way to end that is to defeat the tyrant. Trump fully understands that, within Iran, it's the Iranian people's responsibility to checkmate their tyrannical rulers. (The word "checkmate" comes from the Persian phrase "block the king"). However, it is the responsibility of the president of the United States to made sure that the mullahs' tyranny stops short of harming Americans Trump did that and is responsible only for that. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said that there has been attempts to defame khap panchayats but scientific research discourages "same caste or sagotra marriage". Khattar also said Haryana has a tradition "of not allowing boys and girls from the same village to tie the knot". The Chief Minister made the remarks while addressing a public gathering in Panchkula. "Some people have tried to defame the khap panchayats on the issue of same caste or sagotra (intra-clan) marriage and even science does not approve of the same-caste marriage," he said. The Supreme Court had in March 2018 ruled that an assembly intended to scuttle the marriage of two consenting adults will be deemed illegal. The ruling was pronounced while hearing the matter related to khap panchayats in connection with cases pertaining to honour killings. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ABOARD THE USS FARRAGUT IN THE PERSIAN GULF In the darkest of darkness, surrounded by a glass-smooth sea thousands of miles from home an American voice reads a statement over a VHF radio frequency primarily used for international distress calls. "Securite, securite, securite: Good morning all ships. This is a coalition warship conducting maritime operations in the (Persian Gulf) in support of freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. If you observe any suspicious or illegal activity, or require assistance, contact the nearest coalition warship." The announcement, repeated at regular intervals throughout the night and day, is read by a U.S. Navy officer from the bridge of the USS Farragut, a 510-foot Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named after America's first admiral, David Farragut. Farragut served in the War of 1812. He helped secure victory in the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, and a year later he led a successful attack with the now-iconic order: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! according to the U.S. Navy, although there appear to be some conflicting accounts about in which campaign he uttered the phrase. Middle East tensions: Iran OKs bill calling U.S. military, Pentagon terrorists The U.S. Navy's statement is aimed at any number of troublemakers who operate here, from modern-day pirates to Houthi insurgents from nearby Yemen. But really its intended audience is Iran. In particular, the network of heavily armed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels the country has used to obstruct commercial shipping and seize foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf after increased friction between Tehran and Washington after the Trump administration withdrew from a nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and reimposed economic sanctions. Tensions have intensified in recent days after the Pentagon killed a senior Iranian general in a drone strike in Iraq and Iran responded by launching a missile attack on two bases in Iraq that are home to U.S. troops. Story continues Additionally, Tehran admitted Saturday that its military may have accidentally shot down a Ukrainian commercial airliner around the time of the attack. For now, the White House has appeared to indicate it won't be seeking immediate military retaliation, and amid the fallout the House of Representatives approved a resolution to limit the White House's ability to take further military action. A similar resolution is expected to be considered for a vote in the Senate next week. The Trump administration issued additional sanctions on Iran on Friday, in its first official retaliation for Iran's ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases. Trump warns Iran: The question now: What happens next? "They hardly ever answer. But we know they're out there," said Cmdr. Eric E. Meyers, the Farragut's executive officer Meyers is second-in-command as he surveyed the Persian Gulf's coal-black horizon from the ship's bridge one evening late last year. During hours of darkness, the Farragut turns off most of its external lights to help avoid detection, adding to the impression of total darkness as far as the naked eye can see. Below deck, only red light is used because it doesn't travel as far as white. Red light illuminates part of the cabin of the USS Farragut, on Nov. 29, 2019. USA TODAY spent a few days aboard the state-of-the-art, combat-ready destroyer as it patrolled the front lines of U.S. efforts to thwart Iranian aggression at sea in a body of water in western Asia that is in the heart of the Middle East. It is also one of the world's most strategically important choke points for transporting oil. More than 9,000 vessels operate in the area each day, and one-sixth of global oil production and one-third of the world's natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that Iran claims as its territory. Video: U.S.-Iran tensions: How close are we to war? For the past few months, these waters, an extension of the Indian Ocean to the southeast, bordered to the north and east by Iran, north and west by Iraq and Kuwait, and to the south and west by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states, have been relatively quiet. That's because, according to the U.S. Navy, since late last year the U.S. has partnered with six countries the United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Albania to form the International Maritime Security Construct, or IMSC. The 290 officers and enlisted sailors of USS Farragut are part of this "construct," which provides escorts and various forms of sentry assistance to some of the approximately 42,000 ships that transit through the area every year. The IMSC says that since its establishment in September there have been no recorded incidents at sea of what the U.S. Navy calls "malign activity" or "kinetic actions" by Iran. Rear Adm. Alvin Holsey, the U.S. commander of the IMSC, said in emailed comments that the unit is "designed to be defensive ... conducting benign surveillance and documentation of nefarious activity, with ... intentions transparent to all mariners." IMSC "represents a stabilizing and de-escalatory presence," he said. A view of a machine gun and tubes holding torpedoes on the deck of USS Farragut, on Nov. 29, 2019. Iran out of nuke deal: Tehran abandons accord after Soleimani killing While analysts say Iran may feel satisfied that it has exacted its revenge for the killing of its general while at the time avoiding U.S. deaths, the situation remains fluid. The U.S. has about 62,000 military personnel spread across land and sea in the broader Middle East region, and Iran has repeatedly said they remain a target. (In an unrelated incident Friday, the U.S. Navy said a Russian warship "aggressively approached" the Farragut, ignoring warnings and risking a collision. The Russian vessel eventually altered course.) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed "severe" reprisals after the U.S. killed Qasem Soleimani, a commander of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards Corp, a powerful organization that wields control over Iran's economy, security and intelligence apparatus and finances and trains pro-Iran militant groups in the Middle East such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq. The Trump administration considered Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis the Iraqi leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, killed alongside him terrorists. Since his killing, the Pentagon has deployed more troops to the Middle East to protect U.S. assets in the region: bases, embassies, ships, contractors. And on Tuesday, the U.S. Maritime Administration warned that "there remains the possibility of Iranian action against U.S. maritime interests," such as the USS Farragut, across the Middle East as a result of the Soleimani operation. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued emergency commercial airspace restrictions over the Persian Gulf amid the downing of the Ukraine plane. Tragedy while mourning: Stampede at Qasem Soleimani's funeral kills 56 Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander from 2009 to 2013 and who served at every level in the Persian Gulf, including commanding an aircraft carrier, said U.S. military personnel and installations in the region are now more at risk of attack because of Trump's "maximum pressure" policy toward Iran. U.S. Navy personnel participate in a drill aboard the USS Farragut in the Persian Gulf, on Nov. 29, 2019. "The one line the Iranians haven't crossed yet is they haven't killed anyone. But they are going to continue to escalate because they feel they are in a box." Stavridis said the standoff between the U.S. and Iran was "unsustainable." Still, American Navy ships such as the Farragut are often shadowed by Iranian ships, and the two nations' vessels come into contact on a near-daily basis. In July last year, U.S. Marines jammed an Iranian drone Washington said was swooping near the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship in the area that, like the Farragut, was operating out of the U.S. Fifth Fleet base in Manama, Bahrain. In May, four commercial ships were sabotaged with mines in the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah. A month later, two oil tankers were damaged by explosives in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blamed Iran for the attacks. Iran disputes the claims. The evidence is not conclusive either way. The U.S. Navy also recently confirmed that multiple small Iranian boats sailed alongside the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships from a U.S. strike group as they sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman in December. Iranian Americans aren't mourning: They're glad Soleimani's dead. Now what? Jason N. Lester, right, USS Farragut's commander and captain, looks out over the Persian Gulf from the ship's bridge, on Nov. 29, 2019. In 2016, 10 U.S. sailors were detained by Iran after their small patrol boats drifted into Iranian waters during training. They were held overnight and released. USA TODAY did not see any Iranian ships while aboard the Farragut, whose motto on its coat of arms is "prepared for battle." The ship is designed to operate in what the U.S. Navy calls "extreme air, surface and undersea threat environments." USS Farragut has 96 missiles aboard and a large gun mount that can accurately fire 16 to 20 rounds a minute to ranges in excess of 13 miles and a shorter-range weapons system that can fire 4,500 rounds a minute to ranges in excess of 2 miles. Below, the ship has systems that enable it to make potable water and compress air for missions or repairs that require scuba divers and a series of airlocks between decks to guard against biological or chemical attacks. It is outfitted with a small emergency medical room, a barbershop, a U.S. Post Office, a bank, a ship's store, a laundry and a gym. An oil tanker is seen from the desk of USS Farragut, in the Persian Gulf, on Nov. 29, 2019. Trump's threats against cultural sites: They could may unite Iran "Every deployment is different, and everyone finds out something different about themselves, as a man, as a person," said Roy T. Garcia, the Farragut's senior enlisted sailor his formal title is command master chief in response to a question about what it's like to spend so much time at sea preparing to fight an enemy who might be minutes away or never materialize. Cmdr. Jason N. Lester, the Farragut's captain and commanding officer, said he was confident "that the Iranians don't have anything that can touch us," and he was not worried, for example, about Iranian submarines or other advanced craft. "We have more missiles than some nations have in their entire arsenal," he said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Qasem Soleimani: Iran claims revenge but U.S. Navy is still a target Rieter Holding AG (VTX:RIEN), which is in the machinery business, and is based in Switzerland, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the SWX, rising to highs of CHF150 and falling to the lows of CHF132. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Rieter Holding's current trading price of CHF134 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Rieter Holdings outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. Check out our latest analysis for Rieter Holding What is Rieter Holding worth? According to my relative valuation model, the stock is currently overvalued. In this instance, Ive used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stocks cash flows. I find that Rieter Holdings ratio of 34.73x is above its peer average of 23.99x, which suggests the stock is overvalued compared to the Machinery industry. In addition to this, it seems like Rieter Holdings share price is quite stable, which could mean two things: firstly, it may take the share price a while to fall back down to an attractive buying range, and secondly, there may be less chances to buy low in the future once it reaches that value. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta. What kind of growth will Rieter Holding generate? SWX:RIEN Past and Future Earnings, January 10th 2020 Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 80% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Rieter Holding. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? RIENs optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above its fair value. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question should I sell? If you believe RIEN should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards its real value can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on RIEN for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for RIEN, which means its worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop. Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters the fundamentals before you make a decision on Rieter Holding. You can find everything you need to know about Rieter Holding in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Rieter Holding, you can use our free platform to see my list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. Now Open 10 January 2020 Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, a leading upper midscale hotel brand, announced the opening of Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Flagstaff Downtown, AZ located at 224 South Mikes Pike Street. The newly constructed hotel features modern guest rooms and fantastic amenities. The hotel's convenient location is in the heart of downtown Flagstaff near the Northern Arizona University campus, making it the perfect spot for families visiting students. Guests are within walking distance to restaurants, breweries and shops. Scenic views of the surrounding mountains and forests also add to the hotel's appeal. The hotel features 51 guest rooms and suites. Guests have access to an onsite fitness center, 24-hour business center, complimentary parking, free Wi-Fi and an indoor pool. Every morning, a complimentary, hot breakfast is served. Coffee, tea and cookies are also available throughout the day for guests to enjoy. The hotel's onsite meeting facility is ideal for those hosting small gatherings or business meetings. The meeting room includes access to free Wi-Fi and audio-visual equipment. Additionally, guests are encouraged to unwind at the Read It & Return Lending Library where they are welcome to pick up a book and return it during their current stay, or during their next visit to any Country Inn & Suites by Radisson in the U.S. or Canada. A portrait of the artist as the governor of New York. Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images Andrew Cuomo is a man of many talents: governor, dog owner, ex-boyfriend, and occasionally, artist. The duly elected leader of the state of New York has dabbled in graphic design from time to time, as Spectrum News reported on Thursday, designing the odd poster to celebrate his accomplishments. But he may have outdone himself with his latest creation. To commemorate his State of the State address, Cuomos new design is inspired by several historical sources, including a famous campaign poster for William Jennings Bryan: Gov. Cuomo has designed this poster as a visual representation of where he sees New York in 2020 -- both the accomplishments and the symbolic stormy sea. He's been giving it to people at the Capitol. https://t.co/4emgjy79uJ pic.twitter.com/YXAunNQepj Nick Reisman (@NickReisman) January 9, 2020 Cuomos design may have some historical basis, but its still in a class of its own. The human eye can barely find a place to rest without discovering new mysteries to contemplate. There is a schooner, a stand-in for the government of New York. There is an octopus, borrowed directly from Bryan, meant to symbolize corporate influence. But do not confuse the octopus with the kraken of government incompetence, propelled onward by the squalls of hate. Above the dreaded sea creatures rise the Palisades, a beautiful landmark preserved by the efforts of wealthy New Yorkers, the sort of people who otherwise ought to be in the sea with the kraken. In Cuomos vision, the Palisades are the steps to Progress, the foundation for marriage equality and a $15 minimum wage and free college tuition. A small and profoundly unsettling portrait of Cuomos face looms above it all, our very own Oz the Great and Powerful. Its an ambitious vision. But even great artists get some things wrong. Here are a few notes Cuomo might want to take into consideration before he begins his next project. Fix the MTA I cant even begin to imagine which creature would best represent New York Citys subway system. A dying whale, maybe, or a sailor in the process of falling overboard. But the MTA and all its problems its dysfunctional trains, its chronic lateness largely lie with Cuomo. Rather than give the MTA the money it needs to function as though it actually belongs in a large and developed city, Cuomo uses it to start fights with New York Citys mayor, Bill de Blasio. Be the captain New Yorkers need, Cuomo. Fix the MTA. You can put it on next years poster, somehow. Make It More Honest Perhaps facts would make for a less interesting poster. But New York under Cuomos watch is not quite the progressive bastion the poster makes it out to be. Take free tuition, which sits on the steps of progress. The Center for an Urban Future reported in August 2018 that the Excelsior Scholarship program, which offers free tuition at CUNY and SUNY campuses to qualifying students, had benefited barely 4,000 of the 242,000 students enrolled in public community colleges and universities in New York City. The nonprofit attributed the low numbers to the scholarships heavy credit requirements, which may have overburdened low-income students who needed the program. So yes, Cuomo passed a free tuition program, but the reality is messier than his poster. And then theres womens rights, yet another step toward progress. The Reproductive Health Act did pass in 2019, and it did expand access to abortion in the state of New York. But it would have passed years ago were it not for the obstruction of the Independent Democratic Caucus, a now-defunct breakaway group in the State Senate. Cuomo tolerated the IDC for years, even though its existence blocked an important piece of reproductive-rights legislation. (It disbanded only in 2018, after Cynthia Nixon challenged Cuomo in the Democratic primary from the left.) So much for progress against the squalls of hate. No governor is going to pass out an unflattering portrait of himself to voters, literally or in any other sense. But maybe next time he could refrain from calling himself a fighter for the people on his art projects. Or maybe theres an alternative. Just Add the Dog Dogs are not typically understood to be seagoing creatures. But art expands our imaginations. Cuomos dog, Captain, does not seem to like him very much, at least in photos. Gov. Cuomo unveils new dog - New York's first family has a new first dog. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced his new puppy Captain on Monday night at a meeting at the governor's mansion with mayors from around the state. https://t.co/KPNnWKt4hX WNYT NewsChannel 13 (@WNYT) February 13, 2018 But the name, chosen by Cuomos daughters as an alternative to Excelsior, the governors own insanely sad pick, fits the sea theme. As a bonus, the dog is cute. Swap out Cuomos portrait for one of the dog. The people of New York demand it. Iran's civil aviation chief denied Friday that a missile downed a Ukrainian airliner which crashed killing all 176 on board, dismissing claims of a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defences. The declaration came as Tehran faced mounting international pressure to allow a "credible" investigation into the crash, which Britain and Canada suggested was caused by an accidental missile strike. "One thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile," Iran's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh said. The Boeing 737 crashed on Wednesday shortly after Tehran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad. It is Iran's worst civil aviation disaster since 1988 when the US military said it shot down an Iran Air plane over the Gulf by mistake, killing all 290 people on board. The majority of the passengers on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 were dual national Iranian-Canadians but they also included Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that multiple intelligence sources indicated that an Iranian surface-to-air missile downed the plane after it took off from Tehran. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters. But Abedzadeh rejected the allegation, saying that "any remarks made before the data is extracted (from the plane's black box flight recorders)...is not an expert opinion." Trudeau's comments came as video footage emerged that appeared to show the moment the airliner was hit. The footage, which The New York Times said it had verified, shows a fast-moving object rising at an angle into the sky before a bright flash is seen, which dims and then continues moving forward. Several seconds later an explosion is heard. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said US officials have handed Kiev "important data" following the crash. Tehran's foreign ministry said that a Canadian delegation was en route to Iran to "handle the affairs of the Canadian victims", a rarity since the two countries cut diplomatic relations in 2012. Iran's civil aviation chief said Tehran had invited "Americans, Canadians, the French, Ukrainians and the Swedish" to be present during the investigations, showing that "we are honest in our procedure". The US National Transportation Safety Board said late Thursday it had received formal notification of the crash from Iran and would send a representative to join the investigation. Iran's foreign ministry earlier invited US plane maker Boeing to "participate" in the probe. France is the co-manufacturer of the plane's engines, and has offered its expertise because it is one of the few countries able to comprehensively decipher black box data. Trudeau was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional". The European Union demanded an "independent and credible" probe into the crash. US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. But Iran's aviation authority chief said the missile theory could not be "scientifically correct" because it was not possible for an airliner to be hit and "continue flying for 60 to 70 seconds". And "the debris collected has been in a very limited area. If there was an explosion in the wings it should have been much more scattered," Abedzadeh added, noting that analysing the black box data "will take time". The airliner went down in the dark just minutes after takeoff, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian aviation authorities. The pilot did not call the tower because "he must have been trying to save the airplane before anything else," Abedzadeh said. Canada's transportation safety board on Thursday said it had accepted an invitation from Iran's civil aviation authority to join the inquiry. Britain called for a full, transparent investigation. Trump would not directly confirm what US intelligence was saying privately. "I have my suspicions," Trump said, adding that "somebody could have made a mistake." But unidentified officials told US media that satellite, radar and electronic data indicated Tehran's air defence units downed the aircraft. Ukraine called for United Nations support for a broad investigation, and sent 45 crash investigators to Tehran to take part in the inquiry led by Iranian authorities. Investigators are pursuing several possibilities, including engine failure, a missile strike or an act of terror. As speculation about the cause grew, a senior advisor to President Hassan Rouhani warned Iranians working for Farsi-language media abroad to "not participate in the psychological warfare" against Iran over the plane crash. "This is an attempt to wake your conscience...do not participate in the counterattack of those hostile to Iran after the initial slap," Hesamodin Ashena tweeted, referring to Iran's missile attack on US forces in Iraq. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An incident involving a Luxembourgish lorry in Belgium has caused considerable ire with the commanding firefighter of the Luxembourg province. On Wednesday morning just after 11 am, a lorry with Luxembourgish number plates caught fire on the E25 near Baraque de la Fraiture, Belgian media report. It appears that a witness, who filmed the video, saved the life of the driver. The man Yanis told RTL.be: "I saw a lorry driving, which had begun to catch fire. The driver stopped on the hard shoulder and I looked around me and couldn't see anyone. I knew the driver must still be in the vehicle, so I didn't hesitate and ran to help him get out." But the fire was not a normal blaze, something emergency services were not aware of in advance. The lorry was missing its 'ADR' plates, which indicate that the vehicle was transporting dangerous goods, consequently meaning firefighters put themselves at an immense risk to extinguish the fire. The commanding officer of the Luxembourg province emergency services, Stephane Thiry, criticised the firm for not having these plates. He added that this was a European regulation and every logistics firm must adhere to the regulation for their drivers' safety and the safety of others. Sweetwater County residents looking for legal information from the county government will be able to find it in pages of this newspaper. The Sweetwater County Commissioners named the Green River Star its newspaper designee for 2020 after a unanimous vote Tuesday morning. The last time the Star was the countys designee was in 2018. The countys designee publishes legal information for the county, including meeting minutes and public notices. This information will be found in the legals section of the newspaper and will be available in this issue. At the start of each year, the county... Researchers at a public health institute in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, examine samples collected from a Chinese woman to find the cause of her mysterious pneumonia symptoms, Thursday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the previous day that the 36-year-old woman, who had visited the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province in December, showed symptoms of an illness with an unknown cause that is spreading there. /Yonhap By Bahk Eun-ji The health authorities said Friday that the first patient to be placed under quarantine here for a suspected pneumonia-like illness that has reached epidemic proportions in China, remains stable. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the pneumonia symptoms of the 36-year-old Chinese woman had improved. Tests for streptococcus-, mycoplasma-, Legionella- and chlamydia- pneumoniae, psittacosis, enterovirus and coccidioides are currently being conducted after the woman tested negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has asked Canada to provide all available information related to the crash of an Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane near Tehran. "The Office of the Prosecutor General's asked the Canadian side to provide information available to the Canadian side that could help investigate the criminal proceedings in connection with the UIA plane crash," the Office's press service said. The House passed a resolution 224-194 seeking to limit President Donald Trumps ability to conduct future offensive military actions against Iran. The resolution, which passed largely along party lines, mirrors a similar resolution that Congress passed last year seeking to end US involvement in the Saudi-led coalitions war against Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Both resolutions were introduced via expedited procedures laid out under the Vietnam-era War Powers Act of 1973, which allows any lawmaker to force a vote requiring the president to withdraw from military hostilities not authorized by Congress. But theres one key difference: the Iran resolution may not actually have the force of law, amounting to nothing more than a symbolic gesture from Congress. Why it matters: Mindful that President Donald Trump would likely veto the Iran war powers resolution as he did with the Yemen bill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opted to introduce the legislation as a concurrent resolution, which would not require the presidents signature should it pass the Senate. Congress passed the Yemen war powers bill as a joint resolution last year, allowing Trump to veto it. Republicans and some legal experts have argued that a concurrent resolution does not carry the force of law because of a 1983 Supreme Court case. 1983 ruling: The Supreme Court ruled in the 1983 case INS vs. Chadha that concurrent resolutions do not carry the weight of law because the president does not have the opportunity to sign or veto them. Although the ruling concerned the Immigration and Nationality Act, Congress amended the War Powers Resolution in 1983 to allow lawmakers to pass joint war powers resolutions allowing for a presidential veto, which carry the force of law. Even some legal analysts supportive of Congress prerogative to approve and disapprove military action argue that the concurrent resolution is merely symbolic. They include Sarah Burns, a war power specialist and nonresident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, which seeks to curtail US military engagement abroad. Burns told Al-Monitor on Thursday that the Iran war powers resolution was nonbinding in that theres nothing the Democrats could do if they wanted to enforce anything. Legal gray zone: Still, a report last year from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service noted, Some legal analysts contend, nevertheless, that the War Powers Resolution is in a unique category which differs from statutes containing a legislative veto over delegated authorities. And supporters of the War Powers Resolution argue that the legal gray area is a bit of moot point anyway, because the 1973 law exists to stop the president from engaging in unconstitutional military activities not authorized by Congress in the first place. There is some legal debate that in this case what they are doing is expressing the position of the Congress that they have not authorized military action and as such that the president must immediately cease engaging in hostilities, said Stephen Miles, the director of Win Without War, a coalition of activist groups lobbying for the Iran resolution. It gets real esoteric real fast and can move past the point, if Im being honest. Whats next: Democrats need to flip four Republicans to pass the Iran resolution in the Senate, assuming there are no defections in their own party. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have already said they will vote for it. Additionally, Senate Democrats will need to decide whether they will pass the Houses concurrent resolution, which may not have the force of law, or a joint resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., which will likely end with a Trump veto. Know more: Esoteric legal issues aside, congressional correspondent Bryant Harris has the inside story on how the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., used their growing clout to push Democratic leaders to curtail Trump on Iran. QINGDAO, China, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Haier (Shanghai: 600690), the world's leading home appliance producer, has emerged as the top major appliances brand worldwide for the 11th year running, according to Euromonitor International's 2020 Global Major Appliances Brand Rankings. The accolade follows Haier's ongoing efforts to gain a global foothold by consolidating world-leading brands into its portfolio while accelerating its revolutionary IoT ecosystem. Compiled annually by Euromonitor International, a leading global provider of business intelligence, the report ranks the world's appliance brands by retail sales value. In addition to listing first for major global appliances, Haier ranked first for Refrigerators for 12 consecutive years, first in Washing Machines for nine years, first in Freezers for ten years and first in Electric Wine Coolers for 11 years. "We are honored to again be the world's top major appliances brand for the 11th year in a row. Haier is constantly striving to listen to consumers' changing needs and adapt to them, while simultaneously harnessing cutting-edge technology to stand out in the market," said Wang Ye, Vice President and General Manager of Smart Home of Haier Home Appliance Industry Group. Haier's dominance in home appliances is a result of an ongoing commitment to R&D, and its ability to adapt its business model to the latest technology and consumer trends. Over the past decade, the home appliance industry has radically transformed with the rise of the internet, IoT, AI and 5G. Rather than ride the trends, Haier has defined them with revolutionary products, from the Clean-Free washing machines to refrigerators with fresh storage boxes. This is set to continue in the future: during its 35th anniversary, Haier revealed its next stage of development, which puts customization, globalization and its IoT ecosystem brand at the core of its strategy. Always in pursuit of new ways to engage with consumers, Haier has also implemented its "RenDanHeYi" 10+N R&D model in the past decade -- an open entrepreneurship platform that integrates quality global resources to meet the diverse needs of users. In recent years, Haier's desire to reimagine the future has only strengthened its position as the world's leading significant appliances company. In the Industry 4.0 era, a new Haier has emerged to meet the increasingly sophisticated experiences demanded by consumers in the age of connected smart homes. Instead of manufacturing smart appliances, Haier engineered a smart home ecosystem that harnesses IoT and smart appliances to enhance the quality of life. In a company first, Haier launched its official Haier Smart Home app in 2019, which allows users to infinitely customize their smart home experience based on user scenarios, rather than products. A live stream video accompanied the app launch -- within one day, Haier received over 31,337 orders for over 2,440 different home designs. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1064798/Haier_Smart_Home.jpg NASA's Aqua satellite provided a look at the remnant clouds and storms associated with Ex-tropical Cyclone Blake as it continues to move through Western Australia and generate rainfall over desert areas. Blake's rainfall has triggered four area flood warnings in some parts of southeastern Western Australia. The remnants have dropped over 10 inches of rain in the Sandy Desert. Slow moving ex-Tropical Cyclone Blake is continuing to track south southeast and is expected to weaken sometime on Friday. On January 10, 2020, the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Blake. The MODIS image revealed the elongated shape of the remnants that stretched from the central part of Western Australia to the southeastern corner of the region. The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) in Western Australia issued several flood warnings at 10:47 a.m. WST on Friday Jan. 10. Flood Warnings were in effect for four areas. There is a Major Flood Warning for the De Grey River Catchment and a Flood Warning for the Fortescue River, Salt Lakes District Rivers, and southwestern parts the Sandy Desert Catchment. ABM said, "Major flooding is occurring in the Nullagine River in the De Grey river catchment. Most upstream locations have now peaked with minor to moderate flooding expected to continue during Friday before flooding starts to ease throughout the area over the weekend. Heavy rainfall from ex-Tropical Cyclone Blake has resulted in in rapid river level rises, and areas of flooding throughout the De Grey river catchment. Flooding has adversely impacted road conditions particularly at floodways resulting in multiple road closures." Rainfall totals over 24 hours in the De Grey catchment indicated 1.30 inches (33 mm) at Nullagine. On Jan. 10, areas of flooding were occurring in the Fortescue River upstream of Roy Hill. Twenty-four hour rainfall totals recorded over Fortescue River catchment include 0.4 inches (9.4 mm) at Newman Airport and at Upper Portland. ABM expects flooding to continue in the Fortescue River catchment during Friday. Flooding could adversely affect road conditions particularly at floodways. Some roads may become impassable and some communities may become isolated. Flooding in the southwestern parts of the Sandy Desert Catchment is expected to affect road conditions. In the 24 hours to 9 a.m. WST today, Jan. 10, rainfall totals recorded over the Sandy Desert Catchment include 10.6 inches (270 mm) at Carnegie, 5.8 inches (148 mm) at Prenit Downs and 5.6 inches (142 mm) and 2.8 inches (71 mm) at Gruyere mine Airport. In the Salt Lakes District, ABM issued a Flood Warning for the Salt Lakes District Rivers as flooding is occurring due to heavy rainfall. ABM's forecast calls for rainfall for the next 24 hours is 0.4 to 1.2 inches (10-30 mm) in the central and southern part of the district, with the possibility of isolated totals of 2 inches (50 mm). Flooding is expected to continue in the Salt Lakes District during Friday. Blake is continuing to track slowly south-southeast over the Salt Lakes District and is expected weaken during the day. NASA's Aqua satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research. Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA's expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting. ### NASHVILLE - Two men who fled from Tennessee authorities have been charged in the death of an officer who was struck by a vehicle during the pursuit. Kevin Jordan and Emani C. Martin Jr., both 19, were charged Thursday with reckless homicide in the death of Hendersonville Master Patrol Officer Spencer Bristol, news outlets reported. According to Tennessee Highway Patrol, Bristol was driving after a fleeing car that crashed while attempting to merge onto an interstate. Jordan, the driver of the vehicle, was immediately arrest but Martin fled on foot, authorities said. Bristol followed Martin across the highway and was fatally struck by an SUV. Martin was later arrested. The arrest warrant said Jordan and Martin caused Bristols death because they created substantial and unjustifiable risk that the pursuing officer would be killed. Both men were previously charged with felony reckless endangerment and evading arrest when the homicide charges were filed. Its unclear whether Jordan or Martin have attorneys who can comment on their behalf. Bristol, 31, was a United States Navy veteran and is survived by his wife and 3-year-old daughter. Its been nearly 20 years since this department lost an officer in the line of duty, and this was too soon for it too happen again, Henderson Police Chief Mickey Miller previously told reporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kolkata for two days on January 11 and 12 where he will be taking part in various programmes. In a series of tweets today, the Office of the Prime Minister of India (PMO) said, "Prime Minister Modi will visit Kolkata on 11th and 12th January 2020. He will be taking part in various programmes during his visit." "On January 11, the Prime Minister shall dedicate to the Nation Four Refurbished Heritage Buildings in Kolkata to the Nation," the PMO said. The Prime Minister shall also participate in the grand Sesquicentenary Celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust on January 11 and 12. Prime Minister Modi shall also inaugurate the upgraded Ship Repair Facility of Cochin Kolkata Ship Repair Unit at Netaji Subhas Dry Dock. The Prime Minister shall inaugurate the Full Rake Handling Facility while dedicating the upgraded Railway Infrastructure of Kolkata Dock System of KoPT for smooth cargo movement and improving turnaround time. The Mechanisation of Berth No.3 at Haldia Dock Complex of KoPT and a proposed riverfront development scheme will also be launched by Prime Minister. He shall also inaugurate Kaushal Vikas Kendra and Pritilata Chhatri Avas for 200 Tribal girl students of Sunderbans, a project undertaken by KoPT with Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram, Gosaba, Sunderbans affiliate to Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) REDDING, Calif. Sewing machines are whirring across the globe to aid Australian wildlife whose numbers have been devastated by the raging wildfires. The sewing crafters are making protective cloth pouches for young kangaroos and other marsupials as well as creating bat wraps that rescue volunteers Down Under can use to help the animals recover. One such group sprang into action Thursday at a Redding sewing center in Northern California prompted by resident Kim Santry. She learned about the need from an online news report out of Australia and felt an emotional link. Redding and Shasta County experienced the massive Carr Fire in the summer of 2018 and then several months later the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise about 100 miles away in what was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. "We've been through it with the Carr Fire, Camp Fire," Santry said. "We know what they're going through and I love animals." Australias wildfires: How to help the animals affected Girl Scout Genisis Jimenez, left, and her troop leader mother, Oletha, make joey bags for Australian wildlife that are being cared for during the Australian fires. They were making the protective sacks with others at the Redding Fashion Alliance in downtown Redding on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. USA TODAY reports up to 1.25 billion animals have been killed either directly or indirectly by the fires, according to the World Wildlife Fund in Australia. Santry this week got in contact with Wildcare Australia where she found patterns on how to sew the items. Other Australian-based groups have received plenty of animal gear, but Santry said the craft guild is still in need. "They are distributing to the rescues down there that don't have access to the big donations. They desperately need joey sacks, so I got this thing rolling and here we are," Santry said. Santry contacted Jan Kearns, director of the Redding Fashion Alliance. "We were thrilled to be a part of it and open up our space," Kearns said. The fashion alliance has tables where fabric can be ironed and cut, and sewing machines to put the pouches together. "One of the things we've learned already is that this is a nationwide event," Kearns said. Story continues Jan Kearns, executive director of the Redding Fashion Alliance, left, and volunteers Kim Santry of Redding and Karen Flynn of Shingletown go over instructions for making joey pouches for wildfire who survived the Australian wildfires. A group of about a dozen volunteers met at the fashion alliance office Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, to begin the sewing project. She has a friend in Southern California who's doing the same thing and knows the huge online store, Mood Fabrics, is joining the effort. "There's lots and lots of people who are responding to this call," Kearns said. The Dutch Quilting Society already has sent "tons of koala mittens" that protect the animals' burned paws, Santry said. "At this point we're sewing pockets for joeys and bat wraps," Kearns said. The smallest bag they're making is 4-by-7 inches for sugar gliders, a sort of airborne possum that sails through the air like a flying squirrel. The largest pouch is 11-by-12 inches for a young kangaroo. Follow Mike Chapman on Twitter: @mikechapman_RS. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Australian wildfires: Crafters sewing protective pouches for kangaroos The disease infecting and killing pigs in Africa, Europe and Asia will eventually spread to North America, say researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac). That means new funding from the federal government that will allow its lab in Saskatoon to test vaccines for African swine fever is not just for some distant problem. "It's now affecting several countries in Asia and has made its way into Europe, even in Belgium and the Czech Republic," said Volker Gerdts, VIDO-Intervac's director and CEO. Before the funding announcement last week, the lab had sent more than 30 vaccines to Winnipeg to be tested. Submitted by Debrah Marshall Economic repercussions ASF has infected over 60 per cent of Asian swine, and they are starting to die. For countries that export pork products, like Canada, ASF could have have severe economic repercussions. Submitted by Debrah Marshall "As soon as you have an outbreak in your country your ability to trade with other countries is lost," said Gerdts. "We're exporting almost 70 per cent of our pork to other countries." Vaccine research is conducted in one of the centre's high-level labs where scientists are usually clad in protective suits and hoods. ASF can't be transmitted to humans so the scientists working on the vaccines only need to wear hair nets, gowns and gloves. The vaccines VIDO-Intervac sent to Winnipeg in the past were eventually tested on pigs. Gerdt says that the lab on the U of S campus will be able to test vaccines on the animals in about a year. Canada-wide effort The centre just hosted an international conference, organized by the federal government. The intent of the conference was to share ASF research and co-ordinate an international effort to eradicate the fever. "The government of Canada is taking a leadership role to protect our pork industry, economy and Canadians' jobs," said Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in a release announcing the research. The conference also served as a planning session to determine a response to a potential outbreak. A Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people aboard, was likely brought down by an Iranian missile, Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said on Thursday, citing intelligence from Canadian and other sources. The destruction of the airliner, which carried 63 Canadians, "may well have been unintentional," Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," he ... EUGENE, Ore. -- A rally in downtown Eugene Thursday afternoon called for peace in the wake of the U.S killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Dozens of participants carried signs and chanted, listening to speakers including state Sen. James Manning, who represents parts of Lane County. Local groups including 350 Eugene, Extinction Rebellion and others organized the event. Organizer Susan Cundiff said participants were calling for the U.S. to stand down in Iran. Though international developments may not lead to an armed conflict, some fear the region could already be destabilized with years of work on nuclear disarmament lost. RELATED: ANTI-WAR RALLY SET IN DOWNTOWN EUGENE "The damage to that treaty has already been done by us walking away from it. It's hard to say about the damage of this action, and I certainly hope that both sides are backing off," said Cundiff. Manning agrees that President Donald Trump's approach to the situation has been tenuous, even as it appears he is moving the U.S towards de-escalation. "The war against terror is ongoing. That's a part of the mission. But there's no exit plan. You can't just start wars without an exit plan," he said. Dozens in attendance at the No War With Iran Rally on the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza @KEZI9 pic.twitter.com/N7oexx1HP8 Chris Lueneburg (@CLueneburgKEZI) January 9, 2020 Not all in attendance supported the anti-war message. Michael Davis interrupted Manning's speech with a question. "They didn't talk about peace. They talked about war. And I asked them, 'Where is the war?' We killed a terrorist," Davis said. Some emphasized the humanitarian risks of war. Paul Barker went to Iran as a part of the Peace Corps in the 1970s. He's visited several times in the years since and said he's seen fragile progress in the region. It's the kindness of the people there that has stuck with him. "What is the same is the very high level of warmth and kindness especially towards Americans. This somewhat surprised me," he said. "I was anxious going back last year under the Trump administration that things have changed as far as Iranian's attitudes towards Americans. And no, extremely welcoming." In a health care sector now awash with data and digital technologies, physicians are actively preparing for the transformation of patient care, according to the 2020 Health Trends Report published today by Stanford Medicine. Stanford Medicines 2020 Health Trends Report once again documents key trends steering the industrys future, including a maturing digital health market, new health laws opening patient access to data, and artificial intelligence gaining regulatory traction for medical use. To understand how these trends will reach the doctors office and ultimately shape patient care, Stanford Medicine commissioned a national survey of more than 700 physicians, residents, and medical students. As a proxy for the health care delivery system writ large, these individuals were polled for their thoughts about the future of medical practice and how they are preparing for it. We found that current and future physicians are not only open to new technologies but are actively seeking training in subjects such as data science to enhance care for their patients, said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine. We are encouraged by these findings and the opportunity they present to improve patient outcomes. At the same time, we must be clear-eyed about the challenges that may stymie progress. The surveys findings have major implications for patients, their future experiences of health care, and the services to which they will have access in the next decade. Key Findings 1. Health care providers adapting to new developments Physicians, residents, and students expect that almost a third of their duties could be automated by technology in the next 20 years. Nearly half of all physicians (47%) and three quarters of medical students (73%) are currently seeking out additional training to better prepare themselves for innovations in health care. These pursuits gravitate toward data-oriented subjects such as advanced statistics, genetic counseling, population health, and coding. Among physicians who are seeking additional training, 34% are pursuing classes in artificial intelligence. 2. Health care providers are digital health users and see clinical value in patient-generated sources of health data Nearly half of all physicians, students, and residents use a wearable health monitoring device. Among those who wear them, a majority say they use the data to inform their personal health care decisions (71% of physicians, 60% of students and residents). A majority of students and residents (78%) and physicians (80%) say that self-reported data from a patients health app would be clinically valuable in supporting their care. The group also sees clinical value in data received from sources such as a patient wearable device (79% students and residents; 83% physicians) and data from consumer genetic testing reports (63% students and residents, 65% physicians). 3. A transformation gap: survey responses among current and future physicians reveal significant gaps in readiness to implement emerging technologies There are large gaps in readiness for some of the most critical new health care developments such as telemedicine, personalized medicine, and genetic screening. When asked to rate the effectiveness of their education to prepare them for these developments, only 18% of current medical students and residents surveyed said that their education was very helpful, while 44% of physicians surveyed said that their education was either not very helpful or not helpful at all. This gap can be closed by modernizing the appropriate curriculum and training programs so that both current and future physicians can effectively use and make the most of new technologies. 4. Under pressure Physicians and those in training are struggling under medical practice burdens. Among physicians and residents surveyed, nearly one in five would change their career path if they were given the opportunity to do so, citing poor work-life balance and administrative burdens as the top reasons for reconsidering a medical career. The rise of the data-driven physician represents an opportunity to positively transform medicine and improve health outcomes by bringing new technologies and insights to the patient bedside. However, as it stands today, medical professionals still feel insufficiently trained to do so. Moreover, promising medical talent is being held back by challenges such as achieving work-life balance and student debt. As a new decade gets underway, Stanford Medicines 2020 Health Trends Report offers insights for health educators, employers, government officials, and private industry to take action and help tomorrows health care workforce reach its full potential. Methodology: In addition to conducting a secondary review of news articles, white papers and peer-review research for the 2020 Health Trends Report, Stanford Medicine worked with Brunswick Insight to conduct a comprehensive survey of 523 current physicians and 210 medical students and residents. Respondents were contacted between September and October of 2019. Respondents were contacted through a list of American Medical Association-verified physicians and survey-sample panels of medical professionals. Respondents were compensated for their involvement in the survey and were informed that their responses would be used to inform public-facing research. Respondents were given the opportunity to opt out of any and all questions in the survey. The World Bank has revised its staff rules after Axios reported in December that the bank had asked Taiwanese employees to obtain Chinese passports. Why it matters: The revised rule, issued on Dec. 19, states that the World Bank gives hiring preference to nationals from member states, but does not prohibit hiring non-member state nationals. China has sought to squeeze out Taiwanese nationals from international institutions. The World Bank's new rules represent a compromise position. Between the lines: The revised rules include the following addition: "The Bank Group's recruitment policy is to hire staff of the highest caliber, on as wide a geographical basis as possible, with preference to nationals of WBG [World Bank Group] member countries or countries of operations." Background: Taiwan is not a member state, but Taiwanese nationals have long worked at the World Bank. But in December, Axios reported that the World Bank had begun forcing its Taiwanese staff and prospective hires to produce mainland Chinese passports in order to maintain or secure employment. The World Bank expressed regret for those actions after being contacted by Axios. The Chinese government has waged a decades-long campaign to isolate Taiwan on the international stage and force it out of international institutions. Taiwan is no longer an official member state of any major international organization, including the United Nations, the IMF, the World Health Organization and Interpol. Some organizations, such as the IMF, prohibit the employment of nationals from non-member states. Seen in that light, the World Bank's new guidelines could be viewed as a compromise position, depending on how the rule is interpreted. The bottom line: Taiwanese face growing barriers abroad as China has become more aggressive in its attempts to marginalize an island it sees as its own sovereign territory. Even the World Bank's new position represents a further erosion of Taiwan's participation in the international community. Go deeper: China tried to get World Bank to fund surveillance in Xinjiang Greek prisoners were the first to see a new Polish film about a reformed ex-convict, after the local distribution manager said on Friday he felt it should be shown to inmates. Corpus Christi by Jan Komasa follows the story of a 20-year-old former convict who accidentally takes over as priest of a parish. The film was shown on Thursday to a group of around 100 male inmates at the education facility of Korydallos Prison a few hours before its national release, said Michalis Zeis of the Filmcenter Trianon distribution company. "When I saw this film, I said to myself that it had to be shown in prisons," Zeis told AFP. A second viewing is now planned for the prison's female inmates, he added. Greek jails are notoriously overcrowded, violence-prone and vulnerable to drug smuggling. There is also a shortage of re-integration programmes into Greek society. On Friday, seven people were hurt in a brawl between Afghans, Albanians and Greeks in a juvenile prison on the outskirts of the capital, state agency ANA said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON, January 10, 2020 -- The Heineman Foundation, American Institute of Physics and American Astronomical Society congratulate Christopher Kochanek, professor and Ohio Eminent Scholar at Ohio State University, for winning the 2020 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics. The 2020 Dannie Heineman Prize is awarded to Christopher Kochanek, "who has combined observations and theory to make outstanding contributions to astrophysics in topics ranging from the use of gravitational lenses for studies of dark matter halos and quasar accretion disks, to the lives and deaths of massive stars and the evolution of stellar populations in galaxies and quasars. He has also contributed to a worldwide network of telescopes that monitors transients over the entire sky, opening new avenues for astronomical discovery." "AIP is pleased to congratulate Dr. Kochanek for his contributions and his continued work into revealing the secrets of the night sky," said Michael Moloney, chief executive officer of AIP. "His exploration and search into how large stars die as supernovae and their potential to form black holes could be one of the most exciting challenges of modern astronomy." Kochanek said the search for a failed supernova creating a black hole has been an elusive hunt. He isn't deterred, both continuing the search for new, promising candidates with the Large Binocular Telescope and looking forward to the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope to confirm a current possibility. "Looking forward to the launch of JWST, as mid-infrared observations with JWST will clearly eliminate or establish the possibility that the first candidate survived but is obscured by dust too cold to see with the Spitzer Space Telescope," he said. "We are also really excited by our search for noninteracting, compact object, neutron star or black hole, binaries by combining the All Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) project with spectroscopic surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - APO Galactic Evolution Experiment." "I am delighted to hear that Chris Kochanek has been named the 2020 Heinemann Prize winner," said Megan Donahue, president of AAS. "He joins a very impressive list of past winners. He is a brilliant and versatile astronomer with accomplishments in theory and observations and in topics ranging from gravitational lensing to supernovae. The ASAS-SN project, led by Chris (and coprincipal investigator Krzysztof Stanek at OSU) and his collaborators, has not only yielded a rich trove of transient science for many of us, but the project has also coined one of the more memorable acronyms in astronomy." Kochanek credits patience and persistence in the development of the ASAS-SN project. The project started small and doubled its efforts as it found success, similar to the development of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment project that was started in 1992 and continues to run a long-term variability sky survey. "If we had started out with the system we have today, it would have been a disaster," Kochanek said. "The transients I have had the most fun with are tidal disruption events. Way back in my thesis, I did the first numerical simulations of a TDE with Chuck Evans, now at the University of North Carolina. Suddenly with ASAS-SN, we were finding more TDEs and collecting better data on them than ever before. A certain symmetry from theory to practice." When asked about his most favorite project or discovery, Kochanek likened the choice to picking a favorite child. But he said he has enjoyed his areas of study to date and looks forward to the future with hopeful eyes. "The great thing about astrophysics is that you can still reach that point (of wanting a change) and just switch to something new." ### ABOUT THE WINNER Christopher Kochanek is a professor in the department of astronomy at Ohio State. He graduated from Cornell University in 1985 with degrees in physics and mathematics and carried out his first research projects with S. Shapiro and S. Teukolsky, then professors at Cornell. Kochanek received a physics doctorate in 1989 from Caltech, under the supervision of previous Heineman Prize winner Roger Blandford. He was a Theoretical Astrophysics Center postdoctoral student at University of California, Berkeley from 1989 to 1991, a professor in the department of astronomy at Harvard University from 1991 to 1999, and an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory from 1999 to 2003 before moving to Ohio State as an Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of astronomy. His present focus is on the deaths of massive stars, searching for failed supernovae with the Large Binocular Telescope, and the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), the first project to search the entire visible sky on a nightly basis for transient phenomena. ABOUT THE HEINEMAN PRIZE The Heineman Prize is named after Dannie N. Heineman, an engineer, business executive, and philanthropic sponsor of the sciences. The prize was established in 1979 by the Heineman Foundation for Research, Education, Charitable and Scientific Purposes, Inc. Awarded annually, the prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient plus travel expenses to attend the meeting at which the prize is bestowed. https://www.aip.org/aip/awards-and-prizes/heineman-astro ABOUT AIP The American Institute of Physics is a federation of scientific societies in the physical sciences, representing scientists, engineers, educators, and students. AIP offers authoritative information, services, and expertise in physics education and student programs, science communication, government relations, career services, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach, and history of the physical sciences. AIP publishes Physics Today, the most closely followed magazine of the physical sciences community, and is also home to the Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences. https://www.aip.org/ ABOUT AAS The American Astronomical Society (AAS, aas.org), established in 1899 and based in Washington, DC, is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America. Its membership (~8,000) also includes physicists, mathematicians, geologists, engineers, and others whose research and educational interests lie within the broad spectrum of subjects comprising contemporary astronomy. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe, which it achieves through publishing, meeting organization, education and outreach, and training and professional development. A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran spent one night in a clinic after experiencing "palpitations and panic attacks", her husband has said. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker for Thomson Reuters Foundation, travelled to the country in March 2016 to visit her family. However, she was imprisoned while trying to leave in April 2016, and in September of that year she was jailed for five years for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Iranian government. Richard Ratcliffe said tensions in Tehran, sparked by the US assassination of General Qassem Suleimani, are taking a toll on the mental health of his wife. The couple's daughter returned to the UK from Iran last year / Reuters Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, Mr Ratcliffe said: "This is a situation where there is a lot of anger in Iran and a lot of vulnerability, and it's very stressful for the people involved. "I mean, Nazanin was taken down to the clinic overnight two nights ago, through palpitations and panic attacks. "So I think it's important for the Government to just do what they can." Richard Ratcliffe has campaigned tirelessly for his wife's release / PA He added: "She was put on beta blockers to calm down. "We usually expect things to happen a week or 10 days later, so there is a sense of foreboding which is affecting all the prisoners." Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is midway through a five-year sentence, accused of spying, which she denies. Husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe calls on Boris Johnson to 'take responsibility' The UK Government has been attempting to secure her release after affording her diplomatic protection in March 2019. The 40-year-old is among as many as five people with dual British-Iranian nationality, or with UK connections, believed to be in prison in Iran at present. Mr Ratcliffe added that he should be meeting Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials later on Friday. He said: "There's certainly concerns, I think it's a very tough time, and you have heard on the news this morning about other events in Iran, it's just really sad. "In terms of what contact we have had with the Government, we should be trying to meet with the Foreign Office today, in just a couple of hours' time. "(We are) really pressing up on the media for a meeting with the Prime Minister. "So we will be calling to find out when we can do that." Mr Ratcliffe also urged Boris Johnson to pay a 400 million debt Britain owes Iran, as his wife now fears receiving a second jail sentence as Iran seeks revenge on the West. The sum has been outstanding since pre-revolutionary Iran paid the UK for 1,500 Chieftain tanks in the 1970s. Vigils were held across Canada on January 9 following the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane near Tehran the day before. All 176 people aboard the plane were killed, including 63 Canadian citizens. The plane, a Boeing 737, crashed minutes after takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport. Flowers and photos of those who died were brought to a candlelit vigil in Toronto, video by one of the organizers, Ardeshir Zarezadeh, shows. According to Canadian media, Toronto Mayor John Tory said at the vigil when one person suffers in Toronto, we all suffer. On January 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. US intelligence officials also indicated they believed the plane was shot down, a conclusion supported by video evidence analysed by news outlets, including Storyful. Credit: Ardeshir Zarezadeh via Storyful Nearly 1,500 firefighter tools and equipment (costing USD 102,000), donated to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia by the US Embassy, were delivered during a solemn ceremony held at the Ministry of Emergency Situations today. Among the attendees were Minister Felix Tsolakyan and US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy. Minister Tsolakyan expressed gratitude to the US Ambassador, the United States European Command and the Offices of Defense Cooperation of the US Embassy for the fruitful cooperation with and support to the Ministry of Emergency Situations that trace back to 2003. I fully hope the friendly cooperation is ongoing, and it is safe to state that the relations between the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia and the US Embassy in Armenia have been progressing and growing and have been raised to a qualitatively new level over the past years, Minister Tsolakyan stressed. With satisfaction, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy stated the high level of cooperation between the embassy and the ministry and also voiced hope that the firefighter equipment and tools will help build the capacities of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Japanese automaker Toyota has announced plans to create a model city of the future to test and develop new technologies. The project will involve building a complete city from the ground up at the foot of Japans Mount Fuji, Toyota said in a statement. The company announced the plans during the yearly CES technology show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Toyota calls the project Woven City. It is meant to be a model for creating smart cities around the world. A smart city is an area developed with high-speed internet connectivity to link major information and communication systems. These systems powered by data and sensors - can improve living conditions relating to things like energy, transportation and health. Experts say smart cities can be designed to greatly cut human-caused pollution, reduce traffic problems and create new uses for internet technology to affect everyday life. The Woven City will aim to be a living laboratory for technologies including self-driving systems, robotics, smart homes and artificial intelligence, or AI. Toyota says the city will be built on land where an automobile factory currently operates. The factory is set to close by the end of 2020. The city will cover about 70 hectares of land and is designed to hold around 2,000 people. Residents could include Toyota employees and visiting researchers. The city will have its own police officers, fire and emergency services and schools. The company says the citys main electrical power will come from hydrogen fuel technology. The city is planned to be fully sustainable, with buildings made mostly of wood. Buildings will be made with solar equipment to produce additional electricity. Akio Toyoda is the president of Toyota Motor Corporation. He said in a statement that the city will aim to connect people, buildings and vehicles. This will permit researchers to carry out important testing of connected AI technology, he said. Toyoda added that the company welcomes cooperation on the project with partners from business or education. City planners will divide the streets for different purposes. One part will be used for faster vehicle traffic. Another will be designed for people riding bicycles or scooters. A third part will be for walking. The company says homes will be built with the latest human support technologies. This includes robots to assist with daily living. Homes will also be equipped with sensors and systems designed to observe and improve peoples physical and mental health. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Toyota. Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story foot n. at the bottom of artificial intelligence n. the development of computer systems with the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence resident n. someone who lives in a particular place sustainable adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed Courtesy Film Movement The documentary Advocate, directed by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche, follows the life, work, and activism of Jewish-Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel, who defends Palestinian clients accused of terrorism. Its an unsentimental yet greatly moving work of political cinema, patiently making the case for unrelenting radical activism in a war-torn and unjust society. Tsemel, who proudly wears her media-conferred badges of leftist and devils advocatecalling them complimentshas spent over 30 years advancing the Jewish-Israeli anti-Zionist tradition, which has existed since the very beginning of the occupation during the Six-Day War of 1967; her husband is the Marxist and anti-Zionist activist Michel Warschawski, who also became her client after being accused of collaborating with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1987. Tsemels activism crucially takes place not only in streets and prisons, but in the Israeli courts where she hopes justice may one day be fairly applied to those exercising their right to resist the occupation. That outcome seems wildly unlikely, but in the film, civil and human rights lawyer Avigdor Feldman admits that, despite his own lack of faith that justice will ever exist for the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation, Leas radical optimism puts her at an advantage. BAFTAs So White Further Exposes the Deep Racism, Misogyny, and Classism at the Heart of U.K. Cinema Inside the Mysterious Death of a Prosecutor Investigating an Alleged Iran Terror Attack That Killed 85 Jews Since the filmmakers were never allowed in the courtroom, Advocate is less of a procedural than it is a portrait of how activism can and must work under extreme obstaclesthe film doesnt condense Tsemels court cases into simple narratives of crime and punishment or wins and (overwhelming) losses, but places them, as Tsemel would, in the context of war, empire, and state-sanctioned brutality. Tsemel believes her clients have committed acts of violence or intimidation as forms of self-advocacy and not as acts of hatred or anti-Semitism. She takes the people she defends at their word, keenly listening to the testimonies and confessions (extracted by regulated yet still corrupt Israeli police interrogators) and building cases around the right to respond to losses of freedom, equality, and citizenship. The best possible outcome for these defendants is reduced prison time, not acquittal. Still, both the films endurance and its subjects (Tsemel is nearly 75 and still taking on clients) are lessons for Americans at a time of impending war against Iran and ever-increasing Islamophobia: The fight will be long and hard, and we owe it to those directly suffering to get involved. Story continues Advocate is not a documentary made to comfortably confirm the beliefs of those most likely to see it; it does not turn away from the accusations of terrorism made against Tsemels clientswho in many cases do kill or cause harmor from the crowds and mobs who, for instance, demand the execution of a Palestinian child who waved a decorative knife in a Jewish neighborhood as a threat and killed no one. This is not a film that uncritically repeats the pronouncements of those in power or buys into the propaganda of war espoused by media outlets and governments. Instead, by depicting both the mundane and extraordinaryincluding archival footage and photographs, testimony from both Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian activists (as well as Tsemel and Warchawskis children, Nissan and Talila), and dynamic shots of Tsemels everyday lawyeringthe film delivers a portrait of radical activism that may be able to disturb and awaken the complacent and barely-critical. And more importantly, the film can serve to reinvigorate those already invested in protecting their Iranian, Iraqi, and Muslim neighbors, who will surely be on the receiving end of hatred and human rights violations as war in the Middle East rages on. Issue docs receive their fair share of fatigued responses from those hoping to be delighted and entertained by all cinema, but in championing humanity not abstractly, but under historically-specific and morally-necessary circumstances, Advocate is the most urgent and transfixing film Ive seen in a long time. For those of us overwhelmed by the ever-expanding demands of modern societythe need to earn money and achieve status so we can not only meet our needs but desiresself-sacrifice, whether that be through career, community activism, or the expenditure of monetary resources, may seem like a nostalgic, idealistic concept. Yet, as a rule, struggle has always been required in the fight for justice. If were committed not only to our own personal freedom but the freedom of others, we cannot simply go on with business as usual, competing for the rewards and accolades that are meant to validate and protect us and our various privileges. During his interrogations in the late 1980s, Warchawski was told by his torturers that if he renounced the Palestinians he could do whatever he wanted with his organizationhe just had to pick the side of the Jewish people, for whom there was (supposedly) democracy. Warchawski insisted, out of self-respect, I wont say out of courage, on remaining in the gray areameaning loyal to both the Jewish and Palestinian people. Jones and Bellaiche also give Tsemel and Warchawskis children, Nissan and Talila, the chance to share their feelings about coming second to their parents radical and, in Israel, deeply controversial work: As children, it was tough to accept and difficult to comprehend; as adults, they not only feel proud but protected. Advocate expresses a truly universal truth for progressive movements: While active struggle requires significant sacrifice and even personal danger, it is in service of a greater, kinder future for all people, both intimate and unknown. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Iran Invites NTSB, Boeing to Participate in Ukrainian Plane Crash Investigation 01/10/20 By Steve Herman, VOA Iran has invited the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. accident investigation agency, to participate in the probe of the Ukrainian Boeing commercial jetliner that crashed near Tehran earlier this week. The NTSB said in a statement Thursday it had received "formal notification" about the crash from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran and is sending "an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash." The plane's pieces spread at the crash site Iran has also invited Boeing, the U.S. manufacturer of the plane, to be a part of the investigation team. It is not, however, immediately clear what level of participation the two U.S. entities would have in the investigation because of the U.S. sanctions placed on Iran and the heightened tensions between the two countries. Academics returning from holidays, a bride and groom coming back from their wedding, and a one-year-old girl travelling with her parents were among the Canadian victims of a plane crash Wednesday in Tehran that killed all 176 people on board. https://t.co/cKC97Oipn2 Robyn Doolittle (@robyndoolittle) January 8, 2020 Ukraine is also taking part in the investigation. The latest development comes as U.S. President Donald Trump publicly voiced suspicion that Iran may have accidentally shot down the Ukrainian airliner. "Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," said Trump of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. "Some people say it was mechanical. Personally, I don't think that's even a question." Ballistic missile attack The crash occurred just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers in response to last week's U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Iranian officials have maintained the Boeing 737-800, at an altitude of 2,400 meters, suffered a catastrophic engine failure early Wednesday, local time. All 176 people on the plane bound for Kyiv died, including 63 Canadians. Government sources have told VOA that U.S. officials have examined satellite data and imagery leading them to believe the airliner, just after taking off from Tehran, was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile after being targeted accidentally. A U.S. official confirmed to VOA that he is confident the plane was shot down by Iran. "At some point they'll release the black box. Ideally, they'll get it to Boeing," Trump added in remarks to reporters in the White House Roosevelt Room Thursday. Video of the aircraft shows it breaking up in the air in a fireball over Iran. The head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organization denies the plane could have been hit by a missile. "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane and such rumors are illogical," ISNA quoted Ali Abedzadeh as saying. The New York Times posted video on its website late Thursday that the newspaper identified as "verified video showing the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit in Iran." The Times said the video, provided by Maxar Technologies, appeared to show a missile hitting a plane, which did not explode immediately. The Times said the aircraft turned back "toward the airport ablaze before it exploded." Canada and Ukraine The governments of Ukraine and Canada are not accepting the initial assessment by Iran that the cause of the crash appeared to be a mechanical issue. Citing what he called "intelligence from multiple sources," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that "the intelligence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." Trudeau added, "This may well have been unintentional." Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, expressed solidarity with Canada. "We, Ukrainians, share the pain that Canadians feel, and the stories that we see on television there are just as heartbreaking to us as the stories about our flight attendants and our pilots that we see on Ukrainian television," Shevchenko told VOA's Ukraine service Thursday. "We just feel that we have to walk through this pain together." Asked if Trudeau's announcement would hinder the investigation, Shevchenko said he wouldn't speculate. "I wouldn't speculate on the reasons of the crash either," he said, "but I would say that it is in the everyone's interest, including Iran, to have very good, transparent and genuine investigation into this tragedy. I think that truth and only truth is something that can get us moving forward." Sixty-three of the crash victims were from Canada, which has more than 200,000 citizens of Iranian descent. It is also popular with Iranian students. Moments before takeoff on #FlightPS752: Sahar Haghjoo and her daughter Elsa Jadidi in their seats ready to fly home to Toronto. @globalnewsto #UkrainianPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/5InrvWhJzr Caryn Lieberman (@caryn_lieberman) January 9, 2020 "I'm glad that Prime Minister Trudeau is taking this so seriously, but I was saddened and angry that the evidence points to an Iranian missile being responsible for the crash," Avideh Montmaen-Far, president of the Council of Iranian Canadians, told VOA's Persian service. "I hope Canada and other international experts will be involved in order to ensure the investigation is thorough, because families of the victims deserve truth and closure," she said. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, said there were several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike. "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main [theories], as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," he told reporters. Britain urges full investigation In Britain, government officials told reporters it is looking into "very concerning" reports the plane had been struck by a surface-to-air missile. Following a phone call Thursday between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the British government said there needs to be "a full, credible and transparent investigation in what happened." But British officials added that they did not think the downing of the jet was intentional. The global security risk company IHS Markit issued a briefing Thursday claiming that the UIA flight was hit by an SA-15 missile fired by a unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ukraine's deputy foreign minister said his government has sent a team of experts who are on the ground in Iran, working with their Iranian counterparts to sift through the crash debris for evidence of the cause. "Our priority is that all the pieces of information should be collected and preserved," Sergiy Kyslytsya told a small group of reporters in New York. "On the black boxes, there are rules and they should be followed, and I am looking forward to the full cooperation of Iran - it is in their best interest." He discouraged speculation and conspiracy theories, saying they would hurt the families of the victims. "My other concern is that the international protocols, conventions and regulations should be duly implemented when it comes to the investigation," Kyslytsya said. Investigators in Iran said the voice and data recorders from the Boeing 737 aircraft, built in 2016, were recovered from the crash site on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, but that the so-called black boxes were damaged and some data had been lost. The Convention on International Civil Aviation, to which Iran is a signatory, does not require Tehran to hand over the data recorders to the NTSB or Boeing, Andriy Guck, a Ukraine-based attorney and aviation expert, said. "There is a duty to investigate," Guck told VOA's Ukrainian Service in a phone conversation. "Iran can decide to investigate the black boxes by itself or transfer them to a foreign laboratory. But if the Iranians do not allow anyone else to participate in the examination of the boxes, it will raise doubts about their investigation." VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb, VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin, U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer, Jamie Dettmer, Michael Lipin of VOA Persian, and Tatiana Vorozhko of VOA's Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US seeks to emulate the war crimes of DAESH, menacing the cultural heritage of the millennia-old civilization of Iran, reports IRNA. Zarif made the remarks in a statement in the wake of a ban on his visa to take part in the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting in New York. The statement was read by Iran's envoy Majid Takhte Ravanchi to the United Nations Security Council who said "I am here today to deliver a statement on behalf of H.E. Minister Zarif whose visa was denied by the U.S. in contravention of the Headquarters Agreement." Bengaluru, Jan 10 : Global software major Infosys on Friday said its internal audit committee found no evidence of financial impropriety or executive misconduct against Chief Executive Salil Parikh and Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy on the several allegations levelled against them by anonymous employees. "I am pleased that after rigourous investigation, the audit committee has found no wrongdoing by the company or its executives," said Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani in a regulatory filing. "The allegations are substantially without merit," said Infosys in the regulatory filing before releasing its Q3 results on Friday. The audit committee roped in legal counsel Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and PricewaterhouseCoopers to probe the allegations. Nilekani said the investigation team conducted 128 interviews with 77 persons, including relevant company personnel concerned with or mentioned in the allegations. According to the audit committee, the company identified 46 custodians to collect the relevant documents and electronic data pertaining to the damaging whistleblower complaints. Nilekani said that the company pored over 2,10,000 documents from electronic sources and image devices, amounting to a mammoth data bank of 8 terabytes. "The investigation team's review of information pertaining to the allegations encompassed the time period January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019," he said. According to the Infosys chairman, the company did not place any restrictions or limitations on the investigating team to access information, as the company, its directors and employees totally cooperated. Nilekani said Infosys also consulted with independent internal auditor Ernst & Young regarding large deals and treasury related processes, which was also shared with the investigation team. "Infosys' well established whistleblower policy has been in place over 15 years and ensures that the company both promotes the highest ethical standards and maintains a workplace that facilities the reporting of potential violations of company policies and applicable laws," said the company. In Q3, the Indian IT firm faced a plethora of serious allegations from its employees who called themselves "ethical employees", trying to expose alleged wrongdoing by Parikh and Roy. Allegations ranged from racism and misogyny to compelling finance teams to refrain from recognising reversals of $50 million of upfront payment in FDR contract and many others. The complaints reverberated in the USs, with the Securities and Exchange Commission initiating a probe and a couple of law firms initiating action on Infosys. The Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani has warned the United States that it would risk a "very dangerous response" if it makes "another mistake." Speaking with the U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on the phone on Thursday, Rouhani described the Iranian missile attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq as "self-defense" stipulated in Article 51 of the United Nation's charter. Rouhani was referring to the same Article that U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, had earlier used to explain the reason behind its decision to kill the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Qassem Soleimani. Retaliating to the killing of Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike outside Baghdad international airport last week, Iran fired missiles at bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. The U.S. branded Soleimani as a "terrorist" who had planned attacks against U.S. targets in the region. "If the U.S. makes another mistake, it will receive a hazardous response," Rouhani cautioned during his conversation with the U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. He also denounced comments made by several British officials endorsing the killing of Soleimani. The U.K. authorities should "reconsider their instance," Rouhani told Johnson, insisting, "Undoubtedly, without martyr Soleimani's efforts, you wouldn't have calm in London today." Once again, Rouhani blamed Washington's withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, as the leading cause of instability in the Middle East. Accusing the Americans and the White House of not understanding the Middle East, Rouhani claimed that killing Soleimani has led to the "uprising" of the regional nations, and "unified" them. For his part, Johnson expressed sympathy with Iran over a series of tragic incidents that have occurred in recent days, and voiced concern about escalating insecurity in the region as well as the safety of British troops in the region, asking all parties to exercise self-restraint, the IRGC-run Tasnim news agency reported. Immediately after the Iranian missile attacks, Trump said January 8 the United States "will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime" in response to what he called "Iranian aggression." He offered no specifics. However, when asked about the "additional sanctions", President Trump said on Thursday, the United States had already imposed additional sanctions on Iran. "It's already been done; we've increased them," Trump said at a White House event, without elaboration." They were very severe, but now it's increased substantially. I just approved it a little while ago with the Treasury," he reiterated, adding the White House would soon make an announcement. "Their offensive capability is drastically greater than the defensive capability that is arrayed against them," said Jack Watling, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, a London security research centre. "Their ability to inflict significant damage makes the cost of war with Iran quite severe." Iran's ineffectual missile bombardment is the only attack it has claimed. Credit:Matt Golding The ineffectual attack on Wednesday demonstrated the range of Iran's ballistic missiles some travelling more than 900 kilometres but also their poor accuracy, with several landing well outside their presumed targets. Some analysts suggested that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may have intentionally ordered a symbolic but relatively harmless attack to show Iranian citizens a forceful response without provoking an all-out war with Washington. "Khamenei has to calibrate the response so that it is enough for Iran not to lose face but not so much that Iran loses its head," said Karim Sadjadpour, a scholar of Iran at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. But Tehran and its allies may still be plotting less overt forms of revenge for the American killing last week of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Many analysts contend that Iran and its militant allies are reverting to their pattern of covert or indirect attacks that leave no clear evidence of Iranian responsibility. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, who also lost one of their leaders in the drone strike that killed Soleimani, said on Wednesday, local time, that they would seek their own revenge. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, has said that it would do so as well. Iran has also shown a long-standing interest in assassinations, a tactic that could match the vows of Iranian officials to take "proportionate" measures to avenge Soleimani. Several Iran experts said that killing an American official, presumably in the region, might be the eye-for-an-eye that Tehran is seeking. "I certainly would not be going out to many public places, because the risk of getting whacked or kidnapped is very high," said Sir John Jenkins, a former British ambassador in Saudi Arabia. But Iran has a dismal success rate in assassinating foreign officials. Iran has tried and failed to kill Israeli diplomats in Thailand, Georgia and India, and to bomb a rally near Paris where Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, was speaking. In 2011, US law enforcement agents broke up a particularly brazen and inept Iranian plot to hire thugs from a Mexican drug cartel for $US1.5 million to blow up an Italian restaurant in Washington in order to kill a Saudi diplomat. "We almost couldn't believe it," said Ilan Goldenberg, a former Pentagon official who oversaw its Iran taskforces at the time. "Everybody looking at the intelligence thought it was just crazy noise, until a first payment of $US150,000 showed up in a bank account." The September attack against Saudi Arabia presented a frightening alternative, in part because it exposed a vulnerable spot in most missile-defence systems. Most are built to defend against ballistic rockets, and almost none are equipped to detect and stop a large number of low-flying, high-speed drones and cruise missiles. Officials said that the attack demonstrated that Iran's technology was more advanced than US intelligence agencies had expected. "The attack on oil fields in Saudi was stunning in the depth of its audaciousness," General Kenneth McKenzie Jr, head of the Pentagon's Central Command, said in a recent interview. Tal Inbar, former director of the space research centre at the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, a now-closed Israeli research organisation, said the precision of the attack could not have been achieved using only a GPS system. "Much better capabilities were deployed in this attack," he said, "possibly a camera on the missile and the drones, which compares reality with a target image." A long range S-200 missile test is conducted in the Iranian port city of Bushehr. Credit:ISNA Unlike more advanced American or Chinese drones, Iranian drones cannot fire missiles from the air. But they can be loaded with explosives, as they were thought to be in the Saudi attack, to become remote-guided missiles. Iran's longest-range cruise missiles can strike more than 2400 kilometres from Iran's borders, reaching almost anywhere in the Persian Gulf. China, Russia and North Korea have provided Iran with technology and munitions, and Iran has produced remote-controlled drones domestically. Until recently, though, Iran has preferred to rely on its network of militant allies around the region including Hezbollah in Lebanon, an array of Iraqi militias now organised as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, the Houthis in Yemen, and other groups across the region. Some, like Hezbollah or the Iraqi forces, are now so large, well-equipped and institutionalised that they more closely resemble professional militaries than informal militias. "That is what extends Iran's power far beyond its borders," said Afshon Ostovar, a scholar of the Iranian military at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The Trump administration's sweeping economic sanctions on Iran over the past year have damaged its economy and reduced its ability to fund its militant allies. But a report this week from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies concluded that the total number of fighters in the full network of Iranian-backed militias has continued to grow steadily, to an estimated range of nearly 150,000 to more than 250,000. And despite the efforts of the United States and Israel, Iran has continued to smuggle missiles of various ranges and abilities to its proxies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, according to Israeli and US defence officials. The latest cycle of attacks between the United States and Iran started with a rocket attack that killed an American contractor in Iraq. The United States retaliated with a strike on an Iranian-backed militia, beginning a cycle of escalation. But far from ending such rocket attacks, some of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have said that even without Iranian encouragement they now intended to step up their attacks on US forces in order to drive them out of the country. Loading "I think we are settling in for what is going to be a bumpy period of conflict," Ostovar said. Cyberattacks a weapon that can cause severe damage halfway around the world with low costs and few fingerprints may be Iran's wild card. Cybersecurity experts and government officials have already spotted an increase in malicious activity by pro-Iranian hackers and social media users that they believe could foreshadow more serious computer attacks from Tehran. US officials and independent cybersecurity experts say that Iranian malware attacks on Saudi Arabia have been among the most damaging of such assaults in history, causing at least tens of millions of dollars in damages. A 2012 attack that US officials attributed to Iran overwrote the hard drives of Saudi state oil company Aramco with the image of a burning American flag. A second attack in 2016 and 2017 destroyed files of the Saudi central bank, certain government ministries and several private companies. That time, a famous photograph of a drowned Syrian refugee child appeared on computer screens. Loading Former director of US national intelligence Dan Coats ranked Iran as one of the four most dangerous sources of cyber threats last year, along with Russia, China and North Korea. Sundar Pichai had a good end to last year, with him getting the reigns of Googles parent company Alphabet, as well as a handsome salary hike with tempting stock options. And now, 2020 too has begun on a positive note for the Alphabet CEO of Indian origin. Getty Images Sundar Pichai will be happy to know that Alphabets share prices spiked a good 1.2-percent during the pre-market trading on Thursday, after positive comments from analysts for the brands prospects in 2020. At least three financial firms raised their price target on the stock -- primarily on the fact that it could see promising growth in the ad business, partly relying on the political ad spending for the 2020 elections. The push has resulted in the tech giant to close on Wednesday at a market capitalisation of $969 billion -- gaining more than 35 percent than a not-so-promising June 2019. While analysts find the Alphabets prospect rising due to spike in ad revenue, many also see promise with its video streaming platform YouTube. As per a recent Bloomberg report, as of now, 40 analysts recommend buying Alphabet while five have a hold rating on the stock -- getting the average price target to around $1,467 -- four percent more than its most recent close. With the positive target raises by analysts, Google's parent company Alphabet becomes the second brand in tech lead by Indian-origin CEO to touch a trillion-dollar valuation, after Satya Nadellas Microsoft. It is also the fourth tech company to touch a trillion-dollar valuation, After Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Reuters In case you thought Alphabet just owned Google Search, YouTube and Android, youd be surprised to know that it has numerous other businesses under its purview. Companies like self-driving car technology business Waymo, health care software company Verily, high-speed gigabit internet connection network Google Fiber, advanced AI firm DeepMind, and more, became the holding company for all businesses that didn't easily fall under Google's mandate in a 2015 restructuring of Google, all of which are controlled by Sundar Pichai now. WATSONVILLE (BCN) A 26-year-old man was fatally stabbed early Friday morning at a Watsonville home and authorities have arrested a suspect in the slaying, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. The victim, whose name was not released, was found sometime after 2 a.m. at a house in the 1400 block of Green Valley Road, the sheriff's office said. He died later at an out-of-county hospital. Authorities arrested Joseph Keeler, 28, at the home in connection with the stabbing death. He is being held on a $750,000 bail. No other information was immediately available about what led to the incident. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. This is an opinion column. When are they gonna learn? When are they gonna learn they cant just come here and tell us what to do? Or even what theyre going to do? Not us. Not in Alabama. Especially not in Birmingham, where the strands of communication are already tenuous, laced with historical distrust. One thing strengthens them, though: Someone trying to come to town and tell us whats good for us. Wayne Reynolds has a big wallet. His wife, Catherine, once an accountant, reportedly netted $100 million and then some in 2000 from the sale of Servus, a student loan company of which she owned a portion. Two years later, the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation graced the Kennedy Center with a $100 million donation. Last May, Businessweek named her one of the 50 most philanthropic Americans. Reynolds has big ideas, and the one he wants to drop on us is a doozy: A $250 million glass-enclosed edifice called the Global Forum for Freedom & Justice. Sounds big. Sounds fancy. Sounds important. As far as anyone really describes it now, the Forum is a campus designed to foster leadership training and attract people interested in civil/human rights to Birmingham from around the globe for classes, lectures, screenings, and whatnot. Plans call for a hotel (You can stay in the Nelson Mandela or Rosa Parks suites, Reynolds has said), retail and student residences, and a non-profit space for the classrooms and a theater. The Forum will add jobs and economic development and bring resources into the community, Reynolds touts. Cool. Sounds like something Birmingham does really need. And should welcome. Heres the kicker, though: Reynolds wants to land this enterprising starship plumb in the midst of the Birmingham Civil Rights District, on a block (owned by Alabama Power) across the street from historic 16th Street Baptist Church and equally historic Kelly Ingram Park and caddy-corner from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. On sacred ground. He wants to do it whether those institutions want it there or not. At least one certainly does not. I dont object to the program, it seems wonderful, Ted Debro, chair of the 16th Street Baptist Church board of trustees, told me. It just doesnt fit in the civil rights district. It conflicts with what were doing or trying to do. He says it is going to create a place that empowers young people and equips them to be leaders in the community. How does that differ from [Civil Rights] Institute? People are scared of new things, Reynolds shared. They need to be assured that it will only benefit them and bring more visitors and awareness and lend a greater vision to what is already there. Then he added: Theyre not exactly drawing hundreds of thousands of people and they should. People land in Atlanta and go to Montgomery [for the National Memorial for Peace and Justice]; they dont go to Birmingham. [The district] needs to be brought to life. See that right there: Thats what we dont liketelling us what we need. Even if we do. Reynolds began planting seeds for the Forum about 18 months ago, after a failed effort to build it in Montgomery. He filled rooms with easels and renderings, brought in various stakeholders and told them how great the Forum would be for the city. First, he pitched a gaggle of local CEOs and deep-pocketed corporate leaders. (Thats the wrong group to start with for a project involving the civil rights district.) Then, Reynolds touted the Forum in various gatherings with political and community leaders, UAB officials and others who hold dearly the district, its legacy, and mission. Dr. Arthur Price, pastor of 16th Street Baptist, was among the first district representatives to see Reynolds pitch. It opened up more questions than answers, Debro says. Groundwork was not done regarding the Forums civil rights connections and relevance to the history and monuments in Birmingham. Outsiders have come in and taken advantage of the Southern gentleness. We are laid back and will let any and everything come in and take over, without vetting their purpose and ideasuntil we realize our toes were stepped on. Thats been the history of our people and the South. When people come with glorified presentations we are awed and dont look beyond all the flash, glamor and designs. In December, Reynolds and Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite co-hosted a fanciful and filling lunch downtownyes, I, in full disclosure, cleaned my plateto introduce the Forum to the rest of us. It was the public unveiling and the room was filled with representatives from almost every corner of the city. Almost. Mayor Randall Woodfinwhom Reynolds said asked him, How can we get this in Birmingham?was absent. As were Andrea Taylor, CEO of the Civil Rights Institute, or anyone representing 16th Street Baptist Church. No one donning the University of Alabama at Birmingham green was there, either. Reynolds spoke reverently that day of Rosa Parks and Frank Johnson, the judge who ruled in Parks favor to strike down segregation on the buses of Montgomery, both of whom he interviewed on film. Yet he made only passing reference to Birmingham native Angela Davis. Of the Civil Rights Institute, he said: I dont want to tell the same story they tell across the street. I believe a rising tide lifts all boats. In late December, Reynolds said the response to the Forum was 99 positive. Mmmm, not so much. Anytime you do something new, you cant make everybody happy, he admited. A few people are unhappy with me. Reynolds has yet to articulate who might oversee the Forum, one bit of contention among doubters. Its a momentous task, requiring someone with a, yes, global academic vision and an equally vast Rolodex chocked with deep-pocketed friends. Naming someone familiar to us to the helm would allay at least some concerns. But, alas: I havent met the person who can handle that yet, Reynolds says. Just after the luncheon, Taylor and Isaac Cooper, the new chair of the BCRIs board of directors, issued a statement on the Forum, saying, in part: We are open to collaboration with others who share our vision for research and archives, educational programming and empowering young people worldwide to preserve and promote civil and human rights using innovative tools to advance the peoples movement. Reynolds calls the statement positive (tentative was more how I read it), then tweaked the BCRI board and leadership. If youre going to be on the board you either have to give or get money to grow the institution, he said. That passion and vision and desire to make it greater has to come from the CEO. Right now, they dont have the assets or resources to grow. If this thing is built and the way we envision, part of the revenues from the for-profit entities will go to the landmark institutions. They dont have a great source of revenue. Id like to build a sustainable [financial] model. Curiously, an ordinance appeared on the City Councils agenda Tuesday calling for the number of seats on BCRIs 19-member boardreconstrued and revitalized just last Augustto be catapulted to 29 (by-laws currently allow a maximum of 23) and limiting the selection and appointment to the sole authority of the council. The ordinance caught most council members by surprise and was submitted and recommended by new Council President William Parker. It never came to a vote. Instead, Parker referred it to the Committee of the Whole. Could the timing of the ordinance be coincidental or somehow nudged by Reynolds? Neither Parker did not respond to inquiries, so we can only speculate. On Thursday evening, Reynolds shared in an email: We are not aware of this weeks city council [ordinance] but the Global Forum looks forward to working with the BCRI to establish a gateway to Americas civil rights trail that will empower and equip young leaders from around the world. Our motives are good, Reynolds said in late December. I am trying to bring as many people as can into the fold and can be a force for good. The Forum may indeed be good for Birmingham, especially if entirely funded by Reynolds and his rich friends. I want it to happen, whether in the civil rights district or elsewhere. It wont, thoughwithout repairing a few bridges. Heres a phrase I heard more than once from people whove heard the Forum pitch: Im not going to trade my old friends for new billionaire friends. Nope, its just not how we do things. Not here. A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared patient-specific airway stents developed by Cleveland Clinic physician Tom Gildea, M.D. The stents are used to keep open the airways of patients with serious breathing disorders, such as those caused by tumors, inflammation, trauma or other masses. Until now, the patient-specific devices were being implanted under FDA's compassionate use program, which allows patients who have failed all available forms of treatment to receive investigational ones not yet available to the public. Standard airway stents come in a limited number of sizes and shapes and are generally designed for larger airways. However, no two patient anatomies are alike, making it difficult to get a perfect fit, especially for those with complex conditions. Even in parts of the airways that are easily accessible, ill-fitting standard stents can result in stent kinking and bending as well as airway complications such as growth of new tissue, mucus impaction and tissue death. The patient-specific stents developed by Dr. Gildea and his engineering team are designed using CT scans and proprietary 3D visualization software. The molds for the stents are then printed using a 3D printer and injected with medical-grade silicone. This process allows them to perfectly fit a patient's anatomy. Breathing is something many people take for granted, but for many of these patients, every breath can be a struggle. It's been gratifying to see patients receiving the customized stents feeling relief right away. We are excited to be able to bring this technology to more patients across the country and grateful for the patients and donors who have worked with us to help pioneer this technology." Dr. Tom Gildea, section head of bronchoscopy at Cleveland Clinic Another advantage of the patient-specific silicone stents is they have the potential to be more tolerable than traditional silicone stents, which, in certain patients, may have to be frequently changed or cleaned due to problems from a poor fit. In studies, the patient-specific stents lasted, on average, about a year versus 90 days for stock stents. Furthermore, the patient-specific stents exhibited shorter procedure times and improved patient-reported symptoms, leading to a reduced need for stent changes and modifications. It's estimated that about 30,000 airway stents will be implanted in the U.S. in 2020. Patient-specific products manufactured with 3D printing, including the airway stents, were named as one of the top 10 innovations at Cleveland Clinic's annual Medical Innovations Summit in 2018. Dr. Gildea was also the recipient of the Outstanding Innovation in Medical Device award at the 2018 annual Inventor Awards Reception held by Cleveland Clinic Innovations. With personalized medical devices more common in orthopedics, the patient-specific stent was developed and FDA cleared by an engineering team inside an orthopedic-focused Cleveland Clinic subsidiary. A new subsidiary named VisionAir Solutions will be formed around the technology with the sole mission of bringing more personalized medical devices to interventional pulmonologists and the patients who need them. By the end of the first quarter of 2020, this new spin-off company plans to begin providing the personalized stents to patients in a controlled launch at many of the country's top medical institutions. Dr. Gildea is an inventor of this technology that is being manufactured by a Cleveland Clinic spin-off company. Dr. Gildea and Cleveland Clinic may benefit financially if the technology is successful. The economic outlook for journalism remains dark. The news industrys once-dependable revenue model, based on selling advertising and subscriptions, increasingly seems like an artifact from a different era. Against this backdrop, many journalism stakeholders have looked to foundation funding for rescue. Between 2009 and mid-2016, foundations gave $1.1 billion to journalism projects within the US. Such support raises important questions: As foundations grow more powerful within the world of journalism, how might they influence journalistic practice? Will journalists treat foundations like advertisersan important source of revenue that must be kept away from editorial decisions? Or will the differences between the motivations and approaches of advertisers and foundations produce a different dynamic? Many of the foundations within the US that fund journalism hope to help solve the problems facing the profession as a whole: they want to help figure out what works, and what doesnt. And while the journalists they fund are similarly interested in overcoming the industrys most pressing problems, they have a lot more to lose. If a foundation funds an initiative that fails, then that foundation can learn from the experience and move on to another innovative approach to journalism. The same cannot necessarily be said for the journalists who receive the funding. If I wanted to make sure I kept [foundation funding], I would have to reinvent this place every year or so. We explored this issue and others in a study recently published in the academic journal Media and Communication. We drew on 40 interviews with journalists at digital-native nonprofit news organizations and employees from foundations that fund nonprofit journalism within the US to understand how each side perceives the influence of foundation finances on journalistic practice. We found that the impact of foundations on journalism parallels that of advertisers throughout the 20th century, with one important distinction: funding from foundations is often premised on editorial influence, complicating efforts by journalists to maintain the firewall between news revenue and production. We focused on news nonprofits because the number of this type of news organization has skyrocketed over the past two decades. As recently as 2004, the number of nonprofit news organizations that were members of the Institute for Nonprofit News was fewer than 10; today, there are more than 200, including established newsrooms such as The Intercept, The Texas Tribune, and ProPublica. News nonprofits are often lean operations, both in staffing and focus. Some, like The Marshall Project, focus exclusively on one subject (e.g., the US criminal justice system). For the most part, these outlets reject legacy medias reliance on advertising. Instead, they rely on donations, subscriptions, and development. Our study builds on prior research that has concluded that the influence foundations have on the newsrooms they fund presents itself in less obvious ways than many may have initially suspected. We found that foundation funding did not push journalists to pursue or avoid specific topics with their reportingperhaps the most obvious form of editorial influence. Instead, foundation funding was tied with the methods that journalists utilized for their reporting. The journalists and foundation employees we spoke with described how foundation funding often went to news nonprofits pursuing three types of initiatives: specific, technology-driven projects; audience-engagement projects; and projects intended to push journalists to expand their daily work beyond traditional routines. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Donor-driven projects The most common theme to emerge from our data concerned foundation funding that came with an expectation that journalists use specific new technologies. All but one of the journalists we interviewed mentioned this type of funding, and all the participants from foundations did as well. For a while, said one journalist, it was all about virtual reality. Some biggies like The Guardian made some cool stories using VR and now these places would give anyone money if they promised to use it. The problem, interviewees told us, is that these new technologies are only new for a short period of time. Journalists described feeling compelled to continuously chase the latest tech trends to remain competitive for foundation funding. They felt that these circumstances left their newsrooms with a growing stack of technology that journalists needed to spend time mastering and incorporating into their reportingeven after funding for the adoption and use of that technology had disappeared. As one journalist put it, All [foundations] care about is how cool something sounds right then If I wanted to make sure I kept [foundation funding], I would have to reinvent this place every year or so. Im a journalist. This type of stuff basically makes me [the foundations] PR man. First, Im not good at it, and second, I could be doing the work [the foundation] is funding me to do. A majority of the journalists interviewed, and all of the foundation employees, also said that foundations currently prioritize audience engagement when it comes to the initiatives they fund. Though this is an inconsistently defined term, our interviews suggest it was used to describe efforts by newsrooms to more actively work with and solicit feedback from their readers so that audience members had more agenda-setting power when it came to news story selection. Many of the journalists we spoke with were skeptical about the value of these initiatives. As with the technology-driven initiatives, journalists appeared to consider audience engagement a trend, the pursuit of which came at the expense of resources for actual reporting. As one journalist said: What people call engagement isnt very different than others said 30 years ago. Jay Rosen, for example, is still Jay Rosen. And back then, some places jumped on the bandwagon but most stayed off. The difference is now we have these [foundations] waving money at us, money we need, if we just do this thing or that thing that will engage our public. When money is offered, we listen. Finally, journalists said they often acquired extra responsibilities when their organization accepted foundation funds. One said that a foundation grant to their newsroom came with a directive to explicitly describe to the public how the organization spent the fundsin news articles, testimonials published on the foundations website, or, most commonly, in presentations at industry conferences and events. Journalists described irritation at these directives, again pointing to what they saw as opportunity costs. Im a journalist, one said. This type of stuff basically makes me [the foundations] PR man. First, Im not good at it, and second, I could be doing the work [the foundation] is funding me to do. The foundation employees, unsurprisingly, saw these efforts differently: as a necessary part of their mission to help solve journalisms most pressing problems. As one foundation employee said, Everyone wants to find the thing that saves journalism. We want others to know how were running it. Evaluating perceptions, not outcomes To be clear, our study was not an evaluation of the actual initiatives encouraged by foundations or pursued by the newsrooms they fund. Instead, our study demonstrates how perceptions of these pursuits vary throughout the newsrooms that receive foundation funding to pursue them. In doing so, it shows that there appears to be cases where those who receive foundation funding and those who provide it have very different ideas of what journalism should look like and how it should be produced. Indeed, considering how critical some of the journalists we interviewed were about these foundation-funded initiatives, it seems possible newsroom managers who apply for and accept foundation grants feel more passionately about the directives associated with those grants than the reporters and editors ultimately tasked with implementing them. Many in journalism have undertaken serious and commendable efforts to understand the outcomes of audience engagement and technological innovation within the news industry. But our findings suggest that collaborative efforts between journalism funders and publishers face challenges posed by a skewed power dynamic between those in dire need of institutional assistance and those who hope to use such assistance to find industrial solutions. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jacob Nelson and Patrick Ferrucci research issues in news production and consumption. Jacob Nelson is an assistant professor at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Patrick Ferrucci is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism in the College of Media, Communication and Information at University of Colorado Boulder. For African-Americans, even more was riding on their march west, Mr. Katz wrote in his book, The Black West (Mr. Katz was white and grew up in Greenwich Village). More than Europeans, pioneers of color pined for a home of their own, a place to educate children, protect women, and nail down elusive dreams. But the number of black cowboys in the city has dwindled since its heyday in the 1980s, when New York was home to the Black World Championship Rodeo, a festival of bucking horses and steer roping. The event took place in both Harlem, at Col. Charles Young Park (named after an early 20th-century African-American cavalry officer) and at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. In 2016, the Federation of Black Cowboys, a group dedicated to teaching cowboy history, lost the stable it had run since 1994 in Howard Beach, Queens. The New York City Parks Department awarded the operating contract for the facility to a therapeutic riding organization, after several horses died in 2013 under the federations care. Today, staking their claim in the American story has become more essential than even riding or roping. Its sad, but we still exist, we still go to schools and educate the youth on the legacy, said Kesha Morse, the federation president, who added that the organization still keeps four horses stabled privately in Queens. The mission was not to just have horses and ride horses; it was to educate. Nationwide there have been small steps to correct the record, particularly in popular culture. The celebrated Watchmen HBO series opens with the frontier lawman Bass Reeves, who is the inspiration of one of the shows heroes, and a wild West aesthetic called the Yee-Haw Agenda has caught on among some young black influencers. In 2016 the Studio Museum in Harlem ran a photo exhibition on the subject; the following year the Museum of the Black Cowboy opened in Rosenberg, Tex. Donald Trump rode to victory in 2016 on a promise to end so-called endless wars in the Middle East. He has now demonstrated, with the assassination of Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, that escalating conflict with Iran will distract Americans from impeachment. Starting a war will help him win the election as a war hero. Trump is unstable and a threat to global peace. Soleimanis killing was not strategic or legal, just the impulse to grab headlines and borrow from the Obama legacy of killing Osama bin Laden. The assassination was a dagger at the heart of Iran. On whose behalf? I think it was on the behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which had called for cutting off the head of the Iranian snake. Trump bears full responsibility for what comes next. Were moving rapidly up an escalatory ladder with no offramp or strategy. Iran will, in all likelihood, provoke and harass the U.S. until it returns to the nuclear agreement from which Trump withdrew. This will only strengthen Irans grip in the Middle East. Iran will use proxies to strike U.S. military bases. One can expect the entire Persian Gulf region will be destabilized. Many see Soleimani as a hero and freedom fighter. The U.S. saw him as a terrorist. Who is terrorist or a hero is in the eye of the beholder. This assassination will be the beginning of the end of Americas imperial ambitions and military presence in Middle East. Mohammed Khaku Upper Macungie Township 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. (JNS)For the most part, Jewish and pro-Israel groups reacted positively to the U.S. elimination of the head of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, Maj. Gen, Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq on Thursday. Bnai Brith International CEO and executive vice president Dan Mariaschin told JNS, The American strike today was a major step in the war against terror. Soleimani was the chief agent for Irans export of terror throughout the region and beyond. Hopefully, this will serve as a strong deterrent to those who would seek to harm the United States and its allies. The forces who carried out this attack are to be congratulated both in its execution and its impact, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told JNS. I think it will rank with the [2011 U.S.] elimination [in Pakistan] of Osama bin Laden. Soleimani was the leader of the Quds Force... who was responsible for the death of many Americans and many others. [He] was clearly the key figure for Iran and Iraq, and Syria. And the message will not be lost, he continued. I hope that no other violence ensues, but it was a landmark event. It proved to be a watershed event as he will be very hard to replace, if it is even possible. While Hoenlein expressed concern over a possible escalation by Iran in response to Soleimanis death, he said the United States messages have been very clear and very strong about the consequences of such action. He added that many people are not aware about Soleimani as they were about Osama bin Laden. Qassem Soleimani was a criminal responsible for hundreds of American military deaths in Iraq and the maiming of thousands of American soldiers through IEDs, Jewish Policy Center senior director Shoshana Bryen told JNS. He was responsible for the arming, training and battle management of proxy forces that produced the wreckage of Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. He was also responsible for the militias that attacked the U.S. embassy [in Baghdad]. The United States was not required to wait for more American deaths before acting. Sarah Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, noted that Soleimani was the architect of the Iranian expansionist strategy to take over the Middle East and to ultimately make it a Shiite, Iranian-controlled theocracy. He played a key role in the Iranian proxy presence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. He has been responsible for the buildup and military training of Hezbollah, which has become as one of the most powerful forces in Lebanon today; for the strategy that helped [Syrian President] Bashar Assad strengthen and maintain control of Syria, and helped to create the Russian-Iranian-Syrian alliance. He was also responsible for building up of the Houthi forces in Yemen and giving them sophisticated military technology, which was used to attack the oil fields in Saudi Arabia. In a tweet shortly after Solemanis death, U.S. President Donald Trump simply posted a picture of the American flag, making no explicit reference to the successful operation. Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director Halie Soifer slammed Trumps tweet. This tweet exemplifies Trumps approach to foreign policy. He wraps himself in the (pixellated) flag to justify his recklessness, demonstrating bluster and bravado. No one is shedding any tears for Soleimani, but we need a real strategy and actual leadership for what comes next. This tweet exemplifies Trumps approach to foreign policy. He wraps himself in the (pixellated) flag to justify his recklessness, demonstrating bluster and bravado. No one is shedding any tears for Soleimani, but we need a real strategy and actual leadership for what comes next. Soleimani was one of the highest-ranked, most important officials in Iran, the leader of the elite special forces within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Republican Jewish Coalition chairman and former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman in a statement. He is personally responsible for uncountable deaths over more than a decade, including the deaths of over 600 U.S. military personnel in Iraq. He has the blood of civilians in Syria and Yemen on his hands. He was key to the growth of Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, he continued. It is difficult to overstate the role he played in Irans bloodiest operations around the region. His death makes the world a safer place. The price of killing and injuring Americans has just gone up Both sides of the political spectrum reacted differently to Soleimanis death with Republicans celebrating and Democrats condemning the U.S. action. Wowthe price of killing and injuring Americans has just gone up drastically. Major blow to Iranian regime that has American blood on its hands. Soleimani was one of the most ruthless and vicious members of the Ayatollahs regime. He had American blood on his hands, stated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in a series of tweets. I appreciate President @realDonaldTrumps bold action against Iranian aggression. To the Iranian government: if you want more, you will get more. If Iranian aggression continues and I worked at an Iranian oil refinery, I would think about a new career, he continued. This action by President Trump and our military was in direct response to Iranian aggression orchestrated by General Soleimani and his proxies. If Iran continues to attack America and our allies, they should pay the heaviest of prices, which includes the destruction of their oil refineries. Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. Thats not a question, tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). The question is this: As reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war? Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) slammed Murphys tweet. This tweet is simply drunk partisanship. Gen. Soleimani has killed hundreds and hundreds of Americans, and was actively plotting more. This commander-in-chiefany C-in-Chas an obligation to defend America by killing this bastard, he tweeted. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tweeted that the United States killed a man responsible for hundreds of thousands of death in #Syria and elsewhere, including Americans in Iraq. Lets see how long the #blameAmerica left takes to make him look like a poor victim. Three of the leading Democratic presidential candidates overtly objected to the U.S. strike. When I voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, I feared it would lead to greater destabilization of the region. That fear unfortunately turned out to be true. The U.S. has lost approximately 4,500 brave troops, tens of thousands have been wounded, and weve spent trillions, tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Trumps dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars. Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said, The administrations statement says that its goal is to deter future attacks by Iran, but this action will almost certainly have the opposite effect, he said in a statement. President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests, both here at home and abroad, and our partners throughout the region and beyond. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted that Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war. Qassem Soleimani was responsible for directing Irans destabilizing actions in Iraq, Syria and throughout the Middle East, including attacks against U.S. forces, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in a statement. But the timing, manner and potential consequences of the administrations actions raise serious questions and concerns about an escalating conflict. Our immediate focus needs to be on ensuring all necessary security measures are taken to protect U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in Iraq and throughout the region, she continued. The administration needs to fully consult with Congress on its decision-making, response plans and strategy for preventing a wider conflict. Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani on Friday said he was confident of the AIADMK registering a big victory in urban local body elections. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of distributing Pongal gift package to ration cardholders here, he said the state election commission would announce the dates for the election and claimed people would support the ruling party in a big way. Thanking the voters for supporting the AIADMK in the rural local body elections, he said the party has proved that the region is the citadel of late chief minister Jayalalithaa. Attributing the victory to good governance by chief minister K Palaniswami, Velumani said the government has given Rs. 130 crore worth of Pongal gift packages in Coimbatore district. It was only recently that the rural local bodies elections were held in the state. The date for the urban local bodies election is yet to be notified. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Washington to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, his office said Friday, signalling his insistence on ending the US military presence despite recent moves to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the US. The request came in a telephone call Thursday night between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a statement from his office said. He also told Pompeo that recent U.S. strikes in Iraq were an unacceptable breach of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of the two countries' security agreements. He asked Pompeo to "send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliament's resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq", according to the statement. "The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities, and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements," the statement added. Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution Sunday to oust US troops, following the January 3 US drone strike that killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad's airport. The non-binding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi, addressing lawmakers at the time, called for "urgent measures" to ensure the removal of the troops. Speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal and appeared to give the US time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure. Still, the comments suggested he was standing by the push for the American forces to go despite recent signals toward de-escalation between Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death with a barrage of missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where US troops are based but caused no casualties. There are some 5,200 US troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counter-parts to fight the Islamic State group. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of a resurgence amid the political turmoil. The State Department acknowledged that Pompeo had called Abdul-Mahdi but made no mention of US troops in a readout of the call released late Thursday. Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo reiterated the US condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes on the two bases and underscored that President Donald Trump "has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests". Top American military officials including General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defence Secretary Mark Esper, have said there were no plans for the US to withdraw. The push to remove the US forces comes amid widespread Iraqi anger over being caught in the middle of fighting between Baghdad's two closest allies. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and US strikes. Still, the demand for withdrawal is not universal. Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers opposed the Parliament resolution. The Sunnis see the US presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran, while the Kurdish security forces had benefited from American training and aid. The latest escalation between Tehran and Washington on Iraqi soil was set off when a rocket attack blamed on the Iranian-backed militia group Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, caused the death of an American contractor at a base in Kirkuk province in late December. The US replied with a barrage of strikes on the militia's bases, killing at least 25 people. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged rival Iraqi political factions to unite and put private interests aside, saying their attempts to outbid each other in the political process had led to the current crisis and risked creating more unrest. Rival political factions have yet to agree on a nominee to replace the outgoing Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from mass protests. Large demonstrations were planned in Baghdad on Friday, as anti-government protesters sought to recover momentum following the fast-escalating regional tensions that overshadowed their uprising. Protesters also gathered in the southern provinces of Najaf, Diwanieh and Dhi Qar. "The serious attacks and repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty that occurred in recent days with the apparent weakness of the concerned authorities in protecting the country and its people...are part of the repercussions of the current crisis," al-Sistani said. "Everyone is required to think carefully about what this situation will lead to if there is no end to it," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Australian bushfires Are only getting worse by the minute it seems. According to reports, a quarter of a million people have been instructed to evacuate their homes as erratic winds are fanning more bushfires across the east coast. Twitter The winds are so bad that it's making some fires merge to make a huge blaze. Reports state that the East Ournie Creek and Dunns Road fires, close to the Victoria border, merged to wreak even more havoc in the area. The two fires joined to creating a 6,000-hectare blaze, almost the size as the country's capital city of Canberra. The Dunns Road fire alone has claimed more than 30 homes and 170 building in the area. Canberra, smashed its heat record of 80 years, reaching 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) on January 8th. According to local reports, more than 2500 firefighters were battling nearly 150 blazes burning in NSW, as the bushfires crisis escalated across four states. Reuters Quite a number of them are likely to merge today, a NSW RFS spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia, adding the merging of the fires isnt likely to cause any more fires. Authorities said conditions would continue to deteriorate across Victoria as heavy winds whip the state, grounding military helicopters that had been helping with evacuations and supply. Reuters There have been 25 deaths this bushfire season and more than 1,600 homes have been lost, with almost six million hectares across Australia having been burnt, which is about the size of the Republic of Ireland. Two people remain unaccounted for in NSW, where there have already been 20 fatalities, and Victoria and South Australia have reported two and three deaths respectively. All Inputs Reuters Partnership Expands Courses for College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) Exams to SUNY Empires Students, Especially Military-Aligned and Adult Learners Students Can Earn College Credit Tuition-Free NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a new partnership between Empire State College, SUNY and ModernStates.org to offer a full library of free online college courses and materials for all New Yorkers, at no cost to the state or students. The program provides students an opportunity to earn up to one full year of college credit tuition-free. In addition to the unlimited free use of the courses and as part of the partnership, ModernStates.org, a philanthropy, will also pay the costs for up to 1,000 credit-bearing exams for all students, especially New York veterans and active-duty military families. Students who complete one or more Modern States online college courses and pass a CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exam will earn credit through SUNY Empire State College. The credits earned will be transferable to other SUNY schools. SUNY Empire students will be able to access the Modern States program through a cobranded web portal. The initiative is included in Governor Cuomos 2020 Making Progress Happen agenda. "SUNY Empire is proud to partner with Modern States in this effort to lower the cost of higher education for New Yorkers, said SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras. This partnership offers real savings for every free course and exam passed, students and their families can save $1,000 to $2,000 in college costs. With Governor Cuomos Excelsior scholarship, New York has been leading the way in making college more affordable for all, and this is yet another example of the state's commitment to making a college degree attainable for anyone who pursues it. This is a wonderful opportunity for all SUNY Empire students to take high-quality courses taught by college professors and earn credits without the expenses of a traditional college course, said Steve Klinsky, founder and CEO of the Modern States charity. Im appreciative to Governor Cuomo for having the vision to pursue alternative low-cost paths to earning a fully credited college degree, and appreciative to Modern States trustee, Maureen Sherry, for leading Modern States partnership effort with New York. Modern States offers state-of-the-art courses taught by college professors in all 33 subjects for which there is a credit-bearing CLEP exam from the College Board, the same organization that offers the SAT and AP tests. Available courses include American Government, American Literature, Chemistry, Physics, College Algebra, Accounting, Spanish and many others. The ModernStates.org program has more than 180,000 registered users to date, and has paid for approximately 30,000 exams for New Yorkers and students around the world. SUNY Empire currently offers more than 800 online courses, supported by more than 30 campuses and learning hubs across New York state and the world, and has been helping students pursue their academic goals in a flexible, challenging environment for nearly 50 years. Launched in August 2017, Modern States Education Alliance is a NYC-based philanthropy dedicated to making a college degree more affordable and accessible for everyone. ModernStates.org is readily available online for people of all backgrounds, and enables high schoolers, college students and adult learners to save on tuition while working toward a college degree. Students can take one course or many. The pass rate of students who use ModernStates.org to prepare for a CLEP exam is 73 percent, well above the national average. In addition to paying the $89 CLEP exam fee, ModernStates.org reimburses students for test center fees, typically $25. More than 2,900 colleges and universities accept CLEP for credit, including major universities such as Ohio State, University of Wisconsin, Penn State, Texas State, Morehouse, and many others. About Modern States The Modern States Education Alliance is a NYC-based philanthropy dedicated to making a college degree more affordable and accessible for everyone. Its first initiative is Freshman Year for Free: more than 30 online college courses tuition-free for credit, with courses taught by top university professors and available to anyone with an Internet connection. Students can use these courses to earn college credits by preparing for and taking AP and CLEP exams, as offered by the College Board. Learn more at ModernStates.org. About SUNY Empire State College SUNY Empire State College educates students at any stage of life with a personalized learning experience delivered online, in person, or a blend of both. Since 1971, SUNY Empire has empowered students to earn an accredited degree around the demands of a busy lifestyle to advance their personal and professional goals. With world-class faculty, more than 1,300 dedicated mentors to help students tailor their degree programs, and cutting-edge distance learning technology, SUNY Empire delivers a trusted and flexible online college experience grounded in more than 30 New York state locations and seven international sites where students can learn and collaborate in person. Our nearly 50 years as a leader in awarding credit for prior learning and life experience helps students earn a degree faster and at lower cost. To learn more, visit www.esc.edu and follow @SUNYEmpire. Julie-Anne Heafey mbaMission Senior Admissions Consultant Harvard MBA Sign up for a free 30-minute consultation at https://www.mbamission.com/consult/mba-admissions/ Read our Insider's Guides to the top b-schools: http://www.mbamission.com/guides.php?category=insiders Signature Read More Hi senti23 ! This sounds like very interesting work. Have you thought about what you want to use the MBA to do next? My first impression (without knowing more detail) is that could be tricky to connect clearly an MBA path with your work in government anticorruption, but it's not impossible if you can link it to a more commercial end-goal. Is there a business connection there? On the surface, it sounds like experience that might normally connect to a government/public policy or law school degree, so if you were to apply to business schools, you'll have to help them understand the links.If you can make those goals clear and understandable, demonstrate transferable skills and experience and show a strong GMAT and fit with the school, you will improve your chances of success. Of course your chances will vary depending on the exact schools you choose. I didn't notice a GMAT in your description, but there is a lot of competition from Indian applicants at many business schools, so a good test score would be extremely helpful.Hope this helpsJulie-Anne HeafeySenior Consultant_________________ Dairy farmers are taking part in a UK first project to investigate how electrophysical weeding can reduce dependency on herbicides when controlling docks. The weed can significantly reduce grazing or silage quality as they have only 65 percent of the feed value of grass. This, along with their ability to quickly take over fields, make them a troublesome problem for grassland farmers. But there is an increasing need for the sector to move away from chemical methods of weed control due to the growing concerns of the effects that herbicides are having on both the environment and health. As part of this two year EIP Wales project, two grazing fields have been split into trial plots of 2m x 6m to compare the effectiveness of electrical treatment against normal herbicide application. The farmers are working with the company RootWave who is pioneering the use of electricity as a sustainable and scalable organic alternative to herbicides. The electrical weeder is designed to send a high voltage current through the plant where the natural resistance of the weed transforms the electrical energy into heat, which boils it inside out from the root upwards. For the small trial plots in the project a hand-held lance with a 20m cable powered by a petrol generator is being used. Each dock plant in a plot is touched with the charged lance for approximately 5-10 seconds before moving on to the next plant. The results from the first growing season show electrical treatment has been effective at killing the docks however it was found that repeated treatments are needed to be as effective as the herbicide. The unique method of dock control has potential for both organic and conventional farmers Stephen Jelley, Commercial Director for RootWave said: Benefits of using electricity include the fact that the system is precise and only kills the docks, or plants it touches. It is sustainable, residue-free, efficient and does not disturb the soil. There are few clover-safe options for dock herbicide sprays, therefore this technology has potential for both organic and conventional systems. Current prices make the machine unviable for smaller farms to buy. However, it could be more viable if contracted in. It is early days for this technology and as with anything new, developments will lead to greater effectiveness and a reduction in price. This unique method of dock control has great potential for both organic and conventional farmers, said Will John, ADAS, the Innovation Broker for the project. The technology is scalable and larger tractor based electrical weeders could be used in a variety of different farm situations. The trials will continue in 2020 where some adjustments will be made to the timings of the treatments and replications. EIP Wales, which is delivered by Menter a Busnes, has received funding through the Welsh government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh government. Nineteen million voters go to the polls in Taiwan on Saturday to choose if they want closer ties to mainland China, or if they want to confront Beijing. China hopes to incorporate Taiwan in its one country, two systems project, but has become increasingly unpopular with islanders because of Beijing's treatment of protestors in Hong Kong. Taiwan's presidential rivals will hold mass rallies on Friday in a final push to convince voters ahead of a closely watched election that looks set to infuriate the authorities in mainland China. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to retake the island, by force if necessary. But China is also Taiwan's largest trade partner. President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking a second term, has pitched herself as a defender of Taiwan's liberal values against the increasingly authoritarian shadow cast by Beijing under President Xi Jinping. In 1949, Chiang Kai-chek fled to Taiwan with 2 million followers, after being beaten in a brutal civil war that was won by Mao Zedong's Communist Party (CCP). Chiang's Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) established a dictatorial rule on the island, which lasted till 1991. After that, opposition parties were allowed and Taiwan became a democratic, liberal state albeit increasingly isolated, as Beijing successfully managed to snatch away all but 15 of Taipei's diplomatic allies over the years. Two main policy lines quickly emerged. The main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), promoted complete independence from China, while the KMT maintained that China should be unified. After the DPP won the elections it officially rejected this one China principle in 2016. Hong Kong as example for Taiwan When the People's Republic of China took over Hong Kong from the UK in 1997, it promised that the territory could keep its capitalist system and its semi-democratic autonomy. Gradual improvements were promised, with universal suffrage within 50 years. This idea, dubbed one country, two systems by China's leader Deng Xiaoping, was intended to eventually lure Taiwan into the fold. But it didn't work out as Beijing had hoped. Inhabitants of Hong Kong, who were already critical of the British colonial system, had grown skeptical of Beijing's rule after the 1989 Tian'anmen massacre, when the People's Liberation Army crushed peaceful demonstrators, killing hundreds. When Beijing started to gradually withdraw promises of greater democracy, and eventually dictated that it would continue appointing candidates for Hong Kong's top position of Chief Executive, popular protest burst out, first in the shape of the Occupy Central and Umbrella movements, and, early last year, spiraling into the almost daily protests and violent chaos after the introduction of a controversial extradition law. Hong Kong's Beijing-controlled leadership did not give in to most of the protesters' demands. In Taiwan, DPP leader Tsai Ing-wen made the Hong Kong issue a campaign slogan Today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan, and DPP propaganda even went as far as declaring promoting unification an act of treason. As the same time, Beijing had come to regard its old arch enemy the KMT as a dialogue partner that shared the same ideals: eventual reunification. The KMT is being supported by large parts of the business community that has invested heavily in Mainland China while Taiwan's economy became increasingly dependent on mutual trade and tourism. Unrelenting stubbornness But the pictures of chaos in Hong Kong and unrelenting stubbornness from Beijing don't go down well with Taiwan's voters. A poll published by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post this week showed a 30 point lead by incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen. On Friday evening, the candidates hold their last mass rallies to try and whip up support. Polls open at 08:00 am local time on Saturday morning, and close at 16:00. Exit polls are expected in the early evening. Those in Ricky Mays circle have been reluctant to go on the record in regard to what exactly happened last week during the Central Otago Cup. May experienced a serious medical episode while in the sulky and fell to the track before being transported directly to hospital. Now, the man himself has let the cat out of the bag. May suffered what had until yesterday only been referred to publicly as a medical incident while in the race bike on Thursday, January 2. The incident occurred while May was driving A Gs White Socks in the Group 3 Central Otago Cup at Omakau in southern New Zealand. Ricky May Ricky May On Monday, January 6, Craig Wiggins, the spokesperson for the family, had said that May was "in really good form, although he was a bit bruised and battered from the ordeal. At the time, Wiggins did not identify what medical issue May suffered from, but he did state that "it's quite a common thing that he's got and that May is "going to be a lot healthier." Now, an article by stuff.co.nz has cited May as saying that his heart stopped beating after his mid-race collapse. According to the report, the 61-year-old horseman has explained that he didn't have a cardiac arrest and he has been diagnosed with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy a condition where the heart muscles thicken even though the heart itself is healthy. Ellie Barron Ellie Barron May took the opportunity to shower praise on fellow driver Ellie Barron, the pilot who acted quickly to perform CPR on him while on the track. Barron broke a few of Mays ribs during the hectic moments before medical personnel tended to the fallen horseman. According to May, Barron has since told him that he had no heartbeat when she got to him. May told stuff.co.nz that he has now had surgery to implant a cardioverter defibrillator in his chest. The cardioverter defibrillator will provide a shock to Mays heart if he experiences a similar episode in the future. "The doctor in Dunedin Hospital told me later that I was gone," May has told the New Zealand Herald. "I don't know how long for. They reckon it could have been 10 minutes. I don't remember anything. May went on to tell the New Zealand Herald, "I remember driving a winner earlier (two hours before the incident) and then the next thing I remember was waking up in hospital with all my family there and that was two days later." (With files from stuff.co.nz and the New Zealand Herald) PUNE: Four unemployed youths from a slum brutally killed a 22-year-old youth with a criminal record by attacking him with sharp weapons and smashing his head with a stone after a quarrel on Thursday midnight. The victim, identified as Nilesh alias Gotya Vitthal Shedge (22), a resident of Darodewasti slum, was a criminal on record with cases of dacoity and assault against him at Bhosari police station. He had been released on parole, some 15 days ago from Yerawada Central Prison. The gory incident took place in the upscale Koregaon Park area after a brawl between the victim and his attackers. Inspector Pramod Patki, incharge, Koregaon Park police station, said that Shedge was attacked with sharp weapons and his head was smashed with a stone leading to his death. A case of murder under Indian Penal Code Section 302 was lodged against the attackers, said police. Shedge was a resident of Darodewasti slum and had got into an argument with four other youths over binge drinking. The argument soon escalated and turned into a brawl leading to the attack, said Patki. Shedge was taken to a hospital by the police, but proclaimed dead on arrival. According to the police, two persons have been apprehended in the case and further probe is on. Welcoming the Supreme Court order on the restoration of Internet services, the Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Friday said it will pave the way for withdrawing all illegal restrictions on common people, especially the mainstream opposition parties and their leaders. "Supreme Court's direction was long awaited by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the mainstream opposition parties, who were subjected to all types of restrictions by the proxy rule of BJP," vice president of J&K Congress Raman Bhalla said. He said the BJP and its leaders had all sorts of "liberties and facilities" at the cost of the public exchequer, including full-fledged security to carry out all types of activities in any part of the state but the Congress, other mainstream parties and their leaders are still under a blanket of restrictions. Bhalla said the clampdown is totally against democratic norms and it was a sort of "undeclared Emergency" during the past five months. He reminded that a week ago J&K Congress president G A Mir along with other party leaders including him were put under house arrest on December 31, 2019 to prevent them from proceeding to Udhampur and Ramban for political activities. Bhalla said this kind of approach by the Centre would not bring restoration of normalcy and peace unless the "credible" leadership of established mainstream political parties are not allowed to carry out meaningful political activities. Senior Congress leaders lashed out at BJP for putting common people to face such hardship by stopping Internet services and other activities, as observed by the Supreme Court. They questioned the BJP and the Central government for allowing ruling party leaders and other select politicians who fall in their line and debarring all other mainstream politicians from any political activities during the period. The leaders hit out at the "divisive and communal politics" of BJP and appealed to the people to reject such designs for the larger interest of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Genovese mob turncoat whose testimony helped convict 70 mafioso has penned an open warning letter to members of the crime family after he heard they had discovered his new identity. In the note, Michael 'Cookie' D'Urso said he had been informed by 'law enforcement folks' that associates of the crime family were discussing his new name and whereabouts in an Upper East Side steakhouse over Christmas. 'I am ready, able and willing to defend my family and myself', he warned in the letter first seen by Gang Land News. 'A bat and a knife wont help you so you will have to use a gun'. The former mobster added he hopes '20 years later, no one would be so stupid as to get himself into very serious trouble over me', before warning he has 'very capable ex-law enforcement friends with gun permits who are with me all the time'. D'Urso, 49, survived a bullet to the head during a predawn card game in a Brooklyn social club in 1994. The gunfire, over a gambling debt, killed his cousin who the New York Times reported was as close to him as a brother. Michael 'Cookie' D'Urso helped police convict more than 70 mobsters including former Genovese boss Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante (right) and current leader Liborio 'Barney' Bellomo The former mobster also claims in the letter that Frank 'Farby' Serpico was 'going to have me killed', which he said gave him 'no choice but to reach out to the government' and begin wearing a wire in 1998. In the letter, he writes: 'I was extremely loyal until my life was in danger for the SECOND time. The people that got in trouble because of me can thank Farby for threatening me on the phone and putting me in the position that led to me cooperating. 'When Sammy Meatballs [Salvatore Aparo] came to me with tears in his eyes and said, 'If I send for you don't come,' I knew that Farby was going to have me killed. I had no choice but to reach out to the government. Those of you who truly knew me know that I would have done 100 years for the right people and the right reasons'. In 2003, D'Urso testified at Brooklyn federal court against two men, Carmine Polito and Mario Fortunato, who went on trial for planning the shooting at the Williamsburg club. In the note, Michael 'Cookie' D'Urso said he had been informed by 'law enforcement folks' that associates of the crime family were discussing his new name (stock image) The former mobster also claims in the letter he learned from Salvatore 'Sammy Meatballs' Aparo (left) that Frank 'Farby' Serpico was 'going to have me killed' At the time, D'Urso - who now uses a different name - was considered one of the most productive of the government's informants, the New York Post reported. His testimony has helped officers arrest and convict more than 70 mobsters and their associates, including former Genovese boss Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante and Liborio 'Barney' Bellomo. In the letter, D'Urso added that 'no real man can ever accept being told not to seek retribution' for the death of his beloved cousin. He then goes on to claim he knows why 'people have to act like tough guys' when his name is mentioned, before asserting he is 'not running' and doesn't need a weapon to protect himself. The former mobster also writes that he is a black belt in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and has been 'training in mixed martial arts for over 14 years'. 'A bat and knife won't help you so you will have to use a gun', he said. D'Urso ends the letter by urging those in the Genovese family to 'focus on their families, their well-being, and staying out of jail', before signing off the note with his former moniker 'Cookie'. JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, however, termed the meeting as unsatisfactory and gave a call to continue the march to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Delhi Police roughs up and detains Jawaharlal Nehru University students who were protesting outside the Shashtri Bhawan against the January 5 violence on the university campus in New Delhi on Thursday. New Delhi: Hundreds of JNU students, who tried to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday protesting against the violence inside the campus, were allegedly manhandled by the Delhi police. The police also resorted to baton charge to control the mob, owing to which several students sustained injuries. Eleven students, who were detained and taken to the Mandi House police station, were later released in the evening. Before the students tried to proceed towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a nine-member delegation of the universitys student and teacher Unions met the HRD ministry officials and demanded removal of vice chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar from his post. The police took the delegation to the ministry after they were initially stopped near Shastri Bhawan. JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, however, termed the meeting as unsatisfactory and gave a call to continue the march to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Addressing the protestors, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar said that actress Deepika Padukone was patriotic when she was an ambassador for a Modi-government initiative, but turned anti-national after visiting JNU. He said that there was no tukde tukde gang before BJP assumed power at the Centre in 2014. Tukde tukde gang is a term used by BJP to refer to the alleged sympathisers of separatists. On Thursday morning, hundreds of demonstrators, including students and members of civil society, hit the streets protesting against the recent violence at JNU and demanding resignation of the varsity vice-chancellor. Carrying placards and banners, the protestors started marching from Mandi House towards the HRD ministry in Shastri Bhawan. Slogans of Halla Bol and Inquilab Zindabad rent the air as the agitating people waited for JNU students to arrive at the protest venue. Banners with messages such as No CAA, No NRC, Ban ABVP from university campuses, Reject Violence, and Education is not a commodity to be bought or sold dotted the swelling crowd that demanded strict action against those involved in the campus violence. CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Prakash Karat, and Brinda Karat also joined the march. LJD leader Sharad Yadav was also among the protesters. The JNUSU has been demanding a rollback of the hostel and mess fee hike and had boycotted the registration process for the next semester. The HRD ministry on Thursday ruled out the removal of JNU vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar amid demands from students and a section of teachers saying sacking him is not the solution and the government's focus is to address the main issues that have cropped up on campus. We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Heres our process. Air pollution appears to cause or contribute to a variety of health conditions. The effects of air pollution on a persons health can range from mild breathing difficulties to severe cardiovascular issues, including heart disease and stroke. Harmful gases and particles in the air come from a range of sources, including exhaust fumes from vehicles, smoke from burning coal or gas, and tobacco smoke. There are ways to limit the effects of air pollution on health, such as avoiding areas with heavy traffic. However, significant change relies on improvements to air quality on a global scale. In this article, we discuss how air pollution can affect a persons health. What is air pollution? Share on Pinterest George Hammerstein/Getty Images Air pollution consists of small particles that can be natural or artificial. The range of possible pollutants means that air pollution can affect people both outdoors and indoors. Outdoor air pollution consists of: particles from burning coal and gas harmful gases, such as nitrogen oxides or sulfur dioxide tobacco smoke ground-level ozone Indoor air pollution consists of: household chemicals harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide or radon building materials, such as lead or asbestos pollen mold tobacco smoke According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the pollutants that pose the highest risk to a persons health are: particulate matter (particle pollutants), which comprises suspended solids and liquid droplets nitrogen dioxide sulfur dioxide ozone Short-term exposure Short-term exposure to air pollution, such as ground-level ozone, can affect the respiratory system because the majority of the pollutants enter the body through a persons airways. Short-term exposure to air pollution may lead to respiratory infections and reduced lung function. It may also aggravate asthma in people with this condition. Exposure to sulfur dioxide may cause damage to the eyes and respiratory tract, as well as irritating the skin. Long-term exposure Research into the long-term health problems that air pollution can cause is ongoing. Research has linked air pollution to serious health problems, adverse birth outcomes, and even premature death. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Exposure to particle pollutants may cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to the WHO, air pollution causes 43% of COPD cases and deaths worldwide. COPD is a group of diseases that cause breathing-related difficulties, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These diseases block the airways and make it difficult for a person to breathe. There is no cure for COPD, but treatment can help reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Lung cancer According to the WHO, air pollution causes 29% of all lung cancer cases and deaths. Particle pollutants are likely to contribute to this figure significantly as their small size allows them to reach the lower respiratory tract. Cardiovascular disease Research shows that living in an area with higher levels of air pollution may increase the risk of death from stroke. Air pollution may trigger stroke and heart attacks. A 2018 review notes that the Global Burden of Disease Study estimated air pollution to be responsible for 19% of cardiovascular deaths in 2015. It was also the cause of about 21% of deaths due to stroke and 24% of deaths from coronary heart disease. Preterm delivery According to research that featured in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, exposure to polluted air can make pregnant women more likely to experience preterm delivery. The researchers found that the chance of preterm delivery lessened with decreased exposure. Health effects from specific pollutants According to research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer , outdoor air pollution is a carcinogen, meaning that it may cause cancer. Polluted air contains separate particles and chemicals, each of which has a different effect on health. Particle pollutants Particle pollutants consist of a combination of different particles in the air. Due to the small size of these particles, they can reach the lungs and raise the risk of lung and heart disease. They may also cause a worsening of symptoms in people with asthma. Ground-level ozone Pollutants react with sunlight to create ground-level ozone. Smog consists largely of ozone and is a key trigger of asthma symptoms. Carbon monoxide According to a 2016 article , if the levels of carbon monoxide are lower than 2%, this gas does not appear to affect a persons health. However, if the levels are higher than 40%, carbon monoxide may be fatal. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include: weakness dizziness chest pain vomiting confusion a headache If a person suspects that they are experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, they should move to an area with fresh air and seek immediate medical help. Sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. It can cause eye irritation and make a person more vulnerable to developing respiratory tract infections, as well as cardiovascular disease. Nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide is present in vehicle exhaust emissions. Gas and kerosene heaters and stoves also produce large amounts of this gas. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide may lead to respiratory infections. Typically, inhaling nitrogen dioxide causes wheezing or coughing, but it may also lead to headaches, throat irritation, chest pain, and fever. How can we reduce exposure? People can reduce their exposure to air pollutants by limiting the amount of time that they spend in areas with poor air quality. It is important to be aware of possible air pollutants both outdoors and indoors. Outdoor air pollution Governments, businesses, and individuals can all help in minimizing air pollution. Reducing emissions from vehicles and the levels of pollutants in the atmosphere may improve the quality of the air. A person can also check the current air quality by using the AirNow website. This government service monitors air quality across the United States. The site provides information on air pollution levels, which it color codes according to their potential effect on health. If the rating is orange or above, people can help protect their health by: avoiding walking beside busy roads exercising for less time outdoors or using an indoor venue instead staying indoors until air quality improves Indoor air pollution A person can reduce indoor air pollution by ensuring that buildings are clean and ventilated. Dust, mold, and pollen may all increase the risk of respiratory problems. Radon gas can build up in homes that developers built on land that has uranium deposits. Radon gas can cause lung cancer. A person can check for radon in the home by using a radon test kit. Alternatively, they can hire a professional to take this measurement for them. Radon test kits are available to purchase in stores and online. A person can use a carbon monoxide detector to monitor the carbon monoxide levels in their home or workplace. Carbon monoxide detectors are available to purchase in stores and online. Three more complaints have been received by Delhi Police related to violence that took place at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's campus on January 5, taking a number of total complaints to 14. "Three more complaints received related to the JNU violence, now total complaints received are 14," according to Delhi Police sources. As Delhi Police has urged more people to come and dispose of the video of the JNU violence, so far around 12 people have contacted police and recorded their statements. The sources said that the crime branch will speak to those injured during JNU violence. The crime branch has taken the entry register as CCTV footage was not available because of the damaged server at the university, they added. The sources further said that Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has called for a meeting today in the first half at Delhi police headquarters to seek details from the three teams formed to probe the JNU violence case. All the three teams -- Special Investigation Team, fact-finding team and district staff -- have been called for review and investigation details in the matter. On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman implying she had a weapon held up a Bethlehem Township bank shortly before noon Friday, according to police. No weapon was showed and no one was injured in the robbery at BB&T, 3201 Emrick Blvd., township police Capt. Gregory Gottschall said. The woman passed a note to a teller and got away with an undetermined amount of cash, Gottschall said. She fled in a gray SUV. The woman was alone inside the bank, but it was not immediately clear if there was anyone else in the vehicle. The bank was closed following the robbery and expected to remain closed for the rest of the day, according to police. Police released surveillance images from the robbery and asked anyone with information on the identity of the perpetrator to contact Investigator Ed Fox at efox@bethlehemtwp.com or 610-419-9646. Bethlehem Township police released this surveillance image from a robbery Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, at BB&T, 3201 Emrick Blvd. and asked anyone with information on her identity to contact Investigator Ed Fox at efox@bethlehemtwp.com or 610-419-9646.Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. One of the worlds largest freshwater fish has been declared extinct. The Chinese paddlefish, which grew as long as 7 metres, lived in the Yangtze River in China and had a lineage dating back at least 34 million years. Scientists believe it failed to survive overfishing, habitat fragmentation and a loss of biodiversity in its native habitat. A research paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment said populations of the fish, also known as the Chinese swordfish, had declined drastically since the late 1970s. As no individuals exist in captivity, and no living tissues are conserved for potential resurrection, the fish should be considered extinct, the paper said, pointing to criteria for inclusion on the International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) Red List. 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 In the 1970s the Gezhouba Dam was built on the main stream of the Yangtze and the opening of the Three Gorges dam project followed in 2003, the same year the last live Chinese paddlefish was sighted. Surveys in 2017 and 2018 counted fish species in the river, but did not encounter a single specimen of the Chinese paddlefish. The researchers estimate the fish became extinct between 2005 and 2010. The extinction of the paddlefish is a huge loss and reflects the critical status of the Yangtze River ecosystem, said Pan Wenjing, a forest and oceans manager at Greenpeace East Asia. The ecology of the Yangtze River is close to collapse due to human activity in past decades, she said. China has launched its campaign trying to recover the Yangtze Rivers environment, and some ambitious policies have been introduced, such as the 10-year ban on fishing activity. James Harris Jr. waits to vote at Zion Baptist Church Of Philadelphia, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania's municipal elections featured contests for two statewide appellate judgeships, as well as some potential firsts in local contests. Read more In recent years, 10 state legislatures have pursued restrictive voter identification requirements that target the poor, the elderly, persons of color, and students. Efforts to limit early voting, locate polling places in ways that disadvantage large groups of voters, and remove large numbers of people from voter rolls are also becoming more common in the run-up to the 2020 election. All in all, these moves add up to a concerted attack on our democracy. So far, Pennsylvania has avoided these restrictions on democracy. A 2012 Republican attempt to pass a sweeping Voter ID law was struck down by the courts. It didnt help that its principal sponsor, state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, was caught on video saying it would allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania by disenfranchising Democratic-leaning voters. But a closer examination of how voting actually works in our state (and the 49 others) raises deeper concerns than any particular law. The biggest problem with our electoral system is its extremely dispersed structure, which remains unchanged from the Constitutions ratification in 1789. Back then, Article Four reserved power over elections to the states, including setting requirements for and procedures to vote. Today, states still control how elections are managed, leaving the door wide open for a party in power to manipulate the process at the state level. In fact, in the 50 states themselves, its often unclear whos in charge. Elections in America are still organized and administered at the county level, where partisan preference, old-boy networks, and sheer amateurism pose real dangers. Of course, there are constitutional amendments dealing with the right to vote. But all are concerned with what states cannot do like discriminate based on race or sex. None actually guarantees your right to vote. How do I know this? Since 2004, Ive co-chaired the F&M Votes campaign at Franklin & Marshall College. This is a comprehensive, nonpartisan effort by students, faculty, and staff to register our students and turn them out to vote. We have had a lot of success (in 2012, 67% of our students voted on-campus or by absentee ballot), and one key factor is that the Board of Elections of the County of Lancaster has been consistently cooperative. Month-to-month, week-to-week, they work with us on the shared goal of helping students vote. Is this true across all of Pennsylvanias 67 counties? You would hope so. Our Department of State is admirably clear about student voting rights, stating outright that, If youre a student in Pennsylvania who has moved to a new county or a new state to attend college, you can still vote. As a college student, you have two choices on where you register to vote. You have the right to register and vote where you live now, whether that is an on-campus or off-campus address. Or, you may choose to register or remain registered and vote at your prior home address. But whether the 66 other counties actually follow these guidelines is another matter. And thats the problem who monitors and controls local election officials? What is to prevent them from imposing artificial local rules, or, for that matter, simply refusing to process registrations with campus addresses? These issues are particularly important in our state given the outsize role our state plays in deciding who occupies the White House. Up in New Hampshire, the Republican legislature passed a grossly unconstitutional measure in October to suppress student voting by making possession of an in-state drivers license a requirement for residency and the right to vote. This directly violates the Supreme Courts 1979 Symm v. United States decision, which guaranteed students right to vote where they attend college. All of us should be concerned about the ability of partisan local or state officials, of either party, to violate or bend the law for their own purposes. Nowhere is this more vital than in guaranteeing free and fair elections. We need constitutional amendments or binding legislation that will affirmatively grant the right to vote to all citizens, 18 and over, wherever they reside, including students. That is what democracy looks like. Van Gosse is a professor and associate chair of history and the program chair of Africana studies at Franklin & Marshall College. He is a member of the Scholars Strategy Network. Bishop Benoit Alowonou, of the Diocese of Kpalime in Togo, has told a gathering of diocesan clergy celebrating the associations golden jubilee that diocesan priests of Togo have gone through happy and challenging times. Recowa-Cerao Abidjan, Cote DIvoire Bishop Alowonou was speaking at the Pope Saint John Paul II Major Seminary in Togos capital, Lome, the venue of the golden jubilee celebrations. The theme of the festivities was, Achievements and Challenges of the Fraternidade de Sacerdotes Diocesanos do Togo (FPDT) 50 Years after. Priests gather to pray together The most important thing is that after fifty years of progress, the language of fraternity still gathers the diocesan priests in an annual assembly to pray together and to deliver the hand of the Lord, said the Togolese prelate, Bishop Alowonou. Priestly encounters are also an instrument of evangelization Founded in 1970, FPDT brings together more than 400 priests from the seven dioceses of the West African country in an annual general assembly. The fraternity of priests is not only a gathering, but it is also our vocation as priests (and) ministers of Sacraments, the Local Ordinary of Togos Kpalime diocese said, further describing the annual encounters as an instrument of work and evangelization. No priest can carry out the mission in isolation FPDT seeks to respond to the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council, reminding the clergy of the need to be intimately bound together in sacramental fraternity by virtue of their ordination to the priesthood. In this regard, no priest can carry out his mission in isolation; one cannot do without joining forces with fellow priests. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a surprise visit to Syria's capital, Damascus, where he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and held consultations with Russian military officials. The January 7 visit comes at a time of heightened regional tension, when Assad's other main military ally Iran has said it will retaliate for the killing of a top Iranian commander killed in a U.S. drone strike last week. As head of Irans elite Qods Force, General Qasem Soleimani was the architect of the country's military operations across the Middle East and one of the key figures in Syria's civil war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow that Putin traveled in a vehicle on the streets of the Syrian capital from Damascus International Airport to the headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces group in the country. Peskov said Putin was met by Assad at the headquarters building. "The leaders heard military reports on development in various regions of the country," Peskov said. Putin and Assad listened to a military presentation by the commander of Russian forces in Syria, said Syria's presidential office, which posted a picture of the two leaders shaking hands. It was Putin's first visit to Damascus and only his second visit to Syria since Russia began offering military support to Syrian government forces in its long-running conflict. The Russian president's last trip to Syria was a visit to the Russian military base of Hmeimim, in the coastal city of Latakia, in 2017. Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, TASS, and AFP LONDON Britains embattled art trade, already rattled by the potential fallout from Brexit, is bracing for new rules intended to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing that some fear could further hamstring dealers in the country. As of Friday, art market participants in Britain are subject to the regulations when conducting transactions worth more than 10,000 euros, or about $11,100. Under the rules, they have to register with the governments tax agency, and dealers and auctioneers must establish the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner meaning both seller and buyer before entering into a transaction. The legislation, ratified last month by the British Parliament, introduces largely without modification a European Union directive that is at various stages of implementation in other countries in the bloc. This is very serious. It could potentially change commonly accepted market practices, said Kenneth Mullen, a partner at the London-based law firm Withers. Due diligence is going to be fundamental. It does seem to mark a shift toward a more regulated industry. New Delhi, Jan 10 : With the Nirbhaya convicts set to be hanged on January 22, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has approached the Information and Broadcasting Ministry with a highly unusual request. PARI, a Delhi-based NGO, has demanded that the hanging of the four convicts be telecast live. Yogita Bhayana, a women's rights activist and founder of PARI, has written in this regard to the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar. Bhayana said that the hanging of the convicts provides the right opportunity to allay global concerns over women's security in India. She has urged the minister to allow the local and international media for live telecast of the convicts' execution in the Nirbhaya gang. The 'Nirbhaya' victim was brutally gangraped and murdered on December 16, 2012. Four of the accused in the case have been sentenced to death and are scheduled to be hanged on January 22. How did the Hill of the Crosses in Lithuania, a memorial to those who resisted the Soviet occupation, become an unlikely battleground for supporters and opponents of the Hong Kong protests? A surprising video went viral in early January, garnering more than 400,000 views on Twitter. It shows a Chinese tourist standing on a path and looking at a bunch of wooden crosses. She picks up one small wooden cross from the ground and reads the words written in Chinese on it. The inscription reads: Hongkongers, liberate Hong Kong! Its the revolution of our century. The young woman laughs as she throws the cross away. Our country is great! says a second woman, who is filming. The woman in the video first posted it to Instagram last November along with the caption: Hong Kong wants independence? You must be dreaming! Our country is great! Long live China! The video didnt go viral until it was posted on Reddit in late December. Lots of people found the womans actions offensive and quite a few left insulting comments (mostly in Chinese) on the original post. The video was originally posted to Instagram in November 2019. It has since garnered more than 80,000 views. This video went viral after being shared on Reddit. Religion was banned during the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, so many people there see desecrating or vandalizing a cross as both an insult to a sacred place of worship and an insult to the countrys past. The Hill of Crosses, which is near the town of Siauliai in northern Lithuania, is a historic site honouring peaceful resistance to occupation. Crosses inscribed with messages about freedom started appearing on the hill after 1944, when Lithuania was retaken by the USSR after the Nazi occupation. Soviet authorities made several unsuccessful attempts to destroy the site. The Hill of Crosses is extremely important to Lithuanians. People make religious pilgrimages there but they also see it as a shrine to freedom of speech. Anyone can buy a cross there, write whatever message they want on it and place it in the ground. After the video started circulating online, quite a few Lithuanians were angry. One person posted on Reddit that she had placed a cross with a pro-Hong Kong message at the Hill of Crosses to replace the cross that was thrown away in the video. The post was called Your cross is back on the Hill of Crosses. Story continues Two days after the video was shared, a Lithuanian social media user said that he had gone to the site to replace the cross that was thrown away in the video. In his Reddit post, he says that he wanted to pay homage to the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Even Lithuanian authorities chimed in on the debate about the video, saying that throwing away a cross was shameful and amounted to vandalism. Mantas Adomenas, a member of the Lithuanian parliament, posted a message expressing his support for the Hong Kong protestors on Facebook. https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_observers_english_665/dd6ced7cb1c51ec38b019e223b001713 This isnt the first time that someone has vandalised one of the crosses on the hill. Another Facebook post -- first published in late September -- also started circulating this week. The footage is of a Chinese woman who says that she used lipstick and eyeliner to cross out the messages of support for Hong Kong protestors that were written on the crosses. The photo below shows how Chinese visitors to the site actually wrote on a cross that had been placed by Lithuanians to honour their ancestors. The Chinese writing translates to, I wish that the cockroaches [the nickname given to the pro-democracy protesters by supporters of Beijing] will soon rest in peace. I want Hong Kong to find peace quickly! This video has sparked a debate in the country with some Lithuanians wondering if crosses with political messages should be allowed. The Lithuanian police have launched an investigation in an attempt to punish those behind the vandalism. Article by Marie Genries (mariegnrs). WASHINGTON When a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed outside Tehran, Iran, shortly after taking off on Wednesday morning, speculation immediately turned to the conflict between Iran and the United States. And while details remain scant, U.S. authorities believe that it was highly likely that an errant Iranian missile brought down the aircraft. Ukrainian authorities are also coming to that view, after initially seeming to accept the Iranian view that engine failure was at work. While determining the cause of a crash can take months, if not years, Iranian authorities in the hours since the accident appear to have added to initial suspicions by refusing to allow the kind of collaborative investigation that is commonplace when a civilian aircraft suffers a serious accident. That has not kept others from reaching conclusions. CBS News and Newsweek both reported on Thursday that Pentagon and intelligence officials now believe that the Iranians, fearful of an American air assault, mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian jet, which was full of civilians. President Trump endorsed this view, telling reporters Thursday morning that Iran could have made a mistake. He discounted mechanical issues as potentially at work. Ukrainians appear to increasingly share his skepticism of Iranian explanations. Oleksiy Danilov, an official on Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said on Thursday that the Ukrainian government will look at reports that a Russian-made missile may have taken down the plane. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 narrow-body jet operated by Ukraine International Airlines, was en route to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Flight PS752 as it was known according to international aviation codes climbed to an altitude of 7,900 feet but then inexplicably plummeted to the ground east of Tehran. Photos on social media, witness video and reports from Iranian news sites showed the fuselage heavily charred by fire. All 176 people onboard the airplane perished. Story continues Rescue workers carry the body of a victim killed in the plane crash near Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) PHOTOS: Ukraine International Airlines plane crashes in Iran killing all on board >>> Iranian authorities have suggested that engine failure was a factor, though no evidence has been presented to substantiate that claim. The Ukrainian Embassy in Iran issued and then deleted a statement attributing the crash to engine problems. An article on the semiofficial Fars news agency claimed the Boeing 737 passenger planes are notorious for frequent technical issues. While Boeing has had problems with its 737 Max aircraft, the 737-800 line is among the most reliable in the world. Its safety record, says veteran aviation industry analyst Robert W. Mann, is excellent. Suspicions about what happened to Flight PS752 are especially high because the crash comes amid a military standoff between Iran and the United States, precipitated by the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani by an American drone in Iraq last week. Shortly before the airplane went down, Iran retaliated for the killing of Soleimani by firing its Fateh-110 and Qiam-1 ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq where U.S. troops are stationed. An increasingly popular hypothesis among Western observers is that Iran potentially shot down the civilian aircraft, perhaps mistaking it for an American fighter plane. While there is no direct evidence yet that an Iranian missile took down PS752, aviation experts have struggled to come up with any other plausible reason for the accident. OpsGroup, a consultancy focused on aviation safety, published a blog post that included an analysis of photos that seemed to show the fuselage of PS752 punctured in many places. Internal damage to the craft would not have caused such puncturing. We would recommend the starting assumption to be that this was a shootdown event, the post read. Debris from the Ukrainian airliner that crashed Wednesday in Shahedshahr, Iran. (Photo: Mahmoud Hosseini/picture alliance via Getty Images) Iran has long worked to bolster its air defenses, in part by purchasing Russian systems called S-300PMU-2, and also by designing defense systems of its own. Iran recently deployed the homegrown Bavar-373 long-range battery, whose Sayyad-4 missile can travel about 186 miles. An accidental shootdown of a civilian aircraft would be unusual but not unprecedented. On July 3, 1988, the passengers aboard Iran Air Flight 655 were expecting a short and easy morning flight to Dubai, only to tragically fall victim to geopolitics. Stationed in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Vincennes mistakenly identified the Iran Air jet as an attacking aircraft. The two SM-2MR missiles fired by the Vincennes at 10:54 a.m. killed all 290 onboard, including 66 children. Then, as now, the assumption hostilities between the United States and Iran were high, and a U.S. helicopter had taken incoming fire from an Iranian boat that same morning. But the assumption of an attack was also disastrously wrong. More recently, Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine were accused of shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, killing all 298 people onboard. The investigation was hindered by pro-Russian forces and the Kremlin itself. The crash of Flight PS752 may be unrelated to the hostilities between the United States and Iran. But aviation experts believe that Irans anxiety about an American attack on Tehran could account for what happened to the Ukrainian jet. At the very least, suggestions of engine malfunction made by Iranians have been met by vicious skepticism. Jeff Wise, an aviation expert who authored The Taking of MH370, about the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that went missing over the Indian Ocean in 2014, told Yahoo News that suggestions of engine failure were horses***, and not a believable cause for the accident. He notes that the Boeing 737 flown by Ukraine International Airlines was relatively new and that pilot Vladimir Gaponenko was relatively experienced, having logged 11,600 flying hours. Also, the airplane had been serviced only two days before. A rescue worker searches the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed southwest of Tehran, Iran. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) Even if one engine failed, the other would have continued to power the plane, and the crew would have had time to issue a distress signal. Also, catastrophic engine failure likely wouldnt turn the entire jet into a fireball, which is what PS52 appeared to become in its final moments. Writing for the New York magazine website, Wise speculated that Iranian air-defense forces would have been on high alert, especially since the capital city of Tehran would be an obvious target. Memories remain fresh of U.S. airstrikes against Baghdad at the start of its wars against Iraq. That could have led Irans military to mistake Flight PS752 for a hostile aircraft, much as the USS Vincennes had done with the Iranian plane in 1988. A couple of hours in, thats the horse at the front of the race, Wise told Yahoo News, though he also cautioned that there could well be a cause here were missing. If the crash were an accident, the cause would likely be more complex than just an engine failure. Aviation accidents often progress according to the Swiss cheese model pioneered by James Reason, in which a number of small, highly improbable errors just happen to coincide, compounding and eventually causing a catastrophe. Some have pointed to a 2018 accident involving Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, a Boeing 737-700, over eastern Pennsylvania. In that incident, an engine failed and started to come apart, damaging the airplane and killing one person, who was partially pulled out of a cabin window. But even with one engine gone, pilot Tammie Jo Shults safely landed the plane in Philadelphia. A similar incident is not likely to have brought to PS752 says Patrick Smith, a former airline pilot who runs the popular Ask the Pilot blog on civil aviation. People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers and crew members crashed near Imam Khomeini International Airport on Jan. 8. (Photo: Rouhollah Vahdati/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images) Its doubtful that even a rapid or explosive decompression would result in a crash, unless somehow it resulted in very serious structural damage, Smith told Yahoo News. Nor did he see any evidence for the kind of fuel tank explosion that brought down TWA Flight 800 (a Boeing 747-100 with 230 passengers onboard) over Long Island Sound in 1996. Much like Wise, Smith considered an inadvertent shootdown as a plausible explanation, writing that circumstances of the crash were suspicious. On Twitter, Breaking Aviation News shared a photo of what it said was a missile head at the crash site. The photo had allegedly been obtained from Iranian sources, but there was no way to independently verify that report. Iranian authorities, for their part, have said they will not share the airplanes flight data and cockpit voice recorder, which they recovered after the crash, with Boeing, which as the manufacturer of the aircraft would customarily be part of the investigation. Irans civil aviation chief, Ali Abedzadeh, has suggested that Ukraine would be allowed to partake in the investigation, though he did not specify how or to what extent. Canada also wants a share of the investigative duties, since 63 Canadians were killed in the crash. We are going to make sure that we are a substantive contributor to this investigation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday. Representatives for Boeing would not discuss particulars of the accident. In response to a query, the company sent Yahoo News an email expressing sympathy to the victims families and a readiness to work with Ukraine International Airlines on the investigation. The prospects of a collaboration between Iran and Western partners is virtually nonexistent. Normally, one would wait for independent investigators to do their jobs, says Mann, the aviation industry analyst. That may not be a realistic expectation in this case. A spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak about the issue, said that, according to international rules, the U.S. government would have to be invited by the Iranian government to participate. Passengers belongings are seen at the site where the Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed after takeoff from Irans Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran. (Photo: Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters) In the meantime, aviation experts reached their own conclusions, absent a full investigation. Mann added that, in Iran, reports of a rapid pace of accident scene cleanup will further reduce the ability to objectively determine accident cause. Without access to crash scene or data recorders, analysis becomes speculative and hypothetical, a very opaque situation that comes at an unfortunate time geopolitically, and for Boeing. Boeing has faced tough scrutiny from Congress and the American public for its handling of the 737 Max crisis, which resulted in two fatal crashes, one of a plane flown by Lion Air, an Indonesian company, and the other involving Ethiopian Airlines. Since then, reports have revealed that Boeing knew about problems with the Max navigation system, known as MCAS, but proceeded with production anyway. The Ukraine International Airlines version of the Boeing aircraft, however, did not have a MCAS system. The fallout from that crisis led to the firing of Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg in late December. Iran is not a country known for openness, and that means speculation over what happened will only intensify. If the lack of transparency persists, says Mann, we may never find out whether the accident cause was mechanical failure, a terrorist incident or an intentional shootdown. Perhaps inevitably, the cause of the crash even became a matter of political contention on Capitol Hill, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., urging House Democrats to delay a vote on curtailing Trumps ability to wage war with Iran until Iranian authorities released the voice and data recorders from Flight PS752. I think the Democrats should pause, McCarthy said, until more is known about Irans potential involvement in the crash. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Bengaluru, Jan 10 : Global software major Infosys on Friday said its audit committee found no evidence of financial impropriety or executive miscount against chief executive Salil Parikh and Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy. "The allegations are substantially without merit," said Infosys in a regulatory filing before releasing its Q3 results on Friday. Anonymous Infosys employees calling themselves as ethical employees accused Parikh and Roy of financial manipulation, in addition to several other lapses.' Gov. Tony Evers has named an Iraq War veteran with 17 years of experience as an Army attorney to serve as ombudsman for the Wisconsin National Guard and assist those reporting sexual misconduct. Lt. Col. Brian Bischoffs appointment comes after an investigation found a litany of failings in how the Guard handled sexual assault and harassment allegations. At the request of Evers, Wisconsin National Guard Adj. Gen. Donald Dunbar announced his resignation last month. The ombudsman will play a critical role in restoring trust in the Wisconsin National Guards handling of sexual assault and harassment allegations, Evers said in a statement. Everyone serving in the Wisconsin National Guard deserves to know that their concerns about sexual assault and harassment will be carefully, fairly, and thoroughly reviewed. A member of the Georgia National Guard, Bischoff served as one of the federal National Guard Bureaus first special victims counsels, where he advocated for sexual assault survivors. The National Guard Bureaus Office of Complex Investigations report, released last month, found that the Wisconsin Guards policies and procedures for handling allegations of sexual misconduct were out of date, ineffective, understaffed and in violation of federal rules. The approximately six-month investigation and subsequent report stemmed from allegations that officers with the Guards 115th Fighter Wing, based at Madisons Truax Field, had dismissed at least six incidents of sexual assault or harassment. The report found that, under Dunbar, the Guard violated Department of Defense and National Guard Bureau policies by using its own investigators in sexual assault complaints instead of referring them to local law enforcement or other external authorities. In December, Evers announced sweeping reforms within the Guard, including the establishment of an office of ombudsman to assist survivors and complainants in the review of allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment and retaliation within the Wisconsin National Guard. The Guard is required to fully accommodate Bischoff, who must provide quarterly reports to Evers on his work. Bischoff also will have full access to any necessary personnel and records within the Guard. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 One day after a Ukrainian International Airlines passenger jet crashed five minutes after taking off from Tehran Airport, killing all 176 people on board, US officials have rushed to blame the tragedy on a missile fired by Iran. According to Iranian officials, the plane, a Boeing 737-800, took off en route to the Ukrainian capital Kiev at 6.13 a.m. on Wednesday after being delayed for over an hour. Five minutes after take-off, the plane caught fire, turned into a fireball and crashed in a field. The pilot sent no signals or alarms to dispatchers before the plane crashed. Ukrainian and Iranian reports indicate that pilots tried to return to the airport just before the plane crashed. An eyewitness said that the pilots managed to direct the crashing plane away from a residential area to farmland. Among the 176 dead were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadian citizens (many of them of Iranian descent), and 11 Ukrainians (including all nine crew members). The other victims were citizens of Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and Britain. According to Ukraine International Airlines, the plane was four years old and had been checked two days before the accident. Debris is seen from the Ukrainian plane which crashed as authorities work at the scene in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. The airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) The initial Iranian account indicated that the planes engines had caught fire, causing the pilot to lose control. However, the Iranian government has since walked back from these statements and said that the cause of the crash remains to be established. The Ukrainian embassy likewise deleted an early tweet suggesting that the crash had been due to a mechanical failure. An Iranian investigation team was deployed to the site of the crash Wednesday morning. Members of a Ukrainian investigation team have also arrived and begun negotiations with its Iranian counterparts. The model of the plane, the Boeing 737-800, is an earlier version of the 737-Max model. Known technical deficiencies of the latter have resulted in two plane crashes that killed 346 people (see: One year since the first Boeing 737 Max 8 crash). Although its technical deficiencies are not as glaring as those of its successor, the 737-Max, there have been known defects in the 737-800 model. In the past decade, there have been several serious crashes involving the 737-800, including a crash in Russia in 2016 that killed 62 people, and one in India in 2010 that killed 158. The plane crash near Tehran occurred just hours after Iran had launched ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 drone assassination of Irans General Qassem Suleimani, prompting speculation that the crash may have been related to the escalating war crisis between the US and Iran. With the investigation into the causes for the crash having barely begun, on Thursday, US officials rushed to blame Iran for the downing of the plane. US media, like the New York Times and CNN, reported that US intelligence had a high level of confidence that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile had been accidentally fired at the plane. There were also claims that the Pentagon and intelligence officials had identified the signature from the radar of an Iranian anti-aircraft missile battery that had locked on the aircraft before it crashed. Similarly, the Guardian quoted British officials as claiming they had seen intelligence suggesting that the plane was hit by an Iranian air defence missile. One British source said, The assessment is that it looks like it is a tragic accident. Several of the anonymous officials suggested that Iran had shot down the plane by mistake, believing it to be an American war plane. Donald Trump stated that he had suspicions the plane might have been mistakenly shot down. Someone could have made a mistake on the other side. Some people say it was mechanical, I personally dont think thats even a question. I have a feeling that something very terrible happened. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also stated that Canada had intelligence suggesting that Iran shot down the plane, stating that the strike may have been unintentional. A few hours after these statements, the New York Times published a 19-second video, alleging that it appears to show an Iranian missile hitting the Ukrainian plane. No evidence for this claim was provided, nor is it evident from the video itself. Should it turn out that the plane was mistaken by Iran as part of a US attack and was accidentally shot down, the main responsibility for this horrific disaster would lie with US imperialism. The reckless assassination of Suleimani, illegal under international and US law, has triggered an acute war crisis, endangering the lives of millions. However, the real causes for the crash remain entirely unclear, and there are no grounds to trust the suspicions of Donald Trump or the high level of confidence of the CIA or MI5, all of whom are notorious for systematically lying to the public for the purposes of war propaganda and manufacturing of pretexts for aggression. Iran has denied that it fired a missile downing the plane. A special session of the Iranian committee that oversees aviation accidents reviewed the possibility that the plane was shot down, but dismissed it based on evidence that the pilot had tried to turn back to the airport. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the committee, told the Guardian: As the pilot of the Ukrainian plane was trying to get back to the airport, the scenario of a missile attack is off the table. The Ukrainian government, which is closely aligned with the US war drive against Russia, has initiated an investigation into the plane crash that is personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian press had welcomed the killing of Suleimani, who is reported to have worked closely with Russia on military operations in Syria. In a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Zelensky assured the US of his full support for the assassination. The Ukrainian investigators include members of the team that investigated the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in July 2014, which killed all 298 people aboard. The investigation into the MH17 incident was directed entirely at producing findings to prove that Russian-backed separatists shot down the plane, despite evidence to the contrary. The plane crash and the investigation became a centrepiece of imperialist war propaganda against Russia. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security Council, stated, We will use all our best practices from investigating the attack on MH17 to find out the truth in the case of the Ukrainian plane in Tehran. Danilov also echoed reports in the Western press alleging that a Russian missile was used to shoot down the plane. The only basis for these accusations are images that have been circulating on social media, allegedly showing parts of a Russian missile, allegedly found among the debris of the plane. The source and authenticity of these images have remained entirely unconfirmed, and they provide no indication of where or when the photos were taken. Iran has denied their authenticity. The Western media has focused on Irans initial rejection to submit the planes damaged black box to the US-based company Boeing, which has intimate ties to the US government, as an indication that the plane may have been shot down. However, the Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov, who has generally supported the imperialist-backed coup in Ukraine in February 2014, cited one of his sources in the Ukrainian investigation team in a Facebook post on Thursday, indicating full readiness by the Iranians to cooperate on the investigation: Both black boxes have been found. They are damaged by the fire and the crash but can be restored. The Iranians are not preparing to cover up anything. In accordance with the Chicago Convention, they are preparing to provide access for the investigation and decoding of the black boxes to all sides, including the Americans, the manufacturers of the plane [Boeing], as well as to all countries whose citizens died The Iranians demonstrate a normal level of dialogue. There are no signs that they are deliberately trying to hide any information, so far everything has proceeded in a quite correct and open manner. The Ukrainian investigation team is considering four possibilities for the plane crash: a terrorist attack, a missile strike, a mechanical defect and a collision with another flying object. The last seven days in world events have created a new political paradigm. Call it "Trump Unleashed." That's because the attempts by President Donald Trump's opponents to rein him in after his decision to take down Iranian general Qasem Soleimani are likely to have the opposite effect. This came to a head Thursday night. Six days after a successful U.S. strike to take out a major terrorist army leader, and one day after Trump announced his intention to pursue economic sanctions over further military action, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opted to hold a vote on a War Powers Act resolution to restrict Trump's military options going forward against Iran. But just as that vote was in the works, we may have reached peak "bash Trump" levels when some of the president's opponents decided to publicly blame him for Iran's apparent shooting down of the Ukrainian passenger jet over Tehran Thursday morning. That included California Democrat Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who said as much during a live interview on CNN, and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg who at least suggested as much in a tweet last night: Buttigieg tweet Yet in the midst of these attacks, Trump's polls still aren't going down across the board. This brings to mind the moment when Hillary Clinton released a campaign video to her supporters in 2016 she where she asked, "why aren't I 50 points ahead?" in the polls over Trump. But her question should have spurred Trump's opponents to look closer at how the strategy of throwing the kitchen sink at him doesn't really work. Instead, it appears they've spent the last few years doubling and tripling down on that strategy while at the same time doing whatever they can not to look inward. It's not that Trump's poll numbers are historically good for an incumbent president. They're not. But it's extremely telling for a president to suffer no consistent drop in the polls even after being impeached, pilloried in the news media on an hourly basis, and reflexively blamed for just about everything. NOT only loss of income or opportunity but also the costs of relocation will be a concern if the 150 locators at the Mactan Export Zone (MEZ) 1 in Lapu-Lapu City are transferred to accommodate a second airport runway. Relocation costs would reach at least US$2.3 billion which the firms would demand as compensation. An additional $4 billion would be for loss of revenue and expired inventory which the foreign investors said the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) should shoulder. These costs of relocation, and a call for clarification of the plan, were contained in a letter of the Mactan Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers (MEPZCEM) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cebu (JCCI-CI) dated Dec. 13, 2019 and addressed to MCIAA general manger Steve Dicdican. Dicdican, in an interview, said a compromise is being worked on and he hopes parties involved would cooperate. We have a meeting with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, local government units and locators. That can only be done if everyone compromises. So far, all the stakeholders are in alignment that there is a need to grow the airport, there is a need to compromise. We just need to work on the details to ensure that the development is seamless without disrupting their operations, Dicdican said. The two business groups said in the letter that they are seeking clarification after SunStar Cebu reported on Sept. 19, 2019 that all 150 MEZ 1 locators would be relocated to a proposed reclamation area described as a smart city. The letter said they are expressing dismay that the statement of their relocation was made precipitously since the smart city is still a proposed project and the second runway is reportedly still under consideration by the Neda (National Economic and Development Authority). Admittedly, it will take 7 to 10 years to complete the said project after it has been approved by the proper government agencies and all bidders qualified, the letter continued. Story continues MEZ 1 locators are mostly foreign companies such as watch manufacturer TMX Philippines Inc., electronic components manufacturer Taiyo Yuden (Phils) Inc. and manufacturers of garments, furniture and semiconductor process equipment. The relocation of MEZ 1 companies is part of the MCIAAs 50-year master plan for the airport, which also includes the construction of a second runway. The locators will be moved to the proposed special economic zone that will be opened in a 300-hectare reclaimed area in Barangay Ibo to pave the way for the runway construction. The letter, signed by Santhana Krishnan Vaidiswaran for MEPZCEM and Masahiro Kohsaka for JCCI-CI, said there is an atmosphere of apprehension and disquiet prevailing to the extent that expansion plans are on hold and plans to transfer to other Asian countries are already on the table. If the relocation plan pushes through, it said, We believe that it shall put in disarray not only the business plans of the MEZ 1 foreign investors but to a great extent the employment opportunities generated at MEZ 1 which currently stands at a total of 57,000 direct workers and 285,000 indirect laborers. Payroll and benefits paid to the workers have reached P3.35 billion a year, for six MEZ 1 locators alone. The letter also said that all the 150 affected locators will definitely demand compensation for relocation costs. Figures from six significant MEZ 1 locators showed that relocation costs could reach a total of $2.3 billion or $2,308 million for building and facilities, buffer inventory and costs for raw material, transfer and insurance. The amount came from only six companies who responded to the groups survey and is just a drop in the bucket, if we are to consider the relocation costs for the 150 affected locators, it said. In addition, there would be the costs for the risks of relocation on a 12 to 60 months relocation period. The letter estimated this at $153 million for expired inventory and $3.868 billion for loss of revenue due to customers transferring to competitors, the said amounts to be shouldered by the MCIAA, the letter said. It then asked that the MCIAA reconsider its decision and that the area of MEZ 1 be excluded from the second runway plan. Meanwhile, the MEZ 1 relocation would also mean the Lapu-Lapu City Government will no longer get its two percent share from the five percent special income tax rate paid by the locators. Mayor Junard Chan said, if these foreign investors leave, it would spell doom for the local economy. Patay ta uy, economically, Chan told SunStar Cebu. He said 30 to 40 percent of MEZ 1 workers are Lapu-Lapu City residents. He was concerned they could lose their jobs. / with FVQ Yves here. Even though the angst over what next with the US/Iran confrontation has fallen a bit, there is still a depressingly significant amount of mis- and dis-information about the Soleimani assassination. This post is a nice high level treatment that might be a good candidate for circulating among friends and colleagues whove gotten a hefty dose of MSM oversimplifications and social media sloganeering. Update 6:50 AM: Due to the hour, I neglected to add a quibble, and readers jumped on the issue in comments. First, it has not been established who launched the attack that killed a the US contractor. The US quickly asserted it was Katib Hezbollah, but there were plenty of groups in the area that had arguably better motives, plus Katib Hezbollah has denied it made the strike. Second, Katib Hezbollah is an Iraqi military unit. By Barkley Rosser, Professor of Economics at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Originally published at EconoSpeak We know from various Congressional folks that briefers of Congress have failed to produce any evidence of imminent plans to kill Americans Soleimani was involved with that would have made this a legal killing rather than an illegal assassination. The public statements by administration figures have cited such things as the 1979 hostage crisis, the already dead contractor, and, oh, the need to reestablish deterrence after Trump did not follow through on previous threats he made. None of this looks remotely like imminent plans, not to mention that the Iraqi PM Abdul-Mahdi has reported that Soleimani was on the way to see him with a reply to a Saudi peace proposal. What a threatening imminent plan! As it is, despite the apparent lack of imminent plans to kill Americans, much of the supporting rhetoric for this assassination coming out of Trump supporters (with bragging about it having reportedly been put up on Trumps reelection funding website) involves charges that Soleimani was the worlds Number One terrorist and was personally responsible for killing 603 Americans in Iraq. Even as many commentators have noted the lack of any imminent plans, pretty much all American ones have prefaced these questions with assertions that Soleimani was unquestionable evil and bad and a generally no good guy who deserved to be offed, if not right at this time and in this way. He was the central mastermind and boss of a massive international terror network that obeyed his orders and key to Irans reputed position as the Number One state supporter of terrorism, with Soleimani the key to all of that. Of course, in Iran it turns out that Soleimani was highly respected, even as many oppose the hawkish policies he was part of. He was viewed as crucial to the victory over ISIS/ISIL/Daesh in Iraq, much feared by Iranians. Shia take martyrdom seriously, and he is viewed as a martyr. It appears that even Trump took notice of the massive outpouring of mourning and praise for Soleimani there up to the point of people dying in a stampede in a mourning crowd in his hometown. But, hey, obviously these people simply do not understand that he was The Worlds Number One Terrorist! Heck, I saw one commenter on Marginal Revolution claiming Soleimani was responsible killing hundreds of thousands. Yes, this sort of claim is floating around out there. A basic problem here is that while indeed Soleimani commanded the IGRC al Quds force that supported and supplied various Shia militias in several Middle Eastern nations, these all were (and are) ultimately independent. Soleimani may have advised them, but he was never in a position to order any of them to do anything. Al Quds itself has never carried out any of the various attacks outside of Iran that Soleimani is supposedly personally responsible for. Let us consider the specific case that gets pushed most emphatically, the 603 Americans dead in Iraq, without doubt a hot button item here in the US. First of all, even if Soleimani really was personally responsible for their deaths, there is the technical matter that their deaths cannot be labeled terrorism. That is about killing non-combatant civilians, not military personnel involved in combat. I do not support the killing of those American soldiers, most of whom were done in by IEDs, which also horribly injured many more. But indeed this awful stuff happened. But in fact this was all done by Iraqi -based Shia militias. Yes, they were supported by Soleimani, but while some have charged al Quds suppplied the IEDs, this turns out not to be the case. These were apparently made in Iraq by these local militias. Soleimanis al Quds are not totally innocent in all this, reportedly providing some training and some inputs. But the IEDs were made by the militias themselves and planted by them. It is also the case that when the militias and Americans were working together against ISIS/IISIL/Daesh, none of this happened, and indeed that was still the case up until this most recent set of events, with the death setting off all this an American civilian contractor caught on a base where several Iraqis were killed by a rocket from the Katb Hezbollah Iraqi group. Of course with Trump having Soleimani assassinated, this cooperation has ceased, with the US military no longer either fighting ISIS/ISIL/Daesh nor training the Iraqi military. Indeed, the Iraqi parliament has demanded that US troops leave entirely, although Trump threatened Iraq with economic sanctions if that is followed through on. As it is, the US datinrg back to the Obama administration has been supplying Saudi Arabia with both arms and intelligence that has been used to kill thousands of Yemeni civilians. Frankly, US leaders look more like terrorists than Soleimani. I shall close by noting the major changes in opinion in both Iran and Iraq regarding the US as a result of this assassination. In Iran as many have noted there were major demonstrations against the regime going on, protesting bad economic conditions, even as those substantially were the result of the illegal US economic sanctions imposed after the US withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal, to which Iran was adhering. Now those demonstrations have stopped and been replaced by the mass demonstrations against the US over Soleimanis assassination. And we also have Iran further withdrawing from that deal and moving to more highly enrich uranium. In Iraq, there had been major anti-Iran demonstrations going on, with these supported to some degree by the highest religious authority in the nation, Ayatollah Ali Sistani. However, when Soleimanis body was being transferred to Iran, Sistanis son accompanied his body. It really is hard to see anything that justifies this assassination. I guess I should note for the record that I am not a fan of the Iranian regime, much less the IGRC and its former and new commander. It is theocratic and repressive, with many political prisoners and a record of killing protestors. However, frankly, it is not clearly all that much worse than quite a few of its neighboring regimes. While Supreme Jurisprudent Khamenei was not popularly elected, its president, Rouhani, was, who obeyed popular opinion in negotiating the JCPOA that led to the relaxation of economic sanctions, with his power reduced when Trump withdrew from the agreement. Its rival Saudi Arabia has no democracy at all, and is also a religiously reactionary and repressive regime that uses bone saws on opponents and is slaughtering civilians in a neighboring nation. The theory that the plane was hit by a missile is not ruled out, but it is not confirmed so far, Zelensky added. Danilov wrote on Facebook that his team was considering a variety of possible causes but wanted to search for possible debris from a Tor air-defense missile, after seeing online reports about the discovery of possible fragments of one near the crash site. Withdrawal Agreement Bill finally passes third reading Boris Johnsons Brexit deal has passed through the Commons in a historic vote which brought it a step closer to being enshrined in law. MPs on Thursday night voted in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at its third reading by 330 votes to 231, a majority of 99. It came after three years of Parliamentary wrangling over Brexit, which is now set to happen on Jan 31. The Brexit Bill has now passed to the House of Lords, where peers will debate it next week. A source in the Lords said the Bill is likely to become law on Jan 22. The Prime Ministers spokesman said the vote was a significant positive step to Brexit, adding: The country did deliver a very clear message that they want Brexit to be resolved. Daily Telegraph Legislations heads to the Lords The Guardian as Prime Minister sends warning to peers Daily Express More: UK to keep ban on chlorinated chicken FT Refuse fishing access and risk another cod war, warns Brussels Daily Telegraph Barnier sticks to firm line in talks FT Full trade deal will involve delay, insists Von der Leyen The Sun Comment: Why Britain needs the Brexit Spartans of the ERG now more than ever Madeline Grant, Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: Ministers 1) Northern rail could run out of money within weeks, warns Shapps The operator of the UKs ailing Northern rail franchise is soon going to run out of money forcing the government to step in within weeks, the transport secretary said on Thursday. A decision will be made by the end of January whether to strip the franchise from Arriva Rail North or allow it to run a reduced service under a new contract, Grant Shapps said in a written statement. It has now been confirmed to me from the most recent available financial information that the franchise will only be able to continue for a number of months, Mr Shapps said. He will either accept Arrivas plan for reduced services under a new contract or the state will take over as an operator of last resort. Arriva is owned by German state railway Deutsche Bahn. FT Ministers 2) Smith says Stormont could be on the brink of returning Northern Ireland was on the brink of a deal on Thursday night to restore its government as the DUP signalled it would back a joint proposal tabled by London and Dublin. The British and Irish governments published a deal aimed and restoring the Stormont Executive and have called on Northern Irelands political parties to support it. Arlene Foster, the lead of the DUP said, On balance we believe there is a basis upon which the Assembly and Executive can re-established in a fair and balanced way. Julian Smith, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, has asked the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly to convene the parliament on Friday and requested that the parties of the power sharing agreement attend and vote on the joint government proposal. Daily Telegraph Draft deal on the table FT Ministers 3) Raab signals crackdown on human rights abusers Britain is preparing to activate a new post-Brexit sanctions regime, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab planning to freeze the assets of Russian citizens and those of other countries deemed responsible for human rights abuses. Mr Raab on Thursday held talks with his Canadian counterpart, Francois-Philippe Champagne, as he sought to present Britain as part of a new western coalition intent on punishing those accused of murder, torture or inhuman treatment of others. The foreign secretary, a former human rights lawyer, is expected to introduce the new British sanctions regime next month. It would be followed by a specific list of people whose assets in the UK will be frozen. FT Johnson backs theory that Iran shot down airliner with Britons aboard The Guardian and tells Iranian President that nuclear deal must stay Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: Richard Bingley in Comment: A cyber war is on the way Government to put 71 million into Redcar steelworks Millions to transform an old steelworks is the first cash injection to help level up Britain. No 10 yesterday revealed that 71million would be spent in Redcar an ex-Labour seat that is now held by the Tories. The money will help the site, which shut in 2015, turn into a business zone for green energy and tech companies. Treasury minister Rishi Sunak said: This is our levelling-up agenda in action, as we back Teessides exciting ambitions to be a global trading centre with great jobs for world-leading industries. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: I have always said I would be the first to ask Government for more money when we needed it for the redevelopment of the former Redcar steelworks site. So, after asking, Im pleased we will be receiving the 71m to help secure the site and accelerate its preparation for private sector investment. The Sun >Today: ToryDiary: HS2s financial case gets weaker and weaker but has its political justification held up any better? >Yesterday: ToryDiary: Reviving our high streets must mean working with the market Four through to next round of Labour leadership contest Rebecca Long Bailey is through to the next round of the Labour leadership race on the back of support from MPs elected only last month. Four candidates Ms Long Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and Sir Keir Starmer have secured the backing of 22 MPs or MEPs required to progress to the next stage. The campaigns of Emily Thornberry and Clive Lewis appear to have stalled, raising questions over whether they will remain in the contest, while Barry Gardiner announced last night that he would no longer be standing. Candidates have until Monday to gather the necessary support. Figures on the Labour Party website show that 15 of the 26 nominations for Ms Long Bailey, the shadow business secretary, came from newly elected MPs. The Times Now Thornberry gives Corbyn 0 out of 10 Daily Mail More: Ex-MP not ashamed of visiting job centre The Times Gardiner receives 500,000 from firm linked to Chinese communists Daily Mail Comment: Labour has to bury Corbyn if it wants to win Philip Collins, The Times Scottish Labour to debate supporting an independence referendum Scottish Labour has been accused of surrendering to the SNP after it emerged its leader wants a special spring conference to decide whether to back a second independence referendum. Richard Leonard told his partys Shadow Cabinet meeting this week he wants to hold the gathering in May to make a final decision, after consulting the membership on the key issue. It is understood the plan will be discussed at a meeting of Labours Scottish executive committee on Saturday, convened to arrange a wide-ranging review Mr Leonard is leading into the partys disastrous general election performance. Labour lost all but one of its seven seats, recording its worst result north of the Border since 1910. Although Mr Leonard personally opposes holding another referendum, the Guardian reported that he would consider asking for a federal UK to be included in a multi-option vote. Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: Henry Hills Red, White, and Blue column: Carlaw sets out his stall as the Scottish Tory leadership contest begins Ministers back Palace in row with Sussexes Ministers have backed Buckingham Palace this morning over Harry and Meghans split with the Royal family but warned that the couple will likely still be funded by the taxpayer in future. Last night the top Royals shocked the country with their announcement they were stepping back from their Royal duties and would spend more time in North America as revealed by The Sun 24 hours earlier This morning Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick echoed the Palaces statement, saying there were issues to work through And he said that the Royals would likely continue to be funded by the taxpayer in future, saying there are long-standing rules and guidelines around the funding of the family. The Sun Charles threatens to cut off Harry and Meghans cash The Times Six flaws in the plan Daily Telegraph Aides raise doubts over the Sussexes grasp of finances The Times Scotland Yard to review 600k protection The Sun More: Book deals and speeches could earn millions The Times Princes role in the Royal Marines could be under threat Daily Express Duchess flees to Canada Daily Mail Fraser Nelson: There is logic to the choice, but you cant be half-Royal A private life is on the cards, but it will have to be funded by a private income. Prince Harry is worth some 30 million (mainly through inheritance) a pretty decent starting point for starting a new life abroad. If the Sussexes can restrict their budget to that of a Toronto multimillionaire, rather than Manhattan billionaire, its all doable. It just takes planning and more patience than he has shown so far. The worst option, of course, was for Prince Harry to go rogue while still a full member of the household, which is how things had seemed. So in a way, hes right to force the issue. A slimmed-down royal family will need an exit mechanism for those members seeking a private life: others may follow his path. Daily Telegraph Sussexes will find its cold outside Trevor Phillips, The Times Absurd to blame this fiasco on British racism Sherelle Jacobs, Daily Telegraph A move made seemingly without thought for the consequences Ingrid Seward, The Times Triumph of vanity over duty Patrick Jephson, Daily Mail Royals gave them everything they wanted, and still they wanted more Camilla Tominey, Daily Telegraph Editorial: Belief they can improve their image by cutting out the press is mistaken The Times There must have been a more sensitive way of handling this Daily Telegraph Obnoxious behaviour betrays the Royals and abuses taxpayers The Sun News in Brief: WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed legislation that would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate so-called PFAS forever chemicals linked to numerous diseases as hazardous substances. It also calls for the EPA to set safety standards for the presence of the chemicals in drinking water, and to give grants that would help water companies remove them. Per- and polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS) have been used for decades in food packaging and household products like stain and water-repellent fabrics, polishes, waxes and cleaning products. Their presence in foam used to fight fires has led to groundwater contamination near airports and military bases where firefighters train. Theyve been called forever chemicals because they accumulate in humans and dont break down in nature. According to the Environmental Working Group, PFAS chemicals have been found in drinking water in Ohio communities including Cleveland Heights and Struthers, and on military bases including Camp Ravenna and Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The organization says PFAS have been detected in more than 1,400 communities in almost every state, and estimates that more than 100 million Americans may be drinking water contaminated by them. Studies have linked the chemicals to liver, kidney, thyroid and immunological difficulties, cancer, increased cholesterol levels and low infant birth weights, among other problems. The House bill passed in a 247 to 159 vote, with backing from all but one House Democrat and 24 of its Republicans. All Ohios Democrats supported the legislation, as did Ohio Republicans Mike Turner of the Dayton area and Steve Stivers of the Columbus area. A corresponding measure in the U.S. Senate has 52 cosponsors including Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, but its prospects for becoming law appear murky, as the White House says President Donald Trump would likely veto the bill if it comes before him. A Trump administration statement says the bill would bypass well-established processes, procedures and legal requirements set forth by other environmental laws including the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act. And, the administration says, it would ignore the established processes to ensure that appropriate, scientifically sound actions are taken to protect Americans. Rather than allow EPA to regulate PFAS in accordance with the carefully devised processes set forth in these and other laws, the bill would simply require EPA to put certain regulatory measures in place, the administration statement says. By truncating the rulemaking process, this legislation risks undermining public confidence in the EPAs decisions, and also risks the imposition of unnecessary costs on states, public water systems, and others responsible for complying with its prescriptive mandates. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a survey this year of the states 1,500 local public water systems that serve 90 percent of the states population to test for the chemicals, and the states health department will work with local health departments to reach out to the rest of Ohioans who get their water from private sources. If testing reveals contamination, state officials will help local officials formulate a response. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House secured full, robust protections against PFAS chemicals in a defense bill last year, but the Senate eliminated them. She said more than 400 sites around the United States are affected by them, with many communities in Michigan experiencing contamination. Today, nearly all Americans, including newborn babies, expectant mothers, children have PFAS in their blood, and up to 110 million people may be drinking tainted water, said Pelosi. A statement in support of the bill from the National Wildlife Federation said PFAS have been found in all parts of the environment, from soil, water and air to fish and wildlife from the Great Lakes to the Arctic. Additional investment for water infrastructure is needed to help communities and their neighboring wildlife remain healthy for generations to come, the organization said. League of Conservation Voters Deputy Legislative Director Madeleine Foote called the measure a historic step towards protecting the health and wellbeing of the tens of millions of people across the country living with toxic PFAS contamination" linked to health problems like cancer, thyroid disease and neurological development issues. For too long, states and localities have been forced to tackle these harmful chemicals in their communities with little support -- it is long past time for the federal government to step in, said Foote, who accused the Trump administration of failing to clean up the chemicals and urged the Senate to approve the measure. Critics of the bill said EPA is already acting to address PFAS chemicals and the bill would bypass its scientific evaluation. I know many of my Democratic colleagues think this bill is essential because they dont trust the EPA run by this President, Illinois Republican Rep. John Shimkus said on the House floor. I understand that is your call. But I would also ask you to think about the mandates you are placing on the Environmental Protection Agency, which will far outlast this administration. They will legally hamstring future ones from facing issues other than PFAS, whether it is lead or climate. Zanesville Republican Rep. Troy Balderson unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill by requiring that the EPA complete its PFAS action plan before the bill is implemented. He noted PFAS chemicals are found in everyday objects including medical devices produced by companies in his district, such as heart patches and grafts, stents, surgical mesh and catheters. His proposal failed in a 170 to 239 vote. Clearly, not all PFAS are the same, said Balderson. To assert that all these 5,000- plus substances are hazardous in one move is not based on science and it is dangerous. That would call into question the already approved medical devices that are saving lives. The better solution is to allow the EPA to do its work and look at each chemical on its own merits, rather than labeling the whole diverse class as hazardous. Read more coverage: House votes to limit Trumps war powers in measure backed by Ohio Democrats Sen. Sherrod Brown cautions against war in Middle East and questions Trumps judgment Trump in Ohio: A timeline of his presidential visits Toledo Democrats warn President Trump against hate speech during upcoming visit Ex-Cleveland mayor and congressman Dennis Kucinich backs Tulsi Gabbards presidential campaign, denounces killing of Iranian general Congress divided on Iranian generals killing; Ohio Senators seek briefings Ohio Congress members ask U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion Rep. Bob Latta helps pass law to hang up on robocalls House approves trade agreement with Canada and Mexico over opposition from Ohio Reps. Fudge and Kaptur House votes to impeach President Donald Trump Christina Hagan files to challenge Tim Ryan: See whos running for Congress in Northeast Ohio From the Sweetwater County Library System The Sweetwater County Library System's mission is to improve the quality of life in our county. The library does this in a number of ways: Presenting programs to help people learn and connect, offering a current and robust collection, and maintaining several branches so everyone in Sweetwater County is close to a facility. For some in our community, however, the need is greater. The library's Outreach Program is focused on providing library materials and information to the Sweetwater County's senior population. The goal of the program is two-fold:... MILWAUKEE, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP is investigating Instructure (NYSE: INST) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of the law in connection with the sale to Thoma Bravo. Click here to learn how to join the action: http://ademilaw.com/case/instructure-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you. Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP alleges Instructure's financial outlook is improving and yet shareholders will receive only $47.60 for each share of Instructure, in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. The merger agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for Instructure by prohibiting solicitation of further bids, and imposing a termination penalty if Instructure accepts a superior bid. Instructure insiders will receive millions of dollars as part of change of control arrangements. We are investigating the conduct of Instructure's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for Instructure. If you own common stock in Instructure and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or http://ademilaw.com/case/instructure-inc. We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contacts Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP Guri Ademi Toll Free: (866) 264-3995 Fax: (414) 482-8001 SOURCE Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP Related Links http://www.ademilaw.com Photo: Contributed Phillip Tallio A man who has maintained his innocence since he was convicted of killing a toddler nearly 37 years ago in British Columbia has been granted bail while his appeal continues. Phillip Tallio pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 22-month-old Delavina Mack, six months after she was killed in Bella Coola in April 1983, when Tallio was 17. Justice Elizabeth Bennett of the B.C. Appeal Court says Tallio will be released to a halfway house operated by the John Howard Society in the Lower Mainland, and a ban prevents the name and location of the facility from being published. Bennett also ordered that he have no contact with anyone under age 16 without the presence of an adult and that he not be in public areas frequented by minors. Tallio will also be required to abide by a curfew that will be loosened over three months. Justice David Frankel of the B.C. Court of Appeal told a case management hearing after bail was granted that preliminary arguments are expected to start Jan. 20 before an appeal scheduled for five weeks gets underway on March 30. Former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn has again criticized Japan's justice system as unfair. Ghosn spoke to NHK and other Japanese media in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, reiterating what he said at a news conference on Wednesday. Concerning his plan to escape Japan, he said that he had organized the plan by himself to prevent any leak. But he declined to explain how he got out of Japan, saying he will not reveal it to anybody. Ghosn cited as a reason why he fled Japan that there was no possibility of him getting a fair trial there. Justice Ministry officials in Japan condemned Ghosn for presenting what they called a mistaken view of Japan's legal system. They said that his statement was aimed at justifying his escape, and that can never be overlooked. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video More girls, aged between 10 and 16 are falling victim to early and forced marriage in Zongo Communities in Ashanti Region. Families continue to push female minors into such relationships every week, in contravention of the Children's Act which pegs the minimum marriage age at 18. The development is gaining notoriety as some clerics are involved in the practice. The latest victim to be rescued by the police is a JHS Two pupil who was confined and was being married off to a man in Accra. The leadership of Zongo Chiefs is worried about the development which negatively affects child development, including the truncation of their education. "The community is talking about it and then Zongo leadership is also talking about it. The Zongo leadership has not been left out in this issue," says Secretary of the Council of Zongo Chiefs, Alhaji Musah Shuabu Shariff. The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service has rescued three victims of child marriage in Kumasi in the last two months alone. They include two Junior High School graduates and a Senior High School student, whose father has since been convicted for his role in his daughters case. Supt Susana Dery is head of DOVVSU, Ashanti region DOVVSU officials in Kumasi say child marriage is still prevalent, despite the introduction of Free SHS and other state interventions to support the education of children. "It is only found in certain communities which are occupied by certain people who practice different cultures and different religions. Generally, the Muslim communities, they practice the child marriage," says Superintendent Susana Dery, head of DOVVSU unit in the Ashanti Region. Sixteen-year-old SHS student was being married off to a Wenchi-based electrician against her will of furthering her education. She is now back to school under strict surveillance of police and school authorities, following a court order. The father was convicted and sentenced to a fine of GH a 2,400. It took the intervention of an armed police team to storm the wedding venue to whisk the girl away. "There was cooking going on and also where the child was kept. All these were gathered and then with the help of SWAT and Anti-Armed Robbery Squad, we were able to get some armed men to the scene. We went in and forcibly took the girl out," Supt. Dery recounted. Alhaji Musah Shuabu Shariff is Secretary to Council of Zongo Chiefs The Council of Zongo Chiefs is worried over surging cases of child marriage in the region, especially in Kumasi. The Council has intervened in several instances to halt some child marriages, including one involving a Muslim Cleric. "There is a Cleric here sometime ago that wanted to marry a child that is below 18-years. He quoted so many hadiths, that's the saying of the prophet so the community also stood up against that. We said we would not agree to that unless the girl reaches 18-years. We insisted and we never allowed the Imam to marry that girl," Alhaji Shariff revealed. Police say information on child marriages is scanty as many go unreported. "It is a kind of practice that they don't see anything wrong with." Cost of re-settling victims is a one of the major concerns of police in the face of resource constraints. Supt. Dery wants support in the area of transportation for police, funds for maintenance and upkeep of rescued victims among others. Las Vegas officials said that that a cyber attack breached the citys computer systems, but it wasnt immediately clear if any sensitive data was compromised. City officials were alerted to the breach around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, city spokesman David Riggleman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The citys information technology department reacted quickly and was taking extensive steps to protect the system, Riggleman said. The city was still assessing whether any city or public data had been accessed, Riggleman said. The city faces about 279,000 attempts to breach its computer system every month, Riggleman said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Cyber More than a dozen locked-out downtown Tim Hortons workers double-doubled their effort to gain support from coffee drinkers Thursday in their fight for a fair wage. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. More than a dozen locked-out downtown Tim Hortons workers double-doubled their effort to gain support from coffee drinkers Thursday in their fight for a fair wage. At issue is their rejected request for a dime raise in their hourly pay. The unionized group, some of whom have worked for the company for nearly a decade, are represented by the Workers United Canada Council, which returned to the bargaining table Thursday in search of a solution with the help of a conciliation officer. "No Tims, No Tims," chanted Mildred Caldo, a union representative who helped negotiate the existing collective bargaining agreement which, when ratified in 2017, included a 30-cent hourly raise to $11.65. "People are suffering every day of this lockout," said Caldo, who was hoping the Lombard Avenue location's owner, J.P. Shearer, would settle the matter. "I hope (he) listens to the workers, because they are assets. Ten cents is nothing to him. Ten cents is a Timbit." MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Locked out Tim Horton's employees and supporters demonstrate at Portage and Main Thursday, just outside of 1 Lombard Place where the coffee shop is located in the underground shopping centre. Perhaps having drawn the short straws, some of the workers bundled up and picketed outside at the frigid, windswept intersection. A smaller group carried signs near the restaurant in the underground concourse below. In December, the workers voted against accepting an hourly increase of 20 cents, a dime short in their quest to raise the amount to $11.95. In response, Shearer locked them out and hired replacements. Caldo and the locked-out employees were joined by supporters throughout the day, including living wage activists and local politicians. NDP Leader Wab Kinew, along with NDP MLAs Adrian Sala and Tom Lindsay stood with them earlier in the week, Caldo said, while Notre Dame MLA Malaya Marcelino stood in the underground Thursday holding a sign that read, "Locked out over a Timbit." Marcelino said she was spurred to visit because many new immigrants and visible minorities work for the company, including members of her own family, and she wanted to show her solidarity with them and other low-wage workers. "Ultimately, we're trying not to work toward a 10-cent wage (increase per hour), but toward a living wage," Marcelino said. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Peter Dueck, a community organizer and supporter of the locked out Tim Horton's employees, makes signs during Thursday's demonstration. A living wage is based on what earners need to fully address the costs of being a resident in a particular community, and in Manitoba it's estimated to be roughly $14.54 per hour, significantly above the minimum wage of $11.65 in the province. Emily Leedham, an organizer with Fight for $15 and Fairness Manitoba, also picketed with the workers Thursday. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I think it's important to recognize that what they're doing is incredibly brave, to stand up to their employer and demand more," she said. "The only way that workers will ever make advances like that is through organizing." MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS While some customers continued to order their double-doubles, others took their business elsewhere as a result of the demonstration. While some customers continued to order their double-doubles, others took their business elsewhere as a result of the demonstration. Terri Unger said she made coffee at home instead of going to Tim Hortons Thursday. The union has planned a noon rally at Portage and Main Friday. Neither Shearer nor the restaurant manager responded to a request for comment. ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca Impeachment Regarding Bolton: I will testify in trial, (A10, Jan. 7): Im disappointed that you buried back on page A10 the report of John Boltons willingness to testify before the Senate. Here in the provinces of Aggieland it was front page news. It is of crucial importance for the Senate and the American people to know just what Bolton meant when he said, I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy [Giuliani] and Mulvaney are cooking up. We also need to know why Bolton thought that Giuliani is a hand grenade whos going to blow everybody up. This is not a minor back page matter. The future of American democracy and the preservation of honest elections free from foreign interference are at stake. Walter D. Kamphoefner, Bryan World news Regarding Iran warned: U.S. will respond, (A1, Jan. 6): Because front page of Mondays paper had headlines about potential conflict with Iran, I turned to the last page of the section. In the Around the Nation and World, all six wire reports from Italy to Indonesia described skirmishes or accidents where there were scores killed or injured or the possibility of casualties. Thankfully the Chronicle also publishes several pages of comics, helping us laugh instead of cry at all the hatred throughout this world. Bill Spear Bartlett, Jersey Village The next decade Regarding A ridiculously optimistic look at the next decade, (A12, Jan. 8): David Brooks presents a view of the next decade that I would love to believe to be real. Trumps followers come back to the fold of caring humanity. Social repair is the priority of the country. Empathy replaces antipathy. Religion seeks grace. White privilege gives way to the larger American family that can see each other as whole, human and deserving of opportunity. Our broken international alliances are restored to normalcy. If all these fantasies could be realized, even as an Astros fan, I would gladly give the Mets their decade of wins. Carol Godell, Spring STEM worker shortage Regarding Ending training for foreigners hurts STEM market, (A11, Jan.9): ). I want to thank Mariane Faye for sharing her views on this very important subject of the trained workforce shortage from the inside. We need more skilled workers from every avenue that we can avail ourselves. I hope our leaders can convince the decision makers to not scrap an important path to that solution. I had worked in industry for 40 years and worked diligently to promote the training of our young people to get the training they needed to maintain our workforces competency. Please pass on my gratitude to her and thanks to your editors for publishing it. Jim Griffith, Houston She famously asked Beyonce and Jay-Z for a glass of their champagne that they had brought for themselves to the Golden Globes. And four days later, Reese Witherspoon shared on her Instagram stories an exciting package she received - a bottle of her own Armand de Brignac champagne - gifted to her by Beyonce and Jay-Z. The 43-year-old actress showed off the incredible gift as well as the note from the power couple, before indulging in a glass of the champagne with her mom Betty. So cool: Reese Witherspoon shared on her Instagram stories an exciting package she received - a bottle of her own Armand de Brignac champagne - gifted to her by Beyonce and Jay-Z Reese kicked off the clip with the large gift in her kitchen; the package had a ribbon around it and a bouquet of flowers sat nearby. She captioned it: 'Y'all! Came home to the best surprise from @beyonce and Jay-Z...' 'I just got home from New York and the most beautiful flowers were here and a case of Ace of Spades champagne,' she said while beaming ear to ear, with a card in her hand. 'And I'm about to read the note,' she said with a giggle.' Reese opened the note and read it aloud: 'More water' signed Jay and B. So happy: The 43-year-old actress showed off the incredible gift as well as the note from the power couple, before indulging in a glass of the champagne with her mom Betty Surprise! 'I just got home from New York and the most beautiful flowers were here and a case of Ace of Spades champagne,' she said while beaming ear to ear, with a card in her hand Views: Reese kicked off the clip with the large gift in her kitchen; the package had a ribbon around it and a bouquet of flowers sat nearby She captioned this segment with '"More water..." haha OOPS!,' tagging the champagne on Instagram @armanddebrignac. In the next clip, Reese was joined by her mom Betty. She captioned it: 'It's 5 o'clock somewhere right??' with a poll with the choices 'YES!!!' and 'TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE.' Reese opened the bottle and exclaimed to her mom: 'It's 11:30 and we're drinking champagne!' she said, bursting into laughter. So excited: 'And I'm about to read the note,' she said with a giggle,' Reese said Cheeky: Reese opened the note and read it aloud: 'More water' signed Jay and B Good sense of humor: She captioned this segment with '"More water..." haha OOPS!,' tagging the champagne on Instagram @armanddebrignac Betty responded with: 'If you think it's too early to drink...' before Reese cut her off and said 'Who cares? It's from Jay-Z and Beyonce.' 'Right, that's ok. Let's have it for lunch. Brunch,' Betty said. Reese took the wrapping off the top and prepared to pop the bottle, to which Betty warned her: 'Now this is the explosion. Don't look at it,' she said, while leaning back. Reese popped the bottle with a grin on her face; the cork flew across the room and Betty looked on in shock. In the next clip, Reese and Betty sipped the champagne. Reese said: 'It's really good,' and Betty added: 'Delicious. Woah.' Wow: Reese took the wrapping off the top and prepared to pop the bottle, to which Betty warned her: 'Now this is the explosion. Don't look at it,' she said, while leaning back It's a yes: In the next clip, Reese and Betty sipped the champagne A winner: Reese said: 'It's really good,' and Betty added: 'Delicious. Woah' Reese quipped: 'Put her in a commercial' to which Betty said: 'Yes. Grandma gets drunk,' adding a wink. The movie star thanked the Carter's for the champagne once more, and told her mom: 'Mom what do you say?' Betty said: 'Cheers! Thank you. Happy New Year.' Reese ended it with: 'It's a good way to start the New Year.' The mother of three wrote: 'The verdict is in... Betty approves #AceOfSpade' as the caption. Yum: Reese quipped: The movie star thanked the Carter's for the champagne once more, and told her mom: 'Mom what do you say?' Good times: Betty said: 'Cheers! Thank you. Happy New Year' On Sunday, Jennifer Aniston took to her Instagram stories to reveal that Reese asked Beyonce and Jay-Z for a glass of their champagne. They had brought two bottles of their own champagne, carried by their bodyguard, to the awards show. They brought Armand de Brignac, which is also known as Ace of Spades; the champagne retails for $300 a bottle. Jay-Z purchased Armand de Brignac in November 2014 through one of his companies, according to the New York Times; the champagne is made by the Cattier house, which was established in Chigny-les-Roses, France in 1763. . @Beyonce and Jay-Z just walked in. They're waiting until Kate McKinnon finishes speaking to take their seats. Is their bodyguard carrying bottles of alc for them? pic.twitter.com/eeB7NPHW4g Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) January 6, 2020 So amazing: On Sunday, Jennifer took to her Instagram stories to reveal that Reese asked Beyonce and Jay-Z for a glass of their champagne - which they brought two bottles to the awards show with armored guards Guests at the Golden Globe Awards were served with Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2009 and also Moet Rose Imperial magnums. Jennifer posted a pic of her with Reese and producer Kristin Hahn as the stars posed with their glass of champagne from the artists. Jennifer captioned it: 'Reese!? This is one of the many reasons I love you. We ran out of water at our table So naturally, she asked Jay Z and Beyonce for a glass of their champagne.' Jennifer shared a second snap where she enjoying a sip of the champagne, tagging Reese and Beyonce. Reese and Jennifer sat at the table behind Beyonce and Jay-Z at the Golden Globes Sunday in Los Angeles. Cheers: She shared a second snap where she enjoying a sip of the champagne, tagging Reese and Beyonce Incredible: Reese and Jennifer sat at the table behind Beyonce and Jay-Z; pictured Sunday at the Golden Globe Awards Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:12:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close PARIS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- France is ready to join an inquiry into the crash of the Ukrainian airliner in Iran which left all 176 people on board dead this week, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday. "France is available to contribute the necessary expertise. If we are asked for, we can bring our expertise," Le Drian told RTL Radio. "Our stance is to make sure that the whole truth is made. It is necessary to establish the truth in the most total conditions of transparency," he said. On Wednesday, a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed near Iran's Imam Khomeini International Airport shortly after taking off, leaving no survivors. A delegation of Bengal BJP leaders is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his two-day visit to the city from January 11, to brief him about the steps taken to counter the TMC's "misinformation campaign" on the new citizenship law, party sources said. The saffron party members were also planning to apprise him of the "deteriorating law and order situation" in the state during the meeting, scheduled to be held at Raj Bhavan, they said. "We would like to meet him separately, during his visit, to apprise him about the worsening law and order situation in the state. We will tell him that the state government had allowed infiltrators to have a free run during protests in December," a senior state BJP leader said. The prime minister is set to attend 150th anniversary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust (KOPT) on January 12, among other scheduled programmes. "We plan to brief him about the steps taken by our state unit to counter the misinformation campaign by Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties," he said. The CAA, which seeks to grant citizenship to non- Muslim minorities who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh and moved to India before December 31, 2014, has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation. Protests over the new law and a proposed pan-India NRC had rocked West Bengal mid-December, with incidents of violence and arson reported from various parts of the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the saffron camp of dividing masses on religious lines. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reuters South Korea's Samsung Group, whose leader faces trials over a bribery scandal involving former president Park Geun-hye, has appointed external experts to a new oversight panel to stamp out criminal conduct, the chief of the committee said on Thursday. The move came after a judge overseeing Samsung leader Jay Y. Lee's bribery case in October criticised the top conglomerate for its lack of an effective compliance system, saying one was needed to prevent wrongdoing by executives and its leader. "The timing Samsung chose to make these changes is not that great... and if this committee fails, I will end up hugely disgraced," said Kim Ji-hyung, a former supreme court judge named to head the compliance and oversight committee, told a news conference. (Also read: Park Guen-hye corruption scandal: Choi Soon-sil's daughter arrives in Seoul to face investigation) "Our committee will thoroughly monitor legal risks at Samsungs top management," he said. He said he initially turned down Samsung's offer, because of worries it would end up failing to make improvements and only be used by Samsung to secure favorable court rulings. He said Lee, Samsung's de facto leader, pledged to guarantee the panel's autonomy at a meeting, adding that it would monitor potential misconduct at group companies, including flagship Samsung Electronics. Although Samsung Group already has a compliance program in place, the new panel, which will begin work in February, will be run by seven people, mostly outside experts from legal circles and civic groups. The compliance panel will comprise seven members, including two from legal circles, two from academia, two from civic groups and one from Samsung Electronics a former Samsung communications chief. Governance experts aired scepticism, calling the move a gesture to get lenient treatment in court and citing a repeat of criminal offences at Samsung and other family-run conglomerates, despite pledges to improve governance and transparency. "An effective compliance program could be operated within the environment, encouraging employees to internally report violation without fearing reprisal. But this is not the case at Korean companies," said Lee Chang-min, a specialist in corporate governance at Seoul-based Hanyang University. A South Korean civic group released a statement that the committee is merely an outside advisory group with no legal responsibility, adding that reforms at Samsung's board should be made first. The 51-year-old Lee faces charges that he bribed a friend of former president Park to win government favor over succession planning at the conglomerate. In August, the Supreme Court overturned an appeals court ruling that had given Lee a suspended jail term, raising the possibility of a tougher sentence and potential return to jail. The folding state of the proteins in live cells often reflect the cells general health. Australian scientists have developed a molecular probe that senses the state of the proteomethe entire set of the proteinsby measuring the polarity of the protein environment. The fluorescence signal of the probe quantifies unfolding and its chameleon-like color shift maps the cellular regions of enhanced misfolding, says the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. If live cells are stressed, protein-synthesis and folding-correction mechanisms are out of balance. Misfolded proteins remain stuck, enhanced degradation occurs, and inactive proteins and protein debris aggregate to form granules and condensates in the cytoplasm. Such aggregates play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. One driving factor for the aggregation of misfolded proteins seems to be the polaritythe electronic distribution in an environment. Yuning Hong and colleagues at La Trobe University Melbourne and The University of Melbourne, Australia, have designed a two-modal fluorogenic probe to monitor protein aggregation in greater detail. In one mode, the probe senses misfolded proteins. Correctly folded proteins are often stabilized by bridges made of the amino acid cysteine. These bridges are usually deeply buried, whereas misfolded proteins expose the cysteine residues at the surface. When the probe binds to cysteine exposed by a misfolded protein chain, fluorescence is switched on, explain the authors. In the other mode, the probe assesses the polarity. Polar environments indicate an unbalanced electronic distribution, which can be measured by the dielectric constant. To measure this parameter, the researchers added an electronic pushpull chemical group to the fluorogenic probe. They observed that, in polar solutions with a high dielectric constant, the fluorogenic probe called NTPAN-MI emitted its fluorescence signal with a color shift. This chameleon-like color change thus indicates a polarity change. The authors tested the NTPAN-MI probe on a human cell line, which they stressed by adding drugs that interfered with protein synthesis and folding. The scientists observed normal fluorescence in untreated cells, but bright fluorescence when unfolded or misfolded proteins accumulated in cells treated with toxins or infected by virus. In addition, the color shift signaled the polarity of the environment and thus the proteome state of each cellular compartment. The researchers reported that they visualized the unfolded protein load in the nucleus for the first time. Previous methods could only measure unfolded proteins in the cytoplasm. With its two sensing modesmeasuring unfolding and the polarity of the protein environmentthe NTPAN-MI probe provides a sharper picture of the stress responses of live cells than what can be obtained with only one-modal probes or different methods. The authors point out that their method would allow scientists to obtain more accurate knowledge of the crosstalk of the cellular components in response to stress. "Since shipping and logistics is such a big part of the fashion industry, I believe it is crucial to minimize environmental impacts by using green logistics solutions. What drew me to DHL is its great commitment to sustainability. From optimizing transport routes and rolling out alternative fuel vehicles, to operating energy efficient warehouses, DHL is reducing transport related CO 2 emissions. It is important for me to partner with a company that prioritizes the health of our planet," said Jessica Minh Anh. In preparation for the grand outdoor catwalk, Jessica Minh Anh visited DHL facilities and met with top executives at John F. Kennedy airport earlier this week to outline the vision of the show. The fashion icon also modeled exclusive haute couture designs by Rami Kadi, Kujta & Meri, Pnina Tornai, VUNGOC&SON, Ella Gafter and Cristina Sabatini against the epic backdrop. No stranger to mind-blowing catwalks at the most challenging locations, Jessica will not only present innovative fashion and luxury collections, but also explore how fashion and the global supply chain can be more sustainable. Like her previous iconic productions, J Winter Fashion Show 2020 will celebrate diversity, unity, creativity and sustainability alongside fashion from Europe, Asia, Australia, and America. "We are very excited to join forces with Jessica Minh Anh in this historic project," said Reiner Wolfs, Vice President and General Manager, Northeast Area, DHL Express U.S. "Her powerful message of motivating the younger generation to take action for a better future aligns perfectly with our vision for zero emission logistics." The official list of participating fashion houses will be revealed closer to the show. With an environmentally conscious approach, Jessica has selected official partners who put sustainability as a priority, including IWG's brand Spaces, Veestro, Warren Tricomi, scheimpflug, Cream Ridgewood, Tone House, and Gotham Hotel among others. A TEDx keynote speaker and a representative of the environmentally engaged younger generation, Jessica's passion cuts to the heart of the global challenge, making sustainable living a lifestyle choice. More than a modern fashion statement, J Winter Fashion Show 2020 will stimulate a global conversation about sustainability triggered by a unique and visually impressive experience. NOTES TO EDITOR You can DOWNLOAD JFK PHOTOS and SHARE THE PREVIEW VIDEO. Please contact Emma Thompson if interested in sending a correspondent to cover the show between 1pm and 3pm on February 6, 2020, or interview Jessica Minh Anh prior to the show. MEDIA CONTACTS Emma Thompson for @jessicaminhanh Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 917 970 8907 | +1 561 229 6596 DHL Express Americas, Media Relations Robert Mintz Phone: +1 425 984 4249 E-mail: [email protected] Follow and tag us: The Web: www.dhl-usa.com/express Twitter: www.twitter.com/DHLUS Instagram: www.instagram.com/dhlus Facebook: www.facebook.com/DHLExpress LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/DHLExpress YouTube: www.youtube.com/dhl SOURCE DHL Related Links http://www.dhl-usa.com/express I have my suspicions, I don't want to say that because other people have those suspicions also. It is a tragic thing when I see that, it's a tragic thing but someone could have made a mistake on the other side. It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood and somebody could have made a mistake. Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question, personally. So we'll see what happens. Missionaries, church groups in Puerto Rico on surviving earthquake, facing uncertainty Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Several church groups and missionaries working in Puerto Rico during Tuesdays 6.4 magnitude earthquake that triggered an islandwide blackout and toppled several churches and other buildings are relaying their experiences and telling how they and others are coping with uncertainty in the aftermath. We were all awakened at 4:30 a.m. by our walls and windows shaking, Sue DAnna, a member of the First Congregational Church of Hartland, Vermont, told Valley News. Our side of the island has not seen damage, but the other side has seen significant destruction. Todays earthquake 6.4 no power in Puerto Rico, and little cell signal, sorry friends I cant retweet . This is how the Church of Guayanilla was after the earthquake. #TemblorPR#EarthquakePRpic.twitter.com/fuoUQZtAhL Efrain????????????????? (@Efrain99620830) January 7, 2020 The United States Geological Survey said in a release Tuesday that the earthquake, which has left at least one person on the island dead, struck at about 4:24 a.m. local time offshore of southwest Puerto Rico just a day after a magnitude 5.8 quake erupted from the same area. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred in the region, the USGS said. The seismic activity began with a magnitude 4.7 earthquake late on Dec. 28 and was followed by a magnitude 5.0 tremor just a few hours later. Since Dec. 28, the USGS said more than 400 magnitude 2+ earthquakes have occurred in the region. Some 10 of them registered stronger than magnitude 4, including Tuesdays tremor. About 25 volunteers from the First Congregational Church of Hartland arrived in Puerto Rico on Sunday to help with relief efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Maria which left thousands dead in September 2017. All of them were reported safe and they had planned to continue working to renovate a church in San Juan but officials concerned about more earthquakes and whether the building remains structurally safe has paused all their efforts for now. At this point, we are unclear about how the remainder of our week and work plans will unfold, DAnna said. Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Puerto Rico are also struggling to understand the series of earthquakes that have been plaguing the island and the uncertainty that hangs over the lives of many affected by the disaster. We have never as a country dealt with such earthquake in all my years, Pastor Jose A. Rodriguez, president of the church in Puerto Rico, said in a field report from the SDA. At 4:24 a.m. I woke up to the house shaking, and then one aftershock then another. Sometimes its like 10 tremors a day, so theres so much uncertainty for all of us here in Puerto Rico, said Rodriguez, who lives in the western part of the island. Even though the earthquakes have been strongest in the south, the entire island has felt each tremor, said Rodriguez. There is so much uncertainty now, bridges are down, roads have collapsed, power hasnt been restored and many are taking refuge in parks and arenas, he said. He explained that at least six members of his church have lost their homes as a result of the earthquake and leaders in the South Puerto Rico Conference are still assessing the needs of members. Please pray for our partners in Puerto Rico. Everyone at the church is safe. We are working with our partners on a plan to help and will provide details when we have them. pic.twitter.com/GMzRYTFp5h Mission Serve (@Mission_Serve) January 8, 2020 Ponce Puerto Rico Stake President Franki Ruiz of the Latter-day Saints told Deseret News that he had expected a big quake due to frequent seismic activity on the island in the days before it hit. I woke up and told my wife and parents and kids that this was the [big] one, so lets get out of the house, he said. We walked calmly outside, and all my neighbors were also leaving their homes. He added: We have no reports of members being harmed or reports of their homes being seriously damaged. We are still trying to account for everyone but so far, things seem to be OK for the members. Philadelphia City Councilmember Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who was born in Puerto Rico, told The Philadelphia Enquirer that while her relatives on the Island are safe, she and others are starting to plan how to help with relief efforts like they did in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The local Latin American community joined with other groups, churches and synagogues to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, she said. So many infrastructure problems still remain from past disasters, she said. The electric grid is still very fragile. A lot of things have been normalized; its not unusual to lose power or water. People are more nonchalant about it. That becomes oppressive day after day. Its very sad. New Zealands Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters confirmed on January 8 that about 50 NZ troops will remain in Iraq despite the US plunging towards all-out war against Iran. He said the government was keeping the situation "under close review" including any implications for NZ troops. His statement followed Iranian missile strikes on two US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the illegal US assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani. Two days earlier, Peters refused to condemn the murder of Suleimani and six other people, including Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Peters hypocritically called for calm and restraint from all sides, while referring to strong US concerns about Iran. He told the media NZ had not been notified in advance about the air strike on Baghdad Airport, but defended it. He asserted that the US took action on the basis of information they had. This refers to Trumps claim, made without providing any evidence, that Suleimani was planning attacks on Americans in the region. Peters statements amount to open support by the Labour Party-NZ First-Greens government for the Trump administrations act of state terrorism against Iran and Iraq. By keeping NZ troops at Camp Taji near Baghdad, Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns government is brazenly violating Iraqs sovereignty after its parliament passed a resolution calling for foreign troops to leave the country. Even sections of NZs corporate media expressed nervousness about the governments support for Trumps warmongering. A New Zealand Herald editorial on January 8 stated: New Zealand soldiers should be withdrawn without delay. It said the previous National Party governments deployment of more than 140 soldiers, ostensibly to train Iraqi forces, made sense in 2015 but now the mission seems a hopeless task under a US President who seems hell-bent on fanning the flames of conflict with Iran. In fact, New Zealands involvement in Iraq has always had a thoroughly mercenary character, aimed at supporting US imperialist domination of the Middle East and its oil reserves. The US ruling class has sought regime-change in Iran for decades and staged numerous provocations, as well as imposing crippling sanctions amounting to economic warfare against the Iranian people. A war against Iran would not only have devastating consequences for the region, including millions of deaths. It could quickly draw in other powers such as Russia and China, and trigger a third world war. New Zealand is a key ally of the United States and has taken part in a series of major US wars, including in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Along with Australia, Canada and Britain, New Zealand is a member of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which carries out surveillance throughout the world. Helen Clarks Labour Party-led government first sent New Zealand troops to Iraq following the Bush administrations invasion in 2003, after the US threatened to end NZ dairy company Fonterras lucrative contract to supply Iraq. In 2001 the Clark government, which then included the pseudo-left Alliance, also sent Special Air Service (SAS) commandos to assist the US invasion of Afghanistan. SAS troops have since been accused of multiple war crimes, including the killing of Afghan civilians. New Zealand is fully integrated into US operations in the Middle East. In addition to Iraq and Afghanistan, NZ military personnel are stationed in US bases in Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, and take part in US-led naval and air force operations in the Arabian Sea. The current Labour Party-led government has further strengthened the alliance, with NZ First, the most militaristic and nationalist party in parliament, playing a major role. Ardern made NZ First leader Winston Peters both foreign minister and deputy prime minister in 2017, while NZ Firsts Ron Mark was made defence minister. Mark released an updated defence policy statement in 2018 which, for the first time, echoed Washington in explicitly naming Russia and China as the main threats to global stability. Peters has repeatedly called on the US to devote more military resources to the Pacific region to push back against China. This would assist New Zealands ruling elite, which regards the impoverished Pacific island states as its own neo-colonial property. The Green Party, which is part of the Labour-led government, is seeking to contain widespread anti-war sentiment in New Zealand and prevent any movement against the government. Its defence spokesperson Golriz Gharaman (an Iranian-born former refugee) told Radio NZ: We do need to reassess where we stand when our allies like the United States commit war crimes. She said we have no place contributing to the militarisation of the Middle East. The Greens position is thoroughly hypocritical. Gharaman held up Helen Clarks Labour government as a model, falsely claiming it had withstood pressure to join US wars. She also praised Defence Minister Marks statements calling for calm, without mentioning the governments effective endorsement of the US assassination of Suleimani. Nor did she call for the immediate withdrawal of NZ troops from Iraq. Last year, the Greens backed Arderns decision to extend the deployment to June 2020. The Greens supports NZs alliance with the US and is working closely within the government to boost New Zealands military. In a joint statement with Mark on December 9, 2019, Greens co-leader James Shaw praised the 2019 Defence Capability Plan, which includes enhanced sealift and airlift capabilities, improved aerial surveillance and maritime domain awareness, as well as increasing the size of the New Zealand Army. Shaw claimed this will help the military respond to challenges caused by climate change. In reality, the plan to spend $20 billion by 2030 on upgrading and expanding the armed forces is explicitly aimed at improving their ability to work effectively with partners including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and to contribute globally in support of the international rules-based order, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Its aim, in other words, is to further strengthen New Zealands alliance with the US, particularly as it prepares for war against China. While supporting the vast increase in military spending, the Greens have refused to make any statement in defence of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is imprisoned in the UK and faces extradition to the US for revealing war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. A genuine anti-war movement can only be built in opposition to every parliamentary party, including the Greens and their pseudo-left allies. The working class, students and young people must be mobilised internationally based on a socialist program to end the source of war: the capitalist and imperialist system. The author also recommends: Oppose Trumps criminal war against Iran! [6 January 2020] US propaganda machine justifies assassination of Qassem Suleimani [7 January 2020] Australian government backs US provocations against Iran [8 January 2020] Newsfrom Japan Tokyo, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the Middle East for five days from Saturday as planned, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday. Abe's trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman is aimed at winning their understanding for the Japanese government's plan to send a Maritime Self-Defense Force unit to the Middle East to gather information in waters in the region. The Japanese government hopes to call for both the United States and Iran to hold back from provocative actions amid heightening bilateral tensions, government sources said. Suga told a news conference that Abe "will exchange views with (leaders of) the three countries, which are expected to play key roles in easing regional tensions and stabilizing the present situation, as part of his diplomatic efforts to avoid the further escalation of the situation." The prime minister will request "cooperation to ensure stable energy supplies and the safe navigation of vessels" in the region, Suga also said. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed new details about the his highly anticipated Starlink venture. The billionaire tweeted that the terminals used to connect to the train of satellites will look like 'a thin, flat, round ufo on a stick'. Musk also shared some simple instruction on how to use the 'user terminal' - you just plug the device in a socket and point to the sky. SpaceX's satellites are designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low-Earth orbit and the company plans to release hundreds or even thousands of the satellites into orbit over the next year. Scroll down for video SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed new details about the firm's highly anticipated Starlink venture. The billionaire tweeted that the terminals used to connect to the train of satellites will look like 'a thin, flat, round UFO on a stick' Starlink is said to work similar to satellite television, where customers need a physical antenna to gain access to the service, according to TELSARATI. The Starlink user terminal will need to be pointed towards the sky, but their position will need to change, as the satellites are constantly moving. And just like the satellite used for television, SpaceX's will simply have be plugged into a socket in order to work, according to Musk. The tech tycoon has been promising the world internet from his satellites, leaving many to question if his dream will actually become a reality. SpaceX's satellites are designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit and it plans to release hundreds or even thousands of the satellites into orbit over the next year (pictured is a simulation of the satellites in orbit) SpaceX's satellites are designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit and it plans to release hundreds or even thousands of the satellites into orbit over the next year In October 2019, Musk shared another tweet with the hopes of silencing his critics. 'Sending this tweet through space via Starlink satellite', he wrote and then hours later, confirmed 'it worked'. This is the first time orbiting satellites have been used and Musk hopes to provide the entire world with access to the high-speed internet one-day. Musk shared the tweet 'Sending this tweet through space via Starlink satellite' at 2:03 AM on Tuesday, October 22nd. And hours later, he shared 'Whoa, it worked' sending the internet into a frenzy. Musk also shared some simple instruction on how to use the 'user terminal' -you just plug the device in a socket and point to the sky. In October 2019, Musk shared another tweet with the hopes of silencing his critics. 'Sending this tweet through space via Starlink satellite', he wrote and then hours later, confirmed 'it worked'. Musk shared the tweet Sending this tweet through space via Starlink satellite at 2:03 AM on Tuesday, October 22nd. And hours later, he shared Whoa, it worked sending the internet into a frenzy Some users were excited that the satellites have successfully performed, while others were skeptical about Musk's announcement. The CEO filed paperwork with the International Telecommunications Union for the operation of 30,000 more Starlink satellites earlier this month, which would bring the count up to 42,000 if approved. And this week the firm added to its satellite constellation by launching another 60 into orbit. SpaceX launched 60 mini satellites into orbit to bolster its Starlink project to a grand total of 180. One satellite is covered in a dark coating designed to appease to appease astronomers. And this week the firm added to its satellite constellation by launching another 60 into orbit. SpaceX launched 60 mini satellites into orbit to bolster its Starlink project to a grand total of 180. The cluster of satellites separated successfully from a Falcon 9 rocket (pictured) Skygazers have repeatedly bemoaned the shiny spacecraft, claiming the shiny spacecraft interfere with their view of the cosmos. It is hoped the anti-reflective test material will be the first step in a compromise to allow Starlink to thrive while not interfering with views of space from Earth. The cluster of satellites separated successfully from a Falcon 9 rocket after its launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:19pm ET. Billionaire Musk hopes they will eventually form a constellation of more than 1,500 satellites around the planet and beam down internet to everyone across the globe. Mass outrage and revulsion are being voiced across India at the pre-planned, Sunday night attack against students at New Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), one of the countrys premier institutes of higher learning. Members of a right-wing student organization, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), along with Hindu supremacist thugs from outside JNU stormed the campus, including womens hostels, and beat up students and faculty members using iron rods, sticks, bricks and sledgehammers. Student activists and leaders were specifically targeted. At least 40 students and two faculty members had to be hospitalized, with several suffering severe head wounds and broken limbs from beatings inflicted by the fifty-odd masked attackers. The attack was facilitated by a still unexplained power outage that plunged much of the campus into darkness. The ABVP is the student wing of the Hindu-extremist paramilitary Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the organization from which Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emanates and which continues to play a major role in its affairs. Students across India have taken to the streets to denounce Sunday's attack Sundays attack was carried out against the backdrop of three months of protests by JNU students against the university administrations doubling of hostel fees, and mass protests across India against the BJP governments anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which it rushed through Parliament in the second week of December. To date none of the attackers have been caught by the police who still claim to be working to identify the culprits. This foot-dragging is deliberate. Many high police officials are sympathetic to the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and the Hindu-supremacist right. Moreover, there is much evidence to show that the Delhi police colluded in the goon attack. On the night of the attack, 200 police who were gathered outside the campus conspicuously did not intervene until after the Hindu extremist thugs had completed their rampage and fled. Since Monday, students in Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chandigarh and many other cities across India have joined rallies and demonstrations to passionately express their solidarity with the JNU students and denounce the ABVP thugs and their political sponsors in the BJP government. From the police and university administrations response to the attack, to its venue and timing, the circumstances point to its having been carried out with the connivance, if not at the direct behest, of the BJP government. The Modi government has responded to the mass opposition to the discriminatory CAA with repression and lethal violence. On December 15, Delhi police invaded Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and carried out a brutal attack on students. In a similar bid to snuff out the wave of protests against the CAA, police in Aligarh, some 80 miles or 130 kilometers southeast of Delhi, carried out a similar attack on Aligarh Muslim University students the same day. Students at JNU have long been targeted by the Modi government because of their association with left-wing politics and strident opposition to the BJPs Hindu communalism and cultivation of reaction and religious obscurantism. While the Modi government has since moved to publicly distance itself from last Sundays attack, its initial response, a full-throated denunciation of protesting students, all but announced its support. On Sunday evening, the official BJP website tweeted its condemnation of violence at JNU, then lashed out at the student protesters who were the target of the attack. This is a desperate attempt, declared the BJP, by forces of anarchy, who are determined to use students as cannon fodder, create unrest to shore up their shrinking political footprint. Universities should remain places of learning and education. Leading members of the Modi government have repeatedly tarred JNU students as anti-national, especially after some students staged a protest in 2016 to mark the anniversary of the legal lynching of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri activist the Indian state falsely convicted as the so-called mastermind of the mystery-shrouded 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. Since it came to power in 2014, the Modi government has repeatedly used the ABVP as its shock troops to attack students at JNU and other campuses. Through the Home Ministry, which has wide powers over police and security matters in the Delhi Union Territory, it has also repeatedly unleashed the police to beat up JNU students and bring bogus charges against them, including of sedition. Ms. Aishe Ghosh, the president of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU), who was herself severely beaten in Sundays attack, suffering multiple blows to the head with iron rods, spoke at a press conference on Monday with her head still fully covered by bandages. She accused a group of JNU professors who are RSS supporters of agitating for violent attacks on JNU students in the days before Sundays brutal assault. She also demanded the resignation of JNU Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar. A BJP government appointee who has repeatedly attacked students democratic rights, Kumar has flaunted his disregard for the well-being of the injured students and faculty, and insinuated Ghosh and other student leaders are to blame for having incited violence. Although police have made no arrests for last Sundays savage attack, acting on a complaint from Kumar they have filed First Information Reports against JNUSU head Ghosh and 19 others for allegedly damaging a computer server on Saturday. Yesterday, police baton-charged JNU students protesting last Sundays attack when they tried to march to the official residence of Indias president, the official who formally appoints JNUs vice-chancellor. It is widely recognized that the Modi government, shaken by the sudden eruption of mass opposition, is behind the fascist attack on the JNU students. An editorial in the Hindu declared, The JNU attack couldnt have been carried out without the connivance of those in power. For his part, Arvind Kerjiwal, Delhis Chief Minister and the head of the Aam Aadmi Party, has tried to excuse the actions of the Delhi police, by pointing to orders from above. Whatever cycle of events happening now is not the Delhi polices fault, Kerjiwal told a press conference Thursday. If constables are told let violence happen, do not enter inside, stay outside, how can they go inside? Kolkata protest against goon attack on JNU students WSWS correspondents spoke to students in Chennai and Kolkata protesting the attack on the JNU students. Vinothini, a medical student in Chennai, said: The attack on JNU students is a brutal act carried out by the Hindu communalist ABVP guided by the RSS and BJP with the support of the state and police. The BJP government is using fascist methods of rule and is trying to intimidate Muslims and other minorities. As you have explained, I really feel the need for communism. Its not a fight between communalism and secularism, but rather communalism and communism. Nobody has the right to say you should not enter this country or that country, like how Trump is trying to block Mexicans from going to the USA. Everyone is a global citizen. As a medical student I feel the government is attacking public health care. I support the struggle for global socialism and international communism. Hanish, a 30-year old teacher who attended the same Chennai protest, commented: The attack on JNU students by ABVP and RSS goons is state-sponsored violence and shows the nexus between state, the police and the Hindu-extremists. Entire democratic institutions are failing. I agree with you that to counter this pro-capitalist Hindutva agenda, we must unite the working masses against the state. Surjo Mukherjee, a student from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, told the WSWS: The attacks on the students and the faculty of JNU and also the beating up which took place in the girls hostel of JNU which resulted in severe injuries to 18 students is not at all acceptable. We know that the government wants to steeply hike the fees at many public universities and privatize them and that is why they are sending goons to impose this. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doubled down on President Trump's claim that multiple embassies were under threat, which is why he ordered a drone strike last week on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. 'We had specific information on an imminent threat and those threats included attacks on U.S. embassies. Period. Full stop,' Pompeo told reporters during a White House briefing Friday. Pompeo was then asked if he was mistaken when he said he didn't know precisely when or where the attacks would take place. 'Nope. Completely true. Those are completely consistent thoughts,' he answered. 'I don't know exactly which minute was plotting a broad, large-scale attack against American interests. And those attacks were imminent.' Pompeo then reiterated that embassies were among those targets. 'Against American facilities, including American embassies, military bases,' he told the press. 'American facilities throughout the region.' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Trump was accurate when he said Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was threatening multiple U.S. embassies President Donald Trump claimed during a Thursday night rally in Toledo, Ohio that Soleimani aimed to attack more than one embassy Pompeo said lawmakers were wrong when they said they hadn't been briefed on potential embassy attacks. 'We told them about the imminent threat,' Pompeo said. 'All of the intelligence that we've briefed, that you've heard today, I assure you, in an unclassified setting, we provide in the classified setting as well.' Pompeo was then asked, specifically, about Trump's embassies claims. 'I'm not going to talk about the details of what we shared in a classified setting,' he answered. 'But make no mistake about it: Those leaders, those members of Congress who want to go access this same intelligence, can see that very same intelligence that will reflect what I described to you and what the president said last night, as well.' For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders - a top Democratic 2020 candidate - said Friday that when officials including Pompeo briefed lawmakers Wednesday no one claimed the Iranian terror leader was planning to attack American embassies overseas. The president told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office that Soleimani became a target because he aimed to 'blow up' the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. He expanded that claim hours later at a political rally in Toledo, Ohio, saying the Iranian Quds Force leader had more than one embassy on his hit list. 'Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad,' Trump said. 'But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold.' Sanders, on the TODAY show, brushed it off as bluster with little likely basis in truth. 'I sat in a intelligence briefing, [a] classified briefing, the day before. We had all of the top ranking intelligence people, military people. Not one word of that was mentioned,' the Vermont senator and presidential candidate said. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Friday that classified intelligence briefings about the drone attack that killed Qassem Soleimani didn't mention anything about the Iranian general plotting to blow up U.S. embassies Suleimani (right, pictured with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei), was killed by an American drone strike that Trump orded last week 'So is it true? I don't know. But we didn't hear it in the classified intelligence briefing,' the senator said. Sanders called the president 'a pathological liar' and warned that 'people don't believe much of what Trump says.' 'And when you lie all the time, the problem is sometimes maybe you're telling the truth and people are not going to believe you,' he said. Pompeo had conceded in an interview that aired just hours after Trump wrapped up in Toledo that the best U.S. intelligence on Soleimani was less specific than what the president suggested. 'There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by Qasem Soleimani,' he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 'We dont know precisely when and we dont know precisely where, but it was real.' Later, at the briefing, Pompeo explained what he meant by 'imminent.' President Trump appeared to let the cat out of the bag Thursday afternoon, telling reporters in the Oval Office that Soleimani was targeted because of imminent attack threats against the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq Sanders, a Vermont senator on the Democratic Party's left, spoke to the TODAY show on Friday 'This was going to happen, and American lives were at risk. And we would have been culpably negligent,' he said. 'As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, we would have been culpably negligent had we not recommended to the president that he take this action at Qassem Soleimani.' 'He made the right call, and America is safer as a result of that,' Pompeo added. The attack led to a media frenzy and social media speculation that the world would spiral into World War III as tensions continued to rise. Democrats insist the move was hasty and claim there wasn't adequate intelligence to justify killing Soleimani, but Trump says they should be happy he's dead. 'Now I see the radical left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist. And you know what? Instead they should be outraged by Soleimani's savage crimes, and that fact that his countless victims were denied justice for so long,' Trump said. 'Bernie Sanders, crazy Bernie, has condemned the U.S. military strike on Soleimani the world's top terrorist. Think of it, the world's top terrorist and we're having people like Nancy Pelosioh, that's a real genius. You believe that one? Nancy, Nancy, Nervous Nancy,' he continued. Millions of people took strike action and marched in mass protests yesterday, amid a month-long transport strike in France against President Emmanuel Macron and his pension cuts. This national day of protest, the first that the unions have authorized in the new year, took place as significant new layers of workers joined the strike and anger mounted among strikers at Macrons move to ram his cuts through despite overwhelming popular opposition. After insisting that he would make no changes to his pension cuts in his televised New Years wishes on December 31, Macron sent the cuts on Monday as draft legislation to the State Council, to prepare to submit them to the Parliament for a vote. This decision underscored the futility of the new round of talks opening today between the government and the trade unions. Macron has no intention of changing his cuts one iota. The unions and Macron are both using the talks to confuse strikers with false hopes that appeals to his conscience can persuade him to change course. Paris mass transit workers: no to pension cuts Amid spreading calls to bring down Macron, the refinery workers, port workers and certain Air France employees joined the strike of rail, mass transit and public school workers launched on December 5now the longest continuous strike action in France since the MayJune 1968 general strike. The only way for this movement to stop the cuts is to mount a conscious struggle, independent of the unions negotiating with Macron, to bring down his government. Faced with growing demands for strike action among port workers, the port unions were forced to lengthen their initial strike call from one to three days. There are already reports in the French Antilles of food shortages, as imports pile up on the docks. In metropolitan France, the port strike is closely dependent on the growing strike movement in the refineries, all eight of which are now hit by a national strike movement after strikes began at individual refineries on Tuesday. 36 days on strike, we will give up nothing Despite the inaction of the trade unions, broader sections of workers and youth are seeking to join the struggle against Macron. Individual autoworkers from the PSA plant at Poissy reportedly joined the Paris march, while calls are circulating to blockade the Sorbonne and Nanterre universities. The National Council of Barristers (CNB), the lawyers professional organization, also reported that its 77,000 members had overwhelmingly voted to continue strike action against the cuts. With over 40 percent of teaching staff also taking strike action according to union figures, the transport strike is continuing. Sixty-seven percent of train drivers and 58 percent of train controllers struck yesterday according to French National Railways (SNCF) management, and only minimal services were available at rush hour on the Paris Metro apart from on the driverless lines 1 and 14. The critical question facing workers under these conditions is to take the struggle out of the hands of the unions, who at every turn delay and slow the growth of the struggle by promoting a bankrupt national perspective of negotiating a deal with Macron. The way forward is to build committees of action, independent of the unions, regrouping strikers, yellow vests and youth in struggle against the Macron government as part of a struggle for workers power against the capitalist system. Everything is possible [1936 general strike slogan] the state is mafia The growing strike movement in France is part of a continuing, international upsurge of the class struggle on every continent with revolutionary implications. Tens of millions of workers are taking strike action in India after mass strikes by US auto workers and teachers last year, after mass protests in Iraq led to the occupation the US Embassy in Baghdad, and after a US drone strike that murdered Iranian General Qassem Suleimani on January 3. It is critical to mobilize the working class internationally against the danger of war and to expropriate the financial aristocracy. Yesterday, 1.3 million workers and youth marched in cities across France, according to figures provided by the trade unions. In Paris, where over 100,000 people marched, police repeatedly charged protesters, arresting 18 and repeatedly firing rubber bullets at protesters, including one at point-blank range. Tens of thousands marched in other major cities including Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Toulouse. Among strikers who spoke to the WSWS, there is a growing sense that a new strategy and revolutionary perspective is needed to break out of the dead end of symbolic national protests led by unions who at the same time negotiate austerity with Macron. Guillaume Guillaume, an IT worker in the private sector who took strike action individually to join the protests, said Macron would in any case never agree to a pensions deal favorable to workers: On the contrary, that is not in his interest. He defends the interests of the rich, not of the workers. I think its completely utopian to ask him anything. Guillaume also stressed his concern at the growing war danger after the US assassination of Suleimani: Assassinations of civilians or also of partisans as in Syria, Mali or Iraqordered by the Americans, or also the French under President Francois Hollandehas no legal foundation. It is intolerable from the standpoint of democratic rights. He warned that with US bombings and also European threats against Iran, the political system is caught in a suicidal spiral. Muriel, a hospital worker, said she did not expect anything to come out of talks between the unions and Macron: It is a very authoritarian government, and so I think that only a common struggle by all of us can really bring down Macron. He is trying to play on the authority of the state and he is trying to terrorize us. But we need to become conscious of the fact that if we all got in this together, that we could win. Murielle She said that in the hospitals, Working conditions are disastrous, we live on poverty wages and at work, we all suffer. And now it is simply one more attack with these pension cuts, because they want to make us work even longer and to have even lower retirement pensions. But already even today, retired health care staff come back to the hospitals as a side job to make ends meet, because their pensions are so low. On growing social inequality and the surge in billionaires fortunes in France and internationally, Muriel said: There is plenty of money, we have to go take it where it is. In Macrons New Years wishes, he said that we are the ones who have to make all the sacrifices to promote economic growth. But if you look at the profit reports from Frances 40 biggest companies, they are making huge profits. We have now had enough of killing ourselves at work. Jean-Philippe Jean-Philippe, a retiree who joined in the 1968 general strike while in high school, said: I think that now, again, workers are starting to escape the control of the unions, not only pro-government unions but also the General Confederation of Labor, the Stalinist union that sold out the 1968 strike. He added, I think in fact the unions have already lost control. Frankly, I never joined the unions, because I know you cannot expect anything from them. They are just like the politicians, totally corrupt. He added, Macron only represents the diktat of the banks, we are really in a banana republic where the level of corruption is unbelievable. His entire government hangs by just one thread, and that is police violence. They see no other way of remaining in power. Jean-Philippe added that he thought that if Macron passed the cuts in the legislature in the face of mass strikes and overwhelming popular opposition, the result would be a social explosion. I hope it will not pass, he said. For now the protesters are nonviolent, but if the police continue to act like this, things will end badly. Each time we go out to protest, we get hit by these good-for-nothing people. And I never believed in pacifism, because I saw 1968. Republicans have largely supported Trump's actions, saying the president was well within his power to take out Iran's architect of proxy operations against Americans in the Middle East. The US considered Soleimani a terrorist. Washington: Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday approved a resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insisted it "has real teeth" because "it is a statement of the Congress of the United States." The measure will "protect American lives and values" by limiting Trump's military actions, Pelosi said. "The administration must de-escalate and must prevent further violence.'' The White House called the resolution "ridiculous" and "completely misguided". And Trump, at a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, claimed he had no obligation to give lawmakers advance warning, saying Democrats like Pelosi "want us to tell them so they can leak it to their friends in the corrupt media". The House passed the measure, 224-194, with just three Republicans voting in support. Eight Democrats opposed the measure. A similar proposal by Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., faces an uphill fight in the GOP-run Senate. Kaine's efforts received a boost on Thursday as Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana, an ex-Marine, said he might support the war powers measure. Two other Republican senators said Wednesday they would back Kaine's plan. "We are members of a separate and distinct branch of government. It is our duty not to take anyones word for things as we are dealing with matters of life and death," Young said, adding that he wished Trump administration officials had provided more intelligence information during a briefing Wednesday on a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. Pelosi, in announcing the House vote, called the killing of General Qassem Soleimani "provocative and disproportionate". Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, denounced the Democratic measure as little more than "a press release designed to attack President Trump,'' while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California called it a "meaningless vote" on a measure that will never be sent to the president or "limit his constitutional authority to defend the American people.". White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said, "This House resolution tries to undermine the ability of the US Armed Forces to prevent terrorist activity by Iran and its proxies, and attempts to hinder the Presidents authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats." The House vote came a day after the Trump administration briefed lawmakers on its actions in Iran. Democrats and several Republicans called the briefings inadequate, adding that officials did not provide enough details about why the attack was justified. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Soleimani "was traveling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces". He said it was not possible to share full details of the intelligence with lawmakers. "When it comes to intelligence we have to protect sources and methods, there's only certain amount we can share with every member of Congress," Pence said on ABC', adding, "But those of us who have seen all the evidence know that there was a compelling case of imminent threat against American personnel." Trump said Thursday that he "had calls from numerous senators and numerous congressmen and women saying it was the greatest presentation theyve ever had.'' Referring to criticism by GOP Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul, Trump said: "They want information that honestly I think is very hard to get. ... It really had to do with sources and information that we had that really should remain at a very high level.'' Lee, a conservative from Utah, said the briefing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials was "probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue," in the nine years he's served in the Senate. Paul, of Kentucky, said administration officials justified killing Soleimani based on the 2002 authorization of force in Iraq. "That is absurd. That's an insult,'' he said. Pelosi scheduled the House vote after Iran retaliated for the Soleimani killing by launching missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops. No casualties were reported. "Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military" unless Congress declares war on that country or enacts legislation authorizing use of force to prevent an attack on the US and its forces, the five-page resolution states. The resolution's sponsor, freshman Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said it is intended to "make clear that if the president wants to take us to war, he must get authorization from Congress.'' If loved ones are going to be sent to fight in a protracted war, "the president owes the American people a public conversation about why, and for what ends,'' said Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who served in Iraq. Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to uphold in authorizing use of military force, Slotkin said, adding, "We are owed concrete, specific details on strategy.'' Trump did not consult with congressional leaders ahead of the attack that killed the Iranian general and afterward sent Congress a notification explaining the rationale, but, kept it classified. Congress has allowed its war powers role to erode since the passage of Authorization for Use of Military Force in 2001 to fight terrorism after the 9/11 attacks, and passage of another AUMF for the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Fallout from those votes deeply divided Congress and the nation, with many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, now saying they were mistakes. Yet Congress has been paralyzed on the question of whether to repeal or change those authorities. The strikes by Iran had pushed Tehran and Washington perilously close to all-out conflict and put the world's attention on Trump as he weighed whether to respond with more military force. Republicans have largely supported Trump's actions, saying the president was well within his power to take out Iran's architect of proxy operations against Americans in the Middle East. The US considered Soleimani a terrorist. Democrats were unconvinced that the threat posed by Soleimani was imminent or that other alternatives to the killing were pursued in good faith. By not disclosing many details of the threat, Trump was asking the American public to trust the very intelligence reports he has often disparaged, Democrats said. Young told reporters on Thursday that lawmakers "need to ensure that Congress is involved in future decision-making so we end up exactly where the president wants to end up, which is the avoidance of a major ground war in the Middle East.'' He called Kaine's resolution a "mechanism to force us to debate this.'' Three Republicans supported the measure: Reps. Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney of Florida and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The eight Democrats who opposed it were Reps. Anthony Brindisi and Max Rose of New York, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Ben McAdams of Utah and Stephanie Murphy of Florida. Gaetz, one of Trump's strongest supporters, said "killing Soleimani was the right decision, but engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision.'' Rose, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said the resolution "simply restates existing law and sends the message that war is imminent. I refuse to play politics with questions of war and peace and therefore will not support this resolution." Largest and longest prospective cohort study of population-wide mental health impact highlights potential importance of additional and consistent support for critical mental health services in areas affected by social unrest The ongoing social unrest in Hong Kong may be affecting the mental health of the general adult population--potentially leading to substantial increases in demand for mental and psychosocial support services, according to a 10-year observational study published in The Lancet. The new estimates obtained from surveys suggest that the prevalence of probable depression [1] (in Hong Kong residents aged 18 years or more) was five times higher during the 2019 social unrest than the general population norm before the 2014 Occupy Central Movement (11% vs 2%); whilst post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were estimated to be six times higher (rising from around 5% shortly after Occupy Central in March 2015 to almost 32% in Sept-Nov, 2019). Even though less than half of those affected by health problems related to the social unrest said they would seek professional help, the authors estimate that mental health-care providers should prepare for potentially a 12% rise in demand for public sector services, which will require major increases in the surge capacity of these services. "Hong Kong is under-resourced to deal with this excess mental health burden", explains Professor Gabriel Leung from The University of Hong Kong who co-led the research. "With only around half the per-capita psychiatry capacity of the UK, and pre-existing average public sector outpatient waiting times of up to 64 weeks, it is important that we enhance mental health and social care provision so that all those in need are able to access high-quality services." [2] The study is the largest and longest prospective cohort study of the population-wide impact of social unrest on mental health in the world. However, the researchers caution that measuring the impact of mental health due to social unrest has several data and methodological issues that might affect the accuracy of the estimates, including the potential measurement error of assessment tools for depression and PTSD, and the many assumptions around care-seeking behaviour, psychopathology, and the duration and disposition of the ongoing social unrest. Hong Kong has experienced a wave of mass protests since June 2019, initiated by the now shelved extradition bill. Over the course of 7 months, peaceful protests have descended into escalating levels of violence. Depressive and PTSD symptoms have been reported following widespread unrest worldwide, including after the 2014 Ferguson unrest and the 2015 Baltimore unrest in the USA. However, little is known about the mental health impact on the general population during recent protests in Hong Kong. Researchers at The University of Hong Kong used the large population-based FAMILY Cohort with nine successive waves of longitudinal data to assess the population mental health burden before, during, and after major protests over 10 years [3]. The findings of two initial surveys (March 2009-April 2011 and Aug 2011-March 2014) involving more than 18,000 randomly sampled Hong Kong residents were compared with a representative sample of 1,213-1,715 adults surveyed five times during and following the Occupy Central Movement (Oct and Nov, 2014; March and Nov, 2015; Sept 2017), and 1,600-1,736 adults surveyed two times during the 2019 social unrest (June-Aug and Sept-Nov, 2019). Questionnaires were used to measure changes in the prevalence of probable major depression, suspected PTSD (which included direct exposure to traumatic events such as tear gas or physical violence), and symptoms of depression and PTSD. The researchers used a weighted prevalence approach such that the rate of probable depression and suspected PTSD in the adults surveyed would be more representative of all adults in Hong Kong. The study also examined risk factors associated with social unrest (after adjusting for socio-demographics and doctor-diagnosed depression or anxiety disorders before the 2019 unrest), and estimated potential health-care needs. One in five Hong Kong residents (22%; aged 18 or older) surveyed during the 2019 social unrest reported probable major depression or suspected PTSD. The authors say that this is comparable to the prevalence of mental health conditions observed following large-scale disasters, armed conflicts, or terrorist attacks. Estimates suggest that up to 11% of the adult general population in 2019 were affected by probable depression compared to around 2% in 2009-2014 before the 2014 Occupy Central Movement, and 6.5% in 2017 (figure 2)--potentially equivalent to an additional 590,000 adults with probable depression compared to a decade ago, with an estimated 300,000 of these cases potentially linked to the 2019 unrest (figure 3C). Similarly, symptoms of PTSD were reported by an estimated 2% of adults in November, 2015 (a year after Occupy Central), rising to almost 32% of those surveyed in September-November, 2019--and could be equivalent to an additional 1.9 million adults with PTSD symptoms. During the 2019 social unrest, the researchers estimate that the prevalence of suspected PTSD was around 13%--equivalent to around 810,000 adults with PTSD (figure 3A). Adults using social media for two hours or more a day on socio-political news and events appear to be more at risk of probable depression and suspected PTSD, the findings suggest. However, family support seemed to protect against probable depression, potentially acting as a buffer against stress (figures 4 & 5). Whilst fewer than half of those affected said they would seek help from health-care professionals--citing a preference for self-management, seeking help from family or friends, and privacy concerns among others--the researchers estimate that the 2019 social unrest may be associated with an additional 140,000 adults seeking outpatient support services for depression, and roughly 360,000 adults looking for help with PTSD (figure 3C). The authors acknowledge that their findings provide observational associations rather than cause and effect, and point to several limitations of their study, including that the true population burden may be underestimated because they did not account for individuals younger than 18 years old who make up a substantial proportion of protesters, and did not specially oversample members of the police force. They also note that probable depression or suspected PTSD might represent psychological distress in response to an abnormal event rather than true mental illness. "With social unrest rising around the world, including in major cities such as Barcelona, Delhi, Paris, and Santiago in 2019, the issue of how social unrest impacts population mental health is of great public-health importance," says Dr Michael Ni from The University of Hong Kong who co-led the research. [2] "We hope our study will alert health-care professionals, service planners, and policy makers to the need for mental health and psychosocial support during and after widespread unrest to better protect population mental health globally," adds co-author Ms Cynthia Yau from The University of Hong Kong. [2] ### Peer-reviewed / Observational study / People NOTES TO EDITORS This study was funded by the Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee of Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It was conducted by researchers from The University of Hong Kong. If you are reporting on this study, please consider including a link to Samaritans for your readers. International helplines can be found at http://www.befrienders.org. In Hong Kong, the crisis support services can be reached at: Hospital Authority: + 852 2466-7350 The Samaritans Hong Kong : + 852 2896-0000 The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong: + 852 2389-2222 Suicide Prevention Services: +852 2382-0000 The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE.pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office pressoffice@lancet.com [1] The article refers to 'probable' depression and 'suspected' PTSD because a screening questionnaire was used to assess mental health rather than a clinical diagnostic interview. [2] Quotes direct from authors and cannot be found in text of Article. [3] The FAMILY Cohort is a prospective population-based study of physical, mental, and social wellbeing at the individual, household, and neighbourhood levels in Hong Kong. Leung GM, Ni MY, Wong PT, et al. Cohort profile: FAMILY Cohort. Int J Epidemiol 2017; 46: e1. https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/46/2/e1/3038095 ONE of the heroes Australian firefighters who died in the countrys bushfires has connections to Limerick, it has emerged. Andrew ODwyer, 36, who was laid to rest this week, was one of the first victims of the devastating inferno to take over huge swathes of Australia. A volunteer firefighter in New South Wales, he lost his life when his fire truck overturned after being hit by a falling tree. His grandfather Paddy ODwyer emigrated from Ballylanders to Australia in 1940. The late Andrew is his grandson. Paddys nephew, Denny ODwyer still lives in Ballyfaskin just outside the south Limerick village, and he would be Andrews second cousin. He said: Two ODwyers would have emigrated from Ballylanders, Paddy and Nelly in and around 1940. Hed have only been a young fella when he left. He emigrated as there was no work here back then. Denny has been watching the Australian network news reports through YouTube, and is devastated and stunned with what is unfolding down under. It was Andrews only daughter, 19-month-old baby Charlotte who has captured the hearts of the world this week when she donned her dads fire helmet and accepted a New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) medal which was awarded posthumously. Speaking to the Limerick Leader, Denny says he feels a wish to serve people must be in the family blood. Its interesting as we would be involved in search and rescue ourselves. We have a volunteer radio group on the Galtee mountains which provides emergency communication. We have cardiac first responders too, he explained, What we do with the radio groups is a mini-version of what they would do in Australia. They would have radio groups there, and when the communications go down, local volunteers come out with their battery packs. To the best of his knowledge, heroic Andrew never visited Ireland. But Paddy returned in the early 1980s, to Ballyfaskin, and passed away around 15 years ago. It was a first cousin of Dennys, Chris Corcoran, who tipped him off that Andrew had passed away, alongside his colleague Geoffrey Keaton, just before Christmas. Youd be a bit stunned alright, a bit shocked. It brings it all home. Its a surreal thing really, he added. Denny was up early this week to watch the Andrews funeral, which was televised in Australia. And he has identified a family trait in looking at the firefighter, whose full time job was a photographer. We all have identifiers. My grandfather had a nice long pair of ears, and so did Andrew. We actually said he certainly has ODwyer blood in him just look at those pair of ears, he smiled. Denny, who works for Ballyhoura Development, bemoans the fact that descendents of emigrants are returning home less and less these days. The generation who did come back have gone too old or died, and younger ones do not do it. Theyd have their own friends in the UK, or wherever, he told the Limerick Leader. Andrews funeral heard that the RFS were like a second family to him. Members of the service who are of the Maori tradition performed a Haka in his memory. More than 20 civilians have died in the Australian bush fires, while several people are still missing. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday told the state Assembly that he would ask the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) authorities to immediately construct the Balemu Bridge in West Kameng district. The under-construction steel superstructure bridge on the vital Orang-Kalaktang-Shergoan-Rupa Tenga (OKSRT) road has reportedly collapsed near Balemu on November 26 last year. The OKSRT road is being executed by Border Road Task Force (BRTF) of the BRO. The chief minister told the Assembly that he talked with the BRO authorities who informed him that they are investigating the reason of the collapse and accordingly the flaws would be rectified after unearthing the cause. Earlier JD(U) member Dorjee Wangdi Karma drew the chief ministers attention that despite his invitation to the BRO authorities for a meeting to discuss the matter besides, invitation by West Kameng deputy commissioner and district development committee, the officials never turned up. Khandu assured that the state government would take up the matter with the BRO authorities for expediting early construction of the vital besides and would ask them to respond to invitations from elected MLA and district authorities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Trump speaks from the White House in Washington on Jan. 08, 2020. During his remarks, Trump addressed the Iranian missile attacks that took place last night in Iraq and said, As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) House Approves Iran War Powers Resolution, Seeking to Limit Trumps Military Options The House of Representatives voted to approve the War Powers resolution aimed at restraining President Donald Trumps ability to use military action against Iran without the approval of Congress, coming a week after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. The vote, a day after members of Congress were given briefings from the White House about the strike, went mostly along party lines. The non-binding resolution (pdf) directs the president to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran. The resolution states that Trump is required to consult with Congress before introducing U.S. forces into hostilities and Congress hasnt authorized the president to use military force against Iran. Three Republicans voted for the resolution: Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), as did former Republican Justin Amash (I-Mich.). I support the president, killing Soleimani was the right decision, but engaging in another forever war in the middle east would be the wrong decision, Gaetz said in a statement. Eight Democrats voted against the resolution, including Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), and Max Rose (D-N.Y.). I refuse to play politics with questions of war and peace, Rose said in a statement. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley issued a statement late Thursday, calling the House resolution an attempt to undermine the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to prevent terrorist activity by Iran and its proxies. [The House resolution] attempts to hinder the Presidents authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats, he added. These Congressional actions are completely misguided. In fact, this ridiculous resolution is just another political move because, under well-established Supreme Court precedent, its non-binding and lacks the force of law. Gidley said Trumps decision to strike Soleimani, saying that it was the right course of action and authorized under his constitutional powers as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive as well as the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The vote came after Trump told reporters at the White House earlier Thursday that Soleimani was planning to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He had more than that particular embassy in mind, Trump added later. Army cadets attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, shown in posters, and his comrades, who were killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone strike on Friday, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in Tehran, Iran on Jan. 6, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) A photo released by the Iraqi Prime Ministers Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike, in Baghdad, Iraq, early on Jan. 2, 2020. (Iraqi Prime Ministers Press Office via AP) Vice President Mike Pence, appearing on ABCs Good Morning America earlier Thursday, said Soleimani was traveling the region making plans to bring an attack against American personnel and American forces. He also said not all intelligence gleaned about the general could be shared with lawmakers, most of whom were not told of the impending strike against Soleimani, who was in charge of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, which supports some non-state actors in the Middle East. The Quds Force and several of the groups it supports have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the U.S. Department of State. When it comes to intelligence we have to protect sources and methods, theres only a certain amount we can share with every member of Congress, Pence said. But those of us who have seen all the evidence know that there was a compelling case of imminent threat against American personnel. Ahead of the vote, Democratic House members argued that the Trump-ordered strike to take out Soleimani made the United States less safe. The killing of Soleimani drastically ratchet[ed] up tensions in the region while Trump has no clear strategy, Rep. Veronica Escobar (R-Texas) said on the House floor. We cannot go to war without Congress being involved in the debate, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) also remarked. Rep. Ted Deutsch (D-Fla.), who is the head of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, said the vote would assert Congress rightful authority on war and sought to dispel the notion that Democrats dont take national security seriously. But Republican members argued Soleimani was the most active and powerful terrorist in the world, and that his death was warranted as he was actively planning attacks against Americans. Following the strike to kill him, Iran launched several missiles at Iraqi military bases where U.S. troops were housed. There were no casualties. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a military veteran who was wounded in combat, argued that the president has the authority to defend American citizens under the U.S. Constitution. Indications of Soleimanis future actions made the strike necessary, he argued, adding that top Pentagon intelligence showed that Soleimani was preparing to carry out attacks on U.S. assets. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who served in the Iraq war, said that he often fought against military forces that were directed by Soleimani. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at a press conference in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 9, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) after attending a briefing with administration officials about the situation with Iran, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 8, 2020. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Pelosi and Kaine Speaking to reporters at her weekly press conference earlier Thursday, Pelosi said the resolution had real teeth. Were taking this path because it does not require a signature of the President. This is a statement of the Congress and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the President will veto it, she said about the resolution being non-binding. Pelosi criticized the airstrike Trump ordered to take out Soleimani, who military officials said was responsible for hundreds of American deaths. He was a terrible person. Did bad things. But its not about how bad they are. Its about how good we are, she said Thursday. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a version of the resolution in the Senate last week. Several GOP members said they were considering voting for, or would vote for, that resolution. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. Pelosi said Wednesday that the House might also consider additional legislation relating to the use of U.S. forces, including a resolution from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force and a bill from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would prohibit funding for military action against Iran unless money was approved by Congress. On Thursday, she vowed to bring Lees resolution to a vote soon. Glacier National Park in Montana are removing signs suggesting all glaciers will be gone by 2020 after glaciers are still found in the park. The original signs, titled 'Goodbye to Glaciers', say that glaciers were shrinking due to 'human-caused climate change.' 'Computer models indicate the glaciers will all be gone by the year 2020,' the sign read. Park spokeswoman Gina Kurzmen told MTN News that the line was originally added to reflect predictions made by the U.S. Geological Survey. Glacier National Park is removing signs placed throughout the park that say all glaciers will be gone by 2020 Glacier National Park was told in 2017 that the glaciers were no long expected to be entirely melted by 2020, but 'tight maintenance budgets made it impossible' to change the signs immediately. Kurzmen said the latest research shows some glaciers shrinking, but in a much more complex way then previously thought and Glacier National Park must update their signs to express this. The park will work with the U.S. Geological Survey to watch the glaciers progression and update the signs as needed. Slide me Pictured: the Grinnell glacier in 1910 (left) and in 2017 (right) show the ice formation diminishing According to CNN, the new signs will still contain a partial warning against climate change. 'When they will completely disappear depends on how and when we act. One thing is consistent: the glaciers in the park are shrinking,' the new signs will read. Some locations, including Apgar, Logan Pass and St. Mary visitor centers have been updated, Kurzmen said. Slide me Pictures taken of Grinnell Glacier in 1938 (right) show part of the large glacier, compared to a photo taken in 2016 The exterior panel at St. Mary's has yet to be corrected, but will be replaced later this year. Glacier National Park remains a popular visitor site, with around 3 million visitors in 2018. Glaciers across world have been shrinking over the years and have lost 9,000 billion tons of ice since 1961. Science Daily reports this has caused sea levels to rise by 27 millimeters. There were initially 150 glaciers when President William Howard Taft created the national park in 1910, but that number has dwindled to just 30. Pictured: the remnants of glaciers found in Glacier National Park as researchers say they're continuing to shrink The news signs will not list a specific date for the glaciers disappearance, but Glacier National Park maintains that ice formations are shrinking The United States Geological Survey and Portland State University said that ice formations in Montana have lost 85 percent of their size during the past half century. The average shrinking was 39 percent. Dan Fagre, the study's lead scientist, said in the 2017 study: 'In several decades they will be mostly gone. They will grow so small that they will disappear. They will certainly be gone before the end of the century.' Fagre said humans have played a role in the reduction of glaciers. 'There are variations in the climate but it is humans that have made all those variations warmer. The glaciers have been here for 7,000 years and will be gone in decades. This is not part of the natural cycle,' he said. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. troops, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, in Washington, as Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Vice President Mike Pence, and others look on. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Associated Press Democratic and a few Republican lawmakers were infuriated by a classified briefing they received from the Trump administration concerning the US military's strike on the Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said lawmakers weren't provided evidence of the "specific, imminent threat" the administration says it had before assassinating one of Iran's most powerful officials. Trump must show he acted to defend US forces or the nation from an "imminent" threat to be in compliance with US and international law. Notably, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah lashed out at the administration following the briefing, calling it "probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I've seen in nine years I've been here." The Trump administration insists it was forced to "act in self-defense" and kill Soleimani to prevent an attack on the US within "days," but it has provided no information about the specific threat. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Democratic and a few Republican lawmakers were infuriated by a classified briefing they received from the Trump administration on Wednesday concerning the US military's deadly strike on the Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said lawmakers weren't provided evidence of the "specific, imminent threat" the administration says it had before assassinating one of Iran's most powerful officials. He said the administration should have sought authorization from Congress to attack Iran, arguing the action wasn't covered by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. "I did not receive any information in this briefing about a specific, imminent threat to US forces in the region," Murphy said. "I do not have confidence that this attack on Qassem Soleimani was warranted without congressional authorization." Story continues Defense Secretary Mark Esper insisted on Tuesday that the government was forced to "act in self-defense" and kill Soleimani last week to prevent an attack on the US within "days" but has not made public any information regarding a specific threat. Trump must show he acted to defend US forces or the nation from an "imminent" threat to be in compliance with US and international law. Notably, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah lashed out at the administration following the briefing, calling it "probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I've seen in nine years I've been here." Lee said the administration's refusal to seek authorization from Congress to kill a top Iranian government official, and thus dramatically escalate conflict with Iran, was "insulting," "demeaning," and "unconstitutional." "It's un-American, it's unconstitutional, and it's wrong," he added. Lee told reporters that he "walked into that briefing undecided" on whether to support a resolution pushed by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia that would limit the Trump administration's ability to take further military action against Iran without congressional authorization. "That briefing is what changed my mind," Lee said. "I'm now going to support it." He added, "Drive-by notification or after-the-fact lame briefings like the one we just received aren't adequate." Murphy, who called Trump's escalation of conflict with Iran "a disaster of epic proportions to US national security interests," added that the Trump administration allowed just one hour and 15 minutes for the briefing and that only about 15 senators were able to ask questions. "It also appeared to me that just as the questions were getting tougher about whether or not there was a specific, imminent threat, the administration decided to leave the room," he said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he asked the administration to send the officials back to Congress in a week to continue briefing lawmakers but hadn't received a commitment. Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a cochair of the House Progressive Caucus, also said the administration provided "no evidence of an imminent threat or attack." And Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said the administration provided "no justification whatsoever for this illegal and unconstitutional act of war that President Trump took." Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, said Soleimani was plotting "to attack American facilities and diplomats" at sites occupied by US "soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines." The Pentagon as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have repeatedly said the US attacked Iran based on intelligence that pointed to "imminent threats to American lives." The Trump administration has refused to disclose any information about the intelligence that led to the US's dramatic escalation, however, and the government did not use the term "imminent" to describe Iran's planned attacks in its original statement justifying the strike. "General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," the January 2 statement said. "This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans." Sonam Sheth contributed to this report. Read the original article on Business Insider Small number of routine operations postponed at hospital due to increased pressure at emergency departments This article is old - Published: Friday, Jan 10th, 2020 A small number of routine operations across at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital have been postponed this week. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) say the decision was made due to the additional pressure its staff are managing in emergency departments. Planned operations at Ysbyty Gwynedd and Glan Clwyd hospitals were also cancelled. However the health board say patients whose operations were postponed will be rescheduled as soon as possible. The health board along with other across Wales has experienced increased pressure and demand at its emergency departments in recent weeks. This has prompted calls to the public to choose the appropriate health care service and think about whether visiting A&E is necessary. A spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: We continue to urge people to help us deliver the best care by choosing the right source of treatment to meet their needs. This includes considering whether one of our Minor Injuries Units or a local pharmacist could address your health concern. Information on the best source of treatment can be found by calling NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47. Further advice on where to seek medical attention can be found on the Choose Well website (www.choosewellwales.org.uk) or through the free Choose Well Wales app. We are also asking relatives and friends to support us by collecting their loved ones promptly when they are ready to leave hospital. This will help us to ensure beds are made available for other people who need them as early as possible. Health Minister Vaughan Gething has praised staff at Welsh hospitals this week for their tireless work during this busy period and has called for people to Choose Well. He has visited staff at the Hywel Dda Health Board which has seen planned operations across a number of its hospitals postponed this week. Mr Gething, said: I want to thank staff across NHS Wales and the social care sector who are working hard to provide care to the people of Wales. There is currently pressure across the health and social care system, particularly for frontline ambulance, GP and A & E Departments service staff. We are working with all health boards and social care services to ensure they deliver the best possible outcome for patients in the here and now, and to support the further practical work needed to reform our health and social care services. I want to reassure people that while some operations are being postponed and not cancelled, a significant number of people continue to access the elective care they need. We invested an additional 30m in September to support NHS Wales and Local Authorities with their winter planning, and much of this funding has been used to help increase available hospital beds, community capacity and social care capacity starting this week. However Plaid Cymrus North Wales AM, Llyr Gruffydd has criticised the Welsh Government following the announcement that some planned operations at North Wales hospitals had been postponed. He said: Cancelling operations is another sign that Betsi Cadwaladr health boards senior managers are not coping with the challenges they face. I have to ask where this will end overstretched staff are under huge pressure because of a problem with retention, training and recruitment; ambulances are queuing outside A&E for hours on end; patients cant access GPs or emergency services in a timely way and on top of that the health board is paying thousands of pounds a day for management consultants. All this is happening under the direct control of the Labour Government, which put Betsi into special measures five years ago. Where does the buck stop who is going to stand up and be counted on this matter? Because its completely unacceptable that people are waiting for years for operations and then seeing them cancelled at the last minute. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Moscow was ready to discuss the current crisis in relations between Iran and the United States, if Washington was interested in that. "If it [the United States] shows interest in that, we are ready, of course," he said, while also expressing hope that Tehran and Washington would refrain from new strikes. "We are maintaining permanent contact with the remaining parties to the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal], contact took place, in fact, every day in the first days of the new year," Sputnik cited the Russian diplomat as saying. Ryabkov added that Russia hopes that there will be no further escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 01:04:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BISSAU, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Guinea-Bissau's Supreme Court of Justice on Friday called for calm among the Bissau-Guineans and all concerning parties involved in the appeal of the defeated candidate during the presidential election runoff. "The Supreme Court wants to indicate the appeal process for electoral disputes is underway, there is no decision yet, the process follows its judicial process, contrary to the information circulated that there is already a decision", announced the spokesperson of the Supreme Court Salimo Vieira. During a press conference, Salimo Vieira also called for "calm and patience of the people of Guinea-Bissau and all those who are interested in the process". Domingos Simoes Pereira, one of the two candidates in Guinea-Bissau's presidential election runoff, contested the provisional results published by National Election Commission (NEC) that gave victory to Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and demanded a re-count. According to the provisional results published Wednesday by the National Election Commission of Guinea-Bissau (NEC), Umaro Sissoco Embalo, candidate of the Movement for Democratic Alternation (MADEM-G15), obtained 53.55 percent of the votes during the presidential election runoff held on December 29. He was competing with another former prime minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, candidate of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), who won 46.45 percent of the votes. Enditem LISBON, Portugal - Police in Portugal on Friday announced their second major drug bust in three days, with officials saying they stopped a fishing boat off the countrys Atlantic coast and apprehended 3.5 metric tons of hashish. A police statement said the hashish, which has a street value of more than 8 million euros ($8.9 million), was from North Africa. After being offloaded in Portugal, it was to be distributed by road to other European countries. Seven men on the vessel, all but one of them Portuguese, were arrested. The Portuguese Air Force and Navy took part in the operation, which was helped by authorities in neighbouring Spain. The Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Center - Narcotics, a joint project by seven European Union countries, also had a hand in the operation, the statement said. The state Supreme Court has upheld a state agencys denial of a sublease to Millennium Bulk Terminals, dealing yet another potentially fatal blow to the proposed Longview coal export dock. Millennium had asked for a sublease on state aquatic lands at the old Reynolds Metals Co./ Northwest Alloys dock on the Columbia River. The state Department of Natural Resources refusal to grant the sublease in 2017 has been subject to court battles since then. The decision to not allow this coal terminal on our public lands was the right decision for Washington, and I applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing that, state Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said in a prepared statement Wednesday. I work every day to make sure Washingtons public lands make our state stronger and healthier, now and for future generations. Allowing a company to use our waters without a full, transparent accounting of the environmental and fiscal impacts would jeopardize that mission, Franz said. Representatives for Millennium could not immediately be reached for comment. The state high court denied a petition from Northwest Alloys to review a Court of Appeals opinion upholding the DNRs decision to deny the sublease. DNR requested details about the structure of the agreement between Millennium and Northwest Alloys, the primary leaseholder of the state aquatic property. DNR also requested information about the firms financial integrity and the viability of international coal exports, but that information was not provided, DNR asserted. Millennium issued a statement in response to the decision. We are disappointed that the Supreme Court will not hear our appeal regarding DNRs decision to deny Millennium a sublease. DNRs denial of the sublease was both legally wrong and unfair. Millennium has spent millions of dollars cleaning-up this brownfield site for productive re-use, secured permits to operate, is in compliance with all laws and regulations, and is an important member of the local community. We are looking at all of our options.: Millennium is continuing to fight another court battle over the state Department of Ecologys denial of a shorelines permit for the plant. The case is in federal court. Millennium already operates on a state aquatic lands lease for its existing bulk materials dock in the Columbia River. The company has said the lease should be sufficient to develop the coal dock. However, DNR says the company would need additional approval to expand its terminal because the scope of the expansion is so large. The 30-year lease expires in 2038. The current lease allows for up to three 220 foot docks. Millennium currently has one dock and proposes to add two new docks, two new ship loaders and an access trestle. Millennium and its parent company, Lighthouse Resources Inc., want to build the largest coal export dock on the U.S. West Coast to ship coal to Asia. But the $680 million project has been fought by environmentalists and some members of the medical community at every turn. The state Department of Ecology withheld a key shorelines permit, and the project is tied up in other court battles, with the company mostly on the losing end so far. Much of Ecologys objection is over diesel emissions caused by locomotive exhaust in the Highlands neighborhood, which adjoins the Reynolds Lead rail line that would serve the terminal. The terminal would require 16 mile-long train passages a day eight bearing coal, the other eight exiting empties to transit the rail corridor from the Longview Wye to the Millennium site. Millennium estimates construction would require 1,300 workers and about 130 permanent workers to operate at full build-out. It also would generate millions of dollars annually in taxes. The state appeals court justice had reversed a previous decision by Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning that DNR acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying Millennium sublease for aquatic lands leased by Northwest Alloys Inc. But the state appeals court said DNRs consideration of Millenniums financial condition and business reputation was expressly authorized under the lease with Northwest Alloys, according to court documents. And the additional information DNR sought from Millennium, which Millennium failed to provide, was relevant to DNRs inquiry. Accordingly, we conclude that DNRs denial of consent to sublease was not arbitrary and capricious, the judges wrote. The Supreme Courts decision not to review that finding means the appeals court decision stands. Love 28 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 9 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. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign has launched a "South Carolina Soul of the Nation" bus tour that will make stops in Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties. Bidens campaign surrogates will tour the state from Wednesday, Jan. 15, to Saturday, Jan. 18. "The tour will demonstrate Joe's ability to bring people together at a time when the stakes could not be higher," said Kendall Corley, South Carolina state director of the Biden for President campaign. "We've pulled together a group of surrogates who know Joe better than anyone and are committed to campaigning in every region of the state, no matter how big or small, in order to make Donald Trump a one-term president," Corley said. The tour will include appearances from surrogates who will campaign on behalf of the former United States vice president. Featured on the tour will be Valerie Biden Owens, Biden's sister and longtime advisor; Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond, Biden for President national campaign co-chairman; Randall L. Woodfin, mayor of Birmingham, Alabama; actor Sean Patrick Thomas; Biden for President Senior Advisor Symone Sanders; and former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, Biden for President surrogates director. Sanders will visit Claflin University for a roundtable discussion from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, in the university's cafeteria located at 400 Magnolia St. in Orangeburg. She will be talking to voters about the Biden for President campaign and the upcoming election. The public is invited and can sign up for the event online at mobilize.us/joebidensc/event/192534/. Later that day, the campaign will also visit Voorhees College in Denmark for a student town hall from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. at Massachusetts Hall located at 151 Academic Circle in Denmark. The public is invited to the town hall, where they can meet other campaign members and talk about the upcoming election. Individuals can sign up online at mobilize.us/joebidensc/event/192567/. Key state endorsers will be also be participating in the bus tour and include state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, state Rep. Bill Clyburn, Swansea Mayor Jerald Sanders and former Richland County Council Chairperson Bernice Scott. On Friday, Jan. 17, Woodfin, Thomas, Owens, Symone Sanders and Jerald Sanders will gather for a meet and greet to be held from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church at 505 S Church St. in Swansea. The event will be hosted by Democratic political strategist Antjuan Seawright. Individuals can sign up for the event at mobilize.us/joebidensc/event/195492/. The tour will also make stop in St. Matthews on Saturday, Jan. 18, when Owens and Symone Sanders will hold a discussion with voters from 1 to 2 p.m. at Town and Country Restaurant at 1636 Bridge St. in St. Matthews. Individuals can sign up for the event at mobilize.us/joebidensc/event/195477/. Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A chemical found in receipts has been linked to reduced heart function. [Photo: Getty] A chemical found in cans, toys and receipts may affect our heart health. Bisphenol S (BPS) was brought in as a safer alternative to the controversial chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) after the latter was linked to everything from obesity and autism to infertility and premature births. READ MORE: Pesticide in mosquito repellent 'raises the risk of an early death by 56%' The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned BPA from baby bottles, while The European Commission prohibits the chemical being added to receipts. With BPS thought to be a safer alternative, scientists from the University of Guelph exposed mice hearts to either the new chemical or BPA at doses similar to those found in humans. Both caused the animals heart function to decline, with BPS acting in half the time. We expected to find similar effects from BPS as we have with BPA, but not at the speed that it worked, study author Professor Glen Pyle said. This replacement chemical seems to be more potent. READ MORE: Vaginal douches and powders may contain cancer-causing chemicals BPA reacts with oestrogen and thyroid-hormone receptors. Health concerns are prompting many manufacturers to switch to BPS, labelling products BPA free. Yet studies suggest the latter has a similarly detrimental effect on the heart. To learn more, the scientists perfused the hearts of live mice with BPA, BPS or a placebo for 15 minutes. They found the rodents - particularly the females - saw their heart contractions slow, hindering blood flow. Despite its safer reputation, BPS had an effect within just five minutes, while BPA took a more modest 10 minutes. Previous research has looked at the chronic effects that can happen when exposed to BPS over days, Professor Pyle said. We are the first to show how fast BPS can work. This is an important finding because it means you don't need to have a buildup of the chemical over time to experience its harmful effects. READ MORE: Processed meats containing this preservative are linked to colon cancer Story continues The human body reportedly removes BPA and BPS relatively quickly, however, its ubiquitous use means it is detectable in more than 90% of people. The results - published in the journal Scientific Reports - are particularly concerning given the similarities between hormone receptors and pathways in mice and humans, the scientists said. People with heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity may be particularly at risk, they added. If the heart is in a precarious position, when you add a stressor you can make it worse, Professor Pyle said. The scientists are calling for BPS to be banned from consumer products. It is also used in hospital IV lines and dental sealants. The team also recommend people reduce their plastic use to minimise exposure. By ANI LUCKNOW: While citizens in several parts of the country are still expressing their dissent over the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), Uttar Pradesh's capital city Lucknow has witnessed a sudden surge in the demand of birth certificates in December last year. In the month of December, 6,193 applications for birth certificates were received by five tehsils as well as Municipal Corporation. In the city, people aged between 40-60 years are seeking birth certificates for themselves and their children. ALSO READ: Priyanka Gandhi in Varanasi, to meet activists held during anti-CAA protests "There is a sudden rise in the number of people seeking birth certificates. It is a regular procedure and there is no need to link it with the CAA and NRC. We have arranged facilities in eight zones to ease the process. Elderly people are also applying for a birth certificate. It is a constitutional right for people to get their birth certificates," Amit Kumar, Aditional Municipal Commissioner, said. "There is no load on us, the online process is very easy. Within 24 hours we are providing a birth certificate if all documents submitted by an applicant are valid," he said. The applicants, who have applied for birth certificates, gave mixed responses. While some said the increase in demand for birth certificates is due to NRC and CAA, others called it is a regular process. ALSO READ: SC notifies on Centre's petition seeking transfer of pleas challenging CAA in various HCs "I came here to get a birth certificate for my child for her admission school. It is easily available. These are just rumours that this is because of the CAA and NRC. We have required documents so we are applying for a birth certificate. The opposition has made it an issue," a local said. Abdul Qadir Khan, another local, said, "I came here to get a birth certificate for my daughter. She is 50-year-old. The officers here are supporting us. This is true that people are seeking birth certificates amid the row over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act." "People are now more aware of the need for documents. This is good as everyone should have official documents required to claim citizenship of this country," Abdul Azim, resident of Lucknow, said. The British High Commission has launched 'Green is GREAT' campaign, an initiative to highlight the strength of the UK-India partnership on climate and sustainability in the run-up to COP26 which will be held in Glasgow later this year. The campaign is linked with climate, sustainability and business which lines up various planned activities. While speaking to ANI, British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith said, "It is the important decade for the climate. To start the decade with an important conference at the end of this year is crucial. We face so many challenges that won't be succeeding without the participation and collaboration of India. Partnering India is really important." When asked about the campaign's agenda, the commissioner replied: "When running these conferences you are successful when you collaborate and do it with the partners because setting an agenda in advance is not a good thing to do. We know what the challenges are and it is a matter of bringing people together." Praising India, Asquith said that New Delhi is hugely ambitious when it comes to renewable energy and to bridge the energy gap In addition, he said, "Good thing about India is the ambition and Prime Minister of India has made it clear. When it comes to renewable energy and to bridge that energy gap India is hugely ambitious and this is very impressive." Specifically mentioning the challenges, the commissioner said, "The key challenge is the real practical collaboration. We talk a lot about the problems. It is finding a way to deliver the answers in a way that makes sense to everybody who is affected by it." The convention, The 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Glasgow aims to prevent "dangerous" human interference with the climate system. \ India hosted 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 14) which witnessed a presence of 196 countries and 5,000 participants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, January 3, 2020 The Supreme Court should reject Facebook's request to intervene in a lawsuit accusing it of violating a federal robo-texting law, attorneys for Montana resident Noah Duguid argue in papers filed Friday. Facebook asks this court to validate the practice of making robocalls to cell phones over their owners objection, Duguid's lawyers write. Facebook presents no compelling reason for the court to entertain its arguments. The papers come in response to Facebook's request that the Supreme Court review a ruling issued last year by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which allowed Duguid to proceed with a claim that Facebook violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by allegedly sending him unwanted text messages. advertisement advertisement The legal battle dates to 2014, when Duguid alleged in a class-action complaint that Facebook repeatedly notified him via text that his account had been accessed -- even though he never had an account with the service. Duguid, whose carrier had apparently assigned him a recycled phone number, alleged the messages ran afoul of the federal robotexting law. That law prohibits companies from using autodialers to send texts to consumers without their consent, and provides for damages ranging from $500 to $1,500 per violation. The measure defines an autodialer as equipment that is capable of storing and dialing numbers using a random or sequential generator. But that definition has been interpreted differently by judges throughout the country. Facebook argued that its texting system wasn't an autodialer because it didn't generate the numbers randomly, but in response to information about a potential security breach. The appellate judges in the 9th Circuit disagreed, based on their interpretation of the word autodialer. They defined that term as equipment capable of storing numbers and automatically dialing them. Facebook recently asked the Supreme Court to review that ruling. Among other arguments, Facebook says the appellate court's definition of autodialer is so broad it could potentially cover all smartphones. To say that the decision below will carry extraordinary practical consequences is an understatement, Facebook wrote in its petition for review. Duguid's lawyers, including the watchdog Public Citizen, counter that Facebook is interpreting the opinion too broadly. This case has nothing to do with calls made by smartphones, counsel writes. It concerns use of sophisticated technology to send automated text messages to cell phones, and nothing in the result threatens liability for ordinary phone calls. Facebook also argues the robo-texting law violates the First Amendment because the law exempts currently texts aimed at collecting debts owed to the government. The company says it is unconstitutional to impose different rules on companies engaged in debt collections than for other communications. Duguid's lawyers counter that Congress didn't exempt texts related to debts owed to the government until 2015 -- which was after Facebook allegedly sent the texts to Duguid. Therefore, Duguid's lawyers write, questions about the constitutionality of the exemption are irrelevant to Facebook's liability for texts sent before 2015. A caller who used an [autodialer] to call a cell phone to collect government-backed debt in 2014, when Facebook sent Mr. Duguid its messages, would, under the law at that time, be liable to the same extent as Facebook, they write. The high-profile battle has drawn the attention of outside organizations -- including the largest business group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, which represents the biggest companies in America. Both recently filed friend-of-the-court briefs that urged the Supreme Court to curb people's ability to sue over unwanted texts. Large swarms of desert locusts are spreading through Kenya, after wreaking havoc in Somalia and Ethiopia, posing a significant threat to food security, the agriculture minister said Friday. The locusts -- part of the grasshopper family -- have led to what the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has termed the "worst situation in 25 years" in the Horn of Africa. Swarms formed in eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia and have moved through the region, possibly still threatening South Sudan and Uganda. Kenyan Agriculture Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri told a press conference that the swarms had crossed the border from Somalia on December 28, and had now spread to northern Mandera and Marsabit, eastern Wajir and Garissa, as well as central Isiolo and Samburu. "We recognise that the pest invasion and potential to spread rapidly to other counties pose (an) unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the country," said Kiunjuri. Desperate measures have seen police deployed to shoot in the air and spray teargas at the critters, while residents clap their hands, whistle and bang bottles and cans together to try chase away the thick clouds of locusts, according to images obtained by AFP. However Kiunjuri said the government had obtained pesticides and two aircraft to spray affected areas, and hopes to soon have a third. The FAO estimated that there was low risk of breeding in Kenya, however said a "potentially threatening situation" was developing on both sides of the Red Sea, with growing populations on the coasts of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The United Nations agricultural organisation in December said some 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of land had been infested in Ethiopia and Somalia. "Insecurity and a lack of national capacity have so far not allowed control operations in Somalia," the FAO said in a statement this week. Desert locusts -- whose destructive infestations cause major crop damage and hunger -- are a species of grasshopper that live largely solitary lives until a combination of conditions promote breeding and lead them to form massive swarms. According to the FAO, swarms can travel up to 130km (80 miles) per day -- a kilometre-wide (half-mile-wide) swarm can contain up to 80 million locusts. A Brazilian court has asked streamer Netflix to remove a controversial film that depicted Jesus as a homosexual. "The First Temptation of Christ", a Portuguese language film released in Brazil by Netflix on December 3, had created an uproar for its depiction of a gay relationship between Jesus and his friend Orlando. The film also reportedly shows Mary, mother of Jesus, smoking weed. A lawsuit was filed by a Brazilian Catholic organisation urging that the film be removed from the streaming platform. According to BBC, the judge of the court in Rio de Janeiro said the right to freedom of expression is "not absolute" and ordered the streamer to pull down the film. However, the order is only temporary and a final decision is yet to be taken by the court. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix said it is yet to receive the court's order. "We strongly support artistic expression and we'll be fighting to defend this important principle, which goes to the heart of great storytelling," the streamer said. Last month, a petition was started against the film which amassed over 2.33 million signatures. The group behind the controversial film, comedy troupe Porta dos Fundos, was hit by a Molotov cocktail attack on Christmas' Eve. Two petrol bombs were thrown at the headquarters of the group, causing a fire, which was put out by one of the office's security guards. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : "If a building could speak, it would have said 1,000 times I am innocent',says an NRI businessman, summing up the emotions of the owners of the four illegal complexes here on the eve of the waterfront structures' demolition by controlled implosion. Spending a huge chunk of his savings in buying the flat on the 18th floor of H2O Holyfaith apartment complex in 2013, Muscat based Jayakumar Vallikkavu sarcastically said he would now watch "the hanging of the innocent", alluding to the buildings being choked of life. "No one would like to see the death of their dear ones. But I will watch it from a corner of this city at 11 AM tomorrow," said the businessman, in his 50s. Jayakumar said he invested the money in the flat after close legal scrutiny, but "the system defeated" him. Slamming the state bureaucracy for his misfortune, he said some 'spineless bureaucrats' were responsible for it. "Many families have become homeless. My advise to people toiling in foreign countries is that no one should invest in Kerala. We were denied justice," he told PTI. A Kochi based businessman Noormuhammed, who owned a flat in the Alfa Serene Complex, said he does not have the "courage to see the demolition of dreams" of many who had invested from their lifetime savings to buy flats. "It is injustice done by a state against its citizens. The government is responsible for this situation," he said. Noormuhammed said people were thrown out of their flats by the authorities who had failed to convince the judicial system about the "innocent lives" in the apartment complexes. He shifted to another small flat he owned in the city after the authorities decided to implement the Supreme Court order. "With God's grace, I had some place to go. But many people, including poor widows, the elderly, children and retired government servants who had invested in homes in the apartment complexes are still struggling to find new homes", Noormuhammed said. He said the Rs 25 lakh compensation awarded by the Supreme Court amounted to nothing as none would be able to buy a decent home in Kochi with the money. Both Jayakumar and Noormuhammed said many residents were still struggling to get the compensation amount. Some flat owners in these buildings have said they still have not received compensation from the government so far. Two of the high rises will be demolished on Saturday and the rest on Sunday, complying with the orders of Apex Court, which had held the structures to be illegal as they had been built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms. The complexes, housing 343 flats, will be brought down by implosion and the companies engaged for it completed the filling of explosives in the structures on Wednesday. The Supreme Court had in September 2019 directed demolition of the apartment complexes within 138 days, a time line given by the Kerala government. On May 8 last year, the apex court had directed that these buildings be removed within a month as they were constructed in a notified CRZ, which was part of the tidally- influenced water body in Kerala. The court had passed the order after taking note of a report of a three-member committee, which said when the buildings were built, the area was already notified as a CRZ and construction was prohibited. Though the residents staged protests for several days refusing to vacate, later they relented. The court has ordered an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the owners of the flats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three days after being sentenced to 15 years in prison for secretly drugging his pregnant wife causing her to drown in a bathtub, Philip Grandine has been released on bail pending appeal for the second time. Two juries have now convicted Grandine, a former pastor, of manslaughter for killing 29-year-old Karissa Grandine, who was 20 weeks pregnant when she drowned on the night of Oct. 17, 2011. Two judges have sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Grandine, now 33, has spent much of the past seven years since he was charged on bail, and has just shy of 12 years left to serve after being given credit for a year in custody and being on house arrest. Earlier this week, Superior Court Justice Faye McWatt found that Grandine had been secretly giving Karissa a sedative, on that is not prescribed to pregnant women, in order to incapacitate her so he could pursue an affair with his mistress and an obsession with pornography. She called his actions diabolical and violent and planned and premeditated. Grandines first conviction was overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal due to error in the judges answer to a jury question. A linked issue is the basis for his current appeal of his conviction, which Court of Appeal Justice Benjamin Zarnett has found meets the bar for allowing Grandines release pending appeal. The trial judge allowed the jury to consider three ways by which they could find Grandine guilty of manslaughter. In addition to finding that he drugged her or made the drug available to her, the jury could have found that he was criminally negligent because he failed to stop her from getting into the bath despite knowing she had taken the drug and knowing the serious symptoms it caused in her, including disorientation and fatigue. Grandines lawyer Michael Lacy argued that the trial judge should not have allowed the jury to consider one of those routes which had been raised by the judge in the first trial because it lacked a basis in evidence. He noted the trial judge acknowledged in her reasons for sentencing that there was no evidence to support the theory that Karissa could have taken the drug herself and Grandine knew this and failed to stop her getting into the tub. Zarnett found that the appeal surpasses the low bar of not being considered frivolous and meets the requirement of general legal plausibility. The Crown argued that, in the public interest, the seriousness of the crime requires that the sentence be enforced pending appeal. However, Zarnett said that the public interest in this case lies in ensuring the conviction is reviewed and determined to be fair. The Crown conceded that Grandine is not a danger to the public or a flight risk, and agreed that if released he should be on a bail that amounts to house arrest with his parents as sureties. Although this is a tragic and difficult case especially for the loved ones of the deceased, Justice Zarnett carefully considered the relevant legal principles that govern bail pending appeal applications and appropriately applied the relevant legal test, Grandines lawyer Lacy said in an email. A date for the appeal has not been set. Karissas family and friends attended the bail hearing on Tuesday hours after the sentencing concluded. They have to relive this horrible thing over again. Theres no closure today. Theres no rest for the family today. And this monster gets to play the system again, said family friend Cliff McDowell after the sentencing. Creative Mode is one of the most popular aspects of Fortnite. Not only can it provide some practice for the battle royale mode, but the possibilities for different ideas are endless. Over Creatives lifespan, weve seen some genuinely spectacular maps and modes designed by creators. Whether its a funny, care-free map or one of pure beauty, youd be hard-pressed to run out of maps to play. However, there are always going to be some that stand above the rest. Today, well be going over four of the best Creative maps you can play in Fortnite. 1. Cizzorz Deathrun 4.0 FaZe Cizzorz is one of the creators that made Creative Mode as popular as it is today. His first Deathrun sparked tons of interest across Twitch and YouTube, making grown men and women rage like they never have before. However, we feel his fourth installment is his best, and most robust, piece of work. Complete with every trap in Fortnite and complicated levels to navigate, Deathrun 4.0 is sure to keep you glued to your screen with frustration and enjoyment. The code for Cizzorzs Deathrun 4.0 is 2778-3253-4171. 2. Gunfight: Pinewood Forest While many of the Creative maps are meant for fun and wasting time with friends, some of the best maps are those which implement a competitive aspect. Thats on full display with Gunfight: Pinewood Forest. Taking the concept from Modern Warfares 2v2 Gunfight mode, this map puts a Fortnite spin on the 1v1 pit fight. Pinewood Forest is a small, fast-paced map that takes building entirely out of the equation. Like in Modern Warfare, this map randomly generates the players loadout each round. You only have one life per round, and the first to four rounds wins the match. Also, a storm starts to move in after a minute or so, forcing players to the middle of the map. BluDrive on YouTube created Gunfight: Pinewood Forest. The code for Gunfight: Pinewood Forest is: 9189-9290-1074. 3. Junkyard Juke This Creative map takes elements from both casual and competitive play. Taking an age-old concept, Prop Hunt, Junkyard Juke makes things fun for both sides, being props and hunters. Unlike other Prop Hunt modes, Junkyard Juke blinds the hunters for five seconds as the props try to inch their way closer to the center of the map. If the props make it to the incinerator at the maps center, they win that round. However, the hunters are watching from above, ready to shoot any props they see. The Junkyard Juke map is well-balanced, not giving an edge to either the props or hunters. This Creative map is best played with friends, but you can play with anyone and still have a great time. The code for Junkyard Juke is 1113-6823-4725. 4. Super Smash Bros. Hyrule Castle Taking one of the most classic maps from one of the most beloved games ever cant go wrong. Hyrule Castle from the original Super Smash Bros. is fully reimagined and playable in Fortnite Creative. Armed with unlimited ammo, a Grappler and Flint-knock Pistol, you and up to three other players can duke it out on Hyrule Castle. The movement provided by the Grappler and Flint-knock create tons of high-flying action. Other weapons you can have include the Boom Bow, Hunting Rifle, Impulse Grenades, and much more. At the start of the match, you have 150 health, which goes down when you are hit. Like in the original Super Smash Bros., you can fall off the map and lose a life. The player with the most eliminations at the end of the match wins. The code for Super Smash Bros. Hyrule Castle is: 6400-7723-2171. The Conroe Independent School District will open Stockton Junior High in August and the district is working through a rezoning process to determine where the schools students will come from. On Thursday, the district held the first of three meetings to present its proposed zoning draft recommendations to the community. Over the last few months the rezoning committee has collected community feedback and held six meetings to educate district residents: three to tell the community about the rezoning process, and three to collect community comments about what they want to see in the final attendance boundary. Out of three possible scenarios the rezoning committee plans to recommend Scenario B to the board, which will impact approximately 492 students. The majority of the students that formerly attended Washington Junior High will be transferred to Stockton Junior High, except for students in 10 zones within the former Washington feeder zone in the heart of Conroe. Those students will be zoned to attend Peet Junior High. The scenario also moves 19 Peet zones to the Stockton boundary. Along with the junior high rezoning, the committee also decided to take a look at the intermediate attendance zones as well and will be recommending a few changes to the current map. Intermediate Scenario Two would move approximately 32 students from three zones formerly in the Cryer Intermediate attendance boundary to the Bozman Intermediate boundary. Since the rezoning process was initiated in October, community members have been able to submit comments and their own drafts of new zones to the districts website. At the last district-held community meetings in November, attendees could look over current attendance zone maps and some of the rezoning scenarios prepared by the district. There will be two other meetings to present the prepared drafts to the community: On Tuesday at noon at the Conroe High School ninth-grade campus, and Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Peet Junior High. Presentations of the recommended zoning changes are expected to be presented to the Board of Trustees at the Jan. 21 meeting. Students who are be rezoned to a new school will have the opportunity to apply for a waiver to be able to attend their original school but will have to provide their own transportation to school. Once the attendance numbers are finalized for all the schools the district can start the process of choosing staff. When it opens, Stockton will have the capacity for 1,450 seventh and eighth-grade students, adding 750 new seats to the Conroe High School feeder. If Scenario B is accepted by the board, the student enrollment at Stockton would be around 1,243. More Information The school is named after former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Don Stockton, who served 32 years in the district. See More Collapse Stockton will be on the same campus as Bozman Intermediate, Patterson Elementary, and a future high school. A new solar field next to the junior high will provide power and education. The students will be able to see how much power the fields are generating with a meter displayed in the school. The rezoning process isnt just about Stockton Junior High. At numerous community meetings, Deputy Superintendent Chris Hines has made it clear that the district wants to take into account future growth and the possible need for new schools while rezoning now. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com In a rational world, the burning of Australia would be a historical turning point. After all, its exactly the kind of catastrophe climate scientists long warned us to expect if we didnt take action to limit greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, a 2008 report commissioned by the Australian government predicted that global warming would cause the nations fire seasons to begin earlier, end later, and be more intense starting around 2020. Furthermore, though it may seem callous to say it, this disaster is unusually photogenic. You dont need to pore over charts and statistical tables; this is a horror story told by walls of fire and terrified refugees huddled on beaches. So this should be the moment when governments finally began urgent efforts to stave off climate catastrophe. But the world isnt rational. In fact, Australias anti-environmentalist government seems utterly unmoved as the nightmares of environmentalists become reality. And the anti-environmentalist media, the Murdoch empire in particular, has gone all-out on disinformation, trying to place the blame on arsonists and greenies who wont let fire services get rid of enough trees. Strathmore Law School (SLS) is one of the constituent faculties of Strathmore University (SU). As a leading non-profitable institution in the country, SU dedicates itself to serving Kenyans as best as it can. It holds a reputation in both professional and academic education. Irrefutably, this is one of the best places you can make your law practitioner dream come true. Image: law.strathmore.edu Source: UGC Strathmore University Law School curriculum merges all the core disciplines in legal theory as well as practice. Whats more, humanities and ethics units are incorporated to ensure that the graduates churned out are agents of change in not only Kenya but also beyond the East African border. Strathmore Law School history The idea of starting an outstanding law institution in Kenya was conceived in 2004. Several scholars were then sponsored to take postgraduate law degrees in some of the renowned universities around the globe. The dream of creating a law school came to reality on April 28th, 2012, when SLS was officially incorporated. Today, it has a combination of local as well as foreign scholars, legal experts, and experienced advocates who give students the analytical and practical skills needed to become a top lawyer. It is undoubtedly one of the best law schools in Kenya. Strathmore University Law courses The following are the legal programmes SU offers: 1. Bachelor of Laws This discipline is aimed at equipping students with excellent critical thinking skills so that they can grasp justice better. If you successfully enrol for this bachelors degree, you will enjoy practical learning via clinics and legal research centres established to improve your skills. You will also be able to work closely with some international and local reputable law companies through job placements, attachment, or internships. The school is often visited by professors from the worlds most prestigious universities such as Harvard and Oxford. A yearly academic trip abroad will expose you to other famous law institutions and senior legal prosecutors, judges and defence lawyers. Image: law.strathmore.edu Source: UGC 2. Master of Laws As an 18 months programme, it equips postgraduates such as legal practitioners and experienced lawyers with knowledge and expertise without necessarily interfering with their career. You will have a chance to understand local, international, and regional legal principals at a fast rate. You will have to major in any of the following: Oil and Gas Law Corporate and International Tax Law International Financial Law and Regulation International Criminal Law Intellectual Property Law Lectures are taught by international faculty members. Through case studies involving real cases in the specified industry, group work amongst peers and research, you will be equipped with advanced skills throughout the 18 months. Strathmore University Law School admission requirements The following is the admission criteria used in this top institution: Undergraduate students For those willing to pursue Bachelor of Laws, below is what the university takes into considerations during admissions. 1. Grade qualifications The following qualifications and grades must be met: B plain KCSE mean aggregate with a minimum of B plain in English 6 credits O-Level and 3 principal passes A level 34/45 points for IB Diploma holders The above qualifications should be proofed via scanned copies of KACE or KCSE certificates. Image: law.strathmore.edu Source: UGC 2. Entry exam If you have complied with the above-required grades, you will be required to write an entrance exam. Ksh. 2000 or Ksh 1,800 examinations entrance fee should be paid on the day of the test. If you happen to fail, this amount cannot be reimbursed. The test will be doled out as follows: Venue: Madaraka Campus, Strathmore Law School Madaraka Campus, Strathmore Law School Date: Every Wednesday as from March to June Every Wednesday as from March to June Time: 8.00 am The exam starts at 8.00 am so you ought to be punctual. 3. Interviews Immediately after the exam, every candidate must undergo this process. It is conducted alphabetically according to the names of applicants. You are required to bring with you the following: 2 passport size photos Original copies of your academic certificates A photocopy of your national ID, passport or birth certificate Postgraduate students Those seeking to further their education should have complied with the following: 1. Requirements Only experienced lawyers, judges, in-house counsel, legal practitioners, government officials, law school graduates, and policymakers should apply. A minimum of two years of working experience is mandatory. Since admissions are competitive, Strathmore University acceptance is based on a comprehensive assessment of the application submitted, past academic performance, work experience and recommendations. Additionally, one has to meet the following: First or Second Upper-Class Honours in Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from institutions recognized by Strathmore University senate. Alternately, you can be admitted with any other qualification considered by the School Council to be equal to First or Second Upper-Class Honours. For Second Class Lower division holders, three years of working experience are required. 2. Graduate Entrance Exam (GEE) An SLS test is administered before enrolment. GEE will cost you Ksh. 5,000 payable upon registration. The amount is non-refundable. Strathmore University intake dates and course duration The intake for the above 2 courses is usually in July. It is after one has done the entrance exams in March or June. The distinction test is made to prove if you have leadership skills in the community and outstanding performance in some extra-curriculum activities. The undergraduate and postgraduate programme duration is 4 years and 18 months, respectively. Strathmore Law School fee structure LLB degree costs Ksh. 220,000 per semester. It should be paid either in full on registration, yearly (Ksh. 440,000), or per semester (Ksh. 220,000). Scholarships Needy students with an average of A in KCSE are issued with various subsidies. The school has also compiled a list of possible fund sources for anyone seeking finances for undergraduate courses. They will cater for living expenses, tuition fees, and books/supplies. Student loans In association with Chase Bank, SU provides a loan facility to any undergraduate or postgraduate student. Strathmore School of Law application Application forms are available at the SLS office and from law.strathmore.edu For undergraduate students: Complete it and drop it at their offices. Alternatively, you can send them to llb@strathmore.edu Attach scanned copies of your certificates to prove you are indeed qualified for the course. For postgraduate: Send the scanned copy of the form to llm@strathmore.com Include your CV, two reference letters, one professional, and the other personal/official/academic. Copies of your certificates, transcripts, and a passport should also be sent to the stated email. Strathmore Law School contacts In case you need any clarification or have inquiries, you can reach out to SLS via the following contacts: Physical location: Madaraka Estate, Ole Sangale Road Madaraka Estate, Ole Sangale Road Postal address: P.O Box 59857 - 00200, City Square, Nairobi, Kenya P.O Box 59857 - 00200, City Square, Nairobi, Kenya Phone number 1 : +254 (0) 703034000 : +254 (0) 703034000 Phone number 2: +254 (0) 703034200 +254 (0) 703034200 Strathmore law school fax: +254 (0)20 6007498 +254 (0)20 6007498 Official website : law.strathmore.edu : law.strathmore.edu Email address: law@strathmore.edu Strathmore Law School is beyond doubt the best institution to study your undergraduate or postgraduate law degree. The quality of education offered here matches the amount of fees you will pay every semester. Besides, they offer scholarships and student loan opportunities if you are disadvantaged or cannot afford to shell out the required amount. READ ALSO: List of best colleges in Kenya 2020 Source: TUKO.co.ke Officials speaking to AP news agency say draft list includes seven countries, the majority of which are Muslim-majority. The White House is considering dramatically expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration by United States President Donald Trump, according to six people familiar with the deliberations. A document outlining the plans timed to coincide with the third anniversary of Trumps January 2017 executive order has been circulating in the White House. But the countries that would be affected are blacked out, according to two of the people, sources who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the measure has yet to be finalised. It is unclear exactly how many countries would be included in the expansion, but two of the sources said that seven countries the majority of which are majority Muslim would be added to the list. The most recent iteration of the ban includes restrictions on five majority-Muslim nations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as Venezuela and North Korea. A different source said the expansion could focus on several countries that were included when Trump announced the first iteration of the ban but that were later removed amid rounds of contentious litigation. Iraq, Sudan and Chad, for instance, had originally been affected by the order, which the US Supreme Court upheld in a 5-4 vote after the administration released a watered-down version intended to withstand legal scrutiny. Trump later criticised the US Department of Justice for the changes. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the effort, which several of the sources said was timed for release in conjunction with the third anniversary of Trumps first travel ban. That order sparked an uproar when it was announced on January 27, 2017, with massive protests across the nation and chaos at airports where passengers were detained. People protest Trumps first iteration of the travel ban [File: Tony Gentile/ Reuters] The latest deliberations come as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepares to transmit to the Senate the articles of impeachment that the Democratic-led House passed in the US Congress against Trump late last year, launching a formal impeachment trial just as the 2020 election year gets underway. Trump in December became just the third president in history to be impeached by the House. The Republican-controlled Senate is not expected to remove him from office. Trump ran his 2016 campaign promising to crack down on immigration and spent much of his first term fighting lawsuits trying to halt his push to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico, prohibit the entry of citizens from several majority-Muslim countries and crack down on migrants seeking asylum in the US, amid other measures. He is expected to press those efforts again this year as he ramps up his re-election campaign. Just this week, a coalition of leading civil rights organisations urged House leaders to take up the No Ban Act, legislation to end Trumps travel ban and prevent a new one. The bill, introduced last year by Representative Judy Chu in the House and Senator Chris Coons in the Senate, would impose limits on the presidents ability to restrict entry to the US. It would require the administration to spell out its reasons for the restrictions and specifically prohibit religious discrimination. Trumps revised ban eliminated some of the originals most contentious provisions, including making clear that those who held visas at the time of the signing could continue to enter the country. Ryanair reported strong performance during the Christmas and New Year period. Photo: PA Ryanair (RYA.L) on Friday said that full-year profits would come in higher than expected, largely due to a bumper Christmas and New Year period and strong forward bookings. In an unscheduled trading update, the low-cost airline said that it had more close-in bookings than it expected, meaning that customers chose to book closer to the time of departure. It also said that yields were better than expected. Forward bookings for the January to April period are also 1% ahead of this time in 2019, Ryanair said. The company said that it therefore thought it was appropriate to raise its full-year guidance, with after-tax profits now expected to come in between 950m (808m, $1.05bn) and 1.05bn. Ryanair had previously guided a range of between 800m and 900m. Even then, it warned that Laudamotion, its Austrian subsidiary, continues to underperform. It said average fares over the Christmas period were lower than expected, despite strong traffic growth and high load factors. Ryanair said this was a direct result of intense competition with Lufthansa subsidiaries in both Germany and Austria who are engaged in below-cost selling. While the airline said that Laudamotion would carry 6.5 million passengers in the year to the end of March 2020, average fares would be 15 below budget. The subsidiary will therefore lose around 90m, up from 80m, Ryanair said. Shares in Ryanair climbed by more than 7% on Friday following the trading update. Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary has long warned that European airlines will not be able to engage in below-cost selling for much longer, and has predicted that Ryanair would benefit from a wave of EU airline failures. Ryanair competitors, he has previously noted, have been losing money heroically even as they battle rising costs and overcapacity in the airline market. In May, he said that both Norwegian Airlines and Thomas Cook were two obvious ones hanging on by their fingernails. Thomas Cook collapsed in September, primarily because of a mounting 1.7bn debt pile and a weak bookings market. The cause of a blaze that destroyed a Portland borough business has been ruled undetermined, Pennsylvania State Police said. The Jan. 5 fire at Portland Steel, 394 Delaware Ave., was investigated by state police; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Bethlehem police; and the Portland Hook and Ladder Co. #1. The Bethlehem polices K9 unit didnt find any accelerants, Trooper Nathan Branosky said. There are three buildings on the property. The main building where Portland Steel fabricated gates, railings and other products was destroyed, fire Chief Jim Potter previously said. An online listing says Portland Steel was founded in 2017 and is in the single-family housing construction business. The two-alarm fire drew about 60 firefighters and could be seen in Warren County. Potter said it took firefighters two hours to get the fire under control, but crews remained at the scene into early the next morning because of hot spots. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Armed men in military uniforms stormed a seminary school in Kaduna State and kidnapped four people, an official has said. The spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, Yakubu Sabo, said the armed men in military camouflage entered the Good Shepard Major Seminary School and abducted four students. The school, according to the police, is located at Kakau, along Kaduna-Abuja Highway. They shot sporadically before taking away the victims, the spokesperson said. Read Mr Sabos full statement announcing the kidnap below. The Command received a distress call through DPO Sabon Tasha of Chikun LGA, that in the early hours of today 09/1/2020 at about 0030hrs, some Armed Men in Military Camouflage gained entry into the Good Shepard Major Seminary School Kakau By Fly-over along Kaduna Abuja Highway, started shooting sporadically and in the process took away Four (4) Students to unknown destination. On receipt of the information, the Command immediately mobilized combined teams of Anti-Kidnapping, SARS, Operation Yaki, PMF Personnel and conventional Police to the scene with a view to foiling the kidnapping/rescuing of the victims and arresting the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident. IGPs Intelligent Respond Team (IRT) attached to Operation Puff Adder has been contacted for technical support. The prompt response of the Police at the scene helped immensely in minimizing the number of Victims as the hoodlums took to their heels when they sensed Police presence bearing in mind that. READ ALSO: The bandits have accessed the school dormitory where two hundred and sixty eight (268) students were being accommodated. The Commissioner of Police CP Umar Musa Muri has led a delegation of officers for on-the-spot assessment visit of the scene to assess the level of security arrangement with a view to fortifying the structure and to sympathize with the management of the school on the ugly incident. The management has applauded the timely response of the Command which according to Rev. Fr Francis Agba saved the situation seriously. The visit afforded the CP to observe the weak security arrangement by the school authority and has advised the management on the needed steps to be taken. This call was extended to all private school proprietors within the State to liaise with their nearest Police formation for security advice/coverage and to promptly report incidents or suspicious persons around them/environment, so as to ensure prompt response of the Police and to forestall future occurrence. The Command is doing everything possible to secure the release of all the victims unhurt. CP UM Muri equally appeals to the good people of the State to come closer to the Police in their respective Communities in order to create harmonious working relationship between the Police and their immediate communities. DSP YAKUBU ABUBAKAR SABO THE POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER FOR: COMMISSIONER OF POLICE KADUNA STATE COMMAND Demonstrations calling for 'no war with Iran' took place in 370 communities across the U.S. with protesters stepping out in the likes of Washington DC, Nevada, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and LA to do their part to deescalate tensions between the countries. MoveOn, Indivisible, Win Without War, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and About Face: Veterans Against the War groups protested against a war with Iran outside the US Capitol in Washington DC, Daily Mail reported. Shortly after the protests, the House of Representatives was slated to vote on a war powers resolution to limit any military action from the Trump administration against Iran. Fairfield University Gifts of Gold: The Art of Japanese Lacquer Boxes, an exhibition coming to Fairfield University Art Museum, is showcasing the artform from the 15th through 21st centuries. There will be an opening reception on Thursday evening, Jan. 16, in Bellarmine Hall Galleries. The exhibit runs through Friday, May 15. Refreshments will be provided, accompanied by live music. The reception is free and open to the public. Mobile giant MTN said Friday that Nigeria's attorney general had withdrawn a demand for around $2 billion in back taxes in the latest step towards resolving its legal woes with the authorities. The South African telecommunications firm has already battled back a string of financial claims from Nigeria and last May floated its shares on the stock exchange in the West African country. The company said that the attorney general's office had "withdrawn its letter of demand" for the back taxes and referred the matter to the inland revenue and customs services to be resolved. "We appreciate this decision of the Attorney General which paves the way to an orderly and amicable resolution of this matter," MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter said in a statement. MTN, which began operation in Nigeria in 2001, is the country's largest operator with some 60 million subscribers. The company last year settled a $1.5 billion fine levelled by the authorities for failing to disconnect unregistered subsribers. In 2018 it agreed to pay a separate $53 million fine after being accused of illegally repatriating $8.13 billion to South Africa. The disputes with MTN have rattled investor confidence in Africa's most populous nation and tarnished diplomatic relations between continental powerhouses Nigeria and South Africa. JACKSON, Tenn. - In 1886, an African American domestic worker was accused of poisoning her white employer in Jackson, Tennessee. A mob broke into the citys jail, dragged Eliza Woods to the courthouse lawn, ripped her clothes off, and hanged her from a tree. Her body was riddled with bullets, historians say. Five years later, John Brown was accused of severely injuring a switchman on an Illinois Central Railroad train. Brown, a black man, was removed from the train in Jackson and jailed. An angry mob of 500 masked men armed with rifles forcibly took him from the jail - and he, too, was lynched on the courthouse lawn. Both stories had gone mostly ignored in Jackson until last year, when a college professor and a coalition of church leaders, educators and private citizens led a movement to memorialize both lynchings with a historical marker on the Madison County courthouse lawn. They worked with the Equal Justice Initiative - the Montgomery, Alabama, non-profit that has created a national memorial acknowledging cases of racial injustice and sponsors the installation of lynching markers in U.S. cities. After initially rejecting the marker, the Madison County commission voted in August to approve it. The Jackson-Madison County Community Remembrance Project, led by University of Tennessee-Martin criminal justice professor Cindy Boyles, announced Wednesday that the marker is being ordered and dedication ceremony has been set for April on the courthouse lawn. Neither Eliza Woods or John Brown received due process for their alleged crimes and were killed by mobs who never faced prosecution for their lynchings, the marker will say. With the installation, Jackson will join the ranks of cities such as Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Wilmington, Delaware, that have markers sponsored by the Equal Justice Initiative, the group led by lawyer and civil rights advocate Bryan Stevenson, author of the book Just Mercy. The book chronicles Stevensons defence of a black man who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. It has been turned into a feature film of the same name that is currently running in U.S. movie theatres. According to the EJI, more than 4,400 racially motivated lynchings took place in the U.S. between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and 1950. During that time, there were more than 230 lynchings in Tennessee. Three happened in Jackson, located about 85 miles northeast of Memphis. In the late 1800s, Jackson was a railroad town surrounded by farms where slaves had been held and where African Americans received unjust, unequal, and sometimes violent treatment from whites, including members of law enforcement, judges and elected officials. Eliza Woods proclaimed her innocence, but she was jailed. After Woods was lynched on Aug. 18, 1886, prominent anti-lynching writer Ida B. Wells protested the killing in her writings. Woods was later exonerated when the husband of the dead white woman confessed to killing her, according to Boyles, who has researched the lynchings. John Browns lynching took place at midnight on July 26, 1891. The switchman he was initially accused of killing actually survived, Boyles said. Another black man, Frank Ballard, was lynched in Jackson in 1894. According to The Jackson Sun, he had been accused of raping a white woman, but the location of his lynching is unknown. A marker bearing the names of the three Madison County lynching victims hangs at The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery. Boyle and others felt the lynchings also should be remembered in the county where they occurred. So, she contacted the EJI, which not only pays for and delivers lynching markers but also gathers soil from the lynching sites. Boyles proposal was the subject of several meetings, and it was voted down early last year. After further discussions with county commissioners, the markers were approved. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for April 18. Boyles said the markers are important because they shed light on racial injustices that must be discussed in the context of current day instances of criminal justice failures. Eliza Woods was lynched in 1886. We had a functioning criminal justice system here, and it didnt work for the African Americans who were in this community, Boyles said. We want to be able to recognize that, and say that it wasnt right then, its not right today. Klamath Falls, Ore. -- Klamath County Sheriff's Office said that on Friday January 10, 2020 just after midnight Joshua Warren Holloway, was taken into custody after a brief pursuit on Hwy 97 north of Gilchrist. The Klamath County Sheriff's Office said that he was being sought as a person of interest as part of a recent murder investigation. Police say Holloway was traveling alone in a vehicle stolen out of Vancouver, WA and spike strips were successfully deployed. Police say Holloway was taken into custody without further incident and is being lodged at Klamath County Jail on charges including Murder, Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine, and parole violations. Numerous agencies were involved in the extensive manhunt for Holloway including, Klamath County Sheriffs Office, Klamath Falls Police Department, The Oregon State Police, Deschutes County Sheriffs Office, Bend Police Department and the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Authorities in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are ordering Uyghurs to modernize the interiors of their homes by ridding them of traditional ethnic decor and adding Sinicized furniture, largely to the benefit of majority Han Chinese entrepreneurs, sources said. In recent months, officials in the XUAR have been promoting the Sanxin Huodong, or Three News, campaign to force Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities to abandon the rugs and pillows they traditionally use as furniture in their homes and replace them with sofas, beds, and desks, according to Uyghur sources inside the region and living in exile abroad. The campaign follows one in which authorities in the XUAR allocated more than 4 billion yuan (U.S. $575 million) to modernize the lifestyles of residents in the region, in part by destroying elements of traditional Uyghur design, including mihrabs, or ornate domed niches built into a wall or ceiling to denote the correct direction one should face when praying to Mecca. Those who do not follow the directives risk being labeled religious extremists and placed in the regions vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held some 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities since April 2017. After receiving information about the implementation of the Sanxin Huodong campaign in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) citys Nezerbagh township, RFAs Uyghur Service contacted a government employee there who refused to comment on the situation. But RFA was able to speak with a member of a work group in Kashgar prefectures Yengisheher (Shule) county who said that residents are tearing out the prior designs of their homes and renovating them according to the requirements of the new campaign. Its the Sanxin Huodongright after we moved here, [authorities] held a meeting about it after the flag-raising ceremony one morning and they talk about it once a week now, the work group member said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal. The Three News means, firstly, having sofas at home, secondly, having beds, and thirdly, having a table for studying or a study desk for the children Previously, people put down felt mats or carpets [as furniture]. The work group member said that often the new beds Uyghurs place in their homes are provided to official Han Chinese relatives who Uyghur families are required to invite into their homes and provide with information about their lives and political views as part of the Pair Up and Become Family campaign that was launched in the XUAR in late 2017. Yes, they sleep in their shared beds, the work group member said, referring to the relatives, who also subject their hosts to political indoctrination during their visits. In the village in Yengisheher county where the work group member is based, they said that more than 80 percent of people have complied with the Three News campaign. My sense is that it has exceeded 80 or 90 percent, the work group member said. Unrecognizable homes RFA also spoke with a resident of Hotan (Hetian) prefectures Guma (Pishan) county, who said that since the campaign was started, she had remodeled her home so thoroughly that you cant even recognize it anymore. We put in sofas and coffee tables, and beds with mattresses, and the rooms are all redecorated, she said. Those who left for education [were detained at internment camps] will have hard time recognizing it if they come back. The Guma county resident said she had gotten rid of pretty much all of the carpets after her family was ordered to comply with the campaign by village officials. Even if they hadnt ordered us, we would follow our other neighbors [in what they do], she said. We dont even wait for the officials to tell us what to do anymore because we all are so enlightened now. When asked whether she has anything resembling a mihrab or other traditional Uyghur designs in her home, the Guma resident seemed surprised. Goodness, nowhat are you talking about, she asked. These are things of the past, and we are so advanced now. All of the changes had been made to her home since her husband was detained at an area internment camp, she added. Zumuret Dawut, a Uyghur mother of three who in April 2018 was detained for months in an internment camp and only released after her Pakistani husband advocated on her behalf, told RFA that she had been made to comply with a version of the Three News campaign as early as October 2018, after having returned to her home in the XUAR capital Urumqi. Uyghurs everywhere have always used platforms and other kinds of [non-mattress] beds in our homes, but they have made people get rid of these and told them to put sofas in their place, said Dawut, who relocated to the U.S. in April 2019. They said, between such and such dates, you must destroy the platforms in your homes and put sofas in their place. Han Chinese benefiting Dawut said that Han Chinese entrepreneurs selling home goods in the XUAR have stood to benefit the most from the Three News campaign. It was October 2018 and I had gone to the market with my sister-in-law because she had just redone her home and wanted to buy a new sofa, but when we got there we saw that all of the stores had sold out of them, Dawut said. They told us that [more sofas] were coming from the interior [of China] and to come back the next week to get one, she added. People had even bought damaged and old sofas. The customers had said, whatever you have is fine, as theres an order to put sofas in our houses, and they took everything they could find Han owners of home goods and furniture stores were coming to these markets [in the XUAR] from every region, with their cars stuffed full of sofaseven broken ones! In July last year, officials in Kashgar and Hotan prefectures told RFA that Muslims were being made to carve out the domed shape of mihrabs, or to fill them in completely, lest they face punishment that could include detention in an internment camp, and that the government had implemented training courses on the correct aesthetics for households. The officials said at the time that teams of five or six people that include police officers, cadres, and government officials walk around inspecting neighborhood homes to ensure they meet requirements and that in cases where homeowners were unable to remove mihrabs, workers were sent in to demolish the building. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated further on Thursday, adding to sharp losses in the previous session as the market shifted focus toward rising U.S. crude stocks and away from worries about the conflict between the United States and Iran. By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated further on Thursday, adding to sharp losses in the previous session as the market shifted focus toward rising U.S. crude stocks and away from worries about the conflict between the United States and Iran. Broadly, prices were moving back toward where they stood before a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general, prompting an Iranian rocket attack on Iraqi air bases hosting U.S. forces. These events pushed crude to its highest in four months. "The way the market gives a geopolitical risk premium and then takes it right back indicates that the market fundamentally isn't very strong," said Gene McGillian, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. "A lot of participants in the market think that there's a lot of oil around the world that consumption doesn't take care of." After falling 4.1% on Wednesday, Brent crude futures settled down 5 cents at $65.37 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate fell 7 cents to $59.56 after sliding nearly 5% the previous day. During European trading hours Iranian media carried reports of military commanders speaking of further action aimed at expelling U.S. troops from the region. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump stepped back from further military action, depressing oil prices and diverting attention to a surprise weekly build of 1.2 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles. The build , reported on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration, shocked the market after analysts forecast a drop of 3.6 million barrels. Graphic: U.S. petroleum inventories, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/editorcharts/US-PETROLEUM-INVENTORIES/0H001QXMB9NY/eikon.png JPMorgan analysts maintained their forecast for Brent to average $64.50 a barrel this year. Top oil producers led by Saudi Arabia have agreed to reduce output by as much as 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) through the first quarter of 2020. "As geopolitical tensions appear to enter a new equilibrium ... the overall supply conditions in the market tend to favour oil reverting lower," Harry Tchilinguirian, oil strategist at BNP Paribas in London, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum. "U.S. crude oil production remains at a record 12.9 million bpd ... it is not evident in our opinion that OPEC and its non-OPEC allies will fully implement the incremental supply cuts." Oil and gas ship owners are bracing for higher insurance bills due to U.S.-Iranian tensions. This could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to shipping costs that would ultimately be passed on to fuel buyers, mostly in Asia. (Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo and Shadia Nasralla in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. RTHK: UK lawmakers finally vote to seal Brexit deal Britain's parliament finally approved Brexit on Thursday, allowing it to leave the European Union by the end of this month, ending years of arguments that toppled two governments and divided a nation. The House of Commons erupted in cheers after MPs ratified Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with Brussels by 330 votes to 231, drawing a line under an extraordinary era of political drama and chaos. For much of the time since the 2016 Brexit referendum, lawmakers have been at each others' throats over how, when or even if Britain should leave its closest trading partners after nearly 50 years. Some viewed Brexit with horror, fearing that it stripped them of their European identities and turned Britain into an insular, less important nation. Others embraced it with fervour, viewing it as a chance to "take back control" from officials in Brussels and see Britain regain some of its past might. Businesses and governments in Europe, puzzled by Britain's struggles over what they viewed as a self-inflicted wound, hoped that Brexit could still somehow be undone. But Johnson's comprehensive victory in last month's general election brought an abrupt end to the turmoil, giving his Conservatives a parliamentary majority with which to push it through. MPs gave their initial blessing to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill before Christmas, and the government set aside just three days this week for detailed scrutiny of the complex text. But few MPs even bothered to turn up on Tuesday and Wednesday, with both sessions ending early, while the government easily saw off opposition attempts to amend the text. The momentous day on which Johnson effectively gets permission to abandon the European integration project was all but ignored in Thursday's media. Instead, it became a footnote to Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's decision to quit royal front-line duties christened "Megxit" and shaping up to be equally complicated and divisive. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. NPP's General Secretary, John Boadu represented his party. 09.01.2020 LISTEN The coalition of political parties in support of a new electoral roll has asked the Electoral Commission to engage those opposed to it in an atmosphere of openness and sincerity. The Coalition at a news conference Thursday, also wants the Commission to demonstrate that it is capable of putting together a new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) and also to compile a new voters register ahead of the 2020 general elections. Making the list of political parties rooting for the new voters register, are the governing New Patriotic Party, National Democratic Party as well as eight others including the Peoples National Convention (PNC), whose Chairman, Bernard Mornah, was among key speakers at a forum by those who oppose the ECs move to compile the new document. Watch Bernard Mornah speaking at the forum by Coalition of CSOs for Good Governance who are kicking against the new register, Thursday. The Coalition of CSOs for Good Governance which includes the opposition National Democratic Congress earlier held a forum to further push its argument that the EC does not need a new register to successfully organise this years presidential and parliamentary polls. The forum which took place at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra, brought together experts from Civil Society, Political Parties, I.T Experts, Election Observers among others. Speakers including a veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr; Dr. Jerry Monfant as well as Dr. Thomas Yeboah, implored development partners and the Diplomatic Corps to look critically into the Electoral Commissions decision to procure a new Biometric System for the compilation of a new voters register. However, the group supporting the proposed new register has pledged to continue to keenly police the process and not hesitate to make our concerns public should we have any, in order to have same addressed by the election management body for the advancement of our multiparty constitutional democracy and for the love of country. Below is the full statement: January 9, 2020 PRESS STATEMENT BY THE COALITION OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN SUPPORT OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS MOVE TO ACQUIRE A NEW BIOMETRIC VOTER MANAGEMENT SOLUTION AHEAD OF THE 2020 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE ELECTIONS Ladies and gentlemen of the press We have invited you this afternoon to state our position as political parties on the ongoing national conversation regarding the ECs proposal acquire a new Biometric Voter Management Solution to enable the commission compile a new voters register ahead of the 2020 General Elections. We shall also use this platform to respond to some deliberate distortions and lies largely being spearheaded by the NDC and one or two minority parties that are against the compilation of a new voters register. First of all, as political parties, we acknowledge the fact that the Electoral Commission is the constitutional body that is ceased with the appropriate jurisdiction to administer all public elections in the country, and one of its key functions in this regard has to do with the compilation of the voters register. Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 2 of the Electoral Commissions Act (Act 451) state in part that the electoral commission shall compile the register of voters and revise it at such periods as may be determined by law. The constitution, in Article 51 also mandates the EC to make regulations for the effective performance of its functions particularly for the registration of voters and for the conduct of pubic elections. We also recognize that by reason of Article 46, the Electoral Commission is an independent body that is not subject to the direction or control of any person or authority in the performance of its functions except as provided in the constitution. In view of these explicit provisions, when elections do not go well in this country, it is the EC that will be faulted because it is the only constitutional body responsible for the conduct of elections. It is therefore a legal obligation on all stakeholders including political parties and civil society organizations to support and cooperate with the Electoral Commission to discharge its constitutional mandate and NOT seek to direct the EC on how to perform its functions. Political parties are however free to make suggestions and recommendations to the Commission for its consideration and possible adoption. This is because political parties are undoubtedly the number one stakeholders in the conduct of elections, and that is why the nation has a special purpose vehicle known as the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) which serves as an opportune platform for political parties and the EC to meet and deliberate on matters of concern in relation to the core functions of the EC. Even though IPAC has only a consultative and advisory role, it has been of great importance in building trust among political parties and in generating proposals for electoral reforms to enhance the nations electoral system. And indeed, almost all the major electoral reforms that we have witnessed in this country from 1996 till date have been spearheaded by political parties through IPAC. It is therefore important for the Electoral Commission (EC) to maintain a close relationship with IPAC and strengthen its engagement with the political parties on issues relating to electoral processes. THE ECs DECISION TO COMPILE A NEW VOTERS REGISTER AHEAD OF ELECTION 2020 Ladies and gentlemen of the press, it will be recalled that the EC has, time without number and in line with its constitutional mandate, served notice that it intends to procure a new Biometric Voter Management Solution ahead of the 2020 General Elections which will therefore lead to the compilation of a new voters register, and has proceeded to justify the need to do so. In arriving at this decision, the Commission consulted all the relevant stakeholders particularly the political parties through IPAC, where extensive deliberations have been held between the EC and political parties on the subject. The EC, in justifying the need to compile a new register, informed the parties and indeed the general public that its decision is based on the advice of its IT team and external Consultants to the effect that, it would be prudent to acquire a new system rather than refurbish the current system which had become obsolete and thus unfit for purpose. We have been made to understand through expert opinion that the amount of money spent on refurbishing parts and renewing warranties could be used to acquire a brand new system that is robust, modern and durable user friendly with full functionality and warranties the EC stated in a press conference it held recently. Also, according to a letter from the immediate past vendors of the current biometric system, which was contracted by the Charlotte Osei-led EC, the Commission would assume so much needles risks if steps were not taken to change the equipment. Accordingly, in a letter they wrote to the EC, they stated that: We would be like to announce that the items in the present BVRs are End- of-Life including laptops. This means that no components are available to repair the items. For purposes of availability, maintainability and compatibility in the future we recommend to purchase new BVRs. If you have any questions please contact us. So, ladies and gentlemen, we wish to ask that if you inherit a biometric system and you are advised by the entity handing over the system to you that the system had reached its end-of-life and that, it will be imprudent and unwise to want to continue spending on refurbishing the system as compared to acquiring an entirely new system, what will you do? Which reasonable man will ignore such advice and continue to spend on a system that had clearly become obsolete and out of date when he could use a much lesser amount to acquire a brand new system that is robust, modern and durable user friendly with full functionality and warranties? Why are we being disingenuous to ourselves and not allow sincerity and candour govern our conduct in this conversation? We should not also forget that it has always been the practice over the years for the EC to replace the voters register after every 8 years: that is after two General Elections and two District Level Elections due to population dynamics and technological innovations. The reason for the periodic replacement of the voters register is mainly as a result of reforms to improve the credibility and integrity of the register. Also worthy of note is the fact that the current Biometric Verification Device (BVD) is unable to verify a number of voters electronically resulting in a high number of manual verification on voting day, which is largely unreliable and a potential source of dispute as it tends to compromise the integrity of the elections. Whilst the current Biometric Voter Ddevice (BVDs) and the Biometric Voters Register Kits(BVRs) that the Commission uses are often challenged due to their inability to do fingerprint verification, a significant number of these devices can also not be repaired. The EC tells us that for the recently ended District Level Elections (DLE), the Commission had to refurbish and repair them to get them ready for the DLE. This was a labour intensive and expensive process that spanned through several months from May, 2019 to December, 2019 with the Commission having to hire additional hands to get the devices ready for the DLE. The Commission spent close to Two Million Ghana Cedis just for refurbishment of the BVDs and BVRs ahead of the DLE. To make matters worse, the current biometric architecture does not have a facial recognition technology nor does it allow for a facial recognition add-on to be added. The new Biometric Voter Management Solution that the EC intends to acquire ahead of the 2020 elections will have a facial recognition as an additional feature for those whose fingers cannot be verified and thus reduce the high incidence of manual verification which often proves to be problematic and tends to compromise the integrity and credibility of our elections. Not only that, the new biometric system will also significantly reduce if not completely eliminate the increasingly high identification failure rate by using new scanners and software with improved fingerprint capturing algorithm and the use of certified fingerprint image quality assessment software to ensure image quality. Registration officials will now, have real-time image quality feedback to improve capture. Last but not least, the EC tells us that its staff were not trained on the current solution per the contractual terms to enable the Commission takeover after the expiration of the contract. The EC staff therefore are not able to, by themselves, update or enhance the software solutions at the time of the handing over. The EC is currently building and enhancing in house capacity and recruiting skilled IT Professionals. However, the source code for the software solution is not available. It is in the possession of the vendor. It will be highly unwise on our part to continue to run a solution we do not to have control over. This will be a huge risk to the Country and is akin to mortgaging our sovereignty to a vendor. A case in point is the last elections in Kenya where the vendor of the solution travelled outside the country after the elections and locked up the data. This led to a re-run and violence. Is this what we want as a country? Certainly not.. THE OPPOSITION TO THE COMPILATION OF A NEW REGISTER Regrettably, despite demonstrating enough utility and justification for the adoption of a new Biometric Voter Management Solution to deal with the many challenges with the current system by the electoral commission, some political parties led by the NDC, are hell bent on registering strong opposition to this innocuous intention by the commission to improve our electoral system. You would expect that as key stakeholders, all political parties will rather throw their unflinching support for the election management body to enhance the nations electoral administration and not be seen to be thwarting the efforts of the commission. We are saddened by the continuous bashing of the EC by the NDC in particular for no justifiable reasons, and we wish to call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to call the so called main opposition party to order. The NDC proves to be a big danger to the confidence endeared in IPAC and indeed an agelong stumbling block to the enterprise of electoral reforms for purposes of enhancing our electoral system. You will notice that, consistently, anytime we all sit at IPAC and take decision, the NDC will come out to contradict what we had all agreed on. Here, mention can be made of their betrayal of trust on the U-turn they made regarding the botched referendum on local government elections recently among several examples. With all due respect, the NDC makes IPAC look almost useless. In furtherance of their diabolic agenda against the EC, we have taken notice that the NDC is currently leading a Coalition comprising some 6 political parties under the umbrella name Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voters' Register to constantly torment the EC in its attempt to improve our electoral system by procuring a new biometric system ahead of election 2020. It is interesting that out of the over 21 registered political parties operating in the country, the NDC was able to convince only 6 of the parties to join them in this destruction mission. The Coalition, you will recall, held a press conference on Monday to make its case against the compilation of a new register ahead of the 2020 elections. Unfortunately however, their statement was replete with deliberate distortions and blatant falsehoods intended to mislead and incite the Ghanaian public against the ECs move to compile a new register. We wish to at this juncture, respond to some of the claims they made and accordingly set the records straight: a) Why should the EC compile a register in an election year? Response: Records have it that anytime the Electoral Commission of Ghana compiled a new voters register, it had almost always done that in an election year. Indeed, the current biometric voters register, which was compiled by the EC was done in an election year, which was in 2012. Also, in 2004, the EC complied a new voters register prior to the general elections held that year. Hence, the Commissions capability to compile a new voters register in an election year can certainly not be doubted by any stretch of imagination. So, what we are seeing today is not new but a continuation of the ECs own established convention. b) It is too expensive to compile a new voters register Response: This is a blatant falsehood because on the contrary, the report from the independent consultants as well as the ECs own IT team have established that it is rather more expensive refurbishing the current system which had become obsolete and unfit for purpose than to acquire an entirely new system. In other words, the amount of money spent on refurbishing parts and renewing warranties on the current system could be used to acquire a brand new system that is robust, modern and durable user friendly with full functionality and warranties. Secondly, the amount of money spent by the Charlotte Osei-led EC for just limited voter registration in 2016 is much more than the amount of money proposed to be spent by the Jean Mensah-led EC, not for limited registration but for an entirely new biometric system with more functionalities. Charlotte Osei spent GHc487.9 million on limited registration whereas Jean Mensah is spending GHc 390 million to procure a new Biometric Voters Solution and to compile a fresh voter registration. The EC gave a breakdown of the figures in a press conference it held recently as follows: The cost of updating the obsolete Data Centre as proposed by the previous vendor was to have cost the Commission Fifteen Million United States Dollars ($15 million) exclusive of taxes. Today, the Commission is acquiring a new Data Centre at Six Million United States Dollars exclusive of taxes. Further, the cost of refurbishing the obsolete BVR kits as proposed by the previous vendor was 3,500 Dollars per kit. This is how much we are buying a new kit for. The cost of procuring a new BVR Kit as proposed by the previous vendors was $5,145 exclusive of taxes. We intend to procure a new BVR kit for 3,500 inclusive of taxes. Furthermore, the cost of upgrading the obsolete BVDs as proposed by the previous vendor was $244 and the cost of a new BVD as proposed by previous vendors is $917 exclusive of taxes. The Commission intends to acquire new modern, user friendly BVDs for 400 USD inclusive of taxes. At the end of the procurement process we will inform Ghanaians about the actual costs involved. c) Spending GHc 390 million on a new voters register is a misplaced priority Response: Election is very key to the sustenance of our multiparty democracy, and the cost of a disputed election cannot be quantified. It is certainly not too much to spend GHc 390 million to secure the peace of this country before, during and after a general elections. We also disagree with their claim that this money should rather be invested in building more schools, hospital, roads and in resolving other social problems. In any case, government has not stopped building schools, hospitals and the construction of roads among others. And spending GHc 390 million on a new voters register that will enhance the credibility of our elections will not stop government from continuing to deliver social infrastructure to the Ghanaian people. Government and for that matter the state has not told us that it cannot finance the cost of compilation of the register. Also, Parliament has given the EC the green light to go ahead and spend that amount of money on the acquisition of a new biometric voters solution and the subsequent compilation of a new voters register. In any case, is the NDC telling us that in 2012 when they were in government and the EC decided to compile a new biometric voters register, all the problems in Ghana had then been resolved? Were all the roads constructed? Were all the school and hospitals needed in the country built? Can there ever be a time where the nation will not clamour for roads, hospitals and schools? Why are we being this hypocritical and disingenuous? d) Compiling a new voters register is a recipe for chaos in the country Response: We cannot fathom how the compilation of a new voters register to improve and enhance the credibility of our election can be construed by any reason man as a recipe for chaos. On the contrary, we think that it is rather the NDCs reckless comments and ugly noises against the compilation of a more credible register as well as their diabolic agenda against the Election Commission including their desperate move to incite the Ghanaian public against the Commission that is jeopardizing the peace and security of this country. You will recall the Ofoso Ampofos [NDC National Chairman] leaked tape and recently Elvis Afriye Ankrah [The NDC Director of Elections] leaked tape on the subject. In effect, the NDC has unleashed its babies with sharp and its leadership to go launching attacks at the EC and inciting the public to stage a sustained protest in a manner that will bring the entire country to a standstill as indicated by the NDCs director of elections, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah. Also, one of their lead-communicators, Prince Derrick Adjei, in a recent facebook post indicated NEW VOTERS REGISTER must only be after 2020 election if we are to avoid bloodshed #Akufo-Addo ABORT. Certainly, it is this kind of posturing by the NDC that is a recipe for chaos and not the ECs move to enhance the credibility of the voters register by the acquisition of an enhanced biometric system. e) We successfully used the current register in the just ended District Assembly and Unit Committee Elections Response: This is akin to comparing apples with oranges because we all know that turn out in district assembly and unit committee elections is nowhere comparable with turn out in general elections. Hence the pressure that is brought to bear on the biometric system during district assembly elections is nowhere comparable with what we often see during general elections. In any case, the EC tells us that even with the less pressure and turnout associated with the district assembly elections, they had to refurbish and repair the BVDs at huge cost to get them ready. This, they said, was labour intensive and an expensive process that spanned through several months from May, 2019 to December, 2019 with the Commission having to hire additional hands to get the devices ready for the district assembly elections. The Commission spent close to Two Million Ghana Cedis just for refurbishment of the BVDs and BVRs ahead of the district assembly elections. Notwithstanding these extra efforts the EC took, the data shows that out of a total number of Five Million, Four Hundred and Thirty One Thousand, Nine Hundred and two (5,431902) verified, Thirty-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Three (34,843) were manually verified. This is a significant number which can determine the winner of an election, as we saw in the 2008 general elections. However, we all know that the inclusion of facial recognition which comes with the new system, will completely eliminate manual verification and will ensure that the will of the people stands and that every vote cast matters. Conclusion To conclude, we are convinced ladies and gentlemen by the Electoral Commissions justification for acquiring a new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) and also compiling a new voters register ahead of the 2020 general elections. As key stakeholders, we associate ourselves wholly with any electoral reforms or process that seeks to enhance the nations electoral system and engender the needed confidence and credibility in our elections. We however implore the EC to continue to engage all stakeholders including those opposed to this undertaking in an atmosphere of openness and sincerity. The commission must continue to demonstrate that it has the wherewithal within the constraint of time to administer the new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) and also to compile a new voters register ahead of the 2020 general elections. As political parties and key stakeholders, we assure the Ghanaian people that we shall continue to keenly police the process and not hesitate to make our concerns public should we have any, in order to have same addressed by the election management body for the advancement of our multiparty constitutional democracy and for the love of country. Thank you. ...Signed... NDP LPG NPP DPP GLP NVP UPP GCPP PNC RDP and many others ---Myjoyonline.com In the past three to four months, when nobody else in the Indian subcontinent was buying much, Bangladesh bought. But now, after this purchasing, everyone has high stocks on hand, one mill source in the country said.December had the highest number of bulk vessels carrying scrap arriving in Bangladesh ever, one South Asian trader source told Fastmarkets. So mills are covered for material now, but will have to come back soon - they are waiting for the right time.Current bulk scrap prices are also a key deterrent for consumers, with offers from the United States West Coast heard at $330-335 per tonne cfr Chittagong for HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Friday, while bids for such material were heard no higher than $320 per tonne cfr.While the US steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob Los Angeles , rose by $41 per tonne between early October 2019 and early January 2020, Bangladesh local rebar prices have stayed flat over the same period, thus squeezing steelmaking margins, the mill source said.With bulk export prices from Japan also uncompetitive following price rises in the Kanto Tetsungen tender , Bangladeshs mills are concentrating on buying smaller-quantity loads in containers from origins such as South Africa and Australia, a second South Asian trader said.Offer prices for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in containers from these origins were heard at around $305 per tonne cfr on Friday.Buying containers also suits consumers at this time due to high stock levels, the mill source said.Japanese material has been increasingly appealing to Bangladeshi mills in recent months, with export prices from Japan regularly undercutting competitor offers from the EU and the US, the mill source said.Bangladesh imported 259,353 tonnes of Japan-origin material in January-November 2019, according to statistics from Japans Finance Ministry, up by more than 200% compared with the full year of 2018.This price advantage has added to the inherent logistical appeals to Bangladesh mills of purchasing Japanese material.Japans closer proximity to Bangladesh than major bulk exporting rivals, and the countrys use of smaller-size vessels of around 10,000-15,000 tonnes capacity, means cargoes both arrive quicker and are easier to load and dock at Bangladeshs Chittagong port, the first South Asian trader said.With Japanese domestic scrap demand under pressure from sluggish steel sales, some market participants believe Japan will realize even higher export volumes to Bangladesh in 2020.Fastmarkets is proposing to launch four fob Japan ferrous scrap prices for H2, shredded, Shindachi and plate & structural (P&S) scrap, as well as a cfr Vietnam price for Japan-origin H2 scrap in February 2020. Find out how to participate in the consultation by reading the pricing notice here Baghdad: Iraq's caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi has asked the United States to send a delegation to Baghdad to begin preparing for a troop pullout, his office said on Friday. In a phone call late Thursday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abdel Mahdi "requested that delegates be sent to Iraq to set the mechanisms to implement parliament's decision for the secure withdrawal of (foreign) forces from Iraq." Some 5,200 US soldiers are stationed at bases across Iraq to support local troops preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State group. They make up the bulk of a broader US-led coalition, invited by the Iraqi government in 2014 to help combat the jihadists. Their deployment was based on an executive-to-executive agreement never ratified by Iraq's parliament. But on Sunday, Iraq's parliament voted in favour of rescinding that invitation and ousting all foreign troops. The following day, US commanders sent a letter to their counterparts in Baghdad saying they were preparing for "movement out of Iraq". The letter said the coalition would "be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement". The Pentagon said the letter was a draft sent by mistake but Abdel Mahdi disputed that account, saying his office had received signed and translated copies. He has demanded clarification from Washington of its intentions, while the US-led coalition said Thursday that it too was seeking clarity on the legal ramifications of parliament's vote. Many Iraqi lawmakers had been infuriated by a US drone strike on Baghdad a week ago that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani and top Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, among others. Days later, Iran fired a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases used by US and other coalition troops, causing damage but no casualties, according to officials. US refuses request for withdrawal of troops The United States said Friday it would not discuss pulling troops from Iraq after its caretaker prime minister asked Washington to send a delegation to begin withdrawal arrangements. "At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership -- not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. F rom the editorial pages of The New York Times to cable TV discussions and Twitter, Megxit has blazed across the US media . The reaction has been mostly very supportive of the couple, if baffled. Will it mean seeing more of the couple in the US? And if so where? Will they continue to be guided by Oprah Winfrey , who is reported to have advised them on their announcement, or fall under the sway of Meghans Canadian friends? Will they follow the Obamas post-White House model and seek to make millions from books and a deal with Netflix? And can they pull off the difficult trick of making money without seeming to be selling out? As much as Americans enjoy the spectacle of the royal family, they also dont mind seeing it ruffled, particularly by one of their own. The Duchess of Sussex has joined a noble lineage of American royal botherers going back some 250 years. From George IIIs loss of the colonies to Wallis Simpsons relationship with Edward VIII; from New Yorks embrace of Princess Diana after her separation from Prince Charles to Princess Andrews visits to Jeffrey Epstein, America has often meant trouble. A lot of the American commentary focused on the Duchesss race and how she never stood a chance amid Britains stuffy ruling class. For those who see the British establishment as closed and dated, this is an empowering statement. And the royal family has been wounded by it Meghan made the Firm look more modern, and her stepping back is a blow to its reputation. Carla Hall, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, which might become the couples hometown newspaper, argued that racism was not the root cause of the hostility to the Duchess in Britain: I think its about sexism and a resentment of her being American. Queen demands workable solution for Harry and Meghan future Arianna Davis, the digital director of Winfreys oprahmag.com, wrote a long defence of the couple which sounded as though she were speaking as Winfreys proxy. She argued that Harry was simply protecting his family from his mothers fate at the hands of the press. She said: From avid viewers of The Crown to those with only passing knowledge of the monarchy, its no secret that the royals history is a long, complicated story. But now, Prince Harry and Meghan are writing a new chapter for themselves. And if Meghan was the catalyst to help Harry be courageous enough to put his new family first, she should be celebrated, not blamed. Davis was one of many who linked the Sussexes announcement to The Crown TV series, which has been hugely popular in the US. This week will become a future episode, if not the climax of an entire series. A Kerrville teacher was arrested in connection with taking improper photographs of a student during class, according to the Kerrville Police Department. Jimmy Lee McElhaney, 36, was placed under arrest on Dec. 27 by police in Palmer, a town south of Dallas. L ondons Crossrail project is expected to launch in "summer 2021", the company revealed today. The high-speed train and Tube link will connect the outer western edges of the capital to the outer east. First to open will be the central section, between Paddington and Abbey Wood; with the other sections, from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield in the east, coming into service by mid-2022. The beleaguered west-east rail link, which was originally due to open in December 2018, will be known as the Elizabeth line when trains start along the route. Today's announcement is marginally more optimistic than comments made by Transport for London Commissioner Mike Brown at a London Assembly budget and performance committee meeting earlier this week. Brown suggested the business was planning for part of the line to open in autumn 2021, pushing full completion of the project to three years behind schedule. However, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild said today: "Elizabeth line services through central London will commence in summer 2021 but we are aiming to open the railway as soon as we can." What is the Elizabeth line? It has been billed as the capital's biggest and most important transport upgrade since the expansion of the Tube network over 100 years ago and promises to change the lives of millions of Londoners and commuters. The route will pass through 37 stations, running a total of 73 miles, from Reading and Heathrow airport in the west through central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. More than 1.4 billion Tube journeys were made in 2018/2019, according to TfL's annual report. It is hoped that the new service will ease the burden on the network while also catering for a London population thats growing by 100,000 a year. It's thought more than 200 million passengers will use the Elizabeth line each year. Nine new stations are being built as part of the project, at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich. An existing station at Abbey Wood has been redeveloped for Crossrail. Elizabeth line delays and costs Just three months before the anticipated opening ceremony the first of the delays was announced, with the most recent of these declaring that the line would open sometime next year. Now, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild says the central section will open in "summer 2021", with full service beginning mid-2022. Earlier this week, at a London Assembly budget and performance committee meeting, member Caroline Pidgeon tweeted that TfL is working on the assumption that Crossrail Ltd could deliver the central section of the line in autumn 2021. TfL confirm in answer to my questions they are assuming in their budget/business plan that the Crossrail central section opens autumn 2021. Then Eastern branch connects May 2022 and the Western branch December 2022. Some delay! Caroline Pidgeon (@CarolinePidgeon) January 6, 2020 Costs are now expected to go to 650 million over budget, taking the total to 18.25 billion which is more than 2 billion over the original budget allocated to the Crossrail project. "The Elizabeth line will be the single most significant new public transport infrastructure in London for decades," said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in his annual report, published in July 2019, "I was frustrated and angry at the delay announced by Crossrail Ltd in August 2018." "Millions of Londoners had been looking forward to the opening of the Elizabeth line through central London at the end of 2018, and the new income from the line was core in TfLs business planning." Opening dates and key journey times At least part of the Elizabeth line will open in 2021, according to Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild. Central Section: expected to launch in summer 2021 Trains will start from a new Elizabeth line station at Paddington and go through to Abbey Wood, a route that passes through main employment hubs such as Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf. Example journey times: Paddington to Canary Wharf will take 17 minutes Bond Street to Liverpool Street will take seven minutes Woolwich to Farringdon will take 14 minutes The east and west sections will open in later stages, thought to be six months apart. East section: expected to launch in spring 2022 This section will run from Liverpool Street mainline station to Shenfield in Essex, passing through eastern areas such as Stratford and Romford. Example journey times: Romford to Liverpool Street will take 27 minutes Stratford to Bond Street will take 15 minutes West section: expected to launch in spring 2022 This route will begin at Paddington mainline station, splitting just after Hayes & Harlington, with one branch going to Maidenhead and Reading and the other to Heathrow airport terminals. Example journey times: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Friday moved the Madras High Court to declare as illegal and ultra vires, the action of the administrator of the union territory in differing with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers with regard to the free rice scheme. Justice C V Karthikeyan, before whom the petition filed by Narayanasamy came up for hearing, directed the Registry to number the petition and post it for maintainability. In his petition, Narayanasamy sought a direction for continuation of the policy of the Puducherry government as per its free supply of rice, edible oil and other essential foodgrains every month to all ration cardholder rules in kind. He said immediately after coming to power, the cabinet at its first meeting on June 6, 2016, decided not only to continue the supply of rice in kind, but also to enhance it from 10 kg to 20 kg. From August 2016, the distribution of free rice to all ration cardholders was enhanced to 20 kg. The petitioner further said funds for the implementation of the scheme came from the government of the union territory of Puducherry and not from the union government. While so, in January 2018, under the guise of financial approval, the administrator (Lt Governor Kiran Bedi) arbitrarily interfered in the supply and food security, which was the executive function of the elected government of the day and without any jurisdiction or manner of power, ordered reduction of distribution of free rice from 20 kg to 10 kg for the APL cardholders. Similarly on her own, she gave a directive that in respect of APL cardholders, only Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) as cash should be done, the petitioner said. In view of the 'authoritative' acts of the administrator, his government took up the issue of continuation of their policy and the matter was placed before the Cabinet for deliberations at the June 7, 2019 meeting, he said. After deliberations and various complaints from women, the cabinet in its June 7 resolution decided to continue the distribution of free rice in kind only under the free rice scheme rather than equal amount of cash in the bank account of the beneficiary concerned, he said. However, by September 5, 2019, the administrator differed with the views of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers and referred the matter to the Union government. She also passed an interim order that the rice would not be supplied in kind but the benefit would only be DBT (cash) mode pending the decision of the government of India. Now, the Union government has passed an order answering the reference by issuing an advisory to the Union Territory of Puducherry to continue with the DBT (cash) scheme in lieu of distribution of free rice, he added. Earlier, Narayanasamy had accused Bedi of functioning in an "atrocious" manner by 'blocking' the free rice scheme and interfering in appointment ofthe state election commissioner. The Chief Minister, who has been at logger heads with Bedi on various issues, also said he has moved the Madras High Court over the issue. While the government has been insisting on distribution of rice to ration card holders, Bedi has pushed for remittance of cash equivalent to the quantum of rice into bank accounts of beneficiaries,saying the Centre has given such direction. Narayanasamy claimed approval has been obtained from Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan for distributing rice to the cardholders through the PDS instead of cash. But, Bedi had, meanwhile, wrote to the Home Ministry insisting on Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which was accepted by the latter, he said. Narayanasamy said PWD and Local Administration Minister would also soon challenge in the Madras High court, Bedi's current move to appoint State Election Commissioner through a newspaper advertisement. Her earlier 'attempt' to recruit the SEC through an advertisement was thwarted by the territorial assembly and a resolution was adopted appointing retired IAS officer T M Balakrishnan as the SEC to conduct the civic polls, he said. While Balakrishnan, subsequent to his appointment, has started carrying outduties to conduct the civic polls, Bedi got the Home Ministry nodfor recruiting the SEC through a selection committee headed by the Chief Secretary, the Chief Minister said. Reacting to the Chief Minister's remarks, Bedi in a whatsapp message, said he was repeatedly making 'unfounded' statements. She said, "Regrettably, the honourable Chief Minister is repeatedly making very unfounded statements. I leave it to the people to understand. Unfortunately, telling lies is not an offence. It is all about misinforming the people all the time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jaguar Land Rover reported retail sales of 52,814 vehicles for December 2019, 1.3% up on the previous year. For the month of December, Jaguar Land Rover retail sales were boosted by China (up 26.3% year-on-year), a sixth successive month of double-digit growth. This offset lower sales in North America (-1.1 %), UK (-2.9%), Europe (-5.3%) and in Overseas markets (-7.6%). The new Range Rover Evoque continues to perform very well (up 33.2%) and the refreshed Land Rover Discovery Sport is gaining traction (up 19.6%). Sales of the Land Rover Discovery were also up, while other models were lower. For the quarter to December 2019, Jaguar Land Rover retail sales were 141 ,222, down 2.3% year-on-year, reflecting similar market and model trends. Sales were up in China (24.3%) and North America (1.1%), but were offset by lower sales in the UK (-11.9%), Europe (-10.1%) and overseas markets (-11.5%). Sales were up for the new Evoque (30.0%) and the refreshed Land Rover Discovery Sport (9.2%) as well as the Land Rover Discovery (4.3%) and the Range Rover Sport (2.5%), while sales of other models were down. For the calendar year 2019, Jaguar Land Rover retail sales were 557,706, down 5.9% compared to 2018. This reflects the currently more challenging industry conditions across markets with sales down in China (-13.5%), Overseas Regions (-14.2%), Europe (-4.9%) and the UK (-1.7%). However, the double-digit sales growth in China over the last six months has been encouraging, as has been the record sales achieved in North America (up 1.8%). Sales of the newer Range Rover Evoque, Jaguar E-PACE and multiple award-winning I-PACE as well as the established Range Rover Sport were up for the year, while sales of other vehicles were impacted by the generally weak market conditions and model changeover in the case of the new refreshed Discovery Sport. 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 Trump administration has hit Iran with more sanctions in the first concrete response to the attacks on US forces in Iraq this week, which were in retaliation for the US airstrike that killed the top Iranian military commander. The sanctions were widely anticipated, as President Donald Trump had publicly vowed to impose them in response to Iran's missile attacks on two bases in Iraq that house US military personnel. No Americans or Iraqis were killed, and Trump said in a statement on Wednesday that Iran "appears to be standing down." The US has imposed sanctions on Iran after the attack on US forces in Iraq this week. Credit:AP Iran's economy is already burdened by sanctions on more than 1,000 Iranian individuals, companies and organisations that have been imposed since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign to get Tehran to change its policies. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, announcing the sanctions at the White House on Friday, said the action would target senior government officials and key sectors and will cut off billions of dollars of funds to the government. BRANDON An entire class of second-year nursing students at Brandon University is facing disciplinary action over a final exam the school has deemed compromised. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. BRANDON An entire class of second-year nursing students at Brandon University is facing disciplinary action over a final exam the school has deemed "compromised." "There is strong evidence to corroborate the fact that the 71:250 Nursing Foundations II course (fall term, test II, final exam) was compromised by a large number of students," reads a letter from the dean of the BU faculty of health studies that was sent to students in the affected class. "Please be aware that any further acts of academic dishonesty and/or misconduct will result in more severe penalties being imposed." The letter was provided to the Brandon Sun by a source who wished to remain anonymous. According to the university, there were up to 48 students enrolled in the course taught by Dr. Ali Salman. Students have the option of retaking the exam, with a penalty applied to make the maximum possible attainable mark 70 per cent. If, after the retaken exam, a student believes the penalty was too harsh, they can file an appeal. They are also able to individually appeal the discipline altogether, but risk receiving an exam grade of zero in the event the appeal is denied. Penalties for cheating include receiving a mark of zero, receiving a failing grade for the course, being expelled or suspended from the school, class or school team and receiving a permanent mark of academic dishonesty on a transcript, according to the school. "Brandon University is committed to maintaining academic integrity," it wrote in a statement provided to the Sun. "The value of every BU degree is built on meeting a common standard of knowledge and behaviour. Integrity is especially critical in a field like health care, where trust relationships are central. "Recently, Brandon University learned that a final exam in a nursing class was compromised by a large number of students. Academic dishonesty is always subject to penalties on a scale appropriate to the level of the infraction, possibly including a grade of F and a permanent mark of Academic Dishonesty on a students transcript," the statement said. "Given the circumstances of this particular case, BU has worked with the faculty member, the students union and the students in the class to fairly and appropriately deal with this serious infraction." According to university policy posted on its website, there are several steps an instructor accusing a student of academic dishonesty has to go through. The instructor must inform a student they are being accused in writing, and set up a meeting to discuss the matter. The department chair or dean may be present for this meeting. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. If the student admits to dishonesty, they will discuss an appropriate punishment for the action. If the punishment is agreed upon by both parties, it will be forwarded to the appropriate dean for review. When an instructor and student agree on guilt but do not agree on a punishment, the matter is sent to the department chair for them to mediate an appropriate punishment, which will then be reviewed by the dean. In the case of a student being accused of dishonesty by a professor and not admitting guilt, a subcommittee is formed to adjudicate the matter. Students who receive a penalty for dishonesty by a dean or the schools president can file an appeal to the university senate. Whitney Hodgins, vice-president internal at Brandon University Students Union, declined to comment. Brandon Sun Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. And in their study titled Who Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?' Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes. So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like China National Building Material (HKG:3323). Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing. View our latest analysis for China National Building Material China National Building Material's Improving Profits Over the last three years, China National Building Material has grown earnings per share (EPS) like young bamboo after rain; fast, and from a low base. So I don't think the percent growth rate is particularly meaningful. As a result, I'll zoom in on growth over the last year, instead. Like a wedge-tailed eagle on the wind, China National Building Material's EPS soared from CN0.86 to CN1.19, in just one year. That's a impressive gain of 38%. I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. China National Building Material maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 17% to CN236b. That's a real positive. The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart. SEHK:3323 Income Statement, January 10th 2020 The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. To that end, right now and today, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for future China National Building Material EPS 100% free. Story continues Are China National Building Material Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? As a general rule, I think it worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalizations between CN28b and CN83b, like China National Building Material, the median CEO pay is around CN3.9m. The China National Building Material CEO received total compensation of just CN1.8m in the year to December 2018. That's clearly well below average, so at a glance, that arrangement seems generous to shareholders, and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. Does China National Building Material Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist? For growth investors like me, China National Building Material's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. The fast growth bodes well while the very reasonable CEO pay assists builds some confidence in the board. So I'd argue this is the kind of stock worth watching, even if it isn't great value today. Of course, just because China National Building Material is growing does not mean it is undervalued. If you're wondering about the valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry. Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction 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. 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. Thank you for reading. Tokyo, Jan 10 : Japan police will step up efforts to defend against potential terrorist attacks from drones during the Tokyo Olympic Games by installing detection systems around each venue to locate and incapacitate suspicious drones quickly during the tournament scheduled to be held between July 24 and August 9. Xinhua news agency quoted newspaper Nikkei as reporting that that the equipment, which will be installed by the police, detects signals emitted by unmanned vehicles in flight to determine their position and altitude. Police will capture unauthorised devices by using advanced tactics, including nets fired from their own drones and jamming equipment that blocks communications between a vehicle and its pilot, the newspaper said in its online edition. "Similar equipment offered by private security companies can spot drones within a radius of several hundred meters," it said. Revisions last May to drone-related legislation added 24 Olympic venues, including the new National Stadium, to the list of locations where unmanned vehicles are generally banned. Police are authorised to seize any drone flying illegally around these areas. Prospect Farm will provide the new tenants with a rare business opportunity in a renowned dairy farming area. This ring-fenced farm offers extensive outbuildings, 239 cubicles, a Fullwood 12/12 milking parlour, loose housing and crop storage together with 3-bedroom detached bungalow. The land in the main is a mixture of temporary and permanent grassland, with the majority of land capable of being ploughed and is split into 24 separate fields. A further estimated 65 acres of land at Allerby is available on an annual grazing licence by separate negotiation. Prospect Farm is being let under a long-term 10-year, Farm Business Tenancy (FBT), which will commence on 1st April 2020 and expire on the 31st March 2030. On launching the details of this Dairy Farm FBT, Thomas Armstrong, Director and Chartered Surveyor of H&H Land & Estates said: This is a good-sized, high-quality dairy farm offering tremendous scope with high-quality grazing. Farms such as this coming onto the open market for a long term FTB are increasingly few and far between and as such we are expecting considerable interest. More specifically, the farm includes loose housing and cubicles, bulk tank room, milking parlour, two covered collecting yards, indoor feed areas, cubicle shed, extensive concrete yard, two 3-ring slurry towers, two external feed stores, lean-to general purpose shed, loose housing, crop store, dutch barn, loose housings, two metal cake towers, hardcore standing and silage pit. Included in the letting are 90.63 of Non-SDA Basic Payment Scheme Entitlements, which will be transferred to the successful Tenant at no extra cost for the period of the tenancy. Tender offers, together with all supporting documents, are to be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked Prospect Farm Tender to H&H Land & Estates Limited, Borderway, Rosehill, Carlisle, CA1 2RS, no later than 12.00 noon Wednesday 19th February 2020. All tenders should be submitted on the correct form available from H&H Land & Estates. In addition, prospective Tenants are advised to make their interest in the additional land at the tender submission stage. : A Congress legislator led a protest rally to his constituency of Bahoor and tried to besiege a primary health centre (PHC) there to protest alleged shortage of medicines and manpower. Blaming Chief Minister V Narayanasamy's 'poor governance' for the state of the PHC, the MLA N Dhanavelu on Thursday alleged that the healthcare centre lacked medicines, including life-saving drugs, thereby causing hardship to poor patients. The MLA, who is also chairman of the Puducherry government-owned Civil Supplies Corporation (PAPSCO), said the PHC did not have ambulances too. "This only showed the poor governance under the leadership of Narayanasamy in Puducherry," he said, claiming that other legislators of the Congress would also endorse his criticism. When his attention was drawn to the agitation and revolt by the ruling party member, the Chief Minister V Narayanasamy told newsmen on Friday that NITI Aayog and the personnel department of the Central government have appreciated the performance of Puducherry government in various key sectors, including health. "I do not want the certificate of Dhanavelu and his conduct would be represented to the Congress high command for appropriate follow-up action," he said. Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao, also present with Narayanasamy, said the PHC was equipped with sufficient stocks of medicines and denied Dhanavelu's allegations. There were two ambulances with six drivers to operate them, he said. He said Dhanavelu had recommended sometime back to appoint on a contract basis a person of his choice to operate the ambulance in the PHC. The Health Minister said he had rejected the legislator's request as it could not be statutorily permissible. A driver was brought from some other PHC to Bahoor recently to operate the ambulance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jury makes surprising statement after double murder verdict in Wyandotte County KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The acquittal of a man charged with the double murder of a Wyandotte County woman and her unborn baby is raising questions about how the district attorney's office handled the case. In a rare move, the jury made a statement, on the record, that they regretted having to find the defendant not guilty. Regrets and statements don't really do any good but this jury offers a notable quote for the record following their suspect ruling. Read more: Williamstown Seeks Data on Interest in Municipal Broadband WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The town is using an old-school method to determine whether residents want a 21st-century improvement to the town's infrastructure. Included in the annual street census this month, Williamstown residents received a brief survey to assess their interest in the town creating a municipally owned fiber optic network. Fiber optics are, the survey letter points out, "the fastest way to transmit data." Many homes in town already receive Internet service through a private carrier, but, anecdotally, town officials are aware of a desire among residents for faster upload and download service. "The results of an ongoing feasibility study of building a town fiber optic network indicate that a town-owned system might be financially feasible, but one of the key factors is the extent to which town residents would subscribe to the town network, generally referred to as the take rate.' " the survey reads. "If the take rates for subscription to the system are high, then the monthly cost to subscribers can be the same or lower for a much faster service and the system can be self-supporting. If the take rates are low, then the monthly cost to subscribers can be the same or higher and the system may operate at a loss. "One of the goals of this survey is to gauge community support for building and subscribing to a town-owned system." Residents are asked whether they hypothetically would be willing to switch to a town-owned network and at what price point. Choices included: not willing to switch, willing to switch if the price is the same as what homeowners pay now, willing to switch for up to a 10 percent price hike, willing to switch for up to a 25 percent price hike or willing to switch at any price (within reason). The survey also asked residents how much per month they currently spend for Internet access, allowing them to pick one of five price ranges from $40 or less to $70 or more. The broadband survey could be completed on the paper version sent with the town census or on the town's website at williamstownma.gov/broadband The Annual Street Listing census, which is to be completed on the paper form, is mandatory for all residents, Town Clerk Mary Kennedy noted in a news release this month. "The census is requirement of the Massachusetts General Law and it is important that all residents return them to the Town Clerks office promptly," the release reads. "Failure to respond to the census will result in removal from the active voting list and may result in removal from the voter registration rolls." The 31 page report used data about the jail population from June 2019, which revealed that at that time, 5,544 inmates were living in special mental health housing units or receiving psychotropic drugs, or both. To this end, LA County commissioned RAND Corporation a not-for-profit, global policy-oriented research organization to find out how many current county jail inmates would benefit from moving to community-based facilities to receive mental health treatment. For this reason, last year, the LA County Board of Supervisors decided to focus more on the possibility of offering mental health support in community-based centers to inmates who may qualify for it. As a result, if they do not receive appropriate support, these people have a high chance of recidivism, as well as a high likelihood of experiencing homelessness once more after their release from jail. The Los Angeles (LA) county jail system holds thousands of inmates at any one time, and past reports have suggested that these include many people who were previously homeless and who experience mental health issues. A new report has found that more than half of the people with mental health conditions currently confined in Los Angeles county jails would benefit from mental health treatment in specialized community centers instead of incarceration. The researchers who conducted this study had to develop a set of considerations to find out how many and which of these inmates would benefit from diversion to community-based mental healthcare. Eligible individuals, the researchers say, are those who experience a serious mental illness that requires targeted therapy. Knowing how many people are appropriate for diversion is a first step toward understanding the types of programs, staff, and funding that would be needed to treat those individuals in the community, says lead author Stephanie Brooks Holliday. The researchers estimated that 3,368 or 61% of these LA county jail inmates were definitely eligible for diversion to community-based clinical services, while an additional 414 (7%) were potentially eligible. The remaining 32% of the people in this prison subpopulation (1,762 individuals) were definitely not eligible for diversion, according to the new report. When applying the eligibility criteria to a representative sample of 500 participants living in county jails who also experienced mental health problems, the researchers found that 59% of the men and 74% of the women were eligible for diversion to a mental health program. Diversion is stopping the cycle between jail and homelessness, emphasizes county supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was not involved in the study on which the report was based. Just in the last 3 years, the Office of Diversion and Reentry has safely diverted over 4,400 people from the county jails to more appropriate settings where they can get treatment, instead of the costly alternative of serving additional time in jail and being released with no supports, too often ending up homeless. This is smart policy making. Mark Ridley-Thomas RANDs research underscores the need to double down on diversion to reach all those who could benefit, the LA county supervisor adds. The researchers involved in the RAND study also make some recommendations in their report. One of these is that the relevant authorities should increase the number and capacity of community-based programs for diversion. Another recommendation is that LA County officials should improve the quality of data collection processes to get more information about jail inmates eligible for diversion. [E]ven with increases in diversion, there will continue to be a large number of individuals with mental health needs who remain in the jails, Holliday cautions. That is why, she adds, [i]t is important that there are services in place to care for people who are incarcerated and provide continuing services once they are released back into the community. Heartland Canada Partners (HCP) a 50/50 partnership between Fluor Corporation FLR and Kiewit Construction Services ULC has received an EPC contract from the Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation (CKPC). Per the deal, HCP will provide engineering, procurement and construction-related services to CKPCs new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, located in Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada. Notably, Fluor expects to book its portion of the contract value in first-quarter 2020 backlog. Importantly, engineering-related work on the project has already begun and construction is expected to begin in late 2020. Meanwhile, mechanical completion of the new PDH unit is likely to end in second-half 2023. CKPC is a 50/50 joint venture between Pembina Pipeline Corporation PBA and Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. or PIC. The two industry-leading contractors HCP and CKPC have worked together throughout the process to de-risk the project. Post completion of the project, CKPCs integrated PDH plant and polypropylene upgrading facility will convert locally sourced, low-cost propane into 550,000 tons of polypropylene per year. Notably, Fluors Energy & Chemicals business has performed more than 25 million hours of work in Alberta. Moreover, the company is committed to build a safe and reliable facility that promotes a positive economic impact, and provides a long-term, sustainable solution for polypropylene production in Canada. New Awards to Revive Fluors Energy & Chemicals Unit The Energy & Chemicals Business segment which contributed nearly 41% to the companys total revenues reported a profit of $84.9 million in third-quarter 2019, up 69.1% from a year ago. Segmental margin was also up 270 basis points from the prior-year quarter. Quarter-end backlog amounted to $13.7 billion compared with $11.4 billion in the year-ago period. Fluor, being an industry leader in nuclear remediation at government facilities throughout the United States, is expected to benefit from rising demand for energy across the globe. Relative stability in commodity prices is expected to boost investments in downstream and petrochemicals. The company recently received project management contractor services or the PMC+ contract from PKN ORLEN. Per the contract, Fluor will support the expansion of PKN ORLENs olefins complex in Plock, Poland. However, the said business segment has been recording dismal results over the last few quarters due to reduced volume of project execution activities, and lower volume of broad-based new awards in 2018 and 2019. Resolution of certain close-out matters with a customer and lower volume of project execution activities further added to the woes. Going forward, the company believes that clients of the Energy & Chemicals segment will maintain a cautious approach while taking investment decisions, further adding to the woes. Shares of the company have declined 48% in the past year against the Zacks Engineering - R And D Services industrys 17.9% rally. Story continues Nevertheless, continuous contract wins, strong end-market prospects, solid backlog level and a good business portfolio mix are expected to drive growth. Encouragingly, at the end of third-quarter 2019, Fluors consolidated backlog rose to $30.3 billion from $30 billion in the year-ago period. Zacks Rank Fluor which share space with Quanta Services, Inc. PWR and AECOM ACM in the industry currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> 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 Quanta Services, Inc. (PWR) : Free Stock Analysis Report AECOM (ACM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Fluor Corporation (FLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pembina Pipeline Corp. (PBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The Rosamond Gifford Zoo loves New York, and last year the zoo proved it by adopting an I Love New York naming theme for its new arrivals. The theme led the zoo to name over a dozen animals for places in New York State including a male American bison named Madison, a male Sichuan takin named Windsor and a female Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake named Cicero. The theme was such a great success that the zoo plans to continue it through 2020, said Zoo Director Ted Fox. Our animal care staff came up with the I Love New York theme to honor our great state, and its gotten a lot of positive reaction, Fox said. We even got some media attention from places that we used as animal names. For example, the Albany Times-Union focused on a baby San Clemente Island goat named Troy and asked, What other Capital Region locale could be next? All 'kid'ding aside, the City of Troy is pleased to be recognized with our fellow Upstate communities and we thank the zookeepers and staff for the inclusion," Troy spokesman John Salka told the newspaper. The idea for an annual naming theme for zoo residents started in 2018, when animal care staff decided to name animals that arrived during the zoos Dinosaur Invasion! exhibit after characters in The Land Before Time movies. That resulted in snow leopard cubs named Ozzy and Strut and red pandas named Loofah and Doofah, among others. While the dinosaur theme pretty much exhausted all 13 Land Before Time movies, New York State offers hundreds of place names to choose from, Fox said. The zoo hopes to create even more engagement by asking people to suggest New York place names for new animals via social media. Heres the breakdown of all the I Love New York animals that arrived at the zoo in 2019. Windsor , a male Sichuan takin, was born at the zoo on March 9 the zoos first birth of this endangered species of hoofed mammal native to the mountains of China. Windsor is a town in Broome County. Hamilton , a male San Clemente Island goat, was among eight baby goats born at the zoo, all members of this endangered breed of livestock. Hamilton was the runt and had to be hand reared. His siblings and cousins Troy, Verona, Savannah, Ithaca, Elmira, Sidney and Aurora have since moved to a family farm. Hamilton, named for the town in Madison County, is a popular outreach animal at the zoo. Peru and Lima , two male Humboldt penguins that hatched at the zoo in early May, are the youngest members of the zoos 34-member colony of penguins. Their names reflect their native habitat on the coast of South America as well as the New York theme -- Peru is a town in Clinton County and Lima is a town in Livingston County. Madison , a male American bison calf, was born on exhibit May 9 as hundreds of zoo visitors witnessed his birth. He was the second American bison born at the zoo. Madison is a town in Madison County. Milo and Mina , male and female twin Amur leopard cubs, were born at the zoo on June 19. They represent the worlds most endangered big cats. After an online vote, they were named for the Yates County town of Milo and the Chautauqua County town of Mina. Alfred , a crested coua, is a colorful bird native to Madagascar who came to us from Disneys Animal Kingdom. Alfred is a town in Allegany County. Cicero , a female Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, represents a locally endangered species that has been found in the Cicero swamp here in Onondaga County. Holley , a South African Cape porcupine, arrived at the zoo in September at age 1. She is named after a town in Orleans County. Dexter and Derby , two Southern tamanduas, tree-dwelling anteaters native to South America, were welcomed to the zoo in November. Dexter is a village in Jefferson County and Derby is a hamlet in Erie County. Java and Tupper are male Netherland dwarf rabbits that recently joined our team of outreach animals. Java is a town in Wyoming County and Tupper Lake is a village in Franklin County. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is Syracuses accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), the gold standard for animal care, wildlife conservation and guest experience. Find information on zoo events at www.syracusezooevents.org. In a nutshell: Remember when smartwatches were starting to look like another tech fad? Despite predictions that they would die off, wearables have been improving over the years, so much so that around one in five (21 percent) of US adults say they now regularly wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker. The information comes from a Pew Research Center study, which shows that, as with most tech, wearables adoption is higher (31 percent) in households earning $75,000 or more per year. The figure falls to 12 percent in homes where income is below $30,000. Its a similar story when it comes to education, with the devices proving more popular among college graduates compared to those with a high school education or less. With factors such as gender, race, and ethnicity, however, there is little difference between adoption rates of wearables. The practice of fitness trackers sharing user data with medical researchers has long been controversial in many peoples eyes, but more participants in the study (41 percent) said it was acceptable as a way for researchers to better understand the link between exercise and heart disease. Thirty-five percent of people said it was unacceptable, while 22 percent were undecided. More people who use wearables53 percentapproved of sharing their health data. The study asked 4,272 people if they had a wearable and their opinion on private and government agencies using the data they collect on people. Back in November, Google edged out Facebook to acquire wearable maker Fitbit for $2.1 billion. Both the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission were concerned over the sensitive health data that Google would have access to as a result of the purchase, and privacy advocacy groups lobbied the government to block the deal. The DOJ is reportedly investigating the acquisition. The most important consideration for Democratic primary voters this year is not which candidate would make the best president, because the worst of their candidates would be a gargantuan improvement over Donald Trump. The most important consideration is which one gives them the best chance of beating Trump. Everything else is a distraction. Getty Images En espanol | Crooks are turning to email as a way to steal Social Security benefits, often including official-looking attachments to make them seem legit, a new warning from the government says. The emails are the newest variant of Social Security phone scams, where scam artists impersonate government officials and claim they are trying to resolve identity theft or other problems with a Social Security account. The fraudsters may threaten you with arrest or claim that they can increase your benefit in an effort to get you to send them money. Typically, they ask for payment via gift cards, cash, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers or even bitcoin. The Social Security Administration's watchdog, known as the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), says victims receive emails with attached letters that appear to be from Social Security or the OIG. The documents may use official-looking letterhead and government jargon to convince victims they are legitimate; they also may contain misspellings and grammar mistakes. The con artists, who typically reach out by phone, send the e-mails to give their scams a patina of legitimacy. Social Security will never send you an email asking you to provide your personal data, such as your Social Security number, date of birth or other private information. It also will never: Threaten you with arrest or other legal action if you don't immediately pay a fine. Increase your benefit in exchange for a payment. Require a specific means of debt repayment, like a prepaid debit card, gift card or cash, or demand an immediate payment. Ask for your credit or debit card numbers. Send official letters or reports with personally identifiable information in an email. Tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended. The Social Security Administration (SSA) says it received more than 450,000 impostor complaints or 1,230-plus a day during the year ending Sept. 30. The figure is a 2,856 percent increase over the prior year, when there were only 15,221 complaints. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission logged 138,548 Social Security impostor scams through the first nine months of 2019, up from 39,426 a year earlier. If you think you've been the victim of a Social Security scam, contact the OIG online. You can also contact the OIG's fraud hotline at 800-269-0271. A masked robber shot and killed three people, including a toddler, in a raid on a gold shop in central Thailand on Thursday night. Four other people were wounded. Surveillance camera video showed the man approach the shop, in a Robinson mall in Lopburi, about 145 kilometres (90 miles) north of Bangkok, wearing a full-face balaclava and camouflage trousers and carrying a pistol with a long silencer attached. He opened fire, shooting dead a security guard and a female shop assistant. He also shot and killed a two-year-old boy who was walking past with his mother. He then leapt onto the counter, snatched trays of gold necklaces, and escaped. Local media report that police have offered a 100,000 baht (about $3,300 USD) for information leading to the killer's arrest. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a news conference on anti-Semitism at a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, Dec. 29, 2019. NEW YORK (JTA)-New York City will launch three initiatives aimed at combating anti-Semitic hate crimes. Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement at a dramatic news conference Sunday afternoon at the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library following weeks of anti-Semitic assaults and vandalism that have plagued the city and state. "I don't want people to forget that we've confronted hatred in this city before, we've confronted division," de Blasio said. "We have done it before, and we will do it again." On Saturday night, an assailant broke into the Monsey, New York, home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg and used a long machete to stab guests gathered for a Chanukah celebration. Five people were injured in the attack, which authorities have deemed a hate crime, and two remain hospitalized. Three weeks earlier, two gunmen opened fire at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, killing three people. The man and woman had killed a police officer prior to coming to the market, where they were shot dead in a lengthy gun battle with police. First, the New York Police Department will increase its presence in Jewish neighborhoods, such as Borough Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg, all in Brooklyn. The city will add lighting and security cameras to better protect Jews in those neighborhoods, which have been the major targets of the recent spate of attacks. Second, the mayor will create Neighborhood Safety Coalitions to serve as watchdogs to help the NYPD in its efforts to stop anti-Semitic attacks before they happen. The coalitions will be comprised of New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds. The third initiative will address anti-Semitic hatred with schoolchildren. "We have to reach our young people more effectively," de Blasio said. "Our young people have to understand this history, but we have to teach it to them. We will be adding immediately in these communities in Brooklyn additional curriculum in our schools starting next month to focus on stopping hate." Before the mayor's remarks, Rabbi Bronwen Mullin of Congregation B'nai Jacob in Jersey City told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that some members of the local black and Jewish communities have already joined together to address the hate crimes. She said that rising economic tensions caused in part by gentrification is affecting both communities and could be contributing to interethnic tensions. "I can't draw a direct line like that," she said, "but there is a lot of anger about systematic injustice." After the attacks, Mullin put out a call to black activists to build coalitions and end gun violence. "We had a joint Chanukah and Kwanzaa candle lighting," she said. "Everyone wants to do real work to address these issues." A theme of the news conference was the diversity of the group that had been assembled behind the speakers, which included Police Commissioner Dermott Shea, New York state Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Yvette Clarke, City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, the executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, opened the news conference. "Christmas has ended," he said. "Chanukah will end tomorrow night. New Year's, on the secular calendar, will begin the next day. We should be celebrating this week, celebrating life and not an attack on life." New rules have come into effect across the EU that will provide greater transparency when buying goods online. The new measures will also ensure compensation for victims of unfair commercial practices. An Anahuac woman is back behind bars after she was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Pct. 4 Constable Robby Thornton said one of his deputies was patrolling the area of CR 6474 in the Woodland Hills subdivision on Tuesday morning, Jan. 7, when he noticed a white female on a bicycle with an attached trailer. Weve been receiving complaints from residents of people just walking up to houses and the residents dont know who they are, he said. Paula Denise Green, 47, was one of the suspects that fit the description being given to law enforcement of one of the trespassers. The deputy pulled up to talk with her. She was actually moving up into their driveway when he contacted her. I dont know if she was about to rob them, sell them something or what exactly, Thornton speculated. As the deputy approached, she began to flee, he said. He stopped her for a traffic infraction and during the course of his investigation, asked for consent to search her bicycles trailer. She agreed and the deputy discovered drug paraphernalia consistent with methamphetamine use, law enforcement sources said. As he attempted to arrest the suspect, she began to resist, Thornton said. After a brief struggle, Green was placed into custody and transported to the Liberty County jail where she was incarcerated for Class C possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest. Green remains in jail under no bond. dtaylor@hcnonline.com Aging care in the community for those who require some assistance with everyday tasks is available through a number of different venues. The type of services that are most appropriate depend on the specific needs and goals of the individual and family, as well as affordability. If the individual desires to stay in the family home, sometimes care needs can be met by the staff of a home care agency. Such services can provide non-medical assistance, which includes housekeeping tasks, personal care (such as bathing and dressing), medication reminders and transportation. Most often these services are paid privately, at an average rate of $24-$30 per hour in Central Pennsylvania. Certain long-term care insurance policies may cover a portion of the cost of home care. Some agencies require a minimum number of hours per visit, which is an important question to ask when inquiring about services. For individuals who require 24-hour assistance and supervision and have a spare bedroom in their home, a live-in caregiver may be considered. These caregivers are available through two types of organizations: agencies and registries. A caregiver provided by an agency is considered an employee of the agency and is covered through the agency for wages, taxes and workers compensation insurance. A caregiver provided by a registry is considered an employee of the family/care recipient, and therefore the family is responsible for direct payment of wages and employment taxes. In case of injury, the homeowners insurance may be responsible. Live-in caregivers generally cost less than hourly caregivers for 24-hour care. Additional options that are available to support older adults include senior centers and adult day centers. The programming at senior centers is geared toward meals/nutrition, socialization/recreation, health/wellness and education. These centers do not provide assistance with personal care. Senior centers operate using a mix of public and private funds. Adult day centers provide similar programming, but are equipped to provide personal care and nursing supervision for individuals with more complex health care needs. Private payment is most common for adult day centers. Both half-day and full-day rates are usually available. Adult day centers are more cost effective than private home care for individuals who may have financial limitations. Both types of centers usually operate on a Monday-through-Friday schedule and are closed for holidays. Hours of operation vary by center. The LIFE (Living Independence for the Elderly) program offers a combination of services for frail elderly people who live in the community. The program provides a team approach to health care which includes medical care, home care, adult day services and therapy services. Medicaid funds may be available to help pay for this program for those who qualify. Participants in the LIFE program must be age 55 or older, live in the service area, and be determined by the county office of aging to require a nursing home-level of care, yet desire to stay in the community. In our area, the LIFE program currently is available in Cumberland, Dauphin, York and Franklin counties, and portions of Perry County. Health care decisions for older family members are rarely easy. But quality care and peace of mind can be obtained when caregivers take time to seek guidance and information before difficult decisions need to be made. Learn more about these and other care options at Keystone Elder Laws upcoming free seminar, The Elder Care Continuum. This seminar will provide an overview of aging care from independent living to nursing home care. It will be held on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 3 p.m. at 555 Gettysburg Pike, Suite B-300, Mechanicsburg. To register, please call 717-697-3223 or email Karen@KeystoneElderLaw.com. Learn more about the articles author, and other community education opportunities, at www.keystoneelderlaw.com. Check out the book, Long Term Care Guide: Essential Tools for Solving the Elder Care Puzzle, at the Whistlestop Bookshop or Amazon, and see Keystones free directory of services for older adults at www.mypeaceguide.com. Keystone Elder Law has offices in Mechanicsburg and Carlisle. Call 717-697-3223 for a free telephone consultation. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BJP MP and former IPS officer Dr Satya Pal Singh deposed in a special court here on Friday in connection with a 2011 dacoity case, in which six accused were slapped with the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Singh had accorded the sanction to prosecute the accused under the MCOCA when he was the Maharashtra Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) in 2012. The former Mumbai Police Commissioner deposed before the special MCOCA court judge V Y Jadhav. His deposition went on for nearly an hour, special public prosecutor Sanjay More said. The court examined him about the aspects of the sanction accorded by him, he said. The six accused were involved in an armed dacoity at a petrol pump on Boisar-Chillar Road at Manor in Palghar district in July 2011. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo: Glacier Media Vancouver International Airport will close the Level 1 road access to its domestic terminal for construction, starting next week. Road access will be closed for approximately six months to install district energy piping as part of YVRs new Parkade and Central Utilities Building project starting Jan. 14. The project includes a geoexchange system a heating and cooling system that uses the earths energy found below the surface which will be implemented into the airports structures. Courtesy shuttles, TransLink buses and pre-arranged commercial pick-ups will be affected during this time: Courtesy shuttle pick-ups and drop offs have been moved to departures level three. There are signs inside the terminal to direct travelers to appropriate shuttles. The N10 TransLink bus stop has been relocated outside the domestic departures check-in on level three. And, all pre-arranged commercial pick-ups will be on level two at international arrivals starting Jan. 14. Pedestrian access to the parkade from the domestic terminal building is still open through designated walking routes. According to Zoe Weber, YVRs communication specialist, the geosystem at YVR will be one of the largest in Canada when its completed and will help meet growing passenger demands while reducing its environmental footprint by supporting YVRs heating and cooling needs across the terminal complex. It is our goal to work efficiently in order to complete the construction in the shortest time frame possible and with minimal impact on passengers and visitors to the airport. The new utilities building, about 67,000 square feet in size, is expected to be built by 2021 and fully operational by 2022. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In the spirit of encouraging a greater discussion on the advancement of the Malaysia construction industry, UBM Informa markets and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia have jointly organised a special luncheon today, which was graced by the Minister of Works, YB Tuan Baru Bian and accompanied by Secretary General, Ministry of Works, Dato' Dr. Syed Omar Shariffdin Bin Syed Ikhsan. Held at the Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, the high-level gathering witnessed the participation of the leading captains of the country's construction industry, with the prime focus on the modernisation of the domestic construction through the adoption of advanced technologies. The luncheon serves as an exclusive opportunity for the business players to engage with the Honorable Minister directly on construction matters and share innovative ideas that could lift the industry's potential to the next level. It is also a great platform for YB Tuan Baru Bian to share his aspirations and strategic plans directly to the industry players, among which Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), Sunway Construction Group Berhad, Gamuda Engineering Sdn Bhd, UEM Group Berhad, IJM Corporation Berhad, Ekovest Berhad, WCT Holdings Berhad and Mah Sing Group Berhad. YB Tuan Baru Bian said: "As we head into a new decade full of new opportunities and challenges, the construction industry must prepare itself to be highly competitive and ever-ready to address any arising issues. Business leaders must acknowledge that it can no longer be 'business as usual' for the Malaysian construction sector if we want to grow to greater heights. "Greater technology adoption should no longer be seen as an option but an urgent need that must be taken into account by all industry players, with the intent to spearhead productivity and to lower costs in the long run. Moving forward, there is still more that needs to be done and I assure you that the Ministry of Works is fully committed to this agenda." YB Tuan Baru Bian added that the government has intensified its efforts in promoting the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and the Industrialised Building Systems (IBS), among others, across the Malaysian construction industry. The luncheon was held ahead of the inaugural Futurebuild SEA 2020, a premier exhibition organised by UBM Informa Markets, which is poised to present a grand focus on construction-related futuristic technologies and innovations. To be held from 23 to 25 June 2020, the Futurebuild SEA is one of the expositions under the highly-popular ASEAN Super 8 leading trade-fair for the built environment. The Futurebuild SEA 2020 will be held in conjunction with International Construction Week (ICW), which is organised by CIDB Malaysia. The Futurebuild SEA 2020 offers visitors the opportunity to get first-hand insights on how robotics, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, among other technologies, could elevate productivity at work site, reduce costs and labour dependency substantially, cut construction duration as well as enhance quality of properties. With less than six months to go before the exposition, nearly 70% of the total exhibition spaces have been booked by leading global brands and companies. To date, among the confirmed exhibitors are Agensi Pekerjaan Ong Management, Cinnotek, EBSL, Eterbright, FIDEC, Hilti Malaysia, MTIB, Perceptive Profile, Smooth-on Inc, The ISO Group, Zhengzhou Sinosun Machinery Co.Ltd and many more. Visitor registration is now open, please visit www.futurebuildsea.com for registration and more information. About UBM Informa Markets ASEAN Super 8 is organised by UBM Informa Markets, a division of Informa plc. Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. As the world's leading exhibitions organiser, we bring a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com . SOURCE Futurebuild SEA Related Links http://www.futurebuildsea.com The United States forces made a failed attempt to kill an Iranian military official in Yemen on the same day the commander of Iran's Quds forces, General Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in an airstrike by Washington. The Washington Post reported citing four US officials that the military executed a strike targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai -- a Yemen-based financial backer and high-ranking member of Iran's Quds Force. However, the mission was failed. Last week, Soleimani, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of an Iraqi Shia militia group, was among those killed in the US drone attack near the Baghdad International Airport. The attack on Soleimani comes in the backdrop of the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad by Shiite protesters after airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Officials said that the attacks on the Iranian military officials were carried out after intelligence suggested that Soleimani was plotting a "large-scale" attack that threatened U.S. embassies, among other American facilities. U.S. officials would not offer many details on the strike against Shahlai other than the mission remains highly classified. The State Department in December offered upto USD 15 million for information on the financial activities, networks and associates of Shahlai. He is accused of directing attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, providing weapons and explosives to violent Shi'a groups, and planning the 2007 attack against U.S. forces in Karbala, Iraq, that killed five service members and wounded others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Milam County authorities have arrested two people wanted out of Missouri after an hours-long manhunt near Rockdale on Wednesday. According to Milam County Sheriff Chris Whites social media, law enforcement took 26-year-old Nathaniel Terry into custody without incident at around 4:45 a.m. Thursday. Terry is wanted in Missouri on armed robbery and parole violation charges. Later in the day, authorities arrested Terrys girlfriend, 32-year-old Rockdale resident Kristian Chudje-Buegeler, on a Missouri robbery charge. Deputies spotted Terrys vehicle, a Ford Mustang GT, traveling through Milam County on Wednesday, but when they attempted to stop him, he fled. His Mustang was later found along County Road 301 northeast of Rockdale. Deputies, Department of Public Safety troopers, K-9 teams and a DPS helicopter searched through the night in the woods and pasture southeast of the road. Early Thursday, a resident in the 4300 block of F.M. 1712 called authorities after Terry asked to use the residents phone. He eventually shared his identity, and a deputy was able to arrest him. Chudje-Buegeler was arrested at a home on County Road 215, just outside Cameron. The two were booked into the Milam County Jail. Photo: Pedro Lastra/Unsplash Missed the most recent top news in New York City? Read on for everything you need to know. Suspect in custody after beating death of 92-year-old woman Maria Fuertes' body was discovered on the sidewalk near Liberty Avenue and 127th Street in Richmond Hill just after midnight Monday. Read the full story on ABC7. Massive Harry Potter store to open in New York City this summer Accio massive Harry Potter store! A Hagrid-sized superstore based on the boy wizard is set to open next to Manhattans Flatiron Building this summer, Warner Bros. announced Thursday. Read the full story on New York Daily News. NYC Bar Association demands Congress investigate AG William Barr The New York City Bar Association has asked Congress to investigate Attorney General William P. Barr, saying hes turned Justice Department prosecutors into political partisans, according to a letter released Thursday. Read the full story on The Washington Times. Facing unprecedented anti-Semitic attacks, New York Jews are learning to fight back literally Legion, a New York-based nonprofit that trains Jews in self-defense, is growing in popularity and planning to expand in the wake of last months deadly shooting at the Jersey City kosher market and machete attack at a rabbis house in Monsey. Read the full story on NPR. Mayor de Blasio visits Homeless Joint Command Center in New York City The 6- Point Action Plan started about two months ago and, for the first time, brings together police, homeless outreach, sanitation, and many other departments, all working together 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days of the year. Read the full story on ABC New York, WABC. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Bernie Sanders said Friday that when intelligence officials briefed senators this week about the drone attack that killed Qassem Soleimani, no one claimed Iranian terror leader was planning to attack American embassies overseas. President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office that Soleimani became a target because he aimed to 'blow up' the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. He expanded that claim hours later at a political rally crowd in Toledo, Ohio, saying the Iranian Quds Force leader had more than one embassy on his hit list. 'Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad,' Trump said. 'But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold.' Sanders, on the TODAY show, brushed it off as bluster with little likely basis in truth. 'I sat in a intelligence briefing, [a] classified briefing, the day before. We had all of the top ranking intelligence people, military people. Not one word of that was mentioned,' the Vermont senator and presidential candidate said. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Friday that classified intelligence briefings about the drone attack that killed Qassem Soleimani didn't mention anything about the Iranian general plotting to blow up U.S. embassies President Donald Trump claimed during a Thursday night rally in Toledo, Ohio that Soleimani aimed to attack more than one embassy Suleimani (right, pictured with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei), was killed by an American drone strike that Trump orded last week 'So is it true? I don't know. But we didn't hear it in the classified intelligence briefing,' the senator said. Sanders called the president 'a pathological liar' and warned that 'people don't believe much of what Trump says.' 'And when you lie all the time, the problem is sometimes maybe you're telling the truth and people are not going to believe you,' he said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo conceded in an interview that aired just hours after Trump wrapped up in Toledo that the best U.S. intelligence on Soleimani was less specific than what the president suggested. 'There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks being plotted by Qasem Soleimani,' he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 'We dont know precisely when and we dont know precisely where, but it was real.' The attack led to a media frenzy and social media speculation that the world would spiral into World War III as tensions continued to rise. President Trump appeared to let the cat out of the bag Thursday afternoon, telling reporters in the Oval Office that Soleimani was targeted because of imminent attack threats against the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq Sanders, a Vermont senator on the Democratic Prety's far left fringe, spoke to the TODAY show on Friday Democrats insist the move was hasty and claim there wasn't adequate intelligence to justify killing Soleimani, but Trump says they should be happy he's dead. 'Now I see the radical left Democrats have expressed outrage over the termination of this horrible terrorist. And you know what? Instead they should be outraged by Soleimani's savage crimes, and that fact that his countless victims were denied justice for so long,' Trump said. 'Bernie Sanders, crazy Bernie, has condemned the U.S. military strike on Soleimani the world's top terrorist. Think of it, the world's top terrorist and we're having people like Nancy Pelosioh, that's a real genius. You believe that one? Nancy, Nancy, Nervous Nancy,' he continued. News Washington, DC - Remarks by President Trump on Proposed National Environmental Policy Act Regulations: THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everyone. PARTICIPANTS: Good morning. THE PRESIDENT: Today, were taking another historic step in our campaign to slash job-killing regulations and improve the quality of life for all of our citizens. In the past, many Americas of Americas most critical infrastructure projects have been tied up and bogged down by an outrageously slow and burdensome federal approval process. And Ive been talking about it for a long time where it takes many, many years to get something built get something built done in any way. The builders are not happy. Nobody is happy. It takes 20 years. It takes 30 years. It take numbers that nobody would even believe. These endless delays waste money, keep projects from breaking ground, and deny jobs to our nations incredible workers. From day one, my administration has made fixing this regulatory nightmare a top priority. And we want to build new roads, bridges, tunnels, highways bigger, better, faster, and we want to build them at less cost. That is why, for the first time in over 40 years, today we are issuing a proposed new rule under the National Environmental Policy Act to completely overhaul the dysfunctional bureaucratic system that has created these massive obstructions. Now, were going to have very strong regulation, but its going to go very quickly. And if it doesnt pass, its going to not pass quickly. It doesnt have to take 10 years or much longer than that. These proposed reforms will reduce traffic in our cities, connect our rural communities, and get Americans where they need to go more quickly and more safely. Were pleased to be joined by Secretary David Bernhardt, Secretary Elaine Chao, Administrator Andrew Wheeler, and Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Mary Neumayr. Theyve done a fantastic job on this. Also with us are representatives of the American workers from across the country, including President of the North Americas Building Trades Unions, Sean McGarvey; President of the National Cattlemens Beef Association, Jennifer Houston; President of the American Trucking Associations, Chris Spear; and many other leaders of labor and industry. America is a nation of builders. It took four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge, five years to build the Hoover Dam, and less than one year can you believe that? to build the Empire State Building. Yet today, it can take more than 10 years just to get a permit to build a simple road just a very simple road. And usually, youre not even able to get the permit. Its unusual when you get it. Its big government at its absolute worst, and other countries look at us and they cant believe it. For example, in North Carolina, it took 25 years to begin construction of the Marc Basnight Bridge. In Alaska, improvements on a 15-mile stretch of Sterling Highway the only road connecting local communities to the rest of the state, and a very dangerous area its been delayed for over 15 years, but were getting it started. In Washington State, it took two decades to finish environmental reviews for the runway at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Think of that. It takes decades. The United States will not be able to compete and prosper in the 21st century if we continue to allow a broken and outdated bureaucratic system hold us back from building what we need: the roads, the airports, the schools, everything. Right now, it takes over seven years, and oftentimes much longer and seven years is like record time to complete approvals for a simple highway the simplest of them. With todays proposed reforms, we will reduce that number by more than 70 percent. Well cut the federal permitting timeline for major projects down to two years. And ideally, were going to try and get even less than that. So youll be instead of 21, 22, 25, 8, 9, 12, 15 were going to get it down to 2 years and maybe less, with strong regulation, especially environmental and safety regulation. But well get it down to a very low number. And were going to do it fast. Were doing it with a rule change that just is being signed. In the past, those seeking infrastructure permits have had to go to numerous federal departments all over numerous. And numerous means many, many. Sometimes you get the same exact change, but you had to get them from different departments. So you would go to these federal departments and agencies requesting approval from countless governmental bureaucrats, each of whom was empowered to hold up the process and leave urgently needed projects in limbo, and for the most part they wouldnt get built. If they did get built, it would take so many years and cost many times more. But our new One Federal Decision policy its called One Federal Decision requires agencies to work closely together to promptly deliver one decision. Yes. The entire process will be completed; the entire federal government approval process will be done. Were also cutting red tape by allowing federal departments to increase the use of documentation prepared by state, tribal, and local governments. This is just common sense and theres no need to do all of the duplicate work. Theres so much duplication. Youd go for a permit. Youd have to go for another permit. They were all they would turn out to be all the same permits; youre just going to different agencies to get the same approval. At the same time, were maintaining Americas world-class standards of environmental protection. We have some of the cleanest air and cleanest water on Earth. And for our country, the air is, right now, cleaner than its been in 40 years. I guess you go before that, there was a lot less activity. So were competing I would imagine, 200 years ago, it was great. (Laughter.) Five hundred years ago, before we got here, it must have been really nice, right? (Laughter.) But in the last 40 years, its the cleanest right now. By streamlining infrastructure approvals, well further expand Americas unprecedented economic boom. And thats what we have: we have an economic boom. Weve created 7 million jobs, including over 700,000 construction jobs. Unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over 51 years. After years of stagnation, real wages have increased nearly 10 percent for low-income workers the biggest beneficiaries. Our regulation cuts are giving the average American household an extra $3,000 per year. And if you look at the tax cuts and all of the other cuts, its close to $10,000 a year with all of the cuts that were getting. And thats for an average median-income family $10,000. You know, Ive talked about past administrations the one was $475, and the other one was $975 the last two, $975. And were $10,000, and the number is actually higher that than that, if you include certain regulations that we got cut. So thats an amazing thing, and thats one of the reasons consumers are doing so well and leading us so strongly in this boom that were in. But this is just the beginning. Well not stop until our nations gleaming new infrastructure has made America the envy of the world again. It used to be the envy of the world, and now were like a third-world country. Its really sad. You get approval they even get financing for jobs, and then they cant build them for 15 years, and then it ends up costing five times more than it was supposed to cost. So Id now now like to ask Chairwoman Mary Neumayr to say a few words. And were going to have another couple of speakers, and then well take some questions. Go ahead. Thank you. Thank you. Come on over here, Mary. (Applause.) CHAIRMAN NEUMAYR: Thank you, Mr. President. President Trump promised a more efficient permitting process so that Americans receive timely decisions on permits for vital infrastructure projects affecting their everyday lives. Today, we are proposing the first comprehensive update to the National Environmental Policy Act regulations since they were issued over 40 years ago. Over the past three years, the White House Council on Environmental Quality has been working closely with federal agencies and their leadership, including the leaders here today, to improve the implementation of NEPA for the American people. NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of proposed major federal actions, including the issuance of federal permits and other approvals, as well as when providing federal funding. NEPA affects communities and the quality of life of Americans across the nation from the construction of roads, bridges, airports, and harbors; to water infrastructure; agriculture, forest, land, and fisheries management activities; and environmental restoration. The goal of NEPA is to ensure well-informed decision-making. But the process can be unnecessarily complex, burdensome, and protracted. A lengthy process can delay or even derail important projects to modernize our nations infrastructure, manage our federal lands and waters, and restore our environment. The Council on Environmental Quality has found that the average time for federal agencies to complete Environmental Impact Statements is four and half years. Further, for highway projects, it takes over seven years on average, and many projects have taken a decade or more to complete the environmental review process. These delays deprive hardworking Americans of the benefits of modernized roads and bridges that allow them to more safely and quickly get to work and get home to their families. NEPA is the most litigated area of environmental law. Delays due to lengthy reviews and lawsuits increase costs for project applicants, states, tribes, localities, and taxpayers. These delays deter investments, and these delays make our country less economically competitive. Todays proposal would modernize the environmental review process. The proposed rule would make commonsense changes to establish a presumptive two-year time limit for Environmental Impact Statements; require federal agencies to request information from applicants and the public earlier in the process; increase coordination by agencies to reduce delays; avoid duplication by facilitating use of documents required by other statutes or prepared by state, tribal, or local agencies; and ensure that the regulations reflect current, modern technologies. The proposed rule would provide for a faster process while ensuring that agencies analyze and consider the environmental impacts of proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to address significant impacts. Its important to note that the proposal would reform the process of gathering information on environmental effects, but would not change any substantive environmental law or regulation, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Nothing in the proposal would eliminate the protections that Congress has enacted to safeguard our environment and the American people. Todays proposal has undergone extensive interagency review and the Council on Environmental Quality has carefully considered thousands of public comments. Under the Presidents leadership, the administration is committed to ensuring that we are good stewards of our environment while supporting American prosperity. As we move forward with this proposed rule, we will remain focused on improving the environmental review and permitting process while ensuring a safe, healthy, and productive environment for current and future generations of Americans. Mr. President, thank you for your leadership and support. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you. (Applause.) Thanks, Mary. Thanks a lot. And if I could, Secretary Chao? Secretary Chao. Thank you. Please. SECRETARY CHAO: Thank you, sir. Good morning. We are delighted to be here because today is indeed very historic. Todays action is really needed. Our nations infrastructure is in danger of deterioration and it needs to be repaired and rebuilt. And as you have heard from the President and also from the Director of CEQ, the time that it is required to rebuild a new project is now unsustainable. Our nation needs, our infrastructure needs to be addressed. We all care about the environment. What we are talking about are cumbersome, unnecessary, overly burdensome, duplicative, and outdated regulations. Many of these regulations have not been updated, modernized, in decades. What were seeking is commonsense solutions. As I repeat again: We all care about the environment. What we need to give, as regulators, is certainty to the regulated community, so that if a project were not to go forward, they deserve a quick no. Right now, we string along so many people who are waiting decades for answers from the federal government. And again, that is not responsible governing. So today is historic. This NPRM will solicit comments, remarks, so it will be an open process. And what we are hoping to do is to address the infrastructure needs of our country as the President has said on so many occasions. And then of course, we want to see new projects be constructed and new jobs being created. Thank you, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Elaine. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Elaine. I want to also thank Elaine for doing a great job. Shes doing a fantastic job. Secretary Bernhardt, please? SECRETARY BERNHARDT: Mr. President, thank you for the introduction and for the honor of being here today. I am thrilled. For those of you that dont practice in this area, let me tell you: This is a really, really big proposal. This proposal affects virtually every significant decision made by the federal government that affects the environment. And I believe it will be the most significant deregulatory proposal you ultimately implement. THE PRESIDENT: Wow. Big statement. (Laughter.) SECRETARY BERNHARDT: Well, the reality you know, heres the bottom line: You have been crystal clear since the day you arrived here that you wanted to have a commonsense approach to ensuring that the government made better decisions for the people. And what you see here today are the people. And the reality is that the NEPA law serves an incredibly noble purpose. At the heart of the law, it establishes and ensures that we, as government decision makers, think about the consequences of our action before we make them, that we consider alternatives to our action, and that we receive the participation of the public before we make the action. And everything in this rule does precisely that, sir. But, when I arrived at the Department of the Interior, it took, on average, the Bureau of Land Management five years to complete and environmental review document. We now are doing those in an average of 1.2 years. And the consequences are far reaching. For example, the quicker we can do our environmental reviews for Indian schools means the sooner students can have safer schools to go to school in. The quicker we can improve and enhance our visitors centers and National Parks means the sooner people can enjoy those parks. We even have the same process here for NEPA, as utilized when were thinking about good things to do for wildlife. And the longer it takes to implement those conservation actions, the more delayed those are. Our firefighters depend on the speed of environmental review to do our treatments in the forest. Our ranchers, which are here, depend on the speed of our environmental review to know whether or not theyre going to have grazing opportunities next year. Our farmers need to know that they can depend on our decisions, so that they can know that our water operations are likely to be consistent and secure. And what youre doing here is a very big thing. We have in the last 40 years, weve gone backwards. And your actions are changing that, and its a big step forward. So thank you. And thank you, Mary. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Please, Andrew Wheeler where is Andrew? Come on, Andrew. ADMINISTRATOR WHEELER: Thank you, Mr. President. Im pleased to be here today to celebrate yet another promise this President has fulfilled: to update the NEPA regulations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of both the EPA and the NEPA law. A lot has changed over the last 50 years, and we have made tremendous progress in protecting both the environment and growing our economy. From 1970 to 2018, the emissions of the six criteria air pollutants have decreased by 74 percent, and all six have gone down during the Trump administration. Likewise, on the water side: In 1970, over 40 percent of our nations drinking water systems failed to meet the EPA standards. Today, over 92 percent of all water systems meet the EPA standards every single day. And at the same time, our economy has grown by 275 percent, with record-breaking growth over the last three years. All of our major environmental statutes have been updated over the last 50 years, and the regulations under those statutes multiple times. The NEPA regulations should have been updated and modernized decades ago. It is long overdue. We have had incredible advancements in environmental protection, and the NEPA process has not kept up to date. It is important to remember that NEPA is mostly about process. Todays changes will have no impact on the important safeguards of our nations environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, or the Superfund process. The NEPA process today is too bureaucratic and burdensome, and has delayed important environmental projects. The permitting process for a new drinking water plant, flood control project, or waster facility can take years, if not decades. The NEPA process today is more about preparing documents for litigation and protecting the environment. NEPA established a simple but important principle: that the federal government consider the impact of its actions on the environment before committing resources. The NEPA process has lost sight of that goal. Over the years, step after step has been added to the NEPA process, creating a Frankenstein of a regulatory regime. Todays proposal would empower lead agencies to make executive decisions when more than one agency is involved in the process, and will streamline the permitting process without compromising environmental protections. This streamlined approach to NEPA will free up countless career employees to focus more of their time protecting the environment instead of protecting the jobs of attorneys who sue to stop each and every project. NEPA was not meant to be a welfare program for trial attorneys. I want to congratulate the President for his leadership and the Council on Environmental Quality and our sister agencies who put so much time into this proposal. This proposal is yet another bold step this administration is taking to modernize the federal bureaucracy and our permitting programs for the benefit of all Americans. Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Great job. Thank you. Sean? Please. Sean McGarvey. MR. MCGARVEY: Thank you, Mr. President. Sean McGarvey, president of North Americas Building Trades. We are fully supportive of the Presidents initiative when it comes to NEPA and permitting reform. Few people in this country understand the archaic nature of our system the way the President does, based on his background where we partnered with him for years to try to build buildings and infrastructure in the United States. This proposal does nothing to take away from the protections for our citizens, for our taxpayers, for our workers, or for our environment. So on behalf of our membership, were fully supportive and look forward to the opportunities for thousands hundreds of thousands of millions of people to go to work in the construction industry once these reforms are fully in place. Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Would you like to say something? MS. HOUSTON: Thank you, Mr. President. Americas cattlemen and women are subject to NEPA review on a regular basis, whether renewing their grazing permits, applying for USDA program, or improving their rangeland. And although well-intentioned, its become mired in a complex web of litigation and complexity and delay. So these reforms are very exciting. They will streamline the process, reduce duplication, allow more local control, and let our cattlemen and our beef producers going back to doing what they do best, and thats raise high-quality beef to feed the world. On behalf of the National Cattlemens Beef Association and the Public Lands Council, thank you, Mr. President, Secretary Bernhardt, Secretary Chao, Chairman Neumayr. We appreciate all your work and all your, really, remembering the cattlemen, cattlewomen in rural America and everything you do. Thank you. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And for the cattlemen and cattlewomen, were signing, as you know, a very big deal, among many other things, with China MS. HOUSTON: Yes, sir. THE PRESIDENT: probably January 15th. And we just signed a $40 billion deal with Japan. Thats already kicked in. You see that. MS. HOUSTON: Yes, sir. THE PRESIDENT: We did South Korea. We have others that weve done and some that were doing. We have tremendous trade deals being made. MS. HOUSTON: I appreciate iAnd theyre actually good deals for our country instead of bad deals for our country. MS. HOUSTON: Wonderful. THE PRESIDENT: So its been good. Im going to Ohio in a little while. We have crowds of people that for, two and a half, three days, have been standing out in the cold. I dont know how they do it. Theyre strong people. But theyve been out there, and its pretty much zero degrees. And its a great state. And we have a tremendous crowd, so I look forward to that. Ill be leaving in a little while. But well take a few questions. Please. Q Mr. President, you mentioned the Chinese trade deal that youre working on; youre going to be signing, next week, phase one. Can you give us a sense of phase two THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Q what you hope to accomplish there? And will you be travelling to Beijing for that? THE PRESIDENT: Well, phase one is a big, big number. Its a big percentage of the deal. Some would say half, some would say a little less, or a little more than half. But its a tremendous percentage. Its pretty much all for the farmers also, bankers. We also have regulations for a lot of different a lot of things are covered that people are going to be very surprised to see, but its a big chunk of it. And well start right away negotiating phase two. Itll take a little time. I think I might want to wait to finish it until after the election, because by doing that I think we can actually make a little bit better deal maybe a lot better deal. But phase one was is a phenomenal deal. Could be up to $50 billion in farm product. So thats something that the most they ever did was $16 billion. So they go from $16 billion to up to $50 billion. So thats numerous times more than they were buying in the past. Its going to have a huge impact. And I see farm prices are going way up. I see corn is just had some big increases over the last little while. Cattle has been doing really well. And the farmers liked me anyway. Thats what I like about the farmers. (Laughter.) But you know what I did do and you know this better than anybody I got I was able they were targeted by China. You know look, China is negotiating. I dont blame them. But they were targeted. They say, You know, the farmers like Trump so well target the farmers. And they did. And the first year was $12 billion, and I took $12 billion and I asked Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, What do you think, Sonny? He said, Its $12 billion. And I think that wouldve caused tremendous consternation. And they were hit for $12 billion, and I took $12 billion out of the tariffs. We had tens of billions of dollars left over; I gave it to the farmers. The next year it was $16 billion. I took $16 billion out of the tariffs; I gave it to the farmers. So the farmers did pretty well, and now theyre doing great. And the prices are going up very substantially, and China is kicking in. China has already started to buy. Japan the deal is done. They have been buying. Its a $40 billion deal. But the big question I have is whether or not the farmers will be able to supply that much. Because its much more than its the biggest contract ever signed. So I think itll be great for the farmers, but also great for regulatory, great for banks. You know that. Great for finance companies. Really, a lot. Then were going to covering the opening of China and various other things in phase two. Q And on impeachment, sir, would you support a deal for witnesses if that included testimony from Adam Schiff and Hunter Biden? THE PRESIDENT: Well, Im going to leave it to the Senate, but Id like to hear the whistleblower. Id like to hear Shifty Schiff. Id like to hear Hunter Biden and Joe Biden. You know. How does Hunter Biden, with no experience whatsoever would anybody up Sean, would you like the Hunter Biden job? He has no experience, making no money, and then all of a sudden, see, hes making millions and millions of dollars. Youd take that. Would you leave the union for that? I think so. MR. MCGARVEY: Uh, Im not sure, Mr. President. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: I know so, but Im not going to tell. No, no Id like to hear from Hunter Biden. Id like to hear from hes a corrupt politician, Adam Schiff. Hes corrupt. He gave a sentence. You know, he never knew I was going to release the transcript. He gave a sentence that he made up. He made it up. And it was not the it was not what was said in the conversation. Thats why I released the transcript; got approval from Ukraine. We released the exact transcript, and it turned out to be totally different. These are corrupt politicians. The whole thing is a hoax. But I would like to hear Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Adam Shifty Schiff, and some others the informer that never showed up. You know, once I released the transcript, you know what happened. The informer he never showed up. And the second whistleblower Jon, whatever happened to the second whistleblower? The second whistleblower disappeared. There probably was none or maybe we know who the second whistleblower was. Maybe we do. But he never showed up. All of a sudden, they dont talk, because they were really unexpectedly met with the actual conversation, the exact conversation. So yeah, if we do that, I would like to have those people, plus others, testify. Because its the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the United States government. This has gone on since the day I came down the escalator. This isnt just here; this isnt just the Ukraine hoax. This is the witch hunt. This is the whole thing with Russia that turned out to be a total fabricated plot. The ones who are guilty are the Democrats, the DNC, and all of the dirty cops that were involved that we caught. Yeah. Q Mr. President, Im sure you saw Mike Lees comments. Did your national security team really say that it would be wrong for Congress to debate military action on Iran? THE PRESIDENT: So heres what happened on that: I had calls from numerous senators and numerous congressmen and women, saying it was the greatest presentation theyve ever had. Mike and Rand Paul disagreed because they want information that, honestly, I think is very hard to get. Its okay if the military wants to give it, but they didnt want to give it. And it really had to do with sources and information that we had that really should remain at a very high level. Could we individually maybe give one or two of them some information? Possibly, if we can do that. I get along great with Mike Lee. Ive never seen him like that. But other people have called and theyve said it was the best presentation theyve ever seen. And let me tell you what was the best, forget about presentation: the result. We killed a man who killed many, many Americans and many, many people thousands and thousands of people. And when I go over to Walter Reed and I meet these young, incredible folks mostly, it just seems mostly men, but also women where their legs are gone, their arms are gone. In some cases, both the legs and the arms are gone, and the face and the body is badly damaged. And frankly, five years ago, they couldnt have lived. And today, they can live because of the wonders of medicine and the wonders of Walter Reed and the people that, over there what the job they do, the medical doctors. But I will say this: We caught a total monster, and we took him out. And that should have happened a long time ago. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. Somebody died one of our military people died. People were badly wounded just a week before. And we did it. And we had a shot at him, and I took it, and that shot was pinpoint accurate. And that was the end of a monster. Then and that was really, that was the second attack. It was not we didnt start it. They started it by killing one of our people and wounding badly other of our people. So that you call retribution. Ukraine if you look at what happened with Ukraine, thats a hoax. Well, this is a hoax, too. Iran went in, and they hit us with missiles. Shouldnt have done that, but they hit us. Fortunately for them, nobody was hurt, nobody was killed. Nothing happened. They landed and very little damage even, to the base. They landed. But we had a chance to take out a monster; we took him out. And it should have been done a long time ago. Q But would you go to Congress to take further military action against Iran? Would you seek congressional approval? THE PRESIDENT: It would all depend on the circumstance. I dont have to, and you shouldnt have to be able because you have to make split-second decisions sometimes. Sometimes, you have to move very, very quickly, Jon. But in certain cases, I wouldnt even mind doing it. What you know what I what bothers me? When I see a Nancy Pelosi trying to defend this monster from Iran, who has killed so many people, who has so badly I mean, so many people are walking around now without legs and without arms. Because he was the big roadside bomb guy. He was the one who would send them to Afghanistan. He would send him to Iraq. He was big. That was his favorite thing. He thought it was wonderful. He doesnt think its wonderful anymore. When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to defend him, I think thats a very bad thing for this country. I think thats a big losing argument, politically, too. Yeah. Q So anyway, outside the JCPOA and also with total sanctions implemented, whats left if Iran THE PRESIDENT: Well, just so you understand, on JCPOA: Its close to expiring. In other words, if I didnt terminate it, it expires in a very short period of time. One of the problems, of which there was many $150 billion, $1.8 billion in cash all of that money and then that money was used for terror. Because if you look at Iran, it wasnt so bad until they got all that money. They used that money for terror. Thats when it became really bad. You just take a look. I mean, it really got bad when they had $150 billion, $1.8 billion in cash. The JP- the agreement I always call it the Iran nuclear deal that didnt work. The Iran deal, it was just something that it was is no is no good for our country. It expires in a short time. That means they would be on their path to nuclear weapons. And for me, its about nuclear weapons, more than anything else. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They understand that. We have told them very strongly. Iran now is not wealthy like it was when President Obama handed them $150 billion. Theyre a much different country. Well see whether or not they want to negotiate. Maybe they want to wait until after the election and negotiate with a weak Democrat somebody like a Biden, or a Pocahontas, or Buttitieg [Buttigieg] or one of these characters. Okay? Maybe they want to wait. But I think theyre probably well off doing it now. Because if you look at the polls, and if look at whats going on, were doing very well. Theyre losing a tremendous amount. Theyre getting hurt very badly by the sanctions. It all can end very quickly. But as to whether or not they want, thats up to them; not up to me. Its totally up to them. They can straighten out their country. Iran, right now, is a mess. They can straighten out the economics of their country very, very quickly. Lets see whether or not they negotiate. Q (Inaudible) these sanctions when should we expect to see sanctions on Iran following the attack? THE PRESIDENT: Immediately. Q Tomorrow? This week? THE PRESIDENT: Its already been done. Yeah. Weve weve increased them. They were very severe, but now its increased substantially. I just approved it a little while ago with Treasury. Q And who will they be against and what sort of sanctions THE PRESIDENT: Well, youll see. I mean, well put out a minor announcement. Its actually a major event. Its like this. This is, to me, a major event. And so far, I havent had no I havent had no questions on the fact that we can build a highway in, you know, a small fraction of the time, that we can build all of these beautiful bridges that we want to build but they cant get approvals. Ive had no questions on that. Are you shocked, Sean, when you hear that? MR. MCGARVEY: No, Mr. President. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: I mean, honestly, they they should be having some questions. Okay. Yeah. Jon, go ahead. Q Mr. President, the plane that went down THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Q coming from Iran THE PRESIDENT: Its terrible. Q what do you think happened to that plane? THE PRESIDENT: Well, I have my suspicions. Q What are those suspicions? THE PRESIDENT: It was very I dont want to say that because other people have those suspicions also. Its a tragic thing, when I see that. Its a tragic thing, because somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. Could have could have made a mistake. It was flying Q The air defense systems? THE PRESIDENT: It was it was flying in not our system, no. It has nothing to do with us. It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood, and somebody could have made a mistake. Some people say it was mechanical. I personally I dont think thats even a question, personally. So well see what happens. Q Do you think Iran shot it down by accident? THE PRESIDENT: I dont know. I really dont know. I dont want to get thats up to them. At some point, theyll release the black box. Ideally, theyd get it to Boeing. But if they gave it to France or if they gave it to some other country, that would be okay, too. I think, you know, ideally, that will be released. I have a feeling that its just some very terrible something very terrible happened. Very devastating. Q Mr. President THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Q The situation in Venezuela has not gone as smoothly as some people would, likely even yourself, have hoped. What are you prepared to do differently THE PRESIDENT: Well, I never thought it would go smoothly. Venezuela hasnt gone smoothly since it became a socialist or worse-than-that country. So I never expected anything to go smoothly. Well see what happens with Venezuela. Theyre doing poorly. I mean, theres a great case when I say this country will never be a socialist nation, theres a great case. It was a wealthy country 15 years ago, 20 years ago. That was like, a really wealthy country. And now they dont have water. They dont have food. Were supplying a lot of food. Were supplying a lot of water. So, no, it takes a period of time. Its been you know, Ive only been here a relatively short period of time. Well see what happens. Q Are you prepared to do anything else change the strategy? THE PRESIDENT: Well, Im not going to say that. No, I have we have a good strategy. But were taking care of people. Were helping people. Colombia is helping a lot of people. Some of the nations surrounding are helping people. But were I think were doing a good job. They have a system that, right now, is very broken. Well see what happens. Stay tuned. Q Mr. President, you said Iran was trying to blow up the embassy in Baghdad. Can you provide more details on what that plot was? THE PRESIDENT: No, I think it was obvious. If you look at the protests and this was the anti-Benghazi. This was Benghazi was a disaster. They showed up a long time after it took place. They saw burning embers from days before. I said, Get out today, immediately. They were saying, We think we can have them tomorrow. I said, Nope. They got to go right now. And they were on their way very quickly. And they got there almost I mean, they got there quickly. They could have done that with Benghazi too, by the way. Same same thing. Had they gotten there had they done what I did, you wouldnt have had you wouldnt know the name Benghazi. It would not be a very famous name. Now its a very famous name. This was the anti-Benghazi. We got the Apaches there very quickly. They were doing the flares. People didnt know what was happening. But if you look at those protesters, they were rough warriors. They werent protesters; they were Iranian-backed. Some were from Iraq, but they were Iranian-backed. Absolutely. And they were looking to do damage. And they were breaking the windows. And, you know, those are very structurally strong windows, as you know, and they were almost through. And had they gotten through, I believe we would have either had a hostage situation, or we would have had a worse, we would have had a lot of people killed. Those people were going to do very serious harm. They were soldiers; they were warriors. And we stopped it. We stopped it. That was a totally organized plot. And you know who organized it. That man right now is not around any longer. Okay? And he had more than that particular embassy in mind. Q Mr. President, do you THE PRESIDENT: Please. Q Do you have a problem John Bolton testifying in the Senate trial? THE PRESIDENT: Always got along with him. He didnt get along with some of our people. But thats really going to be up to the Senate. Its really its al- Q But you wouldnt stop it? THE PRESIDENT: Its always up. I dont stop it, no. But he would it would be no, I I do have to Id have to ask the lawyers because we do have to to me, for the future, we have to protect presidential privilege. When we start allowing national security advisors to just go up and say whatever they want to say, we cant do that. So we have to protect presidential privilege for me, but for future Presidents. Thats very important. I would have no problem, other than we have to protect we have to be able to protect. People cant go up and say whatever my thoughts are, whatever your thoughts are about us, countries, views. You dont want that to be out. So we have to protect presidential privilege. Yeah. Q So, Mr. President, you said yesterday you want NATO to do more. Could you be a little more could you provide a little more information THE PRESIDENT: I did. I spoke Q on what you wanted (inaudible) THE PRESIDENT: Right. I spoke to Q Have you gotten any indication from them that they might do more? THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. I spoke to them yesterday. I spoke to the Secretary General yesterday, and we had a great conversation. He was very I think he was actually excited by it. And I actually had a name NATO, right? And then you have M.E. Middle East. Youll call it NATOME. I said, What a beautiful name. NATOME. Im good at names, right? USMCA. Like the song, YMCA. (Laughter.) Everybody nobody could remember USMCA. I said, Think of the song, YMCA.' Now everybody says it. They dont remember the previous name of the bad deal, okay commonly known as NAFTA. No, if you add the words if you add the two words Middle East at the end of it. Because thats a big problem. Thats a big source of problems. And NATOME doesnt that work beautifully, Jon? Think of that: NATO plus ME. And hes not obviously, hes not getting it. Hes not smiling. He used to smile. Before Iran, he was smiling. Now, hes not smiling. So Q Mr. President, (inaudible) THE PRESIDENT: You know what Im talking about. Q Mr. President, more NATO personnel in the region is that what youre THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. As opposed to us, to be honest with you. Because this is an international problem, and we can come home or largely come home and use NATO. This is an international problem. We caught ISIS. We did Europe a big favor. We got 100 percent of the caliphate. We have thousands and thousands of ISIS fighters are killed, and thousands and thousands tens of thousands are in prison right now. And Europe doesnt want them. Its not right. They want to go to France. They want to go to Germany. They want to go to UK. They want to go to these countries where they came from. Thats where they thats their home. The U.S. is not their home. They want to go its not fair that were holding these people and that other countries arent taking, because were bearing the cost. So I think that NATO should be expanded and we should include the Middle East. Absolutely. And we pay for a big percentage of NATO. And by the way, if you look at and speak to Secretary General Stoltenberg whos doing a terrific job, by the way he will tell you that I raised $130 billion more than they were getting. It was going down from past administrations every single year. It was down to a very low number. I came in. I said, You got to pay, folks. You got to pay. Were working with you. Were protecting you. Were a part of this. You got to pay. We dont want to be the fools, like we have been for so many years. So we raised $130 billion almost immediately. We had a meeting with all of the countries. I said, You got to pay. I mean, I can imagine they dont like me as much as Obama and other people. But they got to pay. Were protecting; you got to pay. We got $130 billion more more. Not $130 [billion]; $130 [billion] more. In fact, my biggest fan in the whole world is Secretary General Stoltenberg, because he cant believe it. And now he just announced $530 billion weve gotten under my watch. And so were in great shape with with that whole situation. And I think NATO should be helping us now with the Middle East. Having an international flavor there is good. Plus, you had a deal signed with many of these countries that are in NATO. So you know, the economic deal with Iran. So I have actually I have actually said that I think the scope of NATO should be increased and they should be looking for ISIS. Well help. But right now, the burden is on us, and thats not been fair. But weve done a great job with ISIS. When I came in three years ago, ISIS was all over the place. It was a disaster. And now ISIS is the caliphate 100 percent of the caliphate is gone. A hundred percent. And we have tens of thousands of prisoners. Well, we have them in prison. But they should be taken, and Europe should be helping with that burden. But I like the idea of NATO expanding their views. Q How much of your own money are you prepared to spend on your reelection? Q Since the environment is part of the issue were talking about today THE PRESIDENT: Say it? Q Since the environment is something that is on the table here today, what is your position on global warming? Do you think its a hoax? Do you think that something needs to be done? THE PRESIDENT: No, no, not at all. Nothing is a hoax. Nothing is a hoax about that. Its a very serious subject. I want clean air. I want clear water. I want the cleanest air with the cleanest water. The environment is very important to me. Somebody wrote a book that Im an environmentalist it actually called The Environmentalist actually, before I did this. But they wrote a book; Id like to get it. I have it in the other office. Ill bring it to my next news conference, perhaps. Im sure youll be thrilled to see it. Im sure youll report all about it. But, no, Im a big believer in that word: the environment. Im a big believer. But I want clean air. I want clean water. And I also want jobs, though. I dont want to close up our industry because somebody said, you know, You have to go with wind, or You have to go with something else thats not going to be able to have the capacity to do what we have to do. We have the best employment numbers weve ever had. We have the best unemployment numbers weve ever had. So thats very important. All right, one more. Q How much of your own money are you prepared to spend on your reelection? THE PRESIDENT: I literally havent even thought about it. I spent a lot on the first one, and I said I did the primaries, and obviously that came out to be very successful. And I have not thought about it. I will say this: Because of the impeachment hoax, were taking in numbers that nobody ever expected. You saw the kind of numbers were reporting. Were blowing everybody away. Weve never nobody has ever taken in the money that were taking in from the public. And its good because its an investment theyre making. Theyre making that investment. Its better than the big donors. Were taking in were taking in numbers that nobody has ever seen before, frankly. And its a great thing. Q You (inaudible) a lot of voters in 2016 by saying that you wouldnt take donor money, that you would be THE PRESIDENT: Well, I dont know I put in a lot. Q independent, and therefore you wouldnt be bought by the donors. THE PRESIDENT: You know the number that I put in? Do you know the number I invested I put in for the primaries and for the first election? What? Do you know that number? Q I dont have the total THE PRESIDENT: Its a big number. And I, to this day, say, I wonder if it mattered, because I never noticed myself getting any credit for that. I did; I spent a lot of my own money. You know, tens of millions of dollars, times a lot. But I spent a lot of my own money. And I always asked the question. I said, I wonder if it was necessary. Because I dont think anybody even knew that I was spending it. Id mention it every once in a while, but I dont for instance, I give up my salary. Its $450,000 approximately $450,000 presidential salary. I give it up. It goes to usually, I give it to drugs. I give some to Elaine, sometimes, for transportation. But every quarter I think its paid on a quarterly basis I give up 100 percent of my salary that I make as President. I dont think anybody has written that story. You guys dont want to write that kind of a story, but thats okay with me. Listen, Im going to Ohio some of you are coming with me and we look forward to it. I want to congratulate all of you because I think this is going to make a tremendous difference in your unions and in your for your workers and for your investments and for everything. This is going to be a fantastic thing. Well bring numbers down from 20 years to less than 2. Well bring them down from 10 years. I really think that youll hit much less than two, even for major projects. And I want to thank everybody for being here. Its a great honor. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Illinois has long been considered an oasis for abortion access in the generally more restrictive Midwest, with thousands of women traveling here for the procedure from out of state each year, according to state health department statistics. While Illinois abortion laws are among the most liberal in the United States, women in surrounding states face waiting periods, gestational limits and other barriers. Forward-looking: Hydrogen fuel cells and rooftop solar panels will be powering Toyota's "Woven City," a project announced by the company this week at CES. With construction set to begin next year, the prototype facility will serve as a "living laboratory" for testing and developing emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles and personal mobility, smart homes, robotics, and artificial intelligence. With technology encompassing nearly every aspect of modern life, Toyota is creating an entire city that imagines the future of urbanized living with health monitoring in-home robots, autonomous delivery networks, wooden buildings, and designated routes for fast traffic, personal mobility vehicles, and pedestrians. Powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the city will be a "fully connected ecosystem" built on a 175-acre site, previously home to a Toyota factory at the base of Mt. Fuji, 60 miles from Tokyo, Japan. "Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the citys infrastructure," said Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda. The city's architecture is being led by Danish designer, Bjarke Ingels, whose firm has previously lent design services to high-profile projects like Google's Mountain View and London headquarters, New York's World Trade Centers, and Dubai's Mars simulation city. Commenting on the city's masterplan on-stage at CES, Bjarke said that "homes in the Woven City will serve as test sites for new technology, such as in-home robotics to assist with daily life." Using sensor-based AI, these robots would be able to automatically take out the trash, restock fridges and even monitor the health of occupants. Robots will also help in the construction of buildings, most of which will be made from wood and inspired by traditional Japanese architecture. Bjarke also stressed on the importance of parks and places of public interaction, noting that "In an age when technology, social media and online retail is replacing and eliminating our natural meeting places, the Woven City will explore ways to stimulate human interaction in the urban space." The futuristic city will also have a fleet of Toyota's autonomous e-Palette vehicles performing delivery and retail duties. Toyoda remarked that the connection and communication of people, buildings, and vehicles with each other through data and sensors will enable them to "test connected AI technology in both the virtual and the physical realms maximizing its potential." Toyota's Woven City will break ground next year with over a dozen structures to be constructed in the initial phase. The company's employees and their families will be among the first 2,000 residents of the city, joined later by invited "retired couples, retailers, visiting scientists, and industry partners." Although Toyota didn't mention costs or a completion timeframe, Akio called the project his "personal field of dreams," believing that the "fully sustainable" city can benefit everyone, not just Toyota. "You know, if you build it, they will come." TORONTO - TMX Group Ltd. says chief executive Lou Eccleston is stepping down immediately following allegations against him related to conduct prior to his time at the company. Business Insider in November reported that Eccleston was accused in court records and filings of inappropriate behaviour involving female employees while he was a senior executive at Bloomberg in New York. TMXs board of directors said Friday that an investigator found no evidence that Eccleston engaged in sexual harassment or sexual misconduct while employed at TMX, which owns the Toronto Stock Exchange and other market operators. It said Eccleston believes it is in the best interests of TMX Group, including its employees and stakeholders, for him to retire early. TMX says the board is concluding the investigation into the allegations to avoid further distraction. Charles Winograd, chair of TMX Group, thanked Eccleston for his time at the company. The board accepts Mr. Ecclestons decision to retire and recognizes his outstanding efforts since taking on the CEO role, he said in a statement. John McKenzie will immediately step into the role of interim CEO while continuing with his position as chief financial officer as the company launches a search for a replacement. TMX says it has been actively looking into succession plans after amending Ecclestons employment arrangement last year to a fixed term. Eccleston, whose contract at TMX was set to expire at the end of 2020, had been in the role since October 2014. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:X) Wells, who is the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, is to meet with senior government officials to "advance the U.S.-India strategic global partnership following the success of the 2019 US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue" when she is in New Delhi from January 15 to 18,A the Department said. She will also attend the Raisina Dialogue, the major Indian conclave on global affairs, in New Delhi. The Department said that she will also meet with members of the business community and civil society. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper participated last month in the 2+2 dialogue on strategic cooperation between the two countries. Wells will visit Sri Lanka before coming to India, from where she will go to Pakistan. In Islamabad she is to meet with senior government officials and members of civil society to discuss issues of bilateral and regional concern, the Department said. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Mohammad Javed Zarif of Iran along with those of nine other countries will be at Raisina Dialogue. Jaishankar and other Indian ministers will also be at the meeting organised by the think tank, Observer Research Foundation. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) A proud father has told how his brave 14-year-old son rescued four men from drowning as a powerful rip swept them out to sea. Barry Schilg, his son Clayton and their family were holidaying at Wooyung Beach on the New South Wales north coast on Thursday when trouble struck. Clayton had popped down to the beach with his mate about 2pm when his father's phone rang at the nearby caravan park. 'His mate Harry said, "we've got some people in trouble and Clay's gone in to help",' Barry said. Hero teenager Clayton Schilg (holding towel) helps a man, 28, who nearly drowned in the surf. The man later confessed he was 'within a minute' of going under Clayton, a nipper at the Tweed Heads Coolangatta Surf Club, saved four swimmers by grabbing an old emergency board off the beach and charging in The worried dad searched desperately for another camper with a surfboard who could head out into the swell to help his son. 'I said, my son's gone out, he's only 14, can you come out?' Little did he know Clayton, a nipper at Tweed Heads Coolangatta Surf Club, already had things under control. Seven people were getting swept out to sea by a powerful tide when Clayton grabbed a tattered old emergency board from the beach and headed into the surf. 'There was five people together in one group and one guy was in a bad way,' Barry said. Clayton reached the men but the situation was so panicked 'one of them tried to grab him and pull him under'. Surf life savers are often warned people in drowning situations can panic and accidentally sink the people coming to rescue them. Clayton and his mate Harry were at Wooyung Beach, on the New South Wales north coast, when seven people were swept out to sea Clayton helped four of the men to shore on the board. Once he reached a sandbank, he paddled the three most exhausted men, said to be aged in their 20s, in entirely by himself. One of the men, holidaymaker Ben Jeffrey, 28, was 'in a bad way'. Clayton put him in the recovery position and a registered nurse staying at the caravan park later helped keep him conscious. Mr Jeffrey, from Portarlington, Victoria, later told Clayton he was 'within a minute' of giving up. Police and paramedics help are seen helping Ben Jeffreys, 28, after the near-catastrophe The nasty rip at Wooyung Beach, where Clayton was the 'hero of the day' Mr Jeffrey's girlfriend, Christine Campbell, said Clayton was 'the hero of the day. 'He took control of the situation. He saved Ben's life. He took in four of them. 'I've never actually encountered a young man that took charge like that. The emergency surfboard Clayton plucked off the beach "He needs an award, he needs a medal.' A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed three crews were called to the remote beach. Far North Coast Surf Life Saving said lifesavers helped get ambulance 4WDs onto the beach. Paramedics stabilised Mr Jeffrey and he was taken to Tweed Heads District Hospital. Ms Campbell confirmed Mr Jeffrey is OK. Police who attended the scene have reportedly suggested Clayton could be nominated for a bravery award. But his father's just glad his son - and those he rescued - are all safe. 'It was exciting for our last day of holidays,' he laughed. Seen until 29 February @ Societe Budapest. Acting for cities is all about beautifying them, breathing life into them and making them attractive to those who live, work and relax in them or who are just passing through. Keen to move a little further forward in its role as an urban actor, ATENOR has opted to takea sideways look at cities through Street Art. Its a way of seeing places in a different light, showing neighbourhoods in their present state and imagining their future. This led to a partnership with the photographer Benoit Feron. A lawyer by profession, Benoit Feron is also a recognised Belgian photographer. He has brought out several books, and his works have been widely exhibited in Belgium and France. He has also won a number of prizes, including the best photograph award at the exhibition LArt pour lAccueil. Sharing the same passion for cities, their history, their citizens and their evolution, ATENOR and Benoit Feron have joined forces to launch the exhibition Art for Cities. Street Art is an integral part of our cities history. These riches have been created by the citizens themselves down the ages. Often hidden and temporary, Street Art tells of the cities history and helps to map out their future. It is accessible art, a form of free expression that is within everybodys reach and which brings life to a city, its inhabitants, its landscape and its architecture. As a European urban actor, ATENOR wishes to build interest in Street Art and reveal its beauties throughout Europe, overlooked or misinterpreted though they often are by the urban population. Urban art is often the precursor and herald of change in the gestation of a city. It enlivens and transforms abandoned spaces. Taking part in the evolution of cities and breathing life into neighbourhoods are missions that ATENOR has set itself. As such, this exhibition was an obvious choice. To carry out this project, photographer Benoit Feron travelled around the major European cities in which ATENOR is present. Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris, Lisbon, Dusseldorf, Warsaw, Budapest and Bucharest became his investigation scenes and his hunting grounds. His photos display Street Art from an artists viewpoint but also place it in its urban context. So each photograph in the exhibition will be accompanied by a picture and a text that describe its origin and its environment. And itis at the heart of Europe, in Brussels, that the fruits of this meeting between ATENOR and Benoit Feron will be revealed for this first time. This first show was at the Arthus Galley, a prestigious and highly reputed location in Belgium. Dedicated to celebrating street photography in the various cities where ATENOR has a presence, the exhibition will subsequently travel across Europe. From 2020, following Brussels, the cities of Luxembourg, Paris, Lisbon, Warsaw, Budapest and Bucharest will all host the exhibition ATENOR, Art for Cities. Venue: Societe Budapest 1051 Budapest, Sas utca 15. Click here to visit Atenor Hungary online Ross Kemp has confronted Tommy Robinson in his cell during a TV documentary about prison, after the former leader of the English Defence League complained about being put in solitary confinement. As hundreds of Robinsons supporters were preparing to rally outside the prison, Kemp visited the inmate to ask why he had called for the demonstration on social media. I wanted to make sure I have my rights, said the far-right activist. I know what 10 weeks of solitary confinement does. Its not good for you, added Robinson, who was being kept separate from other inmates in a cell with books and snacks, according to footage from Kemps Sky documentary on HMP Belmarsh. Its not solitary confinement, as in terms of the cooler. Its not a box with nothing in it, Kemp replied. Youve got a TV. Youve got a kettle. Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police Show all 11 1 /11 Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) supporters in Oxford Street protesting against his prison sentence after he was jailed for nine months for contempt of court PA Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police Police chase supporters in order to keep them apart from counter-protesters AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police Police confront supporters AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police PA Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police AFP/Getty Images Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police PA Tommy Robinson supporters standoff with police PA The presenter spoke to the anti-Islam agitator, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, while he was serving time at the Belmarsh maximum security facility for contempt of court. Kemp asked him whether he thought a protest that could end in violence would help his cause, to which Robinson replied it sends a message to the establishment. He also questioned him over how other inmates would feel hearing people calling for his release. The presenter also reminded Robinson that staff were having to work extra for the prisons safety during the protest. Kemp, whose documentary on the notorious HMP Belmarsh aired on ITV on Thursday night, also went back to visit a teary Robinson then with a beard and bushy hair at the end of his two-month sentence. Tommy Robinson in tears as he shares struggle of solitary confinement Robinson was jailed after he live-streamed a video on Facebook involving defendants in a criminal trial, which breached a court reporting ban. I know Im going home to my kids and you just want to be normal, he told Kemp as he was preparing to leave. In Welcome to HMP Belmarsh, Kemp is also seen accidently inhaling spice from a prisoners vape, which he claimed left him unable to speak. Police have finally determined the identity of woman found dead in a Georgia cornfield back in 1981 - ending a murder mystery that baffled detectives for almost four decades. On Thursday, investigators stated that a tip-off and DNA testing helped close the cold case, with the woman dubbed 'Jane Doe' revealed to be travelling carnival worker, Cheryl Hammack. Hammack's body was discovered on Halloween 1981 in a field outside the town of Dixie. At the time, Georgia Bureau of Investigations determined that she had been stabbed in the abdomen and strangled . Police were unable to identify her and learned only that she was 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 105 pounds. They estimated that she was somewhere between 18 and 24 years old. Police have finally identified the body of a woman found dead in a Georgia cornfield back in 1981. DNA tests have determined that she was Cheryl Hammack, a member of a travelling fair. A 1981 police sketch is pictured left, and a photograph of Hammack is pictured right Investigators tried to link the remains to a database of missing persons, but were unable to come up with a match. They also released a public sketch which showed the victim with shoulder length hair and hazel eyes. Without any leads as to the woman's identity, investigators even displayed her body at a local funeral home in the hopes that one local might recognize her. The attempt proved unsuccessful, and the woman was eventually buried in a grave with a headstone which read: 'Known only to God'. The victim was eventually buried in a grave featuring a headstone which read 'Known only to God' after she was unable to be identified Shortly after the murder, investigators arrested a man by the name of George Newsome, who was working at a travelling fair in a nearby town. According to WTXL, police found rope inside his trailer home which they believed matched the one which was used to strangle the victim. However, Newsome refused to cooperate and escaped from custody a short time after. He was rearrested in 1983, and confessed to the murder. He claimed he met the woman at a travelling fair in Tallahassee, Florida, but refused to disclose her name. Newsome died in prison in 1988. The case went cold for three decades, before a tip-off came in late 2018 from a woman who claimed she had a childhood friend who matched the police sketch created back in 1981. The woman saw the sketch pop up on Facebook and contacted the police. She also believed her friend, Cheryl Hammack, had gone off to work in a travelling fair. Investigators exhumed the victim's remains and tested her DNA against samples given by Hammack's relatives. Lo and behold, there was a match. Hammack's sister, Johnnie Hammack-Hay, told WXTL on Thursday that her older sibling had left their Georgia town to join the travelling fair. As they lived three hours from the town where she was found dead, they did not hear about the high-profile murder. They assumed she had fled to start a new life. 'It was difficult,' Hammack-Hay stated. 'Not knowing if she was safe or if she was being taken care of. A lot of worrying. A lot of looking. We searched and searched and we just had no answers.' In an uneasy moment, Asheen Phansey was trying to be funny. Amid recent tensions between Washington and Tehran, during which U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to target 52 sites important to Iran & the Iranian culture, Phansey suggested that Irans supreme leader might want do the same and get specific. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should tweet a list of 52 sites of cultural American heritage that he would bomb, Phansey, an adjunct professor and administrator at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., wrote on Facebook earlier this week. Um . . . Mall of America? . . . Kardashian residence? He would later describe the post as a bad attempt at humor, telling Boston news outlets that he was only poking fun at the nations relative lack of ancient culture. But his apology couldnt save his job: The business school announced Thursday it had fired him. This particular post from a staff member on his personal Facebook page clearly does not represent the values and culture of Babson College, the college said in a statement. For his part, Phansey expressed regret that Babson did not come to his defence and instead fired him just because people willfully misinterpreted a joke I made to my friends on Facebook, he said in a statement to the Boston Herald. The incident marks the most recent instance of college professors drawing flak for their commentary on current events, particularly as questions of academic freedom and free speech play out in an increasingly volatile era of politics and policy. While decades of First Amendment case law prevents officials at public universities from restricting what their employees can say, or punishing them for expressing their views, private schools like Babson enjoy much greater leeway on the matter. So when academics have made controversial posts on social media about any number of news items mass shootings, the death of former first lady Barbara Bush, or North Koreas imprisonment of Otto Warmbier their posts have resulted in a range of disciplinary outcomes. Yet, Phansey may be the first administrator to be disciplined for his Facebook posts. Just a few months after receiving his MBA from Babson in 2008, he began working as an adjunct professor in the universitys graduate program. In between teaching courses about marketing and sustainable entrepreneurship, he also helped develop curriculum for an undergraduate class combining biology and business. In February 2019, he made the jump from the tech world to campus full-time, joining Babsons administration to lead the schools sustainability initiatives. As Trump initially floated the possibility on Saturday of retaliatory strikes against Iran, drawing widespread condemnation, Phansey chimed in on Facebook. (Trump has since backed away from the possibility of war with Iran.) His post drew attention almost immediately, first boosted online by a Massachusetts tabloid-blog hybrid that is alternately devoted to supporting the New England Patriots and investigating social justice warriors. The blog wrote that echoing Trumps threats would cost Phansey his job, but that a Facebook post encouraging Iran was likely to get the professor tenure. Needless to say, the opposite was true. On Wednesday, just one day after the blog post, Babson said it had launched an investigation into the matter and suspended Phansey with pay. Through a public relations firm, Phansey told local news outlets on Wednesday that, as a born and raised American, he regretted the post, which had merely been his attempt at making a humorous juxtaposition: Where Iran has centuries-old churches and mosques, he said, the U.S. is home to a gargantuan mall in Minnesota and multimillion-dollar homes for reality stars. I am completely opposed to violence and would never advocate it by anyone, he wrote in a statement to the Boston Herald. I am sorry that my sloppy humor was read as a threat. I condemn all acts of violence . . . I am particularly sorry to cause any harm or alarm for my colleagues at Babson, my beloved alma mater. Less than 24 hours later, he was fired. In other cases where professors have mixed mentions of Trump, or his politics, with suggestions of violence, colleges have made similar moves. In 2017, the University of Tampa fired a visiting sociology professor who tweeted that Hurricane Harvey was instant karma for the state of Texas going to Trump in the presidential election. In New Jersey that year, a similar fate awaited a gender studies adjunct at Montclair State University, who was stripped of two courses after he posting to Twitter that Trump was a f--- joke and should be shot to death. And at Drexel University in Philadelphia, a politics and global studies professor was placed on leave and then resigned two years ago after a series of controversial tweets in which he said Trumpism was to blame for the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. As he reflected on his own firing, Phansey seemed to pick up on that trend. Beyond my own situation, I am really concerned about what this portends for our ability as Americans, he told the Herald, to engage in political discourse without presuming the worst about each other. Read more about: US House Speaker Pelosi says Trump's order to assassinate Soleimani has not made America safer Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 5:43 PM US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she does not believe the administration of President Donald Trump had made America safer by assassinating Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, calling the US attack "provocative" and "disproportionate." "Last week, the administration conducted a provocative, disproportionate airstrike against Iran which endangered Americans and did so without consulting Congress," Pelosi, the highest ranking Democrat in Congress, said on Thursday at her weekly news conference. "What happened, in the view of many of us, is not promoting peace, but an escalation," she added. "I do not believe in terms of what is in the public domain, that they have made the country safer by what they did," she said. Pelosi said that when she was briefed on the airstrike over the weekend by Secretary of US Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, she said that they were "disdainful in terms of not consulting Congress" and "dismissive." Pelosi spoke hours before the House is scheduled to vote on a war powers resolution to prevent Trump Trump's ability to launch military action against Iran. "Today, to honor our duty to keep the American people safe, the House will move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the President's military actions regarding Iran," Pelosi said in a statement on Wednesday. "Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the Administration's decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward," Pelosi said in her statement. The war powers resolution will likely pass in the House of Representatives, where Democrats hold the majority, but its passage in the Senate, where Trump's fellow Republicans have majority, is not clear. The US military carried out an airstrike on the direction of Trump at Baghdad's international airport early on Friday, assassinating Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, as well as eight other companions. Early on Wednesday, Iran responded to the assassination, striking the American airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq and another in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. CNN said in an editorial that the US assassination of General Soleimani has brought America to the "brink of its first hot war" with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Djibouti's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, in Djibouti, capital of Djibouti, on Jan. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Han) DJIBOUTI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday vowed to boost pragmatic cooperation with Djibouti and called for promoting the bilateral strategic partnership to a new level. Wang made positive comments on the development of China-Djibouti relations, saying that China is a sincere, reliable and long-term partner of Djibouti when meeting with Djibouti's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. Djibouti has become one of the most stable and fastest-growing countries in the Horn of Africa by giving full play to its unique geographical advantages and actively carrying out foreign cooperation, Wang said. Wang thanked Djibouti for its firm support on issues involving China's core interests and major concerns. Wang said that China is willing to look at its relations with Djibouti from a strategic and long-term perspective and further deepen political mutual trust with Djibouti. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Djibouti in aspects including fleet escort, peacekeeping, anti-terrorism and anti-piracy to make greater contributions to peace and security in Africa, said Wang. Youssouf thanked China for its selfless help and strong support to Djibouti for a long time, saying that China's foreign minister's first visit to Africa at the beginning of the year reflected China's friendship for African countries and Djibouti. This visit also coincides with the 41st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Djibouti and China and is worth celebrating together by both sides, said Youssouf. Djibouti is willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in blue economy, digital economy and other fields under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Youssouf said Djibouti welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in Djibouti and more Chinese provinces and cities to carry out local cooperation with Djibouti. Djibouti is also willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China on international and regional affairs of common concern, said Youssouf. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) asked Universal Grants Commission (UGC) to bear the cost of service and utility charges for the hostel residents in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). MHRD secretary Amit Khare met a Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) delegation and appealed to the students to withdraw their agitation. Khare also held a meeting with JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar along with Rectors and Registrar of the varsity. "Prof. Jagadesh Kumar also informed that a circular has already been issued by JNU on 09th January, 2020 clarifying that Service and Utility charges for the hostel residents are not being charged from the students. UGC has been requested to bear the cost of these charges. The same was also communicated to the JNU students during the meeting with Secretary today," an official release of the MHRD said. The MHRD Secretary also met UGC Chairperson Dr D P Singh to discuss the matter. Khare asked UGC to provide the necessary funds in this regard. JNU students have been protesting against the fee hike in the varsity for the months now. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Trump speaks from the White House in Washington on Jan. 08, 2020. During his remarks, Trump addressed the Iranian missile attacks that took place last night in Iraq and said, As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Trump: 4 Embassies Were Targeted in Imminent Threat From Iran Before Airstrike President Donald Trump said Iran had targeted four American embassies before the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani a week agothe clearest details yet on the intelligence U.S. officials had gathered ahead of the airstrike in Baghdad. We will tell you, probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad, Trump said in an interview with Fox Newss Laura Ingraham on Friday, adding, I can reveal that I think it wouldve been four embassies. On Thursday, he told reporters Iran was looking to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also told reporters on Friday at the White House that attacks on U.S. embassies would have likely been targeted by Iranian assets. We dont know exactly which day it would have been executed, but it was very clear: Qassem Soleimani himself was plotting a broad, large-scale attack against American interests, and those attacks were imminent, Pompeo later told CBS News. Following Soleimanis death, Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at U.S. soldiers housed in Iraqi bases on Tuesday night, causing no casualties. Iranian officials said the attack was in retaliation for Soleimanis killing. Debris is seen from a plane crash on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photos/Mohammad Nasiri) The United States said Soleimani was also responsible for the deaths of numerous American soldiers over the years, and in April 2019, his Quds Force was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Department of State. Over the past year or so, tensions between the United States and Iran have risen following an attack on a Saudi oil facility that officials blamed on Iran, while Tehran was also accused of capturing oil tankers traveling in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Additional sanctions were announced against Iran on Friday, said Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday. The sanctions include 17 specific measures against Irans largest steel, iron, aluminum, and copper manufacturers as well as eight top Iranian officials involved in the missile attack. Those officials include Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council; Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, deputy chief of staff of Iranian armed forces; and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), according to the Department of Treasury. In an announcement about his executive order, Trump wrote that he is holding the Iranian regime responsible for attacks against United States personnel and interests by denying it substantial revenue that may be used to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence. After Trump announced that sanctions would be levied earlier in the week instead of a military action, Iranian officials lodged more threats. We could mount the operation in a way that 500 would be killed in the first step and, if they responded, in the second and third steps, their casualties would have reached 4,000 to 5,000, Brigadier General Hajizadeh said on Thursday, according to state-run media. The U.K.s looming departure from the European Union, due on Jan. 31, has given new urgency to attempts to restore the government. Northern Ireland has the U.K.s only border with an EU member country, and Brexit will challenge the status of the currently invisible frontier, potentially pushing Northern Ireland into a closer embrace with its southern member, the Republic of Ireland. Both of the two main parties -- the DUP and Sinn Fein -- want a say on what happens next. Asia Japan, China to Craft New Political Document for Xi's State Visit Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping. / Kyodo TOKYOJapan and China have decided to craft a new major political document that will lay the foundation for their future relations, to be unveiled when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits as a state guest in the spring, sources close to the matter said Thursday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Xi agreed to create the document, the fifth of its kind since the countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1972, in a meeting in December last year in Beijing, the sources said. Read more. You may also like these stories: Japanese Film Festival Expands to Myanmars Capital for 8th Edition Japan, China Concerned Over Economic Risks After US-Iran Showdown Japan to Launch Project to Boost Farm Productivity in Myanm Lucknow, Jan 11 : To brace up the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, a meeting of top officials held at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence to implement the Police Commissioner system in the state. The meeting which continued till late Friday night was attended by top officials including S.P. Goyal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister; O.P. Singh, Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police; Avnish Avasthi, Principal Secretary of Home Department. Sources said the Police Commissioner system will be introduced first in Lucknow and Noida. Earlier, sources in the government revealed to IANS that despite a stiff opposition from the influential IAS lobby, Chief Minister Adityanath has decided to introduce the Police Commissioner system, initially in the capital Lucknow and UP's upscale metro town NOIDA. The Police Commissioner system gives free hand to the local police chief to act freely and swiftly, particularly in a law and order situation. In UP, the Superintendent of Police (district police chief), presently seeks permission from the District Magistrate(DM) in most of the decisions concerned with maintaining law and order. A report of the UP government revealed that one of the reasons of a deteriorating law and condition in the metro cities is the absence of the Police Commissioner system. Earlier, then UP Governor Ram Naik has suggested implementation of the Police Commissioner system to tackle challenges on crime and law and order front. However, the IAS lobby in the state had opposed the move and the proposal initiated from Director General of Police's (DGP) desk was shelved in the Chief Minister's Secretariat. Sources said that of late, Adityanath, who also holds the home portfolio, was convinced that like other states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and Karnatka where the Police Commissioner system is seen as an efficient model of policing, UP should also have the same system for a better and effective police. Sources said that besides Noida and Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Agra and other big towns could also have a Police Commissioner system under the BJP rule. Indian law says such practices are anti-competitive if they end up stifling competition and limiting consumer choices. The CCI did not respond to a request for comment. New Delhi: Indias antitrust regulator is looking into allegations that Maruti Suzuki, the countrys biggest car maker, pushes buyers to purchase insurance policies offered by the company, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in June last year received an anonymous complaint alleging insurance plans recommended by Maruti while selling cars resulted in customers paying more compared with other options in the market. Based on the complaint, the CCI is assessing whether Maruti has engaged in so-called tie-in arrangements, in which a car maker promotes preferred suppliers of complementary goods such as lubricants or insurance, the sources said. Indian law says such practices are anti-competitive if they end up stifling competition and limiting consumer choices. The Commission is looking into the complaint and it will take a while, said one of the two sources, who declined to be named as the case details are private. In response to Reuters questions, a Maruti spokesman said: We are not aware of any such alleged complaint that is being investigated by CCI and therefore cannot comment on the same. The CCI did not respond to a request for comment. The watchdog can still throw the complaint out if it finds no merit in the allegation, or order a deeper probe by its investigations arm. Maruti is already the subject of another antitrust investigation in India. Last year, the CCI ordered its investigations unit to probe allegations the carmaker limits discounts its dealers can offer, a prohibited anti-competitive practice if it hurts consumers. If the CCI decides to launch a wider probe into the new complaint, it could ask its investigation unit to wrap it into the ongoing case into Marutis discounting practices, or order a fresh investigation, the second source said. It was not clear over what period the anonymous complaint about insurance sales relates to. Maruti, majority-owned by Japans Suzuki Motor, is a market leader in India with a 50% share of the passenger vehicles market. It sold 1.73 million cars in the fiscal year ending March 2019 and has around 3,600 sales outlets. The allegation of insurance tie-up arrangements against Maruti is similar to an earlier complaint against its competitor, South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co, a third source aware of the complaint told Reuters. In 2014, following a complaint from a car dealer, the CCI found initial merit in the allegations that Hyundai had entered into several tie-in arrangements, including to promote certain insurance companies, and ordered a wider investigation. However, in its final order in 2017, the CCI said Hyundais insurance arrangements were not anti-competitive. The most credible way for Maruti to show there is no tie-in would be by providing actual data on Maruti car buyers opting for insurers other than those recommended by it, said Rahul Rai, a New Delhi-based lawyer specializing in antitrust law. Lehigh Universitys newest building project cleared the first hurdle Thursday night when the Bethlehem Planning Commission offered its support to a sketch plan detailing the schools plans to grow its College of Business with a new three-story structure. The Southside Bethlehem school wants to tear down three Lehigh administrative buildings and erect the new building on a 44-space parking lot. The new addition at 459-461 Webster St., will sit across from the Rauch Business Center. Lehigh officials, project engineers and architects laid out the project for the planning commission Thursday evening and then the board voted to send it on to the city Zoning Hearing Board with feedback from city staff. The university is requesting several zoning variances related to building setbacks and impervious coverage, which are required to build on the narrow site. Much of the commissions questions Thursday centered on the the impact of the potential loss of 44 parking spaces and Lehighs overall parking strategy as it seeks to lessen car usage on its campus and promote walking. Throughout its entire campus, Lehigh has a 2,538-parking-spot surplus and 428 extra spaces on the Asa Packer campus, including a 112-space surplus in the Zoellner parking zone where the new building would sit, said Adrienne McNeil, assistant vice president for community and regional affairs. Lehighs moved to a zoned parking system where the campus is divided into 12 segments. Wherever your car is parked it must stay, McNeil explained. The university is seeing that its nudges to urge the campus community to go car-free and promote walking are working, she said. Lehigh has its own enforcement officers that hand out hefty $50 fines to violators, which incentivizes compliance, McNeil said. Lehigh University plans to construct a three-story building to expand the Rauch Business Center on this West Packer Avenue parking lot.Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com The new high-tech building will give young businesses a place to grow and students a chance to dive into the world of big data in a new data analytics lab. The proposed 18,500-square-foot building will grow Lehighs financial services lab and expand the business communications center. The Vistex Center for Executive Education -- created by Lehigh MBA alumnus and Vistex, Inc., founder Sanjay Shah -- will occupy the entire third floor. The center provides high-impact, short programs for working professionals. Lehigh is adding a business incubator program in partnership with the Baker Center for Entrepreneurship. Lehigh will need to demolish two existing university campus facilities/services planning buildings and the Zoellner Arts Center administrative offices to construct the Rauch expansion, according to a letter submitted to the city planning bureau. The administrative offices will be relocated elsewhere on campus. If the variances are granted, the project will return to the planning commission for land development approval. Lehighs Path to Prominence is an aggressive plan to grow the universitys undergraduate and graduate enrollment by 1,500 students, attract more leading researchers to the faculty and open a new College of Health. Its meant lots of building activity on the campus in recent years. SouthSide Commons, a new five-story development of 426 student apartments at Packer and Brodhead avenues, opened last fall. The university is building a cluster of six new residence halls west of the the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall. The first $75 million phase of the New Residential Houses project -- originally dubbed Bridge West -- is already underway and three of the houses will be available to students starting this fall. Lehigh broke ground in October on the $145 million Health, Science and Technology building that will house the College of Health. Steps away from the proposed Rauch expansion, HST is being built on a former faculty parking lot behind Whitaker Laboratory at the corner of Morton and Webster streets. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media NEW HAVEN City police are investigating a reported shooting in the area of Willis Street, according to the department. Please avoid the area! Updates to follow, officials said on Twitter at 2:19 p.m. removing social justice requirements from undergraduate general education and introductory college courses, removing social justice positions from higher education administration, eliminating the "co-curriculum," eliminating experiential learning courses, and removing social justice criteria from accreditation. If young Americans don't have the courage to stand for liberty and freedom, then they deserve not to be free. If you're simply going to go along forever and do nothing and merely stolidly accept your fate, then you will lose all of your freedom. Students need to do something-frankly, they should be marching every single day to protest this and to ask for this board of parasites to be fired and to have their tuition remission. But short of that: graduate, leave, and go to your employers and say, "I took all of the real courses, I didn't take the fake courses"...Go to the university and say: "Give me my diploma, I got a real education-a better one than the one you wanted me to get." Students must not be helpless. Students must take their fate into their own hands. This is what free Americans do. Social-justice education is merely a symptom of an even deeper perversion of academic values: The cult of race and gender victimology, otherwise known as "diversity." The diversity cult is destroying the very foundations of our civilization. There exists a bedrock of core facts that precede any later revisionist interpretations. They would include, at bare minimum: the events that led to the creation of the nation-state in Europe; the achievements of Greco-Roman civilization; familiarity with key works of Shakespeare, the Greek tragedians, Twain, Dickens, Wordsworth, and Swift, among others; an understanding of genetics and the functioning of neurons, and the philosophical basis for constitutional democracy, among hundreds of other essential strata of the human ecology. I have no basis for judgment [on my student's commitment to social justice and diversity]. When I teach evidence law, politics don't come up at all under any circumstances and I have no opportunity-and no desire-to judge the politics of my students in the classroom. In order to get a job at UNC law school on the faculty, there's a committee that the dean will appoint to hire the person, but the candidate has to go around and meet all of the other faculty. And then they will have a big faculty meeting to talk about the candidate. They'll never hire a conservative because they don't want anybody in "the club." I've come to believe that we need to centralize the management of academic institutions so that if you don't have viewpoint diversity, you can go talk to the leader- or group of leaders- and say, "You have a problem here, you need to bring in different points of view." Social justice education-which teaches young people to view the world through the lens of oppression and demands unquestioning conformity-pervades nearly every nook and cranny of higher education: the administration, general education requirements, extracurriculars, university mission statements, and academic departments.On January 6, the National Association of Scholars (NAS) co-sponsored an event with the Martin Center to introduce a report on the spread of social justice education in the academy. The first speaker was the report author David Randall, the research director at NAS, followed by a talk by Heather Mac Donald , the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. A panel discussion followed, moderated by John Hood, president of the John William Pope Foundation.While extensive reporting has covered social justice's perverse effects in the academy, few have provided as comprehensive a guide as David Randall. In his new report,, Randall catalogs the ways in which social education has "captured" the academy. Randall dives into course curricula, university-sponsored conferences, student orientations, and all the "training" sessions or workshops that students, faculty, and administrators are required to attend.Randall wrote. According to Randall, the words referring to social justice include: diversity, inclusion, equity, multiculturalism, sustainability, and civic engagement.During his talk, Randall noted that higher education has no easy solutions to rid itself of social justice ideology. Indeed, he said that he "preaches alarmism" and is not optimistic about it ever being rooted out of colleges and universities.Nevertheless, in the conclusion of his report, Randall offers some recommendations on how to eliminate social justice education. The nine reforms he recommends include:Furthermore, he writes that those reforms should happen at both the federal and state levels.In Randall's view, the most promising way to combat social justice education is through what he calls "student non-cooperation." He encourages students to not cooperate when they are required to toe the social justice line-whether it be in a class assignment, attending an event, or participating in residential life activities. That idea particularly poses a challenge to those conservative students who sometimes hide their opinions for fear of receiving a bad grade. But Randall encourages them to boldly refuse social justice advocates' demands. Randall told the Martin Center that:He continued:After Randall, Heather Mac Donald took to the podium and offered her own analysis of why the academy and the culture have fallen prey to social justice ideology:In her talk, Mac Donald argued that diversity and social justice ideologies have been able to take over every aspect of colleges and universities because they fail to teach students essential core knowledge-which she argues is a central role of education. She emphasized that when people forget what education's purpose is, any number of alternative and harmful ideologies fill the void.In one of the final chapters of her book,, Mac Donald wrote:As a way to fight the "diversity cult's" perverse hold on higher education, Mac Donald urges alumni not to give money to their alma maters unless the schools are still In an interview with the, Mac Donald said she sees a need for alternative institutions to be created. She even mentioned the possibility of ashe said.The event concluded with a panel discussion that featured Mike Adams, professor of criminology at UNC-Wilmington; Steve Long, a member of the UNC Board of Governors; and Jonathan Jordan, a former North Carolina state representative.As a faculty member, Adams was asked to give his account of social justice's influence on academia. He began his remarks by saying that the issue of social justice activism affects him "very directly" and he related an incident that occurred earlier that day. He had to fill out a letter of recommendation for one of his high-achieving students who was applying for a master's degree in social work at UNC-Chapel Hill.Adams said he had to fill out an online form where he was prompted toHe said that he's usually able to opt out of answering certain questions, and check a box entitledAccording to Adams, one of the questions prompted him to rate on a numerical scale how much he agreed or disagreed with the following statement:There was nowhere for him to opt out of answering the question. Adams told the audience:Nevertheless, Adams said he was being forced to evaluate his student based on social justice criteria. If he didn't rate her well based on those criteria, he said that it would beAdams said.The next panelist, Steve Long, focused on the issue of the lack of viewpoint diversity in UNC system schools.he said.As an example of the structural problem, Long pointed to the unfair hiring process of faculty at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law:Long said that he doesn't know if that is the solution, but thinks it should be considered.The final panelist, Jonathan Jordan, spoke about how he helped work on the free speech bill which became law in 2017. He said that the passing of a free speech law in North Carolina was very important to him because Appalachian State University, which is in the district he represented at the time, had a free speech zone. Jordan told the audience that the free speech zone at Appalachian "comprised 0.67 percent of the campus property...When I went to college, I thought a university was a free speech zone," he said.Jordan also spoke about how the law would prevent the university administration from forcing faculty or students-or anyone in the campus community-to take positions on public policy issues.In the end, the day's event, although sobering, provided insightful discussion and analysis of how colleges and universities have lost their way. Yet, there is hope that true reform of higher education is possible. But, as indicated by the panel participants, that reform can-and must-come from multiple sources: from within academic departments, the legislature, and university governing boards. Neil Grace McKinsey & Co has named Neil Grace head of media relations for North America. He spent nearly nine years at the Federal Communications Commissions, working as press secretary and senior communications & policy advisor. Grace has PR firm experience, gained from a seven-year run as a director in Burson-Marsteller's issues & crisis management unit. McKinsey's blue-chip image has been under assault from recent media criticism over its work for Saudi Arabia and US Immigration & Customs Enforcement. On Dec. 4 the management consultant lashed out at a New York Times and ProPublica piece about its work for ICE, saying the article "fundamentally misrepresents McKinseys work, disregards facts that we provided before publication and misleads readers about both the substance and goals of our work." The years first meeting of the Egg Harbor City Council welcomed three new Republican members, who were sworn-in by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, and state Sen. Chris Brown, R-Atlantic. Then fellow Republican and longtime Councilman Cliff Mays dropped a bomb in the midst of the ceremony, claiming that our governing body is consumed by white nationalists. Thats a divisive charge and would be very serious if supported by some evidence that theres a basis for it. For starters, as Council President Angelo Lello said, a reorganization meeting isnt the place for serious new concerns. Unless Mays wanted to take advantage of the event to provoke the greatest reaction, he should have brought his charge to fellow council members for discussion which is what Lello said would happen later. The only example Mays offered of white nationalists was that a council member had hugged a departing former Democratic member whose Facebook posts had been condemned as racist and transphobic by leading Atlantic County Democrats. Thats more than a stretch. Asked what he meant by white nationalists, Mays said they are simply people who dont like black people. Mays needs to take this matter more seriously if he wants others to. Kalanidhi Naithani, a 2010 batch IPS officer, took charge as the new Senior Superintendent of Police of Ghaziabad district on Friday afternoon. After assuming the charge, Naithani told media persons here that "visible policing" will be his first priority as it maintains the fear of law among anti-social elements. He said police will also ensure security for women in the district. On the issue of traffic snarls in the city, Naithani said the problem would be resolved with the help of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and the municipal corporation. Before joining Indian Police Service, Naithani was as scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Naithani has replaced SSP Sudhir Kumar Singh who has been posted to 15th battalion of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) Agra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (17,235.57, up 67.75 points.) Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB). Health care. Up 15 cents, or 6.61 per cent, to $2.42 on 11 million shares. Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA). Energy. Down five cents, or 0.85 per cent, to $5.83 on 10.3 million shares. Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE). Energy. Down one cent, or 0.52 per cent, to $1.90 on 9.8 million shares. Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSX:CPG). Energy. Up three cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $6.01 on 8.2 million shares. Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Down seven cents, or 0.53 per cent, to $13.05 on 7.3 million shares. Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Up 31 cents, or 1.14 per cent, to $27.48 on 4.75 million shares. Companies in the news: Air Canada (TSX:AC). Up 56 cents to $49.60. Budget airline Swoop is adding flights to three Atlantic Canadian cities from Hamilton this summer. The expansion by the low-cost subsidiary of WestJet Airlines Ltd. marks the parent companys latest move to challenge Air Canadas dominance in the Maritimes. The new flights also represent a boon for Hamiltons John C. Munro International Airport, which suffered several losses last fall when ultra-low-cost rival Flair Airlines took off for Torontos Pearson airport and Air Canada cancelled its Hamilton-Montreal route amid sluggish sales. Swoops new routes to St. Johns, Nfld., Moncton, N.B., and Charlottetown will run between late June and late October. WestJet and its regional service WestJet Encore already fly to the three cities from Toronto. Cenovus Energy Inc. Oilsands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. says it will aim to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, joining a recent cavalcade of oil companies trumpeting their environmental aspirations. The Calgary-based firm says it intends to reduce its emissions per barrel by 30 per cent by 2030, while keeping flat its total emissions. It says it will do that with a multi-pronged approach including operational optimization, incorporating electricity cogeneration capacity into future oilsands phases, more use of solvent technology to reduce steam needed to produce bitumen, methane emissions reductions in its conventional drilling operations and through increased use of data analytics. Aritzia Inc. (TSX:ATZ). Up $3.48 or 16.9 per cent to $24.01. Aritzia Inc. says it earned $34.8 million in its third quarter, up from $32.6 million a year earlier, as net revenue grew 10 per cent compared with a year ago. The Vancouver-based fashion retailer says its net revenue totalled $267.3 million in the quarter ended Dec. 1 compared with $242.9 million in the same quarter last year. Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, were up 5.1 per cent. On an adjusted basis, Aritzia says its profit amounted to 32 cents per diluted share for what was the third quarter of its 2020 financial year, up from an adjusted profit of 31 cents per diluted share a year earlier. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2020. WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI From a defendant in a wheelchair flipping a table in court to a look at how developers have changed the Ann Arbor skyline throughout the years and a farewell to a longtime loved Kerrytown business, there was a lot of news in the Washtenaw County Jan. 5-10. Heres a roundup of 10 of the top headlines you may have missed from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County this week, including crime, politics, business and more. Man rises from wheelchair, flips heavy table during court hearing Frustrated with how things were going in court, an Ypsilanti Township man facing multiple felony charges rose from his wheelchair Monday afternoon and flipped the heavy table in front of him, sending legal papers flying. As he yelled profanities, sheriffs deputies promptly wheeled Jeremy Schuh, 39, out of Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge David Swartzs courtroom during his final pretrial hearing Jan. 6. Kerrytowns Hollanders paper shop to close after nearly 30 years An Ann Arbor paper and bookbinding shop in Kerrytown is closing after nearly 30 years. Hollanders retail shop, 410 N. 4th Ave., will close on Tuesday, June 30. Owners Tom and Cindy Hollander plan to continue a smaller online business, but want to a more relaxed schedule to spend time with family, they said. Ann Arbors small-town look fading as downtown reaches toward sky With apartments catering mainly to University of Michigan students, the three towers that have risen around Kurt Berggrens house in the last decade added more than 1,300 beds downtown, part of a housing boom thats dramatically changing Ann Arbors skyline. More than a dozen high-rises have sprouted in the last 16 years, bringing thousands more residents downtown, along with new ground-floor retail and restaurant spaces. Before-and-after views of downtown Ann Arbors dramatic transformation Downtown Ann Arbor has changed a lot in the last decade, growing taller, denser and more lively. Google street-view images from 2007-18 document the dramatic transformation, which has been met with mixed feelings from longtime residents, some of whom mourn the loss of what used to be. Ypsilanti Township offers to donate 25 acres to YMCA for new facility Officials took a step toward luring the YMCA to the Ypsilanti Township when the Board of Trustees in December OKd a donation of 25 acres of township-owned land to the organization. Trustees unanimously approved a resolution of intent on Dec. 17, to donate the property at 1500 S. Huron Road, also known as the Seaver Farm Property. The township purchased the land south of Interstate 94 in 2004, according to the resolution. The space is valued at $5.4 million. Controversial grants for sewer line benefiting former GOP chair clear review A $10-million grant to a rural township northeast of Ann Arbor was held up by Gov. Gretchen Whitmers administration last year when it was revealed a former Republican political leader would benefit from the funds. But the aid ultimately passed legal review and will be awarded, state officials said. The funds came under scrutiny in January and February 2019 when Bridge Magazine first reported that Salem Township was awarded two $10-million infrastructure grants despite never asking for them. The grants were to develop sewer and water lines to the townships urban services district, land set aside for future residential or commercial development. Protesters rally against deer cull in Ann Arbor A group of protesters gathered before Monday nights Ann Arbor City Council in opposition to the citys annual deer cull. About 10 members of FAAWN, the Friends of Ann Arbor Wildlife in Nature, demonstrated on the sidewalk in front of City Hall, 301 E. Huron St., from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. Jan. 6. Police investigating suspicious death of two found in Ypsilanti Township home Police are investigating the suspicious deaths of an Ypsilanti Township man and his sister-in-law who were found dead in an Ypsilanti Township home Saturday night, Jan 4. Man killed in M-14 fatal crash identified The man killed in Wednesdays multi-vehicle crash on M-14 in Salem Township has been identified, police said. Anthony David Kelley Jr., 33, of Detroit, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash that occurred early on Jan. 8, Michigan State Police said. University of Michigan students accused of taking photos on restricted naval base Two Chinese national students studying at the University of Michigan have been arrested after entering a restricted naval base to take photos. The students, Yuhao Wang and Jielun Zhang, each 24, appeared in U.S. District Court of Southern Florida Monday, Jan. 6, after they were arrested for entering Sigsbee Annex Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida to photograph defense installations. Previous top Ann Arbor headlines: D onald Trump suggested he "saved" Ethiopia with "a deal" which led to the nation's leader winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed secured the accolade in December, for making peace with Eritrea and other reforms actioned under his watch. However, at a rally on Thursday, the US president suggested his work was actually what should've been awarded. He said: "I made a deal, I saved a country, and I just heard the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. "Did I have something to do with it? Yeah. But that's the way it is." He added: "As long as we know that's all that matters. I saved a big war, I saved a couple of them." The US leader did not mention Ethiopia by name. An Ethiopian official told The Associated Press the remarks referred to preventing further tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt, over a massive dam that Ethiopia is completing on the Nile river. Egypt says the dam threatens its water supply while Ethiopia says it is needed for development. The official asserted that Egypt's president lobbied President Trump over the disputed dam project. This led to the US taking a role in the discussions. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Although a month has passed since the high-profile, non-combat death of Armenian soldier Arthur Adjamyan, there has not been a fair investigation into the death. The soldiers death had created much controversy in the Armenian society. Relatives of Arthur Adjamyan, who died in unclear circumstances on December 2, had rallied outside the government building to demand a fair investigation of Adjamyans death. Relatives indicated that traces of physical abuse were found on the soldiers body, a statement that was ingroned by the investigators. In particular, they accused Andranik Kocharian, chairman of the parliaments standing committee on defence and security, of neglecting Adjamyans case. Pashinyan had to receive the protesters who blocked the road and chanted slogans, demanding that Prime Minister receives them. Confining himself to a formal expression of condolences, Pashinyan traditionally promised that an objective investigation would be conducted. Moreover, Pashinyan made a controversial statement on December 26, saying that "often incidents in the army are the result of poor education." He believes, many males are guided by criminal values in the army. Indeed, the genesis of the Armenian army is precisely criminal: it was built on the basis of spontaneous detachments of militants, often led by criminal authorities. In addition, historian Aghasi Tadevosyan stated in the National Assembly of Armenia on December 20 that the level of criminalization in Armenian schools is just off the charts - out of 11 participants, 8 have admitted that they have knives. However, all this does not justify the actions of those who do not investigate the soldiers case properly. The task of the defence minister and prime minister of any country is to build an army where the soldiers would come with a clear understanding of why they came there, would have a sense of respect for their comrades-in-arms, with whom they serve a common goal, and would know that in difficult times their homeland would not abandon them. However, apparently in Armenia there are no such concepts. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Health Minister Simon Harris has told the HSE to save the Irish Community Rapid Response air ambulance. It is the first indication the State may bail the charity out since the ICRR warned in December it will ground the service if it doesnt get a large injection of cash. Although the National Ambulance Service (NAS) provides medical staff and co-ordinates the taskings, the charity needs 2m a year to fund helicopters, pilots, fuel, and an airbase. But funds have run out and the charity is struggling to get the public to donate the massive amount of money it needs to pay for the service. While Mr Harris has called on the HSE to help the charity out, it is not a forgone conclusion that it will. The Irish Examiner has learned the service-level agreement the charity signed with the NAS states that if ICRR runs out of cash, the HSE will not be liable. It has also emerged that in order to get the agreement signed in the first place, the charity told health chiefs it had wealthy benefactors who would fund the air ambulance. It has emerged a funding appeal by the charity has only raised a fraction of the 400,000 it needs. When it launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign last week, organisers insisted the service would have to be grounded in two weeks if it couldnt raise the money. The Department of Health officials say they only agreed the NAS would partner with the charity after they received assurances the charity could fund itself. A health spokesperson said: At the outset, ICRR proposed the introduction of a Munster Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in partnership with the NAS. Assurances were given that the charitable model was sustainable and that the ICRR had a number of benefactors who would support the charity for the first few years while the service evolved. The NAS agreed to enter into a partnership arrangement with the ICRR by providing communication and clinical supports and the necessary funding to secure same was secured. The minister regrets this financial shortfall has now manifested. During Budget 2020 discussions, there was no indication given that the charity was not achieving sufficient income to maintain service delivery. It is important to state the arrangement agreed with the NAS was a partnership arrangement. The service-level agreement signed by both parties makes it clear that in the event that charitable donations fall short of what is required, the HSE will not be liable to maintain the service. The minister has, however, asked the NAS to work with the ICRR to examine these matters to ensure every effort is made to protect service provision, said the health spokesperson As of 2.30pm yesterday, 223 donors had donated 7,664 via the GoFundMe page, up on the 6,424 donated by 3.45pm Tuesday. The charity says it has received more than double that amount in direct contributions, bringing the total raised to over 18,000. A HSE spokesperson said: The NAS cannot comment on any funding arrangements or issues the charity may have. CHARLESTON The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Eastern Illinois will meet at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12 at Bob's Bookstore in Charleston. This meeting is the first of a two-part session The Paths to Unitarianism Universalism. Unitarianism has a rich history. In 1568 the first Unitarian denomination was established in Transylvania, near Hungary. During the Protestant Reformation, Unitarians were considered radicals for affirming the freedom of every person to investigate and decide upon his/her religious beliefs. Later, in the 1774 the Unitarian Church was established at Essex Chapel in London but it wasnt until 1825 that the American Unitarian Association established the Unitarian churches in the United States. In 1961, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged creating the Unitarian Universalist Association composed of Unitarian Universalist Churches and Fellowships. Today, there are nearly 200,000 Unitarian Universalists in the United States and 600,000 identify as Unitarian Universalists throughout the world. Sunday, Jan 12, Roger Whitlow will present a brief overview of Unitarian Universalism and Miriam Whitlow will share her story about how she came from a Lutheran background to Unitarian Universalism. This topic will continue next month when others will share their stories. Lively discussion is encouraged and yummy refreshments will follow. Everyone is welcome. For more information about Unitarian Universalism, contact Roger Whitlow at 217-246-5829. For more information about the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Eastern Illinois, go to the Facebook page, Unitarian Universalists of Eastern Illinois. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 School secretaries are to withdraw from working on public service databases from today as a dispute continues over what they describe as a "two-tier" pay system. As approximately 1,000 secretaries around the country strike tomorrow, the trade union Forsa has announced that after the stoppage, its members will resume a work to rule. The resumption of action, which was temporarily suspended in October to allow for talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), will mean that union members are to withdraw from working on public service systems and databases. They will also refuse to carry out the functions of public servants. The escalated action is because secretaries have repeatedly been refused public service pay and conditions over the last four decades, according to Forsa. The union represents half of the estimated 2,000 school secretaries employed directly by their school's board of management and paid from the schools ancillary grant. One school secretary striking tomorrow is Paula Harrington, the school secretary at Beaumont National School for girls in Cork. The public is not fully aware of all of the jobs covered by school secretaries, Ms Harrington believes. Everyone knows school secretaries have to call parents when a child isnt feeling well but theyre not aware of the amount of work we do directly for the Department of Education. We dont just stick plasters on knees and phone parents when their children are sick, although we do all that too. No two days are the same. You have the general work, dealing with parents, teachers, kids and so on. Then you also have the invisible work, the finances and the book-keeping where we are often dealing with tens of thousands of euro. "Then we have the crux of it which is the work we do every day, directly on behalf of the Department of Education. This mainly involves inputting data into two systems: Easy-Net, an online claims system that processes all staff leave, and the Pupil Online Database. "The department wouldnt have any of this information if the secretaries didnt input it. I am 14 years in my job and if I retire in ten years time, I will leave with six days of holiday pay. Thats it. None of us have pensions, some of us must sign-on in the summer months. Its demoralising." She said the system is "antiquated, and it is anti-woman". "The majority of us are women and to me, it smacks of the old antiquated ways of the Department of Education, and of the Civil Service in general. It's like they think Oh, we can fit her in anywhere, shell be happy out and sure we can pay her a pittance. Yet they expect serious, professional work from us, and it requires a lot of skill to keep all this information up to date for the department. It is designed to keep us in our place. While her school's board of management has been quite supportive, their hands are tied as the Minister for Education "holds the purse strings", she added. Education Minister Joe McHugh tonight appealed to the trade union to defer the action which he said could potentially affect the pay of teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs). Mr McHugh said he was disappointed to see the strike proceeding and hoped the two groups could further engage at the WRC. It is understood that payroll will not be affected as a result of this work to rule, but could be affected in a number of weeks should the dispute escalate. Head of education at Forsa Andy Pike said the department had previously failed to bring forward a proposal on pay capable of resolving the issue. The offer to school secretaries was 1.5%. An offer we can only describe as insulting." There was no option but to re-commence industrial action, he added. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced Wednesday they will step back as senior royals and work to become financially independent. So how exactly does the British royal family make its money and finance its jet set lifestyle? Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, said they plan to split their time between the U.K. and North America. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William were not consulted before the statement, and Buckingham Palace is said to be "disappointed," according to the BBC reports. How Does The Royal Family Make Its Money? It is well-known the royal familys wealth has come from a number of sources. The royal family is transparent to some extent when it comes to their sources of income. Three main sources of funding exist for Elizabeth and officials of the royal family, according to the monarchy's website: the Sovereign Grant, the Privy Purse and the queen's personal wealth and income. The Sovereign Grant This is the amount of money provided by the government to the royals in support of the queen's official duties, including the maintenance of the Royal Palaces such as Buckingham Palace, St Jamess Palace, Clarence House and Marlborough House Mews. The Sovereign Grant is provided by HM Treasury, which is responsible for monitoring the application of the Sovereign Grant in accordance with the memorandum of understanding between HM Treasury and the royal household. Privy Purse, The Duchy of Lancaster And Cornwall This is a historical term used to describe income from the Duchy of Lancaster, which is used to meet both official and private expenditure by the queen. The Duchy of Lancaster is a portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust for the sovereign. It is administered separately from the Crown Estates. The Duchy of Cornwall is an estate fund the Prince of Wales' family and his public, private and charitable activities. It's a Crown entity holding land and other assets to produce income for the monarch's eldest son. Story continues The Queen's Personal Wealth The queens personal income comes from her personal investment portfolio and her private estates and is used to meet her private expenses. The queen owns the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, which were both inherited from her father. Estimates of the Queens wealth often mistakenly include items that are held by her as sovereign on behalf of the nation that are not her private property. These include the official royal residences, the majority of art treasures from the royal collection and the Crown Jewels. The queen cannot sell these items; they must pass to her successor as sovereign. Photo via Wikimedia.; 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. The numbers that usually glow with exchange rates on Travelex boards in airports worldwide have gone dark, after the London-based currency exchange company was forced to go offline after it discovered a ransomware attack on Dec. 31. The disruption has also affected banks like Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, which have been unable to fulfill foreign currency orders for their customers. Travelex said it had contained the threat and had no evidence that customer data had been removed. It has been offering only over-the-counter services since New Years Eve, when it discovered that it had been compromised by ransomware known as Sodinokibi, or REvil. The hackers told the BBC on Wednesday that they had downloaded five gigabytes of sensitive customer data since gaining access to Travelex six months ago and intended to sell it if there was no response by Jan. 14. They have demanded $6 million for the datas return, according to the BBC. India's federal power ministry has proposed a new deadline for coal-fired power plants around New Delhi to instal equipment to reduce emissions, a government official said on Friday. If the proposal is accepted, it would pose a further challenge to authorities in India's capital New Delhi grappling with pollution that can cause lung disease and blights air quality. The ministry has said that the power plants be given deadlines starting July 2020 and ending December 2021 to install the equipment, the government official, who did not want to be named, told Reuters. The last deadline for installing such equipment ended on December 31, 2019, with just one out of the 11 utilities in the national capital region having installed the equipment. The utilities could not meet the emissions standards of December 2017, which was then extended by another 2 years. The environment ministry will take the final call on the power ministry's proposal. On Dec. 30 Reuters citing documents reported Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office has proposed waiving a tax on coal to help finance pollution-curbing equipment. The official said that the finance ministry is considering waiving about $6 per ton of carbon tax on coal. Also read: Delhi's smog tower: First 'giant air purifier' to combat air pollution to be inaugurated today Also read: Tata Steel Europe stares at bleak future amid global and local concerns Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 6,467 Thanked: 29,979 Times View My Garage re: Car characteristics as per country of origin (e.g. Japan = reliability) I believe their is a certain regional aspect to what is perceived as certain car characteristics as well. Petrol versus diesel is based on very different criteria. In many western countries if you would consider yourself a petrol head, you can never ever own a diesel. Also, diesels are for company cars, not for privately owned car. Look at a diesel car in many western countries and I will show you a company car, with a sales rep in it. Certain brands also have their own brand perception in certain countries. If you own a Volvo, any Volvo, you are a bore. If you own a BMW you are a terribly aggressive driver and will never let anybody pull in. (The latter has been proven in test multiple times). In my home country the Netherland only builders/contractors will own/drive a Mercedes. The lists goes on. In the USA, if you drive any foreign cars, a substantial part of the population will consider you unpatriotic. In Europe if you own an American car, you owe something that is vastly inferior to any western/eastern brand no matter what. In Europe most people would probably still tell you that Japanese cars are more reliable then any other manufacturer. Daf, at the time, was considered a car for women only. No real men would be seen dead in a Daf. In general I would say in Europe when it comes to car characterization it is mostly what it says about the owner/driver then anything else. Google what a car brand says about yoy and you will find dozens and dozens of website, combining brands with certain traits. Not necessarily very scientific, but then again main stream opinion rarely is. Enjoy Jeroen Interesting topic!I believe their is a certain regional aspect to what is perceived as certain car characteristics as well.Petrol versus diesel is based on very different criteria. In many western countries if you would consider yourself a petrol head, you can never ever own a diesel.Also, diesels are for company cars, not for privately owned car. Look at a diesel car in many western countries and I will show you a company car, with a sales rep in it.Certain brands also have their own brand perception in certain countries. If you own a Volvo, any Volvo, you are a bore. If you own a BMW you are a terribly aggressive driver and will never let anybody pull in. (The latter has been proven in test multiple times). In my home country the Netherland only builders/contractors will own/drive a Mercedes.The lists goes on.In the USA, if you drive any foreign cars, a substantial part of the population will consider you unpatriotic. In Europe if you own an American car, you owe something that is vastly inferior to any western/eastern brand no matter what.In Europe most people would probably still tell you that Japanese cars are more reliable then any other manufacturer.Daf, at the time, was considered a car for women only. No real men would be seen dead in a Daf.In general I would say in Europe when it comes to car characterization it is mostly what it says about the owner/driver then anything else. Google what a car brand says about yoy and you will find dozens and dozens of website, combining brands with certain traits.Not necessarily very scientific, but then again main stream opinion rarely is.Enjoy https://www.skyparksecure.com/blog/w...ays-about-you/ Jeroen A heartbroken couple have issued a desperate plea for thieves to return their beloved seven-month-old pug stolen by gutless thieves during a house-break in. Emily Heiden and her partner Denis Tessari have offered a $10,000 reward to be reunited with their precious pug cross Bello, stolen from their Kellyville home in Sydney's north-west sometime between 11pm Monday and 11.30am Tuesday. The group of males thieves captured on CCTV in their backyard also allegedly stole cash, bank cards and keys. Have you seen Bello the pug cross, stolen from a Kellyville home in Sydney's north-west Denis Tessari and Emily Heiden have offered a $10,000 reward for their beloved pug Bello Emily is desperate to be reunited with her beloved dog and has launched a public appeal Ms Heiden is beyond devastated and angry over her dog's disappearance, whom she described as her rock and security. 'He brought sunshine into our world and is missed so much,' she posted in a gut-wrenching Facebook plea this week. 'For those who think it's just a dog, it's really more then that. For anyone who owns and loves a dog you know more then anyone else how much apart of your life they become and how much they impact you.' She added that Bello is missing a tooth in the middle on the bottom row, a distinctive feature that makes him stand out from similar looking dogs. 'He is super gentle and friendly, he wouldn't hurt a soul. We just need him back home with us,' Ms Heiden wrote. She told the Hills Shire Times: 'Bello is super energetic and thinks he's an Olympic champion in the running scene.' Police are viewing CCTV footage which captured four men entering the backyard of Ms Heiden's Grace Crescent home on Monday night. 'We hear barking on the footage, the guys return later and are heard on the footage laughing and saying 'I got a dog',' Ms Heiden told the publication. The Hills Police has also issued a public appeal for Bello's return and urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. Police have also issued a public appeal to find stolen pug cross Bello (pictured) The Delhi Police on Friday claimed that nine students seven of whom are from Left leaning bodies including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh were identified as suspects in the violence in the varsity campus but did not name any group yet for the brutal attack by masked goons on students and teachers that left 36 injured. The preliminary findings in the probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police which released pictures of the nine suspects were seized upon by three union ministers--Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani--who said the "Left design" in the varsity has been "unmasked" by the evidence collected by the police. Left leaders in turn accused the Delhi Police of being a "government stooge" and said the question still remained on the identity of the masked people photographed at Sabarmati hostel at the Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) on Sunday and terrorising the campus for three hours with sticks, rods and sledgehammers. The police also claimed that the January 5 violence was a fallout of the online registration process and that tension was brewing in the university since January 1. Addressing a press conference, Joy Tirkey, DCP (Crime Branch), who is heading the SIT, said the Student Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Association (AISA), Democratic Students Federation (DSF) and All India Student Federation (AISF) had been allegedly "creating nuisance and threatening the students" against the recently started online admission for the winter semester in the varsity. Those identified are Dolan Samanta, Priya Ranjan, Sucheta Talukdar, Aishe Ghosh, Bhaskar Vijay Mech, Chunchun Kumar (an alumni) and Pankaj Mishra. The other two suspects named by police are Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj. Police sources said the two are from the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). However, no one has been detained. Tirkey said notices will be served to all the suspects. He did not take any questions after the media briefing. The officer said Ghosh and eight others were involved in an attack at the Periyar hostel on January 5. Tirkey said a Whatsapp group 'Unity Against Left', believed to have been formed while the violence escalated, is also under scanner. The JNU Teachers' Association(JNUTA) accused the Delhi Police of "underplaying" the violence and termed its version as "disturbing". The Congress also accused the Delhi Police of conducting a "shoddy" investigation and alleged it was clearly influenced by the government. Human Resources Development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said involvement of JNU students in the violence as pointed out in the police probe was unfortunate. Rejecting the charges against the Left leaning students, Ghosh, who was injured, said she has not done anything wrong and all this is being done to create a narrative. On being named as one of the attackers during the violence, Ghosh, the president of the JNU Students' Union(JNUSU), said she too has evidence on how she was attacked. She said the police was quick to take cognizance of the complaint filed by the JNU administration against her but has not registered any FIR on her complaint. After meeting HRD Ministry officials, Ghosh said the JNUSU stand on its demand for the removal of Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar stands but any decision on whether to call off the agitation against the fee hike will be taken later. At his briefing, Tirkey admitted that lack of CCTV footage was a major hurdle in the investigation. "The CCTV footage could not be fetched as the wifi based system and the cameras were all disabled." He also said since the hostel rooms were specifically targeted, it indicates an insider's hand. "JNU is so vast that the outsiders cannot figure out the hostel room in the spur of the moment," he claimed. Tirkey said tensions flared up on January 5. "At around 11.30 am, four students were tensed and sitting on a bench in front of School of Social Science. A group came and there was an altercation between them over the admission process. The security staff who tried to save them also got injured," he said. "At 3.45 pm, members of the four organisations went to Periyar Hostel and attacked the students there. Some JNUSU members were also there, including their president Aishe Ghosh," he said. Inside Periyar Hostel, some specific students were targeted, police said. Thereafter, there was a peace meeting in which 120 to 130 students and teachers participated outside Sabarmati T-point between the Periyar and Sabarmati hostels. "Meanwhile, a group came there with muffled faces. They got into a scuffle with students at the T-Point and later barged into the Sabarmati Hostel. They knew which rooms were to be targeted," Tirkey said. However, the police did not name any group involved in this attack. Narrating the sequence, Tirkey said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but alleged that the left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. On January 3, around 1 pm, members belonging to the four left-wing student bodies barged into the server room, tampered with the server and shut it down. They also pushed the staff of the server room outside, Tirkey said. "Around three to four hours later, the staff of the varsity restored the server. Thereafter, police registered a complaint for assault, damaging public property and criminal intimidation," he said. An FIR naming Ghosh and others has already been filed by the JNU administration. However, she has not been named as an accused yet. A day later, some miscreants again entered the server room from its rear side and vandalised the room badly, following which another FIR was registered in that matter, the officer said. After meeting HRD ministry officials, Jagadesh Kumar said all decisions taken earlier at the Ministry about the hostel fee are being implemented "in totality" and regular classes at the varsity will start from January 13. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers on Friday staged a protest outside Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's residence alleging high power tariff in the state. AAP Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann led the agitation along with other party leaders. "People of Punjab are facing difficulties due to high power rates. Electricity rates are higher in Punjab than any other states of India," Mann told reporters here. The police also used water cannons against AAP workers to disperse them. Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur also raised the issue of electricity rates in the state. "Cong govt is breaking Punjabis' backs to fill its coffers. People in Bathinda villages are getting a whopping Rs 2.5L power bills. Amarinder Singh, you can't cover losses caused by your govt's Rs 4,100cr #CoalScam at people's cost. SAD will protect every Punjabi you're trying to rob," Kaur tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The bureau began taking applications in September and will continue to do so until February. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, fluent in English and be able to pass a criminal background check. Those hired will begin paid training in March, with official work starting in the middle of the month and expected to last several weeks, according to the bureaus FAQ page. As of Monday, only Yuma and Santa Cruz counties had met their goals for recruiting workers, according to the Census Bureau. In Arizona, most of the jobs will be for enumerators, the people who go door to door to interview people who have not filled out the census form. The bureau is especially looking for bilingual workers, particularly Spanish speakers. The hiring push has been helped by large national and statewide outreach programs. Parise pointed to a campaign in October that included social media and job fairs. Schools like Northern Arizona University and Glendale Community College have also involved the Census in career fairs and on-campus recruiting. While the numbers may seem daunting, they are actually down from the 700,000 workers who were hired for the 2010 Census, as improved technology has led to a need for fewer workers. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. WASHINGTON Only one New Jersey representative crossed party lines Thursday when the U.S. House voted to constrain President Donald Trumps ability to wage war against Iran without congressional approval. Rep. Josh Gottheimer was one of only eight Democrats to vote against the resolution ending U.S. military attacks against Iran without congressional approval or in case of an imminent armed attack. The vote was 224-194, with three Republicans and one Republican-turned-independent voting yes. The measure, which still needs to pass the Senate, was a response to Trumps order to kill top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Iran responded by firing missiles at Iraqi military bases housing American troops. Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., offered three reasons for his no vote. First, I am concerned that this resolution, as it is written, could limit our nations ability to confront, thwart, and respond to grave and potentially unforeseen threats in the region, Gottheimer said. Second, I am concerned that this resolution sends conflicting signals to Iran and to its terrorist proxies. Third, this non-binding resolution simply mirrors existing law. This time around, newly minted Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew was in sync with most of his colleagues. He switched parties after opposing Trumps impeachment, and cited a similar rationale in voting against the Iran resolution: It wont accomplish anything. This resolution does not have the force of law and will never end up on the presidents desk, said Van Drew, R-2nd Dist. "Our defense strategy deserves more thought than useless posturing legislation. The Trump administration opposed the resolution, saying it could undermine the ability of the United States to protect American citizens whom Iran continues to seek to harm. Heres how New Jerseys House members voted: Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., Yes President Trump's reckless use of force has made America less safe. Thats why my House colleagues & I passed a War Powers Resolution. We need a clear strategy to avoid another endless war & keep Americans safe. #NoWarWithIran Donald Norcross (@DonaldNorcross) January 9, 2020 Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., No We absolutely do not want war with Iran, but they continue to be a persistent threat to the United States and Middle Eastern stability," Van Drew said. The actions taken to kill the terrorist General Soleimani were decisions that needed to be taken seriously, rapidly, and with laser accuracy. Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., Yes There is a reason why our Founding Fathers gave Congress the sole responsibility to declare war," Kim said. These decisions impact the men and women serving at our Joint Base, their families and our community. The American people should have a voice in these debates; they deserve to be heard. Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., No The action by President Trump was justified, proportionate and above all necessary to protect American lives, Smith said. That said, it is astonishing that the resolution under consideration by the House today has absolutely no legal power, is non-binding and by design can neither be signed nor vetoed by the president. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist. No To protect Americans, the commander-in-chief, whether Democrat or Republican, must have the tools and capability to respond to exigent threats, whenever they rear their ugly head, Gottheimer said. That said, no president has the authority to go to war in Iran, or engage in long-term hostilities, without congressional approval. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., Yes The President escalated conflict with Iran, using force that only Congress can authorize under the Constitution. He has ignored Congresss constitutional authority and put the safety of our service members at risk in the process. Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) January 9, 2020 Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., Yes I support this resolution because passing it will protect us against going to war with a tweet, Malinowski said. "But it also ensures that if we do go to war, which we may have to at some point, we will do so with the American people united not divided, as the framers intended and our national interest demands. Rep. Albio Sires, D-8th Dist., Yes The hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the past few days have reinforced the need to ensure that any further military action is done in consultation with Congress, Sires said. "Any decision to introduce U.S. troops to new conflict or hostilities must be made collectively amongst our elected leaders, not solely at the impulse of the executive branch. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist., Yes Our generations-long failure to constrain the imperial executive has created a constitutional asymmetry, opening the door for America to be dragged into repeated wars, Pascrell said. "The House is reasserting the proper constitutional balance and seeking to prevent another damned war. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., Yes This bill gives Congress back the types of checks and balances written in the Constitution," Payne said. "President Trump has shown no respect for Congress since he was elected. His actions with Iran prove he needs congressional oversight to curb his reckless decisions, keep us out of war, and protect American lives. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., Yes With this war powers resolution, we are ensuring that this president or any future president does not enter into another war in the Middle East without a clear strategy and congressional approval as required by the Constitution, Sherrill said. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., Yes The reckless, arrogant, and ignorant decisions we've seen in recent days endangers American military members, diplomats and citizens abroad. I'm supporting the War Powers Resolution to send a message that my constituents have sent me: "No War With Iran" #nowarwithiran pic.twitter.com/zM5WsmMiOm Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) January 9, 2020 This is not the first time the House has gone on record as demanding congressional approval to launch an attack on Iran. Last July, three members of the states delegation Sherrill, a Navy veteran; Malinowski, an assistant secretary of state; and Kim, a former adviser to Gens. David Petraeus and John Allen in Afghanistan helped win passage of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act blocking Trump from attacking Iran without congressional approval. The provision was left out of the final defense policy bill after Senate Republicans balked. 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. Business bodies have urged Northern Ireland's political parties to undertake the heavy lifting needed to agree the draft deal to restore devolution. The draft deal was announced by the Secretary of State and Republic's Foreign Minister on Thursday night. Business representatives met with the Secretary of State before the document was published. Read More Trade NI, which is made up of Retail NI, Manufacturing NI and Hospitality Ulster, also welcomed the deal. "We strongly encourage all the main parties of Northern Ireland to sign the deal today and get the Assembly back up and running. "As our three organisations represent the majority of the businesses that make up private sector jobs in Northern Ireland, we are cautiously hopeful that the deal and a return of the Assembly will see the development of policies and legislation at devolved level and the kick start that our economy desperately needs. "The clear prioritisation of the Northern Ireland economy highlights the many challenges that businesses have faced over the past three years and our message to the parties is that we support you in your endeavours to secure this deal. "While this is a good start, improvements are still needed to drive the economy forward and support the growth of business across Northern Ireland. As stated in our Vision 2030 document, Northern Irelands potential is significant but reform and growth is needed to create the modern economy we are capable of and deserve." Simon Hamilton, chief executive of the Belfast Chamber - and former Finance Minister - also encouraged the politicians to do a deal. He said: For the last three years, our members have seen how an absence of decision making has stunted growth and stifled investment. "The proposed priorities for the Executive contain some issues which Belfast Chamber has been supportive of for some time. Other policies which could boost our economy are noticeably missing but we look forward to joining with our colleagues across the business community to ensure that the new Executive pursues an agenda that grows jobs and boosts our economy. The Londonderry Chamber of Commerce said it has pressed the parties to accept the deal. Its president, Redmond McFadden, said: Three years without ministers making local decisions has had an enormous impact on our economy and wider society. "A lack of effective and meaningful representation here is curtailing investment in our region, stifling job creation and driving our young people away... We know there is still some heavy lifting to be done but we are here to support the parties and the two governments and we would strongly encourage people to support politicians in their efforts to get a deal done before another deadline passes. NI Chamber chief executive Ann McGregor welcomed the announcement of a workable deal and said the Chamber encouraged the five parties to progress it. All pillars of society - business, community, unions, education and health - want to see our politicians working together again and this deal will help advance the NI economy. "It focuses on delivering what matters to our citizens - better public services, a stronger economy and a fairer society. A new Executive will address problems within the health service, reform the education & justice systems, grow the economy, promote opportunity and tackle deprivation. Tina McKenzie, Northern Ireland policy director of the Federation of Small Businesses said the published document represented a step toward restoring devolved government. The draft agreement contains some positive commitments to bolster the local economy," she said. "On issues like skills, infrastructure and Brexit. However, the return of devolution is by no means a panacea; it just means that at long last we have elected representatives in place to tackle a very difficult task." She said the next Executive had to "move quickly" on the many issues sitting in the in-trays of ministerial departments. "While the health service will be high on the agenda, we must not lose sight of the need to bolster our [small medium enterprise] economy, which is the absolute bedrock on which the first-class public services to which we all aspire are built. Ministers must move swiftly to support our economy at one of the most turbulent times for many decades, starting by lowering the rates burden on small businesses, whilst also moving forward rapidly with key infrastructure projects which have stalled; and ensuring that our schools, colleges, and universities are providing students with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. In order to begin to address these issues, the parties must put pragmatism first and get back round the Executive table. Iran's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh said he was Iran has said it is certain that a Ukrainian airliner which crashed outside Tehran this week was not hit by a missile, calling on the US and others to hand over information proving otherwise. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's national s aviation department, said in a press conference on Friday that assessments by Western intelligence that an Iranian defence system brought down Ukranian Airlines Flight 752, killing all 176 people onboard, were wrong. The US, UK and Canada on Thursday said all evidence pointed to a catastrophic error by Tehran's air defence batteries downing the aircraft. Dismissing allegations against Iran, Mr Abedzadeh said that "any remarks made before the data is extracted ... is not an expert opinion." Iran's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh said he was "certain" a Ukrainian airliner which crashed outside Tehran this week was not hit by a missile Credit: AFP The black box has been recovered and will be examined. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of Iran's investigation team into the crash, told the press conference that the black box analysis will be done in a laboratory in Iran and that it will take up to two months to extract its data and that the entire investigation into the crash could take more than one year. He said that Tehran will use expert help from Russia, Ukraine, France and Canada "if we cannot recover data" from the plane's recorders. The New York Times on Thursday released footage it said it had verified, showing a fast-moving object rising to an angle into the sky before a flash is seen, which dims and then continues moving forward. Several seconds later an explosion is heard. The video was taken in Parand, near Tehrans international airport. Another video has emerged that appears to show a plane on fire falling slowly to the ground. American intelligence agencies determined that a Russian-made Iranian air defense system fired two surface-to-air missiles at the plane, perhaps mistaking it for a hostile aircraft. Those aboard the plane most likely faced terrifying final moments. It is thought the missiles detonated just outside it, sending shrapnel and debris into the fuselage. Story continues The plane then turned back toward the airport, before it began hurtling toward the ground. We have seen some videos. We confirm that the airplane was on fire for 60 to 70 seconds," Mr Abedzadeh said. But "that it was hit by something cannot be scientifically correct. Ali Rabiei, the government's spokesman, earlier accused the US of a "big lie", saying the crash was caused by technical failure. "It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government and those supporting it are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimising them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies," Mr Rabiei said. "No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent," he was quoted as saying by Press TV. Rescue teams working at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off near Imam Khomeini airport Credit: AFP Iran invited Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane, as well as Ukraine and Canada to help with investigations. It was unclear what they would be allowed to investigate and whether they would be allowed into Iran. According to journalists who visited the crash site on Friday, authorities have already removed most of the wreckage and taken down the cordon. There were no investigators at the scene. Iran will likely not admit to shooting down the passenger jet, particularly if it was an accident as Western intelligence believes. Not only would it reveal incompetence in its air defence system, but it would also place the blame on Tehran for the deaths of 82 Iranian citizens and a number of dual nationals. Justin Trudeau, Canadas prime minister, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said "we have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence." Boris Johnson, Britains prime minister, said: "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." Pieces of the plane are seen at site after a Boeing 737 plane belonging to Ukrainian International Airlines crashed near Imam Khomeini Airport in Iran Credit: Anadolu They may hesitate to share information on such a strike because it comes from highly classified sources. Canada, the UK, France and other co-signatories of the Iran nuclear accord have been scrambling in recent months to keep the deal alive after the US withdrew in 2018. EU foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting today to seek ways to guide the US and Iran away from confrontation, knowing that a miscalculation on either side could leave the bloc facing a war and a serious nuclear proliferation crisis on its doorstep. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, warned Tehran could have nuclear weapons in one to two years if the country carries on violating the 2015 deal. Meanwhile, protesters in Iraq, will today stage large-scale protests across the country, which they say has become a staging ground for the shadow war between the US and Iran. Some have mourned the death of the slain Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, whose death in a US strike triggered the latest escalation. Others have celebrated, accusing him of ordering the killing of hundreds of peaceful protesters by Iran-backed militias. Vote paves way for UK exit from EU in just three weeks LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Britain was on course Thursday to finally end its membership of the European Union (EU) in just three weeks time. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's fast-track race to "get Brexit done" cleared its final hurdle in the House of Commons when his European Union Withdrawal Bill cleared its final hurdle by a vote of 330 to 231. The bill will now be debated in the House of Lords next week, but given its clear run in the Commons, it is not expected to face any tough opposition, and is almost certain to win Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth within days. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said he had no doubt politicians in the Lords "will have heard the resounding message from the British people on Dec. 12 (general election day)" and will have seen the clear will of the House of Commons. Not joining in the celebrations was Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party's leader at Westminster, who warned Brexit would cause a constitutional crisis for the United Kingdom. "Today will go down as the final nail in the coffin for this broken union -- as Scotland faces being dragged out of the EU against our will by an extreme Tory government with no mandate here," he told MPs after the voting concluded Thursday. Blackford said Scotland would at some point have an independence referendum and would remain as an independent European country. Johnson on Wednesday ruled out a Scottish referendum, saying people of Scotland voted in a "once in a generation" vote in 2014 to remain part of the UK. The bill paves the way for Britain to end, more than 3.5 years after the referendum, its EU membership on Jan. 31 and strike a new trade deal with Brussels by the end of the year. Until then Britain will continue to follow all EU rules and regulations. An elderly farmer, who was injured in an attack by neighbours, died in hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, police said on Friday. Ramkishun (64) and two others were attacked by their neighbours in Mawai Buzurg village of the district on Tuesday and were admitted to hospital with injuries on the same day, City Kotwali station house officer Dinesh Singh said. The senior citizen died without responding to treatment on Thursday, the SHO said. An FIR was registered in this regard against five persons and police are on the lookout for them, Singh added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UPDATED Friday, Jan. 10: When will it snow in Portland? How much? Your questions, answered. *** Before you rush out and deplete local supermarkets of their kale supply, consider this: Its too early to know whether Portland will get 6 inches of snow next week, as one weather service has predicted. Weather Underground reported on Thursday that Portland may see half a foot of snow on Wednesday. Weather Underground has predicted that Portland may see six inches of snow on WednesdayWeather Underground But the National Weather Service said its too early to know for sure how much precipitation, and what kind, will fall in Portland in the next week. David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, said they are closely monitoring the weather system coming toward the Portland area. A cold front is expected to hit Friday and drop snow in the Cascades. A strong storm system will arrive Friday and likely produce 1 to 3 feet of snow in the Cascades Friday afternoon through Saturday. Expect hazardous winter travel conditions. pic.twitter.com/JH0nYuhPyd NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) January 8, 2020 While theres a possibility snow could reach the Willamette Valley floor a few days later, there are still too many variables to comfortably predict the weather that far in advance, Bishop said. Theres quite a bit of uncertainty about how much, if any, snow will be dropped, Bishop said. Were 99% sure that any forecasts beyond six or seven days will change with new information being introduced." So Portlanders will have to wait and see if they need to rush to the stores for some emergency snow shopping. The Oregonian/OregonLive has a guide for important items to stock up on in case of a snowstorm other than leafy greens, of course. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Donald Trump has sent a 'happy birthday' message to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's national security adviser, said Trump gave him the message to pass along to Kim during a meeting in Washington on Wednesday. Chung told South Korean media that Trump wanted President Moon Jae-in to relay the message, and believes it was delivered the next day. Donald Trump sent Kim Jong-un a happy birthday message via South Korea, a diplomat who met him in Washington this week said. Kim is thought to have turned 36 on Wednesday Chung did not reveal the exact contents of the message, and did not say how it was received by the North Koreans. Kim's birthday is on January 8, and he is thought to have turned 36 years old. While in Washington, Chung also had talks with Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. Also present during the meeting with O'Brien was Shigeru Kitamura, Japan's national security adviser. Trump's message comes amid tense relations between the US and North Korea after talks aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear programme collapsed last year. Kim has repeatedly threatened to restart weapons testing if America will not return to the negotiating table, while Trump has warned Kim that he has 'everything to lose' if he fails to abide by an agreement not to test long-range missiles. North Korea had promised a 'Christmas present' for the US when it appeared talks would not resume any time soon, but it has failed to materialise. Kim Jong-un has also failed to give his traditional New Year's address, in which he lays out priorities for the year ahead and reveals what kind of relations North Korea will seek with the rest of the world. Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's national security adviser (right, alongside counterparts from the US Robert O'Brien and Japan Shigeru Kitamura), said Donald Trump relayed the message to him and asked that South Korean President Moon Jae-in give it to Kim Instead, state TV aired an hour-long documentary about his two journeys up Mount Paektu, the highest mountain in North Korea and a place of spiritual significance for the Kim regime. North Korean leaders traditionally visit the site when considering changes in direction for their nation, leading observers to believe the young dictator is still weighing up his options. The Hermit State claims to have developed nuclear weapons capable of striking anywhere on Earth, including all of mainland United States. Kim has offered to 'denuclearise' the Korean peninsula, in return for an easing of US economic sanctions and security guarantees for his regime. However, talks have come unstuck over whether North Korea must destroy its nukes before sanctions are lifted - as the US insists - or whether both should happen at the same time - as Pyongyang wants. It is also unclear what exactly 'denuclearise' means - while some in Washington insist it means the complete dismantling of the North Korean nuclear arsenal, analysts believe it could also involve re-positioning American weapons so they cannot target North Korea. Post said the progress wont come without its issues, and said he has seen other areas struggle with road maintenance where wind farms have been built, but he said the benefits are significant. It will pump some money into the county, not without challenges, Post said. Theres going to be road issues. Ive been to other counties where they are theyve been there and built them and theyre gone and they still struggle with the roads a little bit. Distribution issues that have slowed progress on the development in the past appear to have been addressed, at least in part with Western Area Power Administration. Its not a very populated area in general, and youre trying to move the resource to more populated areas, Turner said. There is a lot of transmission infrastructure going in several different directions, so there are a lot of opportunities, but when you have one of the best wind resources in the country, its always a great opportunity. The projected wind farms would be located primarily in southwest Banner County with some land leased in Kimball County and eastern Wyoming as well. This Saturday, voters in Taiwan will choose their next president and the national Legislature. Tsai Ing-wen, the incumbent president who is detested by the Chinese government because of her tough if, until recently, low-key anti-China stance, has chosen as her running mate William Lai Ching-Te, who openly promotes independence for Taiwan. That was a risky move, and it may well help her chances. Ms. Tsais popularity rating was languishing in the midteens as recently as last summer, but all recent polls place her safely ahead of her main opponent, the pro-China, populist maverick Han Kuo-yu. A third candidate, the veteran and stale politician James Soong Chu-yu, is largely irrelevant. During the last election four years ago, Ms. Tsai won by a landslide largely because the outgoing president, Ma Ying-jeou, of the Kuomintang, was widely regarded as inept and too pro-China. But Ms. Tsai soon lost her popularity, partly for pursuing a number of worthwhile but highly unpopular reforms, such as introducing same-sex marriage and getting rid of a legacy subsidy program for retired public employees that was threatening to bankrupt the government for years. Worse, she lost critical support from her base within her own Democratic Progressive Party (D.P.P.) by coming across as overly timid in her handling of the relationship with China. Her recent good fortunes are evidence that she has managed to correct that impression and for that, she can thank two chance events created by Beijings stupidity. Full legitimacy No one saw it coming, even though all the puzzle pieces were there.LVMH purchased Bulgari, the worlds third largest jewellery house (behind Cartier and Tiffany & Co.), for 3.7 billion euros in June 2011. In March 2012, the Octo was reintroduced to Bulgaris current collection. At the same time, the brand announced their intention to integrate all its horological competences within a dedicated manufacture facility in Neuchatel, giving Bulgari complete independence in product development. February 2013: Jean-Christophe Babin, former CEO of TAG Heuer, took over the reins at Bulgari. Then, between 2014 and 2018, Bulgari broke four world records in succession thinnest manual-winding tourbillon, thinnest automatic tourbillon, thinnest minute repeater and thinnest automatic time-only watch. In April 2019, Bulgari attained its fifth world record with the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic, the thinnest chronograph in the world, measuring only 6.9mm thick. In between collecting world records, Bulgari also picked up its fair share of industry awards, such as the Prix de la Montre Homme and the Prix du Tourbillon et de lEchappement at the 2017 Grand Prix dHorlogerie de Geneve. To give you an idea of the Bulgari Octos impact, the awarded watches had been presented at Baselworld just six months before Octo Finissimo Automatic, Prix de la Montre Homme, GPHG 2017 Bulgari Today, the Bulgari Octo has acquired unquestionable horological legitimacy not only through these awards, but also through the complications and mechanical features it has incorporated: tourbillon, chronograph, minute repeater, GMT indication and skeletonisation, among many others. However, the Octo collection remains deliberately limited, with only 6 large families (the five complications named above, plus the time-only model), a move that favours clarity and rarity. Bulgari Full integration Today, Bulgari fully deserves its integrated manufacture designation. Just like the Octo collection itself, Bulgari was able to go full speed in this area, thanks to its strong capital. The brand had already seen its revenues increase by 150 per cent between 1997 and 2003. Its acquisition by LVMH 8 years after that only confirmed an already exceptional financial base, backed by a group that today generates nearly 50 billion euros in revenue (with an estimated value of over 200 billion euros). This gives them a certain freedom to act. The integration can be said to have begun back in 2000, when Bulgari absorbed the brands (and above all the skills) of Daniel Roth SA and Gerald Genta SA, famed Swiss watch manufacturers. Gradually, other successive takeovers of suppliers producing all watch components (including cases) enabled Bulgari to present their first mechanical movement in 2010, designed, produced and assembled completely in-house. Today, most operations are centralised on a single site in Neuchatel, with specialised satellite facilities in the Vallee de Joux and Saignelegier. Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic Bulgari But technical integration is not everything. Bulgari is also an in-house team. First of all, the highly experienced Jean-Christophe Babin sits at the head of the company, as CEO. There is also proprietorship of the original Octo design, a unique form created in the 1940s, long before the octagonal trend (led by the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak) emerged in the 1970s. Finally, Bulgari relies only on its own in-house designers, without, as is often the case, calling on external design studios or agencies. Fabrizio Buonamassa is Bulgari's Creative Director, who initiated the revival of the Octo in 2005 with Gerald Genta (who passed away in 2011). It was also Buonamassa who took the collection in the direction of the extra-thin Finissimo, and who has become the watchmaking standard-bearer of the house thanks to his technical and stylistic approach. Fabrizio Buonamassa Bulgari Full modernity If the Octo has won so many awards in less than 10 years, it is because of its strong identity. Bulgari has never adopted a middle position, trying to build that illusory bridge between tradition and modernity. The Octo, with the Finissimo as its flagship variant, is radically contemporary and disruptive. It brings equilibrium to the cliche of the obsolete extra-flat classic watch, by incorporating ultra-modern materials (carbon, titanium, ceramic), materials whose physical properties allowed new watchmaking records of thinness to be set. The Octo appeals to millennials and to discerning collectors. It can be worn with jeans or on a red carpet. It is a 21st-century timepiece. What's more, it looks like no other. For the Octo, there is no inspiration, no archival models to hold it back, no heritage (let alone a museum) design. The Octo looks far ahead so far ahead that no one else can stand out against it. U.S. President Donald Trump said that it's better for Iran to start negotiations with the United States without waiting for the November election. "We will see whether or not they want to negotiate. Maybe they want to wait until after the election and negotiate with a weak Democrat, somebody like a Biden or a Pocahontas or Buttigieg or one of these characters. Maybe they want to wait, but I think they're well off doing it now," CNS cited the U.S. President as saying. The U.S. presidential election is scheduled for November 3, 2020. The Supreme Court on Friday sought stands of various petitioners, challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act before different high courts, on a plea by the Centre for transfer of their petitions to the apex court. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to all petitioners, seeking their replies, and slated the matter for further hearing on January 22 along with a slew of other anti-CAA petitions, already pending before the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the court that different high courts adjudicating the same question of CAA's constitutionality may lead to the emergence of conflicting views from different high courts, eventually necessitating the apex court's intervention. Additionally, it may also inconvenience lawyers, obliging them to rush to different high courts to attend proceedings, he pointed out. The bench, however, said lawyers moving to different states for attending hearing in CAA matter is not its concern. Earlier on December 18, hearing a slew of anti-CAA petitions filed before it, the apex court had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its operation. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. President Ram Nath Kovind had assented to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act. The top court had on December 18 issued notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January on a batch of pleas challenging the CAA's legality. The apex court had fixed January 22 for hearing a total of 59 anti-CAA petitions, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. The petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, before the court include those filed by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Other anti-CAA petitioners include Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, CPI, NGOs 'Rihai Manch' and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma. Several law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A serial intoxicated driver was arrested Thursday on allegations he hit and killed a pedestrian in a North Portland intersection over two years ago. Luis Silva Echeverria-Navarrete was jailed on suspicion of manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants, among other charges, in the death of Daniel Gene Ramsey III. According to court documents, Echeverria-Navarrete hit Ramsey as the latter crossed North Fessenden Street and Alma Avenue on Nov. 26, 2017. He didnt stop and fled the scene. Police arrested Echeverria-Navarrete, 22, Thursday in Hillsboro. He was later booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. The arrest signaled the culmination of a two-year hit-and-run investigation, Portland police said. "I am proud of our traffic investigators who never gave up," Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Frome said in a statement. "I want to recognize the collaborative effort between community members, the Hillsboro Police Department and the Portland Police Bureau which was invaluable to solving this case." Echeverria-Navarrete is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon. Hes been convicted three times in Oregon for driving under the influence of intoxicants, with the most recent conviction coming in January 2018. In that case, he was also convicted of third-degree assault, a felony, for injuring another person using a vehicle. Court records dont indicate how that person was hurt. A second assault charge involving another injured person was dismissed. -- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. BEIJING (PTI): Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh is on a rare visit to China's politically significant Xinjiang province, bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, during which he will hold talks with top Chinese generals. Lt Gen Singh's visit is the second-ever by a Northern Army commander to China, earlier being in 2015 by his predecessor Lt Gen B S Hooda. The visits of the Northern Army Commanders to China are significant as one of its previous heads Lt Gen B S Jaswal was denied regular visa in 2010 on the ground that the Northern Command covered the "disputed" Jammu and Kashmir, which led to an angry reaction from India and disruption of ties between the two militaries. The issue was resolved with Lt Gen Hooda's visit in 2015 leading to the normalisation of ties between the two militaries. Lt Gen Singh in the last three days has visited Beijing and Chengdu. On Thursday, he reached Urumqi, the provincial capital of Xinjiang, which borders PoK. He is due to interact with top officials of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Urumqi and visit local military installations on Friday, sources in New Delhi told PTI. Technically China and Pakistan have no borders but only connected through PoK. Xinjiang is the starting point for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor over which India has protested to Beijing as it is being laid through the PoK. Singh's visit to Xinjiang also assumed significance as it comes in the backdrop of India's move to revoke Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories. China has said that bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories is "unlawful and void", and it "challenges" China's sovereignty. India has told China that the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and sole prerogative of the country and has no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The boundary issue is being discussed through the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism. The SRs National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the 22nd round of border talks in New Delhi last month. Xinjiang has been in the news in recent months over allegations that China has interned more than a million Uighur Muslims, a claim Beijing deny. Earlier, Lt Gen Singh met Chinese ground forces' commander Gen Han Weiguo and discussed issues having strategic ramifications and measures to enhance peace and tranquillity along the sensitive borders. The visit would "serve as a milestone" by cementing mutual ties. "This will achieve the twin aims of high level military co-operation and stabilizing the sensitive borders of both the countries," an Indian army official said. The visit comes close on the heels of Joint Military Exercise 'Hand-in Hand 2019' held recently between the two countries in eastern theatre in Meghalaya. Maurice Holley, 55, had two pellet guns tucked into his waistband when he dropped his hands and was fatally shot by a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy in October. The pellet guns were fashioned to look like replica firearms. "Fearing he would be shot by the suspect," the deputy shot Holley nine times, the sheriff's office said in a news release at the time. Upon discovery of Holley's fake firearm, the deputy is heard on dash camera video audibly distressed for several minutes before another deputy is able to make it to the rural location. Since 2016, there have been 59 incidents in California where an officer discharged a weapon or used another kind of physical force in response to a civilian carrying a "firearm replica," a Sacramento Bee analysis of state data shows. It's a misunderstanding with often lethal consequences in which police perceived fake guns the same as real firearms, The Bee found. ADVERTISEMENT In 2018, such was the case when Darrell Richards, 19, was reported to police when bystanders saw him waving and pointing what appeared to be a gun while walking down a Sacramento thoroughfare. Richards died later that night after he allegedly pointed the gun at SWAT officers who were clearing Curtis Park backyards in search of him. The incident was not captured on video because of a body camera malfunction, Sacramento Police said. And after he was fatally shot, officers learned that Richards' firearm was a pellet gun, modeled after a Sig Sauer P225 9mm handgun. In more than four out of every five incidents _ about 51 cases _ where police believed a civilian was carrying a firearm the outcome showed it was actually a fake. The civilians died, usually from a gunshot wound, in more than half of the cases. According to state data, the victims were mostly Hispanic men; and more than one-third of all cases involved people between the ages of 18 and 25, the data shows. There were two deaths involving children ages 10 and older between 2016 and 2018, the data show. Officials with the California Department of Justice, which collects the data, said the "firearms replica" designation could cover a range of weapons, including pellet guns, but the agency does not choose. "It's up to law enforcement discretion to decide where a pellet gun would fall," a spokesperson said in an email. Incidents between police and people in possession of pellet guns or replicas have played out in headlines across the country in recent years. Perhaps most notably in the case of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot in 2014 by Cleveland police after he was seen with a Colt-replica airsoft-style gun. ADVERTISEMENT Other cases include a 62-year-old Vermont man who died after allegedly pointing an unloaded BB gun at officers responding to reports of a break-in, a 15-year-old boy was shot by LAPD when an officer mistook the boy's toy gun for a real gun, and a high school senior who was shot on a Southern California freeway when she pointed a BB gun modeled after a Beretta 92 FS handgun at a Fullerton Police officer. In most cases, officers were cleared of wrongdoing on the grounds that the pellet gun or toy was perceived to be real, or was used in manner to make the officers fear for their lives. In Holley's case, "You can't fault the deputy," said Ed Obayashi, a Plumas County sheriff's deputy and a use-of-force expert. "This officer reasonably believed his life was in danger. There's just no debate about that." "(When) you see someone going for a gun, the eyesight cannot distinguish between an imitation firearm and a real gun," he said. In photos provided by the sheriff's office in a video, Holley's pellet guns were black, realistic handgun replicas that appeared indistinguishable from a lethal firearm. Pellet guns and other air guns have grown in popularity among recreational shooters, and have improved in accuracy from the Red Rider BB guns most commonly associated with the sport. Unlike firearms, which use primer and gun powder to propel bullets at great speed, pellet guns use compressed air to shoot small, lead pellets. And unlike BB guns, pellet guns' barrels can be rifled, forcing the pellet to spin and shoot with much greater accuracy. Pellet guns are usually small calibers and can cost as little as $50 apiece, making them popular with sportsmen who most frequently use them for target practice and hunting small animals such as rodents and birds. ADVERTISEMENT In California, an 18-year-old can buy a pellet gun. And such guns can be purchased from a variety of retailers, including Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, Big 5 Sporting Goods and Sportsman's Warehouse. Pellet and BB guns are also not subject to a California law that requires toy guns to have fluorescent trigger guards and be tipped with bright colors. And while deaths from pellet gun injuries are rare _ about four deaths per year in the U.S. are caused by BB guns or pellet guns, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission _ they can cause injury. Statewide, the number of emergency room visits related to the accidental discharge of a pellet gun jumped by 14% in 2017. In that year, there were 1,038 such reported incidents throughout the state, according to data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Air guns that fire pellets at muzzle velocities higher than 350 feet per second can be lethal, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. Holley was reported to the sheriff's office in multiple 911 calls from Herald residents, a rural town in south Sacramento County, saying the 55-year-old appeared to be on drugs and was passed out on a property. The caller reported Holley was "known to carry weapons," the sheriff's office said. The deputy makes contact with Holley and starts talking to him. During the exchange, Holley starts crawling and when he sits back down the deputy sees what appears to be a gun tucked into Holley's waistband. The deputy immediately pulls his duty weapon and points it at Holley, giving him a command to get on the ground. Holley raises his hands in front of him, saying "I didn't do nothing," then drops his left arm near his waistband. The deputy fires, killing him. Police are trained to operate on the assumption that any weapons they encounter in the line of duty are real, Obayashi explained. "There is no intermediate step between an officer seeing a gun and shooting. I think the public needs to understand that it's an untrainable situation," Obayashi said. "With toy guns, at least there is some kind of law or procedure where there has to be an orange tip, but that's not the case when it comes to pellet guns or replica guns," said Brett Meade of the National Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based research hub for law enforcement policy. Pellet guns and BB guns are not regulated in the same way as toy guns, which are required to have an orange blaze tip, according to federal law. And that's not likely to change Obayashi said, because people are attracted to air guns that look realistic. "The fact is that when you see something that is a firearm, whether it's fake, a toy, or whatever, you don't know that," Meade said. "And if someone isn't obeying the order to drop it or not reach for it. You have to do what you have to do based on what each officer perceives that threat to be." ___ (c)2020 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Senior State Department Official On State Department 2019 Successes on Cybersecurity and 5G Issues Special Briefing Office of the Spokesperson Washington, D.C. January 9, 2020 MODERATOR: Okay, as we continue our series of 2019 retrospectives and looking forward to 2020, we've brought in one of our leaders from the Economics Bureau. [Senior State Department Official] here will talk to you. He'll start with some opening comments and then take some questions. And all right, sir, take it away. SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Great. Thanks for that introduction. Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks for coming today. So I lead the part of the State Department that's responsible for our international engagement on cyber security and digital economy matters. The State Department leads the United States' efforts to promote an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure cyberspace and to see technology deployed around the world, including 5G technology, that's secure and reliable. As we see now, roughly half the world's population now will be connected to the internet. We're looking forward to seeing the next the 3 billion people connected after that. But from that, even that amount of deployment we've seen, and we've obviously gained tremendously in the form of economic growth, trillions of dollars are generated a year just because we're able to have greater efficiencies; greater sharing of data, information; improved supply chains from the internet in the ecosystem internationally that we have. Of course, with those great opportunities come great challenges as well. Inherently cyberspace is borderless, therefore actions taken by one country in one part of the world can instantaneously affect others in other parts of the world, therefore we must have cooperation and coordination in cyberspace. We must use diplomatic tools to ensure that we are coordinated with partners, allies, and other friends to bring them along, and then also talk to competitors and adversaries about activities in cyberspace to ensure stability in cyberspace and to promote and prevent promote successful outcomes that prevent cyber incidents from happening that could otherwise disrupt the commerce that we see throughout cyberspace. One of the most significant accomplishments we had this year on the cooperation front was in late September during the High-Level Week at the UN General Assembly. Deputy Secretary Sullivan led a ministerial engagement where we had 26 other countries join in signing a joint statement about our united views on stability in cyberspace, committing to hold first of all, committing to norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace, responsible state behavior, and committing to hold nations that act contrary to those norms accountable for transgressions against these norms of responsible state behavior. But for more than a decade we have been working the United States and other governments have been working the United Nations developed roughly 12 norms of responsible state behavior. And so the golden rule of those norms is that one nation should not attack another nation's critical infrastructure that is providing services to the public. We saw actions that went against that in recent years, including in 2018 in the form of Russia's launch of the Not Petya attack which disabled critical infrastructure around the world, as well as North Korea's actions with the WannaCry ransomware attack that disrupted critical services to the public as well. So we've promoted those norms. We've also been involved following the National Cyber Strategy, which was released in September of 2018. Over the last year of implementing, we've been the interagency lead for implementing our national cyber deterrent strategy. That is where we are marshaling additional tools that is, consequences that are timely, costly, and consequential enough to convince adversaries that they should not use irresponsible cyber tools to achieve their ends in cyberspace. We know that our key competitors and adversaries in cyberspace see cyber as an asymmetric tool to achieve their ends. They will use cyber to achieve their political, economic, and even military ends in cyberspace, so we must be vigilant in how we respond to those. And it's important that we continue to develop global consensus around responsible state behavior in cyberspace. My office is also in charge of leading our efforts to work with our partners and allies and others to educate them about risks from the fifth generation of wireless technology, or 5G. We talked about the great opportunities that's going to provide because it's going to be the underpinning of all of our future critical infrastructure and provide tremendous amounts of data that can be used for artificial intelligence and enable a whole new set of services and activities online. But of course, when we have that much connectivity, the disruption of it or the amount of data, sensitive personal data and corporate data is can be put at risk in those networks. That's why we think that we need to only have the most trusted of vendors providing 5G equipment that is, the software and hardware for those networks. Over the last year, we've worked very closely with European countries in particular because they're one of the first to move out on 5G. We had the European Union's risk assessment come out in early October that noted a number of the concerns that we've been sharing with them, which include that because of the nature of 5G there will be a whole new expanded software attack surface area because it's much more software dependent, and that countries need to focus on the risk of influence of a third country over vendors for those networks. We've pointed to countries like China that have a national intelligence law that require a company to take actions when required to by the intelligence and security services and to do so secretly. So that kind of influence has been highlighted in the risk assessment in the EU, and it was further buttressed by a EU Council conclusions that came out on December 3rd that also acknowledged that they need to look at the legal and policy frameworks that govern a company that will be a vendor for 5G. So we've had tremendous progress in that. There will be now a set of security recommendations, a toolbox they call it in the EU, coming out likely this month or in the next couple months from the EU. So in the next year we're going to be focused very much on helping European countries implement these security measures. Security for 5G is not just about the technical cyber measures that can include encryption, the architecture of the network, the configuration. It also focuses on what we call the non-technical measures; that is, the ability to trust a vendor in the network. It's inherently possible for a vendor in the supply chain to insert malicious code in the many millions of lines of code and it not be discovered through any kind of technical means along the way, therefore you must have trust in the network. We've seen the Europeans recognize that and we've seen governments around the world start to recognize that concern. So we've made a lot of progress in that area. The third thing I wanted to highlight was the State Department is also the lead for many of the international communications standards bodies that we engage in around the world. This last year was the World Radiocommunications congress Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which was important because that's what they call their spectrum conference. As a result of that conference, which ended in November, we identified 17 gigahertz of millimeter-wave spectrum, which will be very important for 5G deployments. That the spectrum that was identified for 5G there aligns with the Federal Communications Commission 5G FAST Plan. That means that we will have consistent efforts around the globe to have the same bands used for 5G that allow interoperability of equipment and an increase in the scale of equipment that's all using the same bands. That was an important outcome for us and for the continued deployment of 5G in the United States. I guess the last thing, or fourth thing, I should I wanted to mention too was that Secretary Pompeo announced in the summer of 2018 that we were going to start a Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership, which is a way of us providing assistance to countries around the world to help them deploy sustainable models for digital infrastructure to increase their connectivity, and to do so in ways that are open, secure, and consistent with democratic values. In the last year we've now announced over $51 million in through in 2019 for this Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership in just the Indo-Pacific region. That was our initial focus. And just in December we announced $10 million that we're going to deploy into Latin America. So that program will continue into the next year, in 2020, and we're looking forward to seeing successes in the form of additional training for countries and those countries coming along with seeing our model for an open and interoperable internet. So with that, I'd love to take any questions you have. MODERATOR: Matt. QUESTION: Yeah. Hi, thanks. Over the last two weeks or so there's been there have been a lot of reports of an uptick in Iranian cyber attacks, harassment, that kind of thing. I'm wondering if that squares with what you've seen and if there's any way of you if you guys are tracking a surge in this, particularly after the Soleimani strike. SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, what I can say is we know that for some time that Iran has been one of the most malicious actors out there. They've attacked our critical infrastructure in the past our banks in 2012, and in 2016 and 2017 they executed data deletion operations against the Saudis and against private infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. So we're very concerned about Iran's capabilities and activities. I can't specifically comment, unfortunately, on the tracking. That would be classified here related to Iran Iran's cyber activities. QUESTION: Can I follow up? MODERATOR: Go ahead. QUESTION: I was going to say, can you elaborate at all if you've given any guidance to the diplomatic facilities or any State Department entities about stepping up their cyber security after what's gone on with Iran? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I don't think we've publicly said anything about that. Our Diplomatic Security Bureau is in charge of putting out advisories internally to our posts, and so I'd defer refer you to them on that point. I would say that, as you probably know, the Department of Homeland Security has put out advisories related to this, to the Iranian threat, and we've talked to private the private sector in the United States about being vigilant, and that's the same message we send internationally as well. Unfortunately, I don't have anything new other than what's already been put out. MODERATOR: Is that it? Carol. QUESTION: Yeah. How vulnerable do you judge the U.S. being to the risk of Iran breaking into the infrastructure, and how would you how would you compare Iran's capabilities with that of China and North Korea and Russia? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, our Director of National Intelligence has put Iran on par with the other three countries as far as relative risk and their ability to intrude into industrial control systems of into physical infrastructure. I don't want to sort of characterize any more than that about our vulnerabilities as we are always reminding the private sector and individuals they need to be vigilant about the threats that they face from both criminals and other actors as well as the more sophisticated nation-state actors. QUESTION: Well, is, say is it a bigger threat to the infrastructure than, say, financial institutions, or can you talk generally about it without being specific, naming companies or networks? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Sorry, I can't go into the specific. The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of sort of identifying that, and they're what they want to say publicly is what we would defer to as far as the threat to the United States and threat to sort of global infrastructure. I don't want to step on their messaging. QUESTION: Okay. Scale of 1 to 10, how big is the threat? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I'm not going to answer a hypothetical. MODERATOR: Next? Nike. QUESTION: Yes, hi. Thank you so much for coming to talk to us. So VOA broadcasts to many countries in Asia and in Africa. Many of them are eager to develop economies with high-tech communications. What did you what does the U.S. say to these countries who are eager to develop their 5G networks and who see the most attractive equipment and financial packages are all Chinese? How many years back would if they resist the offer by Huawei, how many years back would that set their 5G development? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Listen, zero is the answer to that question. I will say Huawei has had a global campaign of propaganda that's been joined forces with by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convince people that they will be set back if they do not use Huawei technology. That is absolutely false. Nokia, Eriksson, and Samsung are worldwide right now deploying 5G networks. Just yesterday, Nokia announced that it signed over 60 commercial deployments. These aren't just trials. These aren't inflated numbers. They have more than 60 commercial deployments around the world. They're already in numerous networks around the world, in their 4 3G and 4G networks. Turning to 5G, those three radio access network providers all can supply these countries. And we would say to those countries it's really important that you come into any contractual relationship with any company, but especially one of these Chinese companies, with complete awareness about the debt burden that you'll be asked to take on in the long term, about the preconditions that can apply to that, about the ways that your data might be used or exfiltrated in the future, about the governance of the internet, about the policies that will be pushed forward. We know that China has pushed forward models that have said we should limit access to the internet in the form of who's allowed to be on it, what kind of content is on content filters are applied to the internet, and as well as using it for things like assigning social credit scores and the policies that have been adopted through a surveillance network in the Xinjiang province in China. We think that countries should be very much aware that if they do business with a company like Huawei they are setting themselves up to be part of these types of governance models that are not consistent with probably the best interest of their public or with democratic values. QUESTION: Do you see most Southeast Asian countries or Africa countries on board with the U.S. on this security warning? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So we're seeing a greater recognition that they need to look at the supply chain and look at the factors that one needs to consider in the form of whether or not you can trust the vendor themselves and the ability of the vendor to influence the hardware, the software updates, and that technology. That's been acknowledged by numerous countries now. The deployments of 5G, especially in Southeast Asia and in Africa and other places in the developing world, are just starting. It's going to play out over a period of years. So it's too early to judge, I think, to say that whether or not they've adopted, if you will, a U.S. model. Really what we're trying to have a discussion about is an awareness of the security issues. It's not just cyber security. It's an understanding that the supply chain inherently sets you up to be vulnerable because those trusted partners are already on the inside, and they have almost complete ability to update software and introduce changes to ways that the hardware and software operates over time. So that understanding about the increased risk, I don't think anyone was even talking about in 2018. I think through our efforts if I may say are why that now there's a global discussion about the security of the supply chain. MODERATOR: David. QUESTION: On this 5G issue, it seems like in a lot of countries, in Africa and also in Europe, that your warnings about how China can coopt that system have fallen on deaf ears and a lot of countries are proceeding with plans to work with Huawei on building out their 5G networks. Can you speak a little bit to your frustration, if there is any, that they seem to be ignoring these demands from the U.S.? And what are you doing to counter that? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So I think that we're hearing a lot of acknowledgment of the concerns we'd been raising and we're hearing countries say they understand that. As I mentioned earlier, the European Union has put these specific concerns into their risk assessment, into the council conclusions. We anticipate seeing even more in the toolbox of security (inaudible) in the early part of this year. We've also seen a number of country a number of telecom operators quietly go with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung, and rest assured that Huawei was in their bidding at the same time. They're probably even offering a lower price. We don't know exactly, but that there are a number of operators that are quietly doing this. It is really this Huawei-generated propaganda campaign out there that highlights every Huawei win as if it was a the only thing that's happening in the marketplace. And I would just point out that a lot of these contracts are not yet executed on. They might sign something, but it does not actually lead to actual deployment of networks. Many countries are waiting for these European Union council sorry European Union security recommendations before they move out on deployment of the infrastructure. And the other thing we talk to companies countries about is it very important that they, at the end of the day, are responsible for their citizens' wellbeing. It is a national security decision. It is not one that they should cede to the private companies, the telecom operators who do not have a full understanding of all the national security interests that are at stake and that which we talk to them about in our many bilateral engagements. QUESTION: Thank you. To follow up on Nick's question, in Europe we spoke about the progress with the EU as a global institution. Which other countries of concern where the discussions are still difficult on Huawei and the 5G? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Oh sorry, I just missed the very end. QUESTION: Which are the countries of main concern, whether discussions in Europe are more difficult on Huawei? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, there's discussions going on in many countries in Europe. I mean, I'm just reflecting what you can read in the press any day, and that's in Germany there's a lot of discussion going on about they announced a toolkit that many of us consider to be inadequate, that suggested that just having some testing would be able to identify whether or not a vendor had a potential to introduce vulnerability. The testing will never find these vulnerabilities injected into millions of lines of code. So there's a lot of debate going on in numerous countries in Europe at this time. But we have seen operators in, for example, Norway already go with Ericsson or Nokia. We've seen many, as I said, go quietly and select a trusted vendor. MODERATOR: Cool. Joel. QUESTION: Thanks for doing this. I want to just go back to what you were saying about educating countries in governance models. Do you think that China will use their 5G deployments overseas to expand their own surveillance into or perhaps this social credit score that you mentioned. Would there be would China use overseas 5G networks to have a to build out a global social credit score program? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We can't say for sure what they will do. I think that's in part because 5G is in a nascent stage. We don't know all the data that people put into this network. There's obviously a potential for much more personal data. We've seen, of course, how China has used surveillance through connected devices, including technology provided by Huawei to surveil its own citizens. It's hard to say what would be done abroad. We do know that the company has no choice but to follow the mandate of the Chinese Communist Party. They have the company has no ability to stop that, because they don't have a rule of law system and they don't have an independent judiciary. So the real concern is all the potential things that could happen. I can't say, sitting here now, that I'm certain that this or that will be established. But there's tremendous risk, especially for people who care about human rights and uses of data, to put yourself in a situation where a major part of your infrastructure, which you cannot replace easily, will be governed by a system that is not transparent and does not follow the rule of law. MODERATOR: Alex. QUESTION: Sorry I missed this, if you already addressed it, but I just wanted to ask for sort of a 5G-focused readout on the Pompeo-Raab meeting today. Did Pompeo press him on that issue? What was the reaction? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I haven't seen anything on it yet. QUESTION: And in terms of when the UK decision might come, have you heard gotten any sort of sense of when we might find out? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I hear it's soon. QUESTION: One last one. I think Senator Cotton introduced a bill that would basically restrict countries that receive that use Huawei in their 5G networks from receiving U.S. intelligence. And I just wondered if you would support that bill, if you think that should be passed. SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, I can't comment on that bill. We haven't formed an interagency opinion on that. But I would also point out that I think everyone knows, may know that the National Defense Authorization Act contain a provision that requires the Intelligence Community to assess the cybersecurity quality of the infrastructure of any partner that they're going to engage into agreement with. And that follows into the general scope of what we've been sharing with countries, not as a threat to them, but to say that because of the sensitive information that we share with countries on a daily basis, because of the very robust information-sharing relationships that we have, operational relationships, we don't want to see those degraded by the fact that we cannot share information in the same expeditious manner that we do today, by finding new channels or having to reassess how we do that. So we don't want to end up in a position where we're reassessing our information-sharing capabilities. So that's why we in part ask them to ensure that they are going to trusted vendors. QUESTION: Can I just ask a follow-up on that? Is the presence of a Huawei network, like in a country like the UK, automatically a deal breaker in terms of being able to share this kind of sensitive intelligence that you share with them now? I mean, it just by Huawei being present, does that automatically mean that the network has some vulnerability that would let it SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We're not ready to sort of say what how we will respond, or how we might have to respond. We will have to do a reassessment is what we would say of any part of a network has Huawei or a untrusted vendor. There's others that could be out there that we would consider untrusted. What we want is trusted suppliers, how we know we know how they do their software upgrades; we know who's responsible for the hardware and the software technology. With NATO partners especially, we talk about the need to have good troop mobilization. We do not want to provide potential adversaries access to all the kind of data that proliferates around people's daily activities that they would gain insight into what we're doing because they also are the vendor for the telecom network. So there's a number of concerns that we sort of lay out there for our partners to make sure they're aware of as they're making these decisions, but we haven't decided how exactly we would have to respond. But we would have to do some kind of reassessment. QUESTION: So you're pretty confident that the Scandinavians and the South Koreans aren't going to become evil? It sounds that way. I mean, why do you have so much confidence in Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung, that they're not going to flip into a Huawei? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. Well, in part they're publicly traded companies, so they respond to a board of directors. They appear to Western legal systems. QUESTION: Now. SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. If Matt, if there were to be a change in the country, in the company, yeah, then you might have to reassess. QUESTION: Well, why aren't there any American companies out there in this? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So we're talking about this QUESTION: Or are we not trusted either? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We talk about this radio access network, which is only a small so Cisco is a major provider, Qualcomm is a major provider for other parts of the network. And on we're on the cusp of a change in the whole market where I think we're going to see less lock-in to these five major providers in the world, and disaggregation where they different components can be bought from different providers, and won't be locked in. QUESTION: Well, does that mean that you could possibly, if in Nick's scenario, someone a country goes with Huawei, that that the vulnerability could be watered down by bringing in other companies, if there is this disaggregation so that you could basically minimize even if Huawei is there, you could minimize the or is that just some SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So our interagency experts' assessment is that any smart components that belong to Huawei are a risk that's too high to have, given what's going to ride on these networks, given that there'll be telemedicine, that there'll be autonomous vehicles. I will say that as far as I can tell, the way that China develops their technology is to have a closed ecosystem that Huawei would just as soon have everything provided by Huawei chips and be totally politically integrated. And in part they subsidize all parts of that, too. The government subsidizes companies there. They have an unfair set of practices that make it cheaper. So I think it's highly unlikely that even assuming that kind of hypothetical that they would ever be using Western components. QUESTION: Okay. Last thing. We had a briefing I think it was the week before Christmas, right that touched on this Russian effort at the UN, and you were guys were trying to stop it, but it didn't have much hope of success, for a new cybercrime thing. And in fact, it went ahead and it passed. And so there's this commission that it set up that's supposed to report back by I think it was August. SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah, I think that's right. Yeah. QUESTION: Now that you've failed to stop it, what are the options to now prevent this commission from producing something that is then accepted by SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. What we really need to ensure is that that mechanism not be a conduit or a pretext for Russia to further have entrenched their view that there should be controls on content and controls on access to information. So we were going to we're going to participate in that process. QUESTION: So you are? Okay. SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We will have to participate because we don't want to let that outcome happen. We were opposed to it passing because we think it's entirely redundant. More than 60 countries have signed onto the Budapest Cybercrime Convention of 2004. But I don't we can't just stand by while this QUESTION: But given the vote that created the commission, what do you think that you have a realistic shot at doing what you're saying, preventing this commission from coming out with a recommendation for a new treaty that has these problematic Russian elements in it? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think so. I think the people around the world don't want to see their access to information limited. They don't want to see their access to the internet limited. I think that is a distinct minority view that thugs like to have, and I think there's a lot more good-natured people than thugs. QUESTION: So who will be the engaged who, you? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: It'll be some part of INL also works on this issue at the State Department. QUESTION: Thanks. MODERATOR: All right. Sarah, anything? QUESTION: My question was asked. MODERATOR: Okay. Anybody else? All right. Last one. QUESTION: Sorry. The provision you mentioned of the NDAA, I know that was only signed into law December 20th, so it hasn't been that long, but is it coming up? Is it something that U.S. officials are using in conversations with UK officials to say to kind of shot across the bow, look, this is something that we can take into account as you guys make your decision on whether to integrate Huawei into your 5G? SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: First of all, it's too early I think to respond that quickly to a legislative item. But also I'd say that we're having very close conversations, very vigorous conversations, with the United Kingdom right now. So I don't want to characterize what exactly is being said. MODERATOR: All right. Thanks, everybody. QUESTION: Thanks a lot. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Abdul Kerimkhanov The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has removed from its personas non grata list the name of Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier who had illegally visited Azerbaijans Armenian-occupied territories, the ministry said in its official website on January 9. The ministrys moves comes after Nicollier addressed a letter to Baku asking for the removal of his name from the list of foreign citizens who illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. In his letter, the Swiss citizen emphasized his respect for the sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Nicollier underlined that he was unaware of the consequences of the visit. Due to continuing occupation by the Armenian forces, Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent seven occupied regions are temporarily out of Azerbaijan's control. Any visit without the consent of Azerbaijan to the above-mentioned territories, which are internationally recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan is considered as a violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and as a breach of national legislation, as well as relevant norms and principles of international law. Unless a visa or an official warrant is issued by Azerbaijani authorities, the government of Azerbaijan condemns any visit by foreign citizens to the occupied territories which are de jure part of Azerbaijan under Armenian control. Azerbaijan considers entering these territories through Armenia a violation of its visa and migration policy. Foreign citizens who enter these territories will be permanently banned from entering Azerbaijan and will be included on the list of "undesirable people" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. In case of necessity, appropriate legal actions will be taken with regard to these persons. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions. As of 11 October 2019, the list of people declared personae non grate included 850 people. Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly one million were displaced as a result of the war. Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far. 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 regions. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A Delta Boeing 777 bound for Paris was diverted from its flight plan and made an emergency landing in Boston after its crew reported 'a vibration and declared an emergency', the Federal Aviation Administration said. Delta Airlines Flight 148, which originated in Las Vegas, landed at Boston Logan International Airport about 9:26 p.m., an FAA spokeswoman said. The plane 'landed safely' after the crew reported the vibration and sounded the emergency, the spokeswoman said. Footage broadcast by WBZ showed emergency responders meeting a Delta Boeing 777 bound for Paris that was diverted from its flight plan and made an emergency landing in Boston after its crew reported 'a vibration and declared an emergency' Delta Airlines Flight 148, which originated in Las Vegas, landed at Boston Logan International Airport about 9:26 p.m., an FAA spokeswoman said (file photo) The FAA is investigating the incident. Footage broadcast by WBZ showed emergency responders meeting the aircraft on the tarmac. WHDH reported that a passenger also had suffered a medical emergency. The afflicted passenger was met on the ground by paramedics, and their condition was not known, the news outlet reported. Freelance journalist Jona Kallgren said he was on board the jet flying back from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and described what happened in a social medial post. 'On my way home from CES. All of a sudden a loud noise in the plane. Confusion. People panicking. In the end an emergency landing in Boston,' he tweeted just 30 minutes after the plane touched down. He later, in a second tweet, said 'all is fine,' and offered that a 'bust air conditioning 'pipe' was suspected, but not really clear.' IVF success rates are three-and-a-half times lower in some parts of the UK because of a cruel 'postcode lottery', experts have warned. Women having the procedure at St Jude's Fertility Clinic in Wolverhampton have just a 12 per cent chance of having a baby. By contrast, the success rate of an IVF cycle at University Hospital Coventry just a 50-minute drive away is 43 per cent. The disparity was today described as 'cruel and unjust' by charities who said couples shouldn't be denied the chance to become parents based on their 'postcode or pay packet'. IVF success rates are almost four times lower in some parts of the UK because of a cruel 'postcode lottery', experts have warned. The top five best and worst clinics are shown (source: University Hospital Coventry) A normal IVF cycle costs between 3,000 and 5,000. But couples may have to fork out at least ten times before a pregnancy at some clinics. Just 15 per cent of cycles resulted in a birth at the New Life fertility centre in Epsom, Surrey, the second poorest performing clinic in Britain. Glasgow Royal Infirmary has the second highest success rate (43 per cent), according to 2017 data published by UKs fertility watchdog in December. Responding to the data, Gwenda Burns, chief executive of charity Fertility Network UK, told MailOnline: 'The postcode lottery is cruel and unjust. IVF SUCCESS RATES: TEN WORST CLINICS St Jude's Wolverhampton - 12% New Life Epsom - 15% Harley St Fertility - 15% Epsom NHS Trust - 15% Homerton Fertility - 17% Concept Fertility, Wandsworth - 17% BMI Chelsfield 17% RGI clinic London - 19% Salisbury Fertility Centre - 20% Cambridge IVF 20% London Fertility Centre - 21% Source: HFEA and University Hospital in Coventry Advertisement 'Access to quality fertility treatment should be dependent on your medical need, not your postcode or pay packet. 'The UK pioneered IVF over 40 years ago, but that achievement means nothing if only those who can afford to pay for private fertility treatment benefit from it. 'Facing fertility problems is distressing enough, without being denied medical help because of where you live.' To work out the success rates of each clinic, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) looked at all live IVF births for patients under 38 years of age at NHS and private clinics around Britain in 2017. The data was published online and interpreted by researchers at University Hospital in Coventry. It showed more than half of the 79 clinics (38) analysed fell short of the 29 per cent national average birth rate. The HFEA said that some clinics specifically looked after older patients - who find it harder to conceive - which may have skewed the figures. Less than two in ten transferred embryos result in a pregnancy at Harley Street fertility clinic in London and Epsom NHS Trust making them the joint third worst performing centres. By comparison, four out of ten embryos resulted in a birth at the Simply Fertility clinic in Chelmsford. Former health minister Jackie Doyle-Price last year wrote to all clinical commissioning groups, which control who get IVF cycles on the NHS, calling for them to bring an end to another postcode lottery which has seen the number of health authorities in England offering the full recommended three IVF cycles halved in five years. Just 12 per cent of CCGs, which have the final decision on what treatments can be dished out, now follow national guidance. A normal IVF cycle costs between 3,000 and 5,000. But couples may have to fork at least ten times before a pregnancy at some clinics IVF clinics 'are 'embezzling' 42million a year from couples by charging for a needless add-on treatment' IVF clinics are 'embezzling' millions of pounds from patients by selling needles add-on treatments, a leading expert has warned. Professor Chris Barratt, of Dundee University, said around half of couples are being offered ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). The treatment, which costs up to 1,400, is designed help men with poor sperm. But he said fertility problems strike only a third of men. Health watchdogs say there is 'no data' to support its use in couples where the man's fertility is normal. There are also concerns ISCI may cause birth defects. The treatment, in which a single sperm is injected directly into the egg, may actually cut the chances of conceiving, studies have found. Professor Barratt told the Progress Educational Trust's annual conference in London in December: 'The question is why do you have a large number of people having ICSI who dont have male-factor infertility. 'Why is that happening? The only conclusion logically you can come to is that its financially driven. That might not be true but its the only logical conclusion.' At a cost of 1,390 per patient, fertility doctors could make an extra 700,000 year by doing ICSI when they don't need to, Professor Barratt said. Advertisement This is down from 24 per cent in 2013, a report by campaign group Fertility Fairness showed in 2018. And seven areas now have an outright ban on funding IVF - a figure which has more than tripled in five years. Health watchdogs urge CCGs to offer women under 40 access to three cycles of IVF to boost their chances of having children, so long as they meet certain criteria. But financial restrictions are forcing many to defy recommendations and slash the service completely as they seek to save millions of pounds - scuppering the hopes of thousands of women. The majority (61 per cent) of CCGs now offer just one cycle, a leap from almost 50 per cent in 2013, the report showed. Furthermore, 7 per cent are currently consulting whether they should scrap or reduce NHS fertility treatment. More than 54,000 patients had 75,000 fertility treatments in 2017, with the number of IVF cycles up 2.5 per cent on 2016. A spokesperson for the HEFA said: 'Going through fertility treatment can be a highly emotional time for patients and we understand that many people will focus exclusively on success rates when choosing a fertility clinic. 'However, its important to remember that a great fertility clinic isnt just about providing effective treatment. 'Looking at average rates do not take into account differences in patient characteristics across clinics such as age, reason for infertility, partner type or prior treatment, all of which will have an impact on the success rate. 'When comparing success rates, its important to choose a clinic with success rates comparable to the national average, instead of focussing on small differences between percentage point. Even then, these figures are clinic averages and patients should not read them as predictions of their chance of success.' SO, HOW SUCCESSFUL IS YOUR LOCAL IVF CLINIC? Clinic Success rate Clinic Success rate CRM Coventry 43% BMI Priory 28% Glasgow Royal Infirmary 42% Care Manchester 28% Simply Fertlility 40% Complete Southampton 28% Create London St Pauls 39% Fertility and Gynaecology London 28% Leeds 39% Hewitt Knutsford 28% Care Nottingham 37% James Cook 28% Agora 37% Wessex Fertility Limited 28% Nuffield Health Assisted Conception services 37% Regional Fertility Centre Belfast 27% Care Northampton 36% Hammersmith 26% ARGC 35% Aberdeen 26% Gateshead 35% CRGW Wales 26% Kings 34% Chelsea and Westminster 26% Lister 33% Create Wimbledon 26% Bristol 33% Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility 26% Care Sheffield 33% Reproductive health group cheshire 26% Edinburgh 33% Newcastle Fertility Centre @ Life 26% IVI London 33% Glasgow CRM 25% Create Birmingham 32% London Womens Darlington 25% Boston Place 32% London Womens Wales 25% Bourn Hall 32% South West CRM 25% Care Bath 32% Guys 24% Hewitt Liverpool 32% Wales Fertility institute cardiff 24% Nuture 32% St Marys 24% Hull 31% Wales Fertility institute neath 24% Thames Valley Fertility 31% Exeter 22% Sussex Downs 31% Harts and Essex 22% Care Birmingham 30% Manchester Fertility 22% Barts 30% Belfast 21% Care Tamworth 30% Bourne Hall Colchester 21% Care Tunbridge Wells 30% London Fertility 21% City Fertility 30% Cambridge 20% London Womens 30% Salisbury Fertility Clinic 20% oxford fertility 30% Reproductive Genetics Institute London 19% Birmingham Womens 29% BMI Chelsfield Park 17% CRGH 29% Concept 17% Care London 29% Homerton 17% Bourne Hall Norwich 29% Epsom 15% Jessop Sheffield 29% Harley Street 15% Leicester 28% St Judes 12% SOURCE: HFEA SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In October 2019, Rohnert Park Cancer Center (RPCC), South Sacramento Cancer Center (SSCC), and Fresno Cancer Center (FCC), all US Cancer Management Corporation (USCMC) Cancer Centers, earned national recognition for the quality of cancer care provided to California patients by receiving ASTRO's APEx (Accreditation Program for Excellence) Accreditation. With less than 5% of cancer centers in the U.S. currently accredited, this is a unique and prestigious honor. The accreditation program, which can take up to a year to complete, focuses specifically on five pillars of patient care: the process of care, the radiation oncology team, safety, quality management, and patient-centered care. "ASTRO commends RPCC, SSCC, and FCC for achieving APEx accreditation. By undergoing this comprehensive review, the facilities demonstrated a strong commitment to deliver safe, high-quality radiation oncology services to their patients," said Theodore L. DeWeese, MD, FASTRO, Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors. With these USCMC cancer centers receiving APEx accreditation, community providers and patients alike can be confident that they will receive the highest levels of quality and care when they work with the team or visit the facilities. Jeremy Mann, Chief Operating Officer of USCMC, said, "We are extremely pleased to be awarded APEx accreditation. We are proud of the efforts of all of our staff to provide the absolute pinnacle of care to our patients and are appreciative of the recognition we have received from ASTRO." What APEx Accreditation Means for Providers and Patients: The cancer center's physicians, policies and procedures, and quality of care successfully met the American Society for Radiation Oncology's highest standards The cancer center makes the patient the center of care and employs advanced methods of ensuring safety The cancer center's medical team and process of care have been validated by trained independent radiation oncology professionals The cancer center is committed to providing the very best in cancer care and is always focused on improving US Cancer Management Corporation is a healthcare management company currently operating three freestanding Radiation Oncology Cancer Treatment centers in California. Since 2000 USCMC has developed and operated the Rohnert Park Cancer Center, South Sacramento Cancer Center, and Fresno Cancer Center. Operationally USCMC directly manages all facilities, equipment and staff including in-house bioengineering, information technology including in-house software development teams, billing and documentation, as well as clinical staff including radiation oncologists, physicists, dosimetrists, therapists, nurses, medical assistants, and front office staff. Each center within USCMC's network delivers university level care with cutting edge technology including stereotactic body radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image guided radiation therapy, 3D conformal radiation therapy, CT scanning, and extensive clinical trials involvement / expertise (RTOG). It is USCMC's continued desire to offer the highest level of care, with the most up to date technology within all communities we are currently present. SOURCE US Cancer Management Corporation Related Links https://www.uscmc.com/ BOGOTA - Uber said Friday it will stop operating in Colombia, following stiff opposition from taxi drivers unions and a lawsuit that said the ride-sharing app was breaking local transport laws. In a statement, Uber said it will cease operating in Colombia on Jan. 31 and will comply with a December ruling by Colombias Superintendency for Industry and Commerce that had ordered the app to shut down. The company said that it will appeal the ruling, which it described as arbitrary and in violation of a free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States. Uber said that it has more than two million users in Colombia as well as 88,000 drivers who make some or most of their income through the app. The company faces legal challenges in several other Latin American countries, including Brazil and Argentina. In JNU 20 students were gravely injured after masked thugs mercilessly beat them up between 6.30 pm and 9 pm in and around Sabarmati Hostel of JNU on January 5. Video footage showed a masked mob wielding sticks and rods entering hostel buildings, literally chasing after the students. Aishe Ghosh, the president of the JNU students union, was left with 16 stitches on her head after being beaten with iron rods and here we have an IPS officer complaining about a tiny bite on his hand by a woman protester. According to reports, on January 9, the woman protester reportedly bit the thumb of an IPS officer as he pushed back agitators who were trying to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi. The protesters had gathered after JNU Students' Union President Aishe Ghosh called for a march to the President's House to demand the removal of the University's Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar. Delhi Police: A protester at Vijay Chowk today bit Additional DCP Southwest when the police officer was trying to stop protesters from marching towards the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/3an4OrJZ8o ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2020 Ingit Pratap Singh, a 2011 batch officer, was trying to pull a male protester when the woman, in an attempt to shield her friend, bit the officer's left thumb. Soon after the pictures of the bite mark were posted on Twitter by ANI people couldn't help but mock the officer's 'grave' injury. Take a look: #1 Baap re itni bhayankar chot? I don't think this can be cured in India IRONY MAN (@karanku100) January 9, 2020 #2 Ye to bahut hi zyada lag gaya Docters kya keh rahe hain is baare me ? Aawara_Hun (@Aawara_Bhawre) January 9, 2020 #3 Arey rabies ka injection lagao is police wale ko. EngiNeer (@Engihumor) January 9, 2020 #4 #5 This is very deep need to be admitted in ICU AliensOnEarth (@DoAliensShave) January 9, 2020 #6 Looks very critical than students head injury with 18 stitche Arief A.K (@ariefak) January 9, 2020 The woman protester biting the cop just shows the level of frustration and anger people have against the Delhi Police at this point and there are enough reasons for the same. Several chilling accounts by teachers and students claimed that close to 200 Delhi police officials literally stood and watched the violence unravel on that fateful night. Despite several calls made to the police by the students, the police didnt bother to respond to the students' cries and repeated appeal to intervene. The most distressing part was that streetlights in the area were switched off and it almost seemed like the police gave more opportunity to the thugs for the rampage. The police in their defence said that 'they didn't have the authorisation to intervene' or call reinforcement when clashes happened. In the backdrop of all these reports and the criticisms faced by the Police force for their 'dereliction of duty', the IPS officer crying like an infant for a tiny bite seems like the last nail in the coffin. From the Jamia violence to the JNU attack, the police action in both the incidents have been condemned and now people are steadily losing faith in them each passing day. donald trump MPI10/MediaPunch/IPX via Associated Press European leaders will meet on Friday afternoon to hold discussions over how to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, in defiance of Trump's calls to abandon the 2015 agreement. Trump, who in 2018 withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, said the "time has come" for other signatories to do the same, calling the agreement "foolish" in a phone call to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But European allies have brushed away Trump's calls to abandon the deal, including Britain and France. The Iran crisis took another complicated turn on Thursday when the UK and Canada both said the Iranians could be responsible for the downing of a commercial plane which was carrying 64 Canadian nationals and four Britons. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. European leaders will hold emergency talks on Friday and explore possible measures to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, a move which comes just a day after President Trump urged his allies to "break away" from the 2015 agreement. EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels Friday afternoon and discuss the Middle East crisis and whether they can salvage the fragile nuclear deal with Iran which Trump wants to destroy. Trump, who in 2018 withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, said the "time has come" for other signatories to do the same, calling the agreement "foolish" in a phone call to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week. The agreement is designed to halt Iran's nuclear program, but the country said on Sunday following the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani that it no longer felt compelled to stick to its terms. European allies have brushed away Trump's calls to abandon the deal, with the EU insisting it will "spare no effort" in its attempts to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). After the US reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran started breaching some aspects of the accord and on Sunday announced that it no longer felt compelled to stick to any limit on the number of centrifuges used in the making of enriched uranium needed for nuclear power. Story continues France, meanwhile, has said it is still "committed" to the deal, and Boris Johnson reiterated his support in a phone call to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab appears on BBC TV's The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain January 5, 2020. Jeff Overs/BBC/Handout via REUTERS Reuters The UK's foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is visiting Washington, took a less decisive tone than the prime minister and said the UK was "looking very hard" at its support for the arrangement as he tries to curry favour with the US administration. Trump on Wednesday toned down his aggressive rhetoric towards Iran after having ordered the killing of Soleimani, which has sparked a major crisis in the Middle East. Hostilities between Iran and the US and its allies escalated dramatically when President Trump ordered a drone strike on Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad airport in Iraq. The crisis took another complicated turn on Thursday when the UK and Canada both said that Iran could be responsible for the downing of a commercial plane which was carrying 63 Canadian nationals and four Britons. Johnson said there was a "body of information" that the flight was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, which Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said "may well have been unintentional." It remains to be seen whether Iran will co-operate with an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, which the UK and Canada have called for. Trump, who appears keen to temper tensions with Iran, said he also believed the crash had not been due to a mechanical fault but said that "somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." Asked what he thought had happened, the president responded: "Well, I have my suspicions." Read the original article on Business Insider New Delhi, Jan 10 : The last leg of the upcoming Premier Badminton League (PBL) season five has been shifted from Bengaluru to Hyderabad, the league said in a statement on Friday. Hyderabad, which was supposed to host matches from January 29 to February 4, will now host 15 matches including the semi-finals and the final. "Hyderabad was supposed to host the matches from January 29 to February 4 as per the original schedule," said the league statement. "Now 15 matches including three double headers will be hosted by Hyderabad as per the updated schedule which will start from January 29. The semi-finals and finals will also be hosted in Hyderabad. The other two venues for season 5 are Chennai (January 20-24) and Lucknow (Jan 25-28)." Bengaluru Raptors were scheduled to host the last leg of the league from February 5 to 9 at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium. However, the franchise said in a series of tweets on Thursday that it won't be able to do so due to unavailability of the stadium. Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi asked Congress MLA Imran Khedawala to maintain decorum in the House and said "you are not in Pakistan" during a discussion on a resolution supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Friday. The resolution, moved by the BJP government, hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for bringing in the "historic" amendment. During the debate, Congress' Khedawala, first-time MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia seat in Ahmedabad, displayed a poster against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) written in his own blood. The poster had "Boycott CAA/NCR/NPR" written on it. As Khedawala had shown it to the media before the session started, Trivedi said he had seen it (on TV) and the MLA need not wave it in the House. "You are not in Pakistan. You have already showed it," said Trivedi when Khedawala suddenly raised the poster. MLA and state Congress president Amit Chavda took a strong exception to Trivedi's remark, saying the Speaker must refrain from uttering such words. Trivedi said he was ready to apologize if Khedawala said he was offended. Instead of taking strict action, he only asked Khedawala to maintain decorum in a milder way, the Speaker added. Unhappy with the explanation, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani said, "The Gujarat government is planning to turn Gujarat into Pakistan". Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel came to the defence of Trivedi. "Sir, you have not said anything wrong. Is it Pakistan's Assembly? This is India. Speaker has not said anything wrong," Patel said. Later, other Congress MLAs too displayed similar posters, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for 15 minutes. The resolution was eventually passed by majority vote. Earlier too the House witnessed chaos when Congress legislators disrupted Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat's address, as they wanted more time to discuss the issues such as unemployment, children's deaths in state's hospitals and crop insurance payment to farmers. As the slogan-shouting reached a crescendo, the Governor had to cut short his address to three minutes, and left the House after declaring that his speech be considered as read. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SPRRINGFIELD Springfield police dont use facial recognition software and city councilors want to keep the technology away until it gets better and someone does a better job of regulating its use. "We want to make sure that we as a municipality are not employing technology that has proven time after time to be inaccurate and inefficient," said Councilor Orlando Ramos Friday. "The second reason protect the general public unnecessary surveillance." Ramos and Councilor Adam Gomez will reintroduce Monday night legislation to ban the use of facial surveillance technology in Springfield. The measure died in committee last year. Ramos said he hopes to take a final vote in February. If it passes, Springfield would join neighboring community Northampton and Somerville, Brookline in Massachusetts as well as Oakland and San Francisco, California, which have already banned the technology. Ramos cites an American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts study released earlier Monday that used photos of Boston Red Sox and Celtics players to demonstrate limitations of Amazon Rekognition software. The ACLU fed photos of 188 New England athletes into the system and it misidentified 28, matching them to mugshots in the arrest photo database. The technology is apparently especially poor at differentiating among individuals with ethnic facial features. Ramos said the study is convincing evidence that the technology is not mature enough to be deployed by police and that it has potential to cast suspicion on innocent men and women. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 17:35 731 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321b3c98 1 Business SoftBank-Group-Corp,Jokowi,Masayoshi-Son,Grab,capital-city-relocation,North-Penajam-Paser,Kutai-Kartanegara,smart-city,artifical-intelligence,AI,Airlangga-Hartarto Free Japan-based Softbank Group has hinted at partnering with the government to fund Indonesia's new capital city. On Friday morning, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomed SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son and SoftBank-backed ride-hailing app Grab CEO Anthony Tan at the State Palace in Jakarta to discuss the matter. "We won't discuss the specific number yet, but a new smart city, the newest technology, a clean city and a lot of AI [artificial intelligence] that's what I'm interested in supporting," said Son when asked about how much he would invest in the new capital city. The government will move Indonesias capital city from the heavily populated and polluted Jakarta to a now-forested area in the North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies in East Kalimantan by the end of Jokowis second term in 2024. The President has said he wants the new capital to be a smart and green city. Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government would soon form a new team to review the partnership, including the size of the investment, which would be based on the capital city's initial population. If realized, the collaboration could bolster Jokowi's vision to build a new administrative hub in East Kalimantan, which is projected to cost up to Rp 466 trillion (US$32.7 billion). A spokesperson for Grab said in a statement that the meeting with Jokowi on Friday continued discussions on several potential points of collaboration, including building more smart cities with environmental friendly initiatives across Indonesia. In July of last year, Son met with Jokowi. After the meeting, he pledged to invest in renewable energy and the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia. He also announced another round of investment, worth $2 billion, for the Indonesian branch of Singapore-based Grab. Haftar's Libyan National Army Says Includes Mitiga Airport of Tripoli in No-Fly Zone Sputnik News 06:59 09.01.2020(updated 07:10 09.01.2020) DAMASCUS (Sputnik) The Libyan National Army (LNA), headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has announced the expansion of a no-fly-zone that now includes Tripoli's Mitiga Airport, LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari said. "The LNA General Staff has declared the expansion of the previously established no-fly zone in Tripoli, which includes the airport of Mitiga starting from 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday", Mismari said in a statement, posted on his Facebook page. The LNA called on airlines to respect the boundaries of the no-fly zone and not to put their planes "at the risk of destruction". On 12 December, Haftar announced the beginning of a decisive battle in his campaign to seize Tripoli. In early April, the LNA declared a no-fly zone over the western parts of Libya, which are governed by the UN-backed Government of National Accord, after the start of an offensive on Tripoli. Libya has been in a state of a civil war since its longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was ousted and killed in 2011. Since then, political power in the country has been split between two rival governments: the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress. Following the signing of a UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement in December 2015, a Government of National Accord was established in the county and started working in late March 2016. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address On Wednesday, the chorus of Senate Democrats objecting to House Speaker Nancy Pelosis impeachment tactics grew louder. For weeks, Pelosi has refused to send the two articles impeaching President Donald Trump to the Senate until she understands the rules of the Senate trial. Several Democratic senators called on Pelosi to send the articles over in recent days, most notably Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who sent a message to Pelosi through reporters: If its serious and urgent, send them over. If it isnt, dont send it over. Advertisement On Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her plans clear: Shes not budging. Ill send them over when Im ready. And that will probably be soon, Pelosi said at her weekly news conference, indicating that she still wanted to see a concrete proposal from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for Senate trial rules before the articles would advance. Now we want to see what theyre willing to do and the manner in which they will do it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democratic senators seem to have received the message. Within hours, many of her critics seemed to fall back in line. Feinstein on Thursday morning was still criticizing the speaker, saying, I dont quite know what the strategy is, but it doesntif youre going to do it, do it, if youre not going to do it, dont. And obviously, theyre going to do it so I dont understand the delay. By Thursday afternoonafter McConnell had used Feinsteins statements and those of other Democrats to attack Pelosishe had changed her tune. My comments on this have been misunderstood, Feinstein said, according to Politico. Shes going to send them and its her decision. Advertisement Advertisement McConnell hasnt unveiled rules for the Senate trial, much less passed them via a majority vote of the Senate. We have plenty to do, and the speaker will send them over when shes ready to send them over, Feinstein emphasized in an interview with NBC News. NBC News further reported that other previously critical voices, such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Richard Blumenthal, also took a step back Thursday, saying the decision was up to Pelosi. In another example, Sen. Chris Coons on Wednesday could not have been more explicit in telling reporters, I do think it is time to get on with it. Shortly after Slate requested whether Coons stood by this position given the statements of his other colleagues, he tweeted, Speaker Pelosi will decide when to send the articles, not any member of the Senate. Im ready for the Senate to begin the trial, but I absolutely understand why [the speaker] is working to ensure this is a *fair* trial with testimony from relevant witnesses. That is important. Advertisement Advertisement Pelosi does not seem to be withholding the articles because she genuinely does not understand McConnells plan. The majority leader has already laid out what he wants to do, announcing on Tuesday that he has the votes to block witnesses at the outset of the trial. Speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday, McConnell took things even further, suggesting that the Senate had already presented and voted for his preferred trial format. (It has not.) Advertisement Advertisement This week, a majority of the Senate stepped forward to make it perfectly clear that this conversation is over, McConnell said. A majority of this body has said definitively that we are not ceding our constitutional authority to the partisan designs of the speaker. Advertisement Advertisement McConnell hasnt unveiled rules for the Senate trial, much less passed them via a majority vote of the Senate. The majority leader claims he has the votes to proceed under the rule set that governed President Bill Clintons impeachment trial in 1999. McConnell surely is good at counting votes and uniting his caucus, but just because he says he has the votes he needs doesnt mean a majority of the Senate has said anything definitively. Pelosis current gambit appears to be designed to force McConnell to actually go ahead and formally present a trial format, a vote that ultimately would fall along deeply partisan lines, unlike the Clinton rules, which were passed unanimously after negotiation between the two parties. By forcing McConnell to present the rules before she sends the articles, Pelosi would keep the press guessing as to what her next move will be, heighten the drama around any vote on a rules resolution, highlight the blatant cover-up of a trial that doesnt include witnesses or documents, and put the spotlight on the vulnerable Republican senators who have indicated they support the unpopular trial format of one without witnesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, new shoes keep dropping in Ukraine affair, such as last months revelation that the Office of Management and Budget ordered a hold on hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine just 91 minutes after Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee. There are many such outstanding shoes that could fall in the days ahead if Pelosi continues to hold onto the articles. First, former National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that he would testify about Trumps alleged abuse of power if he were subpoenaed by the Senate, which demands the question of what he would do if he received a similar subpoena from the House. Second, pending federal appeals could determine whether White House officials, who have so far been obstinate in the face of congressional subpoenas, can be compelled to testify. Whats more, indicted associate of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, is reported to be sending materials to the House relevant to impeachment. Advertisement Advertisement The president and his allies, meanwhile, seem to be incredibly anxious to get the trial started and over with. Giuliani tweeted on Thursday that The Supreme Court should step in and rule this impeachment unconstitutional, to prevent a precedent from forming which would allow the House to overstep its bounds and impeach for policy differences or political leverage. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was forced on Thursday to answer questions about his own association with Parnas. Trumps tweets on Thursday indicated that he remains a ball of frustration over Pelosis trial delay. And McConnell was wishfully telling his Republican colleagues that he expected the articles as soon as Friday, though Politico reported that he acknowledged he does not have inside intelligence as to Pelosis plans. Advertisement Advertisement The Senate majority leader has repeatedly said that he doesnt consider Pelosi to have any leverage by withholding impeachment articles, but his comments on the floor on Thursday belied that argument. He said that Pelosi and future speakers shouldnt be allowed to conjure up this sword of Damocles at will and leave it hanging over the Senate unless we do what they say. (The majority leaders office did not respond to a request from Slate to comment on how he could square the notion that Pelosi has no leverage with the idea that Pelosi is holding a sword of Damocles over his chamber.) McConnell is right to invoke the metaphor about the sword of Damocles. As long as Democrats stay resolute and hold off on transmitting articles, they keep a Senate trial in their pocket until new and further damning evidence emerges or until Trump commits another abuse of his office. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 52-year-old woman threatened a man with a knife when he caught her rifling through a dresser in his bedroom, authorities allege. Doreen McCain most recently lived in the home and is the ex-girlfriend of the victim, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. The man arrived at his home in the vicinity of Heberton and Castleton avenues shortly after midnight on Sunday, according to the criminal complaint and police. McCain allegedly was rummaging through drawers of a dresser in the 60-year-old mans bedroom. When the man told McCain to leave, she took a knife out of her waistband and pointed it at him, the complaint alleges. Motherf----r, I will kill you, the complaint quoted her as saying. When McCain was arrested within a half hour, she allegedly was holding a black plastic bag containing three debit/credit cards owned by the victim. She was charged with burglary, criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, menacing, criminal trespass and petit larceny. But Michael Harding, the defense attorney who represents McCain, questioned the validity of the charges in a statement to the Advance last Thursday. The next day, all felony charges were dropped by the court, he said. The charges are a gross exaggeration by the district attorney, Harding said in a statement to the Advance. "Ms. McCain has resided in the apartment with her partner, the complainant, for years. Police officers conducted an investigation at the scene, and met with Ms. McCain and the complaining witness at their residence. Based on that investigation, they arrested Ms. McCain and charged her with a nonviolent felony for possessing her partners credit cards. Yet the D.A. wrongly inflated these charges to burglary in the 1st degree and asked for significant bail." Continued Harding: "Its situations like this of zealously overcharging and lack of prosecutorial discretion that has led to bail reform. The defendant pleaded guilty in Criminal Court in December 2005 to criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to the complaint. McCain is due back in Criminal Court on Friday, according to public records. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of Hongkongers are currently in the democratic island of Taiwan after fleeing their city to escape rioting charges for their role in the anti-extradition protests and pro-democracy movement, according to recent media reports. Two protesters who spoke to RFA ahead of Taiwan's presidential and legislative election on Saturday said the island is a source of political hope and inspiration as its 19 million voters gear up to exercise their democratic rights at the weekend. But they also fear that people there have become complacent, and maylike Hong Kongsoon have their rights and freedoms eroded under constant political pressure from China. They also face more urgent concerns in their own lives, as they fear to return home and must now forge new lives for themselves in a strange place. "My current plan is to work in Taiwan and stay here for a long time," one former frontline protester from Hong Kong told RFA in a recent interview. "I need to find a place to carry on with my life, because I don't think I can go back to Hong Kong," said the protester, who gave only a pseudonym Jero. Jero fled Hong Kong after taking part in the storming of Hong Kong's Legislative Council on July 1 last year, when dozens of young, masked protesters broke their way through toughened glass doors and security shutters to gain the main chamber. Once there, the protesters, some of whom were teenagers, defaced China's national emblem and daubed anti-government and police slogans on the walls, after the city's leader Carrie Lam ignored widespread opposition to plans to allow extradition to mainland China. Fears for the future Jero said he is currently enjoying freedom from the stress of worrying about potential arrest, facing down riot police, or being tear gassed. But he still faces considerable anxiety about his future. If the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Tsai Ing-wen wins the election, and if DPP lawmakers win a majority in the island's Legislative Yuan, then Jero will likely be taken care of under a regime that has offered help and shelter to fleeing Hong Kong protesters. But if the pro-China opposition Kuomintang (KMT) wins, the results could mean ever-closer ties with China and further danger for Hong Kong escapees. "I was thinking that if the KMT wins the election I will have to go somewhere else," Jero said. "But if you were to ask me where, I couldn't tell you." "I haven't found anywhere ... For me, Taiwan is the best option right now," he said. 'This man is our enemy' Roger, the nickname of the second Hong Kong fugitive who spoke to RFA, said he is also very worried about the election outcome, believing that the KMT's Han Kuo-yu will undermine freedom and democracy in Taiwan if he is elected. "When Han Kuo-yu came to Hong Kong, he went straight to [Beijing's] Central Liaison Office and met with Chinese officials," Roger said. "He made it clear that he was part of the pro-China faction." "This man is our enemy. The Chinese Communist Party is our enemy in Hong Kong and in Taiwan," Roger said. "It is axiomatic to us that the Chinese Communist Party can't be trusted." "That's why we loathe and detest [the candidate with] the pro-China stance." Many in Taiwan share his view, and worry that the islandwhich has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party nor formed part of the People's Republic of Chinawill sleep-walk into closer economic ties with China, and eventually fall under Beijing's political control too, with a hollowed-out political system. Incumbent Tsai has seen her support grow as she has repeatedly spoken out in defense of Taiwans sovereignty and demanded that Beijing, which has refused to rule out the use of military force to annex the island, treat Taipei as an equal partner and sovereign state. The Legislative Yuan recently passed a law forbidding Chinese influence across many areas of political life. Call to unify The election comes one year after Chinese President Xi Jinping's Jan. 2, 2019 speech insisting that Taiwan "unify" with China under "one country, two systems," and refusing to rule out the use of force to annex the country. "I am worried that if the KMT wins, they will do many things that diminish Taiwan's sovereignty, turning Taiwan into China's Taiwan," a young Hongkonger who gave the nickname A Ming said. "He may use this to do deals with China, which may put anti-extradition protesters from Hong Kong currently living in Taiwan at risk," said A Ming, who is currently enrolled in a Taiwanese university. He called on Taiwan voters to turn out in huge numbers on Jan. 11, to vote for the continuation of their freedom and democracy. Reported by Tseng Yat-yiu for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, speaks at a symposium held at the National Healthcare Security Administration in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Thursday called for accelerating the improvement of the country's healthcare security system. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a symposium held at the National Healthcare Security Administration. He stressed sticking to the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, taking solid steps to boost healthcare security and contributing more to the improvement of people's wellbeing. Expedited efforts should be made to put in place a healthcare security system that embodies the strengths of China's socialist system, Han said. Last year, Boeing disclosed internal messages from 2016, in which a top pilot working on the plane told a colleague that he was experiencing trouble controlling the Max in a flight simulator and believed that he had misled the FAA Boeing sent Congress more than 100 pages of documents Thursday that included internal communications between company employees mocking the Federal Aviation Administration and bragging about getting the regulator to approve the 737 Max with little new training required for pilots. The most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing pilots and other employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max, a plane later involved in two accidents that killed 346 people and threw the company into chaos. The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the FAA during the regulators certification of the simulators. "I still havent been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year," one of the employees says in messages from 2018, apparently in reference to interactions with the regulator. "Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldnt," one employee said to a colleague in another exchange. No, the colleague responded. The messages and their disparaging tone threaten to further complicate Boeings tense relationship with the FAA and other regulators as a reputational crisis that has consumed the aerospace giant drags on. Both Boeing and the FAA indicated that the messages released Thursday did not raise new safety concerns, but they echo troubling internal communication among Boeing employees that was previously made public. The release of the emails and instant messages is the latest embarrassing episode for Boeing in a crisis that has cost the company billions of dollars and wreaked havoc on airlines across the globe. The Max has been grounded for nearly 10 months, following the two deadly crashes. A software system developed for the plane was found to have played a role in both accidents, and since then the company has been working to update the system. There is still no indication when the Max might be cleared to fly again, as the company and regulators continue to discover new potential flaws with the plane. Several lawmakers expressed dismay at the language used in the messages, saying they reflected a disregard for safety and broader problems with the culture at the company. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who is leading the House investigation into the development of the 737 Max, called the emails incredibly damning in a statement. He added: "They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally." Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in an interview that he would push for new congressional hearings to question Boeing leadership about the astonishing and appalling messages. Boeing expressed regret. These communications contain provocative language, and, in certain instances, raise questions about Boeings interactions with the FAA in connection with the simulator qualification process, the company said in a statement to Congress. Having carefully reviewed the issue, we are confident that all of Boeings Max simulators are functioning effectively. We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the FAA, Congress, our airline customers and to the flying public for them, Boeing added. The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed. Boeing said that it notified the FAA about the documents in December and that it had not found any instances of misrepresentations to the FAA with its simulator qualification activities, despite the employees comment about covering up issues with the simulator. Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the FAA, said in a statement that the messages did not reveal any new safety risks. Upon reviewing the records for the specific simulator mentioned in the documents, the agency determined that piece of equipment has been evaluated and qualified three times in the last six months, Lunsford said. Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed. Lunsford added that, while the tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing, the FAA remains focused on following a thorough process for returning the Boeing 737 Max to passenger service. The tense relationship between Boeing and the FAA has been a complicating factor for the company as it works to persuade international regulators that the Max is ready to fly. Last month, Boeing fired its chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, whose optimistic projections about the planes return to service created a rift with the regulator. Stephen Dickson, the new chief of the FAA, has struck a more assertive tone in public comments about the Max, urging his employees to ignore outside pressure to quickly lift the planes grounding and telling Boeing that there is no set timetable for the Max to return. In a meeting with Muilenburg last month, Dickson told the company not to make any requests of the regulator and to instead focus on completing the paperwork necessary for regulators to evaluate the update. The Max is the latest update to Boeings 737, which has been flying since the 1960s. By making the plane similar to the 737s existing NG model, Boeing was able to persuade regulators that pilots did not need to train on simulators. It was a particular selling point for Boeing, which faced significant competitive pressure from its chief European rival, Airbus. Requiring simulator training can be costly for airlines and even after the crashes, Boeing told the FAA it was not necessary. It was not until Tuesday that Boeing said it would recommend simulator training for pilots who fly the Max. Last year, Boeing disclosed internal messages from 2016, in which a top pilot working on the plane told a colleague that he was experiencing trouble controlling the Max in a flight simulator and believed that he had misled the FAA. I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly), said one of the pilots, Mark Forkner, to his colleague Patrik Gustavsson. Boeing did not inform the FAA about the messages when the company first discovered them, waiting until about two weeks before Muilenburg was set to testify in front of Congress to send them to lawmakers. The conversation, which took place before the Max was approved to fly, angered key FAA officials, who felt misled by the company, according to three people familiar with the matter. After the congressional hearings, Boeing moved Gustavsson out of his role working on the certification of new planes. Natalie Kitroeff c.2020 The New York Times Company The New South Wales Teachers Federation (NSWTF) pushed through a new two-year Salaries and Conditions award at anti-democratic stop work meetings held across the state on December 5. The agreement sets the conditions for 60,000 public school teachers from 2020 to 2022. While claiming overwhelming endorsement of the deal with the NSW government, the union has not published the breakdown of votes for, against or abstaining, nor the details of any amendments passed at the meetings. The meetings were held in some 200 venues, including hotels and cinemas, lasting less than an hour. A 30 minute live broadcast was presented by union officials, followed by a vote. This was despite the fact that teachers will not be able to read the contents of the deal for up to two months. The NSWTF was so determined to rush through a yes vote that meeting convenors required a show of hands before time was allowed for questions and debate. Question time was limited to five minutes, with only one question per person allowed. Speakers opposed to the agreement were given just three minutes to speak, and time for debate was shut down after 15 minutes. One teacher told the WSWS: At the meeting I attended there was a sense of urgency created which meant very little discussion or questions took place. Another teacher posted on Facebook: I felt humiliated and belittled when I asked a question. One wrote: My whole feeling was the deal is done! Our say means nothing! Another asked: Why were details of the new agreement in negotiation not available to members BEFORE todays meeting? This is wrong. In a direct assault on freedom of speech, a teacher who attempted to circulate the Committee For Public Educations December 3 statement, calling for a no vote at a meeting venue in the working class city of Wollongong, south of Sydney, was ordered by a union organiser to stop handing it out, on the grounds that it had not been authorised by the NSWTF. During the half hour broadcast, and in subsequent communication with teachers, the union claimed the salaries agreement had produced significant gains. Speaking at the broadcast, Maurie Mulheron, current NSWTF president, touted the placement of a number of education officers, including Home School Liaison Officers, onto a standards based pay scale. The vast majority of NSW public school teachers were moved onto this in 2016. The standards based scale has now replaced the long established method of payment according to years of service. This transition has tied pay rises to the acquisition of standards, a measure opposed by the Committee For Public Education (CFPE) as a veiled step towards the divisive and universally opposed method of payment according to students results. Mulheron also claimed that a pay anomaly that emerged in 20122015, as part of the transition, had been resolved. Up to 5,000 mostly young teachers have been affected by this anomaly, which has cost them between $30,000 and $50,000 in remuneration, with no possibility of back pay. In the days following the broadcast, teachers voiced their disgust with the union on the 20122015 NSW Teachers Facebook page. One commented: This resolution makes absolutely no difference to me whatsoever. I am beyond angry about this. Another wrote: I literally break even with the old pay scale the worst thing about this is that the union was deceitful in its approach. Another comment read: I am bewildered, frustrated, upset and downright furious by this so-called union whose motto is Strength In Unity. I feel betrayed. In addition to keeping members in the dark about the full content of the agreement, the union consciously set out to divide those younger teachers affected by the pay anomaly from longer-serving teachers. A teacher told the WSWS: The Federation implied that if the agreement was not accepted, then not only would there not be a raise in January and in 2021, but it was highly likely that already achieved conditions would be lost also. Despite the unions tactics, however, there was wide scale opposition to the settlement of the pay anomaly. As a teacher reported on Facebook: At the meeting I attended we had someone stand up and say they would like to strike from the record the word resolution, as it hasnt been resolved. It was agreed to by over 200 people. The unions claim to have resolved the pay anomaly has already been exposed as another fraud. A statement announced by federal and state education ministers, a few days after the stop work meetings, has blown apart the unions claim to have preserved teachers working conditions. On December 9, education ministers announced the fast-track roll-out of the Gonski 2.0 learning progressions, involving an even more intensive government testing and assessment regime of student, teacher and principal performance than currently imposed under the NAPLAN scheme. The impact will be an exponential increase in teacher workloads. The NSWTFs record on supporting and enforcing the toxic effects of standardised testing is clear. The unions reward for engaging in extensive consultations with state government education bodies on beefed up testing programs, including Bump It Up and Stronger HSC Standards, was a core seat on the six-member NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). As for the NSWTFs claim that the agreement includes real growth in salaries, 2.5 per cent in 2020 and 2.28 in 2021 will do nothing to offset cost-of-living increases, with the expected 30 percent hike in energy costs and ever-increasing house prices. In the meeting at Castle Hill in Sydney, Erika Laslett, long-standing teacher and CFPE member, called for a no vote on the agreement and urged teachers to begin to organise independent rank-and-file committees, made up of the most self-sacrificing and trusted teachers in all schools. Laslett told the meeting: Teachers demands around the world are the same: for genuine wages, lower class sizes and a curriculum geared to the needs of children, not edu-businesses. Despite the willingness of teachers to fight, the unions attempt at every point to isolate and strangle their actions. The NSWTF, like all unions, is a political instrument of big business. Teachers require new organisations of struggle, democratically controlled by rank-and-file educators themselves to fight for what teachers, support staff and their children need. It is only through such bodies, independent of, and in political opposition to, the agenda of the unions, that teachers voices will be heard. Such committees should aim to unite teachers throughout the state, nationally and internationally, to end the subordination of education and all social needs to the profit interests of the banks and major corporations. We urge all teachers who agree with this perspective to become actively involved in the CFPE. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Department of State on November 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON The State Department said in a statement Friday that the U.S. will not hold discussions with Iraq regarding American troop withdrawal from the country. "At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. "There does, however, need to be a conversation between the U.S. and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership. We want to be a friend and partner to a sovereign, prosperous, and stable Iraq," Ortagus added, writing that "America is a force for good in the Middle East." The latest revelation from the State Department further deepens confusion over plans for U.S. troops in the region. On Sunday, Iraq's parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the removal of American forces and other foreign troops from the country in the wake of a U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani. A day later, a letter from U.S. Marine Corps Gen. William Seely to Iraq's Defense Ministry said the withdrawal of U.S. coalition troops was occurring "in due deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested" by the nation's prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, and the Iraqi parliament. In the letter, Seely wrote that coalition troops "will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement." "In order to conduct this task, Coalition Forces are required to take certain measures to ensure the movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner," he added. In the wake of the letter, the Pentagon acknowledged that the letter informing Iraq's Defense Ministry that U.S.-led coalition troops would leave Iraq "was a mistake." "A draft unsigned letter that was acquired by an Iraqi official has no import. It has no value whatsoever," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday in an interview with CNN. "I will say this, the United States is not withdrawing from Iraq. In fact, in my conversations with my counterpart, the Iraqi defense minister, I conveyed to him that we do want to stay in Iraq and we want to continue the important defeat ISIS mission," he added. "That letter is a draft, it was a mistake, it was unsigned, it should never have been released," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday. "Poorly worded, implies withdrawal," Milley said. "That is not what's happening." Alongside Milley, Esper told reporters earlier in the day that the U.S. was "repositioning forces throughout the region." On Tuesday, Iraq's prime minister said that the U.S. military sent a letter regarding American troop withdrawal from the country but that the English version did not match the Arabic version. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said that his country requested clarifications on U.S. plans. The police in Kenya have arrested a certain man, Boniface Mutuku Munyao, who is from Kangundo in Machakos County of Kenya for sleeping with a dog and killing it. They arraigned Boniface before a Kangundo Magistrates Court on Thursday for allegedly engaging in bestiality with a female dog. He allegedly strangled the animal with a rope after having sex with it. The man was arrested after his neighbours made a complaint of hearing the dog yelping at night. Munyaos neighbours broke into his house after a foul smell emanated from the building. A neighbour told the police; We found used condoms and the dogs carcass in his house. The area chief, Bethwel Kingele who backed the claim said; Read Also: Bestiality: Man Admits To Raping His Dog 4 Times He was found having sex with the dog after some neighbours noticed a foul smell in the abandoned homestead which belongs to his grandmother. In his own confession, the man said he defiled the dog for several days and later strangled the animal to death using a rope. Dozens of used condoms were also recovered from the scene. That is a very shameful and an ungodly act which we cannot tolerate in society. Those claiming the man is of unsound mind should also tell us why he decided to use condoms on the dog Mateta area chief Bethel Kingele , speaking on the case said they suspected Munyao was under the influence of hard drugs while engaging in the unnatural act. The suspect denied the charges against him in court and was freed on Ksh100, 000 cash bail. The case will be mentioned on January 22. Students from Martin Luther King's old college in America found themselves in the middle of living history yesterday - as they visited east Belfast in the company of a Northern Irish peacemaker who welcomed the restoration of the power-sharing government just up the road at Stormont. The Rev Harold Good, who oversaw the decommissioning of IRA weapons in 2005, took the group from Morehouse College in Atlanta to the Skainos centre on the Newtownards Road, where ironically people from the mainly loyalist tradition were learning Irish, a language issue that had been one of the stumbling blocks to a political accord. Even before Sinn Fein said yes to the deal yesterday afternoon, Mr Good had been upbeat as all around him in east Belfast the draft proposals - outlined on Thursday night by Secretary of State Julian Smith and the Tanaiste Simon Coveney - were all that people were talking about, as was also the case across the city on the Falls Road. And even though the unionist and nationalist areas were divided about the finer details of the proposals, the unmistakable and overwhelming consensus was that people on both sides were weary and just wanted politicians to get back to work to sort out the crises facing Northern Ireland - particularly in the health service and in education. The compliments weren't exactly flying on either road about the track record of the politicians in the three years since Stormont was suspended in the row which centred on Sinn Fein demands for an Irish language act, a move bitterly opposed by the DUP. On the Newtownards Road, Crawford McIlveen said he knew a deal would be done because politicians didn't want a return to the polls in the wake of Westminster electoral setbacks for them. He added: "They're tribal leaders looking after their own. There's not a statesman among them. We used to have a few, but they are long gone. It's all very bleak and depressing now. Expand Close Crawford McIlveen on the Newtownards Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Crawford McIlveen on the Newtownards Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph "I still think direct rule would be the best thing. People say that Boris Johnson and his ilk would be a disaster, but could they really be worse than nothing?" Gary Allen said what he knew of the deal that had been put on the table didn't concern him, adding: "I just want to see the politicians getting on with their jobs. As for the Irish language I don't want to learn it but I have no objections to anyone speaking it, though I don't think anything should be forced on us like a Newtownards Road sign in Irish. There's no need for that." Expand Close Gary Allen on the Newtownards Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gary Allen on the Newtownards Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph Jean Neill didn't pull her punches. "The health service is falling apart so the politicians have to return to Stormont to do what they were voted in to do. "They're like two children squabbling. The rows are so petty. If people want to learn Irish they can come to the Skainos centre to learn it. "But the Secretary of State shouldn't have said he would help the nurses on condition that the politicians brought back the Executive." Thomas Walker said he didn't regard the Irish language proposals as a threat to east Belfast. "There are more important things than language. We needed the politicians to go back and sort out the hospitals. Expand Close Thomas Walker / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Thomas Walker "Enough was enough. They had to wise up and sort out both sides of the community," he said. Ann Thompson was more cautious about what was on offer in the draft agreement. Speaking after walking past a UVF mural which proclaimed that "the prevention of the erosion of our identity is now our priority" she said: "I think the Irish language proposals go too far. I know the DUP have backed the deal but I'm convinced it is much too much. And we lose again." One man who didn't want to be named said he believed the politicians' support for the agreement represented three wasted years. "I don't see a huge difference between these proposals and the ones from 2018," he added. "And you only have to look at the disasters and wars going on in the world to put our disagreements over things like languages into perspective." Harold Good said he believed the draft agreement was "realistic" and would unlock the impasse to enable Northern Ireland to get back into responsible government. He added: "People have been yearning in the elections and on the doorsteps for politicians to restore the executive and they wouldn't have easily forgiven if they hadn't gone for it. We should see the word 'compromise' as 'accommodation' where we make space for each other to the benefit of all of us." Expand Close Harold Good on the Newtownards Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harold Good on the Newtownards Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph Mr Good said his American student party comprised young people from hugely different backgrounds and colleges who had come to Northern Ireland to study the advances for peace here. "I told them we had come a long way and it was important that we shouldn't lose it," said the former Methodist President. The students later visited west Belfast, where the word on the streets echoed what was being said in the east. Margaret Kelly said she would have "knocked the politicians' heads together" to come to an agreement. She added: "We're in the 21st century yet there was still all this bickering and fighting. They needed to catch themselves on." Joe Matthews, who described himself as an "old Sinn Feiner" said despite claims that the DUP would have a veto on Irish language regulations it was right to seal the deal. Expand Close Joe Matthews on the Falls Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe Matthews on the Falls Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph "I think it's time we all moved on," he added. Sean Byers, who's learning Irish, said claims that the language was part of a republican agenda were wrong. He added: "I wouldn't be a Sinn Fein supporter, but there's a perception that the Irish language is a Sinn Fein issue. Howeverm that's not true. Expand Close Sean Byers on the Falls Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sean Byers on the Falls Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph "It's a broader based grassroots movement who are only looking for the same rights as the south of Ireland and across the water." Mother and daughter Maureen and Karen McAlorum, who had been attending an appointment at the Royal Victoria Hospital, said they hoped a brighter future was now on the horizon. "The politicians have been getting paid for years now and they've not been working. Expand Close Maureen and Karen McAlorum on the Falls Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Maureen and Karen McAlorum on the Falls Road - Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph "Yet the nurses couldn't get pay parity and they deserved it," said Karen. Maureen said: "The current situation couldn't go on. So many people's lives were being ruined by the stalemate at Stormont. This was maybe the last chance to end it." At the Grosvenor Road entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital, health workers were back on the picket line yesterday and Conor McCarthy, the UNISON branch secretary, said his members had mixed feelings, adding: "They came here feeling positive as citizens about the prospect of a return to Stormont, which we all think is a good thing. "But there was anger over what the Secretary of State said about pay parity only coming in the wake of the politicians agreeing to a deal. "That made it clear that we, along with patients, were being used as leverage. "Regardless of whether or not there was a political settlement, we should be paid the money." (Corrects location of mine in first paragraph to Australian, not Austrian) BERLIN, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Engineering giant Siemens will decide by Monday on its involvement in the development of a controversial Australian coal mine being built by India's Adani , CEO Joe Kaeser said on Friday. Speaking after meeting climate activist Luisa Neubauer in Berlin, Kaeser told journalists he had offered her a seat on the supervisory board of the group's new Siemens Energy division. Neubauer did not join the news conference. Siemens' contract to provide signalling technology to the coal mine's railway is worth 18 million euros ($19.97 million), Kaeser said. The Australian government last year approved the construction of a new coal mine in Queensland by Adani that is expected to produce 8-10 million tonnes of thermal coal a year. Australia is one of the world's largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants. ($1 = 0.9015 euros) (Reporting by Thomas Seythal in Berlin and Alexander Huebner in Munich Editing by Michelle Martin) A judge denied an early end to probation for a former Palisades Interstate Parkway Police chief caught trying to buy cocaine online. Michael Coppola was suspended in 2018 and then resigned from his post after he was arrested trying to buy cocaine. He was denied a termination to his probation on Friday after being sentenced May 2019. Superior Court Judge Margaret Foti agreed with Assistant Prosecutor James Santulli that the one-year probationary period was minimal, emphasizing that Coppola would likely need to seek drug counseling for the rest of his life. Hes going to have a lifelong drug problem," Foti said. In December 2018, Coppola was indicted by a grand jury on six drug charges, including third-degree charges of cocaine possession and cocaine distribution. Last May, Coppola was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay fines and undergo drug treatment. His attorney Paul Tyschenko argued the probation, which is set to end in May, has become a hindrance to Coppola who sometimes has to travel to Ohio where his job is based. He is required the give the probation office weeks of advance notice if hes there longer than a day, He is often called to travel there, Tyschenko said. However because of his status on probation he needs to give probation weeks of advance notice if hes going to be out of the state for longer than 24 hours. That is certainly a hindrance to his current job. Additionally, Tyschenko argued that Coppola could not go to job interviews out of the state. But Santulli said that Coppola needed to complete probation to prevent him from a backslide back into addiction. Ultimately, Foti ruled that the year-long probation was a minimal sentence and that Bergen county would be in touch with the Passaic probation office where Coppola checks in to facilitate a shorter advance notice for work travel. Coppola is from Totowa. Coppola, who had been the police chief since 2014, was suspended in July 2018 after a scathing report from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office that showed he ran an awards and incentives program for officers who wrote the most tickets and made the most arrests. Some of the rewards were better parking spaces, newer police cars and even meals paid for with Palisades Interstate Park Commission funds, according to the report. The report also showed that Coppolas company, CJIS Solutions LLC, provided IT services for the department, which it characterized as a severe conflict of interest. Although Coppola did not charge for or profit from the services, the prosecutors office told the department to sever the agreement. Among the most alarming revelations, the report showed that the department often engaged in dangerous high-speed police pursuits that violated the New Jersey Attorney Generals policy. One pursuit ended in a fatality when a man fell off a cliff while he was running from officers. The incident was not reported to the Bergen County Prosecutors Office as required, the report states. The prosecutors office investigation was launched after the death of a motorcyclist who lost control and crashed during a high speed chase that exceeded 130 miles per hour. Coppolas troubles were compounded when he was arrested for trying to buy cocaine online and having it shipped to his post office box. Detectives had placed a package containing fake cocaine in the post office box after he made a fake online drug buy. When he went to pick the shipment up, Coppola was arrested in a stop on Route 80 in Ridgefield Park. I think the state acknowledges that this defendant has paid quite a price for what has occurred in his life and he wants to get on with his life," said Foti. "I think a six month period is not an overly burdensome period of time to complete his probation. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan celebrates his 46th birthday on Friday and the entire industry as well as his numerous fans have been sharing wishes for him. While most believe Hrithik made his onscreen debut with 2000 hit Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, he also made an appearance as a child actor in a 1981 film. Also read: Bigg Boss 13: Asim Riaz loses to Vishal Aditya Singh, Himanshi Khurana says he did it on purpose Hrithik was seen as a naughty child in a song featuring Dharmendra and Hema Malini in Aas Paas. Wearing a pink kurta and colourful headgear, Hrithik looks cute as he gestures at Hema during the song. The official handle of National Film Archives of India shared a small snippet from the song and tweeted, Hrithik Roshan appeared as a child artist during the song Sheher Mein Charcha Hai with #Dharmendra and #HemaMalini in J. Om Prakashs Aas Paas (1981). Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi have lent their voices for the playful number Sheher Mein Charcha Hai. Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics while Laxmikant Pyarelal composed the music. Hrithik first appeared as a child artist in Bhagwan Dada (1980). Hrithik is currently on a career high with his 2019 releases, War and Super 30, winning hearts. While Vikas Bahls Super 30 impressed audiences as well as critics, his first film with Tiger Shroff was among the biggest hits of the year. Hrithiks mom Pinkie Roshan posted pictures from the brain surgery he underwent last year and wrote, #Today I share these never before seen images with a heavy heart. However, it is not heavy with regret, sadness or concern. It is heavy from the immense love that flows through it, with each blood cell empowered by the immense gratitude I feel to be Duggus mother. We set an example in the way we behave, we instil character in our children, support and encourage them, but what happens when their compassion, strength and courage outgrows that of the parent? she wrote on Instagram. Follow @htshowbiz for more Volition also announced the receipt of additional non-dilutive funding in the form of a $550,000 (Euro 500,000) unsecured loan from Namur Invest to assist with the Octamer acquisition. This takes the total non-dilutive funding provided by the Namur Regional Government and associated agencies to over $7 million to-date. Commenting on the announcement Cameron Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer of Volition said, "This acquisition means that we will be working with one of the world's leading nucleosome experts, Dr. Adrian Schomburg. Not only will this deal secure the supply of a wide range of our key components, but it will also facilitate the transfer of know-how and expertise so that we can develop the capability to manufacture recombinant nucleosomes in Volition's laboratory. This deal enhances our goal of becoming one of the world's leading epigenetics companies. I would like to thank Namur Invest for their continued support of our many projects." Regarding the transaction, Dr. Adrian Schomburg, Founder and CEO of Octamer said, "I believe that the progress that Volition has made to date on nucleosomes in circulation is very exciting and I have confidence that this deal is a good convergence of our two technologies and companies. I look forward to working together to bring these transformative diagnostic agents into everyday diagnostic practice." About the Acquisition The aggregate purchase price is 650,000 Euros (approximately $725,000), consisting of 350,000 cash and approximately 73,000 shares of common stock of Volition, for 100% of the outstanding shares of Octamer. The shares of common stock were issued by Volition to the seller in a private placement in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The shares of common stock were not registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and unless so registered may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. In connection with the transaction, the parties also entered into a five-year royalty agreement that provides for single-digit royalties based on the sales by Octamer of recombinant nucleosomes to pharmaceutical companies for use in the development, manufacture and screening of molecules for use as therapeutic drugs, as well as a consulting arrangement with Dr. Schomburg. The acquisition includes the transfer of Standard Operating Procedures and key assets in addition to onsite training for Belgian Volition scientists. About the Funding The unsecured $550,000 (Euro 500,000) loan from Namur Invest is to assist with the Octamer acquisition. This loan bears interest at 4.80% per year with favorable repayment terms over 3.5 years and includes a 16-month grace period for principal repayment. For further details please contact [email protected]. About Volition Volition is a multi-national epigenetics company developing simple, easy to use, cost effective blood tests to help diagnose a range of cancers and other diseases. Early diagnosis has the potential to not only prolong the life of patients, but also to improve their quality of life. The tests are based on the science of Nucleosomics(TM), which is the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream or other bodily fluid - an indication that disease is present. Volition is primarily focused on human diagnostics but also has a subsidiary focused on animal diagnostics. Volition's research and development activities are centered in Belgium, with additional offices in Texas, London and Singapore, as the company focuses on bringing its diagnostic products to market. For more information about Volition, visit Volition's website (http://www.volitionrx.com) or connect with us via: Twitter: https://twitter.com/volitionrx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/volitionrx Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VolitionRx/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/VolitionRx The contents found at Volition's website address, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are not incorporated by reference into this document and should not be considered part of this document. The addresses for Volition's website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are included in this document as inactive textual references only. Media / Investor Contacts Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this press release may be "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, that concern matters that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "aims," "targets," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "optimizing," "potential," "goal," "suggests," "could," "would," "should," "may," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to the effectiveness of Volition's blood-based diagnostic tests as well as Volition's ability to develop and successfully commercialize such test platforms for early detection of cancer and other diseases. Volition's actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties. For instance, if Volition fails to develop and commercialize diagnostic products, it may be unable to execute its plan of operations. Other risks and uncertainties include Volition's failure to obtain necessary regulatory clearances or approvals to distribute and market future products in the clinical IVD or the veterinary market; a failure by the marketplace to accept the products in Volition's development pipeline or any other diagnostic products Volition might develop; Volition's failure to secure adequate intellectual property protection; Volition will face fierce competition and Volition's intended products may become obsolete due to the highly competitive nature of the diagnostics market and its rapid technological change; and other risks identified in Volition's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other documents that Volition files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Volition's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, Volition does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. Nucleosomics(TM) and Nu.Q(TM) and their respective logos are trademarks and/or service marks of VolitionRx Limited and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners. Additionally, unless otherwise specified, all references to "$" refer to the legal currency of the United States of America. SOURCE VolitionRx Ltd Related Links http://www.volitionrx.com The Keyport man whose phone number was found in the pocket of one of the Jersey City shooters was denied bail after a judge expressed concern over the substantial amount of firearms authorities recovered from a pawn shop. U.S. District Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson ruled Thursday to detain Ahmed A-Hady, 35, who was charged with being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm just days after David Anderson, 47, and his partner, Francine Graham, 50, killed a Jersey City police detective and three people inside a kosher grocery store last month. As law enforcement investigated the mass shooting, they found a handwritten note with a phone number in Andersons right rear pocket. FBI officials determined that the number was connected to A-Hady and the address of a Keyport pawn shop. Authorities recovered six rifles, five handguns, one shotgun and nearly 100 hollow-point bullets during a search of a Keyport pawn shop that A-Hadys father operates and A-Hady lives above. No firearms were recovered at the South Amboy pawn shop A-Hady owns. Assistant U.S. attorney Thomas Kearney wrote in a brief Wednesday that A-Hady is in the business of collecting firearms and ammunition. Judge Dickson said the substantial amount of firearms were enough to make him nervous about releasing A-Hady. A-Hadys attorney, Robert Stahl, said he will most likely appeal the decision. (A-Hady) is a devoted father to his two daughters, to his family and the community and is neither a risk of flight or danger to the community as set forth in our arguments today, Stahl said in an email. The U.S. Attorneys Office charged A-Hady with being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm on Dec. 14. He has been in custody since. Stahl said prosecutors were using A-Hadys case as a dog whistle about what happened in Jersey City. He said the government has nothing more than a piece of paper and failed to prove any meaningful connection between A-Hady and the shooters. They are linked by David Anderson, the shooter, Kearney responded, referring to the note with A-Hadys phone number found in Andersons pocket. That is how the FBI comes to Keyport. Stahl asserted that A-Hadys phone number being in the pocket of Anderson was coincidental, as a Google search of his Buy N Sell shop will turn up his personal cell phone number. This case has nothing to do with Jersey City, Stahl said. A-Hadys bail hearing in December ended abruptly after federal prosecutors began describing him as dangerous and a weapons dealer. In the brief filed Wednesday, Kearney wrote that investigators had "uncovered additional evidence suggesting A-Hadys involvement in buying and selling firearms and ammunition. Kearney said A-Hady told FBI agents he had previously sold an AR-15 style assault rifle. It is unclear when, Kearney said. In court Thursday, Kearney described messages investigators uncovered that they believe show A-Hady discussing buying and selling firearms. In April 2019, A-Hady received an image of either a rifle or an air-soft rifle with an attached scope, according to Kearneys brief. He messaged the seller and said, Yeah Ill take it, before inquiring about the price. Stahl said A-Hady and the seller were discussing a paintball gun. There is no evidence at all that (A-Hady) is buying or selling guns, the attorney said. A-Hadys brother, who told NJ Advance Media last month that the Keyport pawn shop does not sell weapons and that he had never seen the Jersey City shooters, said recently that the prosecutors assertion that his brother is a weapons dealer is not true. In a motion for bail filed Dec. 27, Stahl wrote that prosecutors are relying on the assertion that Mr. Hady was a peddler of arms and a danger to the community. He attached more than a handful of letters to his motion for bail from family members and friends, who described A-Hady as a generous and hardworking family man. He is above all, a family man, wrote Michelle Gyengo, one of A-Hadys employees. His family comes before anything. I have seen him with his daughters and they just bring out a light in him. When they stop by work, he doesnt stop smiling. But prosecutors have argued that A-Hady has a brazen indifference to the law, Kearney said. A-Hadys 2012 felony conviction for attempting to obtain a controlled dangerous substance or analog by fraud in state court bars him from owning or possessing firearms. Kearney said one of the weapons recovered by authorities in the pawn shop was purchased by A-Hady at a Florida Wal-Mart in October 2012, just six months after his conviction in state court. Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. About five hours after Iran launched a volley of missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq, bringing the Middle East a step closer to war, Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 took off into the predawn darkness from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International airport. On board were 176 people en route to Kyiv, where most planned to connect to further destinations, including Canada. But just two minutes into the January 8 flight, as the Boeing 737-800 climbed to an altitude of 2,400 meters, it suddenly disappeared from radar. It would crash two minutes later, killing everyone on board. The pilots did not communicate any trouble with the aircraft before its tragic demise. That could be because there were no problems. U.S. officials now say that it appeared the plane was shot out of the sky by an anti-aircraft missile launched by Iran's own security forces. The U.S. conclusion -- one that could have serious consequences for Iran if true -- contradicted a statement by officials in Tehran that the plane crashed due to a technical malfunction. Reports from private risk consultancy companies, open-source investigators, and Western news media buttress Washingtons theory. Ali Rabiei, an Iranian government spokesman, immediately denounced the U.S. conclusion, calling it a form of "psychological warfare." Missile Or Not? Eyewitnesses on the ground -- some recording video -- recalled seeing a burning object falling from the sky on January 8, and bursting into flames as it hit the ground shortly thereafter. As the sun rose, investigators picked through a field of debris, collecting luggage, toys, and body parts as they searched for clues to the cause. The airline, and Boeing, said the plane appeared to be properly maintained. It had its most recent inspection just days before. And the pilots were experienced, with more than 23,000 combined hours operating a Boeing 737. But even before investigators had much time to study the scene, Iranian officials claimed the crash was caused by technical problems. The story was muddied almost immediately by contradictory information from, among others, the Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran, which posted a statement that said the crash was caused by engine failure. It soon removed the statement from its website and, less than an hour later, put up a new one that did not mention such a cause. As questions swirled about what actually happened, Iran said it would not turn over the flight cockpit recorder -- known colloquially as the black box -- to U.S.-based Boeing for investigation, a decision that ran contrary to commonly accepted practices for investigations of airline disasters. Political and aviation analysts said it suggested that Tehran was potentially seeking to hide embarrassing aspects of the disaster. Rabiei would later say that Boeing officials could come. Under United Nations rules, Boeing and U.S. aviation agencies have the right to participate because the plane was manufactured in America, Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and a crash investigator, told RFE/RL. Ukraine, which sent a team of 45 investigators to Tehran early on January 9, said one of the theories it would be investigating is a missile strike, a statement that drew rebuke from Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's civil aviation agency. "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumors are illogical," Abedzadeh told Irans semiofficial ISNA News Agency. Russian Tor Missile? London-based risk consultancy IHS Markit published a brief report for clients on the morning of January 9 that concluded that Flight PS752 was "likely to have been shot down mistakenly by an IRGC-operated SA-15 missile," referring to Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. SA-15, a NATO designation, is a Russian-built short-range, surface-to-air missile system commonly known as Tor. Russian news agencies have said Iran owns at least 29 such systems, and likely has more. Several unidentified officials in Washington told media that U.S. intelligence had determined that it was "highly likely" that a missile had indeed downed Flight PS752, probably in error. U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House shortly thereafter, said he had a terrible feeling about the incident, adding he did not believe it was a mechanical issue. "Its a tragic thing," he said. "But somebody could have made a mistake -- on the other side." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said that a missile was to blame. Larry Vance, an investigator who served for more than two decades on Canadas Transportation Safety Board, said the plane's instantaneous loss of communication and control was more indicative of a bomb or missile. "If it was a mechanical accident, man, it would be something quite unique," Vance told RFE/RL. He said he could not recall a crash with a similar sequence of events that was caused by mechanical malfunction. "Imagine what type of engine event would have to happen in order for it to disable the airplane completely, make it unflyable. That is not an engine fire. That is more like an engine explosion. Those engines just dont do that. There is no history of them exploding like that, he said U.S. Agency To Visit Tehran? There were some signals that Iran may be willing to cooperate with the United States in the investigation. Reports from Iran say that Tehran has invited the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to join its investigation. The NTSB is the independent U.S. government agency charged with probing civil aviation accidents in the United States. The NTSB said in a statement that it has received notification of the crash from Iran, the formal process that gives the U.S. agency the right to seek participation in the investigation. The NTSB said it has named an accredited representative to the case, but did not say when or if the person would be allowed to visit the site. In a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) accused the EFCC of discrimination in the treatment of Senator Shehu Sani apparently because of his status as a well-known critic of President Muhammadu Buhari which may have informed his continued arbitrary detention. Why is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) refusing to grant bail to this well-known civil Rights activist and politician Senator Shehu Sani? Why is his own matter different when there are a plethora of instances of politicians of all political persuasions who have been invited by the anti-graft body, interrogated and released on bail. Even the disgraced erstwhilst secretary to the government of the federation Mr. Babachir Lawal allegedly implicated in the multi-million contract scam related to the fund of the internally displaced persons of the North East of Nigeria, never spent up to six hours with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. But Senator Shehu Sani who has maintained his innocence of the accusations leveled against him by one person, is still being kept in detention without the anti-graft body either filing charges or releasing him on bail. Besides, the Rights group believes that the arrest and detention of Senator Shehu Sani known for his persistent but constructive criticism of the failings of the current All Progressives Congress led Federal government is progressively revealing to be without reasonable cause and the trends are increasingly manifesting that he may after all be a political hostage or prisoner of conscience which contravenes all known municipal and international human rights laws. May we by this medium inform President Muhammadu Buhari that all human beings including his critics such as Senator Shehu Sani have the right to liberty and security. It is imperative that Senator Shehu Sani is released immediately from the arbitrary arrest and detention because irrespective of their treaty obligations, all states are bound by international law to respect and ensure everybodys right to liberty and security of the person and this is obviously a universal legal responsibility which the Nigerian state must uphold at all times. Article 9(1) of the international covenant on civil and political Rights provides that: Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law. The continuous detention of Senator Shehu Sani without any kind of reasonable cause is unconstitutional and illegal. The discriminatory denial of even administrative bail to him is a violation of section 42(1) of the Nigerian constitution. Section 42(1) states as follows: A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions. HURIWA recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission around December ending last year confirmed the arrest of the former senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani and that he is now being quizzed in our Jabi headquarters in Abuja. HURIWA quoting information released to the media by the EFCC According Senator SHEHU SANI allegedly collected money from the chairman and CEO of ASD Motors, his namesake Sani Dauda, under the pretence of passing it as bribe to EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu. Sani Dauda was a former chairman of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited(PAN). His ASD Motors is a major car dealer in Abuja. However, HURIWA disclosed that from a written statement sent to it by the detained Senator through his office, he has categorically denied all the allegations and accused the EFCC of attempting to rope him into a phantom charge of criminality. HURIWA affirmed thus: Senator SHEHU SANI has just denied all the allegations as follows: The allegations of extortion against me is baseless, factless, unfounded, hollow and unsubstantial. It is a scripted stream of mischievous concoctions and utter fabrications using a puppet state agent; all aimed at splashing feaces and mud on me. The extortion allegation is nothing but a wholesale falsehood, packaged in a phantom anti-graft facade to taint, stain and mute me. That shall never happen if I am alive. I have made my statement and provided all my facts against their package of lies and I demand the EFCC to make public all the sheets of our statements and supporting documents for the world to see. My detention is unfair, unjust, prearranged and politically motivated. Alhaji Sani Dauda and his hidden sponsors have not been able to provide any proof of their allegations. Im unjustly incarcerated on the ground of an arranged two page petition backed with no evidential or documentary proof. Fascism thrives in frame up of its critics. They claim extortion and here they are closing my bank accounts, searching my houses and offices and demanding I declare my assets of which I have already done that at the CCB last year when I left the senate. Frame up cannot silence me!!! I have never ever met with the CJN or any judge or judges or ever called directly or indirectly to offer to give or to give directly or indirectly any form of gratification from Alhaji Sani Dauda I have never ever discussed with ASD on any form of bribe or gratification to be given to any judge or any EFCC official The bribe story is phantom, the bribe story is a fake, imaginative work of fiction, cruelly crafted to smear me, to frame me and to justify my persecution. The bribe story is a heap of blatant lies and outright falsehood concocted and fabricated, using a front and the EFCC to premiere a state drama ASD is a barely educated front for a state mission. Criminalizing me or framing me will not silence me, bend me or compromise me. A 42-year-old man was sentenced to death on Friday by a special POCSO court in Surat in Gujarat for raping and killing his 14-year-old daughter in 2017. Odisha native Tukna Das was convicted and sentenced to death by Additional Sessions Judge PS Kala of the special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court. Das, who used to work in a powerloom here, killed his teenage daughter after she got pregnant following repeated rape over six months. He strangled her and threw the body in the bushes near Surat Airport in June that year. Das had divorced his wife and brought his daughter here to live with him, police said. Das was held after police carried out a DNA test of him as well as the victim and her foetus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon television program, Copyright MMXX, all rights reserved. MoneyTV does not provide an analysis of companies' financial positions and is not soliciting to purchase or sell securities of the companies, nor are we offering a recommendation of featured companies or their stocks. Information discussed herein has been provided by the companies and should be verified independently with the companies and a securities analyst. MoneyTV provides companies a 3 to 4 month corporate profile with multiple appearances for a cash fee of $6,950.00 to $11,995.00, does not accept company stock as payment for services, does not hold any positions, options or warrants in featured companies. The information herein is not an endorsement by Donald Baillargeon, the producer, publisher or parent company of MoneyTV. 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. Iran says it will download data from the black boxes recovered from the Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran earlier this week, killing all 176 people on board, amid Western suggestions that a missile brought down the aircraft. Iranian civil aviation officials on January 10 vehemently rejected assertions from the United States, Britain, and Canada, whose leaders all said intelligence data indicate a catastrophic error by Iranian air defense batteries was likely the cause of the accident. "We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we can't do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help," Iran's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh told a news conference in Tehran. "One thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile," he added. Later, Iran said it would on January 11 announce its findings on the cause of the crash. The comments came hours after Tehran gave Ukrainian investigators access to the fragments of the airliner and invited plane maker Boeing and the U.S. accident-investigation agency to help in the probe of the crash. A statement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiys office said DNA was being collected from relatives of Ukrainians who died in the crash of the Boeing 737-800 jet in order to identify the bodies. The statement added that it was "too early on in the investigation to reveal specific details. However, Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danylov, said he would like to see the investigation move faster and that Ukrainian officials were working to make the release of preliminary results of the investigation happen as soon as possible. A crew from the U.S. television network CBS said that it encountered no security or investigators when it arrived at the crash site on January 10. "Virtually all pieces of the plane were removed yesterday -- say locals. Scavengers now picking site clean," CBS correspondent Elizabeth Palmer said in a tweet. The Ukrainian-flagged Boeing 737-800 was en route to Kyiv when it crashed on January 8 after taking off from the Iranian capital. The victims were 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. There were also 11 Ukrainians on board, including nine crew. Earlier on January 10, in a reversal from its earlier stance, Iran said it had invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and plane maker Boeing to participate in the crash investigation. The decision came after U.S., Canadian, and British officials said it was highly likely that the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight had been shot down, probably in error, by an Iranian missile. Iranian officials have called on Western nations to share any intelligence suggesting it did so. Abedzadeh said that, along with NTSB and Boeing representatives, Tehran will allow experts from Ukraine, France, and Canada to participate in the crash investigation. Under rules established by the UN aviation organization, the NTSB is entitled to participate in the investigation because the crash involved a Boeing jet that was designed and built in the United States. France's BEA air accident agency, which helped analyze data from the flight recorder of a Boeing plane that crashed in Ethiopia last year, said it would be involved in the investigation. The European Commission said on January 10 that an "independent and credible" investigation was needed. "We can only wait for the conclusive evidence that will come out of such independent investigation," Stefan de Keersmaecker, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm, told journalists. Amid tensions heightened by the killing of top Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad last week, Iran earlier had said it would not give the planes so-called black boxes, which contain flight data and cockpit voice recorders, to either U.S. authorities, nor to Boeing representatives. Any involvement by the NTSB could be limited because of restrictions related to financial sanctions placed on Tehran by the American government. The board, an independent U.S. government agency charged with probing civil aviation accidents, said it was evaluating its level of participation in the investigation. It confirmed it had received notification of the crash from Iran, the formal process that gives the U.S. agency the right to seek participation in the investigation. The NTSB said it has named an accredited representative to the case, but did not say when or if the person would be allowed to visit the site. Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a news conference in Ottawa that evidence suggested an Iranian missile downed the Ukrainian passenger plane that was flying from Tehran to Kyiv. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Trudeau said. "This may well have been unintentional," he told a press conference, calling for a "complete and credible investigation" into the cause of the crash. The plane crash occurred hours after Iran fired missiles at bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. Trudeau's comments came as video, which The New York Times says it has verified, emerged that may show the moment the airliner was hit. The video shows a fast-moving object heading into the sky before a bright flash is seen. Several seconds later, an explosion is heard. Echoing Trudeaus words, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air Missile. "This may well have been unintentional," Johnson added. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" about the crash, saying the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake." Unidentified U.S. officials said they were confident that Iranian air-defense systems downed the Boeing 737-800, based on satellite, radar, and electronic data. Newsweek magazine quoted a Pentagon and a senior U.S. intelligence official, as well as an Iraqi intelligence official, as saying they believed the Ukrainian plane was hit by a Russian-made Tor missile. Iran's Transport Ministry has also denied the suggestions of a missile being involved in the accident, saying "this cannot be correct at all." "Several internal and international flights were flying at the same time in Iranian airspace at the same altitude of 8,000 feet [2,440 meters]," the ministry said. With reporting by AP, Reuters, Newsweek, CNN, AFP, and CBS, Fars, dpa, IRNA, and RFE/RLs Radio Farda He said that Pakistan, which "epitomizes the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today." Hitting back at Pakistan's attacks on India at the Council on Thursday, he said, "My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware." Pakistan's Permanent Representative Munir Akram earlier claimed that 8 million people were under curfew in Kashmir and there was a communication blackout. But even as he spoke there is no curfew in Kashmir or a communication blackout and India was opening it for the world to see on the ground. A group of diplomats from 17 countries began a two-day visit to Kashmir on Thursday to see for themselves the conditions in the Union Territory. The group included US Ambassador Kenneth Juster. The Pakistani attack came during a debate on "Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Upholding the United Nations Charter." Akbaruddin said: "Notwithstanding all its imperfections, the United Nations Charter is still the main incarnation of the global spirit. Constancy to its principles promotes common good." He warned that "moving away from a formal system which is well understood, to one which is based on untested interpretations, may have unexpected consequences. Justice dispensed on the fly may come to be resented." But he said that the organs of the UN have to be reformed to be able to fulfil the expectations of and obligations under Charter as the world body faces contemporary challenges and this can be accomplished by using the Charter. Akbaruddin focused on the need to reform the Security Council saying, "We need a Council that is representative of current global realities, credible, and legitimate, rather than one that rests merely on the claim that it existed at the inception." He said, "It is increasingly acknowledged that the Council faces crises of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks; the weaponisation of new technologies; the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council." But he said that the answer to the crises the Council faces require working through Charter provisions that provide for reform and change. Joao Genesio de Almeida Filho, a director in the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, was among representatives of several countries who urged reform of the Council. He noted that Latin America was not represented in the ranks of permanent members of the Council and said that it should be rectified in this the 75th year of the UN. Japan's Permanent Representative Kimihiro Ishikane said that the Council should be reformed to reflect the current realities if it were to retain its legitimacy. Nicolas de Riviere, the permanent representative of France, said his country supported the reform of the Council and wanted veto rights of permanent members suspended in cases of mass atrocities. Akram struck a discordant note by using the forum for attacks on a neighbour, moving away from the purpose of the debate. In his litany of charges against India, Akram said that Prime Minister Modi's government may launch a "military adventurea to divert attention from the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). He claimed that the CAA, which provides refuge for victims of religious persecution by his Islamic republic, was Islamophobic. The CAA allows expedited citizenship for Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains, who do not have full citizenship rights in his country and flee violent persecution. Akram said that the "aerial exchanges" between India and Pakistan in February were contained because Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan returned the captured Indian pilot, Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan. He was shot down while on a sortie to destroy terrorist camps in Pakistan-held Kashmir after an attack by Pakistani terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed killed more than 40 Indian security personnel. Akram said that if India launched another "limited war," there was "no assurance that it will remain limited." (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) Lydia and Joe Lee get recognized everywhere. In the streets of San Francisco. While hiking in Los Angeles. On flights to Indonesia. At Costco. Especially at Costco. Sometimes I dont know them and they call me out, Lydia! One asked to take a picture with us with their whole family, she says. And not because theyre famous, but because they make really good (and really cheap) udon. Lydia Lee has been cooking her deliciously brothed Japanese noodle dish at Yo Yos in San Franciscos Financial District for more than three decades. She was the first employee hired in 1988, and bought the business in 1997 along with her husband Joe when the tiny grab-and-go shops Japanese matriarch, Kazuko Yuge, retired. The shop, which has as many plants as it does stools (two), looks almost identical to how it did in the late 80s, save a fridge that now houses the daily-rolled sushi. The pair have run the business ever since, showing up just around 6 a.m. to spend four hours preparing 20 gallons of broth (plus teriyaki chicken, sushi, and the rest of the menu, which you can see in full in the slideshow above), before happily pouring hundreds of $7 bowls of udon in a section of the city that has seen an upheaval of change since the Lees arrived (see: ultra-luxe members-only social club The Battery just around the corner). During the dot-com era, the line was all the way until Sansome, Joe says. I couldnt leave, Lydia adds. I had to pick up my son when he finished school at 3 p.m. and I couldnt even go get him. They just keep coming. And even after three decades of every-single-day-lines, theyve only raised the prices by a few cents, not dollars. Joe, now 61 years old, points to the price (a half order of udon for $3.50) and the quality (virtually all of their ingredients are imported from Japan, or made by Japanese companies in Los Angeles) as reasons for Yo Yos prolonged success. Lydia thinks its simpler than that. I dont think that way, I think its because were friendly with people, she says. And they are. Incredibly so. They wear Golden Gate Bridge-sized smiles welcoming new customers through the door. They know who needs extra chili powder and who doesnt. And they treat the Financial Districts buttoned-up denizens like they were their neighbors out in the Avenues (where theyve lived since 1995). Lydia credits working at her familys grocery store in Lampung, Indonesia for her cheerful disposition. After I left, all of the customers told my mom, I miss your daughter, she is very nice, she says, her Hello Kitty apron staring back at me. I went back to Indonesia and all of my friends dont believe that I have this place. Yo Yos is much more than just an item for the internets regurgitated cheap eats listicles, its a living example of an American dream Lydia always coveted. At the time the boss wanted to sell to somebody else, Joe recalls of 1997. And then Lydia went home, talked to her mom, her mom said you know how to do everything, why dont you buy it? So she did, even though shed never worked in a kitchen prior to putting on an apron at Yo Yos or even received formal training from Yuge. This is my teacher, she says, motioning toward a mirror that reflects back the too-tiny kitchen. Lydia spent her first weeks on the job chopping chicken in the corner, while side-eyeing Yuges reflection as she put together a broth recipe passed down from her mother in Japan. Lydia explains all of this while chopsticking seaweed, tempura balls, pickled radishes and green onions into a plastic tub of udon and broth. Its 2:45 p.m. and theres still a stream of customers trickling in (The winter months are very busy, Joe says with a laugh), and they wont close the doors until around 4 p.m. Joe and Lydia do this every weekday. When they do take a yearly two-week holiday vacation, Yo Yos closes because, well, theres no one else around to run it. Meaning 250 weekdays a year theyre shoulder to shoulder, slinging udon. Lydia says when she sees someone in line through the window, she wants that person at the counter and ordering within 3 minutes. Sometimes, though, the line doesnt move as fast as shed like. I trust him, she says of Joe. We have freedom. I can say (to my husband), hey, do it faster, but if hes my employee I cant say that because thats rude. She smiles again (because of course she does) before securing the top on another bowl of udon. Maybe the last one for today. But then again, maybe not. Yo Yos is located at 318 Pacific Ave. in the Financial District. Its open Mon-Fri from 10am-4pm. Grant Marek is the Editorial Director of SFGATE. Email: grant.marek@sfgate.com | Twittter: @grant_marek The ecological devastation of the Victorian bushfires has been laid bare in a leaked report which warns some species are likely to already be extinct even as authorities brace for many more weeks of fires. "Almost all" eastern ground parrots' Victorian habitat has already been destroyed, according to a draft report on the bushfire emergency delivered to government earlier this week. About a quarter of Victoria's sooty owls have been lost. Credit:Rick Stevens It says more than 40 per cent of the Victorian habitats of the sooty owl, diamond python, long-footed potoroo, long-nosed bandicoot and brush-tailed rock-wallaby have already been wiped out. An estimated 25 per cent of the sooty owl population has been killed. BAGHDAD - Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to recommit to their partnership. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, walks towards the Senate after briefing members of Congress on last week's targeted killing of Iran's senior military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) BAGHDAD - Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to "recommit" to their partnership. Thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in the capital and southern Iraq, many calling on both Iran and America to leave Iraq, reflecting their anger and frustration over the two rivals both allies of Baghdad trading blows on Iraqi soil. The request from Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pointed to his determination to push ahead with demands for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, stoked by the American drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In a phone call Thursday night, he told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that recent U.S. actions were unacceptable breaches of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of their security agreements, his office said. He asked Pompeo to "send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism" to carry out the Iraqi Parliaments resolution on withdrawing foreign troops, according to the statement. "The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities, and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements," the statement added. FILE - In this May 15, 2019 file photo, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Turkey. Abdul-Mahdi asked the U.S. secretary of state to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal from Iraq, his office said Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, signaling his insistence on ending the U.S. military presence despite recent moves to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the U.S. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File) Abdul-Mahdi signalled he was standing by the push for U.S. forces to leave despite signs of de-escalation by Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death by firing missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where American troops are based but caused no casualties. Iraqis feel furious and helpless at being caught in the middle of the fighting. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and U.S. strikes. The State Department flatly dismissed Abdul-Mahdi's request, saying U.S. troops are crucial for the fight against the Islamic State group and it would not discuss removing them. Pompeo indicated Friday the troops would remain, adding that the U.S. would continue its mission to help train Iraqi security forces and counter the Islamic State group. "We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is," Pompeo said at the White House during an unrelated appearance. "Our mission set there is very clear. Weve been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, to continue the counter-Daesh campaign," he said, using alternate acronyms for the militant group. Anti government protesters carry a big Iraqi flag and chant anti Iran and anti U.S. slogans during the ongoing protests in Tahrir square, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) "Were going to continue that mission but, as times change and we get to a place where we can deliver upon what I believe and what the president believes is our right structure with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so," Pompeo said. He said a NATO team was at the State Department working on a plan "to get burden- sharing right in the region, as well, so that we can continue the important missions to protect and defend, and keep the American people safe" while reducing costs and burdens borne by the U.S. Earlier in the day, Pompeo's spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to "discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership - not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East." Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution Sunday to oust U.S. troops, following the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad's airport. The nonbinding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi urged lawmakers at the time to take "urgent measures" to ensure the removal of the troops. In speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal, allowing time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure. In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdi's request on the troops. It said Pompeo, who initiated the call, reiterated the U.S. condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes and underscored that President Donald Trump "has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests." Anti government Iraqi protesters gather by a banner with pictures of Iraqi politicians and Arabic that reads "the Tahrir square questionnaire to select a prime minister," during the ongoing protests in Tahrir square, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) There are some 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counterparts to fight IS. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of its resurgence during the political turmoil. Both the U.S. and Iran have fought to defeat IS, and neither wants to see it stage a comeback. IS gloated in its first comments on Soleimani's slaying, saying his death "pleased the hearts of believers," in an editorial in the group's al-Nabaa online newspaper. It carried a photo of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, saying that "God brought their end at the hands of their allies." U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said future talks between Baghdad and Washington were expected to focus on the nature of their strategic relationship, "We provide assets that no other coalition ally can provide. ... If the United States wasnt in Iraq, its hard to imagine the coalition being in Iraq," he told reporters in Dubai at the end of a visit to the region in which he met with Iraqi officials in the northern Kurdish region. Schenker added that the U.S. and its partners have provided $5.4 billion to the Iraqi military in the last four years. Ortagus said the U.S. and Iraqi governments need to talk about security as well as "our financial, economic and diplomatic partnership." She did not elaborate. Iraq is highly dependent on Iran sanctions waivers from Washington to continue importing Iranian gas to meet electricity demands, and the U.S. has consistently used this as leverage. The current waiver expires in February, and without a new one, Iraq could face severe financial penalties. The demand for a troop withdrawal is not universal among Iraqis. Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers, who oppose the Parliament resolution, see the U.S. presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran. Kurdish security forces have benefited from U.S. training and aid. Protesters criticized the ongoing crisis involving Iraq, the U.S. and Iran in demonstrations across the capital and in the southern provinces. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Thousands massed in Baghdad's Tahrir square, the epicenter of the protest movement, and many chanted "Damn Iran and America!" Large demonstrations also were held in Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Diwanieh provinces as the movement seeks to regain momentum after regional tensions overshadowed the uprising. Amid the protests in Basra, Iraqi journalist Ahmed Abdul Samad was found dead in his car outside a police station from a gunshot wound to the head, according to a security official who requested anonymity in line with regulations. A photographer covering the protests was injured and is in critical condition. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged rival political factions to unite and put private interests aside, saying they risked creating more unrest. The factions have yet to agree on a nominee to replace the outgoing Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from the protesters. "Everyone is required to think carefully about what this situation will lead to if there is no end to it," he added. ___ Kullab reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Joe Krauss in Dubai and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed. SCHENECTADY It is likely the public will not know until early in the New York whether a city police officer was justified when he fired a gunshot into the driver's side window of a moving stolen car, narrowly missing a teenage driver and another passenger. Police Chief Eric Clifford says he hopes to speak publicly about the incident involving Sgt. Adam Willets some time next week. The internal investigation of the Nov. 1 shooting was near completion earlier this month. Clifford has said he would discuss the findings of the investigation once he examined the completed report. Attorneys for the city are also expected to scrutinize the document. It had been expected that the investigation would wrap up in late 2019. RELATED: Willets, who has 10 years on the force, returned to work Nov 10. The 15-year-old who was driving the car was charged with several felonies and the case was sent to Family Court because of his age. A passenger, who police said they believed was also in his teens, ran from the car and vanished. At issue was whether Willets was in danger when he fired the shot that sailed through the driver's side window and lodged in the passenger's side door. At the time of the incident, police said he fired the shot as the car was being car being driven toward him on a street in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood. Once the internal affairs report is finalized, Clifford will likely decide if Willets will be disciplined. Public Safety Commissioner Michael Eidens would preside over any disciplinary hearing if Willets contests the charge. Clifford has previously said that Willets began following the vehicle after identifying it as stolen "but did not engage it," and was radioing for backup when one of the two occupants apparently spotted him behind them and turned into a parking lot. As the vehicle traveled toward him, Willets fired a single shot. The vehicle, Clifford said, took off with police pursuing, and later to came to a stop. The two ran and the driver was captured. He faces attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of stolen property charges, all felonies, in Family Court. He suffered a minor scrape to his face. Police have not released his name because of his age. Most city officers have body cameras and their cruisers are outfitted with dash cameras. The pursuit unfolded Hulett Street between State and Albany streets, an area covered by several street surveillance cameras. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The city police department policy generally states that an officer should avoid placing themselves in the path of an oncoming vehicle and that an officer should only open fire at an oncoming vehicle if it presents serious or grave physical injury andno other alternative. Odo Butler with the Schenectady chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said Monday that he has spoken with Clifford about the shooting. I expressed to the police chief that we were concerned that this young person doesnt get railroaded, said Butler, adding that he would like to meet with the teen and his family to discuss the confrontation. Asked about the length of the police investigation, Mayor Gary McCarthy said doing it thoroughly and making sure everything is covered may initially frustrate some people but I believe it brings a greater level of confidence in terms of the management and the internal controls within the (police) department. So far, the Schenectady Civilian Police Review Board has not received any complaints, according to Butler. The NAACP has a representative on the board. Dick Shave, president of the CPRB, was unavailable for comment Monday. Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney has previously said that he hasnt ruled out having a grand jury review the shooting. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Plotting a big conspiracy against India, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is currently training around 40 Rohingya Muslims with the help of terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Bangladesh with the motive of pushing them into India to carry out terror activities. Intelligence agencies have issued warnings about the same to Indian armed and border guarding forces of on Thursday, according to news agencies. READ | Hindu & Sikh groups protest at Pakistan High Commission over Nankana Sahib Gurdwara attack 'JMB has received funds worth one crore takas for terror training' "Pakistan is plotting a big conspiracy against India from the Bangladesh border. The Bangladeshi terrorist organization Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen is getting funds from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence," said the Intelligence Agencies adding "ISI is providing terror training to 40 Rohingyas living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh." Pakistan has funded terror training through Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. "In the first instalment, JMB has received funds worth one crore takas for terror training," the Intelligence Agencies said. This information has been shared with the National Investigation Agency for further investigation. The plan to fund the training of Rohingya Muslims started after Pakistan was unable to push in terrorists through Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir with Indian Army and border guarding forces making it impossible because of their aggressive approach. READ | Pakistan's Asif Ghafoor makes pointless remarks over 'Free Kashmir' placard JMB spreading its bases in India In 2019, NIA chief Y.C. Modi said that JMB is making all attempts to spread its tentacles across India and a list of 125 suspects have been shared with different states. Modi stated that JMB has spread its activities in states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala in the guise of Bangladeshi immigrants. "The NIA has shared with states concerned a list of 125 suspected activists who have close links with the JMB leadership," he said. The list, which was shared with the states, contains 130 suspects. He said from 2014 to 2018, the JMB has set up 20-22 hideouts in Bengaluru and tried to spread its bases in South India. "The JMB even conducted a trial of rocket launchers in the Krishnagiri hills along the Karnataka border," he said. The JMB was keen to attack Buddhist temples to take revenge for the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The JMB had started its activities first in 2007, initially in West Bengal and Assam, and then in other parts of the country. READ | Pakistan author alleges ISI of seizing all copies of 'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' READ | Pakistan's passport ranked fourth-worst for international travel out of 107 countries (With agency inputs) Authorities will step up supervision this year over the quality of traditional Chinese medicine to ensure the quality of the drugs improves, a top health official said on Thursday. Traditional Chinese medicine regulators across the country will intensify supervision over TCM to be sold at hospitals and clinics, covering the whole chain including purchasing, inspection and storage of the drugs, to prevent fake or substandard medicine being used, said Yu Wenming, head of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. As a major measure to improve quality at the source, the administration will work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to establish 150 production bases for raw materials in their native areas across China and promote standardized production of raw materials such as herbs, he said at a national conference on TCM in Beijing. The administration will try to work with other government departments to set up a mechanism to jointly supervise enterprises that grow herbs for TCM, and make progress in establishing a tracing system for 50 kinds of raw materials grown in their native places, so the sources and flow of major products can be traceable, and perpetrators involved can be held accountable, Yu said. TCM produced with raw materials from their native places normally have better medicinal effects. On Thursday, Ma Xiaowei, minister of the National Health Commission, also urged TCM authorities across China to improve product quality. A multidepartmental cooperative mechanism will be set up for the purpose, he said. According to a guideline released by the central government last year on promoting the development and innovation of TCM, authorities will establish a trace system that covers production, distribution and use of raw materials and drugs to ensure quality. Local governments should also take more efforts to protect the environment around production areas and to intensify supervision over the use of pesticides and fertilizers, the guideline said. Wei Feng, a TCM researcher at the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, said although the general quality of TCM drugs in China has been rising in recent years due to improved supervision, problems still exist such as using raw materials polluted by pesticides or other chemicals, and improper storage, which affect the safety of TCM drugs. "Ensuring quality and safety of traditional Chinese medicine is of great significance to the sustainable development of the sector, and emphasis should be put on the sources of TCM production," he said. Yu, head of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, also said on Thursday that TCM will play a more important role in promoting public health in China this year, and a number of measures will be taken to promote TCM among the public so it contributes more to disease prevention, healthcare and treatment of chronic diseases. Assyrian Church in Sweden Under Guard After Series of Suspected Arson Attacks ( AFP/Getty Images) Following several suspicious fires, members of the Syrian Orthodox St Maria's church in NorrkAping say they will begin patrolling the area around the church at night to avoid further potential attacks. The move comes after the church received a fire alarm on Sunday night as a fire had broken out in the assembly room of the church, the second suspicious fire in a month according to Isa Gergin, spokesman and caretaker for the Syrian Orthodox Church, SVT reports. "On the third of December, it was the same. Someone had poured gasoline on the outside and lit it. But the emergency services were quickly in place," Gergin said. Commenting on Sunday's fire, Gergin said: "We have not gone through all the damage yet, but the building has survived and internally it is only smoke damaged." The two fires are not the first time the building has been victim to a suspected arson attack. in August 2018, police investigated another incident but according to Gergin, the church officials had not heard anything back from the police. "I think they have closed the investigation. Personally, I think there is a connection," Gergin said. St. Jacob of Nisbin Syrian Orthodox Cathedral in HovsjA is also stepping up security efforts with the Swedish government giving the church SEK 122,000 (A9,800/$12,900) towards 14 surveillance cameras as part of a scheme to help religious communities under threats of violence and harassment. Church attacks in Sweden are relatively uncommon in general but attacks on communities targetted by radical Islamic Sunni extremists, such as Syrian Christians and Shi'ite Muslims, are a concern in the country. Last year in March, Omran Hashem of the Shia Ahl Al-Bait Cultural Centre in the Oxhagen district of Arebro said that many Shi'ites across Sweden were concerned about the return of Islamic State members, saying they had previously been threatened and harassed by Sunni extremists in the past. [January 09, 2020] Everon and Arcadia Announce Partnership to Drive Clean Charging for Electric Vehicles AMSTERDAM, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This morning Everon, a global EV charging platform, announced its partnership with Arcadia (previously Arcadia Power), the only nationwide US technology company focused on clean consumer energy. At a time when consumers' energy consumption changes rapidly, the two companies are planning new solutions for 2020 that will make it easier for all EV drivers in the U.S. to charge sustainably. Everon allows companies to create their own dynamic charging network and serve businesses and drivers alike. Arcadia leverages combined purchasing power to negotiate lower energy rates for consumers while connecting them to clean, renewable energy from U.S. wind and solar farms. Kristof Vereenooghe, CEO of Everon says "We have been impressed with Arcadia's vision on building a 100% renewable future and their collective impact approach by offering the best clean energy. The combination of such vision with Everon's charging management platform transforms the way EV drivers experience electric driving and charging, while using clean energy to maximize environmental impact." "Electric vehicles are a crucial step forward in the fight against climate change, but it can be difficult for drivers to navigate where to charge, how to charge, and what it will cost," said iran Bhatraju, CEO of Arcadia. "Together with Everon we're building tools to accelerate EV demand by making charging with renewable energy convenient and affordable." About Everon Everon is an EV charging platform that allows businesses to create its own dynamic charging network. It operates in one of the fastest growing sectors, eMobility and serves top tier companies from all over the world. The platform is white label, hardware agnostic, it supports over 21 different languages and allows businesses to integrate with various API's. Visit www.everon.io for more information. About Arcadia Arcadia makes choosing clean energy easy. As the only nationwide tech company focused on consumer energy, Arcadia's software bundles clean energy, energy efficiency tools, rate monitoring and more in a simplified, modern account experience. Founded in 2014, the company's platform integrates with over 125 utilities across 50 states, manages 4.5 terawatt-hours of residential energy demand, is the largest US residential energy broker, and manages the most community solar subscribers in the U.S. Visit www.arcadia.com or follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/everon-and-arcadia-announce-partnership-to-drive-clean-charging-for-electric-vehicles-300984664.html SOURCE Everon [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (ANSA) - Rome, January 10 - A 63-year-old Roman man was allegedly beaten to death in Romania on December 30 by two 22-year-old men on the orders of his 32-year-old Romanian wife who allegedly had a relationship with one of the young men, Italian police said on Friday. The woman, who also took part in the alleged beating, has been placed under investigation, police said. The victim was attacked by the trio who punched and kicked him to death, police said. The woman allegedly paid the two young men around 500 euros to carry out the attack. Roma prosecutors are investigating on possible charges of aggravated premeditated murder, judicial sources said. The probe is being led by assistant prosecutor Francesco Caporale and his assistant Eugenio Albamonte. An autopsy reportedly showed that the 63-year-old died as a result of injuries sustained in the beating. Editors note: Judy Nichols, chairwoman of the Jefferson County Republican Party, penned this open letter in response to attorney and local promoter Brent Coons Op-Ed piece regarding tonights planed demonstration prior to comedian George Lopezs concert at the Julie Rogers Theatre. Dear Brent Coon, I believe you may have the wrong impression of our event tonight. We have not organized a protest of George Lopez. We are holding a peaceful rally in support of our president. We plan to lift both President Trump and George Lopez in prayer along with our neighbors and friends attending the show. Your claim that What Southeast Texas DOESNT NEED is more perceived race baiting or polarizing rhetoric for political purposes emanating from such comments in a nationally publicized protest against the performers show here is baseless and an unnecessarily provocative insinuation unless the intent is to cause more friction instead of promoting rational discourse. You are the only person Im aware of who has perceived a racial issue. The polarizing rhetoric emanated from Mr. Lopez. President Trump is beloved by many here in SETX and Mr. Lopezs joke caused many of his supporters angst. It is distressing to supporters of any elected official when a violent threat is made against them regardless of party affiliation. It would be easier to accept that Mr. Lopezs comment was made within the context of humor had he not already been arrested for a physical altercation with a Trump supporter in the past. The purpose of our rally is to provide a positive venue for the supporters of our president and to share positive and uplifting messages about his administrations tenure. We plan to pray that our neighbors enjoy the show and have safe travels home. We will also pray that a spirit of peace falls on George Lopez so that his disdain for our president will be moderated by an understanding that many of his neighbors support President Trump. He might gain an understanding by our presence that his joking threats can cause anguish when coupled with his past behavior. We hope that by peacefully assembling to celebrate our president that Mr. Lopez and others might know that those without a stage have a voice as well and we are simply giving them a venue in which to be heard. I appreciate that you may have a financial interest to protect but you must respect the fact that many of our neighbors are truly upset about Mr. Lopezs comments and they deserve a forum to share those views as well. That is the point of political discourse and our role as a political party. Average citizens without a national platform and magnified voice have as much right to be heard as the celebrities you may promote or profit from. Judy Nichols chairs the Jefferson County Republican Party. Montana candidates began filing Thursday to get their name on the ballot at the start of a massive election year, which will see voters decide all five of the statewide elected officers, as well as who fills Montana's lone U.S. House seat and one of the state's spots in the U.S. Senate. All 100 seats in the state House and half of the state Senate are also up for election this year, as are seats on the Public Service Commission and state Supreme Court. And, of course, voters will pick who becomes president of the United States. State Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, a Helena Democrat, was first in line at the Secretary of State's office before 8 a.m. to file. Raph Graybill, a Democratic candidate for attorney general and Gov. Steve Bullock's chief legal counsel, was also an early filer, as was Donavon Hawk, who is running for House District 76 in Butte as a Democrat. Graybill said in a busy election year, it'll be a challenge to keep voters focused on the attorney general's race. "You have to make a case for it. And you have to argue why this office matters and that's incumbent on every candidate to make the case why their office matters," Graybill said. Coca-Cola products on display at a store. Photo by Reuters/Mike Blake. Coca-Cola Vietnam has been ordered to pay VND821.4 billion ($35.4 million) in back taxes and penalties stretching back over nine years. Dang Ngoc Minh, deputy head of the General Department of Taxation, said 57.3 percent of the amount is the back tax, 35.2 percent is a penalty for delayed payment and the remaining 7.5 percent is a penalty for incorrect filing. "The company can request a review or file a lawsuit." A Coca-Cola spokesperson said tax authorities had recently concluded an investigation of the 2007-15 business period, and found the company had made "minor errors" in describing its business operations which had led to a failure to file for taxes. Though it disagrees with some of the tax authorities conclusions, the company would nevertheless comply with the laws, he said. But an official from the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department said Coca-Cola has only paid VND38.2 billion ($1.6 million) as of Thursday. Coca-Cola entered Vietnam in 1994, and broke even only in 2013 despite double-digit revenue growth, according to the department. Since the company reported accumulated losses of VND3.77 trillion ($162.5 million) as of 2011, it was exempt from corporate income tax. HCMC has named Coca-Cola among businesses it suspects of transfer pricing fraud to evade tax. The first step would be to mobilize global partners for a serious diplomatic engagement with Iran. If the past few weeks have taught the United States and Iran anything, its that the current course cant continue without severe damage to both. The path out begins with the toxic issues at the core: Irans threat to regional stability through its proxies, ballistic missiles and renewed nuclear menace; and the United States undeclared but very real economic war against Tehran. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winshear Gold Corp. ("Winshear" or the Company") (TSX-V: WINS) reports that on January 10, 2020 it delivered to the Attorney General of Tanzania a Notice of Intent to Submit a Claim to Arbitration (Notice of Intent) in accordance with the 2013 Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (Bilateral Investment Treaty or BIT) between Canada and Tanzania. Winshear has thereby formally notified the Tanzanian government that there exists an investment dispute between Winshear and the Government. The dispute arises out of certain acts and omissions of the United Republic of Tanzania in breach of the BIT and international law, relating to the Companys investment in the SMP Gold Project located in SW Tanzania. The Company commenced exploration activities on the SMP Gold Project in 2006. Subsequently, the Company, through its Tanzanian subsidiary, applied for and was granted 4 Retention Licences which covered the mineral resource areas. Retention Licences were valid for a period of 5 years and could be extended for a second period of 5 years before applying for a Mining Licence. In 2017 the Government of Tanzania announced wide-ranging and severe amendments to the Mining Act 2010, which, inter alia, abolished the legislative basis for the Retention Licence classification with no replacement classification. On 10 January 2018 Tanzania published the Mining (Mineral Rights) Regulations 2018. Under Regulation 21 of said Regulations, Tanzania cancelled all retention licences issued prior to 10 January 2018 at which point they ceased to have any legal effect. The rights over all areas under retention licences, including those under the SMP Retention Licences, were immediately transferred to the government of Tanzania. On 19 December 2019, the Mining Commission of Tanzania announced a public invitation to tender for the joint development of areas previously covered by Retention Licences, including the SMP Retention Licences (the 19 December Tender). The abolition of the SMP Retention Licences and the removal of the rights to the land conferred thereunder has rendered the Project valueless. Thus, as a direct consequence of the legislative, regulatory and other measures by Tanzania, the Company has lost completely its investment. The Notice of Intent is necessary in order to preserve the Companys rights to initiate arbitration should a resolution with the Tanzanian government not be reached. The filing of the Notice of Intent initiates a six-month consultation period between the parties during which time they are to attempt to amicably settle the dispute. If no amicable settlement is reached in that six-month period, the Company may then initiate international arbitration proceedings against Tanzania in accordance with the BIT. Winshear confirms that it is taking all necessary actions to preserve its rights and protect its investments in Tanzania. The Companys desire is for both parties to reach a mutually acceptable outcome. If such an outcome is not achieved within the next six months, the Company expects it will have no alternative but to pursue its claims before an international tribunal and seek full compensation for damages the Company has suffered as a result of Tanzanias acts and omissions. Winshear has retained international arbitration counsel to advise. The Company will consider any other actions necessary to ensure its rights are preserved. For more information please contact Irene Dorsman on (604) 210-8751. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Richard D. Williams Richard D. Williams, P.Geo 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. A national Credit Union Cannabiz Conference, that will exclusively focus on how credit unions can provide banking services for marijuana-related businesses, will be held in Chicago in April, organizers announced Wednesday. There is tremendous opportunity, and tremendous risk, involved in banking cannabis funds, CUCC Executive Director Amy Vigil said. We realize that this is a new frontier that requires in-depth knowledge of cannabis-related businesses, of compliance and federal regulation. We aim to demystify how credit unions can serve this growing business. Vigil is vice president of association services for the Credit Union Association of New Mexico. Paul Stull, president/CEO of CUANM, also is involved with organizing the new conference. Conference attendees will learn strategies for success and drawbacks of failed planning from leading business and industry experts. CHILOQUIN, Ore. -- Students were evacuated from Sage Community School Friday morning due to poor air quality. Klamath County Public Health said the smoke is from a prescribed burn in the Chiloquin area. The County said that 65 students between Kindergarten and Eighth Grade were bused to Chiloquin Elementary School around 8:30 Friday morning. They waited there to be picked up by their parents or guardians. I was in contact with the school director and it was important to remove students and personnel from the premises, said Emergency Management Director Brandon Fowler in a news release. This was done out of an abundance of caution due to air quality. The Klamath County Public Health Director said the particulate matter found in the smoke is small enough to be caught in the lungs. The irritation from smoke exposure is especially harmful to small children, those with asthma and other lung disease. The Health Department recommends people stay hydrated to keep lung tissue moist. By Trend Assistant to the President, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev gave an interview to French Radio Courtoisie, Trend reports on Jan. 9. Hajiyev spoke about comprehensive reforms under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the work carried out in the direction of economic development, and further improvement of the judicial system and public administration. The head of the department also told about the historical roots of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the process of negotiations between the two countries, Armenias destructive position and the fact that Armenia undermines the negotiation process by making contradictory statements. Hajiyev emphasized Azerbaijans fair position and stressed that the country intends to resolve the conflict peacefully. The head of the department said that it is necessary to call a spade a spade. The fact of the occupation is obvious, Hajiyev said. More than a million Azerbaijanis have been expelled from their houses and live as refugees and internally displaced persons. These people have the right to live on their lands and use their property. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the world community must strengthen their political and diplomatic influence and demand Armenia to withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the head of the department said. The historical borders of the countries cannot be changed by force in the 21st century. The head of the department also touched upon Azerbaijans foreign policy. While talking about the country's bilateral relations with France, Hajiyev emphasized Azerbaijani First Vice President Mehriban Aliyevas key role in, and invaluable contribution to, the development of these relations. Hajiyev stressed that there is great potential for strengthening the cooperation. The head of the department also noted Azerbaijans role in ensuring Europes energy security and gave information about TANAP and TAP projects. During the live interview, Hajiyev answered the audiences questions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The governments of Ukraine and Iran are asking the United States and other Western countries to provide evidence that a Ukrainian jetliner that recently crashed in Iran had been shot down by Iranian forces. American, Canadian and British officials told the Associated Press and other media Thursday that it was highly likely that an anti-aircraft missile fired by Iranian military forces downed the Ukrainian passenger jet late Tuesday just minutes after it took off from Tehran for Kyiv, killing all 176 people on board. The crash came when tensions between the U.S. and Iran reached a fever pitch, just hours after Iran fired almost two dozen missiles at Iraqi airbases that house American troops in response to the U.S. drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that it cannot be ruled out but is not currently confirmed that a missile downed the plane. The New York Times reported that Zelensky had met Friday with U.S. Embassy officials in Kyiv and received important data that will be studied by our specialists." He would also speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Friday morning, the Times reported. Iranian officials, meanwhile, denied Western intelligence allegations that the Iranian military had downed the plane. The Associated Press reported Friday morning that Iran demanded that U.S. and Canadian officials share any information they have on the crash. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans national aviation department, said at a news conference, the AP reported. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said we have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence ... that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. At least 60 Canadians were on board the plane, according to the AP. Australia is on fire. This week we featured a CNN portfolio of news service photographs showing the extent of the bushfires raging across the continent. Among the most memorable images: A photo of a kangaroo rushing past a burning house in Lake Conjola, Australia, on December 31, taken by Matthew Abbott (above). That image, now an emblem of the crisis, also led off a portfolio from Time magazine, which noted that more than 12 million acres have burned, and that while bushfires are annual events, an unprecedented heat wave and drought conditions have exacerbated the problem this year. More than 20 people have died in the blazes including firefighters and almost 2,000 homes have been destroyed, reported Time. Prime Minister Scott Morrison called up some 3,000 military reservists on Jan. 4 to help deal with the disaster as temperatures soared to 120 degrees Fahrenheit in one Sydney suburb. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes in the countrys southeastern region, where slightly cooler temperatures and some rain are now offering shades of relief. Morrison has faced criticism for his late response to the crisis and his stance on climate change. While he has acknowledged that climate change could be creating the weather conditions that have made this bushfire season one of the most disastrous on record, he has argued that there is no direct link between Australias greenhouse gas emissions and the severity of the fires, noted Time. Meanwhile, we also recently spotlighted an essay at PetaPixel written by Mitch Green, a landscape photographer based in New South Wales, Australia, asking photographers to act to conserve the land they love to capture. This isnt a piece debating the causes and effects of climate change, wrote Green. Breathing in smoke as fire rages through bone-dry bushland, I can attest that this environmental change is real. And my own countrys reckless resource grabs are much at fault. Green urged photographers to keep capturing beautiful landscapes as a way of inspiring others to better appreciate and value the world around them. Also, he noted, you could consider donating a portion of print sales to conservation funds, and to go green when you travel. Here are some of the other photo stories we spotlighted this week: __________________________________ 1. On the Front Lines of Libya's Civil War Since the ouster of longtime dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi during the Arab Spring of 2011, Libya has been in the throes of political strife; last spring, renegade military leader Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive against the countrys UN-backed government. The civil war, and a battle for Tripoli, is creating a new humanitarian crisis, while offering an opening to ISIS and Russias interests in the region, noted The Washington Post, which featured reporting from the front lines of the civil war by photojournalist Lorenzo Tugnoli. 2. Documenting An Old-School Gym, and Facing Mortality Norm Diamond, retired Dallas physician, was walking down Commerce Street in that city when he saw a beautifully dilapidated two-story building and a 1950s-era gold-and-black sign for an old-school establishment called Dougs Gym. Diamond, who has studied photography with Cig Harvey and other artists, decided to document the gym, with its peeling paint and sagging floors. But the images he ended up making, now collected in a book, are more than skin deep, we noted: The project allowed Diamond to face loss, something he hadn't been able to do as a doctor. 3. Dazzling Designs of Alpine Ice Formations Most people standing at the shore of Lake Constance in southern Germany look up to admire the snow-blanketed Swiss Alps across the water. But while skating along its frozen northwest edge three Januaries ago, aerial photographer Tom Hegen discovered an equally awesome sight looking down, noted Wired. The structures in the ice fascinated me and the patterns changed all the time, Hegen said. I wondered how it might look from a greater perspective. That perspective came from a homemade remote-controlled quadcopter. 4. "Francesca Woodman: Portrait of a Reputation" Francesca Woodman, whose brief though legendary photography career ended with her suicide at age 22, had a college friend who for decades was in possession of a box whose contents only he had seen. It included dozens of photographs and contact sheets, along with personal notes and letters, all made by Woodman in the late 1970s while she was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. Eventually, we noted, the box came to the attention of Nora Burnett Abrams, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and the result is a new exhibition and book. 5. How Harold Edgerton Saw the Unseen Sixty-three years ago, on the evening of Jan. 10, 1957, Harold Edgerton set a 4,000-volt electronic flash of his own design to the right of a small, shallow pool of milk in his "Strobe Lab" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Edgerton, often called the father of high-speed photography, then released a drop of milk from a funnel 8 inches above the pool, which reflected a bright red background. An image of the drop that Edgerton made would later be called one of the 100 most influential pictures ever taken. Now, we noted, his pioneering work has been collected in the book Harold Edgerton: Seeing the Unseen. The logo of Airbus is pictured at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus will increase production of A320-family jets at its Mobile, Alabama, plant to seven a month by the beginning of 2021, adding 275 jobs, the European planemaker said on Thursday. Airbus currently produces close to six single-aisle jets a month at the plant and expects to reach that level in the next few weeks. The increase comes as Airbus faces U.S. tariffs on aircraft assembled in Europe in a dispute over aircraft subsidies. Aircraft assembled at its U.S. plant and delivered to U.S. airlines are currently exempt from the 10% duties. Airbus has previously said it envisages total capacity of eight aircraft a month in Mobile, where it began assembling aircraft from sections shipped from Europe in 2015. Airbus reiterated on Thursday it aims to increase overall A320-family production to 63 a month in 2021. It has begun producing the smaller A220 aircraft in Mobile and expects to make the first delivery in the third quarter, rising to four a month by the middle of the decade. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by David Evans) Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's unilateral decision to walk away from front-line royal duties has rocked the British monarchy, just as it was preparing a younger generation to take on more of the burden of representing the centuries-old institution. At 35 and 38 respectively, Harry and Meghan were set to become an increasingly important cornerstone of the monarchy in the decades to come. But their shock decision to step back from being senior royals throws all that up in the air, and places even more of the burden on Harry's brother Prince William, 37, and his 38-year-old wife Kate. Queen Elizabeth II is 93 and it has long been signalled that when her eldest son Prince Charles inherits the throne, he wants a slimmed-down monarchy tightly focused on him, his wife Camilla, his sons William and Harry and their children. Harry's role was meant to be as a rock of support to William as he in turn becomes heir to the throne, prince of Wales and eventually king. The two brothers were exceptionally close growing up, together coming through the death of their mother Diana, princess of Wales, in a 1997 car crash when William was 15 and Harry 12. But Harry's determination to go his own way with Meghan has seen the brothers -- at Harry's own admission -- drift apart. - Knee-jerk decisions - While William is a cautious character, Harry is combustible and prone to impulse. Harry's announcement that he and Meghan will step back, rip up relations with the media, partially relocate to North America and seek a private income -- without having consulted Queen Elizabeth or Charles first -- will have done little to diminish his hothead reputation. And the monarchy has traditionally been ruthless in cutting loose rogue royals to ensure the institution's survival. King Edward VIII chose to abdicate in 1936 in order to marry twice-divorced US socialite Wallis Simpson. They lived the rest of their lives in exile in France. In 1996, Diana was stripped of the title "her royal highness" when she divorced Charles, as was Sarah when she divorced Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son. Andrew himself was forced to cut all royal duties for the for the foreseeable future in November last year, following a bungled television interview on his relationship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. During Queen Elizabeth's long reign, she ran affairs of state while her husband Prince Philip, the royal patriarch, ran the family. But he retired in 2017 and at 98 now spends most of his time at Sandringham, the sovereign's secluded estate in eastern England. A naval officer, Prince Philip liked to run a tight ship and the Windsors might be missing his pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to ironing out the family's problems. - Gilded straightjacket - A successful television actress and activist, Meghan was initially seen as a breath of fresh air for the royal family when her engagement to Harry was announced in November 2017. Mixed race and with a career of her own behind her, she was seen as someone who could modernise the monarchy and represent it to a new generation in multi-cultural 21st-century Britain. It was assumed that unlike Diana, who was 19 when she got engaged to Charles, Meghan -- who married Harry aged 36 in May 2018 -- was old enough and wise enough to know what she was letting herself in for. However, the gilded straightjacket of life within the British royal family -- governed by centuries of precedent -- seem to have left the Los Angeles former TV star cold. The intense scrutiny -- some say overt racism because of her mixed heritage -- also seems to have got to her. "I never thought this would be easy but I thought it would be fair," she told ITV television in October, admitting that life as a new mother in the spotlight had been hard. Talking of "complicated issues", Buckingham Palace's rushed brief statement on their shock announcement hinted at sympathy for their position. But it remains to be seen whether the Sussexes' attempt to be half-in, half-out of the royal family will last long. The track record of royals trying to earn money outside the family firm is not good. Harry and Meghan might eventually find their predestined life inside the royal circle much easier than going it alone. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The Philippine Army said Friday it has relieved the commanding officer behind the controversial manipulation of a photo supposedly showing the surrender of armed communist rebels. In a statement, the Army announced the dismissal of Lt. Col. Napoleon G. Pabon, head of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 9th Infrantry, effective Tuesday. It said Pabon "admitted the mistake and took the responsibility for the outcome of the photo manipulation" during the investigation which ended on January 1. The photo was released by the 9th Infrantry Division in December 2019. It showed a lineup of supposed rebels who surrendered, with their faces blurred. Netizens were quick to point out it was photoshopped. The division's public affairs chief, Major Ricky Anthony Aguilar, explained that they were not able to verify the authenticity of the photo due to their ardent desire to release timely information. He asserted that even if the photo was manipulated, it's true that there were 306 rebels who surrendered in Masbate on December 26, 2019 the 51st anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines. READ: Military admits to manipulating photo of surrendered rebels The Philippine Army said it is now reviewing its policies to ensure no similar incidents would happen in the future. We hold our personnel with high esteem in all our dealings especially in our releases to the media and the public. We constantly train and remind them of our policies so that everyone is knowledgeable in the proper release of information and we take this incident as a valuable experience that will enable us to better perform our mission, Army Spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramon P. Zagala said in a statement. Newbergs human resources director has been placed on paid leave amid fallout over a jury verdict that found the city had discriminated against a job candidate. Interim City Manager David Clyne confirmed HR Director Anna Lees status but declined to say why he put her on leave last Friday from her $104,268-a-year job. Lees attorney, Dan DiCicco, said the decision amounts to firing Lee. DiCicco contended the city is retaliating against Lee because she had reported three other city employees for allegedly attacking her professional reputation. The City of Newberg has placed Ms. Lee on involuntary administrative leave for the simple act of doing her job by reporting misconduct within the city government, DiCicco said in a written statement Thursday. The Citys decision to retaliate against Ms. Lee by essentially firing her for making these reports is wrong and, we believe, unlawful. Ms. Lee is currently investigating her legal options. DiCicco said Lee hired him in the past week to serve in an advisory and investigatory role. Lee has worked for the city since summer 2016. Lee had complained to a past city manager that she thought three senior city employees -- Police Chief Brian Casey, Police Capt. Jeff Kosmicki and Information Technology Director Dave Brooks -- were defaming and harassing her. In December, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that Lee was at the center of controversy over a jury award of $283,500 to an African American man who said hed been passed over for the job because of his race. Lees critics contend Lee altered or modified city hiring data to hide the discrimination and that she faked a report that her office had been burglarized as part of an alleged cover-up. The police chief, police captain and IT director all have filed tort claim notices with the city saying their jobs have been threatened and theyve suffered a hostile work environment because they spoke up about Lee and City Attorney Truman Stone. In December, the IT director followed through on his tort claim notice by filing a $1 million federal lawsuit against the city. -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. MALIN, Ore. A Malin man was killed in a two-vehicle crash along Highway 50 on Thursday morning, according to Oregon State Police (OSP). OSP troopers and emergency crews responded just before 10 a.m. According to an initial investigation, 56-year-old Vincente Tapia-Ochoa of Malin was driving westbound in a white Volvo when he lost control of the vehicle, sliding into the eastbound lanes. After losing control, Tapia-Ochoa's Volvo collided with a Chevrolet pickupin the eastbound lanes, driven by 42-year-old Jorge Alvarez-Hernandez of Klamath Falls. OSP said that Alvarez Hernandez did not receive serious injuries. Taia-Ochoa sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. Highway 50 runs between Malin and the intersection with Highway 39, just east of Merrill. [ Spoiler (click to open) ] [Warning this was taped. Meghan is at the table, and everyone is wearing a different outfit vs Hot Topics. (Except Whoopi -but her hair is different).] Plays clip. Whoopi talks about MBJ going back to his old hs in Newark. MBJ explains why he went and what he wanted to accomplish by doing that. MBJ is cagey about the next Black Panther because Marvel has everyone on lockdown. Since his character died, then it would be a huge spoiler. Sunny diverts to Just Mercy with Jamie Foxx. Gives summary of plot. MBJ said he didnt know of this man before the film, then he got to know about him, feels its so important to todays issues. Abby likes that he gets behind projects he feels passionate about. This film is important, about death row. MBJ talks about Jamies role. He still feels that (him being black) he lives by a different set of rules. With the film, he didnt want to exploit emotion, but wanted it to be honest. Film got a standing ovation at TIFF but what was more amazing, at the Q&A people were asking what they could do to help. MBJ is also a producer and used an inclusion rider on this film. MBJ talks about what is motivating him to do that. Explains what an inclusion rider is, references Frances McDormand awards speech. Hes been friends with JF for a long time, this is the first opportunity to work with him. Film opens tomorrow. Michael B Jordan is promoting his filmSummary of conversation[You probably havent heard the news (j/k ) but Prince Harry and Meghan are sorta kinda quitting the BRF. The panel basically rehashes the same points raised in all the Ontd posts so I wont itemize all of it. I usually include the related Ontd posts but there are so many!1!!1]Joy feels its a relief to be talking about ~this given that we were faced with Iran WWIII. Abby says watchingmakes her think its miserable to be a royal. Harrys had a tough time, lost his mom when he was young, and she died at the hands of reckless paparazzi. Joy brings up abdication of Edward due to Wallis Simpson. Whoopi thinks Meghan is doing the right thing, he wont be King so whatever. Sunny reads off the trash headlines that Meghan has faced. Like, sarcasm, why would she leave. All this unprecedented racism, Sunny didnt feel the BRF protected her as openly as they should have. Whoopi speculates how it probably went down between Harry and Meghan, so let them be. Joy (jokes) that they should co-host. Abby thinks about everything that changed in 2 years. He got married, had a child, having a child changes everything. People who say its Meghans fault, shes not buying it. Sunny reminds of Abby talking previously about the ITV interview where Meghan got emotional being asked how she was doing, because no one had asked her. She was criticized for even that. Joy thinks there was some naivete. Whoopi says Harry has said leave his wife alone [but nothing changed]. Joy says weve all seen Cinderella where she marries the prince but nobody sees what happens after that.Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) had a meltdown over the sham briefing that was provided over Iran assassination. Plays clip, excerpt he goes off. Worst briefing ever, told it was necessary [but not why], they left after 75 mins, but told to be good little boys and girls to not debate it publicly. Hes fired up. Whoopi has a meltdown, wants the gaslighting to stop. Thrilled that someone finally called this out (re/GOP). Abby knows Lee well, she liked what he said. Says nice things about his credibility. Continues that T45 has repeatedly said the intelligence community was trash, but now wants America to believe that he supports the intelligence community. Sunny says, hes been an attorney, hes voted for T45 75% of the time, so when someone like him speaks out, it means our skepticism is warranted. Still havent been told the imminent threat. Joy wants others to step up, stop blaming the Democrats when now GOP are speaking out. Whoopi is happy to see even one crack in the cult. Joy wonders why T45 sniffs all the time [someone on politics twitter counted, he sniffed 58x during his winded slurring speech].[Cut from clip: Joy thought her dog was having a psychotic break. Turns out dog has acid reflux, like her. They ask if hes been eating her lasagna! (no)]. Whoopi asks about the Christmas gift lasagna. Sunny says it was delicious, but Whoopi laughs that you dont get a gift only to say it was great, but Sunny says her son had already heated it, and it was half empty. Abby says her pan was slightly smaller. Whoopi is still incredulous. What era was this, the family ate it, the pan was too small. Joy thanks her husband for helping her make them. Whoopi congratulates Jedediah who recently had a baby. She didnt know about it. Feels bad she missed the whole event.See related post here byJillian Michaels fallout. Joy says shes not celebrating her body, shes celebrating that she likes her body. Whoopi is thrilled that shes comfortable. Joy says JM can have her opinion but not everybody can be a skinny btch. Joy carries on and on, talks about treadmills. Sunny thinks we body shame too much. Abby says after being heavily pregnant, shes never going to comment on a persons body, just be happy with your life.The show is infinitely more tolerable when she is absentSource links are below each video or section The seizures, resulting from targeted and intelligence-led search operations, also included drone batteries, custom-made drone containers, two walkie-talkie sets, Rs 6.22 lakh in cash, believed to be proceeds of drugs, and the magazine of an INSAS rifle, it said. Chandigarh, Jan 10 (IANS) Punjab Police on Friday seized two highly sophisticated Chinese-made drones and arrested a serving and two smugglers belonging to a narco-terror module involved in smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the India-Pakistan border. The drones, capable of travelling two-three kms on either side of the border, were reportedly being launched from the Indian side to fly into Pakistan to pick up payloads of narcotics. The gang had apparently already conducted four-five sorties, Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta told the media here. Gupta, accompanied by Additional DGP R.N. Dhoke, Inspector General, Border Range, S.P.S. Parmar and Senior Superintendent of Police Dhruv Dhaiya, said this was the first instance to show that drones were being used to smuggle narcotics, even though no drugs had been recovered yet. He said the module members had revealed that they were involved in cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons over drones over the past few months. Certain Pakistan-based drug smugglers, who were sending the drugs and weapons from across the border in Pakistan, had also come to notice, he said. Three people -- Dharminder Singh, Rahul Chauhan and Balkar Singh -- were arrested. While Dharminder Singh was arrested from Hardo Rattan village, about 3 km from the India-Pakistan border, Balkar Singh had been lodged in Amritsar Jail in a NDPS case and was brought on production warrant. Chauhan, an army man, was reportedly involved in procuring and supplying drones and training to cross-border smugglers. Two members of the narco-terror module were still absconding and efforts were on to nab them, said the DGP, adding that further investigations were underway to ascertain details about the accused ties with terrorist outfits, radicals, drug smugglers and other anti-national elements. Preliminary investigations had confirmed that Chauhan was directly involved in operating drone sorties across the border for picking up heroin as well as weapons from Pakistan, along with his associates in India and Pakistan. He and his accomplices were in direct contact with Pakistani smugglers on encrypted OTT platforms, said the DGP, adding the plan was to send one of the walkie talkie sets across the border to Pakistan to facilitate two-way communications. The first drone, a Chinese made DJI INSPIRE 2 drone (Quadcopter), was recovered from an abandoned government dispensary building in Modhe village in Amritsar (rural) where it had been hidden by Dharminder Singh and his associated drug smugglers. The second drone, a Chinese made DJI MATRICE 600 PRO (Hexacopter), was recovered from a house in Karan Vihar in Karnal in Haryana on the disclosures of Chauhan. The house belongs to his friend. Chauhan has further revealed that he bought a black coloured, partially damaged Drone- Aspire 02 model, during the second half of 2019 from OLX for about Rs 1.50 lakh. After repairing the drone, he sold it on OLX for about Rs 2.75 lakh. From these sale proceeds, Chauhan purchased a new Drone DJI Inspire 02 model for about Rs 3.2 lakh from Pune and sold it to a criminal in Amritsar for Rs 5.7 lakh. In response to a question, Gupta said technologies to immobilise drone were available and efforts were on to develop them indigenously in the country too. He ruled out any Border Security Force connivance in the use of these drones and said the paramilitary force was working closely with the Punjab Police to identify and check drone activity along the border. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had expressed concern over the recent drone activity along the border, which first came to light in August 2019 post abolition of Article 370, and had raised the issue with the Central government, seeking close monitoring by central agencies and forces. vg/vd Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 06:18:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government on Friday further restricted air travel between the United States and Cuba, in an effort to press Havana harder. "Today, at my request, the U.S. Department of Transportation suspended until further notice all public charter flights between the United States and Cuban destinations other than Havana's Jose Marti International Airport," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. Public charter flight operators will have a 60-day wind-down period to discontinue all affected flights, according to the statement. "Today's action will further restrict the Cuban regime's ability to obtain revenue," it added. The United States has suspended all scheduled air service to Cuban airports except for the international airport in Havana. U.S.-Cuba ties have deteriorated under the administration of President Donald Trump. Washington repeatedly alleges that Havana has been supporting Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro government, which the U.S. government openly seeks to oust from power. London: The announcement by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, that they will step back from royal duties and seek a new progressive path has raised many questions about their future. Surprised Buckingham Palace officials say those discussions are just beginning and many complex issues remain to be worked out. Here's some of the questions raised by their statement. MEGHAN SEEMED THRILLED TO BE JOINING THE ROYAL FAMILY WHEN SHE MARRIED HARRY IN 2018. WHAT WENT WRONG? The royal couple has been increasingly unhappy with what they felt was intrusive press coverage. Harry compared it to the way the press hounded his mother, Princess Diana, shortly before her death in 1997. Meghan has said that as an American, she did not understand the level of scrutiny the royals faced in Britain and has found her transition into a royal role difficult, especially as the couple is raising their first child, eight-month-old Archie. WHERE WILL THEY LIVE NOW? In their statement, the duke and duchess said they will divide their time between Britain and North America but it's not yet known if that means the US or Canada. Meghan's roots, and her mother, are in the Los Angeles area but she worked as an actress on the TV program Suits in Canada for many years. Harry and his family skipped the queen's traditional Christmas gathering at her Sandringham country estate last month to visit Canada and to see Markle's mother. The couple now have Frogmore Cottage near Windsor Castle as their UK base. The attractive four-bedroom house was recently extensively renovated, with taxpayers kicking in 2.4 million pounds ($3.1 million) for the work before they moved in. IS HARRY STILL IN LINE TO BE KING SOME DAY? Even before this change in status, it was very unlikely that Harry would ever ascend to the throne now held by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. He is sixth in line, behind his father Prince Charles, his older brother Prince William and Williams three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. It would take a catastrophic series of events for Harry to become king. WILL THEY STILL BE CALLED HIS OR HER ROYAL HIGHNESS? This important question has not been addressed. It is presumably one of the many issues Buckingham Palace was referring to when it said complex matters must still be worked out. It's also not known if Harry and Meghan will still want the personal security protection given to senior royals by the Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard, and other agencies. WHAT ABOUT ALL THE CHARITIES HARRY AND MEGHAN ARE PATRONS OF? The couple says on their new website that they are developing a new charitable entity to address the world's problems. They also say they will continue their extensive charity work, focusing on a number of areas including female empowerment, African wildlife preservation, regenerating the earth's ecosystems and improving mental health treatment. WILL MEGHAN GO BACK TO WORK AS AN ACTRESS? The couple indicated in their statement Wednesday that they want to become financially independent of the royals. Meghan is certainly free to renew her acting career but she has never indicated a desire to do so. She has instead talked enthusiastically about pursuing a number of charitable projects and working on global issues. Details about their financial future are not yet clear but the couple says they will no longer rely on British taxpayer funding for some of their office expenses. Austrian Airlines started cancelling its flights to Tehran on January 10, two days after a Ukranian aircraft crashed, killing all 176 people on board. The airline, in a statement, said that it took the action in view of the latest reports that have emerged lately, in an apparent reference to the possibility of a missile hitting the aircraft. It said that the changed assessment of the security situation for airspace around Tehran airport forced them to take the decision. Lufthansa flight 600 bound for Tehran from Frankfurt turned around and flew back to the German city and also cancelled their flight for January 11. Austrian flight 871 bound for Tehran from Vienna rerouted and landed in Sofia, Bulgaria and the airline also cancelled next days flight. Read: Ukraine International Airlines Suspends All Operation In And Out Of Tehran After Crash Cause of the crash unclear The move comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the preliminary review of evidence indicated that the Boeing 737-800, carrying 63 Canadians, was hit by a surface-to-air missile. He added that the evidence suggests very clearly a possible and probable cause for the crash but maintained that this may have been done accidentally. However, Iran has refuted the claims that the Ukranian plane crash was the result of a ballistic missile hitting the jetliner. According to an Iranian news agency, Ali Abedzadeh, head of countrys Civil Aviation Organization, called such claims as illogical rumours. Abedzadeh said that it is scientifically impossible that a missile can hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical. Read: Amid Claims It Downed Ukraine Airliner, Iran Says Its Black Box May Have 'technical Fault' Iran has asked Canada to the share intelligence inputs referring to which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that an Iranian missile brought down the Ukranian airliner. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has invited Boeing, the plane manufacturer, to take part in the enquiry after reports emerged that the crash was a result of a ballistic missile hitting the aircraft. The day Ukranian jetliner crashed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked all Indian operators to reroute their flights to ensure the safety of passengers in the wake of Irans attack on US military bases in Iraq. A senior DGCA official said that all air operators were directed to take appropriate precautionary measures including the rerouting of their flights in view of the impending tension in the Middle East. Read: Airlines Skirt Iran & Iraq Airspace After Missile Strike On US Forces; Advisories Issued Read: BIG: Ukraine International Airlines Reveals That Crashed Aircraft Was Checked 2 Days Ago (With inputs from agencies) [The stream is slated to start at 10:45 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are expected to deliver remarks on Friday, three days after Iranian missile strikes in retaliation for the U.S. killing Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Iran launched 15 missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq after the death of Soleimani, Iran's top commander, in an American airstrike in Baghdad. Soleimani led an elite branch of Iran's armed forces, the Quds Force, and has been blamed for the deaths of many Americans across the Middle East. "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world," Trump said in an address to the nation on Wednesday. "No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces and an early warning system that worked very well." But Trump also said the U.S. will "immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime," adding that "powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior." Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. Many travelers do not know that Indian visas can also be applied for online. These travelers often visit Indian embassies, or Indian consulates, and spend many valuable hours of the day waiting in queues, wasting their precious time. There are online mechanisms of completing an Indian Visa through your computer at home or office, but they can take hours to complete, if not longer, because of archaic and rudimentary technology in most of the web portals. Indian Visa (Link https://www.india-visa-gov.in), delivered by India Visa Online Services Ltd, has revolutionized the way Indian Visas are being delivered. This company is technology savvy and driven by intensive automation. The methods made available to travelers allow users to complete their Indian visa application from the comfort of their home. The sophisticated software of the company, used in the back office and backend, is able to read the from the eChip of the Passport, read MRZ (Magnetic Readable Zone from passport strip), and OCR (Optical Character Recognition) from documentation provided. A simple mistake can result in rejection of the Indian visa application by immigration officers. One of the primary benefits of automated data capture from passport, travel documents and card readers is that the manual data entry mistakes are avoided which otherwise result in rejection of the application. Indian immigration offices have zero tolerance for errors that pertain to passport details. Per historical estimates, eight to ten percent of applicants make an error in typing basic details, such as their passport number, passport expiry date, name, date of birth, surname and middle name. In such instances the application is rejected without any refund of fees or opportunity for correction. Another common mistake that applicants make is uploading blurry or unclear scan copy of their passport. Visa experts at India Visa Online Services Ltd. are skilled at avoiding such simple mistakes. An India eVisa, India electronic travel authorization, or eTA for India allows citizens of one hundred and eighty countries to travel to India without requiring a physical stamping on the passport. This new type of authorization is called eVisa India (or electronic India visa). An Indian eVisa allows visitors to stay in India for up to one hundred and eighty days within the country. This Indian Visa can be used for the purposes of recreation, sight-seeing, business visits or medical treatment. Travelers can take advantage of skilled visa staff who review the application prior to submission. This minimizes chances of rejection of the application. Those who apply for an Indian Visa online through https://www.india-visa-gov.in are not required to make an appointment at the Indian High Commission or local office at the Indian Embassy. This Indian eVisa does not require a physical stamp on the passport. Travelers can keep soft copy of their Indian Visa, delivered by email, on their phone or tablet, or optionally keep a physical print out at the time of boarding a flight or cruise vessel. The requirement of this electronic Indian Visa are a mode of payment, which can be either Debit/Credit card or a PayPal account, a Valid email account and an ordinary Passport that is valid for 6 months from the date of entry. You can acquire the following types of eVisa for India, e-Tourist Visa, e-Business Visa, e-Medical Visa, e-MedicalAttendant Visa, e-Conference Visa from India Visa Online Ltd's website, https://www.india-visa-gov.in. eTourist India Visa can also be used for short term study of up to 6 months or 1 month of voluntary unpaid work. Requirements for India Visa delivered electronically are: A passport valid for six months A valid email address Debit/credit card Applicants are also required to upload a scanned copy of their passport biography page and a photograph of their face. This is required prior to the submission of their application. These two attachments can be either emailed or uploaded on the online portal at https://www.india-visa-gov.in. What distinguishes India Visa Online Services Ltd from other organizations is that users can either email or upload files in any format such as JPG, PNG, PDF. Furthermore, there is no size limitation for these attachments. The company has staff in four continents to cater to travelers in different time zones to assist in positive visa outcomes. The company has an expedited service available for rush applications. The company has a front office staff with knowledge of 14 languages. Their website is translated in 94 languages by Google Translate. The company also accepts payment in 133 currencies, which includes payment methods of Paypal, Cheque, Debit/Credit card methods. It takes a new customer 2-3 minutes to fill out an Indian Visa application as compared to up to 2 hours on other portals. Business Visa for India Business travelers requiring India Visa also need to deal with the challenge of constantly changing requirements of Indian Government. As such the business travellers wade through the complexity and a maze of legal requirements. The first time business visitors find it especially challenging to deal with the Indian Government website. Government requirements are pretty stringent when it comes to file size for instance. The Government of India requires passport scan copy to be no less than 10 Kb and no more than 300 Kb, in addition to this, the only file format accepted is PDF. These requirements prove quite challenging for ordinary applicants who do not know how to convert file formats or compress files. Government of India can also ask for random evidence from business travelers. A letter of invitation was a requirement earlier for Business visitors requiring India Visa, however, recently all visitors to India are also required to provide Business Card. Cognizant of the fact that not all business visitors have a visiting card, companies like India Visa Online Ltd step in, and they can create business cards for the business users before submitting the application. Tourist Visa for India The Tourist Visa for India is available now in three durations: 30 Days, 1 Year and 5 Years. While the 30 Day Tourist Visa is for double entry, the other two allow multiple entries in India. Company spokesperson said that, When the travellers are pressed for time, or they have an important meeting, function or wedding to attend, they must take assistance of an expert rather than apply themselves for Indian Visa, especially the first time applicants. Media Contact Name: Vikram Singh, Vice President, Operations info@evisa-india.org.in +91 98997 544440 Company: Indian Visa Online Ltd Address: 12, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, 110001, India https://www.india-visa-gov.in/ The U.S. military tried, but failed, to take out another senior Iranian commander on the same day that an American airstrike killed the Revolutionary Guard's top general, U.S. officials said Friday. The officials said a military airstrike targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a high-ranking commander in Iran's Islamic Republican Guard Corps but the mission was not successful. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a classified mission. Officials said both Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Shahlai were on approved military targeting lists, which indicates a deliberate effort by the U.S. to cripple the leadership of Iran's Quds force, which has been designated a terror organization by the U.S. A U.S. drone strike on Jan. 3 killed Soleimani shortly after he landed at Baghdad International Airport. Trump administration officials have justified the killing as an act of self-defense, saying he was planning military acts that threatened large numbers of American military and diplomatic officials in the Middle East. Iran, however, called the attack an act of terrorism, and on Jan. 8 it launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house American and coalition forces. No one was killed in that retaliation. Shahlai Screen capture from a U.S. State Department "Wanted" poster. The State Department offered a $15 million reward last month for information lead The State Department has offered a reward of $15 million for information leading to the disruption of IRGC finances, including Shahlai, a key financier in the organization. The State Department said he "has a long history of targeting Americans and U.S. allies globally," and planned multiple assassinations of coalition forces in Iraq. It said that his activities included providing weapons and explosives to Shia militia groups and directing a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C., in 2011. The Pentagon declined to discuss the highly-classified operation. "We have seen the report of a January 2 airstrike in Yemen, which is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States. The Department of Defense does not discuss alleged operations in the region," said Navy Cdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman. The Washington Post first reported the development. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Pho Ca Dao | Photo: Ivy C./Yelp In search of a new favorite Vietnamese spot? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Vietnamese restaurants around Saint Paul, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to meet your needs. 1. Pho Ca Dao Photo: Dee D./Yelp Topping the list is Pho Ca Dao. Located at 439 University Ave. West in Midway, it is the highest-rated cheap Vietnamese restaurant in Saint Paul, boasting four stars out of 134 reviews on Yelp. Choose from the traditional or house special pho or make your own. Pho comes with basil, bean sprouts, lime, jalapeno and more. Yelper Samty X., who reviewed Pho Ca Dao on Nov. 19, wrote, "My in-laws make pho every Sunday, and while this can't compare with something homemade by the parents, the pho is pretty good." Shelby S. noted, "Pretty solid pho! Overall I think it could have more flavor but I got the large and there was so much noodles. For the prices they offer I think you get what you pay for." 2. Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant Photo: Molly M./Yelp Next up is Midway's Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant, situated at 1105 University Ave. West. With four stars out of 102 reviews on Yelp, the Vietnamese spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option. Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant offers pho, soup, rice noodles and more. On the menu, look for the steamed rice flour with shredded dried shrimp and carrots or the rice noodles with meatballs. Yelper Hoa N., who reviewed the eatery on Nov. 25, wrote, "The hot and sour soup was tasty ... The salted prawns were crunchy and tasty." Nou C. noted, "Stopped by before a work event and ordered one of my default order, Pho Special. Servers were friendly and the service was fast. It only took 10 minutes to order and receive my food." 3. iPho by Saigon Photo: Kat B./Yelp iPho by Saigon, a Vietnamese spot in Summit-University, is another low-priced go-to, with four stars out of 385 Yelp reviews. Head over to 704 University Ave. West to try it for yourself. Story continues The restaurant serves Vietnamese sandwiches, rice and egg noodle soup, salads and more. On the menu, look for the Saigon Special Pho with flank, brisket and beef meatballs or the shredded pork rind sandwich with scallions and house sauce. Yelper Hue Ye L., who reviewed iPho by Saigon on Dec. 25, wrote, "This is probably my new favorite pho place. They have many pho sizes and a variety of other dishes. They also have a pho challenge, which is about 10 pounds of noodles." Kat B. noted, "I love it here. ... First off the pho is the best. Also all the other food is great too. Second the service is great!" 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. By Trend Georgian companies representing food industry of the country will take part in the International Food & Drink Expo 2020 exhibition, which will be held in Birmingham (UK) from March 30 to April 1, Trend reports citing Produce in Georgia agency. Georgian companies that want to participate in the exhibition must register on the agencys website before January 24. The Produce in Georgia Agency systematically organizes the participation of Georgian companies in international exhibitions to promote Georgian products in the world market. As reported, last year, Georgian products were presented at the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) held on November 5-10, 2019. Georgia is introducing European standards in the field of food production, which makes it easier for Georgian products to enter the EU market. In 2018-2019, the volume and variety of Georgian products in European stores increased, said the agency. Food & Drink Expo 2020 is an international platform for food industry leaders from a dozen countries. Participating companies will hold presentations of their products and arrange tasting sessions for visitors. As part of the business program of the exhibition, thematic seminars are planned to be held to provide the participants with a platform to discuss the status and prospects of the food industry and other issues. The large-scale exhibition annually brings together up to 1,500 companies and 30,000 visitors. More than 700 trade stands cover all current trends in the global food industry. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A filmmaker has rewritten the ending to Disneys Sleeping Beauty in order to propose to his girlfriend in front of their friends and family. Lee Loechler from Massachusetts, USA, spent six months working in secret with an illustrator to edit the final scene of the 1959 princess cartoon, which is his partners favourite film. On 12 December Loechler took his unsuspecting girlfriend of three years, Sthuthi David, to see a showing of the film at their local cinema. The couple sat in the front row, unknown to Ms David, in the rows behind them were her friends and family, hidden in the dark. As the final scene started to play, Ms David noticed that the sleeping beauty character looked different, gradually clocking it was meant to resemble her instead. Loechler got down on one knee and proposed, saying: Its not every day you get to propose to your childhood sweetheart, so I want to take my time. Savour this moment. I love you with all of my heart. Including its ventricles, atriums, valves, reminding the other people in the room that his partner is a cardiologist. Sthuthi David, M.D, will you live happily ever after with me? to which she replies: Yes. Loechler shared a video of the proposal on YouTube on 9 January and it went viral, being watched over 1.7 million times. He wrote: The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing wed get to live happily ever after together. Enjoy! Illustrator Kayla Coombs said: After many late nights sketching and colouring I might be even more excited that [Sthuthi] said yes than he is! As the newly-engaged couple left the cinema, Loechler also pointed out that their names were up in lights on the marquee outside. Loechler and Coombs had also prepared an alternate ending featuring the seven dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in case the answer was no. Recommended Aladdin proposes to Jasmine at end of Leicester pantomime Commenters praised the innovation and dedication to the proposal. One said: This is going to blow up and make proposals standards deeply unfair for the rest of us. Amazing work. Another said: Damn, you guys even animated an alternate ending in case she said no? The level of work and commitment here is just unprecedented. Well done and congrats! This is fine, Im just sobbing uncontrollably, dont mind me, said another. (Natural News) The same soda companies that are right now pushing the transgenderism indoctrination and mutilation of children used to run full page ads promoting sugary-laden soft drinks for infants in cribs. As part of an investigation into the deceptive, harmful marketing practices of soda companies, Natural News acquired a 1968 LIFE Magazine issue. Inside, a full page ad urged mothers to feed their infants 7-Up as a way to fresh up! (See below.) The ad features promotional text claiming 7-Up was the All-Family Drink that could even be given to toddlers. Really got a grip on that 7-Up, havent you, big boy? Go right ahead, fresh up to your hearts content! Mom knows sparkling, crystal-clear 7-Up is so pure, so good, so wholesome that folks of all ages even little guys like you can enjoy it often! This is how soda companies were brainwashing mothers in the 1960s to exploit their children to feed the corporate profit machine. The ad features a young toddler with a baby crib and childrens toys in the background, implying that 7-Up should be served to infants who are still in the crib. Heres the full page ad, below. Click here for the hi-res file. Same soda companies now pushing transgender mutilations of children Today, these same soda companies are pushing transgender mutilations of children as part of some new, twisted inclusiveness agenda that actually consists of mentally ill transgender mobs threatening anyone who disagrees with their pedophilia and child mutilations. Sponsored: NEW Biostructured Silver First Aid Gel created by the Health Ranger combines three types of silver (ionic silver, colloidal silver, biostructured silver) with seven potent botanicals (rosemary, oregano, cinnamon and more) to create a breakthrough first aid silver gel. Over 50 ppm silver, verified via ICP-MS lab analysis. Made from 100% Texas rain water and 70% solar power. Zero chemical preservatives, fragrances or emulsifiers. See full details here. Last year, Sprite released an LGBT / transgenderism ad in Argentina that celebrated mothers binding the breasts of children, a painful form of child mutilation thats essentially an act of sexual violence against children. As described in a Breitbart article we republished: The video captures somewhat playful glances between the mothers and their gender dysphoric children. The mothers of boys are seen in the ad applying makeup and dressing their sons in feminine attire as they smile at each other. The mothers of girls are viewed binding the breasts of their daughters to help them appear as males. A grandmother teasingly helps her grandson dress in drag. Johnston also notes the videos background song Youll Never Walk Alone from the musical Carousel is used to tug on heartstrings and emphasize the narrative that transgender children are victims. The video depicts children preparing a rainbow flag for the Pride event as they embrace LGBT family members. Parents appear to send their LGBT children off to the event in a celebratory manner. Watch the Sprite propaganda ad here: Here are some of the sickening scenes from the ad, which is another twisted example of progressive virtue signaling from a corporation Coca-Cola that now espouses abusing the human rights of children in the quest to push transgenderism indoctrination: So it only took five decades for the evil soda corporations to go from abusing babies with liquid sugars to promoting the abuse of children through transgenderism and gender dysphoria. Of course, this ongoing abuse of children is always framed as some form of love. In the 1960s, loving your children meant feeding babies sugared-up soft drinks while they were still crawling around in their cribs. In 2020, love is now painted as celebrating your child having his penis cut off while hes chemically castrated with puberty blockers and turned into maimed, scarred shadow of a girl. Somehow, no matter how evil, distorted and malicious the progressive agenda becomes, its always packaged as a new form of love. Whats next, will Coca-Cola promote pedophilia and child trafficking as a form of new love, too? Drink a Coke, molest a child. LOVE WINS. In related news, by the way, Twitter is now openly advocating the speech of those who support child rape and child abuse. Under the tyranny of Jack Dorsey, Twitters corrupt, criminal-minded CEO, Twitter now essentially endorses child rape but bans anyone who supports America. Ponder that twisted reality for a moment The Coca-Cola corporation seems to celebrate genital mutilation of children As Robert Bridge writes at Strategic Culture: Whats missing in this corporate-sponsored trip to the far side of insanity? Well, for starters, common sense. After all, is it really wise to award hero status upon pubescent teens over their sexual orientation, which is oftentimes confused at best? Teenagers are already greatly influenced by the myriad messages they are bombarded with daily over social media. Do they really need a Fortune 500 company promoting a lifestyle, namely transgender, which carries with it an entire rainbow of untold risks? The liberal media rarely reports it, but there are thousands of youth right now attempting to reverse the bodily harm they have done to themselves by trying to physically become the opposite sex, which is it needs to be clarified once and for all absolutely impossible. Oddly, Western society has long condemned the practice of genital mutilation in other less civilized cultures, yet now somehow believes it is acceptable for children to sacrifice body parts and ingest powerful hormones in some dangerous quest to eradicate the sex they were born with. In other words, biology and the doctors, who assigned them the wrong sex at birth, got it all wrong. What really matters today, at least for the Cultural Marxist warrior class, is how each individual identifies with their true gender. In truth, the soda giants have always been at war with children. It was always about exploitation for profit. Now its about virtue signaling for profit, even if that signaling requires celebrating the genital mutilation and extreme psychological abuse of children and teens this is what the transgenderism movement inflicts upon our youth. This is the danger the Left cult now poses to humanity. Stay informed on this important issue. Read Gender.news for frequent updates. TOLEDO, Ohio President Trump went after his Democratic critics at a raucous campaign rally hours after the House of Representatives passed a resolution that sought to limit his ability to use military force against Iran. The House voted 224 to 194, mostly along party lines, to cease military operations against Iran. Speaking to a rally at Toledos Huntington Center, Trump mocked the resolution: You should get permission from Congress, Trump said. You should tell us what youre going to do so we can call up the fake news and we can leak it. The vote came days after Trump approved a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, heightening tensions between the two countries. The resolution will go to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain, but it does not require the presidents signature. Its practical effect if it does pass is uncertain. By the terms of the resolution, future military action against Iran would require a declaration of war by Congress, unless such use of the Armed Forces is necessary and appropriate to defend against an imminent armed attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its Armed Forces, consistent with the requirements of the War Powers Resolution. Trumps rally speech did not acknowledge the exception made for defense against an imminent armed attack. The administration has said that Soleimani was targeted to prevent an imminent attack but has provided few details. We didnt have time to call up Nancy [Pelosi], who is not operating with a full deck, Trump said. He reserved special mockery for Rep. Adam Schiff, the head of the House Intelligence Committee who managed the impeachment inquiry into the president. He buys the smallest shirt collar you can get and its loose, Trump said of the California Democrat. Trump also had harsh words for Sen. Bernie Sanders. Crazy Bernie has condemned the U.S. military strike on Soleimani, the worlds top terrorist, Trump said. Story continues The Senate is set to take up its own war powers resolution next week that would require Trump to wind down military action in Iran in 30 days unless authorized by Congress. President Trump at a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Expanding on his rationale for ordering the strike that many Democrats say has brought the U.S. to the brink of war with Iran, Trump claimed Soleimani was planning attacks on multiple U.S. embassies. He was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in Baghdad, Trump said, but we stopped him very quickly and we stopped him cold. With nearly 8,000 of his supporters cheering him on, Trump portrayed his response to the mob attack on the U.S. Embassy in Bahgdad as an unmitigated success. This was the anti-Benghazi, Trump said. We got there very quickly. I saw what was happening, Trump said of the protests, adding, I called up our great generals and I said, get them over there now. One of our generals said, Sir, well have them there tomorrow. I said, no, get them there immediately. Before Trump spoke members of his audience gave the president their support for his moves against Iran. I dont know. Im glad they got that general, Phillip Sellati, a retail manager from Lima, Ohio, said. I dont know. Its kind of a quagmire ... you just have to I think Donald Trump has the right way to go about it. Theres only one way to beat a bully and thats to beat him down. Asked whether Trump risked breaking his campaign promises to end Americas endless wars, Craig Pencheff, a car wash owner in Sylvania, said: No, not at all. He just held back when I would have gone in and blew up at least their nuke sites, said Pencheff, wearing a hoodie featuring an eagle and an American flag and pins that read CNN Sucks! and Finish the Wall. As long as he didnt put boots on the ground, I dont think hes going to break the promise. Back in Washington, Pelosi is expected to send articles of impeachment to the Senate as early as Friday, which would set the stage for a formal trial that could result in Trumps removal from office. That notion didnt sit well with the presidents Ohio fans. If Trump gets removed from office, theres going to be hell to pay, Im telling you right now, Pencheff said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Former PDP leader Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari has welcomed Supreme Court verdict on restoration of internet services in Jammu and Kashmir. In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday said that access to Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory. "The apex court's verdict has given a sigh of relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who have tremendously suffered because of communication blockade in last over five months," Bukhari said in a statement. "The Supreme Court's verdict vis-a-vis restoration of fundamental rights of citizens of Jammu and Kashmir assumes much significance given the scale of loss suffered by the people especially in education, health and business sectors due to the continuous internet shutdown, he said. The former J-K finance minister said though he has not gone through the full judgment of the apex court but his fervent appeal to the Centre and Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir would be to implement the apex court's ruling in letter and spirit without any further delay. He said the curbs on communication channels especially the internet service has virtually pushed the people of Jammu and Kashmir to stone-age era. "Since the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has by and large remained calm, the continuation of internet shutdown will only have huge ramifications on the academics, health and economic growth of the people this region, Bukhari added. To win over the confidence of the people of Jammu and Kashmiri, Bukhari said the Government of India should accord a positive consideration to the other demands put forth by his delegation in the shape of a memorandum submitted to Lieutenant Governor on January 7 at Jammu. "We are of firm belief that the economic development can only happen if there is normalcy and stability in the region. Need of the hour is to rebuild an atmosphere of trust and tranquility in Jammu and Kashmir. That can only happen when the main apprehensions among people of Jammu and Kashmir are allayed in a just and humane manner, Bukhari said while urging for implementation of his other demands at an earliest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bill Clinton in Rwandan in September 2002. Photo: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images The New York Post and The Sun, a British tabloid, have published new photos this week of Bill Clinton on Jeffrey Epsteins private jet dubbed the Lolita Express alongside Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman accused of working as Epsteins madam, and one of the late financiers accusers. The photos are from a 2002 trip to Africa that Clinton took to raise awareness about poverty and AIDS. The actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker were also on the trip and appear in some of the photos. The most notable pictures show Clinton with Maxwell, Epsteins one-time girlfriend who has been accused of recruiting girls for him to sexually abuse. The socialite, who has denied being involved in Epsteins sex-trafficking ring, is reportedly under investigation by the FBI. Clinton isnt the only president who Maxwell is linked to. Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre says Maxwell recruited her into Epsteins orbit at Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago, where she was working as a towel girl when she was 16. Bill Clinton poses with Epsteins PIMP Ghislaine Maxwell and a sex slave on board private jet the LOLITA EXPRESS https://t.co/CVg9OpsOs8 DRUDGE REPORT (Not Matt) Text WALL to 88022 (@DRUDGE_REPORT) January 8, 2020 The newly published photos also show Clinton with Chauntae Davies, who worked as a personal masseuse for Epstein and has accused him of raping her multiple times over several years. In an interview with The Sun, Davies said Clinton was a complete gentleman on the trip to Africa. In 2002, Clinton gave a statement to New York about his relationship with Epstein. Jeffrey is both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of twenty-first-century science, he said. I especially appreciated his insights and generosity during the recent trip to Africa to work on democratization, empowering the poor, citizen service, and combating HIV/AIDS. Epsteins connections to powerful people like Clinton have fueled conspiracy theories following his August death a Manhattan jail cell. Visual evidence of the former president on Epsteins plane will do little to quiet those conspiracies, as will Thursdays news that surveillance footage from outside Epsteins cell taken during a July suicide attempt has been destroyed. The kingpin of an overseas call center scam that duped thousands of people out of millions of dollars admitted in Houston federal court Thursday to coordinating the three-year operation, a milestone in the multi-jurisdiction case lauded by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions as the first-ever takedown of its kind. The complex scheme involved callers at multiple facilities across India who used illegally obtained personal information to impersonate IRS and immigration officials. They used the details to threaten the often elderly and vulnerable people on the other end of the line with jail or deportation if they did not immediately hand over funds to clear imaginary debts they supposedly owed the U.S. government. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, 43, of Ahmedabad, India, was the top boss of this operation, according to a co-defendant. Patel was extradited from Singapore to face charges in the scheme perpetrated from 2013 to 2016. In court Thursday, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and also admitted to aiding in the broader conspiracy that involved people committing identification and access device fraud as well as laundering money and impersonating federal officials. U.S. District Judge David Hittner set sentencing for April 3. Patel faces up to 20 years in prison on one charge and a maximum of five years on another. Patels attorney, Matthew Furness, declined to comment. Thus far 24 co-defendants in the international scheme have been convicted in Texas, Arizona and Georgia. They have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution. Several other defendants based in India are awaiting prosecution on the allegations. Patel admitted in court that he was responsible for bilking $25 to 65 million from unsuspecting people, according to a Justice Department news release. One co-defendant described Patel as the top person in India and the boss for whom most of the other defendants worked, officials said. Another co-defendant said Patel had been arrested in India in 2016, but paid a bribe to be released. Patel said he ran and funded the complex operation through multiple calls centers in India, including HGLOBAL, the headquarters for the overall scheme. He admitted to using email and the messaging app WhatsApp to communicate with other defendants, exchange exchange credit card numbers, telephone scam scripts, deposit slips, payment information, call center operations information, instructions and bank account information. The call centers provided scripts for callers to impersonate officials from the IRS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Canada Revenue Agency and the Australian Tax Office. The callers claimed they were from the U.S. government and cited personal information about their targets, according to federal officials. They demanded that thousands of dollars in unpaid fines be reimbursed on the spot or victims would face dire consequences, such as arrest, public humiliation and deportation. One man who didn't acquiesce to the demands found his home swarmed by police after a 911 caller reported he was armed and threatening to kill police officers, officials said. The callers threats included fake deportation warrants, nonexistent arrest warrants and phony unpaid income taxes that needed immediate attention, according to prosecutors. The scheme targeted mostly South Asian immigrants and elderly people. "They used a variety of schemes to trick frightened individuals over the phone by tapping into their worst fears - that they would be deported and they would face other problems with the U.S. government or state or local law enforcement," said former Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, at the time of the initial indictments in 2016. Patels incoming email included monthly income and expense reports from the call centers, and he admitted to using an India-based cell phone to access reloadable money cards through automated telephone systems. Victims were told theyd be arrested, jailed, fined or deported if they failed to pay money the callers told them they owed to the government. The callers talked them through the process of buying reloadable money cards or wiring money to those involved in the scheme. A network of so-called runners in the U.S. liquidated and laundered the funds theyd pilfered from their targets, according to court documents. Former U.S. Attorney Ken Magidson announced the unprecedented takedown in October 2016, explaining dozens of people and several overseas businesses had been indicted in an international scheme that cheated more than 15,000 U.S. residents out of $300 million. gabrielle.banks@chron.com Zelensky, Prystaiko meet with U.S. reps in Kyiv, receive important data on aircraft crash in Tehran Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko announces that the leadership of Ukraine has received important data on the crash of the Ukrainian airliner near Tehran during a meeting with the leadership of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. "Together with President Volodymyr Zelensky we met with representatives of the United States, in particular, with interim charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy Kristina Kvien. We received important data that will be processed by our specialists," Prystaiko wrote on his Twitter. According to him, Zelensky and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are expected to talk at 15:00 (Kyiv time). WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- John Gorman, founder and former Chairman of Gorman Health Group and a former Clinton appointee to the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), today announced the formation of Nightingale Partners LLC, the first Opportunity Zone Fund to invest in social determinants of health with Medicare Advantage and Medicaid health plans. Based in one of DC's Opportunity Zones (OZs), Nightingale will leverage the OZ statute (passed in 2017 with final regs issued in late December 2019) to make major evidence-based investments in anti-poverty and complex care initiatives in partnership with insurers, such as housing, food security, non-urgent medical transport, community health workers and managed long-term care. Nightingale's unique business model will share savings with insurers to repay its investors and continually reinvest in program expansions to serve more vulnerable patients. The firm's goal is to invest $1 Billion in OZ capital over the next 8 years. Nightingale's lead sponsor is CapZone Impact Investments, a major OZ fund based in Connecticut. "The biggest impediment to more holistic care for complex, vulnerable patients has always been money," Gorman said. "Because we spend less than 1% of our GDP on our social safety net, it falls to health insurers to meet basic human needs of the most expensive patients, and many times those insurers fall short of . Nightingale seeks to de-risk investments in social determinants of health by providing sustainable, long-term capital and monetizing the health care savings these investments generate. It warms my heart that we can invest in improving health care for low-income Americans using the OZ program." "We are thrilled to work with John and his team on these high impact opportunities," said Gene Huang, CEO of CapZone Healthcare, a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund partner of CapZone Impact Investments. "Health status has a strong negative correlation with income which creates a significant opportunity to improve the health of individuals and families through investments in low income communities. Poor health also contributes to reduced income so addressing health issues reduces poverty." Gorman assembled a team of experts to help carry out the Nightingale mission, including: Rita Mills, CEO. Rita's focus is on business and corporate development at Nightingale. Prior to joining Nightingale, Rita served as Chief Executive Officer at United Healthcare Community Plan of Tennessee, a health plan serving more than 500,000 government sponsored health care consumers and over $2.5B in annual revenue. Her expansive career has included both private and public executive roles from UnitedHealthcare to CMS, where she served as Director, Medicaid Managed Care and oversaw administration of federal Medicaid waiver programs. In addition, Rita serves on several corporate boards, including Brookdale Senior Living. Pamme Lyons Taylor, MBA, Chief Innovation Officer: In this role Pamme architects all Nightingale investments and offerings. Prior to joining Nightingale Pamme served as Vice President, Community Impact at WellCare, and as Executive Director of the WellCare Community Foundation. She served in senior executive roles in SDOH management at United Healthcare and at LACare Health Plan. Jordan Buxton-Punch , SVP, Finance: Jordan focuses on executing on and overseeing Nightingale's deal portfolio. Jordan's career has spanned various sectors of finance where he has cultivated extensive deal structuring expertise, including private equity, municipal finance, venture capital and Opportunity Zones. , SVP, Finance: Jordan focuses on executing on and overseeing Nightingale's deal portfolio. Jordan's career has spanned various sectors of finance where he has cultivated extensive deal structuring expertise, including private equity, municipal finance, venture capital and Opportunity Zones. Gabriel Hitchcock , VP, Communications: Gabriel manages all aspects of Nightingale communications, including mainstream media, social media, the firm's online presence and industry events. He is himself a healthcare startup entrepreneur, having sold his cancer research company straight out of college. Some of Nightingale's investments in development include the following: A major homelessness initiative in Los Angeles to provide housing and support services to 31,000 housing-insecure patients. to provide housing and support services to 31,000 housing-insecure patients. A project with Chinese Community Health Plan in San Francisco to create the "Cantonese Kaiser" of the Bay Area through acquisitions and new SDOH service offerings. to create the "Cantonese Kaiser" of the Bay Area through acquisitions and new SDOH service offerings. A statewide initiative in Connecticut to reform and enhance its long-term care and opioid treatment programs, both potentially replicable in other states. to reform and enhance its long-term care and opioid treatment programs, both potentially replicable in other states. A program to offer Community Health Workers and medically-appropriate meals to 10,000 vulnerable chronically ill patients in several northwest states. About Nightingale Partners LLC Nightingale is a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund and advisory firm connecting capital to payers and providers of care to the medically underserved, based in Washington, DC. Nightingale's mission is to improve the quality of care and reduce unnecessary health care expenditures for our most vulnerable patients through advanced technology, locally-curated social services providers, and innovative financing to address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). About CapZone Impact Investments LLC CapZone Impact Investments LLC was created in 2018 as an innovative investment model to connect profits to purpose. CapZone is a leading national Opportunity Zone investment platform developing Opportunity Zone projects and other Environmental, Social and Governance plus Resilience investments for Social Impact at scale. CapZone brings together human, financial and intellectual capital to invest in low income communities throughout the U.S. using the OZ program. For inquiries please contact Nightingale Partners LLC at [email protected] Visit us at Nightingalepartners.org SOURCE Nightingale Partners LLC Related Links http://www.nightingalepartners.org Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak never read Naguib Mahfouz's works until she joined university but after she could lay her hands on a book by the Nobel Laureate, she says he showed her the extraordinary within the ordinary, the invisible within the visible, and the many layers underneath the surface. The book was "Midaq Alley", sold to her by the grumpy owner of a second-hand bookshop in Istanbul. In fact, till then, Shafak had no idea of who Mahfouz was. The bookshop owner, whom she describes as a sour-tempered, middle-aged man with thick glasses and a haircut that had never been popular in any era, would often pick a customer randomly and quiz him or her on their knowledge of literature, history, science or philosophy. He refused to sell books to customers who failed his tests, says the author whose "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World" was shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. One day, the man asked Shafak whether she has read Mahfouz. "I froze. I had no idea who he was talking about. Slowly, I shook my head. The bookseller said nothing, though his disappointment was visible," she says, adding he grabbed a book from the shelf behind him and pushed it into her hands saying loud and clear: "Read him!" Shafak started reading "Midaq Alley" about two months later and found inside a rich world that was at once familiar and magical, well-founded and elusive. The stories of the people of the alley - families, street vendors, poets, matchmakers, barbers, beggars and others - were so deftly told that I felt as though I knew them, each as the individuals they are, says the author of novels like The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, and Three Daughters of Eve. Istanbul, too, was full of such streets and neighbourhoods unable to keep up with the bewildering changes surrounding them, and it remained both isolated and central, both inside the city and on its periphery, she says. By delving into this world with a sharp mind and compassionate heart, Mahfouz had shown me the extraordinary within the ordinary, the invisible within the visible, and the many layers underneath the surface. His writing, just like Cairo itself, pulsed with life and a quiet strength, Shafak writes in the foreword to the Egyptian Nobel Laureate's new book The Quarter. Mahfouz's Cairo was a fluid world, she says, adding nothing seemed permanently settled; nothing felt solid. As a nomad I was familiar with that feeling, and suddenly I found myself looking for more Mahfouz books to read. Shafak rues that Mahfouz was not well translated into other languages in the region for a long time. It was only after he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988 - the first author writing in Arabic to do so - that more of his oeuvre crossed national and ethnic borders. It troubled me back then, and still does, that in the Middle East we do not follow each other's writers and poets as well as we should, she says. The Quarter is a collection of Mahfouz's stories including 18 never-published ones found recently among his old papers and was out on his birthday on December 11. The stories are resplendent with Mahfouz's delicate and poignant observations of everyday happenings and take the reader deep into the beating heart of Cairo. They came to light in September 2018 when Egyptian academic Mohamed Shoair stumbled across a handwritten manuscript of 50 stories by Mahfouz with the attached label: For publishing 1994.' Eighteen of these stories have never been published before and will appear in the collection titled The Quarter, brought out by Pan Macmillan. Mahfouz was born in Cairo in 1911 and began writing when he was 17. A student of philosophy and an avid reader, his works range from reimagining of ancient myths to subtle commentaries on contemporary Egyptian politics and culture. Over a career that lasted more than five decades, he wrote 34 novels, 13 short story anthologies, numerous plays and 30 screenplays. 1994 was a very difficult year for Mahfouz. The publication of The Satanic Verses brought with it unwanted attention from Islamic extremists, who despite police protection, succeeded in stabbing the 82-year-old novelist in the neck outside his home in Cairo. Mahfouz survived, but the nerves in his right arm were permanently damaged and he could no longer write for more than a few minutes a day. As a result, he dictated most of his stories. For the last decade of Mahfouz's life most of his work were short narratives, such as Echo of An Autobiography and Dreams. Mahfouz's most famous works in English are The Cairo Trilogy, The Children of Gebelawi, The Thief and the Dogs and Autumn Quail. He died in August 2006. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Left leaders on Friday accused the of being a "government stooge" after the force named nine suspects involved in the violence, claiming seven of them are from Left-leaning student bodies. The Police on Friday released pictures of the suspects in the January 5 violence and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was one of them. "It is sad that has become the stooge of Home Minister Amit Shah. In JNU, the reality is that ABVP and RSS activists attacked students and today did not say a word on it. Delhi Police now has zero credibility," CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat told PTI. Hitting out at Shah, CPI general secretary D Raja said that the Delhi Police's revelation was an attempt by the government to hurt the ongoing protests against the amended citizenship law being led by Left-leaning student bodies. "They have charged the victims. It's ridiculous. While the Delhi Police have identified Left leaning students, TV channels have these goons confessing to attacking students. Why is Delhi Police not investigating this? This is just an attempt to damage the CAA protests. It is in public knowledge who the perpetrators of the violence were," he said. "The question that the police have to answer is that who were the masked goons who entered while they were waiting outside and how could they enter the premises," he added. EDITORS NOTE: On Jan. 15, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts a newsmakers networking event in Red Bank, featuring a legislator and business leaders in the hemp and legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited. New Jersey on Thursday moved closer to banning flavored vaping products amid a national health crisis that continues to claim lives. The legislation cleared state Senate and Assembly committees at the Statehouse in Trenton, and will now go to full house votes on Monday, the final day of the two-year legislative session. In addition to the flavor ban, the committees approved a bill that would levy harsher penalties on New Jersey shops caught selling e-cigarettes to minors and others that focused on licensing and tax revenue. If passed, Gov. Phil Murphy would need to sign the measures into law. The flavor ban would take effect 90 days later, a short time-frame some argue leaves vape shops without enough time to adapt. Lawmakers across the country began taking action to ban or curtail e-cigarettes last summer, when a mysterious lung illness associated with vaping spurred national alarm. Since then, 2,602 have been hospitalized in all 50 states, and 57 people ultimately died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Murphy, a Democrat, called last year to bar flavored vaping devices and products in the state as the national health crisis unfolded. Critics say flavored e-cigarettes attract young people, turning a new generation into smokers. But others say vaping has helped many former cigarette smokers kick that habit, and has bolstered small businesses. Without flavors, though, the small vape shop owners say they will lose nearly all of their customers. And many argue the ban is a misguided approach to the problem, coming after legal, tax-paying small businesses instead of the black market or big tobacco. The Senate appropriations committee approved a bill (S3265) that would bar vendors from selling and distributing flavored e-cigarettes in New Jersey. The measure initially included a ban on menthol cigarettes, but state Senate President Stephen Sweeney said they removed it for now, and plan to bring it up as part of a budget discussion later this year. We separated it so we could at least move something now, Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told NJ Advance Media, noting the concerns around the vaping crisis. Would I have like to have gotten more done now? Yes, Sweeney continued. Sometimes, youve got to throw 20-yard passes until you get into the end zone. Danish Iqbal, president of the New Jersey Vapor Rights Coalition, said if passed, the bill would immediately affect 250 businesses that employ nearly 4,000 people. He asked the crowd gathered to raise their hands if the proposed law would shutter their stores, and dozens of arms shot up. What are these people going to do? he asked. Several vape shop owners gave tearful, passionate testimony, saying they would have to fire employees and declare bankruptcy. Sheryl Agro, owner of InnoVapes in Wrightstown, said she has operated her business for five years. At 50, she wonders who would hire her. There are so many amendments that would achieve protecting the youth without putting hundreds upon hundreds out of business," she said. It will push our customers over the bridge, where its not going to be banned. Some critics dont think the bill does enough. Corinne Orlando, director of government relations at the American Heart Association, said she was encouraged by the bill, but hoped to see a more aggressive tax and a ban on all flavors. Following the testimony, the committee took a break for more than two hours as the bills sponsors discussed it. After the vote, state Sens. Sandra Cunningham, D-Hudson, and Linda Greenstein, D-Middlesex, said they voted yes in committee but could choose differently in the full Senate on Monday. NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report. 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. WASHINGTON House Democrats on Thursday moved to stop the Trump administration from taking the fight with Iran any further after a dizzying few days that saw the United States killing of a top Iranian official ratchet up the potential of yet another Middle East war. The House passed a resolution calling on President Donald Trump to stop military action against Iran that Congress hasnt authorized. It was a largely political move that Republicans described as pointless at best and insulting at worst but one clearly illustrating the lack of trust between leaders in the House of Representatives and the commander in chief. The resolution passed on a mostly party line vote, 224-194. The Senate is expected to consider a similar resolution as soon as Friday, though it faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled chamber where many Republicans, including Texas Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, have rallied around Trump after the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike last week. At issue is not whether Soleimani was a potential threat to the U.S. the first sentence of the House resolution calls Iran a leading state sponsor of terrorism and the second identifies Soleimani as the lead architect of much of Irans destabilizing activities throughout the world. Rather, the debate largely centers on whether Trump should have sought approval from Congress or at least given Congressional leaders a heads up before taking out a top government official, a move some Democrats have characterized as an assassination. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox In the last few days, the American people have been unwillingly taken to the brink of war at the direction of this administration, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat and vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Through reckless actions, the White House has unified the Iranian public, alienated our partners in Iraq and Europe, undermined the fight against ISIS and left the United States more isolated than before. All in just one week and without the consent of this Congress. Seven Texas Democrats Castro, along with Houston Reps. Al Green, Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia, Dallas Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Colin Allred and El Paso Rep. Veronica Escobar signed onto the resolution as cosponsors. Every Texas Republican voted against it except U.S. Rep. John Carter of Round Rock, who did not vote. The administration has said it acted with authority Congress granted in 2001 to fight terrorism after the 9/11 attacks and ahead of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. House Democrats, however, have been unsatisfied with that rationale for killing Soleimani, even after a classified briefing on Wednesday. The threat was real U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee who led the House floor debate for the GOP on Thursday, said in an interview with Hearst Newspapers that the argument over war powers is unnecessary. The U.S. did not engage in hostilities in Iran, but took out a terrorist actor who had been designated as such by former President Barack Obama. McCaul said if the attack had happened in Iran, he would agree with bringing up the war power legislation for discussion. But Soleimani was in Iraq when he was killed. McCaul and other House Republicans say theyre satisfied with the reasoning for the drone strike. I feel confident that the threat was real, McCaul said. What if the president didnt take action and there was an attack? For subscribers: Texas Republicans rally around Trump after Soleimani slaying Not all Democrats were vocal in their support of the measure, which some House Republicans, including Houston Rep. Kevin Brady, are calling the "Protect Terrorists Act." Lizzie Fletcher, a freshman Democrat from Houston, opted to send out a statement explaining her vote rather than make a fiery speech on the House floor. Fletcher said she was "highly concerned by the series of events that have led our country into direct confrontation with Iran." Whether to declare war is a question the Constitution of the United States reserves for the Congress of the United States. And for good reason, Fletcher said after voting for the measure Thursday. Republicans who are hoping to flip Fletchers seat back to GOP control had in recent days criticized Fletcher for remaining silent on the Soleimani slaying. Some Republicans take issue with Trump House Democrats aren't alone in their frustration with the administration, as some Senate Republicans left their classified briefing Wednesday fuming at officials for essentially telling them to fall in line. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said at a press conference with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, that the briefing was insulting and demeaning. He said the message from the administration was: Do not debate, do not discuss the issue of the appropriateness of further military intervention against Iran. If you do, you will be emboldening Iran. The Senate is expected to vote on a similar resolution as soon as Friday. While its not likely to pass, it may turn out to be less of a partisan exercise. Cornyn who has lauded Trumps move to kill Soleimani and did not share the concerns expressed by Lee and Paul nonetheless referred to the war powers question as a serious and sobering issue. Cruz, one of the Senates most vocal Iran hawks, meanwhile, introduced his own resolution commending Trump for the strike. The resolution is modeled after one that passed the Senate unanimously, commending Obama for the attack that killed Osama bin Laden. The difference between the two, Democrats say, is that Obama gave congressional leaders a heads up before that raid. Trump left them in the dark about the strike that killed Soleimani. The Iran situation, meanwhile, has emerged as an issue in campaigns in Texas, where candidates have sought to quickly stake out positions. As news broke Tuesday that Iran had launched missiles at the American air base in Iraq, Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, a Democrat vying to challenge Cornyn, issued a fundraising plea: While my opponent, Senator John Cornyn, is busy lauding Trumps strike against Iran as a military victory, our campaign is actually listening to what matters most to people. One thing is clear: the people do not want another endless war. MJ Hegar, a former Air Force pilot and another Democrat in the Senate primary, on Thursday hit both Tzintzun Ramirez and Cornyn for using the crisis for their political gain. Staff writer Jeremy Wallace contributed to this report. ben.wermund@chron.com Two diamonds that were pinched from a Dresden museum last year have resurfaced after being offered to an Israeli security firm through the Darknet for 7.5 million. The Dresden White Diamond and the breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle were two pieces thieved from Dresden's Green Vault in late November 2019. Israeli firm, CGI Group, told the German news agency dpa that two priceless stones were offered to them through the Darknet. The suspects said they had used encryption techniques to make the emails tricky to track. They also requested payment in Bitcoin. The Dresden White Diamond (left) and the breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle (right) were two pieces thieved from Dresden's Green Vault in late November 2019 Stolen: A cabinet of 18th-century jewellery which was smashed open and looted by burglars at a German museum yesterday, causing an 'immeasurable' loss Zvika Nave, CEO of CGI Group, told Deutsche Welle that the museum had hired his firm to track down the stolen stones. According to the Green Vault museum, there is little evidence to support the security firm's claims. 'The company also did not establish contact with us,' said Stephan Adam, the spokesman for the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD). The SKD denied CGI's role in investigating the theft and that they had received no communication from them about the offer. In the weeks since the daring heist, authorities have not yet recovered any of the jewels plundered from Europe's largest treasure collection. After the raid in November, the Green Vault museum confirmed a list of the jewel-encrusted losses that were snatched during the spectacular heist. The Dresden white, which is alleged to have been offered to the security company, is one of the most precious jewels in the collection of former Saxon ruler August the Strong. The jewels were stolen after thieves set fire to a junction box, cutting power to the museum's alarms, then managed to get through a small gap in a grille of a window on the ground floor Tobias Kormind, managing director of the diamond retailer 77Diamonds, said at the time that it could be worth up to 7.6 million 9 million, adding that thieves would have 'hit the jackpot' if they did take it. 'None of the diamonds would have been in themselves extra special except for the one large Dresden White,' he said. The 49-carat diamond was cut in the early 18th century and bought at great expense by August the Strong, then Elector of Saxony, in 1728. The pieces stolen from the Royal Palace that houses the historic Green Vault including a hairpin Maria Josephas (right) with large diamond by Johann Melchior Dinglinger from 1713 and reworked in 1719 is in the exhibition 'Splendor et laetitia' In dramatic CCTV footage released by police after the raid, one of the suspects can be seen using an axe to break into the display case containing three diamond jewellery collections. The thieves launched their audacious raid in the early hours of November 26, instigating a partial powercut before breaking through a window protected by iron bars. They then headed straight for the display cabinet in what police said was a 'targeted and premeditated crime'. Police believed that there were four perpetrators in total. Dresden police chief Joerg Kubiessa told broadcaster ZDF that a 'criminal gang' may be behind the robbery. SoftBank Group Corp founder and chief executive, world news,Softbank,Masayoshi Son,investmentSon, said on Friday he wants to expand his tech conglomerate's investments in Indonesia, in remarks following a meeting with President Joko Widodo. "We don't discuss the specific numbers yet, but new smart city, newest technology, clean city, with a lot of AI, that's what I'm interested in supporting," Son said in comments reported by local media and confirmed by a company spokesman. Son's comments came after Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime resources and investment, told reporters earlier this week the Japanese billionaire was interested in investing in the country's new capital city, which will replace the megacity of Jakarta. Son did not outline specific plans to invest in the new capital, which will be constructed on the island of Borneo. SoftBank's investments in the world's fourth most-populous country include a $2 billion commitment announced in July via portfolio company Grab, Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing firm. Those funds will be used to promote the use of electric vehicles in Indonesia, which is seen as a priority by the government as it attempts to improve congestion and air quality in traffic-clogged Jakarta. SoftBank is also working on a smart city project at a township west of Jakarta, which will introduce technology like traffic monitoring cameras, in partnership with property developer PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk. The discussions come as SoftBank faces financing pressure on multiple fronts, with the value of key technology investments deteriorating and the group trying to get a second giant tech fund off the ground. Latin American delivery app Rappi said it is laying off 6% of its workforce, less than a year receiving a nearly $1 billion investment from SoftBank, becoming the latest portfolio company to cut staff to try and boost business performance. Rajasthan Cabinet Minister B D Kalla said on Friday the state government will make efforts to make the society addiction-free through awareness campaigns. He made the remarks after chairing a high-power ministerial sub-committee meeting to discuss a report seeking ban on liquor in the state. Health Minister Raghu Sharma and other departmental officials were also present at the meeting. "Self-control is the way of life. We will try to make people understand and convince them to create an addiction-free society. We will hold meetings, workshops and other awareness activities to achieve that goal," Kalla told reporters. In a statement, the cabinet minister said directions have been given to the officials to ensure implementation of 12-pointer programme given by the former prime minister Indira Gandhi on liquor ban. The officials were also directed to take feedback and study the states where liquor has been completely banned. Kalla said that there are norms such as the certain amount of distance that a liquor shops has to maintain from schools, colleges and religious places and officials have been directed to actively monitor through district-level committees and implement the norms. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested a man identified as Chibueze Iduma, for murdering his father. According to reports, the man murdered his father, Mr Emmanuel Oba Iduma, during a quarrel over cooked yam. Problem started after the suspect returned home to find out that his father had eaten the yam he cooked for himself. Read Also: Popular Transgender Woman Murdered In South Africa An eyewitness told newsmen; While they quarrelled over the cooked yam, the father had hit the son with his walking stick, and in retaliation, the son hit him back, he then fell down and died. Chibueze who was arraigned before a Magistrates Court in Abakiliki and was handed a one court charge of murder. The charge read; That you Chibueze Iduma m, on the 20th day of December, 2019, at Amaefia Ngbo village, in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area, under the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did unlawfully cause the death of one Emmanuel Oba Iduma m, by hitting him with walking stick and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009. Chief Magistrate, Blessing Chukwu ordered that the accused person be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Abakaliki and his case transferred to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the state for necessary advice. The case was adjourned till January 29 for a report of compliance. Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono will order the dispatch of a Self-Defense Force mission to the Middle East on Friday amid heightened tensions in the region. The move is aimed at increasing intelligence-gathering capability to ensure that commercial ships with links to Japan can safely navigate waters in the Middle East. Japan's Cabinet approved a plan late last month to send a destroyer and two patrol aircraft to the region. A patrol plane unit will leave Japan on Saturday and start collecting information later this month. The destroyer will depart Japan in early February and begin its activities later in the month. Japan plans to share the information it obtains in the mission with operators of Japan-related vessels and other nations, including the United States. Kono observed a map exercise at an SDF facility in Tokyo on Thursday. The drill was meant to prepare the SDF mission for unpredictable situations. He instructed SDF members to make thorough preparations for the operation. Also on the same day, Kono told Iran's defense minister Amir Hatami by phone that Japan will go ahead with the dispatch as planned. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 23:13:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close HONG KONG, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Friday that it has the constitutional responsibility to implement the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Anthem locally. In implementing the national anthem law by local legislation, the government has given full consideration to Hong Kong's common law system and actual circumstances, a spokesman of the HKSAR government said in a statement. The main spirit of the National Anthem Bill is "respect", which bears absolutely no relations to "restricting freedom of speech" as claimed by certain members of the community, the spokesman said. The spokesman said the government has listened to views from 190 members of the public and representatives of various organizations and met with different political parties, professional groups, representatives from the legal sector and the academia during the drafting of the bill. The HKSAR government will introduce the bill to the Legislative Council for resuming the second reading debate at an appropriate time, the spokesman said. The minister says the victims' families will get insurance payments and support from the state. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko says that the Ukrainian side will demand that those guilty be held liable and financial compensation be paid if it is proved that a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane in Iran was shot down. "Of course, if we prove that the plane was downed, we will demand not only prosecution, but also compensation. But it's too early to talk about it," he said at a briefing, the media outlet hromadske reported. "In any case, insurance companies and our state will provide all support, including financial assistance," he said. Read alsoUkraine's SBU considering two theories of UIA plane crash in Iran As UNIAN reported earlier, Kyiv-bound UIA flight PS752 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday, January 8. It was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. Two passengers and the crew members were Ukrainians. There were also 82 citizens of Iran, 63 citizens of Canada, 10 citizens of Sweden, four citizens of Afghanistan, three citizens of Germany and the United Kingdom each. There were no survivors. The causes behind the tragedy are being established by the Iranian side with the involvement, if agreed, of law enforcement units and competent authorities of other countries. Ukrainian experts have also arrived in Iran. On January 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that there was information that could indicate that the Canadian side has evidence, including intelligence data, for a possible missile attack on the Ukrainian plane. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday demanded an "expert investigation" into the explosion which took place in Barrackpore's Naihati earlier today. Dhankhar tweeted a video of the explosion, and said that the incident should be an eye-opener for law enforcing agencies in the state. "The explosion leaves nothing to imagination. It calls for thorough probe in view of its seriousness, intensity and damage caused. Only expert investigation can unearth issues involved. This ominous development should be eye opener for law enforcing and regulatory regime in State," Dhankhar said on Twitter. According to police, the explosion took place while work was on to defuse firecrackers seized by police. "The explosion took place while work to defuse firecrackers seized by police was going on. We will investigate the matter," Barrackpore Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mark Hamill arriving to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens European premiere held in Leicester Square (Anthony Devlin/PA) Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill has defended a young Star Wars fan who was told the franchise was for boys and not girls. Kristal Foster tweeted last February that her five-year-old daughter Gabby had worn Star Wars shoes to school, only to be told by a classmate they were not suitable for girls. Mark Hamill tweeted on Thursday defending the choice of footwear. I think Luke & Han are lucky Leia took over their "rescue" on the Death Star or it would've been a very short movie. https://t.co/GFauW2LBEE Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) January 9, 2020 He said: I think Luke and Han are lucky Leia took over their rescue on the Death Star, or it would have been a very short movie. Ms Foster, 39, from Orlando, Florida, told the PA news agency: My daughter is a huge fan and I love the response from Mark Hamill. For one thing, it is accurate without Princess Leia, the movie is over before it starts. But it put a smile on my daughters face. She was in awe that a Jedi master weighed in on the matter. She was ecstatic and her joy was palpable. It was wonderful. That tweet is from a year ago, however it is not the first time he has replied. He has also posted it on other social media outlets. I am always surprised when he replies! Intensifying his tirade against Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Friday accused her of functioning in an "atrocious" manner by 'blocking' the free rice scheme and interfering in appointment ofthe state election commissioner. The Chief Minister, who has been at logger heads with Bedi on various issues, also said he has moved the Madras High Court against the Union Home Ministry and the Lt Governor for their stand 'affecting" the implementation of the free rice scheme in accordance with the Congress government's decision. While the government has been insisting on distribution of rice to ration card holders, Bedi has pushed for remittance of cash equivalent to the quantum of rice into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, saying the Centre has given such a direction. Narayanasamy claimed approval has been obtained from Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan for distributing rice to the cardholders through the PDS instead of cash. "This clearance was available to me after Puducherry PWD Minister A Namassivayam, the newly elected Congress legislator A John Kumar and I met the union minister sometime back," the Chief Minister said. But, Bedi had, in the meanwhile, written to the Union Home Ministry insisting on direct benefit transfer (DBT), which was accepted by the latter, he said. "I am really surprised and aghast that the Union Home Ministry and the Consumers Affairs Ministry are adopting an opposite stand in operating the free rice scheme here," he said questioning the necessity for the Lt Governor to seek Home Ministry's clarification on implementing the scheme. "She is thus functioning in an atrocious manner impeding the welfare schemes," the Chief Minister charged. Neighbouring states were distributing rice instead of cash, hence Puducherry could not have a different modality, he said. "Kiran Bedi is appointed by the Centre. But, we are an elected government, and she has no right whatsoever to run counter to our decision on a welfare scheme," he said. Narayanasamy said he has filed a petition in the Madras High Court in his capacity as chief minister seeking permission for carrying out its decision to distribute rice, adding it was likely to come up for hearing next week. He said PWD and Local Administration Minister of Puducherry would also soon challenge in the Madras High Court Bedi's current move to appoint State Election Commissioner through a newspaper advertisement. Her earlier 'attempt' to recruit the SEC through an advertisement was thwarted by the territorial assembly and a resolution was adopted appointing retired IAS officer T M Balakrishnan as the SEC to conduct the civic polls, he said. While Balakrishnan, subsequent to his appointment, has started carrying outduties to conduct the civic polls, Bedi had written to the Union Home Ministry and got its nodfor recruiting the SEC through a selection committee headed by the Chief Secretary, the Chief Minister said. "She had also declared the government's decision to post Balakrishnan as null and void," he said, adding that Bedi was 'misusing' her authority to the maximum to 'disrupt' the smooth implementation of the government's decision. "Balakrishnan cannot be replaced or removed from the post," Narayanasamy, who had last week quashed Bedi's order, said. Also, he alleged Bedi had an hidden agenda of appointing her Officer on Special Duty G Theva Needhi Dhas, a retired IAS officer, as the SEC. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The latest green fingered accessory from Danish brand HAY, this large Botanical Family pot is made in Portugal. Expertly glazed, its crafted from earthenware ceramic thats only suitable for indoor use, and teams with the brand's large saucer. Ceramic Construction Made in Portugal Coming down heavily on the police for falsely implicating a man in a drug recovery case, the court of additional district and sessions judge Amar Paul on Friday issued non-bailable warrants against a Ludhiana DSP, three ASIs and one head constable. Convicting these police officials under Section 58 (vexatious entry, search, seizure or arrest) of the NDPS Act, the court directed the five police officials to appear before it on January 31. Among those convicted are DSP Kanwarpal Singh, ASIs Gurmeet Singh, Ramjit Dass and Manjinder Singh, and head constable Bagga Singh. While pronouncing the order, the court stated that the police officials, who had played an active role in hatching the conspiracy, must have the feel of noose, which they had so skillfully created, and they must taste the portion, which they had so thoughtfully prepared for falsely implicating the accused, Baljit Singh. No doubt none of these accused are present to say that no charge has been framed against them. The police officials are thus ordered to be summoned by issuance of non-bailable warrants to hear on the plea if any claimed by them otherwise on the hearing of quantum of sentence. The accused are directed to appear before the court on January 31, 2020, read the court order. CLEAR FALSE IMPLICATION The police had arrested Baljit, resident of Sidhwan Bet village, on July 6, 2018. As per the prosecution, a police patrolling party got secret information that Baljit was involved in drug trade and was habitual of selling intoxicants as well as weapons to customers. The police stated in the FIR that the accused was apprehended at Sherpur Kalan, and an intoxicant powder weighing 200gm was recovered from his possession. While pronouncing the order, the court stated it is clear that the accused was falsely implicated and the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond all shadow of reasonable doubt against the accused by not complying with the mandatory provisions of Section 42 (2) of the NDPS Act. There are material contradictions in statements of witnesses, which are sufficient to show doubt in the entire version of prosecution regarding arrest of accused and recovery of intoxicant powder, and also non-bearing of signature of accused and DSP on material documents, which are the basis of the case. Accordingly, the accused is acquitted of the charge and ordered to be set free, the court said. INTOXICANT POWDER PLANTED ON ACCUSED The court further stated that a huge quantity of 260gm intoxicant powder was planted on the accused so that the court would not even grant him bail and the sword of minimum imprisonment of 10 years would continue hanging on his head. The evidence came on record after trial was concluded, which proves not only the innocence of the helpless poor victim of grave conspiracy but also the pre-arranged plan crafted by investigating officer along with other police officials, whose primary duty is to check the injustice and to prevent the offenders from the grave offences being protector of the people. These duties were not done by the police officials, said the court in its order. Following a viral video capturing his crew on a tour of Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde Islands, filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has announced his companys readiness to shoot his next movie entitled CITATION. Temi Otedola, one of the daughters of billionaire, Femi Otedola, will be making her acting debut in the new movie which focuses on sexual harassment on university campuses. Ms Otedola, a fashion and lifestyle blogger, is one of the lead characters in the movie. Also starring in the film is Afolayans brother, Gabriel, who is starring in his brothers film for the first time. Gabriel plays Temis love interest in the film. The film boasts an ensemble of A-list actors of diverse nationalities. They include Ivorian theatre icon, Bienvenu Neba; veteran broadcaster and actor, Sadiq Daba; upcoming Nollywood actress, Bukunmi Oluwashina; French-Ivorian actor and screenwriter, Raymond Reboul; theatre educator, Toyin Bifarin and veteran Nigerian film director and actor, Wole Olowomojuore, aka Baba Gebu. Exploring the subject of social decadence in the educational sector, the new movie is a college drama about a female postgraduate student who has to find a way of dealing with the awkward situation of sexual harassment from a lecturer. Addressing the media in Lagos on Thursday, Afolayan said his company is set after pre-production which started in October 2018. The shoot which is expected to last for five weeks would begin on Friday through February 15, 2020, and in three countries. Storyline Written by the Afolayans long-standing screenwriter, Tunde Babalola, CITATION tells the story of Moremi Oluwa, a fun-loving 21-year-old student on campus in Nigeria. Incensed at being ill-treated by a trendy university don, Lucien NDyare, she drags him before the University Senate. The ensuing intrigues define Moremis words against that of the respected academic, in a male-dominated terrain. READ ALSO: According to the award-winning filmmaker, his company is partnering Ford Foundation on the project which has been designed to propel women to aspire to become successful leaders. Canon Central and North Africa, he noted, is also coming on board his movie project for the second time in a row. He said CITATION will be shot with the new Canon EOS C500 MarK II camera. He said it would mark the first time the camera will be used in Africa. He announced Cape Verde government as main sponsors of the countrys locations of the shoot, following a meeting with Minister Abraao Vicente and other officials during the recce in October last year. Speaking further, on the theme of the movie, the filmmaker said, CITATION will create awareness of the different forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private sphere. It will educate society on womens rights and the ways to enforce these rights for the achievement of equality and tranquility. The movie will encourage and embolden women to stand up against mistreatment and abuse by a patriarchal society. It has also been designed to propel women to aspire to become successful leaders and thereby provide counterexamples to negative gender stereotypes. Mr Afolayan also said he will be surprising fans, as a top personality will soon be unveiled as part of the cast. Advertisement If your own two feet are your preferred mode of holiday transport, then slip on your comfiest walking shoes, for its never been so easy to enjoy an adventure on foot, with everything from urban trails to coastal paths and woodland hikes ready and waiting. Here we take you on a world tour of wonderful walks, from Norfolk to Liechtenstein via Ireland. UP HILL, DOWN DALE Heaven-sent for walkers: A highlight of the Nidderdale Way in the North Yorkshire Dales is this limestone ravine, sculpted by time, at How Stean Gorge Gods own country is heaven-sent for walkers (and sheep); and the Nidderdale Way, a 53-mile circular meander through the North Yorkshire Dales, showcases its rural and architectural treasures. Cast out from genteel Harrogate a cup of finest at Bettys Tea Rooms to see you off and conquer a different chunk each day with natural gritstone sculptures at Brimham Rocks and 14th-century Ripley Castle among the scenic treats. HIGHLIGHT: The limestone ravine, sculpted by time, at How Stean Gorge. LEVEL: Easy to moderate. BOOK IT: A six-night Nidderdale Way walking holiday costs from 789 pp including half-board accommodation in Harrogate, transfers and a guide, based on September 14 departures. Call 01707 818 381, or visit ramblersholidays.co.uk. LIECHTENSTEIN LLAMAS Enjoy a slightly surreal two-day family-friendly trot through this tiny principalitys wilder scenery, carving a route from alpine Triesenberg (above) to the remote village of Suck These furry four-legged mountain dwellers are ideal trek companions, apparently. Enjoy a slightly surreal two-day family-friendly trot through this tiny principalitys wilder scenery, carving a route from alpine Triesenberg to the remote village of Sucka, with dinner and an overnight mountain stop at Berggasthaus. HIGHLIGHT: Visiting an alpine cheese dairy. LEVEL: Easy to moderate. BOOK IT: A weekend trek costs 237 for adults and 158 for children, including food, one nights accommodation and a trained guide, call 00 41 78 767 29 85 or visit lama-alpaka.li. Fly to Zurich, 90 minutes away, from 42 easyjet.com. NORFOLKS DAWN CHORUS Big skies and unique ecosystems greet those who put boot to sand in Holkham, on the north Norfolk coast Big skies and a unique ecosystems greet those who put boot to sand in Holkham, on the north Norfolk coast. An eight-hour exploration of this 3,706-hectare splendour, a national nature reserve since 1967, with an expert guide reveals the diverse wildlife that call these pine forests, saltmarshes and sweeping beaches home. HIGHLIGHT: Pink-footed geese, sea lavender, and deafening silence in the pine forests. LEVEL: Easy. BOOK IT: An October guided walking tour for four, including lunch, at Holkham National Nature Reserve costs 75 each. Call 01328 713111 to book. Doubles at the Victoria Inn from 155 including B&B. Call 01328 711 008 or visit holkham.co.uk. QUIET AMALFI Perched mid-way between Sorrento and Salerno on the Amalfi coast, the characterful Monastero Santa Rosa hotel offers the double-pronged delight of morning hikes and lazy spa afternoons Perched mid-way between Sorrento and Salerno on the Amalfi coast, the characterful Monastero Santa Rosa hotel offers the double-pronged delight of morning hikes and lazy spa afternoons. Among the trails is the lesser-known Valle delle Ferriere (Ironworks Valley). A four-hour walk sees you bypassing streams, waterfalls and Ice Age fauna. Back at the ranch, theres an infinity pool and a soothing natural rock sauna. HIGHLIGHT: Enjoy a rallying limoncello in the medieval village of Pontone. LEVEL: Easy to moderate. BOOK IT: Three nights B&B at Monastero Santa Rosa from 1,115, based on two sharing. Price includes a private hike and a spa treatment, visit monasterosantarosa.com. Flights to Naples from 98, ba.com. ATLAS ADVENTURE An escapade that thrusts walkers into Marrakechs colourful chaos, including the clatter of the souks, before winding 90 minutes south to amber-hued Ouirgane Valley. There, a Berber guide continues the narrative, and agricultural villages, peach orchards and the hidden valleys of the Atlas Mountains await with traditional pancakes providing sustenance. HIGHLIGHT: The fortified settlement Tin-Mal; the only Moroccan mosque non-Muslims can visit. LEVEL: Moderate. BOOK IT: A one-week tour with Inntravel costs from 870 pp, based on two sharing half-board accommodation and transfers. Call 01653 617 000, or visit inntravel.co.uk. Fly to Marrakech in April from 147 return, airarabia.com. BALKAN BEAUTY More serious walkers can test their mettle, and their calf muscles, in western Bulgarias craggy Rila mountain range More serious walkers can test their mettle, and their calf muscles, in western Bulgarias craggy Rila mountain range. The endgame being the UNESCO-listed Rila Monastery, which still houses 60 monks, in the Rilska River valley. Keeping trekkers buoyed are cool beech forests, wild meadows and mirror lakes, and the knowledge Sterling stretches pretty far in this portion of eastern Europe. HIGHLIGHT: Bulgarias 9,596ft-high giant, Mount Musala (Musala means near God). LEVEL: Moderate to hard. BOOK IT: A seven-night guided tour with On Foot Holidays costs from 930 pp, based on two sharing. Includes accommodation, guide, some meals and transfers. Call 01722 322 652, or visit onfootholidays.co.uk. Flights to Sofia from around 57, wizzair.com. ANCIENT GREECE Properly stretch your legs on a ten-day guided walking holiday that loops from the sensory overload of ancient Athens to the calmness of Cape Tenaro. En route, theres a clutch of Hellenic sights to explore including archaeological wonder Olympia and the tower houses of Mani plus a visit to the former home of 1930s British explorer Patrick Leigh Fermor. HIGHLIGHT: The lofty Meteora monasteries, which, from a distance, appear suspended in mid-air. LEVEL: Moderate, with trickier routes also available. BOOK IT: Based on October 12 departures, Kudu Travel has a guided ten-night trip from 2,790 pp, including four-star accommodation, all meals and transfers. Call 0208 150 3367 or visit kudutravel.com. Return flights to Athens from 68, ryanair.com. SPLENDID SPAIN Trek through northern Spains dramatic Basque Country and balance physical effort with heady gastronomic rewards. Stride forth with purpose through the green Pyrenean foothills of Navarra and soak up the French beauty of St Jean de Luz, knowing a pintxos (Basque tapas) feast and well-chosen wine awaits at each days end. HIGHLIGHT: Joining part of the spiritual Santiago de Compostela pilgrims route. LEVEL: Easy. BOOK IT: A seven-night Hidden Spain trip costs 1,559 pp half-board, including guides, transfers and flights, based on May 12 departures. Call 01707 818224, or visit adagio.co.uk. IRISH DELIGHT The brooding Cliffs of Moher, where the Atlantic appears infinite beyond them A three-day Emerald Isle tour that strikes west from Dublin includes an amble across the brooding Cliffs of Moher, where the Atlantic appears infinite beyond them. Theres also a lively urban jaunt on foot around Galway City and a visit to 1,500-year-old Clonmacnoise Abbey, which sparked Irelands golden age of learning. HIGHLIGHT: A midway wander around Lockes, one of the worlds oldest distilleries. LEVEL: Easy. BOOK IT: Three-day tours with Rabbies including guided walking excursions and two nights hotel accommodation in Galway City cost from around 330 pp. Call 0131 226 3133, or visit rabbies.com. Flights to Dublin from the UK from 66, visit aerlingus.com. FJORDS ON FOOT Western Norways Sunnmre region, where waterfalls thunder and peaks rise to 1,700m, favours humans over cars, with many of the best vistas accessible only on foot. Join an eight-day tour with Headwater, and the walking comes with a string of lovely fjord-side stays, including a favourite with European royalty, the Hotel Union in Oye. HIGHLIGHT: Take a breather under the shadow of Jostedalsbreen, Europes largest glacier. LEVEL: Moderate. BOOK IT: A seven-night guided tour including full-board hotels, all transfers, a guide and flights from the UK costs 2,599 pp, based on September departures. Call 01606 369400 or visit headwater.com. Everest England: 29,000 Feet In 12 Days by Peter Owen Jones (AA Publishing, 12.99) is out now. TV's Reverend Peter Owen Jones on why walking holidays are wonderful TV's Reverend Peter Owen Jones pictured above What happens on a walking holiday is that you slow down. After a couple of days of travelling at what is our natural speed, the body begins to relax, releasing the stresses and strains of our working lives. Our minds are not bombarded by screens and the demands of machines begin to quieten. It is out in the space of the natural world that we find real space. We loosen up to laugh, dance and even let the tears flow if that is what is needed. Most of all, on a walking break you are not tied to one place. There is a different view every day; every hour is different. And a walking holiday has much more to do with the journey than the destination. It is this journeying, this walking into hill villages at dusk, waking up by the sea, falling asleep in a monastery in the mountains and not knowing what is around the next corner that is surely the essence of adventure. We are renewed by discovering what is new to us. Nothing could be easier, too. Once youve bought your boots youre away. No tolls, no queuing, stop when you want and sing as loudly as you like. The best thing is to start slowly, maybe walk for a weekend, taking in a hill or two. The Saints Way in Cornwall from Padstow to Fowey is a very sweet summer stroll full of flowers and butterflies gliding in all that liquid light. For those who want to travel further afield, the Cinque Terre near Genoa is a wonderful weekend trek, taking in five rust-coloured Italian fishing villages and fashionable Portofino. Ashes Hollow in the Shropshire Hills is one of the most exquisite paths in England. There is contentment here. Maybe it is because so much is being born here, leaves emerging, wings unfolding, eggs warm. There is one wide grey mare heavy with foal; it wont be long now. She will slip away, find somewhere alone to give birth. There is something pure that is awakening. Best of all is to set your own route. All you will need is a couple of Ordnance survey maps and you are away, but if you are walking for most of the day it is important to have pre-booked your accommodation for the night. There are now a good handful of tour operators in both the UK and overseas that will ferry your luggage from one night to the next, so if you are planning to walk for a week you need not carry a weeks worth of socks and a change of clothes. Always remember to stay safe, take a mobile phone and call in once you have reached the pub. Walk well. Two women have been charged over an alleged plot to murder a man from Sydneys east, with raids on two residences allegedly finding 15 millilitres of the drug GHB as well as other drugs. Police allege that 27-year-old Marissa Tofield and 28-year-old Claire Dawson were planning to kill 30-year-old Raimondo Corak-Phan, who is the father of Ms Dawsons child. Mr Corak-Phan is in jail accused of assaulting her, having been refused bail. The two women appeared at Parramatta Local Court yesterday after their homes in Balmain and Glebe were raided, with State Crime Command allegedly finding cannabis, methylamphetamine, mobile phones, laptops and documents that were taken into evidence. Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that his country was ready to participate in the investigation into the crash of a Boeing 737-800 of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) in Tehran. "France is ready to contribute its expertise if necessary to the crash probe," he said on air of the RTL radio station on Friday. At the same time, Le Drian refused to make any assumptions regarding the cause for the crash. "Before taking any position we need a clear understanding of what had happened, and that is what international investigations are for," the minister said. As reported, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization commission for accidents investigation from Iran's flight regulator, Hassan Rezaifar, said that Iran may request assistance from Russia, Ukraine, France and Canada in deciphering the "black boxes" of the Boeing 737-800 airliner that crashed near Tehran. He stated that Iran was confident that the Ukrainian plane was not shot down by a missile. Earlier, the Associated Press reported that the Iranian authorities invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to participate in the investigation of the crash. The board said it would "assess the level of its participation in the investigation." On January 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence agencies of Canada and its allies believe that the cause of the crash of the Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran was a surface-to-air missile. The UIA Boeing 737-800 passenger plane, flight PS752 from the Tehran to Kyiv, crashed in the area of Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran immediately after take-off early in the morning of January 8. Some 167 passengers and nine crew members on board died. Among the dead were 11 citizens of Ukraine (among them 9 crew members), 82 citizens of Iran, 63 of Canada, 10 of Sweden, four of Afghanistan and three each from Germany and the UK. The Indian Embassy in Nepal along with the Central Hindi Department of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu celebrated Vishwa Hindi Diwas here on Friday. Nepal's Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Hridayesh Tripathi presided as the Chief Guest in the event where Ajay Kumar, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy in Nepal read out a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A special issue of the research journal 'Sahityalok' of Central Hindi Department of Tribhuvan University was also released to mark the occasion. Moreover, two Hindi books and two Nepali books were released, including Nepali translations of five stories written by Premchand and a book by Swami Vivekananda titled Karmayog. Hindi translations of "Ashwathama", a poetic play written in Nepali by Rashtra Kavi of Nepal Madhav Prasad Ghimire and "Utkrishta Kahaniyan", a collection of 25 modern Nepali stories written by upcoming Nepali story writers were also released. A musical rendition of the works of prominent Hindi poets was also presented by the artists of Swami Vivekanand Cultural Centre based in Kathmandu. More than 200 literary dignitaries including writers, journalists, Hindi and Nepali scholars, academicians, and students attended the programme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday that the statues of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in both the state Capitol and on this city's Monument Avenue are offensive, and said he supports creating a commission to recommend a replacement for the statue of Lee that currently represents Virginia in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol. "These monuments tell a particular version of history that doesn't include everyone," Northam said. "In Virginia, that version of history has been given prominence and authority for far too long." The governor made the comments during a news conference urging the new Democratic majorities in the General Assemby to pass several measures aimed at devoting more resources and attention to black history. Those include paying for maintenance at historic black cemeteries; setting aside money for new historical markers featuring African Americans; funding a full-time state historic cemetery preservationist; and spending $2.4 million so Alexandria can expand a museum at the Freedom House, the former headquarters of a notorious slave trading firm. Joined by African American lawmakers who praised his efforts, Northam again tried to show how far he has come in atoning for last year's blackface scandal. "We'll continue to do everything we can to right the wrongs of the past," he told reporters after the event. The governor almost resigned last February over a photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page of someone in blackface and someone in Klan robes. Northam first apologized for the photo, then disavowed it but admitted to darkening his face for a dance contest later that year. In defying calls to step down, he pledged to devote the rest of his term to fighting racial inequity. Even before the scandal, Northam had been among the first public figures to call for Confederate statues to come down in the wake of the racial violence at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. But his comments Thursday - particularly about the statue inside Virginia's own Capitol - appeared to be the furthest he has gone in condemning Confederate memorials. Virginia has more of those than any other state. A statue of Lee stands in the Old House Chamber at the spot where the general assumed command of Virginia's armed forces during the Civil War. Northam on Thursday initially said he thought the statue is under the control of the legislature. Pressed for his personal position on that statute and the one on Monument Avenue, he said: "Yes I do have an opinion, they're offensive to a lot of people. And one of the points of what we're doing this morning is to make sure that Virginia is equitable and inclusive, but it's a discussion that needs to take place with a number of individuals." There are no current bills seeking the removal of the statue inside the Capitol, though various interest groups have raised the prospect. This week, the Richmond City Council passed a resolution asking the General Assembly for authority to take down Confederate statues on Monument Avenue, including the grand equestrian statue of Lee that sits on state property. The city of Charlottesville has sought similar authority. Northam said he supports bills sponsored by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, and Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, that would give localities such authority. Northam also called on the General Assembly to pass bills sponsored by Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, and Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, that would make historic African American cemeteries eligible for state grants for maintenance and memorials. In addition, his proposed two-year state budget includes funding to restore a historic African American recreation area in Allegheny County called Green Pastures, as well as money for boosting African American history lessons for public school students. Northam also has urged the General Assembly to repeal racist language that persists in state code, including the 1924 Racial Integrity Act that nearly eliminated records of Native American tribes by forcing all residents to be classified as either "white" or "colored." "I applaud the governor and his staff for their focus on historic justice as we move forward," McQuinn said at the news conference. There was one memorial, though, that Northam hesitated to take a position on: the statue of former governor and U.S. Sen. Harry Byrd on Capitol Square. Byrd, a Democrat, was the architect of Virginia's "massive resistance" strategy against integration. Newly elected Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, has submitted a bill calling for that statue's removal. "There are over 2,000 pieces of legislation. They'll be vetted by both the House and Senate," Northam said when asked about that bill. "Rather than get into hypotheticals I will give it consideration if it gets to my desk." An adjunct lecturer and director in Massachusetts has been fired for what he now calls a bad attempt at humour amid uneasy tensions between the US and Iran. Babson College director of sustainability Asheen Phansey had posted his joke on Facebook earlier in the week after Donald Trump threatened to potentially commit a war crime by bombing 52 Iranian cultural sites, if necessary. Mr Phansey then suggested that ayatollah Ali Khamenei should tweet a list of 52 sites of cultural American heritage that he would bomb. He even provided some options: Um Mall of America? Kardashian residence? Mr Phansey later apologised for the joke, telling Boston news outlets on Wednesday evening that he was trying to rib the US a bit for its lack of ancient culture. I am sorry that my sloppy humour was read as a threat, he said through his attorney. Retribution for the joke was swift, and Babson a private business school in Wellesley announced in a statement on Thursday that they had let go of the employee after 15 years with the college. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Babson College conducted a prompt and thorough investigation related to a post shared on a staff members personal Facebook page that does not represent the values and culture of the college, the college wrote in a statement on Thursday. The statement continued: Based on the results of the investigation, the staff member is no longer a Babson College employee. As we have previously stated, Babson College condemns any type of threatening words and/or actions condoning violence and/or hate. Mr Phansey has lamented the firing since, saying in a statement that the joke was willfully misinterpreted and that he would have expected the school to defended his right to free speech as an educator. I am disappointed and saddened that Babson has decided to abruptly terminate my 15-year relationship with the college just because people willfully misinterpreted a joke I made to my friends on Facebook, he said. He continued: I would have hoped that Babson, an institution of higher education that I love and to which I have given a great deal, would have defended and supported my right to free speech. Beyond my own situation, I am really concerned about what this portends for our ability as Americans to engage in political discourse without presuming the worst about each other. Mr Trump threatened to bomb Iranian cultural sites earlier this week in a tweet, writing: "Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.... targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD." The threat was met swiftly by criticism, with experts warning that international law prohibits the deliberate destruction of civilian objects that are not being used for military purposes. Those experts said that, if Mr Trump approved bombings of cultural sites that were not thought to be harbouring military assets, the attacks would be perceived as war crimes. I am pleased to extend my congratulations to the faculty and staff of Foxcroft School. I am pleased to extend my congratulations to the faculty and staff of Foxcroft School, wrote U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner of Virginia. Your focused efforts to give young women the opportunity to develop computer science skills will help bridge the gender gap in the field in the coming years. I commend you for this important work and your dedication to helping your students succeed. Foxcroft one of the top girls boarding school is one of only six schools in Virginia and 490 worldwide to earn the AP Computer Science Principles Female Diversity Award. Schools receiving the Award have either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science examinees meeting or exceeding that of the schools female population. This recognition is a proud moment for Foxcroft, said Head of School Cathy McGehee. Our school is leading the way in STEM education for girls by encouraging our students in record numbers to participate in computer science. The technology field is one where women continue to be underrepresented and efforts such as ours can make a difference. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded girls access in AP Computer Science courses. Out of more than 18,000 secondary schools worldwide that offer AP courses, only 685 have accomplished this. By inviting many more young women to advanced computer science classrooms, Foxcroft School has taken a significant step toward preparing all students for the widest range of 21st-century opportunities, said Trevor Packer, College Board Senior Vice President of the AP Program. We hope this inspires many other high schools to engage more female students in AP Computer Science and prepare them to drive innovation. AP computer science course participation has increased worldwide by 135% since 2016, broadening STEM career opportunities for more students. The number of female, rural, and underrepresented minority students taking AP computer science exams has more than doubled in that period. Providing female students with access to computer science courses contributes to gender parity in the industrys high-paying jobs and drives innovation, creativity, and competition. According to UNESCOs Institute of Statistics, less than 30% of the worlds researchers are women; in North America and Western Europe, its just 32%. Research shows women are more likely to pursue computer science if theyre given the opportunity to explore it in high school. A grandma from hell has been arrested by police in Nigerias southern state of Rivers following reports she gave two grand children a peppered water bath and thereafter chained them, stripped. She then locked up the female kids, aged 7 and 8 up like a jailor. According to the police, the 52 year-old woman, simply called Mama Vera, gave the kids the horrendous punishment because they ate garri, a popular staple made from cassava and mixed it with sugar, as a meal without her consent. The incident happened at Mgbuoba in Obio/Akpor Local Government area of Rivers State. Witnesses said concerned neighbours had to break into the house when they heard the wailing children calling for help. The police who arrested the woman are also accusing her of denying the children their rights to go to school. A lawyer, Precious Johnmark,who also witnessed the incident is calling on the Rivers State Police Command and the International Federation of Women Lawyers,FIDA,to follow the case and ensure the prosecution of Mama Vera for allegedly violating the rights of the girls. Kindly Share this: Like this: Like Loading Share this: The Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund (Trades, Portfolio) released its fourth-quarter 2019 portfolio earlier this week, listing five new holdings. Part of California-based Hennessy Advisors, the fund is managed by Tadahiro Fujimura and Tetsuya Hirano. Focusing on sustainable growth while limiting downside, the portfolio managers invest in a concentrated number of growth-oriented, small-cap Japanese companies that have a strong balance sheet, a durable competitive advantage, a high return on equity, above-average earnings growth and strong cash flow generation. Based on these criteria, the fund established positions in Cosmos Pharmaceutical Corp. (TSE:3349), Fuji Corp. (TSE:6134), Hoshizaki Corp. (TSE:6465), Nojima Co. Ltd. (TSE:7419) and Cyberdyne Inc. (TSE:7779) during the quarter. Cosmos Pharmaceutical The fund invested in 9,500 shares of Cosmos Pharmaceutical, dedicating 1.57% of the equity portfolio to the holding. The stock traded for an average price of 21,590.7 yen ($196.99) per share during the quarter. The drugstore chain operator has a market cap of 459.55 billion yen; its shares closed at 23,210 yen on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 23.75, a price-book ratio of 3.53 and a price-sales ratio of 0.74. The Peter Lynch chart shows the stock is trading above its fair value, suggesting it is overpriced. fd637b056ef4c914504afaff98d4f585.png Cosmos' financial strength and profitability were both rated 8 out of 10 by GuruFocus. Boosted by good debt ratios and comfortable interest coverage, the Altman Z-Score of 4.87 indicates the company is financially healthy. Although the operating margin is in decline, the company is supported by strong returns that outperform over half of its competitors, steady earnings and revenue growth and a moderate Piotroski F-Score of 4, which implies business conditions are stable. Cosmos also has a business predictability rank of four out of five stars. According to GuruFocus, companies with this rank typically see their stocks gain an average of 9.8% per annum over a 10-year period. Story continues The fund holds 0.05% of the company's outstanding shares. Fuji Having previously exited a position in Fuji in the first quarter of 2018, Hennessy entered a new holding of 83,600 shares, allocating it to 1.11% of the equity portfolio. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of 1,529.77 yen per share. The automobile supplier, which primarily focuses on wheels and tires, has a market cap of 184.88 billion; its shares closed at 2,024 yen on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 11.57, a price-book ratio of 1.11 and a price-sales ratio of 1.4. According to the Peter Lynch chart, the stock is undervalued. f8ebc27d6efeaf636e95e74494529bc2.png GuruFocus rated Fuji's financial strength 7 out of 10, driven by adequate interest coverage and a robust Altman Z-Score of 6.57. The company's profitability scored an 8 out of 10 rating on the back of an expanding operating margin, strong returns that outperform a majority of industry peers and a moderate Piotroski F-Score of 5. Fuji's one-star business predictability rank, however, is on watch. GuruFocus says companies with this rank typically see their stocks gain an average of 1.1% per year. The fund holds 0.09% of Fuji's outstanding shares. Hoshizaki The Japan Small Cap Fund picked up 16,000 shares of Hoshizaki, giving it 1.09% space in the equity portfolio. Shares traded for an average price of 8,065.08 yen during the quarter. The industrial kitchen equipment manufacturer has a market cap of 729.28 billion yen; its shares closed at 10,070 yen on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 30.68, a price-book ratio of 3.11 and a price-sales ratio of 2.49. Based on the Peter Lynch chart, the stock appears to be overvalued. 5c4e588cd3a30edeaf0ecc75769987e1.png Boosted by no long-term debt and comfortable interest coverage, Hoshizaki's financial strength was rated 9 out of 10 by GuruFocus. In addition, the high Altman Z-Score of 6.3 suggests it is in good financial standing. The company's profitability scored an 8 out of 10 rating. Despite being supported by expanding margins and strong returns, Hoshizaki has a low Piotroski F-Score of 3, which indicates operating conditions are in poor shape. Additionally, as a result of a slowdown in revenue growth over the past 12 months, its 2.5-star business predictability rank is on watch. According to GuruFocus, companies with this rank typically see their stocks gain an average of 7.3% per year. The T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest guru shareholder with 0.29% of outstanding shares. Hennessy holds 0.02%. Nojima Hennessy purchased 74,700 shares of Nojima, expanding the equity portfolio 1.06%. The stock traded for an average per-share price of 1,796.38 yen during the quarter. The manufacturer and retailer of digital audio and visual-related equipment, information technology equipment and electric appliances has a market cap of 111.58 billion; its shares closed at 2,229 yen on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 6.82, a price-book ratio of 1.27 and a price-sales ratio of 0.22. The Peter Lynch chart suggests the stock is undervalued. 00fe0f49260ebcf61800fe8305247033.png GuruFocus rated Nojima's financial strength 6 out of 10 on the back of sufficient interest coverage. The Altman Z-Score of 2.93, however, indicates the company is under some financial pressure as it has recorded a slowdown in revenue growth over the past year. The company's profitability scored an 8 out of 10 rating on the back of operating margin expansion, strong returns that outperform a majority of competitors and a moderate Piotroski F-Score of 6. Nojima also has a four-star business predictability rank. The fund holds 0.15% of the company's outstanding shares. Cyberdyne The fund bought 95,800 shares of Cyberdyne. The trade had an impact of 0.49% on the equity portfolio. The stock traded for an average price of 661.05 yen per share during the quarter. The robotics and technology company has a market cap of 123.92 billion yen; its shares closed at 576 yen on Thursday with a price-book ratio of 2.8 and a price-sales ratio of 69.59. According to the median price-sales chart, the stock is overvalued. da3c514d90b6b7539ed8c84fd6c25938.png Cyberdyne's financial strength was rated 7 out of 10 by GuruFocus. Supported by a high cash-debt ratio of 82.49, the robust Altman Z-Score of 30.62 indicates the company is in good financial shape. The company's profitability did not fare as well, scoring a 3 out of 10 rating. Although the operating margin is expanding, it underperforms a majority of industry peers. Cyberdyne is also being weighed down by negative returns as well as a slowdown in revenue growth over the last 12 months. It also has a moderate Piotroski F-Score of 4. Hennessy holds 0.04% of the company's outstanding shares. Additional trades During the quarter, the portfolio managers also added to holdings of Towa Corp. (TSE:6315), Starzen Co. Ltd. (TSE:8043) and Matsuoka Corp. (TSE:3611). The fund's $125 million equity portfolio, which is composed of 61 stocks, is largely invested in the industrials sector at 39.44%, followed by smaller positions in the technology (22.30%) and consumer cyclical (15.03%) spaces. 74e67d93d85a70a88600471b78a2dcdf.png According to its website, the Japan Small Cap Fund returned 19.95% in 2019, eclipsing both the Russell/Nomura Small Cap Index's 18.34% return and the Tokyo Stock Price Index's return of 19.67%. Disclosure: No positions. GuruFocus 15-year anniversary promotion The holiday season is here, and so is GuruFocus's 15-year anniversary! In order to celebrate, we are offering an exclusive holiday discount of up to 30% off on our GuruFocus Premium Membership. Join now to get GuruFocus Premium membership for only $399/Year! In addition, save an extra $100 when you upgrade to our PremiumPlus Membership, and enjoy $100 off the price of each additional region you add to the subscription. Don't miss out on this once-in-a-decade deal! You can sign up for the discount price by clicking this link. Happy holidays! Read more here: Hennessy Japan Fund Buys 2, Sells 1 in 4th Quarter Spiros Segalas Adds 4 Stocks to Portfolio in 4th Quarter 5 Stocks These Spanish Funds Agree On This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Recently, President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Democrats responded with fear that Iran would become angry and retaliate. They must have seen the television show The Incredible Hulk. In that show, the Hulk's alter ego, Dr. David Banner, said, "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry." The audience knew he could transform into an angry creature with enormous strength. The Democrats must see Iran as such a creature. The truth is that when someone becomes angry, his strength remains the same, but his thoughts become irrational. The one who holds his temper has the advantage. Over the last 70 years, Democrat presidents have made the Hulk Mistake many times. An example is President Truman. General MacArthur had taken over most of North Korea. Truman worried that China would send its troops in and defeat U.S. forces. Truman ordered MacArthur to avoid attacking anyone on the China side of the North Korean border. This meant that MacArthur had to wait until the Chinese soldiers crossed the border before he could stop them. This is like allowing the Marines to take the beach before shooting. This gave the Chinese a major advantage. North Korea took back its territory, and we had to settle for an armistice. We are still dealing with a bellicose North Korea. Fifteen years later, President Lyndon Johnson made the same mistake in Vietnam. He refrained from hurting the North Vietnamese too much, lest the Chinese get involved. Thirty-seven thousand dead American soldiers later, he was replaced with President Nixon. Nixon bombed buildings where intelligence indicated the North Vietnamese leaders were. This quickly led to negotiations. The moral of the story is to threaten the leaders. President Carter saw unrest in Iran. He did nothing and saw the Shah of Iran deposed. He reopened the U.S. embassy there, lest he be seen as unfriendly to the new regime. A few months later, Iran attacked the embassy and had dozens of hostages. Fearing Hulk-like anger, Carter chose not to respond militarily. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan ran for president while giving the subtle implication that he would use American force to resolve the situation. Iran released the hostages a few minutes after Reagan was sworn in as president. President Johnson had his own hostage crisis. Late in his administration, North Korea hijacked the USS Pueblo. After 11 months of negotiations and Johnson apologizing, the crew was released, but the North Koreans kept the ship as a trophy. President Ford had a ship hijacked and showed what to do. The North Vietnamese hijacked the S.S. Mayaguez. Ford sent the Marines after them. After a fierce battle, the crew was released unharmed. President Thomas Jefferson has a story of naval bravery. As soon as he became president, the Pasha of Tripoli demanded money. Jefferson refused. The Pasha, using the Barbary pirates, attacked U.S. ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Jefferson sent his ships after them. It took a few years, but the U.S. was victorious. Just as described in the Marine Hymn, they planted their flag on "the shores of Tripoli." In Trump's case, only the beginning of Trump's story is similar to Carter's. After the U.S. embassy in Iraq was attacked, American troops fought back and held the position. Soleimani arrived to organize the terrorists and was killed in a U.S. drone attack. Trump understands the lessons from the above examples. Get a reputation for responding to bullies, and they will leave you alone. Better yet, threaten to kill not just the soldiers, but the leaders, too. They will not react with anger. They will react with fear. A North Carolina man was arrested as he tried to enter the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May with an assault rifle, handgun, body armor and ammunition, authorities said Friday. Dustin A. Peters, 25, of Wilmington, came to the base to attend a graduation ceremony Thursday and his vehicle underwent a routine security check a facility entrance, according to the Cape May County Prosecutors Office. During the check, Coast Guard security personnel saw Peters had hollow point ammunition, according to a statement from the prosecutors office. An additional check turned up a handgun. Upon further investigation, Peters was found to be in possession of an illegal assault weapon, numerous high capacity magazines for this weapon, body armor, and many rounds of ammunition, authorities said in the statement. Authorities did not say why Peters allegedly had the weapons and ammunition. The Coast Guard said it was working with local and federal authorities, and cooperating in the continuing investigation. The safety of our members and the public continues to be our highest priority. The Coast Guard has no reason to believe that this individual is a threat to the command or local community and we will continue to work to keep our community safe," a statement from the training center said. The FBI was notified and responded to assist due to the types of weapons and ammunition found, and that the incident occurred at a military base, according to authorities. Peters was charged with various weapons offenses, including unlawful possession of a machine gun, possession of an assault firearm, possession of a prohibited weapon and ten counts of possession of high capacity ammunition magazines. He was being held at the Cape May County jail. 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. Brexit or, in the U.K., Brexit: The Uncivil War is now showing on HBO. I started watching it at 12:30 a.m. two nights ago and, inevitably, I continued doing so until well after 2:00 a.m. I strongly urge even those who think they are thoroughly bored with Brexit in the real world to search for it. My own amateur view Kyle Smith, please stop reading here is that its the best political movie since The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Of course, its somewhat more realistic. Its got a clever and witty screenplay by one of Britains best new playwrights, James Graham, who has made a specialty of plays and screenplays about politics and who, though neither a Tory nor a Brexiteer, isnt possessed by the vitriolic hatred of both groups that disables most minds in theater and television. Its director, Toby Haynes, moves it along at a cracking pace that is nonetheless never confusing. And it contains mostly good and some outstanding performances, in particular Rory Kinnear (familiar from Bond movies) as the Remain campaigns chief strategist, Craig Oliver, and Benedict Cumberbatch as the Leave campaigns presiding genius, Dominic Cummings, now installed at 10 Downing Street as Boris Johnsons main adviser. Their rivalry is played out in several scenes that show how Cummingss discovery through data mining of a new kind of voter one alienated from politics who hasnt voted before gradually undermines Olivers strategy of appealing to blocs of regular voters with known preferences and more-predictable reactions. Cummings arouses the sleeping abstainers, who feel that political parties ignore and despise them, with a message that they can recover the democratic power they once had by bringing it back from Brussels to Westminster. His slogan is a brilliantly simple one: Take Back Control. Two fictional scenes in particular show this. In one, Cummings is listening to voters tell of how their district has fallen into decay as its industries moved away when he hears their complaints in his head as if they were a loud subterranean sound growing in volume. Sensing something important and trying to grasp it, he gets up, leaves the house, walks into the street, and puts his head wonderingly to the roadside. It lacks only the proper soundtrack. In the second scene a frustrated Oliver intervenes in a focus group to explain to one of Cummingss alienated voters that she doesnt understand whats really at stake, only for her to break down, experiencing his arguments as the familiar condescension of political elites deaf to her feelings and opinions. Story continues As these scenes suggest, Brexit the television movie greatly (and necessarily) simplifies the ball of wool tangled with a spiders web that was the Brexit campaign in real life. By narrowing its vision to the battle between the two official campaigns and their leading figures, it either ignores or downgrades the importance of the main political figures on both sides and the influence of the print and broadcast media. Among those who get short shrift from the movie are Prime Minister David Cameron (hes there as a voice on the phone), Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Daniel Hannan, and Nigel Farage the last two in particular could sue for libel. Both played brave and important roles, first in getting a Brexit referendum called, then in pushing it over the finish line (or lines, since others were drawn after the result). In this telling they are reduced respectively to an amiable sidekick of the Cummings campaign and a loudmouthed and bigoted clown on the sidelines. But thats less wounding than it might be, since all the characters play second or even third fiddle, either to Cummings or to Oliver. Their relationship to each other is a more subtle one. Cummings is the winner of the referendum and the hero of the screenplay. Played by Cumberbatch as a flamboyantly autistic loner, he dominates the movie whenever hes on the screen. The scene where hes summoned by the Leave campaign board to be fired, only to reverse the coup and fire the campaign chairman instead, is a political anoraks daydream (an anorak, named after the types favorite garment, is someone who is obsessive and anti-social). Oliver is played by Kinnear with a kind of decent but baffled charisma that reflects the screenplays own sympathies not altogether surprisingly, since he was the films technical adviser. Oliver may lose the referendum, but he wins its interpretation here. In a fictional scene, the two men meet just before voting day over a drink. Both agree that Cummings has aroused spirits from the vasty deep that now rampage through the land with, as Oliver warns, dangerously unpredictable results. A final scene apparently endorses that warning: Appearing before an investigative committee of some kind, Cummings concedes that the referendum has unleashed political chaos, disorder, and irresponsibility but blames it on the failure of the politicians to make good use of the popular (and populist) energies now in politics. Since I am about to argue that Brexit: The Uncivil War gets one very important thing wrong, let me begin by mentioning two things (missed by most political commentators at the time) it gets damn right, and one it gets half-right. First, it clearly identifies the essential clash in the referendum: Remain argued that Brexit would mean economic disaster; Leave argued that rejecting Brexit would definitively entrench Britains loss of sovereignty to Brussels. It was prosperity versus sovereignty as simple as that and sovereignty won. The voters took back control. That result was unexpected in part because the media shared the Remain view that sovereignty was a fake issue and were as slow as Oliver in reacting to it. Neither they nor Remain ever developed an effective counter to Take Back Control. It proved to be a crucial weakness. Second, the film realizes as it follows Cummingss own voyage of discovery that the Brexit outcome was the result neither of an internal Tory maneuver to keep its Eurosceptic backbenchers happy nor of Russian cyber-warfare, nor even of mysterious data manipulation financed by American billionaires (though it flirts with the last temptation). That outcome had been gradually building for decades. When I looked at opinion-poll surveys from the first Euro-referendum onward, I found that voters who wanted to leave the EU had been a settled, substantial minority all the time from 1975 to 2016, rising in later years to a plurality. Cummings did not invent the alienated voter; he discovered how numerous that voter was and set out to contact him. Given the 5248 split result between Leavers and Remainers, the millions of forgotten voters provided more than the winning margin. But the third point which is also the movies endpoint, where Cummings concedes that he has stirred up dangerous passions leading to irresponsible and unstable politics is an accurate picture of the situation except in two respects: It misidentifies the impassioned mobs creating chaos and mistakes a short period of political realignment for a permanent political disorder. It is, in a word, dated. That is not a sneer but a precise criticism. The films seemingly final outcome describes Britains politics from July 2017, when Theresa May lost the Tory majority in Parliament, to December 12, 2019, when Boris Johnson won a majority of 80. In those 29 months, the MPs in all parties who privately opposed Brexit a shifting majority, larger or smaller depending on circumstance and how far party discipline had broken down gradually came to think that they could dilute or defeat Brexit by parliamentary tactics and legal maneuvers. They were supported in these aims by a majority of the House of Lords and, outside Parliament, by the BBC, industry, the City of London, the labor unions, the universities, The Economist, the Financial Times, the Times, the Guardian, most pundits and political correspondents, and a large majority of the Great and Good in establishment bodies. And the expectation in all these circles the Remainer narrative, you might say was that this impressive coalition was likely to prevail and to restore a more civilized order to politics. It was during these months that the film was written, produced, and in January 2019 released in the U.K. But what happened as 2019 proceeded turned these expectations on their heads. Turmoil, instability, the breaking of rules, and a bonfire of precedents occurred almost daily, but it was on the Remainer side that these unruly passions held sway. The Commons speaker openly abandoned impartiality and issued rulings hostile to Brexit that his expert clerk advisers warned strongly against. With his connivance, a shifting cross-party coalition of backbenchers seized control of the parliamentary agenda to compel government actions for which they were not constitutionally accountable. Cabinet ministers voted against government measures, thereby violating the rule of collective responsibility, but remained in office. The House of Lords threw aside its deference to the democratic lower house and blocked Brexit legislation. If there was a mob to be seen, it was one clad in ermine robes and lawyers wigs. The net effect was a growing public dissatisfaction with a Remainer Parliament that seemed to promise parliamentary chicanery and political instability without end or at least until an election, which most MPs fearfully opposed. How did the sweaty masses on the Leave side respond to this? They remained impressively stable and responsible in their commitment to leaving the EU. The opinion polls registered only minor shifts between the two voting blocs. And their specifically political reactions were a model of democracy from Civics 101. On the Tory side, junior ministers resigned from office, 118 Tory backbenchers voted no confidence in Theresa May, and activists in the country responded to the May governments proposed withdrawal agreement by passing resolutions calling on ministers to change policy. Labours Leave minority, mainly in blue-collar constituencies, had fewer effective means of protest in a party drifting toward Remain. They resisted the drift, resenting especially that their party was opposing a democratic mandate, but Labour was leaving them socially and ideologically. Then Nigel Farage gave Brexiteers in all parties a vehicle for protest when he founded the Brexit party and won the largest vote share in the European elections, reducing the Tories to 8 percent and Labour to a hardly much better 17 percent. All these developments unsettled tribal party loyalties and speeded up what was starting to look like a realignment. Threatened by a national Tory vote of no confidence, May resigned. Boris Johnson then won the Tory leadership, formed a government united on a Brexit platform, expelled hardened anti-Brexit rebels, and demanded a general election to overcome the parliamentary stalemate. Jeremy Corbyn was dragged, equivocating heroically, into endorsing a second referendum and losing the workers. And, yielding in part to a public desire to get Brexit over (as much as done), Labour and the Lib-Dems capitulated to pressure from Boris and voted for an election that the Tories won handsomely. All the events listed in the two paragraphs above happened after the Brexit film was released. They paint a slightly different picture from the films conclusion; for starters, rather than responding grumpily to a committee of political critics, Dominic Cummings is sitting in Downing Street drawing up plans for the reorganization of the civil service. Instead of an atmosphere of chaos and instability, there is a widespread sense (which may turn out to be illusory we cant foresee the future) that the period between the 2017 and 2019 elections was not turbulent without meaning but the start of a necessary political realignment: The new wine of Leave and Remain is being poured into the old bottles of Tory and Labour (where the old wine increasingly tasted complex but sour). A strong democratic impulse, liberated by the Brexit surprise, has defeated a ruthless antidemocratic resistance without resorting to its opponents procedural trickeries. And the size of that victory has persuaded all but the most fanatical of those opponents to accept their defeat while seeking to make it as tolerable as possible for them and their causes. As a result, we have a very paradoxical situation: A stable Tory government with a strong majority presides with apparent comfort over a politics in ferment workers going right, lawyers moving left, Blue Labour theorists seeing the Tories as the party of labor (which Labour has abandoned to embrace workless welfare instead), democracy ceasing to be everybodys favorite goddess since we no longer agree on what she looks like, nationalists in Scotland demanding to be ruled from Brussels because London is too remote to care, bitter battles between traditional feminists and transgender activists . . . and any number of other novelties. To these post-Brexit political trends I will return. But you can find a thorough discussion of Boriss victory and its likely consequences between Tim Montgomerie, the founder of the website Conservative Home, and me here. Meanwhile, as Wolcott Gibbs concluded his Time magazine parody in The New Yorker: Where it all will end, knows God. More from National Review Google Maps An alleged shoplifter was killed Thursday afternoon in the HOV lanes of Interstate 45 while running from a security guard, according to police. It's unclear whether the person was a man or woman. The security guard reportedly witnessed the person stealing from a Five Below store in Northline Commons shopping center near Interstate 45 and Crosstimbers. The Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran and killed 176 people on board was probably brought down by an Iranian missile, Western leaders say. The leaders of Canada and the UK called for a full and thorough investigation into the crash, a BBC report said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had received intelligence from multiple sources indicating that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, adding that it was possible that this was unintentional. A total of 63 Canadians were on the flight, along with dozens of others who were expecting to fly on to Toronto from Kyiv. Iran has ruled out a missile strike by its air defences. The crash came just hours after Iran carried out missile strikes on two airbases housing US forces in Iraq. US media have speculated that the timing of the crash suggests the plane may have been mistaken for a US warplane as Iran prepared for possible US retaliation for the strikes. CBS News quoted US intelligence sources as saying a satellite detected infrared "blips" of two missile launches, followed by another blip of an explosion. Meanwhile, Newsweek quoted a Pentagon and senior US intelligence officials, as well as an Iraqi intelligence official, as saying they believed Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was hit by a Russian-made Tor missile. Iran had initially said it would not hand over the recovered black box flight recorders to Boeing, the plane's manufacturer, or to the US. However, an Iranian official later told Reuters the US had been formally invited to take part in the investigation, and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed it had assigned an investigator. Powersharing is set to return to Northern Ireland after Sinn Fein joined the DUP leadership in backing a deal to re-enter devolved government together. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said a draft agreement tabled by the UK and Irish governments provided a basis to resurrect parliamentary institutions that have been down for three years. The announcement came after a day of internal deliberations by the republican party. It followed a similar announcement by DUP leader Arlene Foster on Thursday night minutes after the text of governments proposals were published. Nurses and supporters on the picket line at Belfasts Royal Victoria Hospital (Liam McBurney/PA) There has been no confirmation when the Assembly will officially resume business and a new first and deputy first minister will be elected, but it could be as soon as Saturday. We now have the basis to restore power sharing, and were up for that, said Ms McDonald. Theres no doubt there are serious challenges ahead; the impact of Brexit, austerity and other pressing issues. But the biggest and most significant challenge will be ensuring we have genuine power sharing build on equality, respect and integrity. I believe that the powersharing government can work. That requires everyone to step up. Sinn Feins commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. The wide-ranging deal, which was published by the governments on Thursday night, contains compromise solutions to the vexed disputes at the heart of the 36-month powersharing impasse, such as legislative provisions for Irish language speakers. Ms McDonald responded to those Irish language activists disappointed with provisions outlined in the deal. She insisted the New Decade, New Approach agreement was only a start, predicting that more gains for language would come in the future. I would say to Irish language activists take heart from the fact that this is now an historic moment because for the first time we have official recognition, she said. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald (centre), and deputy leader Michelle ONeill (centre right) with party colleagues speak to the media at Stormont (Brian Lawless/PA) The deal includes what the UK government has promised will be a major Treasury-funded financial package to tackle a host of acute problems facing a public sector that has been floundering amid the governance vacuum. One of the most high profile of those is a high-profile industrial dispute in the health service which on Friday saw nurses again walk out on strike. Under the terms of the deal, the new executive will also take action to reduce spiralling hospital waiting lists; extend mitigation payments for benefit claimants hit by welfare reforms; increase the number of police officers on the beat; and resolve an industrial dispute involving teachers. Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said history has been made after the restoration of government in Northern Ireland. Speaking to reporters in Dublin, he said: History is being made today. We now have confirmation from the two largest parties in Northern Ireland that they both are committed to re-entering an executive and establishing a functioning Stormont again. Of course, that is not the end of the story as we want this to be an all-party executive so I hope that the Alliance Party and SDLP will also be able to join Sinn Fein and the DUP in that new executive. I congratulate those in Northern Ireland who have worked to reach agreement to allow a return to power sharing at Stormont. The Good Friday Agreement and peace process in Northern Ireland is a proud Labour legacy we are committed to support and protect. Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 10, 2020 The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition government collapsed in January 2017 over a row about a botched green energy scheme. That row subsequently widened to take in more traditional wrangles on matters such as the Irish language and the thorny legacy of the Troubles. Meanwhile, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it was time to get down to work and deliver for the public. He said his party was ready to go into the chamber to commence Assembly business on Friday night. We have had big commitments from the two governments and other parties to ensure that the things that we are concerned about actually get done in this executive, he said. Thats why we have taken the decision, as a party, to go into government to make sure that we can deliver for the people we are concerned about. We will go in, probably sceptically, but we will go in and we will do our best to deliver for the public. Mr Eastwood was non-committal on who might be his partys nomination for its one ministerial portfolio, or which departmental brief it would like to occupy. This story was updated at 6.25pm. Indias tier-2 cities are developing rapidly and are home to several industrial clusters and startup hubs, particularly in the IT, manufacturing, and export sectors. Termed as the reversal of talent movement, many urban professionals in India are relocating to tier-2 cities to seek better career opportunities, benefit from lower living costs, and now access cleaner air. Several multinational companies, including HCL, Infosys, Wipro, and Ericsson have expanded their operations in tier-2 cities due to the availability of talent, infrastructure, cheaper real estate, and low cost of setting up. Tier-2 cities have emerged as a strong base for industrial clusters and startup incubators in India, leading to the emergence of new IT and manufacturing hubs. Many multinational companies (MNCs) have expanded their operations to these cities due to the increasing availability of talent, low cost of setting up, competitive wage rates, affordable real estate, and lower operational costs. Further, it is important to note that Indian cities are classified into tiers tier-1, 2, and 3 based on their population size, and this may not necessarily indicate their level of economic development. In the last three to five years, many of these cities have become preferred destinations for urban professionals in India as they value the conditions of livability cleaner air and green environment over some of the concrete benefits of tier-1 cities. However, tier-2 cities are also themselves expanding and improving their transport connectivity and infrastructure further proving attractive to both businesses and talents. On their part, organizations setting up in tier-2 cities save on costs as salary structures can be more competitive and the cost to company (CTC) per employee is less than in tier-1 cities. Employees, too, save more due to cheaper living costs. According to the Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey (EITEOS) conducted in December 2019, employers in tier-2 cities, such as Chandigarh and Jaipur are looking to hire more IT talent in the near term. In this article we spotlight the top five tier-2 cities foreign entities should be looking at when making their hiring decisions. This list is based on the analysis provided by the LinkedIn India Workforce Report 2018 and other surveys conducted by career and recruitment platforms in India. 1. Chandigarh Chandigarh, a union territory of India, is the joint capital of the northern states of Punjab and Haryana. It is Indias first planned city, and has a strong transport network, established industrial townships, and is a hub for commercial and business activity. Chandigarh is ranked at the top along with Kerala in Niti Aayogs SDG India Index, which evaluates the progress of states and union territories based on social, economic, and environmental parameters. Major legacy industries based here include tourism, hospitality, food products, wood products, furniture, textiles, art silk hosiery, and machinery. While there are many job opportunities in these industries, hiring in the following sectors has significantly improved engineering, manufacturing, automobile, and banking. Recruiters in Chandigarh often look for professionals in the field of accounting, finance, customer service, and administration. According to a November 2019 survey by job portal TimesJobs, most jobs in India were posted for the Delhi-NCR region followed by Chandigarh. In the last two years, the city has also become home to start-ups and co-working spaces, indicating that Indias tier-2 cities are capable of providing key technological and economical support for organizations to thrive. Chandigarh has several educational institutions that cater to talent development in the city. These include Panjab University, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Punjab Engineering College, Post Graduate Government College, and DAV College. Major MNCs that have a presence in Chandigarh include Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Dell Technologies, HDFC Bank, Airtel, HCL, Kotak Mahindra, OYO, Wipro, Uber, Vodafone, Ericsson, and Marriott International. 2. Vadodara The third largest city in the state of Gujarat, Vadodara was on the list of the top 10 Indian cities attracting talent, according to the LinkedIn India Workforce Report. Major industries in the city are petrochemicals, engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, IT, and foreign exchange services. According to a survey by jobs portal monster.com from August 2019, hiring in Vadodara went up by 11 percent in the first half of 2019. Talent recruitment is high for IT, civil, and mechanical engineers, web developers, and quality assurance managers and in the pharmaceutical sector. The University of Baroda, Indian Institute of Information Technology, GSFC University, Baroda Medical College, Vadodara Institute of Engineering, and Manubhai Patel Dental College are some of the leading educational institutions situated in the city. These institutions have been keenly investing in their infrastructure and academic staff to establish Vadodara as a center of learning and to attract students from around the country and abroad. This move will help organizations pick the best talent from a diversifying candidate pool. Some of the reputed MNCs that have set up in Vadodara include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Larsen & Toubro, Nielsen, ABB, Mastercard, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Indian Oil, GE, Hero MotoCorp, General Motors, and Cadila Pharmaceuticals. 3. Jaipur Capital of the state of Rajasthan, Jaipur is an important micro, small, and medium enterprises (SME) cluster in north India. Established industries in the area include tourism, textile, food and beverages, tobacco, mining, automobiles and bicycles manufacturing, and gems and jewelry. However, in recent years, Jaipur has been pushing to develop into an IT hub in the country and received approval in 2018 to set up an IT/ITeS SEZ. In terms of hiring, the top sectors are IT, travel and tourism, outsourcing services, financial services, and mining industries, particularly for entry level and middle management positions. According to LinkedIns India Workforce Report 2018, Jaipur is among the top 10 destinations for job seekers who are looking to immigrate to another city to find career opportunities. (Apart from Jaipur, Chandigarh and Vadodara are also mentioned in this list.) The availability of a skilled workforce is facilitated by the presence of reputed higher educational institutions. Major institutions include the University of Rajasthan, IIS University, Manipal University, National Institute of Agricultural Management, Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur National University, and Malviya National Institute of Technology. Prominent MNCs based here include Genpact, Infosys, Deutsche Bank, Ericsson, HCL, MetLife, Vodafone, OYO, Amazon, ITC, Honda, Trimax, and Jio. 4. Lucknow Lucknow, the capital of Indias most populous state Uttar Pradesh, is a renowned historical cultural center. However, over the last six years, it has been steadily evolving into a successful IT hub. This is due to major investments made by leading technology MNCs TCS and HCL Technologies. As of 2016, HCL had committed to invest about INR 1,500 crore (US$15 billion) to developing an IT city in Lucknow. The project is classified as under establishing a special economic zone (SEZ) and aims to be a sustainable technology hub. It is expected that the SEZ will create approximately 25,000 job opportunities. Apart from IT, other important industries in Lucknow include aeronautics, automobile, machine tools, distillery chemicals, and furniture. Top hiring sectors are manufacturing, engineering, IT, telecom, FMCG, and real estate. In terms of the talent force available, the countrys premier business and management institute, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), has a branch here. Other premier educational institutions in the city are University of Lucknow, Bahasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Amity University, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, King Georges Medical University, and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences. Major MNCs with a presence in Lucknow are HCL, TCS, Tata Motors, Airtel, Vodafone, ITC, OYO, Wipro, Ericsson, Nokia, Amazon, Nuance, Cipla, Nestle, and Abbott. 5. Kochi (Cochin) Kochi (also known as Cochin), an important port city in the southern most state of Kerala, is another tier-2 city that has fast become an IT hub. The state government has established an info park that houses 392 companies, including major MNCS like TCS, HCL, Wipro, Ernst & Young, and Cognizant, which employed around 42,000 professionals as of 2018. Since Kochi is a port city, its main industries include seafood and spices export, shipping, and shipbuilding. Other key industries are manufacturing, health services, banking, chemical industries, and construction. When it comes to major hiring sectors, jobs in the field of banking, marketing, retail, insurance, finance, manufacturing, and construction are in high demand. It is also expected that tier-2 cities like Kochi will slowly develop into start-up hubs, resulting in the creation of more dispersed regional jobs and investment opportunities. Reputed educational institutions in the city include Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin College, St. Teresas College, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Rajagiri Business School, and SCMS School of Technology and Management. Moreover, the state of Kerala also holds the highest literacy rate (93 percent) in India, providing organizations recruiting in the region with highly qualified candidates for their job postings. Prominent MNCs with a presence in Kochi include TCS, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Wipro, Ernst & Young, Fingent, IBS Software, KPMG, Xerox, IBS Software Services, and Avaya. Flash Honduran authorities have detained seven undocumented migrants, including four Iranians, who were attempting to reach the United States, the National Immigration Institute said Thursday. Along with the Iranian citizens, two Yemeni nationals and a Somalian were stopped by immigration officials in southern Choluteca department and taken to a migrant detention center in the capital Tegucigalpa, said Julian Hernandez, the director of border police. Honduran authorities have contacted the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa and the Transnational Criminal Investigation Unit, a department of the Police Investigation Bureau, to look into the matter, said Hernandez. Honduras lies on the migrant path toward the United States used by many undocumented migrants from other Central American countries, as well as Cuba and South America. Tensions between the United States and Iran were running high this week, after Washington's drone attack killed a top Iranian general. A key Boeing 737 Max supplier said Friday that it is planning to cut about 2,800 jobs as the planes remain grounded far longer than expected and the financial impact ripples through the aerospace company's supply chain. Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit Aerosystems, which produces fuselages for the beleaguered planes, said it made the decision due to uncertainty around the Max's return to service. The company's shares fell after its announcement, trading down 2.7%. Boeing was off nearly 1.5%. The 737 Max accounts for half of Spirit's revenue. The planes have been grounded since mid-March after the second of two fatal crashes one in Indonesia in 2018 and another in Ethiopia nearly five months later killed all 346 people on board the flights. Regulators haven't said when they would allow the planes to fly again. An Australian navy helicopter flys to help fight the countrys wildfires (Able Seaman Thomas Sawtell/ADF/AP) Communities across Australias fire-ravaged south-east were bracing for a long day of mounting danger on Friday as thousands abandoned their homes for evacuation centres. Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies to towns at risk of being isolated by blazes fanned by rising winds. The danger is centred on New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, Australias most populous states, where temperatures and wind speeds are escalating after a few days of relatively benign conditions. The NSW Rural Fire Service has warned that coastal towns south of Sydney including Eden, Batemans Bay and Nowra could again be under threat weeks after losing homes to the fires. Expand Close Firefighters manage a controlled burn in Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Firefighters manage a controlled burn in Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) We want people out (and) into safer places, Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters. In neighbouring Victoria, evacuation orders were issued in alpine areas. State Premier Daniel Andrews pleaded with residents to evacuate fire-danger areas when alerts were issued. If it is safe to get out, then you must get out. That is the only way to guarantee your safety, he said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australian military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies. Ive given them very clear instructions that they are to stand ready to move and support immediately, he said. In the event that they are needed in the wake of what we hope we will not see today, but we must prepare for today. The military has already been involved in the unfolding crisis by clearing roads closed by fallen trees, burying dead cattle and sheep and providing fodder to surviving livestock. This fire has its own agenda. In some ways, I nearly think its got a brain Doug Schutz Temperatures in the threatened area were expected to reach into the mid-40s Celsius (more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, and conditions remained tinder dry. The unprecedented fire crisis in south-east Australia has claimed at least 26 lives and destroyed more than 2,000 homes since September and has focused many Australians on how the nation adapts to climate change. Mr Morrison has come under blistering criticism for downplaying the need for his government to address climate change, which experts say helps supercharge the blazes. Asked whether he expected fire emergencies of the same magnitude to become more common in the future with climate change, Mr Morrison did not give a direct answer. Therell be the reviews that take place as youd expect and Ive indicated in response to questions that well be working closely with state and territory authorities on how theyre undertaken, he told reporters. The links and implications here have been acknowledged. Mr Morrison brushed off criticism over what many Australians perceive as a slow, detached response to the crisis. What weve got here is the single largest federal response to a bushfire disaster nationally that the country has ever seen, he said. The governments responding to an unprecedented crisis with an unprecedented level of support. Doug Schutz, who began volunteering with the Rural Fire Service 53 years ago, at the age of 13, said the current danger seemed different to wildfires in the past. Ive lived here all my life, and seen a lot of fires. And this one just doesnt want to do what its supposed to do, the captain of Tomerong brigade south of Sydney said. This fire has its own agenda. In some ways, I nearly think its got a brain. When you think youve got a handle on it, it will sneak around the back door and bite you on the bum. TORONTO - GFL Environmental Inc. says it has reached a deal to buy Michigan-based American Waste for US$380 million. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The logo for GFL Environmental Inc. is shown in a handout. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO TORONTO - GFL Environmental Inc. says it has reached a deal to buy Michigan-based American Waste for US$380 million. The Toronto-area company says in U.S. regulatory filings that the deal includes US$360 million in cash plus US$20 million in non-voting shares. GFL says management from American Waste will stay on to manage the businesses in Michigan and Pennsylvania. American Waste is one of several acquisitions GFL has made in recent months, including County Waste of Virginia, AGI Group of Companies, and the Soil Safe group of companies. GFL launched a public offering last fall but ended up shelving it. Headquartered in Vaughan, Ont., GFL has environmental services operations across Canada and in 23 states in the U.S. and a workforce of more than 11,000 employees. ALBANY, NY -- It may be one of the few taxes in which New York states bite doesnt rank among the nations highest. Now, some New York City lawmakers want to more than double the states beer excise tax to provide more money for the State University of New York system. The excise tax, paid by beer distributors, is currently 14 cents per gallon. Bills introduced ahead of the upcoming State Legislature session would raise that to 30 cents per gallon (that matches the states current excise tax on wine). The Assembly sponsor of the bill, Brooklyn Democrat Harvey Epstein, estimates the increased beer tax would boost the states revenues from about $45 million to $96 million per year. Epsteins bill would direct the added revenue to support both SUNY and CUNY (the City University of New York). Epsteins bill memo notes that New Yorks beer tax is among the lowest in the nation. It ranks 39th in the United States according to the Tax Foundation, an independent group in Washington. Tennessee has the highest beer excise tax at $1.29. At 30 cents per gallon, the new New York tax would still fall below the nationwide average of 33 cents per gallon. (The excise tax is a business tax -- this proposal has no impact on the sales tax consumers pay when buying beer). This bill raises the beer tax to the same level of the states modest wine tax of $0.30 per gallon, bringing it in line with the majority of other states beer taxes and providing a revenue stream for the State University of New York and the City University of New York, according to the bill memo. But New Yorks brewery industry, which has experienced a huge boom in the past decade, opposes the plan. Right now we have the second highest number of breweries in the country and were in the top 5 for the economic impact in our state, said Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association. It doesnt make sense to increase the tax on a successful industry that is still growing to support another." New Yorks breweries, most of them small mom and pop operation, currently reinvest much of their revenue into their businesses, allowing them to add employees and expand, Leone said. This tax on business will absolutely cost jobs and slow the industry, he said. Leone was careful to point out that brewers are not necessarily against more funding for SUNY, but they dont believe this is the right approach. The brewers association lobbied successfully last year to block two bills that would have boosted beer taxes, Leone said. The new bill has a sponsor in the Senate, but has not been endorsed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo has made it a point in the last several years to reduce taxes, fees and regulations on the states alcoholic craft beverage industry. New York states brewery count surged from less than 100 at the beginning of the decade to more than 450 in 2019. Cuomo, in his State of the State address this week, backed new initiatives that are friendly to the alcohol industry, including a plan to allow beer, wine and spirits sales at movie theaters. The state is facing a projected $6 billion budget deficit in the upcoming year. Related: -- The top drinks trends of the 2010s,and how they played out in CNY -- 2019s top beers: Light, lite and lighter Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. North Chinas Tianjin and the city of Anyang in Central Chinas Henan province both reported two new cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant over the weekend. Both cities have launched new rounds of mass testing and designated more Covid-19 risk areas to control the spread of the virus Jan 10, 2022 06:18 PM Kosovar President Hashim Thaci has sent an open letter to Albin Kurti, the leader of the Self-Determination Movement (Vetevendosje), asking him to name a candidate for prime minister or clarify whether his party refuses to do so. As president, I am obligated to take action without further delay following all constitutional steps so that citizens of the Republic of Kosovo can have a government as soon as possible," Thaci wrote in a letter published by local media. Kurti's Vetevendosje party emerged with a plurality of 26 percent in the October election that upset entrenched allies of Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army commander, but still won only 29 seats in the 120-seat legislature. Coalition talks with the second-place finisher, the center-right opposition Democratic League (LDK) with 28 seats, reportedly stalled over government posts and a unified choice to defeat Thaci's likely reelection bid in 2021. Thaci and Kurti met on January 6, but the Vetevendosje chief failed to propose a candidate to lead the government. After the meeting, Thaci gave Kurti and his party 48 hours to nominate a prime minister. Kurti has said that his party will advance a name within days but that hasn't happened so far. The failure to form a government and Thaci's warning of a "constitutional crisis" highlight the political stakes in Europe's newest state since voters signaled a possible end to more than a decade of leadership from the ranks of former independence fighters. Kosovo has been recognized by more than 110 states since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, but continues to face diplomatic and institutional hurdles stemming from nonrecognition by Serbia, Russia, and a handful of European Union states. Talks on normalizing diplomatic relations with Serbia were derailed in 2018 by Pristina's imposition of 100-percent tariffs on Serbian goods in response to Belgrade's continued lobbying for countries to reverse their recognition of Kosovo. International hopes on restarting those talks -- potentially leading to UN recognition for Kosovo and clearing other obstacles -- appear pinned on the next government. Thaci said in November that dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade on normalizing ties should continue "without any conditionality." Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said the Delhi Police's ongoing probe into the January 5 violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University has made it clear that students affiliated to Left-wing bodies were involved in the incident. Javadekar, who is BJP's in-charge for the upcoming Delhi polls, said the revelation by the police was "very important" as a "malafide" campaign was being run to malign the party's student outfit Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He also attacked the Congress, CPI, CPI(M) and AAP, saying these parties were "using students for their interests as they were frustrated after their defeat in the Lok Sabha polls". The AAP had earlier blamed the BJP of having "mastery in fuelling riots" and raising such issues before elections. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor too accused the BJP of seeking to polarise voters before elections through incidents of violence. Javadekar also appealed to the agitating JNU students to end the stir and allow academic session to commence. The Delhi Police on Friday named nine suspects involved in the violence, claiming that seven of them belong to Left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to right-wing students' body. "Today's revelation by the police was very important because a malafide campaign was launched 3-4 days ago, painting ABVP in black as the only culprit," Javadekar told reporters. "But, now it is known that CPI and CPI (M) student organisations and JNU Students' Union have done it (violence) after planning. They destroyed server of the university to stop registration of students, disabled CCTV cameras, and hit students in Periyar hostel," the minister alleged. Javadekar said the students should not allow them to be "used" by political parties for their vested interests. He appealed to the students to end their stir so that the new semester could begin. He said the students should care for wishes of their parents who have sent them for good at the prestigious university. "I appeal for beginning the academic session peacefully. The students may raise their demands, but allowing the political parties to use them is wrong. We condemn violence. Students may agitate but physical violence is wrong. We also participated in students politics but it should not be violent," Javadekar said. He also asked political parties not to "misuse" students in their politics and held leaders of the Left, Congress and AAP "responsible" for "instigating" them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New York: An Indian call centre operator has admitted before a US court that he ran a multi-million dollar scam that had employees in India pretend to be US officials and extort money from people in America. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, 43, who used the alias Hitesh Hinglaj, made the admission in a federal court in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, according to the Justice Department. Federal Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas accepted his admission of guilt and set sentencing for April 3, when he could face a maximum prison term of 20 years. Patel admitted that he swindled between $25 million and $65 million based on the government's evidence against him,Athe Department said. "Hitesh Patel played a prominent role in this massive, India-based fraud scheme that bilked vulnerable Americans out of millions of dollars," said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski. Such frauds are widespread and the deluge of calls they make to Americans are undermining the credibility of the Indian back office industry and the reputation of India. Patel was arrested by Singapore authorities when he flew there from India and extradited to the US in April. Under a method known as pleading guilty that is followed in the US judicial system, an accused person can admit to crimes and this is usually done when there is overwhelming against the person. In return, prosecutors may offer leniency to the accused as the burden of a lengthy and costly trial is avoided. Patel pleaded guilty to a string of charges including money laundering, conspiracy, impersonation of a federal officer and illegal electronic money transfer, the Justice Department said. Under the scam by Patel, who was based in Ahmedabad, persons at his call centres pretending to be US immigration or tax officials threatened people in the US with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not immediately pay money that they claimed were owed to the government, the Department said. The victims were told to buy gift cards or other kinds of cards with monetary value and provide the scammers with information to cash them, or to wire them money. The call centres would then have a network of US-based "runners" collect the money and launder them, according to the Department. One of the call centres was HGLOBAL, the Department said, adding that according to a co-accused, Patel was arrested in India in 2016, but paid a bribe and was released. Twenty-four persons involved in the scam have been convicted in federal courts and sentenced to various prison terms with a maximum of 20 years. Some of them also face deportation and one had US citizenship revoked for immigration fraud. Some people based in India who were allegedly involved in the scam have charges filed against them and are still wanted by US authorities. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) The Algerian government has described as a provocative move the opening by the sovereign State of Gambia of a Consulate General in the southern Moroccan city of Dakhla, though the Algerian rulers have always claimed an observer status and proclaimed their neutrality in the Western Sahara conflict. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Algerian Foreign Affairs Ministry labeled Banjuls decision as a unilateral and provocative act that undermines the UN-led process for the resolution of the Western Sahara issue, while the UN itself has not said a word neither on the new Gambian initiative nor on the opening on December 19 of a first Consulate General by the Comoros Islands in the Moroccan Saharan city of Laayoune. Always in the name of neutrality in the Sahara issue and as the unconditional sponsor of the Polisario group, which has not yet reacted, the Foreign department of Sabri Boukadoum attacked Morocco, another sovereign State, saying that this unilateral move will not undermine or disrupt the ongoing decolonization process of Western Sahara. In December, Algerian authorities used the same wording against the opening of a consular representation of the Comoros Islands in Laayoune. The Algerian rulers should look back into Moroccos thousand-year-old history, an era during which Greater Morocco included the desert regions extending to the Senegal River . The legitimacy of the Algerian rulers has been strongly challenged since the beginning of this year, by the Algerian people who are demanding a radical change of the corrupt system, clinging to power since the countrys independence. Iran vows to retaliate if US seeks to break nuclear deal Missile strike a slap on the face for US: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei International oi-Deepika S Tehran, Jan 08: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the missile attack on US targets in Iraq was "a slap on the face" for the US, and it should now pull its forces out of the region. Khamenei in a televised speech described the missile strikes as a "slap on the face" for Washington. "This region will not accept the presence of America," the leader added. "Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region," he added. '80 American terrorists' killed in Iran missile attack, claims Iran state media General Soleimani, who was considered a terrorist by the US, was killed when a drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the Baghdad International Airport on Friday last week. NEWS AT 3 PM, 8th JANUARY, 2020 The strike also killed the deputy chief of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and some local Iran-backed militias. Khamenei has vowed revenge against the killing of his general, saying "severe revenge awaits the criminals" behind the attack. Iran claims missile strikes on US airbase in Iraq Soleimani was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran after the Supreme Leader Khamenei. His Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the Khamenei and he was hailed as a heroic national figure. Union minister Smriti Irani on Friday cited the information shared by Delhi Police on JNU violence to say that the "Left design" in the varsity has been "unmasked" and accused it of turning the campus into a political battleground. "Left design in JNU unmasked. They led mobs of mayhem, destroyed public property paid for by taxpayers, disallowed new students from being enrolled, used the campus as a political battleground. #LeftBehindJNUViolence becomes public knowledge as Delhi Police releases evidence," the former HRD minister said in a tweet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The owners of Lindgren Craft Brewery in Duncannon are spreading New Year cheer. Clifford and Michael Lindgren, the father-son team behind the startup brewery, announced last week they have found a forever home in Duncannon Borough. The Lindgrens bought the former PNC Bank building at 5 N. Market St. in the borough, which they announced on Jan. 7 via their social media accounts. Theyre planning a pop-up party at the bank on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 4-8 p.m. to have people sample Lindgren beers and give tours of the space before the company begins interior construction work. The party will feature Halifax musician Patrick Cusick performing acoustic classic rock. We want to preserve the historical integrity of the building as much as possible, Michael Lindgren said. They still have to meet with their market and construction consultants to look at the building to determine whats possible versus what the Lindgrens need to do for renovations. But theyre aiming to have construction complete and open the brewery to the public in late summer. Theres a lot more space on the inside than what it looks like from outside, Lindgren said. Lindgren Craft Brewery got started in 2018 with the Lindgrens brewing batches on their family farm in Penn Twp. The municipal government gave them an approval in April of that year to start-up with the condition that no sales or events are conducted at the farm. The Lindgrens have been looking for a permanent location since last year and had their eyes on several possibilities, but a few fell through, they said. This fall, they settled on buying and renovating the former bank building in downtown Duncannon for their brewery and tasting room. The borough council amended its zoning ordinances earlier last year to add a section on breweries that would allow the Lindgrens to locate in town. The community really wants it and is really excited, Lindgren said. Weve had people come to us and say, Thank you for not giving up on Duncannon. Mary-Jane, Clifford and son Michael Lindgren (standing) toast their purchase of the former PNC Bank building on Market Street in Duncannon from inside the bank vault on Jan. 7. It will become Lindgren Craft Brewerys new location this year. (Submitted photo) Once construction is complete, brewery operations will be housed at the Market Street location the historic Duncannon National Bank and will include a restaurant to serve unique food and beer pairings. Lindgren said they are considering bringing an experienced restauranteur on as a partner so they can focus on brewing. How they organize the interior is yet to be determined, he said, but they want patrons to be able to see the brew tanks and process. Brewers are rock stars, so we want them visible to our customers, he said. Jason Simmons, who cut his teeth with Appalachian Brewing Company among others, is Lindgrens head brewer. The brewery and restaurant could hire between 10 and 15 people to start, with potential for employment to grow in coming years. The location mere feet off the Appalachian Trail is ideal for future growth, Lindgren said. Theres a lot of research showing that businesses within a few miles of the trail do well and have a real economic impact for their communities, he said. The Lindgrens sell their beer on tap at local bars and restaurants including Sorrentos in Duncannon, Cluggys in New Bloomfield, and Mastracchios in Newport. They also sell bottled beers at distributors including Newport Beverage, Beer-N-Soda Plus in Halifax, and Westys Beer Distributor in Camp Hill. The Lindgrens have a stand at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, and were conducting home-brew lessons, too. You can learn more about Lindgren Craft Brewery at their website lindgrenbrewery.com, and follow along with their brewing adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Jim T. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com Sandhills, the company behind MachineryTrader.com and many other industry-leading sites, also announces it is now a preferred vendor in the Bobcat Preferred Dealer Website Program. Through this program, dealers can maximize their website presence and gain more leads while growing sales and conversations via an easy-to-use, dynamic platform. Interested in learning more or participating in the program? Sandhills Global will host a webinar about the features and benefits of the Preferred Dealer Website Program on January 16th at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Contact your Sandhills sales representative to register. About Sandhills Global Sandhills Global is an information processing company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our products and services gather, process, and distribute information in the form of trade publications, websites, and online services that connect buyers and sellers across the trucking, agriculture, construction, heavy equipment, aviation, and technology industries. Our integrated, industry-specific approach to hosted technologies and services offers solutions that help businesses large and small operate efficiently and grow securely, cost-effectively, and successfully. Sandhills Globalwe are the cloud. Contact Sandhills www.sandhills.com [email protected] 402-479-2181 SOURCE Sandhills Global Related Links https://www.sandhills.com Burma Taang Rights Group Blames Myanmar Military for Targeting Civilians Displaced civilians in Namtu Township in March 2019. / Tin Maung Thein Yangon More than 200 residents experienced human rights abuses in seven Taang ethnic-majority townships in northern Shan State in 2019, according to Lway Chesanga, the spokeswoman for the Taang Womens Organization (TWO). The organization said villagers suffered from artillery strikes targeting civilian areas and were killed or injured by landmines. They were also abducted, held hostage, used as forced forest guides, tortured, killed and had their homes looted. Most of the human rights abuses were reported in Kutkai, Namhsan, Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships, with a few reported in Namkham, Namtu and Mantong townships, the TWO said. Overall, around 250 people suffered from human rights abuses. Some died, some can no longer work and some went missing, Lway Chesanga told The Irrawaddy. Rape cases were not included because they were difficult to confirm due to limited access to the area, the group said. The Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which is active in the area, is holding talks with the government and Myanmars military over a possible ceasefire agreement together with its allies, the Kachin Independence Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army (AA). However, the Tatmadaw or military has refused to recognize TNLA, MNDAA and AA territory and ceasefire agreements are unlikely while clashes continue. The three groups, citing Myanmars military offensives on them, attacked several targets, including the Defense Services Technological Academy in Pyin Oo Lwin Township, Mandalay Region, in August. They also blew up five bridges in northern Shan State on the trade route to the Chinese border, forcing the Construction Ministry to rebuild them. More clashes have taken place since November last year. The numbers of civilians suffering from rights abuses increased from 70 in July to September to 123 in October to December last year, said the TWO. The organization claimed that homes were looted in clashes and accused Myanmars military of committing most of the rights abuses. The Restoration Council of Shan State and Shan State Progress Party are also active in the area. In Kyaukme Township, numerous tea growers have been killed or lost limbs because of landmines. U Aung Myo Min, director of human rights organization Equality Myanmar, said: Human rights violations have increased in conflict areas. The rule of law and the judicial system are too weak to punish perpetrators of human rights violations. On Nov. 22 last year, Division 88 of Myanmars military briefly abducted 63 residents from Hukhin village-tract in Namhsan Township. The villagers said some were beaten and forced to carry equipment. A civilian was injured when the TNLA, MNDAA and AA fired rockets at the airport, downtown and a military logistics hub in Lashio in northern Shan State on Nov. 16. The situation has got worse and innocent civilians suffer. The insecurity can lead to grave human rights violations. The failure to take action against perpetrators encourages future acts, which is harmful for the country, the judicial system and rule of law, said U Aung Myo Min. The TWO said the threat of landmines meant villagers feared farming or sending their children to school. The two sides blame each other and justice is barely served in many cases. When peoples trust and reliance in the judicial system declines, it can lead to street justice, said U Aung Myo Min. Myanmar is a signatory to the 1949 Geneva Convention, which prohibits targeting civilians or their property. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko You may also like these stories: Myanmar Army Attacks Kachin Independence Army Base Myanmar Military Detains 2 Unarmed RCSS Members at Public Event in Shan State Representative image Delhis Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) registered a dip in passengers in 2019, The Times of India has reported. According to the report, the airports have seen a year-on-year dip in the number of passengers for the first time since 2008. While the Delhi airport saw a fall in domestic carriage, Mumbai airport witnessed a decline in numbers of both domestic and international passengers, it said. There were numerous reasons listed behind the fewer flyers in the year. The biggest one was Jet Airways collapse in April 2019, said the report. Besides, IndiGo and GoAir's Pratt & Whitney (PW) engine troubles for their Airbus A320 Neos and SpiceJet's grounded Boeing 737 Max too contributed in declining the number of passengers. Also read | Jet Airways bid | Receives 2nd EoI days ahead of January 15 deadline, co expects more The result of the dip in flyers kept both the airports deprived of the records they were hoping to achieve in 2019. The Delhi airport had registered 6.98 crore flyers in 2018 and was just two lakh short of the 7-crore annual passenger mark, which it was hoping to touch in the next year. However, DIAL's provisional data for 2019, accessed by the publication, shows it handled 6.8 crore passengers in 2019, which is down by 2.6 percent. Also read | NCLT warns Jet Airways CoC of contempt proceedings In the case of the Mumbai airport, the percentage fell 3.4 percent from 3.5 crore domestic passengers in 2018 to 3.38 crore in 2019. The decline was of 7 percent in international flyers from 1.4 crore in 2018 to 1.3 crore in 2019, the report said. However, the dip has been seen in Delhi and Mumbai airports, and not across the country, said the report. The DGCA data between January and November shows the country saw 13.1 crore domestic flyers in 11 months of 2019, up almost 4 percent from 12.6 crore in the same period in 2018. How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Send your questions for Stoya and Rich to howtodoit@slate.com. Nothings too small (or big). Every week, the crew responds to a bonus question in chat form. Dear How to Do It, I am writing to you today half to settle an argument, half because I am legitimately curious. I am a 22-year-old autistic queer woman who has never been sexually active, more because of a long-distance (and theoretically open) relationship and a belief that navigating sensory issues with a one-night stand sounds more like work than fun. This somewhat pertains to my question, I swear. Im going to phrase this bluntly: I keep getting in arguments with people, friendseven progressive, feminist friendswho are older than me and try to take on a bit of a mom friend vibe, about whether women and gay men under 25 are able to consent to sex. I am told, at least once every couple weeks, that if youre under 25, youre incapable of consent because your frontal lobes are still developing. When I point out they suspiciously only apply the argument to women and gay men, they either tell me I am too young to understand, too inexperienced to understand, or too autistic to understand. When I point out that rhetoric about adults not being developed enough to consent has deprived generations of developmentally disabled people from necessary sex education and led to appalling sexual assault statistics among us, Im told that Im too young to understand, too inexperienced to understand, or too autistic to understand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If these were people who werent generally progressive, I would not even be asking, because I would just assume it was more conservative puritanism nonsense like what I grew up with, but since theyre almost always staunch feminists it has me a bit confused. You, a legal adult, are too young and disabled to fuck does not feel that different from conservative talking points, but Im getting it from these nice, well-meaning motherly feminists whom I otherwise am really friendly with. Recently I ended one of these arguments with something along the lines of I am not going to believe this until I see a real neuroscientist say people under 25 shouldnt have sex, or have sexual fantasies, or masturbate, or do whatever the thing people are concerned about today is. I did Google it myself and found zero things about adults under 25 being unable to consent. And then I thought, Waitthat advice column often asks experts in stuff like this to weigh in. So I thought I would ask: Is there real, actual, verified, and peer-reviewed scientific data that says people under 25 are unable to consent, or are people selling me bad information in the guise of concern? (I am aware that there is probably a gray area here, but no one who tries to tell me this is talking about gray areas.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Underage Rich: So, while initially reading this, I balked because what our writers maternal, seemingly well-meaning friends have suggested about consent challenges what I understand about it. And then I took a sec and realized that, regardless, this is an interesting thought exercise and a perfect question to be tasked with answering here. Its healthy to challenge our cultural beliefs that are reinforced (if not created) by our laws. I also love that the writer specifically reached out because we tend to reach out to experts for backup. Happy to foster that reputation. Advertisement Advertisement Stoya: I took the question personally at first. Im neurodivergent (ADHD) and had to question my immediate reactions, which were, Of course this adult who writes well is capable of thinking through sexuality, making good choices for themselves, and dealing with their mistakes. Advertisement Rich: I share the view that her friends are condescending to her. Stoya: As the writer asked, I reached out to a former colleague, Shanna Kattari (Ph.D., M.A. in education, CSE, ACSshe knows her stuff). Her take wraps up with this, lightly edited: I am guessing there is a lot paternalism and ableism tied up in this, namely the all disabled people are asexual and shouldnt be having sex or [are] hypersexual and dont know what they are consenting to trope that is so common [as to beliefs] people, media, and the medical industry often hold when it comes to disabled bodies and minds. I agree that there certainly are grey areas, but my guess is most of these are just concern trolls. You can tell them a professor of social work who is a board-certified sexuality educator told you so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, having checked my gut, these people are overstepping. Our writer seems very thoughtful and in touch with what she needsspecifically when she points out that navigating sensory stuff with a one-night-stand sounds trying. The whole thing makes me think of a casual acquaintance from the naked-lady business: Shes autistic, and shes impervious to the kind of bad male behavior we see neurotypical women accepting regularly or complaining about online. You know, that guy who stalks your Instagram stories but doesnt text. Refuses to meet when its convenient for you. Only texts when hes lonely in the middle of the night. This woman Im thinking of has got her boundaries, and if they arent adhered to and respected, shes out with no regrets. Advertisement Advertisement Rich: One possible scenario is that her friends are telling her this in an attempt to convince her to wait because of something that they can see she isnt sayingperhaps something about her prospective partner, or maybe some unmentioned issue that they previously witnessed. But again, its condescending to present pseudoscience as a means of talking someone out of a mistake you think theyre about to make. Advertisement Stoya: Yesits absolutely possible that theres a specific person her friends are trying to steer her away from. That wont work out well. If they genuinely believe theres cause for alarm, they need to point out the specific person and reason. Not leave her trying to guess whats actually going on. Advertisement Rich: Especially since shes so sensitive to potentially factually incorrect reasoning that is supposedly based in data. Stoya: Just in case anyone reading needs to hear this: Autistic doesnt mean broken or stupid. Rich: Not at all, and this specific instance shows savvy on the part of our writer. And to help prove thatthat shes right and theyre wrongI also reached out to J. Paul Fedoroff, a doctor and co-director of the Sexual Behaviors Clinic at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. Among his areas of interest are developmental delay and brain injury. He co-authored a paper about a case in which a man was accused of raping his wife who had dementia. He said questions or issues involving consent and brain development tend to concern injury or deterioration. He told me hed never heard of a study regarding brain development and the notion of people under 25 being unable to consent. In fact, he said he didnt even see how such a study could take place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stoya: My dad told me, around the time I turned 25, that some important parts of the brain were just finishing development. I can see how trickle-down knowledge could eventually warp into people under 25 cant consent. Rich: Yes, thats just what it is: trickle-down knowledge that doesnt assess the expanses of the human experience in a rather narrow interpretation of neuroscience. When people talk about the brain not being fully developed until the age of 25, theyre generally referring to the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functioning like impulse control and planning. I emailed with someone (another expert) who had a lot to say about conflating neuroscience with public policy, but first, Ill finish my summary of Federoffs response. He told me by phone: People with not fully formed prefrontal cortexes can learn and make informed judgments. You dont need a fully developed brain to do that. People are sexually mature much before the age of 25 and there are many people who are raising children when theyre 18 or younger and doing it very competently. He said that upping the age of consent, which seems to be the natural extension of our writers friends argument, would in fact prohibit people from reproducing during years that are particularly healthy for just that. Also, the age of 25 thing? Its generally believed to apply to men; womens brains typically finish developing earlier, which totally refutes her friends argument. Advertisement Having checked my gut, these people are overstepping. Stoya: Well. Im proud of both of us. And grateful for this particular question, which I feel has pushed us to up our expert game. Rich: Same! And if you think about it, were people unable to consent before age 25, wed hear many more stories of regret. Advertisement Stoya: Yes! Rich: Looking back, I shouldnt have had sex at 22. Thats just not present in our culture the way that other stories about consent and its absence at young ages are. Stoya: Ive literally never heard that. Rich: So on top of that Stoya: Oh boy. Is it another expert? Rich: LOL yes. The idea that neuroscience is the be-all, end-all of public or cultural policy in terms of (all kinds of) informed consent is repeatedly refuted in this rather interesting paper I read, Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy. Heres a key passage: The ability to designate an adolescent as mature or immature neurologically is complicated by the fact that neuroscientific data are continuous and highly variable from person to person; the bounds of normal development have not been well delineated. The authors add that there are several other factors that go into human development beyond mere brain development. And by the way, when we say fully developed brain by age 25, we mean adultlike. In actuality, a healthy brain continually develops throughout life, albeit less drastically than in youth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stoya: The boundaries of youth, adult, and elder arent that simple. Rich: The goal, or at least my goal, is to never stop developing, or least attempting to be better/greater/smarter/more efficient. Stoya: Same. Im thinking about the disability rights movement now. I took some online courses related to that movement last year. And Im cognizant of the fact that 50 years ago, we treated people in wheelchairs like they were less than whole. Wheelchairs! Fortunately, this sounds absurd to most of us in 2020. We do the same thing with neurodivergent people and young people today. And older people too. Advertisement Rich: A hundred percent. So I reached out to the lead author of the paper I just quoted from, Sara B. Johnson, a professor at Johns Hopkins. I refined my ask to a simple question: Should the age of consent be raised to 25? Here is, in part, what she said: Advertisement Unlike driving a car, voting, drinking alcohol, or buying a firearm, sexuality is an integral part of human development. If we decided that the age of consent was 25 (which is a sort of arbitrary cutoff developmentally but the car rental companies like it based on actuarial tables), wed be undermining social, romantic, and sexual development. Thats probably creating more problems than its solving. Instead of raising the age of consent until peoples brains are fully developed (which itself is a tricky benchmark), health education programs should focus on helping people navigate consent and establish and communicate their personal boundaries in romantic and sexual relationships. This approach decreases the chances of coercion for everyone, regardless of how old they are or their stage of brain development. Advertisement Advertisement Stoya: Which circles back to another point our writer made: Rhetoric about adults not being developed enough to consent has deprived generations of developmentally disabled people from necessary sex education and led to appalling sexual assault statistics among us. Rich: Exactly. Like I said, shes savvy. She didnt need us, even, but Im happy to have her back here with some expert heft. More How to Do It My wife never had sex before we got together, not even masturbation, because of her conservative upbringing. On my part, I started masturbating in seventh grade, and I first had sex while I was 16. We enjoyed ourselves the first few years. After that, she seemed to lose interest. I think she had a few real orgasms, but mainly faked them. Now, I always suspected this was because I am not very bigIm about 3.5 inches erect, and I tend to ejaculate quickly. I told her about bigger men and said she could try another man, since I had 13 to 15 sex partners before we were married and she had none. I wavered on this a few times as I got insecure and jealous, but in one of my more permissive times, she met a man and liked him. I tried to call it off, but she wants to go forward. Should I let this happen? (ANSA) - Rome, January 10 - Knights of Malta chief Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto said in the sovereign order's traditional address to the diplomatic corps on Friday that the crises caused by men were a "scandal". "In the last few years the number of people suffering from hunger has dropped, like the infant mortality rate: two important indicators of human progress," he said. "But this trend risks reversing itself exclusively because of human actions and not for natural causes or ones linked to under-development. "The real reasons must be sought in wars and civil disorder. "This is a scandal and I urge all you ambassadors not to stop reminding governments of this intolerable danger". He said "my hope is therefore that human diplomacy becomes ever mire an indispensable instrument to promote dialogue and peace and to resolve the decades-long conflict that are bloodying so many parts of the world. "We find ourselves at the start of a new year for the traditional exchange of wishes with the hope that the year which is just beginning may be rich in new, encouraging prospects for peace and dialogue in the world. "We leave behind a difficult year," said the Grand Master. "The humanitarian crises in Syria, but also that in Yemen and Venezuela, the drama of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, are producing an ever higher number of displaced persons and refugees who are seeking shelter in the surrounding countries, now close to collapse. "AS well as the great crisis which are sadly well-known, there are the more silent ones, such as the frozen conflicts in the Western Balkans and the southern Caucasus, the tensions in Eritrea, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, the emergencies in the Central American Northern Triangle, in Haiti and the Philippines region of Mindanao. "We are witnessing a dramatic negative record of people forced to resort to humanitarian protection: over 130 million people in some 42 countries," said Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre. "The role of humanitarian agencies who work to alleviate suffering and for the common good of humanity is increasingly essential in a historic moment in which the principles and values - values such as solidarity, equality, respect of human and civil rights - on which democracy is based are being challenged. "Our 80 thousand volunteers in 120 countries, our diplomatic network that embraces 109 states and the major international bodies, our 13,500 members and 42,000 medical and healthcare professionals are at work every day to give hope and relief to those who suffer from old age, from a disability, from sickness or from poverty." Fra Giacomo Dalla Torre recounted the main activities of the Order of Malta, in fighting human trafficking, the valorisation of the work carried out in the field by religious organisations and institutions, in medical, social, and health assistance in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, the West Bank of the Jordan, in Colombia with the Venezuelan migrants and in the Dominican Republic. In Africa, the Order of Malta is carrying out projects in Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Benin. In Asia, the Grand Master recalled its commitment in Myanmar and Pakistan. But the order's work is also in Europe, for example assisting the the population that has been a victim of the earthquake which has hit Albania, offering medical support to the elderly in the UK and France. Finally, Fra' Giacomo underscored the order's work in the diplomatic field in 2019, recalling the official visit to Berlin, the meetings with the heads of State of Slovenia and Bulgaria and the president of Lithuania, the relaunch of ties of friendship with the government of Ecuador. "Only through cooperation and constructive dialogue based on the principles of respecting human dignity can we contribute to ending the crises, violence, and give a better future to the new generations. This inspires the mission of the Order of Malta," he concluded. The decision by the Baron and Baroness of Kilkeel to step back from their roles as senior royals was met with a mixed reaction from residents of the Co Down fishing port. A brisk breeze was blowing through the main street of the town on Thursday when the Belfast Telegraph questioned locals about their reaction to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's surprise announcement. Very few people were willing to give their opinion, while others told this reporter they simply didn't care. However, local business owner James Cunningham Snr of Cunningham Butchers on Newcastle Street said he was "disappointed", although he respected their decision. "I'm not privy to their private life and I'm sure they're under pressure," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "I really do hope that they do stay on as Baron and Baroness of Kilkeel because everyone in Kilkeel is delighted that they are Baron and Baroness, and they're a lovely couple." Newry, Mourne and Down District Council extended an invitation to Harry and Meghan to visit Kilkeel after the pair were conferred with the titles of Baron and Baroness by the Queen following their marriage in May 2018. The couple officially turned down the offer in November 2018. The council was informed by the assistant private secretary to the Duchess that, while they welcomed their Kilkeel titles and were delighted with the invite to their "namesake town", they could not accept it at "this moment in time". Despite that, Mr Cunningham is still hopeful they will pay a visit to the seaside town in the future. "Kilkeel has got lovely people, it's a brilliant wee town to visit, it's got fantastic facilities, we've got the mountains up above us, we've got the harbour down below and we've got a brand new ferry over to Carlingford," he said. Expand Close James Cunningham Snr in Kilkeel Kevin Scott / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp James Cunningham Snr in Kilkeel "This is a fantastic place to come and I'm sure Harry and Meghan will come some day, even if they have to fly from Canada." He added that the couple have received some "bad Press" recently, something he felt they did not deserve. "I'm disappointed they've made that decision and I hope it can be reversed in the future, but I do respect them and perhaps they just want to live a life in Canada," continued Mr Cunningham. Meanwhile, at the Royal British Legion, in the heart of the bustling harbour, no one wanted to state their views on Meghan and Harry's decision, but one man did say "each to their own". In another Kilkeel pub, a barman felt that stepping back from royal duties was something that should have been done "300 years ago". In response, a patron quickly said: "Now, now, that might be your opinion but it's not the opinion of Kilkeel." Fishing boat owner Russell Shepcar said he didn't even know that Harry and Meghan had the title of Baron and Baroness of Kilkeel, so it didn't make "much difference" to him. He conceded that the titles probably brought some well deserved attention to the town, and said it was a "shame". Expand Close Russell Shepcar Kevin Scott / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Russell Shepcar "There's a lot of people working hard around the harbour to bring attention to Kilkeel and get Kilkeel on the map," added Mr Shepcar. Federal authorities have asked a longtime confidant of House Speaker Michael Madigan to cooperate with a wide-ranging investigation that reaches from Chicago to Springfield, a source familiar with the probe told the Tribune on Thursday. Its the latest development involving powerful former lobbyist Mike McClain. The Tribune previously has reported that authorities have recorded McClains phone calls and raided his home in downstate Quincy. WBEZ 91.5-FM interviewed McClain outside a River North steakhouse Thursday afternoon and asked if federal authorities have requested his cooperation with their investigation. Theyve asked, McClain said. Asked if he is cooperating, McClain replied, Ill just say they asked. McClains first public comments came after the Tribune first reported last month that federal authorities have asked questions about Madigan and his political operation as part of their ongoing investigation, according to four people who have been interviewed. The sources, all of whom requested anonymity, said FBI agents and prosecutors asked about connections between Commonwealth Edison lobbyists and Madigan, lobbyists giving contracts to people tied to the speaker, and city, state and suburban government jobs held by his associates. They also said authorities had numerous questions about the speakers relationship and dealings with McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist. The federal request for McClain to cooperate and the Madigan-focused questions are the latest indications that federal authorities are looking at the speakers operation. A Madigan spokeswoman had no comment Thursday. In late October, reporters asked Madigan during the fall legislative session whether he is a target of a federal investigation. Im not a target of anything, Madigan replied. Federal prosecutors have not made any public statements about the nature of their investigation and declined to comment Thursday. McClain also has been under fire this week for a July 2012 email in which he advocated for state worker Forrest Ashby in a disciplinary matter. In the email to then-Gov. Pat Quinns aides, McClain said Ashby kept his mouth shut about Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the administration. The email, first reported by WBEZ, did not include any other details. Ashby later worked as a campaign consultant for Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. On Thursday, Pritzker denounced McClains email as horrific and reiterated that his office had referred the matter to the Office of Executive Inspector General to determine whether the matter should be referred to law enforcement. The Tribune first reported last summer that the FBI had raided McClains Quincy home in May. Last month, the Tribune first reported that authorities secretly recorded McClains phone conversations. Its unclear if the famously cautious Madigan is on any of the recordings or how long authorities were listening in on McClains calls. In addition, Madigans name was one of many that popped up on a subpoena and search warrant executed by the FBI in May at the City Club of Chicago, sources have told the Tribune. McClain also was deeply involved with Madigans political operation, including campaign fundraising for House Democrats ahead of the November 2018 elections. In an email to a group of key fundraisers he called the Most Trusted of the Trusted, McClain referred to the speaker as Himself. One person interviewed by authorities said that besides McClain, officials asked about Madigans dealings with Anne Pramaggiore, the Exelon Utilities CEO who quit abruptly in October and is a focus of the investigation. That person also said officials wanted to know if Madigan ever asked about the stance of lawmakers on ComEd legislation, but the person could not remember Madigan ever raising that issue. The Tribune has reported that federal authorities are zeroing in on payments made through ComEds vast network of consultants to some individuals who seemed to have done little actual work. The payments were aimed at currying favor with certain lawmakers while circumventing lobbying disclosure rules, a source has said. Authorities suspect payments to former Madigan political operative Kevin Quinn, which the Tribune first disclosed in July, are an example of this, a source has said. The Tribune revealed in November that McClain sent emails describing how he arranged for current and former ComEd lobbyists to give Quinn contracts after he had been ousted amid sexual harassment allegations. Bank records the Tribune acquired showed that McClain and the other lobbyists paid Quinn at least $31,000. The payments came after he was forced out over his relentless string of inappropriate text messages to a campaign worker. Both McClains emails and the money to Quinn are part of the investigation into ComEds lobbying activities, sources have said. A Madigan spokeswoman has said that if a group of people were attempting to help Kevin Quinn, the speaker was not a part of it. Quinn is the brother of 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, a top Madigan political lieutenant. In mid-May, authorities searched the Southwest Side home of Kevin Quinn as well as former 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski, who represented a neighboring ward to Madigans 13th Ward stronghold. The FBI was seeking records of interactions among Madigan, McClain and Zalewski related to attempts to get ComEd lobbying work for Zalewski after he retired in 2018, a law enforcement source has said. ComEd and parent company Exelon have acknowledged getting two federal grand jury subpoenas in recent months seeking records pertaining to its lobbying efforts. One of the subpoenas received by the company in September asked specifically about the companys communications with then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Chicago Democrat whose legislative territory overlaps with the speakers House district. Sandovals Capitol office was raided Sept. 24. Among the lengthy list of items that authorities searched for were those related to ComEd and Exelon, including four unnamed utility officials and specific information about rate increases, according to a copy of the warrant provided in an open records request. The Sandoval raid was quickly followed by federal law enforcement actions in McCook, Lyons and Summit -- southwest suburbs where Madigan has influence and allies. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The amended citizenship law, the proposed nationwide implementation of the NRC and violence at university campuses, including JNU, are likely to dominate deliberations at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here on Saturday. The Congress top brass is also expected to discuss the state of the economy at the meet at the party's Akbar Road headquarters. The CWC, the party's highest decision-making body, will come out with a resolution highlighting its future strategies on these issues, sources said. They said after the deliberations, the leadership will give shape to the Congress's strategy in the wake of widespread student protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). The Congress has come out against the amended citizenship law and supported students' agitations in various campuses of educational institutions in the country. The report of a committee formed by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to look into the recent violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) could also be discussed, the sources said. The meeting has been convened on Saturday afternoon. Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be present at the meet. The party is seeking to create awareness over these issues, including the "economic crisis" that has led to unemployment, the sources said. The Congress also wants to reach out to people at the grassroots-level to send across its message on the CAA and the proposed nationwide implementation of the NRC, which it has claimed is high on the Modi government's agenda. Leaders at the CWC meeting will discuss the current political situation, including the protests against the CAA and the NRC, and the violence in various campuses, including at JNU, a senior party leader said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin at a media conference in the White House briefing room in Washington on Jan. 10, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) US Imposes Additional Sanctions on Iran After Missile Strikes Additional sanctions were announced against Iran following the recent missile strikes against Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Jan. 10. The sanctions, which include 17 specific sanctions against Irans largest steel, iron, aluminum, and copper manufacturers and eight senior Iranian officials who were involved in Tuesdays ballistic missile strike, come as a result of the attack on U.S. and allied troops, Mnuchin told reporters at the White House. The senior officials include Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council; Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, deputy chief of staff of Iranian armed forces; and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). President Donald Trump issued an executive order enabling administration officials to sanction people operating in or transacting with additional sectors of the Iranian economy, including construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles. Todays sanctions are part of our commitment to stop the Iranian regimes global terrorist activities, he said, adding the sanctions would continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons. Trump said in a statement: Today, I am holding the Iranian regime responsible for attacks against United States personnel and interests by denying it substantial revenue that may be used to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism, and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence. The United States will continue to counter the Iranian regimes destructive and destabilizing behavior. Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. These punishing economic sanctions will remain until the Iranian regime changes its behavior. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it, he added. Residents look at a crater caused by a missile launched by Iran on U.S.-led coalition forces on the outskirts of Duhok, Iraq on Jan. 8, 2020. (Ari Jalal/Reuters) What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture taken on Jan. 8, 2020. (Planet/Handout via Reuters) Mnuchin said the economic sanctions were working. If we didnt have these sanctions in place, Iran would literally have tens of billions of dollars, he said, adding that the money would be used for terrorism. If the Obama administration hadnt turned over $150 billion to Iran as part of the nuclear deal President Barack Obama and world powers agreed upon with the Iranian regime, Mnuchin said, the current situation wouldnt be the same. Pompeo said earlier in the day during an appearance on Fox News that the money that the Iranian regime was permitted to have underwrote the very Shia militias that were the ones that took on and ultimately killed an American. One of the central tactics of our strategy is to deny the Iranian regime the money to carry out terrorism, he said. Weve only been at that for about 18 months now, so there is still work to do. But make no mistake about it: The wealth that was created inside of the Islamic Republic of Iran went directly to the IRGC and the senior Iranian terrorists, and that money ultimately ends up in the hands of people who wanted to do Americans harm, he added. So moneys fungible, it can move around, but they had the resources, they the ability to build out the militias in Syria, to underwrite Hizballah, to build their missile program. All of the things that we are now confronting are a direct result of the resources that the regime had available as a result of that terrible nuclear deal. Home secretary Ajay Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau chief Arvind Kumar also participated in the review meeting. New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah along with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and other senior officials of the home ministry and multiple security and intelligence agencies held a high level meeting on Thursday to review the countrys internal security scenario. Sources said though there was no immediate threat or provocation, the security review was conducted due to multiple factors like ongoing protests against CAA, prevailing situation in some Universities particularly JNU, security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and also the North-East. Home secretary Ajay Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau chief Arvind Kumar also participated in the review meeting. While the home minister, sources added, and other top-brass expressed satisfaction over the existing security situation, it was decided to that the Home Ministry should continue to maintain co-ordination with various state security agencies to ensure that no untoward incident takes place particularly in the run up to Republic Day on January 26. Senior officials said normally, the security agencies remain on high alert ahead of January 26 due to a possible terror threat, and this time the agencies will maintain greater co-ordination with states. On the issue of prevailing security scenario in the Kashmir Valley also there was a view that the situation was better now it has was decided that restoring internet connection in the Valley should be put on hold for some more time. ``The broadband or internet connectivity in the Valley will not be restored in any hurry as inputs suggest it can lead to violence or increase in subversive activities. So this will have to be done in a phased manner as has been done in Kargil and for some essential services in the Valley,a senior security official said. Recently Home Ministry had decided to withdraw some companies of central para-military forces from the Valley in view of the improved security situation, However, sources confirmed that any further withdrawal of security forces from the region would not happen during the winter season. ``Any decision on further withdrawal of security forces will now be done during summer as a detailed threat assessment or review would be done then. Normally there is an increase in terror activities during the summer season, the official added. YSR Congress president has been facing trial wherein he was charge-sheeted in at least 11 cases as the prime accused in alleged quid pro quo deals Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Friday appeared before a CBI special court in connection with the ongoing trial in the quid pro quo investments cases against him. This is Jagan's first appearance in court for the trial after he assumed charge as chief minister on 30 May, 2019. The special court judge had on 3 January directed Jagan to appear in person for the trial, rejecting the latter's plea for an exemption. Along with Jagan, his close aide and YSR Congress Rajya Sabha member V Vijaysai Reddy, who is also one of the accused in the cases, too appeared before the court. In view of Jagan's court appearance, security was beefed up near the court's premises. The YSR Congress president has been facing trial wherein he was charge-sheeted in at least 11 cases as the prime accused in alleged quid pro quo deals. The cases relate to investments made by various companies in Jagan's firms as quid pro quo for various favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father late YS Rajasekhara Reddy as chief minister between 2004 and 2009. Several former ministers and bureaucrats are also accused in the case. Jagan is currently out on bail, having spent time in jail as an "un-convicted criminal prisoner" in the Chanchalguda Central Prison from May 2012 to September 2013. In the run-up to the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh last year, Jagan's appearance in the court had reduced after he urged the court to dispense with his appearance and the court had allowed his pleas. Soon after becoming chief minister, Jagan had filed a petition in the special court of CBI seeking exemption from personal appearance as he would be busy with official duties. Also, lakhs of rupees of public money has to be spent for his security and other protocol requirements in view of his position, Jagan contended. On 1 November the court, however, rejected his plea and directed that he appear for trial every Friday. Jagan had not been attending the trial proceedings citing his official engagements as the reason for his absence. Not impressed by this, the special court judge had on 3 January directed that Jagan attend the proceedings on 10 January. Cotu boss Francis Atwoli said Deputy President William Ruto should stop pretending to speak on behalf of President Uhuru Kenyatta. According to the outspoken trade unionist, it was hypocritical of Ruto to claim that brokers and conmen were pushing Uhuru to extend his term. Were going to unmask the DP soon because one cannot disrespect his boss and even fight him through proxies while pretending to speak for him, Atwoli told the Star on phone from Cairo, Egypt. He added: It is Ruto who parades conmen everywhere he goes in the name of Tangatanga. Who grabbed public land? Who imported maize and crippled Rift Valley farmers? Who has been implicated in dam scandal and many others? Let him name one conman in the BBI team. Atwoli also said Kenyans are entitled to their opinions and should not be intimidated by people out to grab power. He claimed the resistance against law reforms manifested corruption fighting back because corrupt leaders knew their road to riches would come to an end. At the same time, Atwoli asked Luhya MPs allied to the DP to remain in their homes if they are uncomfortable with the BBI meeting scheduled for January 18 in Kakamega. He was reacting to Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa and his Sirisia counterpart John Waluke, who claimed Atwoli lacks the authority to call a meeting for the Luhya community. Atwoli is an outcast who pretends to be a life member of Kanu when he is just but working for Raila. As far as we are concerned, we dont regard Atwoli as a serious man, and he cannot purport to plan a meeting to discuss Luhya unity let alone BBI, Barasa was quoted. Photo: Kelsey Knight/Unsplash If you love to eat and drink, this week offers a great chance to explore the world of food and beverage beyond restaurants and bars. From cooking classes to a wine tasting, there's plenty to explore and enjoy if you're hungry for something new. 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. Cooking class From the Luigi's Italian Eatery deal description: Chef demonstrates traditional Italian cooking techniques in hands-on classes limited to 10 people. All sessions conclude with students sitting down to devour the feast theyve helped to create. Where: Luigi's Italian Eatery, 625 First Ave. Price: $36 Click here for more details, and to nab this deal Keto cooking class From the Eat Local deal description: Take home a cache of skills to make keto meal prep a breeze. Students will learn how to make decadent and versatile keto sauces to enhance any meal and take keto meal-prepping to the next level. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2 p.m. Where: Eat Local, 2400 Queen Anne Ave. North Price: $45 Click here for more details, and to get this deal Wine tasting at Old World Tasting Room From the Old World Tasting Room deal description: Guests can taste wines from Michael Florentine Cellars or Sherman Winery and purchase a bottle to enjoy later at home. Where: Old World Tasting Room, 3861 First Ave. South Price: $30 Click here for more details, and to take advantage of this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. The Enforcement Directorate Friday filed a charge sheet against former Fortis Healthcare promoters Shivinder Singh and his brother Malvinder before a Delhi court in a case related to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL). The final report, filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav, also named former CMD of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) Sunil Godhwani (58) as an accused. In the charge sheet, filed by ED's Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana, the probe agency has accused all three of money laundering, punishable under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The court took cognisance of the charge sheet and summoned the accused for January 20. All the three accused are currently in judicial custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) You wouldnt know it by the way her image has been treated by this city lately, but Maya Angelou loved San Francisco. In San Francisco, for the first time, I perceived myself as part of something, Angelou wrote in her celebrated memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou goes on: The city became for me the ideal of what I wanted to be as a grownup. Friendly but never gushing, cool but not frigid or distant, distinguished without the awful stiffness. Ive been thinking about Angelous impression of San Francisco lately. In October, city officials insulted both Angelou and the artists who proposed to honor her when after conducting an exhaustive, two-year design process for a monument to the author outside the Main Library, they rejected all of the designs at the last minute. The three finalists from the first round all had great applications and proposals, said Tal Quetone, a spokesman for the San Francisco Arts Commission. There was just a different interpretation of the language of the proposal, or the understanding. Thats one way to spin last years debacle, which unfolded after a single San Francisco supervisor, Catherine Stefani, objected to the design from the selection panels finalist, Berkeley artist Lava Thomas. Thomas elegant design featured Angelous face etched onto a bronze book. Stefani, who was the projects legislative sponsor, wanted the kind of monumental statue that adorns every civic park and plaza across this country. Think of a bewigged man on horseback or striding forth, probably to kill someone who looked like Angelou. If I were on the Arts Commission, Id give some serious thought to the optics of sidelining the vision of a black female artist in honor of another black female artist in favor of the outdated design preference of a supervisor whose district wouldnt have allowed Angelou as a resident (check out San Francisco redlining maps, which show how segregated housing practices during Angelous youth kept undesirables like African and Asian Americans out of District Two). But Im not on the commission. And its choosing to start from square one. Last month, it presented a new schedule for selecting an artist. This month, it will release a new request for proposals. The language in the new request will be more prescriptive. The project goals portion of the schedule now says that the artwork should be a three-dimensional sculptural figurative representation. But otherwise, the commission doesnt seem to be planning any major changes to a process that failed so spectacularly. As of right now, the (planned process) is no different, Quetone told me. Were just going to have a revised request. That may be enough for Stefani. I asked her office for comment, and she responded with this statement: In San Francisco, and across our nation, we lack representation of women in public spaces. ... The Maya Angelou statue at the main library is a first step to accomplishing full representation of women in our city and Im excited to take my daughter to see the statue unveiled later this year. But the commission needs to remember that it has parties to please other than the supervisor. There are still a lot of hard feelings from its decision last year. If the commission doesnt change how it values and communicates with the artists who might be inclined to work on such a project, San Francisco isnt going to get the Maya Angelou sculpture its residents deserve. Moving forward with the Maya Angelou sculpture is rather premature at this time, Angela Hennessy told me in an email. Hennessy, an associate professor at the California College of the Arts, was on the commissions previous selection committee the one that selected Lava Thomas. I dont think the (commission), the (commissions visual arts committee), or the legislative sponsors truly understand the issues of representation revealed by the selection process, Hennessy continued. If they didnt know it was a problem before they do now and there is no excuse. Quetone told me that, when they post the new request this month, the commission intends to include all the previous applications. This way the artists dont have to create new applications, he said. But including the artists previous applications without their approval, and for a new proposal they have little chance of winning isnt how you show respect for the artists hard work. At best, its a cynical attempt to save face. At worst, its a dishonest attempt to show the public the idea of an inclusive process rather than actually doing the work of creating one. You know who wouldnt have approved? Maya Angelou. The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind, she writes elsewhere in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, as she embarks on a life spent overturning the types of prejudices and restrictions that have led us to cities full of bewigged male bronzes astride horses. If the people responsible for this mess want to avoid repeating it, they would do worse than picking up a copy of her book. Its available at the Main Library. Caille Millner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff editor and writer. Email: cmillner@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@caillemillner Before one gets to play with luxuries like Scottish game birds served with tableside pomp, a young chef must first learn to honor the scraps. And that is exactly what Richard Cusack did for several months at Restaurant Daniel when he started at the celebrated New York restaurant as staff-meal cook, transforming the daily trim of zucchini guts into tempura, cabbage cores into slaw for chicken sandwiches, and discarded fish tails into mousse for quenelles and ballotines to feed a crew of 60-plus people each day. Such humble beginnings are essential for any aspiring restaurateur for its lesson that nothing should go to waste, for its work ethic-building grind, and especially for its creative challenges: Even scraps can impress when handled with skill. Since Cusack and his wife, Christina, launched June BYOB this summer, the chef has no doubt drawn deeply on the resourcefulness he honed over a year and a half of varied responsibilities at Daniel, along with experiences at other notable French restaurants such as Bibou, Le Cheri, Parc, and the end-days of Le Bec-Fin. Simply finding another cook to keep up with him in this two-person kitchen dedicated to the labor-intensive techniques of classic French cooking from sauces to charcuterie and chocolate mousse had been a challenge until he landed his current sous-chef, Thomas McMonagle. A lot of chefs come in and can make me a gelee but they cant make a bearnaise, said Cusack. Thomas has been a godsend. Cusack has a wide support network, from the family members who helped him revamp the little 28-seat space that was previously Will BYOB, to his old boss and mentor, Bibou chef Pierre Calmels, who popped by for an unannounced visit one day, then rolled up his sleeves for hours to help his former chef de cuisine clean the kitchen. It was an appropriately DIY beginning for one small new chapter in East Passyunks latest restaurant makeover, and one definitely worth cheering for. This is a pivotal moment for the Avenue, which has lost more than half a dozen first-wave pioneers who helped transform this South Philly strip into one of the citys prime restaurant districts. Its going to need some new hits to remain energized. But given June BYOBs daunting prices (from $30 an entree on up) and decidedly retro take on French cuisine, I have to wonder about its impact. Are truffled duck-stuffed cabbages and precious wood pigeons crushed a la presse" going to save the Avenue from its recent stumble in momentum? Delicious as they were, Im not entirely convinced. This is not to criticize Junes quality so much as its broader relevance. While its got charm, it will likely only appeal to a niche crowd. For those who cherish the Philly tradition of ambitious indie BYOBs and especially those who pine for the old days when Bibou was still a la carte, June has become a new happy place. Puff-pastry crowns of vol-au-vents tilt like top hats over creamy sautees of scallops and crab in a beurre blanc sauce enriched with sea urchin. Terra-cotta crocks of cassoulet arrive with flavorful beans sporting legs of duck confit, house garlic sauce, and tender hunks of pork shoulder. Deboned chicken legs stuffed with foie gras anchor coq au vins brothy wine sauce studded with lardons over house-made pappardelle. Fans of fleeting seasonal game and arcane kitchen gadgets, meanwhile, should bring their wallets if theyre determined to experience the presse in action. Servers Ricky Lorenzo and David Sandoval deftly debone roasted Scottish grouse ($85) and pigeon ($50) on a tableside cart, then finish the rare breasts in a pan. Each turn of the wheel on the antique press between them crushes the cut-up carcass and innards inside, extracting every last trickle of juice. With the addition of blood and a splash of Macallan to thicken the simmering sauce, the dark meats savor was extraordinarily heady and giblet-forward distilling the birds wild essence. Served over wheat berries with cranberries and pumpkin puree, the larger grouse was memorably gamy in a good way, like duck but far more intense. The smaller Scottish pigeon? Tasty enough to try once. But Im not eyeing its untouchable Rittenhouse cousins with any new hunger. Of course, when it comes time to flambe, its a tight squeeze in this dollhouse of a room, which explains why the tableside shows stop on busy weekends. Cusack, who spent time saving for the project while private-cheffing for Sixers star Joel Embiid, designed the royal blue-and-white room himself with carpentry help from his brother and father (both pro tradesmen). They did their best to dampen the sound challenges with wainscoting, plus linens for the table and a large rug. But it can only help so much when this space is at capacity and flowing with some of the guests collector-grade wines. Then again, Cusacks cooking which is as retro as the gold-plated silverware and crystal-dripping sconces is built for classic French crus, an Larousse Gastronomique-inspired version of Gallic cuisine with more cream, roux, and stock-based sauces in two meals than Ive consumed in the past few months combined. June provides a reminder of just how delicious that can be. Tender sweetbreads are roasted with chestnuts and fava beans, then tossed with a veal supreme sauce (its roux thickened with rice flour to keep it gluten-free). Filet tips are minced into a tangy tartare sparked with pickled huckleberries, white balsamic, Dijon, and citrus. Creamy butternut squash soup gets a tint of intrigue from espresso brewed into the broth. Lobster bodies are roasted to a deep-brown bisque thats deglazed with sherry and cream, then poured tableside over wheat berries and winter truffles. That soup was a more satisfying lobster preparation than a later meals pasta special, which brought precious few bits of crustacean (for $22) and brittle noodles that were more like sheer fettuccine than the advertised spaghetti alla chitarra usually a sturdy, square-cut strand. More consistency and finesse are what holds June back from truly earning the Baby Bibou nickname Ive already heard some early fans begin to whisper. An oozy gratin special of potatoes with raclette Mornay (more roux!) lacked the bite and contrast needed to give that crock of richness-upon-richness some dimension. I loved the rustic savor of the lamb shank pot au feu, but for $36, it was a disappointingly stringy mallet of meat bobbing in broth with root veggies. There are many good things at June BYOB, but good value is not always one of them. Junes service staff is also a step shy of perfect. These cheerful veterans of Le Bec-Fin and Le Cheri ably balance old-school formality with genuine warmth but sometimes they work on autopilot. No sooner had my guest requested a dish without caviar (I dont eat fish eggs) than she was presented one minute later a complimentary amuse-bouche covered with salmon roe. But when the 32-year-old chef and his team hit his mark, this food can be deeply satisfying. A classic cabbage roll (chou farci) gets a stuffing upgrade with ground duck, foie gras, and truffles before its nestled into a bowl of creamy polenta so good I began to eat more slowly to savor its comfort. Another memorable showcase for duck delivered three preparations on one plate: a seared slice of foie gras draped over a crispy-skinned breast, a daisy-shaped ravioli stuffed with mushroom duxelles, and whipped duck confit rillettes. With tiny, colorful borage flowers scattered over its wild rice and butternut squash, it was as beautiful as it was delicious. Like many new restaurants with small staffs, Junes dessert offerings are limited and conventional. Id suggest opting for the fromage if theyre showcasing one of excellent cheeses we had (Epoisses; Tomme de Savoie; Langres). There was also a solid version of tarte Tatin. Far less predictable was the gateau crepe, an elegant stack of crepes 22 layers high, each one spread with chocolate mousse cut into a thick wedge, and set on end over a vanilla-scented puddle of creme anglaise. Did it taste like the future of East Passyunk Avenue? Not quite. But it was a sweet finale nonetheless to June BYOBs earnest debut. The LTE base station market size is poised to grow at a CAGR of more than 17% during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005361/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled LTE base station market 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) The increase in data traffic and network congestion is driving the installation of small cells to utilize the available spectrum effectively. These small cells are helpful in pre-5G/LTE-Advanced Pro transition, as they help network service providers to save costs on expensive rooftop systems, and installation and rental expenses. Furthermore, small cells allow network operators to provide better connectivity to the base station and increase throughput. Thus, network operators are extensively investing in small cell infrastructure to achieve efficient network infrastructure and minimize costs. For instance, in August 2017, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson signed a deal with an Indian telecommunication company for small cells deployment at several banks and hospitals in cities such as Mumbai. Thus, the increasing investments in small cell infrastructure will drive the demand for LTE base stations, which will drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30476 As per Technavio, the growing investments in LTE-A will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2019-2023. LTE Base Station Market: Growing Investments in LTE-A Several market vendors have realized the market potential of LTE-A in emerging economies, especially in urban areas. This has pushed several vendors to increasingly invest in LTE-A. For instance, in September 2018, Vodafone Fiji announced a plan to invest USD 98.6 million in upgrading its LTE-A network in the nation. Thus, the increasing investments in LTE-A are expected to drive the growth of the LTE base station market during the forecast period. "Other factors such as the increase in the adoption of FDD-LTE and rising technological developments will have a significant impact on the growth of the LTE base station market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform LTE Base Station Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the LTE base station market by product type (macrocell and small cell) and end-users (rural and remote, urban, and enterprise) and geography (Americas, APAC, and EMEA). The APAC region led the market in 2018, followed by the Americas and EMEA respectively. The APAC region is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period due to the huge market potential in emerging economies such as India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005361/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shakes hands with participants in the conference in Hanoi on January 9 (Photo: VNA) Reviewing the countrys achievements last year, the Government leader said the MPI made many substantial contributions with a reformed mindset, creativity and good coordination with other ministries and localities. The PM also pointed out certain problems the ministry needs to handle, noting that obstacles in terms of public investment regulations have led to slow capital disbursement. The building of regulations on new economic models, the sharing economy and digital economy has yet to match real requirements, and support for small- and medium-sized enterprises remains modest, he said. PM Phuc asked the MPI to submit proposals and make strategies and roadmaps for turning the aspiration for a powerful Vietnam into reality. In the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which opens up chances for developing countries to keep up with rich nations but also poses numerous challenges, he told the MPI to deliberate what Vietnam should do to capitalise on this revolution. Vietnam currently has certain advantages in the digital economy race, so the ministry should give policy recommendations so that localities consider the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital economy as a foundation and momentum for economic restructuring and fast and sustainable development, he said. Assigning tasks to the MPI in 2020, the PM asked it to propose ways to help the country avoid falling into the middle-income trap, a big risk that can come true if corruption and group interests occur or wrong policies are issued. To reach the target of having one million businesses in 2020, he requested the MPI to create more favourable conditions for firms to take shape and grow into big enterprises that are able to compete with international rivals. Besides, it is also necessary to boost foreign investment attraction so that the committed foreign capital this year will surpass the 38 billion USD in 2019. Stressing the importance of the year 2020, PM Phuc said the MPI must not be complacent or lack drastic actions. In 2019, Vietnam jumped 10 places in the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum but dropped one place in the World Banks Doing Business report. The country aims to enter the top four in ASEAN in terms of the business climate and reach the OECDs standards. However, given the abovementioned fact, the improvement of its ranking is very challenging, he said, asking the MPI to devise a breakthrough policy to address this problem./. VNA Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan PhucMinistry Of Planning And InvestmentDevelopment ConundrumsSmall- And Medium-Sized EnterprisesFourth Industrial RevolutionMiddle-Income TrapUpdated Vietnam News Israel Unveils Laser-Based Missile Interception System to Replace Iron Dome Sputnik News 05:34 09.01.2020 The new system will undergo testing in the coming months with the goal of having it operational within a year and a half, replacing Israeli's current Iron Dome anti-missile system. The laser-based system is aimed to be used against Qassam rockets, such as those that have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, as well as against mortar shells, anti-tank missiles and drones. Laser-based interception is silent and invisible while costing less than 10 shekels (about $3.50) per interception, in contrast with the Iron Dome, which costs about 170,000 shekels ($49,000) per interception and makes a very distinct sound when in use. "We are entering a new era of 'energy combat' in the air, on land and at sea," the head of the Defense Ministry's weapons development administration, Brig. Gen. Yaniv Rotem said. "Investments by the Defense Ministry in recent years have positioned Israel among the leading countries in [the field of] high-power lasers." The Defense Ministry has actually been working on high-power laser technology for years, yet the significant progress was made only after a collaborative effort involving the Defense Ministry, Israeli defence firms Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Elbit Systems and members of the academic community. The system is based on electric laser technology rather than the chemically based lasers that have been in use up to now. Before Israel, US ships were the only vehicles in the world that have deployed such a laser-based military system, but it has proved effective only on relatively easy targets, such as rubber dinghies, and at short ranges. The Israeli developers claim they created technology to focus and stabilize the laser beams over distances overcoming atmospheric disturbance. That led to the development of effective interception technology capable of providing a new layer of defence for Israel on land, at sea and in the air. "[The system] would reduce dependence on intelligence or the need to investigate the threat to know what it is and how to act against it," a defence source told Haaretz. The military hopes to deploy the system in both the north and south of the country once the tests prove it is operational and ready for use. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ATLANTA, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoner's Pizza Joint, the millennial-focused, quick-service pizza franchise, announced today that it is accelerating its franchise development efforts with the opening of its newest franchisee-owned location in Atlanta, Georgia. Located at 120 Piedmont Ave. NE, the new restaurant marks the brand's first Atlanta location. The new location will be owned and operated by the Chunara Food Group. The Mix Led by seasoned franchisees Ali and Shehzaan Chunara, the Chunara Food Group is a large multi- unit operator with over 70 locations across the U.S. The Chunara Food Group owns and operates brands including TGIFriday, Popeyes, Churches Chicken and Dunkin Donuts. They were attracted to Stoner's Pizza because of its high-quality recipes, simplified menu, delivery-focused revenue stream, and low overhead. "We are excited to bring our operational experience and background to the Stoner's Pizza family as we embark on opening the brand's first flagship store in the Atlanta Market. We will deliver delicious, fresh, and custom-made pizzas, wings, and desserts with some unique ingredient options," said Shehzaan Chunara, Vice President, Chunara Food Group. Stoner's Pizza Joint considers itself to be a delivery-focused concept, with delivery and off- premises dining accounting for approximately 50 percent of total sales. Committed to providing customers with a best in class experience, the brand has invested its resources into developing and incorporating state-of-the-art technologies, which helps to streamline operational efficiency and provides customers with the best product and experience, faster. The new Atlanta location will be launching with the brand new Stoner's app in 2020 featuring convenient ordering and VIP rewards. "2019 was an exciting year for Stoner's Pizza Joint with the launch of our new branding and accelerating our franchise program with the addition of strong multi-unit franchisees. We are thrilled to begin 2020 with the debut of the new Atlanta store, growing the brand further into Georgia and insulating it with everything it needs to be the leader in this space," said Nick Bergelt, Chief Concept Officer of Stoner's Pizza Joint, "We're extremely excited to bring Stoner's to this area with our fresh new look and customer experience. We look forward to growing quickly in the market." Stoner's Pizza Joint Atlanta will be open Monday - Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1a.m., Friday- Saturday til 2 a.m. and Sunday till 10pm. For more info, visit https://www.stonerspizzajoint.com. Stoner's Pizza Joint features fresh, high quality food prepared in-house daily with minimal production time, including proprietary recipes for the pizza dough, sauce, and cheese blend. Menu items include a simple variety of specialty pizzas, calzones, strombolis, sandwiches, hickory- smoked chicken wings made daily in-house, fresh prepared salads, fresh "half baked" chocolate chip cookies and desserts. Stoner's Pizza Joint is currently seeking qualified franchisees to help the brand grow nationwide in college town markets, with an initial focus on the Southeast region. Prospective franchisees should have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The ideal candidate is a proven, multi-unit operator in the restaurant industry and has a strong knowledge of their market. Stoner's Pizza Joint's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) reveals an estimated initial investment range of $90,000 to $206,000 for the first location, including a franchise fee of $25,000. If franchisees chose to develop multiple units, the franchise fee for three units is $65,000 and, for five units, $95,000. To learn more about ownership opportunities with Stoner's Pizza Joint, visit https://www.stonerspizzajointfranchise.com/ or contact the Stoner's Pizza Joint Franchise Development team, at [email protected] or call 843-518-1972. MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Bergelt CCO//Stoners Pizza [email protected] 1-843-298-0833 SOURCE Stoner's Pizza Joint (ANSA) - Milan, January 10 - A Russian press agency journalist who was quizzed in a probe into suspected Russian funding for the League party appears in videos beside League leader Matteo Salvini in July 2018 and while she is publicly thanking former spokesman Gianluca Savoini, head of the Lombardy-Russia association, who is under investigation for international corruption. Savoini, a nationalist populist League member suspected of discussing possible funding from Russia, recently appealed unsuccessfully to the supreme Court of Cassation against a prosecutor's use of an audio tape from a Moscow hotel in which he is allegedly heard talking about possible oil kickbacks. On September 10 a Milan court rejected an appeal from Savoini against police seizures of property, based on the content of the tape, in the international corruption probe. Savoini, president of the Lombardy-Russia association, is heard on an audio tape taken at a Russian hotel talking about the possibility of receiving funding from oil kickbacks. His lawyer said the audio tape was inadmissible. But the court disagreed, ruling that its seizure was legitimate. Savoini is the former spokesman of League leader Salvini, the former intereio minister, who has dismissed the case as "fantasy". But the disclosure that Salvini arranged for Savoini to be present at a Rome meeting with a Russian delegation has caused embarrassment for the anti-migrant Euroskeptic leader. Savoini's defence lawyers said Thursday that the audio tape in which he is allegedly heard at a Moscow hotel asking for 65 million euros in Russian oil kickbacks is unusable. Prosecutors said the tape made at the Metropol hotel in October where Savoini and two other Italians met three Russians is admissible as evidence in support of property seizures made from Savoini earlier this year. The prosecutors said they had seized Savoini's property including computers as evidence in the case. Investigative sources said there were no phone or other contacts between Savoini and League leader Salvini. Two out of three Russians present at the meeting where Salvini's former spokesman allegedly asked for Russian funding have been identified, BuzzFeed said. Savoini met the Russians on October 18 along with two other Italians, a lawyer and a former banker, and allegedly discussed the funding, which was never eventually made, via oil kickbacks. The two Russians were named by BuzzFeed as Andrey Yuryevich Kharchenko and Ilya Andreevich Yakunin. A confirmation of their identities came from sources close to the investigation regarding Savoini. Yakunin's name had already emerged and the two Russians, BuzzFeed said, have links to "far-right demagogue" Aleksandr Dugin and to Vladimir Pligin, a politician close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prosecutors believe that the October meeting at the Metropol was not the first held in relation to the negotiation, sources said last month. Former Salvini spokesman Savoini is under investigation on suspicion of international corruption over the case. Italian newsweekly L'Espresso and US news site Buzzfeed reported that Savoini and two other Italians met three Russians in the Moscow hotel to discuss siphoning off an alleged 65 million euros from oil profits. Salvini has so far failed to report to parliament about the case, saying that he does not need to talk about "fantasies" and that he has not taken a rouble from the Russians. Prosecutors think that the operation that was allegedly talked about never came to fruition, sources said. The investigators have obtained a recording of the talks at the Metropol hotel from the L'Espresso journalist who wrote the expose'. The conversation may have been recorded on one of the mobile phones of one of the Italians present. Savoini is under investigation for international corruption along with lawyer Gianluca Meranda and former banker Francesco Vannucci. Meranda and Vannucci said they would not be appealing against the seizures of property, also saying the tape that was confiscated had no viable evidence on it. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference updating the Iran plane crash in Ottawa on Jan. 9, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) Intelligence Says Iranian Missile Downed Airliner, Perhaps by Mistake: Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau says intelligence from multiple sources indicates that an Iranian missile downed the Ukraine International Airlines flight that crashed near Tehran on Jan. 8. He says the strike might have been unintentional. Trudeau was providing an update amid multiple reports earlier on Jan. 9 that pointed the finger at Iran for the downing of a the plane, killing all on board including 138 people who were headed to Canada. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surfacetoair missile. This may well have been unintentional, Trudeau told a Parliament Hill news conference on the afternoon of Jan. 9. Trudeau said he knows the news will come as a shock to grieving families. Ukrainian officials have said a missile is on their list of potential causes for the crash. The plane crashed minutes after taking off from Tehrans airport. Trudeau repeatedly said there needs to be a complete and thorough investigation to get a complete picture of what happened. Trudeau said it was too soon to blame the United States, which triggered a chain of events that led to the crash with its killing of a top Iranian general last week. He said there needs to be further investigation. The crash came after a week of soaring tensions in the Middle East, occurring just hours after Iran launched missile attacks on bases in Iraq where American and allied troops are stationed. Iran said the attacks were retaliation for the American killing of Maj.Gen. Qassem Suleimani near Baghdad. Earlier on Jan. 9, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he believes Iran was responsible, without laying direct blame. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side, Trump said in a Washington news conference, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. Some people say it was mechanical, Trump added. I personally dont think thats even a question. Trudeau said he had no comment on what Trump had said. Irans civil aviation authority is leading the investigation, under international rules for probes of such crashes. The organization said on Jan. 9 it had invited Canadian investigators from the Transportation Safety Board to join a growing team probing the crash. Trudeau said Canadian consular officials are headed to Turkey and that Iran would be open to issuing visas so they could be granted access to the country. He said Iran has indicated an openness to Canada taking part in an investigation. Canada and Iran broke off diplomatic relations in 2012. Iran could have nuclear weapons in one to two years if the country carries on violating the 2015 nuclear accord, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday. The warning came as EU foreign ministers hold an emergency meeting in Brussels to try to salvage the nuclear deal. If they continue with unraveling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option, Le Drian said on RTL radio. US, Canadian and French representatives are to travel to Tehran to attend meetings for the Iran-led investigation into the Ukrainian airliner incident, Iranian state media reported on Friday. As soon as they will arrive they will attend the meetings to investigate reasons for the crash, IRNA reported. Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Iran denied the airliner had been hit by a missile. This as Europe looks for ways to guide the United States and Iran away from open conflict, knowing that a miscalculation from either side could leave the bloc facing a war and a serious nuclear proliferation crisis at its doorstep. In a rare emergency meeting, EU foreign ministers, to be joined by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, may avoid any tough diplomatic response for now after Washington and Tehran backed off from an outright conflagration following the U.S. killing of an Iranian general in Iraq and retaliatory missile strikes by Iran that avoided military casualties. Iran's desire to prevent the crisis from escalating has bought us some time, it has the effect of cooling this down just a little, a senior EU diplomat told news agencies. The competition for Pennsylvania college students got a little stiffer this week with the signing of an agreement that will provide students attending Pennsylvanias 14 community colleges a more affordable transfer option at a rate that is less than that of nearly every in-state public university. The articulation agreement, signed on Wednesday, with Southern New Hampshire University that will allow community college students to transfer up to 90 credits to complete their bachelors degree online at a 10% reduced tuition rate. According to Southern New Hampshire spokeswoman Melanie Plourde, the online undergraduate degree charge is currently $960 per three-credit course. If the 10% reduction were applied, that would reduce the cost to $864. For comparison, Millersville University, a Lancaster County public university which uses a per-credit tuition model, charges $319 per credit. That would put the cost of a three-credit course at Millersville at $957, or $93 more than what the Southern New Hampshire would charge. Penn States online-only World Campus charges $576 per credit or $617 per credit, depending on how many total credits have been earned. Outside of tuition, Plourde said the only other fee Southern New Hampshire students pay, besides buying their textbooks, is a $150 graduation fee. Online higher education options are becoming increasingly popular particularly with non-traditional students who often juggle work schedules and family obligations while pursuing their degree. In 2018-19, 85,285 students out of some 300,000 took at least one online course, up from 78,637 in 2014-15, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. At HACC, Central Pennsylvanias community college, 7,500 students take online courses; 3,500 take them solely online, said its President John Ski Sygielski. And many of those students transfer to Penn States World Campus, Shippensburg and Millersville universities. Southern New Hampshire, which launched its online program in 1995, also has been a transfer destination for HACC students. He said 240 students transferred there between 2013 and 2018. Statewide, in 2018-19 alone, nearly 500 Pennsylvania community college students transferred to Southern New Hampshire and it currently lists 1,500 Pennsylvania community college transfer students among the more than 130,000 learners it serves worldwide. The agreement allows for Pennsylvania community college alumni currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire to receive the 10% tuition reduction as well. This is the first statewide articulation agreement in the commonwealth but is the third for Southern New Hampshire. It has them with Kentucky and Massachusetts. While the states community colleges already have thousands of articulation agreements with in-state higher education partners, Elizabeth Bolden, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, said she doesnt see this one with Southern New Hampshire interfering with those arrangements. If anything, HACC, Central Pennsylvanias community college President John Ski Sygielski sounded confident it will inspire or expedite Pennsylvanias public and private universities to offer a similar kind of package. Im certain something like this will happen, said Sygielski, who chairs the community college commission board. A spokesman for the State System of Higher Education said the systems 14 state universities, which overall experienced nearly a 20% decline in student enrollment over the past decade, has a rich history of community college partnerships that expand education and career opportunities for students inside Pennsylvanias borders. We value our ongoing relationship and constantly seek ways to build on that well-established record of success, said spokesman David Pidgeon. Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said it too has a long history of working with community colleges with many articulation agreements and collaborations in place and sees this arrangement as motivation more than a threat. Higher education is a competitive marketplace, with many options. Choice is good and motivates Penn State to continue to innovate and provide the most value, she said. Students and families recognize the world class value of a Penn State degree offered through our campuses, including World Campus, and demand for a Penn State education continues to grow. While this new arrangement with Southern New Hampshire removes barriers for students in the transfer process and offers them an affordable option to earn a bachelors degree, Sygielski said its not for every student. Taking online courses work best for students who are self-motivated, technologically literate, and good time managers. He said HACC students go through an introduction to online learning to see if they are suited for taking courses that way instead of face-to-face in classrooms. Staff work with students and the college provides a whole buffet of offerings to help them develop an online learning style, he said. Well either try and give you some support to help you be that way or eventually get to be ok, Sygielski said. We want everybody to be successful. The agreement allows for applicable military training to be considered for credits. It also applies to employees and immediate family members of community college employees. The community college presidents collectively hope this agreement with Southern New Hampshire will help Pennsylvania achieve its attainment goal of 60 percent of residents aged 25 to 64 having a postsecondary degree or industry-recognized credential by 2025. At SNHU, we seek to streamline the transfer process for community college graduates across the nation and we are excited to team up with all 14 community colleges in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, said Jennifer Batchelor, vice president of academic programs, Global Campus, Southern New Hampshire University. Through this new partnership, students will be able to continue on a transformational journey, which will not only impact their lives but also those of their families and communities. Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The top driver in the history of Prince Edward Island harness racing will be honoured Saturday afternoon with Marc Campbell Day at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park. The King of Island racing, Marc Campbell of Winsloe, P.E.I., will be the focus of the Saturday card as he is honoured for being the top driver every year of the past decade. The Saturday program kicks off at 12:30 P.M. with 14 dashes scheduled. Red Shores will have a banner up to recognize Campbell that fans can sign, a trackside presentation with a plaque from Red Shores as well as special video clips and races from the drivers career. Race 13 is the Marc Campbell Driver Of The Decade pace with a mainstay of the Campbell stable favoured in the $2,600 event. Eagle Jolt has post two for trainer-driver Campbell and owners Wilbur and Marie MacDonald of Stratford. The 13-year-old son of Village Jolt will look to add to his 64 lifetime victories from more than 330 lifetime outings. Burn Out Hanover looms a large danger from post three with Corey MacPherson in the drivers seat for trainer Jeff Holmes. A son of Well Said out of millionaire pacing mare Burning Point, Burn Out Hanover tired off the front in his latest over a heavy track rated five seconds off due to mud. Race analyst Les MacIsaac will side with Burn Out Hanover to provide the upset in the Marc Campbell Driver Of The Decade pace. The front wasn't the place to be last week so we'll cut him some slack for not delivering as the chalk, MacIsaac said of Burn Out Hanover. There's a ton of thirds there against some big-time opposition so he could be sitting on a win. Other entrants in the field are IC True Grit (Mike McGuigan), Bank Of Dad (Adam Merner), Santana Sass (Kenny Arsenault), Silverhill Buddy (David Dowling), Hes Marvalous (Myles Heffernan Sr.) and Jeb (Jason Hughes). The $2,900 Preferred Pace lines up in Race 7 with Creepin the morning line choice after winning this class last week. Dowling is in the bike for trainer and co-owner Jim Quinn and co-owners Alex Quinn and Carl Peterson. Other top entries are the Jen Doyle-trained duo of Winter Blast (Hughes) and Midnight Matt (Arsenault). To view the entries for Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Red Shores Charlottetown. (with files from Red Shores) Skene went door to door to drum up support. He convinced the handful of property owners whose empty lots would be used for the project to sell to the county, which agreed to pick up a quarter of the bill and to work with FEMA to pay for the remainder. Although the agency hasnt officially signed off on the plan, Skene and Fayram say officials at a meeting in Sacramento last August told them the plan had been approved and was just awaiting final environmental review. Lee Francis and writing are a match made in heaven. The Albuquerque-based writer was chosen to work on the graphic novel Ghost River: The Fall & Rise of the Conestoga. Its a project has kept him busy for the better part of a year. In fact, the exhibition, Redrawing History: Indigenous Perspectives on Colonial America was shown at the Library Company of Philadelphia in November. The novel is a reinterpretation of the Paxton Boys massacre of 1763 and Pamphlet War of 1764. The watershed attack on an innocent group of Conestoga Indians, also known as Susquehannock people, just outside Harrisburg and the ensuing viral print debate of their actions not only reshaped Pennsylvanias politics but paved the way for Indian removal policies in the westward expansion of our early nation.. The novel imagines a perspective of these actions from the voices of the Conestogas. By focusing on the indigenous peoples at the center of this tragic and complex story, Ghost River promotes discussion about current themes of hate violence, multiracial democracy, and fake news. Being able to write this version is exciting for me and to tell the story of Native people, Francis says. We get the remains of history, and we have incredibly rich stories, and to be able to reconstruct the narrative and make it more about a story of resilience. The people of that area and the massacre, it was horrific for them. Francis will give a talk Saturday, Jan. 11 at Red Planet Books & Comics. The novel was released Dec. 4. Francis says the project took more than a year. He began working on it in August 2018. I tried to make sure that we gave the proper voice to the people and also making sure we represent our community, he says. Indigenous representation. I know Im accountable to the community. It had to be positive and dynamic. Francis is from Laguna Pueblo, and he wanted to put his best foot forward. Its a huge responsibility, he says. I had to make sure that it was written and conceptualized in the way of telling how resilient these people are. Yes, they went through a very dark time, but they are still around, making a difference. That is their legacy. Ghost River: Conversation and signing with Lee Francis Did you know? WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 WHERE: Red Planet Books & Comics, 1002 Park SW HOW MUCH: Free to attendDID YOU KNOW? In December 1763, a mob of settlers from Paxtang Township, Pennsylvania, just outside what is now Harrisburg, murdered an entire tribe of unarmed Susquehannock Indians, also known as Conestoga Indians. A month later, hundreds of Paxton Boys marched toward Philadelphia to menace refugee Indians. Benjamin Franklin halted the march in Germantown, six miles north of Philadelphia, and supporters of the Paxton Boys and their critics spent the next year battling in print. The pamphlet war featured political cartoons, broadsides, newspaper articles and letters, which could be quickly and cheaply printed. Authors staked claims about peace and settlement, race and ethnicity, and religious affiliation and difference in pre-Revolutionary War Pennsylvania. The incident marked a turning point in the development of early American print culture, defined by satire, political propaganda and fake news issues that are relevant today. Iran and its allies are preparing to exploit the killings of Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi colleague at the hands of the United States to crush dissenters and consolidate political power across the Middle East. In Iraq, the Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah, which came under missile fire by the Americans in the days before the assassination of the Iranian commander, issued a statement tarring those who have for weeks been demanding democracy and decent governance in Baghdads Tahrir Square as pro-American dupes. Irans supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in a speech this week commemorating Soleimani, smeared anti-government protesters as traitors and enemy operatives. In Lebanon, where protesters have for weeks been demonstrating against a ruling clique that includes Irans allies Hezbollah, many fear the groups allies will now be more emboldened to carry out violent attacks. During the mass demonstrations, Hezbollah and its allies have targeted pro-democracy protesters, using batons against the crowds and destroying protest tents. It was happening before the killing of Qassem Soleimani but were expecting a fiercer reaction, Nadine Farghal, a lawyer and activist in Beirut, told The Independent. No one was happy when Soleimani was killed; we were terrified. It wasnt like a sense of victory because it was very clear to us that one way or another were going to pay for it. Iran and its allies hardly needed the excuse of Soleimanis controversial assassination in a 3 January airstrike to use brutal force to suppress pro-democracy aspirations. Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran AP Iranian security forces killed at least 170 people and as many as 1,000 during protests that followed the sudden spike in fuel prices last November. Over the last few months, masked Iraqi Shia militiamen have shot dead hundreds of protesters throughout the country, almost all of them members of the same sect. Hezbollah and its thuggish allies in the Amal movement have taken to Lebanese protesters with truncheons. Iranian-allied Houthi rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa impose tight restrictions on speech and civil liberties. Despite the violence, the underlying corruption, political repression and gross mismanagement driving protesters into the streets persist. On Friday, tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to reject foreign interference in the country, some chanting slogans against Iran. But Soleimanis killing also gives Iranian authorities and their backers an opening, a path to regaining control of the streets and seizing the political narrative, supplanting rage against authoritarian regimes with the anti-Americanism that has long resonated among many quarters in the Middle East. Soleimani was an international figure, said Emre Ersin, associate professor of international relations at Marmara University in Istanbul. People are genuinely touched by his death, and this will play into the hands of those seeking to stop the protests. Thus far Iran and its surrogates have yet to strike at protesters. But they are clearly preparing the groundwork. In Iran, reformist activists say hardliners have started gearing up to close the political space. On Friday, an adviser to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani bluntly warned Persian-language journalists not to report on allegations that Tehran may have shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane. Even by looking at peoples Twitter posts you can tell that they are already concerned about what they write, a reformist journalist in Iran said. While Hezbollah itself may focus its attention on filling in the vacuum created by Soleimanis demise and using paramilitary means to respond to the US throughout the region, the killing gives some breathing space to its domestic political allies, including Amal and the Gebran Bassils Free Patriotic Movement. This will create a larger room for manoeuvre, for those two to impose their demands on the others, said Randa Salim, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington who frequently travels to the regions and meets with senior officials. As the throngs that protested in Baghdad on Friday showed, the gambit to use Soleimanis death to consolidate power may fail. We remain steadfast even after 100 days of protests, killings, kidnappings, teargas canisters, explosions, forced disappearances, armed attacks and arrests and despite the attempts of all political parties to end the protests, Omar Habeeb wrote on Twitter. But the killing has shifted the mood, at least in some quarters, and given Tehran and its allies an opportunity to build momentum. What is clear right now, said Hamzeh Ghalebi, a political analyst and onetime advisor to Mir-Hossein Mousavi, an opposition figure and former presidential candidate in Iran, is that national unity has increased in the face of a foreign threat. Eventually, the protesters may regain momentum and perhaps emerge more powerful, without the glue of a figure like Soleimani holding Irans so-called axis of resistance together. Because of the importance of Soleimanis personal connections to Irans international proxies, there is a chance for the anti-Iran movements to grow even stronger, said Ali Bakeer, a political analyst based in Ankara. Maybe not in the current moment, because the emotions are still there. But I dont think this emotional state will last long. NEW YORK, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Radiaction (Radiaction or the Company) and InnovaHealth Partners, LP (InnovaHealth) jointly announce today that InnovaHealth has made a growth equity investment in Radiaction and acquired a majority interest in the Company. Jonathan Yifat, Chief Executive Officer of Radiaction, said, Todays announcement represents the next stage for our Company. We are excited about our partnership with InnovaHealth, which will allow us to bring our game-changing technology to the interventional suites. We look forward to realizing our vision of protecting healthcare providers who suffer from the consequences of radiation exposure on a daily basis. Radiaction has developed a robotic system that substantially reduces radiation exposure to physicians and technicians. The system operates by automatically deploying a shield from the C-arm unit that captures the radiation at the source, thereby preventing exposure to under-protected medical staff. The Radiaction system is designed to be compatible with any type of fixed C-arm imaging system and will seamlessly integrate into clinical workflow. There are approximately 20,000 fixed C-arm imaging units worldwide which are utilized in millions of medical procedures each year. The Company is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Amir Belson MD, Founder of Radiaction, added, We welcome the InnovaHealth team and look forward to leveraging InnovaHealths capital, strategic relationships and clinical network to continue to build our market leading business. Ariella Golomb MD, InnovaHealth Managing Director, said, We are impressed with the Radiaction team and the Companys innovative technology. We expect our investment to significantly accelerate Radiactions commercial development and expand its clinical leadership, with an initial focus on interventional cardiology and electrophysiology. About InnovaHealth Partners New York-based InnovaHealth Partners, LP is the leading medical technology growth private equity firm. The InnovaHealth team manages approximately $200 million and has over 100 years of experience investing in the global medical technology market. Contacts: Radiaction: Jonathan Yifat, CEO E-mail: jonathan@radiactionmedical.com InnovaHealth Partners: Tiffany Cheynier, Manager - Investor Relations E-mail: tc@innovahp.com New Delhi: In a major blow to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Friday said that access to the internet is a fundamental right of all citizens and asked the government to review all restrictions in Kashmir within a week. The court also ruled that Section 144 of the CrPC cannot be used by authorities as a tool to prevent legitimate expression of opinions or grievances by the people. Taking a dim view of the Centre subjecting people in Kashmir to a lockdown and communication blackout, including internet services, the court said it was impermissible to suspend internet services indefinitely. It said: The power under Section 144, CrPC, being remedial as well as preventive, is exercisable not only where there exists a present danger, but also when there is an apprehension of danger. However, the court said the danger contemplated should be in the nature of an emergency, and for the purpose of preventing obstruction and annoyance or injury to any person. Referring to the turbulence that has inflicted Kashmir over the years, Justice N.V. Ramana, pronouncing the judgment, said the choice of providing a meaningful answer to the question of whether we need more liberty or security was challenging. The pendulum of preference should not swing in either extreme direction, said Justice Ramana, and added that citizens are provided all the rights and liberty to the highest extent in a given situation while ensuring security at the same time. Internet suspension cant be forever The order suspending Internet services indefinitely is impermissible, which could only be for a temporary duration, a bench comprising Justices N.V. Ramana, B. Subhash Reddy and B.R. Gavai said in their ruling on Friday. Repetitive orders under Section 144, CrPC, would be an abuse of power, the bench said. The court said that a magistrate, exercising powers under Section 144 of CrPC, was duty bound to balance the rights and restrictions based on the principles of proportionality and thereafter apply the least intrusive measure. Any order passed under Section 144, the ruling said, should state the mat-erial facts to enable judicial review of the same, and should be exercised in a bona fide and reasonable manner by relying on the material facts, indicative of application of mind. This will enable judicial scrutiny of the order passed under Section 144, it added. Having held that prolonged suspension of Internet services was impermissible, the court gave a constitutional protection to the use of the Internet for the exercise of the right to free speech and expression and carry out any trade or profession. We declare that the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to practise any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of the Internet enjoys constitutional protection under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(g), said Justice Ramana, speaking for the bench. It said that any order suspending Internet services was subject to judicial review based on the parameters set by the court in Fridays judgment. The court said this while deciding a batch of petitions including one by Kashmir Times managing editor Anuradha Bhasin and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad challenging the lockdown and communications blackout in Kashmir since August 5, 2019, in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcating the state into two Union territories. The court directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to publish all orders in force and any future orders under Section 144 CrPC and for suspension of telecom services, including the Internet, to enable the affected persons to challenge it before the high court or the appropriate forum. The Ukrainian passenger jet that went down Wednesday in Iran left 176 people dead, including 11 Ukrainians. But as the United States and its allies suggested Iran may have mistakenly downed the plane itself, one person felt out of the loop: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Thursday, as the United States and allies pointed toward evidence that suggested the plane had been hit by an Iranian missile, Zelensky's office publicly called for the evidence to be shared with Ukrainian investigators. "We call on all international partners, especially the governments of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, to provide data and evidence relating to the disaster to the commission investigating the causes," Zelensky said in a statement. The next day, Zelensky announced that his government had spoken to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "Data from the United States contains important information to help with the investigation," the Ukrainian president tweeted, without reference to missiles. It's a familiar, but unwelcome, position for the former comedian Zelensky: stuck in the middle, but struggling to stay informed. Since the political newcomer took office in May, he has found himself personally pulled into the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump after the U.S. held back military aid from the country. The nation he now leads has dealt for years with the fallout from the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down by Russian-backed rebels in the country's east in 2014, killing all 298 people on board. "He's trying to walk a thin line, as he has always been doing these past few months," said Nina Jankowicz, a scholar at the Wilson Center, adding that Zelensky was aware that his country had to maintain a working relationship with Iran as well as its international partners in the West. "He needs to be careful about what he says and what sort of accusations he's throwing around," Jankowicz said. After the disaster that took down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 from Tehran to Kyiv, the country had sent a team of 45 experts and search-and-rescue personnel to Iran - many of whom had also investigated the missile strike on the Malaysia Airlines flight. But the Ukrainian team was walking not only into an aviation disaster. The Boeing 737 plane had been destroyed in a new round of tension between the United States and Iran following a U.S. strike that killed Iranian military commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. The disaster had occurred just hours after Iran fired more than a dozen short-range ballistic missiles at military bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that the evidence shows the plan was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Iranian officials have refused this explanation and state media has said that an initial investigation suggested the plane had tried to return to the airport after take-off due to a malfunction. Initially, the Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran posted a similar assertion, but then promptly deleted the statement. Ukraine maintains diplomat relations with both Iran and the United States. Zelensky's government has tried to stay out of impeachment proceedings against Trump. "We need to solve the conflict in the [rebel-held] east, and we don't need to be involved in a conflict on the other side of the world," Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko told The Washington Post in November. If it is proven that Iran shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight, it will provide a diplomatic dilemma for Ukraine and other countries too. After the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, Western nations imposed crushing sanctions on Russia, whose military was later found to have provided the anti-aircraft missile that hit the plane. U.S. officials have expressed "high confidence" that the Boeing 737 that was downed near Tehran airport this week had been targeted by an SA-15 surface-to-air missile, part of a Russian-made air defense system also known as a Tor system. Another question will be not just why Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was targeted, but why it was flying in the middle of hostilities. The Ukrainian government was criticized for not closing the airspace over the eastern part of its country, in the midst of a civil war, ahead of the downing of the Malaysia Airline flight. No one "was even aware of the presence of highly sophisticated anti-air missile capabilities," Ukraine's Foreign Minister at the time, Pavlo Klimkin, told reporters during a visit to the United Nations in 2015. Though the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority issued a warning to U.S. operators hours before the plane took off from Iran, the Ukrainian civil aviation authorities did not follow suit. There were at least three other aircraft flying in the Tehran area at the time the Ukraine plane went down, according to the aviation monitor Flightradar24: two domestic flights and an Garuda Indonesia flight from London to Medan, Indonesia. Jankowicz, who studies misinformation at the Wilson Center, said that Russian news agencies have already singled Zelensky out for criticism for allowing the plane to operate in the midst of tensions. "The blame is ultimate with the Iranian military for bringing down the plane," she said, but Zelensky would have "criticism levied against him no matter what." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Even if Staten Island seceded from the city, wed still have dunderheaded decisions from New York state to deal with. Case in point: The unfinished HOV lane on the New Jersey-bound side of the Staten Island Expressway. It seems simple enough: You build a lane for drivers with three or more passengers in their vehicles. You build the lane from the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge to the Goethals Bridge. You speed things along, and cars heading to Jersey never have to get in the local lanes at all. Theres only one problem: The lane was never completely built out. It ends around Victory Boulevard. Which means that everybody has to cut back into the regular travel lanes once the HOV lane terminates. Which causes congestion. There have been efforts in past years to finish the job, and borough lawmakers have sent the flare up again in 2020. But the state Department of Transportation says that building the lane out wont improve traffic flow. Really? That makes me wonder if they think anything at all can be done to make traffic move better on the Staten Island Expressway. Or have we just given up? What makes this all the more galling is the fact that the expressway not that long ago underwent hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations. The end result being that some problems were fixed, while others were created. I still cant figure out why the entrance to the Brooklyn-bound expressway at Targee Street was closed. All that does is force motorists to ride the service road all the way to the bridge, increasing traffic on the service road. Also unsolved by the renovation: The bottleneck at the Jersey-bound entrance at Little Clove Road. Cars frequently back up onto Clove Road from the light at the entrance ramp. And cars often cut each other off as they jockey for position getting onto the highway itself. And then theres the exit only lane that got added to the Jersey-bound lanes at Bradley Avenue. Too many people use it as an actual travel lane. The lane is long enough to allow it. Then they have to cut in at the actual Bradley exit. That causes congestion. And just down the road a piece, the cars are cutting back in from the truncated HOV lane, causing even more delays as well as dangerous jockeying for position. Couldnt anybody have foreseen this? And Im supposed to believe that building out the HOV lane wouldnt help even a little? How about building the lane out and just letting everybody use it? Would that not help? Because the HOV lane isnt operating as its supposed to anyway. Too many people who dont have enough passengers in their vehicles use the lane. And true police enforcement is just about impossible. Who are we kidding? Look, I get it. Theres going to be traffic. Some things just cant be avoided. And Im not even talking about the stuff you really cant control, like the accidents on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn that cause the North Shore of the Island to become a frozen zone. But too many times Staten Islanders describe driving problem-free throughout the tri-state area, only to face a traffic calamity once they hit Staten Island. This happened to me this past Thanksgiving. Im sure its happened to you plenty. It edges close to malpractice that the state DOT wont even consider extending the HOV lane. Maybe we should leave New York state entirely and see if New Jersey wants us to join them. Maybe they can help us with our traffic. Were running out of other options. KYODO NEWS - Jan 10, 2020 - 18:55 | All, World, Japan (Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Takanami)[Courtesy of MSDF] TOKYO - The Japanese government on Friday ordered the Maritime Self-Defense Force to dispatch a destroyer and patrol planes to the Middle East on an information-gathering mission. The dispatch, approved by the Cabinet late last year, is intended to help secure the safe passage of Japanese commercial ships through waters in the region amid hostilities between the United States and Iran, although fears of an all-out conflict are easing. Related coverage: Abe to make 5-day trip to Mideast as Japan orders naval dispatch A week after the Turkish parliament approved a government motion for a military deployment in Libya, the scope of the mission remains unclear, but Ankara seems inclined to make use of non-military elements, including militia from Syria. While recruiting fighters from Syria may be seen as a relatively easy task for Turkey, the move appears to be opening rifts in opposition ranks. In a television interview Jan. 5, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would set up an operation center in Libya under the command of a Turkish lieutenant general and that Turkish soldiers had already started to gradually move into the war-torn country, where Ankara backs the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. The Turkish troops, he stressed, will not have a combat role. According to Erdogan, The aim of the Turkish Armed Forces is not to fight or make others fight [but] to prevent developments that could lead to humanitarian tragedies and drag the region into instability. Yet Turkey will have other units as combat forces, he said. In remarks the following day, Erdogan highlighted the role of Turkeys National Intelligence Organization (MIT), saying that it is duly performing its duties in Libya. The reason a combat force remains on the back burner is likely linked to disappointing results from Erdogans contacts with Russia, the United States and Tunisia, Libyas northwestern neighbor on which Ankara had pinned hope for a logistical route and bases. In his unscheduled visit to Tunisia Dec. 25, Erdogan was given an unexpectedly chilly welcome. Shortly after the visit, Tunisian President Kais Saied denied his country had aligned with Turkey, Algeria and the Tripoli-based Libyan government against the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Hifter, saying that Tunisia would not be part of any such axis. Parliament speaker Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Ennahda and a close friend of Erdogan in the Muslim Brotherhood network, said that Tunisia was not part of the Libyan conflict and could act only as a mediator. As international and regional conditions dictate a limited or covert Turkish intervention in Libya, proxies are gaining prominence. The source of the other combat forces that Erdogan mentioned is the militia pool in northern Syria, especially the Syrian National Army, an umbrella force trained and equipped by Turkey. According to the Syrian opposition news site Zaman al-Wasl, Turkish intelligence officials met with SNA leaders Dec. 22 to discuss how local fighters could be sent to Libya. The Turkish side allegedly offered monthly salaries of $2,000 to $3,000 to those who would go to Libya for at least three months. An SNA spokesman promptly denied the plan, but reports have continued to stream about hundreds of fighters from factions such as Faylaq al-Sham, Suqour al-Sham, the Sultan Murad Division and the Mutassim Brigade moving to Libya. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the opening of recruitment centers in the Afrin region under the supervision of Turkish-backed factions, including the Hamza Division, al-Jabha al-Shamiyyah and the Mutassim Brigade, to attract fighters for Libya. According to another report by the observatory, aspirants were being offered salaries ranging from $2,000 to $2,500 on three- or six-month contracts. On Jan. 5, the observatory reported that some 1,000 fighters from Syria had reached Libya and about 1,700 recruits were receiving training in camps in Turkey before heading to the front, including members of the Sultan Murad Division, the Suleyman Shah Brigade and the Mutassim Division. Many former members of the Hazm Movement, which dissolved under jihadi pressure several years ago, are also reportedly taking part in the training. Turkey might be offering even more to those willing to fight in Libya. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, tweeted Jan. 6, Sources inside the Turkish-backed Syrian factions tell me that in exchange for fighting in Libya, fighters are being promised Turkish citizenship after six months of deployment. Multiple commanders in the factions received Turkish citizenship & passports over the past month. She added, A fighter in the Samarkand Brigade told me why fighters are going to Libya: Turkey is carrying out a policy of starving the dog to make him follow you. The salaries of fighters in Syria are $50 per month impossible to survive on. Rumored monthly salaries in Libya are $1,500. Meanwhile, some videos of unconfirmed authenticity have made their way to the internet. In one of them a gun-wielding fighter exclaims, Allahu Akbar, the Free Syrian Army is in Libya to defend Islam. According to Libyan journalists, another video, showing men speaking with an Aleppan accent and mockingly pronouncing Hifters name, was filmed in the al-Tekbali camp in the Salah al-Din area near Tripoli, which Hifters forces recently lost. The Libyan press has drawn attention also to flights from Istanbul to Tripoli and Misrata by companies such as Libyan Wings, Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways and Buraq Air, claiming that the planes were bringing jihadis from Syria. There have also been allegations of secret passenger lists. According to email correspondence obtained by Libyan news site Al Marsad, an Afriqiyah Airways manager in Tripoli who asked the companys Istanbul office to provide the passenger list for a Dec. 25 flight from Istanbul to Tripoli, was told, For security reasons, the National Intelligence Organization in Turkey did not want to share the number of passengers. Erdogan had signaled Turkeys intention to make use of militia forces on Dec. 10, when he mentioned that the Russian private military company Wagner was helping Hifters forces in Libya and said that Turkey could resort to similar means. Those in the Syrian opposition who saw Turkeys recruitment of rebel support for its Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring operations in Syria as a diversion from their struggle against the regime are now opposed to the Libyan venture as well. The Libya campaign has coincided with a fresh offensive by the Syrian army on the key town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib. Once again, some factions in Turkish-controlled areas fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. One could argue it is no surprise that Islamist groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood would be willing to help their brethren in Libya, that Turkmen groups controlled by MIT would join that venture or that foreign fighters facing the end of the road in Idlib would look for a new battlefield. Yet, for opposition groups whose primary concern is a regime change in Syria, the Libya venture is a problem. Salim Idris, the SNAs chief of staff and defense minister in the self-proclaimed Syrian interim government based in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, is allegedly on the brink of resignation along with several other commanders. Though a resignation letter circulated on social media turned out to be fake, the discomfort of such opposition figures is visible on various platforms. Furthermore, some of the factions in northern Syria that inevitably benefit from Turkish patronage in Turkish-controlled areas have a history of ties with a rival axis led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Idris, too, belongs to them. Such bonds prevent them from tagging along with Turkey against Hifter, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. As the above reports suggest, Turkey has little option but to loosen its purse strings and offer Turkish citizenship to desperate fighters to lure them to Libya. Yet, if the militants transferred to Libya reach a number that weakens the battlefield in Syria, the mainstays of Turkeys Syria policy might crack and some factions might turn their back on Turkey. Moreover, the Libyan venture would make things easier for Russia and the Syrian government as they intensify their operations against the rebels in Idlib. The plan to move militias to Libya is also significant in terms of Turkeys future. It is a sort of a test run for Erdogan on how he could make use of thousands of fighters who will flock to the Turkish border once the Syrian campaign comes to a close. For the militia heading to Libya, Turkey will be the place to retreat after the mission is over. With Turkish citizenship apparently guaranteed, they would continue to be useful elements for Ankara, both at home and abroad. They would make for a large pool of candidates to employ in a prospective private military company, which, Erdogans former senior advisor Adnan Tanriverdi says, Turkey needs to establish. The retired major-general is the founder of SADAT, a company set up as an international defense consultancy. In remarks to the media last month, Tanriverdi denied that SADAT was involved in mercenary activities, but argued in favor of setting up such a company in Turkey, saying it would take burden off the Turkish army, be useful as a foreign policy tool and earn the country hard-currency revenues. Erdogans messages over the past month indicate that he is inclined to embrace the idea. Mounting scathing attack on the Opposition parties over Citizenship Amendment Act (CCA), Union Minister Babul Supriyo on Friday accused them of spreading "false propaganda" about the new law and creating "anarchy" in the country. Addressing a pro-CAA rally organized by the BJP in this south Odisha city in Ganjam district, the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest said the amended citizenship law passed in Parliament is not aimed at snatching away citizenship of anybody in the country. On the other hand, it seeks to provide citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have been victims of persecution and atrocities in these nations, he said. Accusing the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Left parties of "misleading" people on the CAA, the Union Minister said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had tendered apologies before the people several times with folded hands for telling lies in the run up to the last general election. "Now also Rahul Gandhi is telling lies about the CAA," Supriyo, a Lok Sabha member from Asansol in West Bengal, said. Emphasising that Indian culture believes in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the world is one family) and giving respect to the guests,he said "We have to give shelter to the minorities, who came from Islamic countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in a dignified manner by giving them citizenship." The CAA will in no way affect members of minority communities living in our country, Supriyo said adding "it will not snatch away citizenship of any Indian." He said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 had also advocated giving citizenship to the Bangladeshis, who came to India after getting raw deal in the neighbouring country. Both Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had also considered giving citizenship to people who came to India after facing religious persecution abroad and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a bold step to protect the neglected people, he said. Speaking on the occasion, BJP vice president and former MP Baijayant Panda said Mahatma Gandhi had favoured giving proper dignity to the minorities in the country and to those who came to India from the neighboring countries. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is following the assurances father of the nation had given to the minorities. Earlier, the BJP leaders and activists, including the union minister, took part in a rally and went round the main streets of the city before reaching the meeting venue near Ramalingam tank road. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHENNAI: A court in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu on Friday granted bail to writer Nellai Kannan, who had been arrested for making an objectionable speech against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bail order was passed by the Principal Sessions Court in the Tirunelveli district. Kannan was arrested on January 1 after an FIR was registered against him for his controversial speech against PM Modi during a protest meeting by Social Democratic Party of India on December 29 against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019. During his speech, Kannan had also slammed Amit Shah for pushing the citizenship law. He was arrested on January 1 after the video of his speech in Tirunelveli went viral. The court granted him bail on the condition that he has to sign twice a day at the concerned police station. Meanwhile, the Madras High court on Friday also directed the Tamil Nadu Government to file a counter to a plea filed by Kannan seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him for alleged provocative remarks against the Prime Minister and the Home minister. Live TV Justice Jagadeesh Chandra posted the case for hearing on January 20, after the government advocate strongly objected to the petition seeking quashing of the case. In his plea, Kannan alleged that police filed the FIR without conducting any preliminary investigation as mandated by the Supreme Court. He claimed that the case was entirely misconceived as he was using a colloquial term in his speech and it was not his intention to hurt any community or religious group but only to voice for the aggrieved sections. A professor told me about how a deadly explosion in the Bay Area during World War II set off a chain of events that would push the military to desegregate, and a bar owner told me about the nuances of efforts to preserve San Franciscos L.G.B.T.Q. spaces. I looked at Smokey Bears legacy on his 75th birthday and raided a trove of old ads to mark the occasion. With your help, we made a California playlist on Spotify, and I got to talk about it in real life with an inveterate New Yorker, Jon Pareles (who is also The Timess chief pop music critic). I mention all this because, now, we want to check in with you: What do you want to know more about in the coming year? What kinds of stories do you like reading? Are there issues, places or communities youd like to see covered in California Today? Let us know at CAToday@nytimes.com. Better yet, if you know about something you think other people should know about too, send us a tip. And thank you, again, for reading and sharing with us. We appreciate it. By attacking the overdose crisis on a broad front, the Trump administration in 2018 was able to stop the increase in overdose deaths, and even slightly reduce them, for the first time in several decades. Much of that success stemmed from substantial progress in controlling the abuse of legal opioids. But the progress will be reversed if the country is hit by a tsunami of newly legalized fentanyl analogues. Without congressional action, the Justice Department would not have the legal tools to prevent this onslaught. Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan visited the Assam Rifles formation headquarters and border locations of Eastern Nagaland on Thursday to review the security situation in the region. An official release on Friday said the local commanders of the field formations of Assam Rifles briefed the Army Commander on the prevailing security situation and the operational preparedness. Lt Gen Chauhan expressed satisfaction over the security measures undertaken by the troops of Assam Rifles and gave his compliments to the troops for efficiently carrying out a commendable job in maintaining peace and normalcy in the region. The Eastern Army Commander along with General Officer Commanding Spear Corps and IG Assam Rifles later called upon Governor of Nagaland R N Ravi at Raj Bhavan on January 9. Lt Gen Chauhan discussed security issues and apprised the Governor of the action being undertaken by the Indian Army and Assam Rifles in coordination with civil agencies for maintenance of peace and tranquility in the state and along the India-Myanmar border. "The Governor lauded the indefatigable efforts of the armed forces in arduous conditions and complimented them for their people-friendly initiatives. Later in the day, the General Officer also interacted with Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan (Retired), Chairman CFMG in Kohima and discussed security issues in Nagaland," the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was charged this week with killing a man on a Camden street in November, authorities said Friday. Jamil Beatty, 30, is accused of killing William McWhorter, acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill Mayer said in a news statement. McWhorter, 46, of Philadelphia, was found Nov. 29 on Tulip Street around 3:27 p.m. Officers responding to reports of shots fired found him with a gunshot wound. He was later pronounced dead at Cooper University Hospital. Beatty was arrested Wednesday at his home in Camden and charged with first-degree murder. He is in the Camden County Jail awaiting a detention hearing. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Friday, January 10th, 2020 (1:23 pm) - Score 1,989 The Local Government Association, which represents hundreds of councils across England and Wales, has finally figured out what almost everybody else has known for years, that those mobile network coverage (3G, 4G, 5G etc.) checkers usually run by operators are not a particularly reliable gauge of signal quality. According to the LGA, some councils are finding that where mobile coverage is reported by such checkers as being supposedly fast and reliable, users have [instead] frequently reported being unable to make phone calls or get online (mobile broadband). The association fears that this could be a particular problem when it comes to the task of holding MNOs Three UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone to account if they miss their future targets. All of this will be key to the new Government supported, but industry-led, 1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) that aims to extend geographic 4G coverage to 95% of the UK by 2025. By relying solely on operators own computer modelling rather than on the ground testing, the Government and Ofcom are at risk of letting operators mark their own homework, said the LGA. Instead the association is calling on the Government to give Ofcom the powers to independently verify coverage, with local areas given annual speed and reliability health checks using on-the-ground testing. Cllr Kevin Bentley, Chairman of the LGAs People and Places Board, said: The industrys proposal to increase mobile coverage across local areas is a positive step. However, we know that the way mobile operators and Ofcom measure outdoor coverage does not account for real life experience. Like housing, education and transport provision, digital connectivity is central to thriving communities with millions of people relying on mobile coverage every day, including businesses and our most vulnerable. It is important our communities are not cut off from the digital age. Councils are governments key partners in driving improvement in peoples lives across the whole country. Before the Government signs up to any new deal, we want to work with them to ensure that we can properly measure whether mobile operators are achieving coverage that improves mobile signal in the real world, rather than numbers on a spreadsheet. As ever the biggest challenge here is the fact that mobile (radio) signals are inherently variable and can change due to all sorts of complicated considerations. For example, changes in the weather, tree / plant growth, the device / hardware / antenna being used, location of the user (outdoor, indoor, underground etc.), the construction of new structures (buildings), interference and so forth all have a role to play. Certainly we like the idea of more on-the-ground testing being done, but it too would have to consider the changing environment and conduct multiple tests over several days in the same location before being sure of an outcome. Even then the results may need to be repeated, perhaps annually, to reflect the ever changing environment. Repeating this across the whole of the United Kingdom sounds like an expensive headache. Data from third-party crowd-sourced solutions (e.g. Opensignal, Tutela) can help to illustrate the problem, although its harder to produce a scientific baseline without exact knowledge of what the end-user was doing at the time of a test (e.g. was it an idle test while the phone was in their pocket or were they holding it up in the air etc.) and limiting tests to only specific hardware. Nevertheless it would be interesting to see a few more scientific, on-the-ground studies to help verify coverage and the LGA gives some examples of where councils may already be trying something similar. However it will be important to establish some sort of standard for this, otherwise any data collected may be useless if different methodologies are adopted. Travellers strolling around the streets of Bangkok are rightfully astounded by the amount of shops spas offering massages of all types. There are so many types of massage in Bangkok that people visiting Thailand for the first time are confused by all the selections on offer. But most of the therapeutic massages offered in the spas of Bangkok can be broken down into two different and distinct types of Thai massage. Lets explore exactly what constitutes a traditional Thai massage for a start. Traditional Thai Massage What is considered to be a traditional Thai massage has been practised in Thailand for hundreds of years. It embraces principles and techniques that originated in both China and India. Spiritualism also plays a part in the history of Thai massage, as Buddha brought the practice with him from India on his travels. As more and more Thais converted to Buddhism, the practice of massage began to evolve from the methods that were Indian in origin, to ones that combined the practices of Chinese traditional medicine as well. The result was an amalgam of Indian, Chinese, and Thai techniques and methods that have proven to be effective in increasing circulation, easing tight muscles and limbering up the body to alleviate stiffness, increase mobility and restore the bodys balance. For instance, the hand and foot massage techniques of Thai massage are derived from the reflexology studies of traditional Chinese medicine. The stretching of muscles, tendons and joints echoes the Indian practice of Hatha Yoga. The gently persuasive manner in which these techniques are administered is purely the Thai influence at work. Gentle persuasion can be attributed to the teachings of Buddha, and the Thais have assimilated this into all parts of their lives. A traditional Thai massage in Bangkok can be a potentially painful experience for the beginner. But if its done slowly by a skilled massage therapist, the experience is ultimately rewarding. After a good nights sleep, youll feel rejuvenated and supple again. Relaxing Massage In a traditional Thai massage, the stretching and pulling exercises are interspersed with a gentle kneading of the muscles and tendons, which serves to re-align them with the body as a whole. This kneading of the various muscles of the body has become popular as a relaxing massage in its own right. This gentle type of massage, when combined with aromatherapy and other common spa treatments, is what a lot of visitors think of to be a Thai massage. These gentle massages, when done over the course of an hour or so, leave the body feeling rested and rejuvenated. They are therapeutic massages as well, without the stretching and potential pain of the traditional Thai massage. Experience a Massage in Bangkok The variety of massages in Bangkok can be broken down into these two different types of massage treatments. The traditional Thai massage is the grandfather of most of the massage variations on offer at spas and massage shops around Bangkok. Bangkok is also home to some of the massage schools in Thailand, so whatever you choose, youll be in good hands. Photos and Web Content by Primal Co., Ltd. Every summer, hundreds of young Australians devote two weeks to running Christian programs for families and youth on the beaches of New South Wales and Victoria. But cataclysmic fires in southeastern Australia have interrupted the efforts of Scripture Union teams in the nations most populous states. Scripture Union has served in the Victoria beach town of Mallacoota for more than 30 years. But when teams showed up to the vacation town this year, the winds changed and the fires began immediately threatening Mallacoota. As the blazes inched closer, leader Chris Mulherin and his team, along with hundreds of locals and tourists were evacuated to a movie theater were they spent hours in the hot building listening to sirens roar and gas bottles explode outside. Part of the sense of wanting to stay was the commitment to the local youth who had been through this extraordinarily difficult experience, said Mulherin. Some of them had lost their homes. Others hadnt. Most of the [tourists] were actually evacuated so they moved on or were going to move on but the locals obviously were still around and so there was this sense that we didnt really want to leave them. One night later, Mulherin and his team opened up a space for young peoplelocals and tourists aliketo come and process their experience. Then, the students headed back to Melbourne on a boat shortly after Victorias premier designated the area as a state of disaster, with Mulherin by helicopter a few days later. Meanwhile, Scripture Union evacuated eight teams serving on the south coast of New South Wales, Australias most populous state. The Australian bushfires have torched more than 24 million acres and spread across all six states. A New York Times article described the scale as an area almost as large as West Virginia, more than triple the area destroyed by the 2018 fires in California and six times the size of the 2019 fires in Amazonia. The fires have also killed at least 25 people and hundreds of millions of animals and destroyed thousands of buildings, including at least one church. The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team announced this week that it would be deploying two groups of crisis-trained chaplains from the US, Canada, and the UK to Victoria and New South Wales. Nearly 40 chaplains have been traveling alongside Samaritans Purse since last fall as the organization has responded to the fires. God has been reminding me the beautiful words in Matthews Gospel: Come to Me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,' said Steward Beveridge, who leads the ministrys rapid response team in Australia and New Zealand. When I have the opportunity to talk with people, there are tears and a moment of silence as they reflect on the words and take comfort in them. The board of directors of A Rocha Australia, part of an international Christian conservation group, acknowledged that the fires had affected them personally, through assisting the evacuated or working with other environmental groups. We are also pausing in prayer and reflection, to meditate on gospel truths, and to bear with others amidst our grief, the board said in a statement. And we are worshipping the Lord through creation care mission as we seek to be salt and light, in our own small way, to people who are in shock, angry, and despairing at the fires. A Rocha Australia also said it was building partnerships with Christian and non-Christian conservationists to aid with the recovery. We are looking for opportunities to engage Australian churches to see this disaster through a scriptural lens, in repentance and obedience, rather than simply as a political issue, its board stated. This is a challenge for Christians and churches in a nation where climate and environmental politics are so polarized, often being based upon political ideology rather than science, the Scriptures, and the new climate reality. More than half of Australian churchgoers (56%) believe that humans are largely responsible for climate change, according to the 2016 National Church Life Survey. The same number of churchgoers agree or strongly agree that they have a moral duty to do something about climate change, and nearly half (48%) said that Australia should immediately address climate change even if the steps were costly. Among senior church leaders, about a quarter (27%) say that they often or sometimes preach on the environment or caring for the earth. The church needs to be speaking up and not shying away from it or just adhering to some of the traditional issues that certain sections of the church think is our main area of focus. The church needs to be focusing on climate change and creation care, said Mick Pope, a professor of environmental mission at Missional University, in a piece from Eternity titled Now Is the Perfect Time to Talk About Climate Change. Last month, Hillsong founder and senior pastor Brian Houston announced that the denomination was organizing a campaign that would support both short- and long-term recovery. Some of the funds raised would support firefighters, while other money would go to the Salvation Army, which was offering shelter, food, and water to those evacuated by the fires. He also said that the megachurch would work with network churches to support long-term help. As a church, we are committed to pray and believe God for drought-breaking rain to quench our dry and parched land, he wrote. We believe there is hope in Jesus, and in Him, unshakable promises on which we can stand firm on behalf of our nation. In a tweet he later deleted, Houston announced on Monday that the church had raised more than half a million Australian dollars. On Friday, in another later-deleted tweet, Houston announced the church had raised more than one million Australian dollars. Back in Mallacoota, bed and breakfast owner and Christian David Jeffrey became an international face of the crisis after telling his story of escaping an approaching line of fire to BBC News and SkyNews. Jeffrey was among several in his community who had resisted evacuating, deciding instead to defend his home. He said that he specifically asked God to change the direction of the wind as the 60-foot-high wall of fire traveled nearly 60 miles an hour in his direction. I prayed, Lord if you dont push this [fire] back now, we need [wind] from the east. As soon as I said that, it started blowing from the east a little bit. Then I got louder and [the wind] got stronger. Then I got louder again and it got stronger again, Jeffrey told Eternity News. After he began praying, Jeffrey said that he felt the fire change. I heard God say to me, pray. I started off with a pathetic little prayer. Then within me, this faith rose up and said who are you praying to? And I thought, Yes! Youre the God of the Bible. Nothings impossible with you! Harris awarded The Gazette and KTVQ just a little more than $10,000. So, if you're doing the math, it means that the city spent more than $17,000 just to try to save $10,000. And that backfired. Now, the city will have to pay its own legal fees plus the attorney fees for The Gazette and KTVQ. It spent $17,000 to try to save $10,000. And yet, it wound up spending at least $27,000 on a lawsuit that did nothing more than try to hide information from the public. The Gazette and KTVQ believe it was our obligation as local journalists to ask questions and ultimately hold those in power to accountability, and we concur with Harris and the Supreme Court that the litigation was unnecessary and lamentable. The reality of this story is that the details had they been released would have been news for a few days, and then public attention, especially in the day of social media, would have been distracted and pulled in a different direction. You are here: Business Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn vowed on Thursday to cooperate "fully" with the Lebanese judiciary system, LBCI TV channel reported. "I feel very good about the Lebanese judiciary system, much better than I was feeling about the Japanese judicial system," Ghosn said following his interrogation. "Remarks by Japanese justice minister about me are ridiculous," he said, adding that there exist a lot of victims in Japanese prisons. Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori said on Thursday that Ghosn's accusations against Japan's legal system are "absolutely intolerable." Ghosn accused the Japanese legal system a day earlier of being unfair, adding that he was being treated brutally by prosecutors in Tokyo. Ghosn arrived in Beirut from Japan by the end of last month to escape what he called "an unfair justice system." Nissan accused Ghosn last year of understating his salary while he was the chief executive, and transferring 5 million U.S. dollars of Nissan funds to an account in which he had an interest. Ghosn held a press conference on Wednesday in Beirut, denying all accusations issued by Nissan against him while vowing to fight to prove his innocence until the end. Iran dismisses US, Canadian intelligence that missile accidentally downed plane that had 176 people on board. The Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran was shot down by an Iranian missile, officials from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom believe, a conclusion Iran rejects. Western officials said the strike may have been a mistake. The Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, crashed minutes after leaving the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran. All 176 people on board were killed. The crash happened hours after Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq. The strikes, Iran said, were in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. Here are all of the latest updates as of Friday, January 10: Treasury will grant waivers to allow US participation in Iran crash probe US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the department will grant sanction waivers to allow Americans or anyone else to participate in the investigation of Wednesdays crash of a Ukrainian International Boeing 737-800 airliner in Iran. Under US sanctions law, the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) must grant approval for US investigators and Boeing Co to participate and potentially travel to Iran. Boeing said it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board on the necessary applications and approvals from OFAC for the appropriate export licenses. The NTSB said late on Thursday it had agreed to be an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash at Irans invitation. The Treasury will issue waivers for anybody, whether its Americans or others that can help facilitate the investigation, Mnuchin said at a White House news conference. Ukrainian president, Pompeo discuss crash probe Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have discussed the investigation of the plane crash. A US statement says Pompeo offered the Ukrainian leader condolences and full assistance in the ongoing investigation into the crash of the Ukrainian jetliner. Zelenskyys office said the Ukrainian leader briefed Pompeo about the progress in the investigation, and they agreed that Pompeo would visit Ukraine in late January. Grateful for the condolences of the American people and valuable support of the US in investigating the causes of the plane crash, Zelenskiy tweeted after the call. Earlier Friday he called for all international partners the US, Britain and Canada in particular to share data relevant to the crash. Sweden halts Iran Air flights between Stockholm and Tehran Swedens Transport Agency said it had temporarily halted Iran Air flights between Sweden and Iran after the crash of a Ukrainian airliner near Tehran. The reason is the uncertainty around the accident and the security of civil aviation, the agency said in a statement. Swedens foreign ministry said on Friday that seven Swedish citizens and a total of 17 people who lived in the Nordic country died in the crash. Lufthansa cancels Frankfurt-Tehran flight German airline Lufthansa said its flight from Frankfurt to Tehran has been cancelled as a precautionary measure because of the security situation for airspace around the Iranian airport. As soon as we have detailed information, we will decide if and when our Iranian flights can be operated again, Lufthansa said in a statement. Russia rejects claim missile hit airliner Russian legislators said statements about a missile hitting the jetliner are groundless and they accused the West of prematurely assigning blame to Tehran. Vladimir Dzhabarov, a legislator with Russias upper house of parliament, said Friday that we need to be cautious with conclusions. Iranians have invited Ukraine to take part in the investigation. Why would they do it if they knew they had shot [the plane] down? Leonid Slutsky, a legislator with Russias lower house of parliament, echoed that sentiment and said conclusions about the cause of the crash could be politically motivated. Facts and solid evidence are needed, rather than vague references to intelligence findings. So far it has all been groundless, Slutsky said. Pilot communicated with Mehrabad airport Al Jazeeras Assed Baig reporting from Tehran said that according to the aviation authority, the pilot did contact Mehrabad airport, which deals with domestic flights in Tehran, seeking permission to climb to a higher altitude of 26,000ft. Were getting that extra information because before we thought the pilot had no communication but now were hearing that he did communicate with Mehrabad airport, Baig said. The aviation authority also said the plane had caught fire for a minute and a half to two minutes. They said that he did try to turn the airplane around and his priority was to save the aircraft and the passengers, Baig said. Iranian authorities have said they will try to repair the damaged black box to retrieve the data, but if they do not succeed, they will seek assistance from Canada, the US and Ukraine, Baig added. Iran rejects claim missile downed plane Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans civil aviation department, rejected claims that Tehran unintentionally hit the airliner with a surface-to-air missile, saying it was impossible due to close coordination between Irans air defence and civil aviation department. 200109154318859 As I said, based on the law, there is full coordination between our air defence and our civil [aviation] system. Our civil aviation personnel and air defence personnel sit side by side, so it is absolutely impossible for such a thing [shooting down a passenger plane] to happen, Abedzadeh told a news conference. He called on the US and Canada to share any information they have on the crash. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Abedzadeh said. If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world, in accordance with international standards, he added. Iran TV airs footage of airliners black boxes Iranian state television showed footage purportedly of the two black boxes recovered from the crashed Ukrainian airliner. The footage, posted online by state TV, showed two devices inside a wooden crate which commentary said were the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. Both black boxes are damaged but their memory can be downloaded and examined, the commentary said. The wooden crate was opened at the Iran Civil Aviation Organisation, the commentary said. Airliner may have been downed by missile: Ukraine Ukraines President Zelenskyy said the possibility that a missile downed the passenger airplane had not been ruled out but it has not been confirmed yet. He said he would discuss the investigation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later on Friday. France ready to contribute to probe: Minister France is available to contribute to the investigation into the crash of the Ukrainian airliner, French Foreign Minister Le Drian said. It is important that as much clarity as possible is made and as quickly as possible, Le Drian said on RTL radio. Farhad Parvaresh, Irans representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation, part of the United Nations, said on Thursday that France might also be involved as it was one of the countries where the engines were made. Iran invites Ukraine, Boeing to probe plane crash Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to take part in the plane crash investigation, state media reported. Irans spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Tehran will also welcome experts from other countries whose citizens died in the crash. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the US accident-investigating agency to take part in the probe. Video appears to show moment Ukraine plane hit over Iran A newly surfaced video appears to show the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit by a missile before crashing not far from Irans airport in Tehran on Wednesday. The video, first reported by the New York Times newspaper and CNN, is consistent with statements made by Canadian, US and UK officials, who said intelligence indicated that an Iranian missile brought down the airliner, a conclusion dismissed by Iran. The officials said it may have been a mistake. Read more here. BART will dispatch 10 new community service officers to patrol the trains, help defuse conflicts, roust people sleeping on seats and convey a sense of security a more aggressive ambassador program than what the agency had considered before a fatal stabbing on the system in November. Proponents had conceived of the program as a form of restorative justice that could help build trust with riders who fear police officers, but that concept divided the agencys board of directors for more than a year. The new plan looks more like traditional law enforcement. The ambassadors, who will begin work next month, will be administered and vetted by the BART Police Department. They will receive training in resolving disputes and controlling their own biases, but they wont be armed and they wont have the power to arrest or detain people. We call them our eyes and ears, Board President Lateefah Simon said Thursday afternoon, shortly after the board approved ambassadors for a six-month trial period. I want people on BART who dont have billy clubs and guns to just be there for folks. Five teams of two will patrol from 2 p.m. to midnight at a cost of $690,000 for the six-month trial. Officials will hire the first crew in February and evaluate it, then decide whether to pursue it long-term. The agency could make adjustments: Director Mark Foley suggested extending the officers shifts so that they board the last trains of the night. Additionally, the board will set aside $810,000 to put a fare gate and barrier around an elevator at Oakland Coliseum Station, which currently lifts people right from the ground to the platform, bypassing the fare gates. Our riders have consistently been asking for ambassadors, Director Janice Li said in an interview Wednesday. Li supported the program so strongly that she held a community forum to discuss it when the board and top management put the idea on ice. But on Thursday it had round support from many groups that had previously recoiled, including the head of the police officers union and Director Debora Allen, who generally favors law enforcement over community-driven social justice. Though board members routinely split into factions over any policing issue, they voted unanimously to start the six-month trial. It was a grand compromise, Allen said. Board member Bevan Dufty got to name them ambassadors. And the Police Department and I got the right people. She added: Its political. When Dufty first pitched the idea of ambassadors in March 2018, several board directors suggested the agency could hire people from rehabilitation programs for the jobs, similar to BARTs elevator attendant program in downtown San Francisco. Dufty wanted to replicate a longstanding program at Muni in which community members quell fights along school routes. That proposal sowed controversy: Opponents balked at the notion of putting former offenders or substance abusers in charge of public safety, and agency unions said BART already has staff who could fill the role. Our (previous) general manager took 13 months to put together a two-page memo saying, basically, no, Dufty said. The idea festered for more than a year. The board shot down an attempt by Director Rebecca Saltzman to include the program in its 2019 budget, which funded 19 additional police officers. Directors postponed it again in September, when Allen raised doubts that civilian employees could stop crime on the system. Then the November slaying plunged BART into another crisis, showing that the rail system is no longer a space of respite from social problems outside, but more and more the place where they well up. In that instance, a 39-year-old man allegedly walked shoeless out of a San Leandro hospital, stepped onto a Warm Springs-bound train and brutally attacked another passenger who tried to thwart the theft of a sleeping riders shoes. The slashing illustrated a web of challenges facing the rail system as it struggles to efficiently move hundreds of thousands of commuters each day. Increasingly, crime, homelessness and mental illness are sucking the oxygen from BART. Last Friday night, BART police arrested a man for allegedly swinging a bicycle chain on a train and breaking another riders nose, according to people familiar with the investigation. On Wednesday night, police spent more than nine hours coaxing a mentally unstable man off the tracks near Concord. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. That recent string of headline-grabbing violence and disorder coincided with a change in leadership at BART. The new general manager, Bob Powers, didnt share his predecessors reservations about a new unarmed security force. Instead, Powers endorsed the program. We have a different general manager who believes in this concept thats whats changed, Dufty said. The process Bob has taken has been so painstaking. Riders who approached Powers during his recent listening tour persistently asked for more uniformed employees on the rail system, particularly on nights and weekends. Powers, interim Police Chief Ed Alvarez and police union President Keith Garcia all support the addition of more community service officers, albeit with distinct attire: a long-sleeved polo shirt with a BART logo and Ambassador on the back. Though the agency finally reached consensus, many people had caveats. Garcia and Allen emphasized that the ambassadors will not replace sworn police officers. Powers intends to hire 19 officers a year to achieve a desired police presence on the system. Ambassadors also wont substitute for station hardening sturdier fare gates, higher railings and other infrastructure to ward off intruders. Li had her own words of caution. I recognize there are concerns that the ambassadors are housed within BARTs Police Department, she said at the meeting. She promised that the agency would monitor all contacts with riders to ensure they are fair. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan Australian authorities urged another mass evacuation across the heavily populated south-east yesterday as a return of hot weather fanned huge bushfires threatening several towns and communities. Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews urged communities to be on alert ahead of the extreme conditions. "If you receive instructions to leave, then you must leave," Mr Andrews said in a televised briefing. "That is the only way to guarantee your safety." Parts of Kangaroo Island, a wildlife-rich tourist spot off the south-east coast where Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday made a plea for foreign tourists not to be deterred by the fires, were again evacuated yesterday. "I urge everyone to heed warnings, follow advice, and to head to the east part of the island, which is deemed safe at this point," South Australia fire chief Mark Jones said. A third of the island has been destroyed. Twenty-seven people have been killed this fire season, according to the federal government, as the monster fires have scorched through more than 10.3 million hectares of land, an area the size of South Korea. Thousands have been made homeless and thousands have had to evacuate repeatedly because of the volatility of the fires. Residents of the coastal town of Mallacoota, where thousands of people were stranded on a beach for days until a military evacuation that only ended on Wednesday, were among those again advised to flee. "If we evacuate, where do we go?" said Mark Tregellas, who spent New Year's Eve on a boat ramp as fire destroyed much of his town, and one of about 1,000 people who decided to stay. "The electricity is slowly coming back but everyone is reliant on generators, and fuel for those is very limited," he told reporters by telephone from his house. "People have now run out of petrol so most in the town are now riding on bicycles." A water bombing helicopter ditched in a dam on New South Wales south coast yesterday. The pilot was safe. Authorities have warned that the huge fires, spurred by high temperatures, wind and a three-year drought, will persist until there is substantial rainfall. The weather agency said there was no sign of that for months. "It takes a huge amount of rain to put out bushfires of this intensity and of this scale. That's not forecast," South Australia fire chief Jones told reporters. Weather officials in South Australia issued a severe warning for some parts of the state's north. New South Wales fire officials warned of "extreme fire danger" in the state's alpine region. BEIRUT A Lebanese prosecutor imposed a travel ban on former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn on Thursday, judicial sources said, after he was questioned over an Interpol warrant issued by Japan seeking his arrest on financial misconduct charges. Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. The Lebanese judicial authorities also asked Japan for its file on Ghosn, including the charges against him, and will not question him again until the information is received, one of the sources said. Carlos Abou Jaoude, a Beirut-based lawyer for Ghosn, told Lebanese broadcaster MTV Ghosn was "very comfortable" with the proceedings in Beirut. "He is very comfortable with the path," Jaoude said, adding that Ghosn was also comfortable himself "especially after what he went through". The decision issued by the prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Ouiedat, requires Ghosn to keep the authorities informed of his place of residence, the judicial sources said. Ghosn would surrender his French passport to the Lebanese authorities later on Thursday, one of the sources said after the questioning, which took place at Beirut's Justice Palace, the headquarters of the judiciary. The Brazilian-born Ghosn said on Wednesday he had escaped to Lebanon to clear his name and was ready to stand trial anywhere he could get a fair hearing. Ghosn said he was ready to stay for a long time in Lebanon, which does not allow the extradition of its nationals, and a source close to the 65-year-old has said his legal team is pushing for him to be tried in the country. In addition to the Interpol warrant, Ghosn was also questioned over a formal legal complaint filed against him by a group of Lebanese lawyers who accuse him of "normalization" with Israel over a visit he made there in 2008. The prosecutor released him with the same condition, that he keep the authorities aware of his place of residence, the sources said. Story continues There was no immediate statement from the prosecutor's office. In his comments to MTV, Ghosn's lawyer Jaoude said a statement would be issued by Ghosn's team later. Ghosn said on Wednesday he had made the trip as a French citizen and an executive of Renault to sign a contract with a state-backed Israeli firm to sell electric vehicles, and had been obliged to go because the board had requested it. He said apologized for the trip and said he had not meant to hurt the people of Lebanon, which deems Israel an enemy state. During the visit, Ghosn met Israel's former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was premier at the time of the 2006 war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Nearly 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, died in the 2006 war and 158 people died in Israel, mostly soldiers. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> Name: Tim Mulhall Occupation: Founder and Managing Director of Tandem Background: Established in 2010, Tandem provides project management, engineering design and construction services to clients across Ireland, the UK and Europe in the life science, industrial a d commercial sectors. During its decade in business, Tandem has grown to a team of 130 professionals specialising in project management, talent resourcing and engineering design. Working with clients in Ireland, the UK and Europe, the Cork headquartered company operates five offices in Ireland and the Netherlands and achieved a turnover of 12.5m in 2018. Current projects include a large city centre office fit-out and a medical device expansion in Cork, a new biologics facility in the Midlands, a large industrial facility and two pharmaceutical fit-outs in Waterford, two utility upgrade projects in Dublin and a medical device expansion in Galway. Having come a long way in a relatively short time, Tim Mulhall credits skilled teamwork amongst Tandems key attributes. Our team has unique skill-sets which allow us to deliver successful projects in a flexible and collaborative way. Our client-centred approach ensures that we protect our customers interests and that their project goals are prioritised. "We work hard on ensuring that our team continues to develop its skill-sets through our CPD programme which is accredited by Engineers Ireland, he adds. A chartered engineer with over 20 years experience of project management in the biotech, pharmaceutical, industrial and commercial sectors, Tim has a track record of delivering complex projects on time and in budget. It is helpful to have a portfolio with large companies who give us strong references from previous projects, he explains. We find a lot of new business comes from referrals or word of mouth and we also rely on regular repeat business from existing customers. Building and maintaining positive relationships with our customers is very important to us and we are only ever as good as we were on our last project. While the companys experience has been mainly in the life sciences pharma, biologics and medical devices the team have found their skillset can also be successfully applied to projects in the industrial, food, commercial and public sectors. Strong project management is critical regardless of the sector, and our design, construction and project controls teams have experience on multiple projects in a variety of industries. We work in a very collaborative way when providing services for clients, and that does contribute to a significant amount of repeat business. Tandem works with clients to think objectively about what tasks are essential, to project manage the volume of work and to establish roles and responsibilities between functions with the aim of ensuring all areas are ready for the next milestones in the project life-cycle. We use our extensive industry knowledge to help our clients develop the steps necessary to ensure a successful start-up of their facility. Looking back to the early days of Tandem, Tim recalls the breaks that helped the then fledgling company get up and running: We were offered a project management contract on a large pharmaceutical expansion in Waterford, and this was followed shortly after with engineering design contracts for a client in Cork. These projects allowed us to start growing our team straight away and indeed those two companies involved are still major clients of ours today. Given that Tandem already operates in the UK and Europe, future plans include further expansion. "We plan to expand our services further into Europe in the medium term, and we are working closely with Enterprise Ireland to help achieve this. There is a need for life science expertise to support large projects in mainland Europe and we are well positioned to expand beyond our base in the Netherlands." Having established Tandem in 2010, at the height of the recession and a very difficult economic period in Ireland, Tim is positive about prospects for 2020 and beyond. We have experienced a recent uplift in tender activity for new projects across multiple sectors and we have a well-established team ready to work on them. We have also developed new services which are in demand such as our Operational Readiness offering which helps our clients plan and implement the ramp-up to commercial manufacturing for new facilities. As a city that took its share of hard hits during the downturn, Cork is very much on the rise, he believes: I think the significant office developments in the city centre will bring continued vibrancy to Cork in addition to the ongoing success of manufacturing and technology facilities in the suburbs and large towns. Our third-level institutes continue to provide high-quality graduates who underpin growth in the region. In addition, Tandem has worked closely with UCC and CIT through its undergraduate programme and Advance graduate programme, both of which have helped strengthen the company with high-quality graduates. Tandem is also involved in the STEM and STEPS initiatives, encouraging younger generations to consider a career in engineering. During the year we met many college undergraduates and graduates at careers events that have impressed us with their knowledge, capabilities and drive, he says. The company has expanded steadily every year since 2010 and we see opportunities to add to our existing team while maintaining our culture and high level of service. We are planning to increase our workforce in 2020 and beyond. Tandem recently appointed three associate directors to its leadership team. Looking to the ongoing concern around Brexit, Tim sees opportunities for both Tandem and Ireland: Brexit will not significantly affect Tandem as most of our customers are outside the UK. We feel that Brexit will present opportunities to Ireland in the form of businesses relocating their headquarters here from the UK and increased foreign direct investment by companies looking for an English-speaking base in Europe. As ever, Ireland will need to be competitive and continue to provide a highly skilled, motivated work force to secure this investment. The lawyer for Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann is launching a primary bid against Republican Representative Thomas Massie in Kentuckys 4th congressional district. The move comes after McMurtry oversaw a settlement on Tuesday between CNN and his client Sandmann, the Kentucky teen who sued multiple media organizations over their coverage of his viral encounter with a Native American man near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. last year. On January 18, 2019, viral video of Sandmann, then a junior at Covington Catholic High School, showed him standing face to face with Nathan Phillips, a Native American man who was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March. Sandmann and his classmates wore Make America Great Again hats and were in Washington for the anti-abortion March for Life. Initial coverage of the encounter, during which Sandmann stood still and occasionally smiled as Phillips played a drum inches from his face, was used to portray Sandmann as a racist trying to antagonize Phillips. NBC asserted that Sandmann blocked Phillips and did not allow him to retreat during their interaction. Longer versions of the video later showed that Phillips approached Sandmann. Sandmanns lawyers said the lawsuits were over the emotional distress Nicholas and his family suffered. His family had to move out of their home temporarily after the media coverage. The amount of the settlement with CNN was not made public, but Sandmanns suit sought a total of $800 million from CNN, the Washington Post and NBC Universal. Sandmann and McMurtry will now focus on their lawsuits against NBC and the Washington Post and additional defendants to be named soon, McMurtry said on Tuesday. McMurtrys Kentucky congressional campaign argues that President Trump cannot count on Massies support. Massie, who has represented his district since 2012, has raised more than $121,000 and has $242,000 cash on hand, according to his campaigns most recent data. More from National Review Fighting a boardroom battle at multi-billion dollar Murugappa Group previously headed by her late father, US-settled nuclear scientist Valli Arunachalam on Thursday said she would be forced to take legal recourse if an amicable settlement is not reached soon, and alleged that she is being denied a board seat just because of being a woman. "I have lots of patience but it''s not infinite," said Arunachalam, the New York-based eldest daughter of late Murugappa Group patriarch MV Murugappan. In an interview here, she accused her extended family of uncles and male cousins of denying her to execute her father's will "just because I am a woman". After being the executive chairman of the nearly Rs 40,000-crore diversified group that runs around 30 companies, ten of them listed, for over two decades, MV Murugappan passed away in September 2017, leaving a probate will bequeathing his 8.15 per cent stake in the group holding firm Ambadi Investments to his wife and two daughters. It can be noted that Arunachalam has chosen to go public with her grievances weeks after the National Company Law appellate Tribunal reinstated Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of the Tata Group, and also declared that his family is legally qualified to hold a board position in the group as a minority shareholder. "After I went public with my demand for a board position or an amicable settlement through a buyout of our significant stake in the Ambadi, both of which have so far been rejected by the board of my extended family members, who run it. I have read last week that they are working on a corporate governance plan at the company. "I am keen to know how they are going execute it and how soon. Though I have lots of patience, I would like to remind them that my patience is not infinite" Valli, who holds a PhD in nuclear engineering, told PTI in an interview. She also said that if an amicable settlement is not happening at the earliest, she will be "forced to take legal/regulatory recourse" (including moving the NCLT and the ministry of corporate affairs). But despite pressing for a timeline, she refused to put a deadline for resolution -- getting a board position or selling the 8.15 per cent stake to other family members, according to her late father''s will, at a fair value. Though she said that they had submitted a valuation, but refused to quantify the same, citing confidentiality. Her family is not represented on the board, which she squarely blames as "gender discrimination". "I am being denied a board position just because I am a woman," she said, and points out that "my uncle MV Subbiah, who has long ago retired as the chairman but still controls everything at the group and is also the sole spokesperson for the rest of the family barring my immediate family. He has been on record in an email in October that I am not eligible for a board position as the Murugappa family has no history of a woman getting into the company nor I have any experience". She wondered if working with some of the top Fortune 500 companies for 23 long years is not good enough experience to be a board member of the company her father built. All the eight board members are male and of them six are from her extended family -- two uncles and four cousins -- who while joining the company in their early youth had no experience at all, she claimed. Arunachalam, her sister Vellachi Murugappan and their mother MV Valli Murugappan together hold 8.15 per cent stake in the holding entity that controls 28 registered entities and 10 listed companies like EID Parry, Cholamandalam Investment, Coromandel Fertilisers, Tube Investments, TI Financial Holdings, Shanthi Gears, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance and Carborundum UniversalNSE -0.29 % among others. The fifth generation Murugappa family also runs businesses like bicycles, engineering, fertilisers and finance and the group employs 50,000. "My sister and I are well educated, we have many years of experience, and there is no reason why our skills cannot be transferable or applicable to the family business," she said, adding her sister is a software engineer with a decade of experience. Arunachalam said she first wrote an email to chairman MA Alagappan and company secretary P Eswaran and the board members on August 13, 2019, seeking a board position or asking them to buy out their stake at a fair value. "The mail was responded to in later October not by any of the addressees but by MV Subbiah who clearly ruled out the first demand saying ''Murugappa family clearly keep women out of business'' and with no experience I am not eligible and ignored the second demand," she said, adding that her family gets paid the dividends and bonuses on time and the issue is not money but getting her rights and also securing corporate governance at the company her father built. Prior to that Ambadi had AGM on August 19, wherein they refused to take her proposals and the questions sent via emails to the company secretary, forcing her seek a copy of the video recording. But that was also denied, saying it was meant for board members only, she alleged. Then there was the board meeting on November 26, but when she asked for the minutes of the meeting, it was not complied with. Not just that the company secretary replied to her on November 26 email only on December 11, stating that the minutes of the board meetings can be shared only with the board. "This was the trigger for me to go public," Arunachalam said, adding that she had first suggested them to buy her family stake more than two years ago to settle things amicably. Also read: Eldest daughter of Murugappa family fights for board position in male-dominated group We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. Don't believe it? Then look at the Macmahon Holdings Limited (ASX:MAH) share price. It's 340% higher than it was five years ago. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. It's also good to see the share price up 64% over the last quarter. See our latest analysis for Macmahon Holdings To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Macmahon Holdings's earnings per share are down 1.0% per year, despite strong share price performance over five years. By glancing at these numbers, we'd posit that the decline in earnings per share is not representative of how the business has changed over the years. Therefore, it's worth taking a look at other metrics to try to understand the share price movements. The modest 1.7% dividend yield is unlikely to be propping up the share price. The revenue growth of 1.8% per year hardly seems impressive. So why is the share price up? It's not immediately obvious to us, but a closer look at the company's progress over time might yield answers. The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image). ASX:MAH Income Statement, January 9th 2020 It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Macmahon Holdings What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Macmahon Holdings, it has a TSR of 353% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Story continues A Different Perspective We're pleased to report that Macmahon Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 44% over one year. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 35% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Macmahon Holdings by clicking this link. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges. 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. 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. Thank you for reading. The European Commission has said the legislation would imperil the rule of law, deepening a standoff with the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party in which the EU executive launched legal action in 2019 to try to preserve Polish courts' independence (stock photo) Europe's top judge issued a veiled warning to Poland yesterday over its overhaul of the judiciary, saying there is no place in the European Union for countries that do not have independent courts. Koen Lenaerts, president of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), made his comments in Warsaw, weeks after Poland's lower house of parliament approved a draft law that would allow judges who question planned reforms to be disciplined. The European Commission has said the legislation would imperil the rule of law, deepening a standoff with the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party in which the EU executive launched legal action in 2019 to try to preserve Polish courts' independence. "You can't be a member of the European Union if you don't have independent, impartial courts operating in accordance with fair trial rule, upholding union law," Mr Lenaerts said during a debate at Warsaw University. "Mutual trust is not blind trust, mutual trust is a trust which must be deserved, which must be earned day after day by all the member states, also by Belgium, by the Netherlands, by Luxembourg, by Portugal, but also by Poland, Hungary, the Balkan states and so on." The ECJ, the EU's top court, has in recent years brought multiple cases against Poland over its overhaul of the judiciary, and on other issues such as environmental protection. The PiS says the reforms are necessary to make the judiciary more efficient and effective. Just hours after reports surfaced that Oprah Winfrey helped advise Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on leaving their posts as senior members of the Royal Family, Winfrey has denied the claim. 65-year-old Winfrey was reportedly the first person Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38 spoke to about their departure, according to Page Six, but she says that's not true. Winfrey famously attended the couple's wedding in May 2018, but she made it clear that they don't need her help. No advice: Just hours after reports surfaced that Oprah Winfrey helped advise Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on leaving their posts as senior members of the Royal Family, Winfrey has denied the claim Announcement: Harry and Meghan released this statement on Wednesday A source in the original report claimed, 'Oprah was the first person to talk to Harry and Meghan about breaking free and doing their own thing, building on their own brand. She made them realize it was really possible.' But Winfrey said, 'Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out whats best for them,' in a statement to People. 'I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family,' Winfrey added. Break free: A source in the original report claimed, 'Oprah was the first person to talk to Harry and Meghan about breaking free and doing their own thing, building on their own brand. She made them realize it was really possible' Page Six's source also claimed that Oprah's good friend Gayle King has secured the first interview with the couple following what's become known as the 'Megxit.' 'Its hush-hush, but theres no one else they would turn to,' the source said, though it's not confirmed that the CBS This Morning host will conduct the interview. It was confirmed in September that Prince Harry had teamed with Oprah on a new Apple TV Plus streaming service series focusing on mental health. First interview: Page Six's source also claimed that Oprah's good friend Gayle King has secured the first interview with the couple following what's become known as the 'Megxit' The report also claimed that other famous friends of the couple like George Clooney and the Obamas, but those claims are unconfirmed as well. Harry and Meghan made the blockbuster announcement on Wednesday, stating their plans to split their time between the U.K. and North America. 'After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,' they began in their statement. Step back: 'We intend to step back as "senior" members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,' they added 'We intend to step back as "senior" members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,' they added. 'It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment,' they said. The royal couple's official titles are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and they have trademarked the brand Sussex Royal, which has generated predicted revenues of $500 million. " " Suffragettes picketing in front of the White house. Library of Congress Sometimes it feels like the United States, as a society, has made major strides in the ongoing fight for gender equality. And sometimes reality rears its ugly head and you realize, well, the country still has a long way to go. The truth is, women continue to fight every day for equal rights, and it wasn't that long ago that the female population (roughly half of the United States) was prohibited from participating in politics until the 19th Amendment changed that. Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment finally granted women the right to vote in America. "The 19th Amendment prevented states from limiting the right to vote based on sex," says Allison K. Lange, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at Boston's Wentworth Institute of Technology and author of "Picturing Political Power: Images in the Women's Suffrage Movement." "Women started voting in Wyoming in 1869 and won the vote in other states in later years. They also could often vote in local city elections or school board elections before the 19th Amendment. Even so, the 19th Amendment was revolutionary because it enfranchised more people than any other law in U.S. history." Advertisement The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention Well before the Civil War broke out, many women were beginning to push back against the idea that their role nothing more than a submissive wife and mother dealing with her home and family. At the same time, women were playing leading roles in reform groups, religious movements and anti-slavery organizations. All of these actions helped redefine what it meant to be woman in 19th-century United States. But that was just the beginning of a battle for female political input that wasn't won quickly or easily. The first real proposal for the idea of women's suffrage as a goal began at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention in the United States. It was held in July 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York. More than 300 people both men and women attended, including African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass and leading women's rights advocate, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the meeting organizers. She kicked off the event with a rousing speech: We are assembled to protest against a form of government, existing without the consent of the governed to declare our right to be free as man is free, to be represented in the government which we are taxed to support, to have such disgraceful laws as give man the power to chastise and imprison his wife, to take the wages which she earns, the property which she inherits, and, in case of separation, the children of her love. The delegates wrote a "Declaration of Sentiments" describing women's grievances and demands, and called on women to fight for equality. The convention passed a list of 11 resolutions, including a ninth resolution that encouraged women "to secure themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise" their right to vote. It was by far the most controversial even prompting many women's rights supporters to pull their support and barely passed. But it also became the foundation of the women's suffrage movement going forward. " " Suffragettes of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage marching during a parade in New York City circa 1913; the women at the front are holding a banner that reads "We demand an amendment to the United States Constitution enfranchising women". FPG/Getty Images Advertisement What Came After Seneca Falls In the years following, women of all ages began writing about, marching for and practicing civil disobedience even referring to the Declaration of Sentiments in an effort to change the Constitution, which originally permitted only land-owning, white men, aged 21 and older to vote. By the time the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was well established. It was formed in 1890 by suffragists Lucy Stone, Alice Stone Blackwell, Susan B. Anthony, Harriot Stanton Blatch, Rachel Foster and Elizabeth Cady Stanton when the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) merged. Members were encouraging women's rights supporters to join in the war effort and arguing that women deserved to vote because their experience and voices were critical in the political conversation. NAWSA's work, in addition to the protests of the National Woman's Party's (NWP), led to a widespread interest and fight for women's suffrage. "'Suffrage' was a popular term in the 19th century, and it means the right to vote," Lange says. "Americans discussed male suffrage, female suffrage, black suffrage, etc. Today, people often associate the term with the women's voting rights movement." The 19th Amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878, but it took more than 40 years of organizing, petitioning, picketing and more to finally get it ratified. Over the decades, different strategies were employed to try and get the amendment passed. Some attempted to get suffrage acts passed in each individual state. The tactic worked to an extent: By 1912, nine western states adopted woman suffrage. Other advocates went to court to challenge male-only voting laws, and some suffragists organized and participated in parades, hunger strikes and silent vigils. Regardless of the type of action these supporters took, these women almost invariably encountered countless forms of verbal, and even physical, abuse. By 1916, almost all the major suffrage organizations formed a united front to pass a constitutional amendment. New York officially adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and a year later, President Woodrow Wilson changed his original position on the matter and declared support for the amendment. Finally, on May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and the Senate followed two weeks later. In 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment with three-fourths of the states in agreement, the U.S. was finally able to officially adopt the new policy. The 19th Amendment states: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." " " Alice Paul unfurls a banner from the balcony of the National Women's Party headquarters after the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Advertisement But Women Still Had to Fight to Vote As impactful as the 19th Amendment was, it didn't end the struggle for female political representation. "It's important to keep in mind that the 19th Amendment did not grant all women the right to vote," Lange says. "Many poorer women and women of color were still subject to poll taxes, literacy tests and other restrictive laws. American women gained greater access to the polls through other laws like the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Puerto Rico granted women the vote in 1929. So, the 19th Amendment opened up opportunities, but many women still had to fight for the vote." While the suffrage movement didn't put an end to sexism in society, its participants and leaders left lasting legacies. "My research examines the ways that women used pictures to persuade Americans to support women's rights," Lange says. "Some of the women who did this most effectively were Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Mary Church Terrell and Alice Paul. All of them challenged popular cartoons that mocked suffragists as manly monsters who threatened American values and gender roles." Lange's research has turned up countless tales of how these women, in particular, upheld, strengthened and propelled the suffrage movement. "In the 1860s, Sojourner Truth sold her portrait to support herself and emphasize that black women were respectable, hard-working people who deserved freedom from enslavement and rights," Lange says. In the 1870s and 1880s, Susan B. Anthony also became an icon of the movement, offering supporters an image of what female political leaders could look like. "In the 1890s, Mary Church Terrell, first president of the National Association of Colored Women, responded by distributing her own images of highly educated, elegant black women to win respect for the reforms she sought." Lang also says in the 1910s, Alice Paul used new image technology that allowed her to reproduce photos from the newspapers. She staged parades and the first-ever pickets of the White House to get attention and win support for the cause (see more in the sidebar below). These kinds of photos of women in such visible, political spaces proved to be very newsworthy, and convinced Americans of the suffragists' dedication to the cause. " " Silent Sentinels staged a two-and-a-half-year protest in front of the White House for Women's Suffrage until the 19th Amendment finally passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. U.S. National Archives Now That's Dedication A group of women dubbed the Silent Sentinels and organized by Alice Paul, Lucy Burns and the National Woman's Party began a two-and-a-half-year long protest on Jan. 10, 1917, for Women's Suffrage. The women protested for six days a week in front of the White House until June 4, 1919, when the 19th Amendment finally passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Advertisement Originally Published: Jan 10, 2020 Actor Deepika Padukone on Friday visited Mumbai's famous Siddhivinayak Temple to seek blessings of Lord Ganesha for her film 'Chhapaak' which released all over the country today. Padukone visited the temple donning a white kurta-churidar. The actor essays the central role in the film which revolves around the story of a real-life acid-attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. The film also marks Padukone's production debut in Bollywood. Earlier this week, Padukone had joined a student protest against violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) which drew criticism from some quarters while many others praised the actor for her decision. On the other hand, the film was declared tax-free in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Puducherry for throwing light on a serious social issue. The film is based on the real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks. 'Chhapaak' is helmed by director Meghna Gulzar who is known for her outstanding work in blockbuster hit 'Raazi'. It is being co-produced by Deepika and Fox Star Studios. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI PESHAWAR: The death of a 25-year-old Sikh man in Pakistan has turned out to be a "contract killing", according to the police, who have arrested her fiancee, who did not want to marry him. On Saturday, Parvinder Singh was shot dead by unknown gunmen weeks before his marriage in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. His killing drew sharp condemnation from India which demanded exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the crime. The blind murder case of Singh has been traced and his 18-year-old fiancee Prem Kumari has been arrested for her alleged involvement in plotting the murder, police said. A senior security official told The Express Tribune on Thursday that it was a "contract killing" paid for by his fiancee, Prem Kumari, who didn't want to marry Singh, who lived in the remote Shangla district of the province. "She promised the hitmen Rs 7,00,000 for his murder," the official added. "Part of the committed money was paid in advance, while the rest had to be paid after the murder." The investigation team, led by Peshawar's capital city police officer, cracked the blind murder case after four days of arduous investigations in which officials from other investigative and intelligence agencies also provided valuable clues, the report said. Their marriage was fixed for January 28. The police in its initial report stated that Singh and Prem loved each other and their engagement was done with their consent and both even started preparations for their marriage. However, Prem later started friendship with a Muslim boy who happened to be the brother of her friend. The police informed that Prem called Singh to Mardan and took him to a home where Prem's friend with other accomplices killed Singh. The killers later shifted the body of Singh from Mardan to Peshawar and threw it in the open fields near Chamakani, a rural area of Peshawar district where police found the body on January 5. Prem even agreed to convert to marry the Muslim friend, police said, adding that they are also trying to arrest other accused involved in this murder case. Prem's family lives in Mohallah Sherdad Abad Mardan district. Her father is a Hindu and mother is a Sikh. Singh had returned to Pakistan after spending working in Malaysia for six years. The murder took place a day after a mob attacked Gurdwara Nankana Sahib where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev was born. India on Sunday strongly condemned the "targeted killing" of the minority Sikh community member in Peshawar. Minorities in the Muslim-majority Pakistan make up some two per cent of the country's total population. Pakistan has witnessed violence against religious minorities in the past as al-Qaeda and Taliban-led militants regularly target Christian, Sikhs, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shiite communities in the country. YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump has congratulated North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his birthday in a letter sent through South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Yonhap reported. Kim Jong-uns birthday is January 8. During the New Year holidays Kim Jong-un had said that soon North Korea will display its latest strategic weapon development. In response, Trump said he believes Kim will fulfill the denuclearization commitments. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday vowed his government would not rest until it had all the answers about the destruction of a Ukrainian airliner which he said was hit by an Iranian missile. All 176 people on board, including 63 Canadians, were killed on Wednesday shortly after it took off from Tehran on a flight to Kiev. Iran denies its forces brought down the plane. The crash is one of the most deadly disasters in recent Canadian history. Trudeau said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources indicating the plane had been shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, quite possibly by accident. "The families of the victims and all Canadians want answers. I want answers," he told a news conference. "That means closure, transparency, accountability and justice. This government will not rest until we get that," he continued, reiterating demands for a full inquiry that he stressed should involve Canadian investigators. Canada has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 2012, making its participation in the investigation a challenge. Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne held a rare telephone call with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif early on Thursday. "The response by the Iranian government, the Iranian foreign minister, was open, was encouraging," Champagne told reporters in Montreal, expressing optimism that consular officials would soon receive visas to go to Iran. Trudeau said he spoke earlier to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who told him that Iran would allow investigators from Kiev access to the plane's black boxes, which Tehran has said would not be allowed out of the country. Trudeau was pressed by journalists about whether the United States should be held at least partially responsible for the tragedy, given that tensions in the region ignited after a U.S. drone attack killed a top Iranian general. "It is too soon to be drawing conclusions or assigning blame or responsibility in whatever proportions," Trudeau said. The plane came down within hours of Iran launching missile attack on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces in response for the killing of the general. Asked how Ottawa might react once the facts were known, Trudeau replied, "Anything in the range of responses would need to start from a clear understanding and a credible confirmation of what actually happened." Also read: Ukraine crash: All 170 passengers onboard Boeing 737 plane dead, says report Also read: US-Iran tensions: 'World cannot afford another war,' warns UN chief Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora heard the petition filed by NGO Road Anti Corruption Organization asking that the convicts be told to harvest their organs following their execution slated for January 22. This is pending the hearing of one of the convicts curative plea hearing. The NGO's plea was dismissed over locus standi. Patiala House courts Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora on Friday dismissed a petition filed by NGO Road Anti Corruption Organization seeking a meeting with the 4 convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case so as to persuade the 4 to donate their organs after their expected hanging on January 22. The judge dismissed the petition on the ground of the NGOs locus standi. The NGO prayed that it be allowed to meet and persuade the convicts as the convicts can do something good for the society by donating their organs. Advocate Shivam Sharma said the sage Dadhichi, in Hindu mythology, donated his life and body so that the Devas could make the Vajra from his bones to battle the Asuras. Similarly, the convicts in the heinous crime could do some good when they are hanged for their crime and to the benefit of society. The advocate said the need the encouragement and counselling which will be carried out by experts from different fields, including a psychiatrist, lawyers, and spiritual leaders. Though the NGO didnt list the names of the proposed team, Sharma said they intend to motivate the convicts to donate their organs for social welfare. On Friday, another court ordered the death warrants executable on January 22, which means the convicts Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Akshay Kumar Singh will be hanged at 7 am in Tihar Jail on that date. Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old paramedic student, was gangraped on December 16, 2012 in a moving bus by 6 people. The case brought to fore several lapses by patrolling Delhi Police teams which could have saved her. That and the impunity with which the crime was committed brought to the fore a massive public protest that held normal life captive in New Delhi. She had boarded the bus from a bus stop in Munirka with a friend. The friend was badly beaten up and Nirbhaya was ravaged by the 6 people. One of them was a inor when committing the crime and was released after serving a 3-year term in a juvenile home. The mastermind, Ram Singh, was found hanging in Tihar Jail. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App The Women's Federation of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region presented a revised version of the book series titled Beautiful Women Happy Families to local women, which aims to promote family education and improve women's awareness of health in Shule County, Kashgar Prefecture, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on January 3. Amanguli Kasimu was grateful to receive such good and practical books targeting women and said she will recommend the books to her relatives and friends. Miriguli Abaji said she was filled with unspeakable happiness by reading with children and starting the new year by reading good books. The original version of the book series, written in both the Uygur and the Chinese languages, was compiled by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) based on its investigation and research in Xinjiang. In 2019, the series was revised by the women's federation of the autonomous region with the support of the ACWF and other departments in Xinjiang. At present, 230,000 volumes have been distributed to grassroots women's organizations and women from different ethnic groups in 14 prefectures and cities throughout the region. Hairiguli, a villager in Yingjisha County, said that in addition to the Uygur and Chinese languages, another highlight of the upgraded version is the illustrations, which help her better understand the information about women's health. The Kashgar Women's Federation distributed the books in industrial parks, women's entrepreneurship demonstration bases, reading corners and publication racks at restaurants. Reading classes and workshops were held in Hotan Prefecture for local women to share the benefits of personal development they had gained from reading, which encouraged women from different ethnic groups to spend more time with books. Wang Lixia, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group of the Women's Federation of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said that the federation will continue to organize diverse activities to encourage more women to read and apply the knowledge gained to their daily lives, thus enhancing their health awareness and improving their lifestyles. (Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China) Suite360 gives students a chance to learn from their actions. Students complete informative lessons, write reflection statements, and pledge to make better decisions Suite360:Intervention is the nations premier behavioral Intervention program that schools and districts around the country are using as a supplement- and in some cases, as a replacement for suspension or detention. Calexico Unified School District in California is using Suite360 for Restorative Practices to help turn student infractions into a learning experience and better equip them to make smarter choices moving forward. For many students who commit infractions, detention and suspension is almost a welcome reprieve, as they typically miss class and complete busy work that does not pertain to their offense or infraction. Suite360:Intervention immerses students in infraction-related content. The program includes a making amends section that requires the student to complete a reflection statement and sign a digital pledge. "Suite360 gives students a chance to learn from their actions. Students complete informative lessons, write reflection statements, and pledge to make better decisions. Elisa Ramirez, Assistant Superintendent, Calexico Unified School District Suite360:Intervention lessons vary in length and can be customized to the student, infraction, or repeat offense. The lessons are often used in Tier Intervention, and can be completed in school, or at home on any web-enabled device. The Suite360 Intervention lesson library includes hundreds of lessons covering infractions such as: Drugs, Alcohol, and Vaping Bullying and Cyberbullying Digital Citizenship Tardiness and Absenteeism Respect Racial Tolerance Fighting and Aggression Sexual Misconduct Academic Integrity LBGTQ Equity and Tolerance About Evolution Labs Evolution Labs improves student engagement and outcomes through its proprietary suite of tools for K-12 schools and districts, and Colleges and Universities. In K-12, the Company's Suite360 program delivers Social & Emotional Learning and Restorative Programming to Students, with additional programs for Parents and Staff to better equip them to be the school/district's ally. The Company's S360 program helps K-12 Independent Schools drive enrollment and retention. In Higher Ed, the Company's S360 program drives inquiries, applications, enrollment yield and student wellness/success. The team at Evolution Labs has served the educational sector for over 20 years, working with thousands of schools and engaging millions of students. Learn more at http://www.evpco.com. The legendary history of the Buffalo Soldiers and Seminole Indian Scouts will be celebrated in full regalia Sunday at the University of Texas at San Antonios Institute of Texan Cultures. Buffalo Soldier Day, focusing on the African-American legacy in the U.S. Army, is scheduled to take place from noon to 4 p.m. outdoors at the institutes Back 40 at 801 E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd, as part of DreamWeek. The Free Second Sunday event will feature stories from members of the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery Association, and there will be re-enactors and demonstrations. Limited parking and admission is free. Members of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Departments Buffalo Soldier division will share tales of the black soldiers not often found in school books. African-American Apache Clifton Fifer is scheduled to give a musical lesson about American Indians and African-Americans on the Texas frontier through song and dance. Dream Week Highlights Monday: Vigil for Racial Justice - Poor People's Campaign; 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m., Main Plaza, 115 N. Main Ave. Tuesday: Dreamhour Migrant Series 2020; 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, The Tobin, 100 Auditorium Circle. Wednesday: Mississippi Freedom Riders; 4 p.m.-6 p.m., Designer Glitz & Glamour, 222 E. Aviation Blvd. Thursday: When You See Us - Homeless youth spoken word originals; 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave. Jan. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. march; 10 a.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, 3501 MLK Jr. Dr., to Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa Source: Dream Week San Antonio See More Collapse On ExpressNews.com: Local Buffalo Soldier groups shine light on the Armys units history At 3 p.m. inside the museum, artist Ramin Samandari will lead a talk on diversity, migration and the inspiration behind the artwork Huddled Masses; Who Who Are, on display at the institute. The institute will feature a panel of designers from the Destined by Design exhibit and scouts ancestors. It was members of American Indian tribes who named the black troops they saw Buffalo Soldiers. The soldiers served in infantry and cavalry regiments along with Black Seminole Indian Scouts, who served on the frontier. In the 1870s, the scouts were attached to Fort Clark at Brackettville. They were regarded as fearless fighters and skilled trackers who rode with the Buffalo Soldiers to protect and defend the Texas border. Descendants of Seminole Indian Scouts and members of the Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery Association of Bracketville will pass on stories of free and escaped African-Americans who joined American Indian tribes and took on their ways of life. The nonprofit organization will have items, photos and books from their museum in Brackettville on display. This is the associations third year at the event, which is part of the citys 16-day DreamWeek celebration honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Related: San Antonio descendants of Black Seminole scouts share stories of ancestors The group hosts a three-day event in Bracketville called Seminole Days every third weekend in September. The event includes museum tours, a lecture series and a gathering at the Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery where many of their ancestors are buried. The associations president, Augusta Gigi Pines, said the presentations are a way of keeping their ancestors legacy alive. The members tell stories their elders have passed down to her and fellow members since they were children. Theyre the ones that taught us to keep the legacy going, she said. We just want to share it and keep it going with the next generation. It brings unity and encourages other people to search for their history. Vincent T. Davis is a reporter in the Greater San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | vtdavis@express-news.net | Twitter: @vincentdavis Metro New York, a free daily distributed in the New York City area, has been acquired by Schneps Media, which already owns the papers main competitor, amNewYork. The two papers are being consolidated into a single edition, which will be known as amNewYork Metro. Schneps has also purchased the assets of Metro Philadelphia, which will continue to be published. According to the New York Post, the staffs of both papers were laid off on Jan. 3 by Metro US, the former owner of the papers. Schneps told the Post that some of those staffers will be offered positions with Schneps. amNewYork editor-in-chief Robert Pozarycki is editor of the combined New York paper. Schneps says that the combined paper will have a daily weekday circulation of 175,000. Schneps also publishes many other papers in the New York City area, including the Queens Courier, Park Slope Courier, Bronx Times Reporter and Long Island Press. Metro Boston, which was not part of the deal, ceased operations on Jan. 8. Sheryl Sandberg An attempt by Facebook to shore up its reputation through a piece of sponsored content on the Teen Vogue website touting the companys efforts to safeguard political speech appears to have backfired. The piece, which includes interviews with five female Facebook managers (along with a group portrait), discussed what Facebook is doing to avoid the spread of disinformation and propaganda. When the article first appeared on teenvogue.com on Jan. 8, it was not labeled as sponsored content. Soon after, a sponsored editorial content label appeared above the article, and shortly after that, the piece was taken off the site completely. A Conde Nast employee told the New York Times that the article had been commissioned as sponsored content. While it was up Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg shared it, calling it a Great Teen Vogue piece about five incredible women protecting elections on Facebook. Michelle Obama Former First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to a smartphone near you with an IGTV series that focuses on the daily struggles of college freshmen. A Year of Firsts, is the result of a partnership between digital media company ATTN: and Reach Higher, an initiative founded by Obama during her time at the White House to inspire and support students to pursue higher education. The series is set to start streaming on Instagrams video app later this month, and a trailer for it was released on Jan. 7. The series is the latest of the efforts by the Obamas to produce civic media projects on a variety of platforms. In June, their production company Higher Ground said it would begin working with Spotify to produce podcasts, following its 2018 deal with Netflix to produce TV shows and films on such issues as race, class, democracy and civil rights. US firms form consortium to develop renewable energy & smart city in Kaohsiung KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2020 / Renewable Development Corporation (RDC) announces today in Kaohsiung, Taiwan that it has completed a preliminary feasibility study and has tentatively agreed with allies and partners to conduct a series of investments in renewable energy and smart city redevelopment in the Kaohsiung area. Renewable Development Corporation is a US company specializing in renewable energy and smart grid development worldwide. The company focuses on resilient and smart city design, implementation, and development by working with its partners such as EYP Mission Critical and JLL to develop and implement these projects in Europe, North America, and Asia. "Our communities, urban or rural, have become more and more complex and dependent upon mission critically reliable, intelligently dynamic and sustainably renewable sources of power supply. The combination of renewable and eco-friendly energy controlled by decentralized smart grid systems and the power-hungry data centers that run big data cloud computing to support modern-day smart city applications will continue to be the direction of our future," said William Yuan, Chairman of Renewable Development Corporation. "We are pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement with our partners to develop and invest in these projects to make the world we're living in a better one," Yuan wrote in a letter of intent (LOI) that was submitted by Leo Chan, President of Renewable Development Corporation Asia-Pacific to the Kaohsiung city government on January 9th, 2020. A study by BP indicates that Asia, including China and India, will represent 43% of global energy demand by 2040. Through that year, the region will account for more than 50% of the growth in demand. In contrast, energy demand among the 36 nations in the OECD, which includes most big economies in the Americas and Europe, will be flat. Worldwide, demand for oil will peak in around 2034, according to Vitol, a Switzerland-based energy and commodity trading company. Wood Mackenzie, a commercial intelligence consultancy, reckons demand in the developed world has probably already topped out, with the OECD expected to move into structural decline by next year. The global demand for liquid fuel is about to see its growth rate take a dramatic dip over the next five years. The demand for electricity seems insatiable, especially in Asia. Electrification rates continue to rise across the globe, with Asia expected to be close to 100% coverage by 2030. Much of that growth in demand may be supplied by renewables and nuclear power rather than fossil fuel-generated power, although natural gas is expected to play a role for years to come. It also may be accomplished through decentralization of generating capacity, such as recent rural electrification projects in places like Malawi and Bangladesh, where farmers and villages use solar panels and small generators to provide their own electricity. "EYP Mission Critical Facilities is very excited to be a part of the Renewable Development Corporation team and their global program for smart cities, highly energy-efficient buildings, and data centers. We look forward to playing an important role in helping the group achieve its vision in the US, Europe, and Asia in this growing segment. We will be working closely with Renewable Development Corporation and collocating their team members as needed in various offices in the US, Europe, and Asia," says EYP MCF Managing Partner Rick Einhorn. In an effort to redevelop the city, the Kaohsiung government has called for international companies to invest in the region. Renewable Development Corporation and partners formed a consortium to study the feasibility of putting double rings over the Love River of Kaohsiung near the Piers area. A world-famous attraction design firm Jack Rouse Associates (JRA), joined the consortium after Renewable Development Corporation and Cupkovic Architecture LLC who provided the conceptual design of the double rings project entered into an agreement with a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). "This is definitely a unique and bold design, and very doable too. We are thrilled to be involved in this project." Keith James, CEO of JRA said in the meeting with the Kaohsiung city government, as he was touring the sites potentially slated for the project development on Thursday. These sites are located along the Love River and the Piers of Kaohsiung, an area very desirable by commercial real estate developers. "JLL is pleased to represent Renewable Development Corporation's renewable energy, data center, and smart city program globally. Renewable Development Corporation and their state-of-the-art technology for renewable power is positioned to address the world's global sustainability demand. JLL's clients and global platform can leverage Renewable Development Corporation's platform to improve power efficiencies in data center, real estate, smart city, and several related verticals," Jason Bell, JLL VP, Technology Services said in a written statement. About Renewable Development Corporation Renewable Development Corporation is a renewables and digital infrastructure development company committed to tackling the world's global climate crisis through innovations in technology and finance. Renewable Development Corporation is focused on the transformation of energy, data, wind and solar to transition the world to a Net Zero environment. About EYP MCF EYPMCF is a pioneering consultancy in the data center and critical facilities industry with over two decades of experience assisting its clients plan, design, test and efficiently operate their facilities. With client across many verticals, from enterprise to institutional, colocation and hyperscale EYPMCF has unmatched experience and the capabilities to deliver projects of any size. With a global presence and projects in over 40 countries, it continues to drive new solutions and thought leading concepts to market that benefit its customer base. About JLL JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 93,000 as of September 30th, 2019. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com. About JRA As a team of practical dreamers, JRA plans, designs, and realizes immersive experiences that create memories and excite audiences around the world. JRA understands what it takes to bring ideas to life so that your visitors connect with your story, eager to return. Turning ideas into a successful theme park, attraction, museum, or branded experience is JRA's specialty. Media Contact Information: Name: Paul Meissner Phone: +1.408.981.4454 Email: paul@renewable.global Website: www.renewable.global SOURCE: Renewable Development Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/572683/Renewable-Development-Corporation-Announces-Major-Investment-Plans-in-Asia WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she would "soon" release articles of impeachment to the Senate amid an increasingly tense standoff and diminishing support among her Democratic allies. "I'm not holding them indefinitely," the California Democrat said. "I'll send them when I'm ready, and that will probably be soon." Pelosi has been holding the articles of impeachment since the House voted in mid-December to impeach President Donald Trump on the grounds that he pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals while withholding U.S. aid to the country. The move pitted Congress' two most powerful leaders - Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - against each other in a political squabble over one of Congress' most grave responsibilities. The articles were expected to go to the Senate immediately after the House vote, but Pelosi held on to them in hopes of giving Democrats some leverage to negotiate more favorable terms in the trial. Democrats want an upfront commitment that the Senate will subpoena witnesses and documents that the Trump administration has refused to hand over. But Senate Republicans, led by McConnell, have refused to budge. They want to start the trial with opening statements and punt any debate over subpoenas until later. ADVERTISEMENT With Trump's ultimate fate all but certain in the Senate - Democrats are nowhere close to the 67 votes they would need to remove Trump from office - some Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with Pelosi's refusal to transmit the articles. A handful of Senate Democrats say the best leverage against Republicans will be had once the trial is underway and GOP senators have to vote down Democrats' requests to subpoena key Trump officials, such as former national security adviser John Bolton or acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Even Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who on Tuesday touted to reporters her close friendship with and trust in Pelosi, said Wednesday that holding up the articles diminished the apparent urgency of the House impeachment inquiry. "The longer it goes on, the less urgent it becomes," she told Politico. "So if it's serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn't, don't send it over." Other Democrats are reluctant to question Pelosi's strategy, even if they don't understand it. "I would not ever tell Nancy Pelosi what to do," said Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. "When the speaker is ready to send them over, we will do our job." Pelosi did not define "soon," but lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol expected the articles to be transmitted in the coming days. "People back home, they knew Mitch pretty well," said Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat from McConnell's home state of Kentucky. "They know Mitch is going to make a political calculation. But I think they also feel, knowing that, you might as well get it over with." ADVERTISEMENT Democratic leaders say Pelosi's scheme has already been successful because it has focused attention on what they see as unfair terms of a Senate trial. And during the period in which Pelosi has held the articles, new developments have emerged that could help Democrats' case. Bolton, who impeachment witnesses said was critical of Trump's dealings with Ukraine, made a surprise announcement that he would comply with a Senate subpoena, a move that Democrats hoped would put pressure on Senate Republicans to agree to issue one. "The speaker's strategy put a bright spotlight on Sen. McConnell's attempt to cover up President Trump's abuse of power and allowed pivotal new documents to emerge. And a key witness, John Bolton, who was blocked by Trump from testifying in the House, is now willing to testify to the Senate," said a senior House Democratic leadership aide. "This has put McConnell and other Republican senators in an impossible position of refusing new evidence and key witness testimony." Pelosi said Thursday the delay also might have prevented Republicans from quickly dismissing the articles without a trial, something she said was a possibility. Others question whether Pelosi's tactic accomplished anything at all. McConnell has shown no sign of bowing to the pressure. In fact, during the delay he gathered enough GOP votes to pass a pretrial rules package without any Democratic votes. Plus, one of the few Republicans viewed as most likely to buck their party and support impeachment - Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska - voiced frustration with Pelosi keeping the articles. Like McConnell in the Senate, Pelosi enjoys fierce loyalty from her fellow Democrats. In a sign of that unflinching allegiance, when a House Democratic chairman on Thursday publicly questioned the speaker's delay strategy, he quickly walked it back. In the morning on CNN, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., called it "perfectly advisable" for Pelosi to hold the articles for leverage, but "at this point, it doesn't look like that's going to happen." Now, "it is time" to move them, he said. Shortly after the interview, however, he sent a tweet saying he "misspoke" and said he "wholeheartedly" supported Pelosi's decision to hold the articles. ADVERTISEMENT Earlier this week, Pelosi demanded that McConnell release the text of the proposed rules that would govern the Senate trial. "I'm not responsible to Mitch McConnell or anybody else except my members and the people who have worked so hard on this," she said. McConnell has not indicated when he will do so, resisting what he called the House's attempt to influence the Senate process. "It is bad enough that House Democrats gave in to the temptation of subjective impeachment that every previous House for 230 years had managed to resist," McConnell said. "But they do not get to declare that it can never be finished." --- (c)2020 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The crime rate in Uttarakhand is the lowest among northern states and it is the safest state for senior citizens to live in, the Uttarakhand police said on Friday. Issuing data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2018, the state police said the number of cognisable offences reported under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in Uttarakhand during the year stood reduced at 133.3 per 1 lakh people. The rate in Uttar Pradesh is 153.5, Jammu and Kashmir 180.4, Himachal Pradesh 200.9 and Haryana 381 per lakh population. With a crime rate of 133.3 per lakh population, Uttarakhand stood at the sixth position in the country and was adjudged the safest state for senior citizens, police said. The crime rate against SCs and STs in the state had also recorded a drop in comparison to the previous years, they said. Uttarakhand stood third, behind Telangana and Tamil Nadu, in terms of recovery of looted property, 63.2 per cent of looted property was recovered in Uttarakhand in 2018, the state police said, citing NCRB figures. In Telangana, 70.6 per cent of looted property was recovered during 2018 and in Tamil Nadu at 67 per cent, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald Trumps decision to authorize the killing of an Iranian general and reignite Middle East tensions briefly roiled energy markets and underscored a U.S. political reality: Higher gasoline prices can tip elections. The president, who is counting on a robust economy to win re-election in November and maintain Republican control of the Senate, is banking on record-shattering surges in domestic oil production to absorb any shocks unleashed by his moves on Iran. We do not need Middle East oil, he said Wednesday. But Trumps confidence belies U.S. refineries continued reliance on heavy grades of crude from the Middle East as well as warnings from oil analysts that renewed tensions -- or a strike on energy infrastructure -- could still pinch American consumers at the pump. Americans dont pay close attention to foreign policy, but they do care about gasoline prices, said Dan Eberhart, a Republican financier and chief executive of drilling services company Canary LLC. The fear of gasoline prices spiking will make President Trump want to have a more muted military response to this Iranian situation. Middle East oil facilities and shipping routes remain a prime target if Iran seeks further retaliation for Qassem Soleimanis death in a U.S. drone strike. ClearView Energy Partners told clients that Trumps conciliatory comments Wednesday dont erase continuing risk for regional crude oil production and transportation ranging anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of barrels per day. Any attacks designed to disrupt the flow of oil could drive up the costs of both crude and the gasoline refined from it, shaking up the politics of energy for Trump and his Democratic rivals. Moves in oil are often followed shortly by shifts in gasoline prices -- and motorists frequently hold presidents and other politicians in power accountable for increases. FALLING PRICES: Oil set for biggest weekly loss since July as Mideast risk eases Analysts and energy executives arent expecting big price increases without a major escalation, because of weak demand and ample oil supplies, fed by a boom in U.S. production that cushions the country from disruptions overseas. Still, they are mindful that amid unpredictable conflict, any enduring increase sending gasoline above $3 per gallon could siphon votes from Trump in November while dampening enthusiasm for 2020 Democrats campaign promises to ban fracking for oil and gas and limit domestic energy development. High oil prices in an election year generally dont help a president, said James Lucier, the managing director of research firm Capital Alpha Partners. But traders arent expecting big, sustained price spikes, and you would need to see $3 a gallon prices on a sustained basis until it becomes an issue, Lucier said. Trump also appears inoculated from some of the political risks that would have harmed his White House predecessors, though its not clear if that immunity extends to gas prices, which averaged $2.59 per gallon Friday, according to auto club AAA. Years of relatively low gasoline prices have blunted American motorists concerns about the classic pocketbook issue, enabling 2020 Democratic hopefuls to outline broad plans for combating climate change and curbing domestic oil development. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and other presidential candidates have gone even further, promising to outlaw hydraulic fracturing, the well stimulation technique that has driven U.S. oil and natural gas production to record levels. Prices have been so moderate for so long that drivers arent afraid, even though campaigning against fracking corresponds to advocating something like a $1-per-gallon price hike, Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView, said by email. An Iran-induced price spike could change that calculation by reminding low-and-middle-income drivers how much price spikes hurt and making them think about what anti-fracking policy or aggressive climate mitigation policy might mean for their bottom lines. Democrats can seize on simmering Middle East conflict and even the prospect of jumping prices as evidence the U.S. urgently needs to shift away from liquid petroleum fuels and accelerate the development of alternative energy and electric vehicles. It will give them an opportunity to double down on that message and an opportunity to double down on the decarbonization message, Lucier said. Confronting climate change has been a priority for Democrats seeking the presidential nomination, and so far, there are no signs those candidates have shifted their approach in response to Iran-U.S. tensions. The issue is popular with Democratic primary voters largely because theres very little economic anxiety right now, said Benjamin Salisbury, a senior policy analyst at Height LLC. A sustained boost in prices could upset that dynamic and curb some lawmakers zeal to tackle climate change by putting a tax on carbon dioxide emissions generated by burning oil, gas and coal. But it wouldnt happen overnight. In the short term, climbing crude and gasoline costs might just cause politicians and voters to dig in, Salisbury said. The people who support fossil fuels as an economic driver would say this is why we need more pipelines, refining and drilling, and the people who dont will say this is why we need electric cars. For now, there is no sign of any such surge, as oil markets calmed amid signs Iran may be standing down and following Trumps Wednesday assurance the U.S. is ready to embrace peace. But even the absence of a price surge is an opportunity for fossil fuel advocates who argue the relative calm now -- and after last Septembers drone attack on a crude processing plant in Saudi Arabia -- underscores the value of domestic oil development to insulate the U.S. from international supply shocks. Ample supply and slowing economic growth will help restrain any conflict-related increase in oil prices, said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance. The American producer is poised to fill any gap. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- An intimate, indoor winter concert series returns to Staten Island after a nearly two-year hiatus. The newly restored Guyon Tavern located on Richmond Road announced the revival of Tavern concerts -- an acoustic concert lit only by flickering candles and heated by a wood-burning stove. The series was put on hold in April 2018, when an SUV slammed into the building leaving behind major damages. The concert series revamp begins with a performance by Bob Conroy, Norm Pederson and Bill Doerge on Saturday, Jan. 11. Performances, featuring a lineup of diverse local artists, will go from now through March every Saturday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Event attendees are greeted with Historic Richmond Town volunteers dressed the part in creating a vintage vibe. Hot cider, wine and beer will be on sale for the crowd before the show. Tickets, sold as general admission, go for $16 per person. Aside from the concert series, the Guyon Tavern has a thriving local history. Known as a cornerstone of the Staten Island community for nearly 200 years, the simple two-story clapboard building came to be in 1819. It was last restored in 1973. From 1918 to 1932, the Bishop family made its home there. Mrs. Bishop appeared to run a candy or ice cream shop in part of the house. Then, from 1932 to 1963, the structure was used as a residence and a barbershop by Eugene and Ida Puntillo. New York City acquired the property in 1953. When acquired, the house was thought to be an 18th-century farmhouse, owned by the Swaim family. In time, it was furnished and interpreted as a 19th-century tavern. Historic Richmond Town is located at 441 Clarke Ave. For more information and the Tavern concert schedule, visit HistoricRichmondTown.org. T he House of Commons is gearing up for the creation of an independent body that would hear bullying complaints against MPs. Last summer, a report by lawyer Gemma White said that there was a significant problem in Parliament of MPs bullying and harassing staff. In 2018, a report from Dame Laura Cox suggested the creation of an independent panel to deal with bullying claims, which has still not been implemented. Currently, staff members have to complain to their own MP about their work, which may be a problem if they are complaining about their boss. House of Commons clerk John Benger is pushing for the creation of an independent body. I am hopeful we will soon implement the recommendation relating to independence from MPs in hearing of complaints, he said in an interview last month. Exactly how the new scheme will work is to be decided in a meeting of the House of Commons Commission in the next few weeks. New Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said in his campaign for election that he would deal with the issue in his first six months. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Londoner: Everyone in Parliament should feel safe in their working environment I look forward to considering the latest recommendations in this area. Sam Smethers, chief executive of gender-equality charity Fawcett Society, urged the creation of an independent body: Its absolutely a moment to implement a different kind of Parliament, she said. At the moment, MPs are presiding over themselves. Theyre reluctant to find against each other. We also need a new code of conduct for MPs so that those members who feel they are subject to abuse and intimidation especially female members can hold bullies to account. Pressure group Compassion in Politics co-founder Matt Hawkins agreed, saying: This would be a necessary and welcome step. Continuity candidate Labour deputy leader hopeful Richard Burgon vowed to repackage Corbynism at an event for Leftist activists in Fitzrovia last night. Referring to the outgoing leaders long manifesto, Burgon advocated only 10 transformative policies that are easy to explain on the doorstep. The anti-Semitism issue re-emerged when an audience member asked a question that referred to cosying up to Jewish Labour and the Chief Rabbi prompting another to shout anti-Semite and walk out. Burgon, who wasnt present for the question, later told The Londoner that he was disturbed by the outburst, adding: I condemn racism in all its forms. -- Rachel Johnson is writing a book about her attempt to become a Change UK MEP last year which she calls an extinction event. Standing for public office is always a rollercoaster, the PMs journalist sister tells The Londoner. The end is usually crushing defeat. That seems a long way off for her brother just now. -- Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge is seeing the benefits of getting fit after shedding 12 stone. At an event in Holborn last night, he recalled running for a flight with his son. I had him on my shoulders and we didnt realise that there was a little sign... he banged his head, he said, adding that the resulting tantrum drained me... but I wasnt out of breath. Sussex support with strings attached Pitching in: Sheku Kanneh-Mason / Getty Images Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played at Prince Harry and Meghans wedding and has sympathy for their attempt to step back from the Firm. I cant imagine what it would be like to be in that level of spotlight, he told The Londoner at his Soho album launch last night. Kanneh-Mason, 20, who lives with student flatmates in West Hampstead, said his playing didnt upset the neighbours. My flatmates also play, and the people who live below us are also musicians so we can practise at any time. Perhaps the royals could lodge if things get really bad. Gathering Mosses for Lottie's 22nd Lottie Moss and friends / GC Images Lottie Moss showed turning 22 is as much fun as having a 21st as she celebrated her birthday by giving friends masks of her own face to wear last night in Chelsea. The model, who is Kate Mosss younger sister, posted an Instagram story of her pals wearing the masks, captioning it Im scared. Starting with a dinner at Bluebird Cafe, the group ended the night at the club Raffles, with Moss posting videos of herself singing along to Taylor Swifts 22. Across town, The Golden Compass child star Dakota Blue Richards attended the Gold Movie Awards at Regent Street Cinema with Shameless star Karen Bryson and Emmerdales Gemma Oaten. Model and activist Munroe Bergdorf was also in attendance and she posted videos of herself eating oysters and dancing to music with Vote Leave whistleblower Shahmir Sanni. Bergdorf recently opened up on Twitter about feeling self-destructive ten years ago. This decade has been more than a glow-up, she wrote. Its been a rebirth. SW1A Campaigner Gina Miller has accepted Brexit is going to happen by shutting down her Remain United website. It is for tactical voting and there is no point in keeping it open, she told The Londoner this morning. Brexit is going to happen and we just have to give Mr Johnson the benefit of the doubt. But Miller will still fight on constitutional issues: My battle is not about Brexit. My battle was to ensure it was done legally. -- Ex-Chancellor Philip Hammond has a grain of sympathy for Dominic Cummingss hunt for weirdos, he told Emma Barnetts 5 Live show yesterday. But Hammond, who stood down as an MP last month, wont be applying: I havent been to the Jobcentre and I havent found Im lacking in things to do. -- Alastair Campbell isnt keen on any of the Labour leadership hopefuls but reminds us on his podcast: Im banned I dont think I can even get in as a registered supporter. Quote of the day "If it's dry January, why not" The sanctions also target 17 mining and metal-producing companies, a "network of three China- and Seychelles-based entities," and a vessel involved in the metals trade. The United States has announced new sanctions on eight senior Iranian officials and that country's steel and other metals industry, along with a presidential executive order that promises further moves to curb the Iranian leadership's access to revenues. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the sanctions at a press conference in Washington on January 10, following this week's Iranian missile strikes on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Among others, Iranian individuals targeted include: Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council; Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces; and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Read alsoTrump: U.S. will impose 'additional punishing economic sanctions' on Iran The sanctions also target 17 mining and metal-producing companies, a "network of three China- and Seychelles-based entities," and a vessel involved in the metals trade. A Treasury Department statement outlining the punitive measures cites an executive order from President Donald Trump "expanding authorities to target additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regime." "Concurrently with today's designations, the President is signing a new Executive Order (E.O.) that targets additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regime to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence," the statement said. The new sanctions follow more than a year of tightening U.S. sanctions and with tensions high following a U.S. air strike on January 3 that killed IRGC Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad and Iran's targeting of two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops with missiles on January 8. They also come with U.S., Canadian, and British officials saying it is "highly likely" that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight on January 8, probably in error. Iranian officials have flatly denied as "impossible" that a missile shot down the Boeing 737-800 passenger plane after takeoff from the Iranian capital. Mumbai, Jan 10 : In a major blow to Yes Bank and its CEO Ravneet Gill, Uttam Prakash Agarwal, Chairman of the bank's Audit Committee and Independent Director, resigned on Friday with immediate effect, citing the falling standards of corporate governance and compliance failures under Gill's leadership. He also tendered his resignation from all other committees of the Board raising serious concerns on falling of standards of corporate governance. Agarwal has blamed Gill and other senior management for serious concerns about corporate governance, management practices and how the company is being run. "There are serious concerns as regards deteriorating standards of the corporate governance, failure of compliance, management practices and the manner in which the state of affairs of the Company are being conducted by Ravneet Gill-MD/CEO, Rajiv Ubeoi-Senior Group President Governance &Controls, Sanjay Nambiar-Legal Head and Board of Directors," Agarwal said in his resignation letter. "I have raised my concerns on these very critical matters from time to time in the overall interest of Yes Bank Ltd., and millions of its small and large depositors, investors, shareholders and all other stakeholders. I have left no stone unturned to discharge my duties and thus wrote a letter detailing all these matters in the attached letter dated 9th January, 2020 (which is submitted to all the regulatory authorities)", Agarwal said pointing out that the letter is marked to the regulators since the matter relates to corporate governance failures. "Irrespective of my resignation, I hope, our Bank gets stabilised and protects the interests of all shareholders and stakeholders, under your able leadership," he said in the letter to Chairman of the Board, Brahm Dutt. Yes Bank said in a filing that Agarwal has made certain observations on the Bank's governance and the same shall be duly examined by the Board. It retorted by saying that Agarwal's "fit and proper" status was under review and on the same day when the opinions from lawyers were to be examined, the director quit. "In this regard, the Bank would like to further intimate that the Bank was reviewing the 'fit and proper' status of Mr. Agarwal as directed by the Reserve Bank of AIndia. In this respect, the Bank had obtained legal opinions from eminent jurists. These opinions were to be considered by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board ('NRC')/the Board of the Bank in their meetings scheduled for today, i.e., January 10, 2020. However, prior to the commencement of the proceedings of these meetings, the Bank received the resignation of Mr. Agarwal," Yes Bank said. New Delhi: Tea the elixir of life we have been looking-for all along? In what could be music to the ears for chai-lovers, a new group of scientists, after examining 100,902 people found out that regular consumption of tea can lower risk of cardiovascular disease and improve health. The findings which was reported in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology was conducted by dividing participants into two categories, one, who drank tea regularly and the other who drank less than times a week. The research which spanned for 22 years in 15 provinces across China found that habitual tea drinkers had a 20% lower risk of heart disease and stroke compared to those who never or never drank tea. Additionally, they also found that those you drank drank tea regularly had 1.41 years longer being atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease-free, and their life expectancy was 1.26 years longer at the index age of 50 years. Researchers, on the study bases that the positive effects of regular tea drinking may have to do with the polyphenols, an antioxidant property found in tea. Also Read : Pay Attention! Habitual Tea Drinking May Improve Brain Structure Dr Xinyan Wang, one of the authors of the study, said as per The Mirror, Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death. The favourable health effects are the most robust for green tea and for long-term habitual tea drinkers. A adjunct professor at a Massachusetts university was fired after suggesting Iran choose 52 American cultural sites - including the Mall of America and the Kardashians' home - to bomb in retaliation for the U.S. drone killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Asheen Phansey, an adjunct professor at Babson College in Wellesley, made his 'attempt at humor' in a Facebook post shared on Tuesday. 'In retaliation, Ayatollah Khomenei should tweet a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural heritage that he would bomb. Um Mall of America? Kardashian residence?,' Phansey wrote. This appears to be a riff on Iranian warnings that at least 35 U.S. targets, including warships and Tel Aviv, had been identified for retaliatory strikes. Asheen Phansey (pictured) was fired from his position at Babson College after sharing a controversial post on Facebook Phansey: 'In retaliation, Ayatollah Khomenei should tweet a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural heritage that he would bomb. Um Mall of America? Kardashian residence?' The Facebook post has since been deleted, but not before Phansey's employers were alerted to the post. In response, Babson College initially suspended him with pay. In a statement shared Thursday, Babson College told WHDH that Phansey's post is not representative of their institution. Phansey singled out the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, as a possible American cultural site Pictured: Kim Kardashian-West and Kanye West's home (pictured) were among the listed American cultural sites 'Babson College condemns any type of threatening words and/or actions condoning violence and/or hate. This particular post from a staff member on his personal Facebook page clearly does not represent the values and culture of Babson College,' they wrote. 'While we understand he has deleted the posts, we have immediately suspended him, with pay, pending the completion of our investigation.' In a statement released just hours later, Babson College revealed that Phansey was no longer a member of their staff. Pictured: Kanye West (left) and Kim Kardashian-West (right) arriving at The Jane Hotel in New York City in December 2019 'Based on the results of the investigation, the staff member is no longer a Babson College employee,' they said. Phansey has since apologized for the Facebook post, saying he regrets that his 'sloppy humor' was perceived by many as a threat. He told the Boston Herald: 'I regret my bad attempt at humor. As an American, born and raised, I was trying to juxtapose our cultural sites with ancient Iranian churches and mosques.' 'I am completely opposed to violence and would never advocate it by anyone. I am sorry that my sloppy humor was read as a threat. I condemn all acts of violence.' Babson College (pictured) condemned Phansey's post, saying 'this particular post from a staff member on his personal Facebook page clearly does not represent the values and culture of Babson College' 'I am particularly sorry to cause any harm or alarm for my colleagues at Babson, my beloved alma mater, and the place where I have enjoyed teaching students and serving as its sustainability director,' he said. Phansey is currently working with a public relations firm to steer through the negative press he's received since the post began circulating. FIRE, a national civil liberties nonprofit that defends student and faculty free expression, issued a statement to Babson College saying they must uphold their commitment to 'freedom of expression.' 'Babson College has terminated an adjunct professor for a personal Facebook post criticizing the President of the United States,' said Adam Steinbaugh, director of the Individual Rights Defense Program at FIRE. 'The professor's post is obvious rhetorical hyperbole and cannot reasonably be read as a threat, incitement, or even a sincere endorsement of violence,' he continued. 'Babson's process-free termination of the professor in an attempt to quell criticism on social media is censorship, plain and simple, and reveals Babson's stated commitment to freedom of expression to be worthless.' His poorly timed joke comes off the heels of a tumultuous week between the U.S. and Iran after an airstrike killed a top Iranian military leader on January 3. Soleimani was killed by missiles outside Baghdad's International Airport around 12.03am local time after arriving from Syria. Trump said in a press conference that Soleimani was killed to prevent a war, adding that the commander was plotting 'imminent and sinister' attacks against Americans. The general was the architect of Iran's shadow warfare and military expansion in the Middle East 'We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,' the president said in brief remarks at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. Iranian officials and Soleimani's supporters have since vowed vengeance for the military leader's death. President Hassan Rouhani said the U.S. has made a 'grave mistake' for by killing the leader of Iran's Quds force and will face consequences for years to come. The President of Iran has issued a chilling warning that the U.S. made a 'grave mistake' by killing the leader of Iran's Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, in an airstrike and that it will face consequences for years to come Rouhani has said that Iran has the right to seek revenge, saying that that retaliation will come when the 'dirty hands of the US' are removed from the region indefinitely. The general was the architect of Iran's shadow warfare and military expansion in the Middle East and was targeted specifically because he was actively developing plans to kill members of the U.S. military and diplomats in the region. 'The Americans did not realize what a grave mistake they have made. They will suffer the consequences of such criminal measure not only today, but also throughout the years to come,' Rouhani said. Ayatollah Khamenei (left) lashed out at Iran's enemies in a Saturday morning tweet, calling the Trump administration 'villainous' 'This crime committed by the US will go down in history as one of their unforgettable crimes against the Iranian nation.' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei visited Soleimani's family on Friday evening where he said the airstrike that killed the architect of the country's infamous militia was 'villainous'. In a series of other tweets following the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the Trump administration as 'villainous' and condemned the airstrike. The Supreme Leader later warned Iran's 'enemies' that the Jihad of Resistance has gained more motivation for their cause and their supposed victory will be 'bitter for the murderers and criminals' The Trump administration and the U.S. government were referred to as 'villainous' by Ayatolla Khamenei 'Hajj Qasem Soleimani had been exposed to martyrdom repeatedly, but in performing his duty & fighting for the cause of God, he didn't fear anyone or anything. He was martyred by the most villainous people, the US govt, & their pride in this crime is a distinguishing feature of him,' he wrote on Saturday. He also warned Iran's 'enemies' that the Jihad of Resistance' supposed victory will be 'bitter.' He wrote: 'All friends& enemiesknow that Jihad of Resistance will continue with more motivation & definite victory awaits the fighters on this blessed path. The loss of our dear General is bitter. The continuing fight & ultimate victory will be more bitter for the murderers & criminals.' Iranian members of the Basij militia take part in an anti-US rally at Palestine Square in the capital Tehran on Saturday to protest the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by a US airstrike Earlier on Saturday, an Iranian official said at least 35 U.S. targets, including warships and Tel Aviv, have been identified for retaliatory strikes. Iranian General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, a Revolutionary Guards commander in the southern province of Kerman, made the threat a day after Quds Force leader General Qassem Soleimani was killed at the Baghdad International Airport by a U.S. airstrike. Abuhamzeh said vital American targets in the region had been identified a 'long time ago', including ships in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and Tel Aviv. 'The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there some 35 U.S. targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv are within our reach,' he said, according to Reuters. Hezbollah, an Islamic political and militant group, has also warned Iraqi soldiers to stay at least 1,000 meters away from U.S. military bases from Sunday onwards. Trump responded to the threat on Twitter, saying the U.S. has targeted 52 Iranian sites that could be hit 'very fast and hard.' Trump: 'we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!' 'Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime...' Trump wrote. 'Including recently,hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have....' 'targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!' On May 2, Friendswood voters will likely be asked to consider reauthorizing a -cent sales tax to funds street maintenance. The tax, which passed with 62 percent approval from voters in 2016, generates approximately $1.65 million per year. State law requires that it be reapproved every four years. Mayor Mike Foreman said he is confident City Council will vote in February to put the issue before citizens. Weve all become accustomed to this money, and we dont want to have to take it away from the budget, (because) its $1.65 million dollars (per year) worth of work that either would not have been undertaken, or the funding would have had to come from other sources, he said. Having the street maintenance sales tax kept us from raising taxes or reducing city services; so hopefully people are even more in favor of it now. In 2019, the funds covered street repair and maintenance on roadways including: Cowards Creek Court, Rancho Circle, Linson Lane, Baker and Moore roads and Briar Creek, Viejo, Falling Leaf, Pecan and Greenbriar drives. Work this year includes improvements to: Stanley Court, Mandale Road, Winding Way, Wilderness Trail, Rustic Lane and Falcon Ridge Boulevard. Also set for work are Tanglewood, John, Castlewood, Judy, Clearview and Meadow Lark avenues and Crawford, Laurel, Oak, Merriewood, Clear Creek, Castle Harbor and Greenbriar drives. City Manager Morad Kabiri said that determining which roadways need repair and in what order is based on a study the city commissioned years ago. We commissioned a company that specializes in road-conditions evaluation to scrutinize every section of every street maintained by the city. They used high-tech equipment and analysis techniques, he said. Then they provided a score for each section. In general, the worst ones are being repaired soonest. Friendswood is not responsible for state roads such as FM 518, FM 2351 or FM 528. Maintenance and repairs for those fall to the Texas Department of Transportation. Foreman said that because the tax is a sales tax, any shoppers who drives to Friendswood businesses pitches in on their maintenance. It seems fair to me that if people from outside Friendswood are going to drive on our streets, they can contribute three-eighths of a cent toward their upkeep, he said. Kabiri said, should the sales tax be reauthorized, he expects it to generate about $1.7 million to $1.8 million a year. City Council is set to meet on Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.at 910 South Friendswood Drive. For more information, visit www.ci.friendswood.tx.us or call 281-996-3200. Two council seats will be up for election on May 2. Position 2 incumbent Sally Branson and Position 5 incumbent John Scott have announced intention to seek re-election. Branson, who is the mayor pro tem, is a financial advisor who is in her first term. Scott is self-employed and is in his third term. Candidate filing begins Wednesday, Jan 15 and lasts until Friday, Feb. 14. Candidates can submit their application from 8 a.m until 5 p.m. during that period. A packet with information for potential candidates may be picked up in the Friendswood city secretarys office at City Hall during regular office hours and may also be found online at https://bit.ly/2t5iAzl. For additional information, contact City Secretary Melinda Welsh at 281-996-3270. U kraine has narrowed down the most likely cause of the plane crash that killed 176 people to either a missile hit or terrorism. The country's state security chief Ivan Bakanov said the two possible avenues were being prioritised for investigation. Foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko said Kiev was not ruling out any possible cause. Canada and the US have said it is likely a missile hit the jet before it crashed. The British government has also indicated it believes that is the most likely scenario. The nations have, however, suggested it was unintentional. Iran has rejected any possibility of blame and instead insisted there was an issue with the jet. Rescue teams work at the scene after a Ukrainian plane / AFP via Getty Images "We do not reject any of the versions," Mr Prystaiko said at a televised briefing in Kiev. "We want to establish the truth. "At the moment, we have no reason to say that the Iranian authorities are not coordinating their activities or are not sufficiently interacting with Ukraine." There were 176 people killed in the crash / AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian flights to Iran and Iraq were banned until the investigation has been concluded, he said. He added that the plane had changed course after an incident but it was hard to say what the reason was. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed on Wednesday. At that time, Iran was on alert for a possible US military response hours after firing missiles at US targets in Iraq. Two San Francisco men have been charged with federal firearms crimes in connection with a deadly shooting in the city's Fillmore District last year, U.S. prosecutors announced on Thursday. Jamare Coats, 26, and Robert Manning, 28, were each charged in a superseding grand jury indictment with one count of using a gun in a crime of violence resulting in death and one count of being an ex-felon in possession of a gun. One person was killed and five bystanders were wounded during a gun battle outside a memorial service at the Fillmore Heritage Center on the evening of March 23. The first charge carries a potential death penalty upon conviction if the U.S. attorney general gives permission for local federal prosecutors to seek that sentence. The superseding indictment expands upon a July indictment in which Coats was charged with a single count of being an ex-felon in possession of a gun and ammunition. BART directors voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a plan to improve cellphone connectivity and provide seamless Wi-Fi coverage in a gradual process over five years. BART officials said the project will involve constructing new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth infrastructure, enhance cellular coverage to drastically reduce dropped calls, provide reliable connectivity for video and audio streaming while riding and waiting, and allow for improved app functionality, even in underground stations. They said the project also lays the groundwork necessary for potential future mobile ticketing and on-demand personalized service information on a riders' device of choice. New BART General Manager Bob Powers said the advances are part of his emphasis on improving customers' experience while generating revenue for the transit system by expanding underground cellular and fiber optic infrastructure. "We must bring our technology up-to-date and expand broadband coverage to better compete in the transportation market and provide convenient, easy to use transit," Powers said in a statement. Geoffrey Ross resigned Thursday as the executive director of the Sonoma County Community Development Commission, which with the county's Department of Health Services is grappling with solutions to the county's homeless problem, county officials said. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is scheduled to appoint Department of Health Services Director Barbie Robinson as the new CDC director. Robinson will continue serving as director of the Department of Health Services. In the news release, Robinson said she is honored to lead the Community Development Commission on an interim basis. "I plan to work with the cities and community partners to develop housing solutions that support the housing continuum to meet the needs of our community, Robinson said. Ross was the assistant director of the CDC and he was appointed director after director Margaret Van Vliet resigned. He was among several county employees who recently were receiving performance reviews in a special closed session meeting with the Board of Supervisors. Thousands of marijuana convictions out of Contra Costa County will be dismissed as part of a push by the district attorney's office to abide by the terms of Proposition 64, which decriminalized personal use of cannabis in 2016. Prosecutors worked with Code for America to cull through thousands of records in order to identify and clear 3,264 marijuana convictions for roughly 2,400 people eligible under the law, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. Prop. 64 allows anyone 21 years old or older to buy and possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and up to 8 grams of "concentrated cannabis." In 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that requires prosecutors to review all marijuana convictions by July 1, 2020 to determine if they are eligible to be dismissed and sealed from public view. The law requires courts to automatically reduce or dismiss such convictions if prosecutors don't file a dispute by that same date. A young woman was arrested Thursday in San Jose after she allegedly stabbed her 17-year-old boyfriend, police said. Officers responded at 1:47 p.m. to the 1700 block of Story Road where they arrested the 18-year-old on suspicion of domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. Police said no other information was available. About 1,000 people packed four corners of an Oakland intersection Thursday evening to demand no war with Iran, said a member of the group CodePink, which says it promotes peace and human rights. The gathering was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. but many people had already gathered before 5 p.m. at Grand and Lake Park avenues, outside the Grand Lake Theatre, CodePink member Susan Harman said. Oakland's demonstration was just one of many scheduled for Thursday around the Bay Area, all of which were prompted initially by President Donald Trump's decision to kill Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, who the president said was a terrorist. The president's decision was meant to deter a war not start a war, according to White House officials on Twitter. But Iran on Tuesday fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two American military bases in Iraq, prompting concern that a war might start. No injuries or deaths were reported in the attack by Iran. Friday will be mostly clear. Highs will be in the mid 50s. Southeast winds will be 5 to 10 mph before switching to west winds in the afternoon. Friday night will be cloudy with rain likely. Lows will be in the mid 40s to the lower 50s. West winds will be 10 to 20 mph. Saturday will be partly cloudy and breezy. There will be a slight chance of rain in the morning. Highs will be in mid 50s. Northwest winds will be 10 to 20 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. New Delhi [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Ahead of Delhi Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working president JP Nadda and party leader Dr Harsh Vardhan held an organisational meeting here on Friday. They held meetings in five assembly constituencies include Tri Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Burari, Timarpur and Chandni Chowk in the national capital. The Model Code of Conduct came into force in Delhi on Monday with the Election Commission announcing that assembly polls in the national capital will be held in on February 8. Election notification will be issued on January 12 and the last date of nomination of candidates is January 21. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on January 22. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is January 24. (ANI) The enemy engaged Ukrainian positions with grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Russia's hybrid military forces on January 9 mounted six attacks on Ukrainian Army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and another one as wounded in action (WIA). "The armed forces of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire six times on January 9. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another one was wounded as a result of enemy shelling," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation Headquarters said in an update posted on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on January 10. Read alsoRussia's occupation forces reintensify military training in Donbas intel The enemy engaged Ukrainian troops with grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Pavlopil, Vodiane, Nevelske, Pisky, and Khutir Vilny. "From Friday midnight, Russia-led forces attacked Ukrainian positions once near the town of Maryinka, employing grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles," the update said. REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevro Corp. (NYSE: NVRO), a global medical device company that is providing innovative, evidence-based solutions for the treatment of chronic pain, today announced that it will host and webcast an investor briefing at the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS 2020) in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, January 25, 2020, beginning at 3:00 p.m. PST. Nevro Chairman, CEO and President D. Keith Grossman will host the event and will provide a business update and answer questions from investors about the Company's latest developments. A live webcast of this event will be available on the Investors section of Nevro's website at www.nevro.com. A webcast replay will be available approximately one hour after the live webcast ends and will be archived on the Company's website. About Nevro Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Nevro is a global medical device company focused on providing innovative products that improve the quality of life of patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain. Nevro has developed and commercialized the Senza spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system, an evidence-based, non-pharmacologic neuromodulation platform for the treatment of chronic pain. HF10 therapy has demonstrated the ability to reduce or eliminate opioids in 65% of patients across six peer-reviewed clinical studies. The Senza System, Senza II System, and the Senza Omnia System are the only SCS systems that deliver Nevro's proprietary HF10 therapy. Senza, Senza II, Senza Omnia, HF10, Nevro and the Nevro logo are trademarks of Nevro Corp. To learn more about Nevro, connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Investor Relations: Juliet Cunningham Vice President, Investor Relations +1 650-433-3247 [email protected] SOURCE Nevro Corp. Related Links http://www.nevro.com EDEN, AustraliaThousands of people fled their homes and helicopters dropped supplies to towns at risk of nearby wildfires as hot, windy conditions Friday threatened already fire-ravaged southeastern Australian communities. The danger is centered on New South Wales and Victoria, Australias most populous states, where temperatures and winds spiked after a few days of relatively benign conditions. Firefighters were working into the night to keep the fires from reaching communities as fierce winds whipped the blazes in multiple directions. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service had warned that coastal towns south of Sydney including Eden, Batemans Bay and Nowra could again be under threat weeks after losing homes to the fires. By Friday evening, the wildfires burning in that region were holding within containment lines, but winds could cause them to flare anew, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the extent of any damage from the fires wouldnt be known until Saturday morning. We know its going to be a long and difficult night, Berejiklian said. In neighboring Victoria, evacuation orders were issued in alpine areas, and Premier Daniel Andrews pleaded with residents to heed alerts and avoid complacency even though no fresh destruction was being reported. Despite this unprecedented fire activity, we have nobody who is unaccounted for, we have no further people who have died, and we have no further communities who have been cut off, Andrews told reporters. Now, all of those things can change and that is perhaps the most powerful reminder that we have to remain vigilant. The unprecedented fire crisis in southeast Australia has claimed at least 26 lives, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland since September. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies. The military has already been involved in the unfolding crisis by clearing roads closed by fallen trees, burying dead cattle and sheep and providing fodder to surviving livestock. Fire crews throughout the region were bracing for a long, rocky night. In the southeastern New South Wales town of Candelo, Nathan Barnden, a divisional commander with the Rural Fire Service, was preparing to head to the nearby township of Burragate with his team to protect the community from a fire that was marching north. The fire had breached containment lines in one area, and officials were worried that predicted winds of 60 to 100 kilometers per hour (40 to 60 miles per hour) could push it into populated areas. Well be there to help defend them through the night, Barnden said. Weve been warned that we could be up there til the morning. There is a risk that well be cut off and well have to stay there throughout the time. In the small village of Towamba in southern New South Wales, most residents had evacuated by Friday, after firefighters warned them they should get out, said John Nightingale, a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire Service. Last week, some houses in the village were destroyed by a fire that turned the afternoon sky first a deep magenta and then pitch black, Nightingale said. Late at night, you could hear the rumbling of the fire, he said. It was very terrifying. Officials feared the wind shift late Friday could blow the flames in a new direction. Nightingale said he and the other firefighters would work to snuff out any spot fires that flare up to try and keep them from spreading. But if conditions became too dangerous, they would need to take shelter at a community hall, a solid structure with about 25,000 liters (6,600 gallons) of water attached to it. Alongside the hall is a cleared, grassy area away from trees and shrubs where people can retreat as a last resort. The grass on the oval is very short so theres nothing to carry a strong fire, he said. So thats a survival option, basically. A patch of grass. And if that happened, wed have trucks and sprinklers going and hoses going, wetting people down. But I would hate it to come to that. Anything but that. Temperatures in parts of the fire-threatened area reached around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, and conditions remained tinder dry. The conservation group WWF-Australia estimates that 1.25 billion wild animals had died during the fires in addition to livestock losses, which the government expects will exceed 100,000 animals. WWF fears the disasters could lead to local extinctions and threaten the survival of some species, such as the glossy black-cockatoo and a knee-high kangaroo known as the long-footed potoroo. WWF conservation scientist Stuart Blanch described the estimate as conservative, and it did not include bats, frogs and insects. The majority of estimated losses were reptiles, followed by birds, then mammals such as koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and wombats. WWF estimates there were between 100,000 and 200,000 koalas across Australia before the fire season. Estimated koala losses in the current emergency include 25,000 on Kangaroo Island off southern Australia and 8,000 in northwest New South Wales. Its a significant loss, but I dont think well know for several months, Blanch said of the koala deaths. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Susan Decker and Mark Gurman (Bloomberg) Fri, January 10, 2020 11:32 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321a3367 2 Science & Tech Apple,Apple-Watch,Masimo Free Apple Inc. is accused of stealing trade secrets and improperly using Masimo Corp. inventions related to health monitoring in its Apple Watch. Masimo, which develops signal processing technology for health-care monitors, and its spinoff, Cercacor Laboratories Inc., claim in a lawsuit that Apple got secret information under the guise of a working relationship and then hired away key employees, including Michael OReilly, who became vice president of Apples health technology efforts. The business segment that includes the Apple Watch, Apple TV and Beats headphones is the companys fastest-growing category and generated more than $24 billion in sales in the fiscal year that ended in September. Masimo and Cercacor said their technology for non-invasive monitoring using light was key to Apple overcoming performance issues with its Watch. Among the 10 patents Apple is accused of infringing are ones covering ways to measure oxygen levels in blood, and heart rate using light emitters and detectors. Read also: Massive study using Apple watch spots heart issues, with limits The companies are seeking orders that would block further use of their patented inventions in the Apple Watch 4 and 5, return of confidential information and unspecified damages. Officials with Cupertino, California-based Apple didnt immediately return queries seeking comment. Apple contacted Masimo in 2013 and asked to meet for a potential collaboration, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Santa Ana, California. Apple said it wanted to understand more about Masimos technology to potentially integrate that technology into Apples products, Masimo said. After what Masimo thought were productive meetings, Apple instead hired OReilly, who was then Masimos chief medical officer and was privy to extremely sensitive information, according to the suit. The next year, it hired Marcelo Lamego, who was Cercacors chief technology officer and a former Masimo scientist. Lamego had unfettered access to confidential technical information and, shortly after starting work at Apple, began pursuing patent applications for things that he learned at the companies. Apple knew it was getting confidential information from the two men, the companies said. Given what appeared to be a targeted effort to obtain information and expertise from Masimo and Cercacor, Masimo and Cercacor warned Apple about respecting their rights, the companies said in the complaint. Neither man was named as a defendant in the suit. Masimo and Cercacor also are seeking to add their engineers to seven patents and applications that were issued to Lemego. That would make Masimo and Cercacor owners, or at least joint owners, of those patents and applications currently assigned to Apple. Its not the first time that Apples faced allegations of strong-arming information from companies that thought they were working with the tech giant. In October, it was accused of stealing patented technology from an email developer and then removing the mans messaging service from its App Store so it wouldnt be a competitor. Apple has also been accused of incorporating anothers patented invention into its Watch without paying. Last month, a New York cardiologist filed a lawsuit saying Apple owes him royalties on the Watch feature that provides notifications of an irregular heartbeat. The case is Masimo Corp. v. Apple Inc., 20-48, US District Court for the Central District of California (Santa Ana). Wyoming has a colossal cleanup project on its hands. About 83,000 acres of land sits unreclaimed by coal companies in the state by far the most acreage among its Western peers, according to a new report published Friday by the Western Organization of Resource Councils. Western coal-producing states face a looming dilemma, and the costs could be huge, said Bob LeResche, an editor of the report and board member of Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Western Organization of Resource Councils. Throughout the West, over one-third of all land disturbed by strip-mining has yet to be reclaimed after a half-century of intensive extraction in the region. North Dakota and Montana follow the Equality State with 25,000 acres and 17,000 acres, respectively, in unreclaimed land from coal mining, the conservation group found. But Wyoming environmental regulators said despite significant cleanup still ahead, the state remains sufficiently protected and on track to complete all reclamation obligations. Mounting cleanup liabilities come at a time when the energy sector is undergoing an unprecedented shift away from coal production. Its left the countrys largest mines, many in Wyoming, struggling to stay afloat financially. Last year, coal production in Wyoming sank by 10 percent compared to 2018 levels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Since 2015, Wyoming has been jolted by six coal company bankruptcies. A domino of coal-fired power plant closures nationwide has depressed demand for thermal coal. Natural gas has nudged coal aside with its cheap prices. Commercially viable renewables have rapidly entered the market and placed greater pressure on coal, too. These market shifts leave coal companies financially vulnerable and at risk of foundering on reclamation liabilities in the future, the report concluded. Todays coal industry is undercapitalized and at great financial risk from declining coal demand, and it is dangerously undiversified, LeResche said. But coal companies are responsible for cleanup of over 230 square miles of Western land and counting. On track But Wyoming is on track to reclaim inactive mine lands properly and fully, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality told the Star-Tribune in response to the report. It has bonds lined up to cover reclamation at its 25 surface operations and one underground operation across the mineral-rich state. Of the 184,488 acres of mined land throughout Wyoming, 146,653 acres about 80 percent is being reclaimed or mined as of August, Department of Environmental Quality data showed. About 106,964 acres or 73 percent of disturbed land from mining are in one of three phases of reclamation. Wyoming has cleaned up over 50,000 acres to a state adequate for agricultural production too, according to the department. We review the cost of reclamation every year, said Keith Guille, a spokesman for the state agency. ... If a mine were to unfortunately close nothing we would like to see but if that were to happen, we would have bonds in place that would cover the cost of reclamation. To protect taxpayers, Wyoming regulators revised bonding rules last year, too. Signed into law by Gov. Mark Gordon in May, the new bonding rules bar companies from solely relying on self-bonding (a type of bond not backed by money or assets). The new rules also set new credit standards for companies electing to partially self-bond, among other amendments. The whole point is to make sure that the state and taxpayers are not going to be left with the bag of reclamation, Guille said. Yet given the financial distress facing many coal companies nationwide, the Western Organization of Resource Councils advocates for the elimination of a self-bonding option. Over $600 million in reclamation liabilities nationwide were covered by self-bonds as of June, the report said. Regulators in state and federal agencies must ensure the public is not stuck with paying for cleanup by forcing todays coal companies to reclaim every acre possible, as soon as possible, and provide reclamation bonds that are guaranteed to be available when they are needed most, LeResche said. Before coal operators can receive permits to a mine, state law requires that companies secure sufficient bonds to cover future cleanup costs. Coal operators often turn to third-party surety companies for financial backing. If the coal company liquidates or abandons the mine, the state would then have the bonds forfeited to cover reclamation. However, mounting reclamation costs have placed state governments in a corner, the report warned. Because todays coal industry is undiversified and at great financial risk, there is a significant risk that regulators will be forced to seize bond money and complete reclamation, according to the report. Mounting trouble When a coal mine closes, final reclamation can be an enormous undertaking. But reclamation, when done well, can create some jobs in the aftermath of a mine closure, the report reasoned. And proper cleanup can restore topsoil and vegetation, protect air quality and fresh water sources and revive natural capital, like wildlife. Timely coal mine reclamation is a win-win for Western communities: it reopens land for livestock and recreation, it creates good job opportunities and it minimizes the huge risks to the public if a coal company goes broke, Mark Fix, a rancher living in Miles City and working near Montanas biggest mine, said in a statement. Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, the federal government requires companies to reclaim surface mining sites as contemporaneously as possible. But few incentives exist to hold companies accountable to timely restoration and mining far outpaces the rate of reclamation, the report outlined. The report also points to the messy ownership and permit transfers occurring between financially insecure coal companies as risks to proper reclamation. Bankrupt coal operator Cloud Peak Energy recently sold off three Powder River Basin mines to Navajo Transitional Energy Company. But the new owner has yet to secure sufficient bonds to cover cleanup costs, leaving Cloud Peak Energy, an insolvent company, as the official permit holder. In other words, Cloud Peak Energy remains on the hook for reclamation as long as its still the permit holder. Meanwhile, bankrupt operator Blackjewel sold off its two Wyoming mines to Eagle Specialty Materials. Contura Energy, another former owner of the two mines, still holds the permits and cleanup responsibilities. But the report contends these companies have failed to reclaim over half of the areas disturbed by mining activity at these Powder River Basin mines. A worrying overlap emerges between companies whose mines have substantial unreclaimed area and companies in financial distress, the report noted. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality told the Star-Tribune the companies were on track with all reclamation responsibilities. From our standpoint, these operations are compliant and are meeting the reclamation plan and working through that process to operate and bring the land back to, hopefully, the original state or close to, after they get done mining in that area. Guille said. The Western Organization of Resource Councils proposed several recommendations for states facing mounting cleanup bills to undertake. For one, it urged regulators to require timely reclamation and only accept sufficient and secure bonds to avoid relying on public funding in the event bond forfeiture doesnt pan out as planned. Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to 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. EDWARDSVILLE With more emphasis placed on vocational education, manufacturing and skilled trade jobs, Madison County Employment and Training is teaming with other agencies to discuss apprenticeship opportunities. MCET, the St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department and the city of Collinsville will hold a Southwestern Illinois Regional Apprenticeship Meeting 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Jan. 23 at Collinsvilles Gateway Convention Center. The meeting will focus on a variety of topics, with multiple speakers from 9-11 a.m., followed by a question-and-answer session from 11 a.m. to noon. Apprenticeships have taken on increased importance and targeting by both the federal government and state government, said MCET Director Tony Fuhrmann, who talked about the meeting at Mondays Grants Committee meeting. Were trying to be a leader in the region in Southwestern Illinois in the apprenticeship area. Fuhrmann said there are more than 1,000 apprenticeship programs registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and businesses need to be educated about what the programs can do. Businesses see this as a long-term operation, he said. Its a combination of classroom or on-the job training. So its a year or two years out before they receive that certificate. (When) most people think apprenticeship they think trade unions, but theres much more than that, he said. The key part of this meeting is to bring all the players together who do apprenticeship programs. For information about the program contact Lee Reese, regional apprenticeship navigator with the St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department, at 618-825-3265 or lee.reese@co.st-clair.il.us. Also at Mondays Grants Committee meeting, Ronda Sauget, executive director and CEO of the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, talked about expedited licensing for military members and their spouses. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill allowing that last year; it took effect Jan. 1. The law expedites 110 specific professional licenses for active duty, National Guard and reserve, Coast Guard and military spouses. Were really excited about that, she said. A lot of military spouses move every two or three years, so it makes it a very difficult process to get in place at their new base, then get started on their new career field if there is a delayed time for them to get their professional licenses. While the local concern is primarily Scott Air Force Base, Sauget said the law also will affect the Great Lakes Naval Base, the Rock Island Arsenal and smaller reserve and guard units. Having this in place makes us a leader in this industry segment, she said. Air Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, and the rest of the military are looking at the Illinois legislation as a national model, she said. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation also recently announced it has hired a military liaison to help military families in this process. The agency is printing brochures for use at military bases. Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447. US President Donald Trump arrives for a "Keep America Great" campaign rally at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, on January 9, 2020. President Donald Trump scored a "modest win" this week in the way he handled escalating tensions with Iran, according to a former American ambassador to Singapore. "It's not over yet, but I think Trump has more or less prevailed this past week," said Frank Lavin, who is currently the CEO and founder of business consultancy Export Now. "I think it is a modest win, but look, Iran's not going away," he told CNBC's "Capital Connection" Friday. "Iran's been in this business of mischief and wars and terrorism for 40 years now, so they're going to have another time, another go at this as well." Simon Baptist, global chief economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, agreed with the sentiment. "Iran is still pushing toward a nuclear bomb in the same way as North Korea," he said. "They can get there, and it's going to be tough to stop them in a confrontational way." "Without negotiations, I see that conflict simmering for now, but probably boiling over in the future," he added. Prisoners in New South Wales could be trained to fight bushfires and defend their jails from blazes as the country continues to burn. Corrective Services NSW revealed they are 'exploring options to establish inmate firefighting teams at a number of minimum-security correctional centres across the state.' The spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia there would be strict criteria choosing the inmates, which would look to their offending, security classification and release date. 'Community Projects Teams of inmate work-crews provide valuable support for individuals, not-for-profits and community groups by assisting with grounds-keeping, maintenance and other labour-intensive projects,' the spokeswoman said. Prisoners in New South Wales could be trained to fight bushfires and defend their jails from blazes as the country continues to burn. Pictured: Staff and inmates from the Illawarra Reintegration Centre help rebuild the Bargo Dingo Sanctuary destroyed by the Green Wattle Creek fire Pictured: The Gospers Mountain fire approaches Lithgow Correctional Centre in December 'One such crew at the Illawarra Reintegration Centre have helped rebuild a dingo shelter destroyed by bushfires, by cutting fallen trees, clearing debris, fixing fences and a sewer line.' The spokeswoman said she anticipates the rebuilding project would be one of many undertaken by inmates throughout 2020. 'We are also working with the Office of Emergency Management to establish inmate work-crews to go into areas ravaged by bushfire and undertake critical clean-up and maintenance work,' she said. Former detective and Western Sydney University lecturer Dr Michael Kennedy told 10 Daily it makes 'good sense' to provide prisoners with fire training. 'In prison farms, they are training them to do all sorts of things to prepare them for the outside world,' he explained. 'In terms of risk management, in terms of safety, it makes perfectly good sense to do that and extend it to fire training.' Corrective Services NSW revealed they are 'exploring options to establish inmate firefighting teams at a number of minimum-security correctional centres across the state.' The spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia there would be strict criteria choosing the inmates, which would look to their offending, security classification and release date Dr Kennedy said training prisoners to become firefighters is a good pathway to 're-invest in community' and there are a number of former inmates who already work with the RFS. Corrective Services NSW have conducted 'safe and secure evacuations' of Mannus, Glen Innes and Oberon Correctional Centres so far this bushfire season as flames approached. Inmates have since returned to the facilities in Oberon and Glen Innes. Lithgow Correctional Centre was not evacuated, despite flames from the Gospers Mountain blaze edging closer. 'Lithgow Correctional Centre staff have done a great job managing the prison in the state's Central West, which is very close to the Gospers Mountain fire,' NSW Justice wrote on Twitter during December. 'Corrective Services NSW is liaising with NSW RFS preparing fire containment measures and the site has fire-fighting capabilities.' In Western Australia, low-risk prisoners have been allowed to assist with firefighting since 2010 by refiling water bombers and during the clean up. There's only one stock group that has trounced U.S. tech since October. That under-the-radar winner has been Chinese tech, tracked in part by the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB). Since the start of October, it has climbed 28%, beating the nearly 17.5% run by the U.S.-based Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK). KWEB's bullish streak isn't the only thing encouraging options traders to bet on a bigger move, Christian Fromhertz, founder and CEO of Tribeca Trade Group, said Thursday on CNBC's "Options Action." "KWEB has been recently seeing 11 times more call volume than put volume. So, we're seeing a massive push going into these China names," including individual stocks within the exchange-traded fund, Fromhertz said. Those include what the trader referred to as "second-tier China internet names" like Bilibili, Iqiyi and Trip.com as well as larger, more established plays like Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com. "What this is telling me is two different things. The breadth is really strong in terms of the group. It's not just the internet that people are going after, it's the actual individual names," Fromhertz said. "It's also underowned." Part of investors' distaste for the Chinese internet stocks has been tied to fears around buying into the Chinese market in the middle of a U.S.-China trade dispute, he said. "Institutional money that has been on the sidelines, that has been afraid to get into China, has now been pushing in," Fromhertz said. "I think it's a great time, too, considering that right now, the trade war is taking a little bit of a back seat. It will reemerge again, but I think it's been settling down ... which has been a really great time for investors to go back in." As such, Chinese internet stocks have outperformed their U.S. counterparts in recent weeks, with the KWEB and the Dow Internet Index (FDN) recently forming a bullish pattern known as a "golden cross" in their relative chart, he said. A golden cross is when a stock's shorter-term moving average crosses above one or more of its longer-term moving averages. "We've had this base go on for a long time, and now we're starting to see what's known as a golden cross where the 50-day moving average is actually crossing over the 100-day moving average and the 200-day moving average. So, I think this move is just getting started," Fromhertz said. The same move which traders typically see as a sign of positive momentum in a given name is happening in KWEB's solo chart. "You've got the golden cross both in the outperformance as well as the ETF itself," Fromhertz said. "So, I think even though this group has been really on fire the last week, I think this move is just starting and I think an option trade is a great way to express the view." Fromhertz suggested putting on an options trade that expires later than most of the KWEB calls he spotted. "I like going out a little bit further rather than a lot of the option activity that we're seeing, which is pretty short term," he said. "If you go out to the May [$]55 calls, you can purchase them for just over $2." That trade represents a bet that KWEB, which hit a fresh 52-week high on Friday of $53.55 before cooling off slightly to just above the $52.90 level, can run about 4% by May's end. Disclaimer Last weeks killing of Soleimani brought long, simmering tensions between the U.S. and Iran to a boil. Iran, in retaliation, fired a barrage of missiles this week at two military bases in neighboring Iraq that house hundreds of U.S. troops. But with no casualties to U.S. or Iraqi troops, Trump said he had no plans to take further military action against Iran and would instead enact more sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramkrishna Mission, in the neighbouring Howrah district on Saturday during his two-day visit to the city. According to official sources, Modi is scheduled to visit the mission headquarters late in the evening after attending two other programmes here. Modi, who will be in Kolkata on Saturday and Sunday, is scheduled to attend 150th anniversary function of Kolkata Port Trust (KOPT) on January 12, among other listed events. The camaraderie and mutual respect between the Prime Minister and the Ramkrishna Mission order, founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897, goes back to mid sixties when a teenager Modi inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda had arrived at the Mission Ashram, Rajkot branch in Gujarat and expressed desire to join the order. Swami Atmasthananda, who later went on to become fifteenth president of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, then heading the Rajkot branch in 1966, had advised him that sanyas was not for him and he should work among people and not in seclusion. During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Athmasthanandaji Maharaj and sought his spiritual guidance. Although Modi after spending some time there went back, but the relationshop with Swami Atmasthananda and the Ramkrishna Mission remained intact. Whenever Modi used to visit Kolkata, even during his days as Gujarat chief minister, he would travel to the Ramkrishna Mission. In 2013, during his tour to Belur Math, he went to Ramkrishna Mission and had sought blessings from Athmasthananda. In 2015, during his trip to the city as Prime Minister, Modi had called on ailing Swami Atmasthananda at Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan, a hospital run by the Mission in south Kolkata and enquired about his health. After Atmasthananda's death in 2017, Prime Minister Modi had termed it as a "personal loss". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uber has had a busy week at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas. The company shared a stage with Hyundai announcing a partnership to build "air taxis" it hopes to begin operating as soon as 2023. Melbourne is one of the cities Uber is targeting as a launch market. The company also announced new public transport options within the Uber app, and plans to bring Uber Jump its e-bike sharing service to Australia early this year. But while the promise of flying cars generated the most buzz, it was the change in attitude from Uber executives that might have been the biggest surprise. Uber expects to offer commercial flying taxis in Melbourne by 2023. Under Travis Kalanick, Uber pioneered the disruptor's playbook of "move into a city and ask permission later", which enabled the company to expand at a phenomenal rate around the world. The company seems to have matured under Dara Khosrowshahi, and its leaders now speak of collaboration, "engaging stakeholders", and following pesky local laws and regulations. Until this week, I'd considered Uber Elevate little more than a publicity stunt. The company's aggressive 2023 deadline for its flying taxi service still seems unrealistic, but Elevate head Eric Allison makes a convincing pitch. At CES he spoke about the company's close work with regulators around the world, and why Melbourne was chosen as a launch city; the CBD to airport route Uber hopes to launch with Elevate can funnel passengers into one of the busiest airline routes on the planet. Test flights are planned for this year, and Elevate is scheduled to launch in US cities Los Angeles and Dallas as well as Melbourne. K-12 public school enrollment in Wyoming jumped more than 800 students over the past year, with Natrona County leading the growth with nearly 300 new kids. The jump in student enrollment reflects the states overall population growth over the past year. We hope this is the start of a positive, multi-year trend that leads to increased prosperity for Wyoming business and industry, state Superintendent Jillian Balow said in a statement Wednesday. The bulk of the growth came from the states three largest school districts, in Laramie, Natrona and Campbell counties. Sixty-three percent of the 803 new students came from three districts in those counties. The growth in Natrona County wasnt unexpected; district officials had said earlier in the fall that enrollment had leaped forward compared to previous years. The Casper-based school district remains the second-largest in the state, with 13,330 students, compared to 13,039 the year before. Natrona County continues to be a majority-white district, with more than 10,600 identifying as white. The enrollment of minority students grew in the district between the 2018-19 academic year and this year, from 2,526 students who identified as a race other than white, to 2,653 this year. In all, roughly 20 percent of the district is a racial minority. Laramie County School District No. 1 still leads the way with 14,261. The Cheyenne district increased its enrollment by just over 100 students between this school year and 2018-19. Overall, there are 93,832 students attending public schools in Wyoming, the highest total in three years and the third-highest number since the mid-1990s. The growth is especially good news for a state school system battered in previous years by a flailing energy industry that left state coffers emptier and drove families out of Wyoming. While industry has recovered, its taken school districts some time to follow suit. Natrona County, for instance, lost more than 200 students overall between 2014 and 2017. A confluence of circumstances made the situation worse: The district had planned for growth to continue chugging upward and had built new schools to accommodate the anticipated influx. But then the economy crashed, enrollment cratered and the district found itself with more than 700 empty elementary-grade spots. Three elementary school closures and an enrollment boomerang later, the district is above its pre-bust enrollment. Last spring, the districts initial estimates for this academic year were conservative: In March, administrators told the school board to expect a growth of about 46; by April, the estimate was 110. Come fall, the real growth had blown past both projections to 300. The growth is good on a number of fronts. For one, it means fewer empty seats. That raises the tantalizing prospect of reopening shuttered schools, though district officials have previously said its too early to even begin having those conversations. But higher enrollment means more state dollars, as funding is almost entirely based on how many kids are in your districts schools. Of course, funding increases because districts need it as they absorb new kids, who need more teachers and more classrooms. Park Elementary is expanding, and the district announced over the summer it was expanding kindergarten to accommodate more students. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. A frustrated local mum has revealed how she only found out about a Boil Water Notice issued to her village after her son became very ill - weeks after the notice had been declared. Celine Carroll (39) who lives in Gylde View in Tallanstown said she only became aware of the notice after speaking to a neighbour who had herself only found out after contacting the council. "My son took sick in August - he was vomitting - and it's not like him; as he's never sick," explained the mum-of-two. "I put it down to the water myself, eventually." She added: "Some residents knew about it (the Boil Water Notice) but, unless you had looked online, you'd never have known." For the past six months Celine and her family have been living under the notice, which means she has to boil all water for cooking, and even for brushing her teeth. The knock-on impact of the notice has also meant that due to ongoing works to rectify the problem with safe chlorine levels, the water supply to the area has been shut off at regular intervals - however, Celine says that she has only ever received one leaflet from Irish Water to inform them of an impending shut-off. It means that, at times, she is even afraid to put on her central heating - in case the water is already shut-off and she could end up locking or damaging her home heating system. "It hit a nerve just before Christmas," added a clearly frustrated Celine. "It had been going on for six months (since the end of July) and only just before Christmas did we receive a flyer from them (Irish Water)." Money-wise, Celine says it has put an added burden on the family finances. She explains that she has not received any bottled water and has been forced to purchase bottles of water on a weekly basis. She estimates that she spends an extra 30 per week on water and that her electricity bill has also increased by approximately 20 per week (due to having to boil all water). Meaning the family has been hit with an added expense of around 200 per month since the end of the summer. At the end of her tether, Celine eventually decided to put on the home heating this week - even though the water had been shut off due to 'ice-pigging' works - due to the bitingly cold temperatures. On Friday afternoon, Irish Water revealed that 'ice-pigging' works - in which an ice slush is pumped into a water main and forced along the inside to clean the pipe by removing sediment and other unwanted deposits - had been completed and monitoring will be carried out next week to verify adequate chlorine levels. However, the Boil Water Notice remains in place for around 600 homes in the affected areas of Tallanstown. Irish Water say they will "consult with the Health Service Executive to lift the Boil Water Notice for those remaining on the notice as quickly and as safely as possible." The blackened hills around Batlow are a desolate welcome for people returning home after a bushfire raced through to destroy houses, farms, livestock, orchards, forests and town buildings last Saturday. The incineration stretches into the distance along the road from Tumut, a sign that it will take years for communities like this to rebuild from this summer. Scott Morrison has launched a new $2 billion national recovery fund but the message to the Prime Minister is that this will not be enough. Batlow's iconic Big Apple in a scorched field after the bushfire. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Its bloody tragic, says Greg Mouat, an apple-grower with a farm on the road to Tumut. He knows it could have been worse: his farmhouse is still standing even though he lost crops, machinery, buildings and years of hard work. But his neighbours house is a ruin. The fire was indiscriminate. Its heart-breaking. The Snowy Valleys Council mayor, James Hayes, says the fire destroyed timber plantations that will take 25 years to grow back, which means years of difficulty for the timber mill, the Visy paper mill and workers. I dont want to be alarmist but it could be dire, he says. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo meets with of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg in Monsey, N.Y. after an attack in his home on Dec. 28, the seventh night of Chanukah. (JNS)-Less than 24 hours after five people were stabbed at a rabbi's home on Forshay Road in Monsey, N.Y., Jews gathered on the lawn to sing and dance as a Torah scroll was dedicated at a nearby synagogue, making for a far different scene from the night before. On Saturday night, Grafton Thomas, 38, entered the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg and began stabbing people who had come to celebrate the seventh night of Chanukah. Using what has now been described as a machete, the attacker began slashing at people in the home, though several people reportedly threw objects at him, eventually prompting him to flee. He then turned his attention to Rottenberg's synagogue, located on an adjacent lot. Finding the building locked, the attacker returned to his car and fled the scene. He was apprehended several hours later by members of the New York Police Department. While a motive for the attack has not been released, on Sunday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the rampage an "act of domestic terrorism" after meeting with Rottenberg. Cuomo said he planned to introduce legislation that would increase the penalty of such cases to reflect the seriousness of the crime. A statement released by Thomas's lawyer, Michael Sussman, said he had suffered from a "long history of mental illness and hospitalizations," and had "no known history of anti-Semitism." Thomas pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary at his arraignment on Sunday. Bail was set at $5 million. "We need more police presence. We need to feel more secure, and we don't feel that now." Nevertheless, in the federal hate-crime criminal complaint on Thomas-an African-American who grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., and now lives with his mother in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., about 20 miles from Monsey-said that law-enforcement agents recovered journals from his mother that included anti-Semitic references, as well as Internet searches on Adolf Hitler and where to find local Jewish synagogues. Eli Cohen, a lifelong resident of Monsey who grew up going to the Rottenberg shul, said the attack has impacted the whole community. "We are all concerned. People are nervous," he said, noting that children can no longer walk to synagogue on their own because no one knows what will happen. "Monsey used to be a nice, calm, quiet place, and now, not so much." On any given Shabbat morning, some 200-plus people attend Shabbat services at the Rottenberg shul. Holiday programs, like the Chanukah gathering the rabbi was holding at his home on Saturday night, can draw hundreds more people from the community. Rivkie Feiner, a member of the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Rockland County's Jewish Community Relations Council and a board member of the JCC Rockland, was spending Saturday evening with her children at a skating rink less than two miles from Rottenberg's home when her phone began shrill with notifications about the attack. As the assailant was on the run and no one knew where he was heading, Feiner began urging everyone standing outside of the indoor rink to come inside and wait. "It was scary," she recalled. "Then you started hearing the sirens, the ambulances, the helicopters flying above." "People don't understand the ripple effect. It's horrible. The entire community is connected through social media, and even our kids hear about it," said Feiner, a communal leader who was at the scene for a while on Saturday night and met with government officials Sunday. "My 8-year-old came over and asked me what's a stabbing, and my 11-year-old wouldn't go to bed until we checked that all the doors were locked. He just wanted to know that the person was caught." According to Richard Priem, the Anti-Defamation League's associate regional director for New York and New Jersey, the attack in Monsey was the 10th anti-Semitic attack recorded by the group since Dec. 23 in the region. Many of those attacks happened in the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y., and were directed at Chassidic Jews who are identifiable by their dress, which for men include long black coats, black hats and on Shabbat, wide fur hats known as streimels. "The Jewish community is utterly terrified," Evan Bernstein, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey, said in a statement. "No one should have to live like this." The attack also came less than three weeks after a deadly attack on a Jewish market in Jersey City, N.J., where two members of the Chassidic community were among three civilians and a police detective killed during an hours-long siege. The two attackers in that case-a man and a woman-were also killed. According to Feiner, members of the Chassidic community in Rockland County and elsewhere have expressed how vulnerable they feel because the way they dress makes them identifiably Jewish. "We need more police presence," she said. "We need to feel more secure, and we don't feel that now." "It was scary. You started hearing the sirens, the ambulances, the helicopters flying above." Priem said "It's hard to pinpoint a specific cause as to why this is happening, but we do know that something meaningful needs to change. We need change from the top level-from the government down to the grassroots." Members of the Monsey Jewish community show solidarity following an anti-Semitic attack on Dec. 28, 2019. In the hours after the attack, life began to return to normal-or at least a "new normal"-in Monsey. People continued to go to synagogues throughout town to pray and shoppers filled local stores, including the kosher supermarkets. Even Rottenberg continued with his plans. Just hours after the attack-his son was among those who had been stabbed-the rabbi addressed members of his congregation. He also recited the Jewish prayer of gomel, which is said when a person survives a dangerous situation. For Priem, who along with his colleagues had been on the scene for hours, seeing the Torah procession stop in front of the Rottenberg residence was a particularly powerful moment. "This shows that despite the fear, they continue to adhere to their faith," he said. "They won't be cowed to change." Professors at several universities want to honour the young, promising scientists who were returning to Canada when their plane crashed in Iran, killing everyone on board. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Professors at several universities want to honour the young, promising scientists who were returning to Canada when their plane crashed in Iran, killing everyone on board. More than a dozen Canadian universities have confirmed they lost students, faculty and researchers in the crash, which killed 176 people many of them graduate students. Milad Ghasemi Ariani is seen in this undated handout photo. Milad Gasemi Ariani was among the 176 people who were killed when Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 crashed after takeoff near Tehran, Iran. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Towhid Islam, University of Guelph *MANDATORY CREDIT* "It's a huge loss for science," said Lisa Porter, a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Windsor. The loss is personal for Porter, whose research assistant, Samira Bashiri, was among the victims. "It's a loss for all of us," she said, choking up. For Towhid Islam, a marketing professor at the University of Guelph, the grief is compounded by feelings of guilt. One of the victims 32-year-old Milad Ghasemi Ariani was a PhD student doing research with Islam since last summer. Islam said he saw much of himself in Ariani both had engineering degrees and MBAs. The pair were using complex modelling techniques, which included econometric learning, machine learning and experimental design, to predict what consumers will buy. Ariani tried for years to get a Canadian visa to come study with the professor. Every time the university's offer was set to expire due to Ariani's visa problems, Islam convinced the administration to extend the deadline. There were many extensions until the paperwork came through last summer. "Maybe it's me to be blamed for his early departure," an emotional Islam said in an interview. "I wanted to help him, but I hurt his life. I guess you don't have control over all these things. But it also hurts me because he's gone." On the same campus, Ghanimat Azhdari wowed everyone she met. The Indigenous woman from the nomadic Qashqai tribe in Iran had already performed groundbreaking work before she moved to Canada in September to pursue a PhD under ecology professor Faisal Moola. She was proficient in something called "community participatory mapping" where she worked with tribal communities to collect oral information, Moola explained. "She'd find out where the sacred flowers were, the medicinal plants, the endangered forest, how bird populations change as a consequence of climate change," he said. "She was beginning to map what she called the 'territories of life.'" The brilliance of Azhdari, Moola said, was being able to translate between Indigenous cultural knowledge and western science and policy. Azhdari joined Moola's lab in September and was part of a project partly funded by the federal government to advance Indigenous governance in the protection of nature across the country. She returned to Iran to visit her fiance and family, Moola said. They were set to embark on field work in Newfoundland shortly after her return. Down the highway at Western University in London, Ont., Hadis Hayatdavoudi worked on ways to safely store nuclear waste. The PhD student studied the effects of hydrogen on copper at the Electrochemistry and Corrosion Science Centre. She examined the longevity of proposed materials used in containers for nuclear fuel waste, her supervisor said. The copper she pumped with hydrogen was then melted down into tiny balls, which would normally be thrown away, said Jamie Noel, a chemistry professor. "She saw beauty in these little tiny beads of copper, and she was saving them because she thought that she could maybe employ them in making jewelry or something like that," Noel said, shaking a little box full of the beads she had saved. Porter, the University of Windsor professor, said Bashiri made her way into her lab through intellect and sheer will. Bashiri's husband, who was also killed in the crash, came to the school to pursue a PhD in engineering. Bashiri, a veterinarian, worked in an animal clinic when she first arrived, but wanted to pursue research. She approached Porter, who told her the young woman did not have the proper background. "Take me as a volunteer and I'll prove myself to you," Bashiri said at the time. Porter accepted. Bashiri worked night and day, helping out with the mice and zebrafish Porter's lab worked with. Bashiri began digging into the research and improved various lab protocols. Porter soon hired her as a research assistant and they were in the midst of applying for scholarships to start towards her PhD in the fall. Her research would involve testing a new drug therapy for breast cancer, Porter said. She had run the numbers to perform tests on zebrafish to mimic what they'd give patients. The real work was just about to get underway. "This research is going to be published and her name will be on it," Porter said through tears. The other three young researchers will also be listed as co-authors on papers when they are published, their professors said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. ALBANY Evelyn A. Kinnah has been appointed director of the Albany County Immigration Assistance Center, which helps immigrants and their attorneys navigate legal obstacles across a 14-county section of upstate stretching from the Capital Region to the Canadian border. Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced her promotion on Thursday. For Kinnah, an attorney, the work she is doing is personal. She was born in Ghana and then moved to Liberia with her family when she was five. Right after she graduated high school in 1989 the Liberian Civil War war started. Despite the chaos incited by war, her family was able to make it back to their home country in 1990. It really disrupted a lot of people's lives, including my own. Were very glad to be alive, Kinnah said. Going back home was very interesting after 14 years of being away, especially since I left as a child. The war continued until 2003 and about a quarter of a million people were killed, while thousands more were mutilated and raped, often by armies of drugged child soldiers. Even though my life was crazy during the Liberian civil war, I am blessed because a lot of good has happened to me since I came here, Kinnah said. She arrived in the U.S. in 1994 to attend college at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany. She went on to earn a JD from Cornell Law School and a masters degree in Public Administration from Cornell's Institute of Public Affairs. She won the visa lottery in 1996 and later became a U.S. citizen. She previously worked as the deputy director at the Immigration Assistance Center when the program first launched in 2016. She will be taking over for James Milstein, the centers first executive director. Before working at the Immigration Assistance Center she worked in many different levels of government. She was previously an associate counsel for the New York State Assembly Majority Leader, as well as an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Schenectady. For Albany County she served as human services commissioner and as an assistant deputy county attorney before moving to the Immigration Assistance Center. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Kinnah said working at the center has been meaningful to her because she sees herself in many of the noncitizen cases she works on. One service the center provides is to advise court-appointed attorneys on how to best counsel noncitizen clients. The center and five others in the state were added in compliance with a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires defense lawyers to advise noncitizen clients about the risks a guilty plea might have on their immigration status. The center also provides translation services and can help with general questions about the immigration process. That process can be very complicated, even for someone who is an attorney like myself. There are a lot of questions, paperwork and pitfalls, Kinnah said. To be able to help somebody understand what the question is really asking them, and how to answer it truthfully and correctly is really meaningful because it could mean the difference between an application being rejected for insufficiency or being denied. With rise in Omicron cases, SC to conduct hearings virtually for next two weeks Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC Section 144 not a tool to oppress difference of opinion: SC verdict on J&K in 15 points India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: In an important order the Supreme Court held that the Internet is a fundamental right and the services are intrinsic to right to free speech. The observation was made while delivering the verdict on a batch of petitions on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370. Here are the key top observations by the court: Jammu and Kashmir administration to review all restrictive orders within a week. All orders are to be put in public domain which can then be challenged in a court of law. All orders of restriction under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure should be published so as to enable affected persons to challenge it. Temporary suspension of internet, basic freedom of citizens should not be arbitrary. It should be open to judicial review. The internet suspension should be reviewed. Freedom of internet is a fundamental right under Article 19(1), which deals with free speech. Trade and commerce through internet is protected under Article 19(1) (g), which deals with fundamental right to conduct trade and commerce. Internet services are intrinsic to right to free speech and cannot be suspended without providing reason and duration thereof. Certain trade and commerce are completely dependant on the Internet. Such trade and freedom to practise then is constitutionality protected as fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g). Review internet suspension in J&K forthwith rules Supreme Court SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week Mere expression of dissent or disagreement against a government decision cannot be a reason for Internet suspension Section 144, cannot be used as a tool to oppress difference of opinion. Magistrates while passing restrictive orders under Section 144 should apply their minds and have a sense of proportionality between danger to security and liberty of citizens. Repetitive orders without giving reasons and not based on material facts will be violative. Suspension of free movement, the Internet and basic freedom cannot be an arbitrary exercise of power. Expressions through the internet and social media have contemporary relevance. WASHINGTON In a dramatic rollback of environmental oversight, President Donald Trump took action Thursday to clear the way and speed up development of a wide range of commercial projects by cutting back federal review of their impact on the environment. The United States cant compete and prosper if a bureaucratic system holds us back from building what we need, Trump said at the White House in announcing the proposed regulatory rollback, surrounded by Cabinet secretaries, industry leaders and workers in hard hats. Trumps proposal calls for greatly narrowing the scope of the half-century-old National Environmental Policy Act, signed by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1970. It was one of the first of that eras fundamental environmental laws, along with the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, that spelled out the countrys principal protections. That National Environmental Policy Act required federal agencies to consider whether a project would harm the air, land, water or wildlife. It also gave the public, including people living in the neighborhood around a proposed dam, pipeline or other big project, the right of review and input. Congress said at the time that the nation was moving to fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations. Sen. John Barrasso who chairs the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works lauded the announcement in a statement Thursday, capping off a NEPA reform effort in his committee that had been integral to his political brand on Capitol Hill since arriving more than a decade ago. Late in 2019, his committee passed the American Transportation Infrastructure Act on a unanimous vote, which included a number of similar provisions to hasten a number of infrastructure improvements impacted by NEPA. Road and bridge safety projects that take months to build should not take years to permit, Barrasso said in a statement. These regulatory updates promote safety and still protect Americas air, water and communities. The proposed changes also received praise from Gov. Mark Gordon, who testified before the EPW Committee on potential reforms to the Clean Water Act in Washington D.C. late last year. NEPA is an important policy tool to ensure proper consideration of the environmental effects of proposed major Federal actions, Gordon said in a statement. It is not a platform to engage in speculative fancy, nor should it be seen as a convenient mechanism to obstruct development. Rather, the NEPA process should inform and improve proposed actions by facilitating a better understanding of the potential impacts of those actions. Trump, who has targeted environmental rules in his drive to ease the way for business, said Thursday that enforcement of the law had slowed federal approval of projects. Americas most critical infrastructure projects have been tied up and bogged down by an outrageously slow and burdensome federal approval process, he said. The builders are not happy. Nobodys happy. Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers countered that the proposed rollback would gut major environmental protections and take away the publics right to know and comment on a projects potential harms. Key among the changes proposed is one that would newly limit the requirement for federal environmental review to projects that have major federal funding. The change would mean a range of predominantly privately funded and managed projects would not fall under the laws requirement for federal environmental study and for public review and comment. Other changes include giving federal agencies no more than two years to evaluate any environmental impact of a project. Mary Neumayr, head of the administrations Council on Environmental Quality, said the changes would not explicitly bar federal consideration of a projects impact on the nations output of climate-damaging fossil fuel emissions. But environmentalists said a change instructing federal employees to disregard cumulative and longer-term effects would have the same effect, however. The proposal is to be published in the Federal Register in the coming days, followed by a 60-day period for public comment. Although relatively little known outside of industry, government and environmental circles, the act sets out some rights that Americans now take for granted, said Stephen Schima, senior legislative counsel with the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice. That public meeting you went to in your neighborhood about a highway? Schima said. That was because of NEPA. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the administration of further sidelining any federal efforts to confront climate change. These new guidelines undermine critical building requirements that ensure that our communities are able to withstand the growing threat posed by the climate crisis, she said. Groups representing professional state and urban planners spoke out against the administrations proposal. Ignoring the future impact of climate change as part of the nations core environmental review law will only increase costs of development and future disaster recovery on taxpayers and communities, while making us all more vulnerable to its already apparent effects, the American Planning Association and the Association of State Floodplain Managers said in a statement. Trump said the changes would deliver gleaming new infrastructure to the United States and would completely overhaul the dysfunctional bureaucratic system that has created these massive obstructions. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told reporters that Trump would deliver a home run ... by cutting red tape that has paralyzed decision making on projects. Trump has called throughout his presidency for oil and gas pipelines, in particular, to move ahead despite local opposition. He has advocated shortening the time and length of environmental reviews for projects. Industry, including the oil and gas sector, has pushed the administration to make good on its pledges for changes in how the federal government enforces the NEPA when it comes to approving or disapproving projects. Anne Bradbury, head of an independent oil and gas producers trade group, said the new changes will speed up permitting of oil projects, including pipelines, on federal lands. Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, in a statement thanked the administration for listening to manufacturers and working to ensure that the 21st-century highways, bridges, power lines, cell towers and more that we rely on get built. Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act into law as public outrage over the 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara, California, and other pollution of the countrys air, water and land spurred creation of the countrys major environmental protections. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 3 ILIA offers a "full face" assortment of more than 100 clean, skin-centric makeup products crafted with certified organic ingredients and non-toxic synthetics to ensure that each delivers beyond the expectations of natural makeup. Its unique combination of brilliant pigments, active skincare ingredients, superior performance and nourishing organics has earned ILIA a leading position in this fast-growing category. Additionally, the brand strives to ensure that its products are manufactured ethically and sustainably, including the use of recycled aluminum and post-consumer recycled paper printed with vegetable-based dyes. The Company currently sells through more than 600 doors across 30 countries around the world, including prominent retailers such as Credo, Space NK, The Detox Market, Follain, Bluemercury, Oh My Cream, Mecca and the industry leader Sephora where it is the most productive brand within its clean color cosmetics initiative, and offers one of the top-performing SKUs within the mascara category (Limitless Lash Mascara) on Sephora.com. Sasha Plavsic, the Company's Founder and Creative Director, expressed her excitement about the Series B investment. "This capital and partnerships will ensure we can continue to innovate and invest heavily in R&D. I strive to offer the highest-performance clean products powered by high active levels of skincare ingredients. These innovative formulas are unlike anything out there on the market." Lynda Berkowitz, the Company's CEO, commented, "I am thrilled to partner with Ken Suslow and the Sandbridge team, as well as work together again with Brian Thorne at Silas Capital. Their investment and industry expertise will greatly support pronounced growth opportunities for ILIA." Berkowitz joined the brand in 2016 after working for brands like, Too Faced, Perricone MD and Bobbi Brown. Ken Suslow, Sandbridge Founding Managing Partner, added: "ILIA impresses as a very special brand that is authentically and transparently true to its clean purpose driven mission, thoughtfully unifying prestige and clean beauty in support of its uniquely elevated brand. We are highly enthused to be partnering with Sasha and Lynda, and very much look forward to leveraging Sandbridge's expertise as global brand builders in support of ILIA's compelling growth trajectory." Since its founding with the backing of an iconic group of consumer industry operators and advisors, Sandbridge has been strategically partnering with global brands in the luxury, beauty, health and wellness, and disruptive consumer-based technology industries, including representative strategic investments in Thom Browne, The RealReal, Youth to the People, Rossignol, and Farfetch. Silas focuses on category leading brands within the emerging growth segment of the consumer landscape. The firm not only invests capital to help these companies grow, but also brings significant resources and capabilities to actively assist in company growth through their expertise in e-commerce and digital expansion, alongside their knowledge of traditional wholesale and retail channels. Current investments include Herbivore Botanicals, HATCH, Bellroy, Casper, Naadam and Summersalt. Brian Thorne, Partner of Silas, stated, "We're extremely proud of the success that Sasha, Lynda and the ILIA team have achieved over the past year since our initial investment, and even more thrilled about what's to come for this truly innovative brand. With additional growth capital, a strong new partnership with Sandbridge and the continued support of our firm, we intend to further solidify ILIA's position as the category leader in clean color cosmetics." CONTACT, IMAGE & INTERVIEW REQUESTS: [email protected] SOURCE ILIA Related Links https://iliabeauty.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 06:26:17|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Matthew Iles, CEO of Civil Media Company, receives an interview with Xinhua in New York, the United States, Nov. 8, 2019. Civil Media Company, a New York City-based blockchain-for-journalism startup, has set itself an ambitious task of building a trusted web through blockchain technology to challenge the eyeball economy and social media giants like Google and Facebook. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Civil Media Company, a New York City-based blockchain-for-journalism startup, has set itself an ambitious task of building a trusted web through blockchain technology to challenge the eyeball economy and social media giants like Google and Facebook. "We want the Civil platform to stand for being a trusted place for trusted content. And that's the promise blockchain technology holds," the company's CEO Matthew Iles said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua. A PLATFORM BUILT ON TRUST The nearly two-year-old Civil rolled out a decentralized platform in March 2019 through blockchain and community governance. The newsrooms that have joined Civil are granted exclusive access to tools like the Civil Publisher, which allows them to permanently archive content to the Ethereum blockchain and so they cannot easily be taken down, according to Iles. In the meantime, community members ensure these newsrooms abide by a strict set of journalism standards and ethics known as the Civil Constitution. Community members can challenge a newsroom that violates the standards and use decentralized voting credits known as "Civil tokens" to determine whether the newsroom should be removed. "Blockchain, when it comes to media and news, does have the potential to make a big dent in the 'fake news' problem, specifically when it comes to knowing the source of a piece of content," Iles said. The company's "next major piece of software" will be the Civil ID -- a kind of universal identity system for the web, said the young entrepreneur. "In many ways, it completes our platform." The software will enable newsrooms to authenticate and control their content as well as own and govern their data, in order to better protect and monetize their original work. "What that really means is that the user is the one who's in control of their identity payments and data. There isn't a password stored in some company's database that could potentially be hacked or stolen," Iles said. "We want to bring some of the benefits of this technology to journalism." A WAY FOR JOURNALISM TO THRIVE ON WEB Civil's mission from day one has been to provide a sustainable future for journalism on the web, said Iles, who spent years analyzing the ups of Google and Facebook and the downs of media outlets. "Eyeballs were going to these giant platforms and more and more news organizations were going out of business." In his opinion, a handful of corporations are controlling what readers see, and their principal business models are largely the same -- "collect as much information about the readers as possible in order to stimulate and sell their attention." "I want to see news organizations thriving again. The vision fundamentally is that we must find a way for the web to be an open, trusted place. And I don't think that Civil is alone in thinking that," he said. More than 70 newsrooms from around the world with over 1,000 individual journalists have joined Civil. As Iles said, "Civil is on every major continent. We have roughly 500 token holders, apart from those journalists who are members of the public who have contributed and who want to support the project." Civil is getting ready to field test the Civil ID for proving, tracing and monetizing content amongst trusted publishers, according to Vivian Schiller, chairwoman of the Civil Foundation. The idea is to build a marketplace for newsrooms to share their content with whoever they see fit, and with terms they control, she said. "We're first piloting with some well-known publishing partners we'll be announcing soon to demonstrate how the Civil ID can increase revenue for their licensing business." "We'll use the same technology infrastructure to help small to midsize newsrooms do the same via WordPress Newspack, followed by other common content management systems," Schiller added. Iles said Civil is also offering an embeddable fund-raising tool called "Boosts" to help newsrooms make money by increasing audience engagement and reader revenue. "Project Boosts" allow newsrooms to host one-off fund-raising campaigns on their websites for things like expanded coverage or travel costs; "Story Boosts" enable quick, direct payments to newsrooms at the bottom of every article, and readers can contribute with credit cards or cryptocurrency, Iles further explained, while stressing that all the money goes to the newsrooms and Civil does not take a cut. Readers will soon be able to use the Civil ID for single sign-on, one-click checkout and other friction-free benefits across the Civil network of trustworthy newsrooms, according to Iles. "All of this will be done without a centralized middleman controlling identity, payments or data. This is our vision for the trusted web," he said. A CLEAR VISION, A HARD BATTLE All that said, Iles admitted the difficulty of getting a startup to grow. "The hardest thing has been that the long-term vision is actually quite clear to us, but mapping how to get there has been difficult," he said. "But what gives us clarity of vision and the energy to get up every day is that this work must be done." "We were able to break through the noise a bit and get attention around the world because we were talking about how really radical change was required in order to introduce any kind of improvements to the system that could have a lift-of-all-boats kind of effect," he said. For Civil to succeed ultimately, Iles said it needs to ship products that make news organizations money. "That's the path to long-term viability." Iles also suggested that the younger generation of reporters be more business savvy and more entrepreneurial in an age of fast-evolving media technologies. "Being a reporter and not really even understanding the business of your news organization will be hard," he said. She has just made a grand return to her role as the first female Doctor in one of the most exciting episodes in recent years. And Jodie Whittaker thanked fans for welcoming her so warmly into the 'Who Universe' during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday. The 37-year-old actress told the host that Doctor Who had made her famous 'before ever stepping foot in the role'. One of the family: Jodie Whittaker thanked Doctor Who fans for embracing her as the first ever Female Time Lord during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday 'Its a really strange job because, unlike many others, you only become well known if the job is successful,' she said. 'Youre in a show, people love it so they watch it and then, maybe you become attached to being that person for people, Jodie expressed. 'For this, youre famous before you ever step foot on set for the role. Youre welcomed into this extraordinary family, which is the Who Universe. 'Its really beautiful but its really an overnight thing.' Big return: Jodie has just made a grand return to her role as the first female Doctor in one of the most exciting episodes in recent years (pictured L-R: Bradley Walsh, Jodie, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill) Star: The 37-year-old actress told the host that Doctor Who had made her famous 'before ever stepping foot in the role' Wearing a quirky dress with full red skirt and detailing on her hips, the Yorkshire native apologised for her 'husky' voice due to 'having too much fun' while on her visit to New York. Jodie also called herself a 'New Whovian', as she hadn't watched the show before being offered the role. Series 12 began on New Year's Day with a significant dip in viewers compared to last series, as three million less viewers tuned in for the show's return. Having fun: Wearing a quirky dress with full red skirt and detailing on her hips, the Yorkshire native apologised for her 'husky' voice due to 'having too much fun' while on her visit to New York Despite stunning fans with a dramatic twist that saw historic villain The Master return from the dead, the show struggled to pull in overnight viewers. It comes after 2018's series - the first to star Jodie as the titular Time Lord - saw a huge boost in ratings for the BBC show. At the beginning of the last series, Doctor Who attracted just over eight million viewers, but by episode five - The Tsuranaga Conundrum - the iconic sci-fi show received an average of 6.1 million viewers. 'Its a really strange job because, unlike many others, you only become well known if the job is successful,' said Jodie Series return: Doctor Who Series 12 began with a significant dip in viewers compared to last series, as three million less viewers tuned in for the show's return on New Year's Day Wednesday's series return attracted just over five million viewers, and at one point viewers dipped to a low of 4.88 million. However these ratings are not the lowest in the series' history, as The Eaters Of Light pulled in a mere 2.89 million viewers overnight when it aired in June 2017. The figures are a far cry from Who's peak, which saw 13 million viewers tune in on Christmas Day in 2007. Bad night: Wednesday's series return attracted just over five million viewers, and at one point viewers dipped to a low of 4.88 million An insider told The Sun: 'Beeb bosses were hoping the downturn in ratings towards the end of the last series was just the novelty of Jodie's arrival wearing off a little. 'But the fact that the new season seems to have fared even worse will have them worrying whether it has less to do with who plays the Time Lord, and signs of a greater problem with the show. ' The insider added: 'After all, the debut episode aired in a day when many people were still off work and school, so should have attracted a more substantial audience.' MailOnline have contacted BBC representatives for comment. For the second episode, Who will move back to its regular time-slot on Sunday evenings, so it remains to be seen whether the viewership will improve. The show has always seen a large boost in viewership through catch up and streaming. The first of a two-part episode kicked off with a major twist on New Years Day, as The Master made an epic return from the dead, now played by Sacha Dhawan. Twist: The first of a two-part episode kicked off with a major twist on New Year's Day, as The Master returned from the dead yet again with a new face The series opener saw the TARDIS team try and track down aliens who were targeting MI6 agents, but it seemed they were coming from a threat far closer to The Doctors home. After teaming up with the rogue agent O, the team chased down the tech mogul Daniel Barton (played by Lenny Henry) who seem to be involved in the otherworldly scheme. Having chased Barton onto his private jet, it was revealed that O was in fact The Master, and the episode ended on a cliffhanger as he sent the plane crashing to the ground while the Doctor was trapped in another dimension. Doctor Who Series 12 continues on Sunday at 7pm on BBC One. (JNS)The year 2019 consisted of ups and downs for the Jewish and pro-Israel community. Below is a listing of the top six events or themes that shaped news coverage throughout the year (in no particular order). Anti-Semitic attacks From Southern California to Jersey City, Jews were under attack as, in the former, one woman was killed and three people injured during Shabbat-morning services at Chabad of Poway on the last day of Passover on April 27. In the latter, two Chassidic Jews, a store employee and a police officer were shot and killed at JC Kosher Supermarket in the Greenville neighborhood of Jersey City on Dec. 10. In Brooklyn, N.Y., Orthodox Jews have been consistently targeted, from eggs thrown at them to being robbed to their institutions vandalized to being physically assaulted. On Dec. 28, a man carried a long machete entered a home and prayer hall known as Rabbi Rottenbergs Shul in Monsey, N.Y., slashing and injuring five of the celebrants gathered at a Hanukkah candle-lighting party. Jews were the most targeted for hate crimes among religious groups in 2018, according to an FBI report released in November. Trump adds to pro-Israel resume Despite criticism over the United States withdrawing its forces from northeastern Syria (which has since been slightly walked back) in October, the Trump administration added to its pro-Israel agenda by recognizing Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights in March, designating Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group and announcing that the United States would no longer view Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria as illegal under international law. Additionally, the administration continued to maintain maximum pressure on the Iranian regime since withdrawing in May 2018 from the 2015 nuclear deal, despite not militarily responding to Iran shooting down a U.S. drone over the Strait of Hormuz in June and attacking two Saudi Aramco facilities in September. Washingtons campaign has included sanctions on individuals, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and entities tied to Tehran and its proxies, especially the terrorist group Hezbollah. In December, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that requires the U.S. government to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism in responding to prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It mandates that the U.S. Department of Education investigate anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses in accordance with Title VI of that law. Eroding support for Israel in Democratic circles It was a mixed year for support for Israel among Democrats. While a record number of pro-Israel Democrats visited the Jewish state in August, the rise of several prominent far-left anti-Israel members of the party took the lions share of attention. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who had been repeatedly accused of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric and behavior, drew headlines after the two were banned from visiting the Jewish state over their support for the BDS movement. On the campaign trail, some Democrats have made remarks and advocated policies critical of Israel, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg have been reported to have anti-Israel campaign staff members. The anti-Israel group IfNotNow has approached Democratic candidates as representatives of the Jewish community and asking them about ending the so-called occupation of the West Bank. Warren and Buttigieg responded favorably to IfNotNows plea. Sanders has repeatedly attacked the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as racist, even referring the term to Netanyahu himself. Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiment rising on college campuses On college campuses, far-left BDS activists have loudly vocalized anti-Israel sentiment and made pro-Israel and Jewish students feel ostracized. Pitzer Colleges College Council voted in March to suspend the schools study-abroad program at the University of Haifa (however, the schools president said he would not implement the recommendation). Meanwhile, Apartheid Week programs and pro-BDS conferences have continued to take place unabated, while outright hostility has been exhibited on campuses, including at New York University, which gave an award to the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter (NYUs president stated he didnt support the move). The number of Israel-related, anti-Semitic incidents against Jewish students on campuses increased 70 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to a report published in September by the AMCHA Initiative. The report documented how academic BDS-compliant behavior was linked to 86 percent of Israel-related acts of anti-Semitic harassment of students. Overall, academic BDS activity more than doubled from 2017 to 2018, while promotion or implementation of academic BDS increased by more than 100 percent in the same time frame. The report further showed that expressions calling for the total boycott or exclusion of pro-Israel students from campus life nearly tripled from 2017 to 2018. In addition, acts accusing Jewish and pro-Israel students of supporting racism, genocide and other evils more than doubled, while there was a 147 percent increase in linking Jewish and pro-Israel students to white supremacy. Expression promoting or condoning terrorism against Israel also increased by 67 percent. The BDS movement was also exposed for links to Palestinian terror groups as well as how it is fueling anti-Semitic attacks on campus and elsewhere. Anti-Semitism loses at the ballot box in the United Kingdom The British Labour Party suffered its worst defeat since 1935 as the party and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, were accused of anti-Semitism. Leading up to the election, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Ephraim Mirvis issued a plea to vote against the party due to its anti-Semitism. Incumbent premier Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party won 365 seats in the 650-seat House of Commonstheir biggest victory since 1987, while Labour won 203 seats. As the results came in, Corbyn announced that he would not lead Labour in the next election. Not for the first time, our nation has stood firm against anti-Semitism, said Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, in a statement. The British public has watched the once proudly anti-racist Labour Party become infested with Jew-hatred, and it has resoundingly decided to stand with its Jewish community and give the anti-Semites a crushing rebuke. The faith that British Jews showed in our country has been vindicated. Israel goes to elections twice (and is heading for a third round in 2020) Israeli voters went to the polls an unprecedented two times in 2019, each result causing no 61-seat coalition to be formed in the Knesset. Once again, Israelis are headed to the polls on March 2, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who became Israels longest-serving prime minister in July, under indictment charges. Gideon Saar lost a primary to Netanyahu on Dec. 26 to lead Likud. As tensions flare with Iran, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says Iranian cyber attacks are attempted against state government systems as often as 10,000 a minute. Meantime, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the FBI is investigating an Iranian inspired attack against his agency's website. Plus, Democrats running for the White House are campaigning in Texas perhaps more than ever. All that and more as we go behind the headlines for a look at what's really going on at the Texas Capitol and in Washington with the state's #1 political podcast: The Texas Take. Join the conversation featuring Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace, and San Antonio Express News reporter Allie Morris. Premier performing fine arts recruitment platform selected to serve as the application and review service for prestigious invitation-only event for high school students to showcase their talents to recruiters from national colleges, universities, and conservatories for the purpose of admission and scholarship procurement. NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ScholarshipAuditions.com has been awarded a contract from the National Presenters Association to provide its online recruitment platform as the application and student review service for the Performers National Signing Day event, being held January 16-19, 2021 in New York City. This event is an innovative and prestigious recruitment showcase for high school performing arts students seeking college scholarships. Registration opens January 27, 2020 at www.performersnationalsigningday.com . The inaugural National Performers Signing Day experience is a four-day event to be held January 2021 during the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday weekend. The first three days are designed for showcase/audition presentations along with opportunities for personal interaction between students/parents and colleges/universities/conservatories. The culminating event will be held at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday afternoon and will highlight the decisions that have been made between the students and the scholarship awarding institutions. Our selection to support Performers National Signing Day is personally rewarding to me and a confirmation of the strength of the ScholarshipAuditons.com platform, stated Dr. Randall Bayne, Founder, CEO, ScholarshipAuditions.com. Ive long felt that performing fine arts students deserve the type of recognition that athletes have achieved, and Performers National Signing Day is a concept I fully support. About ScholarshipAuditions.com ScholarshipAuditions.com is a proprietary, high touch, sophisticated technology collegiate recruiting matching platform for middle and high school students searching for performing fine arts scholarships and as well as serving the colleges and universities recruiting those students. ScholarshipAuditions.com is always free for use by all college and university Admissions Offices, Deans, and Professors. ScholarshipAuditions.com is available to middle school and high school students, as well as school systems on a school-wide or system-wide contract basis. Building a student profile on ScholarshipAuditions.com is available for all students in middle school and high school and to those in college seeking additional scholarship funding or graduate programs, for only $7.95 a month. For more information about ScholarshipAuditions.com and the collegiate scholarship matching platform and how it can help both students and educational institutions, please visit www.scholarshipauditions.com . Also be sure to subscribe to the regular newsletter and follow its social media networks for program and scholarship updates. For other inquiries, email info@scholarshipauditons.com or call 615-393-6116. ScholarshipAuditions.com Contact: Jim Wagner Phone: (615) 393-6116 Email: info@scholarshipauditions.com On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO By Andrew Hammond As the new decade dawns, the 2010s will be remembered as a wild period for international politics. This is largely because the fallout from the 2008-09 global financial crisis, which saw the global economic system teetering on the precipice, has been profound, and not just economically. That financial crisis, seen by many as the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, has helped spawn a long wave of international political turbulence. Only in the last few weeks of 2019, there have been mass protests in multiple, diverse countries from Lebanon in the Middle East to Chile and Bolivia in South America over issues from corruption to economic inequality. In Lebanon, for instance, plans for new taxes on tobacco, petrol and WhatsApp prompted wider protest over growing costs for people forcing then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri from office in October. Meanwhile, in Chile, a metro transport prices increase has sparked unrest, in one of the region's wealthiest but most unequal countries, while then-Bolivian President Evo Morales resigned in November following protests over criticisms over rising extreme poverty. To some degree, this ongoing political fallout was partially predicted a decade ago. In February 2009, for instance, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued that "this economic crisis, left unresolved ... will upend governments, [and] it will unfortunately breed instability." Yet, what wasn't seen fully at that time, except by perhaps a foresighted few, was the way in which this turbulence would ultimately help shape politics not just in emerging markets, but also long-established industrialized democracies. This reached its zenith in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, who may well win a second term in 2020, and the United Kingdom voting to leave the EU. What was so striking about both these 2016 events was that two of the countries previously known for their political stability, and being traditional rule makers of the international order, made the world a significantly more uncertain place. However, significant political volatility has actually been a feature of international politics for much of the post-2008-09 period. Perhaps most eye-catching have been the political revolutions, popular uprisings and protests in emerging markets. This includes the so-called Arab Spring which began in Tunisia in late 2010 and subsequently spread to include revolutionary changes of power in Egypt and Libya; transfer of power in Yemen; plus demonstrations and uprisings in countries as disparate as Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Oman. There was also the Ukrainian revolution of 2014, which resulted in the ousting of pro-Moscow President Victor Yanukovych; the Brazilian demonstrations of 2013, the largest in the country for some two decades; and the 2011 Azerbaijani protests against the government. Developed, industrialized countries have also taken a political hit too. In Europe, for instance, millions have taken to the streets and administrations in more than half of the 27 EU states fell or were voted out of office from spring 2010 to 2012 alone. Within the core eurozone, 11 of 14 governments collapsed or lost elections during that same two years. To be sure, this broad range of political instability has diverse origins, and economic issues are by no means the only driver. Unrest in the Arab world, for instance, has stemmed from deep-seated political and socioeconomic discontent that predates the financial crisis. Post-2008, however, factors including liquidity crunches, increased food prices, and unemployment spikes, have exacerbated these longer-standing grievances, as recently seen in Lebanon. In Europe, to take a different example, the role of economic downturn and austerity has been central to unrest in numerous countries, especially those most impacted by the eurozone crisis. Even here though, protest has tapped into pre-existing disquiet with established political parties, hence the meteoric rise of new groups like Syriza which won power in Greece from 2015-19. Nevertheless, this disparate range of political disruption across the world has reportedly been described as "a revolutionary wave, like 1848" by Sir Nigel Inkster, former director of operations for the U.K. Secret Intelligence Service. Others have compared the situation to 1914, 1968 and 1989. Whatever the validity of these historical analogies, it is clear that there are some genuinely new factors to the post-2008 period. This includes the disruptive role of social media and other modern technologies. With the 2020s now on the horizon, a key question is whether high levels of political instability are now here to stay, especially if the global economy splutters again after recording, in 2019, its weakest growth since the international financial crisis a decade ago. One of the reasons this is possible is the growing political salience of economic inequality in many countries, as shown by protests across the world in recent weeks. From Beirut to Santiago, many of those who have taken to the streets have long felt shut out of their nation's prosperity with recent price rises for key services proving a tipping point. Looking into the 2020s, there remains, therefore, a significant prospect of political unrest with a critical uncertainty being the future trajectory of the global economy. Even if there is a new boom, however, instability could potentially be fueled not just by intensified economic inequalities, but also longer-standing political and socioeconomic discontent which social media is giving added impetus to. Andrew Hammond (andrewkorea@outlook.com) is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics. The judge also chastised Kamin for asking to postpone the start of trial on Jan. 27, saying hes had plenty of time to prepare. Still, the judge agreed to move the trial to sometime in late February or early March, saying she didnt want Legghette to be harmed by his attorneys lack of diligence. Designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys that was the view of the 737 Max from one Boeing employee in 2017. The comment, whose writer also describes the plane as p*** poor, is among hundreds of emails and text messages released to regulators and the US congress. They provide shocking evidence of Boeings efforts to keep the costs of the 737 Max down by dissuading airlines that simulator training would be needed. The twin-jet has been grounded for 10 months since the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 on 10 March 2019. All 157 passengers and crew died after the pilots lost a battle against new flight control software that was forcing the nose of the plane down. The software, known as MCAS, was also implicated in the first crash of a Boeing 737 Max in October 2018. All 189 people were killed aboard a Lion Air jet that crashed shortly after take off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Now Boeing has published more than 100 pages of text messages and emails provided to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US congress investigators. They reveal a concerted campaign to deflect calls for flight simulator training. Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures This picture taken on March 11, 2019, shows debris of the crashed airplane of Ethiopia Airlines, near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. - An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on March 10 morning en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi with 149 passengers and eight crew believed to be on board, Ethiopian Airlines said. (Photo by Michael TEWELDE / AFP)MICHAEL TEWELDE/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Family members mourn the victims at the crash site of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A page of a Boeing flight crew operations manual is seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner REUTERS Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures epa07434278 Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER EPA Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger plane of the Norwegian low-cost airline Norwegian is parked at the tarmac at Vantaa airport in Vantaa near Helsinki, Finland on March 13, 2019. - A number of countries have banned Boeing's 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUTHEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER EPA Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A heap of debris from the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are piled at the crash site near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STR EPA Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A crew working with an investigative team to clear the site after the Sunday crash of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carry debris at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, on a flight from Miami to New York City, comes in for landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, U.S., March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo REUTERS In a bid to keep costs down, the planemaker presented the differences between the Boeing 737 Max and the previous NG version of the jet as minor with a short tablet-based exercise all that pilots required. As the new plane was developed, one email read: If we emphasise MCAS is a new function there may be greater certification and training impact. One pilot, whose identity has been redacted, wrote: I want to stress the importance of holding firm that there will not be any type of simulator training required to transition from NG to Max. Boeing will not allow that to happen. Well go face-to-face with any regulator who tries to make that a requirement. The same individual is thought to have glossed over the existence of MCAS in an email to an airline, writing: Once the engines are started, there is only one difference between NG and Max procedurally, and that is that there is no off position of the gear handle. Boeing does not understand what is to be gained by a three-hour simulator session, when the procedures are essentially the same. When the airline accepted this assertion, the pilot wrote to a colleague: Looks like my Jedi mind trick worked again! The colleague responded: Haha, Ill send you to negotiate peace in the Middle East next. When an Asian airline asked for simulator training, it was told that the demand will be creating a difficult and unnecessary training burden for your airline, as well as potentially establish a precedent in your region for other Max customers. Boeing announced this week that it was recommending simulator training for all 737 Max pilots as the jet returns to service. The internal communications also reveal concerns expressed, often with dark humour, by employees involved with the Boeing 737 Max. One wrote in 2018: I havent been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last night. Peter DeFazio, Republican chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said: These newly released emails are incredibly damning. They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally. Our investigation has uncovered multiple, serious problems with Boeings decision-making and the priority that was placed on production and profit over safety. But these new emails bring my concerns to an entirely new level. They show a coordinated effort dating back to the earliest days of the 737 Max programme to conceal critical information from regulators and the public. Mr DeFazio has demanded an interview with the former Boeing 737 Max chief technical pilot Mark Forkner. In 2015, after a simulator exercise, he complained in a message to a colleague that MCAS was running rampant in the sim on me. Boeing handed over the latest documents in December 2019, shortly before its chief executive, Dennis Muilenberg, was sacked. The company said: These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable. We regret the content of these communications, and apologise to the FAA, congress, our airline customers, and to the flying public for them. The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed. Many airlines, including Ryanair, United and Southwest, are not expecting to be flying the Boeing 737 Max before the summer. The Delhi Police has stopped the march by students and members of civil society organisations towards the HRD Ministry, near Shashtri Bhawan. Hundreds of demonstrators hit the streets on Thursday protesting the recent violence at JNU and demanding resignation of the varsity vice-chancellor. CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Prakash Karat and Brinda Karat and LJD leader Sharad Yadav also joined the march. The protesters, carrying placards and banners, started their march from Mandi House towards the HRD Ministry, rending the air with slogans of Halla Bol and Inquilab Zindabad. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is saying out loud what others have been thinking since the news broke that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed soon after taking off from the airport in Tehran namely, that "the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," likely unintentionally. According to the New York Times, American officials also had a "high level of confidence" that the Iranians destroyed the airliner by mistake. One official specifically cited two SA-15 missiles fired from an Iranian air defense system. If Trudeau proves right, this will not be the first time an anxious military accidentally shot down a non-threatening commercial aircraft. On July 17, 1996, a comparable missile strike destroyed TWA 800 off the coast of Long Island shortly after the Boeing 747 took off from JFK. We know why the Iranians were antsy earlier this week. Their military fired off multiple missiles late Tuesday night at American targets and were likely expecting retaliation. On July 17, 1996, the American military had reason to be on edge as well. Two days before the start of the Atlanta Olympics, the Clinton administration had the U.S. Navy on the highest state of alert since the Cuban Missile crisis. In this hair-trigger environment, accidents could happen. Accidents had happened before in such an environment. On July 3, 1988, at the tail end of the Iran-Iraq War, an Aegis cruiser in the Persian Gulf, the USS Vincennes, fired two Standard Missiles at a commercial Iranian Airbus, IR 655. IR 655 had reached 13,500 feet, a final altitude almost identical to TWA 800's, when Capt. Will Rogers III gave the order to fire. Rogers and his crew had mistaken the ascending passenger jet with 290 people on board for a descending Iranian F-14, a fighter plane. With the media's help, the truth about the Vincennes ultimately surfaced. With the media's help, the truth about TWA 800 was successfully buried, but here is what we have been able to dig up. In the last several years, researchers have unearthed an astonishing treasure trove of CIA documents and secured a confirmed video of a Long Island missile launch on July 12, five days before TWA 800's demise on July 17. The CIA conceded that at least four witnesses had reported seeing a missile launch on July 7, 1996, as well. Note the dates. There is a pattern here. According to an air traffic controller at NY TRACON, "[a] primary radar return (ASR-9) indicated vertical movement intersecting TWA 800," and then "TWA800" disappeared. As Clinton anti-terror czar Richard Clarke tells it, he immediately called a high-level meeting in the White House situation room after the crash. Illegally, but publicly, the FBI seized control of the investigation from the NTSB within hours of the crash. According to CIA documents, "[t]he DI [Directorate of Intelligence] became involved in the 'missile theory' the day after the crash occurred." According to the CIA, within two weeks of the disaster, FBI agents had interviewed 144 "excellent" eyewitnesses to a likely missile strike and found the evidence for such a strike "overwhelming." The CIA analyst boasted of discouraging the FBI from releasing its missile report. He seems to have succeeded. Two weeks later, the FBI permitted the New York Times to interview one and only one eyewitness. He saw the event out of the corner of his eye and thought it was a bomb. The NTSB eventually identified 258 eyewitnesses who had seen a glowing object streaking towards TWA 800. At least 56 had followed the object from the horizon. The Times interviewed none of the 258. At the FBI's direction, the Times ran an above-the-fold, front-page headline on August 23, 1996, "Prime Evidence Found That Device Exploded in Cabin of TWA 800." On September 19, the Times signaled the government's switch from a "bomb" to a "mechanical failure alone" explanation. On September 20, to make sense of the switch, the FBI claimed that the TWA 800 aircraft had "previously been used in a law enforcement training exercise for bomb-detection dogs." As was easily proved, the test in question did not take place on the TWA 800 plane, and the training aids did not match in placement or in composition the explosive residue found. The eyewitnesses were not so easily explained away. With the NTSB illegally shut out of witness review, the FBI turned the task over to the CIA. Working with just one third of the witness statements, the CIA concluded that the eyewitnesses saw the nose-less aircraft ascend more than 3,000 feet, mimicking the path of a missile. In April 1997, a dissenter on the FBI missile team, Steve Bongardt, demanded to know why the CIA failed to account for the eight witnesses who saw an object "hit the aircraft." To sell its lie, as the CIA documents prove, the CIA created at least three critical witness statements from whole cloth and flagrantly corrupted more than two hundred others. Nothing the Iranians say about the cause of the crash can be taken at face value. At this stage, they are denying responsibility and claiming mechanical failure. In 1996, we did the same. As we have seen with the Russia collusion hoax, our intelligence agencies can be subverted when the party in power rewards them for their mischief and the media cover it up. Let the Iranians worry about Iranian screw-ups. It is past time we investigate our own. Jack Cashill is the author of TWA 800: The Crash, the Cover Up, the Conspiracy and, with James Sanders, First Strike. Blatant lies, mass arrests and Internet shutdowns as depicted in large bold letters in every newspaper. Students attacked, libraries invaded, gas shells fired, youd think the country was in the throes of a civil war or a coup. The end of 2019 has seen one of the most bizarre events in Independent Indias history. Scores of people, old and young, the disabled and enabled, are protesting against an unconstitutional blight that has been passed in the form of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Instead of rectifying refugee laws, the government has taken a blatantly discriminatory line on religious grounds. Many have pointed out the problems with this law and its unconstitutional nature. Debates abound on the idealistic nature of democracies and the practical challenges and ground realities. Some of them are based on reason and others pure rhetoric. The first principles of a liberal democracy include the consent of losers. And yet, despite aggressive backlash from people, lies are being peddled, protests silenced, and the media is being clamped down. It is stranger that such regressive political movements are being peddled as progressive, and with support. Peoples prejudices have been stoked and while freedom of expression permits articulation of prejudices, it is startlingly one-sided. What is happening in India is largely reflective of a major part of the developed world. The ripple effects of regressive political stances are spreading across countries. Most liberal democracies have gone through numerous churns of marginalised groups adjusting to a countrys laws. Sometimes they have been coerced, subjugated, and compelled to obey through violent means, while in others the transition was more peaceful. Religious, cultural and ethnic identities have become malleable, through science, economic progress and bridging of cultural gaps via social media. And yet the same mechanisms have been used by ideological demagogues to stoke the fires of anxiety, insecurity and cultural superiority. History is a silent spectator. Ideological movements have slowly gathered momentum across the world, placing individuals with dogmatic strains in positions of power. The realignment of communities across the world is breaking down, with fears of liberal democracies subsuming ideologies and making them irrelevant. But as Levitsky and Diblatt say, History doesnt repeat itself. It rhymes. The promise of history is to find the rhymes before it is too late. It will be foolish to assume that the horror and hate of the hour are a result of only the governments actions. Our prejudices run deeper, our hatred much stronger, and our eyes blinded by the fanned flames of our divisive biases. The demise of modern republics is subtle. It is no longer about storming ministries and residences of the political elite like a classic coupdetat, but moulding the fabric of society towards hate. It is the powerful stoking of the anxiety of communal disharmony with a semblance of peace, allowing constitutional bodies to remain in place, while subverting the methods, mechanisms and laws to the benefit of those in power. When heinous crimes happen and the law is powerless to stop it. When mob justice becomes accepted as the norm. Where unconstitutional bills get passed without much debate. This is how a republic dies. When newspapers toe the governments line, when shortcuts and incompetence come disguised as efforts to clean up the economy or the judiciary, when small actions incrementally devalue the very laws and principles they were meant to uphold, that is when a republic dies. When elected representatives weaponise the media, manipulate institutions, openly endorse hatred, and when people, academics, the experienced and anyone with an opposing view get silenced or bullied into subservience, that is when a republic dies. A similar churn is happening in India. A storm is raging in the minds of people, the tensions palpable in the air we breathe. For too long we have made enemies and villains out of normal men and women, and blamed them for our misdeeds, to hide our own fallacies. Today religions fulfil these roles, tomorrow it will be castes and sub-castes. The people will do well to remember our Constitutions Preamble. These are pivotal points in a nations making that will define the road a country takes. It takes naught to sully the protesting fervour. But its perseverance is a testament to a republics undying spirit. The world has been witness to countless events where perceived superiority of a race, deliberate denigration of religions, and collective hatred have resulted in disasters to life on a global scale. Our two world wars, the many genocides in history, and the inhuman brutality of the Third Reich are enough proof. India doesnt need this hatred. The collective power of people has temporarily turned the tide for they would even prefer the fear of the unknown to laws based on religious segregation. Make no mistake. This is how it starts. Weve seen how it ends. The future stands in witness and is asking us questions. Is this how a republic died? Or is this how a republic is saved? The writer is editor and programme manager at Takshashila Institution. The views expressed here are personal. 47 years ago we were just recovering from all the celebrations. The first week of 1973 saw the Fanfare for Europe after the UK joined the European Economic Community on January 1st. A concert took place in York Minister given by the Great Universal Stores Footwear Band. The V&A put on a display of bronze age wind instruments that had been dug up from a Danish bog. A special European edition of Opportunity Knocks was broadcast on the TV. Not everything went smoothly. An idea to borrow the Bayeux Tapestry from the French and display it in London was abandoned as it was felt Saxons and Normans fighting was unsuitable. The French refused to lend the Mona Lisa on the grounds that the British Museum had refused to let them borrow the Rosetta Stone. But still, there were demonstrations of continental cookery in gas and electricity showrooms across the land. Lord Goodman took charge. He was assisted by Lord Mancroft who told The Times: A few local authorities have refused to take part. But we found a much greater number who, while not very enthusiastic, have accepted that Britsh entry is going to happen and are prepared to join us and do their best. Heady days. But what of the celebrations for Brexit? There will be the commemorative 50p coin we have been waiting for. The cross-party campaign group, Leave Means Leave, is organising a celebration party in Parliament Square on 31st January from 9pm which will finish just after we leave the European Union at 11pm. Nigel Farage will be there and the Brexiteer comedian, Dominic Frisby. There will be music and fireworks. This is subject to the Mayor of London giving consent for the event to take place. Yet how will the revellers know that it is 11pm? Mark Francois, the Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, feels the signal should be from the obvious source at which historic moments are marked. He has tabled an Early Day Motion which has attracted 55 signatures. Last month he wrote for this site: With the Elizabeth Tower currently undergoing a period of renovation, Big Ben has been silenced to protect the hearing of those working on the project. Nevertheless, the iconic bell does still ring for moments of national significance, such as New Years Eve and, quite rightly, for Remembrance Sunday too. Yesterday, in the debate on the Third Reading of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill. Francois added: Under the Bill, and specifically under article 50, we will leave the European Union at 11 pm GMT on 31 January. As we leave at a precise specified time, those who wish to celebrate will need to look to a clock to mark the occasion. It seems inconceivable to me and many colleagues that that clock should not be the most iconic timepiece in the world, Big Ben. Will my right hon. Friend make representations to the House of Commons Commission, whose decision it is, that Big Ben should bong for Brexit? Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, replied: My right hon. Friend will know that my opposite number often talked of a clock ticking. He will also know that that decision is for the House authorities, but I am sure they will have heard the representations he makes. This is an important moment in our national story, and I am sure they will want to reflect that in the appropriate way. While John Bercow was hostile to the proposal, his successor, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, is more open-minded saying it is a matter of whether the House wishes it to be so. The maintenance and repair work to the clock mechanism, and repairs and improvements to the clock tower building, mean Big Ben is not due to resume regular operations until next year. Kate McCann of Sky News tweets that if cost is the concern Francois willing to take a big hammer up there and bong it himself. Symbolism matters. Whatever view one holds of Brexit, few can dispute it is of historic significance. No very convincing objection to allowing the chimes has been put forward. One Tory MP I spoke to felt the Government might be reluctant to rub the Remainers noses in it. Francois is not the most consensual figure on this issue. He was one of 28 Eurosceptic Tory MPs who voted against Theresa Mays deal three times. At the time, Brexiteers were told that holding out for anything better was unrealistic. Yet Francois and his fellow Spartans have been vindicated. All the same, it might have been prudent for the bongs to have a less combative champion. A House of Commons spokesman tells me: The Speaker has indicated that this is a matter for Members of the House of Commons. The House of Commons Commission will respond to any decision of the House on this matter. In the absence of any such decision, the Commissions position on the sounding of Big Ben remains unchanged. A supposed impasse arises as the Government says it is for Parliament to decide then Parliament then says a vote of MPs is required. But that needs the Government to provide MPs with the chance for a vote. Boris Johnson is understood to be personally supportive. But that is not enough. We should let the MPs resolve the matter. It could always be a free vote. In future years though, for me, the important anniversary will be June 23rd, the date of the referendum in 2016. An incredibly exciting time. I will always think of it as Independence Day. But it is 11pm on January 31st that sees the start of a new chapter in Our Island Story. It is reasonable to recognise it as such. Let the bells ring out. Where are the voices of Michigan taxpayers? To the editor: Where are the voices of the Michigan taxpayers? Are they sitting back and thinking the first $5 million grant will be the last? If there is an insurance for making a bad decision while operating these dams, whose names are on it? If Boyce could not operate the dams, what makes you think Dave Kepler and the Task Force can? When the state government gave a $5 million grant for this mess, there should be an agreement that it will be the last. Boyce Hydro only had to go to Las Vegas for more money to operate these 100-year-old dams. Could it be the Task Force thinks the Michigan taxpayers are their Las Vegas? There are only four possible money buckets for this operation: Local government, state government, electric sales and assessments on property owners near water. We know that electric sales can't fully finance the operation of these 100-year-old dams so taxpayers and land owners look out. Boyce Hydro gets the checkered flag in this race thanks to the Michigan politics. This dam mess is much like the Midland County Courthouse. A few million will finance the renovation and the foundations will give many dollars we were told. Taxpayers have a look at what has been spent and is still being spent to renovate this old timber building. Stove pipes and packing lots are in the future and hopefully the foundations will cover this. If the foundations decide not to pay, the taxpayers will have to get their billfolds out. The sad note on this project is that it was a bad business plan to begin with. How many taxpayers can afford this big-time spending? The local politicians and the Task Force know by not completely informing they can get much accomplished. One must admit they are much smarter than the Midland Daily News and the Michigan taxpayers. JAMES LEIGEB Midland Reader thanks Daily News editor To the editor: I want to publicly thank and acknowledge Midland Daily News editor, Kate Hessling, for her leadership and commitment to the community of Midland. Though new to Midland, Ms. Hessling is working hard to get to know the people and organizations that make Midland special. As a 47-year subscriber to the paper, I appreciate the increased coverage of community issues and events and the broader perspective on national news from such sources as the Washington Post and New York Times. I find it very helpful to have the calendar of events each day because there are so many things happening in the Midland area. In fact, at a recent church meeting, the Midland Daily News was cited twice in reference to upcoming events. I especially appreciate the extra step Kate Hessling has taken to offer the Community Connections Initiative. Through this program, we are given the opportunity to hear from leaders in a variety of fields. I hope many of you will turn out for the upcoming event with Wesley Lowery, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist on Jan. 24. I was able to attend the Community Connections event with Dana Nessel and found that very informative. We are fortunate to have such outstanding people come to Midland to inform and engage in conversation. I look forward to the continued leadership of editor, Kate Hessling, and encourage my friends and neighbors to support local news by subscribing to the paper. Perhaps with increased subscriptions, the paper could hire more reporters and do even more good work. PAMELA BUCHHOLZ Midland First, its important to keep in mind that ever since the Pentagon and the rest of the U.S. national-security establishment lost their official Cold War enemy, the Soviet Union, with the end of the Cold War in 1989, Iraq never invaded the United States or even threatened to do so. In the 30 years that the Pentagon has been killing people and wreaking destruction in Iraq, it has always been the Pentagon that has been the aggressor and Iraq the defender. There is no reason for the Pentagon to be depressed, despondent, or angry over the fact that Iraqi officials are kicking the Pentagon out of Iraq. The Pentagon doesnt belong in Iraq in the first place. Second, its also important to keep in mind that during the 1980s, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a partner and ally of the Pentagon, when the Pentagon was helping him to wage his brutal 8-year war against Iran. Third, U.S. officials expressed indifference to their partner and ally Saddam when he expressed exasperation with Kuwait, which, he said, was stealing oil from Iraq by slant-drilling into Iraqi land. That expressed indifference to a partner and ally could easily be construed as giving a green light for Saddams invasion of Kuwait. Fourth, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the dispute was no business of the Pentagon, given that the invasion did not constitute an invasion of the United States. Nonetheless, the Pentagon intervened in the conflict, notwithstanding the fact that Congress had not declared war on Iraq, as the Constitution requires. The Pentagon killed countless Iraqis in what was clearly an illegal U.S. war under U.S. law. Fifth, the Pentagon had no business intentionally destroying Iraqs water-and-sewage treatment plants during the course of its intervention. That was a war crime, especially since the Pentagons intent was to spread infectious illnesses among the Iraqi people. Sixth, the Pentagon had no legitimate authority to establish no-fly zones over Iraq after hostilities ended. The Pentagon continue to kill Iraqis during the enforcement of such zones, including a teenage boy who was just tending his sheep. Seventh, the Pentagon had no business enforcing sanctions on Iraq during the 1990s, especially when it became painfully clear that they were killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, including through infectious illnesses from polluted water. The sanctions were preventing Iraqis from repairing the water-and-sewage treatment plants that the Pentagon had intentionally destroyed during the Persian Gulf War. It was the deaths of those children that turned out to be a major contributing cause to anti-American terrorism, such as the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, the attack on the USS Cole, the attacks on the U.S. embassies in East Africa, the 9/11 attacks, the Fort Hood attacks, the Detroit would-be attack, and many more. Eighth, the Pentagon had no legitimate authority to invade Iraq after the 9/11 attacks because Congress never issued a declaration of war against Iraq, as the Constitution requires. Moreover, even if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in violation of UN resolutions, only the UN had the authority to enforce its own resolutions. Iraq never invaded the United States. That made the Pentagon the aggressor against Iraq once again. The Pentagon killed and injured countless more Iraqis in the process and ended up destroying the entire country under its mantra Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ninth, once the Pentagon discovered that there were no weapons of mass destruction, which was the Pentagons excuse for the invasion in the first place, it should have apologized for its mistake and come home. Instead, the Pentagon stayed in Iraq for several more years, killing and injuring countless more Iraqis during its occupation and wreaking continued destruction all across the country. Tenth, the Pentagons invasion of Iraq gave rise to ISIS, which the Pentagon used as the excuse for wreaking even more death and destruction, not only in Iraq but also across the Middle East. Thats why the Pentagon is in Iraq todayostensibly to defeat the entity that the Pentagon brought into existence with its illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Evicting the Pentagon from Iraq is the best thing Iraqi officials could do, both for the people of the Middle East and the United States. The Pentagon has wreaked enough death, suffering, and destruction in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. The sooner the Pentagon comes home, the better off everyone will be. The post The Long Sordid History of Pentagon Intervention in Iraq appeared first on The Future of Freedom Foundation. Agility community in Mile 12 area of Lagos state has been thrown into pandemonium after an 18-year-old named Amaka Nweke was reportedly starved and beaten to death by her parents for dating a Yoruba boy, New Telegraph reports. However, the father, Mike Nweke is said to have denied such questioning if it is possible for a father to subject her daughter to such fate. Read Also: Wasiu Ayinde Marshal To Be Installed As Mayegun Of Yorubaland Until her demise, Amaka was said to have welcomed a baby boy christened Zaeed, fathered by one Ibrahim Lawal she started dating when she was in Senior Secondary School. A South Korean man was sentenced to one year in prison on Friday for insulting and beating a Japanese woman in Seoul last August. The Seoul Western District Court handed out the jail term to the man identified only as Bang. The 34-year-old Bang is accused of assaulting and hurling insults at the 20-year-old Japanese visitor near the university district of Hongdae in western Seoul around 6 a.m. on Aug. 23. The man was also found to have pulled the victim's hair and used words disparaging the Japanese during the attack. The Japanese woman suffered a concussion and other injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment. The assault case occurred at a time when tensions were running high between South Korea and Japan following Tokyo's export curbs apparently implemented in protest against Korean court rulings on wartime forced labor. In the previous court hearing, prosecutors demanded a three-year imprisonment for Bang. The Seoul court dismissed Bang's claim to innocence, saying a relevant video showed the defendant's left knee kicking the Japanese woman's face and that the victim has made consistent remarks on the facial attack. The court also said Bang should be punished on the criminal charge of inflicting injury, as the victim fell and banged her head on the ground before being rushed to a hospital emergency room later. "The length of the jail term was determined considering the defendant's failure to make faithful efforts for the recovery of damage and the victim's petition for heavy punishment," the court said. (Yonhap) Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Friday said Hindi is the language of communication in India and had the capability to be its official language. Speaking at an event organised by the Mumbai Hindi Patrakar Sangh, the governor, however, added that the language cannot be imposed on anyone. World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on January 10. "Non-Hindi speakers have contributed a lot to the development of the language and, hence, Hindi cannot be imposed on anyone," he said. He said Hindi language journalists should be well- versed in other languages as well. Hindi newspapers and channels are widely watched and Hindi films have played a role in popularising the language in other countries as well, Koshyari said. He presented 'Hindi Seva Sanman' to senior journalists Preetam Singh Tyagi, Abhilash Awasthi, Ashwini Kumar Mishra, Pravin Jain and Harish Pathak. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Rasana Gasimova The Cabinet of Ministers recent decree on improving the process of agricultural subsidies will ensure the stability, sustainability, and simplification of subsidies issued for farmers, the Cabinet of Ministers said in its official website. According to the decree, a new, more stable and long-term mechanism for issuing plastic cards is being formed. Previously, three-year plastic subsidy cards were issued only to farmers engaged in the field of crop production, including tobacco growing and cotton growing, but those engaged in cattle breeding did not receive such cards. The new unified Rules provide for the issuance of three-year plastic cards to cattle breeders, as well. Instead of applying to two instances for registration - the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers will need to only contact the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture. Thus, the new rules provide mechanisms of state support to those working in the areas of cotton, tobacco and livestock; strengthen state support to agriculture; forms a stable and easily predictable mechanism of state support; simplifies registration with subsidies; creates an opportunity for farmers to establish a business plan for three years. This, in turn, reduces the risks of investing in agricultural production, creates a favorable environment for attracting additional investment for a period of three years with guarantee support from the state. Note that the process of issuing subsidies in Azerbaijans agricultural sector will be carried out online starting from 2020. The new e-Agriculture Information System (EKTIS) is being introduced in the country. Over 420,000 entrepreneurs have registered in this system so far and over 240,000 farmers have entered information on the sown area into the system; this will create conditions for more transparent allocation of subsidies. It was noted that previously, a separate subsidy used to be provided for each agricultural product, and orders were signed for each subsidy. For example, a decree on crop production was signed, and the farmer received a one-time subsidy to in the amount of 100 manat per hectare. Separate orders were also signed for livestock, beekeeping and fish farming. Tobacco growing and cotton growing, which are not included in the first version of the decree, will be also included and there will also be no need to sign a separate order for each type of agricultural product. A single system and universal mechanisms that will be applicable in all relevant areas are being created. The electronic format of services will eliminate the loss of time in the provision of subsidies, making the process more transparent. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:29:26|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close LA PAZ, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's ex-president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga on Thursday officially announced his candidacy for reelection in May. Quiroga had been vice president under President Hugo Banzer, who served between 1997 and 2001. After Banzer's resignation due to lung cancer, Quiroga took over to complete Banzer's five-year term. "I am going to participate in the upcoming elections in May, without whims or impositions, but with reasons and proposals," Quiroga said in a released document entitled "Bases and guidelines for the Bolivia 2020-2025 proposal." Bolivia has been plunged into political uncertainty since right-wing opposition factions rejected the reelection of the country's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, to a fourth term in October elections, citing electoral fraud. Morales resigned and fled to Mexico after Bolivia's military and police forces sided with the conservative opposition and withdrew their support for his leadership. He is now in Argentina. Opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez took over as interim president and presided over the process to hold general elections slated for May 3. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 07:30:02|Editor: ZD Video Player Close The new tobacco pack is seen at a grocery in Modiin, Israel, Jan. 9, 2020. New law that comes into effect in Israel on Jan. 8 requires all tobacco products to be sold in identical packs in a single color known as "the world's ugliest color." (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua) AKRON, Ohio -- Chapel Hill Mall tenants are facing another potential utility shutoff, as Summit County moves forward with preparing a foreclosure complaint against the Akron malls owners. Ohio Edison delivered notices to tenants Friday indicating that electric service could shut off on Jan. 20 if the malls bill is not paid, a FirstEnergy spokesman told cleveland.com. The notices came one week after the mall avoided being forced to close, after the property owner made a partial payment on an overdue water and sewer bill. The malls owner, Michael Kohan of New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group, did not respond Friday to calls or emails from cleveland.com. Summit County Chief Deputy Fiscal Officer Mike Migden told cleveland.com Friday that the office has been preparing the foreclosure complaint, and expects to file it in court early next week. Jack LaMonica, chief of staff for Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise, said Chapel Hill Mall Realty Holdings, managed by Kohan, has not made a real estate tax payment since January 2019. Kohan will receive a real estate tax bill next week for $455,418.23, LaMonica said. That amount is the overdue taxes, plus a billing for the first half of 2020, which includes more than $340,000 in delinquent water and sewer bills that Akron certified to the Fiscal Office in September. Due to its combined real estate tax, water and sewer bills, the mall is the "number-one delinquent parcel within Summit County, LaMonica said. LaMonica said the Fiscal Office reached out to Kohan and his lawyer earlier this week via email and certified mail, but has not heard back. During the proceedings, Kohan would still be able to pay the delinquent taxes to avoid foreclosure. LaMonica said the Fiscal Office plans to use the Summit County Land Bank to initiate the foreclosure, similar to the proceedings to foreclose on the Rolling Acres Mall in 2013. The Land Bank is a nonprofit, with Scalise serving as chair, that reclaims and rehabilitates properties. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.coms Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Everybody can sleep well at night, Mark-Paul Gosselaar told press at a TCA event. Zack Morris is definitely returning to Bayside, albeit briefly. I think Tiffani [Thiessen] has been engaged with, he added. It looks like you will have us in some capacity. The revival, slated to run on NBCs Peacock service, is set in a cockamamie world where our public schools are being defunded by an uncaring government. And the face of that uncaring government? California Governor Zack Morris. Zack gets into a scandal by closing too many low-income schools, so he shifts students to richer schools like his alma mater, Bayside High. Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez are set to star and produce. Slater and Jesse will only be graced by Governor Zack Attack sporadically, as Gosselaars Mixed-ish contract prevents him from recurring too often. In Addis Ababa, a major meeting on the future of Africas biggest hydroelectric dam (GERD)has ended without agreement. This is the fourth meeting in the latest efforts by water ministers from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to find a resolution to the tensions over the project. The dam is under-construction on Ethiopias Blue Nile, a main tributary of the Nile, which provides more than 90 percent of Egypts fresh water. The major sticking point is how quickly the dam should be filled. Ethiopia wants to fill this reservoir over a period of four to seven years as it plans to start generating power by the end of this year. Egypt insists the pace should be slower to prevent water shortages. According to Ethiopian Minister Seleshi, Egypt has submitted a new proposal for filling up to a period of up to 21 years, which he says is unacceptable. On completion, the Grand Renaissance Dam is expected to generate more than 6,000 megawatts of electric power for Ethiopia, where currently 65% of its population is not connected to the grid. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan plan to meet in Washington, DC, next week to try and finalize an agreement to resolve their dispute. WASHINGTON As Congress learns the details of each strike and counter strike between the U.S. and Iran over the past week, lawmakers are increasingly supporting measures to curb the ability of President Donald Trump and future commanders-in-chief to make military advances without significant congressional input. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a resolution that would mandate that if no further congressional action is taken, the administrations military hostilities toward Iran stop within 30 days, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday. Connecticut House Democrats are expected to support the measure with their party. But more broadly, many legislators worry that Trump, as well as former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush., have stretched the executive branchs war powers too far with ongoing wars in the Middle East and many unilateral strikes. Meanwhile, Congress has abdicated its consitutional duty to dictates the bounds of American warfare, they say. They fear the U.S. is inching toward another endless war, even as Trump spoke of de-escalation on Wednesday. Year after year, some would say decade after decade, Congress has surrendered its constitutional responsibility over military confrontation, said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. The challenge now is to re-assert congressional responsibility when it comes to war and peace. What weve seen is a kind of mission creep in every one of these military situations where the president in effect goes into war with American casaulties and other costs that Congress never approved. In addition to the House resolution, two Democratic senators have submitted resolutions to limit presidential war powers. One mirrors the House measure targeted at Iran, while another would broadly constrict all future presidents ability to conduct war without presenting a detailed plan to Congress in advance. Like impeachment, the war powers debate represents another battle between presidential and congressional power. But unlike impeachment, there is some bipartisan support for reforming war powers. Although most House Republicans are expected to vote against the House War Powers Resolution Thursday, at least one House Republican backed revising the measure indicated he would support the resolution if it was not just a repudiation of the killing of an Iranian general, but was a more forward looking measure. He tried to whip Democrats to support his amendment. Additionally, two Republican senators said they would support the Senate version of the war powers resolution, after leaving a briefing on Iran Wednesday afternoon livid about the skimpy intelligence information and lack of strategy described by White House officials. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., left the briefing concluding that the administrations decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani last week was a strike of choice and one that likely would have required congressional authorization beforehand. I was deeply surprised by the lack of information presented by the administration regarding a specific imminent threat, Murphy said. I think it is likely because it doesnt exist. Blumenthal decried the Senate briefing as an insult to lawmakers intelligence. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, called the Iran briefing given to House members inadequate. Nothing in the briefing, nothing about what [Trump] said, convinces me that hes operating in a place thats the best interest, Hayes said. Nothing was specific. Nothing was imminent... We should have something a lot more substantive than that. On Wednesday, Trump announced the U.S. would impose further economic sanctions on Iran, instead of pursuing military action against the nation that bombed targets around Iraqi bases where U.S. troops were stationed on Tuesday. I think the administration got enormously lucky in that we were very, very close to a shooting war and both sides, I think, stared into the abyss and decided to take a deep breath and step back, said U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4. I give credit to the Iranian regime for not attacking Israel or attacking the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain or killing 100 Americans. And I dont usually do this but Ill give credit to Donald Trump for taking a deep breath and not escalating. Trumps announcement threw earlier Democratic plans to curb war powers a curveball, but following the White House briefings on Iran for the House and Senate Wednesday afternoon, Pelosi reaffirmed plans to vote to limit war powers. Hayes is a co-sponsor of the House resolution. Himes also confirmed he will vote in favor of the measure. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Md., has introduced a similar measure in the Senate that requires any hostilities with Iran be approved by a declaration of war or a specific authorization of military action by Congress. The measure could get a vote at the earliest next week, Kaine said, but may see delays if an impeachment trial starts. Murphy and Blumenthal have backed this resolution. Im hopeful that the resolution that we have on the floor, which I have joined, will provide a path for Congress to impact the administrations policy and drive it toward a strategy that reduces tension and de-escalates, Blumenthal said. Also, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced a broad resolution in November that would require presidents to present more information to Congress before winning approval for war and limit war authorizations to a maximimum of two years without an additional congressional okay. She has discussed with House leadership adding this measure to the House War Powers Resolution, Gillibrand and a House aide confirmed Tuesday. Gillibrands provision did not make the final House Resolution, but numerous Democrats have indicated their support for forcing Congress to take a more active role in military decisions. I see Congress as failing to stand up for a clear mandate placed on us by the Constitution, Himes said. There is no argument about our duty here. The language is plain: Congress shall have power to declare war. Hayes said Congresss war powers should have been reaffirmed a long time ago. Pelosi said Wednesday the House may also soon vote on legislation to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), a measure that for decades has been used to justify military action in the Middle East. White House officials in the briefing said this AUMF and the presidents constitutional role as commander-in-chief allowed Trump to kill Soleimani without notifying Congress, Himes recounted. No, the 2002 AUMF does not authorize military force against Iran, Himes said. The notion that he has authority to do more of us under the 2002 AUMF, the resolution says No you dont; Congress needs to be involved, and thats really important. The House may also consider legislation to prohibit funding for military action against Iran not authorized by Congress, Pelosi said. Both bills represent further efforts to rein in presidential war powers. emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 10:54:08|Editor: yhy Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday urged the U.S. government to retain its role as a champion for free trade, tear down barriers to trade and limit the use of tariffs. "Let's not forget, American businesses and consumers pay the tariffs," Thomas Donohue, CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said at the chamber's 2020 State of American Business event. The phase-one trade deal between the United States and China, expected to be signed next week, "will begin to reduce harmful tariffs," Donohue said, noting that "both countries deserve credit" for reaching the agreement. Donohue said the chamber has been a strong proponent for progress toward a comprehensive trade deal with China, urging the two sides to continue negotiations, resolve remaining issues and restore commercial relationship, which is "in both nations' interests." The chamber's CEO praised the imminent passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and called for new negotiated agreements with Britain, European Union, Japan, Brazil and "burgeoning markets in Africa." "Engaging with the world is our best strategy for strong national security and lasting prosperity," said Donohue, noting that staying engaged in the world also means remaining committed to the multilateral organizations and trading arrangements that the United States helped build. He was referring to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body, which no longer has enough judges to review dispute rulings due to U.S. blocking of the nomination of new judges. "We're very, very concerned about that, particularly with the questions of the judicial issues that at least provide a process to adjudicate differences without making an argument," Donohue told reporters at the event. "Let's not shutter the WTO Appellate Body. Such drastic action doesn't serve America's interests," said Donohue. People in Kashmir on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court order to the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review internet curbs and were hopeful that services will be restored at the earliest. They have started enquiring from officials on when they could actually have internet facilities back on their phones, homes and offices since the Supreme Court termed internet access a fundamental right. The shutdown has entered its sixth month. In todays age, business is impossible without internet and every sector, especially tourism, has suffered huge losses due to this communication blockade. With the Supreme Court order, we are hopeful that the government wont wait for internet restoration now. The verdict is a big relief but we need to see when net connection is actually restored in the Valley, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) president Sheikh Ashiq said. Also Watch l SC orders review of internet suspension in Kashmir in 7 days: The key points Kashmir has been under communication curbs since the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019. The government, however, restored broadband services in 80 offices and hospitals recently. Asem Mohiuddin, who runs a news portal and had to shift base outside Kashmir to keep his portal running, termed the courts decision as very encouraging. In todays age, internet is the basic infrastructure of life. It involves every aspect of life. We welcome this decision and request the government to restore internet facilities as soon as possible. Advocate Mudasir Naqshbandi, who practises at the Jammu and Kashmir high court, said, The government snaps internet services in Kashmir from time to time. This time, however, it was the longest communication blockade without an explanation. The people in J&K, especially Kashmir, have suffered due to the internet shutdown. This decision was the need of the hour and people should welcome it. The Supreme Court has asked given a weeks time to the administration to review the curbs imposed for the past 160 days. Majid Ahmed, a scholar at Kashmir University, agreed that the decision will bring relief to the people. The government always takes cover under the (law and order) situation to impose restrictions. We hope now the government comes up with an explanation on why people had to suffer due to this communication blockade, he said. The decision was taken by the government to avoid any untoward incident in the Valley as it moved to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Some leaders, including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Obamr Abdullah and Mehooba Mufti, were also detained. Though the curbs are being relaxed, the leaders are still kept under house arrest. Former Central African Republic rebel leader and president Michel Djotodia returned to Bangui on Friday, exactly six years after he quit as head of state. Djotodia, 71, who resigned 10 months after seizing the presidency at the head of a Muslim rebellion in March 2013, landed on board a Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca via Douala in Cameroon. He had been living in exile in Benin. He was welcomed at a hotel in the capital by about 30 of his supporters, an AFP journalist said. Djotodia's rebel movement, known as Seleka, plunged the CAR into violence and led to the overthrow of the majority-Christian country's president Francois Bozize -- who also returned to the country last month. The European Union on Friday demanded an "independent and credible" probe into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran which killed all 176 people on board. Britain and Canada -- which lost 63 of its citizens in the disaster -- said there was intelligence to suggest that Iranian air defences mistakenly shot down the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 with a missile. Tehran has denied the claim. The EU said that, so far, there was "no conclusive evidence of what caused the incident", which killed 10 Swedes, three Germans and three Britons. "It is very important for us that the investigation that takes place happens through an independent and credible civil safety investigation conducted in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation rules," European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker told reporters. The EU is ready to give "any necessary assistance" to the probe, he added, but declined to answer directly when asked whether the bloc trusted Iran to carry out an independent investigation. The disaster unfolded just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles towards bases in Iraq housing US troops in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kevin Beer said hes never seen anything like it in the 30 years he has lived in his Silver Spring Township neighborhood. On Friday afternoon, the debris of the Robinson R66 helicopter that crashed Thursday night remained visible on Surrey Lane. The crash killed both the pilot and the passenger. Even though the helicopter crashed in a suburban neighborhood, no residents on the street were hurt. Its a unique happening to hear a helicopter come down and hear the thud, said Beer, whose father was a pilot. I walked around this morning. I cant understand how it got to be where it was. Theres no damages to trees. Its basically an act of God that it didnt hit any houses. The cause of the crash remains unknown at this time. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what caused the helicopter to crash. The pilot, 58-year-old Mark Croce, of Orchard Park, N.Y., had a current pilots license that was issued on July 23, 2019, according to an FAA document. He and his passenger, 63-year-old Michael Capriotto, also of Orchard Park, were heading from Washington, D.C. back to Buffalo, N.Y. They were prominent businessmen. Investigators continue to have a presence on Irongate Court, where the Robinson R66 crashed at 8:33 p.m. The FAA and NTSB were back at the scene Friday around 1:44 p.m. Orange cones remained in place throughout the residential neighborhoods streets where pieces and parts of the craft remained untouched. The distance from Washington, D.C. to Buffalo is roughly 400 miles. Beer said hes heard that the Robinson R66 is "very reliable." The craft costs about $800,000, said Beer, who has been spending time researching the helicopter. Curious passersby walking around the neighborhood Friday afternoon were stopping at the intersection of Irongate and Surrey to see what they could of the wreck. One woman mentioned to a Cumberland County trooper that it shook her roof as it was descending. The Robinson R66 helicopter has been on the market since October 2010. There have been five reports of crashes involving its use, according to the NTSB. More: Who were the 2 men killed when their helicopter crashed into Pa. neighborhood? Advertisement It has been more than two years in the making, but 13 new astronauts have finally joined NASA under the mission that will bring the first female to the moon -and some may be the first humans to step on Mars. The candidates, who have been training since 2017, participated in the first public graduation ceremony for astronauts on Friday at the American space Agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The group includes six women and seven men, two of them were Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts, and all were chosen from record-setting pool of more than 18,000 applicants. During the ceremony, each of the bright-eyed graduates was given a silver pin that symbolizes the Mercury 7 NASA's first astronaut group that was selected in 1959. They will then be awarded a gold pin once they completed their first spaceflights. NASA is set to send the first woman and next man to the surface on the Moon by 2024 in the Artemis mission, with plans for additional lunar missions once a year thereafter and a human exploration of Mars is targeted for the mid-2030s. Scroll down for video A group of 13 astronauts have joined NASA under the mission that will bring the first female to the moon and some may be the first humans to step on Mars.(Top row, L-R) Matthew Dominick, Kayla Barron, Warren Hoburg, and Joshua Kutryk of CSA, (middle row, L-R) Bob Hines, Frank Rubio, Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons of CSA, Jasmin Moghbeli, and Jessica Watkins, (bottom row, L-R_) Raja Chari, Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, and Loral OHara NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at the ceremony: 'These individuals represent the best of America, and what an incredible time for them to join our astronaut corps.' '2020 will mark the return of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, and will be an important year of progress for our Artemis program and missions to the Moon and beyond.' For two years, the candidates trained in instruction, practice, and testing in spacewalking, robotics, International Space Station systems, T-38 jet proficiency and Russian language. The new skills will help them develop spacecraft, support the teams currently in space and ultimately join the ranks of only about 500 people who have had the honor of going into space. The original seven Project Mercury astronauts: front row, left to right, are Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald 'Deke' K. Slayton, John Glenn Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter. Back row, left to right, are Alan Shepard Jr., Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, and Gordon Copper. The new astronauts receive a pin at gradation in honor of these men NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (R) and Francisco Rubio hug after during astronaut graduation at Johnson Space Center in Houston. As astronauts, they will help develop spacecraft, support the teams currently in space and ultimately join the ranks of only about 500 people who have had the honor of going into space Astronaut candidate training for the new graduates included instruction, practice, and testing in spacewalking, robotics, International Space Station systems, T-38 jet proficiency and Russian language. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli celebrates during astronaut graduation NASA continues its work aboard the space station, which, in November, will celebrate 20 consecutive years of human occupation. The agency also is gearing up to launch astronauts once again from American soil aboard American commercial spacecraft, and is preparing to send humans to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. Including the current class, NASA now has 48 active astronauts in its corps and the agency is planning to open the application for new astronaut candidates this spring. Ted Cruz of Texas, a speaker at the event, said: 'I congratulate these exceptional men and women on being the first graduating class of the Artemis program.' During the ceremony, each of the bright-eyed graduates were given a silver pin that symbolizes the Mercury 7 the NASA's first astronaut group selected in 1959. They will then be awarded a gold pin once they completed their first spaceflights The 13 astronauts, 11 from NASA and 2 from CSA, are the first candidates to graduate under the Artemis program and will become eligible for spaceflight, including assignments to the International Space Station, Artemis missions to the Moon, and ultimately, missions to Mars 'They are the pioneers of the final frontier whose work will help fortify America's leadership in space for generations to come. 'I am excited for the opportunities ahead of them, including landing the first woman ever on the surface of the Moon, and having the first boots to step on Mars.' The Artemis mission, which is set for 2024, will see the first woman and the next man stand on the surface of our nearest stellar neighbor. US Senators Ted Cruz (R) and John Cornyn take part in the astronaut graduation ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas, on January 10, 2020. The new astronauts are the first to graduate since NASA revealed the Artemis mission NASA astronaut Jonny Kim (L) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Joshua Kutryk are introduced during their graduation. They are part of the team set for the moon. Artemis will be the second major run of missions to the moon operated by the American space agency NASA says it will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. 'We will collaborate with our commercial and international partners and establish sustainable exploration by 2028. 'Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap - sending astronauts to Mars.' Artemis will be the second major run of missions to the moon operated by the American space agency. The Apollo missions ran between 1968 and 1972 and saw NASA launch nine human missions to the moon. Six touched down allowing 12 men to walk on the surface. The first man to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong who uttered the now infamous words 'that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind'. Artemis is much more complex than the Apollo missions as it is a public-private partnership, has multiple layers and uses more robotics than the earlier flights. NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins (L) shakes hands with former astronaut Patrick G during the ceremony Training alongside the NASA astronaut candidates for the past two years were two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts who also participated in the graduation ceremony. Pictured is Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli For example, when the astronauts arrive on the moon all the equipment and tools they need to carry out experiments and surveys will have already been delivered. That process and those deliveries will be completely automated and some will be provided by private companies working on behalf of NASA. Future missions will launch from Earth, stop at the orbiting gateway space station, then leave on a docked lunar lander for the surface of the moon. The station will also be used for closer observations of the natural satellite by visiting scientists without them having to land on the surface. The 13 astronauts, 11 from NASA and 2 from CSA, are the first candidates to graduate under the Artemis program and will become eligible for spaceflight, including assignments to the International Space Station, Artemis missions to the Moon Artemis missions will launch for the moon on the Space Launch System, the largest rockets ever created. The crew will be on board a smaller spacecraft called 'Orion' that will fly to the moon in 'a couple of days', according to NASA. NASA said that while Apollo placed the first steps on the Moon, Artemis opens the door for humanity to sustainably work and live on another world for the first time. 'Using the lunar surface as a proving ground for living on Mars, this next chapter in exploration will forever establish our presence in the stars.' Although NASA has yet to set an exact year for the mission to Mars, the new crew are said to be candidates to be the first to step on the Red Planet. The American space agency has noted that this feat will happen in the 2030s and as early as 2035. But officials hope the moon mission will help humans learn how to live and work in another world and prove capabilities and technology, allowing them to be prepared for the Red Planet. Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose and Chief of Fire Rufus L. Jackson took part in a ceremony marking the donation of an aerial fire truck to the Dominican Republic. The ceremony took place Thursday at Firehouse Engine 10 on Clinton Avenue. They were joined by members of the Newark Municipal Council in making the donation to Juan Aquino, an official from San Jose de Los Llanos, a municipality of the San Pedro de Macoris province in the Dominican Republic. The 1987 Emergency One truck is a 110-foot aerial ladder valued at $10,000. The Newark Fire Divisions donation includes equipment, including harnesses, generators, rope, coats, pants, boots, attack hose and supply hose. Yes Bank fell 4.76% to Rs 45.05 after the media reported that Uttam Prakash Agarwal resigned as an independent director of the bank. Uttam Prakash Agarwal was appointed as an independent director on the board of Yes Bank with effect from 14 November 2018 for a period of 5 years. The media reported that Agarwal's early resignation was due to corporate governance concerns at the bank. Meanwhile, a foreign broker slashed the target price for Yes Bank to Rs 25 given the delay in capital raising and elevated asset quality stress. Last month, Yes Bank said its board is willing to consider $500 million offer of Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group. Meanwhile, the bank also said that the binding offer of $1.2 billion submitted by Erwin Singh Braich / SPGP Holdings also continues to be under discussion. The bank said it will continue to evaluate other potential investors to raise capital upto $2 billion. The bank's board will meet today, 10 January 2020, to consider fund raising by issuing equity shares/depository receipts/convertible bonds/debentures/warrants/any other equity linked securities, through permissible modes, subject to necessary shareholders/regulatory approvals, as applicable. Shares of Yes Bank are banned from trading in NSE's F&O segment after the security crossed 95% of market wide position limit. The stock has fallen 10.88% in the past one month. On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 38.612. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Traditionally the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30. The stock was trading below its 50-day moving average (DMA) placed at Rs 57.27 and its 200-day moving average (DMA) placed at Rs 107.63, both of which would serve as a resistance levels in the upcoming trading sessions. Yes Bank reported a net loss of Rs 600.08 crore in Q2 September 2019 as compared to net profit of Rs 964.70 crore in Q2 September 2018. Total income fell 4.3% to Rs 8,332.21 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. Yes Bank has pan-India presence covering 53 metro, 29 states and 7 Union Territories. The bank with 1120 branches, 1456 ATMs across the nation has an employee head count of 21,136 as of 31 March 2019. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Srinagar: The Pakistani Army is not deterring its nefarious antics on the border. In Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Pak Army violated the ceasefire and fired on Indian posts and residential areas targeting them. In the grip of this firing, five porter of the Indian Army were reported injured. All the injured have been admitted to the hospital for treatment. During the treatment, 2 soldiers have died. The Indian Army is also giving a befitting reply to this Pakistani act. Pakistan has reported heavy losses in retaliation by the army. According to information received from army sources, Pakistan fired heavy mortar in Gulpur sector of Poonch district at around 11 am on Friday. Two army personnel have been killed in this attack, while 3 have been injured. Indian soldiers have given a befitting reply to Pakistan's firing. Let me tell you that earlier on December 27 and 28, 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in PoK's Battal area in Pakistan's counter-firing in Krishna Valley and Mankot in Poonch district. Two posts were completely destroyed, while some other posts were heavily damaged. Also Read: PM Modi to visit West Bengal on Saturday, will dedicate four heritage buildings to the nation Rahul Gandhi takes dig at Prime Minister, says ' PM Modi is making 'budget' for his businessman friends' US agency warns, ' these challenges will be faced by Modi-Shah in 2020' CM Kejriwal attacks BJP, says- "MCD's governance model, garbage, corruption" China mystery outbreak AP Photo/Andy Wong 59 people in Wuhan, China, have been infected with a viral pneumonia. Seven of those people are reported to be in critical condition. One has died. Officials still don't know how the disease was transmitted, though they have traced the outbreak to a seafood market that sold live animals. Residents panicked, fearing the deadly SARS virus had returned. The last SARS outbreak ravaged China in 2003, killing 774 people. Scientists now believe the outbreak comes from the same family of viruses as SARS. The illness has since spread to Thailand. Visit Insider's homepage for more. Weeks before an influx of visitors are slated to travel around China for the Lunar New Year, 59 people have been infected with a mysterious viral pneumonia, and officials still don't know exactly how they got sick or what they're sick with. Seven of those 59 people are reported to be in critical condition. With one death reported, residents of China and neighboring countries, are starting to panic, especially after a 61-year-old Chinese woman with a history of visiting fresh local Wuhan markets spread the disease while on a trip to Thailand. Symptoms of the disease include fever, difficulty breathing and invasive lesions on both lungs, the World Health Organization reported. All of the infected patients are in quarantine, and 163 people who were in contact with the patients are now under medical observation. Chinese officials believe the outbreak began sometime between December 12 and December 19, at a seafood market in the central city of Wuhan. The market has since been shut down. Residents are concerned that the virus may have been transmitted from animals to humans, given that the Huanan Seafood market sold live rabbits, snakes and other animals. Chinese researchers have shared the genome sequence with virologists all over the world, but no one has any answers yet. Scientists think the outbreak comes from the same family of viruses as SARS Story continues As news of a mysterious outbreak spread, residents feared that the highly contagious SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus was back. In 2003, the Chinese government initially covered up the intensity of the outbreak as SARS devastated China, killing hundreds, before spreading across Asia. As online rumors swirled about the resurgence of SARS, Chinese officials initially announced that they ruled SARS out as a cause of illness, CBS News reported, adding that they've also ruled out bird flu and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). But on January 9th, Chinese scientists said they believed the outbreak came from the same family of viruses as SARS. In 15 out of 57 patients, doctors found a coronavirus that they believed was the source of the outbreak. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses named for the way they look like coronas under a microscope, according to MedicineNet. They can cause everything from the common cold to SARS. Some coronaviruses are easily transmitted, while others are not. This new coronavirus doesn't appear to be as deadly as SARS. SARS was originally traced to the civet cat, which was considered a culinary delicacy in parts of Southern China, respiratory expert Professor David Hui Shu-cheong told CNN Health. It's possible this most recent virus may have been transmitted from one of the live animals sold at the market. Countries near China have issued health warnings Most of Asia is on high alert. The U.S. embassy released a health alert, cautioning Americans in China to "avoid contact with sick people." Health alerts were triggered across Hong Kong and Singapore, the Wall Street Journal reported. Taiwan strengthened its airport quarantine controls, according to CBS News. "It is highly unlikely that this will lead to a major 2003-like epidemic," microbiologist Yuen Kwok-Yung told Time, "though we cannot be complacent." This post has been updated with additional information. Read the original article on Insider Thousands of years ago, ancestors of the modern gray wolf inhabited Europe, crossing the Bering Strait into America around the same time that early humans made the journey. These ancient wolves are thought to be the common primogenitor to all American dog breeds. There is evidence that several Native American tribes domesticated these wild animals, possibly after the two groups learned they could share a mutually beneficial relationship: The wolves could get an easy meal while the natives gained protectors, hunting companions, and pack animals. Many of these Native American dog breeds are now extinct, but they certainly played a huge role in the development of modern home-grown breeds. Another major influence on modern American dog breeds were the pets and working dogs brought over by early explorers and colonists. For centuries, dogs had been bred for work and sport in places like Britain, France, and Spain. When early settlers brought these canines over they bred with existing American dogs, creating entirely new animals that could be bred for specialized purposes and further domesticated. Aurangabad : , Jan 10 (IANS) The alleged mastermind of Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh' killing, Hrishikesh Devdikar - who was arrested from Jharkhand's Dhanbad late on Thursday - has connections in the tourist destination of Aurangabad, official sources said here on Friday. Devdikar alias Murli, had been holed up in Katraj area of Dhanbad and was nabbed by a Karnataka Police' Special Investigation Team (SIT). Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Friday evening that the state government was aware of the progress in the case and monitoring all the developments. "Now, it remains to be seen how the (Lankesh) killing is linked to the murders of other prominent intellectuals in the past few years," he added. The reference was to the shooting of rationalist medico Narendra Dabholkar in Pune on August 20, 2013, and the killing of Communist writer Govind Pansare in the state's Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. Later, renowned author M. M. Kalburgi was shot dead in Karnataka's Dharwad on August 30, 2015, followed by Gauri Lankesh who was gunned down on September 5, 2017. The alleged brain behind the Lankesh murder, Devdikar, arrived in Aurangabad from Kolhapur in 2012 and lived in Sec. N-9 in the CIDCO complex in Aurangabad, with his parents, wife and a seven-year old daughter. The home was rented by Yashwant Shukla. Devdikar has acquired a franchise for leading Ayurvedic products company Patanjali, and ran it in a shop hired from a local, Jagdish Kulkarni but he vacated it in 2016, for reasons not known. However, while running the Ayurvedic shop, he also spent a lot of time attending activities of a right-wing organization, the Sanatan Sanstha, the sources said. Welcoming Devdikar's arrest, the late Dabholkar's daughter activist Mukta Dabholkar said: "It is a very significant development in the Lankesh killing case." She expressed hope that this would the investigators solve the cases of the shocking murders of progressives like Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi. In August 2018, the Maharashtra Police and Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had busted what came to be known as the sensational 'Nala Sopara arms haul case' in Palghar, north of Mumbai, which included a bomb and gun manufacturing factory. Investigations into the Palghar case led to the arrest of Sharad Kalaskar who spilled the beans on his friend from Aurangabad, Sachin P. Andhure, and their joint involvement in the Dabholkar killing. The CBI arrested Andhure from Aurangabad in August 2019. In the Palghar case - which was unearthed just seven months before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ATS said after investigations that all the accused had planned to carry out several high-profile killings. Some of their targets included: Nationalist Congress Party leader from Thane and now Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, Mukta Dabholkar, All India Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti President Shyam Manav and activist Ritu Raje. All the concerned probe agencies - SIT, ATS, CBI and police in both Maharashtra and Karnataka - believe that the four killings in the two neighbouring states may be connected and are attempting to unravel the extent of the nexus. Mark Zuckerberg has given up his annual tradition of setting himself challenges. The Facebook boss says that he will instead focus on his long-term goals, looking forward to 2030. Each year, Zuckerberg has traditionally set himself a personal challenge with the aim of gaining new skills outside of his work at Facebook. They have included building a robot assistant for his house, reading more books, running, learning Mandarin and cooking food that he hunted himself. But he now says that they will be left in the last decade and he will instead be looking forwards with a host of new goals. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty "When I started these challenges, my life was almost all about building the Facebook website. (It was mostly a website at the time.) Now there's so much more to learn from," he wrote in a public Facebook post. "So while I'm glad I did annual challenges over the last decade, it's time to do something different." Recommended Facebook refuses to block lies and misinformation in political ads He said that he had picked his new goals by thinking about "what I hope the world and my life will look in 2030 so I can make sure I'm focusing on those things". He grouped the goals under a number of headings: "Generational Change", "A New Private Social Platform", "Decentralizing Opportunity", "The Next Computing Platform", and "New Forms of Governance". Many of the commitments were vague and related to values rather than practical change. But some signalled new aims for the development of Facebook itself. They included a commitment to decentralisation, which appears to be in keeping with Facebook's plans to build its own cryptocurrency in an attempt to replace cash. "Over the next decade, we hope to build the commerce and payments tools so that every small business has easy access to the same technology that previously only big companies have had," he wrote, without making explicit reference to the company's troubled cryptocurrency plans. He also reiterated a suggestion that Facebook will be focusing on privacy, and appeared to suggest that it was one of the company's aims to allow social interaction to become more intimate. "For the next decade, some of the most important social infrastructure will help us reconstruct all kinds of smaller communities to give us that sense of intimacy again," he wrote. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 07:06:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun (C, Front) addresses a Security Council open debate on upholding the UN Charter at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 9, 2020. Zhang Jun on Thursday reaffirmed China's commitment to upholding multilateralism as well as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun on Thursday reaffirmed China's commitment to upholding multilateralism as well as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Speaking at a Security Council open debate on upholding the UN Charter, Zhang said that as a cornerstone of multilateralism, the charter establishes the basic norms governing international relations in the present day, develops generally recognized principles of international law, and charts the way forward for human society. Unilateralism is dealing heavy blows to the international rule of law and the international order, while protectionism is plunging the world economy into a pit of uncertainties and acts of bullying is threatening global peace and stability, he said. Against this backdrop, Zhang said "revisiting and reminding ourselves of the spirit of the charter is all the more relevant" as this year marks the 75th anniversary of the UN. Zhang noted that China was the first country to sign the UN Charter. "It has consistently and scrupulously adhered to the purposes and principles of the charter and has unfailingly supported efforts to defend the authority and functions of the United Nations." China's proposal of building a community of shared future for humankind is a continuation and sublimation of the purposes of the UN Charter, he said, affirming that China will honor its commitment, uphold the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, and uphold sovereign equality, political independence and territorial integrity of all countries and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, and the principle of no threat or use of force. China will fulfill its responsibilities under the UN Charter, actively participate in UN peacekeeping operations, seriously fulfill its financial obligations to the UN, and support the organization's central role in international and multilateral affairs, he added. China will actively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and continue to promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, so that the dividends of China's development can benefit all countries in the world, Zhang said. Regarding the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf, Zhang emphasized that the "U.S. unilateral adventurist act" has led to a high degree of tensions in the region. He said China supports the UN secretary-general's call for peace. China has been actively engaged in diplomatic efforts and is committed to playing a responsible and constructive role in safeguarding international law, equity and justice, and regional peace and stability. China calls on the relevant parties to exercise maximum restraint, do the utmost to return to dialogue and consultation without delay, jointly work for the de-escalation of tensions and uphold the Iran nuclear deal, he said. Zhang warned that if the situation in the region spun out of control, it would not serve the interests of any party. "Restoring peace is of crucial importance to the entire world. The Security Council should uphold its responsibility vested by the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security." On upholding the UN Charter, the Chinese envoy made a four-point proposal. First, he said, the international community must pursue mutually beneficial cooperation. "It is imperative to create greater opportunities through cooperation, overcome the risks and challenges, achieve common development, and strive for win-win results on an equal footing." Second, he said, the international community must be guided by international rule of law, and oppose "the practice of putting a country's own interests above those of other countries, wanton misinterpretation of international law, the hegemonic logic of selectivity, and long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions." Third, the international community must adhere to equity and justice. "Matters of international nature are to be discussed and managed by us all. Each country's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and independent choice of development path must be respected," Zhang said. Fourth, the international community must take effective actions. "The charter should be put into practice on the ground, to generate tangible results. The Security Council must always act in the interests of world peace, enhance mutual trust, strengthen unity and avoid the politicization of certain issues," he added. During Thursday's debate, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh and representatives of more than 110 countries made statements on the topic of upholding the UN Charter. - Employees at Versa Agency in Melbourne, Australia, do not go to work on Wednesdays since the tech company declared every Wednesday as work-free day - The company says staff are happy and the company is three times more profitable due to the unconventional work-week - The chief executive of the company, Kathryn Blackham, says the company received some backlash from within the industry and a lot of praise for the initiative Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Employees at an Australian tech company skip work on Wednesdays and only work four days a week since the chief executive, Kathryn Blackham, declared every Wednesday as a work-free day. The Melbourne-based app developer, Versa Agency, has won a number of international awards due to the unconventional work-week, Daily Mail reports. YEN.com.gh reports that Blackham claimed that the company has been increasing in terms of profit and productivity since the decision was taken. READ ALSO: Black Panther's Lupita Nyong'o stirs the internet wearing dress worth 30,000 Kathryn Blackham. Photo credit: Daily Mail Source: UGC According to the chief executive, staff are happy and the company is three times more profitable. She said: "I know a lot of workplaces have kind of those Monday morning 'feels', where there's a bit of a vibe in the office, people are bantering back and forward. And in the end you get that kind-of 'Hump Day', which is a little bit harder to do. "By the time we get to Thursday it's like a Monday again. You get a new feeling of enthusiasm and cracking on with work, collaboration." READ ALSO: US government's website breached by suspected Iranian hackers Blackham said it is not true that working fewer hours make people lazy, adding that Versa Agency received some backlash from within the industry and a lot of praise for its unconventional work-week. She added: "All of the factors that you would have thought would have gone down because we're working 20 per cent less in theory, we're working one day less, although we are doing longer days on the other days actually we've seen them increase dramatically." READ ALSO: Woman delivers second baby from transplanted uterus of deceased donor in US In other exciting news regarding jobs and workers, Darrell Hall, an inmate serving a life sentence for having in his possession a minimal amount of prohibited substance which he planned to distribute has been offered a job by Tyler Perry, the founder of Tyler Perry Studios. Hall, who was convicted in 1991 at a time Georgia law required a life sentence for drug offences, was released from prison in December 2019. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday expressed condolences over the collision between a bus and a truck in Kannauj district here, in which several persons are feared dead. Adityanath also announced Rs 2 lakh each compensation for the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured in the incident. "The entire district administration is at the spot and is involved in the rescue operation. So far 21 injured have been taken to hospital. Fire is under control. It isn't yet clear that how many lives were claimed in the incident," Yogi told ANI. The Chief Minister said that he has asked state minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri to visit the spot and sought a report of the incident from the District Magistrate. "Instructions have been given to provide all help to the injured. The state government has decided to provide ex-gratia of Rs 2 Lakh each to families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each as compensation to the injured," he said. Kannauj District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said that there were at least 45 people in the bus, of which 21 have been admitted to a local hospital and are receiving treatment. "There is also input that some people had managed to escape from the bus but did not get admitted to the hospital. We have called a forensics team. They will assess the death toll," Kumar told reporters. A bus carrying around at least 45 passengers collided with a truck at Dewar Marg in Kannauj district here and caught fire on Friday evening. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Walter Williams, 31, was identified as the burglary suspect fatally shot Tuesday A Mississippi homeowner who fatally shot an armed burglar during a home invasion isn't expected to face criminal charges, authorities said. Walter Williams, 31, was identified as the suspect fatally shot on Tuesday, Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer confirmed Wednesday. Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said Switzer was called in to examine the body to avoid any potential conflict of interest. The homeowner is an employee of the Jackson County coroner's office, the SunHerald reported. WLOX added that the shooter was in the process of becoming a deputy coroner after his role of helping out with transport in the department. The employee's name wasn't released as he hasn't yet been charged with a crime. But as an autopsy on Williams is pending, the homeowner is not expected to be charged. Authorities said Williams was a suspect in several burglaries in the city. Williams died at the scene of the home (pictured) on Nathan Hale Avenue in Pascagoula, Mississippi after a coroner's office employee allegedly found him burglarizing the property Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd (right) said Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer (left) was called in to examine the body to avoid any potential conflict of interest Pascagoula Police Chief Matt Chapman said on Tuesday the homeowner found Williams, who was armed, burglarizing the house on Nathan Hale Avenue around 11.40am. The homeowner pulled out his weapon and fatally shot Williams in a bedroom of the home, authorities said. 'This gentleman came home and caught a burglar in his house,' Chapman said Wednesday. 'The burglar produced a gun and shots were fired. The police chief said the suspect 'fell behind the bed'. Emergency services were called at 11.44am. 'This gentleman was defending himself in his home,' Chapman added. Chapman said evidence will be handed to a grand jury so they can determine if any criminal wrongdoing occurred. Anyone with relevant information can call 228-762-2211 to report it. Two major U.S. oil producers, Occidental Petroleum and Apache Corporation, have started slashing jobs this week as they look to cut costs in the slowdown of the U.S. shale production growth. Occidental Petroleum began layoffs across the United States this week, the Houston Chronicle reports, as Oxy aims to further cut costs after it bought Anadarko Petroleum last year in one of the biggest oil industry deals in recent years. Oxy had already cut jobs in a voluntary exit program, but it has now moved to broad layoffs from Denver to the Permian, according to the Houston Chronicle. While these (voluntary) programs have been successful and contributed significantly to our goals, we have determined that additional staff reductions are necessary, Occidentals chief executive officer Vicki Hollub said in an internal email to employees, as carried by Houston Chronicle. Occidental has declined to quantify the terminations. While Oxy made one of the industrys largest acquisitions last year, it also took on a lot of debt in this transaction, so voluntary exit programs and broad layoffs are not unexpected. OXYs acquisition of Anadarko is a significantly leveraging transaction, adding over $40 billion of debt to OXYs capital structure at its outset, Andrew Brooks, Moodys Vice President, said in August as the rating agency downgraded Occidentals rating. Separately, Apache Corporation, based in Houston, is reorganizing operations to slash costs, and is eliminating 270 jobs as it closes its office in San Antonio, the Houston Chronicle reported on Thursday. The San Antonio office has overseen the Alpine High natural gas production in the Permian, where Apache shut in production last year to mitigate the impact of the extremely low prices at the Waha hub in West Texas. The latest layoffs come after Halliburton cut jobs, twice, last year, as it slashed jobs in Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A two-time felon who shot and killed a Fort Carson officer at random in downtown Colorado Springs then bragged about it afterward was sentenced Friday to 74 years in prison. While in hiding after the murder of Army Capt. Daniel Chamberlain Lehman in September 2018, Gilberto Chavez Jr. got a tattoo of a chalk body outline on his back and branded himself Gilly the Kid on Facebook, a reference to the notorious outlaw and killer Billy the Kid, prosecutors told the judge. I find, Mr. Chavez, that you killed Capt. Lehman for fun, said 4th Judicial District Chief Judge William Bain. He called Lehman, 28, originally of Santa Fe, a wholly innocent victim shot at random while walking home after a night on the town targeted by a boastful killer who was high on methamphetamine and heroin. Testimony at trial suggested that Chavez had decided that night to take someone out, for reasons that were never explained, Bain said. Chavez, 28, was caught through an anonymous tip to CrimeStoppers. He sat silent throughout Fridays sentencing hearing, declining to address the court and expressing no remorse to the victims parents, who sat tearfully in a front row. Mr. Chavez took everything from me, Lehmans mother, Laurie Chamberlain Lehman, told the court before Chavezs penalty was imposed. She described her son a West Point graduate and Army intelligence officer as a humble genius on a promising career path with the service. If I believed there was a heaven and I could be with Daniel, I would join him right away, she added. Lehman graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 2012. He was in the 4th Infantry Divisions 3rd Brigade Combat Team and served in Afghanistan for four months in 2013. His father, Danny George Lehman, said he survived the loss only by rejecting bitterness and anger. He offered his condolences to Chavezs parents while addressing the court, saying neither family will know what their sons could have become. An El Paso County jury convicted Chavez of second-degree murder at an October trial, rejecting his attorneys self-defense argument, but also throwing out the allegation that he acted with premeditation. Although Chavez declined to testify, he told a state psychiatrist that Lehman came at him out of nowhere, offering no evidence for the claim. Lehman was last seen alive leaving Bar-K, 124 E. Costilla St. Patrons there called him friendly and cheerful. His body was found on the side of the road in the 400 block of Costilla Street, just east of Wahsatch Avenue. He lived about eight blocks from the tavern. Police said they walked miles canvassing nearby businesses for surveillance footage of the killing, without success, and that the case was at risk of going cold until the tip came in. During the trial, prosecutors Andy Vaughan and Claire Nutter focused on Chavezs boastful statements as he was being sought in the crime, including his invitation to his girlfriend that she join him on the run, referencing Bonnie and Clyde in his message to her. Chavezs criminal history includes convictions for drug possession, assault, child abuse and driving under the influence of alcohol. Because of his two prior felonies, Chavez had faced a mandatory 72 year-sentence three times the normal maximum penalty for second-degree murder. Bain pinned on an additional two-year sentence for a probation violation stemming from 2017. Theres no closure because this case is over, the judge said. Referring to Chavezs parents, Bain said, Every day, theyre going to live with the fact that you killed their son for no other reason than it would be fun. Chandigarh, Jan 10 : Concerned over reports of eviction faced by 500 Sikhs from a scheduled tribal block in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday decided to send a fact-finding delegation and ensure that the evacuees are not rendered homeless or otherwise harassed. Amarinder Singh conveyed his decision to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Kamal Nath when he spoke on the telephone to discuss the issue. The delegation will be led by Punjab Revenue Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar and MLAs Kuldpeep Vaid and Harminder Singh Gill. They will be accompanied by Deepinder Singh, Commissioner, Patiala Division; Karnail Singh, Director Land Records; and Narinder Singh Sangha, Revenue Consultant, according to an official spokesperson. During his talk with Kamal Nath, the Punjab Chief Minister requested for alternate arrangements to bemade for the settlement of these 500 Sikhs. If it was not possible to rehabilitate them in the same area where they had been living for the past two decades, due to tribal land protections and laws, then alternate land should be provided for their resettlement, Amarinder Singh said. Kamal Nath assured Amarinder Singh that his government would do everything possible to ensure that the Sikhs get their due and are not subjected to any harassment, said the spokesperson. The problem has occurred as a result of the Madhya Pradesh government's current drive against mafia and encroachments. The Madhya Pradesh government says these Sikhs had been illegal occupants of land in the notified tribal block in Karahal tehsil of Sheopur district, but the Sikhs, originally hailing from Punjab and Haryana, have denied the charges of illegally occupying the land and say that they had purchased the land, including agricultural plots, back in the 90's. In our combined 25-plus years in the Pentagon and the White House, use-of-force and even show-of-force decisions created some of the tensest moments between civilian and military leaders, revealing differences in approaches and assumptions. We saw controversies over the U.S. naval presence in the South China Sea, counterterrorist strikes in areas outside active hostilities across the Middle East and Africa, and troop deployments in Afghanistan. Interactions can be so fraught, and secrecy so important, it was often tempting for both sides to limit the number of people involved or go directly to those with decision-making authority. With Soleimanis death, we dont know whether civilians cut out military planners or if military officials took shortcuts in the process. Regardless, whatever truncated steps led to the choice to kill him had alarming results. Download Image: Web The Lycoming College Art Gallery will open a new exhibit, Paris, Orange County: The Diasporic Imaginations of Vietnam, featuring the works of Van Tran Nguyen. The show will open on Jan. 31 and run until Feb. 28. This exhibit is free and open to the public. The multimedia installations in this exhibition are concerned with the experience of a person who in Vietnamese is called a Viet Kieu, which is someone who leaves Vietnam, and returns (or does not return) as an overseas Vietnamese, said Nguyen. I view this identity (and ultimately, my own) as a lens to explore the meaning of nostalgia in Vietnamese-American media. The media used are a collection of Vietnamese variety television, music videos from Vietnamese musicians and composers who are in exile from Vietnam and home videos from my childhood. Nguyen was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and holds a bachelors degree in fine arts and biology, as well as a masters of fine arts from the University at Buffalo. She is currently a doctoral candidate of the philosophy in electronic arts program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Her research centers on nostalgia and nation-building from a Vietnamese diasporic perspective. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions including Ill at Ease: Dis-ease in Art, Shape of a Pocket, and Strange Agency. In 2016, Tran Nguyen and co-curator Natalie Fleming curated the exhibition The Measure of All Things: Rethinking Humanism through Art at the University at Buffalo Department of Art Gallery. In 2017, Tran Nguyen and Fleming opened their group exhibition Forging American: Art in the Workings of an Asian American Rust Belt at Big Orbit Project Space, CEPA Gallery, in Buffalo New York. In 2019 she opened Art Stands Still in Troy, N.Y., at Collar Works Gallery. Tran Nguyens short film I love Vietnam but Vietnam likes me okay, was an official selection for the 2019 Saigon Experimental Film Festival. The Lycoming College Art Gallery, located in downtown Williamsport at 25 W. Fourth St., contributes to the citys arts culture and allows the College to become more involved with the surrounding community. Lycoming art students have the opportunity to interact with visiting artists and learn first-hand the inner workings of an art gallery. The gallery is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 4 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. 2 p.m. and 5 9 p.m.; and on First Fridays, 4-9 p.m., during exhibitions. For more information, please visit the gallery online at: https://www.lycoming.edu/art/gallery.html or send an email to dirocco@lycoming.edu. Photo: Alex Edelman/Getty Images In a letter to congressional Democrats on Friday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would begin the process of sending articles of impeachment to the Senate. This would finally start the trial of President Donald Trump, one month after he became the third president in American history to be impeached. The battleground on Capitol Hill after weeks of jousting over when and under what conditions Pelosi would transmit the articles, which passed the House on December 19 now shifts to what rules and procedures will be used. McConnell has said that the blueprint will be the rules used for the Senate trial of President Bill Clinton. These would delay any decision on witnesses until after House impeachment managers prosecuting Trump and the presidents lawyers have made their case. However, the Clinton rules may be modified. One potential modification is when in the process senators would be allowed to offer a motion to dismiss the case or even if such a motion would be included. However, no more detail has been offered on the rules, which are being drafted within McConnells office. No one is going to see this thing until were underway, a senior Senate Republican aide involved with the impeachment process told New York. And we cant get it underway until [House Democrats] send [articles] over. There was an appetite to keep the rules as similar to those from 1999 as possible. Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma told reporters that as much as we can leave it the same as the whole Clinton trial then theres less argument on this. Lets just leave it the same. Other questions still linger over whether enough Republicans might defect for witnesses to be called. Lankford couldnt predict the appetite from his colleagues for witnesses. However, he did note that there were no new witnesses in the Clinton trial. The three witnesses that were called were all witnesses that had been previously called, he said. Regardless, Democrats were sanguine about the process, no matter how it will play out. We see it as a win-win, one senior Democrat familiar with the impeachment process in the Senate told New York. Our goal is to get the truth. If we get that, great. Let chips fall where they may. If not, its a Republican cover-up. In her letter announcing the decision to proceed, Pelosi touted the benefits of her decision to delay. She noted that new tranches of emails have been uncovered in recent days on Trumps decision to withhold aid from the Ukraine, in addition to the statement from Bolton that he would be willing to testify if subpoenaed by the Senate. Stuck with a Republican-controlled Senate and limited control over a process that has been repeatedly obstructed by the Trump White House, Pelosi tried to use the delay as leverage to force Mitch McConnell to meet her demands to call witnesses who dodged appearances before the House impeachment inquiry. House Democrats raced ahead with the inquiry but were stymied at every turn by the administrations invocations of executive privilege. Documents were not turned over, key witnesses like former National Security Adviser John Bolton and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney did not testify in public or behind closed doors. For Republicans, Pelosis decision to hold the articles has been a waste of time. Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas saw it as a desperate attempt to make the best of a bad situation. Shes like anybody under those circumstances, said Cornyn. When youre in a bad spot, you look for how Im going to get a break because of a tweet or something else I hadnt anticipated for getting out of this spot. For Democrats, Pelosis gambit represented a last opportunity to try to guarantee that those witnesses would testify. As the senior Democrat put it, Were in the minority, we dont have much control over the trial, but what we can do is define a fair trial, and reasonable proposals for witnesses and documents. The goal, as defined by the Democrat, was to increase public pressure on vulnerable Senate Republicans to vote to allow witnesses. The point wasnt to get Mitch McConnell to agree to a fair trial, he always wanted a cover-up. What you really need is four Senate Republicans to agree to a fair trial. While some Senate Democrats griped about the delay, House Democrats mostly stood by Pelosis strategy. I think the Speakers strategy has been completely vindicated by events, said Jamie Raskin, who represents Marylands Eighth District. We have senators demanding there be a fair trial and an attentive public watching. Everywhere you go Americans of all political stripes say there must be a fair trial with real integrity. As Taiwan's Jan. 11 presidential election approaches, the Chinese government is spreading disinformation and taking coercive political maneuvers aimed at convincing voters Taiwan is helpless without China. Why it matters: China is meddling in the internal political affairs of numerous countries around the world. In Taiwan, China's multi-pronged campaign to sway voter behavior demonstrates Beijing's growing ability to challenge the foundations of democratic governance. This could be the last meaningful election in Taiwan if we are not careful, one senior Taiwanese government official tells Axios. Background: The Chinese government is deeply opposed to another term for Tsai Ing-wen, the current president of Taiwan and a member of the Beijing-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Tsai ended the era of closer China-Taiwan economic and political ties that her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou championed. She has also explicitly rejected the "one country, two systems" model for unification that China has used in Hong Kong, which promises a "high degree" of autonomy. In the election tomorrow, analysts are expecting a Tsai victory. But her opponent, Han Kuo-yu of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), may still have a shot. While the polls do indicate high support for the president," Russell Hsiao, executive director of the DC-based Global Taiwan Institute, told Axios, "I would not rule out the possibility that the opposition party candidate could potentially pull off an upset. What they're saying: In conversations with Axios, some Taiwanese voters said they felt distressed at what feels like an increasingly destabilized information environment. On Dec. 31, the Taiwanese legislature rushed through an anti-infiltration law, similar to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, that penalizes organizations and individuals for secretly acting on China's behalf. The new law also includes provisions to fight disinformation. DPP lawmakers, who currently hold a majority and the presidency, pushed the bill through out of fear that the KMT opposition would water down the bill or scrap it altogether if the KMT triumphs in the elections. The KMT believes that the law "unfairly targets legitimate cross-strait exchanges," said Hsiao. What's happening: China's attempts to convince Taiwanese to build closer ties with the mainland have largely failed so Beijing has turned to political coercion, co-optation, and disinformation. SRINAGAR: Two Army porters were killed and three others were injured after Pakistan troops fired mortar bombs at the forward posts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district on Friday. According to initial reports, two Army porters were killed in heavy mortar shelling and indiscriminate firing by the Pakistani troops. The Army porters were working in an area along the LoC when the Pakistan Army shells hit them directly. Today at about 1100 hours Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked shelling with mortars along LoC in Gulpur sector in district Poonch, a Defence spokesman said. Live TV In the shelling, two porters were killed and three others were severely injured, he said. The injured have been hospitalised and efforts are on to recover the bodies of the two deceased porters. Sonoma prosecutors filed five felony charges, including rape, sex with a minor and attempted kidnapping, against a 49-year-old man suspected of assaulting a 14-year-old girl walking to school this week, officials said. Jesse Leon Granado-Lopez, of Sonoma, is charged with rape by force with enhancements, forcible oral copulation with a minor with aggravating circumstances, sex with a minor under 14 with force and aggravating circumstances, lewd acts with a child using a weapon and attempt to kidnap with intent to commit robbery, court records show. Granado-Lopez appeared at a hearing Thursday and is scheduled for a plea hearing on Jan. 23, according to the court. Sheriffs deputies arrested Granado-Lopez on Tuesday after an Altimira Middle School student told authorities that a man forced her into his car at knife-point while she was walking to school and sexually assaulted her before letting her go. Another student called 911 to report that a man of a similar description tried to grab her while she was walking to school, but she fought him off. This is extremely traumatic for the victims, the Sheriffs Office said in a statement. They both did the right thing by telling authorities right away and we are grateful for their cooperation. We ask everyone to respect their privacy. If you know them, please support them however you can. Superintendent Socorro Shiels of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, which includes Altimira Middle School, wrote in a letter to the community that the crime affects us all. This brave student and other student witnesses came forward to assist the police in their investigation, Shiels said. Support services for students and staff at Altimira will be made available as needed following this event. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Alejandro Serrano contributed to this report. Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2 A romantic Hollywood filmmaker dreamed up the ultimate proposal for his Disney-loving girlfriend, re-animating a scene from Sleeping Beauty to cast them as Aurora and Prince Phillip. Lee Loechler, 29, and his high school sweetheart, Sthuthi David, got engaged on December 30 in a Boston movie theater, which Lee had secretly rented out. At the end of the film, when the Prince wakes Aurora from her sleeping curse with a kiss, Lee had stealthy stuck in a new version of the scene, in which the Prince and Aurora look suspiciously like Lee and Stuthi and the Prince follows up his kiss by getting down on one knee with a ring. A true romantic! A Hollywood filmmaker dreamed up the ultimate proposal for his Disney-loving girlfriend, re-animating a scene from Sleeping Beauty with them in the film The happy couple: Lee Loechler, 29, and his high school sweetheart, Sthuthi David, got engaged on December 30 in a Boston movie theater, which Lee had secretly rented out The couple, who have been together for over a decade, grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, where Lee rented out a screening room at the Coolidge Corner Theater the day before New Year's Eve. In video he shared on YouTube on January 9 which has already been viewed over two million times Lee has a hidden camera set up to catch the moment of the proposal. The two are sitting next to each other in the front seats of the theater watching Sleeping Beauty, Sthuthi's favorite movie. It gets up to the scene in which the Prince wakes Aurora from her sleeping curse, and it's clear to Sthuthi right away that something is amiss. Though the animation is spot-on, the characters are all wrong: Aurora is no longer a fair-skinned blonde, but a darker-skinned brunette like Sthuthi. Wait a minute... Lee had re-animated the final moments of the film and Sthuthi, whose favorite movie is Sleeping Beauty, is instantly confused What's going on here? She realizes right away that something is wrong, noticing that Aurora is no longer blonde and pale but brunette and brown-skinned just like her Something's up: She continues to watch, baffled, while other moviegoers her friends and family, whom she didn't know were there giggle and take pictures Surprise! On screen, the Prince pulls out a diamond engagement ring something that does not happen in the real Sleeping Beauty So cute! Lee, grinning, is clearly loving her reaction as he eagerly awaits the moment he gets to pop the question The Prince's hair has gone from light brown to black. Sthuthi has clearly noticed something is not right, and wrinkles her brow as she watches. She continues to look confused, and gives a giddy-looking Lee a look when there's a close-up of fake-Aurora's face. The Prince then gives a dazzling smile on screen before opening up a box to present a sparkling diamond ring, and Sthuthi's jaw drops in surprise and confusion. Finally, the prince tosses the ring on screen and someone beside the screen in real life tosses an actual ring to Lee, who is now standing. As he gets down on one knee, the theater which he'd secretly filled with friends and family begins to cheer. Ta-da! The Prince, who looks like Lee, gives a devilish grin before tossing the ring box which Lee catches in the real world, thanks to some behind-the-scenes maneuvering Big moment: The lights go up and he gets down on one knee. Sthuthi thinks they've interrupted a real movie until he points out that the theater is filled with friends and family 'It's not every day you get to propose to your High School sweetheart,' he tells her. 'So I just wanna take my time. Savor this moment' She said yes! After she accepts, the screen cuts to the celebrations at the end of the movie, as well as a new version of the storybook with the couple drawn in The animated Prince and Sleeping Beauty look out from the screen as Lee pours his heart out. 'It's not every day you get to propose to your High School sweetheart,' he tells her. 'So I just wanna take my time. Savor this moment.' Sthuthi repeatedly says 'oh my god' before remarking on the 'poor people' whose movie was interrupted, to which Lee points out that they're 'all in on it' and a shocked Sthuthi turns around and notices her loved ones taking pictures. 'I love you with my whole heart, including all of its ventricles, atriums, valves,' he tells Sthuthi, a cardiologist. 'Sthuthi David, M.D., will you live happily ever after with me?' he asks. 'I thought there was something wrong with the movie!' the beaming bride-to-be says. 'That was so good!' Not over yet! Lee then has an 'alternate ending' pop up on the screen Funny stuff: The joke alternate ending was for if Sthuthi said no, and shows dwarfs from Snow White crying A moment to remember: The high school sweethearts were home visiting family in Brookline, Massachusetts for the holidays Of course, she says yes and right on time, the movie cues to Sleeping Beauty's kingdom celebrating. 'I thought there was something wrong with the movie!' the beaming bride-to-be says. 'That was so good!' But just when she thought it was over, the screen flashes back on with a joke alternate ending for if 'Sthuthi says no,' featuring a scene of crying dwarfs from Snow White. Later, outside the theater, Lee shows her the new marquee that was set up while they were inside, congratulating them on their engagement. Lee had been working on the elaborate proposal for six months. Look at that! Later, outside the theater, he shows her the new marquee that was set up while they were inside, congratulating them on their engagement 'The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing wed get to live happily ever after together,' Lee wrote on Instagram The extra mile: Lee had been planning the proposal for six months and worked with Australian illustrator Kayla Coombs According to Patch, he first reached out to Australian illustrator Kayla Coombs in April, and the two spent months planning. Kayla hand-drew each frame, and Lee strung them together and put them in the movie. Though Lee lives in LA and has worked on several projects with John Legend and Serena Williams Sthuthi is finishing her residency in Virginia, so he planned a time for the proposal when they'd both be home in Brookline for the holidays. The long wait and hard work was clearly worth it. 'The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing wed get to live happily ever after together,' Lee wrote on Instagram. He also added that illustrator Kayla is donating 100 per cent of profits from her book What Can We Be? to help fight wildfires in Australia during the month of January. President Trump entered office promising to change the rules so that the number of people receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (better known as food stamps) would shrink. Trump finally made good on that promise in December, but his act was almost redundant, for recently released numbers show that his strong economy had already shrunk food stamp rolls. Barack Obama got the nickname the food-stamp president because food stamp usage reached unparalleled heights during his administration. In his first two years in office, 12 million people were added to the already 28 million people receiving food stamps. By the time he left office, 44.2 million people in America were on food stamps. Under the old rules for food stamp eligibility, adults between 18 and 49, who were able to work and had no dependents, could receive only three months of food stamp benefits over a three year period if they did not meet a 20-hour-a-week minimum work requirement. The exception to the rule was that states with unemployment rates as low as 3.6% were able to waive the work requirement. When Donald Trump came into office, he promised to shrink the number of food stamp recipients by tightening eligibility rules. He wisely waited, however, until the economy was stronger before implementing any major rules. Starting in 2020, the federal government significantly limits when states can exempt work-eligible adults who have no dependents from the steady employment requirement. Now, a county must have a 6% minimum unemployment rate before getting a waiver. What happened in the three years before the new rule is that, thanks to Trumps policies, American job creation has gone through the roof. Although it must have hurt, Agence France-Presse noted early in December Trumps stratospheric job numbers: US job creation soared last month as hospitals, hotels and schools raced to add new workers, a shot in the arm for Donald Trumps economic stewardship as he faces impeachment and a bitter fight for reelection. The surprise jump in hiring wiped away fears that November would be a lackluster month and suggested the American economy so far is holding up despite a global slowdown. Payrolls also got a boost as autoworkers were back on the job after a six-week nationwide strike at General Motors plants, according to Labor Department data released Friday. US firms added a massive 266,000 net new positions, shattering economists expectations, while the jobless rate fell a tenth of a point to 3.5 percent. While the Trump administration anticipated that the new rule would prospectively reduce the number of people on food stamps, the growth in employment has meant that the number of people on food stamps plummeted even under the old rule: President Trump has overseen a drop of millions of food stamp beneficiaries even before his administration's proposals for tightening eligibility take effect. The administration sees it as an accomplishment that food stamp rolls have fallen by 17.5% as the economy has grown and said that further reforms to the benefits will aid families. Democrats and anti-poverty groups, though, warn that the administration's proposals would further impoverish children, immigrants, and veterans. Trump's year-end list of "results" included the boast that nearly 7 million Americans have been lifted off of food stamps," which the administration credited to people being lifted out of poverty as a result of todays booming economy. Indeed, the latest data from the Department of Agriculture shows that 7.7 million fewer Americans receive food stamps now than did when Trump entered the White House. The Agriculture Department administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, but the actual food stamp benefits are distributed by individual states. This is what making America great again looks like. YEREVAN. The firsttacticalphase of the Iran-US conflict is over. Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, stated this during a meeting with journalists today. According to him, now the conflict will move to a strategic plane, which will address more important issues. "The most important of these issues is: Iran has made it very clear that it will do its utmost to put an end to the presence of the US military in the Middle East, he said. "As for the United States, the issues here are not so clearly defined." He recalled that last year it was announced that the United States was withdrawing its troops from Syria, but it remained incomplete. "The world is entering a new phase in terms of international relations," he stressed. "The peculiarity of this phase should be that one country, in this case the United States, will simply not have the opportunity to spread its potential to different regions of the world and to give it a text of military presence." According to Safrastyan, the US has a very serious military presence in the Middle East. "In fact, Iran is surrounded by US armed forces," he added. "If Iran sets such a task before itself, it means that the conflict between the two countries will move to a strategic plane. I think there will be no calm in the Middle East for the next 1-2 years." Flash Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to have decided to go ahead with his three-nation Middle East tour as planned, local media reported Thursday. According to government officials, there will be no change in the schedule for Abe's upcoming visits unless there is a sudden change in the situation. The PM will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman starting on Saturday. Some government officials suggested earlier that the trip should be postponed amid the recent tension between the United States and Iran. However, Abe has decided to go on with the schedule after U.S. President Donald Trump's press conference on the matter. Abe will try to show Japan's stance of making diplomatic efforts in helping stabilize the region to the leaders of the three nations in his upcoming visits, according to local media reports. He also intends to explain his government's plan to send Self-Defense Forces personnel and hardware to the region and seek their understanding. The care and education given to children in creches and preschools, helps them to flourish. HUNDREDS of creches face the threat of chaos early next month after an alliance of childcare providers, staff and parents announced a Dublin rally. The Early Year Alliance is holding a protest march to demand a sustainable solution to the worsening childcare crisis on Wednesday February 5. Chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, Elaine Dunne, said hundreds of providers are likely to take to the streets on the day. They will come from all over the country, she said. I would expect hundreds of providers. And there is a general consensus that all their services will close and there will be no skeleton staffing. In a statement, the alliance said it will be highlighting its election 2020 demands for the sector. It said these include the development of a funding model to support affordable and accessible childcare for parents, high quality care and sustainability for providers. The alliance wants a living wage of 12.30 an hour to be introduced for workers this year as the first step towards a professional pay scale. Ms Dunne called on all those concerned by the worsening childcare crisis to join the rally to say enough is enough. We are educators and need to be paid accordingly, she said. The reason the insurance hike in the sector has hit us so hard is because we are paid so little in the first place. She said a grant for the ECCE pre-school scheme pays 4.60 an hour. We only get paid for three hours a day, she said. Sustainability is a real issue for providers. Association of Childhood Professionals Chairperson, Marian Quinn, said high quality services don't come cheap. We can't continue to subsidise the true cost of provision through low wages, unsustainable services, and high fees for parents, she said. She said the state must accept responsibility and significantly fund the vital public service. We cannot be in a position where impoverished staff are providing the foundation level in our education system, she said. It is inequitable, unjust and immoral. Staff turnover is enormous because our profession is being exploited to meet political objectives. This has to stop. Siptu Head of Strategic Organising, Darragh OConnor, said thousands of creche staff are expected to attend the rally. He said the current government funding model is making it impossible to deliver high quality and child focused education and care. Despite qualifications and hard work, early years educators earn just 11.45 an hour on average, well below the living wage, he said. The majority are struggling to make ends meet and will be unable to stay in their profession if things dont change. The Early Years Alliance includes the Association of Childhood Professionals, the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, Siptu, the National Community Childcare Forum, Seas Suas and the National Childhood Network. Three men were arrested for allegedly demanding money from a local business owner, according to police. READ MORE: Pair arrested after truck with 15 Michael Kors bags inside stolen IVI to lead critical standard reagents availability for oral cholera vaccine manufacturing January 9, 2020 - SEOUL, South Korea - The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) received a $1.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure critical standards and reagents are available to low-cost oral cholera vaccine (OCV) manufacturers in the global health market. International standardization in the manufacturing and release of OCV will ultimately ensure sufficient supply of low-cost prequalified vaccines in the 39 Gavi countries, where demand currently exceeds the supply. There are currently no International Standards or reference reagents available to vaccine manufacturers to test the cholera vaccine antigens containing bulk drug substances or products. This lack of standardization led IVI to organize a meeting in May 2018 on "International Standards for Oral Whole Cell Killed Cholera Vaccines," funded by the Gates Foundation. Representatives from leading research institutions and national regulatory agencies attended the meeting, as well as field experts in inactivated killed OCV from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), to outline consensus on the specification of reagents for LPS inhibition ELISA to be established as WHO International Standards. "Making available reference reagents will ensure uniform efficacy and allow multiple manufacturers to scale up production of low-cost cholera vaccine, which currently can't fulfill global demand," says Dr. Ravi Ganapathy, Head of Vaccine Process Development at IVI. With this award from the Gates Foundation, IVI and NIBSC will develop and manufacture WHO International Standards for 01 Inaba, 01 Ogawa, and 0139 V. cholerae LPS ELISA assay. Eventual availability and use of the International Standards will enable existing and new OCV manufacturers and national control laboratories to calibrate in-house Inhibition ELISAs as well as its life cycle management. This increased in-house capacity will ensure proper regulation at national levels and maintain comparable efficacy of OCV worldwide. IVI developed and completed technology transfer for the world's first low-cost WHO-prequalified OCV, currently stockpiled by the WHO and deployed to epidemic and endemic settings. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a long-time supporter of the global stockpile, provides doses for use in cholera outbreaks and, increasingly, for preventive vaccination campaigns in high risk communities. As of November 2019, over 42 million doses of Euvichol / Euvichol-Plus have been released, and IVI is accelerating efforts to increase production capacity by implementing International Standards and exploring vaccine reformulation, another initiative supported by the Gates Foundation. ### About International Vaccine Institute (IVI) The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is the world's only international organization devoted exclusively to discovery, development and delivery of safe, effective and affordable vaccines for global public health. Established in 1997 as an initiative of the United Nations Development Program, IVI operates as a nonprofit, independent international organization under a treaty signed by 35 countries and the World Health Organization. The Institute conducts research in more than 30 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America on vaccines against enteric and diarrheal infections, Japanese encephalitis, MERS-CoV, and dengue fever, and develops new and improved vaccines at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. For more information, please visit http://www. ivi. int CONTACT Aerie Em, Global Communications & Media Specialist +82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Washington: The US will sign the first phase of a pending trade deal with China probably on January 15, President Donald Trump said on Thursday. Beijing's trade envoy Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to visit the US next week to sign the interim agreement's "Phase One", marking a pause in the nearly two-year trade war between the two sides. "We're signing, as you know, a very big deal among many other things with China probably on January 15," Trump told reporters at a White House event in Washington. Liu will lead a delegation to the US from Monday through Wednesday, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday. The "Phase One" of the trade deal, Trump said, is "a big percentage of the deal". "Some would say half. Some would say a little less or a little more than half, but it's a tremendous percentage. It's pretty much all for the farmers, also bankers," he said responding to a question. "We also have regulations for a lot of different things... that people are going to be very surprised to see. But it's a big chunk of it, and we'll start right away negotiating Phase 2," Trump said. However, he said negotiations for the second phase "will take a little time". "I think, I might want to wait to finish it until after the election because by doing that I think we can actually make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal, Trump said. The US had postponed planned tariff hikes following the announcement of the deal's "Phase One" in October. However, earlier punitive duties imposed by China and the US on billions of dollars of each other's goods stayed in place, affecting global trade. Phase one of the deal, Trump said, could be up to USD 50 billion in farm product. That is numerous times more than they were buying in the past, the president said. It's going to have a huge impact, and I see farm prices are going way up. I see corn is just--had some big increases over the last little while. Cattle has been doing really well. The farmers liked me anyway. That's what I like about the farmers, Trump asserted. The trade deal with China, he said, will be great for farmers and for banks. Great for finance companies. Really a lot. Then we're going to be covering the opening of China and various other things in Phase Two, Trump said. For all the Latest Business News, International News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A Roanoke man will serve 14 months after leading police on a chase across three counties in April. Jordan Scott Overstreet, 36, pleaded guilty to a felony eluding charge Monday in Roanoke County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to four years with two years and 10 months suspended. He will serve two years of probation upon his release and his drivers license will be suspended for six months, chief assistant prosecutor Aaron Lavinder said. The chase started April 12 when a Vinton officer tried to pull over a Honda Accord on East Madison Avenue for not obeying a sign at about 2 a.m. The car sped off, a Vinton police statement said. The chase at mostly between 60 and 70 mph continued east onto Washington Avenue (Virginia 24) into Bedford County and south onto Virginia 122 near Moneta. State police used stop sticks to disable the Honda and bring the chase to an end in Franklin County. Overstreet was wanted on a probation violation out of Franklin County. 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 new decade is here have you firmed up your next money moves? You might have decided youd like to enjoy life by the pool, lake or mountainside or wherever a vacation home destination might take you. Here are a few questions to consider so you know whether a vacation home fits your plans and who knows? Maybe itll turn into a permanent settlement as soon as you hang up your briefcase and launch your retirement. 1. Is A Vacation Home A Smart Investment? Oh thats the No. 1 question. Will a vacation home be financially advantageous down the road? Help your heirs when you die? Bring in some income on the side as a part-time rental? Obviously, there are a lot of questions youll need to ask yourself. But the most important thing you can do is to put dollars and cents down on paper and total out whether a vacation home will get you exactly what you intend to get out of it. How do you plan to buy it? Are you planning to cash out $200,000 of your 401(k) and pay for it that way? Or you might have painstakingly saved and will pay cash for the property many experts recommend this approach. Remember, you have to make sure youre 100% taking care of your retirement, too. Here are a couple of other serious questions to consider: Is my primary home already paid off? Do I have an emergency fund in place? Am I prepared to take care of extra expenses, like a leaky roof or broken HVAC system? (Dont forget about homeowners insurance and utilities, internet, cable and more.) You might want to assemble a trusted team, complete with a real estate agent, financial advisor and tax advisor to help you answer some of these questions. 2. How Do I Pinpoint The Best Place To Buy? Youll obviously want to make sure that where youre searching matches up to your lifestyle. If youre a beachy person, obviously central Ohio may not be the best place to buy a vacation home. But if youve always been at home in the mountains, Kalispell, Montana, could make a lot of sense. Story continues Is the area in burgeoning real estate market and youve done an in-depth review of the neighborhood? Understand whether youre investing in a noisy spring break paradise or a snowbird haven. That could make a difference in your resale down the road. And if you plan to target Airbnbers, make sure youve chosen well. A great location will only help you down the road. 3: Is This The Right Time In My Life To Buy A Vacation Home? Its not tough to come up with a few scenarios where buying a vacation home just doesnt make sense. For example, lets say you have two high school students and they both play sports... all the time. Will you ever make it to your weekend retreat location? Or maybe you have plans to help those high schoolers pay for college and your money will need to go that direction instead. Evaluate whether you have the freedom and cash flow to make your vacation home happen at this point in your life. You might not have to say good-bye completely just until a later date. 4: Do I Know All The Rules? Do you know everything there is to know about local fees, taxes, commissions, zoning and property rules? There may be restrictions for doing a short-term rental in your community, neighborhood, town or state. For example, lets say you want to buy a vacation home to function as a short-term rental in Sonoma. Youll be out of luck, because the town of Sonoma doesnt allow short-term vacation rentals. Youll need to screech the brakes and check out other options. In other words... do your research! A great real estate agent should help you suss out your options. 5. Is A Vacation Home The Best Move For Me? Have six of your 10 neighbors caught the vacation home bug? You might make decisions based on what youve read online or go off of Neighbor Jeds advice. Or you might think a vacation home makes sense for you. Heres the truth: You could lose money if you dont determine exactly whether all the jigsaw pieces fit your lifestyle. Be A Professional In The Vacation Home Real Estate Game Be as objective as possible when you search for a vacation home. In other words, approach the idea as if youre not the one getting a vacation home pretend someone else is. Have a precise method youll approach (using all the experts you have in your back pocket) to determine whether you have what it takes to make the best vacation home decisions in 2020 and beyond. 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is set to be dragged into the row over taxpayer support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Amid rising concern in Whitehall about the abdication crisis, it has emerged that Mr Raab will have to make several key decisions about Harry and Meghans future roles after they quit. The couple announced they want to leave the frontline and live between North America and the UK. But they are also expected to continue to carry out overseas work on behalf of the Queen, including royal tours. Canada's Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne meets Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (left) in Montreal, Quebec The countrys top mandarin, Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, is already in contact with senior Palace officials over the Governments involvement. Meanwhile, decisions over the future security arrangements for the couple who have 24-hour armed police guards will go through Home Secretary Priti Patel. Mr Raab happened to be in Canada yesterday after discussing a post-Brexit trade deal with his Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne as well as Wednesdays unexplained plane crash that killed Canadian citizens in Iran. Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Cape Town, South Africa Once home, he is expected to have vital decisions to make on Harry and Meghan, as Britains diplomatic service takes a key role in royal visits. He will have to decide whether it is acceptable for taxpayers cash from the Crown Estate being spent on funding the pairs overseas travel. UK embassies around the world are tasked with organising logistics for such tours. But ministers are desperate to avoid being seen to interfere in the crisis. However, one Cabinet minister told BBCs Newsnight that there would be consequences from the decision. If Harry and Meghan dont want to be part of this thats fine but there is a contract between the British people and the Royal Family and so there will be consequences, they said. Sir Mark sits at the top of the so-called Golden Triangle of senior Palace and government aides, along with Downing Street principal private secretary Martin Reynolds and, in Buckingham Palace, the Queens private secretary, Edward Young. Sources suggested that there would not be significant government involvement until a solution has been found by the Royal Family. At that point, Sir Mark, Mr Raab and Miss Patel will have critical decisions to make. A Home Office committee is tasked with making decisions on what security protection should be provided for all VIPs. It will assess whether taxpayer-funded 24-hour protection should continue when Meghan and Harrys circumstances change. The independent Royal And VIP Executive Committee, will have to decide what security the couple will have in the UK, and whether as now police officers accompany them on overseas visits. Last night, reports in Canada suggested taxpayers there could be forced to cough up millions for security expenses if the couple move to the country, where they recently spent an extended holiday. While the pair have not said where in North America they plan to live, Larry Busch, an ex-Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, said: I dont believe they can refuse the government of Canadas security. Harry and Meghan have said they want to work towards financial independence, but it is unclear whether this extends to the cost of their security which is paid for by the State. The new 2020 Civic Type R incorporates numerous changes to improve its already stellar driving dynamics, including new two-piece brake rotors and new brake pads designed to reduce fade and improve high-speed braking efficiency. Suspension revisions for 2020 will include updated dampers for better ride comfort, stiffer rear bushings for better grip, and modifications to the front suspension to reduce friction and improve steering feel. Exterior design enhancements will also include a new larger front grille opening for improved engine cooling, and the 2020 model will be available in a new, Type R-exclusive Boost Blue. For the 2020 model year, drivers can also expect added refinement, including a new Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel and a new shifter with a restyled knob and shorter shift throws. The 2020 Civic Type R also adds the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies, marking the first time that Honda Sensing will be available as standard equipment on all Civic models and trims. Under the hood, the 2020 Civic Type R continues to draw power from a race-bred 2.0-liter direct-injected and turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with VTEC valvetrain putting out a peak 306-horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque (both SAE net), with power to the front wheels delivered through a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential. As before, drivers can choose between three driving modes Comfort, Sport and +R that vary suspension firmness, steering and throttle response. New for 2020 is Active Sound Control, which modifies interior sound in concert with chosen drive mode. The Type R's selectable drive modes and sophisticated design make it both a thrilling companion on a mountain road or a racetrack and a remarkably civilized daily driver with a degree of flexibility unmatched in its competitive set, especially at the price. Additional information about the U.S.-spec 2020 Civic Type R will be available closer to its on-sale date later this year. About Honda Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic, Insight, Accord and Clarity series passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V, Passport and Pilot sport utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan. Honda has been producing automobiles in America for more than 35 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2019, more than 90 percent of all Honda brand vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally-sourced parts. For More Information Additional media information including detailed pricing features and high-resolution photography of all 2019 Honda models is available at hondanews.com. Consumer information is available at automobiles.honda.com. To join the Honda community on Facebook, visit facebook.com/honda. SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Related Links http://www.honda.com A Canadian man wanted for suspected homicide and arson in North Dakota has been arrested at Michigans Blue Water Bridge. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers arrested the 41-year-old man at the bridge connecting Port Huron to Ontario, Canada on Thursday morning. The Associated Press has identified the man as Earl Howard, 41, of Belwood, Ontario. Howard was turned over to the Port Huron Police Department. Officers seized the vehicle he was driving and will turn it over to law enforcement officials from North Dakota. Today the men and woman of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Port Huron made our community a safer place by arresting this suspect attempting to return to the United States, said Port Director Michael Fox. CBP Officers routinely interdict travelers who are fugitives with outstanding arrest warrants every day across America. Howard is wanted for murder in the death of 42-year-old Chad Entzel in Bismarck, North Dakota. Entzel was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a bedroom after authorities responded to a house fire last week, the Associated Press reported. The victim's wife, 38-year-old Nikki Entzel, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in his death. Howard is scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing Friday in Port Huron. Two Cabinet ministers are at loggerheads in a class war over the Governments policy on housing. The row involves multi-millionaire Housing and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick and his deputy Esther McVey, who is from a blue collar background. In recent months there have been heated discussions in the department over how the Government should be spending its housing cash and which voters it should be targeting. Esther McVey is a former Barnardos child from Liverpool who has argued for money to go into more council housing to help the working-class voters who switched from Labour at the last election It is understood that Cambridge graduate Mr Jenrick, 38, a rising star in Westminster who has been an MP for just six years, wants to prioritise traditional Tory policies of helping voters on to the housing ladder. But he has clashed with Miss McVey, 52, a former Barnardos child from Liverpool who has argued for money to go into more council housing to help the working-class voters who switched from Labour at the last election. The Conservative Party manifesto promised to both increase home ownership and to increase the supply of social housing and affordable homes. Mr Jenrick, who has been tipped as a future Tory leader, owns four properties with his wife, including a 2.9million Westminster townhouse and a 17th century manor house in Herefordshire A Whitehall source said: Its a difficult dynamic. Jenrick wants to help more people to buy their own homes, he wants the Government to focus on owner-occupation. But Esther says we should be building more council and social housing. Theres no love lost there. The two ministers first worked together in 2015 when Miss McVey was Mr Jenricks boss in the Department for Work and Pensions. She was employment minister and the recently-elected Mr Jenrick was her Parliamentary private secretary a bag carrier on the bottom rung of the ministerial ladder. Miss McVey lost her Wirral West seat in the election that year but returned as MP for Tatton in 2017 and was promoted to Work and Pensions Secretary by Theresa May. She resigned after just ten months over Brexit and was out of Cabinet before new PM Boris Johnson made her housing minister last year under Mr Jenrick. At the Tory party conference last year Miss McVey revealed she spent the first two years of her life as a Barnardos child after being placed in foster care by her parents. She returned to her family who owned a demolition business in the Liverpool suburb of West Derby and told delegates her story gave the message that anyone can succeed given the opportunity. Miss McVey read law at Queen Mary University of London before launching a media career, presenting on childrens TV and GMTV, then setting up a business training firm. Mr Jenrick, who has been tipped as a future Tory leader, owns four properties with his wife, including a 2.9million Westminster townhouse and a 17th century manor house in Herefordshire. Born in Wolverhampton, Mr Jenrick read history at St Johns College Cambridge before becoming a successful corporate lawyer in London and Moscow, then a director at auctioneers Christies. He was the youngest minister in Mrs Mays government, as Exchequer Secretary, before being appointed Housing Secretary by Mr Johnson. Last night a source close to Mr Jenrick denied any differences between the pair, saying they were on the same page. They added: Rob and Esther have a good relationship. Rob has been clear he is very focused on home ownership and I think thats the same for Esther. New York, Jan 10 : Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, is making a push for support from Latinos with a Spanish-language ad that will start airing on Thursday, reminding immigrants of the importance of defeating President Donald Trump in the November elections. "No podemos seguir divididos en un mundo convulsionado" (We cannot remain divided in a world in turmoil), Bloomberg's television ad, to which EFE had access and which will start airing on Thursday, says amid images of the wall that Trump is building on the US-Mexico border, Efe news reported. The 77-year-old Bloomberg appears at the end of the ad, speaking in Spanish and telling viewers that "Juntos vamos a reconstruir esta nacion" (Together we are going to rebuild this nation). Bloomberg's first Spanish-language ad for the Democratic Party's primary campaign will be aired in 26 television markets, as well as on digital media, Bloomberg campaign officials said. The former New York City mayor has already posted messages on Twitter in Spanish. Bloomberg is making a push for Latino support a week after former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro dropped out of the presidential race, leaving the Democratic field without a Hispanic candidate in the race for the White House. The billionaire businessman tells Latino voters how important it is to defeat Trump in November. The ad emphasizes Bloomberg's history as a problem solver with experience in business, government and philanthropy. The Bloomberg campaign said that as mayor, the Democratic presidential candidate oversaw the creation of nearly 500,000 jobs in New York and helped the city recover after the Great Recession faster than the rest of the country. Bloomberg, according to his campaign, worked to improve New York's public schools, boosting young Latinos' graduation rate by 31 per cent. The billionaire, whose grandparents were immigrants, said he believed in the "American Dream" and had been a staunch defender of immigrants, as well as a supporter of fixing the US immigration system. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday denounced as horrific an email from a powerful lobbyist and close confidant of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan that hinted at a rape cover-up, and said hes relying on a state watchdog agency and law enforcement officials to find out if any wrongdoing was committed. Pritzkers comments came during his first public appearance since the disclosure of a July 2012 email to aides of then-Gov. Pat Quinn in which lobbyist Mike McClain advocated for state worker Forrest Ashby in a disciplinary matter. In the email, first reported Tuesday by WBEZ, McClain said Ashby, who later worked as a consultant on Pritzkers campaign, kept his mouth shut about Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the administration. The email did not include any other details about the rape, nor was it clear who McClain was referring to in connection to the ghost workers. Pritzker reiterated that his office had referred the matter to the Office of Executive Inspector General, the state agency charged with investigating allegations of misconduct within the executive branch. The inspector general will determine whether the matter should be referred to law enforcement, he said. The investigation will be hugely important in uncovering details about the alleged rape and ghost payrolling, Pritzker said. House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said he isnt satisfied with an inspector general investigation. Durkin sent a letter to Madigan on Wednesday requesting that the speaker assign a House committee to an investigation that would include subpoenas for testimony from McClain, Ashby, two former Quinn administration officials who corresponded with McClain, and Lorrie Rickman-Jones, who headed a state agency where Asbhy worked and is the wife of former Senate President Emil Jones. Madigan denied Durkins request in a letter Thursday, writing that Pritzker has assured him the matter had been referred to the appropriate authorities. Recognizing the sensitivity of the matter for any potential survivors, any investigation should be handled by the appropriate investigative entities without interference by the General Assembly, the letter stated. Pritzker, who is wrapping up his first year in public office, treaded carefully around questions from reporters about how the emails reflect on Madigan, the longtime House speaker who also leads the state Democratic Party. Lets start with getting all of the facts, Pritzker said. Pritzker said he had not spoken with Madigan or Quinn about the emails. He pointed to a Wednesday statement in which Madigan said he had no knowledge of the incident referenced in the email. McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist, has been under federal scrutiny for months as part of a far-reaching probe that includes the powerful utilitys lobbying practices in Springfield. The Tribune reported in December that FBI agents and prosecutors have been asking about connections between ComEd lobbyists and Madigan, notably McClain. The newspaper previously reported that federal authorities have recorded some of McClains phone conversations. The probe has rocked Chicago City Hall, the Illinois state Capitol and several south suburban municipalities. Madigan was named among many others in a subpoena and search warrant executed by the FBI in May at the City Club of Chicago seeking recommendations from the organizations then-president, Jay Doherty, who also was then a ComEd lobbyist. Doherty resigned as the organizations president last month. Ashby, a 30-year state employee at the Department of Corrections and other agencies who retired in January 2018 before going to work as a consultant on faith-based outreach for the Pritzker campaign, had been doing contract work for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. The boards executive director said Ashbys contract was suspended Wednesday pending an independent investigation in light of media reports about the McClain emails. Neil Olson, general counsel for the state Office of the Executive Inspector General, said Thursday he could not comment on any ongoing investigations. But generally, employees who work for the state on a contract basis, like Ashbys work for the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, would fall under the offices jurisdiction, Olson said. SEATTLE, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK Case No. 18-CV-01620 (VM) IN RE UBIQUITI NETWORKS, INC. SECURITIES LITIGATION THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: ALL CASES Notice is hereby given pursuant to an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that a hearing will be held on March 27, 2020, at 10:00 am. before the Honorable Victor Marrero, United States District Judge of the Southern District of New York, United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, Courtroom 15B, New York, New York 10007 for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement of the claims in the above-captioned Action for consideration including the sum of $15,000,000 should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether the proposed plan to distribute the Settlement proceeds is fair, reasonable, and adequate; (3) whether the application of Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys fees, reimbursement of expenses, and a Compensatory Award to Lead Plaintiff should be approved; and (4) whether this Litigation should be dismissed with prejudice as set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement dated December 2, 2019 (the Settlement Stipulation). If you purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Ubiquiti Networks, Inc., (N/K/A Ubiquiti Inc.) (Ubiquiti or the Company) between May 9, 2013 and February 19, 2018, both dates inclusive (the Settlement Class Period), your rights may be affected by this Settlement, including the release and extinguishment of claims you may possess relating to your ownership interest in Ubiquiti securities. If you have not received a detailed Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action (Notice) and a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release Form, you may obtain copies by visiting www.UbiquitiNetworksSecuritiesLitigation.com or by contacting the Claims Administrator toll-free at 1-844-924-0858 or at info@UbiquitiNetworksSecuritiesLitigation.com. If you are a member of the Settlement Class, in order to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release Form to the Claims Administrator at the address listed in the detailed Notice postmarked or submitted online no later than April 3, 2020, establishing that you are entitled to recovery. Unless you submit a written exclusion request, you will be bound by any judgment rendered in the Action whether or not you make a claim. If you desire to be excluded from the Settlement Class, you must submit to the Claims Administrator a request for exclusion so that it is postmarked no later than March 6, 2020, in the manner and form explained in the Notice. All members of the Settlement Class who have not requested exclusion from the Settlement Class will be bound by any judgment entered in the Action pursuant to the Settlement Stipulation. Any objection to the Settlement, Plan of Allocation, or Lead Counsels request for an award of attorneys fees and reimbursement of expenses and award to Lead Plaintiff must be in the manner and form explained in the detailed Notice and postmarked or hand-delivered on or before March 6, 2020, to each of the following: Clerk of the Court United States District Court Southern District of New York 500 Pearl Street New York, NY 10007 Lead Counsel Jeremy A. Lieberman POMERANTZ LLP 600 Third Avenue, Floor 20 New York, NY 10016 Counsel For Defendants Peter E. Kazanoff Nicholas S. Goldin SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP 425 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10017 If you have any questions about the Settlement, you may visit www.UbiquitiNetworksSecuritiesLitigation.com or write to Lead Counsel at the above address. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERKS OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. New Delhi: Amid the CAA-NRC protests, the Narendra Modi government issued an official notification that set the ball rolling for the mega Census exercise on Friday. In the official notification, the government published the set of questions that will be covered in the first phase of Census India. The house-listing operations of the Census India will take place from the April 1st, 2020 and will conclude on September 30. The information that will be sought from every household is: whether the family owns a telephone, mobile phone, smartphone, bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, moped, car or jeep or van, radio or transistor, television, laptop or computer or has access to the internet. The official notification said that the numerators will ask whether the head of the household belongs to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or Other category, ownership status of the census house, number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household, number of married couple(s) living in the household, main source of drinking water, availability of drinking water source and main cereal consumed in the household. Questions related to main source of lighting, whether the family has access to a toilet, the type of toilet, waste water outlet, availability of bathing facility, availability of kitchen and LPG/PNG connection and main fuel used for cooking will also be asked by the enumerators, the notification also said. The central government has also decided to prepare a National Population Register (NPR) by September 2020 which will be carried out along with the house-listing phase of the census. The NPR will be a list of usual residents of the country. The Opposition has been against the Census and its connection with the NPR. Earlier, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi had accused Narendra Modi government of misleading people on the issues of Citizenship Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens. In an exclusive interview with News Nation, Owaisi said that NPR and NRC are two sides of the same coin. Asaduddin Owaisi explained his stand on various issues including the violence during the anti-CAA protests and his reasons for opposing NRC and NPR. When asked whether opposing a law passed by the Indian Parliament was right, Owaisi gave the example of Emergency. He said everyone came together to oppose Emergency. He said that CAA was a black law and there was not anything anti-national in protesting against it. Owaisi added the government should decide who is an infiltrator or refugee based on someone's religion. It should divide India into Hindu vs Muslim, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. CALGARY, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Pembina Pipeline Corporation ("Pembina" or the "Company") (TSX: PPL;NYSE: PBA) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced offering of $1 billion of senior unsecured medium-term notes (the "Offering"). The Offering was conducted in three tranches consisting of $250 million principal amount issued through a re-opening of the Company's 4.02% medium-term notes, series 10, due March 27, 2028 (the "Series 10 Notes"); $500 million principal amount issued through a re-opening of the Company's 4.75% medium-term notes, series 11, due March 26, 2048 (the "Series 11 Notes"); and $250 million principal amount issued through a re-opening of the Company's 3.62% medium-term notes, series 12, due April 3, 2029 (the "Series 12 Notes"). The gross proceeds of the Offering were $1.07 billion. The net proceeds will be used to repay indebtedness of the Company under its unsecured $2.5 billion revolving credit facility due May 31, 2024 incurred in connection with the acquisition of the U.S. portion of the Cochin Pipeline system, as well as to fund Pembina's capital program and for general corporate purposes. The re-opening of the Series 10, Series 11 and Series 12 Notes was offered through a syndicate of dealers under Pembina's short-form base shelf prospectus dated August 30, 2019, as supplemented by related pricing supplements dated January 8, 2020. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes in any jurisdiction. The notes being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States. About Pembina Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America's energy industry for 65 years. Pembina owns an integrated system of pipelines that transport various hydrocarbon liquids and natural gas products produced primarily in western Canada. The Company also owns gas gathering and processing facilities; an oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics business; is growing an export terminals business; and is currently constructing a petrochemical facility to convert propane into polypropylene. Pembina's integrated assets and commercial operations along the majority of the hydrocarbon value chain allow it to offer a full spectrum of midstream and marketing services to the energy sector. Pembina is committed to identifying additional opportunities to connect hydrocarbon production to new demand locations through the development of infrastructure that would extend Pembina's service offering even further along the hydrocarbon value chain. These new developments will contribute to ensuring that hydrocarbons produced in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the other basins where Pembina operates can reach the highest value markets throughout the world. Purpose of Pembina: To be the leader in delivering integrated infrastructure solutions connecting global markets; Customers choose us first for reliable and value-added services; choose us first for reliable and value-added services; Investors receive sustainable industry-leading total returns; receive sustainable industry-leading total returns; Employees say we are the 'employer of choice' and value our safe, respectful, collaborative and fair work culture; and say we are the 'employer of choice' and value our safe, respectful, collaborative and fair work culture; and Communities welcome us and recognize the net positive impact of our social and environmental commitment. Pembina is structured into three Divisions: Pipelines Division, Facilities Division and Marketing & New Ventures Division. Pembina's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under PPL and PBA, respectively. For more information, visit www.pembina.com. Forward-Looking Information and Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable securities legislation that are based on Pembina's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "intend", "will", "shall", and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Offering, including the expected use of the net proceeds of the Offering. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that Pembina has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release, including: prevailing commodity prices, margins and exchange rates, that Pembina's businesses will continue to achieve sustainable financial results and that future results of operations will be consistent with past performance and management expectations in relation thereto, the availability and sources of capital, operating costs, ongoing utilization and future expansions, the ability to reach required commercial agreements, and the ability to obtain required regulatory approvals. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: non-performance of agreements in accordance with their terms; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; reliance on key industry partners, alliances and agreements; the strength and operations of the oil and natural gas production industry and related commodity prices; the continuation or completion of third-party projects; regulatory environment and inability to obtain required regulatory approvals; tax laws and treatment; fluctuations in operating results; the ability of Pembina to raise sufficient capital to complete future projects and satisfy future commitments; construction delays; labour and material shortages; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Pembina's public disclosure documents including, among other things, those detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Pembina's management's discussion and analysis and annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2018, which can be found at www.sedar.com and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and available on Pembina's website at www.pembina.com. The intended use of the net proceeds of the Offering by Pembina may change if the board of directors of Pembina determines that it would be in the best interests of Pembina to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose and there can be no guarantee as to how or when such proceeds may be used. Accordingly, readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. Such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the above statements. Pembina does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws. SOURCE Pembina Pipeline Corporation Related Links http://www.pembina.com WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 29: Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of the Boeing Company, testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee October 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. Boeing denied former CEO Dennis Muilenburg severance when he was ousted for his handling of the 737 Max crisis, but he will walk away with more than $60 million in pension benefits and stock, the company said Friday. Boeing fired Muilenburg last month amid a ballooning crisis around its 737 Max jets in the wake of two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. Longtime board member Dave Calhoun will become Boeing's new CEO on Monday. Regulators have repeatedly said they have no firm timeline to allow the planes to fly again. The grounding, which is entering its 11th month, has cost airlines more than $1 billion, all but halted new sales of the jets and prompted Boeing to temporarily shut down production of the planes. It has also left Boeing scrambling to win back regulators and repair its tarnished image. In the filing Boeing said Calhoun would receive a $1.4 million-base salary and a $7 million bonus payable on the "achievement of several key business milestones, including full safe return to service" of the planes. A Boeing lifer who joined the company as an intern, Muilenburg exacerbated Boeing's 737 Max problems by repeatedly issuing forecasts about when the planes would return to service, drawing rare public rebukes from the Federal Aviation Administration. He was also criticized by lawmakers for taking too long to accept blame in the crashes and for failing to spot safety risks before the plane, Boeing's best-seller, came to market in 2017. "Mr. Muilenburg is not entitled to and did not receive any severance or separation payments in connection with his retirement after more than 30 years with the Company," Boeing said in the filing. Muilenburg will forfeit stock worth $14.6 million, but is entitled to pension and stock benefits of about $62 million, Boeing said. Victims' family members complained after the announcement. Boeing in July said it was giving $50 million to family members of the 346 victims, a sum that is apart from any settlement families win in their lawsuits against Boeing. "Boeing executives should be walking away in handcuffs, not with millions of dollars," Zipporah Kuria, who lost her father, Joseph Waithaka, in Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, said in a statement. "I hope the whole world is watching." Two Georgia Northwestern Technical College students were among a list of national students chosen to receive scholarships from the American Rental Association Foundation of Illinois and The Clifford H. "Ted" Rees, Jr. Scholarship Foundation located in Virginia. According to Rental Management Magazine, Cartersvilles Lisa Matthews, who is enrolled in the accounting program, was one of three students in the nation who received an ARA Foundation Trade School Scholarship. Through the scholarship, Ms. Matthews entire tuition was paid for fall semester at Georgia Northwestern Technical. Going back to college is fulfilling both personal and professional goals for Ms. Matthews. Both of my parents are deceased. It has been a personal drive of mine to meet and exceed their expectations of me completing college, she said. On the professional side, having the ability to gain the knowledge and a degree will help our company save money in the long run. Once her classes at GNTC are complete, Ms. Matthews will be able to take on some of the responsibilities a certified public accountant conducts, she said. Its inspirational that within the industry there is the ARA Foundation that supports continuing education, so people like me can stay in the industry and advance our careers. It is neat how it all works together, she said to Rental Management Magazine. According to Rental Management Magazine, the ARA Foundation has over $100,000 in 52 scholarships available to those studying in the equipment and event rental industry. Online applications are now being considered and can be found on the Foundations website. The deadline for scholarship application is March 2 for the 2020-21 school year. Gaining his second scholarship in six months, George News, air conditioning technology program major, received a $2,000 scholarship from The Clifford H. "Ted" Rees, Jr. Scholarship Foundation, which is a part of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute. According to Engineered Systems Magazine, Mr. News and his 48 fellow students, along with seven military veterans, received $85,500 collectively. The scholarship was awarded to students studying to become technicians in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration and water heating industries. Sue Perez, program coordinator, Workforce Development at AHRI, said the foundation awards an average $120,000-$130,000 in scholarship money a year to around 80 applicants. The foundation will soon open its application for another round of scholarships which can be filled out online and need to be submitted by June, she said. All sorts of scholarships are available out there, but students need to do the research to tap into those funds, Lauretta Hannon, director of Institutional Advancement at GNTC, said. It would be well worth their time and effort. The GNTC Foundation offers scholarships each semester, and Ms. Hannon said students are encouraged to apply through AwardSpring. Learn more at http://www.gntc.edu/community/foundation/scholarships/. The application period for summer semester funding is March 2 to April 17. The GNTC Foundation plans to increase funding to students this year, but an application must be completed through AwardSpring to be considered for any of the scholarships. Ms. Hannon said she is hoping to see a record number of applicants this year. A former civilian member of the Oregon National Guard who managed the repair of small-engine parts and generators for the military at Camp Withycombe on Thursday pleaded guilty to double-billing the government for repairs that were never made. Dominic Caputo, 48, of Clackamas County, agreed to pay $2.6 million in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense, according to the plea agreement. Caputo entered a guilty plea to one count of making a false statement before U.S .District Judge Karin J. Immergut. He initially was charged with four other counts of wire fraud, which will be dismissed. When sentenced in May, prosecutors said theyll ask for the low end of the sentencing guidelines, which is about two years and three months in prison. Prosecutors alleged that Caputo sought reimbursement for bogus repairs on 1,380 engines, generators and other parts by submitting false work orders to the U.S. Army-Communications-Electronics Command. The alleged fraud occurred from 2012 through November 2014, according to the indictment. The Oregon National Guard operated the maintenance site at Camp Withycombe to refurbish out-of-service electronic equipment owned by the Department of Defense. It repaired and rebuilt small and large engines, generators, tires and other parts. It was the only site in the country capable of repairing and building certain engines to maintain a war-ready posture at the time, according to prosecutors. Caputo billed the military in fiscal 2014 for more than 60 John Deere diesel engines that had already been repaired, rebuilt and billed for during fiscal 2012 and 2013, according to prosecutors. He ordered employees to remove the serial numbers on the engines so the scam wouldnt be detected, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Kerin said. Prosecutors noted that Caputo did not receive any personal benefit from the fraud. In a plea petition, Caputo said he took the actions "to protect the program I worked for at (Oregon Sustainment Maintenance Site) and the jobs of my employees, and did not personally benefit financially in any way, and believed at the time we could make up the shortage in production and supply the quantity of paid-for engines.'' Caputo resigned from the Oregon National Guard in November 2014, according to Christopher L. Ingersoll, a spokesman for the Oregon Military Department. His sentencing is set for May 4. -- 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. Subscribe to Facebook page WICHITA, Kan. - Problems for Boeing and its troubled 737 Max aircraft, which appear to be growing deeper, have begun to ripple outward, with a major supplier announcing Friday that it will lay off more than 20% of its workforce in Kansas, where it is based. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this March 27, 2019, photo taken with a fish-eye lens, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane sits on the assembly line during a brief media tour in Boeing's 737 assembly facility in Renton, Wash. The looming production shutdown of Boeing 737 Max jets is taking a toll on a key supplier. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. is asking employees if they will take voluntarily buyouts. Spirit suspended production of fuselages and other parts for the Max on Jan. 1, 2020, after Boeing told the Wichita, Kansas, company to suspend shipments. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) WICHITA, Kan. - Problems for Boeing and its troubled 737 Max aircraft, which appear to be growing deeper, have begun to ripple outward, with a major supplier announcing Friday that it will lay off more than 20% of its workforce in Kansas, where it is based. The announcement of 2,800 layoffs at a major employer in Wichita, the state's biggest city, came a day after documents became public showing that Boeing employees raised doubts about the safety of the 737 Max, apparently tried to hide problems from federal regulators, and ridiculed those responsible for designing and overseeing the jetliner. The layoffs threaten to damage a state economy that has been solid for months, with low unemployment and better-than-anticipated state tax collections. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature have been able to boost spending on public schools and services, and the layoffs are likely to come up during the state's annual session, which starts Monday. Spirit AeroSystems is the largest employer in Wichita, which bills itself as the "Air Capital of the World" due to a heavy concentration of aerospace manufacturers. More than 40 aerospace companies, most of them in and around Wichita, provide parts and services for the production of the 737 Max. The governor's administration had been considering the use of the state's fund for unemployment benefits to pay part of the salaries of Spirit workers so they could remain in their jobs. Spirit's announcement also came on the same day that the jobs report shows U.S. manufacturers cut payrolls by 12,000 in December, compared to estimates for a gain. Spirit produced about 70% of the 737 Max, including the fuselage. Contracts with Boeing for the Max represents more than half of Spirit's annual income. "The difficult decision announced today is a necessary step given the uncertainty related to both the timing for resuming 737 production and the overall production levels that can be expected following the production suspension," Spirit AeroSystems CEO Tom Gentile said in a prepared statement. Employees will be paid for a 60-day notice period. Affected employees will leave the company beginning Jan. 22. FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2019, file photo, completed Boeing 737 MAX fuselages, made at Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kan., sit covered in tarps near the factory. Aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems has announced it is laying off 2,800 employees at its Wichita, Kansas, facility due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. (Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle via AP, File) Just days ago, Spirit broached the subject of voluntary buyouts with employees. The company suspended production of fuselages and other parts for the Max on Jan. 1, after Boeing ordered Spirit to suspend shipments. Spirit plans to implement smaller workforce reductions this month for its plants in Tulsa and McAlester, Oklahoma. Cornell Beard, president of the local branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers, said the union was meeting with the company to find ways to lessen the impact of the situation as much as possible. Its an extremely difficult time for the workers at Spirit AeroSystems who have dedicated their lives to making this company a leader in aerospace. Machinists members and their families in this community have some tough decisions in front of them," Beard said. The company said it has taken steps to lessen the impact by transferring some 737 Max employees to other programs and facilitate job fairs to help laid-off employees. Spirits stock price was down in midday trading Friday. It already had lost more than 20% of its value since Boeing grounded the 737 Max in March. Moodys Investors Service on Friday put Spirit's credit rating under review for a possible downgrade. Spirit is one of four Boeing suppliers being reviewed by Moody's, which said much depends on how long the shutdown lasts. Dozens of smaller aerospace companies are also beginning to shed jobs. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said he will work with business leaders and Trump administration officials to see that the layoffs have a "short-term impact." He said he has spoken directly with Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence about the layoffs. He said he also spoke this week with the incoming Boeing CEO and the FAA's administrator about doing everything necessary to get the 737 Max back safely in the air. "The layoffs announced today at Spirit AeroSystems have dealt a harsh blow not only to the company but also to Spirit suppliers and subcontractors," he said. "I plan to continue working with the administration and Department of Defence to showcase the capabilities of Wichita manufacturers in an effort to diversify the industry and bring more job opportunities to the region. Aerospace employment in Kansas peaked in 2008, followed by a continual decline until 2017, said Jeremy Hill, director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. Kansas then had a big ramp-up in aerospace jobs in 2018 and 2019. We are losing a lot of that growth and we are back at our bottom, Hill said. The loss of the 2,800 Spirit jobs is expected to have an impact of just under 5,800 jobs in the economy, he said, noting that other aerospace manufacturers in the supply chain have been announcing layoffs. The average aerospace worker makes $81,000 annually, and the loss of the 2,800 jobs accounts for lost wages of $220 million, assuming those workers are not rehired within 12 months, Hill said. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly promised an all-hands-on-deck approach across state government to help Spirit, its workers and other affected businesses. She said state Labor Secretary Delia Garcia would be in Wichita in the coming days to lead the states response and work closely with local and federal agencies. We stand in lockstep with the workers and companies affected, Kelly said in a statement. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Rep. Ron Estes, whose congressional district includes Wichita, said he will continue to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure grounded aircraft causing these furloughs can safely return to the skies without any unnecessary delays. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat who serves on the House Transportation Committee, descried the newly released messages from Boeing employees to deceive the public and regulators. "In addition to the public safety concerns these messages raise, Boeings callousness has now cost thousands of Kansans their livelihood and endangered the economy of our state, which is dependent on aerospace," Davids said in a statement. Kansas' other senator, Republican Pat Roberts, issued his own statement of support for the workers, saying: While these furloughs will affect a large part of the aerospace workforce in Wichita, I know the community is prepared to assist in every way possible. Wichita is the Air Capital of the World, and I am committed to making sure that does not change. _____ John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report. Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz will begin a ward-by-ward series of town halls next week aimed at convincing residents of the importance of a $2.5 million property tax override that will be put to a ballot question in March. Proposition 2, if passed, will help fund the operating budgets for the city and its public schools for fiscal year 2021, which will begin in July. The override was presented by the mayor and approved by the city council in early December. Residents will vote on the proposition March 3. A projection of the citys 2021 fiscal year budget, which factors in state aid along with municipal funds, found a $1.2 million shortfall. The additional funds are expected to alleviate the gap and last four years. The mayor said his office will try to extend the money beyond that. Were kind of at a crossroads now, the mayor said. People need to be reminded of what theyre getting with their tax dollars. Another Proposition 2 override was passed in 2013 when the city was facing a similar budget shortfall of $1.7 million for fiscal year 2014, as well as potential cuts to city and school services, including the elimination of more than 15 staff positions in education, public safety and public works. The additional $2.5 million seven years ago was expected to create a four-year buffer but instead has lasted through fiscal year 2020 due in part to higher than expected building permit and motor vehicle excise revenues as well as cost savings in health insurance, according to the mayors office. The 2013 funds helped the city invest more in its schools, public works projects, libraries, bike trails and more, according to Narkewicz. The proposition also created a fiscal stability fund that will be replenished if residents vote in favor of the proposition in March. The mayor said he is hopeful about its passage. Im optimistic, Narkewicz said. This is a community that cares a lot about the city and its school system. The mayors first town hall will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Northampton Senior Center. He will continue to hold forums once a week until the end of February, Narkewicz said. It is not easy asking people to raise their taxes, the mayor said, but he hopes to convince residents of the importance of adequately funding the citys services. Narkewicz will also "point to a lot of positives achieved through the 2013 override, which 57% of residents voted in favor, according to Yes!Northampton, an organization that campaigned for the propositions passage. The group has rallied behind the 2020 override as well. Organizers praised the citys adoption of the hotels-meals tax and marijuana tax options but said the additional revenue has not been enough to prevent structural deficits, according to a December press release. Structural deficits are inevitable, Yes!Northampton Treasurer Stacey Dakai said in the release. Property tax increases approved by City Council are capped by state law at 2.5% per year, while the citys costs from health insurance to wages to asphalt routinely grow faster than 2.5% per year. Narkewiczs office will be posting a calculator online so residents can look at their house and see how much the override will increase their taxes by. The average household in Northampton will see an annual increase of $225, according to him. The mayor said beyond the town halls, he will make himself available to whoever wants to hear [his] side. Ive scheduled a series of seven town hall meetings across #NorthamptonMA beginning next week to discuss the March 3, 2020 Proposition 2 1/2 ballot question to renew the fiscal stability plan and protect our vital city services and excellent schools. pic.twitter.com/t6RrqNLh5V David Narkewicz (@MayorNarkewicz) January 9, 2020 Related content: Northampton voters to consider Proposition 2 override President Donald Trump used his first campaign election rally of 2020 to argue that he served up American justice by ordering a drone strike on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Mr Trumps remarks during the rally in Toledo, Ohio also ranged from mockery of Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff to a suggestion that he should have won the Nobel Prize. The president made his comments shortly after the Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution asserting that Mr Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Mr Trump mocked Ms Pelosis mental acuity and called Mr Schiff a pencil neck. He also dubbed senator Bernie Sanders crazy Bernie for raising objections to how he carried out the strike on Gen Soleimani. We got a call. We heard where he was. We knew the way he was getting there, Mr Trump told cheering supporters. We didnt have time to call up Nancy, who isnt operating with a full deck. They want us to tell them so they can leak it to their friends in the corrupt media, he added The Iran crisis, which momentarily overshadowed his looming impeachment trial, has also opened a new front in the 2020 presidential campaign for Mr Trump, who in 2016 campaigned on a promise to end American involvement in endless wars. Vice President Mike Pence, who joined the president for the rally, said Mr Trump deserved credit for taking out a dangerous terrorist while managing to keep the engagement from escalating into an all-out war. And when American lives were threatened by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, President Donald Trump took action and Qassem Soleimani is gone, Mr Pence said. And in the wake of that attack, Iran responded, but thanks to the professionalism of the military, we suffered no American casualties and Iran appears to be standing down. Thats what leadership looks like. Mr Trump also turned to a topic that frequently rankles him the fact that he has not won a Nobel Prize. Referencing the 2019 Nobel Prize winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Mr Trump said that he himself deserved the honour instead. I made a deal. I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country, he said. I said, What? Did I have something to do with it? Yeah. But, you know, thats the way it is. As long as we know, its all that matters. Mr Abiy was awarded the prize in October for his sweeping reforms and surprising embrace of a bitter rival. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) sees many opportunities for statewide health care collaboration in 2020 through the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Medi-Cal Healthier California for All initiative (formerly known as CalAIM). This multi-year transformative initiative aims to improve the individual health and quality of life for IEHP Members and residents in the state of California significantly. The new Medi-Cal Healthier California for All initiative is a framework that will address many of the complex challenges that face California's most vulnerable residents. The primary goals of the initiative are to identify and manage member risk and need through whole person care approaches and address social determinants of health; move Medi-Cal to a more consistent and seamless system by reducing complexity and increasing flexibility; and improve quality outcomes and drive delivery system transformation through value-based initiatives, modernization of systems and payment reform. "IEHP will be applying our experience and lessons learned from our innovative programs like Health Homes, Population Health and the Behavioral Health Integration to contribute to the design of the robust and ambitious framework that our friends at DHCS have created," said IEHP CEO Jarrod McNaughton. For further engagement with Medi-Cal Healthier California for All in 2020 and beyond, IEHP will continue to participate in workgroups with DHCS, health plans throughout the state and our local regional partners to advocate for our Members and our communities. "I believe the continued partnership with our Providers, counties and our community partners will be key to the success of this initiative," said McNaughton. "The possibilities of 2020 are some of the most exciting I've ever seen in my career as a health care leader. When you think about it, every possibility in health care is founded on the same promise to make a difference in the lives of those who need it the most." Click here to learn more about Medi-Cal Healthier California for All. About IEHP IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is a top 10 largest Medicaid health plan and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 providers and more than 2,000 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.2 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with Providers and community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our Members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit www.iehp.org. SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) Related Links http://www.iehp.org An 11-year-old boy who shot dead a teacher and wounded at least six others people before killing himself at a private school in northeast Mexico on Friday was possibly under the influence of a violent video game linked to the Columbine massacre, it has emerged. Schoolboy Jose Angel Ramos also appeared to be dressed in the same clothes one of the teen killers wore during the massacre. According to authorities in the state of Coahulia, Ramos asked his sixth grade teacher, Maria Medina, for permission to go to the bathroom to change his pants about 8.20am local time. Worried that the boy was taking too much time to return to class, Medina went looking for him and found him holding two guns in the middle of a hallway at Miguel Cervantes School in the municipality of Torreon. Ramos was wearing a pair of black jeans, suspenders and a white t-shirt bearing the name of the first-person shooter video game 'Natural Selection' on the chest. Columbine killer Eric Harris wore the same t-shirt when he and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and one teacher on April 20, 1999. Shocking photos from the scene showed the student's body next to that of his female teacher with a handgun on the floor between the boy's knees Jose Angel Ramos (pictured in the left image), the 11-year-old boy who shot dead a teacher and then killed himself at a school in Mexico on Friday, appeared to be dressed in the same clothes that Eric Harris, one of the teen killers, wore in the Columbine 1999 massacre. Harris (pictured left in the right image) was portrayed in the documentary film 'Zero Hour' The 11-year-old boy who shot a teacher and killed himself at a school in Mexico on Friday almost had the same outfit as Eric Harris, one of the teen killers in the Columbine 1999 massacre Paramedics carry one of the injured victims out of the school in Torreon, Mexico The youngster opened fire with two handguns, killing 60-year-old Medina. He then wounded five students including two girls aged seven and eight. Aldo Omar Saldivar, a 40-year-old PE teacher, was also shot. He told authorities that he was in the school yard when he heard several shots. He went into the school to see what was going on and was shot when he tried to hide from Ramos. The wounded victims were all listed in stable condition as of Friday evening. Miguel Angel Riquelme, governor of the state of Coahuila, said Ramos was apparently been influenced by a first-person shooter game, 'Natural Selection.' Riquelme said he believed the boy had tried to 'recreate' the game. The governor said that the teacher was shot when she asked the pupil what he was doing with the gun. 'He was a student who had no problems, had good behavior, but he had warned some classmates by telling them: today is the day,' Riquelme said. The video game is made by San Francisco-based company Unknown Worlds Entertainment, according to its website. The company did not reply to a request by Reuters for comment. Distressed parents and pupils gather outside Miguel Cervantes School in Torreon, Mexico, today after an 11-year-old boy gunned down a teacher before killing himself State governor Miguel Angel Riquelme said the boy may have been influenced by video game Natural Selection - a violent game where human 'space marines' shoot aliens. Family members rushed to Miguel Cervantes School to pick up their children after a shooting which left two dead and six wounded Experts have long debated whether there is a link between violent video games and aggressive behavior. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims and said more needed to be done to strengthen family life and prevent such events from happening in future. Though homicides have reached record levels in Mexico during the past two years, school shootings are unusual. Ramos lived with his grandparents and his mother passed away a couple of years ago Torreon mayor Jorge Zermeno called him a good student and said there were no previous warning signs of Ramos carrying out the tragic shooting. Members of Civil Protection are seen at a private school after the shooting in Torreon, Mexico Distressed parents and pupils gather outside Miguel Cervantes School in Torreon, Mexico, today after an 11-year-old boy gunned down a teacher before killing himself 'Although he must have had some sort of problem, the school say he was a normal boy with good marks and no outward signs of any behavioral issues,' Zermeno said. 'It's terrible that a youngster aged 11 can go into his school with two guns and do what he did.' Guillermo Siller, medical director of the Sanatorio Espanol hospital where the injured are being treated said the children's families are receiving psychological support.' Distressing photos from the scene showed the student's body next to that of his female teacher with a handgun on the floor between the boy's knees. Police and paramedics raced to the scene as frantic families flocked to the school and gathered outside. Torreon is a city with around 679,000 residents. Television images showed dozens of police and soldiers surrounding the school. Though homicides have reached record levels in Mexico during the past two years, such school shootings are unusual. In January of 2017 a student killed a teacher and himself and also wounded four classmates at the Northeast American School, a private institution in Monterrey. A woman reacts after the shooting at a private school in Torreon, Mexico AirBnB wants to know if you have a "Machiavellian" personality before renting you a beach house. The company may be using software to judge whether you're trustworthy enough to rent a house based on what you post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Theyll turn the systems loose on social, run the algorithms and get results. For the people on the other end of this process, there will be no transparency into the process no knowledge whatsoever and no appeals process. The company owns a patent on technology designed to rate the "personalities" of prospective guests by analyzing their social media activity to decide if they're a risky guest who might damage a host's home. [ Inside AI ebook: Artificial intelligence in the enterprise ] The end product of their technology is to assign every AirBnB guest customer a "trustworthiness score." This will reportedly be based not only on social media activity, but other data found online, including blog posts and legal records. The technology was developed by Trooly, which AirBnB acquired three years ago. Trooly created an AI-based tool designed to "predict trustworthy relationships and interactions," and which uses social media as one data source. The software builds the score based on perceived "personality traits" identified by the software, include some you might predict -- conscientiousness, openness, extraversion, agreeableness -- and some weird ones narcissism and "Machiavellianism," for example. (Interestingly, the software also looks for involvement in civil litigation, which suggests they may now or in the future ban people based on the prediction that they may be more likely to sue.) AirBnB hasn't said whether they use the software or not. If you're surprised, shocked or unhappy about this news, then you're like most people who are unaware of the huge and rapidly growing practice of judging people -- customers, citizens, employees and students -- using AI applied to social media activity. AirBnB isn't the only organization scanning social media to judge personality or predict behavior. Others include the Department of Homeland Security, employers, school districts, police departments, the CIA, insurance companies and many others. Some estimates say that up to half of all college admissions officers use AI-based social monitoring tools as part of the applicant selection process. HR departments and hiring managers are also increasingly using AI social monitoring before hiring. U.S. government agencies, especially those that employ people who need security clearances, are also leaning on social media monitoring to check for untrustworthy employees. And, as I reported in this space, the number of smartphones U.S. Customs and Border Protection searches when people enter the U.S. grows radically every year. These searches include social media accounts, which could later be monitored and analyzed using AI. And not only are schools increasingly monitoring social media activity of students, some states are starting to require it by law. AI-based social media monitoring is a bandwagon. And organizations of all kinds are jumping on it. There's only one problem. AI-based social media monitoring isn't that smart Various organizations have been flirting with social media monitoring for years. But recent AI-based monitoring tools have sprouted up and created an industry and an occupational specialty. These tools are looking for personality traits like intelligence, social responsibility, financial responsibility and behaviors like obeying the law and behaving responsibly. The question isnt whether AI applied to data harvesting works. It surely does. The question is whether social reveals truths about users. I'm questioning the quality of the data. For example, scanning someones Instagram account may reveal that theyre fabulously wealthy and travel the world enjoying champagne and caviar. The truth may be that theyre broke, stressed-out wanna-be influencers who barter social exposure for hotel rooms and comped restaurant meals where they take highly manipulated photos created purely for reputation building. Some people use social to deliberately craft a deliberately false image of themselves. A Twitter account may show a user as an upstanding, constructive and productive member of society, but a second anonymous account unknown to the social media monitoring systems would have revealed that person as a sociopathic troll who just wants to watch the world burn. People have multiple social media accounts for different aspects of their personalities. And some of them are anonymous. And a persons Facebook account may be peppered with a users outrageous sense of humor, full of profanity and exaggerations, which the monitoring tools may conclude reveals an untrustworthy personality, when in fact the problem is that machines have no sense of humor or irony. And the creators of the AI tools themselves may not have a real understanding about personality. For example, the use of profanity online may reduce a person's trustworthiness score, based on the assumption that foul language indicates a lack of ethics or morality. But recent research suggests the opposite -- people with potty mouths may be on average more trustworthy, as well as smarter, more honest and more capable, professionally. Do we trust Silicon Valley software companies to know or care about the subtleties and complexities of human personality? And finally, some people are obsessive non-stop users of many social media sites. Other people never use social media. Most fall somewhere in between. There's a generational divide as well. Younger people are statistically less likely to post publicly, preferring private messaging and small-group social interaction. Is AI-based social media monitoring fundamentally ageist? Women are more likely than men to post personal information on social media (information about oneself), whereas men are more likely than women to post impersonal information. Posting about personal matters may be more revealing about personality. Is AI-bases social media monitoring fundamentally sexist? Is anybody even asking these questions before jumping headlong into this hyper-consequential brand of surveillance? Companies like AirBnB are trying to solve a real problem. In AirBnB's case, they're essentially a match-making service where the product for one user is.... another user. And its a question of quality assurance. How do they minimize the harming of one user by another user? Heres a caveat: In the past 40 years, the tech industry always overhypes the magic pixie dust of the moment. Right now, that happens to be AI. What I fear is that companies like AirBnB have a problem, conclude that the solution is to just let AI sorcery magically solve it. Theyll turn the systems loose on social, run the algorithms, and get results. The systems will tell them who not to admit to the school, who not to hire, who to strip of their security clearance and who to ban from AirBnB. For the people on the other end of this process, there will be no transparency into the process no knowledge whatsoever and no appeals process. Did the AI reject the right people? How will anyone know? Did some of the people deemed trustworthy by the AI gain that distinction by gaming the system in some way? How will anyone know? If you scan the internet about social media monitoring, youll find lots of advice to watch what you post online. It sounds like reasonable advice, until you really think about what that advice implies. Theyre basically saying that if youre somebody who really should be fired, not hired or rejected from a school based on your social media activity, you really need to be smart and simulate or fake the social media activity of a person who isnt objectionable. As knowledge about the scope of social media monitoring spreads, the practice of constraining oneself on social sites playing to the AI audience and feeding it fake data so the machines judge you trustworthy will become commonplace. Let me express that more starkly. Many types of organizations -- from government agencies to enterprises to Silicon Valley tech companies of all stripes -- are jumping on the AI-based social media monitoring bandwagon. Dozens of companies are emerging to specialize in these tools. The practice is growing widespread. And when the public wakes up to the reality of this widespread practice, the response will inevitably be to change social media behavior, to push the right buttons to maintain one's "trustworthiness score," to hack the system -- thus rendering the whole thing pointless and obsolete. It's time to start caring about AI-based social media monitoring Heres something you can definitely intuit from scanning the social networks even without AI. The knowledgeable tech-loving public is generally wary and disdainful about surveillance capitalism practices like personal-data harvesting, web activity tracking and the very widespread practices of slurping down the contact databases of random users of various sites and apps, which uses you to gain access to the personal information of everyone you know without their knowledge and permission. Everybody seems to talk about it. Nobody seems to like it. But its also true that the actual material harm of this kind of everyday monitoring is hard to identify. Meanwhile, you rarely hear online conversations about AI-based social media monitoring. Yet the potential harms are gigantic losing your job, rejection from school, higher insurance rates and not being allowed to rent a beach house on AirBnB. I'm not here with "tips" for the "untrustworthy" to game the system and trick the machines into trusting. I'm here to tell you that the system can be gamed. And that AI-based social media monitoring to determine "trustworthiness" is itself... untrustworthy. Flags fly outside parliament in London. Photo: Frank Augstein/AP Brexit may have cost the UK 130bn ($170bn) in collateral damage since the referendum, a new study suggests. Bloomberg Economics said Britains economy had been lacklustre over the three-and-a-half years since a majority of voters backed Leave in the EU referendum. Its analysis indicates British companies performed poorly, even accounting for a weaker global economy, with weak growth by international standards. It predicted Brexit would continue to hold back national output, forecasting a further 70bn hit in lost opportunities for growth this year. Even the boost BE expects from prime minister Boris Johnsons decisive election victory in December wont stop a further 70bn being added this year, wrote its chief UK economist and former Treasury official Dan Hanson. READ MORE: Downbeat Mark Carney speech sends the pound spiralling The Conservatives landslide victory in December broke the long-running political deadlock at Westminster, paving the way for Britains departure on 31 January. The decisive election result was welcomed by many business leaders. One survey released on Friday showed the largest leap in chief finance officers optimism levels in more than a decade, with a big rise in the number of CFOs expecting revenues to rise in the year ahead. But while Johnsons Brexit withdrawal bill tackles several key issues linked to Britains departure, official talks over the future of EU-UK trade and wider relations have not even begun and could take years. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, warned in a speech on Thursday of the risk uncertainties over future trading relationships could remain entrenched. He said such uncertainty had already proved a persistent drag already on the UK economy, slowing growth below its potential particularly through reduced business investment. READ MORE: Boris Johnson breakthrough in north-east makes business leaders 'happiest in UK' Carney, who leaves his role in March, said growth had significantly underperformed the central banks predictions prior to the referendum, which were not based on a Leave vote. Story continues He said GDP was 3% lower than might have been expected if Britain had voted to stay, taking into account how the rest of the worlds economies had performed since June 2016. Uncertainty has dented business investment and innovation, hitting firms capacity to grow, according to Carney. Many firms and investors fear Brexit will mean new barriers to trade with EU partners. Contingency planning has also drained firms of considerable time and resources, Carney said. Investment has fallen in four of the past seven quarters, with growth more than 20% less than forecast by the bank before the referendum in May 2016. Household spending has also fallen in the past year. He added: Brexit-related uncertainties may have dissuaded companies from expanding supply capacity or entering new markets. But the survey of business leaders, conducted by accountancy giant Deloitte, saw 38% say they planned to increase investment in 2020. That marked the highest proportion in four years, while Brexit also dropped from the top to third on a list of their greatest concerns. READ MORE: Zero tariffs, zero quotas EU wants unprecedented trade deal with UK 10 Jan 2020, 12:16 PM Flipkart former CEO Sachin Bansal acquires DHFL General Insurance for Rs 100 crore Flipkart co-founder and former CEO Sachin Bansal has reportedly acquired DHFL General Insurance from Wadhawan Group Capital (WGC) for around Rs 100 crore. The deal is seen as a distress sale for Kapil Wadhawan-led financial services group, which used to run the debt-laden DHFL. With this acquisition, Bansal has entered into insurance business. The investment is also seen as part of his strategy to enter into financial services industry. Iran's hand behind Ukrainian plane crash: Justin Trudeau Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday vowed his government would not rest until it had all the answers about the destruction of a Ukrainian airliner which he said was hit by an Iranian missile. All 176 people on board, including 63 Canadians, were killed on Wednesday shortly after it took off from Tehran on a flight to Kiev. Iran denies its forces brought down the plane. Trudeau said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources indicating the plane had been shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, quite possibly by accident. Mukesh Ambani in search of MD for Reliance Industries; family member ruled out In line with Sebi's guideline to separate the roles of chairman and managing director/CEO of all listed entitied by April 1, Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani is in search of a new managing director (MD) within Reliance Industries (RIL) to lead India's most valuable company. A family member taking over the CEO's role, however, is ruled out. According to sources, Ambani will shed his executive tag and become non-executive chairman of the company in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) guidelines if they come into effect on April 1, as scheduled. PM Modi stresses on governance, implementation in meeting with economists, industrialists Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed on better governance and implementation for realising the dream of $5 trillion economy. Addressing a meeting of economists and industrialists at Niti Aayog today, the Prime Minister said that the idea of $5 trillion economy is not a sudden development and that it is based on a deep understanding of the strengths of the country. He said that governance is very critical, and implementation of government's policies needs especial focus. Uber announces new safety features and on-trip audio recording Ride hailing app Uber is planning to introduce new safety features in India that include PIN verification, a RideCheck that detects trip irregularities, and audio recording. These new features will be rolled out as a pilot in India later this year. RideCheck essentially tracks all rides and in case of an anomaly, for example, if the cab stops midway for longer than usual, they will reach out to the driver and the rider using a push notification asking them if there is a safety concern. India's oil demand growth set to overtake China by mid-2020s : IEA India's oil demand growth is set to overtake China by mid-2020s, priming the country for more refinery investment but making it more vulnerable to supply disruption in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. Also read: Infosys share price rises nearly 2% ahead of Q3 earnings Also read: Iran's hand behind Ukrainian plane crash: Justin Trudeau Deep in the burning forests south of Sydney this week, volunteer firefighters were clearing a track through the woods, hoping to hold back a nearby blaze, when one of them shouted over the crunching of bulldozers. Deep in the burning forests south of Sydney this week, volunteer firefighters were clearing a track through the woods, hoping to hold back a nearby blaze, when one of them shouted over the crunching of bulldozers. Dont take photos of any trees coming down, he said. The greenies will get a hold of it, and itll all be over. The idea ... Elastic N.V. (NYSE: ESTC), the company behind Elasticsearch and the Elastic Stack, announced that its shareholders elected Alison Gleeson to the company's board of directors at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders that took place earlier today. The term of office for Ms. Gleeson will expire at the end of the 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders. Gleeson is a globally recognized executive who was previously Senior Vice President of Cisco's Americas organization, where she was responsible for nearly 9,000 employees across 35 countries. In more than 20 years at Cisco, Ms. Gleeson focused on a customer-first mentality, building go-to-market and data-driven initiatives, and strengthening Cisco's relationships with its top partners. This includes managing the sales efforts in Canada and Latin America, as well as segments such as US Commercial, US Public Sector, and the Global Enterprise Segment, which included Cisco's top 28 customers. She is also a highly-regarded international speaker on the drivers for digital disruption across industries, the role of technology in enabling business transformation, and empowering women in technology. Gleeson maintains a commitment to professional development and inclusion and diversity in the workplace. In 2018, she received the Connected World's "Woman of IoT" award for her role in advancing the field. In 2017, she received the Diversity Best Practice's "Above and Beyond Legacy Award" and the Michigan Council for Women in Technology's "Woman of the Year Award" for her work in advancing women in IT roles. She was previously the Global Executive Sponsor and Board President for Cisco's Connected Women's Network, an organization with 7,000 members worldwide. Gleeson currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, her alma mater. Holders of approximately 79.96% of the company's ordinary shares were represented at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. About Elastic Elastic is a search company. As the creators of the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, and Logstash), Elastic builds self-managed and SaaS offerings that make data usable in real time and at scale for use cases like application search, site search, enterprise search, logging, APM, metrics, security, business analytics, and many more. Founded in 2012, Elastic is a distributed company with Elasticians working in countries around the world. Learn more at elastic.co. Elastic and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Elastic N.V. and its subsidiaries. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements herein are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements as a result of uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties related to: Elastic's ability to successfully develop an effective go-to-market strategy; Elastic's ability to improve its customer and partner relationships; the future conduct and growth of Elastic's business and the markets in which Elastic operates. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019 and any subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K filed with the SEC. SEC filings are available on the Investor Relations section of Elastic's website at ir.elastic.co and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Elastic assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release, except as required by law. Source: Elastic N.V. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005538/en/ Contacts: Dan Reidy Elastic press@elastic.co New Delhi, Jan 10 : The domestic automobile sales continued to decline in December with the overall sectoral off-take plunging 13.08 per cent on a year-on-year basis, data showed on Friday. As per the data furnished by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the sector's total sales declined to 14,05,776 units in December from 16,17,398 units sold during the corresponding month of the previous year. In November, the overall sectoral off-take had declined by 12.05 per cent to 17,92,415 units. Production loss from labor strikes was at a historic low last year as workers went on strike more than usual but for shorter periods thanks to unions at major conglomerates helping mitigate a trade row with Japan. Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Im Seo-jeong told reporters Thursday that businesses lost 402,000 workers' days in 2019, down 27.9 percent on-year and the lowest in 20 years. The number of lost work days has been on the decline since the Moon Jae-in administration came to power, falling from 862,000 in 2017 to 552,000 in 2018. "There was an understanding that long-term strikes are bad for both management and labor," a ministry spokesman said. "Unions at conglomerates restrained themselves amid the trade dispute with Japan last year." Another factor was that labor and management at Hyundai unusually reached a settlement in wage negotiations last September without the ritual strike, the first time in eight years. But overall, workers went on strike on 141 occasions last year, up 5.2 percent on-year. The overall number of lost work days dwindled as a result of fewer strikes at conglomerates with large numbers of union members, despite more strikes on the whole. Still, labor relations remain more confrontational than in other advanced countries. According to a recent data from the Korea Labor Institute, Korea lost 43.2 work days per 1,000 workers in 2017, compared to a mere 0.25 days in Japan and 3.1 days in the U.S. Its been nearly six years since the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement, and in 2020, the criminal justice systems issues with race and poverty are still gripping the nations attention. After the tragic deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, many Americans formed fast and furious opinions about policing and prosecution decisions. But little has been done to soothe the publics frustration on this front. Most states seem pretty committed to the status quo but not all. Connecticut and Florida, for instance, are making great strides after having identified the key problem area: transparency. States generally do what they can to track information like recidivism rates and jail population demographics, but there are major blind spots, especially when it comes to the prosecution in these cases. After all, its prosecutors who hold the keys to the criminal justice system, deciding what cases to pursue and what charges to bring honest or otherwise. Anyone who enters the system is at the mercy of a prosecutors decision-making. And because 97% of all criminal cases are settled with plea bargains, prosecutors almost never have to prove a defendants guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as they would in a trial conviction. Yet, even with that kind of power, most states ask little from them in terms of transparency and oversight. This is troubling, considering that 54% of exonerations are due to official misconduct. That all started to change last year when Florida introduced transformative legislation requiring substantial data tracking across all criminal justice agencies. Connecticut then followed suit, with a similar bill Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in July Senate Bill 880. The bill, which unanimously passed the states House and Senate, requires prosecutors to collect and present extensive data on the cases they pursue. This policy wisely includes the input from victim advocates groups, nonprofits like the ACLU of Connecticut, and prosecutors themselves. Connecticuts law will finally track data on arrests, diversionary program outcomes, plea agreements, what cases go to trial, information about fines and fees, demographics of people charged and sentenced, restitution status and more. All of this information will be annually presented to and reviewed by a state-sanctioned commission and will be made publicly available online. Lawmakers will be able to use this information to determine if problems like racial bias are systemic issues within their offices and formulate solutions. While more narrow in scope than Floridas legislation, this law is a much-needed first step for Connecticut. After all, taxpayers have a right to transparency in every aspect of the criminal justice system they fund. Without this kind of data, identifying systemic problems and working to solve them is nearly impossible. For instance, lets say prosecutors regularly recommended people with low-level criminal charges for pre-trial diversion programs to keep them out of jail. But the program is poorly set up, and regularly results in participants failure or incarceration. If the only tracking that takes place is at a personalized level, the problem could go on for years before someone connects the dots on the downfalls of the program. And even then, itd be difficult to prove the problem and come up with a solution. But if a system exists to track all the participants outcomes in a centralized database, outcomes regularly presented to a group of stakeholders, the problem and solution has a far better chance of being recognized and implemented early on. Thankfully, this is exactly what Florida and Connecticut have done. And because almost every state legislature will soon be in session, now is a good time to follow their lead. Good, comprehensive data is needed across the entire criminal system, because transparency is the only way to fulfill public trust and uphold the accountability our justice system has, for years, desperately required. Molly Davis is the criminal justice policy analyst at Libertas Institute, a libertarian think tank. She is also a senior contributor to Young Voices Advocates. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a driving force behind President Donald Trump's decision to kill a top Iranian general, sources inside and around the administration tell CNN, a high-stakes move that demonstrates Pompeo's status as the most influential national security official in the Trump administration. Taking Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani "off the battlefield" has been a goal for the top US diplomat for a decade, several sources told CNN. Targeting Iran's second most powerful official -- the leader of the Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, the politically and economically powerful military group with regional clout -- was Pompeo's idea, according to a source from his inner circle. That source said the secretary brought the suggestion to Trump. Pompeo "was the one who made the case to take out Soleimani, it was him absolutely," this source said. According to multiple sources close to Pompeo, the secretary of state has believed throughout his career that Iran is at the root of all the Middle East's problems and has focused on Soleimani, Iran's "shadow commander," as the mastermind behind the country's state sponsored terrorism throughout the region. "We took a bad guy off the battlefield," Pompeo told CNN on January 5. "We made the right decision." The same day, Pompeo told ABC that killing Soleimani was important "because this was a fella who was the glue, who was conducting active plotting against the United States of America, putting American lives at risk." 'Leading the Way' "Pompeo provided the warrant for why Soleimani is a bad guy," the source said. "It's not personal because he was a terrorist and the mastermind." The source also said taking out Soleimani had been Pompeo's mission for a decade. The secretary of state has been so fixated on the Iranian general that he even sought to get a visa to Iran in 2016 when he was a congressman from Kansas. While he said it was to monitor elections, he also suggested to confidants that he wanted to try to confront Soleimani when he was there. He never got the visa. Pompeo, a West Point graduate who still has many friends in the military serving in the Middle East, also believed Solemani had the blood of hundreds of US soldiers on his hands. US officials believe that during the Iraq War, Soleimani's units provided Iraqi insurgents with specially made bombs that could penetrate armor, a deadly weapon against American forces. Iran denies the claim, but the Pentagon still says Soleimani and his troops were "responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more." More recently, Soleimani has been seen as the architect of Iranian military operations in Iraq and Syria. The source told CNN that as the years have gone by, Pompeo has told friend and colleagues that "I will not retire from public service until Soleimani is off the battlefield." Long known as a "Trump whisperer" for the relationship he's cultivated with the President, Pompeo's ability to sell such an aggressive Iran strategy to Trump -- a conflict-averse President -- is testament to his unparalleled sway. Now, with Pompeo's recent declaration that he will not run for a US Senate seat in Kansas, the former three-term House lawmaker and CIA director appears set to continue wielding his influence in the Trump administration. "He's the one leading the way," according to the source in Pompeo's inner circle, discussing the face off with Iran. "It's the President's policy, but Pompeo has been the leading voice in helping the President craft this policy. There is no doubt Mike is the one leading it in the Cabinet." One former Republican national security official, who is a Trump critic but supported the strike on Soleimani, told CNN that Pompeo is so influential, he is like the "secretary of state, secretary of defense and director of the CIA" combined. 'Un-American' Pompeo's rise has sparked concerns within some Republican national security circles, where critics say he has enabled the famously mercurial President. While he's earned the President's trust, however, Pompeo has not been insulated from scathing criticism over the administration's approach to Iran. On Wednesday, even some Republicans emerged from a briefing about the situation unconvinced. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called the session by Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper the "worst briefing I've had on a military issue in my nine years" in the Senate. Lee said the administration's suggestion that Congress shouldn't have a role in debating military action against Iran was "un-American" and "completely unacceptable." Congressional Democrats were highly critical, with Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia calling the briefing "sophomoric." Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she wasn't convinced Soleimani presented the imminent threat the administration claimed to justify his killing, while Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, disputed Esper's description of intelligence on Soleimani as "exquisite." "It was not," Durbin said. Since becoming the top US diplomat, Pompeo has been the point person for the administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran. In April, Pompeo was a major force behind the Trump administration's controversial move to designate Iran's IRGC, including the Quds Force, as a foreign terrorist organization. It was the first time the US had ever designated part of another government as a terrorist organization and laid a foundation for the legal rationalization to kill Soleimani, who had led the Quds Force since 1998. In June, after Iran shot down a US drone, Pompeo was disappointed when he failed to convince Trump to take aggressive action against Iran and Soleimani. The President, at the last minute, reversed a decision to strike IRGC targets. But this time, according to multiple sources with knowledge, Pompeo built a case that won over the President, particularly after a December 27, a rocket attack killed a US civilian contractor in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. On December 29, US planes killed at least 25 people in bombing strikes on the militia group Kataib Hezbollah, which reports to Iraqi leaders but is heavily influenced by Iran. On New Year's Eve, Iraqi protested in response to the American strikes, storming the US embassy compound in Baghdad. Worry About Another 1979 According to multiple sources familiar with these events, Trump was deeply concerned the embassy protests could lead to a repeat of the 2012 deaths of four Americans at a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, or even the 1979 standoff between Washington and Tehran, when Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Iran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. "I know Trump tweeted about Benghazi, but he didn't want to face another Tehran 1979," said the source in Pompeo's inner circle. Referring to Iran today, this source said that "they wanted to take hostages." A Republican congressional source with knowledge of the events said that the American contractor's death was pivotal. While Pompeo and Esper have argued that intelligence suggested an imminent threat, this Republican source said, "the intelligence may be no different of (Soleimani) planning" attacks similar to those he'd conducted in the past. The difference this time was that an American had been killed, the Republican said, tying the decision to strike to escalating encounters that began with the death of the 27-year-old Iraqi-American linguist from the San Francisco area. "If an American hadn't died, I don't think any of this would have happened," the Republican said. As planning got underway, Pompeo worked with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Army Gen. Mark Milley and the commander of CENTCOM Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie to assess the profile of troops in the field. Multiple sources also say that hawkish Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, were kept in the loop and also pushed Trump to respond. Trump was not at all reluctant to target Soleimani, multiple sources said, adding that the President's other senior advisers -- Esper, Milley, CIA Director Gina Haspel and national security adviser Robert O'Brien -- "were all on board." Pompeo has forged "very close relationships" with Haspel and Esper, alliances that bolstered his ability to make the case to Trump. "They all work together very, very closely," said the former Republican national security official. That said, the former official expressed concern about the lack of deep expertise in Trump's national security team. Several analysts pointed to this as one factor in Pompeo's outsized influence within the administration. The government is so compromised by Trump and by all the vacancies and lack of experience, this former official said, that "everything is being done by a handful of principles -- Pompeo, Esper, Milley. There are a lot of things being left on the floor." 'Such a Low Bar' Pompeo is arguably the most experienced of the national security Cabinet, the former national security official said, "but it's such a low bar." "It's such a small group and there's so much that needs to be done," the former official said. "Everyone in this administration is a level and a half higher than they would be in a normal administration. They have no bench," they said. The Trump administration has been handicapped by the President's refusal to hire Republicans who criticize him. Other Republicans won't work for the administration, for fear of being "tainted" or summarily fired, the former official said. As layers of experience have been peeled away at the White House, some analysts say safeguards have been removed as well. CNN's Peter Bergen has written in his new book, "Trump and his Generals," that former Defense Secretary James Mattis told his aides not to present the President with options for confronting Iran militarily. Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, argues that since the departure of Mattis, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and former White House chief of staff and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, there are very few voices at the White House to offer "deeply considered advice." "We don't have those people who have that experience and could look Trump in the eye and who have his respect and who could say, 'Hey, hey, hey -- wait!'," Slim said. Actress Salma Hayek is very hopeful as she said that she is sure about the future for women in Hollywood. Hayek said that the women in the industry are on the right path and are not going to stop. "What I can tell you is that a lot more women are directing and acting and writing and producing. And there are a lot more movies made about women and for women because the audience was neglected," Hayek told variety.com at the premiere of her new comedy "Like a Boss" in New York on Tuesday night. "We're on the right path. And we're not going to stop," Hayek added. The Oscar nominee was joined by her co-stars Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne. AFP "Like a Boss" follows best friends Mia and Mel who join forces to run their own boutique cosmetics company. When the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the beauty industry tempts them, their lifelong bond - and their business - is put in jeopardy. She said: "For once this is a movie that is not about a woman looking for a man or needing a man. I hope that a lot of people go to see it because the more that they see movies about women, the more that it empowers women." The comedy comes on the heels of a banner year in cinema that featured female protagonists in films like "Little Women" and "Captain Marvel." Rome museum sells 10,000 presale tickets for Raphael show in just two days. The Rome museum preparing to host the capital's mega exhibition dedicated to High Renaissance master Raphael has sold a record 10,000 presale tickets in just two days. Italy's culture ministry said that the requests for tickets to visit the "unprecedented" show - which will feature 100 Raphael masterpieces at the Scuderie del Quirinale - have come from all over the world. The Rome blockbuster exhibition, titled simply Raphael and scheduled from 5 March until 2 June, will be the most comprehensive show ever devoted to the Renaissance genius who was born in Urbino in 1483. Around 40 of Raphael's masterpieces will arrive on loan from the Uffizi in Florence, with others coming from the Louvre in Paris, London's National Gallery and the Prado in Madrid. As part of the global Raphael 500 celebrations, Rome will lay a red rose on the tomb of the artist - who died aged just 37 - on each day of 2020. To see where to find Raphael works around Rome see our guide. At least 37 per cent of Swiggys part-time delivery partners are students working to fund their education, a report said on Thursday. Food delivery major Swiggy recently conducted a poll to discover the various aspirations and motivations of about 16,000 part-time delivery partners who login into the app for about 4-8 hours every day. According to the report, 29 per cent have another full-time job and moonlight as delivery partners to meet their own and their families' financial goals and 20 per cent have another part-time job on the side. Ten per cent are entrepreneurs and run their own business while working with Swiggy to relive stress of erratic earnings from their business, and 29 per cent are primary earning members of their household, the survey found. Talking about their aspirations, 33 per cent delivery partners aim to grow into the role of fleet managers with Swiggy itself, like some of their counterparts have. The survey also revealed that 28 per cent are saving money with the goal of buying a house or car of their own. According to the report, 20 per cent delivery partners aim to land a full-time, regular job eventually and 8 per cent are fuelled by wanderlust and want to travel across India. Another 8 per cent are the young and responsible ones who are selflessly saving money to fund their siblings' wedding, the report added. The findings from the poll also revealed that a small but significant minority of 12 per cent opened bank accounts for the first time post joining Swiggy, highlighting financial independence for these partners. A minister from Chicago is accused of cheating a federal program to feed impoverished children out of money and using $142,000 to buy a Bentley for himself. Rev Clarence Smith Jr, 45, of the New Life Impact Church, pleaded not guilty to four counts of fraud in US District Court, reported the Chicago Tribune. Smith allegedly over-reported to the state how many children his church had fed through the program, asking for a bill of $1million. He then purchased the luxury sedan and wrote personal checks to himself covering other expenses. To cover-up the illegal activity, Smith told state authorities that records showing how many children were provided meals had been destroyed in a flood. Rev Clarence Smith Jr, 45 (pictured), had his church, the New Life Impact Church, sponsor a program to feed poor children, but then over-reported how many meals were being served He billed the state $1million In July 2016 and, when it was paid in July 2016, he bought a 2015 Bentley Flying Spur luxury sedan (file image) with a cashier's check for $142,000 The Tribune reports that New Life Impact Church was a sponsor of the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The federal program reimburses institutions for providing nutritious meals and snacks to children, the elderly and those with disabilities. The church's role was to serve meals to children around the city and then bill the state of Illinois for their services, according to court documents. But Smith began over-reporting the number of meals the church was serving starting in October 2015. He billed the state $1million, which was paid in two separate checks in July 2016, the Tribune reports. Court documents reveal that Smith deposited the checks into the bank account for the church, and then either withdrew cash or wrote checks for expenses unrelated to the church. Less than a week after collecting the second check for $825,695, Smith cashed it and then wrote a cashier's check for $142,000. According to documents viewed by the Tribune, he used it to buy a 2015 Bentley Flying Spur luxury sedan for himself. The newspaper reports that Smith told the Illinois Board of Education, which locally administers the program, that records showing the number of children the church had served meals to 'had been damaged in a flood and were no longer available.' This is not the first time Smith has been accused of financial fraud. Smith (left and right) told the state that the records showing how many children were provided meals had been destroyed in a flood. He pleaded not guilty to four charges of fraud in November In the past, Smith gave himself authorized access to the estate of an elderly man who has passed away, and then proceed to write himself checks totaling $106,736. Pictured: New Life Impact Church In 2001, he pleaded guilty to a charge of financial exploitation of the elderly and was sentenced to six months in jail, reported the Tribune. Smith allegedly gave himself unauthorized access to the credit union account of an elderly man who has passed away, and then proceed to write himself checks totaling $106,736. According to the Tribune, Smith also filed for bankruptcy in 2012, saying he owed more than $80,000 in restitution but that he only had $20 in cash. Then, in 2015 and 2016, he was sued by two food supply companies for failing to pay them, although both suits were settled out of court. After the Tribune's article was published, Smith posted the following message on Facebook: 'To everyone who has [seen] this negative article about me in the press I say wait until you get all the facts. 'It totally hurt me that after fighting back and forth with the state for 5 years that I have been charged with fraud from the food program. Of course the media would portray me as a criminal but didn't mention the multiple daycares that I had running and several other businesses that I was a part of. 'I'm not here to prove or explain myself to anyone. I'm going to fight this with everything I have in me. For those of you who know me and won't rush to judgement please pray for me and for those of you who are looking to throw me or the Church under the bus pray for me also. Peace.' The headquarters of the People's Bank of China (PBC or PBOC), the Chinese central bank, in Beijing on Aug. 7, 2011. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images) China to Go All-In for Digital Yuan After Currency Markets Avoid Yuan News Analysis A new report argues that China is being forced to go all-in for a Digital Yuan after the percentage of trade cleared in its own currency has been cut in half since 2015. China in 2012 initiated a strategy to turn its domestic yuan currency into a free-floating global reserve currency by 2015. The percentage of export transactions executed in yuan did more than doubled over the next three years from 12.5 percent to 27.3 percent; but the rate has plunged back to 12.5 percent, according to Enodo Economics. The Cato Institute famously issued a research report in 2008, on the verge of the global financial crisis, called Debt Threat, warning that: China could use its large holdings of U.S. government debt to gain political leverage by threatening to dump those securities if the U.S. threatens to enact protectionist measures or to intervene in relations between the mainland and Taiwan. The Cato Institute argued that China would use its increasing economic power to edge out the United States as the dominant power in Asia. The future looked so bright that Vanity Fair Magazine proclaimed The Chinese Century because 2014 would be the last year the United States could claim to be the worlds largest economic power. The article argued that, China enters 2015 in the top position, where it will likely remain for a very long time, if not forever. But Endo Economics highlighted in an April 2017 report, titled The Return of China Risk, that with Chinas debt to GDP ratio approaching uncharted territory, state-owned firms ability to service their debt having deteriorated dramatically, and authorities no longer able to sweep bad loans under the carpet, instability would come back with a vengeance in 2017-18 as Beijing is forced to deal with past excesses. Endo Economics also warned that China interbank borrowing by non-bank financial institutions had risen 12 times in the past three years, faster than the U.S. increase on the run-up to the financial crisis; and non-government debt rose faster in the last decade than in the 1980s run-up to Japans debt crash. Despite Beijings continuing efforts to stimulate the economy through massive infrastructure spending, Chinas growth rate has slumped over the last three to its slowest rate in 30 years. As a result, total corporate, household and government debt now exceed 303 percent of GDP and makes up about one seventh of all world debt. Although the authorities set financial deleveraging as a goal in 2019, China suffered its first bank defaults in three decades and a record 178 domestic corporations defaulted on their bond debt. Fearing higher risks of a debt and yuan currency crash, Chinas international customers and suppliers are demanding payments in U.S. dollars. Having failed to widen global payments in yuan, Endo Economics suggests China is going all-in to initiate a sovereign digital yuan. The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) on Jan. 1 launched a series of new rules governing online encryption that will pave the way for a digital version of the yuan. The PBOC will unveil a regional pilot test later this year. The PBOC believes it can maintain control over the nations money supply by operating the digital yuan as a centralized system that utilizes blockchain or another new technology that evolves from the nations penchant for electronic payments. The Epoch Times reported that China drove a global high of 60.5 billion mobile payment transactions in 2018. The total value of annual mobile payments rose by 58.6 percent to $65.9 trillion (467.8 trillion yuan) the same year. Led by China, the global mobile payment market is forecast to triple to as much as $253 trillion (1,800 trillion yuan) by 2025. Online shopping is so perfected in China that about 40 percent of Chinese digital payment users now carry less than $15 (100 yuan) in cash, according to a Tencent study. About 65 percent of Chinese tourists have made mobile payments abroad, almost six times more than the average non-Chinese traveler. President of the Chinese Finance Association and former PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan told the 2019 Caixin Hengqin Forum in November that the virtual yuans initial focus would first be domestic, but the digital yuan will eventually be globally integrated into Chinas One Belt, One Road (also known as Belt and Road) sphere of economic and political influence. The University of Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Centers 2020 Winter Crops Day will be Jan. 17 at the outreach center in Waseca and at the Heintz Center in Rochester. Registration at the door begins 8:30 a.m. at both locations with the program to begin at 9 o'clock. Cost is $40, which will include morning refreshments, lunch and handout materials. The program will focus on production agriculture with emphasis on crop and soil science. One session will concentrate on new technology and its application to crop production. A discussion about using drones to gather information and make crop decisions will be included. New genetic traits for weed management and impacts on agronomic performance will be discussed. The other half of the program will examine micronutrient recommendations for Minnesota. Knowing which micronutrients may be deficient in what crops is important when making decisions on what to supply to the crop. ADVERTISEMENT Winter Crops Day meetings are open to the public. Producers, farm managers, ag consultants and salespeople, or others interested in learning more about production agriculture with an emphasis on crop and soil science are encouraged to attend. US reports no refusals of antibiotic-contaminated shrimp imports in December The US reported a total of 129 seafood entry line refusals in December, of which none were of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics, marking the second month in a row without detecting antibiotics in shrimp imports. The Food and Drug Administration, however, refused two entry lines of shrimp because of the presence of salmonella: one from Sri Lanka and the other from the Philippines, the Southern Shrimp Alliance reported. In the whole of 2019, the FDA refused a total of 61 entry lines of shrimp for reasons related to veterinary drug residues. Although this is higher than the total number of entry line refusals in the previous two years, the number is substantially below the average annual number of refusals over the last 17 years (93). In October there was only one entry line of shrimp refused for reasons related to banned antibiotics. This entry line was from Mexico. Additionally, seven entry lines of shrimp were refused because of the presence of salmonella: five from India; one from Sri; and one from the Philippines. Sri Lanka: President outlines policy path for a developed Sri Lanka January 10,2020 | Source: Daily FT President Rajapaksa was also adamant that stronger policies are needed to support agriculture, pointing out a third of the countrys population is engaged in agriculture, plantation industries, and the fisheries sector, and the living standards of people employed must be raised. He recommended that new technology-based approaches that can develop these industries beyond traditional farming methods must be introduced. More attention has to be paid to the ocean economy. We will introduce a systematic program to improve the fisheries sector through the introduction of new technologies and equipment. Existing harbours will be improved and new harbours will be developed to cater to the requirements of multi-day vessels that engage in deep sea fishing. Introducing new technologies to further develop the inland fisheries sector is also part of our plan. Protecting the natural environment for our future generations is one of our fundamental responsibilities. We will pay special attention to environmental protection in the formulation and implementation of government policies. Most of the policies outlined by President Rajapaksa draws from his election manifesto, which he repeatedly referred to in his statement. The manifesto aims to increase annual growth to 6% and double per capital income from the current $4060 by 2025. Following the Throne Speech, Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunatilake told the media at the tea party the Opposition group led by the United National Party (UNP) will take a collective decision on the Presidents policy statement and would seek a debate. During the Party Leaders meeting held in the afternoon, the Opposition lawmakers request for two days debate on the Presidents Policy Statement was scheduled for 7 and 8 January. UNP lawmaker Sujeewa Senasinghe, extending his best wishes to President Rajapaksa, held that the Opposition would support decisions taken for the betterment of the country and its development. Whatever good deeds that the Government does, we will definitely support them. Similarly, if the Government commits anything bad for the country, we will definitely criticise them. This will not be done with the intention of discouraging them but to encourage them and to get them to deliver better. That way, even if we have to take back power after five years, we will have a prosperous country to take forward, he said. Early morning fire destroys two homes in Red Bluff Fire crews are currently on the scene of a house fire in Red Bluff. The fire broke out around 4 a.m. and burned two homes in the area of south Jackson Street and Musick Avenue. Both homes are now unlivable, however, no injuries have been reported. Investigators are working to determine a cause. Redding Police identify hotel shooting suspect Police said they know who they are looking for in connection to that robbery & shooting in a local hotel. Redding police are searching for Terrell Kurt Myers of Fresno. They said he is responsible for the shooting at the Red Lion Inn and suites, Wednesday. That incident sent one person to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Police said Myers took off in a blue or gray 2011 ford fusion, with California plates. Police looking for criminal threats suspect in West Redding Officers are also on the hunt this morning for a man they say threatened and harassed a family for hours. He is identified as Jesse Norris of Redding. It all happened Thursday, when Redding police said Norris threatened a family in their home. Slashing a cars tires and cutting a man with a knife. Norris then took off, officers said. If you have any information on either of these suspects, call the Redding Police Department. Gov. Newsom set to introduce new proposed state budget today Happening today, California Governor Gavin Newsom will introduce his 2020-2021 proposed state budget. The budget announcement is today, at 10:30 in Sacramento. You can watch the event live via the governor's Twitter account. We have a link to that portal on our website, CLICK HERE. House approves nonbinding measure to 'terminate' US military action against Iran without congressional approval The House of Representatives voted to require the president to get their approval before taking further military action against Iran. Critics said the vote is largely symbolic. Eight democrats supported the president and three Republicans voted against him. Speaker Pelosi says House will take steps next week to send impeachment articles to Senate for Trump's trial Republicans in the senate are ready to move on his impeachment trial, without democratic votes and for now, without witnesses. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still hasn't sent over the two articles of impeachment they need to get started. She says she will send them over soon. US blames Iran for Ukrainian jetliner downing, pledges probe American and Canadian intelligence sources said Ukrainian airlines flight 752 was shot down by a missile fired by Iran. Intelligence sources said they suspect the missile was fired by accident, while Iran was in a state of high alert just hours after launching missiles at U.S. troops based in Iraq. Iran denies the claim, all 176 people on board that flight was killed, including 63 Canadians. Activist of Iranian origin Nariman Garib posted a video on Twitter, which allegedly shot the moment a missile hit a passenger plane of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737 near Tehran, The New York Times reported. The New York Times says that the video appeared to show an Iranian missile exploding near a plane above Parand, near Tehran's airport, the area where the jetliner, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, stopped transmitting its signal before it crashed. Independent investigators from Bellingcat and the Conflict Intelligence Team also confirmed that this video was shot at this location. After the missile hit the plane, a small explosion occurred, but the passenger airliner continued to fly for several more minutes. Then, as follows from other videos The New York Times refers to, the plane turned back toward the airport, then began its uncontrolled descent toward the ground. CBRNe Summit Europe 2020 CBRNe Summit Europe is returning to Brno, Czech Republic for intelligence-secs 7th annual event. Many major cities across Europe have faced critical incidents over the past few years. With terrorism threat levels high across Europe and the increased use of chemical agents being used by terrorist organisations this is a key event to attend. During the international event visitors will hear perspectives from military and civil officials who deal with CBRNe incidents. Many governments across the region have realised the importance of CBRNe capabilities and preparedness and budgets have been increased to deal with the new type of threats faced to civilians. CBRNe Summit Europe will focus on a number of key topics across the whole CBRNe domain such as CBRNe capabilities of military and civil agencies, first responder techniques, asymmetrical threats, medical countermeasures to chem-bio threats, decontamination developments and techniques, countering IEDs, CBRNe threat intelligence, CBRNe forensics and many more. DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2020 / National Partners PFco, a leading premium finance company, has named Brian Soder, senior vice president, sales. He'll work with independent agents and brokers nationally in meeting their insureds' premium-finance needs. Soder was most recently senior vice president, national accounts, with AFS/IBEX, and has other prior experience in the premium finance industry. National Partners focuses on providing commercial premium finance solutions to brokers, agents and insureds simply and efficiently with its cutting-edge technology. Founded in 2016, it became a subsidiary of WebBank in April 2019. National Partners has attracted a fast-growing clientele ranging from local independent insurance agencies to top-10 national brokers. "Brian knows that insurance professionals and business owners need easy, reliable and profitable solutions," said National Partners CEO Bruce Lundy. "Our clients will benefit from his deep expertise and total client focus." At AFS/IBEX, he was responsible for cultivating long-term relationships, client retention, maximizing revenue and growth opportunities, pricing, portfolio analysis, and credit review. He'll have similar duties at National Partners. "National Partners has quickly developed a reputation for providing best-in-class services to its agency partners," Soder said. "Their team's deep experience, plus an entrepreneurial environment, allows for creativity and the ability to offer our clients unique solutions and additional efficiencies." He is a graduate of Rutgers University. About National Partners Dedicated to providing the highest standards in the premium finance industry, National Partners works with clients of all sizes through its commercial insurance agent and broker relationships. Responsive service, ease of use and creative solutions are its hallmarks. It also offers funding programs to third-party premium finance companies, often those affiliated with agents, brokers and MGAs, so that these smaller premium finance companies can access capital to grow and expand. Story continues National Partners provides a variety of additional services to the premium finance industry, including profit-sharing models, private-label servicing, and premium-finance loan purchase facilities. In addition to its Denver headquarters, it has regional offices in Chicago, New York City, Orange County, California, and Tampa, Florida. More information is available at www.nationalpartners.com or by contacting National Partners at 800-506-8901 or info@nationalpartners.com. About WebBank WebBank is the bank behind today's growing, customer-centric brands. It is a national issuer of online consumer and small business loans through brand partners that include retailers, OEMs, and financial technology companies. In addition, WebBank is a leader in digital lending, driving innovation in financial products through its strategic partner relationships. The Bank is dedicated to providing customized credit products and solutions to both SMBs and consumers as a best-in-class provider of compliance, capital, and oversight management for strategic partner platforms. Organized in 1997, WebBank is an FDIC-insured, Utah-chartered industrial bank headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. WebBank is owned by Steel Partners Holding Corp (SPLP). For more information on WebBank, visit www.webbank.com. Media contact: Henry Stimpson, Stimpson Communications, 508-647-0705, Henry@StimpsonCommunications.com SOURCE: National Partners View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/572627/Premium-Finance-Company-National-Partners-Names-Brian-Soder-Senior-VP A ndrew Lloyd Webbers brand new musical version of Cinderella will have its world premiere in the West End this year. The fairytale is getting a complete reinvention by actor and writer Emerald Fennell and will open at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in September, replacing School of Rock which closes in March. Alongside music by Lloyd Webber, the show will have lyrics by David Zippel, whose credits include City of Angels, The Woman in White and Disney films Mulan and Hercules. It will be directed by Laurence Connor with choreography by JoAnn Hunter, both of whom worked on School of Rock and the recent Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Cinderella is based on an original idea by Fennell, who wrote the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridges Killing Eve and currently plays Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crown on Netflix. Her new film, A Promising Young Woman, which she has written and directed, will be released in the spring starring Carey Mulligan. Lloyd Webber said: I have long wanted to write my own version of Cinderella but could never find a take on the classic story that really grabbed me. Emerald Fennell has written something truly exciting and original, and the moment I read her outline I knew Id found my latest collaborator. School of Rock, which has been running at the theatre since 2016, is set to go on tour in 2021. It will have its final London performance on March 1, at which point the Gillian Lynne Theatre will undergo renovations. SPRINGFIELD Sex education in Illinois middle and high schools would be required to include a discussion on sexting under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives. House Bill 4007, introduced in December by Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, would require sex education curriculum in grades 6-12 to include material on the legal and social risks of sharing sexually explicit images, messages and videos. This is something that a lot of our students are dealing with and are partaking in without really understanding what the consequences could be, West said. Topics would include long-term consequences, bullying, harassment, resisting peer pressure and using the Internet safely. Lessons would also highlight school and community officials who students can reach out to with a problem. Theres no telling what our children are doing on their phones, West said. So instead of trying to intrude into their privacy, lets just make sure theyre educated on even the things that make us adults uncomfortable. The bill defines sexting as sending, sharing, receiving, or forwarding a sexually explicit or sexually suggestive image, video, or text message by a digital or electronic device, including, but not limited to, a mobile or cellular telephone or a computer. Illinois would become only the second state to require teaching about sexting in sex education, according to Jennifer Driver, vice president of policy at the nonprofit Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, which advocates for modern and comprehensive sex education. New Jerseys law, signed in 2018, requires schools to teach the social, emotional, and legal consequences of sexting. The Los Angeles Unified School District, Americas second-largest, added the risks and consequences of sexting to its curriculum in 2015. Driver says including sexting in sex education is a smart response to a growing practice. Young people generally think short term, in the immediate, and so providing the education before it becomes punitive is a very responsible way to address sexting, she said. A 2018 study of 110,000 teenagers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found 15 percent had sent sexts and 27 percent had received them. Twelve percent also admitted to sending a sext of someone else without their consent. Sexting between minors is illegal in 25 states including Illinois, according to a 2018 analysis by the Cyberbullying Research Center. Illinois law forbids minors from sharing sexual images and videos of themselves via any electronic method, such as texting, social media and smartphone apps. The penalty is usually community service or counseling. Illinois is one of 24 states, plus the District of Columbia, that require sex education. School codes require sex education lessons in Illinois to be age-appropriate, evidence-based and medically accurate. Parents have the option to take their children out of class if they object to the material. It is my hope that schools will be understanding of this because this is one thing that we really cant control, West said. Ben Schwarm, deputy executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards, predicts his organization will oppose the bill once it is assigned to a committee. We oppose all new curricular mandates, he said. It has just really grown out of control. Schwarm calls the bill unnecessary because school codes already mandate instruction on related topics such as internet safety and cyberbullying. The General Assemblys 2020 session starts Jan. 28. The first project the mayor pointed to is the installation of automated water meters at all residences and buildings in the city, a project that started late last year and will continue throughout 2020. In addition to no longer having to read their own meters, residents will be able to track their water usage and discover leaks from a running toilet, for example before they are surprised by a big bill. Russias ambassador to Lebanon has spoken about Putins recent trip to Damascus and recent developments in the region writes SANA. The Russian Ambassador in Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, stressed that the situation in Syria is about to be solved, indicating that the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Syria and his meeting with President Bashar al-Assad has great and positive connotations. In a televised statement on Wednesday, Zasypkin pointed out that the visit, which comes in light of the atmosphere of tension in the region, proves to the world that the two countries have adopted a firm, integrated and solid stance. He pointed out that the meeting between the two presidents is very significant with regards to drawing the features of the upcoming stage and to resuming the anti-terrorism operation and comprehensive cooperation, which has significant connotations in the international arena and the region. Zasypkin said that the situation in Syria is developing and heading towards a solution and that is the main track agreed on by all parties. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will turn to controversial Independent TDs Noel Grealish and Michael Lowry in a bid to cling to power for the next four months. The Taoiseach is under pressure from his ministers to put distance between recent controversies, including the Black and Tans debacle, and the forthcoming general election. Mr Varadkar said he would spend the coming days speaking to his own party, Independent ministers and also Independent TDs who have supported the Government in the past, in an attempt to remain in power. Convicted This will include Mr Grealish, who the Taoiseach has criticised for his comments on migrants, and Mr Lowry, who has been convicted of a tax offence. The move means Mr Varadkar has dropped his demand that Fianna Fail supports the Government on crucial votes in return for him agreeing to an election date. Last night, Mr Varadkar met Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and discussed legislation which could be passed if the Dail was to return next week. They have agreed to hold further talks next week. Meanwhile, Fine Gael was given an election boost as it emerged economic growth is expected to soar this year after a no-deal Brexit was avoided. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe expects growth to be 3.9pc this year with an estimated budget surplus of 2.4bn. At the hour-long meeting between the two party leaders, both sides set out their legislative priorities and agreed to consider each other's proposals. The meeting was said to be "cordial" and "amicable", with both sides agreeing there was basis for a further discussions. They also discussed whether Mr Martin could guarantee the support of his entire party on important votes. Meanwhile, Tanaiste Simon Coveney revealed last night there has been a breakthrough in talks to restore a devolved government in the North. The British and Irish governments presented a 50-page document to restore powersharing institutions, three years after the collapse of Stormont. "The document you are receiving today is relatively short but the path to get us here is longer than many people would have thought and it has taken a lot longer than the public would have thought," Mr Coveney said. "The best place to govern Northern Ireland is here, in Northern Ireland," he said, adding the parties would now have to sell it to their supporters. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) By ANI MUMBAI: A 17-year-old girl, who had accused the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nishikant More of sexual harassment, has gone missing since Monday night, claimed family members. According to the family of the girl, she has left behind a suicide note. "My girl went to college on Monday. She said somebody met her there and took her number as well. When she came back from college, she directly went to sleep and had gone missing from the next morning," father of the girl, told ANI on Thursday. He said that his daughter left behind a suicide note, "in which she said that she is tired of the DIG and wants to die." "Police said that she was caught on CCTV camera leaving the house at around 11:30 pm voluntarily. If the police wants, they can find my daughter in no time. But they are not working. they are not even taking action against the DIG because he is a high-level officer," he alleged He also urged the chief minister to take cognizance of the matter. "We don't have any security either. Anyone can hurt us. Our family is very uncertain about our future. We don't know what will happen tomorrow," he added. Facing molestation charges, DIG More was suspended on Thursday. A case was registered against him on December 26 last month under relevant sections. The alleged molestation took place at the birthday party of the minor girl. by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, January 9, 2020 Facebook's new plan for political ads isn't going over much better than its old one. On Thursday morning, the company said it would give users marginally more control by allowing them to limit the political ads that appear in their newsfeeds. But Facebook will continue to allow politicians to lie about their opponents, and will continue to allow campaigns to use targeting tools to serve those ads to highly specific audiences. Outrageous. This is Facebooks idea of change? tweeted Sacha Baron Cohen, who criticized the company last year, in a highly publicized speech delivered at an Anti-Defamation League event. Mark, the demagogues of the world thank you! advertisement advertisement Presidential candidate Joe Biden added: Facebook continues to put their profits over the truth -- allowing politicians like Donald Trump to spend an unthinkable amount of money on paid disinformation. Our democracy is worse off for their failure to confront this. Biden has particular reason to be aggrieved, given that he is a victim of misinformation in a recent Facebook ad put out by President Donald Trump's campaign. That ad falsely implied that when Biden was vice president, he pressured the Ukraine government to fire its chief prosecutor for personal reasons. The Obama administration actually wanted the prosecutor fired for failing to investigate corruption among Ukraine's politicians. Ellen Weintraub, chair of the Federal Election Commission, tweeted that Facebook's plan suggests the company has no idea how seriously it is hurting democracy. She added: I strongly urge Facebook to go back to the drawing boards and come back with something much more robust. This will not do. Weintraub previously urged Facebook to limit politicians' ability to microtarget ads, arguing that the strategy enables campaigns to spread lies to specific audiences, while avoiding the scrutiny that would come from broader distribution. "It is easy to single out susceptible groups and direct political misinformation to them with little accountability, because the public at large never sees the ad," she wrote in November in a Washington Post op-ed. Facebook on Thursday also restated its support for the Honest Ads Act, a proposed bill that would subject large digital platforms to some of the same political ad disclosure requirements as television broadcasters. The bill's sponsored were unimpressed. While Im glad Facebook has reiterated its support for the Honest Ads Act and that it will come into fuller compliance with the ad transparency requirements it establishes, the core problem is an unwillingness to remove demonstrably false content in political advertising, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) tweeted. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) chimed in that Facebook was doubling down on a policy that hurts our democracy. She added: It is wrong to take money from political campaigns in exchange for disseminating blatant lies to the American people. Ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili went live and addressed Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyans statement that Armenia has surpassed Georgia in terms of the indicator of GDP per capita based on the data of 2019. Nikol Pashinyan declared that Armenia has surpassed Georgia in terms of the GDP per capita for the first time ever. This hadnt happened during my administration, Shevardnadzes administration, and it hadnt happened after the reign of Tigran the Great. There is no ground in terms of geography and resources for Armenian citizens to have more incomes than Georgian citizens. However, Ivanishvili implemented this trick in Georgia, Saakashvili said. Saakashvili compared the GDP indicators of his and Shevardnadzes administration and stated that whereas the GDP per capita in Georgia during Shevardnadzes administration comprised $1,000, it quadrupled and reached $4,000 during his administration. China has issued an order that all foreign-made computerequipment and software be removed from government offices andpublic institutions within the next three years. The news of Beijings move came earlier this week in a report from the Nikkei-owned, London-based Financial Times. China has estimated that upwards of 30 million pieces of hardware will need to be replaced, the paper noted. This is just the latest salvo in the ongoing trade war between theUnited States and China, the worlds two largest national economies.It began last year when President Donald J. Trump began to set tariffsand other trade barriers on China. The goal of the White Housespolicy was to address what the president has called unfair tradepractices, which included a growing trade deficit, theft ofintellectual property, and the forced transfer of American tech toChina. This latest round has been dubbed a tech cold war, as China nowhas banned the use of U.S. tech in government facilities, which could be a response to the Trump administrations ban on the use of Chinese-madehardware by U.S. government agencies and government contractors. The White House this summer banned all federal agencies from doingbusiness with Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua over fears that the companies could plant surveillancedevices and gather sensitive information including U.S. tradesecrets and supply that information to the Chinese government. The order from the White House came a year before theCongress-mandated deadline of next August for all federal contractorsto cease business with those Chinese firms. A number of U.S. companies, suchas Google, Intel and Qualcomm, announced they would ceaseworking with Huawei. The Office of Management and Budget this summer releaseda statement on its strong commitment to defending the UnitedStates from foreign adversaries, including with respect to guarding tradesecrets. Legislation aimed directly at Chinese tech companies was included in the defense spending bill passed last year. Chinas ban could impact such U.S. multinational firms as Dell, HP and Microsoft. 21st Century Haijin This ban on U.S. computer products could be viewed as a modern version of theHaijin, or sea ban a series of isolationist Chinesepolices that began in the 14th century under the Ming dynasty, with the goal of putting an end to Japanese maritime piracy. It was applied again under the QingDynasty beginning in the 17th century, limiting maritime tradingand coastal settlement, but that eventually led to smuggling including the illicit opium trade and then to conflicts with GreatBritain and other European powers. While the intent of Haijin largely was to reduce outside influence, China never completely closed itself to the West or to Western goods. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Chinas current ban on foreign products should not be viewed as isolationist in its intent, but rather as a direct result of the trade war. It also could be a way to build up the home team companies in China. Lenovo is one such company that could benefit from the move, as it could be among the firms called upon to replace Western hardware. Other firms likely will be hurt by not being able to offer products to Western markets. Chinas response could very well be seen as a tit-for-tat response, remarked Javvad Malik, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4. The move illustrates just how important and integral to everyoneslife technology has become, to the point that it is used as a politicalbargaining tool, he told TechNewsWorld. Tech Cold War The question now is whether this is just the latest round of salvos inthe ongoing trade war, or whether this ban on Western hardware couldresult in a very serious tech cold war one that might not be resolvedquickly, or even ever. At this point its hard to tell whether it represents a serioustactical decision by Chinas government or is merely a strategic feintaimed at President Trumps bellicose attempts at trade warfare, saidCharles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. The gradual implementation of the plan, with 30 percent of U.S.hardware replaced by the end of next year, could be easily rescindedif the president loses his bid for re-election or leaves office priorto November, he told TechNewsWorld. Government purchasing represents just a tiny portion ofoverall tech spending in China, so this may not have a huge impact forU.S. tech companies. It may not affect some U.S. techcompanies directly or indirectly. Its also unclear since the Chinese havent officially responded toqueries how U.S. tech company products are defined, added King. A D V E R T I S E M E N T That is, does it mean literally any product made by any IT vendorheadquartered in the U.S.? he pondered. Or does it refer to productsmanufactured in the U.S. by those vendors? If the former is the case, then achieving the plans stated goals could bedifficult, since China still has a way to go before it is able todevelop and deliver hardware and software that equals, let alonesurpasses, the quality of U.S. technologies. New Operating System Given the state of Chinas tech industry, moving to domestically sourced hardware exclusively would not be without problems for the country. Computer hardware wouldneed to be replaced, of course, but a bigger issue is that the ban couldrequire replacing Microsoft, Apple and Google software. Chinas software industry trails the United States, and it is unclearif it could develop operating systems and applications comparable to those available from American firms, or provide the related services to support them. While current products may not be a perfect feature-by-feature fit, there definitely are more than enough homegrown offerings and talent available to have a viable alternative product, said KnowBe4s Malik. For U.S. firms, Chinas move might be far less significant. The effect of the ban would be relatively benign if it only impactsU.S.-manufactured solutions, since virtually every major U.S. ITvendor supports global supply chains with manufacturing performed inmultiple facilities outside the U.S., explained King. If thats the case, vendors could easily find ways to continue doingbusiness that wouldnt violate the spirit of the ban, he noted. A Less-Connected World The lasting impact of this 21st century Haijin may be more serious than whetherU.S. tech products are sold and used in China, or whether Chinese hardware is used inthe West. It could trigger a complete disconnect in the digital world. China maynot become completely isolated, but it could become far more difficult to make digital connections with people in China. If this trend continues and more countries take to blockingtechnology, apps or services from certain countries, we could end upwith a highly fragmented or Balkanized Internet, Malik warned, which could undo much of the progress that has been made over the years. [January 10, 2020] Top 10 Teams Vying for Leaders Prize Announced Ten Canadian teams working to stop 'fake news' using artificial intelligence have been selected to compete for $1 million in a first-of-its-kind competition. Communitech, in partnership with the Schulich Foundation and Leaders Fund, as well as the University of Waterloo, has unveiled the top 10 teams vying for the Leaders Prize, which was announced last June. Out of more than 150 team applicants, the teams that will move on to the second phase of the competition are: Jaymody MIE1624Group3 Dbrait Supersonic NimaFit NL Philosophers Traveling Wilburys ImAnLearn Ava ConvolutedLP The Leaders Prize awards $1 million to the Canadian team that can best use artificial intelligence (AI) to solve a global problem that is undermining democracies around the world: 'fake news' and the spread of misinformation. "With the advancement of machine learning and natural language processing techniques, we have an opportunity to fact-check claims faster than ever before," said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech, the innovation hub in Waterloo Region. "The Leaders Prize is a great opportunity to showcase how Canada is leading the way in AI and can potentially solve this global problem in a meaningful way." In Phase 1 of the competition, teams from across Canada submitted solutions that automatically verified a series of claims, flagging whether they were true, partly true or false, in addition to providing evidence to support each of their determinations. In Phase 2, team solutions must now also provide evidence to support the truth rating and text explanation for each claim. The top prize will ultimately be awarded to the most effective and efficient AI-based fact-checking solution that exceeds 75% of the score achieved by a human baseline. "The Leaders Prize aims to solve a major problem with broad applicability, recognize leading AI talent within Canada, and inspire the next generation to pursue a career in technology," said David Stein, Co-Founer and Managing Partner, Leaders Fund. "We are thrilled that over 150 high-performance teams entered this competition, with the top 10 teams moving to the final phase of the competition. We look forward to seeing the solutions these Canadian teams develop to make a meaningful dent in the war against democracy and fraud, fueled by fake news." "With information moving around the world faster and from more sources than ever before, technology that can help people determine what information is accurate is becoming increasingly important," said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Waterloo. "As displayed in the Leaders Prize, Canadian scholars and entrepreneurs continue to make significant contributions toward helping the world stop the spread of fake news." The team that verifies claims most accurately and provides the best supporting evidence will be revealed during the True North Festival on June 3, 2020 in Waterloo Region. More information and updates on the Leaders Prize competition can be found on: Leadersprize.ca / Prixleaders.ca. About Communitech Communitech was founded in 1997 by a group of entrepreneurs committed to making Waterloo Region a global innovation leader. At the time it was crazy talk, but somehow this community managed to pull it off. Today, Communitech is a public-private innovation hub that supports a community of more than 1,400 companies - from startups to scale-ups to large global players. Communitech helps tech companies start, grow and succeed in three distinct ways. Communitech is a place - the centre of gravity for entrepreneurs and innovators. A clubhouse for building cool tech and great companies. Communitech delivers programs - helping companies at all stages with access to capital, customers and talent. We are here to help them grow and innovate. Communitech partners in building a world-leading ecosystem - making sure we have all the ingredients (and the brand) to help companies go from a small startup to a global giant. About Schulich Foundation Founded by leading businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich, The Schulich Foundation is one of Canada's largest foundations. They have donated over $350 million, with a focus on scholarships, education, and health care centers. The Schulich Foundation is investing heavily to create the next generation of technology leaders. About Leaders Fund Leaders Fund is a leading venture capital firm investing in high growth enterprise software companies. Their $100 million, Fund I has made investments in Canada, USA, and Israel. They use their experience successfully building and exiting nine software companies to help entrepreneurs build world class enterprises. About University of Waterloo University of Waterloo is Canada's top innovation university. With more than 40,000 students we are home to the world's largest co-operative education system of its kind. Our unmatched entrepreneurial culture, combined with an intensive focus on research, powers one of the top innovation hubs in the world. Find out more at uwaterloo.ca View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005270/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Amir Khan Cities on an upward trajectory dont need to ask county governments to take over vital services. Yet the South Jersey political machine would have us believe both that Camden is rising as a result of the work of its benevolent overlord, George Norcross and that relinquishing core city functions to outside entities is a good idea. The controversy began in November when Camden Mayor Frank Moran and the Camden City Council approved legislation that would allow the county police to supervise housing code enforcement functions. Supposedly, the city cant handle the task of ensuring safe housing for residents on its own and needs the countys Metro police to step in and manage code inspectors. The citys elected officials rammed through a resolution authorizing this move despite the protests of hundreds of residents at a City Council meeting. We are deeply suspicious that the move is an attempt by Norcross and his allies to hasten the gentrification of New Jerseys poorest city. We are concerned that aggressive enforcement of the building code at the hands of Metro police will lead to ruinously high fines designed to push longtime low-income residents out of their homes to make their way for more desirable development. Weve already seen how Norcross, the unelected South Jersey political boss and insurance broker, and his elected allies in city and county government, view Camdens future. The Economy Opportunity Act of 2013, written ostensibly to boost Camden, instead funneled more than $1 billion of promised state tax incentives to companies connected to Norcross and his political allies. Large sections of it were written by Parker McCay, the law firm of Georges brother, Phil. And the bill was sponsored by his brother Donald, then a state senator. These companies relocated to a new set of gleaming office buildings along the waterfront, employing largely suburban workforces in campuses cut off from the rest of the city by expanses of parking lots and guarded by a pervasive police presence. Very few benefits have gone to longtime Camden residents. While Norcross claims that he has worked tirelessly to help Camden residents under the Camden rising banner, it is becoming more and more clear that South Jerseys political infrastructure treats the city more like a colony with resources ripe for extraction instead of a vibrant community worth investing in. And their plan to transfer code enforcement powers to Metro police is another example of this. The citys fiscal overseers at the state have weighed in against the plan in the strongest terms, saying it could further damage Camdens fiscal health. Code enforcement is meant to be a revenue generator for the city, yet previous iterations of county-run code enforcement cost the city more than $1 million in payments to the far wealthier county. These previous efforts failed to yield the anticipated operational returns and revenues, warned Melanie R. Walter, director of the states Division of Local Government Services, in a November 12 letter to Moran objecting to the program. The Citys already strained operating budget can ill afford to reinstate this costly program without changes reasonably calculated to yield different, more successful, results, she said. At the same time, Norcross policies have created the very fiscal disaster that prevents the city from adequately staffing its own code enforcement office. Thanks to the Economic Opportunity Act, the headquarters of Conner Strong & Buckelew, Norcross insurance firm, as well as the other gleaming new waterfront office towers, are exempt from paying property taxes to the city. Camdens budget situation is supposed to reach a crisis point over the next five years, with a projected deficit reaching a staggering $139 million. This calamity is largely driven by the lucrative abatements Norcross secured for his company and his political allies, according to a state report, which found that more than $150 million worth of real estate is exempt from paying property taxes. Norcross and his allies, under pressure from an ongoing investigation into the tax credit program by an independent team of investigators, is belatedly trying to reverse course. Downtown businesses will soon be paying for increased services through a recently authorized business improvement district. These token payments wouldnt be necessary of Norcross and his business pals paid their fair share and dont equal the real estate payments theyre exempt from. Its time for Camden residents to ensure real accountability in a city government that is hollowed out and in hoc to a rapacious political machine. Amir Khan is founder and president of the Nehemiah Group, a Camden-based economic development firm, and a longtime community advocate. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. South Africa: Manamela to visit Northern Cape institutions As part of the ongoing work of assessment and monitoring of 2020 admissions and registration processes in institutions of higher learning, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Deputy Minister Buti Manamela will today visit the Northern Cape Urban TVET and Sol Plaatje University. In a statement, the department said the visit will see Manamela conduct a blitz focussing on DHET services such National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NFSAS), Career Development Service (CDS) and Central Application Clearing House (CACH). The Blitz will also raise awareness against bogus colleges. The aim of the Blitz is to make prospective students aware of unregistered private institutions, the department said. Moreover, the DHET said, the Blitz will help those students who qualified for NFSAS bursary to check their application statuses. The CACH programme is there to help particularly the prospective students who have applied for admission to a public university or TVET, but have not been offered a place in their programme of choice. The Deputy Minster will have an opportunity to explain how CACH services can be useful, how it operates, and its importance to the applicants, the department said. The Deputy Minister will also make a stop at Sol Plaatje University and Northern Cape Urban TVET to check on the state of readiness of the 2020 admission and registration process, including the NFSAS process. This will also give the Deputy Minister an opportunity to meet and interact with the staff and management of the institutions, the department said. He will also visit the South African Environment Observation Network (SAEON) to meet with management and to experience demonstration of field studies, including two flux towers, primary productivity monitor, weather stations, and phenology project and have discussion of science engagement with management. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. WASHINGTON (Jan. 10, 2020)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities.No applicable data.No applicable data., is awarded a not-to-exceedcost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00006) against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-18-D-0103). This modification increases the ceiling to continue to provide technical analysis, engineering and integration for the Marine Corps V-22 aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (50%); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (50%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022. No funds are being obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded anmodification (P00002) to a firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-18-F-2476) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (SPE4A1-17-G-0008) in support of the Marine Corps Presidential Helicopter Program. This modification procures five CT7-8A6 engines with metal shipping containers, interface harness and associated control hardware. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,093,940 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded afirm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable contract to provide depot level maintenance on one AS-61 helicopter for the government of Egypt. Work will be performed in Peachtree City, Georgia, and is expected to be completed in November 2021. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $7,628,824 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 206.302-4. The, is the contracting activity (N00421-20-C-0004)., is awarded amodification (P00026) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-18-C-1048). This modification exercises an option to procure unique F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System hardware and support equipment for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (25%); Orlando, Florida (20%); Windsor, Connecticut (16%); Rome, Italy (12%); Fort Worth, Texas (11%); Bend, Oregon (6%); Long Island, New York (4%); Pharr, Texas (2%); Riverside, California (2%); and Farnborough, United Kingdom (2%), and is expected to be completed in September 2024. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $50,161,071 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded amodification (P00008) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-19-F-2522) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0012). This modification provides engineering and logistics services and associated equipment and material in support of AH-1Z aircraft production, and AH-1W, UH-1Y and AH-1Z modifications and sustainment. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60%); New River, North Carolina (15%); Camp Pendleton, California (15%); and Patuxent River, Maryland (10%), and is expected to be completed in March 2021. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $ 21,207,365 will be obligated at time of award, $699,399 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded anmodification (P00019) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-18-F-2476) previously placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-14-G-0020. This modification is for the procurement of modification kits required for modification and retrofit activities in support of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps and Navy); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy); and fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps and Navy) funds in the amount of $8,890,964 will be obligated at time of award, $1,021,042 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Air Force ($3,857,905; 43%); Marine Corps ($3,789,990; 43%); and Navy ($1,243,068; 14%). The, is the contracting activity., is awarded afirm-fixed-price task order (N00421-20-F-1198) under the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement V indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity government-wide acquisition contract (NNG15SD82B). This order will procure the integrated digital resource node effort in support of the Naval Air Systems Command and also allow for the expansion of existing model Based Definition capabilities and continued integration of digital data at Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs) by combining the existing team center product lifecycle management instantiations at FRCs into one instantiation while gaining the ability to connect to additional legacy commercial off the shelf and government off the shelf applications to facilitate standardized digital workflows. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (70%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (10%); Jacksonville, Florida (10%); and North Island, California (10%), and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal year 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,978,000 will be obligated at time of award; none of which will expire at the end of fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded afixed-price-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee task order (N00019-20-F-0001) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-17-G-0005). This order provides non-recurring engineering for early identification, development and qualification of corrections to potential and actual operational issues, including safety, reliability and maintainability problems identified through fleet usage, accelerated mission testing, continues engine maturation and evaluates component life limits based on operational experience in support of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Aircraft for the Navy, Air Force; non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (87%) and Indianapolis, Indiana (13%), and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy and Air Force), non-DoD participant and FMS funds in the amount of $19,422,149 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Navy ($20,908,426; 36%); Air Force ($19,887,707; 34%); non-DoD participants ($9,471,149; 16%) and FMS customers ($8,115,000; 14%). The, is the contracting activity., is awarded acost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00421-20-F-0001) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00421-19-G-0001). This order provides engineering and engine system support for the F414 Component Improvement Program. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded ancost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract. This contract provides support to establish the common reprogramming tool development network and selection of a service-oriented architecture needed to commence development of enhanced reprogramming tools, which is essential for all standing labs in support of the F-35 aircraft for the Navy and the government of Australia. Work will be performed at Fort Worth, Texas (97%) and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (3%), and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) and non-Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $6,995,574 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-C-0026)., is awarded amodification (P00016) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-18-C-1021). This modification provides for non-recurring engineering and tooling in support of the lot 14 production and delivery of 32 F135-PW-100 propulsion systems and one F135-PW-600 propulsion system for F-35 Joint Program Office non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (97%); Indianapolis, Indiana (2%); and Bristol, United Kingdom (1%), and is expected to be completed in April 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps, and Navy); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force); and non-DoD participant funds in the amount of $413,030,550 are being obligated at time of award, $13,932,222 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for non-DoD participants ($385,166,106; 93%); Air Force ($13,932,222; 3%); Navy ($6,966,111; 2%); and the Marine Corps ($6,966,111; 2%). The, is the contracting activity., is awarded amodification (P00009) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract (N00019-18-C-1028). This modification procures three low rate initial production lot 4 MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft, ground stations, trade studies, tooling and associated support equipment. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (30.5%); Red Oak, Texas (12%); Palmdale, California (10%); Baltimore, Maryland (9.7%); Salt Lake City, Utah (7.9%); Bridgeport, West Virginia (4.9%); Indianapolis, Indiana (3.8%); Moss Point, Mississippi (3.6%); Chantilly, Virginia (3.5%); Waco, Texas (1.7%); San Clemente, California (1.3%); various locations within the continental U.S. (9.7%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (1.4%), and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $251,552,634 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded amodification (P00011) to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-18-C-0088). This modification provides non-recurring engineering support throughout the engineering and manufacturing development phase as well as through payload integration and transition to production for the Miniature Air Launched Decoy-Navy. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (65%); and Goleta, California (35%), and is expected to be completed in September 2022. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,180,490 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded afirm-fixed-price contract to produce and deliver kits required to modify ALQ-218 avionics in support of EA-18G upgrades for the Navy and government of Australia. Work will be performed at Linthicum, Maryland (90%); and Bethpage, New York (10%), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $35,200,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-C-0007)., is awarded acost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide engineering, cyber security, system software, logistics and training services in support of the MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Air Systems. Work will be performed at San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement; and operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,778,236 will be obligated at time of award, $7,999,858 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-C-0025)., is awarded amodification (P00001) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-19-C-0073). This modification provides for the production and delivery of ten Advanced Capability Mission Computers (ACMC) in support of F/A-18 E/F production for the Navy, 66 ACMCs for the government of Australia and 10 ACMCs for the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in August 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $35,101,590 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded amodification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00174-18-D-0018 to exercise option year two ordering period for Close-In Weapons System waterfront installation support. This modification brings the cumulative value of this contract to $41,381,177. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (41%); San Diego, California (30%); Everett, Washington (6%); Mayport, Florida (6%); Yokosuka, Japan (6%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (5%); Jubail and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (4%); and Rota, Spain (2%), and is expected to be complete by December 2020. No contract funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded a not-to-exceedfirm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-20-F-0029) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This modification provides for the production and delivery of automated backup oxygen system retrofit kits, spares, support equipment and associated special tooling in support of retrofit kit installation for the T-45 aircraft. Work will be performed in San Antonio, Texas, and is expected to be completed in February 2022. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,269,280 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity.No applicable data., is awarded acost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00421-20-F-0004) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00421-19-G-0001). This order provides engineering and engine system support for the T700 Component Improvement Program. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,500,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awarded amodification (P00045) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0037). This modification is to produce installation work instructions and manufacture production hardware kits resulting from changes identified in the changes for post-production implementation CVN79 aircraft carrier list. Additionally, this modification provides installation of production kits and performance of local checkout onboard the aircraft carrier and production "cut-ins" for hardware upgrades for items currently being produced for CVN80 aircraft carrier. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (53%); Tupelo, Mississippi (35%) and Norfolk, Virginia (12%), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,140,766 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Theis the contracting activity., is awarded amodification (P00006) to a firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-18-F-0478) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026). This modification exercises an option to produce and deliver five Multi-Role Tactical Common Data Link (MR-TCDL) A-kits as well as associated A and B-kit spares for the MR-TCDL modification upgrade to the E-6B Mercury aircraft. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (52%,) and Greenville, Texas (48%), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2018 ($7,129,743) and 2020 ($2,175,808) aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,305,551 will be obligated at time of award, $7,129,743 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., was awarded acost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost reimbursable contract. This contract procures recurring logistics services for delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Air Systems in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. Services to be provided include ground maintenance activities, action request resolution, depot activation activities, automatic logistics information system operations and maintenance, reliability, maintainability and health management implementation and support, supply chain management and activities to provide and support pilot and maintainer initial training. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (61%); Orlando, Florida (25%); Greenville, South Carolina (5%); Warton, United Kingdom (6%) and Redondo Beach, California (3%); and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy), non-DOD participant and FMS funds in the amount of $1,014,338,012 will be obligated at time of award, $671,022,784 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchase for the Air Force ($392,321,076; 38%), Marine Corps ($191,048,520; 19%), Navy ($87,653,188; 9%), non-DoD participants ($231,962,860; 23%) and FMS customers ($111,352,368; 11%). This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-C-0006). Awarded Dec. 30, 2019., was awarded a not-to-exceedfixed-price-incentive-firm target, advance acquisition contract. This contract procures long lead materials, parts components and effort for the production of 28 lot 15 F-35 aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps. Work will be performed at Fort Worth, Texas (35%), El Segundo, California (25%), Warton, United Kingdom (20%), Orlando, Florida (10%), Nashua New Hampshire (5%), and Baltimore, Maryland (5%), and is expected to be completed in November 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $172,210,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-C-0009). Awarded Dec. 27, 2019., was awarded acost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00019-20-F-0377) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-19-G-0008). This order provides for the integration of the Next Generation Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System into all variants of the F-35 aircraft in support of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in July 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy), fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force) and non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $98,948,397 will be obligated at time of award, $40,665,812 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Navy ($40,665,812; 41%), Air Force ($40,665,812; 41%) and non-DOD participants ($17,616,773; 18%). The, is the contracting activity. Awarded Dec. 30, 2019., was awarded anmodification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-19-C-0010). This modification procures hardware and software development of select block 4 capabilities through developmental flight test for the F-35 Lightning II in support of the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Additionally, this modification provides requirements decomposition of advanced block 4 capabilities in support of the system functional review. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2022. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy; $2,096,577) and non-DOD participant funds ($77,775,605) for $79,872,182 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity. Awarded Dec. 30, 2019., was awarded amodification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-16-C-0033). This modification provides product process verification on F-35 production operation cards to identify and correct potential process issues and implement and validate corrective actions in support of the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2024. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy; $34,000,000) and fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force; $34,000,000) funds in the amount of $68,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, $34,000,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity. Awarded Dec. 27, 2019., was awarded amodification (P00003) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-19-F-0031) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-17-G-0002). This modification exercises an option for on-site support, engineering and technical analysis of flight test for V-22 aircraft for the Navy, Air Force and the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (50%); Fort Worth, Texas (25%); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (25%), and is expected to be competed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy, Air Force), fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy and Air Force), and foreign military sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $11,592,990 were obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($8,282,783; 71%), the Air Force ($1,673,351; 15%) and the government of Japan ($1,636,856; 14%). The, is the contracting activity. Awarded Dec. 27, 2019. New Delhi, Jan 10 : Congress leader and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that the party was arranging free tickets of Deepika Padukone's movie "Chhapaak" for students to show solidarity with the actress so that no one can be boycotted. Responding to a question from IANS, that the release of "Chhapaak" and Ajay Devgn starter "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior" has become a competition between the Congress and the BJP to provide free tickets, Tharoor said: "We are showing solidarity with Deepika Padukone as number of people have called to boycott her movie." "Our idea is that no one should be boycotted in the country, thus to show solidarity our party leaders are arranging tickets of the movie for the students," the former Union Minister said. A number of BJP leaders have called for a boycott of "Chhapaak" after the actress visited Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Tuesday to show solidarity with the injured students. During her visit to the JNU campus, Padukone did not utter a single word and stood behind the JNU students union president Aishe Ghose, while former students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar was addressing the students. In Delhi, Congress leader Alka Lamba and Shivani Chopra, daughter of Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra, had arranged a special screening of "Chhapaak" for students at Delite cinema. On Thursday, Congress ruled governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh declared the movie to be tax free. Congress ruled union territory Puducherry also declared the movie tax free on Friday. Earlier in the day, Congress' students wing National Students Union of India provided free tickets to students while the BJP leaders distributed free tickets of "Tanhaji" in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Shocking video shows the moment a six-year-old girl was hit by a car - before the driver allegedly stuck her middle finger up at the child's mother, swore at her and drove off. The distressing CCTV footage - which has been edited so as not to show the moment of impact - shows Sumaiya Ahmed being knocked down in Chadderton, Greater Manchester, on Tuesday. Her family said the motorist, believed to be female, opened her window and told the youngster's mother, Jukia, to 'f**k off', before fleeing the scene. Sumaiya suffered a fractured skull, although it is not believed there will be any long-term damage. The car can be seen swerving slightly before it hits Sumaiya Ahmed, six, in Chadderton, Greater Manchester, on Tuesday. According to Sumaiya's mother, Jukia, the 'female' driver told her to 'f**k off' before fleeing the scene In the video, a car can be seen swerving slightly before it hits the youngster on Eustace Street. The dark grey vehicle - believed to be a Toyota - then reverses, mounts the pavement, turns right and drives away from Eustace Street as passers-by rush to help the child. Sumaiya was making her way home from school with her mother and siblings when she was hit at around 3pm on Tuesday. The dark grey vehicle - believed to be a Toyota - then reverses, mounts the pavement, turns right and drives away from Eustace Street as passers-by rush to help the child. Sumaiya suffered a fractured skull but is expected to make a full recovery Greater Manchester Police were unable to confirm whether the driver later stopped - or whether the incident is being treated as a hit-and-run. Jukia said she put up her hand as she crossed the road and expected the car to slow down. Sumaiya's auntie, Sultana Khatun, said: 'She didn't make it in time to slow down and she hit the child. 'She then reversed and then drove off. She opened the window, told the mum to 'f***k off', stuck her middle finger up at her and then drove off. 'The girl has got a fracture in her skull on her forehead. She is still in hospital. They have said she has no permanent injuries. She is talking and she is well. It could have been fatal. 'Her mum isn't good, she isn't in a good way at all.' A spokeswoman for GMP said: 'Police were called at around 3.30pm on Tuesday, January 7, to reports of a collision on Eustace Street, Chadderton, involving a pedestrian. 'A six-year-old child was taken to hospital. Enquiries are ongoing.' BISMARCK, N.D. - A North Dakota man who allegedly told a neighbour he had a bomb and indicated he would harm anyone who tried to enter his condominium died after he was shot by tactical officers in an exchange of gunfire, police said. Authorities identified the man on Friday as Cody Carnes, 30, of Bismarck. Officers responded to the residence in Bismarck after getting a call from a neighbour about 10 p.m. Thursday. The neighbour reported noisy sawing and hammering coming from Carnes residence and said that Carnes stated that he had a bomb. Two other calls were made earlier in the evening, including one from a caller who said Carnes stated he had weapons and would use them if anyone tried to enter his home. Another call came from a delivery employee who said Carnes displayed a handgun and said he had several more firearms. West Dakota SWAT officers tried to get the man to surrender but he refused. Officers evacuated several neighbours. Carnes told officers that he had numerous rounds of ammunition and had barricaded the door, police said. Authorities say they obtained an arrest warrant for terrorizing because of those statements. Officers later heard a gunshot and about 10 minutes later saw Carnes in a second-floor window, where he began shooting. SWAT officers returned fire and when they were able to enter the residence safely found the man dead. No officers were injured. Police had received a couple of calls from the residence in the last few weeks that were non-criminal in nature, Lt. Luke Gardiner said, as well as a call in 2016. More than 20 officers from the SWAT team and Bismarck police responded to the scene, Gardiner said. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Gardiner referred all other questions, including how investigators knew the man was shot by police and didnt kill himself, to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is handling the case. Liz Brocker, spokeswoman for the North Dakota Attorney Generals Office and BCI, said her office does not comment or answer questions on ongoing investigations. Records relating to the case are exempt and will not be immediately provided, she said. A mother who will go blind if there isn't enough male blood available to treat her eye condition is urging more men to donate. Jo Daniels, a psychologist from Bristol, depends on a special eye serum made of donated male blood to treat Sjogren's syndrome. Without the vital medication, the 39-year-old fears she won't be able to see her young daughter grow up. The auto-immune condition causes her eyes to dry up and leaves her with painful ulcers, which can lead to corneal damage. The serum can only be made with male blood because it is richer in plasma and platelets than female blood. Jo Daniels, 39, a psychologist from Bristol, will go blind if there isn't enough male blood available to treat her eye condition. The mother-of-one is urging more men to donate The number of men giving blood has plummeted in recent years, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). It has dropped by 24.8 per cent over the past five years in England, compared to a six per cent decline in women. Mrs Daniels became reliant on the serum when her sight began to deteriorate at an alarming rate, BBC News reports. Her eyes were itchy for a while, before they became painful and here vision suddenly went blurry. Over the course of four weeks, she went from seeing normally to being 'completely in the dark'. She said: 'To make matters worse, it came on over the Christmas period, so I couldn't get help very quickly. 'I was worried I would lose my career and not be able to see my young daughter grow up.' Sjogren's syndrome affects parts of the body that produce fluids, such as tears and spit, making the mouth, eyes and skin very dry. WHO CAN GIVE BLOOD IN THE UK? Most people can give blood. Donors have to be: Fit and healthy Weigh between 50kg (7st 12lbs) and 160kg (25st) Aged 17-to-66 Donors can be 70 if they have given blood before, or older if they have donated in the past two years. Men can donate every 12 weeks and women every 16 weeks. Males can give more frequently due to them generally weighing more, which correlates to them having more iron. Giving blood removes iron from the body. This is an essential mineral that helps to give a person strength and energy. A person may be unable to give blood if they: Are undergoing medical or hospital treatment Take certain medication Have traveled to 'restricted areas' recently Have a tattoo or piercing Are pregnant or recently gave birth Feel ill Have cancer Are receiving blood or an organ transplant Source: NHS Blood and Transplant Advertisement It causes symptoms such as burning eyes, a chalky feeling in the mouth and teeth cavities. Sjogrens is one of the most prevalent auto-immune disorders, striking as many as four million Americans, charities say. It affects approximately 0.6 per cent of adults in the UK. Nine in ten patients are women with a mean age of 50 years. There are numerous treatments for the condition, including eye drops which are like artificial tears to help keep the eyes lubricated. But standard treatments failed to help Mrs Daniels. Her eyes began to ulcer, causing damage to her vision, a rare and complication of the syndrome. Ms Daniels became resigned to the fact she may never be able to see again. A last ditch attempt using serum made from the plasma of male blood donors gave her hope. Her vision has returned somewhat after using them. She said: 'I can only see now because men donate blood that is used to extract serum that people like me put in their eyes hourly. 'If enough men do not donate, then this treatment will no longer be available to me and I will begin to lose my sight again.' Men are valuable donors for two reasons. Firstly, it is easier for men to give blood than women because they have higher iron levels, due to their additional body weight. Men can give blood every 12 weeks, whereas women have to wait 16 weeks to protect their iron levels. Secondly, men's blood is less likely to carry immune cells than women who have gone through pregnancy, meaning it is easier to match with recipients. Their platelet count is typically higher meaning their blood can be used for products needing plasma and platelets, often used to treat people with burns, cancer, those in accidents or people with dry eye conditions. But men are considerably less likely to donate blood than women, particularly those in the age group 17-34, figures show. Around 172,600 blood donors were women aged 17-34-year olds in the year to October 2019 compared with 105,900 men the same age. Mike Stredder, head of donor recruitment at NHSBT, said more than 68,000 extra men need to start donating blood this year. He added: 'Men's blood can be used in extraordinary, lifesaving ways but we don't have enough new male donors coming forward. 'This is not about recruiting as many donors as possible - it is about getting the right gender mix.' CLEVELAND, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Resilience Capital Partners announced that its portfolio company, Trialon Corporation ("Trialon"), is acquiring the Customer Technology Center Michigan of Delphi Technologies ("Trialon-Auburn Hills"), which will expand its testing business and continue establishing Trialon as one of the pre-eminent regional independent providers of testing and validation services to the automotive and other manufacturing industries. Located in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Trialon-Auburn Hills is a state-of-the-art testing facility in a strategic location in Greater Detroit that includes over 130,000 square feet of combined lab and office space. With the acquisition, Trialon adds a wide variety of additional testing capabilities including vehicle emissions, engine and chassis dynamometers, vehicle test lab, acoustics, materials and design and fabrication. Trialon-Auburn Hills also includes complementary testing capabilities to Trialon's Burton, Michigan and Kokomo, Indiana facilities' current capabilities of environmental, corrosion, vibration and EMC testing. "Since our acquisition of Trialon in 2016, we have been heavily investing in broadening Trialon's testing capabilities. With this acquisition, Trialon is able to further broaden its service offering to existing and new clients and continue positioning itself as a value-added partner to its customers," said Bassem Mansour, co-CEO of Resilience Capital Partners. Jerry Johnson, CEO of Trialon Corporation, added, "Delphi Technologies and Trialon have had a successful long-term partnership and Delphi knew Trialon would be the right company to acquire and grow the Trialon-Auburn Hills laboratory. This acquisition further strengthens Trialon's competitive position in the marketplace and opens a strong strategic footprint in Greater Detroit." By adding the Trialon-Auburn Hills facility to Trialon's testing footprint, Trialon will continue to solidify its strategic position with both industry leading capabilities and geographic locations to meet the demands of its current and future customers. Trialon-Auburn Hills, along with Trialon's existing Burton, Michigan and Kokomo, Indiana capabilities, provide customers with full validation testing resources complemented by Trialon's reputation as a superior customer service partner. This is the second transaction announced by Resilience Capital Partners in the last three weeks. On December 23rd, Resilience portfolio company Porter's Group announced its merger with Maysteel Industries, LLC, a portfolio company of Littlejohn Capital, LLC. About Resilience Capital Partners Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Resilience invests in niche-oriented manufacturing, value added distribution and business service companies with sustainable market positions and a clear path to cash flow improvement. Resilience targets platform businesses with $25 million to $250 million in revenues across a broad range of industries where it can contribute to a company's operations, competitive positioning and profitability. Resilience manages in excess of $550 million for its global investor base which includes pension funds, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, fund of funds and family offices. For more information, please visit www.resiliencecapital.com. About Trialon Corporation Trialon is a provider of test engineering services to the automotive and other manufacturing industries. The company is based in Burton, Michigan, with other locations in Michigan and Indiana. Testing services include environmental, corrosion, vibration, and electromagnetic and radiation. For more information on Trialon, please visit www.trialon.com. About Delphi Technologies Delphi Technologies is a global provider of propulsion technologies that make vehicles drive cleaner, better and further. It offers pioneering solutions for internal combustion engine, hybrid and electric passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Delphi Technologies builds on its Original Equipment expertise to provide leading service solutions for the aftermarket. Headquartered in London (UK), the company operates technical centers, manufacturing sites, customer support service centers in 24 countries and employs more than 21,000 people around the world. Visit www.delphi.com to learn more. Contact: Bassem Mansour, Co-CEO William Tobin, Principal Resilience Capital Partners 216.292.0200 SOURCE Resilience Capital Partners Related Links http://www.resiliencecapital.com The Cumberland County coroners office has identified two men killed in a helicopter crash in Silver Spring Township on Thursday night. The pilot is identified as 58-year-old Mark D. Croce, 58, of Orchard Park, N.Y. The passenger of the aircraft is identified as 63-year-old Michael Capriotto, 63, also of Orchard Park. The helicopter was en route to Buffalo from Washington, DC, when the crash happened, according to a news release. The crash remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. The aircraft came down at around 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the yard of a home along Surrey Lane. No significant damage was reported to homes, but debris from the crash scattered to several yards. Read more: Two confirmed dead in helicopter crash in Silver Spring Township Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. A massive new mural can be seen in San Francisco's Mission District. Alto al Fuego en La Mison (Ceasefire in the Mission) honors Amilcar Lopez Perez, a Guatemalan immigrant teenager fatally shot by law enforcement officers in plainclothes on February 26, 2015, according to an article by Remzcla. The mural, by far the largest public art piece to be painted along the city's Latino Cultural Corridor in a decade, stands two stories tall on the southern side of Calle 24's headquarters at 3250 24th St. to remind passersby of the intensifying police violence against Black and Latino communities. It is a joint project between the Justice4Amilcar Coalition and Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth (HOMEY). Lopez Perez is painted wearing a San Francisco Giants hat with hands raised as several guns pointed at him. To pay tribute to the late teen's bicultural identity, he stands amid a Guatemalan landscape and the San Francisco cityscape. The mural also includes a painting of him and his family. To further signify protest against state violence, the piece also highlights other Black and Latino victims portrayed by votive candles in an altar-like section. These victims' lives were claimed by police officers and Border Patrol agents, while some died under the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "We really wanted to connect different kinds of law enforcement violence ... at the border specifically, and the treatment of immigrants as a community," Dyana Delfin-Polk, associate director of HOMEY, said in an interview. The victims include Mario Woods and Alex Nieto, both shot by police officers; Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez, shot by a Border Patrol agent; Roxana Hernandez, a trans woman from Honduras who died in ICE custody; and Oscar and Valeria Martinez Hernandez, who died while journeying to the U.S.. While the vibrant mural has been acclaimed by the community, Anna Lisa Escobedo, one of the lead painters for the mural, said that many have raised their concerns about several victims who were not included in the project, an indication of the grim reality of police brutality. "That was the hardest part," said Escobedo. "From the community, a lot of people were saying, 'We are missing this person, this person, this person.' We could do five more murals and focus on people who had the same circumstances, and that is sad." In the investigation conducted by the San Francisco Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau, they claimed that Officer Eric Reboli and Sgt. Craig Tiffe acted within policy when they shot the Guatemalan immigrant more than four years ago for wielding a knife in an attempt to steal a bike from in the Mission District. "The officers, as they are only allowed to fire in defense of themselves or others, felt that one of those situations was in play," Suhr said the day after the shooting. Furthermore, police officials claimed that both officers wore their badges on the outside of their clothing. The district attorney's office in 2017 declined to file charges, citing insufficient evidence that the officers broke any laws in the killing. On the other hand, defense attorney Arnoldo Casillas said Perez-Lopez was not a robber and was in fact running away from plainclothes officers who failed to identify themselves when he was shot in the back. "Chief Suhr has been repeating the version of what the officers told him despite its falsity," Casillas said. "The official version is a lie." The police explanation runs counter to what three eyewitnesses, including the alleged victim of the bicycle theft, told private investigators hired by the family. According to him, they were only arguing about the sell of the bike which prompted Lopez Perez to draw a knife and caused witnesses to call 911. In 2018, the city agreed to pay Perez-Lopez's family $275,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 10:39:06|Editor: yhy Video Player Close CANBERRA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Firefighters are continuing to battle out of control bushfires on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia (SA). Authorities on Thursday issued two emergency warnings for Kangaroo Island (KI) after fires that have been burning since December were exacerbated by catastrophic conditions. Rain on Friday morning delivered much-needed relief for firefighters after a night that Country Fire Service (CFS) Incident Controller Ian Tanner described as "brutal." "Essentially everybody that's here working on this fire, not only have they had a big day yesterday and done their best, but they've had disrupted sleep last night," he told reporters on Friday. Two people, a father and son, have died and more than a third of the island has burned in fires since December. Addressing the bushfire crisis that has devastated much of the island, Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly on Thursday called for forestry to be "forbidden" on the island going forward, describing the practice as "a categorical disaster." "These blue gum plantations and pine plantations have made it almost impossible to control fires when they come out of parks, because they just act like giant wicks that drag it through and then we can't get on top of them," he told News Corp Australia. "I want to see forestry written off the agenda on Kangaroo Island." More than 800 properties on the island were without electricity on Friday morning as the result of a fire-related outage. Grave fears are still held for the island's diverse wildlife. Approximately 25,000 koalas, half the island's population, are feared dead. Despite being told to evacuate Sam Mitchell, the owner of the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, and his family remained behind on Thursday to protect the property and its 700 animals, including koalas injured in other blazes. Fears are also held for hives of the island's Ligurian bees, which produce honey that is exported around the world. Island Beehive, the island's biggest honey producer, has lost almost half of its hives to the fires. "We are trying to rescue everything we can to preserve what stocks (of Ligurian bees) we have got left so we can try to rebuild," head apiarist Mark Harte said. "We have been looking after these bees for many years and it is just heartbreaking." The air quality in Adelaide, the capital of SA, on Friday morning was the 11th worst of any city in the world after smoke drifted from Kangaroo Island to the mainland. Smoke blanketing much of the state prompted SA Health to warn that it "could pose a serious threat to health, particularly for vulnerable people with lung or heart conditions." "People should keep windows and doors shut and ventilate the house once the smoke clears," Nicola Spurrier, the state's chief public health officer, said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 9) Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday said that the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos from Iran and Lebanon has been called off. Bello said the alert level status in Lebanon was reduced to a level 2 while theres no more alert level raised in Iran. He did not elaborate on why the alert levels were reduced but the announcement was made amid what appears to be a deescalation of tensions between the United States and Iran. "Initially, the level of alert for Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon are the same[Alert Level] 4. Although it was unofficial, I was informed yesterday that the alert level in Lebanon was put down to level 2 and I understand that there's no more alert level in Iran," he said in a statement. Meanwhile, the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos in Iraq will still take place. READ: 1,600 Filipinos eyeing to fly home from Iraq amid tensions Cimatu Bello said that the government will still continue to send rapid response teams even if the mandatory repatriation has been called off in Iran and Lebanon He added that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration will still not process any application for deployment of workers to Iran and Lebanon. "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world," CNN quoted U.S. President Donald Trump as saying on Wednesday morning. The night before, incoming messages from Iran sent through back-channels appeared to have offered Trump a new opportunity to deescalate, the report said. READ: Trump says 'Iran appears to be standing down' following its retaliatory attacks against Iraqi bases housing US troops Fuelled by another record close on Wall Street, strong retail sales report for November and easing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, Australian shares powered to fresh record highs on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rallied 54.8 points, or 0.8 per cent, to close at 6929, surpassing the previous intraday record high of 6893.7 set in November last year shortly after the market opened. Buying was widespread with 138 of the 200 companies within the index gaining for the session. For the week, the benchmark jumped 2.9 per cent, the largest increase since early February 2018. Year to date, the market has already gained 3.7 per cent, adding to the 18.4 per cent advance seen in 2019. Share markets pushed sharply higher as the US and Iran appeared to step back from escalating their conflict, said Shane Oliver, AMP Capitals head of investment strategy and chief economist. This saw US shares push to a new record high and the positive global lead saw the same in Australia with the local market breaking more decisively above its pre-GFC high. The gains on Friday were led by the healthcare sector which jumped by a further 2.1 per cent, hitting fresh record highs in the process. Much of the gain reflected strength in CSL shares which also closed at a record high, lifting by a further 2.8 per cent to $299.30. From the lows hit earlier in the week, the biotherapeutics giant soared 9.3 per cent, taking its market capitalisation to an eye-watering $132.3 billion. That helped the broader healthcare sector gain 6.5 per cent for the week. Outside of healthcare, information technology and communications also gained more than 1 per cent, the latter helped by an 8.1 per cent spike in Vocus Group to $3.20 on news its CEO had purchased close to $600,000 worth of the companys shares on Thursday. Consumer stocks were also in high demand, supported by a 0.9 per cent increase in Australian retail sales in November, the largest gain in two years. Retail sales came in much stronger than expected on what looks to be a combination of 'Black Friday' sales and some delayed effect from policy stimulus measures, Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said. Consumer staples jumped 1.6 per cent, led by Bega Cheese which gained 4.5 per cent to $4.41 after it said disruptions to its operations from bushfire activity were minimal. Consumer discretionary added a smaller 1.1 per cent with Harvey Norman the standout performer with an increase of 4 per cent to $4.42. Financials also had a strong session, lifting 0.9 per cent on the back of gains in each of the big four banks, the largest being the Commonwealth Bank which rose 1.2 per cent to $82.50. Macquarie Bank also closed at a record high, climbing 0.9 per cent to $140.35. Materials managed to buck the broader trend, finishing down 0.4 per cent on the back of weakness in the iron ore miners following a large fall in spot prices overnight. BHP slipped 0.3 per cent to $39.90 while Fortescue skidded 1.1 per cent to $10.70. Rio Tinto clawed back earlier losses to close up 0.2 per cent at $102.43. The worst performing stock on the benchmark index was gold producer Resolute Mining which tumbled 9.1 per cent to $1.105 on the back of continued weakness in bullion prices. Evolution Mining was also pressured by the weaker gold price and a production update that disappointed investors. It slid 6 per cent to $3.58. Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: HealthCare Royalty Partners, a global healthcare investment firm with $5.5 billion of cumulative capital commitments, announced the closing on $1.83 billion for HealthCare Royalty Partners IV (Fund IV) and affiliated entities. Since 2003, HCR's senior professionals have invested over $3.0 billion in commercial or near-commercial stage biopharmaceutical products through the purchase of royalties, revenue interests, and credit instruments. Fund IV, like HCR's predecessor funds, will seek to continue to provide investors with returns that are non-correlated to the broader equity or credit markets. HCR said that many of its existing investors came back into Fund IV. It also welcomed new investors representing several of the world's leading pensions, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, foundations and family offices. "The strong support from investors in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Australia, Middle East, and Africa, demonstrates the growing acceptance of pharmaceutical royalties as a supplement to traditional fixed income/credit / absolute return portfolios," it said. "Increasing investor demand for non-correlated, yielding assets aligns well with HCR's strategy, as evidenced by the capital committed to Fund IV. HCR's regional sourcing strategy and deep bench of in-house scientists have generated strong results for HCR's predecessor fund, which we believe will continue for Fund IV," said Clarke B. Futch, Managing Partner an...................... To view our full article Click here The road to war in the Middle East has always been paved by lies, misunderstandings and squandered opportunities by leaders on all sides. But above all, it has been scarred by the senseless deaths of innocent people. The latest symbol of that, of course, is the horrific crash of the Ukrainian passenger plane in Iran killing so many Canadians. There has been more than four decades of bitterness between the political leadership of the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. But for a moment this week, there seemed to be a pause in their military confrontation. The world breathed a sigh of relief that the war that seemed inevitable might actually not happen, at least for now. Would this then mean that the death of more innocent people would also not happen, at least for now? Tragically, the answer to this question now seems to be no. Although it may take months for a final determination, American and Ukrainian security officials, and later Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Thursday that the crash this week in Tehran of a Ukrainian jetliner killing all 176 passengers on board, many of them Canadians was likely due to an accidental attack by Iranian air defences. These defences were on alert in Tehran in the event that U.S. military planes retaliated against Iranian missile strikes that had just occurred on American bases in Iraq. The photos of the Canadian crash victims in the worlds media were heartbreaking. They brought sadness to many cities and towns across Canada. It was also probably impressive to many Canadians that the Iranian-Canadian community is so large, educated and young in this country and, with such obvious exuberance, so proudly Canadian. But to the wider world, it was a reminder of something else. In spite of an apparent lull in the crisis, the deepening conflict still has the potential to cause even more human tragedy in the days ahead. If it is ultimately proven this tragedy was a horrible consequence of the fog of war, its memory will join a long list of other epic events that are burned onto the pages of Irans modern history. To an astonishing extent, the story of the past four decades of Iranian-U.S. relations is one of selective memory and missed opportunity by each side. An example of selective memory occurred this week in a sharp exchange between the countrys two presidents, Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani. Trump warned Iran that the U.S. had identified 52 Iranian sites, some important to Iran and Iranian culture and they would be hit very fast and hard if Tehran carried out revenge attacks on them. Ignoring the fact that such an attack would constitute a war crime under international law, Trump chose the number 52 for the 52 American citizens held hostage by Iran in 1979. Irans president replied that 290 is actually the proper number to stress, referring to the Iranian passenger plane shot down accidentally by the U.S. military in 1988, killing all 290 civilians on board. The American hostage drama of 1979 is probably the only historic Iranian event that most Americans remember, but it is rarely mentioned now in Iran. In contrast, the U.S. downing in 1988 of an Iranian passenger jet unknown to most Americans is etched deeply in Iranian history. This is a tale of two histories that rarely intersect. In American circles, the rule of the Shah of Iran who was in power before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is often revered as a golden time for Iran. But by any measurement, his U.S.-backed government was corrupt and loathed by most Iranians. But even when the Islamic Revolution erupted, there was no certainty it would turn anti-American. The U.S. government itself helped make that happen. And then theres the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. It was a seminal event for many Iranian leaders, including the military leader Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the U.S. It was a war started by Iraqs Saddam Hussein, and supported by the United States and most western countries, even though Saddam used chemical weapons against Iran. It ended in a ceasefire in 1988 but it cost more than a million Iranian lives. More than any event, it helped define Irans future foreign policy. No longer would Irans mullahs rely on any other major country for support. If we lose Syria, Soleimani once said. We lose Tehran. Although there were awful acts of violence on both sides during these four decades and Soleimani in particular was responsible for many deaths and acts of terror there were also missed opportunities. In 2003, as respected Iranian-American scholar Trita Parsi once reported, Iranian officials secretly offered the Bush Administration a grand bargain that would have limited Irans aggressive actions in the region and lead to the recognition of Israel as long as the U.S. abandoned any notion of regime change. The offer was rejected as not serious. And then, of course, after years of negotiation, there was the historic nuclear deal of 2016 between Iran and the worlds leading powers. It provided stability for more than a decade and was being adhered to by Iran until Donald Trump blew it up. If there was a pause this week between the U.S. and Iran, most analysts believe that it is only short-lived. Trumps maximum pressure strategy against Iran is incoherent and ineffective. With the demise of the nuclear agreement, Iran is now virtually being invited to move toward a nuclear weapon. And its leadership, notoriously paranoid and insecure, sees its very survival at stake. This is a dangerous mix. Perhaps the only realistic way out is some sort of holding pattern until a post-Trump era likely within a year that could revive the earlier efforts at Middle East accommodation. And as for Canada, it will have no influence in this chapter of the Middle Easts history until it resumes diplomatic relations with Iran. In 2012, then-prime minister Stephen Harper effectively outsourced Canadas Mideast policy to Israel and did its bidding by cutting off relations with Iran. Prime Minister Trudeau in 2015 indicated that this would be changed, but nothing has happened. Surely, as the history of this region turns dark again, the events of this past week including the horrible death of so many Canadians in Tehran will finally trigger action. Tony Burman , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman Read more about: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday said it is not rolling out the red carpet for its Chinese counterpart's visit to Manila next week. A Chinese Coast Guard vessel, led by Commandant Major General Wang Zhongcai, will make a port call in Manila on January 13, followed by search and rescue exercises and high-level meetings until January 17, according to the PCG. Admiral Joel Garcia, PCG Commandant, said it will be the third of a series of meetings on maritime cooperation between the two coast guards. The first two were held in 2017 and 2018 in Subic and in Beijing, Garcia said, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2016. "Hindi po red carpet ang treatement natin sa Chinese Coast Guard. Ito po sa diplomatic lingo ito po ang tinatawag na diplomatic reciprocity. Tayo rin po, nung inimbita tayo sa China ay binigyan din po nila tayo ng karapatdapat na kurtesiya," Garcia said in a media briefing. [Translation: We're not giving a red carpet treatment to the Chinese Coast Guard. This, in diplomatic lingo, is called diplomatic reciprocity. We were also given proper courtesy when we were invited in China.] Garcia said it's also a venue to raise important issues with China, particularly ensuring the safety of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea a portion of the South China Sea that is being claimed and occupied by Manila and contested by Beijing. He said the topics that will be raised next week were all pre-approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs, but he assured that the concerns of local fishermen will be discussed. Garcia said the goal is to establish a protocol to prevent untoward maritime incidents like the Chinese vessel ramming and sinking Filipino boat Gem-Ver near Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea in June last year. The Philippines has protested the "callous abandonment" of the 22 Filipino fishermen, who were left to float in the open sea for hours before they were rescued by a Vietnamese vessel. President Rodrigo Duterte called for sanctions against the Chinese crew during his bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in August 2019. The Duterte government has been criticized for its soft stance in the South China Sea dispute as it nurtures friendship with Beijing. China rejects the Philippines' arbitration win to some areas in the West Philippine Sea where Beijing has built and developed artificial islands, blocked Filipino fishermen from fishing, and interfered in oil exploration activities. On Thursday, dissent against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) deepened within academia as the students and faculty of the Azim Premji University joined the growing opposition to the law. A protest was held at the undergraduate campus of the Azim Premji University, School of Arts and Sciences, near Sarjapur from 12 noon to 5 pm. The organisers said about a hundred persons, comprising students and faculty took part in the event. Elizabeth Thomas, a senior student, said she joined the protest because she regarded the CAA as divisive. I thought it was important to protest because we are at a stage when our national and individual identities as Indians will be determined by these legislations, 23-year-old Elizabeth said. The protest was organised and conducted entirely by students of the university, and the administration had no ties with it, a statement from the organisers read. IIMB joins in Meanwhile, 268 faculty and students of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore signed a statement of solidarity condemning the January 5 attack on students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. The systematic way in which the universities have been targeted to silence ideological dissent is not acceptable under any terms. The attack on JNU faculty and students is an anathema to these principles and violence is an attack on the foundation of India. We condemn it in the strongest possible sense and stand in solidarity with JNU, the statement read. It added that the signatories had endorsed the statement in their personal capacity. In a protest that occurred in New York City in November 2019, a black Chilean Dog wearing a red bandana made another historic appearance. The November 2019 Rally in New York was inspired by the videos containing police violence towards the youths of color in its subways. In one of the videos, a police officer was recorded to have pushed a Black and unarmed youngster. Multiple stickers were placed on the walls of the subway and trains. Multiple social media platforms contained the announcement that the iconic Chilean dog will be going to New York. The name of the dog is Negro Matapacos. It became famous for joining protests in Chile for their fight for change in their country's system for education. The iconic dog-faced police officers in support of Chilean students. The iconic black dog from Chile had made headlines when it protected the students who were protesting. They were protected by Negro Matapacos from the violence of the Chilean police force of Santiago, Chile in the year 2011. The iconic dog had been known to walk through the different campuses of a university in a neighborhood in Campos. It was friends with a good number of stray dogs in the area. It also befriended a majority of the students. It had lived in the streets of Santiago for the majority of his life. In 2009, Maria Campos, a resident in the area where the university is situated, had accepted Negros Matapacos in her home. She took care of it. Since then, the dog lived with her. She respected the independent character of the dog. At night, it slept in her house. In the day, she allowed it to roam in the streets of Santiago. In 2011, students had arranged a protest to demand the Chilean government to offer free and good quality education for its Chilean students. Police forces used violent tools such as water cannons and tear gas to suppress them. According to Campos, Matapacos would wait every morning for her to let it out of the house. After praying for the dog and other gestures commonly given by an owner to its pets, Matapacos would run towards the direction of the protests. Negro Matapacos translated to English is Black Cop Killer. It is common in Latin America to use the color of a dog in naming it. The meaning of Matapacos in the region refers to the violence of the police force of Chile. The Black Chilean dog never ended anyone's life. Instead, it barked and lounged when police officers attacked and endangered the lives of the students. Matapacos passed away in 2017. It died from natural causes while in the hands of caregivers. Despite his death, his legacy lives on by being used as a symbol for many protests in Chile and now, in New York. The protest in New York was for the case of fare evasion in the subway. The protest includes artwork of the iconic Chilean dog jumping over the word evade. Pompeo, Mnuchin detail new sanctions on top Iranian officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin detailed new sanctions on Iran at the White House Friday -- the response President Donald Trump chose after backing away from further military strikes after Iran fired missiles at U.S. forces in retaliation to his order to kill Iran's top commander, Qassem Soleimani. The new sanctions will hit Iran's steel and iron industries that generate billions each year, according to the Treasury Department, as well as eight Iranian security officials. Trump also signed a new executive order that authorizes further sanctions against any sector of Iran's economy, including construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining, Mnuchin said, threatening to essentially shut down all of Iran's major industries and, importantly, to target foreign companies and banks that do business with any of these Iranian sectors. "This order will have a major impact on the Iranian economy ... These punishing economic sanctions will remain until the Iranian regime changes its behavior," Trump said in a statement released by the White House. JUST IN: Treasury Sec. Mnuchin announces additional sanctions against Iran. "The president has been very clear: we will continue to apply economic sanctions until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commits that it will never have nuclear weapons." https://t.co/0JIQlOlvVs pic.twitter.com/fnIt1GvWzl ABC News (@ABC) January 10, 2020 Iran's leaders, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, have accused the U.S. of conducting economic war against Tehran. In particular, the Treasury Department is designating 13 Iranian steel and iron manufacturers that "collectively generate billions in sales annually," it said in a statement. Sanctions also hit four Iranian aluminum and copper companies and one Oman-based trading company. Story continues MORE: Iran fired more than 20 missiles at US targets in Iraq: What we know about the attack But importantly, it's not just Iranian businesses. Three Chinese companies, based in the small island nation Seychelles, are also being sanctioned for trading Iranian steel and other metals, including one vessel that will now be flagged. Iran is already under heavy U.S. sanctions. Since Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, he has steadily increased the economic pressure -- most importantly, by ending waivers last April for countries to import Iranian oil, the country's economic lifeblood. PHOTO: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announce new sanctions on Iran, at the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) It's unclear how much further effect these sanctions will have on Iran's economy, despite Trump's statement. The metals industry accounts for approximately 10 percent of Iran's economy, according to Treasury, but those businesses that work with Iran, particularly from Russia, China, or Turkey, continue to do so already despite U.S. sanctions; it's unclear if Beijing will scale back now. "Sanctions now touch every part of the Iranian economy and are unlikely to have any further impact," Ryan Fayhee, a former senior Justice Department prosecutor who handled sanctions cases, told ABC News, suggesting instead that only once those secondary sanctions are implemented would there be any additional impact. Pressed on effectiveness of sanctions given escalation of tensions following previous rounds, Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin says that without sanctions "Iran would have tens of billions of dollars, they would be using that for terrorist activities." https://t.co/7ZX7SiBORm pic.twitter.com/9EEfmqKTAe ABC News (@ABC) January 10, 2020 Pressed on that, Mnuchin said the administration had "100% confidence" that "economic sanctions are working... If we didn't have these sanctions in place, literally Iran would have tens of billions of dollars. They would be using that for terrorist activities throughout the region and to enable them to do more bad things." Like how Trump often claims Iran is a "different country" than when he took office, Pompeo added, "This country has never been in the place that it's in today." He pointed to budget fall shortfalls, saying the government will have to choose between supporting its people and its proxy forces, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and the Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, in Iraq. In addition to the businesses, the Treasury Department sanctioned eight top security officials, including the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council -- the equivalent of the U.S. president's national security adviser. These sanctions are less likely to have an impact beyond naming and shaming as few Iranian officials have assets in U.S. jurisdiction. Pompeo said these officials, including some who are considered "reformist," were selected "to strike at the heart of Iran's internal security apparatus." The Portland Timbers selected Penn State midfielder Aaron Molloy with the 16th pick in Thursdays 2020 MLS SuperDraft. Molloy, 22, scored nine goals and had six assists for the Nittany Lions during the 2019 season, when he served as captain and started all 19 matches of Penn States matches. He helped lead the Nittany Lions to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. A native of Dublin, Ireland, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Molloy was a three-year starter at Penn State and earned Big Ten midfielder of the year and first-team all-Big Ten honors this past season. Inter Miami CF selected Clemson forward Robbie Robinson with the top overall pick in Thursdays draft. The Timbers also hold a third-round pick (No. 68 overall) and a fourth-round pick (No. 94 overall) in the four-round draft, which began Thursday but will conclude with the third and fourth rounds on Monday, Jan. 13. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images In 2016, Bernie Sanders owed much of his primary campaigns unexpected viability to his popularity with young voters. As he was coming into the crowded field of competitors for the 2020 race, though, repeat success wasnt necessarily a foregone conclusion. But Sanderss success with the youth now looks durable. He leads with them, still, in the polls, and this past week, two influential youth-led progressive organizations endorsed the democratic socialist for president: Dream Defenders, a Florida-based civil-rights group formed in the wake of Trayvon Martins killing, and the Sunrise Movement, which advocates for the Green New Deal. In a statement, the environmental group said 78 percent of its membership favored Sanders. Just over 80 percent of its voting members are under 35. We are proud to announce that our movement has voted resoundingly to endorse @BernieSanders for President of the United States. Join the #GreenNewDeal political revolution: https://t.co/3eXE0XsIUv#Sunrise4Bernie pic.twitter.com/cAO09Irndt Sunrise Movement (@sunrisemvmt) January 9, 2020 The source of Sanderss youth appeal appears to be much the same as it was in 2016: Student-loan debt and escalating health-care costs are still significant burdens for young people, and incremental solutions, like those favored by the more moderate candidates in the race, seem unequal to the radical challenges they face. Young adults themselves are clear about the case for Sanders. Bernie is not our political savior. It is the movement behind him that will change this country. We are not electing a savior; we are electing a political opponent who we will hold accountable to meet our demands, the Dream Defenders Fight PAC explained on its website. The statement singled out the Vermont senators positions on free public college, Medicare for All, and the abolition of draconian three-strikes laws and the death penalty, among other issues, as areas where his platform aligns closely with their values. Similarly, Sanderss consistent support for Green New Deal legislation and his activist background swayed Sunrise members in his favor. Senator Sanders has repeatedly claimed that, as president, he would be the organizer-in-chief. We hope well get the opportunity to hold him accountable to that, the organizations statement read. As opposed to 2016, when he faced only one other candidate in the primary, Sanders does face stiffer competition for the youth vote this year. Morning Consult reported in 2019 that his share of the youth vote had declined slightly over the life of the primary thus far with Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren cutting into his overall support. The crowded field notwithstanding, Sanders still enjoys a wide lead among young voters. That might not be enough to win him the primary, though. Sanders won an astonishing percentage of the youth vote in 2016 more than Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton combined, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. Voters under 30 made up around 17 percent of the primary electorate in 2016, CBS reported at the time, but theres some evidence that young people intend to vote in greater numbers in 2020. Last April, a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll indicated that 43 percent intend to participate in the primary process, up from 36 percent as measured by the same poll in 2016. If more young adults do vote in the primaries, that might be bad news for the other candidates. The field is still swollen, and there are few ways for candidates to carve out a realistic path to the nomination. In most years, youth voters might not be numerous enough to deliver Sanders the primary on their own strength. But with so many candidates competing for votes, a committed, cohesive bloc of young adults could make a real difference for him in his quest for the nomination. Sanderss youth support also has implications for the general election. Though young voters dont historically turn out in high numbers, at least not compared with seniors (the Biden bloc), outrage over Trump could change things. The U.S. Census found that for the midterm elections in 2018, voter turnout among adults ages 18 to 29 increased by 14 points over 2014. Party leaders may indeed be worried about Sanderss winning the nomination, as a recent report by the Associated Press suggested. But if they want to avoid reviving the enthusiasm gap that helped cost Clinton the election in 2016, they may want to pay attention to what young voters say they want. DISPUTE over boundaries, concerns on property ownership and lack of manpower and equipment are among the top challenges that Cebus village chiefs might encounter in clearing roads in their barangays of obstructions. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)has ordered barangays to destroy structures that obstruct their roads in 75 days. Provincial Board (PB) Member Celestino Martinez III said village chiefs would still need the help of their respective local chief executives. Guidelines Martinez is an ex-officio member at the PB being the president of the Liga ng mga Barangay Cebu Chapter. He is the barangay captain of Cayang, Bogo City. He said there must be a set of guidelines for the barangay captains to follow. In a text message sent to Capitol reporters on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, Martinez said village chiefs might encounter problems in clearing roads that are still privately ownedthose roads that are not yet formally donated to the barangay. This scenario, he said, needs a conciliation proceeding in court. Other issues that village chiefs might encounter along the way include the disputed barangay territorial boundaries, said Martinez. In an earlier report, Ian Kenneth Lucero of the DILG 7 said 3,003 barangays in Central Visayas1,066 of which are in Cebuwill be required to clear their roads within the 75-day period. Lucero heads the Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division, and at the same time he serves as the DILG-Cebu City officer-in-charge. The DILG central office is set to issue guidelines for the implementation of road clearing operations for barangays. Based on the DILG memorandum circular issued last July 2019, all local officials are enjoined to exercise their powers to reclaim public roads which are being used for private ends and in the process, rid them of all illegal structures and constructions. Easing traffic woes Martinez said he has no problem with the directive, saying clearing roads in barangays is a must as it could ease traffic congestion, especially in major thoroughfares. Story continues However, he said barangay leaders are dependent on their local executives as they would need assistance from the police and other offices in clearing roads, especially in highly urbanized areas. SunStar Cebu tried to reach League of Municipalities of the Philippines Cebu chapter president and Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco for comment, but she was not available as of press time. Legal action With the road clearing operation to be implemented at the barangay level, the DILG 7 warned that the agency would sue village chiefs who fail to comply with the directive. Lucero, though, clarified that barangays have the option to seek help from the city or municipal government in clearing their roads. In Cebu City, Inayawan Barangay Captain Kirk Bryan Repollo said lack of manpower and equipment is the main reason why it could be difficult to clear roads. Councilor Franklyn Ong, for his part, said helping sidewalk vendors understand the DILG directive is one way to get rid of road obstructions. He sits in the City Council as an ex-officio member being the current Association of Barangay Councils president. Ong, a businessman, is Kasambagans barangay captain. He said vendors should also be given enough time to leave the roads where they are selling their merchandise. He said he wants to meet with vendors in his barangay to discuss his plan to give them 30 days to vacate Kasambagan roads. Ong said he would tap the Citys Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement team for assistance if vendors would not leave. Labellas assurance In a separate interview, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella assured the 80 barangay captains that the City Government will assist them in the implementation of the road clearing order. Labella also said that the right time has come for the village chiefs to take the responsibility in getting rid of structures that blocked the roads as they know their barangays well. / WITH WBS Mike Lee Andrew Harnik, Pool/Getty Images Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah dramatically walked back his comments this week about President Donald Trump's decision to order an airstrike that killed Iran's top military general, Qassem Soleimani. On Wednesday, following a Senate briefing on the matter, Lee skewered Trump officials, said it was "the worst briefing" on a military issue he'd seen in his congressional career, and said he would support a War Powers Resolution that would dramatically curtail Trump's military powers. On Thursday, Lee reversed course and heaped praise on the president, saying: "I applaud this president. I support this president. This president has been fantastic. He's been unprecedentedly deferential to the American people, and restrained in his use of the commander in chief power, more than any other president in my lifetime." Lee did not elaborate on what he found to be "deferential" and "restrained" in Trump's decision to assassinate a foreign military official and the second most powerful person in the Iranian regime. But he did have time to give an exclusive interview to the far-right website Breitbart News, in which he said Trump's actions were "legally, morally, justifiable and fully constitutional." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Here's what Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah had to say on Wednesday after a Senate briefing on President Donald Trump's decision to order an airstrike last week that killed Iran's top military general, Qassem Soleimani: "Probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I've seen in nine years I've been here." "Drive-by notification or after-the-fact lame briefings like the one we just received aren't adequate." "I find it insulting; I find it demeaning" to the Senate and the Constitution. "It's un-American, it's unconstitutional, and it's wrong," he said, referring to when administration officials who briefed senators on Trump's strike said the lawmakers could not debate the merits of the measure. Despite walking into the briefing "undecided" on whether to support a War Powers Resolution that would drastically limit Trump's ability to wage war with Iran, "that briefing is what changed my mind ... I'm now going to support it." Story continues Lee doubled down on his comments Thursday morning. Here's what he said during an NPR interview about the strike and the briefing: The briefing was "terrible" and an "unmitigated disaster." "My anger was ... about the possibility of future military action against Iran. And it was on that topic they refused to make any commitment about when, whether, and under what circumstances it would be necessary for the president for the executive branch of government to come to Congress seeking authorization for the use of military force because Congress was not using it." When administration officials refused to say Trump would seek congressional authorization if he, hypothetically, wanted to order a strike against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it "was perhaps the most deeply upsetting thing to me in that meeting." But later Thursday, Lee bizarrely backtracked and seemed to retract his harshest criticisms of the airstrike and its aftermath. Here's what Lee had to say about the strike and the briefing on Thursday during an interview on Fox News: "Those assigned to come and brief us yesterday from the administration didn't share this president's view that has been very respectful toward his commander-in-chief power." "I applaud this president. I support this president. This president has been fantastic. He's been unprecedentedly deferential to the American people, and restrained in his use of the commander in chief power, more than any other president in my lifetime." "The briefers yesterday didn't exhibit the same level of respect and deference and restraint that president trump has shown, and I think that's unfortunate." Lee did not elaborate on what he found to be "deferential" and "restrained" in Trump's decision to assassinate a foreign military official and the second most powerful person in the Iranian regime. He did, however, have time to give Breitbart News an exclusive interview in which he said the Soleimani briefing was not the worst briefing on a military issue he'd seen in his congressional career, but the Benghazi briefing was. "I want to be very clear, my comments yesterday did not take a position on the appropriateness of the attack that occurred," Lee told the far-right website. "They were not condemning that; in fact, I acknowledged upfront that I'm willing to concede that they might well have been legally, morally, justifiable and fully constitutional." He did not expand on why, if he found the president's decision to be "legally, morally justifiable, and fully constitutional," he also came out in such strong support of a resolution that would dramatically curtail Trump's power to take further military action against Iran. Read the original article on Business Insider A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court decision to dismiss nationwide litigation over the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in which victims families sought to hold the carrier, its insurer Allianz SE and Boeing Co liable for the still-unexplained disaster. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington affirmed a November 2018 ruling from U.S. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson that found 40 wrongful death and product liability lawsuits do not belong in the United States. Judge Neomi Rao, writing for the unanimous panel, said that while the court has great sympathy for the victims of this tragedy and their families she found no reason to reverse the decision. We conclude that the district court did not clearly abuse its discretion in dismissing appellants lawsuits, she wrote. Jackson said the case belonged in Malaysia, which has an overwhelming interest in and substantial nexus to the March 8, 2014 disappearance of Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 heading to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board. The decision is a new setback for plaintiffs from the United States, Australia, China, India and Malaysia who represented more than 100 Flight MH370 passengers, including from Japan. The plane is believed to have crashed in the south Indian Ocean after veering far off course, but no remains or large pieces of wreckage have been found. Flight MH370s disappearance remains one of the worlds greatest aviation mysteries. A Malaysian report concluded that its investigative team was unable to determine the real cause for the disappearance of MH370, human interference or error were more likely the cause of the planes disappearance than aircraft or system malfunction. The plaintiffs sued under the Montreal Convention, an international treaty governing air transportation incidents, and various U.S. state laws. (Additional reporting by Jonanatha Stempel.) Experts: Iran's Attacks on US Assets Could Encourage N. Korea's Nuclear Ambitions By Christy Lee January 09, 2020 Iran's attacks on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops as Tehran announced it will no longer comply with restrictions on uranium enrichment may encourage North Korea to perfect its nuclear and missile technologies, experts said. "With Iran also challenging the United States, North Korea may feel that terroristlike activities will be less likely to cause U.S. retaliation because the U.S. will be busy with Iran," said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation research center. Multiple rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy Wednesday. There were no known casualties, and it is unclear whether Iran or its proxies launched them. The rocket fire came a day after Iran attacked two Iraqi bases used by U.S. forces. Iran launched multiple missiles Tuesday in response to the U.S. killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani Friday. There are no known American casualties from the attacks. President Donald Trump authorized killing Soleimani to protect American interests from future Iranian attacks, according to the Pentagon. Although there were fears that Trump would launch a tit-for-tat retaliation against Iran when he spoke Wednesday morning, he did not announce additional military actions. "Iran appears to be standing down" he said, pledging to issue new sanctions against Tehran. 'Kim would be emboldened' Joseph Bosco, an East Asia expert at the Institute for Corea-American Studies (ICAS), said if Tehran kills Americans, and the U.S. does not take action against Iran, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might assume a more aggressive stance against the U.S. "If the U.S. did not respond, Kim would be emboldened," Bosco said, adding the Iranian attack Tuesday would not have too much impact on the U.S.-North Korean dynamics. Last week, Kim said North Korea intends to bolster its military forces, take "offensive measures," develop "a new strategic weapon" and "shift to a shocking actual action" without specifying the measures. Kim's statement came after Pyongyang vowed multiple times last year to take a "new path" if the U.S. does not change its attitude, presumably referring to maintaining sanctions on North Korea. North Korea conducted 13 missile tests last year in an effort to pressure the U.S. to grant concessions, including sanctions relief. Pyongyang was seeking sanctions relief when Kim met with Trump in Hanoi for a February summit that failed. In October 2019, the U.S. and North Korea held talks in Stockholm, but the talks collapsed without an agreement. Since then, nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have remained deadlocked. Ken Gause, director of the adversary analytics program at CNA, said Iran and North Korea are watching each other to see how far they could elevate threats against the U.S. "They're obviously learning by how the U.S. reacts to one another that it might give the other one some insight on how far they can push the United States up the escalatory ladder," Gause said. The kinds of threats they raise are different, with Iran using proxies in the region to attack U.S. interests there and North Korea testing missiles on the Korean Peninsula. Gause said, however, Iran and North Korea have taken similar actions of rescinding commitments made on their weapons program that "will move closer to being viable programs in the future." After the U.S. killed Soleimani, Iran announced it will no longer adhere to the 2015 nuclear deal limiting it from enriching uranium, a key element for making nuclear weapons. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018. Signaling intent on ICBM testing Kim last week announced that North Korea no longer feels obliged to keep its self-imposed moratorium on testing a long-range missile, signaling he could test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "You have a kind of an equivalence here on both sides with two countries that a couple of weeks ago somewhat had a lid on both of these nuclear programs," Gause said. "Now they've become a much more complicated issue to deal with." The Iranians have yet to develop their technology to the point where they can complete a nuclear weapon, but Iran had already breached the 2015 nuclear deal by enriching uranium in July. Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration, said if the Iranians restart their nuclear program, it could boost North Korea's ambitions to complete its own nuclear program. "If they do go that far, it makes it easier for North Korea to claim that [it] should be a nuclear power," Korb said. Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said if Iran renews its proliferation efforts, it "will reinforce Kim's new strategic choice." Bennett, of the Rand Corp., said the opposite could also be true. "Iran has likely concluded that it can also get away with such defiance and breaking of commitments," he said. "And appears to be using the [U.S.] airstrikes on Soleimani to justify similar defiance." Iran's announcement that it could begin to enrich uranium also provides an opportunity for North Korea to continue developing its nuclear weapons and missiles with the intent of selling them to Iran, Bennett said. "The law of supply and demand relates to North Korea's supply of nuclear weapons and Iranian demand for them," he said. "Iran now gives North Korea a clear market for nuclear weapons. North Korea is having problems with inadequate food and electricity and wants the hard currency Iran can supply. That could well lead to nuclear proliferation from North Korea to Iran, some of which likely was going on before," Bennett said. Sold weapons to Iran, Syria North Korea has sold ballistic missiles and chemical weapons to Iran and Syria in the past. A U.S. government estimate in 2017 suggested North Korea may be producing enough nuclear material each year for 12 additional nuclear weapons, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction in the Obama administration, said, "Iran would welcome North Korean assistance and North Korea could provide very substantial nuclear weapons help to Iran. "But there is no evidence as far as I know that North Korea and Iran have cooperated on nuclear weapons," he added. If Iran decides to push forward with its nuclear weapons program, Bennett said the U.S. would face "a four-front nuclear threat: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran." "The U.S. must now deal with North Korea and Iran while retaining a nuclear deterrent against both China and Russia" he said. "Iran and North Korea have every reason to coordinate their challenges to complicate and deter U.S. responses." Joshua Pollack, editor of the Nonproliferation Review at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said, "If Iran represents any sort of opportunity for North Korea today, it might involve deepened cooperation with another international pariah facing off against the United States." On Wednesday, Trump said, "As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon." Thomas Countryman, former assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said, "To go beyond its own national defense and to sell nuclear weapons technology to other states would make [North Korea] a well-justified target of U.S. military action." This report originated in VOA's Korean Service. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A funeral service will be held Saturday, Jan. 11, for longtime horseman Jean-Guy Lamarre, 85, and his wife Gisele Plouffe, 79, of Joliette, Quebec. He died at home on Jan. 8, six days after her passing. Lamarre worked for hall-of-fame trainer Stanley Dancer during his glory years with horses like Albatross, Most Happy Fella and Nevele Pride. Though retired from the sport, he remained a regular visitor and helped out at the stable of trainer Dominic Gladu. Family will receive condolences Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Ste-Therese-de-Joliette Church, with a religious service to follow at 11:00 a.m. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Jean-Guy Lamarre and Gisele Plouffe. (A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean) Washington House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she will "soon" transmit the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, signaling a potential thaw in the standoff with Senate Republicans as she warned against rushing to an acquittal without a fair trial. Pelosi, D-Calif., faces mounting pressure from Republicans and some Democrats to quit delaying the president's trial in the Senate, three weeks after the House Democrats impeached Trump on charges of abuse and obstruction. Republicans say Democrats are embarrassed by their vote. But Pelosi countered that Democrats are "proud" of upholding the Constitution and said she doubted that Senate Republicans will do the same. Many on Capitol Hill expect the Senate impeachment trial to begin next week. "I'll send them over when I'm ready. That will probably be soon," Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol, noting she is not postponing it "indefinitely." The standoff between the House speaker and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been a test of wills between the two power centers in Congress over what would be the third impeachment trial in the nation's history. McConnell said that if Pelosi and House Democrats are "too embarrassed" to send the articles of impeachment, the Senate will simply move on next week to other business. "They do not get to trap our entire country into an unending groundhog day of impeachment without resolution," McConnell said. McConnell told GOP senators at a lunchtime meeting to expect the trial next week, according to two people familiar with his remarks. The people requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting. At the same time, McConnell signed on to a resolution by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham that would criticize Pelosi for holding the articles and call on her to immediately transmit them. In the weeks since Trump was impeached, Democrats have focused on new evidence about Trump's effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and they pushed the Senate to consider new testimony, including from former White House national security adviser John Bolton. Republicans are just as focused on a speedy trial with acquittal. Republicans have the leverage, with a slim 53-47 Senate majority, as McConnell rebuffs the Democratic demands for testimony and documents. But Democrats are using the delay to sow public doubt about the fairness of the process as they try to peel off wavering GOP senators for the upcoming votes. It takes just 51 senators to set the rules. "When we say fair trial, we mean facts, we mean witnesses, we mean documents," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., promising votes ahead. "Every single one of us, in this Senate, will have to have to take a stand. How do my Republican friends want the American people, their constituents, and history to remember them?" Trump weighed in from the White House suggesting that he, too, would like more witnesses at trial. They include former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination now, and his son Hunter, as well as the government whistleblower whose complaint about the president's pressure on Ukraine sparked the impeachment investigation. On a July telephone call with Ukraine's new president, Trump asked his counterpart to open an investigation into the Bidens while holding up military aid for Ukraine. A Ukrainian gas company had hired Hunter Biden when his father was vice president and the Obama administration's point man on Ukraine. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden. Trump suggested that his administration would continue to block Bolton or others from the administration from appearing before senators. Many of those officials have defied congressional subpoenas for their testimony. "When we start allowing national security advisers to just go up and say whatever they want to say, we can't do that," Trump said during an event with building contractors. "So we have to protect presidential privilege for me, but for future presidents. That's very important." Bolton, one of four witnesses that Democrats have requested, said this week that he would testify if subpoenaed. McConnell has said from the start he is looking to model Trump's trial on the last time the Senate convened as the court of impeachment, for President Bill Clinton in 1999. McConnell has said there will be "no haggling" with House Democrats over Senate procedures. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "There will be no unfair, new rule rule-book written solely for President Trump," McConnell said Thursday. McConnell, who met with Trump late Wednesday at the White House, suggested last month it would be "fine with me" if the House never sent the articles. More recently, he has drawn on the Constitution's intent for the Senate to have the ultimate say on matters of impeachment. He scoffed that Pelosi has "managed to do the impossible" by uniting Democrats and Republicans who want the trial to begin. Some Democrats have been showing increased anxiety over the delay as Americans remain divided over Trump's impeachment. One top lawmaker, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN on Thursday "it's time" to send over the charges. But shortly afterward, he tweeted that he misspoke: "If the Speaker believes that holding on to the articles for a longer time will help force a fair trial in the Senate, then I wholeheartedly support that decision." It was a stunning turnaround, perhaps the most public, as Democratic leaders try to keep House and Senate lawmakers in line with their strategy. The delay on impeachment has also upended the political calendar, with the weekslong trial now expected to bump into presidential nominating contests, which begin in early February. One 2020 hopeful, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told The Associated Press' Ground Game podcast that a looming impeachment trial and other pressing issues in Washington could deal a "big, big blow" to his presidential campaign by keeping him away from Iowa in the final weeks before the Feb. 3 caucuses. As Pelosi dashed into a morning meeting at the Capitol, she was asked if she had any concerns about losing support from Democrats for her strategy. She told reporters: "No." "I know exactly when" to send the impeachment articles over, Pelosi said. "I won't be telling you right now." Pelosi is seeking what she says she wanted from the start "to see the arena" and "terms of the engagement" that McConnell will use for the trial before sending her House managers to present the articles of impeachment in the Senate. The House impeached Trump in December on the charge that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine's new leader to investigate Democrats, including the Bidens, using as leverage $400 million in military assistance for the U.S. ally as it counters Russia at its border. Iran mistakenly shot down the passenger jet that crashed on Wednesday killing all 176 on board, Canada and the UK said last night. Flight PS752 was destroyed just hours after Tehran launched attacks on two US military bases in Iraq in revenge for the American killing of its military leader Qassem Suleimani. Sources now believe the Ukraine International Airlines jet may have been destroyed by accident by surface-to-air anti-aircraft fire because Iran thought it was under attack. Last night, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the first world leader to officially point the finger at Iran. He said: 'We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies, and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional.' Insisting 'the best British experts' should be involved in the investigation into the incident, Boris Johnson said last night: 'The loss of life is a tragedy. There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may have been unintentional. Boris Johnson (pictured above) said there is a 'body of information that the flight was shot down by Iranian forces' Rescue workers recover bidiesof victims at the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8 'We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there needs to be a full, transparent investigation. The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to de-escalate to reduce tensions in the region.' The comments by Mr Trudeau and Mr Johnson came after the US and Iran seemed on the point of war this week before stepping back from the brink. Last Thursday, Donald Trump ordered the drone strike that killed General Soleimani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top commander, as he left Baghdad airport. The US President claimed last night that he ordered the assassination because Soleimani was plotting to bomb the US embassy in Iraq. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has serious doubts that the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran was caused by mechanical failure after Pentagon officials claimed that the jet was shot down Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later echoed Trump's concerns, saying that evidence indicates an Iranian missile downed the and that the strike 'may have been unintentional' Iran's promised retaliation came late on Tuesday, hours after Soleimani was buried, when 22 ballistic missiles hit bases in Iraq where Western troops are based. Now it seems that while on high-alert for retribution from the US, an Iranian anti-aircraft missile was fired in error at the Ukraine International Airlines flight just minutes after it had taken off at 6.12am local time from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, bound for Ukraine. The jet had climbed to nearly 8,000ft before it suddenly vanished from radar. Yesterday, Iranian officials, who have denied firing a missile at the jet, said that, inexplicably, it was in the process of turning back to the airport when it crashed. Questions were first raised when pictures of the plane debris appeared to show shrapnel holes in the fuselage. US officials now say they detected two missile launches just before an explosion, believed to have come from the jet There was no SOS call. It had been thought that three Britons were killed in the disaster, but this was updated last night to four probably because of the inclusion of a passenger with dual nationality. The countries that suffered the highest loss of life include Iran, with 82 citizens, Canada with 63, Ukraine with 11 and Sweden with ten. Mr Trump said last night he believed 'someone could have made a mistake' and brought down the Boeing 737-800. Pentagon, Whitehall and Iraqi security sources also agreed it was 'highly likely' the jet was struck by a missile. Officials said satellites detected infrared signals indicating two missile launches, followed shortly by another infrared signal of an explosion, thought to be the plane hitting the ground. The missiles are thought to have come from a Russian Tor-M1 launcher. Iran bought 29 in 2005. Mr Trump said he did not believe the plane was downed by mechanical error, as suggested earlier. Saying he had 'suspicions', he added: 'It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood. 'Someone could have made a mistake. I have a feeling that... something very terrible happened, very devastating.' The US news channel CNN said sources claimed an Iranian strike on the plane may have been the result of confusion, adding: 'It could be that this is a fog of war incident.' It said a possibility being considered was that the 'Iranian missile unit... perhaps saw something on their radar... thought they were under attack and fired'. Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine's security council, said its officials were in Iran looking for missile debris, adding: 'A rocket strike, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main working theories, since there is information on the internet about elements of a missile found near the crash.' Reports from the crash site suggested the wreckage, six miles from Tehran airport, had been bulldozed, making forensic analysis difficult. The plane had had a mechanical inspection at Tehran airport two days before the disaster, and was delivered new to Ukraine International Airlines three years ago. Ukraine's Tehran embassy initially blamed engine failure for the crash, but suspicions were aroused when Iran refused to share the jet's black box recorders, which contain data and cockpit communications. Iranian officials promised Ukraine would have access to their contents, but aviation experts say only a few countries can analyse black boxes notably Britain, France, Germany and the US. It raises fears of a whitewash by Iran, which refutes the idea that it shot down the plane, dismissing this as 'psychological warfare'. Representative image The U.S. Army plans to deploy a specialized task force to the Pacific capable of conducting information, electronic, cyber and missile operations against Beijing, Bloomberg said early on Friday. The task force, likely to be based on islands east of the Philippines and Taiwan, would be equipped to hit land and sea-based targets with long-range precision weapons, such as hypersonic missiles, in a bid to possibly clear the way for Navy vessels in the event of a conflict, Bloomberg said. The unit would help neutralize some capabilities China and Russia already possess that are meant to keep U.S. carrier groups away from the Asian mainland, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told Bloomberg in an interview. McCarthy is set to appear at an event in Washington on Friday to give details of how the army will operate in the Indo-Pacific. The plan to deploy the task force would be boosted by a new agreement with the National Reconnaissance Office that develops and manages U.S. spy satellites, McCarthy told Bloomberg. Reuters could not immediately reach the U.S. Army to seek comment. They welcomed a new little one into their family late last year. And Blake Lively was reveling in newborn bliss as she brought her daughter along to breakfast in New York City on Friday morning. The 32-year-old actress stayed warm underneath a winter coat as she carried her baby girl close to her chest while eating out with husband Ryan Reynolds. Out and about: Blake Lively was reveling in newborn bliss as she brought her daughter along to breakfast in New York City on Friday morning Blake kept things casual in a heavy green coat paired with black leggings as she made her way out of an SUV and into a nearby deli. She held her newborn little girl in her arms and shielded her from the chilly elements with a grey blanket. The Gossip Girl star wore her bright blonde hair partially tied back in a ponytail and appeared to be makeup-free. Warm: Blake kept things casual in a heavy green coat paired with black leggings as she made her way out of an SUV and into a nearby deli Stepping out: She teamed her wintery ensemble with a pair of black leggings and a matching scarf around her neck Bundle of joy: She held her newborn little girl in her arms and shielded her from the chilly elements with a grey blanket Ryan looked equally as casual in an all-black outfit with a brown puffy vest keeping his chest warm. The Deadpool antihero added a pop of color with powder blue socks to match his chunky sneakers. Blake and Ryan have kept their newborn out of the public eye since she gave birth late last summer. Color coordinated: Ryan looked equally as casual in an all-black outfit with a brown puffy vest keeping his chest warm Funky: The Deadpool antihero added a pop of color with powder blue socks to match his chunky sneakers Proud parents: Blake and Ryan have kept their newborn out of the public eye since she gave birth late last summer She broke her pregnancy news back in May as she showed off her baby bump at the Detective Pikachu premiere in Hollywood after also keeping it a secret. She obviously loves being a parent to daughters James and Inez as she told Allure in 2012: 'Ive always wanted a big family. Oh, Id love 30 [children] if I could.' And in 2017, she spoke to PEOPLE about her parenting style, saying: 'I think its hard to slap labels on any parents because its just so tricky. 'Its like every moment youre figuring out what the heck youre doing. You think, "Ooh, should I be more strict, or should I be more I dont know, emotional?" Or whatever it is. Sri Lanka will purchase 500 buses from India for USD 15 million by utilising the line of credit extended to it during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's visit to New Delhi, officials said on Friday. The new buses for Sri Lanka Transport Board would be procured to strengthen the country's public transport, according to a memo approved by the Cabinet this week. "The Cabinet of Ministers has given their consent for procurement of 400 new buses with 5054 seating capacity and 100 new buses with 3235 seating capacity utilising USD 15.03 million under the Indian loan grant/scheme," the memo said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November announced a financial assistance of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka including USD 50 million to fight terrorism after he held "fruitful" talks with the island nation's newly elected President Rajapaksa. In his first overseas tour after taking over the reins of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa travelled to India on a three-day visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VILLANOVA, Pa.Villanova University has announced the appointment of Kelly P. Doney as Chief Information Officer (CIO), effective Monday, Feb. 3. This appointment is the result of a comprehensive national search led by Koya Leadership Partners, which yielded a strong pool of candidates from around the country. Villanova is attracting top talent, and we are thrilled to have Kelly join the University in this important role, said the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, Villanova University President. The CIO position requires a visionary leader with expertise in both the business and technical practices of the University, and Kelly has that vision, along with the expertise, to lead Villanova in this area as we move into the next decade. As Villanovas CIO, Doney will be responsible for providing overall leadership and direction for the University-wide information technology program and infrastructure to meet the varied and complex needs of the University. Among the CIOs areas of oversight are technology infrastructure, information security, network, ERP, tech support, card systems, communication systems, instructional technology and application development. I look forward to joining Villanova just as the University is beginning to execute its new Strategic Plan, said Doney. As a leader in higher education technology, I have seen firsthand how technology can transform the student experience, enhance the research mission and enrich teaching and learning. As each generation of students enters the University, they bring with them a new set of digital experiences and expectations. Couple that with the advances we see in areas like artificial intelligence, data analytics and the continuing evolution of cloud solutions, and I cannot think of a more exciting time to be in higher educationespecially at a university that clearly embraces the critical role technology will play in shaping the next decade. With more than 20 years of experience in the information technology field, Doney most recently served as a vice president at Ellucian, a global market leader in higher education technology. While at Ellucian, she built a management consulting practice, created the companys first global strategic delivery partner program and designed the companys first Collaboration Lab for the California Community College System. Doney also represented Ellucian on EDUCAUSEs Corporate Member Advisory Committee, where she collaborated with other higher education industry leaders to bring increased value to the corporate-EDUCAUSE relationship. Prior to joining Ellucian, Doney was associate vice president for Enterprise Applications at Georgetown University. In that position, she established and executed the enterprise technology strategy for the Universitys administrative, student, teaching and learning, constituent relationship management, institutional reporting and research domains. Under her leadership, Georgetown received industry recognition for being among the first to bring core administrative and teaching and learning systems to the cloud. I am extremely excited to welcome Kelly to Villanova to lead the Universitys Information Technology efforts and align our IT strategy with a new Strategic Plan that will guide Villanovas future over the next decade, said Kenneth G. Valosky, Villanova University Executive Vice President. The field of information technology continues to evolve, and universities must always have an eye on emerging technologies, best practices and regulatory requirements. Kelly brings strong leadership, as well as technical knowledge and experience managing the changing technology of higher education. Beyond her work in higher education, Doney has extensive consulting experience with leading management consultancy firms, including Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte Consulting, where she managed complex technology strategy, modernization and software development contracts for the federal government. Doney received her Master of Science in Experimental Psychology from Syracuse University and her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Psychology from Ithaca College. About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova Universitys Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six collegesthe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nations top universities, Villanova supports its students intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu. Juba, South Sudan (PANA) South Sudan has commenced a process to inspect the environmental impact of oil production with an announcement to foreign firms capable of undertaking the audit to show interest Ukrainian plane crashes in Iran killing 176 hours after missile attack on Iraqi bases housing US soldiers Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Boeing 737 aircraft of Ukraine International Airlines crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran International Airport killing all 176 passengers and crew members on board Wednesday, just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers. In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. He added that the U.S. will impose further economic sanctions on Iran. Trump also said that his administration will work to ensure that Iran's regime is not allowed to continue their ambitions of developing nuclear weapons. As long as Im president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, Trump said while calling on Iran to end its support of terrorist groups in the region. Following the crash of the Ukrainian airline flight from Tehran to Kyiv, the airline announced it was suspending all flights to Tehran. Today, on January 08, 2020, a Ukraine International Airlines aircraft while operating flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv disappeared from the radars a few minutes after departure from Tehran International Airport. The aircraft departed from Tehran International Airport at 06:10 hrs. Iran local time. According to preliminary data, there were 167 passengers and nine crew members on board, Ukraine International Airlines said in a statement. The airline expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the air crash and will do everything possible to support the relatives of the victims. With immediate effect, UIA has decided to suspend its flights to Tehran until further notice, the airline said. Iranian Transport Ministry spokesman Gassem Biniaz told the Iranian state-run news agency IRNA that the aircraft crashed after one of the engines caught fire and the pilot lost control. Ukraine officials initially ruled out a possible terror attack but later edited that statement noting: "Information on the causes of the plane crash is being verified by the commission. Any statements regarding the causes of the accident prior to the decision of the commission are unofficial." #Breaking First footage of the Ukrainian airplane while on fire falling near #Tehranpic.twitter.com/kGxnBb7f1q Ali Hashem ??? ???? (@alihashem_tv) January 8, 2020 Ukraine Airlines also said the aircraft was built in 2016 and had scheduled maintenance just two days ago. The aircraft was built in 2016 and delivered directly to the airline from the manufacturer. The last scheduled maintenance of the aircraft took place on 06 January, 2020, the airline said. Ukraines foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, confirmed that among the dead from the crash are: 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians including two passengers and the nine crew members. There were also 10 Swedish, four Afghan, three German and three British nationals. Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called the crash horrific in a statement and said their government would do everything in their power to assist the relatives of the Ukrainian crash victims and assist with the investigation of the crash. In connection with the crash of the Boeing 737 aircraft of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS 752 Tehran to Kiev on January 8, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the dead, the statement from the ministry said. Ukraine will provide all necessary support and assistance to the relatives and loved ones of the fallen citizens of Ukraine. Ukraine is also ready to engage as much as possible in investigating the causes of the disaster in accordance with international law, in particular, the Chicago Convention, the statement added. In a statement on Twitter Toronto Mayor John Tory said his city was mourning the crash victims. On behalf of all Toronto residents, we are saddened by the news of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Our hearts are with Toronto's Iranian and Ukrainian communities today as we mourn the 176 people, including 63 Canadians, who have tragically died, he said. The crash came just hours after Iraqi military officials confirmed that Iran had fired 22 missiles at two military bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed as part of a fierce revenge for the U.S. military strike that killed Irans top security and intelligence commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head if the Quds Force who orchestrated numerous terror plots worldwide and is responsible for the killing of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq and maiming thousands of others. The fierce revenge by the Revolutionary Guards has begun, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement on a Telegram messaging app channel cited by The New York Times. United States officials initially told the publication that there were no immediate indications of American casualties, and senior Iraqi officials later said that there were no American or Iraqi casualties in the strikes. Washington, Jan 10 : US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump would be sent to the Senate soon for a trial, signaling a possible end to a standoff with Republicans. "I'm not withholding them indefinitely. I'll send them over when I'm ready," Xinhua news agency quoted Pelosi as saying during her weekly briefing at the Capitol on Thursday, adding: "And that will probably be soon." The Democrat-led House impeached Trump on December 18, 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, charges that the President has rejected. Pelosi, who initiated an impeachment inquiry into Trump in September 2019, is withholding the articles of impeachment and has refused to name impeachment managers, who will make the House's case in the Senate trial. "As I said right from the start, we need to see the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?" Pelosi queried. Pressure is mounting on Pelosi, who is trying to give Democrats more leverage in setting rules for the trial in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority, as some Democrats have urged her to send over the articles of impeachment. "Our report accompanying the articles of impeachment says the president constitutes a clear and present danger to American constitutional system," Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters on Thursday. "We have to move forward on a basis that does justice to what the Constitution provides," added Raskin. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Pelosi on Thursday, saying in a tweet: "This is a challenging time to create bipartisan agreement. But the Speaker Pelosi has managed to do the impossible. "She has created growing bipartisan unity -- in opposition to her own reckless games with impeachment." McConnell has said that the Senate should model Trump's impeachment trial after that of former President Bill Clinton, by dealing with potential witnesses after the trial begins. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, has wanted to make sure certain witnesses would be called upon for the trial before it starts, which McConnell has so far rejected. In an anonymous complaint last year, a whistleblower raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine, resulting in the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry against Trump. The President was alleged to have pressed his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, into launching investigations that could politically benefit him. Furthermore, the White House allegedly tried to cover it up. Having repeatedly denied any wrongdoings, Trump lashed out at the impeachment at the White House on Thursday, calling it "a hoax". According to the nation's Constitution, the House has the sole power of impeachment, while the Senate can try all impeachments. Conviction can only happen in the Senate and requires at least two-thirds of its members, or 67 Senators, to vote in favor after a trial. Currently, the Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two Independents. Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when BancFirst (BANF) reports results for the quarter ended December 2019. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise. Zacks Consensus Estimate This Oklahoma financial services holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.04 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +6.1%. Revenues are expected to be $108.60 million, up 7.8% from the year-ago quarter. Estimate Revisions Trend The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.65% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Earnings Whisper Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction). The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Story continues Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for BancFirst? For BancFirst, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that BancFirst will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue? Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that BancFirst would post earnings of $1 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.07, delivering a surprise of +7%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times. Bottom Line An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. BancFirst doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BancFirst Corporation (BANF) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The Department of Justice on Friday ordered an investigation into the gruesome killing of a former Batangas congressman. It instructed the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a case build-up on the death of ex-Rep. Edgar Mendoza, his aide, and his driver. The bodies of the three men were found charred inside a burning vehicle in Tiaong, Quezon on Thursday. The Palace has condemned the "outrageous" killing of the ex-Batangas lawmaker. This is an outrageous act of barbarism. The perpetrators of this heinous crime will be pursued till they are placed behind bars," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Thursday. Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC Review internet suspension in J&K forthwith rules Supreme Court India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court has ordered the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review all restrictive orders within a week. All orders are to be put in public domain which can then be challenged in a court of law, the court also said. The observation was made while delivering the verdict on a batch of petitions on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370. The court also said that all orders of restriction under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure should be published so as to enable affected persons to challenge it. The bench also said that temporary suspension of internet, basic freedom of citizens should not be arbitrary. It should be open to judicial review. The internet suspension should be reviewed the court also said. J&K: SMS facility for all mobile phones, internet services at govt hospitals resume The court said that freedom of internet is a fundamental right under Article 19(1), which deals with free speech. Trade and commerce through internet is protected under Article 19(1) (g), which deals with fundamental right to conduct trade and commerce. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week The court said that internet services are intrinsic to right to free speech and cannot be suspended without providing reason and duration there of. Certain trade and commerce are completely dependant on the Internet. Such trade and freedom to practise then is a constitutionality protected as fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g). Mere expression of dissent or disagreement against a government decision cannot be a reason for Internet suspension, the Bench headed by Justice N V Ramanna also said. On the use of Section 144, the court said it cannot be used as a tool to oppress difference of opinion. The court also disapproved of the refusal by the administration to produce all relevant documents issued in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Magistrates while passing restrictive orders under Section 144 should apply their minds and have a sense of proportionality between danger to security and liberty of citizens. Repetitive orders without giving reasons and not based on material facts will be violative, the court also observed. The court also observed that suspension of free movement, Internet and basic freedom cannot be an arbitrary exercise of power. Expressions through the internet and social media has contemporary relevance the Supreme Court also said. Mobile Internet services restored in Kargil district of Ladakh The Supreme Court was delivering its verdict on a batch of pleas, including that of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad challenging the restrictions imposed in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) following abrogation of provisions of Article 370. On November 21, the Centre had justified restrictions imposed in J&K after the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and said that due to the preventive steps taken, neither a single life was lost nor a single bullet fired. T he growing volume of evidence that the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed in Iran earlier this week, killing 176 people, was shot down by an Iranian missile has inevitably led to international demands for the authorities in Tehran to provide a frank explanation of what they know, and to enable a proper investigation of the disaster to take place. They should do so because as Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose citizens were among the victims, said last night, his country deserves answers about what now appears likely to have been a tragic mistake. So too do other nations affected, including our own. So far the response of the Iranian regime has been predictably lamentable with one official claiming bizarrely that scientifically, its impossible for a missile to have downed the plane. Another has dismissed reports, based on Western intelligence, that this is what happened as psychological warfare. Such bluster is not good enough and Iran must do much better. To begin, it should answer key questions, including whether any anti-aircraft missiles were fired by its forces at the time of the crash. US satellites are reported to have detected an Iranian anti-aircraft battery being switched on shortly before the plane went down, followed by two infra-red signals from suspected missiles. Iran knows whether this reflects the reality and, if it does, it should come clean. If it still claims it doesnt, then what explanation does it have for the videos of the apparent missile strike or the photos of missile fragments that have emerged? Tehran must also allow independent analysis of the planes black box, and ensure the crash site is preserved, not purged of evidence as seems to be happening. Full access with safe passage must also be given to international investigators to let them assess the evidence independently. The Iranian regime is, of course, a murderous, unpleasant one thats doubtless capable of shooting down a passenger jet. But even if whats happened was an error, caused by an overly jumpy response to the risk of another US strike after the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, then Iran will still be guilty of reckless killing. The families will never get their loved ones back, and they deserve answers. Iran must tell the truth now. Refreshing Jess Phillips Who would you like to have a drink in the pub with? Its the question pollsters often ask the public to work out which politicians they like. Theres no doubt that of all those vying to become Labours next leader, Jess Phillips would be the peoples favourite to go to the local with. Her down-to-earth style and humour shine in the exclusive interview she has done with the Evening Standard today. In a swipe at the Prime Minister, she says she remembers how many children she has because I really remember those kids being born it hurt! She tells us movingly about how her brothers struggles with mental health and rough sleeping informed her values and a lifelong commitment to helping the homeless, a vital issue for the Evening Standard and our capital. Ms Phillips addresses some reasons why Labour lost the election. She wont join others in false praise for the dismal leadership of Jeremy Corbyn; she wants to root out the far-Left apparatchiks. And she recognises that only an outside investigation into anti-Semitism will restore trust with the Jewish community. But repairing the damage of the past doesnt add up to a compelling vision of the future. Here Ms Phillips has less to say. She wont distance herself from the non-credible policies that Labour offered in its manifesto, has no substance to flesh out what she says is her passion for education, and wont say boo to the goose of the overly-powerful trade unions. Lets hope we hear more from her. Ms Phillips has certainly got us listening. But as many politicians in the past have learned, the person that the public would like to have a pint with is not necessarily the person they want running the country. Listen to today's episode of The Leader: Loading.... TODO: define component type apester WASHINGTON The U.S. promised appropriate action Friday in response to its assessment that an Iranian missile was responsible for downing a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, as the Iranian government denied playing a role in the killing of all 176 people on board. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level U.S. official to directly pin the blame on Iran, after Canadian, Australian and British leaders announced similar intelligence conclusions Thursday. We do believe it is likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile, he said. Pompeo said an investigation would continue into the incident and that once it was complete he was confident that we and the world will take appropriate action as a response. Leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile. Earlier Friday, Iran denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed the jetliner that crashed early Wednesday outside Tehran, hours after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike last week. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans national aviation department, told a press conference. If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world in accordance with international standards, he added. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings. The ballistic missile attack on the bases in Iraq caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully, though Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. If the U.S. or Canada were to present incontrovertible evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran, even if unintentionally, it could have a dramatic impact on public opinion in Iran. The Iranian public had rallied around the leadership after the killing of Soleimani last Friday, with hundreds of thousands joining the generals funeral processions in several cities, in an unprecedented display of grief and unity. But sentiments in Iran are still raw over the governments crackdown on large-scale protests late last year sparked by an economic crisis exacerbated by U.S. sanctions. Several hundred protesters were reported to have been killed in the clampdown. Those fissures could quickly break open again if Iranian authorities are seen to be responsible for the deaths of 176 people, mainly Iranians or dual Iranian-Canadian citizens. Iran still points to the accidental downing of an Iranian passenger jet by U.S. forces in 1988 which killed all 290 people aboard as proof of American hostility. U.S., Canadian and British officials said Thursday it is highly likely that Iran shot down the Boeing 737, which crashed near Tehran early Wednesday. U.S. officials said the jetliner might have been mistakenly identified as a threat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost 57 citizens in the downing, said we have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, he said. The U.S. officials did not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by Russian Tor system, known to NATO as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. Western countries may hesitate to share information on such a strike because it comes from highly classified sources. Videos verified by The Associated Press appear to show the final seconds of the the ill-fated airliner, which had just taken off from Iran early Wednesday. In one video, a fast-moving light can be seen through the trees as someone films from the ground. The light appears to be the burning plane, which plummets to the earth as a huge fireball illuminates the landscape. Someone off-camera says in Farsi: The plane has caught fire. In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. God, please help us. Call the fire department! Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the missile theory is not ruled out, but it has not been confirmed yet. In a Facebook post, he reiterated his call on all international partners the U.S., Britain and Canada in particular to share data and evidence relevant to the crash. He also announced plans to discuss the investigation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later on Friday. Pompeo also called Canadian Foreign Minister FrancoisPhilippe Champagne to offer his condolences for the Canadians who perished in the crash and offered U.S. support for full cooperation with any investigation, the State Department said. Ukraines Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko tweeted that he and the president met with U.S. Embassy officials Friday and obtained important data about the crash. The minister didnt specify what kind of data it was, but said it would be processed by our specialists. In an interview with Fox News Laura Ingraham that aired late Thursday, Pompeo said commercial airliners need to know if it is safe to fly into and out of Tehran. If the international community needs to shut down that airport, so be it, he said. We need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly. Germanys Lufthansa airline said it and subsidiaries are canceling flights to and from Tehran for the next 10 days as a precautionary measure, citing the unclear security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport. Other airlines have been making changes to avoid Iranian airspace. Britains Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Iran, and against all air travel to, from or within the country. Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying Iran has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations. He later said a 10-member Canadian delegation was heading to Iran to assist victims families. Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the U.S. accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said late Thursday that it would evaluate its level of participation, but its role could be limited by U.S. sanctions on Iran. U.S. officials have also expressed concern about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that his department would grant licenses to allow global investigators to travel to Iran and participate in the investigation. Under rules set by a United Nations aviation organization, the NTSB is entitled to participate because the crash involved a Boeing 737-800 jet that was designed and built in the U.S. The French air accident investigation agency, known by the French acronym BEA, is also taking part in the probe. The planes engine was designed by CFM International, a joint company between French group Safran and U.S. group GE Aviation. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the burning plane was trying to turn back for the airport when it went down. The Iranian report suggested that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737, operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport early Wednesday. Those findings are not inconsistent with the effect of a surface-to-air missile. Such missiles are designed to explode near aircraft, shredding them with shrapnel. There is no need to score a direct hit, and a stricken plane may look like it is turning back when in fact it is disintegrating. Abedzadeh, the senior aviation official, said authorities have recovered two black box flight recorders, saying they are damaged but readable. They may shed further light on what caused the crash. ___ Krauss reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Karimi reported from Tehran. Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, Nadia Ahmed in London and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed. Mad Rabbit Tattoo was co-founded by Selom Agbitor and Oliver Zak with customer-centricity at its core. Mad Rabbits winning product can be credited to the support and formulation knowledge of Olivers mother, who has years of homeopathic expertise from managing a holistic apothecary. Their all-natural formulation outperformed the other chemical-ridden tattoo products on the market in early focus group testing. With this competitive edge, the two Miami University seniors decided to enter the marketplace. The pair quickly discovered that in the area of skincare and tattoo healing their all-natural tattoo aftercare outperformed the current products available. Sales began to pour in immediately after online launch, leaving Oliver and Selom with the undeniable feeling that they were on to something special. With six figures in sales in under a year, the success was apparent. Their senior year of college served as a testament to the businesss success, with increasing demand in the market. "On some days, we spent +12 hours mixing, cooking, and preparing our product, with backorders we still couldnt fill immediately." - Selom Agbitor - co-founder Mad Rabbit Tattoo. Mad Rabbit All Natural Tattoo Balm is formulated with all-natural, locally sourced, and organic ingredients from the greater Los Angeles area. My mom was the primary force behind the perfect mixture, leveraging her years as the manager of an all-natural apothecary. With my mothers formulation expertise, we found that we were able to achieve peak performance with 7 key natural ingredients. The exact Mad Rabbit Tattoo balm formula is proprietary information, however, it has natural: shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, calendula oil, sweet almond oil, lavender, and frankincense. There is great intent behind each ingredient chosen for the tattoo balm. Each one has specific healing and nourishing properties individually. The magic occurs when these powerful ingredients are combined. What a breakthrough for a product that actually works and replenishes faded tattoos; it really brings the artwork to life. - Tattoo Connoisseur The Mad Rabbit Team wasted no time in setting up cost-effective manufacturing plants and distribution centers nationally, and they quickly shifted their attention towards marketing their winning product to the world. Mad Rabbit soon after hired a professional marketing team to support their organic growth efforts. Sales and logistics are one thing, but their customer base was raving about the effective nature and comfort of the balm-- and the world needed to hear about it. People spend a lot of money on their tattoos, and they want their vibrant colors to last. - Tattoo Artist. Jason J says Tattoo reviving- 1st class. Makes all Tattoos really stand out and fresh. [Its a] shame there no UK supplier to turn to rather than waiting a week or 2 for delivery from the USA. Feel free to view more of the verified Mad Rabbit Tattoo Butter Customer Testimonials at the bottom of the product page. "All tattoos fade no matter the amount of money you spend on them... We wanted to create a product that would help tattoo fanatics wear their ink more proudly, for much longer." - Oliver Zak -co-founder Mad Rabbit Tattoo Revitalize, replenish, and preserve your body art with the hottest tattoo balm on the market. Effective on both new & old tattoos. Our packaging is very intentional. We used metal tins to prevent outside contaminants from entering the product, while cutting down on plastic waste. We wanted a healthy, all-natural product that our customers would love.." Selom Agbitor - co-founder Mad Rabbit Tattoo. Mad Rabbit is offering a monthly subscription starting at $5 for the first month. The subscription allows customers to experience the Mad Rabbit Tattoo aftercare difference at more than half off the normal price! Click here to take part in the monthly subscription program and begin rejuvenating your tattoos with Mad Rabbit. MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDERS Mad Rabbit was founded by two brothers with a passion for ink. The pair found an opportunity to create a superior natural healing balm to help improve the healing process and built a brand we felt artists and clients can vibe with. The main goal was to get rid of all unnatural and processed ingredients you'd find in a traditional moisturizer, and decided to return to the basics of simple, natural ingredients. Motivated by the challenge, they set out on a mission to create the best performing tattoo balm in the business. Mad Rabbit promotes individuality, adventure, and anything badass. Lewis Elementary Schools At-Risk Counselor Xochitl Carias has noticed empathy among students increase since rescue dogs started visiting classrooms. Canine pals Layla and Max were recent guest teachers in a second-grade bilingual classroom at the school. Spring ISD captured the visit in a video about Healing Species of Texas, a character education program that Carias said has been making a difference. Ive heard about it in the playground about friendship and, you know, seeing each other with a heart, or I see the kids doing this," Carias said, bringing her hands together in a heart shape. "Because they learned that in the lesson." Through the program, Healing Species of Texas representatives and rescue dogs visit classrooms. The rescue animals backstories and interactions supplement lessons on social skills such as perseverance and compassion. RELATED: Spring ISD adds new courses to its education planning guide for 2020-21 school year Spring ISD was able to provide eight weeks of the program at four of its schools through a Rebuild Texas grant, according to a district press release. During the recent Lewis Elementary visit, the days lesson was on diversity and respect. Bringing dogs that dont look like each other and yet still are best friends, thats a super important lesson to the kids that need to get along with each other when they dont look like each other, said Joy Southard, Healing Species of Texas chapter director. Mutual support is one of the overarching concepts the program aims to instill in students. Using rescue dogs to do so may help drive the point home. The main focus is to teach them that they have the tools to rescue each other, Southard said. Rescue is super important. The days lesson on empathy seemed to resonate with second-grader Osthin Bonilla, whose favorite animal happens to be dogs. RELATED: Spring ISD Police Department K9 graduates training That means for me to be a good person and respect people, Bonilla said in the press release. It doesnt matter whether people are different or not. Student Matthew Mayo shared his classmates sentiment. Even though youre different, you can still be like best friends. mfeuk@hcnonline.com YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The first Cabinet meeting in 2020 was held on January 9, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister congratulated everyone on the start of the working year: I think 2019 was a successful year; in 2018-2019 we in fact managed to solve the short-term problems on our agenda, while 2020 should be the time to deal with strategic issues. I also think that 2020 is a good start, and the new or updated concept that we have proposed to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia and not only to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia has in fact been justified. While the figures are not yet summarized, but at least the visual image is the same, and it should be noted that the decisions we took on Republic Square on New Years Eve were not of secondary importance. Taking into account the experience of 2018-2019 and the fact that we sometimes proved short of time, next years activities should be planned starting today. In general, the events of the year are clear for us, the calendar, including September 21, and other events, this year we plan to launch a yarkuchta dance festival in the Republic of Armenia. What I am saying is that all events should be planned and implemented through normal competition procedures and, if not excluded, at least minimize purchasing practices on the part of one person. And I mean that such investments would be economically justified if they had not already been justified, he noted. Nikol Pashinyan also addressed the issue of tourism development in the country and noted that 2020 would be a better year for tourism, for which there are clear signals. We all expect 2020 to be a better year for tourism, and there are concrete facts to consider. More reasonable air flights to the Republic of Armenia will begin soon, Ryanair will launch its first flight next week and the process is underway. In the international press, the most prestigious media provide information to their readers and their public, advising to choose Armenia in 2020 as the main tourist destination. All this is good, but I would like to emphasize that we have a lot to do in this area, in particular with regard to increasing the level of service in our country and solving the problem of quality of service, said the Prime Minister. Nikol Pashinyan also noted that there will already be two flights to Gyumri. The content of transporting tourists to other areas of the airport must also be seriously considered. And in general, the scenes that unfortunately still persist are often found in Armenian airports when people leaving the customs area of the airport are subjected to group attacks by various service providers. The Prime Minister instructed the heads of the agencies concerned to take steps to solve the above-mentioned problems: Tourists arriving in Armenia should be provided with information leaflets on approximate taxi fares, approximate prices on everything, including the options and possibilities of using a more civilized taxi service, as this is very important not only today but also in the long run. Talking about ways to change people's lives and overcome poverty, the Prime Minister said: Work is the way to wellbeing and overcoming poverty in the Republic of Armenia. Now we have created sufficient scope for this work, and where there is no self-regulation in this area, we have to impose certain standards. We tell people that we have exempted you from these taxes, we give you the opportunity to carry out various development projects, in agriculture, etc., and we bring you potential customers from all over the world. And so our job is to create all the working conditions. In the long term, the formula for a good life is education, in the long term, it is impossible to live well without education, without skills and to take advantage of all these opportunities. I would like to emphasize again that by education I mean not only primary education, not only higher or postgraduate education, but also daily education, because man has been in the educational process throughout his life. Nikol Pashinyan noted that we should start 2020 based on these findings. The problem is very clear: we expect fairly high economic growth for the past year, and our economic growth rate in 2020 should be higher than in 2019. The government must make serious efforts to do this, but the biggest effort of the government is to follow a medical principle - first, not to hamper businesses, entrepreneurs so that they can create this national product, first - not to hinder, and where we can help, we have to help solve these problems, he said. The Government made decisions to improve the countrys demographic situation. According to one of the decisions, it is proposed to fix a flat-rate benefit of 300,000 drams for the first and second children born on July 1, 2020 or after. Under the applicable procedure, birth allowance was 50,000 drams for the first child and 150,000 drams for the second child. Consequently, the amount of the flat-rate allowance for children will be increased by 250,000 AMD for the first child and by 150,000 AMD for the second child. The Government amended the decision to grant Anitex a tax exemption permit. The company imported raw materials for textile production (fibers, blankets, cushions) for the first stage of 2018, with a total budget of around AMD 8.6 billion. Currently there is a need to import additional batches of around 2.8 billion drams in the second phase. According to information provided by the company, 44 new jobs have been created and AMD 696,484,383 AMD has been invested in the company as part of the investment program. Economy Minister Tigran Khachaturian presented a summary of the privileges granted to companies by government decisions in 2019. Last year, 57 programs were approved by the government. The total investment value made 212 billion drams. We have allowed for AMD 14.8 billion in tax privileges. It is planned to create 3,320 jobs. Some of these projects are still underway and will be continued in 2020 and perhaps in 2021. Many of these programs benefited from VAT deferral privileges. There were 13 such programs with a total VAT amount of 10.1 billion drams, the Minister said. No media source currently available The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Protesters stormed the offices housing the de facto presidential administration in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia demanding the resignation of separatist leader Raul Khajimba on January 9. Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the Politburos meeting in Hanoi on January 10 on disciplinary actions against two Party officials. Secretary of the Hanoi municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai They include Politburo member Hoang Trung Hai, who is also Secretary of the Hanoi municipal Party Committee, former member of the Party Affairs Committee and former Deputy Prime Minister; and member of the Party Central Committee, deputy head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission and former Secretary of the Ha Giang provincial Party Committee Trieu Tai Vinh. In his capacity as a member of the Party Affairs Committee, Deputy PM Hai committed serious wrongdoings and shortcomings in directing the implementation of the second phase of the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Corporation (TISCO II). He showed a lack of responsibility and failed to thoroughly consider opinions of ministries and agencies on the projects engineering, procurement, construction contract No.01, against the Governments working regulations and the State regulations on investment and export credit. Hai also failed to inspect and to direct the inspection provided for by the Governments working regulations. His violations and shortcomings were serious, causing public concern, badly affecting the Partys and his own prestige. Given the nature, level, consequences, causes of violations, his working process and contributions to the Party and State, the Politburo decided to give a warning against him as a disciplinary measure based on its Decision No.102 QD/TW dated November 15, 2017. As for Vinh, while serving as a member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, he showed serious violations and shortcomings during the 2018 national high school examination. He showed a poor sense of responsibility for directing inspection and discovering violations, leading to several local officials and Party members being disciplined and facing criminal charges. Vinh also failed to seriously follow the Politburos regulations on the Party leadership on law enforcement agencies. His younger sister also committed violations in the exam. Upon learning about it, Vinh infringed responsibility for setting example for Party officials and members in line with the Party Central Committees regulations. In accordance with the Politburos Decision No.102-QD/TW dated November 15, 2017, on disciplinary actions against violating Party members, the Politburo decided to give a reprimand to Vinh./. Social media was abuzz after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, decided to step back as senior members of the Royal family. Internet was flooded with a barrage of opinions on the couples decision to take a progressive new role which was also aimed at giving their son a chance to grow up normally with awareness about his royal heritage. The Royal couple, in a statement, said that they intend to become financially independent while extending full support to The Queen. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages, the statement read. Soon after the announcement, reports emerged that Queen Elizabeth II and senior Royals called on aides to find a "workable solution". Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through, read the statement. Royal members to relinquish the title However, its not the first time that members of royal families have relinquished their titles to live a relatively common life. King Edward VIII abdicated this throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite and divorcee, in 1937 which threatened a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom. The couple lived together until Edwards death in 1972 and Wallis died in 1986 at the age of 89. Read: When Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Made Headlines For The Right Reasons Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Phillip was born a Royal to Greece and Denmark but had to relinquish the title to marry the Queen and accepted English title. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philips daughter, Princess Anne, married a commoner Mark Phillips who turned down the offer of Earldom to Phillips. Read: Queen Calls For Urgent Solution To Prince Harry Crisis: Media Carol II was another Royal member, the oldest son of Romanias ruler, who had to renounce his claim to the throne due to his extra-marital affairs with Magda Lupescu. Though he became the King in 1930 through a coup d'etat, he was forced to live in exile ten years later. In 1947, Carol and Lupescu got married and stayed together until the formers death in 1953. Other royal members who had to renounce their position are Japanese princess Atsuko for marrying a dairy farmer and Princess Ubolratana of Thai royals who fell in love with Peter Jensen and married him in 1972. Read: Meghan Markle And Prince Harry To 'step Back As Senior Members Of The Royal Family' Read: Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Wish Kate Middleton On Her 38th Birthday Israel to release two prisoners one of whom was convicted of spying for Syria as part of a deal brokered by Russia. Israel has announced the release of two prisoners one of whom was convicted of spying for Syria as part of a swap deal brokered by Russia. Sidqi al-Maqt, from the Druze community in the occupied Golan Heights, was jailed in 2015 for 11 years on charges of treason and espionage, support for terrorism and contact with a hostile organisation. He had already spent several years behind bars in Israel for spying. Security prisoner Sidqi Al-Maqt will be released tomorrow [Friday] January 10, before the scheduled end of his imprisonment, Israels prison authority said late on Thursday. Authorities also announced the early release of another Golan resident, Amal Abu Saleh, who was jailed for the murder of a Syrian who crossed the Israeli border. He had been due to remain behind bars until 2023. 190314064314828 Both men were freed before the end of their imprisonment in coordination with the Israeli military, the Prisons Service said. They were expected to return to Majdal Shams, a Druze village in Golan Heights territory Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 war. In April last year, Israel freed two Syrian prisoners back to Syria in an initial goodwill gesture for the return of Zachary Baumels body after it was discovered by Russian special forces in Syria. Baumel was declared missing in action along with two other Israeli soldiers after a 1982 tank battle with Syrian forces in Lebanon. Speaking to reporters outside Ketziot prison in southern Israel, al-Maqt said his release is thanks to the efforts of President Bashar al-Assad. The will of the Syrian people won and the will of [Assad] won when the Israeli enemy and the Israeli occupation were forced to release us without any conditions or restrictions, al-Maqt said. According to Israeli media, the two mens release was delayed because they wanted to return to the Israeli-annexed town, rather than travel to Syrian-held territory. The Syrian state news agency SANA quoted al-Maqt as saying he looks forward to the liberation of all Syrians. The roughly 20,000 Druze residents of the Golan Heights largely consider themselves Syrian and do not recognise Israels sovereignty there. There was no immediate comment on Fridays release from Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Syria this week, only his second since intervening in that countrys civil war in 2015. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday backed his party colleagues offering free movie tickets of Deepika Padukone-starer 'Chhapaak', saying it was their gesture to support the actress for showing her solidarity with JNU students. The Congress does not want that the movie be boycotted by the BJP as a "punishment" for standing with students, Tharoor said. "So, we are showing solidarity to her by giving tickets to college students. We do not want anyone to be boycotted because of showing courage to stand with the students," he said in a press conference. A section of BJP leaders, including South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, have given a call to boycott the movie after Padukone made a surprise visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday to express solidarity with students attacked by a masked mob. Delhi Congress leaders arranged a special screening of the movie for students in Daryaganj area here on Friday. "We bought all the 920 tickets of the 2-pm show. Around 800 students watched the film. Deepika stood with our students. Now it is our turn to support her," Congress leader Alka Lamba said. The movie has been declared tax-free in Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BERLIN - European foreign ministers on Friday said that the escalation between the United States and Iran had risked progress against Islamic State militants, and they rallied behind their tattered nuclear deal, despite President Donald Trump's renewed call for allies to abandon it. The European Union has said that it will "spare no effort" to keep the 2015 deal alive, even though Tehran said it would no longer be bound by the agreement's restrictions on centrifuges and uranium enrichment following the Trump administration's killing of Maj. Gen.Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force. "It's not dead, we have to bring it back to life," Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said of the deal as he arrived for the emergency meeting with counterparts from the 28-member bloc. Analysts say Europe is reticent to give up on the effectively dead deal as they attempt to maintain relevancy and lack any diplomatic alternatives. European leaders have struggled to come up with a unified and committed response, and they largely watched from the sidelines as the crisis of the past week unfolded. While not directly criticizing the Trump administration's decision to kill Soleimani - which European officials indicated they were not informed of in advance - EU leaders raised concerns about the fallout. Their statements were tepid and, in some cases, slow. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took nearly four days to comment. The Trump administration's frustration was underscored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when he said last week that European leaders had not been "as helpful as I've wished." "The crisis risked jeopardizing years of effort to stabilize Iraq," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles said Friday, citing implications for the "decisive work" of the international coalition fighting Islamic State militants. Some European countries have pulled troops out of Iraq, while others have repositioned them for what they said would be a temporary period. A NATO training program for Iraqi troops has paused operations due to security concerns. Iraq's parliament has called for U.S. troops to withdraw. Amid the tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested an expansion of NATO to include Middle Eastern countries and said the organization should play a bigger role in the region. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that he had spoken to Trump and that the organization is looking into what it can do further to combat "international terrorism." The European foreign ministers also discussed possible consequences for Iran if it is determined that one of its missiles shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people near Tehran on Wednesday. Early Saturday, Iran said its military "unintentionally" shot down the plane and blamed "human error" for the incident, confirming claims made by Western intelligence agencies. Much would depend on Iranian cooperation going forward, said Stef Blok, the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, adding that the investigation first needed to be concluded. The foreign ministers called on Tehran to return to its commitments under the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Tehran has gradually reduced its adherence to the deal - intended to put curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief - since the United States withdrew in 2018 and reimposed its sanctions. But as recently as Sunday, Tehran said it was open to negotiations with the Europeans. There are indications that European patience may eventually come to an end. Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Friday, German foreign ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said that discussions had taken place with Britain and France on whether European countries should trigger a dispute mechanism within the deal that could lead to a "snapback" in U.N. sanctions on Iran. However, Fontelles said that was not discussed by the wider group on Friday. "What is clear is we stick to the survival of this deal," he said. - - - Quentin Aries in Brussels and Luisa Beck in Berlin contributed. Washington Evidence indicates it is "highly likely" that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran late Tuesday, U.S., Canadian and British officials said Thursday. They said the strike, which killed all 176 people on board, could well have been a mistake amid missile launches and high tensions throughout the region. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid a confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Four U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said they had no certain knowledge of Iranian intent and the airliner could have been mistaken for a threat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Toronto: "We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile." Earlier Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the crash and dismissed Iran's initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane "Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a "pretty rough neighborhood." The U.S. officials wouldn't say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. It was not immediately clear how the U.S. and its allies would react to the downing of the airliner. Despite efforts by Washington and Tehran to step back from the brink of possible war, the region remained on edge after the killing of the Iranian general and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes. U.S. troops were on high-alert. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent much of Wednesday at the White House and on Capitol Hill briefing on the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the resulting attacks by Iran. The New York Times posted a video Thursday it said it had verified showing the moment the apparent missile struck the plane over Iran. The video shows a fast-moving object rising before a fiery explosion. An object, apparently on fire, then continues in a different direction. A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the aircraft was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down. Ukraine, meanwhile, said it considered a missile strike as one of several possible theories for the crash, despite Iran's early denials. The Iranian report suggests that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines late Tuesday, when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Investigators from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization offered no immediate explanation for the disaster, however. Iranian officials initially blamed a technical malfunction for the crash, something backed by Ukrainian officials before they said they wouldn't speculate amid an ongoing investigation. Before the U.S. assessment, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Hasan Rezaeifa, the head of the of civil aviation accident investigation commission, claiming that "the topics of rocket, missile or anti-aircraft system is ruled out." The Ukrainian International Airlines took off at 6:12 a.m. Wednesday, Tehran time, after nearly an hour's delay at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport, the main airport for travelers in Iran. It gained altitude heading west, reaching nearly 8,000 feet, according to both the report and flight-tracking data. Then something went wrong, though "no radio messages were received from the pilot regarding unusual situations," the report said. In emergencies, pilots reach out to air-traffic controllers to warn them and to clear the runway for their arrival, though their first priority is to keep the aircraft flying. Eyewitnesses, including the crew of another flight passing above, described seeing the plane engulfed in flames before crashing at 6:18 a.m., the report said. The crash caused a massive explosion when the plane hit the ground, likely because the aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine. The report also confirmed that both of the "black boxes" that contain data and cockpit communications from the plane had been recovered, though they sustained damage and some parts of their memory was lost. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Hours before the plane crash the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had issued an emergency flight restriction barring U.S. carriers and pilots from flying over areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace warning of the "potential for miscalculation or misidentification" for civilian aircraft due to heightened political and military tensions. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, told Ukrainian media that officials had several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike. "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," Danilov said. Ukrainian investigators who arrived in Iran on Thursday awaited permission from Iranian authorities to examine the crash site and look for missile fragments, Danilov said. The Tor is a Russian-made missile system. Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007, and Iran has displayed the missiles in military parades. Iran did not immediately respond to the Ukrainian comments. However, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian armed forces, denied a missile hit the airplane in a comments reported Wednesday by the semiofficial Fars news agency. He dismissed the allegation as "psychological warfare" by foreign-based Iranian opposition groups. Ukraine has a grim history with missile attacks, including in July 2014 when one such strike downed a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard. The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. Many of the passengers were believed to be international students attending universities in Canada; they were making their way back to Toronto by way of Kyiv after visiting with family during the winter break. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, "Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash. We will surely find out the truth." The crash ranked among the worst losses of life for Canadians in an aviation disaster. The flag over Parliament in Ottawa was lowered to half-staff, and Prime Minister Trudeau vowed to get to the bottom of the disaster. The U.S. accident investigator, the National Transportation Safety Board, is talking to the State Department and the Treasury Department about traveling to Iran to inspect the U.S.-built aircraft and working with Iranian authorities despite U.S. economic sanctions against that country. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday expressed confidence that the Centre will give a positive response to the demand for introducing Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state. The ILP is an official travel document issued by the government to grant inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. Sangma said he would take a delegation to New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah for handing him over the resolution passed by the Assembly urging the Centre to implement the ILP in the state and ensure total exemption from the new citizenship law. The chief minister told reporters that he has talked to Shah over the phone and is hoping to get an appointment next week. "We will try to convince the government of India that this (ILP) is something which we require. Yes, exemption (from the CAA) has been given to our state to a large extent but we want full exemption," Sangma said. According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The indigenous people of the North Eastern states are scared that they would lose their identity and livelihood because of the new law. The region witnessed large-scale protests over this issue. The legislation, however, will not be applicable to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and in the areas covered under the ILP. Manipur, the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram in the region, was brought under the ILP regime from January one to protect the indigenous people of the state after the Citizenship Act was amended by Parliament. "Exemption is one part of the protection. The other protection we require is from the movement (of people) that will take place because of the implementation of certain Acts. That is why we need the ILP," the chief minister said. Asked on the status of the ordinance to amend the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016 for registration of outsiders visiting the state, Sangma said the ordinance technically is not applicable right now because a resolution to implement the ILP has been passed by the House. "We are moving ahead with the ILP.... We are going to meet the Union home minister in this regard. We will make a decision based on how things move," he said. To another query, the chief minister said the MRSSA and the ILP are policies meant to achieve a similar goal. Image Source: PTI Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The Philippine government has planned out measures to assist overseas workers who will be repatriated from the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict there, a Cabinet official said Friday. Apart from the planned livelihood training and packages, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said displaced OFWs may also seek redeployment and transfer to other countries if they still want to pursue work abroad. Io-offer din naman natin ang kanilang (We will also offer) redeployment if they want to work again overseas-- but no longer in the Middle East, Nograles said in a chance interview with reporters in Malacanang. Nograles said the government has been in contact with countries including Japan, Canada, Germany, China, and Russia in hopes that they will be open to employ the Filipino workers. The redeployment scheme will prioritize repatriated individuals from conflict areas in the Middle East, particularly Iraq. If we need to redeploy them, kasi nga gusto magtrabaho abroad, kung sino man ang mga friendly countries natin na ready to accept our OFWs, the priority will be those who were repatriated from Iraq, Nograles added. [Translation: If we need to redeploy them because they want to continue working abroadwhichever countries are friendly and ready to accept our OFWs, the priority will be those who were repatriated from Iraq.] President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered a mandatory repatriation of Filipinos from some parts of the Middle East, after the highest threat alert was raised amid tensions between the United States and Iran. More than a thousand Filipinos in Iraq have expressed their desire to avail of the governments repatriation program. The government earlier said mandatory repatriation of Filipinos has been ordered in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon as the highest alert level was raised in those countries. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday, however, confirmed mandatory repatriation from Iran and Lebanon has been called off following the lowering of the alert level in those areas. The heighest alert level remains in place in Iraq. Conflict in the Middle East stemmed from the death of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed following a strike ordered by US President Donald Trump. TIMELINE: US-Iran conflict and how it gravely affects Filipinos Trump on Wednesday said Iran appears to be standing down after the reported retaliatory attacks of its troops. Local government officials, however, urged Filipinos to still come home for their safety. The effort to convince them (to go home) will continue, safety and well-being ang nakataya dito (are at stake)," Overseas Workers Welfare Administration administrator Hans Cacdac told CNN Philippines. RELATED: Airlines pledge free flights for OFW repatriation amid Middle East tensions Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also assured military troops remain ready to assist OFWs who still want to come home from the Middle East. CNN Philippines Alyssa Rola and Eimor Santos contributed to this report. Brad and Leo are rocking tuxes, Ricky Gervais is pissing people off, and Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic are seemingly everywhere. You guessed it: the holidays are over, and were right back in the thick of movie awards seasonwhich, for us plebes, really means were in the thick of argument season. Theres a lot to debate: Joker could win Best Picture, Rocketman could win something, Little Women could be completely looked over. The humanity! Heres something we can all agree on, though: 2019 was a phenomenal year for movies. It was deep, weird, and memorable. Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Al Pacino teamed up; Bong Joon-Ho made his masterpiece; Willem Dafoe did a lot of farting. Its easy to get caught up in which movies were best, but theres a more pressing concern: Can 2020 movies live up to 2019? Its a tough ask, but here are 11 reasons to be hopeful for 2020 movies. Your favorite characters from the 80s, 90s, and 00s are back, baby! If were going to bring back any and everything, we might as well bring back the good stuff. That shouldnt be a hard concept to grasp, but its seemingly taken until [checks watch]... now. Beyond sequels to recent hits like A Quiet Place, this year will see the return of legends like Bill and Ted (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey (Bad Boys for Life), Prince Akeem (Coming 2 America), and Maverick (Top Gun: Maverick). Will the majority of these revivals be disappointing? Probably. But if thats the cost of leather jackets coming back in style, so be it. Other classic properties are back too If the craven way Disneys gone about remaking its catalogue has you down, heres a remedy: listen to Denis Villeneuve talk about his new take on Frank Herberts sci-fi pillar, Dune (previously adapted by David Lynch). I dream about it all the time, he told me during a 2017 interview. The way it explores the relationship between religion and politics, natural resources, the ecosystem. Its very, very inspiring. And Villeneuves Dune isnt the only seemingly ambitious remake of an old property coming this year. Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus will star in Downhill, an English-language version of Ruben Ostlunds ski vacation disaster comedy Force Majeure. One of its writers is Succession creator Jesse Armstrong. This movie most definitely does not need to fuck off! Story continues Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios Pixars putting out original movies again The closest thing to a sure bet in Hollywood is that a new, original Pixar movie will be an instant classic. The small Disney subsidiarys batting average is remarkable. In part, thats because they dont take a lot of swings. Pixars last non-sequel was 2017s Cocoand, before that, 2015s Inside Out. This year, though, that little lamp is going to be doing a lot of hopping. In March, Tom Holland and Chris Pratt star in Onward, as two teenage elf brothers searching for magic in a suburban fantasy world. And in June, Jamie Foxx stars in Soul, as a disillusioned musician who has to find his way back into his body in the afterlife. The mind behind Upgrade is taking on classic literature Remember Upgrade, the pulpy 2018 Blumhouse flick about a man (Logan Marshall Green) whos paralyzed in a car accident, and then becomes a superhuman killing machine with the help of a computer chip implant? (how could you not?) Upgrade writer-director Leigh Whannel (who you also might recognize from Saw) is taking his talents to the high school mandatory reading list, with an Elisabeth Moss-starring take on H.G. Wellss The Invisible Man. Spike Lee is making a hidden treasure expedition set in Vietnam If racial injustice wasnt such an ingrained, persistent aspect of American history, Spike Lee might simply be one of the best craftsmen of gritty thrillersthis generations Sidney Lumet. It can be easy to forget that he made one of the best heist movies of all time, in 2006s Inside Man. This year, Lee is releasing Da 5 Bloods, about four African-American Vietnam veterans returning to the country to search for one of their men, and also hidden treasure. Its sure to be a big political statement, but also a wild adventure. Christopher Nolan is venturing into a new (but no less confusing) dimension Given that Christopher Nolan has messed with space, time, magic, and the subconscious mind, its kind of hard to believe that he hasnt played with the afterlife yet. Thatll change, though, with this years Tenetat least, we think so, based on the movies vague trailer. Truthfully, Nolans newest flick looks kind of confusing. Why is John David Washington killing himself? Why does he need to die to save the world from World War III? What could be worse than Nuclear Holocaust? Heres what we know for sure though: Robert Pattinson drives backwards in some sort of car chase. And really, what more do you need? Wes Anderson is going to France If the setting of Wes Andersons last feature, 2018s Isle of Dogs, turned out to be a bit problematic, the setting of his next seems kind of perfect. Cinemas master of twee is headed to the twee capital of the world. The French Dispatch, about an American journalist who creates a magazine, will feature Anderson mainstays like Frances McDormand and Bill Murray, as well as newcomers like Bob Dylan and Benicio del Toro. Its reportedly a love letter to journalism (translation: there will be pipes, typewriters, and matching newsboy caps). Courtesy of Netflix Adam Driver will be in another marriage story Leos Carax is back with his first movie since 2012s Holy Motors. The French auteurs latest, Annette, will be his English-language debut. And whats more, itll star Adam Driver as a stand-up comedian who marries an opera star played by Marion Cotillard. If you were into Adam Driver singing Stephen Sondheim in Marriage Story, get ready for him in a full-on movie-musical. Charlie Kaufman has a new adaptation Charlie Kaufman tends to take a... circuitous approach to adaptation (see: Adaptation). So, whos to say what hell do with Iain Reids recent psychological thriller, I'm Thinking of Ending Things? The book, which was released to great acclaim in 2016, follows a young woman on a trip to a boyfriends parents remote farmhouse. This will be Kaufmans first film in five years, which seems like plenty of time for him to have gotten lost in his uniquely peculiar mind. The romantic comedy is born again The romantic comedy had a strange go of it in the 2010s. Thanks to streaming giants like Amazon and Netflix, there was no shortage of themand yet, perhaps because love is dead, the gems were as few and far between as good Tinder dates. What was really missing, with a few exceptions (The Big Sick, Silver Linings Playbook), were the right leads. The actors and actresses that wouldve been rom-com superstars in past decades got sucked into Marvel movies and prestige TV. But this year, our hearts are beating faster, because Issa Rae will appear in two promising pairings: The Photograph with Lakeith Stanfield and The Lovebirds with Kumail Nanjiani. The formers track record is virtually unparalleled, and the latters had chemistry with a 300lb wrestler. So far as blind dates go, these seem pretty promising. Ben Affleck and Anne Hathaway will appear in a movie that sounds like Triple Frontier but is actually a Joan Didion adaptation Sometimes the most disparate elements combine for the best reactions (see: maple bacon donuts). Heres hoping thats the case when Mudbound director Dee Rees takes on Joan Didions 1996 political thriller about a journalist (Hathaway) who gets mixed up in a Central American arms-running scheme. Willem Dafoe plays Hathaways father. Ben Affleck shows up somewhere along the way. What could go wrong? Originally Appeared on GQ A former professor will serve a little more than seven years in federal prison for dealing methamphetamine in Iowa. Randal Mark Gilbert, 61, who now lives in eastern Iowa, was sentenced on Wednesday, Jan. 8, to 85 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute meth near a school, according to the Associated Press. Federal prosecutors said Thursday that police found more than 10 grams of meth in a search of Gilberts home, which was within 1,000 feet of Lisbon High School in Lisbon, Iowa. According to AP, police said that after Gilberts arrest and release on bond, he barged into the home of a woman whom he believed had set him up, cut the phone line and threatened her with a knife. He then forced the woman to go with him to his house. Its unclear where Gilbert had been a professor. While the Associated Press initially reported that Gilbert had taught at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, in the universitys Seidman College of Business, a GVSU spokesman said later Friday that the school has no record of Gilbert ever having taught at the school. They would never have got together had it not been for a chance observation while browsing a newspaper, a sleazy soothsayer and a coincidence that would stretch the credulity of the most gullible reader. In the Sixties, Maurice Woodruff a clairvoyant and astrologer was being paid by film companies to steer the notoriously superstitious Peter Sellers in the direction of their projects. After gazing at the tea-leaves and into crystal balls, Woodruff told Sellers someone with the initials 'B.E.' would become very prominent in his life. He meant the film director Blake Edwards, hoping Sellers would register the link and accept the role of Inspector Clouseau in A Shot In The Dark, Edwards' second Pink Panther film. Whirlwind romance: Peter Sellers with his young bride, Britt Ekland, in 1964 Peter Sellers and actress Britt Ekland on their wedding day Princess Margaret in a car along with Tony Armstrong Jones, Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland in April 1965 Unfortunately, Sellers saw a photograph of a beautiful Swedish blonde called Britt Ekland in a newspaper and, after registering that her name had the astrologically significant initials, sent his henchman, Bert Mortimer, to her hotel room at the Dorchester to fix up a date. The Bardot-like beauty was in London to co-star in a Richard Attenborough film called Guns At Batasi and when Sellers clapped eyes on the 21-year-old Britt for the first time in February 1964, he was not disappointed. 'I was knocked over, absolutely stunned,' he said of a girl 16 years his junior. 'I couldn't believe it. She was so great. She wore a simple dress and her hair was like sunlight. Unbelievable.' The smitten Sellers bombarded her with flowers and expensive little gifts and just ten days later they were walking down the aisle. But things went downhill pretty swiftly. After four years of marriage, Ekland divorced the man she dubbed 'a monster' and this week it emerged that more than 50 years later she still bore him a grudge. Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland pictured in 1965. After four years of marriage, Ekland divorced the man she dubbed 'a monster' and this week it emerged that more than 50 years later she still bore him a grudge When Will Sellers, the comic icon's grandson by the son of his first wife Anne, approached her to appear in a BBC documentary to mark the 40th anniversary of his death this summer, she refused point blank. The truth is that the Britt who accepted Sellers's proposal of marriage was like a lamb to the slaughter and the ensuing relationship left her with deep emotional scars. In a bid to explain her impetuous decision some time later, she said: 'I was very young and he swept me off my feet.' She knew nobody in London and here was this famous comic actor making a fuss, squiring her about town. Looking back, it's easy to see her naivete was being exploited. The wedding was like a scene from a movie. Sellers arranged for a professional 16mm film to be made, complete with a commentary by his friend, the actor David Lodge. Lodge was joint Best Man with Sellers's long-time sidekick, the sycophantic actor Graham Stark, of whom John Le Mesurier had said: 'Graham Stark is the only man in London with a flat up Peter Sellers' bottom.' The stills photographer was celebrity snapper Terry O'Neill. For the reception at Elstead, Sellers' Surrey mansion, stuntmen from Shepperton Studios kept the Press away from the gates. The only caustic note was sounded by Sellers's grim old Jewish mother, Peg, who took one look at Britt's Aryan perfection and referred to her as 'that bleedin' Nazi'. Though they were regularly pictured in the papers, the relationship deteriorated immediately. 'I had never lived with a man,' said Britt. 'I came straight from my parents.' Having no idea what was expected of her, she attempted to follow the geisha rules laid down by romantic novelist Barbara Cartland. 'When he comes in at night,' Britt said of her husband, 'I have changed, combed my hair. I'd never let him see me wandering around in curlers or a dressing gown.' Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland arrive at an airport before flying to Paris in December 1964. The truth is that the Britt who accepted Sellers's proposal of marriage was like a lamb to the slaughter and the ensuing relationship left her with deep emotional scars The compliant, cosy, deferential scene was undermined somewhat by Sellers's feelings of morbid jealousy and by the couple's instant separation. For only two days after the wedding, Sellers was expected in Hollywood to begin making Kiss Me, Stupid, with director Billy Wilder. Britt was meant to work on Guns At Batasi, about a fictional military coup in East Africa, being shot at Pinewood. From LA, Sellers wrote a rather despairing, revealing letter: 'I have a dreadful fear at the back of my mind that you might leave me . . . I love you desperately and think you are so absolutely wonderful in every way that I find it very difficult to understand why you married me.' As Sellers didn't fully believe in himself, he didn't trust anyone's affections towards him either a very dangerous combination of insecurity and narcissism, resulting in control freakery. Graham Stark and David Lodge had small parts in Guns At Batasi, and Sellers told them to keep his new bride under surveillance. He feared she'd allow herself to be seduced by fellow cast member John Leyton, who'd had a No 1 hit in 1961 with Johnny Remember Me. Sellers phoned Britt long- distance from Hollywood: 'Why don't you take the day off and come over?' He assured her he'd clear all this with her producers, he was well connected and he'd worked twice with Batasi's director, John Guillermin, on the feature films Never Let Go and Waltz Of The Toreadors. This was bluster. Sellers said nothing to any producer, and Britt later felt she'd been more or less abducted: 'He made sure I didn't go back.' Her role was re-shot with Mia Farrow. The litigation lasted years, Sellers countersuing 20th Century Fox for 'mental distress and injury to his health'. The couple pictured together in 1965. The compliant, cosy, deferential scene was undermined somewhat by Sellers's feelings of morbid jealousy and by the couple's instant separation Meanwhile, to make himself extra-virile in bed, Sellers, aged not quite 40, was taking ampoules of amyl nitrate, or poppers, which disrupted his metabolism and on April 7, 1964, he suffered a series of heart attacks. Billy Wilder, who had not hit it off with his star, commented: 'Heart attack? Heart attack? You've got to have a heart before you can have an attack!' Sellers was replaced by American actor Ray Walston, the footage all re-done, and Kiss Me, Stupid was a huge flop. Back at Elstead, it was Britt's job to see Sellers through his convalescence, and to administer his complex cardiological medication. He was an ungrateful invalid. When he found out Britt was pregnant, Sellers said: 'I've got Michael, I've got Sarah. I don't want any more children.' Director Bryan Forbes and Nanette Newman, his actress wife, had to talk him out of insisting Britt had an abortion. When she went into labour with Victoria in January 1965, he dumped her on the pavement outside the Welbeck Street Clinic and whizzed off to make What's New Pussycat. When Britt eventually visited him on the set, she blotted her copybook by mistaking Sellers for Woody Allen there was a physical similarity, which Sellers found irksome. When he was again mistaken for Woody, by a Hollywood mogul during the making of Casino Royale in 1967, he was next heard from in Sweden. Sellers had gone into hiding with Britt's parents and refused to return to the film. Sellers was incredibly mischievous in his off-screen life, too. At Elstead, where Britt was sometimes so bored that she'd spend an evening gazing at her reflection in the polished marble of the fireplace, the pair would dine on frozen cottage pie and fish fingers, served by a butler. When Goons fan Prince Charles came to lunch, Sellers hadn't made provision for his bodyguards, and told the cook to divide His Royal Highness's portion among his entourage Charles was surprised to receive an eyeful of food. 'Sheer insanity,' said Spike Milligan. Sellers and Britt made home movies with Lord Snowdon and Princess Margaret and Sellers asked Snowdon if he'd like to swap wives. Sellers had to settle for a new camera lens instead, and Snowdon got a speedboat in return. Sellers also asked Bryan Forbes if Nanette could be exchanged for Britt, but Forbes managed to laugh off the suggestion. That such a crazy scheme could be broached indicates all was not well. 'Being with Peter was like riding on a rollercoaster,' remembered Britt. 'One minute you were flying high, the next you were running low.' Nothing came lower than his doomed efforts to turn her into his one big impossible love, Italian film star Sophia Loren. In 1967, Sellers and Britt went to Rome to make The Bobo, in which he was a singing matador and she was to be a seductress. He insisted she wear a black wig, like Loren's. This was ridiculous but he couldn't see it. 'You're a lousy bloody actress,' he told her. 'Why don't you listen to what I tell you?' Not exactly morale-boosting comments which began to be backed up with violence. He stamped on Britt's wedding ring so often that Garrard, the Queen's jewellers, got used to having to fix it. He threatened her with a shotgun, ripped up her clothes, smashed her cassette player and carefully took apart her Cartier watch, flushing the cogs down the lavatory. He also chucked her out of hotels and when her parents came from Stockholm to rescue her after a flare-up on the island of Ischia, he didn't like to hear them babbling in Swedish, as he felt excluded. Sellers threw her luggage off his yacht, and Bert Mortimer was for ever having to gather up her personal effects. 'Our marriage is finished!' Sellers would cry. Britt fought back, once bashing him over the head with a picture frame. 'You hit me with me mum,' he said, when he saw the cherished photo of Peg on the floor. They were divorced in 1968, Britt citing Sellers's psychological cruelty. He carried on getting married and divorced, treating women like cars or cameras, accessories he could replace without compunction when he was fed up. For all his craziness, however, there has not been a comic actor to touch him. From the The Goon Show to Ealing classics, Boulting Brothers films, work with Stanley Kubrick, Inspector Clouseau, all the way to Being There, Sellers remains a comic genius and it doesn't much matter any more that he was a mean-spirited egomaniac. As for Britt, she became a Bond girl, and starred in Get Carter and The Wicker Man. In Scandal, she is to be glimpsed on a sofa, with tassels on her nipples. She had a long relationship with Rod Stewart and a shorter one with Warren Beatty. In 1996, she auctioned off her memorabilia at Christie's including the wedding dress from her marriage to Sellers and the come-hither Polaroids he took on the night they met. 'I wanted to get rid of it all,' she said. 'I'm so tired of that sexy, cute little sex kitten, the youthful Britt.' I can sympathise with that. ROGER LEWIS'S book The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers was made into a Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning film by HBO, where Sellers is played by Geoffrey Rush and Britt Ekland by Charlize Theron. Two people have been hospitalized after a shooting in an East Side neighborhood Thursday night. Police responded to the 700 block of Canton Street around 11:30 p.m. for a shooting in progress. When they arrived, police found one man with gunshot wounds in his neck and torso, and a woman who was shot in the hand, officials on scene said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau properly set out on Thursday what Canadians expect, and indeed deserve, in the aftermath of the crash of UIA Flight 752, a tragedy that has devastated so many families across the country. They want closure, transparency, accountability and justice, he said. And, he added, this government will not rest until we get that. Its a big promise, and certainly justified given the totally unsurprising revelation that the plane did not fall out of the sky of its own accord. Multiple intelligence sources, we now know, believe the plane was likely brought down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile minutes after taking off from Tehran airport. Even if, as the prime minister quickly added, this may well have been unintentional. But while Canadians expect and deserve all that, how on earth does the government expect to deliver anything close to it? Begin with transparency. A tragedy on the scale of UIA 752 should be investigated by experts from around the world, as international accords require, with information shared freely. Public safety should be the sole priority. Iran itself has signed onto that principle by joining international conventions on air safety. And if Canadians are going to get answers, and be confident they can believe the results of any investigation, their own aviation safety experts should be fully involved, on the ground at the crash site as quickly as possible. Not just as observers but as active participants. Yet, to no ones surprise, this isnt happening. Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Thursday could only say that Iran is open to letting Canadian safety experts in, even though Ottawa has no diplomatic relations with Tehran. But are those experts on their way? Actually, no. The best Canada has so far is a promise from Ukraine to share information once the Iranians allow its inspectors to examine the doomed planes black boxes. Second-hand access through a friendly third party, in other words. Indeed, theres no reason to think the Iranian regime will permit a truly transparent investigation and many reasons for it not to let that happen. Especially if those multiple intelligence sources are right, and the finger does in the end point to some hapless Iranian air-defence official who pressed the launch button at the wrong time with catastrophic results. It would make no sense for the Iranians to deliberately bring down a passenger plane, containing many of its own people and zero Americans. But miscalculations in times of war happen all too often; memories quickly flashed back to 1988, when a U.S. Navy ship shot down an Iranian airliner with 290 civilians aboard, mistaking it for a warplane. Which leads to accountability. Its hard enough for even the most democratic government to investigate its own ranks, figure out what went wrong, and identify those responsible for tragic errors. For a regime as secretive and defensive as Irans, under intense pressure from the outside world and riven by rival factions, its totally unrealistic. The Iranians may want for their own purposes to get to the bottom of what happened. But from what were learning its most likely to turn out to be a major embarrassment, not something theyre eager to talk about. Finally, justice and closure. Families mourning the deaths of sons, sisters, mothers and grandfathers across Canada certainly deserve that. But in the absence of transparency and accountability, its hard to imagine how anything approaching justice will be achieved. Closure, in the end, will be for each family to manage in its own way. Trudeau says his government wont rest until Canadians who lost loved ones on UIA 752 have answers. Thats a fine promise. But the sobering reality is that theyre likely to end up with a lot less than they, and all of us, deserve. Read more about: The Royal Astronomical Society is pleased to announce the winners of its medals and prizes for 2020, the bicentenary of the foundation of the RAS. Each year the Society recognises significant achievement in the fields of astronomy and geophysics through these awards. The announcements were made at the Ordinary Meeting of the society held on Friday 10 January. The winners will be invited to collect their awards at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Bath in July. Their achievements cover research in topics including the Earth's core, the Sun, distant objects in the Solar system, the formation of galaxies, and the Universe as a whole. Awards also recognise outstanding contributions in public engagement, and service to the astronomy and geophysics communities. The Society's highest honour is its Gold Medal, which can be awarded for any reason but usually recognises lifetime achievement. Past winners include Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Arthur Eddington and Stephen Hawking. It was first awarded in 1824; since 1964 two have been awarded each year: one for astronomy, and one for geophysics. This year the winners of the Gold Medals are Professor Sandra Moore Faber of the University of California Santa Cruz and Professor Yvonne Elsworth of the University of Birmingham. Professor Faber is one of the leaders worldwide in the study of galaxies, with an enduring legacy of contributions across a wide range of topics in galaxy structure, galaxy evolution and cosmology. In 1976 she discovered, with Robert Jackson, a relation (known as the Faber-Jackson relation) between the central velocity dispersion of stars in elliptical galaxies and the mass of the galaxy. Professor Faber was one of the early pioneers of a model of galaxy formation based on cold dark matter, which now underpins our current understanding of how galaxies and clusters of galaxies come into being. She contributed to the designs of the giant Keck Telescopes on Hawaii, and helped diagnose and remedy the flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope mirror. Her Gold Medal recognises these achievements as part of her scientific leadership over five decades. Professor Elsworth is a pioneer in solar physics, with her outstanding achievements in helioseismology - the study of the Sun using its oscillations - revealing fundamental insights into the structure and dynamics of the solar interior and core. Her work enabled a deeper understanding of our own Sun, and by applying helioseismology to other stars, to stellar structure and evolution in general. Her technical expertise, dedication and exceptional leadership over many years have been instrumental in the success of the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON) and in realizing the full potential of helioseismology. Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Elsworth has played a prominent role in shaping policy and one lasting influence of her work is the improved gender balance in astronomy. The Gold Medal recognises her achievements in science, and her service to the scientific community, across a long and distinguished career. Professor Mike Cruise, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "The RAS awards recognise the achievements of an extraordinarily talented group of people from the UK and across the globe. In this special bicentenary year, we're continuing our longstanding tradition of honouring the the very best researchers, those who rise to the challenge of engaging the wider public with our science, and those who make our science possible with their behind the scenes service. Congratulations to all the winners!" The Society also awards more than 20 other medals, awards, lectures and honorary fellowships; for more information on the awards and the achievements of the winners, see the full citations linked from the winners' names below at https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/leading-astronomers-and-geophysicists-honoured-ras-bicentenary-year (available after the embargo expires, or on request from the RAS press team) Awards are designated 'A' for astronomy (including astrophysics, cosmology etc.) and 'G' for geophysics (including solar physics, planetary science, solar-terrestrial physics etc.). Some awards are given in both fields. Full list of awards: Gold Medal (G): Professor Yvonne Elsworth, University of Birmingham Gold Medal (A): Professor Sandra Moore Faber, University of California Santa Cruz Chapman Medal (G): Professor Cathryn Mitchell, University of Bath Herschel Medal (A): Professor Rob Fender, University of Oxford Eddington Medal (A): Professor Steven Balbus, University of Oxford Price Medal (G): Dr Philip Livermore, University of Leeds Jackson-Gwilt Medal (A): Professor Roland Bacon, Lyon Center for Astrophysical Research Agnes Mary Clerke Medal (A/G): Dr Michael Hoskin, University of Cambridge Fowler Award (G): Dr Craig Magee, University of Leeds Fowler Award (A): Dr Amaury Triaud, University of Birmingham Winton Award (G): Dr Michele Bannister, Queen's University Belfast Winton Award (A): Dr Thomas Collett, University of Portsmouth Group Achievement Award (G): STEREO Heliospheric Imager Team Group Achievement Award (A): Astropy Project Team Service Award (A/G): Ms Kim Burchell, STFC Patrick Moore Medal (A/G): Dr Caroline Neuberg, Fulneck School Annie Maunder Medal (A/G): Professor Roberto Trotta, Imperial College London 'Named' lectures to be delivered at a meeting of the Society: Gerald Whitrow Lecturer (A): Professor Andrew Pontzen, UCL George Darwin Lecturer (A): Professor Ofer Lahav, UCL James Dungey Lecturer (G): Professor Sarah Matthews, UCL ### Media contacts Dr Robert Massey Royal Astronomical Society Tel: +44 (0)20 7292 3979 Mob: +44 (0)7802 877699 press@ras.ac.uk Dr Morgan Hollis Royal Astronomical Society Mob: +44 (0)7802 877700 press@ras.ac.uk Images and captions Professor Sandra Moore Faber. Credit: Steve Kurtz / UC Santa Cruz Professor Yvonne Elsworth. Credit: Yvonne Elsworth Notes for editors The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organises scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognises outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 4,400 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others. In 2020 the RAS is 200 years old. The Society is celebrating its bicentennial anniversary with a series of events around the UK, including public lectures, exhibitions, an organ recital, a pop-up planetarium, and the culmination of the RAS 200: Sky & Earth project. The RAS accepts papers for its journals based on the principle of peer review, in which fellow experts on the editorial boards accept the paper as worth considering. The Society issues press releases based on a similar principle, but the organisations and scientists concerned have overall responsibility for their content. Follow the RAS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio The husband of an in-home daycare provider has pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the sexual assault of two young children. Terry McFadden, 70, will be sentenced on March 3 after pleading guilty Thursday to two first-degree felony counts of rape, WBNS Channel 10 reports. The victims were ages 4 and 7. McFadden was arrested in April after police received a referral from Franklin County Childrens Services, ABC 6 reports. Police say McFadden abused the two children while they were at the daycare operated by his wife in their home, WCMH Channel 4 reports. Grandview Heights is a suburb of Columbus. To comment on this story, visit Thursdays crime and courts comments page. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Cleveland man charged in 2017 death of Egyptian immigrant killed during robbery Cleveland robber told Burger King employee hed return for his food, records say U.S. Attorneys Office in northern Ohio collects nearly $54 million in last fiscal year Burglar stole 60 bottles of wine, TV from Clevelands Bar Cento and Bier Markt, police say Elyria mother bought marijuana while her 4-year-old wandered streets in the middle of the night, report says Cleveland police solved more homicides in 2019 than in previous years despite critical detectives shortage, data shows Photo: Blink Fitness/Yelp Interested in checking out the newest restaurant and retail additions to Fort Worth? From a nail spa to a fitness center, read on to see the latest businesses to open their doors near you. Ziva Nail Lounge Photo: Zach B./Yelp Ziva Nail Lounge is a day spa that can be found at 408 Houston St. Services provided at Ziva Nail Lounge range from standard manicures, dip powder nails, gel polish and acrylic sets to specialty pedicures, facials, waxing and body massages. Zalat Pizza Photo: Zalat Pizza/Yelp Drive past 843 Foch St. and you'll encounter the latest outpost of Zalat Pizza, an outlet to score pizza and more. In the words of the business' Facebook page, Zalat Pizza specializes in flavorful pizza options, such as classic margherita, pineapple with bacon, buffalo chicken, New York-style pepperoni and the Pho Shizzle, which consists of chicken, bell peppers, onions, cilantro, basil, hoisin sauce and Sriracha. Blink Fitness Photo: Blink Fitness/Yelp Now open at 7410 N. Beach St. in Summerfields is a new outpost of Blink Fitness, a gym and personal training studio chain. Blink Fitness, which has numerous locations across the United States, provides a variety of strength-training, functional and cardiovascular exercise equipment in its facility, along with an enthusiastic team of employees to help clients reach their fitness goals. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 09:25:57|Editor: yhy Video Player Close OTTAWA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has been invited by Iran's accident investigation agency to the site where a Ukrainian airliner crashed, killing 176 people on board, including at least 63 Canadians, the board said Thursday in a statement. "We have accepted this invitation and we are making arrangements to travel to the site. The TSB will be working with other groups and organization already on site," the board said. Iran's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is in charge of the investigation according to international aviation rules. A Ukrainian delegation has been reportedly working on site with the Iranian authorities. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday his government has intelligence indicating that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane. However, the Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied allegations or speculation that the crash of the Ukrainian flight was caused by an Iranian missile attack. Iranian technicians and experts from Boeing will examine data from the black boxes recovered from the crash site to determine the cause of the crash, Mohammad Eslami, Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development, told reporters Thursday. Mourners place candles and photographs outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, during a vigil for those killed when a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed minutes after take-off from Irans capital (Codie McLachlan/The Canadian Press/AP) Grieving families deserve the truth about the cause of the Tehran plane crash, the Foreign Secretary has said, after Western leaders said intelligence suggested the jet was mistakenly shot down by an Iranian missile. Dominic Raab echoed calls by the Prime Minister and his Canadian counterpart for a thorough investigation into the disaster which killed all 176 people on board the Ukrainian aircraft, saying Iran should open up the crash site to international investigators. Late on Thursday, US officials said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile near Tehran hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general, Qassem Soleimani, in an American air strike. Boris Johnson said there was a body of information which indicated the aircraft was brought down by a missile and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said there was intelligence from multiple sources. It came as a teenager who was brought up in south-west London was named as among the victims. Arad Zarei, 17, who had recently relocated to Canada having attended St Marys Primary School in Twickenham until the end of Year 6 in 2014, was said to have been visiting his mother in Iran. A spokesman for the school said: Staff and governors at St Marys School are shocked and immensely saddened to hear of the tragic death of our past pupil, Arad Zarei, in the recent plane crash. Arad attended St Marys until 2014 and is remembered fondly by his teachers. We wish to extend our prayers and condolences to Arads family and friends at this time. A spokesman for nearby Orleans Park secondary school said two of Arads friends were granted permission to stay at home and grieve following the death, but confirmed Arad was not himself a pupil. British citizens Sam Zokaei, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi and Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh were identified as among the dead on Wednesday. Mr Tahmasebis wife, Niloufar Ebrahim, was also among those killed. She was not yet a British citizen but was planning to settle in the UK with her new husband. Expand Close Niloufar Ebrahim (left) and her British engineer husband, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, were killed in the plane crash in Iran on Wednesday (Family handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Niloufar Ebrahim (left) and her British engineer husband, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, were killed in the plane crash in Iran on Wednesday (Family handout/PA) The New York Times has published a video which it said showed the moment a missile hit a plane above Parand, near Tehrans airport, the area where the Ukrainian airliner stopped transmitting its signal before it crashed on Wednesday. Iran has ruled out a missile strike by its air defences and initially suggested the cause was a fire in one of the planes engines. The country has now invited Boeing to take part in the investigation into the crash after initially refusing to do so, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. US air accident investigators have also been invited to take part, Iranian officials said. Speaking in Canada, Mr Raab said: We agree with the Canadian assessment that indicates that Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, and as (Canadian Foreign Minister) Francois-Philippe (Champagne) said it may well have been unintentional. Our view on the crash underlines why we urgently now need an independent, full and transparent investigation to establish what caused it. The Iranian regime must open up to the international community, including access to the crash site, so we can get to the truth as quickly as possible to give the families of the victims an understanding of what happened to their loved ones. The families of the victims deserve to know the truth, and we say that whether theyre Canadian families, British families, Ukrainian families, Swedish, German, Afghan. And let us not forget the Iranian families because they have suffered the greatest loss of life in this terrible incident and they deserve to know the truth too. We urge Iran not to repeat the reckless and dangerous attacks and rather pursue the urgent de-escalation and return to diplomatic dialogue. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised British travellers against all air travel to, from and within Iran. Earlier, Mr Johnson confirmed that four Britons died in the crash up from initial reports of three. The Boeing 737-800 plane crashed moments after it left Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at 6.10am local time (2.40am GMT) on Wednesday, bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The airline ruled out human error in the aftermath of the incident, and the crew were not said to have made an emergency call. Japanese specialists work at the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro project in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. Its growth potential and low-cost labor supply continue to curry favor among Japanese companies, making Vietnam their most promising Asian investment destination. 41.2 percent of the 820 valid responses chose Vietnam as the most promising destination for overseas invesment in 2020, according to a survey released Wednesday by Japan-based News Network Asia (NNA), a news agency providing economic and business reports for Japanese companies operating in Asia. The respondents preferred Vietnam for its growth potential and skilled and low-cost labor force as well as its proximity to China, the worlds second largest economy, showed the survey, conducted from November 26 to December 9 last year. Vietnam's GDP expanded 7.02 percent in 2019, slowing from 7.08 percent in 2018, but remaining the second highest growth figure in the last decade. According to the survey, India was second at 12.2 percent, with expectations for its growing market and its potential as a doorway to the Middle East and Africa. Myanmar ranked third at 11.6 percent, while Indonesia was fourth at 6.6 percent. A survey conducted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation last month revealed Japanese investors chose Vietnam the third most attractive investment destination behind India and China for the medium and long term. FDI pledges for new projects, capital supplements and stake acquisitions in Vietnam rose 7.2 percent year-on-year to $38 billion in 2019, marking a 10-year high, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Japan was Vietnams fourth largest FDI contributor in 2019 after South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted that there are big gaps in intelligence that Iran was planning attacks on the Americans, which was an excuse for the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The secretary of state also insisted that Soleimani was planning "a series of imminent attacks" when he was killed. "We dont know precisely when -- and we dont know precisely where," Pompeo said. "But it was real ... There was a real opportunity here and there was a real necessity here. We made the right decision. The president made the right call." As reported earlier, the legendary Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed as a result of an air strike by the US Air Force not far from Baghdad Airport. President Donald Trump, who ordered his assassination, said he was preparing the killings of Americans in the region, including the bombings of US embassies. Tehran, in its turn, launched a missile strike at two sites in Iraq that were used by the US military. Trump then said that Washington would immediately tighten economic sanctions against Tehran. Congratulations. You survived another grueling week. Now it's time to plan your weekend. But first happy hour. Houston has an expansive array of bars, lounges and restaurants that offer fancy cocktails, fun drinks and delectable foods. Fortunately for you, Chron.com has compiled a list of some of the best bars around town that offer the best drink specials at a reasonable price to spice up your happy hour plans. Click through the gallery to some of the best spots in town to get your drink on. You know what they say, "It's five o'clock somewhere!" Michelle Iracheta is a digital reporter in Houston. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | michelle.iracheta@chron.com Larry David has a message for his political doppelganger, Bernie Sanders: Drop out, already! I thought when he had the heart attack that was going to be it I wouldnt have to fly in from Los Angeles. But, you know, hes indestructible! Nothing stops this man, the comedian, who has memorably impersonated Mr. Sanders for years, told Stephen Colbert. If he wins, do you know what thats going to do to my life? Itll be great for the country, terrible for me. Sorry to curb your enthusiasm, Larry. But Mr. Sanders is doing prettaayy, prettaayy good in the Democratic race. (See what I did there?) Polling released this week of Iowa and New Hampshire voters shows Mr. Sanders in a virtual three-way tie with Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg in the first nominating contests. Its a remarkable political revival for Mr. Sanders, one that even some of his closest advisers admit they couldnt have predicted. Remember, less than four months ago, the 78-year-old had a heart attack. It was the kind of perilous health situation that traditionally would doom a presidential candidate, particularly one who was already facing questions about his age. Boeing's outgoing chief executive, who was terminated last month for his handling of the 737 Max crisis, will exit the company with more than $62 million, the company said in a filing on Friday. The airplane manufacturer said Dennis Muilenburg forfeited a severance package worth $14.6 million. However, he is contractually obligated to receive equity and pension benefits valued at $62.2 million, the company said. In addition, Muilenburg also retains stock options currently worth about $18.5 million. Boeing announced the details of Muilenburg's exit package on the same day Spirit AeroSystems, one of the largest suppliers of the 737 Max, sent layoff notices to roughly 2,800 employees at its Wichita plant, citing "ongoing uncertainty" involving Boeing's 737 Max jet, airplane parts supplier. About half of Spirit's annual revenue comes from supplying parts for the Max, which has been grounded for 10 months following two fatal crashes. In December, Boeing announced it would indefinitely halt production of the Max beginning in January. The firing of Muilenburg, who had worked for Boeing for more than three decades, was a desperate attempt by the company to win back the trust of regulators and the public after crashes of its 737 Max aircraft led to the deaths of 346 people and accusations that Boeing had misled regulators and its customers. His successor as CEO, David Calhoun, stands to receive a compensation package valued at $28 million, including a long-term incentive award of $7 million if he reaches a number of milestones, including the "full safe return to service" of the 737 Max, Boeing said on Friday. The company also said Kevin McAllister, an executive fired last year after a rocky tenure overseeing the commercial plane division, will receive a lump sum of $14.75 million to compensate him for a pension he forfeited when he left General Electric in 2016. The rich compensation of Boeing's executives contrasts with the economic challenges now facing rank-and-file workers affected by the 737 Max grounding. Spirit said in a news release that Boeing has not told it how long the production suspension will last, or given it any information about what future production rates might look like. Boeing, in turn, is waiting for word from the Federal Aviation Administration on when the planes will be cleared to fly again. "The difficult decision announced today is a necessary step given the uncertainty related to both the timing for resuming 737 MAX production and the overall production levels that can be expected following the production suspension," Spirit AeroSystems president and chief executive Tom Gentile said in a statement. The company expects to conduct further layoffs "later this month" at two factories in Oklahoma. More layoffs could follow after that, the company warned. Regulators have concluded that equipment flaws played a role in a pair of deadly plane crashes of the 737 Max that killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. For more than a year, Boeing has been working on a set of fixes designed to make the plane safer. But the timeline for clearing the plane to fly again has continually been pushed back as more technical problems were discovered. The Spirit layoffs are the most significant job market impact yet from more than a year of upheaval in Boeing's commercial airplanes division. The engineers, machinists and other tradesmen who work on Boeing's assembly lines have been somewhat insulated from the turmoil because Boeing kept its production line open throughout the extended grounding, hoping the FAA would quickly deem the planes flightworthy. It wasn't until December that the Chicago-based aerospace giant announced it would stop producing the 737 Max in January. Boeing still does not anticipate any layoffs or furloughs, a company spokesman said Friday. But hundreds of suppliers spread across the U.S. have no such assurance. Moody's ratings agency identified 24 companies with varying levels of exposure to the crisis, including General Electric, Honeywell and numerous specialized providers. "Boeing's late-December directive to cease deliveries changed everything," Moody's analysts wrote in a note to investors. Boeing has described its production halt as "the least disruptive decision to maintaining long-term production system and supply chain health," and pledged to work with suppliers to lessen the impact when possible. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes "We regret the impact this has had on Spirit AeroSystems," a Boeing spokesman said Friday. "We remain focused on safety and quality as we assess our production needs, and are working with all of our suppliers to ensure production system stability to support the 737 MAX return to service." A representative from the International Association of Machinists, a union that represents Spirit workers in Wichita, pledged to look for ways to lesson the impact on workers. "Machinists members and their families in this community have some tough decisions in front of them," Cornell Beard, president and directing business representative of the union's Wichita district, said in an email. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., chairman of an aviation subcommittee and whose district includes a major Boeing factory, said Spirit's announcement took the disruption from the continued grounding to another level. "It's getting to the point where it's not just a delay, or produce and put pieces aside until the thing gets built, now it's really starting to attack people in terms of making them move or just totally laying them off," he said. "That's frustrating, it disheartening, it's disconcerting." - - - The Washington Post's Ian Duncan contributed to this report. New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Rashesh Shah, Chairman and CEO of Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, to join the investigation in a foreign exchange case, ED officials said. Shah is under the scanner in a Rs 2,000 crore forex scam. The case pertains to violation of foreign exchange involving Capstone Forex Private Limited, a Mumbai-based firm. Shah did not turn up for questioning on January 9 and new summons has been issued against him. They are relieved but hardly at peace: Iranian-Americans in a town outside Washington say that even as tensions with Tehran ease, they're not optimistic about prospects for real detente between the two long-time enemies. "I hope, I wish, that war is not going to happen," said Massoud Mossadad, owner of a grocery store specializing in Iranian and other Middle Eastern products in Vienna, Virginia. The community is home to a sizeable chunk of the estimated 80,000 Iranian-Americans in the Washington area. "Unfortunately, if it happens, imagine how many people will lose their husband, their parents, their sons," said Mossadad, 63. He has lived in America for 40 years after leaving his country following the Islamic revolution of 1979. He and others spoke Thursday after the United States and Iran apparently stepped back from the brink of war following the US killing in a drone strike of the powerful Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq last week. Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles towards Iraqi military bases housing US troops but none were hurt. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran was apparently "standing down" after the world feared a major conflagration. Trump issued a call for peace, but in the grocery store and elsewhere in Vienna, people of Iranian origin were anything but upbeat. "I was very scared because my mom is supposed to leave for Iran in two weeks to visit our family after a long time," said Mitra Davani, a 37-year-old dentist. Iranian-born but living in Vienna since 2005, Davani said she was particularly shocked by Trump's threats to attack Iranian cultural sites, in comments that caused an outrage because such an act would be considered a war crime. Trump later backed away, saying he likes to "obey the law." - 'The Best President' - "This is scary. My family comes from a town near Persepolis," Davani said of the remains of an ancient Persian city listed as a UN World Heritage site. She said it would be devastating if it were attacked. She said she was skeptical of Trump's comments Wednesday that he was "ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." "It does not come from the heart. It is not his own words. It does not sit well. Hopefully his advisors advise him well and everything will calm down," Davani said. Parvin Garakoui, speaking at one of Vienna's Iranian restaurants, also said she was very scared. "The US and Iran governments think about themselves and we are in the middle," said Garakoui, 37. "There is no hope" for the future." Garakoui has been a permanent US resident since 2009 thanks to a lottery system that Trump wants to do away with. Since Iranians are denied entry to the US under Trump's travel ban targeting several mainly Muslim nations, Garakoui says she feels like a second-class resident of the country. "I have a lot of family in Iran. My cousins are of a draft age. They can be drafted... I can't bring them to the US because of the travel ban. If I can't bring my family I feel I am not really a citizen," said Garakoui. But 80-year-old Edy Sharifi is one of the few who remains calm and optimistic. He says Iran has everything to lose in an open conflict with the United States and will negotiate behind the scenes. "I believe nothing will happen. America will never attack Iran, ever," said Sharifi, who runs an oriental rug store and came to the US as a refugee in 1984. He practices the Bahai faith, which Iran sees as heresy. Sharifi admires Trump, "the best president I saw in my life." "He's strong. He knows what he is doing." Grocery store owner Massoud Mossadad, 63, helps a customer at Assal Market -- "I wish that war is not going to happen," Mossadad says "We are in the middle," says Parvin Garakoui, 37, pictured at Rose Kabab Restaurant in Vienna, Virginia Carpet seller Edy Sharifi, 80, is one of the few Iranian-Americans who remains calm and optimistic after tensions between Iran and the United States [January 10, 2020] Global LTE Base Station Market 2019-2023| 17% CAGR Projection Over the Next Five Years| Technavio The LTE (News - Alert) base station market size is poised to grow at a CAGR of more than 17% during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005361/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled LTE base station market 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) The increase in data traffic and network congestion is driving the installation of small cells to utilize the available spectrum effectively. These small cells are helpful in pre-5G/LTE-Advanced Pro transition, as they help network service providers to save costs on expensive rooftop systems, and installation and rental expenses. Furthermore, small cells allow network operators to provide better connectivity to the base station and increase throughput. Thus, network operators are extensively investing in small cell infrastructure to achieve efficient network infrastructure and minimize costs. For instance, in August 2017, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (News - Alert) signed a deal with an Indian telecommunication company for small cells deployment at several banks and hospitals in cities such as Mumbai. Thus, the increasing investments in small cell infrastructure will drive the demand for LTE base stations, which will drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30476 As per Technavio, the growing investments in LTE-A will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2019-2023. LTE Base Station Market: Growing Investments in LTE-A Several market vendors have realized the market potential of LTE-A in emerging economies, especially in urban areas. This has pushed several vendors to increasingly invest in LTE-A. For instance, in September 2018, Vodafone (News - Alert) Fiji announced a plan to invest USD 98.6 million in upgrading its LTE-A network in the nation. Thus, the increasing investments in LTE-A are expected to drive the growth of the LTE base station market during the forecast period. "Other factors such as the increase in the adoption of FDD-LTE and rising technological developments will have a significant impact on the growth of the LTE base station market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform LTE Base Station Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the LTE base station market by product type (macrocell and small cell) and end-users (rural and remote, urban, and enterprise) and geography (Americas, APAC, and EMEA). The APAC region led the market in 2018, followed by the Americas and EMEA respectively. The APAC region is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period due to the huge market potential in emerging economies such as India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005361/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BRUSSELS - The EU reiterated its support for the nuclear deal brokered with Iran, also expressing concerns Friday that the escalating tensions in the region could lead to a resurgence of the Islamic States activities. The EUs top diplomat Josep Borrell called the urgent meeting of European foreign affairs ministers in Brussels after the U.S. killing of Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone attack in Iraq on Jan. 3 . Tehran responded earlier this week with missile strikes at U.S. bases and announced it would no longer respect limits set under the 2015 nuclear deal on how many centrifuges it can use to enrich uranium, fuelling fears Iran could quickly start building a nuclear arsenal. We need to understand that the fight against Daesh is not over, said NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting in the EU capital and referred to an alternative name for the Islamic State group. We have made enormous progress but Daesh can return. In an attempt to avoid an escalation between Iran and the United States, EU leaders have intensified diplomatic activities, trying to keep alive the nuclear deal while making sure the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition continues to operate in Iraq. In the wake of the killing of Soleimani, Iraqs parliament called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reiterated Germanys position that the fight against IS in Iraq needs to continue. I cant rule out that, if the anti-IS coalition leaves Iraq then IS will regenerate so much that it can carry out attacks in Europe again, said Maas, speaking to German broadcaster n-tv. And Denmark;s foreign affairs minister, Jeppe Kofod, said IS is the threat for Europe. Despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump to break away from the nuclear deal, the European Union remains committed to the treaty. Thanks to this deal Iran is not a nuclear power, Borrell said. Iran struck the deal in 2015 with the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. It has, however, been damaged by Trumps decision to unilaterally abandon it in 2018 and to impose sanctions that have hurt Irans economy. Iran has gradually rolled back its commitment to the accord and the recent escalation of tensions between Iran and the U.S. has dealt further blows to the pact. We are of the opinion that this agreement makes sense because it holds Iran to not developing nuclear weapons, and so we want this agreement to have a future, Maas said upon arrival at the meeting. But of course it only has a future if it is complied with, and we expect that from Iran. Despite its decision to get rid of restrictions in relation to its enrichment capacity, Iran has not stopped collaborating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and has made clear it is ready to return to its commitments if sanctions are lifted. Delivering the meetings conclusions, Borrell urged Iran to get back to full compliance without delay to make sure the deal can be salvaged. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian continued to insist the accord is not dead and said Iran could get access to atomic weapons within one or two years if the deal continues to lose its substance. In a phone call with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also reaffirmed his support for the deal. Borrell has invited Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Brussels for talks, but a date for his visit has yet to be set. In front of Ghassam Salame, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, the Council also addressed the current crisis in the war-torn country, with Borrell warning of an increased risk of terror activities if a cease-fire is not quickly reached. Libya is currently governed by duelling authorities, in the east and the west, each relying on different militias. The east-based government is backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia. The western, Tripoli-based government receives aid from Turkey, Qatar and Italy. Borrell said the presence of fighters coming from Syria and Sudan has been detected in Libya recently and insisted the conflict could lead to a new influx of refugees in Europe. This crisis may spiral out of control, Borrell said. ___ Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this story. A protester makes a gesture during a protest in Hong Kong, China, on June 12, 2019. Large crowds of protesters gathered in central Hong Kong as the city braced for another mass rally in a show of strength against the government over a divisive plan to allow extraditions to China. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Hong Kong Demonstrators Are the Real Social Justice Warriors Commentary TAIPEI, TAIWANThe longer I listened to the half-dozen Hong Kong democracy demonstrators describing their lives and goals, the more I thought the self-described social justice warriors permeating American campuses should pay close attention to these young people. These Hong Kongers were the real social justice warriors fighting for something genuinedemocracy and freedomwith their lives and futures on the line. They made our homegrown crew seem childish revolutionary wannabes, junior varsity Quixotes tilting at windmills that were non-existent until they invented them. Steve Yatesthe leader of our delegation, a former Deputy National Security Advisor and a longtime Taiwan handclearly agreed, telling the Hong Kong youngsters, as they called themselves, how much American youth had to learn from them about what were supposedly our values. (The Hong Kongers are well aware of people like Jefferson and Franklin and what they stood for.) Our small U.S. media contingent, in Taiwan to observe its upcoming presidential election on Jan. 11, was sitting in a conference room in a Taipei Presbyterian church that itself had been associated with the battle for democratic government on Taiwan decades ago, a struggle whose success was underscored by the electoral enthusiasm we were witnessing on the island. (A rally for KMT party presidential candidate Han had an estimated 350,000 people in the streets of Taipei that night. I cant speak for the accuracy of the number but I was there as it was beginning and there were lot of people.) The Hong Kong demonstrators were quite open with us, although reluctant to be photographed for obvious reasons. They are tracked continually and contact with Americans would not be helpful to them. I will not identify them by name here. Young men and women, they came from different sectors of their freedom movement. They also had the look and feel of young people in Europe and the United States. They would have fit in easily having coffee at a Left Bank cafe in the midst of an earnest discussion of art and politics. (Everyone knows everything in this interconnected worldthat is, if they want to learn.) A few were recently elected as district councillors for Hong Kongs eighteen council districts. To the astonishment and obvious concern of Beijing, eighty percent of the winners in the recent council elections came from the democracy movement. Legislative elections are coming soon. So these demonstrators were newbie politicians, anxious, as they explained to us, to prove that what the Maoists called the capitalist road could be more successful in providing services for their constituents who were described as pragmatic and from all social classes. Its a balancing act with the question being, what next? Yes, the demonstrations continue, but where will they go ultimately? Can a crackdown be prevented? How can the idealism of the democracy movement be preserved? And what, finally, is the goal? A couple of the demonstrators in attendance were slightly more extreme than the others. They favored independence for Hong Kong, a more idealistic approach that seemed out of reach to the others, even if they agreed with the intention. These two were alsolet me try to be precise heremore open to taking things at least to the edge of violence, the goal being to expose the communists for what they are. These were the kind of splits we have seen in revolutionary movements from time immemorial. But this group didnt seem to be at loggerheads with each other in the slightest. There was a warm camaraderie. You couldnt help but be awed by them. And to want to help. Roger L. Simon is a senior political analyst for The Epoch Times. His recent novel is The GOAT. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Underworld figure Nabil Maghnie was shot dead in Melbourne's northern suburbs on Thursday evening. Maghnie, 44, a suspected Comancheros associate who was most recently under investigation over the double-shooting at the Love Machine nightclub last April, was shot and killed in the car park of a Taco Bill restaurant in Epping about 8.30pm on Thursday. Underworld figure Nabil Maghnie leaves court last July. Credit:Chris Hopkins Police have confirmed that a Bundoora man died at the scene at the intersection of Childs Road and Dalton Road. Two other men were shot and were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One of the men is believed to be one of Maghnie's sons. GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Christopher Columbus' accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men - stories long dismissed as myths. But a new study suggests Columbus may have been telling the truth. Using the equivalent of facial recognition technology, researchers analyzed the skulls of early Caribbean inhabitants, uncovering relationships between people groups and upending longstanding hypotheses about how the islands were first colonized. One surprising finding was that the Caribs, marauders from South America and rumored cannibals, invaded Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Bahamas, overturning half a century of assumptions that they never made it farther north than Guadeloupe. "I've spent years trying to prove Columbus wrong when he was right: There were Caribs in the northern Caribbean when he arrived," said William Keegan, Florida Museum of Natural History curator of Caribbean archaeology. "We're going to have to reinterpret everything we thought we knew." Columbus had recounted how peaceful Arawaks in modern-day Bahamas were terrorized by pillagers he mistakenly described as "Caniba," the Asiatic subjects of the Grand Khan. His Spanish successors corrected the name to "Caribe" a few decades later, but the similar-sounding names led most archaeologists to chalk up the references to a mix-up: How could Caribs have been in the Bahamas when their closest outpost was nearly 1,000 miles to the south? But skulls reveal the Carib presence in the Caribbean was far more prominent than previously thought, giving credence to Columbus' claims. Face to face with the Caribbean's earliest inhabitants Previous studies relied on artifacts such as tools and pottery to trace the geographical origin and movement of people through the Caribbean over time. Adding a biological component brings the region's history into sharper focus, said Ann Ross, a professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University and the study's lead author. Ross used 3D facial "landmarks," such as the size of an eye socket or length of a nose, to analyze more than 100 skulls dating from about A.D. 800 to 1542. These landmarks can act as a genetic proxy for determining how closely people are related to one another. The analysis not only revealed three distinct Caribbean people groups, but also their migration routes, which was "really stunning," Ross said. Looking at ancient faces shows the Caribbean's earliest settlers came from the Yucatan, moving into Cuba and the Northern Antilles, which supports a previous hypothesis based on similarities in stone tools. Arawak speakers from coastal Colombia and Venezuela migrated to Puerto Rico between 800 and 200 B.C., a journey also documented in pottery. The earliest inhabitants of the Bahamas and Hispaniola, however, were not from Cuba as commonly thought, but the Northwest Amazon - the Caribs. Around A.D. 800, they pushed north into Hispaniola and Jamaica and then the Bahamas where they were well established by the time Columbus arrived. "I had been stumped for years because I didn't have this Bahamian component," Ross said. "Those remains were so key. This will change the perspective on the people and peopling of the Caribbean." For Keegan, the discovery lays to rest a puzzle that pestered him for years: why a type of pottery known as Meillacoid appears in Hispaniola by A.D. 800, Jamaica around 900 and the Bahamas around 1000. "Why was this pottery so different from everything else we see? That had bothered me," he said. "It makes sense that Meillacoid pottery is associated with the Carib expansion." The sudden appearance of Meillacoid pottery also corresponds with a general reshuffling of people in the Caribbean after a 1,000-year period of tranquility, further evidence that "Carib invaders were on the move," Keegan said. Raiders of the lost Arawaks So, was there any substance to the tales of cannibalism? Possibly, Keegan said. Arawaks and Caribs were enemies, but they often lived side by side with occasional intermarriage before blood feuds erupted, he said. "It's almost a 'Hatfields and McCoys' kind of situation," Keegan said. "Maybe there was some cannibalism involved. If you need to frighten your enemies, that's a really good way to do it." Whether or not it was accurate, the European perception that Caribs were cannibals had a tremendous impact on the region's history, he said. The Spanish monarchy initially insisted that indigenous people be paid for work and treated with respect, but reversed its position after receiving reports that they refused to convert to Christianity and ate human flesh. "The crown said, 'Well, if they're going to behave that way, they can be enslaved,'" Keegan said. "All of a sudden, every native person in the entire Caribbean became a Carib as far as the colonists were concerned." ### Michael Pateman of the Turks and Caicos National Museum and Colleen Young of the University of Missouri also co-authored the study. GETTY Sir Wilfrid Lauriers face is going to be wiped off of the $5 bill to make way for someone new. The Bank of Canada wants the public to weigh in on who they think should replace Canadas first francophone Prime Minister. Governor Stephen Poloz says the process will be similar to the process that led to Viola Desmond being selected for the $10 bill. The civil rights pioneer was chosen through an open call for iconic women. "This time we will be asking all Canadians to nominate any historic Canadian someone who is truly banknote-able." Poloz told a business audience in Vancouver. Laurier has been featured on a Canadian note four times since 1969. Poloz says hell share more details at the end of the month. Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. In context: If you're a member of a low-income household, there's a chance you may have heard of the US government's "Lifeline Assistance" service. Among other things, the FCC-run program provides low-cost cellphones to those who would not be able to afford them otherwise. The program certainly has the potential to do a lot of good for low-income families, but as is the case with many "free" offers, there appears to be a catch for some. According to a new report from antivirus software maker Malwarebytes, one specific Lifeline Assistance phone model, the UMX U686CL, has some nasty surprises hidden within. The phone is being sold by Assurance Wireless, a US-funded offshoot of Virgin Mobile, and it allegedly contains unremovable pre-installed malware. Malwarebytes first discovered this information in October 2019, when it began to receive numerous malicious app complaints from owners of the device. To verify these claims, Malwarebytes purchased a UMX U686CL for itself, and their findings were worrisome, to say the least. The first problematic discovery was a pre-installed app called "Wireless Update," which has been classified as "Android/PUP.Riskware.Autoins.Fota.fbcvd." Wireless Update reportedly begins auto-installing apps (without user consent) from the moment the UMX U686CL is booted up for the first time. Malwarebytes says the apps installed by Wireless Update are not harmful by themselves, but any app that auto-installs other software without so much as informing users has the potential to be shady down the line. In addition to Wireless Update, Malwarebytes found that the UMX U686CL's Settings menu is actually a "heavily-obfuscated piece of malware" known as a "Trojan Dropper" (Android/Trojan.Dropper.Agent.UMX, specifically). A quick look through Malwarebytes' virus database offers the following definition for the malware: Android/Trojan.Dropper is a malicious app that contains additional malicious app(s) within its payload. The Android/Trojan.Dropper will install the additional malicious app(s) onto an infected mobile device. On the Android OS, most often the malicious app(s) to be dropped is/are contained within the Android/Trojan.Dropper's Assets Directory. The Assets Directory is an optional directory that can be added to an APK to store raw asset files. In the case of a Mobile Trojan Dropper, it contains a malicious APK(s) to be dropped and installed. In the case of the UMX U686CL's sketchy Settings app, the malicious payload comes in the form of "Android/Trojan.HiddenAds." Another quick scan through Malwarebytes documentation doesn't reveal any information on this specific piece of malware, but similar variants, such as "Android/Trojan.HiddenAds.BiRa," allegedly display "annoying" full-screen ads on the host device's lock screen. Malwarebytes believes this malware is Chinese in origin, due to the "Chinese characters" used for variable names within its code. However, one commenter countered this claim by pointing out that these characters are not Chinese, but instead Unicode characters that aren't being displayed properly. The code in question can be seen below: Regardless of the malware's origin, its existence is still troublesome, and the problems it presents may not be ones the average user can solve. "Although we do have a way to uninstall pre-installed apps for current Malwarebytes users, doing so on the UMX has consequences," Malwarebytes claims. "Uninstall Wireless Update, and you could be missing out on critical updates for the OS. We think that's worth the tradeoff, and suggest doing so. But uninstall the Settings app, and you just made yourself a pricey paper weight. The company has provided users with a potential method for "remediating" this sort of "essential" malware, but it's not easy, and it might not work for everybody. Malwarebytes has reached out to Assurance Wireless for an explanation on this matter, but the antivirus company received no response. We will also be attempting to contact Assurance Wireless ourselves, and we'll update this article if we receive a reply (though it's a bit unlikely). The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has asserted that the removal of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar is not a solution to the problems of the students. After speaking to a JNU delegation, MHRD Secretary Amit Khare on Thursday said that the January 5 incident of violence is upsetting, adding that the MHRD is trying to address grievances of the students. After speaking to the delegation on Thursday, "Whatever has happened in the last few days is extremely sad. Students have a list of grievances. The teachers also have grievances against the administration, we are trying to resolve all of them. I have called the Jawaharlal Nehru University VC and team tomorrow morning. I have also offered the students that I will be meeting them again tomorrow regarding their demands. Such incidents should not re-occur." Live TV Khare met a delegation of JNU comprising members of JNUTA led by Prof DK Lobiyal and JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh in New Delhi to resolve the outstanding issues and to ensure that JNU retains its reputation as a premier academic and research institution in the country. The MHRD Secretary has also invited the students again for further discussion on Friday afternoon and will also meet VC Kumar at 11.30 am. JNU students have been protesting since December 6 (Monday) demanding the removal of Kumar. On December 9 (Thursday), the students marched towards Rashtrapati Bhavan demanding the removal of the varsity's Vice-Chancellor following the campus violence on January 5. On January 5 (Sunday), some masked men with sticks and iron rods entered the JNU campus and launched an attack on students and teachers, they entered students' hostel and caused wide-spread vandalism. Several people, including JNUSU president Ghosh, JNUSU General Secretary Satish Chandra and teachers received grievous injuries. JNUSU chief Aishe Ghosh stood firm in her demand for the removal of the V-C. "We're in no position to compromise with HRD ministry. It's still thinking whether VC should be removed," she said. The JNUTA delegation led by Prof DK Lobiyal too reiterated the same demand. "We have a demand that the V-C be removed from the post," he said. Kumar had levelled allegations that some professors of the varsity are inciting the students against him. Speaking exclusively to Zee News, he added that they can be identified on social media platforms. "Here are some teachers who work to incite the students against me. You can identify them on social media," he said. He also asserted that the JNU administration has not given any proposal to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on closing down or shifting of the university. Speaking on the matter of his resignation, he added, "As far as resignation is concerned, you will have to ask the MHRD. People of the Students Union in JNU keep asking for my resignation." VC Kumar said, "JNU will not stop but will run and in the next five years JNU will have a different identity on the international level." He appealed to the students of the university to focus on studies and not get caught by "a few selected students" Letter to the Editor On Friday, an American drone fired missiles into a convoy leaving the Baghdad airport and killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, who for decades has led Irans Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Several officials from Iraqi militias were also killed. President Donald Trump, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort, said, Suleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks He did not provide any details or evidence of such. Given the Presidents propensity for lying, the credence of Trumps rationale can certainly be questioned. Suleimani was definitely an enemy of... Uzbek citizen gets 5.5 years in Russian prison for online justification of terrorism flickr.com/ Dave Nakayama 13:27 10/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI) The Second West District Military Court has sentenced Uzbek citizen Shermukhammad Shamsiddinov to 5.5 years in prison for public justification of terrorism on the Internet, the website of Russias Prosecutor Generals Office informs. The court has also banned him from creating and running websites for 3 years. According to the news release, from July 2016 to June 2018, Shamsiddinov intentionally published on his social platform page audio and video records justifying terrorist activities, propagating violence ideology and calling Internet users to join terrorist organizations. gettyimagesbank By Anna J. Park Big-name players as well as the government's deregulation efforts are expected to provide the impetus for growth of the nation's initial public offering (IPO) market in 2020, according to industry experts, Friday. SK Biopharmaceuticals, CJ Healthcare, Kakao Bank, Hyundai Card, Hotel Lotte, Krafton and more, are planning to go public this year, which experts expect will raise over 8 trillion won ($6.9 billion). As the total market value of these companies is estimated at 18 trillion to 20 trillion won ($15.5 billion to $17.2 billion), analysts expect the IPOs this year will mark a major growth from 2019. "Last year's IPOs were similar to those of 2018 in terms of the number of listed companies. However, the total amount of raised money was larger than that of 2018 as we saw some big companies such as Lotte REIT and Hanhwa Systems, listed at the latter part of the year," Park Jong-sun, analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities told The Korea Times. Park's report, published Wednesday, states that 112 companies went public in 2019. When excluding cases of segmental listings, re-listings, special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) and SPAC-led listings, the listed number last year stood at over 70. The figure is similar to the number of IPOs in 2018. Yet the total amount of money raised last year marked 4 trillion won ($3.4 billion), up about 1 trillion won from the previous year. "We expect this year's IPOs could raise a much greater amount of capital than previous years, because several companies preparing the IPOs companies like SK Biopharmaceuticals, CJ Healthcare, Kakao Bank, Hyundai Card, Hotel Lotte are major ones, whose market values are estimated at trillions of won," Park said. "We can also expect the number of IPOs will increase, owing to the government's policy direction easing regulations on listing processes for companies specializing in materials, parts and equipment," he added. These big-named companies, however, are all going through a different phase in their IPOs; SK Biopharmaceuticals have already completed a preliminary evaluation by the KRX at the end of last year, and it's highly likely that this company will enter the stock market within the first six months of this year. CJ Healthcare has also chosen Samsung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and JP Morgan as book runners last month. Hyundai Card is also known to have chosen NH Investment & Securities, Citigroup Global Markets as their book runners at the end of last year, preparing for the IPO. In 2019, the Korean government has introduced sets of rules, simplifying IPO processes for businesses on materials, parts and equipment, as well as fintech companies, with aims to spur further growth and capital influxes in the sectors. That's why analysts expect more small-and-medium-sized companies in those sectors will attempt to go public this year. "While the number of IPO filings by small-and-medium-sized businesses is expected to increase this year, public investors' careful approach is required more than ever," Na Seung-doo, analyst at SK Securities, told The Korea Times. "Outwardly, the general outlook for the IPOs is rosy; yet individual investors need to closely watch and focus on analyzing each company's fundamental strengths and values, rather than just rushing into new issuance of equities," Na added. LOS ANGELES Oddballs, schemers and psychopaths: In the course of his long career, John Malkovich has convincingly played them all. But whether this makes him an unusual, or unusually perfect, choice for the role of Supreme Pontiff in HBOs The New Pope, he would rather not consider. I dont think about how Im perceived, Malkovich said. Its not my business. You like Jackson Pollock? Im good with The Night Watch. We all have preferences. The series creator, Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty), on the other hand, was unequivocal in his enthusiasm for Malkovich as Sir John Brannox, an English aristocrat and former punk musician who reluctantly takes over for Jude Laws Pope Pius XIII on Monday, when the show returns after a three-year hiatus. The pope is an iconic figure, and John Malkovich is one of the few iconic actors, Sorrentino said in an email. How many actors can boast of their name being used in the title of a film? Sorrentino was referring to the 1999 movie Being John Malkovich, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze, which loosely capitalized on the mystique Malkovich had by then cultivated, mostly by way of memorable villains in films like Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Con Air (1997) and In the Line of Fire (1993), for which he earned his second Oscar nomination. When it came to imagining his series next pope, Sorrentino was similarly inspired by Malkovich, borrowing the actors slow, meditative diction and unnerving inscrutability as he shaped the character. A troubled soul and fair-weather friend to Meghan Markle, Brannox, who takes the name Pope John Paul III, leads the church warily when compared with Laws glowering, imperious Pius, who had a heart attack and slipped into a coma at the end of the first season, The Young Pope. John is elegant, suave and ironic, at once light and profound, Sorrentino said of Malkovich. He gives importance to things. But if those things didnt exist, he could easily do without them. All these features seemed perfect for the character, he added, so I stole them. As if in service to Sorrentinos impression, Malkovich, 66, roamed a suite at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on an uncommonly chilly December evening to fuss with the thermostat before giving up and rubbing his hands together for warmth. But unlike his pope, who mourns the inexhaustible imperfection of the world, Malkovich was unsentimental about his own lifes work. You dont really learn anything, said Malkovich, who has appeared in more than 100 screen and theatrical productions; was a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago; and is also a vintner and a mens fashion designer. Youre comprised of your experiences. And thats what makes you or, in fact, breaks us all in the end. His trademark gaptoothed smile spreads slowly across his face: We die and then were gone. Thats OK. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. Q: What did you and Paolo discuss in terms of how your character might be a different type of leader than Jude Laws? A: When we discussed it, mine was going to be a German who had spent a lot of time in England. Then he became an English aristocrat. The punk rock backstory came when the decision was made to make him English. And then we communicated about what I thought was important or we could use more of or less of, et cetera. But it wasnt so much the discussion; the role kind of revealed itself in the writing and rewriting. Of course with Paolo, most things are revealed when you see what the camera does. His way of putting people in a geography in a room or outdoors, at a time of day pretty much tells you what to do. The rituals, the secrets, the symbolism of the church: Thats a very hard kind of nut to crack with words. Q: Did putting on the papal vestments prompt something more in terms of connecting to that character? A: Yeah, sure. Because the church just fits into all those Ss: symbolism, spirituality, sacredness, secrets. It satisfies a longing that I think naturally exists in people. How do we live? Why are we here? Was I even here? We kind of forget to ask those questions. Thats what I think the church is for. You know, Im an atheist, but I get the point. And thats something I think Paolo, being Italian and being Catholic, just understands on the most profound levels. Q: We are rich in pontiff-related art right now, between The New Pope and the new Netflix film The Two Popes. Why do you think this subject compels us? A: Well, I havent seen the one with Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes), but I think it probably came about due to the fact that there are actually two living popes thats a pretty unique thing happening in a religion with a billion-and-change adherents. And the attention isnt that surprising at a time when people maybe are searching for something, some spiritual element, to their existence. Even though the world is wildly more secular than it was 20 years ago, let alone 50 or 100 years ago, the pope is a kind of father and mother that a huge number of people look to for guidance. Q: Were you raised in a religious household, and was there a moment when you broke with faith? A: No. My parents were sort of evangelical atheists. I was religious when I was young, quite possibly in reaction. Just over time, I didnt believe. I dont make snarky remarks about it. Im happy to be in a church or a temple or a mosque. I just dont see that theres some plan. But who am I? Im nothing. Thats just my own feeling. Q: It was reported that when you were filming in Rome, bystanders handed you their babies to be blessed. Why do you think they did this? A: I dont know. There exists this notion that we can be blessed into a state of grace. Maybe somebody can do that. Not me, certainly. I mean, if you give me a baby, Ill keep it unless you want it back. I love babies. Im always detached from, but amused by, the confusion people have between ones characters and oneself. Q: Like Being John Malkovich, The New Pope breaks the fourth wall when a character remarks on your characters resemblance to the actor John Malkovich. What do you think it is about you that invites this playfulness with your persona? A: It sort of seems like my lifes goal is to promote references to myself. But its actually not. I think its not related to me. People sometimes ask me these wild questions about my legacy. What are you talking about? Im an actor. My legacy is Im a jerk-off. Q: Still, Being John Malkovich must have a certain pride of place for you, either on your resume or in your heart. A: Having a film called Being John Malkovich doesnt really mean much to me. Having had a half-percent part at the inception of Spike Jonzes and Charlie Kaufmans careers means much more. Im happy about that because they made something that was well out of the norm, broke many rules, and introduced two very big talents. People forget Im just an actor in it. I had nothing to do with the conception. I didnt write a word. When I first read it, I wanted to direct it. I wanted the focus to be, say, William Hurt or Tom Cruise or William Shatner or whoever. But Charlie had no interest in that. Q: You share a scene in Pope with Marilyn Manson. Was he what you expected? A: Hes quite churchlike. His show theres a lot of pageantry. And a lot of play with the sacred, or not-so-sacred. I dont know his work that much, but I loved doing the scene with him. I think hes very clever, very funny, very easy to talk to. Q: Youre a winemaker and he makes absinthe. Did you exchange bottles? A: I dont think he talked about that. Ill have to ask: I think my daughter likes absinthe. Q: Did you have any hesitation about stepping into the role of a hallowed figure, or sense any resistance from believers to the scandalizing aspects of the series? A: I dont know how the believers regard it, although Id be interested to hear. I didnt really talk to any Vatican figures, but I mean Jude Law playing the pope? I think its safe to assume that viewership at the Vatican was pretty high. A lot of people like to watch things about their world and what they do. Q: Has playing the pope and also a Harvey Weinstein-type figure in David Mamets recent play Bitter Wheat led you to any new insights about men in power? A: A few years ago, I was touring in an opera-hybrid theater thingy in Europe, Just Call Me God. I played a Saddam Hussein-like figure, but a line I wrote in that was the one thing I know about power is the good never seek it. And thats not wholly inaccurate. Q: You wrote and starred in a film directed by Robert Rodriguez called 100 Years, which wont be released until 2115. What drew you to that idea? A: Its a commercial thing for the Remy Martin company. They explained to me that their premium cognac, Louis XIII, takes 100 years to make. So the steward of it never sees it, and neither does the one after that. And I thought it was kind of a fascinating thing. Perhaps my children, if they have children, those children could be alive when the film is released. Probably more likely their grandchildren. In a way, what Robert and I did was a letter from the dead. Thats quite satisfying. More than 6.1 million hectares of land in Vietnam remain blanketed by unexploded munitions. (Photo: AFP/Nhac NGUYEN) "He died in an explosion. I was haunted by memories of him," Le Thi Bich Ngoc tells AFP as she oversees the controlled detonation of a cluster bomb found in a sealed-off site in central Quang Tri province. More than 6.1 million hectares of land in Vietnam remain blanketed by unexploded munitions - mainly dropped by US bombers - decades after the war ended in 1975. At least 40,000 Vietnamese have since died in related accidents. Victims are often farmers who accidentally trigger explosions, people salvaging scrap metal, or children who mistake bomblets for toys. Part of the demilitarised zone that once divided the North and South, Quang Tri is among the worst-affected provinces. Ngoc remembers the burnt flesh of her uncle's body when he was killed by a bomb that detonated while he scavenged for scrap metal. For the past 20 years, Ngoc has worked as a deminer with Mines Advisory Group (MAG), funded by the United States, Britain and Japan. Today the 42-year-old criss-crosses her home province to excavate up to a dozen pieces of unexploded ordnance daily - and she is not alone. Deminer Tran Thi Hanh told AFP her husband was injured by a landmine blast while going to work, and she does not want the same thing to happen to others. "This is what motivates me to do this job," she said. Part of the demilitarised zone that once divided the North and South, Quang Tri is among the worst-affected provinces. (Photo: AFP/Nhac NGUYEN) 100 YEARS TO CLEAR Once a site has been cleared the land can be used for agriculture. "Demine, replant, rebuild - we are in the business of peace, the economy of peace," says Heidi Kuhn, founder of NGO Roots of Peace, which has helped 3,000 people to farm pepper on former mine fields. Vietnam is the world's leading producer of black pepper. Double amputee and former soldier Phan Van Ty says growing the crop has given him a new lease on life. He lost a leg fighting for the southern regime, but after the war lost the other one when he detonated a bomb while searching for scrap metal in a former US weapons warehouse. That explosion is seared in his memory. Once a site has been cleared the land can be used for farming - often black pepper. (Photo: AFP/Nhac NGUYEN) "I have nightmares of my flesh being scattered in a blast - and then waking to find myself still in one piece but just without legs," he says, pushing his wheelchair past towering columns of pepper vines. Up to three million pieces of unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions are still buried in Vietnam's soil. Just last month, Ty says he found a grenade in his backyard. Up to three million pieces of unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions are still buried in Vietnam's soil. (Photo: AFP/Nhac NGUYEN) Clearing the entire country could take up to 100 years and cost billions of dollars, according to officials. But that has not deterred Ngoc from pressing on with the dangerous work, which is typically undertaken by men in Quang Tri, where women are usually garment workers or farmers. "This job is not about money, it is about making a better place and ensuring a safer land." London, Jan 10 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that there was a "body of information" to suggest an Iranian surface-to-air missile brought down a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran earlier this week. Johnson's comments on Thursday came the same day his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau said that he had seen evidence that suggested Iran's missiles brought down the Kiev-bound Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 shortly after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all the 176 people on board, the BBC reported. In a statement on Thursday night, Johnson said that the UK government was working closely with Canada and other international partners affected by the crash and that "there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation". "The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to de-escalate to reduce tensions in the region," he said, adding that four Britons were among the victims. It was previously reported that three British nationals - two engineers and an owner of a local dry cleaning business - had died. But Downing Street confirmed later that there was a fourth victim also. Beside the Britons, 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans and three Germans were on board. Echoing Johnson's statement was Security Minister Brandon Lewis, who told the BBC that the UK agreed with the Canadians that the plane was shot down by a missile, adding it was "unintentional". But in response, an Iranian official also told the BBC that the reports of Iran shooting down the plane were "US propaganda". "Their claim without providing hard evidence to international community is worthless," he added. Meanwhile on Friday morning, the UK Foreign Office hardened its travel advice for Iran for the second time in a week. It now advises against all travel to Iran and against all air travel "to, from and within the country". Wednesday's crash took place just hours after Iran carried out missile strikes on two airbases housing US forces in Iraq, which were in retaliation to the killing of Iran Major General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone attack in Baghdad on January 3. Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland has been spotted out for the first time since her daughter and son-in-law Prince Harry dropped the bombshell news that they were quitting their royal duties. The 63-year-old stepped out in her Los Angeles neighborhood on Thursday where she was spotted walking her two dogs. Ragland was pictured chatting on her phone as she clutched her dogs' leashes. At another point during the day, the former social worker and yoga instructor was spotted jumping into her SUV and driving off. Her outing came the same day the Duchess of Sussex flew back to Canada where she had left baby Archie with his nanny, leaving Harry to deal with the fallout from their royal family crisis. Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland was spotted for the first time on Thursday since her daughter and son-in-law Prince Harry dropped the bombshell news that they were quitting their royal duties The 63-year-old stepped out in her Los Angeles neighborhood on Thursday where she was spotted walking her two dogs Meghan had spent just three days in the UK after their six-week vacation before flying back to Canada. Ragland spent time with Meghan, Harry and her eight-month-old grandson over Christmas in Vancouver. Meghan and Harry made their stunning announcement via Instagram on Wednesday that they would be stepping back from their senior royal duties. The Queen and other members of the royal family were said to be left 'hurt' by Harry and Meghan's decision to issue the personal statement. The couple have revealed they planned to divide their time between the UK and North America. They have not revealed where in North America they plan to make a second home, but cited Archie as a reason they decided to split their time between Britain and the US. Ragland was pictured on Thursday in Los Angeles as it emerged her daughter had flown back to Canada where she had left baby Archie At another point during the day, the former social worker and yoga instructor was spotted jumping into her SUV and driving off Ragland spent time with Meghan, Harry and her eight-month-old grandson over Christmas in Vancouver Harry and Meghan have close ties to Canada with California-native Meghan describing it as her 'second home' after the UK. Meghan lived in Toronto for six years while filming Suits - where the couple enjoyed a secret five-month courtship before their relationship was revealed to the world in October 2016. They could also potentially settle in California, and Los Angeles in particular, where Meghan's mother lives. Meghan is said to consider LA home and many of her friends are based there. Doria is not thought to have wanted to relocate to the UK to be closer to her daughter and grandson. Meghan has previously spoken of her love for LA, saying: 'It's a city of transients people coming from all over the world, searching out the Hollywood dream. 'Life in my LA is all about taking care of your mind and spirit just as much as your body.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the bombshell announcement on Wednesday and said they planned to now split their time between the United Kingdom and North America (Newser) Lawmakers are calling newly revealed messages from Boeing employees on the company's beleaguered 737 Maxinvolved in two horrific crashes that killed 346 people and the Federal Aviation Administration "astonishing," "appalling," and "incredibly damning," in what the New York Times deems the "latest embarrassing episode" for the airplane manufacturer. The Verge has links to the emails and texts, redacted messages sent by Boeing to Congress last month, including one worker's 2017 slam that "this airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys." "Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn't," reads one worker's 2018 message to another, with the colleague's answer a simple "no." Yet another message from 2018 contains a more ominous-sounding "I still haven't been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year." story continues below The messages also show how Boeing tried to keep pilot training for the 737 Max, an expensive endeavor, to a minimum. In a statement, an FAA rep said that, despite the "disappointing" messages, no new safety risks have since been discovered, and all equipment has passed inspection. "We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the FAA, Congress, our airline customers, and to the flying public for them," Boeing said in a statement to Congress. "The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response." That action will consist of "disciplinary or other personnel action," the company notes. It's still unclear when the Max will take to the skies again. (Boeing's most recent problem: Its planes are cracking.) London: The signs jutting out above the crowd told the story. "Wake up and smell the smoke", one screamed. Another labelled Scott Morrison a "derro" and urged the Prime Minister to better compensate brave volunteers battling walls of flames around the country. Others mourned the deadly toll the bushfire emergency has inflicted on Australia's world-famous koalas. Londoners protest at the drop of a hat but this lunchtime meeting outside Australia House felt different. A funereal tone radiated from about 1000 people who gathered to warn that climate change had wrapped itself around the Australian summer and started squeezing. Extinction Rebellion protesters outside Australia House in central London. Credit:Getty The noisy gathering fell silent and some even sobbed when a man produced a photograph of 20-month-old Charlotte O'Dwyer, whose firefighter father Andrew O'Dwyer was killed in a blaze south of Sydney. The protest was organised by the Extinction Rebellion movement but the seemingly endless footage of Australia's bushfire crisis that has captivated and appalled the United Kingdom for weeks now had motivated plenty of newcomers. US defense secretary says Iran launched 16 missiles from 3 locations Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/1/9 8:58:55 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Wednesday that Iran launched 16 short-range ballistic missiles from three locations within Iran in Tuesday's attack. Esper told reporters that, among the 16 missiles, 11 hit the Al-Asad base and at least one hit the base near Erbil, adding that the missiles damaged tents, taxiways, parking lots and a helicopter. Earlier on Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed Iran's launching of more than a dozen ballistic missiles against at least two military bases housing the US and coalition forces in Iraq. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the missile attacks, saying that they were meant to retaliate the US killing of General Qassem Soleimani. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address COMPANIES usually wreck their reputations by exploiting rules not by breaking them, Enron's former chief financial officer told Irish business leaders yesterday. Andy Fastow, who spent five years in US prison for hiding billions in Enron losses and debt via partner firms, said too often businesses exploit loopholes to produce misleading pictures of their true worth. He said corporate kingpins can "hide behind the rules" while never considering the ethical basis of their acts. "I committed the greatest fraud in corporate American history, and I had never even considered that was a possibility. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was a hero," Mr Fastow told a 1,000-strong crowd at the Pendulum Summit at the Dublin Convention Centre. "I'm probably the most egregious example of this way of thinking. But it's very common, especially in business," Mr Fastow said. He told the audience -among them executives from hundreds of firms here - that business people in Ireland, as everywhere, should question whether their policies are not only legal but based on ethical principles. He said companies, backed by lawyers and accountants, almost universally "want a lower tax bill. We're going to find a way to get that - not by breaking the rules. By exploiting the rules". "This is how I thought as CFO," he said. "Everyone gets the same accounting, tax and securities rules. Everyone has the same books. Whichever CFO is best able to exploit those rules gives his company a competitive advantage and that company wins. I wanted to be that guy. I wanted to be viewed as the genius who figured it out." To uncomfortable laughter in the room, Mr Fastow displayed slides of US multinationals' office buildings in Ireland. "It's a big part of your GDP, helping companies avoid paying taxes in their home country. It seems good," he said. "The problem is, one day people may wake up and say, 'Who is helping those billionaires avoid paying taxes?' And they may not feel the same way about Ireland. "When I talk to Irish people about it, they're all proud: 'We're just really smart. We created a competitive advantage'. And that's a good thing. I don't disagree. But I'm not so sure you want me agreeing with you!" he said to the biggest applause of his 45-minute speech. "Technically I always tried to follow the rules - but at the same time I always tried to be misleading. I was just taking advantage of the rules, capitalising on the situation," he said. "They called me chief financial officer; they should have called me chief loophole officer. That was literally all I did at Enron; I found the next loophole - and we were proud of it!" Police arrested a student with a loaded gun in his backpack at a Walnut Creek high school on Thursday, prompting a lockdown, officials said. Officers responded to a report around 11:13 a.m. that a student at Las Lomas High School, located at 1460 S. Main Street, had a concealed handgun, according to Walnut Creek police. Underfunding, corruption allegations, internal feuding, facilities in disrepair -- flaws revealed at a Moscow paediatric cancer ward have shone a harsh spotlight on the afflictions plaguing Russia's public healthcare system. The Blokhin cancer centre, housed in a brutalist 1970s-era compound in the south of the capital, is so notorious that some have taken to calling it "Blokhinwald" after the Nazi-era Buchenwald concentration camp. "Children with cancer are being treated in atrocious conditions, with a lack of ventilation, mould on the walls and overcrowded rooms," the hospital's former deputy director of paediatrics, Maxim Rykov, told AFP. Along with 20 of his colleagues, Rykov quit the hospital, which describes itself as Russia's biggest oncological clinic, in September, accusing its new chief of mismanagement. A health ministry investigation cleared the hospital, but the accusations were hardly a surprise to the parents of children treated there. "The air vents had to be blocked up because the ventilation ducts hadn't been cleaned for years," said Tamara Tsvetkova, whose five-year-old daughter Veronika spent a year at the centre for leukaemia treatment and is now in remission. "In the rooms there were no lockers to put things, we had to buy them ourselves, as well as camp beds so that we could sleep next to our children," Tsvetkova said. An AFP request to visit the Blokhin clinic was refused. The oncologists who resigned accused the new management, which took over in June, of cutting their salaries by 35 percent, as well as changing treatment regimes to save money. - Lack of transplant funding - Following media reports, the health ministry opened an investigation that instead accused doctors of enriching themselves through opaque schemes to fund bone marrow transplants. Contacted by AFP, hospital management refused to comment, saying the conflict was "closed". The medics denied any corruption, saying they arranged for private foundations to pay for transplants because of a lack of public financing. "We do 50 or 60 transplants per year and the state pays for around 30. For the rest, either we abandon the patients or we look for a funding source," said surgeon Igor Dolgopolov, who resigned in November after a 20-year career. Parents of child patients say they see the doctors who quit as victims of the system. "They've saved so many children. I can't condemn them," said Nailiya Tugusheva, whose five-year-old daughter Amira also has leukaemia. - Growing dissent - What causes the greatest alarm among parents of young Blokhin patients are changes in some treatment protocols. Foreign-made medicines are being replaced with Russian equivalents, partly because they are cheaper but also due to a government requirement in place since 2015 to support the national pharmaceuticals industry. About 30 parents have written to President Vladimir Putin asking him to reconsider the policy but "nothing came of our message," Tsvetkova said. The deaths in early December of two girls, aged 14 and 17, at the cancer centre after bone marrow transplants have only increased concerns, though no link has been established with the new drugs regime. Russian doctors have generally avoided public disputes, despite very low pay by Western standards, but those at the Blokhin clinic are not the only ones speaking out and posting videos online. In October, neonatologists -- treating newborns -- threatened to resign from a hospital in the city of Perm in the Urals mountains over low pay and long hours. In the Kurgan region of Siberia, the closure of a tuberculosis centre led to protests. And in Moscow in November, two renowned specialists in children's kidney transplants condemned the veto on foreign medicines, saying no Russian equivalents existed. - 'Very little' spent on health - The government stresses the need to overhaul an inefficient health system, inherited from the Soviet era and hit hard by the economic turmoil of the 1990s. Its so-called optimisation drive over the last two decades to better allocate resources has led to the closure of smaller rural hospitals and a concentration of doctors in large multifunctional hospitals in major cities. But in some areas "people have to travel 200 kilometres" (125 miles) for medical help, said Ivan Konovalov, of the Alliance of Doctors trade union. And parts of the countryside often have no more than just first-aid drop-in centres. From 2000 to 2018, the number of hospitals fell from 10,700 to 4,390, according to official figures, while the number of beds per 10,000 Russians dropped from 115 to 71. "Hospitals are short of medicines and patients have to buy them themselves," Konovalov said. "In our country, a lot of money gets spent on the security forces, army and police and very little on health," he added. Russia's health expenditure was 3.7 percent of GDP last year. That's much less than the 9.5 percent in France or Germany, according to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development data. Putin has acknowledged certain problems, notably a lack of facilities, equipment and staff, and announced an extra 150 billion rubles ($2.3 billion/2.1 billion euros) funding in total for a three-year period beginning this year. Yet, medical student Darya Sosedova, who recently protested outside the health ministry, says she is not convinced by Putin's promises. "People being fired, the low pay -- when you see all that, you wonder if it's worth continuing your studies and staying in Russia," she said. The National AIDS Commission of Liberia (NAC) is partnering with the Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM), the Ministry of Health in holding community dialogue to identify priority areas that will allow Global Fund to combat HIV, Malaria, and TB in the country. The dialogue is tied towards the identification of priority needs that requires funding from Global Fund. The intensive dialogue has been categorized into five regions, region 1: Bomi, Gbarpolu, and Grand Cape Mount Counties, region 2, Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi Counties, region 3, Nimba, Bong and Lofa, region 4 Sinoe, Rivercess and Grand Gedeh Counties, and region 5, River Gee, Grand Kru, and Maryland Counties. The dialogue which started on January 6, 2020 and is expected to end on 26 of January brought together a host of experts from the health and social sectors. These experts are providing means through which HIV, malaria, and TB can be tackled. Each region of the consultative dialogue brought together scores of individuals, including experts, and persons living with HIV to finding remedial approaches in the fight against HIV, Malaria, and TB. The regional consultative prioritization country dialogue is geared towards the development of a joint funding request for TB, and HIV to be submitted to the Global Fund. Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. In her presentation, the Chairperson of the National AIDS Commission Madam Theodosia Slewion Kolee rolled out a number of strategies that are intended to combat HIV. Commissioner Kolee noted that the National Strategic HIV and AIDS Plan is a five-year program designed to fast track the country's efforts in ending the virus by 2030. Madam Kolee stressed that the document is informed by past interventions of UNAIDs. The Chairperson pointed out that the plan is in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which focuses on ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages. "The NSP II 2021-2025 is being developed through a multi-sectoral consultative process which commenced with mid term review of the National Catch Up Plan, the recommendations of which informed the direction of this current Strategic Plan" she added. According to Commissioner Kolee, the objective of the NSP II 2021-2025 is to fast-track efforts towards the prevention of new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths, as well as to emphasize treatment, care and support interventions by 2025. Madam Kolee disclosed that the National Strategic Plan II (NSP II) will succeed the current NSP and Catch Up Plan, which is expected to expire in 2020. "NSP II will serve as the new guiding tool for the implementation of the national HIV response in Liberia" the Chairperson of the National Commissioner Averred. She indicated in her presentation that the NSP Development Process outlines several strategies including: the Formation of the writing team, Planning and stakeholders meeting development, formation of Thematic TWG, data and information collection, collation and analysis, stakeholders validation workshop, alignment to UNAIDS Fast Track targets, prevention of new HIV infection- reduced by 95% by 2030, test and treat 95-95-95 by 2030, reduce HIV stigma & discrimination by 95% by 2030, Gender and HIV, Social Protection considerations, differentiated approach- who, where and what- evidence based, targets are ambitious and time bound, responsibilities and accountability for contribution to target multisectoral. Madam Kolee mentioned that some of the strategies contained in the five year plan include Increased Community participation with CSOs involvement, strengthened coordination of stakeholders and governance of the national response, National AIDS Commission, NSP II the vision of the NSP II is aligned within the overall Global vision which is aimed at eliminating HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as well as achieving 93-93-93 by 2025 with focus Intervention on prevention of New HIV Infection, test and Treatment. HHRD immediately began collecting donations for food, water, shelter and medicine. During this Emergency Phase, HHRD held 59 rotational clinics treating around 20,000 people with volunteer doctors from the USA. Currently, HHRD is operating 6 major programs in Haiti which include: Orphan Support, In Kind Gifts, Seasonal, Skills Development and Economic Empowerment, Water Sanitation and Hygiene programs. A total of 400 sponsored orphans in Port-Au-Prince and Miragoane receive school supplies, uniforms, tuition, medical screening and social activities from HHRD donors. Two 40-ft containers from Florida filled with clothes, toys, wheelchairs, crutches and rice were distributed in Port au Prince, Miragoane and Jeremie which helped 900 families. Seasonal programs of food distribution to 5,000 families as well as meat distribution to 1,500 families are made. Understanding the underlying importance of education and skill training, HHRD helped 7 women learn sewing skills to become financially self-sufficient. Moreover, 10 families were given interest free monetary loans to ensure their businesses succeeded. HHRD's Youth Empowerment Program provided an opportunity for talented youth from across the USA to take a behind the scenes look at humanitarian work in Haiti as well as, to fulfill their passion for helping others. Since the 2010 earthquake, Haiti has suffered floods, landslides and hurricanes. HHRD will continue to provide long term relief to the Haitian people and is grateful to all those who support them in this time of need. Ranked among the top 5% of 9,000 NGOs, HHRD has received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator over the past seven years. HHRD is a member of Inter-Action as well as an accredited charity by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. HHRD is a global humanitarian organization responding to human sufferings in emergency and disastrous situations around the world regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class, and religion. To donate please visit www.hhrd.org or call 1-888-808-4357(HELP). HHRD is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization. Tax ID# 31-1628040 CONTACT: Mariya Nadeem 313-279-5378 [email protected] SOURCE Helping Hand for Relief and Development Related Links http://www.hhrd.org Thousands of marijuana convictions out of Contra Costa County will be dismissed as part of a push by the district attorney's office to abide by the terms of Proposition 64, which decriminalized personal use of cannabis in 2016. Prosecutors worked with Code for America to cull through thousands of records in order to identify and clear 3,264 marijuana convictions for roughly 2,400 people eligible under the law, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. Prop. 64 allows anyone 21 years old or older to buy and possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and up to 8 grams of "concentrated cannabis." In 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that requires prosecutors to review all marijuana convictions by July 1, 2020 to determine if they are eligible to be dismissed and sealed from public view. The law requires courts to automatically reduce or dismiss such convictions if prosecutors don't file a dispute by that same date. "Far too often old criminal convictions for minor drug offenses can leave a lasting mark on an individual's life," said District Attorney Diana Becton in a news release. "The removal of these convictions effectively reduces barriers to licensing, education, housing and employment." The effort is intended to "address wrongs caused by the failed war on drugs" that disproportionately affected people of color, prosecutors said. About 36 percent of county residents whose marijuana cases will be dismissed are African-American, 15 percent are Latino, 2 percent are Asian or Pacific Islanders, 45 percent are white and 2 percent are "other" or unknown, prosecutors said. Becton said it's "extremely unlikely" any of the dismissals will result in anyone being released from jail since "these are just not the types of offences that would have received very lengthy sentences." "Having one on your record does interfere with a persons ability to move on with their lives," she said. Prosecutors used Code for America's "Clear My Record" technology, which automatically culled through huge amounts of criminal history data from the California Department of Justice going back to about 1970 in mere moments, and saved Becton's office untold hours of painstaking work. "I can't even imagine how many hours it would have taken us to pull together this kind of data," she said. Code for America, which donated its time and resources to the county, is a nonprofit organization that works to develop technology solutions to make government more accessible and efficient. Contra Costa County is the fifth county to work with Code for America to clear marijuana convictions; other counties include San Francisco, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Los Angeles. While the county doesn't have a way to contact every individual affected by the dismissals, people can email the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office at DA-Prop64@contracostada.org to see if their records are involved. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Kyslytsya said the circumstances of the crash remained unclear. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya on behalf of Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Ukraine has urged the UN Security Council to provide experts with unconditional support in their investigation into the UIA Boeing crash in Iran. "On behalf of Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Ukraine, I would like to thank all, who expressed their condolences in connection with the crash of a passenger aircraft of Ukraine International Airlines near Tehran International Airport. We are grateful for words of support to the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic catastrophe," he said at the UN Security Council Open Debate on January 9, 2020. Read alsoZelensky says Boeing crash "missile hit" version not ruled out Kyslytsya recalled that 176 innocent lives had been lost: citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. "The circumstances of this catastrophe are still unclear. It is now up to the experts to investigate it and to find answers to the question of what caused the crash. To do so, our experts must receive unconditional support for their investigation into the incident," he added. Here is a timeline of some of the key events in the three-year Stormont impasse: 2017: January A public inquiry was ordered into the RHI scandal (Niall Carson/PA) Stormonts Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness quits the powersharing administration in protest against DUP First Minister Arlene Fosters handling of a botched green energy scheme the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The ministerial executive falls a week later and a snap election is called. A public inquiry is ordered into the RHI scandal. March Sinn Fein makes major gains in the snap Assembly election, cutting what was a 10-seat gap from the DUP to a solitary seat. The long-standing unionist majority within the Assembly goes. Mr McGuinness dies from a rare heart condition. A statutory deadline to form a new executive within three weeks of the election falls as the parties fail to agree a basis for re-entering government together. April Another deadline for agreement set by Secretary of State James Brokenshire passes without a deal. May Mr Brokenshire sets a third deadline for mid-May. A week later the deadline goes up in smoke when Theresa May calls a surprise snap general election. Talks are paused. June Theresa Mays minority government was propped up by Arlene Fosters DUP following the 2017 election (PA) The DUP emerge from the election as Westminster kingmakers and agree a confidence and supply arrangement to prop up Ms Mays minority government. July Another talks initiative fails and the process is put in cold storage over the summer parading season. October Talks resume but are largely confined to engagement between the two main parties. Stormonts smaller parties claim they are being kept in the dark. Despite reports of some movement on the key stumbling blocks, a deal does not materialise. November Gerry Adams announced he was to step down as Sinn Fein president (Niall Carson/PA). Mr Brokenshire sets Stormonts 2017/18 budget at Westminster. Gerry Adams announces he is to step down as Sinn Fein president. The RHI inquiry commences oral hearings at Stormont. 2018: January Mr Brokenshire leaves the government due to ill health. Former culture secretary Karen Bradley takes over at the Northern Ireland Office, announcing a new round of all-party talks. Story continues February Mary Lou McDonald is formally elected the new Sinn Fein president. Mrs May and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar travel to Stormont amid growing expectation a deal could be close. Their visit fails to deliver a breakthrough. A few days later, talks break down in acrimony amid claims from Sinn Fein that the DUP had agreed a deal to return to Stormont, only to get cold feet. The DUP denies the claims. September Ms Bradley decides to cut Stormont Assembly members pay from 49,500 to 35,888. She also rules out calling an Assembly election and says she will bring forward legislation to allow civil servants to make decisions in the absence of devolution. Stormont parties meet for the first time since the breakdown of talks in February. 2019: April Journalist Lyra McKee was murdered in Londonderry by a stray bullet aimed at police (Brian Lawless/PA) A month of fresh talks are triggered following the dissident republican killing of journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry when a bullet aimed at police goes astray. June Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley lead intensified talks at Stormont. The place of the Irish language in society, same-sex marriage and abortion dominates the debate. The DUPs confidence and supply arrangement with the British Government comes under increasing strain over Brexit and the Irish border question. July Amid the slow collapse of Prime Minister Theresa Mays Government, Parliament legislates to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage as part of an Executive Formation Act. Mrs Mays replacement as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, holds a private dinner with senior DUP figures and visits Stormont to meet other party leaders. A range of interest groups including Irish language activists protest outside. December DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds lost his Commons seat (Liam McBurney/PA) Another general election sees the DUP lose two MPs, including former Westminster leader Nigel Dodds. The DUP and Sinn Feins share of the vote drops significantly compared to the 2017 general election by 5.4% and 6.7% respectively while the cross-community and anti-Brexit Alliance party enjoys a bounce in the polls. Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith and Mr Coveney lead renewed negotiations at Stormont. 2020: January Talks resume after a pause for Christmas. After a week of intensive engagements, the two governments present a suggested deal to the five parties and urge them to sign up and re-enter the executive immediately. A biotechnology park and incubation centre will be set up in Rajasthan for which a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the Centre and state government, Union Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Renu Swaroop said on Friday. The park and incubation centre will provide an opportunity to conduct research in the field of biotechnology and employment to the youth, she said. Swaroop was addressing the State Biotech Cohort Meeting, which was attended by vice chancellors, directors and deans of all universities having biotechnology courses, representatives from institutes conducting research in biotechnology and start-ups associated with it. Swaroop said the Centre will provide full support and assistance to promote biotechnology in Rajasthan. The biotechnology park and incubation centre will be set up with the support of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). She said utility of biotechnology is increasing in every field, including health, agriculture and agriculture production, industry, edible food, among others. There is a need to promote biotechnology, and encouraging it will give pace to industrial development and research, she added. Rajasthan Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mugdha Sinha said bio-informatics, biomedical engineering and nano medicine will be encouraged in the state. The Rajasthan government recently launched Nirogi Rajasthan (Healthy Rajasthan) campaign and all possible assistance through bio-informatics will be provided to strengthen it, she added. Biotechnology ecosystem and start-ups will be improved in the state with the help from Centre, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Watch l Delhi elections 2020: BJP slams AAP over induction of Shoaib Iqbal BJP has lashed out at Arvind Kejriwal for inducting Shoaib Iqbal in the party ahead of the Delhi Assembly election. Addressing the media, BJP leader Sambit Patra said that Shoaib Iqbal is charged with several grave offences and said that AAP has proved that it would do anything for Muslim votes. Patra also alleged that Shoqaib Iqbal's son had used threatening language against the Prime Minister during an protest against CAA. ...read more The 17-year, 361-day old young man, behind the wheel of his fathers speeding Mercedes Benz, who hit and killed marketing professional Siddharth Sharma, 32 on April 4, 2016, will not go to jail for his crime with the Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that the act of the accused, a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence, does not fall within the category of heinous offences under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (JJ Act). Under the act, only juveniles committing heinous crimes will be tried as adults. Shilpa Sharma, the sister of Siddharth Sharma, said that she is devastated by the ruling but will continue her fight for justice. The judges said that there is a flaw in the law, but decided to not make the changes and directed the legislators to make the changes. They had the power to change it but they chose not to, said Sharma (38), a resident of Civil Lines. Siddharth Sharma, who was returning home from work was run over by the speeding Mercedes Benz car in the Civil Lines area of North Delhi. The driver behind the wheels, a teenager four days short of his 18th birthday was a repeat offender who had been fined thrice before for similar traffic violations. Police also found that the teenager drove without a licence and had given false information when the traffic police had fined him on the three previous occasions. Police said that based on CCTV images, eyewitness accounts and forensic reports of tyre marks, it was established that the teenager was speeding beyond the permissible limit on the evening of the accident. The teenagers family also allegedly convinced their driver and sent him to the police station to give a false statement claiming that he was driving the car, not the teenager. The Juvenile Justice Act says that a juvenile can be tried as an adult in cases of heinous offences where the minimum punishment is seven years in jail. The juvenile justice board ruled that the accused was fit to be tried as an adult, making him the first juvenile who would be tried thus after the government amended the law. In its five-page order, the board observed that the young man was aware of the consequences of his actions and was in no manner lacking in mental and physical capacity to commit the offence. In February 2019, a Delhi sessions court upheld the ruling. However, the Delhi High Court decided against the order. Shilpa Sharma challenged the high courts order in the Supreme Court. I will fight as much as I can and I will try to seek the attention of the Supreme Court on the case again, said Sharma. We are waiting for the copy of the order and then I will discuss with my lawyers on how to proceed with it, she added. In its ruling, the bench of justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose noted that the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code with which the juvenile was charged did not prescribe a minimum punishment period but only a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or imprisonment up to ten years. Consequently, it did not fall within the definition of heinous offences under Section 2(33) of the JJ Act as per which heinous offences are those offences for which the minimum punishment under the IPC or any other law is imprisonment for seven years or more. The bench also noted that law does not deal with a fourth category of offences such as in this case. These are offences where the maximum sentence is more than seven years imprisonment, but no minimum sentence is prescribed or the minimum sentence prescribed is less than seven years. The court urged Parliament to address this loophole till which time such offences will be treated as serious offences under the JJ Act. ..an offence which does not provide a minimum sentence of seven years cannot be treated to be an heinous offence. However, in view of what we have held above, the Act does not deal with the 4th category of offences viz., offence where the maximum sentence is more than seven years imprisonment, but no minimum sentence or minimum sentence of less than seven years is provided, shall be treated as serious offences within the meaning of the Act and dealt with accordingly till the Parliament takes the call on the matter, the judgment held. Serious offences as per the JJ Act means offences for which punishment under any law is imprisonment between three and seven years. The possible punishments for serious offences include participation in group counselling, performance of community service or payment of fine. The juvenile can be allowed to go home after advice or admonition. For an offence to be a heinous offence, a mandatory minimum punishment has to be there. So any offence which does not prescribe that mandatory minimum will fall into the category of serious offences. The court has now made it clear in its judgment that it cannot rewrite the law and that the Act has to be read in the best interest of children and not otherwise which were arguments we had strongly advanced, said Ashish Kumar, one of the lawyers who represented the teen. Offences in which maximum sentence is more than seven years but for which no minimum sentence is prescribed or minimum sentence is less than seven years have been kept out of the ambit of heinous crimes in tune with the object of the Act. If they are included within heinous crimes, a slew of offences will then become heinous and the whole purpose of the Act will be lost. Therefore, in my opinion, the legislature should not tinker with it though the court has suggested the same, advocate Renjith Marar said. Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has been awarded a contract by Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC), one of the biggest state-owned enterprises in China and one of the world's largest power generation equipment manufacturers and project contractors. The contract includes the supply of cables for DEC's newest 10 MW offshore wind turbine prototype that will be installed in China Three Gorges Corporation's Xinghuawan wind farm in the Fujian province, China. Cables will be manufactured in the Group's plant located in Tianjin, China. With a development period of over 10 years, the wind power market in China is now going through a phase of strategic transformation in which offshore is becoming more and more supported by the Chinese government. Therefore, larger capacity turbines are suitable and preferred for China's Southern and Eastern coastal areas for greater efficiency and lower integrated costs. The successful development of this turbine does not only represent a major step ahead for China's independent R&D capabilities on large-capacity wind turbines, but it is also, and most of all, a milestone for DEC to strategically transition their focus to the offshore market. The new mega-turbine is the first of this type in Asia and is developed for the offshore wind areas along China's southeast coast. It is a direct-drive permanent-magnet offshore turbine, able to resist 77 m/s typhoon winds and has a 185 m blade diameter. This turbine can generate 4 GWh of power each year (with 10 m/s wind), reducing coal consumption by 13,000 tons and carbon emissions by 3,500 tons. "We are very proud to take part in the increasingly strategic transformation of the wind power industry", stated Francesco Fanciulli, Prysmian Group Business Energy SVP. This award reconfirms Prysmian's approach as a 360 partner in the renewable power industry, able to supply from turbine tower and nacelle cables, to inter-array and export cables, installation, project management and up to monitoring systems and solutions. In 2019 the Group has been awarded with several projects like Provence Grand Large, Vineyard Wind, DolWin 5, Hollandse Kust Zuid III & IV and Empire Wind. Recently the Group has also been awarded a global contract for the full year 2020 to supply wind turbine tower and nacelle cables and assemblies by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, world leader in the wind power industry. Prysmian Group Prysmian Group is world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. With almost 140 years of experience, sales exceeding 11 billion, about 29,000 employees in over 50 countries and 112 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in high-tech markets and offers the widest possible range of products, services, technologies and know-how. It operates in the businesses of underground and submarine cables and systems for power transmission and distribution, of special cables for applications in many different industries and of medium and low voltage cables for the construction and infrastructure sectors. For the telecommunications industry, the Group manufactures cables and accessories for voice, video and data transmission, offering a comprehensive range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems. Prysmian is a public company, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in the FTSE MIB index. Przepraszamy! Ogoszenie na stanowisku: Junior Process Officer in Banking Operations Poland with Danish language wygaso z dniem 2020-02-20 Ta propozycja bya zozona przez Nordea Mozliwe przyczyny wygasniecia oferty to: propozycja zamieszczona przez pracodawce zostaa wycofana z naszych zasobow ogoszeniodawca zakonczy proces rekrutacji uzyskujac odpowiednia ilosc pracownikow zleceniodawca zmodyfikowa tresc zlecenia i jest ono dostepne pod innym adresem WWW dostawca tresci usuna ogoszenie z bazy danych bedny adres url ogoszenia Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w branzy Finanse, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Finanse Jezeli poszukujesz pracy na stanowisku Junior Process Officer in Banking Operations Poland with Danish language, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Junior Process Officer in Banking Operations Poland with Danish language Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w miescie: odz, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca odz Pamietaj, ze mozesz takze rozpoczac poszukiwanie pracy od strony gownej, kliknij tutaj. Inne ogoszenia, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan: European aviation watchdog EASA has said it is likely to conduct flight tests of 737 MAX planes later this month, amid many airlines awaiting regulatory approvals to restart operations of these aircraft. In 2019, regulators banned flying MAX planes after two fatal accidents involving the aircraft. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also ordered grounding of these planes in India. SpiceJet is the only domestic carrier having MAX aircraft in its fleet. The budget airline grounded 13 such planes in March last year. A European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) spokesperson said the regulator is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and to ensure the safety of 737 MAX planes. "As part of this, EASA will indeed conduct flight tests of the aircraft. Our current expectation is that these will take place some time later this month," the spokesperson told PTI earlier this week. However, the spokesperson did not specifically mention whether the flight tests would be conducted jointly with the FAA. Earlier this month, a senior airline official said flight tests of MAX aircraft were likely to be done by the EASA and the FAA together possibly in the third week of January. Queries sent to and SpiceJet on December 31 regarding MAX planes remained unanswered. On December 31, an FAA spokesperson said the regulator is following a thorough process for returning the MAX to passenger service. "We continue to work with other international aviation safety regulators to review the proposed changes to the aircraft. Our first priority is safety, and we have set no timeframe for when the work will be completed," the spokesperson had told PTI. In December, Boeing announced the suspension of 737 MAX production starting in January due to certification moving into 2020. Since worldwide grounding in 2019, Boeing has been working on addressing the problems with MAX aircraft. Jet Airways, which was shuttered in April 2019, was also operating these planes. The airline had five such aircraft in its fleet, though out of operations, at the time of domestic regulator banning B737 Max flying in the country. In March 2019, a Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines' 737 MAX aircraft crashed after taking off from Addis Ababa and killed 157 people. The fatal incident came less than five months after a 737 MAX plane, operated by Lion Air, crashed, killing over 180 people in Indonesia in October 2018. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 Trend: The Tajik ambassador was summoned to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry in connection with the conflict on the border, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said. The unknown people threw stones at a number of cars and a house of Kyrgyz people at night, the Kyrgyz state border service said previously, Trend reports referring to RIA Novosti. The border guards who arrived at the scene were shot at from Tajikistans side, the Kyrgyz state border service said. "Small-caliber weapons were used." "In this regard, Tajik extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic was summoned to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry," the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov had a telephone conversation with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Mukhriddin on Jan. 10, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said. The Kyrgyz-Tajik section of the state border periodically becomes a zone of conflict between the local population or the border guards of the two countries. The main reason is non-delimited areas where it is impossible to determine where the border between the countries stretches. Less than a year after opening, Irenes Holy Donuts on North Fourth Avenue will close for good at the end of business Feb. 23. The owners made the announcement on Facebook Friday, Jan. 10, saying it was due to circumstances beyond our control. Owner Irene Heiman said those circumstances included a pair of planned rent increases the first in March, when her lease is up for renewal, and another in June that would have more than doubled her current $7,000 monthly rent. I was almost going to do it, but I really crunched the numbers and I just could not do it, Heiman said. I was working my butt off to even make this $9,000 a month in rent and utility costs. Heiman and her husband Stephen opened Irenes at 340 N. Fourth Ave., at the end of last March, weeks after they had planned. On opening day, it took less than four hours to sell out of 500 specialty doughnuts of all varieties, from cream- and fruit-filled to glazed and frosted. The Tucson bakery, located in the former Cans Deli and bar, was the second for the couple. In 2015, Heiman gave up a career in real estate to open the flagship Irenes Donuts in the couples native Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), a top defender of Trump, said Democrats argued for months that this had to be done, there was an urgent need to remove the president from office, and it steps all over that message to then stall for so long afterwards. The gambit, he said, probably only frustrated independent voters who want to see Congress work with the president. WASHINGTON - Last spring, more than a dozen federal agents spent six hours searching the law firm of a prominent Maryland attorney, sweeping up thousands of emails, files and other documents in a money laundering and obstruction investigation. A federal appeals court panel subsequently declared the government's review of the seized material invalid in a unanimous ruling, citing long-standing protections for the sacrosanct communications between lawyers and their clients. The Justice Department is now considering whether to ask the full court to rehear the case, concerned that the ruling will strip away what they say is a valuable tool for sifting through sensitive, privileged material in criminal investigations throughout the country. Prosecutors asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit for more time to decide next steps because of the "potential ramifications" for so-called filter teams the government uses nationwide, according to the request from Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur. The teams - also called "taint teams" - are designed as firewalls aimed at limiting disclosure of attorney-client communications to front-line investigators. The solicitor general must sign off on any petition for review before a full panel of judges and has until Wednesday to decide. Defense attorneys counter that prosecutors should not be allowed to rummage through sensitive law firm files or allowed to conduct an in-house review of protected, privileged documents. Attorneys representing the Baltimore law firm, which went to court to challenge the June 2019 search, noted that thousands of electronic files unrelated to the investigation were confiscated. Of the approximately 52,000 emails seized from the firm's files, 99 percent had nothing to do with the target of the investigation, according to court filings. "If clients and their lawyers believe that prosecutors may one day sift through their communications in searches involving unrelated matters, clients are less likely to be candid with their lawyers, and lawyers will hesitate before writing down what they need to write down," the firm's attorney James Ulwick argued in the September appeal at the Richmond-based court, which reviews cases from Maryland. Searches of law firm offices are rare and highly sensitive, requiring higher-level approval within the Justice Department because of the importance of attorney-client privilege, which allows for candid discussions and legal advice. All of the federal judges in Maryland, who would have been asked to sign off on the search involving two prominent lawyers active in the state's courts, declined to participatebecause of potential conflicts. The search and filter team process was instead approved and affirmed by judges in Northern Virginia. The underlying case involves a three-year investigation of a Maryland lawyer accused of assisting drug dealers with money laundering and obstruction of federal investigations. The lawyer, Kenneth Ravenell, is not named in appeals court filings, but contemporaneous statements to the press, first reported by the Baltimore Sun, match the timing of the search of his office - and the office of Ravenell's former attorney, Joshua Treem, of the firm, Brown, Goldstein & Levy. Ravenell was indicted in September and pleaded not guilty; a trial is set for April. Treem has not been charged. Ravenell's attorney Lucius Outlaw said the 4th Circuit got it right by putting a "stop to this grave threat to the attorney-client privilege, which is a fundamental pillar of our legal system, and no reason exists for overturning it." Treem and his law firm declined to comment. At issue is the Justice Department's "filter team" process which uses a set of lawyers, agents and assistants not connected to the investigation, but from the same law enforcement offices, to review seized documents. That team turns over to their colleagues assigned to the case all material that is relevant and not covered by attorney-client privilege. For potentially privileged material, the team consults with the target's lawyers to try to strike an agreement. When the government and the target's lawyers disagree, the material is submitted to a judge. Communications used to further a crime or fraud are not shielded by attorney-client privilege. In its October ruling, the appeals court said it was particularly troubled by the huge amount of potentially privileged communications seized that was unrelated to the investigation and the "appearance of unfairness" when the lawyers and agents conducting the review are colleagues of those conducting the investigation. The court cited the potential for "significant problems" with a system that "left the government's fox in charge of guarding the Law Firm's henhouse." "It may well be difficult for those agents to withhold from their superiors information about possible crimes potentially identified in the seized materials," according to the 39-page ruling written by Judge Robert B. King, a nominee of Bill Clinton. The government's process, King wrote, "demonstrated a lack of respect" for attorney-client privilege by allowing the filter team to directly contact the law firm's clients to seek a waiver of that privilege, something the government in this case said it did not do. King was joined by Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory, initially nominated by Clinton, and Judge Allison Rushing, a nominee of President Donald Trump, most recently a lawyer in private practice in Washington. The debate over how the government handled the seized material is perhaps not surprising, said former federal prosecutor Timothy Belevetz. "Neither side ever trusts the other," he said. "Ideally, you'd have a completely impartial arbiter to call balls and strikes." In contrast to the Maryland investigation, the court noted in its opinion that after the search two years ago of the New York office of President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, a judge held a hearing concerning the government's proposed use of a filter team. That hearing allowed Cohen's lawyer to argue against the request. A retired federal judge was appointed to review the material before Cohen's 2018 conviction for tax, bank and campaign finance crimes related to allegations he paid to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with then-candidate Trump. In the investigation of former Baltimore mayor Catherine E. Pugh, agents did not rely on a filter team and instead retrieved records from the office of Pugh's attorney through a "limited subpoena." The government did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications or other firm documents, Pugh's lawyer said at the time before the former mayor admitted to illegally hiding profits from sales of her "Healthy Holly" children's book series. Stuart Berman, who led the U.S. attorney's office in Greenbelt, Md., until 2014, said the 4th Circuit's ruling points to a broader trend in which judges are more skeptical of such in-house reviews. Courts, he said, "are not going to be nearly as willing to entertain the idea of a filter team when you're searching a whole law firm and vast quantities of communications." While the court suggested alternatives such as review by a magistrate judge or an independent special master, Berman noted that the time and cost could be a barrier. In the Cohen case, for instance, the bills submitted by the special master total approximately $960,000. Arun Rao, another former federal prosecutor, said until the 4th Circuit decision, most federal investigators would have assumed the use of a filter team, authorized by a magistrate judge and following preapproved procedures, would survive a legal challenge. "I suspect that this decision will burden magistrate judges," he said, "substantially delay sensitive investigations, and significantly increase costs to the government." KIRKLAND, Wash., Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Memory today announced the company has moved its headquarters and USA warehouse facility from California to Kirkland, Washington, near Seattle. The companys new address and phone/fax numbers are: Alliance Memory Inc. 12815 NE 124th St., Suite D Kirkland, WA 98034, USA Tel: +1 (425) 898-4456 Fax: +1 (425) 896-8628 With this move, we have expanded our warehouse capacity and introduced a more streamlined and efficient logistics center, said David Bagby, Alliance Memory president and CEO. 2019 was actually a great year for Alliance Memory, as we continued to broaden our offering of well-designed and competitively priced products and to grow our organization in ways that will directly benefit our customers. Were bringing that positive outlook to our planning for 2020, during which we plan to introduce some new categories of products while extending the product lines that are already coming to the rescue for so many customers. The company invites any questions about the move to be directed to Sue Macedo, sue@alliancememory.com . About Alliance Memory Inc. Alliance Memory is a worldwide provider of critical and hard-to-find DRAM and SRAM memory ICs for the communications, computing, consumer electronics, embedded, IoT, medical, automotive, and industrial markets. The companys product range includes NOR Flash, DRAM, and SRAM memory ICs with commercial, industrial, and automotive operating temperature ranges and densities from 64Kb to 8Gb. Privately held, Alliance Memory maintains headquarters in Kirkland, Washington, and regional offices in Europe, Asia, Canada, and South America. More information about Alliance Memory is available online at www.alliancememory.com . Agency Contact: Bob Decker Redpines +1 (415) 409-0233 bob.decker@redpinesgroup.com The First Temptation of Christ (Credit: Netflix) The Brazilian supreme court has overturned a ruling made by a judge which temporarily banned a Netflix comedy show depicting a gay Jesus. The First Temptation of Christ, a Christmas special made by comedy troupe Porta dos Fundos, found the son of God introducing his new boyfriend to his family. But it was met by a petition signed by two million people demanding it be taken down from the streaming platform, and protests which saw the group's offices in Rio de Janeiro firebombed. Read more: Netflix ordered to take down gay Jesus comedy Overruling an earlier judgement, which claimed that the show hurt the 'honour' of catholics and christians, supreme court president Jose Antonio Dias Toffoli wrote: It is not to be assumed that a humorous satire has the magic power to undermine the values of the Christian faith, whose existence goes back more than two thousand years. Netflix had filed a complaint against the previous ruling of the temporary ban by Judge Benedicto Abicair. He said: The right to freedom of expression... is not absolute. I understand, yes, that there must be reflection so that excesses do not occur, avoiding nefarious consequences for many, due to eventual foolishness by a few. (Credit: Netflix) Exhibiting the 'artistic production'... may cause graver and more irreparable damage than its suspension. Lawyers working on behalf of Netflix complained that the ruling 'silences by means of fear and intimidation', saying that it was 'equivalent to that of the bomb used in the terrorist attack against the headquarters'. Read more: #CanceloNetflix trends in gay Jesus comedy row Three men attacked the offices of the group on Christmas Eve, throwing molotov cocktails at the building's entrance. In a statement following the attack, the group said: We will move on, more united, stronger, more inspired and confident that the country will survive this storm of hatred and love will prevail alongside freedom of speech. The ruling comes after the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said he was 'a proud homophobe', and that he'd prefer a 'dead son to a gay son'. In the 46-minute show, Jesus returns from the desert on his 30th birthday, with a new companion, the flamboyant Orlando, who its implied is his boyfriend. Actor Vijay Sethupathi has been signed to play the antagonist in Allu Arjuns next yet-untitled Telugu film with director Sukumar. In a media interaction ahead of the release of his forthcoming Telugu film, Ala Vaikuntapuramlo, Arjun revealed that Vijay Sethupathi plays the baddie in his next project. Vijay Sethupathi started playing negative roles from Rajinikanths Petta. In Master, hes rumoured to be playing a gangster who locks horns with Bigil star Vijay. Dubbed as AA 20 and to be produced by Mythri Movie Makers, Arjuns film is expected to go on the floors in a few weeks. It will be Arjuns third outing with director Sukumar after Arya and Arya 2. The makers are yet to reveal the complete cast and crew. But it has been confirmed that Rashmika Mandanna has been signed to play the leading lady. Sukumar, whose last film Rangasthalam set new box-office records, is currently busy with the pre-production work on the project. Arjun also has a project titled Icon in the kitty apart from a pan-India project with AR Murugadoss. If everything goes as planned, Murugadosss film might mark Arjuns Bollywood debut. Also read: Smriti Irani slams Deepika Padukones JNU visit: She stood with those who want destruction of India Meanwhile, Trivikram directed Ala Vaikuntapuramlo is gearing up for release on Sunday. The film also features Tabu in a pivotal role. This appearance will mark her return to Telugu filmdom after two decades, and shes believed to play Arjuns mother in this family drama. Pooja Hegde and Nivetha Pethuraj play the leading ladies. SS Thaman has composed the music while PS Vinod has cranked the camera. There are some reports that Ala Vaikuntapuramlo is reportedly based on the Hollywood film The Invention of Lying. Written and directed by the team of Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, the film revolved around the first human with the ability to lie in a world where people could only speak the truth. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Once in the late 1970s, somebody insulted David McDermotts mother at a party, so he went to Tiffany & Company and had a note engraved: Mr. David Walter McDermott is pleased to announce the elimination of _______ from his guest list. The note, which was mailed out to the offenders friends, now hangs on the wall of Peter McGoughs apartment in Greenwich Village. Now, thats pretty brilliant, to insult someone at such a high level, he said, laughing at the memory. But it is now Mr. McGoughs turn to be disinvited. Half of the Victorian-inspired art duo McDermott & McGough, Mr. McGough has written a memoir about his partnership with Mr. McDermott, Ive Seen the Future and Im Not Going, in which he recounts their bizarre journey as time-traveling artists known as much for their retro lifestyle as for their pseudo-historical art. They dressed in Edwardian clothes, drove a 1913 Model-T Ford and eschewed modern conveniences. As lovers, they shared an apartment on Avenue C that lacked a telephone, television or electric lights. Agathe Elfriede Loring, 92, of Signal Mountain passed away on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, and husband of 35 years, Joseph Loring. Born in East Germany, she escaped the Berlin wall at age 17 before meeting her future husband, marrying, and coming to America at age 22 via Ellis Island. She lived in Norfolk, Virginia and was employed by Norfolk Public Schools for many years before moving to Signal Mountain in 1997. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Erika and David Sahaj, and her grandson, Beau Sahaj. A memorial visitation will be held from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, with a memorial service in the Coulter Chapel of Lane Funeral Home and reception to follow. Arrangements are by Lane Funeral Home - Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, 423 877-3524, Lanefh.com. Basel, Switzerland, January 10, 2020 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) announced today the unaudited preliminary revenue for the financial year 2019. Total revenue is expected to increase to approx. CHF 134 million (FYR 2018: CHF 132.6 million), with contributions of approx. CHF 114 million (FYR 2018: CHF 82.0 million, +39%) from Basilea's two marketed products, the antifungal Cresemba (isavuconazole) and the antibiotic Zevtera (ceftobiprole). Basilea had guided for total revenue of CHF 128-133 million and contributions from Cresemba and Zevtera of CHF 105-110 million. David Veitch, Chief Executive Officer of Basilea, commented: "We are very pleased with our total revenue of approximately CHF 134 million, which exceeds our guidance. The higher than expected increase of 39 percent, year-on-year, in the revenue contributions from our two marketed products, Cresemba and Zevtera, is particularly pleasing. The strong performance is reflecting the continued high unmet medical need of patients suffering from invasive mold infections and the need for new effective antibiotics. In 2019, our commercial partners doubled the number of countries in which Cresemba is marketed and by the end of 2021, we expect that the brand will be available in 60 countries. We are therefore very positive for the future sales prospects of Cresemba." He added: "In addition to exceeding our top line guidance, we have achieved several important strategic milestones in 2019. Amongst others, we have successfully completed TARGET, the first of the two phase 3 studies for ceftobiprole that are required to support a potential U.S. registration. We have also started FIDES-02, a phase1/2 study with the panFGFR kinase inhibitor, derazantinib, in urothelial cancer. Based on derazantinib's unique kinase inhibition profile, convincing pre-clinical in vivo data and the high medical need in the indication, we are also planning to start a phase 1/2 study in gastric cancer. We also completed patient recruitment into two phase1/2 studies with lisavanbulin. Based on the initial results of these studies, we have decided to progress lisavanbulin in a biomarker-driven, targeted phase 2 study in glioblastoma. Our preliminary, unaudited cash and financial investments of approximately CHF 161 million as of December 31, 2019, provide us with the financial flexibility to execute on our strategy towards achieving the upcoming key value inflection points in our R&D pipeline." The audited full financial statements as well as the annual report 2019 will be published on February 18, 2020. The final audited revenue for 2019 and the cash position as of year-end 2019 may differ from the preliminary reported numbers. About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of products that address the medical challenges in the therapeutic areas of oncology and infectious diseases. With two commercialized drugs, the company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements, such as "believe", "assume", "expect", "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical studies for product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica 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. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations +41 61 606 1102 media_relations@basilea.com (mailto:media_relations@basilea.com) investor_relations@basilea.com (mailto:investor_relations@basilea.com) This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. References TARGET ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03137173 FIDES-02 ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04045613 Lisavanbulin ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT02490800, NCT02895360 Attachments Seven people were arrested on Thursday in neighbouring Navi Mumbai for allegedly smuggling a pangolin in an ambulance for illegal sale, police said. Acting on a tip-off, a car and ambulance were stopped on Mumbra-Panvel Road by Kalamboli police, after which seizure of the pangolin, weighing over 7 kilograms, was made, an official said. "It was kept in a steel tank covered with a blanket which was placed between the rear seats. It was unconscious at the time," he added. He identified the seven as Ramesh Datey, Sunil Datey, Mukesh Mohite, Umesh Pawar, Pandurang Chavan, Vijay More and Bhawan Mane, all from Pune, Ratnagiri and Satara. "We have taken a case under the Wildlife Protection Act and probe is underway to find out where they got the pangolin and to whom they intended to sell it," said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Panvel) Ravindra Gidde. Pangolins, or scaly ant-eaters, are hunted for their scales due to a misconception that they cure a wide variety of diseases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson prepares for a television interview after the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre July 30, 2019 in Detroit, Mich. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Marianne Williamson Drops Out of 2020 Presidential Race Author Marianne Williamson ended her 2020 presidential bid on Friday after she failed to gain a foothold in the crowded Democratic field, becoming the second Democratic candidate in the month of January to end their campaign. I stayed in the race to take advantage of every possible opportunity to share our message. With caucuses and primaries now about to begin, however, we will not be able to garner enough votes in the election to elevate our conversation any more than it is now, Williamson, 67, wrote in a message to her supporters. The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I dont want to get in the way of a progressive candidate winning any of them, Williamson added. She gained some traction on social media after making a reference to a dark psychic force of collectivized hatred in the United States. She hasnt qualified for a Democratic debate since July. Democratic presidential candidate, author Marianne Williamson speaks during the 2020 Public Service Forum hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) at UNLV on Aug. 3, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nev. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) According to the Washington Examiner, she leveraged her more than 4 million social media followers, which she had gained as the spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey, to generate more than 130,000 donors to her campaign. She also pushed for the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace, which would oversee reparations and gun control. These are not times to despair; they are simply times to rise up, Williamson remarked on the campaign trail. A politics of conscience is still yet possible. And yes love will prevail. A politics of conscience is still yet possible. And yes.love will prevail.https://t.co/BqTKQFI338 Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) January 10, 2020 Former Obama administration cabinet secretary Julian Castro dropped out of the race and endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in early January. Today Im proud to endorse @ewarren for president. Elizabeth and I share a vision of America where everyone counts. An America where peoplenot the wealthy or well-connectedare put first. Im proud to join her in the fight for big, structural change, Castro, 45, said in a statement at the time of his endorsement. In this Oct. 28, 2019 file photo, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary and Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro speaks at the J Street National Conference in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo) When he ended his campaign on Jan. 2, Castro lamented the fact that it simply isnt our time, so today its with a heavy heart and with profound gratitude that I will suspend my campaign for president, according to a statement from his campaign. According to recent polling numbers, the top Democratic candidates remain former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Warren, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, businessman Andrew Yang, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Corey Booker (D-N.J.), and businessman and activist Tom Steyer. But with them comes a storm of others: their campaign staffers, strategists, the political press, even voters from neighboring states eager to catch a glimpse of the next potential White House occupant. Every four years, Iowa plays host to them all. Iowa becomes a destination, no the destination, in politics, leading to the first caucuses that will begin the process of selecting the next president. This year they will be held on Feb. 3, less than a month from now. President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his stance that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) must join the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). ASUU paid a courtesy visit to the President on Thursday but could not convince the federal government to shift ground. Also Read: 1,177 FUOYE Staff Go Against ASUU, Register With IPPIS The president, at the meeting in Abuja, attended by ministers, insisted on ASUU complying with the governments directive to enrol into the scheme. President Buhari also reiterated his commitment to improving the infrastructures in universities across the nation. At the meeting, it was also revealed that 137,016 academic and non-academic staff members of universities, 96,090 had so far been enrolled into IPPIS by the Minister of Finance, Minister, Zainab Ahmed. BEIRUT - An air raid was reported on Friday in an eastern area of Syria bordering with Iraq against positions held by pro-Iranian Shiite militias, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The monitoring group said eight Iraqi paramilitary fighters with the Hachd al-Chaabi militia were killed in the raid. By PTI SRINAGAR: The People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said the visit of envoys of various countries to Jammu and Kashmir was an attempt by the government to "normalise its clampdown" in the Valley, daring the Centre to allow the dignitaries to meet the detained political leaders. "Today that @PMOIndia lets a 2nd batch of envoys to "see" the situation in #Kashmir, it only seems like an attempt to normalize the Govts own clampdown. The dare is on @PMOIndia will they ever let these Foreign Envoys meet political detainees who are jailed since 160 days now?" the PDP said on its official Twitter handle. Envoys from 15 countries, including US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster, arrived in Srinagar on Thursday on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the first visit by diplomats since August last year when the state's special status was revoked and it was downsized to a union territory. The envoys, who are here as part of the government's diplomatic outreach to rebut Pakistan's propaganda on the Kashmir issue, met some political leaders, including former PDP leader Syed Altaf Bukhari, soon after their arrival. The PDP, commenting on a meeting of breakaway leaders of the party led by Bukhari with Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu earlier this week, said the government "jails those who aided its democracy and strings up puppets who are ready to bargain at the cheapest price". "The government should understand that those who really love Kashmiri soil are not for sale!" it said. A Dundalk doctor is planning to reopen an old airfield outside Dromiskin for use in medical emergencies. Dr Dilip Mahapatra, a former candidate for the European elections in the midlands north west constituency, has begun work to reopen Marsh Farm Airfield as Dundalk Community Airport. Dr Mahapatra wants the airfield to be used to facilitate medical flights in both light aircraft and helicopters. He argues that airlifting patients in need of urgent care to Beaumont Hospital is better than transporting them in ambulances, due to the congestion along the M1 and in Dublin. What happens when there are emergencies where neither the Louth hospital staff or the Drogheda hospital staff can deal with it? said Dr Mahapatra. He uses the example of severe spinal and brain injuries, which are unable to be treated in any hospital in Louth. The land on Marsh Farm is being provided to Dr Mahapatra by the Lambe family, although a formal lease is yet to be signed. The site at Marsh Farm is currently unfit for flights, as the ground is yet to be levelled. Alongside this, there is a hump in the middle of the strip and this will need to be removed before the land can be flattened. It is expected that flattening the strip will take between two to three months, with Dr Mahapatra aiming to open the community airport by April or May. With the main purpose of the airfield being to facilitate medical emergencies, Dr Mahapatra wants to operate the entire facility for free. He plans to allow anyone to store their aircraft there, rather than paying for the service in Dublin Airport. Flying is costly, says Dr Mahapatra, and people who are enthusiastic in the surrounding area in Co Louth have to travel to Dublin to access an airport to do flying [sic]. As well as this, Dr Mahapatra wants to see a flying school created. With takeoffs and landings being more consistent this way, the site would be better maintained. With these facilities in mind, the estimated cost of running the airport would be 10,000 annually according to Dr Mahapatra. Well have to have some sort of means for raising that money, said Dr Mahapatra. If the 10,000 was accumulated, Dr Mahapatra could see the strip being upgraded from a hard grass strip to a tarmac strip, allowing for all-weather takeoffs. Night takeoffs and landings are unlikely, however, as there wont be lights to facilitate them. The land, Marsh Farm, was previously used by Dundalk Aero Club as an airstrip for light aircraft. Welcome to Poll Watch, our weekly look at polling data and survey research on the candidates, voters and issues that will shape the 2020 election. As a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump pledged that he would maintain the United States leverage abroad by committing to an approach of unpredictability. As president, he has been nothing if not unpredictable. Never was this more clear than last week, when Mr. Trump ordered the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the powerful Iranian commander and one of that countrys most important figures. The move left even many of the presidents own advisers stunned, escalated tensions between the two countries and seemed to raise the possibility of outright war though a broader conflict appears to have been averted for the time being. No major polls on the topic have been conducted since General Suleimanis killing, but a look at the public opinion data thats available suggests that Americans are eager to avoid further conflict in the Middle East. And even before the most recent confrontation, Mr. Trumps appreciation for entropy had done little to reassure them. LANSING, MI -- The administrative agency of the Michigan Supreme Court is recommending the Legislature add a total of nine new judges in West Michigan and the Metro Detroit area, according to a recent report. The December report from the State Court Administrative Office also recommends eliminating judge positions in the Upper Peninsula and a district court in Detroit. The recommendations are based on workload. The study, conducted every two years, estimates whether a court has more or less judges than needed by examining the number of new cases filed and the time it takes to complete specific case types. The judges recommended for West Michigan and the Metro Detroit area include: Kent County : a total of three judges - a circuit judge, probate judge and a district judge. The district judge would be added to the 63rd District Court in Grand Rapids Township. Current judges -17. Wayne County : three circuit judges. Current judges - 64. Muskegon County : one circuit judge. Current judges - 10. Ottawa County : one circuit judge. Current judges - 9. Macomb County: one circuit judge. Current judges -19. The State Court Administrative Office also recommends that lawmakers eliminate three district judgeships, create a probate court district, eliminate one probate judgeship, merge courts and reverse two pending reductions. If implemented, the state would have a net increase of seven judges. "These 2019 Judicial Resources Recommendations continue to build upon the major steps to re-engineer Michigans judiciary that were accomplished based on the 2011 and 2013 reports,'' according to the report, released Jan. 2. The suggested eliminations are by attrition. Estimates are that the courts in Dickinson, Iron, and Menominee counties can operate with 3.2 to 4.3 judges, according to the report. The agency recommends either eliminating one district judge or expanding to allow assignment of judges between circuits. "This would make it easier to equitably balance workload between courts,'' according to the report. In Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties, the recommendation is that the counties either create a probate district court of Houghton and Keweenaw counties with one probate judge or eliminate one district judge. It was estimated that the courts could operate with 1.7 judges. The recommendation for the 36th District Court in Detroit is to either eliminate two district judges or assign them as circuit court judges to Wayne County. The mergers recommended include for Lake, Mason, Newaygo, and Oceana counties to create one circuit court and one district court. If done, its recommended that a pending judgeship elimination be struck. The reports calls for Huron and Sanilac counties to merge probate courts and keep one probate judge currently scheduled for elimination. The counties would maintain separate district and circuit courts under this recommendation. The recommendations arent final. To add or eliminate any judgeship, the Michigan Legislature must first pass a bill doing so. Once thats done, the county where the addition is proposed must then sign-off on the action. The county doesnt have a say in judge eliminations. The state is responsible for judge salaries, employer taxes and up to 7 percent of retirement contributions. The recommended changes, with their additions and eliminations, would cost the state about $1.2 million more each year. Local governments are responsible for paying a judges benefits, court personnel salaries and benefits and associated equipment and courthouse costs. Judges added have to run for the seat during a general election. This year, any new judge positions must be authorized by April 21, the filing deadline for non-incumbent judicial candidates, if they are to be filled during the 2020 election. If not, the next election to fill the seats will be 2022 general election. Las Vegas (AFP) - In the not-too-distant future you could ride one, two or three wheels... or maybe none at all. Tech-inspired solutions for mobility -- on land, air and water -- featured prominently at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show this week. Some innovators played with long-established ideas like the bicycle or scooter by adding artificial intelligence, electric power and other technologies. With bold and striking designs, the new transportation gadgetry suggests a wild ride ahead: - Autonomous and shared - Autonomous and shared vehicles intended to curb traffic and emissions were front and center. Swiss-based group Rinspeed showed its latest "modular mobility" vehicle "Metrosnap," which is built on a skateboard-like chassis and looks like a futuristic minibus. Different components can be swapped in to accommodate passengers, deliveries or even a mobile retail outlet. Germany's Bosch showed a similar autonomous shuttle bus-style vehicle that can offer "customized on-demand mobility." "If there is demand, it can transport people, and then if there is a need to move goods, it can be adapted for that as well," said Bosch's Andrew Yip. Juergen Reers, a mobility analyst with Accenture, said people are looking for flexible solutions. "People want something more than (transit) where they are tied to rigid schedules and pickup stations," he said. - Pedal power, with extras - Adaptations of the bicycle, infused with new tech for the connected generation, appeared at CES. French startup Wello showed its open-sided, three-wheeled car-bike that relies on pedaling, electric power and solar panels on the roof, already in use by French postal services. "It's taking the best from the bicycle and the best from the car," said Arnaud Chereau, co-founder of the group, which is based in Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. "It's 100 percent sustainable because it produces energy from the solar panels." Story continues Also seen at the show was an off-road electric cargo bike from Sweden-based startup Cake, which riders can customize for various kinds of trips. "You can commute to work, pick up your groceries and then grab your surfboard and head to the beach," Cake spokesman Garin Fons said of the two-wheeler. Another electric-assisted tricycle concept from Italian startup Measy adds another dimension: a cargo bay for a small delivery robot that can be set free to bring goods inside buildings. "This is a concept for multimobility," said Measy engineer Matta De Santis, demonstrating with a robot from fellow Italian startup Yape. China-based Smacircle offered a simpler, lighter electric bicycle designed as two small, connected rings that fold up and fit a backpack or commuter case. "If you take a train to work, you can use this for the first mile or last mile," said Smacircle's Darren Pike of the e-bike, which is only 53 centimeters (20 inches) high and weighs just over 10 kilos (24 pounds). - Breaking the mold - Some models presented a more outlandish way to get from A to B. Ninebot Segway, which makes personal transporters and scooters, unveiled its S-Pod, a self-balancing armchair designed for urban streets. "We are looking at different solutions for urban mobility," said company spokeswoman Julie Tang. According to Segway, the new personal transport pod can travel up to 24 miles (39 kilometers) an hour and is designed with intuitive controls to avoid tipping over. New Zealand startup Manta5 presented its water bike, which also uses electricity. "Our founder had a dream that he was riding a bicycle, and he saw dolphins, and that's how this started," said spokesman Louis Wilks. The Manta5 hydrofoiler, with variable electric power assistance, is "a new category of water sport" that is quiet, environmentally friends and allows you "to see directly into the water," Wilks said. - Flying above the crowd - Some CES exhibitors said the best way to cope with traffic on the ground is to rise above it. Aeronext unveiled a scaled-down model of its "flying gondola" designed as a personal transporter. The gondola uses so-called "4D gravity" to keep the passenger compartment stable even during turbulence. "This is original technology. Conventional air mobility drones are not stable," said Keisuke Toji, chief executive of the group, which has offices in Japan and China. Toji said the company hopes to have a working prototype in the next year as it moves toward commercialization. South Korea's Hyundai meanwhile announced it would begin mass-producing flying cars for Uber, moving the idea of aerial robo-taxis closer to reality. - Putting it all together - The vast array of new transport options could lead to a more sustainable future, but only if coordinated, Accenture's Reers said. Hyundai proposed a network of hubs to connect various forms of personal and mass transit with stations for its drones. Toyota said it would create a "woven city" in Japan, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, where it would test autonomous driving and related technologies. At the moment, Reers said cities have resisted new modes of transport like scooters because they don't fit into the ecosystem, highlighting the need for better planning. "These new developments create huge opportunities to manage the system in a more sustainable way," he said. "Instead of looking for the next big thing, we should be thinking about making things work together." Government leaders and representatives from ministries, associations and business community attend the annual Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi today. - VNA/VNS Photo Thach Hue The event, jointly held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, World Bank and International Finance Corporation, is attended by government leaders and representatives from ministries, associations and the business community. VBF will provide a platform to engage in a high-level public-private policy dialogue with key decision-making government officials to improve business conditions, promoting the development of private businesses and facilitating the investment environment contributing to Vietnams sustainable economic growth. The discussion also aims to identify the critical issues, proposing recommendations to achieve a circular economy for rapid and sustainable development and enhance investment attractiveness. In the three working sessions, VBF will focus on clarifying issues including: regulating for sustainability; sustainable development and green growth; and infrastructure for innovation. Representatives of research groups and foreign business associations in Vietnam including American Chamber of Commerce, Korean Business Association, Japan Business Association and Australia Chamber of Commerce will deliver speeches on a variety of topics, focusing on facilitating breakthroughs for businesses to become the spearhead of the economy and innovative investment solutions, the role of environmental awareness raising, the importance of sustainability of tourism in Vietnam, E-government and efficient tax and e-customs development strategy. For each sector and area, the research groups also mentioned the development of farming methods, value-added supply chains and innovation in agriculture; sustainable energy attracting private investment in Industry 4.0; attracting investment for sustainable finance and supporting the creation of Industry 4.0; sustainable infrastructure development including public-private partnership, waste management, wastewater management and public transport; and the leap towards education and workforce. Section 144 of CrPC will be imposed and traffic halted in land, water and air in the evacuation zone around the four illegal water front apartment complexes here to be demolished in the next two days, police said on January 10. Two of the high rises would be demolished on Saturday and the rest on Sunday, complying with the orders of Supreme Court which held the structures to be illegal as they had been built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms. The complexes housing a total of 343 flats would be brought down using the implosion method and the companies engaged for it have completed the filling of explosives in the structures on Wednesday. They have said the demolition would be carried out safely without causing any damage to buildings in the neighbourhood. As a precautionary measure, people living in the neighbourhood falling under the evacuation zone, 200 metre radius from the complexes, have been asked to move out of the area on the two days and ban orders under Section 144 of CrPC would be imposed from 8 am to 4 pm to prevent movement of public, police said. On the eve of the demolition, Kochi Police Commissioner Vijay Sakhare warned strong criminal and legal action will be taken if anyone tries to fly drones in the area as itis "extremely dangerous" since the buildings are 'charged' (filled with explosives). Drones will be shot down if anyone attempts to fly them, he said. The "uniquefeature" of this particular demolition is Section 144 of CrPC will be imposed to stop movement on land, water and in air between 8 a.m and 4 p.m in the evacuation zone, he said. Coastal police in boats would keep a vigil along the backwaters running adjacent to the flats, while 800 personnel would be deployed to manage crowd, expected to throng areas in the vicinity to witness the demolition, and regulate traffic. Police have said house-to-house search will be carried out for ensuring 100 per cent evacuation of people residing in the zone. People can witness the implosion from any place outside the evacuation zone, they had said in an advisory note issued two days ago. Residents in the evacuation zone have been directed to switch off electricity and all appliances before leaving their homes. People may return to their homes once police removes barricades from the roads leading to evacuation zone. A total of 343 waterfront flats were built in the complexes, violating the Coastal Regulation Zone norms. The Supreme Court had in September 2019 directed demolition of the apartment complexes within 138 days, a time line given by the Kerala government. On May 8 last year, the apex court had directed that these buildings be removed within a month as they were constructed in a notified CRZ, which was part of the tidally- influenced water body in Kerala. The court had passed the order after taking note of a report of a three-member committee, which said when the buildings were built, the area was already notified as a CRZ and construction was prohibited. Though the residents staged protests for several days refusing to vacate, later they relented. The court has ordered an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the owners of the flats. Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber Technologies Inc., listens during a panel discussion at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Taxi drivers had protested Uber and other services, Reuters previously reported, claiming the services had an unfair advantage due to a lack of regulation requiring them to pay the same fees to which traditional cabs are subject. Colombian authorities ordered Uber to cease operations of its ride-hailing service after a judge sided with the country's competition authority, which claimed the company broke market rules, Reuters reported in December. In its latest regulatory blow, Uber will end operations in Colombia on Jan. 31, CNBC confirmed Friday. Local news outlet El Tiempo first reported the news. Uber appealed the ruling, according to Reuters, though it did not ban its other divisions, like its delivery service Uber Eats. Uber called the Colombian regulator's decision "arbitrary," in a statement on its end to operations translated from Spanish. While Colombia only represents a market of around 2 million riders and 88,000 drivers, Uber's decision to abandon its operations there shows the impact regulation can have on its services. In November, London's transport regulator stripped Uber of its license to operate. Uber said at the time it had 3.5 million riders and 45,000 drivers in that market, and has appealed the decision. Uber also continues to face regulation at home, most recently with California's new gig economy law known as Assembly Bill 5. The bill, which took effect Jan. 1, requires gig economy workers to be reclassified as employees rather than contractors. Uber and Lyft both opposed the bill, as did other services. When it ultimately passed, Uber's chief legal officer Tony West told reporters there's still room for interpretation in the bill, which says contractors must do work outside the typical course of business. Uber and food-delivery start-up Postmates sued California over the law last month. "Several previous rulings have found that drivers' work is outside the usual course of Uber's business, which is serving as a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces," West said. Uber still faces the potential for legal challenges under the new law and for other states to be inspired by California's legislation, especially as presidential candidates call for greater protections for workers. CNBC's Deirdre Bosa and Annie Palmer contributed to this report. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. WATCH: Uber just changed its app for California users to comply with the new labor law, here's what it means According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, Americans are evenly divided over President Trumps decision to kill Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, but a plurality of the public opposes Trumps overall approach to the Islamic Republic and believes his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama was more effective in dealing with Tehran. Former President Barack Obama and President Trump. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP (3), Getty Images. Conducted from Jan. 8 to 10 after Iranian ballistic missiles struck Iraqi bases in retaliation without causing American casualties and Trump declared that Iran appears to be standing down the poll found that 42 percent of Americans opposed Trumps approach to Iran (versus 36 percent who supported it). Forty percent said Trump was wrong to withdraw from the Obama administrations nuclear treaty with Tehran (versus 35 percent who said he was right), while 41 percent said Trump has been less effective on Iran than Obama (versus 34 percent who said the current president has been more effective). On all three questions, about a quarter of respondents said they were either not sure or neutral. The percentage of the public (38 percent) that approved of Trumps decision to kill Soleimani, which his campaign has been touting in fundraising emails and Facebook ads, is statistically indistinguishable from the percentage that disapproved (37 percent) a divide that may stem from the fact that only a third of Americans believe the administrations claim that Soleimani was planning an imminent attack on the U.S. (A slightly smaller proportion 29 percent disbelieved the claim; the rest were unsure.) More Americans also said Trumps handling of recent events in the Middle East made them less likely to support him in the 2020 election (35 percent) than said they were more likely to support him as a result (29 percent). A plurality (36 percent) said his approach would have no effect on their vote. Not all of Trumps actions toward Iran have been met with public disapproval or division. When asked whether the U.S. should take additional military action against Iran, 50 percent said no, including a wide majority of Democrats (70 percent) and a slight plurality of Republicans (37 percent); overall, only 20 percent of Americans said yes. When that decision was framed as Trumps and respondents were asked whether they approved or disapproved of the presidents decision to impose more economic sanctions instead of further retaliating with force, Democratic support went down (to 58 percent) and Republican support went up (to 81 percent), but overall, a broad majority of Americans (63 percent) said they were in favor; only 14 percent disapproved. Despite the presidents polarizing effect, de-escalation with Iran is a popular position. Story continues Respondents were also asked if they had high, medium or low confidence in how various 2020 candidates would deal with Iran. The results showed that while Trump scored poorly 31 percent said high, compared with 52 percent who responded low most of his potential Democratic rivals fared no better. Elizabeth Warrens low confidence score was the same as Trumps, and an even higher percentage of Americans (56 percent) expressed a low level of confidence in Pete Buttigieg, the only major 2020 candidate to serve in the military. Perhaps most surprising was the publics view of Joe Biden, a familiar former vice president with decades of foreign policy experience: Only 21 percent expressed high confidence in Biden, and nearly half (48 percent) said their confidence in him was low. None of the other top 2020 Democrats cleared the 20 percent high confidence mark, though all scored above 30 percent in the medium confidence category, compared with 17 percent for the ever-polarizing Trump. The good news for these candidates is that only 18 percent of Americans said that policy would be a very important factor in determining their 2020 vote. The bad news is that the public is pessimistic about what the future holds. A plurality (34 percent) said that Trumps economic sanctions will not [be] very effective at all in preventing Iran from attacking Americans; nearly two-thirds said either that a full-scale war between the U.S. and Iran will start in the next year (19 percent) or that they are not sure (45 percent); and a near majority (49 percent) thought Iran will acquire nuclear weapons in the next few years. The survey was conducted by YouGov for Yahoo News. A representative sample of 1,500 U.S adults from YouGovs research panel were interviewed online. The sample was weighted by age, race, gender, education, voter registration and 2016 presidential vote. The margin of error for the full sample was 2.8 percent. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: ATLANTA - Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg came to Georgia on Friday to meet influential Democrat Stacey Abrams and then rally a white-collar crowd of supporters around his late-starting, unusual White House campaign. His visit with Abrams and a private speech to a voting rights summit she hosted comes after disclosures that the billionaire former New York City mayor donated $5 million to the political action group Abrams founded after her narrow defeat in the 2018 Georgia governors race. Abrams has met with several White House hopefuls and given no indication that she will endorse anyone. Bloombergs moves nonetheless underscore the unusual path he is hoping to carve out to the White House as he bypasses the four early voting states and uses his vast personal fortune to build out a national campaign in the states that follow. Our campaign is going to stay here until November, Bloomberg promised as he officially launched his operation in the state Friday after meeting with Abrams. Georgias primary is March 24, three weeks after a Super Tuesday slate that Bloomberg hopes establishes him as more than a billionaire spoiler. The former mayor offered the Atlanta crowd his standard political fare -- a firm critique of President Donald Trump and a pledge of competent government -- mixed with tributes to Atlanta and its lead role in the American civil rights movement. Im a problem-solver. ... I know America is not New York, but I also know that America is ready to get things done, Bloomberg told about 150 backers who joined him after he addressed Abrams voting rights summit. He lauded Abrams, who would have been the first black woman to lead a U.S. state, and Democratic Rep. John Lewis, the Atlanta civil rights icon who recently announced a dire cancer diagnosis. Bloomberg told the mostly white audience that hed just come from lunch at Paschals, one of the citys famous black-owned restaurants where Martin Luther King Jr. and his contemporaries often dined and made plans during the civil rights era. Abrams was popular enough in defeat to be tapped to give Democrats response to Trumps State of the Union address last year. Her name is among those commonly bandied about as a potential vice-presidential candidate for Democrats once the party settles on a nominee. That speculation almost certainly would intensify if Democrats nominate a white man, such as Bloomberg, former Vice-President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders or former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. But Bloomberg is the only Democratic presidential hopeful who has written a personal seven-figure check to her voting rights non-profit. Bloombergs campaign touts the contribution and his appearance Friday at her summit as an extension of his own voting rights advocacy. Since leaving the New York mayors office in 2013, Bloomberg has plunged millions of his own dollars on public policy campaigns, advocating especially for climate action and tougher gun laws. Abrams declined to comment on her summit Friday. Her aides confirmed a private discussion with Bloomberg. Abrams launched the Fair Fight committee out of her gubernatorial campaign after alleging that voting irregularities helped prevent her from forcing a runoff against now-Gov. Brian Kemp, whod been the Republican secretary of state who oversaw their election. Fair Fight has an ongoing federal legal battle challenging aspects of Georgias election system. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 18:47:03|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close COLOMBO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Health Ministry said on Friday that no new strain of influenza has been identified in the country following growing reports of the spread of a new illness. The ministry said in a statement that the present disease identified as influenza is not due to an unrecognized virus. "Therefore, the public do not have to fear," the statement said. The ministry called upon the public, especially children and the elderly, to practice basic hygiene and avoid crowded places, even as it assured that influenza patient numbers are on the decline. However, it suggested that children below two years old, pregnant mothers and adults above 65 see a doctor if there are signs of influenza. "There is an increase of influenza patients every year with the coming of the North-East monsoon. There was an increase in influenza patients during November and December. However, there was a decrease in December compared to November," the ministry said. Airtel Wi-fi calling service available Pan-India: How do you get it, everything explained India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 10: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday said its mobile customers across the country can now use its Wi-Fi calling service using any Wi-Fi network. Airtel, which had introduced voice-over Wi-Fi last month, said the service has crossed one million users. The service enables customers to switch seamlessly from LTE to Wi-Fi-based calling when they are inside their homes or offices, thereby enhancing indoor voice calling experience for smartphone customers. There are no extra charges for making calls via Airtel Wi-Fi calling. "Following the extremely positive customer feedback, the company has accelerated the roll-out of its innovative service across the country. Airtel Wi-Fi calling is now available to Airtel mobile customers across India," a statement said. It added that the service can now be accessed by Airtel mobile customers over any home or public Wi-Fi network. CAA Protests: Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio suspended in parts of Delhi-NCR The company said it has been engaging with smartphone manufacturers to make all popular smartphone models compatible with the service. Over 100 smartphone models across 16 brands are now compatible with Airtel Wi-Fi calling, it added. "The technology has transformed the indoor network quality for Airtel mobile customers, particularly in high population density areas in urban markets. Airtel is also the first to make the service LIVE across India and our customers can use the feature on any Wi-Fi," Bharti Airtel Chief Technology Officer Randeep Sekhon said. Earlier this week, Reliance Jio had launched voice and video calling over Wi-Fi service. The company had said Jio Wi-Fi calling, which works on the largest ecosystem of handsets, will also allow users to make video calls over Wi-Fi. Check if your phone supports it or not: Airtel Wi-Fi calling is compatible with Samsung Galaxy S10-series, Galaxy M20, Galaxy J6, Galaxy On6, Galaxy M30s, Galaxy A10s, Galaxy A50s, and Galaxy Note 9, Apple iPhone 6s and later, including the latest iPhone 11-series, OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 7T Pro, POCO F1, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Redmi 7A, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Y3, Redmi 7. How does Wi-Fi calling works? Airtel networks already offer VoLTE calls, where the calls are made using the data connectivity. Security flaw in Airtel app exposes customers data of 32 crore subscribers, fixed now The Wi-Fi calling is nothing but an addition to this technology. With Airtel Wi-Fi calling now being accessible, instead of using the LTE data, the calls will now use the Wi-Fi data, if the phone is connected to a robust Wi-Fi network. It all works only if the users' phone supports Wi-Fi calling and if you have enabled it by going into the phone's cellular settings, Wi-Fi calling feature will work automatically. This means when you make or receive a call, and when you are connected to a good Wi-Fi network, your call will be made using the Wi-Fi connection. If your Wi-Fi connection drops, the call will start using the 4G or GSM network in your phone. It will happen automatically and you don't have to do anything manually. The 27-year-old son of Guadalupe Adams had recently moved back in with his mother and made suicidal comments the day before she was found dead Gold prices edged lower on Friday, having declined as much as 1% in the previous session, as de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions brought relief to markets and boosted investors' appetite for riskier assets. FUNDAMENTALS - Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,551.02 per ounce by 0045 GMT. Prices hit their lowest since Jan. 3 at $1,539.78 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,551.40. - Markets received a respite after U.S. President Donald Trump responded to Iran's missile attacks with sanctions instead of military action. - World's shares hit a record high on relief as Mideast tensions subsided. - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday to stop Trump from further military action against Iran, days after he ordered a drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander and raised fears of war. - Investors are now focused on a 'Phase 1' trade deal signing between Washington and Beijing next week. - However, large Chinese purchases of Brazilian soybeans and a pair of unexpected policy moves by Beijing have dimmed U.S. hopes that China would double its imports of American farm products this year. - Trump said his administration will start negotiating the 'Phase 2' agreement soon but that he might wait to complete any deal until after November's U.S. presidential election. - The global trade wars may not be over, but U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday said the economy may have weathered the worst of it as risks begin to ease and businesses adjust to a new trade environment. - Sudan has begun allowing private traders to export gold, a measure designed to crack down on smuggling and attract foreign currency into the country's cash-strapped treasury. - Reflecting investor sentiment, holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust , fell 0.5% to 882.12 tonnes on Thursday. - Elsewhere, palladium gained 0.4% to $2,114.94 an ounce, having hit a record peak of $2,149.50 in the previous session on supply woes. For the week, the metal was set to register its best week since mid-June. - Silver was flat at $17.89 per ounce, and was on track to post its worst week in five, while platinum inched up 0.2% to $968.41. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) released a new study on global consumer trends, revealing that now, more ever before, the importance of brand purpose surpasses cost and convenience for today's shoppers. The research, developed in partnership with the National Retail Federation (NRF), polled nearly 19,000 consumers from 28 countries, across all demographics and generations, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers (ages 18-73), to understand how individual purchasing decisions are evolving and help today's consumer-facing companies navigate trade and commerce complexities. One-third of all consumers today will stop buying their preferred products if they lose trust in the brand, and one-third of consumers have already stopped purchasing their longtime, favorite brands in 2019. As such, consumers are prioritizing those that are sustainable, transparent and aligned with their core values when making these decisions. They're willing to pay more, and even change their buying habits, for brands that get it right. At the same time, buying behaviors have changed drastically. Consumers shop whenever and wherever the mood strikes them - usually while doing something else. Whereas impulse buying was once the norm, impulse shopping is the current norm, 7 in 10 consumers now shop in "micro-moments" or shop simultaneously while conducting their daily tasks. With a proliferation of brands and products at shoppers' disposal anywhere at any time, corporate values now outweigh product costs and convenience. Consumers of all ages and incomes pay much higher premiums for products aligned with their personal beliefs. On average, 70 percent of purpose-driven shoppers pay an added premium of 35 percent more per upfront cost for sustainable purchases, such as recycled or eco-friendly goods. 57 percent of them are even willing to change their purchasing habits to help reduce negative environmental impact. 79 percent of all consumers today state it is important for brands to provide guaranteed authenticity, like certifications, when they're purchasing goods. Within this group, 71 percent are willing to pay an added premium 37 percent more for companies offering full transparency and traceability. "Transparency constitutes proof that an organization and its offerings are what the company claims to be a way to earn consumers' trust. Brands can leverage data and integrate blockchain technologies as brand differentiators that effectively provide transparency and traceability which will also boost profits as the study shows that shoppers willingly pay more if a retailer can demonstrate provenance," said Luq Niazi, Global Managing Director, IBM Consumer Industries. The modern-day marketplace has created a new generation of customers that come with higher demands and bigger challenges that retailers must face in 2020, and the findings reveal major shifts in consumer buying behaviors that require a fundamental change in how retailers and consumer packaged goods brands build brand affinity. With cost no longer the deciding force for consumers, IBM recommends the following for retailers to regain competitive market share in new ways: Earn consumers' confidence through transparency and traceability: With "micro-moments" on the rise, companies must go beyond simply offering convenient or quicker services to gain customers' trust consumer brands now need to differentiate themselves by offering convenient, quicker access to detailed information previously unnecessary, such as how the products are manufactured, quality of ingredients, if it is sustainable or ethically sourced, and under what conditions. Terra Delyssa, a Tunisian olive oil producer, is one such brand which is already incorporating traceability into its data and products. At NRF, we will unveil that Terra Delyssa is using blockchain to create a provenance record that allows consumers to trace olive oil from retailer back to farm using a QR code or lot number. Measure sustainability through economic impact: Reducing environmental impact now goes beyond recyclable packaging or reducing carbon footprints. Purpose-driven brands must also help build a sustainable, circular economy for future generations. In order to preserve resources and eliminate waste in today's commerce-driven landscape, sustainability must be integrated and measured end-to-end and across the entire supply chain for CPG manufacturers. IBM Sterling continues to expand its open developer ecosystem to provide retailers with targeted innovation and experimentation. Through IBM Sterling's expanded partnerships with Salesforce, Sapient and Project 44, IBM is helping clients solve complex supply chain challenges, resulting in seamless customer engagement and full visibility into the entire retail journey from order creation and delivery, shipment lifecycle management and returns optimization. Deliver value through more flexibility, not more products: As digital interactions continue to influence the way consumers shop, retailers need to innovate in store, to give a consistent brand experience across all channels. The challenge however for many retailers is the ability to rapidly deploy and integrate new capabilities with their existing store technology environment to allow them to continuously deliver on consumer expectations. To help retailers manage these issues and accelerate store innovation, at NRF 2020 IBM is Launching "Store in the Cloud" - a suite of pre-integrated capabilities from IBM in collaboration with its developer ecosystem that includes Flooid (formerly PCMS), Opterus, RelevanC, Trax and more. Designed for retail and built on open hybrid multi-cloud technologies from IBM and Red Hat, Store in the Cloud is a customizable, cost-effective platform that leverages AI, IOT and Blockchain capabilities. This allows retailers to quickly extend digital experiences into physical stores, provide consistent personalized interactions, improve customer fulfillment, empower store associates with intuitive apps, enable consumers shop everyway they choose and better manage store costs. "Shoppers today show an increased willingness to pay premiums for products that align with their values. The study's findings show that today's retailers need to be proactive in evaluating and understanding what drives current and future core buyers while still boosting margins for their business," said Mark Mathews, Vice President, Research Development & Industry Analysis, NRF. IBM will be showcasing its new retail capabilities at Booth #3521 during NRF 2020 from January 12-14. For further information on IBM at NRF, please visit: https://www.ibm.com/industries/retail-consumer-products Access the full IBV and NRF study findings here: https://ibm.co/consumer-2020 About IBM Institute for Business Value The IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), part of IBM Services, develops fact-based, strategic insights for senior business executives on critical public and private sector issues. Follow @IBMIBV on Twitter, and for a full catalog of our research or to subscribe to our newsletter, visit: www.ibm.com/ibv Media Contact Leslie Park IBM External Relations [email protected] 917-421-8933 SOURCE IBM Related Links https://www.ibm.com PURCHASE, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stop & Shop, the official supermarket of the New York Giants, is proud to announce a $31,100 donation to food banks across the tri-state area, a contribution that reflects their pre-season commitment to donate $100 for each first down recorded by the Giants during the 2019 season. The Giants final season total was 311 first downs. The $31,100 will be divided among 8 of Stop & Shops regional food bank partners - Community FoodBank of NJ, Fulfill, The Food Bank for New York City, Feeding Westchester, The Connecticut Food Bank, Long Island Cares and Island Harvest. The food banks will use the donation to fight hunger in their local communities supporting nutrition programs and providing resources to those in need. Stop & Shop has a longstanding history of giving back to the communities we serve with a focus on fighting hunger, said Bob Yager, SVP of Sales and Operations for Stop & Shop. This donation underscores Stop & Shop and the Giants mutual commitment to assisting food banks in New Jersey, New York City, Westchester, Connecticut and on Long Island. The first down donation is just one of the ways the Giants and Stop & Shop have worked together to fight hunger. Earlier this year, and every season, Stop & Shop sponsors the Giants annual food drive at MetLife Stadium, as well as donates thousands of turkeys alongside the Giants as part of the supermarkets annual Turkey Express Program. About Stop & Shop A neighborhood grocer for more than 100 years, todays Stop & Shop is refreshed, reenergized and inspired, delivering new conveniences for customers. Committed to helping its communities enjoy better food and better lives, Stop & Shop has a longstanding history of giving back to the neighborhoods it serves with a focus on fighting hunger and helping children to enjoy healthy, active lifestyles. The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC is an Ahold Delhaize USA Company and employs nearly 60,000 associates and operates over 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. About the New York Football Giants A cornerstone franchise of the National Football League, the New York Football Giants began play in 1925. With eight championships, including a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, their second in five seasons, the Giants are the only franchise in the NFL with a Super Bowl victory in each of the last four decades. Headquartered at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., the Giants enter their 96th season of play this fall. For more information, visit www.giants.com. Hard-Hit Canada Seeks Key Role In Iran Crash Probe By RFE/RL January 09, 2020 Canada says it intends to play a key role in investigating the crash of an Ukrainian airliner that killed dozens of its citizens despite not having direct diplomatic relations with Tehran. The cause of the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800NG, which killed all 176 aboard after taking off from Iran's capital on January 8, remains unknown. Ukraine's embassy in Tehran initially blamed engine failure but later removed the statement. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa that 138 of the 176 people on board the flight from Tehran to Kyiv had onward connections to Canada. Many were members of Canada's large Iranian community, mainly from the Edmonton area. Ukrainian officials said 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons were on the plane, along with 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew. Trudeau said that "Canada is one of a handful of countries with a high degree of expertise when it comes to these sorts of accidents and, therefore, we have much to contribute." "I am confident that in our engagement both through our allies and directly, we are going to make sure that we are a substantive contributor to this investigation," he told reporters. The Canadian leader said Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne would call his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to stress the need for a full investigation into the tragedy. Canada broke diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, and Italy normally acts as a proxy for communication between Ottawa and Tehran. Trudeau would not comment on possible causes for the accident. "Obviously we are very, very early days on the investigation. It's dangerous to speculate on possible causes," he said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had instructed the prosecutor general to open criminal proceedings over the crash. He said on Facebook that Ukraine will send a team of experts to Iran to investigate the circumstances of the crash. "Our priority is to establish the truth and those responsible for this terrible catastrophe," Zelenskiy wrote. Iran and Ukraine agreed "to coordinate further actions of our investigation groups closely to determine the cause of the terrible plane crash," according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko. Zelenskiy's office later issued a decree declaring January 9 a "day of national mourning" to honor victims of the crash. A statement also said Zelenskiy would speak by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, to set up cooperation to "establish the truth" about the tragedy. Iranian TV said the crash was due to unspecified technical problems, and Iranian media quoted a local aviation official as saying the pilot did not declare an emergency. State media reported that the plane caught fire after crashing, but a video aired by the state broadcaster appeared to show the plane already on fire as it fell from the night sky. The crash came just hours after Iran launched a ballistic-missile attack targeting two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Qasem Soleimani. The timing of the plane crash led some aviation experts to wonder whether it was brought down by a missile, but Iranian officials rejected any such suggestion. "The rumors about the plane are completely false and no military or political expert has confirmed it," General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying. He called the speculation "psychological warfare" by opponents of the government. With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, Fars, dpa, IRNA, and RFE/RL's Radio Farda Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/canada-seeks-role -iran-ukraine-plane-crash-despite- diplomatic-ties/30367533.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said there is a possibility of re-tendering for the Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport due to a delay in work over technical issues. GMR Airports Limited had got a contract in March last year from MIHAN India Limited, the concessioning authority, to develop, operate, manage Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a flyover here, Gadkari said the previous Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra had approved the airport at Nagpur but "work has got delayed due to technical reasons and there is possibility of re-tendering of the project". Gadkari is Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Screenshot/Fox News Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a Thursday night interview that the administration didn't know "precisely where" and "when" an allegedly imminent Iranian attack would occur. This came just hours after the president claimed without offering evidence the Iranian leader the US assassinated last week was plotting to bomb the US Embassy in Iraq. "There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qassem Soleimani and we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real," Pompeo said. On Thursday, the House voted to approve a war-powers resolution, which would bar Trump from taking any new military actions against Iran without congressional authorization. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. During an interview with Fox News on Thursday night, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Trump administration didn't know "precisely when" or "where" an allegedly imminent Iranian attack would occur. This came just hours after the president claimed without offering any evidence the Iranian leader the US assassinated last week was plotting to bomb the US Embassy in Iraq. Related Video: Inside the US Militarys $223 Million Doomsday Plane "There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qassem Soleimani and we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real," Pompeo said. He sidestepped a question about the accuracy of Trump's claim about the embassy attack plot, pointing to the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia members who'd surrounded and "penetrated" the embassy in the days leading up to the US strike on Iran. "I don't think there's any doubt that Soleimani had intentions, not only to take action against our forces and our diplomats in Iraq, but in other countries and regions around the world as well," Pompeo went on. Defense Secretary Mark Esper insisted on Tuesday that the government was forced to "act in self-defense" by killing Soleimani to prevent an attack on the US within "days," but has not made public any information regarding a specific threat. Story continues Democratic and a few Republican lawmakers were infuriated by a classified briefing they received from the Trump administration on Wednesday concerning the US strike that killed Soleimani and a top Iraqi militant leader. The lawmakers said they weren't provided any evidence of an imminent and specific threat posed by Soleimani evidence of which is required to legally launch an attack without prior congressional authorization. Republican Sen. Mike Lee called the briefing, which Pompeo helped lead, "probably the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, I've seen in nine years I've been here." Pompeo insisted that he and other administration officials "did a dynamite job" and "our level best" in informing lawmakers. On Thursday, the House voted to approve a war-powers resolution, which would bar Trump from taking any new military actions against Iran without congressional authorization. The Senate has yet to vote on the concurrent resolution. Read the original article on Business Insider Business Insider This article originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues. Two hapless sons of Missouri probably didn't get the memo that just because the Air Force's motto is "Aim High," that doesn't mean you can roll up to the front gate of an air base with your car reeking of weed, with baggies full of pot, a box full of bongs, and a Glock inside. But that's exactly what Jose Avila, 42, and William Kuper, 30, are alleged to have done on Dec. 30, on their way home from California. Both men told Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office deputies they were trying to get to a transmission shop on the other side of Interstate 40 when they arrived at the gate of Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. at 7:14 that morning, according to an incident report obtained by Task & Purpose. When they rolled down the windows of their red Chevy Tahoe, the base security officer smelled "a strong odor of marijuana" coming from the SUV, according to the report. When sheriff's deputies arrived to the scene, Avila and Kuper said they hadn't smoked in the Tahoe. But on closer inspection, the deputies found the following: Two partially-smoked joints on the front passenger side by the ashtray A white pill-looking container containing a green leafy substance A box containing pipes/bongs in the back seat A black backpack full of a green leafy substance, marijuana grinders, and more pill-like containers in the right rear passenger seat Several black bags full of new clothes and shoes A clear plastic bag full of more green leafy substance that "had a strong odor of raw marijuana." A Glock pistol Oklahoma City news station News 9 reported Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Myers as saying that the product appeared to have been purchased at a dispensary in Los Angeles of Las Vegas. Investigators think it's possible Avila and Kuper planned to sell the products at Avila's Washington, Mo. restaurant, StreetSide Tacos. Both men face charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. They have since been bonded out of jail and returned home to Missouri, News 9 said. More articles from Task & Purpose: A woman has been arrested in Jalna in Maharashtra for allegedly cheating her husband of Rs 30,000 days after they got 'married', police said on Friday. The two got 'married' on January 1 this year, said an official of Chandanzira police station. "The complainant married the accused after the latter's uncle from Parbhani's Manwat brought the proposal. A couple of days ago she asked for Rs 30,000 for her mother's treatment. After he gave her the money, she disappeared," said Inspector Shaymsunder Kauthale. "The accused's uncle, who had given a fake name at the time of finalising the marriage, has been arrested along with the woman. Further probe into whether they have cheated other people with this marriage modus operandi is underway," he said. He said the woman is already married and has two children. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Latin American delivery startup Rappi said on Thursday it has laid off 6% of its workforce, less than a year after Japan's SoftBank Group invested nearly $1 billion in the company. Rappi did not specify the number of jobs it is cutting. According to the Brazil Journal news outlet, Rappi employs about 5,000 people, which implies the job cuts could affect at least 300 staff. The on-demand delivery app said its "internal leadership team" made the layoff decision. The firm's board of directors includes a SoftBank representative. SoftBank has been facing pressure to make Rappi a success following steep losses at two of its other big investments - WeWork and Uber. Rappi, which has expanded its footprint in nine countries since its founding in 2015, delivers everything from groceries and restaurant meals to medication and furniture, and has branched out into scooter rental, travel and basic banking services. "We are in fact actively hiring a large number of people in our areas of focus for 2020," the company said in a statement, describing technology as a priority. "We are investing heavily in our tech team, automating some roles, re-balancing areas and embracing high performers," Rappi said. It did not say how many employees it plans to recruit. Rappi is also building up a trove of consumer and sales data from millions of users that is highly coveted by consumer brands, restaurants, supermarkets and stores. Softbank's investment of nearly $1 billion last April made Rappi its biggest bet in Latin America, where the Japanese conglomerate plans to invest nearly $5 billion. When asked how soon Rappi would turn in a profit, co-founder Sebastian Mejia told Reuters his priority was to grow fast, and that investors were on board with the plan. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 11:27:12|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close DAKAR, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- As part of the "Joyful Spring Festival" celebrations for the upcoming Chinese New Year, a dance and music gala was held here on Thursday evening. Organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Senegalese Ministry of Culture and Communication, the artists from China's northwestern province of Gansu put on a fabulous show for more than 700 people, including Chinese living in Senegal, Senegalese and foreign diplomats. The artists not only showcased the charm of Silk Road with dances and musics of Dunhuang style, but also cooperated with Senegalese artists to perform a piece of traditional Senegalese music. In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Senegal Zhang Xun said bilateral relations have entered the best period in history, as China and Senegal are the co-chairs of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The two countries continue to deepen and enhance exchanges and cooperation in various fields, Zhang added. He called on the Chinese and Senegalese people to work together in 2020 for further alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Plan for an Emerging Senegal. For his part, Senegalese Minister of Culture and Communication Abdoulaye Diop decribed the cultural relations between China and Senegal as exemplary, saying that cultural exchanges will bring people together and deepen mutual respect. He also reaffirmed that Senegal is willing to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with China. Colombia's President Ivan Duque on Wednesday called on the United Nations to prolong its peace verification mission in the South American country until 2022. The mission is tasked with monitoring compliance with the fragile 2016 peace agreement between the government and the former FARC guerrilla movement that ended 50 years of conflict. The UN Security Council decided in September to extend the mission until the end of 2020. "The desire of our government is that the observation mission accompanies us for the duration of our mandate, until August 2022," Duque said after a meeting with mission chief Carlos Ruiz Massieu at government headquarters. Ruiz Massieu said that although "very important advances" had been made in the implementation of the agreement, he said it faced "great challenges," both in the short and long term. When Duque was elected in August 2018, he promised to modify the accord, which he considers too lenient on ex-fighters guilty of serious crimes. Most of the FARC forces disarmed under the agreement and joined a political party. But the ex-guerrilla group has denounced delays in the application of the accord as well as a lack of legal guarantees and security for its members. The UN said 2019 was the deadliest year for ex-FARC combatants since the peace deal, with 77 former rebels killed over the past 12 months. Eighty percent of the attacks were related to criminal groups and organizations linked to drug trafficking and illegal mining, the UN says. In the mission's end-of-year report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "more effective measures to protect the lives of former combatants." HAMDEN - The town will have a seasonal overnight warming center for the homeless for a second year, in partnership with Columbus House, Inc., according to a release from Mayor Curt Balzano Leng. The warming center will operate through February 23 at Grace & St. Peters Episcopal Church, 2927 Dixwell Ave., the release said. The warming center, near the intersection of Dixwell and Whitney avenues, will be operated by trained Columbus House staff, who will monitor overnight shifts from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., 7 days a week, the release said. The warming center is not a shelter, as no beds will be provided. It will offer a clean, safe, indoor overnight space to protect those in-need from harsh weather conditions, those who would likely otherwise spend their nights outdoors. Hamden Police will do walkthroughs on a nightly basis, the release said. I am very proud to report that the Town will again be offering an overnight warming center. Last year we were able to have a regular nightly warming center for the first time in our community and it proved helpful to so many people in need, Leng said in the release. Not only did the efforts provide temporary safety and warmth, but also lead to other services and even to permanent housing for some clients. We prioritized the warming center again for this year knowing that this is what local government is all about helping people, Leng said. Related: Federal officials: Homelessness decreases in CT in 2019 Community Development Manager Adam Sendroff said that after reviewing the warming center data from last year, it is clear that it provided a needed service. It kept people safe and connected them to shelter, case management services, and even housing in some instances, Sendroff said, also in the release. Im thankful we can offer the Warming Center again, and am grateful to our partners, Columbus House and Grace and St. Peters Episcopal Church. Columbus House Interim CEO Cynthia Fox said the agency is pleased to start the second year of the collaboration with the town and the church. The center will serve people who are the most vulnerable among us, she said. The Warming Center will provide a warm, safe place for people to stay through the harshest winter months, she said. Columbus House on-site staff will provide overnight staffing and referrals to additional services to help people resolve their homelessness. The officials noted that anyone who wants to contribute can donate items such as non-perishable, pre-wrapped snack food items, including protein bars, cookies, chips, and other snacks. Fruits such as apples, bananas, and clementines are also requested, in addition to beverages including tea bags, coffee, instant hot cocoa, sugar, non-dairy creamers, and bottled water. Donations of new socks, new underwear, gloves, hats, umbrellas, and rain ponchos are also welcome, the release said. Columbus House respectfully requests that other items such as prepared foods and party leftovers be donated to other charities and community service outlets as applicable, the release said. Donations can be dropped off at the Keefe Community Center, 11 Pine St., from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Donation receipts will be available. Those who would like to make a financial contribution to support the warming center or to help fund Columbus Houses programs designed to move people out of homelessness and into housing, can make checks payable to Columbus House and drop off at the Keefe Community Center or mail to: Columbus House, PO Box 7093, New Haven, 06519, or online at www.columbushouse.org, the release noted. - The message was delivered to Uhuru by special envoy, Alioune Sall, on behalf of President Boubacar Keita of Mali - President Keita was recently elected to lead the continent's culture and initiative and chose the Kenyan leader to help him champion the course - Uhuru assured the envoy of his full support and commitment to ensure the initiative succeeds - He will officially be installed into the new role in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2020 President Uhuru Kenyatta has accepted an offer by African Union to champion for African culture and the arts agenda. The special message inviting Uhuru for the continental role was delivered at State House, Mombasa by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali through Special Envoy, Alioune Sall. READ ALSO: 3 police officers arrested while ferrying 8 Somali nationals in govt vehicle President Uhuru Kenyatta flanked by special envoy that delivered the message of his appointment at State House in Mombasa: Photo: State House. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetang'ula hold exclusive meeting to discuss Luhya unity Speaking during a meeting attended by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma, Uhuru said Africa had a rich culture and he would be working to ensure it was harnessed for unity and economic growth of her people. "A rich African culture and the arts can be harnessed as a vehicle to inculcate a positive attitude, instill patriotism as well as create employment for the youth throughout the continent," he said. He assured the envoy of his full support and commitment to ensure the initiative succeeds and yields desired results. Uhuru said Kenya would provide experts on culture to join the technical team charged with the responsibility of implementation of the cultural agenda. "It is important to come up with a concrete agenda on culture and the arts that can be implemented, and we need to work together to move this agenda forward," added Uhuru. He expressed the need to bring on board all Africans in the diaspora including people of African descent spread across the globe for purposes of broadening the market for the continent's culture. Sall acknowledged Kenyas rich cultural heritage and its leading role in the arts, saying that was one of the reasons why President Keita picked Uhuru to champion the course. Uhuru will officially be installed into the new role in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2020. President Keita was recently elected to lead the continent's culture and the arts initiative and he will be working closely with Uhuru to drive the agenda. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Raila Odinga is behind Miguna miguna's problems - Moses Kuria | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict in Libya was needed to prevent the country from becoming a "second Syria." "In a long process we developed a paper in which everybody would commit to a ceasefire and to put in place an arms embargo, followed by a political process under the auspices of the United Nations," Maas told to German broadcaster RTL. "It's not too much for us to fly to Moscow to talk to Putin about the need for Russia to do its part so Libya doesn't become a second Syria. Because nobody can really want that." Libya is currently governed by duelling authorities in the east and in the west. The east-based government is backed by the self-named Libyan Arab Armed Forces, commanded by Hifter. It is supported by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia. The western, Tripoli-based government receives aid from Turkey, Qatar and Italy. Both sides are bolstered by militias which draw from the country's tribal factions. Maas also spoke about NATO involvement in the Middle East, saying Europe, not the alliance, should make a contribution. "Most European countries are already members of the anti-IS coalition," he said. The European Union has the advantage, compared to NATO, that we can always tie military and security-policy engagement to civilian engagement, reconstruction, stabilization. You can't do that with NATO in this way." Mike Bloomberg will pay for the nearly 500 staffers on his presidential campaign to continue working through November to support whoever wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, even if it's not him, NBC News reports. Why it matters: The former New York mayor is focused on getting President Trump out of the White House, and his vast operation focused beyond the traditional early states could provide a strong foundation in key battleground states, like North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The billionaire has also established a large tech operation, which will help the future nominee compete with Trump's digital prowess. Bloomberg has pledged to spend $15 million on efforts to drive voter turnout, and his staffers could help that push effort in key states. What they're saying: "Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president," Kevin Sheekey, Bloombergs campaign manager, told NBC. The catch: Bloomberg's staff won't directly work for the Democratic nominee's campaign since the cost of operations would exceed federal contribution limits on his behalf. The group would instead operate as an independent group privately funded by Bloomberg. Go deeper: Secretary Michael R. Pompeo's Call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Readout Office of the Spokesperson January 9, 2020 The following is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus: Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg regarding the Iranian regime's dangerous attack against Ayn al-Asad and Erbil Air Bases, and the continued threat Iran poses to the region. Secretary Pompeo reiterated President Trump's call for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East, and the two agreed NATO could contribute more to regional security and the fight against international terrorism. The Secretary and the Secretary General jointly condemned Iran's destabilizing violence and remain committed to countering international terrorism, including through NATO's participation in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and training missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Protesters in rubber rafts formed a flotilla blockade across the river. Two scuba divers were also submerged in the river with flags flying from nearby vessels to indicate their presence underwater. Demonstrators line up their rubber rafts across the Gordon River near the proposed Franklin River dam site. Credit:John Krutop Neither the trawler nor the accompanying police boat appeared to stop or slow down as they approached the blockade. As the rafts were scattered by the impact, one protester who had been thrown from his raft tried to climb on to the barge carrying the bulldozer. He was pushed out of the way and into the water by a police officer on the barge. The trawler and police boat then proceeded up the river to the partially constructed Warners landing jetty, where police warned other boats in the river to keep 50 metres away from the trawler and its barge. The barge carrying the bulldozer was then tied to the landing. Protestors tried to board it but were towed away in their rafts by police. Those who managed to reach the barge were sprayed with high-pressure hoses by Hydro-Electric Commission workers. The police officer in charge Tasmania's south-west, Superintendent Geoff McIntyre, said last night he had been told that no dangerous situation had occurred, and that the barge had moved slowly. Sergeant McIntyre said he would interview the police in charge of the barge, but that the barge was travelling in a current and had to keep moving to avoid danger. In other developments yesterday, officers of the HEC said they did not know whether a temporary dam to be built by 1988 at the Gordon-below-Franklin site would increase the risk of floods in unexplored caves of interest to archaeologists. Tasmania's National Parks and Wildlife Service yesterday asked the HEC to assess the risk, and the commission agreed to investigate while discounting it as unlikely. Bob Brown and fellow protesters at Tasmania's Franklin River in 1983. Credit:John Krutop A leading archaeologist, Professor John Mulvaney of the Australian National University, accused the Tasmanian Government of perpetrating "an absolute confidence trick in leading us to believe that we had eight to 10 years to research the caves". Professor Mulvaney, who last month resigned from the interim council of the Museum of Australia in protest at the Federal Government's acquiescence to the dam project, said that the building of a temporary "coffer dam" which, he believed, would take place in three years and not five, "would most certainly put the second big cave they have found that contains Aboriginal relics under water". The coffer dam, which will rise 23 metres above river level, "would also put a very high proportion of the rainforest under water, and I would think that this would prevent botanists investigating the ancient trees there." The Tasmanian Premiere Mr Gray, was holidaying on the east coast of the island yesterday and could not be contacted. Mr Bill Gaskell, an assistant to the HEC commissioner, said yesterday that the coffer dam "would not necessarily aggravate the flooding". He said he did not know how high the caves were above the river "except I do know that some of them are quite low down and that they are now quite subject to flooding. "At the present state of knowledge, we cannot categorically say that the frequency of flooding will not be affected but I would think it was unlikely." The HEC's chief engineer, Mr Guy Ward, said that a coffer dam had to be built to dry up the river at the spot, where excavation work for the eventual dam had to be done. Mr Ward said that no "ancient trees" would be cleared to make way for the coffer dam. There's nothing much there, just scrub," he said. A spokesman for the Australian Heritage Commission, Dr Robert Bruce, said that the commission was concerned at possible flooding of unexplored caves within five years, as the Federal Government had asked it to develop a long-term plan to rescue Aboriginal relics in an eight-to-10 year period. Loading Dr Bruce said the Heritage Commission would be registering its concern, and passing any information from the Tasmania to the responsible Federal Minister, Mr McVeigh. A spokesman for Mr McVeigh said last night that the Minister was unaware of claims that the coffer dam could increase the flood risk to caves near the junction of the Gordon and Franklin rivers. Seventeen anti-dam blockaders in Hobart's Risdon jail yesterday started a 38-hour hunger strike in protest over alleged police action at Strahan on Wednesday. Hugh Jackman has praised Terri Irwin and her children, Robert and Bindi, for helping to save Australian wildlife during the catastrophic bushfire season. Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the 51-year-old actor shared a throwback photo of himself with Terri's late husband, 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin, and thanked the family for their ongoing efforts at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. 'Shout out to the late Steve Irwin's family - Terri, Bindi and Robert - and all at Australia Zoo for their extraordinary efforts in helping save the Australian wildlife,' he wrote. Thankful: Hugh Jackman (left) has praised Terri Irwin and her children, Robert and Bindi, for helping to save Australian wildlife during the catastrophic bushfire season. He is pictured with the late Steve Irwin (centre) and his wife, Deborra-lee Furness (right), on January 14, 2006 Australia Zoo is currently nursing hundreds of possums, koalas, platypuses and bats back to health after they suffered injuries in the wildfires. This week, the wildlife rehabilitation centre on Queensland's Sunshine Coast treated its 90,000th patient. Since the start of the fire season, at least 8,000 koalas around the country have died while trying to escape. Helping hands: Australia Zoo is currently nursing hundreds of possums, koalas, platypuses and bats back to health after they suffered injuries in the wildfires. Pictured (left to right): Robert, Terri and Bindi Irwin Speaking to News Hub on Monday, Terri said that koalas often make a mistake when trying to flee fires by instinctively climbing trees, because that's where they feel safe. 'With a hot fire, the eucalyptus trees have so much oil in their leaves that they ignite and actually explode,' she said. 'So being able to treat and help koalas is few and far between because they're basically incinerated.' 'Shout out to the late Steve Irwin's family - Terri, Bindi and Robert - and all at Australia Zoo for their extraordinary efforts in helping save the Australian wildlife,' Hugh wrote on Instagram Gone too soon: Steve Irwin died in September 2006 at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a wildlife documentary in Batt Reef, Queensland The bushfires across Australia have so far claimed 26 lives, killed an estimated billion animals, and destroyed thousands of homes. In Victoria, bushfires have burnt more than 1.2 million hectares, isolating towns and destroying hundreds of properties. In New South Wales, more than 5.2 million hectares has reportedly been destroyed in the state while 2.5 million hectares has been burnt in Queensland. Steve Irwin died in September 2006 at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a wildlife documentary in Batt Reef, Queensland. Alibaba is getting serious about becoming a challenger bank ( chinadaily.com.cn ) Updated: 2020-01-08 Editor's Note: Matteo Giovannini is a finance professional at ICBC in Beijing and a member of the China Task Force at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN. The 21st century is widely considered as a time when a digital technology revolution is having a disruptive impact on the lives of people and at the same time it is deeply affecting the way of doing business in almost every industry. For decades the banking industry has been untouched by major changes such as the industrial revolution in the 19th century that greatly affected manufacturing, communications, transportation and commercial agriculture. In most developed economies the banking sector is still very traditional and it is quite common to see people going to a bank branch for simple operations or to the ATM to withdraw cash. In other words, cash and cards are still the main instruments of payment and there is a general lack of trust in the digitalization of the whole process. The situation is different in emerging economies where a very large portion of the population is considered unbanked and has no access to financial products. In Asia and Africa, this weakness has been solved with the widespread use of smartphones that allow people to receive financial services at their fingertips as long as an internet connection is available and payments can be done through QR codes, fingerprints and facial recognition. China is at the forefront of innovation in the field of fintech, the industry created by the merger of finance and technology. Its tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent are rapidly entering the financial service industry to the benefit of their economic scale, customer loyalty and rich database of customer information. Alibaba's Alipay, later rebranded as Ant Financial, has grown exponentially over the last five years, becoming the highest valued fintech company in the world. Its initial domestic growth and rapid internationalization have been mainly pushed by innovative solutions in digital payments, but now the company is trying to expand its presence into the banking industry, focusing on offering the same services as a traditional bank but in a much more convenient way. Last year, Ant Financial secured a virtual banking license in Hong Kong, enabling the company to offer digital financial services products to individuals and SMEs. According to CNBC, the company is currently focused on getting a virtual banking license in Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it is going to issue a total of five digital banking licenses by June this year, including two full digital licenses and three wholesale licenses. In a release on January 7, the MAS said it had received 21 applications for licenses and will announce the successful applicants in June 2020. The winners are expected to commence business by mid-2021. Ant Financial is one of the contenders for a wholesale license. This move is strategic because obtaining a banking license in two major Asian financial hubs will give Ant Financial the opportunity to compete at the same level with large, long-established financial institutions that are not very keen on changing the way they do business. The move to expand its presence in the banking industry in Asia is also motivated by the fact that this is the region where wealth is mostly concentrated and which has the world's highest growth. Ant Financial can leverage its Yu'e Bao service, the largest money market fund in the world, to allow customers to move their balances from the Alipay platform into a high-interest fund. Moreover, Ant Financial is targeting the future generation of consumers represented by millennials, who are more educated and tech-savvy than previous generations and are not satisfied to pay high fees for the poor customer service offered by traditional banks. On the contrary, they want services easily accessible through an APP from their smartphones at no or low cost, and with more targeted and customized services generated by AI-powered algorithms. Ant Financial is going into the right direction, leveraging the power of big data which is considered the oil of the 21st century, with a step-by-step approach, starting in markets that are more open to innovation and replicating the experience acquired at which time the developed world will only start to realize that traditional banking is over. After an investigation that lasted for six months, Bradley County Sheriffs Office Detectives have arrested Deshawn Mitchell Rudd, who is connected to dozens of burglaries at convenience stores throughout East Tennessee, including three in northern Bradley County. On July 22, 2019, a burglary was reported from a convenience store on Hiwassee Street in Charleston, Tn., where a suspect forced entry into the business by breaking the glass door. The suspect was wearing a unique white mask concealing his identity. Hundreds of dollars in tobacco products were taken from the store. Two additional burglaries occurred in Charleston, Tn. on Oct. 13, 2019, at stores on Lauderdale Memorial Highway and another on Hiwassee Street. The suspect was observed wearing the same mask as the first burglary in July of 2019 and again took tobacco products from each store. A neighboring county received an anonymous tip regarding numerous convenience store burglaries throughout Eastern Tennessee, and provided the name of the suspect, Deshawn Mitchell Rudd. Bradley County investigators began sharing information with other Tennessee counties and Rudd was soon apprehended, during a traffic stop, by Knox County investigators shortly after he had committed another convenience store burglary on Dec. 22, 2019. Evidence collected from inside of Rudds vehicle linked him to the burglaries in Bradley County in July and October 2019 as well as other Tennessee counties. Rudd was booked into the Bradley County Jail on Jan. 8, and has been charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft over $2,500 and three counts of vandalism over $1,000. There are numerous other charges pending in other Tennessee counties. Samajwadi Party will organise a screening of Deepika Padukone-starrer Chhapaak for party workers on January 10 following the directive of its president Akhilesh Yadav, news agency ANI has reported. A cinema hall in Lucknow has been booked for the same, it said. The move by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister assumes significance in the background of the controversy surrounded the actor ever since she visited Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) a few days ago to show solidarity with students who were attacked by a mob. Deepika made a surprise visit to the JNU campus on January 7 while students were protesting against the attack. Her visit prompted many in the film industry, as well as outside, to praise her. But, at the same time, it also led to hashtags demanding that her movie Chhapaak be boycotted. "#Boycott Chhapaak" started trending on Twitter, as was "#ISupportDeepika". The government of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have also extended their support to the movie by declaring it tax free in their respective states. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath took to Twitter on January 9 to make the announcement, saying the movie gives a "positive message to the society about acid attack survivors." Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also tweeted, appealing to people to watch the movie along with their families. After Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry also declared that Padukones movie will be made tax-free in the Union Territory. National Students' Union of India (NSUI) workers have also reportedly distributed free tickets to the movie. According to yesterdays reports, the intense slew of bushfires rampaging across the Australian outback have covered around 8.4 million hectares of the island continents east coast, leaving behind 23 human deaths and over 1,700 homes destroyed. One of the towns that was ravaged during New Years Eve was Mallacoota, in the eastside state of Victoria - where thousands of residents fled their homes to the beach, where several remain stranded. Fortunately for the victims, theyve been given the best care package imaginable through the Australian Navy - a huge shipment of beer to help the town through rough times. Speaking to AAP, a local hotel owner explained the situation. We were running low on supplies and a pub can't run without beer, can it? he said. Every Australian needs a beer and definitely the emergency services working non-stop. "Our good old friends from Carlton managed to send us some stock on Thursday and I hope it gets here after the 20 hours or so it takes the boat to make the trip." Carlton happens to be one of Australias oldest beer brands, and is a popular favourite across the country. They're being gifted with 20 kegs of VB and Carlton Draught, three pallets of VB stubbies and 36 cases of Strongbow and Great Northern. Carlton United Breweries also chucked in an extra four kegs of VB for free to keep them running. Thats a damn good haul, no doubt. An Australian online business has under international fire from Hindu leaders for selling a 'highly inappropriate' product featuring its God the Lord Ganesha. Universal Society of Hinduism called on western Sydney-based online retailer My Diva Baby to immediately withdraw the offending three piece toilet seat cover and bathroom mat set from its website and Facebook and Etsy stores. Universal Society of Hinduism President and statesman Rajan Zed also requested a formal apology from the home furnishings retailer, which has since expressed its sincere remorse. The 'Indian God Ganesha Elephant Bath Mat Set' depicting the images of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha which sold $45 online has been taken down from the website and its online stores. The toilet seat cover and bathroom mat set has caused outrage among the Hindu community Mr Zed said the highly respected Lord Ganesha was worshipped in temples and home shrines, not to adorn toilet seats or for people to put their feet on. 'Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or symbols or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the faithful,' he said in a statement. 'Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously,' Mr Zed also described the incident as disturbing. 'Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more,' he added. 'But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers.' Hindu leaders said its God highly Lord Ganesha should not adorn toilet seats or be used for people to put their feet on (stock image) Daily Mail Australia has contacted Hindu Council of Australia for further comment. My Diva Baby owner Krista Bridge has since expressed her sincerest apologies and insisted it was never her intention to cause any offence. 'All Ganesha related items have been removed from the My Diva Baby website and Etsy,' she told Daily Mail Australia. My Diva Baby sells bedroom, window, bathroom furnishings with an aim to 'to bring a little piece of happiness into everyone's home'. The product range also includes phone covers, wallets and clothing. 'My Diva Baby will eventually expand into supplying other items, however we are just starting so trying not to diversify to much at this stage,' the website states. DETROIT - Blood on the shoe of a 14-year-old Detroit boy who was convicted but subsequently cleared of four murders reveals DNA from one of the victims, state police said after a high-tech analysis by a private company. State police cautioned, however, that its preliminary information. The company, Cybergenetics, also said the preliminary unconfirmed results shouldnt be used for civil or criminal justice purposes until more work is done. But the disclosure adds an odd curve to the saga of Davontae Sanford, who was 14 in 2007 when he was charged with four fatal shootings in his Detroit neighbourhood. He pleaded guilty at age 15, although later insisted he was innocent and only made a deal because he felt desperate and poorly represented by his lawyer. Sanford, now 27, was released from prison in 2016 after prosecutors said the case was spoiled by police misconduct. Separately, a professional hit man said he committed the Runyon Street killings, not Sanford. Vincent Smothers gave a detailed account to investigators while Sanford was behind bars. Smothers is in prison for eight killings but hasnt been charged in the Runyon homicides. The state of Michigan paid $408,000 to Sanford for a wrongful conviction. Hes now suing Detroit police in federal court, alleging his rights were violated during the investigation. The recent shoe analysis was revealed in court filings by attorneys who are defending police in the lawsuit. The Wayne County prosecutors office wasnt aware that the shoes were in police custody and signed off on the exams, spokeswoman Maria Miller said. A member of Sanfords legal team, Emma Freudenberger, has asked U.S. District Judge David Lawson to take the filing off the public record. She accused the opposing lawyers of trying to harass Sanford and taint the jury pool with facially incompetent and unsupported prejudicial statements. There is no report, there are no official results and experts have raised serious concerns about the reliability of TrueAlleles techniques, Freudenberger said Friday, referring to the method. More important, we know from all the other evidence in the case that our client is innocent, so we fully expect that this will have no impact on the case. Miller declined to comment on the significance of the results so far. It would be premature to speculate. ... When theres new information or evidence discovered in a case we have an obligation to pursue it, Miller said. ___ Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteap A draft deal to revive Northern Ireland's defunct government was published on Thursday, three years to the day since the province's executive collapsed in acrimony. The document throws down the gauntlet to the region's parties ahead of a Monday deadline which will see an election called if no deal is agreed. "I think we have a document, which hopefully for all of them, will make them think carefully about coming back in," British secretary of state for Northern Ireland Julian Smith told broadcaster RTE. "The prize, if each of them takes that leap, is that they can all take responsibility for the first period of this new decade to move things on." Smith said he had written to the speaker of the Belfast Assembly at Stormont, asking him to call representatives to return to the chamber Friday and allow the restoration of the executive. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster -- whose party must agree to the deal if an executive is to be formed -- gave tentative backing to the draft. "On balance we believe there is a basis upon which the Assembly and Executive can re-established in a fair and balanced way," she said in a statement. "This is not a perfect deal and there are elements within it which we recognise are the product of long negotiations and represent compromise outcomes. There will always need to be give and take." Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of the second key party Sinn Fein, said Thursday night they would "meet tomorrow to fully assess" the paper, promising to give it "careful consideration". The devolved government at Stormont collapsed after a financial scandal boiled over into wider disputes between the pro-British DUP and republican party Sinn Fein. Under the terms of a 1998 peace accord which brought stability to the region the two parties must share power. Since Sinn Fein pulled out of the executive in January 2017 the territory has been managed by its civil service, without ministerial direction. Story continues Negotiations to revive Stormont have been snagged on disagreements over the provision for Irish language in the province and a controversial mechanism which gave minority movements the power to veto legislation. But in recent weeks pressure to resolve the disputes has grown. Nurses have taken strike action over pay and unsafe levels of staffing -- issues which cannot be remedied without an executive. And Smith has said an election will be called if the executive is not reformed by Monday as legislation allowing the civil service to run the region will expire. The draft deal was released jointly by Smith and Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney, reflecting the Republic's role as co-guarantor of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which ended the region's 30-year conflict known as "The Troubles". "There is no need, and no public patience, for more process and more discussions," Coveney said in a statement. "It is time for political leadership and a collective commitment to making politics work for people." (AFP) Donald Trump speaks during his latest campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, on 9 January 2020: Jacquelyn Martin/AP The Iranian general whose killing sparked a week of heightened tensions between the US and Iran ran an organisation which Donald Trump once indirectly did business with, according to reemerged reports. During Major Gen Qassem Soleimani's nearly two decades at the top of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds force, the organisation cultivated connections to oligarchs and their businesses as it established a network of sanctions-evading entities which it has used to fund itself and support clandestine activities across the Middle East and around the world. In 2008, an Iranian construction company controlled by two of those oligarchs - Kamal and Keyumars Darvishy - won a contract with Azerbaijani billionaire Ziya Mammadov to build an apartment complex in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. Mr Mammadov, who was then Azerbaijan's transport minister, was once described by the US as notoriously corrupt" even by that country's standards (it was 139th on Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Index). According to the New Yorker, the Darvishy's company, called Azarpassillo, was actually a front for the IRGC used to evade sanctions by laundering money into Iran. The project initially went nowhere, but four years later was reimagined as a luxury apartment and hotel tower with spectacular views of the city and Caspian Sea when Mr Mammadov took on a new partner: The Trump Organisation. Though the company was then headed by Mr Trump - who was the company's chair and chief executive officer - the point person on the project was the future president's daughter (and future senior adviser) Ivanka, who in 2015 told the magazine Baku that the hotel would open in June of that year and feature a "huge spa area", which she said she was looking forward to patronising. While Mr Trump's administration took the unprecedented step of designating the IRGC - part of Iran's military - a terrorist organisation in April 2019, it had been a sanctioned entity for years as part of the massive sanctions regime the US and other entities have imposed on Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Story continues Some of those sanctions were in place since at least 2015, when the Republican-controlled Congress enshrined sanctions on the IRGC into law to prevent then-president Barack Obama from lifting them pursuant to the nuclear nonproliferation agreement Iran had signed that year. A Trump Organisation lawyer, Alan Garten, told the New Yorker that the company had learned of the Baku project's possible ties to the IRGC through the Mammadovs in 2015, but didn't pull out of the project until December the next year. Garten said the company didn't immediately exit the project upon learning of ties to sanctioned entities because of contractual obligations, even though Mr Trump had for years routinely failed to abide by numerous contracts with vendors who he'd hired to supply parts or labour for his buildings. Read more Trump ordered Soleimani attack over impeachment fears Klomentum or nomentum? Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images With the homestretch looming in Iowa, time is running out for single-digit-polling candidates to leap into the top tier. Can Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar do it in the next three weeks? I spoke with national correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti and political columnist Ed Kilgore, both of whom enjoy a good Klobuchar pun, to game out her chances. Ben: Ready to talk Klobuchar? Gabriel: Lets Klo. Ben: Rim shot. Ed: Lets dont be Amy-less about it. Ben: Rim shot again. Gabriel: Well, I think were done here. Ben: When Democratic candidates meet for the final debate before Iowa next Tuesday, itll be the top-four candidates Biden, Sanders, Warren, and Buttigieg and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, who has stuck around as many others have dropped out, done enough to qualify for these events, but not broken out of the single digits in early states or nationally. Klobuchar had what was generally regarded as a strong performance last time around, and has a compelling electability argument to make, having dominated her contests in increasingly purple-state Minnesota. But time is running out for her to make a leap into the top tier. Can she? Ed: Its unlikely. Her path to the nomination has to begin with survival in Iowa, presumed to be her best state. There may be an unprecedented four tickets out of Iowa this time around, but not five. And I just cant see her beating any of the top four there, unless someone self-destructs in next weeks debate or something. More likely, she will join Tim Pawlenty and Scott Walker as great-on-paper candidates from neighboring states done in by Iowans. Gabriel: Along those lines, I dont think even she would necessarily say shes fighting to be included in the top tier this second so much as trying to surprise in Iowa. Shes recently been leaning into the idea that shes experiencing a surge, but its not yet clear whether that means she wants to compete for a big delegate haul in Iowa or to live to fight another day. Theres still time for something interesting to happen, as Ed suggests, but her theoretical rise would need to become real, AND one of the other top four would likely have to fall down the ladder significantly which would probably entail moderate voters in Iowa ditching Biden and Buttigieg for her, rather than for each other, and/or Warren voters changing course, too. (I dont think there are many Bernie/Klobuchar caucusgoers, obviously.) Ed: Im just not sure finishing a surprisingly strong fifth in Iowa is going to give her much of a bounce. And where is the state that will give her a breakthrough? Sure, shes moderate, but not much of a cultural match for South Carolina. I mean, seriously, her claiming Klomentum from getting 10 percent of the vote in Iowa will be mocked like Liebermans Joementum of 2004. (Sorry, I stole Klomentum from Gabe, who used it in a side chat.) Gabriel: Klo problem, Ed. (Sorry.) I think people have been underestimating how strange it is that four strong candidates could emerge from Iowa and then for another to be waiting in the Super Tuesday states. The thinking against this projected Klobuchar path is clear: Would Americans whove been bombarded with this stuff suddenly be open to a SIXTH? Ben: Weve seen again and again in polls that Democratic voters care more about beating Trump than about whether they align with the eventual Democratic candidate ideologically. Doesnt Klobuchar have the strongest case to make in that department, since she has a record of winning statewide elections in the Midwest by healthy margins? And as we get closer to voting, isnt there a chance that voters will focus like a laser on that attribute even more than they are now? Gabriel: Thats central to her pitch these days, sure. But the idea of electability seems to be what voters are using to pick through the top four, not to find a new option. Everyones making an electability argument, and has been for months. Theres little evidence that Iowans are so worried about everyone elses version of the pitch that theyre searching for something else. Anyway, yes, of course, she has an obvious case to make. Thats the whole reason some folks around her are remaining optimistic. Ed: Id add two things about Klobuchar and electability: (1) there are a lot of electability-obsessed observers who dont think any woman is electable against Trump, and who also wonder whether she has more natural appeal to minority voters than Buttigieg does, and (2) perceptions of electability tend to follow perceptions of how well a candidate is doing in the nomination contest. Hence, her likely fifth-place showing in Iowa wont help. I hasten to add that I personally detest the no woman can beat Trump business. Gabriel: Anyway, if voters were thinking about electability in such short-term, strict Whos won what? terms, the primary wouldnt be dominated by a centrist Democrat from Delaware or a lefty from Vermont. Ben: Right. Steve Bullock would be a force to be reckoned with in that case. Ed: Or John Hickenlooper. Or Michael Bennet. Gabriel: And the Draft Sherrod Brown movement would be in overdrive. And while were at it, theres Tammy Baldwin. Ed: Yep. A contested convention should turn its lonely eyes to her. A contested convention in her own state, BTW. Gabriel: Damn, my Ed brings up a contested convention bet was set for four oclock he said lovingly. Ed: Haha. Cant you just hear the packed galleries in Milwaukee chanting, We want Tammy! We want Tammy!, until the delegates comply? Ben: Tammy Hall, not Tammany. Ed: OMG. Gabriel: Gabriel Debenedetti has left the chat. Ben: Haha. Ed: To get back to our Klobutopic, my bottom line is that Klobuchar might have a better chance if she was not from a state bordering on Iowa. Electability credentials aside, she has by far the most realistic (but also extensive and detailed) policy agenda, along with a clear indication of how she expects to accomplish it. But the expectation that she needs to make a splash in Iowa prevents any sort of slow blossoming of her campaign, or at least thats what I fear for her. Ben: Yeah, we havent even discussed, you know, policy. Pragmatism seems to be the name of her game there, in an even more explicit way than Biden or Buttigieg. Ed: We know about Warrens plans. But Klobuchar has a plan that details like 200 things shed do in the first 100 days. What I havent heard anything about is her actual ground game in Iowa. Whatcha got on that, Gabe? Gabriel: Indeed, that plan is detailed in the literature her campaign is handing out to interested caucusgoers in Iowa these days. Its been real for a long time, but she simply doesnt have, and hasnt had, the resources of a Warren or a Buttigieg or a Biden. So her presence is smaller, though still noticeable. Ben: Because she has not been seen as a major threat to the other prime contenders, Klobuchar has not come under attack from really anyone. (To be fair, nobody is really attacking anyone else all that much, generally.) Lets say she does make a surprise run right at the end what do you see as her biggest vulnerability, other than the fact that she has not generated much excitement so far? The big story with her early on was her abusive behavior toward her staff, which you dont hear much about these days, primarily because shes not in a position to win. Ed: I suspect the calculation is that actual voters couldnt care less if shes mean to federal-government employees. Gabriel: Theres that, but I think those on the left would primarily just hit her with the same critiques they have for all moderates: that whats needed now is boldness, not D.C.s version of pragmatism. Ed: Right. Gabriel: If it gets this far, she could also face fire for her prosecutorial record, as did Kamala Harris. But this is all conjecture, and probably not going to be relevant. Ed: She might take a Klobeating. Gabriel: A Klobbering. (Lets not print any of this.) World oil prices dipped Wednesday in afternoon European trading, after briefly spiking when Iran launched missile attacks on US targets in Iraq London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jan, 2020 ) :World oil prices dipped Wednesday in afternoon European trading, after briefly spiking when Iran launched missile attacks on US targets in Iraq. The strikes, launched in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's top general last Friday, sent Brent and New York crude to multi-month peaks before profit-taking and experience prevailed. Iran said it had "concluded" its missile attacks for now, and analysts pointed out that oil traders had many sources at their disposal in any event. "Sooner or later investors will realise that the plentiful non-OPEC supply will more than make up for any short-term disruptions in the middle East," noted forex.com market analyst Fawad Razaqzada. SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop added that "not a single drop of oil supply has been lost due to the recent incidents and this is why the oil price has fallen back down again so quickly. What the market fears is that the situation spirals out of control." Global stock markets initially slid on investor concern of a broader conflict, though many were in positive territory in afternoon trades. London stocks were the outlier, down by almost 0.2 percent, while Frankfurt gained 0.5 percent and Paris was slightly higher as well. Fears of escalation proved "to be short-lived as the US administration avoided an impulsive military response in the aftermath" of the Iranian strikes, explained analyst Bethel Loh at trading firm ThinkMarkets. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the country does "not seek escalation or war". Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson remarked that "at present you sense traders are sitting on their hands a bit while they wait for the US president to respond officially to the Iranian attacks." Safe haven assets fared well initially, but after surging above $1,600 an ounce for the first time in six years, gold fell back to $1,573.60 which represented a slight loss on the day. - Key figures at 1500 GMT - Brent Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $67.89 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $62.09 London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,561.59 points Paris - CAC 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 6,016.64 Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 13,293.08 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,765.00 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 23.204,76 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,066.89 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.8 percent at 28,087.92 (close) New York - Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 28,609.49 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3128 from $1.3126 at 2200 GMT Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.76 pence from 84.97 penceEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1126 from $1.1153Dollar/yen: UP at 108.70 from 108.44 yen Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has been invited by Iran's accident investigation agency to the site where a Ukrainian airliner crashed, killing 176 people on board, including at least 63 Canadians, the board said Thursday in a statement, Trend reports citing Xinhua. "We have accepted this invitation and we are making arrangements to travel to the site. The TSB will be working with other groups and organization already on site," the board said. Iran's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is in charge of the investigation according to international aviation rules. A Ukrainian delegation has been reportedly working on site with the Iranian authorities. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday his government has intelligence indicating that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane. However, the Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied allegations or speculation that the crash of the Ukrainian flight was caused by an Iranian missile attack. Iranian technicians and experts from Boeing will examine data from the black boxes recovered from the crash site to determine the cause of the crash, Mohammad Eslami, Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development, told reporters Thursday. Of the 26 people in the Balearic Islands who requested a sex reassignment operation, two changed their minds, 21 have already had the procedure and three will have surgery this year. The agreement signed in 2017 between Servei de Salut and Barnaclinic, which is part of the Clinical Hospital of Barcelona, has made a significant difference to waiting lists for vaginoplasty operations, which cost between 16,000 and 17,000 euros. The Ben Amics Association welcomes the fact that more vaginoplasty operations are being carried out but the Associations President, Tatiana Casado claims trans men are clearly at a disadvantage compared to trans women, and is calling for more research into phalloplasty and metaidoioplasty. "Trans men, who ultimately give up, dont do so because they dont want to have the operation but because they believe they have no guarantee of success, said Tatiana Casado. In 2017, the Ministry allowed transgender people to change the birth name on their health card and medical history. There are now 187 people with a health identification according to their gender identity. Aston Martin shares picked up speed after reports that China's Geely is eyeing an investment in the stricken luxury car maker. Geely, which owns Volvo and Lotus, is conducting due diligence before it decides whether to make an investment in the group. However, it could strike a technology partnership with Aston Martin, instead of investing money into the company, the Financial Times reported. Chinese automotive group Geely, which owns Volvo and Lotus, is conducting due diligence before it decides whether to make an investment in Aston Martin The luxury brand's stock climbed 15.3 per cent, or 62.4p, to 469.7p last night, making it the FTSE's biggest riser yesterday but the shares are still down from the float price of 1900p in October 2018. Geely is the latest big name to be associated with propping up James Bond's favourite marque. Formula 1 billionaire Lawrence Stroll is also said to interested, which could see him take a stake of as much as 20 per cent of the firm. The latest rally comes after Aston released a surprise profit warning on Tuesday, which followed a glum December and what chief executive Andy Palmer described as a 'very disappointing year'. In the same update which wiped 16 per cent off Aston's shares the business said it was in talks with several 'potential strategic investors'. Stock Watch - Team 17 Group Shares in video game developer Team 17 Group hit a record high after it upgraded profits for the fifth time in 12 months. Profits and revenue will come in ahead of expectations following a bumper Christmas, AIM-listed Team 17 Group said. Multiplayer Nintendo Switch games such as Overcooked! 2, where players cooperate to run a busy kitchen, did especially well. Its stock jumped 9.8 per cent, or 37.5p, to 420.5p. A flurry of last-minute bookings for Christmas and new year breaks will help lift Ryanair's annual profits. The Irish budget airline unveiled a surprise profit upgrade, estimating it will rake in between 806million and 890million, up from previous forecasts of 680million to 765million. It followed an unprecedented number of customers who decided to book holidays at the 11th hour, and eager travellers booking their spring holidays earlier than usual. Ryanair reckons it flew 1m more passengers in 2019 than it previously expected to raising its guidance from 153m to 154m for the full year. It wasn't all rosy. The group's Austrian arm struggled with intense competition and price-cutting that meant it had to sell tickets too cheaply to make a profit. But the upgrade was a boon to Ryanair's shares, sending them up 5.7 per cent, or 87 cents, to 16.10. And the effect was contagious with budget rivals Easyjet (up 4.2 per cent, or 60.5p, to 1499p), Wizz Air (up 6.8 per cent, or 261p, to 4119p) and British Airways-owner IAG (up 4.6 per cent, or 29.4p, to 664p) all flying high. In fact, IAG and Easyjet were ranked first and second on the FTSE 100's highest-risers table. Wizz Air was also fifth in the All Share league. Airlines were also on the up as oil prices started heading back down. When oil prices are higher it makes jet fuel, one of the biggest cost headaches for airlines, more expensive too. Brent crude, the global benchmark price, has now given up all the gains it made in a short rally after the US assassinated top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on January 3, falling from a peak of $69 a barrel to $65 yesterday. But the FTSE 100 still fell 0.1 per cent, or 10.27 points, to 7587.85, while the FTSE 250 shed 0.4 per cent, or 76.4 points, to 21566.67. Paper and packaging group Mondi lost 2 per cent, or 34p, to finish at 1678p after chief executive Peter Oswald said he would step down at the end of March. He has been Mondi's boss for nearly three years and his departure follows a dismal trading update in October. Elsewhere, Wagamama-owner The Restaurant Group was one of the day's big fallers, tumbling 6.9 per cent, or 11.1p, to 150.1p, after RBC Capital Markets analysts cut its rating from 'outperform' to 'sector perform'. Brokers think that between October and December it suffered as fewer film fans went to the cinema as its branches are often in retail parks near cinemas and with the Thomas Cook collapse affecting its airport pubs. Marauding 'Caribs' invaded the northern Caribbean in 800AD - hundreds of years earlier than previously thought, a new study revealed. This adds credibility to claims by Christopher Columbus that the South American 'cannibal marauders' were living on the islands when he arrived in 1492. His claims had long been disputed by archaeologists who said there was no evidence Caribs had ever ventured further north than Guadeloupe - until this study. Experts from the Florida Museum of Natural History studied the skulls of the earliest Caribbean inhabitants and found the Caribs among them, proving Columbus right. Columbus claimed the peaceful Arawaks, who also lived there, were terrorised by Carib raiders who he said 'practiced abduction of women and cannibalism of men'. 'I've spent years trying to prove Columbus wrong when he was right', admitted William Keegan, senior researcher at the museum. Scroll down for video Researchers say that by adding a biological component they were able to bring the region's history into a sharper focus. They studied the skulls of early Carribean settlers like this one 'We're going to have to reinterpret everything we thought we knew', he said. Researchers tested skulls using modern techniques and were able to reveal that there was actually a Carib presence in the Caribbean when Columbus visited - and in fact much earlier and much more prominent than they expected. Previous studies relied on artifacts such as tools and pottery to trace the geographical origin and movement of people through the Caribbean over time. Researchers say that by adding a biological component they were able to bring the region's history into a sharper focus. Arawaks and Caribs were enemies, but they often lived side by side with occasional intermarriage before blood feuds erupted, according to researchers Ann Ross, a professor of biological sciences at North Carolina State University led the research into the skulls. WHO WERE THE CARIB PEOPLE? The Carib people originally inhabited the Lesser Antilles in South America and they gave their name to the Caribbean Sea. They were a warlike and maritime people who would make long distance raids from canoes. The word carib also means cannibal in the Arawakan language. The Arawakan were regularly attacked by Carib raiders who would abduct women and eat the men, according to Christopher Columbus. They were the third wave of migrants from South America to the Bahamas around 800BC. They were eventually displaced by European settlers. Advertisement She used 3D facial 'landmarks,' such as the size of an eye socket or length of a nose, to analyze more than 100 skulls dating from about 800AD to 1542. 'These landmarks can act as a genetic proxy for determining how closely people are related to one another', she said. 'The analysis not only revealed three distinct Caribbean people groups, but also their migration routes, which was really stunning.' They were able to determine the presence of Carib people due to the fact they practiced artificial cranial modification. This means they engaged in a practice called skull flattening to produce particular characteristics. Dr Ross and her team confirmed existing theories about the two waves of migration from South America to the Caribbean, but also added a new third wave that was nor previously known to science. They examined the skulls and confirmed that the Caribbean's earliest settlers came from the Yucatan, moving into Cuba and the Northern Antilles. 'This supports a previous hypothesis based on similarities in stone tools.' Around 800AD, the Caribs pushed north into Hispaniola and Jamaica and then the Bahamas - where they were well established by the time Columbus arrived The second wave came from the Arawak, who expanded up through Cuba and into the Bahamas between 800 and 200 BC. Around 800AD, the Caribs pushed north into Hispaniola and Jamaica and then the Bahamas - where they were well established by the time Columbus arrived. 'I had been stumped for years as I didn't have the Bahama component,' she said. 'Those remains were so key. This will change the perspective on the people and peopling of the Caribbean.' For Dr Keegan, the discovery lays to rest a puzzle that pestered him for years - why a type of pottery known as Meillacoid appears in Hispaniola by 800AD, Jamaica around 900AD and the Bahamas around 1000AD. 'Why was this pottery so different from everything else we see?' he said. 'It makes sense that Meillacoid pottery is associated with the Carib expansion.' They found that the 'Caribs' had already settled Jamaica and the Bahamas 700 years before Columbus arrived in 1492 For Dr Keegan, the discovery lays to rest a puzzle that pestered him for years - why a type of pottery known as Meillacoid (pictured) appears in Hispaniola by 800AD, Jamaica around 900AD and the Bahamas around 1000AD The sudden appearance of Meillacoid pottery also corresponds with a general reshuffling of people in the Caribbean after a 1,000-year period of tranquility, further evidence that 'Carib invaders were on the move,' Dr Keegan said. Arawaks and Caribs were enemies, but they often lived side by side with occasional intermarriage before blood feuds erupted, he said. "Maybe there was some cannibalism involved. If you need to frighten your enemies, that's a really good way to do it. 'Whether or not it was accurate, the European perception that Caribs were cannibals had a tremendous impact on the region's history. 'The Spanish monarchy initially insisted that indigenous people be paid for work and treated with respect, but reversed its position after receiving reports that they refused to convert to Christianity and ate human flesh.' This led the Spanish crown to say 'if they're going to behave that way they can all be enslaved', according to Dr Keegan. The findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports. The wife of an American spy accused of killing Oxfordshire teenager Harry Dunn is facing extradition to the UK. Home Secretary Priti Patel has formally asked the United States to hand over Anna Sacoolas, 42, who is refusing to fly back to Britain to face charges for the death of the 19-year-old motorcyclist in a driving accident in August last year. The Home Office has said 'this is now a decision for the US authorities,' piling pressure on them to respond to the public anger brewing across the Atlantic that the mother-of-two is brazenly evading British justice. Harry's family has hailed the action taken by Ms Patel, who they met with last year, as a significant step forward in their fight to force Sacoolas to answer to her alleged crimes. Confirming the extradition request, a spokesman said: 'Following the Crown Prosecution Service's charging decision, the Home Office has sent an extradition request to the United States for Anne Sacoolas on charges of causing death by dangerous driving. Harry, from Banbury, was allegedly knocked off his motorbike by Sacoolas driving her Volvo XC90 on the wrong side of the road. Anne Sacoolas (left), accused of killing Oxfordshire teenager Harry Dunn (right), is facing extradition to the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is pictured above meting Radd Seiger, the spokesman for the family of the late Harry Dunn But Sacoolas, who had diplomatic immunity and so could not been arrested in the UK, bolted back across the Atlantic with the help of the US embassy. On December 20 the Crown Prosecution Service charged Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving. The mother-of-two's refusal to face British justice has sparked a massive public clamour in the UK for her extradition. In late December, Ms Patel met with Harry's grieving family at their Oxfordshire home, where they were left '100 per cent convinced' the Sacoolas would be extradited. Sacoolas's lawyer had already made clear her client would not return voluntarily to Britain to possibly face jail for 'a terrible but unintentional accident.' Home Secretary Priti Patel leaving a meeting with the family of Harry Dunn in north Oxfordshire in December The Dunns' lawyer Radd Seiger said the family are pleased with the development and feel that it is a huge step towards achieving justice for Harry Harry's parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn have been campaigning to get justice for their dead son Northamptonshire MP Andrea Leadsom has written to the Prime Minister urging him to meet with her constituents, Harry's family Reacting to the extradition request on behalf of Harry Dunn's family, spokesman Radd Seiger said: 'I have learned that the extradition request for Anne Sacoolas has been delivered today to the United States Department of Justice in accordance with the requirements laid out in the treaty between the two countries and I have notified the parents. 'This will not of course bring Harry back, but in the circumstances of all that this family have been through, they are pleased with the development and feel that it is a huge step towards achieving justice for Harry and making good on the promise that they made to him on the night he died that they would secure justice for him. 'Despite the unwelcome public comments currently emanating from the US administration that Anne Sacoolas will never be returned, Harry's parents, as victims, will simply look forward to the legal process unfolding, as it must now do, confident in the knowledge that the rule of law will be upheld. 'They will simply take things one step at a time and not get ahead of themselves. However, no one, whether diplomat or otherwise, is above the law.' Last week, protesters held a demonstration outside RAF Croughton led by Harry's step-brother Ciaran Charles, holding signs demanding 'justice'. The man who made a nation by Anwar A. Khan "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."- Elmer Davis 10th January of 1972 was a historic day for people in Bangladesh and it will remain in its place with honour and dignity till the civilisation exists. On this gracious day of 47 years back, Bangladeshs Founding Father Banganandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to his free, independent and sovereign homeland from his immurement from Pakistan like a great hero or a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength to lead his newly brought into existence nation. The worst thing for him would be to live in jail with death warrant on his head in Pakistan. He could not look at the clouds in that wretched country and it was hard to believe it was the same sun, the same clouds as people were seeing in Bangladesh. He couldn't help thinking that that cloud he was looking at might come down in the occupied land of Bangladesh by the devilish Pakistani military junta. He was a man who was separated from his people, family and his children for nine months. He was a majuscule politician who felt heavy infliction. But on 10th January, 1972, he celebrated the joy of being home again and being with those he loved so much. His Homecoming Day highlights a thrilling victory by Bangladeshs people over a demonic Pakistani regime. The crowd shuddered with sky-scrapping Joy Bangla (Victory for Bangladesh) slogan to welcome him. The bright sun went up. The crowd overfilled the stage, where their hero lingered, and gazed up at him in wonder, as if his very bright face was a sign from the gods. On arrival he was all smiles, but towards the end you could see his eyes started to glisten. The Bangladesh War is a textbook material for students in history. History all those events has passed us. But the entire trauma still lives inside us. Its great for a great hero to be home. He received a hero's welcome; and a great heros welcome in his own homeland on 10 January 1972. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to the sacred soil of independent Bangladesh from his captivity in a jail of Pakistan on this day. On March 26 in 1971, he proclaimed independence of Bangladesh and urged his beloved people from all walks of life to participate wholeheartedly in the nation's war of liberation. At his clarion call, people fought valiantly like the words of James A. Garfield, We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue and thus Bangladesh was finally born. But it is true that the joy and happiness of our Victory Day remained incomplete in the absence of the figure that was the inspiration for the nation to fight against an enemy so overwhelmingly superior. When people learnt about his homecoming it was yet another celebration. All roads led to the old the airport on the day and the crowd swelled until it turned into a sea of people who were waiting with bated breath to greet the supreme leader on the soil of the new country. One can recall the moments when he appeared at the door of the aircraft and waved at the waiting crowd assembled there to have a glimpse of this man who had been instrumental in liberating them from the clutches of oppressors and exploiters. It was genuinely a hugely momentous occasion for the nation. The leader then moved on towards SuhrawardyUdyan where he was to deliver his homecoming speech. The wildly jubilant crowd moved along with him like a monolithic mass. They wanted to hear from him, as they had heard him on March 7, 1971. He spoke at length; to rebuild the country, a country that had not only suffered the destruction of infrastructure and communications networks but was also traumatised by the random and ruthless killing of three million people, loss of honour of thousands of women and the physical dislocation of ten million people. He did not promise them the moon, rather he advised them to be more tolerant and brace for more sacrifice to see better times. He inspired them, urged them on and instilled in them the confidence that was so necessary at that point in time. Journalist Fox Butterfield of The New York Times, who witnessed Bangabandhu's homecoming, wrote a special report for his Daily titled "Sheikh Mujib Home; 500, 000 Give Him Rousing Welcome". Narrating Bangabandhu's return to home, he wrote, "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman received a tumultuous, triumphant welcome today on January 10, 1972 from a crowd of half a million Bengalis as he returned to his native land for the first time since he was arrested nine months ago by the Pakistani authorities." The exultant crowd showered Sheikh Mujib with flowers and chanted "Joi Bangla" ("Victory of Bangla") as their leader stepped from the British Air Force jet that had brought him to his newly born country," the report said. Saying about the dream of the supreme commander of the country's Liberation War, he also wrote, "Sheikh Mujib though looking tired but elated by his reception, later said at an enormous rally at the Dhaka Race Course, My life's goal has been fulfilled. My Bengal is independent." His voice then broke with emotions. He delivered his coup de grace: "He is a poet of politics, and a fighter for just causes!" "Wiping flower petals from his head, Sheikh Mujib inspected an honour of guard of the army, navy and air force of Bangladesh. As the flower-bedecked truck on which Sheikh Mujib rode from the airport passed slowly through the crowd, there were long rhythmic chants of "Sheikh Mujib, Sheikh Mujib, Joy Bangla and Joy Bangla", the report further added. Thousands of voices also chanted, "A new nation has come upon the earth -- Bangladesh! Bangladesh! A new ism has come to the world --Mujibism! Mujibism!" Narrating the Bengalis emotions, he also wrote, "Many exited spectators tried to touch their leader and who managed to break through police lines hugged him in long embraces. Describing Bangabandhu's outer appearance, he also said, "The 51-year-old Sheikh Mujib, who is tall for a Bengali and has a thick mustache and heavy shock of graying hair, was affectionately hailed today, as Bangabandhu or Friend of Bengal. He was wearing a black suit with a high buttoned collar." Writing about Sheikh Mujib's popularity, the NY Times reporter Butterfield wrote, "Sheikh Mujib's popularity is so great that his word has virtually become law with many Bengalis." But some brutish and disgruntled military officers of his own country launched an assault on him and most of his family members in August 15, 1975 and Mujib fell along with them heroically. Like Kathy Hansen, we wish to say, He is living proof that one man can make a difference and he truly made a difference in his struggles for us. He stood by his people and died for the cause of his people. On the black night of March 25, when it was suggested that he should go into hiding, he flatly refused and retorted: I must share the sufferings of my people along with them. I must share. I cannot leave them in the face of fire. I cannot. Really he did not flee to safety from the war-torn country. He willingly became the first prey to the marauding force. Love for the motherland had prompted him to take such a risk. On that historic day of 10 January 1972, addressing a huge gathering in SuhrawardyUddyan, Bangabandhu declared: Bangladesh has earned independence. Now if anybody wants to seize it, Mujib would be the first man to sacrifice his life for the protection of that independence. It is very sad that our people did not recognise the inner enemy. On the basis of this inner realisation, there should take a form in our new movement leading principles as well as the tendency, which in our conviction are alone capable, not only of halting the decline of the people of Bangladesh, but of creating the granite foundation upon which someday a state will rest which represents, not an alien mechanism of economic concerns and interests, and or petty political interests but a national organism: A Bangladesh State of Bangladeshs Nation. The Sheikh Mujib is above all a warm, forgiving and open human being. We can say about him in the words of H Glenister Taunton, If we are to bring about any form of harmony between the peoples of this planet, he is our role model. He is a giant of a man who humbles us all. Because he made such a huge difference to so many people's lives in the third world, but he is also a true inspiration for people of all walks of life all over the world. Saltburn A Barrs words are appropriate to him, He recognised the need for dignity in the lives of others, and respected it as much as his own. He was a tireless campaigner for social justice and peace within a democratic framework. He wass a true hero of the people; and he was a global figure. The 1971 war veteran late Syed Shahidul Hoque Mama remembered, Sheikh Mujib has stood out as a man of honour: straightforward, honest, and fearless in the face of the Pakistani regime. He inspires us all to hold true to what we know is right and to have the courage to speak out when others are silent. One of the most influential politicians ever, who has remained true to himself. He is the most significant political figure of our time, in terms of his engagement with our own concerns, perceptions and dreams. He is like the words of Pete Hewitt, He is uncompromising in standing up for what he believes is right and does not stand on pleasantries. Bangabandhus policy of unity regardless of ideology was essential to the Grand Victory of 1971 that defeated the neo-Hitler, Yahya Khan and his coterie in 1971 War. His able and dynamic leadership indicate a worldwide respect for the man who stood up against the neo-Nazis. He showed the diversity of his talents and was able to assert supreme power over his beloved people. He was the victor at the end of the bloodiest episode in Bangladeshs history. Bangabandhu led by example, caring for the poor and needy. He attracted many followers by living simply. He was known as a politician, and world leader. He was noted for his courage to stand by the oppressed people. Like Frederick Douglass, he reminds us: "I go to suffer with them; to toil with them; to endure insult with them; to undergo outrage with them; to lift up my voice in their behalf; to speak and write in their vindication; and struggle in their ranks for the emancipation which shall yet be achieved. His ability to summarise the range of human emotions in simple yet eloquent words and phrases has led to his enduring popularity and power and the standard to which others do not hold. Eleanor Roosevelts words can be echoed here, One thing I believe profoundly: We make our own history. The course of history is directed by the choices we make and our choices grow out of the ideas, the beliefs, the values, the dreams of the people. It is not so much the powerful leaders that determine our destiny as the much more powerful influence of the combined voices of the people themselves and Mujib brought in the combined voices of his people together and made history. There is that great proverb that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." We have our own historians. We ask Bangladeshs people and our historians to dim their lights in remembrance of him. Way down in the valley we the dull lights of a small village; it was dark and the path was stony and rough. The waving lines of the hills against the starlit sky were deeply embedded in darkness and a coyote was howling somewhere nearby. The path had lost its familiarity and a scented breeze was coming up the valley. To be alone in that solitude was to hear the voice of intense silence and its great beauty. It was quite dark by now and the world of that valley became deep in its silence. The night air had special smells, a blend of all the bushes that grow on the dry hills, that strong smell of bushes that know the hot sun. The rains had stopped many months ago; it wouldnt rain again for a very long time. The great silence with its vast space held the night and every movement of thought became still. The mind itself was the immeasurable space and in that deep quietness there was not a thing that thought had built. To be absolutely nothing is to be beyond measure. The path went down a steep incline and a small stream was saying many things, delighted with its own voice. It crossed the path several times and the two were playing a game together. The stars were very close and some were looking down from the hill tops. Still the lights of the village were a long way off and the stars were disappearing over the high hills. Be alone, without word and thought, but only watching and listening. The great silence showed that without it, existence loses its profound meaning and beauty. We honour the legacy of our founder Father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by leveraging the gifts of knowledge, compassion and creativity, to care for all every day. We witnessed an extraordinary bravery and patriotism in him. It doesnt just tell time. It tells history. He was truly an outstanding political figure who served as a role model for his people, as well as the oppressed people of the Third World, with his love, patriotism, spirit, and dedication. His energy and enthusiasm permeates the political arena, and his dedication to the oppressed is unmatched. His politics was purely: 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People.' An almost sky-touching figure, he would not revisit this land but his supreme sacrifice, love, patriotism and courage to stand up against the unjust causes will remain immortal as inspiration in our collective memories. We bow our heads to commemorate him; and it is somethingfor us to do, generation after generation. People have placed Mujib at this position, place, and time in our history. In teary eyes, we remember those memories in order that those last a lifetime. When we bring back knowledge from memory on this great son of this land, we wish to emotionally remember him in the language of Abraham Lincoln, "Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem." There is an extraordinary feeling about that: the wonder, the strangeness, the miracle of a fresh morning that has never been before, never will be. We live by memories. We live by knowledge, acquired or inherited, and that knowledge is what we are. The self is the knowledge of the past experiences, thoughts and so on. The self is that. The self may invent that there is something divine in one; but it is still the activity of thought. And thought is always limited. You can see this for yourself, you dont have to study books and philosophies; you can see for yourself clearly that you are a bundle of memories. And death puts an end to all that memory, therefore one is frightened. Today, we must read him to a great extent and tell our people as history. Before I go, I better clear up one thing"Let Mujibbe! And all is light. Joy Bangla. Joy Bangabandhu. My Golden Bangladesh, we love you.Bangladesh, for us, has been the pursuit and catching of happiness. May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country! And we proud to be Bangladeshs people, where at least we know we are free. And we won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to us. -The End - The writer is an independent political observer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh who writes on politics, political and human-centered figures, current and international affairs. Richa Sharma and Pranab Mondal By Express News Service NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Breaking the opposition ranks, Trinamool chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she would not attend the January 13 meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on evolving a joint strategy on the CAA and NRC and discuss the violence against students in various universities. The BSP is also unlikely to attend the meet as party chief Mayawati has of late been targetting Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her visits to UP. Accusing the Congress and the Left of playing dirty politics Mamata said in Kolkata rgar she would fight against the CAA-NRC alone as the opposition politics in the state was against their national stand. I have decided not to attend the meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi as I dont support the violence that the Left and the Congress unleashed in West Bengal yesterday (Wednesday), she said in the Assembly. If needed, I will fight alone. There were fierce clashes between Trinamool and Left workers in the state during the Bharat bandh. According to Congress sources, Mamatas decision to pull out of the opposition meeting scheduled in Parliament annexe is more because of the Left parties, keeping in mind the state politics. While other opposition parties are expected to attend, there are doubts about both BSP and Akhilesh Yadav-led SP attending. They had skipped the opposition meets in the past. We expect that the BSP will skip the meeting as Mayawati is upset over Priyankas out reach programs in UP that also includes people from Dalit and other backward classes... BSP is very unpredictable but we hope that SP will attend the meeting, said a Congress source. Westside municipal officials will learn in April about the feasibility of their call for an urgent and primary care centre. Health Minister Adrian Dix is shown here opening such a centre at the Capri Centre Mall in Kelowna last month. A sudden increase in the demand for birth certificates, a crucial document for enrolment in the National Population Register (NPR), has been reported from various minority-dominated areas of at least four states amid the row over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Most of the state governments will start enrolment for NPR from April 1, 2020, and the register would be updated by September 2020. The government would be seeking the date and place of a person and his or her parents birth in the exercise. Birth certificates are issued by urban and rural local bodies and once the birth is registered, the document can be sought anytime. If the registration is not done within one year of the birth, then one has file an application with the first magistrate, who can direct the registrar of births to issue the certificate. Getting a birth certificate is turning to be a problem for the elderly like Sarfaraz of Uttar Pradeshs Agra. I was born in 1968 and never felt the need of a birth certificate but now with CAA, NRC and NPR, I am following others. And to prove my nationality, I will have to produce a birth certificate, which I am going to get from Agra Nagar Nigam registration department, Sarfaraz said. Scenes were not different at the municipal offices in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahr, where officers said the number of applications for birth certificates has gone up in the past two months. Akram Khan, 50, a businessman resident of Kareli locality in Prayagraj and his 45-year old wife Sadia Bano, have visited the municipal office several times to get their birth certificates. I never thought that I would suddenly need a birth certificate in my 50s. Born and brought up in Prayagraj, I decided to get birth certificates made for me and my wife following the talk that even citizens of India may need to prove their citizenship, Akram said. He added that there were many people from his age group at the municipal office who are trying to get the document. In Varanasi, a 71-year-old weaver also gave the same reason. I have heard that the birth certificate will be required for NRC. That is why I have applied for it, he said as a tailor from Bajardiha standing next to him in a queue for the certificate nodded. Officials too said they are busy handling the applications. Now suddenly a large number of people in their 30s and 40s are coming for birth certificates, AK Jain, a clerk at Prayagraj Municipal Corporation, said. In Lucknow, the number of birth certificates issued in December last year has gone up three times to 6193 as compared to the same period in 2018 from 2012. There has been an increase in demand for birth certificates, especially by aged Muslims. Seeing the spurt, we have decided to issue the certificates at a zonal level too, Ashok Singh, the chief tax fixation officer of Lucknow Municipal Corporation, said. Singh, who is also in charge of birth and death section, said 30% of the applicants were over 40 years of age. Varanasi Swasthya Adhikari (city health officer) Ramshakal Yadav said there were no instructions that birth certificate was mandatory (for CAA or NRC) but still people are applying. Meerut citys health officer Gajendra Singh said his office has witnessed a 40% jump in applications for birth certificates from people in the age group of 10 to below 60 years. In many places, people are taking the help of lawyers to complete the formalities for getting birth certificates, especially those who claimed to have been born at home. I had to bring my lawyer to apply for a birth certificate as I was born at home, Niaz Ahmed, a 57-year-old resident of Lucknows City Station Golaganj who just got his birth certificate, said. I have also applied with full documents with the help of my lawyer as I was also born at home, Shadab Hussain, of the same locality, said. Local representatives are also as busy because they are authorised to give people proof of residence. Rafeeq Ansari, the Samajwadi Party MLA from Meerut city, said 400 to 500 people, most of them Muslims, approached him every day to seek his letter required to apply for birth certificates. Local MLAs and MPs are authorised to endorse residential proof of a person. So people are approaching them in large numbers, especially after the announcement of CAA, Ansari said. Councillor of Katehar ward in Varanasi, Afzal Ansari, said ever since CAA came into focus, people were confused about citizenship issues and were seeking birth certificates. Many people have approached me also, he said. Similar rush for birth certificates was also seen in several places in Bihar, including the capital city of Patna and Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region. An average of 4000 people registered for birth certificates monthly between January and November 2019. In December 2019, the registration figure was 6600. Of these, 25% were those in the age bracket of 40 to 50 years and predominantly from the Muslim community, said Patnas district statistical officer, Mahesh Prasad, who is also additional district registrar of births and deaths. In West Bengal, the rush for birth certificates and other documents was witnessed between October and November 2019 and after chief minister Mamata Banerjees announcement in December that NPR and NRC will not be implemented in the state, there has been a dip in the queue for documents, officials said. However, many people are still queuing up to get the documents in Malda and Murshidabad districts. I have raised the issue in the state assembly and have written letters to the DM. It is mostly Muslims who have panicked, Maldas legislator Mostak Alam said. In Murshidabad, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Ashok Das said, Mamata Banerjee has said that CAA and NRC will be not implemented in this state. We are appealing to the common people not to panic and not to share their personal information with anyone. Maharashtra government officials said there has been a sudden demand of birth certificates in several Muslim dominated areas such as Malegaon and Aurangabad. We have opened additional offices to cater to the increase in demand, a Maharashtra government official told news agency PTI. A man convicted five times of exposing himself in public was arraigned Wednesday on another charge of public indecency for allegedly masturbating on the steps of a Northwest Portland synagogue. Authorities say they received a call that Alan Bruce Robinson, 48, had pulled down his pants at Congregation Beth Israel on Tuesday afternoon while children were attending an afterschool program at a charter school on the property near Northwest 19th Avenue between Flanders and Glisan streets. Alan Bruce Robinson, 48, was arrested on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020 under allegations of public indecency. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office) A probable cause affidavit offers no indication that children saw Robinson. But the affidavit does say a man walking his dog spotted Robinson, told him to leave, then told someone at the charter school and that person called police. Robinson had been convicted of public indecency in 1994, 2001, 2012, 2015 and 2018. Robinson was sentenced to about two years in prison in 2015, after a woman reported she was walking with her baby through Farragut Park in North Portland when she saw Robinson masturbating. He received an identical sentence in 2018 for doing the same on the lawn in front of De La Salle High School in North Portland. He is homeless and lists his address as the Portland Rescue Mission on the west side of the Burnside Bridge. He is required to register as a sex offender and last reported his address to authorities as under the St. Johns Bridge. Robinson told jailers that he lives off Social Security disability and has mental health problems, but didnt specify a diagnosis. -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A Trump administration lawyer asked a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Thursday to allow enforcement of a ban on U.S. entry for hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants who lack private health insurance. But two of the three judges expressed doubt that President Trump was acting within his legal authority. The same panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed undecided, however, in a second immigration case involving about 26,000 Central Americans who tried to enter the United States at legal ports of entry before new rules took effect in July denying asylum to virtually all Central Americans. They were turned back by immigration officers and forced to wait in Mexico, then were ruled ineligible under the new policy. Both cases are part of a broader dispute over Trumps clampdown on immigration, particularly from Latin America. The health insurance case is related to the administrations attempt to deny legal status and work permits to migrants who receive public benefits, like food stamps and Medicaid, a rule that has been blocked by several appeals courts. The asylum ban, which applies to anyone who passes through another country without seeking refuge before reaching the Mexico-U.S. border, is pending before the Ninth Circuit but has been allowed to take effect by the Supreme Court while challenges proceed in lower courts. Trump issued a proclamation in October to deny a U.S. visa to anyone who did not have private health insurance or show that they would obtain it within 30 days. Those seeking coverage under Medicaid or the government-subsidized Affordable Care Act would not be eligible. Immigrant advocates say it would bar entry to nearly two-thirds of all legal migrants. At Thursdays hearing, Justice Department lawyer August Flentje urged the court to suspend an injunction by U.S. District Judge Michael Simon of Portland, Ore., that blocked the requirement from taking effect as scheduled Dec.1. U.S. immigration law allows such exclusions whenever the president finds entry of any class of aliens would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, Flentje said, quoting the law. Congress entrusted the president to make these judgments, he said, and Trump concluded entry of immigrants without private insurance was burdensome to the health care system and expensive for the country. But Judge Marsha Berzon noted that legal immigrants were eligible for government-funded health care under federal laws. Why isnt that (administration policy) a direct contradiction with Congress? she asked. And under the Affordable Care Act, she said, migrants would have better coverage than under the minimal private insurance policies that Trump would allow them to buy. When Flentje argued that uninsured immigrants were driving up costs to hospitals and emergency rooms, Chief Judge Sidney Thomas said, Its hard to argue that the nations health care system is going to come crashing down in the next two to three months during the next phase of judicial review. Thomas suggested, however, that the injunction might be narrowed to apply only to clients of the advocacy group in the lawsuit, rather than applying nationwide. Berzon and Thomas were both appointed by President Bill Clinton. The third panel member, Judge Daniel Bress, a Trump appointee, was more receptive to Flentjes arguments, agreeing that the policy has a foreign affairs connection, and thus entitled to judicial deference, because it would be implemented by U.S. consular officers in other countries. In the asylum case, the appeals court panel has already intervened once in the governments favor. In November, a federal judge in San Diego ordered the Trump administration to allow the 26,000 Central American immigrants to apply for refuge in the U.S., despite the new rules in July barring migrants who had passed through other countries without seeking asylum there. U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant said the immigrants who were prevented from entering until the new rules took effect had followed the rules and should not be penalized by government-imposed delays. But the appeals court panel suspended Bashants order Dec. 20 while reviewing the case. At Thursdays hearing, lawyers for the Central Americans argued that they were eligible to seek refuge because they entered the U.S., at designated entry stations, before the restrictions took effect. They were then subjected to metering, an administration policy requiring asylum-seekers to wait for months in Mexico before submitting their applications. They did exactly what they were supposed to do and what the government asked them to do, attorney Ori Lev told the court. They waited. It was the classic bait-and-switch. But Berzon said Bashant had not ruled on the legality of the metering policy, deciding only that the migrants should not be penalized by it. If metering is presumed to be legal at this point, she asked, why isnt the government correct in finding them ineligible? Lev contended the appeals court could assess the legality of metering, but Thomas said it would be pretty tough at this stage of the case. Justice Department attorney Scott Stewart also drew some skeptical responses after arguing that folks who never enter the United States have no right to any particular procedure. They certainly attempted to enter, said Berzon, echoed shortly afterward by Thomas. But Stewart said the exclusion covers anyone who did not reach U.S. territory before applying for asylum. The court did not say when it would rule, but it typically issues decisions within a few weeks on temporary stay orders such as those the administration is seeking. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko. The prisons watchdog has criticised the authorities in Mountjoy for repeated failures by prison staff to notice that an inmate had died in his cell. Inspector of Prisons Patricia Gilheaney called for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to show "zero tolerance" over failures to do mandatory checks at regular intervals on prisoners, with disciplinary action to be taken against officers who fail to perform such duties. It follows a report into the death of a 41-year-old inmate at Mountjoy on January 10, 2018, which found officers had missed at least four opportunities to notice he had died during the night. The report noted that the prisoner had gone unchecked for two periods of two-and-a-half hours when he should have been checked hourly. Ms Gilheaney said a night guard as well as prison officers who unlocked and locked the prisoner's cell for breakfast and who later unlocked his cell to allow him out to attend morning activities had all failed to identify a serious situation. The unnamed prisoner, who was serving a life sentence, was found unresponsive in his cell by two other inmates at 9.57am. One officer who rushed to the cell said his face appeared to be covered in vomit. Ms Gilheaney said officers unlocking a cell for breakfast should ensure they sought and received a verbal response from each prisoner to ensure they were alive. The report said CCTV had also found that the officer with responsibility for the landing had not remained at their post for the duration of their shift. "Prisons are required to provide safe and secure custody and it is critically important that staff carry out their duties and in accordance with IPS policies and procedure," Ms Gilheaney said. Monitoring However, she welcomed a new operating procedure introduced by the IPS last April that relates to the monitoring of prisoners by officers on night duty. The inspector said the director general of the IPS, Caron McCaffrey, had accepted all four recommendations contained in the report and an action plan was being implemented. The IPS said failure to carry out mandatory monitoring of inmates would be regarded as serious misconduct, which could result in dismissal. New research shows how the use of a multisensory illusion may help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The new method could bypass the disadvantages of exposure therapy. Share on Pinterest Contamination fears may cause people with OCD to wash their hands excessively. In 1998, researchers Matthew Botvinick and Jonathan Cohen of the University of Pittsburgh, PA, detailed an experiment that people would later refer to as the rubber hand illusion (RHI). In the experiment, 10 people sat down, resting their left arm on a table. A screen hid each participants arm from view, and instead, they could see a life-sized rubber hand model. The researchers placed the hand right in front of the person so that they could see it from the same angle as they would their own hand. After asking each participant to fix their gaze on the rubber hand, the experimenters used two small paintbrushes to stroke the rubber hand and the participants actual hand at the same time. After 10 minutes, the participants reported feeling the rubber hand as though it were their own. Now, new research has used the RHI to help people with contamination-related OCD overcome their fears. Baland Jalal, a neuroscientist in the department of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, is the first author of the new paper, which appears in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. In contamination-related OCD, the fear of touching a doorknob, for example, may cause people with the condition to spend hours washing and scrubbing their hands to an excessive degree afterward. Doctors and mental health professionals often recommend exposure therapy to treat this and other forms of OCD. Exposure therapy encourages people with OCD to start touching potentially contaminating surfaces without washing their hands afterward. However, says Jalal, exposure therapy can be very stressful and so is not always effective or even feasible for many patients. This limitation is what made him and his colleagues want to explore other options, such as contaminating a fake hand instead. Tinyclues to sponsor NRF2020, leading a Big Ideas session and participating in the official Artificial Intelligence Tech Tour Tinyclues, an AI customer marketing solution for retail and travel brands, announced today that they will sponsor and exhibit at NRF 2020, running January 12-14th in New York City. Tinyclues' booth #1236 is an official stop on the Artificial Intelligence Tech Tour, which features exhibitors recognized for "delivering the latest in retail technology across multiple business disciplines." This stop on the tour will cover the revolutionary abilities of Tinyclues deep learning and its application to retail marketing. Attendees will learn about TInyclues ability to predict where B2C Customer Marketing will be most optimal so marketers can make fast and valuable decisions about their campaign topics, audiences and plans. Tinyclues' founder and CEO, David Bessis, will also discuss major trends and challenges B2C retail marketers are facing in a Big Ideas session entitled, "Marketing Automation Doesn't Exist," Monday, January 13th at 4:00 pm ET. In this talk, attendees will learn: The key differences between sales journey automation and the deeper marketing mission The dangers to brand engagement with overreliance on automation and triggers to manage customer marketing How to reconcile performance with brand-building, real marketing "Marketers are constantly pulled in many directions, but only the focused will prevail at this inflection point for retail," says David Bessis. "It's not just meeting vanity KPIs; It's about anticipating and mastering the true drivers of long-term growth, brand equity, and customer lifetime value. These higher-level KPIs come from a truly personalized, integrated, and relevant strategy. Tinyclues offers marketers a strategic handle on customer demand for products, along with powerful dashboards for targeting, optimizing, and analyzing the customer marketing plan over time." Demos of Tinyclues' customer marketing solution will be shown at the booth so retailers can see live how the solution enables them to: Get inspired: discover the best campaign topics using a strategic view of demand across offers and customers Stay relevant: activate the best audiences for all campaigns and enhance customer experience Seamlessly coordinate: prioritize all campaigns based on value of outcomes and minimizing fatigue About Tinyclues Tinyclues is the leading customer marketing solution that helps B2C marketers make the right decisions for their omnichannel campaigns to increase revenue, improve customer experience and drive strategic outcomes. The solution uses Deep Learning to predict the best topics, audiences, and campaign plans. Companies such as Accor, Air France, Chantelle Lingerie, Clarins, Club Med, Conforama, Costa Cruises, Fnac Darty, Holland Barrett, Kenzo, Lacoste, Manor, OUI.sncf, Rakuten, Sally Beauty, Samsung, TUI, and Veepee are using Tinyclues to optimize more than 600 million messages per month across multiple marketing channels to deliver on revenue goals and lift customer experience. Tinyclues has been listed as a Vendor to Watch in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Digital Marketing Analytics and as a Cool Vendor in Gartner's Cool Vendors in Multichannel Marketing report. For more information, visit http://www.tinyclues.com Twitter: @tinyclues View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005241/en/ Contacts: Caroline Tailleferd Tinyclues Tel: +33 6 11 64 87 37 E-mail: caroline.tailleferd@tinyclues.com Friday, January 10th, 2020 (10:39 am) - Score 3,636 A new London-based full fibre network builder called Peoples Fibre has just entered the market, which is promising to deploy a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the UK, albeit focusing upon areas where such networks are currently non-existent or poor. At this stage very little is known about the new provider. The company was first incorporated on 20th March 2019 and its Director is Leo Chong, an Icelandic national. The company already has a fairly solid website, although this doesnt reveal anything about their current network coverage (their projects page is blank) but they have still managed to list package details. The residential side of their service is being priced from 30 per month (plus 50 one-off connection fee) for a symmetric speed 30Mbps package on a 12 month term and this rises to 60 per month if you want their top 900Mbps package (free connection with a gigabit voucher). We assume these packages offer unlimited usage but it doesnt say. The ISP has also put in new application for Code Powers from Ofcom, which may help to speed-up the deployment of new fibre optic networks and cut costs by reducing the number of licenses needed for street works. The application doesnt reveal much, but it does confirm that they intend to harness Openreachs (BT) existing cable ducts and poles to run their own fibre where viable (Physical Infrastructure Access). The Peoples Fibre has an online chat system on their website and we used that to ask a quick question about their current network coverage: No we havent done any deployments in UK but working on our first area at the moment. Our key personnel has been deploying full fibre in Sweden for the last 10 years, said the support agent. Sadly they couldnt tell us where that first area is but did promise to make an announcement soon. VIENNA, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The massive output of modern short-read next generation sequencing (NGS) platforms allows to multiplex hundreds of samples to be processed in one NGS run. Each sample is identified by adding a unique index sequence to an NGS library, ensuring these libraries can be mixed and sequenced collectively. This system reduces sequencing costs tremendously but is affected by "Index Sequence Errors" introduced during library preparation and sequencing steps. A small but significant share of these errors converts one index into another one, that is used in the same NGS mix. Similarly, "Index Hopping", a process occurring during library amplification on Illumina platforms, can incorrectly assign a library from the original index to another index. To avoid the ensuing confusion of reads that can affect study results significantly, Unique Dual Indices (UDI) with exclusive i5 and i7 sequences are used. This assures the identification of non-expected index combinations, and the associated reads are removed from downstream analysis. However, most Index Sequence Errors cause reads to be "non-determinable" by converting the index sequence into one that is not present in the library pool. While no mis-assignment happens, these errors cause up to 9% of the initial reads to be removed from downstream analysis, severely reducing the overall NGS run efficiency. This issue can be addressed, if the index sequence in question is different enough from the other index sequences in this pool. Then, error correction can be applied to recover the vast majority of these reads. The performance of this error correction depends predominantly on the quality of the index design, and deficient index design can result in a higher rate of faulty error correction. Lexogen has therefore developed a sophisticated 12 nt Unique Dual Index System that covers all indexing aspects by incorporating Unique Dual Indexing scalable index read-out lengths of 8, 10, or 12 nucleotides (nt) highest index sequence distance for any multiplexing setup, from smallest to largest (384+) sample sets superior error correction with lowest read mis-assignment For example, Lexogen's 12 nt read-out setup with correction of up to 2 errors makes 97.8% of the initial reads in a 96-libraries multiplex run on a NextSeq 500 available for downstream data analysis by recovering a remarkable 6.9% of initial reads with Index Sequence Errors. Due to the proprietary nested index sequence design the same NGS run with error-corrected 8 nt read-out yields a similar number of reads for downstream analyses (97.6%). While this comes with a moderate increase of corrected reads being mis-assigned, established data analysis pipelines for 8 nt indexes can be used, and sequencing reagents can be saved. The 10 nt and 12 nt read-out lengths excel, when multiplexing of more than 96 libraries is required. These longer indices provide 384 and more UDIs with highest indexing quality, optimal for the latest generation of short-read sequencers such as the Illumina NovaSeq series that produce billions of reads in one run. The nested design also provides optimized UDI sets for pooling of 4, 8, 16, 24, 96, 384, etc. libraries, relieving the user from having to select appropriate UDI sets. In total, Lexogen has designed more than 9,261 UDIs (24 sets with 384 UDIs each) with the capacity to correct at least one error. All samples of even very large studies can thereby be barcoded uniquely, avoiding any chance to be mixed-up. Summarized, Lexogen's 12 nt UDI system adapts to the user's needs while always providing highest inter-index distance and maximal error correction capacity. Read mis-assignment due to Index Hopping is avoided, and Index Sequence Errors can be corrected with highest accuracy and minimal mis-assignment trade-off. Thereby, the system provides the optimized indexing solution for current and future barcoding requirements. UDIs can be used with any RNA-Seq library preparation protocol for Illumina sequencing, including Lexogen's QuantSeq 3' mRNA-Seq FWD and REV (Cat. No. 015 and 016), QuantSeq-Flex (Cat. No. 033, 034, 035), CORALL Total RNA-Seq (Cat. No. 095, 096), and SENSE mRNA-Seq V2 for Illumina (Cat. No. 001). Learn more about Lexogen UDI 12 nt Unique Dual Indexing Add-on Kit. About Lexogen Established in 2007, Lexogen is a transcriptomics and Next-Generation Sequencing company, focusing on the development of innovative methods for RNA analysis. Its portfolio already includes multiple innovative and well-established protocols for RNA sequencing sample preparation, external RNA spike-in controls, as well as bioinformatic tools and sequencing services. Lexogen is a privately held company, headquartered in Vienna, Austria with a subsidiary in New Hampshire, US. To learn more, visit www.lexogen.com and follow @lexogen. Contact person: Martina Sauert Product Manager email: martina.sauert@lexogen.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/472869/Lexogen_logo_Logo.jpg ST. LOUIS A St. Louis man on Thursday was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a tax fraud scheme, according to Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Departments Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Jensen for the Eastern District of Missouri. According to documents and information provided to the court, Babatunde Olusegun Taiwo, co-conspirator Kevin Williams and others engaged in a scheme to file false tax returns in the names of individuals whose personal identifying information they obtained without authorization. US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing another set of crippling sanctions against Iran, targeting several of its top leaders, military commanders, and its infrastructure industry, according to a statement from the White House on Friday. Trump said the executive order authorises the imposition of sanctions against any individual or entity operating in the construction, manufacturing, textiles, or mining sectors of the Iranian economy or anyone assisting those who engage in this sanctioned business. The sanctions are the latest in a series of retaliatory measures between the two nations. Iran's powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani was killed last Friday in US drone strikes, ordered by President Trump, bringing the entire Gulf region close to a full-blown conflict. Regional tensions remained high after Iran on Wednesday fired missiles at two bases in Iraq used by US forces. "Today, I am holding the Iranian regime responsible for attacks against United States personnel and interests by denying it substantial revenue that may be used to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence," said Trump on Friday, after signing the executive order. "This order will have a major impact on the Iranian economy, authorising powerful secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions. "The Iranian regime has threatened United States military service members, diplomats, and civilians, as well as the citizens and interests of our allies and partners, through military force and proxy groups. The United States will continue to counter the Iranian regime's destructive and destabilising behaviour," the president said. Trump said the economic sanctions will remain till the Iranian regime changes its behaviour. Earlier at a White House conference, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, along with cabinet colleague Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said the US will continue its economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran till Tehran announces it will not pursue the nuclear weapons program and stop its destabilising behaviour in the region. The eight senior Iranian regime officials against whom sanctions have been issued include Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Deputy Chief of Staff of Iranian armed forces, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The sanction on the Iranian officials would mean denial of visa to the US and seizure of assets, among others. In addition, the treasury designated 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies, a network of three China-and Seychelles-based entities, and a vessel involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products, as well as in the provision of critical metals production components to Iranian metal producers. "The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesday's ballistic missile strikes," Mnuchin said. "We are also designating Iran's largest metals manufacturers, and imposing sanctions on new sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, and mining. These sanctions will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons," he added. Pompeo told reporters that Iran was planning "broad, large-scale attacks" against American interests in the Middle East, including embassies. The latest round of sanctions are aimed at striking at the heart of Iran's internal security apparatus, he said. "The president has been very clear: we will continue to apply economic sanctions until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commits that it will never have nuclear weapons," Mnuchin said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former Northern Arizona University student has admitted to fatally shooting a schoolmate during a drunken brawl on campus five years ago. Steven Jones, 23, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter on Thursday, less than two weeks before he was scheduled to face a second murder trial, after his first trial in 2017 ended in a hung jury. Jones has long acknowledged firing the shots that killed 20-year-old Colin Brough in and wounded three other students. But he claimed he acted in self-defense after being punched in the face and verbally attacked. Jones, dressed in a button-down shirt and tie, stood before a judge on Thursday, conceding in a hushed tone that his actions weren't justified. In additional to the manslaughter count, he also pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault. Hearing those words from Jones was 'huge' for Brough's parents, Doug and Claudia. Guilty: Steven Jones, 23, left, pleads guilty in Coconino County Superior Court on Thursday to manslaughter in the shooting death of fellow student Colin Brough (right) at Northern Arizona University Jones faces five to 10 years in prison and will be required to pay $100,000 restitution to each of the victims in the 2015 campus shooting 'Now it's between him, God and prison life,' Claudia Brough told The Associated Press by phone after the hearing. 'Quite honestly, he's out of our lives now, and we can get on with our lives remembering Colin for the young man he was and all the joy he brought to our lives.' 'Of course, we feel like we really can never have justice,' she said. 'We'll never get Colin back.' Jones faces five to 10 years in prison when he's sentenced next month and was ordered to pay $100,000 restitution to the Broughs family and each of the wounded men. Jones will be required to serve at least 85 per cent of his prison term. He had faced up to 25 years if convicted of second-degree murder at trial. Prosecutors initially charged him with first-degree murder, premeditated murder and aggravated assault, but jurors in his first trial could not reach an unanimous verdict. Survivors: Nick Piring (left) was shot in the arm and hip, Kyle Zientek (center) was shot twice in the back, and Nick Prato (right) was struck in the neck In an effort to avoid further delays of Jones' retrial, the Coconino County Attorneys Office in December downgraded the charge against him to second-degree murder. Jones has been in his parents' custody and won't have to turn himself in until next week. He declined to speak after the hearing. His attorney, Burges McCowan, said Jones had considered previous plea agreements but none was 'as good,' and it brought closure all around. 'We still felt very confidently with our approach to the trial,' he said. 'Our decision was this offer was just made and it felt acceptable to Steven.' The sound of gunfire in the predawn hours of October 9, 2015, initially stoked fears of a mass shooting at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. The shooting at the school with more than 25,000 students came just days after 10 people were killed, including the gunman, at an Oregon community college. Prosecutors had painted Jones as an assassin whose pride was hurt after getting punched in the face outside an apartment complex that largely housed fraternity members and where one of his friends rang a doorbell and ran off. Jones could have left what largely was a verbal dispute, prosecutors said, but instead went to his car, got a loaded .40-caliber handgun from his glove box and shot four unarmed students. The initial dispute happened near an apartment complex across the street from the school and spilled over to the campus. Prosecutors initially charged Jones (pictured in February 2016) with first-degree murder, premeditated murder and aggravated assault, but his first trial ended in a hung jury Jones' attorneys have said he didn't shoot until after announcing he had a gun and not until after Brough lunged at him - details that varied among witnesses. Jones' attorneys said he was bullied by a group of drunken fraternity members, verbally attacked and had only seconds to respond, believing he was being chased and could be seriously hurt or killed. Brough died after being shot in the chest and shoulder. Nick Piring was shot in the arm and hip as he jumped over a bush to reach Brough, his onetime roommate. Jones said he viewed the jump as an act of aggression. Jones, who was trained to use firearms growing up, said he fired again after students dog-piled on him to subdue him and he was trying to disperse the crowd. Nick Prato was struck in the neck, and Kyle Zientek twice in the back. Police arrived found a chaotic scene, with people running around, screaming and crying. Some were giving first aid to those who were shot and calling out for ambulances. Other students were handcuffed in a parking lot as police tried to determine whether there was a second shooting suspect. Jones was detained within minutes and said he was the only shooter. Mercedes-Benz India on Friday said it remained the market leader in the domestic luxury car segment for the fifth straight year in 2019, selling 13,786 units. However, this was 12.7 per cent lower from 2018, when it had sold 15,538 units. In the December quarter, the Pune-based company clocked sales growth of 3.3 per cent, selling 3,781 units -- its highest ever quarterly volume, it said in a statement. The company also sounded bullish about 2020 and said it will continue with its product offensive, which will begin with the launch of an all-new GLE on January 28. The company said it could maintain its pole position on the back of a record 54 per cent growth in its performance vehicles segment led by the CLA, GLA and GLS models, whose new generation variants will be available from Q2 of 2020. Mercedes will also be the first luxury car maker to completely transition into BS-VI portfolio with petrol and diesel models shortly. "Amidst strong macroeconomic headwinds, our volumes in Q4 also grew by 15.41 percent from Q3 2019, taking the overall volume to 13,786 units in 2019, down 12.7 percent from 2018," the company said. Against this, rival BMW saw its volumes dip 13.8 per cent to 9,641 units in 2019 from 11,105 units in 2018. The German carmaker despatched 9,000 BMWs and 641 Minis in the year. Besides, its two-wheeler brand BMW Motorrad sold 2,403 motorcycles last year. The third German player Audi is yet to disclose its sales numbers. Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and Chief Executive Martin Schwenk said, "We are satisfied with our performance in 2019 despite facing strong macroeconomic headwinds, specifically in the first three quarters. We were able to positively influence customer sentiment with our solutions and achieved the new best ever Q4." The year 2020 is going to be another important year for the firm and it continues to be optimistic about mid- to long-term prospects, he added. The company had an overwhelming response to its entire BS-IV portfolio and it is now ready with the all-new BS-VI range, ahead of the deadline, he said. This year the market will witness a strong product offensive from Mercedes-Benz, beginning with the new GLE, followed by some of the most significant product introductions from its global portfolio, including those without any predecessors, Schwenk said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) After gaining consecutive victories on cases involving his family's alleged-ill gotten wealth, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. stressed Friday that it's about time for educational institutions to revise the content of history textbooks which have depicted their family in a bad light. Marcos, the son of late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, did not mention any names, but hit back at the opposition for their prolonged political propaganda which supposedly revised historical information about their family that is being taught on todays youth. The Commission on Human Rights, however, countered his call, saying it is a direct affront to the thousands of victims of human rights violations under Marcos' authoritarian rule. We have been calling on that for years. Syempre ang nakaupo, under the influence of our opposition, pero di rin naman tama yun. What has been proven wrong is that they continue to contend essentially, you are teaching the children lies, Marcos said in a forum in Manila. I think this is the very definition of revisionism. That is one important takeaway. We always knew that these were not true, he added. The Marcoses, who are known allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, won last year five ill-gotten-wealth related cases which were filed by the government against them. In January last year, Sandiganbayan Special Fourth Division ordered the release of the sequestered properties of Gregorio Araneta III, son-in-law of the late dictator. That was following in July, by the Sandiganbayan's reported dismissal of a forfeiture case against Luis Yulo and the Yulo King Ranch Corporation involving the supposedly ill-gotten wealth of the late President. In August, the Sandiganbayan Second Division dismissed the 102-billion forfeiture case filed in 1987 against the Marcoses, Roberto Benedicto, and other cronies. The court, however, in November allowed the government to appeal the case. In October, the court junked a 1.052-billion civil case filed in 1989 against the Marcoses, former Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. and some of his relatives, and a 267.37 million civil case against the family, their business associates Fe Roa Gimenez and Ignacio Gimenez, and other cronies. In December, the government ordered close associates of the late strongman Marcos to return to the government ill-gotten wealth from their shares in Eastern Telecommunications Philippines, Inc., which the PCGG valued at around 2.95 billion. But on the same month, Sandiganbayans fourth division junked a 200-billion forfeiture case against former President Ferdinand Marcos, his widow Imelda Marcos, his children Bongbong, Senator Imee Marcos, Irene Marcos and Constante Rubio, a close associate of the former president, for lack of sufficient evidence. READ: Sandiganbayan junks 200-B ill-gotten wealth case against Marcos family Reynold Munsayac, acting chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, said in November 2016 that there were a total of 282 pending cases in relation to an estimated $10 billion (roughly 500 billion today) that the late President Marcos and his family allegedly stole from government coffers during his two-decade regime. It is not clear how many cases remain pending following the recenly dismissed court cases. The search for Marcos' stolen wealth has so far yielded only 170 billion in jewelry, paintings, real estate properties, company assets, and cash, according to the PCGG. READ: Timeline: Jewels, properties, and billions of Marcos ill-gotten wealth The jewels recovered from the family could have financed the four-year college education of about 2,000 students, provided electricity to over 2,000 households and funded for the treatment of over 12,000 tuberculosis patients alone, the PCGG said, READ: Look: Marcoses ill-gotten jewels and how these could have helped Filipinos Not yet cleared of abuses The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said on Friday that despite Marcos' claims, the dismissal of civil forfeiture cases involving the Marcoses does not clear them from the abuses they committed during Martial Law. "The recent call to revise Philippine history books to absolve the Marcos family from all the atrocities and corruptions they perpetrated is a direct affront to the thousands of victims of human rights violations under the authoritarian rule," CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia told CNN Philippines. "Moving forward, the CHR, together with national agencies and academic institutions, shall strengthen its efforts to integrate in our education curriculum the lessons from Martial Law and the actual events that transpired to remind the younger generations of the people's aspirations and struggles for freedom during the dark period of Marcos rule," she added. The government released funds until December 2019 from the recovered Marcos ill-gotten wealth to martial law human rights victims. The rights reparation law set aside around P10 billion to cover operations and implement martial law memorialization. READ: Fund for martial law reparations extended A recent lesson plan released by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, in collaboration with the New York Times, asks students to choose a historical document that interests them and to read through it. Next, the assignment instructs them to erase parts of the document that they do not like or believe in. The lesson plan, Erasure Poetry: Highlighting Inequities, Envisioning Liberation, explains that erasure poems can be a way of reclaiming and reshaping historical documents; they can lay bare the real purpose of the document or transform it into something wholly new. How will you highlight inequityor envision liberationthrough your erasure poem? The Declaration of Independence as well as the 13th Amendment are among the documents suggested by the Pulitzer Center for the exercise, marked as appropriate for students of all grades. The lesson plan is one of dozens provided by the Pulitzer Center to promote a major initiative launched by the Times on August 16, The 1619 Project. The aim, according to the Times, is to fundamentally change the way American history is understood and taught. A sample of erasure poetry created by students taught the 1619 Project curriculum (Credit: Twitter, @CMcGeeIII) The authors of the project concentrate their arguments on the premise that all problems can only be understood through the prism of white America and black America, seeing racial division, rather than class conflict, as the fundamental and abiding conflict in US history and in the present. The World Socialist Web Site has taken the lead in rebutting the historical falsifications of the Times project. The WSWS coverage has included a series of in-depth historical analyses, interviews with leading historians of the American Revolution and Civil War, and a comprehensive reply to the Times defense of the project. Poisoning the Well: Schools across the US adopt the NYT 1619 Project Despite the criticisms directed at the Times from historians, major efforts are underway to establish the 1619 Project as the official narrative of American history in schools and academic institutions. Chicago Public Schools was among the first districts to announce that the 1619 Project would be provided as a supplemental resource at every one of the systems high schools. Thanks to our partners at the Pulitzer Center, every CPS high school will receive 200400 copies of the New York Times The 1619 Project this week as a resource to help reframe the institution of slavery, and how were still influenced by it todayfrom the workforce management system created to harness enslaved labor and the incredible wealth that came from its unsparing efficiency to the music that you may very well be listening to now, Chicago Public School CEO Janice Jackson announced in September. So far, five additional districts have committed to rewriting their curriculum around the project, including Washington, D.C.; Buffalo, New York; and Newark, New Jersey. Some districts have gone a step further by developing special programs wholly dedicated to a study of the project. The Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY, which serves K5 students, is working to secure a federal Title 3 grant to fund the creation of an after-school enrichment program based on the project. The immense effort being made to ensure that copies of the project are distributed to school children should raise serious red flags. Many of these school systems are among the most poorly funded in the country. Just last fall, Chicago educators went on strike to demand increases in wages, funding to fix and repair decrepit and decaying school buildings, lower class sizes and the hiring of desperately needed support staffnone of which was realized. However, the dissemination of the 1619 Project is fully funded. In addition to the material resources provided to the schools, the projects creator and leading author, Nikole Hannah-Jones, has been dispatched on a speaking tour, attending university and college campuses throughout the country. The effort has been funded in part by the Pulitzer Center. However, some major corporations have also been involved, including Shell Oil, which sponsored a recent appearance of Hannah-Jones in Houston, Texas. The 1619 Project will also be the basis for a series of books for readers of all ages. The series of books will include an expanded version of the magazine issue, including fiction essays and poetry as well as a graphic novel, and four 1619 Project publications for young people. The publication of the books is being overseen by Hannah-Jones and by Jake Silverstein, editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine. What is being taught in the NYT 1619 School Curriculum? The foundational lesson plan presented by the Pulitzer Center, Exploring the idea of America, by Nikole Hannah Jones is designed to introduce Hannah-Jones essay and the 1619 Project to students. Hannah-Jones essay, along with all the other 1619 material, is presented to teachers and students not as one narrative among many, but as verified fact. Indeed, the material doubles down on many of the widely discredited historical assertions made in the project. One set of questions, for example, asks students to support the claim that the country was founded as a slavocracy: What examples of hypocrisy in the founding of the U.S. does Hannah-Jones supply? What evidence can you see for how some might argue that this nation was founded not as a democracy but as a slavocracy? Another set of reading questions from the same lesson plan prompts students to expand on the projects portrayal of the leaders of the American revolution and Civil War as racists: What picture does Hannah-Jones paint of major figures in classical U.S. history, such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln? Did you learn new information about them from her essay? If so, why do you think this information wasnt included in other resources from which you have learned about U.S. history? Present throughout the Pulitzer Center material is the insistence on the fundamental division of the country along racial lines. In one exercise, students are instructed to investigate the contributions of Black America; In another, students are asked to carefully consider a quote from the essay: Out of our unique isolation, both from our native cultures and from white America, we forged this nations most significant original culture.; Yet another asks, How does Hannah-Jones expand on this quote from sociologist Glenn Bracey: Out of the ashes of white denigration, we gave birth to ourselves? Other lesson plans include Mapping Your Communitys Connection to Slavery, in which students are to pick an article from the project and use it to develop a pitch for a news story about how this topic intersects with race in your community. The curriculum is designed to inculcate in a new generation of workers a divisive racialist historical, and by extension political, worldview. All problems are to be explained by an endemic conflict between the races that we still cannot purge from this nation to this day, as Hannah-Jones puts it. The resources for the projects nation-wide mass marketing and distribution effort have come from its co-sponsor, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a Washington D.C. based non-profit founded in 2006 to support journalists, stories, and workplaces that represent and illuminate diversity and inclusion in all forms. The function of the Pulitzer Center has been to legitimize the dissemination of the project as a credible historical work throughout the US education system. Funding for the Pulitzer Center comes from a wide range of sources. A number of billionaire philanthropic foundations, such as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Carnegie Foundation of New York, appear on its donor list, as well as other well connected companies such as BDT Capital Partners, a long-standing partner of Goldman Sachs, which handles the finances of the rich. With the help of the Pulitzer Center, the 1619 Project was launched in September with a fully developed school curriculum based on the projects initial 18 essays. The school curriculum was immediately made available for public use from the Pulitzer Center website. The extensive set of materials are designed for children of all ages, from elementary school through college. Throughout the Times articles and the subsequent media blitz that accompanied the project, teachers and educational staff around the country were encouraged to adopt the project and use the material, presented as authoritative historical journalism, in their classrooms. The New York Times has taken it upon themselves to re-write school curriculum, without any oversight or input from leading historians who have spent their entire careers dedicated to the study of such history. They ignore decades of historiography of the Revolution and Civil War, which have been subject to intense and rigorous scholarly debate. The decision to go forward with this project, and to promote so emphatically, is bound up with the immense social changes taking place in the US and around the world. Young people are moving to the left. They are more politically engaged, less patriotic, and increasingly identifying as socialists. This radicalization is taking place alongside a massive growth of the class struggle internationally. These initial struggles have terrified the ruling classes of every country. It is in this context that the 1619 Project must be understood. This is the response of the ruling class to the growth of the class struggle. They are working to systematically push racialist politics in order to divide and disorient the working class. JNU students' union president Aishe Ghosh on Friday met MHRD secretary Amit Khare and demanded that Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar should be removed from his office as their faith in him has completely "eroded". Addressing a press conference here after the meeting, Ghosh said that the JNUSU office bearers discussed issues of varsity students with MHRD. "We told them the incident of January 5 is painful for us. We demanded that Vice-Chancellor is not capable to handle the safety and security of the varsity. MHRD should take immediate cognizance of what JNU has faced for four years due to Vice-Chancellor. They should immediately remove Vice-Chancellor... Our faith in VC has completely eroded," she told reporters here. "MHRD told us that they will come out with a circular. A letter will be out that students will not have to pay utility and services. MHRD assured that they would positively intervene in the matter," Ghosh said. Meanwhile, MHRD has asked Universal Grants Commission (UGC) to bear the cost of service and utility charges for the hostel residents in JNU. Ghosh also accused Delhi Police of bias, saying she did not carry out any assault during violence at the campus on January 5 and had evidence that she was attacked. Her remarks came after Delhi Police identified nine suspects including her in connection with the vandalism and violence which had broken out in the JNU campus. "Has any video been released where I can be seen with rods and wearing masks? I cannot become a suspect because they have named me. They should also have to prove it... They don't have any evidence," Ghosh said. "I have full faith in the law and hoped that the investigation will be fair. I will get justice. But why is Delhi Police biased? My complaint has not been filed as an FIR. I have not carried out any assault," she said. On January 5, a masked mob entered the JNU campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods which left several of them injured. Earlier, Delhi Police has filed two separate FIRs against Aishe Ghosh for allegedly vandalising server room of the JNU and attacking staff members. Ghosh said that the ministry has assured that they will have positive intervention in the matter and release a circular on the issue soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) January 9, 2020 Chris Cole, Marketing Assistant Kasiska Division Animal Assisted Intervention and Crisis Response POCATELLO - Anyone who owns a pet knows that animals can provide an immense amount of comfort during difficult times. But what about when youre in the hospital, or going through speech therapy, or even visiting with a counselor? Thats where Idaho State Universitys Leslie Stewarts work comes in. Stewart, associate professor of counseling, was previously involved in creating a set of core competencies for animal-assisted intervention providers. The competency set she authored was officially adopted by the American Counseling Association in 2016. Stewart is currently working with the American Psychological Association and other animal-assisted intervention organizations to adapt the competencies for use by professionals in multiple health care and human service disciplines as well. Stewart also works closely with Pet Partners, a national group that provides training and support for volunteer therapy animals and their human handlers. Stewart is one of only a handful of experts in the nation in this newly developing field of health care. The ISU Department of Counseling recently added a highly specialized animal assisted interventions certificate program to their list of offerings for counseling students, as well as students in related health care and human service programs. Stewart said she was thrilled to work with so many other professionals in this field during a recent Pet Partners conference in San Antonio, Texas, where she spoke as a subject matter expert on animal-assisted crisis response, which blends animal-assisted interventions with traditional crisis response approaches. Pet Partners also announced the launch of a new, nationwide Animal Assisted Crisis Response program, which Stewart helped design. Stewart served as a subject matter expert during the development of the program, and helped create some of the training curriculum. It was such a privilege, Stewart said. It can be really isolating to be a professional in this work, because theres just not that many of us. Its not like I can just pop into my colleagues office and run some animal-assisted therapy specific ideas by them. Stewart says much of these programs are focused on training a human to be able to understand the animals needs and facilitate a safe and beneficial interaction. I dont train the animals to know, because they do. Its more important that I get trained to listen and recognize their communication. Through this work, appropriately trained counselors, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, teachers and other health care professionals would be able to work with a specially prepared and evaluated animal to help their clients meet their goals. Stewart says that therapy animal volunteer visiting can also be important to some patients, but that many kinds of animal help has become romanticized. That misunderstanding does our field a great disservice, because it doesnt appreciate us for who and what we are, Stewart said. Because animals are familiar to us, and everyone has the thats so cute reaction, we dont stop to think this is an intervention that requires an awful lot of training. There are nine types of animals that are eligible for evaluation as a potential therapy animal partner for a professional healthcare provider. These include dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and guinea pigs, but other not-so-common animals, including some parrots, llamas and alpacas, and rats. Stewart says the animal doesnt need to be trained to do specific tasks, but is rather assessed for temperament, suitability and genuine enjoyment of human work environments. Do they enjoy the work? Stewart asked, pointing out that its just as important for an animal to feel the desire to help as it is for a human. I mean, its a lot for a rabbit to get carted in a car and brought in here with new people and new sounds all day. The new courses in Stewarts certificate program curriculum have been endorsed by Pet Partners and several other leaders in animal-assisted interventions. This years courses will begin in the summer of 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:56:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Lu Rui NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- In 1950, Myanmar established diplomatic ties with China. Now, 70 years later, bilateral ties are embracing a new opportunity for development as Chinese President Xi Jinping is to pay a state visit to the Southeast Asian country on Jan. 17-18. As Xi's first overseas tour in 2020, as well as his first trip to Myanmar as the Chinese head of state, the visit is a testimony to China's resolve to boost the two nations' "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship, forge stronger ties with its close neighbor and contribute to building a shared future of development and prosperity in the region. As neighboring countries, China and Myanmar share a border of around 2,200 km and have a long history of people-to-people exchanges. In 1954, leaders of China, Myanmar and India initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the spirit of which has become a worldwide consensus. The steady development of China-Myanmar ties is a demonstration of how to follow the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in others' internal affairs, mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. In recent years, China has maintained good momentum for high-level contact and consolidated political mutual trust with the Southeast Asian country. Xi has met on several occasions with Myanmar's leaders, with important consensus being reached on advancing the China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era. China has, as always, attached great importance to promoting common development with its neighboring nations on the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. Meanwhile, Myanmar gives priority to enhancing its ties with China. In 2016, soon after taking office as Myanmar's state counselor, Aung San Suu Kyi chose China as the first country to visit outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Being economically complementary, China has become Myanmar's largest trading partner and important source of foreign investment, as bilateral economic and trade cooperation continue to deepen. A top priority for the Myanmar government is to drive economic growth and improve people's well-being. China is more than willing to share its experience and know-how in combating poverty and building infrastructure, in an effort to promote win-win cooperation and seek common development with its neighbors. The two neighbors are actively facilitating mutually beneficial projects, including oil and gas pipelines, port construction within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and accelerating the development of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. It is in the fundamental interests of both countries to enhance China-Myanmar brotherly bonds and seek practical cooperation, which in turn will contribute to building a shared future in the Asia-Pacific region. As the old Chinese proverb goes, "A good neighbor is better than a far-dwelling relative." Against the backdrop of wide-ranging global challenges and uncertainties worldwide, it is China's unswerving commitment to work with its neighbors to safeguard regional stability and bring positive energy to the drive towards building an open world economy. In the new year, the two nations are now ready to fulfil their full potential for mutually beneficial cooperation and make greater contributions to regional development and prosperity. The family of a missing firefighter say they are 'utterly devastated and completely heartbroken' after a body was found on Friday. The body of a man believed to be Anthony Knott was recovered from the River Ouse at Newhaven in East Sussex, police said. The 33-year-old father-of-four, from Orpington, disappeared on December 20 after going to a pub in Lewes with colleagues. The family of missing firefighter Anthony Knott say they are 'utterly devastated and completely heartbroken' after a body was found on Friday In an emotional statement his family said his story had 'touched the hearts of thousands of people' and thanked everyone who had helped in the search. Mr Knott left The Lamb in Fisher Street at around 7.16pm and was captured on CCTV approximately half an hour later walking nearby. Large-scale searches were carried out in an effort to find Mr Knott in the weeks that followed, with Sussex Police deploying boats, dogs, drones and helicopters. Lucy Otto and her fiance Anthony Knott, a 33-year-old father-of-four from Orpington in Kent However, on Friday police announced that a body believed to be Mr Knott had been recovered after a member of the public called Sussex Police. In a statement posted on Facebook, Mr Knott's family said: 'We are utterly devastated and completely heartbroken. 'Anthony's story has reached out and touched the hearts of thousands of people. 'We would like to thank everyone for your incredible support, shares, posters, volunteers and donations. Mr Knott was seen walking along Market Street towards The Lamb at 7.41pm on December 20 Searches of the River Ouse in Lewes for missing firefighter Mr Knott on December 23 Mr Knott left The Lamb in Fisher Street (pictured) at around 7.16pm and was captured on CCTV approximately half an hour later walking nearby 'The people of Lewes, we will be forever grateful for your support & understanding during our searches. 'These three weeks have been so very hard for us all. 'We now want to take some time as a family to grieve and as I am sure everyone will understand, to respect our privacy for this time.' Detective Inspector Mark Rosser said: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Anthony at this difficult time. 'We too are saddened by this update and would ask the public and media to respect the family's privacy at this time. 'We would like to thank the public for their tremendous support with our investigation into the disappearance of Anthony, along with our partner agencies and volunteers who assisted with the search.' Police carried out extensive searches on foot and in the River Ouse for 12 days, but called them off on January 1. Mr Knott had been on a work night out with 12 fellow London firefighters, and police said there was nothing to suggest he had left the town. Sussex Police divers are pictured combing the River Ouse in the hunt for missing firefighter Anthony Knott who disappeared from a pub in Lewes on December 20 Speaking last week, his fiancee Lucy Otto told Sky News: 'I just feel numb... it's very strange. It's the not knowing, it's terrible. I don't understand how someone can just walk out a pub and disappear. 'There's no eyewitness statements, there's not much CCTV, there's nothing really to go on. And to be gone for this long, I just don't get it, I just do not understand it. 'I know the weather was really bad that day and there was bad flooding, I don't know if he's tried to come home and come across some water and hurt himself. But there's been search and rescue teams looking for him.' She added that they had been 'really excited' for Christmas and had been looking forward to 'fun, family time'. She called for anyone in the vicinity of the pub to contact police with any details they can remember. In a direct message to her fiance, she added: 'If... you're worried and you're thinking, 'Oh I can't come home, this is too big now', honestly, you don't realise how many people want you back regardless of the situation you left in - if that is the case. So just come home, please just come home.' London Fire Brigade Commissioner Andy Roe, said: 'I'm saddened to hear the news about Firefighter Anthony Knott. All our thoughts remain with his family, friends and colleagues. This is understandably extremely difficult for Firefighter Knott's family and I ask that we all respect their privacy.' T wo young men are fighting for life and another was seriously injured after two separate knife attacks in east London within hours of each other. Officers were called to Forest Lane, Forest Gate, shortly before midnight on Thursday night following reports of a stabbing. Two men, aged 19 and 23, were found with multiple injuries and rushed to hospital. Police said they are both in a critical but stable condition. A 17-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is in police custody. He was rushed to hospital where his condition was initially described as critical. His injuries are no longer believed to be life-threatening and he is said to be in a stable condition. There have so far been no arrests, police said. Investigations continue into both incidents and Section 60 stop and search warrants have been issued in the boroughs of Waltham Forest and Newham until later today. Anyone with information on the Forest Gate attack is asked to contact police on quoting the reference CAD8578/09JAN. Photo: Suzie Tremmel/Flickr If the playground, park and movie routine is getting a little tired, why not do something different with the kids this week? From a monster jam to dance lessons, these events will win approval from everyone in the family. 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. Monster Jam Triple Threat Series From the event description: The most action-packed motorsports experience for families in the world today returns to Charlotte for another high-octane weekend. When: Saturday, Jan. 11, 1-3 p.m. Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St. Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Up to 52% Off Scavenger Hunt Walking Adventure From the Operation City Quest deal description: This digital family-friendly scavenger hunt game sends teams through the city competing to find items and complete challenges with the help of a remote guide. Where: Operation City Quest, 100 N. Tryon St., Uptown Price: $19 for Two (52% discount off regular price); $39 for Four (51% discount off regular price); $59 for Six (50% discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to score this deal Up to 62% Off Zombie Scavenger Challenge From the Zombie Scavengers deal description: Teams complete challenges and scavenge the city in search of supplies that will allow them to survive a zombie apocalypse. Where: Zombie Scavengers, 100 N. Tryon St., Uptown Price: $15 for One Team (62% discount off regular price); $29 for Two Teams (61% discount off regular price); $39 for Three Teams (60% discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to score this deal Up to 54% Off Children's Dance Classes From the South End Fine Arts Academy deal description: Students of all experience levels are welcome, but no experience is necessary. Dance classes are held once a week, and each session lasts 45 minutes to one hour. Where: South End Fine Arts Academy, 1117 South Blvd. Price: $29 for One Month of Dance Classes for One Child (51% discount off regular price); $55 for One Month of Dance Classes for Two Children (54% discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to nab this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 17:38:56|Editor: zh Video Player Close BLANTYRE, Malawi, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Malawian President Peter Mutharika had pardoned 184 prisoners as part of the 2019 Christmas celebrations, a government official said on Thursday. According to a press statement by the Ministry of Homeland Security, the prisoners who had been pardoned are those who were charged with minor offences and have demonstrated good behaviour reform. The press statement said the pardon of 184 prisoners by the president is an act of showing mercy during the festive season. A total of 568 prisoners had been pardoned in 2019, data showed. Reports indicate that Malawi's prisons are at about 260 percent of its required capacity with 14,778 inmates occupying spaces designed for 5,680. Written and directed by Dan Krauss The Kill Team, written and directed by Dan Krauss, is a fictionalized version of the events known as the Maywand District murders, the killing and mutilation of unarmed Afghan civilians carried out by US soldiers in the Maywand District in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan in 2010. The Kill Team Krauss first feature film follows on the former photojournalists harrowing 2013 documentary, also titled The Kill Team. The Maywand atrocities were carried out by a platoon from the Fifth Stryker Brigade, Second Infantry Division, based at Lewis-McChord Army Base near Seattle, Washington. The WSWS review of Krauss documentary noted that in a four-month period in 2010, the so-called Kill Team platoon carried out three murders of Afghan civilians for sport and kept finger and leg bones, a tooth and a skull as grisly trophies in one of the most widely publicized cases of American criminality in Afghanistan Its known victims were Gul Mudin, age 15; Marach Agha, age 22; and Mullah Allah Dad, age 45. American military officials later revealed they believed Marach Agha was deaf or mentally handicapped. However, at a time when the general violence of US imperialism has dangerously increased and its wars in the Middle East and elsewhere are more unpopular than ever, Krauss has made a weaker film. To its credit, the 2013 documentary revealed through its interviews with soldiers that US occupation forces in Afghanistan routinely murdered civilians in the course of the neo-colonial war obscenely dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom. By contrast, the new fiction film tends to suggest that the Kill Team was an aberrational exception in Americas otherwise praiseworthy fighting force. One has to assume that Krauss, not holding deep-going opposition to the status quo, has listened to externaland perhaps internalvoices telling him to adapt to political and commercial pressures and to accommodate himself to the Pentagon. The movie opens in 2009 in Afghanistans Kandahar Valley. A naive, gung-ho Army private, Andrew Briggman (Nat Wolff), comes to realize the horrifying fact that members of his unit, including Rayburn (Adam Long), are murdering innocent Afghan civilians. The bloodlust only increases when the squad comes under the command of Staff Sgt. Deeks (Alexander Skarsgard), a veteran of three tours of duty who believes American forces are in Afghanistan to kill the towelheads, and the rest of the depraved animals. He turns every mission into a sadistic safari. (We kill people. Thats what we do.) Nat Wolff and Alexander Skarsgard in The Kill Team Proving his point, Deeks slaughters a random Afghan, planting a weapon by the victims corpse. (Whos ready to have some fun?) The morally conflicted Briggman, initially under the influence of his commanding officer, shouts at one point: F--- those motherf---ers. Id like to see their whole country burn, man. Every village. Every goddamn house. Every bush, every tree. I just want to see this whole f---ing country burn to the ground. This is the mindset promoted by Deeks, but when Briggman begins to waver and communicate his misgivings to his father (played by Rob Morrow), he runs the risk of becoming a casualty himself. The Kill Team focuses on Briggmans internal struggles, placing the savagely abused Afghan civilian population in the background. Again, probably in the supposed interests of marketing, the filmmakers have decided to create dramatic tension by emphasizing Briggmans fears for his own life, legitimate as they may be, at the expense of a scathing exposure of US war crimes. In an attempt to make Briggman complicit in the units civilian murders, Deeks forces the reluctant private to shoot a villager in cold blood. During a target practice scene, a paranoid Briggman fears being slain by his own team. The 2013 documentary was more forthright. In that work, one of the interviewed American soldiers says bluntly: Youre training us from the day we join to the day youre out [of the army] to kill. Your job is to kill. Your job is to kill everything thats in your way. Well, then why the hell are you pissed off when we do it? The same soldier, claiming that US military murders in Afghanistan are ubiquitous, asserts: Were just the ones that got caught. The new movies postscript explains that: In 2010, five US army soldiers were charged with the premeditated murder of Afghan civilians. One of the accused, a young recruit pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter. At the trial, he testified against his staff sergeant who insisted the killings are justified. The young recruit was sentenced to three years. His staff sergeant was sentenced to life. The Kill Team exposes a few of the psychopathic actions of a group of US soldiers, but it is neither consistently anti-war nor anti-military. Krauss makes legitimate points in the movies production notes about the troops responsible for the Maywand crimes, noting that for a young person of 18, 19, 20 years old to go to a place as unfamiliar as southern Afghanistanits almost as if theyve been transported to another planet. For a lot of these soldiers, its the first time theyve been out of the country. US soldiers in The Kill Team Yes, but why were they sent there? The appropriate conclusion should be to place the blame for the world-historical crimes committed in Afghanistanhundreds of thousands killed, millions displaced and a society destroyedat the feet of the US military command and Americas rulers, driven by geopolitical interests, as a whole. But in an interview with Forbes, Krauss asserts: One of the highlights of my career was being invited to West Point [the US military academy] to show the documentary with Adam Winfield, the subject [of the documentary]. I was astonished by the eagerness and openness of the military academy and cadets to try to understand what went wrong and hopefully take some learning from that and not see it as an attack on the military, which is not The vast majority of soldiers are true blue, but just like with any organization or any system, there are bad apples. In the military, the bad apples, they have guns and so it can lead to dangerous things. Deeks is the personification of obsessive, homicidal criminality, but it is the drive by the US ruling elite to dominate the globe that creates the conditions where individual psychosis and sadism inevitably flourish. Crimes like his, and far worse ones, are the hallmark of all imperialist wars of conquest against impoverished and oppressed nations. Donald Trump now threatens the Middle East with a catastrophic war in the wake of his mass killings in Iraq and Syria, and, most recently, the targeted assassination of an Iranian general. But he follows a long line of presidents, both Democratic and Republican, and their accomplices who should be in the dock charged as war criminals. It is this starker reality to which Krauss and The Kill Team significantly close their eyes. The US House resolution restricting US President Donald Trumps right to use force against Iran undermines Tehrans ability to counter terrorist activity, said the Deputy White House Press Secretary, Hogan Gidley. According to him, Trump has a right and duty to defend the nation from terrorism, Washington Times reported. Thats what he continues to do, and the world is safer for it, he said. This House resolution tries to undermine the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to prevent terrorist activity by Iran and its proxies, and attempts to hinder the presidents authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats. These congressional actions are completely misguided. The US House of Representatives approved a resolution restricting Trumps powers in the use of armed forces against Iran without the appropriate permission from lawmakers. The initiative was approved by 224 congressmen, 194 legislators spoke out against. The document was supported by three Republicans, while eight Democrats opposed. The situation on Iran worsened after the US strike in the Baghdad airport area on the night of January 3, which killed the commander of the special forces Al-Quds of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps General Qasem Soleimani. Tehran, in turn, launched a missile attack on two objects in Iraq that the US military used - Ain Assad Air Base and Erbil airport. The railway between Mali and Senegal will soon be operational, Senegalese President Macky Sall has announced in his new year address to the nation earlier this week. Mali has signed an agreement with China Railway Construction Corp to renovate a rail line linking its capital Bamako to the border with neighboring Senegal. The rail will cost nearly $2 billion. The project is part of a plan to upgrade the ageing railway between Senegals coastal capital Dakar and landlocked Mali. China Railway Construction also penned a similar agreement worth $1.26 billion with Senegal. According to President Macky Sall, the project is urgent and essential for the emergence by 2035. The Dakar-Bamako line was conceived in the late 19th century in the heyday of Frances colonial era as a means to haul valuable commodities from the heart of its African possessions and link Malithen called French Sudanto the distant coast. A quarter of a century went by as engineers and armies of colonial workers carved out the track from scorched terrain, before the line was inaugurated in 1924. The railway line was once a source of pride for both Senegal and Mali. However, in May 2018 the money to maintain the route between the capitals ran out and the trains stopped running. What you need to know today in Vietnam: Politics -- Vietnam is developing an e-government and cyber security so the country wants to cooperate with Japan in these fields, the Vietnam News Agency quoted Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as saying on Thursday. -- Vietnam is ready to take citizen protection measures when necessary given recent tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said during a regular meeting in Hanoi on Thursday. Society -- Authorities in Tay Ninh Province, located in southern Vietnam, found nine decomposing skeletons in a rubber plantation following a tip-off by a local on Thursday. -- The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court on Thursday sentenced Piek Bunthoeurn, a Cambodian citizen, to 18 months in prison for killing a person in a crash in the city in 2017 and running away. -- Police in Nghe An Province, located in north-central Vietnam, arrested a driver for carrying 840kg of firecrackers, two leopard carcasses, and other wildlife parts in his sleeper bus bearing a Laos number plate while he was steering it on a local road. -- Vietnamese firms have been required to cease sending migrant workers to the Middle East amid tensions between Washington and Tehran in the region, according to Minister of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung. Business -- Coca-Cola Vietnam has been required to pay over VND821 billion (US$35.4 million) in fines and tax arrears, a source told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday. -- Supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City are flooded with Tet gift baskets to serve surging demand for celebrations as the Lunar New Year is just two weeks away. Sports -- Vietnam will play the UAE in their Group D opener at 5:15 pm on Friday at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in Thailand. The game will be broadcast live on national TV channel VTV6. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Labour leadership outsider Clive Lewis launched an astonishing attack on fellow party MPs today, accusing them of failing to back his bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn party because he is black. The Norwich South MP said that racism 'might be a factor' in his failure to attract more than a handful of backers from the parliamentary party, as he launched his campaign in south London. Mr Lewis, 48, a former journalist and soldier, is currently last among the six-strong fields to become the next leader. The politician, whose father was from Grenada in the West Indies, has been nominated by just four MPs, with 22 needed by Monday to progress to the next round. In contrast, the leadership front-runner Sir Keir Starmer already has the support of 62. Speaking in Brixton this morning Mr Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister, said that 'structural' racism and sexism were 'a reality of our society'. 'The PLP - the Parliamentary Labour Party - isn't immune from the same forces that affect everyone within our society,' he added. 'It's possible to be in the PLP and be sexist and be racist in some ways as part of those structural issues. 'Do I think that's the only reason that I'm on the nominations that I am? No. 'I think it's more complex than just saying it is because I'm black. 'That might be a factor, but I wouldn't sit here and say it was the only one. 'I think the other factor is that I am saying some things that no other candidates are talking about.' Mr Lewis, 48, (pictured this morning) a former journalist and soldier, is currently last among the six-strong fields to become the next leader Mr Lewis said he was confident he would make the 22-nomination threshold as 100 MPs had yet to declare. Newly-elected Corbynista MPs swooped in behind Rebecca Long Bailey last night to get her through the next round of the battle to become the new Labour leader. Shadow business secretary Ms Long Bailey, 40, seen as the preferred candidate of Mr Corbyn's inner circle, was one of three MPs to pass the 22-nomination threshold to stay in the race to succeed Mr Corbyn in April. Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy also made the cut, joining clear front-runner Sir Keir Starmer. Ms Long Bailey currently has 26 backers, according to figures released by Labour, of whom 15 are MPs who were first elected in December despite the party's humiliation at the hands of voters. Sir Keir Starmer is the clear front runner with the backing of 63 MPs Ms Long Bailey currently has 26 backers, according to figures released by Labour, of whom 15 are MPs who were first elected in December despite the party's humiliation at the hands of voters. The rush of new nominations laves just Mr Lewis and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, struggling to make the cut on four and nine respectively. But it seems like they will be the final six runners, after shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner abandoned a plan to join the race after failing to receive support from his fellow MPs. Candidates who pass the magic number of 22 - 10 per cent of Labour MPs and MEPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party, who total 212 - will then need to secure the backing of 5 per cent of constituency Labour branches or at least three affiliate groups, two of which must be made up of trade unions. Sir Keir has already been backed for leader by Unison, one of the country's largest trade unions. Unite is expected to back Ms Long-Bailey - labelled the 'continuity candidate' by her critics - with the trade union's general secretary Len McCluskey closely aligned with Mr Corbyn. The others in the so-called 'big four' of trade unions - GMB and Usdaw - will be sought after by the remaining candidates, along with other smaller worker representative organisations. Those who fail to secure enough union backing face a trek across the country in the coming weeks to convince constituency Labour Party (CLP) branches to nominate them. New Delhi, Jan 10 : With two months to end the FY20, fiscal disinvestment proceeds have touched Rs 18,094.59 crore till Jan 9, a meagre 17.23% of the target and if this state of affairs remain till March 31, then government would miss the target by a whopping Rs 87,000 crore which is now near impossible to achieve. The target for fiscal 20 is Rs 1.05 lakh crore. Updated figures from DIPAM or the sell-off Ministry shows the sell-off proceeds have touched Rs 18,094.39 crore with the latest addition of RITES Offer For Sale shere government shed 10% stake fetching Rs 730.33 crore. The other disinvestments in FY20 so far have been -- Bharat 22 ETF FFO 2 (Further Funds Offer) at Rs 4,368.80 crore and IRCTC listing fetching Rs 637.97 crore. The CPSE ETF FFO-5 has mopped up Rs 10,000 crore and Rail Vikash Nigam Ltd's IPO received Rs 475.89 crore. In the beginning of the year, Enemy Shares sale had received Rs 1,881.21 crore. DIPAM will be issuing Expression of Interest for Air India in the current fiscal which rules out technically any possibility of the ailing PSU carrier's privatisation this fiscal and the same goes for BPCL strategic sale where such possibilites don't exist. In November, the Cabinet gave in-principle approval for disinvesting stake in 5 blue-chip PSUs, including state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) where a strategic divestment of the government's 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL, along with transfer of certain management control. This is excluding BPCL's equity share holding of 61 per cent stake in Numaligarh Refinery. Apart from BPCL, the government has also approved disinvestment in four other central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), Shipping Corp of India (SCI), Container Corp of India, THDC India and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO). State run NTPC is likely to buy central government stake in NEEPCO and THDC but so far no move has been made by NTPC on this . The government will now try to push through sale of minority stakes, including through exchange-traded funds, to raise revenue. A federal judge upheld Mr. Carsons authority to take those previous steps which is not the same as saying he was wise to do so, much less to issue the Tuesday pronouncement. The history of housing discrimination in this country is in significant part a history of deliberate government policy, not market forces or individual choice. Ghettos such as those in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore, in fact, reflect federal policies of the mid-20th century that made segregation a condition for federal support of various kinds. That was social engineering of the most shameful sort. @kcpolice: "When it's 64 degrees in Kansas City in January, nothing good is going to happen afterward. Keep an eye on the weather for this weekend and stay off the roads when it gets nasty." HOW WILL KANSAS CITY CONFRONT RISING FEAR AND POLITICAL OUTRAGE SPARKED BY GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE?!? Fighting Fire Future Here's how climate change may make Australia's wildfires more common Australia's fire season normally peaks in late January - but as of January 2020, wildfires have already been raging in the country for four months, especially in the east. So far, the fires have destroyed more than 1,300 homes, burned about 6 million hectares and killed at least 24 people. Fueling The Debate As Australia burns, its leaders are clinging to coal The devastating bushfires across Australia have cemented the fact that the country is on the front lines of a major climate-linked disaster, one that scientists saw coming and one that will only get worse from here. The fires have already torched an area larger than West Virginia, destroyed 2,000 homes, and killed at least 26 people since igniting in September. Global Burning Sensation How the world has responded to Australia's fires The world has watched with horror as bushfires have torn across Australia, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The blazes have razed almost 2,000 homes, and killed at least 25 people and hundreds of millions of animals since they began in September. Spitting Hot Fire Celebrities, activists using Australia bushfire crisis to push dangerous climate change myth: Devine Celebrities and posturing greenies the world over have seized the opportunity of Australia's bushfire catastrophe to push the dangerous myth that climate change is to blame. "When one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster," Cate Blanchett declared at the Golden Globes on Sunday. "Make no mistake. Prez Trump Now Believes Trump Admits Climate Change Is 'Not a Hoax' After Proposing Rollback of Environmental Law President Trump said during a White House briefing on Thursday that he is a "big believer" in climate change and that it is "not a hoax" soon after his administration announced a plan to overhaul an environmental policy act. When asked by a White House pool reporter if he believes climate change is a hoax, the president said, "No, no. Can The World Adapt?!? Russian government sees the sunny side in climate change Russia is putting a positive spin on climate change. In a document published on a government website last weekend, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev outlined a "national adaptation plan" that describes the potential benefits of global warming even as the country seeks to cope with its adverse effects. Investing In The Future World's largest asset manager BlackRock joins $41 trillion climate-change investing pact By BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager with more than $6.8 trillion under its control, becomes the latest signatory to Climate Action 100+, an influential big-money pact that's pushing - although with spotty results so far - many of the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitters to take action on man-made climate change. Life Lesson & The Real World The Concession to Climate Change I Will Not Make On one level, my answer to "How can you have a child now?" is simple. I have never been tempted to think we should all stop having children and disappear. Part of the reason climate change is so terrible is the threat it poses to human life and culture, and I want to help them go on. Temperatures soared to the balmy and Spring-like mid-sixties today in Kansas City.Police attempted to spin the nearly record-breaking weather by, once again and continually revealing their desire to file away citizens, encouraging people to stay indoors for the foreseeable future:Meanwhile,and the upcoming ice follies might or might not bring this town to a standstill.Here's a quick overview of predictions for posterity:And so we ask . . .Remember, at the conclusion of last yearand some of them were wearing shorts in December . . .At the very least, hottierevels thatAnd so, we share these worthwhile global climate change news links from "many sides" for further edification:You decide . . . Japan's defence minister issued an order Friday to dispatch a Japanese destroyer and patrol planes to collect information and intelligence in the Middle East to ensure Japanese vessels' safety. More than 80% of Japan's oil imports come from the region. Taro Kono said two P3C reconnaissance aircrafts will depart Saturday and begin its activity in the Middle East waterways from January 20. A destroyer will depart Japan in early February to join the operation later that month. The mission will push through amidst tension between the United States and Iran. In June last year, a Japanese-operated tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman. Washington said Iran was responsible and urged Japan to join the U.S.-led military initiative. Japan is U.S. ally with friendly relations with Iran. (Pic Credit: AP) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:16:22|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ATHENS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A couple of migrants was found dead in bed in their apartment in the center of Athens on Friday in a case of gas heater fumes poisoning, according to preliminary findings, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. The couple originating from Pakistan, aged 55 and 42, were found by their three underage children aged 8, 12 and 17, who were sleeping in next rooms. The three children were examined and found in good health. Investigators suspect a leak from the gas heater. The family had been living in Greece for a decade, owned a store and had just returned from holidays in Pakistan, shocked neighbors told local media such as "Proto Thema" (Top Story). Such incidents are no rare in Greece in recent years as due to high cost of heating oil and electricity, many households have turned to various heaters or fireplaces to keep warm. On Dec. 21, 2019, four migrants were found dead in a house near Athens next to a heating stove due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The largest commitment was by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which committed around 66 per cent of the total investment. Speaking at the meet, which was concluded on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that of the amount, Rs 98,708 crore comes in as direct promise during the two days of ASCEND, while there are a couple of entrepreneurs whom we happened to miss at the event but have expressed their willingness to ... 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 Asserting that there was no unity among people from different communities in the past, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said "identity politics" had affected the growth and development of the state. He said the territorial boundary and integrity of the state will remain intact. "There were absence of collective thought and unity among the communities in the past and identity politics had affected the growth and development of the state," Singh said. There must be unity among people from different communities for peace and prosperity in the state, he said, adding that the long time demand for the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) system has been fulfilled by the Centre. "...put our collective efforts to uphold the integrity of the nation as well as the state," he said while speaking at the 186th death anniversary of Maharaj Gambhir Singh on Thursday. He lauded the sacrifice and courage of Maharaj Gambhir Singh, Nara Singh, Heerachandra and other unsung heroes of the state for independence of Manipur from seven years of Burmese rule from 1819 to 1826. "The supreme sacrifices made by our forefathers towards protecting the integrity of our land should also be included in the school syllabus," he said. The chief minister urged the rebel groups to find an "amicable political solution" with the Centre. Responding to the students' union demand to shift the Assam Rifles (AR) post from Manipur University campus, Singh said he will urge the Centre for this. Singh also pointed out the need for growth in agriculture and horticultural farming in order to curb import dependence of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Obaidul Quader, Bangladeshs minister of road transport and bridges, speaks during a political gathering in Dhaka, Dec. 28, 2019. A Bangladeshi minister said Thursday that expensive-looking watches and clothes he wore in several photos published by a Swedish news outlet were gifts from friends and admirers in other countries. Obaidul Quader, the minister of road transport and bridges, made the statement the same day that New York-based Human Rights Watch called on Bangladeshi authorities to unblock online access to the Sweden-based website after it showed photos of the minister wearing a variety of what appeared to be luxury timepieces. The watches I use are not my own. I did not buy them, [theyre] all gifts, Quader told reporters. If you bring something and give it to me as a gift, what can I do? Come on, these are gifts. There is no relation of corruption with it, the minister added. Quaders comments followed reports that the Sweden-based investigative website Netra News was blocked in Bangladesh days after it published a story and photos from the ministers Facebook page. The report raised questions about his collection of luxury watches and implied that corruption might be involved. According to Netra News, a whistleblower contacted it with the claim that Obaidul Quader prefers to receive bribes in the form of expensive wristwatches. This person was closely involved in a deal linked with the minister, the website reported. Zakir Hossain, spokesman for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, said he did not know about any order to block access to any website. I am not aware of any such move, in fact we didnt know about any such news portal until recently, Hossain told BenarNews, underscoring that his office was merely made aware after receiving calls from reporters seeking comments. BenarNews reporters in Dhaka could not access the news portal. Other online users said it could only be accessed through a proxy server. Tasneem Khalil, chief editor of Netra News, told BenarNews that the website was blocked within 72 hours of publishing the story about Quader. We launched on Dec. 26 and it was accessible for only 72 hours, he said. Netra News, which bills itself as an investigative website, is registered in Sweden. Al Jazeera said a source close to the Department of Telecommunications in Dhaka told an editor at the website that the agency was behind the block. BenarNews could not immediately verify the claim and Quader denied the allegations in the Netra News report, which said that among his watch collection was a Rolex worth almost as much as his annual salary. For Gods sake, I say I havent bought any of those watches or expensive suits, Quader, who is also the secretary-general of the ruling Awami League, told reporters. Our activists abroad presented me [the gifts] out of love, maybe, he said. Recently one of them brought [for me] three coats from Singapore. Quader, 68, is considered one of the most powerful officials in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the ruling party chairwoman. Human Rights Watch alleged that Hasinas government had adopted advanced methods to block or conduct surveillance on internet traffic and regulate online news sites without a sufficient legal framework to protect rights to privacy. It said authorities had previously access to international news sites such as Al Jazeera and The Wire after publishing articles that criticized the government. The Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh continues its march toward authoritarianism, willing only to allow praise, and shutting down criticism, Brad Adams, the watchdogs Asia director, said in a statement. These restrictions disregard the basic principles of free expression and suggest that the government has plenty to hide, he said. Journalists are already self-censoring, fearing retaliation for criticism. Indian politics is majorly about mudslinging women and making sexist remarks and we yet again have an instance that will make you hang your head in shame. Taking a dig at Deepika Padukone's recent JNU visit, senior BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, Gopal Bhargava has made a comment that reeks of misogyny and sexism. In a veiled attack at actor Deepika Padukone for visiting Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Leader of Opposition Mohan Bhargava on Thursday said that "heroines should be in Mumbai and dance". AFP In reply to a question on Deepika's visit to JNU, the BJP leader said, "Heroine should dance in Mumbai. Why should she go to JNU? I do not know. There are many people like her. If they want to do politics then you should enter politics and contest elections." As soon as the BJP leader's comments started going viral on the internet, people started bashing him for his misogynist comments. @dreamgirlhema @KirronKherBJP@smritiirani How your party leader from MP sees you and equates your profession. Will you denounce it??https://t.co/ClRFB2yZ3Q Ajay KAPPS (@ajkapps) January 10, 2020 Ok. But. Sir dont you have to be somewhere? Doing something? Like. A JOB? YOUR JOB! https://t.co/uaif6XZzST Sandhya Mridul (@sandymridul) January 10, 2020 Wow. Every year without fail. One minister has to make at least one misogynistic comment about an actress. https://t.co/GwaXqUGecO Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) January 10, 2020 This is just no way to talk about ministers in your party. So what if theyve been actresses before? Today they are capable members of the governing party ! Sheesh. So sexist! https://t.co/UfHMbt1Fjd TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) January 10, 2020 Its not surprising for the BJP to make sexist remarks. Almost every month they make such remarks and it's quite surprising they get away with it. https://t.co/lZA6ly6o8k Baibhav Mishra() (@mishra_baibhav) January 10, 2020 Government is temporary, BJP politician's class is permanent. https://t.co/XReHKBtefl Sayantan Ghosh (@sayantansunnyg) January 10, 2020 Trash should be in compost and wait to decay. https://t.co/fMUNrtUPra Angellica Aribam (@AngellicAribam) January 10, 2020 This is what Bollywood has got by siding with a bigoted dictator for 6 years! https://t.co/aSSx678ufT via @timesofindia Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) January 10, 2020 Bhargava also referred to former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar who lost the Lok Sabha election to Union Minister Giriraj Singh in Bihar's Begusarai. "Many have fought elections as well. He contested from Begusarai and came in third place," he said. Deepika Padukone's upcoming film Chhapaak which is based on an acid attack survivor is releasing on January 10. On January 7, the actor joined the protest at JNU after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods. A 36-year-old Mexican man took his own life after he was told he could not enter the United States and seek asylum at a border entry point where only vehicles were allowed to pass through. Jesus Garcia Serna was seen Wednesday afternoon walking across the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge that connects the Mexican border city of Reynosa and Pharr, Texas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers informed Garcia Serna that he was not allowed to present his asylum petition at their border post. CBP agents then told Garcia Serna that he had to return back to Mexico. According to various Mexican news outlets, the dejected migrant reportedly drew a knife out of his pant pocket and cut his throat before motorists on the Mexican side could stop him. Scroll down for video Jesus Garcia Serna killed himself Wednesday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers refused to allow him to enter through a vehicular-only border entry point. The 36-year-old walked across Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge that connects the Mexican border city of Reynosa and Pharr, Texas. He was told to return to Mexico and then slit his throat with a knife after motorists attempted to dissuade him Jesus Garcia Serna (pictured in blue) tried to enter the U.S. at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge between the Mexican border city of Reynosa and Pharr, Texas The Tamaulipas prosecutor's office told DailyMail.com on Friday that Garcia Serna's family was contacted and that they were making plans to recover his body. He was born in Mexico City and lived in the State of Mexico before his failed attempt at gaining entry into the U.S. Garcia Serna killed himself on the Mexican side of the bridge, just meters away from the international dividing line. A short, grainy video shared with Reuters by security sources showed Garcia Serna, dressed in a blue shirt, approaching U.S. officials on the bridge and raising a hand to his neck. Photos shared by the source showed the Garcia Serna's body lying in a pool of blood with his throat cut. Reuters could not vouch for the authenticity of the video or photographs. A short, grainy video shared by one of the security sources showed Garcia Serna, dressed in a blue shirt, approaching U.S. officials on the bridge and raising a hand to his neck Jesus Garcia Serna killed himself on a bridge connecting the Mexican border city of Reynosa and Pharr, Texas, after U.S. CBP officers refused to allow him to pass through a vehicular-only border entry point to request asylum Jesus Garcia Serna drew a knife and cut his throat when denied access to the U.S. on Wednesday at about 5pm local time. This image shows a view of the border where the incident occurred DailyMail.com reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment but did not receive and immediate response. The three-mile long bridge is the longest in the world connecting two countries. Many Mexicans who seek refuge in the U.S. say their lives are at risk at home from violent criminal gangs, which have made parts of the country increasingly perilous. Homicides have reached record levels in Mexico during the last two years. President Donald Trump has made tightening border security and reducing illegal immigration at the US-Mexico frontier a priority of his administration. In February of 2017, Guadalupe Olivas Valencia, 45, jumped off a bridge connecting Tijuana and San Ysidro, California, just moments after he had been deported back to Mexico. Three people are suspected of stealing an unknown amount of drugs early Friday from the pharmacy of a Safeway store in Palo Alto, authorities said. The suspects entered the store at 2811 Middlefield Road around 12:38 a.m. and one, brandishing a handgun, ordered an employee to the ground, according to Palo Alto police. A second suspect shattered a glass door to the pharmacy and stole an unknown amount of prescription drugs. Story Highlights 86% of Americans say they're "very" or "fairly happy," a new low Happiness reports down since 2008 among nonwhites, steady among whites Republicans' happiness still high, while Democrats', independents' slides WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The vast majority of Americans report being "very" (42%) or "fairly happy" (44%), but the combined 86% is down from 91% the last time Gallup asked about this, in December 2008. It is also the lowest overall percentage happy Gallup has recorded in periodic readings over 71 years and is only the fifth time happiness has dipped below the 90% mark in 23 readings since 1948. With fewer than nine in 10 Americans feeling happy in the Dec. 2-15 Gallup poll, one in seven (14%) are "not too happy," the highest measured to date. Americans' subdued level of happiness at the end of 2019 fits in with Gallup research finding that Americans' levels of stress and worry reached new heights in 2018, while their self-reported anger matched the previous high. From a global perspective, the incidence of stress in the U.S. was among the highest in the world. And the U.N.'s annual World Happiness Report, which uses Gallup life satisfaction ratings, ranked the U.S. at No. 19 for happiness in the world last year -- down from No. 18 in 2018 and from No. 14 in 2017. Currently, 42% of U.S. adults describe themselves as "very happy" and 44% as "fairly happy." Historically, however, slightly more Americans on average have reported being very happy (47%) than fairly happy (45%). The record for Americans saying they are very happy, 55%, was set in December 2003, a figure that may have been influenced by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's capture, which occurred during the polling period. Who Has Become Less Happy? Gallup trends since 2001 show that happiness was largely similar among racial, education and party subgroups from 2001 to 2008, with a few minor differences noted below. However, more significant gaps are seen in the latest data, as some groups are as happy today as they were in 2008, while others are less likely to say they are happy: Nonwhites: U.S. whites were a bit more likely to report being happy than nonwhites from 2001 to 2008. The difference was particularly acute in 2005, when 10 percentage points separated the two racial groups. That year, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the largely black city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and many black Americans interpreted the federal government's delayed response as rooted in racism. But the racial gap has widened to 14 points in the latest poll. The 91% of whites who report being happy in 2019 is within the 90% to 96% range seen since 2001, while nonwhites' reports of happiness have sunk to a new low of 77%. Adults with no college education: Since 2001, adults with at least some college education have tended to be slightly happier than those without any college experience, but that is especially pronounced in the latest data. While most educational groups are a bit less happy than they were in 2008, happiness is down 12 points to 79% among those with no college education versus only a few points among those with a college degree or postgraduate education. There was no change among those with some college. Democrats and political independents: Democrats and independents were slightly less likely than Republicans to report being happy in Gallup measures from 2001 to 2008, but the gap is much wider today. The 94% of Republicans who now report being happy is squarely within this group's previous range of 92% to 97%, while happiness has dropped from 89% in 2008 to 83% in 2019 among Democrats, and from 91% to 83% among independents. When one looks specifically at the percentage who report being very happy, the gap has widened between Republicans and Democrats. The current 53% of Republicans and 29% of Democrats who report being very happy marks a 24-point spread -- larger than the previous gaps of 5 to 21 points between 2001 and 2008. Bottom Line The vast majority of Americans report being happy today, but the level is slightly diminished in comparison to Gallup's historical trends since 1948. The latest dip in U.S. happiness is likely intertwined with Americans' higher reports of stress, worry and anger. While stress, in particular, is not unique to the U.S., the country stands out on the list of mostly less developed countries where this emotion is most prevalent, as these countries face obstacles and instabilities on levels that Americans have not experienced. View complete question responses and trends. Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. Members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a rally in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and Register of Citizens (NRC) here on Friday. The demonstrators marched towards the secretariat and raised pro-CAA, NRC slogans and demanded the implementation of NRC. Rallies in support of and against CAA and NRC have been held in several parts of the country. The Act grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who fled religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its said that life imitates art or, at least, that certain creative minds have some sort of uncanny psychic prowess. And now that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have made a dramatic declaration of independence from the royal family, the British playwright Mike Bartlett can be added to the list of writers who seem to have a crystal ball on hand. Bartlett wrote King Charles III, a near-future imagining with Shakespearean-level intensity and iambic pentameter to match of what happens when Queen Elizabeth II dies and her son Charles, Prince of Wales, ascends to the throne. The show premiered at Londons Almeida Theater in 2014, followed by a transfer to the West End later that year and a Broadway run in 2015. In Bartletts world, the whole royal family is there: Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge; Prince Charless wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; even the ghost of the real Harrys mother, Diana, Princess of Wales (because whats more Shakespearean than that?). Tudu's free tuition classes are sought after. She has 45 students who come to her every day to study. Geetanjali Krishna meets the young teacher in one of India's poorest villages, winner of the Plan India Youth Champion Award. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Before the last assembly election, a report by a team of public health experts from Harvard University and Tata Trusts placed Singhbhum, the predominantly tribal region in Jharkhand, at the bottom of all Indian constituencies when it came to child nutrition indicators. It estimated that a huge chunk of Singhbhum's underfed children are likely to die young; the ones who survive are likely to have impaired physical and cognitive development and reduced performance levels at school. "This is exactly what I've experienced growing up," said 19-year-old Sarathi Tudu from village Dombautiya in Singhbhum. "Boys my age drop out to work, girls to get married at 14 or 15." Young Tudu somehow turned out to be different, although coming from a poor, single-parent family, her home situation was less than stable. "I've always seen my mother work hard as an agricultural labourer to support my younger brother and me," she said. "From a young age, I've felt that perhaps if she'd been to school, she'd have been able to earn better wages without working so hard." Two years ago, the young girl joined a local NGO Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra as a peer educator. "My role was to motivate my peers to continue their schooling," she said. "My family found it peculiar that I would go door to door and even address public functions -- but I didn't pay attention to them!" Tudu's efforts have had quite an impact on her village. She's been able to convince three dropouts to return to school. Her free tuition classes are sought after (she has 45 students who come to her every day to study). A vocal proponent of gender equality, she spends much of her time counselling parents to invest in their daughters's education. At her behest, two families have sent their daughters to private school. Tudu also volunteers as a substitute teacher in the local government school. Seeing her enthusiasm, other young people have also joined the effort. Today, there are hardly any instances of child marriage and even child labour in Dombautiya. "Often I ask my students what they'll do when I'm not here," she says. "They tell me they'll carry on the work I'm doing and that makes me feel so good." Presently pursuing a diploma in computer application, Tudu somehow manages to balance her volunteer teaching work and studies. Her faculty has already offered her a teaching position after she completes the course and she's confident that she'll be able to continue her activities even after she starts working. "Eventually, I'd like to become a school teacher," she said. "For in an underdeveloped region like Singhbhum, education is the only key for us to unlock the doors to success," Some of her students pay her what they can, and with these earnings, Tudu now supports her younger brother's schooling. She still nurses the dream of earning enough money so that her mother can stop working. Being a peer educator has changed her life, she said. In Delhi to receive the Plan India Youth Champion Award, she was raring to go back and resume her good work. "I've made it my mission to ensure that all my peers finish school so that they can have a shot at better careers," she told me. "In the process, perhaps I will become successful too." The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) dispute settlement body has set up a panel to examine the US complaint against India which had increased customs duties on 28 American goods last year. The US in July had dragged India to the WTO by filing a complaint against New Delhi's move to increase customs duties, alleging the decision as inconsistent with the global trade norms. According to a communication of the Geneva-based WTO, the dispute settlement body has established a panel "to examine the matter referred by the US". The US had alleged that the additional duties imposed by India "appears to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to the US directly or indirectly" under the GATT 1994. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a WTO pact, signed by all member countries of the multi-lateral body, aims to promote trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers like customs duties. The US had also alleged that the duties imposed by India appears to be inconsistent with two norms of GATT. It had stated that India does not impose these duties on products originating in the territory of any other WTO member nation. As per the WTO's dispute settlement process, the request for consultations is the first step in a dispute. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations fail to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel. The US has rolled back export incentives from India under its GSP programme and New Delhi has imposed higher customs duties on 28 American products including almond, pulses, walnut, chickpeas, boric acid and binders for foundry moulds. The other products on which duties were hiked include certain kind of nuts, iron and steel products, apples, pears, flat rolled products of stainless steel, other alloy steel, tube and pipe fittings, and screws, bolts and rivets. The duties were hiked as retaliation to the US move to impose the highest customs duties on certain steel and aluminium goods. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were at $26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India. At least two people were killed and six others sustained injuries after a 12-year old opened fire inside a school in the Mexican city of Torreon on Friday, local media reported. The assailant, a sixth-grader, shot himself after carrying out the attack inside the Cervantes de Torreon elementary school in the state of Coahuila, New York Post reported, citing local media. Among the six injured includes five students and a teacher. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two of Australias mobile network operators (MNOs) are at least open to the idea of increased sharing of infrastructure, as telcos ramp-up the deployment of 5G. Mobile infrastructure sharing can be either passive sharing access to masts and power at a cell site, for example or active. The latter involves shared use of radio access network (RAN) infrastructure such as antennas. Courtesy of a carrier licence condition, Australias MNOs are currently obliged to abide by the Facilities Access Code (FAC), which is overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The FAC mandates that telcos offer access to transmission towers, tower sites, and eligible underground facilities to other carriers. The aim of the code, first introduced in 1999, is to encourage co-location and promote competition in the telecommunications sector. However, in some other jurisdictions telcos are engaged in sharing so-called active infrastructure, and there indications that the economics of 5G rollouts may make it an increasingly attractive option. In April 2017, New Zealand mobile network operators Vodafone, Spark and 2degrees unveiled a proposal to roll out shared infrastructure in rural parts of NZ. In August of that year the NZ government announced that the telcos joint venture the Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) had been tasked with delivering 4G mobile and wireless broadband in regional areas. RCG is aiming to build 520 cell sites in some of the most remote parts of the nation, with the three MNOs sharing radio access network (RAN) hardware and antennas. The sites are also open to wireless Internet service providers (WISPs). A study issued by the NZ Commerce Commission in September last year concluded that in the future there may be increased infrastructure sharing but its impact on enhancing or supressing competition would depend on the particular arrangements entered into by MNOs. Depending on its configuration, parts of the RCG infrastructure could be reused for future deployment of 5G technology by MNOs, at lower cost than a greenfield implementation, the Commerce Commission market study noted. In this way, it is possible that it will be economic to provide 5G services in areas where it might otherwise be uneconomic. A June 2018 report by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEEREC) outlined a provisional analysis of infrastructure sharing in European markets. It found a variety of arrangements in place, including passive sharing on a lease basis, active sharing based on joint deployments of infrastructure, cases where an MNO can use another operators network for a specific technology such as 2G, and some agreements that related to a specific location (such as indoor sharing). Most national regulators, BEEREC concluded, expected that 5G-driven network densification and consequent cost pressures would lead to more MNOs examining the possibility of sharing. The need to roll out small cells to fully deliver on 5Gs potential as well as additional backhaul is expected to lead to an increase or at least an increased call for sharing (passive, active, backhaul, active indoor, spectrum and others), the report stated, although it noted that regulators want to ensure that sharing arrangements do not result in competition being distorted. Optus has said it believe 5G may make network sharing and joint-ventures between telcos more appealing in the Australian market, helping minimise the significant capital costs of the wireless technology as well as urban disruption through the rollout of new infrastructure. In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into 5G, the telco called for scrutiny of any factors hindering sharing as well as structural barriers to increased sharing, including whether current market structure with one large dominant player in the enterprise market is an impediment to commercial sharing. Optus said that network sharing is not a form of free-riding such as roaming and requires joint investment by mobile operators in infrastructure and technology, some on a stand-alone basis and some of which can be shared. The telcos submission cites 5G network-sharing arrangements in the UK and Italy, as well reports that China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile have considered sharing infrastructure. And its not purely the economics that make the prospect of rolling out less mobile infrastructure attractive: 5G has suffered an unprecedented level of opposition compared to the other generations of mobile technology. Anti-5G campaigners have spread a variety of unfounded fears about the impact of the technology on human health and the environment. Optus submission cites a February 2018 analysis published by McKinsey that argued network sharing is not a novel approach for many mobile operators and that 5G could make the model even more appealing. For example, the cost of small-cell deployment can be reduced by up to 50 percent if three players share the same network, the McKinsey analysis argues. But the rationale for sharing extends beyond cost, as it could solve many practical roadblocks of 5G deployment in urban areas, such as the potential for urban disruption and visual pollution from the installation of excessive equipment and fiber. Last year S&P released a report on the rollout of 5G in the Asia-Pacific that claimed the rollout of the technology will be slightly credit negative due to high capital spending and marketing costs. The S&P report adds, however, the over the longer term 5G has the potential to expand market size for telcos, because its applications could increase revenues from both consumer and commercial users. We believe 5G's faster network speeds, combined with growing demand for high-quality video content, will drive up demand for data usage, said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst JunHong Park. However, the costs related to rollout and competition will hurt margins. A joint submission by Communications Alliance and the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) to the 5G inquiry stated that although sharing of passive infrastructure is a well-established industry practice, sharing active infrastructure has a range of technical and economic constraints that make it generally not feasible. The submission cited the disparate spectrum holdings of Australias MNOs as one challenge, arguing it is simply not possible to build a single radio system capable of spanning such a wide frequency range (in NZ, the RCG participants share spectrum). As we move to deploying small cells, precise placement is critical for them to be effective, the submission added. It will be rare that the needs of all carriers align for any small cell to a sufficient extent for sharing the small cell to be viable. The factors requiring precise small cell site placement include amount and geographic focus of customer demand and location of surrounding network elements (macros and other small cells) and these are unique to each carrier. There are also strong economic incentives against sharing, the associations argued, with most of the gains available through passive infrastructure sharing. Regulation in the Australian mobile market already promotes competition and choice by giving competing network operators access to one-anothers base stations for co-location of equipment, as well as access to data transmission links at regulated prices (which the ACCC reduced by 72 per cent in regional areas during their last review), a Telstra spokesperson told Computerworld. This means that as Telstra continues to invest and co-invest to build new towers and improve coverage, competition is made even easier because the amount of investment a competitor would need to make themselves is reduced. The spokesperson also noted that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) imposes limits on the amount of spectrum a single mobile network operator can purchase during auctions to ensure all competitors have equal opportunity to acquire spectrum. Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), by contrast, is firmly in favour of increased infrastructure sharing. Vodafone has been a strong advocate of infrastructure sharing which is the norm in many countries, including for 5G, Vodafones chief strategy officer Dan Lloyd told Computerworld. Thats why we advocated for domestic roaming and reforms to the mobile black spot program with reference to New Zealands innovative active sharing model. (The ACCC in 2017 announced it did not intend to introduce a regulated mobile roaming regime; Vodafone lost a court challenge it launched in the wake of the ACCC decision. The ACCCs decision was supported by both Optus and Telstra.) Lloyd said that VHA was also calling for the introduction of a mandated co-building process under the ACCCs Facilities Access Code. Unfortunately, Telstra has opposed all of these measures. Infrastructure sharing not only makes economic sense but helps address community concerns regarding the visual impact of equipment, the VHA executive said. The ACCC is currently reviewing the FAC. Its draft report (PDF) of the FAC review, released in November 2019, said that the competition watchdog had two areas of concern it would seek to address. One is that consultations between carriers either are not occurring or are not occurring early enough to allow co-building or co-location requests to be factored into plans to build new sites. The second is that owners of facilities can frustrate and/or delay access through reserving capacity for their own future use for unreasonably long periods without genuine plans to use the reserved space. However, the ACCC noted that the submissions it received from telcos didnt indicate any changes to the code were necessary to facilitate the rollout of 5G, with small cells, for example, generally expected to affect non-carrier infrastructure. In relation to the rollout of 5G networks, the ACCC considers that it may be too early in the rollout for any issues to become apparent, the draft report stated. The ACCC is not proposing to make any changes in this area at the present time, but will continue to monitor facilities access issues as the rollout proceeds. Then, consider starting small, with a single request: Add a socially responsible fund that focuses on large American companies. Socially conscious funds have crept into the mainstream over the past couple of decades, and funds that focus on big American companies are a more mature area of socially conscious investing. (This makes sense; many investors prefer to invest in companies they know best, and companies in the United States disclose a decent amount about themselves.) You dont necessarily need to have a specific fund in mind. Many employers will have multiple outside parties helping run and shape their retirement plan, and those experts can help pick a fund. But if you are inclined to make suggestions, Carole M. Laible, chief executive of the fund and investment manager Domini Impact Investments, suggested a few parameters. First, larger employers will often decline to consider funds that do not have three- or five-year track records. They may also want to see at least $150 million already in the fund, and they wont want a big influx of money from their colleagues causing that employers plan to own more than 5 to 10 percent of the funds total shares. All of this reluctance relates to that fiduciary duty requirement. Employers worry a fair bit about being sued for violating that duty if they make the wrong fund choices. It does happen: Jerome Schlichter has made a living helping employees sue everyone from Johns Hopkins University to Ameriprise. So I asked him how hed suggest employers avoid getting sued while still embracing E.S.G. funds. Mr. Schlichter suggested an augment-but-do-not-replace approach. Already have a bare-bones index fund of large American stocks in your plan? Carefully choose and then add a single E.S.G. fund covering that same sector, instead of swapping it into the plan and ditching the index fund. That way, you have neither limited anyones existing choices nor taken away an index fund that is likely to have very low fees. Marla J. Kreindler, a benefits specialist and Chicago-based partner with the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, offered another suggestion: Consider a brokerage window. This allows employees to, in effect, have their own investment account within their workplace retirement plan. There, they can choose from the whole universe of available mutual funds social, antisocial or otherwise. Still not getting anywhere? At that point, it may be tempting to resort to threats: Worried about legal exposure? Large numbers of energy companies may go under or see their stocks underperform over a generation. Youll be on record having blown me off in 2020 when I asked for a fund that excluded them. A Chinese province has sparked derision online after claiming that only 17 of its 80 million citizens live below the poverty line. Jiangsu is one of the countrys wealthiest provinces and its second-most populous, and says it defines extreme poverty as having a household income below 6,000 yuan (660) - around 50 cents more than the World Banks definition of $1.90 a day. A local official was quoted by state media this week as saying that, though numbers may fluctuate, as of 31 December 2019 there were just 17 people from six households who fell below the threshold in the province. Users of Chinas Twitter-like Sina Weibo social media site were quick to question the official figures, which would make Jiangsu the first province to more-or-less achieve president Xi Jinpings stated goal of wiping out extreme poverty nationwide by 2020. Hashtags translating to Jiangsu has only 17 people in poverty or similar were among the top trends on Weibo until they were censored on Tuesday night, with the phrase being wiped from rankings. According to South China Morning Post, one critic claiming to be from Jiangsu said: What a coincidence, I am just one of those 17 people. Another wrote: I don't believe it. Are there no unemployed people in the province? No beggars? Unusually, in spite of the censorship and the quotes from the official being removed from the website of the Yangtze Evening Post where they first appeared, the reaction has been acknowledged by state media. China Daily, an English-language propaganda arm of the Communist Party, ran a story saying that Jiangsus numbers were generat[ing] heat on social media|. The Global Times, part of the state-run Peoples Daily, quoted internet users as questioning the statistics - alongside other netizens [who] criticised sceptics. State media appear to have taken the rare step of admitting the controversy in order to bring greater attention to Jiangsus claimed achievement, and to debunk the doubters. The Global Times quoted one official as saying 6,000 yuan was easy to reach in China, and that poverty alleviation workers kept meticulous records in order to ensure the data were accurate. There are no independent sources to verify whether Jiangsus stated figures are accurate, but Mr Xis wider nationwide objective has its critics. Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, said it had led to cases where lazy people were simply handed subsidies in order to lift them above the threshold. And others suggest that China should now be considered a middle-income country for such measures, meaning that it should be held to a World Bank standard of $3.20 a day, not $1.90. If that were the case, more than 30 million people would slip into poverty. Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked the U.S. secretary of state to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal from Iraq, his office said Friday, signaling his insistence on ending the U.S. military presence despite recent moves to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the U.S. Adel Abdul-Mahdi made the request in a telephone call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday night, his office said in a statement. He also told Pompeo that recent U.S. strikes in Iraq were an unacceptable breach of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of the two countries' security agreements. The Iraqi leader asked Pompeo to 'send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliaments resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq,' according to the statement. Iraq's prime minister asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal from Iraq 'The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements,' the statement added. Pompeo had a different take when asked about the Iraqi's request at a White House press briefing Friday. 'Yeah, he didn't quite characterize the conversation correctly,' Pompeo said of Mahdi. 'But to the larger, more important point, we are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is,' he said. 'Our mission set there is very clear: We've been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, the counter-Daesh campaign. We're going to continue that mission. But as the -- as times change and we get to a place where we can deliver upon what I believe and the President believes is our right structure, with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so.' Trump said Tuesday pulling out the troops would be the 'worst thing to happen to Iraq.' 'At some point, we want to get out,' he amplified, adding: 'But this isn't the right point.' Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution to oust U.S. troops last Sunday, following the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad's airport. The non-binding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi, addressing lawmakers at the time, called for 'urgent measures' to ensure the removal of the troops. Speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal and appeared to give the U.S. time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure. Still, the comments suggested he was standing by the push for the American forces to go despite recent signals toward de-escalation between Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death with a barrage of missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where U.S. troops are based but caused no casualties. The request came days after President Trump ordered a strike that killed a top Iranian general on Iraqi soil Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, walks towards the Senate after briefing members of Congress on last week's targeted killing of Iran's senior military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi made the request after Iraqi lawmakers voted for a resolution Sunday calling for the withdrawal There are some 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counter-parts to fight the Islamic State group. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of a resurgence amid the political turmoil. The U.S. State Department acknowledged that Pompeo had called Abdul-Mahdi but made no mention of U.S. troops in a readout of the call released late Thursday. Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo reiterated the United States' condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes on the two bases and underscored that President Donald Trump 'has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests.' Top American military officials including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have said there were no plans for the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq. The push to remove the U.S. forces comes amid widespread Iraqi anger over being caught in the middle of fighting between Baghdad's two closest allies. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and U.S. strikes. Still the demand for withdrawal is not universal. Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers opposed the Parliament resolution. The Sunnis see the U.S. presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran, while the Kurdish security forces had benefited from American training and aid. The latest escalation between Tehran and Washington on Iraqi soil was set off when a rocket attack blamed on the Iranian-backed militia group Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, caused the death of an American contractor at a base in Kirkuk province in late December. The U.S. replied with a barrage of strikes on the militias bases, killing at least 25 people. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged rival Iraqi political factions to unite and put private interests aside, saying attempts by factions to outbid each other in the political process had led to the current crisis and risked creating more unrest. Rival political factions have yet to agree on a nominee to replace the outgoing Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from mass protests. Large demonstrations were planned in Baghdad on Friday, as anti-government protesters sought to recover momentum following the fast escalating regional tensions that overshadowed their uprising. Protesters also gathered in the southern provinces of Najaf, Diwanieh and Dhi Qar. 'The serious attacks and repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty that occurred in recent days with the apparent weakness of the concerned authorities in protecting the country and its people ... are part of the repercussions of the current crisis,' al-Sistani said. 'Everyone is required to think carefully about what this situation will lead to if there is no end to it,' he added. Ill see you when you get out of the hospital, said Press-Register veteran David Holloway as I set out to test the Gotcha electric rental scooters that are downtown Mobiles newest plaything. Im not going to say he didnt have a point: Early adopters had been young, for the most part, young enough to make you wonder if the supposed age limit on scooter use (18) had any teeth whatsoever. The scooters arrived Dec. 30, and by New Years Eve they were zipping about among the crowd that had turned out for the Moon Pie Drop. And here was me, 50 years old, wearing a coat and tie and no helmet, about to give it a shot. If our HR guy had looked out the front window at just the right time, this story probably wouldnt exist for you to read. There have been some teething problems: Vague gossip about injuries, social media gripes from pedestrians about rude young scooter hoodlums, complaints about scofflaws not obeying the rules of the road. Two local TV news operations ran stories about police getting reports of scooters in the Wallace Tunnel. To which I say: Pics or it didnt happen. Using a Gotcha scooter requires you to download an app. Simple enough, and it only required a few pieces of information, not an endless litany of permissions into contacts, social media accounts and so on. I thought Id get payment arrangements all set up in the comfort of AL.coms Royal Street office, but found I couldnt enter that information until I was actually making my first rental so I had to juggle phone, wallet and credit card there on the sidewalk like a doofus. Its an inconvenience you only have to go through once, but it could be better. An unidentified young man rides an electric scooter along St. Joseph Street near Bienville Square during New Years Eve festivities. (Lawrence Specker/lspecker@al.com). The scooters are easy to find. Each one has a unique scan code on top. You take a picture of that with the app, it makes a Bluetooth connection and unlocks the scooter and off you go. Except I didnt. Gotcha scooters have a bicycle-style brake lever on the left and a little thumb throttle on the right grip. Hitting the thumb throttle didnt do anything. There was another button, which turned out to ring a bell. That also didnt make the scooter go. After a few seconds the trick revealed itself: You have to hit the gas and give it a little kick, just as if youre pushing off on a non-electric scooter. Then the motor kicks in, very softly at first, and pushes you up to a top speed of 12 or 13 mph. This all seems like smart design: Making the rider kick off is a way of making sure the scooter wont go anywhere without someone on board. The soft start means you can get over any initial wobbles before you pick up speed. The rules of the road are fairly basic, as relayed by tags on the scooters themselves: Scooters available 6 a.m.-11 p.m., dont ride on sidewalks, use the kickstand to park, dont block sidewalks, entrances or crosswalks, must be 18+ to ride, helmet use is recommended. Note to future first-time scooter users. The exact moment you figure out how to make it go is pivotal: Youve been looking at the controls, not at your surroundings, and then all of a sudden youre moving. Soon itll all be intuitive. The whole time you ride, this one specific moment is when youre most likely to pull out in front of a car. Dont ask me how I know this. My program for the day was to visit a couple of places that were far away enough to be an inconvenient walk in hot weather, but close enough that driving and finding a parking place just seems stupid. The first was Wintzells Oyster House, a 10-block run straight down Conti Street. Two things emerged pretty quickly. The first is that the Gotcha experience is very sensitive to the quality of the road surface. Rolling along slowly in a car, Conti isnt bad at all. A scooters tiny wheels make parts of it seem like a washboard. In theory I could ride a Gotcha home for lunch, a two- or three-mile ride into Midtown. In practice this isnt a very attractive proposition. Youll learn to appreciate smooth fresh asphalt, and thankfully there is a good bit of that downtown. The second is that speed is relative. If youre a pedestrian, the scooters seem precariously fast. If youre using a scooter to cover a few blocks in a straight line, that 12-13 mph top speed seems not fast at all. Its brisk compared to walking, but theres no drama to going flat out. You get off the scooter, put down the kickstand and tell the app youre done. It tells you how much the fun cost you, and a few seconds later you get a receipt via email. I had time to think this over while enjoying a bowl of Wintzells excellent gumbo. The rate is a buck per rental, plus 20 cents a minute. My first ride involved a couple of loops around the block before I set out for an actual destination, so the tab was $3.40 for 11 minutes and 54 seconds of electrified mobility. If Id hopped on and gone straight to the restaurant, it probably would have cost me $1.50 to $2. One way of looking at that is that my lunch cost two bucks more than if Id just walked. Worth it? On a glorious April day like we were having on Jan. 8, not so much. In hot weather, sure: Id have arrived sweat-free and without the hassle of taking my car out of the parking garage, driving less than a mile, and trying to find a parking place. The trip back up Dauphin Street reinforced the notion that the scooters just arent very fast. At Cathedral Square a bicyclist blew past me without even working at it. The speed issue is what makes me question those news stories about the Wallace tunnel. Neither story reflected any confirmation on the part of police or other witnesses, or any acknowledgement of the obstacles involved: From downtown, cars take lengthy detour southwest before turning back to merge onto eastbound I-10 and hit the tunnel. That would be a long, boring ride on a scooter. A committed idiot could theoretically take the old, closed entrance ramp up from Water Street and ride around the barricades, or maybe you could climb an embankment while carrying a very heavy scooter. But then youd have to contend with Interstate-speed traffic any time of the day or night, on your way into a tube LINED WITH ALDOT VIDEO CAMERAS. Nah. Pics or it didnt happen, guys. The Bankhead Tunnel? Different story. Id buy that: The entrance to the old tunnel is right there on Government Street, in the scooter hot zone, and you might find it empty on a given evening. No doubt, some fool will find it tempting. What I dont believe is that the Bankhead Tunnel would be any fun on a scooter, aside from the sheer stupidity and presumed illegality of it. Ive jogged, walked and biked it when ALDOT opened it for special events. First off, its very steep: You can easily top 30 mph on a bike on the way down. Limited to 12 or 13 mph, it would be a tedious, bumpy descent on a scooter and Im not sure a scooter would be able to climb out before law enforcement arrived. If at all. Fortunately, automobile traffic on Dauphin and many other downtown streets barely gets any faster than the scooters. Traveling to my second destination, Nova Espresso on St. Anthony, showed me that its a different story on streets like St. Francis or St. Louis. There are fewer stop signs, cars go faster, and I felt obligated to pull over periodically to let drivers pass. But that mission, too, was a success. Novas a long hike from south Royal. A scooter brings it closer. Gotcha has effectively made downtown smaller, in a good way. Three rides totaling 31 minutes left me with a bill for $9.40 and a mild desire to buy an electric scooter capable of more speed. Amazon sells plenty that can top 18 miles an hour, and apparently there are some that can do 40 mph or more. Not that Ive been shopping or anything. That afternoon of riding also left me feeling like I hadnt experienced the social side of the scooter experience. Fortunately there was a cure of that: The LoDa Ride, a weekly bicycle tour that winds its way from LoDa Bier Garten in downtown Mobile to the Nixon pub in Midtown. This is a low-speed ride that draws an eclectic group of riders, sometimes including family groups. The Gotcha blended in well, and its top speed was more than sufficient to keep up. The scooters do have lights, but being in the middle of a group of cyclists swarming with headlights and blinking taillights lent an added sense of security. The only time I felt vulnerable was when I left the group for a two-block stretch of Broad Street, getting a head start on the last stretch to Callaghans Irish Social Club. Id stashed a bike at Callaghans. The scooter seemed to have enough juice to do the full ride if I wanted to, but I didnt. When the roads get bumpy or the distances go beyond a few blocks, bikes have a clear upper hand, even if you do have to provide the power yourself. That said, I think the scooters will be a fine way to get around downtown, and even to nearby destinations in Midtown, such as Callaghans. The trick will be to cross the main streets directly, when necessary, and not ride along them solo. Thats a recipe for trouble. There are still a few kinks to be worked out, clearly. The city and its police force will have to make some decisions about how aggressively they will enforce traffic laws and the scooter age limit. Late Thursday, the Mobile PD released its own rules of the road. These closely overlap the ones already laid out by Gotcha, with the additional specification that scooters must ride with the flow of traffic and follow traffic signals using extra caution around intersections. If a bike lane is designated, it must be used. Riding on city sidewalks is prohibited. And, riders should always yield to pedestrians. There was another addition, one which in an elegantly understated way establishes the framework for some intense conversations to come: (I)f the rider of the scooter is involved in an incident that causes property damage or bodily injury, police will write an incident report. However, the responsibility will rest with the complainant to file and pursue civil action. As the novelty wears off, traffic concerns hopefully will become less of an issue: Every scooter rider wont be a first-timer, and every driver wont be encountering a scooter for the first time. Well also have to see how scooter use plays out during the Mardi Gras season. My guess is, they wont have much of an impact where the crowds are heaviest, because you simply cant ride one in a crowd. But they could come in really handy for zipping around the fringes of the crowd. Heres food for thought: Lime offered dockless rental bicycles in Mobile from summer 2018 into early 2019. In a single afternoon and evening of messing around on Gotcha scooters, I saw more people riding them than I saw on Lime bikes the whole time they were here. Slow or fast, it already looks like the scooters are more Mobiles speed, you might say. The Free Dinner Trust which provides a free dinner service to around 100 people in Limerick each Sunday, is now online with its new website which can be found on www.freedinnertrust.ie. The primary function of The Free Dinner Trust is to provide free meals on Sundays (and certain public holidays, including Christmas Day) to those disadvantaged by homelessness and poverty within the city of Limerick and its environs. The Trust is a warmly hospitable, inclusive community acknowledging the differing circumstances, preferences and abilities of individuals. The Trust provides opportunities for, and encourages, all individuals within the Free Dinner Trust community to flourish, with particular concern for those who are disadvantaged. Modelling a caring family, interchangeability of roles as volunteer and diner is encouraged through respectful encounter and relationship as equals. Leading Limerick digital agency AGENT Digital have supported the Free Dinner Trust by creating and hosting the www.freedinnertrust.ie trust website. AGENT Digital MD Kevin Meaney comments It is an honour for me and the team here at AGENT Digital to have the opportunity to support the Free Dinner Trust which provides an incredible service to Limerick City. Gordon Milne, Treasurer of The Free Dinner Trust highlights All the trustees Are very grateful to Kevin and the AGENT Digital team for generously donating their services in creating and supporting the Trust's website which is helping us to engage with the Free Dinner Trust community and attract new volunteers. The service operates out of Limerick Youth Service cafe in Glentworth Street, and so far has gained more than 50 volunteers 10-12 of whom help out each week. The Trust receives funding from many sources (see www.freedinnertrust.ie) including The Redemptorist Poor Campaign and the JP McManus Charitable Foundation. Anyone who would like to volunteer their time to support the Free Dinner Trust can contact the Trust through the Trust's website at the following address www.freedinnertrust.ie. AGENT Digital is an award winning digital agency based in Limerick city for over 12 years. AGENT Digital provide a full range of digital services including Website Design & Development, Website Hosting & Maintenance and Digital Marketing services which include Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). You can visit the AGENT Digital website on the following link: https://agentdigital.ie/ Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/10/2020 -- A recent market study published by QY Research consists of a detailed assessment of the key market dynamics. The report provides the historical as well as present growth parameters of the global Magnetic Pump market. The report features salient and unique factors, which are expected to significantly impact the growth of the global Magnetic Pump market throughout the forecast period. Request for Sample of the Report: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1436729/global-magnetic-pump-market Scope of the report: The report commences with a scope of the global Magnetic Pump market that includes the key findings and vital statistics of the market. This market research report also consists of the market value of the major segments of the global Magnetic Pump market. QY Research has found a detailed taxonomy and the definition of the global market that helps the readers to better understand the basic information of the Magnetic Pump market. It also highlights the exclusions and inclusions that help the client to understand the scope of the Magnetic Pump market. The report consists of key market trends, which are likely to impact the growth of the market over the forecast period. Evaluation of in-depth industry trends is included in the report, along with their product innovations and key market growth. QY Research report also includes the macro-economic factors, which are likely to influence the growth of the global Magnetic Pump market during the forecast period. Along with the factors, the report also analyzes the growth opportunities of the global Magnetic Pump market. It sheds light on the trends, restraints, and drivers to understand the growth prospects followed by the key players in the global Magnetic Pump market. Competitive Landscape: The report provides a list of all the key players in the Magnetic Pump market along with a detailed analysis of the strategies, which the companies are adopting. The strategies mainly include new product development, research, and development, and also provides revenue shares, company overview, and recent company developments to remain competitive in the market. The Magnetic Pump key manufacturers in this market include: Flowserve Sundyne Iwaki Hermetic Dickow Pumpen Sanwa Hydrotech Klaus Union Dandong Colossus ITT Goulds Pumps Richter Chemie-Technik Verder Liquids Magnatex Pumps Lanzhou Highland ASSOMA Taicang Magnetic Pump March Manufacturing GemmeCotti Desmi Segment Analysis: The report provides detailed segments based on product type and applications so that the readers can better understand each segment that influences the Magnetic Pump market growth. By the product type, the market is primarily split into Single-stage Multistage The segment of stationary shaft holds a extremely larger share in global market, which accounts for about 75%. By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments Oil and Gas General Industry Chemical Food and Pharmaceutical Others(desalination of sea water, water treatment, etc.) The chemical segment was estimated to account for the highest sales market share of 33% in 2018. Geographical Outlook: QY Research report provides a detailed information to the clients about the various factors that are impacting on the growth of the regions across North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam), Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC Countries, Egypt and South Africa), and South America (Brazil and others). Buy Now(2900USD): https://www.qyresearch.com/settlement/pre/5c802b97def56154d4f01492c20f8c94,0,1,Global-Magnetic-Pump-Market-Research-Report About QYResearch QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- These days, much of the art world revolves around the art fair scene it's estimated there were more than 300 art fairs that took place in 2019, with thousands of international galleries participating. Think about that there are only 52 weekends in a year, so we're talking an average of around 6 fairs a week globally! Further, the hype machine is usually out in full force helping to generate absurd headlines in the likes of "Banana Sells for $120K," which only fuels the hysteria but it wasn't always like this. It's estimated that in the year 2000, there were less than 60 art fairs one of those being the Los Angeles Art Show (LA Art Show). Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) - "Maria Among the Poppies" (circa 1902) - Rehs Galleries, Inc., NYC Mitsuru Watanabe (Born 1953) - "Naoko playing with Nanban-Jin" - Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc., NYC The inaugural year of the LA Art Show in 1994 was hosted by just 14 fine art dealers in Pasadena, California, and saw a mere 250 attendees over the course of the weekend. The show focused on California Impressionist and 19th-century Academic works of art. Twenty-five years later, the LA Art Show has grown to become one of the leading art fairs in the United States with more than 120 international galleries exhibiting Old Master through Contemporary art, and upwards of 50,000 visitors throughout all those years, one thing has remained consistent - the presence of Rehs Galleries from New York. Early in the show's life, Howard Rehs of Rehs Galleries was elected president of the Fine Art Dealers Associations' Board of Directors the group responsible for organizing the event. Mr. Rehs would go on to hold his position for more than a decade, while overseeing the show's growth. In that time, the program significantly expanded to more than 100 participating galleries! As the show became more successful, they were forced to relocate several times before finally settling into the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2009, where the show is still hosted today. That was the final year Mr. Rehs served as the president he would go on to negotiate the sale of the art fair in 2012 to the Palm Beach Show Group - a major organization in the art fair world which hosts 7 fairs annually in the United States. But the sale of the show was not the end of Rehs in LA in fact, if anything, Rehs Galleries (and Rehs Contemporary) has an even larger presence in the show these days; showcasing both 19th Century European and American works of art as well as Contemporary Art. The offerings displayed are the most expansive of any dealer on the floor, typically with more than 100 works on the walls ranging from a few hundred dollars up well into the 6-figures. As the Los Angeles Art Show celebrates its 25th year, the folks at Rehs Galleries are, once again, preparing for their cross-country journey to take part in the festivities. Among the 100 plus works to be featured this year are Daniel Ridgway Knight's Maria Among the Poppies (circa 1902), Henry Moret's Falaises a Moelan, Finistere (1901), Mitsuru Watanabe's Naoko playing with Nanban-Jin, Tony South's Jukebox Hero, as well as paintings by Bernard Buffet, Maurice de Vlaminck, Guy Wiggins, Le Pho, Julie Bell, Ben Bauer, Todd Casey, Nigel Cox, Hiroshi Furuyoshi, Hammond, Mark Lague, Cesar Santander, Beth Sistrunk, and Kari Tirrell. This year's edition of the LA Art Show will run from February 5-9th, 2020 at the Los Angeles Convention Center South Hall. For more information, visit https://www.rehs.com or call Howard Rehs at (212) 355-5710 About Rehs Galleries, Inc. Rehs Galleries Inc. is, along with its principals, considered one of the world's leading dealers of 19th and early 20th-century European paintings and is currently involved in the catalogue raisonne research projects for Daniel Ridgway Knight, Julien Dupre, Emile Munier, and Antoine Blanchard. Howard Rehs was a past president of the Fine Art Dealers Association, is currently on the Board of the Antiques Council, and has been a member of the Internal Revenue Service's Art Advisory Panel since 2008. Contact: Howard L. Rehs Director Rehs Galleries, Inc. (212) 355-5710 [email protected] https://www.rehs.com SOURCE Rehs Galleries, Inc. Related Links https://www.rehs.com WASHINGTON The White House on Thursday celebrated a federal court ruling that will allow $3.6 billion in military construction funds to be used for the construction of the border wall. A separate court on Thursday lifted a restraining order on a private group allied with President Trump that wants to build its own barriers on private land. The twin rulings buoyed Mr. Trump as his administration has found itself behind schedule on the presidents promise to build 450 miles of border wall by 2021. The decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to lift a lower-court ruling will allow the administration to use the military funds, about a third of the $11 billion that the administration obtained for the barriers, in part by declaring a national emergency and bypassing Congress. Those funds will be used to build 175 miles of barrier in parts of Texas, Arizona and California. A judge in Texas also allowed We Build the Wall, a group led by Mr. Trumps former adviser, Stephen K. Bannon, to proceed with building barriers along a three-mile stretch along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County, Texas. The group claims to have raised $25 million in private donations for border wall construction. Indonesian police escort militants suspected of planning an attack tied to the national elections to a press conference at the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta, May 17, 2019. South Asian nations will face low-end terrorism by Islamic extremists in 2020 while their Southeast neighbors will see a multi-faceted threat as fighters return home from the Middle East, a Singapore-based think tank warned in its annual threat assessment released earlier this week. The International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research based its new years outlook, Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, on trends over the last 12 months in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Islamist terrorism will persist into 2020, mainly in the form of low-end urban terror attacks involving knives or other stabbing instruments, vehicles and locally assembled IEDs [improvised explosive devices], the report said of South Asia. This is exacerbated by the prospect of battle-hardened regional militants returning home from the Syria theater. The center, which is located at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, offered a similar outlook for Southeast Asia. It said countries in that region could face multi-faceted terrorist threats from regional fighters returning from abroad, online radicalization and possible lone-wolf attacks. The report pointed out that knife-related attacks were most common while Muslim terrorist groups, including those linked to the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, were increasingly relying on family or kinship networks to plan and execute attacks. In 2019, the threat landscape in Bangladesh was marked by IS extremist ideology and efforts by groups linked to al-Qaeda to relaunch, the report found. IS current strategy in Bangladesh is to target the police and promote lone-wolf attacks, particularly in the capital, Dhaka, it said. The report called developments related to IS troubling because of the groups ability to recruit from existing terror groups and radicalized youths. It noted that a video was released in November featuring IS supporters in Bangladesh pledging allegiance to the organizations new leader. For 2020, the report calls IS ideology a potent threat, adding that lone-wolf attacks cannot be discounted. In addition, efforts to review al-Qaeda-linked groups are expected to continue. While the report pointed to IS-linked groups having a foothold in Bangladesh, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and other government officials have denied the groups existence in the country. Southeast Asia Indonesia suffered from eight terrorist attacks in 2019 while 10 were stopped, compared with 15 attacks and a dozen foiled plots in 2018, according to the think tank. Law enforcers, politicians and the general election last year were targets for some of those attacks in 2019, the center noted in its report, adding it expected low-grade attacks in the future. The involvement of family networks, particularly wives, in militant activities continues to be a feature in Indonesia, it said. The report stressed the need for deradicalization initiatives targeting women and children, that should be differentiated from existing programs that largely cater to male terrorist offenders, and, to some extent, their wives. Terrorism in the Philippines, particularly in the southern Mindanao region, was highlighted by the emergence of a new IS emir to succeed Isnilon Hapilon who was killed near the end of the Marawi siege in 2017, localized suicide attacks, recruitment of foreign fighters and the use of fake news, the report said. Islamic groups in Mindanao have a track record of releasing false information as part of opportunistic attempts to gain attention and financing. BIFF [Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters] is known to routinely issue warnings of imminent attacks and bombings to residents in North Cotabato and Maguindanao in order to instill fear, it said. The reports 2020 outlook includes the entrenchment of suicide attacks as, it predicted, Mindanao will remain a desired destination for aspiring foreign fighters from Southeast Asia and beyond, with eastern Malaysias Sabah state used by militants as a transit route to the nearby southern Philippines. The report warns Malaysia that it could face threats from self-radicalized IS-linked militants and from locals returning from Syria and Iraq who could carry out attacks on their home soil. Going forward, the threat landscape for Malaysia remains very much linked to Islamist terrorist developments globally, it said. Further, the foreign militant influence needs to be addressed holistically, so that Malaysia does not remain a transit point of choice, as it currently is. Thailand Thailand has been marked by violence in the predominately Malay-Muslim Deep South since 2004, but saw the number of attacks targeting civilians decline in 2019. Despite that good news, attacks outside the region including coordinated bombings in and around Bangkok in August suggest insurgent groups have retained the capacity to launch attacks beyond the conflict area, the report said. It pointed out that peace efforts between government officials and MARA Patani, an umbrella group representing Deep South militant groups, made little progress last year as the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the regions largest rebel group, had little to do with the talks. In addition, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha has shown no intention of making political concessions or allowing for regional autonomy. The Thai state will eventually need to address this issue if the dialogue is to be meaningful, the report said. Representative image The Shiv Sena on Friday termed thepoll result in Nagpur Zilla Parishad(ZP), where the BJP was ousted from power by the Congress, as"sensational and shocking". Polling for six ZPs in Maharashtra - Nagpur, Akola, Washim, Dhule, Nandurbar and Palghar (332 seats) - and the Panchayat Samitis (664 seats) falling in their jurisdiction were held on Tuesday and results were declared on Wednesday. The BJP lost control of the ZP in Nagpur, the home district of party stalwarts Devendra Fadnavis and Nitin Gadkari. The BJP won just 15 of the 58 seats in Nagpur ZP, where the Congress bagged a handsome tally of 30, while its ally the NCP pocketed 10. An editorial in 'Saamana', a mouthpiece of the ruling Shiv Sena, pointed out that except Dhule, the BJP suffered defeat in the remaining five district councils. In in these five districts, the Congress, the NCP, the Shiv Sena and Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) have done "very well", the Marathi daily said. The editorial said the BJP's defeat in the home turf of Fadnavis, a former chief minister, and Gadkari, a Union minister, was "sensational and shocking" and the outcome shows the rural population was "fed up" with the party. "The Congress had performed well in the assembly elections in Nagpur (held in October) and now it has wrested the district council from the BJP," the Sena publication said. The paper said in Nandurbar and elsewhere, if the Congress had fought the polls in alliance with the Shiv Sena, the BJP would have been "finished". The Sena is in power in Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress and the NCP. In 56-member Nandurbar ZP, both Congress and the BJP won 23 seats each, while the Sena, which had no presence earlier in the council, bagged seven. "No party can get power in the district council without the support of the Shiv Sena. The anger of losing power in Nandurbar was so much that BJP goons attacked Sena party office in Akkalkua," the paper noted. However, despite losing in Nagpur, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in these ZP polls, winning 109 of the 332 seats on offer. President hinted that China would buy $50bn worth of US farm products as part of Phase 1 trade deal. United States President Donald Trump, who announced last month that the Phase 1 trade deal with China would be signed on January 15, said on Thursday the agreement could be signed shortly thereafter. In an interview with the ABC TV affiliate in Toledo, Ohio, Trump said: Were going to be signing on January 15th I think it will be January 15th, but shortly thereafter, but I think January 15th a big deal with China. Trump said again that China would buy $50bn worth of US farm products under the deal, but details have not been confirmed by the US and Chinese negotiators. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification of Trumps comments. Trump had previously announced in a tweet on December 31 that the first phase of a trade deal with China would be signed on January 15, sending share prices surging to new heights. The Phase 1 deal, struck last month, is expected to reduce tariffs and boost Chinese purchases of American farm, energy and manufactured goods while addressing some disputes over intellectual property. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, head of the countrys negotiating team in US-China trade talks, will visit Washington, DC, from January 13 to 15 to sign the deal, Chinas commerce ministry said on Thursday. Negotiating teams from both sides remain in close communication on the particular arrangements of the signing, Gao Feng, a spokesman at the commerce ministry, told reporters at a regular briefing. If fresh evidence is provided, reopening of case may be considered: Minister. Mumbai: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh fired a salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday by announcing that the state government was open to reinvestigating the case of special CBI judge B.H. Loyas death. Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case in which now Union home minister Amit Shah was an accused died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter. Allegations of foul play were raised in the wake of his demise. Our government is open to reinvestigating the Loya case. A few people have asked me for time to present new documents. If fresh evidence is provided, reopening of the case might be considered, Mr Deshmukh said on Thursday. He, however, refused to divulge the names of people who have spoken with him regarding new evidence. BJP MLA Ashish Shelar criticised Mr Deshmukh for his statement. If the Supreme Court has closed the case, what is the reason for the home minister to make such statements? Is he acting as per the law or are there political intentions behind this? he said. Mr Deshmukhs statement on Justice Loya came a day after he stated that the case against the woman who had held a Free Kashmir banner at a protest rally would be reviewed, irking the BJP. So person displaying anti-national poster with video proof & having FIR to get special review says state HM & Supreme Court dismissed Loya case to be reopened, says home minister! Is home minister upholding law or twisting law? At whose behest is he acting? (sic) Mr Shelar tweeted. Mr Deshmukh had said that the state government would review the case filed by the Colaba police against Mehak Mirza Prabhu, a protester who brandished a Free Kashmir banner during the rally at the Gateway of India, where thousands had thronged on Sunday night to protest the attack on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. We all know that the Internet and SMS services have been shut down in Kashmir and the people there are facing various restrictions. Several leaders there have also been detained. The woman has clarified that the Free Kashmir banner was regarding those restrictions, Mr Deshmukh said on Wednesday. Ms Prabhu was booked under Section 153B of the Indian Penal Code for imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration. No arrests have been made so far. If convicted, an accused booked under this charge could face imprisonment for a maximum of five years. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:41:10|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Canadian delegation is heading to Iran for investigations on the recent Ukrainian plane crash over Tehran's airspace, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced Friday. "After the coordination between Iran's and Canada's Foreign Ministries, a 10-men Canadian delegation is on its way to Iran for investigations," said Abbas Mousavi, the ministry spokesman. The Islamic republic will provide all assistance for the countries whose citizens were among the victims, Mousavi added. The results of the investigations, to be carried out by the representatives of Boeing company, Ukraine and the relevant countries, will be "transparently" publicized, he noted. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane with 176 people on board crashed near Tehran, which coincided with Iran's missile attack on the U.S. military base in Iraq. All the 176 were killed in the accident. Appointment 10 January 2020 Annie Kristi Korsmo, will join SearchWide Global as Vice President, taking the lead role in managing the company's international expansion. "As a company, we've been moving into the international market and knew we needed to expand our team internationally as well. We talked to some exceptional candidates, but Annie stood out with her skills, personality and diverse professional experience," said Mike Gamble, President and CEO, SearchWide Global. "We're excited to welcome her to the team and have her lead our global business efforts," continued Gamble. Korsmo most recently served as the Director of Conventions for Visit Oslo (Norway) from 2015-2019, and collectively has over 20 years of hotel and DMO experience within the international meetings, events and hospitality industry. Additionally, she served on the Board for the International Congress and Convention Association (ICAA). Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) ('Benton' or 'the Company') and Regency Gold Corp. ("Regency") (NEX:RAU.H) are pleased to announce that they have signed a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") whereby Regency has acquired an option (the "Option") to acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the Escape Lake Property (the "Escape Lake Property"), subject to a 1.0% net smelter return royalty to be retained by Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. ("RTEC"), from Benton with such Option to be conditional on Benton exercising its pre-existing option to acquire the Escape Lake Property from RTEC under a pre-existing agreement with RTEC (the "RTEC Agreement"). Benton also assigned to Regency its rights under a letter of intent previously entered into with Panoramic Resources Inc. ("PAN") pursuant to which Benton acquired the right to acquire 100% of PAN's subsidiary Panoramic PGM (Canada) Ltd. (the "PAN Subsidiary") which owns the Thunder Bay North Project ( the "TBN Project"). Proposed Transaction Upon closing, Regency will have the right to exercise the Option by completing the following: Issuing to Benton an aggregate of 24,615,384 common shares (the " Regency Consideration Shares ") on the following basis: a) on closing that number of Regency Consideration Shares that represents no more than 19.9% of the number of Regency commons shares then outstanding; and b) the remainder of the Regency Consideration Shares at such time as they can be issued without Benton holding more than 19.9% of the issued capital of Regency; ") on the following basis: a) on closing that number of Regency Consideration Shares that represents no more than 19.9% of the number of Regency commons shares then outstanding; and b) the remainder of the Regency Consideration Shares at such time as they can be issued without Benton holding more than 19.9% of the issued capital of Regency; Fulfilling the remaining terms of the RTEC Agreement that Benton has with RTEC on the Escape Lake Property; Entering into and fulfilling the terms of a formal binding purchase and sale agreement with PAN (the " PAN Agreement ") for the acquisition of the PAN Subsidiary including the payment to PAN of a deposit of $250,000 as a down payment to PAN; and ") for the acquisition of the PAN Subsidiary including the payment to PAN of a deposit of $250,000 as a down payment to PAN; and Issuing to Benton a 0.5% net smelter return royalty from production on the Escape Lake Property and a 0.5% net smelter return royalty from production on any mineral claims comprising the TBN Project that a net smelter royalty has not previously been granted. The RTEC Agreement Under the Definitive Agreement , Regency will be granted the Option to acquire a 100% ownership interest in the Escape Lake Property, subject to a 1% net smelter return royalty to be retained by RTEC. Regency's Option shall be conditional on Benton exercising its pre-existing option to acquire the Escape Lake Property from RTEC. In order to exercise the Option, Regency will also be required to assume the obligations that would otherwise be required to be fulfilled by Benton under the RTEC Agreement over a three year period which are as follows: an initial C$3 million payment which was due to RTEC on closing of the RTEC Agreement and which was paid by Benton at that time. As reimbursement for the $3 million paid by Benton Regency will be required to issue the Regency Consideration Shares to Benton which will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of issuance; C$1 million to RTEC on the first anniversary of the signing of the RTEC Agreement; C$1 million to RTEC on the second anniversary of the signing of the RTEC Agreement; and C$1 million to RTEC on the third anniversary of the signing of the RTEC Agreement. The PAN Agreement Under the Pan Agreement, Regency will have the right to acquire a 100% ownership interest in the PAN Subsidiary that holds the TBN Project in exchange for payment of CAD$9 million to PAN over a three-year period, as follows: C$4.5 million due on closing of the PAN Agreement to be paid by Regency to PAN; C$1.5 million on the first anniversary of the closing of the PAN Agreement; C$1.5 million on the second anniversary of the closing of the PAN Agreement; and C$1.5 million on the third anniversary of the closing of the PAN Agreement. Regency has also acquired Benton's right to make an initial deposit payment of $250,000 to PAN (which will be credited to the $9 million purchase price) by January 31, 2020 which will extend the proposed closing of the PAN Agreement and the initial payment of $4.5 million by 60 days. In addition, Regency now has the ability to get up to three additional 30-day extensions by making a $10,000 payment for each extension. Satisfaction of Conditions to Closing The closing of the transaction contemplated by the Definitive Agreement is subject to various conditions precedent as follows: All necessary consents, approvals and other authorizations of any regulatory authorities, shareholders or third-parties having been obtained, including but not limited to the approval of the TSXV; Regency having completed a financing of a minimum of $7.5 million at a priceof $0.15 or greater; The representations and warranties of the parties in the Definitive Agreement remaining accurate at and as of the closing date; Regency having entered into the PAN Agreement; Regency having paid the CDN$250,000 deposit to PAN; and RTEC having consented to Regency acquiring the Option on the RTEC Agreement Regency Financing In connection with the Option Regency has engaged Paradigm Capital Inc. and Sprott Capital Partners LP (the "Agents") to complete a brokered private placement of up to $10 million of subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") on a best efforts agency basis (the "Offering"). The indicative issue price is $0.20 per Subscription Receipt. The definitive issue price of the Subscription Receipts will be determined in the context of the market. The net proceeds of the Offering will be placed in escrow pending satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions which will include the closing of the proposed transaction. Upon satisfaction of the escrow release conditions prior to 120 days following the closing of the Offering, (the "Escrow Release Deadline") each Subscription Receipt shall entitle the holder thereof to receive, without payment of any additional consideration and subject to adjustment, units of Regency (the "Units"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Regency and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one common share of Regency. The definitive terms of the Warrants shall be determined in the context of the market. In the event the escrow release conditions are not satisfied by the Escrow Release Deadline, the proceeds will be returned to the holders of the Subscription Receipts. Reactivation Regency has been inactive for more than one year, when it ceased its involvement in the life sciences and pharmaceutical sector. Regency's shares are now listed on the NEX Board of the TSXV (the "NEX Board") under the symbol RAU.H. The transaction will result in the reactivation of Regency under the TSXV polices and will require a change of business of Regency to the mining sector (the "Change of Business"). The Regency Shares are currently halted in connection with this announcement and will remain halted pending completion of the reactivation or until such earlier date as the TSXV and Regency determine the halt is no longer required. Once reactivated, Regency intends to transfer its listing from the NEX Board to the TSXV. Regency has also applied for Change of Name of the Company to "Clean Air Metals Inc.", with ticker symbol "AIR" on the TSXV. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benton Resources Inc., "Stephen Stares" Stephen Stares, President About Benton Resources Inc. Benton Resources is a well-funded Canadian-based project generator with a diversified property portfolio in Gold, Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum group elements. Benton holds multiple high-grade projects available for option which can be viewed on the Company's website. Many projects have an up-to-date 43-101 Report available. Parties interested in seeking more information about properties available for option can contact Mr. Stares at the number below. For further information, please contact: Stephen Stares, President & CEO Phone: 807-475-7474 Email: sstares@bentonresources.ca Website: www.bentonresources.ca Twitter: @BentonResources Facebook: @BentonResourcesBEX THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51316 Mumbai residents have long been infamous for being apolitical or, worse, apathetic. But since the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last month, thousands of Mumbaikars have come together in non-violent protests across the city. On 19 December, around 25,000 people gathered at August Kranti Maidan to raise their voice against the fascist" and divisive" policies of the government. Multiple iterations of such protests were spotted across town in the weeks that followed: an Occupy-style gathering at the Gateway of India, an evening of music and protest poetry at Carter Road, sit-ins and rallies at university campuses and a large gathering at Azad Maidan. Most of the attendees were young and urban, and often first-time participants in a street protest. Among them were Bollywood artists, a community often derided for its unwillingness to criticize governments. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attempted a counter with rallies of its own. The latest was on 8 January, with around 100 BJP supporters gathering at Shivaji Park to counter the anti-India slogans" it claimed were being raised at anti-CAA protests. Their leaders garlanded a statue of V.D. Savarkar, praised the prime minister and sang Gulzars Ae Watan from Raazi before dispersing, all within an hour. OK View Full Image Students at IIM, Ahmedabad stand in solidarity with the students of JNU. (Photo: AFP) The unlikely protesters Since 5 January, when masked assailants attacked students and teachers at Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University, students across the country have stood in solidarity with JNU. A tiranga march was held at Aligarh Muslim University, itself the scene of violence a few weeks ago, and protests took place in Cotton University, Assam, and Jadavpur University, West Bengal, among others. Students from colleges that otherwise remain politically aloof also stood up. JMC (Jesus & Mary College) and St Stephens College from Delhi university and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, have registered their support for JNU students. Hundreds of students protested at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay on 8 January. Many have been protesting despite little support from college authorities. On 8 January, around 120 JMC students assembled in front of their college but were asked to leave. The protest was a small beginning. Irrespective of the pressures from the admin, it was necessary to show solidarity against the misuse of power and the brazen violation of fundamental rights by the government," says a third-year JMC student, who wished to remain anonymous. Umara Zainab, a third-year student from St Stephens, says, The initial motivation was to join the nationwide protests against CAA-NRC (the new citizenship law and the proposed National Register of Citizens) but then we realized that since such large gatherings are not easy to form in college often, it could be used to discuss a broader range of issuesthe oppression of Muslims, Dalits and people from the North-East, Kashmir and Ladakh, the discriminatory Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019." Faculty members also expressed solidarity, marching to Delhi universitys Arts Faculty with the students, she adds. Film-maker Saba Dewan, an alumna of St Stephens, is pleasantly surprised, recalling a time when activism was unacceptable. Wea group of women studentsalmost got rusticated because we protested against misogyny in Stephens." Today, she says, the old boys club" has become a place where feminist movements such as Pinjra Tod have a hold. These winds of change have been blowing, not in huge gusts like in other places, but its opening up the space to stand up and forge solidarities." AB View Full Image Worlds first artificial humans by Star Labs, Samsung Electronics Co.s independent research arm (Photo: Neon Life) Meet the artificial humans One of the highlights from the CES tech show in Las Vegas earlier this week was a demonstration of the worlds first artificial humans" by Star Labs, Samsung Electronics Co.s independent research arm. Each digital avatar, called NEON, is a virtual simulation that learns and interacts. According to the official website, NEON is a computationally created virtual being that looks and behaves like a real human, with the ability to show emotions and intelligence". NEON, which is yet to be launched, will be powered by the proprietary CORE R3 engine. Bloomberg reports that the engine has been trained with information about how humans look, behave and interact, using neural networks and Artificial Intelligence. A couple of days before the show, Pranav Mistry, CEO of Star Labs, tweeted that the CORE R3 can now autonomously create new expressions, new movements, (and) new dialog (even in Hindi)." These avatars, which will only appear on screen, could, in fact, be more than digital assistants. In the future, companies could use NEON for different purposes: as digital bank tellers or as flight attendants. It could even become a users companion or friend.NS View Full Image Photo: Alamy Pulao that gets you high How does one get home-made food for a space mission? Scientists at the high-tech kitchen of Mysurus Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) may have an answer. They have a menu with 30 items for Indias first manned mission to space, the Gaganyaan, scheduled for take-off in December 2021. The items range from egg and vegetarian rolls to one-pot meals like veg pulao and desserts such as moong dal halwa. To optimize taste, food heaters will be provided. As for drinks, customized containers have been developed to prevent zero gravity from interfering with a meal experience. A 2018 Lounge feature about food created for space travel pointed out that idlis can be dehydrated through infrared radiation while the sambhar and chutney could be provided in powdered form and rehydrated with the flavour more or less intact. Reportedly, edible crockery and cutlery is in the making to reduce wastage in space. The Indian Space Research Organization aims to send three astronauts to space for at least seven days under its Gaganyaan mission. JB Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics A year ago, Ray Lopez had a tough decision to make. Lopez, the former San Antonio councilman, was running in a special election for the Texas House District 125 seat that Justin Rodriguez vacated to join the Bexar County Commissioners Court. One of Lopezs opponents, local activist Steve Huerta, faced multiple questions about whether he was eligible to be on the ballot. State law requires that you live within a legislative district for at least a year before you file to run. Huerta had indicated, in an August 2018 application for a Democratic precinct-chair post, that he resided in a West Side apartment outside the district. There also were questions (subject to interpretation of the Texas Election Code) about whether a two-decade-old drug felony barred Huerta from running. Team Lopez discussed the possibility of filing a lawsuit to get Huerta thrown off the ballot, but, in the end, they concluded that he wasnt going to be a big factor in the race. They decided that legal action would be more trouble than it was worth. The decision paid off: Huerta finished a distant fifth in the race, with 6 percent of the vote, and Lopez ultimately triumphed in the runoff. A similar calculus recently came into play for Xochil Pena Rodriguez, the former assistant city attorney (and daughter of former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez), who is making her first electoral bid in the Democratic primary for Texas Senate District 19. The district has been a perennial Democratic seat, but flipped to the GOP in 2018 when retired game warden Pete Flores pulled off a special-election upset. On ExpressNews.com: Gutierrez-Rodriguez match likely in Senate District 19 Last month, Rodriguez sued the Texas Democratic Party, contending that it wrongly allowed one of her primary opponents, Belinda Shvetz, to run for the Senate seat. On Wednesday, Rodriguez obtained a temporary restraining order from state District Judge Cathleen Stryker, with a temporary-injunction hearing scheduled for next Monday. Rodriguezs lawsuit alleges that Shvetz has provided two addresses for herself. One of those addresses is outside the district and the other one is the location of a South Side tire shop. Shvetz took to Facebook Tuesday and proclaimed, I will not be silenced! Shvetz called the legal action a bullying tactic demonstrating Rodriguezs entitled privilege to hold this office. She added that Rodriguez is afraid of her, backing up that contention by saying that Rodriguezs attorney, Luis Vera, told Shvetz at the courthouse, You could very well win this. Vera has a slightly different recollection of their exchange. He says Shvetz asked him, Why are you doing this? Vera says he responded by telling Shvetz, Anybody, including you, can win this race. But the problem is youre not qualified to be here, so if by some grace of God you were to win, the Republicans are going to knock you out and were going to have another Republican (in the seat). Theres a good case to be made that all ineligible candidates should immediately be subjected to legal challenges, as a matter of principle, because their presence on the ballot warps the process and creates the possibility of general-election chaos. In this instance, Rodriguezs campaign team also was motivated by a belief that Shvetz a little-known long-shot candidate with no electoral experience had been prompted to run by some outside force, presumably an outside force that doesnt want Rodriguez to win. Vera, who said Shvetz lives from house to house with different friends and has no expendable income, pointed to the fact that Shvetz, in lieu of collecting petition signatures, paid a $1,250 election filing fee with 12 $100 bills. Shvetz declined Thursday to discuss the specifics of the case, other than to say the Rodriguez campaign is grasping at straws. Glen Maxey, the primary director for the Texas Democratic Party, said its not unusual for candidates to pay filing fees in cash. He said Shvetz, at her Austin campaign filing, came across as an exuberant, enthusiastic first-time candidate. She said, This has always been on my bucket list, to run for office, Maxey recalled. The bottom line is that the primary is shaping up as a battle between Rodriguez and state Rep. Roland Gutierrez. The district stretches across 17 counties, from the South Side of San Antonio to West Texas. Building your name ID is a challenge. Gutierrez benefits from the fact that he ran in the 2018 special election. Rodriguez is still introducing herself to voters. Without Shvetz on the ballot, Rodriguez would be the only woman in the race. With Shvetz on the ballot, theres a greater chance for confusion among low-information voters. That kind of confusion is something that Rodriguez doesnt need. @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 Torremolinos town hall has praised the rapid and effective intervention of Local Police officers in the attempted suicide of a teenager last week. The incident took place on one of the bridges that cross over the AP-7 motorway, after several drivers contacted the emergency services to warn that a young man was standing on the edge of the bridge. The worried motorists told the authorities that the youngster looked as though he intended to jump. Five officers were dispatched to the scene and, after talking the young man away from the edge, effectively brought the situation under control. The youngster, who has not been named, had allegedly announced his suicide in a WhatsApp group. Councillor for Citizen Security Antonio Ruiz said, "We want to congratulate the Local Police of Torremolinos for their exceptional skill. We are extremely grateful for their rapid intervention." In Parliament today: Bill to amend CVC and Delhi Police Special Act to be tabled today JNU violence: Police accuse JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh of violence, release photos India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Jan 10: The Delhi Police on Friday said that nine suspects, inluding the JNU Students' Union President Aishe Ghosh have been identified in connection with the violence on the JNU campus on Sunday evening. "JNU administration decided to go for online registration of students from Jan 1-5. JNU Students' Union including Students Front of India, All India Students Federation, All India Students, Association and Democratic Students Federation were against it," Dr Joy Tirkey, DCP/Crime told media persons. JNU violence: 70 administrators of WhatsApp groups under scanner "Those identified include- Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Aishe Ghosh (JNUSU President elect), Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukraj, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj, Vikas Patel," he added. He said no suspect has been detained so far but they will begin to interrogate them soon, The cop also released the photographs of JNU campus attackers, including JNUSU president Ghosh. The police zeroed down on particular WhatsApp group named 'Unity Against Left' that formed ahead of the Sunday's violence spree and its administrator is one of the accused in the violence. "The investigation regarding the criminal cases filed in connection with the JNU violence incident is being carried out by the Crime Branch. But it has been observed that a lot of misinformation related to these cases is being circulated," said Delhi Police PRO, MS Randhawa. Violence broke out in JNU on Sunday when a mob, armed with sticks and rods entered the campus and beat students and teachers, leaving morethan 30 injured. Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Duc Binh, head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to ASEAN, presided over the event, which also saw the attendance of ambassadors and permanent representatives from other ASEAN countries. ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi was present at the opening ceremony. In his opening remarks, Binh highlighted the theme of the ASEAN Year 2020 Cohesive and Responsive and priorities proposed by Vietnam as ASEAN Chair for the year. Priorities have been set to spur the development of the ASEAN Community, enhance regional connectivity, improve adaptability, take advantage of opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, raise the ASEAN identity, capacity and operational efficiency, promote the groups central role, and step up its relations and cooperation with partners in order to consolidate a peaceful environment and a secure, stable region. The Vietnamese mission that holds the CPR Presidency will work together with member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat to continue implementing the 2019-2020 work programme, focusing on strengthening coordination in addressing cross-pillar and inter-sectoral issues regarding building the ASEAN Community, improving the capacity and operational efficiency of the ASEAN Secretariat, and realising priorities of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration on narrowing the development gap, the ambassador said. Binh stressed that the CPR will prioritise the early completion of eight draft action plans between ASEAN and partners like Canada, China, India, the EU, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the US and the UN during the 2021-2025 period, which are expected to be adopted at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in August, along with draft joint declarations of ministers meetings and high-level meetings between ASEAN and its partners, including ASEAN 1, ASEAN 3 and the East-Asia Summit (EAS) slated for November. According to the ambassador, to raise awareness and realise the groups priorities on environmental protection and plastic waste reduction, and improve the efficiency of CPR meetings, there will be no plastic waste or printed documents at meetings in 2020. The initiative has received the approval of other ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat, he said. Addressing the opening ceremony, ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi lauded the theme of the ASEAN Year 2020 chosen by Vietnam, which he said is timely and suitable because amidst fierce competition, rising protectionism and new security challenges, ASEAN needs to maintain and promote its central role, intensify economic connectivity, and adapt and utilise opportunities generated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To that end, it is necessary for the grouping to improve its identity, deepen ties with partner countries and pay more attention to enhancing institutional capacity, he suggested. Emphasising the CPRs central position in ASEAN activities, Lim Jock Hoi said the committee should uphold its significant role in forging cooperation between sectors in ASEAN Community building activities. Close relations and collaboration between the CPR and the ASEAN Secretariat should be maintained, thus helping to raise connectivity in ASEAN, he said. Lim Jock Hoi expressed his hope that member countries will increase all-level meetings in Jakarta, and pledged that the ASEAN Secretariat will closely coordinate and cooperate with Vietnam to successfully realise the countrys priorities and initiatives for the bloc in 2020, laying an important foundation for the ASEAN Community to further develop in the years to come. According to the ASEAN Charter, the CPR was put into operation in early 2009, with its tasks focusing on monitoring the implementation of leaders decisions, implementing master plans on the ASEAN Community, helping ministers coordinate cross-pillar and inter-sectoral issues, strengthening relations with ASEANs external partners, and providing substantive and administrative direction and support to the ASEAN Secretariat. Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], Jan 10 (ANI): An acid attack survivor from Bhubaneswar, Promoodini believes that Chhapaak movie will make people aware of the issue of acid attacks on women and several other problems a woman faces after the attack. She further appealed everyone to watch the movie. "I am an acid attack survivor and I know what are the struggles. I don't consider myself as a victim, I am a fighter and I am an acid attack campaigner. I am excited about the release of Chhapaak movie as it will make people aware of the issue of acid attacks on women," Promodini told ANI. Promodini leads "Stop Acid Attack Cell" under the banner of Chhanv Foundation in Odisha. "We have been fighting for a long time that the issue of acid attacks should reach every corner of the nation. The awareness is needed among the people to stop such crimes. I want to appeal to the public to go and watch Chhapaak," said Promodini. She believes that people should watch this movie to understand the struggle of a girl after an acid attack including the medical struggle, problems while facing the society, the way people react when she steps out in public. "Some people are trying to spark controversy regarding this movie but many of them are supporting it as well. This issue needs to reach in each and every household. I am not a victim, society makes us feel like victims. If a woman is raped or attacked with acid the society victimises that person. But we have proved that we are not victims," said Promodini. "The people who throw acid on women should think for once the pain we undergo when we see our skin melting like polythene. It is extremely painful," she added. She further asserted that even today acid is being made easily available in several states and through the medium of this movie the society will get aware about such a serious issue. "Supreme Court through its guidelines has implemented many rules on the sale of acid but these rules are not being implemented properly in any state. Therefore acid is made easily available and attacks are taking place," said Promodini. The movie, which hit the cinemas today, is based on Laxmi's life. In 2005, at the age of 15, she was allegedly attacked by a spurned lover. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping other acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such gruesome attacks. (ANI) Earlier this week, in Istanbul, Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, which consists of two pipelines with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year each. The first line will deliver Russian gas to Turkish consumers, the second - to the countries of Southern and Southeast Europe. In anticipation of this event, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said: We know how important the Turkish Stream project is for Russia and Turkey. Both countries are our close partners, so we supported this project from the very beginning. As for the delivery of Azerbaijani gas to the European market after the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be supplied to Europe. This is a very small amount compared to the volume that Russia supplies - 150-170 billion cubic meters of gas per year. That is why the Southern Gas Corridor project, of course, is not a competitor at all. " A few days later, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov in an interview with the Azerbaijani SVS channel did not ruled out that at some stage, Russian gas could be delivered via the Trans-Anatolian gas Pipeline (TANAP) project. Both Russia and Azerbaijan are oil and gas countries producing hydrocarbons. We already cooperate - Russia participates in the development of oil and gas condensate fields in Azerbaijan. Who knows, maybe, at some stage, our gas will be distributed through TANAP, I would not rule this out, the diplomat said. On November 30, TANAP reached the borders of the European Union, and, in October, Azerbaijan will begin to supply gas to Europe. TANAP along with the development of the Shah Deniz-2 gas field, expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline Baku-Georgia-Turkish border, construction of the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) connecting Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy became a part of the Southern Gas Corridor ( SGC) project, which provides for the creation of a pipeline infrastructure for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas through Turkey to Europe. SGC will provide the necessary transport capacity to deliver 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the Caspian region directly to Europe. The South Gas Corridor, first proposed in the 1990s as an alternative source of energy from the Caspian region and the Middle East, is finally becoming a reality, Natural Gas World writes in the article TANAP AND TURKEY'S ENERGY AMBITIONS. On November 30, Erdogan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated a link between the Turkish and Greek gas grids, which marks the completion of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). This is no mean feat. Surely, its supplies to Europe - some 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) annually - are a drop in the ocean compared with the volumes the EU receives from Russia (176 bcm in 2018). But for countries like Greece and Bulgaria, both of which import about three bcm of Russian gas a year, this is a significant alternative source. The two countries have contracts for one bcm with the company behind TANAP - Shah Deniz, an international consortium of BP, Azerbaijan's SOCAR, Turkey's TPAO, Norway's Equinor and others. This gives the two countries bargaining power vis-a-vis their main supplier, Russian state-owned energy giant, Gazprom. According to Natural Gas World, TANAP represents a strategic achievement for Turkey. For a long time, it has strived to graduate from a larger consumer to a transit country, capitalising on its position in between oil and gas-producers and major importers in Europe. The arrival of Azeri gas to the Balkans, brings that vision to fruition. With the opening in 2006 of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which runs to the strategic Turkish seaport of Ceyhan, Azerbaijan was able to export its oil to international markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) gas pipeline inaugurated the same year allowed the supply of Azeri gas to Georgia and Turkey. Now with TANAP, Azerbaijan can also sell its natural gas in the EU and seize some market share from Gazprom. Ankara's long-standing ambition is for TANAP to be scaled up from 16 to 31 bcm, with gas coming from other destinations such as Turkmenistan, northern Iraq and Iran. If it plays its cards right, Turkey may establish itself as a trading hub and top-notch energy power. Such an outcome, however, remains a distant prospect. Problems with supply in producer countries due to both production challenges or security concerns, as well as uncertainty about future demand in Europe, geopolitical risks, regulatory hurdles, and domestic instability all constrain Ankara's ambitions. The opening of the TANAP/TAP connection has helped move forward work on an interconnector linking up Greece and Bulgaria's grids. Known as IGB, the interconnector will also serve a planned floating regasification unit at the port of Alexandroupoli in northeast Greece, a project backed by the US. Cross-border energy connectivity in Southeast Europe is in line with both US and Turkish interests. The EU, too, despite tense and often fractious relations with Erdogan, has been a staunch supporter of the Southern Gas Corridor. It falls in line with its own diversification efforts launched after Russia's temporary cuts of gas deliveries through Ukraine in 2006 and 2009. Competition over gas shipments to and through Southeast Europe is heating up and with the inauguration TANAP, Turkey has become a key player. Chances are that in energy, as in other issues, such as the Syria conflict, it would continue to balance between the West and Russia in order to get the best deal. One of Pixars biggest strengths is its ability to envision fantastic new worlds. But for its newest Disney+ short, Loop, it looked closer to home for inspiration. Loop follows two teens as they canoe across a serene urban lake. They make an unlikely pair; verbose outgoing Marcus is reluctantly paired with a non-verbal autistic girl named Renee who relies on her phone ringtone as a comforting presence. When they veer from their planned path and her phone falls in the water, Renee panics and Marcus must learn to understand her unique communication style. RELATED: How this Pixar storyboard artist made 'Float,' a Disney+ short about his autistic son For those whove spent time in the East Bay, the lake should look familiar. Writer and director Erica Milsom has gone canoeing every year on her birthday since the age of 17 and has a strong love for Berkeleys Aquatic Park, using it as an inspiration for the landscape, as well as modeling the canoe docks after the non-profit Waterside Workshops. Milsom spent the last decade directing documentaries that spotlight Pixars creation process, but shifted into the drivers seat for her own project through Pixars SparkShorts program, which gives creators six months and a small team to turn a personal idea into a fully realized short. Milsom wanted to combine her love of canoeing with what shes learned from volunteering with Bay Area youth education nonprofits. While teaching a workshop on acting at the NIAD Art Center in Richmond, she interacted with people unable to express themselves with words. It made me think about how I dont see that a lot in stories space between us where we dont share a language and cant learn each others language. Theres no Rosetta stone for non-verbal communication, adds producer Krissy Cababa. Milsom understood that the films success would depend on finding an actor with the perfect voice. The whole film was about finding vocalizations that are evocative, but not exactly clear. We needed to find someone with a powerful and interesting voice, but not one that we understood. Thankfully her experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities made finding a non-speaking autistic girl relatively easy. To be frank, people were a little concerned about how we would cast this. I just put the message out to Bay Area nonprofits, and within two weeks we had our two main options, says Milsom. She settled on Oakland native Madison Bandy, a teenager who makes art at non-profit Creative Growth. She comes from a family of musicians, which gave her cadence a musicality that helped guide the plot. RELATED: A Pixar engineer became a director to tell his immigration story in 'Wind' on Disney+ Milsom also felt excited to showcase a voice like Bandys as a contrast to many of the negative cinematic stereotypes of non-verbal characters. To ensure the film would be sensitive, Milsom floated the script with her autistic friends, then also vetted aesthetic decisions like sound and lighting with members of Autistic Self Advocacy Network. We had picked one of the lighting ranges thinking that would be the one they liked the best, but they picked the exact opposite, says Cababa. They said thats the calming one, that makes us feel good. The other is super stressful. As a result, the film has an oversaturated, dream-like character with super bright greens and a narrow focus. That type of nuanced worldbuilding was one of the many challenges Milsom faced shifting from directing live-action documentaries to an animated short. The thing about animation, is like its directing on steroids because you choose everything. Drawing from her own personal geography and experience working in the nonprofit world helped anchor Loop, but much like the plot of the film, the process was an exercise in struggling to adapt to a new style of communication. And as Renee and Marcus learn, when lacking a common language, communication all comes down to making emotional connections. The goal for me was to share Renee and Marcuss experience and have the world get a sense that theres potential in this relationship, says Milsom. And I loved sharing that with Pixar, having our whole studio get on board together, and learn something and convey something we didnt understand before this short. Dan Gentile is a digital editor at SFGATE. Email: Dan.Gentile@sfgate.com | Twitter: @Dannosphere A Delhi court Friday put Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on trial for allegedly defaming Zee Media Corporation Ltd. Additional Chief Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja framed the charges against the politician under section 499 and 500 (related to criminal defamation) of Indian Penal Code. The court accepted the arguments advanced by advocate Vijay Aggarwal, the counsel for Zee Media, that there was enough evidence against Moitra to put her on trial. The offence of defamation provides a simple imprisonment which may extent up to two years. The court had on December 17 granted bail to the politician on a personal bond of Rs 20,000, after she appeared before it in pursuance to the summons issued against her. The court had earlier asked the parties whether there was possibility of settlement between the parties. The suggestion was, however, denied by Moitra who said they had a "substantive" case separately going on in another court. Zee filed a defamation complaint against Moitra for allegedly making statements against the channel to the media. The alleged defamatory statements against the channel were made by the MP while she was speaking to reporters on allegations against her. Prior to that, Moitra had filed a criminal defamation complaint against Zee and its editor-in-chief, Sudhir Chaudhary, in connection with a show aired by it on one of her speeches delivered in Parliament. The court had on November 4 summoned the accused in the case filed by the politician. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: The Punjab Police used water cannons to disperse workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), protesting against the increase in power tariff in the state, outside the residence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. MP Bhagwant Mann, who was leading the AAP protest against the Punjab government was detained. The police used water cannons to stop party leaders including MP Bhagwant Mann, MLAs Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and workers from moving towards the residence of the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. According to the reports, the AAP workers planned to 'gherao' the official residence of Amarinder. Chandigarh: Police use water cannon against Aam Aadmi Party workers who are protesting against high power tariff, outside Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's residence. MP Bhagwant Mann is leading the protest. pic.twitter.com/K4WxPpJBvK ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020 The AAP workers clashed with police after they were stopped from heading towards Capt Amarinder Singh's official residence with the police using water cannons. Police, however, had barricaded the road with the deployment of a huge force leading to the Chief Minister's residence. When the protesters started marching towards the residence, they were stopped by the police. Also Read: CAB Won't 'Arrive' In Bengal, Punjab, Kerala As Chief Ministers Put 'No Entry' Board Parliament In Georgia's Breakaway Abkhazia Calls On Separatist Leader To Resign By RFE/RL's Georgian Service January 09, 2020 The de facto parliament in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia has called on the separatist region's leader, Raul Khadzhimba, to step down. In a resolution adopted on January 9, the self-styled lawmakers said the move aimed at avoiding "further destabilization in society," which they said could have "irreparable consequences." After the vote, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Khadzhimba as saying: "I am staying in office and performing my constitutional duties." Earlier in the day, demonstrators stormed the building housing the de facto presidential administration and demanded the separatist leader's resignation. An RFE/RL correspondent in the regional capital, Sukhumi, said dozens of protesters broke into the building, breaking almost all of the windows on the first floor while hundreds more outside chanted "Khadzhimba, Go Away!" Khadzhimba was not thought to be in the building during the incident. The protesters had first gathered in front of the building of the breakaway region's de facto Supreme Court, which was scheduled to hear opposition presidential candidate Alkhas Kvitsinia's appeal against a lower court's decision to recognize the results of a September "presidential election" won by Khadzhimba. Minor clashes between pro-Khadzhimba activists and their opponents took place during the rally but no injuries were reported. Moscow has recognized Abkhazia and Georgia's other separatist region, South Ossetia, as independent states after a five-day Georgia-Russia war in August 2008. Russian troops are now stationed in the two regions and Georgia and most of the international community consider both regions as occupied territories. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/protesters-in-georgia-s- breakaway-abkhazia-storm-presidential- administration-building/30368433.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ms. Williamson, 67, built her campaign around an eclectic mix of progressive policies and lofty pronouncements. President Trumps election was a symptom of a spiritually diseased society, she said, and only love, not plans, could defeat him. Mr. President, if youre listening, I want you to hear me, please: You have harnessed fear for political purposes, and only love can cast that out, she declared from the debate stage in June. Im going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field, and sir, love will win. Ms. Williamson was averaging less than 1 percent in polls and had not qualified for a debate since July. Earlier this month, she laid off her entire staff a development first reported by New Hampshires WMUR television station and confirmed by Ms. Williamsons campaign manager, Patricia Ewing, who was among those laid off. At that July debate, she gave forceful responses to two questions about race describing reparations not as financial assistance but rather payment of a debt that is owed, and saying the water crisis in Flint, Mich., would never have happened in a wealthy, majority-white suburb and got a brief surge of public attention. But her poll numbers did not budge, and the spotlight also brought renewed scrutiny of her views on science and medicine. Earlier in the year, she had called vaccine mandates Orwellian, then backtracked under fire. She also criticized the widespread use of antidepressants, linking them without evidence to celebrity suicides and asserting that doctors recklessly prescribe them to suppress ordinary emotions. Yusaku Maezawa, a key investor in SpaceX's next-generation rocket system, started a unique social experiment to see if the money boosts employees happiness. In the experiment, Maezawa literally gave away $9 million (Rs 64.36 crore) to a thousand of his Twitter followers. The 44-year-old Japanese businessman, whose net worth is currently estimated at 2 billion USD gave money to 1,000 followers who had retweeted his January 1 post. The 1,000 winners would be selected randomly. Its a serious social experiment, he said on YouTube, as translated by Reuters. "Money will be distributed to the recipients on a monthly basis over the course of the next year, according to the London Times. There are no restrictions as to how the money can be used. Maezawa recently made headlines by signing up to become the first private passenger to fly around the moon in 2023 aboard Elon Musk's SpaceX. He linked the giveaway to the idea of basic income, or the theory of providing a periodic no-strings-attached payment to all citizens, that has gained traction in some political circles and is backed by Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Basic means a regular minimum amount offering a sense of security, what Maezawa is offering is totally different, said Toshihiro Nagahama, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. Twitter On his official Twitter account, Maezawa explained, "This campaign may be a reference for the government to consider basic income and any benefits and subsidies. While discussions and experiments on basic income are being conducted around the world, some experimental results should be needed here in Japan as well". He also said, "In the current economic situation, living environment, work environment, home environment, etc., I learned again that there are many people who are stuck in difficulty, unable to take new challenges, and helplessly. If those people get a "start" of 1 million yen (Rs 64 crore approx)... For example, if you use a favorite job for a job change job. If you use it for study, lessons and experiences that will increase your income. Use it to advertise your daily activities and work to raise your profile". The survey found that having a low income exacerbated emotional pain in negative life events like divorce or illness. America. The survey also found that money did lead to happiness - to a large extent. New Delhi: BHEL Bhopal recruitment notification has been released for Trade Apprentice posts. All eligible and interested candidates need to apply through the prescribed format by visiting the official website of BHEL Bhopal, i.e. bpl.bhel.com. A total of 550 vacant positions of ITI Trade Apprentice are going to be filled through this recruitment drive. Candidates must make sure to read the official notification and eligibility criteria carefully before applying for the exam. The BHEL Trade Apprentice application process is going to be conducted online. Candidates must make sure to apply online for the BHEL Trade Apprentice latest by January 31, 2020. Nevertheless, the last date of receiving documents for the post of BHEL Trade Apprentice is February 10, 2020. In order to apply for the Trade Apprentice Post, candidates need to visit the official website of BHEL Bhopal, i.e. bpl.bhel.com and click on the Trade Apprentice link. Alternatively, candidates can also click on the below mentioned direct link to apply directly. BHEL Bhopal Recruitment: Vacancy Details BHEL Bhopal is going to fill vacant positions of Electrician, Mechanic Motor Vehicle, Mechanist Grinder, Fitter, Mason, Turner, Painter, Welder, Draftsman, Carpenter, Plumber and Computer Operator and Programming assistant (COPA/PASAA). BHEL Bhopal Recruitment: Eligibility Criteria In order to apply for the Trade Apprentice Post, candidates need to passed class 10 and class 12 exam from a recognized board depending upon the post with ITI Trade Certificate in relevant discipline from NCVT. Candidates need to visit the official website, bpl.bhel.com and apply online latest by January 31, 2020. Candidates also need to send the documents by post to BHEL, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh latest by February 10, 2020. The direct link to check the official notification and online registration process are as follows: BHEL Bhopal Trade Apprentice Notification BHEL Bhopal Trade Apprentice Online Application Link Britains Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have announced they will step back from senior positions in the royal family. The couple said they hope to become financially independent and create a new charity -- while continuing some royal duties. The move came as a surprise to the British royal family. Hours after the announcement appeared on Instagram, Buckingham Palace released a short statement. It said discussions with Harry and Meghan were at an early stage and that such complex issues take time to work out. British media did not like the idea, either. The Daily Mirror called the announcement a shocking disregard for the Queen. The Sun described the decision as Megxit. The word is a play on Brexit -- a common term for Britains withdrawal from the European Union. It also raises questions about how the couple will earn a living, who will pay for their security, and what their new positions will involve. Security and living situation In their announcement, Harry and Meghan said they plan to divide their time between Britain and North America. Meghan was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Hollywood. Harry and Meghan spent the last six weeks of 2019 in Canada. Their first official appearance of 2020 was a trip to Canada House in London, home of Canadas diplomatic mission to Britain. They will continue to base themselves at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of the queens Windsor Castle while in Britain. The property was recently repaired at a cost of 2.4 million pounds ($3.13 million) by taxpayers. The couple also made clear that they expect the government to continue to pay their security costs. This is required by the Home Office, which is responsible for security of the royal family. The cost of the security is not publicly available information. But it is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of British pounds a year. How will they earn a living? The couple said on their new website that they are seeking financial independence from the royal familys funding, known as the Sovereign Grant. This is government money that covers the ongoing costs related to daily life and travel. The couple said the grant represented about 5 percent of money needed to run their official office. They did not say if they will give up the remaining 95 percent, which comes from Prince Charles centuries-old private estate. The couples new website, Sussex Royal, does not say exactly how they plan to fund themselves in the future. Last year, it was reported that Harry would be executive producer of a film on mental health for Apples video streaming service. And royal writer Penny Junor suggested that Meghan, who starred in the television show Suits, might restart her acting career. The couple has not said they would give up their royal names -- the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. And, their website noted that other royal family members have kept their titles while earning money in other ways. Marriage - and the media Harry and Meghan married in May 2018 in a ceremony in Windsor Castle. Their marriage was considered at the time to be a sign of a more modern monarchy. Their son, Archie, was born in May 2019. The familys relationship with the media has worsened quickly over time, as they struggled to deal with the pressure, criticism and scrutiny. Harry described the medias treatment of his wife as bullying, and likened it to that of his mother before her death. His mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in France in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi. Harry and Meghan announced they plan to greatly change media access to their official events. They will no longer take part in the traditional royal rota system, which is an agreement providing access for royal correspondents. The royal rota system permits access to their appearances and events by official correspondents. These correspondents take photographs and videos, which they then share with others in the media. Now the couple said their plan is to speak directly to the public through social media. They plan to deny automatic access to some royal correspondents. The change may make them more of a target for paparazzi photographers, who will no longer worry about losing access to official events if they are already excluded. Im Caty Weaver. And I'm Pete Musto. Ashley Thompson adapted this story based on reports by the Reuters news agency and other materials. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story charity - n. an organization that helps people who are poor, sick, etc. disregard - n. the act of ignoring something or treating something as unimportant funding - n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose estate - n. all of the things that a person owns monarchy - n. a country that is ruled by a monarch (such as a king or queen) scrutiny - n. the act of carefully examining something especially in a critical way access - n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone correspondent - n. a person whose job is to send news to a newspaper, radio station, or television program often from different places around the world paparazzi - n. photographers who follows famous people in order to take their pictures and then sells the pictures to newspapers or magazines Mississippi is one of the most diverse areas to visit. In the U.S. You will have a lot of fun time by discovering exciting places to visit in Mississippi. From resorts to festivals, outdoor adventures to fine dining, you will get to find out the main reason why Mississippi is called the "Hospitality State." Lake Tiak-O'Khata should be on your list of places to visit when you are in Mississippi. Lake Tiak-O'Khata is one of the most exciting places in the state. The name was translated to "Lake of the Pines," and the resort there has all kinds of activities for visitors. From a beach water slides, a nature trail and 100 acres lake to a water playground, a beach, swimming area, a lakeside motel, a restaurant, and cabins as well as RV sites, this is an overwhelming outdoor adventure. The Nanih Waiya will be another adventure, on places to visit on the Mississippi tour because it is situated in Winston. The Nanih Waiya mound was more than likely constructed in or around 300 CE (Christian Era or Common Era). This ancient mound is 25 feet high, 140 feet wide, and 220 feet long. The Chocolate Indians own it in Mississippi after being returned to them by the state in 2006. This ancient mound once had an enclosure made from the earth that was 10 feet tall surrounding it on three different sides. Take a trip to Caroll County to see the places that are important to visit In Mississippi as they are only offered in this beautiful area. The northern section of the country has the Triple N Ranch with more than 600 acres for you to tour. There are also hills and lakes and some horses you can ride. The crew at Triple N will even help you to set up a rodeo arena just for you if you want that. This service is not just for experienced riders only. They have different horses suitable for those who have never ridden before and those who are well experienced in riding horses. A gift shop is also located here. Have you ever visited a blues club? No right? Then now is your chance to go there while finding places to visit in Mississippi. The Ground Zero Blues Club has a lot of bands on the national and local levels that play at the club. A Mississippi native doctor, Morgan Freeman is one of the three owners of Ground Zero. This blues club has been featured on many television stations such as The Travel Channel, The Food Network, The Discovery Channel, and many more. The menu at Ground Zero serves Southern hospitality and southern dishes. Now you know the places to visit in Mississippi. There are several hotels In Mississippi, but on the case that you visit Oregon in the United States, one of the best hotels you can lodge is Shilo Inn. The hotel is a mid-price hotel, located on the beachside at Seaside, Oregon. Australians will continue to fly through Iranian airspace despite the United States banning its flights because of pre-existing business deals with airlines in the area. Qantas and Virgin Australia both have code-share arrangements with Persian Gulf-based operators which neighbour Iran. A Qantas spokesperson said on Friday that its agreement with Dubai-based Emirates remains intact but its Perth to London flights will be diverted via Singapore or Hong Kong. Qantas will re-route its Perth to London QF9 service out ot Iranian airspace but will maintain code-share arrangements with Emirates (stock image) A Virgin Australia spokesperson said the airline's code-share with Etihad is still in place and encouraged customers to contact the middle-eastern carrier if concerned. No other Virgin Australia flights travel through the region. Qantas said the QF9 service from Perth to London would be redirected but its other flight to London, QF1, is unaffected as it already stops in Singapore. 'Were adjusting our flight paths over the Middle East to avoid the airspace over Iraq and Iran until further notice,' they said. 'Were looking at temporarily routing QF9 through Asia until were able to return to our normal flight path through the Middle East. 'This would mean a fuel stop in a city like Singapore or Hong Kong but it would enable us to still carry a full load of passengers on these heavily booked flights, and minimise disruption that way.' Emirates and Etihad run multiple non-stop services every day from Melbourne and Sydney to their headquarters in the United Arab Emirates. Virgin Australia does not operate any of its own flights in the region but has a code-share arrangement with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Both use large aircrafts that can carry hundreds of passengers each. The US Federal Aviation Authority banned American airlines from flying into the Gulf, or over Iran and Iraq, on Wednesday, after Iran launched missiles at US airbases in Iraq. The conflict was prompted by the assassination of Iranian military general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad last week, by an American drone strike ordered by US president Donald Trump. Later on Wednesday, a Ukrainian plane bound for Kiev crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran airport killing all 176 people on board. Two days later, world leaders declared they had intel that Iran had brought down the plane with two russian-made missiles, with footage leaked to media outlets hours later. A map shows a selection of routes that usually fly through Iranian airspace An Emirates spokesman said the airline cancelled its Dubai to Baghdad and Baghdad to Dubai flights on Wednesday for 'operational reasons'. 'We are carefully monitoring the developments and are in close contact with the relevant government authorities with regards to our flight operations, and will make further operational changes if required,' he said. 'As always, the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority and will not be compromised.' Code share agreements are a common practice in the aviation industry and allow airlines to purchase seats on an aircraft operated by another carrier but market it as their own. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Etihad for comment. Rescue teams gather at the scene after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning on January 8, 2020, killing everyone on board Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Baguio City (CNN Philippines, January 10) Parts of the Burnham Park will be closed to public once its rehabilitation begins by May, according to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong. "It will be in stages. May mga sections na isasara," Magalong said during his meeting with Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano to lay the groundwork for the Baguio rehabilitation plan on Friday. [Translation: It will be in stages. There will be sections which will closed.] Restoration of the tourist attraction might take a year and a half, he added. The rehabilitation program of the amusement park already received P480-million national funding, Romulo-Puyat said. Burnham Park is just one of the most famous tourist spots in Baguio, which will be restored as part of the rehabilitation of Baguio City. Also in queue are: -Mines View Park -Arboretum -Bayan Park -Botanical Garden -Tree park -Irisan eco park (Government Service Insurance System-owned property near Baguio Convention Center) -Wright Park -Dominican Heritage Hill and Nature Park These will all be done in phases, according to the local chief executive. "Hindi kakayanin na sabay sabay yan. It will be done probably in the next three years, or even after my term," Magalong said. [Translation: We cannot afford to [rehabilitate all parks] at once. It will be done probably in the next three years, or even after my term.] But Magalong said that Bayan Park and Mines View Park will be totally closed once they get a revamp. "May lugar na total closure yung Bayan Park, mines view park." Plan for mines view includes a glass walkway and a walkway mine tunnel. Magalong also said the Arboretums construction is ongoing, while other projects will commence once the local government secures funding. 22-B need to address Baguio Citys wastewater issues Baguio City would need around 22 billion to solve its sewage problem, its mayor said Friday. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that they are looking for grants from public and private sectors as they are eyeing to invest on sewerage treatment facilities. We are looking at [a] significant amount from national government and we are now in talks with ADB, [which] promised they will provide a significant amount in terms of loan and technical assistance, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said over CNN Philippines's New Day. The local chief executive of Baguio said they lack sewage treatment plants, and this is one of the reasons why they have one of the most contaminated rivers in the country. He added they only have one sewage system that operates more than its normal operating capacity. One major problem we have on environment is the sewage system. We have a total of 44,000 plus cubic meters of discharge [of wastewater] every day and we only have one sewage treatment plant, which could only process 8,000 cubic meters daily, Magalong said. Balili River in Baguio City is more polluted than the Manila Bay, a Department of the National Resources (DENR) official pointed out earlier. This is far worse than Manila Bay, which holds a record of 35 million most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters (ml), said Benny D. Antiporda DENRs undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns. Antiporda said that for rivers such as Balili, the acceptable fecal coliform level is only 4 mpn per 100 ml. Magalong said in a statement that Bued river in Baguio already reached 465 million mpn per 100 ml, which is also beyond the acceptable standards. Untreated sewage water, which normally contains feces, urine and other household and industrial wastes can pollute the environment and cause diseases such as diarrhea. Building sewage systems and improving tourist spots are just two of the rehabilitation projects of the the countrys summer capital. Magalong said that Baguio has three other areas of concern, namely: traffic, water supply and illegal settlers. To improve the traffic situation in Baguio, the local government is planning to charge tourists environment fees. Visitors with vehicles, meanwhile, will have to pay congestion fee. Magalong said, The revenue we will generate from the fees will be used to improve traffic. CNN Philippines's Carolyn Bonquin and Catherine Modesto contributed to this report With his jagged teeth in a gaping mouth, Mitchell the grey nurse shark can look ferocious to the casual observer. Hes 180 kilograms of solid fish, but Di Brandl, a veteran aquarist at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, says hes a gentle giant. Di Brandl, pictured with resident grey nurse shark Mitchell, still loves working at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. Credit:Jason South Her faith was tested, however, the day he accidentally head-butted her. Ms Brandl was diving in a mermaid suit in the Aquarium's giant Oceanarium tank, waving to children, and got distracted. Apparently so did Mitchell, because his nose collided with her forehead. A major failing of the legislative body is its oversight of the $15 billion District government. Council members are strong on pontificating and posturing and spending tax dollars. But they flop at the task of keeping a watchful eye on how the government works. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil seems to be the prevailing sentiment that is, except for a few members who approach their oversight duties with all the finesse of Inspector Clouseau. Whoopi Goldberg has jumped to Lizzos defence after the rapper recently faced a spat of body-shaming, saying she is thrilled the musician is a big-figured woman. During a recent interview with BuzzFeed News, television personality Jillian Michaels questioned why people are celebrating Lizzos body, stating: Why does it matter? Why arent we celebrating her music? Cause it isnt going to be awesome if she gets diabetes. Michaels comments sparked a huge backlash, with several people condemning the personal trainer for insinuating that people with larger physiques are inherently less healthy than those with slimmer figures. Goldberg is among those who have demonstrated their support for Lizzo, speaking about the issue during Thursdays episode of American talk show The View. The Sister Act stars discussed the topic of conversation with her fellow panellists, including comedian Joy Behar. Were not celebrating her body, Behar stated at the beginning of the discussion. Im celebrating the fact that she likes her body, that shes comfortable with herself. Thats whats good. However, Goldberg voiced her opposition to Behars choice of wording. I dont think theres a difference, the 64-year-old said. I think I'm celebrating her body Im thrilled that shes a big-figured woman. Im thrilled that she is, and that she has no compunction about wearing whatever she wants to wear and shes comfortable. So I do celebrate that. After receiving a barrage of criticism online regarding her comments on Lizzo, Michaels issued a statement on Twitter seemingly in response to the situation. As Ive stated repeatedly, we are all beautiful, worthy, and equally deserving, she said. I also feel strongly that we love ourselves enough to acknowledge there are serious health consequences that come with obesity heart disease, diabetes, cancer to name only a few. Michaels said she would never wish these health conditions on anyone, adding: I would hope we prioritise our health because we LOVE ourselves and our bodies. 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 On Thursday, Lizzo shared a video on Instagram, in which she films a scenic view from a balcony. Todays mantra is: This is my life. I have done nothing wrong, the rapper wrote in the caption. I forgive myself for thinking I was wrong in the first place. I deserve to be happy. The ruling Congress on Friday captured the mayoral posts in all 10 municipal corporations in Chhattisgarh. Elections for 151 urban bodies, comprising 10 municipal corporations, 38 municipal councils and 103 nagar panchayats, were held on December 21, and the Congress had managed to win 1283 of 2834 wards. The BJP had won 1131 wards. Of the 10 municipal corporations, the Congress had got a majority in Jagdalpur, Chirmiri and Ambikapur. In seven others, namely Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg , Rajnandgaon, Raigarh, Dhamtari, Korba, the Congress managed to install its mayor after garnering support from Independents. In nine of these corporations, the Congress had won more wards than the BJP, with the latter having an upper hand only in Korba. The Congress' Rajkishore Prasad was elected mayor of Korba on Friday, getting 36 votes against 33 by the BJP's Ritu Chourasia. The BJP had won 31 wards in the 67-member civic house while the Congress had 26, but the latter got the support of eight corporators from the BSP, CPI(M), JCC(J) and Independents. Mayoral polls for the rest nine corporations were held earlier on different days. It was the first time mayors in the state were chosen indirectly, by corporators rather than the electorate. In the 2014 polls, the BJP and Congress had won mayor posts in four corporations each, while two were bagged by Independents. State Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said people had reposed faith in the Congress government while senior BJP MLA Dharamlal Kaushik accused the Bhupesh Baghel dispensation of misusing official machinery to win the polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A bench of Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to all petitioners and scheduled the hearing on January 22, along with other anti-CAA petitions. New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from various petitioners, challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act in different High Courts, on a plea by the Centre seeking transfer of these petition to the top court. The Supreme Court had on Wednesday had agreed to hear on Friday the Centre's plea to transfer PILs filed in different High Courts, across the country challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, to the apex court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice Bobde stating different High Courts may take conflicting views on the matter, especially against the backdrop where nearly 60 PILs have been filed in the apex court. The court observed that it is always good to have advantage to see the view of the High Court. But, at the same time, the Chief Justice said we feel that the high courts should not take a view on the matter when it is pending before the apex court. Mehta said that the PIL on validity of the law is scheduled for hearing in the Karnataka High Court this week. Earlier on December 18, hearing a slew of anti-CAA petitions filed before it, the SC refused to stay the law but agreed to examine its constitutional validity. The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. ss/vd A former Miss Ireland who is from Donegal has set up her own modelling agency. Stunning Laura McDonagh has just launched LMDModels. Announcing the news on social media, she said: "Being from Donegal, you realise theres so much potential, if only we were given the opportunities to carry out our purpose. From my experience of being Miss Ireland I realised that an agency was something we needed in Donegal, I mean why cant we have the same opportunities as every one else in Ireland? We have the beauty of the land and of the people. The agency will be Donegal, Derry and Sligo based. "LMDModels is now official and I honestly am so overwhelmed with the support so far! Thank you all so much," she declared on her facebook page. A past pupil of Crana College in Buncrana, Lauren was named Miss Ireland in 2017, aged 18 at the time. After leaving school, she studied Health and Social care while also working part time as a Beauty Therapist. She was working in Syenna Hair & Beauty in Derry when she became Miss Ireland. Her Instagram page is @lmdmodels SPRINGFIELD Illinois gun dealers will soon get details about new state rules that were supposed to take effect a week ago, but were only just filed by the Illinois State Police. When the Illinois Firearms Dealer License Certification Act was signed last year some aspects were to take effect Jan. 2, but the rules werent finalized. A state police official said those rules were filed this week, but have not yet been published by the Secretary of States Office. They anticipate them being published next week, ISP Public Information Officer Sgt. Christopher Watson said. Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois Executive Director Todd Vandermyde said that was a problem. Not every small business owner in the state looks to the Illinois Register and checks the Secretary of States publications every week whether or not theyre going to be impacted by something, Vandermyde said. The rules he has seen mandate things such as electronic record-keeping and video surveillance. There were well over 5,000 comments turned in opposing the rules that were filed and now a week after the rules were supposed to take effect they turn around and file some emergency rules, Vandermyde said. The law states that by or on Jan. 2, 2020, each certified licensee maintaining an inventory of firearms for sale or transfer must be connected to an alarm monitoring system or service that will notify local law enforcement of an unauthorized intrusion into the premises of the licensee where the firearm inventory is maintained. Another aspect of the law states that by or on Jan. 2, 2021, each certified licensee operating a retail location in the State must maintain a video security system and shall maintain video surveillance of critical areas of the business premises, including, but not limited to, all places where firearms are stored, sold, transferred, or carried, and each entrance and exit. Vandermyde said theres been no clarity on what kinds of electronic record keeping or video surveillance systems will be accepted as compliant with the law, something the rules should spell out. The lack of clear rules and missed implementation deadlines led to half of the states gun dealers, especially in the more rural areas, not seeking state approval to continue operations. Last July, one aspect of the law required federally licensed firearms dealers to apply for the state license on top of the federal license. But because there werent clear rules, more than 1,200 gun owners didnt apply for a state license. That was more than half of the federally licensed gun dealers in Illinois. Vandermyde said another issue he was concerned with was that the delay in Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card renewals could put gun stores and gun owners in a tough spot. The Illinois State Police officials said the agency is working to process more than 60,000 applications in a backlog of FOID renewals. They say applicants gun ownership rights arent suspended during application processing, even if the card expires. Applicants must apply for a renewal before the card expires. Vandermyde said that puts gun dealers in a difficult position. I dont know any FFL who wants to list an ID such as a FOID card that has an expired date on it, he said. Gun owners who have applied for a FOID renewal but have a card with an expired date on it may find they cannot buy guns or ammo, he said. And while FFL dealers will accept an Illinois Concealed Carry license for gun and ammo transactions, not everyone with a FOID card also has a CCL. Add in gun stores closing because of the lack of clarity in the new gun dealer law with rules that havent been published yet and Vandermyde said it leads to diminished gun rights. You have an administration, you have a regulatory scheme that looks to do everything it can to put a hurdle, roadblock, red tape in front of people exercising their right lawfully, he said. Richard Simmons, managing director of the Mad Museum, was yesterday (Wednesday) busy painting and preparing the old telephone box in Henley Street for the new installation. Photo: Mark Williamson M1/1/20/9093 AN old red telephone box in Stratford-upon-Avon will be unveiled at 6pm today, Friday, as a tribute to Shakespeare. If the idea sounds mad - it is - because the telephone box is Stratfords latest exhibit to honour the memory of the worlds greatest playwright and has been commissioned by The MAD (Mechanical Art and Design) Museum based in Henley Street. The kinetic art sculpture is virtually opposite Shakespeares Birthplace in Henley Street and has been created by Pascal Bettex from Switzerland who has produced thought-provoking works of art and worked with The MAD Museum previously. Anyone peering inside the former BT phone box will see a range of items with a strong connection to Shakespeare and his plays like Yoricks skull from Hamlet, a small bust of Shakespeare himself, and the immortal line, To Be, or not to be stamped on a moving spring. Stratford mayor Cllr Kate Rolfe has accepted the call to unveil the phone box at 6pm. Iain Simmons, manager at The MAD Museum said: Pascal got hold of all the internal dimensions and created the sculpture off site for installation here on Thursday and Friday. Pascal likes to build things and the theme is all about Shakespeare and even includes a Shakespeare mug its all very MAD-esque! This phone box was de-commissioned but is completely refurbished and has 76 specially strengthened window panes. Richard Simmons, managing director of the Mad Museum, preparing the old telephone box earlier this week. Photo: Mark Williamson M1/1/20/9093 Ajay Devgn on Friday said people should wait for "proper facts to emerge" before commenting on any matter after Delhi Police released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case. The police have said that one of the suspects was JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, who was injured in an attack by a masked mob inside the Jawarharlal Nehru University campus on January 5. Taking to Twitter, Ajay said people should further the spirit of peace and brotherhood. "I have always maintained that we should wait for proper facts to emerge. I appeal to everyone- let us further the spirit of peace and brotherhood, not derail it either consciously or carelessly," he posted. Of the nine, seven belong to left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to right-wing students' body, the police said. Addressing a press conference, DCP (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey, who is probing the case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but the left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. About the attack on January 5, the DCP said that specific rooms in the university's Periyar hostel were targeted. Several people including Aishe Ghosh attacked students in the hostel, the police officer claimed. Ghosh, however, refuted the charge saying the Delhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A devoted mother who is raising two children with a rare genetic disease brought her husband to tears when she showed off her incredible new look after receiving a much-deserved ambush makeover. Allie Ladd, 33, from Harriman, Tennessee, and her husband Ryan, 34, braved the freezing temperature in New York City on Thursday to visit the Today show plaza, where she was plucked from the crowd for a head-to-toe transformation. 'I've not been away from my kids in six years since they were born,' she admitted. 'I didn't want to leave and [Ryan] booked a trip and said I had to go. So, here I am in New York.' Scroll down for video Then and wow! Allie Ladd, 33, from Harriman, Tennessee, received a much-deserved ambush makeover on the Today show on Thursday morning Aww: Allie's husband, Ryan, teared up after seeing her new look for the first time The couple's children Kennedy, five, and Lincoln, two both have MPS1 Hurler Syndrome, a rare lysosomal storage disease in which the body lacks an enzyme needed to digest sugar. The buildup of undigested sugar molecules causes damage to the body's organs, including the brain and heart. Those with Hurler syndrome rarely live longer than ten years. Allie and Ryan have spent around 365 days in the hospital since the birth of their children, and while she was reluctant to leave their kids, she was looking forward to getting a makeover. 'We're just now being normal as normal as we can be with Hurler syndrome,' she explained. 'I want an Ambush Makeover because I never get ready. My husband never sees me in normal clothes. I am a stay-at-home mom and we live at the hospital a lot. Hard times: The couple's two children Kennedy, five, and Lincoln, two, both have MPS1 Hurler Syndrome, a rare genetic disease New normal: The couple has spent around 365 days in the hospital since their children were born, and Allie admitted Ryan never sees her get dressed up anymore 'We're on a mission to raise awareness for MPS, so I just want to be able to be presentable and get out to tell the world.' Ryan was stunned when Allie stepped on stage to show off her highlighted blonde hair and her chic off-the-shoulder leopard dress. 'Oh my God, you look amazing,' he gushed. When she turned around to look in the mirror, she was immediately moved to tears. 'Oh my God, it looks so good,' she said. Ryan started crying as well, prompting the Today show hosts to bring out the tissues for the emotional couple. Happy: Allie started to tear up when she saw her stunning transformation in the mirror, and Hoda could be seen getting emotional in the background of the shot Calling for Kleenex: Ryan needed a tissue to dab his eyes after his wife's head-to-toe makeover brought him to tears Beautiful: Allie was given more blonde highlights to make her look more glamorous Celebrity hairstylist Louis Licari explained that when he first met with Allie, her hair was mostly her natural color with a few highlights. 'I said, "Today we're going to go glam. Let's give her more highlights with a brighter streak around the front,"' he recalled. To show off her new color, her hair was styled in loose curls that framed her face. Meanwhile, Today style expert Jill Martin helped Allie get out of her comfort zone when it came to personal style. With the goal of making her feel beautiful, Jill dressed her in a stylish animal-print frock that the mother of two admittedly wouldn't have picked out for herself. Big day: Dana Anderson, mother of three from St. Petersburg, Florida, also received an ambush makeover on Thursday morning's show in honor of her milestone 50th birthday Heartbreak: The widow started to tear up when she revealed her husband had passed away last year. She was in New York for the first time with her daughters in honor of her birthday All smiles: Dana's three daughters were amazed when they saw her new look for the first time Dana Anderson, mother of three from St. Petersburg, Florida, also received an ambush makeover on Thursday morning's show in honor of her milestone birthday. 'I am on a little vacation with my three beautiful daughters celebrating my 50th birthday, and it's my first time in New York. My husband passed away last year,' she said as she started to tear up. 'So, I'm very close with my daughters. We're a very close-knit family.' Dana said she could use a new look, admitting that on most days she can be found wearing jogging pants and a T-shirt. 'I don't do much to my hair and I don't normally wear makeup, so this could be fun,' she said of getting a makeover. Dana's daughters Audrey, Alyssa, and Lydia were amazed when she walked on stage sporting a monochromatic pink look and a sleek blonde bob. The mom was just as happy when she turned around and looked herself in the mirror. Thrilled: The mother of three said she felt 'like a princess' after her makeover Transformation: Dana was given blonde highlights to brighten her slightly brassy bob 'I don't want to cry and mess up my makeup,' she said as her eyes started to well, 'but I feel like a princess.' Dana's bob was trimmed and shaped to make it look more modern, and Louis gave her color an update. 'Dana had her girlfriend color her hair before,' he explained. 'She said, "Whatever my girlfriend uses," and I said, "Well, that's not going to really work." 'So what we did, I highlighted it to break it up. Her hair was a bit brassy,' he noted. 'This is more natural. It looks like it could grow from her head if she was incredibly lucky.' Jill, meanwhile, dressed her in a hot pink sweater and matching satin skirt, topping off the look with a pair of eye-catching leopard heels and statement earrings. 'She's beautiful,' one of Dana's daughters gushed. On January 5, the atmosphere of anarchy prevailing in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for over two months culminated in mob violence. But to understand what happened that day, it is important to dive into recent history and tell a story that has been buried under dominant media narrative. For over two months, JNU has been under lockdown thanks to the Left parties. The trigger was the universitys decision to increase hostel utility charges to account for a deficit that the University Grants Commission (UGC) refused to fund. The process began in 2016, but the Left-led Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) was not interested in this. On October 28, 2019, JNUSU members barged into a meeting of the Inter-Hall Administration, and disrupted the proceedings. The JNUSU wasnt invited as its not a notified body this year due to a legal case. Attempts to consult the elected representatives of hostels was blocked by the JNUSU. When the health of the dean of students deteriorated due to high blood pressure, he was mocked, and an ambulance was not allowed to come in. Later, he and his family were held hostage for hours at the basic health centre. The houses of wardens and provosts were systematically attacked at night, their families were threatened in order to force them to resign from the committee, and sign fake minutes of meeting. Muslim wardens were specifically singled out for communal shaming for working with the sanghi administration. Even a pregnant warden and those with small children were not spared. Professors were held hostage in classrooms, and a woman professor was detained for 29 hours. She was abused and her clothes torn. CCTV cameras were broken and masked Left-wing protestors shut down libraries, schools, laboratories and offices. Students and faculty who tried to enter or reason with them were physically stopped and threatened. Even after the ministry of human resource development intervened, and the fee increase was substantially rolled back, nothing changed as protestors moved onto the next demand the removal of the vice-chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar. The administrative block was vandalised, and hate graffiti were written on the statue of Vivekananda. The end-semester exams were not allowed to be held. Professors who tried to go ahead with the exams were manhandled, and students were warned of dire consequences. Masked protesters tried to burn answer sheets. On November 16, female security guards at the administration block were beaten. On December 14, a mob attacked Kumar. There was, then, a united Left call for boycott of registration for the new semester in January.On seeing some students defy them as the online registration route was opened by the university, masked cadre destroyed the server room on January 4. This lead to the first round of skirmishes between the Left and main opposition, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarathi Parishad (ABVP) as its members protested against the vandalism. The same evening, masked Left cadre assaulted non-Left faculty members at the School of Languages. The situation reached a boiling point on January 5, the last day of the registration. With hundreds of students trying to register, the Left resorted to physical threats and intimidation. This set off the second bout of violence with ABVP activists. Later around 3 pm, more than 150-strong masked Left mob, led by the JNUSU president, allegedly unleashed indiscriminate violence against ABVP members on the campus. Dozens were understoood to be beaten up and hostel rooms were attacked. Bleeding students hid on the rooftops, mess and wherever they could for more than an hour to escape the repeated assault attempts. The campus descended into anarchy. As darkness fell, there was alleged retaliation from the ABVP against the Left cadre. It was only then there was a media outcry. By then, the prime victims of violence were termed goons and those who held the campus hostage for three months became innocent victims. The media forgot that Left is a hegemonic force in JNU. Its cadre hugely outnumber the ABVP and other non-Left parties. By focusing only on the Lefts version of events, the media is reinforcing this power structure. Its an act of deliberate oppression. It is the students who support the ABVP, not the Left cadre, who had to flee the campus for safety. Those who escaped are being threatened that their turn is coming soon. Female ABVP members are being abused. Dalit and other marginalised members of ABVP are being socially boycotted and thrown out of the hostel and department WhatsApp groups. There is an atmosphere of fear among common students. Students are removing Diwali decorations with swastikas from doors and walls, fearing that the Left cadre may target their rooms next time. Its time the media puts aside their prejudices and take a stand that all violence must be condemned. Abhinav Prakash Singh is an assistant professor at SRCC, Delhi University The views expressed are personal Royal watchers are not just slamming Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for quitting the royal family. Many are also angry that the couple dropped their bombshell news right before Kate Middleton's 38th birthday. According to an Us Weekly source, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "rubbed salt into the wounds" of the royals by "making the huge announcement a day before Kate's birthday." One royal is reportedly so angry and said "it hasn't gone down well with William." Their source added that their decision and statement blindsided Prince Harry's older brother and that there is still a rift between the brothers. "It's sad because when they were younger, William would be the first-person Harry would go to with big news like this. He is incredibly hurt, but at the same time, he has his own family to focus on and is trying to move forward with his life," the source added. The Sun reported that "a stony-faced Kate appeared to be showing the strain after the news of the Sussexes departure" broke as she arrived at Kensington Palace. She also looked frail, and there have been recent reports that she has health issues. According to Star, "She's working herself to the ground and skipping meals an awful lot." Royal author Phil Dampier said that the Duchess of Cambridge's special day has "undoubtedly been ruined" by Prince Harry and Meghan's news. He told Fabulous Digital that "apart from anything else, Harry and Meghan's announcement has overshadowed Kate's 38th birthday." One person on Twitter said, "Didn't have an opinion on this until I realized this had been released to coincide with Kate Middleton's birthday. Now see it as a dirty trick." Another on tweeted, "All this talk about Harry and Meghan but no one has wished Kate Middleton a happy birthday, overshadowed another royal occasion." "The least Harry and Meghan could've done was wait another day. How unthoughtful and selfish of them to drop their bombshell," another tweet said. Prince Harry and Meghan's plan to split their time between the U.S. and the U.K. made the Queen "deeply upset" and Prince Charles and Prince William "incandescent with rage." "It's just another example of how far the so-called Fab Four have drifted apart, and I doubt Harry and Meghan will be at any celebrations for Kate." Despite all the troubles they made before Kate's birthday, however, the Sussexes wished the Duchess of Cambridge a happy birthday just hours after they announced they were stepping back as senior members of the family "Wishing a very happy birthday to The Duchess of Cambridge today!" the SussexRoyal Instagram commented on KensingtonRoyal's picture of Kate. The caption read, "Thank you, everyone, for all your lovely messages on The Duchess of Cambridge's birthday." Through Clarence House Twitter account, Prince Charles and Camila, as well as The Royal Family also wrote, "Wishing the Duchess of Cambridge a very happy birthday." Last weekend, Prince William and Kate were spotted walking to church at Sandringham with several friends who celebrated with her early birthday. According to Express, Kate's parents Michael and Carole Middleton, Thomas Van Straubenzee and the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley have celebrated with the couple. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Rio de Janeiro, January 10, 2020 Brazilian authorities must promptly investigate alleged police harassment and attacks against journalists covering protests in Sao Paulo, and ensure that reporters can safely cover demonstrations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 7, military police officers detained Rodrigo Zaim, a freelance photojournalist and founding member of the independent media group RUA, for about five hours while he was covering protests in Sao Paulo against an increase in bus fares, Zaim told CPJ via phone. Also that day, police officers hit Daniel Arroyo, a reporter working for online news outlet Ponte, and around 10 other journalists with batons during a crackdown on protesters at a subway station, Arroyo told CPJ in a phone interview. He received bruises but was not hospitalized for his injuries, Arroyo said. On January 9, as the protests continued, police officers hit Daniel Teixeira, a photographer with the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, in his ribs with a baton, and hit an unidentified photographer in the back with a stun grenade, according to a report by Ponte. CPJ was unable to find contact information for Teixeira, and could not determine the status of the unidentified photographer. Every year, journalists covering protests in Brazil face harassment, obstruction, and violence at the hands of police, and it seems that 2020 will be no different, said CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick in New York. Brazilian authorities must ensure that police officers understand the vital role of journalists covering protests and stop treating them as active participants or targets. Police detained Zaim while arresting a group of about 30 protesters, the journalist told CPJ. He said that he did not have his press credential with him, and police did not let him leave with other reporters who had their press cards. Instead, officers placed him on a bus to a police station along with the protesters, Zaim said. At the station, he was photographed and then explained his case to the chief of police, and was released without charge, Zaim said. Arroyo told CPJ that he was documenting clashes between protesters and military police officers in a subway station when officers began hitting people with their batons. Arroyo said that he and about 10 other journalists were wearing credentials that clearly identified them as members of the press, but police officers hit them anyway. He said he did not believe the officers actively targeted journalists, but said they did not try to avoid hitting them. He told CPJ he did not believe any of the journalists received serious injuries. On January 9, police officers stopped and searched Arthur Stabile, a photojournalist with Ponte, and Lucas Martins, a photographer with the independent media group Jornalistas Livres, according to a report by Ponte. The reporters were documenting police officers engaged in stop and frisk searches of protesters, according to that report. They were released after they were questioned by police, that report said. The Public Security Secretary of Sao Paulo state issued a statement saying that police used appropriate crowd control techniques to ensure the safety of protesters and other citizens, according to Folha de Sao Paulo. The Public Security Secretary and the Military Police of Sao Paulo did not respond to CPJs calls requesting comment. By Sam Richards Bay City News Service MARTINEZ (BCN) Jamie Fox loves climbing up the hill near his Martinez home and watching the sunsets. One recent afternoon, showing a visitor these rain-rejuvenated green hills, where cattle graze and hawks soar, Fox said the overcast sky might preclude any show at all. Or, with a small break in the clouds at the right moment, it could be spectacular. "The sunsets seen from here are the best," said Fox, who has been a vocal leader in efforts to preserve a hilly 297-acre parcel from housing development. A segment of it is believed to be part of the estate of renowned naturalist John Muir, whose residence survives about a mile to the north as a National Park Service historic site. More than three years after talks between the city of Martinez and Houston-based landowner Richfield Investment Corp. started, negotiations are languishing for a sale of the Alhambra Hills, that 297 acres of hilly land south of state Highway 4 between Alhambra Avenue and Alhambra Valley Road. Martinez Mayor Rob Schroder said it's been six to eight months since the City Council has gotten an update on the Alhambra Hills land. "We're kind of at an impasse right now," Schroder said. "There's been no movement, either in the negotiations or any move to develop the property." In July 2011, the Martinez City Council approved a project by Richfield to build Alhambra Highlands, 109 single-family homes on 76 acres within the 297-acre parcel. But there were delays in construction, with a soft housing market and physical challenges in building on the hilly terrain. And there were rumblings all along from some, both within and beyond Martinez's borders, about preserving the land as open space. Then, at the City Council's request, Richfield agreed to delay project grading until at least April 2014 to give outside parties time to explore buying the land to keep it as open space. No such parties stepped up. In July 2016, five years after the Richfield housing project was approved, city officials began talks with the Texas-based developer for a possible sale of that land to the city, with an eye to making it permanent open space. Both the East Bay Regional Park District and the Martinez-based John Muir Land Trust have shown interest in being part of an Alhambra Hills land purchase, or its aftermath. Linus Eukel, John Muir Land Trust executive director, said his organization will let the city take the lead role in negotiations for a sale. But the land trust has offered whatever services needed -- land stewardship, fundraising -- once Richfield becomes a "willing seller." "We're happy to figure out what that (role) would take, and accept that responsibility, should they wish for us to get involved," Eukel said. East Bay Regional Park District spokesman Dave Mason said the park district is always on the lookout for chances to save open spaces that offer recreational opportunities; that Briones Regional Park is within sight of the Alhambra Hills, and given John Muir's direct link to the land, are also attractive points, he said. Beyond loving this land for its own merits, Fox hopes the Alhambra Hills space will one day host the last link in what he envisions as the John Muir Heritage Trail. This proposed 17-mile loop would include 12 miles of existing trails within Briones Regional Park, the John Muir National Historic Site (Mount Wanda) and surrounding areas. This proximity to other open space, including the John Muir Land Trust's recently acquired Almond Ranch property a few miles west of Martinez, makes the Alhambra Hills preservation a strategic move as well, Fox said. And Eukel said the direct connection to John Muir -- for whom his organization is named -- adds preservation value. The will to preserve the land is still there. Schroder said the City Council's wishes haven't changed over time, and that the Council still wants to see the land as publicly-accessible open space. "But we're negotiating without any money to back us up," said Schroder, noting that the city has offered Richfield tax credits to help make a sale happen. A Bay Area representative of Richfield did not return calls for comment. Though Richfield could legally start building its houses any time, the fact that it hasn't -- and that there's still widespread interest in the Martinez community for seeing Alhambra Hills become publicly accessible land -- are good signs, several people said. Eukel, who has overseen a number of land purchases in the name of preservation, said such negotiations usually take time. "It's a long song, and we're probably someplace in the middle," Eukel said. In the meantime, Fox will keep making his periodic forays up into the hills, up to the gnarled curved oaks to watch the sunsets (and the deer and the turkeys and the hawks). The biggest trees, he said, are at the top, where they get sun all day long. He also will continue his work with the local Facebook group Alhambra Hills Open Space Committee. He hopes that, one day soon, he and others won't have to pass the "no trespassing" sign to do it. "How amazing to have the honor of trying to raise awareness of saving John Muir's Hill," he said. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. (Newser) Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday approved a resolution asserting that President Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature, the AP reports. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insisted it "has real teeth" because "it is a statement of the Congress of the United States." The measure will protect American lives and values by limiting Trump's military actions, Pelosi said. "The administration must de-escalate and must prevent further violence.'' The House passed the measure, 224-194, with just three Republicans voting in support. Eight Democrats opposed the measure. story continues below A similar proposal by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., awaits in the GOP-run Senate, where it could come up next week, per the Washington Post. Kaine's efforts received a boost Thursday as Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, a Marine veteran, said he might support the measure. Two other Republican senators said Wednesday they would back it. "We are members of a separate and distinct branch of government. It is our duty not to take anyones word for things as we are dealing with matters of life and death," Young said, adding that he wished Trump administration officials had provided more intelligence information during a briefing Wednesday on a US drone strike that killed an Iranian general. (Two other GOP senators blasted the briefing.) In the first phase at least 50 women and 76 children will be returned to relatives. In November 2019, over 1,300 Islamic militants surrendered to the Afghan military forces, tired of fighting. Tribal chief: "The Afghan government, the Afghan people and the ulema send women back with honor." Kabul (AsiaNews) - Afghan authorities have started the repatriation of families of fighters from the Islamic State who surrendered to the government of Kabul at the end of 2019. In the first phase, reports the BBC, 50 women and 76 children will be escorted out of the territory , all natives of Pakistan. The identification operations for the "return to relatives" began yesterday in Jalalabad, in the military base of the province of Nangarhar. The surrender of the militants of the Islamic Caliphate - Daesh in Arabic terminology - took place in November last year. On that occasion, President Ashraf Ghani said that more than 1,300 fundamentalists have abandoned their weapons and turned themselves over to the Afghan military forces, tired of fighting. They are said to be former members of the Islamic group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Ttp), who arrived in the areas of Nangarhar to join ISIS after the start of the "Zarb-e-Azb" operation adopted by Islamabad against various militant groups, including which the Ttp. After establishing militant-controlled areas, they also moved families. According to the Kabul authorities, among the family members of those who surrendered there are women and children from the Tirah Valley and from the Orakzai and Bajaur agencies (in the Tribal Areas of Federal Administration) in Pakistan. Their return was established during some meetings with the tribal leaders. After one of these assemblies of elders, called "jirga", the transfer of wives and children of the surrendered to their relatives was established, provided that they were the ones who went to get them. Malik Usman, tribal chief of Jalalabad, declares: This is the tradition of the Afghans. These people came to Afghanistan for a misunderstanding. The Afghan government, the Afghan people and the ulema send women back with honor." Waiting for some of them yesterday was Mr. Jan Mohammad from the Khyber Valley. He waited a few days while officials checked the documents of three women and four children who moved to Afghanistan five years ago with his two children. Los Angeles, Jan 10 : Hollywood actors Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland -- the mentor-mentee duo of superhero films such as "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" -- are back together for a film titled "Dolittle". "Tom Holland is in 'Dolittle' because of Robert," the film's director Stephen Gaghan said about the reason behind the duo's reunion. "Tom did the movie because he loves Robert. They're very close." In "Dolittle", Downey Jr. portrays the role of famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria's England who lives in solitude behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor, with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. Holland lent his voice to Jip, an intelligent and loyal long-haired lurcher dog who is sight-challenged. Image Source: IANS Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland "Dolittle" is about a veterinarian who could talk to animals and was forced to set on an adventure when the young queen (Jessie Buckley) falls ill. A reluctant Dolittle is forced to go on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures. The doctor is joined on his quest by a young, self-appointed apprentice (Harry Collett) and a coterie of animal friends, including a gorilla (Rami Malek), a duck (Octavia Spencer), a bickering duo of a cynical ostrich (Kumail Nanjiani) and a polar bear (John Cena) and a parrot (Emma Thompson), who serves as Dolit'le's most trusted advisor and confidante. The film will be released in India by Universal Pictures on January 17 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. -- Syndicated from IANS US President Donald Trump, who announced last month that the Phase 1 trade deal with China would be signed on January 15, said on Thursday the agreement could be signed shortly thereafter. In an interview with the ABC TV affiliate in Toledo, Ohio, Trump said: Were going to be signing on January 15th - I think it will be January 15th, but shortly thereafter, but I think January 15th - a big deal with China. Trump announced the Jan. 15 signing date in a tweet on December 31. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification of Trumps comments. The Phase 1 deal, struck last month, is expected to reduce tariffs and boost Chinese purchases of American farm, energy and manufactured goods while addressing some disputes over intellectual property. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, head of the countrys negotiating team in Sino-U.S. trade talks, will sign the deal in Washington next week, Chinas commerce ministry said on Thursday. Liu will visit Washington from January 13-15, said Gao Feng, spokesman at the commerce ministry. Negotiating teams from both sides remain in close communication on the particular arrangements of the signing, Gao told reporters at a regular briefing. Indonesian military says Chinese vessels left disputed waters Indonesia's President Joko Widodo talks to Indonesia's Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo during a visit in Natuna JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's military said on Thursday that Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing boats had left disputed waters in the western reaches of the South China Sea following a visit by President Joko Widodo to assert his nation's sovereignty. During recent weeks, Jakarta summoned China's ambassador after the coast guard and fishing boats entered waters around the northern Natuna islands, where Indonesia has established an exclusive economic zone. Indonesia stepped up air and sea patrols in the area, and on Wednesday Widodo visited one of the islands to drive home the message that it was Indonesian territory, at which point, his military said, the Chinese vessels quit the area. "From the observation of our planes, they're no longer there," military spokesman Major General Sisriadi told Reuters on Thursday. "They left as soon as the president arrived on the Natuna." Nursyawal Embun, director of sea operations at the Maritime Security Agency, said, however, that one ship -- HAIJING35111 -- was still in the "Indonesian continental shelf waters." China has not claimed the Natuna islands themselves, but says it has nearby fishing rights within a self-proclaimed Nine-Dash Line that includes most of the energy rich South China Sea - a claim disputed by some Southeast Asian countries and isn't recognized internationally. In 2017, Indonesia renamed the northern section of its exclusive economic zone as the North Natuna Sea, as part of a push back against China's maritime territorial ambitions. On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing and Jakarta are in contact through diplomatic channels to "deal with differences and uphold peace and stability in bilateral relations and the region". Sisriadi said Indonesia's navy would continue operations in the area. (Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Simon Cameron-Moore) TOKYO - A lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, Nissans former chairman who skipped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon, on Friday slammed a gaffe by the Japanese justice minister who said that Ghosn should prove his innocence. Francois Zimeray said in a statement addressed to Justice Minister Masako Mori that her mistake reflected Japanese justice, which goes against the human rights principle of presumption of innocence. Mori has apologized for the error and said she meant to say the suspect should assert innocence, not prove it. The presumption of innocence, respect of dignity and rights of defence have been essential components of what constitute a fair trial, he said. Japan is an admirable, modern, otherwise advanced country. It deserves better than an archaic system that holds innocent people hostage. The onus is on you to abolish it. He stressed it is up to prosecution to prove guilt, not the other way around. Ghosn, who was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges, fled Tokyo and appeared in Beirut Dec. 30. He is unlikely to face trial here as Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. He reiterated in a news conference in Beirut this week that he was innocent and that he faced trumped up charges because Nissan Motor Co., prosecutors and Japanese officials sought to block a fuller merger between Nissan and alliance partner Renault SA of France. Japans conviction rate is higher than 99%, and human rights advocates have long questioned the fairness of its judicial system. Ghosn has said it is rigged and unjust. Japans judiciary has come under the spotlight over Ghosns case and his harsh words earlier this week about how he was treated in detention, stuck in solitary confinement and grilled by prosecutors without a lawyer present, as well his bail conditions that barred him from seeing his wife. Mori has said Japans system upholds human rights, provides a fair trial and has made for a low crime rate. She accused Ghosn of propagating both within Japan and internationally false information on Japans legal system and its practice. That is absolutely intolerable, she said Thursday. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama New York, Jan 10 : A Delta Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Paris that was diverted to Boston due to a "mechanical issue" with the plane continued on an alternate aircraft and landed at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in the French capital on Friday. According to flight monitoring service, Flightaware, the flight left Boston at 3 a.m. local time (1.30 p.m. IST) and reached Paris at 2.46 pm local time (7.16 p.m. IST). Earlier, a Delta representative said that the aircraft was diverted to Boston because of a "mechanical issue" and another plane and crew were being sent there to take passengers to Paris. Another flight monitoring service, Flightstats, said the first aircraft was a Boeing 777-200 with the tail number N864DA. According to Airfleets.Net, which has an aircraft database, that plane was 20 years old and had its first flight in 1999. A Flightstats tracking map showed that the flight that left Las Vegas at 12.22 p.m. local time on Thursday (1:52 a.m. Friday IST) was nearing the Atlantic leg of the flight when it was turned around near the border of Quebec and Newfoundland provinces in Canada and diverted to Boston, reaching there at 9.32 pm (8.02 a.m. Friday). 3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard The US intelligence community is investigating Russias effort to attack the 2020 election for Trump and undermine Joe Biden. Bloomberg reported: U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are assessing whether Russia is trying to undermine Joe Biden in its ongoing disinformation efforts with the former vice president still the front-runner in the race to challenge President Donald Trump, according to two officials familiar with the matter. . Part of the inquiry is to determine whether Russia is trying to weaken Biden by promoting controversy over his past involvement in U.S. policy toward Ukraine while his son worked for an energy company there. The FBI refused to comment to Bloomberg on their investigation, but it is clear that the disinformation that is being spread by Trump and Rudy Giuliani on Biden and Ukraine is the sort of mass-scale effort that the Russians will be undertaking for Trump in 2020. One of the lessons that the Russians learned from 2016 is that their campaign to boost support for Trump was less effective than their disinformation campaign against Hillary Clinton. The same axis of disinformation and lies that existed in 2016 is expected to be louder and bolder in 2020. The Russians have their pawn in place with Trump in the White House. They dont want to see Biden because he is firmly dedicated to taking on Putin and checking Russias aggression. This time the United States knows whats coming, and hopefully, can take steps to combat the Russians 2020 election attack. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa briefly ended his annual leave to meet with representatives of his Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) on Friday to guide it on its agenda for 2020 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Lawyers for a retired NASA astronaut charged with murder in a fatal car crash that killed two young sisters contend tests reveal there wasnt any alcohol in his system, court documents show. Attorneys for former space shuttle commander James Halsell filed a motion including the test results Thursday. Halsell, 63, is scheduled to go on trial in Tuscaloosa on March 9 nearly four years after a two-vehicle wreck killed 11-year-old Niomi Deona James and 13-year-old Jayla Latrick Parler and injured their father and a woman. A speeding car driven by Halsell rear-ended a vehicle driven by the man on a rural road, police reports said. Halsell, who flew five space shuttle missions, has pleaded not guilty. The case was delayed in a logjam of other cases that included capital murder trials, a prosecutor has said. An indictment alleged Halsell was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and a police compliant showed Halsell told an officer he drank three glasses of wine in a motel room where officers found an empty wine bottle. But a laboratory test performed by the state showed no alcohol was involved, the defence argued in court papers. Defence attorney Jim Sturdivant has publicly blamed the wreck on Ambien, and the test showed the sleeping medication in his system. Halsell was arrested on a drunken driving charge in California more than two years before the crash and pleaded guilty, but prosecutors shouldnt get to tell Alabama jurors about that case, the defence argued, since no alcohol was involved in the deadly wreck. Jurors might wrongly decide the case on an emotional basis if told about the DUI arrest, the defence argued. Halsell told officers he consumed alcohol before the wreck, prosecutors argued, and jurors should get to hear about the California arrest to prove recklessness. A hearing is scheduled for later this month, when attorneys could present more arguments. Halsell lives in Huntsville, and court documents show he told authorities he was driving to Louisiana to pick up his son when the wreck happened. Halsell retired from NASA in 2006 and went into the private aerospace industry. Edelweiss Group founder and chairman Rashesh Shah was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (January 9) in connection with an alleged forex scam. The ED in its summon asked Shah to be present before it to "give evidence and to produce books of account or other documents" in a forex case involving a company called Capstone Forex Pvt LTD The ED's probe documents, accessed by BusinessToday.In, claim Shah's "front entities" gave the lead about his involvement in the alleged scam. Edelweiss Finance Services has denied allegations and said none of its companies had made any transactions with the concerned firm. "We have received a communication from the Enforcement Directorate to appear and provide information about Edelweiss group companies' dealings with a company called Capstone forex Pvt LTD. We would like to state that none of our companies have any transactions with this company - Capstone Forex Pvt ltd. We further deny wild and baseless allegations contained in the news items which are apparently attributed to unidentified sources. We are in fact shocked at the spread of unauthenticated allegations and the inference being drawn from it," the media statement read. (This is a developing story. More details awaited.) French trade unions disrupted rail services, shut schools and brought demonstrators on to the streets in cities across France yesterday in a make-or-break push to force President Emmanuel Macron to abandon his planned pension reform. The country's hard-left unions rallied supporters hoping to regain momentum at a time participation in a 36-day-long public sector strike wanes and opinion polls show public backing for the industrial action falling. Police fired teargas at protesters in Nantes in a brief skirmish, while in Bordeaux, Marseille and Toulouse workers waved union flags and trailed smoke flares as they protested peacefully ahead of a demonstration in Paris later in the day. "You stop a protest movement when workers feel their demands are on the table," hardline CGT union boss Philippe Martinez told Europe 1 radio. "We've had no response from the government." Former investment banker Mr Macron wants to streamline France's unwieldy pension system and incentivise the French to stay in work longer to pay for some of the most generous retirement benefits in the industrialised world. The proposed reform would be the biggest overhaul of the system since World War II and is central to the president's drive to make the French labour force more flexible and more competitive globally. He says the myriad special benefits handed out to different types of worker deter mobility within the job market. If Mr Macron succeeds in defeating the unions - he has already stared them down over reform of state-run SNCF railways and an easing of labour laws - he will strengthen his hand to embark on further pro-business reforms as he eyes re-election in 2022. The strike has hit transport in Paris the hardest and commuters yesterday again grappled with skeleton services on suburban and metro lines. Power sector walkouts saw electricity production fall by about a 10th, or nearly seven gigawatts. Oil company Total said its five refineries were producing normally but were unable to ship out products. Its petrol stations nationwide were well supplied, it said. French employees receive among the world's most generous state pensions through a system divided into dozens of separate schemes. Mr Macron wants a "points" system to treat contributions from all workers equally. Unions argue this amounts to an attack on hard-earned benefits. While the strikes are the longest running in decades, they have failed to paralyse France in the way achieved by a wave of industrial action in 1995 that forced a government U-turn. Nonetheless, in the first pointer on the strike's impact, consumer confidence fell sharply in December and retailers, hoteliers and restaurateurs suffered a sharp fall in revenue. The government's strategy is to pick off individual sectors with bespoke concessions, raising questions over prospects for ending up with the desired single system, and to seek a compromise with the reform-minded CFDT union, France's largest. The CFDT opposes the government's plan to financially penalise people who stop working before 64, two years later than the legal retirement age. If you get injured or rapidly fall ill the chances are you will have to pay your local accident and emergency department a visit to receive immediate care. Many are left with no option but to drive themselves or have a friend, relative or loved one transport them to their nearest hospital - and analysis has revealed that in many cases this can turn expensive. A review of A&E department parking charges in England found that some car parks across the country are demanding daily fees of up to 77 if you are unlucky enough to need to leave your vehicle on the premises. The survey looked at A&E specific parking where available, or if not at general hospital car parking rates. A&E parking pain: Some hospitals are charging patients and visitors up to 77 to park for a day at an accident and emergency ward The analysis has been conducted by car leasing company, Hippo Leasing. The review follows December figures that showed that in 2019 hospital parking charges brought in more than 254million of revenue for the NHS last year - the highest it has generated from drivers on record. At the same time, stats also showed that every major A&E unit in England failed to meet waiting time targets of up to four hours. Patients were forced to wait in emergency departments for longer than they have for 15 years, the figures suggested. With extended waiting periods and expensive hourly parking rates, an increasing number of patients and visitors are opting to pay a daily rate rather than continuously nip out to top up the meter or facing being stung with penalties if caught overstaying their pre-paid periods by automatic number plate recognition cameras policing some car parks. They also face a steady crackdown ion parking in roads close to hospitals, with most having resident-only parking that can cover much of the day. However, hospital daily parking charges can be steep, Hippo found after reviewing the daily fees at 154 A&E wards in England. Most expensive daily parking rates at A&E in England 1. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (London) - 77 2. Whittington Health NHS Trust (London) - 72 3. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (London) - 52.80 4. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (London) - 40 5. King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (London) - 29 6. St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (London) - 25 =7. Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (Sussex) - 20 =7. Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (Bedfordshire) - 20 9. Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (Hampshire) - 18.20 Source: Hippo Leasing List of NHS A&E departments to be included in the study were taken from NHS Digitals Accident and Emergency Quality Indictors page, correct as of August 2019 Parking charges for each A&E department were recorded from information pages on individual NHS Trust websites. Any A&E department without on-site public parking or where parking charges were unknown were removed from the study, leaving a total of 154 A&E departments. London has the most expensive daily A&E parking charges. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust demands a fee of 77 The most expensive is Guy's and St Thomas' hospital car park in central London, which demands a massive 77 to leave a vehicle for 24 hours. In fact, the list of the top 10 most expensive A&E car parks is dominated with London hospitals. The Whittington, in Highgate, is 72 a day and the Imperial College London is 52.80. Only the Sussex Community hospital, Luton and Dunstable University Hospital and Portsmouth Hospitals Trust made the list of the most expensive daily rates outside of London. A spokesperson from Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust told This is Money it was unlikely that people would use the car park for a full day. 'To ensure our car parking spaces remain available for our patients and are not misused by members of the public visiting central London, the 3.20 hourly cost of parking at St Thomas' Hospital is in line with local parking facilities. The site is also very well served by local public transport links,' they added. 'The car park serves the whole of St Thomas Hospital and Evelina London Childrens Hospital, not just our Emergency Department. 'We use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to make sure that people only pay for the exact time they use the car park, avoiding the need for patients to pay a higher daily charge. We also offer a discounted rate of 5 per day or 25 for seven days in certain cases. 'This could include when someone visits one of our long-term patients on a daily basis. Disabled badge holders attending an appointment with their appointment letter and their valid disabled badge on the day are offered free parking.' Of those studied, most on-site A&E car parks also charge a daily rate for any period over six hours, leaving motorists with little choice The Whittington hospital, in Highgate, North London, is second on the list of priciest daily A%E parking fees at 72 Most expensive daily parking rates at A&E departments in England outside of the capital =1. Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (West Sussex) - 20 =1. Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (Bedfordshire) - 20 3. Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (Hampshire) - 18.20 4. Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (Sussex) - 18 5. Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (Surrey) - 17 6. East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (East Sussex) - 16.60 =7. Leeds General Infirmary (West Yorkshire) - 16.40 =7. St James's University Hospital (West Yorkshire) - 16.40 9. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust (Norfolk) - 15.60 Source: Hippo Leasing List of NHS A&E departments to be included in the study were taken from NHS Digitals Accident and Emergency Quality Indictors page, correct as of August 2019 Parking charges for each A&E department were recorded from information pages on individual NHS Trust websites. Any A&E department without on-site public parking or where parking charges were unknown were removed from the study, leaving a total of 154 A&E departments. Outside of London, the A&E department at Sussex Community (pictured) and Luton and Dunstable University hospitals are the most expensive at 20 a day Expensive hospital parking isnt just hitting people financially. A recent survey by PA Media of patients and visitors found almost nine in ten (86 per cent) thought parking added to the stress of a hospital visit. When it comes to free A&E parking, only seven hospitals were found to offer this to patients and visitors no matter the length of their stay. However, 72 out of the 154 hospitals studied do offer free drop-off parking ranging from under 10 minutes to up to an hour, allowing people to find cheaper parking elsewhere. A&E departments in England with free parking Bunny Hill Urgent Care Centre (Tyne and Wear) Clevedon Community Hospital (North Somerset) Corby Urgent Care Centre (Northamptonshire) North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust (Cumbria) Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust (South Yorkshire) Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropshire) Wiltshire Health & Care (Wiltshire) Wirral Community Health & Care NHS Trust (Merseyside) Source: Hippo Leasing Boris Johnson's Conservative manifesto ahead of the December General Election pledged to tackle unfair hospital car parking charges by 'making parking free for those in greatest need, including disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts'. It added: 'This will eliminate costs for those in need, while making sure there are enough spaces for everyone.' Tom Preston, managing director at the vehicle leasing firm said: 'The rising cost of hospital parking has become a big talking point recently, with politicians weighing into the debate during the election. 'The news that A&E departments are also failing to meet their four-hour waiting time targets has only added fuel to the fire. 'With longer waiting times, many are forced to pay for daily parking charges instead of per hour. 'Hippo Leasings study into parking at A&E centres specifically, highlights the costs patients and visitors can expect if parking on-site in different parts of the country.' Executive Director of the ASEAN, South Asia, and South Pacific Markets under the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said the ongoing Iran-US conflict could affect Indian travellers' confidence, resulting in their shunning of Dubai for Thailand to avoid the Middle East. Thailand expects a windfall from the Indian tourist market if travellers stay away from the Middle East and turn eastward instead. (Photo: thethaiger.com) Dubai is the most preferred destination for outbound Indian tourists, with 2.1 million visitors in 2019. Thailand estimated that 1.9 million tourists came from India in 2019, a 22 percent uptick from 2018, generating 84 billion THB (2.77 billion) in revenue, up 27 percent, according to the TAT. The agency sees a growth rate of 10 percent to 2.2 million tourists this year from this huge South Asian market. Although the TAT anticipates flourishing demand, the growth rate is unlikely to exceed 20 percent because airlines are at full capacity under available traffic rights and seats are limited, Klissada said. Currently, ten airlines are offering 311 flights with 65,128 seats a week from Thailand to 13 cities in India. In addition, the government has been urged to consider extending the 2,000-THB visa-on-arrival fee waiver that ends on April 30, as Indians benefit from the policy. India is a promising market for Thailand, with Indian tourists ranking in the top three in international arrivals last year and in the top five highest contributing markets by revenue. Tourism is a major source of revenue for Thailand, worth about one fifth of the economy. Meanwhile, earnings from foreign tourists contribute some 12 percent to the GDP./. gettyimagesbank By Kim Bo-eun Korea is a step closer to the emergence of new industries and services utilizing big data after several data bill revisions were passed Thursday. Revisions to the personal information protection act, the protection of credit information act and the information and communications network act were passed after remaining unresolved for over a year at the National Assembly. They will allow the commercial use or provision of data of unidentified individuals without seeking their consent. Under the status quo, businesses need to seek consent or process data to conceal the provider's identity. The finance sector, among various industries, is set to benefit, as banks, card firms and insurers hold a massive volume of customer data. The easing of regulations enables the opening of the new industry based on personal data, a business of providing integrated management of personal information scattered across financial firms, and making customized recommendations for financial product services. In countries such as the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the industry has already been growing. The U.S. platform Datacoup, established in 2012, enables consumers to sell their own data. The U.K.-based Handshake is a similar platform. Not only fintech startups but also IT giants such as Naver and Kakao, which have begun offering financial services, will be able to accelerate and scale up their businesses. To foster the data industry here, financial authorities are seeking to set up a data exchange. The Financial Security Institute, which has taken on the task, is in the process of setting up a system that bridges financial firms with other industries so financial data can be sold. Various new financial products and services will be able to be developed when the data exchange is established, which is set for March. The new regulations are also set to change the credit rating business, as credit scoring based on non-financial data such as the payment of phone or electricity bills will become possible. This will enable those with thin credit files to get loans. Such people accounted for 27.8 percent of the population subject to credit rating, as of the first half of last year. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the passage of the bills, Friday. "Data in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is like crude oil, and will become a force in developing new business models in new industries, as well as in swiftly identifying and dealing with customer demand and market trends," it said. Jung Yoo-shin, chief of the Fintech Center Korea, said: "Utilizing data, businesses will be able to provide customized products and services, which will heighten customer satisfaction. "This is the stage where artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud, big data, internet of things and 5G are merged to offer customized services. This signals the beginning of an era of digital platform technology." Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki pledged to "provide support so that the effect of the revised regulations could be maximized." "We expect the revised regulations will help develop customized services and create new businesses through convergence of data between various industries," he said. The Financial Services Commission will soon establish ordinances under the revised regulations. They will go into effect as early as July. ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, today announced the submission of a marketing authorisation application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) seeking approval of fostemsavir, an investigational, first-in-class attachment inhibitor for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. This application seeks approval of fostemsavir, used in combination with other antiretrovirals, for the treatment of adults with multidrug-resistant HIV-1 infection for whom it is otherwise not possible to construct a suppressive antiviral regimen due to resistance, intolerance or safety considerations. The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted an accelerated assessment for the fostemsavir MAA. Accelerated assessment reduces the timeframe for review of a MAA and is awarded if the CHMP determines the product is of major interest for public health and therapeutic innovation. Deborah Waterhouse, CEO of ViiV Healthcare, said: "ViiV Healthcare is proud to be sending a regulatory submission to the EMA for a medicine that is intended for people living with HIV who have been unable to suppress their virus and have few treatment options remaining. Treatment regimens may fail due to the constantly changing nature of HIV and individuals can be left with limited options due to challenges with tolerability, safety and drug-to-drug interactions. Although these individuals make up a small percentage of the total number of people who live with HIV, their unmet treatment needs are life-threatening and we are committed to addressing them through innovative new medicines like fostemsavir." This submission is supported by data from the pivotal phase III BRIGHTE study in heavily treatment-experienced people living with multidrug-resistant HIV. The 96-week study results were presented in July of 2019 at the 10th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019) in Mexico City. Kimberly Smith, M.D., Head of Research Development at ViiV Healthcare, said: "The efficacy and safety findings from fostemsavir's clinical development program demonstrate its unique potential for people living with multidrug-resistant HIV who are in need of new treatment options. Developing this medicine exemplifies ViiV's mission and commitment to ensuring that no person living with HIV is left behind. We look forward to working with the EMA to make fostemsavir available to the people in Europe who need it." This application to the EMA follows the recent submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for fostemsavir to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2019. In the US, fostemsavir has been granted FDA Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designations. ViiV Healthcare plans to submit regulatory applications for fostemsavir to other global agencies in the coming months. About BRIGHTE The efficacy of fostemsavir in heavily treatment-experienced adults with HIV-1 infection is based on 96-week data from the phase III, partially-randomised, international, double-blind, placebo-controlled BRIGHTE study (NCT02362503). The BRIGHTE trial was conducted in 371 heavily treatment-experienced adults living with HIV-1 infection with multidrug resistance. All trial participants were required to have a viral load =400 copies/mL and =2 classes of antiretroviral medications remaining at baseline due to resistance, intolerability, contraindication, or other safety concerns. Trial participants were enrolled in either a randomised or nonrandomised cohort defined as follows: Within the randomised cohort (n 272), participants had 1, but no more than 2, fully active and available antiretroviral agent(s) at screening which could be combined as part of an efficacious background regimen. Randomised participants received either blinded fostemsavir 600 mg twice daily (n 203) or placebo (n 69) in addition to their current failing regimen for 8 days of functional monotherapy. Beyond Day 8, randomised participants received open-label fostemsavir 600 mg twice daily plus an investigator-selected optimised background therapy. Within the nonrandomised cohort (n 99), participants had no fully active and approved antiretroviral agent(s) available at screening. Nonrandomised participants were treated with open-label fostemsavir 600 mg twice daily plus OBT from Day 1 onward. The use of an investigational drug(s) as a component of the optimised background therapy was permitted in the nonrandomised cohort. The primary endpoint analysis, based on the adjusted mean decline in HIV-1 RNA from Day 1 at Day 8 in the randomised cohort, demonstrated superiority of fostemsavir to placebo (0.79 vs. 0.17 log10 copies/mL decline, respectively; P<0.0001, Intent-to-Treat-Exposed [ITT-E] population). In the randomised cohort, HIV-1 RNA <40 copies/mL was achieved in 53%, 54%, and 60% of subjects at Weeks 24, 48, and 96, respectively (ITT-E, Snapshot algorithm). Mean changes in CD4+ cell count from baseline continued to increase over time (i.e., 90 cells/mm3 at Week 24, 139 cells/mm3 at Week 48, and 205 cells/mm3 at Week 96). The most common adverse reactions (incidence =5%, all grades) were nausea and diarrhoea. The proportion of participants who discontinued treatment with fostemsavir due to an adverse event was 7% at Week 96 (randomised: 5% and nonrandomised: 12%). About fostemsavir Fostemsavir, an investigational prodrug of temsavir, is a first-in-class HIV-1 attachment inhibitor that works by binding directly to the glycoprotein 120 (gp120) subunit on the surface of the virus. By binding to this location on the virus, fostemsavir blocks HIV from attaching to host immune system CD4+ T-cells and other immune cells, thereby preventing HIV from infecting those cells and multiplying. Because of this unique mechanism of action, there is no demonstrated resistance to other classes of antiretrovirals, which may help patients who have become resistant to most other medicines. Fostemsavir is not yet approved by regulatory authorities anywhere in the world and is being developed by ViiV Healthcare for the treatment of HIV-1-infected heavily treatment-experienced patients in combination with other antiretroviral agents. About ViiV Healthcare ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established in November 2009 by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV and for people who are at risk of becoming infected with HIV. Shionogi joined in October 2012. The company's aim is to take a deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any company has done before and take a new approach to deliver effective and innovative medicines for HIV treatment and prevention, as well as support communities affected by HIV. For more information on the company, its management, portfolio, pipeline and commitment, please visit www.viivhealthcare.com. About GSK GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com. Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D 'Principal risks and uncertainties' in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2018. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005267/en/ Contacts: ViiV Healthcare Media enquiries: Melinda Stubbee +1 919 491 0831 Audrey Abernathy +1 919 605 4521 GSK Global Media enquiries: Simon Steel +44 (0) 20 8047 5502 Kristen Neese +1 804 217 8147 Analyst/Investor enquiries: Sarah Elton-Farr +44 (0) 20 8047 5194 Danielle Smith +44 (0) 20 8047 0932 James Dodwell +44 (0) 20 8047 2406 Jeff McLaughlin +1 215 751 7002 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice chancellor Jagadesh Kumar Mamidala on Friday said the decisions taken on the December 11 meeting by the HRD ministry on fee hike were being implemented in totality. The JNU V-Cs statement came a day after veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi advised the government to sack him. All decisions taken earlier at HRD Ministry about hostel fee being implemented in totality, the JNU VC Jagadesh Kumar said. Mamidala, speaking after a meeting with Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) secretary Amit Khare and other top officials, said if need be JNU would extend the registration deadline for students to help them get registered in the new semester. The MHRD had directed to waive-off service and utility charges for students that will be paid by the UGC to ensure students do not face heat of hiked hostel charges. Former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday evening called for the ouster of Jagadesh Kumar, saying its shocking that the V-C is adamant on not implementing the government proposal to resolve the fee-hike crisis in the varsity. It is shocking that the VC is adamant on not implementing the government proposal. This attitude is deplorable and in my opinion such a VC should not be allowed to continue on this post, Joshi tweeted. Joshis statements against Kumar add to the growing clamour against his removal as the JNU V-C over the January 5 violence on the university campus and the fee hike row. Kumar has been widely criticised for not taking immediate measures after JNUstudents and faculty members were brutally attacked on the campus. The registration deadline was extended till January 12 after it was stopped for three days following the violence. Following violence on the campus on January 5, the registration was stopped for three days forcing the administration to extend the registration date till January 12. A high-level Mongolian delegation, led by Chief Cabinet Secretary L Oyun-Erdene, on Friday called on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Erdene is leading a group of 18 governors and seven high level officials from all 21 provinces of Mongolia for a special capacity building programme at IIM Indore under the newly launched initiative- ITEC Executive, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. The ITEC initiative is an exclusive programme for senior policy makers of partner countries to provide them an understanding of best practices and policy ecosystems in India, it said. As part of the programme, the delegation was given an overview of the oil refinery project being implemented in Mongolia under Lines of Credit (LoC) of USD 1.236 billion, extended by India to that country, the statement said. This is the first ever oil refinery in Mongolia, and is the largest ever project undertaken under India's LoC programme, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US tourists outside Britain's royal residences on Thursday were quick to welcome Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan's decision to withdraw from royal front-line duties -- but locals were less impressed. "I think it is going to turn a lot of people off them and upsetting the family -- it seems a bit unnecessary," British operations manager Paul Brown told AFP outside a gloomy Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II's London home. "For the sake of a week or two and a few conversations, preparing the ground, a lot of this might have been avoided," he added. "If they want to leave the royal duties then fine, that's up to them. But they can't have their cake and eat it." Roger Sainsbury, who works in the British military, said the couple "knew what they were getting into" and that "they need to meet that challenge". "There is a lot of privilege that comes with that position but it's also a very busy job," he said outside the palace. The couple, who now want to divide their time between Britain and North America, received more sympathy from Meghan's compatriots as they took in the sights of Windsor, some 26 miles (42 kilometres) west of central London. The town's castle hosted the couple's fairytale wedding in 2018, and they now live in its grounds. Tourists took advantage of the sunshine and mild weather to take photos of the royal residence, fully aware of the sensational US visitor Andrew Steernket said it was "a decision we definitely support. "Being Texan, we appreciate and like that because we are all for being independent," the 41-year-old consultant told AFP, while visiting with his wife. The decision broke tradition and protocol, but Steernket believes it is a sign of the British royalty becoming more modern. "It's showing that they are becoming more progressive, which I think is a key thing. "It's a positive move for the family," he added. A few steps from the castle, Tina Juilliert, who arrived from North Carolina on Thursday, supported the couple's decision, but was "surprised" by how it had been handled. "I believe in choices in life," she said, stood outside a souvenir shop. "I would think it would have been coordinated more closely with the rest of the family and communicated more gracefully," added the 50-year-old. She expects former television actress Meghan to be cast as the "villain" of the piece. "People say she is dividing the family, but what do they know? Nobody knows what's really happening," she added. The couple's decision to give up their role in the monarchy and work towards "financial independence" was also welcomed by tourists from other countries. "It's tricky because they are huge public figures and they have duties associated with the royal family, but at the same time they only have one life and they have to live it like they want," said 49-year-old Russian tourist Larissa Lyonas, camera in hand. "They've got all the spotlights on them and the media weren't very nice to Meghan," added Carla Xavier, a Brazilian translator. "He chose his family over the crown. Stepping aside was a wise choice," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canadian intelligence, its allies believe UIA's passenger plane was shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missile Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had received intelligence from multiple sources indicating that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. "Intelligence from multiple sources, including Canadian intelligence, indicated that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Trudeau was quoted as saying by the Canadian television. He described the crash as a "tragedy that not only shocked Canada, but the rest of the world." At the same time, the Prime Minister of Canada emphasized that in this case it is important to conduct a thorough investigation into what happened. "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional. This reinforces the need for a thorough investigation," he said. A bench, headed by Justice N.V. Ramana, while examining the restrictions imposed on freedom of speech and expression in the Indian context, cited the US Civil War, when a dramatic confrontation over free speech arose with respect to the speech of Clement L. Vallandigham, who gave a speech calling the conflict "wicked, cruel and unnecessary". New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday noted that the US has undergone lot of changes concerning dissent during war, and the position that emerges is that "any speech which incites imminent violence does not enjoy constitutional protection". "He had urged the citizens to use ballot boxes to hurl 'President (Abraham) Lincoln' from his throne. As a reaction, Union soldiers arrested Vallandigham and he faced a five member military commission which charged him with "declaring disloyal sentiments and opinions with the object and purpose of weakening the power of the government in its efforts to suppress an unlawful rebellion. The Commission found Vallandigham guilty and imposed imprisonment on him during the war. This led to demonstrations terming it as a crime against the US Constitution, it said. "President Lincoln, having regard to the US Constitution, commuted the imprisonment and converted it to banishment. He justified the aforesaid act by stating that banishment was more humane and less disagreeable means of securing least restrictive measures," the court said. The apex court also cited the Cold War era, where the attention of the American Congress was on the increasing communism. In 1954, the Congress even enacted the Communist Control Act, which stripped the Communist Party of all rights, privileges and and immunities. The Act made it unlawful for any person to knowingly or willfully advocate the intent of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States by force or violence, to organise or help to organise any group which does so, or to conspire to do so. "An analysis of the leading cases in this Court which have involved direct limitations on speech, however, will demonstrate that both the majority of the Court and the dissenters in particular cases have recognized that this is not an unlimited, unqualified right, but that the societal value of speech must, on occasion, be subordinated to other values and considerations," the apex court cited the US Supreme Court as saying. During the Vietnam War, the US Supreme Court held that the state cannot punish advocacy of unlawful conduct, unless it is intended to incite and is likely to incite imminent lawless action. The bench also cited an article by Bruce Ackerman, while the US was facing new challenges, especially with war on terror. "The selective adaptation of doctrines dealing with war predictably leads to sweeping incursions on fundamental liberties," the verdict said. The apex court said: "From the aforesaid study of the precedents and facts, we may note that the law in the US has undergone lot of changes concerning dissent during war. The position that emerges is that any speech which incites imminent violence does not enjoy constitutional protection". The Supreme Court, which has asked the Jammu and Kashmir to review all curb orders within a week, said: "We may note that even the broadest guarantee of free speech would not protect the entire gamut of speech. The question which begs to be answered is whether there exists a clear and present danger in restricting such expression." ss/vd A majority of Americans don't seem to be buying the Trump administration's rationale for killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleiman, according to a new poll. In a USA TODAY/Ipsos poll released Thursday, 55 percent of U.S. adults said the United States' recent drone strike that killed Soleimani and its immediate aftermath made the country less safe. The administration has contended the opposite in the days since the strike. Vice President Mike Pence, for example, told Today in an interview Thursday that "America is safer" as a result of Trump's decision. But only 24 percent of Americans in this poll said the strike made the country safer, and almost a third of Republicans said the strike made the U.S. less safe. Even so, 42 percent of Americans still supported the Soleimani strike, while 33 percent opposed it and 25 percent didn't know what to think about it. Fifty-two percent of those surveyed also described Trump's behavior with Iran as "reckless," while 62 percent said the strike that killed Soleimani made it more likely that the United States and Iran will go to war. Forty-seven percent said they believe Trump authorized the bombing to distract from impeachment. USA Today's poll was taken by surveying 1,005 adults online on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8, and it was completed prior to Trump's recent address. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points. Read the full results at USA Today. More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly admitted impeachment played a big role in his Soleimani decision Donald Trump is behaving like the guiltiest man alive Marianne Williamson drops out of the 2020 race I f Harry and Meghan had renounced their titles, insisted on a private life and immediately stopped relying on public funds, even I would sympathise and wish them well. But they want to have their cake and eat it, keeping the titles, status and perks but giving up many responsibilities that come with the job. These titles are public property and this is a clear abuse of public office and public funds. They want the Met police to fork out millions to provide protection on the other side of the Atlantic, to keep their status, and for us to turn a blind eye while they exploit that status for personal profit. If they wont do the right thing, MPs must strip them of their titles and cut them off from public funds. Graham Smith, CEO, Republic It is the duty of every parent to follow the best path to safeguard the well-being of their children and, in my opinion, Harry has done what is right for his family. Some people may prefer to adhere to outdated protocols but I think the couple are entitled to move away from all that. Well done Harry and Meghan. Diana would have been proud! Constantine Louis Editor's reply Dear Graham and Constantine The dramatic way in which Harry and Meghan have made public their decision to step down as senior royals , against the advice of courtiers and even the Queen herself, has sparked a debate thats probably been a long time coming. If, as Prince Charles evidently prefers, the core royal family is to be stripped down to the monarch and the direct line of succession, then what is to be the role of members further down the pecking order? Sensibly, the Queen has not panicked, but has requested that her heir and his two sons engage calmly to sort out these highly complex issues. Hopefully they can find a way forward that allows Harry and Meghan to continue to make a significant contribution and does not leave a long lasting legacy of bad feeling and resentment. Jonathan Prynn, Senior Correspondent Only sustainable shops will survive Yesterday's news from the British Retail Consortium that last year sales fell for the first time in 25 years is certainly bad for retail but it may be good news for the planet. In our own research with YouGov, from last month, we asked shoppers if sustainability concerns were influencing their Christmas shopping and 44 per cent said yes. Of those with concerns, 51 per cent were expressing their conscientiousness through buying fewer presents. It is unsurprising if these concerns have partly driven a slowdown in Christmas sales. Its important that retailers discover how sustainability can fuel business growth. This can be achieved by developing alternatives for consumers through sustainable innovation and new business models that reflect a changing agenda. Our research is showing this is no longer a nice to have for retailers. Becky Willan, Managing director of Given London, brand purpose consultancy Ocado should use electric lorries Protests over Ocado applying for permission to set up a depot next to a school [News, January 8] sounds like an ideal opportunity to insist on a fleet of electric trucks. That should satisfy the planners and the Mayors office, and the protesters would find little to complain about. Bob Ansell Mental health care key to exclusions Your article Bring excluded in from the cold, [January 6] highlights how an alarming number of children are falling through the gaps and becoming vulnerable to gang violence and illegal activities. As a leading mental health charity providing support in schools across the UK, Place2Be believes the case for helping young people with emotional challenges, from an early age, has never been stronger. Half of all mental health problems are established by the age of 14, so addressing issues before adulthood is crucial. Many of the children we work with lead difficult lives but with the right support they can thrive. A 2019 analysis by us found that children receiving our counselling had a significant reduction in fixed-term exclusions. And researchers keep chasing innovations in treatment. The Wall Street Journal reports on an approach harnessing ideas from evolution and stay with us here pest control. The approach aims to reduce tumors by just 25% to 50% and make the cancer manageable and leave some in place, but without empowering the bad cells that manage to survive. Its a philosophy similar to that used in exterminating bugs. I think pest managers are about 30 years ahead of the oncologists, Carlo Maley, an evolutionary cancer biologist, told the Journal. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images Why did the United States kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani? President Trump, in remarks to the nation the morning after the attack, gave a clear rationale. Soleimani was planning new attacks on American targets, but we stopped him. That information has not been made public. But the glimpses behind the curtain have not inspired confidence that Trumps story is on the level. The most damning assessment is indirect. When the administration shared its intelligence with select members of Congress, many of them came away unimpressed, if not outright disgusted. Rep. Gerry Connolly described the presentation as sophomoric and utterly unconvincing. Even Republican Senator Mike Lee, heretofore an unquestioning Trump supporter, called it the worst briefing, at least on a military issue, hes seen in the nine years [hes] been here. This is the equivalent of a person who owns 14 house cats reporting that they walked out of the theater halfway through Cats. Exactly what the administration said, or failed to say, remains classified. But the administrations public explanations have hardly added clarity. Trumps initial remarks did not mention any new threat to a U.S. embassy. The next day, he said, We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy, presumably in Baghdad. Last night, at a rally in Toledo, he expanded the threat to embassies, multiple. In a new interview with Fox News, he has specified the threat as being to four embassies. Oddly, these details seem not to have been included in the briefing to Congress, which raises the question of why information is too classified for members of the U.S. government, but low-level enough to share with the Fox News audience. A senior administration official and a senior defense official tell the Post they were only aware of vague intelligence about a plot against the embassy in Baghdad and that the information did not suggest a fully formed plot. Both sources denied any awareness of threats against multiple embassies. Other ancillary details have made the case look more questionable still. Trump reportedly told associates he acted in part to placate Republican Senators whose support he needed to shape the Senate impeachment trial. The Washington Post reports today that, on the same day as the Soleimani strike, another American mission attempted, but failed, to take out a different Iranian commander in Yemen, where Iran is involved in a civil war. This seems like a strange coincidence if the second target was also linked to an imminent threat to the U.S. This suggests a mission with a longer planning horizon and a larger objective, and it really does call into question why there was an attempt to explain this publicly on the basis of an imminent threat, Iran scholar Suzanne Maloney told the Post. And of course Trump lies all the time, about everything. He specifically lies about the U.S. intelligence community, the conclusions of which he habitually disregards when it suits his purpose. Last year, he dismissed U.S. intelligence that found Iran was abiding the terms of the nuclear deal. So the notion Trump would mislead the country about Iran-related intelligence again hardly seems far-fetched. It is probably true that Soleimani was linked to plans that posed some kind of threat to the United States at some point. Soleimani was indeed a very dangerous and aggressive figure. But Trumps claim that he had to be killed right away in order to save American lives is not one that should be taken at face value. This post has been updated. An advertisement board in HCM City. The citys advertising industry has always led the country in terms of new development trends and growth. - Photo pano.vn Nguyen Trung Minh of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies said the citys advertising industry has a long history and has always led the country in terms of new development trends and growth. There are no official figures on the advertising industrys revenues, but market research organisations estimate them at US$1 billion with HCM City accounting for 30 per cent, he said. Under the national strategy for the development of the cultural industry by 2020, the Government has set a revenue target of $1.5 billion from advertising by 2020 and $3.2 billion by 2030, he said. But the industry, especially the outdoor advertising segment, has faced difficulties due to overlapping regulations and lack of zoning plans. Nguyen Quang Nhut, head of the HCM City Outdoor Advertising Club, said demand for outdoor advertising is high, but the lack of zoning plans has stymied its development. It usually takes much time for firms to get permits for outdoor advertisements and the city should consider simplifying the process, he said. Currently customers do not run the same advertising campaign for one or two years as they did previously, and their ad campaigns usually last only a few months. To develop the industry, the city must have zoning plans. Our advertising technology is not inferior to that of foreign countries, but a lack of zoning plans has prevented the industrys development. In the zoning plan, the city should spell out how many outdoor advertisements will be allowed in a certain area rather than regulate where they are placed. This will make it easier for advertising firms. Delegates said outdoor advertising is too tightly controlled and regulations need to be loosened to suit the current development trends, enabling firms to make advertising more creative. Nhut said online advertising, especially on mobile phones, has increased strongly, with Google and Facebook being the largest players, but this kind of advertising is still not optimally regulated. Duong Huy, deputy chairman of the HCM City Advertising Association, said: We are integrating into the international market, we need to learn from other countries how they manage the advertising industry. Vo Trong Nam, deputy director of the city Department of Culture and Sports, said it is necessary to have specific zoning plans for the types and methods of advertising and technologies applied in the industry. The citys advertising industry is aiming for a high growth rate in line with global trends while also ensuring harmony with Vietnamese culture and the national cultural identity. With the rapid development of technology and communications, the advertising industry needs to reform constantly to keep up with, he said. Organised by the HCM City Institute for Development Studies and the city Department of Culture and Sports, the seminar sought to gather ideas from business groups and advertising companies to develop the advertising industry in the coming decades. A staff member at the Lincoln Correctional Center was stabbed in the hand with a toothbrush that had been sharpened into a weapon. The assault occurred about 6:30 p.m. Thursday after the inmate was escorted from his cell. While in restraints, the inmate used the sharpened toothbrush to inflict two puncture wounds to the back of the staff members hand, according to a press release from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Additional prison staff responded and used pepper spray to gain control of the inmate. The injured staff member went to a Lincoln hospital, where a medical adhesive was used to close the puncture wounds in her hand, according to the press release. The incident will be referred to the Lancaster County attorney for possible criminal prosecution, and the inmate will be disciplined. The Maharashtra Police would seek information from its Karnataka counterpart whether Rushikesh Devdikar, arrested in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, was also linked to the killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Friday. Personnel of the Karnataka Special Investigation Team, set up to probe Lankesh's killing, arrested Devdikar alias Murali (44), from Katras near Dhanbad in Jharkhand, on Thursday evening. Devdikar is accused number 18 in the case, Karnataka police have said. "We will seek information from the Karnataka government on whether there is a link of Devdikar with the murders of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare," Deshmukh said here. While Lankesh was killed on September 5, 2017 in front of her house in Bengaluru, Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while he was on a morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries on February 20. The Dabholkar case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while a state police SIT is investigating the killing of Pansare. Meanwhile, the owner of the shop in Aurangabad, which Devdikar had taken on rent for a couple of years, said he used to sell Ayurveda products there. Jagdish Kulkarni, owner of the shop located in the Aurangabad's M2 area, said, "Devdikar used to sell Patanjali products in the shop. He would pay rent on time. He ran the business for about two years- between 2014 and 2016." Yeshwant Shukla, who had rented his house in Aurangabad to Devdikar, remembers him as a man of few words. "We rented the house to Devdikar in February 2016. He wanted a house on the ground floor for his elderly parents. At the time of finalising the deal, he stayed here for about one-and-a-half months at a stretch, his longest at this place," he said. "Devdikar then shifted to Solapur, but his parents continued to stay at the house till April 2019. He used to visit the parents once in a while just for a day," Shukla said. Devdikar's parents later shifted to Mumbai, where their another son resided, he added. "Rushikesh's involvement in ther Gauri Lankesh case has come as a shock to all of us," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shortly after the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced a war powers resolution to constrain President Donald Trump from launching offensive military action against Iran. Kaines effort mirrored last years Yemen war powers resolution, introduced by presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the lone senator in the Congressional Progressive Caucus who hopes to oust Trump from the White House this year. Several days later, Sanders fellow caucus members, Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., announced that they would introduce the Kaine resolution in the House. Mere hours after that, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., committed to holding an Iran war powers vote in the House. But Pelosi made no mention of Lee and Omar and instead designated Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a moderate who previously worked for the CIA and Defense Department analyzing Shiite militias, to introduce the bill. The House passed Slotkins resolution 224-194 today largely along party lines. And Pelosi is considering holding more Iran-related votes pushed by Sanders and the progressive caucus. The increasing reliance on the Vietnam-era War Powers Resolution and pushback against Trumps Iran policy illustrates the growing influence that left-wing firebrands such as Sanders and Omar have on foreign policy within the Democratic Party. Theyre getting results and the progressive caucus isnt done yet. There has been a lot of collaboration with the Foreign Affairs Committee, with Slotkin and the leadership, Omar, who serves as the progressive caucus whip, told Al-Monitor on Wednesday. We are just going to make sure the American people understand weve made a commitment to work on this, and they need to stay engaged to make sure that we fulfill that commitment. Omar, who has become a lightning rod for criticism from Republicans and centrist Democrats due to her past statements on Israel, is part of a new wave of freshmen who helped swell the ranks of the progressive caucus to 100 members in the 2018 midterm elections. Immediately after the Trump administrations Wednesday briefing on the Soleimani strike, the progressive caucus convened a press conference to push for the war powers resolution as well as two other bills introduced by Lee and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a co-chair for the Sanders presidential campaign. We have endorsed two important bills that have already passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, said progressive caucus co-chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. That is our belief in what needs to happen, and weve been working very closely with leadership on that. Two hours after the press conference, Pelosi announced that she is also considering the two additional votes that the progressive caucus is pushing. One potential vote is on Lees bill to repeal the 2002 authorization to invade Iraq, which the White House has cited as the legal justification for the Soleimani strike. The other vote would be on Khannas bill to defund offensive military action against Iran absent congressional authorization. (Sanders has introduced the same legislation in the Senate.) Both these initiatives are major priorities for a coalition of anti-war activist groups that work closely with the progressive caucus. Notably, Democratic leaders dropped both the Lee and Khanna provisions from the annual defense authorization bill last year after negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., argued at the time that it was necessary to kill both provisions in order to secure support for a compromise bill. Sanders also wasted no time in convening his own press conference today alongside Lee, Khanna, Jayapal as well as Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. Just as we were led into Vietnam and Iraq by lies, the Trump administration is misleading us on Iran, Sanders argued. They have justified the assassination of Qasem Soleimani by claiming he was planning imminent attacks on hundreds of Americans in the region, and they produced no evidence that would justify this claim, not even in a classified setting. The presidential hopeful also touted his success in getting Congress to pass a war powers resolution intended to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels last year. Before Sanders introduced his Yemen resolution, Democratic leaders viewed war powers resolutions with skepticism and opted not to use them. While President Trump vetoed that resolution, there is no doubt that it played a major role in signaling to the region that the American people do not support the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, said Sanders. Mindful that Congress would not have enough votes to override another inevitable Trump veto on a war powers resolution, Democrats opted to introduce it as a resolution that would not require Trumps signature even if it passes the Senate. This is a statement by the Congress of the United States, and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not, said Pelosi. This has prompted Republicans to deride the resolution as a symbolic political gesture without the force of law because of a 1983 Supreme Court ruling on congressional resolutions that do not require a presidential signature. This is a meaningless vote that only sends the message that Democrats would rather stand with their socialist base than stand against Iran, said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., while accusing Pelosi of blaming America for Irans escalation. Sarah Burns, a war powers specialist and nonresident fellow at the dovish Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also characterized the Slotkin bill as symbolic. Its nonbinding in that theres nothing the Democrats could do if they wanted to enforce anything, Burns told Al-Monitor. Still, she said, It sends a signal to both the voters and the international community that Congress is not supporting the actions of the president. Photograph: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images Geopolitically speaking, we are the bad guys. The United States government, that is. The extent to which this is true fluctuates somewhat from administration to administration, but in the postwar decades it has been a fairly reliable judgment. We sponsor coups, fund death squads, stage unjustified invasions and enable all manner of human rights violations in exchange for economic and political gain. This is a fact that our political class has long deemed too unpleasant for the populace to swallow. What should be an uncontroversial observation of reality is therefore considered a taboo in mainstream political discourse. The Democratic party has long participated in this jingoistic hologram-weaving almost as enthusiastically as Republicans have. What we need are unapologetic soldiers for peace. What we usually get instead is Pete Buttigieg. Related: Love is in the Brooklyn air as Elizabeth Warren gives campaign a shot in the arm Donald Trump got mad watching cable news, impulsively assassinated a top Iranian military figure, and has brought us to the brink of an entirely needless war. Unsurprising. We knew he was a tantrum-prone child when we elected him. We chose this incredibly stupid path. Guns and the flag are the bread and butter of the Republican party, and they will continue to feed these things to Americans as long as they continue to be an effective way to distract everyone from the fact that they are funneling all of your money to the rich. The only hope of salvation from our B-movie nightmare lies in having an opposition party that actually opposes this stuff. As long as the Democrats themselves remain dazzled by militarism like a bunch of eight-year-olds gaping at a cool fighter jet, we are doomed to debate only how fast our world-annihilating stockpile of weapons should expand. The gravitational pull of the US military and its more than $700bn budget warps our national politics like a black hole. It is plainly insane. It sucks up money that could be spent improving lives rather than planning to destroy them; it sucks up human talent that could be put to more beneficial use than blowing things up; and, like all bureaucracies, the military tends to create the conditions to sustain itself in this case, a profusion of congressmen with military bases and defense contractors in their districts, who see forever wars as useful employment boosters. Story continues This structural danger has been apparent since the Eisenhower years, but our situation today the most powerful army in history under the total control of the biggest idiot in history is another fun legacy of the Clinton-era Democratic triangulation strategy, which holds that the path to Democratic power is to act more like Republicans. It is this approach to politics that earned us enthusiastic bipartisan backing for the Iraq war, and it remains the guiding philosophy of politicians like Joe Biden and his younger avatar Buttigieg. (The idea of joining the military reserve as a resume line item right after joining McKinsey has a very strong Clinton-era vibe.) These types of Democrats seek out veterans for the same reason that Republicans try to recruit black candidates: they see politics purely as an optics game, and they have an extremely low opinion of the voting public. A Democrat with an M-16 or a black Republican are an idiots idea of a foolproof checkmate! moment in political debate. Consequently, a substantive movement for peace has long been dismissed as foolish by the same political geniuses who transformed John Kerry, a veteran best known for being a peace activist, into a flag-saluting Reporting for duty! soldier man on stage at the Democratic convention. Kerry lost to a Republican draft dodger. Now we are ruled by another Republican draft-dodger. Our military budget is still larger than those of the next seven countries combined. Were still starting new wars in the Middle East. And other than Bernie Sanders, all of the Democratic candidates seem incapable of saying clearly and without qualification that this is insane. The vast military buildup that followed 9/11 did nothing to prevent the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression. The recovery decade after that has been accompanied by inequality that continues to rise to ludicrous levels. From the perspective of a normal person, this has all been one long con. This is how societies break down. Trumps election was a blind grasp for the most different thing. Imagine if people were given the chance to vote for something even more different: peace. Not the political talking point of peace through strength, but peace through justice, a genuine acknowledgment that our empire-building days need to end, because all they do is get poor people killed in exchange for making rich people richer. Most Americans cant name their own senator. Im quite sure they dont know that the US sponsored a coup to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Iran in 1953 and strengthen an autocratic shah whose secret police oppressed and tortured citizens for decades. It is little wonder Iranians whose parents and grandparents had their fingernails extracted by force thanks to Americas desire for stability in the region might feel less than gracious towards America. This is the sort of conversation we should be having in our country right now; instead, we are treated to elected leaders competing to see who can best explain away our recent assassination of a Very, Very Bad Man. For decades, voters have not had a real alternative to militarism. The Republicans were all about it, and the Democrats were determined to show that they were too, like an undersized kid starting fights in a schoolyard. Those few Democrats brave enough to call for peace as a real policy goal have long been marginalized and mocked. Related: After Julian Castros departure, Latinx voters wonder: when will it be 'our time'? | Ed Morales But we live in a different time now. In the same way that socialism has gone from a punchline to a platform, peace is ready for its turn in power. And just like the old-school Democrats who hew to the failed centrist gospel of triangulation are being replaced with a new generation, so too must those who think that they need to strike muscular war poses for political reasons be pushed out of the party. The Iraq war is their legacy, and they dont deserve a chance to make the same mistake again. Nothing requires less courage than letting yourself go along with a march towards war when you have the biggest military in the world. Show me a candidate willing to fight for peace, and Ill show you the future. The Butte Silver-Bow Council of Commissioners voted Wednesday night against seeking independent legal counsel to examine the Butte Hill consent decree before the council considers signing off on the document. After a dozen years, Superfund negotiators have reached agreement on the decree detailing a plan for the environmental cleanup, and Commissioner Jim Fisher wanted the council to hire an outside environmental law firm to help it evaluate the consent decree draft before it is presented to commissioners for a vote. The council voted 8-3 against Fisher's proposal. Against an outside counsel were commissioners Shawn Fredrickson, John Morgan, John Sorich, Dan Olsen, Josh ONeill, Brendan McDonough, Eric Mankins and Cindi Shaw. Voting for the proposal were Fisher, Michele Shea and Bill Andersen. Fisher said the commissioners dont know whats in the consent decree. He added that he himself is not that educated to read thousands of pages of the consent decree. Sorich, who voted against the proposal Wednesday, said he would support further discussion on whether to hire an independent counsel. But at the same time, he had several concerns. I guess looking at it, whos going to feed all these lawyers and all these people all this information? Is it going to be the same people that were relying on now? Or is it going to be our Superfund people? Sorich asked. Addressing Sorich, Fisher explained that the idea is to send the consent decree draft in its entirety to an independent environmental law firm and have them review it. I just dont think most people in this council have the knowledge and legal expertise to read a thousand-page document and make a decision that will forever affect the community, Fisher said. Fredrickson, who also voted against the proposal, said he was completely against hiring an outside legal firm to help the council evaluate the consent decree. He said he asked his wife, who is an environmental lawyer, for a rough estimate the county would need to pay a law firm with expertise on Superfund projects. For something specialized like this with Superfund, it could be as high as $500 per hour. So I just want us to think about that and how we would possibly pay for something like this, Fredrickson said. We dont have any money. I want us to think about how to pay for this. And how do we select a firm? Chief Executive Dave Palmer agreed that hiring an attorney could be costly. Even if the county were to hire experienced attorneys, he said, they would have to rely on outside engineering firms, too, which would jack up the cost. Morgan said he was also concerned about the cost to hire an outside attorney. He said he called Danette Gleason, Butte-Silver Bow finance and budget director, to ask about the councils budget for legal expenses. I have $5,125 in my professional services budget, and so, that might be a challenge, said Morgan. Addressing Fishers concerns, Superfund coordinator Jon Sesso stepped in to explain that it would be remiss on our part and everyones part if we were intending to just lay this document on your lap and then just walk away and expect you to vote for it. That cant happen, Sesso said. Weve made a commitment already. Weve got a commitment from EPA, the state of Montana and ARCO to be with us to explain whats going to happen. When the consent decree draft gets released by the EPA, Sesso said, the document will be made public online and Butte-Silver Bow with other entities are going to try to boil it down to summaries that will basically brief you the major key takeaways in this document. He said the consent decree is not a thousand pages, but 100 pages and nine attachments. One of the attachments, Sesso said, is a modification to the Record of Decision of 2006, which will point out all the lessons that weve learned and the changes we needed to make in that document based on those lessons learned and what we have to do to go forward. What we have planned in February is a series of workshops and seminars where all of us will give the public, on different days and different times of the day, an opportunity to come and learn anything they want, Sesso said. Were preparing the best we can, some summary documents that summarize everything in these agreements. Once we feel we have done our level best to educate and inform everybody, were willing to spend as much time individually our as a group to communicate and explain anything and everything about these documents. Then, only then, we submit this consent decree to the council for your consideration and approval. Sesso further added that the Superfund negotiating parties are in no rush, especially after making us wait for 30 years to get to this point. Were confident going in. This scope of work in the consent decree really addresses a lot of issues, Sesso said. Im here to tell you that we are addressing those issues. The proof will be in the pudding. Andersen, who voted in favor of Fishers proposal, said the price tag didnt concern him. He said he supports the idea of the council hiring an independent attorney, which they could potentially get pro bono. Will all the green energy advocacy and climate change advocacy, I found 20 some groups that do pro bono law work for environmental matters. I think when were looking at Superfund like this, I think theres a way we could eliminate some of that cost drastically, Andersen said. This is a decision that were going to be tasked with making that is going to affect the history of Butte here on out, and I think we need to have every little piece in our disposal, and any extra due diligence on this matter is well deserved to our community. Fisher at least wanted the council to further discuss the proposal at greater length next week, but the council shot that down 7-4. Were sitting here without any knowledge of this document, Fisher told the council. Its always the unknown that scares people, and its the unknown thats got me bothered here. Im not saying were making a good deal or a bad deal. All Im saying is that its a forever decision. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 5 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A DNA test will be done to confirm arrested gangster Ejaz Lakdawalas identity, said Mumbai Polices crime branch. Lakdawala is currently in judicial custody for his involvement in a case of extortion. Lakdawala, who has been absconding for decades, was arrested in Patna, on Wednesday. He was positively identified by his daughter Sonia Shaikh, who was arrested on December 28, 2019. Crime branch officials said a DNA will be conducted to match Lakdawalas samples with those of Shaikh and Lakdawalas elder brother Aquil, who is also in judicial custody. DNA test is compulsory because there are chances that he could deny his identity in court. We have taken the sample and that has been sent to Kalina forensic science laboratory. However, Ejaz was identified by his daughter Sonia when he was brought to Mumbai on Wednesday, said an officer of the crime branch. While investigating Lakdawalas daughter, who is also a suspect in the extortion case, crime branch learnt Shaikh was born in Bhabha Hospital, in Bandra, in 1997. At the time Lakdawala was in Nashik Jail and he allegedly instructed the family to ensure Shaikhs birth certificate showed her fathers name as Manish Shyam Advani. When Lakdawala escaped from Nashik Jail in 1998 and fled to Malaysia, he used a passport in the name of Manish Shyam Advani. Five years later, Lakdawalas wife, identified on Shaikhs passport as Rekha Advani, and Shaikh went to Malaysia, where Shaikh was identified as Aquila Shaikh. Shaikh has told Mumbai Police that she completed her schooling from Nepal and has submitted her school certificate as proof, which the crime branch will verify. Lakdawala, a former aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has operated out of Nepal for the past seven or eight years, said Mumbai Police. He became father to a son in 2012 who is believed to be in Nepal with Lakdawalas wife. Lakdawala has been on Indias most wanted list since 1998 and is wanted in 27 cases of murder and attempted murder; and 80 cases of extortion in Mumbai alone. As Western countries claim jet was downed, killing all 176 on board, Volodymyr Zelenskyy demands evidence is shared. Kyiv, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said claims that a Ukrainian passenger plane was downed by an errant Iranian, Russian-made cruise missile were unconfirmed, as he demanded evidence from Western countries suggesting theories behind the disaster. The Ukrainian leader on Friday urged the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to share any intelligence data regarding the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash that killed all 176 passengers and crew on Wednesday, minutes after takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Writing on his Facebook page, Zelenskyy said: The version of a missile hitting the plane is not ruled out, but is, for now, unconfirmed. He later discussed the crash with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, who offered condolences and assistance in the ongoing investigation. Zelenskyy briefed Pompeo about the progress in the investigation. Ukraines foreign minister said that a group of 45 Ukrainian experts working at the crash site in Iran has so far not confirmed the presence of chemicals that point to an explosion or attack. So far, we dont have enough proof to say that there are substances on the remnants of the plane that could point at a terrorist attack or an unnatural fall of the plane, Vadym Prystaiko told reporters. He said the US, Canada or the UK have not shared any intelligence information about the crash because Ukraine is not part of NATO. The matter of declassifying the information and passing it to us is complicated by bureaucracy, he said. Observers say Zelenskyys warning was aimed at keeping Ukraine out of a tug-of-war between Washington and Tehran, that has flared following the USs killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. 200109215242705 He does not want to play other peoples games, Kyiv-based analyst Mikhail Pogrebinsky told Al Jazeera. Obviously, until there is a confirmed, well-grounded investigation, he does not have to [confirm the allegations of a missile strike]. The International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency, also called in a statement for people not to jump to conclusions. ICAO continues to call for diminished speculation on the possible causes of the accident until the Annex 13 investigation is permitted to be concluded and its official results are confirmed, it said in a statement. Newly surfaced video appears to show the moment a Ukrainian airliner may have been hit by a missile in Iran before crashing near Tehran on Wednesday. Read more here: https://t.co/s64ZvGDTYW pic.twitter.com/QaxcMwR3wT Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 10, 2020 Other experts maintain that Ukraine is likely to replicate the White Houses interpretation of events due to its dependency on the diplomatic, military and financial backing of the West. Kyivs capability to present the disasters versions that are different from Washingtons messages are next to zero, especially ahead of the [presidential vote] in the US, Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kushch told Al Jazeera. Zelenskyys political opponents say his circumspection signals servitude to Russia and its ally, Iran. 200110034737843 We are not just silent we are silent with Iran and Russia. And in his statement, Zelensky says directly I dont believe [US President Donald] Trump, [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau and [UK Prime Minister Boris] Johnson, former legislator Vadim Denisenko tweeted. The three leaders on Thursday said their intelligence data indicated the plane had been downed by an errant Iranian missile. Ukraine keeps its distance from the power politics of the Middle East, and its economic ties with Iran are minimal. But Kyiv will be wary of antagonising Russia as it attempts to settle the continuing conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the southeast of the country. He just chickened out, because he bows to Putin and does not care about Ukraines independence, Konstantin Rybchenko, a retired police officer and a supporter of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, told Al Jazeera. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that evidence indicated an Iranian missile shot down the airliner and that the attack may have been unintentional. 200110010444931 US officials maintain it was highly likely an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed the plane, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said there was a body of information that [suggests] the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Friday that their allegations were a big lie, according to a statement carried on state-run Press TV. We expect to receive all available information necessary for an objective investigation, said Zelenskyy. Considering recent statements by state leaders and media reports, we call on all international partners, namely, the governments of the US, Canada and the United Kingdom to provide the data and proof pertaining to the disaster. The Boeing 737-800 was last seen on radar at an altitude of 2,400 metres, according to the FlightRadar 24 monitoring website, hours after Tehran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at military bases hosting US troops in neighbouring Iraq. Ukraine International Airlines said the plane was only three years old, underwent a maintenance check on Monday, and was flown by an experienced crew. BAY CITY, MI - Downtown is now home to a new business that is aiming to bring a bit of luxury and comfort to Bay City. Urban East is a new shoe store at 904 Washington Ave. The store is owned by Lisa Wegner, who is assisted by her employee and daughter Elyse Wegner. Lisa Wegner combined two of her long-time loves - shoes and business - to come up with Urban East. I decided that this would be a good thing for the town since its up-and-coming Bay City. I thought a shoe store would really be a benefit for the people, she said. Wegner says premium shoes are worth the cost. Premium shoes are good for your feet. They make your feet feel good and, if you do have any kind of foot trouble, theyre made with better arch support, the soles are better, and theyre just all around better for your feet," she said. "The cheaper shoes are just not made the same. The store carries accessories such as leather purses and wallets, novelty socks, and scarves. The store aims to bring a quality shopping experience to those who still like old-fashioned stores and local shopping. I feel like theres people that maybe still do not like to buy online, like to actually go and try them on and go and support the local businesses," Wegner said. Urban East has received a warm welcome from the downtown business community after moving in to their storefront. Customers so far have been finding the new store by word of mouth since it opened its doors on 2019 Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30, according to the Wegners. Whether they buy anything or not, theyre so happy that were here. Theyre telling all their friends," Elyse Wegner said. Urban East is open from 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays. The store is also open on Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and closes early at 4 p.m. on Saturdays. New Delhi, Jan 10 : US rating multinational Fitch on Friday assigned a rating of 'BBB-' to telecom major Bharti Airtel's proposed US dollar senior unsecured convertible notes. The notes are rated at the same level as Bharti's foreign-currency senior unsecured rating of 'BBB-' and are also placed on Rating Watch Negative (RWN), Fitch said, adding Bharti's free cash flow (FCF) will remain negative during 2019-20 despite tariff hikes. Airtel has announced plans to raise up to $1 billion through foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) or debentures, besides $2 billion through qualified institutional placement, public issue and preferential shares or private placement. Fitch placed Bharti's ratings on RWN on October 30, 2019, following the Supreme Court verdict against the country's telcos on the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) on which the operators, including Bharti, are now required to pay hefty dues to the government. The rating agency said the resolution of the RWN, which may take more than six months, requires a Supreme Court ruling on the review petition subsequently filed by the companies. The proposed interest-bearing issuance will be a senior, unsubordinated, unsecured and unconditional obligation and will rank pari passu to Bharti's existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness. The terms and conditions on the proposed notes are similar to Bharti's existing senior unsecured notes except the presence of optional convertible features. Bharti will use the proceeds of the notes to fund its capex or to refinance its debt, Fitch said. Holders of the proposed notes can convert to equity at a conversion price premium from a predetermined stock price, during the life of the notes as per the terms and conditions. Fitch estimates "Bharti's funds from operations (FFO) adjusted net leverage could be around 2.3x-2.6x for the financial year ending March 2020 (FY20) -- excluding $6.3 billion in deferred spectrum costs -- assuming the company pays estimated unpaid dues of $4.9 billion, raises equity of $2 billion and tariff hikes result in consolidated EBITDA growth of 20 per cent-25 per cent." "We will stabilise the outlook only if Bharti maintain its leverage below 2.5x on a sustained basis -- the threshold above which we will take a negative rating action. Bharti's management states that the company is committed to an investment-grade rating and raised about $5.6 billion in equity through a rights issue and the sale of equity in its African subsidiary, Airtel Africa Ltd, in 2019," a statement said. "Management is confident of successfully completing the planned equity injection of USD 2 billion in January 2020," Fitch added. Bharti may also raise $1.7 billion-$2.7 billion through a planned stake sale of the combined Bharti Infratel (Infratel) and Indus Tower entity, which is awaiting regulatory approval of the merger. "However, deconsolidation of Infratel-Indus would lead to cash outflow for tower lease rentals, nullifying any significant leverage benefits," said the US agency. It also said the Supreme Court's adverse ruling, leading to a DoT demand of $19 billion in unpaid dues on licence fees and spectrum usage charges from Indian telcos before January 24, 2020, is credit-negative for the industry. The court may rule on the review petition during January 2020. "The simultaneous announcement by all telcos to hike tariffs by around 30 per cent-40 per cent across different prepaid tariff plans, effective from December 5, 2019, is credit-positive and is the first such increase in tariffs in a decade," the statement said. Bharti announced in January 2020 that it will increase its minimum amount, that a customer needs to pay to keep a number active, to Rs 45 ($0.64) from Rs 35. "Bharti's free cash flow (FCF) will remain negative during FY20 despite tariff hikes, as cash flow from operations will be insufficient to fund large capex and moderate dividends of Rs 30 billion-40 billion," Fitch said. "Barring regulatory dues, we expect FY20 capex/revenue to remain high at 34 per cent-37 per cent, with forecast capex of around $4 billion, as Bharti continues to strengthen its 4G network and fibre infrastructure. However, negative FCF will improve following the government's two-year moratorium on payment of existing spectrum dues, which will save about $840 million in FY21 and FY22," it added. A ROTHERHAM man has told of his fears for his niece after she was cut off from communication from the widespread bush fires tearing through Australia. Dave Brennan, of Ryton Close, Maltby, said he had not heard from his 75-year-old niece Veronica Nicholas since mobile phone masts succumbed to the blazes in New South Wales. He said: Veronica lives right in the middle of where the fires are at their worst. Its a place called Lismore, right on the coast. I have tried to contact her but as she is only on a mobile phone, I have been informed that all the masts are down and Im not getting a reply to my emails either. Large areas of New South Wales have been destroyed by the raging fires, which have followed drought conditions of up to a year and temperatures pushing 50 deg C. Veronica visited Dave in Maltby in 2012 (see pictured above) the first time they had seen each other since they were aged six and eight respectively. Over the Christmas holidays, I was getting more concerned about her, Dave added. I contacted Australia House who put me in touch with Red Cross Australia, who were kind enough to put me right through to the local police. But it wasnt a good line and Im afraid his strong Aussie accent got in the way. But because I was told that the lines are down, Im a bit more settled. Veronica is now divorced and living on her own. She has two daughters but they live a good distance from her. Lismore is a small town in northern New South Wales, close to the Pacific Coast and around 100 miles from Brisbane. Dave (77) said he had been told by the Australian police officer not to be too concerned but added: Thats easier to say than to do. All I can do is wait for news and hopefully when the lines are back up I will here from her. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 19:52:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Politicians in Northern Ireland were called to a crunch meeting Friday in a new bid to restore the country's devolved parliament, three years after its suspension. A deal to end an impasse that saw the collapse of the power-sharing assembly exactly three years ago was published late Thursday night. The 62-page document was put forward jointly by the British and Irish governments, spelling out a future formula for the Stormont parliament to reopen following a major fall-out between the two biggest political parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the pro-republican Sinn Fein. DUP leader Arlene Foster, in her initial response, said the deal was not perfect, but was the basis upon which the assembly and executive can be re-established in a fair and balanced way. Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Fein, said in a statement that her party was studying the text and would assess the proposed deal on Friday. Squabbling politicians in Northern Ireland had been given until Jan. 13 to re-open the assembly or face the prospect of new elections. If the deal wins support of assembly members on Friday, it will see the immediate full restoration of the institutions of the Belfast Agreement, including the power-sharing executive, the full assembly and the North/South Ministerial Council. Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith has written to assembly speaker Robin Newton, asking him to call the assembly on Friday to enable the restoration of the executive. "I urge the parties to come together and to form an executive in the best interests of Northern Ireland," said Smith. "This is a moment of truth for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. It is a fair and balanced deal that will ensure key decisions about peoples' lives can be made," he added. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Coveney said now is the time "for political leadership and a collective commitment to making politics work for people." "There is no need, and no public patience, for more process and more discussions," Coveney said. The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland, and has power to legislate in areas that are not explicitly reserved to the British parliament. It also has the power to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. Second Friday art openings at the ZACC (Friday, Jan. 10) The Zootown Arts Community Center will debut its new Youth Gallery with paintings by 14-year-old Ila Bell of the Sussex School, who won an award at the Western Montana Fair last summer. Over in the new main gallery, an established adult artist, Laura Blue Palmer, is debuting a duo show with her son. She and Jesse Lewis Sawaya, 9, collaborated on "Underwater Past and Present," which features marine imagery from varied time periods in their two respective styles. The openings run from 5-8 p.m. Ballet Beyond Borders (Friday-Sunday, Jan. 10-12) The festival of dance and diplomacy wraps up this weekend, with performances by competitors from around the world on Friday, and a diplomacy conference and gala finale on Saturday, all on the University of Montana campus. See the featured article in this week's issue or head to rmbt.org/bbb. 'Labyrinth' (Saturday, Jan. 11) The Roxy Theater is screening the Jim Henson classic for its "Movie Cult" and "Roxy Jr." series. See David Bowie at his freaky-deaky best in the PG-rated fantasy story pitting Jennifer Connelly against puppet goblins. Screening times are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and you can buy tickets in advance at theroxytheater.org. Art and tea talk (Monday, Jan. 13) Andrew Rivera, a resident artist at the Clay Studio of Missoula, is giving an art talk and tea tasting. Rivera decorates the surfaces of his pottery with imagery related to his Mexican heritage. He'll talk about the work he's been making so far at the Clay Studio, and the pieces that he made for Lake Missoula. It runs from 6:15-7 p.m. at Lake Missoula, 136 E. Broadway. Drink and Draw with the Natural History Center (Wednesday, Jan. 15) The "Wassail" celebration continues at Western Cider with a "Drink and Draw" event. The drawing supplies are provided by the Zootown Arts Community Center, and the Montana Natural History Center is bringing "bird specimens, owl skeletons, bird feathers, wings, skulls and other intricate beauties of the wild" to make apple still life scenes for participants to draw. It runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the cidery, located at 501 N. California St. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Three days after the brutal murder of a woman and her two-year-old toddler, police on Friday arrested the victim's husband and a contract killer in the case. Police said Rohit Tiwari had hired contract killer Raj, alias Surabh Chaudhary, as he had strained relations with his wife Shweta Tiwari (30) and wanted to start a new family. The role of Chaudhary's relative Hari Singh is also being investigated. "The conspiracy was hatched on January 3 at a hotel near the Jaipur airport. Rohit paid Rs 20,000 in advance to the killer. Rohit had planned the murder of his wife and son to start a new family as his the relationship with his wife was strained right from their marriage," said Jaipur Police Commissioner Anand Srivastava. He said the accused had tried to project it as a case of kidnapping and extortion. Rohit had come in contact of his friend, philosopher and guide Hari Singh while working in the IOCL, Udaipur. Singh had introduced him to his brother-in-law Saurabh when Tiwari was transferred to Jaipur. All three had family relations with each other. On January 7, Saurabh attacked Shweta with a heavy object and slit her throat with a knife and then strangled her son and hit him with a heavy object on his head, police said. He then dumped the body of the toddler at a secluded place behind their apartment, located at Unique Tower in Pratap Nagar. "The role of Hari Singh will be interrogated and he will be arrested if found involved in the case," Srivastava said. On Tuesday, Shweta Tiwari's body was found lying in a pool of blood at her apartment. Her son's body was found a day later. Rohit Tiwari had registered a case of murder, kidnapping and extortion at the Pratap Nagar police station. Saurabh Chaudhary had taken away the woman's mobile phone and later called her husband to demand a ransom of Rs 30 lakh to project it as a kidnapping and extortion case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2020) - Blackrock Gold Corp. (TSXV: BRC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 7,500,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.20 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000. Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional common share in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.30 per share for a period of two years from the date the Units are issued. The Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The common shares to be issued under the Offering will have a hold period of four months and one day from the closing. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used by the Company to fund the initial 2020 drilling program and exploration work on the Company's Silver Cloud property, and general working capital. The Company may pay finder's fees on a portion of the Offering of up to 6% in cash and, for subscriptions exceeding $250,000 in the aggregate or from institutional investors, finder's warrants equal to 4% of such Units placed by the finder, exercisable for a two-year term at a price of $0.30 per common share. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States absent an exemption from registration. Initial 2020 Exploration Program The highlights of the Company's next exploration program for its 100% controlled low sulphidation epithermal Silver Cloud project located on the Northern Nevada Rift in Elko County, Nevada are as follows: Immediately mobilize core drill to site to follow up on positive drill results received from core holes SBC19-001 and SBC19-002 (see news release dated January 6, 2020), testing the extent of the mineralised system at depth in search of the boiling zone; Assemble geophysical crew to complete induced polarization survey between the Northwest Canyon through the Silver Cloud mercury mine to the eastern property boundary to capitalize on gold-bearing sulphide filled structures and felsic intrusives along the 5-kilometre trend; Coordinate induced polarization survey over NE Veins target to aid in targeting maiden drill program; Property-wide gravity survey to infill existing survey and gain better resolution on structural orientations and altered flow dome locations; Complete mapping, sampling and drillhole targeting at the Northeast Veins and Quiver targets; and Commence maiden drill program at NE Veins target consisting of up to 3,000m of reverse circulation (RVC) drilling in six holes. Andrew Pollard, President & CEO of the Company stated "With gold assays from drillholes SBC19-001 and SBC19-002 in hand serving as a proof of concept confirming the east-west orientation of the mineralised vein system at Silver Cloud, we are eager to hit the ground running in 2020 by following up on these exciting gold results and searching for bonanza gold grades that may lurk at depth. With a better understanding of the structural orientation of the system and the significant presence of sulphides encountered in our initial drill program, we want to enhance our targeting of the deep-seated structures at the Silver Cloud mine area and at our NE Veins target using gravity and IP geophysics. The NE Veins target, sitting adjacent to Hecla's Hollister mine and encompassing eight known outcropping veins atop a 1300m by 800m geochemical and gravity geophysical anomaly, is slated for its maiden drill program by summer. We are in one of the most productive gold mining districts in Nevada with the surrounding deposits revered for their high grades, and we have an abundance of high-potential targets. We are eager to build upon our initial success at Silver Cloud and look forward to what 2020 brings." On January 6, 2020, Blackrock Gold released positive drillhole gold assays from a portion of its 2019 core drilling program, and the 2020 exploration program will follow up on the high-grade gold intercepts encountered in the Silver Cloud mine area and at Northwest Canyon. As discussed on January 6, 2020, press release, the structural data shows gold is associated with an east-west structural component. The 2019 drill program cut the ore-controlling structures at a high level, and deeper penetration of the gold system is required to intersect the boiling zone and potential bonanza gold grades. Two core holes will be drilled to test deeper into the gold system. Planned to start in early February, one core hole will be located at the Silver Cloud mine while the second is proposed at Northwest Canyon. The drillholes will be completed to approximately 750 metres depth from existing permitted drill sites with the aim of intersecting the gold-bearing structure deeper in the system. Two Induced Polarization (IP) surveys are scheduled for mid-spring. The first will help to identify sulfide bodies along the east-west gold trend between the eastern boundary of the project through the Silver Cloud mercury mine toward Northwest Canyon. A series of IP lines will be run along the 5-kilometre trend which will help to target drillholes between the known gold sites. The survey will be used to identify chargeability zones that may be related to sulfides and gold-bearing structures. At the Silver Cloud mine and Northwest Canyon, abundant sulfides were encountered in drilling and associated with the gold-bearing intervals. The IP survey will also indicate whether the four gravity lows between the Northwest Canyon and eastern project boundary have coincident chargeability anomalies. The second IP survey will be conducted over the NE Veins target. Since the gold system has significant sulfide content, the IP survey will identify those areas that host chargeability anomalies that can be followed up with drilling. The initial round of drilling scheduled for the summer at the NE Veins target will utilize reverse circulation (RVC) drilling to explore the vein zones and geophysical anomalies. The program would consist of five to six RVC drillholes with a nominal depth of 500 metres each. The project currently has a wide-spaced gravity survey with stations on 500-metre centres. The in-fill gravity survey will bring the stations to a maximum of 100-metre centres with selected areas being reduced to 50-metre centres. The in-fill gravity survey scheduled to begin in February will help to resolve the structural complexity identified in the drilling and help to quantify the depth to basement lithologies. Table 1: Proposed Initial Silver Cloud Program and Budget Target Area Program Objective Timing Silver Cloud Mine & Northwest Canyon Follow-up 1,500 m Core drilling Intersect gold-bearing structures deeper in the epithermal system Immediate Silver Cloud Mine & Northwest Canyon IP survey Identify chargeability anomalies to refine drill targets Mid-Spring NE Veins Target IP survey Identify chargeability anomalies to refine drill targets Mid-Spring NE Veins Target Mapping and Sampling Identify surface outcropping veins and structural setting Mid-Spring NE Veins Target Initial 3,000 m RVC drill program Drill discovery hole in NE Veins target Summer Silver Cloud Property In-fill gravity survey Achieve better resolution on structure and basement depth Immediate Blackrock's exploration activities at the Silver Cloud project are being conducted and supervised by Mr. William Howald, Executive Chairman of Blackrock Gold Corp. Mr. William Howald, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #11041, is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. About Blackrock Gold Corp. Blackrock is a junior gold-focused exploration company that is on a quest to make an economic discovery. Anchored by a seasoned Board, the Company is focused on its Silver Cloud property, a low-sulphidation epithermal gold & silver project located along on the established Northern Nevada Rift gold trend in north-central Nevada. For further information, please contact: Andrew Pollard, President & CEO Blackrock Gold Corp. Phone: 604 817-6044 Email: andrew@blackrockgoldcorp.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements concern the Company's strategic plans, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs, estimates of mineralization from drilling, and geological information projected from sampling results. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; and future operating costs. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors including: the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and uncertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise 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 release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51310 An attorney for the family of Nick Sandmann says a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against CNN. The lawsuit -- which was filed in March of 2019 -- claimed the news network waged a "vicious attack" against the Kentucky high school student following protest marches in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, 2019. Sandmann's attorney, Todd McMurtry, would not discuss details of the settlement, simply saying a settlement had been reached Tuesday afternoon. The initial lawsuit sought $275 million in both compensatory and punitive damages. Similar lawsuits were also filed against other national media outlets. Read the full lawsuit here Sandmann, 17, is the Covington Catholic High School junior who found himself at the center of a controversy after his face was depicted across social media as he stared at Native American protester Nathan Phillips. The lawsuits follow a nationwide firestorm of controversy involving Covington Catholic High School students during the January march. The students were attending an annual March for Life trip, which coincided with an Indigenous Peoples March. Viral videos show students from the all-boys high school involved in the incident with the Native American elder during their trip to the nation's capital. The videos sparked a social media firestorm, with many calling out the boys for their treatment of the elder. But a lengthier video was released in later days that appeared to show a different story. An independent, third-party investigation -- commissioned by the Catholic Diocese of Covington -- found the students made no offensive or racist statements toward Phillips or anyone who was with him that day. Madison City Schools is losing its superintendent. Robby Parker announced he is planning to retire at the end of February. Parkers decision was made public at the Board of Education meeting Thursday night. Parker has been with the school system for 31 years. He was named superintendent in February 2017. In a statement, Parker said he is confident the growing school system will continue to thrive. Rest assured, our district will not be just OK with me leaving. It will be better!, Parker said in a statement. Each one of our elementary, middle and high schools are ranked in the top 2% of schools in America. Our district is ranked in the top 50 school districts in America. Our system is outstanding and will get even better with the great students, teachers, staff, board and parents we have. In 1984, The Lord called me to teach. I was never so sure of anything in my life. Now, The Lord is leading me away from the Superintendent role. I am equally as sure of that. I do not know what I will do next, but I will always love all of the thousands of kids that have shared their lives with me for 31 years. I will be forever thankful for the trust and love all of you have given me. I am also thankful to this Board, former Boards and former Superintendents for the confidence they have shown in me, he said. Madison City Schools has 1,332 full-time employees and 11,724 students. Breda Graham follows the journey of Team Hopes two-millionth shoebox from the hands of one of our own to the hands of a little girl in Romania. Last Christmas, you gave someone hope. Yes, you who put a smile on a childs face over the holiday season by filling a shoebox with simple but desired gifts. You, who chose to help a girl, aged five to nine, by printing out a label, ticking an age group, and sticking it on the top right hand corner of a shoebox lid which was carefully wrapped in festive paper, chosen especially by you. You, who filled your shoebox with a pink flamingo cuddly toy, gloves, hats, sweets, colouring pens, and other essentials that so many of us take for granted. You, who made a donation of 4 along with your shoebox and dropped it off at Cherrywood distribution centre in South Dublin, one of the many drop-off points around the country. You did not realise that you had just contributed the two-millionth shoebox to Team Hope on what was the organisations 10th annual Christmas shoebox appeal. Your special box was checked over and all safety requirements were met before it was sealed and loaded into a truck by the many volunteers who worked tirelessly over the busy festive period. You are the person responsible for the ear-to-ear smile on a six-year-old girls face when she took your shoebox, which had travelled 2,870km from Dublin to Romania, into her hands. A sense of delight, similar to that felt by a parent watching the sheer excitement emanate from their children on Christmas morning as they open their presents, was shared among the volunteers who travelled to Romania as they witnessed Aline open the all-important two-millionth shoebox. A moment that has upsettingly never been experienced by far too many parents and children alike across the globe, and yet a moment that so many of us brush off as the norm without truly appreciating just how lucky we really are. Receiving a gift like this is a rarity for so many children in need, many of whom will never have received a Christmas gift in their lives and will never have experienced any celebration of Christmas. Aline, who lives with a foster family, is one of 31,565 Romanian children who had their shoeboxes delivered by Team Hope volunteers on their distribution trip to the Balkan country last month. The shoeboxes bound for Romania were sent from distribution centres in Donegal, Tipperary, Dublin South, Leitrim, Waterford, and Sligo. Aline is one of a total of 270,436 children affected by poverty across a number of different countries including Malawi, Burundi, Kenya, Ukraine, Belarus, Kosovo, and Albania, who received gifts from Ireland this year. Team Hope Shoebox Appeal national manager Carol Hennessey was among the 10 people who travelled to Romania. She said that receiving the two-millionth box made Aline feel so special. Just as she, along with every other child living in underdeveloped countries deserve to feel. That feeling is one that has been felt by all the children who have been gifted a shoebox over the years, she said. Every shoebox has counted. Young children from a gypsy community in Romania line up to receive their Team Hope Christmas shoeboxes. So, heres to you, all 270,436 of you, who sourced a shoebox and filled it with special gifts that now mean the world to the children who have received them. All of you, who included a photo of your own family here in Ireland so children who received your box who may not have a family to call their own still felt a sense of home even from a strange and far away land. All of you, who got their kids involved so that they too would be touched by the true spirit of Christmas a time to think of others, share with others, care for others, and spark joy and happiness in others. All of you, who have been the driving force behind that important sentiment and who have been involved in the successes that Team Hope has achieved over the last 10 years of the annual shoebox appeal. Team Hope chief executive Peter Heaney expressed his gratitude to everyone who made 2019 a particularly rewarding year with record-breaking numbers taking part in the initiative. We are hugely grateful for the support we have received for the Christmas shoebox appeal. Delivering a record number of shoeboxes would not be possible without the tireless work of our volunteers and the generosity of individuals, schools, communities and businesses across the country coming together so that as many children as possible could experience the joy and excitement of receiving a gift at Christmas. You have put a smile on 270,436 childrens faces. Thank you. To check where in the world your shoebox was sent this year, click here. An employee arranges one kilogram gold bars at the Perth Mint Refinery in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 9, 2018. Gold inched up on Friday, helped by disappointing U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, but abating tensions in the Middle East that bolstered appetite for risk assets kept the bullion's gains in check. Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed job growth slowed more than expected in December. Spot gold was up 0.44% at $1,559.11 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were up 0.34% at $1,559.5 per ounce. "Ahead of the weekend, people are not really selling gold here but there's not much buying pressure either ... They are just waiting to see what happens with gold and in the Middle East before deciding on the next move," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with Forex.com. Gold prices have so far fallen nearly 4% from a near seven-year high of $1,610.90 hit on Wednesday as tensions about a wider conflict in the Middle East eased. World stocks also set new record highs, driven by the thaw in U.S.-Iran tensions. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution to stop U.S. President Donald Trump from further military action against Iran. "Everybody who wanted to be long is pretty much long at this point and it's going to take a change in the fundamental situation to convince traders to take on bigger positions," said Ryan McKay, a commodity strategist at TD Securities. Adding pressure on the safe-haven asset was a firmer dollar which was set to post its best week in two months. Indicative of sentiment, holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust , fell for the second straight session on Thursday. The $1,555 level is pivotal, Razaqzada said, adding, "if we close below $1,555 today then we should see some further weakness next week, possibly towards $1,515. But if we go above $1,555 and hold there, that would probably reinstate the short-term bullish buyers." Elsewhere, palladium was up 0.5% at $2,117.32 per ounce, having hit a record peak of $2,149.50 in the previous session on supply constraints. The metal was still on track for its biggest weekly rise since mid-June, up nearly 7% so far. Silver was up 1.1% at $18.09 per ounce. Platinum rose 1.1% to $977.04 per ounce. WASHINGTON President Trump asserted without evidence Thursday that a top Iranian commander killed in a U.S. air strike was plotting to blow up a U.S. embassy. The presidents unsubstantiated account comes as Democrats are demanding details about the intelligence underlying the Trump administrations decision to kill Gen. Qassem Soleimani, leader of the powerful Quds Force of Irans Revolutionary Guard. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy, Trump said in remarks to reporters at the White House. It was unclear whether Trump might have been disclosing new details about what the administration has called an imminent Iranian plot against American interests in the region or whether he was referring to the pro-Iranian protesters who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad last week, a subject he returned to later. Democrats and some Republicans are frustrated with the refusal of Trump officials to reveal more about the intelligence that prompted the targeted killing of a foreign military official in Soleimani on Jan. 2. When reporters asked again about Trumps allegation of an embassy bombing plot, he referred back to the Dec. 31 assault on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which Trump officials have said was orchestrated by Soleimani after U.S. air strikes on an Iranian-back militia group in Iraq. Michael Crowley and Eileen Sullivan are New York Times writers. Hundreds of peaceful protests were held in the US against any further actions over the war with Iran, Huffington Post reported. The No War With Iran rallies, organized by the liberal civil group MoveOn.org, were aimed at sharply opposing the decision of President Donald Trump to launch an air strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Protesters demanded immediate de-escalation. Trumps reckless action has needlessly endangered countless lives of U.S. troops, Iraqis, Iranians, and countless other civilians, the event website stated. The devastation that a war with Iran could bring upon the earth and humanity cannot be overstated millions of lives hang in the balance. Weve learned our lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and global endless war. According to the source, signs at rallies around the country included Trump: This is your fault, Impeach, convict and remove the MF and Stop sacrificing innocent lives for your reelection campaign. Rallies were held from New York to Chicago to Atlanta to Los Angeles. New Love Island contestant Sophie Piper admits she's desperate to find the kind of lasting bond shared by HER famous sister Rochelle Humes and her husband Marvin. The Londoner, 21, has already been urged to 'bring back a keeper' by former Saturdays star Rochelle after signing up for the inaugural winter series of the hit show. And the This Morning presenter's tight bond with husband of eight-years Marvin has inspired Sophie to find a serious connection with one of this year's contestants after originally pulling out of the show's traditional summer series in 2019. I Want Love: Love Island's Sophie Piper admitted her sister Rochelle's rock-solid marriage to Marvin Humes has inspired her to find Mr. Right after years of disappointment 'Both my sisters have really nice relationships so it would be nice to get along with someone well,' she said. 'I'm going on the show because I haven't had a boyfriend in about 500 years. I think the experience in itself is so fun. I was in the mix last summer but the timing wasn't 100 percent right so I am happy to have the opportunity now and what better place than South Africa? Work commitments stopped me going on last time.' Rochelle reunited with younger sister Sophie following 23-years of estrangement after father Mark Piper walked out of the family home and never returned when she was three-years old. Advice: The Londoner, 21, has already been urged to 'bring back a keeper' by former Saturdays star Rochelle (pictured) after signing up for the inaugural winter series of the hit show He would go on to father Sophie, her sister Lili and brother Jake with a new partner, but none of the children were involved in Rochelle's life until former Love Island winner Kem Cetinay, a close friend of Sophie's, helped bring them together after a chance meeting with Rochelle at an industry party. 'There was a period where we weren't in contact,' she said. 'It was weird growing up not knowing Rochelle but since we have spoken we speak every day so it is nice all of us being in each other's lives now. 'My middle sister Lili went to school with Kem so that's how we know him. Obviously he was at the same school as me. It's funny how it's all linked together.' Mirror image: Sophie (left) pictured with Rochelle (right) didn't see her sister for 23-years after her father Mark Piper walked out of the family home and never returned Sophie admits her closeness to Rochelle prompted some well-meaning advice from the star regarding how to deal with the inevitable scrutiny that will follow her out of the villa. 'She said 'just deal with it, we are always here to help, ignore any negative people, there's always people with one follower on Instagram so ignore them! Just brush it off your shoulders, don't take negative comments too seriously.' Rochelle has since broken her social media silence regarding her sister's involvement in the show by urging her to bring back a keeper, and Sophie admits the presenter is desperate for her to find her own Mr. Right after years of disappointment. Sophie said of Rochelle: 'Be yourself, it will be a good opportunity for you, a great experience and hopefully you will bring home a boyfriend for your little nieces' She recalled: 'We actually had a sit down about this and I asked her 'Is there no one you can set me up with?' 'And she was like 'I actually don't have any potential suitors'. I am sure if she did. She would intro me. My dream man is Anthony Joshua. 'She has been supportive of me. She said 'be yourself, it will be a good opportunity for you, a great experience and hopefully you will bring home a boyfriend for your little nieces.' Looking ahead, Sophie admits her preferences change every day, but her ideal man would ultimately not take himself too seriously, regardless of his physical appearance. 'It goes from one extreme to the other but I like someone who is tall, tanned, good eyes - light eyes would be unreal. I could do tats,' she said. 'Personality traits - someone who is funny, caring, not too overly confident, someone who I can have a bit of banter with. Someone who is rude would really get to me.' He will also need to be patient, with Sophie ruling out intimacy during her time on the show. She added: 'There's a lot of stuff I wouldn't do in the villa. There will probably be no sexual activity going on I am definitely PG.' Love Island launches on ITV2, Sunday January 12. Swoon: Sophie has said her dream man would be boxer Anthony Joshua (pictured on the Graham Norton show in December) 'If it's not going to kill you, then why not?' Love Island's Shaughna Phillips discusses her love of cosmetic surgery and admits she recently got so drunk she urinated in her aunt's car Democratic services officer Shaughna Phillips has discussed her love of cosmetic surgery and also revealed a little cringe moment she suffered recently. The 25-year-old said: 'Ive been having my lips done for a few years now so that wasnt Love Island orientated. 'I think its something harmless to the extent its not going to kill you if you want it done and youre of the age to, then why not? Its not permanent. 'If it's not going to kill you, then why not?' Love Island's Shaughna Phillips discussed her love of cosmetic surgery and admitted she recently got so drunk she urinated in her aunt's car 'I had my boobs uplifted not implants, but had them shoved up and that was due to the weight loss. My mum had better boobs than me and shes had two kids.' She continued: 'I had such big boobs before that it was literally like nothing. When I had them done, my surgeon said hes not going to give me implants, Ive got to go somewhere else if I want them, so I was like, "you sound like a good guy." 'I suppose other than that Ive had a few tweaks. Ive had my laughter lines filled, but I feel thats a bit of a compliment because it means you laugh a lot.' The beauty also recalled a story in which she 'weed in her aunt's car.' She said: 'I have no shame because I have no memory either, but apparently I weed in my aunts car in March. 'It was the day before I started my new job and she picked me up from a boozy brunch and was taking me home and I wet myself. 'She told me like two weeks later and said shed had to wash her car three times.' She said she understands why people might think she is similar to previous Love Islander, bomb disposal expert, Camilla Thurlow. She said: 'I had my boobs uplifted not implants, but had them shoved up and that was due to the weight loss. My mum had better boobs than me and shes had two kids' Shaughna said: 'I think Im a little bit more confident or outgoing. She seemed so sweet, just like a little lamb you want to hold, and I think Im definitely more lairy. I need to take a note out of her book. 'Im confident in chatting to people and I can talk to anyone, so if I was put in a room with people, I definitely wouldnt shy away. If Im speaking and I have got a point and Im not being heard, I definitely get it in there.' Shaughna also discussed that crush on previous Love Islander Jack Fincham, who she admits follows her on Instagram. Cheeky: The beauty has said Jack Fincham has slid into her DMs but she used to be a big fan of him and Dani before they split (pictured) She said: 'When he followed me, I was uploading picture after picture and I think I got one like out of that little spree. This was a few months ago, it was the best day of my life. 'I was a die hard Dani and Jack fan. I just wanted them to love each other so much, so I do feel like a traitor, but shes in a new relationship, so its fine. Sorry Dani. 'I usually go for like plumbers for some reason. Well, I dont go for them, but I find out theyre a plumber later on and Im like "f***ing hell". Theyre always an Aries and Im an Aries and my psychic said thats good.' Shaughna also admitted she is worried about being trolled on social media. She said: 'My coping mechanism is just dont look, because you look for things that arent nice for some reason I dont know why we do that. You look for something that is going to upset you. 'Im going to try not to and Ive started filtering bad words already and told my friends to keep on top of that. Im going to try not to get too carried away with it.' A group of Special Forces soldiers earned dozens of prestigious medals -- including three Silver Stars, during a recent deployment to Afghanistan. The soldiers, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), received the valor awards during a ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on Thursday, according to an Army news release. In addition to the Silver Stars, soldiers earned seven Bronze Star medals with combat "V" device and 17 Army Commendation medals with "V." Stars and Stripes reported that the unit also earned 21 Purple Hearts, awarded to troops who sustain wounds in combat, and that four Green Berets not present at the ceremony earned a total of two Bronze Stars and two Army Commendations, bringing the total medal count to more than 50. Related: Troops on Middle East Snap Deployment May Be Entitled to These Extra Pays "The valor we are recognizing today happened at the most tactical level -- face to face fighting, close quarters combat, hand grenade range," Col. Steven Marks, deputy commander of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), said in a statement. "This is a reminder that even in the modern age, warfare is still about courage under fire, having the mental sharpness to operate with expertise in the worst of times and taking action to protect your brother, your team and your partners." Little additional information was made public about the actions for which soldiers earned valor awards during the six-month deployment. Another 7th SFG unit, 1st Battalion, 7th SFG, is currently deployed to Afghanistan. On Dec. 23, one of the unit's soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble, 33, succumbed to combat injuries sustained in Afghanistan's Kunduz province, in the deadliest year for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2015. In the release, military officials described the deployment of 2nd Battalion, 7th SFG, as taking place during "a challenging period." As the unit leading Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, the Green Berets "stabilized the security situation throughout the country prior to Afghan parliamentary elections and set conditions to advance a negotiated peace with the Taliban," officials said. Those peace talks continue, with the Taliban agreeing Dec. 29 to a cease-fire that would allow a peace agreement to be signed. "As a witness on the ground during this time, I can speak for the incredible progress over a six-month period these brave men achieved to bring stability to an unstable nation," Marks said in his statement. Officials credited the soldiers' actions with preventing the enemy from capturing any territory held by local Afghan governments, "a feat which had not been accomplished in several years. While deployed, they worked with other units, including elements from 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) and 717th Ordinance Company out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the release said. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Read more: Russian Ship 'Aggressively' Approached Navy Destroyer in Arabian Sea, Officials Say Set to build Asias next-gen blockchain financial mobility network BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach - 10 January 2020 - Lightnet, the Bangkok-based fintech company has received A round funding of US$31.2 million in fresh capital. With this round completed, Lightnet is Asia's first blockchain company to receive financial backing from six large conglomerates, providing access to millions of Asian users searching for improved financial mobility. From left to right: Carlos Liu,Vice President, Uni-President Asset Holdings; Rae Deng, Managing Partner,Du Capital; Kenjiro Nishii, Team Leader,Seven Bank; Hee Baek Kwon, Chief Executive Officier, Hanwha Investment and Securities; Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Founder and Chairman,Lightnet; Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Founder and Vice Chairman,Lightnet; Mike Kennedy, Chief Executive Officier, Interstellar; Kian-Wee Seah; Chief Executive Officier and Managing Director, UOB Venture Management; John Ng Pangilinan, Managing Partner,Signum Capital; Chao Deng, Chief Executive Officier, HashKey Capital; Ng Yu Zhi,Managing Director, Hopeshine Ventures. Lightnet was co-founded by Chatchaval Jiaravanon -- a family member of the Charoen Pokphand Group in Thailand -- and serial tech entrepreneur and former investment banker Tridbodi Arunanondchai. The financing round was led by UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holdings, HashKey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, Du Capital and Hanwha Investment and Securities. The proceeds from the latest fundraising will go towards strengthening Lightnet's investment in the underlying blockchain technology on the Stellar Network, and to build a next-generation financial mobility network. "We launched Lightnet to offer low-cost and instantaneous financial inclusivity and mobility to the four billion lives across Asia Pacific -- all powered by Stellar's fast, scalable, and sustainable blockchain technology," said Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Lightnet's chairman. Story continues Lightnet aims to disrupt a trillion U.S. dollar global remittance market, starting with the millions of unbanked migrant workers who rely on outdated, costly and fragmented services in major Southeast Asian markets. These services, valued at $150 billion, are ripe for the advent of Lightnet's smart contracts and distributed ledgers, now well-positioned to replace the decades-old, inefficient SWIFT system and unreliable underground banking. "It's vital that we build an ecosystem to provide Lightnet access to our partners' vast user base and facilitate deeper penetration into local markets. We project that within three years, Lightnet will facilitate over $50 billion worth of annual transactions through our industry- leading partner network," says Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Lightnet's vice-chairman. The lead investors, UOB Venture Management and Hanwha Investment and Securities, represent two of the largest financial conglomerates in Singapore and Korea, respectively. In addition, Seven Bank (TKO: 8410), a group company of Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd, owns all the 7-Eleven stores in Japan and approximately 69,200 convenience stores globally. Uni-President Asset Holdings is the investment arm of Uni-President Enterprises Corp., which also owns over 9,000 7-Eleven and Starbucks across Taiwan, China and the Philippines. Hashkey Capital is the investment arm of China's automotive and financial conglomerate, WanXiang Group. "Lightnet is offering three innovative solutions, BridgeNet, LiquidNet and SmartNet. The main platform has been completed, and the first transaction is slated for Q1 2020. In addition to the potential 500,000 cash agents across our ecosystem, Lightnet will integrate with several renowned payment and remittance partners such as MoneyGram, Seven Bank, Yeahka, Ksher across Japan, South Korea, and several other South East Asia nations to ensure successful activation of our ecosystem," said Lightnet Chief Executive Officer, Suvicha Sudchai. By harnessing the combined strength of blockchain technology, local market insight, Pan-Asia partnership and its proprietary ecosystem, Lightnet accelerates the mass adoption of blockchain technology, delivering accessible and efficient financial services for the many. About Lightnet Lightnet is a Thailand-based fintech company that was established to promote financial mobility and inclusivity for the unbanked and underbanked Asians with blockchain technology. By connecting existing financial systems with its vast network of non-bank agents and fiat-transaction network, the startup aims to improve the efficiency, convenience and affordability of legacy remittance and payment systems. Co-founded by a family member of the Charoen Pokphand Group, a leading conglomerate in Asia, and Interstellar, utilizing the leading Stellar blockchain network aimed at developing the future of financial services, Lightnet seeks to be a global leader in next-gen financial services. https://lightnet.io Chesa Boudin was sworn in as San Francisco district attorney on Wednesday at a ceremony celebrating Boudins unlikely journey from public defender to the citys top prosecutor. Boudins progressive campaign was considered a long shot, and the mayor and the police worked hard to defeat him and elevate his opponent. He has pledged to make immediate reforms to the office that are sure to draw fierce resistance from supporters of the status quo. Still, he already seems to have friends in high places. The ceremony included a prerecorded video in which Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor congratulated Boudin and compared his path to her own. Advertisement Your personal strength and commitment to reforming and improving the criminal justice system is a testament to the person you are and the role model you will continue to be for so many, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its easy to see why Sotomayor has such respect for Boudin. She was raised by a single mother in a housing project; he was raised by family friends after his own parentsKathy Boudin and David Gilbert, members of the Weather Undergroundwere arrested and imprisoned when he was 14 months old. Both overcame early adversity, attended Yale Law School, and became legal superstars. But while Boudin began his career as a reformer, joining San Franciscos public defenders, Sotomayor began as a prosecutor, learning the system from the inside. Once on the bench, Sotomayor drew upon her prosecutorial experience to combat injustices suffered by defendants and their families. Boudin plans to draw upon his personal and professional experience to reform the office he now leads. Advertisement Advertisement Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told me on Thursday that Sotomayor met Boudin at an event at Yale Law School. Boudin invited the justice to the swearing-in ceremony but she was unable to attend, so she sent him a congratulatory message. Boudin ran for district attorney on a platform of holding police accountable for misconduct, eliminating cash bail, dramatically reducing incarceration and pretrial detention, and implementing restorative justice. His passion for systemic change is, like Sotomayors, partly personal. Sotomayor told Boudin: Advertisement The difficulties you faced as a child, including that you did not read until age 9, are common among children of prisoners. You have lived the stigma of anger, shame and guilt that so many such children in the criminal justice system experience. Chesa, you have undertaken a remarkable challenge today. I hope you reflect as a great beacon to many, and the road to accomplishing what you have set out to do will be daunting. Nevertheless, the city of San Francisco will be so very well served by a man whose life creed is believing, as you told me: We are all safer when we uplift victims, hold everyone accountable for their actions, and do so with empathy and compassion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sotomayors address, which was transcribed by the San Francisco Chronicle, captures two hallmarks of the justices writings: her profound empathy for individuals whose lives are upended by the criminal justice system, and her faith in those individuals ability to rise above the most dire of circumstances. Sotomayors jurisprudence reflects a sensitivity to the collateral consequences of arrest and prosecution that so many judges lack. She famously acknowledged from the bench that she has cousins in jail, setting her apart from her mostly privileged colleagues. One of her most celebrated dissents, in Utah v. Strieff, ended with a scathing indictment of racial profiling and mass incarceration. The case revolved around whether prosecutors could use evidence obtained by the police in an illegal stop. Sotomayor explained that, under Supreme Court precedent, a police officer can conduct degrading stops for whatever reason he wantsso long as he can point to a pretextual justification after the fact. That justification may factor in your ethnicity, where you live, and what you were wearing. If you are arrested, even for speeding or jaywalking, you can be jailed, fingerprinted, given a DNA swab, and subjected to a strip search. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is no secret, Sotomayor added, that people of color are disproportionate victims of this type of scrutiny. But the courts decisions tell everyone, white and black, guilty and innocent, that your body is subject to invasion while courts excuse the violation of your rightsthat you are not a citizen of a democracy but the subject of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged. There is only so much Sotomayor can do to protect Americans from intrusions by the carceral state. A majority of her colleagues do not appear to share her interest in shielding frequent targets of discrimination from degradation at the hands of law enforcement. It will require many more reformers like Boudin to change the system from the inside out and to compel police to respect constitutional rights. Sotomayor cannot do this work on her own. But in opinions like Strieff, she helped to inspire new generation of advocates to take control of the very institutions that threaten our liberties. Friday, January 10, 2020 Martin Duys, a member of our Emerging Fellows program initiates publishing a series of blog posts aimed at identifying the impacts of inequality on the world order by 2050. This is his first post in our EF blog inspecting inequality through the lens of security. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the APF or its other members. In 2013 Barack Obama described inequality as the defining challenge of our time. In 2014 Thomas Pikketys academic tome, Capital in the Twenty-First Century was translated into English and became a bestseller. In the same year Oxfam published a report claiming that the net worth of the worlds eighty-five richest people was equivalent to that of the poorest fifty percent of the global population. In 2015, in response, the World Economic Forum declared inequality, alongside climate change, as the challenge for its annual meeting in Davos. Inequality is clearly an issue on the global agenda, but is it one that could potentially lead to instability, conflict, or perhaps even war? Income inequality is generally expressed by using an index of some kind to describe the manner in which income is distributed across a population. The Gini coefficient is the best-known example but can be difficult to understand. Comparing the share of total income earned by the top segment of a population (the top one percent, or the top ten percent) with that of the bottom fifty percent is more intuitively understandable. Global income inequality has been steadily increasing for the past two hundred years. Only in the past thirty-five years with the rapid economic growth of countries in the Near and Far East has the trend begun to reverse. Between-country inequality has been decreasing recently, but where people are born is still the single largest factor determining their economic prospects, far more than any individual effort on their part. In-country inequality has been on the rise in most countries since the nineteen-eighties, especially in those countries that have followed a strategy of lower taxes and smaller government in order to encourage economic growth. The trend reversal in levels of between-country inequality could be a source of increased security concern in the medium to long term. As the economies of countries such as India and China continue to grow their share of the global economy, the balance of power between nations will continue to visibly shift. Will it be possible for China to overtake the United States as the dominant world economy without their falling into what Graham Allison describes as the Thucydides Trap? An almost inevitable war between a previously dominant power and the new one. One of the obvious consequences of between-country inequality is economic migration from poorer to wealthier countries. The effects of uncontrolled migration on the internal political climates of the destination countries have been only too obvious resulting in increased levels of nationalism and xenophobia. Whether in Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, or South Africa the response to the presence of newcomers by locals is in many ways consistent and comparable. There is evidence that high levels of in-country inequality may dampen economic growth prospects, but a clear symptom of in-country inequality is the rapid growth of the private security industry. It is estimated that more than fifty percent of the worlds population lives in countries where there are more people employed by the private security industry than by the national police service. Some argue that that, although the share of the economic pie accruing to the upper echelons has been increasing, this doesnt reflect the dramatic improvement in the lives of the lowest echelons brought about by the parallel decrease in levels of absolute poverty. The increase in stability and security that results from a general reduction in absolute poverty far outweighs any potential destabilisation caused by rising inequality. Some level of inequality can also be seen as a motivating factor that encourages individuals to strive towards achieving the economic rewards that could result from further education, or career advancement. The issue of inequality is very much on the agenda globally. There are some recent examples of security related issues where inequality has been a contributing factor. The Occupy movement after the 2008 global financial crisis had its roots in issues of inequality, as did the protests in Chile in 2019. The role that inequality plays in contributing to future issues of security will depend largely on whether levels of inequality continue to increase, or whether there is genuine movement from discussion to action on the issue. Martin Duys 2020 Thousands of childcare workers and parents are set to hold a protest in Dublin on February 5. The Early Years Alliance has announced it is staging the demonstration over a pay crisis in the sector. Educators and providers say they are faced with ongoing difficulties due to the cost of insurance. The alliance will be highlighting its Election 2020 demands for the sector at the protest. They include "the development of a funding model that supports affordable and accessible childcare for parents, high quality for children and sustainability for providers". They are also seeking adequate funding for the introduction of the Living Wage for all workers in the sector in 2020. "We are calling on all those concerned by the worsening childcare crisis to join us on Wednesday 5th February to say enough is enough," said Elaine Dunne, Chairperson of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers. We are educators and need to be paid accordingly. The reason the insurance hike in the sector has hit us so hard, is because we are paid so little in the first place. "The ECCE grant pays us 4.60 an hour, we only get paid for three hours a day. Sustainability is a real issue for providers." SIPTU's Head of Strategic Organising, Darragh O'Connor, said: "Early years educators across the country are committed to delivering high quality, child focused education and care. "However, the current Government funding model for the sector is making it impossible to achieve this. "Despite qualifications and hard work, Early Years educators earn just 11.45 on average, well below the Living Wage. "The majority are struggling to make ends meet and will be unable to stay in their profession if things dont change." Labour spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs, Sean Sherlock, added that the crisis "has been brewing for some time" and said workers "should be on the Living Wage at a minimum." Ottawa/Washington: A Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people aboard, was likely brought down by an Iranian missile, Canada`s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said on Thursday, citing intelligence from Canadian and other sources. The destruction of the airliner, which carried 63 Canadians, "may well have been unintentional," Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa. "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," he said. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed on Wednesday hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq, and Iranians were on high alert for a US military response. Live TV Trudeau said his government would not rest until it had obtained closure, transparency, accountability, and justice. Earlier on Thursday, a U.S. official, citing an extensive review of satellite data, said Washington had concluded with a high degree of certainty that anti-aircraft missiles brought down the plane. The official said the Boeing 737-800 had been tracked by Iranian radar. The US government believes Iran shot down the plane by mistake, three U.S. officials told Reuters. The data showed the plane was airborne for two minutes after departing Tehran of two surface-to-air missiles were detected when the heat signatures, one of the officials said. That was quickly followed by an explosion in the vicinity of the plane, the official said. Heat signature data then showed it on fire as it went down. Heat signatures are infrared emissions detected by U.S. military satellites. The New York Times said it had obtained and verified a video that appeared to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran airport. `PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE` Iran denied that the airliner had been hit by a missile. "All these reports are psychological warfare against Iran ... all those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box," government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement. An initial report issued by Iran`s civil aviation organisation on Thursday said the 3-year-old airliner, which had its last scheduled maintenance on Monday, encountered a technical problem shortly after takeoff and started to head toward a nearby airport before it crashed. Speaking to reporters at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not believe the crash of the airliner was due to a mechanical issue. "It`s a tragic thing. But somebody could have made a mistake - on the other side," Trump said. Riki Ellison, a defence expert and founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the radar signature of a Boeing airliner would have been quite similar to a large U.S. military transport plane. "They (the Iranians) were on full alert to shoot down anything that resembled a U.S. aircraft. Somebody made a mistake by identifying it as a warplane," Ellison said. Once the missiles were fired, it would have been impossible to divert them, even if the ground operators realized their error, he said. "Once you shoot those things, it`s over." Tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen since Trump ordered the U.S. drone killing of a top Iranian general on Friday. Trump has refrained from ordering more military action and Iran`s foreign minister said the strikes on Iraqi bases that house U.S. forces had "concluded" Tehran`s response. TECHNICAL PROBLEM Investigations into airliner crashes require regulators, experts, and companies across several international jurisdictions to work together. It can take months to fully determine the cause and issue an initial report within 24 hours is rare. The Ukrainian airliner took off at 6:12 a.m. and was given permission to climb to 26,000 feet (7,925 m), Iran`s report said. It crashed six minutes later near the town of Sabashahr. There was no radio communication from the pilot and the aircraft disappeared from radar at 8,000 feet (2,440 m), the report said. Bodies and body parts recovered from the site of the crash were taken to the coroner`s office for identification, it said. Smouldering debris, including shoes and clothes, was strewn across a field where the plane crashed. Rescue workers in face masks laid out scores of body bags. Ukraine had outlined four potential scenarios to explain the crash, including a missile strike and terrorism. Kiev said its investigators wanted to search the crash site for possible debris of a Russian-made missile used by Iran`s military. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it had been invited by Iran to the accident site and was making travel arrangements. Iran has formally invited the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to take part in its investigation and the agency has agreed to assign an investigator, an Iranian official told Reuters. The NTSB said it had designated an accredited representative to the investigation. "The NTSB continues to monitor the situation surrounding the crash and evaluate its level of participation in the investigation," it said in a statement. Boeing Co said it would support the NTSB in the investigation. The company is still reeling from two deadly crashes of 737 MAX planes in five months that led to the plane`s grounding in March 2019. The 737-800 that crashed was built in 2016 and is the prior generation of the 737 before the MAX. Boeing has built about 5,000 of those planes, which have a good safety record. The FAA had banned U.S. carriers from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the hours after Iran`s attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq. Several other airlines also diverted flights. OPSGROUP, which advises airlines on safety matters, said that after the comments from Trudeau and U.S. officials pointing to a missile downing, some flights inbound to Tehran were turned around and diverted. The group advised operators not to fly to airports in Iraq or Iran and said traffic flow over the countries had greatly declined in the past 48 hours. The US believes it is "likely" that an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 on board, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. Within minutes of the Ukrainian flight PS752 taking off from Tehran, the plane came crashing down killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday. Among those killed were dozens of Iranians and Canadians. The flight was headed for Kiev. "We do believe that it's likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile. We are going to let the investigation play out before we make a final determination. It is important that we get to the bottom of it," Pompeo told reporters at the White House. Pompeo said he has spoken with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Canadian counterpart Franois Philippe Champagne in this regard. They are working to get their resources on the ground to conduct a thorough investigation. We will learn more about what happened to that aircraft and when we get the results of that investigation, I am confident we and the world will take appropriate actions in response, Pompeo said. In his phone call with the Canadian Foreign Minister Champagne, the two leaders spoke about the Iranian regime's continued aggressive and destabilising actions in the region and steps to contain it, specifically, the opportunity for an expanded NATO force in Iraq and appropriate burden sharing. On Thursday, Pompeo spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky to express condolences for the lives lost in the plane crash. Offering US government's full assistance in the ongoing investigation, he also reaffirmed support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and underscored our long-term strategic partnership. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Patna, Jan 10 : As the election year arrives in Bihar, leaders from different political parties are trying to connect with the common people. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is going among the people across the state through his 'Jal-Jiwan-Haryali' (water, life and greenery) campaign while his rival and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has also reached out to the people. Tejashwi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, has planned to reach out among the people with ongoing issues like National Register of Citizens (NRC), National Population Register (NPR) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). An RJD leader said that on the instruction of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi will hold 'resistance' meetings in various districts of Bihar and explain how this law is creating a bad atmosphere in the society. RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, "Tejashwi will start it from Seemanchal on January 16." RJD previously has taken to the streets of the capital city Patna against the CAA under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav. RJD Principal General Secretary Alok Mehta said that this instruction has been given by Lalu Yadav. He said that the first meeting would be held on January 16 in Kishanganj. While the next day on January 17, Tejashwi would address a rally in Araria. On January 18, he will address the resistance meeting at the Rajendra Stadium, in Katihar. The opposition has been constantly attacking the CAA, NRC and NPR. RJD President Lalu Prasad also continues to target the central government regarding the CAA through his Twitter handle. Significantly, the RLSP, the Congress, the Vikassheel Insaan Party and the Hindustani Awam Morcha, which constitutes the Grand Alliance of the opposition, are also against the CAA. Unlike the similarly monickered Stockholm Syndrome, this outbreak causes the sufferer to fall in love with themselves. Luxembourgs health authorities have made a shock announcement relating to a new national health threat. The virus, which affects a persons sense of ego, has been said to have originated in the North of the country in the early 1900s. Health authorities had thought that the virus had been wiped out in the middle of the last century, it appears though, that it was merely dormant. Labelled Luxembourg Syndrome the highly contagious disease targets the brain specifically prone to catching it are new arrivals and those easily impressed by high costs of living. Symptoms include: Unnecessarily large vehicles Aggressive driving Overpriced wardrobe Inflated sense of self importance A general air of self-satisfaction Swapping table wine for bubbles Expecting everything for free Becoming holier than thou A complete absence of common sense Boffins are beavering away on a cure but one is not yet readily available. If you encounter someone who is LS positive; remain calm, dont entertain an argument, do not trigger them and try to extrapolate yourself from the situation as quickly as possible. France, Germany, Belgium AND countries that have easy travel links with The Grand Duchy have been placed on high alert. The USA, North Korea and Russia are rumoured to be preparing long range solutions. The ministry of health has set up a hotline to call if you fear that you or someone else may have encountered an infected and have urged the public to remain vigilant. The resolution adopted by the US House of Representatives Thursday evening directing President Trump not to go to war with Iran without congressional approval is a political fraud. It has two political purposes: to allow the Democratic Party to pretend it is opposed to war without actually imposing the slightest restriction on the military actions of the Trump administration; and to cement the ties between the Democrats and large sections of the military-intelligence apparatus who were clearly blindsided by Trumps decision to assassinate Iranian General Qassem Suleimani. The impotent character of the House vote is demonstrated by the decision of the Democratic leadership to introduce it as a concurrent resolution, a designation generally reserved for empty formalities, statements of opinion by Congress that do not go to the president for his signature and therefore do not have the force of law. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, echoed by pro-Democratic media pundits, claimed that the Democrats would compel Trump to obtain congressional authorization before going to war, the resolution does no such thing. After passing the House by a near-party-line vote of 224-194, it goes to the Senate, where the Republicans have a 53-47 majority. If the Senate should approve it, the resolution would simply be published as a declaration of the wishes of Congress. For good reason, House Republicans sneered at the action as a vote on a press release. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accompanied by members of the Congress arrive for a briefing on last week's murder of Iran's senior military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) At her press conference Thursday before the vote, Pelosi claimed, Today, to honor our duty to keep the American people safe, the House will move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the presidents military actions regarding Iran. She tried to make a virtue out of the nonbinding character of the resolution, saying: This is a statement by the Congress of the United States. And I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not. The remarks by Democratic representatives in the course of a nearly three-hour debate combined denunciations of General Suleimani, killed by the January 3 missile strike ordered by Trump, with demands that Congress be allowed to participate as a full partner in such homicidal decisions in the future. Michigan Democrat Dan Kildee summed up this view, declaring: Its not even a question as to whether or not there was justification to take out Mr. Suleimani, because clearly there was. But who gives the justification, who authorizes military action in this country? They had no answer to the taunts of Republican speakers who noted that the Democrats had raised no such objections to the unilateral military actions of Democratic presidents, as when Barack Obama launched the war against Libya that ended in the murder of that countrys leader, Muammar Gaddafi, or interventions into Syria and Yemen, or the countless drone-missile killings during the eight years of his administration. While the House vote has been accompanied by much rhetorical posturing by Democratic representatives seeking to appeal to mass antiwar sentiment, the resolutions text is a straightforward defense of the national interests of American imperialism, including preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapons capabilitya goal that could be achieved only by destroying the countrys industrial and technical base. The resolution begins with a diatribe against Iran, declaring, The Government of Iran is a leading state sponsor of terrorism and engages in a range of destabilizing activities across the Middle East. Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was the lead architect of much of Irans destabilizing activities throughout the world. It is, in fact, the American ruling class that is the principal architect of destabilization and violence, responsible for the deaths of over one million people in Iraq alone since the 2003 invasion. Aside from the bogus appeal to antiwar sentiment, there was another political reason for the resolution. It was a gesture of support by the Democrats for sections of the national security apparatus who opposed the decision to assassinate Suleimani, not out of any moral qualms, but because the US military was not prepared for an immediate escalation of hostilities in the Persian Gulf region to the level of a full-scale war with Iran. This political alliance between the Democrats and the military-intelligence apparatus has been the basis of the drive to impeach Trumpnot for his many crimes against democratic rights, immigrants and the working class as a whole, but for his temporary freeze on US military aid to Ukraine, which placed a question mark over a longstanding operation by Washington to transform Ukraine into a launching pad for military provocations against Russia. In the Iran debate, this alliance was signaled by Pelosis selection of freshman Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan to introduce the war powers resolution. Slotkin is a former CIA operative who served three tours of duty in Baghdad, then headed the Iraq desk at the National Security Council in the Obama White House before moving on to the Pentagon, where her portfolio included facilitating drone warfarethe very method used to incinerate General Suleimani and the other victims of the January 3 attack. Another first-term national-security veteran, Andy Kim, who was an adviser to the US military in Afghanistan, then worked at the Obama National Security Council on Iraq policy, appeared at a House leadership press conference Wednesday. He seemed proud of the fact that the war powers resolution would have no practical effect. Referring to the use of military force, he said, There are lots of different avenues in which the president can proceed with different types of kinetic action. He concluded, There are no firm limits that are going to be able to completely restrain what he is willing to do. There is one additional political element in the passage of the war powers resolution on Iran: the role of the Democratic Party lefts, particularly the two congresswomen affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib. They both voted for the fraudulent resolution, which condemns Iran and declares that the US military has an inherent right to self-defense against imminent armed attacksthe pretext advanced by Trump. Ocasio-Cortez did not even speak in the debate, while Tlaib made a brief statement in support of the rule of law, but making no reference either to the assassination of Suleimani or to Iran and the Iranian people. This only underscores the reality that there is no way to fight the mounting danger of imperialist war through any section of the Democratic Party. This struggle must be waged by the working class, through the mobilization of workers and young people in an independent, mass antiwar movement based on socialist principles. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, shakes hands with Takagi Tsuyoshi, head of a visiting delegation of the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 9, 2020. The Japanese delegation is here to attend the 11th meeting of the cooperation committee between the NPC and the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu met with a delegation of the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament Thursday in Beijing. Li, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said the healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples. Li said the NPC is ready to work with the Japanese parliament to maintain the political foundation of bilateral relations, facilitate pragmatic cooperation in various fields, promote local and youth exchanges, give full play to the mechanism of exchanges between legislative bodies and make contributions to promoting China-Japan relations in the new era. Takagi Tsuyoshi, who is leading the delegation to attend the 11th meeting of the cooperation committee between the NPC and the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament, expressed the willingness to promote mutual trust, enhance exchanges, deepen cooperation and push bilateral relations in the new era toward continuous development. Norwalk Police photo NORWALK -The Detective Bureau is asking for the public's assistance with identifying two individuals who were using stolen credit cards in Norwalk and Bridgeport. The credit cards were taken from unlocked vehicles in Norwalk. The barbarity that characterises these attacks including the beheading of women and children with machetes, the dismemberment and removal of body parts of the victims as trophies of war reflects the desire of the attackers to inflict lasting trauma to the Hema communities and to force them to flee and not return to their villages, the report said. Syrian air defenses down hostile drone in Hama province Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 10:05 AM Syrian government forces have captured and dismantled an unmanned aerial vehicle launched by "terrorists" in the west-central province of Hama. Syria's official news agency SANA said that that air defense units foiled an aerial aggression attempt on Wednesday evening after they detected and intercepted a hostile drone as it was approaching army posts and safe areas in the vicinity of Asila, west of Hama. According to the report, the army's air defense units have managed to foil many attacks by hostile drones against military posts and safe zones over the past couple of weeks. It added that the army had shot down most of the drones before they could carry out their missions. December 24, the Syrian army downed a drone rigged with explosives over the city of al-Suqaylabiyah in the same province. The aircraft had been launched by foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants operating in the area, and was armed with six missiles, the army said at the time. The development in December came only a few hours after Syrian army units shot down a drone, operated by militant groups, as it was about to launch an attack against government posts inside Hama Military Airport, which is located west of the provincial capital city of Hama and more than 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of the capital Damascus. Separately on Wednesday, Syrian government troops managed to repel a terrorist attack on the outskirts of the Samaka and al-Barsa villages in Idlib province, where large sections of the area are still under the control of foreign-backed militants. According to SANA, the army troops clashed with the terrorists, destroying a vehicle rigged with explosives and two cars, and killing or wounding many terrorists. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Defense minister of Artsakh, Defense Army commander, Lieutenant-General Karen Abrahamyan visited on January 9 one of the military units located in the south-eastern section of the Republic where he participated in the opening ceremony of a barrack of one of the artillery units, the defense ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress. The minister once again congratulated the servicemen on New Year and Christmas holidays and stated that the works aimed at improving the service conditions of soldiers will continue with a large scale. At the end of the ceremony the Defense Army commander gave respective instructions to the commanding staff on upcoming actions. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan New York: Venus is our toxic twin. Its chemical make-up, size and density are similar to our world's, although its hellish temperatures can melt lead, and its atmosphere is rife with sulphuric acid. But it may be even more Earth-like than we knew. A paper published in Science Advances demonstrates that Venus might still harbour active volcanoes. If confirmed, the finding could help astronomers and planetary scientists as they search for life on other worlds. The planets (from top to bottom) Mercury, Venus, Earth and its moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Credit:NASA Scientists have long debated whether Venus might be volcanically active. In the early 1990s, cloud-penetrating radar on the Magellan orbiter revealed a surface studded with volcano-like mountains. But no one knew whether these features remained active. Then in 2010, data from Europe's Venus Express spacecraft revealed several hot spots that suggested lava had flowed as recently as 250,000 years ago. And in 2012, the orbiter observed spikes in sulphur dioxide a gas that smells like rotten eggs and is commonly produced on Earth by active volcanoes within the Venusian atmosphere. The evidence was tantalising but incomplete. "The data that are currently available for Venus cannot unequivocally provide the smoking gun," said Tracy Gregg, a geologist at the University at Buffalo, New York. SPRINGFIELD John Hesslein, out this week as vice president, general manager and sales director at Western Mass News, said hes offered to continue as a vice chairman of Spirit of Springfields board and on the board of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association. But only until those organizations find someone to replace him. Ive always thought those board positions should only be held by someone who is in a position to deliver the goods, he said in a brief telephone interview. Im not sure Im in a position to deliver right now. Hesslein, who lives in Connecticut, said he hopes to find a new position in media and would like very much for it to be in Western Massachusetts. He also said that his former employer, Meredith Corp., places a premium on community involvement and encourages all its executives to serve. "That's the case at all their stations around the country, and the magazines as well," he said. "So people should expect that to continue." Meredith Corp. announced this week that Steve Doerr, news director of an Atlanta television station, has been named vice president and general manager of Western Mass News. Doerr will replace Hesslein, who was promoted to the post in March 2018 after serving as station manager and general sales manager since 2014. Hesslein was also station manager at the former WSHM-TV 3 CBS in Springfield since 2005. Meredith formed Western Mass News when the news-gathering operations of WSHM-LD, CBS 3; WGGB-TV, ABC 40; and WGGB-DT, FOX 6 were combined. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not depend on his home minister to understand where the country is headed, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday. He was referring to Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone's recent visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi in support of protesting students who were attacked by masked miscreants on January 5. "Whatever is happening in the country is not good. Prime minister Modiji should give attention to this side. He should not only depend on the home ministry and home minister (Amit Shah). "He should think, he has a bigger responsibility than the home ministry," Gehlot told reporters here. The prime minister needs to understand "in which direction the country is headed", he said, claiming that there was a fear in every section to speak out. Gehlot hoped that the prime minister will understand the situation and give some message to the country and its people. The violence that happened in the JNU has never been seen before in the varsity's history, he claimed. The chief minister said the Rajasthan government will soon take a decision on making Deepika Padukone-starrer Chhapaak tax-free in the state, after Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SYRACUSE, N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding state investigations of doctors accused of misconduct. Under current law, the state Health Department is not allowed to confirm if it is investigating a doctor. Those investigations would become public under a set of proposals put forth by Cuomo to strengthen oversight of doctors and other medical professionals. These sweeping proposals will help ensure patients have access to critical information they need to make informed decisions about their healthcare and give state health regulators more tools to investigate and penalize providers for dangerous, unethical or illegal behavior, Cuomo said in a prepared statement. A 2018 syracuse.com story revealed the states Board for Professional Medical Conduct has a tendency to go easy on troubled doctors and rarely takes away their medical licenses. It cited the case of Arthur Mercado, a former Oneida County doctor who the board allowed to keep his medical license despite a history of egregious misconduct. Mercado was convicted in 2017 of a felony charge of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance. The board had previously sanctioned him for having sex with a patient in his office. Six weeks after Syracuse.com published the story, an administrative review board overturned the medical boards decision and revoked Mercados license. In addition to making investigations public, Cuomo wants to make public warnings issued against doctors for minor and technical violations public. Under current law, these warnings are kept secret. Cuomo wants to make it easier for the state to suspend a doctors license at the start of investigations. The state can only do that under current law if the doctor poses an imminent danger to the public. Cuomo said doctors have many due process procedural rights under state law that delay the investigative and disciplinary process. It took the state an average of 307 days to complete a medical misconduct investigation in 2018. These permitted delays allow physicians who are potentially bad actors to continue to practice medicine, at grave risk to patients, Cuomo said. Doctors and physician assistants in New York are licensed for life unless they are sanctioned for misconduct, even if they move out of state. Cuomo wants the state to require them to periodically renew their New York licenses or lose them. The state is required to investigate every state licensed doctor when they are charged with misconduct in another state, even if they no longer practice in New York. If the New York licenses of doctors practicing out of state were put on inactive status, state investigators could focus their attention on investigating complaints against doctors practicing here, he said. James T. Mulder covers health news. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Spain on Friday named Arancha Gonzalez Laya, an international trade expert, as foreign minister replacing Josep Borrell who last year became the EU's foreign policy chief. Gonzalez was Pascal Lamy's chief of staff at the World Trade Organization between 2005 and 2013, before becoming Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, her current job, where she has focused on raising the competitiveness of companies in developing economies. In Spanish foreign affairs "economic diplomacy will be the priority", Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's office said announcing the appointment. Gonzalez, who also speaks English, French, German, Italian and Basque, starts her job Monday along with the other cabinet members in the coalition government of Socialists and the leftist Podemos party. Sanchez takes over as head of a minority coalition government after winning investiture by a razor-thin margin of just two votes. But with only 155 of the parliament's 350 seats, the new government will struggle to push through legislation, with its first order of business to pass the long-overdue state budget. It will be Spain's first coalition government since the 1930s. Spain has been gripped by political instability since the December 2015 election, which saw the emergence of Ciudadanos and the far-left Podemos, ending three decades of bipartisan hegemony by the Socialists and conservative Popular Party (PP). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Baek Byung-yeul LAS VEGAS For visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), exploring the startup exhibition hall is like a treasure hunt. This year's tech fair features 1,200 startups from 161 countries. Among the newly born companies, Korean firms account for about 20 percent as 200 startups joined the event to show off their latest services and products. Korea is the third-largest exhibitor at the CES 2020, following the U.S. with 343 and France with 240, according to the Korea ICT Association. They may appear to be amateur in promoting themselves, but all their products and services are based on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, mobility and internet of things (IoT), which all caught the eye of visitors. On the show's second day, their booths were filled with company officials, visitors and media from various countries, expressing interest in the technologies the Korean firms have come up with. Chung Jin-woo, assistant manager of DCART, demonstrates the firm's electric stroller "ORGO" at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul DCART unveiled the industry's first "electric" stroller called ORGO at the fair and gained attention from visitors. The startup developed the electric version powered by lithium-ion battery cells from LG Chem to ease the burden of moms who have to manage heavy strollers. "Many companies have rolled out lithium-ion battery-powered mobility devices but none of them tried to make an electric stroller," said Tony Poong, manager of the R&D team at DCART. "So we decided to develop the product and it worked pretty well." The company has already had a meaningful result as it is scheduled to launch the ORGO at Electro Mart, retail company E-mart's discount electronics store, in Korea in May. "The stroller is priced at around 1.5 million won ($1,300), which is similar to strollers from luxury brands," Poong said. "Even if it is priced rather high, we are receiving a good response from buyers as we've tried to improve safety by using LG Chem's battery and featuring a safety-lock button so babies are not able to control the stroller." Suh Byun-jo, CEO of VARRAM, with the firm's VARAMM Pet Fitness dog-care robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul VARRAM displayed an eye-catching dog-care robot that feeds them treats regularly and plays with them. "We have been selling the product, AI technology-based VARAMM Pet Fitness," VARRAM CEO Suh Byun-jo said. "I think it is a nice move to join the CES, because this country has a lot of pet owners. I had the chance to talk with buyers and distributors who are interested in the dog-care robot." Suh said the company had launched a home-care robot, mainly intended for security purposes. But after seeing that most people used it to monitor their pets, he decided to launch a pet care-focused robot. The product is being well received in the market. "Priced at $99, it is sold online via Amazon," Suh said. "As we have received positive feedback from consumers with the dog-care robot, we are planning to launch an upgraded robot that features a camera next year." Yim Sang-bin, CEO of Robo Risen, shows off the PingPong modular robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 16:09 731 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321ae194 4 Science & Tech Kominfo,Internet,cyber-crime,ITE-Law Free A total of 431,065 reports of negative content, more than 50 percent of which related to pornography, were submitted to the Communications and Information Ministry throughout 2019. "The majority of the reported content related to pornography, with 244,738 reports," said the acting head of the ministry's public relations bureau, Ferdinandus Setu, in a statement as quoted by kompas.com on Friday. The second most reported category was defamatory content with 57,984 reports, followed by content deemed to cause unease among the public with 53,455 reports. Other reported categories included gambling, 19,970 reports; scams, 18,845 reports; and hoaxes, 15,361 reports. Read also: Stop Hoax Indonesia program to educate internet users in 17 cities Additionally, online content related to ethnicity, religion, race or societal groups (SARA), terrorism/radicalism, intellectual property rights violations and child abuse were also reported to the ministry. Due to the large number of reports, the ministry has called on the public to avoid spreading content that violates the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. It also urged netizens to report negative content via aduankonten.id or to the ministry's email aduankonten@kominfo.go.id and Twitter account @aduankonten. Reports are reviewed by the ministry to check whether the content violates the ITE Law. In addition to receiving reports from the public, the ministry also patrols online content with a negative content web crawler called Ais. (dpk/kes) New Delhi: Two Army porters were killed and three more were injured when Pakistan army lobbed mortars at forward posts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, officials said. Four porters were working along the LoC when the Pakistan army fired mortar shells. "Today at about 11am Pak army initiated unprovoked shelling with mortars along LoC in Gulpur sector in district Poonch", a defence spokesman said. Two of the injured were hospitalised and efforts are on to trace two other porters, officials said. On December 25, a junior commissioned officer of the army and a woman were killed in unprovoked firing during ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, defence sources said. Also Read: Pakistan Epitomises 'Dark Arts', No Takers For Its 'Malware': India At UNSC They said Pakistan is targeting civilian population in India with vengeance from gun and mortar positions deployed and inside villages in PoK. The JCO (Subedar) died in Uri Sector. The sources said some of the shells fired by Pakistani troops landed in civilian areas, resulting in injuries to two civilians including a woman in Churunda village. Naseema Begum (22), succumbed to splinter injuries, they said. The incident comes in the wake of Pakistan Army Chief's recent visit to Hajipir along the LoC. The sources said the ceasefire violations are part of Pakistan's proxy war design to abet infiltration and keep the Kashmir issue on the simmer. Also Read: Nankana Sahib Attack: MEA Slams Pakistan, 'Don't Tell Others How To Take Care Of Minorities' The Indian army personnel responded to the ceasefire violation in adequate measure, the sources said. Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Sixty-three terrorists were shot dead and 25 Nigerien soldiers killed on Thursday afternoon in an attack by terrorists on the Chinagodar outpost on the border with Mali, a statement from Nigerien defence ministry said A nutritionist has shared the four things she does every day to reset her metabolism and get it firing again after the indulgent Christmas and New Year period. Jessica Sepel, the Australian founder of JS Health, said January is the perfect time to consider whether you're 'supporting' your metabolism and make sure it's converting food into energy as efficiently as possible. 'There are four things I do each and every day - they're all super simple and easy to incorporate into your daily routine,' she wrote. Jessica Sepel (pictured), the Australian founder of JS Health, said January is the perfect time to consider whether you're 'supporting' your metabolism 1. EAT MORE PROTEIN Jessica said protein is essential for metabolism function so is sure to consume plenty of high-protein foods and snacks throughout the day. 'A high protein intake has actually been proven to boost metabolism,' she said. 'I love to include a source of lean protein, such as chicken, fish or tempeh, with each meal. 'This helps regulate my metabolic function, and also keeps me feeling satiated and satisfied after I eat.' How much protein do we need? The recommended dietary allowance for protein suggest that individuals should focus on getting at least 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. This may increase depending on variables such as activity level, age, gender, the rest of your diet composition and how you digest and utilise protein. A dietary intake of 1.0-1.6g of protein per kg of body weight per day is recommended for those participating in minimal to intense activity, respectively. Advertisement Jessica said protein is essential for metabolism function so is sure to consume plenty of high-protein foods and snacks throughout the day 2. SLEEP MORE Jessica aims to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night as too little (and too much) sleep can damage your metabolism. 'Studies have shown that not getting enough sleep can negatively affect your glucose metabolism, and the hormones involved in regulating your metabolism,' she said. 'So if you're not getting the necessary amount of sleep, you're at risk of damaging your metabolism in the long term. 'Similarly, when we're tired, we're far more likely to make poor food choices. It becomes so much harder to resist the greasy burger and fried chips and opt for the Buddha bowl.' What are the best foods to eat post-workout to boost your metabolism? * Chicken and salad sandwich * Chocolate milk * Tofu stir fry and rice * Tuna and chickpea pita * Overnight oats with milk and yoghurt * Chicken/tuna salad wrap * Yoghurt, muesli and fruit * Cottage cheese on toast * Spaghetti bolognese and vegetables * Salmon and potatoes * Protein pancakes * Scrambled tofu wrap * Fruit smoothie and yoghurt Advertisement Jessica aims to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night as too little (and too much) sleep can damage your metabolism 3. DRINK ENOUGH WATER While it's no secret that drinking plenty of water each day is important for health, few realise the role it plays in keeping the metabolism working well. 'Water is a surprising factor which plays a huge role in regulating our metabolism and drinking enough throughout the day has been shown to improve metabolic function, as well as helping to stabilise weight,' Jess said. 'Water, like sleeping, is also essential for our food choices. If we're hydrated, we're less likely to mistake thirst for hunger. 'This means we can tune into our body and the foods it really needs, rather than reaching for whatever sugary, fast foods we can get our hands on first!' Jessica drinks at lease two litres of water per day and often puts a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar in her water bottle to help her digestion. Jessica drinks at lease two litres of water per day and often puts a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar in her water bottle to help her digestion 4. TAKE VITAMINS TO SUPPORT YOUR BODY Jessica takes vitamins and supplements every day to stay healthy and recently developed her own 'game-changing' formula with a focus on metabolism support. '[The formula] contains Chromium, Magnesium and Zinc to assist in the metabolism of glucose, carbs, lipids and proteins,' she said. 'Zinc is so incredible for supporting your metabolism, and the Cinnamon and Gymnema support healthy blood sugar levels. 'I pop this twice daily (once at breakfast, and again at lunch) with meals, and can truly say it's helped my metabolism immensely.' A Bayonne man who was forced to walk home five blocks in the cold two weeks after his foot was partially amputated is suing the city, the police department and the officer who impounded his car. Keiran Walsh and his wife, Melba, are asking for compensatory and punitive damages in connection with the Nov. 27, 2017 incident that was first reported by The Jersey Journal. The lawsuit, which was filed on Nov. 27, does not specify an amount sought. The Walshes did not return a request for comment. Police and city officials declined to comment, citing a policy of not commenting on ongoing litigation. The 20-page lawsuit cites the unlawful motor vehicle stop of ... Keiran Walsh, seizure of his vehicle and the discriminatory, harassing, malicious and reckless conduct that followed, including the reckless abandonment of Keiran Walsh ... (and) the willful disregard and deliberate indifference to Mr. Walshs health, welfare or safety." Walsh, who suffers from diabetes, told The Jersey Journal at the time that he was on his way to pick up his pain medication and was pulled over by a city police officer. Walsh believed that he was pulled over because he had beeped at the officer, who he said was driving too fast. Walsh said Police Officer Stephen Salot told him he was being pulled over because he had a handicap placard hanging from his rearview mirror while driving. Walshs registration had lapsed, so Salot said the car would be towed, Walsh maintained. Despite pleas from him and his wife for the officer to arrange his transportation home, Walsh said he was forced to walk five long blocks to his home. When he arrived there, his foot was bleeding. The lawsuit also states that the ordeal led to Walsh developing a serious infection that required several lengthy hospitalizations and further amputation. Walsh also suffered substantial, permanent loss of a bodily function, disfigurement and dismemberment, ... severe emotional distress and mental anguish, said the lawsuit, filed by Jennifer Harwood Ruhl of the Grossman law firm of Freehold. Police Director Robert Kubert and then-Police Chief Drew Sisk are also named in the lawsuit, which says they failed to properly supervise Salot. Walsh filed an internal affairs complaint, and in a letter issued six weeks after the incident, the Bayonne Police Department determined that Salot did not follow appropriate department policies and procedures. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron will host European Council chief Charles Michel of Belgium and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel in Paris for talks on Friday. The trilateral meeting is expected to focus on current European affairs and the European Union's strategic priorities in the coming months, according to the government of Luxembourg. On December 10, Macron met with Michel at Elysee Palace to discuss preparations for the European Council. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit New Delhi next week to participate in the Raisina Dialogue conference in the capital. New Delhi: Following the recent eruption of tensions between Iran and the United States, India on Thursday said it has interests in the middle-east and Persian Gulf region, that it wants the situation to de-escalate at the earliest, and that it appreciates the understanding shown by the United States in exempting the Chabahar port from sanctions. India has been worried over any possible fallout on its strategic port development project at Chabahar in Iran which provides sea-land connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan. In the past, the United States has shown understanding on the importance of Chabahar to us and connectivity to Afghanistan. ... We appreciate the understanding shown by the United States in exempting Chabahar port from sanctions, the MEA said. It added that peace, security and stability are of utmost importance to India which would like the situation to de-escalate at the earliest. Significantly, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit New Delhi next week to participate in the Raisina Dialogue conference in the capital. External affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had in December visited Iranian capital Tehran for the 19th Session of the India-Iran Joint Commission there on December 22. The two sides had then expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in operationalisation of the Shahid Beheshti Port at Chabahar, and had recognised that it has a potential to act as a gateway between the Indian subcontinent, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe. Both nations had also welcomed the utilisation of the port for exports from Afghanistan and discussed ways to promote it. Ties between the US and Iran had plummeted to dangerous levels after the US assassinated Maj.Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Latest News CoreLogic data shows new listings on the rise in early 2022 First data of the year suggests supply is already entering back into the market, cooling hot property market Business NSW calls for support as pandemic bites Staff shortages and customer falls causing severe problems in recovery Industry fundraising for bushfire relief has ballooned, with participation across every strata gaining momentum lenders, aggregators, associations and brokers alike. The Broker Bushfire Appeal has raised hundreds of thousands over the last 24 hours alone, with recent contributions of $100,000 from each Loan Market, Mortgage Choice and Aussie. "We realise that many Australians will be affected by these fires, and while the initial loss is heartbreaking, the long-term effects will be a heavy burden," said Loan Market executive chairman Sam White. "We want to help alleviate some of this burden and that's why we are donating $100,000 to the Bushfire Relief, backed by brokers, and will be encouraging our brokers and communities to support where they can. Mortgage Choice CEO Susan Mitchell weighed in saying, "This is such a challenging time for many Australians, so its extremely important we rally together as an industry to support and help them rebuild their lives and communities." A similar sentiment was expressed by Aussie CEO James Symond. We've been devastated to see the impact of the bushfires around the country and our thoughts are with those affected," he said. "There has already been an amazing response across Australia and internationally to donate to this cause, and our industry also wanted to make a contribution to the financial support needed by many." Lenders have also been announcing donations of their own, independent from the Broker Bushfire Appeal. La Trobe Financial has pledged $1 million to be split between The Salvation Army Disaster Appeal and The Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief Recovery Fund. President and CEO Greg ONeill OAM said, We express our deepest sympathies to people who have suffered tremendous loss as a result of these devastating fires. We also express our gratitude to the tireless volunteers and emergency workers who are supporting our communities. Non-bank mortgage provider Resimac announced it's donating $100,000, with three quarters of that sum going to the Salvation Army Disaster Appeal and the remainder to WIRES Emergency Fund for Wildlife. The lender will also be offering affected customers a range of support options to enable them to focus on more critical matters. Resimac CEO Scott McWilliam said, Our thoughts are with the members of the communities, and the wildlife, who have been impacted by these horrific events. We hope these donations will help support them to stay resilient through the next few months and assist with their road to recovery." Peer-to-peer lender RateSetter has committed to donating any establishment fees for all broker-introduced loans drawn down as a result of a RateEstimate and lodged on 24 January to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. The group hopes to donate around $50,000. RateSetter CEO Daniel Foggo said, In partnership with our brokers, we know this commitment can make a real difference and go some way to alleviating the very real horror Australians are enduring, We hope our brokers join us in our efforts to assist communities affected by this unprecedented crisis. We also encourage brokers to provide information to their clients about our hardship assistance arrangements so we can support our borrowers as they need. Describing India-US relationship as one of the most important ties for America, a powerful Congressman said that strengthening and advancing this partnership is his country's top strategic goal. Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said this in his address at a Capitol Hill event on Thursday to bid farewell to outgoing Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Engel said that Shringla, who now heads to New Delhi to take charge as the country's next Foreign Secretary later this month, would play an important part in helping America to achieve this goal. Engel in an exception let House Foreign Affairs Committee room in Rayburn House building be the venue for the farewell for an outgoing foreign envoy at the US Capitol. I regard the relationship between the US and India as one of the most important relationships the US has. As chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I will continue to do everything in my power to strengthen the relationship between India and the US, Engel said. We (India and the US) have so much in common, he said in his farewell remarks at the prestigious Congressional room, which is the venue for all House hearings on foreign affairs issues. It was also the venue for the Congressional hearing on Kashmir in October. The very strong Indian American diaspora we have here in the US helps not only enrich the US but helps bring our the two countries together, Engel said in his remarks. We will keep working together to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries, he said. The farewell reception was hosted by Ranju Batra, chair, Diwali Foundation US and Ravi Batra, chair, National Advisory Council South Asian Affairs. New York-based attorney Ravi Batra thanked Engel for allowing this special reception for an outgoing ambassador inside the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which he said is symbolic of the strength and the vitality of the bilateral relationship. The reception was addressed by other influential Congressmen, including Brad Sherman, Indian American Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pete King and Jim Vargas. Noting that he arrived in this country exactly a year ago on January 9, Shringla said this has been an eventful and result-oriented year for India-US ties. We had very significant engagement with Congress. We've been given every encouragement by our friend in Congress, particularly by Chairman Engel, he said. We have a debt of gratitude to you for being so understanding of some of the issues that are part of our relationship. I'm happy that because of your encouragement, we made a lot of progress in initiatives that are important to us. You'll also be happy to know that as we speak, Ambassador Ken Juster, the US Ambassador to India is in Jammu and Kashmir visiting that part of our country, he said. The foreign secretary-designate said that India will continue to be fully engaged with the US Congress because as a democracy, it understands what it means to be engaged with the elected representatives of the people in the US. And if you want to forge a close relationship with the US, we have to have a close relationship with Congress, we have to be able to be in touch to that, we can inform them of what is happening are, we can encourage them to take steps to bring our relationships closer and it's with their oversight that the relationships can thrive and prosper, Shringla said. India's Consul General in New York, Sandeep Chakravarthy was also present at the farewell reception, which was attended among others by eminent members of the Indian American community. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., leaves the Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. Trevor Hagan | Bloomberg | Getty Images The highly-anticipated extradition trial of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou kicks off on January 20. Canada's relationship with China and with the United States could hang in the balance. The case has been dragged into the politics of the U.S.-China trade war. Huawei has come under intense pressure from the U.S. government, which calls it a national security threat. Huawei has repeatedly denied those claims. Meng's extradition battle is one of the many headwinds Huawei faces in 2020. What's Meng's trial about? Meng was arrested in Vancouver, Canada in December 2018. The U.S. charged Meng and Huawei with bank and wire fraud in violation of American sanctions on Iran. The U.S. alleges that Meng lied to major banks including HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a subsidiary in Iran called Skycom, in order to obtain banking services. Huawei denies any wrongdoing. In March 2019, Canada agreed to proceed with the U.S.'s extradition request. What has happened since? Since then, Meng's lawyers have looked to end the extradition proceedings, laying out a number of arguments that will now be heard in court. There have been a handful of procedural court hearings regarding the timeline of events. And in December, Meng's legal team won a ruling to obtain more documents relating to her arrest. What happens next in Meng's trial? The actual extradition hearing kicks off on January 20 and is scheduled to end on January 24. It may not necessarily last that long. This court appearance will focus on the so-called "double criminality" argument put forward by Meng's defense. Such an argument claims that the crime of which she is accused by the U.S. also needs to be a crime in Canada. Meng is accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Since Canada does not have sanctions on financial services in Iran, her legal team argues she can't be extradited for alleged bank and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. The double criminality is perhaps the most important argument in the case. "The biggest legal issue is whether the conditions for dual criminality are fulfilled ... this is a requirement for the extradition to go forward and is the most critical issue," Yves Tiberghien, a professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, told CNBC. If the judge sides with Meng, the Huawei CFO could be released, or the prosecutors could appeal. If the double criminality argument does not prevail, then the hearings will proceed to a second phase in June. A decision may not come immediately, but could instead follow weeks later. That second hearing would focus on due process regarding Meng's arrest. Her defense has argued that there was an abuse of process during her arrest by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). In October, it was revealed that border officers took the passwords to Meng's electronic devices and handed them over to the police. Lawyers for the Canadian government acting on behalf of the United States called this an "error." Again, the extradition proceedings could be stopped on that point if the judges side with Meng. And again, the prosecution could appeal. If the judges decide against Meng, the case will move on the the third phase scheduled for September. That will focus on the sufficiency of the U.S. evidence against the Huawei executive. Can Canadian politicians intervene? Meng's extradition case has already become highly politicized. Just days after her arrest in 2018, President Donald Trump said he could intervene in Meng's case if it helped secured a trade deal with China. Last year, China arrested two Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor accusing them of espionage. Those arrests prompted accusations that China was retaliating for Meng's arrest. The Chinese government has repeatedly pressured Canada to release Meng. Canada Minister of Justice David Lametti has the power to step in and make a decision on the case before the hearings are done. However, experts say such a move is unlikely. "This provision has been rarely if ever used. Under common law, jurisprudence does matter. So, the fact that this provision was not used makes non-intervention a sort of political norm," Tiberghien said. The professor also pointed to a fraud case related to SNC-Lavalin, a Canadian engineering firm. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to get then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene. She refused and was subsequently removed from the federal Liberal caucus. Tiberghien said there would be "political cost" for ministerial intervention in the Meng case. "The Chinese side knows about the provision in the law and has been cajoling or pushing Canada to use it," said Tiberghien. "Under current conditions and the present moment, it is very unlikely that the government will use this provision because of the high political cost." Jana Sena president and actor Pawan Kalyan on Friday demanded that the Centre convene an all-party meeting to break the ongoing impasse over Andhra Pradesh's capital city. The centre has an obligation under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 on the state capital issue, Kalyan said and pointed out that it has already released Rs 2,500 crore for capital-related works. "The BJP-led NDA government has a pivotal role. It cannot let unrest prevail in the state as that could threaten national integrity," the Jana Sena chief observed. Talking to a select group of reporters along with Jana Sena Political Affairs Committee chairman Nadendla Manohar at the party headquarters here, Kalyan wanted the Centre to step in as the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government's move to have "three capitals" for AP caused an unrest among people. He said the Congress and BJP should clearly spell out their stand on the capital issue as both were responsible for the bifurcation of AP. "The BJP played a key role in the division of the state and it should now take the lead to end the impasse. The state has already suffered because of the bifurcation and it should not suffer further," Kalyan added. Kalyan, who toured the Amaravati region and interacted with the villagers in recent days, said no injustice should be done to the farmers who gave up over 33,000 acres of their fertile agricultural lands for building the state capital post-bifurcation. The state government should talk to the farmers first and address their concerns before taking a decision on the capital. He pointed out that crores of rupees of public money has already been spent on creating certain vital infrastructure in the capital region. "The state government should talk to farmers and other stakeholders. It should not take unilateral decisions that could jeopardise the state's overall interests," Kalyan noted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 Trend: The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov met the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria in Azerbaijan Nikolay Yankov, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. During the meeting, the parties touched upon the current state of bilateral military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, emphasized the importance of expanding this cooperation. The Azerbaijani minister, touching upon the military-political situation in the region, emphasized the continuation of the aggressive policy of Armenia and stressed that official Yerevan is deliberately dragging out the negotiation process and it has a negative impact on the situation in the region. The Bulgarian diplomat, in turn, noted that his country is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in all areas and emphasized that Bulgaria considers Azerbaijan a friendly country. During the meeting, prospects for the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, expansion of relations in the military-technical, military-educational spheres, organization of mutual visits, as well as other regional issues of mutual interest were discussed. : Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd (CIFCL) on Friday said it would raise Rs 400 crore tier-II debt from the UK-based CDC Group Plc through unsecured, subordinated, rupee denominated masala bonds. The masala bonds were Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company's maiden issue which may be listed on the London Stock Exchange in future. "CDC and CIFCL have joined hands to address the business credit requirements of small and medium road transport operators and micro, small and medium enterprise customers," CIFCL managing director Arun Alagappan said in a press release here. CDC's investment in CIFCL's masala bonds would support the extension of loans to driver-turned-owners and micro and small enterprises in underserved rural and semi-urban areas, he said. "We look forward to working with CDC in promoting the economic and social well-being of our customers", he said. CDC supports businesses that can make goods and services more affordable and accessible for people in Africa and Asia. The investment would help generate self-employment opportunities for low to middle-income customers. "CDC's commitment to CIFCL demonstrates our value as a Development Financial Institution with long-term patient capital," CDC's managing director and head of Asia Srini Nagarajan said. "Our investment will enable CIFCL to extend loans to small vehicle owners and facilitate availability of credit to rural and semi-urban markets," Nagarajan said. Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company offers vehicle finance, business and home loans. The company has more than 1,000 branches across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yes Bank's independent director Uttam Prakash Agarwal has resigned citing 'serious concerns' on 'deteriorating practices' and the state of affairs at the private sector lender New Delhi: Uttam Prakash Agarwal, an independent director of Yes Bank Ltd, on Friday resigned from the board and stepped down as head of its audit committee citing major corporate governance concerns, but the lender said he was facing a 'fit and proper' status review as directed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The capital-starved bank also reported setbacks in its $2-billion fundraising plans. The lender also said its board has also approved a fresh round of capital raising of Rs 10,000 crore, for which shareholders' nod will be sought soon, the troubled private sector lender told stock exchanges on Friday. Canadian investor Erwin Singh Braich's $1.2 billion offer will not be pursued further, it said and hinted that a $500-million offer from Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group, which was being favourably considered, is also facing headwinds. NSE wrote several letters to Yes Bank seeking details of investors, management verbally informed board about execution of binding term sheet, Yes Bank's ex-independent director Uttam Prakash Agarwal tells CNBC-TV18 pic.twitter.com/VvG7nGR7R0 CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 10, 2020 The bank, which was waiting for regulatory nods as Citax's offer entailed over 10 percent ownership, has not yet been able to get a clearance on the "conditions precedent". Without specifying timelines, it said the Citax offer will be taken up "during the next round". The troubled bank has been forced to shrink its book due to capital paucity and was hoping to close the fundraising by December. Need for capital has been necessitated as under new Chief Executive Officer Ravneet Gill, the lender has had to provide for sour loan bets taken under his predecessor Rana Kapoor whose term was cut short by the RBI last year over concerns on corporate governance. The central bank has also appointed former deputy governor R Gandhi to the board. Meanwhile, Uttam Agarwal, a chartered accountant who had joined the board amid an upheaval in November, has quit citing "deteriorating standards of the corporate governance" under Gill. The bank retorted saying Agarwal resigned ahead of a discussion at the board to review if he qualifies under the RBI's 'fit and proper' criteria. Agarwal's resignation letter shared by the bank said he had "serious concerns" over the "deteriorating standards of the corporate governance, failure of compliance, management practices and the manner in which the state of affairs" are being conducted by the bank under Gill. The bank said the observations made by Agarwal on the bank's governance will be duly examined by the board. The director, who has served as the head of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and was also part of the team investigating auditors' role in the Satyam Computers fiasco, also named senior group president for governance Rajiv Uberoi and legal head Sanjay Nambiar in the letter, and claimed that he had raised similar concerns in earlier correspondence. In a letter written on Friday to markets regulator Sebi, Agarwal listed out his concerns on non-disclosure and reluctance shown by Gill in informing the board of the names of the interested investors in fundraising exercise and inconsistencies in what he informed the board and what appeared in media. He also said the Citax Investment Group, whose proposal for the $500-million investment is being considered by the board, has a paid-up capital of only GBP 100. Gill had to be reminded repeatedly for sharing information on the capital-raising plans, and the term sheets he eventually shared lacked essential details, the letter alleges, adding expression of interest by three domestic investors were called as commitments. It seeks the regulator to investigate gains made by investors due to sharing of false developments. Gill could not be reached for a comment immediately. In a statement, the bank said it was reviewing if Agarwal complied with the 'fit and proper' framework on RBI directions and had also obtained an opinion from legal luminaries on the same. The opinions were to be reviewed by the nomination and remuneration committee of the board but Agarwal tendered his resignation prior to the discussions, it said. A media report on 24 November had said Agarwal had not disclosed details of criminal cases for cheating and criminal breach of trust filed against him to the bank. The same cases were mentioned in an affidavit he had filed while contesting for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on a Shiv Sena ticket. The bank's shares on Friday closed 5.29 percent down at Rs 44.80 apiece on the BSE, compared with the benchmark index's overall gain of 0.36 percent. Satellite photos have captured the enormous scale of the devastating bushfires on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. The images, provided by NASA Earth Observatory, show huge plumes of smoke rising from intense fires - particularly along the island's south-west coast. An enormous patch of charred land can also be seen on the western side of the island. The fires on Kangaroo Island have scorched about 171,000 hectares of land and there are two bushfire warnings that remain in place on the island as of Friday. Tragically, two lives were also lost in the blazes. Satellite photos have captured the enormous scale of the devastating bushfires on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia The images, provided by NASA Earth Observatory, show huge plumes of smoke rising from intense fires - particularly along the island's south-west coast Huge areas of Kangaroo Island were destroyed after bushfire tore through 170,000 hectares of land with fire crews still working to contain two fires A fire crew operates at an area around Parndana after bushfires swept through on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, South Australia on January 10 A total of 22 firefighters have been injured while fighting fires on the island. Previous NASA satellite images have shown the impact of the fires on the landscape. The first image was taken on December 16, showing the lush green landscape of the South Australian island before the wild fires began on December 20. The second image was taken on Tuesday, showing a third of the island scorched with some areas still on fire, including an out of control blaze in Flinders Chase National Park. The bushfires sweeping through Stokes Bay on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, on Thursday The Army is working hard in Kangaroo Island to help farmers, clear roads, and recover injured wildlife (pictured a soldier nurses a kangaroo) Vision from inside a truck watching a wild fire flare up on Kangaroo Island Yet another satellite image, released on Friday, shows a huge cloud of smoke making its way across the Pacific Ocean towards South America. Smoke from Australia's fires has already made its way as far as South America and Antarctica. Air quality in Adelaide was ranked among the worst in the world on Friday as smoke from Kangaroo Island drifted over the city. The Air Quality Index of the city was at 168 at 6.30am which is in the 'unhealthy' range and placed the city as having the 11th most polluted air in the world. Between 2mm - 5mm of rain fell on the Kangaroo Island overnight significantly helping fire crews. Vets and volunteers treat Koalas at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, South Australia on Friday Fire fighters are seen at Kingscote oval after fighting fires through the night, on Kangaroo Island. CFS volunteers along with over 100 Army Reservists and self-sustainment supplies, are on Kangaroo Island as part of Operation Bushfire Assist A NASA satellite image showing the lush green landscape of Kangaroo Island on December 16 compared with an image captured on Tuesday The Bureau of Meteorology also forecasts another 2mm of rain for Friday night along with humid conditions and a southerly change which should further assist firefighters. The South Australian state government is calling for federal assistance to provide more waterbombing aircraft to help firefighters battling the blazes on the ground. Emergency Services Minister Corey Wingard said aerial waterbombing was key to fighting fires of the scale. In New Zealand, hikers captured photos on the Franz Josef glacier where snow had turned light brown as a result of thick smoke travelling over the Tasman Sea Smoke travelled more than 11,000 kilometres away to Chile (pictured) A NASA satellite image shows a cloud of smoke from Australia's bushfires making its way across the Pacific Ocean A rare Pygmy Possum is rescued at the Flinders Chase National Park after bushfires swept through on Kangaroo Island 'We know aerial coverage to dump big payloads of retardant or water combined with our outstanding troops on the ground are key to fighting big fires like we've seen on Kangaroo Island and in the Adelaide Hills,' Mr Wingard said. Country Fire Service chief Mark Jones said 280 personnel are currently fighting fires on the island though difficult weather conditions hampered efforts on Thursday night. 'We've heard that last night was an incredibly difficult night with which to firefight on Kangaroo Island winds were not consistent, they were blustery and came from many directions...creating difficult conditions,' he told the Adelaide Advertiser. AUSTRALIA'S BUSHFIRE CRISIS - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Evacuations are underway and emergency alerts are in place in NSW, Victoria and South Australia as authorities predict the devastating bushfires will continue burning until at least March. At least 28 people have been killed in blazes across the country since the bushfire season began in October. NEW SOUTH WALES/ACT Around 90 fires were burning in NSW on Thursday morning 20 people dead More than 5.2 million hectares burned - equal to the metro areas of the five mainland state capitals 1,870 homes confirmed destroyed, more than 3,774 outbuildings and 200 facilities razed VICTORIA 19 bushfires burning in the Gippsland, northeast and alpine regions as of Thursday morning Five people dead More than 1.5 million hectares burnt 387 homes have been damaged or destroyed 602 non-residential structures have also been damaged SOUTH AUSTRALIA Three people, including two from Kangaroo Island, are dead More than 274,000 hectares burnt 161 homes confirmed destroyed, along with 413 sheds and outhouses QUEENSLAND 2.5 million hectares burnt 48 homes confirmed destroyed WESTERN AUSTRALIA 1.5 million hectares burned One home confirmed destroyed TASMANIA 30,000 hectares burned Two homes confirmed destroyed NORTHERN TERRITORY Five homes confirmed destroyed Advertisement Smoke rises from burning hay bales on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide Firefighters get breakfast at Kingscote Oval on Kangaroo Island on January 10 after fighting fires through the night Visitors to the Mekong Delta Province of An Giang can enjoy the local specialty, mixed papaya salad, freshly prepared by ethnic Khmer living in the area. Visitors can try mixed papya salad at Rina, an eatery on Provincial Road 955B in Tri Ton District, that is always packed with customers in the evenings. VNA/VNS Photo The salad is called goi u u in Vietnamese and bok lahong in Khmer. It originated in Cambodia but its intriguing flavors meant it quickly became popular. Thinly sliced papaya is the star of the dish. The papaya is carefully selected since it needs the right amount of ripeness to give the dish the correct texture and sweetness. Other vegetables like spinach, cowpeas and carrots are then placed in a large mortar and pestle along with mam ruoc or mam ba khia (special fermented sauce), sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, red onion, garlic, chili, and lime. VNS Mixed papaya salad a must-try in An Giang Travellers should try the mixed papaya salad freshly prepared by ethnic Khmer when visiting the Mekong Delta Province of An Giang. Cu hu dua salad, the heart of Ben Tre Goi cu hu dua (coconut core) salad is a specialty of Ben Tre, the home of coconuts in Vietnam. Iranian officials and media outlets have denied claims they shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 170 people, and said they are currently cooperating with other countries in their investigation of the incident. Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said Iran is following international standards in their investigation. He added that officials from both Ukraine, which owned the plane, and Boeing, the plane's motor manufacturer, have been invited to participate in the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent US government agency responsible for investigating civil transportation accidents, said they had received formal notification from Iran and have assigned a representative to investigate the crash. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which was carrying mostly Iranians and Canadians but also Ukrainian, Swedish, Afghan, German and British citizens, crashed the same night Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles into two Iraqi airbases housing US forces in retaliation for a US strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Western media outlets reported that intelligence officials believe Iran had accidentally shot down the plane with a surface to air missile. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost 63 citizens, mostly Iranian-Canadians, reiterated the claim that Iran had shot down the plane based on Canadas intelligence and intelligence offered to him by allies. Mousavi said Iran welcomes experts from countries who lost citizens on the flight. He also said he welcomed any intelligence that the Canadian government could offer. President Hassan Rouhanis deputy director of communications tweeted that the presidents of Iran and Ukraine spoke on the phone and had agreed to form a committee to investigate the crash, which will be led by the countrys foreign ministers. Head of Irans Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh said that as a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), they will follow its rules; that is why a committee has been formed. Regarding media claims about Iran denying others access to the black box, Abedzadeh said that according to ICAO regulations, the country in which the accident took place will determine how the information in the black box is accessed. He said if Iran needs help accessing the black box, they will ask Ukraine as the owner of the plane. France, who made the Boeing 737 motor, and the United States, which designed the plane, must also offer assistance if Iran requests it, according to the ICAO. Abedzadeh said Irans air space was safe during the time of the accident, arguing that when the accident occurred, nine planes were in the periphery of Imam Khomeini International Airport and [dozens] of other planes were flying at 25,000 feet. Other Iranian officials called the claim by Western intelligence officials that Iran shot down the plan psychological warfare. Rouhani's media adviser, Hessameddin Ashna, tweeted in Persian, A warning is given to Iranian nationals working in Persian language media about participating in the psychological warfare related to the Ukrainian airplane. He added, Refrain from cooperating with Iran-haters. After being criticized online for issuing the warning to journalists, he clarified in a follow-up tweet, Do not be mistaken, a warning is never a threat. It is an effort to awaken consciousness to remain Iranian and in this media war to defend your country and the truth. Do not increase the pain of the families. Ashna then referred to the claims that Iran was behind the shooting down of the plane as a counter-attack by the Iran-haters after the first slap. The reference to first slap is in reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis coining of the missiles strikes as a slap against the United States. Iranian media also interviewed aviation experts who tried to cast doubt on the claims that the plane was shot down. Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, interviewed a military and defense expert who said American claims regarding the incident are technically ridiculous. The Tasnim article claimed the United States pushed their theory that Iran shot down the plane because of the humiliation over being bombed at the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq. In a different article, Tasnim News interviewed well-known Iranian pilot Houshang Shahbazi to discuss the incident. Shahbazi said that had a plane been shot in the air, its debris would have spread across miles and the pilot would not have tried to turn the plane around and return to the airport. AS the death toll staggers at over 3,000, it is worrying for all citizens that those in auth EDEN, Australia Thousands of people fled their homes and helicopters dropped supplies to towns at risk of nearby wildfires as hot, windy conditions Friday threatened already fire-ravaged southeastern Australian communities. The danger was centered on New South Wales and Victoria, Australias most populous states, where temperatures and winds spiked after a few days of relatively benign conditions. Firefighters were working into the night to keep the fires from reaching communities as fierce winds whipped the blazes in multiple directions. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service had warned that coastal towns south of Sydney including Eden, Batemans Bay and Nowra could again be under threat weeks after losing homes to the fires. By Friday evening, the wildfires burning in that region were holding within containment lines, but winds could cause them to flare anew, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters. We know its going to be a long and difficult night, said New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian. In neighboring Victoria, evacuation orders were issued in alpine areas, and Premier Daniel Andrews pleaded with residents to heed alerts and avoid complacency even though no fresh destruction was being reported. Despite this unprecedented fire activity, we have nobody who is unaccounted for, we have no further people who have died, and we have no further communities who have been cut off, Andrews said. Now, all of those things can change and that is perhaps the most powerful reminder that we have to remain vigilant. The unprecedented fire crisis in southeastern Australia has claimed at least 26 lives, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the state of Maryland since September. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies. Fire crews throughout the region were bracing for a long, rocky night. In the southeastern New South Wales town of Candelo, Nathan Barnden, a divisional commander with the Rural Fire Service, was preparing to head to the nearby township of Burragate with his team to protect the community from a fire that was marching north. The fire had breached containment lines in one area, and officials were worried that predicted winds of up to 60 mph could push it into populated areas. Well be there to help defend them through the night, Barnden said. Weve been warned that we could be up there till the morning. There is a risk that well be cut off and well have to stay there throughout the time. Temperatures reached 104 degrees on Friday, and conditions remained tinder dry. The conservation group WWF-Australia estimates that 1.25 billion wild animals had died during the fires in addition to livestock losses, which the government expects will exceed 100,000 animals. Nick Perry is an Associated Press writer. Exxon Mobil led the way with new finds off the coasts of Guyana and Cyprus as global oil and gas discoveries in 2019 hit a four-year high, according to a new report. Energy companies discovered about 12.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2019 the highest since nearly 20 billion barrels in 2015 from more than 25 discoveries of at least 100 million barrels each and mostly from international drilling offshore, according to the Norwegian research firm Rystad Energy. And Rystad believes that new discoveries in 2020 will exceed the volumes found last year. Irving-based Exxon Mobil made four new discoveries off the coast of the small South American nation Guyana adding to its tally of 15 finds in the country and also made natural gas discoveries off of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. Exxon also is exploring off of Egypt in the region. Exxon Mobil started up its Guyana oil production in late December. "ExxonMobil can be declared explorer of the year for a second year in a row thanks to its ongoing efforts and results in Guyana, along with significant investments in Cyprus," said Palzor Shenga, a senior analyst at Rystad. "The supermajor was exceptional, both in terms of discovered volumes and value creation from exploration." RELATED: Exxon begins commercial production in Guyana as it makes another find Exxon's finds account for 9 percent of the global oil and gas discovered in 2019. London-based Tullow Oil also made new discoveries off of Guyana last year. However, the single-largest discovery of 2019 came from the British energy major BP off the coast of Mauritania in northwestern Africa. BP is expected to build another liquefied natural gas hub in the region. In Russia, Gazprom announced two discoveries in the Kara Sea Dinkov in the Rusanovsky block and Nyarmeyskoye in the Nyarmeysky block. Rystad Energy estimates that Gazproms 2019 discoveries hold combined recoverable resources of around 1.5 billion boe, with Dinkov ranked as the second-largest find in 2019 worldwide. Other key offshore discoveries in 2019 include the French energy major Totals find called Brulpadda in South Africa, the China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s Glengorm discovery in the United Kingdom's portion of the North Sea, and Norway-based Equinors Sputnik find in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. Washington, DC The United States House of Representatives on Thursday approved a nonbinding resolution aimed at reining in the presidents ability to attack Iran in the future without congressional approval. The resolution comes as criticism over US President Donald Trumps decision to order the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in Iraq intensifies. Congress was not consulted prior to the assassination, angering Democrats who fear Trumps actions could trigger a cycle of escalation leading to war. The Houses War Powers resolution directs Trump to terminate military operations against Iran except for self-defence and clarifies that the president presently does not have congressional authority to engage in war with Iran. A similar version is expected to be debated in the Senate. Thursdays House vote 224-194 fell along party lines and followed days of frustration by Democrats over Trump actions regarding Iran. Three Republicans and one Independent sided with the Democrats. Eight Democrats voted with Republicans against the resolution. Congress was not consulted prior to the assassination of Soleimani, angering many Democrats who fear Trumps actions could trigger a cycle of escalation leading to war. Trumps decision to order the drone attack on Soleimani was provocative and disproportionate, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. The lead sponsor of the House resolution was Democrat Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq and specialised in tracking Iranian-backed Shia militia groups. I have followed Irans destabilising activity in Iraq up close for my entire professional career, Slotkin said during floor debate. I have watched friends and colleagues hurt or killed by Iranian rockets, mortars and explosive devices, she added. If our loved ones are going to be sent to fight in any protracted war, the president owes the American public a conversation. Under the US Constitution, the authority to direct military action is divided between Congress and the president. Congress has the power to declare war while the president, as commander-in-chief, has the power to use the military to defend the US. The War Powers Act of 1973 provides that Congress may direct the president to withdraw US forces from hostilities by passing a resolution in both the House and Senate. Iran responded to Soleimanis assassination with missile attacks against Iraqi bases housing US troops. Trump said on Wednesday there were no US or Iraqi casualties. He welcomed an apparent pause in hostilities, but announced new economic sanctions on Iran. US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi answers questions during a news conference at the US Capitol [Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP] Justifying Soleimanis killing, the Trump administration said the leader of Irans elite Quds Force was planning an imminent attack on US forces in Iraq. In targeting Soleimani, this president took bold and decisive action that was long overdue and he ought to be supported, said Representative Steve Chabot, a Republican. Republicans attacked Democrats during the debate for showing a lack of patriotism in failing to support the Trump for killing Soleimani who is believed to have orchestrated attacks that killed or wounded an estimated 600 US troops during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know most in here havent seen or smelled or touched that kind of death, but let me tell you about it, said Representative Brian Mast, who lost both legs as a Special Forces bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan. They were burned alive inside of the Humvees. Their lungs were scorched by the flames of the explosions. Vehicle fragments were blown into their skulls, said Mast, who walks with prosthetic legs and was elected to Congress in 2016. Democrats countered that it is for those same risks to some 60,000 US troops now deployed in the Middle East and North Africa, Congress must provide a check on Trumps actions to prevent an escalation with Iran. If we are going to put our troops in harms way, we had better have a strategy. Unfortunately, we dont have a strategy, said Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat and former Air Force officer. Soleimani was a malign actor who masterminded the killing of US soldiers but assassinating him has unleashed the dogs of war, Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly said in floor remarks. We must be prepared for further Iranian retaliation, Connolly said. Congress must reassert its solemn constitutional duty to decide when and where the United States goes to war. Uphill battle in Senate In a parliamentary twist to be worked out with Senate, the War Powers resolution passed by the House would not require the presidents signature. The Senate is poised to debate a similar but slightly different measure that would need the presidents signature to take effect. Two Senate Republicans, Rand Paul and Mike Lee, have signalled they will join Democrats in rebuking the president on Iran. Paul and Lee railed against Trump and his team after administration officials gave a limited briefing to senators on Wednesday. It was probably the worst briefing Ive seen on a military issue in the nine years Ive been in the United States Senate, Lee told reporters. Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul depart via the Senate Subway following a classified national security briefing of the US Senate on developments with Iran [Tom Brenner/Reuters] But the effect of the congressional votes on any War Powers resolution will be largely symbolic and political, said Lawrence Korb, a national security analyst at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. So long as Trump retains the support of most of the 53 Republicans in the Senate, Trump can veto the measure without risk overridden. Without a whole defection of Republicans in support of limiting the presidents war powers, decisions to escalate against Iran will rest with the president and his advisers, Korb told Al Jazeera. This is the second time in Trumps presidency Congress has voted against deepening US military engagement in the Middle East. Last year, Congress rebuked Trumps authorisation of US military support for Saudi-UAE campaign in Yemen, including aerial refuelling of combat aircraft and supplies of precision munitions that were used to kill civilians. In April 2019, the House approved a War Powers resolution on a 247-175 vote that would have blocked US military engagement in Yemen. The Senate voted 54-46 to approve the measure. It was the first time in 47 years that Congress had invoked its constitutional authority to try to stop US involvement in a foreign conflict. Trump vetoed the Yemen bill and Congress did not rally two-thirds majorities needed to override the president. Stock Market News Crude Oil - Belarus halts own oil exports to Germany, Russian oil transit unaffected: sources 10-01-2020 03:19 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Seoul, Jan 10 : South Korea and the US will hold a new round of talks in Washington next week on sharing the cost for stationing American troops here amid expectations the two sides were closer to a deal, the Foreign Minister said on Friday. Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's chief negotiator for the talks, is set to meet his US counterpart, James DeHart, for the two-day talks starting on January 14, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Ministry as saying. The planned negotiations come as the two allies were under pressure to clinch a fresh deal on determining how much Seoul should pay for keeping some 28,500 U. soldiers on its soil. Last year's cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), expired on December 31, 2019. A Seoul official has told Yonhap that the allies are at "a crossroads" of a possible deadlock or major compromise. The allies have held five rounds of talks since launching the negotiations in September last year. They remain far apart on key sticking points, such as the amount of Seoul's contribution and what should be included in the SMA. South Korea paid around US$870 million under last year's SMA, an 8.2 per cent increase from the previous deal. Since 1991, Seoul has shouldered partial costs under the SMA -- for Korean civilians hired by the US Forces Korea, the construction of military facilities to maintain the allies' readiness and other forms of support. New Age Meats, a Berkeley, Calif.-based cultivated meat company, closed a $2.7m seed funding round. The round was led by ff Venture Capital, with participation from Agronomics Ltd, Sand Hill Angels, Supernode Ventures, Hemisphere Ventures, Kairos Ventures and SOSV. The company intends to use the funds to grow the team, invest in automation equipment, and iterate its cultivators. Founded in 2018 by Brian Spears, CEO, New Age Meats aims to develop technology to make meat from animal cells instead of animal slaughter by using automation and data science in stem cell research and bioreactor optimization. It is a graduate of IndieBios accelerator program. FinSMEs 10/01/2020 AMMAN, Jordan Just one year ago, King Abdullah II met Iraqi President Barham Salih, marking the first royal Jordanian trip to Iraq in more than a decade. On the agenda were plans to include Jordan in the economic benefits of Iraq's post-Islamic State (IS) future, including the building of a 1,700-kilometer (1,056-mile) pipeline linking the oil-rich Basra governorate to Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba. Technocrats accompanying Abdullah brought blueprints for a plan for Iraq to import around 300 megawatts of electricity from Jordan to help Baghdad ease its chronic power shortages. The sudden advance of IS toward Baghdad in 2014 with fighting continuing until the liberation of Mosul three years later had kept the Karama-Trebil border closed for two full years. But with the border's reopening in August 2017, trade volume began ticking up, increasing by 27% in 2018. Now, the assassination of iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and his deputy in Baghdad, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, leader of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah, adds to the already intense strategic pressure on Jordan. The kingdom is still coping with the ongoing war in Syria and new tension with Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moves toward annexing the West Bank borderlands of the Jordan Valley. Jordan has a significant American presence civilian and military and it needs to upgrade the level of threat and readiness to react to it. That is because American presence in Jordan could be a potential target for Iranian retribution, said Barik Mhadeen, a senior researcher at the West Asia-North Africa Institute, an Amman-based policy think tank. US Embassy staff in Baghdad which until last weekend hosted the largest US diplomatic presence in the Middle East was evacuated to Jordan after the Jan. 3 drone strike that killed Soleimani. Al-Tanf US military base within 24 kilometers (14 miles) of the Jordan-Syria border served as a refueling stop for some 20 C-17A Globemasters deployed to Iraq over the weekend. Depending on where Iran will be retaliating, Jordan is now facing the urgency of developing scenarios to contain possible spillovers from Tehran's retribution, and those possibilities extend to its proxies in neighboring Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, Mhadeen told Al-Monitor. On Jan. 8, Americans in Amman woke to an electronic alert advising US government personnel to avoid nonessential movements, including keeping children home from school. In the wake of Soleimani's assassination, increased tensions between Hezbollah and Israel only serve to put Jordan even more on edge. It transformed him (Soleimani) in the hearts and minds of many from a war criminal to an anti-imperialist who fell prey to fighting against the US. His assassination will be utilized to strengthen the victimhood narrative of Iranian proxies like Hezbollah, Mhadeen added. Omar al-Raddad, a retired officer from Jordan's General Intelligence Directorate, agrees that the threat is real. Jordan is one of the most active players with the US in counterterrorism efforts, said Raddad, adding, It was proven on many occasions that Jordan is susceptible to being targeted by the IRGC and their Quds force." The Jordanian intelligence officer shares a common assessment here that Soleimani was the real governor of Iraq who schemed to undermine the participation of the 200,000 strong Iraqi immigrant community in Amman as well as Jordanian firms in Baghdad's reconstruction efforts. But the key thing is that our government preempted many planned Iranian operations that Tehran hoped to stage on our soil targeting Jordanian national security, Raddad revealed to Al-Monitor. Despite the continued threats from Iraq, he believes that Soleimanis absence from the theater will weaken the Iranian role in nearby Syria. The outcomes of the Iranian-Russian conflict inside the formal Syrian institutions will be in favor of Russia, said Raddad, as Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks Jan. 7 with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian army commanders briefed both leaders at a Damascus command center. Even before the death of Soleimani, there was a decrease in the Iranian role in Syria. Now, it's more likely that the Iranian role and presence in Syria will decline, added Raddad. Russia has long been at pains to reduce Israeli airstrikes on the IRGC, Hezbollah and Shiite Iraqi targets inside Syria, and a series of Israeli attacks on IRGC positions this past autumn has been said even to unnerve the Americans. It is possible that the assassination of Soleimani held a message to the US allies in the region that they can't confront Iran without the American support, observed Raddad. Jordan worries that it remains in Tehran's sights after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech Jan. 8, "The corrupt presence of the US in this region should come to an end." The Iranian-controlled militias always constituted a serious challenge for Jordanian security, especially when Soleimani directed its 76 militia that works through 10 political parties to pressure Jordan inside the Iraqi parliament and in the Iraqi government, said Nabil al-Otoom, an independent Iran analyst in Amman. It's well-known that the Iraqi government was encouraged by the Iranians not to activate understandings between the two countries, especially the economic agreements, Otoom added. Laith Fakhri Ajlouni contributed to this report. WASHINGTON Speaker Nancy Pelosi alerted lawmakers on Friday that she would move next week to send to the Senate articles of impeachment against President Trump, making a long-awaited announcement that paved the way for the third presidential impeachment trial in American history. The speakers statement effectively ended an impasse over the impeachment process that had left the presidents Senate trial in limbo for weeks. She did not announce which Democrats would manage the case, but said the House should be ready to appoint them next week and to formally deliver to the Senate charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate, Ms. Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues. I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further. Throughout the delay, the speaker had insisted that she was merely pushing for a fairer Senate proceeding after Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, promised publicly to collaborate with Mr. Trumps legal team to secure a quick acquittal. Democrats claimed the maneuver successfully spotlighted the need for the Senate to hear from witnesses and see documents that Mr. Trump barred from the House impeachment inquiry. Mrs. B came into the emergency room one night, years ago, with some stress related issue. After taking her history, I began to suspect there was something else bothering her. As I was beginning her physical exam she blurted out, I know there is a breast mass but youre not going to send me to any breast cancer doctor! She had already decided to avoid standard treatment and her next comment explained why, My aunt suffered because of awful unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy, she said. I sensed there was no changing her mind and that meant trouble for my patient. The story evol... President Trump, with his order to assassinate Irans Major General Qassem Suleiman and his announcement that he has identified 52 targets to attack, may have made every one of his Trump Organization properties, employees and family members targets for Iranian revenge. Opinion By James DiGeorgia Comedian George Lopez is in hot water for joking on Instagram after hearing that Iran could put a US$80 million bounty on President Donald Trump's head Well do it for half. The suggestion of a US$80 million suggested bounty was made by one of the eulogists at the massive march that was broadcast live on Iran's state-owned Channel One television network in the city of Mashhad. The unidentified mourner said "We are 80 million Iranians. If each one of us puts aside one American dollar, we will have 80 million American dollars, and we will reward anyone who brings us [Trump]'s head with that amount." There is no indication the bounty has been endorsed by the Iranian government or Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Yet, I am left wondering why no one is expressing worry that the 500 Trump Organization properties, its employees, and his family members could possibly become targets for Iranian revenge. The Trump organization is a group of 500 business entities of which Donald Trump is the sole, principal owner or licensed partner. Some 250 of these business entities use the Trump name. How does anyone protect 250-500 properties from determined terrorists? How does he, as a business, protect the thousands of employees and innocent customers at his properties? One thing President Trump should consider as a result of his decision to assassinate Irans Major General Qassem Suleiman is his financial exposure to a nightmarish loss should one or more of his country clubs, hotels and buildings are suddenly targeted by Iran military forces or terrorists backed Iran. His chances of recovering any financial suffered depend on whether his businesses have paid the extra premiums to cover terrorism insurance to the Trump Organizations insurance carriers. Theres also one caveat when buying terrorism insurance that may affect the Presidents businesses. If your property is destroyed in the response of your waging war, your insurance carriers may refuse to pay out on the policy or try to pay less than the policy. They could give the reason that you are making your business or businesses a target as the reason and probably succeed. When the World Trade Center was brought down on 9/11 the owner of the building, Larry Silverstein, declared his intent to rebuild, though he and his insurers became embroiled in a multi-year dispute over whether the attacks had constituted one event or two under the terms of the insurance policy, which provided for a maximum of $3.55 billion coverage per event. Silverstein apparently had bought terrorism insurance after the 1993 bombing set off in one of the Twin Towers garages. In 2007 a settlement was reached. Silversteins insurers agreed to pay out $4.55 billion, considerably less than Silverstein had sought. Silverstein also ran into multiple disputes with other parties in the rebuilding effort, including with the New York Port Authority. In an agreement reached in April 2006, Silverstein retained rights to build three office towers (150 Greenwich Street, 175 Greenwich Street, and 200 Greenwich Street), while One World Trade Center (previously referred to as the "Freedom Tower") would be owned by the Port Authority, as would Tower Five, which it would have the option of leasing the Twin Towers land to a different private developer, and having it redesigned as a residential building. So, it took New York State and Federal intervention to take over the property and further compensation to Silverstein to facilitate the building of the Freedom Tower as state-owned property. Based on the 9/11 event, if Trumps properties and businesses were targeted, the Trump Organization would likely have to look for financial relief from Congress, state legislatures and perhaps foreign governments to recover any losses as a result of an Iranian backed terrorist attack because insurers might claim the president himself had provoked them. The odds of Democrats voting for relief funds to cover any losses Trump sustains as the result of one or more terrorist attacks at this point may be zero. No news media is bringing this up. Theyre focused on attacks by Iran via its proxies on U.S. military and diplomatic assets in the Middle-East or a massive rocket attack by Hezbollah on Israel. They could be missing an obvious way for Iran to retaliate that would primarily target the president. We believe there is the chance that the Iranians and surrogates will attack the Trump Organization properties and businesses around the world to punish President Trump and his administration. Iran already asserts that Trumps decision to assassinate was an act of war. If Trumps insurance companies think the same, Trump would suffer enormous personal losses, as would anyone on those properties. No other U.S. President has ever put himself, his businesses, employees and customers in such a dangerous position. Wall Street Rebel and I hope this will never happen but we are concerned that Iran may decide to make their response very personal for President Trump. The legal chief of Google's parent company Alphabet is stepping down following allegations of inappropriate relationships with employees. David Drummond, who joined Google in 2002, said in company-wide email that he was planning to leave at the end of the month. Alphabet did not give a reason for Drummond's departure in a short regulatory filing on Friday. It comes on the heels of an investigation into his 'relationships with several women at the company' including one that resulted in him fathering a child. David Drummond the legal chief of Google's parent company Alphabet, is leaving his position following accusations of inappropriate relationships with female employees Last August, a former Google employee, Jennifer Blakely, published a report of her relationship with Drummond. In the post, written on Medium, she claimed that Drummond abandoned her and their child. Jennifer Blakely, a former Google employee, said Drummond fathered a child with her and later abandoned them Drummond acknowledged the extramarital affair with Blakely but, in a statement at the time, he said he 'never started' a relationship with anyone else at Alphabet. The company said Drummond is not getting an exit package as part of his departure. His compensation package for 2018 was worth $47 million, making him one of the company's highest-paid employees, according to regulatory filings. In a memo sent to employees, Drummond said that with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin 'now leaving their executive roles at Alphabet, the company is entering an exciting new phase, and I believe that its also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders.' He did not mention the misconduct allegations. Drummond acknowledged the extramarital affair with Blakely but, in a statement at the time, he said he 'never started' a relationship with anyone else at Alphabet Drummond said Page and Brin asked for his help more than 20 years ago when what became Google and Alphabet was just an unincorporated startup. He joined Google full time in 2002 and was named chief legal officer in 2006. Drummond's departure comes as Alphabet, like other big tech companies, faces regulatory pressures around the world. Last March, Europe's antitrust regulators ordered it to pay 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for freezing out rivals in the online advertising business. It also faces antitrust probes in the US as lawmakers question its power and dominance. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 18:00:58|Editor: zh Video Player Close MANILA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines said on Friday that it remained vigilant even with the lowering of tensions in the Middle East, home to approximately 2.1 million Filipino workers. Philippine Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Philippines would continue to closely monitor the situation in the region to ensure the safety of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). He added that while news of lowered tensions in Iran was welcome news, the Philippine government was still ready to mobilize the resources needed to evacuate OFWs if deemed necessary. "We pray for the best and prepare for the worst. When it comes to the lives of our OFWs abroad, we have to remain vigilant to ensure that we are ready to take them out of harm's way if necessary," Nograles said. According to Nograles, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte "made it clear that our priority is to save our OFWs from the hell of war by temporarily relocating them to a safe haven before bringing them home." This, Nograles said, explains why Duterte sent the country's Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to Qatar to oversee repatriation efforts while Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has been tasked to oversee the actual evacuation. "There are 2.1 million OFWs in the Middle East. They are, as of now, exposed to different levels of danger, which is why despite the easing of tensions in the region, a mandatory evacuation will still be implemented for OFWs in Iraq," he said. The Philippines has imposed a mandatory evacuation for the Filipinos in Iraq, some of whom are working in the U.S. military bases there. Aside from saving the lives of OFWs, Nograles further said the government is also confident that it could find alternative livelihoods for displaced OFWs. He cited the statement of Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello that one option is to find work in other areas like Japan, Canada, Russia, Germany and China for the displaced OFWs. "If, however, they need to come home, jobs may be available in the booming local construction sector, which Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a recent forum is projected to generate as many as 300,000 jobs annually," Nograles said. Nograles added that Lopez had admitted that there was a growing demand for skilled construction workers in the construction industry, as local companies faced stiff competition from employers abroad. The Commerce and Industry Ministry has examined revamping of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy to meet the global challenges being faced by Indian exporters, an official statement said on Friday. It has also discussed ways for implementation of the remaining recommendations of Baba Kalyani report on SEZ to facilitate ease of doing business in the present global market scenario, the ministry said in a statement. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired a meeting here on Thursday to review these issues. The statement said the recommendations which have been completed include review of specific exclusions proposed in NFE (net foreign exchange) computation in light of 'Make in India' initiative, sharing of duty exempted assets/infrastructure between units to be allowed against specific approval, and formalisation of de-notification process for enclaves. The committee was constituted by the ministry to study the existing SEZ policy and had submitted its recommendations in November 2018. "If India is on the path to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025 then the present environment of manufacturing competitiveness and services have to undergo a basic paradigm shift," the statement said. New Delhi: Bollywood's number one actress Deepika Padukone visited the famous Siddhivinayak Temple on Friday as her latest release 'Chhapaak' hit the screen today (January 10, 2020). The actress prayed to Lord Ganpati and the paparazzi managed to click a few photos as she headed to the temple premises. Deepika is an ardent Bappa follower and often seen visiting the Siddhivinayak Temple on most of her important occasions, be it personal or professional. Check out her photos: (Pic Courtesy: Yogen Shah) The actress happily posed for the shutterbugs outside the famous Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. She looked ravishing in a beige kurta and straight pants, paired with a similarly toned dupatta. 'Chhapaak' is written by Atika Chohan and Meghna Gulzar. Meghna Gulzar's directorial is based on the real-life incident of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Deepika not only plays the titular role of Malti in 'Chhapaak' but has also turned producer with this project. Vikrant Massey plays an activist named Amol in the movie who helps Malti in her fight against the open sale of acid in shops. The film has opened in theatres today (January 10, 2020). The film has been made tax-free in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Russian Cabinet of Ministers proposes unified register of travel agents RAPSI 12:12 10/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI) Russian government has submitted a bill on creation of a unified register of travel agents to the State Duma. According to the document published on the database of the lower house of parliament, amendments to the Law Concerning the Fundamental Principles of Tourist Activities in the Russian Federation are aimed at improvement of protection of interests of tourist service consumers, creation of transparent and controlled tourist market. The register is expected to include information on travel agents and their subagents if tourist merchandising through subagents is stipulated by a contract signed by a tour operator and a travel agent. The register is proposed to be introduced starting January 1, 2022. A Cambodian rights group is calling for an investigation into the death of a jailed land-rights protester, saying that witness accounts of events leading to the mans death contradict official denials of abuse by police. Tuy Sros, a resident of the Ou Chrov district of Banteay Meanchey province, died in police custody on Jan. 1 after being held from Dec. 28 to Dec. 31 following a land-rights protest in which five other villagers were also detained. Statements by provincial authorities and Cambodias National Military Police said that the protester, described in an official statement as an alcoholic, had died of an unspecified illness. Speaking to RFAs Khmer Service, Seoung Sen Karonaa spokesman for the Cambodian rights group Adhocsaid however that Tuy Sros body bore multiple bruises when it was released for burial. Witnesses said that military police had assaulted Tuy Sros again and again until he died, Seoung Sen Karona said. We will continue to monitor this case, and we call on the authorities to investigate it thoroughly. Released on Jan. 3, detained protester An Ruon said that he too had been beaten by police while in custody and was a witness to the repeated assaults on Tuy Sros, who had been handcuffed and kicked in the ribs until he screamed for mercy. He was also choked, and they covered his mouth to stop his screams, he said. He screamed all through the night, and they finally took him to another place, but they kept beating him until he lost his memory, he said. Angered by screams Also speaking to RFA, Him Kirianother detainee who was later releasedsaid that police had been angered by Tuy Sros continued screams, which they said were disturbing other detainees in the jail. Finally, police ordered drug addicts held in the cells to beat Tuy Sros themselves, he said. I saw a military policeman order the assault, he said, adding, He told them to beat him to death. I begged them not to hurt him, but no one listened. It was very brutal. They treated us as if we were thieves or rapists or other [common] criminals. Reached for comment, provincial Penal Department Deputy Director Men Phyrum refused to discuss the incident, referring questions to the National Military Police. Police deny reports Military Police spokesperson Eng Hy meanwhile denied reports that police had abused Tuy Sros. If there are any witnesses to abuse, have them file a complaint with the court, and we will work on this according to the law, he said. In a statement, Banteay Meanchey Provincial Headquarters said that Tuy Sros was an alcoholic and was sick, and that police had sent him to the provincial hospital, where doctors could not revive him. Provincial Prison Director Ung Siphan meanwhile said that Tuy Sros had died of an illness. Speaking to RFA, Tuy Sros wife Buy Kimlak said that provincial authorities have given her family 10 million riel (U.S. $2,455) for funeral expenses and have promised to support her children through school. I am very sad at losing my husband, but I cannot accuse [the police] because I wasnt with him, and I didnt see what happened, she said. Youth throws rocks In a separate case, police in the Daun Penh district of Cambodias capital Phnom Penh took Rum Piseth, a young man described as mentally ill, into custody this week after he threw rocks at the residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Speaking to RFA on Jan. 10, Rum Piseths mother Heang Teang said that police had brought her son to court Friday evening and had then taken him away to an unknown location. Please forgive him, he is mentally ill, Heang Teang said, addressing Hun Sen in her remarks and adding, If you can also provide treatment for him, I would be very grateful. Daun Penh district police chief Teang Chansa was unavailable for comment on Friday, but Seoung Sen Karona said that Cambodian law prohibits the prosecution of mentally ill suspects, and that Rum Piseth should be released. If he is mentally ill, and police continue to proceed with this case, this will be very unjust for his family, he said. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun and Pheap Aun. Written in English by Richard Finney. 10.01.2020 LISTEN Ghana seems to be making great efforts to meet catch up it most of its agendas for 2020. In the past these things are left massively for the Government to ensure it happens. However, in recent times, seems all hands are on deck to ensure that we get to the end of the road together. I must admit that people have come up with very innovative ways to get every stakeholder involved in the accomplishment of these targets. The current one buzzing every corner of the country is the upcoming event dubbed A Table. You know what they say about food: Food brings people together. Trust me good food gives great vision. This event has been put together by Dotconnect Enterprise in collaboration with Zonta International. One would wonder why Zonta International amongst all others. The reason is that the mission of this NGO is line in with what the organizers of this event are trying to accomplish. They are known to work with women and girls in our communities. The funds that will be raised at this event will enable Zonta International to reach a greater radius than that which they are covering at the moment. In view of this the organisers of this programme have chosen the UN Sustainable Development Goal No.5: Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. They do say if you educate a girl you educate a nation. Hence the organisers of this event have thought it wise to use education of girl child to empower the girls in Ghana and in the long run the women. The aim of this is to curb early child marriages around the country through education. This event is the first of its kind to be held in the country. It is long overdue, but it is here now and we are excited. One might say isnt it like the usual dinners and fundraisers organised day in day out? I dare to differ. Those ones are close to what this is. This is a social event with a purpose. One that is not about only the people in the room alone or only the lives they are there to touch. This is about both the people gathered and the lives they are gathered to touch through networking. Its the merging of business and social minds of people to achieve the goal ahead, which is raising fund to be used for the empowerment of the girl child. Things have been put in place to ensure that people do not feel like they are being brought together just for their pockets but also they get to have tasty meals by one of the biggest chef in the world right at their door step. Who are we talking about here, Im talking about Chef Oliver Garrivier. For those of you wondering who he is, ask no further. Chef Oliver Garrivier is one of the top Chefs from France and he knows what hes about. I can boldly say this because he has been doing this for the past 23years of his life. His meals are said to be an exhibition of the world at one sitting. He infuses Asian and African flavours into all his meals. This gives you something to look forward to. The Christmas season is still here I guess. The programme is due to take place on the 11th January, 2019 at Golden Tulip. The cost to be a part of this elegant event is a cool GHC230 single, GHC450 couple, and GHC2000 for a table. I think it is too good to be true as should you work the math for what you will be fed, the company you are going to be with, this is not an event to miss. We all say we want change but sit down waiting for change. These are a few ways through which we could all effect the change we wish to see in our country Ghana. We are bonding with a purpose. Throwing a helping hand to the needy, meeting with likeminded people while contributing immensely to the development of our country Ghana. Now thats a good way to uphold the good name of Ghana. BEIRUT - The Islamic State group gloated over the recent U.S. killing of a senior Iranian general, who rose to prominence by advising forces fighting the extremists. In the first IS comments since Gen. Qassem Soleimanis slaying, the group said his death pleased the hearts of believers. The editorial was released in the groups al-Nabaa online newspaper late Thursday. Although the U.S. and Iran strictly avoided working together directly, they were once on the same side in the fight against IS. Neither side wants to see the extremists stage a comeback. But as the various players in Iraq jockey to come out ahead in a post-Soleimani landscape, Islamic State militants may find an opening. Thousands of fighters are scattered among the groups sleeper cells, and have claimed attacks in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria in recent months. As the head of Irans elite Quds Force, Soleimani was one of the main commanders on the ground spearheading the fight against IS. He sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to Iraq and Syria to battle the extremists, and directed Iraqi Shiite militias as well. A top Iraqi militia commander was killed alongside Soleimani in last weeks U.S. drone strike. The IS editorial said that its members tried for years to kill the two commanders, but that God brought their end at the hands of their allies. It said both men have gone too far in shedding the blood of Muslims in Iraq and Syria. Iraqs caretaker prime minister has now asked Washington to start working out a road map for withdrawing the more than 5,000 American troops in Iraq, in response to Soleimanis killing. But the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request. Iraqis have felt furious and helpless at being caught in the middle of fighting between Baghdads two closest allies. Mumbai, Jan 10 : Ahead of a possible ODI debut in India where Australia are scheduled to play three matches, Marnus Labuschagne is setting his sights higher and is looking up to the guys like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to become a multi-format player. "You look at the guys I look up to and aspire to -- Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root. They've been doing it for a very long time, five, six years they've been consistent, not just in one format, but two or more formats," Labuschagne told ESPNcricinfo. "So for me personally there's a lot to learn and a lot to grow because I've had some success this summer but the real challenge for me is to be more consistent going on and being able to keep putting continued performances on the board." The 25-year-old rocketed up to third in the ICC Test batting rankings on the back of an Australian record 896 runs across five Test matches at home this summer. "If I can continue to do that, then that's obviously going to be the challenge for me, and getting an opportunity in this one-day series is an opportunity for me to show a slightly different part of my game that we haven't seen this summer, but that's a really exciting challenge too." The right-handed batsman also realises there will be huge challenge for him playing on Indian soil. "A big part of playing in India is how you play spin, so for me being nice and clear with my plans about how I play spin and then just trusting the processes I have," Labuschagne said. "Batting in the middle order it's about running really hard between wickets and trying to get those runs through the middle, then when you get the opportunity towards the back end to open the shoulders a bit," he added. The three ODIs will be played on January 14, 17 and 19 in Mumbai, Rajkot and Bengaluru. TORONTO and KALKASKA, MI, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - GFL Environmental Inc. ("GFL") and American Waste announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition by GFL of American Waste's solid and liquid waste businesses in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in February 2020. Founded in 1971 as Northern A -1 by their father, Edward Ascione Sr., Michael and Edward Ascione have since grown American Waste and Northern A-1 to be a leading vertically integrated provider of environmental solutions for a broad base of solid and liquid waste customers. Michael and Edward Ascione will be joining GFL and will continue to manage the American Waste businesses. Patrick Dovigi, GFL's Founder and CEO said: "The strong family and entrepreneurial values that have been the key to American Waste's success align with GFL's core values and strategy. American Waste and Northern A-1 have a committed, passionate employee base that bring the same level of commitment to service excellence for our customers as do GFL's employees. We are confident that this common commitment will make the integration of our service offerings seamless and allow us to continue to grow, to serve our customers and to provide opportunities for our employees. We are excited to have Mike and Eddie and all of the employees of American Waste and Northern A-1 join the GFL team." Eddie Ascione said: "Mike and I carefully chose to merge with GFL because of our similar lines of business, GFL's down to earth senior management team and decentralized operations approach. We are confident that the strategic fit with GFL represents a great opportunity for our company and our employees to accelerate to the next chapter of growth while maintaining the values we share with GFL reflecting our commitment to our employees, safety and our customers. We believe American and Northern A-1's expertise in serving both our solid and liquid waste customers is a great fit with GFL's focus on delivering comprehensive environmental solutions. Mike and I are excited to be able to continue to lead American Waste and Northern A-1 into the future with GFL." About GFL Environmental Inc. GFL, headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, is the fourth largest diversified environmental services company in North America, providing a comprehensive line of non-hazardous solid waste management, infrastructure & soil remediation and liquid waste management services through its platform of facilities across Canada and in 23 states in the United States. Across its organization, GFL has a workforce of more than 11,000 employees and provides its broad range of environmental services to more than 135,000 commercial and industrial customers and its solid waste collection services to more than 4 million households. Forward-Looking Information This release may contain forward-looking information including but not limited to the proposed acquisition, integration and strategic fit of American Waste with GFL's existing operations, the benefits of the acquisition, including future growth and GFL's performance and service offerings following completion of the acquisition. Such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analysis made by GFL in light of its experience and perception of current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results, performance or achievements will conform to GFL's expectations and predictions is subject to market conditions and a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from GFL's expectations. GFL undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws. SOURCE GFL Environmental Inc. Related Links http://www.gflenv.com ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. today announced that it has acquired a 60% interest in Caribbean insurance broker Risk Management Services Limited (RMS). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Formed in 1978 and located in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, RMS is one of that country's top three brokers. It offers property/casualty and employee benefits products and services to a wide range of private, public and multinational entities in the manufacturing, oil and energy, and service industries. Christian Low and his team will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Matthew Pragnell, Group CEO of Gallagher in the Caribbean. "Our Caribbean brokerage operations have worked on regional accounts with RMS since the mid-'90s," said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "We have been very impressed with their integrity, knowledge of the business and high-quality service, and we are delighted to further solidify that partnership." Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company has operations in 49 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. Investors: Ray Iardella Media: Linda J. Collins VP Investor Relations VP Corporate Communications 630-285-3661/ [email protected] 630-285-4009/ [email protected] SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. This is a Terrence Malick film, so you know there will be handheld tracking shots in which we're just a step or two behind the characters, and we feel like invisible specters visiting their lives. You can count on breathtakingly spectacular "magic hour" shots of heaven on Earth. And yes, there will be moments when you might feel restless and impatient at the sheer overpowering deliberateness of it all. "A Hidden Life" is one of the most metaphysical films ever set against the backdrop of World War II. It is the story of a man so committed to his beliefs, he is willing to risk his life and leave his wife without a husband, his children without a father all because he won't sign his name to a piece of paper. You admire this man and his devotion. You're enraged by this man because nobody in the world will know or care about his sacrifice, and it won't make any difference at all in the grand scheme of things, and perhaps even God doesn't care about his grand moral stance. Malick ("Days of Heaven," "Tree of Life") sets his palette down in a small, idyllic Alpine village in the Austria of the early 1940s, and focuses his sights on a story based on actual events. Franz Jagerstatter (August Diehl) is an unassuming, hardworking farmer in a perpetual honeymoon stage with his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner). As Franz and Fani till the land, tend to their farm animals and work the soil with their hands, they are constantly teasing one another, gazing into each other's eyes, getting lost in the moment. (Diehl and Pachner are gloriously good together.) It's a tough life, but it's a good life. Franz and Fani are literally living above the clouds, and almost out of reach of the real world. But not quite. Hitler's evil reach eventually extends to Franz's village, where one by one, the local young men are conscripted into the Nazi army. When Franz is called up, he refuses to sign a loyalty oath to Hitler, and he is thrown into a military prison. He's eventually sentenced to hang. As an attorney explains to Franz, he doesn't have to fight. He could work in a hospital. It's just a piece of paper. Sign it and keep your true thoughts in your head. For hours, "A Hidden Life" basically tells just that one story, with Franz steadfastly refusing to compromise his beliefs, while Fani and the children suffer at home -- shunned by the villagers, struggling to keep the farm going, devastated by the increasingly strong possibility that Franz is never coming home. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI beatified the real Franz. (In the Catholic faith, this is just slightly less monumental than being canonized as a saint.) As "A Hidden Life" makes abundantly clear, Franz indeed had an almost Christlike devotion to his beliefs. And yet we're left wondering if it was a terrible sin of another kind for him to allow his wife and children to suffer his loss over that damn piece of paper. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East VANCOUVERA deadly plane crash halfway across the world. Scores of Canadians dead. The realization it was no simple accident or mechanical failure. For Rajiv Kalsi, this weeks headlines about the Iran plane crash, which claimed the lives of 176 people, including 138 passengers who had been headed onward to Canada, have brought the old emotions flooding back. Rajivs sister, Indira, was 21 when she boarded the Air India flight in June 1985. Sikh extremists had planted a bomb on the plane, causing it to disintegrate over the Atlantic Ocean. Everyone on board was killed, including 268 Canadians. It remains the deadliest aviation disaster in Canadian history. Kalsi remembers dropping his sister off at Torontos Pearson International Airport. The next day, a friend called him to say Indiras plane had crashed. We were just dealing with the shock; it was surreal, said Kalsi, who was 19 at the time. You drop somebody off at the airport, and you never see them again. The announcement Thursday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others that the plane in Iran had likely been shot out of the sky by a missile added, for Kalsi, another visceral parallel to the Air India bombing. Its sad that all these lives were lost or sacrificed for whatever political reason, Kalsi said. And its the same thing it doesnt stop. The Iran crash has sent waves of shock and horror through the Iranian Canadian community, and the tragedy has garnered instant media and government attention on a national scale something that did not happen after the 1985 Air India bombing. With the general public, it wasnt taken as a real Canadian issue, it was somebody elses. I felt that, said Kalsi, who was a student at Humber College at the time. People would write things in the bathrooms. Someone wrote Their lives were not worth caring about. Former B.C. premier and MP Ujjal Dosanjh recalled the lack of reaction from mainstream Canadian society in 1985. In Air India, the people who died were mostly Canadian, the terrorists were Canadian, but the tragedy was treated despicably differently, both by government and the population at large. Dosanjh is in touch with many of the families affected by the Air India bombing and has been intimately involved in the debate within the Indo-Canadian community about Sikh extremism. The families felt abandoned, he said. Chandrima Chakraborty, a professor of English and cultural studies at McMaster University, has interviewed dozens of families who lost a loved one in the Air India bombing and has combed through news articles of the 1985 event. Over and over again, she said, shes seen the bombing referred to as a foreign tragedy. Chakraborty published an anthology called Remembering Air India: The Art of Public Mourning in 2017 and is now creating an Air India Flight 182 archive that will be publicly accessible. Mass killings often provoke uncomfortable questions, she said. On Thursday morning, front pages across the country clearly proclaimed the plane crash near Tehran a Canadian tragedy. It brings up questions of what Canadian means. And in 1985, I think it meant a very particular kind of Canadian, Chakraborty said. I think things have changed and, its terrible to say, but you can see a broadening of grief which was not the case with the Air India tragedy. The collective outpouring of grief across the country, expressed through news coverage and social media posts, show that more Canadians today see the plane crash as a loss for the whole nation, not just a particular community, said Chakraborty. Its a much different feeling, this time around, agreed Kalsi. His sister had been studying to be a nurse when she died in 1985. To honour her memory, he felt compelled to seek a career in which he helps people. Today, he works at a rehabilitative centre in Ottawa with people who are physically challenged. But Rajiv said his father never forgot that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sent condolences to the Indian Prime Minister after the Air India bombing even though the majority of passengers on board were Canadian. Rajiv said he hopes todays federal government offers support to the families grieving the loss of loved ones in the Iranian plane crash the kind of support families of the Air India tragedy didnt received. A memorial for the Air India bombing victims was built in Ireland in 1986. Kalsis parents went to visit the memorial every year for about 20 years, he said. That was the only tangible thing they had. Wanyee Li is a reporter with the Toronto Star based in Vancouver. You can follow her at @wanyeelii Read more about: While the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi is playing an important role in bringing in the key components of development, the feedback received from the public in the town halls conducted by Kejriwal is a major contributor in the making of the manifesto. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) manifesto for the upcoming Assembly election in Delhi will focus on components that will accelerate the process of achieving the partys larger goal of making Delhi a world-class city in the next five years. Unlike long and detailed traditional manifestos with a host of promises made to the voters by the political parties, AAPs manifesto will be a short and crisp document, with a futuristic vision. The document, which is in its final stage of preparation, aims at significantly improving the lives of people in the National Capital. The aim of the government is to bring a significant improvement in peoples life by introducing various facilities in the public domain and our manifesto shall reflect the same. It has been drafted with a futuristic vision and solution-oriented approach in mind to make Delhi a world-class city as our Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said, a senior AAP leader told Firstpost. Making of the manifesto The manifesto is being prepared by a three-member committee comprising AAP leader and national spokesperson Atishi Marlena, who also heads the committee; Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi and Ajoy Kumar, former IPS officer and ex-MP from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand. Unlike the 2015 manifesto which was a 12-page document with 70 points or promises made by the AAP, the 2020 manifesto will be a sleek document almost similar to the AAP report card which would highlight the key components that would go into the making of a world-class city. While the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi is playing an important role in bringing in the key components of development, the feedback received from the public in the town halls conducted by Kejriwal is a major contributor in the making of the manifesto. The Delhi chief minister conducted seven town hall meetings and presented AAPs report card, and simultaneously interacted with the people to get their feedback. Weve received many valuable suggestions during the town hall meetings and the door-to-door campaign. Well incorporate all these suggestions in the manifesto, AAPs Delhi convenor Gopal Rai had said after election date for Delhi was announced on 6 January. Delhi goes to polls on 8 February. Poll strategist Prashant Kishors firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), whose services AAP has hired, has been instrumental in reaching out to the people across Delhi with the report card through a door-to-door campaign. After the AAP report card was launched, a senior party functionary had shared with Firstpost that the party would come up with a manifesto containing a roadmap to make Delhi a world-class city and the AAP-government would take infrastructure development to a new height to fulfil the partys dream. The senior functionary had also said that the components of the manifesto would also reflect in AAPs campaign strategy for the Delhi Assembly poll. Theres no point in making a long manifesto, with a host of promises. Last time we had a 70-point manifesto. We wont repeat the components that were already there in the last document, otherwise, the opposition will accuse us of repeating the same stuff. Moreover, work has been done on all those components and well follow up on all such as street lights, CCTV cameras, mohalla clinics, upgradation of school classrooms, etc. to meet our target. The new manifesto shall have components specific in nature which will contribute to meeting Delhi governments larger goal in the next five years, an AAP functionary associated with research, policy-making and strategy advisory told Firstpost on condition of anonymity. The manifesto is expected to be released within a fortnight. Components like Wi-Fi hotspots, installation of CCTV cameras, development of parks and playgrounds, street lights, upgradation of more number of classrooms in government schools, mohalla clinics, womens safety, etc., may not find mention in the 2020 manifesto as the Delhi government is already working on all these ongoing projects and in many cases targets will be scaled up. The final outcome of the manifesto will depend on the leadership and the politics, besides the policies those have been incorporated in the draft, the AAP functionary said. Key components Keeping the larger goal in mind, the AAP will give special attention to some of the key components in its 2020 manifesto like: Building a robust public transport infrastructure, redesigning of roads, cleanliness, drinking water and single-window clearances of projects. Poor condition of roads at many places inside the city and in the outskirts, unplanned and erratic movement of vehicles, and illegal parking have always led to severe traffic congestion in Delhi, causing loss of productive man-hours. Route rationalisation for smooth movement of buses, improving super-trunk routes that connect long distances, and last-mile connectivity are on the cards. In 2018, the Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transport System (DIMTS) had conducted a pilot project on route rationalisation in South West Delhis Najafgarh, which the AAP government wants to carry forward, if it comes back to power. Expansion, upgradation, and redesigning of existing roads to meet the highest standards and develop model streets, along with dedicated parking spaces. Another important component likely to be in the manifesto is cleanliness right from solid waste management to getting rid of landfills, and cleaning river Yamuna to combating the pollution menace that the National Capital faces every year ahead of winters. The supply of drinking water will again make it to the manifesto, as in the last five years, Delhi government couldnt provide piped drinking water in many areas as promised in 2015. While on one hand, a majority of citizens are getting free water, the residents of several areas even in south Delhi are still dependent on water tankers for which they have to purchase water. NATO chief: Troop deployment not always best anti-terror option Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 7:05 PM The US-led NATO says troop deployment by the military alliance is not always the best anti-terror option as "the best way" is to enable local forces to fight terrorism, a day after US President Donald Trump called on other NATO members to take on a larger role in the Middle East. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg made the remarks on Thursday in reaction to Trump's call on the alliance to "become much more involved" in the volatile region. "I strongly believe that the best way we can fight international terrorism is not always by deploying NATO troops in big combat operations," Stoltenberg said at a press conference. He pointed to training missions run by NATO in Afghanistan and Iraq, where some 500 forces of the alliance have been deployed to purportedly train local troops. "The best way is to enable local forces to fight terrorism themselves, and that is exactly what we do in Afghanistan, what we do in Iraq, and of course we can look into if we can do more of that kind of activity," he added. It is not yet clear how the 70-year-old alliance, whose role has been defined to be focused on Europe and North America, might boost its role in the Middle East. Stoltenberg on Thursday refused to speculate in detail on the possible "larger role" NATO has been called on to play in the region, but stressed that any changes would be made following consultation with all 29 member states of the alliance as well as countries in the Middle East. The development came after Trump directly ordered the assassination of the Middle East's most prominent anti-terror commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a drone airstrike near Baghdad airport in the early hours of Friday. The assassination prompted Iran to take revenge by pouring more than a dozen ballistic missiles on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq early on Tuesday. Following the assassination, NATO suspended its training mission in Iraq over security fears. Furthermore, some of the allied troops attached to the mission have been withdrawn from in the Arab country for their safety. However, the NATO chief has already described the move as a temporary measure. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Government funding has not been approved for an innovation hub at the former model school in Athy, which has been described as a disappointing for the town. Local Cllr Mark Wall has said while it is disappointing the council are still totally committed to the project. "This is extremely disappointing as the Minister had visited the town and viewed the old school and had spoken of the quality of the application on that day and subsequently in the Dail," Cllr Wall said. "I have spoken to Council officials including the CEO and Im pleased that the Council are proceeding with the part 8 for the project( Planning permission) and are totally committed to completing the School. This is a fantastic opportunity for Athy, we need the ability to create employment in the town and this application would certainly provide opportunities. Food and drink innovation is one of the fastest growing employment sectors in Ireland and coupled with an innovation hub the Model schools potential was already attracting admiring eyes from other parts of the country. The fight must go on to find the necessary funding to complement the generous donation from Coca-Cola to get this project up and running." Kildare County Council state in their recent reply to the news that, The Old Model School will be a Food , Drinks and Innovation Hub in the course of time. Generation Bio, a Cambridge, MA-based gene therapy company, closed a $110m Series C financing. The round was led by T. Rowe Price funds and accounts, with participation from Farallon, Wellington Management Company and existing investors Atlas Venture, Fidelity, Invus, Casdin, Deerfield, Foresite Capital and an entity associated with SVB Leerink. The company intends to use the funds to advance its two lead liver-targeted programs for hemophilia A and phenylketonuria (PKU) into IND-enabling studies and clinical development. Led by Geoff McDonough, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Generation Bio is a biotechnology company leading a new generation of re-dosable long-lasting gene therapy. Its non-viral platform combines three technologies: a novel cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery system (ctLNP), a proprietary closed-ended DNA construct (ceDNA) and a high-capacity capsid-free biologics manufacturing process. In addition to its lead liver-targeted programs in hemophilia A and phenylketonuria (PKU), Generation Bio is developing gene therapies for patients with diseases of skeletal muscle and the eye. The company was founded by Atlas Venture. FinSMEs 10/01/2020 DNA testing firm 23andMe has handed over the licence to an antibody it has created using customers' genetic data to develop drugs for skin conditions. Spanish drugmaker Almirall has bought the rights to turn the protein into viable anti-inflammatory medication for patients around the world. The deal marks the first time genetic information collected by 23andMe known for its cheap ancestry spit tests will be used for commercial drug development. Roughly 80 per cent of the 10million people who've signed up to 23andMe have consented for their DNA, mostly saliva and hair, to be used for research. Popular DNA test firm 23andMe has handed over the licence to antibodies it developed to treat skin conditions using customers' genetic data Using this genetic material, the firm discovered some of its customers possessed antibodies that blocked small proteins known as IL-36 cytokines. It developed a form of the antibody in-house. These are linked to skin conditions psoriasis and lupus, as well as ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease. Kenneth Hillan, head of therapeutics at 23andMe, said: Working with Almirall, were pleased to be furthering 23andMes mission of helping people benefit from genetic insights. As a leader in medical dermatology, we felt Almirall was the best company to take this program forward and ultimately develop an effective therapy for patients. Emily Drabant Conley, vice president of business development, added: 'This is a seminal moment for 23andMe. Weve now gone from database to discovery to developing a drug.' The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Spanish drugmaker said it will continue to develop the antibody into a viable treatment and push for clinical trials in humans as soon as possible. Consumer DNA tests arrived in Britain in 2014. The first test to arrive a 79 spit test made by 23andMe offered users the chance to discover where in the world their ancestors came from, and how their DNA influences their facial features, taste, smell and other traits. Spanish drugmaker Almirall bought the rights to turn the bacteria-killing proteins into a viable treatment and start selling it to patients around the world For 149 it also offered a 'health predispositions' service, telling people how their genetics could raise their risk of type two diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Other similar tests have followed, made by companies such as Orig3n, Vitagene and Lets Get Checked. Some doctors have slammed the tests which are widely available in pharmacists and online because they can be easily misinterpreted, they say. In October, a panel of experts from Southampton University, Exeter University and Southampton Hospital said 'direct-to-consumer' genetic tests are unreliable and leave people confused and uncertain. Writing in the British Medical Journal, they said genetic information is complex and even if people are shown to be at risk they need carefully walking through the results by a doctor not left to panic at home. The writers, who include Professor Anneke Lucassen, president of the British Society for Genetic Medicine, said these tests should 'absolutely not be used to inform health decisions without further scrutiny'. By Rasana Gasimova Russian Ambassador Mikhail Bocharnikov has praised Azerbaijans involvement in the North-South International Transport Corridor, saying that the country is located in the very center of the corridor and plays a key role in its functioning. In an interview to CBC TV channel, Bocharnikov noted that Russia and Azerbaijan are building cooperation in the framework of the North-South International Transport Corridor project despite any sanctions. He said that all the countries participating in or using the North-South International Transport Corridor have their own national interests, which they will pursue through this project. He went on saying that in 2018, freight traffic along the corridor increased by 8 times, and in the first quarter of 2019 there was a two time increase. This corridor is already working very successfully. Azerbaijan, which is located in its very center, is playing a key role, because here another route can also intersect - from east to west. Thats what is happening," M. Bocharnikov said. He also noted that cargoes along the One Belt - One Route route are transported through the territories of Asian states, reach the eastern coast of the Caspian, and then by sea arrive at the Azerbaijans port of Alat and from there continue going to the West. "If we add the possibility of connecting the railway passing through the territory of Russia, through Trans-Siberian Railway, with access to the North-South International Transport Corridor, this will further strengthen the significance of this route. As far as I know, Russian and Azerbaijani railways are already eyeing such an opportunity," he said. Bocharnikov also highlighted the importance of a new 325 meters long highway bridge across Samur River put into operation in late 2019. "It is important in the regional plan, because it unites Russia and Azerbaijan ... And, of course, it is an important element of the North-South International Transport Corridor," he said. Bocharnikov emphasized the practical importance of the bridge across Samur for the Azerbaijani-Russian economic cooperation. He also said that there is a task of equipping and modernizing checkpoints, as well as opening new checkpoints. "It also includes the creation of new access roads to checkpoints. I want to note that the new Baku-Guba- Russian Federation state border highway is just part of this complex, since it will go directly to the border crossing point. So it is quite significant. It is not just a bridge, it is a very important element of economic integration, Bocharnikov emphasized. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The farcical scene of Juan Guaido attempting to break into Venezuelas National Assembly as its members voted him out was just the latest chapter in an absurdly bungled coup attempt, and brings Trumps policy to a dead end. By Leonardo Flores Fistfights and screaming matches broke out at Venezuelas National Assembly on January 5, when the legislative body was scheduled to elect its leader. But the melee was not what the corporate US media has portrayed it as. The fights werent between the Chavistas who support the Bolivarian Revolution and President Nicolas Maduro on one side and opposition members on the other, but rather between competing members of the opposition itself. Meanwhile in Venezuela. Moment in which Juan Guaido tried to enter the National Assembly by jumping a fence, while Luis Parra was sworn in as the new president of parliament. pic.twitter.com/dsC1sAWv28 Enrique (@Garou_Hidalgo) January 5, 2020 The opposition imploded because Juan Guaido, the former president of the National Assembly and self-declared interim president of the country, lost his campaign to be reelected as head of the legislature. The Venezuelan opposition is in a state of disaster as it has been since former President Hugo Chavezs first election in 1998. Its a loose and ever-changing coalition of around a dozen political parties, with differing ideologies, strategies, and constituencies. The far right, which is comprised mainly of the Voluntad Popular and Primero Justicia parties, is filled with people who have been receiving financial and logistical support from the United States for the past 20 years. In the 2002 coup against then President Chavez, the far right briefly took over, and excluded the more moderate opposition from positions of power. The moderates learned the wrong lesson: instead of challenging the US-backed right, it caved to them, acceding to their plans of regime change and undemocratic maneuvers. But an important split occurred between the moderates and the extremists during the presidential elections in May 2018. The moderates ignored the far rights calls for a boycott and won 3 million votes in the presidential elections, out of a voting electorate of around 15 million people (with approximately 20 million eligible voters). In September 2019, these moderate opposition figures sat down with the Maduro administration and came to a wide-ranging agreement that included a bipartisan rejection of US sanctions and the appointment of new members of the National Electoral Council. Between them, the moderates and Chavistas now represent more than 9 million votes, accounting for a full 60 percent of likely voters and 45 percent of eligible voters. This dialogue between two important sectors of Venezuela electoral politics helps explain why September, October, and November were easily the most stable three months for Venezuela in the past year. The dialogue led directly to the events of January 5 in Caracas. US equivalent: Nancy Pelosi finds out Democrats are replacing her as House Speaker, so she stages a scene outside of Congress to make it look like Trump blocked her from entering. Then she runs down to the Washington Post offices for her swearing-in ceremony. https://t.co/RS7isLyehE Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) January 6, 2020 A badly divided opposition gives Guaido the boot Juan Guaido, of the far-right Voluntad Popular party, has served as head of the National Assembly since January 2019. It is this position that he and the United States used to justify proclaiming him supposed president of the country. But on January 5, he was facing a tough reelection bid. As both sides traded unsubstantiated claims of influence peddling, it became clear early in the day that the moderate opposition would join forces with Chavismo to replace Guaido. With 150 of 165 members present, the National Assembly elected Luis Parra as its new president. Parra, of the right-wing opposition party Primero Justicia, was elected with 81 votes. Franklin Duarte of the conservative Christian party COPEI (one of Venezuelas two main political parties prior to the revolution) was elected vice president of the assembly. Jose Gregorio Goyo Noriega, of Guaidos own Voluntad Popular party, was elected as the National Assemblys second vice president. And Negal Morales of the neoliberal Accion Democratica (the other pre-revolution major party) was elected secretary of the legislative body. All four of these parties are firmly in the opposition, belying claims that President Maduro somehow took over the legislature. At least 30 moderate opposition members joined Chavistas in electing two people from far-right parties to the highest posts in the National Assembly. Venezuela is a complicated country, with its own logic that defies sense, much like its economy. This maneuver by Chavismo and the moderates is the next step toward breaking a political deadlock that has paralyzed the country since 2016. Primero Justicia best exemplifies the rifts within the opposition, as it is probably the most divided political party in the country. It contains Parra, who has participated in dialogue with the government. In a press conference after being sworn in, he said we [the opposition] are no longer hooked on confrontation, our first and great challenge is to end confrontation were going to start a path of depolarization of the country and the legislature. This party also contains the notoriously intransigent Julio Borges, who referred to Venezuelan migration as a plague (feeding into the regions rampant, and in some instances, state-sponsored, anti-Venezuelan xenophobia). Borges has also called for a US military option to remove Maduro. Primero Justicias divisions reflect those that have split the opposition as a whole: a wing that wants coexistence versus another that demands total conquest. The final episode of a surreal reality show? As it became clear that he was about to lose his reelection, the increasingly farcical Guaido put on the latest episode of his parallel reality show. He convinced some of the worlds most shameless journalists that he was physically barred from entering the National Assembly by security forces. The video evidence shows otherwise. El video que Guaido no quiere que veas. La mediatica mundial dice que la GNB no dejo entrar a Guaido a la Asamblea Nacional. FALSO. La verdad es que NO QUISO INGRESAR y utilizo a Gilberto Sojo (diputado inhabilitado) para armar el predecible show que lo disfrazara de victima. pic.twitter.com/JK8ZU30vRj Orlenys (@OrlenysOV) January 5, 2020 Guaido refused to enter the premises if he wasnt permitted to bring in 11 former members of the National Assembly. These 11 range from members who were ruled ineligible to serve in the legislature by Venezuelas Supreme Court due to an alleged vote-buying scheme in their elections, to members who had their parliamentary immunity stripped for having participated in the April 30, 2019 attempted uprising the one in which the Guaido faction courageously took over an exit ramp. The focus on the 11 former legislators who werent allowed to enter ignores the nearly 100 opposition legislators who did enter and were present for the vote. After losing, the Guaido spectacle continued. He decided to create a parallel congress to go with his parallel presidency presumably with the upcoming blessing of the parallel Supreme Court. (Keep in mind this court operates out of Miami, and is experiencing the same internal meltdown as the rest of the opposition.) The media battle the disinformation campaign and its counter-campaign is now in full swing. According to Parra, there was a quorum and there was a vote, making his ascendance to the head of the National Assembly totally legitimate. The Guaido faction, however, claims neither happened. Hours after Parras swearing in, Guaidos parallel parliament was sworn in at the offices of a pro-opposition newspaper. He claims to have been reelected in the congress with 100 votes. The confusion surrounding who is and isnt a member of the National Assembly, as well as technical issues regarding alternate legislators, will suffice to convince most Democrats in Congress, and some of those running for the presidential nomination, to not question Guaido and the Trump administrations Venezuela policy. The levels of bipartisan support for this policy in the US would be absurd if they werent so deadly. Guaidos scandals erupt as Venezuela slowly recovers Despite the pain caused by the US policy of hybrid war, Venezuela has, against all odds, started to recover economically. Oil production is up; oil income is up; a tariff on goods from the United States was lifted (flooding the country with products like Nutella that used to be rare treasures just six months ago); and Venezuelas digital currency, the Petro, was successfully introduced to the public. Whats more, the social safety net has been strengthened through the governments CLAP food distribution program, which now reaches 7 million families every month. The Great Housing Mission is another success story, as it marked the construction of the 3 millionth home for poor and working-class Venezuelans. Using an estimate of four people per household, which is low for many Venezuelans, that means that at least 12 million people out of a population of 30 million live in quality, low-to-no-cost housing. Simple math shows that nearly twice as many Venezuelans live in government-built homes than those who vote for Chavismo. This is a huge sector of the population that has directly benefited from government programs, that doesnt exclusively blame President Maduro for its difficulties, and that is turned off by extremist positions. Without these votes, the opposition cannot win elections unless they are rigged. These are the voters the moderate opposition is counting on, and its not inconceivable that the moderates will become a majority within the opposition when the 2020 legislative elections are held. Guaidos star has faded, and although no one knew it at the time, it was already burning out by February 23, 2019, when he tried to forcibly deliver humanitarian aid from Colombia through the Venezuelan border. In the past months, the public has also learned how Guaido entered Colombia with the help of Los Rastrojos, a nefarious paramilitary drug cartel. Evidencian que Los Rastrojos dieron apoyo logistico a Guaido Un video evidencia el apoyo logistico que el grupo narcoparamilitar colombiano Los Rastrojos ofrecio al autoproclamado presidente de Venezuela, Juan Guaido, durante un trayecto de su pais a Colombia. pic.twitter.com/cyJf648tYU RT en Espanol (@ActualidadRT) September 23, 2019 During the February 23 coup attempt, Guaidos supporters burned their own aid trucks (a fact The New York Times admitted weeks after the fact, long after The Grayzones Max Blumenthal exposed it). Further reporting revealed that the humanitarian aid funding provided to the US-backed opposition was embezzled by Guaidos appointees in Colombia. The scandal over the humanitarian aid theft blew up in Venezuela in late 2019, further splintering the opposition. It was the perfect excuse to get rid of Juan Guaido after an array of miserable failures and his clear commitment to undemocratic methods. There was the failed uprising of April 30, several plots aimed at destabilization that the governments security services foiled, and 2019s last act of desperation: an attack on military bases in southern Venezuela, which was coordinated with far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, according to the major newspaper O Globo. Guaido started 2019 by establishing a parallel yet powerless presidency. He started 2020 by creating a parallel congress. Its unlikely this body will be able to do anything other than alienate its own base. Yet, predictably, the US State Department has been using the same language as Guaido, and offered his parallel parliament immediate recognition. When the cocaine is so good you think youre President: pic.twitter.com/fZi8gJieuZ Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) January 6, 2020 Trumps Venezuela policy hits a dead end Trump and the White House have yet to weigh in as of January 6 apparently too busy escalating the conflict with Iran. Although Vice President Pence did congratulate Guaido on his re-election as interim president. But this wasnt at all what happened, even in the parallel congress. It is unclear if the State Department and the president are even on the same page in regards to Venezuela. Trumps frustration with the policy is building after being assured that removing Maduro would be an easy win. That could help explain why Erik Prince, of Blackwater fame and known associate of Trump, held backchannel discussions in Venezuela with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Prince who earlier in 2019 pitched a plan to raise a mercenary army to overthrow Maduro was in Venezuela, according to Bloomberg, to negotiate the release of a group of Venezuelan-Americans who were in jail pending a corruption trial. A more plausible explanation credits Argentinas new President Alberto Fernandez for their partial release. The Prince meeting likely took place with Trumps knowledge, and may have been related to holders of Venezuelan bonds and international finance. These bondholders, who prior to the Trump administrations sanctions were routinely paid on time by the Maduro government, are angry that they cant collect and that their best chance to collect, through profits from Venezuelas state-owned refinery Citgo, might be liquidated by the Guaido faction. The State Department downplayed Princes visit and reacted poorly, with unnamed officials accusing Prince of violating US sanctions. This points to strong differences of opinions regarding US policy toward Venezuela and conflicts between various interest groups, one of which appears to want negotiations between the two governments. The prospect of negotiations improved with the firing of John Bolton in September, as well as by the seeming disconnect between the White House and State Department. But all of this is complicated by the fact that Trump is polling well in Florida, and any change in Venezuela policy would be certain to upset the hardline right-wing Venezuelan and Cuban regime-change lobbies that hold sway in the state. But with Trump ramping up his maximum-pressure policy on Iran and bringing the region closer to war than at any time since 2003, he has spiked global oil prices, and thereby risked a political price at home. This leaves the possibility that the White House might pivot to dialogue in Venezuela and relieve sanctions to spur its oil production and soften the shock that will be caused by an escalation of the US-Iran conflict. The best case scenario for Venezuela involves a lifting of the sanctions. But another outcome seems more probable: business as usual until after the US presidential election, at which point the Juan Guaido parallel reality show may finally draw to a close. Im very surprised to get this award this young, but I promise youI deserve it. Dave Chappelle, DC Improv John Legends sonorous protestations to the contrary, Dave Chappelle, 22nd winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, is as true a son of Washington, D.C. as he is of Yellow Springs, Ohio. D.C., after all, is where he spent his childhood and high school yearsthe latter at the prestigious Duke Ellington School for the Artsand where, as a teenager, he launched his stand-up career. Chocolate City! he exclaims to a packed DC Improv room in a clip about halfway through the telecast of the 2019 ceremony (thats about the 34:40 mark, for those following along at home), which finally hit PBS airwaves earlier this week. For us, nigga is a pronoun. We have very thick skin; we dont shy away from the jokes. In fact, humor was our mode of survival. The only reason I never got my ass whooped on these streets is because niggas knewIm hilarious. Hailing from D.C. is by no means a requirement for the Prize (2018 recipient Julia Louis-Dreyfuss own District upbringing notwithstanding), but when your black-tie ceremony takes place in Washingtons flagship performing arts center and is attended in large part by ultra-dedicated local patrons of the arts, it does make for pretty solid synergy. It also doesnt hurt, as returning production company Done+Dusted so cannily demonstrated in the telecast that the October, 2019 ceremony turned intosplicing as they do clips of Chappelles friends and colleagues celebrating him on stage at the Kennedy Center with bluer bits from a more casual set he and his mostly local stand-up buddies had done at DC Improv the night before, as well as clips of him driving through his old haunts and reflecting on what it means to come homethat having a soul-deep connection to the city giving you an award can make for great television. Of course, any night with Dave Chappelle as its focus is going to make great television, regardless of the production decisions involved in its final form. Not for nothing is one of Chappelles Show co-creator Neal Brennans central memories of their time working together on the cultishly beloved sketch series one of getting the best material by just getting out of Chappelles way. When we started the show, I knew that Dave was the funniest person Id ever met, Brennan says when its his turn in the Kennedy Center spotlight. By the end of the show, I knew he was one of the funniest people whod ever lived. There were times where hed just improvise something that wed never talked about before, maybe that wed never even thought about before. Clayton Bigsbys entire speeches about breathin the white mans air and Will and Graceall improvised! Tyrone Biggums speech to the kids about doing drugs with Mickey Mouse? Totally made up. He made it all up! Writing and directing Dave sometimes was sometimes as simple as me standing on set with my jaw hanging open like, uhcut? In fact, while only a handful of comments about Chappelles comedy genius made it to the telecasts final cut, throughout the evening, from guest to presenter, from the red carpet to the main stage, the basic fact of his spontaneous and unceasingly smart comedic mind was brought up again and again. From Kenan Thompson, on the red carpet: Hes one of those real stand up comics. Hes got one of those real, working, thinking brains that will turn a tragedy into something funny, or something that everyones thinking but doesnt want to say into something we can all say, because its been presented to us in a different kind of way. From Eddie Murphy, in a pre-recorded clip that played between presenters. Dave is so much smarter than everyone. [He] is maybe the most intellectual comedian ever. From Sarah Silverman, towards the end of the telecast: Okay, heres the thing about Dave: Dave didnt, like, get funny, eventually. He was always funny. And he remains at the top of his game. Why? Because hes constantly evolving, he grows. Sometimes its a slightly more lateral move, but always with some kind of new perspective, you know? His critical thinking is his art. With this last remark, Silverman is pulling directly from Chappelles own bag of tricksa point the telecast makes by cutting to a close-up of Chappelle mouthing a silent, surprised wow at this crackling analysis. From an outsiders perspective, Chappelle being surprised at hearing this said of his art is itself surprisingmaybe no one else said it so succinctly prior to Silverman, but the nut of her thesis is the very reason Chappelle received the Prize, and the reason so many people gathered to celebrate Chappelle that demand for tickets for the 2019 ceremony was greater than the Kennedy Center had seen in the two-plus decades prior. His comedic thinking makes America think, and now possibly more than ever, thats critical. Of course, it wouldnt be a true tribute to Chappelle if the concession wasnt made that, despite the critical thought he packs into his artor rather, maybe, as a direct result of ithis comedy doesnt always go down easy. His stand-up blows my mind, you know? Silverman continues, adding to one of the evenings other central threads just moments after blowing Chappelles mind with her pithy one-liner. It changes the way I think. And sometimes I wholeheartedly disagree with him! But thats what I love about Dave. Its what I love about art. And this, finally, is the point Chappelle himself hopes people take into their hearts, both about him as an individual comic, and about stand up as an art form. I swear to god, this might be the noblest of professions. Chappelle tells the DC Improv crowd as the telecast cuts away from the Kennedy Center once more, in a riff on what will end up being his big acceptance speech the next night. Never seen an art form purer than stand-up comedy. It puzzles me that people are confused as to whether or not this is an art form. Man, talking shit is art. Talking shit is art. This, as far as he is concerned, is the point: When it comes to comedy (and to art), nothing is sacred, and that now, more than ever, it is important to speak recklessly, and to put the First Amendment to its fullest use. Because what good is a spirit so brittle, kneeling at the National Anthem can break it? (As Rep. Karen Bass [D-CA] put it on the red carpet before the ceremony, He has a way of raising the controversial issues of the timesometimes I agree with him, sometimes I dont, but we all have to laugh, especially at this moment in our history.) Theres something so true about this job, when done correctly, he says, now back on stage at the Kennedy Center, that I will fight anybody that gets in a true practitioner of this art forms way. Because I know youre wrong. This is the truth, and you are obstructing it. Im not talking about the content. Im talking about the art form. Do you understand? At this, the audiences both in the Kennedy Center and at the DC Improv show cheer their agreement. For everyone else at home, trust Sarah Silvermans assurances that, whether you agree or disagree with him, Chappelle is an artist. As long youre thinking critically about your reasons for doing either one, youll be honoring Chappelles thoughtfully critical approach to the world, and to comedy. The 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor can be streamed in its entirety on PBS.org, or via your PBS Passport app. Alexis Gunderson is a TV critic and audiobibliophile. She can be found @AlexisKG. BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China and Laos have signed an agreement on bilateral monetary cooperation to enhance the use of local currencies in trade and investment, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, announced Thursday. The agreement, signed between the PBOC and the Bank of Lao PDR, will allow direct settlement of the two countries' own currencies in transactions under all open current and capital accounts, the PBOC said in a statement. The agreement will strengthen monetary and financial cooperation between the two countries, boost the use of local currencies and facilitate trade and investment, the central bank said. A formal request for the extradition of Anne Sacoolas over the death of teenager Harry Dunn has been submitted to the United States. The Home Office, headed up by home secretary Priti Patel, confirmed it had formally requested the extradition of the 42-year-old US citizen on charges of death by dangerous driving this evening. Mr Dunn, 19, was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year. A spokesman for the Home Office, confirming the extradition request, said: Following the Crown Prosecution Services charging decision, the Home Office has sent an extradition request to the United States for Anne Sacoolas on charges of causing death by dangerous driving. This is now a decision for the US authorities. Anne Sacoolas returned to the US after the crash / Sky News The Crown Prosecution Service charged Ms Sacoolas in December and the family has long battled for her return, after she fled to the US in the wake of the teen's death. As a diplomat's wife, she claimed to have diplomatic immunity in regards to returning to the UK, which her lawyer previously insisted she would not do voluntarily. The family of Harry Dunn (left to right) mother Charlotte Charles, stepfather Bruce Charles, family spokesman Radd Seiger and father Tim Dunn / PA Harry's family have said they are "pleased" with the development, adding that they feel it is a "huge step towards achieving justice for Harry". The family have initiated various legal proceedings against the Foreign Office, the US government and Mrs Sacoolas herself after their lawyers disputed the granting of diplomatic immunity. Reacting to the extradition request on behalf of Harry's family, spokesman Radd Seiger said: "I have learned that the extradition request for Anne Sacoolas has been delivered today to the United States Department of Justice in accordance with the requirements laid out in the treaty between the two countries and I have notified the parents. Priti Patel has sent a request for the extradition of Anne Sacoolas / AFP/Getty Images "This will not of course bring Harry back, but in the circumstances of all that this family have been through, they are pleased with the development and feel that it is a huge step towards achieving justice for Harry and making good on the promise that they made to him on the night he died that they would secure justice for him." The US has long argued that she should not be forced to return, despite discussions with the British Government over this. Mr Seiger added: "Despite the unwelcome public comments currently emanating from the US administration that Anne Sacoolas will never be returned, Harry's parents, as victims, will simply look forward to the legal process unfolding, as it must now do, confident in the knowledge that the rule of law will be upheld. Tributes: flowers left at the scene of the crash where Harry Dunn died / Getty Images "They will simply take things one step at a time and not get ahead of themselves. However, no one, whether diplomat or otherwise, is above the law." Mr Seiger told BBC News the teenagers parents were happy and relieved at the development, adding: I let the parents know straight away. Its a monumentally large step in the right direction. Mr Seiger also said he was 100 per cent sure Sacoolas would return to the UK and added: There is no doubt in my mind and there never has been. Whether its today, or tomorrow, or in five years time or in 10 years, Anne Sacoolas will come back, she has to come back. After a meeting with foreign secretary Dominic Raab and Ms Patel, Mr Dunn's family have pressed repeatedly for a meeting with the prime minister. On Friday, a letter seen by the PA news agency, showed that the familys local MP, business secretary Andrea Leadsom, has written to Boris Johnson to request a face-to-face meeting. In the letter, Ms Leadsom urges the prime minister to hear at first hand what they have been through. Japanese film producer Kanao Ayahito was thrilled by Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Companys performance at Yokohamas Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, on Jan. 9, 2020. (Lu Yong/The Epoch Times) YOKOHAMA , JapanAt the beginning of the year, Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company brought Yokohamas residents a special gift by performing five exquisite shows of authentic Chinese culture at Yokohamas Kanagawa Kenmin Hall from Jan. 6 to Jan. 9, 2020. Japanese film producer Kanao Ayahito was among the enthusiastic audience members who attended Shen Yuns final performance in this beautiful city with abundant sightseeing destinations. Kanao Ayahito was delighted to enjoy the artistic feast portraying the authentic traditional Chinese culture in the form of classical dance. He was especially amazed by New York-based Shen Yuns extraordinary dancing skills. The dance performance is beyond human limits, Kanao said. Its really very touching, and it cannot be described by words. Kanao was truly awed by Shen Yun artists perfect performance. How come such a high-level quality could be achieved? he exclaimed. They must have undergone tremendous hardships. I really want to see how they are trained. As a film producer, Kanao is familiar with the overall flow of audiovisual productions, and he was captivated by the perfect synchronization of the dance performance on the stage and the live music performed by Shen Yuns unique orchestra. This is the very first time I have seen such a performance. And I feel its incredible, he noted. Its truly remarkable. I feel like seeing it again. He was also impressed with Shen Yuns animated backdrops that can make the audience have the feeling of transcending time and space. After seeing the performance, I believe program producers around the world should be tremendously impacted and may try to follow suit, he said. So, it will have a far-reaching effect. Shen Yuns official website explains, Shen Yuns backdrops are like magical windows that infinitely extend and transform the stage. The digital designs complement and synchronize all aspects of the performance, and are as grand as they are intricate. Inspired by 5,000 years of history, our designers create vivid animated settings that truly reflect Chinas multifaceted geography, society, regions, and dynasties. Some scenes even transcend this world, bringing you a touch of the heavens. As a Japanese who has a liking for authentic Chinese traditions, Kanao thought it delightful to see the Shen Yun performance of authentic traditional Chinese culture. According to the program, Shen Yun was established in 2006 by artists who had a vision and shared a passion to revive the lost world of traditional Chinese culture and share it with everyone. Kanao praised their artistic success. [Shen Yun] has reached unparalleled heights in terms of interpreting the essence of Chinese history, he said. Osaki Kouitirou, president of Apex Company Limited attended the performance presented by Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at Yokohamas Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, on the afternoon of Jan. 9, 2020. (Lu Yong/The Epoch Times) On Jan. 9, president of Apex Company Limited, Osaki Kouitirou, attended the same performance by Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at Yokohamas Kanagawa Kenmin Hall. After seeing the performance, he highly spoke of Shen Yun and its artists. Its indeed a magnificent performance, he said. I can tell every performers skills are extraordinarily high and believe that they would have undergone rigorous training. Osaki Kouitirou said that he had practiced apparatus exercise and was once an athlete for the Olympic Games, so he understands the difficulties of performing such classical Chinese dance. On the surface, it sounds simple, but in fact, its very difficult, he explained. As a professional, I know [Shen Yun] is really very wonderful. To dance in unison is by no means something easy, not to mention jumping and flipping to the same height at the same time. They [Shen Yun dancers] even turned their bodies at the same angles, he said with praise. I believe they must have been trained rigorously. Every performer is so beautiful. They are really great, he added. With reporting by Lu Yong and Billy Shyu. 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. Welcome to the retail apocalypse. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) decried 2019 as the worst year on record for retail as both John Lewis and M&S added to the sectors lake of tears on Terrible Thursday. Get your brollies ready; well start with John Lewis. The high-street survivor, owned by its workforce and accustomed to the love and largesse of a prosperous middle class clientele, unveiled a profit warning and announced the shock departure of John Lewis MD Paula Nickolds. Shed been expected to take a high-profile role following the merger of the executive teams running the department stores, the online business and Waitrose, but is now in search of pastures new. The partnerships struggles mean that the staff who remain may have to do without their customary bonus. The final decision will be in hands of Sharon White, the former to civil servant, whos preparing to take over as chair, but the ground has been prepped. Stockholm, Jan 10 : An ardent desire for a "mummy makeover" to get back into bikini-body shape not only caused a 27-year-old mother of twins from Sweden immense pain and mental trauma, but also left her poorer by 6,000 pounds. Angelica Isaksen said a breast implant she got at an unnamed Turkish clinic -- promoted by certain celebrities on social media -- fell out of her chest weeks after a botched surgery. She said she had forked out 6,000 pounds for her second boob job last June at a cut-price clinic she found on Instagram, the Mail Online reported. After the birth of her twins 18 months ago, she had pined to get a toned body to enable herself to participate in bikini competitions. Isaksen also had a Brazilian butt lift and tummy tuck during her six-day stay in Turkey, but she was not happy with the results. Within days of the surgery, her right breast ballooned, turned bright red and she had throbbing pain, though the clinic allegedly told her the side-effects were "normal". Back home in Stockholm, a surgery scar under her right breast began to open and the implant began to dangle out. Isaksen said she got both the breast implants removed and was back to B-cup size. She said she shared her story to warn other women against choosing budget boob jobs to save on money. Doctors in Sweden claimed she contracted MRSA -- an antibiotic resistant bug -- due to the surgery. "I have had surgery before and a caesarean, so I can handle pain; but this was horrendous. After two days, my breast started leaking blood, but I was told it is 'normal'. They didn't remove the tape to see what was going on -- I assume the tape was holding the incision together," she said. She went to a hospital in Sweden where tests revealed that she had MRSA. After remaining in hospital for five days, she was sent home to wait for an appointment with a plastic surgeon to remove the implant. She said she wore a special bra and lied down to stop the implant from falling out till she had surgery to remove it. The right implant was removed on December 2, 2019 and the left on January 7. Australians campaigning for a republic have been accused of milking the Harry and Meghan saga in the hope of severing ties with the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have stirred constitutional tensions in Australia by abruptly announcing they would be leaving the Royal Family to live as private citizens in Canada. The Australian Republican Movement used the controversy to suggest the House of Windsor was no longer favoured by most Australians - even though opinion polls have suggested otherwise. 'Harry and Meghan say they want to move on from the royals, and so does Australia, so today we offered them complimentary membership of the Australian Republican Movement,' it tweeted Australians campaigning for a republic have been accused of milking the Harry and Meghan saga in the hope of severing ties with the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured at Sydney's Bondi Beach) have stirred constitutional tensions in Australia by abruptly announcing they would be leaving the Royal Family to live as private citizens in Canada 'Unfortunately, we haven't heard back from them yet... (we won't be holding our breath!).' Media personality and former Wallabies player Peter FitzSimons, who chairs the Australian Republican Movement, retweeted a post from wife Lisa Wilkinson, a co-host of The Sunday Project. She likened Prince Harry staying in the Royal Family to being like his uncle Prince Andrew, a disgraced family member with dubious ties to the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 'Perhaps Prince Harry came to the simple conclusion that the brutal reality of being second-born in the royal family's line of succession is, you can either make a break for it and do something you find valuable with your life, or you can be Prince Andrew,' Ms Wilkinson said. Professor David Flint, the national convener of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, argued the announcement from Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle would be unlikely to turn Australia into a republic. 'They are always grasping at some silver bullet which they think will hand them their politicians' republican,' Professor Flint told Daily Mail Australia. In November 2018, support for a republic fell to a 25-year low. Media personality and former Wallabies player Peter FitzSimons, who chairs the Australian Republican Movement, retweeted a post from wife Lisa Wilkinson, a co-host of The Sunday Project She likened Prince Harry staying in the Royal Family to being like his uncle Prince Andrew, a disgraced family member with dubious ties to the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein The Newspoll survey of 1,802 voters, showed just 40 per cent of respondents backed removing the Queen as Australia's constitutional head of state. This occurred only a month after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had visited Australia. Just six months before their visit, 50 per cent of Australians in a Newspoll backed a republic. Professor Flint said it was a long stretch to even compare the announcement from Harry and Meghan with the abdication of King Edward in 1936. Like Prince Harry, King Edward was married to an American divorcee, in his case Wallis Simpson. 'I don't see it as a crisis. I mean 1936 was a crisis when the King abdicated,' Professor Flint said. 'But this is nothing. I've seen analogies drawn with the abdication but that's ridiculous. Professor David Flint, the national convener of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, argued the announcement from Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle (pictured together with their son Archie) would be unlikely to turn Australia into a republic The Australian Republican Movement used the controversy to suggest the House of Windsor was no longer favoured by most Australians - even though opinion polls have suggested otherwise 'They are remaining loyal and supportive of the Queen, the Commonwealth and their large number of charities.' Professor Flint argued the resignation of Harry and Meghan from the royal family was simply a sign the British monarchy would become slimmer, like its counterparts in Sweden and Denmark. 'It looked as though it was heading that way,' he said. 'It is an evolution.' These northern European monarchies, however, still have ten royals in the line of succession. Prince Harry is sixth in line to the United Kingdom throne, behind his grandmother the Queen, his father Prince Charles, his elder brother Prince William and his children George, Charlotte and Louis. Prince Harry (second left with wife Meghan) is sixth in line to the United Kingdom throne, behind his grandmother the Queen, his father Prince Charles, his elder brother Prince William (second right with wife Kate) and his children George, Charlotte and Louis When given the chance to change the Constitution, Australians in November 1999 rejected a referendum proposal for a republic with the No case winning 55 per cent of the vote. The model, for two-thirds of Parliament to approve an Australian president, did not win majority support in any state, with the Yes side only prevailing in the Australian Capital Territory. Republicans who wanted Australia's head of state to be directly elected campaigned for the No side, which was based on keeping the Queen as Australia's head of state with the governor-general as her vice-regal representative. Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared himself to be a constitutional monarchist in late 2018, several weeks after replacing Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of Australia's republican movement ahead of the 1999 referendum. Here is a timeline of some of the key events in the three-year Stormont impasse: 2017: January Expand Close A public inquiry was ordered into the RHI scandal (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A public inquiry was ordered into the RHI scandal (Niall Carson/PA) Stormonts Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness quits the powersharing administration in protest against DUP First Minister Arlene Fosters handling of a botched green energy scheme the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The ministerial executive falls a week later and a snap election is called. A public inquiry is ordered into the RHI scandal. March Sinn Fein makes major gains in the snap Assembly election, cutting what was a 10-seat gap from the DUP to a solitary seat. The long-standing unionist majority within the Assembly goes. Mr McGuinness dies from a rare heart condition. A statutory deadline to form a new executive within three weeks of the election falls as the parties fail to agree a basis for re-entering government together. April Another deadline for agreement set by Secretary of State James Brokenshire passes without a deal. May Mr Brokenshire sets a third deadline for mid-May. A week later the deadline goes up in smoke when Theresa May calls a surprise snap general election. Talks are paused. June Expand Close Theresa Mays minority government was propped up by Arlene Fosters DUP following the 2017 election (PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Theresa Mays minority government was propped up by Arlene Fosters DUP following the 2017 election (PA) The DUP emerge from the election as Westminster kingmakers and agree a confidence and supply arrangement to prop up Ms Mays minority government. July Another talks initiative fails and the process is put in cold storage over the summer parading season. October Talks resume but are largely confined to engagement between the two main parties. Stormonts smaller parties claim they are being kept in the dark. Despite reports of some movement on the key stumbling blocks, a deal does not materialise. November Expand Close Gerry Adams announced he was to step down as Sinn Fein president (Niall Carson/PA). PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gerry Adams announced he was to step down as Sinn Fein president (Niall Carson/PA). Mr Brokenshire sets Stormonts 2017/18 budget at Westminster. Gerry Adams announces he is to step down as Sinn Fein president. The RHI inquiry commences oral hearings at Stormont. 2018: January Mr Brokenshire leaves the government due to ill health. Former culture secretary Karen Bradley takes over at the Northern Ireland Office, announcing a new round of all-party talks. February Mary Lou McDonald is formally elected the new Sinn Fein president. Mrs May and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar travel to Stormont amid growing expectation a deal could be close. Their visit fails to deliver a breakthrough. A few days later, talks break down in acrimony amid claims from Sinn Fein that the DUP had agreed a deal to return to Stormont, only to get cold feet. The DUP denies the claims. September Ms Bradley decides to cut Stormont Assembly members pay from 49,500 to 35,888. She also rules out calling an Assembly election and says she will bring forward legislation to allow civil servants to make decisions in the absence of devolution. Stormont parties meet for the first time since the breakdown of talks in February. 2019: April Expand Close Journalist Lyra McKee was murdered in Londonderry by a stray bullet aimed at police (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Journalist Lyra McKee was murdered in Londonderry by a stray bullet aimed at police (Brian Lawless/PA) A month of fresh talks are triggered following the dissident republican killing of journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry when a bullet aimed at police goes astray. June Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley lead intensified talks at Stormont. The place of the Irish language in society, same-sex marriage and abortion dominates the debate. The DUPs confidence and supply arrangement with the British Government comes under increasing strain over Brexit and the Irish border question. July Amid the slow collapse of Prime Minister Theresa Mays Government, Parliament legislates to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage as part of an Executive Formation Act. Mrs Mays replacement as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, holds a private dinner with senior DUP figures and visits Stormont to meet other party leaders. A range of interest groups including Irish language activists protest outside. December Expand Close DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds lost his Commons seat (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds lost his Commons seat (Liam McBurney/PA) Another general election sees the DUP lose two MPs, including former Westminster leader Nigel Dodds. The DUP and Sinn Feins share of the vote drops significantly compared to the 2017 general election by 5.4% and 6.7% respectively while the cross-community and anti-Brexit Alliance party enjoys a bounce in the polls. Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith and Mr Coveney lead renewed negotiations at Stormont. 2020: January Talks resume after a pause for Christmas. After a week of intensive engagements, the two governments present a suggested deal to the five parties and urge them to sign up and re-enter the executive immediately. Read King, a Houston-based commercial real estate firm founded by Jeff Read and Ewing King, will relocate from its longtime headquarters to 1900 W. Loop South at the end of February. The company, which develops, leases and manages retail properties, leased 12,247 square feet of office space on the 12th floor. Mark Russell of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant, while Tyler Garrett of Transwestern represented the landlord, 1900 WLS-RE LP. The Galleria-area office is less than two miles from the firms current office at 5850 San Felipe at Augusta. Kirksey Architecture designed the new space, which is being built out by ODonnell/Snider Construction. The move gives Read King a more open design, conference rooms with windows and skyline views and a larger break room. The location also offers easier access to the West Loop for both employees and clients, the company said. Read King employs 32 people. Office Evolution, a coworking franchiser based in Colorado, plans to open its third location in the Houston market with the signing of a 10-year lease in the Energy Corridor. Husband-and-wife teams Johnny and Faith Goff and Carey and Kerri Rigsby signed a development deal to own and operate two locations, serving small business owners and clients in Houston, Katy and Cypress. The initial location will be a 12,113-square-foot office at 15115 Park Row. Joe Rambin of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Elliott Hirshfeld and Marilyn Guion of CBRE represented the landlord, USAA Real Estate. Slated to open in May, the location is designed with private offices, conference rooms and shared workspaces. Bristow Group renewed its 52,010-square-foot headquarters lease at Granite Briarpark Green, 3151 Briarpark Drive, in Westchase. Joshua Brown, Reggie Beavan III and Audrey Selber of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant. Granite Properties represented the landlord, GPI Briarpark Green LP. Extended Stay America has selected NewQuest Properties Brad LyBrand and Glenn Dickerson to market four locations for land value. The properties include 2300 W. Loop South, 4701 Westheimer and 7979 Fannin in Houston and 507 S. 1st St. in Austin. Extended Stay acquired the properties in the early 1990s and built mid-rise hotels on each from 1995 to 1998. Houston-based Welcome Group acquired an industrial park at 3004 Aldine Bender consisting of three single-tenant buildings totaling 116,790 square feet on 38.1 acres. The property includes 18.6 acres of stabilized pipe yard that is leased to a pipe distribution company. Other tenants include a crane and construction rental company and an international engineering company. A 30,140-square-foot building is being marketed for lease. Ryan Wasaff and John Wilson represented Welcome Group in the transaction. Spirit of Texas Bank provided financing. Varex Imaging Corp., a Salt Lake City-based developer and supplier of X-ray tubes and components of X-ray imaging systems, leased 5,600 square feet at Westland Tech Center I, 13805 West Road. Coy Davidson of Colliers International, along with Steve Gibson of the San Jose office of Colliers International, represented the tenant. Jeff Schmid with Schmid Investment Corp. represented the landlord, Schmid Moulton Parkway Ltd. Greif Flexible USA leased 32,000 square feet at Liberty Northwest Business Center, 14200 Hollister Road. Geoff Perrot and Ryan Fuselier with JLL represented the tenant. Jeremy Lumbreras and Jeff Pate with Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, Liberty Property Trust. Adco Power Steering Products purchased a 5,100-square-foot industrial property at 5225 Pinemont Drive for relocation from its previous location at 3616 Pinemont Drive. Kyle Fischer of Belvoir represented the buyer. Darren OConnor of NAI Partners represented the seller. Nisez Trading leased 4,855 square feet at Greenbriar Business Park, 4111 Greenbriar Drive. Sandi Garza with Goldenlight Realty represented the tenant. Boone Smith and Garret Geaccone with Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, DRA Advisors. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser Northrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/10/2020 -- The global feed enzymes market size is estimated to be valued at USD 1.2 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 2.0 billion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 9.1% during the forecast period. The provision of cost-effectiveness in the usage of feed and increasing demand for animal-based products, such as meat products, dairy products, and eggs, are primarily driving the industry growth for feed enzymes. The key players in the feed enzymes market include BASF SE (Germany), DowDuPont (US), Koninklijke DSM N.V (Netherlands), and Bluestar Adisseo (China). BASF SE is one of the leading players in the feed enzymes market. It develops and produces feed enzymesunder its performance products segmentfor poultry, ruminants, swine, aquaculture, and companion animals. It has operations in more than 90 countries and operates through its subsidiaries. The company operates across four regions, i.e., North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; and South America, Africa, & the Middle East. It has more than 100 production and research and development sites across North America. The major products of BASF SE include Natugrain TS, Natuphos, and Natuphos E. - In March 2019, the company launched the next-generation phytase, Natuphos E, in Indonesia. This phytase would help release efficient phosphorus, energy, and amino acids in the livestock. It would also promote the growth of swine and poultry in the country. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1157 In September 2017, Dow merged with DuPont and started operating as a single entity, DowDuPont. This merger brought together complementary portfolios of two innovative companies, which were major players in the agriculture, material science, and specialty product industries. However, after the completion of DowDuPont dissolution in 2019, the company split into three major divisions, namely, agriculture (Corteva), specialty products (DuPont), and materials science (Dow), wherein animal nutrition products are offered under its DuPont entity. DuPont has subsidiaries in nearly 90 countries worldwide and has its manufacturing operations in nearly 50 countries. The company operates in the feed enzymes market through its subsidiary, Danisco A/S (Denmark). The animal nutrition segment of DuPont provides innovative enzymes, natural betaine, and probiotic feed technologies for poultry, swine, ruminant, aquaculture, and others. Under feed enzymes, the company also focuses on launching new products in 2019 as compared to the years prior, due to which it has been able to strengthen its position in this market. For instance, DuPont, under its animal nutrition segment, launched Axtra PHY, the latest generation of phytase enzymes in Japan. Koninklijke DSM N. V's businesses are grouped into three clusters, namely, nutrition, materials, and innovation center. The nutrition segment comprises DSM Nutritional Products (Animal Nutrition & Health, Human Nutrition & Health, Personal Care & Aroma Ingredients, and Pharma Solutions), DSM Food Specialties, and DSM Hydrocolloids. The company provides feed enzyme products under the animal nutrition and health segments to poultry, swine, aquaculture, ruminants, and others. It has also entered into an alliance with Novozymes A/S (Denmark) to help expand its presence in the feed enzymes market. It is present in 68 countries across five continents. In 2019, DSM launched Balancius at the 22nd European Symposium under its poultry nutrition (ESPN 2019) segment to strengthen its product portfolio in Europe. Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=1157 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, "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. Ukraine International Airlines PS752 had just left Tehran when it was shot down on January 8, killing 176 people aboard. Iran announced on Saturday that its military unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 people on board. The jetliner, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Ukraine International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff on Wednesday, January 8, just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at US forces in Iraq. The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, when it was shot down. In a statement posted on social media, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote that the country deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. Earlier, Britain and Canada said they had received information suggesting the doomed Flight PS752 with 167 passengers and nine crew many of them Iranians with dual nationalities was hit by an Iranian missile. Here is a recap of other planes hit by missiles over the past four decades. Ukraine: 298 killed July 17, 2014: Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam. All 298 people on board the Boeing 777 are killed, including 193 Dutch nationals. The Kyiv authorities and separatist pro-Russian rebels, who are battling for control of eastern Ukraine, accuse each other of firing the missile that hit the flight. In 2019, Dutch prosecutors named four suspects in the attack, including three former members of the Russian armed forces. On July 17, 2014, a Malaysian airliner was brought down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board [File: Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters] Somalia: 11 killed March 23, 2007: An Ilyushin II-76 cargo aircraft belonging to a Belarusian airline is shot down by a rocket shortly after takeoff from the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, killing 11 people. The plane was transporting Belarusian engineers and technicians who had travelled to the country to repair another plane hit by a missile two weeks earlier. Black Sea: 78 killed October 4, 2001: Seventy-eight people, mostly Israelis, were killed when their Siberia Airlines Russian Tupolev-154, flying from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk, exploded in mid-flight over the Black Sea. The crash happened less than 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the Crimean coast. A week later Kyiv admitted that the disaster was due to the accidental firing of a Ukrainian missile. Iran: 290 killed July 3, 1988: An Airbus A-300 belonging to Iran Air, flying from Bandar Abbas in Iran to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, was shot down in Irans territorial waters in the Persian Gulf shortly after takeoff by two missiles fired from a frigate, USS Vincennes, patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, apparently mistaking it for a fighter aircraft. The 290 passengers on board were killed, including 66 children. Mourners carry coffins through the streets of Tehran during a mass funeral after the warship USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Gulf, killing all 290 people on board [File AP] The United States paid Iran $101.8m in compensation for the victims following a settlement at the International Court of Justice. As part of the agreement, the US did not admit legal liability or formally apologise to Iran for the tragedy. The US later awarded the captain of USS Vincennes, Will C Rogers, the Legion of Merit for his service as a commander. Sakhalin, Russia: 269 killed September 1, 1983: A South Korean Boeing 747 of Korean Air was shot down by Soviet fighter jets over the island of Sakhalin, after veering off course. Some 269 passengers and crew members were killed. Soviet officials acknowledged five days later that they had shot down the South Korean plane. Sinai Dessert: 108 killed February 21, 1973: A Libyan Arab Airline Boeing 727 flying from Tripoli to Cairo was shot down by Israeli fighter jets over the Sinai desert. All but four of the 112 people on board were killed. The Israeli Air Force intervened after the Boeing flew over military facilities in the Sinai, then occupied by Israel. The Israeli authorities said fighters opened fire when the plane refused to land. Is Jeff Bezos shopping online late at night, and getting carried away? That could be the case if the latest rumors are true that the Amazon.com founder has purchased yet another massive mansion in Washington, DCacross the street from the one he already owns! In 2017, news broke that Bezos had dropped a cool $23 million (in cash, no less) on the old Textile Museum property in the posh neighborhood of Kalorama. But now, a source whispering to the Washingtonian says that Bezos has also purchased the property on the other side, at 2325 S Street NW, which went on the market on Dec. 6 for $4,995,000. And what a home it is: Built in 1951, this gorgeous 4,785-square-foot building features a four-floor elevator, 700-bottle wine cellar, private roof deck, and much more that any luxury homeowner would enjoy. While the home's listing agent did not confirm that Bezos was the buyer, there's good reason to suspect that this real estate rumor could be true. For one, homes with this high a price tag tend to sit for months or years before they find a buyer, due to the limited pool of purchasers in this price range. Yet this property got snapped up so fast, you have to wonder who could have heard about this sale, and pounced so quickly, other than the megabillionaire across the street? But the question still stands: Why would Bezos buy a mansion so close to one he already has? The most likely reason is privacy: A house across the street has prime peeping opportunities into his main residence, and that's well worth preventing! "Privacy is paramount for many, especially at his level of wealth and notoriety," says Cedric Stewart, a Keller Williams Capital Properties real estate agent based near Washington, DC. And besides, he adds, "Bezos is used to buying things up and gaining control. I imagine real estate is no exception for him. If I were him, I'd look to own the whole block, and this is a great step in that direction." That's certainly the approach taken by fellow tech titan Mark Zuckerberg, who has snapped up several properties surrounding his main residence in Palo Alto, CA. And even though the price of this DC mansion seems really high to regular folks, Stewart maintains that "it's a steal compared to [Bezos'] primary residence." But while Bezos could have scooped up the house across the street for privacy reasons, California real estate developer Tyler Drew has an entirely different theory for this reported purchase. These purchases are most likely not for personal use, though I'm sure he will stay over a few days a year," Drew says. "No, these residences are more than likely going to go to Bezos' full-time lobbying operations and international outreach for Amazon. And certainly, there are a lot of embassies right around the corner. Within walking distance are Massachusetts Avenue and Embassy Row, where electronic manufacturing powerhouses like Korea, Japan, and India have their embassies. "Having a large permanent lobbyist operation in the heart of DC makes great business sense on the part of Bezos," Drew continues. And Bezos is nothing if not a great businessman. The post Did Jeff Bezos Buy the Mansion Across the Street? Why It Makes Total Sense appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. A man convicted of the 2009 road-rage killing of a Camillus man who also killed a man in a fight in 1967 is making his seventh appeal for parole. William LeVea, 89, of Fulton, is again seeking medical parole, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervisions parole board calendar. The parole board is scheduled to interview LeVea this month. LeVea was drunk when he repeatedly rammed the back of a pickup truck Christopher Spack was driving on Nov. 20, 2009 in Cato, Cayuga County. Spacks truck spun out into oncoming traffic and was hit by an oncoming car. Spack died at the scene. The Camillus man was 41 years old. LeVea was convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide in March 2011. He is serving six to 18 years in the Fishkill Correctional Facility. LeVeas most recent bid for parole marks the fourth time he has applied for medical parole since 2014. LeVea, who has dementia and heart issues, was diagnosed by a state prison doctor with an undisclosed terminal illness, according to a letter the state previously sent the Cayuga County District Attorneys Office. During regularly scheduled parole hearings in 2015, 2017 and 2019, the state also denied LeVea parole. Levea has a violent criminal history that includes beating to death a Fulton man in 1967 and serving a state prison sentence for an Oswego County robbery, according to officials and news accounts. In June 1968, Levea was convicted of felony second-degree assault for the beating death of an Oswego County man in a Fulton bar/restaurant. Levea was initially charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault for fatally injuring James Egan, of Fulton, by clubbing him with a stool and kicking him about the head. Levea was sentenced to five years probation in that case. Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The UK will continue to ban the import of chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef after Brexit, the environment secretary has said, raising doubts over the prospect of a trade deal with the US. Theresa Villiers said the government would adopt an EU ban on the two products once Britain leaves the EU. However, the comments are likely to cause problems during trade talks with the US, which is expected to demand access to UK markets for US food producers. Both chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef are allowed in the US. Ms Villiers latest comments are the strongest yet from a government minister in ruling out allowing the products to enter the UK after Brexit. Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Show all 15 1 /15 Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Pork There will be tariffs on pork in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Cheese There will be tariffs in place on some cheeses including 22.10/100kg of cheddar, 19.10/100kg of processed cheese and 18.60/100kg on some blue cheeses Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Milk There will be no tariffs in place on milk Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Car Parts There will be no tariffs on car parts imported from Europe PA Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Cars However finished cars will face tariffs of 10.6% Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Alcoholic drinks There will be no tariffs on alcoholic drinks - except on some rums due to ingredients used in their distilling process Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Beef There will be tariffs on beef in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Fish There will be no tariffs on many types of fish including cod, haddock, salmon and sea bass Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Fruit and vegetables There will be no tariffs on almost all fruit and vegetables Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Chocolate There will be no tariffs on chocolate or other cocoa products Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Poultry There will be tariffs on poultry in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Ceramics There will be some tariffs in place on ceramis Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Steel There will be no tariffs on steel Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Coal There will be no tariffs on coal Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Lamb/Mutton There will be tariffs on the meat of sheep in order to protect British farmers Getty She told the BBCs Countryfile programme: There are legal barriers to the imports and those are going to stay in place. We will not be importing chlorinated-chicken. We will not be importing hormone-treated beef. Both of those are illegal under EU law, which we are importing into our domestic system. Insisting that ministers would hold the line on food standards, she added: We will defend our national interests and our values, including our high standards of animal welfare. Recommended Tories defend US food standards amid concerns about trade deal The government has toughened its position following warnings from consumer groups, British farmers and opposition politicians. Ministers previous refusal to rule out banning chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef had fuelled fears about food standards being lowered after Brexit. Responding to the latest news, Luke Pollard, the shadow environment secretary, said: We cant trust any trade deal promises from the Tories when the government has held secret talks in which the US offered to help convince the British public about chlorinated chicken. BISHKEK -- The United States has joined media-freedom watchdogs in calling on Kyrgyz authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into this weeks assault of the editor in chief of an investigative website that has covered allegations of corruption. The U.S. Embassy in Bishkek condemned the January 9 attack against Bolot Temirov of the website FactCheck, saying: "Press can only be free when journalists are able to work without intimidation and threats," it said in a statement. The previous day, unidentified assailants beat Temirov while he was on his way to work in the capital, Bishkek, before stealing his mobile phone, his colleagues said. In a Facebook post, Temirov labelled the incident "an attempt to frighten" him. The journalist lost a tooth in the attack and suffered bruises to his face, one of his colleagues told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekovs office denounced the attack and called for a prompt investigation. OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir also condemned the attack and insisted that no intimidation of journalists should be tolerated. Meanwhile, the New York-based CPJ urged Kyrgyz authorities to determine whether the assault was related to Temirovs work and to ensure that reporters can cover corruption allegations without fearing for their safety. Last month, FactCheck and several other news websites were hacked after they published reports on alleged corruption and the lavish lifestyles of a former custom officials family members. With reporting by RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service An A.M. Best report released in June gave a comprehensive look at the state of the cyber insurance market for 2018, the most recent year data was available, stating that it has seen continued growth and underwriting performance in this line of business. In fact, the report said direct premiums written for both standalone and packaged cyber policies grew about 12 percent in 2018 from $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion. It stated the growth was a bit of a slowdown from a growth rate of 30 percent for the previous two years, however the $2.0 billion in DPW is more than double what was written in 2015. Additionally, 528 U.S. insurers reported writing cyber insurance in 2018, up from 471 in 2017. The A.M. Best report, Cyber Insurers Are Profitable Today, but Wary of Tomorrows Risks, noted that total claims grew 39% in 2018 compared to 2017, which it said reflects a changing market with more SMEs buying coverage. In 2018, there were more than 12 million first-party claims for costs associated with breach notifications, credit monitoring for customers and business interruption. A.M. Best also identified the top five cyber insurers by DPW, the top cyber writers in terms of policies in force, as well as market challenges for the cyber insurance space in its state of the cyber insurance market report, which served as Insurance Journals top cyber insurance news for 2019. Check out Insurance Journals additional top 10 cyber insurance stories for 2019 based on reader metrics below: Readers were interested in this Bloomberg report regarding NotPetyas impact on global drugmaker Merck on June 27, 2017, as well as the lingering impact of the attack afterward as it spread from country to country. At Merck, the attack was devastating, crippling more than 30,000 laptop and desktop computers, as well as 7,500 servers, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Beyond Merck, it hit FedEx, the shipping giant Maersk, the global confectioner Mondelez International, the advertising firm WPP, and hundreds of other companies. All in all, the White House said in a statement afterward, it was the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history, the Bloomberg report stated. At the beginning of the year, readers took interest in this report written by Yakir Golan, CEO of Tel Aviv-based Kovrr, a provider of predictive modeling that aims to help insurers understand, quantify and minimize cyber risk. Golan wrote that cyber insurance was expected to continue trending upward in 2019 as the industry grows and the technology around continues to evolve at a very quick pace. While predictions are always hard to make, he named in January five trends expected to catapult the cyber insurance industry forward and creating fertile ground for growth in 2019. In May, Bloomberg reported that cyber risks will soon become bigger risks than natural catastrophes for the insurance sector, according to Scor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Denis Kessler, who recommended the industry build a comprehensive, common global scale to assess cyber-related incidents. I dream of a kind of Richter scale for cyber security, Kessler said at a conference on cybersecurity held at the Bank of France, referring to the scale used to measure earthquakes. It would be very helpful to have measurement and modeling tools. Unless we can model, its very difficult for us to provide coverage. We have scenarios but not modeling tools. Bloomberg reported on the conference, in which cybersecurity experts and top executives in the financial sector as well as representatives from the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the central banks of Canada and Japan convened in Paris to assess the risk. This year, Insurance Journal held its first live cyber webinar, which provided an overview of the cyber insurance industry by taking a look at how cyber coverage benefits businesses, challenges insurers face regarding cyber coverage and how the industry could evolve in the future. The hour-long webinar, which is still accessible to watch on demand through Insurance Journals research page, answered questions about why cyber insurance is important for businesses, what the coverage typically looks like, why some businesses may not be buying it, whether it has been profitable for insurance companies and whats in store for the future. In January, Insurance Journal readers were interested in an opinion column by Bloomberg View columnist Leonid Bershidsky, contending that the $100 million lawsuit that Mondelez, the maker of Oreos and Cadbury chocolate, brought against Zurich Insurance Group shows that governments should be more careful about identifying the would-be culprits in putative cyber-wars. The column stated such claims can have unintended consequences and can sometimes harm businesses. The ransomware attacks on public entities in Texas, Florida, Maryland, Georgia and elsewhere in 2019 raised questions not only about paying ransoms but also about the role of insurance in helping these targets get back to serving the public, Insurance Journal reported in September. Whether to pay a ransom is a difficult decision and the negotiating skills that insurers bring to such situations represent just some of the expertise that cyber insurance can provide public entities faced with a ransomware incident, according to Tim Francis, enterprise cyber lead at Travelers. In a wide-ranging interview with Insurance Journal that took place before the August ransomware attack on 22 Texas cities, Francis discussed cyber insurance, ransomware and the circumstances facing municipalities. Insurance broker Marsh in September unveiled the inaugural class of cybersecurity products and services receiving a Cyber Catalyst designation that is part of an evaluation program its backers hope will bring greater clarity in the crowded cybersecurity marketplace. Cyber Catalyst by Marsh, launched in 2019, convened cyber insurers Allianz, AXIS, AXA XL, Beazley, CFC, Munich Re, Sompo International and Zurich North America to identify products and services they consider effective in reducing cyber risk. Marsh said more than 150 cybersecurity offerings, spanning a broad range of categories from hardware to messaging security to Internet of Things (IoT) security, were submitted for evaluation. 17 products were rated worthy of the first-ever Cyber Catalyst designation in 2019. Marsh issued a new report on the cyber market in April, titled More Cyber Insurance Buyers as Awareness Grows. The report indicated the message about the need to take cyber risk and insurance seriously is getting through to companies and boardrooms, as it stated the estimated cyber insurance market increased to $1.8 billion in 2018, three times what it was in 2015. As risk awareness has grown, more organizations, particularly those focused on their business interruption risk, are turning to the cyber insurance market for protection, according to Tom Reagan, U.S. Cyber Practice Leader for global insurance broker Marsh. Given the increasing frequency of cyber breaches, along with the presence of more varied and evolving threats, there is growing uncertainty about the ability of the cybersecurity industry to protect its customers, according to Asaf Lifshitz, CEO and Co-Founder of Sayata Labs, in an article published on Insurance Journal after originally publishing in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management. In the article, Lifshitz states there is virtually no company that isnt a potential target for a cyber attack, from mom-and-pop storefronts to Fortune 500 companies. Even with the best possible cybersecurity posture, there is always a threat of a breach, he says. In an Insurance Journal viewpoint column published in July, Josh Ladeau, the global head of cyber and tech errors and omissions at Aspen Insurance, discussed the increased vulnerability of small businesses to a cyber attack compared to larger entities, and what smaller businesses need to acknowledge in order to be better prepared for a cyber incident. In the column, Ladeau stated that in contrast to larger entities, small businesses almost universally lack the security awareness and preparedness of their larger brethren. The Keeper Security/Ponemon Institute SMB Report cites 54% of small- to medium-sized businesses believe their companies are too small to be ransomware targets, and Continuums 2019 Small Business Cyber Security Report stated that 62% of SMBs do not have the in-house skills to properly manage cyber security. A new year is now underway and with it could come new cyber risks and trends, so be sure to check out Insurance Journals Research and Trends page for additional resources and information on all things cyber. Happy new year, and thanks for subscribing to Insuring Cyber. Topics Carriers Cyber Market The first nights of 2020 were harsh for Iraqis who stayed up late following the accelerating developments and resulting feelings about a possible Iranian-American war on the country territory after a US drone killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, along with several others, near the Baghdad airport Jan. 3. The assassination left Iraqis divided and led many American oil workers to flee Iraq the same day amid fears of an expected Iranian retaliation. It also cast a dark shadow over the countrys widespread civil protests that erupted in Baghdad and major southern cities Oct. 1. \[US President Donald] Trump committed a catastrophic mistake by killing Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as he handed over a large part of Iraqi Shiites to Iran again after a large section of them turned against Iran's interventions in Iraq since Octobers demonstrations, Ali Bashar, a political scientist at Bayan University in Erbil, told Al-Monitor. This action has also increased the hostility of the USAs enemies in Iraq, namely the Binaa Alliance, he added. Soleimani, who was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was a major player in Irans dominating influence over Iraq, Caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, calling it an outrageous breach of Iraqi sovereignty and the terms of the American forces presence. In an emergency session Jan. 5, the Iraqi parliament approved a draft bill requiring the government to ask Washington to withdraw American troops from the country, rescinding an Iraqi invitation to US forces made when the Islamic State (IS) overran large swaths of Iraqs northwest in 2014. However, the move is largely symbolic, as it sets no timetable for withdrawal and is subject to Abdul Mahdis approval. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shrugged off the vote urged by an outgoing prime minister under enormous Iranian threats." Pompeo told Fox News Sunday, We are confident that the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there to fight the counterterror campaign.. Expressing their fears of a proxy war, anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad took to the street with a banner addressing both Iran and the United States that said Keep your conflicts away from Iraq and also launched a hashtag #IraqIsNotWarGround. All protesters throughout Iraq reject any interference in the country's internal affairs, whether it was American or Iranian, said Montadhar al-Nazzal, a journalist and activist from Basra. The recent attack is a breach of national sovereignty. The demonstrators want the complete removal of all foreign forces. However, we are afraid of a possible backlash because Iraq does not have enough resources to survive possible sanctions. The United States still has nearly 5,000 troops in Iraq on a handful of bases. Despite the Iraqi parliament's Jan. 5 vote, few expect the government to actually expel the Americans. For many Iraqis, the US presence seems vital to the countrys security and a counterweight to Iranian influence. After what US officials termed a poorly worded" draft letter talking about US military repositioning in Iraq leaked online, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the letter had no value. Theres been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq, he said, confirming the US commitment to the fight against IS, in Iraq and elsewhere. Ameer Raad, a mechanical engineer from Babylon, said, We have no real statesmen to look after our interests. The decisions are emotional ones, based on reactions. He added, The USA will never abandon Iraq so easily as a result of a request from an illegitimate parliaments session. In response to the parliaments call, Trump threatened severe sanctions against Iraq, leaving many people concerned of the consequences. "We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that's there, Trump said, It cost billions of dollars to build. We're not leaving unless they pay us back for it. Many Kurdish and Sunni legislators largely boycotted the vote and it is still questionable whether the quorum of 165 was reached. Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi, a Sunni, refused to head the parliament session and pleaded with Shiite legislators to reconsider their decision, warning of possible severe economic consequences for the country. The parliaments decision does not represent us, Karrar Ahmed, a 25-year-old protester from Najaf told Al-Monitor, We are not represented by the decisions taken by Iran nor by those who mourn Soleimani, who had been killing us for three months. Nazzal also questioned the sessions legitimacy. It was not attended by all Iraqis representatives, he said, However, the voting was emotional rather than a strategically planned one as Iraqi politicians have not presented the alternatives or studied the expected consequences of such a withdrawal. Nightmares of IS atrocities still haunt many Iraqis. Many experts express fear that a US departure could produce a resurgence of IS, as thousands of the terrorist group's fighters continue to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Freezing the international coalition's cooperation with Iraq might be a golden opportunity for IS to resume its attacks in parts of Kirkuk, Mosul, Anbar and Tikrit, said Bashar. IS' reemergence will strongly empower the Iranian-backed militias under the pretext of fighting terrorism, he added. Bashar also fears a much worse consequence of a US withdrawal: a split of Iraq into three. Insisting on the withdrawal might lead the USA to go to Kurdistan and impose waves of economic and political sanctions on Iraq regarding oil exports, financial assets and terrorism funding. An embargo imposed by the international community is expected, too, said Bashar, Iraq might enter into a dire financial crisis, increasing the differences between the Kurds and Baghdad, forcing them to leave the boat and eventually splitting the entire country. Fears of escalations between Iran and the United were intensifying when Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases hosting US and coalition troops Jan. 8, declaring the strikes to be retaliation for the killing of Soleimani. In an attempt to lessen the diplomatic fallout of this attack, Iran notified Iraq shortly after midnight that the attack had begun and clarified that any strikes would be limited to locations where the US military was present, the Iraqi prime ministers office said. No Iraqi or coalition forces' personnel were killed or injured and all parties appeared to signal they did not wish the situation to escalate further. Bashar and others fear that the demonstrations will be the conflict's scapegoat. Rabab Ibrahim, a 24-year-old dentist from Babylon, said, I feel concerned about the protests fate. Protesters numbers started to decrease. Killing Soleimani revealed the real religious affiliations of certain voices we thought patriotic. It was a very big hit to the protests and with such bad timing, she added, I feel it has revived the sectarian spirit we were about to get rid of. We welcome the USA as an ally with whom we share benefits, not an enemy that kills us. We are not agents of any other country. We are Iraqis looking for Iraqs interest. I think we should win the USA as an ally, for it takes and gives in return. Iran just sucked our blood. Others only option is to keep protesting and demanding peoples legitimate rights. Ending this revolution means the end of Iraq and our own lives as we will end up wanted by the militias, added Ahmed. We must increase the protests' momentum until the patriotic spirit spreads again, said Raad, expecting a new wave of protests Jan. 10, This is Iraqs only real chance. Crying, sitting next to my crying mom, and watching Greta Gerwigs wonderful Little Women over the holidays, I couldnt stop thinking about Zosia Mamets cameo as Louisa May Alcott on Apple TV+s Dickinson. Mamet gives us Alcott as a brash young author who turns up for Christmas dinner at the Dickinson house, irritating the daintier friend who brought her along by trumpeting the $35 she just earned for her first book. Hearing that Emily is also a writer, Alcott takes her for a jog across the fields before dinner (the real Alcott, who was full of fiery energy, often ran for pleasure), and gets right down to brass tacks. To support yourself as an author, Mamets Alcott advises, you should go straight for the sensational material. Dont ever get married; dont fret over your familys disapproval; and whatever you do, dont be a poet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Little Womens central character, Jo March, has always been identified with Alcott, but Gerwigs version makes the link explicit, climaxing with Saoirse Ronans intrepid Jo writing a book called Little Women. Gerwigs Jo isnt quite so mercenary as Mamets Alcott, and over the course of the film she finds there are limits to what shell write for cash, but her financial motive for writing in the first place is never in doubt. In one year, we got two portraits of a wholly unsentimental Louisa May: not dutys child, the familys sole support, as her father Amos Bronson Alcott called her; not the moralizing childrens friend, teaching lessons of duty and piety to the young, as 19th- and early 20th-century biographers described her; not even exactly the feminist icon going her own way presented in the many childrens biographies of the author that have been published since second-wave feminism made strong women into a kids book category of its own. Dickinsons Alcott and Gerwigs Jo have this in common: They are all about that money. Advertisement Advertisement Gerwig described the decision to foreground finances in her movie on an episode of the Ringers Big Picture podcast. When I reread the book as an adult, money was all over it. So much of what the book was about was the kind of underlying economic question of how, because they didnt have ability to earn money, hold property, vote, women had no way to really make art. This, Gerwig said, is why the movie opens and closes with Jos editor, Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts). We did a close-up of her hand handing Mr. Dashwood the story, and his hand handing the money back, because to me that exchange is at the core of what the book is about, Gerwig said. Im going to give you my art and you will give me money. And we even, in the sound editing, heightened the sound of [paper changing hands] to highlight subconsciously that this was what was going on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Underlining the connection between her adaptations protagonist and the novels author, Gerwig worked lines from Alcotts own letters into her script, like I cant afford to starve on praise, which Alcott wrote after Henry James panned her 1864 novel Moods. He was like, This is trash, and she was like, Not all of us are trust fund kids, baby, Gerwig told the Ringer. She outsold him by a factor of like 20 to 1. This new Jo, eyes on the money, is a true creature of our time. The story of Little Women and the life of its authoralways intertwined in the public mind, despite the novels many departures from Alcotts real lifeboth center the financial plight of 19th-century women, but previous adaptations have emphasized other themes. Anne Hollander, writing after the release of the 1994 Gillian Armstrong adaptation in the New York Times, argued that the 1933 George Cukor version, catering to Great Depressionera escapism, obscured the March familys genteel poverty with the comfortable glow of nostalgia, which gave a heartening strength to the films vision of courage in the face of want. The 1949 version, she added, visually plays down the March familys makeshift amusements and threadbare arrangements because postwar Americans would not find signs of want entertaining. Little Women, for decades of filmgoers, has been a classic American story about girls who lived happily, despite some deprivation, because they had each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That may have been some part of the truth of Alcotts childhood in a close family of daughters, but the author also knew from an early age that her future happinessand that of her sisters and motherdepended on her finding something lucrative to do. Alcott softened her real-life familys circumstances in order to create the March household; her own life was marked from childhood by brutal poverty. In Edens Outcasts, a dual biography of Louisa and her father Bronson, who was a transcendentalist and reformer, John Matteson shows how his persistent optimism and idealism (and, possibly, his untreated mental illness) condemned his wife and four daughters to lives of deprivation. In Little Women, the Marches, led by Marmee and Beth, are do-gooders who give their breakfasts to impoverished neighbors the Hummels and speak constantly of their duty to the poor. But in real life, writes Anne Trubek, the Alcott family, from Louisas birth to death, was, to most of middle-class mainstream America, a bunch of weirdo radicals, who supported John Brown, progressive education, and womens rights. And the children paid dearly for their parents beliefs. Advertisement Advertisement The Alcotts were friends with some of the most interesting and prominent writers of the time, but they never had enough to support themselves, and the women worked and worried while Bronson tried and failed again and again to find ways to make money that would also further his causes. Matteson calls Louisas childhood and youth an almost impossibly dissonant combination of superior intellectual opportunities and frightful worldly deprivation. Louisa spoke about books with Ralph Waldo Emerson, and received instruction in nature study from Henry David Thoreau, but went home to food insecurity and a mother who fretted constantly about debt. The family moved constantly. Louisas life was in one sense lavishly wealthy, Matteson writes. In another, it was perilously poor. Advertisement This new Jo, eyes on the money, is a true creature of our time. As young as age 10, when the family was living (and starving) at her fathers experimental utopian farm Fruitlands, Louisa wrote in her diary on her mothers birthday, I wish I was rich, I wish I was good, and we were all a happy family. Matteson observes that it was especially forbidden, within Bronson Alcotts belief system, to covet money. From our 21st-century perches, we Jo fans identify most often with Jos tomboyish tendencies. But Louisas firm commitment to finding financial security for her family was another thing that marked her as different from the more spiritually minded people that surrounded her. Because religion and belief are usually stripped from contemporary adaptations of Little Women (including Gerwigs), its hard to get a glimpse of the spiritual struggle that Louisas deep need for more money created for this daughter of a dreamer. In 2020, we understand striving, if nothing else. Advertisement Jos twin fixations on writing and money interact in the novel Little Women in interesting ways. If, in some parts of the story, Jo fits the romantic picture of an author driven only by the musegarret, special writing cap, candle, writing vortex that lasts all nightin other parts, she just wants to get paid. There is an apparently glad ending for Jos writing life in the book. Jo abandons the sensation stories she writes in New York, the ones that paid so well. She then tries her hand at moral tales, which dont suit her either, and finally prompted by Marmees suggestion to write something thats just for her familysettles on authenticity. That commitment to the true thing generates the domestic stories that are the fictional analog to Little Women. Happy medium, right? The girl gets the money by writing the things that feel right to write. (Then she sets down her penat least for the time beingin favor of marriage and running a school.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The genius of Gerwigs adaptation is that she spins the books ending, when Jo gets rescued from the undesirable fate of spinsterism by the sudden appearance of (the far-too-handsome-on-purpose) Professor Bhaer, as another bit of fiction. The movie makes it clear (or clear-ish) that this is a romantic turn Jo has inserted into the story to please her publishers. In the true ending of the movie, which Gerwig has described as girl gets book, Jo watches a copy of Little Women being produced, savoring each part of the binding of her book, and finally, with it in her hands, sighs in happiness. In 2020, we understand striving, if nothing else. Gerwig can be pardoned for wanting some kind of closureliterary, if not romantic. But in real life, that closure never came. Alcott found the prospect of writing Little Women to be somewhat unappealing (Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters) and described herself as plodding away on the work of writing it. Nor did finishing the book help her find her voice. When all was said and done, Alcotts career, writes Susan Naomi Bernstein, was full of fits and starts: random efforts in different directions, sometimes motivated by art and sometimes by money. Alcott wrote juvenile fiction, autobiographical adult fiction, an experimental adult novel, a sentimental adult novel, sensation stories, and a gothic novelthat last one was published anonymously as late as 1877, after the Little Women money had already gotten the family out of debt. Advertisement Advertisement Even once she was safe, Louisa could not stop writing for money. The fixation exacerbated a chronic illness that latter-day analysts think may have been lupus. She wrote so muchironically putting in 14-hour days on her 1871 novel about women and the problem of employment, Work: A Story of Experiencethat she caused permanent paralytic nerve damage to one of her hands. On the day she died, as Sarah Lahey points out in an assessment of Alcotts compulsive work habits, this wealthy author was still writing down every single expense in her diarya habit for decades. Her characteristic state of mind, Matteson writes, had in it a sense of constant insufficiency that she seemed powerless to eradicate. Advertisement Advertisement Contrast this with Bronson Alcotts insistence on writing the most idealistic, purest possible work. At one point, the elder Alcott published a series of pompous Orphic Sayings in the transcendentalist magazine the Dial. These were met with complete derision from critics. Despite the universal laughter, he kept turning out these Sayings and insisted on attaching his name to them. They stand as an incarnation of transcendentalism at its most ebullient and its most fatuous, Matteson writes. They so severely damaged Alcotts reputation as a writer that no editor went near another important piece of his writing for a quarter century. What would it have felt like, as a young person, to watch your father stick so strongly to his beliefs, even while you saw your mother suffer? It might sharpen your feminism. It might make you into a workhorse of an author, willing to write anything for pay. It might make you Louisa May Alcott. As part of a comprehensive review of Kearney's existing brand and value proposition, the firm reached out to clients, firm partners, colleagues, and alumni for their perspectives on what they find distinctive and valuable in Kearney people, how they work, and how the firm contributes to client successall of which contributed to shaping the new brand messaging, visual identity, and a highly personal storytelling approach to communications. "Our people are our brand, and our rebrand focuses squarely on that personal dimension," said Abby Klanecky, Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at Kearney. One example of Kearney's new brand direction is a commitment to eliminating stock photography and using 100% crowdsourced imagery from Kearney colleagues, showcasing their individual perspectives from around the world. From October to December 2019, the company collected more than 10,000 original photographs shot by Kearney's global employees. The new name "Kearney" also reflects the firm's emphasis on community. Kearney remains wedded to the values and commitment to client service embodied by the firm's founder, Andrew Thomas Kearney. Removing initials "A.T." from the name recognizes the broader global Kearney family of employees, alumni, and friends who contribute to its success. "For decades, our brand was centered primarily around our heritage, in which we take extraordinary pride," said Klanecky. "While showcasing our firm's family name demonstrates that we remain true to our origins, our updated name, brand voice, and visual identity are more concise and personal, embracing who we are today." Alex Liu, Chairman and Managing Partner of Kearney, observed, "The most exciting aspect of our new brand is that it so accurately captures our voice. Our firm is refreshingly real, relatable, and original. To that end, we are eliminating industry jargon. Kearney people are always themselves. We speak plainly, listen closely, and build great working relationships. We take joy in each other, and in every success achieved side by side with our clients." Kearney engaged global brand strategy, design, and experience firm Siegel+Gale to help gather insights from clients, partners, colleagues, and stakeholder communities to pinpoint distinguishing and original firm traits. "Brand is a valuable asset that is often overlooked," said Philip Davies, President, EMEA, Siegel+Gale. "Kearney has always taken pride in placing its people at the center of what it does, and this rebrand highlights this unique approach. Many brands invest in clearly defining their purpose, but then fail to activate it. Kearney is a great example of a brand living its purpose through people centricity." About Kearney As a global consulting partnership in more than 40 countries, our people make us who we are. We're individuals who take as much joy from those we work with as the work itself. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we help our clients break through. Media Contact: Ryan Dicovitsky/Stephanie Dressler Dukas Linden Public Relations Email: [email protected] Phone: +1-212-704-7385 SOURCE Kearney Related Links https://www.atkearney.com In a huge development, the United Nations has intervened in the Central government's decision to deport Rohingyas. Moving to the Supreme Court on Friday, the UN rapporteur has filed a petition claiming that the deportation of Rohingyas is invalid as per international human rights law. The top court has sought a response from the Centre on the plea filed by the UN rapporteur. Earlier, in 2017, the central government had directed state authorities to identify and deport Rohingyas. Centre mulls next move on deportation of Rohingya refugees from India after CAA India, however, is not a signatory to 1951 UN Convention on Refugees or 1967 protocol which bars nations from expelling refugees. Nevertheless, there is an international law called non-refoulment that forbids a country receiving refugees from returning them to a country where they would be facing the danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." India orders to deport Rohingyas The Indian government states that Rohingyas are illegal minorities and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, back in 2018, had said in the Parliament that all illegal refugees including Rohingyas will be deported. Following this, the Supreme Court on September 2018, deferred a plea filed by two Rohingya refugees challenging Centre's decision to deport them. In October 2018, India first deported seven Rohingya men to Myanmar. Furthermore, in January, it deported a Rohingya family of five - its second deportation. However, the Calcutta High Court, in the first week of this year, stayed the deportation of a Rohingya couple who had illegally entered India back in 2017 and was about to be deported. The bench had not only issued a stay order but also a notice to the Bengal Government to provide basic amenities to the couple to help them "live a life with dignity." The bench said that it was taking this decision to "uphold the spirit of humanity." UN condemns human rights abuses against Myanmar's Rohingya Who are Rohingyas? Rohingyas are an ethnic minority in Myanmar residing in the Rakhine state of the country. While most of the Rohingyas are Muslims, very few are also Hindus. The Buddhist majority nation of Myanmar claims that Rohingyas are residents of Bangladesh and that some have formed insurgent groups like Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. However, the Rohingyas claim they are citizens of Myanmar and have faced brutal repression from Myanmar's military, and have been denied citizenship. UN on Rohingyas As the Rohingyas crisis unfolded in 2017, the UN had called it "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." UN human rights council High Commissioner Zeid Raad Al Hussein had denounced the brutal security operation against the Rohingya in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Back in 2019, the United Nations General Assembly had also passed a resolution strongly condemning rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims. In December last year, state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, appeared in the UN's top court and denied the charges that the military had attempted to exterminate Rohingyas. However, she admitted that the army may have used excessive force against Rohingya Muslims. Calcutta HC stays deportation of Rohingya couple to "uphold the spirit of humanity" Rohingya Exodus Nearly 7,40,000 Rohingya Muslims were forced to take refuge in several camps in Bangladesh after Myanmars military launched a crackdown on the minority group. The crackdown on minorities tarnished state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's global image, following which Amnesty International revoked its highest honour -- the Ambassador of Conscience Award that it had conferred in 2009. After Suu Kyis defence at the ICJ, the human rights organisation in a statement accused the leader of downplaying the severity of the crimes committed against the Rohingya Muslims. Suu Kyi has denied the genocide of Rohingyas and called it "lies". Bangladesh FM Momen says Myanmar has 'softened' stance on Rohingya issue post ICJ hearing THIRTY-two jobs will be axed at two Rotherham steelworks as their owners cut more than 350 posts across the country. Libertys steel and bar plant at Aldwarke and the strip mill at Brinsworth are among seven sites affected by the restructuring, which will see at least 250 redundancies at Stocksbridge and 72 in Newport, Wales. It is understood 17 jobs will go at Aldwarke and 15 at Brinsworth. Ross Murdoch, national officer for steelworkers union GMB, said: Our steelworkers deserve better than this. The Government urgently needs to intervene and ensure steel companies in the UK receive the backing they have long called for on energy costs and business rates. GMB will of course engage with the company to mitigate any losses for our members and continue to campaign with our sister steel trade unions to bring about the support and investment required. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said she was extremely concerned and saddened adding: My deepest sympathy goes to those facing redundancy and their families. People losing their salaries will have far reaching repercussions and a direct impact on local communities and businesses. I will be urging Liberty to ensure they support affected employees to find new jobs and opportunities and to give reassurance that their long-term plans for the business still stand. I will also be working with Rotherham Council and Government agencies to see that a package of support is in place. Ms Champion also backed the GMBs call for Government help to tackle steelmakers costs, especially energy bills and business rates. It is their duty to protect the steel sector and I have requested an urgent meeting with the minister to hold them to account on these points, she said. Liberty part of the GFG Alliance group said it aimed to seek voluntary redundancies in the first instance and would set up GFG Workforce Solutions to help the affected staff find new jobs. Chief executive Cornelius Louwrens said: Unfortunately, the steel industry in the UK is facing challenging conditions and we have made the difficult decision that there is a need to reduce the workforce at a handful of locations, in order to make them sustainable for the long-term. It has always been our intention, and always will be, to avoid compulsory redundancies. Our commitment to these steelworks, and our ambition for the future of this business, is as strong as ever. The self-proclaimed 'world's first supermodel' Janice Dickinson enjoyed a smoke with a guy pal while waiting for her car at Sunset Strip hotspot Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. The New York-born, Florida-raised beauty will celebrate her 65th birthday next month. Janice was wearing a faux leopard-print coat over a black corseted top, matching leggings, booties, and a blue-fringed bag for a pop of color. Puffing away: The self-proclaimed 'world's first supermodel' Janice Dickinson enjoyed a smoke with a guy pal while waiting for her car at Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood Coincidentally, Chateau Marmont was where Dickinson met her fourth husband Dr. Robert 'Rocky' Gerner in 2012. The breast cancer survivor and the 73-year-old psychiatrist celebrated their third wedding anniversary on December 10. Janice is mother to daughter Savannah, 25; with ex-boyfriend Michael Birnbaum; and son Nathan, 32, with ex-husband #2 Simon Fields. Dickinson will next serve judging duties for a Revolve fashion show on Monday's episode of ABC dating competition The Bachelor alongside Raissa Gerona and Carson Kressley. Nicotine fix: The New York-born, Florida-raised beauty will celebrate her 65th birthday next month Burberry scarf: Janice was wearing a faux leopard-print coat over a black corseted top, matching leggings, booties, and a blue-fringed bag for a pop of color Celebrated third anniversary on December 10! Coincidentally, Chateau Marmont was where Dickinson met her fourth husband Dr. Robert 'Rocky' Gerner in 2012 (pictured September 27) Delta Air Lines pilot Peter Weber will date 33 potential brides - as well as Bachelorette 15 Hannah Brown - ranging in age from 22-31 during the 24th season. The former ANTM judge - who graced the cover of Vogue 37 times - frequently posts vintage footage from her hey-day, including a Japanese commercial for VHS last week. Back in July, Janice received an 'epicly large' confidential settlement from convicted sexual assaulter Bill Cosby's insurance company AIG in her defamation case. All for Pilot Pete! The breast cancer survivor will next serve judging duties for a Revolve fashion show on Monday's episode of ABC dating competition The Bachelor alongside Raissa Gerona (L) and Carson Kressley (R, pictured September 27) 'Oh god, the eighties': Janice - who graced the cover of Vogue 37 times - frequently posts vintage footage from her hey-day, including a Japanese commercial for VHS last week In 2014, Dickinson was one of 61 brave women to come forward about being drugged and raped in 1982 by the 82-year-old comedian, who's serving 3-10 years in a Pennsylvania prison. 'To be clear, AIG's settlement of this lawsuit has no bearing whatsoever on the merit of Ms. Dickinson's claims,' Cosby's team said in a statement. 'This is the third example in recent months of AIG robbing Mr. Cosby of the opportunity to clear his name in a court of law, where evidence and truthfulness are supposed to be elevated above headlines and gossip.' 'A settlement is a victory': Back in July, Dickinson received an 'epicly large' confidential settlement from convicted sexual assaulter Bill Cosby's insurance company AIG in her defamation case (pictured July 25) ISIS has claimed the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was an act of 'divine intervention' and that it will benefit their jihadist cause. After the assassination of Soleimani, the head of the Iran's elite Quds force, the US-led coalition tasked with holding back ISIS in Iraq paused all operations, turning itself instead on Iranian aggression directed towards America. In the weekly ISIS newspaper al-Naba, the extremists said that while their enemies were fighting each other, draining energy and resources, the jihadists would be able to regroup, according to the BBC. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters march shown in propaganda photos released by the militants A few days after the attack, NATO pulled 'some personnel' from the country, explaining that 'the safety of our personnel is paramount', after fears were raised that the Islamic Republic could lash out at Westerners in Iraq after the hit. Germany extracted all military training personnel from Iraq to Jordan and Kuwait. Those personnel, along with other European allies, were in Iraq tasked with training the country's security forces to stop the extremist regrouping in the region after they were finally vanquished in December 2017. Despite the recent lull in aggression from both Iran and US President Donald Trump, Iraq's Shi'a militias have pledged to avenge Soleimani's death. Soleimani (left), the architect of Tehran's overseas clandestine and military operations as head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, was killed on Friday in a US drone strike (President Trump right) on his convoy at Baghdad airport upporters of Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite armed groups popular mobilization forces gather around the coffins of slain Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and his companions during a funeral procession in Basra city, southern Iraq on 07 January 2020 The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) a state-sponsored umbrella organisation composed of some 40 independent Shi'a militia groups, have pledged to drive US forces from the region and have not opted out of attacking Western personnel as Iran are alleged to have done with their botched missile strike. This bodes well for the Sunni extremists who were only stopped by a two-year campaign carried out by a US-led coalition advising the Iraqi army, according to the BBC. In December 2017, three years after the extremists commandeered a third of the country, then Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the extremists had been driven out. Soleimani's body was returned to Iran on Sunday. People are seen carrying his casket upon arrival at Ahvaz International Airport in Tehran. The casket was greeted by chants of 'Death to America' as Iran issued new threats of retaliation The UK has armed forces personnel deployed in a variety of locations across the Middle East According to the BBC, they still stomp across the lives of thousands in areas where they first laid their roots. Less open combat, and more guerilla tactics, the ISIS machine could start once more, should the US coalition be hampered in its attempts to stop them. Iraqi and Kurdish news feature grisly murders, reports of extortion and ambushes on Iraqi forces with increasing regularity. Those Iraqi security forces, who developed into a semi-elite fighting force because of US and European training, are now in a difficult position since the US-coalition paused its operations. Men suspected of being Islamic State (IS) fighters wait to be searched by members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after leaving the IS group's last holdout of Baghouz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province in February 2019 The BBC reported that once ISIS took control of Mosul in 2014, the PMF were rallied by Soleimani and Iraq's chief cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who told them to drive the fight to the Sunni extremists. Since then, the PMF went on a brutal campaign of reaping against the Sunni extremists. According to the BBC, the death of Soleimani would have been a sight to celebrate for the hardliners. Montgomery County Republican voters have a big decision to make this March as they choose a nominee to face off with a democratic challenger in November to fill the bench of the newly created 457th state District Court. The field of five candidates bring a wide range of experience and qualifications to the race for the court that will focus solely on civil cases. The group met Thursday night during the Montgomery County Eagle Forum to discuss why they are the best pick for the bench. Vying the Republican nod are Chris Buck, Robert Bobby Kasprzak, Vince Santini, Bruce Coulson Tough and Eric Yollick. Introduced in February by state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, Toth said he requested the new judicial district at the behest of the Montgomery County Commissioners Court and county judges in light of a caseload growth. Buck, who grew up in Magnolia area, was licensed to practice law in 2008 and he has been handling civil litigation since then. Im in a courthouse daily, he said. Im in front of courts that do it well and unfortunately some courts that do it poorly. I understand what the good courts do well to move cases along efficiently with taxpayer dollars. Buck added, while moving cases through the system quickly is important, remembering those case numbers are real people is crucial. They are stressed, they are intimidated, they are overwhelmed, he said. To help them get some resolution at the end of their case and to see the weight lifted off their shoulders is rewarding and that is why I want to be a judge, to be able to do that on a broader scale. Kasprzak, who has been working as a civil attorney since 2005, said the role of an attorney and judge are vastly different. The attorney must zealously represent the client with the clients best interest, he said. The judge serves to make sure the parties play by the rules and must be careful not to show a biased or give any preferential treatment to either side. He added he has the judicial temperament to serve on the bench for the new court. Im not the star of the show, which may hurt me as a politician, but it is exactly that quality that makes me a good judge, he said. For Santini, serving the public is what a judge does. Experience, he noted, is important for the position pointing out he has managed court dockets for both the 435th and 359th state district courts. The 457th court, he noted, was created for docket management to help reduce caseloads. I have a plan to move this court effectively, he said. Santini began his career as a criminal prosecutor but moved to civil law in July 2018. Tough, who is no stranger to an elected position after serving on The Woodlands Township Board of Directors for 15 years, has worked as a civil trial attorney since 1980. That is what this court is, a civil district court, he said. We need someone who can step up and start trying case right away and handle jury trials. Im experience and I know how to do it. Yollick, who also brings 31 years of experience to the race, said he is focused on the Republican platform. I dont care about what you say about me personally, he said. As far as the Republican party principals, Ill argue with you. Thats the test. You need to judge me by judicial temperament. An experience attorney, he said, is what is needed for the bench. The winner of the March 3 GOP primary will face Democrat Marc Meyer in November. Meyer currently serves of the Montgomery County Democratic Party chairman. Early voting for the Republic primary begins Feb. 18. cdominguez@hcnonline.com In Niger, a military camp was attacked Thursday by suspected Islamist militants, killing at least 25 soldiers and more than 60 assailants, local media reported. The attack took place on an army outpost in western Niger, just a few kilometers from the border with Mali. It is close to where 71 soldiers were killed just a month ago, in an attack later claimed by the Islamic State Group affiliate in the region. Militants linked to al-Qaeda are also present in the area, while the Boko Haram group are active on the countrys south-eastern border. Also, on Thursday, 20 people were injured in northern Malis restive Kidal region, including 18 UN peacekeepers from Chad, in a rocket attack on a military base for UN, French and Malian forces. Six of the peacekeepers from the MINUSMA mission were seriously wounded by the attack on the base in the town of Tessalit. The attacks come on the eve of a summit in France with West African leaders. Heads of state from West Africa and France will be meeting in Pau, France, on Monday, to find new strategies against jihadists in the Sahel. The goal is to adopt a new, common strategy for military missions in West Africa. French troops have been stationed in West Africa since 2014 under the military Operation Barkhane. The five states on the southern edge of the Sahara founded their own joint reaction force in 2018, the G5-Sahel, musterin 5,000 soldiers from all five countries. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, EU Council President Charles Michel and the President of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki are also invited to the working lunch. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the United Nations envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the region has experienced a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets in recent months. He said terrorist attacks have increased fivefold in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since 2016, with over 4,000 deaths reported in 2019 compared to roughly 770 deaths in 2016. In Burkina Faso, deaths surged from about 80 in 2016 to over 1,800 in 2019, he said. Most significantly, the geographic focus of terrorist attacks has shifted eastwards from Mali to Burkina Faso and is increasingly threatening West African coastal states, Chambas underlined. He said terror attacks were often deliberate efforts by violent extremists to capture weapons and trafficking routes as well as engage in illicit activities, such as illegal mining, that sustain their operations. At least 25 pilgrims from Gujarat were injured when the bus in which they were travelling was hit by a speeding truck near the Purkai bypass on the Delhi-Haridwar national highway, about 25 kms from here. The accident took place last evening when 50 pilgrims were returning in the bus from Haridwar, SHO Harisharan Sharma said. The injured were rushed to hospital, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A bride-to-be has shared a snap of the traditional white dress her mother is planning on wearing to her wedding - before insisting she has no problem with it. The anonymous woman, from the US, took to Reddit to explain how she was worried her Irish groom and his family would think her mother was being offensive by wearing the dress, which is known as a Filipiniana gown, and is common in her culture. Alongside an image of her mother in the white embellished ensemble, she penned: 'My mom is wearing a traditionally white cultural dress.' 'I personally love it and it's acceptable in my culture, but I'm afraid the Irish side of the wedding will find it 'unacceptable'. What do y'all think?' And many agreed they couldn't see a problem with it, as long as the bride was happy. 'Sounds like a good teaching moment for the other side of the family if they aren't aware of your culture's traditions,' wrote one, while a second penned: 'Can the dress be another color? If you're cool with it, that's all that matters.' A bride-to-be, from the US, shared a picture of her mother to a Reddit thread in the traditional white cultural dress she plans on wearing to her wedding (pictured) The bride went on to say how her mother's dress choice 'doesn't offer her at all,' before saying it represents their culture A third commented: 'It's your wedding! If you're happy with it, it's perfect,' while a fourth added: 'If you are the bride, I see no problem at all. You're the one everyone is worried about offending and if you are okay, everyone else should be as well!' The bride-to-be went on to confirm that the dress doesn't offend her and that she likes the idea of bringing her heritage to Ireland - where they plan on tying the knot. 'It's a lovely dress called a Filipiniana that represents our culture, which I think will be great since the wedding is going to be in Ireland,' she explained. Many were quick to offer their opinion and agreed that as long as the bride was happy with the decision, that's all that mattered (pictured) She added she doesn't want to make her mother pay out for a new Filipiniana gown in a different color, as they're quite pricey, and she already has one. 'She already has the dress and I don't want to make her buy another just because it might be 'weird' or a 'faux pas' to some,' she continued. But while the bride-to-be couldn't see a problem with her mother wearing a white dress to her big day, others suggested she should let her Irish in laws know about the tradition to prevent any comments being made. 'Yeah, if the in-laws know the tradition they can quickly quell any murmurs on their side,' advised one, while a second joked: 'The last thing you want is an overzealous but well meaning relative "accidentally" spilling red wine on it.' A further added: 'That sounds like a lovely way of honoring your heritage. I'd give your Irish in laws a heads up purely to avoid misunderstandings but it sounds like a great idea,' while a further proved her point and wrote: 'I am Irish and people will definitely need a heads up that it's part of your culture. Because here, no-one except the bride wears white to a wedding.' Jelly Belly Candy Company is a seventh-generation family business, and the inspiration for Jelly Belly Sparkling Water came at a Mother's Day party where members of the family had gathered to celebrate. "We were on the back patio, drinking a couple of the more popular sparkling water brands, when I said out loud, 'If only someone could nail a sparkling water with really stand-out flavors,'" recalled Stephen Joffer, a co-founder of Joffer Beverage Company. "The lightbulb came on when my dad suggested, 'Why not our own Jelly Belly flavors? We are known for flavor innovation after all.'" From there, five Jelly Belly Candy Company family members banded together to start Joffer Beverage Company, including three sixth-generation brothers Justin, Ben and Stephen Joffer and two fifth-generation members, Andy and Becky Joffer (sister to Lisa Brasher, Jelly Belly Candy Company CEO). "The Jelly Belly brand promises fun, flavor and quality characteristics that we believe sparkling water drinkers are looking for and our product delivers perfectly on that promise," said Justin Joffer, a co-founder of Joffer Beverage Company. "We want to bring excitement to the sparkling water category through unique and intense flavor experiences." With over 100 Jelly Belly flavors to choose from, the team is looking forward to developing many more flavor options as the brand grows. With an initial launch next week at Hy-Vee stores, a chain of more than 265 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, Jelly Belly Sparkling Water will be available in cartons of eight 12-ounce cans. It will also be available online at jellybelly.com soon. "A favorite in the Midwest for its variety and quality, Hy-Vee is an ideal partner to introduce Jelly Belly Sparkling Water to consumers thirsting for something new," said Ben Joffer, co-founder of Joffer Beverage Company. "We are excited about this partnership and look forward to providing Hy-Vee customers with innovative new flavor options in the beverage aisle." To find a Hy-Vee store near you, visit www.hy-vee.com. About Joffer Beverage Company Joffer Beverage Company, based in Jacksonville, Oregon, is a business venture started in 2019 by members of the Jelly Belly candy-making family. The company has licensed the Jelly Belly brand name from Jelly Belly Candy Company to create Jelly Belly Sparkling Water, a healthy, flavorful treat with zero sugar, zero calories and zero sweeteners. For more information, visit www.jellybellysparklingwater.com or follow the company @jellybellysparklingwater on Instagram. About Jelly Belly Candy Company Jelly Belly Candy Company was founded in 1898, and began making Jelly Belly jelly beans in 1976. Today, Jelly Belly products are sold all over the world and the company remains family owned and operated by the fourth, fifth and sixth generations of the candy-making family. For more information about Jelly Belly and its confections, visit www.jellybelly.com, or consumers can call 800-522-3267 and retailers can call (800) 323-9380. Connect with the company online on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn. MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Celenza LANE, a Finn Partners Company 503-546-7892 [email protected] SOURCE Joffer Beverage Company Less than two years before launch, scientists associated with NASA's Lucy mission, led by Southwest Research Institute, have discovered an additional small asteroid that will be visited by the Lucy spacecraft. Set to launch in 2021, its 12-year journey of almost 4 billion miles will explore the Trojan asteroids, a population of ancient small bodies that share an orbit with Jupiter. This first-ever mission to the Trojans was already going to break records by visiting seven asteroids during a single mission. Now, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Lucy team discovered that the first Trojan target, Eurybates, has a satellite. This discovery provides an additional object for Lucy to study. Hubble images of Eurybates and its newly discovered satellite shown in this animated gif alternate between the Jan. 3, 2020, detection of the satellite (circled in green) and the Dec. 11, 2019, data when the satellite was too close to the primary to be observed. "If I had to bet that one of our destinations had a satellite, it would have been this one," said SwRI's Hal Levison, principal investigator of the mission. "Eurybates is considered the largest remnant of a giant collision that occurred billions of years ago. Simulations show that asteroid collisions like the one that made Eurybates and its family often produce small satellites." This correlates with big Kuiper Belt objects thought to be cousins to the Trojans, which show evidence of both massive collisions and small satellites. "At the Lucy science team meeting last November, my colleague Keith Noll pointed out a suspicious-looking spot next to an image of Eurybates. I quickly downloaded the next set of data and realized that the spot was still there, but it had moved, just like a satellite would," said Caltech's Mike Brown, a Lucy science team member. "We asked for more HST time to confirm the existence of the satellite, and we were given three tries," said Noll, Goddard Spaceflight Center's project scientist for the mission. "In the first two observations, we didn't see anything, so we began to think we might be unlucky. But on the third orbit, there it was!" The small object was difficult to spot, in part, because Eurybates is 6,000 times brighter than its satellite. This implies that it's less than 1 km (0.5 miles) across, which, if correct, would make it among the smallest objects ever visited by a spacecraft. "Before we believed that it was actually real, we had to make sure that a single satellite could actually fit all of the data," said SwRI's Cathy Olkin, deputy principal investigator of the Lucy mission. "Using computer simulations, we demonstrated many possible satellite orbits that match both the observations where we can see the satellite, as well as the times when we don't." While the current data are enough to confirm the existence of the satellite, the Lucy team will collect more HST data later this year to better understand the object's orbit. SwRI is the Lucy mission principal investigator institution and leads the science investigation. Goddard Spaceflight Center provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya on Friday ordered a presidential probe on the previous government's anti-corruption panels which investigated the members of the family including himself. Two retired senior judges and a former police chief have been appointed to the panel which has been mandated to come out with a report within six months from January 9, according to a gazette issued by the government. The work of the Financial Crime Division (FCID) of the police, the Bribery and Corruption Commission and the police's special investigation units would come under the focus of the probe covering the period commencing January 9, 2015 to November 16, 2019, the day of the presidential election when was elected president. The probe panels of former president Maithripala Sirisena and ex-prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe government investigated the members of the Rajapaksa family on the alleged misconduct during 2005 and 2015. Many of them were arrested and remanded before securing bail. None of the cases have been concluded so far. The probe would focus on whether any public service personnel had been politically victimised during the previous government through its probe panels. The Sirisena/Wickremesinghe government was elected on its pledge to eradicate corruption and expose alleged corruption during the tenure of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa who was in office from November, 2005 to January, 2015. The Rajapaksas cried foul over the investigations claiming they were part of the political witch-hunt. They were particularly critical of the FCID which they claimed had been set up illegally. The FCID launched investigations into alleged mass scale financial fraud. The appointment of the special panel has come in the wake of the current political storm involving recorded telephone conversations between a parliamentarian of the last government and some of the judges and top police investigators on the probes between 2015 and 2019. Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake is being accused of exerting pressure on judges and investigators to fix members of the last Rajapaksa government. Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigerian minister has hailed the initiative of the regional security initiative Amotekun by Southwest governors. The Western Nigerian Security Network (WNSN) was inaugurated on Thursday and has been code-named Operation Amotekun. According to the governors, which comprise Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun, Seyia Makinde of Oyo and Jide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, the sub-regional security initiative is to compliment the work of the Police. The governors of the six South-West states have also stressed that the initiative is not an agenda to break up from Nigeria or override the federal governments security system. Read Also: We Need Our Own Regional Security: Ohanaeze Reacting to the initiative, Fami-Kayode described it as the best thing that has happened to the Southwest states in the last 4 years. He said via a tweet on Friday morning: The Amotekun security outfit & initiative is the best thing that has happened to the SW states in the last 4 years. I commend the SW Governors & all those involved in its formation & establishment. I urge the Governors of SS (southsouth)/and SE(southeast) to do the same. Self defence is the first law! WASHINGTON - Voting machine companies and cybersecurity advocates are still miles apart on what it will take to secure 2020 against Russian hackers. During a nearly three-hour congressional hearing Thursday, security advocates sounded alarm bells about possible election hacks, warning machines in use today can be easily compromised. Companies, meanwhile, mostly defended the status quo. At one point, the chief executive of Hart InterCivic, one of three major companies that control more than 80 percent of the voting machine market, even defended selling paperless voting machines that can't be audited and that top security experts and the Department of Homeland Security have warned are far too vulnerable in an era when elections are being targeted by sophisticated Russian hackers. "We actually believe our [machines] are secure," said Hart CEO Julie Mathis, describing a number of internal defensive measures and security reviews they passed - primarily before 2016. The divisions highlighted how, despite three years of surging congressional attention to election security since Russia's 2016 hacking efforts, there has been almost no government oversight of voting machine makers themselves. House Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., opened the hearing noting that "there are more federal regulations for ballpoint pens and magic markers than there are for voting systems" - quoting Lawrence Norden, director of the Election Reform Program at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. "There is much work to do, and much for Congress to learn about this industry," Lofgren said. Mathis' comments were panned by security advocates. "It's very simple. No matter how secure that device is, there's no way to know whether the choice that's recorded matches what the voter intended. It's rightly called a black box," Edward Perez, a former Hart executive who's now global director of technology development at OSET Institute, a nonprofit election technology organization, said in an interview. And they even differed from another voting machine executive, Election Systems & Software CEO Tom Burt, who urged Congress at the hearing to "pass legislation that requires a paper record for every voter." The top three voting machine companies - Hart, ES&S and Dominion Voting Systems - have all been pilloried for being opaque about their cybersecurity protections and too slow to adapt after Russian hackers probed election systems across the nation in 2016 and penetrated systems in Illinois and Florida. Changes voting vendors have made, such as submitting their machines for vetting by federal security experts, have generally been seen as half- measures that don't match the urgency of the cybersecurity challenge. The executives went further yesterday, saying they'd all support new federal rules requiring them to share information about their cybersecurity protections, how they vet employees, their corporate ownership and voting machine components that come from China and other nations. They declined, however, to answer questions about their annual profits, which lawmakers have charged may come at the expense of protecting elections. "We're a private company, so we'll keep that information private," Burt said. The executives also declared definitively that their systems had never been breached by hackers - though critics have said the machines are highly vulnerable and could be hacked undetected. Significant security improvements also require lead time, and it's unclear whether the voting vendors will or can act in time to protect elections against determined hackers from Russia or China in 2020. Security experts urged far more radical changes including dramatically increasing federal oversight of elections. But congressional Republicans have roundly opposed mandating specific cybersecurity requirements for state election officials, and even many Democrats have been wary of reducing states' power to run elections. That has become untenable, however, in an era when the United States' top adversaries are intent on undermining Democratic processes, said Matt Blaze, a Georgetown University election security expert who testified at the hearing. "We don't expect the local sheriff to single-handedly defend against military ground invasions. We shouldn't expect county election IT managers to defend against cyberattacks by foreign intelligence services," Blaze said. "But that's precisely what we've been asking them to do." A ward chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, South-South Nigeria, has been shot dead. The slain politician, Paul Onomuakpokpo, the PDP chairman in Olomu Ward 1, Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state, was killed on Wednesday at about 7 p.m. along a highway in the state while driving in his car, the police spokesperson in the state, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday evening. It is a suspected assassination, investigation is ongoing Ms Onovwakpoyeya, deputy superintendent of police, said. No arrest has been made yet, the police said. Delta state government has asked security agencies in the state to take all necessary actions to fish out those behind the killing, the commissioner for information in the state, Charles Aniagwu, said. The state chairman of PDP, Kingsley Esiso, declined comment on the killing. I have been in Abuja, I have not gotten details, I cannot comment on it, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 06:33:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TUNIS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Tunisia on Friday hailed the China-sponsored training courses for Tunisians for contributing to the developement of bilateral ties. The embassy organized a ceremony to welcome a group of Tunisians who had participated in training courses in China. The event was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia Wang Wenbin, Economic Counselor of the Chinese embassy Zhang Fengling, and officials from Tunisia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Cooperation in human resources has become an important part of promoting the ties between Tunisia and China," Zhang told Xinhua. Since 2009, more than 1,000 Tunisians from different sectors have participated in courses and workshops in Chinese training centers and universities, she noted. The objective of these training courses is to help Tunisians develop know-how in several fields, including diplomatic relations, economic management, health and agricultural sectors. Such programs have strengthened China-Tunisia cooperation in varied fields and bilateral cultural exchanges, Zhang added. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. confronted on Friday a group of protesters outside the Department of Foreign Affairs office, even taunting them with words: O sige, bugbugin niyo ako. [Translation: Okay, beat me up.] In a video posted by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Locsin was seen facing protesters in front of the DFA building as they demanded that the government lay down its plans following the order for the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers from Iraq amid tensions between the United States and Iran. Locsin was also seen attempting to grab the microphone which the protesters were using in the middle of their mobilization. When the protest leader refused to give him the microphone, a visibly irked Locsin walked away but came back to talk to a television reporter in front of the rally. The protesters were chanting "Save our OFWs! No to War in Middle East!" when Locsin tried to talk to them. The Foreign Affairs Secretary quickly took to social media his side of the story, as if mocking the dialogue that had transpired between the two parties. I shouted with a fist, Duterte!! Silence. So I tried it again, this time shouting, Makibaka! Nothing. So I tried, Bugbugin niyo ako, Still nothing. No wonder the insurgency is getting nowhere. Trump is asking since when was I the US Commander in Chief who can stop a war, Locsin said on Twitter. The government on Wednesday ordered all Filipinos in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon to return to the Philippines after Alert Leve 4, the highest threat alert, was raised in those countries. It later downgraded the alert level in Lebanon and Iran, but mandatory repatriation of Filipinos from Iraq remains in effect. A special working committee was created to draw up measures for the repatriation of Filipinos. Aside from Locsin, others included in the group are Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Interior Chief Eduardo Ano, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Labor Chief Silvestre Bello III, and Transportation head Arthur Tugade. President Rodrigo Duterte instructed concerned government agencies to prepare for back up plans for those who will be displaced due to the conflict. Over 60 school secretaries from all parts of Donegal and beyond descended on Education minister Joe McHugh's office at Lower Main Street, Letterkenny on Friday afternoon with one clear message - fix this mess minister. Their protest is part of a nationwide strike at locations all over the country. The action by school secretaries represented by Irelands largest public service union, Forsa, is to be followed by a resumption of their work to rule next Monday, which was suspended in October 2019 in order to facilitate discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The ladies received a huge welcome locally with dozens of passing motorists honking their horns in support of their action. The dispute is over the continuing two-tier pay system that leaves most school secretaries earning just 12,500 a year, with irregular, short-term contracts that force them to sign on during the summer holidays and other school breaks. Forsa represents more than half of the estimated 2,000 school secretaries employed directly by their schools board of management and paid from the schools ancillary grant. Most of the remaining estimated 1,000 school secretaries are employed directly through the Education and Training Boards (ETBs), while a very small number, who were hired before 1978, are directly employed by the Department of Education. The vast majority of school secretaries working in Ireland are women. The decision to take strike action and resume the work to rule followed what the union described as an insulting and derisory offer of 1.5% at the WRC last December. Talks have been taking place since October. The resumed work to rule action will mean that school secretaries will withdraw from work on public service systems and databases. They will also refuse to carry out the functions of public servants. This is because they have repeatedly been refused public service pay and conditions over the last four decades. Forsa representative, Barry Cunningham, addressed the gathering saying as people were aware this was an ongoing dispute that centred around the lack of parity for school secretaries. "There is a two tier system in the country that we are determined to see end. It's a predominantly female based workforce and they're treated in an appalling way. The majority of school secretaries will have to sign on during the summer and all of the holidays." He said those protesting were upset the minister or no representative from his office were present to talk to them. "If these people are not going to be treated as public servants, they are not going to do public service work. It's down to the minister to solve this. He said on the record in the Dail back in October that he wanted this issue solved so now it's time for him to come up with a solution, keep your promise minister" he said. One of the local organisers, Kathleen O'Doherty (above) of the education division of the Forsa union, said she was delighted with the turnout adding many school secretaries had already been on the picket line that morning at various schools around the county. "I have great respect for Joe personally, this is not about him but he is Minister for Education and is well aware of the issue. He is in a position to right this wrong.Please Joe, whoever is holding this up, get it sorted and do the right thing," she said. Political reaction General election candidate, Mary T Sweeney from the Aontu party who is also a member of the board of management in Drumkeen National School, said she knew all too well as a teacher herself that no successful business or home could work efficiently without the secretary who in many cases was also an administrator. "It's quite a thankless job at times but I have 100% support for them. The Minister for Education has let the side down again. You come from an educational background so why are you doing this? Why are people having to go on the street outside your office to fight for what they deserve, it's a disgrace, get it sorted Joe," she said. Letterkenny Sinn Fein councillor, Gerry McMonagle also attended the rally and urged the minister to take action now. "This should have been sorted out a long time ago, it's a disgrace. The secretaries have been campaigning for many years and have heard promise after promise but it hasn't happened to date. We're now in 2020 and it's time the Fine Gael government and Minister McHugh stepped up to the plate and give the ladies what they deserved. This is a massive own goal on top of all the other ones in this election year. His party colleague, Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn, who is also expected to be a candidate in the forthcoming election, said it was sad that the school secretaries were not getting the respect they deserved. "A school is a public place of education and you have a situation where the teachers in that school rightly get a fair wage and a pension but the actual secretaries who are running that school are second class citizens. They're getting paid relatively poor wages and they have no pension and many of them don't even get paid during the summer holidays. It's outrageous. He added the secretary also acted as an administrator for everything that went on at school and were often a point of contact for the public. "My message to Joe is simple. He knows this is wrong, he knows this is deeply unfair, he needs to stand up to whoever in the cabinet or civil service who is blocking change and do what;'s right for the school secretaries. The minister needs to find some backbone and stand up on this issue The last place these womens want to be today is standing out here in the frozen cold outside the minister's office. This is not where they want to be," he added. Unions A number of local union representatives including Fidelma Carron and Martin O'Rourke from SIPTU; Ann McGee from Dromahair, Co Leitrim, national president of Irelands largest public service union, Forsa, Ann McGee as well as its north-west assistant general secretary, Richie Crouthers. Ms McGee said this was about inequality. "If they were all male workers this wouldn't be happening. The school secretaries are the first point of contact for our students, parents and communities and an integral part of the whole system. She added the minister held the key to sort the problem out. "I heard him talk this morning asking the secretaries to come back around the table and engage with them again. Forsa will come back around the table but if he was serious about sorting this out he would have sent his representatives to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) when they met last with some serious proposals and he didn't do that. In fact what came out was very very negative and if he was serious about sorting it he should have come with serious proposals. Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn joins school secretaries during the protest rally in Letterkenny "We have the community, the trade union movement - SIPTU, Mandate, INTO, TUI, ASTI and parents behind us. I must say this has not been a good move for him in an election year," she said. Ms McCarron added they were glad to be out supporting the secretaries. "We are all together in this fight, it's important we show our support for them. Mr O'Rourke also said they believed this fight was their fight also. "It's absolutely ridiculous what is going on, they are basically employees of the State but are not being treated as such and that has to stop," he said. Mr Crouthers said people needed to realise this wasn't a pay claim, it was effectively an equality claim. "What the union is after is that school secretaries who work in non-department schools to be treated with fairness and equity. The fact people have to sign on over the summer and school holidays is simply unacceptable. Joe McHugh knows what the issue is, he knows how to fix it, the overall cost will be negligible and the Donegal public are behind the school secretaries," he said. He added this action had been forced upon them but the message to the minister was clear. "We are not going to go away. It's going to lead to an escalation of the campaign and it's in their hands to fix it," he added. BESSEMER, Mich. Is that a skunk? No, it's marijuana. A small town in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula is buying an odor-detection device and drafting an ordinance to crack down on the unpleasant smell of blooming marijuana plants. Bessemer City Manager Charly Loper said the Nasal Ranger could be used to check a variety of bad-air complaints, but she acknowledged that marijuana appears to be the key target. The city of Bessemer stinks, council member Linda Nelson said Monday as the council voted to buy the device, which will cost $3,400 with training. "You can smell marijuana everywhere. We've got people who can't sit in their backyard because the smell from their neighbor is so bad. Medical marijuana has been around since 2008. But Michigan's 2018 law, which cleared the way for homegrown pot for recreational use, has brought challenges to communities. The odor problem in Bessemer, population 1,905, occurs when marijuana plants are in bloom, especially during warmer months, Loper told The Associated Press. The bloom period lasts six to eight weeks, Loper said Thursday. "A lot of people describe it as a skunk-like odor. It can be strong. At least 63 Canadian citizens, mostly of Iranian origin, were killed when a Ukrainian airliner went down in Tehran. Montreal, Canada Mohammad Nazemi struggled to find the words. Huddled amongst more than 150 mourners to commemorate the victims of this weeks deadly plane crash in the Iranian capital, the 25-year-old computer science student said two of his friends were on the flight that went down. I dont know, what should I say? Nazemi told Al Jazeera at the vigil outside Concordia University in downtown Montreal on Thursday evening. Its hard. Its hard to think that theyre [people] that you knew and right now theyre not alive any more. At least 63 Canadian citizens, mostly of Iranian origin, were killed when the Ukrainian International Airlines flight went down in Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. Many other passengers, including several Iranian students attending Canadian universities and colleges, also had ties to Canada, local media has reported. Nazemi said two of his friends relatives were also killed in the crash. Video appears to show Ukraine plane being hit (2:58) I dont care about the reasons that this situation happened, he said, tears in his eyes. All I care [about] is that our loved ones are not with us any more. Zohreh Mosaferi also lost her friend, Shadi Jamshidi, in the crash. The two women met at university in Tehran in 2006, Mosaferi said, and they both ended up in Canada. The first thing that comes to your mind is that a life ahead of a young girl was taken away from her, said Mosaferi, who held a large picture of Jamshidi during the commemoration. Jamshidi tried to enjoy every second of her life, Mosaferi told Al Jazeera. She wanted to live. Travelling, music, trying new stuff in her life. She was I dont know, she said, her voice breaking. Calls for investigation The deadly crash came amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, which assassinated top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani early on January 3. Many other passengers, including several Iranian students attending Canadian universities and colleges [Jillian Kestler-DAmours/Al Jazeera] In response to the killing, Iran launched several missiles at an Iraqi military base used by US forces in Anbar Province and near the US airbase in Erbil. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that Canada had obtained intelligence that indicated that the Ukrainian plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. This may well have been unintentional, he said during a news conference in Ottawa. Tehran had earlier dismissed reports that an Iranian missile downed the plane as illogical rumours. Trudeau called on Iran to allow Canada to help conduct a thorough and credible investigation into what happened. The Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people went down shortly after takeoff from the Iranian capitals main airport [Ebrahim Noroozi/AP] He also stressed that Canada could not assign any blame before such a probe takes place. Right now, our focus is on supporting the families that are grieving right across the country and providing what answers we can, he told reporters. Community united Several events have been organised across Canada this week to remember the victims. The whole Iranian community is united, said Saman Abolfathi, a member of Concordia Universitys Iranian Student Association, which organised the vigil in Montreal. Its hard for us. We are all shocked. We are speechless. Abolfathi, who came to Canada last year to study psychology, told Al Jazeera that he and several of his friends are grappling with the thought that it could have been them on that flight. I couldnt believe it at first, said the 22-year-old student. Saman Abolfathi, a member of Concordia Universitys Iranian Student Association, was among those who attended Thursdays vigil for victims of the deadly incident in Tehran last Wednesday [Jillian Kestler-DAmours/Al Jazeera] I was going through the news and I was like, What? Why? Why [has] this happened? He said he hoped Canada could help investigate the crash, and that the details of what happened would help the victims families cope. In the meantime, people continue to share memories of the loved ones they lost. Azadeh Jazaherpour described her friend Sara, who was also killed on the plane, as kind and light-hearted. She could make friends in a blink of an eye, said Jazaherpour during the Montreal vigil. We will never forget her beautiful smile and laugh. KALAMAZOO, MI Police recovered a gun, ammunition and drug paraphernalia during a raid at a business on Douglas Avenue. Police used a search warrant around 1 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at a business in the 700 block of Douglas. Over 10 people left the business once police arrived. Police temporarily detained and identified them. Two had outstanding warrants and were taken to the Kalamazoo County Jail. During a search of the business, which was not identified, police recovered a firearm, ammunition and drug paraphernalia. Police are seeking charges for drug and firearm violations, police said. Mohsen Ahmadipour with his wife, Roja Azadian. They had arranged for him to join her after he got another flight - FACEBOOK A ticket error left a man in the airport terminal in Tehran while his wife boarded the flight that crashed soon after take-off on Wednesday, killing everyone on board. Mohsen Ahmadipour was supposed to have taken the Ukraine International Airlines flight, but his ticket had been accidentally cancelled, meaning his life was spared while his wife died. The 38-year-old was still inside the terminal when he learnt that the Kyiv-bound flight had crashed in flames just minutes after take-off and none of the 176 people on board had survived. His wife of almost six years was among the dead. Mr Ahmadipours story is one of many heartbreaking tales emerging from relatives of those killed. The couple, who lived in Ottawa, Canada, had been visiting family in Iran, according to local news site Ottawa Citizen. Roja Azadian, 43, boarded the flight, having arranged that her husband would join her when he could get another plane. It would be the last time the couple saw each other. For another couple, the flight would be the start and end of a marriage. Pouneh Gorji, 25, and Arash Pourzarabi, 26, were travelling back from their wedding in Iran, along with four other members of their wedding party. If you met them, even once, you could tell that these two belonged together for sure, Amir Forouzandeh, a friend of the couple, told a local news website. The University of Alberta graduates boarded the flight days after their wedding, preparing a local celebration for friends in Canada who could not attend the wedding in Iran. I dont have enough tears to cry for them, their friend Orod Kaveh posted on Facebook. Saeed Tahmasebi, a British national and also a newlywed, died in the crash along with his wife. The couple were only on the flight because they had waited behind in Iran to pick up their wedding photographs. Dozens of couples, families and children were aboard the flight, which was in the air for no longer than 10 minutes. Condolences flooded social media as Ukraine International Airlines released the roster of names of passengers. One of my wonderful PhD students, Ghanimat Azhdari, was on the plane that crashed in Tehran this morning, Dr Faisal Moola of the University of Guelph tweeted. Story continues Ms Azhdari was a PhD student in the department of geography, environment and geomatics. Her PhD research was devoted to advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in conservation and the protection of biocultural knowledge. The students and I are in so much pain, the tweet read. Many of the passengers are thought to have been heading towards Canada, via Kyiv. One of them, 38-year-old Forough Khadem, a promising scientist, was returning to Winnipeg after visiting family in Iran. Mourners at a vigil for the victims at the University of Toronto. All 176 people on board were killed Credit: CHRIS HELGREN/REUTERS Dr Khadem graduated with a PhD in immunology from the University of Manitoba. Her research had given rise to a new understanding of the deadly parasitic disease, leishmaniasis. Forough was one of my best PhD trainees, an outstanding scientist and above all an amazing human being, Jude Uzonna, an associate professor at the university, told Canadas CBC. I am utterly devastated and trying to grapple with this. Dr Khadem, the daughter of a university professor, grew up between Iran and New Zealand before moving to Canada. She radiates love. She radiates humanity. She radiates empathy. Once you see her, you want to know who she is, Ms Uzonna said. WARE A $15 million, 119-unit assisted and senior living facility, Cedarbrook Village at Ware, is expected to be fully built by June and should open by the third week in July. The facility will be operated by Everbrook Senior Living, formerly Optimus Senior Management. It is located on grounds where a large brick building once stood. The building at 73 South St., adjacent to Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center, housed a school and later a state court. Cedarbrook Village owners Mike McCarthy and Fred Mielke confirmed the opening during a meet and greet for prospective tenants at Hannah Devines Restaurant & Bar that drew 83 people. Attendees were treated to lunch. The company introduced the facilitys executive director, Kelly Sostre, who grew up in Monson and resides in Wilbraham. Cedarbrook will employ between 35 and 70, and have round-the-clock security, Everbrook officials said. The building will have 35 independent living apartments, 61 for assisted living and 23 memory care units, the owners said. Amenities include exercise and physical therapy rooms, a library, movie theater, pub and housekeeping functions, along with meals and all utilities included in the rent, except for internet and telephone costs. There is free parking for tenants and guests. Although common and dining areas are fully furnished, tenants furnish their own living quarters. Cats and dogs up to 40 pounds are permitted. No smoking is allowed inside the building. The companys legal counsel, Robert Kelley, answered an hours worth of questions from attendees, many about monthly rental costs. The lawyer said independent living apartments are estimated to cost about $3,500 monthly. Assisted living apartments would cost up to about $5,800 monthly depending on bedroom size. We are not a nursing home, Kelley said, but we provide personal care and assistive care. In response to a question about the screening process, Kelley said that typically would occur a month to two prior to occupancy for prospective tenants. Leah Bradley, director of behavioral health and ancillary services at Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer, said she has viewed other facilities owned by the company, describing them as absolutely beautiful. She said her organization is really excited we will have Cedarbrook Village at Ware next door to Mary Lane. In an interview, Kelley said, We are trying to be the best value in the area. Everbrook also owns and operates three housing communities in Connecticut: Stonebrook Village in Windsor Locks, which opened in 2016; Colebrook Village in Hebron, which opened in June 2018; and Elmbrook Village in Bozrah, which opened in September. More information is on the company website, everbrookseniorliving.com. Pixabay Sydney/IBNS: Australian authorities have said that two bushfires that are currently ravaging the nation might merge to form a "mega blaze" on Friday, media reports said. The merger might take place close to the border of New South Wales and Victoria. Australian PM Scott Morrison tweeted: "Stay alert. Stay informed. Listen to instructions and stay safe." Stay alert. Stay informed. Listen to instructions and stay safe. https://t.co/NnWjJMFhBV Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 9, 2020 A spokesman for the New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service told the BBC the merger of two fires - both of which are out of control - was "imminent" and expected at about 8pm (09:00 GMT). In NSW, over 100 bushfires are burning. NSW Rural Fire Service tweeted: "At 6pm there are 137 fires burning, 66 are not contained. In the field are more than 3,300 firefighters. Conditions continue to be difficult this evening. An forecast gusty southerly change could cause erratic fire behaviour over many firegrounds." Since September, at least 27 people have died in Australia's bushfires, which have destroyed more than 10.3 million hectares nationally, reported BBC. Firefighters from the US, Canada and New Zealand to help crews in their fight to bring the flames under control. While citizens in several parts of the country are still expressing their dissent over the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Register of Citizens (NRC), Uttar Pradesh's capital city Lucknow has witnessed a sudden surge in the demand of birth certificates in December last year. In the month of December, 6,193 applications for birth certificates were received by five tehsils as well as Municipal Corporation. In the city, people aged between 40-60 years are seeking birth certificates for themselves and their children. "There is a sudden rise in the number of people seeking birth certificates. It is a regular procedure and there is no need to link it with the CAA and NRC. We have arranged facilities in eight zones to ease the process. Elderly people are also applying for a birth certificate. It is a constitutional right for people to get their birth certificates," Amit Kumar, Aditional Municipal Commissioner, told ANI. "There is no load on us, the online process is very easy. Within 24 hours we are providing a birth certificate if all documents submitted by an applicant are valid," he said. The applicants, who have applied for birth certificates, gave mixed responses. While some said the increase in demand for birth certificates is due to NRC and CAA, others called it is a regular process. "I came here to get a birth certificate for my child for her admission school. It is easily available. These are just rumours that this is because of the CAA and NRC. We have required documents so we are applying for a birth certificate. The opposition has made it an issue," a local said. Abdul Qadir Khan, another local, said, "I came here to get a birth certificate for my daughter. She is 50-year-old. The officers here are supporting us. This is true that people are seeking birth certificates amid the row over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act." "People are now more aware of the need for documents. This is good as everyone should have official documents required to claim citizenship of this country," Abdul Azim, resident of Lucknow, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ashley Roberts emotionally revealed that she tried to freeze her eggs a couple of years ago but it didn't work out. The Pussycat Dolls star, 38, shared her own fertility story as she reached out to 'rundown' Amy Schumer who candidly documented her gruelling IVF treatment to Instagram on Thursday night. Ashley, who was talking on her Heart Breakfast radio show with Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston, revealed that she knows the process is 'tough' and that she was left with bruises on her stomach after injecting herself with hormones. Scroll down for video Emotional: Ashley Roberts emotionally revealed that she tried to freeze her eggs a couple of years ago but it didn't work out She said: 'Amy Schumer has revealed she's having IVF and said that she's feeling pretty run down because of it. Her and her husband are trying to have another baby, they had a son last year and she's just not having a good time. 'She's about a week in to treatment she posted a picture online of her stomach which had bruises and she's been reaching out to Instagram to try and get advice.' Ashley, who is dating Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice, bravely added: 'Now I tried to freeze my eggs actually a couple years ago, and I had the bruises as well and was injecting my stomach and it's awful. Candid: The Pussycat Dolls star, 38, shared her own fertility story as she reached out to 'rundown' Amy Schumer who candidly documented her gruelling IVF treatment to Instagram on Thursday night (pictured on her Heart Breakfast radio show) 'Yeah all the hormones and everything. It actually didnt work for me which I wasn't fully aware that that could even happen but bless her, I know it's a tough time.' What is egg freezing? Freezing allows women to store their eggs at a young age so they can be used in IVF when they want a family. This gives them a greater chance of conceiving as the quality of the eggs they produce as they get older deteriorates. But so far fewer than a fifth have a baby after using their frozen eggs, according to the fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). It has an average UK cost of 8,000. Advertisement Freezing allows women to store their eggs at a young age so they can be used in IVF when they want a family. This gives them a greater chance of conceiving as the quality of the eggs they produce as they get older deteriorates. But so far fewer than a fifth have a baby after using their frozen eggs, according to the fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Ashley's emotional revelation comes after Amy Schumer revealed she is undergoing IVF in a bid to give her eight-month-old son Gene a sibling and added that she is 'figuring out what to do'. Sharing a picture of her bruised and swollen lower abdomen, featuring a cesarean scar, she wrote: 'I'm a week into IVF and feeling really run down and emotional. 'If anyone went through it and if you have any advice or wouldn't mind sharing your experience with me please do.' 'I'm run down and emotional': Ashley's emotional revelation comes after Amy Schumer revealed she is undergoing IVF in a bid to give her seven-month-old son Gene a sibling But while she is having IVF, Amy admitted she and husband Chris Fischer hadn't yet planned their next step. 'We are freezing my eggs and figuring out what to do to give Gene a sibling,' she explained. While she doesn't explicitly state it, the comic may be considering using a surrogate. Schumer suffered debilitating hyperemesis gravidarum throughout her pregnancy, with daily bouts of vomiting so bad they left her often bedridden, dehydrated and at times hospitalised. She also suffers from endometriosis, which caused surgeons issues during her C-section. Clinics exaggerated success of technique Official figures show low success rates in IVF with frozen eggs Fertility clinics give women false hope by exaggerating their success rates with frozen eggs, a Mail investigation revealed last year. One London clinic claimed the chance of the technique working was as high as 65 per cent. However official figures at the time showed only around 15 per cent of IVF cycles using frozen eggs were successful. Success rates have since risen to 19 per cent but experts stress egg freezing can only ever be an insurance policy. Professor Adam Balen, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: While women should be supported in their choices, they must be informed about the relatively low success rates, high costs and side effects associated with egg freezing and IVF. Advertisement New mum: Amy is seen with a newborn Gene in a still from her Netflix show Growing Speaking on Dr. Berlin's Informed Pregnancy podcast, Amy said: 'I was throwing up through the whole first hour of my C-section. 'It's supposed to take about an hour and a half or something but mine took over three hours because of my endometriosis.' The 38-year-old was also very upfront about her struggle with hyperemesis gravidarum, which she shared via social media. In a bid to make life easier for other mothers, she also recently talked about how she decided not to breastfeed her son. New baby: Amy shared this picture with her husband and their newborn, Gene, after his birth in May 2019 Speaking on the Informed Pregnancy and Parenting podcast, she said she couldn't get her son to latch on, so tried pumping her milk. 'I wanted him to get the colostrum,' she said, referring to the antibody rich substance a mother makes shortly after birth. 'We had a lactation expert come over. He didn't latch and I just didn't feel that push to make that happen. Then I pumped for like the first month. Then I was like, "Not for me." This is not for me and I didn't want to do it. 'Some people just absolutely love it and I'm so happy for them, and it was just bumming me out. But then I was also kind of proud doing it and whatever and getting him the milk and stuff. 'Then once it occurred to me that I could stop. I was like, "I'm going to stop"... and then, every week what I did was just took away one session of the pumping.' Bournemouth University's hour-long lockdown was sparked by reports of a suicide bomber who turned out to be a jogger wearing running vest. The man was seen running in the black top that has weights attached to it near to the main campus of Bournemouth University, Dorset. Armed police swooped on the site and placed the university in lockdown. A police helicopter was also scrambled. During the 45-minute alarm in which dozens of students were kept indoors, rumours spread on social media that a man covered in blood and armed with a knife had also been seen on the campus. Bournemouth University's hour-long lockdown was sparked by reports of a suicide bomber who turned out to be a jogger wearing running vest But after less than an hour the students were allowed to leave, after police established that the possible terrorist was a jogger wearing a weighted vest. A spokesman for Dorset Police said: 'We received reports at 2.33pm today relating to a man seen in the area wearing something that resembled a suicide vest. 'As a precaution, the university was placed on lockdown as searches of the area were carried out. 'Officers attended the scene and undertook an investigation, including a review of CCTV footage, and it was established that it was believed to be someone running in a fitness vest. 'The lockdown has now been lifted and we do not believe there is any further cause for concern or threat to the public." Jose Ramos, 18, a first year journalism student, said: 'I was in the library which is right next to the student union when we were told the campus was on lockdown. 'There were reports of a man covered in blood and rumours of gunshots, and I could hear police sirens and a helicopter. Twitter user Oliver McManus said: 'A man was sighted with a knife and the campus was placed into lockdown for around 50 minutes' 'People were running around in a state of panic. I'm still in shock, it could have been a false alarm but I don't know. 'We've now been told the lockdown is over but a lady has encouraged us to stay inside.' One student, who did not wish to be named, said: 'We were in a lecture and got a few notifications and alerts on our phones through Twitter and stuff. 'We were told not to leave the building but it wasn't really tight or anything. We were allowed to leave to use the toilets and that kind of thing. 'That lasted for about half an hour and then we were told we could leave. 'We've not been told anything official about what it all was so all we know is what's on social media.' During the chaos, final year student, Ross Millen, said: 'Bournemouth University currently on lockdown. 'Cause is unconfirmed but sightings of a man covered in blood have been reported and mentions of a gun being brought on to site. 'University buses have been temporarily suspended and police are on-site and in the air with helicopters.' A 19-year-old student said: 'A man walked into the SUBU building covered in blood. 'It's not sure yet if it's a knife or a gun. But everyone is on lockdown, students and lecturers.' Another student said: 'I have an American girl in my seminar and she's sat on the floor hiding under the table. Locked the door. Final year student, Ross Millen, said: 'Bournemouth University currently on lockdown' 'Not a drill!' Another Twitter user said: 'Bournemouth University is on lockdown with security all over the premises. 'A man 'covered in blood tried to get inside SUBU' according to a woman inside the building. Student and staff are being told to stay where they are.' According to Toby Foster students and staff are being told a stabbing has taken place. He wrote on Twitter: 'Entire campus currently on lockdown here at Bournemouth University. Student Adam McGroarty said: 'In the last few moments people have started to be let out of the buildings here' 'Large numbers of armed police onsite. Fire and ambulance also arriving. 'We're told a stabbing has taken place.' According to the Bournemouth Echo the university released a statement saying: 'We were asked to close the campus by police for an investigation. 'That is now complete and as such, the campus has reopened.' Student Adam McGroarty said: 'In the last few moments people have started to be let out of the buildings here.' A local bus company temporarily suspended its route through the university but service has now resumed. The Gujarat assembly on Friday ratified a Constitution amendment bill passed by Parliament to extend reservation to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. The resolution seeking the nod of the house for the bill was presented by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and unanimously passed with opposition Congress supporting it at a special session of the assembly. The special session was convened to approve the Constitution (126th) Amendment Bill passed by both houses of Parliament last month. As per provisions, at least 50 per cent of state assemblies need to ratify a Constitution amendment bill before it is sent for presidential assent. "This bill would help us in realising Dr B R Ambedkar's dream of achieving social equality and development of backward communities," Rupani said. "Even after over 70 years of independence, it's rare to see a case where an SC/ST candidate fights from a general category seat and gets elected. "However, a tribal candidate has been winning from the Bharuch Lok Sabha (unreserved) seat of Gujarat since long. This is a matter of pride and happiness for us," he said while tabling the resolution. Shailesh Parmar (Congress) praised Ambedkar for introducing the reservation system for SC/ST members in the Lok Sabha and assemblies. With the Congress support, the bill was passed by a voice vote. Reservation for members of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), given for the past 70 years in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, is due to end on January 25, 2020. At present, there are 84 SC members and 47 from the tribal communities in Parliament. In state assemblies across India, there are 614 SC members and 554 ST members. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After 'Free Kashmir' posters emerged at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, and at St Stephen's College, Delhi, throwing a cloud over the intent of the protests that have taken place over the violence at the JNU campus on Sunday, now, an altogether more controversial chant has been raised at an anti-CAA protest at the Shaheen Bagh area in South Delhi. In the shocking and viral video, anti-CAA protesters can be heard raising slogans like; "Hum Lekr Rhenge Aazadi, Jinnah Waali Aazadi." In the video, the protesters can also be heard raising other slogans like 'Gandhi wali Azadi', 'Nehru wali Azadi', etc, but their mention of Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah, whose efforts and politics towards his two-nation theory culminated in Pakistan being carved out from India on religious lines. Earlier in the day, Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga posted the video of the Shaheen Bagh protests and called it to be a protest not against Prime Minister Modi, but India. "Hum Lekr Rhenge Aazadi, Jinnah Waali Aazadi" Slogans by Left Terrorists in Anti CAA Protest at Shaheen Bagh I am saying from day one This is not Protest against Modi, This is Protest against India pic.twitter.com/CA4vVnMGD3 Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 10, 2020 READ | Now, 'Aazad Kashmir' poster surfaces at DU's St Stephen's College during pro-JNU rally 'Free Kashmir' Poster in Mumbai and Delhi's pro-JNU protest Earlier, in a protest in Mumbai against the JNU violence, a demonstrator was spotted holding a 'Free Kashmir' placard. The woman later clarified that she was talking about the internet shutdown only. After the incident, the Mumbai Police filed an FIR against her, identifying her as Mahek Mirza Prabhu. The FIR was filed at the Colaba police station. Mumbai: Poster reading, 'Free Kashmir' seen at Gateway of India, during protest against yesterday's violence at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/WrEi8DQwhP ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2020 READ | 'Free Kashmir' poster spotted in Mysuru during protests against attack on JNU students Post Mumbai's 'Free Kashmir' poster controversy, an 'Azad Kashmir' poster had surfaced at Delhi University's St Stephen's College on Wednesday, against the violent attack on JNU students. The students of St Stephens College of Delhi University also boycotted their classes and participated in the massive protest to show their solidarity with the JNU students. READ | 'Was pointing to Internet shutdown': Mumbai protester who held 'Free Kashmir' placard READ | Mumbai Police files FIR against protester with 'Free Kashmir' placard at Gateway of India BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - An Iranian accused of involvement in the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Argentina has added to speculation over the mysterious death of a prosecutor who investigated the attack. The comments by Moshen Rabbani in an interview with Argentine Radio 10 on Friday were unlikely to clear up the circumstances surrounding the 2015 shooting death of Alberto Nisman, But they fed renewed fascination with a case that was scrutinized in a recently released Netflix documentary. Rabbanis remarks also come at a time of heightened tension between Iran and the United States following the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The statements drew swift criticism. Ariel Eichbaum, head of the AMIA Jewish centre that was bombed, told local media that Rabbani should turn himself over for trial if he has information, instead of giving opinions on the radio. The matter remains especially important for Argentina because Cristina Fernandez, who as president had a contentious relationship with the United States and had been accused by Nisman of protecting Iranians allegedly involved in the bombing, returned to power as vice-president last month. Fernandez denied that she and others conspired to lift Interpols red alerts against several Iranians accused of bombing the Jewish centre, where 85 people died. Speaking from Iran, Rabbani said, as he has in the past, that he did not orchestrate the bombing while working as cultural attache for the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires. He also commented about the Nisman case for the first time, though he didnt offer any proof for his conspiracy theories about the prosecutors death. At first, Rabbani suggested that Nisman was murdered because he didnt have evidence to support his allegations about Fernandez and Iranian involvement in the bombing. Then he speculated that Nisman might have been pressured by others to kill himself for the same reason. Who killed Nisman? Why dont they let people in Argentina know the truth? said Rabbani, whose remarks only seemed to fuel the swirl of conjecture about what happened. Nisman had alleged that Fernandezs government may have negotiated impunity for the Iranian suspects with Tehran in exchange for resuming trade relations. On Jan. 18, 2015 - the day before he was to appear before Congress to discuss his shocking accusations - Nisman was found in the bathroom of his apartment with a gunshot wound to his head and a 22-calibre weapon at his side. Argentines debated whether Nisman was murdered or took his own life. Many started this year glued to their screens for the release of the Netflix series: Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy. The annual St Stephen's Day walk held in Clonaslee for Laois Hospice Foundation has hit and exceeded its target of 1 million after this year's successful event. Co-ordinator Sheila Bourke is thrilled that their aim to hit a million since the walk started 27 years ago, was a success. "We knew on the day we were going to hit it. The crowd seemed to be bigger and we were absolutely blessed with the weather," she told the Leinster Express. About 1,000 walkers and runners come to the walk from Laois and all over Ireland. "I talked to people who come every year from Dublin, Limerick, Westmeath, and they bring hundreds of euros in donations with them. A huge thanks to everyone who came. It's a huge community effort too, and we had lots of new volunteers this year. Some did the walk and then came in after to help or that evening to clean up the chairs," she said. Seamus ODonoghue, Chairperson of Laois Hospice Foundation went from table to table this year to explain the services they give to people in the end stage of life in their homes, including free nursing care. "Normally he gives a speech but the mic wasn't working and it was actually lovely to meet people and hear their stories and Laois connections. One Dublin woman who is a native of Emo said she is coming for over 22 years," she said. On the day they took in 31,616 and another 800 was posted in envelopes into Sheila's letterbox the next day. More money will come back in sponsorship cards up to March she expects, with plans underway for next year. "We have a follow up meeting to review the walk and see if there is anything we need to change or improve. We will be starting on our second million now," she said. Sheila also offers her sincere thanks to all the sponsors and all who baked Christmas cakes. "Where would we be without all our volunteers, a fabulous bunch of people coming together from all areas of the community, who work tirelessly on the day and for days prior to the event. Well done to you all and it is great to see many new faces. Huge thanks also to Sean and Denise Flynn for their baking and slice up, much appreciated," she said. Sponsorship cards can be returned to Sheila at Capparogan, Clonaslee. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-09 13:55:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Protesters gather in front of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq on Dec. 31, 2019. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) Amid the rapidly escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, the Philippines and Thailand are preparing to evacuate citizens in the Middle East. MANILA/BANGKOK, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines on Wednesday expressed "deep concern over the events in Iraq" and the impacts they will have on peace and the stability of the Middle East region. "The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed deep concern over the events in Iraq and its implications on peace and security in the region," Philippine Foreign Assistant Secretary Eduardo Menez said in a statement. In view of the escalating events in Iraq, Menez said the DFA has raised the alert level in the whole of Iraq. "The Philippine Embassy in Baghdad has been tasked to effect the mandatory evacuation of Filipinos estimated to be around 1,640 in that country," Menez added. In accordance with the instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte, Menez said Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, the Philippines' special envoy to the Middle East, will go to the Middle East to oversee the repatriation. In an news conference, Cimatu stressed the need to start the "preemptive evacuation" as soon as possible. "We should be prepared for any eventualities. We need to get them out of Iraq at once," he said, adding the government plans to use commercial planes to move Filipinos out of Iraq. Cimatu, a former military general, said he will leave for Baghdad on Thursday to oversee the mass evacuation. Already, he said efforts were underway to bring Filipinos to the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad in preparation for the evacuation. President Duterte has ordered the deployment of two battalions of soldiers to the Middle East to help repatriate thousands of Filipino migrant workers in that region amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Wednesday. A battalion is composed of up to 500 soldiers. Lorenzana said the rules of engagement for the mission were still being worked out, citing the sensitivity of the mission. He stressed that the mission was not combat in nature but to protect the evacuating Filipinos. "We will be very careful because we don't want to get involved in case a shooting war breaks out," he told reporters. Lorenzana clarified that the idea was "still in the planning stage." "We are still preparing the troops while Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin is coordinating with the governments of Iran and Iraq on the documents needed to allow the entry of the troops," Lorenzana said. He said the Philippines plans to dispatch cargo planes and ships to transport its citizens out of the danger zone. People attend the funeral ceremony of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 6, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) "We need to know where our planes can land and our ships can dock, the refuelling, the refurbishment and the like. Those things are needed to be arranged," he added. Philippine authorities said Filipinos in Iraq, Iran, Libya and Lebanon are first to be forcibly evacuated. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said there are an estimated 1,184 Filipinos in Iran, 2,191 in Iraq, 3,286 in Libya and 33,424 in Lebanon that need to be evacuated to safer grounds. He said at another news conference that there are an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos in the Middle East, but he said the number of Filipinos "could double because of the presence of undocumented Filipinos" who sneaked into that region illegally. Bello said all Filipinos living in Iraq, Iran, Libya and Lebanon will be ordered to return to the Philippines after the highest threat alert was raised to 4 in those Middle Eastern countries. The government said it is also considering tapping the services of cruise ships. The Philippine Coast Guard said its brand new ship, which is now in Malta after leaving France in December, is headed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to carry out repatriation missions. Philippine authorities are still checking if there are any Filipino casualties in the Iran attack on a U.S. base in Iraq where about 600 Filipinos are working. Meanwhile, the Thai government house web page on Wednesday posted authorization messages from Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to the Thai Embassy in Iran to evacuate Thai citizens should the U.S.-Iran tensions aggravate. Prayut who also serves the defense minister of the country has authorized the Thai Embassy to arrange a chartered flight or to use one of Thailand's military aircraft in the event of an emergency. Similarly, Labor Minister Chatumongol Sonakul told the media on Wednesday that he had already assigned the Thai labor attaches in the Middle East to provide assistance, including possible evacuation of Thai workers while monitoring the situation in Iran and the United Arab Emirates. "We have set aside an evacuation fund for such a predicament in accordance with Thai labor law, said Chatumongol. The labor minister said there are currently 257 Thai workers in Iran and 25 in Iraq working as technicians, chefs, masseuse, welders, and fishermen. Also on Wednesday, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the media that it had instructed Thai diplomatic officials in Iran and Iraq to ensure the safety of 89 Thai nationals in Iraq and 359 Thais in Iran, most of whom are students or workers. Conflict between the U.S. and Iraq heightened after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed an Iranian general in Baghdad on Jan. 3. A 15-member team of foreign envoys was on Friday greeted by migrant Kashmiri Pandits' with fervent pleas to save them them from sure extinction due to "genocide and ethnic cleansing" allegedly due to "Islamic terrorism". As the team of envoys, also including US ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster, visited the world's largest migrant Kashmiri pandit camp at Jagti on the outskirts of Jammu city as part of their two-day, stock-taking tour of J&K, the community members welcomed them holding placards that read "Free Kashmir from Islamic terrorism". A delegation of displaced Kashmiri pandits representing over seven lakh-strong population of their community "living like refugees in their own homeland" also submitted to the envoys' team a memorandum, making a slew of pleas. The pleas included "one-place settlement" in the Valley for over seven lakh displaced community members and setting up of a special crime tribunal to probe into "the genocide and ethnic cleansing committed against the Hindu-Sikh minorities of Kashmir". "All those Hindus-Sikhs of Kashmir who were forced to leave the Valley in the past 70 years due to religious persecution, division of Jammu and Kashmir state in 1947 and terrorism need to be resettled in Kashmir as the primary stakeholder of the Valley of Kashmir. In this connection, the planning should be initiated forthwith," said Kashmiri pandits in their memorandum, submitted to the envoys' team on their behalf by community leader Ashwani Chrungoo. It said all such seven lakh people should be resettled at one place in the Valley keeping in view their geo-political and fundamental aspirations in Kashmir. "The land where lay the ashes of our forefathers and the temples of our gods is invariably the Kashmir Valley -- the gifted land which Rishi Kashyap, our earliest forefather, inhabited for us thousands of years ago," Chrungoo told envoys. The community members also demanded establishment of a special crime tribunal. "A Special Crimes Tribunal be established to enquire into the excesses, genocide and ethnic cleansing committed against the Hindu-Sikh minorities of Kashmir in view of the pronouncement made by the National Human Rights Commission in 1999 in this regard," it said. The memorandum said in order to secure the political rights of the Hindu-Sikh communities in the Valley, the delimitation process need to reserve five seats in the Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for these victim minorities. A Bill envisaging preservation, protection, promotion and management of Hindu temples and shrines in Kashmir be adopted as an ordinance by the UT of Jammu and Kashmir in the immediate future, it said. Referring to a 2008 Special Prime Minister's package, in which the Centre had envisaged a special recruitment drive for the youths of displaced community from Kashmir, the memorandum said this drive has already benefited thousands of displaced youths over the last ten years. The memorandum, however, demanded more recruitment against the vacancies under this drive at the earliest. The memorandum pointed out that the displaced Kashmiri Pandits would on January 19, 2020, complete "three tragic and painful decades of their seventh mass exodus from the Kashmir Valley, their abode for the last thousands of years, he told them. During their interaction with Kashmiri pandits, the envoys posed several queries to the community members about their property and future. Envoys are visiting J&K to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation after the revocation of the erstwhile state's special status in August last year. The group of foreign envoys included those from the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Guyana. This is the second time that a foreign delegation is visiting Jammu and Kashmir since August 5, when the region was split into two Union territories. Last year, a delegation of European Union MPs had visited the region to assess the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:04:24|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Staff work at the headquarters of New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service in Sydney, Australia, Jan. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei) SYDNEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australians braced themselves as the bushfire worsened again with extreme heat and winds fanning flames in the eastern states, which is far from over. Since September of last year, at least 27 lives have been lost, more than 2,300 homes destroyed and an estimated 1 billion animals have perished nationwide. Over 10 million hectares of wilderness has burned, which is about the size of South Korea, leaving large sections of the country including major cities blanketed in smoke. On Friday, emergency warnings were in place for the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria which were anticipating strong winds and temperatures in excess of 40 degrees centigrade. NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Spokesman Ben Shepard told Xinhua on Friday that the crisis and ongoing threat to communities was far from over. "There is a likelihood that we will see further communities threatened... and the possibility of further losses," he said. "Until such time that we have significant rainfall across the state, we're going to continue this firefight still for days, weeks, if not months ahead." On Kangaroo Island in the state of South Australia, fires also flared and have forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Australian Defence Force personnel and assets, including helicopters, were on standby to respond to the disaster if needed, helping to establish communication with remote communities and ferry supplies. A firefighting helicopter crash landed into a dam while assisting with fires on the NSW South Coast on Thursday afternoon. The pilot was able to swim to safety unharmed, but the helicopter remained submerged as of Friday. Revised estimates have put the total number of animals killed in the disaster at over 1 billion, including native koalas and kangaroos. The reason behind this fire season's length and severity has been attributed to an existing drought, on top off a number of days of high winds and temperatures. Australia experienced it's hottest and driest on record in 2019, caused by climate change combined with unusual weather patterns, the country's Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday. While taking a significant toll on the country and its people, the best of the Australian spirit has also been on display in the face of great adversity. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is a decade long member of the volunteer-based NSW RFS, joined fellow firefighters battling blazes on the frontline. He has been praised for setting an example of community service and selflessness. Meanwhile authorities are urging overseas visitors not to change their travel plans to Australia, keeping in mind that the fires are only affecting parts of the country and there is no danger in most areas. "Australia still is open for business, and that's critical in terms of minimizing, what will be a devastating impact economic impact on top of the quite catastrophic human impact that we've seen from those bushfires," opposition leader Anthony Albanese said. In sum, TCI has no environmental benefits but would cost Virginians billions. That is an all pain and no gain program, concluded David Schnare, director of TJIPPs Center for Environmental Stewardship. Even Fatih Biurol, head of the International Energy Agency, acknowledged that eliminating gas- and diesel-powered vehicles would have a negligible effect on the climate. Electric cars will not save the climate. That is completely wrong, he said. Going from 2 to 300 million electric cars will affect the global greenhouse gas emissions by less than 1 percent. So if you think you can save the climate with electric cars, then you are completely wrong. It will be a modest contribution, but not the solution. According to the IEAs May 2019 Global Electric Vehicle Outlook, an electric car starts out with a carbon deficit due to the amount of pollutants released during the manufacturing process, including the mining of rare earth metals for batteries, thats greater than emissions produced by the manufacture of internal combustion vehicles. And depending on the source of electricity they use, it could take years for an EV to break even on the carbon front. Okinawa reports latest case of classical swine fever since 1986 The Agriculture Ministry confirmed a classical swine fever (CSF) case at a swine farm in Okinawa, the first time a new case was reported since 1986, reported The Japan Times. 1,800 swine are planned to be culled at the farm in Uruma and at another suspected CSF-infected farm by the Okinawa Prefectural Government, following local laws. CSF, believed to be primarily transmitted by wild boars in Japan, have already been reported in 12 prefectures in the country, which include the Chubu and Kanto regions, such as Aichi, Mie and Saitama. The ministry is currently investigating the CSF infection in Okinawa, as the swine could have been infected from a different route compared to previous cases. Seizo Inamine, Okinawa pig farming promotion council chairman said farmers have boosted outbreak prevention measures in the wake of the CSF outbreak in Gifu and is disappointed that the disease has entered Okinawa. The council has requested for vaccination to halt the spread of the disease. Swine production began in Okinawa from the 15th century, but business dropped during World War II. However, swine production in Okinawa has been booming thanks to the prefecture's promotion of Agu, its Okinawan swine breed, as a premium brand. Swine shipments hit 330,000 tonnes in fiscal 2018. - The Japan Times OTTAWA - The president of Iran says a military investigation has concluded that missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of a Ukrainian plane and the deaths of 176 innocent people. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Photographs are left among candles at a memorial during a vigil in Toronto on Thursday, January 9, 2020, to remember the victims of the Iranian air crash. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young OTTAWA - The president of Iran says a military investigation has concluded that missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of a Ukrainian plane and the deaths of 176 innocent people. "The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake," Hassan Rouhani said late Friday in a post on Twitter. "My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences." Rouhani said investigations continue to "identify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake." A statement was also issued on the Twitter account of Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister. "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster," reads the tweet. "Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations." The tweets contradict a statement from Iran earlier Friday that strongly denied any responsibility for downing Flight 752, and instead blamed it on a fire in the Boeing 737-800's engine. The crash Wednesday claimed the lives of 176 people, including 138 who the federal government says were bound for Canada. Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has said the number of Canadian citizens believed to have been aboard the plane is 57 not 63 as initially provided by Ukrainian authorities. Global Affairs Canada officials in Ottawa were not immediately available for comment on the Iran state TV report. On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said multiple intelligence sources had indicated the plane was downed by an Iranian missile, possibly by accident an assessment that has been echoed by Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australia's Scott Morrison. Foreign Affairs Minister Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne holds a new conference to provide an update on the plane crash in Iran, in Ottawa Friday, January 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level American official to pin blame on Iran when he made similar comments Friday. The Canadian government is leading a group of nations that lost citizens in the Tehran plane crash to advocate with "one single voice," Champagne said. The government is also creating a task force of top public servants to make sure Canadian families affected by the crash get the support and information they need, Champagne added. The measures follow private conversations in Toronto between Trudeau and the families of victims who died. The Canadian Press has independently confirmed at least 74 victims with ties to Canada, many of them students at Canadian universities. The Tehran-Kyiv route has been an inexpensive first leg of a trip from Iran to Canada. The dead also included citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Germany. The new International Co-ordination and Response Group includes those countries with the exception of Iran and Germany, and Champagne indicated it will focus on sharing information and pressuring Iran to conduct a thorough investigation of the crash. "Transparency is what the international community is looking for now," Champagne said, adding: "The world is watching what the Iranian government is doing now." Flight 752 went down shortly after Iran launched the missile strikes against the two bases, including one in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil where Canadian special-forces soldiers have been operating for the past five years. The attack, which did not cause any casualties, was in response to a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed Iranian Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week. Earlier Friday, the head of Iran's national aviation department, Ali Abedzadeh, told a news conference that "what is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane." If the U.S. and Canada are sure, he added, they should "show their findings to the world." While Western countries may hesitate to share information on such a strike because it comes from highly classified sources, videos verified by The Associated Press appear to show the final seconds of the ill-fated airliner's flight. In one video, a fast-moving light can be seen through trees as someone films from the ground. The light appears to be the burning plane, which plummets to the earth as a huge fireball illuminates the landscape. Iran has invited Ukraine, Canada, France and Boeing, which built the jetliner, to participate in the investigation into the cause of the crash. The Transportation Safety Board issued a statement Friday saying two investigators were preparing to make their way to the area. "However, the full extent of the TSB's role in this investigation including the degree of site access and the type of work to be carried out once at the site or elsewhere is still being determined," it added. Iran is already facing questions about its investigation. Some of those questions revolved around allegations much of the debris at the crash scene had already been cleared and that the site had not been secured, while others focused on whether Iran would try to evade responsibility if one of its missiles did indeed shoot down the plane. Asked about those fears, Champagne said: "Over the course of the next few days, we will see if they are genuine." The foreign minister added that the immediate priority is getting Canadian officials into the country as Iran has so far only issued two visas. Global Affairs Canada has deployed a team to identify victims' remains but its members were waiting in Turkey when he spoke. "Obviously it starts with the visas because until and unless we can have our people physically on the ground, at the site, at the meeting, we are obviously not in a position to have all the influence we want," Champagne said. "So we have been stressing to the Iranian government to issue these visas as quickly as possible." Iranian authorities said Friday they had recovered the black-box flight recorders from the plane. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said recovering data from the recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. Ukrainian investigators were given access Friday to the flight recorders that were recovered from the wreckage of the plane, which was bound for Kyiv, as well as access to recordings of the air-traffic controllers at the Tehran airport, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said. But while investigators had also been to the crash site, "there are certain pieces that up until this time have not been found or gathered," he added. Transport Canada, meanwhile, said it had "issued a notice to Canadian air operators advising them not to enter the airspace of Iraq and Iran due to the potential risk of heightened military activity in the area." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. With files from The Associated Press Donald Trump has failed in his attempt to block a journalists defamation lawsuit in which she accuses the US president of smearing her name after making rape allegations against him. A New York judge has ruled that Elizabeth Carroll, a long-time advice columnist at Elle, may move forward with her case after Mr Trump failed to argue that his Washington residency should preclude him from being sued in New York. Ms Carroll last year accused the president of raping her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan during the mid-1990s. In a New York magazine piece and a subsequent book, the journalist said the two ran into each other and went to a lingerie department for Mr Trump to pick out a gift for an unidentified woman. She claims he subsequently forced her into a fitting room before carrying out the assault. The US president dismissed the accusation as fake news and said of Ms Carroll that he had never met this person. Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Show all 26 1 /26 Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Donald Trump Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clintons deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Whistleblower Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Second Whistleblower The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rudy Giuliani Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trumps personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the presidents enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a shadow foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trumps behalf and has called himself a hero. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Volodymyr Zelensky The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the favour he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin. AFP/Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pence The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had one or two phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trumps actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rick Perry Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didnt even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Joe Biden The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trumps opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Bidens son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Hunter Biden Joe Bidens son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Bidens lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Barr The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trumps preoccupations with the Bidens and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a cover-up of a cover-up. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pompeo The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president. AFP via Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Nancy Pelosi The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Adam Schiff Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a parody of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a four Pinocchios rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Taylor The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff later identified as diplomat David Holmes overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about investigations the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trumps opponents, saying: It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support." Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal George Kent A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, of leading a campaign of lies against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Marie Yovanovitch One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack very intimidating. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: Shes going to go through some things. Yovanovitch said she was shocked, appalled and devastated by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation. REUTERS Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Alexander Vindman A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trumps 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Jennifer Williams A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it unusual because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Kurt Volker The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraines reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Tim Morrison An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Gordon Sondland In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: Was there a quid pro quo? Yes, said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the presidents political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a great American a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Laura Cooper A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August undermining a Republican argument that there cant have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didnt know that aid was being withheld. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Hale The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Fiona Hill Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was being involved in a domestic political errand. She said: I did say to him, Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up. And here we are. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Holmes The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line because his voice was so loud and distinctive and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear asking about the investigations and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate. REUTERS Ill say it with great respect: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK? he told The Hill newspaper in Washington. Ms Carroll labelled the comments as defamatory, alleging her career suffered in the wake of Mr Trumps denials. Many readers of her magazine column stopped writing to her for advice, the suit claims. It seeks unspecified damages and a retraction of the presidents statements. A lawyer for Mr Trump had argued that the alleged defamatory statements were made in Washington, the presidents home since January 2017, meaning he could not be sued in New York. But Justice Doris Ling-Cohan rejected the motion to dismiss the case and even criticised Mr Trump for failing to provide a supporting statement. Although defendant Trump, through his counsel, claims lack of personal jurisdiction, notably, there is not even a tweet, much less an affidavit by Trump in support of his motion, Ms Ling-Cohan wrote. Ms Carrolls lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said: We are pleased, and unsurprised, that the Court refused to tolerate Donald Trumps latest attempt to avoid discovery in our clients case. We look forward to moving ahead in this case and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client and had not even met her. Lebanon banned former auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn from travelling on Thursday after questioning him over an Interpol "red notice" of charges of financial misconduct in Japan, judicial sources said. The 65-year-old businessman -- for years venerated in Japan for turning around once-ailing Nissan -- fled while awaiting trial on charges including allegedly under-reporting his compensation to the tune of $85 million. His shock arrival in his native Lebanon last month was the latest twist in a story worthy of a Hollywood plot and prompted outrage from the Japanese government as well as from Nissan. "The state prosecution issued a travel ban for Ghosn, and asked for his file from the Japanese authorities," a judicial source told AFP. A second judicial source said: "He has been banned from travelling until his judicial file arrives from Japan. "According to what is inside the file, if it appears that the crimes he is accused of in Japan require being pursued in Lebanon, he will be tried," the source added. "But if it doesn't require being pursued under Lebanese law, then he will be free." Lebanon's judiciary received a "red notice" from Interpol last week urging Ghosn's arrest. A "red notice" is a request to police across the world to provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an arrest warrant. Lebanon does not have an extradition agreement with Japan. Ghosn also made a statement to prosecutors on a report submitted by Lebanese lawyers that he had travelled to neighbouring Israel as head of Renault-Nissan. Lebanon and neighbouring Israel are still technically at war, and Beirut has forbidden its citizens from visiting or having contacts. In early 2008, Ghosn travelled to Israel to announce the mass production of electric vehicles there with the cooperation of Renault-Nissan. At a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, Ghosn apologised to the Lebanese people for having visited the neighbouring country. He said he went as the head of Renault. "I went as a Frenchman because of a contract between Renault and an Israeli company," said Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationalities. "I always come back to Lebanon and nothing has ever happened before," he said. The rain seen in some parts of the state on Saturday is set to hang around into next week, and forecasters believe large parts of Queensland could see at least some showers. The Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore said rainfall would continue on Sunday. "The weather will be easing tomorrow but cooler winds and showers will return on Tuesday and Wednesday," he said. "The entire state will see afternoon showers and thunderstorms every day, except far south-west Queensland, including Birdsville, will unfortunately miss out." Mr Narramore said the Lockhart River received the highest rainfall overnight with 120 millimetres. Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, left, and his colleague are on their way to have lunch in the Supreme Prosecutor's Office in southern Seoul, Friday./ Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong The Ministry of Justice ordered the Supreme Prosecutors Office, Friday, to seek its endorsement when launching a special investigation unit, the latest in a political tit for tat between Cheong Wa Dae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. In an announcement, the ministry said, "Minister Choo Mi-ae told the Supreme Prosecutors Office that it could only create a special investigation team when it was really necessary and it needs an approval from the minister." Earlier Friday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office conducted a search and seizure operation at Cheong Wa Dae as part of its investigation into election-meddling allegations that benefited the current Ulsan mayor, a close confidant of President Moon Jae-in. The prosecution said the raid was on the unit of an office that administers provincial government policies in relation to the election in Ulsan. The move came two days after Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae announced she would replace the prosecutor, who had been overseeing the case for months, with a new one in a series of reassignments at the prosecution. Many allege that Choo is attempting to hinder the investigation with the support of Cheong Wa Dae and render Supreme Prosecutor Yoon powerless. The raid had the goal of securing evidence on whether Cheong Wa Dae helped Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho win the June 2018 election by sabotaging the campaign of the incumbent, Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon. Friday was the last day to collect evidence because the reassignments will go into effect Monday. Local news reports said the search and seizure was "political revenge" by Yoon. The investigation was started after former Mayor Kim alleged his office was raided just before the election by the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency over spurious bribery allegations made by Cheong Wa Dae. Kim claimed the raid involving his confidants was initiated by Vice Mayor Song Byung-gi to damage his image before the election. Yoon was sworn in as top prosecutor in July last year, with the support of the presidential office. But the two were soon at odds with each other after he began a series of corruption investigations involving close aides of President Moon, one of which was into Cho Kuk, the former justice minister, and his family members. When Choo was sworn in as justice minister earlier this month, her alleged top priority was to make Yoon powerless and that was done Wednesday. Critics said Choo and Cheong Wa Dae want Yoon out of the post and the reassignment was to pressure him into resigning. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: The European Union (EU) is ready to help Azerbaijan with latest technologies on renewables, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend. "We are already working with Azerbaijan on its new long term Energy Strategy. We are ready to help with latest technologies on renewable energy sources. Azerbaijan has a lot of wind and sun. Harvesting it would make many utility bills smaller and our environment cleaner," he said. Jankauskas noted that EU and Azerbaijan will be expanding their cooperation in 2020 on the energy efficiency programs for a number of cities and municipalities. "As you definitely have heard, one of the first jobs of the new European Commission was to work on the adoption of the European Green Deal. We have set an ambitious target of making Europe world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. We need our partners to help, because this is important for all of us," he added. Earlier, Zaur Mammadov, head of the Office of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy, told Trend that economic and technical potential of renewable energy in Azerbaijan is estimated at 26,900 megawatts. "This includes wind energy (3,000 megawatts), solar energy (23,040 megawatts), bioenergy potential (380 megawatts) and mountain river energy (520 megawatts)," he said. He noted that in 2018, Azerbaijan generated 25.2 billion kilowatts of electricity, 2 billion kilowatt hours of which accounted for renewable energy sources. "During 2018, 85.7 million kilowatt hours were generated at wind farms, 39.3 million kilowatt hours at solar power plants, and 162.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity at solid waste incinerators," Mammadov said. He noted that electricity generated from renewable energy sources amounted to 8.1 percent of total production volume. The European Commission has presented the European Green Deal, the most ambitious package of measures that should enable European citizens and businesses to benefit from sustainable green transition. Measures accompanied with an initial roadmap of key policies range from ambitiously cutting emissions, to investing in cutting-edge research and innovation, to preserving Europes natural environment. Supported by investments in green technologies, sustainable solutions and new businesses, the Green Deal can be a new EU growth strategy. Involvement and commitment of the public and of all stakeholders is crucial to its success. Above all, the European Green Deal sets a path for a transition that is just and socially fair. It is designed in such a way as to leave no individual or region behind in the great transformation ahead. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn A former Green Beret who was charged with murdering a Taliban bombmaker but later pardoned by President Trump has been denied a request to have his Special Forces designation reinstated. Matthew Golsteyn, a decorated major, had asked the U.S. Army to his restore his Special Forces tab after he was granted clemency by Trump last year. He had been stripped of his medals and his membership in the elite Green Berets after being charged with premeditated murder in the 2010 shooting death of a Taliban bombmaker in Afghanistan. Golsteyn's plea to be reinstated was rejected by the U.S. Army in December and he was informed of the decision on Thursday. Matthew Golsteyn, a decorated major, had asked the U.S. Army to his restore his Special Forces tab after he was granted clemency by Trump last year The decision will potentially set up a battle with Trump who gave Golsteyn a full pardon in November. Golsteyn was given a Special Forces designation and awarded a Silver Star in 2011 after it was revealed he repeatedly braved enemy fire, coordinated airstrikes and came to the aid of a wounded Afghan soldier during his 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. The Silver Star was due to be upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, the military's second-highest honor, before he was stripped of the medal in 2015 after he admitted to shooting a Taliban bombmaker. Golsteyn, who was leading a team of Army Special Forces troops at the time of the shooting, was accused of shooting the Afghan man in February 2010. The man had been detained and questioned over a bombing that killed two Marines - Sgt. Jeremy R. McQueary and Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson - but he was later released because of lack of evidence. Golsteyn later shot him saying he believed he was the bomb maker. He had been stripped of his medals and his membership in the elite Green Berets after being charged with premeditated murder in the 2010 shooting death of a Taliban bombmaker in Afghanistan Sgt. Jeremy R. McQueary (left), 27, and Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson (right), 19, were killed in an explosion in February 2010. Golsteyn believed the Afghan he killed was responsible for their deaths He said he believed the bombmaker was a legal target because of his behavior. Golsteyn confessed to the shooting during a polygraph test that he took for a job interview with the CIA in 2011. The Army Criminal Investigation Command, acting on information from the CIA, looked into the incident but could never find anyone to corroborate Golsteyn's claim. Golsteyn appeared on a Fox News special called 'How We Fight' in 2016 during which he said he killed the Afghan because letting him go would have led to additional problems. His appearance on the show caused the case against him to be reopened and he was charged with premeditated murder by the U.S. military in 2018. Golsteyn had been due to face a court-martial in December 2018 before the pardon came through from Trump. Broadcasting his support for Golestyn, Trump tweeted: 'Mathew is a highly decorated Green Beret who is being tried for killing a Taliban bombmaker. 'We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill!' Towards the end of Ben Lerner's third novel, The Topeka School, there is a scene of restrained but disturbing violence. By this stage, Adam Gordon whose voice is one of three that Lerner uses to slowly circle around the moral core of the novel has two daughters of his own, Luna and Amiya. He takes them to a local park where a boy aged seven or eight is being obnoxious and won't let the girls have their turn on the equipment. The boy's father sits on a bench to one side, disengaged. When Adam confronts the man and asks him to help resolve the conflict, the man is also obnoxious. Everything in Adam's mind tells him to walk away, to make excuses for the "bad father", to avoid escalation. But he doesn't. The scene ends with Adam knocking the father's phone out of his hand. Ben Lerner is interested in how beneath the surface of things much remains the same. Credit:Jake Naughton The context of this scene, which the reader will enjoy working to piece together, makes it potent. In a few pages, Lerner shows ripples of male rage eddying in a playground. A boy scares girls as Adam watches his daughters beginning "to internalise whatever life lesson". A father bullies another father with increasingly aggressive complacence. That other father, Adam, strikes out in frustration. Adam, happens to be a man of words. All his life, they have been his weapon of choice. He has been a champion public speaker and debater, activities that the book elaborates in exhaustive detail almost as if they are contact sports. Now the articulate father lashes out at a stranger's phone. Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Friday reiterated his administrations commitment to improve security and development in the state. Mr El-Rufai stated this while receiving some heavy weights PDP members from Southern Kaduna who moved to the APC. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that among those who decamped to the ruling party were former Commissioners, former Federal and State legislators, former Local Government Council Chairmen and other PDP officials. They were led by Tony Hassan, the Dokajen Jaba, who said they came to align with Mr El-Rufai and his deputy, Hadiza Balarabe, to move Kaduna State forward. Speaking further Mr El-Rufai said: we are committed with the support of our party to deliver on this, we are going to continue with infrastructure expansion in Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan because they are our three major metropolitan areas. He said the purpose of the present government is to unite and develop the state. We have undertaken development project across the state without discrimination. We are also going to encourage the LGAs to do similar interventions in their headquarters and other major settlements. We have employed people that can help develop our state although we are not where we are supposed to be yet, because Kaduna state gave birth to all the 19 Northern states and the FCT, yet in many areas of infrastructure development, health and education we are behind some of the states we gave birth to. This is what keeps most of us awake day and night not only to catch up but to surpass those states and we need everyone. We have to put all hands on deck, it doesnt matter where you are coming from and who you worship, we all believe in one God and ethnicity, what matters is what you can contribute to our state. He said the people of Kaduna state deserve the best and assured that the government would spend the next three and half years to give it to them. And we are going to spend the years with your support and prayers to improve security, unity of purpose and development of the state. We want to create a new set of future leaders for Kaduna state. We realise that we are old and not supposed to be here, we are the products of circumstances. Some of the chairman, members house of assembly and commissioners are the new set of leaders. READ ALSO: We cannot achieve that until we unite and stop listening to ethnic and religious bigots who see everything through the lens of religion. Religion and ethnicity dont build road, do not provide education or health care, it is people working together with the unity of purpose. Mr El-Rufai assured the defectors that his government is for all and not for followers of a particular religion or ethnic group: it is government for all to serve the interest of all. Whether the people supported us or not, once the elections are over, we are the government of the entire state. We operate with the highest level of transparency and accountability, giving equal opportunity. What matters to us is credibility and competence and what you can contribute to the people of Kaduna state, Mr El-Rufai added. Advertisements He thanked the former PDP members for joining the APC to contribute their efforts in uniting and moving the state forward. Mrs Balarabe commended the defectors for their decision to join forces with the government to bring about positive changes in the state. It is gratifying to see people like you coming to seek collaboration. We are going to make Kaduna the envy of the people of Nigeria, she said. She assured the former PDP members of government willingness to partner with all to make the state great again. She noted that there were lots of misconception among people of the Southern Kaduna zone where she comes from We have been short-changed for long, so it is time to work together to reap the dividends of democracy, she said. The State Chairman of APC, Emmanuel Jakada, said politics is a game and those who play well achieve its dividends. Nothing can be so beautiful as what has happened today. I am glad the people from my zone are now getting it right, Mr Jakada said. Earlier, Mr Hassan, who is also the leader of the defectors, reiterated their commitment in working with the present administration to achieve greatness. We have come to reaffirm our commitment to join hands for the sake of development of our state. We were PDP leaders from various capacities. We have moved to the APC to support the government, because the El-Rufai government is doing what its supposed to do for the people, Mr Hassan said. (NAN) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 14:53:00|Editor: yhy Video Player Close A protestor confronts policemen during a demonstration against pension reform in Lille, north France, Jan. 9, 2020. France's transport strike against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to overhaul pension system has entered its 36th day on Thursday, making it the longest rail workers' strike since May 1968. (Photo by Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua) BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Thursday called for greater efforts to put in place an elderly care system to help senior citizens live a happy life. Sun gave the instructions in a research tour to Beijing's Changping District. While commending measures taken by Beijing municipal authorities in this regard, Sun said a combination of elderly care services that are based on families, supported by community-level institutions and supplemented by other elderly care centers is in line with the conditions and people's habits in China. Sun noted that China is a country with more than 166 million elderly people aged above 65. She underscored efforts to streamline policies to facilitate the entry of various forces of society into the elderly care areas and the integration of diverse elderly cares services available at communities and elderly care institutions. The Survivors: A Story of War, Inheritance, and Healing By Adam P. Frankel Harper. 271 pp. $27.99 --- The subtitle of Adam Frankel's "The Survivors: A Story of War, Inheritance, and Healing" suggests that the author is preoccupied with his family and its trauma. The dominating figure in his tale is his troubled mother, the daughter of Holocaust survivors whose presence in her son's otherwise privileged life has been the defining torment for him. But Frankel has other legacies as well, both positive and negative: a family tradition of secrets and lies; the steady presence of his father, with whom he shared a deep bond; passionate engagement from both sets of grandparents; the benefits of an extremely well-connected, upper-middle-class family; and the pleasure of being beloved by his mother's family, with its extraordinary stories of suffering and survival. Frankel, an Obama speechwriter during his initial campaign and first term in office, enjoyed what was, in many ways, a charmed life. Though his parents divorced when he was 4, they shared custody, a win, his father thought, "at a time when mothers were typically awarded sole custody." His mother was troubled - mentally ill and occasionally suicidal - but highly functional. So Frankel was protected, in many ways, thanks to some strong countervailing forces from both his father, Stephen, and the extended family. But then, in his early 20s, after years of taking care of his mother as she struggled with depression and frightening volatility, he put some pieces of his personal puzzle together and asked if the man he believed to be his father in fact was his father. Frankel could have written several books from all this rich material. There's the harrowing yet redemptive Holocaust story of his maternal grandparents - his grandfather who survived and saved his own father by becoming a watchmaker in a Dachau subcamp, his grandmother who hid for two years in a forest. And there's the story of Frankel being the only child of a mentally ill mother. Her dependence on him, coupled with the constant threat of another suicide attempt and her seemingly bottomless capacity for injury and attention-seeking, became one of the organizing principles of his life. His father's family also offers rich material. Grandma and Pa were the stable, loving, undramatic and solid figures in Frankel's life. Theirs is a massive family tree extending from a 16th-century rabbi from Padua to Frankel's father, with branches including Karl Marx, philosopher Martin Buber, composer Felix Mendelssohn and journalist David Halberstam. This is interesting not just because of the reassuring collection of high-achieving boldfaced names - who wouldn't want that DNA? - but also because this genealogy bespeaks a Jewish family of remarkable continuity and prosperity, despite the long history of catastrophes of Jewish life. Another book that might have emerged from this one could have focused on the many experts Frankel interviewed to examine epigenetics and the reverberations of trauma through generations. Or maybe, Frankel could have left that all behind and instead written about the special demands of being a speechwriter for a president as preternaturally eloquent as Obama. Newton Minow, now 93, is the author's Grandma's brother-in law. As chairman of President John Kennedy's Federal Communications Commission, Minow gave a speech in 1961 describing television as "a vast wasteland," indelibly characterizing the medium for decades. Frankel's connection to Minow led to his introduction to Kennedy's speechwriter Ted Sorensen, which led to a gig assisting Sorensen with his memoir when Frankel was an undergrad at Princeton, and then another introduction to, and eventual employment with, a young African American senator from Illinois who had the audacity to think he could run for president. Which is to say that as talented as Frankel clearly is, family connections have helped to shape his life's trajectory. Frankel has brought all of these many strands into his narrative. And for this reader, even though the story contains layers of drama, it somehow feels hollow at its core. Frankel's detailed probing of his own depth of emotion, his truly monumental suffering, gives the memoir the feel of a therapy session. The existential themes of identity, loyalty, mental illness, the Holocaust, family secrets, the search for meaning, love and marriage sometimes prompt repetitive ruminations and a torrent of questioning. In two short paragraphs on a single page: "Had I made some terrible mistake? ... Would I have been better off if I'd never started asking questions in the first place? ... Was it my fault, in a way? Had I brought all of this on myself?" When Frankel offers a psychological insight, he seems to accept it only if an expert weighs in. After quoting part of a "thousand-word email" he wrote to his mother's judgmental siblings to explain his side of their estrangement, he turns to Susan Brison, a Dartmouth philosopher and rape survivor, who said one condition of healing for trauma survivors was "telling their stories to understanding listeners." Frankel asks: "Was that why I craved my family's understanding so badly? Because I sensed I needed it for my own healing?" This type of insertion becomes a kind of nervous tic, as if the significance of his personal insights cannot come merely from felt experience but must be legitimized by an expert he calls, or a peer-reviewed secondary source he discovers, or an understanding rabbi he consults. Nor is there any apparent capacity for leavening his suffering with some humor or self-irony. When he was a young speechwriter, he shared an office with another speechwriter, Jon Lovett. "'Jesus Christ,' he would occasionally yell. 'Would you stop sighing?'" I smiled, but Frankel couldn't. "Now, I wonder if my sighing was a release of the heaviness I was carrying around," he writes. In the end, Frankel seeks to unify his narrative by tying his mother's mental illness, which he diagnoses as borderline personality disorder, and his own suffering to the most monumental suffering of all: her parents' Holocaust trauma. Clearly, trauma reverberates through generations. Still, I just couldn't shake the sense that for Frankel, what his grandparents endured and survived is deployed as yet another piece of evidence to amplify and justify the magnitude of his own pain. --- Szegedy-Maszak is the editorial operations director in the Washington bureau of Mother Jones and the author of "I Kiss Your Hands Many Times: Hearts, Souls, and Wars in Hungary." Many first-time parents are worried about suffocation risks when their baby rolls over onto their tummy while asleep or when placed on their front to sleep. Recognizing the lack of a monitor capable of detecting and alerting such situations automatically, Yunyun Tech, a startup developing baby-monitoring solutions, was founded by a group of first-time parents, pediatricians, and AI experts. After surveying 8000 first-time parents and carrying out 158 in-depth interviews, the company has developed the world's first AI-driven smart baby monitor Cubo to keep babies safe and give parents peace of mind. Yunyun Tech was founded in 2017 and became part of the AppWorks program, the biggest startup accelerator in Taiwan, in March 2018, said CSO Brian Lin. In May 2018, Yunyun Tech launched a crowdfunding campaign on Zec Zec and reached its crowdfunding goal of more than NT$1 million within 30 minutes. The system even crashed at some point due to too many donors. Within hours, more than NT$10 million was raised, making it the fastest project to ever to raise NT$10 million on ZecZec. Cubo, which looks like a white bird, offers four key features: mouth and nose coverage detection, dangerous zone detection, automatic photo taking, and ultra-HD night vision. It also provides a crying reminder, two-way audio, invisible IR night vision, temperature & humidity detection, night light, and a stand that grows with the baby. First-time parents can use the app to check on the baby in real time, check the temperature and humidity, take photos or record videos remotely, and record the baby's growth using the built-in time wall function. "Our dream is to become a leader in the baby monitor market," said Brian Lin. "Apart from developing new features such as breathing detection and embedding heart rate and fever sensors into the device, we plan to launch subscription services offering a variety of content such as event information, music, sleep analysis, and the Cubo Store. We will also work with third parties to build an AIoT and big data ecosystem. With Taiwan as its home market, Yunyun Tech has set its eyes on global expansion. Brian Lin believes the biggest challenge for a startup is to decide what to keep and what to toss while identifying the target market. Therefore, Yunyun Tech will initially focus on English-speaking markets, especially the US, the world's biggest baby product market where 4 million babies are born every year. Yunyun Tech has adopted a B2C business model by selling directly to end consumers through Amazon and its official website. Currently, the company has customer service teams in Taiwan and the US and aims to provide customer services 24/7 in the future. SOURCE Taiwan Tech Arena US investment giant Vanguard is planning to pile pressure on wealth managers which have also come under fire over inflated fees A US investment giant which specialises in offering cheap tracker funds has been given permission to offer investment advice in the UK. As the industry faces intense criticism over fund charges, Vanguard is planning to pile pressure on wealth managers which have also come under fire over inflated fees. The firm has secured approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to provide retail investment guidance, which will give it a platform to steer savers towards its own low-cost passive funds. These blindly track financial markets rather than employing a fund manager to pick stocks, and are much cheaper as a result. The company said its plans are still in the early stages. But Sean Hagerty, head of Vanguards European business, said: The provision of advice will never be one size fits all. As a customer, there are a few things every ATM user needs to know that will help them tackle unfortunate situations, suggests Bindisha Sarang. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters There are many things that the banks in India get right; seamless ATM transaction experience is certainly not one of them. According to Reserve Bank of India's Annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes released last week, ATM/debit cards related complaints have increased from 24,672 in 2017-2018 to 36,539 in 2018-2019 -- a rise of 48 per cent. While India strives to become a cashless economy someday, the rising trend in complaints is worrisome. As a customer, there are a few things every ATM user needs to know that will help them tackle unfortunate situations. Account debited, but cash not dispensed The biggest culprit according to the RBI report: "Of the total number of ATM / Debit Cards complaints, a significant sub-category was 'Account debited but cash not dispensed by ATMs' which accounted for almost 53 per cent of the ATM-related complaints." Imagine being in an ATM centre, making a transaction, getting an SMS that the money has been debited, but not getting any cash. What should be done in such a case? An official of Indian Overseas Bank says, "The customer should give a request at the branch, he can even inform via the bank's call centre and over the website." RBI rules says that banks have to credit this wrongly debited amount into your account within a stipulated time from the date of your complaint. RBI issues a circular on September 20, 2019, on the harmonisation of Turn Around Time (TAT) and customer compensation in case of failed transactions. Amitabh Bhatnagar, Head-Business Banking, ATM and Debit Cards, RBL Bank says, "The latest guideline from RBI prescribes a timeline of T+5 for banks to refund the client, where T is the day of the transaction. Beyond this time a daily penalty is levied to the bank of Rs 100 per day. This penalty needs to be paid by the bank to the customer irrespective of customer reporting and or lodging a complaint with the bank. The bank needs to reconcile its records and accounts and ensure payment against the delay is credited in an appropriate time." So make sure you get in touch with the bank and let them know regarding the issue, and follow up of you don't get your money within the time frame. Charges and strategy The next thing every ATM user needs to know is regarding the ATM charges. Mostly the transaction charges for ATM use is linked to the type of bank account one has. For instance, most high-end accounts come with free unlimited ATM transactions, while other account variants have limits defined concerning free transactions. Bhatnagar, says, "From a pricing control perspective RBI has defined base number of transaction that a bank must be offered free, for example in the top metros, the floor limit is three free transactions." In rural and underbanked areas, the floor limit is higher. The maximum fee which can be charged is Rs 20 Naveen Kukreja - CEO and Co-founder, Paisabazaar.com: "Debit card users should use digital mode of payment such as e-wallets, internet banking, IMPS and UPI, to the extent possible. This will reduce the use of cash payment, which in turn will decrease the chance of breaching free limits on ATM transactions. Additionally, those having multiple savings accounts should spread their ATM withdrawals across various savings accounts to take advantage of higher cumulative free ATM withdrawals. This would prevent them from exhausting free ATM limits, hence, saving on ATM withdrawal charges." With NEFT becoming free of cost post-January 1 2020, you can always transfer funds from one account to another and make the most of free ATM transactions, for cash withdrawal. Transact safely Be mindful while using the ATM. Mayur Joshi, a Pune-based cybersecurity expert, says, "Skimming is seen to be the trending fraud type in 2019 in India. Consumers need to be educated, if anything about the card reader or PIN pad looks different or unusual or seems loose to the touch, or if the consumer sees a sign asking them to swipe their card in a second reader, don't use it. Don't even remove it, report it." An Indian Overseas Bank official says, "Ensure you do the transaction yourself at an ATM. "Never write down the PIN, nor share PIN or OTP with anyone. "And never forget to collect cash and the card after the transaction is done. "In short, be alert while the transaction is going on, never take help from strangers for using the ATM card or handling your cash. "Always press the 'Cancel' key before moving away from the ATM." Rustom Irani, MD and CEO of cash business, Hitachi Payment Services says, "Insert card only when the card reader light is flashing. Always cover the keypad with your hand while entering the PIN. And, always wait till the transaction is fully complete before leaving the ATM." Check for any external cameras pointing directly towards the keypad including micro-camera above the PIN pad. Bhatnagar, says, "Shoulder surfer" can peep at your PIN as you enter it. So stand close to the ATM and use your body and hand to shield the keypad as you enter the PIN." In short, see if anyone is looking over your shoulder. If you are using the ATM for depositing a cheque or card into your ATM, check the credit entry in your account after a couple of days. And remember that all your old magstripe debit, credit cards will be invalid by December 31 by a new EMV/chip-based card. Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Deputy PM Carmen Calvo. Eduardo Parra (Europa Press) The first coalition government in modern Spain is already causing some friction among its partners. On Thursday the newly confirmed prime minister, Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE), announced his plans for a fourth deputy PM who will be in charge of environmental affairs. Two governments do not make one government, they make zero governments Alberto Nunez-Feijoo, Galician premier The surprise decision Sanchez was expected to have three direct deputies, not four was not particularly welcomed by Unidas Podemos, Sanchezs leftist coalition partner. Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias is already slated to be a deputy PM in charge of social affairs and developing the goals of the United Nations 2030 agenda, which includes fighting poverty and the climate emergency. The creation of this new top position, to be headed by current Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera, somewhat undermines Iglesias own responsibilities. The announcement comes after Podemos on Monday released the names of its own party members who will hold government positions, a move that was not well received by the PSOE. Sanchez had originally been planning to announce the full lineup of his Cabinet sometime next week. On Wednesday, the PSOE and Unidas Podemos signed a 20-point document emphasizing the need for good internal communication to avoid the image of two executives working independently from each other. Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias will be the third deputy PM. GABRIEL BOUYS (AFP) Sanchez himself was only confirmed in office on Tuesday, when Congress endorsed him by a margin of two votes in a tight investiture vote that required support by smaller regional parties, including the separatist Catalan Republican Left (ERC). In return, Sanchez has agreed to hold talks with the Catalan government on the political situation in Catalonia, a move that the opposition conservatives have fiercely criticized. The Popular Party (PP) has described Sanchezs decision to have four deputies as a display of wastefulness. Thats more advisors, more high-ranking positions, more official cars, said Pablo Montesinos, the PPs deputy communication secretary, in an interview on the television network La Sexta. The regional premier of Galicia, Alberto Nunez Feijoo of the PP, also alluded to the fact that the names of Podemoss ministers were released before those of the Socialist ministers. The government could not have gotten off to a worse start, he said. Two governments do not make one government, they make zero governments. Main focus During this new political term, Sanchez wants to focus efforts on four main areas: the economy, the environment, depopulated areas and social policy. Finally, depopulation has become a matter of state, said Tomas Guitarte, the sole representative in Congress for a grassroots party named Teruel Existe that seeks to draw attention to the problems of rural Spain. Guitarte has been under police protection after receiving threats over his decision to vote for Sanchez at the investiture vote. Nadia Calvino will be the deputy PM in charge of economic affairs. EL PAIS Carmen Calvo will repeat her position as the first deputy PM, while defining economic policy as well as Spains digital transformation will fall to Nadia Calvino, who has already been serving as economy minister since Sanchez came to power in June 2018 on the back of a no-confidence vote against then-PM Mariano Rajoy. Pablo Iglesias and Teresa Ribera will hold the third and fourth deputy positions, while the current finance minister, Maria Jesus Montero, is becoming the new government spokesperson and finance minister. The appointments of Montero and Calvino also aim to send out a message of stability to international markets: Calvino is well known abroad as she served for years at the European Commission, and she was one of the candidates to replace Christine Lagarde at the helm of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year. The complete list of ministers will likely be made public sometime between Friday and Saturday, although Socialist sources have said that the former astronaut Pedro Duque will remain at the helm of the Science Ministry and Isabel Celaa will hold the education portfolio. It also emerged on Friday that Arancha Gonzalez Laya, who has worked as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, will become foreign minister. Jose Luis Abalos will be switching the Public Works Ministry for the Transport portfolio, while Fernando Grande-Marlaska will continue as interior minister. Margarita Robles will also hold on to her current role, in this case as defense minister. All of these ministers are from the PSOE. Meanwhile, from the ranks of Unidas Podemos, Irene Montero will serve as equality minister, at 31, becoming the second-youngest female minister since Spain returned to democracy. Yolanda Diaz will head the Labor Ministry, and Alberto Garzon the leader of the communist United Left party will take the reins of the Consumer Affairs Ministry. Sanchez will officially inform King Felipe VI about his new appointments on Sunday, and the first Cabinet meeting will take place on Tuesday. English version by Susana Urra. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, along with Pave the Way Foundation (PTWF), are sponsoring an event at the United Nations entitled "Remembering the Holocaust: The Documented Efforts of the Catholic Church to Save Lives", bringing together experts on the Holocaust, World War II, Pope Pius XII, and wartime actions of the Catholic Church for this historic summit. The aim of this event is to remember the victims and to discuss the efforts undertaken to save lives, especially Jewish lives, endangered by Nazi genocide. In particular, with the help of archival documentation, participants will examine the actions undertaken by Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church in response to the Holocaust. Remembering the Holocaust: The Documented Efforts of the Catholic Church to Save Lives - Pope Pius XII The event is January 27, the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. This day is recognized annually as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In setting aside this important day, the UN General Assembly urged Member States to develop educational programs to teach about the Holocaust, learn from it, and prevent future acts of genocide. "To prevent future atrocities, we must understand that past," says Gary L. Krupp, PTWF founder. "For a long time, a tremendous amount of false information existed about how Catholics, especially Pope Pius XII, dealt with the threats of World War II. In Pave the Way Foundation's mission to resolve conflicts, we found a deep rift caused by conflicting information. We embarked upon a major international research project culminating in a book, Pope Pius XII and World War II: The Documented Truth." Gary Krupp will open the event with an overview of questions the conference will answer, and presenting a summary of the historical record. Attends will include: Professor Edouard Husson, Professor of Contemporary History at University of Cergy-Pontoise; Dr. Michael Hesemann, Professor of History at Gustav-Siewerth Akademie; Professor Ronald Rychlak, University of Mississippi School of Law; Mark Riebling author of Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler; Professor Limore Yagil, Associate Professor of History at the Sorbonne, advisor to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,; Professor Matteo Luigi Napolitano, Professor of History of International Relations, Universita del Molise; and Professor Johan Ickx, Archivist for the Vatican Secretary of State. Admission is limited. Location: The Trusteeship Council Chamber at UN Headquarters. The event is from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. To RSVP: http://www.holyseemission.org/rsvp27January2020. See the event live on United Nations Television at http://webtv.un.org. Media Contact: Gary Krupp +1-516-432-7560 [email protected] SOURCE Pave the Way Foundation Related Links http://ptwf.org The US assassination Jan. 3 of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani has been a bombshell in the news. Yet Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyehs visit Jan. 6 to Iran for Soleimani's funeral is creating quite a stir itself in the Middle East. Haniyeh, who hadn't visited Iran since 2012, was accompanied this time by a Hamas leadership delegation. He was the only non-Iranian figure to speak at the funeral, and Soleimani's daughter mentioned Haniyeh, along with other Iranian allies, as figures who will avenge her fathers killing. Soleimani contributed greatly to Hamas' power, but Haniyeh affirmed that the Palestinian resistance won't break down with his passing. In fact, Haniyeh and his delegation met that same day with Soleimani's successor, Esmail Ghaani. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Khaled Qaddoumi, Hamas' representative to Iran, said Soleimani's "support for the Palestinian resistance was unlimited." "[Haniyeh's visit] was made out of loyalty to Hamas allies," Qaddoumi said, adding, "On the sidelines of the funeral, Haniyeh met with the Iranian state pillars. Iranian officials greatly welcomed the Hamas delegation. He added, Hamas perceives Soleimanis assassination as an inadmissible crime. We don't rule out [the possibility] that Israel might plan similar idiocy against our leaders. But we are taking precautions." Haniyehs busy agenda during the visit probably indicates Iran and Hamas have turned the page on their ambivalent relations which suffered particularly following their dispute over the Syrian crisis in 2011 and moved into a new phase of alliances at the highest level. It's no secret that Hamas-Soleimani relations were firm. Tehran is a key supporter of the movement in terms of arms and combat equipment. Hamas is fully banking on Haniyehs visit as a decisive, positive move in its relations with Iran and aims to form a strategic alliance. Today, Hamas is looking for Qaanis determination to continue providing the movement with financial and military support. Qaanis meeting with Haniyeh was perhaps designed to reassure Hamas in this regard. Haniyeh's visit coincides with the harbinger of a US-Iran face-off. Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases hosting US forces in Iraq Jan. 8. Any additional exchanges could relegate Irans support for Hamas to a later stage, while it focuses on its confrontation with the United States. Haniyehs visit could be aiming to keep Hamas support a priority to Tehran. Not everyone thought Haniyeh's visit was a good idea. Speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, a Palestinian official in Ramallah said, Soleimanis assassination is part of the US-Iranian conflict, and the Palestinians have nothing to do with that. This makes Haniyehs visit a bad move; they have no business there. At the regional level, there were reports that Haniyeh's visit to Tehran could produce an undesirable response from Egypt and Israel, and that he might have to wait longer abroad before he gets Egypt's approval to return to the Gaza Strip. A reliable Egyptian source told Dar al-Hayat news Jan. 7 that Egypt is unhappy about the visit, and that Haniyeh is well-aware of this position. Saudi Arabias Okaz newspaper reported Jan. 6 that by visiting Iran, Haniyeh has become a dependent of Tehran. Even some Hamas supporters criticized Haniyeh on Twitter for visiting Tehran and praising Soleimani. But Hamas official Abdul Rahman Chedid told Al-Monitor, Soleimani was not only an Iranian general but also a supporter of the resistances potentials on more than one front. He added, Soleimanis absence will not have a negative impact on the support Iran provides us with. This support is expected to grow in anticipation of a battle that could be ignited at any moment. He noted, Egypt should not be concerned about the visit, because this visit will not come at the expense of our relations with [Cairo]. Hamas is open to all countries and looks forward to strengthening its relations with them. Haniyeh's trip to Tehran could reflect Hamas' intention to forge a real alliance with Tehran rather than seeking its military and financial support only. Such an alliance would develop into a strategic integration with Iran, placing Hamas at the heart of regional politics, although Hamas stresses its independent decision-making. Osama al-Ashqar, a political adviser at the Rasid Group for Research & Sciences, told Al-Monitor, Hamas has decided to side with Iran, which provides the movement with political, military and media support. There are strategic calculations behind this rapprochement, although the two sides views diverge when it comes to Syria. He added, Iran, however, will not give Hamas free rein, given the intricacies and complications in their relations regardless of the common denominator in their understandings, which is the fight against Israel. Iran has reservations and fears when it comes to Hamas, and Hamas' strong organizational institutions would stop any dependency on Tehran. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Al-Monitor, Haniyehs visit could expand Irans military and financial support for the Palestinian resistance, regardless of the person leading the Quds Force. Hamas is dealing with a state, not with figures. One can say Haniyehs visit portends an official and explicit alliance between Hamas and Iran that would allow the movement to obtain further support. At the same time, various complications could ensue from Hamas joining the Iranian axis regional politics, which could result in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies in the Gulf opting for more hostile policies toward Hamas. The first season of Winter Love Island is set to hit our screens this Sunday and with it a new country, a new villa, a new set of contestants and a brand new host. While TV stalwart Caroline Flack has presented all five seasons of (summer) Love Island since its reboot in 2015, for the first of the winter instalment, the spotlight is firmly on its new host, Laura Whitmore. The 34-year-old's television career began in 2008 when she won a competition run by MTV Networks Europe to become the face of MTV News. She proceeded to host news bulletins for MTV in her native Ireland for seven years before replacing Flack as the co-host of 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! NOW!' in 2015. Aside from her TV career, Whitmore, who had a rumoured romance with Leonardo DiCaprio in 2016, also shows a keen interest in fashion. Not only has she been a regular on the front row at London Fashion Week, she's also walked the runway for the likes of Bora Aksu as well as Naomi Campbell's charity fashion show for 'Fashion for Relief'. Walking for Bora Aksu as part of their autumn/ winter 2015 London Fashion Week show (Getty Images ) / Getty Images The new series of Winter Love Island will see Whitmore host the main show, but also Aftersun alongside her boyfriend Iain Stirling, who is the man behind the show's witty voiceover. Given the show's new sunny home in South Africa's Capetown, we are expecting a host of leggy ensembles from Whitmore and an influx of serious summer wardrobe envy. Winter Love Islands launches on ITV2 on Sunday January 12. ~ Justice Minister sets new records by becoming the highest vote-getter, PFP sails into parliament.~ PHILIPSBURG: --- The National Alliance emerged victorious at the January 2020 Parliamentary Elections with 4,694 votes of the 13,733 votes cast. NA took the lead from the very beginning which they maintained at almost all polling stations. Justice Minister Egbert Jurendy Doran set a new record by capturing the highest number of votes. Doran captured 843 votes while the leader of the National Alliance Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs scored 753 votes with number two candidate Christopher Emmanuel 687 votes. Former party leader William Marlin scored 345 votes. The National Alliance secured 6 seats, the UP secured 4 seats, the USP 2 seats, the PFP 2 seats. With the preliminary results that were announced at 4:30 am on Friday the Parliament of St. Maarten has a completely new make-up. The SMCP certainly did not secure a seat in parliament. Of the 15 seats in parliament, only 11 seats were won while 4 seats were distributed to the USP, UP, NA and PFP. The UP Party with its new leader MP Rolando Brison scored 3,232 votes. The number 4 candidate on the UP Grisha Marten Heyliger scored 656 votes while Brison scored 488. Newcomer to politics the number 3 candidate Omar Ottley captured 418 votes beating MP Bijlani and Mercelina. MP Bijlani scored 290 votes while MP Mercelina scored 248 votes. The US Party led by MP Frans Richardson stayed the course by scoring 1,759 votes. However, the number 2 candidate Claudius Buncamper scored more than its party leader. Buncamper scored 301 votes while Richardson scored 212 votes with Akeem Arrindell with 229 votes Chanel Brownbill 224 votes. Leader of the United Democrats Sarah Wescot Williams survived the race and its the only one that was reelected to parliament on the UD slate with 353 votes. The newcomer to parliament is from the PFP with its leader Melissa Gumbs who secured 559 votes and Raeyhon Peterson with 219 votes. Based on the outcome of Thursdays election several MPs will not be returning to Parliament, they are USP leader Frans Richardson, MP Luc Mercelina from the UP and Wycliffe Smith from the SMCP. Coming into Parliament are the following 15 candidates based on the preliminary results. NA slate, Egbert Jurendy Doran ( 843), Silveria Jacobs (753) Christophe Emmanuel (687) William Marlin (390) Ardwell Irion (345) and Rodolphe Samuel (248) UP slate Grisha Marten Heyliger (656) Rolando Brison (488), Omar Ottley (418), and Sidharth Bijlani (290). The USP slate has two new members they are Claudius Buncamper (301) and Akeem Arrindell (229) while the PFP secured two seats its leader Melissa Gumbs (559) and Raeyhon Peterson (229) and Sarah Wescot Williams from the UD with (353). Clearly based on the voters turn out on Thursday voters on St. Maarten are fed up and many of them made good on their treats when they said they were not going to vote. By closing the polls at 8 pm it was clear that the trend was maintained when the main voting bureau announced that the voters turn out decreased compared to 2018. Of the 23106 eligible voters, a mere 59% cast their votes which amounted to 13744. The first hour when the polls opened the turnout was good but that quickly changed as the low turnout was maintained until the end of the day when the polls. Some felt the heavy traffic congestion to the seven cruise ships in port could have contributed to the low turn out while others felt that since workers did not get the mandated two hours to be able to cast their votes could have also been a contributing factor. However, voters on St. Maarten expressed how fed up they are with politicians that were elected since 2010. Voters believe that St. Maarten has not grown over the years while politicians are the only ones benefitting with the high salaries and perks while in public office. Besides that, voters are also fed up with the constant calling of elections, 9 parliamentary elections in ten years. The January 2020 parliamentary election is the second since the passing of hurricane IRMA that devastated St. Maarten in September 2017, while elections are called that costs the taxpayers, homes and other public buildings are still not being repaired. One of those buildings is the countrys international airport. Flash England captain Harry Kane will be sidelined until April as the 26-year-old Tottenham striker is going to undergo surgery for his left hamstring. Kane suffered the injury during Spurs' 1-0 loss to Southampton last Wednesday. The Premier League club confirmed on Thursday that Kane would undergo surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left hamstring. "The decision to undergo surgery is not expected to impact the timeframe that the England captain will be sidelined, with the expectation that he will return to training in April," said Tottenham. Two days ago, Tottenham's midfielder Moussa Sissoko has undergone surgery to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and the France international was ruled out until April as well. Spurs are sixth in the Premier League and they will host leaders Liverpool on Saturday. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has announced that a politician of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has been implicated in a graft case involving a top official of the General Elections Commission (KPU). The announcement came a day after the graft busters arrested KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan as a suspect in a bribery case. KPK commissioner Lili Pintauli Siregar explained that the KPK suspected Wahyu of having been involved in efforts by PDI-P politician Harun Masiku to gain a seat in the House of Representatives. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Republican Senator Susan Collins said Friday that she is working with a fairly small group of GOP senators to arrange for witnesses to be called during the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. We should be completely open to calling witnesses, Collins said, according to the Bangor Daily News. I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for both the House and the presidents counsel if they choose to do so. The impeachment trial is expected to start next week or soon thereafter in the Senate. The House last month passed two articles of impeachment against the president, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi afterwards refused for weeks to send the articles to the Senate until Democrats received assurances of a fair trial. On Friday, however, the Speaker announced she would submit the articles next week. The slim Republican Senate majority is expected to easily acquit Trump barring unforeseen defections by GOP senators. Collins, a target of Democrats in the 2020 congressional elections, is known for breaking with Republicans on high-profile issues. The Maine Republican voted with Democrats to acquit former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial in 1999. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has ignored Democratic requests for new witness testimony and documents, saying Tuesday that he has enough votes to pass rules for the Senate impeachment process that would push the question of calling witnesses and seeking new evidence until after opening arguments. Some Republicans have also said they would like to hear from witnesses such as former national security adviser John Bolton, who said Monday that he would be willing to testify. Trump has called for his own witnesses as well, naming former vice president Joe Biden, Bidens son Hunter Biden, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff as individuals he would like to hear from. More from National Review By Express News Service NEW DELHI/ALAPPUZHA: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Kerala High Court order to demolish 59 villas and other constructions in Nediyanthuruthu, a small island in the backwaters of Alappuzha in Kerala. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman upheld the 2013 Kerala High Court order, which said the villas -- promoted by Muthoot group and Kuwait-based Kapico group -- were constructed violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules. The apex court also dismissed the arguments by the counsel for the resort that the villas were built by piling and the demolition would cause immense damage to the nearby residents and their properties. The villas are constructed in the Vembanad backwaters -- a Ramsar site. The wetland is of international importance and protected by the Ramsar Convention. In its order in 2015, the division bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising justices K M Joseph and K Harilal, said the villas were built violating the CRZ, EIA Notification-2006, Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act-2008 and Wetland Conservation and Management Rules-2010. Nediyathuruthu is among the seven tiny islets in the Vembanad backwaters in Panavally grama panchayat in Alappuzha district. "We welcome the order of the Supreme Court. Our financial situation is grim and we will not be able to demolish the buildings," said Pradeep Koodickal, president of Panavally panchayat. The order of the Supreme Court comes on the eve of the razing of the four high-rises in Maradu municipality in Kochi for violation of CRZ norms. The 18-floor Holy Faith H2O will be demolished at 11 am on Saturday, followed by the 16-floor Alfa Serene twin-towers lying about 110 meters across the backwaters at 11.05 am. Two other buildings will be demolished on Sunday. SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- If merely eating and enjoying the taste of seafood arent enough, diners may want to give The Boiler 65 a try. There, clad in a bib, the hungry use their hands to break apart crab legs and crawfish and dig deep to get the meat from clams and mussels. And, diners now wont have to drive to the west side to take part in this interactive food fest. Founded in 2017 at 6410 Detroit Ave. in Cleveland, The Boiler 65 has opened a second location at Cedar Center North, at Warrensville Center and Cedar roads in South Euclid. The spacious, modern and clean Cedar Center location opened its doors Dec. 21. When it opened in Cleveland, The Boiler 65 (the 65 is a nod to West 65th Street), was at the forefront of a trend -- that of selling steamed seafood in a bag, by the pound, mixed with a seasoned sauce. But The Boiler 65 added another twist to the formula. Its basically an Asian/Cajun fusion, said Team Ny of the sauce. Ny is one of four family members who own and operate the restaurant. The Cleveland location was, in fact, the familys first venture into the restaurant business. Born in Thailand, Ny came to the United States at age 3 after living in a Khmer Rouge refugee camp. He grew up in Cleveland and is a U.S. Navy veteran. It was while in the Navy that he visited Louisiana and first experienced Cajun spices and fresh seafood prepared in the way The Boiler 65 now serves. Our motto is Eat with your hands and get messy, said Ny. "You eat here with gloves and bibs. Team Ny and his family recently opened their second Boiler 65 seafood restaurant, this one in South Euclid. (Jeff Piorkowski, special to cleveland.com) "Everything we make is made fresh to order. We get people from down South, or from the Caribbean, or people from cruise ships who ask, How do you get your seafood so fresh? I tell them, everythings got to be made fresh to order. At The Boiler 65, diners have three main choices to make. First, they must decide their catch. There are eight offerings in this category, including head-on and head-off shrimp, at $15 and $20 per pound, respectively; crawfish ($15 per pound); king crab legs ($40 per pound); snow crab legs ($24 per pound); clams and mussels ($13 per pound); and a lobster tail boil ($22 for six ounces and $32 for 10 ounces). The second step involves choosing a sauce from among butter, lemon pepper, sweet heat and dry. And, most significantly, theres the signature sauce, Bombdiggity, which is the Asian/Cajun blend. Ny said his brother-in-law took six or seven years to create the special sauce. In step three, diners choose the level of spice they like. There are four levels from which to choose, from baby to fire. Those who like can also add to their bag, for $3 to $5 more, extras such as corn, potatoes, beef sausage and extra sauce. Also available, at $55 apiece, is the duo-bag, which includes a pound each of head-on shrimp, crawfish and snow crab, as well as corn, potatoes and sausage. The menu additionally offers starters, such as hand-cut fries, fried calamari and fried catfish nuggets, and specialties including pan-seared salmon, shrimp scampi pasta and a perch dinner, among several others. And, we add special things to the menu to go with each season," Ny said. "So the menu changes a little each season. The Boiler 65 also includes a bar, which features its Boozerbag drinks that come in a plastic pouch with squared bottoms that allow them to stand on a table. The Boiler 65 is open from 3 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 10 p.m. Sundays. The restaurant also offers carry-out. In addition to business going well at the Cleveland location, Ny said the South Euclid restaurant has started off strongly. Mayor Georgine Welo attended a ribbon-cutting at The Boiler 65 today (Jan. 10). Thinking about his early life in Thailand compared to a life that now includes helping to operate two restaurants, Ny said: "I was in the Navy, so Ive been all over the world. Over here (in the United States), when you have a dream, you can go beyond your dream. But, in certain places in the world, all you can do is dream. You might not have a chance to reach that dream, no matter how hard you try. But, in America, you can go go beyond that dream. I always tell people all the time, with all the differences that are going on (politically in the United States), all that aside, we still live in the greatest country, where you can dream and go beyond your dreams. Read more from the Sun Messenger. The former head of the Harris County Housing Authority, who was ousted in 2012 amid allegations he misspent millions in federal housing dollars, was hired in December to help the county run Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery programs. On Friday, all five members of Commissioners Court, who said they were not consulted about the hire, said Guy Rankin IV never should have made it back onto the county payroll, working for Community Services Department Executive Director Daphne Lemelle. Its very concerning that the director thought no one else was available with the talent, skills and appropriate background for this role, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said. Bringing in someone who came into the job under a cloud of previous questionable behavior is not in the best interest of our county. She needs to explain why he was hired. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle called the decision unwise and said he has asked Lemelle to sever our relationship with him as soon as possible. County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who on Thursday announced the creation of a hotline to report wasteful government spending, said she was disappointed Rankin was hired. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis called it an unnecessary distraction from the departments work to resolve unacceptable delays in its Harvey housing repair program. In a statement, Lemelle said Rankins role as production program coordinator is temporary, having begun Dec. 6 and scheduled to end Jan. 28. He is being paid $75 an hour, a rate equivalent to a $156,000 annual salary, Lemelles spokesman Patrick Trahan said. The general role relies upon Mr. Rankins significant experience in disaster recovery to assist in making case management more efficient, Lemelle said. She did not respond to a request for an interview. Trahan said Rankin was hired through a temporary staffing agency contracted to bring on disaster recovery workers and has helped improve productivity in the office. Advocates and residents living in Harvey-damaged homes have panned the slow pace of the county and city of Houston housing repair programs, a critique local leaders do not dispute. As of Dec. 31, the county had begun no home repairs and had reimbursed just nine families for repairs they paid for themselves. Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack questioned the scope of the arrangement, saying, What in the world are you going to gain from somebody whos only going to be there a few weeks? Efforts to reach Rankin on Friday were unsuccessful. Rankin has expertise in administering government housing programs, though his tenure as CEO of the Harris County Housing Authority came to an inglorious end. In 2011, a series of Chronicle stories revealed Rankin sharply increased the salaries of himself and others and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to his and his employees friends and relatives. The newspaper uncovered other questionable spending, including: $8 million on a high-end waterfront development that was never built; $7 million on a Hurricane Ike report no agency asked for or wanted; $32,000 to a private investigator to snoop into then-County Judge Ed Emmetts correspondence with the Chronicle; $183,000 for statues and monuments; $54,000 in luxury apartments for unknown tenants and $18,000 for letters purported to bear the signature of Abraham Lincoln, purchased at the Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas. The county negotiated an exit deal for Rankin in 2012, including $137,000 in severance pay, but then discovered the housing authority was so broke it could not pay it. A 2013 audit by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found housing authority leaders mismanaged as much as $27.5 million in federal housing funds during a three-year period toward the end of the Rankins tenure. HUD later demanded the agency reimburse it for $8.5 million in misspent funds. Authority Chairman Gerald Womack said Friday the agency still is repaying that debt. John Henneberger, of the nonprofit advocacy group Texas Housers, said the county needs experienced staff to improve the sluggish pace of its Harvey housing programs, but called Rankins hire disturbing. Given the controversy around Mr. Rankins performance at the housing authority, he said, it seems almost disrespectful of the people who are waiting for disaster assistance that he would be the person tapped to try to get this program back on track. mike.morris@chron.com zach.despart@chron.com Festival du Voyageur is entering a new era one focusing on Indigenous inclusion, the environment and site improvements. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Festival du Voyageur is entering a new era one focusing on Indigenous inclusion, the environment and site improvements. The countdown to Festival 2020 kicked off Thursday at Fort Gibraltar with a chorus of enthusiastic "He Hos" and a promise to better reflect Manitoba's past and present. "On our 50th anniversary last year, we acknowledged that we hadnt done enough to showcase Indigenous culture," said executive director Darrel Nadeau. "There wouldnt have been a voyageur era without Indigenous people, there wouldnt have been a fur trade without Indigenous people, so we cant imagine a festival without Indigenous people." The 51st edition of the event, which runs Feb. 14-23, will feature the biggest lineup of Indigenous programming to date, including a full-day showcase of contemporary musicians; a visual art installation and performance by Jamie Black, creator of the REDress Project; a reading by Beatrice Mosionier, author of In Search of April Raintree; and a six-day culinary pop-up by Ishkode at old St. Boniface city hall. Barbara and Clarence Nepinak both of whom were named recipients of the Order of Manitoba last year for their efforts to preserve Indigenous culture have run educational workshops at the festival for a number of years. On Thursday, the husband-and-wife duo was pleased to see better cultural representation at this years event. "Its always been included in the past, but as a very minute part of it you maybe saw dancing or drumming, but theres more to being Indigenous than just that," Barbara said. "Its encouraging to see that we are part of that circle." For Clarence, the 2020 logo, designed by local Oji-Cree artist Jordan Stranger, is an indication of the festival's commitment to inclusion. "Each year, it was little steps and little steps and now the 51st step is like, Woah, OK were here, evidenced by the graphics that were produced," he said. "Its a good feeling. (We) dont feel like outsiders anymore." Headliners include Charlotte Cardin. (Amy Harris / Invision files) The new Indigenous programming is supported by the province's Manitoba 150 celebration this year, but Nadeau said the intention is to make it permanent. "Well find a budget for it, whether its funded by someone else or coming out of our own budget, its too important for us not to do," he said. The Winnipeg winter festival is also rolling out a series of new environmental initiatives. An volunteer position has been created to help people navigate the new composting program at Voyageur Park, and free water refill stations will be installed onsite something that required a bit of creative problem-solving. "Youd think (thats) really easy, but in winter theres no water lines that run through this place, so were bringing huge water tanks to be able to do that," Nadeau said. University of Manitoba engineering students will also be conducting an energy feasibility study during the festival. "We'll be tracking how much propane each tent uses throughout the day, and we'll also be determining how much heat they're losing by measuring temperatures inside and outside of the tent," said Trina Semenchuk, president of student group UMEARTH. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "As engineering students, we need to be working with communities and telling them how they can be addressing climate change." On the topic of tents, the former Bell MTS Red River Tent, which had a capacity of 650, is being replaced with a structure that can accommodate more than 1,000 people. While the capacity at Voyageur Park will increase slightly this year as a result, Nadeau said staff at the gate will be keeping a close eye on the numbers. "What were really doing to reduce lineups is better controlling the capacity of the park," he said. "We encourage people to buy their tickets early, and buy them online in advance to guarantee their entry." Festival du Voyageur's full 2020 music lineup was also released Thursday. Headliners include: Charlotte Cardin, Clay and Friends, Five Alarm Funk, and Twin Flames. eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @evawasney Agreement brokered by UK and Ireland is set to end the Northern Ireland Assemblys longest suspension in 13 years. Northern Irelands rival Irish nationalist and pro-British unionist parties have agreed to a draft deal that revives a power-sharing government in the region. Fridays move comes three years after the government collapsed and left 1.8 million people with no regional government It paves the way to allowing the assembly to legislate on a wide range of issues and appoint regional government ministers. The Irish and United Kingdom governments helped broker the deal between the Irish-nationalist Sinn Fein party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which would end the Northern Ireland Assemblys longest suspension in 13 years. Fridays announcement came days before a Monday deadline that could have triggered fresh elections. The Sinn Fein Ard Chomhairle [party leadership] has met today and decided to re-enter the power sharing institutions. We now have a basis for power sharing and were up for that, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald told a news conference. Sinn Fein had withdrawn from the power-sharing government exactly three years ago, saying it was not being treated equally by the DUP. Since then both parties have blamed each other for a number of failed attempts to break the deadlock. Numerous rounds of acrimonious negotiations failed to find an agreement and basic services were left unattended eventually sparking workers strikes. A power-sharing agreement is expected to help the province handle the pressures of Brexit. A provision in the United Kingdoms European Union withdrawal deal will give the Northern Ireland Assembly the right every four years to consider whether to maintain alignment with EU market rules. Land border with the EU Northern Ireland, which suffered through three decades of sectarian violence before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, is the only part of the UK to have a land border with an EU nation, and the divorce deal ensures its border with the Republic of Ireland will remain open. The DUP propped up a minority British government for more than two years until last months snap election, another stumbling block in the talks with Sinn Fein that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons emphatic general election victory on December 12 removed. The two big Northern Irish parties share of the vote fell in those elections while budget issues in the health service, culminating in a strike by local nurses this week, also raised pressure on them to cut a deal. Sinn Fein had been seeking increased rights for Irish-language speakers and a reform of the system of governance to prevent the DUP, the largest party, from blocking legislation using a clause from the 1998 peace deal to protect minority rights. The draft deal offers a new cultural framework to protect and enhance the Irish language as well as the related Ulster Scots language, while meaningful reform of the so-called petition of concern mechanism would mean it would no longer constitute a veto for one party. The influential Orange Order, a pro-British society that holds large annual parades and counts DUP politicians among its members, has said it opposed the deal due to the far reaching Irish language provisions. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc., a preclinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of targeted therapies for hepatologic diseases and viral infections, including chronic hepatitis B (CHB), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $125M Series B equity financing round led by Wellington Management Company and a global investment management firm. In addition to Wellington and the global investment management firm, new participants to this round include funds managed by Janus Henderson Investor, Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, Cormorant Asset Management, Pivotal bioVenture Partners and Logos Capital. Aligos had previously closed a $100M Series A financing in 2018 with the support of Vivo Capital, Versant Ventures, Novo Holdings, Roche Venture Fund and an undisclosed healthcare fund. All of these aforementioned investors participated in the Series B round. We are grateful for the confidence and commitment from our new and existing investors, said Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., MBA, CEO of Aligos. This round of funding provides Aligos with the capital needed to move our portfolio of products aimed at treatment of chronic hepatitis B into clinical development. About Aligos Aligos Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company that was founded in 2018 with the mission to become a world leader in the treatment of liver diseases. Aligos is focused on the development of targeted therapies for hepatologic diseases and viral infections, including chronic hepatitis B (CHB), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which collectively affect hundreds of millions of people across the world. Aligos strategy is to harness the deep expertise and decades of drug development experience its workforce has in liver disease, particularly viral hepatitis, to rapidly advance its pipeline of best-in-class molecules. Please visit www.aligos.com for more information. Investor Relations Contact Corey Davis, Ph.D. LifeSci Advisors, LLC +1 212 915 2577 cdavis@lifesciadvisors.com A fresh crisis may be underway as some indigenes of Keimoes and Upington areas of northern cape province in South Africa, have given Nigerians and other foreign national a 12-hour ultimatum to vacate their communities. Adetola Olubajo, president of Nigeria Union in South Africa, made this known in a statement on Thursday. According to Olubajo, the notice comes after an ugly incident that took place on Wednesday between a police officer and a Nigerian. Olubajo said that the Nigerian man from Abakaliki in Ebonyi state, allegedly stabbed to death the police officer, Nico Visagie, during a disagreement. Read Also: Buhari Satisfied With How We Have Handled Xenophobia: Ramaphosa Olubajo disclosed also that details of the incident are still very sketchy, as the major witness was also stabbed multiple times and was still in critical condition at the hospital. After the horrific incident, the community members of Keimoes and environs went on rampage burning and destroying properties belonging to foreign nationals, Nigerians in particular, he said. These attacks spread to Upington and Nigerians and other foreign nationals were also expelled from Upington. Prompt Police intervention this morning brought about calm but the situation is still tensed. Some locals were arrested by the police for public disturbance and malicious damage to properties. They appeared in a magistrates court this morning for bail hearing. He added that the suspect who stabbed the police officer had been arrested and would appear in court on or before Monday. We commend the swift intervention of the members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the arrest of the suspect is a welcome development, he said. We hope the police will continue to maintain law and order in the area. A Belgian bus driver was stabbed 10 times, receiving wounds to the neck and stomach, but continued to follow his route for another hour, officials said Friday. According to the prosecutor's office in Antwerp, on Thursday the driver found himself a few minutes early in the town of Kontich and disembarked to have a smoke. At this point a suspect appeared out of nowhere and attacked the 58-year-old -- "apparently with a knife" -- stabbing him repeatedly before fleeing the scene on foot. The driver, working for public bus company De Lijn, boarded his bus and -- "probably in a state of shock" -- followed his route for another 15 kilometres (eight miles) to Lierre. From the terminus, he then returned without passengers to his depot in Willebroek and only then, around an hour after the alleged attack, realised that he had been wounded. His colleagues called emergency services. According to the prosecutor, he had received potentially fatal wounds to the lower torso, to the neck, to his arms and upper right leg. An investigation has been launched. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday appeared before a CBI Special Court in connection with the ongoing trial in the quid pro quo investments cases against him. This is Jagan's first appearance in court for the trial after he assumed charge as Chief Minister on May 30, 2019. The Special Court judge had on January 3 directed Jagan to appear in person for the trial, rejecting the latter's plea for an exemption. Along with Jagan, his close aide and Rajya Sabha member V Vijaysai Reddy, who is also one of the accused in the cases, too appeared before the court. In view of Jagan's court appearance, security was beefed up near the court's premises. The president has been facing trial wherein he was charge-sheeted in at least 11 cases as the prime accused in alleged quid pro quo deals. The cases relate to investments made by various companies in Jagan's firms as quid pro quo for various favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as Chief Minister between 2004 and 2009. Several former ministers and bureaucrats are also accused in the case. Jagan is currently out on bail, having spent time in jail as an "un-convicted criminal prisoner" in the Chanchalguda Central Prison from May 2012 to September 2013. In the run-up to the Assembly elections in AP last year, Jagan's appearance in the court had reduced after he urged the court to dispense with his appearance and the court had allowed his pleas. Soon after becoming Chief Minister, Jagan had filed a petition in the special court of CBI seeking exemption from personal appearance as he would be busy with official duties. Also, lakhs of rupees of public money has to be spent for his security and other protocol requirements in view of his position, Jagan contended. On November 1, the court, however, rejected his plea and directed that he appear for trial every Friday. Jagan had not been attending the trial proceedings citing his official engagements as the reason for his absence. Not impressed by this, the Special Court judge had on January 3 directed that Jagan attend the proceedings on January 10. Before becoming one of the most influential women in the United States, Melania Trump enjoyed a low-key life on the streets of Slovenia with a wealth of family, friends, and dreams of a bigger future. Super model-turned-FLOTUS, Melania Trump is known for her fashion taste, charisma, kind gestures, philanthropic works, and her renowned seat of power. However, beneath all those layers of perfection lies a young woman, who left her hometown of Slovenia years ago in search of fulfillment, with nothing but her dreams to guide her. Melania Trump at 10 Downing Street to attend a reception for NATO leaders on 03 December, 2019 | Photo: Getty Images Advertisement HOW MELANIA'S SLOVENIAN FRIENDS REMEMBER HER The first lady's personality can best be described by those who knew her before she became a public figure, dating back to her life in Slovenia. BBC News interviewed some of her former acquaintances in her hometown, and each revealed amazing things about the fashion icon's personality. One of the 49-year-old's former playmates, Jerca Santej, explained how Melania figured she wanted to be a designer right from the age of sixteen. Jerca added: "She had a straight idea what she would be, and that's unbelievable for such a young girl, so I knew that she would make something special." Advertisement Melania Trump at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 | Photo: Getty Images A former school teacher of the model, Nena Bedek, described Melania as a humble girl who always knew she wanted to be part of the fashion industry and see the world. Advertisement Nena recounted how the mother of one used to collect fashion magazines and nurture her dreams of one day becoming a fashion icon. She explained: "I always knew our town was too small for her. Melania would look forward to seeing the fashion magazines her mother would bring home, and I knew she wanted to see the world." First Lady Melania Trump attends Veterans Day Parade's opening ceremony on November 11, 2019 | Photo: Getty Images Advertisement A one-time Miss Slovenia at the Miss Universe contest also shared her encounter with the first lady, whom she met in Los Angeles during the Miss Universe pageantry. The former Miss Slovenia explained how the humble public figure shocked her with a flawless conversation in her native tongue during the contest. That gesture won the admiration of the beauty contestant who was thrilled that the wife of America's number one citizen still remembered her roots despite being away for decades. Advertisement MELANIA'S PAST IN SLOVENIA Melania hails from Novo Mestro, where she was born to parents, Viktor Knavs and Amalija Ulcnik, on April 26, 1970, but grew up in Sevnica, Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia. She later moved to New York To Pursue her career. Her mom was a fashion designer, which spurred her interest in fashion. As a child, she donned some of her mom's outfits on the runways, giving her the first taste of modeling. She was soon to be discovered by photographer and modeling expert, Stane Jerco, who found her standing by the fence outside a fashion show. The then-teenager's tall, slender figure and beauty caught his attention, leading him to approach her at once, and thus began Melania Trump's modeling career. Advertisement Advertisement MELANIA AND DONALD TRUMP'S LOVE STORY Melania continued in her fashion modeling field for years, until she met the business tycoon, Donald Trump, at the 1998 New York fashion week, during a party. At the time, the would-be President was on the verge of divorcing his second wife, and the 28-year-old Melania Klaus caught his attention. He approached her the first chance he got and left her with his contacts after she declined to give hers out. The fashion model called a week later and scheduled a first date with the then 52-year-old real estate mogul. Their relationship began in earnest but was plagued with several breakups in the years that followed. Advertisement US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at a state dinner, September 20, 2019 | Photo: Getty Images In 2001, the couple took the bold step of resolving to make it work no matter what, leading the modeling icon to obtain her green card and move in with her soulmate at the Trump Tower. Advertisement They sustained their relationship for the next four years before "The Apprentice" star popped the question in 2004 with a $1.5 million ring. They tied the knots the following year, at a Palm Beach wedding. Melania Trump's wedding dress was designed by Christian Dior, and cost $100,000. The icon became a naturalized US citizen following the birth of her son, Baron Trump in 2006, and a decade later, became the First Lady of the United States following her husband's inauguration as President in 2016. Advertisement THEIR SON TOGETHER The Trump-Melania love pair welcomed their only son together, Baron William Trump, on March 20, 2006. The thirteen-year-old is a student at Saint Andrew's, Potomac, Maryland, in contrast to other first children in years past who attended Sidwell Friends. In addition to the teenager's love for science and maths, he has a major interest in sports. Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump on November 26, 2019 | Photo: Getty Images Advertisement MELANIA AS A FASHION ICON Becoming a mom has not daunted the First Lady from being a fashion idol; neither has her role as the wife of the President. Melania's Flotus role has seen the 49-year-old dressed her best, gaining her more fashion supporters than political. The President has attested to his wife's high taste in fashion, calling her a worthy contender of JFK's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy's legendary fashion prowess. According to Melania Trump's interview statement, fashion was in her blood, thanks to her mom's love for the art. MONTREAL, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velan Inc. (VLN.TO) (the Company), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial valves, announced today its financial results for its third quarter ended November 30, 2019. Highlights Sales of US$88.7 million for the quarter Gross profit percentage of 25.0% for the quarter Net loss 1 of US$0.8 million for the quarter Operating profit before restructuring and transformation costs 2 of US$1.0 million for the quarter Adjusted EBITDA2 of US$4.3 million for the quarter Net new orders (Bookings) of US$97.2 million for the quarter Order backlog of US$432.1 million at the end of the quarter, of which US$145.1 million is scheduled for delivery beyond the next 12 months Net cash of US$39.0 million at the end of the quarter (millions of U.S. dollars, excluding per share amounts) Three-month periods ended November 30 Nine-month periods ended November 30 2019 2018 2019 2018 Sales $ 88.7 $ 92.3 $ 258.0 $ 261.5 Gross Profit 22.2 22.6 60.2 59.7 Gross profit % 25.0% 24.5% 23.3% % 22.8% % Operating profit (loss) before restructuring and transformation costs2 1.0 0.2 (3.3 ) (6.3 ) Net loss1 (0.8 ) (0.2 ) (5.3 ) (6.4 ) Net loss1 per share basic and diluted (0.04 ) (0.01 ) (0.24 ) (0.30 ) Adjusted EBITDA2 4.3 3.4 6.2 3.3 Adjusted EBITDA2 per share basic and diluted 0.20 0.16 0.29 0.15 Third Quarter Fiscal 2020 (unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in U.S. dollars and all comparisons are to the third quarter of fiscal 2019): Sales amounted to $88.7 million, a decrease of $3.6 million or 3.9% from the prior year. The decrease for the quarter was primarily attributable to the shipment by the North American operations of a large complex Chinese order in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year, partially offset by an increase in shipments of large project orders in the Companys Italian operations due to a record backlog at the beginning of the year. Gross profit percentage increased by 50 basis points from 24.5% to 25.0%. The increase in the gross profit percentage is mainly attributable to a stronger proportion of higher margin product sales and an increased sales volume in the Companys Italian operations, which allowed the subsidiary to cover its fixed costs more efficiently. This increase was partially offset by temporary factors such as a less efficient product mix in the Companys North American operations, including a lower volume of higher margin spare parts sales. The Company has realized an improvement in the gross profit percentage of its North American operations in comparison to the first and second quarters of the current fiscal year, thanks to improved margins in its project manufacturing business. Net loss 1 amounted to $0.8 million or $0.04 per share compared to $0.2 million or $0.01 per share last year. Net loss 1 for the current quarter was significantly impacted by the $1.4 million spent on the Companys restructuring and transformative initiative, V20, which aims to improve its operational efficiency and optimize its manufacturing footprint in North America. The Companys current production is being reorganized from four North American plants to three more specialized plants that will be structured to better support the new business units market strategies. The production of certain non-project valves produced in North America, as well as the less complex project valves are also being transferred to India. Restructuring and transformation costs include temporary project resources and their travel and lodging costs as well as the moving costs related to dismantling and transportation of machinery and equipment to reflect the optimized manufacturing footprint plan. Excluding this $1.4 million amount, as well as the after-tax impact of these restructuring and transformation costs incurred during the quarter, the Company would have presented net earnings 1 of $0.2 million compared to a net loss 1 of $0.2 million last year, representing an improvement of $0.4 million in net loss 1 which is primarily attributable to lower administration costs partially offset by higher finance costs. Operating profit before restructuring and administration costs 2 amounted to $1.0 million compared to $0.2 million last year. Operating profit presents the profitability of a business before taking into account interest and taxes. Adjusted EBITDA 2 amounted to $4.3 million or $0.20 per share compared to $3.4 million or $0.16 per share last year. The increase in operating profit before restructuring and administration costs 2 and adjusted EBITDA 2 is mainly attributable to lower administration costs and an improved gross profit percentage, partially offset by a lower sales volume. Bookings amounted to $97.2 million, a decrease of $3.6 million or 3.6% compared to last year. This decrease is primarily attributable to lower order bookings by the Companys Italian operations, which booked a record of large project orders in the prior year. This decrease was partially offset by higher order bookings in the Companys Indian operations. The Company ended the period with net cash of $39.0 million, an increase of $4.1 million or 11.7% since the beginning of the quarter. This increase is primarily attributable to cash provided by operating activities partially offset by investments in property, plant and equipment. Net cash was also negatively impacted by V20 related disbursements as well as the weakening of the euro spot rate against the U.S. dollar over the course of the current quarter. Story continues First Nine Months Fiscal 2020 (unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in U.S. dollars and all comparisons are to the first nine months of fiscal 2019): Sales amounted to $258.0 million, a decrease of $3.5 million or 1.3% from the prior year. Sales were negatively impacted by decreased shipments of certain large project orders in the Companys North American and French operations due to various customer-related issues and the timing of the delivery schedule for such orders, partially offset by increased shipments from the Companys Italian operations which continued to deliver the record backlog at the beginning of the year. The decrease of sales in the Companys French operations is due to the timing of the deliveries of certain of its large project orders which have been delivered in part in this quarter and are expected to ship in the last quarter of this fiscal year. Gross profit percentage increased by 50 basis points from 22.8% to 23.3%. This improvement is due to a higher sales volume and a stronger proportion of higher margin product sales in the Companys Italian operations, partially offset by a lower sales volume and a less efficient product mix in the Companys North American operations. Overall, the Company is still delivering its backlog built during the last fiscal year which means that the margins do not yet reflect the impact of the margin improvement measures launched in the last quarters under the Companys V20 transformation plan. The combined effect of these measures is expected to gradually take effect in the last quarter of this fiscal year and next year but the greater impact of the Companys restructuring and transformative V20 initiatives is only expected late in fiscal year 2021, when the task of reorganizing and reducing the Companys North American footprint is planned to be completed. Net loss 1 amounted to $5.3 million or $0.24 per share compared to $6.4 million or $0.30 per share last year. Net loss 1 for the current nine-month period was significantly impacted by the $2.5 million spent on the Companys restructuring and transformative initiative, V20. Restructuring and transformation costs include temporary project resources and their travel and lodging costs as well as the moving costs related to dismantling and transportation of machinery and equipment to reflect the optimized manufacturing footprint plan. Excluding this $2.5 million amount, as well as the after-tax impact of these restructuring and transformation costs incurred during the nine-month period, the Companys net loss 1 would have been $3.5 million compared to $6.4 million last year, representing an improvement of $2.9 million net loss 1 which is primarily attributable to lower administration costs and an improved gross margin despite the lower sales volume. Operating loss before restructuring and transformation costs 2 amounted to $3.3 million compared to $6.3 million last year. Adjusted EBITDA 2 amounted to $6.2 million or $0.29 per share compared to $3.3 million or $0.15 per share last year. The improvement in operating loss before restructuring and transformation costs 2 and adjusted EBITDA 2 is primarily attributable to lowered administration and an increase in gross profit percentage. Bookings amounted to $252.1 million, a decrease of $38.3 million or 13.2% compared to last year. This decrease is due primarily to lower order bookings by the Companys North American operations which had seen an unusually high surge of non-project valve re-stocking orders from its distributors in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. MRO distributor orders this fiscal year are expected to reflect a more normalized stock replenishment cycle. The decrease is also due to lower large project orders booked by the Companys Italian operations which booked a record of large project orders in the prior year. The Companys project quotation activity has notably increased this year in sectors where margins are healthy, and concurrently decreased in other sectors where the Company experiences the most aggressive competition and where margins are much tighter. The shift is the result of deliberate screening that is expected to take effect gradually as the Company replaces its existing backlog with higher margin orders. The net decrease in bookings experienced in the last nine months, which the Companys plan aims to reverse, must be understood in this context. The Company ended the period with a backlog of $432.1 million, a decrease of $17.6 million or 3.9% since the beginning of the current fiscal year. The decrease in backlog is primarily attributable to a lower booktobill ratio of 0.98 and the weakening of the euro spot rate against the U.S. dollar over the course of the current fiscal year. Administration costs amounted to $63.7 million, a decrease of $2.5 million or 3.8% compared to last year. The decrease in administration costs was achieved despite the recording of a $0.9 million provision regarding the settlement of a product claim that was filed against the Company in a prior fiscal year as well as an increase in the costs recognized in connection with the Companys ongoing asbestos litigation. The fluctuation in asbestos costs for the period is due more to the timing of settlements in these two periods rather than to changes in long-term trends. The reduction in administration costs is mainly attributable to lower sales commissions as well as the higher freight charges that were incurred in the prior fiscal year in order to air freight a large delayed order. The Company ended the period with net cash of $39.0 million, a decrease of $1.9 million or 4.6% since the beginning of the year. This decrease, which occurred mainly in the first half of the fiscal year, is primarily attributable to investments in property, plant and equipment, land restoration costs related to a property, longterm debt and lease liabilities repayments, as well as distributions to shareholders via dividends, partially offset by cash provided by operating activities and an increase in long-term debt. Net cash was also negatively impacted by V20 related disbursements as well as the weakening of the euro spot rate against the U.S. dollar over the course of the current year. Foreign currency impacts: Based on average exchange rates, the euro weakened 5.1% against the U.S. dollar when compared to the same period last year. This resulted in the Companys net profits and bookings from its European subsidiaries being reported as lower U.S. dollar amounts in the current period. Based on average exchange rates, the Canadian dollar weakened 2.1% against the U.S. dollar when compared to the same period last year. This resulted in the Companys Canadian dollar expenses being reported as lower U.S. dollar amounts in the current period. The net impact of the above currency swings was generally unfavourable on the Companys results. During the third quarter, we continued to see the gradual improvement of various operational ratios such as gross margin and SG&A as a percent of sales. Our V20 transformation initiative costs are well underway and we are now disclosing these separately, said John Ball, CFO of Velan Inc. In spite of these costs we managed, as a group, to conserve cash during the quarter. We also note that, following the approval of our Normal Course Issuer Bid in October, we recommenced the repurchase of our subordinate voting shares on the open market at market prices significantly below their net book value. Yves Leduc, CEO of Velan Inc., said, We have made good progress this quarter in carrying out our V20 strategy, solidly on track with our planned schedule. We were able to extend three labour agreements in Montreal, Granby and Williston following tough and prolonged negotiations. As a result, we are accelerating the consolidation and specialization of our North American plants with the cooperation of all employees. Bruno Carbonaro, our new president, has quickly assumed leadership of the business units market plans and operations, adding tremendous competence and guidance to our transformation effort. Our European subsidiaries, particularly Italy, are having a very strong year, while our Indian plant is gradually expanding its production of non-project valves currently being transferred from Canada. Meanwhile, our margins are improving in our North American operations, thanks to a greater focus on costs and profitable project manufacturing opportunities. Our investments in ERP and processes are bearing fruits; for example, through our new Velan Project Management system, now fully deployed, our customers are benefitting from notable and sustained improvements in our delivery performance. There is progress on many fronts, but we need to bring all the key elements together to accelerate the Companys return to profitable growth, remembering that the most significant impact of the Companys restructuring and transformative V20 initiatives is only expected late next fiscal year, when the task of reorganizing and reducing the Companys North American footprint will be completed. Dividend The Board declared an eligible quarterly dividend of CDN$0.03 per share, payable on March 27, 2020, to all shareholders of record as at March 12, 2020. Conference call Financial analysts, shareholders, and other interested individuals are invited to attend the third quarter conference call to be held on Friday, January 10, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT). The toll free call-in number is 18009094164, access code 21939084. A recording of this conference call will be available for seven days at 14166264100 or 18005585253, access code 21939084. About Velan Founded in Montreal in 1950, Velan Inc. ( www.velan.com ) is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of industrial valves, with sales of US$366.9 million in its last reported fiscal year. The Company employs over 1,800 people and has manufacturing plants in 9 countries. Velan Inc. is a public company with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VLN. Safe harbour statement This news release may include forward-looking statements, which generally contain words like should, believe, anticipate, plan, may, will, expect, intend, continue or estimate or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar expressions, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are disclosed in the Companys filings with the appropriate securities commissions. While these statements are based on managements assumptions regarding historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that it believes are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may differ materially from those expressed herein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by the applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Non-IFRS measures In this press release, the Company presented measures of performance and financial condition that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards (non-IFRS measures) and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These measures are used by management in assessing the operating results and financial condition of the Company. In addition, they provide readers of the Companys consolidated financial statements with enhanced understanding of its results and financial condition, and increase transparency and clarity into the operating results of its core business. Reconciliations of these amounts can be found on the following page. Operating profit (loss) before restructuring and transformation costs and Adjusted net earnings (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") Three-month period ended November 30, Three-month period ended November 30, Nine-month period ended November 30, Nine-month period ended November 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Operating profit (loss) (0.4) 0.2 (5.7) (6.3) Adjustment for: Restructuring and transformation costs 1.4 - 2.5 - Operating profit (loss) before restructuring and transformation costs 1.0 0.2 (3.2) (6.3) Net loss1 (0.8) (0.2) (5.3) (6.4) Adjustments for: Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 2.9 2.6 8.1 8.1 Amortization of intangible assets 0.5 0.4 1.5 1.3 Finance costs net 0.7 0.1 0.8 0.7 Income taxes (0.4) 0.5 (1.4) (0.4) EBITDA 2.9 3.4 3.7 3.3 Adjustment for: Restructuring and transformation costs 1.4 - 2.5 - Adjusted EBITDA 4.3 3.4 6.2 3.3 The term operating profit or loss before restructuring and transformation costs is defined as operating profit or loss plus restructuring and transformation costs. The Company opted to not adjust the prior year figures due to the different nature of the expenses, which were more related to the assessment of the required restructuring and transformation plan rather than the execution of the plan itself. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The term adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares plus restructuring and transformation costs, depreciation of property, plant & equipment, plus amortization of intangible assets, plus net finance costs plus income tax provision. The Company opted to not adjust the prior year figures due to the different nature of the expenses, which were more related to the assessment of the required restructuring and transformation plan rather than the execution of the plan itself. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. ___________________________________ 1 Net earnings or loss refers to net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares. 2 Non-IFRS measures see explanation above. Velan Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (Unaudited) (in thousands of U.S. dollars) As At November 30, February 28, 2019 2019 $ $ Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 77,143 70,673 Short-term investments 89 658 Accounts receivable 125,006 137,520 Income taxes recoverable 17,606 16,863 Inventories 180,923 165,583 Deposits and prepaid expenses 4,422 4,612 Derivative assets - 189 405,189 396,098 Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment 98,843 83,537 Intangible assets and goodwill 16,357 18,146 Deferred income taxes 24,667 25,947 Other assets 528 629 140,395 128,259 Total assets 545,584 524,357 Liabilities Current liabilities Bank indebtedness 38,115 29,807 Short-term bank loans 1,534 2,172 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 76,450 74,910 Income taxes payable 828 495 Dividend payable 501 497 Customer deposits 52,634 40,240 Provisions 7,215 8,494 Accrual for performance guarantees 21,510 23,014 Derivative liabilities 30 83 Current portion of long-term debt 7,967 8,609 Current portion of long-term lease liabilities 1,640 - 208,424 188,321 Non-current liabilities Long-term debt 11,922 13,242 Long-term lease liabilities 14,380 - Income taxes payable 1,576 1,742 Deferred income taxes 3,310 3,738 Other liabilities 8,592 8,481 39,780 27,203 Total liabilities 248,204 215,524 Equity Equity attributable to the Subordinate and Multiple Voting shareholders Share capital 72,906 73,090 Contributed surplus 6,170 6,074 Retained earnings 247,871 254,606 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (33,571 ) (28,990 ) 293,376 304,780 Non-controlling interest 4,004 4,053 Total equity 297,380 308,833 Total liabilities and equity 545,584 524,357 Velan Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Loss (Unaudited) (in thousands of U.S. dollars, excluding number of shares and per share amounts) Three-month periods ended November 30 Nine-month periods ended November 30 2019 2018 2019 2018 $ $ $ $ Sales 88,701 92,271 257,984 261,520 Cost of sales 66,548 69,622 197,755 201,791 Gross profit 22,153 22,649 60,229 59,729 Administration costs 21,275 22,467 63,659 66,151 Restructuring and transformation costs 1,406 - 2,480 - Other income (118 ) (63 ) (171 ) (87 ) Operating profit (loss) (410 ) 245 (5,739 ) (6,335 ) Finance income 135 131 870 493 Finance costs 833 221 1,709 1,165 Finance costs net (698 ) (90 ) (839 ) (672 ) Income (Loss) before income taxes (1,108 ) 155 (6,578 ) (7,007 ) Provision for (Recovery of) income taxes (400 ) 497 (1,368 ) (436 ) Net loss for the period (708 ) (342 ) (5,210 ) (6,571 ) Net income (loss) attributable to: Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares (819 ) (236 ) (5,274 ) (6,401 ) Non-controlling interest 111 (106 ) 64 (170 ) (708 ) (342 ) (5,210 ) (6,571 ) Net loss per Subordinate and Multiple Voting Share Basic (0.04 ) (0.01 ) (0.24 ) (0.30 ) Diluted (0.04 ) (0.01 ) (0.24 ) (0.30 ) Dividends declared per Subordinate and Multiple 0.02 0.02 0.07 0.07 Voting Share (CA$0.03) (CA$0.03) (CA$0.09) (CA$0.09) Total weighted average number of Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares Basic 21,617,207 21,621,935 21,616,543 21,621,935 Diluted 21,617,207 21,621,935 21,616,543 21,621,935 Velan Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss (Unaudited) (in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month periods ended November 30 Nine-month periods ended November 30 2019 2018 2019 2018 $ $ $ $ Comprehensive loss Net loss for the period (708 ) (342 ) (5,210 ) (6,571 ) Other comprehensive loss Foreign currency translation adjustment on foreign operations whose functional currency is other than the reporting currency (U.S. dollar) (124 ) (2,454 ) (4,694 ) (9,276 ) Comprehensive loss (832 ) (2,796 ) (9,904 ) (15,847 ) Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to: Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares (1,002 ) (2,682 ) (9,855 ) (15,582 ) Non-controlling interest 170 (114 ) (49 ) (265 ) (832 ) (2,796 ) (9,904 ) (15,847 ) Other comprehensive income (loss) is composed solely of items that may be reclassified subsequently to the consolidated statement of income (loss). Velan Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity (Unaudited) (in thousands of U.S. dollars, excluding number of shares) Equity attributable to the Subordinate and Multiple Voting shareholders Number of shares Share capital Contributed surplus Accumulated other comprehensive loss Retained earnings Total Non- controlling interest Total equity Balance - February 28, 2019 21,621,935 73,090 6,074 (28,990 ) 254,606 304,780 4,053 308,833 Net income (loss) for the period - - - - (5,274 ) (5,274 ) 64 (5,210 ) Other comprehensive loss - - - (4,581 ) - (4,581 ) (113 ) (4,694 ) 21,621,935 73,090 6,074 (33,571 ) 249,332 294,925 4,004 298,929 Effect of share-based compensation - - 2 - - 2 - 2 Share repurchase (16,900 ) (184 ) 94 - - (90 ) - (90 ) Dividends Multiple Voting Shares - - - - (1,048 ) (1,048 ) - (1,048 ) Subordinate Voting Shares - - - - (413 ) (413 ) - (413 ) Balance - November 30, 2019 21,605,035 72,906 6,170 (33,571 ) 247,871 293,376 4,004 297,380 Balance - February 28, 2018 21,621,935 73,090 6,057 (19,790 ) 256,668 316,025 5,592 321,617 Adjustment related to the transition to IFRS 15 4,741 4,741 - 4,741 Adjusted balance - March 1, 2018 21,621,935 73,090 6,057 (19,790 ) 261,409 320,766 5,592 326,358 Net loss for the period - - - - (6,401 ) (6,401 ) (170 ) (6,571 ) Other comprehensive income - - - (9,181 ) - (9,181 ) (95 ) (9,276 ) 21,621,935 73,090 6,057 (28,971 ) 255,008 305,184 5,327 310,511 Effect of share-based compensation - - 13 - - 13 - 13 Dividends Multiple Voting Shares - - - - (1,044 ) (1,044 ) - (1,044 ) Subordinate Voting Shares - - - - (389 ) (389 ) - (389 ) Non-controlling interest - - - - - - (927 ) (927 ) Balance - November 30, 2018 21,621,935 73,090 6,070 (28,971 ) 253,575 303,764 4,400 308,164 Velan Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow (Unaudited) (in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month periods ended November 30 Nine-month periods ended November 30 2019 2018 2019 2018 $ $ $ $ Cash flows from Operating activities Net loss for the period (708 ) (342 ) (5,210 ) (6,571 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash provided (used) by operating activities 3,590 2,676 10,503 9,679 Changes in non-cash working capital items 7,536 (4,519 ) 8,080 (8,499 ) Cash provided (used) by operating activities 10,418 (2,185 ) 13,373 (5,391 ) Investing activities Short-term investments 2,207 11 569 500 Additions to property, plant and equipment (5,711 ) (1,111 ) (7,425 ) (6,401 ) Additions to intangible assets (175 ) (13 ) (308 ) (112 ) Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets 109 19 148 144 Net change in other assets (156 ) 18 (1,484 ) 596 Cash used by investing activities (3,726 ) (1,076 ) (8,500 ) (5,273 ) Financing activities Dividends paid to Subordinate and Multiple Voting shareholders (495 ) (484 ) (1,457 ) (2,614 ) Dividends paid to non-controlling interest - - - (927 ) Repurchase of shares (90 ) - (90 ) - Short-term bank loans (146 ) 426 (638 ) 1,411 Increase in long-term debt - 3,509 1,122 4,116 Repayment of long-term debt (579 ) (857 ) (2,438 ) (2,787 ) Repayment of long-term lease liabilities (485 ) - (1,143 ) - Cash provided (used) by financing activities (1,795 ) 2,594 (4,644 ) (801 ) Effect of exchange rate differences on cash (779 ) (711 ) (2,067 ) (3,122 ) Net change in cash during the period 4,118 (1,378 ) (1,838 ) (14,587 ) Net cash Beginning of the period 34,910 51,334 40,866 64,543 Net cash End of the period 39,028 49,956 39,028 49,956 Net cash is composed of: Cash and cash equivalents 77,143 68,450 77,143 68,450 Bank indebtedness (38,115 ) (18,494 ) (38,115 ) (18,494 ) 39,028 49,956 39,028 49,956 Supplementary information Interest received (paid) (480 ) 52 (938 ) (116 ) Income taxes paid (1,025 ) (4,422 ) (4,532 ) (8,776 ) For further information please contact: Yves Leduc, Chief Executive Officer or John D. Ball, Chief Financial Officer Tel: (514) 748-7743 Fax: (514) 748-8635 Web: www.velan.com Boris Johnson urged Iran to immediately end the detention and mistreatment of jailed British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as he sought peace in the embattled region. The 42-year-old charity worker has been imprisoned in Tehran since 2016 when she was arrested and accused of spying while visiting her family. The mother-of-one is believed to be distraught at the prospect of what might happen to her following Irans attack on US bases this week. The charity worker and mother-of-one, aged 42, has been imprisoned in Tehran since 2016 when she was arrested and accused of spying while visiting her family In a 20-minute phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday, the PM raised concerns over British citizens being held in the country as he also called for an end to hostilities. Nazanins husband, Richard Ratcliffe, told the Mail: It is helpful the PM is prioritising Nazanin and others unfairly held. It is what we were asking him to do. If both governments are serious about finding concrete ways for de-escalation, then resolving differences that allow people to come home is a good place to start. While foreign secretary, Mr Johnson incorrectly said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching people journalism in Iran, which Iranian officials has used as part of the basis to keep her locked up While foreign secretary, Mr Johnson incorrectly said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching people journalism in Iran, which Iranian officials has used as part of the basis to keep her locked up. Mr Johnson has since apologised. The mother-of-one is believed to be distraught at the prospect of what might happen to her following Irans attack on US bases this week. She is pictured above with her daughter Iran sent mixed signals yesterday as tensions with the US appeared to ease following Tehrans missile strike on two bases in Iraq on Tuesday. While President Rouhani said his country would co-operate with UN inspectors, several of his military commanders struck a more defiant tone with one vowing harsher revenge for the drone-strike killing by the US of top general Qassem Soleimani last Friday. Abdollah Araghi, a member of Irans joint chiefs of staff, said the Revolutionary Guard will impose a harsher revenge on the enemy in the near future. The Tasnim news agency quoted General Ali Fadavi, the acting commander of the Guard, as saying the missile attack was just one of the manifestations of our abilities. He added: We sent dozens of missiles into the heart of the US bases in Iraq and they couldnt do a damned thing. Threats of cyber attacks on North Americas electric network systems are growing, industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos said in a new report this week. This year, the firm has identified two groups, Magnallium and Xenotime, which are increasingly probing to compromise electric assets in North America, expanding their targeting from the oil and gas sector to include electric assets. This underscores the trend in threats expanding from single-vertical ICS operations to multi-vertical ICS operations we observe from adversaries targeting industrial entities, Dragos said in its report. Another group, Parisite, identified in 2019, has been focusing on exploiting vulnerabilities in remote connectivity services and virtual private network (VPN) appliances to gain initial access to target industrial control systems (ICS) networks, Dragos said. The complete energy infrastructure sector (e.g., electric, oil and gas, etc.) of all countries are at risk as companies and utilities face multiple well-resourced ICS-focused adversaries, Dragos says. Cyber security experts, however, are not panicking because they believe that the power sector and grid networks, especially in North America, are beefing up their security and are more prepared to withstand cyber attacks. Theres an incredible amount of awareness, a lot of work and a lot of dedicated people who are focused on that problem every day, Bernie Cowens, who was vice president and CISO of Pacific Gas and Electric in California, told Information Security Media Group in an interview. Last year, Microsoft security researcher Ned Moran said that an infamous Iranian hacker group may be targeting industrial control systems to cause major disruptions in power grids, oil refineries, and other physical energy assets, in an apparent sharpened focus on cyber warfare on critical industries. The U.S. is looking to strengthen cyber security at critical energy infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding millions of US dollars in research and development of next-generation tools and technologies aimed at improving the cybersecurity of the critical American energy infrastructure, including the electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Friday, January 10, 2020 at 10:31AM by Murtada Elfadl Winning a major prize at last Mays Cannes and the French finalist for Best International Film this year, Ladj Lys Les Miserables is a searing story of an escalating volatile situation taking place in Montfermeil, a Parisian project. A new policeman Stephane (Damien Bonnard) joins the anti-crime squad and is paired up with Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djebril Zonga), whose methods are sometimes brutal and against the people they are supposed to be protecting. The trio get into a whole heap of trouble when they use excessive force on a gang of young boys misbehaving. The film builds sustainable tension across its running time until it boils over, with assured intense filmmaking. We recently met with Ly in New York to discuss his film, opening today in limited release. [This interview was conducted in French and English with the help of an interpreter and has been edited and condensed for clarity.] Murtada Elfadl: The film has a lot of perspectives. The police, young Issa and his friends, the many factions living in the area. Can you talk about balancing the different perspectives and different characters? Ladj Ly: It was very important for me to tell this story from different points of view. The most important point of view is probably is the cop who turns up and doesn't know anything about this world and is discovering this world. So I thought that the viewer would be able to put him or herself in his place and discover the world with him. But I also wanted to tell the story through the points of view of all the other characters that occupy this historic territory. It was very important to tell all the different points of view, knowing that all the stories in the film are real. These are things that I've lived that have happened to me. So I tried to balance all the different points of view and I can't explain to you specifically how I did it, but I needed to use all these points of view to tell the story. You mentioned the character of the outsider cop which makes me wonder why center the police in a story ostensibly about a revolt against them? Well, for one thing, no one was expecting me to make a film from the point of view of the Damien Bonnard character. From my previous films, I'm generally known for being against cops. My documentaries seem to are about that, so no one was expecting this from me. But I also thought that it was important to talk about the police. Now I'm someone who has a very particular relationship to the police. I've been filming them for 10 years. I've been detained numerous times. They've pressed charges against me for various things. So I felt that I was in a position where I could talk about them, but I didn't want to pass judgment. I really wanted to show what it is to be a cop in that world. I think it was important too, so that cops can understand this story. In my opinion, Les Miserables, the miserable is everyone. It's the inhabitants of these neighborhoods. But it's also these policemen who have to work in very difficult circumstances. Now, I'm not gonna defend them because some of them behave very badly. But the most important thing was to be accurate and not to take sides. And I think that that ultimately is the film's strength. And I want to talk about the casting of the younger cast, particularly Issa Perica who played Issa. Well, I had decided that I wanted to work with non-professionals, with the exception of the actors who play the three cops and Jeanne Blibar and a few guests. We took this gamble, this huge challenge of working with kids who had no experience, at least no film experience. So the casting was entirely carried out in the housing estates in the neighborhood. We did screen tests with these kids and we had a lot of good surprises. Notably the kid who plays Issa was just incredible. And for the others, those who were good in the screen tests, we took the best and that was it. Can you talk about managing that on set with non professionals and professionals in the same scenes? I want to tell you that it's done simply actually. I do a lot of talking beforehand. When the kids come on the shoot, I just put them in the situation. They don't read the screenplay. They arrive not knowing what they're going to do, but I really take the time to talk to them. A lot. I explain the scene, what it means. And then once we're actually shooting, it's generally just great surprises because these kids are so good that, the first take, the second take or at worst the third take would be the one. Yes, they are all really great. What about the big set piece that ends the film. It's very exciting as a sequence, with a lot of details, a lot of action in limited space. So can you talk about the mechanics of shooting it? How long it took, and how it was edited? For starters, that's a situation that I experienced in real life. So that really helps a lot in terms of mise-en-scene, in terms of state staging. And I have to say it's a sequence that I had so much fun shooting. I mean these big sequences are the ones where I really have a lot of fun. We shot it in two days with a hundred background actors. These situations on set where it's chaotic, things are going off in every direction are the ones where I'm having the most fun, where I'm the most relaxed. By far the hardest scene for me to shoot on this film was actually the face to face conversation in the bar between the two cops. That's the one where I had a really hard time. It's the only one where I put the camera on sticks and it wasn't moving and I found it really hard. I don't want to say that action scenes are easy for me, but a little bit. And then in terms of the editing, again, we had a lot of fun. We had a lot of images because we shot with two cameras all the time. So we had a lot of different possibilities. We have a lot of different frame sizes and it's just fun. Can you expand on why the scene in the bar was hard to shoot? Because as soon as I put down the sticks, as soon as the camera is going to be in one place, it is just a pain in my ass. I don't like it. At the same time, it's also true that for the actors, they had a lot of lines, they had to really nail the scene. That was also challenging. You mentioned a couple of times that some of the events in the film happened to you. Was it hard to face these things that happened to you again? No. Anything more? (Nods negative). The movie went to Cannes, won a prize, now it's France entry for the Oscar. These are signs of establishment success. What does all this mean for you? Directors get asked back to Cannes, same for the Oscars. We'll see. Does it bring you joy? Added responsibility? What does it mean for you? First of all, it's a really strong and important signal to people like me. All those people who want to make films, but who thought that there was no hope, that it wasn't possible. People who come from way down below, from the bottom of the ladder. It gives them hope. It shows that even if you start from nothing, you can get up the ladder, you can get to do what you wanted. And I think it's really important to have that hope. So I hope that there will be more and more people like me who get to make their films. As for me personally, I'm hoping that it will allow me to develop my next films and that it won't be as difficult as it was to get the financing for these future projects as it was for this film because it really wasn't easy. Ly with Mati Diop at last week's Palm Springs Film Festival At Cannes this year two other films - Zombi Child and Young Ahmed - from white European directors from a previous generation also addressed the effects of immigration and culture clash in Europe. I thought those films played into stereotypes. Do you think of your movie being in conversation with what other filmmakers are making about migration in Europe? To be honest with you, I haven't seen them. I'm not a cinephile. I watch very few films. In general then, there are several stories about the effects of migration. From France, the UK, Belgium. Documentary and narrative. Because there is a very distinct difference between what the older generation, like Bonello or the Dardennes are making, and what you or Mati Diop are making for example? Well, it's true. France and the UK have a very strong history of immigration. If I look just at France, there's slavery, colonization. France called our parents to rebuild and then parked us in housing estates, in ghettos. It's good to talk about these things. And you know, a previous generation did talk about it in a different way. And today there's people like Mati Diop, like me. We're a new generation talking about migration in our own way. We're French, unlike our parents, we were born in France. We're from here and we're talking about it in our own way and I think this is a story and a history that's going to stick around for a long time because France is a country of immigration. Though it's not only that. For my final question, I'm just curious. You mentioned that you're not a cinephile. Can you tell me about your artistic inspirations, if it's not cinema. For this film, I was especially inspired by Training Day and Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. Those are two films that really inspired me. And when I was younger, it was really mostly American films that I was into, especially black American films, because they were the only films that I could identify with as a black man living in France. You know? That's why I found French films so boring because I couldn't recognize myself in the characters and in the situation. So the films that really meant a lot to me were New Jack City, Boyz n the Hood, Menace to Society, Malcolm X. These are the films that inspired me earlier. Les Miserables opens today January 10th in limited release. The Swamp chain of fashion stores in Ireland has ceased trading with immediate effect. The closure has come about as a result of the ill health of its managing director and difficult trading conditions. Managers were called to a meeting in Cork today and informed of the decision to close the outlets immediately. The brand has seven outlets located in Cork's Mahon Point and Wilton shopping centres, in Tralee, Waterford, Limerick, Galway and Athlone. The brand has traded for the past 30 years beginning initially in Cork's Queen's Old Castle. It is understood that up to 60 staff will be impacted by the closure. In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the company said: "The Directors of Swamp Ltd. regret to announce that the company will cease trading today." "The closure has come about as a result of the ill health of its Managing Director and the difficult trading conditions that are prevalent today in the high streets." "Swamp has been trading for the past 30 years in locations all over Ireland. In that time, it has built up a base of talented employees and loyal customers." "The Directors sincerely wish to thank all the employees for their hard work and their customers for their support. We wish them well in the future." Renowned political scientist Noam Chomsky believes the assassination of Irans top general Qasem Soleimani is an act of international terrorism, if not anything worse. The US-based linguist-turned-activist, a staunch critic of American foreign policy and Washingtons overseas military role, told HT, It (Soleimanis assassination) is at least international terrorism, arguably worse. Chomsky was responding to a question on Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif dubbing Soleimanis killing by a US drone strike on January 3 as a case of international terrorism. After the US drone attack in Baghdad left the IRGC Quds Force chief dead apart from several top Iraq security officials, Zarif had tweeted, The US act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani... is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation. The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism. Chomsky, one of the most widely read geopolitical analysts of our times, suggested that Soleimanis killing is a violation of international law. He pointed out, International law is quite explicit on these matters. It bars the threat or use of force in international affairs, with narrow exceptions that plainly do not apply here (in the case of Soleimanis death). Soleimanis assassination has triggered a debate on whether Washington was on the right side of the law when it carried out the deadly January 3 drone attack on the Iranian general in Iraq - a third country. US militarys role in West asia Chomsky also feels that there is no sign that the US militarys domination in West Asia will diminish over the coming weeks and months. US military presence in the region hasnt diminished from the norm over the years and I see little reason to expect it to. All unpredictable. Depends on how matters develop, Chomsky said. However, he argued that the domination of American military power in the region is now much less compared with what it was in 2003. It is diminishing from the peak during the invasion of Iraq (in 2003), the worst crime of this millennium, Chomsky said. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Doteasy, the leading Canadian web host and domain name provider, today launches a secret hosting plan promotion , including SSD storage, SSL security, and a domain name for only $0.77/month for the first year. This makes Doteasy the most affordable web host on the market, with the lowest priced hosting plan to include SSD storage, an SSL certificate, and a domain name. 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These days, owning a website is a necessity rather than a luxury. We are offering our feature-packed plan at an unheard-of price, in the hopes that anyone can experience the benefits of owning a website. Doteasy was the first web host to offer true SSD storage on everyday hosting plans. Doteasys $0.77 hidden plan promotion will only be available for a limited time. To access the promotion, customers can only view the plan through this web page: https://www.doteasy.com/ssd-hosting-free-ssl-security-included/ About Doteasy Doteasy is an award-winning hosting and domain services provider based in Burnaby, BC. With over 20 years in the industry, Doteasy is the place to get a domain name, build a professional website, engage visitors and increase conversions. Doteasy stands by their commitment to providing reliable, high-performance website solutions, with a wide-range of flexible plans for personal websites, business websites, and more. For more info, please contact 1-866-456-3888 extension 3325. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/130bf962-5691-4b82-b91e-acd096c0e3f4 January 10, 2020 / 07:08 PM IST The Delhi Police, at a press conference on Friday, released pictures of nine suspects associated with violence that rocked Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 5. The incident has left over 30 students, including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, seriously injured. The investigation is being carried out by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. New Delhi: The Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to release the names of the candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 next week. According to the sources, the party is all set to field Raghav Chaddha from Rajendra Nagar, Atishi from Kalkaji and Dilip Pandey from from Timarpur. Earlier today. Delhi BJP announced its 15-member election committee, including party president Manoj Tiwari, for the Assembly polls to be held on February 8. Besides Tiwari, the committee includes all BJP MPs from Delhi, national office bearers Anil Jain, Dushyant Gautam and RP Singh, former Delhi BJP presidents Vijay Goel and Satish Upadhyay, organisation secretary Sidharthan, Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha president Punam Jha and leader of opposition in outgoing Assembly Vijender Gupta, said a party statement. In the last week of December, the party had announced a poll management committee and 35 other panels for election-related works Setting the tone for the polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the upcoming Assembly elections will be fought on the basis of the AAP governments work and that his party will run a positive campaign. Addressing a press conference after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, the AAP national convener appealed to the people to put behind their political preferences and vote in favour of progress and development of Delhi. He said the AAP would conduct positive campaigning and accept suggestions from the opposition to add to their manifesto for the next tenure. Also Read: Manoj Tiwari Knew Delhi Assembly Poll Date Even Before Election Commission Announcement? AAP Shares Video The Aam Aadmi Party is prepared for the elections. The Delhi Assembly elections will be held based on the development done by us. The people of Delhi have decided to vote on the basis of the improvement in the infrastructure of government schools and hospitals, he said. We count these votes as positive votes, which will be in our favour because of all the development made by us in Delhi. I believe this is happening for the first time in the history of politics of independent India. People will compare the work (done) by each party in Delhi, he added. Kejriwal appealed to the people of Delhi to vote for us (AAP) only if you think we have done good work in the last five years. If I have done work, then vote for me. If I have not done work, then dont vote for me, said Kejriwal. He urged supporters of the BJP and the Congress to vote for Delhi and not for your political party. We will ask for votes from BJP supporters as well as Congress supporters. We will go door-to-door and urge supporters of the Congress and the BJP to vote for us, he said. Soon after the election schedule was announced, Prashant Kishor, whose political consultancy group I-PAC is helping the AAP in the Delhi polls, tweeted, Get ready to see the power of people on Tuesday, Feb 11th! Kejriwal said the AAP would run a positive campaign and not abuse anyone. All (BJP president and Union Home Minister) Amit Shah ji did in his speech recently was abuse me. I will not indulge in anything like that. We will not abuse anyone. In 70 years, for the first time, people will vote on schools and hospitals. Our whole campaign will be a positive campaign, he added. Also Read: Delhi Assembly Polls: Over 1.4 Crore Voters To Seal Fate Of BJP, AAP On February 8 He said this time people will cast their vote on the basis of the positive work done by the AAP government. Earlier, he said on Twitter that the election will be fought on the basis of the AAP governments work. Kejriwal appealed to the opposition to give suggestions to add to their manifesto for the next tenure. We will be presenting our manifesto soon, and I want to request the BJP to share their vision with us, suggest steps for the welfare of Delhi. We are open to adding all their positive suggestions to our manifesto and will work on them in the next five years. We need the support of all the parties as well as 2 crore people of Delhi in working for the progress of Delhi, he added. He also said that the people of Delhi have decided to break their previous record of electing them on 67 out of 70 Assembly seats. When asked about issues concerning Delhi on which the elections will be conducted this time, Kejriwal said, The elections in Delhi will be conducted on the basis of education, health, development of unauthorised colonies, free provision of water and power, CCTV cameras and street lights installation, Teerth-Yatra and several other developmental works done across the city. The progress of Delhi is running at a speed of 100 km/hr, now the people will accelerate this progress to a speed of 200 km/hr on February 8. The leaders have not questioned our performance or our work across various sectors, but have only cursed me in their speeches. I think they also believe in the phrase, Acche Beete Paanch Saal, Lage Raho Kejriwal (the partys slogan for upcoming polls), he added. The election to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will take place on February 8 and results will be declared on February 11, the Election Commission announced on Monday. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said the notification for the polls will be issued on January 14 while the last date of withdrawal of candidature will be January 24. (With Agency Inputs) RELATED SAN FRANCISCO David Drummond, the chief legal officer of Googles parent company, Alphabet, and one of its most senior executives, is leaving the internet giant amid an investigation into his relationships with women who worked at the company. In an email sent to employees at Google and Alphabet, Mr. Drummond, who joined Google in 2002, said he planned to leave Alphabet at the end of the month. He said that it was the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders in light of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Googles founders, stepping back from day-to-day roles at the company. His resignation comes more than a year after 20,000 Google employees protested the companys handling of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace relationships. The protests were a public reckoning for a permissive work culture that had existed since the companys early days exemplified by generous exit packages for senior executives even after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In recent months, Mr. Drummond had come to symbolize how despite the companys assertions that it would no longer tolerate such actions some powerful men in the technology world accused of inappropriate behavior often weathered the storm, landing new jobs or keeping their old ones. Northwestern officials said in a statement Thursday that the University is following the agreed upon process between the City of Evanston and Northwestern. Now that it is a civil matter, it is up to the City of Evanston to handle the matter as it deems appropriate. Rumor mill: Weve heard for some time now that the successor to Samsungs Galaxy Fold will be a clamshell device, but a new report claims it wont be called the Fold 2. Instead, it will be named the Galaxy Bloom. The news comes from South Korean media outlet Aju News (via SamMobile), which writes that Samsungs mobile division CEO, DJ Koh, held a secret meeting with telecom partners at CES, where he not only revealed the Galaxy Bloom name, but also confirmed that the Galaxy S11 line will be called the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultrasomething we previously reported. Exactly why Samsung has picked the name Bloom over the Fold 2 is unknown, though Koh apparently said the design inspiration for the device comes from Lancomes makeup compacts. This is supposedly because the company is targeting younger women with the Galaxy Bloom. There will be a 4G and 5G version of the Galaxy Bloom, and rather than having a plastic screen like the Fold, it will be covered in a glass material called UTG (Ultra Thin Glass). Both the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Bloom will support 8K video recording, and Samsung has reportedly been working with Google on making the resolution more popular. YouTube is expected to enable 8K video streams soon after the handsets launch, which, if true, could also help Samsung push its 8K TVs. While the report comes from a behind-closed-doors meeting, there are reasons to believe the veracity of the story. The next Fold has long had the codename Bloom, so perhaps Samsung decided to use it in the final product, and many leakers have claimed the S11 will be called the S20. Well find out for certain at the companys unpacked event on February 11. English Lithuanian Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (hereinafter the Company or ESO), identification code 304151376, registered office placed at Aguonu str. 24, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania. The total number of registered ordinary shares issued by company is 894 630 333; ISIN code LT0000130023. The Company informs that its parent company UAB Ignitis grupe informs that after consultation with the Bank of Lithuania, it discloses information that official tender circular of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius was submitted to Bank of Lithuania. It is noteworthy that this circular and the specified prices in this circular are not approved by the Bank of Lithuania yet. In the official tender circular of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius which was submitted to the Bank of Lithuania by the voluntary tender offer of UAB Ignitis Grupe, it is specified that the price to be paid for one share of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius amounts to EUR 0.880. This price is equal to the 6-month weighted average, until the day of announcement about intention to delist shares from trading on a regulated market (from 9 May 2019 until 8 November 2019 inclusive), of the stock market price which is equal to EUR 0.703 and the bonus which is equal to EUR 0.177. This bonus is paid by taking into consideration that it is intended to initiate mandatory buyout of shares of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius after implementing the official tender and for smooth implementation of the official tender. In the official tender circular it is also specified that if at the General meeting of shareholders of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius in the year 2020 the decisions will be adopted to pay dividends for the shareholders of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius for the year 2019, UAB Ignitis Grupe, the offeror of the non-competitive mandatory tender, will pay the additional bonus for those shareholders who would sell their shares at a time of official tender offer. This bonus will be paid by UAB Ignitis Grupe as a part of whole price, which is paid for shares. The amount of this additional bonus shall be equal to the amount of dividends that such shareholder would have received in proportion to the shares he held and sold to UAB Ignitis Grupe at the time of the official tender offer, if he had been a shareholder of AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius on the record date of the rights of shareholders. It should be noted that this obligation of the UAB Ignitis grupe regarding payment of the additional bonus is conditional and in no way is a promise or an obligation to propose or decide to pay dividends for the year of 2019 to the shareholders of AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius. Also this does not mean that the management board of AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius has already made decisions to propose dividends to the shareholders of this company for the year of 2019. Company decisions to offer to pay or not to pay dividends to their shareholders will be made in accordance with applicable dividend policy and other legal acts and following the audit of annual financial statements for the year of 2019 of the Company. The comparisons of the prices in the official tender circular with the trading data of the ESO are provided in the annexes to this announcement. As announced earlier, now legal proceedings are taken regarding the delisting of ESO. On 6 January 2020 AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius appealed to District Court of Vilnius City regarding the 31 December 2019 decision of the Court to apply temporary protection measures and suspend the 4 December 2019 resolutions of the Extraordinary General Meeting of this company. Arturas Ketlerius, Head of public relations, arturas.ketlerius@ignitis.lt Attachment EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin has given fans a glimpse of her incredible Essex home, which she shares with husband Richard and their two daughters. The soap star, 49, has shared snaps of her Gidea Park home on social media, including plenty of the property perfectly decorated for the Christmas season. Lucy's gorgeous home features plenty of stylish features including a classic monochrome decor, sweeping stairs and an island kitchen. Inside look: EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin has given fans a glimpse of her incredible Essex home, which she shares with husband Richard and their two daughters (pictured together) Lucy has lived in Essex with her husband of 13 years Richard for more than 10 years, and they share daughters Bessie, 13, and Rosie, eight. Some of the highlights in Lucy home include a large sweeping staircase which she intricately decorated with a wreath for the festive season. The interior is based around a neutral black and white colour scheme, which runs into the open plan kitchen. The kitchen also includes a sleek island where the family can relax together, and one sweet snap shows young Rosie getting involved in the washing up. Picturesque: The soap star has shared plenty of snaps of her Gidea Park abode, including one of her sweeping staircase decorated for the festive season Lovely: Her youngest daughter Rosie, eight, gets involved in the household chores in the open plan kitchen Lucy is no stranger to throwing a lavish party with her pals as she regularly posts snaps of the decor in her kitchen. She is also a fan of the festive front door decoration, as her house's exterior is covered with an enormous white bow. Her home is also covered with touches of her two daughters, including a sweet Nativity set as part of the festive design. Delicious: Lucy is also no stranger to putting on a spread as one snap shows her kitchen island covered with food Cute: Her home is also full of touches of her two daughters, including a cute nativity set as part of her Christmas design Lucy recently spoke to Essex Life magazine in July about moving out of North London to a more suburban setting. She said: 'I'd been in London for some time and was over it really. 'I loved how green it is in Gidea Park, with lots of parks and outdoor space. We were talking about having kids anyway, so it was a natural progression. I've never looked back. 'Last year I actually sold my flat in Islington that I'd kept. I thought, 'Do I miss it? Am I sad?' In fact I was completely fine. I think I can call myself an Essex girl.' Pretty: She is also a fan of the festive front door decoration, as her house's exterior is covered with an enormous white bow Fun: Lucy recently revealed that she decided to move out of her flat in North London to Essex for a more suburban setting (pictured is her older daughter Bessie, 13) Delicious: She is also no stranger to hosting a lavish party or two, and regular shares snaps of her celebratory cakes in the kitchen Lucy recently reprised her role as Lisa Fowler in EastEnders after two guest stints. She originally left the soap in 2003 after five years in the role. Her character has long been known for her on-off romance with hardman Phil Mitchell, and Lucy recently hinted that they could rekindle their romance in the future. Speaking on This Morning she said: 'They're so wrapped up in each other. It's more hate than love. 'I don't think that's on the cards at the moment. They are so explosive. Who knows?' Backing Deepika Padukone, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said the actress' silent protest against JNU violence as also Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa doing his duty impartially despite harassment to his family, showed that for some people, truth, freedom and justice are not just lofty words, but ideals worth sacrificing for New Delhi: Backing Deepika Padukone, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said the actress' silent protest against JNU violence as also Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa doing his duty impartially despite harassment to his family, showed that for some people, truth, freedom and justice are not just lofty words, but ideals worth sacrificing for. In a blog on Linkedin, Rajan said the news of a gang of masked assailants breaking into one of India's leading universities, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and then going on a rampage for hours, attacking students and faculty, entirely undisturbed by the police, is "worrisome". Without naming Padukone, who has won both bouquets and brickbats for her silent protest by meeting victims of the attack on JNU, he said despite putting attendance at her latest movie, 'Chhapaak' at risk, the actress "inspires us all to take stock of what is truly at stake." Rajan, who was denied a second term as RBI Governor by the Modi government, said it is elevating to see "young people of diverse faiths march together, Hindus and Muslims arm-in-arm behind our national flag, rejecting artificial divides stoked by political leaders for their own gain." "They show that the spirit of our constitution still burns brightly," he said. Without naming Lavasa the sole member of the Election Commission who refused to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in the matter of electoral process violations he said: "When an Election Commissioner carries out his duties impartially despite the harassment it brings upon his family, he asserts that integrity has not been completely cowed." Soon after BJP won a second term, investigations were initiated against five members of Lavasa's family. Rajan went on to praise bureaucrats resigning and some media working tirelessly to get the truth out. "When officers of the administrative service resign their dream jobs because they do not believe they can serve in good faith, they are living testimony that the sacrifices made by the generations that got us freedom still inspire emulation," he wrote. "When some members of the media work tirelessly to get the truth out even as their colleagues succumb to government pressure, they demonstrate what it means to be a dutiful citizen of the Republic." And when a Bollywood actress "registers her silent protest by meeting with the victims of the attack on JNU, even though she puts attendance at her latest movie at risk, she inspires us all to take stock of what is truly at stake," he said. Rajan said one has to be truly cynical to not be moved by these actions. "These people show through their actions that they think truth, freedom, and justice are not merely lofty words, but ideals worth sacrificing for. It is they who are fighting today for India that Mahatma Gandhi gave his life for. It is they, who never marched to win freedom, but today march to preserve it, who give us hope that Rabindranath Tagore's dream '...into that heaven of freedom, My Father, let my country awake...' will continue to be a reality," he wrote. The former governor said makers of Indian Constitution had come through the horrors of a fratricidal partition and sought to create a more united future by drafting "a document that attempts to draw out the best in us in a spirit of common purpose and pride". "What better resolution for the new decade than to re-dedicate ourselves to ensuring that this spirit burns strongly in each one of us?," he said. "In these troublesome times, let us work together to make India that shining example of tolerance and respect that our founders envisioned, a beacon once more for a weary world. Let that be our task for the new decade." Rajan said while the identities of the JNU attackers remain unclear, many of those attacked were activists, and neither the government-appointed administration nor the police intervened. "When even elite universities become literal battlegrounds, accusations that the government is attempting to suppress dissent even if by apathy rather than design gain substantial credibility," he said adding it was easy to blame leadership but in a democracy the public also bears responsibility. "After all, it was the citizenry that put our leaders into office and acquiesced in their divisive manifesto, which they have taken as their marching orders," he said adding democracy is not merely a right but also a responsibility a burden to be the keepers of the Republic, not merely on election day but every day. (L-R) Irene Aldana strikes Ketlen Vieira in their women's bantamweight bout during the UFC 245 event at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 14, 2019 in Las Vegas. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Double champion Amanda Nunes needs challengers. She needs them both at featherweight and at bantamweight. They might be tougher to come by in the UFC at featherweight because of the promotions lack of depth in the 145 pound weight class. At bantamweight, deserving and credible contenders for Nunes are available, but the UFC seems reluctant to promote those who have worked their way into worthy positions as logical next title challengers after Nunes has taken out the biggest known names in the division. Take, for example, Irene Aldana. The Mexican fighter is on a roll and put a stamp on her status as the true No. 1 contender at bantamweight last month at UFC 245 when she knocked out previously undefeated Ketlen Vieira. Afterward, UFC president Dana White wouldnt admit shes deserving a title shot, next. Well see where you guys rank her. You know? he told assembled members of the media after the event when asked if Aldana would challenge Nunes, next. After winning that fight, well see where she gets ranked and well figure out whats next for her, but yea [her performance was] impressive. [Dont miss Conor vs. Cowboy on Jan. 18: Order UFC 246 on ESPN+ now!] The rankings he was referring to were the UFCs own rankings, which are determined by media member votes, but are ultimately controlled by the UFC itself. Unfortunately, these rankings do not dictate who gets title shots. For example is Whites current public position that Conor McGregor could potentially get a shot at the lightweight title if he beats Donald Cerrone at welterweight later this month. For those not keeping score, McGregor has not fought in over a year, making him supposedly ineligible for ranking. Beyond that, hes lost and been finished three out of the last five times hes stepped into a professional ring going back to 2016, and his opponent this month Donald Cerrone has lost two-straight fights. Though he hedged on calling Aldana what she deserves to be recognized as the No. 1 title contender at bantamweight White didnt flinch or blush at saying hes interested in giving former featherweight king Jose Aldo a shot at bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo after Aldo had just lost to Marlon Moraes. Story continues Though the fight was close, Jose Aldo is officially 0-1 at bantamweight. Thats good enough to potentially make him the No. 1 contender at mens bantamweight, according to White. White and Co. are in control of who gets title shots, not the media nor its dubious and inert rankings system. For some reason he and the promotion are avoiding saying the obvious that Irene Aldana is the No. 1 contender at bantamweight and deserves the next crack at champion Amanda Nunes, who also just recently fought and won. Aldana has fought and won twice since losing a close decision to former title challenger Raquel Pennington in July. Yet, she has been dropped down a spot in the last rankings adjustment. Overall, Aldana has won five out of her last six fights and been one of the most active fighters at bantamweight over the past several years. In large part because theyre tampered with and controlled by the promotion itself, the UFC rankings are an incoherent mess. UFC women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes smiles after her unanimous-decision win over Germaine de Randamie during UFC 245 at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 14, 2019 in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images) Lets examine the top-five currently ahead of Aldana on those problematic rankings at bantamweight. Pennington sits at No. 5 ahead of Aldana. She did indeed beat Aldana this past summer, but has not fought again, since, has lost two out of her last three overall, and has already had a recent crack at gold when she was bested by Nunes in 2018. Shes also lost to the most recent title-challenger Germaine de Randamie. Pennington is an excellent fighter, but she cant be considered at this point closer to another title shot before Aldana has even received her first. The Ultimate Fighter winner Julianna Pena sits at No. 4 despite going 1-1 since January 2017. The top-position terror and new mother should certainly be considered for title-contention soon if she keeps winning, but her recent record and activity level simply do not eclipse Aldanas, at present. Former bantamweight champion Holly Holm is No. 3. She has not yet fought again since getting stopped in the first round by Nunes and she has lost five out of her last seven fights overall, going back to 2016. Aspen Ladd sits at No. 2 after a month ago getting back on the winning track. Shes a great contender, but recently was stopped by de Randamie, so has a little more work to do before building the type of momentum Aldana currently has. For her part, de Randamie currently sits at No. 1 and its hard to argue with it, in and of itself. Still, she just had her shot at the bantamweight title and fell short in an exciting effort. There are certainly those at bantamweight, like de Randamie and Holm, who have accomplished more in their careers than Aldana has in hers thus far. Those folks have already had multiple cracks at gold and even been champions, before. Of those at bantamweight who have not yet faced Nunes, who have not yet gotten a title-shot, Aldana has put together the most impressive recent record and built the most momentum. Anyone fighting Nunes has an uphill battle ahead of them, and the champion would likely be favored against any challenger, right now. So, deciding who gets to fight her next isnt about who has a great chance at beating her. It should be, however, about who has earned the right to fight her and potentially shock the world just like she did years ago. More from Yahoo Sports: A BBC colleague of Stephen Clements has told how the late presenter not only "brought so much light and laughter to our mornings" but also made her son's birthday extra special. The 47-year-old father-of-two died suddenly earlier this week just months after starting what he described as his "dream job" at Broadcasting House in Belfast. He took over the flagship mid-morning Radio Ulster music slot last September having previously hosted the popular Breakfast Show on Q Radio for seven successful years. Read More Writing in her Belfast Telegraph magazine column, Kerry McLean told how the kind e-salesman turned king-of-the-airwaves gave her son Dan an unforgettable 10th birthday. "On the morning my son turned 10 I texted Stephen to ask if he could give him a shout-out," she revealed. "When he mentioned my Dan on air, it made his day. "Stephen went out of his way to make a lot of days special for a lot of people, which is why such a wave of sadness washed over the country this week when news broke that he'd very sadly passed away." She also said that listening to the Co Antrim man, who progressed from loading lorries, selling conservatories, bartending and teaching English abroad to what he called 'Radioland', was integral to her family's routine. "A big part of our morning together was listening to Stephen Clements on the radio," she added. "His humour and enthusiasm would elicit a grin and a few giggles even from my grumpy preteens. "Many a morning I would arrive at the school gates, only to be met with a refusal to get out until Stephen had finished a funny story he was telling or had revealed the answer to a quiz." Speaking to this newspaper three days into his new role, Stephen said he felt "a bit like a competition winner" and he also revealed how touched he had been by messages from past listeners who got in contact to say he had helped them when they were going through some dark times. He added: "For me, to have done that, that's what really matters most." Prior to his sudden passing, Kerry told how she was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to get to know Stephen, who is survived by his restaurant manager wife Natasha, daughter Poppy (8) and son Robbie (5). "Over the last few months, since his move to BBC Radio Ulster, I got to know Stephen a little better," she added. "We shared a few stories, a lot of laughs and I loved seeing his photos of his gorgeous children. He was such a proud dad." She added: "My heart goes out to them and his whole extended family at this incredibly difficult time and my thanks goes to Stephen for all the light and laughter he used to add to our mornings. He'll be very much missed." His funeral service next week will be for family and friends only. School Prohibits Joy to the World Performance, Then Reconsiders SACRAMENTO, Calif.A 13-year-old student had her piano song choice rejected by a charter school on the grounds that the song was too religious. Once confronted, however, the school reversed its decision. The song that the student wanted to perform was the popular Christmas carol Joy to the World. It was to be played as an instrumental piece for elderly people at a retirement home. Originally written by Isaac Watts, the song includes words such as Heaven and Savior. South Sutter Charter School stated that it may offend other people, so they would not allow it to be played. Julianne Benzel, the students mother, thought it was unbelievable that people could be offended by its being too religious. She felt her daughters freedom of speech was violated. The First Amendment in my estimation, is the core of who we are as a nation, said Benzel. Benzel and her family reached out to Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) for help with the next steps. As a nonprofit legal defense organization, PJI focuses on civil liberties such as religious freedom and parental rights. After a PJI attorney spoke to the school, the school reversed its decision and told the Benzel family that Joy to the World is nonsectarian. Oxford defines nonsectarian as not involving or relating to a specific religious sect or political group. According to the schools website, its speech policy states: The School respects students rights to express ideas and opinions, take stands on issues, and support causes, even when such speech is controversial or unpopular. Benzel said her other daughter chose Jingle Bells as a piano piece, and this seemed to be acceptable because people of all religion or no religion can enjoy it. An education specialist from the South Sutter Charter School suggested that Jingle Bells was a more secular choice, according to a PJI press release. Benzel, who is running as a congressional candidate for CA-04, says this was the second time her family had faced a First Amendment violation in less than two years. Brad Dacus, president of PJI, stated: Any sense of harassment or censorship of a student because of their religious expression is a violation of the First Amendment free speech and free exercise clauses. Theres nothing unconstitutional with a public school recognizing a national holiday like Christmas, he said. Dacus said that more than 90 percent of organizations tend to back off after being confronted. He said there is a stigma that public education has created. Against faith and against people of faith. We see this hostility growing [in] our college campuses as well as our public schools, and its permeating our society as a whole. Even businesses are often now feeling afraid and intimidated in recognizing the Christmas holiday. Benzel said that the school may be influenced by or afraid of the state of California. [The] school is living under threat or fear of intimidation, said Benzel. She said that her family is just one family that has spoken up. How many other families have been under the same pressure and slowly and surely giving away small little stands? she said. Conflict regarding what is deemed religious and what is not has been a sensitive issue, and many people may not know if their rights are affected. Dacus focuses on providing resources and a voice for those who are in similar situations. He said there have been students, like this girl, who otherwise would have had no place to go for legal protection. Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on Friday concluded his four-day visit to China, including a rare trip to the volatile Xinjiang province bordering PoK, during which he discussed a host of issues including border area management, bilateral military ties and defence cooperation. Lt Gen Singh, whose area of operations covered Jammu and Kashmir region including Ladakh and Aksai Chin over which China has claims, concluded his visit with a meeting at Xinjiang's provincial capital Urumqi with Lt Gen Liu Wanlong, Commander of China's Xinjiang Military Command which oversees China's borders along PoK. He also visited China's 9th Engineer Regiment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) based there on Thursday, the Indian Embassy said in a statement. Lt Gen Singh, who arrived in China on January 7, met top Chinese military officials specially that of PLA's Western Command which oversees the 3488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC). China also claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet. On January 7, Gen Singh met the Commander of PLA Gen Han Weigao in Beijing. He was given a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the PLA's Western Command headquarters in Chengdu on January 8, where he held talks with Gen Zhao Zongqi, the Commander of Western Theatre Command. Lt Gen Singh and his delegation also visited a Special Operations Brigade at Chengdu where they witnessed a counter-terrorism drill, according to the statement. The visit of the delegation is the first high-level military to military engagement in 2020 between India and China. During talks with the Chinese military officials, the delegation discussed a host of issues including border area management, improved bilateral military ties and defence cooperation activities as part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and China, the statement said. "Both sides agreed to carry forward the directions of the leaders and maintain peace and tranquillity at the border areas. The talks were held in a free, frank and friendly manner," the statement added. It was rare for an officer to visit the region. Technically China and Pakistan have no borders but are connected through PoK. The Xinjiang region includes both Ladakh and Aksai Chin over which China has claims. Xinjiang is the starting point for the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over which India has protested to China as it passes through the PoK. Singh's visit to Xinjiang also assume significance as it comes in the backdrop of India's move revoking provisions of Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories. China has said that bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories is "unlawful and void", and it "challenges" China's sovereignty. India has told China that the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and sole prerogative of the country and has no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the LAC. The boundary issue is being discussed through the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism. The SRs - National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi - held the 22nd round of border talks in New Delhi last month. The boundary issue is also being discussed through the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism. Xinjiang has been in news in recent months over allegations that China has interned more than a million Uighur Muslims to control the violence, a claim Beijing denies. China termed them as education camps. Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary has called on the Minister for Health to rule out the suggestion that there be fewer Emergency Departments in Irish hospitals. Mr Calleary criticised the suggestion, made by Read More: Mr Reid said there is a need to strengthen community care to provide some relief to hospitals. If we keep doing everything the same as we've been doing it, we'll continue to have the same answer and have an overcrowding issue, he told Newstalk Breakfast That does have a vision of having a small number of dedicated, major trauma centres across the country with a number of spines and hubs through the country off that, he added. However, Mr Calleary doesn't agree with Mr Reid's assessment. I fail to see how shutting EDs will alleviate the shocking overcrowding especially in the worst affected hospitals, such as Limerick, Galway, Cork, Waterford and Letterkenny," he said. Making access more remote is not a route we should go down. The need for more beds and staff is clear and it needs to be as close to the people as possible. There will be great concern amongst many communities, especially in rural Ireland, if the future of a local Emergency Departments were to be put in jeopardy," he added, calling on the Government and the Department of Health to distance themselves from the comments. 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! Baby Chimp Rescue Rating: Death in Paradise Rating: A confession: our little dog sleeps on the bed. And the settee. Anywhere she likes, really. Ive read the behaviour manuals and I know this overindulged mutt should have strict boundaries, but she thinks she is royalty . . . and she knows Im a soft touch. The tiny apes are among 21 that vet Jim and Jenny Desmond have rescued from the pet trade. Pictured: Connie I feel better after seeing how vet Jim Desmond and his wife Jenny sleep at their rural house in Liberia, West Africa with three dogs sharing the mattress and four baby chimps. The tiny apes are among 21 that the Desmonds have rescued from the pet trade. Even primatologist Professor Ben Garrod, who has known the couple for years, was taken aback to discover their sleeping arrangements in Baby Chimp Rescue (BBC2). The Prof was there to help prepare these chimpanzees for eventual release into the wild. The Prof was there to help prepare these chimpanzees for eventual release into the wild. Pictured: Chimp Gloria None were born in captivity: they have all been captured by hunters, who go into the jungle to kill families of apes. The adults are butchered for bushmeat, the infants are sold. Reality check of the night: Prison documentaries can make jail look like a holiday camp. But what Ross Kemp saw on Welcome To HMP Belmarsh (ITV) was truly frightening. Belmarsh? snarled one inmate. This is Hellmarsh. Advertisement Some of the babies had shotgun wounds. Garrod believed they must have been in their mothers arms throughout the slaughter. Little wonder that some of the chimps are wary of human carers and feel safer with the Desmonds dogs especially ten-year-old Princess, a beefy mongrel with the temperament of Florence Nightingale. In many ways the apes are like human toddlers. When theyre not clinging to your neck or leg, theyre crawling over the furniture in search of things to break. Only one thing can halt the mischief and thats tickling. Baby chimps are helpless gigglers. But they need to learn how to live in the wild. Lesson one was to develop a healthy fear of snakes, which oddly is not instinctive with them as it is in humans. Boisterous, over-confident Max, aged one, tried to wear the rubber training snake round his neck, like Burt Reynolds with a gold medallion cute, but not recommended. Those babies were quick learners though. The Prof let out a few warning whoops and suddenly there were small, panicky chimps crawling all over him, desperate to get away from the snake. All that cuddling did concern me. Other documentaries about ape rehab, such as the work done at Sepilok in Borneo with orphaned orangutans, emphasise the importance of minimising human contact. The animals learn from the start that they are different from humans. The princess of Saint Marie is novice cop Ruby, Shyko Amos, (pictured with officer Jean Pierre, Tobi Bakare) who happens to be the commissioners niece and thus can do no wrong Other studies, in particular one in Norway with an ape called Julius, show that chimps raised as human babies will never lose that dual identity. Garrod is a primate expert: it seemed strange that he didnt offer any comment on this. Who am I to talk, though? My dog doesnt just think shes human, she acts like a princess. The princess of Saint Marie is novice cop Ruby (Shyko Amos) who happens to be the commissioners niece and thus can do no wrong. Since she arrived at the Caribbean police station on Death In Paradise (BBC1) last year, shes breathed new life into the show. There was a distinct feeling that Ardal OHanlon, as DI Jack Mooney, was packing his suitcase and digging out his passport. A holiday-making divorcee rolled her eyes at him and Jack was lost. They fall in love hard and fast on Saint Marie. It would be the perfect isle for holiday romance, if the mortality rate wasnt worse than Europes during the Black Death. Sam West and Ade Edmondson were having huge fun as murder suspects, with hammy voices and big, flamboyant gestures. I suspect they were trying to make each other laugh. A prominent Hindu statesman is urging Dublin City Council to develop a dedicated area where Hindus in Ireland can scatter the cremated remains of their dead. Rajan Zed claims that the Hindu population of Ireland has now grown to such a level that it is important for Dublin City Council to make allowances for people to honour their dead appropriately. The Hindu population of Ireland has significantly increased in recent years. In the 2016 census, some 14,332 people identified as Hindu. It was a 135.6% increase on the number who identified as such in 2006. Hindu traditions dictate that the cremated ashes of those who die overseas should be scattered at holy water, such as the Ganges. There are some areas outside India where this tradition is undertaken too, though. In 2004, the River Soar in Leicester in Britain was approved for ash scattering. The city has an Asian community of more than 250,000 people. It is also possible to do so in several other parts of Britain, as well as other countries which have a large Hindu or Sikh population. Speaking in Nevada in the United States, Mr Zed said the areas in and around Dublin have a substantial Hindu population and that it is important for grieving Hindu families to be able to scatter the cremated remains of their loved ones over a body of water, such as a river or the sea. He said: "Dublin City Council should work with area Hindu community and other interested communities to create dedicated area along the body of water so that grieving families and friends could gather and perform the last rituals properly, respectfully and peacefully." Mr Zed urged Dublin's Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe and chief executive, Owen P Keegan, to "seriously and earnestly delve into developing this dedicated area for scattering cremated remains", which could include installing a platform, raising an open roofed structure like a gazebo and building a link road. He also offered his own assistance in the design and development process if council officials need it. "A multi-cultural city like Dublin should be more receptive and responsive to the basic needs of its hard-working, harmonious and peaceful Hindu community; which has made lot of contributions to Ireland, Dublin and society in general; and continues to do so," Mr Zed added. The call has been backed by the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre Ireland (VHCCI), though they said they will "not pressure the council" to make the changes. It is understood that no formal contact has been made with Dublin City Council or the office of the Lord Mayor. A spokesperson for the Lord Mayor said it would not endorse the idea without further investigations. Persian Might: How Strong Is Iran's Military? By Dragan Stavljanin, Pete Baumgartner January 09, 2020 With the possibility of a major conflict brewing with the United States since the killing of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, the capabilities of the Iranian military are being sharply scrutinized. So just how strong are the Islamic republic's armed forces? The answer to that question hinges largely on what strategic goals Iran pursues. Tehran's main goal is to project its influence and protect its interests throughout the Middle East or to at least prevent adversaries, like Saudi Arabia, from gaining the upper hand. To accomplish that, Tehran has done everything possible to deter and harass the enormous contingents of U.S. forces deployed in 10 countries throughout the region with the ultimate objective being to push them out. In pursuing that goal, Iran will likely avoid a full-blown war because its military is no match for the American armed forces and Washington's allies stationed in the Middle East, experts say. No Nukes, Lots Of Proxies The Iranians have a well-publicized and highly controversial nuclear program, but do not currently have the capability to make a nuclear weapon. "They have a ballistic-missile program but no long-range missiles that can reach the United States," The Atlantic noted. It added that Tehran lacks any major friends in the region: "Iran has decent relations with Russia and China but no stalwart, great-power allies." As arguably one of the world's most-isolated countries, Iran has mainly embarked on a strategy of proxy wars or conducting asymmetrical strikes aimed at exploiting the vulnerabilities of American and U.S.-led forces. The Iranian military -- which is the eighth largest in the world based on active personnel -- is suited to pursue a strategy of asymmetrical warfare. Modest Military Budget Iran's defense budget in 2018 was more than $13 billion, ranking it 18th in the world in terms of military expenditures, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). But Tehran lagged far behind regional foes such as Saudi Arabia, which spent some $70 billion, and Israel, at $18.5 billion (the United States is without rival at more than $700 billion). In addition, Iranian military expenditures declined by 9.5 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year due to massive economic problems caused by U.S. sanctions, a strategy that Washington refers to as "maximum pressure." But Iran's military establishment, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), does not depend merely on the state budget for its funding, according to the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). "The military establishment controls [one-fifth] of the market value of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange and owns thousands of other companies, all of which generate revenue for the armed forces," the FDD reported. "Additionally, the IRGC controls a significant portion of Iran's underground economy." Biggest In The Middle East In terms of overall military strength, the Iranian armed forces rank 14th in the world out of 137 countries that are ranked in 2019 by Global Firepower and Business Insider. With some 523,000 active-duty forces and another 350,000 reserves, Iran has the largest standing military in the Middle East. The active forces are comprised of 350,000 in the regular army and at least 150,000 in the IRGC, which has the most powerful forces in the Iranian military. In a sign of its importance, IRGC Commander in Chief Hossein Salami reports directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. An Army Within An Army The IRGC itself is made up of five subgroups. One of those groups, the Quds Force, was led for decades by Soleimani until his assassination in a U.S. drone strike on January 3 -- the event that put Iran and the United States in their current quandary. The Quds Force is mostly tasked with overseas operations, predominantly in the Middle East. Estimates of its exact number of forces vary. But Jack Watling, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told NBC News that it is a "divisional strength military formation" of around 17,000 to 21,000 members. Perhaps more importantly, the extraterritorial use of the Quds Force provides for the enlistment of various Shi'ite militias that number, according to The Guardian, up to 200,000 fighters. The militias operate in at least five countries in the region. The English daily adds that these pro-Iranian proxy armies that engage "in a 'grey zone' of conflict that maintains hostilities below the threshold of state-on-state warfare." Another group within the IRCG structure is the Basij militia, a paramilitary force with 90,000 members mobilized to enforce order, which includes quelling dissent within the country, such as the nationwide anti-government protests in November that ended with hundreds of demonstrators killed and thousands injured. Like many related institutions in Iran, the Basij was first formed as a volunteer force during the Iran-Iraq War. But it "has since become an entrenched, and feared, part of the state," The Washington Post reported. Also operating under the IRCG umbrella are the 20,000 service personnel in the naval forces, which rely first and foremost on waves of armed patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz. With more than 20 percent of the world's oil trade moving through the strait, it is the world's most-important oil-trade route and the scene of several confrontations between Iranian vessels and foreign-flagged tankers in 2019. Although smaller in number, the IRCG is more powerful than the regular army because of the bifurcated nature of the Iranian state. For that reason, relations between the government and the IRCG have always been strained. Tanking Up Iran has some 1,634 tanks, ranking 18th out of 137 countries surveyed. That number is buttressed by about 2,345 armored combat vehicles and 1,900 rocket launchers. The large tank force is, however, mostly made up of older models and completely outdated tanks. Only the new model Karrar, which was supposed to be delivered to the Iranian military in 2018, can compare with some of the better tanks in the world. Although the Karrar looks much like the well-known Russian T-90, Iran has rejected suggestions there was any collaboration with Russia in its production. In The Navy The Iranian Navy is, comparatively, a modest force that has neither an aircraft carrier nor a destroyer. Tehran's navy does possess six frigates, three corvettes, 34 submarines, and 88 patrol vessels. The submarine's arsenal contains the Russian-made "kilo" class, which are called "black holes" because they are inaudible. The 'Fast Flyers' With some 509 aircrafts, the Iranian Air Force lags far behind -- both in terms of quantity and quality -- regional adversaries Saudi Arabia and Israel, which can boast of having 848 and 595 state-of-the-art airplanes, respectively, in their fleets, The National Interest reported. That doesn't include a healthy stable of U.S. planes throughout the region. Much of Iran's air force dates from the shah era or is left over from dictator Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Air Force, which moved many of its planes to Iran during the 1991 Persian Gulf War to avoid their destruction by U.S.-led forces. American-made F-4, F-5, and F-14 fighters built in the 1970s remain the pillar of the Iranian Air Force, which is nicknamed "Tizparvazan" (the Fast Flyers). Following the 2015 nuclear deal -- which lifted tough international sanctions against Iran and boosted its economy -- the country had a brief opportunity to upgrade its air force. France's Mirage 2000 was an option, but Tehran ultimately decided against it because it was more familiar with its American- and Russian-made planes. Iran also had a chance to buy as many as 30 sophisticated Su-30 fighters from Russia, but opted not to, The National Interest reported. "This is probably because the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps paramilitary has never been comfortable with the regular Iranian military becoming too powerful," the U.S. magazine concluded. Missile Reliance Crippled by the U.S.-imposed sanctions that have reduced its oil exports to a trickle, Iran's military equipment imports have dropped significantly in recent years. Iran's arms imports decreased drastically in 2018 and the country's total imports for its military from 2009 to 2018 were just 3.5 percent of Saudi Arabia's total imports during the same period. Tehran has had to therefore increasingly depend on the development of domestic technologies for its military needs, including cheaper hardware imports that come mainly from Russia and China. Iran also relies on the development of missiles in order to overcome the disadvantage of having less military equipment that is often of a lower quality than its regional foes and, certainly, the United States and other Western countries. Iran is, however, recognized as having the most developed short- and medium-range missile system in the region. Among other missiles, it has 300-kilometer range Shahab 1 missiles, moving Washington to install a Patriot antiaircraft system in some neighboring countries to counter possible missile threats from Iran. Tehran has also worked on the development of intercontinental missiles, although those programs were suspended after Iran agreed to the historic nuclear agreement with six world powers in 2015 that put curbs on its nuclear program. Following the withdrawal of the United States from the treaty in 2018, Iran began to gradually suspend its adherence to the provisions of the treaty and ultimately announced after Soleimani's killing that it was abandoning all limits in the agreement. That development leaves open the possibility of Tehran restoring efforts to develop intercontinental missiles. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a Shahab 3 missile with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers could hit Israel and is widely considered to be Tehran's deterrent of last resort. The International Institute for Strategic Studies also reports that Iran has 32 batteries of Russia's S-300 air-defense system. Not To Forget: Cyberwarfare And Drones Finally, Iran also has a full complement of drones that it has used in operations in both Iraq and against Israel. It is also believed that an Iranian drone was used in September to attack Saudi oil facilities. The IRGC also boasts a cyberattack unit that is known to have been responsible for several attacks abroad. After the assassination of Soleimani, many figured Iran could respond with a massive cyberattack against a U.S. entity, a fear that continues, according to The New York Times. Three-Pronged Strategy? Most analysts have predicted that Iran would not venture into an open conflict with the United States over Soleimani's killing, but would instead use its assets to conduct asymmetrical operations to try and harm U.S. forces or American interests in the Middle East. Despite having already responded with a missile attack against the two U.S. military bases in Iraq, the threat of lower-level attacks using other strategies remains. In such a potential confrontation, Tehran would count on "three legs," as Deutsche Welle pointed out. One leg is "defense before the border" -- namely the operation of Quds Force units outside Iran to attack U.S. forces. The other legs of such a strategy are the use of long-range missiles to strike further away U.S. targets or an attempt to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and send global energy markets into a death spiral. In the event of a conflict involving action in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran can count on the world's fourth-largest oil reserves of more than 150 billion barrels to sustain it during such a blockage. Tehran's concern of a land invasion of its territory is probably quite low, as according to some Western estimates quoted by The Guardian, such an incursion would require "an improbable 1.6 million troops" in order to prevent an Iraq-style counterinsurgency from emerging against U.S. forces. With U.S. President Donald Trump seemingly de-escalating after Iran's January 8 missile attack caused no American casualties, few people envision Washington entertaining a scenario involving ground troops. U.S. Troops In The Region There are estimated to be more than 50,000 U.S. troops deployed in the Middle East, according to numerous sources. Here is a rough breakdown: 'Twilight War' Another possible option for Iran is the status quo. Historian David Crist has dubbed the four decades of the shadow battle that the United States and Iran have been locked in since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to be a ''twilight war." As The Atlantic noted, Iran has tended to follow a certain blueprint during this time: "compensate for its inferior military capabilities relative to the United States by waging wide-ranging proxy warfare that stops short of direct conflict, allows it to maintain plausible deniability, and is carefully calibrated to advance Iranian interests at a low cost and with minimal risk." Soleimani's assassination by U.S. forces and the Iranian missile response hitting American bases in Iraq is the first open confrontation between the two countries since Iranian protesters invaded the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. Although the current situation has de-escalated for the moment, it is still fraught with the risk of becoming more serious and disrupting the "twilight war" of strained but controlled relations that have existed between the two countries for so long. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/persian-might-a-look-at- tehran-s-military-capability-amid-the- u-s--iranian-conflict/30368967.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday to stop President Donald Trump from further military action against Iran, rebuking the president days after he ordered a drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander and raised fears of war. The Democratic-controlled House voted 224-194, mostly along party lines, sending the war powers resolution to the Senate. The partisan vote reflected the deep divide in Congress over Trump`s Iran policy and how much of a say lawmakers should have over the use of the military. Live TV Democrats accused Trump of acting recklessly and backed the resolution, while Trump`s fellow Republicans, who rarely vote against the president, opposed it. "The president has to make the case first - first, not after he launches an ill-advised attack and then comes up with a reason why it was necessary and why it was legal," said Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Republicans said Democrats endangered the country by trying to pass a resolution they characterized as an empty political gesture, at the start of a U.S. general election year. "Instead of supporting the president, my Democrat colleagues are dividing Americans at a critical time," said Representative Mike McCaul, senior Republican on the foreign affairs panel. He said the resolution would "tie the president`s hands." The White House also criticized the resolution`s passage in the House, calling it "ridiculous" and "just another political move." The resolution "attempts to hinder the Presidents authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. UNCERTAIN FATE The fate of the resolution is uncertain in the Senate. Republicans hold 53 of the chamber`s 100 seats, but at least two Republican senators - Rand Paul and Mike Lee - have expressed support for the measure. If passed by the House and Senate, the measure does not need Trump`s signature to go into effect, although Democrats and Republicans disagreed over whether it was binding. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faulted the White House for failing to consult Congress before the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. "Last week, in our view, the president - the administration - conducted a provocative, disproportionate attack against Iran, which endangered Americans," Pelosi told a news conference. US officials said on Thursday the government believed Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner shortly after Iran fired missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq, while Iran was on high alert. Trump called Pelosi "Crazy" on Twitter, and told reporters he did not need Congress` approval for military action against Iran. "I don`t have to and you shouldn`t have to, because you have to be able to make split-second decisions sometimes. Sometimes you have to move very, very quickly," he said. The War Powers Act, which was passed in 1973 as Congress reacted to secret bombings during the bitterly divisive Vietnam War, says the House and Senate can pass a resolution to force the withdrawal of troops engaged in a foreign conflict without Congress` consent. It was not immediately clear what would follow if the resolution passes the Senate. Legal questions about Congress` power over the president`s role as commander in chief of the U.S. military are unresolved. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, insisted the resolution would have no power over Trump. He called it a "meaningless vote" at his weekly news conference. Democrats disagreed, noting that the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. The resolution`s passage, they said, would send a strong message that Trump must work with lawmakers on national security. Royal fans everywhere received the shock of their lives on January 8th, 2020. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their highly controversial decision to retire from life as senior royals and begin to work towards financial independence. Theres no doubt that at least part of this decision was prompted by the difficult time the two have had in the press over the past year, but it still comes as a huge surprise to many who have followed the royal family for years. With more questions than answers, fans are now tasked with the mission of figuring out what comes next for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and how exactly their lives will change. What did Prince Harry and Meghan Markles statement say? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | MICHELE SPATARI/AFP via Getty Images On the afternoon of January 8th, 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle posted a bombshell message on their Instagram account. The message read, in part, that after many months of internal discussions, the couple had decided to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. Another part of the statement, which is nearly as shocking, is the fact that with their new role, the couple plans to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, in order to give their son a multifaceted upbringing as they focus on a completely new chapter. Part of their new chapter includes the launch of a yet-unnamed charitable organization, which they referenced in the statement. Instantly, media outlets everywhere picked up their statement and the entire world started dissecting what this bold move could possibly mean for the entire royal family as well as for Markle and Prince Harry. Why are they stepping back from royal life? While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle admitted in their statement that at least part of the reason for their decision is due to the desire to give their son a different life, it is not clear what other factors led to the retirement announcement. Admittedly, the statement didnt say that they would be leaving royal life entirely rather, they will continue to perform some royal duties as they work towards creating their own separate identity. It could take years before Markle and Prince Harry are entirely separated from the royal family, if in fact, that is their end goal. It seems likely that all of the negative press that Markle has received since joining the royal family has had something to do with the decision. The couples new roles will enable them to take a step back from the traditional way that the royals engage with the media and allow them to start sharing information directly with the public on their social media. Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle give up their Frogmore Cottage home? Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle intend to become financially independent and support themselves through their own means, for now, they will still be receiving money via the royal family. Reportedly, for the foreseeable future, British taxpayers will still be footing the security bill for the young family. There is also buzz about whether or not they will be allowed to keep their Frogmore Cottage home, which was renovated at a cost of millions of dollars, partially funded by taxpayers. Still, it seems likely that the couple will get to keep that residence since it is technically considered a gift from the queen. However, if the couple buys a new home, which they probably will, either in Canada or the United States, that bill will likely be footed entirely by them. Right now, millions of questions are swirling around their decision, and it could be months before concrete answers fall into place. Brubaker said the department fulfills thousands of FOIA requests each year and encourages anyone interested to make requests at FOIA@dmv.virginia.gov. Still, Stafford had one final act planned. After collecting the hundreds of rolls of pennies he needed, he hired 11 people to help him break open the paper rolls with hammers Tuesday night. It took four hours and he paid each person $10 per hour, costing him $440. Stafford also purchased five wheelbarrows to deliver the pennies. The wheelbarrows cost $400, and he wasnt going to dump the coins on the DMVs floor, so he left the wheelbarrows there, bringing his expenses to $840. He also paid $165 for the three lawsuits, which means he spent $1,005 to get 10 phone numbers and the satisfaction of delivering 300,000 pennies. Not to mention the nearly $3,000 he paid the DMV for the cars. One might feel bad for the Lebanon DMV employees, who chose to count the coins by hand. But Stafford is within his legal right. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, "United States coins and currency are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes and dues under the Coinage Act of 1965. The Italian government has announced fines of up to 100,000 for breaches of the European F-gas regulations (517/2014). The European Commission initiated infringement procedures in July against both Italy and Romania for failing to notify national measures on penalties for breaches of the F-gas regulations. The F-gas penalties should have been in place by 1 January 2017, but Italy had been behind many other European countries, only implementing the F-gas regulations into Italian law at the beginning of 2019. The Italian government has now set potential fines at 5,000 to 100,000 for violations including intentional release of HFC refrigerants, system repairs and leak checks and controls. Member states can set their own penalties, the European Commission merely insisting that the penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. As a result, penalties vary widely. In the UK, for instance, infringements can result in fines from 1,000 to 200,000 (1,120 to 225,000), in Germany its 100 to 50,000 and Poland has set fines between PLN600 and PLN30,000 (140 to 7,000). Aubrey Ferguson, 31, of Richland, was sentenced Wednesday for child abduction, having pleaded guilty to the charge back in November A missouri woman who kept her six-year-old son hidden in a nailed-shut attic during a custody dispute with the boy's father has been sentenced to five years probation, court documents show. Aubrey Ferguson, 31, of Richland, was sentenced Wednesday for child abduction, having pleaded guilty to the charge back in November. Her son, Braedence Jones, was reported missing by his father Ryan, who had custody of the boy, in August 2018. Ryan Jones told prosecutors how he had gone to pick up his son from Ferguson's home near Camdenton, in LaClede County, on August 3 after a week-long visit but arrived to find nobody was home. The house next door where Ferguson's parents live was also empty. Ferguson sent him text messages telling him Braedence was safe but refused to reveal where they were staying. Law enforcement agencies responded to numerous sightings but attempts to locate the child and his mother were unsuccessful. Braedence Jones (left) was reported missing by his father Ryan, who had custody of the boy, in August 2018. Ryan Jones told prosecutors how he had gone to pick up his son from Ferguson's home near Camdenton, in LaClede County, on August 3 after a week-long visit but arrived to find nobody was home (pictured at their reunion in January 2019) Surveillance footage and pings from Ferguson's phone indicated that she was with her boyfriend Woodrow Ziegler, 41, a convicted felon and drug user who was court-ordered to stay away from Braedence. Police say the pair were moving around the area in order to evade capture. An arrest warrant was put out for Ferguson in November 2018, nearly three months after the boy was first reported missing. Ziegler's involvement in the case prompted the Missouri State Highway Patrol to issue an endangered person advisory for the boy An agonizing five months would pass before US Marshals eventually found little Braedence on January 8, 2019. The then six-year-old was discovered in an attic crawl space, along with his mother, at a residence in rural LaClede County where Ferguson and Ziegler had been living together. Ziegler had had nailed the entrance of the crawl space shut, covered it with carpet and pushed furniture against it before officers arrived with a search warrant after receiving a tip to boy was inside. An arrest warrant was put out for Ferguson in November 2018, nearly three months after the boy was first reported missing Surveillance footage and pings from Ferguson's phone indicated that she was with her boyfriend Woodrow Ziegler, 41, a convicted felon and drug user who was court-ordered to stay away from Braedence Ferguson, 30, was charged with felony child abduction. As part of her sentencing, she had been ordered to have no contact with Braedence until the end of her probation period and ordered to bay undisclosed damages to Ryan Jones after he lost his job during Braedence's disappearance. Prosecutors, meanwhile, charged Ziegler with hindering the prosecution of a felony, which is still pending. The boy was reunited with Ryan Jones shortly after their arrest. The relieved father's girlfriend, Breanne Marie Dominguez, posted a series of Facebook updates documenting their emotional reunion. 'OUR LITTLE BOY IS HOME. GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!!! Thank you all for the prayers, shared, phone calls and etc. we don't know how to thank everyone enough. Our hearts are so full of joy atm. Just thank you everyone,' one post read at the time. 'He seems to be physically OK. But since his abduction, the mother hasn't allowed him to go to school and more than likely has not taken him to a doctor if he needed one. We are hoping to help his father find counseling for him.' The then six-year-old was discovered in an attic crawl space, along with his mother, at a residence in rural LaClede County where Ferguson and Ziegler had been living together (pictured left with his father and girlfriend Breanne Marie Dominguez) In an updated post on January 8, Breanne (left) said: 'We knew walking in today she could be looking at a 5 year sentence of probation. Did we hope for jail time, yes. [But] The judge made his decision. 'We understand this maybe upsetting. Its very upsetting to us...[but] At the end of the day we have our baby. She cant hurt him anymore. Braedence is a very happy, healthy, child' In an updated post on January 8, Breanne took the time to thank the Camden County Sheriff's Office and LaClede County prosecutors for 'fighting so hard for our baby'. 'You all will always hold a special place in our hearts and we will forever be thankful,' she wrote on Facebook, before expressing disappointment at Ferguson's sentence. 'We knew walking in today she could be looking at a 5 year sentence of probation. Did we hope for jail time, yes. [But] The judge made his decision. 'We understand this maybe upsetting. Its very upsetting to us...[but] At the end of the day we have our baby. She cant hurt him anymore. Braedence is a very happy, healthy, child.' Two undercover Houston police officers were sitting in an unmarked Chevrolet Silverado pickup in a Walgreens parking lot on Thursday afternoon when a man unwittingly interrupted their surveillance operation. The officers shooed him away when he tried to open a door. Then he reached into a backpack, raised it and yelled Ive got something for you, police say. Seconds later, the unidentified man became the fourth person shot by Houston police so far this year. The officer in the passenger seat, fearing the man had a gun, shot him multiple times through the windshield, police say. No weapon was found. Grainy surveillance video from a nearby business shows the man crumbling to the pavement while the officer walks to his side. The man underwent surgery at a hospital, but his condition was unknown as of Thursday evening. Among the four men who have been shot by Houston police since Jan. 3, the first three were armed, police said. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said each shooting should be viewed individually, but added that the recent spate illustrates the environment that were operating under. We know that theres a lot of violence, he said during a press conference at the scene of Thursdays shooting. In this case, this was feigned violence But theres a lot of gun violence out here. At the same time last year, two armed suspects had been shot, one fatally, by Houston police in separate incidents, according to data on the departments website. In 2018, Houston police did not report an officer-involved shootings until February. The first Houston police shooting in 2017 occurred Jan. 22. Overall, 23 people were shot by Houston police in 2019. Acevedo noted that the number of suspects shot by Houston police has declined since 2013, when the department tallied 63. Were going to make sure that every one is a standalone incident where we will judge the actions of that officer and the suspect based on that shooting, he said at the press conference. The officer in Thursdays shooting was assigned to a gang unit that works with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, a federal task force designed to reduce the supply of illegal drugs in designated areas of the U.S. Police said they could not specify why they were conducting surveillance in the 8000 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard in southwest Houston. The man first approached the pickup at 1:22 p.m., unaware of the police operation. He initially tried to get in the truck when the officers gestured for him to go away, Acevedo said. The officers didnt want to get out of the pickup, Acevedo said, because they feared they could blow their cover. At one point during the encounter, the officers called for a marked police car for assistance, but the shooting broke out before the backup arrived, Acevedo said. Only the officer in the passenger seat discharged his weapon. His name has not been released. The officers were not wearing body cameras, but police said they obtained video of the incident. The departments internal affairs division and the Harris County District Attorneys Office are probing the shooting. The investigation will determine whether the officer identified himself before discharging his weapon, according to a department spokesperson. The string of shootings started last Friday, when Houston police responded to an assault call at a home in the 11000 block of Spottswood. There, they encountered 34-year-old Paul Robinson in the backyard, holding a semi-automatic weapon to his neck, police said. He retreated to a shed and made two requests: that a woman he attacked come to the backyard and see him, and that officers kill him, according to police. Five officers opened fire when Robinson aimed his weapon at them, police said. He was shot multiple times and airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital. His current condition is unknown. On Monday, an off-duty Houston police sergeant working an extra job at a Midtown business opened fire at Kenneth Jefferson, who was one of two men pistol whipping and robbing a third man in the 1100 block of Hadley Street. Jefferson pointed his gun at the officer before the shooting, police said. Jefferson fled but was later found at a Galveston hospital. He has since been charged with aggravated assault against a public servant. Then, on Wednesday, an off-duty Houston police officer shot a man holding a customer service clerk at gunpoint in a Walmart in northeast Harris County. The officer, a 17-year veteran, witnessed the robbery attempt when she intervened. The suspect was later identified by the Houston Police Officers Union as Antonio Washington, who was taken to a hospital in unknown condition. Washington faces multiple charges related to Wednesdays shooting, according to the union, but nothing has been filed in Harris County court records. None of the officers involved in the shootings have been injured. julian.gill@chron.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An unidentified driver punched and kicked a Cleveland man until he lost consciousness during a road-rage incident, according to a police report. A 57-year-old man suffered a cuts and bruises on his head during the Wednesday incident in the Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood. He refused to let Cleveland EMS treat him at his home or take him to a hospital, a police report says. No suspects have been identified in the case. The man and his 56-year-old wife were driving home just after 8 p.m. when a yellow SUV cut them off near the intersection of East 93rd Street and Miles Avenue. Both vehicles continued for another half-mile and stopped near the intersection of Warner Road and Goodman Avenue. The man got out of his car and asked the other driver what happened. The other driver got out of his SUV and attacked the man, the police report says. The other driver punched and kicked the man until he lost consciousness. The mans wife tried to stop the attack, but the driver punched her, the police report says. The other driver got back into his SUV and drove away. The man and his wife got back into their car and drove home, where the wife called police. To comment on this story, visit Fridays crime and courts comments page. Read more crime stories: Parma police: Man fired several gunshots from his car at friend while she ran towards her apartment for safety Cleveland police find armed man hiding under stairs while investigating burglary Second man charged with dumping Medina womans body after fentanyl overdose in Cleveland Man shot at Cleveland bar after dancing with other mans girlfriend 12-year-old boy is third charged in carjacking outside Cleveland gas station, records say New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's gorgeous daughter Suhana is one of the most popular star kids on social media. The paps on duty never miss out on an opportunity to click her pictures and she has several fan clubs dedicated to her on Instagram and Twitter. Suhana Khan's pictures and videos often break the internet, as netizens can't keep calm. The young and pretty Suhana's real Instagram account is private and not open to all. Therefore, dedicated fan pages try to keep her fan base happy with fresh posts on her. A popular fan club on Insta shared an unseen picture of Suhana where she can be seen sharing a hearty laugh with her BFFs. Check it out here: Suhana Khan headed to New York University last year where she is studying acting. She completed her graduation from Ardingly College in England. Sometime back, filmmaker Theo Gimeno shared the first look poster of his short film starring Suhana in a lead role. Titled as 'The Grey Part Of Blue', it stars Robin Gonnella in the lead role besides Suhana. It has been written by Theo Gimeno. Speculation of her making her starry entry into movie business has always been around and now that she is studying acting as a course, looks like very soon the pretty girl will be making her big-screen debut. BANGALORE, India, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Telemedicine electronic communications and software offers clinical services to patients without an in-person visit. In telemedicine, technology enables healthcare providers by video conferencing to treat patients using a smartphone. Its system is used for the treatment of medication, chronic condition care, and other health services. Telemedicine is used by health care systems, physician practices, and skilled nursing facilities to provide more efficient health care facilities. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2M208/global-telemedicine-market TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET SHARE Demand for better healthcare in rural areas Increasing growth in telecommunication Growing prevalence of chronic diseases in BRIC nations Get Free Sample Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Othe-2M208/global_telemedicine_market REGION WISE GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET ANALYSIS Due to the increasing use of the internet, North America accounts for a significant share over the forecast period, and the adoption of smart devices is the major factor that helps the telemedicine market to grow. Because of the high-speed internet access, the telemedicine industry has been growing rapidly over the past few years. accounts for a significant share over the forecast period, and the adoption of smart devices is the major factor that helps the telemedicine market to grow. Because of the high-speed internet access, the telemedicine industry has been growing rapidly over the past few years. The telemedicine market in Europe is projected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Factors such as rising healthcare costs and increasing chronic disease prevalence are expected to drive growth in Europe's telemedicine market in the coming years. is projected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Factors such as rising healthcare costs and increasing chronic disease prevalence are expected to drive growth in telemedicine market in the coming years. Asia-Pacific is capable of recording the fastest growth in the forecast period on the global telemedicine market. GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET SEGMENT BY REGIONS/COUNTRIES United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia India Central & South America Inquire For Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Othe-2M208/global_telemedicine_market The market is driven by the need for better healthcare in rural areas, tremendous growth in telecommunication, rising prevalence of chronic diseases in BRIC nations, and low cost of telemedicine. However, high infrastructural costs and a lack of skilled resources may restrain market growth to a certain extent. On the other hand, favorable government initiatives present a huge growth potential for telemedicine in the BRIC nations. Lack of telemedicine standards in the BRIC countries may pose a challenge to the growth of the BRIC telemedicine market. GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET SEGMENT BY TYPE Web-based Cloud-based On-premise. GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET SEGMENT BY APPLICATION Teleconsultation Telecardiology Teleradiology Telepathology Teledermatology Tele Home health health Teleoncology Emergency Medication. KEY PLAYERS OF GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET Amd Global Telemedicine Apollo Hospitals GE Healthcare Haemonetics Philips Healthcare Cloudvisit Telemedicine Maestros Telemedicine Medisoft Telemedicine Reach Health SnapMD Telemedicine Technology Others. THE STUDY OBJECTIVES OF THE GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE MARKET REPORT ARE: To analyze global Telemedicine status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market, and key players. To present the Telemedicine development in the United States , Europe , and China . , , and . 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. BUY NOW: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Othe-2M208 REPORTS RELATED TO THE SUBSET OF TELEMEDICINE MARKET GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE CARTS & SYSTEMS MARKET The report is structured on primary and secondary research methodologies that derive historic and forecast data. The Global Telemedicine Carts & Systems market is growing remarkably fast and is likely to thrive in terms of volume and revenue during the forecast period. Readers can gain insight into the various opportunities and restraints shaping the market. The report demonstrates the progress and bends that will occur during the forecast period. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-3G172/telemedicine-carts-and-systems-market GLOBAL VIDEO TELEMEDICINE MARKET Due to factors such as increased demand for healthcare services among patients living in remote areas and isolated communities, the video telemedicine market is expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities over the forecast period. Additionally, technological advances such as the development of mobile collaboration technologies that can enable healthcare professionals to share information in multiple locations and increasing demand to reduce overall healthcare costs are some of the factors that are expected to boost the market growth. This report studies the market size of Video Telemedicine by players, countries, product types and end industries, historical data for 2013-2017 and forecast data for 2018-2025. Furthermore, the report analyses the global competitive landscape, market drivers and patterns, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and the Five Forces Analysis by Porter. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-4M168/global-video-telemedicine-market GLOBAL EMERGENCY TELEMEDICINE SERVICES MARKET The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Emergency Telemedicine Services manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry. Global Emergency Telemedicine Services Market Report 2019 - Market Size, Share, Price, Trend, and Forecast is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Emergency Telemedicine Services industry. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/PROF-Auto-31J234/global-emergency-telemedicine-services-market GLOBAL AR IN TELEMEDICINE, TRAINING AND FIRST RESPONDER MEDICAL APPLICATIONS MARKET Augmented reality with smart glasses head mounted devices (HMDs) sputtered in the consumer market, but the technology has taken root in the commercial space and is expected to begin flourishing in the coming years. Trials are currently underway in many professional markets, and some early adopters have already moved to deployment stages. The medical field, which is the focus of this report, likewise has seen its share of interest and excitement but this facet of the augmented reality market will take longer to develop. This report focuses on the global AR in Telemedicine,Training and First Responder Medical Applications status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the AR in Telemedicine,Training and First Responder Medical Applications development in the United States, Europe and China. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2K217/ar-in-telemedicine-training-and-first-responder-medical-applications-market GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE AND M-HEALTH CONVERGENCE MARKET This report focuses on global Telemedicine and M-Health Convergence status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market, and key players. The study objectives are to present the Telemedicine and M-Health Convergence development in the United States, Europe, and China. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-3L173/telemedicine-and-m-health-convergence-market GLOBAL TELEMEDICINE SOFTWARE MARKET Telemedicine software provides remote care capabilities to medical providers enabling them to reach more patients. Patients can access quality medical care from the convenience of their homes. This report focuses on the global Telemedicine Software status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market, and key players. The study objectives are to present the Telemedicine Software development in the United States, Europe, and China. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2A216/telemedicine-software-market ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. Valuates is curating premium Market Research Reports from the leading publishers around the globe. We will help you map your information needs to our report repository of Market research reports and guide you through your purchasing decision. We are based out of Silicon Valley of India (Bengaluru) and provide 24/6 online and offline support to all our customers and just a phone call away. CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4wNXynaTZbiD5m92WQI4A Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports/ SOURCE Valuates Reports Bushfires continued to pose serious threat in several parts of Australia with high temperatures and windy conditions expected to further fan the ongoing blaze across the country. Since September last year, Australia's raging bushfire crisis, one of the worst in its history, has killed 24 people, burned over six million hectares of land, reduced to ashes hundreds of homes and pushed many species towards extinction. The bushfires continued to pose serious threat in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. Authorities on Friday issued fresh warnings and evacuation orders in Victoria as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires. Around 23 fires were still burning in Victoria, according to the state's emergency management department. Emergency warnings were issued for Buchan due to spot fires sparking and a new warning was issued for the area around Swifts Creek. The Victorian town of Combienbar was hit by a grassfire threatening homes and the Combienbar Hall, officials said. Military helicopters were deployed for the evacuation operation. According to media reports, two fires that were burning along the alpine border between Victoria and New South Wales had merged, making a massive blaze that burned about 640,000 hectares so far. Meanwhile, a cool change has started to sweep through Melbourne on Friday. However, it is expected to worsen the conditions at the fire front. "When the change hits, wind gusts could reach up to 90 km/hour on the Gippsland coast, where a severe weather warning has been issued. This is of concern for the fires further inland, as firefighters will have to cope with a few hours of heavy wind before a band of rain moves through," Steven McGibbony, forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology was quoted as saying by 'The Age'. In New South Wales, about 135 fires are still burning, with nine at 'watch and act' levels. On the South Coast, four fires, including the Border and Werri Berri blazes, are in the 'watch and act' level. Kosciuszko National Park, where vast land tracts were destroyed in the blaze, is again at risk. Several beaches on the south coast, including Narooma, Dalmeny, Tuross Head, Moruya, Broulee, Malua Bay, Surf Beach and Aslings Beach, have remained closed for the entire weekend. A "cool and gusty southerly change" was moving through New South Wales and was expected to reach Sydney by 1 am (local time) on Saturday. However, the Bureau of Meteorology warned that the change "will bring difficult conditions for New South Wales fires" and issued a warning. In South Australia, fire situation on Kangaroo Island was downgraded on Friday with no emergency warnings now present. The area received significant rainfall and a drop in temperatures which is assisting crews to control multiple fires that flared up overnight. SA Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Corrections, Corey Wingard, has lauded the community of Kangaroo Island for their resilience and also thanked emergency services for the efforts. Meanwhile, a team of UK experts was on its way to Australia to help the country to prepare for the unprecedented bushfire crisis. In addition to this, US firefighters landed in Sydney on Friday to help fight the bushfires. Over 70 firefighters have arrived from the US and Canada this week to help with firefighting efforts apart from the 157 New Zealand firefighters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki was summoned to explain the state's disregard of court orders - Miguna's lawyer wanted the respondents found guilty of contempt of court - They argued the respondents failed to ensure the lawyer's re-entry was facilitated as ordered by the court - Judge Mativo also sought to have Miguna compensated by the state for violating his rights - State lawyer Christopher Marwa stated that the government had not disobeyed any court orders - He insisted that Miguna should apply for a new passport at any Kenyan embassy abroad The High Court has ordered Attorney General Paul Kihara to appear in court to explain the governments reluctance in obeying court orders in Miguna Migunas case. Judge John Mativo on Friday, January 10, criticised the state saying the acts amount to stifling democracy. READ ALSO: Childless couple married for 64 years die on same day while holding hands High Court orders AG Paul Kihara to appear in court over Miguna's woes Source: Facebook READ ALSO: New video showing moment Ukrainian plane was hit by missile in Iran emerges The judge argued that the state had failed to facilitate the exiled lawyer's return and as a result, should compensate him for violating his rights. The values of obeying orders are not there for cosmetic purposes Court orders are there to be obeyed in ensuring the rule of law is upheld, said Mativo. The respondents have consistently shown disrespect for court orders; that is a worrying trend," he added. READ ALSO: NHIF limits cover to one wife, 5 children in new rules High Court orders AG Paul Kihara to appear in court over Miguna's woes Source: UGC State lawyer Christopher Marwa, however, stated the government had not disobeyed any court orders saying Migunas passport had expired. He insisted that he should apply for a new one at any Kenyan embassy abroad before he is granted entry into the country. This is despite fresh orders issued on Monday, January 6, by justice Weldon Korir compelling the state to facilitate Miguna's return. READ ALSO: Western leaders convinced Iran accidentally shot down Ukrainian passenger plane killing 176 The lawyers passport was seized by authorities in March 2018 before he was forcefully deported to Canada after swearing-in opposition leader Raila Odinga as the Peoples President. On December 14, 2018, High Court Judge Chacha Mwita ruled that the deportation was illegal and in violation of Migunas rights. Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna on Wednesday, January 8, said Miguna was categorised as an unruly passenger following dramatic scenes that were witnessed then. READ ALSO: Mbunge Moses Kuria taabani kwa tuhuma za kumpiga mwanamke Miguna failed in two attempts to board flights to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi on Tuesday, January 7. He was barred from getting on Lufthansa flight LH590 in Germany and was later asked to disembark a different Air France flight from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. In both cases, the airlines cited a request from Kenyan authorities that Miguna is denied permission to board the flights. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly My Spanish husband calls me a monkey, wants to take my children from me | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Pabst Blue Ribbons Hard Coffee, which created quite a buzz in Maine last summer, was released in Massachusetts on Wednesday, the company told MassLive. PBR describes its hard coffee as made with real coffee beans, milk and a hint of vanilla flavor. The ready-to-drink iced coffee, PRB said, contains naturally-occurring caffeine and also has a 5% ABV. Stores across Massachusetts began stocking their shelves with the product on Wednesday after stores in Maine struggled to keep it on its shelves last summer. PBRs Hard Coffee was released in Maine, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Georgia last July. PBR expects stocks to be limited in Massachusetts until production ramps up to full speed by the summer. The 4-pack of 11-ounce cans will cost between $9.99 and $10.99. By SA Commercial Prop News Richard Maponya, the property developer of Sowetos mega shopping center, Maponya Mall, died early on Monday at the age of 99. Business icon Richard Maponya, who died early on Monday, has been praised for establishing Soweto's mega R650m Maponya Mall that opened in 2007. It was the first investment of its size in a township in South Africa. Known as the father of black retail business, Dr. Richard Maponya, the developer of Sowetos R650 million Maponya Mall, has been praised for excellence in his passion and commitment to the South African community. A number of firsts were achieved by the trailblazer which include him being the first owner of a black-owned BMW dealership in Soweto in the 1980s, the first black member of the SA Jockey Club and the head of the first black JSE-listed company. Despite restrictions placed on black business under apartheid system, Maponya, established a dairy distribution business in Soweto in the 1950s, which would ultimately grow to include enterprises in retail, vehicle dealerships, filling stations and property development. At the memorial service held today, Maponya has been remembered for his contribution to the development of black business in the face of apartheid and his support for black entrepreneurs. In a statement following his death, the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners extended its deepest condolences to the family, friends and associates of the inimitable Dr Richard Maponya who passed away just a few months shy of celebrating his centenary birthday. President Cyril Ramaphosa said: We have lost a pioneer, a trailblazer and a man of extraordinary fortitude who paved the way for the racial transformation of the South African economy. Dr Maponya distinguished himself as a successful businessman at a time when it was extremely difficult for black people to start a business, let alone excel in business, said Business Unity SA (Busa) acting CEO Cas Coovadia. Navigating business, politics Born in 1920 in Lenyenye, outside Tzaneen in the then northern Transvaal to farmworkers, Dr Maponya became a self-made entrepreneur from the age of 24 when he opened small grocery shops in Soweto with his wife Marina - instead of practising as a teacher after he qualified as one. By the late 70s, the Maponya family business empire had diversified from milk to opening what was then the largest supermarket in Phefeni, Soweto, named Maponyas Supply Stores. The store rivalled the likes of the established OK Bazaars as it featured a butchery, fruit and vegetable and grocery sections. Maponyas Supply Stores expanded across Soweto, making Maponya a household name. On the significance of the supermarket, Bidvests Mohale said: Maponya gave us the first concept of a supermarket in the township. It was a big and face brick supermarket where you could pick up what you wanted from the shelves and pay for it rather than going to someone behind a counter and telling him/her what you want. The retail empire made Maponya a household name, catapulting him to building a filling station in Soweto and establishing one of the first motor vehicle dealerships in the township in the 1980s, selling Chevrolets and later, BMWs. It was history that a black man would sell cars because people thought black people were too poor to buy a brand new car. But Richard did it, said Mohale. Today, what firmly cements Maponyas desire to economically develop Soweto is Maponya Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in the township at 65,000m. In 1979, Maponya acquired land for the mall on a 100-year lease and, in 1994, he acquired it outright after several attempts. But the land lay vacant for more than 10 years as several attempts to fund the construction of the R650-million mall failed. But after assembling funding and entering into a partnership with real estate development firm Zenprop Property, Maponya completed the construction of Maponya Mall in 2007, with former president Nelson Mandela cutting the red ribbon to mark its opening. It was one of the few malls to open in Soweto, which was underserviced in terms of formal retail space. Maponya was able to easily move in business and political circles. He was the founding president of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc), which advocated the interests of black businesses under apartheid, in the 1960s. Nafcoc, led by Maponya, Sam Motsuenyane, Reverend Joe Hlongwane and Archie Nkonyeni, was instrumental in forming African Bank, which was known as a bank for black people, after successfully raising R1-million in equity among other black entrepreneurs. African Bank launched its first branch in 1975 in Pretorias Ga-Rankua, but Nafcoc sold its interest in the bank in 1995 due to high regulatory costs associated with operating a bank. When the ANC was banned in SA and the political party found refuge in Zambias capital of Lusaka, Maponya was part of a Nafcoc delegation that went to meet the partys top leaders in 1986. He informed the ANC that black-owned businesses were committed to serving Soweto and collaborating with radical young people at a time when the township was volatile, with many shops being looted and burnt. Through Nafcoc structures, Maponya also influenced the introduction of the Black Economic Empowerment policy post the 1994 democratic era. China Blames Pneumonia Outbreak on Newly Discovered Virus By VOA News January 09, 2020 Health officials in China say an outbreak of pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan has been caused by a new strain of the virus that led to the deadly SARS outbreak over a decade ago. State-run Xinhua news agency says a team of scientists identified the new type of coronavirus after tests run on 59 people who have been hospitalized since early December. The World Health Organization issued a statement Wednesday confirming the preliminary discovery of the virus. Health officials in Hong Kong say as many as 38 people have been hospitalized in recent days after returning from Wuhan with flu or pneumonia-like symptoms. The outbreak comes just days before the Lunar New Year, when millions of Chinese will be traveling by planes, trains or buses to celebrate the holiday. An official with China's transportation ministry says the agency will begin efforts to disinfect public transportation stations and cargo hubs to prevent the spread of the virus. More than 8,000 people were sickened between 2002 and 2003 during an outbreak of sudden acute respiratory syndrome in China and Hong Kong, killing nearly 800 people and sparking a global health panic. Another coronavirus has been linked to MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, that has killed 851 people and sickened nearly 2,500 since it was first appeared in 2012. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mobile phone users have been warned about getting tricked by websites that could suggest they get better coverage than they will. Network operators being allowed to run their own coverage trackers, and to do so by using computer models rather than actually testing on the ground, is letting them "mark their own homework", according to the Local Government Association. Coverage checking websites let phone users enter their postcode and see what coverage they can expect at their home. Users are recommended to use them before switching networks, to ensure they will be able to get proper data and phone connections at their home and work. But the way the sites work mean that people could be misled about how good their connections will be, the LGA warned. Boris Johnson promised to make poor mobile phone signal a thing of the past if the Tories won the general election. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty In the first 100 days, the Conservatives pledged to finalise a 1 billion agreement with mobile phone operators to pool existing phone masts and build new ones. But the LGA is calling on the Government to give regulator Ofcom the powers to independently verify coverage, with local areas given annual speed and reliability health checks using on the ground testing. It believes local government and holding providers to account is the best way to address coverage woes and improve connectivity across the country. Councillor Kevin Bentley, chairman of the LGA's people and places board, said: "Before the Government signs up to any new deal, we want to work with them to ensure that we can properly measure whether mobile operators are achieving coverage that improves mobile signal in the real world, rather than numbers on a spreadsheet." Shropshire Council has already looked into signal strength locally and has identified 28 areas where operators' outdoor coverage claims fail to match the quality of coverage on the ground, the LGA said. Hamish MacLeod, director at industry body Mobile UK, said: "Mobile operators are clear that coverage checkers provide guidance of the coverage that customers can expect, and that real-world coverage can be impacted by several variables. "Continuing investment in our networks, planning reform, and finalising the Government's commitment to the Shared Rural Network are all crucial to extending rural coverage, and we are acting towards achieving these goals." Caroline Normand, director of advocacy at Which?, said: "Along with transparency about when these coverage improvements will be delivered and accurate information about availability, Which? believes consumers must also have a real choice of providers in all areas to ensure that they truly see improvements in the service they are getting." An Ofcom spokesman added: "People can check mobile coverage from all four networks in one place, using our independent coverage checker. "As well as checking operators' data, we carry out tests on the ground to determine where people can get a strong, reliable signal." Additional reporting by agencies D onald Trump used his first election campaign rally of 2020 to insist he served up American justice by ordering a drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The US leader drew cheers from the crowd in Toledo, Ohio, as he said the move that led to the death of the Middle Eastern countrys top commander saved American lives. Mr Trump spent a lengthy part of his speech defending the decision and rejecting criticism that overstepped his authority with the US military's strike a week ago. Last week the United States once again took the bold and decisive action to save American lives and deliver American justice," he told the thousands of people at the event on Thursday night. He accused Soleimani of organising violent protests by Iran-backed groups at the US Embassy in Baghdad earlier this month and said if he had not sent US troops to protect the embassy the demonstrators might have broken in and killed Americans or taken them hostage - a repeat of the 2011 storming of a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, in which the US ambassador was killed. Mr Trump's appearance at the arena in Toledo was his first campaign rally of the 2020 election year, a sign of how critical the state is to his winning a second four-year term in office next November. The won Ohio in 2016 by 8 percentage points, flipping a state that had gone for Democrat Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012. Donald Trump says Qasem Soleimani was looking to blow up a US embassy Mr Trump and his top advisers have said Soleimani was masterminding "imminent" attacks against American targets in the Middle East, but have drawn criticism for not providing more detail to back up the claim. Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in Baghdad, but we stopped him and we stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold," Trump said. Trump placed Soleimani's death a week ago as part of his tough-on-militants message and an example of what he said was a stronger military under his watch. The US leader gestures as he delivers a speech to supporters in Toledo on Thursday night / REUTERS Soleimani's death prompted an Iranian retaliatory missile strike on Tuesday night against two US bases in Iraq, and Mr Trump said he had been ready to launch retaliatory strikes until he was told that no American casualties had resulted. While tensions remain, a broad war between the United States and Iran has not erupted and Democrats are battling to rein in Trump's ability to launch a new conflict in the Middle East. Trump mocked Democrats who felt more information was needed on the imminent danger Soleimani posed. He said he had to make a "split-section" decision and Democratic leaders would have dragged out the process and leaked to the US media if he had given them a heads-up before the operation. (CNN) Canada and Britain's leaders said Thursday that they have intelligence a Ukrainian airliner was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. "This may have been unintentional," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference in Ottawa. "There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile. This may well have been unintentional. We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. "The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region," the statement added. Trudeau has called for a thorough investigation into what caused the crash but would not provide additional details about the evidence and intelligence he cited. CNN reported earlier Thursday that the US increasingly believes Iran mistakenly shot down the airliner, according to multiple US officials. The working theory is based on continuing analysis of data from satellites, radar and electronic data collected routinely by US military and intelligence. A US official familiar with the intelligence said the plane was shot down by two Russian made SA-15 surface to air missiles. The US saw Iranian radar signals lock onto the jetliner, before it was shot down. The morning after the incident, US analysts discovered the data but took another day to verify, the official said. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he suspected the crash was not due to mechanical issues, indicating that "somebody could have made a mistake on the other side." Asked during a White House event what he thought happened to the plane, Trump said, "Well, I have my suspicions." European security officials told CNN they believe reports suggesting that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile in error are credible. The timing of the crash has fueled speculation about its cause, coming just hours after Iran fired missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for the killing of its top general, also in Iraq. The exchange of attacks between Tehran and Washington on Iraqi soil was a dramatic escalation of tensions between the adversaries, and is raising fears of another proxy war in the Middle East. The head of Iran's Civil Aviation Authority is questioning the US allegation. Speaking to CNN, Ali Abedzadeh said, "if a rocket or missile hits a plane, it will free fall." Abedzadeh asked, "How can a plane be hit by rocket or missile" and then the pilot "try to turn back to the airport?" He also told CNN the plane's black boxes are damaged and Iran may need help decoding them. "Generally speaking, Iran has the potential and know-how to decode the black box. Everybody knows that," Abedzadeh said. However, he also added that, "the black box of this very Ukrainian Boeing 737 is damaged. Ukrainian Aviation experts arrived here in Tehran today. We had a session with them. From tomorrow they will start decoding the data." "If the available equipment is not enough to get the content" Iran will outsource the boxes to "the experts from France or Canada," Abedzadeh said. Newsweek was first to report US and Iraqi sources believe Iran shot down the plane by mistake. "I don't want to say that because other people have their suspicions," Trump said, but added, "Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side ... not our system. It has nothing to do with us." "It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood. They could've made a mistake. Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question." Asked if he thought it was downed by accident, Trump said, "I don't know. I really don't know ... that's up to them. At some point they'll release the black box." "Ideally they'd give it to Boeing," he said, but said giving it to France or "some other country" would be fine, too. "Something very terrible happened, very devastating," he concluded. The Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 came down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday local time, killing all 176 people on board, including dozens of Iranians and Canadians. The Boeing 737-800 was headed for Kiev, where 138 passengers were expected to take a connecting flight to Canada. Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans and British nationals were also aboard. One possibility being considered is that an Iranian missile unit saw something on their radar, thought they were under attack and fired. "If it is true that an Iranian missile brought down a civilian airliner, it points to exactly the sort of miscalculation and recklessness that attends the cycle of escalation and violence we've been seeing in the region. The innocent people killed in this tragedy would then, sadly, not be the only victims. Iran must fully cooperate with investigators and be willing to account for their actions," CNN national security analyst retired Adm. John Kirby said. Investigation underway Iran's Civil Aviation Organization head, Ali Abedzadeh, said it would not hand the flight data recorders to Boeing or the United States after they were found on Wednesday. One of the officials said the US is working closely with the Canadians on the intelligence. US officials have also shared officials with UK officials, according to sources familiar. Ukrainian officials on Thursday were considering terrorism, a missile strike and catastrophic engine failure as potential causes for the crash, as aviation authorities in Tehran said the jetliner was on fire before it came down. Ukraine's National Security and Defense council chief, Oleksiy Danilov, said a meeting was taking place with Iranian authorities, where various causes behind the crash were "being studied," including a theory that the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile, according to a statement on Facebook. Conflicting claims about potential causes for the disaster began hours after the crash, when Iranian state media blamed technical issues and Ukraine ruled out rocket attacks. Within hours on Wednesday, officials in both countries had walked back those initial statements. An initial report by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization on the crash cites witnesses as saying the airliner was on fire while in the air and changed directions after a problem, turning back toward the airport. People on other aircraft at higher altitudes also saw the flames, Iranian officials say. Images of the wreckage show the plane torn to piece, its parts charred and strewn across a field. The spring semester for many colleges and universities is still not in session, but you may already want to consider your spring break plans. South Padre Island has already announced some of its spring break concert line-up for 2020, including big-name artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X and DaBaby. Larry Gogan has been remembered at his funeral mass in Dublin (Damien Eagers/PA) RTE broadcaster Larry Gogan has been remembered as an extraordinary man who was very ordinary at his funeral mass. Mr Gogan, who was known as the man with the golden voice and had worked at RTE for more than 50 years, died in Dublin on Tuesday aged 85. The funeral service in the city heard he has now been reunited with his childhood sweetheart and wife Florrie, who died in 2002. Expand Close Mr Gogan had been in broadcasting for almost 60 years (RTE/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Gogan had been in broadcasting for almost 60 years (RTE/PA) A copy of the Star Newspaper, a packet of wine gums, photographs of his wife and grandchildren and his well-worn set of headphones were among the items brought to the altar. In his homily, Fr Brian DArcy said: How would you sum up Larry? You cant. But the best I can do is this. Larry was always an extraordinary man who was very ordinary. His gift was the extraordinary things he could do. For he himself remained rooted in the ground. He was very honest, obliging, happy and easy to work with. Expand Close The coffin of Larry Grogan arrives at the Church of St Pius X, Templeogue in Dublin (Damien Eagers/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The coffin of Larry Grogan arrives at the Church of St Pius X, Templeogue in Dublin (Damien Eagers/PA) Mr Gogan had been in broadcasting for almost six decades and was best known for his Just A Minute quiz and his radio show The Golden Hour. Fr DArcy added: He loved fun. He was adored by everyone. We all knew that he was without doubt the greatest disc jockey we were ever likely to hear or see. He was a hero to everybody. He helped us all on our way. He was so sure of his own greatness, of his own ability that nobody was a threat to Larry, and nobody ever was. And Larry knew that too. Which is why he could help anybody. Because he knew that by helping others, he was sharing the gift that God had given him. And thats why he did it. Expand Close Mr Gogans daughters Sinead, left, Orlaith, centre, and Grainne outside the church (Damien Eagers/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Gogans daughters Sinead, left, Orlaith, centre, and Grainne outside the church (Damien Eagers/PA) He said Irish bands and musicians owe a great deal to Mr Gogan for giving them their first play on the radio. Fr DArcy added: The last thing Ill say is this. Theres only one person in the world that can think of that I never heard anyone say a bad word about. Never in my life did anyone ever say a bad word about Larry Gogan to me, and that is over a period of well over 50 years. I think thats a great legacy of Larry Gogan. President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were represented by their aide-de-camps. RTE director General Dee Forbes, RTE colleagues and friends from the music industry, including U2s Larry Mullen, also attended. The members of U2 left a floral wreath with a message that read: There is no end to grief, that is how we know there is no end to love. Expand Close U2 drummer Larry Mullen was among the mourners (Damien Eagers/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp U2 drummer Larry Mullen was among the mourners (Damien Eagers/PA) Mr Gogan was the third high-profile RTE broadcaster to pass away recently, following the death of Gay Byrne in November and Marian Finucane last week. The Late Late Show will pay tribute to Mr Gogan in a special programme on Friday night. Radio stations across the country honoured him by playing Friends In Time by Irish band the Golden Horde just after midday, when his funeral mass took place. Mr Gogan featured in the original music video for the song. In a joint statement, the radio stations said Friends In Time was poignantly chosen as a nod to two of Larrys well-known music passions championing Irish music and his infamous music show feature. They added: This bittersweet nostalgic track, in which Larry himself also featured in the original video, would not have been out of place on the playlist for Larrys famous Golden Hour. They also said Mr Gogan was the epitome of music radio in Ireland and paved the way for so many others. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) For the second year in a row, Chinese nationals topped the Bureau of Immigrations list of foreigners denied entry into the Philippines for being rude and disrespectful. BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement Friday that immigration officials turned away 180 aliens in 2019, 63 of whom were Chinese. The total figure went up from 133 in 2018 and 129 in 2017. Also on the list were Koreans, Americans, Japanese, Australians, British, Malaysians, New Zealanders, Saudi nationals, Singaporeans, Vietnamese, Germans, Hongkong nationals, Israelis and Swiss nationals, the bureau said. These aliens were blacklisted for being drunk, rowdy, and unruly when they presented themselves for primary inspection to immigration officers, according to BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina. Others, although sober, were arrogant and discourteous. They would shout expletives, and would even make derogatory statements about Filipinos or the country, Medina added. Medina said that most of the rude aliens were turned away at the international airports in Manila and Mactan, Cebu. Morente reminded foreign visitors to the Philippines to behave properly if they do not want to be banned from entering the country. We thus reiterate our warning to foreigners intending to visit the Philippines that they should refrain from exhibiting bad behavior that would make them undeserving to enter our country, he said. Morente added, While the officers have been instructed to observe maximum tolerance, physical and verbal abuse will not be tolerated. The BI explained that they are implementing a 2001 memorandum order from then BI Commissioner Andrea Domingo, which allows them to expel foreign travelers if they show impolite behavior to immigration officers. New Delhi: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has claimed that they are not associated in any way with Akshat Awasthi - a JNU student who was caught on camera bragging about his role in the violence in the campus on January 5 in a sting operation. Reacting to a sting operation conducted by the India Today Group, ABVP General Secretary Nidhi Tripathi on Friday held a press conference and said Akshat Awasthi is neither an office bearer, nor a karyakarta of the organisation. It the video, telecast just hours after Delhi Police press conference on JNU violence, alleged ABVP activists Akshat Awasthi and Rohit Shah can be seen talking about the incidents on January 5 and their role in the attack on several hostels in the campus. In the operation conducted by the media house, Akshat Awasthi showed footage of the evening. In the video, he can been seen armed with a stick and his face covered with a helmet. He could be seen rushing through the hostel corridors in rage and knocking anything and anyone down that came his way. "What did you have in your hand?" the undercover reporter asked Awasthi. "It was a stick, sir. I pulled it out from a flag lying near [the] Periyar [hostel]." The Delhi Police, on the other hand, released pictures of nine suspects in the JNU violence case and claimed JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was one of them. Of the nine, seven belong to left-leaning student organisations while two are affiliated to right-wing students' body, the police said. Addressing a press conference, DCP (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey, who is probing the case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but the left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. About the attack on January 5, the DCP said that specific rooms in the university's Periyar hostel were targeted. Several people including Aishe Ghosh attacked students in the hostel, the police officer claimed. Ghosh, who was injured in the attack, however, refuted the charge saying the Delhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against her. WOODRIDGE, Ill. - Leaders of a U.S. Army Reserve unit that controls thousands of soldiers across the western United States have mishandled at least two sexual assault complaints by not referring them for outside investigation, according to victims, their advocate and documents obtained by The Associated Press. Amy Braley Franck, a civilian victim advocate with the 416th Theater Engineer Command, provided the AP with documents that show the command launched internal investigations into at least two complaints rather than refer them to the Armys criminal investigation division as required by military policy and federal law. In a third case, they placed an alleged victim on a firing range with someone she had accused of sexual harassment, causing her to fear for her safety. Commanders also have failed to hold monthly sexual assault management meetings, as required by DOD policy since 2006. And they ran the company without a sexual assault response co-ordinator for nearly a year and suspended Braley Franck after she alerted the Army to the internal investigations, she said. I cant with a clear conscience say, Oh, yeah, report your sexual assault. Well take care of you, Braley Franck said. The 416ths spokesman, Jason Proseus, said Army Reserve leaders take sexual misconduct seriously. He declined further comment, saying the matter was under investigation. He didnt explain what matter was under investigation or by whom. The Army Reserve Strategic Communications chief spokesman, Lt. Col. Simon Flake, said the reserve doesnt want to compromise the investigation or influence the outcome by commenting further. The Illinois-based 416th Theater Engineer Command provides technical and engineering support for U.S. military forces. It serves as headquarters for nearly 11,000 soldiers in 26 states west of the Mississippi River. Braley Franck said she has discovered multiple sexual assault administrative shortcomings and policy violations since she joined the 416th in February 2019 as a victim advocate. Her duties include supporting victims and connecting them with services . She said the division went 10 months without a sexual assault response co-ordinator. Such co-ordinators ensure victims receive services such as medical care and counselling, help victims navigate the military criminal justice system and oversee victim advocates. No one held a sexual assault management meeting during her tenure until this month, even though the DOD has required such meetings to be held monthly since 2006 to ensure a co-ordinated response and that victims are protected and can access services. She said she has learned of at least two instances in which 416th commanders improperly initiated internal sexual assault investigations. Federal law and Department of Defence policy require that commanders refer sexual assault complaints to criminal investigators in their respective branches. Thats intended to prevent commanders from brushing aside allegations involving their own people and to ensure that experienced investigators handle cases, said Rachel VanLandingham, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who teaches national security law at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Commanders who dont follow proper channels can face reprimand, removal from command or a court martial, VanLandingham said. Internal sexual assault investigations cost the Wisconsin National Guards top commander his job in December. Gov. Tony Evers demanded Adj. Gen. Donald Dunbar resign after a federal investigation determined he had been launching internal probes rather than forwarding complaints to the National Guard Bureau. In the first 416th case, Capt. Joseph Runhke of the 739th Engineer Company within the 416th investigated allegations from two soldiers that a male specialist had sexually assaulted a female private during a lunch break at the companys base in Granite City, Illinois, in September 2017 and again outside the womans workplace in Springfield, Illinois, the following April. In a memo Braley Franck provided to the AP, Runhke wrote that the woman told him both encounters were consensual, adding that the specialists tenure was almost up and trust would improve once he was gone. Under DOD policy and federal law, Army criminal investigators should have conducted the investigation. The second case involves Spc. Sara Joachimstaler. The AP usually doesnt identify sexual assault victims, but Joachimstaler gave permission to use her name. She told her commanders that a sergeant repeatedly touched her leg during a car ride in March 2019 and groped her a month later while using her to demonstrate how to tie a rope around someone. She said her commanders did nothing. Lt. Anthony Perkins, her units executive officer, wrote in a memo that he notified his commander in April about Joachimstalers allegations and was told the commander would take care of it. In the memo, which Joachimstaler shared with AP, Perkins wrote that he reminded his commander that he had to report such complaints, but the commander refused to do anything and warned Perkins to back him up or he would be removed. Joachimstaler took her complaints to the 416ths inspector general but said she felt that offices investigator, Maj. John Hill, tried to minimize her allegations. She told him in June that she wanted to take her complaints elsewhere. Hill sent Braley Franck a memo later that month asking her to initiate an investigation, a violation of the DODs ban on internal investigations. Braley Franck referred both the third-party and Joachimstaler cases to the Armys Criminal Investigations Division in June. A judge advocate ultimately concluded there was no probable cause to believe the alleged perpetrator committed an offence in the third-party case. Braley Franck said Joachimstalers case is still under CID investigation. Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Armys Criminal Investigation Command, said in a statement that he couldnt comment due to an ongoing investigation. He didnt elaborate. Braley Franck was suspended on Nov. 20. Col. Gregory Toth wrote in a memorandum that she may have violated the code of ethics for victim advocates. He didnt say how. Braley Franck maintains commands leaders are retaliating against her for referring the cases to CID. Human resource records show that Braley Franck was confronted in May 2019 about various alleged infractions, including improperly contacting the 416ths commanding general, Miyako Schanley, directly to obtain an office; taking on co-ordinator duties and wearing skirts that were too short. Braley Franck said she was trying to obtain an office where she could lock up victim files and that she wasnt acting as a co-ordinator, but was providing advocacy because she was the only one who could since the 416th had no co-ordinator when she arrived. She also denied that she wore skirts that were too short. Other documents show that Braley Franck took a call days before her suspension from a private concerned that she was being sent to the range for a live-fire exercise alongside the subject of her sexual harassment complaint and she feared for her safety. According to a memorandum from another victim advocate who listened in on the call, Braley Franck called the new sexual assault co-ordinator, Regina Taylor, about the situation. Taylor responded Hmm hmm, well, I guess we will just wait and see and hope for the best and hung up. Federal law and DOD regulations say supervisors in a victims chain of command are required to protect the victim from retaliation and maltreatment. Proseus, the 416ths spokesman, didnt respond to an email seeking comment from Taylor. ___ Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter: https://twitter.com/trichmond1 The Trump administrations point person for South and Central Asia, Alice G Wells, will visit India next week for a series of bilateral meetings and the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi, officials here said. Wells will travel to India, from January 15-18, to attend the Raisina Dialogue, the State Department said and added that she will be in Islamabad from January 19-22. Before coming to India, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs will be in Sri Lanka capital Colombo from January 13 to January 14. Wells will meet with senior government officials to advance the US-India strategic global partnership following the success of the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue last month, the department said. During the meetings she will discuss topics of mutual interest with members of the business community and civil society, it said. From New Delhi, Wells will fly to Islamabad. During her trip from January 19-22, she will meet with senior Pakistan government officials and members of civil society to discuss issues of bilateral and regional concern, the department said. Wells is scheduled to start her South Asia trip from Sri Lanka. She will be in Colombo January 13-14. During her meetings she would meet with senior government officials and members of civil society to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues, including shared interests in a free and open Indo-Pacific region that fosters prosperity, democracy, justice, and human rights, the department said. A border fence is seen near the Rio Grande which marks the boundary between Mexico and the United States in Eagle Pass, Tex., on Feb 9, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) South Texas Private Border Wall Construction Project Can Proceed, Federal Judge Rules A federal judge ruled on Thursday that a privately-funded U.S.-Mexico border wall construction project in south Texas can proceed. Southern District of Texas Judge Randy Crane lifted a temporary restraining order that he issued on Dec. 5 after the U.S. government sued to stop the construction project. He also denied a separate request for a restraining order in a separate lawsuit filed by the National Butterfly Center against the builders. The project seeks to build a border wall in the Rio Grande Valley that would involve about 3 miles of steel posts that would be about 35 feet from the Rio Grande river, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. The steel posts would go on private property, with a concrete road behind them intended for law enforcement. Fisher Industries, a construction firm based in North Dakota, is funding the project which is estimated to cost about $42 million. The U.S. government (the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas) sued Fisher Industries on behalf of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to stop the project. The joint U.S.-Mexican commission said that the walls construction may cause an obstruction or deflection of the flood and river flows of the Rio Grand River such that it could violate a 1970 treaty between the United States and Mexico (pdf). The treaty requires that structures cannot disrupt the flow of the rivers, according to the IBWC, which ensures compliance with the international water treaty. Crane ruled on Thursday that the U.S. government failed to show that the walls construction could change the course of Rio Grande and violate the treaty. The National Butterfly Center (the NBC)a nonprofit 100-acre wild butterfly habitat located next to the private south Texas construction sitefiled a separate lawsuit against the builders. According to The Associated Press (the AP), the butterfly center and environmentalists warned that having a border wall so close to the river could worsen erosion and damage other lands. Crane on Thursday declined to grant a restraining order that the NBC requested against the project. The judge ruled that both the U.S. government and the Butterfly Association failed to show the burden of proof required in this case to continue to halt construction, according to Border Report. The judge said that the plaintiffs failed to show there would be irreparable injury if the temporary restraining order was lifted, reported the outlet. The court finds based on all of that evidence any potential injury to be highly speculative, Crane added. Tommy Fisher (R) talks with Sen. Kevin Cramer, (R-N.D.), at the lawmakers office in Washington on Jan. 30, 2019. (Sen. Kevin Cramers office via AP, File) Fisher said after the hearing on Thursday that his work crews were ready to start working on Sunday and could install all of the steel posts in a week. We look forward to showing the whole entire world that you can have border protection where you need it, Fisher said, reported the AP. Fisher said he would continue to work with the IBWC, according to Border Report. Were an open book. We want all of America to see what border security can be, he added. If I didnt believe in this so strongly I wouldnt have taken a $40 million gamble on this. He also told the outlet that once the project is complete, he hopes to sell the border wall back to the U.S. government for their use, adding that he aims to sell it for $14 million for the strip, or $16.5 million including 10 years maintenance on the property. Fisher Industries, Fisher Sand and Gravel Co., and TGR Constructiona wholly-owned subsidiary of Fisher Sand and Gravel Co.were named in both lawsuits, according to the Monitor. Both lawsuits also listed the sites property owner, Neuhaus & Sons, as well as the nonprofit fundraising organization, We Build The Wall, and its president, Brian Kolfage, as defendants. However, Kolfage and We Build the Wall were dropped from the U.S. governments lawsuit earlier on, although they remain named defendants in the NBC suit. Cranes Thursday ruling was the second federal ruling in two days in favor of border barriers. On Wednesday, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower courts stay that had blocked the Trump administration from diverting $3.6 billion from military construction projects to fund 175 miles of border wall. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to visit the Middle East notwithstanding the crisis in the region following the death of Irans top military commander. Abe will be on a five-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, starting January 11. Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the leaders will exchange their views to help avoid further escalation in the region. The island country is also expected to deploy warship and reconnaissance aircraft to protect its maritime interest in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Abes scheduled visit was doubtful after Iran attacked two military bases of Iraq that housed US troops. In this visit, as the situation in the Middle East increases in tension, we will exchange views with the three countries that will play an important role in mitigating regional tensions and stabilizing the situation as part of diplomatic efforts to avoid further escalation of the situation, said Suga. Read: As Iran And US Take Step Back From The Brink, Canada Grieves Mixed signals from Iran Iran has been giving mixed signals after US President Donald Trump called for peace in the region claiming no American lives were lost in the attack. Iran envoy to the UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi, had said that Trump administration is reluctant to hold dialogue. Ravanchi claimed that though the US President has offered cooperation, the administration is going to intensify the sanctions on Iran. Read: Iran Responds To Trudeau, Asks For Canadian Intelligence Report Meanwhile, Irans military commander announced that the missile strikes on US bases were the start of a major operation that will continue throughout the region. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, aerospace commander of Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that Iran sought to hit the enemys military equipment and not kill anyone. In a televised press briefing, Hajizadeh said that they are expecting a response from the United States following the missile strikes. The aerospace commander added that Irans response would be heavier with increased scop if the US chooses to retaliate. He claimed that Iran was ready to fire around a hundred missiles but chose to fire only thirteen. Read: Iran Quashes Claims Of Missile Hitting Ukrainian Plane, Flags It Off As Illogical Rumours Read: Donald Trump Has 'suspicions' Over Crash Amid Reports Iran Downed Plane (With inputs from agencies) Motion Industries Names Chris Pacer to Vice President - Central Group Chris Pacer Jan. 9, 2020 - Motion Industries has named Chris Pacer to Vice President of the Company's Central Group, effective January 1, 2020. A graduate of the University of Toledo with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Technology (Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 1994), Pacer has more than 24 years of experience within the industry. He has spent the last 22 years with Motion Industries, which were dedicated to various key roles throughout the organization. He will now lead the Company's newly formed Central Group. Pacer joined Motion Industries as a certified Fluid Power Specialist in 1997, working his way up to Branch Manager throughout the various markets within Northern Ohio. He then joined the company's Corporate Accounts Team in 2011, before being promoted to his latest position of Detroit Division Vice President and General Manager in 2014. In that role, Pacer was responsible for the further development and overall growth of 22 branch operations and one service center, creating a positive experience for customers through a multi-faceted approach to strategic value. Pacer will report to Mark Stoneburner, Motion Industries Senior Vice President Eastern Sales & Branch Operations, Mergers & Acquisitions. "Chris's experience and drive will provide the perfect foundation for his next challenge of leading the Central Group to success," said Stoneburner. "The promotion is well-deserved and we are excited to see him start this new decade in a new leadership role." Motion Industries President, Randy Breaux, said, "I'm very proud of Chris and his accomplishments to date. Over the years, Chris's acumen for the business, dedication to success, and persistent drive for superior customer service makes him the right person to fill this leadership role. I look forward to seeing accelerated growth and success for the Central Group under his direction." With annual sales of $6.3 billion, Motion Industries is a leading industrial parts distributor of bearings, mechanical power transmission, electrical and industrial automation, hydraulic and industrial hose, hydraulic and pneumatic components, industrial products, safety products, and material handling. To learn more, visit: www.MotionIndustries.com . SOURCE: Motion Industries, Inc. Japan News-Yomiuri Stand-alone photo: Self-Defense Forces members in Sapporo, Japan, on Thursday help prepare for the Sapporo Snow Festival. A lower amount of snowfall ahead of the start of the festival on Jan. 31 has snow-laden trucks rushing to Odori Park in Sapporo. There will be about 3,000 10-ton truckloads of snow arriving. December's amount of snow at 22 observation points in Hokkaido reached just 48% of the usual figure, marking the lowest on record since 1961 when these statistics started to be kept. Global oil markets will remain well supplied this year, with a possible overhang of some 1 million bpd, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Bitol, told Reuters. Non-OPEC production is very strong. We still expect production coming from, not just United States, but also Norway, Canada, Guyana, among other countries, Birol said, adding Therefore, I can tell you that the markets are, in my view, very well supplied with oil, and as a result of that, we see prices remain at $65 a barrel. Norway is about to experience a sharp jump in oil production in the next four years, a new forecast from its Petroleum Directorate has shown. After a steady decline over several years, production is set for a 43-percent increase between 2019 and 2024, the NPD said, reaching 2.02 million bpd in 2024. This will be thanks to the start of production at the Johan Sverdrup offshore field along with several smaller fields. In Guyana, Exxon has just begun production from the Liza-1 well. Daily output from the deepwater field should reach 120,000 bpd before the end of 2020. Exxon is also building a second production vessel that should raise the total to 220,000 bpd. In Canada, meanwhile, oil production is also set to grow despite a government-imposed curtailment aimed at supporting prices. The curtailment was relaxed twice in 2019 and it only concerns large producers, allowing smaller ones to pump as much as they can sell. Based on this, the Canadian Conference Board recently forecast oil production in the country will be growing at 4.2 percent annually between this year and 2024. Demand growth, however, will be slow, according to Birol. We are expecting a demand growth of slightly higher than 1 million barrels per day, the top IEA man told Reuters. This means that except sudden spikes in prices due to geopolitical factors or possible production outages in a major producer, oil prices this year will remain largely range-bound. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Nancy Pelosi announced Friday she will bring to the House floor next week a resolution to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate so Donald Trump's trial can begin. The move comes after the speaker faced increasing pressure from her party to allow the president's trial to begin and signals an end to her three-week standoff with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. 'About time,' McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill in response. Pelosi gave no indication of what date the vote would occur and told her Democratic lawmakers she would consult them on next steps at their weekly party meeting on Tuesday. 'I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate. I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further,' Pelosi wrote in a 'Dear Colleague' letter. But her announcement indicates the Senate will have the articles by the end of next week, meaning the upper chamber could begin President Trump's trial shortly thereafter, perhaps even late next week. The Davos World Economic Forum begins the week of January 20th and President Trump is expected to attend. Pressure has increased on the speaker to send over the two articles - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress - so the Senate can begin proceedings on the president. Even some Democratic senators have said it is time. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she will bring to the House floor next week a resolution to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate President Trump's Senate trial cannot begin until the articles are transmitted Pelosi said on Thursday she would send the articles 'soon.' 'We need to see the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?' she said, complaining about a lack of transparency on McConnell's part. 'I'm not withholding them indefinitely. I'll send them over when I'm ready, and that will probably be soon,' she said Thursday at a press conference on Capitol Hill. The Senate has been in waiting mode as it can't formally begin its trial until the impeachment articles are transmitted. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, a prominent Trump ally on Capitol Hill, proposed legislation on Monday that would let the Senate begin the trial even without the articles if Pelosi waits longer than 25 days to send them. McConnell has signed on to that measure - another move that will increase pressure on Speaker Pelosi. After she announced the upcoming House vote on the articles, Pelosi slammed McConnell for signing onto Hawley's resolution. 'By joining a resolution to dismiss, Sen. McConnell showed his true colors. Americans have now seen what is at stake in a fair trial with witnesses & evidence, and new evidence has emerged. Every Senator will have to vote: is their loyalty is to the President or the Constitution?,' she wrote on Twitter. In addition to voting to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, the House will also vote on the prosecutors who will present the Democrats case to the upper chamber. Pelosi will appoint those lawmakers - who are known as 'managers' - but they must be approved by the House, which is expected to happen in the Democratically controlled chamber. The speaker has given no indication of who she is thinking of appointing but Nadler and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff are expected to be on the list along with a slate of diverse lawmakers. The hold up has been on calling additional witnesses. 'Senate Democrats are ready for the trial to begin and will do everything we can to see that the truth comes out,' Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Friday afternoon. Mitch McConnell has urged Speaker Pelosi to transmit the articles McConnell wants a speedy trial with no additional witnesses. Senate Democrats want to call four more and Pelosi was holding onto the articles in part to give her party a boost in negotiating how the proceedings would take place. Pelosi again called for additional witnesses in her letter on Friday. 'The American people have clearly expressed their view that we should have a fair trial with witnesses and documents, with more than 70 percent of the public stating that the President should allow his top aides to testify. Clearly, Leader McConnell does not want to present witnesses and documents to Senators and the American people so they can make an independent judgment about the Presidents actions,' she wrote. It's been 23 days since the House approved the two articles of impeachment against the president. 'We're going to have to do something or we could be here on day 200 or day 400,' Hawley told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. 'I mean, really, there's no end in sight.' Some Democratic senators have urged Pelosi to send the articles and Schumer suggested the speaker should transmit the articles to the Senate. 'The speaker has said all along she wanted to see the arena in which she was playing when it came to a trial so she could appoint impeachment managers. Now it's becoming clear that Mitch McConnell wants to do everything he can to avoid a fair trial so she has some idea of what's happening,' he said Tuesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she'll transmit the articles soon Schumer also praised Pelosi for with holding them over the holidays. 'By not sending the articles immediately she has already accomplished two things,' he added. 'One, Mitch McConnell could not do what some thought he might want to do: right before or after Christmas just dismiss. And second in two weeks there's been a cascade of evidence that bolsters the case strongly bolsters the case for witnesses and documents. So now we have a greater feel for where we're headed and Speaker Pelosi I have great confidence in the decision she will make. But she's accomplished a great deal already.' Schumer wants to hear from four additional witnesses, including acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former National Security Adviser John Bolton. But Trump suggested on Thursday the White House would continue to block Bolton or others from testifying. 'When we start allowing national security advisers to just go up and say whatever they want to say, we can't do that,' the president said. 'So we have to protect presidential privilege for me, but for future presidents. That's very important.' Bolton said this week that he would testify if subpoenaed. McConnell, however, announced that he has the votes from Republican senators to begin Trump's impeachment trial with no witnesses. 'We have the votes, once the impeachment trial has begun, to pass a resolution essentially the same, very similar to the 100-0 vote in the Clinton trial,' McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, announced after having lunch with the members of his party. The pronouncement doesn't preclude witnesses from being called during the trial. It simply means senators will vote on the matter further down the road after opening arguments have been heard. House Democrats charged President Trump with withholding nearly $400 million in U.S. military aid to Ukraine in exchange for promises from officials there to investigate his political rivals, Joe and Hunter Biden. Trump denies the charges and Republicans point out the money has been sent to the Ukraine. Democrats counter it was sent only after a whistleblower revealed the contents of a call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump said his call was 'perfect.' TROY - The theft of a pair of underwear in Brooklyn led to the second-degree murder arraignment of a third suspect in the slaying of a woman in Lansingburgh last year, police said Friday. Isaiah Williams, 21, was arrested Thursday by New York City police after he was caught stealing the clothes Wednesday at a Macy's in Brooklyn, police said. When Williams was arrested, police said he lied about his identity, but his fingerprints revealed his true identity and that he was wanted on a warrant for his alleged role in the early morning killing on Sept. 17 of 19-year-old Beyonce Wint. Initially, Troy police said, they could find no links locally to Wint, but in December, after a months-long investigation, they arrested two people and launched a hunt for Williams. Police said it took more than eight hours just to identify Wint after she was found dead in a Lansingburgh street. Defense attorney Shane Hug entered a not guilty plea for Williams, who stared down at the defense table during his entire court appearance. Williams did not speak and never looked up at Judge Jennifer Sober of Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Hauf. The charge come from the opening of a sealed indictment. Sober sent Williams to the Rensselaer County Jail where he had been taken after he was arrested and brought up Thursday from New York City. Williams is being held without bail. Under the new bail law, Hug had asked unsuccessfully that Williams, who is unemployed with no family, be placed under electronic monitoring and released. Police considered this a tough crime to investigate as the victim and the three people charged in her homicide, didn't have any ties to Troy. Idelisse N. Armstead, 24, of Brooklyn, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder during her Dec. 18 arraignment. Armstead, who is also known as "Vicious" or as "Princess," was the first of the three suspects to be arraigned on a sealed indictment that was opened in court. Armstead was jailed without bail. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. At the same time last month, another suspect, Antwaun Twitty, 30, of Burlington, Vt., was brought to the county from Boston where he was being held in jail, police said. Twitty was arrested there after he arrived on a flight from Los Angeles, where he had been working as an extra in a movie. Twitty also was jailed in lieu of bail. Wint was killed outside 432 Fourth Ave. at about 3 a.m., prosecutors said. Wint's body was found lying in Fourth Avenue just south of 111th Street and she'd been shot once in the head. Wint had lived in Manhattan and Queens but Troy police said she had no previous ties to the region beyond spending the last few days of her life in Albany, Troy, and Burlington. Police said that Wint was chased by her pursuers before the bullets were fired and she was fatally struck. Thousands have rallied in Australia's major cities to call for movement on weather alternate and condemning the authorities' approach to the ongoing bushfire crisis. The Sack ScoMo protests, organized by Uni Students for Climate Justice, were held in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne - the protest places where even the rain did little to dampen the mood of the large crowd. The "Sack ScoMo" protests went in Victoria as well, regardless of Premier Daniel Andrews and Vic Police being involved that the police might pull government away from the bushfires to help with crowd control. A sea of umbrellas could be seen along the stairs of Victoria's State Library, and protesters spilled across Swanston Street and closer to Melbourne Central Station. Placards held by protesters read, "We deserve more than your negligence," "This is environment collapse," and "We can not breathe." Protesters told news.com.au they have been pleased with the results. The people also went out to rally regardless of the weather. Other Australians gathered outdoor Sydney Town Hall to listen to the speakers. The situation, one young woman noted, shows that people really care about the purpose and are tired of waiting for action. Uni Students for Climate Justice wrote on Facebook they want to "make the climate criminals pay" and "maintain up the pressure" to the Australian government. It comes as NSW authorities warn of a "lengthy night" with almost a dozen fires flaring up throughout the state. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he disagrees with the authorities on quite a several different factors that they had to make. He said the government has lost various diverse fair-minded Victorians who believe in climate change when they protest. The impeccably named #SackScoMo protests are the latest way Australians are hoping, begging Prime Minister Scott Morrison to get off definitely. The protesters are also paying tribute to all firefighters for "genuine relief and help for affected communities." They're also seeking an "immediate rapid transition away from fossil fuels." Mr Morrison this week had announced an initial $2 billion fund for bushfire surpassed after an immediate payment of $60 million was made to council areas affected by the fires. He has flagged a royal commission and says any country wide inquiry into the bushfires disaster would need to observe the effect of climate change. While acknowledging there was an urge to study the effects of climate change, Morisson said he would not consider a stronger comittment to carbon emission reductions. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said everything else was playing out as forecast with the hot and windy conditions on Friday aside from the two new fires. However, she told the communities to remain vigilant. Berejiklian said it's going to be a "long, difficult night" as everyone could not estimate the extent of the impact of these fires until early Saturday morning. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 22:00:27|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army said on Friday that 14 soldiers were injured in the clashes a day earlier with protesters who closed roads in a town north of Tripoli against increased power rationing, the National News Agency reported. The soldiers were injured by stones and petrol bombs protesters threw at them. Around eight were arrested for attacking the army and the judiciary bodies are investigating the case. Lack of electricity in Lebanon has been a problem for many years, as the government is incapable of generating the needed amount of power. Successive governments failed over the years to build power stations to solve the electricity problem in Lebanon. A federal judge in Florida has ordered Mrs. Florida 2016 to spend a month in jail for stealing her mother's Social Security checks rather than using the money to pay for nursing home care. Karyn Turk, 47, was also sentenced on Thursday to five months of house arrest when she gets out of prison, and must perform 100 hours of community service in a nursing home, the Palm Beach Post reported. Turk's adoptive mother died in June at the age of 83, after suffering Alzheimer's and dementia. A court-appointed guardian accused Turk of using her mother's Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Palm Beach' and to garner publicity. The guardian accused Turk of using the money to rent large homes and buying tables at fancy equestrian events. Mrs. Florida 2016 Karyn Turk, 47, was sentenced to jail time and house arrest for stealing her mother's Social Security checks Turk is seen with her adoptive mother, Ilse Schafer, who died in June at the age of 83 Turk is a conservative commentator who is often pictured with Republican figures in Palm Beach, such as this 2018 photo with President Donald Trump In a Facebook post on Friday, Turk defended herself, writing: 'Look beyond the headlines. There's always more to the story. Nursing home neglect is real. The elderly in America are not well cared for in many nursing homes.' Last month, Turk filed a lawsuit against the Lake Worth nursing home where her mother lived, alleging improper care that contributed to the mother's death. Turk, a conservative social media commentator who lives in Highland Beach, must report to prison on March 2. She and her lawyers sought to convince the judge that she's suffered enough and didn't deserve prison or house arrest. Attorney David Tarras said that since Turk pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of Social Security fraud, she's been harassed on social media. In addition, Turk, who was named champion of the year by teen mentoring group Best Buddies in 2019, has lost her position on various philanthropic groups. Turk poses with Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani at an event last February Turk and Don Trump Jr strike a pose in 2018. She was accused of her mother's Social Security checks to promote her dream of appearing on 'The Real Housewives of Palm Beach' Turk is a conservative media commentator and her attorney told the judge her career is dead without the ability to hob-nob in the community, travel to interview celebrities for YouTube broadcasts and to host fundraisers. 'Her livelihood is based on networking and being a social media commentator,' Tarras said. She brought a check for $46,000 to court to reimburse the government, the attorney told the judge, adding that should be enough. But U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart disagreed. He said that even though Turk had apparently led an otherwise law-abiding life, her crime was a serious one, and she couldn't 'buy her way out of jail' by writing a check. 'Choices in life have consequences, I'm sorry to tell you,' the judge said. 'If you steal from the government, you're not going to have a reputation as an honest person.' The judge said that as a social media commentator with a large following, Turk is well-placed to send an important message to others. 'The message I'm sending is: You can't steal from the government and not go to jail.' Turk and Roger Stone are seen at an October 2018 event. She is a staunch supporter of the former Trump campaign advisor, who awaits sentencing on federal convictions The decision was welcomed by about six employees at the Finnish American Rest Home who cared for Turk's 83-year-old mother. She suffered from Alzheimer's and died in July. 'Resident exploitation is a serious crime and I'm glad he recognized that,' Daniel Benson, executive director of the 45-bed home, told the newspaper. Palm Beach County Sheriff's detective Vaughn Mitchell said Turk used the money from her mother's Social Security, Veteran's Administration and pension checks on shopping sprees, dinners and a nanny to watch her children rather than covering $219,000 in nursing home bills. Some of the expenses could have been covered by Medicare if Turk had filled out the necessary paperwork. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Rabinowitz said Turk refused despite constant requests. The nursing home went to court to force her to pay. A Palm Beach County circuit court judge ordered Turk in August 2018 to pay $250 a month to defray the costs, but she didn't do it, Rabinowitz said. Attorney Guy Fronstin, who also represents Turk, said they plan to appeal the decision and ask that Turk not be required to report to prison until the appeal is decided. Mumbai/Delhi, Jan 10 : India's largest full-service law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as the legal counsel to Softbank Vision Fund on a primary investment of $200 million in the Series G funding round of One97 Communications Limited (One97). One97 is the parent company of Indian digital payments leader Paytm. The payment platform is currently serving merchants in over 2,000 towns and cities spanning across 650 districts in India. With this investment, the company hopes to bring low-cost mobile enabled financial services to rural India. One97 raised $1 billion in this round, which also saw participation from Alibaba Group (Alipay and Ant Financial), T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc and Discovery Capital. Other advisors involved in the transaction include Morrison & Foerster LLP. The transaction was done on December 17, 2019. The Border Security Force (BSF) now has another, rather difficult job --of taking care of thousands of apprehended cattle who have no takers, said a senior official who didnt want to be named. As a result, thousands of cattle being smuggled to Bangladesh but caught along the Indo-Bangla border have ended up being housed in the Border Outpost (BoP) of the BSF. A few months ago there were as many as 37,000 cattle that were being taken care of the BSF, the official said and added, we have raised the issue with the ministry of home affairs. The current count of feral cattle left in the BoP, however, is much lower. There are around 2,100 cattle with us now, a second senior official who didnt want to be named said much of the stranded cattle are in BoPs along the Assam- Bangladesh and West Bengal-Bangladesh border. The preventive wing of the Customs in a letter dated 1 November 2018, cited a Supreme Court order which said cattle needed to auctioned according to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of care property Animals) Rules of 2017. The Custom isnt empowered under the PCA rules and therefore they refused to take responsibility. The Customs further requested that seized cattle be handed to the local police who are empowered under to carry out auction. The local police often refuse to take responsibility for the seized cattle without custody of the people responsible for smuggling. A few non-governmental organisations have come forward, the BSF is forced to depend on the local villagers to source fodder, medicines etc for cattle. The BSF is doing the maximum it can, but one cannot deny that cattle in our care is a distraction and stretches the force, the second official said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. San Francisco, 10 January 2020: The Report Application Delivery Controller (ADC) Market Analysis By Deployment (Hardware-Based, Virtual), By Enterprise Size (Small & Medium Enterprise, Large Enterprise), By End-Use (IT & Telecom, BFSI, Government, Healthcare, Retail) And Segment Forecasts To 2024 The global application delivery controller (ADC) market is expected to reach USD 4.34 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The application delivery controller market is anticipated to witness a high growth over the forecast period. This may be accredited to the increasing globalization and distributed enterprise architecture, which requires networks that can deliver their business-critical applications faster, thereby ensuring security. The increase in the data center traffic and the growing ADC popularity, particularly in the consolidated data center segment, are expected to be the major factors spurring the ADC market growth over the forecast period. The increasing adoption of the BYOD phenomenon has led to the widespread usage of tablets and smartphones particularly in large organizations as it significantly increases the scope and span of enterprises. This, in turn, has resulted in a rise in the ADC demand in order to balance and maintain the server load. In addition, emerging technologies, such as software-defined storage (SDS) and software-defined networking (SDN), are also anticipated to spur the ADC market growth over the coming years. Access Research Report of Application Delivery Controller (ADC) Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/application-delivery-controller-market Further key findings from the report suggest: The virtual segment captured over 30% of the total revenue share in 2015 and is anticipated to exhibit growth exceeding 5.0% from 2016 to 2024. This can be attributed to the improved IT agility, performance, and cost benefits offered by them over the hardware-based ADCs as well as the increasing cloud-based data center traffic. The small & medium enterprise (SME) segment is expected to gain prominence over the forecast period exceeding a compound annual growth rate of 5% from 2016 to 2024. This is ascribed to the increasing adoption of web-enabled services and web-based apps for running their business as well as to the proliferation of internet-enabled devices. The IT & telecom segment accounted for a significant revenue share in 2015 capturing over 25% of the overall revenue share in the same year. The segment is expected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 5.5% from 2016 to 2024. This is majorly due to the integration of ADCs into enterprise IT systems to enhance efficiency. Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the fastest growing segment accounting for more than 20% of the overall share in 2015. This growth is due to increasing investments in the IT infrastructure, primarily in China and India. Furthermore, the rising demand in this region can be ascribed to the high market penetration, owing to the webification of organizational applications along with the growing ADC application in server firewalls and network security systems. The key application delivery controller market purveyors comprise F5 Networks Inc., Citrix Systems, A10 Networks Inc., Array Networks, Inc., and Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. Companies, with their extensive distribution channels and worldwide presence, lay emphasis on adopting the best practices for developing solutions to achieve competitive advantage in this industry. Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/network-security-software-and-services Grand View Research has segmented the application delivery controller market on the basis of deployment, enterprise size, end-use, and region: Application Delivery Controller Deployment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024) Hardware-based ADCs Virtual ADCs Application Delivery Controller Enterprise Size Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024) Small & Medium Enterprise Large Enterprise Application Delivery Controller End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024) IT & Telecom BFSI Government Healthcare Retail Others Application Delivery Controller Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America MEA Access Press Release of Application Delivery Controller (ADC) Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-application-delivery-controller-market About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. For More Information: www.grandviewresearch.com Is Israel ready for a new political model? Is the divided, torn Jewish state, split by internal and external disputes, able to forge a model of two political blocs similar to the one of the US Republican and Democratic parties? Probably not, but that did not prevent the idea from germinating and taking over the political agenda and discourse of the past week. It was orchestrated by two people: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the right, and Labor-Gesher party Chair Amir Peretz, on the left. Peretz went first, presenting what he dubbed the Peretz road map for defeating Benjamin Netanyahu in a Jan. 7 Channel 12 TV interview. The idea is quite simple, Peretz said. Rather than trying to unite the small Labor and Meretz parties (known in their current incarnations as Labor-Gesher and the Democratic Camp), all the forces on the left and in the center would be unified in one bloc comprised of Blue and White, Labor-Gesher and the Democratic Camp, he explained. Such a move is the only way to shatter the glass ceiling of Netanyahus hold on power, to imbue hope in voters that a political upset is feasible, to loosen the dependence on Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Libermans capricious whims and to form a political bloc that forestalls a Knesset majority for Netanyahus Likud and its allied parties. According to Peretz, such an alliance would garner 44 Knesset seats based on the current strength of its constituent parts, and would probably go up to 48 if united; a repeat of the 13-seat result achieved by the Arab Joint List in the September 2019 elections would bring the bloc to 61 seats of the Knessets 120 and bingo, preclude a Netanyahu-led majority and remove him from power. A day after Peretzs appearance, Netanyahu was reported to be examining a possible joint ticket with all the parties on the political right. No more strange, perverse, shifiting alliances between the HaBayit HaYehudi party led by Rabbi Rafi Peretz, the National Union party led by Bezalel Smotrich, the Otzma Yehudit party formed by disciples of arch-racist Rabbi Meir Kahane and led by radical right provocateur Itamar Ben-Gvir and the New Right of Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked. This intrinsic, cumbersome complexity afflicting the right-wing parties and their various splinter groups has resulted in a massive vote drain hundreds of thousands in the April 2019 elections and tens of thousands in the September 2019 voting for the bloc of parties that was supposed to save Netanyahu and protect him from criminal prosecution on charges of corruption. According to the leaked reports, Netanyahu is fed up. Why not just create one large Knesset list, a Republican-style party stretching from the farthest corners of the radical right all the way to the edges of the pragmatic right and political center? The answer to the question raised at the start of this article is negative. Chances of unifying all the components of Israels political right or of the center-left at this stage are zilch. Concerning the center-left camp: At a Jan. 8 meeting with Peretz, the chair of the Blue and White party ruled out any alliance with parties to its left. Blue and White, he explained, is not a left-wing party and it is seeking also inroads into the right of the political map, targeting a large reserve of so-called soft right voters that include veteran Likud supporters. A link with leftist politicians from the Meretz party and the left-wing flank of the Labor party was just not in the cards, Gantz told Peretz. An alliance of all the parties would be much smaller than the sum of its parts, he added, and would not contribute to Netanyahus ouster, on the contrary. Peretz himself is expected to walk away from his grand plan next week and drag his feet as long as possible in examining a possible merger with Meretz. Peretz, a former defense minister and one of Israels most experienced politicians, will have to give up his dream of drawing new voters from the right and the geographic periphery (from where he hails and which he had hoped to mine for support through his alliance with another outlier, the Gesher party of Orly Levy-Abekasis). He will have to make do with a lot less: to hook up Labor with Meretz in order to ensure that both are elected to the Knesset in the March 2 elections and neither fails to cross the electoral threshold. Amir is not stupid, one of the people closest to Peretz told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. He knows that if Meretz fails to cross the threshold and the entire center-left bloc sinks, he will go down in history as the person who put the kibosh on the chance of a regime change in Israel. That will be his legacy. He will not allow Meretz to disappear and will do what he has to do in the final week. On Jan. 14, the final date for submitting the lists of party candidates for the upcoming elections, we will know whether Peretz has indeed delivered the goods and if these promises have any holding in reality. Things in the right-wing camp are even more complex. The strong emotions, internal rivalries, bloated egos and consistent failures that have created shifting splinter groups all far outweigh these parties electoral power. Chances of convincing Smotrich, Rabbi Peretz and Ben-Gvir to unite on one platform and to link this construction to the Likud are virtually nil. The right, unlike the left, is also awash in rabbis, each with his own following, beliefs and hatreds, each faction more radical than the next; only a higher power or cosmic event can bind them into one harmonious whole. Netanyahu is now considering ways to create such a cosmic event and to move ahead with the election campaign, but the prospects are poor. The overriding question is whether the in-depth polls he has commissioned for the coming two days will indicate that a right-wing ticket can yield the desired results: 45 Knesset seats. That, along with the 16 seats that the ultra-Orthodox parties are expected to get would hand Netanyahu the 61-seat majority he needs to assume final and total control of the State of Israel, its institutions, law enforcement authorities and all other systems and agencies. Cautious assessments suggest that just as is the case on the left, so unification on the right would distance more voters than it would attract. The moderates would be scared by the racists, and the radicals by the moderates. The driving force behind the process described in this article is the electoral threshold, which was raised in March 2014 to 3.25% (from 2%) and prevents parties that get less than the equivalent of four Knesset seats from being elected to the Knesset. If Israel is truly interested in electoral reform of its ungovernable political system, it must raise the threshold once more, up to 5%, and perhaps even more. Such a move would force the smaller parties and their splinters to unify, leading to an almost utopian reality of two major blocs, one on the right and the other on the center-left, and two minority blocs one of the ultra-Orthodox parties and the other of the Arab ones. Such a constellation would still provide the right with a significant advantage given that voters consider a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties legitimate, whereas a coalition with the Arab parties, some of whose representatives reject Israels identity as a Jewish state, is still considered a radioactive taboo electorally annihilating anyone who tries it. Either way, the fate of Israels third elections within less than a year will be determined in the coming days by the alliances that will or will not be forged on the right and the left. The side achieving the most skillful mergers and thereby preventing the waste of fewer votes cast for parties that fail to get elected will have a distinct advantage over the other. Netanyahu is deeply invested in this move and engaged in it around the clock. Benny Gantz is signaling relative equanimity. He is relying on Peretz to do the right thing at the last minute and agree to run jointly with Meretz. The remaining question is whether Peretz relies on himself. Last month, ECOs Timothy Card and Dustin Osborne rescued an injured bald eagle on New Years Eve from the shore of Schenevus Creek in Schenevus, Otsego County. They transported the eagle to a wildlife rehabilitator in Greene County. That incident and others reported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police Officers occurred between Dec. 10 to 31st. All specifics below were supplied by the DEC. Deer Taken Over Bait Ulster County On Dec. 10, Robert Nelson of Esopus paid $605 in fines and surcharges to the Town of Esopus Court related to the illegal taking of a deer and using bait during his hunt. ECO Jeannette Bastedo received a tip on Nov. 6, that an individual took a deer the prior day in an area known to be baited in past hunting seasons. ECO Bastedo responded to the area and located a pile of feed approximately 15 yards from a tree stand, as well as a blood trail that started less than four feet from the bait pile. The ECO followed the blood trail, found a pair of gloves left in the woods, and collected the gloves for DNA purposes. Armed with this evidence, ECO Bastedo and ECO Lucas Palmateer interviewed Mr. Nelson about his hunt on Nov. 5. At first, the subject told the officers that he didnt know the bait was there until he was dragging the deer out. Eventually, he admitted he had placed the bait in the area approximately one week before his hunt in order to attract deer. Nelson was charged with the misdemeanor of illegally taking a deer and a violation of hunting with the aid of bait. After reaching a civil compromise, he was ordered to pay fines. The deer was seized and donated. Illegal Hunting in the Big City - Richmond County On Dec. 12, ECO Michael Wozniak responded to a complaint of a deer running through a wooded park in Staten Island with an orange arrow sticking out of its neck. ECO Wozniak picked up a blood trail and began tracking the injured deer. Due to inclement weather, the officer discontinued the search. The ECO later spotted an individual acting suspiciously near where the injured deer was last seen. After questioning, the individual provided ECO Wozniak with a home address, but the wrong identification. ECO Wozniak, with assistance from ECO Ryan Grogan, went to the address and continued questioning the man, who was later identified as John Anderson of Staten Island. In a written statement, Anderson confessed to shooting the deer while target shooting with his recurve bow. The ECOs seized both the bow and additional arrows from the home for evidence. Anderson was issued a notice of violation for hunting big game without a hunting license and for taking antlerless deer in a closed area without a permit. The subject paid a $1,000 penalty, with an additional $1,000 suspended penalty in the event he does not violate any further state Environmental Conservation Laws in a two-year period. Pennsylvania Man Burns Demolished Buildings Ulster County On Dec. 14, ECO Jeannette Bastedo responded to a complaint of an illegal open burn in the town of Hurley. Upon arrival, the ECO met with the Hurley Fire Chief and New York State Police. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., also responded because the fire was near electric lines and the utility needed to cut power to the property. The joint investigation determined that someone intentionally set fire to portions of a demolished building on the property to dispose of the building. Further investigation revealed that other buildings on the property were also being demolished and possibly burned. Pennsylvania resident Kenneth Coulter was charged with prohibited open burn of non-exempt materials and illegal disposal of solid waste. Coulter was immediately arraigned in the Town of Hurley Court and offered a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to two lower violations of the state Environmental Conservation Law and was fined $1,600. Shop with a Cop Dutchess County On Dec.14, ECO Chloe Swansen joined other state and local police agencies in the Shop with a Cop Christmas event hosted by radio station WRRV at the Poughkeepsie Galleria in Dutchess County. During the event, participating children are paired with an officer and given a gift card to spend at any store in the Galleria. The children were nominated anonymously through the radio station. ECO Swansen was paired with a young boy named Calvin who loves being outdoors. Calvin chose a camping tent, a nerf gun almost as long as he is tall, and a dinosaur mask that roars when the mouth opens. The children also got a surprise visit from Santa Claus. All gift cards were funded through donations and fundraisers. Dumping Caught on Camera - Queens County After receiving multiple complaints of solid waste dumped in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Queens County, ECO Jeffrey Johnston and Environmental Conservation Investigator Sara Komonchak set up a DEC Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation (BECI) trail camera near the dump sites. After a few days, ECOs observed a large pile of garbage bags in the vicinity of the trail cam. After reviewing the pictures, a white pickup truck without a visible license plate was pictured along with a suspect dumping the waste. ECO Johnston went through the trash pile for further evidence and discovered the same address on multiple pieces of trash. Further investigation revealed that a company was hired to remove trash after a home eviction. When questioned, the trash removal company produced a forged receipt claiming the waste was dumped at a licensed solid waste management facility. After interviewing the suspect, Kennard Codrington of Jamaica, Queens County, and presenting him with the original receipt and multiple photographs of him discarding the waste, he admitted to illegally disposing of the solid waste in the refuge. Codrington was issued a New York City summons for unlawful disposal of solid waste returnable to Queens County Criminal Court. He appeared on Dec. 17, was found guilty, and paid an $875 fine. Joint Detail with New Jersey - Marine District On Dec. 28, DEC Marine Enforcement Unit officers Waldemar Auguscinski and Paul Pansini, along with Richmond County ECOs Max Woyton and Shane Currey, worked an overnight commercial fishing detail in New York Harbor. Patrolling with New Jersey Conservation Officers, the joint detail boarded several commercial fishing vessels. The New Jersey officers issued two tickets to a commercial dredger for failure to have a valid dredging permit and dredging at night, which is illegal in New Jersey waters. READ MORE Winter bald eagle watch on Onondaga Lake: Will you see any this weekend? 51 bald eagles spotted at Onondaga Lakes southern end How to see wintering bald eagles on Onondaga Lake CNY deer hunter faces misdemeanor charges after passing motorist was shot in neck MONTREAL - Former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison Friday, wrapping up the last of the criminal cases brought against the engineering giant and its former employees involved in fraud and corruption in Libya. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL - Former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison Friday, wrapping up the last of the criminal cases brought against the engineering giant and its former employees involved in fraud and corruption in Libya. Bebawi was impassive as he was sentenced by Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer, who explained he was opting for a penalty closer to the top of the scale because of a number of aggravating factors in the case. Former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi, right, arrives for sentencing at the courthouse in Montreal on Friday, January 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes "Although bribery of foreign public officials is sometimes seen as a necessary step in obtaining contracts in some countries," Cournoyer said, that does not justify Bebawi's conduct. "All Canadian companies and their executives are required to comply with Canadian laws prohibiting the fraud and corruption of public officials," he continued. "Canada is a state of law. Its laws must be respected." The 73-year-old Bebawi had been defiant as he entered the courtroom for sentencing while pulling a carry-on suitcase. When a reporter yelled out whether other ex-managers from the engineering firm should be held to account and "fall on their swords," he replied "definitely." A jury last month found the former head of SNC-Lavalin's construction division guilty of paying kickbacks to foreign officials and pocketing millions as he worked to secure contracts for the company beginning in the late 1990s. The case centred on several major infrastructure projects and dealings with Saadi Gadhafi, a son of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The jury also heard Bebawi tried to pay off a subordinate to change his testimony so he could avoid prosecution himself. Cournoyer pointed to several factors, including the sophisticated nature of the fraud, the degree of planning and premeditation, and Bebawi's behaviour after the infractions had been committed. The federal prosecutors who brought the case to trial were satisfied with the sentence, saying it brought a message of deterrence and denunciation. Crown prosecutor Anne-Marie Manoukian called it an "embarrassment for Canadian companies to act in that kind of behaviour." "Our Canadian obligations with regards to our treaties and with regards to what is an infraction in Canada, that is not the way that business should be done," she said. The Crown had sought nine years behind bars after a jury convicted Bebawi last month of five charges including fraud, corruption of foreign officials and laundering proceeds of crime. "It is in fact very close to what we asked the court to impose," Manoukian said. "There were very many aggravating circumstances in this case and very few mitigating circumstances, as the judge stated." Bebawi's defence lawyers who did not address reporters after sentencing had countered with a suggestion of a six-year prison sentence, citing age and health as factors. Handcuffed and sitting in the prisoners' box after sentencing, Bebawi motioned reassuringly to family members in the courtroom. The case returns to the court on Jan. 28 to discuss what to do with the proceeds of crime. The sentence brings to an end a lengthy, federally led investigation and prosecution of the engineering firm and some of its employees. In the days following the Bebawi verdict, the Montreal engineering giant also settled criminal charges on its business dealings in Libya, with its construction division pleading guilty to a single count of fraud and agreeing to a $280-million fine to be paid over five years and a three-year probation order. The resolution brings the company closer to ending a long-standing scandal that tarnished its reputation and ensnared the highest office of the Canadian government in scandal for months. "It's nice to be able to close the chapter on a case that's been going on since 2011," Manoukian said. "To date, all the charges we have laid are all completed." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. South Africa: Friday rain dampens Australian bushfires Firefighters are continuing to battle out of control bushfires on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia (SA). Authorities on Thursday issued two emergency warnings for Kangaroo Island (KI) after fires that have been burning since December were exacerbated by catastrophic conditions. Rain on Friday morning delivered much-needed relief for firefighters after a night that Country Fire Service (CFS) Incident Controller Ian Tanner described as "brutal". "Essentially everybody that's here working on this fire, not only have they had a big day yesterday and done their best, but they've had disrupted sleep last night," said Tanner. Two people, a father and son, have died and more than a third of the island has burned in fires since December. Addressing the bushfire crisis that has devastated much of the island, Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly on Thursday called for forestry to be "forbidden" on the island going forward, describing the practice as "a categorical disaster". "These blue gum plantations and pine plantations have made it almost impossible to control fires when they come out of parks, because they just act like giant wicks that drag it through and then we can't get on top of them," he told News Corp Australia. "I want to see forestry written off the agenda on Kangaroo Island." More than 800 properties on the island were without electricity on Friday morning as the result of a fire-related outage. Grave fears are still held for the island's diverse wildlife. Approximately 25 000 koalas, half the island's population, are feared dead. Xinhua This story has been published on: 2020-01-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Another international social media influencer is selling nude photos to raise money for the Australian bushfires under the hashtag #boobsforbushfires. Canadian YouTube blogger and Instagram influencer Holly Wolf announced over her accounts on Wednesday that she would exchange a set of 30 topless photos for each donation of $10 or more. The donations are being collected through one of Ms Wolf's blogging channels and online service Patreon. Social media influencer Holly Wolf (pictured) announced over her platforms on Wednesday that she would be sending nude picture sets for donations of $10 or more The topless pictures will be sent to those who subscribe to the $10 'silver' package or higher. The idea was pioneered by an American Instagram model last week who has since raised more than $700,000 for Australian bushfire victims. Kaylen Ward offered to send a nude photo of herself for each $10 donation to an organisation assisting with battling the devastating blazes. Ms Wolf said in Wednesday's YouTube video that she had already raised $2000 through Patreon for the bushfire appeal in 24 hours. 'I want to raise as much money as possible,' she said. The Canadian took to Instagram and YouTube (pictured) to tell her fans about her charity proposal Since starting the fundraiser, eight of her friends have donated nudes which will be also be sent alongside Ms Wolf's picture set. They include playboy models American CJ Sparxx, 34, and Australian Jaylene Cook, 28. The 31-year-old said all of her income this month through the platform would go towards various bushfire charities. The cosplay and gaming blogger said she is still researching which charities to support, but would post each donor's receipt and the organisation its funds went towards online. Australian playboy model Jaylene Cook is one of eight friends that have provided picture sets to Ms Wolf's appeal The internet star said she drew inspiration from others that were doing 'very similar things'. She also revealed an adult video game company have reached out to her to do a sponsored ad on her YouTube channel, and that the $10,000 proceeds, she would normally pocket, will be donated. Ms Ward's efforts made dominated headlines after her tweeted proposal went viral and her inbox was quickly flooded with followers eager to take up her offer. The Los Angeles-based 20-year-old was disowned by her family as a result and Instagram and Twitter deactivated her account. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said he was dismayed by the incident where a police officer grabbed the phone of a TV reporter during the Traslacion or Feast of the Black Nazarene procession on Thursday. Ano said snatching phones is unbecoming of a policeman. "He should not have done that kahit na hindi 'yan si Jun Veneracion (GMA Network reporter), kahit ordinaryong tao lang 'yan. Hindi pwede na basta kukunin ang cellphone," he told reporters on Friday. "Hindi 'yan kasama sa dapat gawin ng isang police officer." [Translation: He should not have done that even if it was not Jun Veneracion, even if it was an ordinary person. You cannot just get someone's phone. That is not part of the duty of a police officer.] Veneracion posted a video which drew reactions online, showing police officers subduing devotees during the procession. The video later turned black and a voice can be heard mentioning Veneracion's name and instructing someone to delete the video on his phone. Veneracion said his phone was still recording when a policeman suddenly took it from his hands. He then was able to recover the video the officer allegedly deleted. Ano said he had spoken to Veneracion saying he is welcome to press charges against the police official, who was later identified as Southern Police District Direcor PBGen Nolasco Bathan. He added that he had also instructed officials to investigate the matter and vowed to impose appropriate sanctions. Bathan has since apologized, explaining that he initially thought Veneracion was a "threat". However, he denied deleting the video. Philippine National Police Spokesperson Bernard Banac said they are still waiting for an explanation from the Metro Manila police, but assured that they respect the rights of journalists to cover the news. Metro Manila acting police chief PBGen Debold Sinas said he has also ordered the PNP Internal Affairs Services to investigate the incident. READ: Police official sorry for seizing TV reporter's cellphone, denies ordering to delete video New Delhi: The government on Friday revoked the Public Safety Act, 1978 against 26 people who are lodged in various jails in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the sources, all the 26 detainees are mainstream political activists who were charged under PSA few months ago. This is seen as an attempt by the union territory administration to ease the situation in the region. These people were picked up and booked under the PSA after the Centres decision on August 5 last year to revoke special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two union territories. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court in its significant judgement with implications on basic freedoms beyond Kashmir, said that the internet access is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all curbs in the union territory. Welcomed by people in the Kashmir Valley who have been without internet for the last five months as happy news at last, the apex court verdict also said Section 144 of the CrPC (prohibitory orders) cannot be used indefinitely to suppress freedom of speech and expression and difference of opinion. Extending its observations to the media, the bench said freedom of press is a valuable and sacred right. The three-judge bench, headed by Justice N V Ramana and also comprising Justices B R Gavai and R Subhash Reddy, asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to immediately restore internet services in institutions providing essential services like hospitals and educational places. Also Read: Under Lockdown For 5 Months, This Is How Kashmir Reacted On Supreme Court's Internet Order However, there was no mention of any time-frame of restoration of internet services to other sectors and people in the Valley. The apex court said magistrates should apply their mind and follow the doctrine of proportionality while passing prohibitory orders. The Supreme Court verdict, welcomed by the opposition Congress as the first big jolt of 2020 to the government, came on a batch of pleas challenging the curbs imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5 -- when the Centre revoked the states special status and bifurcated it into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. It is a very, very significant pronouncement by the Supreme Court, Vrinda Grover, lawyer for Kashmir Times executive editor Anuradha Bhasin whose plea was among those taken up, told reporters. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose plea was also taken up, labelled the judgment historic. This is the first time the Supreme Court has talked about how people of Jammu and Kashmir feel. I would like to thank the Supreme Court for a very historic decision and the people from across the country were waiting for it, specially the people of J-K, he said. The government of India has misled the entire country. This time the Supreme Court was forthright and they didnt come under any pressure, he said. His party colleague, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also lashed out at the government. SC delivers first big jolt of 2020 to illegal activities of Modi Govt by stating importance of internet as a fundamental right. Double shock for Modi-Shah that dissent cannot be oppressed by imposing section 144. Modiji reminded that nation bows before Constitution and not him! Surjewala said on Twitter. Modi-Shah now have a week to review internet restrictions and place the reasons before the public. No more sealed envelopes to hide the truth in, he added. The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party welcomed the order too. The observations of the apex court about snapping of internet services indefinitely are significant and the government must take a call to review and restore the connectivity immediately, NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said. Also Read: Access To Internet Fundamental Right, Total Ban When Necessary: Top Court On Kashmir Lockdown Finally #SupremeCourt has woken up to the injustices cast upon the people of J&K, calling such govt. lodged curbs an abuse of power reinstates our faith in the judiciary, the PDP, an ally of the BJP till 2018, said on its official Twitter handle. Away from the political slugfest, people in Kashmir Valley said they hoped their internet connections would be restored soon. It is a piece of very happy news for us, a huge relief, as the internet has been suspended for over five months now. We really hope that services will be resumed as soon as possible now,? said Ishtiyaq Ahmad, a businessman in Srinagars Lal Chowk area. He said trade and business has been badly affected since August 5 when authorities cut all internet services in the Valley. Every sector has been badly affected. This has been the worst phase for business in the Valley. The internet is a basic tool on which everyone, especially people associated with business, depend. We have struggled a lot without internet services, Ahmad said. Afreen Mushtaq, a student in Srinagar, said the student community has suffered the most and the apex courts criticism of the internet ban, though late, is a breath of fresh air. The internet should have been restored long ago. We have been deprived of the services for far too long. It has affected our education. It has especially affected those who had to seek admissions and to take part in various examinations, she said. A journalist in Srinagar, who did not wish to be identified, said the Supreme Court has rightly observed that internet access is a fundamental right which cannot be curtailed and expressed the hope that services to media houses will be restored so they can operate freely. This is what we had been saying all along. The Supreme Court has rightly slammed the government. We now hope the services, especially to media houses, will be resumed soon and better sense prevails so that the services are not disrupted for so long in the future, the journalist said. (With Agency Inputs) RELATED Women account for just 11.6pc of the agricultural workforce in Ireland. Compared to other countries it is a very low figure, but Felicity McGrath and her mother Patricia are bucking the trend with a thriving herd of pedigree Aberdeen Angus and a growing herd of Kerry cows on their 70-acre holding outside the village of Gurteen in Co Galway. It's a tough life for anyone - male or female - but it's the life they have chosen and they wouldn't swap it for anything. "I lived in London for years but moved home in 2016 because I missed the farm," says Felicity, 29, of her decision to pack up a top job as a scientist and return to the west to run the medium-sized enterprise alongside her mother. "My job involved a lot of travelling and it's not the lifestyle I wanted long-term." Swapping the high life of travels to the USA and Europe, Felicity is now far more comfortable in the calving unit on any given night tending to her beloved cows. "We do spring calving every year so the next few weeks will be hectic. As well as the Angus cows, all our nine Kerry cows are in-calf as well." Expand Close Felicity and Patricia McGrath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Felicity and Patricia McGrath This is largely down to the expertise of Patricia, a qualified AI technician who inseminates all her own cows using bulls from sources such as Bova AI, for whom she works off the farm. A vested interest in getting her own cows in calf each year prompted her to train in 2013. Patricia is now one of only a handful of females in the profession in Ireland, but she says it's a very rewarding job. "I divide my time between suckler and dairy herds, but there's definitely a lot more dairy work than before. From early April until early May I inseminate about 1,000 cows," she says. This involves a lot of driving across east Galway, and of late Patricia has given more responsibility of the farm to her daughter. Felicity says the flexibility in her own job, and an understanding employer, makes life that bit easier at this time of year. "I manage Bo Steel, a company which specialises in calving gates and feed barriers, but if there's ever a cow calving I can dash home to check on her," she says. Felicity says preparation is the key: "We have three sets of cameras and will be up with the cows every two hours. Some people run into trouble if they are not ready, so we try and have everything sorted well in advance." Temperament Calving can be a tough time, especially when it comes to lack of manpower, but the McGraths' choice of breeds eases the burden. "We bought Aberdeen Angus many years ago because we knew they were good calvers. In addition they have a great temperament," says Patricia, who admits she was a very late starter in farming. Born in Dublin but later moving to Galway with her young family, she was immersed in farming life after the sudden death of her uncle James Cannon in 2000. Having qualified and worked as a teacher, she opted for a career change to run the then 55-acre farm. As a newcomer, Patricia first made some important changes to bring the farm into the 21st century. "My uncle had a suckler herd of about 15 cows but some of those were getting old. It was after a few years we decided to buy some Aberdeen Angus," she says. They also purchased an additional 15 acres. They initially started with one cow and since 2008 they have been producing only pure-bred animals which are marketed under the 'Gortnalon' prefix. Bulls are sold on, as are some heifers, with others kept as replacements. They have forged a reputation as breeders: they recently placed second in the medium category in the Connaught/Leinster Aberdeen Angus Club herd competition. On New Year's Day last year, they bought their first Kerry cow. "Ironically it was in Limerick," says Felicity. "They have great attributes as a breed in that they are great mothers and have 4pc buttermilk content in their milk which is now in demand as it's used for Murphy's ice cream. "The only downside is that they can be difficult to get in calf as they are only in heat for a short period, but that's where my mother comes into it as she's always there on time." With all nine cows due to calve shortly, Felicity is hopeful of adding some heifers to the herd in the not too distant future. "There are only about 900 in Ireland at the moment. Without doubt they have one of the lowest carbon footprints compared to other cattle breeds so it would be nice to increase our numbers here," she says. Infosys Q3 net vaults 23.5% to Rs4,457 crore Infosys Ltd, Indias second-biggest information technology services provider, has reported a net profit of Rs4,457 crore ($628.2 million) for fiscal third quarter ended 31 December 2019 - a 23.5 per cent year-on-year increase from Rs3,609 crore a year earlier. Revenue for the October-December 2019-20 quarter increased 7.9 per cent to Rs23,092 crore, on the back of higher revenue from its banking software. Q3 revenues grew 7.9 per cent in rupee terms and by 9.5 per cent year-on-year in constant currency and by 2 per cent in rupee terms and 1 per cent in constant currency, respectively, sequentially. Year-to-date, revenues grew by 11.1 per cent in constant currency Infosys saw its Q3 digital revenues rising to $1,318 million, forming 40.6 per cent of total revenues - an year-on-year growth of 40.8 per cent and a sequential growth of 6.8 per cent in constant currency. Q3 operating margin was higher at 21.9 per cent, which is a 20 bps improvement over Q2 FY20. Year-to-date operating margins stood at 21.4 per cent, within the margin guidance for the year. Q3 results further underscore that we remain steadfast in our journey of sustained client relevance and deepening engagement with them, as they partner with us in navigating their next in the digital transformation era, said Salil Parekh, CEO and MD. For us, this has translated into double digit growth year-to-date, leading to an increase in revenue guidance, accompanied by expanding operating margins. Infosys also increased its FY 20 revenue guidance to 10.0-10.5 per cent in constant currency, while maintaining operating margin guidance range at 21-23 per cent. Overall performance during the quarter was satisfactory on multiple counts broad-based growth, steady increase in client metrics and healthy large deal wins, said Pravin Rao, COO. Large deal wins continue to be robust with growth of 56 per cent so far this year. We had a further reduction in attrition, demonstrating the results of our continued efforts towards strengthening employee engagement and value proposition. Infosys CFO Nilanjan Roy said the companys operating margins improved further during the quarter driven by relentless cost optimisation and operating leverage. Cash generation was extremely strong with cumulative free cash flow crossing $ 1.5 billion. Return on equity increased further to 25.9 per cent driven by margin expansion and increased shareholder payouts, he said. During the quarter Infosys signed a partnership deal with Mars, under which Infosys will develop a Digital Supply Chain initiative focused on improving the ongoing market traceability of all Mars products. The company also signed a deal with ABN AMRO Bank, for developing an IT transformation infrastructure for the banking company. Infosys strategic investment in Cloud, Digital and DevOps has helped create best in class solutions and we are confident that this partnership will help us transform our IT environment in a timely and cost-effective way, Christian Bornfeld, chief innovation and technology officer (Group COO) and executive board member at ABN AMRO Bank, said. The largest free amusement park in America is getting a new ride this year. The staff of Knoebels Amusement Resort has announced that their 2020 season will feature a new ride at the Elysburg park. The ride will be named Tornado, and as the name suggests, it will involve lots of spinning. Eight cars hold four passengers each in individual seats facing the inside of the car, said Stacy Ososkie, public relations director for Knoebels, in a press release. Once the ride reaches speed moving in a circle, it tilts 20 degrees and lifts the cars up to 15 feet from ground level. A rendering of Tornado, the new ride planned for the 2020 season at Knoebels Amusement Resort. The ride will also allow for passengers to control how the ride spins. Controlling part of a ride provides a really unique and exciting experience, said Knoebels park president Richard Knoebel in the press release. Riders will be able to spin the cars of our new ride themselves, choosing their thrill level. Tornado will be replacing the ride 1001 Nacht, which has been a mainstay of Knoebels ride lineup for 20 years. Ososkie said that the rides age and decline in popularity led to the decision to remove it. 1001 Nacht at Knoebels is being removed for their 2020 season to make room for the new Tornado ride. Knoebels teased changes to the parks ride lineup in December on their Facebook page, asking which of the parks rides that fans would expect them to remove. While the Knoebels staff didnt confirm anything at the time, they did admit that many fans made some very educated guesses regarding what might be replaced. The new ride will require passengers to be at least 38 inches to ride with an adult, and 48 inches to ride alone. Tornado is expected to open on the parks opening day of April 25. United Nations official Nils Melzer has publicly released a powerful letter he addressed to the British government on October 29, documenting the criminal culpability of the countrys authorities, including its political leadership, in what he condemned last year as the psychological torture of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Melzers letter, published online on December 31, was a response to earlier correspondence from the British authorities, in which they blithely dismissed his finding that Assange was subject to ongoing psychological torture. This resulted in part from his almost seven-years of effective detention in Ecuadors London embassy, enforced by British threats to arrest him if he set foot outside the building, and his imprisonment since April 2019 in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison. Melzer had addressed a series of queries to the British government over the conditions of Assanges incarceration, including why he was being held in conditions of virtual solitary confinement and denied the necessary means to prepare his defence for US extradition hearings in February. The British government had blandly declared its opposition to torture, while claiming that it was upholding Assanges legal rights. It answered none of Melzers specific questions and dismissed his call for the WikiLeaks founder to be released from prison, despite warnings from medical professionals that his health has deteriorated to the point that his life is at risk. Julian Assange in 2009, Credit: New Media Days/Peter Erichsen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/newmediadaysdk/4515586209) In his latest document, Melzer stressed the scientific rigor of the assessment that Assange had been tortured, which was based on a four-hour consultation in Belmarsh Prison involving the UN rapporteur and two medical experts. The diagnosis stemmed from medically-verifiable evidence and conformed to The Istanbul Protocolthe international standard for identifying the symptoms of torture. Melzer pointed to the implications of Britains rejection of these findings, stating that the conduct of Your Excellencys Government in the present case severely undermines the credibility of the UKs commitment to the prohibition of torture and illtreatment, as well as to the rule of law more generally. Melzer bluntly wrote: The official findings of my mandate, supported by two experienced medical experts specialized in the examination of torture victims, unquestionably provide reasonable ground to believe that British officials have contributed to Mr. Assanges psychological torture or ill-treatment, whether through perpetration, or through attempt, complicity or other forms of participation. Under Art. 12 of the Convention against Torture, British authorities do not have the political discretion to simply reject these findings, but have a clear and non-derogable treaty obligation to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into these allegations and, if confirmed, to prosecute the perpetrators and provide redress and rehabilitation to Mr. Assange. The UN rapporteur documented that Britain had similarly stymied his calls for a judicial investigation into its involvement in the US-led torture programs associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistanwhich WikiLeaks and Assange have done so much to expose. This, he noted, gives the impression of a broader policy of impunity, which would be incompatible with the UKs legal obligations and would seriously undermine the credibility of its commitment to human rights and the rule of law. Melzers detailed letter outlined Britains involvement in the attempted frame-up of Assange on sexual misconduct allegations by Sweden, its collaboration with the US attempts to conduct what can only be described as an extraordinary rendition operation against the WikiLeaks founder and its persistent denial of his rights to due process over the past 12 months. The UN officials conclusion demonstrates that Assange is being subjected to a lawless attempt to silence him and to destroy WikiLeaks. Melzer wrote: I am of the considered opinion that recurring and serious violations of Mr. Assanges due process rights by UK authorities have rendered both his criminal conviction and sentencing for bail violation and the US extradition proceedings inherently arbitrary, to the point even of rendering any legal remedies a pointless formality devoid of prospect. Melzer demanded the abandonment of the extradition proceedings, Assanges freedom and a criminal investigation into those responsible for his persecution. Melzer also drew attention to reports that Assanges health has continued to deteriorate. Last year, dozens of eminent doctors wrote twice to the British authorities, as well as to the Australian government, voicing their fears that Assange could die in prison. Their calls for him to be moved to a university teaching hospital and provided with urgent medical treatment have been ignored. The latest testimony concerning Assanges health situation was provided by British journalist Vaughan Smith, who tweeted that Assange had called his family on New Years Eve. Smith wrote: He told my wife and I how he was slowly dying in Belmarsh where, though only on remand, he is kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and is often sedated. Meanwhile, disturbing new indications have emerged of the conditions at Belmarsh, a facility designed to hold those convicted of the most serious crimes, including murder and terrorism offenses. On Wednesday, RT reported that Liridon Saliuka, a 29-year-old prisoner at Belmarsh, was found dead in his cell on January 2. According to RTs sources, the death was the third fatality in less than a year at the prison. The British authorities claim that Saliuka was a victim of self-inflicted wounds, but this has been disputed by his family. RT wrote: Saliukas family claim there have been delays to the postmortem. His sister, Dita, revealed that her brother was involved in a car crash two years ago that left him requiring major reconstructive surgery. He was given metal plates that made it hard for him to walk or stand for long periods of time. A report by a surgeon, commissioned by his defense lawyer, had determined that he should be considered as permanently disabled. However, his family say he had recently been transferred from a special cell to a standard one. A 2009 report by the Chief Inspector of British Prisons noted an extremely high amount of force used against prisoners at Belmarsh. A number of detainees reported they had been intimidated, threatened or assaulted by staff. The inspectors 2018 report said many recommended improvements at the facility had not been embedded and in some areas we judged outcomes to have been poorer than last time. That Assange, a journalist on remand, is being held in such a facility, demonstrates that the British state, no less than its American counterpart, is seeking nothing less than his physical and psychological destruction. While doing everything they can to facilitate Assanges extradition to the US, the British are seeking to replicate, on their own soil, the conditions that he would confront in a CIA prison in America. The extraordinary assault on Assanges democratic rights is a stark symptom of a broader turn to authoritarianism, directed against the working class and the growing emergence of mass social and political opposition. This underscores the necessity for all defenders of civil liberties to do everything possible to prevent Assanges extradition to the US and secure his freedom. Iran urges all parties involved to contribute to Ukrainian plane crash probe Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 11:12 PM Iran has urged all parties involved, including American multinational aviation corporation Boeing, to contribute to a probe into a Ukrainian plane crash near the capital Tehran that killed all 176 people aboard. "According to international regulations, representatives from the civil aviation agency of the country where the crash has taken place (Iran), the civil aviation agency of the country which has issued the airworthiness certificate (Ukraine), the owner of the airliner (Ukraine International Airlines), the aircraft manufacturer (Boeing Co.), and the jet engine manufacturer (CFM International) can participate in the investigation process. A delegate from Ukraine is already in Iran. We call upon Boeing Co. to dispatch its own representative to participate in the process of reading the black box data," Ali Rabiei, spokesman for the Iranian administration, said in a statement released early on Friday. "We also welcome the participation of all countries which have lost their nationals in the mishap," the statement pointed out. 'Missile attack claims US psychological operation' Rabiei then roundly dismissed the Pentagon's allegations that missiles downed the Ukrainian jet, saying, "No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent." "It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government, and those supporting it knowingly and unknowingly, are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimizing them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies," the senior Iranian official pointed out. Iran calls on Canada to hand over info on crashed plane Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, said Iran has launched an investigation into the cause of the plane crash in compliance with international principles and those of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Mousavi highlighted that Iran has extended invitations to Ukraine and Boeing Co. to participate in the investigation. He then offered his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. "The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the participation of experts from countries whose nationals have been killed in the disaster. We ask the Canadian prime minister (Justin Trudeau) or any government with related information to come forward and provide the info to the committee probing the crash in Iran," the Iranian diplomat noted. US to join probe: Iran official In another development, an Iranian official told Reuters Thursday that the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has accepted Iran's invitation to participate in the investigation into the Ukrainian jetliner crash "The NTSB has replied to our chief investigator and has announced an accredited representative," Reuters quoted Farhad Parvaresh, Iran's ICAO representative, as saying. A person briefed on the matter confirmed the NTSB had agreed to take part but said it was unclear what if anything its representative would be able to do under US sanctions. The US is allowed to take part under global rules since the Boeing 737-800NG jet was designed and built there. Parvaresh added that the Islamic Republic is ready to provide consular facilities and visas for accredited investigators. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Thursday night, Head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh rejected as "illogical rumors" reports that the Ukrainian plane that crashed south of the capital Tehran was hit by missiles. "From a scientific viewpoint, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane. The plane caught fire three minutes into the flight, according to what the witnesses have reported and the data collected from the parts of the airplane," Abedzadeh told Press TV. "The pilot tried to return the airplane at the altitude of 8,000 ft., but due to the fire, the airplane crashed and exploded," he added. "We can say that the airplane, considering the kind of the crash and the pilot's efforts to return it to Imam Khomeini airport, didn't explode in the air. So, the allegation that it was hit by missiles is totally ruled out," the official noted. His remarks came after unnamed American officials claimed that the Ukrainian passenger plane was mostly likely brought down by anti-aircraft missiles. The unnamed US officials alleged that the Ukrainian airliner was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian anti-aircraft missiles. Earlier on Thursday, Iran's minister of road and urban development dismissed as "untrue" rumors that suggest the Wednesday crash of the Ukrainian airliner was because of a missile attack. Mohammad Eslami said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed after encountering a technical glitch. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here. Pocono Dessert Co. opens women owned coffee and dessert shop at 2185 PA-611 in Swiftwater Handmade Mystic opens crystal shop at 2 S. 4th Street in Emmaus Anne Baum named first president of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital Lashes by Gab opens location at the Promenade Shops of Saucon Valley, across from the movie theater Elite Salon & Suites to open at the Promenade Shops of Saucon Valley in 2022. Independent salon owners will have their own suite space within the store Purr Haus opens at 27 South Seventh Street in Emmaus. The boutique will offer a collection of pet supplies and cat-themed apparel. . The Hummus House opens Bethlehem location at 518 E. Third Street New beauty studio, Glow Factory, opens at 1708 Washington Blvd. in Easton New salon, Mirror Beauty Studio, to open at 2002 Hanover Avenue in Allentown. Grand opening set for Dec. 3. A Red Wing shoe store will open on Airport Road in Allentown at the site of the former Zoup! restaurant. Paisley & Company Bath Boutique & Fragrance Bar in Kutztown reopens for in-person shopping Bitty & Beau's Coffee opens at 74 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem American Family Care opens urgent care center in the County Line Plaza, off of Route 113 near Souderton, Bucks County Charming Charlie, a women's contemporary fashion and accessories retailer, will return to the Outlets at Wind Creek. All Weather Selvedge Denim Co. (AW) opens at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in suite 608, next to Evolve Salon & Spa. PrimoHoagies, the casual restaurant known for its gourmet hoagies, plans to open two restaurants in Stroudsburg. Laura McLain, executive director of the Slate Belt Chamber of Commerce, will retire at the end of 2021 after 21+ years of service. KALAMAZOO, MI Protesters gathered Thursday near the downtown Kalamazoo office of U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, as Congress prepared to vote on a war powers resolution. The Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents of War, KNOW, and other community members came together Thursday, Jan. 9 along East Michigan Avenue outside Uptons office. The protesters held signs with statements such as, No War in Iran and Peace Takes Courage as some passing drivers honked and cheered the group on. The organized protest coincided with a war power resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 83, coming to the House of Representatives for a vote, event organizer Daniel Smith said. The resolution, introduced by Michigans U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, was passed by the House Thursday in a 224-194 vote. Three Republicans broke ranks to vote in support of the measure and eight Democrats opposed it. The resolution, though not binding and does not require President Donald Trumps signature, states Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Protesters gathered in Kalamazoo to call on Upton to vote in favor of the resolution, Smith said. Upton joined the majority of congressional Republicans in voting against it, explaining in a statement released after the vote he believes Congress must protect American citizens at all costs." Upton said he does not want to compromise the safety of American people. I agree we need to have a substantive discussion on War Powers and the balance between the Presidents authority to address imminent threats and Congress constitutional responsibility to declare war, but we should not play politics with our nations security, Upton said in the statement. Our service members deserve better and the American people deserve better. Smith said KNOW has been around since 2002 and started by opposing the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The group feels that "a war with Iran would be much worse in terms of the destruction it would cause, he said. The group has met for a peace vigil every Sunday since 2002, Smith said. The Sunday, Jan. 5, protest in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Kalamazoo was switched from the usual format to instead focus on protesting a potential war with Iran. Tobi Hanna-Davies said she came to the protest Thursday because she does not believe the U.S. should take military action in Iran. I think weve been on the wrong side of history more times than any Americans have the idea, Hanna-Davies said. We could be such a guiding light and such an example of democracy and human rights, and I want our country to live up to that. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 04:25:06|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas (R) and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin attend a joint press conference after their meeting in Tallinn, capital of Estonia, Jan. 10, 2020. Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas met his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin on Friday to discuss bilateral ties, regional matters and European security. (Raul Mee/Estonian government communication unit/Handout via Xinhua) TALLINN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas met his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin on Friday to discuss bilateral ties, regional matters and European security. At a joint press conference after the meeting, Ratas termed the friendship between Estonia and Finland as "strong and timeless", adding that the bilateral cooperation is constantly deepening. The two countries are expected to use digital medical prescriptions on both sides of the Gulf of Finland soon, said Ratas. The two prime ministers confirmed their support for the European Union (EU)'s goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and the advancement of the European Green Deal. Marin said that her country aims to promote an ambitious climate policy for the EU, looking forward to good cooperation in the sector with Estonia and other like-minded countries. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East, calling for efforts to alleviate tensions, defuse the situation and establish a dialogue. Members of Estonian defense forces are part of the U.S.-led international military operation in Iraq. Please listen carefully as the following menu options have recently changed, says a womans voice. Agent! I shout into the phone, wondering if the torture would ever end. One hour and 25 minutes. That is the amount of time I was on the phone recently, waiting for an Air Canada customer representative to rebook a cancelled flight from Toronto to Montreal. My wife had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago, waiting three hours for someone to take her call. When I called, Air Canadas call centre was apparently so overwhelmed that it took me 40 to 50 calls just to get into the queue before the waiting time even started. Its true that Air Canada is implementing a new passenger reservation system and there have been some glitches, but those waiting times seem unreasonable. In fairness, its not just Air Canada. Many readers have likely had similar experiences with other companies: try to get an agent on the line to disconnect from a cable service or to receive a refund from a cellphone company, to name just two other common examples. In fact, one survey conducted in the U.S. estimated that on average, Americans spend 13 hours every year waiting for an agent. Public sector offices are no different: this weeks study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business showed how tough it can be to reach a Canada Revenue Agency agent by phone. Service Canada also admitted a few years ago that only a third of the calls it receives are answered. You have to wonder why companies would provide such bad service. Arent they worried about their reputation? Its clear that they could spend more to enhance their customers experience Air Canada, for example, makes more than $1 billion a year and has been a top performing stock on the TSX this past decade. A new paper published in Marketing Science recently by Anthony Dukes of the University of Southern California and Yi Zhu of the University of Minnesota offers a simple and depressing answer to the puzzle of bad service firms are keeping callers waiting and walking them through endless digital menus because it is profitable for them to do so. Dukes and Zhu interviewed call centre managers in finance, technology and travel services and concluded that firms are basically playing a war of attrition. Companies count on the fact that eventually, if hassled enough, clients will give up on their complaint. Moreover, when a company has a significant market share, it is less worried about its reputation since customers dont have an alternative. Could legislation be the solution? To solve a similar problem, Israel introduced a law in 2019 that obliges firms to provide a human response within six minutes of accepting a call. A failure to comply with the six-minute rule carries a fine of about $8,250 in Canadian dollars. The law applies to telecom companies, utilities, banks and insurance firms. Though its still too early to accurately assess the new laws effectiveness, preliminary feedback is positive. It may be time for Canada to introduce a law in the spirit of the Israeli rule. A parallel standard of expected level of customer service should also be introduced within the public sector. In 2020, the business practice of harassing customers by making them talk to computers, enter endless loops of phone menus and listen to elevator music for hours is simply unacceptable. Amir Barnea is an associate professor of finance at HEC Montreal Read more about: New Delhi: Delhi Police on Friday released photographs of nine suspects, caught on the CCTV camera, in relation to the violence that took place in Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on January 5. While Delhi Police named several students who were involved in the attack and vandalism in server room on Sunday afternoon but gave few details on the attack by the masked mob on students and teachers later. Delhi Police clarified that these were just first findings and more information will be released as investigation progresses. Delhi Police named Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Aishe Ghosh, Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukdar, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel. Aishe Ghosh is the president of the JNU students' union while Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel are said to be members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Bhardwaj is said to be administrator of WhatsApp group 'Unity Against Left'. DCP (Crime Branch) Joy Tirkey, who is leading the SIT probe, case, said a majority of the students wanted to register for the winter semester from January 1 to 5, but the left-leaning students' bodies were not allowing them to do so. Delhi Police's press pelease on JNU violence by Pratik Prasenjit on Scribd According to the Delhi Police, Aishe Ghosh and other members of the Left groups attacked the server room at JNU to stop online registrations and enforce a strike over their protest against the increased fees. He added that specific rooms in the university's Periyar hostel were also targeted. Ghosh, who was injured in the attack, refuted the charge saying the Delhi Police should make public whatever proof it has against her. Aishe Ghosh, who was injured during the mob attack in the evening, was named in two FIRs filed within a span of four minutes on Sunday evening, shortly after she was taken to hospital. At the beginning of the briefing, Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa said, "The investigation regarding the criminal cases filed in connection with JNU Violence incident is being done by Crime Branch. But it has been observed that a lot of misinformation related to these cases is being circulated." JNU violence incident: Delhi Police releases images of the suspects, caught on the CCTV camera. #Delhi pic.twitter.com/UqNZCwKFId ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020 This was the first official interaction by Delhi Police after violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus which left 34 people including students injured on January 5. Meanwhile, three professors of the university approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to preserve data, CCTV footage and other evidence relating to the January 5 violence at the varsity campus. The petition also sought directions for preservation and retrieval of all material/evidences available with WhatsApp INC, Google INC and Apple INC pertaining to relevant data of WhatsApp groups 'Unity Against Left' and 'Friends of RSS' including messages, pictures, videos and phone numbers of the members, in connection with the violence at JNU. The petition was filed by JNU professors Ameet Parameswaran, Atul Sood and Shukla Vinayak Sawant seeking necessary directions to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Delhi government. The petition, filed through advocates Abhik Chimni, Maanav Kumar and Roshni Naamboodiry, also sought a direction to the Delhi Police to retrieve all CCTV footage of JNU campus. On Sunday, a mob of masked men stormed the campus and targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods by hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings. In a tweet on Thursday Hesameddin Ashena who is President Hassan Rouhani's media advisor warned "the Iranian agents of Persian-language media [abroad] not to participate in the psychological warfare regarding the Ukrainian airliner [crash] and stop cooperating with those who are at war with Iran". The threat came after years of harassment and intimidation of Iranian journalists working abroad for the BBC, Radio Farda and others, but nevertheless has shocked those impacted, as well some rights groups. The global press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the Iranian Presidential advisor Hesameddin Ashena's threat against Persian language journalists for reporting on the Ukrainian airliner crash in Tehran on Wednesday. The Persian language Twitter account of the Paris-based Reporters without Borders in a tweet on Thursday said it condemns Ashena's threat and referred to him as the "intelligence ministry's special deputy" during the serial murders of dissidents including journalists in the 1990s. In November 2019 the global press freedom watchdog said Iran ranked 170th out of 180 countries in RSF's World Press Freedom Index. The news of the plane crash in Tehran which killed all 176 passengers and crew including many Canadian nationals allegedly caused by an Iranian surface-to-air missile are highly censored in Iranian media in the country. The crash occurred hours after Iran launched 15 missiles at two bases in Iraq that host American troops. Iranian officials insist the plane crashed due to an engine malfunction. Iranian intelligence has long been on an intimidation campaign against Iranian journalists working for Persian-language media outside the country to stop them from reporting on news that are highly censored inside the country. Last week it was revealed that Iranian intelligence had threatened to kidnap journalists working for the London-based Iran International TV and take them back to Iran and pressured their families back in Iran to persuade their relatives to leave the channel. In a statement released on November 29, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said working for the London-based Iran International Television is "proof of collaboration in terrorist actions with the enemies of Iran". Journalists working for BBC Persian, Radio Farda, Voice of America, as well as London-based Manoto TV and Kayhan Newspaper have also repeatedly been threatened by Iranian security forces. Reporters without Borders in a statement on November 26 condemned the Iranian ambassador in London, Hamid Baeidinejad, for his role in relaying the threats Iranian intelligence organs against Iranian journalists based abroad, especially in Britain, and against their families in Iran. In several tweets in Persian in November, the Iranian ambassador in London, made controversial remakes about Iranian journalists working for London-based Persian-language television channels such as BBC Persian and Iran International, alleging they were "mercenaries of foreign intelligence services". After many angry comments were posted against him, Hesameddin Ashena tweeted again and said the word he used in Persian meant "caution" rather than "threat". "It's caution to wake your conscience to always stay Iranian and to defend your countrymen and the truth in this media war" but his explanation did very little to calm the anxiety and anger of journalists and others. Few were convinced by his apologetic tweet. Referring to the Persian-language media in his tweet @majidnash replied to Ashena: "You wouldn't have to issue threats if you didn't take such a rigid approach to everything and news of this kind and informed people, and specially the mourning families, before the international media do" while @acc7d told him to investigate the reasons for "lack of trust in the Iranian media and official accounts of news" instead of threats. People here on Friday took out a march to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Register of Citizens (NRC). Earlier on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took out a protest march against the CAA and NRC in Madhyamgram city in North 24 Parganas district. Before taking the protest march, Banerjee had said that Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the student wing of TMC will stage a sitting agitation at Rani Rashmoni Road in Kolkata from Friday against the CAA and NRC. The West Bengal chief minister has been a vocal opponent of the CAA and NRC. She has also said that both CAA and NRC will be not implemented in the state. For quite some time, she has been organizing mega rallies against the CAA and the NRC and has launched attacks on the BJP-led central government over these issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 14:46 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321ab6bb 1 Business Mari-Elka-Pangestu,World-Bank,Sri-Mulyani-Indrawati,women-in-economics,research,development Free The World Bank appointed Indonesian senior economist Mari Elka Pangestu as its managing director for development policy and partnerships, making her the second Indonesian woman to hold the strategic post after Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. The Washington DC-based development bank lauded Maris exceptional policy and management expertise, citing her previous experience as Trade Minister between 2004 and 2011 as well as Tourism and Creative Economy Minister between 2011 and 2014. World Bank Group President David Malpass welcomed Maris appointment, saying in a statement posted on the banks website that her wealth of experience would benefit the banks mission. Were very pleased to welcome Mari to the Bank in this critical new role for the institution, said Malpass. In her role, effective March 1, Mari will lead and oversee the Global Practice Groups, the research and data group of the World Bank (DEC) and the external and corporate relations function. Her experience as a senior minister, her globally recognized credentials as an economist and researcher, along with her extensive leadership experience and engagement in key international forums on important development issues, will greatly benefit our urgent work at the World Bank Group in support of broad-based growth and poverty reduction, Malpass added. Mari took to Twitter to convey her gratitude to Malpass and President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration for its endorsement for the position, while she also hoped her past experiences would serve her well for the new role at the World Bank. I would like to thank @DavidMalpassWBG for appointing me in this position. I would also like to thank president @jokowi and the government of Indonesia for their support. I hope my experience in Indonesia can contribute to economic growth in many more developing countries, she tweeted on Friday, tagging the official accounts of Malpass and Jokowi. Mari Elka Pangestu (left) laughs with the publisher of The Jakarta Post Jusuf Wanandi (right) on the sidelines of a seminar held by The Jakarta Post to celebrate its 33rd anniversary in April 2016. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari) Then-coordinating maritime affairs minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said in October last year that Jokowi nominated Mari for the managing director post at the World Bank, saying that she was well-qualified for the role. Luhut is now Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister. Aside from her ministerial role in the administration of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mari was also known for her work in academia. She is a professor of international economics at the University of Indonesia and a senior fellow at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. She was also a board member of Jakarta-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Indonesia Bureau of Economic Research (IBER). Mari will be the second Indonesian woman to assume the World Banks managing director position after Sri Mulyani held a similar post between 2010 and 2016. Sri Mulyani was previously managing director and chief operating officer, where she was responsible for the banks operations around the world. She represented the World Bank Group at the G20 and chaired the International Development Association (IDA), the banks fund for the poorest countries. Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo expected Mari's role in the World Bank to turn her wealth of experience into something good for emerging markets. "She will be in charge of development policies which, God willing, will be good for emerging markets, including Indonesia," Perry said, congratulating Mari on her post as "one of the highest level leaders at the World Bank". (mfp) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is proceeding as planned with a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman from the weekend, ahead of dispatching a warship and patrol planes to the Middle East and despite heightened tensions in the area. Media had reported this week the trip would be cancelled as tensions rose in the region after the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and a retaliatory missile attack by Iran on U.S. forces in Iraq. But Abe will visit the region as intended from Jan. 11-15, chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Friday. "Given the rising regional tensions, this trip is taking place to exchange opinions with these three nations as one part of Japanese diplomacy aimed at diffusing the overall situation," Suga said. Suga declined to give details when asked how the decision to keep the trip scheduled had been made other than saying it was based on studying the regional situation. Opposition politicians had criticized reports of the trip's cancellation given there was no change in plans to send Japan's Self Defence Forces there, a move they oppose due to the increasingly fraught situation in the area. Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono was set to issue the deployment order later on Friday for the warship and two P-3C patrol planes for information gathering to protect Japanese ships in the Middle East, from which Japan gets nearly 90% of its crude oil. Under the plan, which was approved by Japan's cabinet late last month, a special order will be issued by the Japanese defence minister to allow the forces to use weapons to protect ships in danger if there are any emergencies. In May and June 2019, there were several attacks on international merchant vessels in the region, including the Japanese-owned tanker Kokuka Courageous, which the United States blamed on Iran. Tehran denies the allegations. The planned operation is set to cover high seas in the Gulf of Oman, the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and Suga said Abe would be explaining the mission to leaders in the countries he visits. The patrol planes will leave Japan on Jan 11 and start their mission in the area later this month, while the warship is likely to leave Japan early in February, media reported. D onald Trump has claimed plots to attack four US embassies including its consulate in Baghdad prompted his order to kill Qasem Soleimani. The US president previously said the slain Iranian general was planning to "blow up" an embassy yesterday. He has consistently said that the military leader posed an "imminent threat" but had not expanded on its scale. Pressed on this, he told Fox: I can reveal that I believe it probably wouldve been four embassies. President Trump also said he thought the embassy in Baghdad was likely a target. He added: We had specific information on an imminent threat and that threat stream included attacks on US embassies. Period. Full stop." Meanwhile, it has also emerged the US military tried, but failed, to take out another senior Iranian commander on the same day of the killing of Soleimani. US officials told the Associated Press a military airstrike targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a high-ranking commander in Irans Islamic Republican Guard Corps but the mission was not successful. The Pentagon declined to discuss the highly-classified operation. President Trump first revealed details of the supposed embassy attack plans yesterday. Donald Trump says Qasem Soleimani was looking to blow up a US embassy He told reporters: "We caught a total monster and we took him out and that should have happened a long time ago. "We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. "We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious. "Somebody died, one of our military people died, people were badly wounded just a week before." Iranian Missile Attack - In pictures 1 /16 Iranian Missile Attack - In pictures Pieces of missiles are seen at the rural area of Al-Baghdadi town after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq Anadolu Agency via Getty Images An explosion is seen following missiles landing at what is believed to be Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq Iraqi security forces find and collect the pieces of missiles as they gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A protester waves the Iraq flag while demonstrators set fire to close streets near Tahrir Square during a demonstration to protest against the Iranian missile strike, in Baghdad, Iraq AP Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him addressing a meeting in Teharn Getty Images An explosion is seen following missiles landing at what is believed to be Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq via Reuters Iraqi security forces and soldiers gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces, at Bardarash district of Erbil in Iraq Anadolu Agency via Getty Images An explosion is seen following missiles landing at what is believed to be Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq IRIB/AFP via Getty Images Multiple rockets are launched at Al-Asad airbase Multiple rockets are launched at Al-Asad airbase A protester sets fires to close streets near Tahrir Square during a demonstration to protest against the Iranian missile strike AP A man holds shrapnel from a missile launched by Iran on U.S.-led coalition forces on the outskirts of Duhok ,Iraq Reuters His comments come amid rising tensions in the middle east, as the US and Iran clash following the death of Soleimani. The Iranian military leader was killed in a US-ordered strike over the weekend, which later prompted Iran to target and Iraqi base which homes American and British soldiers. Aerial images of Iran missile strike 1 /6 Aerial images of Iran missile strike What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture taken is seen in December, before the missile strike via REUTERS What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS The US leader said nobody was injured in the retaliatory strike. The Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on Iran following this week's missile strikes on airbases housing US troops in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials, as well as companies in the steel and other sectors. Mr Mnuchin said President Trump will issue an executive order imposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction, manufacturing or mining sectors. The administration already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal. It also comes as Iran was accused of having shot down a Ukrainian airliner, in a crash which killed 176 people. The Supreme Court Friday sought the Centre's reply on a plea challenging a Delhi High Court order that dismissed a PIL seeking certain steps, including two-child norm, to control the country's rising population. A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notices to the Centre and others. The appeal filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has challenged the September 3 high court order, which said it was for Parliament and the state legislatures to enact laws and not for the court. It said the high court failed to appreciate that the right to clean air, the right to drinking water, the right to health, the right to peaceful sleep, the right to shelter, the right to livelihood and the right to education guaranteed under Articles 21 and 21A of the Constitution could not be secured to all citizens without controlling the population explosion. "The high court failed to appreciate that after a detailed discussion, debate and feedback, Entry 20-A was inserted in List III of the 7th Schedule through the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976, which permits the Centre and the states to enact a law on population control and family planning," the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey said. It also said the high court did not take note of the fact that after a comprehensive discussion, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, one of the most eminent judicial commissions headed by former Chief Justice of India Justice M N Venkatachaliah, on March 31, 2002, recommended to insert Article 47A into the Constitution to control population explosion. The plea in the high court had claimed that the population of India had "marched ahead" of China, as about 20 per cent of Indians did not have Aadhaar and therefore, were not accounted for, and there were also crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country. It claimed that "population explosion is also the root cause of corruption", apart from being a contributory factor behind heinous crimes like rape and domestic violence. It also held population explosion responsible for pollution and the dearth of resources and jobs. The petitioner argued that without population control measures, campaigns such as "Clean India" and "Save the Girl Child" would not succeed. He said by the time the government provides housing to the over two crore homeless people, the numbers of such individuals would rise to 10 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON The Army late Thursday announced it will consider returning an award for valor and special forces membership to a soldier charged with murder and pardoned by President Donald Trump. It's another sign of how the Pentagon has been upended by the president's intervention in cases against three service members accused of war crimes. In a statement, the Army announced that on Dec. 3 it denied retired Maj. Matthew Golsteyn's request for reinstatement of his membership to special forces. The Army's Board for Correction of Military Records will now consider Golsteyns request for reinstatement of the Special Forces Tab and the approval of the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest medal for valor, according to an Army statement. Trump's pardons of Golsteyn and Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, and his reversal of a demotion for Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, have shaken the military criminal justice system and roiled the Pentagon's senior leadership. Their cases had been championed by conservative media outlets and found favor with Trump. Timeline: How Trump intervened in Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher's war crimes case Golsteyn, a Green Beret, was charged with executing a suspected bomb maker who had been ordered to be released after questioning in Afghanistan in 2010. Trump's pardon canceled a court-martial trial for Golsteyn scheduled for last month. Golsteyn admitted during a polygraph test, taken when he tried to join the CIA, that he had killed the man. That launched an Army investigation that culminated in the murder charge. The Army investigation determined that Golsteyn and other soldiers buried the corpse, dug it up and burned it, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. Golsteyn said he shot the man because he was certain his bomb-making would "continue to threaten American troops and their Afghan partners," according to the White House. Trump, in a tweet last year, referred to Golsteyn as a "U.S. military hero." Story continues Golsteyn, like Gallagher, wanted the insignia of his membership in special operations forces to be restored after he was pardoned. He also sought the return of a Silver Star medal, which had been approved for an upgrade to the Distinguished Service Cross. The Army stripped Golsteyn of his prestigious Army Special Forces tab and the medal in 2014, after it investigated his actions in combat. Gallagher was convicted of posing with the corpse of an ISIS fighter but acquitted of charges of murder and attempted murder. In November the Navy canceled a hearing that would have banished Gallagher from the SEALs after Trump ordered Defense Secretary Mark Esper to leave Gallagher alone. Esper fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer after Spencer sought to negotiate a deal to allow Gallagher to keep his coveted Trident pin that signifies membership in the elite SEAL unit. Read the letter: Richard Spencer's scathing final letter as Navy secretary Eddie Gallagher: Trump's advocacy for Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher is latest intervention for conservative cause celebre Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher walks into military court in San Diego, California, June 21, 2019. In a letter acknowledging his firing, however, Spencer rebuked Trump, who he said did not share his values of military justice and discipline. Spencer said he had been given an order that he could not in "good conscience obey." Trump also granted a pardon to Lorance, who had been serving a 19-year sentence for ordering soldiers to fire on unarmed Afghan civilians. Two of them were killed. Trump brought Golsteyn and Lorance to a GOP fundraiser outside Miami in November, according to a Republican who attended the fundraiser and requested anonymity to discuss the details of an event that was closed to reporters. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Army to review record of Matthew Golsteyn after Trump pardon The United States dismissed a request by caretaker Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to come up with a plan for withdrawing foreign troops, including American ones, from Iraq. America is a force for good in the Middle East. Our military presence in Iraq is to continue the fight against ISIS and, as the Secretary has said, we are committed to protecting Americans, Iraqis, and our coalition partners, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a Jan. 10 statement, referring to the ISIS terrorist group. We have been unambiguous regarding how crucial our D-ISIS mission is in Iraq. At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnershipnot to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East. Today, a NATO delegation is at the State Department to discuss increasing NATOs role in Iraq, in line with the Presidents desire for burden-sharing in all of our collective defense efforts. There does, however, need to be a conversation between the U.S. and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership. We want to be a friend and partner to a sovereign, prosperous, and stable Iraq. Top American military officials including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have also said there were no plans for the United States to withdraw from Iraq. Abdul-Mahdi said he asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to make plans for troop withdrawal during a phone call Thursday. The outgoing prime minister asked Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliaments resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq, his office said. In a briefing in Washington on Friday, Pompeo said Abdul-Mahdi didnt quite characterize the conversation correctly. We are happy to continue the conversation with Iraqis about what the right structure is. Our mission set there is very clear: Weve been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, to continue the counter-Daesh mission, he said, using another name for the terrorist group. Were going to continue that mission but as times change and we get to a place to deliver upon what I believe and the president believes is our right structure, with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so. The United States is working on getting NATO to commit more resources to the Middle East and is focused on continuing the important missions, protecting and defending the American people, reducing costs, and keeping troops safe, Pompeo added. From The Epoch Times Justin Bieber just dished out his highly anticipated return to music on January 4th with his song Yummy. And Hailey Bieber appeared to be immersing herself in her hubby's world of pop stardom, as she attended a late-afternoon dance class at 3rd Street Dance in Los Angeles on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the 23-year-old grabbed a bite to eat with a friend at South Beverly Grill in Beverly Hills. Inspired by her man: Hailey Bieber was spotted in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon attending a dance class at hubby Justin's go-to dance studio, 3rd Street Dance A bit nippy: The 21-year-old opted for a bra-less look and showed off her toned abs in a cropped camisol Hailey opted for a bra-less look for her evening class, which gave shutterbugs a view of the model's signature assets. The tight, grey tank top cropped just above her belly button, showing off her toned abdominal muscles and trendy, bejeweled piercing. With the LA chill still in full swing, the former Baldwin covered up with an oversize flannel that coordinated perfectly with her red and black Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG sneakers. In typical dancer fashion, Bieber wore loose fitting sweatpants that would give her the most mobility while practicing the class' choreography. She had her signature dirty blonde tresses tied up in a messy bun. Her noticeably makeup free face was covered up by a pair of large gold framed aviator shades, which matched her mini gold hoops. After dancing her heart out, the television personality was captured leaving her dance class with a water bottle in hand. Head-to-toe: Bieber focused her dance class ensemble around shades of black, red, grey, and white Ready to go: The sun was setting as Hailey exited her afternoon dance class looking ready for a good nap Nice sneakers: Hailey decided to dance in a pair of Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG sneakers Her hair changed from a messy bun to a half-down, half-up 'do, which blew about in the wind as she made her way back to her rose gold Lamborghini SUV. Earlier in the day, the wife to Justin Bieber looked more modest while enjoying a lunch date with a friend. Hailey dined at the popular Beverly Hills eatery, South Beverly Grill. The blonde bombshell donned a sporty, two-toned sweatshirt, which she paired with light-wash denim boyfriend jeans. She showcased her favorite pair of pointy, black sock boots, which dressed up the overall look. The most eye-catching piece of Hailey's ensemble was her Balenciaga hand-bag which was designed to resemble the brand's in-store shopping totes. With her hair pulled back and her shades concealing her face, it was clear Hailey wasn't looking to be recognized. But she didn't get her wish since shutterbugs were able to capture the former Drop The Mic host in all her off-duty model glory. Lunch with a pal: Earlier in the day, the model arrived for lunch with a friend in Beverly Hills Off-duty look: Bieber rocked a perfect mix of casual and classy, as she stepped out in a sweatshirt and jeans paired with her favorite sock boots Nice bag: When Hailey moved her arm to sweep her hair out of her face, shutterbugs got a view of her unique Balenciaga handbag The outing comes soon after Justin made headlines on Wednesday when he addressed trolls who've been commenting recently on his physical appearance - with some suggesting he was on meth - by sharing that he has several medical issues. Taking to Instagram he penned: 'While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s**t, on meth etc. they failed to realize I've been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health.' 'These things will be explained further in a docu series I'm putting on YouTube shortly.. you can learn all that I've been battling and OVERCOMING!! 'It's been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever NO CAP,' he added. South Beverly Grill: Her lunch place of choice was the highly acclaimed South Beverly Grill German Chancellor Angela Merkels visit to Moscow, scheduled for January 11, will be a one-day trip, a spokesperson for the German embassy in Russia said. "The chancellor will arrive in Moscow for a one-day visit," the spokesperson said in response to a question, According to the embassy spokesperson, Merkel would be accompanied by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. The agenda of the German chancellors meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to cover the developments in Syria, Libya, Iran, Iraq and Ukraine, TASS reported. First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the main point of Merkels visit to the Kremlin is showing Russia's participation in international political life. The fact that she will visit Moscow is very indicative. First, this suggests that Russia is not isolated, as being presented by many politicians, especially in the West. And it is not the first time when Ms. Merkel arrives in Moscow after the events of 2014," he said. Director of the Institute of Political Studies Sergei Markov, in turn, also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will have to discuss a number of key issues. I believe that the most important topic is Nord Stream-2, the political scientist emphasized. According to him, the head of state will also discuss with Merkel her participation in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in Moscow, the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the aggravation of relations between the United States and Iran. Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the death of the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force, General Qasem Soleimani, is not the reason behind the upcoming visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Russia. 10.01.2020 LISTEN A gender equality advocate, Comfort Benon, has urged for more education on Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in communities. This comes as a result of the negative consequences it has on people, specifically, women and girls. Her view is that, unlimited access to safe water and sanitation are undoubtedly human rights for people everywhere across the globe, especially for women and girls, as recognized in 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. For these rights, society will need the right systems: well-resourced, capable institutions delivering services and changing behavior in resilient and appropriate ways. As it stands, over 2.2 billion people worldwide lack access to safely managed drinking water services while an estimated 4.2 billion still lack safely managed sanitation services. Unsafe hygiene practices are seen everywhere on daily basis, degenerating the negative impacts on peoples health, especially those in deprived communities. The effect on child mortality rates is so dire with more than 297,000 children below the age of five dying every year as a result of diarrheal diseases, a consequence of poor sanitation, poor hygiene, or unsafe water In the absence of a facility that safely separates human waste from human contact, people are rendered with no other alternative than to use unsafe public latrines or resort to open defecation. This is often a headache to women and girls, as they have to wait until the cover of darkness before going out to locate a place of convenience, a phenomenon which sometimes leave them to be abused and sexually assaulted. In the immediate environment, lack of an improved sanitation facility will only expose fecal matter back into peoples food and water resources, thus leading to the spread of deadly diseases such as cholera. In some parts of the world, there is little or no awareness of good hygiene practices and their role in reducing the spread of diseases. However, it is often the case that even when people do have knowledge of good hygiene behavior, they lack the soap, safe water and washing facilities they need to make positive change to protect themselves and their community. Indeed, access to water, sanitation and hygiene will help drive progress towards the SDGs concerned with poverty, work and economic growth, also it will help achieve gender equity. It is women and girls who bear the burden of collecting water and caring for relatives who are sick due to lack of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and who often miss out on education due to domestic roles assigned them. Lack of WASH worsen the marginalization of females by locking them into a cycle of poverty and struggles, with wider consequences for society. The impact of universal access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) on global health would be wide and varied as women and girls would have the facilities and knowledge to be able to manage their menstrual cycles in safety and dignity. There is also the potential to save the lives of the over 829,000 people who currently die every year from diseases caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices, and we could also drastically reduce child malnourishment, and help eradicate physical and mental under-development. YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a telephone conversation during which they agreed over NATOs participation in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, the State Department said in a statement, reports TASS. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo spoke today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg regarding the Iranian regime's dangerous attacks against Ayn al-Asad and Erbil Air Bases, and the continued threat Iran poses to the region, Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. Secretary Pompeo reiterated President Trump's call for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East, and the two agreed NATO could contribute more to regional security and the fight against international terrorism, she added. The situation in the Middle East escalated on January 3, when the United States delivered air strikes at the area near the Baghdad airport, killing commander of Iran's Quds Force Major General Qasem Soleimani. In response, Tehran delivered air strikes at two facilities in Iraq used by US forces Ayn al Asad air base and airport in Erbil. From the flood-ravaged banks of the Brahmaputra to the disappearing wetlands of the Mekong, Asia's main waterways -- and the people that live along them -- are fighting for survival. Climate change, international politics, spiralling population growth, and unchecked development are putting unprecedented strain on key waterways in some of the most densely populated nations on earth. The continent's ten major rivers flow out of the Tibetan Plateau, which China has political control over, creating unique challenges and requiring international cooperation if Asia is to boom in the century ahead. India is grappling with a water crisis on all fronts as global warming creates more extreme weather and poor environmental planning puts millions at risk. "The water crisis is expected to worsen as the country's population is set to grow to about 1.6 billion by 2050," says Pradeep Purandare, a former professor with the Water and Land Management Institute. Flooding on the Brahmaputra is becoming increasingly violent, displacing entire communities and causing hundreds of deaths. But along its banks, as with much of India, there are few provisions in place to harness or conserve water when there's an abundance, and a lack of proper management when there's too little. As a result, some 163 million people in India, which is set to become the world's most populous nation in the next eight years, live without access to clean water, according to WaterAid. In neighbouring Pakistan, the mighty Indus is under threat from global warming. The waterway's basin produces 90 percent of Pakistan's food supply, according to the United Nations, with agriculture dependent on irrigation from the river, which in turn heavily relies on meltwater from the Himalayas. With its surging population, experts warn the nation faces "absolute water scarcity" by 2025, citing the loss of the Himalayan glaciers as a key threat. The Mekong nations -- China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam -- are struggling to ensure sustainable development, jeopardising hundreds of millions of lives. Under the tagline "Shared River, Shared Future", China -- which sits upstream -- insists it seeks only the sustainable development of the river and to split the spoils of a trade and energy boom. But squeezed for value by the dams lacing China's portion of the river, and further downstream, the Mekong is already changing. Fish stocks have collapsed, say Thai fishermen, while endemic species like the giant Mekong catfish and river dolphins are on the brink of extinction. Internally, China faces challenges of its own. Decades of rapid development has left the Yangtze, the world's third-longest river, and its tributaries choked with toxic chemicals, plastic and garbage, threatening the main drinking water source of nearly 400 million people -- a third of China's population. Authorities even publicly disclosed the existence of more than 250 "cancer villages" -- mostly in the Yangtze basin, according to the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, which linked the increases to water pollution. Protecting the Yangtze -- which irrigates an area responsible for 45 percent of the country's GDP -- is now a priority, with President Xi Jinping calling for an end to "destructive" development along it. ukrainian jet crash site skitched Ebrahim Noroozi/AP US, British, and Canadian intelligence have determined that the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran on Wednesday morning was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile a conclusion Iran has strongly denied. Physical evidence at the crash site could prove what happened, but images from the scene show workers appearing to move chunks of debris with heavy machinery. One expert said this could make it "next to impossible" to properly investigate the crash. Iran has also been reluctant to hand over the flight recorders from the Boeing 737-800. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Iran has used bulldozers to move around pieces of debris from a crashed Ukrainian passenger jet, possibly destroying evidence that could help prove what happened to the doomed flight. Images and reports from the crash site, just outside the Iranian capital, Tehran, show at least one bulldozer working in the debris at the site, where the Boeing 737-800 crashed Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people on board. The crash site is at the center of a tense geopolitical struggle over exactly what brought down the jet, which was operated by Ukrainian International Airlines. Iran has said the plane crashed because of an unspecified technical issue on board. But the US, British, and Canadian governments all say the jet was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, citing information from their intelligence services. A video also appeared to show the impact. Physical evidence from the crash site could provide more information about what happened, but the usefulness of the evidence could be compromised if it is disturbed. Giancarlo Fiorella, a researcher for the investigative website Bellingcat, shared a thread of photos that he said showed heavy machinery at work. "I find these photos distressing because this could potentially be the scene of a crime," Fiorella told Channel 4 News. Story continues "If this was a shoot-down event, you don't want to disturb the crash site before a thorough investigation can be conducted, and I'm not sure that one has been conducted." Eliot Higgins, another Bellingcat investigator, tweeted that disturbing the wreckage would make it "next to impossible" to properly investigate the crash. Others, including the US ambassador to Germany, effectively accused Iran of mounting a cover-up. The presence of heavy machinery at the crash site is among numerous problems that complicate the pursuit of the truth behind the crash. The Ukrainian jet was manufactured by a US company, Boeing, whose participation in the investigation is in doubt amid a turbulent time for relations between Iran and the US. It is not yet clear whether the US will be allowed access to the crash site to conduct its own investigation, but CNN, citing the country's semiofficial Fars News Agency, reported that Iran invited the US "as the manufacturer of Boeing to be present." The Wall Street Journal cited Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, as telling Iran's Channel 2 news that the agency didn't plan on handing over the flight-recorder information to Boeing or the US in its investigation. The investigation is further muddled as a preliminary report from an Iranian investigation indicated that the so-called black boxes aboard the plane which harbor data and cockpit communications were damaged and lost parts of their memory, the Associated Press reported. The Iranian report also said that "no radio messages were received from the pilot regarding unusual situations" and that eyewitnesses recalled seeing the plane engulfed in flames before the crash, the AP reported. Abedzadeh denied any Iranian responsibility for the crash, The Journal reported, citing Iran's Channel 2. He told the local news outlet it was "not possible" an Iranian missile had hit the jet. "How would the antiaircraft system shoot it?" Abedzadeh said. "It wasn't a security area." Read the original article on Business Insider The echoes of shotgun blasts were still reverberating off the walls of the sanctuary as Jack Wilson tried to draw a bead on the gunman. "The only clear shot I had was his head because I still had people in the pews that were not all the way down as low as they could," Wilson later told The Associated Press. "That was my one shot." In the tangle of confused and panicked people scrambling for safety, Wilson's line of sight cleared for an instant. "I fired one round. The subject went down." And there it was: "A good guy with a gun had stopped a bad guy with a gun." Two members of the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, near Fort Worth, had been killed by the shooter but Wilson's quick actions on Dec. 29 had undeniably prevented more deaths among the 240 people in attendance. Wilson estimated that the attack and his response lasted about six seconds. The shooter at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs two years ago had seven minutes and had killed 26 people and wounded another 20. The fact that Wilson was there to immediately intervene became exhibit No. 1 for those who argue that the best response to gun violence is to arm more law-abiding citizens to stop shooters in their tracks. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton credited a state law passed last year that clarified that Texans with concealed-carry licenses may bring their weapons into places of worship unless expressly prohibited. If there is any church in this state, in America, that was prepared for this, it was this church, Paxton said a day after the shooting. They had done their training. And I think that you could see it in the results. President Donald Trump weighed in with a supportive tweet: "It was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners who acted to protect 242 fellow worshippers. Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!" A Republican lawmaker in Alabama said events at the church had inspired him to reintroduce legislation that would strengthen "stand your ground" laws in that state. Church leaders across Texas said they already were focused on security and whether to incorporate volunteer security teams into their worship plans. Skeptics of the "good guy with a gun" solution to gun violence, including the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, must concede that there are certainly cases when it works, whether the armed response comes from a law enforcement officer or a well-trained private citizen. Deadly weapons in sacred spaces are an unholy notion for many of us regardless of our Second Amendment views. They shouldnt be necessary. But in a country with more guns than people, the dangers seem omnipresent. It has become clear that declaring public spaces to be "gun-free zones" doesn't deter those intent on doing evil, especially in places where they know people are particularly vulnerable, such as places of worship. But "good guy" proponents need to be careful about reading too much into the events in White Settlement. The answer is more complicated that a catchy slogan. George Zimmerman no doubt believed he was the good guy when he confronted Trayvon Martin. The armed security guard at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., was ineffective until backup arrived. And even the quickest response is not enough when firearms with high-capacity magazines and some at-home modifications allow a gunman to shoot a person per second. Not every church can be blessed with a Jack Wilson, a 71-year-old firearms instructor and former reserve sheriffs deputy who had the composure to wait that extra second for innocent bystanders to get out of the line of fire. Nor can every church expect the self-control of the five or six other volunteers Wilson said were also on hand but didn't recklessly open fire in the crowded room when the shooting started. It also should be noted that Wilson and his team were specifically tasked with security during the service and were already alert to the gunman's suspicious behavior even before he pulled his shotgun. That is very different from the idea of arming teachers who would be dealing with dozens of other details and distractions with students in different buildings and locations across a large campus. It's also not the same as depending on "good guys" in darkened movie theaters or crowded malls to exercise the kind of care and coordination as Wilson's team showed during the Sunday morning service. We should continue to push for responsible gun ownership, improving efficient background checks and using red-flag laws to keep lethal weapons out of the hands of those who would do harm. We can be grateful for this good guy with a gun while we do everything possible to make sure the bad guys dont get one.. Charged with Child Abuse in Colorado Carla Faith, a former owner of daycare centers in Culver City in 1990s that were stripped of their licenses, has been charged in Colorado Springs with multiple counts relating to her childcare facility. The State of Colorado has suspended the license for Play Mountain Place daycare in Colorado Springs after 26 children were found behind a false wall in the owner's basement. All of the children are under the age of 3. Faith, 58, has been charged with child abuse and attempt to influence a public servant, and accused of hiding nearly 30 kids behind a fake wall in the facility and housing more children than permitted. In the 1990s, Faith operated Faith Family Day Care, housed in at least two homes on Madison Avenue and Lafayette Place in Culver City. Only one was licensed for 12 children. The daycare centers were later shut down by the state. According to a report in the April 25, 1998 edition of the Los Angeles Times: "After initially being denied entry to the residence, investigators found two staff members hurrying off through an alley with 31 children between 18 months and 4 years of age. Thirteen children were inside the home," according to the incident report. "They were racing the children down the alley to a place where they could hide," said one investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity. "These were little kids, tripping and falling as they were being herded along. Some didn't even have shoes on. I've never seen anything like it." Germaine Abood, whose son attended one of Faith's daycare facilities in Culver City, where staff was caught hiding children, told Fox News in Denver last month that Faith "is a sociopath." "It's identical. It's exactly what she does," said Abood. "There's bats in her belfry, let's put it that way. She's a sociopath." Abood's son was one of 44 children local authorities discovered hidden at the daycare, a facility licensed for just 12 kids. "When you walked in the front gate it was like a child's nirvana, and it was all smoke and mirrors. It was terrible. She hid kids in closets, in the attic. He (my son) was terrified of the dark for years," Abood told Fox News. Last month Colorado Springs police were asked to assist with a welfare check at Play Mountain Place daycare center after receiving a complaint. Upon their arrival, police officers were unable to locate any children. The owner of the property refused to cooperate with police. Upon hearing children in the house, officers found a false wall that led to the basement where they located the children. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in his talk with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the United States is ready to offer their support and assistance in the investigation of plane crash of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) in Tehran. "Spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky to express my deepest condolences for the lives lost in the tragic crash of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752. We stand with Ukraine and are ready to offer our support and assistance in the ongoing investigation," he wrote on Twitter on Friday. It is an isolated Australian town left devastated by the countrys ongoing bush fires: homes have been destroyed, livelihoods wrecked and the one road in and out entirely cut off. But, as of Fridays, residents in Mallacoota, Victoria, can at least remove one concern from the list: running out of beer. The countrys navy has shipped in 800 emergency galleons of ale to a pub in the town to ensure that locals in the coastal community are not forced to go without a weekend pint. The package was included in a supply run to the town, which has relied on such sea-borne deliveries since wildfires cut off road access on New Years Eve. "A pub with no beer is bad enough at the best of times," said Peter Filipovic, chief executive of Carlton & United Breweries which is supplying the drink. The pub is at the heart of regional communities and, after what Mallacoota residents and firefighters have been through, the least we would do is make sure they could enjoy a beer." Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in the state of New South Wales on 31 December 2019 AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billows from a huge bushfire that has torched over 200,000 acres of land in East Gipplsand, Victoria on 2 January EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Residents look on as flames tear through bushland in Lake Tabouriee, Australia on 4 January on 4 January Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Boats are pulled ashore as smoke and wildfires rage behind Lake Conjola on 2 January Robert Oerlemans via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighting helicopter tackles a bushfire in East Gippsland, Victoria on 31 December EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter gives water to a parched koala in Cudlee Creek, South Australia AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters tackle a blaze as it tears through a farm in New South Wales on 21 December AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The sky is turned red over East Gippsland as fires continue to rage through Australian bushland on 4 January Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A kangaroo near bushfires in Nowra AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures An aerial view of a bushfire near Bairnsdale State Government of Victoria/EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters work to tackle a blaze on the outskirts of Sydney on 31 December 2019 Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighting helicopter dumps water on a bushfire on the outskirts of the town of Bargo near Sydney Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Children play at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A satellite image of the Batemans Bay showing smoke and fire from wild bushfires European Union, Copernicus Sentinel Data via REUTERS Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires in Nowra AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The sky glows red as bushfires continue to rage in Mallacoota, Victoria Jonty Smith via Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The remains of burnt out buildings along a main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters try to protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales NSW Rural Fire Service/AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale Glen Morey via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Business owners stand in front of their shop which was destroyed by a bushfire in Cobargo EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A helicopter dumping water on a fire in Victoria's East Gippsland region Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning/AFP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Think smoke from bushfires fills the air in eastern Gippsland Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures "Carmelised" snow caused by dust from Australian bushfires is seen near Franz Josef glacier in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park, New Zealand Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland, Victoria. More than 800,000 hectares have been burnt in East Gippsland EPA/DELWP Gippsland Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland EPA/DELWP Gippsland Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures LIFES.A.BREEZE via Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke and wildfire rage behind Lake Conjola Robert Oerlemans via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A house and van are seen destroyed after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A helicopter fighting a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region State Government of Victoria/AFP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Fire and Rescue personal run to move their truck as a bushfire burns next to a major road and homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Amy, left, and Ben Spencer sit at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter sprays foam retardant on a back burn ahead of a fire front in the New South Wales town of Jerrawangala AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Two bushfires approach a home located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Property damaged by the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield, Victoria EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Property under threat from the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The main street of the New South Wales town of Bombala is pictured shrouded in smoke from nearby bushfires AFP via Getty Certainly, it was a gesture widely appreciated in the town. "God bless the navy," wrote one resident on Facebook. "Not all heroes wear capes" noted another. It comes after a torrid few weeks for the rural community: Mallacoota was the scene of some of the most dramatic fires the country has ever seen with some 4,000 residents and tourists fleeing to nearby beaches at one point as flames surrounded the town. About 1,000 vulnerable people were evacuated by the Australian Royal Navy. Reacting to potential criticism of the move to include beer in the latest supplies run, an Australian Defence Force spokesperson told CNN that the beer would positively impact the morale of the community and denied it was "occupying unnecessary space. It will be delivered on the 16,000-tonne HMAS Choules. Unprecedented bush fires have been raging across Australia since September spread by record temperatures. At least 27 people have been killed, along with an estimated one billion animals. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, meeting activists held during protests against the amended Citizenship Act and accusing the government of acting against the Constitution. "They were holding a peaceful agitation," she said. Priyanka met activist couple Ekta Shekar Singh and her husband Ravi Shekhar, who were arrested. "Ekataji's little daughter was waiting for her. They told me everything. Injustice was meted out to them. They were thrown in jail, kept there for 15 days and serious charges were levelled against them. "I am proud that they struggled and raised their voice for their country. Whatever the government is doing is anti-constitutional," Priyanka told reporters. During her four-hour visit, Priyanka paid obeisance at Sant Ravidas temple. Later she reached Shrimath on boat and met social activists and those held "illegally and lodged in jail by the Yogi Adityanath government," a Congress statement said. Priyanka was also scheduled to visit Kashi Vishwanath temple before leaving for Jaipur. Priyanka met Dalit worker Anup Shramik, BHU student Deepak and students and representatives of civil society. FREDERICTON - NB Power and Hydro-Quebec have signed three deals that will see Quebec sell more electricity to New Brunswick and provide help with the refurbishment of the Mactaquac hydroelectric generating station. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Snow and ice cover the exterior of the intake structure at the Mactaquac generating station on Tuesday, Dec.20, 2016. NB Power and Hydro-Quebec have signed three deals that will see Quebec sell more electricity to New Brunswick and provide help with the refurbishment of the Mactaquac hydroelectric generating station. THE CANADIAN PRESS/James West FREDERICTON - NB Power and Hydro-Quebec have signed three deals that will see Quebec sell more electricity to New Brunswick and provide help with the refurbishment of the Mactaquac hydroelectric generating station. Under the first agreement, Hydro-Quebec will export 47 terawatt hours of electricity to New Brunswick between now and 2040 over existing power lines expanding on an agreement in place since 2012. The second deal will see Hydro-Quebec share expertise for part of the refurbishment of the Mactaquac dam to extend the useful life of the generating station until at least 2068, when the 670 megawatt facility on the St. John River will be 100 years old. Since the 1980s, concrete portions of the facility have been affected by a chemical reaction that causes the concrete to swell and crack. Hydro-Quebec has been dealing with the same problem, and has developed expertise in addressing the issue. "This is why we have signed a technical collaboration agreement between Hydro-Quebec and us for part of the refurbishment of the Mactaquac generating station," NB Power president Gaetan Thomas said Friday. Eric Martel, CEO of Hydro-Quebec, said hydroelectric plants provide long-term clean power that's important in the fight against climate change. "We understand how important it is to ensure the long term sustainability of these facilities and we are happy to share the expertise that Hydro-Quebec has acquired over the years," Martel said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The refurbishment of the Mactaquac generating station is expected to cost between $2.9 billion and $3.5 billion. Once the work begins, each of the facility's six generators will have to be taken offline for months at a time, and Thomas said that's where the increased power from Quebec will come into use. He expects the power could cost about $100 million per year but will be much cheaper than other sources. The third agreement calls for talks to begin for the construction of additional power connections between Quebec and New Brunswick to increase exports to Atlantic Canada and the United States. "Building new interconnections and allowing for increased power transfer between our systems could be mutually beneficial. More than ever, we are looking to the future," Martel said. "Partnering will permit us to seize new business opportunities together and pool our effort to support de-carbonization and fight against climate change, both here and in our neighbourhood market," he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020. At a Springfield group home for individuals with developmental disabilities, staff encouraged residents to fight each other and awarded prizes including money, cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol, according to reports made to state officials in 2011. According to one account substantiated by the states Disabled Persons Protection Commission, a victim was hit so hard by a housemate during an arranged fight that a tooth was knocked out and he got a bloody nose. Staff would pull the shades down and cheer, and may have recorded video of some fights. State agencies learned of the allegations about the home, run by the organization Guidewire, from an anonymous letter reporting that two residents stabbed each other over the outcome of a fight. Eight employees were fired, according to the state Department of Developmental Services. A spokesman for SEIU 509, which began representing Guidewire workers in 2012, said in 2018 the employees were given the right to return to work at facilities funded by the Department of Developmental Services. Guidewire was subject to a corrective action plan that included unannounced visits by Department of Developmental Services staff and regular meetings between state workers and Guidewire leadership. Staff were retrained, a new human rights coordinator and new residential services director were hired, the agency conducted daily and then weekly monitoring visits to its residential programs, and each residence was assigned its own program director. In September 2011, Guidewires founder and longtime president Linda Sullivan left. No criminal charges were filed. At all times our main focus is the safety and the protection of the people we serve. So if we learn about something, we take immediate action, said Peter Vangsness, vice president of operations at Guidewire. Thats what we did back then. Information about the fight club, which has never before been reported publicly, was obtained by The Republican/MassLive through a records request to the Disabled Persons Protection Commission for complaints made about Guidewire. The information reveals that in the years since the fight club, homes run by Guidewire have continued to be the subject of complaints alleging abuse and neglect. The records show 279 complaints made against Guidewire between 2013 and early September 2019. Many were unsubstantiated, closed or not investigated because they did not fall under the agencys jurisdiction for example, cases in which the alleged abuser was not a caregiver or there was no serious injury. A few were redacted because of ongoing investigations. Some complaints fell under the jurisdiction of other state agencies dealing with children and the elderly, both of which refused to provide information about investigations, saying they were confidential under state law. Of the 279 complaints, 33 were investigated and substantiated; some incidents resulted in multiple complaints. According to corrective action plans obtained from the Department of Developmental Services through a separate records request, at least 10 more Guidewire employees have been fired since 2013. The Protection Commission also referred 40 complaints to district attorneys for possible criminal charges including some substantiated incidents and others listed as unsubstantiated or not investigated. Some of these cases would not fall under the states definition of abuse or neglect, which requires a victim to suffer serious emotional or physical injury. For example, one case involved someone stealing cash from folders belonging to a West Springfield home and four residents. The Massachusetts Coalition of Families and Advocates, which advocates for people with developmental disabilities, identified Guidewire as one of the service organizations in the state with the most complaints filed, substantiated and referred to DAs. From fiscal 2010 to 2019, their comparison found, Guidewire had 46 substantiated complaints the second-highest total. The organizations comparison did not consider each organizations size or client severity. With offices in Springfield, Chicopee and Pittsfield, Guidewire serves around 125 people at more than 45 homes around Western Massachusetts, according to Vangsness. It has a reputation for accepting some of the most challenging clients. The organization has received between $15 million and $20 million in state money each year since 2012, primarily to provide residential and day services to people with disabilities. Experts say the problems at Guidewire point to systemic problems in a low-wage, high-turnover industry that serves some of the states most vulnerable residents and is ripe for abuse. I think that was closure for her In June 2015, a 19-year-old female resident at a Guidewire home reported being raped by her nighttime caregiver. The victims mother, Melissa, and stepfather, Michael, said the woman, who has the mentality of a child, had only lived at Guidewire for a few months and was living in a home by herself under staff supervision. The Republican is withholding the parents last names to protect the victims identity. Melissa said at first, staff did not believe her daughter but Melissa insisted the woman be taken to an emergency room. Wilbraham police arrested Michael Long, 27. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with intellectual disability, and was sentenced in January 2019 to five to seven and a half years in state prison. The parents said Guidewire would not find another placement for the woman after the rape. She moved back to a locked home run by another agency, which she had previously left to gain more independence. Guidewire, she said, ... didnt give her any therapy because of the trauma that happened." After the rape, Melissa said, her daughter was more likely to hurt herself. Longs sentencing finally brought some measure of comfort. Once they put handcuffs on him, she squeezed my hand, and I think that was closure for her, Melissa said. Vangsness said when Guidewire learned of the allegations against Long, We took him out of there and terminated his employment, and referred the case to law enforcement. But while the case was pending, Long got a job with another human services provider, ServiceNet, where he worked from May 2016 to October 2017. The Department of Developmental Services only filed an action plan in response to its own internal investigation in 2019, once the police investigation concluded. The plan said the victim was receiving counseling in another home. It recommended that Guidewire reconsider its policy of allowing a resident to be supervised alone by one staffer. The records show one other substantiated complaint of sexual abuse. In 2014, a resident reported that a Guidewire employee touched her sexually in her room. The victim was taken to a hospital, where staff found injuries consistent with sexual abuse. Guidewire fired the employee, who was later found by a Department of Developmental Services report to have been working alone in the victims home. Other substantiated complaints involve physical abuse. Several times, according to the records, staff were reported for striking, punching, slapping or improperly restraining a resident. In 2014, a resident urinated on himself at night and an employee asked him to change the sheets, according to a Disabled Persons Protection Commission report. When the resident was not fast enough, the employee struck him, leaving his eyelid swollen and bruised. The worker was terminated, arrested and charged with assault and battery on a person with an intellectual disability. A Department of Developmental Services report said the worker had previously pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a different case involving physical abuse of a person with a disability. Several complaints in 2018 involved workers who were fired or placed on leave. In one case, an employee bent a residents fingers back after the resident got into the [workers] personal space. A Department of Developmental Services report said that employee was terminated after failing a medication certification test three times and for not working out. Staff at the home reported feeling very overwhelmed with the responsibilities of caring for the residents, the report said. In another case, a day program resident suffered a concussion from being slammed against a wall by a staffer, who was terminated. Yet another employee was placed on leave for striking a resident with a dust mop while trying to move the resident from room to room. The employee claimed the resident had hit them on the head and spit in their mouth. In a 2017 case, meanwhile, a worker left a bottle of ibuprofen unintended. A resident took 24 pills and was found on the floor unresponsive. The worker tried to hide the bottle. Staff were retrained, and a Department of Developmental Services report said appropriate personnel action was taken. Guidewire's offices on East Columbus Avenue in Springfield.Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican State response Andrew Levrault, assistant general counsel at the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, said if an investigation is substantiated, the investigator makes recommendations for protective services anything from counseling to alternative housing to staff training to provide for the safety of the victim and other residents. Department of Developmental Services spokesman Chris Klaskin said when there is an abuse allegation, the agency immediately works with the provider to ensure the safety of all clients, implement a corrective action plan, increase monitoring through unannounced visits, and conduct an investigation in coordination with DPPC or law enforcement to take the appropriate disciplinary action. Abuse and neglect of any client receiving services through the Department of Developmental Services is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, Klaskin said. All homes undergo licensing inspections by the Department of Developmental Services every two years. Vangsness, of Guidewire, said the company reports abuse or neglect allegations to the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, which investigates. The company implements any action plan and reports back. Since 2011, Vangsness said, Guidewire has increased its training, oversight and education. House managers, who are former direct care staff, oversee the homes. The number of complaints has decreased, Vangsness said, adding: I think we have improved our systems. We are better at educating our staff and oversight of staff." Vangsness said when there is an allegation, the accused staffer is removed immediately from the home, and administrators decide whether to suspend or terminate them. Since 2013, according to the Department of Developmental Services, Guidewire has been subject to 35 corrective action plans for substantiated employee misconduct. The plans include employee discipline, including termination; recommendations for addressing staffing ratios; and staff training on implementing behavioral plans, developing crisis intervention procedures, reviewing the incident reporting process and more. Some reports also identified systemic issues. After a resident was found dead one morning in 2013 at a Guidewire home, investigators wrote that staff had failed to conduct bed checks, and required that staff be retrained. The report did not conclude that bed checks would have prevented the death. Criminal, civil court cases rare Statistically, abuse of people with disabilities rarely leads to prosecution. According to an annual report of the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, around 1,500 cases statewide were sent to district attorneys in both fiscal 2016 and 2017. Only 100 each year resulted in criminal charges. Experts say this is because victims may not be verbal, their memories may be unreliable by the time something is reported, they may be pressured not to testify, and some victims may not want the public attention or stress of testifying. Of the Guidewire cases referred to district attorneys, it is difficult to track how many resulted in criminal charges. A spokesman for Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said the offices case management system can only track cases by offender name and names are redacted in the Disabled Persons Protection Commission data. Three reports from the Department of Developmental Services refer to criminal charges. Only rarely are civil lawsuits filed. Searches of court records involving Guidewire turned up a 2012 case in which the company paid $27,500 to settle allegations that a man contracted pneumonia after staff did not properly administer medication. In a pending wrongful death case, a 72-year-old woman underwent a medical procedure and Guidewire staff were told to call her doctor if she showed side effects. Staff waited overnight to report side effects rather than calling immediately, and the woman died. A Department of Developmental Services action report on the incident faulted staff for not communicating post-operative instructions to subsequent shifts of workers, and faulted staff who were on-duty for not calling an on-call doctor. No criminal charges were filed. Systemic problems Advocates for people with disabilities say the states system for caring for people with disabilities is rife with problems. According to its annual report, the Disabled Persons Protection Commissions hotline received nearly 11,400 calls alleging abuse and neglect in fiscal 2017, up from 6,900 in 2010. Rick Glassman, director of advocacy for the Disability Law Center, said staffing and funding at the commission have not kept up with complaints, and the length of time the agency can take to investigate undermines the confidence that people in the community want to have in the agency. At a legislative hearing in January 2019, the Disability Law Center said the commission sometimes screens out complaints that should be investigated and fails to substantiate allegations that meet the threshold. Glassman said the investigative process raises the appearance of a conflict of interest, since the commission may delegate investigations to the state agency that contracts with the vendor. Glassman, who declined to comment on Guidewire, said in general, corrective plans do not address larger problems like staffing ratios, oversight, hiring or training. The majority of people that do this work are caring professionals that are working under very difficult conditions and that are underpaid and overworked, Glassman said. A bill that passed the state Senate, but not yet the House, would create a registry of care providers who had a substantiated allegation of abuse leveled against them. The registry would be shared with potential employers, who would be prohibited from hiring anyone on the registry. Leo Sarkissian, executive director of the Arc of Massachusetts, which advocates for people with disabilities, said the registry would establish a civil process to make sure people who abuse individuals with disabilities leave the field. You dont want to overdo monitoring, but thats not overdoing it, Sarkissian said. Its making sure the people arent working who did what they did in 2011. LAST July 25 a call came through on my mobile from a researcher from the Marian Finucane Show. That morning it was announced that Adare Manor would host the Ryder Cup in 2026. Would you be available on Sunday morning to join us on the panel for the show, asked the researcher. We are keen to get more of a mix of voices from around the region. Hands up, I got nervous. My thoughts immediately turned to the 300,000 or so listeners around the country who tune into the show of a Sunday morning. While being on national radio isnt completely new to me - Ive been on most of the main radio chat shows, Drivetime, Sean ORourke, Tubridy, Matt Cooper - there was something about the Marian show that got the heartbeat racing and adrenaline rushing. Marian was a very familiar voice in my kitchen and car of a Saturday and Sunday morning. Be it pottering about doing the housework, or driving to Limerick or Charleville for the weekly shop, Marian was always on the dial. On a purely artificial level, I loved the smoky tone of her voice, and the manner in which her intonation would rise and fall depending on her curiosity or disapproval. Anyone on Twitter will know how her bouts of coughing used to drive some people to distraction, but in this age of perfection, I felt it added a nice sense of informality. Of course, on an intellectual level, she was tremendously smart. And thats what really had my nerves jangling. Any radio show I had done until now, I had known my subject, I had written a story about it and was confident enough to handle even a curveball were it to come my way. But with the panel set-up on the Marian show it would be a complete game of curveball. In fairness to the producer she offered a few topics which could be up for discussion while warning that the contents of the Sunday papers would be key to the panel discussion. The Ryder Cup was a given and then there was Brexit and Boris, the FAI scandal and...wait for it... parklands in Zimbabwe! The Government in Zimbabwe is selling off the country's public parks, and there's concern about what will happen to the animals and the land, said the researcher, that might be discussed. Life is about challenges so I bit the bullet and said count me in. Even before the phone call, I was Dublin-bound that weekend with the Limerick hurlers playing Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final on the Saturday. They lost. After the sickening defeat in Croke Park I headed to The Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan to begin my nights study ahead of Sunday's show. With the Saturday papers scattered out across the bed, it was the year 2000 all over again, and the night before my Leaving Cert. Next morning, the alarm went off at six bells and it was time for a Full Irish with the Sunday papers. A taxi - also organised by RTE - arrived at the front door of the hotel at 8.45am to take me the short distance to the RTE radio studio for the 9am briefing. Already inside the conference room, filling up a cup of coffee, was Conor Brophy, director of Strategic Communications at Teneo. It was Conors third time on show. We all remember that one person from our first day at school or work who took us under their wing, and for this newbie on the Marian show, it was Conor. Does Marian come in for the briefings? I asked, mad keen to meet the woman herself. No, when Brendan OConnor fills in for her, he comes in and meets the panelists but Marian doesnt, Conor replied. Interesting, I thought to myself, not sure if I liked this approach. The other guests arrived over the next 20 minutes or so - Noel Dorr, former ambassador to the UK and secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs; Gary Murphy, professor of Politics, DCU; and Allison Morris, security correspondent with The Irish News. They had all appeared on the show before and would have needed to be on ice to be any cooler. A number of copies of the Sunday papers - tabloids and broadsheets - were spread out across a row of chairs. A researcher asked us all to jot down a few lines on stories we had an interest in, which she then took into Marian for her perusal. The same researcher checked in on us around two more times before her final calling at 10.55 to accompany us to the radio suite. With the 11am news coming to a close in walks Marian toting a fine sized handbag and some paperwork. After a quick hello to her guests, she comments that it feels a little cold, and the air con is swiftly turned up. Were prompted to put our headphones on, the programmes jingle begins and were off! Hello there and a very good morning to you. My heart is thumping so hard in my chest Im convinced they can hear it over the airwaves at home in Kilmallock. Marian introduces her guests and immediately turns to yours truly. Now, before we get into the blood and guts of this, my deepest sympathies on one point yesterday... I presume there is despair going on, she comments of the Limerick hurlers loss in Croker. Id love to say those few words put me at ease, but I was as nervous as ever. The next 15 minutes are devoted to Brexit and Boris, an extension or no extension, followed by opinions on swing-gate, the FAI crisis and the Ryder Cup coming to Adare. A researcher has brought in a glass of water and placed it beside Marian. She hasn't coughed once. The second hour sees the arrival of veteran journalist Sam Smith in the studio to talk about his memories of British PM, Boris Johnson. On the line is artist Annabel Eyres who knows Boris since his college days. The bones of the next half an hour is given over to Boris. And then we take a break. The only thing thats left to be discussed is the parklands in Zimbabwe or, in my world, the English poem you had banked on not coming up in the Leaving Cert. As the ads continue to play, the only voice I can hear (in my head) is that of my editor, Eugene Phelan, a previous guest on the show on more than one occasion. On the Thursday when I got the call to be on the panel, his words of advice were, Aine, if you think she is going to bring up a subject that youre not familiar with, be honest and say Marian, dont come near me on that one. We must be down to the last ad at this stage, so the question remains, do I put my hands up and tell Marian the cat ate my homework and risk embarrassing myself in front of one of the countrys most eminent broadcasters or do I stay schtum and risk embarrassment in front of the entire nation? I go with the former and confess my sins. I get the arch of not one, but two of Marians eyebrows followed by the hint of a smile as she nonchalantly heads straight into the discussion on Zimbabwe. Ten minutes later and its time to wrap up. From all of us here, a very good day to you, she sings, removing her headphones and turning off her mic. May she rest in peace. If the budget is key, Hanoi is a must-see in Asia offering the best value. Hanoi, Vietnams capital city, tops the list of 10 most affordable cities, a perfect Asian getting away for backpackers, according to the British Alpha Travel Insurance. The rank was built based on some criteria including the cost per day of hostel, transportation, meals, drinks, and attractions in cities across Asia. Hanoi is the cheapest city in Asia. If the budget is key, the northern capital city is a must-see in Asia offering the best value, with a total daily spend of just US$18.30, wrote Alpha Travel Insurance. Vietnams southern metropolis Ho Chi Minh City ranks third and the ancient town of Hoi An is named in the sixth place. Cambodias Siem Reap leads the cheapest hotel category, on average at US$1.7 per night. Bangkok, the capital of Thailand is a foodies paradise. At just 4.63 (US$5.95) for meals per day, Bangkok is the cheapest city to eat in Asia. While for traveling, Jakarta, Indonesia could be the perfect city with a cost of just 0.55 (US$0.71) a day on attractions. In contrast, Tokyo in Japan hurts the wallet so bad with average spending at US$72.58 per person per day. Hanoi welcomed 21.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2019, of whom 4.7 million were foreigners, a rise of 10.1% year-on-year. The city targets to receive over 8 million international arrivals in 2020. Hanoitimes Ha An Hanoi alone wont be able to mitigate air pollution Mitigating air pollution in Hanoi is a difficult task as pollutants are spread out in the air with no boundaries. Hanoi alone wont be able to fulfill the task, scientists say. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Flu season is in full swing, and public health officials are still urging anyone who hasnt yet gotten a flu shot to do so. That's because the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from the virus. Diligent hand-washing and staying home if youre sick are two other important ways of preventing the flu and keeping it from spreading. But these strategies are not perfect, including the flu shot, which last year prevented about one in three flu illnesses. One additional flu-protection suggestion you may have heard about: humidifying the air around you. Some evidence linking flu activity with winters cold, dry weather conditions has led scientists to suggest that dry air helps the flu to spread while more humid air may make that harder. But can using a humidifier in your home or office really reduce your risk of catching the flu? Here, expert advice on whether you should add one of these devices to your flu-fighting arsenal. The Connection Between Flu and Humidity In temperate parts of the world, outbreaks of flu occur seasonallyin the U.S., beginning usually around the end of fall. A variety of factors likely contributes to that pattern, and the level of humidity may be one of them. For instance, in a 2017 study published in the journal Plos Computational Biology, researchers examined past flu seasons and found that predictions about flu incidence were more accurate when accounting for humidity. Other experiments, using animals and cough-simulating mannequins, have found that flu virus is easily transmitted through the air when humidity is below about 40 or 50 percent, but less likely to be transmitted when the air is at or above 40 or 50 percent humidity. Theres less evidence from real-life settings, but the research that exists is intriguing. In one study published in 2018 in the journal Plos One, researchers installed a commercial humidifier in two preschool classrooms, and compared them with two non-humidified classrooms. Over the course of several weeks of one flu season, they found that samples of air and objects the kids touched from the humidified rooms were less likely to be contaminated with the influenza A virus than those from the non-humidified classrooms. Story continues The researchers also tallied up school absences over the study period, and found that fewer kids from the humidified rooms were out sick with flu-like symptoms. But study author Jennifer Reiman, Ph.D., a member of the Citizen Science Faculty at Bard College, says that 2016, the winter the experiment was conducted, was a light flu year, and the overall number of absences due to flu was too low to draw any conclusions about whether humidifying the rooms really led to fewer illnesses. Should You Humidify to Prevent Flu? Despite the lack of conclusive evidence, using a humidifier is probably a good idea, says Seema Lakdawala, Ph.D., an assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her laboratory research has found that while moderate humidity may not directly affect the flu virus itself, it does make virus particles heavier and faster to fall out of the air after a sick person has breathed, coughed, or sneezed them into a room. In winter, she says: Were in these really controlled indoor environments, where the air isnt circulating, and we are breathing in what everyone else has breathed out. So, keeping the air more humid may mean fewer particles of flu floating around, so youre less likely to breathe them in later. (Of course, once flu lands on surfaces, you can pick the virus up via touch. But thats where diligent hand-washing comes in.) Keeping home humidity between 40 and 60 percent is likely the sweet spot for reducing flu risks, according to Reiman. Going much more humid than that may backfire: Research in tropical climates, where flu season follows a different pattern than in most of the U.S., suggests that both very high and very low humidity help the virus to spread. Too much humidity can also encourage the growth of mold, bacteria, and dust mites, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. (To keep air feeling comfortable but not damp, CR's experts typically recommend humidity levels between 30 and 50 percent.) Our experts also recommend opting for a cool mist humidifier if you have children, because the tanks on warm mist devices contain water thats hot enough to cause burns. Also, if you have a cold, warm mist can cause nasal passages to swell and actually make breathing more difficult, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Here, a few of our top-rated humidifiers. 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 2020, Consumer Reports, Inc. The people who brought you the world's biggest search engine are also working to make your travel planning more efficient. On Wednesday, Google rolled out new features for Google Travel that can help you find the best timing for your trips, determine where you should stay and figure out how much it's really going to cost. The features are some of many tweaks Google has been making to its travel services for years. In 2011, Google purchased travel-industry software and launched Google Flights. It created the app Google Trips in 2016, but closed the service in August of 2019, opting instead to merge travel services with its other products (like Google Maps) under the Google Travel umbrella. The new tweaks are even better for avid Google users who already rely on Gmail or Google Maps, because the advice that the site provides improves as the system learns about your search history and preferences. Google Travel now shows users information about upcoming trips (with a focus on things to do when you get there), potential trips (based on flight searches you've been searching), popular destinations in general and your past trips. "I'd be hard-pressed to point to any aspect of Google [Travel] that I wish they did better," says Scott Keyes, founder of Scott's Cheap Flights, who has been using Google's travel services since launching his company in 2015. "Google continues to be the gold standard in any arena that they enter in - flights, hotels, travel included." These are the additions, and how they can help you get organized. - - - Plan the best trip time You know you want to go to Rome, but you're not sure when to go to Rome. Google Travel now has a feature for people with flexible dates that want to time their trip just right. The site now features tabs like "When to visit" and "What you'll pay" to consult. Fill in your desired travel dates and see the weather forecast, what crowds will be like and how prices vary. The site also shows whether prices for your trip seem high or typical. Once you've figured out where you want to go and when, you'll need to book a flight if you're flying to the destination. Keyes believes that one of the site's best features is its powerful flight search engine that allows users to see options from up to seven origins and seven destinations. The tool is great for people who live in between major airports and want to compare options of flights from different cities. Instead of doing repeat searches, or searching in a sea of new tabs, users can input their preferences upfront and receive all the information in one place. "It'll tell you instantly what is the cheapest fare on any of those 49 routes," Keyes says. "Not only is it really powerful being able to scroll through a ton of different information at once, but it does so really, really quickly." - - - Stay in the best neighborhood, for you Where you stay can be a game-changer for your experience. Google Travel's new features treat choosing a hotel in the right location thoughtfully, showing users summaries of a city's most appealing neighborhoods, including what the area is known for and the average cost of its hotels. Select a location, and Google Travel will narrow down your options to a highlighted neighborhood. Google Travel will also show you hotels similar to places you've stayed before. If you loved a boutique hotel in San Francisco, Google Travel will remember that, and show you something similar. It'll also keep in mind your search history in a given destination. "For example, if you've been researching Tokyo Tower, we'll highlight how far it is from hotels nearby," Google explains. Keyes appreciates the holistic nature of Google integrating all of your profiles to provide new information for travelers. "They do such a good job of integrating so many different aspects of the things that you're looking for in travel," he says. "You've been poring through Google Maps and see some place and save it. And then next time I want to go to Hawaii, I'll look and say, 'Oh, there are these six places that I wanted to go to all around Waimea. So I should maybe be looking at getting a hotel around there.'" Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. People who think the personalized results feel too invasive have the ability to disable them in their account settings. - - - Know the real cost of your trip One of the most frustrating parts of booking hotels online is seeing one price at the beginning of your research, and ending up with a higher one by the end. Google Travel wants to combat that issue by giving users the opportunity to see the total cost of their whole stay, including taxes and fees, so there are no surprises. You can now toggle between seeing the hotel's nightly price without the taxes and fees, the nightly total that includes all of the costs, and the stay total that will tally up everything. - - - Stay one step ahead with trending destinations As a bonus, Google Travel's debut of its new features also predicted trending destinations for 2020, based on the company's search data from December 2019. Apparently, travelers are most interested in visiting Danang, Vietnam; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Seoul; Tokyo; Tel Aviv; Marseille, France; Vienna; Bangkok; Dubai; and Perth, Australia. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 10, 2020 Ruling party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) denies involvement in a financial fiasco faced by state-owned insurance company Asuransi Jiwasraya. PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto slammed an allegation that the Jiwasraya insolvency case was a way to get money to support President Joko Jokowi Widodo's campaign in the 2019 presidential election. We are against any form of financial manipulation. So the law must be upheld and no one can hide behind power, he said in Jakarta on Thursday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney took aim at filthy streets in the downtown neighborhoods during a hearing Thursday on the city's policies regarding trashcans and illegal dumping. The hearing at the supervisors' Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee included representatives from various city departments, including Public Works, the Department of Public Health, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Recology. "Today we're going to talk some trash," Haney said. "We have a huge problem with trash and litter on our streets, that's true all over our city. It's especially true in the district that I represent; downtown, South of Market and the Tenderloin particularly. This is something that comes up all the time from residents, from workers, from tourists, from businesses," he said. Haney said it is "deeply concerning and somewhat mind-boggling that we haven't been able to solve this problem. It also seems that there are practical, common sense solutions--preventative and proactive solutions--that can be implemented if we work together," he said. During the hearing, representatives from both Public Works and the Public Health Department acknowledged ongoing challenges in addressing trash on the streets. According to Public Works, there are currently no metrics used in determining the placement of public trash cans, while public health officials noted policy loopholes that make it difficult to ensure that mixed-use buildings and certain residential hotels receive adequate trash service. In response, Haney suggested placing trashcans in every corner in high traffic areas of the city. He also called for the use of high tech trashcans. "It's important that we have trashcans that meet the demands of high density urban areas like the new total containment cans such as PEL's and Big Bellys, and that we expand the new spill-proof Recology recycle bins to all areas where dumpster spills are a recurring problem. We also need to find a similar solution for dumpsters," Haney said. "What's happening out there right now is not working," he said. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A proposal to build San Franciscos fourth-tallest building, the final major project in the Transbay district, received key approvals Thursday. The Planning Commission approved the 61-story tower at 546 Howard St., a project that now requires final approval from the Board of Supervisors. The tower, to be built on a site know as Parcel F, would include 165 condos, 189 hotel rooms and 325,000 square feet of office space leased by Salesforce. The project would also help fund 337 affordable apartments a few blocks to the east. Chinatown activists opposed the project late last year because of a shadow it would cast on Willy Woo Woo Wong playground. The citys Recreation and Park Department determined that the shadow from 8 a.m. to 8:20 a.m., November to late January is within limits allowed by the 2011 Transbay plan. C.J. Higley of Farella Braun and Martel, the projects land use attorney, said at Thursdays hearing that an agreement had been reached with the opponents. Those groups, which include Committee for Better Parks and Recreation in Chinatown, now support the project, representative Eddie Ahn said at the hearing. Other Transbay projects, such as Oceanwide Center, have agreed to pay money to support Chinatown parks to offset shadows. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes But Julie Chase, a spokeswoman for Parcel F developers Hines, Urban Pacific and Goldman Sachs, said no payments were made. Fred Clarke of project architect Pelli Clarke Pelli who also designed Salesforce Tower and Salesforce Transit Center said at the hearing that the project would complete the Transbay district. The key last piece is Parcel F, he said. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com More than 16 years have passed since Tran Thi Chuan, a mother of three from the southern Long An province, got the horrible news. SPREADING AWARENESS: Tran Thi Chuan (left) speaks with local women about the effectiveness of ARV treatment. Doctors told her that she had been infected with HIV. Chuan couldn't believe how unlucky she and her family had been, as her beloved husband had died of HIV/AIDS not long before she knew she got the virus from him. Chuan, now 48, from Vinh Thuan Commune, Vinh Hung District, still remembers the chaos of her life at that time. Back then, she didn't dare dream about surviving this long and raising her children. It wouldn't have been possible if she didn't go to HCM City for treatment. SIMPLE JOYS: Chuan says having meals with her children brings her some of her happiest moments. VNA/VNS Photos Thanh Binh HIV/AIDS killed my husband in 2004 when my youngest son was just one year old. I was informed I was infected with the virus not long after. When I heard the bad news, my life fell apart completely. Everything stopped. There was no way ahead, the woman said. Losing her husband also meant losing the family's main source of income, all while Chuan faced the deadly disease. For parents, it is really a hardship to raise three children. It was even worse for me because I was alone and sick with HIV at the same time and had to struggle to survive. At first I didn't know what to do and just wanted to die really, Chuan recalled the hardest time of life. HIV/AIDS was a much worse disease at that time because there were few treatment options. Chuan said that at the time, antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, which slow the disease from replicating, weren't widely available and all HIV-infected people were expected to die quickly. HIV carriers at that time also faced greater social discrimination and isolation than today, particularly from those who did not understand the disease, according to Chuan. However, the greater the challenges, the more Chuan was determined to continue to live for the children. GETTING BY: Chuan prepares drinks for customers. She has a food and drink shop at her house which is her family's main income. She tried to be always optimistic and approached all types of treatment for HIV. With the encouragement of relatives and consulting from local authority officials, Chuan decided to go to HCM City Hospital for ARV treatment. In 2008, Long An Province General Hospital was expanded to provide ARV treatment, so Chuan returned home and continued home-based treatment. She was thrilled to find the ARV was effective, so much so that she decided to help others in the ARV national programme. Optimism and determination to follow the treatment course have helped her live a healthy life for 16 years with HIV concentration in her blood reduced to below the threatening level. Chuan strictly adheres to safety principles, saying that was one of the most important things to prevent the virus spreading to others. She participates in activities promoting HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment by discussing the effectiveness of the ARV programme, particularly among female HIV carriers and their families. Chuan tells people with HIV to approach the programme as a way to survive and live confidently. Proper ARV treatment will absolutely help slow down the progression of AIDS for many years and reduce the risk of transmission and increase the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS, said Chuan. Nguyen Van Ria, head of Kinh Moi Hamlet where Chuan lives, and an official of Vinh Thuan Commune, praised Chuan as a good example of the local programme against HIV/AIDS. Despite her difficulties in life, Chuan has been participating in the local HIV/AIDS prevention programme. She has made a great contribution to the programme by getting along well with people with HIV and women in the same circumstances. She is always ready to try her best to help them, Ria said. Chuan said she chose a positive lifestyle and was ready to face HIV/AIDS as a way to help change society's views of the disease. It is really a positive action to work together with the community to prevent and reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission and help people living with HIV/AIDS live well and be useful for society, said the official. Vietnam records nearly 10,000 new HIV cases and between 2,000 and 3,000 AIDS-related deaths annually, according to a report from the Ministry of Healths Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Fight. The year 2019 was the 11th straight year the epidemic has been kept under control in the country, with decreases in the numbers of new infections, people entering the AIDS phase and AIDS-related deaths. Vietnam is also one of the few countries that have had HIV/AIDS treatment, including ARV therapy, covered by health insurance. Speaking at a ceremony held recently in the northern province of Bac Giang in response to the National Action Month against HIV/AIDS and the WorldAIDS Day (December 1), Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the National Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control, stressed the necessity of co-operation and appealed for efforts by all-level authorities, a stable financial system, a system of timely diagnosis and treatment, and HIV carriers privacy in the combat against HIV/AIDS. To achieve the 90 90 90 targets (90 per cent of people living with HIV know their status; of whom 90 per cent are under treatment; of whom 90 per cent in viral suppression) in 2020, Vietnam needs to have detailed plans and focus on prevention and treatment. Relevant agencies should step up communications and take measures to ensure HIV patients privacy and interests, he noted. He expressed his hope that through these actions, the country would realise its commitments to UN organisations and become one of the countries taking the lead in ending this pandemic. VNS More than 100,000 Vietnamese people die of AIDS Vietnam is being evaluated to have the highest HIV inhibition rate in the world. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 03:13:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close KIEV, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Investigators did not rule out that a missile strike had hit the plane which crashed earlier this week near Tehran, but this version has no confirmation yet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his official Facebook page on Friday. "The version about a missile striking a plane is not ruled out, but today it is not confirmed... we urge all international partners - especially the governments of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom - to submit data and evidence relating to the disaster to the commission for investigation into the cause," Zelensky said on his social media page. Zelensky noted that Ukrainian experts are involved in the investigation of the plane, and he hopes they would provide the details shortly. Zelensky also held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday regarding the investigation of the Boeing 737 crash. "We are grateful for the valuable support of the United States in investigating the causes of the disaster. I met with U.S. Charge d'affaires Christine Quinn and received important information that may help with the investigation," Zelensky said. Pompeo expressed condolences on behalf of the American people over the tragedy, support and willingness to assist in an impartial investigation. On Wednesday morning Ukraine International Airlines stated that 167 passengers and 9 crew members were killed as a result of the plane crash of the Ukrainian Boeing 737 aircraft, which was flying from Tehran to Kiev. The airplane crashed at approximately 6 a.m. Tehran Time on Wednesday shortly after takeoff. Eleven Ukrainian citizens including nine crew members, 82 Iran citizens, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedish, four Afghani, three Germans and three UK citizens were on board the plane. Desde Machupicchu hoy anunciamos que la denominacion de este 2020 es el Ano de la Universalizacion de la Salud. Estamos comprometidos en que todos los peruanos reciban este servicio esencial. pic.twitter.com/TJTU58EylG The MEA said the envoys visit was organised given the prevailing situation in J&K. Srinagar/New Delhi: A delegation of 16 New Delhi-based envoys and other senior diplomats on Thursday began a two-day visit to Srinagar and Jammu for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in Kashmir in the backdrop of New Delhi stripping the erstwhile state of its special status and splitting it up into two Union territories. The delegation, which includes US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, is touring J&K at the invitation of the external affairs ministry, which said they wanted to see firsthand the efforts by the government to normalise the situation in the UT. The other envoys and senior diplomats who are part of the delegation are from South Korea, Brazil, Bangladesh, Peru, Argentina, Niger, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Vietnam, the Philippines, Norway and the Maldives. During their day-long stay in Srinagar, the envoys met security officials, political leaders, civil society groups, artistes and the media, officials said. In the evening, they flew into the UTs winter capital Jammu, where they met lieutenant-governor Girish Chander Murmu, his advisers and senior officials over dinner. On the second leg of their trip, the team will meet leaders and representatives of various political parties, social organisations, civil society groups and media persons. They will also visit the Jagti migrant camp of displaced Kashmiri Pandits before flying back to New Delhi. Soon after their arrival in Srinagar in a chartered plane, the delegation was briefed by the Armys Chinar Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, at the Badami Bagh cantonment on the overall security situation in the hinterland and along the Line of Control, cross-border terrorism and frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops. The MEA said the envoys visit was organised given the prevailing situation in J&K. A report from Delhi said European Union ambassadors were not a part of the group due to certain restrictions. But officials said this was unfounded and mischievous. The MEA said the EU envoys wanted to visit Kashmir in a group but we did not extend an invite to all. It said the envoys visit to J&K was not over, adding similar visits to Kashmir can be organised in future, including by EU envoys. It is more than five months after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcating J&K that the government invited the first group of New Delhi-based diplomats to travel to Srinagar and Jammu. The visit, however, evoked criticism by the Congress, National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, CPI(M) and some other mainstream parties, terming it a guided tour aimed at misleading the world about the ground realities in J&K. The Congress also questioned the governments wisdom and probity in inviting foreign diplomats to visit J&K when the countrys political leaders, including Members of Parliament, were being denied access to the erstwhile state. State CPI(M) leader Muhammad Tarigami said: I fail to understand why the government is conducting such tours of foreign diplomats to J&K, whose political leaders remain incarcerated for more than five months, no political activity is allowed, the Internet remains shut and no interaction is taking place with the average citizen. He added: Also, the government should know the issues confronting J&K can be resolved only by taking its people onboard and not hosting lunches and dinners for foreign envoys. The absence of EU ambassadors from the delegation has raised eyebrows. In response to media reports that the EU envoys did not want to be part of a guided tour, the MEA said this was factually incorrect. It said the EU envoys wanted to visit J&K as a group, but the MEA wanted the group visiting on Thursday to include envoys from several regions in the world. The MEA said: We need to correct a perception. There are reports EU ambassadors did not go as they thought this was a guided tour. Our understanding is very different. We wanted this group to be broad-based. And there were restrictions in numbers. You cant take too large a number, when you are moving and organising meetings. So we wanted this group to be a manageable size. We wanted this group to represent different geographical regions. Subsequently, we will try to organise similar visits to J&K. On EU, when we approached them, they welcomed the decision as many of their ambassadors had requested a visit to J&K. Our understanding is that they wanted to visit in a group. On many issues, they take a group position. The invitation was not sent to all members of the group as it would have clearly made the group too big. We were also told by some of the members that this was organised at short notice. At no stage did we tell them a certain meeting cannot be organised... We are looking at the possibility of organising a visit by EU ambassadors. Lets see how it works out. The mother of a Texas woman fatally shot by a police officer has died in the house where her daughter was killed, an attorney for the family said. Yolanda Carr passed away Thursday morning in the Fort Worth home where an city officer shot her daughter, Atatiana Jefferson, in October, according to lawyer Lee Merritt. 'We just learned Yolanda Carr, the mother of #AtatianaJefferson, passed away in her home early Thursday morning,' Merritt said in a tweet. 'Atatiana was killed by a Fort Worth, TX police officer while serving as the caregiver for Ms. Carr who had recently taken ill. Memorial Service details will follow.' Yolanda Carr passed away Thursday morning in the Fort Worth home where an city officer shot her daughter, Atatiana Jefferson, in October, according to lawyer Lee Merritt Jefferson, 28, had recently moved into her mother's home to care for her when she was shot through a window by Officer Aaron Dean The cause of Carr's death was not immediately known, but she had been getting treatment for congestive heart failure, he said. Jefferson, 28, had recently moved into her mother's home to care for her when she was shot through a window by Officer Aaron Dean. Carr was hospitalized when her daughter was killed and had been missing a 'critical' caregiver since, Merritt said. 'Theyve been reeling from one tragedy to the next,' Merritt said of the family. Dean, now 35, shot Jefferson through a back window after responding to an early morning call about an open front door. Dean, now 35, shot Jefferson through a back window after responding to an early morning call about an open front door of the family's home A neighbor had called a police non-emergency line to report that Jefferson's front door was open. Dean resigned in the days after the shooting and has been charged with murder Atatiana was playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew Zion when Aaron Dean, a Fort Worth police officer, arrived. On body camera footage of the call he cannot be heard identifying himself as police before firing into the house. The victim heard noises, pulled her handgun out of her purse and pointed it at a bedroom window, Zion told police. Dean resigned in the days after the shooting and has been charged with murder. In November, Atatiana's father - Marquis Jefferson - suffered a heart attack and died at a Dallas hospital. Bruce Carter, a spokesman for the father, said that Jefferson had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung condition that obstructs airflow and makes breathing more difficult. In November, Atatiana's father - Marquis Jefferson - suffered a heart attack and died at a Dallas hospital After his daughter's death, Marquis Jefferson sought a temporary restraining order to gain control over the funeral arrangements from his daughter's aunt. Hours before the funeral was originally supposed to take place last month, it was canceled after a judge granted Marquis Jefferson's request. He sought the order to gain control over the funeral arrangements of his daughter from her aunt, Bonita Body. Marquis Jefferson argued that he had been denied any involvement in the funeral planning. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: Uzbekistans Central Bank has disclosed data on the purchase and sale of currency by population and legal entities last year, Trend reports citing Central Bank. The domestic foreign exchange market in 2019 was formed in the context of increase in the volume of operations and the number of participants in all segments. In general, the total volume of operations in the domestic foreign exchange market amounted to $15.5 billion, an increase of 1.4 and 2.2 times compared to 2018 and 2017, respectively," the Central Bank said. In 2019, $3.8 billion were sold through foreign exchange offices by individuals versus $2.7 billion in 2018 (an increase of 41 percent), $1.8 billion were bought (in 2018, $975 million). The balance of foreign exchange transactions between banks and individuals on the purchase and sale of foreign currency amounted to $2 billion, which is 16 percent (or $276 million) more than in 2018. Moreover despite a seasonal decrease in money transfers, in December the historical maximum was recorded for the sale ($500 million) and the purchase ($305 million) by individuals of cash foreign currency, which may be explained by the intensification of repayment of financial obligations by the population and entrepreneurs traditionally implementing them by the end of the year. In 2019, the demand for foreign currency from legal entities increased by 32 percent compared to 2018 ($10.4 billion) and amounted to $13.7 billion. Furthermore, the total volume of over-the-counter transactions for the purchase of foreign currency by households increased 3.8 times and reached $3.2 billion (in 2018 - $845 million). At the same time, the volume of exchange operations grew by 10 percent ($10.5 billion). An analysis of the structure for the purchase of foreign currency shows that the bulk (72 percent) of the purchased currency was used to pay for the import of equipment, goods and raw materials for industrial purposes, 15 percent for imports of consumer goods and medicines, 9 percent for repayment of foreign loans, 2 percent - repatriation of income and 2 percent - for other purposes. The number of business entities-buyers of foreign currency funds increased by 1.5 times during 2019, and by the end of the year reached 7,600 compared to 5,100 in December 2018. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine lays flowers on Thursday at Kievs Boryspil International Airport, the destination of the Ukraine International Airlines plane that crashed in the outskirts of Teheran on Wednesday. President Xi Jinping sent his condolences on Thursday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani over the Wednesday crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran that killed all 176 people aboard. The flight was bound for Kiev. In the message, Xi said he was shocked to learn about the crash of the airliner. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name, Xi conveyed his deep sorrow and extended sincere condolences to the families of the victims. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in the outskirts of Teheran on Wednesday just minutes after its takeoff from Teheran's Imam Khomeini International Airport. Eighty-two Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British people were killed, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister. The plane was trying to return to the airport when it crashed, Iranian investigators said. High level security meet of Home Ministry held: R-Day, J&K discussed India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a security review meeting along with National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval. The focus of the meeting was on the ongoing protests at the universities and also those against the new citizenship law. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the northeastern states, were also discussed at the meeting, sources familiar with the developments told OneIndia. The meeting was also attended by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau chief, Arvind Kumar. The source said that while the overall scenario was discussed in general, the major part of the meeting was dedicated to reviewing the security ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. Delhi elections: Confident that BJP would form govt says Amit Shah SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week During the discussion on J&K, it was decided that the restoration of broadband and internet connectivity be put on hold for some time. There should be no hurried decision on this as it could lead to violence, it was also decided at the meeting. On the deployment of troops at the Valley, it was decided that no further withdrawal shall take place immediately. Any decision in this regard would be taken in the summer after a thorough review, it was also decided at the meeting. Quintana Roo fugitive arrested in Durango Durango, Mexico A subject who was a fugitive in the state of Quintana Roo was arrested in Durango by elements of the State Police (PE). The Ministry of Public Security (SSP) made the announcement that, during a controlled highway check stop, police noticed the male driver of the vehicle acting nervous. A run of his information through Plataforma Mexico notified police of his outstanding arrest warrant in the state of Quintana Roo. La Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP) says in response to that information, 39-year-old Pablo N was removed from his vehicle and taken into custody by la Policia Estatal (PE). Pablo N, who is originally from the state of Quintana Roo, was wanted on charges of wrongful death. He was transferred to the State Prosecutors Office of Durango where he was held for Quintana Roo authorities. Tanker crash on Bosphorus kills 3 Three bodies were found dead after they went missing in a collision in Istanbuls Bosphorus Strait on Friday, according to authorities. Three people were found dead after a Turkish-flagged fishing boat collided with a Russian-flagged tanker on the Bosphorus Strait on Friday, according to Istanbul Governor's Office. A FISHING BOAT SANK AFTER THE COLLISION Early Friday, a Turkish-flagged fishing boat collided with a Russian-flagged tanker in the Bosphorus. Tanker crash on Bosphorus kills 3 WATCH The collision took place at around 6.35 a.m. local time (0335GMT) off the citys Sariyer district, according to a statement by the Office of Istanbul Governor. The fishing boat sank after the collision. Authorities were able to rescue three out of the six people on board, while three others were later found dead after going missing. The cause of the incident remains unclear. A former Laois resident was peddling absolute misery by having a potential 56k of cocaine for sale, Portlaoise Circuit Court heard. Before the court was Patrick Maughan (31), formerly of Lansdowne Court, Portarlington, but currently residing in Dublin, charged with having drugs for sale or supply, on March 30, 2018. Detective Garda Ger Doolan gave evidence, along with State barrister, Mr Will Fennelly, that the gardai searched the accuseds home at Lansdowne Court, Portarlington. The accused was present with his wife and the gardai found two plastic bags containing white powder, which was suspected to be cocaine. Further bags containing cocaine were found, as well as small bags in the living room and 2,150 in cash. Weighing scales were also found. Also discovered was what was described as a cocaine press, for pressing and making the drug. The quantity of cocaine seized was 228g, along with a quantity of mixing agent in another package. Det Doolan said that the value of the cocaine was just over 16,000, but if it were mixed with the mixing agent it would bring the value up to 56,000. Det Doolan said that the mixing agent seized was 500g of benzocaine. In my experience, when we find benzocaine its for mixing with drugs, said Det Doolan. The accused was arrested and interviewed and admitted the powder was cocaine. He told the gardai that the items had been given to him to mind in return for cocaine for his own use. He also claimed that the weighing scales found at his home were used to measure out his own cocaine. Mr Fennelly added that the accused had said the cocaine press was given to him to mind in lieu of payment for his own drugs. Det Doolan said that a tick list was also found, indicating people who owed money for drugs. The accused denied selling cocaine, but Det Doolan said the date of the list proved he was selling it. The accused claimed he hadnt sold drugs since 2017, but the date on the paper used as the tick list was 2018. Judge Keenan Johnson confirmed with the witness that the accused had claimed to be just holding the drugs, but the tick list found was not consistent with this claim. It is my belief that he was also selling as well, replied Det Doolan. The accused had 26 previous convictions, but none for drugs. Det Doolan said that the main bulk of the convictions were for road traffic matters, and one conviction under the cruelty to children act. The accused, who is married with four children, had not served any time in custody on the drug dealing charge. Defence barrister, Ms Louise Troy said the accused had been very free in his admissions to the gardai, showing them a black eye and facial injury which he claimed was the result of an assault over a drug debt. Sure look what they did to me, the accused said to gardai in interview. Det Doolan said the gardai accepted this, adding that the accused had mentioned other such incidents. The detecive went on to say that the accused had a drug addiction. In response to a suggestion from Ms Troy that her client had committed no offences since April or May of 2018, Det Doolan replied that the accused was currently before the courts in Dublin on a theft charge. Ms Troy asked had the gardai found any trappings of wealth in the accuseds home, to which Det Doolan replied that they had not. Ms Troy said that the accused was currently rendered homeless. She said he had been caught up in an absolutely chaotic life and drug dealing had become a part of his entrenched drug habit. To this, Judge Johnson said the accused had been peddling absolute misery. I dont think he wanted to own up to it until he was pushed, said Judge Johnson, going on to say that only for the gardai finding the tick list the accused would never have admitted selling cocaine. Ms Troy replied that the accused was an easily led and vulnerable man with learning difficulties. She said he was quite naive and could be easily influenced. However, Judge Johnson retorted that the accused was not that naive, given the significant amount of drugs in his home, as well as the cocaine press and tick list. The judge went on to accept that the accused was under huge pressure in terms on his family, with no extended family support that he could rely on. Ms Troy confirmed that the accuseds wife was incapitated and the accused needed to be there to support his children. Ms Troy concluded by saying that the accused had made huge efforts in the last year and a half. Judge Johnson said he wanted time to consider the matter, due to the accuseds family circumstances. He said that a custodial sentence was unavoidable and clearly the accused must prepare for that. The accused was remanded on continual bail to March 18 next. One of the worst things in the world is not to learn from your prior mistakes, he wrote Monday. GOD has me doing a self-evaluation on where I messed up prior so I wont do the same in the future. The weak results come as overall retail sales are expected to have increased for the holidays, boosted by a strong economy. However, the divide between the winners and losers is widening. Discounters, feeling pressure from online behemoth Amazon whose CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post have been speeding up their deliveries and sprucing up their assortments. Stores such as T.J. Maxx, which offer deep discounts on coveted brands, also have been resonating with shoppers. finally watched this last night!!!! what a film Reply Thread Link People said the same about watchmen Reply Parent Thread Link Seriously, idgi. The film is fantastic and self-contained, we don't need to dumb it down for America. Seriously, idgi. The film is fantastic and self-contained, we don't need to dumb it down for America. Reply Thread Link Is it not playing near you anymore? Usually award season films will play at select theaters for an extended amount of time (or at least until after the season finishes) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it's official out next week on VOD(iTunes, Amazon etc). But the torrent sites have the movie out, not sure if it's retail subtitles. Reply Parent Thread Link on the one hand, get money Bong, but also, why? Reply Thread Link I only want to watch if its in Korean but I know it wont be. So, as much as I loved the film, Ill pass. It bothered me enough that HBO did Chernobyl but didnt bother to put it in Ukrainian. Reply Thread Link my dad will not watch films with subtitles. It is so fricken annoying and dumb! He says its too distracting and he misses out on looking at what is happening on screen. I really dont think it's that complicated. sigh. Reply Thread Link Both my parents and my step mom say the same. Also, "If I wanted to read, I'd pick up a book." Reply Parent Thread Link My nephew (he's 17) recently told me that he loves watching movies/TV with subtitles because it's like reading a book that is being acted out in front of you. I thought that was a really cool way of looking at it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link What he says in that gif is so true. If people would open their minds to subtitles, their world would broaden significantly. I think a huge problem with English speakers in particular is that they've never had to deal with language barriers in entertainment. Although, I was really sad when I suggested a Korean movie to my bilingual friend and got the stereotypical "I tried but couldn't deal with the subtitles" response. People in general have gotten so fucking lazy. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link my roomie didnt like subtitles either for similar reasons until i forced her to watch more subtitled stuff and shes gotten faster at reading because of it. ive been watching subtitles since either elementary or middle school. its made me able to read very quickly and have great peripheral vision reading skills lol. Reply Parent Thread Link i watch all available media with subtitles. i find it enhances the experience, if i miss a joke laughing, or a moment looking down at my phone or whatever. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Americans truly ruin everything. Hollywood lacks so much creativity. Reply Thread Link Whenever I hear that America/Hollywood is going to to do a remake of a Korean show/movie, I know it's going to lose all of it's charm and creativity. Reply Parent Thread Link You're not wrong but Joon-ho had to sign off on this... Reply Parent Thread Link am i the only person who thinks an american adaptation could work? the korean version doesn't really deal with race, but i feel like an american version that explores those issues could be really interesting. eg. imagine if the poor family in this one was black? or if the man in the *spoiler* was native american? the race/class commentary suddenly becomes a whole lot more complex and interesting Reply Thread Link not that i think adam mckay is the right person to deal with any of those issues lol. but someone like jordan peele might Reply Parent Thread Link adam mckay isn't someone i believe would cast non-white people given his filmography lmao Reply Parent Thread Link imagine if the poor family in this one was black? We have enough poor black people stories, lets sit this one out. Reply Parent Thread Link nah Reply Parent Thread Link Did the AI say this was okay? Reply Thread Link That gif. Such a READ omg. Reply Thread Link I don't know, I feel like the use of landscape and architecture was very Korean/Asian so I don't know how that will translate. Also the prevalence of having hired help and tutors (teaching English specifically too) plus the Scholars Rock seem very culture-specific, so I wonder how they would change those? (Correct me if there are equivalents though! I'm legit curious. Just looking at it through an Asian lens). They had no luck with things like Oldboy or even My Sassy Girl, so I don't know why they would try this. Reply Thread Link they could have it be focused on tutoring for the SATs instead of English. especially with the whole college cheating scandal they'll prob have some lines about not being able to buy their way in anymore lol Scholar's Rock will be harder to translate Reply Parent Thread Link Wait I didn't know the Scholars Rock had cultural significance specific to Asia. It just registered to me as some sort of lucky charm while watching Parasite. Can you explain? Google's not helping :/ Reply Parent Thread Link they're common decorations in especially older Korean homes. it's definitely considered stately but old-fashioned. I can't think of an American/Western equivalent for them - maybe they'll switch it to New Age crystals lol Reply Parent Thread Link LOL the Scholars Rock is not really a thing... it's just something that SOME (like a tiny portion) of rich people do as like a hobby by collecting these interesting looking rocks. But it's not like Korean people are like "oooh fancy rock!" Reply Parent Thread Link DUBAI, United Arab Emirates In a story January 10, 2020, about an Iranian passenger jet shot down by American forces in 1988, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of a ship that struck a mine in the Persian Gulf. it was the USS Samuel B. Roberts, not the USS Samuel B. Robertson. By Laman Ismayilova Chinese New Year has been solemnly marked in the National Carpet Museum. Co-organized by the Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan and the Carpet Museum, the festivity was attended by prominent public and cultural figures. Addressing the event, Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Guo Min spoke about the traditions of the celebration of the Chinese New Year. He stressed that the traditions of the Spring Festival are rich and diverse. Many countries celebrate the Lunar New Year which starts on the First new moon of the lunar calendar and ends after the first full moon approximately 15 days later. The Spring Festival allows peoples to get acquainted with Chinese traditions and culture. The Ambassador expressed gratitude to the National Carpet Museum and the Confucius Institute in Baku for their assistance in holding this event. Next, a video about the Spring Festival in China was presented to the guests of the evening. The event continued with a colorful music program, during which Chinese folk dances and musical compositions were performed. The guests of the evening viewed exposition that displayed printed publications devoted to China, clothing samples, Chinese traditional dolls, embroidery products, photographs with magnificent landscapes of China. Along with this, guests could take part in various master classes. The festival will last until January 18. Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is a popular festival that marks the beginning of the New Year. During this time people visit their family and friends, cook special meals, enjoy firework displays, and give gifts. Chinese New Year 2020 begins on January 25, marking the Year of the White Metal Rat. It is considered the first of all zodiac animals. As legend says, the Rat tricked the Ox into giving him a ride. As they arrived at the finish line, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox, becoming first. The Year of the White Metal Rat will bring us creative energy and prosperity. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Leonardo DiCaprio has pledged $3 million to fight the Australian wildfires. The 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' actor has launched the Australia Wildfire Fund through his Earth Alliance organisation - of which he is chair, alongside philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and billionaire Brian Sheth - to raise money for the cause and has promised to hand over the sum to those tackling the blazes, which burned through over 41,000 square miles and destroyed more than 2,000 homes Down Under since September. Earth Alliance said: "All funds will go to assist critical firefighting efforts in New South Wales, aid local communities most affected by the wildfires, enable wildlife rescue and recovery, and support the long-term restoration of unique ecosystems." The organisation will be working with companies in Australia fighting the blaze, including WIRES Wildlife Rescue, Aussie Ark and Bush Heritage. In August, Earth Alliance established the Amazon Forest Fund to raise money to combat fires raging through the Amazon rainforest. Leonardo is the latest star to donate to the cause, following previous pledges from the likes of Shawn Mendes, Kylie Jenner, Ellen DeGeneres, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Sir Elton John, Chris Hemsworth, Pink, and Kylie Minogue in donating to causes dedicated to trying to stop the raging fires. Lip kit mogul Jenner donated $1 million this week, after she was accused of being insensitive when she bragged on social media about her Louis Vuitton mink-fur slippers - worth 1,100.00 - just hours after claiming she had a broken heart following news that half a billion animals had been killed in the bushfires. The animal death toll has now tragically risen to an estimate of over one billion, which takes into account those killed in the fires, as well as those that will die from indirect causes such as starvation and dehydration. Yowie hunters have shared bizarre theories on how the mythical beast has managed to escape undetected as fires devour swathes of Australian bushland. Last month, a concerned yowie enthusiast took to an Australian forum dedicated to yowie research to ask fellow members if any of the creatures had been recovered in the NSW fires. As none have yet been found, the hunters instead began contemplating how the ape-like creature was able to flee. Yowie researchers have shared their theories on how the legendary creature has managed to avoid leaving physical evidence of its existence at bushfire sites (a photo taken from a reported sighting on the Sunshine Coast) Yowie hunters raised concern for the mythical ape-like creature as bushfires ravage areas they are reported to inhabit (firefighters battle the Gospers Mountain fire on December 21) Theories ranged from super speed, sensing danger ahead of time, and transitioning into different dimensions. Some discussed whether the bodies of Australia's version of Bigfoot could have been covered up by officials or misidentified. 'It's very possible they preempt the fires and get out,' one person suggested. Another poster, a self-professed 'big believer', responded by saying 'in their opinion' yowies could move between dimensions to escape. 'I'll give you my opinion of why we will never find a charred yowie body in any of these ravaging bushfires in NSW and Queensland it's an answer many probably won't want to hear,' the yowie 'expert' wrote. 'I 'believe that yowies can enter/exit dimensions. IMO enabling them to avoid deadly bushfires seems plausible to me. A graphic, made using data from NASA's satellites, shows the where the bushfires have ravaged Australia over the last month 'I ask myself does it not seem strange that of all the bushfires in Australia over the years some covering thousands of hectares not once has anyone discovered a body or bones of a yowie. 'Too much of a coincidence for me.' But another member felt the explanation was quite imaginative. 'I've heard about that theory. Definitely very ''out there'' haha, but could be plausible,' they said. One person suggested that yowies are very fast and, like humans, would flee or seek refuge in a bushfire. Senseonfire said they were a big advocate of the 'dimension' theory, which explains why no burnt bodies had been recovered 'If they chose to flee, reportedly they can traverse ground at great speed and would cover large distances quickly if required,' they wrote. 'As far as bodies go, a huge area has been burned and no one as far as I know is going to search it all for a potential yowie carcass. So the chances of finding a body would seem very unlikely.' A member of the group agreed adding that burnt yowie carcasses might be mistaken for other animals. 'I'd assume since yowies are fast, intelligent and would see other animals fleeing that they would most likely be able to get away. Some felt yowies would be able to escape the fires, like other animals, using their advanced speed (Gross Valley fire in the Blue Mountains sends smoke wafting into the sky on Thursday) 'I've read reports from fire fighters that they often see large numbers of animals running away from fires and the majority that die are the slow ones or ones that get trapped.' 'Also a burnt body can be difficult to identify which animal it came from and most times no one will be too bothered to try to figure it out. 'There was a case in a previous bushfire they thought a person had died near a fridge in their house....it was a ham that had fallen out of the fridge..' Someone divulged that the entity could shift via locomotion, but restricted the discussion to the 'paranormal board'. WHAT IS A 'YOWIE'? A 'yowie' is a mythical creature with roots in Aboriginal folklore Science has not been able to prove their existence but people claim to have had encounters Yowie-type creatures are common in Aboriginal legends and are known by several different names across Australia They are described as a hairy and ape-like creature standing upright at between 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) and 3.6 m (12 ft) and are reputed to live in the Australian outback Other mythical variation around the world include the North American Sasquatch and Bigfoot or the Himalayan yeti Advertisement 'A healthy yowie can escape a large fire by locomotive means that cannot be discussed on the Bigfoot Discussion Board,' they said. The potential of government cover ups was also brought into the debate. Referencing incidents in the United States, users exchanged links to documentaries about cases where burnt Bigfoot bodies had reportedly been recovered but never made official. While some remained 'on the fence' about the validity of the cases, the same person that was a fierce advocate of the dimension theory, was highly skeptical. 'Yes, very interesting videos it always seems to be the case that the line between fact and fiction becomes very distorted with these type of sensational stories. 'I've read reports that could have an element of truth to them and others you would have to suspend all elements of disbelief.' But another user felt his belief system was highly hypocritical. 'Hmm...Let me see if I understand this correctly,' they wrote. 'You regard stories of firefighters and others who (apparently) saw dead/injured Bigfoot after the Mt St Helens eruption/forest fires as "sensational". 'Yet you have no trouble believing that Bigfoot can flit between dimensions and thus avoid any/all death or injury here on Earth??!?' A Victorian man asked if bushfires increased yowie activity, as they swarmed to unaffected areas. Plumes of smoke are seen rising above the Blue Mountains- an area with the most reported yowie sightings- amid the Gospers Mountain fire last month 'I live in the Bunyip State Forrest, we had a large fire here last year but it didn't burn where I am and I've been getting a lot of stick (sic) thrown on my roof,' he said. But others speculated whether populations of the mythical species may have been forever lost. 'I am worried if there was some hairy man down the far south coast of NSW that they could be lost for ever,' Tony wrote. 'Having spent the last 40 yrs (sic) down that way and what I am hearing from my friends who have lost everything. 'Nothing would have survived out in that. Yowies are real, people are fake.' One of five prints (pictured measures 42cm) found by a dedicated yowie research while hiking on Lindemans pass in the Blue Mountains in 2012 Yowies are a mythical creature with roots in Aboriginal oral history. They are known by different names across Australia but science has not been able to prove their existence. The Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, have been particularly hard-hit by the fires and have more reported yowie sightings than anywhere else. Reports date back to early settlement with the first 'official' yowie report was made in Sydney in 1790. As of Tuesday, 8.4millon hectares - an area size larger than Scotland- had been burnt across Australia, with 4.9million razing NSW alone. WWF Australia estimates that more than one billion animals have been killed by the infernos nation-wide. Darren Bailey had about 800 prevent plant acres last year, all soybeans. He didnt have any problem returning the unused seed because of the way he operates. When we bargain, I will not deal with a chemical, fertilizer or seed company unless they have the flexibility to deal with us, said Bailey, who farms about 11,000 acres near Xenia, in Clay County. Many seed companies are charging fees for returning seed. But the places where we do business offer that flexibility. Indeed, some farmers who were unable to get all their crops in because of heavy precipitation in late spring had a challenge returning seed. BASF seed agronomist Greg Ury said that while most companies accept returned seed corn, soybeans can be a different matter. Farmers with seed they dont want will either dump them or do something else with them, he said. If theyre treated, we have to figure out a way to get rid of them. We dont keep soybeans from one year to another. Ed Rohrer, a field production manager with Bayer CropScience, said germination rate for older seed is often a factor. It may depend on corn hybrids. Generally, if were talking about corn, it slowly deteriorates, he said. Some genetics deteriorate slower than others. Not all seed companies accept returned soybean seed. Pioneer representative Sarah Strutner said the company willingly takes returned seed corn, regardless of treatment. We will not accept treated soybean seed, Strutner said. Thats our policy. While corn keeps longer than soybeans, it is possible to keep soybean seed for long periods, according to University of Illinois agronomist Brian Diers. It certainly could be kept from year to year under good storage conditions and if its not treated, Diers said. In a germplasm collection here, they keep seed viable for 10 years. You can store seed for a fairly long time if you have good conditions. He did acknowledge, however, that research facilities generally use high-tech methods to store seed. Im assuming that if the seed is brought back, companies would have cold storage to maintain viability, he said. Bailey said he is familiar with policies companies have on refusing some returned seed. But he has not personally encountered any problems. I have not heard anyone talking about having to sit on seed for next year, he said. Things have been pretty tough the past few years. A lot of the dealers recognize that. Thats one thing that makes it easier. Regarding availability for the 2020 planting season, representatives contacted say they dont anticipate any shortages. We dont foresee any issues, Strutner said. With beans, we still have all three main traits available. Were also OK with corn now. But ask me in March, and I may have a different answer. Ury also is positive about supply. Availability is going to be pretty good, he said. Yields were better than we expected, and quality was good too. Nat Williams writes for Illinois Farmer Today, a Lee Enterprises sister publication of The Southern. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON - The Trump administration refused again Friday to recognize Iraq's call to withdraw all U.S. troops, saying that any discussion with Baghdad would center on whatever force size the United States determines is sufficient to achieve its goals there. "At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how best to recommit to our strategic partnership - not to discuss troop withdrawal," the State Department said. The statement came after Iraq's caretaker prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a Thursday telephone call to begin talks about a "mechanism" to implement last week's Iraqi parliamentary vote demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops. "He didn't quite characterize the conversation correctly," Pompeo, speaking at a news conference, said of Mahdi's description of the call. "We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is," Pompeo said. But the United States would continue its mission of fighting against the Islamic State and training Iraqi security forces. "As times changes and we get to a place where we can deliver on what I believe and the president believes is our right structure with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so," he said. The public disagreement between the United States and its Iraqi ally, imperiling the mission of more than 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq to fight the Islamic State, reflects tensions that have characterized the relationship for years, as well as the deep schisms in Iraqi politics. Successive administrations have pledged to strengthen Iraqi sovereignty, a goal that has focused on diluting the influence in Iraq of neighboring Iran. But direct U.S.-Iranian confrontation over the past few weeks has sharpened the position of Iraq's powerful Shiite Muslim political blocs and armed groups, which are leading calls for coalition troops to leave. It began last month with an attack against a U.S. military installation in Iraq by a pro-Iran militia group that killed one American and wounded several soldiers. U.S. forces responded with airstrikes on militia forces near the Syrian border that resulted in 80 casualties. Outrage over what one Iraqi official called a "mother of all escalations" was quickly overshadowed by a militia-led assault on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. President Donald Trump then ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani shortly after his arrival at Baghdad's airport Jan. 3, and to the current firestorm. Two days later, at a parliamentary session boycotted by Sunnis and Kurds more supportive of the U.S. presence, majority Shiite lawmakers voted to order Mahdi to "work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason." Within hours, Trump said U.S. troops were not leaving and threatened sanctions against Iraq. He also demanded that Baghdad reimburse what he said were billions of dollars the United States had invested in a major Iraqi air base. He later tempered that stance somewhat, telling reporters on Wednesday that "I'm only talking sanctions if we're not treated with respect." The United States, Trump said during a meeting with the Greek prime minister, had done a "fantastic job" in Iraq, but "eventually we want to be able to let Iraq run its own affairs. . . . At some point, we want to get out. But this isn't the right point." Iran's ballistic missile strike on bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq this week, in retaliation for the Soleimani killing, appeared to deepen the crisis, leaving fear rippling through a country that has repeatedly become the stage for proxy warfare between the two powers. Although the parliamentary vote was nonbinding, the initiative is gathering momentum in Baghdad, and the prime minister is under increasing pressure to see it through. With tensions flaring, the administration has come to increasingly view Mahdi's push to remove coalition troops as a clear decision to "take sides," said Randa Slim, director of the Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program at the Middle East Institute. "The impression here is that this Iraqi request is being done at the request of the Iranians and the prime minister is basically acting on their orders and acquiescing to their wishes," she said. Also killed in the strike on Soleimani's convoy was the influential Iraqi leader of an Iran-backed militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, whose photographs now adorn monuments across Baghdad. Armed groups have threatened to avenge his death by targeting U.S. interests in Iraq. In diplomatic meetings to quell the crisis, some foreign officials say, the tone of some Shiite leaders has been more muted. "In private, [they] are more practical and don't want to see all forces go straight away because they know it would be destabilizing," said one Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. In his Friday statement, Mahdi said he had told Pompeo that American forces are entering Iraq and flying over its territory "without the permission of the Iraqi government . . . contrary to the agreements in force." Pompeo, he said, "promised to follow up." U.S. troops ended their combat mission, under a formal status of forces agreement, in 2011. Their return in 2014 was under a diplomatic note, by request of the Iraqi government after the Islamic State burst on to the scene and quickly took over major Iraqi cities and headed toward Baghdad. Although the troops are part of an 81-nation coalition set up to fight the militants, the United States is by far the largest contingent and others - including those sent by NATO members - would find it difficult to operate without U.S. capabilities. Trump said last week that he wants NATO to take a bigger role in the region, and an alliance delegation met in Washington with administration officials on Friday. But some of the countries with the most forces - Britain has about 400 troops in Iraq, and Germany about 120 - remain unsure of what kind of arrangement the president has in mind. Despite losing their caliphate, Islamic State fighters are regrouping and digging in for the long haul. U.S. military commanders say that a hasty coalition retreat could imperil efforts to contain the threat and risks seeing the group become more active. "If there is another military escalation, it will be very hard to do what's needed to get this on the right track, which is taking some time away from this to create space for diplomats on both sides to figure out a path forward, creatively, to suit both sides' interests," said Slim. European countries are looking at what an alternative type of coalition presence might look like "to make sure that the gains against [the Islamic State] are not lost and that we continue to support the Iraqi security forces in their efforts," the Western diplomat said. Ideas on the table include a smaller force with a slightly different focus, in an attempt to restore trust damaged by the U.S. decision to launch unilateral airstrikes on Iraqi soil. The accelerating debate over Iraq's foreign troop presence has breathed new life into months-long anti-government protests in Iraq, which rallied in larger numbers on Friday than they had for weeks. In Baghdad's Tahrir Square, music blared and protesters held Iraqi flags aloft as they chanted in unison to reject attempts to turn their country into a political battleground. "We reject Iran, we reject the U.S., none of these people speak for us," said Zahraa, 21, a student, as she pinned a message to a small stand. "Our country deserves a good morning," it read. More than 500 people have been killed in violence, with much of the bloodshed blamed on Iran-backed militias opposed to the protesters. Standing in a medical tent run by volunteer workers, Hassan Al-Rubaie, 21, saw the political class' response to Soleimani's death as an indication of the extent to which many lawmakers prioritized geopolitics over the sort of change that the movement has been fighting for. "We've lost hundreds of martyrs, and not one politician went to grieve with the families," he said. "Then Soleimani dies and the parliament turned out for his funeral." "We need politicians who are not beholden to either side." Asked whether he could name any, he said no. - - - The Washington Post's Sarah Dadouch in Beirut contributed to this report. Loveluck and Salim reported from Baghdad. Paris, Jan 10 : Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across France in protest against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform bill announced in December. The participants in the demonstrations on Thursday were teachers and students, lawyers, refinery and railroad workers, all of whom joined together in the strike to express their anger and to demand the total withdrawal of the bill, reports Efe news. According to figures released by the Interior Ministry, 452,000 people turned out nationwide, compared with 615,000 in the last strike on December 17. The CGT, the main union calling the strike, said that 1.7 million demonstrators participated, 100,000 fewer than it said took part in the demonstrations three weeks ago. "The movement is strong today after 15 days of vacation for many people. It's like the first day. Public opinion in favour of the movement hasn't declined. The reform bill has to be withdrawn and we have to keep in mind what the main unions are saying in this mobilization," CGT General Secretary Philippe Martinez told EFE news. The concessions announced by the Macron government, including earlier retirement in dangerous professions, a revamping of teachers' salaries and a delay in implementing the plan in the railroad sector and for dancers at the Paris Opera - which since December 5 has had to cancel more than 60 performances - were not enough for the demonstrators. Despite the rejection of the reform by several unions, the country's main CFDT union has been more open to reaching an agreement and was focusing its demands on not delaying the retirement age, which the government wants to set at 64. CFDT leader Laurent Berger said on Thursday that the union members will continue to reject the reform if the government doesn't give way, at least on that issue. The government, for now, was not ruling out negotiating the retirement age, although it continues to consider its measure "fair and effective", as Finance Minister Gerald Darmanin told the daily Le Figaro. The question will have to be discussed at a conference on pension financing, which has been proposed by the CFDT and which will be held on Friday between Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and social representatives. Although an agreement on the matter still seems far off, the government intends to approve the reform bill in the Council of Ministers on January 24 and then present it to the lower chamber of parliament on February 17. This will be the 36th day of strike action affecting the transport sector, the longest in history. The SNCF national railway service expects traffic to be very disrupted with more than half of train services out of commission, along with the Paris Metro. The French Civil Aviation Authority also has warned of disruptions and delays and urged companies to cancel a third of their flights to or from the southern French city of Toulouse. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was closed on Thursday, as some of its workers joined the strike. According to police figures, 24 people had been arrested . The unions, meanwhile, have issued a call for new demonstrations on Saturday. Developers return to their roots with 14m residential project on historic Youghal site, writes Tommy Barker. Youghal, East Cork 210,000-410,000 Size: 65 128 sq m (695 sq ft-1,369 sq ft) Bedrooms:1-2 Bathrooms: 1-2 BER:Pending IN A 150 year long history of the ups and downs of a prominent building in the East Cork town of Youghal comes a new life chapter, courtesy of a 14 million residential property development. In itself, its a beacon of the return to better times for the coastal community and historic seaport with centuries long tourism draw. Underactive and ramping up construction is the 44-unit Ashton Court project on the prominent site of the former Loreto Convent and Secondary School, on the western approach to the scenically set town (main image here is a CGI). Ashton Court The development, incorporates a 19th-century red-brick large home associated with many prosperous Youghal families such as Hydes, Merricks and Condons, as well as a mid-1900s, five-storey concrete-framed school building. They overlook Youghals much-photographed Victorian bandstand by the compact public Green Park, by the start of five kilometres of Blue Flag beaches, right by the estuarine meeting of the mighty swollen Blackwater river with the sea. Strong tides surge past in the engrossing views from here, as does marine life and maritime traffic; visible is the Waterford coast and the Ferry Point at Monatrea. The backers and promoters of this multi-million euro Ashton Court project (now said to be one-third sold,) also say that Youghal itself is on a positive, incoming tide of prosperity and appreciation. Among those beacons of optimism are things like the arrival in 2019 of the gruelling Ironman sporting event and its continuation for at least two more years; the commitment to a new 15 million Greenway cycle and walking route linking Youghal to Midleton along a 23km section of former rail line; and a resurgence in the local housing market, as well as in new uses for many of the buildings and shop units along the long, long North Main Street. Almost against a tide and trend of cinema closures, one of the reinvigorated properties on that main Youghal strip was the reopening of the Art Deco-style 1936 Regal Cinema, bought for a mere 90,000 but which necessitated a 500,000 total spend before reopening in 2018 as a three-screen movie house, cafe and wine bar. That project was taken on by the ORourke family/Redbarn Construction, originally with local Youghal roots but now Leinster-based in the main, and represented by Dermot ORourke, and his sons David and Iain, the latter both aged in their 30s. Naas signal Millenium Park project (with its enormous Kerry Group occupier on the 230 acre campus) was a Celtic Tiger times boon for the ORourke family who were among its early developers, selling out reportedly and getting over 100m as their share of a 320m sale deal just before the markets peak in the later 2000s. Other deals, with varying levels of sole ownership/joint development and/or syndicate ownership in the past five years, included the 119m sale of the Hermes fashion house HQ in Paris, the Newhall Retail Park in Naas, various development lands and more, and then they sold a share in a syndicate in Seoul, North Korea, that included the Seoul International Finance Centre and a Conrad Hotel, as part of a 2.7bn deal with Brookvale Asset Management. And, now, slightly more modestly, theres Youghal, Co Cork. The familys Redbarn Construction Ltd has been making waves around Youghal, separate to their intriguing Regal cinema side show, having taken on and completed the former ghost estate, Parklands with 37 houses and 12 apartments sold for 7.5m. Parklands house resales in the last few years alone have risen 50% in value, from average of 140,000 for three-bed semi-ds to the latest resale at 210,000. In the next month or so, Redbarn will launch Youghals Lios an Oir, with 15 three-bed semis in a 3m development. They have other East Cork and West Waterford schemes in their sights and are completing 20 homes at Glenall, in Borris on Ossory, Laois. But, clearly, Ashton Court is their current major focus or flagship, and are now offering 44 residential units in all, including apartments and townhouses, at prices from 210,000 for a one-bed of almost 700 sq ft, to two-beds, averaging 300,000 and with some of twice the size, of 1,369 sq ft, at 410,000. (Reported sales to date include a double unit at 500,000, and some prime penthouse two-beds at 320,000/360,000.) Design and redesign is by Cork city-based Meitheal Design Partnerships, whove adapted the original 1960s-70s five level school block (now stripped back to skeletal form before refitting and finishing) to hold 24 A-rated apartments, including five at penthouse/fourth floor level, served by two lifts, most with balconies, and views spanning the sea and old town walls. Separately, therell be three house sites at the former convent school ground of 4.2 acres, a three-bed detached house in a building previously used as the convent schools gym/games room, and some later phases of two and three units in other settings. But, most likely to carry most kudos and appeal will be the seven characterful apartments going into the original red brick, and visually appealing and aesthetic 19th century dwelling, now christened Hyde House, and several of whom will have graceful deep bay windows, with bay/sea views. Todays Hyde House has some roots dating to the early 1800s, most notably its rear section which has a gracious curving cantilevered Georgian staircase, redolent of that in the fire-ravaged Vernon Mount House by Cork city. Originally owned on 12 wooded acres by a Miss Belinda Hyde, an aunt of Douglas Hyde, Irelands first President who had his own home, now Michael Flatleys mansion Castlehyde, further up the River Blackwater, it was later largely demolished by local Youghal merchant Samuel Merrick. It was replaced in the late 1800s with the bulk of the current two-storey (plus attic) over basement structure, in glazed English red brick completed at one stage with ornate conservatory, cupola-topped and feature fenestration, to a design by Cork architect William Henry Hill: only the original west entrance, west hall and library remain of the earliest residence. Later owners, between the 20th century war years, were the Condon family, and in the Loreto Orders ownership it served as both convent and school rooms. It got later, 21st Century additions and access linkages to the sides, and the overall property ceased as a school in 2006 when the convent school amalgamated with the local CBS boys school, all vacated by 2008. It was several years on the market, offered at a sub 1m sum all-in on 4.2 acres with nearly 50,000 sq ft of buildings, selling to the ORourke family/Redbarn Construction, for an undisclosed sum. Features such as its turret/tower, and oval/oculus window in an ornate, Dutch-style brick gable front remain, and in fact the rounded window and gable feature is now the Ashton Court developments logo, and with construction ramping up in recent weeks on site (the crane arrived pre-Christmas) substantial completion is expected by the end of 2020. Meitheal architect Paul Sidley says the project is an opportunity to bring these buildings back to life with a new use as a way of preserving their history and local significance, with some contemporary buildings within the grounds sitting harmoniously with the existing historical protected structures. Joint agents Brian Gleeson and DNG Spillane say about one third of the 44 units are now booked, and buyers are in the main so far traders-down/downsizers, where many have long and fond links to Youghal, and even to the convent school. Two are UK based, ones ex-Kinsale, and theres even a Canadian pilot so far landed among the buyers. Hyde Houses previous owners, the Condon family, wrote their own account of Ashton Court/Hyde House, and noted the initial unwillingness of its then owner Miss Belinda Hyde to sell to Samuel Merrick. The deal then agreed saw Mr Merrick purchase Ashton Court but as part of the agreement Miss Hyde remained in residence to the end of her days, receiving as part of the bargain the annual sum of 200. Being already a lady of some wealth, and not fussed about the 200pa, she told her physician, Dr Charlie Ronan, that sum was his for as long as he could keep her alive. Later, the same doctor would regale his pals saying and I kept her alive for twenty years, my boy, twenty years old Sam Merrick had to wait before he could build his dream home. VERDICT: A venerable slice of old Youghal, indeed. With the High Street bulging with seductive sale signs, theres never been a better opportunity to refresh your interiors at a snip. However, with so many tempting options available, it can be easy to get sidetracked and end up buying pieces that offer only short-term pleasure. Shop smarter by using seasonal clearances and ex-display lines as a way to pick up longed-for large-outlay items such as beds, sofas and mattresses, as well as designer pieces and one-off accessories that will inject a timeless note and offer real value for money. Discounts: Vitra table, 1,095 (was 1,580) , Mariposa sofa, 3,893 (4,580) and Repos chair 2,805 (3,300), chaplins.co.uk Choose classic designs in colourways that you can live with and you wont go wrong. Some brands are offering up to 50 per cent discounts on furniture and home accessories. Heres our pick of the best. KITCHEN MAKEOVER If you are planning to upgrade your kitchen or bathroom, waiting for seasonal sales will make your budget stretch further. Try not to be seduced by obviously on-trend shapes or of-the-moment colour finishes as these can date quickly, says interior designer Louise Robinson (louiserobinson interiors.com). Fitted schemes such as kitchens and bathrooms will benefit from classic designs that stand the test of time, so aim for an easy-on-the eye style. This month, Harvey Jones (harvey jones.com) is providing 25 per cent off its full range of handcrafted kitchen cabinets. Its Shaker is ideal for traditionalists, while the Linear Edge offers a sleek, contemporary note. Neptune (neptune.com) is giving away 100 in vouchers for every 1,000 spent on its classic kitchen cabinets. BEST FOR BATHROOMS Brookmans by Smallbone (brookmans.co.uk), the relaxed sibling of renowned Smallbone of Devizes, is offering 15 per cent off its kitchen and bathroom collections, as well as freestanding furniture. Its Soho Vanity unit, now 841.50, is a chic and easy update to tired bathrooms. Check out the range of baths, basins and showers at C.P. Hart, too (cphart.co.uk) the timeless Winchester roll-top is reduced by 735 to 1,103. HOME ESSENTIALS Dining tables and sofas also make great sale buys. Soho Homes Corbett dining table in solid ash, 1,395 (was 1,995) sohohome.com, adds the grown-up glamour of a private members club, while Heals (heals.com) discounted button-tufted Fitzrovia sofa, 1,759 (was 2,199) will introduce a timeless touch and is available in more than 40 upholstery options. Plush: Fitzrovia sofa, 1,759 (was 2,199) heals.com Dwells Lucerne white marble dining table, 649 (was 849), is great for compact spaces (dwell.co.uk) and if youre looking for an update on a classic dresser, check out Habitats Antonn walnut shelving unit 347.50 (was 695, habitat.co.uk). SLEEP WELL For savings on mattresses, head to John Lewis (johnlewis.com), where its special buy Natural Collection has deals across options made in wool, hemp, silk, linen and cashmere, from 399 for a single in hemp. Alternatively, browse through Simbas online sale (simbasleep.com). Their ultra comfortable king-size mattress which arrives rolled up in a box is 637 (was 849). For an heirloom quality bed, the Emilia Ottoman, 1,991 from 2,845, And So To Bed (andsotobed.co.uk) provides storage and elegance, while Heals Bardot bed, 839 (was 1,399) offers mid-century style for less (heals.com). Bear in mind that good quality sheets and towels are always a savvy investment. The White Companys satin stitch trimmed Savoy towels, from 11.20, reduced from 16, hit just the right note (thewhite company.com) while Scooms (scooms.com) is offering a 15 per cent discount on its duvet and bedlinen bundles, 379.95 for a double, including Hungarian Goose down duvet, fitted sheet, duvet cover and two pillow cases. DESIGNER DELIGHTS If you are hunting out a particular designer piece, now is the time to buy. Avoid reproductions and opt for the real thing instead. The Conran Shop has an excellent range of discounted pieces, including Knolls iconic Tulip Table, reduced to 1,846 (was 2,172, conranshop.co.uk). While you are there, check out the IC-Light collection for Flos, with their on-trend globe shades, from 267. Striking: Claude table lamp, 53 (was 116), shade 52 (74) Use the sales as an opportunity to invest in a designer piece that youve had your eye on for a while, says Robinson, such as a classic sofa, a beautifully crafted table or a statement light. But avoid impulsive purchases. For example, a flamboyantly patterned upholstered piece, such as a floral chair or sofa, could seem like a great bargain, but its less likely to slot easily into an existing scheme. Chaplins (chaplins.co.uk) offers a vast range of clearance mid-century classics, including 30 per cent off Vitras solid oak dining table, now 1,095, both online and at its Pinner store, while youll find Ercols Originals Plank Dining table reduced from 1,070 to 750 at Soho Home. There are plenty of reduced pre-loved pieces at Vinterior, too such as its vintage mid-century teak chest of drawers, 202.50 (was 225). Consider investing in new, modern classics by buying end of line and ex-display. Russell Pinchs Moreau bench (pinchdesign.com) makes an excellent end-of-bed addition, 825 (was 1,375), while Cassandra Ellis Mama Daybed provides a cool yet timeless style statement in sitting rooms and bedrooms, 950 (was 3,225, atelierellis.co.uk). ACCESSORIES Sometimes just a few considered touches are enough to ring the changes. For brilliant value lighting, check out the range at Pooky (pooky.com). Its Galore floor lamp in brass and black, 137 (was 210), offers a sleek silhouette. Habitats East metal ceiling light in grey and gold provides utilitarian chic above kitchen counters, 34 (was 85), while the fluid shape of Heals Ribbon LED ceiling pendant, 383 (from 479), adds a touch of glamour. A side-table beside a sofa or bed can smarten up a scheme effortlessly Swoon Editions black steel Arancia side table, 137 (was 229, swoon editions.com) is an ideal option. Made.coms Marvel Dining Chairs in copper, 199 for two, (were 249) add an affordable pep to most kitchen tables. With a little planning, now is the perfect time to bag more bang for your buck. A court in Kyiv has remanded a suspect for one month in custody in connection with the 2016 killing of prominent journalist Pavel Sheremet, following what Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called a flawed three-and-a-half-year investigation. The court of appeals in Kyiv ruled on January 10 that Andriy Antonenko must stay in pretrial detention until February 8. Antonenko's supporters, who came to the hearing, chanted "Shame!" and "Corrupt Judges!" after the court handed down its ruling. Antonenko and two women, Yulia Kuzmenko and Yana Duhar, were arrested in December as suspects in the high-profile case. Two other suspects, Vladyslav and Inna Hryshchenko, were arrested and placed in pretrial detention in September and November respectively as suspects in another case. All five took part in military operations in different capacities in Ukraine's east, where government forces are fighting against Russia-backed separatists. The Interior Ministry and the National Police said in December that the group's goal was "to destabilize the political and social situation in Ukraine" by killing Sheremet. Kuzmenko, a pediatrician and well-known volunteer, is suspected of placing the bomb under the car the night before the murder with the help of Antonenko, a musician. Sheremet, a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home, was leaving his apartment to head to the studio where he hosted a morning radio program when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded on July 20, 2016, killing him instantly. Sheremet's killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case. In a statement on January 10, RSF raised concern about inconsistencies in the evidence for the Ukrainian authorities claim to have solved [Sheremets] murder, and urged them to continue the investigation and to be more transparent as they do so. This investigation offers the opportunity to really begin combating impunity, said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of the Paris-based media freedom watchdogs Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. Not just the perpetrators but also the instigators should be identified and brought to trial, Cavelier insisted. Sheremet's mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, told RFE/RL in December that she does not know if the suspects are guilty or not, but that she is afraid "that innocent people may be hurt" as officials try to show they're making headway in the case. "Pavel is gone and nothing can bring him back. Of course, I need the truth... But it is hard to judge how close they got to the truth," she said in the interview. With reporting by UNIAN and Ukrayinska Pravda Airbus is plotting to expand in the UK after MPs backed Boris Johnson's EU withdrawal deal that swept away some of the uncertainty over Brexit. Chief executive Guillaume Faury said the aerospace group is 'committed' to the UK, where it already employs 13,500. These include 6,000 workers at its plant in Broughton, Flintshire, where it makes the wings for all its jets. Take-off: Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said the aerospace group is 'committed' to the UK, where it already employs 13,500 The comments came as a survey from Deloitte showed Brexit is no longer the chief concern for British finance directors for the first time since the 2016 referendum. Although bosses still believe Brexit will be bad for business, the 'fog of uncertainty' is lifting, Deloitte's chief economist Ian Stewart said. Speaking at an industry event, Faury said: 'While global uncertainty won't end with the UK's withdrawal from the EU, Brexit is, at least for now, certain. 'But the nature of the future relationship between the UK and EU is still to be determined. 'Airbus is committed to the UK and to working with the new government on an ambitious industrial strategy. 'We see great potential to improve and expand our operations in the UK this year.' The comments are a significant change in tone for Airbus, which issued stern warnings last year about the future of its Broughton factory in the event of a No Deal Brexit. Speaking at the same event, Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said Airbus was 'something of a national treasure to the UK'. St. Elizabeth Hospital once bustled with activity along one of Houstons busiest streets, caring for generations of black Houstonians, who, into the 1960s, had few other options in a segregated city with a severe shortage of hospital beds for people of color. Today, shattered glass from broken windows litter the ground near the abandoned hospital. The derelict building, 115,000 square feet, still towers over the Fifth Ward, the one-time safe haven now the face of desolation in a struggling neighborhood largely passed over by the prosperity that has lifted so many other areas of the city. St. Elizabeth has become the center of the fight over the direction of the neighborhood as newer, wealthier residents with eyes trained on property values contend with poorer, long-time residents increasingly worried whether the Fifth Wards future holds a place for them. At issue are not only the familiar concerns and conflicts around gentrification, but also the very nature of economic development in historic and under-served communities, an undertaking fraught with complications and contradictions. The catalyst for the dispute is a proposed a $53 million renovation of the former hospital into mixed-income rental housing, with a little over half the units set aside for low-income households. Some newer residents oppose the project, arguing it will further contribute to economic segregation in Houston (most of Houstons public low-income housing inside the Loop is on the east side, while the west side rapidly gains in economic power and prominence). They say the Fifth Ward doesnt have the services to support more low-income residents. Units at St. Elizabeth Place: 10 at 30% of median area income 19 at 50% of median area income 37 at 60% of median area income 26 at 80% of median area income 87 at market rate See More Collapse Older residents, however, support the redevelopment, glad it will preserve affordable housing in an area where people are struggling. They fear getting pushed out by young professionals and developers seeking lower prices and greater appreciation for real estate inside the Loop. When the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation proposed the renovation, the nonprofit thought it would turn St. Elizabeth into a symbol of hope, one that would restore a decaying eyesore, spur jobs and economic activity in the neighborhood, and provide affordable housing. Instead, it has become a source of division. Revitalizing aging properties has proved tricky for the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, as it has for developers in other historic, struggling communities where residents want to preserve the character and people of the neighborhood while encouraging new commerce. As developers contend with these competing desires, they often find its damned if you develop, damned if you dont. Its a difficult balance because no matter what you propose, somebodys not going to like it, said Bill Fulton, director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, a research center at Rice University. If you propose market rate (housing), somebodys going to say youre fostering gentrification. If you propose low-income (housing), people are going to argue youre concentrating poor people. Past and future Boarded up homes and businesses line the once-thriving Lyons Avenue that was sliced and diced by the expansion of Interstate 10 and U.S. 59. The highway expansions initiated the deterioration of the neighborhood in the 1960s as population loss accelerated by black migration to the suburbs meant businesses had fewer customers to frequent their stores. While most of Houston has grown rapidly, the population in the area surrounding the hospital has declined in recent years, falling about 3 percent since 2016, according to the Census Bureau. The neighborhood, today about 40 percent Hispanic, had a median household income of $22,190 in 2018, less than half the Houston median of $51,140. Sitting on three acres of land, St. Elizabeth Hospital, at 4514 Lyons Ave., remains a lingering ghost of its failures or of its contributions, depending on who you ask. Some residents in the historically black community were born in the hospital, which closed at the end of the 1980s due to insurmountable debt. On HoustonChronicle.com: Photos capture Fifth Ward's historic past, emerging transformation in Houston A younger generation remembers when it was an addiction treatment facility, the Barbara Jordan Recovery Center. That failed, too, in 2014 after executives of its parent company were indicted in a Medicare fraud scheme, finances ran dry, and state regulators shut it down. Is the third time the charm? The Fifth Ward CRC plans to begin construction on the project in the fall, but has run into challenges. The project stalled in 2018 when opponents blocked developers from obtaining tax credits from the state on a technicality. The Fifth Ward CRC, however, was able to obtain a nearly $24 million award from the City of Houston under Hurricane Harvey recovery funds, as well as a federal grant and private financing. The developers, amid increasing opposition, adjusted the proposal to reduce affordable units and significantly increase market-rate apartments by constructing another building on the site. The proposal initially set aside 98 of 110 units as affordable; now it calls for 92 of 179 units to be reserved for low-income households. Gentrification or segregation? The main complaint of residents is the lack of or disappearance of community amenities such as grocery stores, restaurants and banks. The question is whether that lack of resources is a reason to block a new housing development. Why not bring businesses in before this project? said Hector Torres, who owns a home a few blocks away from the hospital and moved to the area five years ago because it was near downtown and seemed to have potential. To me it seems like (the developers and the city) want to keep this area low income. Opponents claim that placing more affordable housing in an impoverished area with few businesses will simply bring more of the same problems, such as drugs and prostitution, into the neighborhood. Its a sensitive argument to make in Houston. In 2016, Mayor Sylvester Turner killed an initiative to place an affordable housing complex near the Galleria, which got the city in trouble with federal regulators, who said the decision contributed to economic and racial segregation in Houston. Houston was listed as one of the most economically segregated cities in the United States by a Pew Research study in 2012. Only New York and Philadelphia were more economically segregated. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston gentrifying faster than other Texas cities, Fed analysis finds On the other side of the debate, several long-time residents dont want the area to change too much and fear gentrification. I really prefer (single-family homes), but I realize the dilemma we have in the city, said Joetta Stevenson, president of the Greater Fifth Ward Super Neighborhood Association and whose family has lived in the area for generations. Im worried about the displacement of people in this community. Where do they go? The Fifth Ward CRC has targeted projects on Lyons Avenue to help revitalize the strip, including the Deluxe Theater, which was restored in 2015 in a $5.5 million project, and the Houston Independent School Districts Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men, now one of Houstons highest performing schools. But the nonprofit maintains the Fifth Ward has a housing shortage and needs greater population density to attract more businesses and services. Taking care not to displace long-time residents and providing housing that attracts more robust economic development, all while nodding to history, pose dilemmas for the Fifth Ward CRC. For example, H-E-B typically needs seven acres to build smaller stores in urban areas. But in the Fifth Ward, where much of the real estate is already occupied by homes and historic buildings, such as St. Elizabeth, finding the space H-E-B or other grocery stores need presents a daunting challenge. We are in a community that is 150 years old, where you have existing structures with sentimental value, and those things discourage new development from coming into the community, because in order to put the land together, somebody has to be displaced, said Kathy Payton, CEO of the Fifth Ward CRC. We need to focus continuously on increasing the density of the neighborhood so that retailers and grocery stores would be able to sustain their business. Historic challenges Opponents, however, are skeptical that those renting at St. Elizabeth Place would help stabilize the neighborhood. They want bigger units designed for families rather than one or two bedrooms, because they worry only single people transitioning from unstable economic situations would want to rent small units. St. Elizabeth Hospital is designated as a historic structure and, for the Fifth Ward CRC to receive tax credits, the architects must leave the walls where they are, restricting units to one or two bedrooms. Still, Payton said, she believes the complex would attract working class individuals and families. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox Opponents also claim that those leading the redevelopment have conflicts of interest. Payton is member of the board of the areas tax increment reinvestment zone, which finances redevelopment and allocated $100,000 to the project, according to city records. Opponents argue the city will remain economically segregated as long as developers have incentives to build low-income housing in low-income areas. The Fifth Ward will continue to experience stunted pockets of growth where prosperity circumvents the masses and lands in the hands of (developers), Erica Hubbard, president of the Progressive Fifth Ward Community Association, the neighborhood group opposing the project, wrote in a letter to the state housing authority. Payton waves aside such concerns. She said she avoids any conflict of interest by removing herself from tax increment financing decisions for projects on which she is working. Critics, she added, are missing the bigger issue. The question really becomes: Do you want a vacant, dilapidated building that is a harbor for crime to stay there? Payton said. We have to figure out where the most beneficial opportunity with the least amount of harm to the community is. The article was updated Friday to reflect new information from the Fifth Ward CRC regarding the number of affordable and market rate units. erin.douglas@chron.com Twitter.com/erinmdouglas23 Highlights include: Drill hole SDD-002; 12.9m grading 3.80 g/t gold Drill hole SDD-005; 18.1m grading 2.75 g/t gold Drill hole SDD-008; 11.5m grading 4.25 g/t gold VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velocity Minerals Ltd. (TSX.V: VLC) (Velocity or the Company) announces that it has received initial drill results for the Sedefche Gold Project (Sedefche), Bulgaria (Table 1, Figures 1 to 4). The Companys initial verification drilling at Sedefche has broadly confirmed historical drilling results and identified higher-grade zones associated with areas of silica-gold replacement mineralization. The results support the potential to fast-track development of the Sedefche deposit along the lines of an existing, permitted Mine Design Plan completed by Bulgarian partner Gorubso-Kardzhali A.D. (Gorubso). The Sedefche project is permitted for development and Velocity is moving quickly to complete exploration drilling and resource verification, as well as engineering due diligence and metallurgical test work, stated Keith Henderson, Velocitys CEO. These initial drill results provide the Company with a very positive start to the year. Velocitys results to date have broadly confirmed the grade and tenor of previous results and identified a number of higher-grade zones within the existing resource envelope not previously identified by historical exploration. In addition, mineralization has been extended along a parallel trend west of the previously defined Bulgarian State Resource in drill hole SDD-012 which returned 11.0m grading 0.98 g/t gold and 87.80 g/t silver from 62.4m (Figures 1 and 3). Drill hole SDD-002 (Figures 1 and 2) returned a high-grade intersection of 12.9m grading 3.80 g/t gold and 38.68 g/t silver. On the same section, drill hole SDD-004, returned 23.7m grading 1.17 g/t gold and 49.64 g/t silver, while drill hole SDD-005 returned 18.1m grading 2.75 g/t gold and 55.71 g/t silver. Drill hole SDD-008 (Figures 1 and 4) returned 11.5m grading 4.25 g/t gold and 87.80 g/t silver from surface. Additional drilling and engineering due diligence is planned with the aim of reaching a decision point on the project in H1, 2020. Figure 1: Map of the Sedefche Gold Project, showing the drill traces of completed and planned drilling. The drill hole locations are displayed on a geological map of the deposit including positions of previous drill collars. Section locations are included for Figures 2, 3 and 4: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b125cdb1-9fcb-4dff-8a33-7ae003bb1c16 Figure 2: Cross Section at Sedefche Gold Project showing results for drill holes ODD-01, -002, -003, -004 and -005: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ca3b1bbe-f12e-4515-8202-88d106330e4e Figure 3: Cross Section at Sedefche Gold Project showing results for drill holes ODD-06, -007, -012 and -013: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d1bf6b48-92b7-4538-95b6-2ed9bdc26338 Figure 4: Cross Section at Sedefche Gold Project showing results for drill holes ODD-08, -009 and -010: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e2c95e7-86f7-42f2-adf2-cf280da124e2 Table 1: Significant Drill Results at Sedefche Gold Project: The drill intersections disclosed here have not yet been included in a resource model and true thickness of mineralization has not yet been determined. Drill holes are designed to intersect mineralization perpendicular or close to perpendicular. Drill intersections are calculated using a top-cut of 20 g/t gold, a 0.3 g/t gold trigger, a minimum 0.7 g/t gold composite, and a maximum of 1.5 metres consecutive waste: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/96200b7c-6c64-4ec8-9992-0f73649b5323 Quality Assurance / Quality Control Velocity have not assessed the Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QAQC) of historical results and as such historical results are not consistent with the standards of disclosure defined by NI 43-101 and may not necessarily be consistent with CIM best practice with respect to reporting. The work program at Sedefche was designed and is supervised by Stuart A. Mills, CGeol, the Company's Vice-President Exploration, who is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project rigorously collect and track samples which are then security sealed and shipped to ALS Global laboratory in Romania. Samples used for the results described herein are prepared and analyzed by fire assay using a 30-gram charge in compliance with industry standards at ALS Romanian laboratory. A sample split of the milled material is shipped to ALS Irish laboratory for multi-element analysis using an inductively coupled Mass Spectrometer. Field duplicate samples, blanks and independent controlled reference material (standards) are added to every batch. Drill intersections in this news release are calculated using a 0.3 g/t gold trigger, a minimum 0.7 g/t gold composite, and a maximum of 1.5 metres consecutive waste. Qualified Person The technical content of this release has been approved for disclosure by Stuart A. Mills, BSc, MSc, CGeol, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and the Companys Vice President Exploration. Mr. Mills is not independent of the Company. About Velocity Minerals Ltd. Velocity is a gold exploration and development company focused on southeastern Bulgaria. Velocitys strategy is to develop a low cost centralized Hub and Spoke operation whereby multiple projects within this emerging gold district produce gold concentrates for trucking to a central processing plant for production of dore. The Company envisions staged open pit mining of satellite deposits and processing in a currently operating carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. Velocity has a 70% joint venture interest in the Rozino gold project and has entered into option agreements to earn a 70% interest in the Obichnik, Makedontsi and Sedefche gold projects, with Gorubso, an established and respected mining company in Bulgaria. Velocitys management and board includes mining industry professionals with combined experience spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas as employees of major mining companies as well as founders and senior executives of junior to mid-tier public companies. The team's experience includes all aspects of mineral exploration, resource definition, feasibility, finance, mine construction and mine operation as well as a track record in managing publicly listed companies. About Bulgaria Bulgaria is a member of NATO (2004) and a member of the European Union (2007). The local currency (BGN) has been tied to the Euro since 1999 (1.956 BGN/EUR). The country is served by modern European infrastructure including an extensive network of paved roads. Bulgaria boasts an exceptionally low corporate tax rate of only 10%. The countrys education system is excellent with good availability of experienced mining professionals in a favourable cost environment. Foreign mining companies are successfully operating in Bulgaria. The countrys mining law was established in 1999 and updated in 2011. Mining royalties are low and compare favourably with more established mining countries. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Keith Henderson President & CEO For further information, please contact: Keith Henderson Phone: +1-604-484-1233 E-mail: info@velocityminerals.com Web: www.velocityminerals.com 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. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future exploration, testing and Initial Drilling and, if applicable, the Additional Drilling carried out at the Project, the exercise of the Option, the entry into of the Joint Venture and any payments in connection with same and the future business and operations of Velocity. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can be identified by words such as pro forma, plans, expects, may, should, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, believes, potential or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained gold demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of the Companys Bulgarian projects, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of the Companys projects, and the Companys ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development and mine development activities for Sedefche and the Companys projects generally, including the geological mapping, prospecting and sampling programs for the projects, the fact that the Companys interest in Sedefche is only an option and there is no guarantee that such interest, if earned, will be certain, actual results of exploration activities, including the Initial Drilling and, if applicable, the Additional Drilling, estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, the ability of the Company to obtain access to the CIL Plant and to have ore from the Project (and the Companys other projects) processed at the CIL Plant on profitable terms, the availability of a sufficient supply of water and other materials, requirements for additional capital to fund the Company's business plan, future prices of precious metals, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the TSXV), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, risks related to joint venture operations, and risks related to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors discussed under the heading. "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual management's discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. NR-20-01 Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. Jack Young has also expressed concerns about how Baltimore City will meet the funding requirement, according to a memo to staff obtained by the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore would have to put $138 million more toward schools by fiscal year 2022, according to the formula. Lawmakers from the Eastern Shore have also said they are concerned about the cost of Kirwan and they would rather cut other items in the state budget than increase taxes to generate the money. Nigerian politicians dont love to leave anything to chance and always plan far ahead of time. The dust is yet to settle on the 2019 elections and many of them are already openly or surreptitiously jostling for plum positions in the 2023 elections. It doesnt matter that the popular Senegal-American artiste, Akon said No need to cherish luxuries because everything comes and goes, even the life that you have is borrowed and you are not promised tomorrow. These politicians play god most times as they are so certain that they will live to see their dreams come to fruition. One name which really has been propped up is that of Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George. His presidential ambition was made known to the public by his aide, Uthman Sodipe-Dosunmu who said that he had the authority of his principal to unveil it on his behalf. How interesting! Who is really Chief Bode George fondly known as Bee Gee by his supporters and friends? He first came to national prominence when the then government of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida appointed him as the military governor of the Old Ondo State in 1987 which comprised the present Ondo and Ekiti states. He held the exalted office for two years and was said to have been involved in financial sleaze by some of his critics while he held sway as the helmsman. He went into oblivion and resurfaced into the limelight once again when in 1993 he was appointed as the Principal Staff Officer to Lt-Gen Oladipo Diya who was the deputy to General Sani Abacha. This position made the diminutive Naval Commodore a power broker in Aso Rock and he used the office to advance his interests as a good student of Robert Greenes 48 Laws of Power. All good things comes to an end goes the age-long cliche and he got his Baptism of Fire when he boss was arrested in December 1997 on a phantom coup charge. In protest he resigned from the Nigerian Navy and went on a self imposed exile for fear of his precious life. He came back the following year after his nemesis, Abacha passed on and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This was not a popular decision among the Yorubas as most of the leading progressives were members of the then Alliance for Democracy which was an offshoot of the Action Group and Unity Party of Nigeria. They sold themselves well to the masses and greatly invoked the name of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo to massively sweep the votes of the region and had all the six states in its kitty. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn into office on the 29thof May, 1999 and he created the office of the Chief of Staff modeled after the American presidential system of government where the office was copied from. George initially lobbied very hard to be the nations pioneer Chief of Staff to the President but he lost out in the power struggle as the Ebora Owu preferred Major-General Abdullahi Mohammed to occupy the highly exalted office. Obasanjo encouraged him to seek a position within the party and he subsequently became the National Vice-Chairman of the PDP in the South West. He once famously boasted in the run up to the 2003 elections that his party will capture the south west. His critics blasted him to no end as the language was one of conquest reminiscent of the ignoble military rule. The PDP won in five states out of six in the south west in 2003 and his fortune bolstered greatly as he was made the National Deputy Chairman South in addition to being the Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority described by many political pundits as a juicy portfolio. His fortunes nosedived after his mentor, Obasanjo stepped down in 2007. He was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and was incarcerated for financial misdeeds while he held sway as the NPA Chairman. He blamed his travails on Obasanjo who ironically gave him his first taste of the political limelight. He bounced back when Goodluck Jonathan came to power and ensured that his favourite wife, Roli was appointed as the Director-General of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) another juicy appointment much to the chagrin of his foes and opponents. The 2015 elections hit him hard as his party lost out and he had no base in his home state of Lagos to fall back on as it has always been in the grip of the progressives. He was like fish out of water as he grappled with the day to day reality of being out of power. He attempted to bounce back by becoming the National Chairman of the PDP but pulled out at the last minute when he saw defeat staring him in the face as Governor Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike smartly hijacked the process and imposed his stooge in the person of Uche Secondus. He has been quiet since then and was out of the limelight till this surprising news of his 2023 presidential interest. George has no base as he is currently so unpopular in Lagos and cannot even win his ward in a free and fair local government election. The PDP has never won the state despite the billions of naira committed for the purpose. Charity begins at home. How can he win the elections when he cant deliver his ward? He has no known national political structure and was only powerful because of his access to both Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan he didnt leverage on this to build a vast network that cuts across the six geopolitical zones. How on earth will his newly found dream come to pass? He will be 77 going on 78 by 2023 will he still have the strength for the grueling campaign? The National Assembly is considering a bill to prevent politicians from 70 and above from contesting elections. If it sails through, it will sound the death knell on his ambition. He has the stigma of being an ex convict which his opponents could use against him to get him disqualified through the courts. Is he just playing to gallery to constantly be in the news to maintain relevance by flying the kite? 2023 will surely tell. Tony Ademiluyi writes from Lagos and edits www.africanbard.com Biorigin presents natural feed solutions for Quality Animal Nutrition at IPPE 2020 The company reinforces its commitment for quality animal nutrition by natural solutions At IPPE, Biorigin will present its natural solutions for animal nutrition from Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as alternatives of antibiotic growth promoters, as they protect intestinal integrity and natural defences, ensuring animal development even under challenging situations. According to Global Monogastric Technical Manager Eliana Dantas, "With the challenge of an antibiotic-free production, producers are looking for solutions to improve productivity and profitability in a more natural way. Biorigin comes to IPPE to showcasing its ingredients for a high-quality animal nutrition that can add value and security to animal proteinproducts." The products derived from this mindful method carry an added value desired by modern consumers seeking healthier foods; natural foods, free from antibiotics and hormones used in animal products and artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors; and sustainable foods consumers are willing to pay a higher price for environmentally friendly brands. Biorigin will be at the Brazilian Pavilion Booth #A808 presenting its natural ingredients for animal nutrition, health, and performance. Meet the team and learn how they support safe, quality animal nutrition, preventively protecting animal health and ensuring more sustainable animal production for the planet. IPPE will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, from January 28 to 30, 2020. Visit www.ippexpo.com for more information. A coyote was caught in Chicago Thursday and another escaped after it was chased by police who were on the hunt for the animals after two people were bitten, including a young child. None of the bites were considered life-threatening, but the reported attacks came amid an increase in sightings of coyotes in the nation's third-largest city. One of the animals was captured by animal control officials in the 1700 block of North Freemont about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, a police spokeswoman told DailyMail.com. Cops are seen in images taken, and video also tweeted Twitter by Patrick Fazio of WMAQ in Chicago, which was reporting on the hunt, just as the animal was being tranquilized and later carried out in a green bag. Scroll down for video Authorities are pictured taking aim at a coyote that was tranquilized before its capture on Thursday in Chicago Authorities are pictured carrying out a coyote just after it was tranquilized after a police chased in Chicago COYOTE CAUGHT Officers shot the coyote with a tranquilizer gun at Willow and Fremont and brought it out to the animal control van. @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/aHMWmwvoIS Patrick Fazio (@PatrickFazio) January 10, 2020 Additional footage of police and animal control officials chasing down another animal also believed to be a coyote was broadcast on by WBBM. The news outlet reported the animal got away after it was chased through the Cabrini-Green area Thursday night. Chicago police and animal control officials were unable to provide additional details and referred all additional questions to a spokesperson from the mayor's office who was not immediately available when DailyMail.com reached out. Additional footage (pictured) of police and animal control officials chasing down another animal also believed to be a coyote was broadcast on by WBBM The injured included a five-year-old boy, who was rushed to a hospital on Wednesday for head injuries and a man, who admitted himself for buttock wounds after he said he was bitten the same day. The boy had managed to escape the ferocious creature by running to a bus shelter with the adult he was with. The youngster suffered head and face lacerations when the coyote savaged him around 4 p.m. in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Paramedics treated his wounds at the scene and he was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital in stable condition, according to ABC News. The second person attacked in the city was a 32-year-old man who walked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital Wednesday evening with cuts on his rear. He said that a coyote stalked him, pounced and bit him on the buttocks. A coyote is pictured after being spotted yesterday in Lincoln Park, Chicago The two incidents happened in completely different areas of the city, about an hour's walk from each other. Michele Smith, alderman for Chicago's 43rd Ward, which includes Lincoln Park, told residents some days earlier of a dog being mauled by a coyote in the neighborhood. Pictured are emergency services responding to the scene after a five-year-old boy was bitten on the head by a coyote in Chicago Wednesday afternoon Earlier in the day, witnesses recalled spotting four or five of the animals outside of a school. 'While it is extremely rare for a coyote to approach or bite a person, residents should take caution if they encounter a coyote and notify Chicago Animal Care and Control by calling 311,' the agency said in a statement. The hospital is yet to release details on the child's condition. Coyote's in general are not considered dangerous because they rarely attack humans. Pictured: Undated file photo of homes in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois Outdoor experts suggest people not to run away from coyotes as they could consider them prey. Making noise or yelling at the wolf-like animals is usually enough to keep them at bay. 'Like domestic dogs, coyotes test their limits around humans and learn something from each exchange,' the forest preserve states on its website. 'Unless they associate people with negative experiences, such as loud noises, they can become comfortable walking down streets or sidewalks or near schools, basking in yards or parks, and shortening the distance between themselves and humans. 'A bold coyote does not necessarily mean an aggressive coyote, but a coyote that maintains its fear of humans will be less likely to cause problems.' A quarter-century ago, Afghanistans hard-line Sunni Taliban movement emerged as a mortal enemy of the Shiite clerical regime in neighboring Iran. But amid todays high U.S.-Iran tensions, Tehrans influence over the Taliban could sabotage its peace negotiations with Washington. Days after U.S. forces killed Qasem Soleimani, the most senior Iranian military leader, senior American officials are warning of Tehrans protentional spoiler role in preventing the Taliban from concluding a peace agreement with their country. The agreement is seen as setting a path toward ending more than four decades of war in Afghanistan. Sami Yousafzai, an Afghan journalist specializing in covering the Taliban, says the Taliban and Irans clerical regime are poles apart. They adhere to different Muslim sects, and their strategic outlook is vastly dissimilar. Yet they have worked out a strong tactical understanding, which entails a lot of cooperation and assistance, he told RFE/RLs Gandhara website on January 10. Yousafzai says Iran ostensibly supports the Afghan peace process, which could achieve a milestone with an imminent formal agreement between the Taliban and the United States. Behind the scenes, however, Iran actively feeds the Taliban false hopes that they have won the war and that their resistance will force the U.S. to leave Afghanistan in humiliation, he noted. Such tactics are ultimately aimed at sabotaging the peace talks. Iranian officials, however, have repeatedly rejected assertions that they are seeking to destabilize Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic of Iran has striven to interact with this group [the Taliban] and convince them to hold talks with the central government of Afghanistan in order to reach a solution, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in December. We believe that our well-being is intertwined with neighboring countries well-being, [and] this would reduce some of the losses inflicted on the region. Yousafzai, however, says relations between Tehran and the Taliban have improved well beyond diplomatic niceties. He said that in November many senior Taliban leaders preferred to meet with their deputy leader and chief negotiator Mullah Baradar in Iran instead of Pakistan. Baradar visited Pakistan in October. He says Ibrahim Sadar, the current Taliban military chief, and Mullah Gul Agha Akhund, the head of Taliban finances, were among the key figures who held consultations with Baradar in Iran. The two are also prominent leadership figures from the southern province of Helmand. Most of the worlds illicit opium and heroin supplies come from the large province, situated near Iran. In recent months, many mid-level Taliban commanders from Helmand were trained in Iran, Yousafzai said of his discussions with contacts within the Taliban ranks. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, Helmand has been a key bastion for the Taliban because it supplies many key leaders and foot soldiers. He argues that dramatic tensions between Iran and the United States might prompt Tehran to double down on the path of strengthening the Taliban military machine. Iran can increase financial support to the Taliban and even give them advanced weapons, which will dramatically alter the face of the Afghan battlefield. he noted. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of trying to sabotage the Afghan peace process by influencing the Taliban. The Talibans entanglement in Irans dirty work will only harm the Afghanistan peace process, he told journalists on January 7. Iran has refused to join the regional and international consensus for peace and is in fact actively working to undermine the peace process by continuing its long global effort to support militant groups there." In addition to the Taliban, Pompeo named the Haqqanis, the Tora Bora, and the Mullah Dadullah group as part of Irans proxy network in Afghanistan. Long considered the Talibans military arm, the Haqqani network is well integrated in the insurgent organization while the other two are largely seen as insignificant splinters. However, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen dismissed fears that tensions between Tehran and Washington will threaten their talks with the United States. "The developments will not have [a] negative impact on the peace process because the [U.S.-Taliban] peace agreement is finalized and only remains to be signed [by the two sides]," he told VOA. In a move hinting at the Talibans keenness to avoid being used by Iran, the insurgents this week appointed former top military commander Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir to lead their forces in northeastern Afghanistan. In the years following the 2014 departure of most NATO troops from Afghanistan, Zakir, who also hails from Helmand, visited Iran repeatedly and is considered an architect of the groups relations with Tehran. As a close confidant of the movements founder, Mullah Omar, Zakir retains considerable influence but was apparently sidelined from a leadership role in recent years. The Taliban were on the brink of war with Iran in 1998. Tehran moved tens of thousands of troops to the border with Afghanistan after Iranian diplomats had been killed during the brief Taliban capture of Mazar-e Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan. The two eventually avoided war, but Tehran supported the anti-Taliban factions united in the Northern Alliance. Tehran extended quiet support to the U.S. attack on the Taliban regime in late 2001. But it turned against U.S. military presence after U.S. President George W. Bush declared Iran to be part of an axis of evil in 2002. Soleimanis Quds Force gradually developed links with the Taliban that deepened and strengthened after their insurgency expanded in the years following 2003. In May 2016, the United States killed late Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansur in Pakistans southwestern Balochistan Province after returning from a trip to Iran. In recent years, Western and Afghan officials have repeatedly accused Tehran of supporting the Taliban with weapons and safe havens. Iranian officials have denied such accusations. The covert alliance between the Taliban and Iran has prevented the ultra-radical Islamic State militants from establishing a foothold in western and southern Afghan provinces near the 900-kilometer-long border with Iran. The Bismarck Park Board is considering changing the name of Custer Park. The board is wisely taking its time on the issue, recognizing how complicated history can be. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer is perhaps the most polarizing figure in the history of the American West. His ambition, arrogance and controversial military career make him a natural target for criticism, often unfairly. Conversely, his impressive Civil War record, unquestioned bravery and dramatic death resulted in blind hero worship in the decades after Little Bighorn. Custer has become a symbol of both the injustices perpetrated on Native peoples and a romanticized version of Western expansion. His actual place in Plains history lies somewhere in between. While hes the most famous Indian fighter of his day, Custer engaged in only two major military engagements during his decade on the Plains. The first occurred in 1868 near the Washita River in Oklahoma, where Custer and his men launched a surprise attack against the Southern Cheyenne under Chief Black Kettle. Many are quick to label Washita River a massacre, but the historic record does not compel that view. Washita River was not Sand Creek or Wounded Knee. Women and children were killed in the attack, but not intentionally (little solace to the Southern Cheyenne, obviously). Some evidence suggests they were killed by Osage scouts who fought alongside Custer. There also is evidence that Custers men were ordered to spare women and children and that Custer personally intervened to spare noncombatants. In at least one instance, Custer proved to be as cold-blooded as many other military leaders of his day. During an 1867 expedition in Kansas, he gave orders to a subordinate that showed little regard for noncombatants. The orders were never carried out, as the military only engaged in minor skirmishes. The battle for which Custer is most famous, of course, is the Little Bighorn in 1876, where he and hundreds of his men were killed by the Lakota (and their Dakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho allies). Custer has been criticized for his decisions that fateful day, and his recklessness and arrogance certainly played a big part in the Seventh Cavalrys demise. The criticism of Custers actions at Little Bighorn often overshadows the astonishing achievement of the Indian warriors who defeated him. Little Bighorn was the zenith of Lakota resistance to white encroachment, and their greatest victory against the U.S. military. In that sense, the name Custer, rather than a reminder of historic trauma, might evoke feelings of historic pride for tribal members on the Northern Plains. Frankly, it should. Custers legacy can mean different things in different places. A park named for Custer might be viewed differently in Oklahoma, with memories of a military defeat for the Southern Cheyenne, than it does in our community, where Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were stationed before departing for the Little Bighorn. For generations, Custers legacy has been co-opted to support competing views of history -- either as the personification of all the tragedy in Western history, or the heroic martyr for Manifest Destiny. If we peer through the foggy mythology, however, Custer appears as a complicated man with a complicated legacy, and one who, for good and ill, is a towering figure in our local history. We cant avoid that history, nor should we. Perhaps the best way to bridge the divide between Custer as villain and Custer as hero is to keep his name at Custer Park and install interpretive signage to contextualize his place in history. By doing so, we can combat the ahistorical thinking that for too long has cloaked the real Custer in symbolism and myth. Tory Jackson is an attorney and writer. His legal practice involves real estate and business matters, with a particular focus on historic rehabilitation projects. He holds degrees from Bismarck State College, the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School. He lives in Bismarck, where he was born and raised. Love 14 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Switching to lab-grown foods 'is not the answer' to providing nutrition to a growing global population or addressing climate change, an industry body has said. In the recently shown Apocalypse Cow programme, green campaigner George Monbiot proposes ending agriculture 'as we know it', turning vast tracts of land over to forestry. The UK would instead move to emerging technologies such as creating protein from bacteria and producing lab-grown meat from stem cells to produce food. However, the programme has been criticised for providing an unrealistic remedy for climate change which is at odds with mainstream opinion. The documentary focused on the food sector while neglecting the role of the largest producers of greenhouse gases, such as transport. Responding to the Channel 4 programme, Hybu Cig Cymru Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) said Monbiots proposal is 'unlikely to be an effective response' to climate change and the challenge of feeding a growing population. The body's chief executive, Gwyn Howells said: I doubt that many people will share the presenters enthusiasm for switching to processed foods mass-produced from bacteria and stem cells in laboratories. The programme also failed to question the wildly optimistic claims that are made about the potential of this technology, its cost, how much energy it would consume, and how quickly and safely it could be developed. He said the programme took aim at the 'wrong target', namely agriculture, which produces fewer emissions than transport, industry and energy generation. Mr Howells continued: Wholesale re-forestation of productive agricultural land is questionable according to international studies such as the IPCC Climate Change and Land report, which warn that such a response risks global food security, and urges governments to take advantage of the potential of grassland to sequester carbon as reforestation could take decades to produce net benefits. Sustainable forms of agriculture offer more immediate and realistic solutions to mitigating climate change. Wales, with its overwhelmingly non-intensive, grass-fed beef and sheep sector, is ready to lead the way in responsible and sustainable farming, he said. [January 10, 2020] At-Bay Welcomes Tara Bodden to Executive Team as General Counsel, Head of Claims At-Bay has announced that Tara Bodden will join the company as General Counsel and Head of Claims, effective January 13, 2020. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005073/en/ Tara Bodden, General Counsel and Head of Claims, At-Bay (Photo: Business Wire) In her new role, Tara will be responsible for driving At-Bay's claims strategy as a specialty insurer and will lead At-Bay's legal and compliance efforts as the company continues to expand its insurance capabilities. Based out of San Francisco, Tara will be part of At-Bay's executive leadership team. "Tara is an incredible addition to our team," says Brett Sadoff, At-Bay's Head of Insurance. "Building an expert claims management eam is a top priority for At-Bay, in our mission to be a trusted partner for our client's digital risks. Tara is a respected and proven industry leader with extensive claims and litigation knowledge, and we couldn't hope for a better and more accomplished leader to join us." Tara joins At-Bay from Hiscox USA, where she was Senior Vice President and Head of Claims for Cyber, Media, and Technology, and interim Head of Claims for the US, for six months. During her time at Hiscox, Tara led a group of high-performing claims attorneys, partnered with other business functions to identify new opportunities and exposures, and championed delivery of an exceptional customer experience. Tara also led the company in responding to cyber privacy incidents and advised the board and executives on legal and business strategies. "At-Bay has built a service with innovative products that deliver a great customer experience to brokers and insureds alike. I'm excited to join the strong team of seasoned security and insurance professionals at At-Bay," Tara says. "As the business and products continue to grow, so will the number of claims. I'm honored to lead this new team that will ensure an exceptional At-Bay claims experience, and to work with the talented security team to help insureds avoid losses from digital exposures." About At-Bay At-Bay provides insurance for the digital age. We build insurance products and services that make brokers' lives easier and help customers avoid loss. As a Managing General Underwriter (MGU), At-Bay underwrites insurance policies through HSB Specialty Insurance Company, rated A++ by A.M. Best Company and part of Munich Re. At-Bay is backed by Lightspeed Ventures Partners and Khosla Ventures. For more information about At-Bay, visit www.at-bay.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005073/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Friday reported a 5.9 per cent decline in total retail sales at 5,57,706 units last year as compared with 2018. The sales of Jaguar brand were at 1,61,601 units during the month, down 10.6 per cent, while Land Rover sales witnessed a dip of 3.8 per cent during the year as compared with 2018, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. In December, JLR reported 1.3 per cent increase in total retail sales at 52,814 units as compared to the year-ago period in 2018. The sales of Jaguar brand were at 13,372 units during the month, down 17.3 per cent from December 2018. Land Rover sales stood at 39,442 units, up 9.6 per cent from the same month last year, it added. "2019 was a year of two halves for Jaguar Land Rover. Over the last six months, we saw a marked improvement in China, where intensive work with our retailers, combined with significant process and product improvements are starting to gain traction," JLR Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam said. Elsewhere, adverse market conditions continued to affect the industry but encouragingly in North America the company closed last year successfully with a new record year, he added. In December, company's retail sales were boosted by China (up 26.3 per cent year-on-year), a sixth successive month of double-digit growth, Brautigam said. UTICA N.Y.- Meantime Activists from Indivisible Mohawk Valley and Citizen Action of Central New York, gathered to deliver a no war message as part of a national day of action in opposition to escalation of war with Iran. The rally was held at Oneida Square in Utica. Across the street, was a counter rally with supporters of President Donald Trump and his decision to take out the Top Iranian General. NewsChannel 2 spoke with both sides, and believe it or not the opposing sides have a common goal. Both sides want peace. Jen DeWeerth with Indivisible Mohawk Valley said, "Our message is, we want congress to stop a needless war. Stand Up, and declare that we should not enter into a war or provocate war. Before we've tried every last diplomatic solution." Mark Centofante, a Trump supporter said, "I'm here to support the president of the United States. Alright, I don't ever want to see another Benghazi. I think the action he took taking out the Iranian general was correct. He was labeled a terrorist, by the Obama administration. And, I don't think we need to give Iran another $150,000,000,000 to buy peace." The protests in Utica were part of 400 rallies across the United States. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 9, 2020) - Argentum Silver Corporation (TSXV: ASL) ("Argentum" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. (the "Exchange") has accepted for filing an amalgamation agreement between Argentum Silver Corp. and Norsemont II Resources Corp. ("Norsemont"), a private British Columbia company, dated May 27, 2019 (the "Agreement"). Norsemont owns a 100% interest in the Cochavara Silver-Lead-Zinc Project (the "Cochavara Project") in Northern Peru. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Argentum will acquire all the issued and outstanding securities of Norsemont in exchange for 2,777,778 common shares in the capital of Argentum. In addition, holders of convertible securities of Norsemont will receive 400,000 common share purchase warrants of Argentum, each warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire a common share at an exercise price of $0.25 per common share on or before the date that is three years following the closing of the proposed transaction. The completed amalgamation was a related-party transaction with Sprott Mining Corp., a company controlled by Eric Sprott, as a control person of both Argentum and Norsemont. The Cochavara Project consists of six concessions totalling 3,479 hectares located in the Department of La Libertad in Northern Peru, approximately 70 kilometres east of the city of Trujillo. The historical Quiruvilca silver/lead/zinc mine ("Quiruvilca") is located 3.5 kilometres northeast of the northern boundary of the Cochavara Project area. Quiruvilca is a large polymetallic vein deposit with over 130 different mineralized structures. Both Cochavara and Quiruvilca are located within the Mid-Miocene Calipuy volcanic complex that hosts several world-class precious metal deposits such as Newmont's Yanacocha and Barrick's Pierina gold mines, which are located approximately 120 kilometres north and 180 km southeast of Cochavara, respectively. Mineralization hosted at Quiruvilca, Yanacocha and Pierina is not necessarily reflective of the mineralization that may be hosted on the Cochavara silver-lead-zinc project. Story continues According to Bartos (1984), mineralization at Quiruvilca is controlled by a series of east-northeast-striking polymetallic (silver/lead/zinc) vein swarms, which have extensive lateral and vertical continuity with abundant splits and pinch-and-swell structures. The mineralization at Cochavara is similarly controlled and occurs along strike of the Quiruvilca vein swarms. Production from the Quiruvilca mine was first recorded in 1789 and has been mined on an industrial scale since 1924. More recently, Pan American Silver acquired the Quiruvilca mine in 1995 and sold the mine to a private company in 2012. Cochavara currently has a valid exploitation permit to extract minerals for processing at third-party plants. During 2018, Cochavara underground development provided access to the main mineralized vein structure. The development adit was used to drift along the mineralized structure, to provide mineralized material for processing, and to provide access for future underground drilling. Property Highlights Several mineralized structures have been identified on the Cochavara Property, with the main mineralized structure occurring over an estimated strike length of 1,500 metres. The main zone (Margarita Mine) has recently (2013, 2015, and 2018) been explored by various companies including Norsemont, by drifting and cross-cutting on three separate mine levels: Margarita Workings (Level 3605), Old Drift (Level 3641), and Level 3663, all accessed by hillside adits. Mostly chip samples taken from mineralized veins ranging in widths from 0.1 to 1.0 metres, returned the following range of values: 6.1 g/t to 1,172 g/t Ag, 0.19%-24.88% Pb, and 0.31%-26.81% Zn. Details of the various exploration and sampling programs are provided in the Cochavara technical report. The Cochavara Property has not been drill-tested. NI 43-101 Technical Report In connection with the completion of the transaction, Argentum has filed on SEDAR and on the Company's website (www.argentumsilvercorp.com), a technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 disclosure standards entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cochavara Ag-Pb-Zn Project, Districts of Julcan, Calamarca and Quiruvilca, Provinces of Julcan and Santiago de Chuco, Department of La Libertad, Peru" prepared by James A. McCrea, P.Geo. The report provides a comprehensive review of the exploration activities on the property and provides recommendations for future work. Proposed Exploration Argentum's initial exploration and work programs are currently being planned for the Cochavara Project with a budget of $US 300,000 and will consist of two contemporaneous phases. Phase I - $US 90,000 Detailed structural mapping and sampling to identify additional vein structures on the property. Geophysics: drone magnetometer survey with LiDAR to identify intrusive/geologic contacts and possible vein targets and Alpha Induced Polarization survey to identify possible polymetallic vein targets. Phase II - $US 210,000 225 metres of underground exploration/development on known structures to search for and delineate high-grade mineralization. About Argentum Silver Corp. Argentum Silver is a junior mineral exploration company listed on the TSXV under the stock symbol ASL. Argentum hold 80% interest in the Vanadium Ridge Property located at the southern end of the Quesnel Trough 50 km north of Kamloops, British Columbia. The property consists of 20 mining claims covering 2,151 hectares near the town of Barriere. The project hosts vanadium-rich magnetite mineralization in seams and pods in altered ultramafic to intermediate intrusive rocks which form a portion of a large Late Triassic Poison Creek diorite intrusion complex. The near-surface exposure of vanadiferous magnetite is an attractive exploration target that may not require chemical processing for the liberation of a magnetite concentrate. The technical aspects of this press release have been reviewed and approved by Gary Nassif, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and CEO of Argentum. For more information contact: Gary Nassif, President & CEO 416-855-9304 gnassif@argentumsilvercorp.com * Bartos, P.J (1984) Mineralization, Alteration and Zoning of the Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag Lodes at Quiruvilca Peru, Master Thesis Stanford University. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51300 WINDSOR, ONT.The loved ones of five Windsor, Ont.-based students and researchers killed in the Iran plane crash joined together in their grief Friday as they remembered the shining stars extinguished in the tragedy. Friends, supervisors and community leaders spoke at a memorial service that the University of Windsor arranged for the five victims, including two married couples. Zahra Naghibi and spouse Mohammad Abaspour Ghadi; Samira Bashiri and spouse Hamidreza Setareh; and Pedram Jadidi were among the 176 people aboard Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752, which crashed just minutes after taking off from Tehran early Wednesday. On Tuesday night, many of us in this room went to bed anticipating that our friends, family, colleagues, students would be back in Windsor in the morning, ready to do the work that they loved, Dr. Lisa Porter told the memorial, describing Bashiri as part of her lab family. None of us could have imagined the events that would unfold. None of us could have imagined so many shining stars lost at once. Of the 176 who died in the crash, 138 were travelling through Kyiv and on to Canada, officials have said. Rupp Carriveau, Naghibis faculty adviser, highlighted the scale of the tragedy in his speech at the memorial. This tragedy was far-reaching and reminds us of how interconnected we are, he said, explaining he was in Waterloo, Ont., listening to a PhD defence when he saw there had been a crash. I was very concerned and scared. And then I got another email the next moment that was about Zahra. It was very hard to carry on, but Im glad that we did carry on, he said, adding that the PhD candidate he saw also lost a sister-in-law in the crash. Carriveau said Naghibi had an unbelievable work ethic that inspired his whole team. What we asked her for, she made better. And thats what shes really done for us and what shes done for me as a person, is shes made us better. Im extremely grateful for having known her, he said, his voice breaking. Naghibi was in Iran with her husband, Abaspour Ghadi, whose friend described the couple as a staple of his life in Canada. Their presence turned the cold days of winter into the warm welcome of summer, Mehran Eshaghi said. Mohammad believed in living the moments with friends, and he believed with friends, everything would be possible. Maryam Shafiei described the other couple killed, Bashiri and Setareh, as the glue in her group of friends, and said she is still grappling with what it will mean to live without them. If we had lived in a fair world, it would have not been me giving this speech, she said through tears, addressing Bashiri. It would have been you giving a maid of honour speech in the wedding ceremony. We made a deal. How could you do that to me? Im really mad at you, and next time we meet, youd better make it up to me. Shafiei said nobody could compare to Bashiri and her husband. Its undeniable that perfection doesnt last, and they were the best example of perfection, the lovely couple, she said. Meanwhile, Naser Torabi said Jadidi had been both a remarkable PhD student and a kind friend. He had moved to Canada at the beginning of 2019 shortly after his fathers death, Torabi said, noting he was back in Iran to mark that sombre anniversary with his family. Who would have thought this was going to be his last farewell to his mother? he asked. Who would believe this beautiful family would lose a father and son in a year? At times throughout the ceremony, the microphones on stage picked up the sounds of audience members sobbing. Read more about: Last year was quite intense in Ukrainian-Polish relations. Poland has traditionally been very active in supporting Ukraine on the international stage. However, there are some problems and unresolved issues between the two countries, and Kyiv and Warsaw have to focus on them in 2020. Ukraine's Ambassador to Poland Andrii Deshchytsia spoke in an interview with an Ukrinform correspondent about how relations between the two countries look today and how they are going to develop in the near future. Q: Mr. Ambassador, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has recently held a meeting with Ukrainian ambassadors in Western Europe in Berlin. In particular, he said that next year the focus would be on making Ukraine's foreign policy pragmatic and economical. What can you say about the Polish direction? A: First and foremost, we constantly raise the question that our relations on issues important to Ukraine should be treated pragmatically by both states. This pragmatics has dominated our relationship in the last few months. I hope that this trend will continue in the future. With regard to the development of trade and economic relations, trade between Ukraine and Poland is steadily growing. It amounted to about $7 billion in 2018, or over 10% more than in 2018. However, we lack the growth in Polish investment in Ukraine. There is room for action in the short term. To some extent, this is directly related to growing dynamics of government-level contacts. We hope that Polish investments in Ukraine will increase in 2020, and the Polish prime minister's visit to Ukraine will contribute to the interest of the Polish business in Ukraine. Q: By the way, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has been in his post for the third year, but he has never been to Ukraine. The Ukrainian-Polish intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation has not met for a long time. Can we expect such a meeting? A: There is a permanent telephone link between the two premiers. The lack of visits is to a certain extent caused by objective factors. These include elections in Ukraine and Poland last year and the formation of governments of both countries. We hope that a meeting of the intergovernmental commission, which usually precedes a meeting of the prime ministers, will take place as soon as possible. It is worth noting that this commission is very large and consists of about ten subcommittees. In the case of Ukraine, we have already accomplished our homework. After the formation of the government, the commission's co-chairman has been appointed - Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Kuleba. We expect the Polish side to appoint or reappoint its co-chairman of the commission. Until now, it was Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz, who now serves as minister of development in the new government led by Mateusz Morawiecki. We will propose not to wait for all subcommittees to meet, but to hold a meeting in Warsaw or Kyiv so as to work out the current agenda for bilateral trade, economic and investment cooperation. Then, depending on which areas need to be addressed, it will be possible to hold the meetings of these subcommittees. Q: That is, the visit of the Polish prime minister to Ukraine or the Ukrainian PM to Poland should be preceded by a meeting of this commission? A: Such practice has been in place until now. However, I do not think that we need to get too attached to it. Now there is a need for a visit by the Polish prime minister, and we will insist that the visit not be tied to the meetings of these subcommittees or commissions. We are interested in having direct working contacts between the premiers. Q: Which visit should you expect first and foremost: Morawiecki's visit to Kyiv or Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk's visit to Warsaw? A: There is a practice of order of visits. The last one was a working visit by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to Poland for the economic forum in Krynica-Zdroj [in 2016]. Thereafter, there were no visits by Polish prime ministers to Ukraine. This situation needs to be remedied. Q: Poland has overtaken Russia in terms of trade with Ukraine. But despite growing exports, the Polish government is asking the European Commission to impose quotas on certain types of agricultural products from Ukraine, such as corn. In fact, how much are Ukraine and Poland partners, and how much are they competitors in Europe? A: This is a very good question because until some time we did not create competition with Polish manufacturers. Now, having modernized its economy and having changed the vector of its exports, Ukraine is becoming an objective competitor of Poland. In a market environment, this is normal. In such a situation, it is obvious that Polish manufacturers, haulers or farmers are trying to get some restrictions in order to protect their market. But if both countries are WTO members, participants of the free trade area with the EU, then, in that case, we have to act in accordance with the rules that apply there, rules based on competition and the free market: they buy goods from those who are better. Obviously, we should expect competition between Polish and Ukrainian producers. However, competition is to the benefit of consumers, so it should not be feared. Now, for example, we see problems related to cargo transportation. We need more Polish auto licenses for Ukrainian haulers transporting products from Ukraine to EU countries. Q: To a certain extent, it is also the link of the aforementioned chain. A: It is to a certain extent, since the Polish side has some restrictions on the part of the EU, Europe is implementing its rules. And here there are Ukrainian haulers who are ready to execute orders on terms that are already unprofitable for the Polish side. This is a competition. And again, we return to the question of changing the vector of Ukrainian exports, which have shifted to the West. The point is not only that we transport goods to Poland, but also that we transit them via Poland further to the West. Therefore, we need to be prepared for negotiations on expanding the presence of Ukrainian manufacturers, Ukrainian haulers, Ukrainian exports to Europe as far as the FTA with the EU allows us. Q: The end of December showed that in such force majeure situations like holidays, when the number of travelers sharply increases, people stay in line at the border for 15-20 hours. What can be done now to relieve this tension at the border and to improve the border crossing situation? A: First of all, it is necessary to talk about the optimization of the work of checkpoints and different forms of acceleration of border and customs control of persons. This can be the automation of the passage system, various electronic queues, electronic customs declarations, which can be sent to the border in advance, even before the arrival of goods at the border. I hope that the new Ukrainian customs will find a solution to these problems. Q: This is a complex problem on both sides. A: Yes, service culture is also very important. Very often, we record the discontent of people crossing the border. The attitude of border guards and customs officers to travelers is sometimes boorish. And people are very annoyed when they spend 15-20 hours at the border, and this leads to tension. For several years, we have been talking about the spread of common border and customs control practices at all checkpoints. This practice has long been in place at four out of eight checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border. Today, this requires the consent of not only the Polish side but also the European institutions. The introduction of such a form of customs, where Ukrainian customs operate near Polish customs (as it is currently done at four checkpoints), is showing its effectiveness. We also have the potential to modernize checkpoints. For example, we are talking about the Korczowa-Krakovets checkpoint (Lviv region), which we have been talking about for a long time. It can be expanded by at least several times, bringing our infrastructure into line with that existing on the Polish side. Q: Can we expect any qualitative breakthrough in common border issues in 2020? A: I hope so. A breakthrough could be in improving the existing infrastructure, in particular, at the Krakovets-Korczowa checkpoint and the delimitation of passenger and freight traffic. The Polish side already has the relevant infrastructure, and it has partially been built on the Ukrainian side. We are also discussing the creation of the Nyzhankovychi-Malhowice checkpoint (Lviv region). Currently, work is underway to approve the design estimates, with funds envisaged in the 2020 budget for this purpose. In addition, a pedestrian crossing is to be created at this checkpoint. Q: Is there a thaw in bilateral relations after President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Warsaw in late August and the unblocking of search and exhumation works on Polish victims in Ukraine? A: Yes, it is an element of constant dialogue between the parties that has changed qualitatively. Although historical issues remain on the agenda of bilateral relations, they have been removed from the top agenda of bilateral relations. This was influenced by the decision to lift the ban on search and exhumation works in Ukraine, which was implemented after President Zelensky's visit to Poland. This unlocked dialogue in many other areas and relieved tensions that existed during formal negotiations. Prior to this, complex historical issues have always been one of the first ones discussed at official meetings. Now the situation has changed. Q: Is Polish President Andrzej Duda planning to visit Ukraine in the near future? A: It will all depend on what schedule the president of Poland will have at the beginning of 2020. A presidential election campaign is about to begin in Poland and it is clear that the incumbent president, as one of the candidates, will focus on it. Such a meeting might take place. The presidents have recently had a telephone conversation - a very long, intense discussion of many issues that are on the agenda of bilateral relations and international politics. Clearly, there is interest in continuing this dialogue. Q: What are your main priorities for 2020? A: This is the opening of a branch of the Ukrainian Institute in Warsaw, which would create the conditions for a greater Ukrainian presence through the promotion of Ukrainian culture and business. It is also a way of making sure that there are unobstructed contacts between Ukraine and Poland so that the border unites, rather than divides us and our peoples. Yuriy Banakhevych, Warsaw The most brutal part of this whole Megxit mess? The ruthless speed at which Madam Tussauds got rid of their Meghan and Harry figures. Now Boris Johnson knows whats in store for his own replica if he ever decides to muck the Queen about and ditch Britain for North America. Johnson is counting on the waxwork dummies in the House of Lords not to muck up his Brexit bill after it finally cleared the Commons. The Labour leadership mannequins, meanwhile, are running out of time to catch attention in the showroom window. Two of them still dont have the endorsements they need before nominations close on Monday. Im Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independents daily Inside Politics briefing. Inside the bubble Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick on what to look out for in SW1 today: BOISE Rules establishing eligibility for Medicaid expansion were approved Thursday by the House Health and Welfare Committee. The rules outline the newly expanded adult population that may receive Medicaid, including those who make less than 138% of the federal poverty level. Part of the change clarifies that, under Medicaid expansion, inmates who require inpatient medical services at a hospital are eligible for Medicaid if they meet program requirements. As soon as they leave the correctional facility, as long as they meet eligibility requirements ... they will then be covered under Medicaid at the medical facility, Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said. Some medical costs previously covered in the Department of Corrections budget will now go to the Department of Health and Welfare under the change. That will save the state money because the federal government pays for most of the costs associated with Medicaid expansion, something already accounted for in the current budget, Jeppesen said. In 2018, voters approved expanding Medicaid to cover those making less than 138% of the federal poverty level. Expanded coverage began Jan. 1. While about 91,000 new applicants are expected, only 55,917 have signed up as of Thursday, according to the Department of Health and Welfare. Other changes in the rules section included minor language and structure tweaks for clarification, program manager Camille Schiller said. This will create a more organized chapter regarding the eligibility for all adult groups, Schiller said. Negotiation of the rules was not feasible since the changes were made to comply with state statute and federal regulations, she said. Still, three Republican lawmakers voted against the rules, including Reps. Bryan Zollinger, R-Idaho Falls, Chad Christensen, R-Ammon, and Tim Kastning, a stand-in for Rep. John Green, R-Rathdrum, who was indicted in Texas in a tax evasion case. A similar committee in the Senate unanimously approved the Medicaid expansion rules along with several other sections related to tobacco, food safety standards, emergency medical services and immunizations. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 They flank the prime minister, six on one side, five on the other, dressed in sombre suits to discuss serious matters. The photograph was taken on January 6 when the 11 variously described as telecom czar, richest Indian, and even patriarch met with Narendra Modi ahead of the budget. No czarinas. No matriarchs. Just an all-boys-club meeting to weigh in on the economy, talk about the need to spur growth and create jobs. You would imagine that some women might have been invited, particularly since the prime ministers flagship mission, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, is to do with female empowerment. You would imagine that some women might have had a seat at that table. After all, its 2020 and women are flying fighter planes and working on missions to space. But in the photograph, even our first full-time woman finance minister is missing. Its not that we dont have capable women in industry. I can think of Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Anu Agha, Suneeta Reddy and all those who sparkle in finance and banking from Zarin Daruwala to Kaku Nahate. This is not just about a symbolic photo-op. Women see things differently, have their own perspective based on their struggles to ascension. To exclude them from crucial meetings is to shut out the voices of nearly half of our population. Did, for instance, the men around that table, talk about Indias precipitous fall in female labour force participation? Did they seek answers as to why only 24% of working age women are in paid employment, according to the 2018 Economic Survey? Did they talk about work-life balance and the burden of unpaid care work that falls on women? Unless you have women around the table, you are not going to hear their stories. You are going to have men deciding whats best for everyone, and that includes us. In a recent Global Gender Gap report, which looks at 153 economies on four parameters political empowerment, economic participation, health and education we slipped four places from 108 to 112. When gender exclusion stems from the top, it sends a signal down the line that its okay to keep women out. Not one of the 23 speakers at a recent award ceremony by an agritech company was a woman this in a country where, according to Oxfam, women undertake 80% of farm work but own only 13% of the land. There were no women speakers at an auto conclave in Gurgaon this past week. Ditto for an electronic imaging fair earlier this month in Mumbai, points out writer Kiran Manral who has been tracking manels. In a world where girls have breached gender gaps in primary and secondary education, and are striving to be heard and seen, it is anachronistic to whitewash the presence of women around decision-making conference tables. In the run-up to the budget, the prime minister will be hearing from those who count. Hopefully, women will make that cut. Namita Bhandare writes on gender The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Britons travelling to China for the Chinese New Year have been warned to wash their hands regularly to avoid catching a mysterious illness. Public Health England issued the warning amid an outbreak of coronavirus infections in Wuhan, a city of 11million people around 700 miles (1,100km) south of Beijing. At least 59 people have developed pneumonia because of the virus, which officials revealed is one that has never been seen before. Seven of the patients were in critical condition, the World Health Organisation said Sunday, and a seafood market at the centre of the outbreak has been closed. Although PHE said the risk to travellers was low, people are urged to practise good hygiene and be wary of coughing or breathing problems after visiting the area. Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 25 as the country moves into the traditional year of the rat. At least 59 people have been diagnosed with a previously-unknown coronavirus in Wuhan City, an area in inland China some 700 miles south of Beijing The virus was identified as totally new by scientists who took samples from patients being treated at Central Hospital in Wuhan (pictured) Coronaviruses are a group of human-infecting viruses which cause infections in the lungs and airways. The illnesses are usually short and cold-like, with symptoms including a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and a fever but they can also cause more serious lung infections like pneumonia. For people with weak immune systems or long-term illnesses such as asthma, lung infections can have more serious or even deadly consequences. Prior to the new discovery, there were six known coronaviruses that affect humans, including SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome. The type of virus causing the infections in Wuhan has not been seen before it is described by PHE as a 'novel coronavirus'. Possible cases have cropped up in 15 travellers who returned to Hong Kong following visits to Wuhan, and another suspected case was reported in Singapore. Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are all now screening travellers from the area to try and stop the virus spreading. Director of PHE's national infection service, Dr Nick Phin, said: 'Based on the available evidence, the risk to travellers to Wuhan from this disease is low and we are not advising them to change their plans. 'In order to minimise the risk of transmission, people travelling to the area should maintain good hand and personal hygiene. 'Travellers should seek medical attention if they develop respiratory symptoms within 14 days of visiting Wuhan [and] inform their health service about their recent travel to the city [before their appointment]. Pictured: The South China Seafood City food market, where several of the infected patients worked, has been suspended while authorities investigate the source of the outbreak WHAT ARE CORONAVIRUSES? Coronaviruses are a type of virus which infects humans and causes infection in the upper respiratory tract the lungs, throat and airways. Most people will become infected with some type of coronavirus at some point in their life. The best known ones are called SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) which have both caused high-profile outbreaks. It is possible that the viruses can cause serious complications or pneumonia, but in most cases symptoms are relatively mild and only last for a short amount of time. Typical symptoms of coronavirus infection include a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever or a feeling of general illness. Unless someone is in an area where there is a known outbreak, these symptoms are far more likely to be a common cold or the flu. The viruses are spread through the air by coughing and sneezing, by physical contact with infected people, or by touching a surface which has been contaminated by someone who is already ill. There are no vaccines or cures for coronaviruses and they are usually treated like colds, with bed rest and management of the symptoms. Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advertisement 'The risk to the UK population is very low. 'The UK has robust arrangements to manage emerging diseases and we can draw on our experience of developing pioneering diagnostic tests in humans for the coronaviruses - SARS and MERS [Middle East respiratory syndrome].' The South China Seafood City food market, where many of the infected patients had worked, has been suspended until investigations are complete. But two possible cases seen in Hong Kong in two females, aged 12 and 41 are not thought to have visited the market during a trip to Wuhan, suggesting it is spreading elsewhere. Some 163 people who had been in contact with those infected are currently under medical observation, while efforts continue to try and identify the virus. No evidence of it spreading between people has been found and no medical staff have been infected, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said. Experts from China's National Health Commission are carrying out further tests, in hope of finding a cause of the cases. Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said on Sunday that a total of 15 patients in Hong Kong were being treated for symptoms after recent visits to Wuhan. Tests have yet to confirm if they have the same illness. Hospitals and doctors have been directed to report cases of fever in anyone who has travelled to Wuhan in the past 14 days. The hospital authority said it activated a newly created 'serious response' level over the weekend to curb spread of the infection. Public Health England also warned people that bird flu often circulates in China at this time of year. To minimise their risk of catching this, travellers should avoid touching birds or poultry. Dr Phin added: 'Anyone planning to visit China, Hong Kong or Taiwan should minimise their exposure to any birds such as wild birds or live birds in "wet markets" as a precaution. 'We strongly urge people to avoid touching dead or dying birds and maintain good hand and personal hygiene.' One of the best aspects of the competition and the organization is that it brings Arizonas entrepreneurial community together. The investments made are fueling the economic future of our state. Invest Southwest today announces the finalists for Venture Madness 2020. Now in its 28th year, each finalist will compete as one of 27 entrants in a live pitch competition from companies representing four industries: Consumer, Technology, SaaS and Medical for a chance to win a $15,000 cash prize. Each company will advance to the live-demo portion of the contest held Feb 20 at the Tempe Center for the Arts to compete in head-to-head pitches for a chance to win cash and get investor and media exposure. Venture Madness 2020 will open with a networking reception the night of Feb.19 at Culinary Dropout followed by the one-day pitch event in Tempe. Each year Venture Madness showcases some of the best companies in the Southwest, says Tim Kelley, 2020 chairman of Invest Southwest, Chairman of Canyon Angels, and Chair of Entrepreneurship at Grand Canyon University Collangelo College of Business. The competition connects established companies that are prepared to scale with the right investors to create key relationships to accelerate their growth. Even the companies that dont win the event are exposed to a room full of the regions most active angel and institutional investors, which often leads to future growth opportunities just from the networking. Im excited to see who takes home a prize this year! This years finalists are: CONSUMER AdWallet, Albuquerque, NM Atlis Motor Vehicles, Mesa, AZ FiWize, Scottsdale, AZ Dovly, Inc., Phoenix, AZ Incorporate Massage, South Jordan, UT Waste Not Home System AZ, Tucson, AZ TECHNOLOGY BetR-blok, Tempe, AZ CIRQ+, Scottsdale, AZ OTOjOY, Scottsdale, AZ PayGround, Gilbert, AZ SGNT INC, Tucson, AZ Vigilant Technologies, Tempe, AZ MEDICAL Additive Implants Inc., Phoenix, AZ BMSEED, Phoenix, AZ ElectroSonix LLC, Tucson, AZ Emagine Solutions Technology, Tucson, AZ i-calQ, Scottsdale, AZ IdLink Systems LLC, Phoenix, AZ Kalos Therapeutics, Phoenix, AZ SafKan, Inc., Tucson, AZ SAAS Balance, Chandler, AZ KLER, Chandler, AZ Open Medical LLC, Scottsdale, AZ RexPay Inc., Phoenix, AZ Salad Technologies, Salt Lake City, UT ShiftX, Chandler, AZ Televeda, Phoenix, AZ The annual event is presented in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority and attracts the most renowned venture capital, angel and institutional investors as well as community focused sponsors and CEOs from the region. At the ACA, we continue to support Invest Southwest year over year, said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. One of the best aspects of the competition and the organization is that it brings Arizonas entrepreneurial community together. The investments made are fueling the economic future of our state. To learn more about the event and to buy tickets (on sale now) visit the Venture Madness website. Event sponsorships are still available, please contact karen.katzorke@investsouthwest.org for details. Follow the latest Venture Madness news on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. ABOUT INVEST SOUTHWEST Invest Southwest is the premier organization for connecting investors with the best and brightest ventures in the region. In addition to providing valuable information on topics important to the investment community, Invest Southwest offers year-round opportunities for investors to connect with emerging growth companies. Its signature event, Venture Madness, is a unique competition presented in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Venture Madness pits thoroughly evaluated, emerging companies against one another in a head-to-head competition to crown the champion of champions. Visit InvestSouthwest.org for more information. stephanie grisham Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images The authors Stephen King and Don Winslow are offering to donate $175,000 to St. Jude's Children's Hospital if White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham holds a one-hour briefing that's open to the entire White House press corps. CNN's Jake Tapper asked Grisham about the offer, and she responded, "If you have $200,000 to play with, why not just help children because it's a good thing to do? Donations to charity should never come with strings attached." Grisham was promoted to press secretary last year following Sarah Huckabee Sanders' departure from the role. Thursday marks 304 days since Grisham took on the position, and she has yet to hold a single briefing, though she frequently appears on the Trump-friendly Fox News to lambaste the president's critics. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The authors Stephen King and Don Winslow are offering to donate $175,000 to St. Jude's Children's Hospital if White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham gives a one-hour briefing to the entire White House press corps. "To @PressSec Stephanie Grisham," Winslow wrote on Twitter. "I'm upping my offer to $100,000. @StephenKing has agreed to put in $75,000. We will donate $175,000 to @StJude in your name & help a lot of kids if you will take questions from the full White House press corps for 1 HOUR in the WH briefing room." CNN's Jake Tapper asked Grisham about the offer, and she responded, "If you have $200,000 to play with, why not just help children because it's a good thing to do? Donations to charity should never come with strings attached." Grisham previously served as First Lady Melania Trump's spokesperson before being promoted to White House press secretary following Sarah Huckabee Sanders' departure last year. Thursday marks 304 days since Grisham took on her new role, and she has not yet held a single press briefing. Story continues She does, however, frequently take to the airwaves of Fox News, the right-leaning and Trump-friendly cable news network spearheaded by the conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Most recently, she made an appearance on the network to criticize Americans who are questioning the Trump administration's claim that there was robust intelligence supporting President Donald Trump's decision last week to order an airstrike that killed Iran's Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. "I know a lot of people are now questioning the intel, that's really unfortunate," Grisham said on the network. "A lot of people are saying [about the strike], 'To what benefit?'" she added. "I would answer that question: the benfit is to that we saved American lives, saved members of the military, we saved diplomats, and a lot of families from having to welcome their loved ones home in coffins." Grisham's criticisms of Americans distrusting the intelligence community were notable, given Trump's own history of refusing to believe US intelligence findings. This week, the administration came under deeper scrutiny following a Senate briefing on the strike that several lawmakers Republican and Democratic sharply criticized for providing little, if any, evidence to support Trump's decision. Some Democratic lawmakers have suggested that Trump ordered the drone strike in order to distract from Congress' impeachment proceedings against him, which relate to his attempts to force Ukraine to give him political dirt against a 2020 rival while withholding vital military aid and a White House meeting. On Thursday, a new Ipsos/USA Today poll showed that nearly half of Americans believe Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani in an attempt to divert the focus from his impeachment. Read the original article on Business Insider The prediction shows that Australia's carbon emissions will not have any significant reduction this decade -- this is assuming there will be no methane leakage or more destructive bushfires. (Photo : Screenshot from The Guardian's report) When the emissions of all countries with "insignificant" carbon footprint are consolidated, it will be as twice as China's total emissions. (Photo : Screenshot from The Guardian's report) Entire Australia was probably ashamed when their delegates tried to cheat on the 2015 Paris Agreement by carrying over their allowance at the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the current carbon emissions target. The act is not just shameful -- it is also insulting to every victim of bushfire crisis. It is no question that the worsening condition of our climate could lead to the damnation of humankind. And Australia is among the first victim of its wrath. The brutal summer that turned the southern part of the country is a preview of what could soon happen regularly. But rather than discussing ways of preventing this to recur, there's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, delightfully enjoying the sun in Hawaii after denying that reducing Australia's carbon footprint could mitigate the risk of more bushfires on the next summer. No credible scientific source, he said. Australia's carbon emissions are not relevant, he assumed. But Australia has never been irrelevant in terms of global carbon footprint. Probably, no country ever does, and no one ever will. Because if we consolidate every country with "insignificant emission", the result will be at least as twice the contribution of the current flag bearer, China. While it is true that the countries with most emissions should exert more effort, nature does not care about the socially constructed political boundaries. Just because Malaysia has fewer emissions compared to Indonesia, which is currently the 12th, does not mean it will never feel the impact. As a matter of fact, just last year, some parts of the country got covered with smog because of the fire in Indonesia. It is reported that the average emission of an Australian is four times higher than an average global citizen. This mainly came from coal-based power plants. The country might have been utilizing renewable energy recently, more than half of the electricity was generated by black and brown coal. Another factor came from the gas extraction, and it has served as the third largest energy source of Australia, after coal and uranium. Based on the protocol of UN Environment Program, the global emission must be lessened by at least 7.6 percent yearly for a decade so that it will not exceed the target highest global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Morrison claimed that his government is working on it. But whatever that work is undoubtedly ineffective as the projection shows that there will be no progress on Australia's emissions this decade. No wonder, the country is considered as the worst in climate policies. By the way, please note that this projection assumed that there will be no methane leak from the gas extraction sites, and the LNG industry did not expand. The current bushfire and its possibility to recur are also not yet accounted. Through his book Superpower, economist Ross Garnaut believed in Australia's potential to lead the decarbonization of the world by the end of the current decade. Aside from expanding the industry of aluminium, steel, silicon and ammonia, he also believed that the country could monetize the green hydrogen, which has been increasing steadily. It is true. The potential of Australia is vast, if not limitless. Sadly, it fell on the wrong hand -- at the governance of a paralyzed leader who thinks he knows better the climate scientists who spent decades of studying the impact of climate change. As long as Morrison's dishonesty and lack of imagination terrorize the country, the future of Australia is still at stake. ALSO READ: UN Climate Talk: A Closer Look at 25 Years of Failure YARDLEY, Pennsylvania, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jubilant Therapeutics Inc., a patient focused bio-pharmaceutical company focused on addressing unmet needs in Oncology and Auto-immune disorders announced today that Syed Kazmi, President & CEO of Jubilant Therapeutics will present at Biotech Showcase 2020. Date: Monday, January 13, 2020 Time: 3:45 p.m. PST Location: Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel, 333 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco Track: Franciscan B (Ballroom Level) To schedule a meeting with Jubilant Therapeutics during the event, please make a request by email at [email protected] About Jubilant Therapeutics Inc. Jubilant Therapeutics is a patient-focused biopharmaceutical company working to address unmet medical needs in oncology and autoimmune diseases. Our advanced discovery engine integrates structure-based design and computational architecture to discover and develop novel, precision therapeutics against both first-in-class and validated but intractable targets in genetically defined patient populations. We strive for speed and efficiency by employing a business model that leverages the proven and synergistic capabilities of Jubilant Life Sciences' value chain and shared services Jubilant Therapeutics is headquartered in the U.S. with independent board and management, guided by globally renowned KOLs and SAB. The company's lead programs include (1) First-in-class dual epigenetic inhibitor of LSD1/HDAC6 positioned to leverage specific tumor types that are dependent on both these targets, (2) First-in-class PAD4 inhibitor with potential to address unmet needs in multiple auto-immune disorders, (3) Highly selective small molecule PDL-1 inhibitors to improve quality of life with a cost effective therapy in maintenance settings and (4) Selective PRMT5 inhibitors for brain metastases and GBM. For additional information on Jubilant Therapeutics, please visit the company's website at www.jubilanttx.com. SOURCE Jubilant Theraputics Any Democratic presidential hopeful who wants a shot at winning the partys nomination in the 2020 primaries should listen to Aahil Rajpari. The 18-year-old from Hoover, Alabama, studies political science, international affairs and Arabic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Hes also a member of the universitys student government, a tour guide on campus, a youth volunteer team lead at his local jamatkhana (a place of worship for Ismaili Muslims) and a Montessori educator. And as if that werent enough, he somehow finds time to even be part of the universitys dance team. I dont know how I do it I just stay organised, the freshman laughs. Though his first year in college is certainly providing a full schedule, Rajpari says he is focused on the 2020 elections and is interested in a number of candidates. But he also sees ways in which each politician vying for a shot at unseating Donald Trump could better take advantage of opportunities on the campaign trail. In his view, such opportunities are what allowed the president to capture broad swaths of the Republican Partys support in 2016. One thing I feel like Donald Trump has gotten right is he has the Republican side united, and thats something that should be seen and something to be used on the Democratic side, Rajpari says in a recent interview with The Independent. Rajpari agrees with arguments across the political divide (Aahil Rajpari) Rajpari is calling on Democrats running for the White House to take note of the youth vote before Election Day, along with other often-overlooked voting blocs that will prove crucial in deciding a victor in the Democratic primaries. I feel like its time we focus more on the next generation, because it is our future that were inheriting from our parents and people who are much older, he says. Everyone needs to come Warren, Buttigieg, Yang, Sanders they need to come talk to communities as a whole while also not ignoring huge swaths of the community who decide elections. The Asian American population is skyrocketing, he adds, while noting that he has never been contacted for a poll, for anything. While Rajpari gets the majority of his news from reputable outlets and verified news sources online I try to get an objective view of whats going on because I dont want to be partisan or biased he also uses Twitter and Instagram to see how the candidates are reaching out to certain communities and voters nationwide. I try to gauge and see whose policies are the best for my family, my community and my country as a whole, he says. Of course, there are some things I agree with on the Democratic side, but there are also things I agree with on the Republican side. For example, Rajpari favors the Democratic Partys view on net neutrality policies, and would like for there to be significant broadband expansion to provide equitable internet access across the country. But he also says hes opposed to Common Core, a set of academic standards that some reports indicate has actually caused a decline in reading and math scores. When it comes to understanding the candidates viewpoints on these hot button issues, Rajpari says he looks to millennial-focused television shows such as HBOs Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Netflixs Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Both shows spend a single episode diving into sometimes underreported issues, like net neutrality and Common Core, neither of which have been the major focus of any Democratic debate this campaign season. Im really liking what Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang and Elizabeth Warren are saying, he says. Obviously Im still looking at the field itself and I try not to go into identity politics, but Im trying to see both sides of the argument Republican, Democrat, extreme liberal, moderate, extreme conservative. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was 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 AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty Whereas he likes Buttigieg, the millennial mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for being a uniter rather than a divider, Rajpari says he appreciates Yangs long list of executive plans he hopes to accomplish immediately after assuming the Oval Office if he wins in 2020. If the election were held today, Rajpari says hed have a difficult time choosing between Yang and Buttigieg, adding: Theyre really the ones who stood out to me the most. He also notes millennial leaders who have been elected in recent years around the world, from Norway to New Zealand, saying its clear to him how the youth and the millennial generation is becoming more and more involved in politics. Rajpari thinks theres an opportunity under Trump for a Democratic nominee like Buttigieg or Yang to win the election. Buttigieg would become the first openly gay president if elected, while Yang would become the first Asian American president. Both are at least somewhat appealing to Republicans, he says, which fits with his desire for the candidates to be uniting forces rather than dividers. That could lead to more internal peace after Trumps presidency, during which hate crimes and violence against minorities have risen in the US. When I asked whether Rajpari himself has faced negative reactions in the US about his religious beliefs, the teen replied: I want to answer that by first saying I am a proud American Muslim. He continues: I was kind of shocked to listen to [Trump] say were going to ban all the Muslims. As a Muslim, it hurts to see my community targeted or scapegoated because of the actions of one or a few, he says, noting how there are 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide. I commend him for having a good economy; however, Im still worried about him alienating huge blocs of the population. Rajpari says hes grateful to live in a place like Hoover, which he considers a lot safer than other communities in Alabama and the southern United States for Muslims to live in. Im not representative of my community but I can say for sure my sisters experience a lot more backlash, he adds. I feel like its especially ironic since the First Ladys campaign was to go anti-bullying, anti-cyberbullying in general, and so, I feel like its ironic having a bully as the president. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has filed an administrative case against the agency that recruited Jeanelyn Villavendethe Filipina domestic worker killed in Kuwait last month. Administrative case ang isinampa ng POEA at pinag-aaralan pa ang ibang anggulo kung ano pa ba yung hindi pa nila natupad: yung mga responsibilities na hindi ginawa ng agency para sana naihatid yung agarang tulong sa kababayan, POEA administrator Bernard Olalia told CNN Philippines Friday. [Translation: POEA filed an administrative case and were looking at other angleswhat responsibilities the agency failed to doespecially those that could have helped our fellow Filipino.] The case lodged against 5 Star Recruitment and Manpower Corporation, the agency which handled Villavendes case, was formalized and signed on Thursday, Olalia noted. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the death of Villavende, whose remains arrived in the country on Wednesday. Guevarra likewise tasked authorities to determine if there was any liability on the part of 5 Star. An embalming certificate released by the Kuwait's Ministry of Health has confirmed that the 26-year-old household worker, who was reportedly beaten black and blue, died of "acute failure of heart and respiration" as a result of shock and multiple injuries in the vascular nervous system. Local officials are also set to conduct a separate autopsy of Villavendes body. The suspects the couple of the household where the Filipina worked are now detained. Monitor all OFWs in Middle east or face suspension Meanwhile, Olalia added the POEA has instructed all recruitment agencies to strictly monitor all deployed overseas workers in the Middle East. The agencies are required to craft and submit monitoring reports immediately. Failure to do so may result in suspension and cancellation of their licenses, the administrator said. Hahantong po sa (it may lead to) either suspension or cancellation depending on the gravity of offense, Olalia said. Villavendes case along with other reported maltreatments and deaths of overseas workers in the Gulf state prompted the Philippine government to impose a partial deployment ban to Kuwait. The ban covers newly-hired household service workers. Labor Secretary Silverstre Bello III, however, earlier said the move may be lifted if Kuwaiti courts take appropriate action on the Filipinas case. CNN Philippines Tristan Nodalo and Alyssa Rola contributed to this report. Pakistan's Parliament on Friday passed a landmark child protection law, making it mandatory for the police to take action in a child abuse case within two hours of it being reported. The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill 2019 was passed by the National Assembly, exactly two years after a nine-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Punjab province's Kasur city in 2018. The bill, which was moved by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, mandates action against a police officer who fails to respond timely in a case of child abuse. A special helpline will be set up for this purpose. The bill also increased the imprisonment period in child abuse cases to a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 14 years. The bill has been named after the Kasur rape victim. Her death sparked countrywide protests. Later in 2018, the rapist was convicted and hanged in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BEIJING, January 9 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent condolences to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani respectively over the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran. In his messages, Xi said he was shocked to learn about the air crash, which killed all passengers and crew members on board. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name, Xi expressed deep sympathies over the victims and offered sincere condolences to the bereaved families. (Source: Xinhua) PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-10 12:10:18 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 552 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Kaiser land is a Realtor who specializes in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc Land and helps the buyers find the right propertyBINH DUONG, VIETNAM / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2020 / Kaiser Land is a well known and dynamic brokerage firm that focuses on providing real estate services in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc markets. By following professional ethics and enthusiasm, Kaiser Land aims to bring a dedicated, advanced, effective, and economical service.The real estate company follows the rule - "customer first," which is why it always places its customers in the first place. The company wants to make sure that its customers get everything they are searching for. 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People planning to invest in lucrative real estate properties in these areas can filter their search (according to their price range, province, district, etc.) and find the right property on the official website of the company.Visit https://kaiserland.vn/ for more information.Contact Details:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaiserLandvn/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kaiserlandvn Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kaiserlandvn/ Blog: http://datnenmyphuoc.over-blog.com/ Weebly: https://thereverseengineers.weebly.com/ Contact Info:Name: Zhi RuoEmail: Send EmailOrganization: Kaiser LandAddress: Plot No. 3547, Map sheet No. 20, Quarter 1, Thoi Hoa Ward, Ben Cat Town, Binh DuongPhone: +84 902 898 868Website: https://kaiserland.vn/ SOURCE: Kaiser Land Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Another fugitive in the Maguindanao massacre case was captured on Thursday after evading arrest for over 10 years. Gambayan Kasim, also known as Lori Alip, was arrested in his home in Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao, the PNP Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said. Authorities were able to confiscate a hand grenade from the suspect. He is now under police custody. This is the second successful arrest of the 80 fugitives in the case of Maguindanao massacre, the single deadliest attack on journalists in history and the worst case of electoral violence in the Philippines. Kasim's companion, Edsrail Guiomla, was killed in the police encounter after he allegedly fired at the officials. CNN Philippines stringer Dennis Arcon contributed to this report. The Supreme Court order on Internet ban in Jammu and Kashmir provided fresh ammunition to opposition leaders for renewed offensive against the government as they hailed the judgement as a "rebuff to the unconstitutional and arrogant" regime and which "belies false claims of normalcy" in the newly-carved out union territory. A five-judge bench of the apex court declared Internet as a fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and asked the administration of the UT to review within a week all orders imposing curbs in Jammu and Kashmir, including the 160-day-old net ban. Terming the order as a "big-jolt" to the central government, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said truth cannot be hidden any longer in "sealed envelops" and added that the apex court expressed displeasure over the Modi government's refusal to show its orders on Internet ban which was an "extraordinary measure". In a tweet, he said the Supreme Court had delivered "first big jolt of 2020 to illegal activities of Modi Govt by stating importance of internet as a fundamental right. Double shock for Modi-Shah that dissent cannot be oppressed by imposing section 144. "Modiji reminded that nation bows before Constitution and not him!" Party colleague and former home minister P Chidambaram termed the apex order as a rebuff to the "unconstitutional and arrogant" stance of the central government and asked former state Governor Satpal Malik to own responsibility and resign as Goa Governor. "SC order is a rebuff to the unconstitutional and arrogant stance of the central government and the JK administration on the restrictions imposed in JK," he said. "The former Governor of JK, Mr Satpal Malik, should own responsibility and resign from his present post of Governor, Goa," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets. In JK, main opposition National Conference welcomed the order and expressed hope that restoration of mobile Internet services will help ease the situation. "The observations of the apex court about snapping of Internet services indefinitely are significant and the government must take a call to review and restore the connectivity immediately," NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said here. PDP, an ally of the BJP till 2018, welcomed the order and said that the apex court has "finally" woken up "to the injustices cast upon the people of JK. "Finally #SupremeCourt has woken up to the injustices cast upon the people of J&K, calling such govt. lodged curbs an 'abuse' of power reinstates our faith in the judiciary," the party said on its official Twitter handle. Former state finance minister Altaf Bukhari, who has initiated a political outreach in the union territory, also welcomed the verdict and said "the apex court's verdict has given a sigh of relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who have tremendously suffered because of communication blockade in last over five months." He said the "verdict vis-a-vis restoration of fundamental rights of citizens of Jammu and Kashmir assumes much significance given the scale of loss suffered by the people especially in education, health and business sectors due to the continuous internet shutdown". Echoing similar views, the CPI (M) said the judgement belied the false claims of normalcy that the central government has been peddling to the country and the world. "The Supreme Court has made significant comments on the curbs on civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir which belie the false claims of normalcy that the Central Government has been peddling to the country and the world," it said. It further said that the government tried to reinforce the official claims of normalcy by taking a group of foreign envoys on a farcical restricted tour to J-K where they were "allowed to see and hear only what the government wanted them to, which is why none of them could meet the three former chief ministers still in jail." "When five months after the lockdown, political leaders, MPs and parties representing the people of this country are virtually banned from visiting Kashmir, such a tour is insulting to India's parliament," the Left party said. Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad hailed the order saying the government had tried to mislead the people and this time the apex court did not come under any pressure. "We welcome this judgement. This is the first time the SC has talked about how people of JK feel. I would like to thank the SC for a very historic decision and the people from across the country were waiting for it, specially the people of JK," he said, adding "the government has misled the entire country. This time the SC was forthright and they didn't come under any pressure". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the night that Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were shot by firing squad in full sight of TV cameras, their bloodied corpses seen around the world as they lay sprawled on the ground behind a courthouse in the town of Targoviste, my grandmother, a Romanian exile living in a cottage in a small village in Kent, lit a candle in her window and prayed for her countrys deliverance. She would never have cheered such an execution, but there was no question in her mind that the dictator whose brutal rule had condemned millions of her countrymen to death and suffering deserved what he got. My familys story was intimately bound up in Romanias tumultuous 20th-century fortunes, and its why even now, 30 years on, the fall of Ceausescu raises so many questions in my heart and in my mind. I have never lived in Romania, but those questions remain of identity, of perceptions and somehow they grow more urgent with the passage of time. What is this country where my familys roots run so deep? And what is it about the associations that Romania triggers in the outside world? I wish my grandmother was still around to help me answer these questions, but she died in London in 1992. As a child in the 1960s born in the UK but half-Romanian, with the name to prove it I was considered exotic. Romania had that effect on people. With its Romance language, Eastern Christianity, historical invasions from the Romans to the Ottoman Empire not to mention the enduring legacy of Dracula Romania had always sounded like a far-away fantasy land. The long years of communism only added to the mystery, with Ceausescus grotesque concoction of tyranny and lies holding a grim fascination for the west. While 23 million Romanians lived in poverty, Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu lived a life of staggering opulence. Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were executed on Christmas Day for crimes against the people (Getty) (Getty Images) I went to Romania once during those years. In 1976 my sister Ilinca and I, both teenagers, accompanied our father to the country of his childhood on a Swan Hellenic lecture tour which he was leading. Here we saw the Unesco world heritage sites of Moldavias painted monasteries and the wooden churches and Saxon villages of Transylvania. We also discovered a peasant way of life still very much alive in the villages, with mud tracks so impassable in wet weather that only horses and carts could be used for transport. Yet despite the historical landmarks and staggeringly beautiful countryside you could never forget you were behind the Iron Curtain. Steeped in the bleak unworkable economics of communism, with its polluting industrial wastelands and severe food shortages, Romanians looked miserable, drab and cold. Relatives of mine who grew up under communism were given permission to know who among their friends, relatives and former employees had spied on them. They chose not to know Most of my relatives had by now left but a few remained. My sister, father and I spent long hours in dimly lit apartments heavy with Soviet-style furniture, eating papanasi custard donuts and sipping Palinka. We were a happy distraction for those left behind, but outside on the street it was much less welcoming. Policemen stood on every corner and strangers viewed us with suspicion. We were warned that the Romanian secret police (the Securitate) were ubiquitous. In fact, it is now believed that one out of four Romanians was an informer. Recently, relatives of mine who grew up under communism were given permission to know who among their friends, relatives and former employees had spied on them. They chose not to know. The Soviet years: me with my father and sister in Romania, 1976 (Marina Cantacuzino) I visited Romania again a few weeks after Ceausescus execution with a plane-load of other journalists who were finally being given access to the only communist state in Europe to have used violence to overthrow its government. We walked down the snow-filled avenues of Bucharest, the morbid stillness and deserted streets not just a memory of Ceausescus authority but a reminder that this was a country on its knees. And yet despite the economic chaos of communism having left its citizens with neither fuel for their cars nor food for their larders, ordinary Romanians were convinced they would soon be released from the misery of their daily lives. Somewhere along the way since 1989, the distance between Romania and the UK narrowed. Romania joined the EU in 2007 and with the free movement of people fully in place by 2014 young Romanians came in large numbers to pick our fruit, build our houses, clean our homes and work in the NHS. Suddenly, close up and personal, Romanians were now viewed in a somewhat less favourable light hence my neighbours comment when I was heading off to Romania, again with my sister, earlier this year: Watch your purse. The comment hurt, but the prejudice was widespread. Long after the death of the Ceausescus, which had promised a better Romania, the country became the embodiment of chaos and corruption, an image not helped by the small number of ethnic Roma beggars who arrived in the parks and playgrounds of Europe from the ex-socialist countries of Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. Berlin Wall anniversary in photos Show all 20 1 /20 Berlin Wall anniversary in photos Berlin Wall anniversary in photos A berliner holds up a hammer and a chisel early on 15 November 1989 in front of the wall at the Brandebourg Gate AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos East and West German Police contain the crowd of East Berliners flowing through the recent opening made in the Berlin wall at Potsdamer Square AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos An East German border policemen, right, refuse to shake hands with a Berliner who stretches out his hand over the border fence at the eastern site nearby Checkpoint Charlie border crossing point AP Berlin Wall anniversary in photos East German citizens climb the Berlin wall at the Brandenburg Gate as they celebrate the opening of the East German border Reuters Berlin Wall anniversary in photos A little girl chisels away at the Berlin Wall from the east side on New Year's Eve, 31 December 1989 Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos Woman holds up pieces of the Berlin Wall she found when the latest passage was opened at Wollankstrasse in West Berlin's district of Wedding AP Berlin Wall anniversary in photos West Berliners crowd in front of the Berlin Wall early 11 November 1989 as they watch East German border guards demolishing a section of the wall in order to open a new crossing point between East and West Berlin AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos A West Berliner welcomes a East Berliner as she pours Champagne onto his car at Wollangstrasse where a new crossing point into the West has opened AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos A construction worker builds part of the wall. At the time it was put up, many people were afraid that the wall would serve as a provocation and turn to the Cold War into a hot one AP Berlin Wall anniversary in photos West Berlin children play at 'constructing the Berlin wall' with make believe arms and imitating East and West Berlin wall security guards. Meanwhile, further construction was happening on the other side of the divide: in the same year, a second parallel barrier was built in the east of the city and the houses between the two structures razed to the ground, creating an exposed wasteland area that was known as the 'death strip' Rex Berlin Wall anniversary in photos David Hasselhoff performs by the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve 1990 Berlin Wall anniversary in photos Curious West Berliners peep over the stone and barbed wire barrier blocking off East Berlin from West. The first person to be shot dead for trying to cross, Gunter Liftin, had a flat in the West but had been visiting his mother in the East when the wall suddenly went up Rex Berlin Wall anniversary in photos An East German bulldozer and crane knock down the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz Reuters Berlin Wall anniversary in photos People from East Germany greet citizens of West Germany at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos A young boy is trying to show his talent by drawing on the East side of the Berlin Wall AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos A group of East German police officers look on as workers continue to demolish a section of the Berlin Wall AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos An East Berliner with West german flag and flowers enters West berlin amidst a crowd of East germans flooding through the recently made opening in the Berlin wall at Potsdamer Square AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos Thousands of young East Berliners crowd atop the Berlin Wall, near the Brandenburg Gate on 11 November 1989 AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos West-Berliner citizens sit on the Berlin wall as East-German policemen stand guard on November 10, 1989 to ask for the fall of the Berlin wall AFP/Getty Berlin Wall anniversary in photos East-Berliner citizens are welcomed by the crowd as they enter West-Berlin by car at the Checkpoint Charlie on 9 November 1989 AFP/Getty The sorrow I felt at this turn of events derived from the fact that I have always described myself as half-Romanian even though I was born in England and dont speak the language. But I can always recognise Romanian when its spoken, having grown up hearing my grandmother talking to my father or, as was often the case shouting noisily down the phone to relatives. I have held on to my Romanian surname despite being married, and for more than feminist reasons. I love Romanias history and the questions that arise because of it; the nods of recognition my name receives when I pass through customs in Bucharest or when visiting my parents (now deceased) in hospital when Romanian nurses working for the NHS would recognise the name and hope to get a chance to speak their native tongue. My father, Sherban Cantacuzino, went from Bucharest to a Hertfordshire prep school in 1939 when he was 11. My grandmother hadnt planned to stay but soon after they arrived Britain was at war with Germany. The following year, my grandmother made a mad dash back to Romania to collect her younger child, Marie-lyse, who had been staying with her grandparents. That Christmas, my grandfather George Matei Cantacuzino, a Romanian aristocrat and well-respected architect and writer, visited his family in England before returning to Bucharest. The war was not expected to last long and the family were convinced it was a storm to be weathered before they would all be reunited. It is said that Romanias war was unheroic. Initially, the country adopted a position of neutrality before in 1941 it began fighting alongside the Germans and then switched sides after a coup in August 1944 to support Stalins Soviet Union. After the occupation by Soviet troops in 1947 my grandfather, who had been a war artist in the Crimea and Stalingrad, was classified by the communists as a person of unclean origin and refused permission to join his family in England who he never saw again. Later he was arrested and sentenced to five years hard labour at Aiud Prison Camp in Transylvania. He died in Iasi in 1960, aged 61. My grandparents on their wedding day in 1926. My grandfather was deemed a person of unclean origin by the communists and refused permission to join his family in England (Marina Cantacuzino) My grandmother was stoical about her loss but her sunken blue eyes could not hide her sorrow. During the war she was classified as an enemy alien and wrote recipes under a pseudonym for an illustrated womens magazine called Britannia and Eve. For someone who had never had to cook in her life, she had an amazing capacity to adapt. Sanda Cantacuzino was a Romanian princess with a halo of silver hair and a predisposition for premonitions. She was an intriguing mix of aristocratic restraint and earthy naturalism and would often tell us that she was far happier living the modest life of a chicken farmer in Kent than she had ever been as a young woman of wealth in Romania. In the Kentish village where she lived for over half her life she was simply known as The Princess not a title spoken in reverence, just a fact. I am convinced that when he died, in February 2018, my father was broken as much by Brexit as by leukaemia As children we spent every Christmas, Easter and long summer holiday in my grandmothers tiny cottage, with its heavy middle-European atmosphere. Often our cousins joined us; at Easter we painted eggs, and on New Years Eve we put burning hot metal into a bucket of cold water to watch it sizzle while it formed weird, gnarled shapes which my grandmother would then study intently before predicting the next 12 months of our young lives. Each night shed sit at the end of our bed telling us stories of the country shed left: how the family dated back to the Byzantine Kantakouzenos emperor of 14th century Constantinople and how in the 17th century the family were granted approval by the Holy Roman Emperor to use the royal title of Prince and Princess. She told us of her home at Darmanesti, with its wide vistas overlooking the Carpathian mountains, where bears roamed the woods and servants raked the gravel driveways dawn and dusk. My grandmother in Kent in the 1970s. She was stoical about her loss but her sunken blue eyes could not hide her sorrow (Marina Cantacuzino) After the end of communism in 1989 my father returned frequently to Romania, leading private tours for family and friends and founding the charity Pro Patrimonio (a version of the National Trust of Romania). As Romanians began to come to the UK in increasingly large numbers, he too noticed their deteriorating reputation, particularly in the lead-up to the 2016 EU referendum when the debate about foreigners turned nasty. I am convinced that when he died, in February 2018, he was broken as much by Brexit as by leukaemia. He couldnt understand how the country that had welcomed him in 1939 could now so enthusiastically turn its back on Europe. It felt intensely personal to him. One of the last books he ever read was Keith Lowes Savage Continent. It is an account of Europe between 1945 and 1948, a continent consumed by vengeance, where after countless massacres in the name of nationality, race, religion, class or personal prejudice, virtually every person had suffered some kind of loss or injustice. My father still remembered with horror the terrible explosion of violence that followed the end of the Second World War, and he believed that leaving the European Union put peace and security at grave risk. When earlier this year I returned to Romania with my sister and our husbands, Brexit was a popular topic of conversation. Romanians seemed as bemused as the rest of Europe as to how the moderate and courteous British could have become so belligerent. As we travelled north from Cluj towards the Ukrainian border I noticed that while the rural idyll of haystacks, traditional timber houses and horses pulling carts along dirt roads had endured, Romania had become a more stable and sophisticated country since I was last there, packed with universities and entrepreneurs and with an economy 30 per cent larger (in real terms) than it had been 10 years before. I was told that young Romanians who had left their villages to work in Europe were starting to return; some renovating traditional wooden huts, others building modern houses that often remained unfinished. Since Romania joined the EU, an estimated 3.6m people, 16 per cent of the population, have left the country. Just as Ceausescu in the past had put up an iron fence to keep his people in, now some politicians would like to do the same to address labour shortages and the brain drain. The Romanian exodus to other EU countries has become a hot political issue for one of the EUs poorest member states. Perhaps to make up for all those years of communist isolation, Romanians, it seems, still crave the company of strangers and are more eager than ever to indulge foreigners with their hospitality and generosity. Whatever the state of their homes, Romanians always invite you in and love to share elaborate meals with guests. In his book Along the Enchanted Way (2009) the author William Blacker, who spent eight years living a traditional life among the gypsies in northern Romania, concludes that Romanians were the kindest, gentlest and most civilised people I had ever met. Me and my father in Bucharest, 1999, looking for the graves of lost relatives (Marina Cantacuzino) Despite the fact that so many of the British now hold an image of Romanians as gypsies and thieves, if you ask any tourist who has recently visited the country, they are likely to agree with Blacker. In fact the Institute for Economics and Peace has rated Romania the 24th safest country in the world coming several places above the UK. And I can vouch for that. On my return from Romania I admit that I took some pleasure at being able to tell my neighbour that my purse wasnt stolen the whole two weeks I was there. Marina Cantacuzino is a writer, campaigner and the founder of The Forgiveness Project US lawmakers rule to curb Trumps war powers Democrats in the House of Representatives seek to deter military escalation after the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The Democrat-led US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution Thursday forcing President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before taking any new military measures against Iran. 224 TO 194 VOTES IN FAVOR OF THE MEASURE The mostly symbolic war powers resolution was approved after nearly all House Democrats were joined by three Republicans and one independent lawmaker to vote 224-194 in favor of the measure. The vote took place almost a week after Trump, a Republican, signed off on a US drone strike in Iraq that killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the assassination outside an airport in Iraqs capital, Baghdad, had made the world more dangerous by stirring up an already turbulent region. "After nearly two decades at war, President Trump has further risked the safety and security of America, our service members, and our allies by escalating tensions with Iran to a dangerous new level, Nadler wrote on Twitter. Republicans, however, argued that Iran needed to be tackled and that Trump was already allowed to greenlight such strikes thanks to a 2002 war authorization passed by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The Head of Association International School, Mrs Audrey Doryumu has described as unfortunate a story published by a private newspaper about the case between residents of the Airport Residential Area and an estate developer concerning the construction of an alleged illegal high-rise in the area. The proprietress, who since last year has been at the forefront of efforts to halt the project, expressed her displeasure in a statement issued by her office in response to the said publication on the matter. According to her, the publication by the news outlet was replete with factual inaccuracies and is prejudicial to the integrity of the case being handled by the court. The papers publication dated 21/12/19 with the headline Turkish Contractor Cleared claimed that the developer was acting lawfully and not in contempt of court as was raised by residents, and accordingly reported by a section of the media. The paper also sought to suggest that the action taken by the Roads Minister against the Turkish contractor for damaging a portion of the road around Airport Residential Area, was arbitrary, as the developer was working . I was basically shocked to see such a misleading report coming from a newspaper that is supposed to be informing the general public, she said. Contrary to an official letter issued by the developer in which the proposed building was stated to be a 22 multi-purpose storey building, the Daily Guide claimed that the project was actually a 15-storey, she added. Mrs Doryumu said leading to the Roads Minister's intervention, the developer was ordered by the court to leave the site after constructing a concrete retaining wall to protect properties adjoining the proposed high-rise When my brother contacted the editor of the newspaper, he admitted to not being fully apprised of the facts before publishing the article. "in a phone conversation with my brother, the editor apologised to my brother for the blunder, explaining that the publication was only to get the attention of readers, she said. Government officials behind the project According to Mrs Doryumu, she had gotten wind of the fact that a relative of a top government official is behind the project and at the right time she would name them. The Ministers Action The Roads Minister, Mr Amoako Attahs action against the Turkish contractor which made the headlines a few weeks ago followed concerns raised by residents. The visibly incensed Minister ordered the demolishing of a road barricade, and further effected the arrest of the contractor who later got released on bail. A record year for new home sales in Bridgeland propelled the Cypress community to No. 12 among the nations top-selling communities in 2019, according to real estate advisory RCLCO. It is one of nine Houston-area communities to make the list, according to RCLCO, which compiled the ranking based on estimates provided by each community. The local communities had combined sales of 4,204 homes in 2019, up 15 percent from 2018. Only the Phoenix metro area had more sales than Houston. Developer Howard Hughes Corp. also developed the No. 3 community, Summerlin in Las Vegas. Bridgeland registered 734 home sales in 2019, a 52 percent rise from the 482 sales in 2018, according to RCLCO, to zoom up seven positions from last years ranking. Just over 4,000 houses out of a planned 20,000 houses have been built in Bridgeland since it opened 14 years ago. Sales have accelerated with the addition of 40- and 45-foot wide lots a few years ago in a bid to make the community more affordable, said Heath Melton, executive vice president for master planned communities, residential at Howard Hughes Corp. About 3,000 acres, or 28 percent of the development, is dedicated to open space, and the ratio is similar in The Woodlands and The Woodlands Hills, said Melton. Amenities such as the 140-acre Josey Lake waterway provide both detention and recreation with a boathouse where residents can check out kayaks and canoes. The community, near U.S. 290 and the Grand Parkway, has become a resting spot for pelicans and other migratory birds as the developer moved toward more naturalistic and meadow-like landscaping and away from the manicured pristine lawns common in master planned communities in the past, Melton said. The community offers a diversity of home styles, from modern farmhouse and modern prairie homes by David Weekley Homes in Parkland Square to duplexes by Beazer Homes in Harmony Grove, Melton said. Prices start at about $220,000 and go to more than $1 million. Weve found the consumer is willing to sacrifice a little on lot size and maybe square feet, but not the quality of finish, Melton said. Bridgeland overtook Sienna, a Johnson Development/Toll Bros. community in Fort Bend County, as the Houston regions most popular master-planned community for new home sales. Sienna dropped seven spots to No. 21 as home sales fell by 5 percent to 517 in 2019, according to RCLCO. The Woodlands, which has only about 500 lots left for single-family homes, fell off the top 50 list. The community reported 319 new home sales in 2019, contributing to a total of about 47,000 homes since its inception. Houston-based Johnson Development had a hand in five of the top nine communities in 2019. Some highlights of the RCLCO list: Cross Creek Ranch, a project of Johnson Development in Fulshear ranked No. 23 with 484 sales in 2019, up 6 percent for the year. Harmony, a development of Land Tejas and Johnson Development in Spring, ranked No. 24 with 481 sales. Sales were up 13 percent from 425 in 2018. Balmoral, a development of Land Tejas with a Crystal Lagoon amenity in northeast Houston, ranked No. 26 after sales rose 40 percent to 389 closings. Aliana, a project of Airia Development off the Grand Parkway in Richmond, ranked No. 33 with a relatively flat 420 sales. Towne Lake, a Caldwell Communities development in northwest Houston, joined the list at No. 45 with 379 sales. Home sales shot up by 21 percent from 313 in 2018. Johnson Developments Harvest Green, a farm-centric community near Aliana and Woodforest, north of The Woodlands, tied at No. 51 with 356 sales. Riverstone, Lago Mar and Wildwood at Northpointe fell off the ranking along with The Woodlands. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser - A suspected gunrunner, Samson Salau, has been arrested in Minna, Niger state capital - The suspect reportedly confessed to selling dangerous weapons, including AK-47 guns, to armed robbers and bandits - Salau, however, promised to cooperate with the police to track down and arrest those who buy the weapons from him Samson Salau, a suspected gunrunner from Plateau state, has reportedly confessed to selling dangerous weapons, including AK-47 guns, to armed robbers and bandits attacking some northern states. PR Nigeria reports that Salau, in a video clip, confessed to the crimes while being interrogated by DSP Hassan Gimba Sule, the Minna sector commander of the Inspector General of Police (IGP)'s Special Tactical Squad. Samson Salau, a suspected gunrunner from Plateau state, reportedly confessed to selling dangerous weapons, including AK-47 guns, to armed robbers and bandits. Credit: PR Nigeria Source: UGC The suspect, who spoke in Hausa, confessed that he has been involved in the criminal business for over three years. Legit.ng gathered that the suspect was arrested in Minna, Niger states capital, and caught with two pistols and 46 bullets. Salau reportedly identified one Zed in Jos as the person he usually supplied the weapons to. His words: After buying the AK-47, rounds of magazine, and pistols, I export and sell them to bandits and robbers in Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Nasarawa states. I do buy a pistol for N90,000 and sell it for N120,000. In the last three years, I have purchased and sold about 100 AK-47 guns and 30 pistols. I bought and also sold about 2,000 to 10,000 rounds of magazines, and 2000 bullets. I normally buy a round of magazine for AK-47 for N300 and sell it N450. While I get a pack of bullets for pistols at N300. I then sell it for N400." He has reportedly promised to cooperate with the police to track down and arrest those who buy the weapons from him. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app In a related development, the Nigeria Police Force on Wednesday, January 8, arrested a 32-year-old suspected gunrunner, identified as Samuel Uche, in Mafoluku area of Oshodi in Lagos state. Uche was arrested by detectives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) while on his way to sell two automatic revolver pistols to a notorious kidnapping and armed robbery gang. The Lagos state commissioner of police, Hakeem Odumosu, said Uche has been on the force's watchlist for allegedly supplying various armed robbery gangs with arms. Odumosu said Uche was tracked and arrested based on credible information made available to the police. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Can Nigerian Soldiers really not deal with Boko Haram fighters?| - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Si Harris will tell you at 85 hes the oldest member of the Conroe Breakfast Club of longtime residents who gather regularly. And hes got stories about the development of Conroe and The Woodlands and the construction of Lake Conroe to prove it. Harris and his wife, Bobbie, who celebrated their 60th anniversary on Wednesday have been involved in real estate in the county since 1963 and can give first hand accounts of the tremendous development in this area. Si Harris was born in Trinity. His family would often come to Conroe to visit his grandparents. His grandfather had a shoe shop on the square where Harris would help out as a boy. His dad, who worked for the railroad, bought a house here on North Thompson Street in 1943. Harris still lives in the home today. When he wasnt at the shop, hed be across the street at the Liberty Theatre taking in a picture with popcorn and a soda all bought with a quarter. In high school, Harris was in the Distributive Education program at Conroe High School. Hed go to school in the morning and worked at Neal and Nyla Knox furniture store for 50 cents an hour. When it came time to graduate in 1952, he bought his first suit from Cochrans Mens Shop. Mr. Cochran allowed me to put down $2.50 and pay $2.50 a week on the suit, Harris said. After high school he went to the Army, serving in the first guided missile battalion created by the US government. He had to have special clearance for this assignment and trained in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. When Harris was living in Houston, he met his future wife, Bobbie, who worked for the City of Houston. They met at a party in Houston and were married two months and eight days later on Jan. 8, 1960. She grew up in Hatton, Arkansas. After settling in Conroe, Si Harris who had experience in engineering, home design and development, decided to go for his real estate license. Bobbie helped him study and he passed the test on the first try in July 1963. Bobbie learned alongside her husband as they studied and she took the test in August 1963 and passed on the first try. In December 1963, they had a grand opening for Harris Real Estate and Home Designing. Si Harris designed the building and his friend John Squyres built it at 812 W. Davis Street. The Harris team will specialize in designing and building lake homes, extensions on residential homes, small office designs and homes, according to an article in The Courier in December 1963. They also ran a half-page ad on Dec. 15, 1963 announcing the grand opening and their many friends wished them well in business with smaller advertisements on the bottom of the page. The building was in the area of where the old Kettle restaurant was just torn down on W. Davis Street. This joint venture lasted about a year in this location. Then the building was moved to where the hotel is located off West Davis and the building was eventually moved to Robinson Road in South County and became an office there. Si Harris continued his work in engineering and development in the area and worked on many subdivisions surrounding Lake Conroe. One of his claims to fame is he copyrighted the first map of Lake Conroe which he drew with ink on linen canvas in 1964. Right before The Woodlands opened in 1973, Harris brought a survey crew to do some work in The Woodlands. It was in the spring and it was so muddy. We worked for three weeks in the mud surveying, he said. Harris also worked on the Bentwater subdivision on Lake Conroe for 21 years. He concluded his career at Bleyl and Associates Engineering in Conroe in 2011. In 1979, Bobbie Harris went to work for cattleman and commissioner T.J. Peel. She worked for him for 14 years often times serving as his representative. It was on one of their trips to Houston that she met Gov. John Connally who was friends with Peel. Si Harris continues to manage two properties on North Thompson Street and the is very involved in their church. The Harris have two children, two grandchildren and two-great grandchildren. shernandez@hcnonline.com Spain advanced to a last four showdown with hosts Australia at the ATP Cup following a 2-1 victory over Belgium. Roberto Bautista Agut swept past Kimmer Coppejans 6-1, 6-4 in the first singles match to give world number one Rafael Nadal the chance to wrap up the tie in Sydney. However Nadal struggled in the heat and humidity and David Goffin took full advantage with a 6-4, 7-6 triumph. That success for Belgium sent the tie to a decisive doubles match. Nadal returned to partner Pablo Carreno Busta against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen and the Spaniards prevailed 6-7, 7-5, 10-7. "It was tough because for us it was a big change from Perth to here," said Nadal. "There was not much time to adapt and the conditions were heavy. There was the humidity and we were playing against big players. We are super happy to be in the semi-finals." Surge Serbia progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-0 rout of Canada. Dusan Lajovic collected the first point with a 6-4, 6-2 romp past Felix Auger-Aliassime. World number two Novak Djokovic claimed the second point but he had to labour. He dropped the first set against 20-year-old Denis Shapovalov. But Djokovic quicky restored parity against the world number 14 with a 6-1 sweep through the second set. The decider went to a tiebreak which the 32-year-old claimed by seven points to four. "It was so close it could have gone a different way easily," said Djokovic. "It was a great battle and it does serve me very well to have this kind of match prior to the semi-final and the Australian Open. He added: "For my confidence, for kind of a competitive match play, this is exactly what you want to have ... against one of the best players in the world." Serbia completed the surge with a doubles victory and will take on Russia in Sydney. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day official visit to Kolkata beginning from Saturday, January 11 during which he will participate in several programmes. The Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation four refurbished heritage buildings in the city including old Currency Building, the Belvedere House, the Metcalfe House and the Victoria Memorial Hall, according to an official statement released by his office. The renovation has been undertaken by the Union Culture Ministry, which has refurbished the iconic galleries with new exhibitions apart from curating the old galleries. The renovation exercise is part of the ministry`s initiative to develop cultural spaces around iconic buildings in various metro cities in the country. Live TV To begin with the cities of Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi are being taken up under this project. The PM will also participate in the sesquicentenary celebration of the Kolkata Port Trust. PM Modi will be handing over a cheque of Rs 501 crore towards the final installment to meet the deficit of pension fund of retired and existing employees of the Kolkata Port Trust, the statement said. He is also scheduled to inaugurate Kaushal Vikas Kendra and Pritilata Chhatri Avas for 200 tribal girl students of Sunderbans. A flat in Cork city has been offered rent-free online in return for sex twice a week with the landlord. The property in The Lough area was posted online on Wednesday in a classified advertisement site, run by a foreign registered company. The advertisement said: "Looking for a female tenant who's into sharing their body twice a week for payment." The website offers a wide range of advertisements, including property for sale or rent, fashion products, personals, motoring, and job listings. When contacted by The Echo posing as someone interested in taking up the offer, the advertiser said the property had its own bathroom, central heating and shared kitchen in the main part of the house. He said: "I expect nothing other than satisfaction twice a week." He continued that nobody has much money these days and that it is a "good idea, if everyone is an adult". He added: "Nothing forced and only mutual". Edel Conlon, the southern regional manager of housing charity Threshold, said: "Threshold would advise not to consider any such arrangement and report the matter to An Garda Siochana." During the communications, the advertiser later said the property was taken by someone else. The advertisement comes just months after Solidarity People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger raised an incident in the Dail about a woman who was told by her landlord that she could stay rent-free in his property in Dublin if "we agree something". Solidarity People Before Profit TD Mick Barry said the advertisement was a concern. He said: "The housing crisis and Government inaction have really exacerbated the power imbalance between landlords and tenants. High rents put tenants in a vulnerable position and scandalously there are quite a few landlords who are prepared to exploit that in this fashion. "It's probably no accident that this case relates to an area where lots of students seek accommodation and struggle to pay high rents. "The case shows the urgent need to tackle the landlord/tenant power imbalance by bringing in real rent controls which reduce rents across the board." - This story first appeared on EchoLive.ie Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 05:55:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ALGIERS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Algerian army on Friday killed two "terrorists" in El Milia in Jijel province, 432 km east of Algiers, Algerian Defense Ministry said. The two armed militants were identified as Ouga Mahieddine, alias "Abou Oubaida" who joined a terrorist group in 1993, and Laaouar Chawki, alias "Ibrahim Abou Mouslim" who joined a terrorist group in 1995, the ministry said in a statement. The army also retrieved two Kalashnikov-type submachine guns, three loaded magazines, two night binoculars and other objects during the ambush operation. The security situation in Algeria has remarkably improved in the last decade, compared to the 1990's. Yet, clashes between security forces and terrorist groups are still reported from time to time. The congregation gathered for Larry Gogan's removal yesterday heard the broadcaster had been planning an anniversary Mass for his late wife Florrie just weeks before he died. Friends and family attended St Pius X Church, in Templeogue, Co Dublin, to pay their respects to Larry before his funeral Mass, which is taking place this morning. Among the mourners were broadcasters Dave Fanning, Ronan Collins, and Pat Kenny and his wife Kathy. The crowd stood silently outside the church before the removal service began, looking towards Larry's family. His children - Gerard, Orla, David, Grainne and Sinead - were tearful as they waited for their father's coffin to be carried into the church. Once inside, the priest remarked that the hymns chosen to play throughout the service may not have been similar to the music Larry played on air, but that he would appreciate them nonetheless. He added that Larry had contacted the church in recent weeks to arrange an anniversary Mass for his wife Florrie, who will have passed away 18 years ago this month. He joked that if Florrie was present, she would "hit me over the head" for calling her husband Larry, as she always called him Lorcan. Larry's family all looked to each other throughout the ceremony for support. The priest noted that Larry's death came shortly after the loss of two other legendary RTE figures, Gay Byrne and Marian Finucane, and said all had left a significant mark on Irish broadcasting. The former 2fm DJ, aged 85, passed away at the Kiltipper Woods Care Centre on Tuesday. Larry's youngest daughter, Sinead, said the family were "heartbroken" over their loss. Touching "It's just so moving and touching to hear what everybody has to say about your father, all the nice things. That's the way he was at home, he was exactly like that," she told 'Liveline'. "He wasn't different to anyone else than he was with us. A great man. We're all just heartbroken." Although the family are thankful for all the tributes that have flooded in across the airwaves since his death was announced, Sinead said that Larry would be "so embarrassed" if he heard. "He'd be scarlet, but that was just him. He had no airs and graces," she said. A funeral service for Larry will take place at the church today at 11.30am, followed by a private burial service. The service will be broadcast on RTE News Now from 11.30am, and streamed on 2fm's Twitter and Facebook. Irish oil and gas explorer Providence Resources has appointed Alan Linn as its new CEO. He replaces Tony O'Reilly Jnr, who stepped down in December after funding of $9m (8m) from Chinese group Apec failed to materialise. Mr Linn has over 35 years of oil and gas industry experience. Having established his career in the UK, he subsequently worked internationally with Lasmo, Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil, Roc Oil, and with Afren as part of a restructuring process. He joins Providence from Third Energy Onshore, where he was CEO. Pat Plunkett, chairman of Providence Resources, said: "[Mr Linn] has the ideal mix of operational and strategic experience for the position, and will bring valuable insights to the board as we rebuild the business after the challenging past year. Alan recognises the considerable potential of the company's assets, in particular Barryroe." Shares in Providence were 3.2pc higher in afternoon trading yesterday. The violence in the universities across India is linked to the oppositions propaganda on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Shanta Kumar said on Friday. He was addressing an awareness campaign on CAA at Thakurdwara in Sulah assembly segment of Kangra. Former two-time chief minister said opposition parties were playing cheap politics by hoodwinking the educated youth on the issue. Even the Supreme Court has expressed concerns over the violence on the CAA, said the 85-year-old leader. He alleged that the opposition has virtually set the country on fire for their vote bank politics and it was becoming a big problem. BJP has launched a door to door campaign to aware every citizen on CAA, said Shanta, adding that the CAA was all about granting citizenship to the persecuted minority communities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have sought refuge in India. The former chief minister said that it was a bold and noble initiative of the central government to grant citizenship to the people who have faced years of repression. The CAA does not strip anyone of their citizenship as is being propagated by opposition parties, said Shanta. He said there were about two crore illegal migrants in India who have been given shelter by the opposition parties for their vote bank. Shanta said the population of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan during independence was 34% and the figure has drastically come down to 3%. Lakhs of people who have fled to India deserve citizenship as they have been living here for years now, he said. Health minister Vipin Singh Parmar said that the CAA was a brave step taken by the government but the opposition was misleading the people. Earlier, a rally was also taken out in support of the CAA. Former legislatorsDulo Ram and Praveen Kumar former Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha state chief Indu Goswami and BJP office bearers of Palampur organisational district were also present on the occasion. . Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) brings together the management of overall governing strategies, risk mitigation, and compliance processes. GRC is the integrated collection of capabilities that enable an organization to reliably achieve objectives, address uncertainty and act with integrity.GRC as an acronym denotes GOVERNANCE, RISK, and COMPLIANCE but the full story of GRC is so much more than these three words For successful & Effective GRC implementation, a single framework of the GRC program should be there in the organization that must include: 1. Centralized repository of approved policies, procedures, Standard and Guidelines with version control, data classification (Public/Private/Confidential/Operational) and policy owner defined. 2. Combines data between multiple departments, including business, HR, IT security, compliance, and auditing. 3. Includes a list of all the regulatory, Contractual and other compliance requirements. 4. Risk analysis, risk assessments, risk register, loss and incident database risk tolerance and treatment. 5. Requirement management, control testing, findings and exceptions & evidence management 6. Presents relevant reports to the board and senior management. 7. Proper and formal Information Security awareness training and advertisement to change the organisation culture for compliance. 8. Top-Down Governance Approach. Effective GRC implementation Challenges: Because each organization is unique, there is no single approach towards implementing an effective GRC framework. There are several common challenges businesses face when it comes to developing and implementing an effective GRC strategy. 1. IT governance, risk management discipline, information security policy and legal compliance requirements all place a burden on companies to ensure their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) policies protect customers, staff and stakeholders. 2. Reducing risks in low budget becoming a key challenge for businesses, especially when the number of cyber-attacks keeps on rising. 3. Small businesses &government organizations face the same threats as large corporations, and have the same duty of care to achieve compliance. Unfortunately, many businesses both big and small - dont have sufficient technology automation or processes to prevent attacks. 4. GRC systems and software are often seen as too expensive and not relevant enough, especially for smaller organizations. 5. No single vision, no compliance culture: The inherent culture within the majority of organization is one of silos, where each function or business unit has its own information, its own processes and its own set of compliance regulations to meet. This makes developing an effective GRC framework difficult, as there is no single approach to GRC embedded within the culture of the organization. Every business unit has its own objectives within the main organizational strategy, but the fact is everyone needs to achieve the same objective. However, the processes used to achieve this are different across business units, which may lead to a mismatch at different levels regarding the overarching business objectives. 6. not a Top-Down Governance culture: Governance culture needs to come from the highest level and then filter down through the organization if it is to have any chance of being successful. The simple truth is that if the highest-level executives do not take compliance and risk management seriously then nobody else will. Communication is vital to achieve buy-in through out the organization, and once again, this communication needs to come from the top, and be delivered to all stakeholders, both internal and external. Changing the mindset of people cannot happen overnight. It is an ongoing process that involves developing a roadmap and appropriate processes; having the right technology; educating and training people; and having the board of directors setting an example that filters down to the rest of the organization to follow. Automating GRC systems is an effective way to implement a robust information security management system in low budget. Senior management and those legally responsible for organization can spend more time leading growth, instead of worrying about compliance and data security. Everyone benefits from an automated compliance but there are challenges. IT security systems wont automate themselves. Before writing a new IT security policy or buying new software, we should analyse the people and current processes, need to check how staff currently manage and treat sensitive data (e.g. customer, financial and company sensitive data)? How many vulnerabilities are there? How these vulnerabilities can be exploited? data protection procedures and existing internal controls. Implementing an automated GRC system means following steps at least: 1. Define what matters. Does this mean protecting data? Complying with regulatory requirement? Keeping insurance costs low, or reducing the amount of time spent doing admin work? 2. Risks Identification: Do the risk assessment and find out vulnerabilities in current processes and systems. 3. Design a plan. Put together a plan that brings together the people who interact with security on different levels (e.g. lines of business, HR, finance, physical security, legal, business continuity, IT and of course information security), so that it covers every aspect of the business. 4. Start small, focusing on key processes. Creating a GRC roadmap isnt easy. It does take time. Essential starting processes includes: policy framework; controls framework (start with an industry standard such as ISO27001 or NIST 800-53); risk management; exceptions management; asset management. 5. Continuous monitoring, review and improvement: GRC automation should be a proactive approach, instead of relying on reactive models. Constant monitoring and review is a lower price to pay than fines, damaged reputation and lost customers. 6. There must be involvement of everyone who influences or is involved with data security, including front-line staff. One thing is certain We never can ignore risk and compliance. Government regulators will continue to force through tighter regulation. Client/Customer/ stakeholder are requiring stronger controls within their relationships. The globalization of business introduces significant risk with more points of vulnerability and exposure to the organization. AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to LinkedInShare to Google+ The investigative team continues its work today. The version of a missile hitting and bringing down a Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 flight PS752 shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport early Wednesday, January 8, is not being ruled out but is yet to be confirmed, says President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Today, the investigative team continues its work, according to remarks Zelensky released via Telegram. Ukrainian experts are involved in this process, the remarks say. "We expect that they will be provided with all the information and access that is necessary for an objective investigation. We are ion contact with our representatives. The missile version is not being ruled out, but it is yet to be confirmed. Given the recent statements by world leaders in media, we call on all international partners notably the governments of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to share with the crash investigation team data and evidence concerning the crash. In the afternoon, I will talk with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the progress in the probe," said Zelensky. Read alsoBellingcat geolocates footage of apparent missile strike on UIA flight PS572 to Tehran suburb (Photos, video) He says Ukraine aims to establish the undeniable truth. "We see it as a responsibility of the entire international community to the families of the victims and the memory of the crash victims. The value of human life is superior to any political motive," the Ukrainian president emphasized. As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 8, an UIA-operated Boeing 737-800, flight PS752 Tehran-Kyiv, crashed in Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport. All 167 passengers and nine crew on board died. On board the airliner were 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew members, as well as 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghanis, three Germans, and three Britons. All Ukrainian air carriers have been banned from flying in Iranian airspace pending the investigation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canadian officials have intelligence from their own sources and Canada's allies that shows the Ukrainian airliner was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile. President Trump was his own hype man during a campaign rally Thursday night in Toledo, Ohio. He praised his decision to authorize the airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week, calling it a "bold and decisive action." Trump accused Soleimani of "looking very seriously at our embassies. We stopped him quickly and we stopped him cold." The Trump administration has not publicly released any evidence showing Soleimani was planning an imminent attack against a U.S. embassy. In response to Soleimani's death, Iran on Tuesday launched more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Trump said he "didn't do anything" to retaliate because there were no casualties. "Lots of people got very lucky," he added. More stories from theweek.com Donald Trump is behaving like the guiltiest man alive Trump's birthday letter to Kim might not be enough to save North Korea talks Trump reportedly admitted impeachment played a big role in his Soleimani decision D ominic Raab has called for a full and transparent investigation into the fatal Tehran plane crash that killed 176 people, as he said victims families deserve to know the truth. The Foreign Secretarys remarks came after Boris Johnson confirmed the dead included four Brits and suggested there was a "body of information" that indicated the crash was caused by an Iranian missile. The Prime Minister made the announcement after US officials and the Canadian leader Justin Trudeau said Iran looked to have been involved in the downing of the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752. Speaking in Canada, Mr Raab said: "We agree with the Canadian assessment that indicates that Ukrainian International Airlines flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, and as (Canadian foreign minister) Francois-Philippe (Champagne) said it may well have been unintentional. The wreckage following the crash that left 176 people dead, including four Britons / AP "Our view on the crash underlines why we urgently now need an independent, full and transparent investigation to establish what caused it. "The Iranian regime must open up to the international community, including access to the crash site, so we can get to the truth as quickly as possible to give the families of the victims an understanding of what happened to their loved ones. "The families of the victims deserve to know the truth, and we say that whether they're Canadian families, British families, Ukrainian families, Swedish, German, Afghan. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (right) walks from the Foreign Office towards 10 Downing Street / AFP via Getty Images "And let us not forget the Iranian families because they have suffered the greatest loss of life in this terrible incident and they deserve to know the truth too. "We urge Iran not to repeat the reckless and dangerous attacks and rather pursue the urgent de-escalation and return to diplomatic dialogue." Earlier, Mr Johnson confirmed four Britons died in the plane crash, up from the earlier reports of three. The Conservative Party leader said the Government was "providing support to their families at this most terrible time". Niloufar Ebrahim (left) and Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi died in the plane crash / PA The three known British victims included engineer Sam Zokaei, from Surrey, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, from west London, and Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh, from near Brighton. In total 176 people were killed when the plane crashed moments after it left Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at 6.10am local time (2.40am GMT) on Wednesday, bound for the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. At least a third of the deceased held Canadian passports and Prime Minister Mr Trudeau told a press conference that the news of a missile being responsible was likely to comes as a "shock" to the grieving families. ISNA/AFP via Getty Images He made his comments after two US officials said it was "highly likely" an Iranian anti-aircraft missile brought down the passenger plane. The New York Times published a video which the newspaper said showed the moment an Iranian missile hit a plane above Parand, near Tehran's airport, the area where the Ukrainian airliner stopped transmitting its signal before it crashed on Wednesday. Mr Johnson had used a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday to call for a "full, credible and transparent investigation" into what happened. Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, posted on Facebook that a missile attack was one of the possible causes of the fire that caused Ukraine International Airlines' (UIA) PS752 aircraft to break-up as it gained height after taking off from Tehran airport on Wednesday. The Iranian military had disputed suggestions the airliner was brought down by a missile, with officials in Iran blaming an engine fire. Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures 1 /13 Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures via Reuters AP AFP via Getty Images People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Images AP AP via Reuters AP Rescuers check the debris following the plane crash via Reuters Part of the wreckage from Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran shortly after take-off via Reuters But Mr Danilov said "information about the detection of the shards of a Russian missile" - understood to be a Russian Tor M1 missile - meant an attack on the plane could not be ruled out. The Prime Minister pushed for the facts to be established during his conversation with Mr Zelenskyy on Thursday. Mr Zelenskyy ordered a criminal investigation soon after the details of the tragedy emerged this week. Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau point finger at Iran for Ukrainian plane tragedy He has invited United Kingdom aviation experts to join the investigation into the crash. A spokesman for the president said: "The president invited the United Kingdom to join the investigation. "Boris Johnson supported this idea and stressed that the best British experts should be involved in clarifying all the circumstances of the tragedy." The airline ruled out human error in the aftermath of the incident, and crew were not said to have made an emergency call. The crash comes amid escalating tension in the Persian Gulf following the killing last week of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by the US, prompting several airlines to reroute flights away from Tehran's airspace. Iran fired missiles at army bases in Iraq were both US and UK troops were stationed, although both Number 10 and the White House said there had been no casualties incurred. London, Jan 10 : Queen Elizabeth II has ordered all four royal households of the UK to find "workable solutions" to the crisis with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle "within days not weeks", following the announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were stepping back as "senior royals" and would work to become financially independent, according to a source. The royal family was working "at pace" to sort out the new situation after Wednesday's shock announcement, metro.co.uk reported citing the Buckingham Palace source as saying on Thursday. On Wednesday night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said that they would be "stepping back" as senior royals, adding that they wanted to become financially independent and would divide their time between the UK and North America. But the Queen and other members of the family were said to be "hurt" by their decision. It was also reported that Harry and Meghan reportedly ignored instructions from the Queen not to go public with their announcement. According to the Evening Standard, Harry's father Prince Charles and the his brother William, the Duke of Cambridge only received the statement 10 minutes before it was released. The Buckingham Palace has refused to give out details , but it was likely that royal aides were organising the Harry's showdown meeting with his father and the Queen, the metro.co.uk report said. "We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through," it said in a statement. Harry and Meghan's step comes just months after Prince Andrew stepped back from his duties after a BBC interview about his ties to late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Harry and Meghan communicated their plans shortly after returning from a lengthy trip to Canada, where the former actress lived for seven years while she was filming the TV series "Suits". A few weeks before Christmas, the couple's problems dealing with the pressure of being in the bright media spotlight all the time were highlighted in a documentary aired on Britain's ITV television channel. (Alliance News) - Oil producer Amerisur Resources PLC said Friday the court in Colombia has rejected a global freeze of its assets, though it has targeted some in the UK. The court has, however, adjourned the hearing of the case until after Amerisur's GBP242 million takeover by GeoPark Ltd is completed. Amerisur on Wednesday confirmed local communities in the Putumayo region of Colombia, where much of its operations are, had taken the company to court over environmental damage. The claimants, represented by law firm Leigh Day, had sought a freezing order against Amerisur. However, Amerisur said Friday the court has rejected a global freeze, but it has frozen GBP3.2 million of UK assets. Amerisur, which is based in Cardiff, said this figure is far below what the claimants had sought. The court has also confirmed the hearing of the case will be heard in early March. The company has previously said the legal action will not hinder its takeover by GeoPark, and it reiterated this on Friday due to the case not being heard until after completion. The takeover is expected to complete on Thursday next week, before shares are cancelled from AIM market the day after. Amerisur Resources shares were up marginally at 19.14 pence each in London on Friday morning. By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com Copyright 2019 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Bloomberg) -- Insight Partners agreed to buy cloud data management company Veeam Software in a deal that values the Swiss firm at about $5 billion. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter, will let Veeam accelerate its expansion into new geographies, the New York-based venture capital firm said in a statement on Thursday. Deals in the cloud computing industry have been on the rise. In November, Google announced plans to buy enterprise software company CloudSimple Inc., to join Google Cloud -- a priority business for the Alphabet Inc. unit. Datadog Inc. raised $648 million in its September initial public offering and Germanys TeamViewer AG completed an IPO raising about 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) that same month. William Largent, previously Veeams executive vice president, has been promoted to chief executive officer, Insight said in the statement. Danny Allen will be promoted to chief technology officer. Former CEO Andrei Baronov along with his co-founder Ratmir Timashev will step down from the board. Insight led a $500 million financing round into the company in January last year along with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Founded in 2006, Baar, Switzerland-based Veeam started by simplifying backups for virtual machines, according to its website. In addition to backups, Veeam also helps customers manage, monitor and run analytics on software and data that theyre storing in the cloud. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley advised Insight Partners. (Updates with background on other cloud deals in third paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Nate Lanxon For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Since 1979, Earth Animal has been on the path of offering kindness, healing, and support to animals, people and the Earth. Our feelings towards children and families in need in our local community heightens during the holiday season. For the past 12 years from October 1st to the 31st of December, Earth Animals Mitten Project offers support to the Connecticut Food Banks Child Hunger Impact Program (CHIP) through various fundraising opportunities. CHIP (formerly the Back Pack Project) offers school-based children fresh food for entire families over the weekend with the hope of getting all children healthy and ready to learn at school each Monday morning. The program is offered in Connecticut at 19 school sites, serves over 2,319 children and 1,955 families each weekend during the school year. Each year, our fundraising efforts grow and in 2019, Earth Animal invited local businesses and partners to participate. In addition, we also had our first annual Merry Mitten Day event at our flagship retail store in Westport, gained support with local dog friendly breweries during Octoberfest, offered a holiday Sip & Shop in Southport at J. McLaughlin, promoted our mission at a gala event at the Black Rock Yacht Club, plus an adoption event with Adopt-A- Dog at Half Full Brewery in Stamford, CT. Every year the number of families with food needs in Connecticut increases and as a company whose mission is to enhance quality of life for all Earths animals, we feel its our responsibility to support our community. It is our pleasure to match every penny donated during our Mitten Project, says Susan Goldstein, co-founder of Earth Animal. We are so happy to see the fundraising efforts increase each year. We raised $12,695. And, with Earth Animals match, our final donation to the CT Food Bank was $25,390 making it our largest donation yet, states Susan. This past year, we experienced monumental growth and wed like to give our sincere thanks to all our partners who helped make that happen; Adopt-A-Dog, Allied Printing Services, Anthony Musto Law Firm, Ash Creek, Black Rock Yacht Club and its members, Caitlyn Salon Studio, Choice Pet, Coldwell Banker, Fabicare Dry Cleaners, Flipside Restaurant, Friendly Cleaners, Grand Design Nails, Green Field Hill Groomers, Half Full Brewery, Inform Inc., J. McLaughlin- Southport, KL & Sam, Lachat Holiday Farmers Market, La Moda, Millie Raes, Paul Harris of Cole Harris Architects, Styles, Trinity Church, Trumbull, CT, The Beerd Brewing Co., Tusk, UPS Store-Westport, and Westport Hardware, About Earth Animal In 1979, Dr. Bob Goldstein and Susan Goldstein embraced the transition from conventional veterinary medicine to an integrative and holistic approach focusing on the whole animal. They began creating natural products without using toxic chemicals to treat their patients and family animals. Our award-winning products are compassionately sourced and produced with purpose in the USA. The Goldstein's focus has been to develop the highest quality products that help dogs and cats live a longer, healthier life. We proudly dedicate 1% of annual sales to positive impact efforts and organizations which preserve and enhance quality of life for animals, people and the earth. Earth Animal products can be found at independent pet shops nationwide. Please visit http://www.earthanimal.com to find a store near you. If you would like to get involved in the Mitten Project in 2020 or to receive more information about Earth Animal, please reach out to Susan Goldstein at 203.557.3322 or email at media@earthanimal.com. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Hiring activities saw a 10 per cent growth in December 2019 over the same month a year ago, mainly led by the IT-software industry. In December 2018, 1,987 activities took place, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index. "The year ended on a positive note, with a 10 per cent increase in overall hiring. Hyderabad and Bangalore have been posting consistent growth in hiring over the last six months and if we look at the year as a whole IT software has seen a growth of 28 per cent compared to the year before. The year went by has seen growth in jobs and we are cautiously optimistic going forward," Naukri.com. chief business officer Pawan Goyal said. The Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly Index which calculates and records hiring activity based on the job listings on Naukri.com website month on month. The major contributors to this growth were industries like BPO (27 per cent) pharma (18 per cent) and IT software (18 per cent), the report said. Demand for job roles in ITES/BPO (31 per cent) and accounts (16 per cent) also led to this overall uptick in hiring, it pointed out. Amongst cities, Hyderabad (27 per cent), Pune (14 per cent) and Delhi (11 per cent) led the way in terms of growth in hiring. In Hyderabad, IT Hardware (79 per cent) and IT - software (42 per cent) led the way, while banking witnessed an increase of 35 per cent. While Pune saw a 14 per cent rise in recruitment activity with IT software, FMCG and BPO recording growth rates of 8 per cent, 33 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, it said. Hiring activities in Delhi and NCR witnessed an increase of 11 per cent mainly led by hiring in the BPO sector (21 per cent). Other industries that witnessed an uptick in hiring in the national capital were IT - software (14 per cent) and accounting (8 per cent). Demand for job roles across ITES and pharma increased by 22 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. Recruitment in Mumbai increased by 5 per cent in December 2019, compared to December 2018 led by the BPO sector (31 per cent). This was followed by IT - software industry with an increase of 22 per cent, however, few sectors saw dip in hiring including industries like banking (-17 per cent), accounting (-29 per cent) and Pharma (-9 per cent). The overall hiring activities in Bangalore grew by 3 per cent and major contributors to this growth were BFSI (17 per cent), IT software (6 per cent) and BPO (5 per cent), it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) How a Syrian refugee came to Canada and grew a social enterprise with help from a small Nova Scotia town From refugee to entrepreneur: Peace by Chocolate CEO to become Canadian citizen From refugee to entrepreneur: Peace by Chocolate CEO to become Canadian citizen How a Syrian refugee came to Canada and grew a social enterprise with help from a small Nova Scotia town From refugee to entrepreneur: Peace by Chocolate CEO to become Canadian citizen How a Syrian refugee came to Canada and grew a social enterprise with help from a small Nova Scotia town From refugee to entrepreneur: Peace by Chocolate CEO to become Canadian citizen How a Syrian refugee came to Canada and grew a social enterprise with help from a small Nova Scotia town Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Four years ago Tareq Hadhad came to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, as a Syrian refugee, and next week he will officially become a Canadian citizen something he calls a great honour. The ceremony will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 15 a two-hour drive from where the Hadhad family set up their now-successful chocolate company, Peace by Chocolate. The company that started out as a home-kitchen operation now has 64 specialty vendors across Canada and their products are available in big-name grocery stores like Sobeys, Foodland and Safeway. Hadhad is not only the CEO of Peace by Chocolate but he sits on the board of directors for Invest Nova Scotia and is a professional speaker who has travelled to several countries in Europe, Jamaica, the U.S. and almost every Canadian province. Becoming a Canadian citizen feels like a natural progression for Hadhad, who said he always felt Canadian since the moment he landed. Now I can travel around the world and I am part of this big amazing [Canadian] family that is doing great things in the world, he told CIC News. His story started in Damascus, the capital of Syria. After war broke out in 2011, the Hadhad familys chocolate business was destroyed and they were forced to flee to Lebanon. In a TEDx Talk at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Hadhad recounted what he told a worker at the refugee camp who called him by his number: Im not a number, he said. When I was in Syria I had dreams. Hadhad said that he was on track to be a physician, and his father owned the second-largest chocolate company in the Middle East when they lost everything to the war. When I landed in Antigonish in December 2015, I had nothing but a set of goals that we would live our lives in the service of others and be a service for our community, he said. When they arrived in Canada they came with only the clothes in their suitcases. Hadhad was the first to arrive, followed by his father, mother, and three siblings. At the time, Hadhad recalled how their main concern was starting from scratch. It took them 20 years to build the chocolate company in Damascus and they did not know how they would do it in Canada. None of them spoke English at a high enough level to conduct business. Furthermore, the familys religion forbids them from paying interest on loans, limiting their sources of start-up funds. Hadhad said the family also had to overcome the culture shock of going from the huge metropolis of Damascus to the rural community of Antigonish, a university town with a population of around 5,000 people. We expected that this can be a really difficult challenge for our family, he said. When we arrived here, then we realized all it takes is having faith and making sure we make lots of connections. Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs If its not working, go networking The community of Antigonish got their first taste of the Hadhads chocolate at a community potluck where they ate them up within 10 minutes. From there the momentum built. The Hadhads started selling their chocolate in a local market and eventually decided they would need to buy special equipment, called a chocolate wheel, in order to make a feasible business. They would need a storefront and a factory, all without a bank loan. We dont deal with interest so the community stepped up, actually, Hadhad said. They had funds raised internally that was going to be paid in six months we paid it off in one month. With the help of about 30 to 35 volunteers in the community, they built their storefront and opened up shop. Peace by Chocolate officially opened in 2016, and would eventually make national news. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave them a shout out and shared their story at the Leaders Summit on Refugees at the United Nations in New York. Today, Peace by Chocolate donates a percentage of its profits to peacebuilding projects around the world. They also have a partnership supporting a community program called Nitap that hosts culturally specific activities in Paqtnkek First Nation. A portion of the profits from the Nitap Bar goes towards their programming. He does connect with the community, said Karla Stevens, one of the coordinators for Nitap, He is such a very kind person. He is very open and honest and that goes very well with our people. Hadhad also plans to hire 50 Syrian refugees across Canada by 2022 and to create a mentorship program for 10 startups run by Syrian refugees in Canada. Though part of Hadhads job as CEO is ensuring the sustainability of the business, he says Peace by Chocolate had a bigger goal than just to turn a profit. It is not a business, it is a message another way to send our mission and vision for peace in Canada and around the world, Hadhad said. Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved In a secret meeting at CES 2020, Samsung has reportedly named the upcoming successor to the Galaxy Fold as the Galaxy Bloom. In a report by the website ajunews.com, the Galaxy Bloom will apparently have a design that is inspired by the powder compact of the luxury cosmetics brand Lancome. The next-generation foldable phone that follows the Galaxy Fold will be a device that will targeted heavily at women in their 20s, who have used relatively few smartphones in their lives. That will explain Samsungs design choice of being inspired by the compact powder from French cosmetics brand Lancome. The device is different from the existing Galaxy Fold in that the screen fold itself is across the horizontal axis and not vertical. The device will also feature an ultra-thin glass called UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) instead of the plastic film that was present in the Galaxy Fold. In addition to this, Samsung has also confirmed that its Galaxy S lineup will adopt a different naming strategy with the upcoming 2020 flagships to be named the Galaxy S20 series. There are 3 rumored phones to be announced this year; the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra. The Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Bloom will be one of the first smartphone this year to support 8K video shooting options. Samsung plans to kickstart the 8K movement by putting a smartphone in your hand that is capable of 8K videos with the S20 Ultra possibly having 108MP camera and a 100x zoom. Source Anwar Batson, 29, of Notting Hill, West London, used a hacking program called 'Sentry MBA' A 29-year-old cyber criminal who hacked into a National Lottery user's account and stole 13 has been jailed for nine months. Anwar Batson, of Notting Hill, West London, used a hacking program called 'Sentry MBA' while carrying out the offences. He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after admitting four offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and one fraud charge, earlier today. Batson, who appeared in the dock wearing a white shirt, pleaded guilty to obtaining, offering and supplying an article for use in an offence under the computer misuse act, securing unauthorised access to computer material and fraud. He previously told police that he had been a victim of 'online trolling' after his arrest on 10 May 2017 and other people had been using his computer, but pleaded guilty on 10 December 2019. He teamed up with accomplice Idris Kayode Akinwunmi, 21, and took 13 from the account a man named as Dr Ian Bentley and Batson took a 5 cut. Daniel Thompson, 27, and Akinwunmi were previously sentenced to eight and four months respectively at Birmingham Crown Court for being part of the same offences. Batson, who is now facing nine months in jail, lives in a property on this road in Notting Hill, West London. He previously told police that he had been a victim of 'online trolling' after his arrest on 10 May 2017 and other people had been using his computer Batson never met the other defendants which he communicated with via a Whatsapp chat forum under the alias 'Rosegold'. Judge Jeffrey Pegden said Batson had targeted a large honourable organisation'. He added: 'Your offending took place over a relatively short period in the second half of 2016. 'In my view the gravity of your offending does not lie in the gravity of the loss occasioned by the hacking and the fraud that indeed was low.' Batson has admitted in court accessing National Lottery gambling accounts (file picture) One of the charges alleged Batson 'obtained an article, namely hacking tools and username and passwords with a view to its being supplied for use to commit, or to assist in the commission of an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990'. Another charge under the same act states Batson 'obtained an article, namely Sentry MBA configuration with a view to its being supplied for use to commit, or to assist in the commission of an offence'. Batson denied a further charge of obtaining an article to supply for use to commit a computer misuse offence, conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and fraud by false representation, and those charges were allowed to lie on file. For six months and counting, the police and other security agencies across Nigeria have refused to go after Ibikunle Amosun for smuggling deadly and strictly controlled weapons. But, when a Lagos man was accused of trading in small arms, all state resources were deployed to bring him to book. On Wednesday, at the Nigerian commercial capital, police commissioner Hakeem Odumosu, announced a major victory for his officers after a criminal suspect was arrested while allegedly trying to sell two pistols, Daily Trust reported. Mr Odumosu paraded Samuel Uche before reporters in Ikeja and quickly labelled him the most wanted gunrunner, even though there was no immediate evidence to suggest the 32-year-old was infamous in Lagos or even declared wanted by the police prior to his arrest. The police said Mr Uche was about to sell the two pistols allegedly found in his possession for N250,000 when he was arrested by the special anti-robbery squad in Oshodi on January 3. He had purportedly confessed to the crime in custody. While the polices primary task of combating crime cannot be limited to the magnitude of the offence, it appeared there are other considerations for determining which crime should be punished, especially where the profile of the offender is concerned. Mr Uche was not the first to be arrested and prosecuted by the police for illegal arms possession. Other petty criminal suspects are regularly arrested and arraigned before judges, who often impose long sentences upon conviction. In May 2019, three Nigerians were sentenced to a combined 120 years in prison, including 20 years each for illegal possession of firearms in Ibadan. The Oyo State High Court used the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act to convict the trio. Since June 2019, PREMIUM TIMES has been reporting details of how Mr Amosun, a former governor and serving senator, violated federal laws by smuggling heavy weapons into Nigeria without requisite approvals. Mr Amosun, a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, was exposed by this newspaper as importing 1,000 AK-47 assault rifles, two million bullets and other controlled equipment without permission. He admitted that he imported 1,000 AK-47 rifles, two million bullets, 13 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and other hardware for security efforts in his state in 2012. After being exposed for hurriedly handing over the illegal arms to the police a day before his tenure expired on May 28, 2019, Mr Amosun said he had approvals from President Goodluck Jonathan for import waivers and end-user certificate from the Office of the National Security Adviser. But, following extensive investigation of his claim, PREMIUM TIMES found that Mr Amosun only had approval to import 13 APCs to support the police in 2012. All documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES showed there was no end-user certificate or import waiver issued to Mr Amosun to import 1,000 AK-47 rifles and two million bullets. Moreover, the Buhari administration, through the budget office, confirmed Mr Amosun was never issued any approval to import the weapons, an official position that contradicted his claim. It is a federal crime, under Robbery and Firearms Act, for any individual or organisation to import AK-47 or its ammunition into Nigeria without an end-user certificate from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Yet, all federal agencies, especially the police, State Security Service and ONSA, have declined to take any visible steps to prosecute Mr Amosun. PREMIUM TIMES repeated enquiries to all the agencies were not answered. Frank Mba and Peter Afunanya, spokespersons for the police and SSS, did not return repeated requests for comment. While authorities fail to act, Mr Amosun has continued to influence public policy as a member of the Senate. With the booming provinces labour pool starved for skilled workers, the Ontario government is urging more young people to enter the trades. Labour Minister Monte McNaughton launched a new marketing push Friday to encourage more Ontarians to consider a path other than university. We have to challenge the stigma that somehow a career in the trades isnt a viable first choice when it comes to career planning, McNaughton said at George Brown College. We need to make sure Ontario has enough skilled workers to prosper. Our economy depends on it. McNaughtons appeal came as Statistics Canada revealed that 25,000 of the 35,000 jobs created in Canada last month were in Ontario. We need to do a better job at enticing young people and their parents to the skilled trades, the minister said. For too long, we havent viewed these challenging positions as a viable first option. That needs to change. The governments ad blitz includes a slick, 30-second TV commercial that shows three skilled tradespeople working in careers for which there is currently a massive demand, and which offer high wages. They are an arborist, a steamfitter and a tower crane operator. Make more than a living. Be proud of what you do. Enter the trades, intones a female narrator against the backdrop of action shots at job sites. Where you can be proud of what you give. Proud of what you know. And proud of what you build. Be proud of what you do with a career you wouldnt trade. The ads are part of a $75.5-million initiative to promote the skilled trades, including $42 million for the specialist high skills major program, a $20.8 million pre-apprenticeship program, and a $12.7 million youth apprenticeship program. In the first nine months of last year the most recent data available Ontario employers had 204,000 job openings across all industries and occupations. That included 13,000 unfilled posts in construction. Premier Doug Ford, who tweeted Friday that the province is booming, says the most frequent complaint he hears from employers is that they cannot find enough skilled workers. Robert Benzie is the Stars Queens Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie Read more about: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with ge of issues of mutual interest in bilateral relations as well as regional and global situation, a PMO release said. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday during which he reiterated his commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries. During the conversation, the two leaders exchanged views on a ranThe two leaders agreed on keeping in touch and enhancing all-round strategic cooperation between India and France, including in the areas of defence, civil nuclear energy and maritime security. "The Prime Minister recalled his earlier meetings with President Macron, including at Biarritz and Chantilly. He reiterated his commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership between India and France. He expressed his satisfaction at the steady progress in multi-faceted relationship between the two countries," the release said. The Prime Minister also extended New Year greetings and good wishes to Macron on the behalf of the people of India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal The New Mexico Environment Department has levied a $1.7 million penalty against the Air Force for discharging chemicals into groundwater at Cannon Air Force Base without a valid permit. NMED issued an administrative compliance order Thursday to the U.S. Air Force for violating state law related to the protection of groundwater resources at Cannon. In addition to the civil penalty, the state is asking the Air Force to apply for a new discharge permit. The Journal was unable to reach an Air Force spokesperson for comment. At issue are toxic chemicals that leaked into groundwater supplies from firefighting foam used in training exercises on base. The Air Force notified the state in August 2018 that per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals had been detected in the groundwater on base. The Air Force continues to ignore New Mexicos environmental laws, state Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement. Rather than address PFAS contamination, the Department of Defense shows no interest in helping afflicted communities and impacted natural resources. NMED and the state attorney general are suing the Air Force to identify and clean up PFAS contamination at Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases. The waterproof forever chemicals were used in household products and on military bases for decades. Environmental Protection Agency studies show the chemicals are linked to low birth weights, high cholesterol and cancer. Cannons groundwater discharge permit expired on March 31, 2019. Thursdays compliance order alleges that the Air Force failed to include PFAS monitoring in its permit application, and has been unlawfully discharging wastewater without the proper permit since April 2019. The Air Force must submit a new discharge permit application along with the civil penalty within 30 days to get back in compliance. If the Air Force doesnt comply after that time, NMED may assess additional penalties of up to $25,000 a day. The compliance order states that Kenney informed an Air Force executive that the application omitted information about (PFAS) that the USAF knew to be in the groundwater at Cannon Air Force Base. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Visit reportforamerica.org to learn about the effort to place journalists in local newsrooms around the country. BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentinas new government is working nonstop to resolve its sovereign debt crisis, the South American countrys Economy Minister Martin Guzman said on Friday, a month after center-left Peronist President Alberto Fernandez took office. We are working nonstop to resolve the external public debt crisis, the result of a failed irresponsible model that does not work in any country of the world and which left us hostage to the international financial markets, Guzman tweeted. Fernandezs government, inaugurated on Dec. 10, is set for tough talks with creditors to restructure around $100 billion in debt to avoid a damaging default after former president Mauricio Macris administration was dogged by economic crisis. Guzman, a young economist and acolyte of Joseph Stiglitz, has been tapped to lead restructuring talks with private bondholders and other creditors, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which agreed to a $57 billion financing package with Argentina in 2018. Earlier on Friday, Fernandez told journalists that everything is fine and on track with the IMF, though there was little to talk about at the moment. Argentinas debt talks will face their first big test this month with a $277-million payment due on a Buenos Aires provincial bond, seen as a gauge of how the indebted South American nation will handle its creditors. The Rayapudi villagers on Friday held a sit-in protest after police stopped them from going to Uddandrayuni Palem here. Section 144 has been imposed in Uddandrayuni Palem in the wake of locals' protest demanding to retain Amaravati as the only capital of Andhra Pradesh. Talking to ANI, Rajeshwari, a villager said: "Women from at least 29 villages are here and we planned a 'padayatra' from Uddandrayuni Palem to Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada. We are in support of those who protest against three capitals in the state. We want Amaravati as the only capital of the state." "Today only people from 29 villages are here. However, women from all the districts will join the protest. We aren't asking anything more. The Andhra Pradesh government should pay heed to our demands," she added. Ramakrishna, another villager, alleged that they were going to seek blessings from the Kanaka Durga temple and didn't create any disturbance to anyone. In another incident, clashes broke out between the police and villagers in Tulluru village on Friday. The women from the area had planned a march from Uddandrayuni Palem village to Goddess Kanakadurga's temple in Vijayawada. The police said that no permission had been given for a march to the villagers, which is why they had blocked the roads. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Royal sources say Amanda Thirsk has reached a legal settlement to step down from employment in the Royal Household Prince Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk has reached a legal settlement including a payment of tens of thousands of pounds after she was sacked following the Duke's car crash Newsnight interview, reports indicate. Ms Thirsk, who was instrumental in persuading the beleaguered royal to agree to his disastrous one-on-one with Emily Maitlis, was told last November by the Duke that she would no longer be his private secretary. Royal sources now say Ms Thirsk, a former banker who was taken on in 2004 as the prince's 'office controller' and stepped into the secretary role in 2012, has reached a legal settlement to regarding her departure from employment at the Royal Household, Sky News reports. She was said to have agreed her leaving terms with the Palace on Thursday, and a royal insider says an announcement informing staff about her departure is expected to be made later. It is understood that Ms Thirsk will be carrying on as chief executive of Pitch@Palace - the prince's Dragons' Den-style scheme for entrepreneurs - in a deal to be signed off on Friday. After the Newsnight interview, several of Andrew's business sponsors for his Pitch@Palace initiative announced they would no longer back the project. Many of his royal patronages also sought to distance themselves from him and he eventually announced he was stepping down from all his patronages and his royal duties. Prince Andrew (pictured with Thirsk) faced a furious backlash after the Newnight interview his private secretary set up Miss Maitlis (pictured during interview) praised the Duke for his 'candour' in answering her questions in an age when many public figures attempted to avoid scrutiny Last month Emily Maitlis said the Duke of York was 'happy' after filming the 'car crash' Newsnight interview about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. During the interview, Prince Andrew said he did not recall meeting Miss Roberts and emphatically denied that he had sex with her. Speaking of the occasion she said they first met in 2001 when she claimed she was 'trafficked' to Britain by Epstein he said he spent the day with his daughter Princess Beatrice and then took her to Pizza Express in Woking for a party. He also questioned Miss Roberts' account of them dancing together at the London nightclub Tramp, when she said he was sweating heavily. The Duke said he had suffered from a medical condition at the time which meant he did not sweat following his time spent in the Falklands. He also sought to cast doubt on the authenticity of a photograph that showed him with his arm around Miss Roberts' waist, but conceded that it was difficult to prove if it was a fake. Andrew admitted he had 'let the side down' when he had failed to cut ties with Epstein immediately after he was jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, and registered as a sex offender. The Prince said he visited him in New York in 2010, after Epstein's release, to break off the friendship, but regretted staying at his house while he was there. He told Miss Maitlis: 'It was not something that was becoming of a member of the Royal Family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that.' The data of 14m Dixons Carphone customers was compromised over a nine-month period between July 2017 and April 2018 Dixons Carphone has been fined 500,000 by the data watchdog after hackers harvested the card details and personal information of millions of customers. The Information Commissioner's Office said the data of 14m people was compromised over a nine-month period between July 2017 and April 2018, when the cyber-attack was finally detected. Its probe found that malicious software called 'malware' was installed in 5,390 tills at the company's Curry PC World and Dixons Travel stores. This enabled the fraudsters to siphon off 5.6m payment card details of customers. The group was lambasted for sloppy security arrangements and failing to protect customers' data, meaning it fell foul of data protection laws. Lapses included failing to update software to get rid of bugs and glitches and not carrying out proper security testing. The regulator fined the firm 400,000 in January 2018 over a separate hack in 2016. - Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, was a a Ghanaian politician, academician and historian - His major contribution was to restore the history of Western Africa to the natives having observed that White scholarly interests dominated the field - Prof. Boahen was born on May 24, 1932 Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Born on May 24, 1932, in the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana, Ghanaian politician Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, was an academician and historian whose research greatly shed light on Africa and West Africas contribution to civilisation. Boahen was educated at Mfantsipim School and later at the University of Ghana before being awarded his Ph.D. at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London - the first Ghanaian to achieve that feat. He returned to the University of Ghana to lecture in the Department of History and in 1987, he became Associate Professor and Head of the Department. Boahen became a professor of history at the University of Ghana and taught at Columbia and Johns Hopkins Universities, among others. His major contribution was to restore the history of Western Africa to the indigenous people having observed that White scholarly interests dominated the field. READ ALSO: Determined Black man who served jail time opens first-ever barbershop inside Walmart (photos) The Hill writes that ''Boahen probed the documents of colonial explorations to uncover a forgotten heritage of engaged African states. His stories debunked theories of a savage ''Dark Continent'' and revealed new information on the civilizations of the Western Sudan.'' His book, "Topics in West African History", remains a compelling and valuable resource on the history of West Africa from the spread of Islam to the present day. The book became necessary after Boahen was contacted by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation to talk on the history of West Africa to the secondary schools and training colleges in 1963-64. Themes such as the role of black-American settlements in Sierra Leone and Liberia were also treated. In 1959, Boahen set out to establish an Africa-centered history of the Western Sudan. His pioneer doctoral research at the University of London resulted in the book, Britain, the Sahara, and the Western Sudan, 1788-1861. Boahen also worked on the UNESCO committee that published the eight-volume work General History of Africa, a monumental study that began in 1964 and was published in 1979 with contributions from about 230 historians. READ ALSO: Omari Hardwick: Top actor opens up about how Denzel Washington saved him from homelessness In 1987, he wrote ''African Perspectives on Colonialism'' that examined the reaction of African states to the advance of European powers. Roger House, Ph.D., an associate professor of American studies at Emerson College in Boston, recently indicated that most of Boahens books are out of print and difficult to find coupled with used copies being sold exorbitantly by online sellers. Prof. Boahen represented the main opposition New Patriotic Party in a bid to wrestle power from then-leader, Jerry John Rawlings, in the 1992 Ghanaian presidential election. He became a member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2003 a Festschrift named ''Ghana in Africa and the World'' was released, edited by Toyin Falola. The UNESCO also awarded him the Avicenna Silver Medal. Prof. Albert Adu died on May 24, 2006, on his 74th birthday. He left behind his wife Mary Adu Boahen and his five children. In other stories, YEN.com.gh reported that despite having spent time in jail, ShaunCorbett, a 40-year old ex-felon turned his fortunes around to become a thriving professional barber and entrepreneur. From Charlotte, North Carolina, Corbett has opened his very own barbershop called Da Lucky Spot Barbershop. Located inside of a Walmart store, Blackbusiness.com reports that Shaun has made history as the first Black entrepreneur to ever do this. READ ALSO: Medikal builds new mansion for his 'sweet' mum; flaunts huge house in cute video Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Chinese peacekeepers are on patrol and escort mission. Photo by Li Xin By Liu Jinqing and Yu Donghai JUBA, January 8 -- The 6th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan finished its first short-distance patrol and escort mission in 2020 and safely returned to their barracks on January 8, local time. Chinese peacekeepers were highly praised in the Juba Theater and by the escorted personnel and contingents. This short-distance mission was jointly assigned by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Juba Theater. In order to carry out the mission with a high standard, Chinese battalion , before setting out, conducted comprehensive information collection and analysis on the patrol areas and their military, social and natural conditions, and made as detailed primary judgment as possible. Such thorough preparations laid a solid foundation for them to effectively deal with emergencies such as surprise inspection by local armed forces, vehicle breakdown and traffic obstruction. Before the Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion set out, it was assigned an additional task - to provide armed escort for the military observers and the Bangladesh detachments. The battalion adjusted its plan in a timely manner to combine the two tasks, increased escorting strength and worked in close coordination with their foreign counterparts. During the 170km patrol and escort route, the Chinese peacekeepers passed 16 sensitive locations including local inspection points and about-100-kilometer bad road featuring dangerous bridges, hurdles and bumps. The patrol and escort mission was an overall test to the real-combat capability of the Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion since it was deployed to the mission area, and gained valuable experience for it to perform other patrol and armed escort missions in the future. The Democratic Republic of Congo is considering taking over two oil licenses from an Israeli billionaire who is under U.S. sanctions for corrupt deals, and sell the exploration blocks to another operator, Bloomberg reports, quoting people familiar with the talks. Israeli businessman and billionaire Dan Gertler, whose companies hold the licenses for exploring for oil on two blocks in Congo close to the border with Uganda, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in December 2017. Gertler has amassed his fortune through hundreds of millions of dollars worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Treasury said, when it slapped sanctions on the businessman and on dozens of companies he owns or is affiliated with. The sanctioned companies include Oil of DRCongo and two firms it manages, Caprikat Limited and Foxwhelp Limited, which hold the licenses for the two blocks. Gertler has used his close friendship with DRC President Joseph Kabila to act as a middleman for mining asset sales in the DRC, requiring some multinational companies to go through Gertler to do business with the Congolese state, the U.S. Treasury says. But now, Congo is reportedly looking to transfer those licenses to the state oil firm Sonahydroc and later sell them to another operator. Congos government has been talking to UK-listed Tullow Oil, which has oil licenses in the Lake Albert area on the Ugandan side of the border, Bloombergs sources said. According to two of those sources, Frances Total and Italys Eni have expressed interest in the Congo licenses in the past, but Eni told Bloomberg it wasnt interested, while a Total spokeswoman said that Total had quit Congo. Gertlers firms could get some compensation for the two oil licenses, to the tune of US$150 million, but according to Bloombergs sources and analysts, a transaction would turn out to be complex because Gertler and his firms are under U.S. sanctions. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: New York: The US National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it will join the probe into the Ukrainian Boeing airliner which went down in Iran. In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the agency said it had "received formal notification" from Iran of the crash which occurred on Wednesday. The plane, a US-made Boeing 737, went down minutes after takeoff from Tehran, and shortly after Iran had fired missiles at military bases in Iraq housing US troops. "The NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash," said the US agency which probes transport accidents. "The NTSB continues to monitor the situation surrounding the crash and evaluate its level of participation in the investigation," which will be led by Iran, the statement said. "As with any investigation in which the NTSB is involved, the agency will not speculate about the cause of the crash." On Thursday, Trudeau said "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the US-made Boeing 737 after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Trudeau's comments came as images posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defense batteries bringing the down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in flames Wednesday. Citing information from allies as well as Canada's own intelligence, the prime minister said the plane appeared to have been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air (SAM) missile. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters. The prime minister was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional." US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran. Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. The disaster unfolded amid worries of a possible war between the United States and Iran, just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at American military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general. The Iranian government said the missile strike scenario made "no sense," however, arguing that several internal and international flights had been sharing approximately the same airspace. Tehran later asked Ottawa to share its information with Iranian investigators. Trudeau said Canada was working with allies to ensure a credible probe takes place. "The families of the victims want answers, Canadians want answers, I want answers," he said. "That means closure, transparency, accountability, and justice. This government will not rest until we get that." Johnson called Thursday for a full, transparent investigation. "It is vital that there should be an immediate and respectful repatriation of those who've lost their lives to allow their families to grieve properly," the British leader said. "The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region." Trump would not directly confirm what US intelligence was saying privately."I have my suspicions," Trump said. "It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake." "Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question," he said, adding that "something very terrible happened." But unnamed officials told US media satellite, radar and electronic data indicated Tehran's air defense units downed the aircraft. ABC News reported that an unnamed official said it was "highly likely" the plane was brought down by two SAMs. Ukraine called for United Nations support for a broad investigation, and sent 45 crash investigators to Tehran to take part in the inquiry led by Iranian authorities. A Vancouver naturopath who charges $15,000 US for children with autism to have fecal transplants at a clinic near Tijuana, Mexico could put them at serious risk of infection with an unproven treatment, according to doctors and scientists. Jason Klop claims in Facebook videos that he's treated kids as young as two from across the world using pills and liquids made from the stool of two American adolescents. He says he's seen "dramatic improvements" in symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. The process isn't approved in either Canada or the United States for treatment of autism. Health Canada says it's looking into Klop's operation, and B.C.'s top public health official says she has serious concerns. Experts on autism and the gastrointestinal system describe the therapy as experimental, overly expensive and potentially unsafe, with little solid basis in research. "The potential risk of this procedure is way more than any potential benefit, and charging $15,000 to people without having confirmed data really borders on ... being very unethical," said Dr. Kent Williams, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Ohio's Nationwide Children's Hospital who specializes in treating GI issues in children with autism spectrum disorder. Fecal microbiota treatments, or FMT for short, take bacteria and other microbes from the poop of a healthy person and transfer them to a patient either anally or orally, with the goal of restoring a normal environment inside the gut. drjasonklop.com A single exploratory study has suggested that FMT could help improve symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, but even the researchers behind that work say the risks and potential benefits remain unproven. "If it was my child, I wouldn't do it," said Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Arizona State University, who is part of the team that conducted the 2019 study. That's the same advice she gave to a parent who asked for her thoughts on Klop's business though she's also careful to point out that she's not qualified to give medical advice. Story continues Krajmalnik-Brown said she's had hundreds of emails from parents who want to try FMT with their children with autism, and she tells them much more research is needed before it will be an approved therapy. That's because if something goes wrong in the FMT process, the consequences can be lethal. Krajmalnik-Brown said both donors and recipients need to be thoroughly screened, and "if this is not done correctly, this can lead to serious infections." Last year, a 73-year-old man with a compromised immune system died after receiving a transplant from a stool sample contaminated with antibiotic-resistant E. coli. Naturopaths' college is 'monitoring the situation' Right now, FMT is only approved for use outside of clinical trials for the treatment of a single condition C. difficile infection that hasn't responded to other therapies. B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said she would caution all parents against trying FMT for autism, calling it an "experimental, unproven treatment that has dangers." A spokesperson for Health Canada said the federal government doesn't have any power over treatments provided in other countries, but officials are looking into Klop's operation to make sure he's following the law here in Canada. The College of Naturopathic Physicians of B.C., on the other hand, does have jurisdiction over B.C. naturopaths, even when they're providing treatment somewhere else. When asked whether the college has concerns about Klop's business, registrar Phillipa Stanaway at first told CBC she couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation. Asked to clarify, she appeared to backpedal and said she could not confirm that an investigation is underway. "We are monitoring the situation and will provide further information as we can," she wrote in an email. 'I just want to see dramatic improvements' Klop initially agreed to an interview with CBC to talk about his business, FMT Solution, but he cancelled a day later. He did not respond to a detailed set of questions sent by email. Klop tells his followers in his most recent Facebook video that he and his family are now living full time in Mexico. According to his website, Klop's clients fly to San Diego, Calif., before they are driven across the Mexican border for five-day "retreats" in the resort city of Rosarito, about a 30-minute drive south of Tijuana. Klop says he accepts 10 children per retreat. CBC has reached out to six parents who have made posts in private Facebook groups that suggest their children have participated in Klop's retreats. None agreed to an interview. Vancouver Island Health Authority In a Facebook video posted to one of those private groups on Jan. 3, Klop breaks down the $15,000 US price tag for his retreats. He said it includes resort accommodations, transportation across the border and a consultation with a Mexican doctor, but the bulk of the cost $12,500 US is for the FMT, which is administered daily for 16 weeks. Klop has focused exclusively on using FMT to treat autism for the last six months, and his patients come from across North America, Europe, the U.K. and the Middle East, according to the same video. Hans-Maximo Musielik/The Associated Press He says he doesn't like to describe his work as "curing" autism. "I just want to see dramatic improvements in digestion, language, behaviour, sleep, cognitive abilities, social awareness, social interactions. We see all of those things," Klop said in the video. "If a child has autism, I think they have the likelihood of benefiting from FMT." Dr. Christine Lee, a medical microbiologist and infectious diseases physician who studies FMT therapies at Island Health in Victoria, said there isn't solid science suggesting it's effective at treating autism. She described Klop's price tag as "exorbitant" for this type of therapy, estimating that daily FMT doses cost less than $5 a day, even when the cost of screening donors is taken into account. "I don't want to sound very negative and judgmental, but if we are subjecting individuals to experimental research, they should not be charged," Lee said. In his videos, Klop also claims to have used FMT to treat a variety of other conditions, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Klop's website posits that "the foundation for all health lies in the gut." In another video, he suggests that the increase in autism diagnoses in recent decades is "primarily due to a degeneration of these children's microbiomes" referring to all the bacteria, viruses and other microbes that live in the human gastrointestinal system. It's true that gastrointestinal issues are very common in children with autism, said Williams, the Ohio pediatric gastroenterologist, but he believes Klop has the cause and effect mixed up. "I think the problems from the central nervous system that go along with autism, that's what's causing the GI problems," Williams said. 'Maybe we got lucky' The last few years have seen a lot of excitement about the potential applications of FMT, and extensive research is currently underway about the possibilities for treating a range of conditions. Klop's website says he bases his work on the Arizona State University study published last year. That research followed 18 children on the autism spectrum who also have gastrointestinal problems. The scientists found a nearly 50 per cent improvement in autism-related symptoms two years after the subjects received daily FMT therapy for eight weeks. But as the researchers have been careful to point out, the study was not randomized, did not control for the placebo effect, did not include a control group and involved a very small sample size. Facebook Krajmalnik-Brown described the results as encouraging, but said the right thing to do now is conduct a rigorous clinical trial. "Our results were very promising, but it was only 18 kids. Maybe we got lucky," she told CBC. Williams said it's crucial to be cautious with the results of a so-called open-label study, in which both the researcher and the patient know who's receiving the therapy. "The history of open label trials, particularly in autistic children, is very fraught. Initially, the studies are great and promising, but later on they're not as good as initially thought, and in some cases there actually have been severe consequences even death," he said. Fears children are treated as 'test subjects for their parents' CBC was first alerted to Klop's operation by Melissa Eaton, a North Carolina mother of a child with autism who tracks potentially dangerous and unproven treatments for autism by infiltrating private Facebook groups. She said she was shocked when she learned Klop was offering FMT as a therapy for autism. "When it comes to unproven, unregulated and experimental things, we have to get something in place that protects autistic children and all disabled children from becoming, for lack of a better word, test subjects for their parents," Eaton said. She wishes parents would spend less of their energy trying to cure their children's autism. She believes they're sending a harmful message there's something wrong with their kids that needs to be fixed. "The best thing that they can do for their child is to support them, accept them instead of looking on the internet for some magical treatment," Eaton said. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he won't move to release women from non-disclosure agreements they reached with his firm after suing and alleging they experienced a hostile work environment. 'You can't just walk away from it. They're legal agreements, and for all I know the other side wouldn't want to get out of it,' he said Wednesday, ABC News reported. The billionaire oversees a sprawling media company with roughly 20,000 employees, and has gained a foothold in national polls, although he won't be on the debate stage in Des Moines next week since he is refusing campaign contributions and won't meet a key party metric. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the status of non-disclosure agreements that prevent former employees from talking. Women have sued the firm alleging a hostile work environment His firm has been subject to hostile environment lawsuits over the years, including from women who have accused him of making inappropriate comments. Sekiko Sakai, a sales representative at the firm, sued in 1997 and accused the firm of 'sexual degradation.' She claimed Bloomberg told her 'kill it!' after informing her boss she was pregnant a claim the former New York mayor denied and complained about the number of women who got pregnant in his office. She settled with the company in 2000. Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, right, greets supporters after speaking at a rally at Olive-Harvey College on the Far South Side of Chicago, Wednesday morning, Jan. 8, 2020 Former sales rep Sekiko Sakai sued and accused Bloomberg of making explicit comments at work, eventually settling with the company Bloomberg has denied overseeing a hostile environment. Three cases are still active, according to the network. Democratic rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has raised the issue, saying 'women should be able to speak.' Bloomberg shot back Wednesday that: 'Maybe the senator should worry about herself and I'll worry about myself.' Another woman, Laurie Evans, 56, claims a 'culture of discrimination' in a lawsuit, and is asking a judge to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement, Business Insider reported. The issue is a sensitive one in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Donald Trump was the subject of press coverage for his policy of holding company employees to non-disclosure agreements. He also has reportedly required White House aides to sign them. Bloomberg got some good news in a Detroit News poll released Wednesday. It had him holding a six-point lead over Trump in Michigan, second only to former Vice President Joe Biden, who held a seven-point lead in the battleground state. Before he launched his late entrance to the primary campaign, Team Bloomberg sought to tend to the issue, including a collection one-liners that former firm colleagues put into a book. 'Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong,' spokesman Stu Loeser told the New York Times. 'He believes his words have not always aligned with his values and the way he has led his life.' According to the widely-accepted cold dark matter theory, all galaxies are embedded within clouds of dark matter. Dark matter itself consists of slow-moving particles that come together to form structures ranging from hundreds of thousands of times the mass of our Milky Way Galaxy to small-scale clumps. The new observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope yield insights into the nature of dark matter and how it behaves. While dark matter concentrations have been detected around large- and medium-sized galaxies, much smaller clumps of dark matter have not been found until now. In the absence of observational evidence for such small-scale clumps, some astrophysicists have developed alternative theories, including warm dark matter. This idea suggests that dark matter particles are fast moving, zipping along too quickly to merge and form smaller concentrations. The new Hubble observations do not support this scenario, finding that dark matter is colder than it would have to be in the warm dark matter alternative theory. Dark matter is colder than we knew at smaller scales, said Dr. Anna Nierenberg, an astronomer at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Astronomers have carried out other observational tests of dark matter theories before, but ours provides the strongest evidence yet for the presence of small clumps of cold dark matter. By combining the latest theoretical predictions, statistical tools and new Hubble observations, we now have a much more robust result than was previously possible. Hunting for dark matter concentrations devoid of stars has proved challenging. Dr. Nierenberg and her colleagues, however, used a technique in which they did not need to look for the gravitational influence of stars as tracers of dark matter. They targeted eight powerful quasars, which are located roughly 10 billion light-years from Earth. They measured how the light emitted by oxygen and neon gas orbiting each of the quasars black holes is warped by the gravity of a massive foreground galaxy, which is acting as a magnifying lens. The lensing galaxies are located at a distance of about 2 billion light-years away from Earth. Using this method, they uncovered clumps of dark matter along the Hubbles line of sight to the quasars, as well as in and around the intervening lensing galaxies. Imagine that each one of these eight galaxies is a giant magnifying glass, said Dr. Daniel Gilman, an astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Small dark matter clumps act as small cracks on the magnifying glass, altering the brightness and position of the four quasar images compared to what you would expect to see if the glass were smooth. The dark matter concentrations detected by the telescope are 1/10,000th to 1/100,000th times the mass of the Milky Ways dark matter halo. Many of these tiny groupings most likely do not contain even small galaxies, and therefore would have been impossible to detect by the traditional method of looking for embedded stars. The eight quasars and galaxies were aligned so precisely that the warping effect, called gravitational lensing, produced four distorted images of each quasar. Such quadruple images of quasars are rare because of the nearly exact alignment needed between the foreground galaxy and background quasar. However, the astronomers needed the multiple images to conduct a more detailed analysis. The presence of the dark matter clumps alters the apparent brightness and position of each distorted quasar image. The researchers compared these measurements with predictions of how the quasar images would look without the influence of the dark matter. They used the measurements to calculate the masses of the tiny dark matter concentrations. We made a very compelling observational test for the cold dark matter model and it passes with flying colors, said Dr. Tommaso Treu, an astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles. The scientists presented the results this week at the 235th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii. _____ J.R. Lu et al. 2020. KAPA: A new Keck laser-guide star AO system that increases image quality and sky coverage. 235th AAS Meeting, abstract # 118.03 D. Gilman. 2020. Constraints on the nature of dark matter with quadruple-image strong gravitational lenses. 235th AAS Meeting, abstract # 133.05 This article is based on text provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The USAs System of Checks, Balances and Reality Crumbles as it Seeks War with Iran: Send in Pope Francis, Not the Marines by John Stanton Any Muslim who denies #JesusChrist s and #SaintMary s infallibility is rejected by #Islam. This is how Islam respects Jesus and Mary (pbut).The honor #Muslims attribute to #JesusChrist (pbuh) is no less than his position and merit in the eyes of the Christian believers in Christianity. Today, many who claim to follow Jesus Christ, take a different path than that of him. The guidance of #Jesus, the son of #Mary (peace be upon our Prophet and her) is guidance towards worshiping #God and confronting the Pharaohs and tyrants. Following #JesusChrist requires adherence to righteousness and abhorrence of anti-righteous powers, and it is hoped that #Christians and #Muslims in every part of the world will adhere to this great lesson from Jesus (pbuh) in their lives and deeds. Ayatollah Khamenei , Supreme Leader constitutional decree/law Yes, boys and girls, he did say that and if you visit Khameneis Twitter site youll find him sitting next an an elderly woman and to the right of her a Christmas tree adorned with ornaments including one of Santa Claus. And did you know, kiddies, that Irans Majles, the equivalent of the UKs House of Commons or the US House of Representatives (one hates to make that comparison to denigrate the Majles) has reserved, bydating to 1906, five seats for the following minorities: two Christian Armenians, one Assyrian-Chaldean Christian, one Jew and one Zoroastrian. The Ayatollah Kohmenei preserved condition after the Iranian revolution of 1979. This according to the United States Institute for Peace (USIPlink above). It is interesting to note what USIP has to say about the Majles/Parliament and its relations with the Iranian presidency, the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council. The 290-member parliament is weak compared with the presidency, as well as with the non-elected institutions such as the 12-member Guardian Council and the supreme leader s office. The US House of Representatives and the US Senate are, indeed, weak compared with the US presidency and let us substitute non-elected institutions with the Department of Defense, lobbyists, campaign financiers and the two-party corporate media monsters (reflecting Democrats and Republicans) run by Disney, Comcast, NewsCorp, and so on. Supreme Leaders Veto = US Presidents Veto And it turns out, according to the USIP, that the Majles has its own troubles with the Supreme Leaders use of a veto to thwart its legislative power. Though not arising out of the Iranian presidents office, it is in effect veto of parliaments legislation or proposed legislation. Parliament has faced other obstacles. The supreme leader s office has intervened in the legislative process through a mechanism called the state order. The supreme leader s most controversial intervention was in mid-2000, whez he ordered a bill proposing to reform Iran s repressive press laws be removed from the docket. recently told two US Republican senators Soleimani Oh, what a flimsy comparison! But wait. Trumps Guardian Council(Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley)recently toldthat they should not debate legislation to limit President Donald Trumps power to go to war with Iran.The US officials were sent to the House and Senate on Wednesday to brief legislators on the rationale for killing Iranian General GOP Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rand Paul (Ky.) ripped the administration over a closed-door briefing on Iran on Wednesday, announcing they will now support a resolution reining in President Trump's military powers. Lee, speaking to reporters after a roughly hourlong closed-door meeting with administration officials, characterized it as the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue.Lee said the officials warned that Congress would embolden Iran if lawmakers debated Trump's war powers. I find this insulting and demeaning ... to the office that each of the 100 senators in this building happens to hold. I find it insulting and demeaning to the Constitution of the United States. Lee did not say which briefer made the assertion but specified that no administration representative contradicted them. Montesquieu Madison On paper the United States Constitution, specifically the checks and balances system adopted by the framers (from) was intended to keep the three branches as co-equals. It seems that James, at least, was wrong about controlling factionalism. Polarization/factionalism, in the form of the corrupted US two party system, has nearly destroyed the Republic. The executive branch is overpoweringno matter what party holds office (at least since George W. Bush)the US Congress seems only as powerful as the party that holds the presidency and the judiciary is loaded up with whatever conservative or liberal ideologues the president sees fit to appoint. (For an interesting read on how the US political process should be changed see UKs need to be change, see A.C. Grayling: Democracy and Its Crisis.) Trumps Response to Irans Missiles Hitting US Bases in Iraq photo Mussolini Nazi uniform Terminators Looking at a stillof Trump giving his morning after speech on the Iranian missile strike I wasnt sure if I was hallucinating or not. There was Trump behind the podium dressed up like. On one side of Trump was Vice President Mike Pence dressed in a. The stone faced members of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, proving that the United States is way ahead in the development of Artificial Intelligence appeared to me as. I had wondered if someone stuck a pin into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he would deflate like a balloon. World Socialists Well, thehit the nail on the head in describing the troublesome scene and the content, or lack thereof, in his remarks. Much of what Trump had to say was recycled from previous speeches and tweets denouncing and slandering both Iran and General Qassem Suleimani. But more important than anything that Trump said was the way in which his speech was staged. In an unprecedented violation of constitutional protocol, Trump addressed the nation flanked by the entire uniformed Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. On all previous occasions, the announcement of a major crisis or a military engagement has been made by a president, seated at his desk in the Oval Office. This image was intended to present Trump as the leader of a military junta Why did Trump fail to act on his threats? It is more than likely that the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned Trump that precipitous action could result in a military disaster. The Pentagon needs time to prepare the defense of some 70,000 US troops deployed on Iran s borders from Afghanistan to Turkey, along with tens of thousands more military contractors and naval personnel stationed in the region. The military knows that the next round of US attacks will probably be answered with a rain of Iranian missiles on US bases, airfields, battleships and aircraft carriers. In the run-up to the US wars against Iraq in 1990 and 2003, Washington needed several months to prepare against a far less potent enemy. There are also political considerations by Washington s war planners. More time is needed to develop pro-war propaganda and psychologically condition the population for levels of violence unknown since the end of World War II. This propaganda will include efforts to condition the American people to accept the use of nuclear weapons by the United States, with the assistance of the pliant corporate media. The mass protests in Iran and throughout the Middle East, provoked by Suleimani s killing, provided an indication of the upheavals that will be unleashed by an all-out US war In looking at the video as Trump walked down a corridor to deliver his remarks was that the two US generals nearest to the door were facing each other. As soon as Trump walked by they turned and faced the cameras. Perhaps military protocol, but in these dangerous times with a demagogue in the Oval Office, it was nonetheless unsettling. OK Boys and Girls: Why the US Cant Win a Conventional War with Iran Iran-Iraq War Saudi campaign in Yemen overthrew the Iranian having never been the transgressor Let us dispense immediately with who has more blood on their hands, The United States or Iran. Well, there theduring which the US supported Iraq even as it used chemical weapons on Iranians. There is the, which the US supports, which has caused one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the last decade. Then there is that little piece of history from 1953 during which the United States and the UKgovernment. And remember this: No matter what the circumstance, United States is the victim, its always the victim; in fact, it is exceptional in its victimhoodor having caused any group or nation to seek reprisal or recompense. Shanghai Cooperation Organization Kazakhstan . As the Wiki entry noted, In 2017, SCO's eight full members account for approximately half of the world's population, a quarter of the world's GDP, and about 80% of Eurasia's landmass. As Iran remains under US sanctions, it is prohibited from becoming a full member adds another minor reason why Iran is under perpetual economic sanctions by the USA. The first matter to note is that Iran has observer status in the(SCO) which is an alliance between China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and. As the Wiki entry noted, In 2017, SCO's eight full members account for approximately half of the world's population, a quarter of the world's GDP, and about 80% of Eurasia's landmass. As Iran remains under US sanctions, it is prohibited from becoming a full member adds another minor reason why Iran is under perpetual economic sanctions by the USA. directly bordered Iran isby Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Iran has maritime borders with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. wice the size The distance between the capitals of Iran and Saudi Arabia, separated by the Persian Gulf, by air, is roughly 788 miles, well within reach of each others ballistic missiles. Iran is tof Texas with more mountainous terrain. CIA Factbook Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey. Relations between Iran and its neighbors are up and down. According to the(which correctly notes Irans non-compliance with human trafficking standards), testy relationship Armenian analyst Tevan Poghosyan Against the backdrop of US-Iran conflict,Azerbaijan has become a platform for pressure on Iran from the US and Israel, from which unmanned aerial vehicles are being launched toward the Islamic Republic. Iran and Azerbaijan have awith one another.Armenian analyst Tevansaid recently that that, bilateral relations Turkmenistan and Iran Afghanistan and Teheran are strong trading partners Armenia and Iran appear to have cordialand profitable tourism and trade between each other. Armenia has said it will remain neutral in the Iran-US conflict. The same appears true of. It is no surprise that Iran and Afghanistan have closer relations than one would normally associate with a US puppet regime. Butdespite the influx of Afghani immigrants and refugees into Iran due to the ongoing US-Iraqi military operations against the Taliban and Islamic State. This haas caused friction between the Iranian and Afghanistan governments. Iran and Turkeys relations are determined largely by the United States. Though trade and tourism continue, Turkey no longer purchases oil/gas from Iran due to economic sanctions. Iran and Pakistan relations are beset with problems. According to TRTWorlds Tom Hussein, For Afghanistan and Pakistan, the alarming escalation of tensions between their common neighbour Iran and the US, their shared geopolitical overlord, could not have come at a worse time.Since the Islamic revolution, however, Pakistan has aligned itself with Saudi Arabia, while at the same time pleading neutrality in the hostility between Riyadh and Tehran. Unsurprisingly, this approach has backfired repeatedly, with terrible consequencesPakistan flatly refused to join the Saudi-led military coalition that invaded Yemen in 2015, after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized most of the country. This infuriated Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, but the benefits to Islamabad s relationship with Tehran were short-lived.Shortly after Imran Khan took power as prime minister in August 2018, Pakistan sought to repair the damage to its relations with the Gulf Arabs and invited the Saudis to set up an oil refinery complex at the Chinese-operated port of Gwadar, located close to the Iranian border.Since then, cross border attacks by militant separatists on both sides have been on the rise. Fear of a serious escalation prompted talks between Iran s political leaders and Pakistan s powerful military in November. Stir it all Up and What Do You Get? There are simply too many military fronts for the US/NATO to handle simultaneously, particularly on the ground. Even with the Saudis and Kuwaitis as allies, one has to doubt those two nations fighting capabilities in any ground conflict. US military units cant count on the Saudis or Kuwaits turning against them during combat. The US Army and Marines would face ground attacks from within Syria and Iraq and, of course, upon entering Iran theyd find its not Iraq circa 2003. US troops in Afghanistan would also find themselves, if not in retreat, then under constant attack. Who knows what new terrorist alliances would be made. A neo-Islamic State perhaps, joining up with other anti-US forces. Halo Jumped Refugee camps along the Pakistan-Afghnistan-Iran borders would be a hotbed for militias recruiting for the campaign agains the Great Satan. The Iranians have learned well that the United States and its military are very predictable in order of attack: massive, world wide propaganda campaigns to include trumped up cyberattacks on US commercial interests; air-land-sea-space assets redeployed; cruise missile strikes, followed by aircraft bombing runs. US Combat Controllers will have alreadyinto remote portions of Iran to setup staging areas before any invasion starts. Great Power Competition The Navy and Air Force must make quick work of their Iranian equivalents because airpower will be needed to protect US ground troops in multi-theaters of operation from getting overrun from many directions by militias (Pakistan, Afghanistan) or Iranian troops allied with those who will come to its defense. The SCO will have something to say about the matter too. Will Russia and China provide support to the Iranians? Will Russia and China figure that they might as well go toe-to-toe with the US now before it completes nuclear modernization (and in light of the new military strategy of). The US Marines and Army will have it the toughest. They may try a WWII style-beach landing onto Iranian shores from the Persian Gulf using US Marines and US Army paratroopers may attempt to come from the sky into Iranian territory. As with any war between the US and North Korea, tactical nukes will have to be considered by the United States. Sides will be chosen and it will be a bloodbath, just as overtaking North Korea would. Read this at CRUX. Time to call Pope Francis. Given how crazy the times are, its a good idea. John Stanton can be reached at jstantonarchangel@gmail.com Advertisement There was a time when this store would have been heaving with expectant mothers shopping for baby bottles and prams, nappies, and colourful toys that go 'ping'. But now, that mecca for mothers-to-be, Mothercare, is soon to be no more - as can be seen in these images taken today of its Bromborough branch in Wirral, Merseyside, which is set to close tonight. They show the reality of the final day of trading for the former High Street favourite, which first opened its doors to trading in 1961 with a shop in Surrey. The store in Bromborough appears to have all its stock now sold. It is understood staff were also selling off plastic baskets and railings in a bid to make final profits for the company, which went into administration in November last year after suffering huge losses. All 79 Mothercare stores are set to close by the end of the week - putting 2,500 people out of work. This was the deserted scene today at Mothercare's branch in Bromborough, in Wirral, Merseyside, which is set to close tonight The empty Mothercare store is among 79 stores that are set to close by the end of the week - putting 2,500 people out of work The store, which first opened its doors to trading in 1961 with a shop in Surrey and remained popular among expectant mothers will close it doors At the Mothercare branch in Bromborough, shelves appeared empty as the stored waved farewell to its customers The chain went into administration in November last year after suffering huge losses and will now shut down its last 79 stores. Pictured: Mothercare in Bromborough The mother and baby retailer is currently selling off its remaining stock with huge discounts of up to 80 per cent available. Emails have been sent to customers encouraging them to buy the last of its products. One missive, which was shared on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains Facebook group said: 'Once it's gone, it's gone. Stores must close this week.' A Mothercare spokesman confirmed that all stores will be closed by Sunday. The High Street stalwart went into administration after struggling to compete with online shopping, sky-high rents, and competing baby clothing offerings from supermarkets. In the year to the end of March, the company made a pre-tax loss of 87.3million. The retailer, which was once a thriving high-street store, went into administration after struggling to compete with online shopping and will now shut down its remaining stores across the UK The store, initially focused on pushchairs, nursery furniture and maternity clothing, before expanding its business and catering for a range of items The store (pictured during happier times) became a public company in 1972 and then went on to merge with the Habitat chain of retailers to form Habitat Mothercare plc In the UK, Mothercare had already closed 55 stores over the past year in a desperate bid to keep the business afloat. Despite the imminent closure of stores, the brand will still have a presence on the High Street. The health, beauty and pharmacy chain Boots will start stocking Mothercare-branded products from the end of next summer, with a limited range available online in 2020. The exclusive deal secures the future of the brand in the UK for five years. Boots will stock clothing as well as home and travel products, pushchairs and car seats, stocked at branches across the country. It is part of a plan to reduce exposure to the struggling high street, and re-align its UK business with the rest of the world where Mothercare sells through partners. Mothercare's first shop catering for expectant mothers opened on September 19, 1961, at 23-25 Thames Street in Kingston, South West London On January 8 the high street retailer took to Twitter to tell customers their items were on sale and said all stores were closing this week In a series of tweets the store displayed a range of items that had been greatly reduced in price and which were currently on sale The store, which was founded by Selim Zilkha and Sir James Goldsmith in 1961, displayed the vast array of items that are currently on sale Following the announcement of its UK troubles, the firm insisted that it had a 'successful global brand business' with worldwide sales of 1,071 million 'In Boots, another much-loved British heritage brand, we believe that Mothercare has found the right home in the UK,' said chief executive Mark Newton-Jones. Chairman Clive Whiley previously said British high streets were facing 'a near existential problem' with high rents and customers deciding to shop online. 'Mothercare UK is far from immune to these headwinds,' he said, adding it had been burning through cash. 'It is with deep regret and sadness that we have been unable to avoid the administration,' Mr Whiley added. This week, the store took to its Twitter page to display the vast array of items that were currently on sale, telling customers: 'Once it's gone. It's gone.' The store, which was founded by Selim Zilkha and Sir James Goldsmith in 1961, had an initial focus on pushchairs, nursery furniture and maternity clothing before going on to expand its business. [January 10, 2020] Former Wayfair CFO Joins Boston EdTech Pioneer NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Examity, the online proctoring provider recently recognized as the fastest-growing education technology company in the United States, today announced the appointment of Nicholas Malone as Chief Financial Officer. Malone, who served as CFO of retail giant Wayfair during a period of explosive growth, joins the company with nearly three decades of experience in finance and management strategy. "Examity's rapid expansion over the past few years reflects accelerating demand for secure online learning in both the higher education and corporate contexts," said Michael London, Founder and CEO of Examity. "Nick's experience at the helm of some of the most successful companies in the region -- and the country -- will make him an ideal fit to advance our mission at a time when online education is fast becoming the new normal." Starting in 2005, Malone served as Chief Financial Officer of Wayfair during the decade that led to its multibillion-dollar IPO. He received the Boston Business Journal's CFO of the Year award in 2013 and has spent his career serving in leadership roles at high-growth startups and tech companies throughout the region, including Siemens and Zagster. Inhis new role, Malone will lead finance, operations, and strategy at Examity, which secured a $90 million investment in April 2019. "The increasing popularity of online learning across the country and around the world makes this an incredibly exciting time to join Examity," said Malone. "Our unique combination of industry-leading technology and a commitment to test integrity will spur Examity's continued growth as more colleges and employers expand access to high-quality education and training." According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education, more than one-third of all college students now take at least one course online. Designed to meet an increasing need for security in online education, Examity's learning validation platform offers a variety of proctoring styles, from automated through to live, for hundreds of universities, employers, and certification providers worldwide. The company was recently named to Deloitte's 2019 Fast 500 list for the second straight year, and has also been honored for two consecutive years as one of the top ten fastest-growing businesses in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal. About Examity Examity was founded to meet the needs of colleges, employers, and certification providers looking to ensure integrity. Since 2013, Examity has partnered with hundreds of organizations worldwide to provide a cost-effective and flexible online proctoring solution. For more information, visit Examity.com or follow the company on Twitter @examity. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-wayfair-cfo-joins-boston-edtech-pioneer-300984565.html SOURCE Examity [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Kosovo Serbs Rally Against Montenegro's New Religion Law By RFE/RL's Balkan Service January 09, 2020 Hundreds of ethnic Serbs have rallied in the outskirts of Kosovo's capital Pristina to protest against the alleged suppression of religious and other rights of Serbian minorities in neighboring Montenegro. The protesters on January 9 marched through Gracanica, a small Serbian-populated municipality, holding religious banners and a cross. "[Kosovo] against ghosts, brothers protect the sanctities," a banner read. The march was organized by youth organizations and was supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church. Three similar protest rallies have been held in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, against a controversial new law on religion that was adopted by Montenegro's parliament last month. Under the law, religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918. That's the year when predominantly Orthodox Christian Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes -- and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, losing all of its property in the process. The Serbian Orthodox Church, its supporters, and pro-Serbian opposition parties fear the law will enable the Montenegrin government to impound church property, though officials deny they intend to. Serbia and Montenegro were part of a federation until 2006, when Montenegro declared its independence. Montenegro is the newest member of NATO and aspires to join the European Union. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-serbs- rally-against-montenegro-s-new- religion-law/30368926.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Irish language measures in the new proposed deal will not offend anyone, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said (Niall Carson/PA). Irish language measures in the new proposed deal will not offend anyone, the Dublin Government said. The proposal entitled New Decade, New Approach includes steps to protect and develop Irish and Ulster Scots. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said: We have put an enormous amount of thought into trying to bring forward solutions to very sensitive issues but also at the same time respond to legitimate demands and concerns. He said the Irish language did not belong to any one community or identity. We are trying to bring about a situation where anybody who wants to learn to speak the Irish language or Ulster Scots or neither, that no one feels pressurised. We have effectively put a proposal in place that I believe can work, that wont offend anybody but at the same time will introduce legislation through amending pieces of legislation so that we amend the Northern Ireland Act to accommodate some change that will involve legislating for the Irish language. Dfhan muid 14 bliain leis an oiche anocht. The community has waited 14 years since St Andrews. We will take the next few hours to read, fully analyse and unpack tonights proposals. Weve got work to do - @dreamdearg pic.twitter.com/FZEsEbj50f An Dream Dearg (@dreamdearg) January 9, 2020 Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said while some had called for action on Irish language others were worried. But in here there is a good balance on dealing with that issue as there is a good balance on dealing with other issues, and I urge all people who are concerned about any of these issues to look at the whole deal tonight, to think first and foremost about people that are going on strike tomorrow, that need their schools running properly and that need this part of the United Kingdom up and running properly again. Irish advocacy organisation An Dream Dearg said the community had waited 14 years for action. We will take the next few hours to read, fully analyse and unpack tonights proposals. Weve got work to do. New Delhi: Bollywood stunner Deepika Padukone's much-talked-about venture 'Chhapaak' has opened in theatres today. Meghna Gulzar's directorial is based on the real-life incident of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Deepika not only plays the titular role of Malti in 'Chhapaak' but has also turned producer with this project. Vikrant Massey plays an activist named Amol in the movie who helps Malti in her fight against the open sale of acid in shops. Now that the movie has hit the screens on January 10, 2020, here's what some of the critics feel about the biopic: Deepika Padukone is the soul of the film, delivering a brilliant, immersive performance. In fact, there are many scenes where her act will move you to tears like the one where she holds up an earring to her face but realizes now she cant put it on. Or her piercing cry when she sees her face for the first time in a mirror after the attack. And one where she determinedly tells Amol, Mujhe party karni hain. Precisely why Maltis character is a winner because at no point does she succumb to self-pity. And as Deepika embraces her character completely, her transformation is enhanced through effective prosthetics. Devoid of even a hint of glamour, all we see is Malti throughout. Times Of India Chhapaak makes you feel every moment of an acid survivor's life. It is a shame therefore that Meghna and her team let the songs hamper the pace of the film. Some of the songs are necessary and don't seem like a hindrance. The title track Chhapaak in Arijit Singh's voice stays with you. The relationship between Deepika and her brother too is left frustratingly unexplored, to the point that not even a word is exchanged between the siblings. At points, the editing is not smooth. India Today Vikrant Massey is spot on in pinning down a modern crusaders sense of despair, frustrations and cynicism. Only someone as bitter as Amol could very believably spell out the sad hierarchy in the gruesome crimes against womenRape ke aage acid attack ki kya pooch (What say does an acid attack case have in front of rape)? His seeming lack of humour is played off well against Malti's surprisingly sharp, though well-concealed wit. Acid aap pe nahin, mujh pe phinka hai. Aur mujhe party karni hai (Acid was thrown at me, not you. And I want to party), she takes the mickey out of the killjoy that he is. Or when she says of his stern ways, Wo sarkar thodi hain jo unse darein (He is not the government that we should be running scared of him). Call it zeitgeist but the film critics at the preview laughed aloud together at the unintended irony of these lines, given the contemporary political context. The Hindu 'Chhapaak' is written by Atika Chohan and Meghna Gulzar. So, have you booked your tickets? Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks in Washington in a file photograph. He was one of three Republicans to vote for a war powers resolution that said President Donald Trump shouldn't take military action against Iran without congressional approval. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Gaetz Defends Voting With Democrats on War Powers Resolution Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of three Republicans to vote with Democrats to approve the war powers resolution on Jan. 9, defended his decision. Killing Terrorist Soleimani was the right call. Ending the spilling of patriotic blood and American treasure in the Middle East will be even better. I know our President wants to wind down these undeclared, unconstitutional, unfocused wars, Gaetz said in a statement on Thursday. On the House floor before the vote, Gaetz told lawmakers: I take a backseat to no member of this body when it comes to defending the president. This resolution offers no criticism of the president, no critique, it doesnt criticize the presidents attack on Soleimani. Matter of fact, this resolution doesnt even say Soleimanis name in it! Yet it does articulate our very robust basis for self-defense, at times even preemptory self-defense to defend our troops, and it also articulates our non-delegable duty as members of the United States Congress to speak to matters of war and peace. I represent more troops than any other member of this body. I buried one of them earlier today at Arlington. If our servicemembers have the courage to fight and die in these wars, Congress ought to have the courage to vote for or against them. Im voting for this resolution. pic.twitter.com/cSCBG7CmIm Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 9, 2020 I think its ludicrous to suggest that we are impairing the troops from doing their job by not doing our job articulated in the Constitution, he added. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) also outlined why they voted for the non-binding resolution. If we go to war, it needs to be with the blessing and the support of the people and a clear mission that our soldiers can accomplish. We do that by following the vision of our founding fatherswe debate it on the floor of the House, Massie said on the House floor. Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), a former GOP member and the only Independent in the House, also voted with Democrats. Under the Constitution, only Congress has the authority and power to declare war, a responsibility I take seriously. (1/3) https://t.co/Dug5reX0bX Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) January 10, 2020 Thirteen members missed the 224-194 vote; eight Democrats voted against the resolution: Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), Eliane Luria (D-Va.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Ben McAdams (D-Utah), and Max Rose (D-N.Y.). President Trump was justified in killing a terrorist who was responsible for the murder of hundreds of American servicemembers and was in the process of planning to kill more. I appreciate the Presidents efforts to de-escalate conflict in the face of Iranian retaliation and support his diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions to advance our goals of ensuring Iran does not gain nuclear weapons and to end their support of terrorist activities, Rose said in a statement. I know all too well the real costs of war and sending troops into harms way is the most consequential decision I could make. Unfortunately, todays War Powers Resolution is a non-binding resolution that simply restates existing law and sends the message that war is imminent. I refuse to play politics with questions of war and peace and therefore will not support this resolution. Luria said she voted against the resolution because if we must commit our forces to sustained combat operations to protect our nation, Congress has the duty to take on the more urgent task of debating a new AUMF [authority for use of military force]. Were doubling down on the things we really love, says Jill Tyler, the service manager at both establishments. The focus at their spinoff, then, is wine (60 or so by the glass, selected by beverage director Bill Jensen); snacks and housemade pastas whipped up by executive chef Jon Sybert; and a noticeably looser feel than Tail Up Goat. The effervescent Tyler greets diners at the door with a wide smile and sporting a T-shirt. Pune, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global oil country tubular goods (OCTG) market size is projected to reach USD 31.54 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period. Steady rise in oil and gas exploration and production activities in North America is anticipated to be a major growth driver for this market in the upcoming decade. According to a report by World Oil, in 2018, the US witnessed 12% increase in its drilling activities from 2017 levels, while the world drilling activities rose by just 4.6% in the same year. The primary factor attributable to this remarkable rise is the discovery of shale gas in the US and Canada. The US and Canadian governments are formulating favorable policies which will put the region at the forefront in the global hydrocarbon scenario. Projections based on the current state of US shale oil production show that in the next decade, the US will become a net exporter of oil. Thus, the OCTG market outlook appears promising. The above information is shared by Fortune Business Insights in its new report, titled Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Process (Seamless and Welded), By Product (Well Casing, Production Tubing, Drill Pipe, and Others), By Application (Onshore and Offshore) Regional Forecast, 2019-2026. The report states that the value of this market stood at USD 17.92 billion in 2018. Additionally, the report provides: Detailed analysis of the factors driving the share, size, and revenue of the market; In-depth evaluation of the major challenges to the market growth; Careful segmentation of the market by process, product, application, and geography; and Meticulous research into the competitive landscape of the market. To gain more insights into the market with detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/oil-country-tubular-goods-market-101396 Steadfast Pace of Drilling Operations Worldwide to Favor the Market One of the leading oil country tubular goods market trends is the sustained pace at which drilling activities are being carried out across the globe. Steady population growth, especially in developing countries, has inflated the demand for energy and power globally. In response, governments and private entities across the globe are adopting measures and strategies to meet this demand and are therefore doubling down their investment in E&P ventures. Hydrocarbon reserves-deficient countries such as India are exploring new avenues to increase their oil and gas production and bring down their oil import bills. As a result, many emerging economies are looking for opportunities to enlarge their portion in the OCTG market share. North America to Occupy a Commanding Position; Latin America to Present High Potential The OCTG market size in North America was at USD 7.72 billion in 2018 and is likely to increase, aiding the regions dominance on the oil country tubular gas market share in the coming decade. This will be mainly a result of favorable government policies for oil and gas E&P activities, presence of major companies, and discovery of shale gas in the region. Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico are heavily investing in their respective energy sectors and rising exploration activities in the region have yielded promising results. In Europe, a well-established hydrocarbon industry in the UK and Norway will primarily drive the market, while huge oil reserves will augur well for the market in the Middle East and Africa. Request a Sample Copy: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/oil-country-tubular-goods-market-101396 Novel Product Offerings by Players to Stimulate Competition According to the OCTG market analysis, key competitors in this market are increasing their R&D expenditure to bring out innovative products and services for customers. Through these efforts, companies are aiming to strengthen their position in the oil country tubular goods market in the forecast period. Industry Developments: August 2019: A consortium comprising of Vallourec, Tenaris, and Marubeni Corporation was awarded a multi-billion-dollar casing and tubing contract by ANDOC. The contract will empower ANDOC with greater flexibility to meet the needs of its customers worldwide. June 2019: Romanian OCTG giant, TMK, signed a strategic agreement with Novatek, Russias second largest natural gas producer. Under the agreement, TMK will supply Novatek premium casing and tubing pipe products, in line with the formula-based pricing and supply mechanism chalked out in the agreement. List of Key Players Profiled in the Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) Market Report: EVRAZ North America SB International, Inc. ArcelorMittal Weatherford Sumitomo Corporation United States Steel Corporation TMK ILJIN Steel Co., Ltd. Tenergy Equipment & Service Ltd. Schlumberger JFE Steel Corporation National Oilwell Varco Vallourec Tenaris Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/oil-country-tubular-goods-market-101396 Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Emerging Trends For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis Global Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Process Seamless Welded Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Well Casing Production Tubing Drill Pipe Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Onshore Offshore Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Continued!!! Request for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/oil-country-tubular-goods-market-101396 (Have a Look at Reports Trending in Energy & Power Industry) Browse Related Reports: Well Intervention Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Type (Light Intervention, Medium Intervention, Heavy Intervention), Service (Logging & Bottom Hole Survey, Tubing/Packer Failure & Repair, Stimulation, Remedial Cementing, Zonal Isolation, Sand Control, Artificial Lift, Fishing, RE-Perforation), Application (Onshore, Offshore) and Geography Forecast till 2026 Well Testing Services Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis By Service (Real Time Testing, Downhole Testing, Reservoir Sampling, Surface Well Testing), By Application (Onshore, Offshore) and Regional Forecast 2019-2026 Artificial Lift System Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis By Type (Electric Submersible Pump (ESP), Sucker Rod Pump (SRP), Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP), Gas Lift, Others), By Application (Onshore, Offshore) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Oilfield Service Market Size, Share and Global Trend by Service (Seismic Service, Drilling Service, Completion & Workover Service Production Service, Processing & Separation Service, Others), By Application (Onshore, Offshore), and Geography Forecast till 2026 Wireline Services Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Type (Electric line, Slick line), By Well Type (OpenHole, CasedHole), By Application (Wireline Logging, Wireline Intervention, Wireline Completion), By Location (Onshore, Offshore), and Geography Forecast till 2026 Directional Drilling Services Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis by Location (Onshore, Offshore), By Type (Conventional, Rotary Steerable Systems (RSS)), By Service (Measurement While Drilling (MWD), Logging While Drilling (LWD), Rotary Steerable Systems (RSS), Mud Motors, Others) and Geography Forecast, 2019 - 2026 Aviation Fuel Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis By Fuel (Jet Fuel (Aviation Turbine Fuel), Avgas, Bio Jet Fuel), By End User (Commercial, Private, Military) And Regional Forecast 2019-2026 Hydraulic Fracturing Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Well Type (Horizontal, and Vertical), By Technology (Plug & Perf, and Sliding Sleeve), and By Application (Onshore, and Offshore), Regional Forecast, 2019-2026. Digital Oilfield Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Process (Production Optimization, Reservoir Optimization, Drilling Optimization, Others), By Solution (Services, Software, Hardware), By Application (Onshore, Offshore), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Well Cementing Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Primary Cementing and Remedial Cementing), By Application (Onshore and Offshore), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 About us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. 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Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Fortune Business Insights LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs Press Release- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/oil-country-tubular-goods-octg-market-9496 A growing number of brands are deciding they no longer need Amazon. Earlier this week, Ikea became the latest brand to cut ties with Amazon when it said it would not to continue a pilot program that began in 2018. The Swedish retailer joined the likes of Nike, Birkenstock and PopSockets, which decided selling on Amazon wasn't worth the hassle, and opted to pull out instead. The moves have sparked fears that Amazon will soon see more big brands flee the site. Even if brands end their relationship with Amazon, shoppers can still purchase their products on the site via third-party sellers. And unless companies can develop an e-commerce strategy to compete with Amazon's customer-obsessed mindset, experts say ditching Amazon has the potential to backfire. Amazon continues to dominate online shopping. It controls 38% of the e-commerce market in the U.S., far ahead of rivals like eBay and Walmart, which only claim single-digit percentages, according to eMarketer. Brands that attempt to replicate the services they lost by ditching Amazon may find it impossible. Amazon's logistics and shipping operations, site traffic and mountains of shopper data are hard to match, even if you're a well-known brand like Ikea. And yet, that hasn't stopped Ikea from venturing out on its own. Ikea told CNBC in a statement that it's moving away from Amazon as the company is "keen on exploring new areas" to reach consumers. "Ikea worked on a pilot project with Amazon in the U.S. for Smart Lighting in 2018. The project was a trial and after it ended, it did not go live," the company said. "We will continue to dialogue with different partners to test new ways to meet our customers now and in the future, whenever and wherever they want." Several days after this article was published, an Ikea spokesperson shared a new statement with CNBC, noting that the company continues to work with Amazon on smart home projects: "We are curious and keen on exploring new areas to get insights on how to reach and serve more of the many people," the new statement said. "Ikea explored the possibilities to launch a pilot with Amazon in the U.S. but cancelled the project before the launch. Approximately 30 products were in the scope of the project and the plan was to run the pilot for a limited time. The project was cancelled as Ikea was not ready for [third-party] retail testing at that time. Amazon and IKEA are collaborating in the area of the smart home and will continue to work closely together on assuring compatibility within our product range." Among the strategies it has considered are developing its own marketplace that would function similar to Amazon's, according to the Financial Times. Ikea declined to comment on its plans to launch an online platform. Amazon's marketplace is the company's not-so-secret weapon that prevents it from relying on brands to fill the site with products. Even if a first-party vendor decides to leave the site, their product is probably still available on Amazon, by way of a third-party merchant, said James Thomson, a former Amazon manager and now partner at brand consultancy Buy Box Experts. For example, a quick scan of Ikea products available on Amazon shows that there are often several third-party sellers for a single listing that offer the item at a similar price to the brand and with Prime shipping. For many Amazon shoppers, that's likely a good enough reason not to look elsewhere. "To say the brand has won by walking away, they haven't won at all," Thomson said. "Amazon has a massive security blanket called the third-party marketplace. Those products sell at huge volumes, they're Prime eligible and most customers don't know any better." To be sure, Amazon's marketplace is not without its problems. The marketplace, which now accounts for more than half of Amazon's overall sales, has also been proven to host counterfeit, unsafe and even expired goods. Amazon's marketplace features items from millions of third-party sellers, many of which are sold at prices that undercut industry standards and end up squeezing brands' profit margins. An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that the company has a zero tolerance policy for counterfeits and "invests heavily" to make sure its policies around counterfeits are followed. That aggressive pricing atmosphere was part of PopSockets' decision to stop selling directly to Amazon in 2018, along with Amazon's move to exert greater control over how brands sell their goods on the platform, according to Recode. PopSockets, which sells grips that attach to the back of cellphones, still has some products available on the site, the Amazon spokesperson said. The marketplace was also the primary reason why Birkenstock left Amazon in 2016, followed by Nike last November. Birkenstock said at the time that Amazon had become overrun by counterfeits and unauthorized sellers, which it felt had the potential to "jeopardize" the brand. Nike initially agreed to sell on the site under the premise that Amazon would crack down on counterfeits and third-party distributors. When that didn't happen, Nike decided to cut ties. As a result of how the marketplace works, brands are no longer just Amazon's selling partners. They're often competing against third parties and even Amazon itself. Amazon has greatly expanded its private-label business, which includes products developed by Amazon or by third parties who exclusively sell the items on the site. It's also widely believed that Amazon uses data from its marketplace to develop private-label brands. Amazon's aggressive private-label strategy was thrust front and center last year, when Allbirds called out Amazon for selling a nearly identical version of its $95 wool sneakers for half the price. While Allbirds never sold its shoes on Amazon, the move was viewed by the company as a clear attempt to "siphon off demand" from its product. The Amazon spokesperson told CNBC its wool sneakers don't infringe on Allbirds' design. "This aesthetic isn't limited to Allbirds, and similar products are also offered by several other brands," the spokesperson said. Justin Leigh, CEO of e-commerce advisory firm Ideoclick, said his company has worked with brands that have left Amazon. For some brands, the "frustration built to the point that they walked away without a strategy beyond just not doing business with [Amazon] anymore." Leigh said a brand like Ikea might find some success off of Amazon because there are "still things Amazon doesn't do well and big, bulky items are one of them." The site doesn't lend itself particularly well to furniture shopping, since it's hard to manage shipping, damages and returns on furniture, he added. There are other retail areas that aren't fulfilled by Amazon or the marketplace. Some luxury fashion companies, such as LVMH, which has brands like Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, don't sell on the site. Amazon has realized it has to court high-fashion brands if it wants to feature those products on the platform, Thomson said, since there are few opportunities for third-party sellers to buy those items at a deep discount and resell them on the site. Ultimately, if Amazon continues to clash with brands, more of them are likely to leave. But the exodus is also likely to be a slow drip rather than a flood. Bigger brands may take advantage of their consumer loyalty to move away from Amazon, but smaller businesses, as well as legacy brands that can't compete with Amazon's aggressive promotions and logistics network, are likely to remain for the time being. US secretary discusses Iran tension with Iraqi PM US to do 'whatever it takes' to protect American, Iraqi people, defend its collective interests, says US secretary of state. Pompeo reiterated the US' condemnation of the Iranian regime's launch of ballistic missiles early Wednesday into two sites in Iraq that host Iraqi, American, and coalition forces working together to defeat Daesh/ISIS, said State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus in a statement on Thursday. "US WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT IRAQI PEOPLE" "The Secretary underscored that, as President Trump has said, the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests," she added. Pompeo also said on Twitter that he spoke with with Abdel-Mahdi "on Irans attack against Iraqi sovereignty." Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on Tuesday launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at targets in Iraq where the US forces are stationed. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo briefs reporters at the White House (Evan Vucci/AP) The US has promised appropriate action in response to its assessment that an Iranian missile was responsible for downing a Ukrainian airliner that crashed outside Tehran. The Iranian government has denied playing a role in the killing of all 176 people on board. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo became the highest-level US official to directly pin the blame on Iran, after Canadian, Australian and British leaders announced similar intelligence conclusions on Thursday. We do believe it is likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile, he said. Mr Pompeo said an investigation would continue into the incident and that once it was complete he was confident that we and the world will take appropriate action as a response. Leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile. Earlier, Iran denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed the airliner that crashed early on Wednesday, hours after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American air strike last week. What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Irans national aviation department, told a press conference. If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world in accordance with international standards, he added. Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings. The ballistic missile attack on the bases in Iraq caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully, though Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete. If the US or Canada were to present incontrovertible evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran, even if unintentionally, it could have a dramatic impact on public opinion in Iran. The Iranian public had rallied around the leadership after the killing of Gen Soleimani last Friday, with hundreds of thousands joining the generals funeral processions in several cities, in an unprecedented display of grief and unity. But sentiments in Iran are still raw over the governments crackdown on large-scale protests late last year sparked by an economic crisis exacerbated by US sanctions. Several hundred protesters were reported to have been killed in the clampdown. Those fissures could quickly break open again if Iranian authorities are seen to be responsible for the deaths of 176 people, mainly Iranians or dual Iranian-Canadian citizens. Iran still points to the accidental downing of an Iranian passenger jet by US forces in 1988 which killed all 290 people aboard as proof of American hostility. US, Canadian and British officials said on Thursday it is highly likely that Iran shot down the Boeing 737, which crashed near Tehran. US officials said the airliner might have been mistakenly identified as a threat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said we have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. Expand Close Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, he said. The US officials did not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by a Russian Tor system, known to Nato as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence. Western countries may hesitate to share information on such a strike because it comes from highly classified sources. Videos verified by the Associated Press appear to show the final seconds of the ill-fated airliner, which had just taken off from Iran. In one video, a fast-moving light can be seen through the trees as someone films from the ground. The light appears to be the burning plane, which plummets to the earth as a huge fireball illuminates the landscape. Someone off-camera says in Farsi: The plane has caught fire. In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. God, please help us. Call the fire department! Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the missile theory is not ruled out, but it has not been confirmed yet. In a Facebook post, he reiterated his call on all international partners the US, Britain and Canada in particular to share data and evidence relevant to the crash. He also announced plans to discuss the investigation with Mr Pompeo. Ukraines foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko tweeted that he and the president met US embassy officials on Friday and obtained important data about the crash. The minister did not specify what kind of data it was, but said it would be processed by our specialists. In an interview with Fox Newss Laura Ingraham that aired late on Thursday, Mr Pompeo said commercial airliners need to know if it is safe to fly into and out of Tehran. If the international community needs to shut down that airport, so be it, he said. We need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly. Germanys Lufthansa airline said it and subsidiaries are cancelling flights to and from Tehran for the next 10 days as a precautionary measure, citing the unclear security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport. Other airlines have been making changes to avoid Iranian airspace. Britains Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Iran, and against all air travel to, from or within the country. U.S. Senator Tom Cotton has now proposed a bill that could ultimately extend existing blocks against Huawei to other countries on a global scale. While Huawei isnt specifically addressed in the bill, it does indicate new rules for sharing intelligence with other countries. The key point in question is that it seeks to force agencies to consider the operator or supplier of key infrastructure in a region before sharing intelligence. The bill more directly requires consideration of whether or not the equipment originates in China or Russia. That places Huawei squarely in the crosshairs. While the company is among the most prominent suppliers of 5G technology, its also definitively based in China. So, if the bill passes into law, any country using Huawei technology may suffer consequences for that. Namely, US intelligence agencies may no longer be able to freely enter into agreements to cooperate on intelligence sharing initiatives. Advertisement A bid to blacklist Huawei globally via new laws Tension over Huawei is ongoing and has been squarely in the spotlight since late 2018. In early 2019, the US government placed the company on an Entity List that made it more difficult for US companies to interact with it. Instead of free interactions, a special license is now required. Huawei has denied allegations that it was spying for the Chinese government, which led to its blacklisting. The tech giant has claimed that the Trump administration seeks to use it as a bargaining chip in trade relations. Thats since become a widely-held viewpoint among experts in the industry, although Huawei hasnt been altogether without blame. The UK also sought to ban Huawei equipment, despite its position as a global leader on that front. But it has been reconsidering that decision in a push to get 5G to its citizens more quickly. This bill, if passed, could put that in jeopardy. Advertisement Thats not the only area where Huawei has seen support either. As recently as December, US-based Qualcomm reached out in defense of the Chinese tech giant. According to the US chipmaker, Huawei is a vital part of the 5G evolution and cooperation is needed. Thats not only because Huawei is a world leader either, but because global standards need to be established for the technology to reach its potential. Without Huawei taking part, those global standards are all but out of reach, according to Qualcomm. Will this bill actually pass through into law? Prior to the introduction of the bill, there has been relatively strong support for keeping Huawei equipment out of the US but that doesnt mean there will be for keeping Huawei out of other countries. With long-standing allies strongly considering using Huawei equipment, such a law might place serious strain on international relations. Advertisement Not only isnt the UK the only country that has considered utilizing Huawei equipment. But the bill could put more strain on the already tedious trade negotiations with China. That will undoubtedly give at least a handful of lawmakers pause when it comes to deciding whether or not to pass the bill. More than 20 years after it premiered, the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer continues to thrill audiences. Old fans remember the Buffyverse fondly, while new iterations of her story pull in fans from younger generations. Two writers who know this landscape well are Kiersten White and Carolyn Nowak. Both of their Buffyverse novels--White's young adult Chosen (Simon Pulse, $18.99) and Nowak's middle-grade graphic novel Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Cursed Coven (Little, Brown, $13.99)--are on sale now. Here, they discuss their love for the Chosen One herself and the challenges of writing in the Buffyverse. Kiersten White: First of all, please tell me your Buffy origin story. When did you discover Buffy? Carolyn Nowak: I'm honestly not sure! I had never really been interested in Buffy because I knew it was about this very feminine person who was "also" tough. As a kid I was neither of those things and resented girls who were! Really not sure when I let myself succumb, but... I was like, hey, this is also sorta gay, isn't it! So I stuck around. What about you--any absolute favorite episodes of Buffy? White: An impossible question! But I might say "Buffy vs. Dracula" for the sheer joyful camp of it. Along those lines, why do you think Buffy has stayed so present in pop culture, far more so than most similarly popular series that aired at the same time? Nowak: Because it's delicious. It has fun with itself. I don't think Joss Whedon's quippy dialogue style belongs in most places, actually, but it works so well with the deadpan dealings of teenage vampire slaying. White: You made some really thoughtful and interesting narrative choices. First and foremost, you took Buffy out of California and sent her to... Cleveland. Why did you decide to shift the narrative? (And how much do I love you for presenting the alternate reality where Buffy becomes the Cleveland Heckmouth Slayer instead of the Sunnydale one?) Nowak: I think the purpose of sending Buffy to Cleveland was to freshen things up. Maybe it's what gave us an excuse to mess with the recognized premise of Buffy and send her to middle school. It was my editor's choice. There's apparently a throwaway line in the show about there being a "heck"mouth in Cleveland. More than anything else I did with these books, I am proud of the Watcher swap. We were never going to have Giles--that would complicate our fresh new reality--and I suggested a woman. I love Giles, but I always found his presence dissatisfying. Please, if I am remembered for anything, let it be Winnifred Sparks, my self-insert. My obviously gay, big-hipped, Volvo-driving, novelty-tie-wearing watcher. Let that be my contribution. Now the main character in Slayer attends an academy for the supernaturally gifted. Did the Harry Potter series loom large while you were writing about it? If not, what special challenges did this concept present to you? White: While I share most Americans' fascination with boarding schools--and my initial concept was much heavier on the boarding school aspect of it--I didn't actually think about Harry Potter at all. My biggest challenge was working with the events of the Buffyverse timeline. I would have loved to write when the Watcher society was at full strength, exploring what the dynamics and politics of the group would have been. But since they were unceremoniously blown up during season seven, I couldn't exactly do that. So the challenge was giving a sense of society that was ancient and steeped in tradition, but didn't really exist anymore. Back to Heckmouths: because Buffy was always a more mature property, I was really curious to see how you aged the narrative down. How did you navigate adapting the material for a younger audience without losing that special Buffy spark? Nowak: Hm! Many of the choices were made by my editor, who, I think, had some of these solutions in mind for the initial pitch. I struggled a bit with the content--Buffy is so essentially about navigating adolescence! But that's the key: it had to be about those more basic puzzles you're presented with as a preteen. White: I also love your Scooby gang. What inspired Sarafina and Alvaro? Nowak: Alvaro's a werewolf so I figured he'd have to be laid back. There's so much out of his control. And Sarafina has magical powers, and besides that she's good at school, so she's really cocky. It was like some kind of flowchart instantly showed itself after I read the names. Aw... I love those kids!! On that note, I can feel the affection you have for your characters: Nina, Artemis, Rhys, Leo. Where did their idiosyncrasies come from? Do you have a favorite among them? White: I have four siblings myself, so sibling dynamics always fascinate me. A lot of the push and pull between Nina and Artemis is informed by having sisters close in age. This was a large cast to work with, and I tried to make certain that everyone served both a narrative function and also a personal function in how they related to and affected Nina. Cillian and Rhys were so much fun to write and I loved getting to show a happy relationship in the Buffyverse. Let's talk about format. Your book was such an intriguing combination of traditional graphic novel mixed with longer text passages from Buffy's journal. What were the particular challenges of deciding which sequences to illustrate and which to write out? Nowak: The challenges are particular but not all that interesting to describe! Mostly I struggled to avoid redundancies. I think certain things naturally lend themselves to being described in a diary and certain things need to be shown--like, a big battle with a crazy tentacle monster, etc. People get upset if they can't see the tentacles. Okay, lightning round. Pick one: doomed romance or happily ever after? White: Can I cheat and say doomed romance that leads to happily ever after? I do love the drama and delicious pain of a doomed romance, but I also adore a happily ever after. It was fun to get to have the high drama of Leo and Nina alongside the steady, sweet happiness of Cillian and Rhys. I think stable relationships are really underutilized in genre! By Trend Assistant to the President, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev gave an interview to French Radio Courtoisie, Trend reports on Jan. 9. Hajiyev spoke about comprehensive reforms under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the work carried out in the direction of economic development, and further improvement of the judicial system and public administration. The head of the department also told about the historical roots of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the process of negotiations between the two countries, Armenias destructive position and the fact that Armenia undermines the negotiation process by making contradictory statements. Hajiyev emphasized Azerbaijans fair position and stressed that the country intends to resolve the conflict peacefully. The head of the department said that it is necessary to call a spade a spade. The fact of the occupation is obvious, Hajiyev said. More than a million Azerbaijanis have been expelled from their houses and live as refugees and internally displaced persons. These people have the right to live on their lands and use their property. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the world community must strengthen their political and diplomatic influence and demand Armenia to withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the head of the department said. The historical borders of the countries cannot be changed by force in the 21st century. The head of the department also touched upon Azerbaijans foreign policy. While talking about the country's bilateral relations with France, Hajiyev emphasized Azerbaijani First Vice President Mehriban Aliyevas key role in, and invaluable contribution to, the development of these relations. Hajiyev stressed that there is great potential for strengthening the cooperation. The head of the department also noted Azerbaijans role in ensuring Europes energy security and gave information about TANAP and TAP projects. During the live interview, Hajiyev answered the audiences questions. CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To me, driving is freedom. On Jan. 6, 2000, a racing accident left IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt paralyzed from the shoulders down. Twenty years later, Schmidt is driving again at speeds up to 192 mph. To help Schmidt reclaim his independence and drive again, engineers at Arrow Electronics modified a Chevrolet Corvette to create a smart, connected vehicle that he can operate safely and independently. Known as the Arrow SAM Car SAM stands for semi-autonomous mobility Schmidt controls the Corvette on the racetrack or city streets using head controls and voice commands. Sensors on an Arrow-designed headset that Schmidt wears connect to infrared cameras mounted on the dashboard and detect his head motions to steer. A sip-and-puff device enables him to accelerate and brake using his breath. This technology has created a freedom that I never thought I would feel, Schmidt said. Absolutely anything's possible. This project proved that to me. Recently, Schmidt approached the 20th anniversary of his racing accident by tracing the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail, a route connecting historic landmarks in Boston. The objective of Arrows SAM Car project is to enable drivers with physical disabilities to experience the mobility and independence of driving again by leveraging the power of technology. The software and technology that Arrow developed for the car is open to the developer and engineering communities, and it has promising broader applications for independent living. For the past two years, Arrow has collaborated with Schmidts nonprofit Conquer Paralysis Now and his DRIVEN NeuroRecovery Center. Now, people disabled by military combat, spinal cord injuries, illness and aging are able to experience similar freedom in the Arrow SAM Car on closed courses. In October 2019, eight disabled drivers got behind the wheel of the SAM Car at the Drive to Conquer Paralysis fundraiser in Las Vegas. The drivers, clients of the neurorecovery center, used the head controls to drive at SpeedVegas, a 1.5 mile racetrack in Las Vegas. The event also provided an opportunity for guests to ride in the SAM car with Schmidt. Schmidt first drove the Arrow SAM Car in demonstration laps on the iconic oval track at the 2014 Indy 500. In the subsequent five and one-half years, Schmidt has driven the SAM car on several road course tracks and the 12-mile summit road at the 2016 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. He has been driving on public streets with a unique quadriplegic drivers license since late 2016, thanks to a collaboration between Arrow and Schmidts home state of Nevada. For more information on the project, visit arrow.com/SAM/ or keep up with SAM project developments on Twitter by following #ArrowDriven. Arrow Electronics Arrow Electronics guides innovation forward for over 200,000 leading technology manufacturers and service providers. With 2018 sales of $30 billion, Arrow develops technology solutions that improve business and daily life. Learn more at FiveYearsOut.com. Contacts John Hourigan jhourigan@arrow.com A Chinese satellite orbiting Earth's moon has been snapping some amazing images from the lunar far side, otherwise known as the "dark side of the moon." Longjiang-2, also known as DSLWP-B, is one of two microsatellites China launched to the moon last year to prepare for the arrival of its Chang'e 4 lander-rover combo mission, which touched down on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3. Its sister satellite, Longjiang-1, failed to achieve orbit, whereas Longjiang-2 has been successfully orbiting and observing the moon since May 2018. A new photo captured by Longjiang-2 on Monday (Feb. 4) reveals the so-called "dark side of the moon" basking in sunlight as Earth photobombs the moon in the background. The term "dark side" is really a misnomer for the moon's far side just because we can't see the far side from Earth, doesn't mean that the sun never shines there. Longjiang-2 captured this photo during the new moon, when the Earth-facing side of the moon was completely dark and the far side was entirely illuminated instead. [Watch the Longjiang-2 video of Earth from the Moon's Far Side!] Earth photobombs the far side of the moon in this color-corrected photo taken by China's Longjiang-2 microsatellite on Feb. 4, 2019, at 10:20 a.m. EST (1520 GMT). MingChuan Wei/Harbin Institute of Technology/CAMRAS/DK5LA Longjiang-2 beams photos of the moon back to Earth via the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory in the Netherlands, where astronomers have volunteered to help China's space agency receive the images using the observatory's super-sensitive radio antenna. Among other instruments, the microsatellite contains a tiny radio transmitter with a webcam the size of a smartphone camera, Tammo Jan Dijkema, an engineer with the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, explained in an interview with the Dutch news network RTV. The camera was built by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China. This is what Longjiang-2's image of the lunar far side looks like without color correction. The photo "has a purple haze to it due to the difficult photo environment in space," Tammo Jan Dijkema, an engineer with the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, told Space.com. MingChuan Wei/Harbin Institute of Technology/CAMRAS/DK5LA The little webcam is limited to a resolution of 640x480 pixels, so the images are "not very clear," Dijkema told RTV, "but we're doing our best with the constraints that we have to take the most beautiful photos possible." (Dijkema's remarks have been translated from the Dutch language.) Story continues Given the camera's the low resolution, Longjiang-2 has provided some impressively detailed images of the lunar surface. "The far side of the moon has many more visible craters than the side of the moon that we can see from Earth," Dijkema wrote in a blog post about the latest image. An annotated image from China's Longjiang-2 microsatellite shows the names of the craters on the far side of the moon. MingChuan Wei/Harbin Institute of Technology/Tammo Jan Dijkema/CAMRAS/DK5LA You can see more photos from Longjiang-2 and learn more about the Dwingeloo telescope via the observatory's blog at camras.nl. Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com. Editor's Recommendations Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 23:37:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The local communities residing along the Ethio-Djibouti electrified railway have been urged to collaborate with relevant bodies and play active role in the efforts made to ensure the safety and security of the Chinese-built standard gauge, which connects landlocked Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa with ports in Djibouti. The call was made on Friday during the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway Safety Day marked on the premises of the Dire Dawa rail station in Dire Dawa town, about 452-km east of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Constructed by the two Chinese companies, namely, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Rail Engineering Corporation (CREC), the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway project commenced operation about two years ago, and has been providing fast and comfortable passengers and cargo services. The railway has mainly garnered the praise for its contribution in the transportation of the much-needed imported agricultural inputs to the East African country. Reiterating that the project is backbone of Ethiopia's import and export, speakers on the occasion have underlined the need to forge strong collaboration, particularly with the local communities to address safety and security issues and ensure the smooth operation of the railway. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway Safety Day was organized to, primarily, create and raise awareness among the residents along the railway lines about the safety and security on the project towards ensuring safe, effective and efficient operation of the railway. The Director General of Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (EDR), Tilahun Sarka, said safety is the most important part of the three key issues of the railway project, including safety, power supply and operation. Recalling that it connects key economic corridors of Ethiopia to Djibouti port, traversing important towns, the Director General said such event of the day plays vital role in propagating the awareness issues to different parts of the line. "Addis Ababa-Djibouti is a 751-km line between Djibouti and Ethiopia, and almost three-fourth of the line lies in the Ethiopian territory. And safety is the most important part of this railway. If the line is safe, the train can go. What are the safety threats? Number one is, we have many level-crossing whereby people and animal, they are just crossing the railway line unintentionally; so, this has to be protected; number two, there are sometimes also theft; some infrastructures are stolen by illegal people, and this is also another safety threat. The third one is animals are crossing, so they are colliding with the train; these all what I mentioned are controllable with the real participation of the community," he said. Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian reiterated the role the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway plays in boosting investment, industrialization, and infrastructure, while indicating that nine of Ethiopia's 15 industrial parks, including Dire Dawa Industrial Park, are located along the railway. "And 95 percent of Ethiopia's trade, import and export goes through Djibouti port. So, this rail will help to turn the land-locked to land-linked. The smooth running or the management of the railway, I think, the first issue is the safety. There are some kinds of risks, or incidences like the crossing after railway, causing damage against the railway, I mean the cattle, the sheep are crossing, and also this kind of security, human security; and I believe that we need a support of the local community to ensure safety," the ambassador has noted. Reiterating that the railway has garnered praise for its contribution in the transportation of people and goods between Ethiopia and Djibouti, the ambassador expressed China's planned support by providing some facilities and equipment for the railway to assist Ethiopia to fully tap the potential of the project. Ahmed Mohammed Bouh, the Mayor of Dire Dawa, said the railway creates tremendous opportunities for Dire Dawa as well as the nearby villages and woredas (districts), while playing a vital role with the industrial parks and the whole economic sector of the region, by directly connecting them to the port. "This train is very important for our life as Dire Dawa life always depends on the railway. So, people have to keep the train safe and look after it as their own because this is our train, connecting Addis Ababa through Dire Dawa to Djibouti. So, everybody is responsible in keeping our train, so that the people can transport their goods and their own self," the mayor has noted. Guo Chongfeng, Executive Director and General Manager of CCECC Ethiopia, the railway spurs economic growth and improves people's life by helping people's travel, transporting goods, cities' development, and creating employment opportunities for the local people. Stating that a railway is well operated only when the safety is guaranteed, Guo said that "our Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway needs the support from all of us, especially the communities along the rail line, to better serve the country's economy." He has called for joint efforts of all stakeholders to make the railway safer, more efficient, and better positioned to serve the Ethiopian economy and people. The aunt of a 29-year-old Omaha Native woman whose body was found in a field on her reservation this week said Ashlea Aldrichs gruesome death demonstrates the need for swift and aggressive action by tribal leaders to combat domestic violence. Renee Sans Souci, a 57-year-old Omaha poet, activist and mother, said Aldrich and her family had expressed concerns about domestic violence to Omaha tribal leaders before her death. But tribal leaders failed to take meaningful action on those concerns, she said. This is one of the most heartbreaking issues to come to our people, she said. It speaks volumes about the current situation my tribe is facing when it deals with domestic violence. Tribal and federal authorities are investigating Aldrichs death. Ashlea Aldrich is seen in a photo on social media. According to news reports, the mother of two was found in a field on the Omaha Tribes reservation in northeast Nebraska earlier this week. In a post on social media, the victim's mother blamed the death on domestic violence, an act committed by someone known to the family and to local law enforcement. "He beat my daughter and left her in a field!! ... dead!" Tillie Aldrich wrote on Tuesday. Her heartbreaking post contains photos of the site where Ashlea's body was found. In a Wednesday post on Facebook, Alyssa Aldrich described finding her sisters lifeless and naked body in a field near a creek. She said she laid her coat over her sisters body and began calling for help. My heart is broken for her beautiful baby boys! She loved them and would do anything for them! Alyssa Aldrich wrote. I want Justice for Ashlea. Women on the reservation held a candlelight vigil in memory of Aldrich on Tuesday night. Another vigil was held in Lincoln on Wednesday night. And another vigil is planned for Saturday night at the Lincoln Indian Center Colette Yellow Robe, chairwoman of the Native American Womens Nebraska Task Force , said Aldrichs death raises serious concerns about how tribal officials are addressing domestic violence situations and missing persons. She said she also fears tribal departments, including police and courts, are failing to communicate with each other about domestic violence cases. And she worries too much focus has been placed on blaming victims of domestic violence, rather than holding accountable the perpetrators of that violence. This sounds like a history of victim blaming, which in 2020 is absolutely unacceptable, she said. She said Omaha tribal leaders should consider overhauling their domestic violence policies and seeking funding for domestic violence programs and womens shelters. I believe its going to have to start with the tribal leadership making a statement and making a stand, she said. The Omaha Tribe discussed the tragedy in a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday. A statement was also issued to the media by the tribal council. "The Omaha Tribe has suffered a tragic loss on the Omaha Reservation. We are so saddened to hear the passing of Ashlea Aldrich, an Omaha Tribal member and previous employee of Omaha Tribe," the statement read. "Ashlea was so sweet and kind, and always had a warm, welcoming attitude. On behalf of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, we are sending our greatest sympathies and condolences to the family of Ashlea, and all affected by her passing." "At this time, there is no further comment from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, because of the ongoing investigation," the council said. "We are working diligently to see that crisis counseling is available for our community." Yellow Robe said she hopes the tribes response to the incident wont become muddled by political concerns. Ashlea Aldrichs death shouldnt be treated as anything other than an act of pure evil and any response to it should be framed as such, Yellow Robe said. She was beaten, tortured, stripped naked, humiliated and died, she said. You just cant fathom it. Its demonic. Its evil. Today, we filled with grief as a community. When our community hurts, we all hurt. May Wakonda give strength in this... Posted by Omaha Tribe of Nebraska on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 Sans Souci said she first learned of her nieces death Tuesday evening after seeing social media posts about a young womans body being found on the Omaha reservation. After contacting her brother, she learned the victim was their niece. She said she didnt know Ashlea Aldrich very well, as Sans Souci has lived away from her reservation for many years and doesnt know very well many of the younger members of her extended family. But she said her niece was beloved by her family and her loss will be felt for many years to come. This has got to be the most horrible feeling a parent could experience, Sans Souci said. She said Aldrichs funeral is planned for Saturday in Macy, Nebraska. Jasmine Harden carries a sacred staff as part of a run from Winnebago to Lincoln, Nebraska, that was held two years ago in January 2018 to raise awareness about the crsisi of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Photo by Kevin Abourezk In Nebraska, state leaders took steps last year to address the spate of missing and murdered indigenous women affecting their state and country. The states Legislature passed a bill that requires the Nebraska State Patrol to study ways to improve the gathering of data related to missing Native women in Nebraska and a legislative task force was established to ensure the bill is implemented properly. Rallies, conferences and new funding for domestic violence programs to tribes, including funds for the Ponca and Winnebago tribes, have also provided hope that meaningful steps are being taken to reduce the number of Native women who are murdered or disappear each year, Sans Souci said. Were considered an invisible people, she said. Its not so. Were strong. Were resilient. Were still here. She said it will be vital for Native people to take an honest look at how they treat domestic violence victims. Theyre punishing us, especially the females, she said. If youre treated like that, youre not going to share anything else that happened. As a sexual assault survivor herself, Sans Souci said she can still feel her male relatives hands holding her wrists as he attempted to assault her. She was only 12 years old when it happened and she was able to fight him off, but to this day, she gets defensive when anybody walks up behind her unnoticed. She said Native men need to begin to address their own addictions and behaviors. We want our men to take responsibility for their healing, to heal and then step up, she said. Join the Conversation Related Stories Rishikesh Dewerkar, arrested by Karnataka SIT in the journalist Gauri Lankesh murder, was living in central Maharashtra's Aurangabad city until 2016 and sold Patanjali products, the people who knew him said here on Friday. The Special Investigation Team of Karnataka arrested him from Katras town near Dhanbad in Jharkhand on Thursday. In Aurangabad, Dewerkar sold Patanjali products from a shop he had rented in M2 area here from local resident Jagdish Kulkarni. According to Kulkarni, he ran the shop from 2014 to 2016. "He paid rent on time. Beyond that we had no interaction," he said. In 2016, he shifted to a house owned by Yeshwant Shukla in the same area. "The longest meeting I had with him was when he came to fianalise agreement for the house in February 2016," Shukla told PTI, describing him as taciturn. "He said he wanted a house on the ground floor as his parents were old. He himself stayed there for only one and a half months," Shukla said. "He then shifted to Solapur and his parents continued to live in the house till April 2019. He used to visit them for a day or a night. His parents did stitching work. Last year they shifted to Mumbai where their other son lives," he added. "Dewerkar's involvement in the Gauri Lankesh case is a shock to all of us," Shukla added. Dewerkar is the 17th accused to be arrested in the Lankesh murder case. Lankesh, a firebrand journalist and writer, was shot dead in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017. An official of the SIT said Dewerkar was suspected to be part of the conspiracy to kill Lankesh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three employees were sickened by a cleaning chemical at an Amazon warehouse in New Hampshire, fire officials said Thursday. Firefighters in Nashua responded at about 4 a.m. for a report of a chemical reaction that happened while a crew was mixing chemicals, Deputy Fire Chief Karl Gerhard told WMUR-TV. The major symptoms we saw were respiratory related, scratchiness coughing related issues so that what we were primarily concerned about, Gerhard said. Gerhard said, there was possibly an unknown chemical in the bucket already that they were putting the chemicals in, and that caused the reaction. The building was evacuated and the employees were taken to a hospital. Two were treated and released. A fire department report said after the building had been ventilated, crews monitored the building using air and chemical metering devices and found no abnormal readings. OSHA and the state fire marshals office were notified. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Numbers Amazon Chemicals The BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said on January 10 that the country's economy was in "dire times", and "tax terrorism" should be ended to encourage investors. He also said that every university should have police personnel on the campus, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is in news for a recent incident of violence, should be "closed for two years". "The economy is in dire times, everything is going downwards, if the trend continues banks will close down, NBFCs will close down and (it will) lead to disaster," Swamy said, speaking to reporters here. He was speaking on the sidelines of a programme at Indus University. "The measures that can be taken are...first Income Tax needs to be abolished. The tax terrorism in our country needs to be reined in so that people start investing and do not fear taxman," he said. "The problem we are facing at present is lack of demand, we have good supply. So the government needs to print notes and put it in the hands of people to boost demand. Government needs to build roads, big six-lane, eight-lane roads," he added. Asked about the recent violence at JNU in Delhi, Swamy said for the safety of students, every university should have police presence on the campus as in the United States. "In universities like JNU we should have not only police but CRPF and BSF too," he said. JNU should be closed for two years and its "good students" should be shifted to other universities like Delhi University, the MP, known for making controversial statements, added. SOFIA -- Bulgarian authorities have detained the countrys minister of environment and water for 24 hours in relation to a criminal investigation over water shortages in and around the western town of Pernik that have led to anti-government protests. Prosecutors did not say on what grounds Neno Dimov was detained on January 9 after being questioned. The minister told reporters he would cooperate with the investigation as he was entering a police van. Last month, prosecutor Krasimira Mincheva said that, with his inaction, Dimov "did not take sufficient care of property management," which she said resulted in "damage to human health." Anger in Pernik, a town of more than 70,000 located less than 40 kilometers west of Sofia, has been growing since November 18 when municipal authorities implemented water restrictions due to lack of supply from the Studena Dam. Initially, water was made available for 10 hours a day, but lately residents have had access to water for only seven hours a day. The restrictions, applied to another town and six nearby villages, were scheduled to stay in effect no more than five months. The rationing has led to protests and calls for the government to resign, amid allegations of mismanagement and malfeasance by local officials from the supply company and municipal administration. The Prosecutor's Office said that Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev visited Pernik on January 9 to coordinate actions in its investigation. "Evidence is being collected of crimes committed by officials that led to water supply problems in Pernik," it said in a statement. On January 7, Mayor Stanislav Vladimirov announced he was cancelling a popular annual folk festival, scheduled to take place later this month, for the first time since 1966. Risks to human health and the spread of diseases due to the water shortages were cited for the cancellation. The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party said it would on January 20 file a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Boyko Borrisovs government over its environmental and water policies. Since the government can secure a parliamentary majority with the support of a small populist party, the motion is unlikely to pass. With reporting by The Sofia Globe and Reuters President of Abkhazia Raul Khajimba is currently in a meeting with members of the opposition in Sokhumi, reports TASS. The talks have begun, secretary of the Public Palace of Abkhazia Daniil Ubiria reported. Moreover, Ubiria specified which of the members of the opposition are attending the meeting. Earlier, Ubiria had reported that an agreement had been reached on the meeting of the President and the opposition. A political crisis began in Abkhazia last week when demonstrators demanded the Presidents resignation near the building of the Presidents administration and invaded the building. The President convened a session of the Security Council and didnt rule out the declaration of martial law. During a special session, the Parliament of Abkhazia accepted the application for the Presidents resignation. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's determined bid for UK's divorce from the European Union got a major boost when the government's Brexit Bill comfortably cleared the House of Commons, signalling that the country would quit the economic bloc on January 31. The Commons voted 330 to 231 on Thursday in favour of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill and it will now pass to the House of Lords for further scrutiny on Monday. The Brexit Bill passed its third reading in the Commons with a majority of 99 for Prime Minister Johnson, who had won a landslide election last month with a promise to leave the 28-member economic bloc by the latest end-January deadline. It marks a historic moment for the bill which has been repeatedly defeated in Parliament in its various forms in the past, creating parliamentary gridlock over Brexit. The bill will now go to the House of Lords on Monday for voting before royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II to become law. The bill covers "divorce" payments to the EU, citizens' rights, customs arrangements for Northern Ireland and the planned 11-month transition period. "It is my sincere hope that their lordships will now give due regard to the clear majorities we have seen during the committee stage and establish their endorsement of this bill in a similar, timely, fashion," said UK Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay after the Commons vote. "This bill will secure our departure from the European union with a deal that gives certainty to businesses, protects the rights of our citizens and ensures that we regain control of our money, our borders, our laws and our trade policy," he said. It took only three days for the bill to pass the remaining stages in the House of Commons, after lawmakers gave their initial approval to the legislation before the Christmas recess. Theresa May - Johnson's predecessor - repeatedly failed to get her Brexit agreement approved by the lawmakers, which led to her resignation as prime minister last year. The latest vote gives approval to the 11-month transition period after January 31, in which the UK will cease to be an EU member but will continue to follow its rules and contribute to its budget, the BBC reported. The purpose of the transition period is to give time for the UK and EU to negotiate their future relationship, including a trade deal, it said. Meanwhile, Johnson kick-started the process for achieving a new trade agreement with the EU when he met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Downing Street on Wednesday evening. He wants to strike a Canada-style free trade agreement (FTA) with the bloc post Brexit. However, Von der Leyen, who took over from Jean Claude Juncker last year, has warned that it would not be possible to sort out every aspect of Britain's future relationship with the EU before the December 31, 2020 transition period deadline. In a statement released after the first face-to-face meeting between Johnson and the new EU President, 10 Downing Street said the discussions had been "positive". "The PM (Johnson) was clear that the UK would not extend the Implementation Period beyond December 31, 2020 and that any future partnership must not involve any kind of alignment or ECJ (European Court of Justice) jurisdiction, the statement noted. "The PM said the UK was ready to start negotiations on the future partnership and Canada-style FTA as soon as possible after January 31," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seth Hettena It would be a terrible precedent for Bulgaria if journalists can be charged with crimes for writing stories that people dont like., said to Frog News US journalist and writer Seth Heteena. The Bulgarian prosecutor's office has received a claim against him. The author of the accusation against Hettena is Krassimir Ivanjsky, bulgarian and the owner of Strictly Secret website. , . , . Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have announced they will step back from senior roles in the royal family - a move that raises questions about how they will earn an income, who will pay for their security, and what their new positions will involve. Exactly how they will combine private work and royal duties remains unclear. The couple in an initial statement said they hoped to become financially independent and set up a new charity, while continuing some royal duties. WHO PAYS? Harry and Meghan said in a question-and-answer section of their new website that they are seeking financial independence from the monarchys funding, known as the Sovereign Grant. This is a government hand-out that covers the running costs of the royal household and travel expenses. The couple said the grant was equivalent to 5% of their income towards running their official office. They did not say if they will give up the remaining 95 percent which comes from Prince Charless centuries-old private estate. By foregoing money from the taxpayer, the couple indicated they will seek some form of private income. They value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing, the statement said. For this reason they have made the choice to become members of the Royal Family with financial independence. WHERE WILL THEY LIVE? They said they now plan to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America. They will continue to base themselves at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of the queens Windsor Castle when in the United Kingdom. The property was recently renovated at a cost of 2.4 million pounds ($3.13 million) by taxpayers. Meghan was born in Los Angeles and she grew up in Hollywood. Harry and Meghan spent the last six weeks of 2019 in Canada and their first official appearance of 2020 was a trip to Canada House in London, home of Canadas diplomatic mission to Britain. WHO PAYS FOR SECURITY? The couple made clear that they expected the government to continue to finance their security costs as mandated by the Home Office, which is responsible for the security of the royal family. The cost of the security is never made public, but it is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. HOW WILL THEY EARN MONEY? The couples new website Sussex Royal does not outline how they intend to fund themselves in future. Some of the Queens other grandchildren work, including Prince Andrews daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, who work in business and the arts. Last year, it was reported that Harry would be executive producer of a documentary on mental health with U.S. television mogul Oprah Winfrey for Apples video streaming service. Royal biographer Penny Junor suggested Meghan, who starred in TV legal drama Suits, might revive her acting career, given the demand and fees she could command. Six months ago Harry and Meghan applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office to trademark the phrases Sussex Royal and Sussex Royal Foundation for use on books, stationery, clothing such as pyjamas and socks, charity campaigns and the provision of training, sport and social care. WHAT ABOUT THE MEDIA? The couple announced they are to radically change media access to their official engagements, and will no longer participate in the traditional royal rota system, which is an agreement providing access for royal correspondents. The royal rota system allows access to their engagements by accredited correspondents, who pool photographs and video, to ensure minimum interference with the engagement itself. Now the couple said their intention is to speak directly to the public through social media, and they would deny automatic access to some royal correspondents. This means that they could be the target of more paparazzi photographers, who will no longer worry about losing access to official events if they are already excluded. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEIR TITLES? The couple made no mention of giving up their royal titles. Instead, they stated on their website that other royal family members retain their titles while earning an income. There is precedent for this structure and it applies to other current members of the Royal Family who support the monarch and also have full time jobs external to their commitment to the monarchy, the statement said. Chandigarh, Jan 10 : Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists led by party MP Bhagwant Mann were on Friday stopped from heading towards Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's official residence here by the police who used water cannons to disperse them. The AAP activists were protesting against the Congress government's recent decision to hike electricity rates by 2.14 per cent. The protesters, including Punjab AAP unit chief Mann and party legislators Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Baljinder Kaur, were adamant to meet the Chief Minister to submit a memorandum against the hike. Chandigarh Police had already barricaded the road leading to the Chief Minister's residence by deploying a huge force. When the protesters started marching towards the CM's residence, they were stopped by the police. The police resorted to the use of water cannons as protesters holding placards were trying to cross the barricades. They were lathi charged the protesters to disperse them. A majority of party leaders, including Mann, were taken into preventive custody. Mann said that consumers in the state were forced to pay between Rs 9 and Rs 12 a unit for domestic power, which was much higher compared to other states. "Punjab is producing its own electricity but selling it to the consumers at an expensive rate, while the Kejriwal government in Delhi, which is not producing even a single unit of power on its own, is providing the cheapest electricity to the people there," Mann said. The AAP had submitted memorandums to the government seeking scrapping of power purchase agreements signed with private thermal plants by the previous SAD-BJP government in the state. On Wednesday, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had dared the Chief Minister to cancel the power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private plants. "Punjab and the interests of Punjabis are paramount to SAD. In case there is anything wrong in the PPAs, they should be cancelled. In fact, it's strange why this was not done since three years," Sukhbir had told the media here. "The entire PPA and how it was drafted under the leadership of Manmohan Singh should be probed," he had said. Sukhbir Badal had also demanded an independent probe into the Rs 1,400 crore undue benefit given to private thermal plant managements. An Indonesian air force pilot prepares for taking off in an F-16 at air base in Pekanbaru, Riau on Jan. 7, 2020. Indonesia has deployed fighter jets and warships to patrol islands near the disputed South China Sea, the military said on Jan. 8, escalating tensions with Beijing after a diplomatic spat over "trespassing" Chinese vessels. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Indonesia Mobilizes Its Own Little Blue Men as Stand-Off Continues With China Over Disputed Waters News Analysis Indonesia is retaliating against Chinas use of tens of thousands of Little Blue Men to harass South China Sea traffic by enlisting its own fishing fleet as a maritime militia. Jakarta lodged an official diplomatic protest to Beijing on Dec. 30 in response to three China Coast Guard and approximately 63 fishing vessels entering Indonesias 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Indonesias waters include the 272 islands of the Natuna archipelago that lie in the strategic confluence of the South China Sea to the north and northeast, Karimata Strait to the southeast, and Strait of Singapore to the west. The China Coast Guard vessels were pursued out of the area by Indonesian Navy corvettes, but the fishing armada have remained on the fringes of Indonesian waters in what has developed into a protracted stand-off over Chinas 2009 declaration to the United Nations for historic maritime rights to a U-shaped nine-dash line extending about 1,200 miles south of its mainland. Chinas claims encompass 90 percent of the South China Sea and would take away huge swaths of Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei EEZ territorial waters. China has organized its civilian fishermen into militarized maritime militias, commonly known as Little Blue Men. Although the UN denied its nine-dash line declaration in 2016, China has used swarms of Little Blue Men to take over and militarize artificial islands in the Spratly Islands and other South and East China Sea locations. With the worlds largest fishing fleet comprised of over 220,000 motorized vessels and 2,500 boats capable of traveling to distant waters, one of the first military initiatives by Chinese leader Xi Jinping was making a historic visit in 2013 to Hainan Provinces Tanmen Maritime Militia to reinforce the patriot role of all maritime workers. Over the next year, Tanmen was supplied with military communications equipment. In addition, 32 days of conventional training, 18 days of intensified training, and 9 live-fire training sessions were held. The structure was extended to the 3.7 million workers in Chinas fishing collectives that were organized into militia units and trained to assist the navy, coast guard, and other maritime law enforcement agency to protect Chinas maritime interests. The Little Blue Men are structured into two major subcomponents: ordinary reserves of registered males, similar to the U.S. Selective Service pool; and primary forces that can quickly mobilize to respond to various contingencies. The ordinary forces serve in large battalion formations, while primary forces serve in small specialized tactical units that receive dedicated resources, troops demobilized from active duty, and training. The sheer numbers and complex integration of Little Blue Men has frustrated other nations efforts to protect their territorial waters. China parked an oil rig near the Paracel Islands and illegally started drilling. The incident sparked deadly riots in Vietnam, but the ship continued drilling for 135 days. Last March, a Chinese fishing boat rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat operating in established territorial waters. Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the Natuna Islands on Jan. 8 in response to rising tensions. Once called the Barack Obama of Indonesia for efforts to avoid taking sides in Sino-U.S. tensions, Widodo appointed anti-Chinese former general Prabowo Subianto as Defense Minister after his reelection in April. Indonesia in September participated in the historic first joint-naval exercises with the United States and the 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Gulf of Thailand. Given the military challenge to respond to Chinas hybrid warfare use of Little Blue Men, Indonesias chief security minister Mahfud MD, told reporters on Jan. 8 that around 120 fishermen from the island of Java would be sent 600 miles north to the Natuna Islands as the equivalent of Indonesias Little Blue Men. President Widodo told reporters shortly thereafter: There is no negotiation when it comes to our sovereignty. The nearly two-year episode is a lesson in the limits of zero-sum theories of conflict, which holds that one adversary's loss is invariably the other's gain. In this case, an accounting of the major gains and losses on each side, compiled below, suggests that at nearly every turn, escalations by the US and Iran have ultimately left each side worse off. The struggle for the Middle East Much of the conflict has played out amid US efforts to curtail Iran's use of proxy forces and to turn back the country's growing regional influence. Concrete American gains in this area are difficult to identify. US actions have not yet altered Iran's use of proxy forces or persuaded it to step back from the wider region. Rather, Iranian proxy activity has increased. The threats may have hardened Tehran's belief that its fight with the US is existential, compelling it to fight all the harder. And despite the staggering significance of Washington's decision to kill General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top military leader, this has yet to demonstrably change Iranian behaviour or the regional power balance. "Assassinations on their own do not remove long-term strategic and political threats or dilemmas," Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli analyst, wrote in a policy brief for the Century Foundation, a think tank. "There is no substitute for a political solution," she said. Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani. Credit:AP American losses in the region, on the other hand, have been clearer. Killing Soleimani on Iraqi soil led Iraq's parliament to pass a bill demanding that US troops leave the country. While it remains unclear whether the Americans will ultimately leave, Washington's relationship with the country seems grievously damaged. The turmoil has also left US-led efforts against the Islamic State militant group in doubt. And Persian Gulf allies such as Saudi Arabia, apparently fearful of being pulled into a wider conflict, have sought to de-escalate with Tehran. This has left the US with fewer partners in isolating Iranian influence. Iranian gains in the region, however likely, remain mostly theoretical. Tehran could ultimately fill the void left by any US withdrawal or diplomatic rift between Washington and Baghdad, but that has not yet happened. Iranians took to the streets to mourn general Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran's elite Quds force. Credit:AP Street-level Iraqi anger at Iranian influence was already high before the recent weeks of conflict. And Iran's retaliation for the killing of Soleimani firing missiles at military bases in Iraq that housed US soldiers was hardly a show of respect for Iraqi sovereignty. Soleimani's death led to an outpouring of nationalist sentiment within Iran. Still, with Iran's economy in shambles, this will probably prove temporary, Kaye said. "The domestic pressures and potential for unrest remain," she said. Iranian losses centre on the death of Soleimani, who was a major figure in Iran's campaigns to reshape Middle Eastern conflicts and politics in its favour. While his killing "will certainly damage some of his key projects," Scheindlin wrote, there is little reason to believe that Iran will change its behaviour. The country's vast military and intelligence services are considered too large and sophisticated for one person's death to bring drastic policy change. All told, the broad contours of Middle Eastern power politics appear to be holding. The US and Iran have both been somewhat weakened, and neither has come obviously nearer to its major goals. The nuclear issue Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord on claims contradicted by international inspectors and by his own military and intelligence leaders that Iran was seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon. He pledged to stop this and to impose tighter restrictions than those in the initial agreement. Since then, Iran's focus has been on reinstating the economic and diplomatic relief that the 2015 agreement was supposed to offer. American gains on the nuclear issue have not yet materialised. Iran remains no closer to submitting to nuclear restrictions beyond those in the 2015 accord. But American losses have been growing. Iran has at times responded to US escalations by announcing it will no longer comply with certain nuclear restrictions. While Iran has so far taken few actual steps toward greater nuclear development, it will face weaker limitations should it ever choose to do so. The heavy water nuclear facility near Arak, 250 kilometres south-west of Tehran. Credit:ISNA via AP The international coalition that negotiated the agreement with Iran, and was meant to police it, has fragmented, leaving Washington to seek and enforce a new status quo all on its own something that took the combined work of the world's major powers last time around. And Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord could leave Tehran and other US adversaries sceptical of making nuclear concessions in the future. "It's just not clear what credibility the US has to make a nonproliferation agreement with an enemy anymore," said Elizabeth Saunders, a Georgetown University political scientist. "Would anyone ever enter a deal like the Iran deal with us ever again?" Loading Still, Iranian gains are more modest than they might seem. It's true that Iran has exploited international outrage at US brinkmanship to withdraw from some nuclear restrictions without provoking a crisis. But Tehran's statements and actions strongly suggest that its primary goal is not acquiring a nuclear weapon but rather reinstating the economic and diplomatic benefits afforded by the deal. While Iran may have hoped that turning up the pressure would push the international community to bring this about, it has not come any obviously closer to that goal. Iranian losses appear larger. Its economy has suffered under sanctions, exacerbating domestic unrest. And Iranian threats and proxy attacks have alienated it from the European powers it had hoped might pressure the Americans to back down. A French-led effort last fall to hand Iran $15 billion in credit, in exchange for the country returning to the terms of the nuclear agreement, collapsed under US opposition. Loading "I'm not sure how much international sympathy it really has," Kaye said of Iran, "though the US has alienated a lot of international partners too, so that may be a wash." Both the US and Iran are left, as a result, much further from the aspects of the 2015 nuclear agreement that appealed to each of them. Instead, they are barrelling towards a scenario that would combine each side's worst nightmares: severe sanctions and international isolation for Iran, but weak or nonexistent restraints on its nuclear program. That risk underscores that months of conflict have, across every major issue, raised the stakes for both sides, all while making it harder for either to back down. The morning after dozens of people spoke out against converting Jersey Citys elected school board into an appointed body, Mayor Steve Fulop said the potential change would only be temporary. By a 7-1-1 vote, the City Council approved a resolution Wednesday night to add a public question to the November ballot that will ask voters whether the board should continue to be elected by the public or be appointed by the mayor with council approval. If the measure passes, Fulop said Thursday his plan is to work with the council to set clear criteria for the appointed board and establish a timeline for when the city will return to an elected board. He did not say how long an appointed board would remain in place. My goal is to solely fix the school crises, Fulop said. We are not looking to do this indefinitely. We are looking to fix it. Fulop maintains that an appointed board would clear up controversy that the elected board stirred up in the past year, including a projected $150 million shortfall in next years school budget and federal and state charges filed against former Board President Sudhan Thomas. Council President Joyce Watterman said Thursday that the mayor will be able to appoint the board for four years. She said it will have to be voted on again to keep it an appointed board. If people like it, then it could stay. If not, then it can go right back, Watterman said Thursday. If the people want an elected body, it will go back to the original intent. During Wednesdays council meeting, over 75 speakers were set to talk during the public comment portion, including current Board President Lorenzo Richardson. Most spoke out against the resolution, with some calling it a power grab by the mayor. I dont believe that is representative of the entire city, Fulop argued. All that we did yesterday [Wednesday] was give people the choice on who they want to hold accountable. Fulop said special interest groups, such as real estate developers and the citys teachers union, the Jersey City Education Association, are afraid of giving residents that choice. He said citizens could conclude that special interests like the status quo of dysfunction. JCEA President Ronald Greco, who at one point was removed from council chambers by police when he spoke out without the councils permission, said Wednesdays vote was a sad evening in the history of Jersey City. He said Fulop squashed democracy. Greco said he believes the Fulop administration has a problem with black people. He said no one wants to give current Superintendent Franklin Walker, who is African-American, a chance. The Fulop administration dont want to deal with an intelligent and articulate black man that is not going to bow down and kiss Steve Fulops ring, Greco said, adding he has no regrets about his behavior during the Wednesday meeting. This is a hot topic here in Jersey City. Im passionate about education. In a normal scenario, these suggestions make sense. But, the state of Indian banking sector is far from normal. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has her tasks cut for the Indian banking sector in the Union Budget 2020. The Budget is an opportunity for the finance minister to address some of the long-pending critical issues, beginning with addressing the massive capital requirement for the banks. These entities, hit by massive provisioning requirement for bad loans in the aftermath of the clean-up exercise, will require a substantial amount of fresh capital infusion to generate growth capital to resume lending to productive sectors once demand picks up, analysts said. There is not enough credit demand at the moment. But, that may not be the case next year when growth begins to picks up. Banks need to be funded well to resume lending to industries, said an analyst with a leading brokerage in Mumbai. Capital infusion Since coming to power in 2014, the Narendra Modi-government has pumped in around Rs 2.8 lakh crore in the state-run banks. This fiscal year, the government infused close to Rs 70,000 crore capital in the public sector banks (PSBs). But, that was inadequate considering the fact that the banks required a substantial chunk of money to clean up their bad loans besides meeting their Basel-III requirements. Recently, news agency PTI had reported that the government was unlikely to announce capital infusion for the PSBs in the upcoming Budget. Instead, the government wants banks to expedite recovery of bad loans and raise funds from the market. Besides, the government also wants banks to sell their non-core assets and generate money. In a normal scenario, these suggestions make sense. But, the state of Indian banking sector is far from normal. There wont be too many takers for stare-run banks in the market, except for the likes of State Bank of India (SBI). The gross non-performing asset (NPA) levels of the banks have slightly eased from the peak levels but still constitute about 9.3 percent of the total loans. A report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report recently said that the gross NPA levels could touch 9.9 percent by September this year. In simple words, this means that the banks will require more capital this year to make provisions. The Budget needs to address this part. Privatisation, not merger The Modi-government has been averse to the idea of privatising state-run banks. Instead, it has only resorted to merging smaller and weaker banks with bigger ones. But experts have long argued that merger of weak banks will not solve the problem of governance issues and lack of autonomy. Besides, merging a weak bank with a strong bank could even impact the health of the big bank. The only major bank acquisition that happened in the recent past is the LIC-IDBI Bank deal. But, this cannot be termed as a case of privatisation since the LIC is a government-owned entity. In a highly competitive market scenario, a fiscally constrained government cannot continue with the ownership of state-run banks. It will have to look at options to gradually cede ownership control in some of the PSBs. Sitharaman could use her Budget speech to lay out a roadmap for the privatisation of the PSBs. Better risk management The government should also look at the loopholes in the risk-management systems in the PSBs. The state-run banks continue to have weak risk management tools and are exposed to frauds. A series of frauds at banks like Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank have shaken the confidence of customers in the banking institutions. The RBI has initiated steps to ringfence banking system from fraudsters such as revising the rules for co-operative banks. But, the government will have to bring in legislation to overhaul the governance structure of the co-operative banking sector more effectively. It should also take steps to significantly increase the limit of deposit insurance scheme, which is just Rs 1 lakh per depositor at the moment. In the event of a bank failure, this will prove to be severely inadequate. The insurance cover needs to be upped to give protection to all depositors. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2020-21 here Fire crews at the scene at Envy nightclub in Derry last night Police are investigating a major fire which tore through Envy nightclub in Londonderry. Police closed two main roads into the city centre after the fire broke out at the nightclub shortly before 7pm on Thursday. The club is situated directly opposite Strand Road PSNI station and was closed at the time of the fire. The public were advised to continue to avoid the area on Friday morning. Detective Sergeant Gavin McLaughlin said: "Fire Service personnel and police officers have been in attendance throughout the night and remain at the scene this morning. "Enquiries are currently ongoing to determine the cause of the fire and members of the public are reminded to avoid the area and to allow extra time for their journeys due to ongoing police diversions." Four Northern Ireland Fire Service pumps and two aerial appliances were sent to the scene. Police on the scene of the major Derry fire say that the roof of the Envy nightclub which is well ablaze contains asbestos. Loud bangs can be heard as the fire takes hold pic.twitter.com/Vc63aUYxCH Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) January 9, 2020 Nearby buildings, including the North West Regional College, were evacuated as firefighters dealt with the fire, which saw thick black smoke bellow out across the River Foyle. Rosemary Boyle said that she noticed smoke coming from the rear of the premises and called the emergency services. I was walking home down the Strand Road and I heard what sounded like fireworks coming from inside Envy nightclub. There was constant popping and I looked up at the back of the building and could see smoke. There was no one else around except another woman who said she knew the owner of the buildin, she said. She rang him and I rang the fire brigade. All the while the sound of fireworks was getting worse. I was standing there looking up at it as the fire started to catch the roof. The fire brigade came quickly and we were evacuated. Sinead Harkin, who works in a Mr Chippy fast food takeaway next door to the nightclub, said she was in shock looking at the ferocity of the fire. I looked out and saw what I thought was fog in the street, she said. I went to the door and saw loads of smoke and fire engines coming down the street. I didnt actually realise how bad it was until I went out onto the street. I ran back into the shop and turned the gas and electric off in the shop, and then the police came in and told us to get out quickly. I am just in shock. Anyone with information on the fire has been asked to contact police on 101. The U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani has once again escalated tensions between Washington and Teheran, and further exacerbated the turbulence in the Middle East. It is believed that by carrying out the strike, the U.S. is able to not only contain Iran's "regional expansion", but also exert pressure on other foreign "enemies". In a word, only a Middle East that is in chaos and controllable conforms to the private interests of Uncle Sam. Obviously, the U.S. airstrike in Iraq seriously violated international law, and it's impossible that Washington was not aware of the consequences - widespread condemnation from the international community. However, the U.S. still launched the airstrike and killed Soleimani. Why? One thing is for sure: the U.S. wants to contain Iran's strategic rise in the Middle East. The influence of Iran in the region has continued to grow in the past two decades, and obviously this situation has threatened the interests of the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East. In typical U.S. logic, the death of the military commander will curb Iran's "regional expansion". In addition, the death of Soleimani also serves as a deterrent for other opponents and rivals. The security measures taken for the Iranian general must have been extremely tight, but the U.S. was still able to hunt him down - a capability that demonstrates the threat to other "enemies" of the U.S. Such a barbarian and lawless approach has rarely happened in the history of international relations, which demonstrates the U.S. mentality of by hook or by crook". In the long run, the U.S. still needs a chaotic Middle East where no regional country is allowed to play a dominant role. The chaos in the region will spur U.S. arms sales to the Middle East. Though many countries seek to buy U.S. weapons, not many are as rich as the Middle Easts oil producers. Once the regional conflicts in the Middle East cease, the U.S. will lose its market there, an outcome that U.S. arms producers are reluctant to see. The post-World War II history proves that all regional leaders that were ambitious enough to seek hegemony in the Middle East have ended up becoming the targets and even enemies of the U.S., as the latter believes they were uncontrollable and did not conform to the interests of the U.S. Brian Hager was searching for a Tennessee Titans fan group in town and could not find a group, so took the opportunity to start one - Chattanooga Titans Fans. The group started with four people and has grown to 89 members and adding more each day. Organizers have hosted Titans watch parties all season and the last one at Parkway Pourhouse had more than 30 fans show up. This Saturday should be the largest yet with the Titans playing the Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. More information is available on the Facebook event: AFC Divisional: Titans vs. Ravens Watch Party page. India plans to double crude oil imports from the US as part of its effort to reduce dependance on the volatile West Asia region, three officials with direct knowledge of the matter said. Oil purchases from the US, which started in 2017-18, have already crossed about 6 million tonnes a year. India is also keen on long-term oil supply contracts with Russia and oil producing countries in Africa, the officials said on condition of anonymity. We can easily double our crude oil imports from the US to 12 million tonnes. We are in talks with the US government and private oil firms as petroleum is an unregulated business in that country. We expect good rates and better terms from American firms that would compensate for our transportation costs. In return, we can offer them an assured market, one of the three officials said. India is heavily dependant on oil imports from West Asia. Its top three suppliers in 2018-19 are from the area: Iraq, with about 46.6 million tonnes (MT) in 2018-19, is the number one supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia (40.3 MT) and the UAE (17.5 MT). Kuwait supplied 10.8 MT. Together, these countries supplied about 51% of the total of 226.5 MT of oil worth $111.9 billion or Rs 7.83 lakh crore that India imported in 2018-19, they said. According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the data-keeper of the oil ministry, Indias crude oil import dependency on the basis of consumption was 83.8% in 2018-19.Put otherwise, 8.38 of every 10 litres of crude consumed in the country was imported. Officials said the diversification of Indias crude basket is necessary because unlike other importers, it neither has its own resources nor has bought significant oil and gas assets abroad. India is the third-largest consumer of oil after the US and China. Indias efforts in recent years have resulted in diversification of energy sources with the focus on secure, stable and predictable supplies, a third official said, also on condition of anonymity. Efforts have also been made to change the energy mix, with a push for including more renewable sources, he added. Besides increasing oil and gas purchases from the US to diversify imports, there have also been shifts among traditional sources, especially in the case of supplies from Venezuela and Iran because of US sanctions and other domestic factors, the officials said. Importance is being given to Russia as an energy source, especially after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin at Vladivostok last September, the third official said. The two also signed a road map for cooperation in hydrocarbons for 2019-24. A joint statement issued after the meeting welcomed the success in cooperation between Russias JSC Rosneft Oil Company and the Indian consortium of state-owned oil and gas firms. Modi and Putin said they would forge cooperation in joint development of oil and gas fields in Russia and India, including offshore fields, and develop ways to deliver energy resources from Russia to India, including a long-term agreement for sourcing Russian crude. Our key interest is securing long-term supplies though there could be spot (purchases) in the European markets. We are also helping Indian oil companies to acquire stakes in offshore operations, the third official said. Work is also being done with players such as Saudi Aramco to create strategic reserves. The US dependence on West Asian countries for energy needs is negligible due its huge domestic reserves, and China has significantly diversified its sourcing in terms of domestic reserves and equity oil abroad. A report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), titled In-depth Review of Indias Energy Policies that was launched by petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday, said: The rate of growth of Indias oil consumption is expected to surpass that of...China in the mid-2020s... As proven oil reserves are limited compared with domestic needs, Indias import dependency (above 80% in 2018) is going to increase significantly. We are meeting in the backdrop of rising tensions in West Asia and its impact on stability and security in the region, Pradhan said. Experts said India has almost stopped importing Iranian crude due to the US pressure, even as the country had been a reliable supplier of the best quality of crude at cheapest rate under most favourable terms and conditions. We, therefore, need its replacement, said an energy analyst who asked not to be named. India imported little over 27 MT Iranian crude in 2016-17. Former chairman & managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), RS Sharma said diversification of crude oil import is crucial to Indias energy security. We are already importing from countries like Nigeria, Angola, USA and Venezuela. Russia could be an important supplier depending on resolution of transportation issues. But, at the same time, we cannot wish away the West Asian countries because they supply us cheapest crude. Transportation is also cost effective, he said. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday reached Varanasi to meet those who were arrested during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Priyanka Gandhi is expected to meet around 59 people, including social activists and students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who were jailed for anti-CAA protest at Benia area of Varanasi on December 19 last year. They were recently released on bail. The Congress leaders first stop in the temple town was Sant Ravidas temple at Rajghat, where she offered prayers and met the trustees. She then took a boat to Panchganga Ghat where she will meet the people who agitated against the amended citizenship act. Among the people she will meet will be 18-month old Champaks social activist parents Ekta Shekhar and Ravi Shekhar at Rajghat, sources in the party said, adding that she would also address them. Several students, Gandhians, Ambedkarwadis, and social activists were protesting peacefully against the CAA in Varanasi recently. Police has sent them all to jail. A one-year child is alone at home. Such harsh punishment for peaceful protest! This behaviour of the government has gone beyond limits, Priyanka Gandhi had tweeted on December 24 in Hindi, criticising the Uttar Pradesh governments crackdown on anti-CAA protests. The Congress leader will also meet the family of eight-year-old Mohammad Sageer, who succumbed to the injuries he received in a stampede after police baton-charged the anti-CAA protesters in Bajadiha area on December 20 last year. She has been meeting the families of those injured, killed or arrested during the violent protests against the act across the northern state. More than 20 people were killed and hundreds injured in Uttar Pradesh as police and protesters clashed last month after the situation spiralled out of control in several areas in the state. She will also hold a meeting with the party workers to draw a strategy further expansion of the Congress across eastern UP. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Not long after the Arctic sun set for the final time last year, a ferocious storm descended on the isolated, icebound crew of the research vessel Polarstern. The polar night filled with the gunshot cracks of fracturing ice and the howls of 60-mph winds. The ship heaved, power cables snapped and a 100-foot meteorology tower toppled. A tremendous fissure opened in the floe to which the Polarstern was fixed, exposing the ocean waves. Researchers scrambled onto the ice to retrieve and restore their instruments. Hundreds of miles from the nearest source of help, the scientists were both unnerved and utterly exhilarated. This was exactly the sort of drama they were seeking when they set out to document climate change at the top of the world. The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), which began in late September, is the biggest Arctic research expedition in history. A rotating cast of more than 300 researchers will spend a year stuck in the sea ice aboard the Polarstern, moving only at the speed of the ice's natural drift. Their goal is to understand the complex and rapidly changing Arctic system before it collapses. What they discover could help forecast the future of the entire globe. Participants in the first leg of the voyage recently returned to land , bringing backstories of bears, brittle ice and a polar landscape that was even more unstable than anticipated. In some of their first interviews since leaving the ship, they said they were stunned and occasionally stymied by the very melting they hope to understand. "The Arctic is the epicenter of global warming," said Markus Rex, an atmospheric scientist at Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute and leader of the 17-nation, $134 million expedition. "We have had to constantly adapt to the changing ice environment, and we will continue to do so. But it is hard to predict what is going to happen next." For millennia, the constant cap of ice that covers the North Pole has provided vital protection for the planet. Sea ice reflects at least two-thirds of light back into the atmosphere, whereas open ocean absorbs almost all of the sun's heat. But the sea ice is shrinking. The amount of ice in summertime - when its reflective powers are most vital - is about 3 million square miles smaller than it was in 1980. At the current rate of decline, year-round ice could vanish in a couple of decades, destabilizing global weather patterns and accelerating the pace of warming. As they intentionally drift with the ice pack across the North Pole, MOSAiC researchers are racing against that rapid change to better understand the workings of the frozen Arctic - before it is gone. "We are teetering on the edge of feasibility," said Matthew Shupe, an atmospheric scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and co-coordinator for the MOSAiC expedition. Shupe, who two weeks ago returned to land - and cellphone reception - after a 2.5-month stint aboard the Polarstern, said the start of the expedition was characterized by constant struggle with fragile and easily fractured sea ice. New cracks and fissures form in the ice daily, throwing the carefully-coordinated camp into disarray. These conditions are manageable - for now. But in the Arctic of the near future, when ice is even scarcer, "this kind of project . . . setting up a ice camp for a whole year, is not going to be possible," Shupe said. MOSAiC began after a summer of record-breaking heat in the Arctic; about 800,000 square miles more open water was exposed in the middle of September than is typical for that time of year. Even Shupe, a veteran of polar expeditions, said he was surprised by the scarcity of older, thicker ice. The crew of the Polarstern struggled for weeks to find a floe to support their drift expedition, which depends on wedging the ship into ice that will last long enough to carry it across the North Pole. Finally, on a frozen mass riddled with dark melt pools, satellite images revealed a patch of thick white ice. The MOSAiC team named this stable area "the Fortress" and began to establish camp. The square-mile floe "is not perfect," said Rex, who spoke to The Washington Post in December over a feeble phone connection from the bridge of the Polarstern. "It is thin and keeps breaking, like all the other floes here in the new Arctic." One day in October, while working to set up a meteorology tower near the ship, Shupe and his colleagues heard a "grumble" from below. The scientists looked at each other, then at the ice, where a narrow, dark crack was racing toward the horizon. A shiver of awed recognition went through the group, as they felt the environment change beneath their feet. "It is so cool to be embedded right in the middle of this new Arctic state," Shupe said. "That's exactly why we want to be here." But the moving ice pulls on power cables and crushes sensors. Shoveled pathways to various research stations are frequently rerouted to circumvent weak spots in the floe. Once, researchers had to kayak across a 150-foot-wide expanse of open water when a crack separated them from their instruments. Detailed observations with a fleet of high-tech instruments have revealed subtler changes to the ice. Though heat energy typically moves from the relatively warm ocean to the frigid air during the winter months, instruments showed energy going in both directions. "We don't know yet what it means," Shupe said. "And boy, I have no idea what's going to happen next." The unpredictability of the system makes it difficult to predict the fate of MOSAiC as it drifts with the ice pack across the North Pole. Melinda Webster, a sea ice geophysicist at the University of Alaska, will be heading to the Polarstern in June, when pools of turquoise meltwater make Swiss cheese out of the disintegrating ice. "By the time I leave the Polarstern in mid-August," she said, "there is a possibility that the ice at the MOSAiC site could be completely melted." The instability of the ice compounds the hazards that have always been a part of Arctic expeditions. There are polar bears that must be warded off by armed guards who patrol the camp's perimeter. Curious bears can also imperil experiments; Shupe suspects one was responsible for yanking and chewing on the cables of an atmospheric flux station, damaging the instruments. Then there is the cold, bitter and unrelenting. With the onset of the six-month polar night, temperatures are well below zero degrees, and wind chill can make it feel like minus-50. Scientists' exhalations condense in their face masks, then freeze, forming ice crystals that irritate the skin. Frostbite is a constant threat. But the splendid desolation of the polar landscape compensates for its challenges, Shupe said. Just two days after he had returned home to Colorado, he found himself reliving "magical moments" from the voyage: the way swirls of blowing snow were illuminated by the ship's floodlights; clambering over car-sized blocks of ice so compressed they gleamed blue; and the sheets of ice that sloshed atop the surging waves in an almost psychedelic display. "I tried to capture these moments, to memorize them," he said. "These are experiences you can only find in the Arctic." It is not clear how much longer they will last. According to most journalists, Hollywood, and other Democrats, the only thing a terrorist-sponsoring country like Iran must do to keep terrorists from being targeted is to give them a big title and put them on their payroll. Somehow, that makes the world safer than killing them. Then these terrorists can roam the world working with other terrorist groups to plan and execute attacks. If a leader of any country decides that these terrorists should be killed, they will be said to have escalated tensions. If that sounds ignorant, it is. The world is clearly safer if known terrorist leaders are killed and funds are cut off. It is never safer to leave terrorists, killers, gang members, cartels and rapists roaming the streets over removing them from society. What makes the world much more dangerous is when leaders in America and Europe shower the most dangerous terrorism-sponsoring country, Iran, which continues to pledge death to America and death to Israel, with huge amounts of money and then pretends that that will be good. Most journalists cheered this pure ignorance. It is also extremely dangerous when leaders in America have been so stupid they sold uranium assets in the U.S to Russia which, of course, the Russians will use themselves and maybe sell to dangerous countries like North Korea and Iran. It sure helps Russia when Iran has more money to purchase their weapons and uranium. But Democrats will act surprised that these dangerous countries are working on nuclear weapons. Most of the media won't care about selling uranium to Russia as they pretend that Obama/Biden were tough on Russia and continue to perpetuate the lie that Trump is a puppet of Russia. Thank goodness we have a president who understands that the way to reduce terrorism is to cut off the funding and take out the terrorists themselves instead of leave them to maim and kill at will, including Americans. Most of the media make the world much more dangerous as they cheer for whatever Democrats say and seek to destroy Trump no matter how much good he does to strengthen and protect Americans. So, if the American people want to enrich tyrants, protect terrorists, move towards socialism, have more people dependent on government, reduce freedom of choice on health care, schools and energy, refuse to enforce immigration laws, kill fully developed babies up to and beyond birth, and reduce girls and womens' privacy by having men and boys expose themselves in locker rooms and restrooms, they should take the advice of most journalists and elect Democrats. If they want freedom, prosperity, capitalism, enforcement of immigration laws, more opportunity to move up the economic ladder for everyone, and a president who is willing to kill terrorists who maim and kill people around the world, they should vote for Trump. The choice is easy. WASHINGTON Crews could start building a private border wall in South Texas within the coming days following a federal judges ruling Thursday that lifted a restraining order against the project. U.S. District Judge Randy Cranes order was the second federal ruling in two days in favor of border barriers. On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower courts stay that had prevented President Donald Trumps administration from diverting $3.6 billion from military construction projects to fund 175 miles (280 kilometers) of border wall. While the White House on Thursday celebrated the appeals courts ruling, saying it rightfully lifted an illegitimate nationwide injunction, Cranes ruling actually went against the U.S. governments position. Fisher Industries, a North Dakota-based construction firm, wants to install 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of steel posts about 35 feet (10 meters) from the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande, the river that forms the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. The companys president, Tommy Fisher, wants to spend $40 million on the private border wall originally promoted by a pro-Trump online fundraising group to prove that his company can build barriers more effectively. The U.S. government sued to stop Fisher on the grounds that building so close to the Rio Grande risked changing the flow of the river and potentially pushing floodwaters into Mexico, in violation of treaty obligations. The U.S. attorneys office argued the project could shift the river and the international boundary, which violated the presidents authority to conduct the foreign relations of the United States. Existing segments of fencing and the small sections that the government is currently building typically run along the Rio Grande levee or through property a significant distance away from the river. The U.S. is currently working to seize private land to build more sections of wall in Texas. Crane issued a restraining order in December, but lifted that order Thursday. He also declined to grant a restraining order at the request of the National Butterfly Center, a nonprofit located next to the South Texas construction site. The butterfly center and environmentalists warn building a border barrier so close to the river could worsen erosion and potentially damage other land. Fisher Industries has submitted documents to the government that argue installing fence posts and clearing and grading the land will reduce flooding, though environmentalists disagree with that claim. Speaking after the hearing Thursday, Fisher said his work crews were ready to start working Sunday and could install all of the steel posts in a week. We look forward to showing the whole entire world that you can have border protection where you need it, Fisher said. The butterfly center had been in the path of a potential border wall for years until Congress effectively exempted it and several other environmentally sensitive areas and cultural sites. Marianna Trevino Wright, the centers executive director, said Thursdays ruling makes you wonder when its going to end and how many more of these proxies are there. At the 5th Circuit, the 2-1 ruling announced Wednesday allows the government to move forward with 11 projects in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The longest and most expensive by far would span 52 miles (83 kilometers) in Laredo, Texas, at an estimated cost of $1.27 billion. The court noted that the Supreme Court in July had stayed a similar injunction, clearing the way for the Trump administration to tap billions of dollars in Pentagon funds to build sections of border wall. The Government is entitled to the same relief here, the three-judge panel wrote. President Donald Trump tweeted about the ruling and wrote that the Entire Wall is under construction or getting ready to start! White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said on Thursday that the court had lifted an illegitimate nationwide injunction and in doing so had allowed work on the border wall to continue with military construction money. We will finish the wall, she said in a statement. Opponents of the Trump administrations actions had welcomed the earlier district court ruling that had put the work on hold, calling the Republican presidents actions an outrageous power grab. They noted that Trump had promised repeatedly during the 2016 presidential campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall. ___ Merchant reported from Houston. KYIV -- Ukrainian officials said on January 10 that they were focusing in particular on a missile strike or act of terrorism as two possible causes of the crash of a Ukrainian passenger airliner after takeoff from Tehran's international airport, adding that they wanted to establish an international coalition to conduct an investigation into the January 8 tragedy. The head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), Ivan Bakanov, told a press briefing that the missile strike and terror scenarios merited particular attention. I can assure you that we will surely inform the public of all objective, verified information," he added. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko had said earlier in the day that Ukrainian investigators had been given access to pieces of the body of the plane and specialists were analyzing various videos around the crash. Prystayko said Ukrainian officials were not discarding any possible version of what might have happened and they had so far found no evidence of a terror attack in fragments from the plane. U.S., Canadian, and British officials have said it is highly likely that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight PS752 was shot down, possibly in error, by an Iranian missile. NATO's secretary-general and Dutch officials have also hinted at a similar conclusion. All 176 people aboard were killed in the predawn tragedy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 10 that he had spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost 63 people in the tragedy, and that "There should not be speculation about the tragedy. Ukraine and Canada will use all possible means to advocate for an objective and comprehensive investigation." Prystayko said Ukrainian authorities have been given access to the black boxes that would have been collecting data of the Boeing 737-800's flight. As for a possible terrorist attack, Bakanov said, "the topic is too important to draw any hasty conclusions. The air disaster came hours after Iran targeted two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops with missiles on January 8 in response to a January 3 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. Prystayko added in his press conference on January 10 that Ukraine has "no reason to say that the Iranian authorities do not want to work with Ukraine" in investigating the cause of the crash. Iranian officials have said they will download data from the black boxes. "We prefer to download the black boxes in Iran. But if we see that we can't do that because the boxes are damaged, then we will seek help," Iran's civil aviation chief, Ali Abedzadeh, told a news conference in Tehran on January 10. "One thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile." Some videos have emerged from Iran that appeared to show an object or objects approaching an aircraft and an aircraft burning brightly well before impact with the ground. WATCH: Investigator Explains Video Evidence A crew from U.S. television network CBS said there were no security or investigators at the crash site when they arrived on January 10, and images were being shared that purported to show bulldozed earth at or near the scene of the disaster. The Ukrainian-flagged plane was en route to Kyiv when it crashed. On board were 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons, in addition to 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew members. Zelenskiys office said on January 10 that it was too early on in the investigation to reveal specific details. Iranian officials have called on Western governments to share any intelligence or evidence suggesting Iran had shot the plane down. Some have speculated that Iranian air defenses might have been on high alert and mistakenly responded to spotting the jet. Prystayko said the plane "turned around after something happened [but it is] hard to say why." If it turns out that Flight PS752 was shot down by a missile, Prystayko said, Ukraine will demand punishment of those responsible and compensation from Iran. "We do believe that its likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a January 10 press conference at which he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced a fresh round of U.S. sanctions targeting eight senior Iranian officials and companies in the metals sector. "We're going to let the investigation play out before we make a final determination," Pompeo said. "When we get results of that investigation, I am confident we and the world will take appropriate actions in response." In a reversal from its earlier stance, Iran said on January 10 it had invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the U.S. manufacturer Boeing to participate in the investigation. Boeing said on January 10 it was working with U.S. regulators to assist in the investigation of the crash. Under U.S. sanctions law, the U.S. Treasury must grant approval for U.S. investigators or the company to take part and potentially travel to Iran. "Specialists must be given a chance to analyze the situation and make conclusions," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in Tokyo. The sudden escalation follows more than a year of tightening U.S. sanctions under a "maximum pressure" policy aimed at changing Iranian behavior since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and other world powers to curb Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AFP The age of the reboot continues to be alive and well. The latest news from the Saved By The Bell revival at NBC is good: the rebooted series has now locked down its lead actor, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played the narrator and quasi-preppy jokester Zack Morris in the original series from 1989 to 1992. The show has already secured its Jesse Spano (Elizabeth Berkley of Showgirls) and A.C. Slater (Extra's Mario Lopez) for a return to Bayside High, and the network is now zeroing on one Kelly Kapowski, a.k.a. Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, to come back for another go as well. Zack attack: The Saved By The Bell revival at NBC has locked down its lead actor, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played the narrator and quasi-preppy jokester Zack Morris in the original series That hair though: In the 25-odd years since Mark-Paul last portrayed Morris, he's worked regularly in television, from a stint on NYPD Blue to headlining the series Franklin & Bash Gosselaar, 45, will also serve as an executive producer on the rebooted comedy, while Lopez and Berkley are also being brought on in producing capacities. In the 25-odd years since Mark-Paul last portrayed Morris, he's worked regularly in television, from an extended stint on NYPD Blue to headlining the series Franklin & Bash with Breckin Meyer and Heather Locklear. Most recently, he's enjoyed a role as series regular Paul on ABC's Black-ish spinoff Mixed-ish. The actor is reportedly set to appear in three episodes of the rebooted show. How times have changed: Gosselaar will also serve as an executive producer on the reboot The single-camera 10-episode comedy will revisit Zack, now the governor of California, as he spearheads a program to transfer a group of California low-income high school students to Pacific Palisades' wealthy Bayside High. Josie Totah of the series Champions will star in the new show as a popular student Lexi, currently enrolled at Bayside. Two actors from the original series who are thus far conspicuously absent from the reboot are Lark Voorhees, who played Lisa Turtle, and Dustin Diamond, better known as class dweeb Screech. Bayside babies: The show has already secured its Jesse Spano (Elizabeth Berkley, top left) and A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez, bottom left) for a return to Bayside High, and the network is now zeroing on Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, center, to come back for another go as well Missing: Two actors from the original series thus far conspicuously absent from the reboot are Lark Voorhees, top right in previous photo, and Dustin Diamond, above center, a.k.a. Screech Berkley, for one, is very excited to be participating in the reboot, as she posted a fun snap to her Instagram in mid-December, on the day of the first table read for the show. Next to a selfie in which she's seen holding up a binder with a script, Berkley wrote, 'Im so excited.... to be back at Bayside!!!! Today was the table read for our new SBTB !!!! Cant wait for you all to see 10 new episodes on #nbc #universal #peacock soon!!!' The new Saved By The Bell will be offered as part of NBC's new streaming service, called Peacock, which is set to launch in April with original programming joining the lineup by the summer. Get ready for more Jessie and Zack: Gosselaar will executive produce, while Berkley and Lopez are also being brought on in producing capacities Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the US of the consequences of a military response to Iran after the IRGC missile strike on US bases in Iraq, Mehr reported. His remarks came during a phone talk with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Rouhani said the assassination of Martyr Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani is a major crime by the US and called for its condemnation by all countries around the world, especially neighboring countries. The promotion of regional stability and security is very important for Iran, he said adding that the only way to ensure security in the region is to deepen friendship and cooperation between the states of the region. According to him, the president described the assassination of Lieutenant General Soleimani, who was the Iraqi people and government's guest, as a great insult to Iraqi sovereignty and a major crime against the Iranian nation, adding, He noted that if the US wants to respond to Irans actions, it will face a very dangerous reaction, expressing the hope that the Americans will not make such a mistake. The Emir of Qatar noted that Doha is against any tension against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Lucknow, Jan 10 : The suspension of SSP Gautam Buddha Nagar Vaibhav Krishna on Thursday evening by the Yogi Adityanath government has deepened fissures in the state's IPS cadre. According to sources, an ADG rank officer has reportedly written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, asking him to take action against corrupt officer and investigate charges against them. The ADG, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that in Vaibhav Krishna's case it was the whistleblower who had been penalized instead of those accused of corruption. "The viral video issue is just an excuse to suspend Vaibhav Krishna. The real reason is the powerful lobby of IPS officers who do not want any investigation in corruption matters. The three-member committee set up to probe charges against five IPS officers, named by Vaibhav Krishna, who have been accused of having a nexus with journalists on corruption issues is just an eye wash," he said. He cited the example of another senior IPS officer who has spent a large part of his career in suspension and said that if the officer was so inefficient, he should have been terminated instead of remaining suspended. Vaibhav Krishna was suspended after a forensic lab in Gujarat confirmed the authenticity of the video chat with a woman that had gone viral on the social media a few days ago. Krishna had termed the viral video as fake but the forensic report says that "No sign of edit, alteration, medication, morphing was observed in this video." Vaibhav Krishna had himself lodged an FIR in the case of the viral video. Vaibhav Krishna also reportedly leaked a confidential letter that he had written to the state government accusing five officers of conniving with certain builders, extortionists and local journalists to ensure "transfers and postings" in exchange for money. UP DGP O P Singh had said last week that this amounted to a violation of service rules. Krishna, a 2000 batch IPS officer, had accused an ASP-rank officer, a Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officer, four inspectors, a sub-inspector and three constables in his letter of extending favours to these middlemen. He had also provided UP DGP O.P. Singh with video recordings and clips in support of his allegations. An investigation into his allegations is being conducted by IG, Meerut, Alok Singh. The IPS officer had claimed that the "morphed" video was leaked to tarnish his image. He also alleged that he was being targeted because he had begun a probe to expose the nexus between the IPS officers, journalists and builders. Meanwhile, the state government transferred 13 IPS officers including the police chiefs of Banda, Sultanpur, Rampur and Ghaziabad who had been accused of corruption by Vaibhav Krishna. All these officers have been given non-district postings. These officers include Ajay Pal Sharma (Rampur), Sudhir Singh (Ghaziabad) , Ganesh Prasad Saha (Banda), Himanshu (Sultanpur) and Rajiv Narain Misra, who was posted as SP STF in Lucknow. Studies reveal that sexting isn't just about sex; it has more reasons to it. As with any sexual behaviour, it is important and necessary to have consent to engage in sexting. (Photo: ANI) Washington: While most people think that sex chatting is only done for that one reason, a new study suggests that two-thirds of people who sext do so for non-sexual reasons. In an analysis of the reasons people engage in sexting with their relationship partner, assistant professor Joseph M. Currin and doctoral student Kassidy Cox confirmed that some people use sexting as foreplay for sexual behaviours, later on, some sext for the relationship reassurance they receive from their partner. Some sext their partner as a favour, with the expectation the favour will be returned later in a non-sexual way (such as a dinner date) analysed new research from the Sexuality, Sexual Health & Sexual Behaviour Lab in the Texas Tech University Department of Psychological Sciences. When they began the research, Currin and Cox were curious to see if one of these motivations was the most prevalent. Using data gathered online from 160 participants, ranging in age from 18-69, they performed a latent class analysis measuring sexting motivations, relationship attachments and sexual behaviours. To their surprise, they discovered three nearly equal clusters, suggesting no motivation is more common than another. "It was intriguing that two-thirds of the individuals who engaged in sexting did so for non-sexual purposes," Cox said. "This may actually be demonstrating some individuals engage in sexting, but would prefer not to, but do so as a means to either gain affirmation about their relationship, relieve anxiety or get something tangible - non-sexual - in return," Cox added. Also surprising to the researchers was there were no significant differences in motivation based on sexual orientation, gender or age. "This study highlighted the main reasons to date that individuals are motivated to sext, and it actually normalises all three types of motivations," said Cox in the study presented at -- Scientific Study of Sexuality. "As it is becoming a more accepted method of communicating one's sexual desires, we wanted to highlight how adults utilize this behaviour in their relationships," Currin added. "This tells us that sexting among adults is an evolution of how we have communicated our sexual desires to our partners in the past. People used to write love poems and steamy letters, then when photography became more commonplace, couples used to take boudoir photos for each other," continued Currin. Currin and Cox noted that their research focused on sexting between current partners in consensual relationships only. "As with any sexual behaviour, it is important and necessary to have consent to engage in sexting," Currin said. "Individuals who send unsolicited sext messages - such as images of their genitalia - are not actually engaging in sexting; they are sexually harassing the recipient." Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Donate $500,000 to Help Firefighters Battle Australian Wildfires The content is not available due to expiration. Lockheed Martin will exhibit its innovative new flow battery technology at the 13th annual World Future Energy Summit (WFES) held from January 13 to 16 during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2020. Lockheed Martins energy solutions business has more than 80 years of experience in providing advanced energy technology, and we have a strong track record in promoting comprehensive energy solutions based on advanced technology and innovation, said Dan Norton, vice president of Lockheed Martin Energy. This year at WFES 2020, we are featuring the GridStar Flow battery technology, a cutting-edge solution that will help customers fully realize the potential of renewable energy. GridStar Flow is an innovative redox flow battery based on the principles of coordination chemistry. It is designed to be a long-duration energy storage system with superior durability, flexibility and safety capable of storing six to 12 hours or more of energy and dispatching it as needed. Lockheed Martin recently announced a teaming agreement with TC Energy in which the two companies will identify and develop large-scale, long-duration storage projects using GridStar Flow. The company will be displaying a model of GridStar Flow at Stand 6103 inside the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (Adnec). WFES is the anchor event for ADSW and a global industry platform connecting business and innovation in energy, clean technology and efficiency for a sustainable future. Lockheed Martins energy business subject matter experts will demonstrate the companys cutting-edge technology and latest innovations, which are capable of supporting the sustainable and secure long-term development of economies in the Middle East, and beyond.-- Tradearabia News Service The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is previewing three transport initiatives that it is introducing this year that it hopes will help keep drivers safer across the state. Beginning in the summer, drivers will see changes to the flashing warning signals placed in advance of some traffic signals across the state. Known as advanced signal warning systems, the yellow signs stationed over the roadway often feature flashing yellow lights to draw attention to the traffic signal ahead. Some advance signals contain no flashing lights or lights which continuously flash. Other advance warning signs begin flashing when the traffic signal ahead readies to turn yellow and red, allowing drivers time to stop for the signal. This can lead drivers to unsafely speed up to beat the light, potentially leading to crashes. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> NDOT conducted an engineering study to establish guidelines for most effective use of the different types of signal warning systems, compliant with federal guidelines. Following a thorough review, some of the advance signals will change from flashing with the oncoming yellow signal to a static sign or continuously-flashing signal beginning in the summer of 2020. Six wind warning signs, three in each direction, will be installed on US 395 between Golden Valley and Bordertown in the summer. Lights on the advisory signs will flash when wind gusts reach 45mph (72km/h) or greater, notifying drivers of high-profile vehicles of nine feet (2.7m) or taller that travel through the area is not advised, and cautioning drivers of all other vehicles to reduce speeds. While similar to NDOTs wind warning system in Washoe Valley, the North Valleys system will advise against, but not prohibit, high-profile vehicle travel. Traditional traffic signal backplates are a single black colour. New traffic signal backplates framed with a retroreflective yellow border are already in place at some intersections, and NDOT will install retroreflective backplates at approximately 150 additional intersections across the Truckee Meadows in early 2020. The yellow border provides a colour contrast to visually draw driver attention to follow the signal. Being retroreflective, the yellow border also further reflects light for enhanced visibility, particularly at night. During power outages, the further reflective illumination can also help lightly illuminate an otherwise dark signal to provide a visible cue to drivers. Studies have shown that the retroreflective backplates can reduce crashes by 15%. I've previously posted about the "University of Farmington," the fake college pyramid scheme sting operation that ICE set up in order to seduce and capture devious immigrants of various statuses who had the gall to, uhh want to go to college. Most of the coverage on this story originates comes from Niraj Warikoo at the Detroit Free Press: The latest update shares some transcripts from undercover recordings, obtained by the Free Press, that shed light on the alleged entrapment techniques that ICE employed to trick immigrants into attending their fake university, and then engaging in the recruitment scams that were allegedly "required" in order for the students to maintain their statuses with said university: In February 2018, a foreign student from India called a university in metro Detroit to ask when classes would start. "University of Farmington, office of admissions," answered a woman who posed as a university official. The woman was actually an undercover agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "Is there any chance to get me to know about my class schedule?" the student asked the university official, according to court records. "Can we do what?" the undercover agent posing as a university official replied. "We're completely full. We don't have any normal classes to put you in. We are just helping you maintain your status by allowing you to enroll here, but you won't be taking any online classes, nor will you be going to any classes. Are you aware of this?" Sounding confused, the student replied: "I don't know that actually. I don't know what to do now." The US Attorney's Office in Detroit alleges that the University of Farmington was an illegal for-profit entrapment scheme; ICE and the US Department of Justice continue to insist that they were being fiscally responsible by covering operation costs, and that they just happened to find immigrant students who were eager and willing to participate in a pyramid scheme in order to maintain their immigration statuses. In other words, they claim that the students wanted to attend a fake university and recruit other immigrants to enroll in order to deliberately cheat the system as opposed to the other possibility, that these immigrants were just eager to remain in the States, and unfamiliar with the country's obscenely complex immigration laws. There's more detail on the recordings over at the Free Press website. Undercover ICE recordings reveal tactics of fake Farmington University [Niraj Warikoo / Detroit Free Press] Image via Master Steve Rappaport / Flickr The Audit Committee of Infosys has given the company's top management a clean chit in the whistleblower allegations that leaked in September 2019. Infosys, on Friday, said independent investigations found no evidence of any wrongdoing in any of the charges made in anonymous letters. A combative Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, said the company has come out stronger from the episode, that the CEO (Salil Parekh) and CFO (Nilanjan Roy) are thorough professionals, and that there was no way of ascertaining whether allegations were made by genuine employees or outsiders. In other words, the whistleblowers may not have been insiders. The whistleblowers wrote to the Infosys Board of Directors and the US SEC alleging unethical practices by the top management. The allegations broadly fell in four buckets: questionable accounting standards; ethics of top management; disclosure standards and a racial slur. While the whistleblower letter was dated September 20, the news broke and became public only a month later - on October 21. Investors dumped the stock. Infosys' shares slid over 16 per cent on October 22, wiping out Rs 53,000 crore of its market cap. The investigators, Nilekani informed during a press conference in Bengaluru, conducted 128 interviews with 77 people, reviewed 210,000 electronic documents and processed about eight terabytes of data. "It was a very exhaustive investigation. Investigators got open access," he said. "The CEO and the CFO have emerged stronger...they are thorough professionals," he added. Nilekani said that under CEO Salil Parekh, the company has changed for the better. "There is a sense of alignment and purpose. It is important that we move forward now. Everyone in Infosys' has emerged stronger from this episode," he reiterated. The chairman agreed that the investigation is indeed a distraction particularly since it coincided with Infosys having to close its books for the quarter. "It is a credit to the people of Infosys, the leadership, the value system, the finance department. They had to deal with the challenge of closing the books for the third quarter and cooperating with the investigation. They are people of high integrity - the report has validated that," he said. Nilekani further said that the company is cooperating with foreign regulators looking at the allegations. The chairman hinted that whistleblower policies can be weaponised and asked the media to investigate if the allegations came from Infosys employees or outsiders. He alluded to the RTI - it has been used by one person to figure out why a second person has been promoted. Every system, he said, has distortions. "If there is somebody weaponising it, we cannot do much about it," he said. "Our finance department has high ethical standards. Find out who has done it. How do you know they are employees of Infosys?" he told the media present at the conference. Also Read: Nifty hits fresh lifetime high of 12,311, Sensex surges 300 points on global optimism Also Read: Tata vs Mistry case: Relief for Tatas as SC stays NCLAT order Also Read: Relief for financial firms! RBI launches video-based identification process for KYC The Katy Lions Club had the best year ever for its toy drive for Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, according to its president. Katy residents are so helpful and amazingly generous, said Lions Club President Carol Barnett. This year the Katy Lions Club partnered with Harris County Emergency Services District 48 and the Katy National Little League for the toy drive. As Marvel carves out its post-Avengers slate, the studio is parting ways with one of its creative talents, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director Scott Derrickson. The 53 year old filmmaker, who directed 2016's Doctor Strange, was attached to direct the sequel since December 2018. Marvel expects to still begin production in May as scheduled, with no delays in filming, as the search for a new director is currently under way, according to Variety. Parting ways: As Marvel carves out its post-Avengers slate, the studio is parting ways with one of its creative talents, Doctor Strange and the Multi-Verse of Madness director Scott Derrickson 'Marvel Studios and Scott Derrickson have amicably parted ways on 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' due to creative differences,' Marvel said in a statement to Variety. 'We remain grateful to Scott for his contributions to the MCU.' Derrickson took to his verified Twitter page to release a statement of his own, stating, 'Marvel and I have mutually agreed to part ways on Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness due to creative differences. He added, 'I am thankful for our collaboration and will remain on' the sequel as an executive producer. Amicable: 'Marvel Studios and Scott Derrickson have amicably parted ways on 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' due to creative differences,' Marvel said in a statement to Variety. 'We remain grateful to Scott for his contributions to the MCU' Scott's statement: Derrickson took to his verified Twitter page to release a statement of his own, stating, 'Marvel and I have mutually agreed to part ways on Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness due to creative differences Derrickson's 2016 Doctor Strange movie was a critical hit with 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a modest hit financially for the MCU. Doctor Strange, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character, took in $232.6 million domestic and $677.7 million worldwide, from a hefty $165 million budget, solid figures for a non-Avengers Marvel origin movie. Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange character returned in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Big hit: Doctor Strange, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character, took in $232.6 million domestic and $677.7 million worldwide, from a hefty $165 million budget, solid figures for a non-Avengers Marvel origin movie Derrickson was confirmed to direct the sequel in December 2018, though The Hollywood Reporter's report said the search for a writer was under way. Derrickson had co-written the first Doctor Strange with C. Robert Cargill, with whom he had collaborated on his earlier films like Sinister and Sinister 2. While there were reports that Cargill would return to write the script, Collider reported in October that newcomer Jade Halley Bartlett will write the sequel. Director and star: Derrickson was confirmed to direct the sequel in December 2018, though The Hollywood Reporter 's report said the search for a writer was under way Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has also been confirmed to cross over with the upcoming Disney Plus series WandaVision, with Elizabeth Olsen set to star as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch. The sequel will also tie into another Disney Plus series, Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston, though it's unclear if he will be featured in the sequel. Marvel's Phase Four kicks off this year with Black Widow (May 1, 2020) and Eternals (November 1, 2020) and next year's Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (February 12, 2021) before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives May 7, 2020. Crossover: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has also been confirmed to cross over with the upcoming Disney Plus series WandaVision, with Elizabeth Olsen set to star as Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch Derrickson may have hinted at his impending departure last month, when he released a cryptic tweet stating, 'Studio release dates are the enemy of art.' Marvel had previously set a May 7, 2021 release date for an unspecified Marvel Studios movie back in March 2018, long before this Doctor Strange sequel was even announced. There had been indications that the sequel would be a 'horror movie,' but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige later walked back those claims, stating, 'I wouldnt necessarily say thats a horror film, but itll be a big MCU film with scary sequences in it.' Derrickson broke through with the 2005 horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose and continued to shine in the horror genre with the 2012 thriller Sinister. Hint: Derrickson may have hinted at his impending departure last month, when he released a cryptic tweet stating, 'Studio release dates are the enemy of art' The United States will hold a presidential election in November of 2020. From now until then, you are likely to hear or read many reports about the things U.S. politicians say. Sometimes, the reports or politicians statements will have words that carry a somewhat different meaning than what you might think. One example is minority.** It is a noun, but sometimes people use it like an adjective, as in the term minority groups. This seemingly simple word will be the subject of our report today. History and change over time The word minority has a long history. The Google Ngrams search engine shows it first appeared in the English language somewhere around the year 1510. The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that minority comes from the Middle French word minorite. By the 1530s, the English term meant state or condition of being smaller. But it does not really carry that meaning anymore. Minority slowly took on new meanings during the 1700s. By the 19th century, minority generally had two meanings. Websters Dictionary of 1828 notes one was: the state of being under age. The other was the smaller number; as the minority of the senate or house of representatives; opposed to majority. By the beginning of the 21st century, minority had taken on more meanings. Websters New World Dictionary, 4th edition, for example, lists four main meanings. One of them is a racial, religious, ethnic, or political group smaller than and differing from the larger, controlling group in a community, nation, etc. But such definitions do not always line up with how Americans use terms, as we will see. Change in meaning John McWhorter is an American expert on language. In his book, Words on the Move, McWhorter writes that Americans often think of specific groups of people when using the term minority. In the minds of American English speakers minorities are considered to be black and Latino people, he adds. A report on the television program CBS This Morning provides an example of what McWhorter is talking about. The title of this 2016 video is Clinton and Sanders fight for minority votes in Milwaukee debate. Let us listen to some of the report. Notice that it takes note of only one kind of minority in the United States. The debate was in Wisconsin, but the candidates were clearly focused on the next primary, in South Carolina, where African-Americans could decide the outcome. In his book, McWhorter noted that the term minority feels forced when applied to other groups, even when they, too, constitute numerical minorities of the population. In other words, the term minority often carries a much more narrow meaning than what the recent dictionary definition might suggest. But here is an important point to consider: minority carries this narrower meaning when Americans are talking about local or national issues. They might mean something closer to the dictionary definition when talking about groups of people outside the United States. Here is an example. Imagine two statements by an American political candidate. The first statement is about U.S. college admissions. The politician might say: I believe we need to do all we can to encourage minorities to apply to colleges. In this statement, our make-believe politician is probably using minority in the way that McWhorter wrote about. The politician is probably not talking about Americans of Asian ancestry, although they do make up about five or six percent of the U.S. population. The politician is also probably not referring to other kinds of minority groups in the country Jewish people, for example. Now, imagine our politician is making a point about U.S. foreign policy. The politician might say: I believe America should send aid to the Kurds and other minorities in the Middle East. In this case, the politician would be referring to a broader, more extensive idea of what minority means. In other words, small groups that do not make up the majority whether that be along religious, racial or other lines. Closing thoughts Today, we took you on a journey of one word, from its birth in English to its modern usage in American politics and the news. We showed you that a commonly heard noun can carry slightly different meanings, and that its meanings have grown and changed over time. The next time you are reading or watching a story about American politics, ask yourself about the language that the speaker uses. Are there some terms nouns, verbs, or adjectives he or she uses often? Do you think the speaker might be using the term in a way that matches what you see in the dictionary? If not, what might explain the difference? Asking yourself these kinds of questions will improve your understanding of American English, as well as American politics and culture. And thats Everyday Grammar. Im Ashley Thompson. And Im John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. **There are two main pronunciations of minority. They are: manrti and mnorti _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story etymology n. an explanation of where a word came from; the history of a word dictionary n. a book or reference guide listing the words or terms of one language and their meanings focus v. to direct your attention or effort at something constitute v. to make up or form something encourage v. to make (something) more appealing or more likely to happen journey n. a trip; travel from one place to another We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. Editor's Note: 2020 is expected to be another year of significant uncertainty and turmoil. But the question is what asset will emerge the victor when the dust settles from the global trade war, Brexit, recession threats, negative bond yields. It's a showdown of global proportions, so don't miss all our exclusive coverage on how these factors could impact your 2020 investment decisions. (Kitco News) - Gold prices are weaker and silver prices are steady to slightly higher in early U.S. futures trading Friday. The metals initially erased modest overnight losses just after a mild downside miss on the non-farm payrolls component of the U.S. employment report for December. February gold futures were last down $4.80 an ounce at 1,549.70. March Comex silver prices were last up $0.014 at $17.95 an ounce. Traders and investors are back to examining economic data and other market fundamentals, including the just-released December U.S. employment situation report from the Labor Department. The key non-farm payrolls number came in at up 145,000, which was slightly lower than the expected rise of 160,000. Wednesdays stronger-than-expected ADP national employment report had some leaning toward a stronger non-farm jobs number. This report falls mildly into the camp of the U.S. monetary policy doves, who want to see lower interest rates. Asian stock markets were mixed to firmer overnight and European shares were mostly up. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward firmer openings and at more record highs when the New York day session begins. After hitting a nasty speed bump a few days ago, the stock market bulls are right back in business and trader/investor risk appetite is robust. The U.S. and Iran have backed away from further military confrontationat least for now. And the worlds two largest economies are set to sign a partial trade agreement next week, with Chinese trade officials traveling to Washington, D.C. to do the signing. Most reckon the deal will pave the way for better global economic growth in 2020. The key outside markets today see crude oil prices slightly lower and trading around $59.50 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index is modestly down early today, after the downside miss on the non-farm jobs number. Other U.S. economic data due for release includes the monthly wholesale trade report. Technically, the gold bulls have the firm overall near-term technical advantage, but have faded this week. A price uptrend is still in place on the daily chart. Bulls next upside price objective is to produce a close in February futures above solid resistance at $1,590.90. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,530.00. First resistance is seen at Thursdays high of $1,562.40 and then at the September high of $1,571.70. First support is seen at the overnight low of $1,546.70 and then at this weeks low of $1,541.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.0 March silver futures bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage but a four-week-old price uptrend line is now in jeopardy. Silver bulls' next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at this weeks high of $18.895 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $17.50. First resistance is seen at Thursdays high of $18.225 and then at $18.55. Next support is seen at this weeks low of $17.815 and then at $17.50. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.0. CARLSBAD, Calif., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Tyra Biosciences announced a Series A financing of $50M to discover and develop new small molecule therapies targeting acquired resistance in oncology. Patients are devastated by the emergence of drug resistance after initially responding to targeted therapies, often leaving them and their physicians scrambling for options. Tyra Biosciences is a purpose-built company with a founding team optimized for tackling this high-impact problem aiming to develop very specific compounds targeting drug resistant cancer cells and populations. The financing round was co-led by Alta Partners, RA Capital Management, Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, and Canaan. The funds raised will be used to advance next-generation compounds targeting acquired resistance to current therapies towards clinical trials. "We are thrilled to have the backing of a strong syndicate, which includes early-stage and crossover firms representing tremendous experience and expertise in the industry," said Todd Harris, co-founder and CEO of Tyra Biosciences. "We are eager to deliver solutions for patients who desperately need additional treatment options. The financing round provides sufficient funding to reach a clinical inflection point, maximizing options for the company." Targeted oncology and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), specifically have made significant advancements for cancer patients over the last 20 years. These therapies are able to target discrete proteins involved in signaling pathways that drive tumor growth. In that time, over 40 TKIs have been approved, driving value for patients and investors alike. But as compounds have become more selective and potent, resistance has become a major limitation. Tyra Biosciences is combining insights from structure-based drug design (SBDD), kinase biology, computational chemistry and smart clinical development to discover and develop next-gen small molecule therapies that are active against both wild type and mutant targets. "The need from patients and the demand from the market for therapies that address acquired resistance has never been stronger," said Isan Chen, Board Member of Tyra Biosciences. "Not only can these medicines be used as the immediate response when resistance emerges but they can also move to front-line treatments with the promise of better efficacy and much longer duration of response than first-generation agents." "Our approach to drug discovery and development is highly focused and disciplined" said Daniel Bensen, co-founder and COO of Tyra Biosciences. "Leveraging key insights into the molecular basis of acquired resistance, we generate validating translational toolkits and rapidly iterate with SBDD to advance next-generation compounds." Co-Founded by Todd Harris, Chief Executive Officer, and Daniel Bensen, Chief Operating Officer, and incubated by Alta Partners, Tyra Biosciences has formed a small cross-functional team, aiming to outpace others in the market by being focused, creative, fast and iterative. Key drug development professionals and scientific advisors include: Ronald V. Swanson , Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer; , Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer; Robert L. Hudkins , Ph.D., Vice President, Chemistry; , Ph.D., Vice President, Chemistry; Jane Arboleda , Associate Director of Cell Biology; , Associate Director of Cell Biology; Esther van den Boom . Chief Financial Officer; . Chief Financial Officer; Jeffrey Hager , Ph.D., Scientific Advisor; , Ph.D., Scientific Advisor; William Hahn , M.D. Ph.D., Scientific Advisor; and , M.D. Ph.D., Scientific Advisor; and Jason Sheltzer , Ph.D, Scientific Advisor. The company's board members have an extensive history of successful drug development in oncology and life sciences company-building: Bob More , Chairman and Managing Director, Alta Partners ; , Chairman and Managing Director, ; Isan Chen , M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Mirati Therapeutics; , M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Mirati Therapeutics; Gilla Kaplan , Ph.D., formerly at Gates Foundation, Rockefeller University , and Celgene; , Ph.D., formerly at Gates Foundation, , and Celgene; Jake Simson , Ph.D., Principal, RA Capital Management , Ph.D., Principal, RA Capital Management Sid Subramony , Ph.D., Vice President, Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group; and , Ph.D., Vice President, Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group; and Nina Kjellson , General Partner, Canaan. "As a nimble company with a singular focus on acquired resistance in oncology, Tyra Biosciences is well positioned to deliver solutions for patients," said Gilla Kaplan, Board Member of Tyra Biosciences and pioneering scientist who re-invented thalidomide as an immune modulator, thereby spurning the Celgene success story. "The company has the benefit of a world-class team of drug developers and advisors to help them efficiently and effectively advance new therapies into the clinic." ABOUT TYRA BIOSCIENCES Tyra Biosciences is a biotechnology company targeting new pathways of acquired resistance in oncology with purpose-built drugs. For more information, please visit www.tyra.bio . ABOUT ALTA PARTNERS Founded in 1996, Alta Partners is one of the nation's premier healthcare venture capital firms, investing in many of the industry's most successful companies. Alta has offices in San Francisco and Denver. For more information, please visit www.altapartners.com. ABOUT RA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT RA Capital is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare and life science companies that are developing drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics. The flexibility of its strategy allows RA Capital to provide seed funding to startups and to lead private, IPO, and follow-on financings for its portfolio companies, both facilitating the crossover process and allowing management teams to drive value creation from inception through commercialization. For more information, please visit www.racap.com. ABOUT BOXER CAPITAL Boxer Capital is a private biotechnology investment fund based in San Diego, California that invents and invests in drug development across multiple therapeutic indications. Founded by the life sciences team at Tavistock Group in 2005, Boxer Capital maintains a concentrated portfolio of public and private companies. For more information, please visit www.boxercap.com. ABOUT CANAAN Canaan is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs with visionary ideas. With $5 billion under management, a diversified fund and hundreds of exits to date, we partner with entrepreneurs building the next generation of consumer, fintech, frontier tech, biotech and digital health companies that will transform how we live, work and thrive. To learn more about our people and our portfolio, please visit www.canaan.com. CONTACT: William Nevius, wnevius(at)canaan.com SOURCE Tyra Biosciences Related Links https://tyra.bio Congressman Tom McClintock View Photo Sonora, CA Mother Lode District 4 Congressman Tom McClintock strongly opposed the Houses passage of the Use of Force Termination Resolution on Thursday. McClintock was Fridays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. The war powers resolution limits President Donald Trumps war powers against Iran. Ordering a withdraw of U.S. military forces from conflict with Iran within 30 days if no approval is given to the president by congress. It passed with a vote of 224-194. The administration has cited the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 as its legal authority for slaying Major General Qasem Soleimani, commander of Irans Quds Force in Iraq. While McClintock calls the AUMF a colossal mistake, he suggests that the resolution doesnt correct that mistake. McClintock went on to state, It compounds it by deliberately undermining the position of the United States Government and the armed forces WE sent to Iraq at a perilous moment which makes it not only unconstitutional, but disgraceful. Below is the congressmans entire speech delivered on the House Floor: Use of Force Termination Resolution January 9, 2020 Speeches Use of Force Termination Resolution House Chamber January 9, 2020 Mr. Speaker: Our Constitution is clear: only Congress can start a war, but only the President can wage it. CONGRESS started this war with the AUMF in 2002, and it remains in effect today. The Founders didnt want one individual getting us into a war but once in, they didnt want 535 squabbling prima donnas second-guessing every decision on the battlefield. President Trump needed no other reason to order the attack that killed Soleimani IN IRAQ beyond the simple fact that he was acting as an enemy combatant against U.S. forces in a war zone in which the Congress had authorized the President to take military action. I happen to believe the AUMF was a colossal mistake. This resolution doesnt correct that mistake. It compounds it by deliberately undermining the position of the United States Government and the armed forces WE sent to Iraq at a perilous moment which makes it not only unconstitutional, but disgraceful. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML. Nora Quoirin's parents said they are 'shocked' today after learning that Malaysian authorities have closed the investigation into their daughter's death, which they believe involved a 'criminal element'. The 15-year-old's unclothed body was discovered in August after a massive hunt through dense rainforest, not far from the Dusan Resort, where the London-based family had been on holiday. Nora's mum Meabh and dad Sebastian demanded answers today after news emerged that Malaysia's Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) classed the inquest as 'no further action'. Her parents believe there was a 'criminal element' in the case as the teen had learning difficulties and would not have wandered off alone, but Malaysian police insist there was no sign of foul play. The couple 'strongly refute' the police report that says Nora, who had 'significant physical and mental challenges', was alone for the duration of her disappearance. Parents of Nora Quoirin, Meabh and Sebastien (pictured), believe that there was a criminal element to the disappearance and death of their 15-year-old daughter at a jungle resort near Seremban in August last year Nora Quoirin, 15, from London, disappeared while on holiday with her family in Malaysia over the summer They also said the police have refused to turn over a full account of the post-mortem, according to the Mirror. In a written statement released by the Lucie Blackman Trust today, the Quoirins said that they are 'shocked by the decision' made by the coroner's office. They said they received an incomplete explanation from the pathologist who confirmed the 'cause of death as gastrointestinal bleeding and an ulcer (likely brought on by starvation and/or stress).' 'We must emphasise however that this is only a brief extract of what will be the full post-mortem report, which is as yet still unavailable,' they added. 'It is critical that we receive this report. 'It may reveal other significant details that contributed to Nora's death, such as why a severe ulcer was triggered so quickly in her body. Meabh Quoirin the mother of a missing Nora Quoirin using a megaphone to call out to her daughter on August 10 (Nora's father Sebastien Quoirin stands behind her) 'It is moreover utterly unacceptable that we have not received a single update from Malaysia since Nora's death.' They allege that the decision to discontinue the case 'prevents justice from being done'. 'This stands in stark contrast with the promise of transparency that we received from the Deputy Prime Minister and other prominent officials whom we met in Malaysia,' they added. The couple are in the process of suing the Malaysian resort where Nora disappeared for allegedly failing to provide adequate security. The family's lawyers have filed a civil suit against the Dusun Resort, not far from the capital Kuala Lumpur, seeking at least 182,000 ringgit (34,000) in damages, according to court documents seen on Monday. The couple, Meabh and Sebastian Quoirin, claim the entrance gate to their jungle cottage was left open at all times, no guards were stationed outside and there was no CCTV installed at the premises. The 15-year-old was on the 'trip of a lifetime' to the Dusun Resort (pictured) near Seremban on the edge of the Malaysian rainforest They also say the latch of a window was broken and it could be easily opened by anyone from outside. The teen's parents argue that her disappearance and death were 'caused directly by the defendant's negligence and/or recklessness,' the documents said. They are seeking damages for bereavement, funeral expenses and other costs, as well as any other damages as assessed by the court. A representative from the resort told the official Bernama news agency their legal team were examining the suit. A map shows the Dusun Resort near Seremban in Malaysia where Nora disappeared in August The teen disappeared on August 4, a day after arriving at the Dusun, triggering a 10-day hunt involving hundreds of people, helicopters and sniffer dogs. The results of an autopsy found she likely starved and died of internal bleeding, with police saying there was no indication she was abducted or sexually assaulted. Iraqi demonstrators take to the streets again for anti-government protests at al-Haboubi square in Nasiriya - REUTERS The US has refused a request by Iraq for talks on the withdrawal of troops from the country on Friday, saying America was a "force for good" in the Middle East. Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraq's caretaker prime minister,had asked Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, in a phone call on Thursday night to send a delegation to Baghdad to prepare for a pullout. Iraq is keen to keep the best relations with its neighbours and friends within the international community, said Mr Abdul-Mahdi, in a clear reference to Tehran, whose calls for the US to leave the region have taken on an added urgency since Washington's deadly strike on its top commander, Qassem Soleimani. The State Department responded today by saying it was willing to hold talks, but a US retreat from Iraq would not be up for discussion. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump speak to members of the US military during an unannounced trip to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. Credit: AFP At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnershipnot to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East, its statement on Friday read. "America is a force for good in the Middle East. Our military presence in Iraq is to continue the fight against ISIS and as the Secretary has said, we are committed to protecting Americans, Iraqis, and our coalition partners. " The department said the US was at the same time in talks with Nato partners about increasingly their role in Iraq, in order to "share the burden". The move followed a vote on Monday by Iraq's parliament to expel the 5,000 US troops in the country after a US drone strike near Baghdad airport killed Quds Force general Soleimani. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq after it passed the non-binding resolution, though the comments were thought to have been made off-the-cuff rather than part of any new policy. Rescue teams working at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off near Imam Khomeini airport Credit: AFP The US-led coalition taskforce fighting Islamic State in Iraq delivered a letter to the Iraqi defence ministry the same day saying preparations would begin right away to ensure that movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner. But soon afterwards, Mark Esper, the defence secretary, insisted that no decision had been taken to evacuate Iraq. Story continues There are fears the retreat of coalition troops would seriously weaken the effort to stop Isil regrouping in Iraq and would cede all influence the West has to Tehran. Mr Abdul-Mahdi and Iraqs leaders are caught in a bind as Washington and Tehran are the Baghdad government's main allies and vie for influence there. Thousands took to the streets in the Iraq's Shia-majority south, including the main protest hotspots of Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, Basra and the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, on Friday, reviving a months-long protest movement against the government. Thousands of Iraqis rallied across the country today, reviving a months-long protest movement against the government and adding criticisms of both the US and Iran Credit: AFP Many chanted saying they did not want Iraq to continue serving as s a staging ground in the shadow war between Washington and Iran. This is a promise, Baghdad will not be quiet anymore, demonstrators in the capitals Tahrir Square chanted, waving the Iraqi flag. Screw Iran and Screw the US! We will not be a staging ground for any new war. One student told the Washington Post: "We've held months of demonstrations and the parliamentarians never visited our dead. Then Soleimani dies and they have a funeral for him. We need politicians who are independent of external powers, but there are none." In Nasiriya, where more than 30 protesters were shot in one single day last month by Iraqi security forces, they shouted: We curse Iran and America as well. Ayatollah Sistani, the highest Shia authority in Iraq who wields huge influence over public opinion, said no foreign powers should be allowed to decide Iraq's fate. "The use of methods of domination by different sides which possess power and influence...will only entrench the crisis and prevent a solution," he said. "The people have suffered enough from wars...Iraq must govern itself and there must be no role for outsiders in its decision-making. Regular readers of this newspaper may remember Brexit. For those who don't, or are trying not to, Brexit is an esoteric and costly concept dreamt up by a group of mostly rich UK politicians. It has also been an all-encompassing drain on our political system for the last three years, especially last year. There have been endless days of excitement as deadlines to catastrophes loomed and were then followed by an equal number of anti-climaxes as any real threats were averted. Brexit has been put to the back of most people's minds since an exit deal was agreed between the EU and the UK before Christmas. It's not over by a long way but the reprieve has been generally welcomed by people who had grown tired of the uncertainty and brinkmanship. But I'm afraid to say it's coming back and coming back in a big way. Fine Gael wants to make sure you're thinking about all those end of days no-deal Brexit scenarios it warned you about when you're standing over your ballot paper thinking about how you should rank your candidates. The threats of job losses, economic meltdown, queues at airports and terrorists lurking in every corner. It will also want you to remember how its role in the negotiations ensured none of this has happened to date. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Simon Coveney and European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee will be paraded around the country as the beacons of political statesmanship. The electorate will be warned Brexit is far from over, and told they would be mad to put their faith in Fianna Fail as more difficult negotiations lie ahead. They'll say, sure didn't Micheal Martin sack his frontbench spokesperson on foreign affairs Niall Collins, and his Brexit spokesperson Lisa Chambers still has questions to answer about her own voting record. If Brexit deadline day, January 31, falls in the middle of the campaign, Fine Gael will make hay out of that too. But is this what will be on voters' minds when they decide how to vote? Fianna Fail certainly doesn't think so. The belief in Micheal Martin's party is that people are exhausted by Brexit, and it will be the last thing they will be thinking about when they are casting their vote. Instead, the campaign will focus on more mundane but equally important issues for voters. The traffic on the way to work, the cost of putting your kid into a creche, the extortionate rent you're forking out for a poky two-bed apartment. Bread and butter stuff. It'll also be telling you Fine Gael is awful with money because of the children's hospital and the rural broadband plan - but that's a difficult argument to make when the Government's raking in record sums of tax revenue, and everyone who wants a job has one. Brexit is far from over, and still very unpredictable. But whether people who are worried about their rent, mortgage and childcare will be thinking about Brexit when they vote remains to be seen. - Kenya Airways shareholders are concerned after the carriers shares tumbled to two shillings at the NSE - The funds sought for by the national carrier will be used in settling the investors once the nationalisation process gathers steam - In December 2019, the struggling airline fired over 70 employees affiliated to Career Directions Limited (CDL), a recruitment firm Loss making national carrier Kenya Airways is seeking for more funds from the government in bid to turn around its fortunes. The airline which was once the pride of Africa has requested the National Treasury to be part of the funds it needs to buy back the shares in the nationalisation process. READ ALSO: Raila set to kick off BBI campaigns in Kisii Troubled national carrier Kenya Airways is seeking for more funds from govt to help turn around its fortunes. Photo: Kenya Airways. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: NHIF limits cover to one wife, 5 children in new rules According to a report by Citizen TV on Thursday, January 9, the airlines shareholders are concerned after the carriers shares tumbled to two shillings each at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The funds sought for by KQ will be used in settling the investors once the nationalisation process gathers steam. As a listed company KQ will have to place an offer for its shareholders to buy back the shares and place it fully under the hands of the government. Photo: Kenya Airways. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Rais Uhuru apongeza Malkia Strikers baada ya kufuzu Olimpiki The Kenyan government is the largest Kenya Airways shareholder with 48.9% ownership, followed by a consortium of banks under the KQ Lenders Company (38.1%), with the remainder being split between KLM (7.4%), and ordinary shares. As a listed company KQ will have to place an offer for its shareholders to buy back the shares and place it fully under the hands of the government. A file photo of Kenya Airways staff. Photo: Kenya Airways. Source: Facebook In December 2019, the struggling carrier fired over 70 employees affiliated to Career Directions Limited (CDL), a recruitment firm. This came after it announced a 25% drop in earnings for the year ending December 31, 2019 even though the government had written off KSh 24.2 billion in debts in March 2019. In 2018, the company's loss stood at KSh 7.59 billion up from KSh 6.4 billion recorded in 2017. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly Please give me a job - Stephen Kinyanjui | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Burma Myanmar Army Attacks Kachin Independence Army Base Kachin Independence Army troops in Laiza, Kachin State in October 2013. / The Irrawaddy The Myanmar army attacked a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) training base in northern Shan States Hseni Township on Wednesday, according to local sources. The KIA reported that the Myanmar army attacked a KIA Brigade 10 training base and KIA forces fought back. We heard that they came to attack our base. KIA forces were fighting in self-defense, KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy on Friday. We do not know details yet about whether the Myanmar army has withdrawn their troops from our area or whether our training base has withdrawn troops from the area, as it is very difficult to get in contact with them, he said. Col. Naw Bu is based at the KIA headquarters in Laiza, Kachin State. The colonel added that in the last three months, the Myanmar military has deployed troops in the territory of KIA Brigade 10 and has been searching for the KIA army base. Kachin News Group reported that the Myanmar army fired four large artillery shells at the KIA training base, as well as lighter weapons. The KIA reported that no one was killed and their forces were not conducting training at the base at the time. The Myanmar army is involved in ongoing fighting with the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) but has not fought with the KIA recently. The KIA has not been a part of the conflict involving other members of the Northern Alliancethe MNDAA, the TNLA and the Arakan Army (AA). The other three Northern Alliance groups have launched several military offensives in northern Shan State but according to the TNLA, the KIA has told their members that they were not ready yet to join those offensives. However, the KIA has joined the other Northern Alliance members in peace negotiations sponsored by the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) several times in Kengtung and Muse, as well as in China. At NRPC negotiations in Kunming, China last month, both sides agreed to meet again in January. The KIA has tried to negotiate a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar army and the Myanmar government but there was internal disagreement in the KIA when the Myanmar army asked it to provide numbers for the size of its armed forces as well as the types and quantities of its weapons. You may also like these stories: Tatmadaw Pushes Back KIA Battalions in Kachin State, Alliance Says Chinese Envoy Meets Members of Myanmars Northern Alliance in Yunnan Abbot Killed by Gunmen Amid Tax Dispute in Myanmars Shan State You are here: Arts To celebrate the Year of the Rat, Shanghai Disney Resort said Thursday it would hold a series of special events from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9. On Jan. 23 and 24, Shanghai Disneyland Hotel will offer an exclusive Spring Festival banquet accompanied by Mickey and Minnie. Featuring a range of classic traditional dishes, the banquet will recreate a traditional Spring Festival atmosphere with plenty of activities, such as papercutting, sugar painting and dumpling making. A new vibrant fireworks show is also ready to dazzle guests every evening from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9, with projections on the Disney castle featuring families from classic Disney movies and traditional Chinese elements such as calligraphy and lanterns. Mickey and Minnie will dance together alongside a host of Disney dancers in special Spring Festival outfits every weekend over the Spring Festival period. China's Spring Festival this year falls on Jan. 25. According to experts from the tourism industry, since the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort in June 2016, it has launched a range of different cultural activities combining Chinese and Western elements to promote its presence in the Chinese market. Justin Trudeau was asked several times on Thursday whether Donald Trump bore some blame for the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane carrying 138 people destined for Canada this week. Its not going to be the last time that question is going to be raised in the days and weeks ahead. It may be one of the rare times, though, that an international aviation disaster has carried thorny implications for Canada-U.S. relations. For now, the prime minister is trying his best to sidestep any Trump connection to the Tehran flight disaster. It is too soon to be drawing conclusions or assigning blame or responsibility in whatever proportions, Trudeau said at his news conference. But Trudeau didnt take that question entirely off the table either. Nor will many Canadians, still reeling from the deaths of so many compatriots on that ill-fated flight from Tehran to Kyiv on Wednesday. Trudeau was asked, for instance, about Trumps remarks earlier Thursday about the Tehran crash taking place in a rough neighbourhood in the Middle East and the possibility it was simply a devastating error. Ill let Mr. Trumps words stand for themselves, the prime minister said. By now, Trudeau should have this answer down pat. From the moment that Trump entered the White House in 2016, he has been knocking Trudeau and Canadas foreign policy off track, often dangerously so. Free trade negotiations with the U.S. ate up much of Trudeaus first mandate. The ongoing extradition drama over Meng Wanzhou linked to Trumps own battle with China and Huawei has blown up Canada-China relations. Now Canada has been drawn into Trumps new tinderbox of the Middle East, not to mention Ukraine, which has figured largely in the presidents impeachment drama. Even before the plane crash, Trumps foray into Iraq last weekend forced many Canadian troops to decamp from their NATO training mission in the country and seek safe haven in Kuwait. It remains an open question when Canada can resume this NATO role. Remember when 2020 was going to be all about Trudeau turning his focus to domestic concerns, even reassigning his prize minister, Chrystia Freeland, from international to Canadian matters as his deputy? That seems like a long time ago and were less than 10 days into the new year. Once again, Canada has been drawn into the vortex of Trumps global disruption this time, tragically and quite probably accidentally. For a president who doesnt travel often out of his country, Trump has a remarkable ability to stir things up outside U.S. borders, and Canada apparently cannot remain insulated or unimplicated, even inadvertently. Whether Trudeau likes it or not, Canadians will be looking for blame not just cause in this large-scale tragedy, and Trump may well be in many sights. If Trump had not launched his drone strike in Baghdad last weekend to take out a top Iranian commander, would Iran have been launching missiles at planes this week? On Wednesday, Trudeau and Trump talked on the phone a constructive call, according to sources in the PMO. This was, however, before the news erupted on Thursday about an Iranian missile as the cause of the crash. If the two leaders did talk of a connection between the plane crash and Trumps new focus on Iran-Iraq, no one is saying, at least for now. I also asked PMO people this week whether Trump had given any foreshadowing of his plans for Iran when he spoke to his counterparts at the NATO summit in December. Youll remember that NATO summit. It became more famous or infamous for the cocktail-party scene of Trudeau, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron chatting about their travails with Trump. No, Trump did not give any advance word of his Iran intentions there at NATO, I was told. This sounds about right. Trudeau, Johnson and Macron were actually talking of Trumps unpredictability in that candid chat. Trumps penchant for surprising behaviour has been rippling across the planet since his inauguration. Trudeau and Canada has had to learn to manage it. If the prime minister ever does write a book about his experience in governing, he may need to put Trump in the title, or at least a subtitle about best-laid plans and the disruptor-in-chief. A few years ago well, even a few days ago very few people would have predicted that a plane crash in Tehran would force us to look at Canadas relations with the United States. But this is life in Trumps rough neighbourhood, where Canada keeps getting caught in the crossfire: this time, as the president would say, devastatingly. Susan Delacourt is the Stars Ottawa bureau chief and a columnist covering national politics. Reach her via email: sdelacourt@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt Read more about: A yacht sails past a burning woodchip mill as the wildfires hits the town of Eden, New South Wales, Australia, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. The wildfires have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and continue to burn, threatening to flare up again as temperatures rise. Read more EDEN, Australia Thousands of people fled their homes and helicopters dropped supplies to towns at risk of nearby wildfires as hot, windy conditions Friday threatened already fire-ravaged southeastern Australian communities. The danger is centered on New South Wales and Victoria, Australias most populous states, where temperatures and winds spiked after a few days of relatively benign conditions. Firefighters were working into the night to keep the fires from reaching communities as fierce winds whipped the blazes in multiple directions. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service had warned that coastal towns south of Sydney including Eden, Batemans Bay and Nowra could again be under threat weeks after losing homes to the fires. By Friday evening, the wildfires burning in that region were holding within containment lines, but winds could cause them to flare anew, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the extent of any damage from the fires wouldn't be known until Saturday morning. "We know it's going to be a long and difficult night," Berejiklian said. In neighboring Victoria, evacuation orders were issued in alpine areas, and Premier Daniel Andrews pleaded with residents to heed alerts and avoid complacency even though no fresh destruction was being reported. Despite this unprecedented fire activity, we have nobody who is unaccounted for, we have no further people who have died, and we have no further communities who have been cut off," Andrews told reporters. Now, all of those things can change and that is perhaps the most powerful reminder that we have to remain vigilant. The unprecedented fire crisis in southeast Australia has claimed at least 26 lives, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland since September. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies. The military has already been involved in the unfolding crisis by clearing roads closed by fallen trees, burying dead cattle and sheep and providing fodder to surviving livestock. Fire crews throughout the region were bracing for a long, rocky night. In the southeastern New South Wales town of Candelo, Nathan Barnden, a divisional commander with the Rural Fire Service, was preparing to head to the nearby township of Burragate with his team to protect the community from a fire that was marching north. The fire had breached containment lines in one area, and officials were worried that predicted winds of 60 to 100 kilometers per hour (40 to 60 miles per hour) could push it into populated areas. Well be there to help defend them through the night, Barnden said. Weve been warned that we could be up there til the morning. There is a risk that well be cut off and well have to stay there throughout the time. In the small village of Towamba in southern New South Wales, most residents had evacuated by Friday, after firefighters warned them they should get out, said John Nightingale, a volunteer firefighter with the Rural Fire Service. Last week, some houses in the village were destroyed by a fire that turned the afternoon sky first a deep magenta and then pitch black, Nightingale said. Late at night, you could hear the rumbling of the fire, he said. It was very terrifying. Officials feared the wind shift late Friday could blow the flames in a new direction. Nightingale said he and the other firefighters would work to snuff out any spot fires that flare up to try and keep them from spreading. But if conditions became too dangerous, they would need to take shelter at a community hall, a solid structure with about 25,000 liters (6,600 gallons) of water attached to it. Alongside the hall is a cleared, grassy area away from trees and shrubs where people can retreat as a last resort. The grass on the oval is very short so theres nothing to carry a strong fire, he said. So thats a survival option, basically. A patch of grass. And if that happened, wed have trucks and sprinklers going and hoses going, wetting people down. But I would hate it to come to that. Anything but that. Temperatures in parts of the fire-threatened area reached around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, and conditions remained tinder dry. The wildfire disaster has focused many Australians on how the nation adapts to climate change. Morrison has come under criticism for downplaying the need for his government to address climate change, which experts say helps supercharge the blazes. On Friday, thousands of protesters gathered in cities across Australia to call for action on climate change and demand that Morrison be ousted. Morrison said Thursday that a government inquiry into the fires would examine the role of climate change. Asked on Friday whether he expected fire emergencies of the same magnitude to become more common in the future with climate change, Morrison did not give a direct answer. There'll be the reviews that take place as youd expect and I've indicated in response to questions that we'll be working closely with state and territory authorities on how theyre undertaken, Morrison told reporters. The links and implications here have been acknowledged. Morrison brushed off criticism over what many Australians perceive as a slow, detached response to the wildfire crisis. What weve got here is the single largest federal response to a bushfire disaster nationally that the country has ever seen, Morrison said. The government's responding to an unprecedented crisis with an unprecedented level of support. The conservation group WWF-Australia estimates that 1.25 billion wild animals had died during the fires in addition to livestock losses, which the government expects will exceed 100,000 animals. WWF fears the disasters could lead to local extinctions and threaten the survival of some species, such as the glossy black-cockatoo and a knee-high kangaroo known as the long-footed potoroo. WWF conservation scientist Stuart Blanch described the estimate as conservative, and it did not include bats, frogs and insects. The majority of estimated losses were reptiles, followed by birds, then mammals such as koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and wombats. WWF estimates there were between 100,000 and 200,000 koalas across Australia before the fire season. Estimated koala losses in the current emergency include 25,000 on Kangaroo Island off southern Australia and 8,000 in northwest New South Wales. Its a significant loss, but I dont think well know for several months, Blanch said of the koala deaths. Associated Press writers Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, and Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report. YEREVAN. The assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, in effect, ruined the years of work by various US structures to achieve political turmoil within Iran. Iranian Studies specialist Vardan Voskanyan said this at a meeting with journalists today. According to him, the United States has worked to create a wave of social protest inside Iran to achieve a clash between the authorities and the masses of protesters, to get casualties, and thus to overthrow the country's legitimate authorities. "It is natural that after this assassination, the Iranian society is very united, and the level of social protest actions is significantly reduced," he added. "We now have an Iran that is united in the face of an external threat. In this sense, Soleimani, by his death, still serves his people." Rescue workers and forensic investigators inspect the bodies of victims of a Ukrainian plane crash. airport, killing all onboard. Iran has formally invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to take part in its investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian jetliner and the U.S. agency has agreed to assign an investigator, an Iranian official said on Thursday. "The NTSB has replied to our chief investigator and has announced an accredited representative," Farhad Parvaresh, Iran's representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization, part of the United Nations, told Reuters. The NTSB declined comment. A person briefed on the matter confirmed the NTSB had agreed to take part but said it was unclear what if anything its representative would be able to do under U.S. sanctions. The United States is allowed to take part under global rules since the Boeing 737-800NG jet was designed and built there. Boeing said in a statement that it was "supporting the NTSB in the accident investigation." Iran's IRNA news agency also quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying Iran "has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations." Canada, which had dozens of passengers onboard, has also assigned an expert, while a team from Ukraine held discussions in Tehran on Thursday, Parvaresh said in a telephone interview. Iran is ready to provide consular facilities and visas for accredited investigators, he added. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is known for keeping a low profile. James Mueller was sworn into office on New Years Day at the age of 37, making him much younger than the mayors of other, comparably sized cities in his state. But hes already familiar with City Hall, having spent four years in the previous administration as the mayors chief of staff and the citys director of community investment. Muellers office did not respond to multiple requests from Slate to talk about his new job running a Midwestern city of 100,000. But people who have worked with him describe him as very cerebral and reserved, far from the polished stereotype of a politician. A native of South Bend, he obtained three bachelors degrees from Notre Dameone each in mathematics, history, and philosophythen went on to the University of Delaware to earn a Ph.D. in oceanography. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like many bright young people from midsize cities in the middle of the country, he settled into a job in a metropolitan coastal city, working in Washington on public policy for Congress and a think tank. But he reversed direction and came back home to take a role in municipal government. And now, while the nation is absorbed in the drama of presidential campaigns and geopolitical crisis, he is taking charge of the street-level governance that shapes peoples everyday lives. After defeating eight people in the primary, he won the general election with 9,437 votes, or 63 percent. Mueller was not someone who has sought to thrust himself out in front of the scenes. In interviews, people in South Bend whove dealt with him describe him as a technocrat who does more listening than talking. They said he takes a facts-first approach to leadership, and he is not afraid to delegate responsibility to people he trusts to judge the pros and cons of situations. Advertisement Advertisement People were having trouble picturing him as someone who could be a dynamic leader, who could move people with his oratory, said Jeff Parrott, a longtime reporter for the South Bend Tribune who has covered Mueller since 2015. He did not give rousing speeches like more charismatic youthful politicians. But he won, Parrott said. And so, now, his supporters have always said that theyre confident that hell grow into that role, that hell gain some of those political skills as he settles into the office. Thatll be interesting to see, if he changes at all. Advertisement Change is a crucial question in a city that has built an image around itself as an evolving place. Denise Riedl, who holds the position of South Bends chief innovation officer, said that Mueller is interested in using the citys existing SB Stat program as a way to assess neighborhood strength and how current city programs are lifting up neighborhoods. Should they be scaled, should the city be pivoting into new directions? The aim is to understand neighborhood health by integrating the work of teams from public works, code enforcement, and arts departments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mueller is keeping the department heads he worked with from the previous administration. But some residents hope he can direct the citys existing vision of change in new directions, and to new places. Wayne Hubbard, a community activist and organizer who is pushing for school reform, a homeless prevention plan, and legalizing medicinal and recreational marijuana use, said he hopes that Mueller will focus his energies on building areas of the city outside of downtown, in the poorer neighborhoods on South Bends west and southeast sides, where the decline of manufacturing has led to decades of distress. If [the city] can spend millions of dollars on parks, they can spend a million dollars and clean up an entire side of a neighborhood, Hubbard said. They could do the same things and they just dont. The only thing thats changed in South Bend is downtown. Downtown is doing great. The rest of the city? Its starving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jorden Giger, an activist with Black Lives Matter South Bend, worked with Mueller in his earlier official roles. He has an opportunity right now to really make a change and do something different, said Giger. Giger said Mueller told him his administration will pay attention to addressing existing disparities along the line of race and classso well see. In his previous roles, Giger said, Mueller did make changes to the status quo, but it didnt come without pressure from the outside and City Council members. Giger recounts one instance when local organizers pushed Muellers department and the city to set aside dollars for a neighborhood impact survey as part of a larger city-commissioned market study. Advertisement When it comes to matters of race and class, like he really didnt know a whole lot when I first met him, said Giger. But, he said, hes seen the new mayor learn things over time. All in all, Im hopeful, because Ive had a closer working relationship with him, Giger said. I know that he is someone who can really be pushed. Advertisement Giger hopes that Mueller will be intentional about including folks who historically have not been included. He has to make room for other voices to be able to weigh in on issues, he said. Advertisement Giger also said he wants to see Mueller work with business owners of color, specifically Black ones, to ensure they are getting contracts with the City of South Bend. And he calls for more police accountabilityincluding an implicit bias or a cultural competency test for the police and a citizens review board that has power to subpoena, prosecute and to hire or fire officers. I think that James will be OK, said Muhammad Shabazz, an activist who is also the Democratic member of the St. Joseph County voter registration board. I talked to my councilperson, Tim Scott, often and Tim will be working with him. Tim is the president of the council, so hell be able to work with people that got knowledge of everything thats going on thats been there for a while. I mean he has a lot of support, Shabazz said, so that works in his favor. [January 09, 2020] Avolon Announces Pricing of US$1.75 Billion Senior Unsecured Notes Offering Avolon Holdings Limited ("Avolon"), the international aircraft leasing company, announces the successful pricing of a private offering (the "Offering") by its wholly owned subsidiary, Avolon Holdings Funding Limited, for a principal aggregate amount of US$1.75 billion. The Offering comprises US$1.1 billion of 2.875% senior unsecured notes due 2025 (the "2025 Notes") and US$650 million of 3.25% senior unsecured notes due 2027 (the "2027 Notes" and, together with the 2025 Notes, the "Notes"). The Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Avolon, and by certain of its subsidiaries. The Offerings are expected to close on or about 14 January, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. Net proceeds from the Offering will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include the future repayment of outstanding secured indebtedness. The Notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Notes will be offered in the United States only to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act and outside the United States under Regulation S of the Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there by any sale of securities in any jurisdiction n which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, qualification or an exemption under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About Avolon Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the United States, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Avolon provides aircraft leasing and lease management services. Avolon is 70% owned by an indirect subsidiary of Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd., a public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SLE: 000415) and 30% owned by ORIX Aviation Systems, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation which is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX). Avolon is the world's third largest aircraft leasing business with an owned, managed and committed fleet, as of 31 December 2019 of 925 aircraft. Website: www.avolon.aero Twitter (News - Alert): @avolon_aero Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This document includes forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, including statements with respect to Avolon's business, financial condition, results of operations and plans. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and all of which are based on our management's current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expects," "may," "will," "could," "should," "shall," "risk," "intends," "estimates," "aims," "plans," "predicts," "continues," "assumes," "positioned" or "anticipates" or the negative thereof, other variations thereon or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved, that any private placement of senior unsecured notes will occur following the investor calls or, regardless of whether a private placement of senior unsecured notes is consummated, that any ratings agencies will upgrade Avolon to investment grade. Avolon does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update any information contained herein to reflect future events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005869/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The city banned weed stores along the Magnificent Mile, the Loop and in large chunks of River North along the lakefront, and created seven zones for marijuana sales. Initially, no more than seven dispensaries will be allowed in each zone. Dispensaries also cannot open within 1,500 feet of each other. The unprecedented bushfires in Australia have killed more than 25 people, destroyed thousands of homes and threatened more than 800 million animals. To help combat the crisis, celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Elton John and Chris Hemsworth have all pledged $1 million. Fashion labels like Gucci, Camilla and AUrate are now joining in the relief efforts. FEMAIL rounds up brands making a difference Down Under. Help: Fashion labels like Gucci, Camilla and AUrate are joining the Australia bushfire relief efforts Australian label, Camilla, is currently hosting a public archive auction selling rare pieces from past collections. 100% of the revenue will be directly donated to the cause. The auction launched today via eBay and will finish Sunday January 12th AEDST. In addition to the auction, the label will raise funds for both fire victims and fire emergency bodies by pledging 10% of all of sales made within the first week of the launch of their new Then, Now, Ever After collection which went live today, January 8th. Getting involved: Australian label, Camilla , is currently hosting a public archive auction selling rare pieces from past collections To help: 100% of revenue from Camilla's archive pieces will be directly donated to the cause Check it out: The auction launched today via eBay and will finish Sunday January 12th AEDST Twelve luxury labels from Kering have come together to support the fight against Australias bushfire disaster with a joint donation of 1 million Australian dollars. The participating labels include Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux. Additional initiatives will also be undertaken by various brands in solidarity with the Australian people. In the longer term, Kering plans to participate in future reforestation and biodiversity programs. Infinity Heart Ring, $80; auratenewyork.com Diamond Infinity Pendant by AUrate, $2,200; auratenewyork.com Left: Huggie Earrings with White Diamonds by AUrate, $480; auratenewyork.com. Right: Infinity Ring by AUrate, $120; auratenewyork.com DTC jewelry brand Aurate is donating 50% of all proceeds over the next 72 hours to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief fund. Shop the fine jewelry site and support the efforts to assist. Today, Alpha-H will donate 100% of profits from web product sales (including their award winning Liquid Gold Ultimate Perfecting Mask) to the Red Cross disaster fund and WIRES Wildlife Rescue. Zitsticka will also donate 100% of profits to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. Left: Alpha H Liquid Gold Ultimate Perfecting Mask, $75; alpha-h.com. Right: Zitsticka Killa Kit, $29 for 8 patches, zitsticka.com Giving back has always been at the core of Pura Vida's mission. Since 2010, they've donated over $1.9M dollars to various causes through their on-going charity program. The brand used its platform to support the Australian communities impacted by the devasting bushfires by launching an Australian Fire Relief Bracelet. Donating 100% of the net sales to the American Red Cross, the $6 handmade bauble sold out within 24 hours. Sold out: Pura Vida Bracelets launched an Australian Fire Relief Bracelet, as a part of their on-going charity collection, donating 100% of the net sales to the American Red Cross In partnership with the Red Cross, Afterpay is encouraging its global customers and retail network to donate to bushfire-affected communities through the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. The funds will go directly to supporting businesses, communities and volunteers in affected areas around Australia. On behalf of its global employees, Afterpay will donate A $200,000 to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. Afterpay customers can make their own donations by visiting www.redcross.com.au/afterpay and select the amount they would like to donate directly to the Australian Red Cross. BEIRUT Lebanon may lift a travel ban on ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn if files pertaining to his case do not arrive from Japan within 40 days, caretaker justice minister Albert Serhan said in a statement on Friday. Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he awaited trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. His dramatic escape has raised tensions between Japan and Lebanon, where Ghosn slammed the Japanese justice system at a two-hour news conference on Wednesday, prompting Japan's Justice Minister to launch a rare and forceful public response. Lebanon has no extradition agreement with Japan. Serhan said in the statement that he had met with the Japanese ambassador to Lebanon and reaffirmed the importance of the relationship between the two countries. He also said that Ghosn's wife Carole will also be questioned by Lebanese prosecutors when authorities receive an Interpol notice for her. "Carole will be subject to the same procedures that were followed for (Carlos) when the red notice was received from Interpol." Tokyo prosecutors on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for Carole for alleged perjury related to the misappropriation charge against her husband. A spokeswoman for Carole said that she had voluntarily returned to Japan nine months ago to answer prosecutors' questions and was free to go without any charges, adding that the warrant was "pathetic". A fair trial? Carlos Ghosns lawyer on Friday told Japans government that the authorities had failed to arrange for a fair trial that respected universal rights. Francois Zimeray, French lawyer for Ghosn, said that it had been for Japans prosecutors to prove Ghosns guilt, not for Ghosn to prove his innocence. It belongs to the prosecution to prove guilt and not to the accused person to prove its innocence, Zimeray said in a statement. Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori launched a rare and forceful public takedown of auto executive-turned-fugitive Ghosn after he blasted the countrys legal system as allowing him zero chance of a fair trial as he sought to justify his escape to Beirut. Story continues Reporting by Hoda Monem, Dominique Vidalon and Richard Lough. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> The HRD ministry on Friday met with a five-member team from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration, including Vice Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar. The emergency meeting has been called to discuss the situation on the campus and resolve the standoff between students and the administration. JNU's registrar and three rectors from the university are also part of the panel. Manipulator: Asta Juskauskiene arranged a deadly 'medieval duel' between her ex-husband and her lover to see which of her two admirers would win her hand is facing life behind bars after he ex husband was stabbed 35 times in an east London alleyway A divorced mother-of-four who arranged a deadly 'medieval duel' between her ex-husband and her lover to see which of her two admirers would win her hand is facing life behind bars. Asta Juskauskiene, 35, left her husband Giedruis Juskauskas, when she started seeing Mantas Kvedaras, after meeting the 25-year-old online following his release from prison in Lithuania. Mr Juskauskas was still in a physical relationship with his ex-wife despite their divorce in December 2018, while Kvedaras flew to the UK just five days before the murder to stay at Juskauskiene's east London home. Both men claimed her as their own so she decided to settle the argument with a fight to the death in an alleyway in Stratford - a duel that she meticulously arranged while at home looking after her children, the youngest of which she shared with Mr Juskauskas. Kvedaras, who admitted murder, stabbed his love rival 35 times to his body, chest and neck on June 17 last year, leaving Mr Juskauskas to bleed to death at the scene. Juskauskiene had conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice but was today convicted of the charges following a five week trial at Kingston Crown Court. Juskauskiene stood expressionless in the dock wearing a grey chequered dress with a white blouse collar and as the verdict was delivered. Asta Juskauskiene, 35, left her husband Giedruis Juskauskas (left), when she started seeing Mantas Kvedaras (right), after meeting the 25-year-old online following his release from prison in Lithuania Judge Peter Lodder QC, said he will sentence Juskauskiene and Kvedaras together next month. Hugh Davies, prosecuting, had told the court that Juskauskiene had discussed the purpose of the fatal meeting with her friend Jurgita Sulciene. 'That purpose was for the men to settle the issue in relation to the defendant with violence - in effect a latter-day medieval duel.' Kvedaras had begun a relationship with Juskauskiene following his release from prison in Lithuania. 'Giedrius was however still on the scene,' said Mr Davies. 'He regularly visited the address to see his daughter. 'He had not wanted the divorce. He was providing financial support for his daughter and maintaining a sexual relationship with the defendant. 'In their different ways each man felt that they had claims over Asta Juskauskiene. The situation was inevitably going to come to a head. 'It did come to a head in Whalebone Lane on that Monday morning. 'Giedrius Juskauskias and Mantas Kvedaras had obviously met there by arrangement rather than by chance: neither was anywhere near where they lived, and telephone records demonstrate there was repeated communication between them during the day of Sunday 16 June as they travelled from different locations to the scene. 'Juskauskiene is a manipulative and controlling figure central to the orchestration of these events. Juskauskiene (right) denied but was convicted of conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice after a five week trial at Kingston Crown Courtice. Also pictured (left): A photograph taken from Juskauskienes Facebook page 'She knew in advance that Mantas Kvederas was intending to use serious violence and cause at least serious harm to Giedrius and she encouraged, assisted and intended to do this. 'Juskauskiene then actively assisted Mantas in removing his important documents from her house. 'She harboured him at her house following the murder, she selectively deleted text messages from her mobile phones before they were seized by police, and she lied repeatedly in interview. 'The prosecution contends that from the point she was told by Mantas Kvaderas immediately following the murder what had happened she has taken steps to distance herself from both him and the events. Mr Juskauskas was found bleeding to death in Whalebone Lane, Stratford at 12.30am on 17 June. He suffered at least 35 stab wounds to the body and neck, probably from a single knife, with 11 wounds to the neck alone. Juskauskas was found dying from multiple stab wounds this lane in Stratford, East London Mr Davies added: 'This was not a fist fight that escalated: it was a murderous assault with a single bladed knife with death as the inevitable outcome.' Mr Juskauskas had told Ms Sulciene she travelled to meet Kvedaras on 29 May, and he planned to meet her in London on 12 June. 'Before his arrival Sulciene, reading the situation, had warned her that it would be 'dangerous' if Giedrius were to come to the house and meet Mantas,' said the prosecutor. 'She said they would fight, I knew Geidrius was a very jealous person'. During a loudspeaker phone call, Ms Sulciene warned her friend about Mr Juskauskas and heard what she believed to be Kvedaras' voice say: 'F*** off, what can he do to me?' Mr Juskauskas later visited their address and threatened to call social services. Mr Davies said: 'Giedrius had said he would go to social services and was telling Mantas that he would 'come to the house whenever he wanted to visit his daughter'. The case is being heard at Kingston Crown Court in South West London (file picture) 'Mantas had said this was okay, but this angered the defendant, who started putting pressure on Mantas 'telling him off for not kicking Giedrius out, for not arguing back'. Asta then organised a meeting in the graveyard in Crayford near her home at which Mr Juskauskas belittled Kvedaras, saying he would visit Juskauskiene 'whenever he wants and there is nothing Mantas can do about it'. Ms Sulciene said in her statement: 'Asta then suggested that they, Mantas and Mr Juskauskas, meet somewhere in Romford and sort it out. 'They were initially going to meet at night in Shenstone Park in Crayford but one of them said that it's not the best place to meet because it was too close to where they lived. 'Asta then suggested to both of them to meet in some street in Romford where lots of drug dealings were taking place. 'Her reason for this was because this way, if something happened, it would be blamed on the drug dealing,' Ms Sulciene told police. 'This made it clear to me that it would mean that somebody would be seriously hurt or killed. 'Asta implied to me that she wanted the two men to have a fight for her and whoever won would stay with her. 'I do not know what she meant by 'winning' but she did say that she wanted Giedrius to win. Asta then told me that Mantas was preparing for his meeting with Giedrius. 'He was going out to buy something, but when I asked her what it was, she said that she couldn't tell me on the phone. 'I pleaded with her to stop the meeting taking place and even tried to look for Giedrius on Facebook to warn him.' Juskauskiene, a home-visiting care worker of Iron Mill Lane, Dartford, Kent, was convicted of conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice. Kvedaras, of no fixed address, admitted murder. They will return for sentence on 7 February at Kingston Crown Court. SACRAMENTO Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $222 billion state budget Friday that he said represents a snapshot of his priorities for California, including boosting funding for homelessness programs, paying for health care for undocumented-immigrant seniors and closing a state prison. He repeatedly portrayed those plans as a rebuke of a federal government that he said is increasingly unwilling to help the state tackle its most pressing problems, as well as of a California derangement syndrome going on in the popular media that somehow our best days are behind us, that somehow Californias not hitting on many cylinders. Im very proud to be a Californian, Newsom said during a news conference at the state Capitol. Im proud of this state, and Im proud of the budget that we are presenting today, because I am not naive about the areas where were falling short. The governors proposed spending blueprint for fiscal 2020-21 is 2.3% larger than the current budget. It calls for a 3% hike in funding for K-12 schools and community colleges, an $80.5 million expansion of the Medi-Cal health program for poor people to cover about 27,000 undocumented-immigrant seniors, and a $1.5 billion boost in the states rainy day fund. The budget estimates a $5.6 billion surplus, slightly less than the $7 billion predicted by the Legislative Analysts Office in December, because it does not count on the Trump administration renewing Californias expiring tax on health insurance plans. Most of that money will go toward one-time expenditures, projects that can be quickly completed and wont be a long-term drain on the budget, Newsom said. While the governor said the budget is balanced for this year and at least three years after that, he warned that the states growth isnt guaranteed, although some seem to think that it is a dig at legislators and interest groups calling for increased state spending on new and existing California programs. Newsom did endorse one new tax: a vaping levy of $2 per 40 milligrams of nicotine, which would raise about $32 million that would be used for youth e-cigarette prevention and other health care programs. The rise in youth vaping, he said, scares the hell out of me as a parent. The governor pledged to close a state prison within five years, and end most of Californias private prison contracts this year, if the inmate population continues to decline at projected rates. In a change that he acknowledged would be controversial, Newsom also called for cutting the time that convicted felons remain on probation to two years, down from the current five years. That would reduce the prison population by keeping offenders from being locked up for what the governor suggested are low-level offenses committed during a longer probation term. Newsom touched on countless minutiae during a presentation and news conference that lasted nearly three hours, but there were a few things he didnt want to talk about in detail. While he said that the budget provides $20 million to acquire land for the first major state park since the 1940s, Newsom refused to say where that park would be, arguing it would boost the price of the land. And when asked what he planned to do about tax reform, the governor said the state desperately needs dramatic change, but declined to give specifics. I can be stubborn, Newsom said. I can be pragmatic. Here, Im stubbornly pragmatic. The governors spending plan kicks off months of negotiations with the Legislature over the state budget. He will offer a revised proposal in May, and lawmakers must approve a budget by June 15. Democratic leaders had plenty of good words for Newsoms budget, but made it clear that its the beginning, not the end, of the process. The governors proposal provides a solid starting point, said state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego. My colleagues and I appreciate the governor giving us the opportunity to start that process with a budget plan that is already so in sync with California values. Newsom got most of what he sought in last years budget, spending billions to pay down debts and build up reserves while also taking initial steps toward a sweeping liberal policy agenda that is shared by much of the Democratic-controlled Legislature. California reinstated the individual mandate to carry health insurance, which the federal government had eliminated; became the first state in the country to extend health benefits to undocumented young adults; added a second year of free community college; and expanded paid parental leave by two weeks. Newsom previewed several major proposals in the days leading up to the announcement of his new budget plan, including a renewed push to move homeless people off the streets and into more stable living situations. He signed an executive order that directs state agencies to find vacant properties that could be used for emergency homeless shelters. His budget would create a $750 million fund to pay rent and build affordable housing for homeless people, which Newsom would seek to augment with private contributions. He proposed a $1.4 billion annual expansion of Medi-Cal to cover preventive care and housing support services that could keep chronically homeless people out of the emergency room and other costly care. That focus earned praise from Republican lawmakers, though Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County), said he would push to make sure the homeless problem in rural areas was not overlooked. Obernolte, vice chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, added that the state would not solve homelessness without a stronger dedication to bringing down the cost of housing. Its more than just moving people into shelters, he said. On wildfire prevention, the budget provides north of $1 billion for emergency preparedness, Newsom said. That includes money for more full-time firefighters, additional fire engines and other equipment and $110 million to make structural improvements to buildings in fire zones to make them more resistant to wildfires. Alexei Koseff and John Wildermuth are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com, jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff, @jfwildermuth The Duchess of Sussex has returned to Canada to be with her son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, a spokesperson for the royal has confirmed to Reuters. Earlier this week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made an unprecedented announcement on social media about their futures within the royal family. The couple said in an Instagram post that they wish to step down as senior members of the royal family, become financially independent and split their time between North America and the UK. As discussions about their decision continue among the royal family with Buckingham Palace saying discourse is at an early stage the duchess has returned to the country that she called her home for seven years while starring in legal drama Suits. Meghan and Prince Harry spent time in Canada over Christmas with their eight-month-old son. It has been reported that the duke and duchess ignored the Queens request to delay their shock announcement. The Independent previously understood that the monarch, Prince of Wales and other senior members of the royal family were not consulted regarding the content or timing of the statement. However, according to the Evening Standard, Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge received 10 minutes notice prior to the statements release. The Queen reportedly agreed to meet with Prince Harry, but refused to discuss his and Meghans plans about their positions within the royal family before he had spoken with his father. Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down Show all 20 1 /20 Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down July 2016 Meghan and Harry met through mutual friends in London in July 2016 when one of the former-actor's confidants, Markus Anderson, reportedly introduced them. Anderson is linked with private members club Soho House, of which Harry is a member, but it wasn't until months after the initial London meeting that their burgeoning romance made headlines. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down November 2016 Photographs of the couple together were published in the press, showing them on holidays, at friend's weddings and eating out in London making the news. But it was by way of an unprecedented statement that their relationship was officially announced. Kensington Palace, writing on behalf of Harry, stated that the harassment being experienced by Meghan and her family, saying a line had been crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment, the statement continued, citing "sexism" and "racism". "He knows commentators will say this is the price she has to pay and that this is all part of the game. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game - it is her life and his," the statement read. "He has asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done." Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down October 2017 In October 2017, Meghan conducted her first public interview since news of the relationship emerged with Vanity Fair, in which she opened up about what it is like to date a member of the royal family. It has its challenges, and it comes in wavessome days it can feel more challenging than others, she told the publication. And right out of the gate it was surprising the way things changed. But I still have this support system all around me, and, of course, my boyfriends support. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down November 2017 The couple announced their engagement in November and were interviewed by the BBC's Mishal Hussain at their home, Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor, about the news. During the interview, Harry opened up about how much he enjoyed being with someone from outside his inner circle. "It was hugely refreshing," he said before discussing the trip they took to Botswana together shortly after meeting. "To be able to start almost afresh right from the beginning in getting to know each other step by step and then taking that huge leap of only two dates and then going effectively on holiday together in the middle of nowhere and sharing a tent together and all that kind of stuff. It was fantastic. It was absolutely amazing to get to know her as quickly as I did." Harry proposed to Meghan with a custom ring made by court jewellers Cleave and Company using one diamond sourced from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana's collection. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down December 2017 Princess Michael of Kent apologised for wearing a racist broach to the Queen's Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, that was also attended by Meghan and was her first Christmas with the royal family. The princess, who is married to the Queen's cousin, was pictured wearing a prominent piece of "blackamoor" jewellery pinned to her coat as she arrived at the annual royal family gathering. The princess was widely condemned for wearing the "blatantly racist" piece to the Palace and a spokesperson for the royal said she was very sorry and distressed that it had caused offence. They added that the brooch was a gift and has been worn many times before. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down May 2018 On 19 May, Meghan and Harry married at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle. The bride and groom continued to defy convention at the wedding by putting a modern spin on everything from the cake to ceremony itself. The couple chose Reverend Michael Curry, the first black presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, to deliver a powerful sermon about love. The joyous day was somewhat dampened after it was revealed that Thomas Markle Sr, Meghan's father, would not be there to walk her down the aisle. Instead, Meghan walked herself down the aisle until she was joined by Prince Charles, who gave her away. In an interview with TMZ, Meghan's father admitted to conspiring with a photographer to pose for staged paparazzi photos. As a result of his admission, he felt it would be best to not walk her down the aisle because he didn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter. He also shared that he had suffered a heart attack six days prior due to the stresses of the situation. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down October 2018 Since their wedding, speculation had been mounting that Meghan and Harry were expecting their first child but confirmation didn't come until 15 October, just as the couple were about to kick off their autumn tour of Australasia. Kensington Palace announced that the newlyweds were very pleased to be expecting a baby in the spring of 2019. Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019, the palace said in a statement. Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public. However, some people accused the royal couple of insensitivity over the decision to reveal the news during Baby Loss Awareness Week. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down October 2018 - March 2019 During her pregnancy Meghan, like many prospective mothers, would cradle her bump or place her hand on her stomach during public events. But the royal mother was criticised with some saying she was doing it for photo opportunities. Meanwhile conspiracy theorists took to Twitter with hashtags like #Megxit and #DuchessofDeception, claiming that Meghan was not pregnant and had been strapping on a pillow or a bespoke prosthetic. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down May 2019 On 6 May 2019, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born at the Portland Hospital in London after Meghan went into labour in the early hours of the morning. The birth was a break from tradition with previous royals, including the Duchess of Cambridge, who have previously used the Lindo Wing at St Marys Hospital in London to give birth. Meghan also chose not to pose for an '"on the steps" moment after leaving hospital like other royal mothers. Instead, the duke and duchess presented baby Archie to the world at a press briefing at St Georges Hall at Windsor Castle. The couple later revealed they chose not to use the courtesy title Earl Dumbarton, which Archie was allowed to use, nor to style him Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, opting for Master instead. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down May 2019 Danny Baker was fired by the BBC after tweeting about the royal baby using a photo of a chimpanzee. The former BBC Radio 5 Live host was criticised for the post, which he shared moments after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. The tweet featured a black-and-white photograph of a couple holding hands with a chimp dressed in a suit alongside the caption: Royal baby leaves hospital. Baker swiftly removed the post after receiving backlash from Twitter users who branded it as racist due to Meghan's mixed-heritage. The 61-year-old later apologised, writing: Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up. Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased. Soon as those good enough to point out its possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And thats it. Now stand by for sweary football tweets. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down June 2019 The BBC showed a comedy programme, Tonight With Vladimir Putin, which portrayed the Duchess of Sussex saying Stay the f*** out of my trailer or Ill cut you, Kate. Both episodes of the programme included a feature entitled "Meghan Markles Royal Sparkle". In one episode The Duchess of Sussex's character was asked what makes her angry. The character replied with an anecdote about the Duchess of Cambridge asking to borrow her hairbrush. I say no because thats gross and then I leave my room and come back and I can tell shes used my hairbrush anyway because its covered in skanky hair thats going grey and I say, Stay the f*** out of my trailer or Ill cut you, Kate, she yelled. The show also made fun of the Duchesss relationship with her father, Thomas Markle. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down June 2019 In June 2019 the Duke and Duchess of Sussex received criticism after it was revealed that their home was renovated with 2.4m of taxpayer-funded costs. Frogmore Cottage in Windsor was turned into a single property for Harry and Meghan, from five separate homes. While the couple, who moved from Kensington Palace in April before the birth of their son Archie, paid for any upgraded fixtures and fittings themselves, royal accounts showed that the public fund met the cost of replacing heating, electric, gas and water main systems, as well as replacing ceiling beams and floor joists. Frogmore Cottage is owned by the Crown Estate and was a gift to the couple from the Queen, who was kept updated on the work. It had not been the subject of work for some years, and had already been earmarked for renovation. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down July 2019 Meghan and Harry chose to christen Archie at an intimate ceremony attended by close family. Royal baptisms are traditionally private but the couple went one step further by going against convention and deciding not to announce Archies godparents. "The godparents, in keeping with their wishes, will remain private," a statement from Buckingham Palace read. Speculation remained rife as to who had been named the godparents of Meghan and Prince Harry's son, with contenders including media mogul Oprah Winfrey, fashion stylist Jessica Mulroney and Hollywood actor George Clooney. The duke and duchess' decision sparked huge criticism among royal watchers. They have to give the public something, wrote one person on Twitter. We are paying them and it feels like they do not care about the public. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down August 2019 Harry and Meghan were heavily criticised for using private jets to go on holiday with Archie to the south of France. Many people accused the couple of hypocrisy given their staunch views on environmentalism. It came after two other European trips, including one to Ibiza for Meghans birthday and another to Sicily where Harry flew to discuss climate change at a conference. Harry later defended the use of the transport by claiming it was to ensure their safety. Meanwhile, Sir Elton John publicly defended the couple. Speaking in Amsterdam for a new flying scheme, Harry said: "I came here by commercial. I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial. Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe. It's genuinely as simple as that." Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down August 2019 Prince William and Harry had been at the centre of rift rumours for months, ever since it emerged that the Sussexes were moving to Windsor. In August, the speculation came to a head with royal sources and experts claiming the brothers have drifted apart. Appearing on Channel 5s documentary William & Harry: Princes At War? royal expert and editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward said: I would think it might bother William a little bit, because he might see the way that Harry and Meghan do things as being detrimental to the business of the monarchy as a whole. Seward added that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were surprised by Harry and Meghan's whirlwind romance, saying: "It was all so quick that William and Kate didn't have a moment to get to know Meghan because Harry hardly knew Meghan. "And of course William and Kate would have quite naturally thought 'oh she's been married before, she's older than Harry, I hope she's going to make him happy'. Anyone would think that." Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down September 2019 In August it was announced that Meghan Markle was to guest-edit the September issue of British Vogue magazine. The cover of the special edition featured a grid of 15 women selected as Forces for Change and articles inside that had been commissioned by the duchess. While the response was largely positive, some people criticised her choice of women, which did not include the Queen, and questioned whether or not a member of the royal family should edit a magazine, despite several others having done so before. I feel like I need to bring a bit of reality to the situation. We're talking about Vogue magazine. Probably the most elite, expensive, snobby, fashion-dominated, skinny-dominated magazine in the entire world. This is not some great mainstream force for good. This is a magazine for the elite. Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe also took aim for picking political stars, saying: Royals have not only got to keep out of politics but they have got to be seen to keep out of politics. British Vogue/Peter Lindbergh Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down October 2019 In October 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took part in an ITV documentary about their royal tour to southern Africa. In Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Harry opened up about his aversion to paparazzi and confessed that he and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, are on different paths, fuelling speculation that the two have grown apart. Meanwhile, the Duchess of Sussex revealed she had been struggling with criticisms in the media, telling ITVs Tom Bradby that she was not really okay. Bradby later said that the couple seemed vulnerable and bruised during the filming and revealed he knew that things werent entirely rosy for the couple ahead of filming. The reality I found was just a couple that seemed a bit bruised and vulnerable, Bradby told Good Morning America. That was the story I found and it seemed the right journalistic thing to do, to try and tell that story as empathetically as I could. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down October 2019 Following the ITV documentary, Meghan and Harry issued an official statement, in which the duke said he could no longer be a "silent witness" to Meghan's "private suffering". There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face as so many of you can relate to I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been," the statement read. In the same statement, it was confirmed that Meghan had filed a claim against Associated Newspapers "over the intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter written by the Duchess of Sussex, which is part of a campaign by this media group to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her, as well as her husband." The proceedings in the Chancery Division of the High Court related to the unlawful publication of a private letter from Meghan to her father. Getty Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down December 2019 In December, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their first Christmas card with their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor. The seven-month-old took centre stage in the black-and-white photograph, staring right down the camera lens while his parents laugh behind him with a Christmas tree in the background. While many royal fans were overjoyed by the image, others accused Meghan of using Photoshop to sharpen her own face so it would stand out more. Meghans close friends, Janina Gavankar, who captured the photo, spoke out to defend the couple on Instagram, writing: So proud to have taken the Christmas photo for one of my best friends and her family." She also clarified that the photo had not been edited. The couple enjoy a six-week break in Canada with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland. Sussexroyal/Instagram Everything that led to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down January 2020 Meghan and Harry are pictured at Canada House in London to thank the Canadian high commission for their warm hospitality following their trip over Christmas. One day later, on Wednesday 8 January, rumours about the couple possibly moving to Canada begin to surface, which Buckingham Palace initially refused to deny. At 6pm on Wednesday evening, Meghan and Harry announce their decision to relinquish their roles as senior members of the royal family in an Instagram post on @SussexRoyal. Their statement is followed by one from Buckingham Palace describing discussions regarding the move as being at an early stage. It is later understood that the couple did not consult any members of the royal family prior to releasing their statement and the mood at Buckingham Palace was one of disappointment. Getty Several high-profile celebrities, including comedian Amy Schumer, filmmaker Ava DuVernay and actor Bette Midler have publicly responded to the royal couples news. DuVernay jokingly suggested she would be willing to direct The Crown if the Netflix television series were to depict the events currently unfolding within the royal family. Midler described the announcement as a sad story, drawing parallels between the treatment of the duchess in the media and that of her mother-in-law, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. They hounded and bullied her until it was no longer tenable to stay, just like Diana, the First Wives Club actor tweeted. Theyll never learn until it hits them in the wallet. I hope she bankrupts them all. The Independent has contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs representatives for comment. The wave structure is the largest ever seen in the galaxy and is made up of interconnected stellar nurseries. (photo: AP) Astronomers from Harvard University have found the presence of a wave-shaped gaseous structure named 'Radcliffe Wave' in the Milky Way Galaxy. According to the research which has been published in the journal - Nature - the wave structure is the largest ever seen in the galaxy and is made up of interconnected stellar nurseries. This discovery by the university transforms the 150-year-old vision of the nearby stellar nurseries as an expanding ring to one featuring a star-forming filament that reached trillions of miles below and above the galactic disk. The study was enabled through a relatively new analysis of data from the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft which was launched in 2013 along with the mission of precisely measuring the distance, position, and motion of the stars. The researchers combined the data from Gaia which was super-accurate, with other measurements for constructing a detailed, 3D map of interstellar matter in the Milky Way, and noticed an unexpected pattern in the spiral arm which is closest to the Earth. The researchers further discovered a thin, long structure, about 9,000 light-years long and 400 light-years wide, having a shape that of a wave, cresting 500 light-years above and below the mid-plane of our galaxy's disk. The wave consists of stellar nurseries that have been previously thought to form a part of the 'Gould's Belt', which is a band of star-forming regions and is believed to have an orientation around the Sun in a circular or ring-like fashion. "No astronomer expected that we live next to a giant, wave-like collection of gas -- or that it forms the Local Arm of the Milky Way," said the researcher, Alyssa Goodman. "We were completely shocked when we first realized how long and straight the Radcliffe Wave is, looking down on it from above in 3D -- but how sinusoidal it is when viewed from Earth. The Wave's very existence is forcing us to rethink our understanding of the Milky Way's 3D structure," Goodman added. "Gould and Herschel both observed bright stars forming in an arc projected on the sky, so for a long time, people have been trying to figure out if these molecular clouds actually form a ring in 3D," said another researcher, Joao Alves. "Instead, what we've observed is the largest coherent gas structure we know of in the galaxy, organized not in a ring but in a massive, undulating filament. The Sun lies only 500 light-years from the Wave at its closest point. It's been right in front of our eyes all the time, but we couldn't see it until now," Alves added. The newly developed three-dimensional map shows Earth's galactic neighborhood in a new light, which gives researchers a revised view of the Milky Way and is also opening the door to some of the major discoveries. "We don't know what causes this shape but it could be like a ripple in a pond as if something extraordinarily massive landed in our galaxy," said Alves. "What we do know is that our Sun interacts with this structure. It passed by a festival of supernovae as it crossed Orion 13 million years ago, and in another 13 million years it will cross the structure again, sort of like we are 'surfing the wave," Alves added. A long-standing challenge for astronomy and astronomers is disentangling structures that are present in the 'dusty' galactic neighbourhood. In previous studies, a group of researchers mapped the three-dimensional distribution of dust using a vast survey of stars. Using the new data researchers recently augmented these techniques, which dramatically improves the ability of astronomers for measuring the distances to star-forming regions. The work which was led by the researcher Zucker has been published in the Astrophysical Journal. "We suspected there might be larger structures that we just couldn't put in context. So, to create an accurate map of our solar neighborhood, we combined observations from space telescopes like Gaia with astrostatistics, data visualization, and numerical simulations," said Zucker. "We pulled this team together so we could go beyond processing and tabulating the data to actively visualizing it -- not just for ourselves but for everyone. Now, we can literally see the Milky Way with new eyes," she added. "Studying stellar births is complicated by imperfect data. We risk getting the details wrong because if you're confused about distance, you're confused about size," another researcher Finkbeiner said. Agreeing to the claims by Zucker and Finkbeiner, Goodman said, "All of the stars in the universe, including our Sun, are formed in dynamic, collapsing, clouds of gas and dust. But determining how much mass the clouds have, how large they are -- has been difficult, because these properties depend on how far away the cloud is." Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Linda A. Lacewell, the superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, said the agreement provides a measure of restitution to New Yorkers who were victimized by Visions predatory practices. Vision did not respond to requests for comment. Officials in New York had accused the company of marketing run-down homes to tenants, using deceptive lease agreements that required them to make all repairs. The leases promised renters the chance to buy their homes after seven years, but renters often ended up being evicted or abandoning the homes after making thousands of dollars in repairs. The settlement is one step toward allowing Vision to revamp itself into a more traditional home-rental business by effectively merging with another company, FTE Networks. Just before Christmas, Vision agreed to sell its 3,000 homes to FTE in a deal the parties valued at $350 million. Visions executives will join the company under the planned merger, according to a regulatory filing. But FTE Networks has had its own troubles. Just days before the sale was announced, the NYSE American exchange suspended trading in FTE shares and moved to delist its stock after finding the company had engaged in operations that were contrary to the public interest. And the broker who introduced Vision and FTE to each other was recently charged with fraud by securities regulators. FTE said in a statement that it was confident that all ongoing litigation with Vision would be resolved by March 30. The company said it was appealing the stock exchanges move to delist its shares. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said that 'Tiranga Yatra' organised by his party was not done for politics, instead, to tell those people who praise Nathuram Godse that we have to fulfil the wishes of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar. The members of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) took out a massive 'Tiranga Yatra' to Shashtripuram to mark their protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and Register of Citizens (NRC) here on Friday. Speaking to ANI, Owaisi said, "It is not a politics it is tri-colour which is the strength of the country. We took out Tiranga Yatra and will also do so in future because we want to tell those who hold tri-colour but chants slogans in praise of Nathu Ram Godse that we took the tri-colour from them to show that we have to fulfil the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar." "So everyone should be happy that people were holding tri-colours on the streets of Hyderabad. But the Sanghis won't be happy with that and they will not be able to digest this," he said. When asked how he switched from green flag to tri-colour, Owaisi said "Does green colour is not included in tri-colour? It is in tri-colour. Why you have difficulty with green colour? All the colours are there in the tri-colour. When we are holding the flag then why people are getting astonished." When asked that some people say that Owaisi is very intelligent that he uses tri-colour, he said, "There is no politics in lifting the tri-colour and it is very low-level thinking who thinks like this." When asked he is fighting a legal battle against the CAA, and still doing the protest, Owaisi said, "Under democracy, protest is my fundamental right. I have freedom of expression and protest is my fundamental right. Today the Supreme Court said that the internet is also a fundamental right. Now we trust Constitution and we are using it to protest. What the apex court decides we will accept and see." "We will be celebrating on January 26 because we implemented the Consitution on that day. Liberty, equality and fraternal justice were talked about Ambedkar. The Constitution gives us Right to equality, freedom of religion and right to life. And January 26 is an important day. We should all read the Constitution to tell whether the Constitution gives the permission to make an act like the CAA, of course, it does not." When asked about violence in JNU and identification of some suspects by the Delhi police, he said, "I am saying that ABVP people are involved in this. They worked under the nose of the police. The police did not do anything for two and a half hours. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jason Isaacson, AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Office, delivered five strong policy recommendations to members of Congress to combat the epidemic of antisemitism in New York and across the United States. "We all need to send the message that antisemitism in any form is unacceptable, that there is no room in these United States for bigotry or prejudice," said Isaacson in remarks before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Isaacson was invited to brief members of the panel ahead of the subcommittee's January 15 hearing on Antisemitic Domestic Terrorism and Government's Response. Isaacson acknowledged that subcommittee members, as well as members of the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism, are cognizant of the spike in attacks on Jews in New York and across the country. The cumulative incidents and ongoing threat of more, he emphasized, have introduced "an unprecedented level of fear into a metropolitan region that, next to Tel Aviv, has the world's largest Jewish community -- some 15 percent of all Jews alive today." The question that will be central to next week's hearing, said Isaacson, is essentially this: In light of what Congresswoman Nita Lowey and AJC CEO David Harris described in their New York Times column as an "epidemic" of antisemitism, what can government do to treat this age-old, pernicious, sometimes fatal, social disease, and halt its spread? AJC's five-point plan, as presented by Isaacson, is: First, provide additional resources for community protection, building on the 50 percent increase in DHS security grants for nonprofits provided by Congress in Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations. Second, close the vast gaps in reporting on hate crimes across America. AJC urges support for H.R.3545, the NO HATE Act, introduced by Representatives Don Beyer and Pete Olson, which would link hate crime reporting to Department of Justice training grants and other resources. Currently, the FBI relies on voluntary submissions of hate crimes data from local and state law enforcement agencies. Inaccurate, incomplete, and simply absent hate crime reporting has stymied efforts to fully comprehend and formulate responses to this social pathology. Third, there needs to be greater consistency in the prosecution of hate crimes. In this context, AJC has sent a letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urging changes in the state's just-enacted bail reform law, which have the perverse effect of favoring perpetrators over victims of antisemitic hate crimes. Fourth, better understanding of the multiple sources of antisemitism is essential to confronting the epidemic. Government can act, enlighten, and expose the lies of the haters. Hate-crime perpetrators can be rehabilitated during and following incarceration. Social media platforms can be pressed to much more rigorously, with far greater research and resources, enforce community standards and make online antisemitism and other bigotries rare, rather than commonplace. Schools, particularly in areas where hate crime has spiked, can rise to the challenge. For example, the New York City Department of Education has introduced curricula on the historical context and current effects of antisemitism in middle and high schools in Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Borough Park, three neighborhoods with large Jewish populations. This initiative need not be confined to Brooklyn or to the New York metropolitan region. Finally, government officials individually and institutionally can respond to hate suffered by the Jewish community, and hate directed at other communities, by joining with civil society leaders in modeling socially conscious, mutually respectful, behavior. In an era when disparaging your neighbor draws a big crowd, while being kind doesn't make the cut, it may sound wistful and naive to promote civility, to appeal to decency. "America needs to re-install those social guardrails," said Isaacson. Read in full Jason Isaacson's remarks to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism. SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org Femi Falana (SAN), says he has never asked President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the rule of law in his fight against corruption. This was in response to a 2016 interview which has resurfaced on social media where Niyi Akintola, another senior lawyer, said Falana and himself rose in defence of Buhari at an event in Washington, US. Responding to a question about the raid on the residences of judges, Akintola had said, We were in Washington DC, United States of America and for six days, the issue of corruption in Nigeria came to the fore. It was not limited to Nigeria. Femi Falana and I stood up for our president and his modus operandi in faraway Washington. It is not that we love some of his tactics but we thought that a drastic problem requires a drastic solution. Read Also: Falana To Malami: You Have No Powers To Release Anyone Based On Mercy He said also that all our president needs to do is to go to the National Assembly, call the state Houses of Assembly, more so now that governors are telling him to declare the state of emergency on the economy. He can bring in the issue of corruption and ask that we suspend the rule of law for one year because a drastic problem requires a drastic solution and Femi Falana supported me. However reacting to the interview, Falana said in a statement he was surprised because he never attended any meeting with Akintola in Washington. I was flabbergasted when my attention was drawn to this publication last year. I was compelled to dissociate myself from the views ascribed to me in the interview on the grounds that Chief Niyi Akintola SAN and I have never attended any meeting together in Washington before, he said. Having consistently campaigned for the defence of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Africa for over 3 decades I have never joined Chief Akintola SAN to advise the Buhari regime to put human rights in abeyance under the pretext of fighting corruption. In 2016, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) had raided the residence of some judges. Falana had asked then that the judges arrested should be granted bail and charged to court immediately. Saif Ali Khan is ready to embark on a new chapter of his life in 2020, and thats not only because he is turning 50 this year, but also due to the diverse projects he has lined up. In an interview, the actor excitedly opens up on his first-ever historical role, his reunion with Ajay Devgn, and how he looks back at his 27-year-long career. Excerpts: The antagonists role in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is your first role as a historic character. How did you prepare? I sat with director Om Raut and worked on understanding the character and got the right look. But, the real work was to deliver the theatrical performance. It was new for me. We wanted the acting to look natural, but the process to develop it was mechanical. At times, I gave 15 to 20 takes to get the scenes right. Underplaying a character is simple, but playing a larger-than-life character is tough. It is one of the most difficult forms of acting. As an artiste, it was a discovery. What drew me to the film was the chance to do a big costume drama, a CG heavy 3D film. After the promos released, there were comparisons between your character and Ranveer Singhs role in Padmavaat (2018) as Khilji. Whats your take on that? It wasnt on my mind, when I started playing this role. But I appreciate that Ranveer has set the bar high for essaying a historical character in Hindi films. The roles I play are usually original, and Ive never had to take inspiration from anyone, nor have I found my work being compared to anyone elses. Im happy to be compared with another actors performance. I feel people will realise that both the roles are completely different once they watch the film. How was the experience of reuniting with Ajay Devgn onscreen, after Kachche Dhaage (1999) and Omkara (2006)? I have a few scenes with Ajay in the film and a massive fight sequence in the climax with sword fighting. We got trained under German technicians for that. Ajay is a talented action hero, and to do fight scenes with him and do it well, means that Ive grown as an actor. He is a cool person, a relaxed actor, and a generous producer. I enjoyed working with him. On one level, nothing much has changed between us. Today, we are more responsible and have other things to worry about. During Kachche Dhaage, we were simple. The films made in the 90s were amazing. We had beautiful locations, good friends, and lots of fun. Films like Kachche Dhaage were what being in the industry was all about. But, today, films are more stressful and Tanhaji is a big film with a lot of responsibility. Ajay and I didnt reminisce much, as we were focussed on getting things done. You will hit 50 this year. How do you look at your career now? Im enjoying my personal and professional life now. I feel well balanced in life. Ive worked quite hard to get to this stage. I will be 50 this year and Im in a good place. Im looking forward to the rest of it. I have become better at my craft. I like the kind of offers that are coming my way. One has to know what you want and you have to know how to live. For some reason, these things have always been clear to me. I know how to be, and I am really happy in life whether it is on a set, or what people call a holiday, I call it living my life. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Lucknow Provincial Civil Service (PCS) Amit Kumar said on Friday that the city has witnessed a 150 per cent increase in birth certificate issuance. When asked whether the people rushing to get birth certificates is because of the recently amended Citizenship law, the PCC said, "It is not because of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) or National Register of Citizens (NRC) that we are issuing the birth certificates faster. We issue certificates within 24 hours." People queue up to receive birth certificates Amid the row over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Hapur Municipal Corporation office on Wednesday, December 25, witnessed heavy footfalls as scores of people swarmed to receive their birth certificates. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that all the documents should be there for the citizenship, so we are preparing for it," a local told ANI. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, citizenship of India will be proved by submitting any document related to the date of birth or place of birth or both. READ | BJP Ally Backs Centre On CAA & NPR, Calls For PM's NRC Statement To Be Taken At Face Value Increase in demand for birth certificates In view of the amendment to the Citizenship Act and the controversy over a possible country-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC), municipal wards across the country have witnessed increased demand. In the city of Mumbai, particularly Bandra, Santacruz, Kurla, Sakinaka, parts of Khar, among others have seen an increase in the number of applications for obtaining birth certificates. Around 30 to 40 applications for birth certificates were received every day in the H-West ward, covering Bandra, Khar and Santacruz since January 1, against the monthly average of 150 to 180 applications. READ | Uttar Pradesh: Amid CAA Uproar, People Queue Up To Receive Birth Certificates At Hapur Places like Kurla and Sakinaka, have witnessed over 250 applications in October, 338 applications in November and 398 applications in December, against the monthly average of 250. The municipal wards in paces like Byculla and Nagpada, received around 200 applications in December, against the monthly average of 125 to 150. There has been a 20-30% rise in birth certificate applications in several areas of Mumbai since December, a senior BMC official said. Citizens fearing the effects of CAA and NRC have began to look for their documents to prove their citizenship. READ | With CAA, NRC Dominating 2019, Naqvi Says Constitutional Rights Of Muslims Safe CAA a relief for religiously persecuted refugees The Citizenship Act was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 9 and then by the Rajya Sabha on December 11. The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who are religious minorities in their respective countries. Through this bill, Indian citizenship will be provided to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country. READ | SCOOP: Raj Thackeray To Support CAA-NRC After Hour-long Meeting With Fadnavis Kusto Group and the government of Kazakhstan share a common mission to promote sustainable growth within the country's agricultural sector, developing partnerships that provide for the adoption of new technologies and industry best practices. Daniel Kunin, a managing director at Kusto Group, says that cooperation between the private sector company and the government of Kazakhstan has been and will continue to play a critical role in the growth of the company, the agricultural sector and that of the entire national economy. Kusto Group, a multinational corporation based in Singapore with roots in Kazakhstan, has demonstrated its commitment to the modernization and development of Kazakhstan's agricultural industry through the expansion of its local operations, the advancement of new initiatives and through the formation of global partnerships. Kusto Group signs landmark deal with Tyson Foods Last month, Kusto Group, the government of Kazakhstan and US-based Tyson Foods, one of the world's largest food companies, signed an agreement to collaborate on a project that includes the construction of a modern beef processing plant in Kazakhstan with an anticipated 2,000 head per day capacity. The deal, the largest in the agricultural sector since Kazakhstan's independence, is projected to benefit the county in excess of one billion dollars. The joint venture includes the construction of three different meat processing facilities in Kazakhstan over the next 5-10 years. Construction of the first plant is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2020. Yerkin Tatishev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kusto Group, called the deal, "A huge step towards meeting Kusto's ambition of making Kazakhstan a global leader in agriculture through the use of modern technologies and world-best practices. Their investment is recognition of the enormous potential of Kazakhstan's agricultural sector and of the confidence in Kazakhstan's investment climate more broadly." Realizing Kazakhstan's agricultural potential The oil and natural gas sectors have long been the primary focus and foundation of Kazakhstan's economy. However, weak oil prices experienced over the last few years have forced the nation to pursue economic diversification with renewed fervor. The agricultural sector has become a priority area for development for the Kazakh government and cooperation between the private sector and the public has become a crucial element in achieving growth and attracting foreign investment. "Kusto Group's upcoming emphasis on building a sustainable protein export business and modern agricultural sector in Kazakhstan is a fascinating, supremely complex and interesting project," Kunin explained. "By definition, it requires long-term thinking, strategic planning, intensive stakeholder mapping and understanding, and the creation of a network of inter-linked partnerships that are both joint ventures but also intensive public-private partnerships." Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Thursday urged the European Union to officially label as blood gold the precious metal informally mined in the countrys southern jungles as he seeks to increase pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Since 2016, Maduros government has supported artisanal mining in the Venezuelan Amazon to bring in revenue amid an economic crisis an effort that expanded as Washington increased sanctions meant to force the ruling Socialist Party from power. The initiative has been criticised by environmental activists and rights groups for contaminating watersheds with mercury and fuelling massacres as gangs battle for territory. In an interview with Reuters, Guaido said the EU should use a label to limit the trade of Venezuelan gold, the way the blood diamond campaign of the 1990s targeted diamond sales that financed armed conflict in Africa. I think Europe can take steps in this direction by not allowing the trade of [Venezuelan] gold in Europe and to clearly label it blood gold,' Guaido said. What is it used for in Venezuela? To finance irregular [armed] groups, he said, referring to Colombian fighters who are increasingly present near gold-mining operations. The United States, along with the EU and more than 50 other countries, recognises Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate president. In 2019, Washington broadened its sanctions programme against Maduro in the hopes of pushing his government from power. But Maduro has hung on, skirting sanctions on the OPEC nations oil industry with the help of allied Russia and through the sale of gold produced by the artisanal miners, who are often linked to organised crime. Sanctions by the administration of US President Donald Trump already prohibit US individuals and companies from trading Venezuelan gold, some of which has been sold to Turkey another Maduro ally. A Guaido representative in September said Maduros government was selling gold in Europe to bypass sanctions. The EU, as a matter of policy, does not comment, a spokesperson said in an emailed response to a request for comment, adding that the EU fully supports Guaido as president of the legislature and has enacted a travel ban on 25 officials as well as an embargo on arms sales to Venezuela. The EU has not specifically prohibited the trade of Venezuelan gold. The Reuters interview was Guaidos first with foreign media since Maduros security forces tried unsuccessfully to prevent him from getting re-elected as the head of the opposition earlier this week. On Sunday, Maduros allies tried to install a rival opposition head and group of legislators after security forces moved to block Guaido and his supporters from entering parliament. We will do everything possible to continue doing our jobs, Guaido said in reference to parliament. Electricity loan called off Guaido also said legislators were abandoning efforts to finance electricity infrastructure through a loan from regional development bank CAF, with lawmakers now seeking different mechanisms to ease the countrys chronic power outages. The proposal had involved CAF providing $350m in funds that would be overseen by the United Nations. The plan was broadly criticised as expensive and impractical and generated concerns that Maduros government would ultimately have influence over the use of the funds. There are alternative mechanisms that dont involve adding to the countrys debt, and at a lower cost, said Guaido. CAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The UN office in Venezuela declined to comment. The blackouts have undermined the functioning of everything from routine commerce to hospital emergency rooms. Especially hard-hit has been the western state of Zulia, where citizens routinely go 12 hours without power. In response to the bushfires in Australia, General Motors workers at the Silao plant in Mexico issued a statement of appreciation to workers in Australia that have donated to their defense fund. The statement was given to the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, which has been leading the defense of Silao workers. Amid the looming threat of war after the US killing of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani, the statement also calls for a fight against war and for environmental planning. The international defense fund was established by the rank-and-file group, Generating Movement, to support seven workers who were fired for mobilizing support for the 40-day GM strike in the United States. The workers were fired for actively opposing speed-ups and forced overtime, which GM management was demanding in order to weaken the US strike. The pro-company trade union enforced these measures and the punitive firings. The following statement was sent by their elected spokesperson: In the name of all my comrades, I want to thank all workers and people who have sent us donations. We want to give special thanks to workers in Australia, who we know are living under difficult conditions due to the fires in their country. Far from receiving support from the powerful nations, a war is breaking outa war that will only leave death, pain and suffering. For all, in the US as much as Iran, I believe that its our obligation to demand that this war be stopped. At the same time, we have to fight to create environmental plans to help the planet. We still have time if we do something about the world. Lets fight to stop this war. Signed, Israel Cervantes, Generating Movement In the context of mass protests and strikes against social inequality across the world, the brave stance of the Silao workers and the international support they have received demonstrates the growing strivings by workers to coordinate their struggles and a recognition that they need an international strategy to fight global capitalism. Three of the Silao Seven The threats posed to the working class by imperialist wars and climate change can only be confronted through such a strategy, aimed at abolishing their sourcecapitalismand establishing socialism, that is, the reorganization of the global economy under the democratic control of the working class and scientific planning. All organizations with nationally rooted programs, such as the trade unions in the US, Canada and Mexico and their pseudo-left apologists, cannot advance workers interests. Despite their claims to represent workers, they work systematically to lower the labor costs for their own capitalists in order to make them more competitive and profitable. Politically, this takes the form of support for trade war and ultimately imperialist wars. This bankruptcy applies to all capitalist governments, including the Mexican administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which responded to the US imperialist aggression against Iran by adopting a posture of neutrality, non-intervention, respect in the decisions of nations. As defenders of the profit interests of the Mexican bourgeoisie, Lopez Obrador and his Movement for National Regeneration (Morena) were top advocates for the US, Canada, Mexico Agreementa trade war measure by the Trump administration to isolate China and a key preparation for military conflict. Read more about the Silao Seven here. Donate to their defense fund: paypal.me/israelcervante US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin brief reporters at the White House about additional sanctions placed on Iran (Evan Vucci/AP) The Trump administration has announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this weeks missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on US bases in Iraq. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved in destabilising activities in the Middle East as well as Tuesdays missile strike. The missile attack came in retaliation for the US killing of a senior Iranian general in a drone strike. Mr Mnuchin said President Donald Trump will issue an executive order imposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction, manufacturing or mining sectors. They will also impose separate sanctions against the steel and iron sectors. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) As a result of these actions, we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime, the treasury secretary said. The administration has already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, which has caused significant economic hardship in Iran and cut its oil exports to historic lows. Iran this week launched the strikes in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, the countrys most powerful commander, in Baghdad last week. Vietnams exports still heavily relied on foreign invested enterprises (FIEs), while foreign direct investment (FDI) did not have positive influences to the other economic sectors of the economy. 2019 was the second consecutive year Vietnam obtained high GDP growth rate of over 7 percent. Total import/export turnover reached a record high of $516.96 billion and the trade surplus was the highest so far - $9.9 billion. Nguyen Van Nam, former director of the Trade Research Institute, commented that the achievements gained in 2019 were positive, believing that they would be repeated in 2020. However, he can see a lot of problems: despite recent improvement, the export still heavily relies on FIEs. The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that in 2019, FIEs total export turnover, including crude oil, reached $181.35 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent, accounting for 68.8 percent. The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that in 2019, FIEs total export turnover, including crude oil, reached $181.35 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent, accounting for 68.8 percent. Nam went on to say that Vietnams economy in recent years has made big progress thanks to breakthroughs in viewpoints and policies. However, there is still a big gap between the policies and implementation. The policies on attracting FDI are an example. Vietnam offers incentives to attract foreign investment with no regard of investment quality, while provincial authorities even offer preferences which go beyond the nations incentive framework. Local authorities ran a race to attract foreign investors to their localities without thorough preparation in housing, health care and schooling for laborers. Trying to lure foreign investment, Vietnam hopes FIEs would help develop the domestic economic sector and have positive impact on the national economy. However, the positive impact still cannot be seen. About the economic performance in 2020, Nam said there are many difficulties ahead as countries still continue the process of trade liberalization, but with more cautioun. Once big countries pay higher attention to their interests, there will be more difficulties for small countries, he commented. Dinh Trong Thinh, a respected economist, also emphasised the fact that FIEs made up 68.8 percent of the nations total export turnover in 2019. He said Vietnamese enterprises are seeing an excess of imports over exports, and the economy would bear trade deficit if FIEs dont export more than import. The domestic economic sector has high demand for importing input materials, machines, equipment and technology to run their production. The big problem is that Vietnam mostly imports these products from China. As a result, the deficit in trade with China is always high. Vietnam is trying to reduce the trade deficit by increasing imports from other countries which have higher technologies such as the EU, US, Japan and South Korea. Linh Ha Vietnams economy is expected to maintain good growth in 2020 Vietnam is advancing into 2020 following good results in 2019. Experts and companies tell Viet Nam News about their forecasts of the country's economic prospects this year as well as opportunities and challenges facing the country. Washington, Jan 10 : The US' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announcedthat it has accepted an invitation from Tehran to participate in its investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian plane amid speculations that an Iranian missile might have brought down the plane. The federal agency said in a statement on Thursday that the Iran Civil Aviation Organization has notified them that they could take part in the investigation of the plane crash that occurred shortly after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, reports Efe news. "The NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash," said the independent US government agency tasked with investigating transport accidents. Since the aircraft was a US-made Boeing 737-800, international regulations allow Washington to be a part of the accident investigation. However, it remains unclear to what extent the NTSB representative will be able to play an active role in the probe, as US sanctions complicate cooperation with Iran, and the two countries have no diplomatic relations. The NTSB announcement came hours after US intelligence sources told several media outlets that the Kiev-bound Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight 752 could have been accidentally shot down by an Iranian missile. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later confirmed that his government had "evidence" indicating that the aircraft "was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile", although he added it may have been unintentional. The accident occurred on the same day after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two US military bases in Iraq, in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in an American drone attack in Baghdad on January 3. However, the Iranian authorities have denied that they had accidentally shot down the plane and claimed the accusations were a part of a psychological warfare campaign against Tehran. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said they welcomed the presence of experts from countries whose citizens have died in the tragic accident, and requested Trudeau and any other government to provide any information they had regarding the crash. Rockford, Illinois, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SupplyCore, a supply chain management and technology solutions integrator and small business federal defense contractor, was awarded in October of 2019 a maximum $300,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) tailored logistics support in the Central Command Area of Responsibility. This contract, awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. The CENTCOM contract is a multiple award contract and will be competed amongst four companies. Through this contract, SupplyCores Base Operations Supply team will provide MRO products and support to locations in the CENTCOM region, serving customers in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. SupplyCore is proud to support our troops throughout the world in sustaining readiness, said Peter Provenzano, President & CEO. We appreciate and value the opportunity to support the Defense Logistics Agency on this MRO contract in the CENTCOM region. SupplyCore is an MRO Prime Vendor, serving the U.S. military and its allies in regions around the world. As a source solution for supplies, SupplyCore maintains relationships with thousands of suppliers to meet mission critical project requirements worldwide. About SupplyCore Inc. Founded in 1987, SupplyCore Inc. is a supply chain and technology integrator and small business federal defense contractor providing key support to the U.S. military and its allies. With market segments in Base Operations Supply and domestic and international Weapon Systems Support, SupplyCore is driven by its mission to sustain and enhance the physical and human capital of our nation and its allies in times of peace and crisis. Core competencies include global supply chain management and performance-based logistics executed in a variety of environments. A member of the elite Inc. 500 Hall of Fame, SupplyCore was named in 2019for the fourth consecutive yearto the Inc. 5000, Inc.s annual list of the fastest-growing companies in America. SupplyCore also includes MPOWR, its software and innovation division. For more information about SupplyCore, visit www.supplycore.com. Rating: Chhapaak (U) 123 min Cast: Deepika Padukone, Vikrant Massey, Madhurjeet Sarghi Direction: Meghna Gulzar With a big-ticket commercial star at its centre, Meghna Gulzars Chhapaak carefully walks a razor-sharp line to mainstream a brutal crime against women that has been lingering on the margins not just of the criminal justice system, but also of peoples collective rage. Chhapaak tells the real-life story of Laxmi Agarwal who was attacked with acid at the age of 15, by 32-year-old Naeem Khan in 2005 with palpable sensitivity and clarity of purpose. Along with Agarwals story, Chhapaak chronicles this heinous crime against women that is unique to patriarchal, feudal societies, including India, and is particularly grisly in its intent and impact. Yet, it is not talked about with the seethe and tear that accompanies rape. One reason for that, of course, is that in the patriarchal priority list, women's sexual violation is a blot on the khandan, acid attack not quite. But beyond that, perhaps the reason why its not talked about enough is not because people are insensitive to it, but because the sheer barbarity of it, the unimaginable pain inflicted makes people freeze with horror. And words especially of sympathy feel entirely inadequate, rude even. Chhapaak is extraordinary and significant because it gently, and with dignity, breaks the ice. It makes us see the victims of acid attack, and helps begin a dialogue. Meghna Gulzars feminism and composure as director, complemented by Deepika Padukones warm performance, and Clover Wootton's makeup may forever change how acid attacks and their victims will be viewed and talked about in this country. Deepika Padukone, a Bollywood A-lister around whose beauty several films have been constructed, deserves a bravery award for taking the risk of playing an acid attack victim. She brings her heart and infectious charm to her character and, in some moments, when she taps inside herself and into Laxmi Agarwals experience, we see both vulnerability and quiet determination. There are also moments when her eyes twinkle as she breaks into a life-embracing smile, giving us a glimpse of the adorable and formidable Laxmi. In those moments, Deepika touches you. But those moments are few. Mostly she remains Deepika, despite the incredible prosthetics and makeup. Thats partly the fault of the director, but mostly of the writing (Meghna Gulzar has co-written the film with Atika Chohan). The writers have not so much cast Deepika as Laxmi, but have cast Laxmi, the girl who wanted to compete in Indian Idol, as a Bollywood heroine. And therein lies Chhapaak's flaw. Written in Bollywood's fail-safe template, Chhapaak is too filmi. This story deserved its own narrative tone and style. But the films strength is that while it works to the Bollywood song-and-dance template, it is sensitive to what it shows, how it shows it and why. And this balancing act, between commercial compromises and determination to steer clear of demeaning melodrama, is there throughout the film. Chhapaak does not solicit our pity. It does not turn acid attack victims into becharis. It does not goad us to shed tears. Every time there is sanctimonious breathing by an activist, or a patronising comment, or a child screams in shock, or a strangers stare lingers on the face for a second too long, the film flinches with distaste and moves away, never allowing it to turn into self-gratifying pity. But, it does sell acid attack victims a Bollywood dream. While that is cute, it is also cruel. Chhapaak opens with Delhi of December 2012, in the middle of protests against the Nirbhaya rape. It immediately broaches the topic of acid attacks of the crime and its victims being treated as lesser than rape victims. Amol Dwivedi (Vikrant Massey), who runs an NGO that cares for acid attack victims, is at hand to harangue reporters and remind them of Malti. We meet Malti (Deepika Padukone) and in a quick succession of scenes we see what she is struggling with in her desperate search for a job, some income. Though shes good at her beauty parlour job, she is not a presentable employee. Malti always looks straight at everyone, seeing how she is being seen, and most of the people she approaches for jobs cant get past her face. Shiraz aunty, at whose house her father works, has taken care of her surgeries and helped her with a lawyer, Archana Bajaj (Madhurjeet Sarghi), who is not just fighting her criminal case but has also been pursuing Maltis PIL in Supreme Court to ban acid. Malti doesnt want to burden Shiraz aunty further and finally lands a job at Amol's NGO. Alongside more rounds of plastic surgery and the demands of her job, Malti is often in court, not just to prove the accused family friends Bashir Khan and Parveen Sheikh guilty, but also to fight against IPC Section 326 wherein the maximum jail sentence is just seven years. Running parallel to Malti's attempts to piece together a life for herself are the lives of the culprits proceeding unaffected by the crime they have committed. At the NGO there are often urgent calls to tend to other, new victims of acid attacks, including two sisters who are targeted by upper caste men in their village because they aspired to become software engineers. Amol Dwivedi is forever miffed with the world for not caring enough, not doing enough for acid attack victims. And he is not wrong. But his relentless harangue comes from an egoistic place, he exudes piousness about his cause, and that, in the presence of an acid attack victim, feels obscene. Sometimes Malti tells him off, sometimes she sticks out her tongue at him. Its much later in the film that we see what happened to Malti, in 2005, when she was 19. The flashback is cleverly placed, towards the end, because the film wants us to first meet and see the acid attack victim, and not Deepika. Chhapaak in Hindi means splash, and the films title seeks to convey how, just one splash of acid changes lives forever. But Chhapaak, the poetic, onomatopoeic word, is also a euphemism for a brutal crime, and as is the case with casting Deepika, it seeks to make the unpalatable palatable. Meghna Gulzars Chhapaak shows us the brutality of the assault, but instead of opting for a voyeuristic, invasive gaze, her film opts for heartfelt humanity that sees in the scars and the self-conscious, diffident demeanour of acid attack victims courage, dignity, and a will to live. Chhapaaks greatest feat is that it puts the crime front and centre, making the kyun?, the why, the peering inquiry into the girls, the victims life completely irrelevant. Chhapaak treats acid attacks as violent, criminal acts of men with frail but massive egos, desperate to feel their power by showing a woman her aukaat, by punishing her for having dreams and aspirations of her own. With a bottle of acid that costs Rs 30, they try to hold her hostage for life. The film deliberately doesnt pursue the motive of the woman who is a co-accused in Maltis case, suggesting that it is pointless. The evidence of the crime is there for you to see, and that should be enough. While this sensitivity and care burnishes the film, Chhapaaks screenplay is rather sparse and episodic, devoted entirely to its lead star. Whenever Malti is on the screen, the film shines and seems to have a purpose. But when she is not, Chhapaak seems quite uninterested in itself and drags its feet in a half-hearted manner. Luckily, Chhapaak is short and what stays with you after the film is over is Deepikas brave act, Vikrant Masseys stunning ability to be an amalgamation of many characters and emotions at the same time, and the girls acid attack victims who struggle, fail, who dont understand why this happened to them, who seek justice but also a sliver of normal life. And that sliver sometimes comes with the reconstruction of a melted ear on which an earring can dangle, its happy swing lighting up not just their face, but our insides too. Sherry remains a niche product in retail stores. That may be a chicken-and-egg issue, as low consumer demand discourages importers from expanding this category with new offerings. But an uptick in demand from sommeliers and cocktail crafters can help bring more labels to market. This weeks recommendations include two sherries from a label new to the U.S. market, through Grapes of Spain importers. The quality across the board is high, and we can expect these wines to be more widely available in weeks and months to come. In the meantime, look also for sherries from Lustau and Gonzalez Byass, more established labels that offer wide availability and reliable quality. Wong-Monaco was born in Hawaii a few months before it became a state in 1959, she said. She learned to play ukulele in elementary school like all Hawaiian children, she said, but didnt stick with it. She picked up the instrument again in 1998. In the New York Times, Thomas Edsall has a very long op-ed titled Trump Wants Law and Order Front and Center. The piece is a paean to the progressive trend in law enforcementi.e., not enforcing lawscombined with fretting about whether the Republicans are likely to benefit politically. It does, I think, highlight an issue that will gain increasing prominence between now and November. Unexpectedly, the 2020 presidential campaign is drilling down on petty crime and homelessness. Donald Trump and his Republican allies are reviving law-and-order themes similar to those used effectively by Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in the late 1960s and early 1970s to demonize racial minorities. Ardent Democrats may be surprised that voters care about crime and the problems associated with homelessness, but no one else is. And the reference to Spiro Agnew and demoniz[ing] racial minorities is the kind of irrelevant cheap shot without which we wouldnt recognize a liberal opinion piece. These Democratic district attorneys in cities, counties and suburbs from Philadelphia, Orlando, Chicago and St. Louis to Contra Costa County, Calif., Suffolk County, Mass., and Durham County, N.C. are pursuing policies intended to decriminalize vagrancy, and eliminate cash bail, and they are aggressively pursuing charges in cases of shootings by police officers. Edsall acknowledges that these policies are deeply controversial, but never explains why. Rather, he views concerns about crime, vagrancy, and so on as beyond the pale. He calls on an email exchange with law professor Larry Tribe to lend intellectual heft to his argument: Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard, described the thinking underpinning progressive Democratic policies broadening the rights of the homeless. In an email, Tribe wrote: The supposed rights of those who are upset or psychologically threatened by the homeless, the deinstitutionalized, or others similarly situated are what I would call second-order rights, rights that a polity cannot fairly treat as having as strong a claim to protection, as trumps that override utilitarian claims as is true of genuine rights. The derelicts right to defecate in public is a genuine right, whereas your right not to have to watch people defecate in public is a second-order right. Presumably this is in the Constitution somewhere. What is not clear is whether the criminals right not to be imprisoned for his crime is genuine, while your right to be free of criminal violence is second-order. This is because throughout his piece, Edsall conflates two very different issues: 1) the quality of life problems associated with vagrancy and homelessness, and 2) violent crime. There is overlap, of course; vagrants sometimes commit violent crimes. But the issues are nevertheless distinct. On crime, Edsall retails the familiar myths: The racial disparities pervasive in our justice system compound at every juncture: African Americans are more likely to be stopped by police, arrested, detained before trial, and given harsher sentences than whites. All of this, as has been copiously documented, is because African-Americans commit far more crimes, per capita, than whites. Not to mention Asians and Hispanics; but then, when the subject is crime, liberals never do mention them. The good news is that very few people are fooled by this lame sort of argumentation. No one wants to be victimized by violent criminals, and everyone with eyes can see what vagrancy and the refusal to enforce laws against (relatively) minor crimes have done to cities like Seattle and San Francisco. Anyone who thinks what has happened to those cities is good, is welcome to vote Democrat in 2020. Which, of course, is what the liberals are worried about, and why they dredge up Spiro Agnew: Republicans, in turn, are betting that the Democratic presidential candidates have moved substantially farther to the left on issues of crime and punishment than the voting public. Thats right. Another way to put it is that trying to deny obvious realities isnt a good electoral strategy. PAUL ADDS: President Trump would be even better positioned to benefit politically from law and order sentiment if he hadnt supported legislation that enabled some federal felons to be released early from prison and will result in shorter sentences for many thousands more. Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Federation has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in connection with the violence on the JNU campus and have complained about the "ineffectiveness of Delhi Police". The letter has been signed by sixteen teachers from the university. On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and her Lao counterpart Pany Yathotou (Photo: VNA) Meeting with her Lao counterpart Pany Yathotou in Hanoi on January 9th, the top legislator spoke highly of the efficiency of the conferences held by the two National Assemblies in the past time, and recommended similar events should be organised to enhance experience sharing between the two legislative bodies. Sharing the same viewpoint, Pany Yathotou said that the two parliaments have played an important role in the implementation of high-level agreements between Vietnam and Laos in the past years. She cited as an example parliamentary cooperation in supervising the handling of free migration along the shared borderline, expressing her belief that it has created favourable conditions and brought practical benefits to border residents. Congratulating Vietnam on taking over the Chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2020 and of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Pany Yathotou affirmed Laos always supports and works closely with Vietnam so that the country can fulfill its heavy responsibilities. On the threshold of the Lunar New Year (Tet), the Lao top legislator wished that that the Vietnamese Party, State and people will reap further achievements, successfully carry out the resolution adopted at the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and make good preparation for the upcoming congress. Both leaders acknowledged the close coordination between the National Assemblies of Vietnam and Laos to commend organisations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the traditional friendship between the two countries. The Lao NA Chairwoman suggested that local Peoples Councils should also be involved in the commendation work. The two top legislators were unanimous in promoting experience sharing and developing the cooperative ties into a more practical and effective fashion. As Laos is revising its customs laws, it hopes Vietnam will share experience in the work, Pany Yathotou said, adding the National Assemblies should also enhance supervision in mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, especially after the two Supreme Peoples Procuracies signed an agreement in the field. NA Chairwoman Ngan agreed with her Lao counterparts recommendation, saying she will discuss the matters with the Prime Minister, and direct competent agencies to send experts to help Laos with the revision of its customs law./. FOR those looking for business ideas in 2020, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez wants entrepreneurs to tap the halal market. Lopez is the chairman of the Halal Export Development and Promotion Board, a policy-making body composed of public and private sector representatives. There is big potential in halal in the sense that there are many tourists that skip visiting the Philippines because there are only a few places where they can eat, Lopez said. The trade chief said that entrepreneurs should start with a change in mindset and see halal as a lifestyle that can be enjoyed by everyone. He said the Philippines has barely scratched the surface of the US$3.3 trillion global halal market. DTI is promoting this because halal certified food products connote positive attributes such as being clean, healthy and pure. We encourage more companies to apply for halal certification because it opens more markets, so more consumers can buy their products. Some local companies are already starting by certifying their canned tuna and corned beef products, he added. He mentioned Singapore as a good model for domestic promotion. Like the Philippines, only 10 percent of the Singaporean population are Muslims, but there are many groceries selling halal products. There are nine halal-certifying bodies in the Philippines namely, the Islamic Dawah Council of the Philippines, Halal Development Institute of the Philippines, Mindanao Halal Authority, Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board, Halal International Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Philippines, Mindanao Halal Authority, Islamic Advocate on Halal and Development, Philippine Ulama Congress Organization, Alliance for Halal Integrity in the Philippines Inc. and Prime Aisa Pacific. But Lopez is pushing for more certifying bodies to accommodate more applicants. (PR) Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to visit Varanasi on Friday to meet students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and members of civil society. Priyanka will meet the students of BHU and activists who were arrested during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Register of Citizens (NRC) in Varanasi. Congress leader, who also met the families of those who died during anti-CAA-NRC protests in Uttar Pradesh will arrive at Varanasi airport on Friday at 10 am. She will visit Guleria Kothi, Guleria Ghat and Ram Ghat at 11 am, as per the schedule. She will meet the BHU students and representatives of civil society at 11:30 am before leaving for Jaipur at 2 pm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Investors are worried about possible attacks on oil facilities in Southern Iraq that could affect crude supplies into Asia, an analyst told CNBC on Thursday. Iraq is the second-largest oil producer in OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. A disruption to its output level could make it hard for the oil cartel to replace the shortfall, Henning Gloystein, director for global energy and natural resources at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said on "Squawk Box." "That southern facility is right at the heart of the geopolitical risk world at the moment," he said referring to oil facilities in Iraq's southern province of Basra. "This is where the oil market fears a confrontation because if that gets hit, markets will get into trouble, especially in Asia." Basra, which is near the Umm Qasr port, accounts for nearly 85% of Iraq's crude oil production, according to the Associated Press. Tensions in the Middle East soared after Iran on Wednesday local time launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against Iraqi military bases housing American troops. It was an act of retaliation in response to the U.S. killing of Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani. The attacks did not destroy major energy infrastructure that could have disrupted global crude supply. Oil prices initially surged more than 4% at news of the missile attacks, but they subsequently dropped almost 5% when U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would impose sanctions on Tehran instead of another military strike as feared by some investors. But the situation remains volatile and the likelihood of possible strikes on tankers or oil facilities in the region remains. Books about economic policy suffer a perpetual tragedy. Those written by professors are often impracticalthey dont recognize that life is second best at best, where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit, and the most dangerous and persistent lies are the lies we tell ourselves. Books by practitioners often arent rigorousthey confuse correlation with causation, get trapped in the dangers of a single story, and mistake passing showers for climate change. But every few years comes a book that catalyses change by synthesizing the desirable and doable. View Full Image Bridgital Nation Solving Technologys People Problem: By N.Chandrasekaran and Roopa Purushothaman, Penguin, 344 pages, 799. Aadhaar was imagined 12 years ago in Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani. Bridgital Nation by N. Chandrasekaran and Roopa Purushothaman (chairman and chief economist of the Tata group, respectively) is another such book; it offers a road map and thought-world for creating a more inclusive, creative, productive, formalized and prosperous India. Progress depends on the debate Nobel laureate Robert Solow framed as more cooks in the kitchen (the status quo getting more resources) versus a new recipe (trying something different). Bridgital Nation believes Indias status quo offers two challenges (access to public services and low-productivity jobs) that need a new recipe (what they define as Bridgital, Talent, and Everywhere Entrepreneurship). It wasnt Gods will that 1.3 billion Indians should take 72 years to cross the GDP of 66 million Britishers; our labour is handicapped without capital, our capital is handicapped without labour, our rights as consumers are higher than our rights as citizens, and our labour markets are hostile to women. And our enterprises are rarely babies (that will grow) but mostly dwarfs (that will stay small) that dont have the productivity to create jobs that can pay the wage premium and end employed poverty. Bridgital Nation is worth reading for many reasons. It challenges conventional wisdom (our problem is not jobs but wages). It recognizes the Indian context (there is a wonderful re-imagination of a simplistic McKinsey model for the impact of automation and Artificial Intelligence on jobs). It recognizes that overcoming capacity constraints by throwing capacity at the problem in India is a learning disability (the detailed case study of para-skilling, process re-engineering, and technology to re-imagine healthcare easily migrates to education, agriculture, logistics, financial services and judiciary). It offers new thinking about womens labour force participation (lower returns from work arise from a gender wage gap, childcare costs, expenditure related to women-only work, and higher safety-driven commute costs). It thoughtfully unpacks symptoms from underlying causes (suboptimal system design versus inadequate physical resources). Finally, and surprisingly for an engineer and an economist, the book doesnt view employment solely through quantitative economic criteria butas Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps has arguedtakes a human-centric view by including stories of ordinary people like Nikhil, Dr. Das, Jasleen, Manbir and Bhoomi to highlight the dignity, community and purpose created by jobs that numbers dont capture. The book details three strategies. The first is Bridgitalthe deliberate use of AI and advanced technology to amplify Indias existing resources and extend them to many more Indians in four ways. First, using technology to demystify work by breaking down delivery of a service into discrete tasks, including the tasks of an expert to see what exactly they are doing. Second, shifting work away from specialists; doctors or teachers, for instance, can be helped by workers who are augmented by technology, freeing up these specialists to focus on what they do best. Many pre-diagnosis activities, for instance, can be turned into a checklist programmed on to a device and used by nurses, or even someone without clinical training. This would create some additional jobs even though some tasks, such as scheduling appointments, can be entirely automated. The authors estimate that a combination of automation and task-shifting to technology-augmented lower-skill workers can free up 25-30% of the time of a doctor. Third, this new capacity can be deployed remotely using technologymediated by digitally augmented workers in the last mileto cater to the needs of underserved sectors, like the healthcare examples the book highlights. Fourth, the first three combine to create productive, formal jobs at multiple locationsclose to the specialist and local jobs in remote, underserved areas. The second strategy of talent transformation has two drivers; one raises the returns to work for women and the second reimagines our education system via apprenticeships, digital skills, 21st century skills, lifelong learning and entrepreneurial thinking. I wish they had called out fixing government schools; the fact that 50% of our children are in private schools is not something we should be proud of. If anything should be free, it should be quality school education. The third strategy of Everywhere entrepreneurship imagines clusters with ease of doing business. Here I wish they had called out Civil Service reform (employers confront regulatory cholesterol of 58,000 compliances, 3,100 filings and 5,000 changes a year) and decentralization (200 real mayors and 29 chief ministers matter more than one prime minister for ease of doing business). Jawaharlal Nehru, who would become Indias first prime minister, wrote from Ahmadnagar jail in 1942: Whether we are successful or not, historians of the future will judge. But we aimed high and looked far." Indias economy currently faces short-term pain for long-term gain and Bridgital Nation reaffirms that formalization, urbanization, industrialization, financialization and human capital are policies worth pursuing. But it also offers new solutions for policymakers because it aims high and looks far. Manish Sabharwal is with Teamlease Services. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics The criminal activity of the man was confirmed by photos from his page on a social network. A man who allegedly guarded the crash site and the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines airliner flight MH17, shot down by the Russians from the skies over eastern Ukraine in 2014, has been detained by the Ukrainian border guards in Donetsk region. The detainee, who is a Ukraine national born in 1994, was arrested on a tip, the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation Headquarters wrote on Facebook. "During an interrogation of the detainee, law enforcement officers found that in the second half of 2014, in the midst of hostilities in Donbas, he served with one of the militarized armed units. He performed the tasks of Russian supervisors at illegal checkpoints set up in the Shakhtarsk district of Donetsk region, where he repeatedly witnessed crimes and harassment of civilians," reads the report. Starting late August 2014, the detainee guarded the MH17 crash site. "In addition, he gathered and handed over to terrorists plane fragments and personal belongings of the victims for a monetary reward of RUB 500 to RUB 1,500. During this time, he repeatedly observed the presence at the crash site of Russian military personnel, engaged in general control and management of all actions of armed groups," the JFO HQ said. Read alsoRussian TV propagandist Ernst on fake MH17 footage: "We made a mistake" The detainee's illegal activity has been confirmed by photos from his page on a social network, where he is seen sporting military uniform holding a weapon in front of the MH17 debris. The detainee was handed over to the police. Criminal proceedings were initiated under Part 2 of Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (creation of armed groups not prescribed by law or participation in their activities). The man may face imprisonment for up to eight years. UNIAN memo. Malaysia Airlines' MH17 Boeing 777 heading from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, over Russia-occupied territory in Donetsk region. All 298 people on board who were citizens of 10 countries were killed in the crash. The majority of the victims, 196, were citizens of the Netherlands. The Dutch Safety Board October 13, 2015, issued a report on the causes of the accident. It was revealed that the plane had been shot down by a Buk anti-aircraft missile system. The Joint Investigation Team in its report published on September 28, 2016, confirmed that the plane had been downed by a Russian-made Buk brought to Ukraine from Russia. Read alsoMH17 probe: Court hearings in Hague to begin on March 9 On June 19, 2019, JIT investigators accused four Russia-controlled military intelligence officers of involvement in a missile attack that shot down MH17. The first four suspects in the MH17 case are Russian terrorist Igor Girkin (AKA "Strelkov"), who in the summer of 2014 was the so-called "Minister of Defense of the Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR"); Russian General Sergei Dubinsky (nom de guerre "Khmuryi"), who led the "DPR intelligence;" Oleg Pulatov (nom de guerre "Gyurza"), who in 2014 headed "the 2nd division of the GRU of the DPR;" as well as Leonid Kharchenko (nom de guerre "Krot"), who was a leader of the "reconnaissance battalion" of Russia-led forces. The trial of those suspects in the crash of the Malaysian Boeing should begin on March 9, 2020. New Delhi, Jan 10 : The United Nation's Special Rapporteur, on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, moved an intervention application before the Supreme Court in the matter connected with deportation of the Rohingya community from India. Tendayi Achiume sought to assist the apex court by offering expertise on state parties' obligations under international law with regard to the prevention of racial discrimination against migrants, racial, ethnic and religious minorities, and populations otherwise perceived as "foreign". "The submission seeks to bring the attention of the court to UN's findings on Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya, including extensive evidence of crimes against humanity and the creation of more than a million refugees who are fleeing the certainty of death, rape, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and other forms of violence," said the application. The rapporteur moved the top court in the matter of Mohd Salimullah v. Union of India, which challenges the government's order to conduct an en masse deportation of the Rohingya community from India. The application cited Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya ethno-religious minority, which represents a racially discriminatory, systematic project carried out with clear evidence of genocidal intent and it has been referred to by the UN as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing". The application said: "UN reports have confirmed that until Myanmar ceases these violations, the return of Rohingya to Myanmar will violate the principles of non-refoulement. Thus, the MHA's decision is incompatible with India's human rights obligations." The application has also cited India's obligation under the international law. According to the counsel of applicant, the apex court has asked the Centre to examine this application. The application said this case deals with the fundamental issue of India's obligations towards refugee protection, and applicant seeks to assist the top court through the expert opinion on India's human rights obligations to racial equality and non-discrimination in light of the international Conventions signed and ratified by India. The Supreme Court said it will hear on March 18 the batch of petitions challenging the Centre's decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants to Myanmar. The top court is also seized of petitions which support the government's stand to deport over 40,000 Rohingyas. A division of Chinas Ping An Insurance Group is teaming with American global tech giant Intel Corp. to establish a joint innovation laboratory. The arrangement is between California-based Intel and Ping An Technology, both of which recently signed a strategic collaboration agreement in Shenzhen, China. Plans call for the companies to launch a joint laboratory, cooperate on products and technology, and form a joint project team in areas of high-performance computing, including storage, network, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and security. Neither side is disclosing financial terms. Ping An Technology CEO Ericson Chan said in prepared remarks that the partnership with Intel will give Ping An an edge to boost its cloud technologies and to supercharge its AI-based products and services. Chan said that the partnership will also focus on strengthening data protection efforts by using Intel hardware-enabled security in finance and healthcare, two areas where it is so critical. Ping An Technology develops and applies technologies in a wide range of scenarios to support financial services, health care, auto services, real estate services, and smart city services, the company said. Sources: Ping An Insurance Group, Intel Corp. Despite interest from dedicated high school student activists, the province has created a youth advisory council on climate made up of nine adult members. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Despite interest from dedicated high school student activists, the province has created a youth advisory council on climate made up of nine adult members. The government announced Tuesday it had chosen from more than 85 applicants a mix of students and young professionals from Winnipeg, Minto, Oakbank, Steinbach, Swan River and Thompson. None are under the age of 18. The applicants included members of the youth climate-change group that has organized weekly student walkouts including the Sept. 27 rally that drew more than 10,000 people downtown. Activist Courtney Tosh said she was disappointed when she learned she hadnt made the cut. And Tosh, 17, said it turned to frustration and confusion when she learned none of her friends in Manitoba Youth for Climate Action were chosen either. "This council is kind of the reaction to our big strike we had on Sept. 27, so I thought it was important to take advantage of that," she said. Former Sustainable Development minister Rochelle Squires announced the governments intention to create the advisory council that day, when the global climate strike drew thousands downtown to march and demand immediate political action as temperatures climb and ocean levels rise. Squires did not attend the days events. Manitoba Youth for Climate Action, which describes itself as "a non-partisan, youth-led organization that formed out of desperation for government action on climate change," issued a statement Thursday entitled, Provincial Government Creates Youth Council Without Youth. The release criticized the province for opening the process to people between the ages of 15 and 25, but selecting only adults, and expressed frustration about the exclusion of young climate activists who have rallied outside the Manitoba legislature every Friday for the last year. Conservation and Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard said Thursday the selection committee looked at how familiar applicants were with the Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan. "But also, (the committee looked for) a true reflection of the province all demographics, all areas, because climate change affects us all and we need to hear feedback, not only just from our metropolitan areas, rural too," Guillemard said. The council will work on a year-to-year basis, she said, adding she understands unsuccessful applicants might be disappointed but encouraged them to reapply next year. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "If they dont want to give us the opportunity to voice our opinions, were going to continue to voice them anyways with our strikes," Tosh said, adding she thinks Manitoba should strive to be a leader among other provinces and adopt and legislate science-based emissions targets. The Progressive Conservative government has set a target to reduce annual emissions by one megatonne of carbon dioxide equivalent between 2018 and 2022. The MYCAs primary demand is for the province to legislate greenhouse gas emission reductions of 65 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2040. Its not clear how the youth council structure will work, but the council will report to the provinces expert advisory committee on Manitobas Climate and Green Plan. Chair Colleen Sklar said the adult committee will then bring feedback to the province. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie SVG took the easy way out on an internationally charged situation. St Vincent and the Grenadines chose to abstain from voting on a recent (December 27, 2019) United Nations General Assembly Resolution aimed at protecting vulnerable people globally. The Resolution referred with some focus on protecting the Rohingya Muslims from atrocities at the hands of the Myanmar government. According to media reports, nearly all Rohingya Muslims have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless. They are also denied freedom of movement and other basic rights. The Resolution called on Myanmars government to take urgent measures to combat incitement of hatred against the Rohingya and other minorities in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states of the country. Among those countries joining St. Vincent and the Grenadines in abstaining were India, Nepal, Japan, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zambia. Those countries voting against the Resolution were Belarus, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Russia, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Some 134 of the 193-member body of the General Assembly voted in favour of the Resolution. UN General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but response to them is a good indication of world opinion. Exxon Mobil, with its oil and gas finds off the coasts of Guyana and Cyprus, was the industry leader in 2019 as discoveries marked a four-year high, according to a new report. Led by Exxons 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, energy firms last year found about 12.2 billion barrels with more than 25 discoveries of at least 100 million barrels each, according to the Norwegian research firm Rystad Energy. The potential from the discoveries, mostly from international offshore drilling, was the highest since nearly 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent were found in 2015. This years discoveries, Rystad said, could exceed volumes found in 2019. Irving-based Exxon Mobil made four discoveries off the coast of Guyana, the small South American nation southeast of Venezuela, bringing its tally in the country to 15 since its first find four years before. The company also made natural gas discoveries off the island nation of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean. Exxon, which also is exploring off the coast of Egypt, started its Guyana oil production in late December. On HoustonChronicle.com: Exxon hits oil again in Guyana "ExxonMobil can be declared explorer of the year for a second year in a row thanks to its ongoing efforts and results in Guyana, along with significant investments in Cyprus," said Palzor Shenga, a senior analyst at Rystad. "The supermajor was exceptional, both in terms of discovered volumes and value creation from exploration." Exxon's finds account for 9 percent of the global oil and gas discovered in 2019. The single-largest find of 2019, however, came from British energy major BP, which with its Dallas-based partner Kosmos Energy, found 13 trillion cubic feet of gas off the coast of Mauritania in northwestern Africa. Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox In Russia, Gazprom announced two discoveries in the Kara Sea Dinkov in the Rusanovsky block and Nyarmeyskoye in the Nyarmeysky block. Rystad Energy estimates that Gazproms 2019 discoveries hold combined recoverable resources of about 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with Dinkov ranked as the second-largest worldwide find in 2019. Other key offshore discoveries in 2019 include French energy major Totals Brulpadda in South Africa, the China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s Glengorm discovery in the United Kingdom's portion of the North Sea, and Norway-based Equinors Sputnik find in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. In a week that began with a deadly U.S. drone strike on an Iranian military leader and ended with President Donald Trump assuring the nation that a retaliatory Iranian missile launch against U.S. troops was actually a sign of peaceful resolution, Americans can be forgiven for feeling whiplashed. How did we so quickly go from the standard tensions in the Middle East status quo to the brink of war and back to all is well? Is it? And what happens now? The good news is that Iran chose to hurl 22 missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops where no people were killed and no real property damage was done and that Trump chose to accept that as a fitting end to the current hostilities. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world, Trump said in a White House address to the nation Wednesday. Peace in our time. By Thursday, however, a leader of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was threatening harsher revenge soon against the United States as even some of the presidents Republican allies in the Senate were upset by the lack of information and what Sen. Mike Lee described as instructions to members of Congress not to question military decisions. What I found so distressing about that briefing was that one of the messages we received from the briefers was, Do not debate. Do not discuss the issue of the appropriateness of further military intervention against Iran. And then if you do, youll be emboldening Iran. Lee called an hourlong closed-door meeting Wednesday with administration officials, the worst briefing Ive seen, at least on a military issue. The briefing was held as the House prepared to vote Thursday on a resolution that would force Trump to end hostilities against Iran unless he gets specific authorization from Congress. Lee said he is now open to supporting such a resolution based on the lack of information from White House and military officials. They were asked repeatedly, what, if anything, would trigger the need for the administration to come back to Congress for a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force, Lee said. At one point, I believe one of the briefers said something like, Im sure we can think of something. But they struggled to identify anything. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but presidents, invoking their role as commander in chief, have historically launched and escalated wars, including in Korea and Vietnam, without approval of Congress. Presidents from both parties have skirted the wishes of Congress, which has at times willingly ceded its authority to the executive branch to avoid tough votes and decisions. A resolution would be largely symbolic, but debate could bring some much-needed transparency and clarity to the issue. Lees complaints track broader concerns about Trumps order last week to kill Tehrans top military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in an overnight U.S. drone strike near Baghdads international airport. While everyone agrees that Soleimani was responsible for hundreds of American and Iraqi deaths and destabilizing attacks against the United States and its interests in the Middle East, the administration has offered confusing and contradicting reasons for the urgency of the strike. The administration also has been fuzzy on how it planned to deal with the aftermath and the possibility that U.S. forces would again be pulled into a war in the region. In his statement Wednesday, the president said he would ask that NATO become much more involved in the Middle East process even though he has belittled the organization as ineffective and alienated many of the leaders in those nations who continue to support the 2015 agreement to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions on its nuclear program. Trump has instead pushed a maximum pressure campaign of economic and financial sanctions, a move that in part prompted the attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad that started the escalation to the Soleimani assassination and the presidents threats to attack cultural sites in Iran, which was widely criticized as a violation of international law and a war crime. All of this adds up to an incoherent foreign policy fueled by personal pique and random impulse that not surprisingly took us to the brink of war. No wonder we have whiplash. If the administration cant articulate a comprehensible policy for dealing with Iran that doesnt include needless provocations and Twitter threats, it is time for Congress to step in and put up guardrails. BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) West Indies beat Ireland by one wicket with one ball to spare to clinch the three-match one-day international series 2-0 on Thursday. Ireland won the toss and batted first, scoring 237-9. West Indies scored 242-9 after a wild final over when West Indies needed five runs to win. The first two balls yielded just a single, but Ireland thought it had a runout on the third ball. After the potential dismissal was referred to the third umpire, extensive video replays were inconclusive whether bowler Mark Adairs hand or the ball had broken the wicket first. The decision was not out. A near runout off the next ball added to the drama, but the West Indies No. 11 Sheldon Cottrell powered the second-last ball over the boundary for six to claim victory for the home side. Earlier in the day, Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie won the toss and elected to bat first for the second successive game. Opener Paul Stirling top-scored with 63 from 79 balls. The Irish nemesis from the last match, 23-year old Alzarri Joseph, once again dominated the Irish batsmen, first removing captain Balbirnie for 10 then taking three more wickets to finish with 4-32 exactly the same return he had in the first match when West Indies won by five wickets. Nicholas Pooran led the home side with 52 runs. The wicket was a bit more even than in the first game, and we wanted to bat sensibly to get to the score," man-of- the-match Joseph said. _____ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports CPS Energys power plants, transmission lines, substations and smart meters the major components of San Antonios electric grid are like bodily organs. We dont think about them until they go south on us, and then we freak out. Even a revenge-minded Iran on the cyber warpath, working down its list of high-impact targets, hasnt really managed to punch its way into the public consciousness. Thats because most people dont do well with the unknown. So they keep it buried beneath their daily routines and habits. They have a hard time grasping that strangers want to plunge them into darkness, real and existential, and knock out their central air conditioning. But they do. They really do. That bleak prospect was on District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaezs mind this week amid the fallout from the U.S. assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. That is our greatest vulnerability in this city: the electric grid, said Pelaez, chairman of City Councils Innovation and Technology Committee. Hes a strong supporter of San Antonios Smart Cities initiative. Its aim essentially is to improve city services by plugging more of them into the internet and expanding public Wi-Fi. But its not all shining, 5G-enabled city on a hill stuff. Pelaez understands that the more networked San Antonio becomes, the more exposed it is to cyberattacks. Those attacks are constant, launched around the clock by every grade of malevolent hacker, from small-time thieves after your credit card information to nation-states that want to bring on the digital apocalypse. City-owned CPS Energy is a tempting target. The utility sells electricity to 841,000 residential and business customers, and natural gas to 353,000 households and workplaces. Its a big repository of personal data, and a widespread network outage would bring the seventh-largest U.S. city and many of its neighbors to their knees to say nothing of the statewide power grid and the regional economy. Shanna Ramirez is CPS Energys interim chief integrated security officer, responsible for protecting the utilitys digital network and physical assets, which are valued at $11.5 billion. Ramirez chooses her words carefully. She says I cant comment on that a lot. Which means she has the personality firewall you find in many executives responsible for safeguarding networks. I thought she might be former military, like many cybersecurity experts in San Antonio, which is home to Security Hill at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and a hulking National Security Agency installation. But no she has a law degree from the University of Maryland and worked at Haynes and Boone law firm. Nevertheless, shes well-acquainted with foreign attackers. The threat from nation-state actors is not a new one, Ramirez said. The Big Four wont surprise you: Iran, China, Russia and North Korea. But the sources of attacks on CPS are pretty much spread out around the globe, she said. Many of them ping off Internet Protocol addresses in the United States to mask their origins. Ramirez wouldnt discuss specific Iranian attacks. But theres been an overall increase in digital menaces of late. She oversees about 40 employees, many of them dedicated to network protection. Her department keeps a desk at the citys emergency-response Fusion Center. CPS also has contracts with outside cybersecurity firms (in place before the killing of Soleimani), though she declined to identify them. Figuring out how much CPS spends on network protection isnt easy. Theres no line item for cybersecurity in its 2020 budget. Instead, theres a category in the utilitys capital plan called Security & Safety, and its funding is between $5 million and $10 million, out of a total of $765.4 million. Ramirez noted those dollars dont take into account CPS working relationships with outside agencies such as the San Antonio Police Department, the citys Information Technology Services Department, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Energy. What we have done with our partners is look at Iranian attacks around the world, she said. One of those attacks hit the state government in Austin this past week, when hackers sympathetic to Iran posted an image of Soleimani on the Texas Department of Agriculture website. But that was a mere prank compared to Irans cyberwarfare capabilities. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported: Cybersecurity experts and government officials are already monitoring an uptick of malicious activity by pro-Iranian hackers and social media users that they believe are harbingers of more serious computer attacks from Tehran, including possible efforts aimed at destroying government databases. Much of CPS vulnerability like that of every other networked organization, business and household comes down to which emails its employees open on company desktop and laptop computers. Phishing is probably our most prevalent threat, Ramirez said. Phishing is the attempt to trick computer users into handing over login information or other crucial bits of data. The Big Four, Ramirez said, have gotten very good at sifting through employees social-media musings and preferences, and using that information to put together genuine-looking email solicitations for example, invitations to join professional organizations. Thats why CPS employees receive extensive training in online dos and donts, Ramirez said. It was around this point that we reached the outer edges of what she was willing to talk about. With my allotted time running out, I wrapped up by asking where CPS threat level stood that morning. In a memo to City Council last week, City Manager Erik Walsh reported that the municipal government had raised our Cyber-Status to High. So how about CPS Energy? Ramirezs response: I cant comment on that. As a service to the San Antonians who prefer to keep the unknown at bay and to let anonymous technicians and analysts handle the many threats lets just say that CPS Energys alert status is probably red. greg.jefferson@express-news.net Brazil's highest court on Thursday rejected a lower court's decision to remove from Netflix a comedy depicting Jesus Christ in a gay relationship. The head of the Supreme Federal Court, Judge Antonio Dias Toffoli, sided with the streaming platform's appeal against a temporary injunction banning the movie. It denied the idea that the movie was insulting to Christians. "One cannot suppose that a humorous satire has the ability to weaken the values of the Christian faith, whose existence is traced back more than two thousand years, and which is the belief of the majority of Brazlian citizens," the judge said. The film, entitled "The First Temptation of Christ", by the Brazilian production company Porta dos Fundos, came out on December 3 and drew strong criticism from conservative politicians in the mainly Catholic country, from the church itself and from evangelicals. It depicts Jesus returning home with his boyfriend Orlando after 40 days in the desert, as Mary and Joseph plan a surprise party for Jesus's 30th birthday. The satirical comedy was still available on Netflix Thursday. Netflix did not respond to AFP's request for comment on Thursday's decision, but came out in support of the show on Wednesday. "We strongly support artistic expression and we will fight to defend this important principle, which is the heart of great stories," a spokesperson for the on-demand platform told AFP. In a statement, Porta dos Fundos said it "opposed any act of censorship, violence, illegality, authoritarianism" and vowed to continue broadcasting its work. On Christmas Eve, the production company's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro were attacked with Molotov cocktails. No one was hurt. Police said several men with their faces covered took part in the assault. Police have identified a man named Eduardo Fauzi as a suspect after analyzing security camera footage. He fled to Russia. The federal police asked Interpol Tuesday to issue a "Red Notice" for Fauzi, Brazil's state media reported on Wednesday. Fauzi still did not appear on the public list Thursday. A "red notice" is a request to police across the world to provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an arrest warrant. Federal police did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. Judge Benedicto Abicair said Wednesday he was ordering the film yanked so as to calm tempers until courts could consider the broader merits of a suit against the movie that was brought by a Catholic association called the Don Bosco Center for Faith and Culture. Porta dos Fundos is an award-winning comedy producer founded in 2012. It garnered an international Emmy in 2018. Parishioners at a North Carolina Baptist church jumped into action and wrestled a man to the ground as he attempted to force his way inside the building, allegedly while under the influence of crystal meth. The incident took place at Macedonia Free Baptist Church in Vanceboro during a Sunday morning service and was captured on surveillance video. The footage shows the suspect, identified as 48-year-old Christopher Bennett, being confronted at the door by two members of the congregations. A surveillance camera at Macedonia Free Baptist Church in Vanceboro, North Carolina, captured the moment a man was stopped by parishioners from entering the building Sunday Video shows the man, Christopher Bennett, trying to force his way inside after being turned away from the place of worship for acting erratically The congregants throw him face first to the ground and pin him down with their bodies. Bennett was restrained until deputies arrived and arrested him, after using a Taser on him to subdue him He tries to force his way past the two men, but they push him back. As Bennett continues to resist, the congregants throw him face first to the ground and pin him down with their bodies. Church goers restrained Bennett until deputies with the Craven County Sheriffs Office responded to the scene at 11.20am and took him into custody. According to a press release from the agency, Bennett was described as acting erratically and attempting to force his way into the church after being asked to leave. Responding deputies had to use a Taser to subdue Bennett, who they say appeared to be under the influence of drugs and continued to be combative. The 48-year-old suspect was treated at the scene for minor injuries he suffered during his violent struggle with the parishioners and then taken to the county jail. During an investigation, deputies learned that earlier in the day Bennett allegedly had assaulted a female relative at her home. The 48-year-old, who was allegedly high on crystal meth, suffered minor injuries to his face during the melee (pictured in his mugshot) The victim claimed that Bennett had been using crystal methamphetamine, according to the sheriffs office. Kevin Toler, one of the two men who confronted Bennett and prevented him from entering the church, told the station WXII that he became alarmed when he saw the intruder reach back into his pants. 'I just felt like he had a gun or ill intent, and at that point, I knew I could not let him back inside,' Toler said. Bennet was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct, assault on a female, interfering with emergency communications, false imprisonment, felonious breaking and entering motor vehicle and felonious larceny of motor vehicle. Online records indicate that the New Bern resident has a vast criminal record stretching back to at least 1989, which includes dozens of breaking and entering, larceny and receiving stolen goods charges. At the time of his arrest on Sunday, Bennett had been out on parole stemming from a 2015 conviction on a charge of habitual breaking and entering. 09.01.2020 LISTEN The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, left Accra, Ghana for Texas, United States of America, on Thursday, 9th January 2020 to undertake a number of official engagements. Amongst others, Vice President Bawumia is scheduled to meet with a number of business leaders, investors, and the Ghanaian diaspora. Vice President Bawumia returns to Accra on Monday, 13th January 2020. Signed: Frank Agyei-Twum Director of Communications Office of the Vice President By Elijah J Magnier January 09, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - It was not the US decision to fire missiles against the IRGC commander Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani that killed the Iranian officer and his companions in Baghdad. Yes, of course, the order that was given to launch missiles from the two drones (which destroyed the two cars carrying Sardar Soleimani and his companion the Iraqi commander in al-Hashd al-Shaabi Jamal Jaafar Al-Tamimi aka Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes and burned their bodies in the vehicle) came from US command and control. However, the reason President Donald Trump made this decision derives from the weakness of the axis of resistance, which has completely retreated from the level of performance that Iran believed it was capable of after decades of work to strengthen this axis. A close companion of Major General Qassim Soleimani, to whom he spoke hours before boarding the plane that took him from Damascus to Baghdad, told me: The nobleman died. Palestine above all has lost Hajj Qassem (Soleimani). He was the King of the Axis of the Resistance and its leader. He was assassinated and this is exactly what he was hoping to reach in this life (Martyrdom). However, this axis will live and will not die. No doubt, the Axis of the Resistance needs to review its policy and regenerate itself to correct its path. This was what Hajj Qassim was complaining about and planning to work on and strategizing about in his last hours. The US struck Iran at the heart of its pride by killing Major General Soleimani. But the axis of the Resistance killed him before that. This is how: When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assassinated the deputy head of the Military Council (the highest authority in the Lebanese Hezbollah, which is headed by its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah), Hajj Imad Mughniyah in Damascus, Syria, Hezbollah could not avenge him until today. When Trump gave Netanyahu Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Axis of the Resistance did not move except by holding television symposia and conferences verbally rejecting the decision. When President Trump offered the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to Israel and the Axis of Resistance did not react, the US President Donald Trump and his team understood that they were opposed by no effective deterrent. The inaction of the Resistance axis emboldened Trump to do what he wants. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter And when Israel bombed hundreds of Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria, the Axis of the Resistance justified its lack of retaliation by the typical sentence: We do not want to be dragged along by the timing of the engagement imposed by the enemy, as a senior official in this axis told me. In Iraq shortly before his death, Major General Soleimani was complaining about the weakening of the Iraqi ranks within this Axis of the Resistance, represented by the Al-Bina (Construction) Alliance and other groups close to this alliance like Al-Hikma of Ammar al-Hakim and Haidar al-Abadi, formerly close to Iran, that have gone over to the US side. In Iraq, Major General Soleimani was very patient and never lost his temper. He was trying to reconcile the Iraqis, both his allies and those who had chosen the US camp and disagreed with him. He used to hug those who shouted at him to lower tensions and continue dialogue to avoid spoiling the meeting. Anyone who raised his voice during discussions soon found that it was Soleimani who calmed everyone down. Hajj Qassem Soleimani was unable to reach a consensus on the new Prime Ministers name among those he deemed to be allies in the same coalition. He asked Iraqi leaders to select the names and went through all of these asking questions about the acceptability of these names to the political groups, to the Marjaiya, to protestors in the street and whether the suggested names were not provocative or challenging to the US. Notwithstanding the animosity between Iran and the US, Soleimani encouraged the selection of a personality that would not be boycotted by the US. Soleimani believed the US capable of damaging Iraq and understood the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the US for the stability of the country. Soleimani was shocked by the dissension among Iraqi Shia and believed that the axis of resistance needed a new vision as it was faltering. In the final hours before his death, Major General Soleimani was ruminating on the profound antagonisms between Iraqis of the same camp. When the Iraqi street began to move against the government, the line rejecting American hegemony was fragmented because it was part of the authority that ruled and governed Iraq. To make matters worse, Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr directed his arrows against his partners in government, as though the street demonstrations did not target him, the politician controlling the largest number of Iraqi deputies, ministers and state officials, who had participated in the government for more than ten years. Major General Soleimani admonished Moqtada Al-Sadr for his stances, which contributed to undermining the Iraqi ranks because the Sadrist leader did not offer an alternative solution or practical project other than the chaos. Moqtada has his own men, the feared Saraya al-Salam, present in the street. When US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi on December 28 and informed him of Americas intentions of hitting Iraqi security targets inside Iraq, including the PMU, Soleimani was very disappointed by Abdul-Mahdis failure to effectively oppose Esper. Abdul-Mahdi merely told Esper that the proposed US action was dangerous. Soleimani knew that the US would not have hit Iraqi targets had Abdul-Mahdi dared to oppose the US decision. The targeted areas were a common Iranian-Iraqi operational stage to monitor and control ISIS movements on the borders with Syria and Iraq. The US would have reversed its decision had the Iraqi Prime Minister threatened the US with retaliation in the event that Iraqi forces were bombed and killed. After all, the US had no legal right to attack any objective in Iraq without the agreement of the Iraqi government. This decision was the moment when Iraq has lost its sovereignty and the US took control of the country. This effective US control is another reason why President Trump gave the green light to kill Major General Soleimani. The Iraqi front had demonstrated its weakness and also, it was necessary to select a strong Iraqi leader with the guts to stand to the US arrogance and unlawful actions. Iran has never controlled Iraq, as most analysts mistakenly believe and speculate. For years, the US has worked hard in the corridors of the Iraqi political leadership lobby for its own interests. The most energetic of its agents was US Presidential envoy Brett McGurk, who clearly realised the difficulties of navigating inside Iraqi leaders corridors during the search for a prime minister of Iraq before the appointment of Adel Abdel Mahdi, the selection of President Barham Saleh and other governments in the past. Major General Soleimani and McGurk shared an understanding of these difficulties. Both understood the nature of the Iraqi political quagmire. Soleimani did not give orders to fire missiles at US bases or attack the US Embassy. If it was in his hands to destroy them with accurate missiles and to remove the entire embassy from its place without repercussions, he would not have hesitated. But the Iraqis have their own opinions, methods, modus operandi and selection of targets and missile calibres; they never relied on Soleimani for such decisions. Iranian involvement in Iraqi affairs was never welcomed by the Marjaiya in Najaf, even if it agreed to receive Soleimani on a few occasions. They clashed over the reelection of Nuri al-Maliki, Soleimanis preferred candidate, to the point that the Marjaiya wrote a letter making its refusal of al-Maliki explicit. This led to the selection of Abadi as prime minister. Soleimanis views contradicted the perception of the Marjaiya, that had to write a clear message, firstly, to reject the re-election of Nori al-Maliki to a third session, despite Soleimanis insistence. All of the above is related to the stage that followed the 2011 departure of US forces from Iraq under President Obama. Prior to that, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis was the link between the Iraqis and Iran: he had the decision-making power, the vision, the support of various groups, and effectively served as the representative of Soleimani, who did not interfere in the details. These Iraqi groups met with Soleimani often in Iran; Soleimani rarely travelled to Iraq during the period of heavy US military presence. Soleimani, although he was the leader of the Axis of the Resistance, was sometimes called the king in some circles because his name evokes Solomon. According to sources within the Axis of the Resistance, he never dictated his own policy but left a margin of movement and decision to all leaders of the axis without exception. Therefore, he was considered the link between this axis and the supreme leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei. Soleimani was able to contact Sayyed Khamenei at any time and directly without mediation. The Leader of the revolution considered Soleimani as his son. According to sources, in Syria, Soleimani never hesitated to jump inside a truck, ride an ordinary car, take the first helicopter, or travel on a transport or cargo plane as needed. He did not take any security precautions but used his phone (which he called a companion spy) freely because he believed that when the decision came to assassinate him, he would follow his destiny. He looked forward to becoming a martyr because he had already lived long. Was the leader of the resistance axis managing and running it? Sayyed Ali Khamenei told Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: You are an Arab and the Arabs accept you more than they accept Iran. Sayyed Nasrallah directed and managed the axis of Lebanon, Syria and Yemen and had an important role in Iraq. Hajj Soleimani was the liaison between the axis of the resistance and Iran and he was the financial and logistical officer. According to my source, He was a friend of all leaders and officials of all ranks. He was humble and looked after everyone he had to deal with. The Axis of Resistance indirectly allowed the killing of Qassem Soleimani. If Israel and the US could know Sayyed Nasrallahs whereabouts, they would not hesitate a moment to assassinate him. They may be aware: the reaction may be limited to burning flags and holding conferences and manifesting in front of an embassy. Of course, this kind of reaction does not deter President Trump who wants to be re-elected with the support of Israel and US public opinion. He wants to present himself as a warrior and determined leader who loves battle and killing. Iran invested 40 years building the Axis of the Resistance. It cannot remain idle, faced with the assassination of the Leader of this axis. Would a suitable price be the US exit from Iraq and condemnation in the Security Council? Would that, together with withdrawal from the nuclear deal, be enough for Iran to avenge its General? Will the ensuing battle be confined to the Iraqi stage? Will it be used for the victory of certain Iraqi political players? The assassination of its leader represents the supreme test for the Axis of Resistance. All sides, friend and foe, are awaiting its response. Proofread by Copyright The recently elected members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), along with their appointed colleagues, soon will make perhaps the most important decision of their four-year term when they replace departing Superintendent John White, who is leaving March 11. Their selection could well chart the educational course for a generation of Louisiana students. Our state has had only three education superintendents in the past 24 years. White served eight years as the states education CEO. During that time, he augmented the role of charter schools, supported taxpayer-financed vouchers and bolstered Louisianas public school accountability program. We have not always agreed with him, but we generally gave him high marks as did many Louisiana educational and political leaders. Though we have not always seen eye to eye, I appreciate John Whites service to our state, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement. White and the governor often disagreed on education policy. White championed many education reforms supported by the states business interests and legislative conservatives, while the governor usually sided with the states teacher unions and parish superintendents, who tend to favor traditional governance models over charter schools. Edwards struck a conciliatory tone by noting Whites support for a teachers pay raise and for increases in funding of schools and early childhood education; the governor pushed for both initiatives in last years legislative session. Others were more effusive in their praise of White. The Council for A Better Louisiana (CABL), a nonpartisan reform group, touted Whites efforts on behalf of school accountability, early childhood education, transparency for parents and taxpayers, strengthening charter schools (particularly in New Orleans, where they are the norm), setting higher academic standards, promoting better teacher preparation and a much stronger focus on equity to ensure that all children have opportunities to succeed. More importantly, we have seen positive results from these policies, CABL noted. Test scores have shown long-term improvement even as we have increased student expectations. Louisianas growth in student performance over the last decade places us among the top 10 states nationally. And we have more students graduating, more going to college, and more earning TOPS scholarships than ever before. White has been education superintendent since 2012 after coming to Louisiana a year earlier to run the Recovery School District, a legislatively created entity tasked with taking over failed schools across the state. Ironically, the recent BESE elections would have strengthened Whites hold on his job. He had been working on a month-to-month basis since 2016, even though he enjoyed support from most of the 11-member board. With eight business-backed members of the board elected last year, White no doubt would have garnered the two-thirds majority needed to get a long-term contract. He nonetheless notified the board of his decision to leave. Although Louisianas public schools still lag behind those of most other states, Whites legacy includes significant improvements on several key fronts. We are moving in the right direction, but we still have a long, long way to go. We hope Whites successor will build on his accomplishments. Our states future depends on it. Gurugram The mayor will take up the issue of empowering councillors to undertake development work and the pending enforcement of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, in Haryana, with the chief minister during a meeting next week. The decision was taken by the councillors of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) at a meeting in Sector 34 on Friday, to decide the possible agenda for the next House meeting and make a list of demands that could be presented to Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana chief minister. Khattar has called all the seven mayors of Haryana for a meeting in Chandigarh on January 18. Mayor Madhu Azad said that she has given a weeks time to all councillors to submit a list of their main queries and demands, which she can take up with the CM. In addition, she further said that she has directed the MCG officials to submit to her a list of agendas that were passed in all MCG House meetings and are pending with the state government, so that she can take up the same with the CM and ask him to expedite it. The councillors demanded that she raise the issue of giving powers to the councillors to carry out development works of 1 crore each in their respective wards, an agenda which was approved in their tenures first House meeting in November 2018. Enforcement of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, will make the municipal corporation an autonomous body and resultantly, expedite civic projects Councillors also asked the mayor to take up the issue on the proposal for building MCGs main office in Sector 29. The MCG has been functioning out of a three-storey building owned by the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) in Sector 34 since February 2015, for which the civic body pays a monthly rent of 18 lakh. Currently, all paperwork related to projects that are budgeted above 2.5 crore has to be sent by the municipal corporations to the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) headquarters in Panchkula for approval. Provided there are no queries raised by the ULB in the entire tendering, allotment, project planning and execution process, it takes a single project three to four months to get the final clearance. If you look at the neighbouring areas, such as cities in Punjab and Chandigarh, the governments and local administrations have enforced the 74th constitutional amendment in their respective states and Union Territories. We want the same to be enforced in Haryana as the MCG will no longer need to seek approval from ULB and can expedite civic projects in the city, said Azad. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, also known as the Nagarpalika Act, was passed in the Indian Parliament in December 1992. Other key decisions taken by councillors during the meeting were to decide upon the agendas that can be presented in the MCGs next house meeting. Among the key points agreed upon by the councillors was the decision to withdraw the responsibility of maintenance of parks and community centres from residents welfare associations and transfer the same to the MCG. It was also decided that the responsibility of supervising every MCG employee related to cleaning, horticulture and civic works should be given to the councillors, and they should also be present at each work allotment, pertaining to cleaning and horticulture, issued by the MCG. Councillors also decided that they will no longer send proposals passed in the House meeting to the ULB. Their other demands include the return all green belts, transferred to the GMDA, back to the MCG due to their alleged poor condition, financial assistance to residential societies and condominiums for setting up compost plants, forming a new MCG wing for preparing estimates for civic projects and the MCG taking up the maintenance of government schools falling under its jurisdiction. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON China is still a Priority 1 country for the EU. Ukraine has landed up in the list of countries that violate intellectual property rights and damage the economic interests of the European Union. "India, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine remain Priority 2 countries. Serious systemic problems have been identified in the area of IP protection and enforcement in these countries, causing significant harm to EU businesses. Compared to the previous report, these countries have made no progress or only limited progress in addressing these concerns," according to the European Commission's report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third countries. Read alsoUkraine mulling high specialized court on intellectual property, economic competition The Commission notes Ukraine has problems with the legislative protection of intellectual law, trademark registration mechanisms, as well as the transit of counterfeit and pirated products to the EU markets. However, the EU said a positive development had been the adoption by the Ukrainian parliament of Law No 2415 "On Collective Management Organizations" in May 2018. Iran may request assistance in deciphering the "black boxes" of the Boeing 737-800 airliner that crashed near Tehran. Russia, Ukraine, France and Canada may be asked for assistance, Bloomberg said referring to a statement of Hassan Rezaifar, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization commission for accidents investigation from Iran's flight regulator. Iran is confident that the Ukrainian plane was not shot down by a missile. Rezaifar said on Friday experts would try to inspect the "black boxes" in order to understand whether it is still possible to extract information from them. Iran does not want black boxes to be exported outside the country for analysis. Three Iranian airlines, he said, will help experts with their study. He added that an investigation into a plane crash could take from one to two years. At the same time, Rezaifar, commenting on videos posted to the Internet purporting to show missiles hitting the airplane, said the video clips need to be checked. Earlier, the Associated Press reported that, to participate in the investigation of the causes of the crash, the Iranian authorities invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board to participate in the investigation of the crash. The board said it would "assess the level of its participation in the investigation." However, the agency notes that the level of participation of the council in the investigation may be limited due to U.S. sanctions against Iran. However, the board may become involved in the investigation, because the airplane that crashed was built in the United States. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence agencies of Canada and its allies believe that the cause of the crash of theUkrainian passenger plane near Tehran was a surface-to-air missile. "We have intelligence from many sources, including from our own intelligence services and from the intelligence of our allies, according to which the plane was shot down by an Iranian ground-to-air missile," said Trudeau, quoted by Canadian television. The UIA Boeing 737-800 passenger plane, flight PS752 from the Tehran to Kyiv, crashed in the area of Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran immediately after take-off early on the morning of January 8. Some 167 passengers and nine crew members on board died. Among the dead were 11 citizens of Ukraine (among them 9 crew members), 82 citizens of Iran, 63 of Canada, 10 of Sweden, four of Afghanistan and three each from Germany and the UK. Rating: R Run time: 1 hour 53 minutes Stars: Alfre Woodard, Wendell Pierce, Aldis Hodge, Richard Schiff Director: Chinonye Chukwu When we first meet Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard, 67), a maximum-security prison warden, she seems like a person who's got everything under strict control. Her prison looks a bit like the world of George Lucas sci-fi film THX 1138: futuristic, austere, hyperrational, totalitarian. But in the preternaturally expressive eyes of Woodard among the greatest actors alive we sense the executions are getting to her, and control is an illusion that she, and the whole system, struggles in vain to maintain. This is the 12th execution she's supervised, a macabre kind of theater piece staged for an audience of relatives observing from behind a big window. Something goes wrong with the lethal injection. Instantly, it's a bloody mess Grand Guignol theater. Warden Williams yanks the curtain to hide the mess, but you can't unsee the ugliness. Afterward, you see it in her haunted eyes. She drinks too much. She sleeps on the couch, has nightmares in which she's on the death gurney and the dead prisoner looms over her. She keeps her doting schoolteacher husband (Treme's brilliant Wendell Pierce, 56) at arm's length. I need a pulse, he protests. But she's miles away, vanishing inside herself, a prisoner condemned to solitary confinement. I am alone, and nobody can fix it, she confesses to a friend. Nor can she save the next victim she's assigned, a guy (Underground's excellent Aldis Hodge) convicted of killing a cop, maybe unjustly. He and his sad-eyed attorney (The West Wing's Emmy-winning Richard Schiff, 64) say so; we never find out. This is his last case because he can't bear the futility anymore. You can't save the world, she tells him. That's the problem, he mourns. Three Houston oil and gas companies Thursday said they would slash nearly 600 jobs in Texas, a day after Occidental Petroleum began a massive staff reduction. Oil and gas producer Apache Corp. announced the largest of the cutbacks, saying it would eliminate more than 270 positions as it closes its regional San Antonio office. Meanwhile, oil field services company Enterprise Offshore Drilling said it would lay off around 60 workers, part of a planned release of a Gulf of Mexico oil rig. A third company, Valerus Field Solutions, said its closing an oil and gas equipment plant in Sealy, west of Houston, in March and eliminating about 250 jobs. Valerus is a division of SNC-Lavalin Group, the Montreal-based company that bought it in 2014. Modest oil prices and spending cuts have contributed to the loss of nearly 5,000 oil and gas jobs in Texas from June through November, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Thursdays announcements followed news that Occidental began cutting workers in the wake of its August acquisition of The Woodlands-based Anadarko Petroleum. On HoustonChronicle.com: Occidental starting widespread layoffs in Houston and beyond Houston-based Apache said it is reducing its global workforce by up to 15 percent about 500 jobs as part of a broader restructuring announced late last year. The job cuts include those eliminated through attrition, but some of the San Antonio jobs will be moved to Houston or other offices, an Apache spokesman said. The San Antonio closing and the 272 job cuts will be finalized in early March, according to a letter the company filed with the Texas Workforce Commission. Apache has already centralized key activities and seen positive results and is looking to take further steps in that direction, said company spokesman Phil West. Staff reductions are always difficult, and we are working to support those employees who will be affected. Apache had a difficult 2019, reporting a larger-than-expected $170 million loss in the third quarter. Its stock price plunged more than 50 percent from late 2018 through a recent December low. The stock rebounded this week with the companys discovery of oil off the coast of Suriname in South America. The stock fell nearly $1 early Thursday before rebounding to close down just 13 cents at $32.60 per share. The company expects to save $150 million per year in its reorganization. In addition, Apache aims to slash capital spending this year by up to 20 percent a cutback of $250 million to $500 million. While Apache has a notable presence in South Texas Eagle Ford shale closer to San Antonio, it has increasingly turned to West Texas booming Permian Basin for production. Apache could manage its Eagle Ford operations from Houston or even its West Texas hub. While Apaches layoffs are aimed at cutting costs, the positions being cut by Enterprise followed an expected shutdown of a Gulf rig owned by EnVen Energy. More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com In a letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, Enterprise said it would layoff 61 workers aboard the rig, which is about 100 miles offshore. EnVen plans to cease operations at the end of January, Amy Warner, Enterprises vice president of human resources, wrote in her letter to the state. The layoffs began in November and are expected to be completed by the end of February. In a statement, EnVen said the rig release was planned and followed the completion of a nearly two-and-a-half-year drilling program. Privately held Enterprise launched in January 2017 and is headquartered in Houstons Energy Corridor. It provides crews for offshore drilling rigs and employs more than 500 workers. Erin Douglas contributed to this report. In a significant judgment with implications on basic freedoms beyond Kashmir, the Supreme Court on Friday said internet access is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all curbs in the union territory. Welcomed by people in the Kashmir Valley who have been without internet for the last five months as "happy news" at last, the apex court verdict also said Section 144 of the CrPC (prohibitory orders) cannot be used indefinitely to suppress freedom of speech and expression and difference of opinion. Extending its observations to the media, the bench said freedom of press is a valuable and sacred right. The three-judge bench, headed by Justice N V Ramana and also comprising Justices B R Gavai and R Subhash Reddy, asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to immediately restore internet services in institutions providing essential services like hospitals and educational places. However, there was no mention of any time-frame of restoration of internet services to other sectors and people in the Valley. The apex court said magistrates should apply their mind and follow the doctrine of proportionality while passing prohibitory orders. The Supreme Court verdict, welcomed by the opposition Congress as the "first big jolt of 2020" to the government, came on a batch of pleas challenging the curbs imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5 -- when the Centre revoked the state's special status and bifurcated it into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. "It is a very, very significant pronouncement by the Supreme Court," Vrinda Grover, lawyer for Kashmir Times' executive editor Anuradha Bhasin whose plea was among those taken up, told reporters. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose plea was also taken up, labelled the judgment "historic". "This is the first time the Supreme Court has talked about how people of Jammu and Kashmir feel. I would like to thank the Supreme Court for a very historic decision and the people from across the country were waiting for it, specially the people of J-K," he said. "The government of India has misled the entire country. This time the Supreme Court was forthright and they didn't come under any pressure," he said. His party colleague, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also lashed out at the government. "SC delivers first big jolt of 2020 to illegal activities of Modi Govt by stating importance of internet as a fundamental right. Double shock for Modi-Shah that dissent cannot be oppressed by imposing section 144. Modiji reminded that nation bows before Constitution and not him!" Surjewala said on Twitter. "Modi-Shah now have a week to review internet restrictions and place the reasons before the public. No more 'sealed envelopes' to hide the truth in," he added. The National Conference and the People's Democratic Party welcomed the order too. "The observations of the apex court about snapping of internet services indefinitely are significant and the government must take a call to review and restore the connectivity immediately," NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said here. "Finally #SupremeCourt has woken up to the injustices cast upon the people of J&K, calling such govt. lodged curbs an "abuse" of power reinstates our faith in the judiciary," the PDP, an ally of the BJP till 2018, said on its official Twitter handle. Away from the political slugfest, people in Kashmir Valley said they hoped their internet connections would be restored soon. It is a piece of very happy for us, a huge relief, as the internet has been suspended for over five months now. We really hope that services will be resumed as soon as possible now, said Ishtiyaq Ahmad, a businessman in Srinagar's Lal Chowk area. He said trade and business has been badly affected since August 5 when authorities cut all internet services in the Valley. Every sector has been badly affected. This has been the worst phase for business in the Valley. The internet is a basic tool on which everyone, especially people associated with business, depend. We have struggled a lot without internet services, Ahmad said. Afreen Mushtaq, a student in Srinagar, said the student community has suffered the most and the apex court's criticism of the internet ban, though late, is a breath of fresh air. The internet should have been restored long ago. We have been deprived of the services for far too long. It has affected our education. It has especially affected those who had to seek admissions and to take part in various examinations, she said. A journalist in Srinagar, who did not wish to be identified, said the Supreme Court has rightly observed that internet access is a fundamental right which cannot be curtailed and expressed the hope that services to media houses will be restored so they can operate freely. This is what we had been saying all along. The Supreme Court has rightly slammed the government. We now hope the services, especially to media houses, will be resumed soon and better sense prevails so that the services are not disrupted for so long in the future, the journalist said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hungary will offer free IVF to childless couples in its latest bid to boost its declining population instead of welcoming more migrants. Right wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the policy yesterday saying he wants 'Hungarian children instead of immigrants.' The government has already taken over six private fertility clinics to provide the free service from February 1. The country already offers income tax exemptions and 7,000 towards a new seven-seat car to mothers with four or more children. And Orban said he was considering extending the offer to families with just three children. Orban, a right-wing nationalist, has long advocated a 'procreation over immigration' approach to boost the population which has been falling steadily for four decades. Right wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the free IVF policy in Budapest yesterday saying he wants 'Hungarian children instead of immigrants.' Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians have emigrated in the last decade, mainly to western Europe, and the birth rate of 1.48 babies per woman is also declining. Orban hopes the fertility drive will lead to 4,000 extra births in the country, which has a population of 9.8million, by 2022. Addressing the nation in Budapest, he said: 'If we want Hungarian children instead of immigrants, and if the Hungarian economy can generate the necessary funding, then the only solution is to spend as much of the funds as possible on supporting families and raising children.' Mr Orban has been in power since 2010 winning three consecutive elections using far right anti-immigration rhetoric including the 'great replacement' theory which claims white European populations are being gradually replaced. Prime Minister Viktor Orban advocates a 'procreation over immigration' approach 'There are political forces in Europe who want a replacement of population for ideological or other reasons,' Orban said in a speech in September. Last month the government announced it was buying six private fertility clinics, four in the capital Budapest and two elsewhere. Orban insisted they had been 'acquired' and not 'nationalised' as they were bought rather than taken over. He also described fertility clinics as being 'of national strategic importance' and advised private firms against investing in them as 'they will not get permits'. Hungary announced plans to give income tax breaks and cash towards new seven-seat cars for mothers with four children last February and the policy came into force this month. The country is also offering low-interest loans of 10 million forints (27,286) for women under the age of 40 who are marrying for the first time. Announcing the policy at the time he said: 'Those who decide in favour of immigration and migrants, no matter why they do so, are in fact creating a country with a mixed population.' Europe's left-wing has become 'the gravedigger of nations, the family and the Christian way of life', Mr Orban said. After his speech, several hundred members and supporters of Hungary's main opposition parties held an anti-Orban rally in Buda Castle. Hungary is just one of many Eastern European countries facing demographic decline - due to both low birth rates and the emigration of working-age people to other EU nations. Poland pays parents 500 zloty (100) a month per child under its 500+ policy. Croatia, which assumed presidency of the EU last week, said last year that population growth in the EU would be 'a key question' for them. Tata Motors said on Thursday that it will start rolling out BSVI-compliant passenger vehicles from this month Mumbai: Tata Motors said on Thursday that it will start rolling out BSVI-compliant passenger vehicles from this month. The auto major also plans to have four global unveils and display 14 commercial and 12 passenger vehicle at the upcoming Auto Expo, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Guenter Butschek said. Tata Motors has invested Rs 1,200 crore in the transition to the new engine technology, which include investment in end-to-end focus for sales, after-sales and spare parts inventory management, in the last fiscal, he added. Tata Motors is all set to roll out a product offensive in 2020. It will commence the introduction of its all-new BSVI range of products with passenger vehicles, starting from January 2020, the company announced. "From January 2020 onwards we will be introducing over 100 lead models with over 1,000 variants," Tata Motors President and CTO, Rajendra Petkar said. These will cover options of powertrain combinations, body styles, chassis configurations and technologies imbibing CESS (connected, electric, shared and safety), he stated. Significant front loading of activities, the use of digital product development tools and early involvement of globally reputed technology and supplier partners have helped us accelerate the portfolio migration, he added. The company also said the BSVI transition has been the single-largest focus area for it, adding that it established a state-of-the-art 'Advance Power Systems Engineering Tech Center' at its Engineering Research Center (ERC) Pune, which has played a key role in the roll-out. Butschek said that with this new range of products, the company is confident that January marks a turning point in the transition to BSVI. "It is going to give us a much more powerful play for 2020-21, and if this is going to be supported by a bit of a tail wind, as far as the market is concerned, I am confident that we are going to get back to the previous growth path." He said the recovery in the passenger vehicle segment is expected in the second half of the next financial year. We are cautiously optimistic. The second half of the next fiscal year should be a realistic horizon for the recovery," he said. He said that the Union Budget 2020-21 needs to have the stimulus element where the industry sees the continuation of what was announced earlier by the government to boost demand. "I do hope that the scrappage policy is formalised and finally approved soon. This would also help as far as transition from BSIV to BSVI is concerned," he said. India is a widely diversified market and the last year has shown the industry that in order to play in such highly diversified market, with many differentiated dynamics, one needs to apply a micro-market strategy, Butschek said. He said the company had not yet taken a call on the pricing of BSVI vehicles. When I was nine years old, my family and I, all wearing gas masks, would huddle in our bomb shelter, which doubles as my parents' closet. It was the Gulf War, and Saddam Hussein was lobbing Scud missiles at Israel in retaliation to the US and its allies invading Iraq. In 2003, in the ramp-up to the second Iraq war, tensions were high again: I took my gas mask to the bar in which I worked. People sat with their brown boxes to their sides, sipping beer and waiting to hear whether the air siren would sound. It's been this way ever since I can remember. Besides the direct daily conflict with Palestinians and tensions with our neighbors, every time the White House gave out a "special statement" about the region, we Israelis began to brace ourselves for the unknown. It was no surprise that this week, as tensions between Iran and the US were higher than they've ever been; as the prospect of another war that would devour the region seemed imminent; as family members from all around the world messaged each other on Whatsapp groups about World War Three, Iran threated to destroy Haifa, my birth town, as revenge against the US. Haifa is known as a place of coexistence. It is the town of Ayman Odeh and Emil Habibi, where ex-Soviet immigrants, Arab communists, factory workers, and theoretical physics students from the Technion institute drink beers together in small bars on the port. Israel is one of the US's most reliable and most loyal allies and in the Middle East, US policy is seen as almost synonymous with Israel's. When protests break out in the Middle East, the Israeli flag is burned together with the American one; we are known as the little devil, while America is the great demon. The reaction in Israel to the threat of annihilation was minimal. The Israeli army announced it was closing Mount Hermon, the ski resort located in the contested Golan Heights, a site on the border with Syria that's a potential target for rocket fire by pro-Iranian militias. And many Israelis dismissed the threat, saying Iran would never attack Israel because our air force would destroy Tehran. Yet, in this almost-catastrophic moment, what has gone unquestioned is the fact that Israel has bound its fate with the US. It seems like Israelis have gotten used to being threatened by proxy, to being the pawns used by others in a larger geopolitical game. By accepting this reality, we are losing both a grip on our security and the potential benefits of being a genuine and essential part of the region. This situation didn't happen overnight. It is a culmination of a lot of complex moves in our region. Israel's alignment with the US has not been since time immemorial. Even though there was support for the state in its early years, past American presidents made cold and calculated decisions before they came to Israel's aid, also intervening on behalf of its enemies, like in the Suez Canal Crisis. It was after the 67 War that Israel became one of the biggest recipients of foreign aid, and the relationship subsequently tightened, at times, to the point of a gordian knot. In Israel, the problem begins with the fact that some in the Israeli-Jewish population haven't fully grasped that we're a part of this region, not a villa in the jungle (a sad statement made by former PM Ehud Barak). Then, there's Israel's half-a-century occupation that makes it a non-partner with all the countries in the region. It's easy for leaders in Iran and the UAE to blame Israel for many things because it is guilty of the charge of controlling an Arab population. Any acceptance is dependent on Israel ending the occupation. But aligning with the West isn't entirely Israel's fault. It's easy to categorize Israel as "colonial," but it has struggled hard to be accepted in the Middle East. Unlike old colonial powers, even early Zionist leaders saw Jews and Muslim Palestinians living side by side. In Israel, Jews still speak Persian and Arabic, proud of their roots; they tell stories about their family histories in Baghdad, Tripoli, Aleppo, and Shiraz. Despite ebbs and flows in relations between our neighbors and us, there is a sense of wanting to belong; it is no surprise that even Israel Katz, the hawkish minister of the exterior, talked about restoring the Hejaz railway between Tel Aviv and Jeddah. And this feeling is reciprocal: even in 2002, at the height of the second intifada, the Arab League offered to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for recognizing a Palestinian state. Instead of calling for our destruction, they reached out for peace. They recognized that Israel isnt going anywhere. For many Israelis, this is apparent: the language we speak and the culture we hold dear is much closer to our neighbors in Beirut than to the Protestant ethos and mores of the people of New Hampshire. And even as the horrendous conflict continues between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as an occupation, there's still a sense that our fate is dependent upon and alongside our neighbors nextdoor not with our American allies overseas. To me, this shared sense of destiny became crystal clear Tuesday night: as the crisis unfolded, I was sitting in my apartment in New York, texting back and forth with one of my closest friends since I moved to the US, an Iranian journalist. We both felt the same dread, sparked by similar memories of war. The feeling was that if Tehran goes, Haifa will go as well. In the midst of this conversation, I got a text from my neighbor, a Syrian artist, a Christian who grew up in the Jewish Quarter of Damascus, asking me how I was doing. US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday 3 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures The wreckage of the car in which general Soleimani was travelling when a targeted US airstrike struck outside Baghdad International Airport on 3 January Ahmad Al Mukhtar via Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Demonstrators burn the US and British flags during a protest in Tehran after general Soleimani was killed in a targeted airstrike by American forces Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike. The Pentagon said Thursday that the US military has killed general Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of Donald Trump AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn Israeli and US flags as thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of general Soleimani at the hands of America EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of Donald Trump pray at an 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held on the day following the killing of general Soleimani. At the event, the president praised the "flawless strike that eliminated the terrorist ringleader" AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A huge procession of mourners gather in Baghdad for the funeral of general Soleimani on 4 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani during an anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iraqis perform a mourning prayer for slain major general Qasem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the Great Mosque of Kufa AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A billboard reading 'Death to America and Israel', installed by Iran-backed shiite armed groups at a street in Jadriyah district in Baghdad, Iraq EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him visiting the family of Soleiman KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US flag as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Jalal Feiruznia, looks to a portrait of Soleimani, as he receives condolences at the Iranian embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures People make their way on the street while a screen on the wall of a cinema shows a portrait Soleimani in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Aziz Asmar, one of two Syrian painters who completed a mural following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani poses next to his creation in the rebel-held Syrian town of Dana in the northwestern province of Idlib AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A demonstration in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures An anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Mujtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers a speech in the holy shrine city of Najaf AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US and Israeli flags as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters demonstrate in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shi'ite Muslims hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, in Peshawar, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London PA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn a US flag in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A Syrian man offers sweets to children to mark the killing AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers attend a mourning prayer for Soleimani in Iran's capital Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshipers chant slogans during Friday prayers Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A protest against the USA, in Islamabad, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranians burn a US flag in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin, Germany Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol a road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel. Following morning's killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel's closest ally, to be avenged AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian women take to the streets in Tehran EPA Even though all of us live in the US now, our families, our history, our language was on TV, just behind the NBC reporter standing the Middle Eastern night. And not only Israelis or Iranians or Palestinians: Iraqis and Lebanese and Syrians and Kurds and Yemenites all have been caught in the crossfire at one time or another. For Israel to find its place in the region, it needs to step out from the American shadows and reach out to its neighbors directly and boldly, not as an act of capitulation, but with the confidence and belief that no one is going anywhere. Israelis need to make clear that, just like many Iranians aren't fully aligned with their government's actions, so do we oppose the most nationalistic and militaristic tendencies of our elected officials. Of course we need to protect ourselves from malign actors but we can do this by aligning ourselves with moderate forces in the Arabic world. Israelis need to offer solidarity to the citizens in the region and work with organizations that want to accept us. We Israelis are strong, but we need to be courageous and take more risks, not for the sake of some utopian "new Middle East" but in the realization that on the worlds battleground, we are all targets. When Israel becomes a part of the region, it will stop being synonymous with the west and US interests and instead become a real bridge between east and west. NASA's planet-hunting TESS mission has discovered multiple intriguing planets since it first began searching the sky in the summer of 2018. But a high school student searching through data gathered by TESS contributed to its latest discovery. The planet orbiting two suns, like Tatooine in the "Star Wars" films, is the first of its kind for the TESS mission. The planet TOI 1338 b was found 1,300 light-years away in the Pictor constellation. It's the only planet in the system with two stars. It's between the sizes of Neptune and Saturn and experiences regular eclipses from its stars. The stars whirl around each other in orbit every 15 days, with one 10% more massive than our sun and the other more diminuitive and cooler. Scarsdale (New York) High School student Wolf Cukier was interning for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland over the summer when he spotted something in TESS' star data. "I was looking through the data for everything the volunteers had flagged as an eclipsing binary, a system where two stars circle around each other and from our view eclipse each other every orbit," Cukier said. "About three days into my internship, I saw a signal from a system called TOI 1338. At first I thought it was a stellar eclipse, but the timing was wrong. It turned out to be a planet." The four TESS cameras study the same patch of sky for 27 days at a time, snapping photos every 30 minutes. This reflects the change in brightness of stars. As planets pass in front of stars, which is called a transit, that can help astronomers determine the location of planets. But a planet with two stars makes the transit method a little more difficult to spot. TESS could only spot the transit of the planet passing in front of the larger star. "These are the types of signals that algorithms really struggle with," said Veselin Kostov, a research scientist at the SETI Institute and Goddard. "The human eye is extremely good at finding patterns in data, especially non-periodic patterns like those we see in transits from these systems." Planets with two suns, especially when one is dimmer like in this system, are harder for TESS to detect. Cukier's contribution of examining the star data and the passes of the planet in front of both stars was key to identifying it. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CMU Spinoff Duolingo Translates Success Via Language Learning January 08, 2020 Duolingo, a Carnegie Mellon spinoff, is the first Pittsburgh-based tech startup to be valued at more than $1 billion. The company, which makes the process of acquiring one or more new languages accessible and fun, has been gaining popularity since it was spun out of CMU in 2011. It was co-founded by CMU alumnus and faculty member, Luis von Ahn, who now serves as CEO, and one of his doctoral students, Severin Hacker, who received his Ph.D. from CMU in 2014 and now serves as the company's chief technology officer. In 2009, von Ahn and Hacker started working on a project that was the foundation for Duolingo under CMU's Project Olympus, which provides advice, incubator space and investor connections to help faculty and students explore the commercial potential of their ideas. Project Olympus is now part of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, which along with the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC), helps to facilitate and accelerate the movement of research and technology out of the university and into the global marketplace. More than 300 startups have been launched from CMU during the last decade, many receiving significant support from CMU's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Other CMU spinoffs include Petuum, NeuBase Therapeutics and Wombat Security Technologies Inc. CMU is ahead of the curve when it comes to how research dollars translate to business opportunities. One CMU startup is created per $24 million in research funding compared with a national average of one startup per $68 million in research funding. From Navajo to Klingon Duolingo, through its free mobile app or the web, provides language education that focuses not only on making lessons playful, but also delivered in bite sizes, through quizzes, images and phrases. The app sends friendly reminders to users to keep them engaged and to hit stated goals. It also provides online communities with other users who have similar interests. With more than 300 million users, Duolingo provides courses in 38 languages including Chinese, Korean, Hindi and Arabic, endangered ones such as Navajo and Hawaiian, and even a few fictional ones (Klingon and High Valyrian). Today, Duolingo is a household name. NBC's "Saturday Night Live" ran a spoof advertisement of the company, and the company used the opportunity to capitalize on it to recruit volunteer contributors to expand language courses. If you're fluent in both child and adult, apply to contribute to our newest course! https://t.co/VzPw1RSYxZ https://t.co/BO5HqnMCTL Duolingo (@duolingo) November 4, 2019 Fostering A Big Idea Duolingo's roots are entwined with Carnegie Mellon. After von Ahn earned his Ph.D. in computer science at CMU in 2005, he joined the Computer Science Department faculty. His work is in an area called human computation, which combines the intelligence of humans and computers to solve large-scale problems that neither can solve alone. An example of his work in this area is reCAPTCHAs, which also became a CMU spinoff and was acquired by Google in 2009. With reCAPTCHAs, a person visiting a website must solve two puzzles with a sequence of characters one set is used to distinguish human visitors from automated intruders and the other helps to digitize text. In order to do the latter, reCAPTCHAs introduce users to characters from printed texts that computers were incapable of deciphering. After multiple users identify the characters as the same thing, the input is used to digitize that text. Similar to reCAPTCHAS, Duolingo began as a way to combine the intelligence of humans and computers to accomplish a goal. Duolingo set out as a way to translate the internet into different languages. As the company grew and shifted its business model, it pivoted to focus more on its educational mission to provide free, fun and accessible language education. The company hit its stride in 2013 when Apple named Duolingo the iPhone App of the Year and Google selected it as the Best of the Best for Android. Investors at that point included the likes of Union Square Ventures, New Enterprise Associates and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as entrepreneur, author and podcaster Tim Ferriss and actor Ashton Kutcher. Congrats to Duolingo for being app of the year!!! http://t.co/Pu3vSKSN5t ashton kutcher (@aplusk) December 17, 2013 Duolingo's revenue, which topped $100 million for 2019 in August, comes from ads shown after brief lessons, as well as a paid ad-free subscription service. The company also offers a low-cost test it developed in 2014 to certify English skills of college and job applicants. Today, more than 500 institutions use the test results as part of their admissions process. A CMU graduate with a master's degree in computer vision, Jenna Lake, is a machine learning engineer at Duolingo who works to limit cheating on the test. She creates algorithms that flag abnormalities in video captured when users take the test. Jenna is one of more than 200 employees at Duolingo. Currently, about 20 percent of Duolingo's employees are CMU alumni. Another alumnus at Duolingo is Andrew Walizer, who is a talent acquisition coordinator. "I wanted to work at a place where the work makes a positive impact in the world," Walizer said. "Collaboration and teamwork have been key for Duolingo. The best ideas in the world won't work if you can't work with other people to make them a reality." With the new valuation, the company is planning to hire another 100 employees across its offices in Pittsburgh, Seattle, New York and Beijing. Carnegie Mellon University is committed to educating, empowering and aligning its community around the world to address the Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, which aim to create a more peaceful, prosperous planet with just and inclusive societies. Recognizing the critical contributions that universities are making through education, research and practice, CMU publicly committed to undertaking a Voluntary University Review of the Global Goals. The 17 Global Goals cover wide-ranging issues, including reducing violence, ending extreme poverty, promoting equitable education, fighting inequality and injustice, advancing economic growth and decent work, and preventing the harmful effects of climate change by 2030. The preceding story demonstrates CMU's work toward attaining Global Goals 4 and 8. A petition in the Supreme Court has restarted the debate on legality of active euthanasia or physician-assisted mercy killing after it sought the response of the central government in a petition to allow assisted death for persons suffering from rabies. The petitioner has prayed that a procedure should be laid down for patients suffering from Rabies to allow the victims or their guardians to opt for the assistance of physicians willing for assisted dying or active-euthanasia. The Delhi high court in an October 2019 order had turned down the plea by the petitioner NGO, All Creatures Great and Small, leading to the appeal in Supreme Court. Active euthanasia is when a physician actively assists by way of injection of lethal substances to accelerate the death of a person. Passive euthanasia, however, entails withholding of treatment necessary for continuance of life. Active euthanasia is illegal in India while passive euthanasia is permitted after a 2018 Supreme Court judgment in the case of Common Cause vs Union of India. The petitioner submitted that since Rabies has a 100 percent fatality rate, victims suffering from the disease have no reason for hope and should therefore not be made to endure harrowing and painful suffering which precedes death from rabies. It is the petitioners case that the 2018 SC judgment, which permits passive euthanasia, will not benefit patients suffering from Rabies as the disease has no palliative and alleviating drugs. Thus, the petitioner argued that infected persons should be considered as a separate class due to the exceptional and violent nature of the disease and the absence of a cure for it. the inevitability of death makes it a special case and thus victims suffering from the disease have no reason for hope and shouldnt be made to endure their entire cycle of death from rabies, the petition stated. Covers albums are often a letdown, mostly unnecessary projects that leave you wondering why the artist devoted valuable time to singing someone elses songs instead of working on their own. Ronnie Dunns Re-Dunn what a title! is among the rare exceptions. Out January 10th, the 24-track collection finds the Brooks & Dunn vocalist somehow making songs weve all heard innumerable times (Pettys I Wont Back Down, Straits Amarillo by Morning, Pure Prairie Leagues Amie) sound vital and electric. We asked the newly minted member of the Country Music Hall of Fame to talk about 10 songs on Re-Dunn that were especially important in forging his musical makeup. More from Rolling Stone Long Cool Woman, The Hollies Before Willie and Waylon and Jerry Jeff Walker came out in Texas with a rock-country attitude, I was listening to [British bands] in my teenage years and college days. I remember a thousand times walking into a bar and hearing that guitar riff. Its always one that you perk up and go, Ah! I never did a deep dive into the lyric though. I thought it was long cool woman in a pants-dress at one point. But its about a drug bust and, coming from a country perspective and being immersed in commercial radio as long as I have been, I might have been inhibited to take this on. In rock and pop music, they write in such an impressionistic fashion. Its not literal like we write here. We tell stories and descriptively try to make use of every word. Amarillo by Morning, George Strait The two songs that most people gravitate toward with Strait are The Cowboy Rides Away, which I dont think anyone had cut before him, and Amarillo by Morning, which was a Terry Stafford song. It was a regional hit in Abilene when I was in college. We would play it in bands. Wed put on all our Eagles lookalike clothes and go out on the weekend with these throw-together bands and play VFWs outside of Abilene where we wouldnt get caught, cause we were going to a religious school. Then Strait came out with the song in the early Eighties. Story continues It Never Rains in Southern California, Albert Hammond I got a hold of a demo by an artist who played a bar version of this song [with] a country band. I wish I could take credit for that, but it planted the seed. I had that demo for years. I used to sit around and listen to pop-rock songs and think of ways to countrify them. I didnt know at the time what [Hammond] was talking about. A 747? I almost took that out and changed it to a more contemporary plane, but you can really get in trouble with that. Drinkin Thing, Gary Stewart Stewart is a once-in-a-lifetime stylist. I used to play this place called the Beeline Lounge, outside Tulsa, in a strip mall. It was where all these oilfield workers, pipe-liners, would come on Fridays and Saturdays. It was a rough place. I walked in one day and [Stewarts] Shes Acting Single was playing. My head spun. I was like, Man, that is the most down in the dirt, beer-joint music Ive ever heard. They played it nonstop, just nonstop. It was the same thing with Drinkin Thing I heard it first in the Beeline Lounge. Against the Wind, Bob Seger So many of the songs out of that era, they didnt put the emphasis on every word being perfect or everything being on the beat. This is one of those songs that, lyrically, we tried to write at the end of the Nineties. We were just taking Segers era of rock and applying it to what we were doing in country at the time. I Wont Back Down, Tom Petty The guitar riff and the beat are [what drew me to it]. Cash cut an acoustic version of it and it has that message of what he was saying at the time, that rebel thing. In the late Seventies, I flew out to L.A., the first time I had ever been to a big city. [Producer] Denny Cordell was looking for some country kid [to sign] I wasnt it but he said, Come out, I want to talk to you. Tom and the [Heartbreakers] were working on that first record in Shelter Studio down on Sunset, and they were all uptight and worn-out, and I remember opening the door and a cloud of pot smoke came out. I hadnt been around all that that much. It was just a big blur. I was like, What the hell am I doing here? Ashes by Now, Rodney Crowell Ive been a Rodney fan since back in the day. I had a friend in Tulsa who managed a record store and I was the first guy he called whenever a Rodney Crowell record would come in. We played that song in cowboy clubs. Theyd get up and dance. So much of it comes down to that old Dick Clark American Bandstand thing: it has a good beat and you can dance to it. If they dance to it, they drink, and the bars are happy and you get to come back. I used to have fun taking songs and trying to put a country dance twist to them. Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison I was threatened by my wife to do this song. She said, If youre going to do a record like this, you better do Brown Eyed Girl.' We played Jacksonville, Florida, with Brooks & Dunn and across from the arena was a big bar. I dont remember the name of it, but it was half open outside and it was big. We ended up onstage jamming with the house band and someone asked for Brown Eyed Girl, which is one of Janines favorite songs. I said, I cant do it. She said, Ill whisper the lyrics to you. By the time we got to the chorus, the whole place is singing the song. Its just an infectious hook. If You Dont Know Me by Now, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes I spent a lot of time growing up in South Arkansas and you get a good dose of R&B. Thats what you get on the radio down there. Its one of my all-time favorite songs. Simply Red came out with their version and they nailed it too, but this was one I threw out there just to see if I could do it. You Dont Know Me, Eddy Arnold [Before Brooks & Dunn,] we were playing bars in Oklahoma, and Jamie Oldaker, who at the time was drumming for Clapton, called me one Sunday morning and said he stopped at a 7-11 store and there was a tear-off entrance form for a thing called the Marlboro National Talent Round-up. He said, I entered your name. I said, Dude, thats so uncool. But he said, Lets put together a band and do it! So we get a response back from the contest and they said, You qualified for the regionals. We did those in Tulsa and won that and ended up in Nashville at the national finals. It was like 5,500 bands and we won it. That was November 1988. We did Holed Up in Some Honky-Tonk, a Dean Dillon song that never saw the light of day, Boot Scootin Boogie, and You Dont Know Me, and that one got the best response. Ive sang it ever since. Best of Rolling Stone See where your favorite artists and songs rank on the Rolling Stone Charts. Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Earlier this week a piece of news regarding Finland exploring the feasibility of a six-hour work shift and a four-day week proposed by PM Sanna Marin had taken the Internet by storm. However, on January 7, Marin's government put an end to the speculation. In a tweet, the government said that the 'issue is not on the Finnish government's agenda'. In the Finnish Governments program there is no mention about 4-day week. Issue is not on the Finnish Governments agenda. PM @marinsanna envisioned idea briefly in a panel discussion last August while she was the Minister of Transport, and there hasnt been any recent activity. Finnish Government (@FinGovernment) January 7, 2020 According to the tweet, the idea of shorter working hours was 'briefly' touched upon by Marin back in August, and that was before she was made the Finnish Prime Minister - the youngest serving PM in the world. The idea was reportedly discussed during a panel debate at the Social Democratic Party's 120th anniversary, where speakers took stock of the movement's achievements and envisioned the future causes. However, the move allegedly struggled to find relevance among voters and the idea was dropped. READ: Finland Had Advance Warning Of Strike: Report Currently, most people in Finland work eight hours a day for five days a week. Finland's Scandinavian neighbour Sweden's experiment's early results reportedly suggest that it increases productivity, well being and health, but is expensive. As the unemployment still remains high and many have reportedly fallen outside the workforce, work in Finland in recent years has been broadly debated. The first nationwide experiment on a form of basic income run by the previous centre-right government in 2016 -2018 has also been a reported topic of debate. READ: Finland PM To Introduce Six-hour Work Shifts, Four-day Working Week 'Long road ahead' Marin was elected as Finland's new Prime Minister. The Social Democratic Party's leader was appointed as the PM after Antti Rinne resigned in the month of June. The council of the SDP voted 32-29 to appoint Marin as the PM. Talking to local media outlets, Marin said that it is a long road ahead in order to rebuild trust among the people after having won votes by a narrow margin ahead of rival Antti Lindtman. READ: Finland Offers Crash Course In Artificial Intelligence To EU READ: Twitter Applauds Finland's New Female Majority Cabinet With 12 Women The coyote, which appeared injured, was spotted about 10 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Dayton Street, according to Chicago Animal Care and Control. Workers from the agency caught up with the animal about a block away and safely shot it with a tranquilizer dart. The coyote was about three blocks west of the Steppenwolf Theatre, not far from the intersection of North Avenue and Halsted Street. A man accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case arrested in Jharkhand on Thursday was sent to four days transit remand with a special investigation team (SIT) of Bengaluru police by a Dhanbad court on Friday. The accused Rajesh Devrikar aka Murli aka Shiva was the 18th person to be arrested. The SIT, along with Dhanbad police, arrested the accused on Thursday night from the Katras area where he had been working under a false identity. The accused was produced before Dhanbad chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Arjun Saw on Friday. The SIT produced the accused in court amid heavy security, prior to which he was taken to Patliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for a medical examination. According to the directive by the court, the accused will have to be produced before a competent court soon after reaching Bengaluru. The Bengaluru police SIT arrested one of the several accused who was hiding in Dhanbad under a false identity, Dhanbad senior superintendent of police Kishore Kaushal said. The accused had been residing in Katras as a caretaker of a building owned by a businessman of Dhanbad, Pradeep Khemka, for the past several months. Khemka said the man was provided the job on a Goa-based friends recommendation. I was not aware of his criminal antecedents, Khemka said. Devrikar had been living near Rajgadhia Market in Katras from where he was picked up by the SIT after it kept an eye on his movements for around a week. The SIT zeroed in on him on the basis of his mobile location. Police also searched his room for clues, said SSP Kaushal . Journalist Gauri Lankesh was murdered in 2017 and a case under IPC sections 302 (murder), 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 114 (abettor present when offence is committed), 118 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life),109 (abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 203 (giving false information with respect to an offence committed), 204 (destruction of a document to prevent its production as evidence), among others. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Eldar Janashvili - Trend: Provision of subsidies to farmers through the Electronic Agricultural Information System (EKTIS) of Azerbaijans Agrarian Credit and Development Agency will make it possible to gather all participants of the agricultural industry under one platform, Chairman of the Agency Mirza Aliyev said, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijans Agriculture Ministry. Aliyev noted that both farmers and suppliers of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, artificial insemination specialists and veterinarians are registered on the EKTIS website. The system will offer products and services, as well as prices, and farmers will be able to compare prices and choose the products and services they want, the chairman added. After transferring funds to the farm card, farmers will pay for purchases and services through POS terminals or online, Aliyev said. This platform will help establish subsidy ratios based on the prices offered by suppliers, as well as allow controlling them, the chairman noted. EKTIS will also serve as an online platform for orders and sales. From Jan. 1 this year, the new rules for subsidizing agricultural production are in force in Azerbaijan. According to the regulation approved by the Azerbaijani presidential decree dated June 27, 2019, agricultural subsidies to farmers will be issued through the EKTIS system. The new support mechanism applied in the field of agriculture, serves to increase accountability, transparency, ensure the efficient use of budgetary funds and simplify interaction with farmers. WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would require the cleanup of pervasive chemical pollutants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that have the contaminated drinking water and soil of many communities around the country, as well as the blood of millions of Americans. In the Connecticut area, PFAS contamination has been identified at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn. and Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., as well as Stones Ranch Military Reservation in East Lyme, Conn., due to the use of firefighting foams at those sites, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group that maps PFAS contamination nationwide. But it could be present in other parts of the state as well because limited testing has been conducted. All five Connecticut House members voted in favor of the legislation passed Friday. If it becomes law, the bill would limit future releases of PFAS into the environment, spur heath studies of the chemical group, establish a drinking water standard and spark testing and monitoring for the substance around the nation. It also included a measure to notify communities about releases of the chemical and allocate grant money to help states and towns remediate the pollution. The science is indisputable: PFAS are a massive health and ecological threat for Connecticut families, said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5. As such, the law should reflect this reality. Continuing to allow a forever chemical to proliferate throughout our environment is indefensible. The House approved the bill 247 to 159, with 24 Republicans siding with Democrats to vote in favor. One Democrat sided with most Republicans against the bill. Although the legislation passed with bipartisan support, it faces an uncertain route to passage in the Senate after some Republicans opposed the inclusion of similar PFAS measures in other legislation that became law in December. But some PFAS testing measures and funding did win approval in a defense bill and spending package that Trump signed in 2019. Some Republicans worried that the legislation was too broad in its regulation of a group of chemicals or would negatively impact businesses. "We cannot classify an entire [of chemicals] as hazardous, when in facts there are only some bad actors," said U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. PFAS are a family of chemicals that are present in numerous consumer products like non-stick pans, food packaging, Gore-Tex clothing, fire retardants, water repellents and firefighting foams. You know those little brown boxes you take your food home in these days, you look at the inside and how shiny it is thats PFAS, said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, chatting with U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., one of the lead architects of the bill after Fridays vote. Its a food safety issue. DeLauro has called for a ban of PFAS in food packaging. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said exposure to PFAS can lower pregnancy rates, interfere with human body hormones, increase cholesterol levels, affect immune systems, and increase risks of cancer. Studies have also connected these chemicals to thyroid diseases and birth defects. The so-called 'forever chemicals' do not break down easily in the environment and can accumulate in the bloodstream with exposure. From consumer products, industrial waste and firefighting, PFAS chemicals have been introduced into the air and waterways, producing known contamination at least 43 states, although many states and communities have not yet conducted comprehensive testing for the substances. Critically, this bill requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to list some PFAS chemicals as hazardous and designation areas contaminated by them as superfund sites. This designation will make the entities responsible for exposing communities to the chemicals liable for cleanup costs. In 2019, tens of thousands of gallons of PFAS-containing firefighting foam spilled from Bradley International Airport into the Farmington River. Subsequent tests found the PFAS contamination level in fish from the river to be above 10,000 parts per trillion. The EPA recommends a maximum safety standard of 70 parts per trillion. To date, the EPA has not set binding standards on what level of PFAS presence renders water unsafe to drink, although it promised to make a determination on issuing a maximum contamination level in 2019. U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1, slammed the EPA for dragging its feet on regulation. For decades, scientists have warned that PFAS chemicals like PFOA and PFOS can harm our health, but the EPA has been too slow to react, Larson said. This bill forces the EPA to take the threat posed by these chemical seriously. Gov. Ned Lamont has convened a state working group to study PFAs contamination and recommend state action. In Dec. 2019, Congress approved legislation that required public drinking water systems be tested for PFAS, force the EPA to gather information about where PFAS contamination is and reduce the use of PFAS-containing substances, like firefighting foam and ready-made meals, at military bases. It also allocated several million dollars to help the EPA research and write a maximum contaminant limit and $350 million for cleaning up contamination across the country. These steps represent some of the strongest strides toward addressing contamination from the persistent pollutant in roughly a decade. emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson She launched her lifestyle brand back in 2008, which has garnered attention for touting eccentric and expensive health fads. And Gwyneth Paltrow is taking Goop to Europe as she announced the company will partner with Celebrity Cruises to 'bring a day of wellness to sea' on August 30. The 47-year-old Oscar winner and Goop founder revealed the news in an enticing video posted to her personal Instagram account showing a cruise ship at sea along with various wellness classes and activities New venture: Gwyneth Paltrow is taking Goop to Europe as she announced the company will partner with Celebrity Cruises to 'bring a day of wellness to sea' on August 30. The cruise, which will take place on a Celebrity Apex, will depart from Barcelona on August 26 and take in destinations in France, the Mediterranean and the Italian Riviera before returning on September 6. One day experience 'Goop At Sea, inspired by the brand's 'Goop Health' wellness summits, features sessions with experts on innovative new ideas in the emotional and physical health fields, and focuses on overall wellness. The video was captioned: 'We've gone fishing! @goop is now on the high seas. Join me in Spain, France, and the Italian Riviera. @celebritycruises #goopatsea' In one of the shots in the video clip, Gwyneth is seen leading a class herself. Cruisin' with GP: The announcement came with an enticing video showing a cruise ship at sea along with various wellness classes and activities posted to Paltrow personal Instagram Captain: Gwyneth looked delighted to be introducing the groundbreaking venture for the brand She captioned it: 'We've gone fishing! @goop is now on the high seas. Join me in Spain, France, and the Italian Riviera. @celebritycruises #goopatsea' Title cards invite viewers to 'set sail with us,' and subsequent images show various wellness activities including spa time and yoga class shown underneath the phrases 'Body', 'Mind' and 'Soul'. Other images include deliciously plated healthy eats, along with a meditation session and the cheeky slogan, 'let that ship go...' In a release announcing the partnership: Gwyneth said: 'I'm very excited for the idea of doing it in Europe and reaching people who have that kind of adventurous spirit.' 'It was funny because we had talked about as we were thinking about different formats for 'In Goop Health,' we thought "wouldn't it be fun to do it on a boat one day?" and this randomly came up the following week so I took it as a good sign. 'With goop at Sea, we'll be invoking that adventurous spirit with a series of transformative experiences led by a few of our most-trusted wellness practitioners and healers.' The ship makes stops in ports of call including Provence, Monte Carlo, Santa Margherita, Nice, Rome and Naples, according to Celebrity Cruises' website. Gwyneth said she is unsure how much time she will spend aboard the boat due to scheduling but if the experience follows the same pattern as previous seminars the actress will give a candid speech about her wellness journey. The cruise will also feature pop-up wellness experience and menus curated by Goop's food editor. Subsequent images show various wellness activities including spa time and yoga class shown underneath the phrases 'Mind'... ...Body'... The video also showed people taking part in exercise classes ...and 'Soul': In a release announcing the partnership: Gwyneth said: 'I'm very excited for the idea of doing it in Europe and reaching people who have that kind of adventurous spirit.' Chilling out: Other images include a meditation session and the slogan, 'Let that ship go' Goop at Sea appears to be an add-on feature aboard the cruise. According to the Goop website, tickets for the wellness day go on sale on Thursday and are available for $750 (574) to guests who book Suite Class accommodations on the boat. Suites for the 11 night cruise start at $5,4,18 (4,149) It's been a busy time for Gwyneth and her lifestyle company, as they are gearing up for a new Netflix mini-series called The Goop Lab, which will explore cutting-edge and trending products and practices in the wellness industries. Great vacay idea: The partnership will take place aboard Celebrity Apex's Mediterranean cruise, departing August 26, 2020, from Barcelona Busy businesswoman: It's been a busy time for Gwyneth and her lifestyle company, as they are gearing up for a new Netflix mini-series called The Goop Lab, premiering January 24 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There's a call for community unity in the urban core as police investigate a possible connection between two shootings that happened Wednesday. The issue of revenge and seeking justice on your own has gotten the attention of crime fighting activists on the east side. Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo, has described his state which is in Southwest Nigeria as poor. The governor said this during the launch of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed Amotekun (leopard), a joint security initiative by south-west governors. Akeredolu while speaking on the absence of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, at the event which held in Ibadan, Oyo state, said Sanwo-Olu had planned to fly into Oyo but could not do so because of the weather. He said, I must convey the apologies of two of our governors who are not here. What has happened is part of problems you face in harmattan period, particularly when you are from a rich state that you believe you can come with a helicopter but helicopter now says that it cannot land. Read Also: Akeredolu Sacks Aide For Calling Deputy Governors Wife, Acting First Lady But those of us who came by road, we arrived safely. You know Lagos is rich and they wanted to come by helicopter. Their vehicles came before them and they are here. So at times, its good to be poor. Ondo is a poor state and all of us are here now but the two of them are part of this; let me assure all of us. We cannot predict the exactitude of where these incidents will take place, hence we felt that combined efforts of all us will be very necessary. The current situation in the country requires pragmatic and proactive solutions. The south-west seems to be the centre of negative reports in recent times, he said. Akeredolu said Amotekun is only a complementary agency and not a replacement for the police, adding that they (south-west governors) do not plan to overstep their boundaries. Some of us cannot afford to break this country. I am married to an Igbo woman so what happens, where will my children go if we break this country. If they choose to follow their mother, what happens? We believe in Nigeria. Nigerias sovereignty is indissolvable, he said. It will serve as an effective complement to the security measures put in place by the federal government. It is not our intention to erect any antagonistic structure. Amotekun is only one among the solutions to the socio-economic challenges we face in this region. Our initiative appears ambitious to a number of people and its operation looks opaque to the skeptics. We on our part are clear on the purpose and objectives we seek. This is not in any manner, a body which will operate as an alternative to the police force. Its role is mainly complementary. No governor will use Amotekun for political activities, he said. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration has invited at least 200 people to a Jan. 15 ceremony to witness the signing of the Phase 1 trade deal between the United States and China, but the two nations have not yet finalized what, exactly, will be signed, White House officials said on Friday. On Dec. 15, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer said a deal to end the trade war between the worlds biggest importer and largest exporter was totally done, minus translation of an 86-page document into Chinese. White House officials said on Friday the translation still has not been completed, although White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business Network it is virtually complete and the signing is all on schedule. Officials are waiting for the Chinese translation of the 86-page agreement, White House adviser Peter Navarro told CNBC later. The deal is in the bank, he said. Top officials from Beijing and U.S. lawmakers from states affected by the 18-month trade war are expected to attend the signing in the White Houses East Room, between President Donald Trump and Chinas vice premier Liu He, according to several sources. Past trade negotiations between Chinese and U.S. officials have been marked by last-minute upsets. In May of 2019, an expected deal was scrapped here after Beijing eliminated binding legal language from the draft. U.S. officials said here in December that Beijing has pledged to buy $200 billion more from the United States over the next two years as part of the deal, including some $40 billion a year in agricultural products. The U.S. will halve tariffs on nearly $160 billion in Chinese goods in return. Beijing has not confirmed those details, and recent government actions here in the agriculture industry make the $40 billion target seem unlikely. Chinese officials have been careful not to publicly discuss details of the Phase 1 deal, because Washington has changed its position multiple times during negotiations, three Chinese officials with knowledge of the situation said. Beyond the signing, what matters is enforcement, one official said. For over a month, the sides have debated the text and word choice as they finalized the effective date for the agreement, the official said. Some minor issues arose as translation unfolded, one U.S. source briefed on the negotiations said on Wednesday, adding it was nothing that would delay the deal. Chinas minister of commerce Zhong Shan, Yi Gang, governor of the Peoples Bank of China, and vice ministers of finance, foreign affairs and industry, are among those expected to attend. Another team will watch from Beijing in real time, a Chinese official said. U.S. companies have paid nearly $40 billion in higher tariffs on Chinese products during the trade war, data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows here Asked about Liu Hes visit to Washington at a briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated that both sides are in close communication on specifics pertaining to the trip. The family of a victim in the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises are outraged over Joker director Todd Phillips flippant remarks about their concerns. Since opening, Joker has gone on to gross over $1 billion, and has landed its star Joaquin Phoenix at the front of the Oscar race for Best Actor. But the dark thriller has also stirred controversy for its violent storyline and centering on a villain. When Phillips addressed the backlash on a recent episode of NPRs Fresh Air podcast with Terry Gross, the director said people just like to be outraged. RELATED: Joaquin Phoenix Defends Joker as Families of Shooting Victims Voice Fears Over Violent Film We knew our intentions in making the movie. It kind of bummed us out that it was so divisive, he said, according to IndieWire. But it does seem to be that we live in an age of outrage now and people look for things to be outraged about and theyre going to be outraged just about that comment, probably. Its become a thing. Joker | Niko Tavernise Now the parents of one shooting victim, who previously signed a letter to Warner Bros. that called for the studio to discontinue profiting off movies that feature gun violence, dont feel the director is taking their concerns seriously. We are outraged because in the face of such carnage, Warner Bros. continues to profit from movies that depict fictional acts of gun violence while donating to lawmakers and candidates who make it easier for individuals to obtain firearms and commit acts of violence in the real world, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips said in a letter shared on Tuesday on Twitter. We are outraged at your flippant and dismissive remarks about our very real concerns and we are outraged that Warner Bros. has refused to meet with survivors of gun violence. RELATED: Joaquin Phoenix Leaves Interview After Being Asked If Joker Will Inspire Violence: Report Story continues According to The Hollywood Reporter, family members of those killed in the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 sent Warner Bros. a letter ahead of the movies Oct. 4 release date. We are calling on you to be a part of the growing chorus of corporate leaders who understand that they have a social responsibility to keep us all safe, the letter reportedly read. Though the group didnt propose pulling the movies release, it did reportedly ask the studio behind the film to use your political clout and leverage in Congress to actively lobby for gun reform. Keeping everyone safe should be a top corporate priority for Warner Brothers. Joker | Niko Tavernise After the letter went public, the studio released a statement. Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our deepest sympathy to all victims and families impacted by these tragedies, it read. Our company has a long history of donating to victims of violence, including Aurora, and in recent weeks, our parent company joined other business leaders to call on policymakers to enact bi-partisan legislation to address this epidemic. At the same time, Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues. Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero. Phoenix also addressed the controversy during a press conference before the films release, saying he believes audiences will know its just a movie. Well, I think that, for most of us, youre able to tell the difference between right and wrong, he said, according to IGN. And those that arent are capable of interpreting anything in the way that they may want to. People misinterpret lyrics from songs. They misinterpret passages from books. So I dont think its the responsibility of a filmmaker to teach the audience morality or the difference between right or wrong. I mean, to me, I think that thats obvious. Phoenix won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama at the Golden Globes for Joker and is up for best actor at both the SAG and BAFTA awards. Hes highly expected to earn an Oscar nomination, the fourth of his career, on Monday when the list is announced. According to the closure roster issued by the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), the tanneries, numbering more than 250, have been instructed to close down intermittently for a total of 18 days between January 8 and February 21, 2020. Each of the six closure periods would last for three days so that no effluents or pollutants get discharges in the river and its ... 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 This lesson in Darwinian selection understood from human and non-human perspectives introduces Flannerys holistic ecological vision, which grows increasingly elaborate as the book proceeds. There is something very old fashioned and masculine about this early Flannery. His joy at being the hardy explorer like his predecessors Lumholz, Wollaston, Cairn and Grant, guided by the natives out hunting for specimens, or being immersed in the frontier worlds of First Fleeter Watkins Tench, 18th-century mariner John Nichol, and the wayward convict and early 19th-century cohabitor with Victorian tribes, William Buckley, suggests almost a secret longing to have been these characters at the moment of first contact. These were men living in an emergent Enlightenment world, newly making modernity. Here, before the confining institutional practices of science established themselves, gentlemen naturalists and collectors could open new vistas of knowledge for European audiences. As the book proceeds, its panoptic vision widens and deepens through time and across space. Flannery is a Time Lord, whose geological imagination can tie together thousands, or millions, and sometimes billions, of years in a few lines. Ground Zero, The Fatal Impact and America under the gun speak of world-changing, continent-shaping impacts: the asteroid strike that terminated the Age of Dinosaurs 65 million years ago, European settlement, disease and trade that drove the decimation of American Indian peoples and the slaughter of species. A Fresh look at the Earth (2010) looks at the sources of life on our planet. Theyre taking over (2013) is a fabulous overview of our planet dominated by jellyfish. His sense of times expanse sometimes teeters on the edge of the abyss. Heres Hamlet in the Antipodes. Tim Flannery with a Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo at Melbourne Zoo in November, 2002. Credit:Michael Rayner To flick a triangle of clay from such a bone, revealing its shape and knowing you are the first living being in 50,000 years to see that sight, was as energising as sex A huge kangaroo, almost twice the weight and a third taller than any living today had stood on this spot ... I was holding its anklebone in my hand 50,000 years after its burial, a still-living thing on its land, yet separated from its life by such a gulf of extinction and change as might separate me from my unimaginably distant ancestors, if humanity and my genes survive so long. The gulf of time will consume you if you linger over it too long For all that, this magnificent tapestry has its wrinkles. The book lacks any reflection on earlier work. This is problematic if for no other reason than because science moves on, later scholarship provides new insights, views change and public acceptance of once-common practices and beliefs shifts. For instance, Flannery writes: As explained by Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs and Steel, following their isolation from other Aboriginal groups as rising seas flooded Bass Strait about 10,000 years ago, the Tasmanian population of a few thousand lost the ability to make bone needles (and thus the ability to sew rugs) and possibly the knowledge required to make fire. This view, consonant with the idea of a lesser race shuffling toward extinction, has long been contested. Anthropological research from 1992 onwards provided strong evidence to the contrary. And the ongoing production of maireener shell necklaces, carefully strung through holes bored in each delicate shell, indicates an unbroken Indigenous tradition of needle use. While stacking its 49 chapters into five chronological blocks displays Flannerys evolving interests, Life is a scrap book: there is nothing to indicate why each piece has been chosen, where it was first published, or its relationship to the whole. Without an introduction that explains its organising principle, or defines its deep themes, the collection provides no narrative build. The absence of a conclusion is a missed opportunity. One cannot help but be repelled by his description, in Throwim Away Spices (2019), of the Humboldt Museum of Natural History, an imperial charnel house assembled in the name of science. Row upon row, and stack upon stack, were thousands of skulls of the largest and most endangered creatures on the Earth. Elephant, rhino, giraffe, hippo, Cape buffalo. All had come from German East Africa during the colonial era. It was a wonder anything was left alive on the savannah. The Germans were great scientists and patriots, and wherever they went they sent specimens back to the Fatherland ... Through their efforts was built one of the most fabulous collections on Earth. Flannery is disturbed by this savage plunder. He mourns, but also perhaps a little for those earlier times when specimens were amassed for classificatory purposes as bogus as phrenology. Fabulous for whom? For what? Oolacunta (2004) offers a clue. Returning from a study trip to the Natural History Museum in London, he writes: Looking at the taxidermied remains of broad-faced potoroos, nail-tailed wallabies and desert rat-kangaroos, I feel as if Britain has taken the heart of my country. The desert rat-kangaroo, eastern hare-wallaby and crescent nailtail once thrived right across the land stretching out 1100 metres below me. Perhaps, I secretly hope, my studies of the ecology of these vanished creatures will assist in regaining that equilibrium, for until we know what we have lost, we cannot make good the damage. Tim Flannery, then of the Australian Museum, pictured in 1987 with specimens of the world's biggest rat that was discovered in Papua New Guinea. Credit:Jack Atley Perhaps. However, Flannery fails to consider any possible link between a taxonomic practice that kills, collects and dissects, and the exterminist industrial culture within which it evolved, which has rendered nature in all its forms into something that is valueless until transformed into a resource and a commodity. Im left wondering how critically he reflects on the relationship between the Enlightenment that generated our global extinction crisis, and the purpose and activities of its scientific servants. In 2050: The Great Stumpy Reef (2005), A Warning from the Golden Toad (2005) and Theyre taking over (2013), Flannery highlights the destructive turbulence that global warming is generating. But we dont get a clear view of his current thinking about how the ecological sciences relate to the catastrophic world towards which we are plunging. WILKES-BARRE, Pa. Swing voters here are standing behind President Trump's decision to launch an airstrike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, but if it leads to all-out war they'd question the president's wisdom and handling of national security. Why it matters: Their comments suggest these voters back Trump on the Iran strike more solidly than the public at large though some are weary of foreign wars and made it clear they want them to end. That was a main takeaway from our Engagious/FPG focus group this week, which included 11 people who flipped from Barack Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. The focus group session was held on Monday, a day before Iran's retaliatory strikes. While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, these responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about the 2020 election in crucial counties. Between the lines: This small group of voters in a key state told us that national security issues are even more important to their 2020 vote than the economy, presenting a potential dilemma for Trump if the conflict doesn't end with Iran's retaliatory strikes. But that also suggests there's a potential for a greater political upside for the president on the Iran issue, because he'll get a lot of credit from these folks if the U.S. and Iran succeed in de-escalating the crisis. In fact, some indicated they're slightly more likely to vote for him again in 2020 even if we did enter a war with Iran. When asked what these voters like about the president politically, a handful said things like, "He tells it like it is" and "he takes the bull by the horns." What they're saying: "I respect his decision. He's our president. He knows more than we know and you just have to trust that it's in the best interest of us people to do something like that," said 51-year-old Ron B. Others felt that the president has been held back from doing what he really wants to do, and this was an example of him taking charge. Mark S., 49, said the airstrike was a good decision because it signals to Iran "that we're not going to sit here and just have you kill our people for no apparent reason. And us to sit there and say, okay, it's fine." Yes, but: Some in the group signaled this issue could make them lose faith in President Trump. "It's time that we take care of home and stop getting ourselves involved in these other situations that we don't need to be in," said 72-year-old Don E. "I'm supportive of his actions if his people had advised him that that was the thing to do, but that's a question mark. How many more wars are we going to go through?" he asked. One participant, Joe W., 38, said it felt like an intentional distraction from impeachment. "It depends on if we trust the information that he was giving us, ... or it's just a stunt for him because of the impeachment," he said. "If an all-out war, that means his information wasn't clear and he was doing it for self-indulgent purposes, I would say. If that was the case, he doesn't deserve to be president. It's not a time to be playing with the fate of the world." Joe W., an Obama/Trump swing voter in Wilkes-Barre. Why Wilkes-Barre matters: Trump won Luzerne County by nearly 20 percentage points in the last presidential election and he captured the state's 20 electoral votes. Both parties are working hard to win Pennsylvania in 2020, but 2016 results suggest he's got a stronghold on this part of the state. Reality check: While a slice of the electorate is enamored with Trump, the country at large is feeling differently. A USA Today/Ipsos poll found 55% of Americans surveyed said the fatal airstrike made the United States less safe, and 52% called the action "reckless." Severe drought has been affecting the town of Sankandi in The Gambia for the last four decades, and it has taken its toll on the environment. Mangrove forests that grew along the river died, which had repercussions on the local community, who use mangroves as a main resource. Our Observer wanted to work out how to restore the mangrove forests and help the struggling local population. Ansumana Darboe co-founded the Sankandi Youth Development Organisation in 2005 to promote sustainable development in the region and empower local rural communities. Since 2014, the organisation has been focusing on restoring the once-lush wetlands near the river, which Darboe hopes will boost the local ecosystem and so help the community by repopulating the river with fish. The presence of mangroves encourages fish to breed, so mangrove forests are often linked with a high fish population. The mangrove, a distinctive tree with long roots that grow in salty, brackish water where few other plants would thrive, is a species under threat. Mangrove forests are found in bodies of saltwater across West Africa, but some forests are shrinking due to deforestation, dams and irrigation, and climate change. In The Gambia, some mangrove forests have been severely damaged because of persistent drought. "When the mangroves died the fish disappeared" Darboe told the FRANCE 24 Observers about the effects the drought had on the town. About five communities in Sankandi are affected by the drought. The area is very sparse and huge. Normally its a very busy area with lots of activity, but when mangroves die, people migrate and move away so activity dies. When the mangroves were there there was an abundance of fish in the water. Lots of people lived along the river and they could always get a good catch. But when the mangroves died all of the fish population disappeared. Dr Mark Huxham, a researcher in environmental biology at the Edinburgh Napier University, has been working with Ansumana Darboe on the challenges the community in Sankandi is facing. He says that the mangrove forests probably died due to a severe dry season and human intervention. Story continues There was a big dieback along the river about 20 years ago. My speculation is that it is to do with dams that were built along the Gambian river in the 1960s and 1970s that would have changed water flow. Most species of mangroves grow in the sea but grow much better where theres some freshwater. They cant grow in pure seawater. Where the Sankandi youth group works is quite a long way up the river, where theres low salinity water. If you change the river flow with dams, the water could have become more salty and that would have cause dieback. A dry season can also cause the water to become more salty, and you would only need a month or two of that to kill a large number of trees. Death of mangrove forests hits poorest people the hardest Huxham says that mangroves not only encourage fish to thrive in the area, but also have other fundamental uses for nearby communities. More than 90 per cent of people in The Gambia rely on trees for their cooking fuel, which means theres a lot of pressure on the forest resources here. People could also be using the timber from the mangroves for building houses. It doesnt surprise me that people have moved away. That often happens in these communities, because mangrove products and services are particularly important for the poorest people in a society, those who rely on non-market goods like firewood. This would hit the poorest people hardest because theyre relying on those resources day-to-day. The Sankandi Youth Development Organisation began in 2005 and initially focused on community development and empowering local women and girls. The mangrove planting project began in 2014, and won a grant in 2018 from the environmental organisation Earthwatch Institute. Everything run with volunteers The planting project has been well-received in the community, with many locals volunteering to plant saplings. Darboe is hoping to garner more external support for the organisation. People in the community like the project. Theyre very supportive. Whenever we do a planting exercise everyone goes down to the riverbank to see it being planted, everyone wants to see it happening. Weve already planted 150,000 mangrove saplings. The area is huge though, so we need billions! Our number one challenge is funding. We want more research on mangrove planting and the results, data collection and evaluating what weve done. We also want to teach people about sustainable development, we want to communicate on that and empower people to do more themselves. We have to buy the mangrove saplings we want to plant. We also have to provide food for the locals if they work with us: they are not paid, so we cook for them. Every time we plant more than 200 people get involved. Its the entire community. Since it began, the organisation has launched other initiatives aside from replanting mangroves: it trains locals in beekeeping, setting up hives and empowering members of the local community to set up their own apiculture businesses. Article by Catherine Bennett (cfbennett2). Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Mumbai Police have arrested a 33-year-old man for allegedly killing his mother, chopping her body into pieces and disposing of it at different places in the city, in the last week of December. The accused identified as Mohd Suhail Safi Sheikh was produced before a local court, which sent him to four-day police custody. Suhail had allegedly strangled his mother Badruni Shah Safi Sheikh (48) on December 28 after a verbal spat, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Akhilesh Singh told reporters here on Thursday. The accused allegedly chopped the body and disposed of it the next day. "A body of a woman without a head and lower legs was found from Navy Gate on Kirod road on December 30 following which we registered a case and started an investigation. We also recovered lower feet from ST depot and her head from VB Nagar area on January 4," Singh said. He said that the body parts, which are expected to be of the same person, have been sent for forensic examination. (ANI) When City Orchard opens on Wednesday, Jan. 15, the cidery will have options, but its partners are hoping to woo their guests over to ciders, one glass at a time. With a goal of having 12 ciders on tap, Co-Founders Patrick Kwiatkowski, Mathew Smith and Clay Watson are hoping their guests that are excited about drinking the mostly dry apple ciders will encourage other guests to try them out as well. But the cidery will have three to four beers, brewed in house on tap, plus several wines, just in case. The three partners each have their roles to play. Kwiatkowski grew up in apple country in Michigan, and Smith came from an apple farm in upstate New York, just off the shores of Lake Ontario. Both said they remember drinking a lot of sweet cider as children. Watson, the beer expert, grew up in Houston and has been homebrewing for about 15 years. Ive been interested in starting a cidery for four years. I started working on plans, said Kwiatkowski. My partner was doing the same thing, and our other partner is a brewer. And we just kind of found each other by, you know, serendipity and realized we all had the same, similar dreams and goals and passions, and we decided to form this company. A comfortable space to unwind City Orchard, located in Sawyer Yards at 1201 Oliver St., Suite 108, has roughly 8,000 square feet of indoor space, according to Kwiatkowski. That includes a bright and friendly-feeling tasting room that will serve cider, beer, wine and a limited menu. ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Babies in breweries? Once taboo, its trendy now. Central to the tasting room is a wooden tree, that begins at the floor and extends to the ceiling. There is a long bar tended and served by smiling staff members in country-looking shirts and aprons. The ciders and beers are carefully brewed in large tanks in a 5,000 square-foot production space in the back. Outside, there is a deck and a wide labyrinth with a large apple in the middle, an homage to Old World cider country, according to the ciderys website. Its a comfortable place to enjoy beverages and eats with friends, family and the like. Where that cider comes from The juice for the ciders usually comes from Smiths 400-acre family farm in Sodus Bay, N.Y. Smiths grandfather bought the property in the 1920s, so his dad, who still farms the land at 72, is looking forward to it becoming a century farm in this decade. The apples are picked and pressed at the apple orchard, ready to head to Houston in huge plastic bags protected by thick, brown cardboard boxes. Smith said he never dreamed what has become. It's fascinating to me. I never imagined this when I started making cider my first goal was just to make the best cider I can, said Smith. There's a lot of cider makers, and this sort of caught the bug for me as a hobbyist. And I just really tried to make it simple. I just wanted to make a really great cider with the apples that were available, which was a lot. Smith said while it is hard to choose, his favorite cider is probably Silver Tip, the ciderys flagship, because it reminds him of one of the first ones he ever made, with the apples his mother helped him pick. FLAVOR: Hungry for restaurant reviews and recipes? Get the free, weekly Flavor newsletter delivered to your email. Kwiatkowski has been in Houston since 2000. He said drinking ciders is not as prevalent in the South, and he hopes to change that. But not everyone likes cider or knows they like cider, he said. Kwiatkowski cautiously said a lot of women like cider, and their dates prefer beer, at least until they take a swallow of that apple goodness. A little something for everyone For those that dont like cider though, the partners wanted to have beers on tap, too. Watson said the beers at City Orchard will be standard and great quality but nothing too crazy. Were going to start with a very simple but very clean IPA [India pale ale]. The second beer will be a Belgian, a classic Belgian style, said Watson. And so I think to start with, we're going to kind of focus on your very clean, straightforward classic beers. And so we're not the crazy out there, you know. Not a bunch of sours to start with or anything like that. Just very simple, good beer, and that's the most important part, is good. General Manager Danny Frounfelkner said he thinks the cidery has a bright future ahead because they will welcome people for all occasions, in flip-flops to three-piece suits, and because cider sales have grown rapidly over the last five years. HOUSTON WATERING HOLES: 14 Houston bars just right for sipping and mingling So people are starting to discover cider, and we know a big part of our company and our brand is especially the taproom. It's education. It's really to show people what cider can be, said Frounfelkner. City Orchard will serve a simple menu of light bites, salads, salads, sandwiches, flatbreads, desserts and childrens options. Wines and other beverages like fresh pressed apple juice and sodas will also be available. City Orchard is set to open on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 1201 Oliver St., Suite 108. Hours include 2 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday. For more information, visit www.cityorchardhtx.com. tracy.maness@hcnonline.com Most mainstream media in the Middle East isnt created for us, its created for our parents, said Hebah Fisher, CEO and co-founder of the podcast company Kerning Cultures. Four years ago, Fisher and her partner Razan Alzayani decided they wanted to produce stories that they found interesting, The kind that we can actually see ourselves in, she remarked. Modern day podcasts can be considered the digital descendent of the long tradition of oral storytelling, a strong and time-honored tradition in the Middle East. The podcast format allows storytellers to dive deep into topics typically avoided or only skimmed by mainstream media. Arabic-language podcasts are not meant to replace traditional media reporting, but to offer niche discussions around which people across the region and in the diaspora can connect. There are currently some 1,000 Arabic-language podcasts produced in the Middle East, compared to nearly 800,000 in the United States. Although the podcast scene in the Middle East is still maturing, listeners there can now hear shows on an array of topics, such as long-form narratives about relationships, the body and the self, and the concept of statelessness, or simply listen to a couple of Saudi guys engaging in a roundtable discussion about cartoons. What we like about podcasting is that it allows us to do whatever we want and say almost whatever we want, said Ammar Sabban, co-founder of the Jeddah-based production network Mstdfr, or Speaking Out in Arabic. It's liberating for us. One of the goals of Mstdfr is to provide an alternative to traditional media, which Sabban sees as saturated with political agendas. People are fed up with more structural, old-style media. They lost trust in it, Sabban asserted. We wanted to hear about films. We wanted to talk about why Pluto isnt a planet [or] why young people arent getting married like they used to. Sabban and Rami Taibah, his roommate and Mstdfr co-founder, decided a few years back to record themselves talking about things they cared about and share it with people on their original self-named show. Today, Mstdfr is a platform with 14 different shows that gets 40,000 clicks a month. Some podcasts do get political, like a number of shows produced by the Jordanian network Sowt, or Voices in Arabic. Network co-founder Ramsey Tesdell explained how Sowt tries to create a holistic narrative, an approach that differs from the partisan views mainstream media outlets often present. Tesdell said that they try to get beyond assigning people to ideological categories like liberal, communist and Muslim Brother. In some ways by ignoring them, we reject them, Tesdell said. And by ignoring them and doing something else, we are trying to create an alternative [way to talk politics]. Antoun Issa, communication strategist for Atlantic 57 and non-resident scholar at the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Institute, warns against lumping all traditional media into the same category, saying that countries across the Middle East and North Africa variety greatly in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. To this end, Issa pointed to a degree of press freedom in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq, albeit marginal. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the state controls the mainstream media, as exemplified in the recent crackdown on the Egyptian independent outlet Mada Masr and the great lengths the Saudi government went to silence the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, killing him in 2018 at its consulate in Istanbul. In these countries, Issa said, There is no room for investigative journalism or critical thinking in the media and [even] storytelling. This is where the podcasts fit in. Much like social media, podcasts provide a platform where virtually anybody can pick up a microphone and upload what is on their mind, cutting out the middleman by forgoing editors and skirting government censorship. When asked whether the Jordanian government had responded to any of Sowt's political podcasts, in particular one dedicated to the parliament, Tesdell replied, There have been a few conversations. So far, there's been no escalation to the point of censorship or removal. We havent pissed anybody off that much yet, Tesdell added. Mohd Awwad, who lives in the West Bank city of Hebron, prefers to get his news from podcasts. [I like to] understand whats happening from the perspective of the people, not the perspective of the government and following the official media, he explained. Awwad has a background in media, but citing a potential peril of the profession, chose to leave the field. Its a dangerous job in the Middle East, he said. Im still receiving calls to meet the security services each month [for interrogation]. Bisan Abedrabbo, a Ramallah resident, listens to Arabic-language shows produced by Sowt and Kerning Cultures on gender and sexuality, topics that arent typically discussed in the public sphere of the Middle East. I like that we have Arabic content thats controversial, said Abedrabbo, who is working on launching her own podcast. But to be honest, I still havent listened to a podcast in Arabic that amazed me or interested me so much. The amount of high-quality Arabic content is limited. Tesdell of Sowt explained, I think its kind of a chicken-and-the-egg-type situation, where people are like Theres no content, and the content creators are like, Well, theres no people. This dynamic certainly accounts in part for the slow progress of podcast listening in the region, especially considering that a market and audience of nearly 420 million Arabic-speakers is being overlooked when it comes to technology. As of 2018, Arabic content constituted less than 3% of online web content, despite the regions internet penetration rate, 67.2%, being higher than the global average, 56.5%. For an idea of how this can be, consider that Facebook only added an Arabic app for the iPhone in 2018. In terms of Arabic audio content, the three-year-old tech startup Kitab Sawti is the main downloadable app dedicated to Arabic-language audiobooks and podcasts. English-based apps, like Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud, remain the top platforms for listening to Arabic podcasts. All this means that the Arabic-speaking market is wide open for new shows to take off, an advantage that Arabic-content creators have over those in larger markets, like the United States, where, Tesdell said, The saturation of podcasts makes it much more difficult to get discovered. If podcasting is trending globally, it will come to the Middle East, Issa said, adding that the idea of the Middle East being exceptional when it comes to global trends is a fallacy constructed by the regions leaders as a censorship tool. Its a matter of when, not if. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit neighbour and ally Myanmar next week as the two neighbours strengthen ties and Beijing continues efforts to gain unhindered access to the Indian Ocean via the Bay of Bengal. The first President from China to visit Myanmar in 19 years, Xis visit is expected to give a boost to the Chinese projects in the country, which include a controversial dam and a natural gas pipeline. Its also Xis first visit to a foreign country in 2020, which state media said was a sign of the importance China was giving Myanmar. Xi had, incidentally, visited Myanmar as Vice-President under the presidency of Hu Jintao in 2009. Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying on Friday announced that Xi would visit Myanmar on Jan. 17-18. On December 7, state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi held talks with counterpart Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw where the Chinese diplomat assured her of Beijings full support in developing the country. It is a visit New Delhi will be tracking closely. Along with Laos and Cambodia, Myanmar has gradually emerged as a close supporter of China in the often acrimonious Association of SouthEast Asian Nation (ASEAN). It is also signed into the Xis Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the ambitious international connectivity project that aims to connect China to the rest of Asia and Europe thought infrastructure projects. Xis visit is likely to send a message to rebel groups fighting government troops in the border areas; Beijing has encouraged peace negotiations possibly with an eye on its increasing interests in the country. According to the Yangon-based Irrawaddy news, the two countries expected to sign at least three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) paving the way for the construction of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rakhine State and promoting economic cooperation in border areas. It said the visit is aimed sending a signal regarding the countrys importance to Chinas strategic ambitions in the Indian Ocean, while shoring up support for Xis ambitious BRI among leaders in Myanmar, which is slated to host some of the schemes key projects. The agenda is loud and clear: to speed up the construction of the projects within the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and realisation of the BRI. In particular, speeding up the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Beijings strategic window to the Indian Ocean is on the shortlist, Amara Thiha head China research at the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security wrote last week for The Diplomat website. Thiha made an interesting point about the Kyaukphyu project: Originating as one of 16 MoUs signed during then-Vice President Xis 2009 visit, the Kyaukphyu SEZ is the capstone of all Chinas investments in Myanmar and was Beijings strategic offset in the Indian Ocean prior to the launch of the BRI. The Montana Supreme Court this week unanimously reversed a $35 million judgment against the Jehovahs Witnesses for not reporting sexual abuse to authorities, saying church representatives fell within a clergy exception found in the states mandatory child abuse reporting law. Montana law requires officials, including clergy, to report child abuse to state authorities when there is reasonable cause for suspicion. However, the states law exempts clergy from reporting when the actual or suspected abuse is discovered in the course of a confidential conversationsuch as confessionthat is protected by the clergy-penitent privilege. The high court said in its 70 decision that the Jehovahs Witnesses fall under the exception in this case, which involves a woman who had been abused as a child in the mid-2000s. The congregation handled the allegations internally in accordance with church practices. The ruling overturns a 2018 jury verdict awarding compensatory and punitive damages to the woman, who accused the churchs national organization of ordering Montana clergy members not to report her abuse to authorities. Jehovahs Witnesses officials testified its process for addressing these reports is strictly confidential, notwithstanding the involvement of numerous church clergy and congregants, Justice Beth Baker wrote in the opinion, issued Wednesday. Clergy are not required to report known or suspected child abuse if the knowledge results from a congregation members confidential communication or confession and if the person making the statement does not consent to disclosure, Justice Baker said. Despite the recent Montana ruling, some states continue moving to expand reporting obligations in the wake of recent national sex abuse scandals, including those revealed through the 2018 grand jury report detailing abuse cover-ups in Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania and last years Houston Chronicle investigation uncovering abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. In more than half the country26 statesclergy are specifically named among those who are legally required to report actual or reasonably suspected cases of child abuse, according to Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Laws, a resource by Church Law & Tax (a fellow CT publication). All but four of those states provide an exemption for the clergy-penitent privilege like Montana does. In 15 other states, all adults are considered mandatory reporters, which makes clergy members included by default; over half (8) provide an exemption via the clergy-penitent privilege. Historically, abuse-reporting laws are a fairly recent phenomenon. Child abuse was not a widely held public concern in the US until the early 1960s. The first mandatory reporting laws applied to doctors and nurses, and then were expanded over the years. Many states also broadened the definitions of abuse (most notably to include sexual abuse) and stiffened penalties (usually a criminal misdemeanor or felony charge carrying a small fine and/or brief jail sentence) for those who fail to fulfill their duty. Clergy have been among the professions commonly added to the laws of many states throughout recent decades, as have school principals, teachers, daycare operators, and childcare workers. The recent attention toward abuse in the church represents another wave of awareness and legal review. Illinois, for instance, adopted new changes effective January 1, 2020. Among them: expanded reporting obligations for clergy members (though some exceptions tied to the clergy-penitent privilege still remain) and obligatory annual training for all mandatory reporters. Church leaders and clergy members must be familiar with these state provisions and make certain they are ready to comply, said attorney and Church Law & Tax senior editor Richard Hammar. Whenever uncertainty arises about whether to report, he said, Resolve any and all doubts in favor of reporting. All states recognize permissive reporting, meaning anyoneincluding clergycan make a good-faith report, even if the law does not compel them to do so. Matthew Branaugh is editor of content and business development for Christianity Todays Church Law & Tax. With reporting by Matt Volz of the Associated Press. A model wearing Joules clothing. Photo: Joules Shares in countryside casual brand Joules (JOUL.L) crashed over 25% on Friday after the company warned profits would be significantly worse than expected this year. Joules, which counts Princess Kate among its fans, said sales were significantly behind expectations over the festive period due to issues with its website. Sales fell 4.5% compared to Christmas 2018. The company said it also faces one-off costs related to supply chain changes and would be hit by US tariffs on Chinese imports. As a result, underlying profit is set to be significantly below market expectations, the company said. The stock price lost over a quarter of its value in early trade in London, falling to its lowest level in just over three years. Joules's share price crashed after the profit warning. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK We are disappointed with our inability to fully satisfy our customers' demand through our online channel during the important Christmas sale period, Joules chief executive Nick Jones said. We have identified the root cause of this one-off issue and have taken steps to prevent its reoccurrence. Jones said demand remains strong and said the company was making significant enhancements to our supply chain operations in the UK and US. Joules is known for its nautical striped tops, polo shirts, and wellies. Princess Kate was frequently pictured wearing the brand in the mid-2010 and Taylor Swift has also been snapped wearing Joules. The companys profit warning underlines the fact retailers had a difficult Christmas. Superdry stock crashed 20% on Friday after it too put out a profit warning. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said this week that 2019 was the first year ever that retail sales fell compared to the prior 12 months. READ MORE: UK household debt hits record high as families 'borrow to scrape by' Japan's prime minister still plans to visit the Middle East starting Saturday despite the crisis in the region, a spokesman said. Japan is also expected to deploy a warship and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft to protect its shipping interests in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman from Saturday to Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Friday. In this visit, as the situation in the Middle East increases in tension, we will exchange views with the three countries that will play an important role in mitigating regional tensions and stabilizing the situation as part of diplomatic efforts to avoid further escalation of the situation, Suga said. There was uncertainty if the trip would take place after Iran launched missiles toward Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in response to the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Japan is expected to deploy the warship and reconnaissance aircraft this weekend. The Defense Ministry was expected to announce the deployments later Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Graffiti featuring Star of David and 9 11 painted on buildings in North London By Marcy Oster (JTA)Graffiti featuring a Star of David and 9 11 was painted on buildings on several streets in North London. The graffiti, discovered on a synagogue and store windows in Hampstead and Belsize Park on Sunday morning, seems to refer to a conspiracy theory that Jewish people were responsible for the attack on the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. The neighborhoods in which the graffiti was painted are home to large Jewish populations. One of the buildings vandalized was formerly an Israeli-style restaurant. This is a reminder that anti-Semitism is still with us, the Board of Deputies of British Jews tweeted. Guardian Angels will patrol Brooklyn Jewish neighborhoods By Marcy Oster (JTA)The Guardian Angels said it would start patrolling in Brooklyn after an increase in anti-Semitic attacks in the area. The groups founder, Curtis Sliwa, told NBC News that the patrols would start on Sunday, first at noon in Crown Heights and later in the day also in Williamsburg and Borough Park. The Guardian Angels is a private, unarmed crime-prevention group. The announcement came in the wake of at least eight attacks on Jews in Brooklyn since Dec. 13, and hours before an attack on a Hanukkah party at a Hasidic rabbis home in Monsey, New York in Rockland County, that left five injured, two seriously. Sliwa said local leaders of the Lubavitch-Chabad movement asked for his groups help. He said that he believes the Guardian Angels patrols will stop the attacks. Were a visual deterrence in our red berets and our red satin jackets, he said. Nobodys going to commit an attack when were around. 22-year-old Hasidic man punched and taunted by two women in Brooklyn By Laura E. Adkins NEW YORK (JTA)Two women yelled F*** you Jew and I will kill you Jews at a Hasidic man in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and shoved him to the ground when he tried to film their anti-Semitic tirade, law enforcement sources and witnesses told CBS12. The 22 year-old victim was approached by the women, ages 24 and 34, at the intersection of Broadway and Lorimer Street, the New York City Police Department told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The 24-year-old grabbed the victims cell phone and punched him in his throat and the 34-year-old made anti-Semitic remarks, according to the NYPD. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of violent attacks against Hasidic Jews in the New York area in recent months, including a machete attack in Monsey that left 5 injured. In addition, on Monday evening, according to local reports, two menone flashing a knifethreatened a Jewish teen in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. The two men yelled Hey Jew boy at the teen as one pulled out the knife, the New York Post reported. There are two synagogues located within a block of where the incident occurred, according to the report. A report detailing the incident was filed with police. West Virginia will give Holocaust education to its corrections department staff By Marcy Oster (JTA)West Virginia plans to introduce instruction about the Holocaust for its corrections department staff. The decision comes a day after the announcement that more than 30 correctional academy trainees were fired for giving a Nazi salute in a class photo. The regional Anti-Defamation League chapter will draft the training materials and coursework, The Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. The photo of dozens of participants in the basic training class making the Nazi salute reads Hail Byrd! at the top, a reference to their correctional academy instructor, Karrie Byrd. According to a report by state investigators, the trainees regularly gave the Nazi salute as a sign of respect for their instructor in the weeks prior to the release of the photo. Byrd told investigators that she was unaware of the historical or racial implications of the gesture and said it was simply a greeting, according to the report, NBC News reported. Other sources suggest that Byrd encouraged the salute. The investigation disclosed that she encouraged it, reveled in it, and at times reciprocated the gesture, the report said. Two correctional academy trainers and a cadet from the class shown in the picture were fired when the photo came to light in early December. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on my watch in any agency of state government, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Monday in a statement announcing the firings. Danny Danons term as Israels ambassador to the United Nations extended at last minute By Marcy Oster (JTA)The term of Danny Danon, Israels ambassador to the United Nations, was extended just hours before it was set to expire. The Prime Ministers Office told Israels Channel 12 that Danons term will be extended through May in order to allow him to complete a five-year term in office and so that his children can complete the school year. The decision came hours after reports in the Israeli media that Danons term would not be extended, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit if he can make a permanent appointment while heading an interim government, with no immediate response. There currently are no Israeli ambassadors to Russia, Canada and Egypt, The Jerusalem Post reported. Jewish groups to hold solidarity march in New York City By Marcy Oster (JTA)Jewish groups held a solidarity march in New York City under the banner No Hate. No Fear. The Jan. 5 event came in the wake of attacks in Monsey, Jersey City and Brooklyn. The march left from Lower Manhattan and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by a rally in Columbus Park. In light of the ongoing and persistent attacks against our community, its time for us to come together and demonstrate our collective resolve, the organizers said. The sponsors are the UJA-Federation of New York along with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the Anti-Defamation League of New York, the American Jewish Committee of New York and the New York Board of Rabbis. Tesla expected to hit Israeli roads, launching in 2020 The cars starting price is estimated at around $72,300 (about NIS 250,000). (JNS) Tesla will start to hit Israeli roads come January. Globes first reported the development on Monday. The electric-car company, founded by Elon Musk, will open a pop-up store in the Ramat Aviv Mall in North Tel Aviv. It will allow customers, for a fee, to place advanced orders for a vehicle. The cars starting price is estimated to be around $72,300 (about NIS 250,000), reported Calcalist. Tesla registered last month as a fully owned subsidiary company in the Jewish state, named Tesla Motors Israel Ltd., reported Globes. Gas pumping from Israels offshore Leviathan field gets underway Leviathan field goes online, paving the way for multibillion-dollar gas-export deals with Egypt, Jordan For first time since its establishment, Israel is now an energy powerhouse, says Delek Drilling CEO. Gas pumping from Israels offshore Leviathan field gets underway (JNS)Gas pumping from Israels Leviathan offshore natural-gas field got under way on Tuesday after Israels Environmental Protection Ministry said Noble Energy and its partners had met all necessary conditions, despite ongoing protests from coastal residents and environmental activists warning of pollution emitted by the pumping rigs. The largest energy project in Israels history, it is expected that the Leviathan field will yield 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. After extraction, the gas will then make a 120-kilometer journey via pipelines to a processing platform 10 kilometers off the Israeli coast. From there, the processed gas and stabilized condensate will be transported by pipeline to the national gas transmission system and pipeline. For the first time since its establishment, Israel is now an energy powerhouse, able to supply all its energy needs and gaining energy independence, said Delek Drilling CEO Yossi Abu, a partner in the field. At the same time, we will be exporting natural gas to Israels neighbors, thus strengthening Israels position in the region. [The] Leviathan project will bring the coal era in Israel to an end, and will supply efficient, inexpensive and clean energy to people in Israel and in the Middle East. Residents along the coast have expressed concern over the possible carcinogenic effects of chemicals and pollutants from the project, with thousands of residents of Zichron Yaakov and areas south of Haifa even evacuating their homes and shuttering schools as nitrogen was flushed from pipes during initial tests on Tuesday. The Environmental Protection Ministry, however, said there was no cause for concern. Earlier this month, a petition to Jerusalems District Court argued that the single eight-hour test on Tuesday would release more pollutants than two years of drilling operations. The court ruled that the tests could move forward, citing the petitioners failure to provide expert testimony refuting the states claims that the test would be safe. In October, the scientific journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review found that environmental impact assessments by Noble Energy grossly underestimate the volume emissions that will be spewed into Israels air, contain a series of flaws, rely on overly simplistic models and should be redone. Noble Energy rejected the article, saying it was installing technology on the platform that would keep emissions close to zero. Volunteer group Guardian Angels patrols Brooklyn after anti-Semitic attacks (JNS)A private, volunteer-based and unarmed crime-prevention group said it would start patrolling parts of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sunday following a string of anti-Semitic attacks in the borough. Curtis Sliwa, who founded Guardian Angels in New York City in 1979, said patrols would start in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, and expand to Williamsburg and Borough Park later in the day. Hours earlier, on Saturday night, five people were stabbed in an attack at a Hanukkah event in Monsey, N.Y., upstate in Rockland County. There has been a total of eight attacks on Jews in Brooklyn since Dec. 13, according to police. On Friday, a woman slapped three females in Brooklyn and told police officers that it was because they were Jewish. Other incidents involved victims being hit in the face, the head and the back of the head, as well as at least one having a beverage thrown at them, said police. Sliwa said local leaders of the Lubavitch Chassidic movement asked for assistance from his group, and he believes that the Guardian Angels can stop the violence. He said, Were a visual deterrence in our red berets and our red satin jackets. Nobodys going to commit an attack when were around. If they do, he added, Well physically restrain the persons responsible, make a citizens arrest and hold them until the police arrive. These attacks are taking place, and the cops have not been proactive at all, said Sliwa on Saturday. It comes from City Hall and the mayor. Hes been just apathetic. Israels population on the eve of the new year hits 9.14 million By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)Israels population grew by 1.9 percent to 9.14 million in 2019. The Central Bureau of Statistics released the statistics on Tuesday, the last day of 2019. The breakdown of the population includes 6.772 million Jewish citizens, or 74.1 percent; 1.916 million Arab citizens, or 21 percent; and 448,000, or 4.9 percent, classified as other, including Russian-speaking immigrants who are not Jewish. Some 177,000 new births were recorded in 2019, 74 percent to Jewish mothers and 22.3 percent to Arab mothers. Just over one-fifth of the population increase, or 34,000, came from immigration, according to the bureau. Over 90,000 Jews celebrate the end of a Talmud study cycle together in New Jersey By Marcy Oster (JTA)Over 90,000 mostly Orthodox Jews gathered under heavy security at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to celebrate Siyum HaShas, the completion of the study of the entire Talmud. The 7.5-year cycle is known as Daf Yomi, since participants study a one full page of the 2,711-page text each day. The event on Sunday, organized by Agudath Israel of America, was the 13th completion of the cycle. Several thousand people also gathered in Barclays Center in New York to watch the program via live video hookup, and people around the world watched it online. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy attended the MetLife event, later tweeting: As we celebrated #SiyumHaShas at @MetLifeStadium today, we held the victims of the horrific antisemitic attacks in Jersey City and Monsey in our hearts. We will drive out darkness with light by always standing with our Jewish community. Anti-Semitism and hate have no home here. More than 50 law enforcement agencies and over 300 uniformed state police were in the stadium, according to CBS New York. The first Siyum Hashas took place on Feb. 2, 1931 in several cities in Europe and in Jerusalem, as well as in Baltimore and Philadelphia. Want to study Daf Yomi? Click here to sign up for My Jewish Learnings free email series exploring insights from each page of the Talmud. Emails begin Jan. 5, 2020. Aussie Jewish family on the fires: Its apocalyptic but were coping By Henry Benjamin SYDNEY (JTA)Martine and Gavin Folden expected to be busy on New Years Eve hosting diners at their Kangaroo Valley restaurant in New South Wales, Australia. Instead, they are camping out after being evacuated as bush fires threaten their property. The Foldens and their two childrenYumi, 11 and Cisco 9are sleeping in a caravan in Berry, about 12 miles from their home nearly 90 miles from Sydney. They are accompanied by two horses, two dogs and two cats. Its apocalyptic but were coping, Martine Folden told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Weve been here a couple of days and we dont know how long we will have to stay. Until the fire danger passes at least. Folden said the family was staying in a caravan from the 1970s that has no cooking facilities. But the most distressing aspect is the evacuations impact on their restaurant, Bettys Bar. This is the two-week period when we make a large portion of our income, Folden said. So many businesses that are along the coast have been affected by the fires over the last two weeks. Folden said the family was permitted to visit their property and she checked on farm animals that had been left behind. She discovered that the fire had so far not reached their property. The fires have destroyed more than 1,300 homes and burned over 13.5 million acres across the country. Suburbs of cities including Sydney and Melbourne, home to several million people and large Jewish communities, also have been hit by brush fires. 2 men flash knife at Brooklyn Jewish teen By Marcy Oster (JTA)Two men, one flashing a knife, threatened a Jewish teen in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. The incident took place on Monday evening, according to local reports. The two men yelled Hey Jew boy at the teen as one pulled out the knife, the New York Post reported. There are two synagogues located within a block of where the incident occurred, according to the report. A report detailing the incident was filed with police. Palestinian teen attempts to stab soldiers By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)A Palestinian teen attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at the Gush Etzion junction, the Israel Defense Forces said. The attacker, 15, got out of a taxi at the junction brandishing a knife and ran toward a group of soldiers, Israels Channel 12 reported. One of the soldiers fired at the assailant, shooting him in the leg. The attacker was taken to Jerusalems Shaarey Tzedek hospital in moderate condition, the Kan national broadcaster reported. MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI -- Women in their economic prime make up the bulk of residents at a Muskegon-area domestic violence shelter, which illustrates the financial burden of intimate partner violence, according to that groups annual report. Every Womans Place, a Muskegon County organization that operates a shelter, counseling services and a 24-hour crisis line for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, surveyed its client base and found that 75.4 percent of the women they serve are between the ages of 19 and 59. These working-age women experience disruption to their employment history when they experience domestic violence, making a return to the workforce especially challenging, said Kim Dimmett, who started as the organizations executive director in October. Its a known statistic that 98 percent of victims of domestic violence are also victims of economic or financial abuse, Dimmett said. That includes includes financial coercion or control, or not being permitted to work or spend money. Its not a conducive environment to advance in their careers, Dimmett said. The report also laid out the organizations service record from FY 2018-19, which included providing 4,060 nights in bed to women, and 4,490 nights in bed to children in their 22-bed shelter. The group also fielded 400 calls from families in crisis, provided 500 adults with legal advocacy, and offered counseling services to 10 survivors per month, according to the report. The 45-year-old organization also offers trauma-involved counseling for children, and works to connect survivors with employment resources to help get them back on their feet. In Muskegon County, there were 1,391 reported incidents of domestic violence in 2018, according to the Michigan State Police. Some of those were recurrences within the same household, and Dimmett estimates that 500-600 people in the county are affected each year. Statewide, domestic violence affects all genders: 42 percent of Michigan women and 23 percent of Michigan men have experienced intimate partner violence, which can include physical and sexual assault; emotional and financial manipulation; rape or stalking, according to Every Womans Place. Annually, more than 100 homicides in Michigan are domestic violence-related. Every Womans Place, like many domestic violence organizations, uses federal funds distributed under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984. Dimmett said she anticipates that those federal dollars will decrease this year, and she has made diversifying the organizations funding sources a priority. In the coming year, the organization also plans to expand the work they do after the moment of immediate crisis, so that individuals can go forward with self-sufficiency, said Dimmett. Everybodys different, Dimmett said, of the needs of survivors. No two people who walk through the door are the same. Its an individual approach, [so we] need enough strategies. Read more: Witness details arguments that preceded her mothers shooting death Police release some details of double murder-suicide in downtown Muskegon Man who killed ex-girlfriend, dumped body in river sentenced to 25-40 years TOLEDO, Ohio - As lawmakers from both parties question President Donald Trump's handling of tensions with Iran, his most fervent supporters continue to express confidence in his ability to navigate the volatile region without starting a war, according to interviews with attendees at a campaign rally here Thursday. Trump supporters said they saw the president's provocative moves and rhetoric toward Iran as an effort to keep the peace by showing strength, rather than as escalating a move toward another war in the Middle East. At the same time, many of the rallygoers reflected the country's war-weariness, indicating that the president has limited leeway to pursue an aggressive approach to counter Iran's aggression. "We've been there a long time, and we lost a lot of young men and women. I'd like to see us out of there," said Vicki Gongwer, of Sylvania, Ohio. "Still, I think [Trump] is trying to take care of this without going to war. I have to trust what he says." The opinions, shared in more than 20 interviews in the hours before Trump's evening rally, are in line with a poll released this week. In the HuffPost-YouGov survey, conducted between Jan. 3 and Jan. 5, 88 percent of Trump voters approved of his handling of issues related to Iran. But among the broader public, opinion was split largely among partisan lines, with Democrats mostly united in opposition to the president's Iran policy. Almost six in 10 voters believe the drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, made military conflict more likely than before, according to the poll. But inside the Huntington Center in Toledo, many of the president's supporters said they trusted Trump to handle tensions with Iran without sparking a ground war with Tehran. Even Trump's decision to send thousands of additional troops into the region raised only limited concern among the president's strongest supporters, some of whom voted for him because he promised to extract the United States from the Middle East. "Sending the troops, it doesn't mean starting a war," said Kaleena Smola, who drove five hours from Illinois to attend the rally. "It means showing that we are strong and no one will push us around." After taking the stage, Trump told the crowd that the killing of Soleimani showed that "if you dare to threaten our citizens, you do so at your own grave peril." During his remarks - which were briefly interrupted by protesters, including one waving a "No War" sign - Trump boasted at length about the death of Soleimani and attacked Democrats for criticizing his decision to authorize the strike without consulting Congress. "Soleimani spread death, destruction and mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond," Trump said. "He was a bad guy, he was a bloodthirsty terror, and he's no longer a terror. He's dead." Support for Trump's Iran strategy is less solid in Congress, where the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday passed a resolution ordering the president to withdraw forces engaged in hostilities with Iran. While Trump lobbied against the resolution and it passed along largely partisan lines, a few of the president's Republican supporters backed it. The resolution comes a day after the administration's senior national security officials briefed Congress on the intelligence that informed Trump's order to kill Soleimani. Two Republicans, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., have announced their intention to back a war powers resolution in the Senate. Lee said Wednesday's briefing - which he described as "insulting" and "lame" - convinced him to support the resolution limiting Trump's ability to carry out a military campaign against Iran. Trump used his speech to ridicule the idea that he should have informed Congress before carrying out the strike against Soleimani, specifically mocking Democratic leaders. "Now they want us to call - can you imagine, calling crooked Adam Schiff?" Trump said. "We have the world's number one terrorist, killed thousands and thousands of people. We'd like to set up a meeting so we can discuss his execution." Trump argued that Democratic leaders in the Gang of Eight - the bipartisan group that traditionally is read in on classified intelligence and military maters - would leak secure information to the media if he notified them. His attacks on Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, were greeted with applause, including when Trump described the congressman as "little pencil neck." At the rally, some Trump supporters said they also had reservations about new tensions in the Middle East, and several highlighted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have required a U.S. military presence for years. "I believe that really we should stop meddling in the affairs of people across seas," said Aaron Bostelman. "It's really none of our business what they're doing." Trump, who campaigned on getting the United States out of wars in the Middle East, has been caught between supporters who want to hold him to that promise and others who want him to make good on his threats of unparalleled strength and military might. Several of the president's supporters said Trump's decision to send thousands of additional troops into the Middle East was more preventive than provocative. Lucky Penn, of Toledo, said the troop deployments were "a security, just in case" and not to engage in another war. "It's about time we get a person that's got guts, and he's got guts," he said of Trump. When Vice President Mike Pence took the stage at the start of Thursday's rally, he praised Trump for the strike killing Soleimani, sparking chants of "USA!" "President Trump took action, and Qasem Soleimani is gone," Pence said. Later in his speech, Trump recounted how he was ready to retaliate against Iran for its ballistic missile attacks on two U.S. based in Iraq Tuesday, but ultimately decided not to because the Iranian aggression result in no American causalities. "Not that I wanted to, but we were ready, you have no idea," Trump said, portraying himself as a willing, if reluctant, executor of American might. "A lot of people got very lucky." Rick Briggle, a retired teacher who was attending the rally, said that he did have some concerns about the intelligence that Trump acted on, citing the flawed rationale for the war in Iraq. Still, he said he ultimately trusted Trump to stop short of launching a war. "I think he's been antiwar all along, and this is something new for him," he said. "But what I like about him most is what he says, he does." None of the people interviewed supported a ground war with Iran or an escalated military conflict in the Middle East. "I think we need to bring our boys home," said Ash Hampton, a Marine Corps veteran who drove to the rally from Michigan. Hampton said he supported the strike on Soleimani but wanted Trump to make good on his promise to extract the country from the Middle East. Speaking before the rally, Gloria Christian said that although she had concerns about potential unintended consequences of sending troops into the Middle East, she felt Trump was doing what was necessary to deter Iran's aggression. "If you're working with a bully, do you back down and cower, or do you try to pluck up your feathers and look larger?" she asked. "Is it perfect? No, but I don't really think he's trying to do anything that's harmful to the world or country." Its no secret that Bay Area living is expensive, so much so that many people are leaving or coming up with some very creative solutions. If youve ever searched for a new apartment online, youve undoubtedly come across a place where the images make your jaw drop at the photos and price and NOT in a good way. Welcome to the new series were calling, Guess how much this rents for in San Francisco. We estimate this series will go on for, well, forever, because there are no signs the bubble will burst. If you've ever driven by the houseboats in Sausalito and wistfully thought, now that looks like the way to live, here's your chance. Community College of Philadelphia at 16th and Spring Garden Streets, Friday, July 12, 2019. Pa. community college students can now finish their degrees through a relatively cheap program at a private New Hampshire school. Read more Communities across Pennsylvania are struggling due to shortages of nurses, accountants, computer systems analysts, dental hygienists, and many other middle skill jobs requiring bachelors degrees. At the same time, many of the states public colleges and universities are facing declining enrollment. This conundrum is not due to a lack of interest in college among Pennsylvania residents, but rather because far too many people are being priced out of public higher education. Last week, the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges announced an agreement that will offer students the option to pursue their bachelors degrees through a private online New Hampshire university, rather than at in-state universities. Southern New Hampshire University is able to beat the price of nearly every Pennsylvania university for one simple reason: the Pennsylvania legislature has defunded universities, giving them no choice but to reduce educational quality or hike tuition. This move effectively ensures that Pennsylvania is open for business to private competitors. This is both intentional and predictable. For years, policy analysts and researchers have pointed out Pennsylvanias dramatic disinvestment in higher education and warned of its consequences. Rural communities around the state have suffered as 18 counties lack any local college at all, and broadband access continues to fall well short of the requirements for high-quality online education. (Not to mention that students with fewer academic advantages struggle the most in online education.) When people live in communities deprived of the many cultural and social activities that colleges bring, and they cannot secure the education needed to get a raise, they come to resent higher education and question its value. This is part of a vicious cycle that contributes to further reductions in state support for higher education. As Pennsylvania has abdicated its responsibility for funding higher education, it has correspondingly failed to hold its colleges and universities accountable for collaborating. The community college associations latest move felt necessary to its leadership because far too many of its graduates lack opportunities for a seamless and affordable transfer to one of the states bachelors degree granting institutions. Rather than accepting credits earned at community college, many universities are turning students down, making them retake already-completed courses and wasting their valuable time. READ MORE: Students blast Pa.'s largest community college for cutting campus mental health services while spending big on renovations Other states are smoothing transfer pathways with legislation that provides both carrots and sticks to help institutions work together to do the right thing. But Pennsylvania has yet to propose such legislation and has little standing with which to do it since it provides an ever-diminishing contribution to universities budgets. This new competition from Southern New Hampshire University might help a few community college students who face no other alternatives. But it is not going to help most Pennsylvanians, as it simply lets both the state and the public universities off the hook for their obligation to support the education required to have healthy communities. We are eating our seed corn in Pennsylvania, undermining the ability of our citizens to access good and stable jobs simply because we are told it will save us on taxes in the short term. Education has a strong return on investment, and it works best when states invest in keeping their college graduates in-state. We need to ensure that our public universities are financially healthy and serving our communities well; it is time to demand that our legislators make that happen. Sara Goldrick-Rab is founding director of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Matanat Nasibova - Trend: Azneftmash, a large Azerbaijani manufacturer of industrial products in mechanical engineering, is expanding the list of export destinations, a source at the company told Trend. According to the source, the company is planning to export various types of equipment used in the oil and gas sector to new foreign markets in 2020. "The plans are mainly about the export of equipment for oil rigs and pumpjacks. The company's products are of interest to foreign partners in France, and negotiations are underway regarding exports to this European country. In parallel, we are looking for other markets in Europe. The company can export almost all types of the manufactured equipment," the source said. The source noted that negotiations regarding the export of polyethylene and fiberglass pipes are underway with Ukrainian partners. "The company also plans to export polyethylene and fiberglass pipes to Central Asian markets in 2020. Last year, there were deliveries to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan," the source added. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova The standard of living in Latin America is quite expensive, but there are ways to cut expenses and live in any country in the region with less than a grand a month. Latin America is the world's most urbanized region. People living in cities in the region grew from 30 percent to 85 percent between 1950 and 2010. It is expected that by 2050, 90 percent of Latin Americans will live in cities. At present, there are more than 55 cities with a population of more than one million and that includes some of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Moreover, there are also roughly 2,000 cities that are driving Latin America's economy. And no part of the world has been urbanized more rapidly compared to Latin America. It is not surprising that the standard of living in the region is quite costly. In a report from the World Economic Forum in 2018, cities in Latin America have struggled to absorb new arrivals from the countryside. More than 160 million people or an estimated 25 percent of the region's urban population live in slums and most urban poor lack access to basic services including housing. But is it possible to live in Latin America on a budget not more than $1000 a month? The answer is "Yes!" Here are the ways to have a less expensive cost of living in Latin America according to My Latin Life: 1. Get a roommate Getting a roommate will help you lessen your expenses. An example of this is getting a room that costs around $80 to $100 a month, logically if you have one roommate you will only pay $50 a month. Another big thing also is in buying your groceries. You can split your expenses in grocery and taxi fare. 2. Choose a longterm apartment rental If you plan to stay for more than six months in Latin America, you better visit websites that offer six month rentals. This will help you to save more money compared to staying in a house accredited by Airbnb. However, if you want to know more about the neighborhood before renting an apartment, you can choose to book an Airbnb for a month. It is also recommended that you live in middle-class cities in Latin America because they are safer and more accessible to buses and taxi. 3. Use public transportation Taking public transportation is still the best way to save money. Though there are transportation services like UBER and taxi that are not expensive they are only best for short rides. If you want to save money just in transportation alone, you have to look for an apartment where a subway is steps away from your home. Consider also that the location of your apartment id near the place where you work, restaurants, and best places for nightlife. Through this, it will not be hard for you took for transportation services. 4. Shop at local markets Food is a basic necessity. There is always a need to spend money on this. There are markets in Latin America that offer cheaper prices compared to a chain supermarket. An example of this is in Mexico where a kilo of red peppers in the supermarket worth $3 but this is only offered at $2 in the neighborhood. This is the same also with potatoes, it cost $1.20 in the chain supermarket but this only costs $0.80 in the local market. However, if you don't love cooking, you can look for the nearest university that has plenty of affordable eateries. 5. Choose your city wisely There are cities in Latin America that are quite expensive, but there are also some places where you can spend less than $1000 a month. The smaller the city, the cheaper the lifestyle is. Here are some cities where you can live without spending more than $1000 a month: Panama City, Panama San Jose, Costa Rica Sao Paulo, Rio Montevideo, Uruguay Santiago, Chile Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic But these are the best countries in Latin America for budget-conscious travelers in 2020 Argentina Colombia Mexico Always remember that the best way to saving money is to lessen your expenses by looking for alternatives. Willie Walsh is stepping down as chief executive of British Airways owner International Airlines Group after 15 years at the top. The 58-year-old Irishman, who started his long career in aviation as a trainee pilot at Aer Lingus, will relinquish control at the end of March and leave the company in June. Arch-rival and compatriot Michael OLeary, the pugnacious boss of Ryanair, said it was a huge loss to the industry and proof that youll never beat the Irish. Willie Walsh is stepping down as chief executive of British Airways owner International Airlines Group at the end of March But there was silence from Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson who has had a long-running feud with Walsh. And many of BAs passengers caught up in pilot strikes, IT meltdowns and a cyber attack may be happy to see the back of him. Walsh said last November that he would retire before his 60th birthday, but has decided to call it a day a little earlier than expected. He will be replaced by 51-year-old Spaniard Luis Gallego, who has been credited with turning around Iberia, another part of the IAG stable. Walsh gained a reputation as a tough union negotiator while a pilot. This hard-line approach continued when he switched to the other side of the negotiating table and repeatedly took on the unions, first as boss of Aer Lingus and later at the helm of BA. While this trait may well have caused him to go up in OLearys estimations, BA passengers and shareholders have paid the price. A dispute with pilots union Balpa over pay and perks culminated in the first pilot strikes in BAs history last September, and the cancellation of 2,300 flights. It also fuelled a 185million fall in its third quarter profits. While the public might not have had much sympathy with captains paid 167,000 a year, BA came under fire for the breakdown in relations with its own pilots. What is beyond doubt is Walshs reputation as a ruthless and savvy businessman. The Irishmen spearheaded the merger of BA with Spanish airline Iberia in 2011 to create International Airlines Group, or IAG. Although long-term investors in IAG have endured a rollercoaster ride, shares have soared by more than half to 634p since September last year. But speak to people who have flown with BA for many years and they will say this has come at a cost, with the perks and service that once distinguished it from its budget rivals pared back. As OLeary heaped effusive praise on Walsh, however, Branson remained notably silent. Walsh and his 69-year-old rival have frequently sniped at each other in a bitter dispute stretching back almost 15 years. The bearded tycoon bet Walsh 1million in 2012 that Virgin Atlantic would still exist in five years time. Walsh, not being as quite as fabulously rich as Branson, offered to change the wager to a knee in the groin. As Walsh flies off into the sunset, it looks like the bet will never be settled. Hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, President Trump on Wednesday sought to assure Americans that the United States was not on the brink of another war in the Middle East. The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed, Trump said in a statement from the White Houses Grand Foyer, flanked by members of his national security team. We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. Iran appears to be standing down, the president continued, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. Trump reiterated his long-held complaint that the United States does more than its allies in securing Middle East peace. Today Im going to ask NATO to be much more involved in the Middle East process, he said. Trump also criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear deal brokered by former President Barack Obama, from which Trump withdrew in 2018. Instead of saying thank you to the United States, they chanted death to America, the president said. In fact, they chanted death to America the day the agreement was signed. Trump suggested the United States would refrain from further military action, saying he would impose new economic sanctions on Iran instead. Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal, and fast, the president said. The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it, he added. President Trump addresses the nation from the White House on Wednesday. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) According to U.S. officials, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces, targeting at least two Iraqi military bases in Al-Asad and Erbil. Several of the missiles failed in flight, U.S. officials said, and there were no American casualties. Story continues There were multiple reports that U.S. officials had advance warning of the attack, allowing troops and other personnel to shelter in hardened bunkers. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said in a statement Wednesday that Iran sent Iraq a warning that an attack had begun or would begin shortly on unspecified U.S. military locations. The strikes came less than a week after Soleimani the charismatic head of the Quds Force, the special operations and intelligence branch of Irans Revolutionary Guard was killed by an American drone outside a Baghdad airport. The White House has said Iran was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. But the administration has yet to publicly disclose the intelligence that purportedly showed a threat was imminent. Administration officials were expected to brief members of Congress on the intelligence later Wednesday. Related: How the U.S. and Iran came to the brink of war Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Tuesdays missile strikes were in response to Soleimanis killing. Last night they received a slap, Khamenei said in a speech after the missile strikes, adding: These military actions are not sufficient [for revenge]. What is important is that the corrupt presence of America in this region comes to an end. The Iraqi Parliament voted on a resolution calling for Americans to end their military mission in the country, which began when the U.S. invaded in 2003. The resolution is nonbinding. Trump said Tuesday that he wants to pull the 5,000 U.S. troops out of Iraq, but that now is not the time for a withdrawal. At some point we want to get out, the president said. But this isnt the right point. Also read: U.S. pullout from Iraq would benefit Iran and ISIS experts warn Earlier Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he expected Iran to retaliate for Soleimanis killing. Esper also dismissed the notion that the strike that killed Soleimani was an act of war. We are not looking to start a war with Iran, he said, but we are prepared to finish one. As U.S. officials were assessing the outcome of Tuesday nights missile attack, Trump struck a hopeful tone. All is well! the president tweeted. Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Shawn Hansson of Logic Integration awarded during CES 2020 All of us at Logic Integration are absolutely elated to have earned this award and to be honored on CESs international stage Shawn Hansson, CEO and Founder of Logic Integration, designer and installer of audiovisual (AV) systems, was awarded the Annual Leadership Award at the Mark of Excellence awards ceremony by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) during International CES. Recognizing Hanssons contributions and accomplishments to the technology industry, CTAs Smart Home Division selected Hansson as the winner of the 2020 Smart Home Leadership Award. All of us at Logic Integration are absolutely elated to have earned this award and to be honored on CESs international stage, said Hansson. My talented team has worked very hard over the past decade to achieve excellence and I would like to thank each of them for their many contributions. Being able to entrust the team with daily operations afforded me the opportunity to volunteer and invest in our growing industry." To learn about Hanssons contributions to the integrated technologies industry and his predictions on where its headed, visit 2020 Smart Home Leadership Award Winner Logic Integration. To learn more about CTA Mark of Excellence awards, visit https://www.cta.tech/Events/Awards/Mark-of-Excellence-Awards.aspx About Logic Integration Logic designs and installs state-of-the-art automation systems for corporate, government, hospitality, retail, health and fitness facilities, private residences and MDUs. They are proven leaders in automating audio, video, lighting, shades, and environmental controls into one interface and are known for their wicked-fast response times, reliable systems, excellent customer service and award-winning designs! Since the companys inception in 2004, Logic Integration has received numerous accolades. These include recognition as a multi-year honoree of the Inc. 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies in the US, recently voted multi-year Best AV Company in Colorado, Colorado Companies to Watch winner, Colorados Top 250 Private Companies, CEDIAs Contractor of the Year and Integrator of the Year by the Consumer Technology Association at CES Vegas. Some of Logic Integrations clients include Frontier Airlines, Furniture Row, Comcast, Dish Network, Lockheed Martin, US Army, US Air force, Denver Broncos, and many Fortune 100/500 companies and government entities. To learn more about Logic Integration, please visit http://www.logicav.net A Rathangan man who missed the deadline for paying a fixed penalty charge for being drunk in a public place in Monasterevin has been convicted and fined. At last week's sitting of Portlaoise District Court, Paul OBrien (38), with an address listed at The Demesne, Rathangan, Co. Kildare, was charged with being intoxicated in public, and disorderly conduct, at St Marys Lane, Monasterevin, on April 7 last. Sgt JJ Kirby gave evidence that on April 7 last year, the accused was in a very intoxicated state and was arrested for his own safety. A fixed penalty charge was issued, but it went unpaid. The fine was 80. The accused had 20 previous convictions, mostly for road traffic matters and two for public order offences. Sgt Kirby said that in fairness to the accused his last public order conviction was back in 2006. The accused addressed the court, to say he had missed the deadline for paying the fixed penalty charge. He said he had made an attempt to pay it, but was five days out. He apologised for coming to garda attention and said he had not drunk alcohol since. The accused was convicted and fined 100 by Judge Flann Brennan. I write to offer a dispassionate contribution to the debate on whether Ghana needs a new voters register (even though the EC seem to have decided already on the way forward) and some other issues germane to the relationship between the EC and political parties as well as peace and political stability in Ghana now, during and after the 2020 General Elections. 1. The EC has given cogent reasons why we must get a new voters register for the 2020 elections. They have highlighted several challenges with the old register that cannot be glossed over by any reasonable election management body. 2. But in spite of the challenges of the current register, it was successfully used to organize a referendum. It was also used to organize the just ended DA elections without much qualms. How did this happen? Certainly, our current biometric registration devices may have encountered some challenges in the referendum and DA elections. Nevertheless, these challenges were competently resolved somehow, by the EC in a manner that did not undermine the credibility of the two elections. 3. Are there truly imponderable and unsurmountable or peculiar challenges that the 2020 elections present, that cannot be tamed by the current register and consensus among the political elites? If so, the EC must thoroughly explain these challenges to stakeholders, possibly beyond political parties, to include even the ordinary Ghanaian voter, not in one long technical Press Statement, but in very simple and short pieces of information. 4. I admire the innovation in setting up an Advisory Committee to demystify the work of the EC. A similar innovation maybe for the Commission to sometimes go beyond its traditional political party stakeholders. The Commission may want to reach out to the public to seize them with crucial information, as a way of also meeting its constitutional duty of political socialization, and obtaining popular buy-in of its proposals beyond political party support. 5. We need a new register and I agree with the EC, given the challenges with the old one. But do we have enough time to go through the laborious processes in an election year where there is much suspicion by the main opposition party of the EC? 6. Certain activities undertaken in an election year by the EC, regardless of how pious the intentions maybe, would be viewed with suspicion by the opposition. This has been the case since 1992. I am certain that it wasnt the fault and intention of the Commission to delay the processes and to defer matters of the new voters roll to an election year. But the fact remains that, this is an election year and without an extra effort to build consensus, every move by the EC will be viewed by the opposition with suspicion. 7. If we want to do things right, then the EC cannot commence the registration process until the 2020 Population and Housing Census (PHC) is undertaken. This is because the PHC figures, usually accepted as more credible because of the less partisan interest in their compilation, will provide irrefutable benchmarks for the ECs registration processes to commence. This would ensure a harmony between the PHC data and the voter registration data of the EC. Indeed, the two must speak to each other. Else, one can anticipate problems if for instance, the EC goes ahead of the PHC to register 100 people in the Ashanti region as voters, only for the PHC to show that there are only 50 voters there. So, to avoid needless suspicion and confusion, the PHC must take place first. 8. But the PHC is expected to be held in March and it may take up to May for the results to be released. Lets also note that the procurement of the ECs voter registration devices may also take some time. 9. Again, compiling a completely new register (including field work, generating provisional register, resolving and adjudicating disputes about who shouldnt be on the register, exhibition of the register and the production of a final register) may take up to five months of the attention of political parties in a campaign season. 10. We are also yet to know whether ROPAA will be implemented to allow Ghanaians resident abroad to be registered to vote in the 2020 elections. There will be too much pressure on the EC and political parties, should the EC be compelled to implement ROPAA in 2020 in addition to compiling a new register. 11. We must not forget that given the heightened interest in the upcoming elections, the two main political parties will need all the time to campaign with full concentration, and without being distracted by the highly tensed and potentially polarizing issues of compiling a completely new register. Wouldnt it be too much for parties to shuttle between campaign rally grounds and registration centers to police what is going on there? 11. The political parties must take a second look at their respective campaign calendars to see whether they will have the time to virtually halt their campaign to be able to fully participate in the new voter registration process. But in my experience, these parties in the lead up to the 2016 elections, were among other reasons, so busy campaigning in the hinterlands that, it was difficult for them to find the time to mount the platform of Presidential Debates. 12. As a member of the Electoral Reforms Committee, I remember we recommended the need for the EC to desist from packing activities and running crush electoral programmers in an election year to avoid needless suspicion and allow political parties some ample time to campaign. Other AU protocols support this recommendation because, it also allows for ample time to cater for the resolution of disputes, for instance, on matters of voter registration, should they arise. 13. As we debate the issues of new register we must also interrogate the state of our national identification process. Is the national identity card not supposed to provide biometric information for voting? Should the biometric national identification process go on, while we quickly commence another biometric data for voting? May be, we are richer than we think, but we may have to sincerely rethink the needless duplications in our biometric identification systems. 14. There may be legitimate reasons to back the call for a new voters roll. But apart from the huge financial implications, will we have ample time to go through all the processes? If YES, lets build consensus and go for it NOW because there is no time at all. However, if we arent sure, then let us be careful. 15. If the EC decides to go ahead with its decision to compile a new register, political parties would have to be mindful that their active campaign season may be shortened. The citizenry would also have to be mindful of the fact that the expression of quality choice, may be undermined as there may be no ample time for political parties to thoroughly market campaign messages to help voters rationally decide who must be voted for. 16. So far, it is decidedly clear that the New Patriotic Party is unable to forcefully communicate its achievements to many Ghanaians. Though the party continue to suffer from some deficiencies in political communication, it is certain that the situation will drastically improve in this election year. The campaign time for them, must therefore not be shortened by the tasking and distracting process of compiling a new voters register, that will demand their intense attention and vigilance. Similarly, even though the National Democratic Congress calls for change, its distinct campaign message is yet to be fully marketed and be ingrained in the psyche of voters. I am certain they will step up their game in this election year and hence the campaign season must not be shortened for them too. Also, they must not be distracted by the contentious issues of the compilation of new voters roll in the same election year. 17. Our electoral processes have undergone several mutations since 1992. However, the relationship between political parties and the Electoral Commission seem to remain unchanged in a manner that continue to undermine and weaken the legitimacy of the Electoral Commission. Since 1992, the ruling party has generally been supportive of all the major initiatives of the EC even when there have been empirical data to show that the initiatives played negligible and infinitesimal role in their electoral fortunes. Also, the opposition has since 1992 been generally suspicious of some of the major initiatives of the EC, even though evidence abounds to show that they benefitted from some of the initiatives they opposed. We must break this cycle and build bi-partisan consensus to guide the relationship between political parties and the EC. 18. Ghanaians should judge whether we truly need a new register or we have to use the old one while improvising solutions to its challenges by consensus. The support of EC proposals by political parties should not be contingent on whether one is in power or in opposition. It should be based on rationally thought through issues that will benefit not only the political parties but also Ghana as a whole. 19. Finally, we must know by now that, the 2020 election would also be hugely competitive. The political careers of any of the two main contenders may end after a defeat. Also, each of the two main contenders has a sense of unfinished agenda for Ghana and hence need power to finish what was or has been started. These and other allied factors may make the contest very keen. Matters that may therefore needlessly raise the political temperature, must be handled tactfully by the EC in collaboration with the political elites and the society as a whole so that they do not degenerate. For no one will be around to chop the post we are seeking or protecting, when there is implosion, conflict and democratic relapse. Hes not only running against Jeff Van Drew now, Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, said of Mr. Richter. Hes running against President Trump, too. Mr. Richter said he wasnt bothered by the N.R.C.C. snub. (The benefit I saw from Young Guns, other than a news release, was close to zero, he said.) But even a rookie like him could understand that his apparent new distance from the president was less than ideal, especially in a district where Mr. Trump is incredibly popular among Republican voters. To exist in the Republican Party today is to be defined, more than anything else, by ones relationship with the president and to accept that political survival often means maintaining it. Which is probably why, even as Mr. Richter dutifully proclaimed his commitment to seeing the race through, he quietly signaled his openness to an exit route. In mid-December, as rumors circulated that Mr. Van Drew was planning to switch parties, Mr. Richter reached out to contacts in Mr. Trumps orbit including Bill Stepien, a Trump campaign official and New Jersey native. Mr. Stepien, as well as two others who spoke with Mr. Richter and requested anonymity to share private conversations, said Mr. Richter had stated his intention to stay in the race but would consider dropping out and running in the Third Congressional District instead if he were promised financial support, the presidents endorsement and a public request to jump into the other race. One of the people who spoke to Mr. Richter said he was still waiting to hear the White Houses response to his offer. Mr. Richter recalls those exchanges differently. I have had several conversations with people close to the White House, and that topic did come up, but I did not initiate it, he said. I also stated clearly that I did not have an interest in changing districts and I intended to continue pursuing the Republican nomination in the Second District. But I did say that if the White House or the Trump campaign wanted to have a dialogue with me about anything, I was willing to engage in a dialogue. The Pentagon is accusing Iran's air defense of shooting down the Ukraninan plane that crashed yesterday near Tehran. The Pentagon says that it was an accidental incident. But the evidence on which the claim is based is flimsy. We reported yesterday on flight PS752: Hours after Iran had launched the missiles a Ukrainian airliner crashed three minutes after it had taken off from Tehran airport. All 176 people on board died. The passengers were mostly from Iran, Canada and the Ukraine. The airplane was a three years old Boeing 737-800 NG operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, the country's flag carrier. Video shows the burning airliner coming down on a glide path. Photos from the crash site show shrapnel like impacts on the fuselage. The evidence is consistent with an uncontained turbine disc rupture but other potential causes can not be ruled out. The incident will be investigated like all other airliner crashes. In the update we added: Higher quality daylight pictures of the crashed Ukrainian plane show that at least some of the "shrapnel impact holes" are not holes at all but are debris or dirt lying on top of the aircraft pieces. Additional pictures also show no evidence of an externally induced event. The Flight Data Recorders of the airplane were found. Iran will download the data from them or, if it does not have that capability, will ask some other country (France?, Germany?) to do so. A preliminary accident report will be published after one month. Newsweek now reports: The Ukrainian flight that crashed just outside the Iranian capital of Tehran was struck by an anti-aircraft missile system, a Pentagon official, a senior U.S. intelligence official and an Iraqi intelligence official told Newsweek. ... The aircraft is believed to have been struck by a Russia-built Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile system, known to NATO as Gauntlet, the three officials told Newsweek. Two Pentagon officials assess that the incident was accidental. Iran's anti-aircraft were likely active following the country's missile attack, which came in response to the U.S. killing last week of Revolutionary Guard Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, sources said. How would an Iraqi intelligence official, likely controlled by the CIA, know what happened in Tehran? The evidence the reporter notes is not very convincing: Images began to circulate Wednesday of what appeared to be fragments of a Tor M-1 missile said to have been found in a suburb southwest of Tehran. Ukraine Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danylov said Thursday in a statement that contact with a Tor M-1 system was among the potential causes for the plane's destruction that his country was looking into. Other potential scenarios involved a collision with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or another flying object, technical malfunction and a terrorist attack. These are the two images in question: The left picture was posted yesterday at 17:50 UTC on Twitter by the Farsi and English tweeting account "Azematt". The second picture was posted by another Farsi and English tweeting account name "Liberalist_30" at 10:15 UTC today. Both pictures show the navigation and steering head section of a 9k331 missile used in the Russian Tor M-1 anti-air system. (The warhead is behind the head section and explodes towards the sides of the missile. This leaves the head section intact.) The Independent had already reported on the images and noted the problems with them: Over the last day, at least two images of what appeared to be missile debris from Russian-made Tor missiles have appeared on social media. The photographs had not previously been uploaded to the internet before yesterday, but attempts to geolocate to the crash site have so far been unsuccessful. They may be unconnected. ... Elliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, the digital investigation group famous for their investigation into the downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, confirmed that the photograph of Tor missile debris were new images as far as the internet was concerned. But writing on Twitter, he suggested independent verification may prove elusive. Theres other examples of this type of debris documented in other conflicts, so theres no way to know this is in Iran, he said. Even a blind chicken might find a corn. For once Higgens is right. There are certainly other pictures of used Tor missile heads available. There are also many Farsi/English Twitter accounts that are operated by the anti-Iranian MEK cult known for its cooperation with U.S. intelligence services. Whoever provided the pictures might have done so to falsely accuse Iran. The Tor-M-1 (video) is a highly-mobile Russian-made system used for medium altitude anti-aircraft tasks. In 2007 Iran bought 29 Tor M-1 units from Russia. The Iranian Tor are operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC). It is likely that there are Tor systems around Tehran and it is certain that they were on high alert in the hours after Iran had launched missiles towards U.S. bases in Iraq. But there were several flights out of Tehran in the early hours of January 8. The departure of flight PS752 was delayed. It took off at 6:12 local time. The airplane climbed out of Tehran airport in a rather straight line. The teams that man the Tor systems around Tehran must be used to the regular radar track of civil planes coming out of Tehran airport. That makes an accidental launch somewhat unlikely. As the Independent also noted: Early theories about the cause of the crash focussed on engine failure. On Wednesday evening, a Reuters report, citing five intelligence officers, said the western intelligence community was minded to believe technical malfunction was the most likely reason. Ukraines embassy in Iran initially sided this way, ruling out the possibility of a missile attack, before hastily removing the statement. The Ukrainian plane had CFM 56 engines. These have in past years experienced uncontained failures. In April 2018 BBC reported: A female passenger died after she was nearly sucked from the cabin of a Southwest Airlines flight travelling from New York to Dallas on Tuesday. ... An initial investigation found evidence of metal fatigue where a fan blade had broken off, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). A similar incident was recorded in 2016 involving a Southwest flight that landed safely in Florida. Uncontained engine failures can damage the tanks of an airplane and can set it on fire. They can also lead to all kinds of other damage. Any plane that survives such an incident is very lucky. It is possible that an Iranian Tor system accidentally brought down the Ukrainian plane. It is also possible that it experienced an engine failure that ruptured the full fuel tanks and set it on fire. Something else like a bird strike may have cause engine damage. There are many other possibilities. We will have to wait for more evidence and for the results of the ongoing investigation to learn what really happened. But there is one thing that we can say for sure. Two pictures of missile heads taken at an unknown location by unknown persons at an unknown time are not sufficient evidence for any accusations against Iran. tech2 News Staff On the slopes of the largest volcano in the world the Mauna Loa in Hawaii 4 January 2020 marked a huge milestone for six scientists, who embarked on their first "mission to Mars." Their expedition isn't a traditional Mars mission but an "analog" astronaut mission, backed by venture capital. It gives scientists and explorers access and resources to study remote locations on Earth that closely resemble the terrain, features and composition of the moon or Mars. The tasks on an analog mission will be carried out just as they are in any other mission in space except for the liftoff and landing, which are simulated inside a mock astronaut module. A mission like this can generate important data about the scientific objectives of the mission, and the preparedness of the astronauts and space agency to take on a mission on another world. The first all-woman Mars mission A team of six analog astronauts are expected to "lift-off" this weekend on the Sensoria I spacecraft, on the inaugural venture of the Sensoria project. The project will involve a series of missions at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) a Mars habitat analog exclusively for researchers. Sensoria I will last from 4 to 18 January, when the crew will resurface from their "Martian" habitat. The Sensoria program has seen previous crews of researchers in the program, the upcoming Mars analog mission in January will be the first HI-SEAS astronaut crew comprising only women. Intentionally supporting women is a big part of the Sensoria missions' vision, Erin Bonilla, the mission's vice commander and medical officer, told Space.com Sensoria is helping them put "women at the forefront of space exploration, which has historically not been the case". A sisterhood, of sorts "It's kind of become this sisterhood that supports one another in the space sector...professionally as well as personally," J J Hastings bioengineer and the mission's commander, told Space.com. This is reportedly the first of many Sensoria missions to come, and while futures crews will consist of different genders, the team intends to keep women in the majority, with a concerted effort to diversify and be inclusive in the selection process. "We, of course, will welcome with open arms our male colleagues, but we believe that women need to be placed at the center of our shared vision for space exploration, that women need to be given a platform for professional development, opportunities for research and training," Hastings added. During the mission, the crew will also participate in a daily dance party to keep spirits high and maintain their human and cultural connections to their lives on Earth. Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Kyslytsia and UN Security Council President, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh held a meeting at the UN Headquarters, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministrys press service reported. The sides focused on the prospects of strengthening relations in economic, trade and political areas, as well as enhancing cooperation between the two countries within the United Nations and other international organizations, having commended the ongoing development of friendly partnership ties between Kyiv and Hanoi, reads the statement. In particular, they agreed to continue working on preparations for Ukraine-Vietnam political consultations in 2020 and organizing the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Vietnam. In addition, Pham Binh Minh expressed sincere condolences over the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran and agreed with Ukraines position on the need for ensuring comprehensive, independent and transparent probe. iy All pesticide and fertiliser records for 2019 should be finalised as soon as possible. Pesticide records must include PCS numbers recorded from the product container. Beware of using pesticide numbers recorded on invoice dockets as an error made on an invoice will not save you from a penalty on your BPS. When taking delivery of pesticides check that the item's delivery matches the invoice. Do a full inventory now of chemicals in store and check their use-by dates. Repeat that inventory every three to four months and keep the record where it can be easily retrieved. Any pesticide with a use-by date that expires this year should be clearly identified and marked for use before it's expiry date. Changes in PCS numbers because of a change in label requirements/permissions may not result in a change in product name. It is important to be aware of the fact that you may have differing use-by dates for the same product name. Take time to complete the Integrated Pest Management as, while it is a record of what you do to minimise pesticide usage, it is also a useful list of strategies to reduce pesticide usage. EU farm-to-fork strategy In spring of this year the European Commission will present a 'Farm-to-Fork Strategy' to provide: Affordable and sustainable food; Tackle climate change; Protect the environment; Preserve biodiversity; Increase organic farming. This will require a significant reduction in our dependency on pesticide and fertiliser usage. All imported food products from non-EU countries will have to comply with the EU's environmental standards. Implementation of the programme will require substantially better farming practices as we will not be allowed to rely on increased pesticide or fertiliser usage to rectify issues created by poor husbandry. It is important that provision is made to allow for limiting factors that exist within different countries and regions. Farmers who are operating in areas with significant constraints will have to be facilitated with usage permissions that may not apply in more favourable conditions. Concerns about and improvements in food and the environment must not be focused totally on farming. The visual appearance and nutritional content of farm food sales has changed very little in recent decades. But food processing and packaging have left most products in retail outlets totally unrecognisable from the produce which left the farm. The emphasis appears to be on increasing sales by improving visual appearance and taste rather than on nutrition. Fertiliser efficiency More efficient use of fertiliser can be achieved on many farms with increased use of soil analysis and close adherence to a well prepared nutrient management plan. The Teagasc finding that up to 88pc of farmed land is deficient in either lime, phosphate or potash is shocking. Rectifying those issues should allow similar or greater yields with lower levels of nitrogen. That will save farmers money while at the same time making food production more sustainable and protect the environment. Every intensive farmer should be soil testing the entire farm every three to four years and correcting issues in individual fields. The first fertiliser application in spring and perhaps the last application in autumn might be used to correct the individual field issues. After that a single programme might be used on the entire block of land. Self-calibrating sprayer and fertiliser spreaders and modern technologies (GPS, section control etc) have a lot to offer in improving both application uniformity and usage reductions. However, manual calibration in the field is a valuable check tool which should not be ignored. The current tranche of TAMS which provides for 40pc grants (60pc for Young Farmers) for eligible equipment closes next Friday (January 10). Approvals will take perhaps two to three months, so if you miss the current deadline you are buying for next season. Finally, fertiliser and pesticide sprays are sensitive to water hardness. Their efficiency can be improved by sourcing soft water, perhaps rainwater harvesting, or by the use of additives to neutralise the water. PJ Phelan is a tillage advisor based in Tipperary and is a member of the ACA and ITCA TEHRAN, Iran, Jan.10 Trend: Iran is studying a black box of crashed Ukrainian plane at Mehrabad Airport laboratory, and if Iran can not extract information, the country will apply to other countries, said Director General of accident bureau in Iran Civil Aviation Organization. "We intend to study the black box of the plane today in the laboratory at Mehrabad Airport to obtain information," said Hassan Rezaie Far, Trend reports Jan. 10 citing IRNA. "In case we aren't able to download data, we will use assistance of the specialists from Russia, Ukraine, France or Canada," he said. "These countries have expressed readiness to download the information of the black box; however, our intention is to extract information with participation of domestic technicians and experts." The official announced that Ukraine has agreed to analyze the black box at Mehrabad Airport. "Two security and expert sessions have been held at Iran Civil Aviation Organization to discuss the issue and the progress of the work," Director General said. The Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight crashed just minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Jan.8, killing all 176 people on board. The Boeing 737-800 was headed for Kiev, where 138 passengers were expected to take a connecting flight to Canada. Its a very rare occasion when something as special as this 1995 Ferrari F50 Berlinetta Prototipo shows up with a for sale sign thats open to the public. The F50 Berlinetta, in general, is special in its own right as Ferrari produced less than 350 examples over the course of its life, but this is, arguably, the most special of all. Keep reading to find out why. This was the car tasked with showing the world just how great the Ferrari F50 really was LISTEN 05:13 The 1995 Ferrari F50 Prototipo is the First, and It Has History For the uninitiated, Prototipo is Italian for prototype, and thats exactly what this F50 Berlinetta is. This F50 Berlinetta was the development model. It was the model that was shown off at auto shows, and it was a media evaluation tool, the latter of which means that this specific car was the basis of any original F50 Berlinetta video or impressions piece. It is the very car that the elite media drove way back in the mid-1990s when Ferrari was trying to spread the word about its latest and greatest. According to the cars listing on Worldwide Auctioneers, it was the very model that was used for Shin Yoskikawas cut-away illustration. It was even sent around the world to be used in the development of scale models like those sold by Burago, Maisto, and Tamiya. Commemorative postage stamps were even based on this specific model. Once F50 Berlinetta Prototipo was ready to retire from its world tour, Ferraris factory tore it down and gave it the attention it deserved a full rebuild. From there, it was sold to Jacques Swaters, a personal friend of Enzo Ferrari and the man that was promised the car from the beginning. Swaters held on to the car for a decade until it was sold off in 2007 to a collector in Burbank, California. From there, it has exchanged several times but, as you can see from the images, it still looks as good as it did the day it rolled out of Ferraris factory the first or second time. Hows that for history? Is the Ferrari F50 Berlinetta Prototipo Different From other F50 Berlinettas? To be honest, theres nothing major that separates this F50 Berlinetta from the rest of the rather small crop that Ferrari Produced. Well, at least not in terms of aesthetics or technology. Its history alone makes it stand out beyond all others, but beneath that, its an F50 Berlinetta through and through. It featured Ferraris monstrous 4.7-liter V-12 that delivered a cool 510 horsepower and 345 pound-feet of torque. Considering there are cars with smaller engines pumping out more horsepower today, that might not sound like a lot, but its was damned impressive for the time and, believe it or not, it still holds its own today. Ferrari F50 specifications Engine 4.7-liter 60-valve V-12 Power (Horsepower) 510 HP @ 8,500 RPM Torque (Pound-feet) 345 LB-FT @ 6,500 RPM 0-60 mph (Seconds) 3.7 seconds Top Speed (MPH) 202 mph With that kind of power on tap, and a curb weight that tipped the scale at just over 2,700 pounds, the Ferrari F50 Berlinetta was able to get to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and topped out at 202 mph. Those figures make it still highly relevant today and even competitive with a lot of what the exotic market still has on offer. Brief History of the Ferrari F50 Berlinetta When this prototype was introduced at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show, Head of Ferrari, at the time Luca di Montezemolo spoke a slogan that has echoed throughout the chambers of time: Fifty years of racing, fifty years of winning, fifty years of hard work. And, thats wasnt a joke. Ferraris racing history aside, all that experience went into the F50. As a successor to the Ferrari F40, the F50 naturally had to be better, but in this case, the F50 took all Ferraris F1 know-how and condensed it into street-legal form. Its construction featured a lightweight carbon fiber tub, wishbone suspension at all four corners, and that sculpted bodywork was developed exclusively inside a wind tunnel. Thats why the F50 is nowhere near as aggressive as the F40 it was designed to be as aerodynamic as possible and light. Of course, thats no surprise as the early and mid-1990s served as a temporal home for other great exotics like the McLaren F1 and Lamborghini Diablo VT. A total of 349 examples of the Ferrari F50 Berlinetta were produced over the course of a couple of years, and this prototype is considered to be the most important road-legal F50 in existence. At one time it was even pushed to the max by drivers like Niki Lauda and Scuderia drivers like Gerhard Berger and test driver Dario Benuzzi. All documentation comes with this example when it crosses the auction block and its legitimacy is intact. No pricing estimate for it has been published, but a 1995 Ferrari F50 was sold by RM Auctions back in 2013 in Monterey at the price of $1.7 million and a 1997 model sold for less than half, $758,000, in 2013 at Villa Erba, somewhat close to the Ferrari factory. Given the very nature of this prototype, expect it to command at least $2 million at the auction block if not more. New Delhi: A day after the modest 5 per cent growth estimates by the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought to engage with the people directly on their demands, aspirations and wishes from the Union Budget in reaching towards developmental growth. "The Union Budget represents the aspirations of 130 crore Indians and lays out the path towards India's development. I invite you all to share your ideas and suggestions for this year's Budget on MyGov", Modi tweeted. He also tagged the Finance Ministry -- "FinMinIndia looks forward to your suggestions for the #UnionBudget2020 which will be presented in the Parliament in the upcoming session," he said. Share your valuable ideas in the field of #Farmers, #Education & others on https://www.mygov.in/group-issue/inviting-ideas-and-suggestions-union-budget-2020-2021/ a @nsitharaman @nsitharamanoffc @ianuragthakur. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had already asked for public views on the budget earlier. Modi had a brainstorming session with the top 11 industry captains including Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani this week on economic revival and demand growth. The 5 per cent growth projection is the 11-year low. The Budget is likely to be presented on February 1, though date has not been announced yet. Gross domestic product is estimated to grow 5.0 per cent in 2019-20, slower than the 6.8 per cent growth of 2018-19, the Ministry of Statistics said in a statement. Trump: I have my suspicions about Iran plane crash Trump said Thursday he doesnt believe that mechanical failure caused a Ukrainian jet to crash and suggested that something very terrible happened. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the deadly crash of a Ukrainian plane could have been a mistake, adding that he had a terrible feeling about the downed airliner but offering no evidence. "SOMEBODY COULD HAVE MADE A MISTAKE" "I personally dont even think thats even a question as to whether the crash was caused by mechanical failure, It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood. Somebody could have made a mistake," Trump told reporters at a the White House, adding that he had suspicions about the crash but giving no other details. Iran on Friday denied being responsible for the downing of a Ukraine International Airlines jet that crashed Wednesday in Tehran, calling the allegation a lie and psychological operation of the US, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. IRAN HAD DENIED THE ALLEGATIONS In a statement, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said a committee in charge of investigating the incident has been formed on the basis of regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Rabiei said the committee will investigate the crash immediately and transparently with the participation of experts from relevant countries. He stressed that a Ukrainian representative is already in Iran to examine the planes black box. "We also welcome the presence of the relevant states whose nationals were killed in the bitter incident in the investigation process," he added. Rabiei said the allegation that the plane was hit by Iranian missiles is a calculated move and psychological operation. (TNS) The Indiana Department of Education announced that 24 school districts across the state were granted money to support science, technology, engineering and math programs.The K-12 STEM Acceleration Grants are given to boost current STEM education, as well as implement new curricula grounded in problem/project-based or inquiry-based pedagogy, according to a news release. The money can also be used for teacher training and support.Locally, the South Bend Community School Corp. will receive $52,500, School City of Mishawaka will receive $48,432 and the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation will receive $26,569.Caity Stockstell, SCMs director of teaching and learning, said this is the second time the school district has been awarded the grant since its establishment by the IDOE.This is a reflection of the good work that happens every day in Mishawaka school classrooms, Stockstell said Wednesday during SCMs school board meeting.One unique feature of our grant is our focus on community partnerships and early career exposure, Stockstell told the board, noting that the Mishawaka Parks Department, Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library and the Civil Air Patrol helped district officials in grant writing. What you will expect to see is a continued implementation of hands-on inquiry learning that is not only exciting and engaging, but connects to future career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math through our community partners.Last month, more than 30 Indiana districts received similar funding in a first round of STEM Acceleration Grants. The IDOE opened a second round of grant applications after additional funding was available for the 2019-20 school year.A STEM education is vital to preparing our students for an ever-changing technological global economy, State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick said in a news release. I am happy to have the opportunity to fund additional programs and commend our awarded schools for their commitment and dedication to equipping students with the 21st century skills necessary to thrive and be successful. Published on: 10 January 2020 A new book co-edited by an academic from Queen Mary University of London provides an interdisciplinary academic analysis of the 2018 referendum which overturned Irelands near-total abortion ban. A new book co-edited by an academic from Queen Mary University of London provides an interdisciplinary academic analysis of the 2018 referendum which overturned Irelands near-total abortion ban. The 2018 referendum in the Republic of Ireland on abortion is said to be one of the most remarkable political events of recent times. Prior to the referendum, Ireland had some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe because its constitution contained a near-complete ban. The campaign to repeal this constitution amendment signalled a major milestone in the transformation of Irish society. After Repeal: Rethinking Abortion Politics explores the campaign and the implications of the referendum result for politics, identity and culture today. It sheds light on the experience of campaigning and the consequences of the result for other territories. A range of perspectives After Repeal brings together a range of perspectives from scholars and activists, both inside and outside Ireland, to explore a variety of themes which arose as a result of the referendum. The volumes chapters cross disciplines to offer many scholar-activist perspectives. This includes analysis of the political and legal forces that shaped the referendum, including the Citizens Assembly. Chapters written by campaigners reflect on their experiences of speaking to voters on the doorstep, in urban and rural Ireland, in the news and media, as well as social media. Historians and cultural scholars contribute chapters on what the repeal of the 8th amendment means for changing Ireland today. Finally, chapters from outside Ireland ask what the referendum might tell us about abortion reform in other countries including Poland and Northern Ireland. Ireland and beyond Dr Sydney Calkin, Lecturer in Geography at Queen Mary, and co-editor of the work said: The 8th amendment referendum captured international attention because it showed the power of social movements to achieve progressive change. A little over 1.5 years since that referendum, our book reflects on how the result was achieved and what it means for Ireland. The contributors to this book bring unique experience as scholars and activists who saw the referendum from the ground and now reflect on its impact inside Ireland and beyond. Our book covers these complex issues in a way that will be of interest to general readers, students, activists, and academics who care about womens rights and reproductive freedom. Abortion continues to be a hot political issue, in the UK, Ireland, USA, and well beyond. After Repeal: Rethinking Abortion Politics helps readers to understand how Irish campaigners and voters changed the status quo and what lessons from the Irish experience might be learned in other places. More information: Donald Trump sets the stage for his 2020 campaign in Toledo. The trade war has cost businesses in Flyover states $4.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs. And Michigan and Wisconsin grip with what to do about water contamination. Check-in Trumps truth: Republican President Donald Trump was in Toledo, Ohio, for a campaign rally last night, claiming that Ohio had its best year economically in 2019, even as the state lost jobs, I write for cleveland.com. Trump also aggressively defended his decision to order the drone strike that took down an Iranian general. Tariff-ying: The trade war has cost businesses, farmers and manufacturers in Flyover states nearly $4.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs, according to new figures released by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland. Exports in Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa have fallen by at least 20% while Ohios fell by 19%, Michigans by 15% and Pennsylvanias by 10%. Recess is canceled: Despite some worrying signs in recent months, economists are confident Michigan will not slip into a recession this year, MLives Malachi Barrett reports. The weeks-long General Motors-UAW strike had worried some last fall, but labor force participation and wages are increasing. However, the manufacturing sector is contracting and tariffs are stifling some businesses. Will this be on the test? Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, laid out seven priorities for the Republican-controlled legislature to address this year deeming it homework for them which led to the latest bickering match between Evers, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, both Republicans. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinels Patrick Marley and Laura Schulte report, Fitzgerald and Vos didnt take kindly to Evers, a former teacher, labeling the issues as homework, with Fitzgerald calling the list condescending. Lucky number seven: So, what are the issues that led to the latest fight? Insulin pricing, property tax assessments, PFAS, sex trafficking, sexual assault kit trafficking, homelessness and special elections. Restricted area: More than 100 people turned out to the first public hearing in Michigan aimed at gathering information on setting levels for some types of PFAS in drinking water, MLives Paula Gardner reports. The forever chemicals have been linked to a litany of health problems. The state is looking to set potentially stricter standards than the federally unenforceable standards. Whats the issue? I just want to say my hats off to the Des Moines Registers political team for all the hard work they do making sense of the caucus. Remember, as the first state to vote, they have to cover all of the candidates, not just a pared down list between one Republican and one Democrat. The latest useful tool theyve created is their one-stop page for what the candidates are saying about multiple issues, including health care, immigration, the economy and climate change. Get hyped: A new Iowa Poll from the Des Moines Register is coming out Friday. Poll worker: Democrats got some welcome results from a recent poll in Michigan, one of the most important 2020 swing states. Per the Detroit News Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger, both former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg polled significantly better than Trump in a hypothetical matchup. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg also bested the president, though all within the margin of error. Meanwhile, Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, held a small lead over Republican challenger John James in what might be the most high-profile Senate race in the country, the News Leonard Fleming reports. But... A majority of voters in the poll said they dont support impeaching Trump, per LeBlanc. Both the number of people who supported impeachment and opposed impeachment went down from a similar survey in May 2019. Arrivals/Departures President Donald Trump was in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, per cleveland.com. Vice President Mike Pence joined him. Author Marianne Williamson was in Des Moines on Thursday, per the campaign. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey was in North Liberty and Mount Vernon, Iowa, on Thursday, per the campaign. Former Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts was in Sioux City, Denison and Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, per the Des Moines Registers candidate tracker. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont will be in Nevada and Perry, Iowa, on Friday, per the campaign. Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland will be in Boone and Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, per the campaign. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota will be in Cedar Rapids and Ottumwa, Iowa, on Friday, per the campaign. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will be in Mason City, Iowa, on Saturday, per the campaign. Sanders will be in Newton and Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday, per the campaign. Klobuchar will be in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, per the campaign. Sanders will be in Davenport and Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday, per the campaign. Klobuchar will be in Perry, Iowa, on Sunday, per the campaign. Warren will be in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Sunday, per the campaign. Delaney will be in Davenport and Muscatine, Iowa, on Sunday, per the campaign. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be in Des Moines on Sunday, per the campaign. Democratic presidential hopefuls will be on stage in Des Moines on Jan. 14 for the final debate before the Iowa caucus, per the Des Moines Register. CNNs Wolf Blitzer and Abby Phillip and the Des Moines Registers Brianne Pfannenstiel will moderate. Trump will be in Milwaukee on Jan. 14 to hold a competing rally, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Trump is expected to hold a re-election event in Iowa before the Feb. 3 caucus, per The Wall Street Journal. The Indiana Senate is considering mandating In God We Trust in all Indiana classrooms, per the Northwest Indiana Times. Locals in Dubuque, Iowa, just want to go to the bar without bumping into a presidential candidate, per the Washington Post. This Is Your Captain Speaking I wish I would have dropped his ass like a sack of flour. I would have looked a lot cooler At least I only hit one dude. (Now) hell have to go to the hospital every time he sneezes to get his eye put back in. -Dallas Frazier, a 30-year-old Cincinnati man, who was convicted of assaulting a protester outside an Aug. 1 Trump rally in Cincinnati. Fraziers quote came from one of multiple jail calls he made, which were played during the trial. Enjoying The Flyover? Be sure and subscribe here. Email Seth at SRichardson@cleveland.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SethARichardson. The death of a 25-year-old Sikh man in Pakistan has turned out to be a "contract killing", according to the police, who have arrested her fiancee, who did not want to marry him. On Saturday, Parvinder Singh was shot dead by unknown gunmen weeks before his marriage in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. His killing drew sharp condemnation from India which demanded exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of the crime. The blind murder case of Singh has been traced and his 18-year-old fiancee Prem Kumari has been arrested for her alleged involvement in plotting the murder, police said. A senior security official told The Express Tribune on Thursday that it was a "contract killing" paid for by his fiancee, Prem Kumari, who didn't want to marry Singh, who lived in the remote Shangla district of the province. "She promised the hitmen Rs 700,000 for his murder," the official added. "Part of the committed money was paid in advance, while the rest had to be paid after the murder." The investigation team led by Peshawar's capital city police officer cracked the blind murder case after four days of arduous investigations in which officials from other investigative and intelligence agencies also provided valuable clues, the report said. Their marriage was fixed for January 28. The police in its initial report stated that Singh and Prem loved each other and their engagement was done with their consent and both even started preparations for their marriage. However, Prem later started friendship with a Muslim boy who happened to be the brother of her friend. The police informed that Prem called Singh to Mardan and took him to a home where Prem's friend with other accomplices killed Singh. The killers later shifted the body of Singh from Mardan to Peshawar and threw it in the open fields near Chamakani, a rural area of Peshawar district where police found the body on January 5. Prem even agreed to convert to marry the Muslim friend, police said, adding that they are also trying to arrest other accused involved in this murder case. Prem's family lives in Mohallah Sherdad Abad Mardan district. Her father is a Hindu and mother is a Sikh. Singh had returned to Pakistan after spending working in Malaysia for six years. The murder took place a day after a mob attacked Gurdwara Nankana Sahib where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev was born. India on Sunday strongly condemned the "targeted killing" of the minority Sikh community member in Peshawar. Minorities in the Muslim-majority Pakistan make up some two per cent of the country's total population. Pakistan has witnessed violence against religious minorities in the past as al-Qaeda and Taliban-led militants regularly target Christian, Sikhs, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shiite communities in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 'The Supreme Court has laid out some very important principles.' 'Let us see if the government will try to circumvent it and subvert the very essence of these principles or if it will comply with the order in the right spirit.' Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com IMAGE: A protest underway in the Kashmir valley. Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor, Kashmir Times, was one of the petitioners whose plea to relax curbs on the Internet, mobile and landline connectivity and freedom on the movement of journalists and media persons in Jammu and Kashmir was heard by the Supreme Court on Friday, January 10. The fearless journalist tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com what she thinks of the apex court order. The Supreme Court verdict, looking at whatever is out in the public domain, has revived some hope of normalcy returning to Jammu and Kashmir. There are three significant points in the judgment: One, it says access to the Internet is a Fundamental Right under Article 19 of the Constitution and that the State cannot curb this right indefinitely. And that you cannot use this arbitrary power to curtail these rights and it must bring into the public domain the reasons. And they have to be valid reasons for shutting off the Internet or other communication channels. In terms of principles, these basic points that the Supreme Court have made are very, very, significant and will have a bearing on the future. However, right now, it has not given any immediate relief to the media or to us, because the government has been asked to review the order within a week. So it may take some more time to see whether this translates into relief for us. On the challenges faced It has been five months, so there has been a lot of delay in this verdict. During these five months, the kind of challenges the media has faced in Jammu and Kashmir are immense and unimaginable. The kind of curbs we have been facing are extremely disproportionate. Continuing to operate despite these challenges has virtually led to the throttling of the media in Jammu and Kashmir. We have faced circulation issues, financial issues; we haven't been able to publish our Srinagar edition for a long time. And because of the Internet shutdown and because there is only one little facility available, which is set up by the government for mediapersons to operate, where their entire work is under surveillance, it has led to fear and intimidation in the minds of mediapersons and completely disabled them from operating freely. While some newspapers have been publishing since September and October (the curbs were imposed on August 5, 2019, when the Centre abrogated the special powers bestowed on the state of Jammu and Kashmir by Article 370), but the kind of content that is coming in the newspapers is not much. The only facilitation centre was available in Srinagar while in the districts correspondents had no connectivity, not even in Jammu region. The five districts (in the Kashmir valley) were impacted very badly, but even in Jammu region, and other districts the Internet was available only partially. It did impact our working in a huge, huge, way. In some ways, we do feel that the delay in justice is denial of justice. The media has suffered heavy losses and I don't know who is going to compensate us for this. On the economic losses suffered by the media Newspapers are not being published; even if they were published, the circulation mechanisms have not picked up; there were restrictions (over circulation), especially in the rural areas. Circulation was hit, financial losses were incurred because government advertisements were stopped. From the day I filed the petition in the Supreme Court, Kashmir Times was deprived of advertisements by the state government. We are all staring at massive losses. On the review by the government The Supreme Court has asked the government to review its order of curbs on the media, curbing the use of Internet. Let us see what they do about it. The Supreme Court has laid out some very important principles. Let us see if the government will try to circumvent it and subvert the very essence of these principles or if it will comply with the order in the right spirit. Will there be a restoration of the Internet within a week or a little later? I don't know. If you go Constitutionally, and if you go by the Supreme Court verdict, then they should (restore the Internet). Right now, there will be no change in the ground situation. On publishing Kashmir Times We started publishing (Kashmir Times) from October 11, 2019. That is after some restrictions were removed. Landlines were restored almost after a month (since August 5). Mobile connectivity actually started on October 13, two days after we started (publishing Kashmir Times). We have two editions and our headquarters is in Jammu. To transfer the pages, the opinion pages and comment pages is a task. We are the only English paper publishing editorials regularly, commenting on what was happening. We did trials for 10, 15 days before actually starting to print the paper. The Internet was erratic; the media facilitation centre at that point in time was shut down before 9 pm. So for the first two weeks, we were putting the paper together by 8.30 pm. Connectivity was so erratic that one day they (our correspondents) could file stories and the next day we couldn't get any access. There were so many people waiting for the few computers available there (at the media facilitation centre in Srinagar). Luckily, what worked in our favour was as soon as we started publishing, mobile connectivity -- post-paid mobile connectivity -- was restored. And that was something to look forward to because if you don't have the Internet, you still have mobile connectivity. You can remain in touch and that helps a little. [January 10, 2020] Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. Signs Lease for Future Headquarters in the Heart of Downtown Kansas City, MO Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., (NYSE: WDR) today announced the culmination of its new headquarters location search by signing a lease for an innovative, distinctive and sustainably-designed building within an enhanced enterprise zone in the heart of downtown Kansas City, MO. Located at 1400 Baltimore Avenue, the building is anticipated to be 18 stories with approximately 260,000 square-feet, bringing a significant downtown capital investment, construction jobs to complete the build, and the added economic impact of approximately 1,000 high-quality positions based downtown. "Our foremost goal is a location that allows us to build an environment that accommodates the workforce of tomorrow and enables us to attract and retain top talent to accelerate our growth strategy. This will benefit our clients, employees, affiliated advisors, shareholders and the Kansas City community," said Philip J. Sanders, CEO of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. "This site offers the opportunity to showcase downtown Kansas City to the thousands of visitors to our company, including management teams from major corporations across the country. We were founded in Kansas City, MO, in 1937, and while this allows us to return to our roots, we look forward to continuing to be a strong, fully engaged partner to both the downtown and broader Kansas City community." Waddell & Reed is partnering with local firms on the project: Burns & McDonnell on exterior design and construction, and HOK on the interior space. With an environmental, social, governance (ESG) focus in mind, the building design will pursue LEED efficiency (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and FitwelSM Health certifications in recognition of the company's sustainability initiatives. Renderings show that the planned structure features an iconic, state-of-the-art design, located immediately east of the Kansas City Convention Center in the heart of the business district. The office tower will sit atop a parking garage offering spaces that would be available for public parking during off-business hours. Highlights of the build-to-suit design include: Overall exterior and interior design that creates a full brand experience and celebrates the Company's culture by reinforcing the Company's purpose, vision and core values; A unique employee experience including a sky/rooftop terrace level that is anticipated to include a multi-purpose training and conference center, a modern, full-service cafe and multiple outdoor terraces with distinctive views of Kansas City; An exterior that prvides visual interest using modern finishes and timeless materials, accenting the neighborhood; Exterior spaces for outdoor meetings and collaboration and break areas with natural plantings to align with Waddell & Reed Financial's sustainability and wellness initiatives; More than 150 collaboration spaces, including outdoor balconies on every floor, that promote cross-department interaction, accommodate diverse work styles and ensure a culture of belonging; Technology capabilities that reflect the firm's ongoing transformation, agility and efficiency initiatives, facilitating the needs and wants of the future workforce; Energy, water and climate-control efficiency standards, a modern fitness center, ergonomic sit-to-stand desks for all employees, among many other steps that allow pursuit of the LEED V4 Gold Certification and FitwelSM Health certifications mentioned above; Free garage parking for employees, featuring bicycle storage and electric car charging stations. "From our very first day in 1937, our Company has always looked ahead intentionally with an unwavering commitment to client service at the heart of every decision. We have made significant progress on improving our operational business model over the past two years. Now we are in a position to focus on our long-term vision and growth strategy. This move will serve as a key enabler of this strategy and better position our organization for growth opportunities to achieve that long-term vision and strategy," said Sanders. About Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. Through its subsidiaries, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. has provided investment management and wealth management services to clients throughout the United States since 1937. Today, we distribute our investment products through the unaffiliated channel under the Ivy Investments brand (encompassing broker/dealer, retirement, and registered investment advisors), our wealth management channel (through independent financial advisors), and our institutional channel (including defined benefit plans, pension plans, endowments and subadvisory relationships). For more information, visit ir.waddell.com. Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries have approximately 1,000 employees in the Kansas City metro area. The company was founded in 1937 in Kansas City, MO, with its original headquarters at 9th Street and Baltimore. It moved to Crown Center in the 1970s and then to its current Overland Park campus in 1990. IVY INVESTMENTSSM refers to the investment management and investment advisory services offered by Ivy Investment Management Company, the financial services offered by Ivy Distributors, Inc., a FINRA member broker dealer and the distributor of the IVY FUNDS mutual funds and IVY VARIABLE INSURANCE PORTFOLIOS, and the financial services offered by their affiliates. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which reflect the current views and assumptions of management with respect to future events regarding our business and industry in general. These forward-looking statements include all statements, other than statements of historical fact, regarding our business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations, including statements with respect to organic and inorganic growth and the transformation of our business. These statements are generally identified by the use of such words as "will," "continue," "anticipated," "intent," and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking information provided by us or on our behalf is not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to those disclosed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with other cautionary statements included in this and other reports and filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the information in Item 1 "Business" of Part I and Item 7 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of Part II to our Annual Report on Form 10- K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and as updated in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the year ending December 31, 2019. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we undertake no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200110005515/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A former British consulate employee who was detained and allegedly tortured in China over Britain's role in Hong Kong anti-government protests has cut ties with his family to avoid them being harassed and threatened, the man has revealed. Simon Cheng Man-kit's case triggered a diplomatic row between London and Beijing at a time when relations were already strained by the massive pro-democracy demonstrations that have wracked the former British colony for months. 'I hope they can live in tranquility and peace, without external harassment and threat,' the 29-year-old man said in a statement posted on his Facebook page Thursday night. 'What I do and say solely represents myself, it is not relevant to my family and relatives,' added Cheng, who worked at the consulate in Hong Kong until late 2019 and is currently in exile. Simon Cheng, a Hong Kong citizen, told BBC that he was shackled to a steel 'tiger chair', hung spread-eagled on a 'steep X-Cross' and beaten while being detained by police in Shenzhen Cheng was held for 15 days by mainland Chinese police who said he had solicited prostitutes He did not elaborate on the 'harassment' and did not reply to requests for further comment. In August last year Cheng, a Hong Kong citizen, disappeared while on a business trip to the neighbouring Chinese city of Shenzhen. Cheng said he was tortured and interrogated by Chinese secret police while he was detained there for 15 days. Chinese police released footage to show Cheng 'soliciting prostitutes and making confessions' Mr Cheng, 29, claimed he had been tortured and accused of spying for Britain by Chinese police. He was detained in August after travelling from his hometown Hong Kong to Shenzhen Police in Shenzhen said Cheng had been found guilty of soliciting prostitutes - allegation the man and his family have denied. Chinese state media also released footage they claimed showed Cheng going to a 'club' and making confessions. Cheng said he got a massage for relaxation on the day he was reported missing. Since leaving his job at the consulate, Cheng has lived in self-exile in Britain where he has been campaigning for democracy in Hong Kong. In November, Cheng said during his time in detention he was shackled, beaten, forced to stand for long hours and deprived of sleep by Chinese secret police, who interrogated him about what role Britain played in the Hong Kong unrest. Cheng said he was tortured by Chinese secret police, who interrogated him about what role Britain played in the Hong Kong unrest. In the picture above, thousands of protesters fill a street of Hong Kong to the brim during a pro-democracy demonstration on June 16 last year The protests, which were triggered by a proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China, have morphed into a wider movement for democratic freedoms and against China's tightening control over Hong Kong. Pictured above, riot police guard a street of Hong Kong on January 1 Beijing and Hong Kong have accused 'foreign forces' of being behind the movement The protests, which were triggered by a proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China, have morphed into a wider movement for democratic freedoms and against China's tightening control over Hong Kong. Both the governments in Beijing and Hong Kong have accused 'foreign forces' of being behind the movement. While he was in detention, Cheng said he was asked if he knew anyone who worked for British intelligence agencies, what part he had played in protests and what he knew about mainland citizens who had joined the demonstrations. Beijing has faced criticism in the past for detaining foreign nationals amid ongoing diplomatic spats, and for accusing dissidents or activists of sex crimes. God's Hand on America: Divine Providence in the Modern Era By Michael Medved Crown Forum. 416 pp. $30 --- The essayist and editor Joseph Epstein once observed that the 1960s "are something of a political Rorschach test. Tell me what you think of that period and I shall tell you what your politics are." The rule certainly applies to the author, radio host and self-declared former liberal Michael Medved. Look no further than his 2004 political conversion autobiography, "Right Turns," which has a chapter titled: "The 1960s Counterculture Promoted Stupidity and Self-Destruction." Over the years, Medved has variously denounced affirmative action as unfair and lamented the widespread decline in traditional values and the downward trend of modern universities. Fittingly, Medved has come to see America's pre-1960s history as a kind of antidote to the moral torpor, self-indulgence and many sins of the present. In his new book, "God's Hand on America: Divine Providence in the Modern Era," Medved explores U.S. history in search of divine intervention in the progress of the nation. He finds that what might look like happy accidents or random occurrences to some, are, in his eyes, quite simply signs of heavenly favor. America is not just exceptional, it is God's chosen nation. Other providentialist popularizers have focused on God and country, among them the Christian nationalist David Barton and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. But Medved is a more careful and thoughtful writer. His prose, whatever one thinks of the message, brings worrying scenes and critical ordeals from America's past to life. Medved, who has spent time writing for film and television, demonstrates his narrative skills. His cinematic chapters take us to moments in the Civil War, the westward expansion, World War II and the modern civil rights movement. Medved recounts key episodes in the lives of Lincoln's secretary of state, William H. Seward; Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt; Prime Minister Winston Churchill; and Martin Luther King Jr., among others. Medved takes special interest in how fate or providence operated for the good of the country. That mostly has to do with how esteemed figures narrowly escaped death. With every bullet that didn't hit an intended target and every carriage or car accident that did not end in a fatality, he sees the hand of God. Medved's brand of civil religion is most concerned with this protective aspect of divine favor. The formula usually goes: If X had died, then X could not have accomplished Y. Had Seward's would-be assassin killed him in 1865, for example, Seward would not have negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Without that divine protection, Medved claims, the Cold War would have turned out quite differently. Medved focuses on the signs and wonders of national righteousness. A giant cross that was once clearly outlined by nature on the side of a mountain in the Rockies, Medved writes, "served as the country's ongoing reminder of an unbroken covenant." The cross, first photographed in the 1870s, fell victim to the elements during the 20th century. Medved sees special significance in the decline of the cross. He writes that the "message from the mountainside seemed unmistakable: just as some vast power had once carved a benediction, that identical force now engraved a warning of collapse and confusion." Other signs of the divine were more immediate. For example, Teddy Roosevelt's folded speech and glasses case, which slowed a gunman's bullet in 1912, could not have been a stroke of luck, Medved insists. It's one thing to appreciate how religion or ideas about providence inspired Americans in the 1860s or the 1890s. It's quite something else to say that modern Americans should read the distant past as confirmation of the nation's divine appointment. Medved wonders why Americans are not more thankful "for winning life's lottery through your American birth or upbringing." America being blessed by God, he writes, may defy "the ordinary odds but conforms to our lived experience." That perspective, while full of hope and optimism, amounts to a selective reading of the past. It ignores a large swath of the U.S. population such as African Americans and Native Americans whose lived experience often has not felt like winning a lottery. Medved's style of popular conservative history is in large measure defined by what he leaves out. The shameful, racist, violent aspects of the American narrative are swept away or excused. He gives little attention to the treatment of Native Americans, the crucial role slavery played in the country's development, wars of imperial expansion and colonial acquisition, and the horrors and follies of the Vietnam and Iraq wars. In his celebration of the glories of the Transcontinental Railroad, Medved makes little or no room for discussion of the exploitation of workers, unfair and criminal business practices, the destruction of wildlife and natural habitats, or discrimination against Chinese immigrants. Those, too, are essential parts of the story. The racist Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned immigration of Chinese laborers, is not even mentioned. How should modern Americans read these episodes, which earlier Americans explained and justified in explicitly religious terms? Americans today are sharply divided along partisan lines, Medved acknowledges. But he sees hope in his version of the country's past. "Despite disillusionment over present predicaments," he asserts, "Americans retain an instinctive affinity for the old faith in providential protection, and an honest examination of our history ought to make the case for its reclamation." Medved hopes his book will reach a wide audience and help bridge the yawning gaps that mark our current political landscape. Yet, for good or ill, the book will mostly appeal to listeners of right-wing radio and viewers of Fox News. In a book that focuses so much attention on the singular importance of American presidents, Medved plays down Donald Trump's significance in the direction of the United States. He is dispirited by the nation's polarization, which "both sides impute to a single flawed and fascinating human being."In Medved's view, Americans have placed too much emphasis on Trump. "In truth," he writes, "Donald Trump can neither solely save nor single-handedly savage the most powerful nation on Earth." We live in an era when America is increasingly isolated from other countries and when world leaders are literally laughing at the president. Perhaps what's needed is greater humility and the courage to address the many flaws of the nation. In his "Notes of a Native Son," James Baldwin declared, "I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." As Baldwin knew, American history is filled with stories of triumph and heroism, but it is also marked by tragedy, greed and an arrogance that came with a sense of divine favor. We need more history books that match that complicated and messy reality. --- Stephens is a professor of American and British studies at the University of Oslo. BOISE Showing no parochialism or favoritism, a roomful of business leaders and legislators applauded the presidents of Idahos four-year institutions. But the crowd saved its most robust applause for a mention of a statewide tuition freeze. It is the right thing to do, said Idaho State University President Kevin Satterlee, during a Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce legislative forum Thursday. This really came out of the fact that among the four of us there is a genuine commitment to the needs of our students. Satterlee shared the stage with Boise State University President Marlene Tromp, University of Idaho President C. Scott Green and Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton, to discuss the future of higher education in Idaho. The forum and the 2020 legislative session comes at a transitional time for higher education in Idaho. All four presidents are new; Satterlee and Pemberton were hired in 2018 and Tromp and Green were hired in 2019. The four institutions also face budget cuts some cuts ordered by Gov. Brad Little, and deeper cuts designed to erase a $14 million shortfall at the U of I. Meanwhile, the institutions agreed to freeze in-state undergraduate tuition next year, for perhaps the first time in state history. That means the institutions will do without millions of dollars they would ordinarily collect from tuition hikes; for 2019-20, they will receive $16 million from tuition increases. During a brief question-and-answer session, the presidents focused instead on other challenges and opportunities. Green said universities have to fill a unique niche or provide a low-cost option or risk being left behind. The challenge could be even more acute in Idaho, as schools in other states will look to recruit high school graduates from a growing state. Were all going to be fighting for a smaller pool (of students). Tromp sees an opportunity in one piece of an otherwise flat budget request from Little: $1 million to develop a cybersecurity program at Boise State, U of I and ISU. Tromp hopes the program could make Idaho a national cybersecurity leader, creating clean industry for small towns across Idaho. Pemberton said Lewis-Clark is already serving Idahos needs; 80 percent of its students come from Idaho and 60 percent of its graduates stay here. But Pemberton urged business leaders to work more closely with her college, helping to align academic programs with a changing economy. Thursdays forum was a scene-setter of sorts for the presidents. They will be back in two weeks for Education Week at the Statehouse, speaking to the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee and the Legislatures education committees. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WTF?! There is a bill on the floor of the Vermont General Assembly that looks to ban minors under 21 years of age from owning or even possessing a cell phone. Violators could be fined up to $1,000 or imprisoned for up to a year. However, before you start freaking out, you should know it is not a bill that was meant to be passed. A new bill in Vermont proposes banning the use of cell phones by minors. The proposed legislation, S.212, would forbid anyone under 21 from possessing or using a cell phone, and carries penalties of up to one year in prison and/or a $1,000 fine. The legislation points out the detrimental effects of teenaged cell phone use, including cyberbullying and distracted driving. However, lawmakers are not likely to pass the bill. Democratic State Senator John Rodgers, who introduced the legislation, told local news outlet Times Argus that he knows it will be voted down. I have no delusions that its going to pass, the senator said. I wouldnt probably vote for it myself. I have no delusions that its going to pass. I wouldnt probably vote for it myself. He claims he brought it to the floor it to make a point aimed at other legislative measures recently passed by the assembly. Rodgers, unlike many of his fellow Vermont democratic colleagues, is a vehement supporter of the Second Amendment. [The Legislature] seems bent on taking away our Second Amendment rights, he said. His bill is more or less a protest statement to that trend. In 2018, the state passed a law banning anyone under 21 from buying a firearm unless they have passed a hunter safety course, which Rodgers opposed. Even the language of S.212 sarcastically bashes the gun ban. In light of the dangerous and life-threatening consequences of cellphone use by young people, the short, two-page bill reads. It is clear that persons under 21 years of age are not developmentally mature enough to safely possess them, just as the General Assembly has concluded that persons under 21 years of age are not mature enough to possess firearms, smoke cigarettes or consume alcohol. The bill also mentions suicide prevention, which was a talking point used in another gun control proposal that imposed a 24-hour waiting period on gun sales. That legislation passed in the assembly, but Governor Phil Scott vetoed it. US Killed Soleimani Because Iran Planned to Blow Up US Embassy - Trump Sputnik News 19:59 09.01.2020(updated 20:53 09.01.2020) The day before, US President Donald Trump averted fears of World War 3 following Iran's missile attack on US targets in Iraq, pledging to introduce another round of anti-Iranian sanctions instead. The United States killed Iran Revolutionary Guards Quds chief Qasem Soleimani to halt Iranian plans to blow up the US Embassy in Baghdad, President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday. "We caught a total monster and we took him out and that should have happened a long time ago. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy," Trump said. Speaking further, the American president announced that the US has put a new round of anti-Iran sanction in effect. "It's already been done. We've increased them. They were very severe, but now it's increased substantially," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I just approved it a little while ago with Treasury." Tensions between the US and Iran spiked earlier in the week after Tehran targeted the American military at the Ayn al-Asad Air Base and a facility in Erbil in Iraq in response to the assassination of the IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. A day after the attack the US president made no mention of an imminent military response to Iran's missile strikes, pledging a fresh wave of sanctions instead and offering a diplomatic option to defuse regional tensions in his highly-anticipated address. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked the U.S. secretary of state to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal from Iraq, his office said Friday, signaling his insistence on ending the U.S. military presence despite recent moves to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the U.S. Adel Abdul-Mahdi made the request in a telephone call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday night, his office said in a statement. He also told Pompeo that recent U.S. strikes in Iraq were an unacceptable breach of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of the two countries' security agreements. The Iraqi leader asked Pompeo to "send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliament's resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq," according to the statement. "The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements," the statement added. Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution to oust U.S. troops last Sunday, following the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad's airport. The non-binding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi, addressing lawmakers at the time, called for "urgent measures" to ensure the removal of the troops. Speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal and appeared to give the U.S. time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure. Still, the comments suggested he was standing by the push for the American forces to go despite recent signals toward de-escalation between Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death with a barrage of missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where U.S. troops are based but caused no casualties. There are some 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counter-parts to fight the Islamic State group. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of a resurgence amid the political turmoil. The U.S. State Department acknowledged that Pompeo had called Abdul-Mahdi but made no mention of U.S. troops in a readout of the call released late Thursday. Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo reiterated the United States' condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes on the two bases and underscored that President Donald Trump "has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests." (Natural News) The Canadian newspaper Ottawa Citizen is celebrating the legalization of assisted suicide in Canada because now there are a whole lot more organs and tissues available for desperate patients. Because Ontarios transplant waiting list is usually around 1,600 patients at any given time, according to the paper, this abundance of new organs and tissues is decreasing the waiting time for these government-run transplant procedures. Known euphemistically as MAiD, this organ and tissue donation system relies on a steady stream of suicided corpses from which to harvest something that the Ottawa Citizen has eagerly been promoting even before assisted suicide became legal in Canada back in 2016. According to Trillium Gift of Life Network, which oversees organ and tissue donation in Ontario, the 113 MAiD-related donations in 2019 accounted for five per cent of overall donations in Ontario, a share that has also been increasing, the paper report. In 2018, MAiD-related donations made up 3.6 per cent of the provinces total donations, and in 2017 just 2.1 per cent. The Trillium Gift of Life Network has been at the forefront of this organ and tissue donation program ever since assisted suicide was legalized. The group has been proactively reaching out to people it deems probable candidates for assisted suicide in order to pair their body parts up with hopeful recipients. While Canadian law dictates that organs can only be harvested from assisted suicide victims if they die in a hospital, Dr. Moira McQueen of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute says that theres a compromise situation in which an assisted suicide victim can be given the first set of lethal injections at home, and taken to the hospital after that for the final set. Discover how to prevent and reverse heart disease (and other cardio related events) with this free ebook: Written by popular Natural News writer Vicki Batt, this book includes everything you need to know about preventing heart disease, reversing hypertension, and nurturing your cardiac health without medication. Learn More. At that point, having lost consciousness at home as they wished, the donor could then be shuttled to the hospital where the final lethal injection would kill him and his organs would be harvested, writes Jonathon Van Maren for LifeSiteNews. Has society lost all sense of the value and dignity of human life? To make matters worse, a pair of Montrealers sued their province over a clause in its assisted suicide law that required natural death to be reasonably foreseeable as a qualifying restriction meaning a person has to be at the end of life in order to legally kill himself with the help of a physician. The Ottawa Citizen was nothing but glee when this provision was struck down because it means that even more organs and tissues will now be available for patients who want them. To summarize that: Expanding the eligibility criteria for assisted suicide is a positive thing because more dead people means more available organs, Van Maren goes on to write. Further to that, allowing people who are not dying in the short-term to have themselves killed means that the likelihood of getting organs in better condition (i.e. not damaged by disease) grows significantly. Harvesting organs from euthanasia patients, as we previously reported, was only just made legal back in the summer, which means this is a relatively new phenomenon. And its one thats eerily similar to Planned Parenthoods aborted baby body parts racket, which we now know was tailored around preserving fresh and undamaged specimens in order to harvest the best organs and tissues. This is also apparently a good thing, Van Maren concludes. At no point, it must be noted, does the Ottawa Citizens glowing coverage quote anyone with any ethical concerns about approaching suicidal people with requests for their organs. Apparently, weve moved past all that. For more related news about the collapse of morality throughout Western medicine, read MedicalExtremism.com. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NaturalNews.com OTTAWACanadas federal transportation safety agency has accepted an invitation from Iran to send officials to the site of a plane crash in Tehran that killed 63 Canadians. But the extent to which they will be able to investigate the crash remains unclear, as Canadian consular officials scramble to obtain visas to enter Iran because Ottawa eight years ago severed diplomatic ties with the country. In a statement Thursday evening, the Transportation Safety Board said it will now make arrangements for officials to travel to Iran and access the site where the plane crashed earlier this week. However, the decision to sever ties with Tehran, made by the Harper Conservatives to trumpet disgust with the Islamic theocracy and upheld by the Trudeau Liberals, makes that process more difficult. Without an official relationship, Canada must rely on Italy to secure applications and co-ordinate diplomacy with Tehran, while Canadians in Iran that need Ottawas services must apply through the Canadian embassy in neighbouring Turkey. In the wake of the deadly crash this week, experts say the pragmatic consequences of the decision to dismantle relations with Iran are coming into sharp relief. It would be so much easier to co-ordinate aid to the investigation and whatever other assistance is needed if we had a mission there, said Jon Lindsay, a professor at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Roland Paris, a professor at the University of Ottawa and a former foreign policy adviser to Trudeau, said it was short-sighted for the government to cut ties with Iran. Having diplomatic relations permits quicker communication between governments to deal with consular issues, help citizens, gather intelligence and more, he said. Having diplomatic relations is in no way an endorsement of the country, which is why most countries in the world, even those that are unfriendly to Iran, continue to maintain embassies there, Paris said. In his second sombre press conference over the past two days, Trudeau again called on Iran to allow Canada to take part in a thorough investigation of the crash, as Canadian officials now believe the plane was likely shot down by an Iranian missile, possibly by accident, hours after the country launched rockets at U.S. military bases in Iraq. Trudeau recognized Canadas troubled history with Iran, but argued both countries have an interest in working to conclude what happened, given that many Canadians and Iranians died together in the plane crash. There were many reasons why Canada has significant issues with Iran, and has for a number of years, but in this situation, it is clear that we are coming together in the wake of a terrible tragedy that has befallen Canadians. It has befallen many Iranian citizens as well, Trudeau said. One cant forget that the majority of victims on that airline were Iranian citizens, and this is something that binds us together in our grief, and I think the desire for answers from families who lost loved ones is fairly universal. Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he spoke to his Iranian counterpart Wednesday night before he received intelligence about the missile strike and urged him to let Canadian consular staff into the country and for Canadian safety inspectors to help with the crash investigation. He said Canadian officials need to obtain visas as step one of a process that would hopefully lead to Canadian participation in a comprehensive investigation with other international partners. The response was open, was encouraging, Champagne said, even if there has been no final assurance that visas and investigation access will be granted. I cannot think of something more serious that the world would want to investigate, he added. Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran in September 2012, when Stephen Harpers Conservative party was in power. They justified the decision in light of Irans threats to Israel, human rights violations, concerns about its nuclear enrichment program and assistance to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. John Baird, then Harpers foreign affairs minister, called Iran the most significant threat to global peace and security today. In 2015, Trudeau promised to re-establish relations with Iran, but his government abandoned that effort three years later, when Liberal MPs voted with the Conservative opposition to halt efforts to restore diplomatic ties. David Welch, an international relations professor at the University of Waterloo, said the decision to cut diplomatic ties can be a clear statement of principle to the world, even if it is unpopular with the professional diplomatic corps in Ottawa. And yet while Welch said Canadian participation in the crash investigation would likely be a matter of course if Canada had a diplomatic mission in Iran, the decision to cut ties might not prevent that from happening. I dont think theyre particularly hostile to Canada at the moment, he said, pointing to how Canada has called for de-escalation in the wake of the U.S. assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani a top Iranian leader and supported the nuclear treaty that lifted sanctions on the country in exchange for limits on its uranium enrichment. But as Canada continues to push for involvement, the question of re-establishing diplomatic ties or whether Ottawa was right to cut them in the first place is overshadowed by the urgent situation of tensions and tragedy in the region, said Paris. We dont have relations with them. Thats the situation were in, thats the hand we have to play, he said. We dont have a chance to change that hand right now. Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga Read more about: Appointment 10 January 2020 Jeremy Buffam and Julian Buffam, partners at New Castle Hotels and Resorts, today announced the appointment of Guido Kerpel as chief operating officer. Previously, Kerpel was the company's vice president of operations. Kerpel joined New Castle in1999 as the general manager of the Westin Nova Scotian before assuming broader responsibilities for development and operations of the company's Canadian portfolio including the northeastern U.S. Under Kerpel's leadership, New Castle expanded its Canadian presence from one hotel to eight, including the recently opened Residence Inn/Courtyard by Marriott at Dartmouth Crossing in Nova Scotia. New Castle is regularly named one of the leading employers and best places to work in Atlantic Canada. A native of the Netherlands, Kerpel speaks English, Dutch, French and German and is a graduate of the prestigious Hotel School in The Hague. Career opportunities brought him to Canada in 1988 as the assistant food and beverage manager of the Westin Prince in Toronto. From there he transitioned to hotel operations at a 450-room Holiday Inn on King in Toronto and the Delta Ottawa Hotels and Suites. Immediately prior to joining New Castle, Kerpel served Delta West Coast Operations as it completed its integration with Fairmont Hotels. Kerpel is a past Director of the 76 Highlanders Regiment at Citadel Hill, and a current board member of B4 CheckIn, a hospitality technology company. From 2011 to 2019, Kerpel served the Kingdom of The Netherlands as Honorary Consul in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland/Labrador. TOLEDO, Ohio President Donald Trump used his first campaign election rally of 2020 to argue that he served up American justice by ordering a drone strike to take out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, while jeering Democratic leaders for questioning his decision to carry out the attack without first consulting Congress. Trumps remarks on Thursday careened from mockery of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, to a suggestion that he should have won the Nobel Prize, a preview of the sharp-edged reelection campaign that he will wage. The president made his comments shortly after the Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution asserting that Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Trump mocked Pelosis mental acuity and called Schiff a pencil neck. He also tagged Sen. Bernie Sanders as Crazy Bernie for raising objections to how he carried out the strike on Soleimani. We got a call. We heard where he was. He knew the way he was getting there, Trump told cheering supporters in Toledo. We didnt have time to call up Nancy, who isnt operating with a full deck. They want us to tell them so they can leak it to their friends in the corrupt media, Trump added. Last weeks killing of Soleimani brought long, simmering tensions between the U.S. and Iran to a boil. Iran, in retaliation, fired a barrage of missiles this week at two military bases in neighboring Iraq that house hundreds of U.S. troops. But with no casualties to U.S. or Iraqi troops, Trump said he had no plans to take further military action against Iran and would instead enact more sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The Iran crisis, which momentarily overshadowed Trumps looming impeachment trial, has also opened a new front in the 2020 presidential campaign for Trump, who in 2016 campaigned on a promise to end American involvement in endless wars. Vice President Mike Pence, who joined Trump for the rally, said the president deserved credit for taking out a dangerous terrorist while managing to keep the engagement from escalating into an all-out war. And when American lives were threatened by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, President Donald Trump took action and Qassem Soleimani is gone, Pence said. And in the wake of that attack, Iran responded, but thanks to the professionalism of the military, we suffered no American casualties and Iran appears to be standing down. Thats what leadership looks like. Trump also sought to compare his response to the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to the 2012 attack on U.S. government facility in Benghazi. A U.S. ambassador to Libya, a foreign service officer and two CIA contractors were killed in the Benghazi attack, which led to a two-year Republican-led investigation into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was not found to have committed wrongdoing. No Americans were killed in the Baghdad assault. The protesters managed only to breach the edge of the sprawling embassy complex. This was the anti-Benghazi, he said. We got there very quickly. This is the exact opposite. Trump also turned to a topic that frequently rankles him: the fact that he has never won a Nobel Prize. Referencing the 2019 Nobel Prize winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Trump said that he himself deserved the honor instead. I made a deal. I saved a country, and I just heard that the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country, Trump said. I said, What? Did I have something to do with it? Yeah. But, you know, thats the way it is. As long as we know, its all that matters. Abiy was awarded the prize in October for his sweeping reforms and surprising embrace of a bitter rival. Trump enters the election year flush with more than $100 million in campaign cash, a low unemployment rate, and an unsettled Democratic presidential field. Yet, polling shows he remains vulnerable. In December, an AP-NORC poll showed Trumps approval rating at 40%. There have not been more recent polls to gauge support for the president in the wake of the targeted killing of Soleimani, though opinions of Trump have changed little over the course of his presidency. Trump has never fallen into historic lows for a presidents approval ratings, but Gallup polling shows his December rating registers lower than that of most recent presidents at the same point in their first terms. Notably, approval of Trump and former President Barack Obama in the December before their reelection bid is roughly the same. But Obamas approval rating never fell below 40% in Gallup polling, and he recovered slightly in the months leading up to his reelection to finish his first term with an average rating just below 50%. Trumps approval rating has never been higher than 46% in Gallup polling. For Trump to win reelection, securing Ohios 18 electoral votes will be critical. He won Ohio by 8 points in 2016, after Obama held the state in 2008 and 2012. The visit to Toledo marked Trumps 15th appearance in Ohio as president. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Hannah Fingerhut, Brian Slodysko and Joshua Boak in Washington and Mike Householder in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. The three suspected ISIS terrorists, who were arrested on December 9, confessed on Friday that they were instructed to launch attacks on police and Army recruitment camps. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrested the trio from Wazirabad in the national capital after a brief encounter. Several arms and ammunition were also recovered from them. During the investigation on Friday, the suspected terrorists said that they were also ordered to target Hindu as well as RSS leaders across the country including the Delhi-NCR region. Further, they were also asked to target Hindu leaders based on posters displayed across several places in the national capital. Live TV The terrorists spoke in code words and the Special Cell is trying to decode them. The team is still questioning the suspects. On Thursday (December 9), in a press conference, the Delhi Police said that the three terrorists were radicalised and they were a part of an ISIS-inspired module. They were arrested by a team of the Special Cell after 14 rounds of firing. As per a tip-off, six murder accused in the murder of K P Suresh, leader of Hindu Munnani for Thiruvallur East district, absconded from Tamil Nadu. They went to Nepal and from there they entered India. They had a foreign-based handler who was helping them. They were planning attacks in NCR and Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, sources with the intelligence agencies had warned that at least five ISIS-trained terrorists had entered India through Nepal and were believed to be in Uttar Pradesh. Following which districts close to the Nepal border like Basti, Gorakhpur, Siddharthnagar, Kushinagar and Maharajganj were put on high alert. Basti IG range Ashutosh Kumar had confirmed the report saying that they had received information about two terrorists entering the country and that they were currently in Uttar Pradesh. AS many as 10 homes will have to be demolished to make way for the 450m Adare bypass and the new road to Foynes, it was claimed this week. This would be a high figure for a project of this size, William Martin, whose company specialises in compulsory purchase order issues said this Wednesday. Generally they try and avoid taking out dwelling houses. CPOs have been served on about 140 landowners and property owners along the route following the lodgement of plans with An Bord Pleanala in December, Mr Martin explained, but property owners remain unhappy with the selected route. Many feel the N69 should have been upgraded and the Adare bypass included in the Limerick to Cork motorway plan, he added. These views emerged at a meeting in Adare last week which was hosted by Mr Martins company and which was attended by 75 people. It was a very good turn-out, Mr Martin said. We had anticipated 40 to 45. One of the issues that arose was consultation during the development of the scheme, which hasnt been great, he said. The local authority or Transport Infrastructure Ireland, while they looked for information from landowners, there was very little two-way flow about the development. In the end, farmers were disappointed they werent kept informed more and were presented with a fait accompli. At this stage, the main point that would be raised is they feel this route is totally wrong. The wrong route was chosen and it is an enormous waste of public money. They felt the N69 should have been upgraded. This is a Foynes road and the Adare bypass was brought into it at a late stage. The bypass should have been put with the Limerick to Cork motorway scheme. All Foynes traffic will be brought down the bypass as far as Rathkeale where the Kerry traffic then continue on. The Adare traffic problems are just going to be transferred on to Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale, he said. Last November, the Limerick Leader reported that design work on relief roads for Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale was underway. Consultants were appointed to the project last May, a senior engineer with the Mid-West National Roads Design Office confirmed and they were working on the constraints gathering stage, collecting the information needed before any routes could be generated, he explained. The next phase, he said, would be route generation after which there would be public consultation before routes would be selected. Meanwhile, Mr Martin expects there will be a lot of objections to the new Limerick to Foynes road. At this stage, people are conscious of the fact they are not going to change the route, he said. They just need to be treated fairly regarding compensation. But he reckoned that over 50% of landowners would lodge an objection of some kind with An Bord Pleanala before the deadline of February 14, in the hope of mitigating their own situation or getting some concessions. He estimated only a small few would lodge outright objections. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 00:58:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 8, 2020 shows a Lenovo 5G personal computer at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the United States. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) Fewer smaller Chinese companies attended the show due to the trade disputes between China and the United States, but big Chinese tech firms kept their passions for the event to "build their brand and forge global partnership," according to the organizer. LAS VEGAS, the United States, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China remains a "top international market" at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 with broad participation of Chinese companies, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said Wednesday. On the event and the participation of Chinese exhibitors, the organizer told Xinhua that fewer smaller Chinese companies attended the show due to the trade disputes between China and the United States, but big Chinese tech firms kept their passions for the event to "build their brand and forge global partnership." Visitors view a smart kitchen at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the United States, Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) Some new big brands were present for the first time, the CTA said, citing Tik Tok and Sogou as examples, adding that all the major Chinese exhibitors in 2019 "are returning to CES 2020." As a leading global tech show, the CES attracted 1,120 Chinese companies last year. At the CES 2020 being held this week in Las Vegas, over 4,500 exhibitors would launch nearly 20,000 new transformative tech products to more than 170,000 visitors, according to the CTA. Muralist James Yaya Hough, 44, was released last year after 27 years in prison, and within a few months he was hired for the new artist-in-residence position in the office of reformist Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Hough told Hyperallergic that he was looking to program workshops that will foster conversations between the DAs 600 or so employees, survivors of crimes, and those currently serving time in the criminal justice system. Hyperallergic Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Congolese Abroad, Jean-Claude Gakosso, whose country chairs the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya on Friday discussed "regional and international efforts to find solutions to the Libyan crisis" A Hunterdon County volunteer organization that answers the call for help is sending out a call of its own. The Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad is searching for at least two dozen or more volunteers to join the team, which has responded to emergency situations occurring in Clinton, Clinton Township, Lebanon Borough and parts of Franklin Township and Union Township since 1968. The organization also responds to daytime emergency situations occurring in Hampton Borough, Glen Gardner, High Bridge Borough, Tewksbury Township, Bethlehem Township and Somerville. According to Chief Frank P. Setnicky, if roughly 24 individuals do not volunteer for the organization come next fall, the squad will need to increase its number of paid Emergency Medical Technicians to maintain necessary staffing levels. While Setnicky expressed his doubt that local municipalities would raise taxes in order to acquire funding for the organization, he said that adding more salaries to the squad will be at a cost to somebody. We want to stay a volunteer agency; we dont want to become an all-paid agency," Setnicky said. The squad currently has around 80 members, eight of whom are full-time paid staff members, and around two dozen of whom are part-time paid staff members. While the squad is expected to merge with High Bridge Emergency Squad on July 1, Setnicky said that the need for more volunteers will still be there. (The merger) will help but not alleviate the continued need, Setnicky said. This past fall, the organization lost 18 volunteers who either left the squad to pursue jobs, attend college or relocated out of the Hunterdon community. Despite its decreased membership, in 2019 the Squad responded to 4,119 calls -- over 500 more than the total number received by the team in 2018, and 1,000 more than in 2017. According to Setnicky, the rise in call volume is largely explained by the countrys aging population. All over, baby boomers are getting old," Setnicky said. "We have a big influx in a certain type of respiratory calls ... But then we also have the nursing homes and the older population in Clinton and surrounding areas that, yeah, theyre going to get sick. Recognizing the rising need for the squad throughout Hunterdon County, Setnicky encouraged all interested individuals to apply to become a volunteer for the organization. Volunteers are needed in all four categories of the squad, including in the positions of EMT, rescue associate, water rescue associate, and cadet. To join the team, all volunteers must complete approximately three months of free training, which entails a 16-hour per week commitment to educational classes and hands-on instruction -- including ride alongs in the ambulance. Prior medical or emergency experience is not necessary, which enabled volunteers like EMT Mark Black, a full time scientist and medical writer, to join the squad roughly one year ago. I know all the medical terms and I can write it all correctly ... (but) I havent looked after patients. They (squad) said, No problem, well teach you how to do it, Black said. Black praised the training he received through the squad, stating that he was never left out to dry. Theyll give you all the lecture materials but also, what I think they do very well here, are accurate scenarios. So you can come in with nothing, and then youre trained," Black said. At the end, you still need a lot more experience, but they give you everything you need to function as a team member, and they always send you out with an experienced team leader ... Youre never left alone." Echoing Black, fellow EMT Carol Dorf emphasized that every squad member wants you to succeed. I know when I was going through an EMT class, some of the members here would come in on a Sunday afternoon to work with me, or come in at night, Dorf said. Everyone supports you, and they are there to teach you all the way through. Dorf joined squad approximately three years ago after her children left for college. I found out I had some more spare time, and it was time to do something that I wanted to do. I always did something for everyone else; this was something for me. Because you do get a lot of out of it for yourself," Dorf said. In detailing one of her more valued experiences of volunteering for CFARS, Dorf underscored the immense gratitude she has received from servicing the Hunterdon community. A 50-something year old guy, a bigger guy, was really sick. And we pick him up and take him to the hospital, and hes crying because hes in so much pain ... And its his most vulnerable moment," Dorf said. And youre there, and youre all hes got to talk to and express how he feels, and hes so grateful that youre there to be there with him. To hold their hand, wipe their tears, or whatever they need ... it means a lot to (the people we help). And you walk away and you feel good that you were there for that person, Dorf added. While the squad typically does not turn away interested volunteers unless they fail their physical, background or drug examinations, Black said that ideal candidates for the squad are individuals who are able to relate to people. Youre called a medical technician, but its more about communicating with that person, and thats the skill you learn, or hopefully youre good at, Black said. You come into somebodys house wearing a dark uniform, and sometimes youre going to look scary. So you got to get down on their level, talk to them and listen to whats going on." Dorf added that the best volunteers are compassionate, a trait that she said largely explains the squads evenly balanced male-to-female ratio. Its compassion. Listening, talking, being that support for that patient, are skills that anybody, male or female, can possess," Dorf said. In response to why individuals should consider volunteering for the squad, Dorf emphasized that members both give back to and become more immersed in the Hunterdon community as a result of joining the squad. Not only do we run calls, but we do stand by events where you are really in the community. Whether its the parades, or the rubber duckie race, or Sprintin Clinton, we stand by at all of them, Dorf said. Setnicky, a squad member for the past 33 years, described the squad as a valuable addition to any individuals day-to-day routine. You can use it at any place in your life. Itll help you out at home or in your other job. A lot of people meet friends and they have new lifetime friends," Setnicky said. Black said the squad has been a quite fulfilling experience for him -- even throughout its less eventful moments. If you have your normal office job where youre on the phone and computer all day, you come here, and youre interacting with people. And for that small window, you might be very important to their life, Black said. "But youre not always saving someones life or pounding on their chest; you might just be holding their hand or giving them some comfort or getting them to the hospital. But it feels good. Individuals interested in learning more about or volunteering for the Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad can visit http://joinclintonems.com/. Caroline Fassett can be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips. India refuses to let US pastor leave country 3 months after arrest for being Christian Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Tennessee pastor is still being barred from leaving India three months after his arrest even though a customs case against him for allegedly not paying duty on the money he brought into the country has been resolved, according to a lawyer representing the family. Cece Heil, senior counsel with the American Center for Law and Justice, told The Christian Post that pastor Bryan Nerren was scheduled to have a hearing before a court in Siliguri on Thursday morning as his case has gone back and forth between customs and the court system. There was some hope, even though small, she said, that Nerren the founder of a nonprofit that serves in Nepal called the Asian Childrens Education Fellowship could be given back his passport and allowed to leave the country since he paid a fine related to what advocates say is an unfair charge of evading duty payment. However, Thursdays scheduled hearing in Siliguri was postponed, Heil said. Nerren, the pastor of International House of Prayer Ministries in Shelbyville, was arrested on grounds that he brought $40,000 with him upon his entrance into India in early October 2019. The money was to be used to pay for his two-week trip to India and Nepal to visit with pastors and to cover the costs of two conferences. Nerren was arrested when he stepped off a domestic flight from New Delhi to Bagdogra, India. Heil said that Nerren, who was traveling with two other pastors, was questioned about the money by security agents before boarding his flight in New Delhi. The pastor told the authorities that the money was to cover the conferences and his trip. Heil said authorities asked Nerren during the interrogation whether he is a Christian and whether the funds will be used for Christian purposes. He was never given any forms to declare the money when in the visa line, the lawyer said. Although he was initially cleared to fly, Heil said authorities in New Delhi phoned ahead to Bagdogra. Nerren was arrested once he deboarded the plane in Bagdogra. Nerren was jailed for six days in Siliguri before being allowed to pay bail. However, a judge ordered a travel ban and took his passport. The fact that they told him he was free and cleared to go and then alerted Bagdogra to arrest him when he got there, the facts themselves indicate that it was a setup, Heil contended. The postponement by a judge in the Siliguri court comes after some questionable turn of events in Nerrens case. According to Heil, a Siliguri court was slated to hear Nerrens case on Dec. 12. However, that hearing was preempted by an unscheduled court hearing on Dec. 7 in which a new judge was appointed. The new judge, she said, disregarded all of the previous judges requirements in Nerrens case. The previous judge, according to Heil, told Nerren that if he provided certain documentation, his passport would be returned and travel ban would be lifted. Although the documentation was produced on Nerrens end, the judge was mysteriously placed on medical leave indefinitely. The original judge had stated that as soon as he received the report from customs and the prosecutor did not object, he would release the passport and lift the travel ban, Heil explained. The new judge had the report and the prosecutor had no objections, but she would not release the passport or lift the travel ban. She requested a report from the prosecutor at the hearing on Dec. 12, at which date, the prosecutor simply did not show up and could not be found. Heil stated that when copies of the court order were received, the new judge sealed the case, leaving Nerren and his attorneys without access to anything in the file. Clearly, games are being played, Heil said. And meanwhile, pastor Nerrens special needs daughter is at risk for failure to thrive, as she has lost 17 pounds from her already frail frame of 90 pounds. She does not want to eat without her father, who has been 50 percent of her care for the past 29 years. Nerrens case has bounced between the Siliguri court and a court in Kolkata. Heil said it has been hard to determine which court has jurisdiction and final say in the matter. [N]ow that customs have finished their case, the court should have no problem returning the passport and lifting the travel ban, she stressed. It should be finished. Unfortunately, we have thought that several times before, and have continuously been disappointed. Although Nerren is not confined to home arrest, Heil said he is prevented from leaving the city of Siliguri. He cannot travel anywhere, she said. Thats what makes it impossible for him to have an appeal in Kolkata. He should be able to rightfully appeal. The court wants him to appear but because of the restriction and travel ban from the Siliguri lower court, he cannot do that. Heil reiterated that the court proceedings against Nerren are in theory now moot because the customs case is completed. She added that one of Nerrens attorneys in India argues that this case should have never been put into a court of law and should have been handled completely within the customs adjudication. It has been complicated from the beginning, she said. It does seem that it is not the typical [response]. What I am hearing from pastor Nerren and what he is hearing from his attorneys is that this would not be the typical way that this case would have been handled. He would have never been arrested or put in jail. Heil said that ACLJ has been in contact with the U.S. State Department, senators and representatives regarding Nerrens situation. Key senators that have helped in the case are Republicans Marsha Blackburn, Lamar Alexander, and James Lankford. Additionally, she said several representatives from the Tennessee delegation are helping as well. We also keep the vice presidents office updated on the facts as the case goes forward, she said. Our government has been conveying these messages [calling for Nerrens release] to the appropriate counterparts in the Indian government. So far, we just have not seen anything move in his case. Since the 2014 election of President Narendra Modi and the rise of his Bharatiya Janata Party, there has been a rise in Hindu nationalist violence and discrimination against religious minorities. India ranks as the 10th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2019 World Watch List. You cant ever say exactly why something happened, Heil said. But in my personal opinion ... the fact that Nerren is a pastor and was carrying funds that they specifically asked him if he was a Christian and if the funds will be used for Christian purposes. I believe that was really what set off making him a target and why New Delhi didnt just give him the documentation he needed. Over 130,000 people have supported an online petition calling for Nerren's release. Cardiff University scientists have shed new light on the Earth's climate behaviour during the last known period of global warming over 14 million years ago. During this period, known as the middle Miocene Climate Optimum, global temperatures were as much as 3 to 4 degrees warmer than today's average temperatures, similar to estimates for 2100. The position of the continents were similar to today and the seas were flourishing with life. This period, which occurred between 15 and 17 million years ago, has puzzled geologists for decades as they have tried to explain the initial cause of the global warming and the environmental conditions that existed on Earth afterwards. It is already known that this period of global warming was accompanied by massive volcanic eruptions which covered most of the modern-day Pacific Northwest in the USA, called the Columbia River flood basalts. Around the same time a significant oil-rich layer of rock, known as the Monterey Formation, was created along the coastline of California as a result of the burial of carbon-rich marine life. Up until now scientists have struggled to piece together the puzzle and come up with a viable explanation for the origin of the warmth and the link between the volcanic eruptions and the increased amounts of carbon burial. advertisement Prof Carrie Lear, the senior scientist on the study and based at Cardiff University's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, said: "Our planet has been warm before. We can use ancient fossils to help understand how the climate system works during these times." In their study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, the team used the chemistry of marine fossils taken from long sediment cores from the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans to fingerprint the temperature and carbon levels of the seawater in which the ancient creatures once lived during the middle Miocene Climate Optimum. Their results showed that the massive volcanic eruptions of the Columbia River flood basalts released CO 2 into the atmosphere and triggered a decline in ocean pH. With global temperatures rising as a consequence of this, sea-levels also rose, flooding large areas of the continents. This created the ideal conditions to bury large amounts of carbon from the accumulations of marine organisms in sediments, and to transfer volcanic carbon from the atmosphere to the ocean over tens of thousands of years. "The elevated marine productivity and carbon burial helped to remove some of the carbon dioxide from the volcanoes and acted as a negative feedback, mitigating some, but not all, of the climatic effects associated with the outpouring of volcanic CO 2 ," said lead author of the study Dr Sindia Sosdian from Cardiff University's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Past large episodes of volcanism throughout Earth's history have been linked to mass extinctions and widespread oxygen depletion in the oceans; however, there was no such occurrence in the middle Miocene Climate Optimum. Co-author of the study Dr Tali Babila from the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences at the Univesity of Southampton added: "During the Miocene Climatic Optimum the response of the oceans and climate was remarkably similar to other massive volcanic eruptions in the geological record. The presence of the Antarctic ice sheet and the relatively slow release of carbon however minimised the magnitude of environmental change and the associated consequences on marine life during this event." "Thanks to our findings we now have a very clear picture of what was going on over 14 million years ago and this will change the way that scientists look at this period of global warming," continued Dr Sosdian. "We know that our current climate is warming much faster than the Miocene Climatic Optimum so we won't be able to rely on these slow natural feedbacks to counteract global warming. But this research is still important because it helps us understand how our planet works when it is in a warm mode." New Delhi, Jan 10 : AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday announced small donors played a key role in his poll financing as he raised Rs 28 lakh through online crowdfunding in just two days. He said of the 1,310 donors, 75 per cent gave Rs 1,000 or less. "Mission accomplished! (Rs) 28 lakhs required to fight (the) election in my assembly raised online through crowdfunding in just 2 days! Big thanks to each of the 1,310 donors who made it possible. You give me confidence that people of our country strongly want to stand behind clean politics," Sisodia tweeted. Sisodia's crowdfunding campaign, launched on January 8, reached the target within just 48 hours, he said. The Aam Aadmi Party had been raising funds to contest the Delhi Assembly elections, and taking donations from the people to meet the fund deficit. Sisodia, also the Delhi Education Minister, chose an online crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds for the election. He had told the donors that AAP is trying to give world-class education by bringing massive changes in the government schools of Delhi and appealed to them to support the party by giving donations. The campaign aimed to raise Rs 28 lakh from online donors and a month's target was given to reach the target, the party said. "After having worked for five years to transform Delhi's schools, I am now going back to people to seek re-election and carry on the Delhi Education Revolution. Contribute to my campaign to help me continue this work in Delhi's schools," he had tweeted on January 8. The same day, he said in just 11 hours, 270 people have contributed Rs 5.2 lakh for the Delhi Education Revolution. Sisodia on Friday said people have come appreciating the "honest governance of the AAP" and their relentless work for the development of Delhi. "People are deeply impressed by the honest governance of the AAP government. I am happy to say that we have reached the target just within 48 hours with the massive participation of the people. These small amounts have played an important role in meeting the target. I am grateful to all those who supported us," he said. Iran sent a letter to American director Michael Moore, actor Robert De Niro and the American people following comments by US officials justifying the assassination of the legendary General Qasem Soleimani, Mehr reported. According to the letter, if all the American people shared the point of view of Moore and De Niro, then local officials and politicians had to answer many questions. For example, why is it so strange in the world that, firstly, according to American politicians and statesmen who believe Gen. Soleimani is a terrorist, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi participates in the funeral procession of Gen. Soleimani in Iraq with crying eyes and instead of expressing happiness and joy, he announces three days of public mourning for him [Gen. Soleimani] in Iraq and issues message of condolences. Why legislators and deputies in the Iraqi Parliament, ranging from any party, race and ethnic, (All Representatives in Iraqi Parliament) suspend their official meeting in the Parliament on Saturday to another time in order to participate in the funeral procession of Gen. Soleimani who American statesmen and politicians believe him [Gen. Soleimani] as a terrorist. More importantly, the next day of assassination of Gen. Soleimani, (despite $1 trillion worth of fine set by the US government), a bylaw is ratified in Iraqi Parliament demanding for the expulsion American forces from Iraq and announces it to US Envoy to Iraq immediately. Your statesmen and politicians [American officials] can tell you [Robert De Niro, Michael Moore and American people] why Gen. Soleimani is a popular figure among a nation that he has assassinated them? The great and civilized nation of Iran, the country that your president [Trump] had decided to target 52 cultural centers of the country, attacked US military bases in Iraqs Eyn Al-Asad in retaliation of assassination of Gen. Soleimani for the following two main objectives: Firstly, Iran attacked US military bases in Iraq in retaliation of assassination of Gen. Soleimani to show that this country can retaliate and repel any attack. Iran also can attack US military bases in the farthest region in the world but Iran respects the dignity of people with its ethics and humanity and take the two criteria i.e. ethics and humanity into serious consideration. Most importantly, Islamic Republic of Iran, unlike your statesmen [American officials] prevents killing of people. As you may be informed, Islamic Republic of Iran in its battle with Iraq during the eight years (1980-1988) never shoot a chemical bullet but in contrast, the then Iraqi government used chemical weapons against the noble nation of Islamic Iran in this unequal war. Now Messrs. Michael Moore, Robert De Niro and Other American Peacemakers and Artists Our country Iran has acted according to your request in separating Trump and other American officials from the noble nation of America in practice and now, it is your time to act on your promise as stipulated in your notes and interviews. From today, #hard revenge has been assigned to you, other artists, actors and freedom-seekers in the United States. As long as American officials dream of oil instead of humanity, change of governments will not work. However, we, Iranian people, are waiting for your promise but not like the promises as given by your statesmen, officials and politicians," the statement said. Following are the latest Corporate Social Responsibility news releases and story ideas available from Business Wire. These recaps, curated by Business Wire, provide reporters and bloggers around the globe instant access to the latest news releases, providing relevant and trending content to share with their audiences. Discover more news via Business Wires Hot Topic recaps or create a custom news feed specific to your needs here. This service is provided at no charge to members of the media and financial communities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005107/en/ LOS ANGELES -- Hudson Pacific Properties Pledges $500,000 to Union Rescue Mission to Address Homelessness in Los Angeles Source: Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. CINCINNATI -- Always is Working with Walmart and James Van Der Beek to Rally Support to Help #EndPeriodPoverty Source: Procter & Gamble LOS ANGELES -- Advanced Nutrients Founder and CEO BigMike Straumietis Announces New Charitable Organization, Humanity Heroes Source: Advanced Nutrients SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Exchange Bank Donates $20,000 to the Redwood Empire Food Bank in Honor of Its Customers and Business Partners Source: Exchange Bank FORT MILL, S.C -- Domtar Board Members Recognized as WomenInc.s 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors Source: Domtar Corporation PARIS -- Schlumberger Becomes First Company in Upstream E&P Services to Commit to Science-Based Target in Emissions Reduction Source: Schlumberger AUSTIN, Texas -- WP Engines Engine for Good Exceeds 16,500 Volunteer Hours Advancing WordPress and $260,000 in Charitable Contributions in Inaugural Year Source: WP Engine DALLAS -- Atmos Energy Releases 2019 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report Source: Atmos Energy Corporation About Business Wire Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in news release distribution and regulatory disclosure. Investor relations, public relations, public policy and marketing professionals rely on Business Wire for secure and accurate distribution of market-moving news and multimedia. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news organizations, journalists, investment professionals, and regulatory authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading online news sources via its multi-patented NX Network. Business Wire has 18 newsrooms worldwide to meet the needs of communications professionals and news media. Learn more at www.businesswire.com. Follow us on Twitter @businesswire. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200109005107/en/ Alumni of Jawaharlal Nehru (JNU) in Mizoram on Friday staged a demonstration here to extend solidarity to the varsity students and teachers, who were assaulted by a group of masked people on January 5. During the protest which lasted for about an hour, the alumni expressed deep concern and grief over the brutal attack on students and teachers which took place inside the JNU campus. The protesters demanded that stringent punishment be given to the persons involved in the brutal attack. One of the JNU students, who took part in the demonstration, narrated what she experienced on the night of January 5. She said a group of masked goons entered the university campus on Sunday night and suddenly attacked teachers and students with iron rod and stick leaving several of them injured. She said that eight students from Mizoram were present at the time of the incident but escaped unhurt. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the alumni said that the "recent attack on various institutions across the country has appalled and terrorised people creating a deep sense of fear and insecurity among the student communities." The statement said that the alumni did not believe in violence and physical confrontation to solve differences in a plural society. The alumni also asked the Centre to restore conducive atmosphere in the JNU and make the students community and teachers fraternity feel safe within the varsity campus. Sources said that there are more than 100 alumni of JNU in Mizoram. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iranian Investigators: Ukrainian Plane on Fire Before Crash By VOA News January 09, 2020 Iranian investigators said Thursday the crew of a Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran's airport had tried to turn back, and that the pilot made no radio communications about any problems. The initial report from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization also cited witnesses on the ground and in a passing aircraft as saying the Ukraine International Airlines plane was on fire before it hit the ground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared Thursday a day of mourning for the 167 passengers and nine crew members who died when the plane bound for Kyiv crashed early Wednesday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said the dead included 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians along with Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans and Britons. The flag over the Canadian parliament in Ottawa was lowered to half-staff Wednesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the entire country was "shocked and saddened" at one of its worst losses of life in a single day in years. Trudeau said 138 of the passengers had planned to fly on from Kyiv to Toronto, many of them Iranian students hoping to return to school after a winter break with their families in Iran. He promised to work for a thorough investigation of the crash. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres offered his condolences, through a spokesman, to the families of the victims and the various countries from which they came. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also issued a statement of condolence and said Washington is prepared to offer Ukraine "all possible assistance." He said the U.S. also calls for "complete cooperation with any investigation" into the cause of the crash. Data recorders found Iranian investigators said the voice and data recorders from the Boeing 737 aircraft were recovered from the crash site, a swathe of farmland on the outskirts of the Iranian capital. Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency quoted the head of the nation's civil aviation agency as saying he did not know which country would get the black boxes for analysis, but that Iran would not hand them over to U.S.-based Boeing, the aircraft's manufacturer. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board typically participates in investigations of overseas air crashes when a U.S. airline or plane manufacturer is involved. But given the heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, and the fact that the two sides have no diplomatic relations, it was uncertain whether the NTSB would be involved in the investigation of the UIA crash. In a statement sent to VOA Ukrainian, the NTSB said it was "monitoring developments surrounding the crash of UIA flight 752" and was "following its standard procedures" for international aviation accident investigations. "As part of its usual procedures, the NTSB is working with the State Department and other agencies to determine the best course of action," it said. "The U.S. has not participated in an accident investigation in Iran since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. So it is very unlikely that the NTSB will be involved," said Madhu Unnikrishnan, editor of U.S. airline news service Skift Airline Weekly in a VOA Ukrainian interview. The Convention on International Civil Aviation, to which Iran is a signatory, does not require Tehran to hand over the data recorders to the NTSB or Boeing, Andriy Guck, a Ukraine-based attorney and aviation expert, said. "There is a duty to investigate," Guck told VOA Ukrainian in a phone conversation. "Iran can decide to investigate the black boxes by itself or transfer them to a foreign laboratory. But if the Iranians do not allow anyone else to participate in the examination of the boxes, it will raise doubts about their investigation," he said. Editor Unnikrishnan said, "The key will be to involve other European countries that have experience in these matters in the analysis of the black boxes." "If Iran sends them to Europe, I think the analysis will be trusted internationally," he said. Cause of crash not yet known The fiery crash occurred hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers in response to last week's U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Iranian officials said the crash happened because of a mechanical failure. Ukrainian officials initially agreed with that assessment, but then backed away and declined to offer a possible cause while the investigation was ongoing. Some U.S. aviation experts said they cannot see how Iran could possibly know that a mechanical problem caused the crash without looking at the flight data recorders or examining the engines. Iranian officials dismissed speculation that a missile brought down the plane. Zelenskiy urged the public "to refrain from ... expressing uncorroborated theories." He ordered a sweeping inspection of all civil airplanes in Ukraine "no matter the conclusions about the crash in Iran." The Iranian road and transportation ministry said it appeared that one of the plane's two engines caught fire, with the pilot then losing control of the jetliner. The flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the plane never got above 2,500 meters. An Iranian investigator said it appeared the pilot was unable to communicate with air traffic controllers in the moments before the crash. Videos taken immediately after the crash showed fires lighting up the darkened fields in the predawn hours. Ukraine International Airline President Yevhen Dykhne said, "It was one of the best planes we had, with an amazing, reliable crew." The jet was built in 2016. It was a Boeing 737-800 model, a commonly used commercial jet with a single-aisle cabin that is flown by airlines throughout the world. It is an older model than the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months following two deadly crashes. Tatiana Vorozhko of VOA's Ukrainian Service and Michael Lipin of VOA Persian contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address San Antonio police arrested a man who they accuse of trafficking his wife for several years. Jose Sanchez Davila, 39, was charged Thursday with human trafficking for allegedly transporting his then-wife to various locations and forcing her into sex acts. Davila advertised the victim on websites with a price for prostitution, according to Chief William McManus. Davila was very abusive to his wife, McManus said, doing things to her that are just unimaginable. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox His wife, 34, has since divorced Davila, with whom she has children. San Antonio police were first made aware of the case when the woman reported the trafficking in August, McManus said. They were unable to find corroborating evidence at the time, but recently located someone willing to testify against Davila. It took us this long to find someone who would corroborate the human trafficking charges, McManus said. The investigation, conducted by the Special Victims Unit, involved the woman taking police to one of the places where she said she was trafficked. There, police found an individual involved in the crime. As we locate other people who participated in this crime, we will bring further charges, McManus said. Not only against Mr. Davila but also the individuals who engaged in sex with the victim. The chief noted it was appropriate that SAPD had made the arrest during Human Trafficking Month. Victims of sex trafficking are subject to controlling behavior by their traffickers, McManus said, to the point where they dont speak or make eye contact. The husband threatened her in a variety of ways which made her fearful fearful enough not to leave the situation, he added. McManus acknowledged that a person unaware of the dynamics involved may question why the victims dont simply leave their traffickers. Its not that easy, he said. Mark Dunphy is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read him on our breaking news site, MySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In accordance with regulatory requirements, Mr. Tyrone Docherty, a director and the President & CEO of Deer Horn Capital Inc. (Deer Horn or the Company), reports that he has recently been issued 800,000 units of Deer Horn at a deemed price of $0.05/unit pursuant to the settlement of $40,000 debt owed to him. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.10/share for a period of twenty-four months. Upon completion of this debt settlement, Mr. Docherty now has ownership/control of 2,790,290 shares of Deer Horn representing approximately 15.3% of Deer Horns present outstanding shares, on a non-diluted basis. On a partially diluted basis (assuming the exercise of all 300,000 stock options owned/controlled by Mr. Docherty and the 800,000 warrants issues pursuant to this transaction), Mr. Docherty would have ownership/control over approximately 18.2% of the then-issued Deer Horn shares. The shares recently acquired by Mr. Docherty are held for investment purposes only. Mr. Docherty may acquire additional Deer Horn shares or dispose of Deer Horn shares (through market or private transaction) from time to time. A copy of the related early warning report may be obtained under Deer Horns profile on the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) or from Mr. Docherty at 4672 Kensington Place, Delta, BC V4K 4W5. McConnell has explained impeachment trial rules to his Caucus, but rules can always be changed. Photo: Win McManee/Getty Images Now that the House has impeached President Trump on two counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, attention will shift to the Senate, which is expected to try him (likely in January) and either acquit or remove him from office. Heres everything we know about the trial, and what it might look like under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. What Does the Constitution Say About an Impeachment Trial? Its helpful to understand that for both chambers, the U.S. Constitution doesnt spell out a whole lot beyond specifying that the House has the sole power to impeach executive and judicial branch officials for Treason, Bribery, and other High Crimes and Misdemeanors and that the Senate has the sole power to remove impeached officials by a two-thirds vote if they are found guilty of such charges. The Founders also provided that for presidential impeachments the chief justice of the Supreme Court will be the Senates presiding officer, which was intended to avoid putting a vice-president, who might inherit the presidency if a removal did occur, in the chair. So in this case, we know Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the trial. Beyond that, House and Senate rules, and ad hoc decisions made by the two chambers about matters not specified in the rules, decide pretty much everything. Does the Senate Have to Hold a Trial If the House Impeaches Trump? Constitutional authorities differ on this question, which is germane because Trump himself (and most recently his lawyer and co-conspirator Rudy Guiliani) keeps claiming that any House impeachment over the Ukraine scandal (and probably anything else) is unconstitutional or at least unwarranted. In theory, McConnell could agree with that assessment and refuse to hold a trial. And because the courts are extremely reluctant to intervene in political questions involving executivelegislative collisions, he might get away with it. But in fact, McConnell has repeatedly said he would indeed hold a trial too many times to reverse himself, in all probability, as the Hill reports: Under the impeachment rules of the Senate, well take the matter up. The chief justice will be in the chair We intend to do our constitutional responsibility, he said. McConnell had previously indicated that he would have no choice but to take up impeachment if the House passes articles, though he has also [run] a Facebook ad over the recent two-week recess positioning himself and the GOP-controlled Senate as a roadblock to Trump being removed from office. Could the Senate Have a Perfunctory or Truncated Trial? Again, McConnell has been talking as though there will be a real trial, but means are available to cut it short, as Democrats tried to do during the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton. Trump reportedly favored that strategy, initially, but in a November 21 meeting between White House representatives and Senate Republicans after two weeks of public testimony in the House, sentiment for at least a pro forma trial prevailed, and a tentative plan for a two-week trial was agreed upon. Once House Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly announced that articles of impeachment would be drafted and acted upon in the House Judiciary Committee, Trump suddenly began talking about an extended trial in which he, his attorneys, and his Senate allies will not simply defend him but will seek to place Joe and Hunter Biden and perhaps other leading Democrats on trial as well (echoing House Republican demands that Adam Schiff and other Trump tormenters be hauled in to testify about their persecution of the president). A true show trial of Democrats may well be a bridge too far for Senate Republicans. But to the extent that Trump can claim dragging the Bidens into the dock is necessary to document the corruption he claims he was seeking to root out in pressuring Ukraines president to investigate them, a compliant Senate Republican majority and a chief justice trying not to become too central to the proceedings might allow it to happen. What Governs the Conduct of the Senate Trial? Regardless of how it begins or ends, the trial itself is governed by standing Senate rules, last modified in 1986. They are largely based on precedents set in the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial. The basic idea is that articles of impeachment are presented to the Senate by House impeachment managers, and are then disputed by counsel for the president, with senators observing but not becoming directly involved (other than by written questions submitted to one or both of the parties). Witnesses are called and cross-examined according to protocols and timelines set out in the standing ruleswhich provide for rulings on witnesses and admissible evidence by the Chief Justice, with the Senate able to overrule him by a majority voteperhaps supplemented by a set of more detailed ad hoc rules adopted by the Senate just before the trial begins on a majority vote (a two-thirds vote is required to actually change or override the standing rules). During the Clinton impeachment proceedings, ad hoc rules were (somewhat miraculously) adopted by unanimous consent, in part because the outcome of the trial was in zero doubt. Even though the outcome of a Trump trial may also be preordained (e.g., acquittal on a more or less party-line vote), any bipartisan procedural agreements are unlikely. Yet Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly demanded that McConnell come to the table to negotiate such a deal, in part to force Republicans to issue subpoenas (under the authority of the chief justice, the trials presiding officer) to four witnesses the White House blocked from appearing during the House proceedings, notably acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security advisor John Bolton (who has indicated he would obey such a subpoena). From the very day the House passed its articles of impeachment, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed sending over the articles of impeachment, supporting Schumers demand for an agreement to hear more witnesses. She and McConnell have subsequently engaged in a standoff over this issue; at one point McConnell expressed support for legislation (which as an amendment to the standing Senate rules on impeachment would take 67 votes) to cancel any impeachment trial if the House failed to present its articles within 25 days of impeachment. Most recently, on January 10, Pelosi notified House Democrats that she would ask for a resolution the next week appointing impeachment managers (the House members who will present the case for removing Trump in a Senate trial) and authorizing the presentation of articles to the Senate. Unless there is some catch (e.g., a contingency clause in the resolution further delaying the presentation of articles until McConnell complies with some Democratic demand), the trial could start on the week of January 20. The question of witnesses and additional evidence could remain up in the air for some time. McConnell has indicated that hell pass a set of ad hoc trial rules without Democratic support, and begin the trial while delaying decisions on witnesses until later; he claims to have 51 Republican votes for this maneuver. But Senate Democrats are very likely to challenge this decision at every point, and put pressure on Roberts to allow relevant evidence and witnesses just like a trial judge would do. Who Makes the Principal Arguments In an Impeachment Trial? The Senates standing rules provide that the case for removing the president is made by the House impeachment managers. They will make their arguments first, subject to questioning (in writing) by senators. The presidents response follows, made by his appointed counsel. It is generally assumed his White House counsel will lead the defense, but there are really no limits on how the president chooses to be represented. Theres been talk recently of Trump including key House Republicans (e.g., those involved in fighting impeachment like the Judiciary Committees ranking Republican Doug Collins or the Judiciary/Intelligence Committee members Mark Meadows and John Ratcliffe) on the presidents trial team, but McConnell has frowned upon the idea as threatening the trials decorum and making it simply a continuation of the House battle. Are Senators Under a Gag Order on Impeachment? One aspect of the trial procedure as spelled out by the standing rules was alluded to by McConnell in his discussions with his Republican colleagues earlier this year: McConnell warned that senators wont be allowed to speak because they are jurors. McConnell said such silence would be good therapy for a number of them. More accurately, senators are like jurors and judges, too in that they observe the back-and-forth between House managers and their lawyers and the president and his lawyers and dont have an opportunity to speak until they go into a closed session to deliberate. The standing rules also provide that when it comes time to vote, each senator stands by her or his desk and simply announces guilty or not guilty on each article of impeachment. And at the beginning of the trial, they do take an oath to act impartially, a requirement that gained attention when McConnell spoke of total coordination with the White House and senators from both parties expressed certainty about the presidents guilt or innocence. Its also worth keeping in mind that the Senates standing rules are subject to amendment, which would normally require a supermajority. But as Bob Bauer observed at Lawfare blog, there are ways around that problem for a devious operator like McConnell: Senate leadership can seek to have the rules reinterpreted at any time by the device of seeking a ruling of the chair on the question, and avoiding a formal revision of the rule that would require supermajority approval. The question presented in some form would be whether, under the relevant rules, the Senate is required to hold an impeachment trial fully consistent with current rules or even any trial at all. A chairs ruling in the affirmative would be subject to being overturned by a majority, not two-thirds, vote. In any event, the silence expected of senators is not imposed until the articles of impeachment are passed by the House and presented to the Senate i.e., until the trial begins. So when you hear senators say they wont comment on impeachment charges or the possibility of impeachable offenses having been committed to avoid prejudging a case they may try as jurors, thats a purely voluntary and informal assertion. From the perspective of the Constitution and the standing Senate rules, they can run their mouths all they want before and after the trial. But some may choose to hide behind the prospective juror fiction to keep their own counsel, as became clear when Senator Lindsey Graham proposed sending a letter to Pelosi informing her that the Senate had no intention of removing Trump from office over the Ukraine scandal, as the Hill reported: Several, including Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), have declined to weigh in on the impeachment proceedings and admonished their colleagues who have already made a decision. Collins, one of two GOP senators up for reelection in a state won by Hillary Clinton, told reporters in Maine that it was entirely inappropriate for senators to be taking a position. Romney declined to comment on Wednesday on Grahams letter, but he said last week that he was going to keep an open mind on impeachment. Its a purposeful effort on my part to stay unbiased, and to see the evidence as its brought forward, he said. Other Senate Republicans are reportedly raining on Grahams parade, not because they believe they are required to remain silent but because they dont want to display any Republican disunity or place vulnerable senators on record this early in the process. Whats unclear is whether the tradition of senators not speaking during the trial imposes some sort of restriction on comments during evenings, early mornings, Sundays or other times the trial is not in session. This question is of particular importance to the Democratic senators (currently six of them) who are running for president. The trial will undoubtedly interfere with their campaign activities, but its unclear whether some ad hoc Senate rule or ruling from the presiding officer (the chief justice) will constrain their free speech rights until the final vote. When Will the Trial Begin and End? Obviously, the Senate cannot start the trial until the House sends over the articles of impeachment; under the standing Senate rules, the obligation to begin a trial arises very quickly once the articles are formally presented by the House impeachment managers (in other words, an email or other notification will not suffice). And if McConnell does agree to witnesses, that will extend the duration of the trial. Here are the precedents, as I noted recently: The Johnson impeachment trial in 1868 lasted from March 5 until May 16, when the Senates first crucial test vote on a catch-all article of impeachment failed by one vote. Ten days later the Senate voted predictably to acquit on two other articles, and subsequently voted for general acquittal and adjournment. Clintons impeachment trial was more hurried: It began on January 7, 1999, when presiding officer Chief Justice William Rehnquist was sworn in, and ended on February 12, with Clintons easy acquittal on both articles (45 senators, all Republicans, voted for his guilt on the perjury article, with ten Republicans defecting; and 50 senators vote for the obstruction article, with five Republicans defecting). The timing of the trial has special significance because it is likely to overlap with the Democratic presidential nominating contest, in which, at present, five sitting senators are participating. It will certainly take a bite out of the time they have available for the campaign trail. The final votes in the Senate will be dramatic but largely anticlimactic, like those in the Clinton trial, more than likely. It takes just one guilty verdict to remove a president from office, but that requires 67 votes or in this case, the defection of 20 Republican senators. Even if a handful of Republican senators (e.g., Mitt Romney or a few colleagues like Susan Collins or Cory Gardner who face tough 2020 challenges) declare their independence, Trump will be free to claim exoneration and seek vindication next November as the newly triumphant chieftain of his defiant MAGA constituency. So as we expected all along, the real court in this trial will be the court of public opinion. Every maneuver either side makes in this trialparticularly persistent Democratic efforts to bring in more evidence of the presidents impeachable conductshould be understood from that perspective. This post has been updated to reflect new developments. Portlands new Police Chief Jami Resch on Thursday said shes "looking forward to whats coming up'' with a "solid team'' of command staff to support her as she received her chiefs badge in a brief public ceremony at the Police Bureaus training center in Northeast Portland. Along with Resch, Christopher Davis received a deputy chiefs badge and Mike Frome, who was a commander of the transit division, was sworn in as assistant chief of operations. All three had been recruits in the bureaus Operation 80, a large class hired in 1999. Resch was formally sworn in as the citys 49th chief of police during a private ceremony at the Justice Center on Dec. 31 after predecessor Danielle Outlaw informed the mayor days earlier that she had accepted a job as Philadelphias police commissioner. Outlaw, hired from Oakland after a national search in October 2017, served as Portlands chief for two years and two months. Resch, 45, thanked family members and friends who attended for supporting her and the other police supervisors in their careers. She said she chose Davis to serve as her deputy because of his trusted advice, decision-making and thoughtfulness -- traits she said she relied on extensively when serving as deputy chief the last eight months and Davis was an assistant chief. She said Frohm has demonstrated an ability "to cut through issues and problem solve'' with a calm, cool demeanor. Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner, called Resch "the right person at the right time,'' to lead the bureau. Reschs deep local ties to the community and knowledge of the bureau, he said, will be a huge benefit. "With so many major community decisions before us, its so important we have advancement at the Portland Police Bureau,'' Wheeler said. City contract talks with the police union and budget preparation for the next fiscal year are getting underway. The city also is pushing for court approval of Police Bureau compliance with a federal settlement on police reforms. The 2014 agreement resulted from an investigation that found police used excessive force against people with mental illness and called for changes to police use of force policies, training and community oversight. Thursday ceremony was mostly attended by immediate family members and was in stark contrast to the large, ceremonial gathering the city organized for Outlaws public swearing in at the Oregon Historical Society in January 2018, three months into her term as chief. The ceremony also was held at the same time as a previously scheduled "Leadership Portland'' class run by the Portland Business Alliance, on the topic of "law and public safety.'' That class met in a different room at the training center. -- 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. Subscribe to Facebook page Hyderabad: For the first time after he took over as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday appeared before a CBI special court in Hyderabad in an illegal investments case. He had been been seeking exemptions from personal appearance every Friday till now. He landed at the Begumpet airport in a special aircraft from Vijayawada and reached the court at Nampally amid tight security. The special court had last week taken exception to the YSRC chief seeking repeated exemptions and directed him and Accused No. 2 V. Vijaya Sai Reddy to appear in person. On Friday, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy sat in a chair which was arranged for him close to the judges bench. Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy, former minister Dharmana Prasad Rao, IAS officer Srilakshmi, industrialist Shyamprasad Reddy, retired IAS officer Samuel, Telangana state education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and other accused appeared before the court. The judge first took up the discharge petitions moved by Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and other accused. Counsel for the AP Chief Minister urged the court to consider all the 11 petitions as one and take up the hearing. Counsel submitted that in one case, the CBI has filed 11 chargesheets and all were connected to one alleged offence. When the judge posted the discharge petitions to January 24, the CMs counsel urged the court to grant exemption from personal appearance on the ground that his client was holding a constitutional post and needed to attend important programmes. He requested the court to allow one of the accused to appear on behalf his client. The judge the exemption petition also to January 24. Later, the judge took cognisance of the additional chargesheet filed by the CBI and the ED in the case of land allotments to Penna Cements and issued summons to Ms Sabitha Indra Reddy, Mr Dharmana Prasad Rao, Ms Srilakshmi and the management of Penna Cements. Indu Projects promoter Shyam Prasad Reddy and India Cements promoter N. Srinivasan and other accused in the case also appeared before the court. Underworld enforcer Nabil Maghnie had been living the high life on borrowed time in the years before his bloody demise on Thursday night. His violent death on the streets of suburban Melbourne has surprised few who knew the 44-year old, who self-proclaimed himself 'The Mad Leb'. The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting are yet to be determined but investigators have little doubt Maghnie would have known his killers. Nabil Maghnie has been shot dead after an incident in Epping in northern Melbourne A black ute is towed away at the scene of Nabil Maghnie's execution in Epping on Friday Blind Freddy could have told you Maghnie had been living on the edge. Maghnie infamously drove himself to hospital after being shot in the head in 2016. In 2011, the married father was the victim of another non-fatal shooting at Broadmeadows. He was being investigated by police over a double shooting at the Love Machine nightclub in Prahan in April last year and was prime suspect in an attempted hit on notorious Mongol's bikie Toby Mitchell. Maghnie was also on bail for serious driving offences at the time of his death after crashing his Range Rover at more than 200km/h while high on booze and cocaine last year. Ironically, had Maghnie not been granted bail, he might well still be alive today. The charismatic criminal seemed to have a knack at convincing judges and magistrates' that his risk to the community could be contained. ' He had received bail time and time again over his long criminal career. But in the weeks before his death, anyone unlucky enough to be in Maghnie's company had began to feel uncomfortable. If Maghnie feared for his own life, he certainly didn't outwardly show it. Days before Christmas he was spotted on the main drag of Heidelberg just a stone's throw from the local police station. The hulking Maghnie stood out like a sore thumb on the street as he loudly discussed how the cops 'had no case' and that whoever it was he was talking about - likely himself - was 'going to walk'. He jumped into a brand new Mercedes C200 and took off. That he was driving at all at that stage in his life was questionable given the driving allegations against him. Nabil Maghnie wanted people to know he was a suspect in the shooting of feared bikie enforcer Toby Mitchell Killer Gavin Preston took Nabil Maghnie under his wing and showed him the criminal ropes that ultimately led to his demise But Maghnie never had much regard for the law. He was fiercely loyal to family and his friends and absolutely loathed police and anyone who would help them. Daily Mail Australia has been told in the months before his death, he had been trying to expose a 'rat' who had been close to former crime boss Carl Williams. Born in the 70s, Maghnie came from a broken family and was institutionalised as a child. Living under the eye of the state in those days was particularly tough, and Maghnie found positive male influences in the darkest of places. It was under state care he met his mentor, his best mate and a bloke he would later revere as a father figure. Gavin Preston has been in and out of prison most of his adult life and has convictions for shocking violence offences stretching back to 1991. In 2015, Preston beat a murder charge and a possible life sentence by pleading guilty to the lesser offence of defensive homicide over the 2012 killing of drug dealer Adam Khoury. Preston was also once best mates with feared Prisoner of War 'general' Matthew Johnson, who murdered Melbourne gangster Carl Williams inside jail in 2010, until they fell out over a jail house spat. Maghnie would fiercely defend Preston whenever newspaper reports featuring his mate were published. Former Herald Sun crime reporter Padraic Murphy told Daily Mail Australia Maghnie once bailed him up after he wrote a story suggesting Preston was in protective custody. Maghnie (pictured) was pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds Forensic police attend the scene of Maghnie's shooting death in Epping in northern Melbourne 'He was anxious readers might get the wrong idea that Gav was in protection because he was a rat. I wisely adjusted the copy to say he was in isolation,' he said. Murphy, a Walkley Award winning journalist, said although Maghnie had a healthy contempt for reporters, he appeared to trust him. 'He once offered me a bag of cocaine while we were smack bang in the middle of the Melbourne Magistrates' Court,' he said. 'I declined his offer.' Maghnie was no stranger to the court building. He had been in and out of it since he was a teenager. At the time of his death, Maghnie's rap sheet spanned three computer screens and contained 34 entries. His first stint in an adult prison dated back to 1995 when he was jailed for four months over a wild brawl that saw him convicted of a swag of charges including assault, behaving in a riotous manner and driving dangerously. With the help of barrister Rob Malasecca, Maghnie probably got off lightly. It would be a relationship that lasted all the way up to Maghnie's death. Maghnie leaving Melbourne Magistrates Court in July after being granted bail following a dramatic car crash while under the influence of drugs and alcohol in 2019 Nabil Maghnie had close links to feared prison gang Prisoners Of War, which is headed by Carl Williams' killer Matthew Johnson (pictured) Carl Williams reads a copy of the newspaper in jail as Matthew Johnson prepares to beat his brains in On release, Maghnie almost wound up right back where he started after being convicted of another brutal assault. This time he copped eight months behind bars, but was able to serve it in the community with a corrections order. It wouldn't be long before Maghnie was back in jail. In 2000, he was jailed for three months after being convicted of making threats to kill, reckless conduct endangering life and firearm offences. While Maghnie managed to mostly remain out of jail in the years that followed, he continued to appear in court over driving offences and assaults - usually directed at police. Sources have told Daily Mail Australia that in his later years, drugs had consumed Maghnie and that he was high most days. In 2016, he was convicted of drug offences, but walked with a fine. He spent most of 2018 behind bars after being convicted of a nasty car crash, which saw him assault a police officer. He had been free on bail, was unlicensed, carrying drugs and a weapon. By May last year, his life was out of control. Juiced-up to his eyeballs on cocaine, he hit a roundabout north of Melbourne, became airborne, struck another car and then careened into a paddock. Maghnie collapsed at the scene and was taken to hospital, where a cocktail of drugs was found in his system. Nabil Maghnie was a fan of Melbourne's Meat & Wine Co on Southbank In September he was granted bail after indicating to the court that he planned to plead guilty to the charges. He was cut loose so he could attend drug rehab. Daily Mail Australia has been told by those close to Maghnie that despite his feared reputation, he was a much loved and loyal family man. One of his own son's was wounded in the attack that claimed Maghnie's life. Maghnies son returned to the scene of the shooting on Thursday night along with dozens of friends and relatives. He had been taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg. But he later returned to the scene to be with his family. He was photographed at Dalton Rd in a hospital gown with blood leaking from a wound on his leg. Maghnies son, Jacob Elliott, is on remand after being charged with the Love Machine killings. Maghnie's daughter and a man believed to be his son were allegedly ejected from Love Machine before a fatal double shooting outside the nightclub in April. Maghnie had a long list of enemies, including members of various outlaw motorcycle gangs, powerful Middle-Eastern crime figures and victims of his erratic and violent nature. He was known to get about town with a minder, who was likely caught up in Thursday's shooting. But he was never very hard to find. Maghnie had become a regular at Melbourne's Meat & Wine Co on Southbank along the Yarra River and was often seen enjoying a meal there. Day-to-day, he would pass himself off as your honest, ordinary local builder. Former journalist 'Paddy' Murphy pondered whether he might of had a death wish. 'He demanded I report that he was a suspect in Toby Mitchell's attempted murder. He wanted it to be known. He was proud of it,' he said. Victoria Police detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances around the shooting. A New York man who admitted he was under the influence when his car slammed into the rear of another vehicle on a South Jersey highway, killing the 78-year-old driver, was sentenced to six years behind bars on Friday. Jatinder S. Bhatti, 23, of Queens, New York, was driving an Audi A5 north on Route 55 in Mantua Township on Oct. 22, 2017, when he hit the rear of a Jeep Cherokee driven by Dominic L. Santangelo, of Buena. The impact flipped the Jeep and threw Santangelo from his vehicle. The Audi was engulfed in flames when police arrived. "It was a preventable death and now the ones who love him are left to pick up the pieces, Santangelos wife, Loretta, said during Fridays hearing. My children and grandchildren are forever altered. Our shattered hearts will never be whole again. She questioned why Bhatti - who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and a DWI charge in October - would choose to drive drunk. I cant believe this. You took my life away on the day you killed my husband, Santangelo said. It is the innocent who pay the price for someone drinking and driving. Have a designated driver, call Uber, call a taxi, sleep in your car, anything but drive and kill." Why did you drive? Why? she demanded. Bhatti, when it was his turn to speak, apologized. "First and foremost, I want to take a moment and apologize and genuinely say Im sorry to this beautiful family, he said. "My one wrong decision changed the dynamics of their entire family. Bhatti failed a field sobriety test and his blood alcohol content was measured at .11, which is above the legal limit of .08 percent. An off-duty Camden County police officer witnessed the crash and stopped to help. A police officer, my husbands angel, was with him until the ambulance came, Loretta Santangelo said Friday. He was talking to my husband and trying to call me. The Santangelo family rushed to the hospital and was with him when he died. Under his plea agreement, Bhatti faced up to 10 years on the second-degree vehicular homicide charge. A charge of evidence tampering was dismissed as part of the plea. That charge was filed after a New Jersey State Police trooper reported that he saw Bhatti trying to dispose of a bag containing Adderall pills, a prescription stimulant, near the scene. One of Santangelos sons, Michael, recalled his father as a U.S. Army veteran, a farmer and an avid outdoorsman. The family had marked a major milestone shortly before his death. I did not just lose my father that day, I lost my best friend, he said. My mother lost her husband of 50 years. We just celebrated a month before the crash. Dominic L. Santangelo, 78, of Buena, made annual hunting trips to Maine. He died in a 2017 crash in Mantua Township. (Photo provided) He recalled another time when his family was devastated by a drunk driver. Years ago, we lost three cousins on Thanksgiving Day when a drunk driver took their lives when he slammed into them at a traffic light, he said. Ive come to realize that my father gave his life. He gave his life so you didnt kill another family," he told Bhatti. "Because that night, you were going to kill someone. Officers at the crash scene told the son the impact was so severe that his dads Jeep flipped end-over-end multiple times. The elder Santangelo was on his way to a hunting trip in Maine and was trying to get an early start to beat heavy traffic when the crash occurred around 3:45 a.m. Michael Santangelo said he hoped everyone in the courtroom would think about the consequences of drunk driving and that lessons would be learned. During a lengthy and emotion-filled statement, Bhatti broke down in tears as he spoke and members of his family in attendance, including his mother, sobbed as he read his statement. I was careless and naive. I had just turned 21, bought a new car, was in my junior year of college and felt as if I were on top of the world, he said. Its unfortunate that an incident like this had to occur for me to realize what path I was going down. Bhatti expressed regret for letting down his own family and apologized to them. And even though the biggest punishment I could receive today is a prison sentence, nothing will outweigh the pain and suffering I have caused both of our families. In reviewing factors to determine his sentence, Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson referenced Bhattis previous driving infractions, committed before the fatal crash, which included speeding and disobeying a traffic device. She called his risky conduct very concerning and then talked about the danger he posed when he decided to drive while intoxicated. "This is not just an accident, the judge said. "Mr. Bhatti intentionally drank. He intentionally got into his car. He intentionally started that car and intentionally operated the car on the streets of New Jersey while under the influence of alcohol. Bhatti must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole and will be subject to three years of parole supervision when he is released. He was also sentenced to 30 days of jail time for the DWI, to be served concurrently to his other sentence, along with fines. Bhatti will lose his driving privileges for seven months upon his release from prison and will have to use an ignition interlock device for seven months. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Bakanov also called on the public not to disseminate unverified data in relation to the tragedy. The SBU Security Service of Ukraine is considering two main theories of the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane in Iran a missile strike and a terrorist attack. "Indeed, the theory suggesting it was a hit by a TOR anti-aircraft missile is on the radar screen today," the SBU said in a statement on its website, quoting SBU chief Ivan Bakanov as speaking at an SBU ad hoc group meeting. "However, it's enough to open a handbook on air defense systems to have some questions that need additional answers. In particular, we are talking about the range of the missile, the specifics of the use of the complex, etc. All issues are being checked now." Read alsoUkraine receives from U.S. "important data" on PS752 crash foreign minister The SBU is also carefully examining and analyzing the theory that it might have been an act of terrorism, he said. Bakanov also called on the public not to disseminate unverified data in relation to the tragedy. As UNIAN reported earlier, Kyiv-bound UIA flight PS752 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday, January 8. It was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. Two passengers and the crew members were Ukrainians. There were also 82 citizens of Iran, 63 citizens of Canada, 10 citizens of Sweden, four citizens of Afghanistan, three citizens of Germany and the United Kingdom each. There were no survivors. The causes behind the tragedy are being established by the Iranian side with the involvement, if agreed, of law enforcement units and competent authorities of other countries. Ukrainian experts have also arrived in Iran. On January 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that there was information that could indicate that the Canadian side has evidence, including intelligence data, for a possible missile attack on the Ukrainian plane. Andy Miller, who is perennially the leading driver at Freehold Raceway, asserted himself on Thursday (Jan. 9), as he won five races during the nine-race program at the New Jersey oval. Miller teamed up with leading trainer Nick Surick for four of those victories: Cams Tux ($17.80) in Race 1, Always Picky ($4.80) in Race 2, Ginger Spice ($2.10) in Race 4, and Newbie ($3.60) in Race 7. Miller completed his five-pack with Fat Boy ($4.40), for owner/trainer John Urbanski, in Race 9. Miller has now won 10 races at Freehold thus far in 2020, which currently gives him a six-win edge over his competition. Miller has earned his 10 wins from 29 drives, good for a 34.4 per cent strike rate. Live racing will continue at Freehold on Friday, beginning at 12:30 p.m. (EST). (With files from Freehold Raceway) Find all our Student Opinion questions here. Do you typically follow what happens in the British royal family? What have you read, watched or heard about Prince Harry and Meghan, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? What is your initial reaction to the news of their announcement that they will be stepping back from their official duties? What questions about it do you have? In Prince Harry and Meghan to Step Back From Royal Duties in Extraordinary Retreat, Mark Landler explains: In a year of gut punches to Britains royal family, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, delivered a jarring blow of their own on Wednesday, announcing that they would step back from their official duties. It was an extraordinary retreat by the popular prince and his American wife, who had grown increasingly isolated within the House of Windsor since their wedding in 2018. In a statement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are also known, said they planned to divide their time between Britain and North America and would work to become financially independent. While the language in the statement was mild and upbeat, the change that Prince Harry and his wife are embarking on is momentous. Although he is only sixth in the line of succession to Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry has exerted an outsized hold on the public imagination ever since his days as the mischievous, ginger-haired younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. For the duke and duchess to forsake Britain and relinquish their royal duties, even for part of the year, will be a jolt to one of the nations most immutable institutions. It continues the convention-defying ways of Prince Harry, who enthralled millions of Britons, and angered some others, when he and Meghan, an American actress with a biracial background, decided to marry. Buckingham Palace issued a terse two-line statement Wednesday evening, suggesting the couples announcement had caught the royal family off guard, if not totally blindsided it. The article closes with this quotation from Prince Harry: In recent months, the prince, whose public image was forever fixed for millions as the somber boy walking with his father and brother behind his mothers casket, lashed out in a way that left some royal watchers puzzled. Ive seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person, Prince Harry wrote. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces. To learn more, take a look at What to Know About Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Stepping Back. Here are a few of the questions and answers. Why are they stepping back? Specific reasons mentioned on their website include enabling themselves to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing, and handling their own media relations. On that second point, they particularly emphasized their decision to operate independent of the so-called Royal Rota a key feature of royal family press relations that grants perpetual special access to journalists from seven British publications, including some tabloids. Harry has long been critical of the British press. In October, he and Meghan initiated legal proceedings against the publishers of multiple British newspapers. He explained their decision in a statement posted on one of the Sussex websites, in which he excoriated the media and drew a connection between the royals treatment at the hands of the press and his mother Princess Dianas death. And lets not forget the 2017 interview with Newsweek in which Prince Harry mused, Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I dont think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time. Not a glowing endorsement of the enterprise. What does the British public think? More Britons currently appear to have a view on Megxit than they did on the royal wedding itself. At first, there were clear and loud rumblings of support. Then a few questions arose about cash, given that quite a lot of it had been thrown about in the last few years. The wedding. The house. The bodyguards. What really roused Brits was the statement from the palace, which implied that couple had not fully discussed their retreat from royal life with the queen, whom we love. How dare they? The tabloids, however, had a field day. They didnt even tell the Queen! fumed the Thursday front page of the Daily Mirror. Queens fury as Harry and Meghan say: we quit! read the lead headline of the Daily Mail. (Other institutions got in on the drama, too: Madame Tussauds in London separated its wax figures of Harry and Meghan from those of the rest of the royal family.) The term Megxit got a lot of airtime. Harryverderci has yet to catch on. What was public sentiment toward the Sussexes like before Megxit? Mixed? Very positive around the birth of baby Archie. Less positive around all the private jet hopping last summer. But most Brits havent been paying much attention. Between the recent general election, Australia being on fire and Brexit, the prospect of Megxit had not crossed many peoples minds. Students, read one of the articles above, then tell us: Now that you have a bit of context, what do you think of Prince Harry and Meghans decision to step back as senior members of the royal family? What about their decision to spend time in both England and North America? What factors do you think may have propelled them to make this decision? Do you agree or disagree with their choice? What do you think of the terse two-line statement from Buckingham Palace in response? Why does the couples decision raise so many questions and issues for the royal family? Why do you think so many people even those who never paid attention to the royal family are so interested in this story? What seems significant to you about the announcement and the reactions? The hashtag #megexit has been trending on Twitter, and the English broadcaster Piers Morgan tweeted, People say Im too critical of Meghan Markle but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William & has now split him from the Royal Family. Why do you think so much of the focus is on Meghan instead of Prince Harry? What is your reaction to the hashtag #megexit and responses like Mr. Morgans? Prince Harry and Meghan have been criticized for seeking privacy. For example, the British press was upset when the Sussexes did not pose for a photograph when leaving the maternity ward after their son Archies birth. Do you think that Prince Harry and Meghan have a right to this privacy or do you think that as members of the royal family they are obligated to share moments, like a birth or christening, with the British public? In Black Britons Know Why Meghan Markle Wants Out, Afua Hirsch writes of Meghan, Her treatment has proved what many of us have always known: No matter how beautiful you are, whom you marry, what palaces you occupy, charities you support, how faithful you are, how much money you accumulate or what good deeds you perform, in this society racism will still follow you. Do you agree? What other questions or reactions does this story raise for you? What do you predict will happen in the coming weeks and months as a result? Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public. Zelensky later today will speak over the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko on Friday met with American officials who provided "important data" on the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in Iran. "Together with President Volodymyr Zelensky I met with U.S. representatives, including head of the embassy in Ukraine, Kristina Kvien. We received important data that will be processed by our experts," the top diplomat wrote on Twitter. Read alsoMFA Ukraine urges UNSC to provide unconditional support to experts in PS752 crash probe Later today, at 15:00, Zelensky will speak over the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to the foreign minister. As reported earlier, Iran dismissed as "a big lie" allegations coming from U.S. officials that missiles downed the plane. A black cab driver is being investigated for driving around the capital with a licence plate that threatened to 'Kill Uber'. The unknown driver, who was pictured outside the Savoy Hotel in central London, left onlookers shocked with their private plate 'KII UBR' which has been interpreted as a threat to the American taxi company. Following the sighting, Uber drivers reacted with outrage at the provocative plate and one stated the driver needed to 'step back and reflect on what's important in their life'. Transport for London - which licences the capital's taxis - has said it is urgently investigating. A black cab driver, who was pictured outside the Savoy Hotel in central London with a licence plate that threatened to 'Kill Uber' is being investigated Farhan Khalid, 44, from Birmingham, who has been a minicab driver for 25 years, said: 'I find it a bit sad someone would go out of their way like this. 'If someone has it in them to go out of their way to go buy a number plate like this, I think they really need to step back and reflect on what's important in their life. 'This hate for Uber is clearly completely overpowering and consuming their life.' He added: 'The unfortunate thing is this driver has made himself a target now.' Kara Attila, another Uber driver from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said he had only recently spotted a black cab driver with the private plate 'H8 UBR'. The 38-year-old said: 'They blame us for stealing their jobs. 'But is not our choice, customers have decided that it is much more convenient to use 21st century technology. 'They like ordering cabs straight to their door, pub or office. 'Now it's time to either adapt, evolve or you are not going to survive.' Graham Robinson, TfL's taxi boss, commented: 'Having been made aware of this number plate we are now conducting an urgent investigation.' Black cabs and the private hire application Uber have been embroiled in a long-running feud with one another after the California tech company lost them earnings. The American company Uber and black cabs have been embroiled in a long-running feud with one another. (Stock image) In 2019, the United Cabbies Group (UCG) lost a legal battle against Uber's 15-month operating permit in London despite the licence initially being turned down. Uber has currently lost its licence for the capital, but can still accept passengers while it appeals the decision. MailOnline has contacted TFL for comment. RFS spokesman Anthony Clark said a "finger" of the East Ournie Creek blaze had collided with the Dunns Road fireground at the Clarkes Hill Nature Reserve, near the NSW and Victorian border. The Dunns Road and East Ournie Creek fires were burning at emergency level late on Friday, but were also downgraded to watch-and-act level about 3am on Saturday. Now-realised fears that multiple fires would merge follow hard on the heels of the Gospers Mountain "mega-fire", which ignited in Wollemi National Park and swallowed an area seven times the size of Singapore. A 600,000-hectare "mega-fire" is now burning south of the Snowy Mountains. Credit:Eddie JIm North and north-westerly winds gave way to a southerly change overnight, which combined with merging fires, provided additional challenges from multiple entry points. Mr Clark said they were "expecting fires to potentially spread in two directions overnight". "What we're really seeing with a number of these fires merging is a number of small fires started by lightning strikes, across the landscape. And as they grow, we see fires merging," Mr Clark said. "It provides a challenge for firefighters as when they merge, it increases the size and opens up more uncontained perimeter." Early on Saturday, more than 2500 firefighters were battling 147 blazes in NSW, as the bushfires crisis escalated across four states. More than 60 of those NSW fires were uncontained. Residents were also fleeing fire fronts tearing through parts of eastern Victoria and Kangaroo Island off South Australia, where crews faced rising winds, bone-dry bushland and blistering temperatures. Also homes in Perth were under threat. The NSW Rural Fire Service issued an emergency warning for a fire burning near Coonabarabran on Friday afternoon, as another blaze ignited near Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains. RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said both blazes were most likely sparked by lightning strikes. The only other fire to reach emergency level during the day was near the town of Coonabarabran in the state's central-west. That fire, at Yearinan Station Road, was downgraded to watch-and-act level just before 6pm. Local man Jake McArtney said the dense bush areas were "like a time bomb." Firesfighters face a long and challenging night after the fires merged in Snowy Valley. Credit:Eddie Jim "What it is really, there's so much overgrowth and where the grass is it just grows so quick, it's so high - just like every other bushfire. The town of roughly 2500 people is considered a gateway to the Warrumbungle National Park and the Pilliga Forest, which are packed with dry, dense bushland. Winds gusting up to 90km/h swept through the state later in the evening. Temperatures soared past 40 degrees in inland areas, while the RFS warned large blazes in the south-east could spread under worsening conditions, or shoot off embers that might create spot fires. The blustery conditions were expected to bring mixed fortunes for firefighters overnight - dropping temperatures on the ground while making blazes more unpredictable after dark. Firefighters and farmers brace for worsening conditions near Adaminaby near the Snowy Mountains, where multiple blazes are burning. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The RFS spokesman said crews "hope the cooler weather will reduce fire activity" into the weekend. "But there is a window and we have seen wind-driven fires this season, because everything is so dry, where fires are moving very quickly and burning very erratically even overnight." NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Friday was "going to be a long night for some communities". Loading Monaro RFS public liaison officer Andrew Dillon said: "Firefighters have done a lot of work over the past seven days to prepare for today's bad fire weather, and we can't guarantee that fires will hold." A fire burning in Adaminaby, near Cooma, threatened to cross into the ACT on Friday, prompting authorities to advise residents to avoid travelling to the bushland region south of Canberra. The guide, entitled How to Talk to Your Kids About the Situation With Iran, promises to arm you with the information you need if you choose to bring up the topic or if kids ask questions about it. That information consists of watering down the fact that Soleimani had overseen atrocities that led to the deaths of thousands of Iraqi and Syrian citizens as well as the slaughter of over 600 U.S. troops. Trump has called Soleimani a terrorist. Trump says Soleimani ordered [recent] attacks. U.S. military leaders gave Trump several choices for how to respond to Irans actions. Killing Soleimani was considered the most extreme. Some top U.S. military and government officials have expressed surprise and concern about Trumps decision. Note how Time says, Trump has called Soleimani a terrorist, to subtly dispute the fact he was a terrorist, despite Soleimani being sanctioned and designated as a terrorist supporter by the U.S. back in 2007, more than nine years before Trump took office. Also note how the article reads not so much as a guide on how parents can talk to their kids, but as a propaganda piece directed at adult readers who Time thinks have the mental capacity of children. Heres my own handy guide on how to talk to your kids about Time Magazine, comments the Moonbattery blog. Tell them it is run by moonbats, who will side with any enemy against their own country, including terrorist maniacs who want to kill them. Tell them that like the rest of the liberal media, it consists of pernicious spin and vicious lies. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has tasked the Russian military with monitoring the deployment of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles by the U.S. "We need to carry out a profound analysis of potential military threats and outline the measures on improving the armed forces. The results of these efforts will be taken into account when drafting the countrys defense plan for the years 2021-2025," the minister said, opening a teleconference on the main spheres of activity of the Russian Defense Ministry for the year 2020. "We need to monitor the deployment of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles by the United States of America," TASS cited him as saying. Shoigu also noted that the Russian Strategic Missile Forces must carry out steady re-equipment with the Avangard and Yars missiles, while the nuclear navy forces must begin deployment of the Borei-A strategic missiles. John Tully, Yarraville Ready, willing and able to fill the royal void The decision by Harry and Meghan to step away from royal duties and seek financial independence is welcome news. However, it may be too much to expect the remaining royals to follow their lead. In the interim, I would like to offer my exceptional hand-shaking and dining abilities to fill the void. My CV includes Greek heritage, like Prince Philip, and I am prone to insulting people. My wife already thinks she is a queen. My rates will be a mere 2per cent of the Sovereign Grant. I am willing to be driven about in a Holden Commodore or Ford Ranger but also willing to upgrade to European wheels. I look forward to hearing from her majesty. Leon Zembekis, Reservoir Harry and Meghan, a progressive model Whilst I am not a monarchist, I wish the Duke and Duchess of Sussex all the best in their future endeavours. However, their decision also reflects very poorly on British society, especially among conservative and aristocratic circles. I hope their actions may encourage younger Liberals in Australia to be more progressive and to accept causes such as climate change. Jenny Smith, East Melbourne It's not just a royal love match, it's also a job There is a simple way for the Queen to solve the Harry and Meghan marriage, and all other marriages, in the royal family. All betrothals need to be both a marriage and employment in the royal firm. The participants can either accept the marriage and employment conditions and retain their place in the monarchy, or get married, leave the monarchy and forgo all titles and benefits. Roger Wolfe, Balwyn Don't worry about Harry, he's doing fine Harry has an estimated inherited wealth of $35million. He is financially independent already but he does not intend to draw on it for living expenses. The opaque finances of the royals are likely to provide a very generous income for him in his new part-time role. His father has a vast personal fortune which has provided income to both his sons. The Queen also oversees generous disbursements (taxpayers' funds) to members of the family. As long as Harry keeps away from Las Vegas casinos he will be financially independent. Des Files, Brunswick THE FORUM Unfair to blame Iran It appears the West has decided, before any investigation or proper examination of the Ukrainian plane, that a missile brought it down. But why was it turning and appear to be returning to the airport? Why would Iran deliberately bring down a plane with 82 Iranians on board? Let us not forget the Iranian-scheduled domestic flight shot down by the USS Vincennes in 1988 and the attempts to cover that up. Some independent reporting would be desirable. Irene Bolger, Apollo Bay Iran's guilt? Of course Referring to what seems to have been established as the shooting down of the Ukrainian airliner by Iran, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told 2GB yesterday: "I can confirm that we have had similar intelligence as our partners have. This is not a deliberate act as we can determine. It's a terrible accident." How on earth does he know this when no investigation has yet taken place? George Greenberg, Malvern A failure of diplomacy Donald Trump is the root cause of the passenger plane being shot down in Iran. He destabilised the region by assassination. Had he used diplomacy, the tragedy would not have happened. Robin Godfrey, Riddells Creek A win-win for Trump Donald Trump would appear to be a major strategist. The front pages have been all about his impeachment: so let's change the front page. Assassinate a top Iranian general and let Iran retaliate in a half-hearted way, which allows Trump to magnanimously draw back from more tit for tat. War averted: Trump is a hero and impeachment is off the front page. Marie Nash, Balwyn The forgotten victims Susan Caughey (Letters, 10/1) asks if the 56 deaths during the stampede at the funeral of Qassem Soleimani should be attributed to "The Great Satan" and the victims called martyrs. My question is how to describe the thousands of Iranians who have died due to the crippling sanctions imposed by the United States after it walked away from the multi-nation nuclear agreement. My second question is why do American lives matter more than other lives. Charles Beare, Kensington Victoria's strong stance The Victorian government's commitment to taking tough action to cut carbon emissions (The Age, 10/1) is a welcome change from the dither and delay that characterises the federal government's response. By committing to science-based emissions reduction targets for 2025 and 2030, Victoria is sending a message to Australia and the world that we have the power to build a cleaner, greener future. We can lead the drive to keep global warming to 1.5C. Emma Sandford, Toorak Listen to their cries Scientists fear that many billions of animals may have been killed by the bushfires that have swept across Australia's south-east (The Age, 10/1). Imagine, if we were to ring a bell once every second in memory of each animal that has been lost so far, it would ring for many, many years. Let us place that bell in the chambers of Parliament House, Canberra, so the politicians can hear the cries of those that have no voice. Donna Tacey, Healesville Such heartfelt generosity As celebrities of all types compete among themselves to donate even more extravagant amounts of their hard-earned money to bushfire relief, spare a thought for the pensioners who make a greater sacrifice, with no public recognition, when they give $10 over the counter at the bank to be put towards the Bushfire Relief Fund. The poor, not celebrities, deserve to be praised. Andrew Powell, Caulfield Clean roads, fewer fires I definitely agree that something should be done about removing rubbish from our roadsides, Greg Eccleston (Letters, 9/1). May I suggest a "bottle return" system as a solution as it would be an incentive for better behaviour, thus reducing the risk of starting bushfires. Suzanne Palmer-Holton, Seaford Get out of the pot One can only hope that the frogs in the pot of initially cold water over the fire who previously were oblivious, deliberately deaf to warnings, or not willing to pay the "cost" and "inconvenience" necessary to escape from the pot have noticed the water is warming, and have realised those costs are monstered by the total, absolute cost of remaining in the pot. Joe Di Stefano, Geelong Very selective donations Maureen Peck (Letters 9/1) is obviously referring to Gina Rinehart when she asks: "Has the woman who's made the most from our resources donated to bushfire charities?" To my knowledge she has made no such donations, but I know that she has made significant donations to organisations and individuals to promote climate change scepticism and hinder attempts to combat climate change. Gordon Moss, Brookfield Suffering in silence My heart goes out to the Australians, and the wildlife and farm animals, which have suffered in the bushfire disaster. But does anyone remember the homeless people, the unemployed, the over 60s "dole bludgers" and the lone family in detention on Christmas Island, all of whom are not worthy of compassion and assistance from our Prime Minister and the government? It is fortunate that these people continue to suffer quietly. Will this government call the bushfire victims "dole bludgers" in the future? How much taxpayer funds were expended in the advertisement telling us how good the government is? Irene Bosma, Newlands Arm Our biased 'fair go' Australians pride themselves on giving others a fair go. For some unaccountable reason, the current Prime Minister seems to be excluded. Or is the idea of a fair go reserved only for people who agree with us? David Morgan, Ivanhoe Focus on the big picture With dangerous misinformation being peddled "News Corp employee's fire coverage email" (Age Online, 10/1) it is unconscionable that more than half our media is allowed to be controlled by one billionaire. Vast tracts of land are undergoing an abnormally long and severe drying trend. Regardless of whether it is people, lightning or something else that sparks fires, they will continue to take hold more easily and burn with greater intensity for longer and greater distances. This will create unprecedented fire seasons that backburning cannot stop. They will become more severe as our climate continues to change. Dr Roan Plotz, lecturer, environmental science, Victoria University Where $2b should go Daniel Andrews should spend our $20billion, earmarked for the obsolete and destructive North East Link, instead on recovery of the Victorian community and country from the huge fire, drought and heat we have experienced. John Merory, Ivanhoe East The value of science Thank you to John Daley for his elegant analysis of the peril we place ourselves in if governments hamper the public service's ability to develop evidence-informed, public policy (Opinion 8/1). As a society we seem to accept a role for science in, say, chemotherapy, bridge building or space exploration. But when the very same methods and logic are applied to things we think we might remotely understand (obesity, mental health, the weather, disasters), we seem to think it is OK to set science aside. Penny Hawe, Lorne Chip in and help, guys Harry and Meghan should come to Melbourne and buy a house near a fire station where they can pick up a wet blanket and help us put out the fires. Royalty who yearn for normality will be a gift for Rupert Murdoch's paparazzi. Graeme Lee, Fitzroy More praise for Aunty A shout out for the ABC, magnificent during this time of crisis. David Healy, Surrey Hills AND ANOTHER THING Royals Harry. The person formerly known as Prince. Rob Willis, Wheelers Hill A young man of 35 leaving home. Now that is amazing. Lee Guion, Portarlington Harry, your mum would have been so proud of you and Meghan. Ruth Davis, Carrum So much for the "fab four". Nick Toovey, Beaumaris Harry for Prime Minister. Reg Murray, Glen Iris Since birth, Harry has been known as the "spare". He's finally being his own man. Tris Raouf, Hadfield Do we have a potential governor-general waiting in the Canadian wings? Jim McLeod, Sale Two flew out of the Cuckoo's Nest. Les Anderson, Woodend Middle East Trump calls Soleimani a "monster". Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Rod Martin, Glen Waverley Trump should look in the mirror before he accuses others of trying to hurt Americans. Annie Wilson, Inverloch He's not the President, he's a very naughty boy. Keith Lawson, Melbourne The West has always desired and fought for control of oil, not peace, in the Middle East. Laura De Bernardi, Doncaster Fires Where is the Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley? Sheridan Rodgers, Berwick Angus Taylor is awfully quiet. Perhaps he's still on holiday in Madrid. Geoff Collis, Eltham Big donations from wealthy individuals and corporations will help but we must remember the story of the widow's mite. This week, the Communications Workers of America one of the largest industrial unions in the country launched the Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE), which seeks to unionize people working for game and tech companies. The CWA forged an alliance with the grassroots labor group Game Workers Unite (a similar deal was struck in Toronto between the CWA and the local GWU chapter). Two fulltime CWA staffers are charged with assisting tech and game company union organizers. The CWA staffers will assist shop organizers with legal and institutional advice. In December, CWA filed official charges against Google with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of five Google workers who were fired in what they say was retaliation for their organizing at the tech giant. The new project charts a path away from organizing video game workers along the Hollywood craft union model. SAG-AFTRA has represented video game voice actors for years, and called a strike in 2017 over pay and royalty structures. But CWA largely follows the industrial union model, which organizes entire companies at once rather than splitting workers who perform different jobs into specialized unions. Smith, for his part, said that CWA could accommodate craft-based organizing if that's what video game or tech workers want, emphasizing that the workers will ultimately decide how to organize. But Kinema saw the decision to join CWA in starker terms. Major union launches campaign to organize video game and tech workers [Sam Dean/LA Times] (via /.) When youre el duffo, the weeks between 16 and 32-ish are breathlessly called the honeymoon period. (Entirely different from a babymoon well come to that later.) Im now at the tail end of that phase howl but Im finally, eventually, at last starting to enjoy being pregnant. Thank God: its only taken seven months and a baby that is now the size of a bunch of broccoli/ a raccoon hat from Moonrise Kingdom/ a Slinky Dog, according to the baffling size comparisons on the What To Expect pregnancy app. Over the past seven months, Ive been genuinely amazed at how the human body and more pertinently, brain adapts and copes with change. I started 2019 drinking vinho verde in Porto, looking forward to another year of near-constant travel. By contrast, Im now participating (albeit unwillingly) in the flight-free 2020 movement, at least for the next four months until I get my unborn a passport. Instead of travelling, Im settling in for a good two months of sitting on my arse. Really, the most incredible thing is that Ive not totally lost my s**t over this new state of affairs: I never thought Id actually enjoy slowing down and listening to what my body needs (biscuits). But after seven months of being pregnant, Ive slowly got used to the idea that Im going to be a parent an unbelievable thought just a few months ago, when my only reaction was sheer dread. 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities Show all 24 1 /24 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 6. Oprah Winfrey The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 1. Demi Lovato No matter what you're going through, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you'll find the positive side of things. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 2. Bruce Lee It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials. Rex Features 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 3. Ziggy Marley Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 4. Winnie The Pooh Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering. 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 5. Lena Dunham "I am certainly no self-help guru but here is what I know tonight: when you take the time and space you need, kindly and responsibly, you're suddenly available to the people you love in a whole new way." Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 7. Barack Obama If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. AFP/Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 8. Michelle Obama One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really dont invest any energy in them, because I know who I am. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 9. Lizzo "I love you. You are beautiful and you can do anything." Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 10. RuPaul "The only thing wrong with me was that I thought there was something wrong with me." Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 11. Maya Angelou You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 12. Stephen Fry It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe, but not worth bothering with. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 13. Meghan Markle Be able to delegate, because there are some things that you just cant do by yourself. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 14. Nelson Mandela Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 15. Haruki Murakami "And once the storm is over you wont remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You wont even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you wont be the same person who walked in. Thats what this storms all about. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 16. CS Lewis You Are Never Too Old To Set Another Goal Or To Dream A New Dream. Rex Features 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 17. Audery Hepburn Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 18. Ella Fitzgerald Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 19. Billy Porter For me, life is about being positive and hopeful, choosing to be joyful, choosing to be encouraging, choosing to be empowering. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 20. Betty White It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 21. Drew Barrymore "Life is very interesting in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 22. Jane Fonda Its never too late never too late to start over, never too late to be happy. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 23. Jennifer Aniston There are no regrets in life. Just lessons. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 24. Beyonce Knowles "The reality is: sometimes you lose. And youre never too good to lose. Youre never too big to lose. Youre never too smart to lose. It happens" Getty Images How has this happened? The crucial thing for this megalomaniac writer has been exercising as much control as possible over my pregnancy. Not over the way my body looks (Ha! My boobs now rest gently on my stomach), but by arming myself with as much information as possible whether thats research on different prams, birth stories, nursery furniture or even actual nurseries. I went to look around one over Christmas which as well as having a good Ofsted rating comes with a two-year waiting list and all I could think about was how noisy it was, and how quiet my child-free life seemed in comparison. But at least I now know what to expect. Its the same when it comes to buying things for the baby. In November, we spent a good few hours fannying around John Lewis, looking at cots (or cotbeds?), car seats, prams and all the gunky stuff like breast pumps and nipple creams. Ive actually enjoyed hearing about other peoples birth stories, too: I know its going to be hell, but at least Im going into it with my eyes wide open. People say that having a baby means the loss of total control and even worse the joy of giving into it, but knowing as much as possible about the process, the birth and, God forbid, the actual raising of the thing has been critical in making me feel ready and prepared. One Independent colleague gifted him an Im a feminist babygro, which Im lukewarm about Note that for all this bluster, we havent actually bought much stuff yet. In fact, the only things we do have for the incubatee are some cute gifts from friends and family, including a couple of knitted blankets, a swaddle and a white noise machine. One Independent colleague gifted him an Im a feminist babygro, but Im lukewarm about that one. What else has helped this sudden change in third trimester mindset? For one, meeting a handful of other prospective parents in my neighbourhood for tentative coffees. In fact, its been rather nice to chat about dry nipples and car seats, so I know Im not on my own come March. (Also, if anybody lives in southeast London and is due to give birth in March, please be nice to me in NCT classes?) Now Im in my third trimester, it gets much harder to fly (although not impossible: some airlines will fly you until 36 weeks). Yet amazingly, Im okay with being grounded for the foreseeable. Im reassured by the fact that Ive had a packed second trimester full of exciting trips and holidays, to places like Greece, Naples, Morocco, San Francisco and finally a relaxing week in Dubai, right before Christmas. Plus, the bonus of going away while incubating is you can label every trip the ghastly babymoon (a romantic holiday taken by parents-to-be) and have people bring you biscuits by the pool. Oh, biscuits. At seven months theres also the unspeakable joy of eating an entire Terrys Chocolate Orange and having three desserts a day entirely guilt-free the rolls of fat I once had have helpfully been vacuumed up by my bump. Theres the joy of getting a seat on the tube. Theres the joy of balancing a mug of decaffeinated earl grey on my middle. (Although theres also the not so much joy of getting my expanding middle stuck in the tight revolving doors to the office building.) Of course at this point in pregnancy, Im still not sleeping, am constantly sweaty and feel like I need a wee the moment I walk anywhere because the babys head is pressing into my bladder. My midwife told me he was head down at 28 weeks (already!) which makes me realise Im likely raising another over-ambitious neophile. Ping! Thats my weekly email from the NHS, reminding me that at 30 weeks, Im three-quarters of the way there. Maybe its the hormones. Maybe I will actually miss being pregnant. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Evermos, a social commerce company focusing on enabling resellers sell everyday products which are Halal/Sharia compliant across Indonesia, announced it recent Series A funding of US$8.25 million from Jungle Ventures, Shunwei Capital, and Alpha JWC Ventures. Based in Bandung, West Java, Evermos had launched its platform only nine months ago. It has since then rapidly grown into a network of over 20,000 paid resellers across every single province throughout Indonesia, marketing thousands of local products from hundreds of local brands. Evermos closed a total of US$8.25 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round, led by Jungle Ventures with participation from Shunwei Capital as well as existing investor Alpha JWC Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to expand its presence in the digital Islamic Economy ecosystem, accelerate the growth by focusing on further collaborations with local brands and organizations, and build and support a vast online reseller network. According to Thomson Reuters, the market for halal/Sharia compliant/Islamic goods surpassed $2 trillion USD in 2016, and it is likely to increase to $3.8 trillion USD by 2022. As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia will see a significant chunk of this growth of the Islamic Economy globally. Co-founder and Evermos CEO, Iqbal Muslimin, said that, "The digital economy in Indonesia has grown particularly fast, and its Sharia economy has a very large potential to become a part of this expansion. The Indonesian government also been showing support to accelerate Sharia economy by providing supportive regulations and plans and we are keen to support that with our technology ecosystem." "Given the size of our Muslim population, this Sharia economy will have a positive impact throughout the country. Not only will Evermos continue our work to build an end-to-end social commerce platform and ecosystem to connect brand owners to our resellers and to end consumers, but it will also do business with our partners in compliance with Sharia law requirements," he said. "We build the tech infrastructure to provide everyday needs for Indonesian Muslims, hence the name Evermos, short for Everyday Need for Every Moslem," said Ilham Taufiq, co-founder and Head of Partnership of Evermos. "We believe Evermos is not limited to a business platform, but it is also an economic driver for the Muslim community. There's a lot of untapped potential on this that we will address in the future, including social goods, infaq, halal travel and Sharia fintech," he added. Yash Sankrityayan, Principal at Jungle Ventures, added that, "We are very excited to partner with the Evermos founding team as they have deep understanding and respect for the large Sharia economy in Indonesia, a clear vision for supporting it with technology, as well as a genuine desire to build an ecosystem to enable and help motivated Indonesian individuals to have additional income and contribute further to their households no matter their current employment and education status. They are also a serial founding team which has been building valuable digital startups together for years and that shows in the pace at which they have been building and growing." About Evermos Evermos is a social commerce startup that connects resellers-to-brands to consumers via platform to sell Muslim products. Evermos focuses on bringing everyday need for every Moslem with resellers, by selling halal products through Whatsapp and social media, in various verticals, including fashion, food, cosmetics and business opportunities that comply with Sharia laws. About Jungle Ventures Jungle Ventures is one of the largest early stage venture capital firms in Southeast Asia. Its portfolio broadly covers three verticals: consumer brands for the digitally native; digital platforms for transforming SMEs; global technology leaders born in Asia. In the last 5 years, Jungle Ventures has also exited its portfolio companies to large global technology companies such as Rakuten, Twitter, Expedia and manages more than US$350 million across 3 funds. About Shunwei Capital Shunwei Capital is a premier venture capital firm specializing in early to growth stage investments in disruptive business models. Shunwei invest in mobile Internet, Internet+, consumer IoT, smart manufacturing, deep technology and rural Internet. Investment portfolio comprises Xiaomi, 17zuoye, Meicai and other premium companies in China. Shunwei Capital manages over US$3 billion in funds under management. About Alpha JWC Ventures Alpha JWC Ventures is a Southeast Asian venture capital firm with an Indonesia+ angle and focused value-add approach. We have deep financial technology and sustainable consumer sector expertise. The firm currently manages two funds of more than US$170 million and more than 30 active portfolio companies. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1063261/evermos_founders_management_team_1200.jpg Kashmiri Pandits welcome 16 foreign envoys with "Free Kashmir from Islamic Terror" posters in Jagati. Image Source: IANS News Kashmiri Pandits welcome 16 foreign envoys with "Free Kashmir from Islamic Terror" posters in Jagati. Image Source: IANS News Kashmiri Pandits welcome 16 foreign envoys with "Free Kashmir from Islamic Terror" posters in Jagati. Image Source: IANS News Jammu, Jan 10 : Foreign diplomats visiting the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir were on Friday reminded of the impact of Islamic terrorism by poster-bearing Kashmiri Pandit refugees on the outskirts of Jammu. Fifteen foreign envoys, including the US Ambassador, are on a two-day visit to Jammu & Kashmir to personally witness the normalisation efforts taking place in the recently-formed Union Territory. The residents of the Jagti Migrant Township held up posters proclaiming 'Free Kashmir from Islamic Terror' when the envoy team arrived. The diplomats were scheduled to interact with a two-member team representing Kashmiri Pandits displaced from the Kashmir valley in the face of Islamic terrorism. The interaction with the displaced Hindus gave the foreign diplomats a first-hand look at the impact of Islamic terror in Kashmir. Prior to visiting the Kashmiri Pandit migrant camp, the envoys had interacted with community and civil service representatives in Jammu. Members of the delegation hail from the United States, Argentina, South Korea, Fiji, Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Guyana, Maldives, Morocco, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Niger, and Togo. This is the second team of foreign diplomats to visit Jammu & Kashmir after Article 370 was revoked and the erstwhile state was hived off into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. Actress Victoria Hamilton has revealed she had a brush with Harvey Weinstein when he visited her in her trailer right before she filmed her first ever nude scene - and said it was a godsend he didn't fancy her. The London-born star, who played the Queen Mother in series one and two of The Crown, was 28 when she was cast in the role of Maria Bertram in the 1999 film adaptation of Mansfield Park. Now 48, Victoria described how the disgraced movie mogul, who produced the flick, knocked on the door of her trailer and 'looked her up and down'. She said she was about to do a nude scene for the first time and was 'absolutely terrified' - downing half a bottle of wine for Dutch courage while she had her make-up done. Actress Victoria Hamilton has revealed she had a brush with Harvey Weinstein when he visited her in her trailer right before she filmed her first ever nude scene The actress, who played the Queen Mother in the first two series of The Crown (pictured), said it was a godsend the producer didn't fancy her 'There was an enormous knock on the door and this huge man was suddenly in my tiny trailer, towering above me,' she told the Telegraph. 'He looked me up and down in my robe and said: "D'you know what? We spent hours in rooms with people saying this part has to go to a beautiful actress. And I was the one who kept saying, "No, no, give it to the funny kid..." 'I'm sure he thought it was a compliment - and before I went on to do my first ever clothes-off scene - and I was like, "Wow. OK!" But now I think thank God he didn't fancy me or who knows what could have happened.' Victoria dismissed a recent rumour that she's expecting a third child. She is already mother to two sons, Tam, 10, and Hal, eight, with fellow actor Mark Bazeley. Victoria, pictured as Maria Bertram in the 1999 film adaptation of Mansfield Park, was about to film her first ever nude scene when Weinstein knocked on the door of her trailer and 'looked her up and down' Weinstein, pictured leaving court during his sexual assault trial in New York earlier this week, told Victoria he'd cast her for being 'funny' not 'beautiful' While playing the Queen Mother alongside Claire Foy as the Queen, she revealed she had to wear a bosom built into the stomach of her dresses. 'I had my boobs, and the Queen Mum's boobs hanging lower down,' she told the publication. 'It was very much a four-boob role.' Victoria is set to star in Cobra, a new six-part apocalyptic thriller for Sky, playing the role of Anna Marshall, a government chief of staff to Robert Carlyle's prime minister. She told how her character 'incredibly' has a sex life, something she pointed out was unusual 10 years ago for an on-screen woman over 40 because they weren't considered 'attractive enough to be sexually active'. Victoria is set to star in Cobra, a new six-part apocalyptic thriller for Sky, playing the role of Anna Marshall, a government chief of staff to Robert Carlyle's prime minister. Pictured as the Queen Mother with actor Jared Harris in The Crown series one The actress said the #MeToo movement, as well as Scandi noir, has helped changed this outdated perception. Victoria previously claimed viewers are turning off from dramas that feature 'fake' sex scenes and cosmetically-enhanced women. Last year she said there's never been a better time to be a female actor over the age of 40, with better roles on offer for the first time. She told the Guardian that people now want to see 'real bodies and real people', and credited hard-hitting dramas such as The Killing. Cobra airs on Sky One on January 17 at 9pm. The release of the messages, which highlight an aggressive cost-cutting culture and disrespect towards the FAA, is set to deepen the crisis at Boeing which is struggling to get its best-selling plane back in the air and restore public confidence. The FAA said, however, that the messages do not raise new safety concerns although the tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing. Boeing said the communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable. Pearly gates closed The disclosure, which Boeing said was in the interest of transparency with the FAA, prompted renewed outrage from U.S. lawmakers and puts more pressure on Boeings new CEO David Calhoun to overhaul the companys culture when he takes the reins on Monday. House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, who has been investigating the Max, said the messages paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally. Dallas, TX, Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The worlds largest barbecue franchise is expanding their global footprint to the Republic of Georgia with the location set to open in the countrys capital, Tbilisi. Tibua Shalva, owner of the DS Group, inked the deal with the Dallas-based barbecue concept in November and is adding the Texas-style eatery to his portfolio of restaurants. Dickeys Barbecue Pit, like Georgia, is rich with tradition and a true, culturally-authentic experience, says Tibua Shalva, owner of Georgian construction and development company, the DS Group. Im proud to be the chosen partner to represent this iconic American brand as it expands to Eurasia. This marks the fifth international location for the 79-year-old barbecue franchise with locations open in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and soon to open in Brazil and Egypt. Jointly, Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. is investing in the expansion of their field operations personnel to meet the rapid growth in the region and help train international owner operators in-stores. As Dickeys takes its next global leap to the Republic of Georgia, we are proud to share this experience with such a terrific partner, says Jim Perkins, Vice President of International Development for Dickeys Barbecue Pit. I look forward to working with Tibua Shalva and introducing Dickeys slow-smoked barbecue to the citizens of Georgia. To learn more about franchising with Dickeys, visit Dickeys franchising page or call 866-340-6188. Find your nearest Dickeys Barbecue Pit location here. Follow Dickeys on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Download the Dickeys App from the Apple App Store or Google Play. About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nations largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. For the past 78 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit locations across the nation have served guests Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickeys, all our barbecued meats are smoked on-site in a hickory wood burning pit for up to 14 hours. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and wholesome sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded worldwide with 2 international locations in the UAE and operates over 500 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list and was named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur in 2018. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Franchise Times, The Wall Street Journal, QSR Magazine, Forbes Magazine and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com. Story continues ### Greer Martin Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. 9722489899 ext.156 gmartin@dickeys.com New Delhi: The intense protests by JNU students over fee hike have finally forced the administration to accept their demands. The JNU administration has decided to waive off the utility and service charges for the hostel residents for the winter semester. The JNUSU has been demanding the rollback. The JNU circular, a copy of which is with News Nation, says that, This is for further information of all concerned that Service and Utility charges for the hostel residents are not being charged during the current registration for 2020 Winter Semester. The circular dated January 9 comes after the JNU students and teachers met the officials in HRD ministry to resolve the issue in Delhi on same day. However, the circular has been released on Friday. Interestingly, the circular has put on record that the decision was made after the meeting that was held in December last year. As per the record of discussion held in MHRD on resolving the JNU issue on 10/11 December, 2019, UGC will bear the cost of Service and Utility charges proposed till further orders, the circular said. The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration has already written to the University Grants Commission to release the funds towards the Service and Utility charges in the hostels. The matter is being pursued at the appropriate level in the UGC. The issues with the approval of the Competent Authority, the circular further added. On Thursday, the JNUSU had said that, All Service and Utility charges for the hostel residents will have to be rescinded, not simply kept "on hold." Not just for us, but for future generations of JNU students. A new IHA Meeting has to be convened following the democratic procedures as ensured by the statutes of JNU. Amid outrage by students over a proposed fee hike, the HRD Ministry had intervened last month and formed a three-member committee to resolve the stand-off between the university and its administration. JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had said that there had been no deviation from the "formula" arrived at by the HRD Ministry about the fee hike. Students are not being charged any services or utility fees as decided, he had said on Thursday. Meanwhile, four days after a masked mob entered the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and assaulted 34 people including students, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police on Thursday said it had zeroed in on a few suspects behind the attack. A senior police officer said they had identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups, where the attack on members of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) was allegedly planned. According to the police, they were very close to identifying the culprits behind Sundays attack and had zeroed in on a few suspects. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Yes Banks troubles seem to be far from over. Just when things seemed to fall in line gradually with the private lender after a tumultuous phase following founder Rana Kapoors exit, allegations of serious corporate governance issues, and delayed fund raising, fresh problems are cropping up for the Mumbai-based lender. In the latest round, Yes Bank's independent director Uttam Prakash Agarwal has put in his papers citing "serious concerns" on the state of affairs at the private sector lender and deteriorating practices. Agarwal was also Chairman of audit committee for the bank. Shares of the private lender fell by five percent on January 10 following Agarwals exit. Whats cooking at the bank? Analysts are not sure what exactly caused Agarwals sudden exit. There are reports suggesting both corporate governance issues and non-adherence to fit and proper criteria as reasons for Uttam Agarwals exit. This will partly affect the fundraising and the bank overall, said Pritesh Bumb, Equity Research Analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher. In November last year, Mint had reported that the Reserve Bank of India has asked Yes Bank to review the "fit and proper" status of Agarwal after the central bank noticed inadequate disclosures by Agarwal on the criminal cases filed against him. In a clarification to the stock exchanges on January 10, Yes bank said Agarwal resigned ahead of the board examining his 'fit and proper criteria' under RBI's norms. Regardless of the reasons behind Agarwals exit, it becomes abundantly clear that Yes bank isnt out of its corporate governance problems, and there is more than meets the eye. There are issues with the company. That has been the case for quite some time, said Suresh Ganapathy, Banking Analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities (India). The bigger problem is the asset quality issues in the bank and perhaps the books are not clean. There is not much transparency with respect to the asset quality, said Ganapathy. Broken promises? Cracks first appeared on the books of the bank when the RBI found huge divergence in bad loan figures reported by the bank and what came up in the RBIs inspection. In FY19 alone, Yes bank reported a divergence of Rs 3,277 crore in bad loans and Rs 978 crore in non performing asset (NPA) provisions. The bank has been struggling to raise funds despite repeated commitments made by Ravneet Gill, Managing Director and CEO of the bank to the shareholders. According to analysts, the lack of transparency within the top brass of the bank about the exact nature of fund raising plans and state of asset quality might have lead to Agarwals exit. In his interviews to television channels, Agarwal had made it clear that he had expressed his dissent to the board of directors of the bank multiple times on the way things are moving in the company, and alleged that the bank is largely driven by the management, and not by the board. Agarwals exit will be another blow to the shareholders' confidence in the new age private sector bank that, till the exit of its founder, was a model for exceptional growth for the banking sector. Investors will also be wary to put their money in the Mumbai-based bank till it can come clean on corporate governance issues, and the lack of transparency in communications. After equating his holding in the bank to "Diamonds that are forever", in November last year, Yes Bank's founder Rana Kapoor sold almost all of his stake in the bank. The new regime, under CEO Ravneet Gill, promised to take the bank out of its corporate governance mess and asset quality issues, and attract new investors, but he has been unsuccessful to get an investor so far. Unless Yes bank manages to get an investor to put money on the table, there is any relief unlikely for the lender. Gill needs to set the house in order and promise only what he could deliver to shareholders. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, January 11 2020 Mari Elka Pangestu (JP/Ricky Yudhistira) The World Bank appointed Indonesian senior economist Mari Elka Pangestu as its managing director for development policy and partnerships, making her the second Indonesian woman to hold the strategic post after Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. The Washington DC-based development bank lauded Maris exceptional policy and management expertise, citing her previous experience as trade minister between 2004 and 2011 as well as tourism and creative economy minister between 2011 and 2014. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Iran called on all parties involved, including the American Boeing Corporation, to take part in an investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian plane near Tehran, leaving 176 people killed, Press TV reported. According to international rules, representatives of the civil aviation agency of the country where the accident occurred, the civil aviation agency of the country that issued the certificate of airworthiness, the owner of the airliner, the manufacturer of aircraft and the manufacturer of jet engines may be involved in the investigation process. Representatives of Ukraine are already in Iran, said Ali Rabiei, representative of the Iranian administration. Rabiei denied Pentagon allegations that the plane could have been shot down by a rocket. He called these allegations a psychological government operation that offends the families of the victims. Meanwhile, IIranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran had launched an investigation into the causes of the crash in accordance with international principles and principles of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Mousavi noted that Iran sent invitations to Ukraine and Boeing Co. to participate in the investigation. Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumors are illogical, ISNA quoted Ali Abedzadeh as saying. US officials said Thursday the plane could most likely been brought down accidentally by Iranian air defenses, Reuters reported. By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a plan to speed permitting for major infrastructure projects like oil pipelines, road expansions and bridges, one of the biggest deregulatory actions of the president's tenure. The plan, released by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), would help the administration advance big energy and infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL oil pipeline or roads, bridges and federal buildings that President Donald Trump and industry groups complained have been hampered by red tape. "For the first time in over 40 years today we are issuing a new rule under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to completely overhaul the dysfunctional bureaucratic system that has created these massive obstructions," Trump said at the White House on Thursday. The proposal to update the how NEPA, the 50-year bedrock federal environmental law, is implemented is part of Trump's broader effort to cut regulations and oversight to boost industry. "This proposal affects virtually every significant decision made by the federal government that affects the environment," Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said, adding that the NEPA reform would be the "most significant deregulatory proposal" of the Trump administration. The proposed rule says federal agencies would not need to factor in the "cumulative impacts" of a project, which could include its impact on climate change, making it easier for major fossil fuel projects to sail through the approval process and avoid legal challenges. CEQ chair Mary Neumayr told reporters that the agency will weigh feedback during the rule's comment period on whether or how to more explicitly address climate impacts. The proposal would also put one federal agency in charge of overseeing the review process, instead of giving multiple agencies oversight of the process and set a two-year deadline for environmental impact studies to be completed and a one-year deadline for less rigorous environmental assessments. Story continues Trump's efforts to cut regulatory red tape have been praised by industry. But they have so far largely backfired by triggering waves of lawsuits that the administration has lost in court, according to a running tally https://policyintegrity.org/trump-court-roundup by the New York University School of Law's Institute for Policy Integrity. Over the last few years, federal courts have ruled that NEPA requires the federal government to consider a project's carbon footprint in decisions related to leasing public lands for drilling or building pipelines. Other proposed change include widening the categories of projects that can be excluded from NEPA altogether. If a type of project got a "categorical exclusion" from one agency in the past, for example, it would automatically be excluded from review by other agencies, according to the plan. According to CEQ, the average length of a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement is currently 600 pages and takes 4.5 years to conclude. U.S. federal agencies prepare approximately 170 such assessments per year. Trump, a commercial real estate developer before becoming president, frequently complained that the NEPA permitting process took too long. "It's big government at its absolute worst," Trump said of NEPA. Some of the country's biggest industry groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, also have complained about lengthy permitting delays. Environmental groups warned the plan will remove a powerful tool to protect local communities from the adverse impacts of a hastily designed and reviewed project. "Today's destructive actions by Trump, if not blocked by the courts or immediately reversed by the next president, will have reverberations for decades to come, said Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, U.S. program director at Oil Change International, an environmental group. The plan will go through a 60-public comment period before being finalized. Environmental groups are expected challenge the final proposal. "If the regulations announced today drive agencies to diminish the extent or quality of their reporting, federal courts may very well conclude that their reports do not comply with the law," said Notre Dame Law School Professor Bruce Huber. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Marguerita Choy) DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish consumer sentiment improved in December to post the first back-to-back monthly gain in four years as the risk of a damaging 'no-deal' Brexit receded, according to a survey published on Friday. Ireland has remained the European Union's fastest growing economy during three years of Brexit talks, but consumer confidence faltered when it seemed that its nearest neighbour could leave the bloc without agreeing to a withdrawal deal. The KBC Bank consumer sentiment index rose to 81.4 in December, from 77.1 in November and the seven-year low of 69.5 in October. The improvement represents the largest two-month gain since January 2015, though sentiment is still some way short of the 17-year-high of 110.4 reached in early 2018. Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Ireland, warned that respondents probably saw Brexit risks as reduced rather than gone entirely, but said the improvement revealed a "small but potentially significant change in the mood of Irish consumers". "The outperformance of UK and Irish consumer confidence measures in late 2019 suggests a key local concern has eased, at least for now," he said. "The question is whether that relief will prove sufficient to spark a material step-up in spending on either side of the Irish Sea in early 2020." On Monday, a Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey of Irish services firms rose for the second month in succession, expanding at the fastest pace since the middle of last year. (Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday expressed agreement with veteran leaders of the RJD and the Congress who have been in favour of bringing Nitish Kumar back to the grand alliance ahead of the assembly polls later this year. Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is a constituent of the five-party grand alliance, however, said he doubted that the chief minister and JD(U) president will dump the BJP. "In principle, I am of the opinion that we have to fight the BJP and to this end we must not hesitate from taking the support of anybody, be it Nitish Kumar or Pappu Yadav," Manjhi told reporters here. Yadav is a controversial, but influential leader from north Bihar, who has floated his outfit Jan Adhikar Party. The HAM president was replying to queries about RJD national vice-president and former Union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh having repeatedly pitched for the return of Kumar, who had dumped the grand alliance in July, 2017. The RJD veteran's stand has also received support from old-timers in the Congress like legislative party leader Sadanand Singh. Manjhi, however, sought to make light of the strident opposition to a tie-up with Kumar by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the heir apparent of jailed founding president Lalu Prasad. "In a village body it is the view of the panch (five elders chosen as arbiters) that is supreme. A decision regarding the grand alliance will, similarly, be taken at an appropriate time by senior leaders of all parties. What Tejashwi is saying in a fit of hot-bloodedness does not need to be given much importance," Manjhi said. When asked about the RJD having declared Tejashwi as its chief ministerial candidate for the assembly polls, Manjhi, who had a few months ago threw his hat in the ring questioning the young RJD leader's ability to lead the coalition, changed tack. "Tejashwi Yadav undoubtedly has potential. But this is all premature talk. The grand alliance will decide its chief minister after the five-party coalition wins the assembly elections, Manjhi said. He also added that "for strategic reasons I am not averse to our coalition joining hands with Nitish Kumar. But I know him well and I do not think he will muster the courage to leave the BJP before the elections, though recent debacles of the saffron party in state polls might have sown seeds of doubt in his mind". Formerly with JD(U), Manjhi was made the chief minister in May 2014 by Kumar, who had stepped down taking moral responsibility for his party's drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls when it fought separately from the BJP. Manjhi quit the party in protest when the JD(U) forced him to resign as chief minister to make way for Kumar's return. While Kumar forged an alliance with the RJD and the Congress and went on to win the 2015 assembly polls handsomely, Manjhi who had by then floated HAM - sided with the NDA and fared badly. In 2018, Manjhi stifled by Kumar's return to the NDA crossed over to the grand alliance. The five-party alliance comprises, besides RJD, Congress and HAM, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP and Bollywood set designer turned politician Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 17:08:52|Editor: zh Video Player Close by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- In a small room at the Checkpoint building in Tel Aviv, 20 students were sitting quietly, each facing a computer screen. The only sound heard was the gentle strokes of the keyboard and clicks of the mouse. After years of relying on external sources for recruiting personnel, the world's leading Israeli cyber security company is now operating an in-house academy aimed at training home-grown talent. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Checkpoint employs more than 5,000 workers globally. For a third year, dozens of students have been trained by top-notch experts in the different disciplines of cyber-security in the company. Through the three-month course, they are taught basic programming, reverse engineering, malware analysis and vulnerability finding. "We need more of these people and if we can't get them naturally, why won't we just create them ourselves?" said Yaniv Balmas, head of Cyber Research at Checkpoint. "Many times there is a lack of knowledge in the areas of cyber security and ... This knowledge usually is not something that you can learn in university or practically anywhere else," said Balmas, also head of Checkpoint Security Academy (CSA). For Artur Kruchinin who is fascinated with computers, the CSA was a unique chance not only to get an education from leading experts in the field but to immediately be incorporated into the work force. People who are largely absent from the workforce are women of all religions, ultra-orthodox Jews, Israeli Arabs and residents of peripheral areas. They are under-represented in an eco-system which has a growing demand for workers. A recent report by the Israeli Innovation Authority shows Israel has a problem meeting this demand. It is estimated that there are 15,000 unfilled job openings in the Israeli industry. While the participants in CSA this year come from diverse backgrounds, there are only three women this year. But as a whole, over 20 percent of the company's employees are women and 20 percent are Arab. "We have a very strict methodology in which we do not compare one with the other, and we believe every student has his own learning curve. We are trying to maximize the value we get out of each individual student," Balmas told Xinhua. By Express News Service MUMBAI /PATNA: Fuditive gangster Ejaz Lakdawala wanted in connection with several cases of extortion, has been arrested by the Mumbai Polices anti-extortion cell, a top official said on Thursday. The gangster, who was on the run for 20 years, was arrested by the crime branch from Patna and brought to Mumbai on Wednesday. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody till January 21, said Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve. Lakdawala, in his fifties, was a member of both Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan gangs before starting his gang. He was last known to be living in Canada. Police also hope to get information on Dawood from Lakdawal. Describing Lakdawalas arrest as a major achievement, Barve said there were 25 cases of extortion registered against Lakdawala in Mumbai and that he had made extortion calls to 80 people. Now that he has been arrested, we will find out how many unreported cases are there against him, he added. Confirming the arrest, ADG (Law and Order) Amit Kumar told the media that the Patna police supported a team of Mumbai City polices crime branch cum-anti-extortion cell to nab the fugitive. Lakdawala used to call his targets from international numbers and demand money. The police had initiated efforts to arrest Lakdawala about six months back. The process intensified after the arrest of his daughter Soniya Sheikh on December 28, when she was trying to escape to Nepal. Lakdawala and his daughter, both were booked in February 2019 for making an extortion call to a builder in Khar and her interrogation revealed probable whereabouts of Lakdawal, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Santosh Rastogi The BJP's Rajya Sabha MP said on Friday that the country's economy was in "dire times", and "tax terrorism" should be ended to encourage investors. He also said that every university should have police personnel on the campus, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is in news for a recent incident of violence, should be "closed for two years". "The economy is in dire times, everything is going downwards, if the trend continues banks will close down, NBFCs will close down and (it will) lead to disaster," Swamy said, speaking to reporters here. He was speaking on the sidelines of a programme at Indus University. "The measures that can be taken are...first Income Tax needs to be abolished. The tax terrorism in our country needs to be reined in so that people start investing and do not fear taxman," he said. "The problem we are facing at present is lack of demand, we have good supply. So the government needs to print notes and put it in the hands of people to boost demand. Government needs to build roads, big six-lane, eight-lane roads," he added. Asked about the recent violence at in Delhi, Swamy said for the safety of students, every university should have police presence on the campus as in the United States. "In universities like we should have not only police but CRPF and BSF too," he said. should be closed for two years and its "good students" should be shifted to other universities like Delhi University, the MP, known for making controversial statements, added. Over the past few years, Chinas diplomatic offensives, military coercion, interference and infiltration have continued unabated, said Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen on New Years Day, as the Jan. 11 election neared. Chinas objective is clear: to force Taiwan to compromise our sovereignty. But every leader of her Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) has always said that. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/1/2020 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion "Over the past few years, Chinas diplomatic offensives, military coercion, interference and infiltration have continued unabated," said Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen on New Years Day, as the Jan. 11 election neared. "Chinas objective is clear: to force Taiwan to compromise our sovereignty." But every leader of her Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) has always said that. "Moreover, at the beginning of last year Chinas President Xi Jinping proposed the one country, two systems model for Taiwan," Tsai continued, as though it were some new horror. But every leader of Communist China since Deng Xiao-ping has promoted the one-country, two-system model. Whats new here? Whats new is that a year ago, Tsai Ing-wen was universally seen as doomed to lose this election, but now shes expected to win it hands-down and the reason is that Hong Kong, the territory for which the one-country-two-systems formula was originally invented, has been engulfed by chaotic and increasingly violent protests against Beijing for the past seven months. The protests are driven by the belief of most Hong Kongers that the mainland Chinese regime is cheating on that sacred formula. When Britain returned its Hong Kong colony to Beijings rule in 1997, the two parties agreed that, for 50 years, the prosperous city-state could keep its existing more-or-less democratic system, including free speech, independent courts and the full panoply of human rights. Taiwan was promised the same terms if only it would "reunite with the motherland." But early last year, only 23 years into the 50-year deal, Beijing forced the Hong Kong government to introduce a law making it possible to extradite Hong Kongers to face trial in mainland courts. Hong Kong, so peaceful for so long, blew up in Beijings face. Chinese Communist courts have a 99.9 per cent conviction rate, and the police have a record of extorting confessions or manufacturing evidence. Hong Kongers saw the new law as a direct assault on their freedoms, and although the proposal was eventually dropped by a frightened Hong Kong government, the demonstrations have continued and intensified. Now the protesters are demanding full democracy. They will never get that in Hong Kong, "two systems" or not, because those ideas might spread to the rest of China and undermine the Communist monopoly of power. Whereas the people of Taiwan have had democracy for three decades, and they dont want to lose it. China is a monolithic, authoritarian surveillance state of 1.4 billion people, but just 130 kilometres off its east coast 26 million Chinese people live in a society as democratic (and sometimes as turbulent) as Italy or the United States. Moreover, they have three times the per-capita income of mainlanders. The harder Beijing tries to gather Taiwan into the fold, the greater the support for Tsais pro-independence DPP. Exactly one year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that Beijing "makes no promise to renounce the use of force and reserves the option of taking all necessary means" to achieve unification and implement "one country, two systems" in Taiwan. That was when Tsai began her electoral comeback: from 30 points behind the opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) then to 20 points ahead now. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The KMT was the ruling party that came out of the 1911 revolution that ended several thousand years of imperial rule in China. However, it lost a long civil war against the Communists in 1949, and at least a million of its senior members and its troops withdrew to Taiwan (which they ran as a dictatorship) to plan a comeback. The KMT insisted it was still the legitimate government of all China, but the comeback never happened. By 1996, after a decade of reforms, it lost Taiwans first fully free election to the pro-independence DPP, and the two parties have alternated in power ever since. The curious thing, however, is that neither party really comes down off the fence. The DPP never says outright it would like to make Taiwan a separate and independent country. The KMT never says that it would accept reunification under the "one-country, two-systems" formula, just that it would like closer relations with the mainland. Thats because the electorate would never vote for reunification with a Communist-ruled China, but Beijing would invade rather than allow Taiwan to declare independence. A recent opinion poll showed that 85 per cent of all Taiwanese voters support either the status quo or a declaration of independence, while only six per cent want reunification with China. There are other, mostly domestic issues in Taiwan politics, which is why the KMT sometimes wins, but whenever the main question is reunification with China, the DPP wins easily. Thats why Tsai Ing-wen will win the election on Saturday: nobody in Taiwan can ignore what is happening in Hong Kong. Gwynne Dyers latest book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work). Latrell Mitchell has officially announced his departure from the Sydney Roosters, as he continues to negotiate a contract with South Sydney for 2020. Mitchell declared the split from the club, with which he claimed back-to-back premierships, via a post to his personal Instagram page on Friday. Mitchell thanked his Roosters teammates, and said he had been "humbled" to play at a club with a "rich history". Credit:Getty Images "I can not describe the way I feel right now but just wanted to let everyone know involved in my career through my stint here, I am so very grateful for you all," he wrote in the post. "Nothing has been made official as of yet. But my stay at the roosters has come to an end. On to the next chapter where ever that may be." Mitchell's contract saga will most likely come to an end in the coming days, with the now ex-Roosters centre finalising the negotiations of a one-year contract with the Rabbitohs. Austria's Foreign Ministry Hit By A Big Attack The Austrian government has been hit by a cyber attack that is believed to be the work of another country. It hit the country's Foreign Ministry and began overnight on Saturday 4th January. A spokesperson for the ministry described the incident as "serious" and said that experts had warned it could continue for several days and that they believe it was carried out by a foreign country. On the same day the attack was launched, at a congress held in the city of Salzburg, Austria's Green Party said that it was in favor of forming a coalition with the conservative People's Party. The ministry said that the attack had been caught early and countermeasures had immediately been put in place. The signatures and the pattern of the attack suggest that it could be the work of a state-sponsored threat actor. "Despite all intensive security measures, there is never 100 percent protection against cyber-attacks," the ministry said, adding that other European countries had been affected by similar incidents in the past. Hugo van den Toorn, manager of offensive security at Outpost24, said: "It is true that despite the precautions taken and all the controls in place, a motivated attacker can always find a way through an organisations defenses....Although we see an increase in politically motivated attacks over the past few years, we should remain vigilant in blaming certain threat actors or nation-states. This latest incident in Austria follows the serious cyber-attack on the German government's IT network, which was launched in March 2018. A group of Russian-backed threat actors known as APT28 or Fancy Bear was suspected to be behind not only that attack, but also an earlier cyber-hit on the German parliament carried out in 2015. APT28 are similarly suspected of waging cyber-warfare on entities in Eastern Europe and in the United States. Last year the EU adopted powers to punish those outside the bloc who launch cyber-attacks that cripple hospitals and banks, sway elections and steal company secrets or funds. CISO: Infosecurity: BBC: You Might Also Read: Meet The Fancy Bears: (Alliance News) - Construction materials producer Steppe Cement Ltd on Friday said it expects a full-year single-digit revenue rise, with average cement prices offsetting flat volume growth. In the year ended December 31, Steppe said revenue came in 7.7% higher year-on-year at KZT30.5 million, about GBP3.0 million, from KZT28.3 million last year. Cement sales volumes were broadly flat year-on-year at 1.7 million tonnes. Average price however increased by 8.0% to KZT17,796 per tonne, from KZT16,480 last year. Steppe's market share in Kazakhstan remained at 17.5%. Cement market consumption in the country edged 2.3% higher to 8.9 million tonnes from 8.7 million tonnes. The company will report its full-year results in April. Shares in the firm were 5.4% lower at 35.00 pence each in London on Friday morning. By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. New Milford Public Library will offer a variety of programs in the coming days. Francesca Morrissey, an independent college counselor, will present a program on how to relieve some of the college stresses Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m. The program is appropriate for middle and high school students in grades eight through 11, as well as their parents. A minimum of 12 participants is required to hold the program. A program with Cindy and Jozzi from Wild Womens Coffee, LLC in Milford will be held Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. They will present a slide show about coffee, ending with a blind "cupping" taste test. This will be accompanied by a coffee dessert bar featuring servings of freshly brewed coffee (including decaf), chocolate-bomb coffee and gourmet baked goods. The coffee is from responsibly sourced coffee beans. Space is limited. An adult coloring program will be offered Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. Attendees should bring a mug; coloring tools, coffee and refreshments will be provided. For more information and RSVP to the programs at the Main Street library, call 860-355-1191. New Delhi: Unfazed by nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Central government on Friday notified the law on Friday, bringing the controversial legislation into force from January 10. The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11. However, the amended law was widely opposed as it provides Indian citizenship only to non-Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central government hereby appoints the 10th day of January, 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force, the Union home ministry notification said. The home ministry, however, has not yet framed the rules for the Act. According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The amendment triggered widespread protests across India, attracting lakhs of people, especially youngsters. The law, which grants citizenship on the basis of religion, has been criticised for violating the basic tenets of the Constitution. Home minister Amit Shahs statements on extending the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across India, stoked fears of losing citizenship among Muslims. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly denied any discussion on the NRC, protests did not abate. Close to 100 petitions were filed in different High Courts challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. While several opposition-led state government refused to implement the CAA in their states, the Kerala Assembly passed a formal resolution against the implementation of CAA on December 30. On Friday, the Gujarat Assembly passed a resolution in support of the CAA. The government defended the Act saying that the minority groups from the three countries have no other option but to come India when they face religious persecution there. The plane crash on the outskirts of Tehran fueled the tension of the last few days. All 176 people on board died. Canada speaks of murder, for the Iranian government it's an accident. The US House votes to limit Trump's war powers. For the White House it is a "ridiculous resolution". AsiaNews speaks to Catholic leaders in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. Baghdad (AsiaNews) - The killing of Iranian Qods force commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani by US drones in Baghdad on January 3, and Tehran's response, with the launch of 15 missiles against US targets in Iraq, concern Christians in the Middle East. The escalation of tension is also an element of concern for Pope Francis himself who, in yesterday's speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, said that "the shadow of the conflict" between the two countries can "create the basis" for a "larger-scale" war. The situation was further complicated by the story of the Boeing 737-800 of Ukraine International Airlines (Uia), which crashed on January 8 shortly after take-off from Tehran airport, causing the death of all 176 people on board. The hypothesis that the aircraft was shot down accidentally by an Iranian missile has made ground among western chancelleries, especially Canada, the country of origin of a large number of the victims. The incident occurred in the frantic hours in which the missile attack against the US targets in Iraq took place. However, Tehran's leadership strongly excludes the version and confirms the thesis of the disaster following a failure (according to initial reports) of one of the engines. Meanwhile, in the United States a new confrontation is taking place between Congress, with a democratic majority and led by speaker Nancy Pelosi, among the most bitter opponents of US President Donald Trump, and the White House. Overnight, the deputies approved the limitation of Trumps war powers against Tehran. The measure, called Iran War Powers, passed with 224 votes in favor and 194 against. The resolution will now have to pass through the Senate with a republican majority and it is quite possible that it will be rejected. The immediate reaction from the White House, which speaks of "ridiculous resolution". Meanwhile, Washington has sent a letter to the United Nations claiming the operation that led to Soleimani's death was an act of "self-defense ". At the same time, the United States says they are "ready to engage in serious dialogue without preconditions" with Iran, closing the convulsive last days of violence and cross-attacks. Words that, at the moment, do not seem to be able to produce further developments in a positive sense, On the ongoing crisis between Iran and the United States, AsiaNews has spoken to some Catholic personalities from the Middle East. Here is what they said: Paul Karam, president of Caritas Lebanon (Lebanon) Everything that happens at a regional level has repercussions on Lebanon too, and the results will not be good. Our country, like others in the region, represents a weak pole and is among the first to pay the bill for the powerful when an international crisis arises. The poorest will suffer the greatest consequences, and in Lebanon today, we have many who seek our help even just to feed themselves. It must also be said that it is not the first time that this has happened, just look at the history of the Middle East, just consider what has happened in Iraq, Syria and Libya in recent years. Here too it emerges that the struggle between international powers is played out on weak countries, which are the first victims. To date we cannot say whether we will arrive at a peaceful solution, even if we hope so. We all aim for a Middle Eastern region with a peaceful future, but the problem is that something always complicates the picture and if there is no justice, there can be no peace either. We really hope that this escalation can be halted, that external interference can end because the perpetuation of the situation can have serious social and humanitarian consequences. Archbishop Antoine Audo, Chaldean bishop of Aleppo (Syria) We are faced with a very complicated picture and very little clarity about current events. The hope is that a path to peace can be found, that the logic of war does not prevail and this is what we expect. We are facing a complex crisis involving Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, behind which there is a struggle for power and political interests which see the United States, Russia and China in opposition, which also affects the control of gas and energy supplies. We are victims of these wars, Christians themselves pay a very high price because they struggle to find the means to defend themselves. Yet we continuously try to do everything possible to survive and bear witness of faith and peace, even in the face of new developments that can leave us with little hope. In these times of darkness, we try to stay ready but it is not easy because the tensions are many, and serious. Our people are weary, but we want to remain present and alive even in the face of an internationally terrible force that is moving towards chaos. Rafic Greiche, President of the Media Committee of the Council of Churches of Egypt (Egypt) Our fear is that this tense situation between Iran and the United States may give rise to a further escalation and involve Egypt directly. This prospect risks creating serious damage, also in consideration of the fact that we have achieved important objectives at the national level from an economic and tourism point of view. We pray every day for this situation to be resolved and for the prospects to improve. Archbishop Yousif Thomas Mirkis, Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk (Iraq) The Iraqis hope that the violent attacks by Iran and the United States will cease and that there will be a move towards a de-escalation of tension. We have had no news of lost lives, which is why we can stop here with [Iranian] revenge. Now, let's go back to the negotiations. My anxiety is real, because Iran and the United States are trying to regulate their opposing views on Iraqi territory and this recent escalation represents a real danger for our people. We have grown and fed by all kinds of problems and wars. We don't want it anymore, especially the protests of recent months in Baghdad are telling those who are with Iran or America: let us live in peace. We have had enough of wars and conflicts. Since I was born, 70 years ago, I have seen only wars, only rebellions, only revenge without peace. These events completely destroyed our nation. There is nothing left to do but pray. The issue: A plan that would clear certain criminal records automatically was introduced in 2019 but died in the Connecticut General Assembly. The proposal would only apply to people with nonviolent convictions and would help clear a path to acquiring housing and employment after a sentence had been served. The state of Connecticut has a process that allows ex-offenders to have their records expunged, but its cumbersome and can be difficult to navigate without legal help, which is expensive. The state has no requirement to provide explanations when a claim is denied. Clean Slate would take the existing process and make it automatic. Expunging a record does not mean destroying data, but it does mean it would be hidden to anyone doing a basic background check. It would not remove media reports from websites, which are usually only hidden on request of the named individual if charges are dropped, and not because a sentence has been served. What we said: The predictable outcome is that people who are unable to get by legitimately end up returning to crime. Clearing their past convictions helps not only the offenders, but society at large by reducing crime in the future. As state Sen. Dennis Bradley accurately pointed out, theres a strong element of racial justice in the bill. What we dont want to see, because you are a person of color and because you are poor, that a conviction follows you forever, the Bridgeport legislator said. April 11, 2019 What happened: Gov. Ned Lamont said this week he will reintroduce the bill in the 2020 session, and the governors backing could be key to getting the bill passed. Whats vital is that it is not left until the last minute, when proposals that seem to have strong support can wither and die in the sessions closing days for unclear reasons as seemingly more pressing matters take focus. Thats why its important that Lamont has put his weight behind the plan, which could make a real difference in the lives of people who have been fighting their whole lives to overcome a criminal conviction in their past. Whats next: Organizers that backed the bill last session, including CONECT, which brings together congregations from across religions to push for social change, will again need to focus their considerable efforts on moving the bill forward. About 5,000 people in Connecticut will return to society from prison in a given year, and nearly all of them will face restrictions on employment, school applications and housing. The economic loss alone from fewer people able to work is substantial, and the state needs all the help it can get to boost its economy. If it passes, the law would automatically expunge the records of ex-offenders three years after completing a sentence for a misdemeanor and five years after a nonviolent felony, all provided there is no trouble in the interim. It could mean the difference between a productive life after prison and a revolving door to the criminal justice system. Lawmakers should see that the bill passes. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Martin Petty (Reuters) Mogo, Australia Fri, January 10, 2020 09:05 732 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32199a27 2 Environment animals,environment,Australia,bushfire,fire,wildfire Free When everyone else in the Australian town of Mogo fled the flames that tore through surrounding bushland, Chad Staples didn't consider abandoning his family. By family, he means giraffes, rhinos, lions and gorillas among the 200 residents of Mogo Zoo, which he and 15 staff battled to defend last week from raging bushfires that ravaged dozens of homes and vehicles across the tiny tourist town on New Year's Eve. When they knew the fires were coming, Staples and his team made a plan to keep flames at bay and save the 65 acre (26.3 hectare) private zoo and its 40 species, including shifting some primates into their own living quarters. "There's no way we would leave the animals behind. These are family - not things," said Staples. The survival of the zoo's six zebras, two rhinos, six giraffes, four gorillas, three tigers and six lions, among others, is among the few positive stories to come out of a devastating fire season that has so far killed 26 people. At Mogo Zoo, staff spent New Year's Eve dousing the grounds with hundreds of thousands of liters of water as the fires approached, shifting quickly as winds changed. Flaming trees collapsed close to animal enclosures as the fire jumped over a stream on two sides of the grounds. The sky turned red and Mogo was in darkness by noon, Staples said. A local fire service official stopped by at the zoo and told them no one would be able to come rescue them. "They were busting a gut to save everyone else," said Staples, who described conditions as "apocalyptic". Read also: Australia's 'insurance' koala population halved by bushfires "I've never felt heat like that or seen fires that look like that and I never want to see that again." After the fires, the zoo arranged police escorts to get trucks through roadblocks to make urgent deliveries of hay, vegetables and water to keep the animals alive, he said. The zoo animals were among the lucky ones. University of Sydney ecologists on Wednesday doubled their estimate of the number of animals killed or injured in the fires to 1 billion. The 170-year-old town of Mogo was badly hit by some of the fiercest fires seen yet this season, with homes, cars and buses reduced to shells, mangled metal and collapsed rubble. Gayle Smith, 68, who runs an organic nursery, described her astonishment that her wooden home had survived having defended it from multiple small fires before eventually fleeing. "It was mindbending. I felt relief and disbelief seeing it was still here," she said. Thousands of people have already been left homeless by the fires that have scorched through more than 10.3 million hectares of land - an area the size of South Korea. Staples said the zoo was saved because of the staff's good preparation. A big worry, he said, was losing power for electric fences around the enclosures. "The last thing you want if you're a firefighter is a lion on the loose," he said. Topics : animals environment Australia bushfire fire wildfire The last few weeks have brought to the forefront issues within RWA that many marginalized members have been alternatively whispering and screaming about for years, said Laurel Cremant, president of the Cultural, Interracial and Multicultural Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America (CIMRWA), in an email. The CIMRWA chapters very existence is evidence of systemic issues within the organization and publishing, as a whole. The fact that a chapter had to be created focused on promoting diversity and inclusion, and advocating for (our) own voices, works, and authors to be treated fairly and equally is, I think, the best indication of the issues that led up to this recent firestorm. I believe some of the root causes have been a lack of transparency, accountability, empathy, and sincerity. Ukraine jet missile video The New York Times US officials have said an Iranian missile most likely downed a Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed Wednesday morning shortly after taking off from Tehran's main international airport. Researchers told Business Insider that a combination of "poor training" and "panic" could have led Iranian personnel to fire a missile at the plane accidentally. Nearly half the plane's passengers were Iranian. But other experts say the plane's flight path and data transmitted to radars would have indicated the aircraft was a passenger plane. Iran denies the plane was brought down by a missile, instead blaming a technical failure. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Video footage that emerged Thursday showed the moment Western officials believe an Iranian surface-to-air missile detonated near a Ukrainian International Airlines jet carrying 176 people, puncturing the fuselage with thousands of shards of shrapnel and sending it crashing to the ground. Iran has denied responsibility for bringing down the jet, blaming a technical failure and accusing the US of spreading a "big lie" by claiming a missile strike caused the crash, which killed everyone on board. But Pentagon and intelligence officials told US media outlets that radar data appeared to pick up the firing of a short-range Iranian interceptor. Officials told Newsweek the missile was most likely a Russian-supplied Tor model. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said intelligence pointed to an accidental missile strike. User error Discussion is now focusing on explaining why Iran may have brought down the plane. Nearly half of the people on the aircraft were Iranian, making it unlikely that the plane was deliberately targeted. Instead, human error is the most likely explanation, said Justin Bronk, a research fellow in combat airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, London. Part of the wreckage from Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport Iran Press/Handout via REUTERS Story continues "This was a completely avoidable tragedy which should never have happened if Iran's air defences were being managed and operated competently," he told Business Insider in an email. He said the Iranian crew operating the Tor system would most likely have been on high alert since the US assassination of Iran's top military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq. In an article for the Times of London, Bronk argued that the crew, exhausted and braced for retaliation following the Iranian missile attacks that targeted US troops in Iraq hours earlier, most likely committed a tragic mistake. "When the United States (or any air force) conducts strikes against a country that has air defence systems, those systems are often hit at the outset to clear the way," Bronk wrote. "So the crew are likely to have been scared. Scared too of the consequences from their own regime and superiors if they missed a potential threat in the event of a US attack." Iran plane crash Mahmoud Hosseini/picture alliance via Getty Images Portecting Tehran Other experts cite data indicating the plane was traveling near an area about 12 miles northwest of Tehran's international airport, where a sensitive Iranian missile site is most likely protected by antiaircraft missile batteries. Iran may have viewed the missile sites as targets for a counterstrike by the US, Michael Elleman, the director of the Non-proliferation and Nuclear Policy Program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Washington Post. Pieter van Huis, a senior researcher at the open-source investigations organization Bellingcat, told Business Insider that the Iranian missile base the plane flew close to was just outside the city of Malard on the fringes of Tehran. "From what we know, the military base at Malard is of great importance for Iran's missile development," he said. "On 12 November, 2011, a big explosion there killed 17 Revolutionary Guard soldiers, including Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, the 'father of the Islamic Republic's missile technology.' "Iran had just launched an attack on the US, so any soldiers stationed there may have been extra nervous about an imminent attack by the Americans." Pieter van Huis (@hspvn) January 8, 2020 A major mistake But questions still remain over how the jet could have been mistaken for a hostile aircraft. Bronk noted that the airliner would have been following a prefiled flight plan and emitting a transponder signal that would tell radar-receiving equipment the identity, position, and flight path of the aircraft. The plane had also just taken off from a major international airport, and several other aircraft had taken a similar flight path from the airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning, in the wake of the Iranian strikes against the US, according to the flight data tracking site Flightradar24. The New York Times reported that Tor missile launchers are operated by teams of about three to four people, tracking flights using radar data, but that distinguishing civilian flights from military ones can require skill and that mistakes can occur. In an email to Business Insider, Bronk wrote that simple human error was most likely a key factor in the tragedy. "The SA-15 crew would have had plenty of information available to them that would have told them this was a civilian airliner or at the very least, a very odd fit for an incoming threat," he wrote. Tor launchers are also known as SA-15s. "A mix of oversights, poor training and confirmation bias in a tense situation is the best explanation I can see at this point," he added. Van Huis agreed. "It normally is very easy for trained antiaircraft units to distinguish civilian airliners from military jets," he said. "Panic among soldiers and/or miscommunication must have played a role." Read the original article on Business Insider Calls for discretionary right turns to be reevaluated in Singapore in light of a boys brush with death were dismissed yesterday by none other than the prime ministers powerful wife. In response to a message calling for the traffic law to be reviewed and enhanced following the Havelock Road incident, Ho Ching said (l)aws cannot cover every situation and that people need to also take responsibility. They can cover perhaps 80% of the more common or more serious situations for common good. Then people need to also take responsibility and exercise common sense individually and as a community, to mitigate marginal risks and create a safer, friendly, kinder and more patient world, wrote Ho, who is also CEO of state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings. Boy thrown like doll when car plows into him on Havelock Road (Video) She was replying to a message written by a Timothy Lim in the comments of her post sharing news of Mondays incident in which a 15-year-old middle schooler was sent flipping through the air by a car along Havelock Road that was making a right turn. Lim responded to Hos statement by suggesting better education. True it cannot be anticipated as it also needs to educate them, starting from young children in schools and safety campaigns on walkways, he wrote. Facebook exchange between Ho Ching and Timothy Lim. Discretionary right turns at traffic lights allow motorists to turn right into crosswalks being actively used by pedestrians so long as it is safe to do so. The driver of the red Honda Jazz in Mondays incident making such a turn between Havelock Road and Clemenceau Avenue had little view of the boy crossing the street until the moment he hit him due to a larger vehicle, a jeep, making the same turn. The teenager was subsequently taken to the KK Womens and Childrens Hospital. There is still no word about his condition. Dashcam footage of the incident has been circulating online since Wednesday, attracting a variety of comments including many calls for the discretionary right turn rule to be scrapped. Story continues I hope [the Land Transport Authority] could scrap the right turn rule in order to keep the pedestrian crossing safely and also for the safety of the drivers, Facebook user Sky Ng wrote. No to vehicular discretionary turning aka Green Man Green Light. Reckless drivers put pedestrians in grave danger, CK Lin said. Related: Boy thrown like doll when car plows into him on Havelock Road (Video) Boy miraculously survives being run over on Depot Road (Video) This article, Ho Ching shuts down call for right-turn law review after boys dramatic injury, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! Hackers from North Korea have developed a way to steal bitcoin and other cryptocurrency through the messaging app Telegram, according to new research. Cyber security specialists from Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs said the notorious Lazarus Group, a hacking collective with links to North Korea, has come up with "enhanced capabilities" in order to target individuals and organisations around the world. The cyber-theft campaign, referred to as Operation AppleJeus, has been ongoing since at least 2018 and has so far claimed victims in the UK, China, Poland and Russia. The hackers lure in victims by setting up fake cryptocurrency websites, as well as fake trading groups on the Telegram app. Telegram did not respond to a request for comment. Malicious links on the sites and groups then infect the targets device and give attackers access to user data. Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits the newly built Pyongyang Orphans' Primary School on 2 February 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a women's company under Unit 5492 of the Korean People's Army in November 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects the test-fire of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location in July 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un celebrates the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location in July 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a potato at the Samjiyon Potato Factory in North Korea in October 2018 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse through a forest in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 EPA Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a block of frozen fish at a processing facility in North Korea in November 2018 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un celebrates the succeful launch of a strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile in August 2016 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Donald Trump as they meet for the first time at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore in June 2018 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump share a glance as they meet in the Demilitarised Zone in Panmunjon, Korea in June 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects mushrooms at Pyongyang Mushroom Farm AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects a super-large multiple rocket launcher ahead of a test in September 2019 Reuters Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects an apple farm in South Hwanghae Province in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects an apple farm in South Hwanghae Province in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects dental wares at a newly built factory in June 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits Farm No 1116 in September 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un visits a motor factory in November 2017 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on 16 October 2019 AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un: Power in pictures Kim Jong-un inspects the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in August 2017 AFP/Getty "Since the initial appearance of Operation AppleJeus, we can see that over time the authors have changed their modus operandi considerably," Kaspersky Researchers wrote in a report detailing the attacks. "We assume this kind of attack on cryptocurrency businesses will continue and become more sophisticated." Cryptocurrency has been a consistent target of North Korean hackers in recent years, with experts saying it offers a "financial lifeline" to evade crippling economic sanctions and finance the development of nuclear weapons. "Cryptocurrency exploitation is allowing North Korea to transact with the rest of the world in ways that aim to circumvent sanctions designed to curb its proliferation financing," Kayla Izenman, a research analyst who co-authored a paper on the phenomenon, told The Independent last year. A UN report from 2019 estimated that North Korea has earned up to $2 billion in cryptocurrency by hacking online exchanges and organisations. This far exceeded original estimates by the UN Security Council, which claimed the country had amassed around $670m worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. North Korea has previously denied accusations that it engages in cyber crime, while simultaneously courting cryptocurrency and cyber security experts at conferences held in Pyongyang. FREE advice sessions on the rights of EU citizens during Brexit will be held in Bidford-on-Avon and Alcester next week. The events will offer information and practical help to EU nationals and their families who may be unsure of their post-Brexit future, starting at 11am. Support in applying for the permanent right to reside under the governments Settlement Scheme together with guidance on EU citizens rights will also be available. This will run between 1.30 pm and 3pm in Alcester and from 2pm to 4pm in Bidford. Participants must take a valid passport or national identity card, National Insurance number and documents to prove they have been living in the UK for five consecutive years. They will also need access to an email address and mobile telephone. Stratford District Council is running the events with the3million, a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to protect EU citizens rights. Further events are being planned across the district with dates and venues to be confirmed. Applications for the scheme must be received by 30 June 2021 if a deal with the EU is reached and 30 December 2020 if the UK exits without a deal. The Alcester event is on Monday, 13 January at Eric Payne Community Centre, Jubilee Fields, Off St Faiths Road, Alcester B49 6AG. The Bidford session will be on Thursday 16 January at Crawford memorial Hall, Salford Road, Bidford, B50 4EZ. For more information visit www.settled.co.uk If Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets his way, New York will join 10 other states and the District of Columbia in requiring paid sick leave for workers. Cuomo included the paid sick leave mandate in his State of the State agenda. Under the proposal, which must be approved by the state Legislature, companies with five to 99 employees must provide workers with at least five days of job-protected paid sick leave annually. Workers at businesses with at least 100 employees would receive at least seven days of paid sick leave a year. For businesses with no more than four employees, workers would get five days of job-protected unpaid sick leave. Employers with existing paid sick leave plans could continue their practices, according to Cuomo's State of the State booklet. Cuomo thinks paid sick leave would complement the state's paid family leave law. By 2021, New York workers will be eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid leave for the adoption or birth of a child, to care for a sick relative or to provide assistance when a family member is deployed for military service. "It's good for employees, and it's good for business," he said. But business groups criticized the proposal. Michael Kracker, executive director of Unshackle Upstate, said paid sick leave would hurt employers and "chase jobs out of the state." Greg Biryla, director of the National Federation of Independent Business in New York, expressed concern about the potential new mandate. But he did praise Cuomo for setting different standards for larger employers and small businesses. "NFIB will work with our members to ensure that the small business perspective is heard loud and clear wherever new labor mandates are being discussed," Biryla said. Paid sick leave is a benefit offered by many employers, but it's unavailable for some employees. A survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found 73% of private-sector workers had paid leave, up from 71% in 2018. However, an estimated 32 million workers don't have paid sick days. The lack of paid sick days disproportionately affects workers in certain industries. According to Cuomo's office, 88% of the workers in the restaurant industry don't have paid sick leave. Nearly two-thirds of cooks and servers have said that they prepared or served food while ill. Sherry Leiwant, co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance, lauded Cuomo's proposal. A Better Balance, which advocates for policies that benefit the workforce, supported the state's paid family leave law when it was adopted. The group was involved in the lobbying effort for New York City's paid sick leave law, which took effect in 2014. Leiwant said paid sick leave has been important for New York City workers who can either stay at home to care for a sick child or stay home when they are ill. "I think it will be incredibly important for the rest of the state to follow suit," she added. "It's important for public health, it's important for individual health and it's important for family balance." Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 5 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. Posted on Friday, January 10, 2020 By Elaine Barnes Coordinator, Alumni and Donor Communications Office of Alumni Services and Giving 361.593.4839 Jan. 10, 2020 (Kingsville, TX) The Texas A&M University-Kingsville Foundation has raised more than $100 Million in private support through its comprehensive capital campaign, With You. Without Limits. The Campaign for Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Continuing until Aug. 31, 2021, With You. Without Limits has exceeded its goal 20 months ahead of schedule as dedicated supporters of Texas A&M University-Kingsville continue to propel the universitys opportunities of excellence for students, faculty and staff. This is an incredible milestone in the history of our university, stated Dr. Mark A. Hussey, President of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. That this campaign has exceeded its goal 20 months ahead of schedule is a testament to the vision and spirit of philanthropy of our supporters, alumni and friends. The successes of the With You. Without Limits. Campaign ensures that Texas A&M University-Kingsville will continue to strive for excellence in research, academics and more. I would like to express my gratitude to all who have made reaching this goal possible and am looking forward to building on the campaigns momentum. Reaching this monumental goal would not have been possible without the steadfast effort of the Campaign Cabinet, a carefully-crafted volunteer group consisting of 13 dedicated members who have ensured the accomplishment of the campaign since its inception. With You. Without Limits. began counting during the universitys 2014 fiscal year and was publicly launched in April 2018. The Campaign Cabinet is a very committed group of community leaders who have worked diligently to meet this campaign goal and ensure the future success of Texas A&M-Kingsville, remarked Gene Dawson Jr., Campaign Chair. While we are thrilled that we have passed the goal ahead of schedule, our campaign is not finished. We want to keep going to provide this university with the best possible resources for its students, faculty and staff. We are grateful for the alumni and friends of Texas A&M-Kingsville that have joined the effort and look forward to accomplishing even more in this campaign moving forward. With the generosity of the holiday season now accounted for, the campaign tallies $100,915,988 in gifts and commitments, with 4,970 alumni, faculty, students and friends of the university donating and participating in the effort. Dedicated donor and alumnus, Dr. Tom Russell, has generously given to Texas A&M-Kingsville for several decades. At the end of December 2019, Dr. Russell contributed $80,000 toward the Ralph C. Russell Accounting Scholarship Endowment, which was the last cash gift made to the Foundation for the calendar year. That substantial gift is responsible for exceeding the $100 Million benchmark and joins a plethora of support he has given toward Texas A&M-Kingsville in honor of his father, Ralph Russell, who was a longtime beloved professor of accounting at our university. Donating gives a more ready source of funds to the university and its people, associations and groups so that when they want to do something, they dont have to wait to accomplish what it is they need to do, stated Dr. Russell. I taught for 15 years and saw the difficulty with administration being unable to provide funding quickly toward ideas. Im glad that alumni and local businesses are being educated on just what their donations can do for the university. Dr. Russell also believes that by giving, he can impact the accounting program in its ability to produce the high caliber education that he fondly remembers during his fathers tenure with the department, with students earning remarkable success in their careers post-graduation. Join Dr. Russell in making a difference in the lives of current students and help solidify the future success of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Visit us at www.javelinagiving.org/withoutlimits to learn how you can take part in this important mission. According to sources, the CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, will meet on 11 January and give shape to the party's strategy in the wake of widespread student protests over amended Citizenship Act and the proposed National Population Register New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee under the chairmanship of Sonia Gandhi is likely to meet on Friday to discuss the party's strategy and the political situation arising out of the students' protests and violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. According to sources, the CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, will meet on 11 January and give shape to the party's strategy in the wake of widespread student protests over amended Citizenship Act and the proposed National Population Register (NPR). The agenda for the meeting has not been formalised yet and no formal invitation has been sent to CWC members, sources said. The Congress has come out against the amended Citizenship Act and has supported students' agitation in various educational campuses across the country. Alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, in a video played during his trial in an Ikeja High Court on Friday said from a short distance, he can estimate the financial value of his victims. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the video was played in the courtroom during the cross-examination of the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) Idowu Haruna, a police inspector, by Mr Emmanuel Ochai, the defence counsel to Victor Aduba, one of Evans co-defendants. In the video, the alleged kidnap kingpin, was sitting on a sofa and confessing to Mr Haruna about various kidnappings he masterminded. He gave the details of his alleged victims who mostly paid ransoms in six-figure foreign currencies with the exception of two alleged victims who paid ransoms of $1million and $2.3million each. In the video, Mr Haruna, who is also a member of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) asked Evans how he mapped out strategies to kidnap his alleged victims. Evans, while smiling, replied simply when you see someone that has money you will know. Evans in the video told the IPO that he knew that the individuals he and his alleged gang members kidnapped will pay the ransoms even if it involving selling their property to raise the funds. Evans explained that through a contact who was in prison, he was able to procure arms for his kidnap operations. He said in the video that a pharmaceutical boss, Donatius Dunu, who had already paid a ransom of 223,000 Euros had not finished paying the ransom in full before escaping and alerting the police. READ ALSO: Evans said Mr Aduba, who is a dismissed Army Officer, accompanied him during kidnap operations noting that Aduba was involved in the botched kidnap attempt of Vincent Obianodo, the Chairman of The Young Shall Grow Motors. He however admitted in the video that Aduba did not participate in the kidnap of Mr Dunu. After the video was played, Mr Ochai told Mr Haruna that Evans never identified Aduba (sixth defendant) as a participant in the kidnap of Mr Dunu. Responding Mr Idowu said, According to information the victim (Dunu) gave to police, kidnappers that came to abduct him were in army camouflage. This corroborated the information provided by the kidnap kingpin that most of the kidnapping he carried out were with the participation of the sixth defendant and that the sixth defendant did not participate in the kidnap of Dunu. Following the cross-examination of Mr Haruna, the prosecution closed its case against Evans and his five co-defendants. Earlier during the trial, Mr Idowu while being led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Adebayo Haroun, explained how Evans spent the ransoms he allegedly received from his victims. The investigation carried out revealed that the ransoms collected by the first defendant was used in purchasing a house at Fred Shoboyede Road, Magodo, where he was arrested. He purchased a second house at Emmanuel Keshi St., Magodo and another property in Accra, Ghana. He used part of the ransom to establish himself in the haulage business and some of the trucks he bought with the ransoms were recovered by police. He also bought some landed property in Anambra State, Mr Haruna said. Evans is standing trial alongside Uche Amadi, Ogechi Uchechukwu, Chilaka Ifeanyi, Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba over the alleged kidnap of Dunu who is the Chief Executive Officer of Maydon Pharmaceutical Ltd. The six defendants were arraigned on August 30, 2017 on two counts of conspiracy and kidnapping. According to the prosecution, they allegedly kidnapped Mr Dunu along Ilupeju Road, Lagos on February 14, 2017 and collected 223,000 Euros (N100 million) as ransom from his family. Four witnesses including Mr Dunu had testified during the trial on behalf of the state. Advertisements (NAN) UPDATED 3.01PM: Flames of up to 2m high are being reported from a large scrube fire in Tauranga this afternoon Around 40 firefighters are battle a large blaze in the reserve in Windermere. A resident in Lagoon Place says he saw the fire in the reserve. "It's quite big, wih flames up to 2m high." A helicopter has arrived with a monsoon bucket to help fight the blaze, Police have closed off Windermere Drive as firefighter continue to battle the blaze. The MetService is forecasting southwest winds with gusts of 35km/h at times. A Tauranga woman says Windmere Drive is cordoned off, and she is being told by official that neighboring houses will be evacuated. A reporter at the scene says large clouds of thick smoke are billowing into the air. "Large pieces of ash is also falling. "Police are closing the road and are asking people to stay away. "Firefighters are using water from hydrants on Windermere Road and are running long hoses to the reserve. Some people have also gathered in the street to see what is going on." Three fire appliances and two police cars are at the scene. Photo taken from back yard in Camellia Place, Greerton. Photos: Jo Coleman. UPDATED 2.27PM: Multiple firefighers are battling a large scrub fire in Tauranga this afternoon. A fire has broken out in the reserve behind houses on Windermere Drive. A reporter at the scene says large clouds of thick smoke are billowing into the air. "Large pieces of ash is also falling. "Police are closing the road and are asking people to stay away. "Firefighters are using water from hydrants on Windermere Road and are running long hoses to the reserve. Some people have also gathered in the street to see what is going on." Three fire appliances and two police cars are at the scene. A reporter at the scene says firefighters are access different parts of the fire through residents properties. The fire in the reserve behind Windermere Drive. Photo: Carl Heathcote. The fire as seen from Yatton Park. Photos: Ben Johnston. EARLIER: The fire as seen from backyard in Camilla place. Reports are coming in of large scrub fire in the Windermere area this afternoon. A photo sent to SunLive shows thick smoke coming from the area. A caller to the 0800 SUNLVE news hotline says firefighters are at the scene of a scrub fire on Windermere Drive. "It is very close to some houses." Photos of smoke coming from the fire. Photos: Lauren Hines. SunLive is working on getting some more information and will update this story as soon as we have something more. At the scene? Call 0800 SUNLIVE or email photos to newsroom@thesun.co.nz Photo: Alasdair Mcchesney. Five days after an armed mob of masked men and women assaulted students and teachers inside the JNU campus, Delhi Police on Friday named nine students it said were responsible for the violence, with several of them belonging to Left-wing groups and including JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh, who was attacked and suffered a head injury. The police version of the events, which is different from the prevailing narrative of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP being responsible for the violence of Sunday evening, was immediately contested by JNUSU. The unions general secretary, Satish Yadav, said: Police are trying to give a new turn to the case by naming all Left organisations in their distorted investigation. The members of Left organisations were beaten up by the ABVP. Police did not even use the words ABVP in the briefing. Its a politically motivated investigation and the briefing was held to name JNUSU members. To be sure, the police said they are still probing the case and trying to identify others responsible for the attack. The nine suspects, whose photos (mostly cell phone video grabs of the violence) and names were released by police are: Aishe Ghosh, Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Vaskar Vijay Mech, Sucheta Talukdar, Priya Ranjan, Vikas Patel, Yogendra Bhardwaj, and Dolan Samanta. The police said they will ask the nine to join the investigation for their involvement in different incidents of campus violence in those three days Friday, Saturday and Sunday last week. Police said that union president Ghosh was a part of the mob of masked faces that attacked students in specific rooms inside the Periyar hostel. Police released a blurred video grab of a woman whom they claimed was Ghosh, standing with some masked men and women. Ghosh denied the allegations and said the police should present proof against her. The police investigation doesnt seem to have covered subsequent events at Sabarmati hostel; the influx of unknown masked men and women into the campus; and the exit of this group. Joy Tirkey, head of the polices special investigation team (SIT) probing the violence, said the students involved in the violence were from four parties -- Students Front of India, All India Students Federation, All India Students Association, and Democratic Students Federation. The officer did not name Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad or any suspect from the right-wing party, which has been accused of perpetrating the violence on Sunday evening. Based on accounts from students and visuals available on the internet, HT reported on Tuesday that two suspects, Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bhardwaj, could be linked to the ABVP. The cellphone numbers of Patel and Bhardwaj were seen on two WhatsApp groups, with their posts on Sunday purportedly showing attempts by them to organise and coordinate Sundays attacks.However, Tirkey did not name the ABVP. Police are also yet to identify a masked woman whose video has been widely circulated on social media. Many students from the JNU Students Union have said that she is a Delhi University student with links to the ABVP, a charge the ABVP has denied. In the video, the woman is seen threatening students inside the campus. Police did not explain how the mob fled the campus. Tirkey said the mob may have taken advantage of the dark and fled into the jungles on campus. The ABVP said that they are not in touch with Patel or Bhardwaj. Nidhi Tripathi, student of JNU and ABVP national general secretary, confirmed, however, that Bhardwaj created the WhatsApp group. Patels photograph is not very clear. As far as Bhardwaj is concerned, he did make that WhatsApp group to ensure we could help each other as violence spread out on the campus. He quit the group on seeing such wrong messages. Police should conduct an inquiry. We will cooperate with the police, she said. Narrating the sequence of events inside the campus last week, Tirkey said that four student organisations -- Students Front of India (SFI), All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Students Association (AISA), Democratic Students Federation (DSF) -- were against winter registration for students. The students were preventing registration and other work on campus as part of their protest against increased fee. The officer said that many students wanted to register but the members of these four outfits threatened them. At around 1pm on January 3, some members of the four outfits went inside the server room and tampered with the server. The security personnel (there) were manhandled. The registration process was stalled. The university filed a complaint, he said. The officer said that the following day (January 4) some people entered the server room by breaking the rear glass door and damaged the server, after which the authorities filed another police complaint. At around 11.30pm on January 5 (Sunday), four students wanted to register and were seated on a bench in front of the School of Social Sciences. A group reached there and assaulted them. The security personnel who tried to intervene also sustained injuries. After this, at around 3.45pm, the students of these four organisations went to Periyar hostel. They masked their faces. Some members of the JNUSU were also there including their president. Officer Tirkey said that after the attacks at Periyar hostel, a similar mob with masked faces, attacked students at a peace meeting near the Sabarmati hostel in the evening. This mob later went inside the Sabarmati hostel. Here too they targeted specific rooms. They knew where to go. There are a lot of internal elements involved. We are investigating all the three incidents of violence, he said before revealing the names of the nine students. The officer said that during the investigation, WhatsApp groups such as one named Unity Against Left were formed at around the same time to mobilise people, when the violence was reported at Sabarmati. Police said they are probing the contents of the WhatsApp group. Researchers in Illinois who receive federal funding are required to file paperwork disclosing potential conflicts of interest, but these handwritten forms just moulder in the NIH's filing cabinetsuntil now. Dollars for Profs is a new project from Propublica and their news apps editor Sis Wei collects that data laboriously hand-typed by freelancers and makes it searchable. Propublica's first spelunk through the data found two profs who received more than $600,000 (how much more isn't known they're in the $600k-and-up category) in money that creates a potential conflict with their work. They also found numerous academics at the other end of the scale, unable to support themselves on their university wages and eking out an existence doing part-time work on the side. Some of the people in the database seem to have entirely separate careers a campus police chief who also owns dozens of apartments, or a registrar who also owned a company that built assisted living facilities. Now, Propublica is hoping that the public will search the database and do their own work to see what conflicts emerge. The app is useful for Illinois residents in particular, even those not interested in academic ethics. That's because state law here requires all public employees with supervisory responsibilities, including faculty and administrators, to disclose any significant outside income or assets to the secretary of state. People who work at private universities are exempt from the rule. From 2016 through 2018, public university employees in Illinois filed disclosures detailing more than 12,000 outside financial relationships, giving people here more information than in any other state in our database. Use This Tool to Find Potential Conflicts of Interest At Public Universities. We Did. [Haru Coryne/Propublica] New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an NCLAT order reinstating Cyrus Mistry as Tata Son's Chairman. Chief Justice S.A. Bobde said the NCLAT granted a prayer not made. During the pendency of the petition in the apex court, Mistry, in a statement had said he was not interested in returning to the Tata Sons' chairmanship. The top court was hearing the petition by Tata Sons Private Ltd (TSPL) challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order reinstating Cyrus Mistry as Executive Chairman of the Tata Group. The case was listed before a three-judge bench headed by Bobde and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant. TSPL has challenged the NCLAT's December 18 decision, which ruled in favour of Mistry, and ordered he be restored as the Executive Chairman of TSPL. The Tatas, in their petition, said the order undermined corporate democracy, and also the rights of the board of directors. Mistry had said said: "To dispel the misinformation campaign being conducted, I intend to make it clear that despite the NCLAT order in my favour, I will not be pursuing the executive chairmanship of Tata Sons, or directorship of TCS, Tata Teleservices or Tata Industries." He, however, had targeted Tata Son's Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata for "supporting brute majoritarianism" in corporate democracies. "Recent media reports attributed to Mr Ratan Tata and others questioning the NCLAT judgment ahead of an important hearing in the Supreme Court, profess an interpretation of Corporate Democracy as being one of brute majoritarianism with no rights for minority stakeholders. The question in these legal proceedings is whether the oppressive actions of a majority that stifles minority shareholders is beyond reproach and outside judicial oversight," said Mistry. He had also questioned the conduct of the Tata group and asked them "to introspect". "In the last three years, both in conduct and in their statements to the world at large, the Tata Group's leadership has shown scant respect for the rights of minority shareholders. It is time the Group's management introspects and reflects on its conduct as it embarks on future actions." Mistry had also hit out at Ratan Tata for "oppressive and prejudicial conduct". "I am humbled by the NCLAT order, which after review of the enormous material on record, recognized the illegal manner in which I was removed and the oppressive and prejudicial conduct of Mr Tata and other Trustees." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text To protect tourism industry from unfair competitors, the Moroccan authorities warned local travel agencies against hiring unlicensed Chinese guides and threatened to remove their names from the list of accredited agencies if they do not abide by the regulations. All Moroccan travel agencies should designate a certified Moroccan tourist guide to accompany groups of Chinese tourists during their visits to historical sites and monuments, said the Moroccan tourism Department in a letter addressed to the managers of travel agencies. In case they could not find an official Moroccan Chinese-speaking tour guide, the travel agencies can call in an interpreter to translate the explanations of the guide accompanying the Chinese tourists, underlined the document. Those who do not comply with the regulations will be scrapped off the list of accredited travel agencies for inbound Chinese tourism, warned the ministerial notice. Moroccan travel agents complain about the unfair competition from Chinese guides, while the law requires an official guide to hold Moroccan nationality to operate in the Kingdom. The phenomenon of false Chinese guides was brought up by Moroccan media last Summer. Every day, Chinese people arrive in Morocco as tourists, take two months of French lessons and then start practicing. , revealed by the LesEcos website had then revealed. The media added the practice is no longer a secret as agencies openly offer their service catalogs on Chinese websites. This phenomenon is undermining Moroccan guides , especially that a growing number of them perfectly master the Chinese language, studied in Chinese universities or in Chinese institutes in Morocco. According to the media, some of the Chinese false guide are illegally settled in Morocco, while others take care to leave the territory every three months (in Tunisia) to re-enter the country as tourists. Besides, these false Chinese guides convey false information about Moroccan culture and society and sometimes even denigrate the country. In 2016, Moroccan authorities decided to exempt Chinese nationals from visa requirements in a bid to bolster tourist arrivals. Two years later, 180000 Chinese tourists visited the North African Kingdom. Before the visa waiver program, the country used to receive around 20,000 Chinese tourists per annum. Chinese Tour operator C Trip had pledged to bring annually 500000 Chinese tourists to Morocco. Tourism industry employs in Morocco more than 2.5 million people and contributes about 7 pc to the countrys national GDP. The sector helps to promote economic and social growth, by generating income and creating jobs. India captain Virat Kohli is happy that Shikhar Dhawan is back in form with a half-century but doesn't "endorse" the idea of pitting a senior player against a much younger KL Rahul as possible partner for Rohit Sharma in the upcoming ODI series against Australia. Dhawan was under some pressure before the third T20 International and a smashing half-century will keep him in the mix for the upcoming series where Rohit Sharma will be back from his break. "All three openers are pretty strong players, and it's great to have players playing well in the team. It gives you options. But I think people need to stop pitting players against each other. It's all about a team game. I don't endorse this idea of putting people in the team against each other," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony. Kohli is happy that 2020 has started on a bright note with a convincing series win. "We have started on the right track, chasing (in) one game and setting one game. Two very clinical performances, so I am very happy. Just the confidence of getting that 200 mark every now and then will put us in a good stead," the skipper said. He was also happy with the performance of 'Man of the match' Shardul Thakur and Manish Pandey, who has been benched quite often. "That middle collapse was challenging and what Manish and Shardul did was very good. We require more of this in the coming games as well, to see who are the guys putting their hands up when the senior guys don't get runs. "Batting first and setting totals... today I thought 180 and we got 200. In Mumbai, (vs West Indies) we thought of 200 and we got 230. We just want to continue that, we don't want to be a team that is tentative batting first. How confident we are batting second, we want to be like that batting first as well. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TOKYO Japan's justice minister launched a rare and forceful public takedown of auto executive-turned-fugitive Carlos Ghosn after he blasted the country's legal system as allowing him "zero chance" of a fair trial as he sought to justify his escape to Beirut. After his dramatic flight to Lebanon last month, Ghosn spoke in public for the first time on Wednesday, saying he had been treated "brutally" by Tokyo prosecutors. He said they questioned him for up to eight hours a day without a lawyer present and tried to extract a confession out of him. In an effort to undo Ghosn's attempt to sway public opinion in his favor, Justice Minister Masako Mori followed shortly with a statement, translated into English and French, and held a news conference after midnight and again around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday morning to defend Japan's justice system. "I decided to do this because defendant Ghosn was looking to justify his unlawful exit from Japan by propagating a false recognition of our justice system," she said at the second news conference. "I felt that we needed to respond immediately to broadcast a correct understanding to people around the world." Ghosn, the former chief of Nissan and Renault, fled Japan last month as he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust, and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. Mori said Ghosn's escape from his trial in itself "could constitute a crime" that would not be tolerated in any country. "My impression in listening to him was that there were few statements that were backed by any real evidence," she said. "If he wants to prove his innocence, he should face fair trial proceedings here," she added, stressing that the allegations against him concerned financial crimes in Japan. "That would be the mark of a first-class businessperson and good citizen." Story continues Mori blasted Ghosn for violating his bail by fleeing the country "without showing a passport and breaking international rules that everyone in the world follows." "It was a breach of faith that can't be explained to our children," she said. The spotlight on Japan's justice system comes as Mori is set to host in April the United Nations' Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held once every five years. Defending authorities' jailing of Ghosn, Mori said that in Japan, a suspect can only be arrested with a warrant from the court upon review by a judge, unlike in some countries where detention is possible without a warrant. She added that indictments were only made in Japan when there was ample evidence toward a conviction, saying criticism of Japan's 99% conviction rate was therefore unwarranted. Mori repeated that Japan would try to find a way to bring Ghosn back from Lebanon. Interpol has issued an international arrest notice at Japan's request, which Ghosn said his lawyers could fight. Ghosn, for his part, said he was prepared to stand trial in any of his three home countries of Lebanon, France or Brazil, none of which have extradition agreements with Japan. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> Alleging that the decisions of the BJP-led government at the Centre have largely been discriminatory, TMC MP Derek O' Brien on Friday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), much like demonetisation, would hurt the poor most. O'Brien, while participating in a discussion on the CAA at a premier law school in the city, said the country was facing a "serious crisis" due to the Centre's decision to implement the new citizenship law. "Demonetisation (in 2016) had hit the poor hard. The impact remains the same (with regard to CAA, NRC). This time, too, the Centre's decision will affect housewives, students, bankers, farmers -- in short everybody. It will hit the poorest of the poor the hardest," the senior TMC leader claimed. He urged students to read the full report of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on the legislation. The Anglo-Indian MP in the Rajya Sabha, who had last July compared the government's move to pass bills in quick succession with little debate to "pizza delivery", recited the Preamble of the Constitution at the closing ceremony of a mock UN session. He requested the students to repeat after him. "I have been in public life for 16 years. Never have I seen a crisis like the one that has befallen us in the past one year," O'brien said. He commended West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for taking the lead in protests against the amended citizenship law and a pan-India NRC. Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his absence from Parliament during the debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the TMC lawmaker said, "He is not the prime minister of the BJP; he is my PM, your PM." According to sources, a group of students, who had earlier requested Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to attend the event, withdrew the invitation owing to his stance in favour of the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok Thursday vowed to achieve peace in Sudans war zones as he visited rebel stronghold Kauda. This is a great chance to show our people in Kauda and across the world that their transitional government is working hard to achieve comprehensive justice and peace, Hamdok said on Twitter. It was the first visit by a government official to the town in conflict wracked South Kordofan state in nearly a decade. Armed rebels for years fought troops deployed by now toppled autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Hamdoks visit comes as Sudans transitional government is talking with rebel groups over a possible peace deal in South Kordofan, neighbouring Blue Nile and the Darfur states. He said Khartoums new authorities were working towards providing more aid to areas that are affected by wars and were marginalised for decades. Hamdok was accompanied by several foreign diplomats and Sudanese journalists. Hamdoks historic visit signals rebuilding of trust, improvement in humanitarian assistance and good prospects for a peace deal, Britains ambassador to Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, wrote on Twitter. Siddiq was among the diplomats who travelled to the town. Hamdoks government is engaged in talks with rebel groups and the two sides held negotiations last month in South Sudans capital Juba. During the talks Khartoum agreed to revive a long-dormant irrigation system in a central farming region of Sudan. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in fighting in the three war zones, mainly in the western region of Darfur. Bashir, who was ousted in April on the back of nationwide protests against his rule, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged genocide and war crimes in Darfur. Last month a Sudanese court sentenced Bashir to two years in detention for corruption in the first of several domestic cases against him. New Delhi [India], Jan 10 (ANI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday launched an attack on Arvind Kejriwal accusing him of staying silent on the issue of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and questioned Delhi Chief Minister on whose orders he is not standing up for citizens' rights to protest? "The police may have been acting (or not) on orders, but who ordered the Delhi CM not to stand up for citizens' rights to protest? Not to visit the injured? Not to object as campuses in his state became centres of carnage? Not all blame can be so easily deflected," Tharoor's tweet on Friday read. Meanwhile, the Thiruvananthapuram MP accused Kejriwal of fence-sitting. "Kejriwalji wants that both the pro and anti CAA crowd stays with him. Why did you (Kejriwal) stay silent on the JNU issue? Once during the time of Sheila Dikshit you had tweeted that do we want a weak CM, you should go and read that same tweet today," Tharoor told reporters on Friday. The Thiruvananthapuram MP further said that Congress stood alongside with actress Deepika Padukone because of her pro-students stance. "BJP is boycotting Deepika Padukone's move because she stood with the students. That is why we are with her and distributing free tickets to the public for the movie," Tharoor said. Deepika Padukone's film "Chhapaak", which is based on an acid attack survivor, released on January 10. The actress was targeted by many BJP leaders for joining the protests at JNU on January 7 after a masked mob entered the varsity campus and attacked the students and teachers with sticks and rods two days earlier. (ANI) It was found that by the end of 2018, 68% of the businesses across the globe were affected by cyber-attacks, whereas in the Indian market this was 76%. Therefore, there's a massive demand for CEH professionals in the industry today. What is the role of a CEH professional? Ethical hacker is somebody who eliminates black hat hackers from the systems of the organization and keeps the data, networks safe by identifying potential By Sarah Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Before the Hong Kong protests began in June, Chris Ngai spent most of his free time playing World of Warcraft and finding new cocktail recipes. Now the bespectacled 24-year-old junior engineer is launching a trade union By Sarah Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Before the Hong Kong protests began in June, Chris Ngai spent most of his free time playing World of Warcraft and finding new cocktail recipes. Now the bespectacled 24-year-old junior engineer is launching a trade union. His aim is to ramp up pressure on Hong Kong's government, which has so far made no political concessions to protesters' demands for greater democracy in the Chinese-ruled city, despite millions of people marching in the street. "The ongoing pro-democracy movement has fundamentally changed people's lives," Ngai told Reuters, the day before he set up a booth along the route of a Jan. 1 march, to sign up new members. "It has forced many who were ignorant about society to stand up." As violent clashes with police become more common, the pro-democracy movement has reached a point of "anger and hopelessness," said Ngai, and needs new tactics. Ngai said he and his team persuaded about 90 engineers, architects and construction workers to join his Hong Kong Construction and Engineering Employees General Union in the past month. His booth was only one of dozens along the 4 km (2.5 mile) route of the New Year's Day march, each with a distinct flag and logo, attracting queues of hundreds of people to join new unions for civil servants, hotel staff, theatre professionals and others. Ngai and his fellow organizers are spearheading the biggest push to unionise the laissez-faire, ultra-capitalist finance mecca - where collective bargaining rights are not even recognised - since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997. They are also at the forefront of the ever-experimenting Hong Kong pro-democracy movement as it looks for more effective forms of protest. "The movement has been thriving on its ad-hoc character," said Ma Ngok, a political scientist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "Now more people think the movement may be a long haul, so they need a more organised base to sustain it." About 40 pro-democracy unions, including Ngai's, have formed in recent months or are in the process of registering with the government, with dozens more starting to organise, according to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). The confederation, which last month started running crash courses on establishing unions, said about 2,000 people have already joined unions this year and thousands more joined in late 2019. The city has a population of about 7.4 million. Labour Department records show that 25 new unions registered last year, compared to 13 in 2018. Of those, 18 formed in the second half of the year, as protests escalated. Like many new protest tactics, the call to unionise first spread via the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where a channel promoting labour organisation has grown to more than 74,000 subscribers in less than three months. 'TIME TO STRIKE' Traditional unions in Hong Kong are seen by citizens primarily as clubs for hobby classes, banquets and retail discounts. The new unions are motivated more by protecting workers from being punished by employers for expressing their views. About two months after protests began in June over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions of suspected criminals to China, protesters got a wake-up call on Beijing's powers of coercion. The mainland's aviation regulator demanded Hong Kong's flag carrier Cathay Pacific suspend staff involved in or supporting demonstrations. Many new unionists say the problem is widespread, especially where bosses are keen to avoid conflict with China for fear of damaging business. A 26-year-old woman who identified herself as Cynthia told Reuters she heard of an auditing firm that hastily organised a lunch for all employees at the same time as a large protest which many of her fellow professionals wanted to attend during their break. She described that as "oppression" and said it was one of the reasons she is helping to establish the Accounting Bro'Sis Labour Union. Some employees have been reprimanded for expressing political views on their personal Facebook accounts, said Gary Chan, secretary of the Hong Kong Financial Industry Employees General Union, which he said has recruited 160 members since late September. Programmer Alex Tang said his newly formed, 280-member Hong Kong Information Technology Workers' Union was developing a database of employers who would not threaten or dismiss staff for supporting protests. Many believe unions will provide safety in numbers. "If we strike as individuals, we may be suppressed by companies," said a 23-year-old assistant architect surnamed Lam, who was lining up at Ngai's booth, wearing a black face mask, on Jan. 1. The drive to unionise comes as Hong Kong is grappling with a recession as tourist numbers and retail sales decline in the face of violent protests. While the new unions cannot promise much in terms of immediate economic benefits, they may in time be able to organise more effective strikes and address the city's deep inequalities, said Eli Friedman, an associate professor at Cornell University who studies labour in China. "Its too soon to tell if they will get the union density to exercise that kind of power," said Friedman. Many new union leaders say they recognise that gaining members and changing cultural attitudes to unions will take time. But they are committed to improving workers' rights, with a long-term goal of organising mass strikes to increase pressure on the government to allow everyone the right to vote for the city's leader. "Its a numbers game," said Lee Cheuk-yan, general secretary of HKCTU and a former pro-democracy politician. "We have to stay organised in the long run and consolidate the consciousness of the people of Hong Kong that has arisen over the past half-year," Lee said. "All of the unions will decide together when it is time to strike." (Reporting by Sarah Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Bill Rigby) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Nigerians and other foreign nationals resident in South Africas Keimoes and Upington areas of Northern Cape Province were on Thursday morning given 12 hours to vacate by the indigenes. The President of Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr Adetola Olubajo, made the disclosure in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos. Olubajo said the development was as a result of an ugly incident that took place on Wednesday, Jan. 8, between a Police Officer and a Nigerian. He said that a Nigerian man, an Abakaliki indigene of Ebonyi, allegedly stabbed to death a Police Officer, Constable Nico Visagie, during a disagreement at 5 a.m. Olubajo said that the details of the disagreement was still not very clear as the major witness was also stabbed multiple times and was still in critical condition at the hospital. After the horrific incident, the community members of Keimoes and environs went on rampage burning and destroying properties belonging to foreign nationals, Nigerians in particular. These attacks spread to Upington and Nigerians and other foreign nationals were also expelled from Upington. Prompt Police intervention this morning brought about calm but the situation is still tensed. Some locals were arrested by the police for public disturbance and malicious damage to properties. They appeared in a magistrates court this morning for bail hearing, he said. He added that the suspect who stabbed the police officer had been arrested and would appear in court on or before next Monday. We commend the swift intervention of the members of South African Police Service (SAPS) and the arrest of the suspect is a welcome development. We hope the police will continue to maintain law and order in the area, Olubajo said. Keimoes is a town in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. It lies on the Orange River and is about halfway between Upington and Kakamas. PV: 0 Envirobond Albany Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to be betting that climate change is on the minds of enough New Yorkers that theyll approve a $3 billion Environmental bond act in November, assuming the Legislature gives the go-ahead. But if past history is an indication, there is a 50-percent chance voters will endorse the measure if lawmakers put it in their hands. Cuomos call for the expenditure, which he featured during Wednesdays State of the State speech is the latest in a long list of bond proposals that have been put to voters over the decades, with some winning and some losing. The most recent bond act was the $2 billion Smart Schools measure that voters approved in 2014. According to the Empire Center, a total of 11 bond acts were passed and 11 failed over the past five decades prior to that. The Center, a fiscally conservative watchdog group, noted that bond acts to fund environmental, transportation, housing and employment initiatives as well as a prison-construction have been offered over the years. Six were environmental bond issues. Most recently on the environmental front, the $1.975 billion bond act proposed in 1990 during the Mario Cuomo administration failed 52 to 48 percent while the $1.75 billion measure pitched in 1996 under then-Gov. George Pataki passed 57 to 43 percent. The difference in conditions and outcomes in those two votes could be instructive. In 1990, the vote did poorly upstate with many responding to criticism that the money might not all go for strictly environmental projects. There were, for instance, plans to close a budget deficit, and to use at least some of the money for preservation of structures like churches and synagogues. That bond act also came amid a state budget deficit. In 1996, there were similar criticisms. But the bonds were approved anyway. Advocates and finance experts stress that they would need to see details of this years proposal before making any final recommendations. But the immediate reaction on Wednesday was positive from both environmentalists and business interests who view the plan as funding new resiliency and green energy projects. Worries about climate change have added new urgency when it comes to environmental issues, said Roger Downs, conservation director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. For the past ten years New Yorkers have experienced increasingly intense storms, catastrophic floods and alarming changes to our natural world, Downs said in an email. I dont think there is a question of whether the public would support more environmental funding for climate resilience it feels like something every community is demanding. Superstorm Sandy as well as Lee and Irene all swept through the state in the last decade. Additionally, communities like Hoosick Falls and Newburgh have been rocked by contamination of their water supplies by PFOA, dangerous industrial chemicals that the state is now trying to remediate. People understand that things like flooding is happening in communities more often than not, added Jessica Ottney Mahar, director of policy and strategy for The Nature Conservancy in New York. Those in the construction and road-building fields also welcome a bond issue given the need for highway improvements. We support it conceptually, said Mike Elmendorf, president and CEO of Associated General Contractors of New York State. More for you Cuomo pitches 'Restore Mother Nature' bond act They might like to see the $3 billion figure expand, if it could help cover the cost of road and bridge repairs they say the state needs. The funding dynamics of that have changed this year, Elmendorf noted. This past September the downstate-based MTA approved a $51.5 billion, five-year capital plan, untethered from upstates transit needs. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Historically, MTA plans came at the same time the state Department of Transportations five-year plan came through. Looking at both together helped ensure some upstate-downstate parity, Elmendorf said. But lawmakers this year are looking at a full upstate five-year plan, with an estimated $34.5 billion in capital needs, he said. A bond issue might help fill some gaps if the full plan isnt approved. That speaks to another aspect of putting forth a bond vote: The complex details of outlining where the money would be spent. That entails satisfying regional and other interests when it comes to topics like land preservation, wetlands restoration, building resilient roads, and energy efficiency measures. Both Elmendorf and David Friedfel, director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission fiscal watchdog group, said they believe a bond issue, which is paid off over many years, should go for capital expenditures rather than operations or organizations that have recurring salary and other costs. It would be a bad step if the state proposed to use bonding for the things that they used to pay for with regular state funding, said Friedfel. Battling invasive species, for example, is an ongoing expense so it shouldnt be placed in the one-time capital expense category, according to most economists. Is it a really good targeted bond act that does what it says it will or is there a lot of extraneous stuff in there? asked Elmendorf. Another concern is the states statutory debt limit which is 4 percent of personal income of all state residents. Recent projections place that limit at $57.6 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 with $56.6 billion issued since 2000. That ratio will change as existing debts are paid down and incomes rise over time. But an economic downturn could put limits on how much bonded indebtedness can be issued. Then there are the vagaries of voter turnout and sentiment. Will there be a series of bad storms and floods before the vote and will the presidential race and subsequent turnout have an effect? And will voters be concerned with state finances, given the current $6.1 billion deficit? All of those factors could feed into the results of a bond vote. There is a lot of voodoo and divining about when bond acts do or dont do better, said Elmendorf. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement outside Stormont (Niall Carson/PA) The DUP has signalled support for a deal to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland tabled by the UK and Irish governments. Party leader Arlene Foster said it represented a basis to re-establish the devolved institutions in a fair and balanced way. Sinn Fein, the other party whose buy-in is a must, has called a meeting of its ruling council on Friday to deliberate on the proposals to resolve long running wrangles on issues such as the Irish language. It is understood the Ard Chomhairle (ruling council) will meet in Belfast around lunchtime. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said: We are studying the text and will give it careful consideration. "The only way forward is one which is fair and balanced" Full Statement by DUP Leader Arlene Foster MLA https://t.co/rtfTCfkDCN pic.twitter.com/5oVHOUj1g8 DUP (@duponline) January 9, 2020 In a bold move, Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith has asked for the Assembly to be recalled on Friday in the hope the parties will turn up and sign up to the deal. Friday is due to see a strike by healthcare workers in the region. Mr Smith said there was a major financial package on offer from the Government, which would mean strike action would not need to go ahead if the parties restored the institutions. He said he had received reassurances from trade unions leaders, who he met earlier on Thursday, that they would call off the action if Stormont returned on Friday. That is why tomorrow politicians in Northern Ireland should return, he said. If Friday goes as the governments intend it, Northern Ireland could finally have a new government, three years after the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition collapsed. Now is decision time, said Mr Smith. We have had three years of talks, finally there is good deal on the table that all parties can support and on that basis I have tonight written to the speaker of this Assembly and asked him to recall it tomorrow to enable the restoration of the executive before the weekend. I urge all parties to come here tomorrow and serve the people of Northern Ireland. Statement from @MaryLouMcDonald - Sinn Fein Ard Chomhairle to meet pic.twitter.com/KeoOwJOmge Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) January 9, 2020 Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said the deal was filled with compromises. Mr Coveney said the people needed to tell their politicians to take the opportunity and seal the deal. Its now time their politicians stepped up and fully represented their constituents, he said. Its time to show leadership and get back to powersharing in Stormont. The deal represents the governments joint assessment of how long-standing wrangles on issues such as the Irish language can be resolved. The document includes: A new office for identity and cultural expression will promote diversity and inclusion. Commissioners will protect the Irish and Ulster Scots languages which are cherished by Sinn Fein and the DUP. The petition of concern, which was originally designed to protect minority rights in Assembly votes, will be reformed into a means of building consensus and will not be used as a veto by any one party. Improvements in how civil servants, special advisers and ministers conduct themselves following a botched green energy scheme which led to the Assembly collapse. More time to appoint a replacement if a Stormont First or deputy First Minister resigns, as Sinn Feins Martin McGuinness did three years ago, bringing down the institutions. Reacting to the publication, Ms Foster said: This is a Government paper. Our Party Officers, Assembly and Parliamentary representatives considered the paper on Thursday. On balance we believe there is a basis upon which the Assembly and Executive can (be) re-established in a fair and balanced way. Tonight the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Tanaiste have published the text of a deal to restore devolved government, exactly three years after the Assembly collapsed. #NewDealNewApproach Read the deal here https://t.co/NuRpOFBeJQ pic.twitter.com/kJH03znWjc Northern Ireland Office (@NIOgov) January 9, 2020 She added: This is not a perfect deal and there are elements within it which we recognise are the product of long negotiations and represent compromise outcomes. There will always need to be give and take. Mr Smith said the parties realised they had reached a critical juncture. We have got one chance to get this right and I am under no doubt that everyone realises that this chance is now, he said. Irish & UK Govts have tonight published deal that can be basis for re-establishment of a NI Assembly. I appeal to political leaders in NI to take this opportunity and get #Stomont working again. https://t.co/2lhrfkzkqZ Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) January 9, 2020 Mr Coveney said political leaders had a choice whether to meet the proposals with generosity or negativity. There is no such thing as a perfect deal and that is why parties have to make choices as to how they respond, he said. This is the opportunity for people to take the alternatives are not good. The impasse has focused on proposals for Irish language legislation; reform of a contentious Assembly voting mechanism; and plans to make the institutions less susceptible to collapse in the future. Expand Close Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (right) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney (right) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, issue a statement (Niall Carson/PA) The parties had been working to a Monday deadline to restore the institutions. On Monday, legislation to give civil servants extra powers to run the regions troubled public services expires and the UK Government assumes a legal duty to call a fresh Assembly election. BART has named a new police chief from within its own ranks to steer an agency thats steadily making reforms, even as it swerves from one headline-grabbing crime to another. Interim chief Ed Alvarez will head the agency, officials said Friday. He was the top choice among four finalists, including two internal candidates and two from outside departments. Addressing reporters Friday morning at Powell Street Station, the soft-spoken chief laid out an immediate plan. Hell dispatch 12 officers to supplement the 10 civilian ambassadors that will start roaming the trains in February. Hell analyze crime statistics and post additional foot patrols at stations with a high volume of calls for service. Alvarez said he will focus on cell phone thefts, which are on the rise between downtown San Francisco and Balboa Station. They account for 59% of the violent crimes at BART: Any phone snatching that involves a threat or physical contact counts as a violent crime. Perhaps most importantly, Alvarez intends to fill 25 vacancies in BARTs police force, bringing the number of sworn law enforcement to just above 200. Presence equals safety, he said, before boarding a train to Balboa with a small retinue of staff, board directors and police officers. Born in Mexico, Alvarez immigrated to the U.S. as a baby and grew up in the East Bay city of Newark. He speaks fluent Spanish a characteristic that pleased rider Olga Sanchez, of Pleasant Hill. She expects Alvarez will make inroads with the Bay Areas Spanish-speaking community, and possibly make it easier for them to file complaints. Alvarez spent 22 years rising up the ranks at BART, maintaining an easy disposition in a high-stress environment. At Balboa he tried to soothe Cheryl Willner of Dublin, who had just stepped off a San Francisco-bound train to get away from a transient she said was harassing her. I hope youll give us another shot in the future, the chief gently told the shaken woman, who appeared to be fighting back tears. During his tenure as interim chief, Alvarez led BART through a turbulent period that included a killing on board a train. He had previously served as deputy chief in charge of the Support Services Bureau. The top brass hired him after conducting a nationwide search that involved its independent police auditor and 11-member police citizen review board. Board directors and other officials praised Alvarez on Friday for having an open mind and engaging in difficult conversations. General Manager Bob Powers highlighted the new chiefs institutional knowledge and his ability to balance passenger safety with accountability, while supporting the rank and file. Alvarez has done each of the jobs within BARTs (police department), and he knows transit policing, Powers told reporters at Powell Station. That invaluable experience translates to action, and it translates to action now. The general manager is working to recruit more talent and boost morale at what had been an overburdened, thinly staffed agency. He called Alvarezs hiring an important step. Im very pleased, said Board President Lateefah Simon, one of the most impassioned progressive voices in the transit agency. As the only African American board director, she constantly fields texts or tweets when riders accuse BART police of racial bias. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. I do believe hes open to creating a vision of safety ... for everyone, regardless of their economic status, Simon added. Officials at the rail system have struggled to gain riders trust since hitting a crisis point 11 years ago, when an officer shot an unarmed black man on the platform at Fruitvale Station in Oakland. In the aftermath, BART formed the office of the independent police auditor and the citizen review board to investigate complaints and recommend discipline for officers when appropriate. The agency also grew under the leadership of former Chief Kenton Rainey and his successor, Carlos Rojas, who retired in April. At the same time, BART is grappling with crime, drug use and transients who use the rail lines as a de facto shelter. The management and board have taken a harder line on fare evasion, dispatching police officers and proof-of-payment inspectors to patrol the stations and trains. In November, a fatal knife attack plunged the agency into crisis, spurring calls to beef up the police force. Then on Wednesday officers had to conduct an elaborate crisis intervention, negotiating with an unstable person who was on the tracks for more than nine hours. Powers has pledged to beef up the force by hiring 19 officers a year for five years. On Thursday, the board approved an ambassador program in which 10 community service officers will roam the trains to defuse conflicts and convey a greater sense of security. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan They star together in the upcoming FX on Hulu streaming series Mrs. America. And on Thursday, Cate Blanchett and Sarah Paulson brought their style to the FX TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California. They were joined at the promotional event by their series co-stars Tracey Ullman, Uzo Aduba and John Slattery as well as the stars of other FX shows. Star power: Cate Blanchett and Sarah Paulson brought their style to the FX TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena on Thursday. They star together in the upcoming series Mrs. America For the occasion, Blanchett chose a polka dot jumpsuit with matching blazer. The Australian actress, 50, added a burnt orange belt and a pair of lavender colored shoes. Blanchett stars in Mrs. America as Phyllis Schlafly, a staunchly conservative woman who led the fight to stop the ratification of the Equal Rights Act during the 1970s. The TV series, which premieres on April 15, documents the impact Schafly had on America's political landscape as she took on feminists such as Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm and Gloria Steinem. New role: Blanchett stars in Mrs. America as Phyllis Schlafly, a staunchly conservative woman who led the fight to stop the ratification of the Equal Rights Act during the 1970s A-list: For the occasion, the Australian actress, 50, chose a polka dot jumpsuit with matching blazer. She added a burnt orange belt and a pair of lavender colored shoes Paulson, 45, opted for a blue striped blouse by Miu Miu with a flat collar and puffy half sleeves and a white broderie anglaise knee-length skirt. She paired the ensemble with white peep toe heels with silver embellishments and a pair of heart-shaped earrings. The star will continue her strong relationship with the network she announced that she will be returning to American Horror Story for season 10. She said: 'I did ask Ryan [Murphy] if the question was asked to me, could I say that I was coming back, and he said yes you could say. So, yes I will be back on American Horror Story.' The series will continue it's successful run on the network as it was also announced on Thursday that American Horror Story has been renewed for three more seasons. Classy: Paulson, 45, opted for a blue striped blouse and a white broderie anglaise knee-length skirt. She paired the ensemble with white peep toe heels and a pair of heart-shaped earrings Fun: Paulson hammed it up on the red carpet with Tracey Ullman who is in the show. Ullman, 60, wore a black top and tailored jacket paired with black skirt dotted with yellow flowers Vibrant: Uzo Aduba, 38, looked gorgeous in a scarlet red sleeveless dress with a split at the front and she added dark red lip color and angular silver earrings Famous face: Former Mad Men star John Slattery, 57, is also in the Mrs. America cast and struck a casual note with a black shirt jacket over a black tee and indigo jeans Paulson hammed it up on the red carpet with comedienne and actress Tracey Ullman who is also in the show. Ullman, 60, wore a black crew neck top and black tailored jacket paired with a calf-length skirt dotted with yellow flowers on a black background. Another new series set to premiere on FX's new streaming hub on Hulu is the Alex Garland sci-fi drama Devs. Three of the show's stars were on hand Thursday night - Alison Pill, Sonoya Mizuno and Nick Offerman. Pill, 34, whose credits include The Newsroom and Miss Sloane, posed for photos in an ankle-length red dress with three-quarter sleeves and a v-neckline. Japanese actress Mizuno, 33, wore a pale gray ensemble comprising a sleeveless halter top and matching wide-legged slacks. Offerman, 49, best known for his role on NBC's Parks and Recreation, paired a dark blue suit with a white shirt and tartan tie. Coming soon: Another FX on Hulu series is the Alex Garland sci-fi drama Devs. Three of the show's stars were on hand Thursday - from l-r: Alison Pill, Sonoya Mizuno and Nick Offerman Returning to the screen: Pamela Adlon, left, and Hannah Alligood, right, represented the sitcom Better Things that is going into its fourth season on FX Irish actress Jessie Buckley, 30, joined the cast of FX's Fargo for its fourth season and put on a stylish show in a houndstooth jacket, red blouse, cropped blue jeans and black lace-up shoes Jason Schwartzman, 39, also came out to promote Fargo and wore a blue sweater over a white short and green tie with a blue two-piece suit All smiles: Jason Schwartzman watches the FX panel unfold on stage Ben and Emyri: Ben Whishaw and Emyri Crutchfield field questions at the Fargo panel Ben speaks: Ben Whishaw answers a question at the Fargo panel at the TCA Winter tour Jason and Jessie: Jason Schwartzman and Jessie Buckley share a laugh on the panel Chris speaks: Fargo creator Noah Hawley and Jason Schwartzman watch Chris Rock as he answers a question about the new season of Fargo Jessie and Ben: Jessie Buckley pays attention to Ben Whishaw as he answers a question Chris rocks: Chris Rocks rocks a grey suit and a pink shirt at the FX Fargo panel at the TCA Winter tour Panel: Warren Littlefield, Noah Hawley, Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman field questions at the Fargo panel Jessie's look: Jessie Buckley rocks a black and grey plaid coat and jeans under a red shirt Jason looks on: Jason Schwartzman looks on as Jessie Buckley answers a question Military members and veterans can get up to four free months of Apple Music through the Apple Music military discount -- but... Danger comes in many forms, and it is well-known that Florida is a state located near the sea with natural disasters occurring many times a year: from tropical storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, to fires and floods. These cause major losses for people who live in that area and affect their lives in a severe way. If youre planning on visiting Florida or moving here, its best to do your research first. Dont take unnecessary risks, remember its better to be safe than sorry.To find out more about hurricanes, storms, the affected economy, the changing climate, and how to protect you and your belongings from all of these natural disasters, read this article. Hurricanes and Storms Hurricanes and storms are natural disasters in Florida and affect a lot of people that live very close to the sea. Floridians are facing ruined homes or even the loss of their loved ones. During summertime, people who live in Florida are experiencing such strong thunderstorms that the drainage systems cant possibly keep up with the water and thats when the flooding happens. In 2018, the USA experienced 14 disasters and the costs were huge for each. A warming climate may be the reason why these disasters are so often, studies have shown. The number of disasters increased over the years, leading to a cost of 15 billion dollars per year. Florida experienced mostly hurricanes as natural disasters and they are among the most expensive to deal with. For example, Hurricane Irma caused the most damage every time. Its landfall hit Florida in September 2017 and nearly the entire state suffered huge damages. Its winds extended almost 200 miles from the center, while its coastal storm flows were 20 feet above the normal tide levels. Irma held trillion watts of energy, which means it was so powerful that even the earthquake seismometers recorded it. Hundreds of people in Puerto Rico were left with no power. People began to evacuate the state on September 9. Irma left more than 50% of the population homeless, destroying almost all buildings in Barbuda. The death toll was 129 people. 450 shelters were occupied by 6.5 million people that Florida ordered to be evacuated back then. Extreme Heat Temperatures in Florida are likely to beat historical records by about 9 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. The humidity will increase the heat index and also, the bad impact on peoples health. Hot days are unhealthy and risky and it can affect most people, especially children and the elderly. The cardiovascular system is affected most by the high temperatures that cause dehydration and lead to serious health problems. Heatwaves can be dangerous, and the climate is making them more regular. Although solutions that could slow down climate change do exist, especially in the form of solar energy, they arent always easy to implement. To tackle large-scale effects such as extreme heat, extensive, long-term measures are needed. In time, these will not only make Florida a safer place to live, but also boost the local economy. How to live in an area prone to natural disasters? Protect your home Home insurance is an optional choice, yet is very important for many people who live in Florida. It helps you to keep your belongings safe in case of common occurrences. Home insurance protects your properties from many incidents such as fire, wind damage, and more. Home insurance costs may vary depending on what number of properties you have or how much they value. If you want to find out how to get affordable home insurance in Florida, its best if you contact many companies on the market and try to compare them. Also, you can make individual rates based on the coverage choices and the value of the properties you want to get insurance on. Having home insurance in Florida is crucial due to the extreme weather conditions. The state got hit by a few hurricanes over the past years, among which hurricane Irma was the most damaging. Thousands of houses were destroyed and, as a result, the real estate market suffered a huge decrease. Those who own properties have been facing massive insurance rates than any other state because of an enlarged demand. Things You May Consider Before Purchasing a Home in Florida Before buying a house in Florida, youll want to make sure whether you have the funds for the property taxes. If it exceeds your budget, choose a location more inland. Its cheaper and also, safer than the houses that are located near the sea. You need to be extremely careful when you choose your new home. Due to the large flow of natural disasters in Florida, you may want to determine whether the property you want is located near a flood zone before signing a contract. Also, consider hiring an inspector to do a complete inspection of your new home. Have an Emergency Kit Food and water are the first things you have to consider before a hurricane. Planning early can help you make sure you avoid the lack of supplies for you and your family to avoid the long lines at the store. Also, if you have pets, dont forget to prepare a bag of supplies for them too. Other important things youll have to bring with you are batteries, canned food, cash, blankets, flashlight, portable charger, etc.Also, youll need to let them know where is the meeting point in case of a hurricane. Life After a Disaster People are suffering major changes even after the disaster is over because the economy, the islands health, the quality of life, are affected. Residents are trying to find solutions after their homes were being destroyed, but they still have a major question to ask themselves: Should they rebuilt their lives in another state, or move to a safer place? Theyll continuously be worried and confused, as the changing climate seems to be more uncertain from year to year. The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has acknowledged that America did not know precisely when or where attacks allegedly being p... The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has acknowledged that America did not know precisely when or where attacks allegedly being planned by the assassinated Iranian army chief, Qassem Soleimani, would take place. There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qassem Soleimani, Pompeo said in a Fox News interview that aired on Thursday. We dont know precisely when, and we dont know precisely where, but it was real, he added. President Donald Trump has come under fire for his decision to assassinate Soleimani without consulting Congress. Trump administration, however, insisted it did not need to consult Congress before the strike because of the imminent threat US forces faced. Soleimani, who was the Commander of the Quds Force of Irans Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, was killed in a US airstrike on his convoy at Baghdad airport last week rising the tension of another World War. The airstrike, which was an order from US President Donald Trump, has since generated a lot of controversies and reactions from world leaders. With heavy snowfall in neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Delhi on Friday continued to reel under bone-chilling conditions, with the minimum temperature recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature was recorded at 17 degrees Celsius with dense fog. Besides Delhi, cold wave conditions persisted in a few pockets with severe cold wave conditions very likely in isolated pockets over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh. According to SAFAR, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi docked at 215, which falls in the 'poor' category. "It feels very cold today. The city is surrounded by a blanket of fog which has lowered visibility. As cyclists, we have to come out and ride a bicycle even in chilly winter," a cyclist told ANI. "We are fortunate to have access to all facilities. But we are worried about the poor living on the streets. For them, it is very hard to survive in such The government should work to ensure that the homeless are not inconvenienced," said another cyclist. According to Skymet, north winds are cold due to successive Western Disturbances which have approached the Western Himalayas leading to variation in the wind direction. Another Western Disturbance will approach the Western Himalayas by January 11 and from January 12, the wind direction will once again change from northerly to southeasterly leading to an increase in minimum temperature once again, it said. The IMD in its bulletin said that cold day conditions in isolated pockets is very likely over Bihar and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim. "Dense to very dense fog very likely in isolated pockets over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh, dense fog in a few pockets over Bihar and in isolated pockets over Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Odisha," the agency said. Ground frost in isolated pockets is very likely over Punjab and northwest Rajasthan, according to IMD. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Horizon Media, the largest independent media agency in the world, announced today that it has elevated Gene Turner to President of Horizon Next effective immediately. Turner was previously EVP Managing Partner and will continue to report to Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder of Horizon Media. Turner has led Horizon Next for ten years and the promotion recognizes the profound way that his vision of blending traditional media and direct response, combined with a more innovative approach to data, has fuelled the dynamic growth of Horizon Next and transformed it into one of the industrys most advanced marketing organizations. Horizon Next began life as Horizon Medias inhouse direct marketing team, with two people and $10MM in client billings, when Turner identified that direct-to-consumer brands needed more effective solutions to help them translate attribution data into viable growth strategies. Since then, Turners relentless focus on driving improved business outcomes for his clients has shown the value of enhancing proven marketing strategies with fresh ideas. His unique approach and the results that he has delivered for clients has attracted the countrys most exciting disrupter brands and driven the agencys growth. In 2017, Horizon Next became a standalone agency and today it has over 300 employees, offices in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, and invests over $2B on behalf of its clients. Our business sits at the intersection of three constantly changing landscapes: People, data, and media, said Gene Turner, President of Horizon Next. We must remain focused on our culture, hire the right people and invest in their development. We have to reinvent our model continuously in pursuit of whats next, our next innovation, our next advancement in analytics, the markets next media evolution and the next technological breakthrough. All this will elevate performance for our clients and deliver against our vision to be our clients most valued partner, said Turner. As performance media and daily optimization yield increasing returns in our data-driven world, Gene and Horizon Next are leading the way and writing the book on the future of effectiveness and efficiency, said Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder of Horizon Media. Horizon Next has the scale, talent and proven track record to be a truly disruptive force for brands with aggressive goals and an accountable mindset. Horizon Next continues to grow its roster of ambitious brands, challenger brands and mature brands looking to regain momentum. The agency is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. Horizon Next provides approximately 50 clients with brand strategy, consumer and channel insights, strategic planning and buying, data strategy and a full suite of analytics solutions across all traditional and digital channels to improve business outcomes and ROI. About Horizon Media Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest independent media agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York, and has offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. With estimated billings of $8.7 billion and over 2,300 employees, Horizon is the third largest U.S. media agency according to COMvergence data. Recognized as one of the worlds ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company, Horizon Media has been named Media Agency of the Year by MediaPost, Adweek and AdAge and is known for its highly personal approach to client service. Renowned for its culture, Horizon is also consistently named to all the prestigious annual Best Places to Work lists published by Fortune, Forbes, AdAge, Crains New York Business and Los Angeles Business Journal; including Best Workplaces for Diversity, Best Workplaces for Women, and Best Workplaces for Millennials honors. Earning the industrys highest honor, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder of Horizon Media, was inducted into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Fame in 2019. About Horizon Next Horizon Next is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. Horizon Next has 300 employees and manages over $2B in client investments. Under the entrepreneurial leadership of Gene Turner, President of Horizon Next, the group has grown into one of the industry's most innovative and data-driven marketing organizations. Horizon Next partners with clients to provide strategic leadership, brand strategy, media planning and investment, data strategy, campaign measurement and reporting, advanced analytics and optimization across all channels. For further information please contact Horizon Media Stephen Hall (212) 220-1744 shall@horizonmedia.com After a working meeting with the president in the Presidential House, Wolf said that DHS is "especially fortunate to enjoy such a strong and productive bilateral relationship with you (President Hernandez)." The US official also praised the Honduran president for "his efforts to improve public safety and to bring more foreign investment to Honduras." Wolf assured that the US will continue to invest in and support the economic growth in Honduras "as you continue to work more to secure your borders, dismantle gangs and cartels, and implement our asylum agreement." Acting Secretary Wolf also thanked the Honduras government for the strong public condemnation of Iran's recent actions. In 2019, Honduras and the USA signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreement, the Border Security Arrangements, the Biometric Data Sharing Program, and the Temporary Agricultural and Non-agricultural Workers Program agreement. "I want to highlight an extraordinary work together. Four agreements are progressing in an important way and I believe that yesterday and today's meetings have been very productive," President Hernandez said. In specific, the Border Security Arrangement will allow DHS to deploy personnel to support "the capacity-building efforts of the Honduran migration, border security and customs counterparts. "Based on the results of similar border security agreements in the region, I'm confident that this program will be a resounding success," said Acting DHS Secretary Wolf. The US official also reassured that both countries are working towards implementation of the Biometrics Data Sharing Program Agreement to enhance information sharing. "This agreement will connect Honduran law enforcement authorities to a broader regional network, with the purpose of combatting crime, human smuggling, trafficking, and other public security threats. If transnational criminal organizations are wise, they'll take their business out of Hondurasor otherwise face the full force of the law," Wolf concluded. From his end, President Hernandez thanked Acting Secretary Wolf for the support the U.S. has given us in the fight against drug trafficking, human trafficking and transnational crime. Strategic allies such as the US have made it possible to achieve our goals and objectives. "My commitment has been clear since we were presiding over Congress and we passed the extradition law, we purged the police, we managed to pass many laws to strengthen the legal framework for the fight against organized crime and the results are tangible," President Hernandez stated. SOURCE Gobierno de la Republica de Honduras The sentences were about the same as those sought by Assistant District Attorney William Brown, who said the girls abuse was among the worst in any case he has prosecuted. I cant remember in my career seeing a child-abuse case that was as serious, where the child didnt die, Brown said. The girl was found to have sustained multiple rib fractures and fractures in both of her legs, along with burns that were later determined to have been caused by a curling iron, though Brown said Christian had first claimed the girl had rolled herself into a hot radiator. The leg fractures were caused by twisting actions, Brown said. Christians lawyer, state Assistant Public Defender Erin Nagy, said Christian was at the time experiencing severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Nagy said Christians co-defendant in the case, Zachary Schenk, the girls father, was also unsupportive and emotionally abusive toward Christian. She said the girl, now living with Christians parents, has recovered and is thriving. Schenk is scheduled for a trial in February on a felony child neglect charge. Representative image City-based realty player Ashwin Sheth Group has invested around Rs 200 crore to set up a commercial project under the brand 'Cnergy' in neighbouring Thane. The company will be developing over 2 lakh sq ft of commercial space and is expecting nearly Rs 400 crore of revenues from the project once completely sold out. "This is our third commercial development after one in Prabhadevi in Mumbai and another in Dubai. With Thane emerging as the next destination of growth in the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region), we are developing our residential and commercial projects here," the company's Director Chintan Sheth told reporters. He said the company has already invested around Rs 200 crore for this development, which includes cost of land as well as approvals and construction finance. The development is a part of the 50 acre land parcel the company is developing in a phased manner in Thane, and also houses residential projects like Zuri, Avalon, Vasant Lawns, and a retail mall 'Viviana', among others. "We will be developing the project and selling the office space to start-ups as well as corporates and multinationals. Starting from 550 sq ft, we can offer an entire floor of 10,000 sq ft at a time. We expect to complete this project in two-and-a-half years and generate around Rs 400 crore revenues when completely sold out," Sheth added. The company has already sold out 40,000 sq ft of space in this project, he said. Currently, almost 95 per cent of the company's portfolio is residential and the balance is shared between retail and commercial segments. "In the future, 70 per cent of the portfolio will be residential and the balance a mix of retail and commercial," Sheth said. Editor's Note: 2020 is expected to be another year of significant uncertainty and turmoil. But the question is what asset will emerge the victor when the dust settles from the global trade war, Brexit, recession threats, negative bond yields. It's a showdown of global proportions, so don't miss all our exclusive coverage on how these factors could impact your 2020 investment decisions. (Kitco News) - After a roller-coaster week in which gold futures scaled a cliff only to fall off, the Friday high and low so far are both within Thursdays trading range. This is referred to an inside day on the daily charts and a sign of market indecision about the next short-term move. Wall Street participants in the weekly Kitco News gold survey are in fact conflicted on where the metal will head next week. The largest camp by a small margin said lower, but garnered less than 50% of the vote. In the Main Street survey, no voting bloc got 50% either, although this poll leaned bullish. Gold began the week by soaring to seven-year highs. The rally began last Friday after a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Irans elite Quds Force, with the U.S. saying its strike was disrupt an imminent attack that would have endangered U.S. citizens in the Middle East. The Comex February futures climbed as high as $1,613.30 on early Monday after Iran responded by firing missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq, with the rally fueled by worries about war. The metal subsequently backed down nearly $60 from the highs after leaders of the two countries seemingly avoided ratcheting up the rhetoric further. Around 11:30 a.m. EST Friday, the February gold contract was trading at $1,560.40 an ounce. Sixteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Seven, or 44%, called for gold to fall. There were five votes, or 31%, saying gold would rise, with the remaining four votes, or 25%, neutral or calling for a sideways market. Meanwhile, 1,171 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll. A total of 556 voters, or 47%, looked for gold to rise in the next week. Another 365, or 31%, said lower, while 250, or 21%, were neutral. Wall Street Bullish Bearish Neutral VS Main Street Bullish Bearish Neutral Those who look for gold to keep pulling back from the early-week high week mostly cited the abatement of tensions between the U.S. and Iran. I think it [gold] is going to be down unless the Iranian situation starts to flare up again, said Daniel Pavilonis, senior commodities broker with RJO Futures. Were not going back to the lows, but I think maybe well come back another 30 bucks or sotrade there for a little bit, then start to get built back up. Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, also sees more of a pullback. I am bearish on gold for the coming week, Cieszynski said. With tensions easing between Iran and the U.S., and the global economy improving, gold has been settling back toward the $1,450-$1,550 range, where it traded between August and December. John Weyer, co-director of commercial hedging with Walsh Trading, also said lower now that profit-taking has set in following the run-up late last week and early this week. However, he added, he would look for the metal to rise again if U.S.-Iran tensions heat up again after the two countries exchanged missile fire in the last week. Prior to those events, we were trending higher, Weyer said. We hit some technical [resistance] levels and came off of them. So there is a little bit of profit-taking and a little bit of trading the range on the technicals. Mark Leibovit, publisher of VR Metals/Resource Letter, said he is short-term bearish. It appears the mid-February cyclical peak could have come early, Leibovit said. Meanwhile, Phil Flynn, senior market analyst with at Price Futures Group, looks for gold to turn back higher next week even though the risk premium has eased in the aftermath of Irans retaliatory attack on the U.S. It is expected that Iran will stand down, so geopolitical risk premium is down, Flynn said. Yet with continued strong central-bank buying along with upbeat physical demand, we expect gold will come back next week. Jim Wyckoff, senior technical analyst for Kitco, looks for steady to higher prices, commenting that the charts still overall bullish. I am slightly bullish for gold next week, said Kevin Grady, president of Phoenix Futures and Options. I believe we have not heard the last from the Iranian situation and I think that this should keep a bid under the market. We hit an all-time record high in open interest in gold this week. There are a lot of longs in the market, which I think is capping the upside without any immediate news out. Barring any news, I believe gold will be in this $1,540-$1,590 range. Charlie Nedoss, senior market strategist with LaSalle Futures Group, commented that the market bias is probably still higher, with the metal still above the key moving averages. Still, in the short term, he anticipates sideways consolidation after the sharp run-up in prices several days ago. He pointed out that gold has come back to fill a price gap on a daily chart between last Fridays high and Mondays low. I think we moved pretty far pretty fast, he said of the recent rally. Some Jonny-come-lately longs essentially got whacked when prices quickly fell back from the recent peak, he continued. I think the bulls are happy were staying back up here, Nedoss said. I think theyre disheartened that we came back off and had that reversal. In terms of the bears, I dont know a bunch of people who want to stand in front of this thing right now. This thing is solid right now. Adrian Day, chairman and chief executive officer of Adrian Day Asset Management, looks for gold to hold around current levels. Much will depend on the Iran situation, of course, Day said. Gold has held up well despite a lessening of tension but will likely struggle to go higher in immediate future absent new developments. THE heartbroken parents of a teenage girl who took her own life after being sexually assaulted are sharing her story with the hopes of making young people aware of dangerous predators. Anna Crowes daughter, Julie Crowe (18), from Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, died by suicide three months after returning home from a holiday to Zante in Greece in August, where she was sexually assaulted in her sleep. She said Julie, who had just finished her first year in college, was excited as she had never gone on a trip abroad with friends before. However, the excitement was short lived as five days into the holiday, Julie was assaulted twice by two different men in a nightclub, and was then raped by a third man in a separate incident two nights later. The first assault happened when a man forced his tongue in her mouth, and the second occurred later on in the night when she was on the way to the club bathroom. Julie told her mother that another man had pushed her up against a wall, and attempted to put his hand in her underwear. After a struggle, she ran into the bathroom where she locked herself into a toilet. She later returned to her friends on the dance floor. Julie was then assaulted two nights later by a man in her apartment after a night out. Julie, who was asleep when the assault happened, made an appointment with her college counsellor after her friends remembered finding the man in the room when checking on her. It was on foot of that session that he refused to let her leave without her ringing one of her parent, Anna told Liveline. She phoned me in work and said, Mum, Ive something more to tell you. I was raped in Greece'. Julie received medical assistance, and reported the incident to gardai. On November 4, Julie told her parents she didnt feel well enough to go to college. Later that day, Julies body was found by her father after he read a letter she left detailing where she would be. The worse thing was she had been doing so well. She told everybody. Everybody she talked to said she had been handling it really well, Gary said. Now, Anna and Gary are sharing Julies story to make parents and young people aware of potential predators. Its not to sensationalise the trauma of what she suffered. Its in the hope that maybe parents and young people will be just aware that there are predators out there targeting young guys and girls. I do believe Julie was targeted in the sense that she was just so innocent. She is the victim of tragic circumstances. She was in the wrong place, with the wrong people at the wrong time, Anna said. If you have been affected by any issues raised in this article, you can contact Samaritans helpline 116 123, or the Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 778 888. The HSE has defended being stuck with a 1.1m Microsoft bill for missing a key security upgrade deadline, saying that it represented the best option under the circumstances. The health service was responding to an Irish Independent article which revealed it faces a hefty bill for not having its PCs and laptops ready before Microsoft discontinues security support for its obsolete Windows 7 system next Tuesday. The January 14 deadline had been flagged for five years, from the time the tech giant launched its Windows 10 system. Microsoft offers an 'extended support' service to allow those who haven't upgraded to avail of critical security patches aimed at preventing hackers gaining access to non-upgraded PCs. "Negotiations were carried out with Microsoft in order to achieve the best value for money for this service," said the HSE statement. "The cost is approximately 1.1m." The HSE said that it has 46,000 Windows 7 computers still operating on its network, out of a total of 58,000 computers. It said that it would spend 13.5m this year replacing and upgrading PCs, with 1.1m earmarked for the special 'extended support' payments to Microsoft. However, the body's chief information officer Fran Thompson told the Irish Independent that the size and complexity of the HSE meant that it was "never" going to be able to meet the January 2020 deadline, even with several years' notice and three times the HSE's 320 IT staff. "You're trying to balance risk, finance and service," he said. "You have to make sure that systems are tested correctly and that services aren't interrupted. In some cases that means taking systems away from staff to test." He said that 12,000 of the 46,000 machines "cannot be replaced" until radiology information systems are upgraded in 2021. Mr Thompson said that he expects "the bulk" of the HSE's remaining 46,000 PCs and laptops to be upgraded to Windows 10 this year. However, this means that the organisation will have to strike a new 'extended support' fee programme with Microsoft in 2021 for any outstanding machines. Mr Thompson said that this would be "an awful lot smaller" than the 1.1m budgeted for 2020. "The HSE Windows 10 programme started in late 2017," said an HSE statement. "In 2018, the testing and validation of our 650 different applications started. The validation of off-the-shelf applications is straightforward. However, the HSE, like all other health services internationally, has many health-specific applications which require extensive testing and validation to ensure that they continue to perform as expected." Three years ago, the HSE had to shut off its systems from outside communication because the WannaCry ransomware virus threatened a number of its PCs connected to Windows XP, an older unsupported system. The same virus crippled UK hospitals. According to figures released from a parliamentary question from Labour TD Alan Kelly, the Department of Employment and Social Affairs has 11,000 PCs still using Windows 7, while the Department of Justice has 3,700. What the papers say January 10 (PA) The attention of the nations papers on Friday continues to be split between the ongoing royal family and Iran sagas. The Daily Telegraph, The Sun and the Daily Mirror all lead with the Queens rallying call for the royals to find a quick resolution to the crisis engulfing the monarchy. Tomorrow's front page: Queen, Prince Harry and Charles locked in crisis talks https://t.co/0JmQweeWB4 pic.twitter.com/4eCK1twxcX The Sun (@TheSun) January 9, 2020 The Daily Express says the Queen was enraged by Harry and Meghans decision. Meanwhile the Metro and Daily Star say the Queen has urged the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to cement their future away from the royal family within days. Prince Charles has threatened to stop providing funding for Harry and Meghan, according to The Times. Fridays Times: Charles threatens to halt Harry and Meghans cash #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/n8qqxetjvv Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) January 9, 2020 And the Daily Mail reports that Meghan has already returned to Canada to look after baby Archie. Moving to the Iran crisis, The Guardian, Financial Times and the i focus on the reportedly accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Guardian front page, Friday 10 January 2020: Ukraine jet downed by Iranian missile, western officials believe pic.twitter.com/vVxeksczo8 The Guardian (@guardian) January 9, 2020 Just published: front page of the Financial Times UK edition Friday January 10 https://t.co/yQZUmo7onA pic.twitter.com/68RUSXcWQP Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) January 9, 2020 Along with the Iran story, The Independent reports on a 40,000 pay gap between male and female GPs. For the first time, researchers at Michigan Medicine have demonstrated that a cellular process known to be involved in cancer and other diseases also plays an important role in the growth of at least one type of normal mammalian cell. Macropinocytosis is an ancient process by which cells take in large volumes of material from outside of themselves. The process is hijacked by certain cancer cells to gather proteins to break down into cellular fuel. The process is also exploited by viruses and bacteria to enter cells. New findings from the lab of Philip D. King, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology & Immunology at the U-M Medical School and a member of the U-M Rogel Cancer Center, showed that both primary mouse and human T cells -; which play a central role in the immune response -; engage in macropinocytosis to support normal cell growth. Our research suggests that this may be a more general phenomenon, applicable to the growth of other primary cell types." John Charpentier, study lead author, graduate student in King's lab King adds, "Blocking macropinocytosis in cancer might not represent an effective means of treating cancer since it is predicted that the generation of an anti-tumor T cell immune response would also be inhibited using this approach." He spoke amid revelations by U.S. officials that the American military had tried, but failed, to kill another senior Iranian commander on the same day that Soleimani was killed. The targeting of Abdul Reza Shahlai was apparently part of an effort to cripple the leadership of Irans Quds Force, which the U.S. has designated a terror organization along with the larger Islamic Revolutionary Guard Force. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho is in negotiations with HBO for a limited series based on "Parasite", which has emerged as one of the most talked about movies of the year. The film is also an award season darling since winning the Palme d'Or in Cannes last May. It won the best foreign language Golden Globe and is expected to earn multiple nominations at the Oscars besides picking up trophies from critics bodies, including the top honour from the National Society of Film Critics. A series on the movie was hotly pursued by top streamers, including Netflix but Bong decided to go with HBO as it has a strong track record in limited series, according to Deadline. "Succession" executive producer Adam McKay and Bong will adapt the movie for a TV series. Directed by Bong and written by Bong and Han Jin Won, "Parasite" stars Song Kang Ho, Lee Sun Kyun, Cho Yeo Jeong, Choi Woo Shik, Park So Dam, Lee Jung Eun and Chang Hyae Jin. The film tells the story of two families from different sides of the class divide where members of a poor family scheme and manage to get to work in a wealthy household. "Parasite", which critics have found hard to slot into a genre, has become a global phenomenon, grossing USD 130M worldwide so far. It is Bong's seventh feature film following on from "Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000), "Memories of Murder" (2003), "The Host" (2006), "Mother" (2009), "Snowpiercer" (2013), and "Okja" (2017). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under increasing pressure from her own party to transmit articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, promised Thursday to deliver the charges to the Senate "soon," while moving to keep splintering Democrats in line. At her weekly news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., refused to detail her timeline for picking impeachment trial managers and delivering charges alleging that Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress. According to senior Democratic lawmakers and aides, she has kept even her closest allies in the dark on her thinking, causing concern to spread inside her ranks. The lawmakers and aides spoke on the condition of anonymity to be frank. But Pelosi stood her ground, bristling at the repeated questions about when she plans to relent and arguing that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has yet to provide sufficient detail on the trial process - leaving unaddressed the criticism that has emerged among Democrats. "You keep asking me the same question, I keep giving you the same answer: We need to see the arena to which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?" she said, referring to the House "managers" who will prosecute the case in the Senate. "I'm not holding them indefinitely," she added. "I'll send them over when I'm ready. And that will probably be soon." Pelosi spoke as Congress enters the fourth week of an impeachment stalemate that began Dec. 18, when Democrats impeached Trump. Under the Constitution, the Senate is now charged with holding a trial on his removal, but Pelosi has not taken the separate step of naming managers and sending the articles across the Capitol. Many senators expected Trump's trial to begin shortly. McConnell predicted during a private lunch Thursday that Pelosi could send the articles of impeachment as soon as Friday - and told his colleagues to be ready for a trial to begin as soon as next week. But Democratic aides said Pelosi will follow her own gut on the decision, and while some Democrats began questioning her strategy this week - such as moderate Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, who said Thursday the time had come to send the articles - there are also clear signs that she largely remained in control. In one remarkable turnabout, a senior House Democrat - Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington state - called on Pelosi to transmit the articles in a televised interview Thursday morning, only to reverse course within hours. "I think it was perfectly advisable for the speaker to try to leverage that to try to get a better deal," Smith said on CNN. "At this point it doesn't look like that's going to happen." Shortly before Pelosi addressed reporters, Smith walked his comments back in a tweet, saying he "misspoke." "I completely support the speaker's effort," he told reporters later in the day. "She knows a heck of a lot more than I do." Other prominent members of the Democratic caucus who earlier in the week had suggested it was time for the trial to get underway appeared to defend Pelosi on Thursday. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said in a brief interview that he understood what Pelosi is doing in fighting for witnesses. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said that her earlier comments had been misunderstood and that she supported Pelosi's strategy. "She's going to send it over when she's ready to send it over," Feinstein said. Republicans, meanwhile, appeared to revel in Pelosi's predicament, repeatedly quoting those Democrats who had broken with her. McConnell derided Pelosi's "irresponsible games" in a floor speech Thursday and showed no sign of bowing to her wish for a detailed blueprint of the trial. "Should future House majorities feel empowered to waste our time with junior varsity political hostage situations?" McConnell asked. "They get to start it if they choose, but they do not get to declare that it can never be finished. They do not get to trap our entire country into an unending Groundhog Day of impeachment without resolution." Republican aides said divisions in the Democratic ranks have emboldened McConnell, who has vowed to start the trial without any deal to hear from witnesses or obtain new documents that the Trump administration repeatedly has refused to provide. McConnell has also declined to release the resolution that the Senate will vote on detailing the procedures for the trial, as Pelosi has demanded. "The wall has crumbled beneath her," taunted the No. 3 Senate Republican, John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Pelosi "has zero leverage" and "is trying to make the most out of a very bad situation of her own creation." Democrats on both sides of the Capitol privately expressed concern about Pelosi's delay and the repercussions for swing-district lawmakers such as McAdams as Republicans blanket TV networks and radio talk shows accusing Democrats of playing politics with impeachment. Pelosi, meanwhile, appeared to remain in sync with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Speaking hours before the senators left Washington for the week without a resolution to the standoff, Schumer repeated a mantra of "witnesses and documents" as he pressed for concessions from Republicans. "That has been Speaker Pelosi's focus from the very beginning; that has been my focus from the very beginning: getting a fair trial that considers the facts and only the facts," he said. But some Democrats have started openly questioning whether impeachment was still the focus of the country, especially in light of this week's military exchange with Iran that included the targeted killing of Iran's most powerful military commander, Qasem Soleimani. "After Soleimani, you don't hear impeachment anymore. So that is not an issue that is on the forefront right now," said Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, a former ranking Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee. Pelosi's defenders praised her move to hold the articles, arguing that new revelations unearthed during the holiday break vindicated the tactic. Among the recent developments: Former national security adviser John Bolton suddenly agreed Monday to testify if subpoenaed by the Senate after refusing to cooperate with the House investigation. "The drip, drip, drip of information is fascinating," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who led a push for the hold-the-articles strategy last month. "I think being deliberate, not rushing it, is absolutely the right thing to do. And I think each day verifies the wisdom." Trump on Thursday appeared to dash some Democrats' hopes that Bolton could soon appear at a Senate trial, saying he would object to any effort to allow him to testify about his presidential conversations. "We have to protect presidential privilege," he said. "When we start allowing national security advisers to just go up and say whatever they want to say, we can't do that." Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., a moderate Democrat, said that his colleagues trusted Pelosi but that their patience would not be infinite. "There's just a whole lot of reasons why it has to be sooner than later," he said. "You've got the Senate Democrats who obviously understand their own timeline and their circumstances that we have to be mindful of - the fact that you've got the presidential elections that are moving forward . . . I just think there's a shelf life to this." A trial would keep in Washington the Democratic senators running for the presidential nomination, limiting any campaigning in Iowa ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses. VANCOUVERThey first met in sixth grade and became friends over a mutual love of music. Jessi Eiriksson and Kamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi became close friends growing up in the Vancouver suburb of Port Coquitlam. Kamyars caring nature made him a great pal and the two had planned to create music together; Eiriksson enjoys singing, and Kamyars favourite hobby was making music on his computer. But, by Wednesday afternoon, Eiriksson was left grappling with the reality that she will no longer see her good friend. Kamyar was killed along with 175 others, including his mother, Niloofar Razzaghi, and father, Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi, when the Ukrainian passenger plane they were on crashed minutes after taking off from Tehran, Iran. Sixty-three of those on board the jet were Canadians and 138 of its passengers were bound for Canada. Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said new intelligence shows Iran likely shot down the plane with a missile by mistake. As the media, governments and observers search for answers about how the passenger jet went down, Eiriksson and many like her are just trying to cope with the loss of a friend. Eiriksson, now in Grade 10, knew Kamyar was flying home from Iran but hadnt heard about the crash Wednesday, when she was getting ready for lunch at Riverside Secondary and noticed a mutual friend of theirs was in tears and asked him why. He blurted out Kamyars dead and I fell to the ground in shock, Eiriksson said. I couldnt believe it. Ive never experienced that much pain in my life. The classes Kamyar attended were cancelled and students in them sent to the library, she said, speaking to the Star Wednesday evening. He just turned every situation into a good situation, Eiriksson said, wrestling to keep her composure. Trying to help a younger person deal with such grief can be a challenge said Carrie Arnold, an assistant professor of thanatology at Kings University College in Ontario. Thanatology is the study of death, dying, grief and loss. Arnold said that for teenagers, the death of someone important to them can be particularly hard because it can make the world suddenly seem a dangerous and scary place, forcing them to deal with their own mortality. The way young people grieve will not necessarily be the same way that older people grieve, Arnold said. Adults often forget that. They assume that for young kids, their grief response will be the same as theirs. Re-establishing a sense of safety becomes a key role for caregivers and parents, she said, noting that keeping an eye out in case grief goes awry is important, too. If the youths sadness or anger turns into fear or insecurity they should get additional help. Sleep disturbance or loss of appetite is normal for a little while for children as long as the child is still asking questions, she said. Parents of teenagers should look for any high risk behaviour or substantial departures from daily routines, such as refusing to go to school because they dont feel safe. Another sign is if the teen becomes extremely withdrawn. In such cases, more support and attention is needed, Arnold said. Part of it for them is to really normalize and support the fact people do die, because we live in what we call a death-denying culture. We dont want to face any of our mortality, she said. Many of us become removed from death itself. Back in Port Coquitlam, Eiriksson spoke of how loved Kamyar was by his friends. He was a shy young man who wanted to be a music producer, though his parents were urging him to look toward a career in medicine or the law. The warm, soft nature of the family of three beams out of their photos. In many pictures posted on Facebook, Niloofar Razzaghi tilts her head to the side with an unrestrained smile, exposing most of her teeth, while husband Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi looks directly at the camera with a subtler, but still happy grin. Between them in many photos is Kamyar, his face flush with youth and positivity, usually with one arm held gently by his mother, as if to keep him still long enough for a photo to be snapped. After Wednesdays plane crash in Iran there will be no more photos of the Port Coquitlam family. Instead, Eiriksson and the rest of Kamyars friends at Riverside Secondary will be left with the stories, thoughts and memories about the friend they lost. All of us are completely heartbroken, Eiriksson said. None of us are doing well with this whole situation, but, how could we? Weve all lost the nicest and most caring person weve ever met. Read more about: By Moira Warburton and Denise Paglinawan TORONTO (Reuters) - The crash in Iran of a Ukrainian Airlines jet bound for Toronto killed dozens of professors and researchers from campuses across Canada, leaving a painful hole in Canadian academia where Iranians have taken on starring roles in engineering. 'It is an unspeakable loss,' said Neda Maghbouleh, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto who studies Iranian migration through the United States and Canada. Four University of Toronto students were killed in the crash By Moira Warburton and Denise Paglinawan TORONTO (Reuters) - The crash in Iran of a Ukrainian Airlines jet bound for Toronto killed dozens of professors and researchers from campuses across Canada, leaving a painful hole in Canadian academia where Iranians have taken on starring roles in engineering. "It is an unspeakable loss," said Neda Maghbouleh, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto who studies Iranian migration through the United States and Canada. Four University of Toronto students were killed in the crash. "The people we lost in the plane truly represented the smartest young researchers in the entire world," Maghbouleh said. Many of the dead were highly qualified Iranian-Canadians, some of whom had studied together at Tehran's Sharif University. The number of Iranian international students in Canada more than doubled between 2016 and 2018, according to Canada's immigration department. Many Iranians pursued graduate studies in Canada after the United States' policy toward Iran hardened in 2017. The Ukrainian Airlines plane, which was headed to Toronto via Kiev, crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. The U.S. government believes Iran accidentally shot down the airliner, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said 138 passengers of the 176 on board the doomed flight were travelling to Canada, of whom 63 were Canadian citizens. Edmonton's University of Alberta lost 10 faculty, postgraduate students and alumni, the school's president said. Other victims were linked to universities in Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Canada has become a prime destination for Iran's top engineering undergraduate students partly because it offers a path to citizenship for international students, said Concordia University engineering professor Ali Dolatabadi. He was the graduate supervisor for one of the victims, Siavash Ghafouri Azar. "I was the graduate program director in our department for seven years and I can easily say about half of our grad students are from Iran," Dolatabadi said from Montreal. Among the dead were mentors and leaders in their fields, students and school administrators said. University of Alberta professor Mojgan Daneshmand was a Canada Research Chair in radio frequency microsystems. Others were researchers on hybrid electric vehicles, mechanical and computer engineering, and indigenous studies. Newlyweds Arash Pourzarabi, 26, and Pouneh Gorji, 25, were graduate students in computer science at the University of Alberta, and had gone to Iran for their wedding. Pourzarabi was a silver medallist in the National Olympiad in Informatics and the pair had been undergraduates in the prestigious Sharif University engineering programme. "There's an overwhelming sense of sadness on campuses right across the country from coast to coast," said Paul Davidson, president of Universities Canada, an association representing 95 universities, in Ottawa. "There will be empty chairs." (Reporting by Moira Warburton and Denise Paglinawan in Toronto; Additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny and Allison Martell; Editing by Leslie Adler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. This ex-convicts wings have been clipped. Ronald Hawk, 50, was sentenced Thursday to up to four years in prison for stabbing a buddy in the abdomen in West Brighton 16 months ago. Prosecutors alleged Hawk, a Queens resident, cut the victim with a sharp object at around 4:40 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2018. The incident occurred on the 100 block of Bard Avenue, said court papers. The victim suffered lacerations to the side of his abdomen which required stitches to close. The defendant initially denied any involvement. According prosecutors court filings, Hawk told officers on the scene he, the victim and a woman were drinking beer. He fell asleep as they drove around. Hawk told cops the victim, who was behind the wheel, stopped short three times. Those actions led to a road-rage confrontation with another driver, said the defendant. Hawk said he was awoken by screams for help and saw the victim bleeding on the ground. He told cops he didnt know who stabbed his friend, court papers said. Later, at the 120th Precinct, Hawk told cops he and the victim had smoked crack and were driving around Mariners Harbor looking to buy drugs and booze. Afterward, they drove toward West Brighton, where the victim began arguing with someone, possibly a dealer, the defendant said. Once again, Hawk said he was sleeping in the car and awoke to screams. He found his pal on the ground, bleeding, court documents said the defendant told police. Hawk was indicted on charges of assault and criminal weapon possession. In November, he pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to attempted second-degree assault to resolve the case. In exchange, he was sentenced to two to four years behind bars. He took responsibility for his actions, defense lawyer Garrett Fruchtman said outside court. He is going to get treatment upstate and looks forward to leading a law-abiding life when hes released. Assistant District Attorney Lisa Davis prosecuted the case. The defendant has served two prior prison stints, according to online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. In 2001, he was sentenced to two to four years for robbery. Later, in 2005, he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years for robbery and attempted robbery. The crimes occurred in Queens, records said. According to most journalists, Hollywood, and other Democrats, the only thing a terrorist-sponsoring country like Iran must do to keep terrorists from being targeted is to give them a big title and put them on their payroll. They say that makes the world safer than killing them. Then they can roam the world, working with other terrorist groups to plan and execute attacks. If a leader of any country decides that these terrorists should be killed, he will be said to have escalated tensions by assassinating a government official. If that sounds stupid, it is. Even better, a decorated government official (photo credit: khameni.ir). The world is clearly safer if known terrorist leaders are killed and funds are cut off. It is never safer to leave terrorists, killers, gang members, cartels, and rapists roaming the streets than to remove them from society. What makes the world much more dangerous is when leaders in America and Europe shower the most dangerous terrorism-sponsoring country, Iran, which continues to pledge death to America and death to Israel, with huge amounts of money and pretends that country will be good. Most journalists cheered this pure ignorance. It was also extremely dangerous when leaders in America were so stupid that they sold uranium assets in the U.S. to Russia, which, of course, they will use themselves and then sell some to dangerous countries like North Korea and Iran. It sure helps Russia when Iran has more money to purchase Russia's weapons and uranium. Then Democrats will act surprised that these dangerous countries are working on nuclear weapons. Most of the media won't care about selling uranium to Russia as they pretend that Obama and Biden were tough on Russia and continue to perpetuate the lie that Trump is a puppet of Russia. Thank goodness we have a president who understands that the way to reduce terrorism is to cut off the funding and take out the terrorists themselves instead of leaving them to maim and kill at will, including Americans. Most of the media make the world much more dangerous as they cheer for whatever Democrats say and do and seek to destroy Trump, no matter how much good he does to strengthen and protect Americans. So if the American people want to enrich tyrants, protect terrorists, move towards socialism, have more people dependent on government, reduce freedom of choice on health care and schools and energy, refuse to enforce immigration laws, kill fully developed babies up to and beyond birth, and to reduce girls' and women's privacy by having men and boys expose themselves in locker rooms and restrooms, they should take the advice of most journalists and elect Democrats. If they want freedom, prosperity, capitalism, enforcement of immigration laws, more opportunity to move up the economic ladder for everyone, and a president who is willing to kill terrorists who maim and kill people around the world, they should vote for Trump. The choice is easy. Prince Charles could pull funding from his son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle if they go ahead with their plans to step away from royal duties. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week said they wanted to become 'financially independent' and claimed they would stop receiving money from the Sovereign Grant, which covers around five per cent of the couple's costs. But earlier today sources close to the Prince of Wales claimed he could stop Harry's 2.3 million hand out from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate. The couple's plan is said to have left the Queen 'disappointed' and the news that Charles is not prepared to continue to bank roll his son comes as a YouGov poll suggested that over two thirds of people believed the couple should no longer receive funding from the Duchy. Speaking to the Times, a source said that Prince Charles 'had made clear that he will not be writing his son a blank cheque'. Prince Charles (pictured above) has said that he will not be writing 'blank cheques' to his son Harry Meghan and Harry (pictured above) this week announced that they wanted to become 'financially independent' The source also added that when the couple talk about splitting their time between the UK and North America, that they mean Canada, although they hinted that they could also spend time in the US, where Meghan's mother Doria Ragland is based. The warning from Charles comes after the couple went against the advice of their aides and published a statement to their Instagram page on Wednesday evening. It was later followed by a brand new website which detailed how they planned to become financially independent and a breakdown of how they are currently funded. The Queen also gives funds to Prince Harry and William which are split between the two brothers It is believed that the Queen, Charles and Prince William have since spent time talking on the phone to resolve the crisis. An initial meeting between Harry and the Queen is thought to have been blocked by aides which left Harry upset. After Harry and Meghan released their statement, the Palace said: 'Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.' The couple will however be staying in Frogmore Cottage and have now stated that they will still be entitled to state security while they split their time between the UK and North America. Their Windsor home was a gift from the Queen and they will be keeping hold of the property so they 'always have a home in the UK'. When it comes to their security the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are classified as internationally protected people and will therefore still be protected by the Metropolitan Police. Security arrangements will likely be discussed with Priti Patel who is ultimately responsible for Royal security. Discount retailer BandM said sales were slower than anticipated in the run-up to Christmas (BandM/PA) B&M shares slipped lower after the discount retailer said sales were slower than anticipated in the run-up to Christmas. The high street chain said like-for-like sales at B&M UK stores increased by 0.3% over the 13 weeks to December 13. It said the modest growth came amid a challenging broader retail market, while the company also decided not to engage in any early discounting activity. B&M said total revenue growth at its UK stores increased by 8.8% as it was buoyed by a raft of store openings. Overall, the business delivered a good quarter operationallySimon Arora, B&M European Value Retail The company said it opened 15 new stores during the quarter and is set to open a further six B&M stores in the current period. Simon Arora, chief executive of B&M European Value Retail, said its store openings had performed better than expectations so far this year. He added: Against the backdrop of a difficult UK retail environment with reduced shopper footfall and political uncertainty, our core B&M UK business generated continued growth and delivered a record level of peak season sales. Overall, the business delivered a good quarter operationally. Costs were well controlled and, combined with our usual strong focus on cash gross margins, yielded a profitable outcome. The companys Heron retail business opened five new stores in the period as it traded well over the past three months. B&M said total sales across the European group increased by 9.3% as it hailed progress at its Babou arm, while sales slipped at its German Jawoll business. Shares in B&M slumped by 7.8% to 366.1p in early trading on Friday. A woman has been left flat-chested and with scarring on her breasts after claiming to have botched plastic surgery in Turkey. Zara Rodriguez, 28, who hated her body, travelled to Istanbul to get breast implants and a tummy tuck in August last year. She paid 5,015 at the cut-price clinic to go from a 34C bust to a 34F. But back home in Wiltshire after the seven-hour operation, the barber's left implant began to leak fluid from an infection and her right breast was drooping. The clinic offered to fix Ms Rodriguez's implants, after she posted gruesome photos showing the state of her breasts after surgery on social media. However, her implants once again began leaking fluid when she returned home, at which point the clinic allegedly stopped returning her calls. On November 22, Ms Rodriguez had both her implants removed at Bath Royal United Hospital, leaving her with 'zero breast tissue' and low self-esteem. Now Ms Rodriguez, from Trowbridge, says she will have to save another 5,000 to undergo corrective surgery in the UK. Zara Rodriguez, 28, has been left flat-chested and with severe scarring on her breasts after claiming to have botched plastic surgery in Turkey. She is pictured before her surgery On November 22, Ms Rodriguez was admitted to Bath Royal United Hospital, where both of her implants were removed (pictured). She is now flat-chested Ms Rodriguez said her implants began to leak from the incision under her left breast due to an infection and her right breast drooped. She is pictured soon after surgery Ms Rodriguez is pictured there connected to wires which collect fluid from her body after the liposuction. She booked a holiday package in Turkey Ms Rodriguez said: 'I have been left completely flat chested with zero per cent breast tissue and deep scars that run across my chest. 'I am 28 years old and have been left mentally and physically battered. 'All I want now is to save anyone else from going abroad and beg anyone who may be thinking of going to really reconsider it. 'I wish I had just saved the extra few thousand and had it done over here. If you've had surgery and feel that something is wrong, get checked. 'I never want to see anyone go through what I've had to these past few months.' Ms Rodriguez said she heavily researched where to go for surgery before deciding on a holiday package in Turkey. She said: 'I've always wanted breast implants for most of my life after I developed a hatred for my body. 'After researching my options, I booked breast implants with an uplift, as well as a tummy tuck.' It is unclear what size her breasts were before, or after getting implants. Ms Rodriguez said she was initially pleased with her results, but was shocked at the aftercare she received. She said: 'When I first woke up from the original seven hour operation, the nurses tried to get me up and out of bed walking but it took three attempts, each time failing due to feeling lightheaded. Ms Rodriguez, whose flat chest is pictured, said: 'I am have been left mentally and physically battered' Ms Rodriguez suffered a hematoma - blood clotted underneath the skin - on her left breast and had to get rushed back into surgery to sort the problem. Her breasts are pictured after surgery An infection under her left breast caused pus to leak out the incision (pictured) 'When I awoke I found out I had a hematoma - blood clotted underneath the skin - on my left breast and had to get rushed back into surgery to sort the problem. 'At first I thought nothing of it and just put it down to a big operation. 'Yet at home, I noticed my incision on my left breast wasn't healing properly which I found out was because I had developed an infection. 'After visiting the doctors every few days for check-ups and to have it redressed, it started to get worse and more painful.' Ms Rodriguez claims she continued to text the company for advice, informing them that her right breast was also severely drooping below the incision wound. Yet she says the clinic claimed 'it was normal', and to merely 'massage them'. But Ms Rodriguez claims the pain became worse. Ms Rodriguez claims the clinic asked her to delete images on social media and return for corrective surgery in October 2017, which she agreed to. Pictured, the pus on her breast The breast implants once again began leaking fluid when Ms Rodriguez returned home from 'corrective surgery' at the clinic Ms Rodriguez was initially happy with her new breasts but appalled with the aftercare at the clinic 'I was scared and afraid and so I posted photos on my Instagram to share my situation. 'But then the company rang me to tell me to fly back and they would fix it for me for free, as long as I deleted the photos. 'I naively agreed and apologised for posting them, arranging to fly back in October.' The morning after arriving at the clinic, Ms Rodriguez had her left implant removed and replaced and her right implant lifted. She said: 'I was so happy and excited to finally be able to enjoy my new breasts, but this was short lived once again - when I was home my breast started leaking and I began to panic. 'That was when I continue to message for advice, and I began to get ignored. 'I posted the photos, but then [the clinic] went on to block me. Still to this day, they've continued to ignore me.' On November 22, Ms Rodriguez was admitted to Bath Royal United Hospital, where both of her implants were removed. ST. LOUIS, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Optometric Association (AOA), the leading authority on quality care and an advocate for our nation's health, representing more than 30,000 doctors of optometry, announces the official launch of the #2020EyeExam campaign to make eye health and vision care a national priority in 2020. The public awareness campaign underscores the importance of receiving an in-person comprehensive eye examination with an AOA doctor of optometry as part of their annual health care routine. "AOA's mission is to ensure people understand the importance of annual eye exams. It's the simplest step in preserving not only vision but overall health," says Barbara L. Horn, O.D., AOA president. "2020 represents a historic moment and we're excited to partner with our affiliates, member doctors of optometry and paraoptometrics all over the country to make the comprehensive eye exam a priority for the public." Eye health and vision problems may develop without any obvious signs or symptoms. In- person, annual eye exams with doctors of optometry can detect early signs of visual system diseases such as glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness. In addition, eye exams safeguard overall health by enabling the doctor of optometry to detect more than 270 serious health conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases and cancers. As with many systemic diseases, most eye diseases, if detected early, may be treated before detrimental effects on the health and vision can take place. If a problem is detected, doctors of optometry help patients and their families navigate to the right prevention plans or the next steps in official diagnosis and treatment. In 2018, for instance, doctors of optometry identified signs of diabetes in more than 301,000 patients who did not know they had it, leading to earlier management of the disease. Research shows up to 16 million Americans struggle with undiagnosed or untreated vision impairments, and eye diseases, vision loss, and eye disorders create an estimated $139 billion economic burden. To address this significant public health issue, AOA's #2020EyeExam is increasing awareness about the essential role doctors of optometry play in maintaining America's health and wellness. The public health campaign will come to life through a series of initiatives via digital, social and traditional media, engaging and activating a range of audiences, including patients, the greater public, elected officials and other health care providers. The campaign's message is simple but powerful: Make 2020 the year you get an in-person, comprehensive eye examination with an AOA family doctor of optometry. Through the #2020EyeExam Employer Pledge program, AOA is spreading the message even further by enlisting visionary employers nationwide to pledge their support for raising employee awareness about the importance of a comprehensive eye exam. To date, more than three dozen companies and organizations have signed on, reaching more than 300,000 employees and their families. "A healthier America starts with the eyes and we hope other organizations will join the #2020EyeExam campaign to address the current eye health and vision challenges facing our nation today," Dr. Horn states. "Together we will set a clear path for America's eye health and vision by recognizing the importance of getting an annual, comprehensive eye exam with an AOA doctor of optometry." For more information on the #2020EyeExam initiative, please visit AOA.org/2020. About the American Optometric Association (AOA) The American Optometric Association (AOA) is the leading authority on and advocate for quality eye health care, representing more than 44,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and optometric professionals. As the sole primary eye care provider in many communities across America, doctors of optometry are often a patient's first entry point into the health care system, and have extensive, ongoing training to examine, diagnose, treat, and manage disorders, diseases, and injuries that affect the eye and visual system. Through a nationwide public health initiative, AOA's 2020 Campaign is fostering awareness of the importance of eye health and vision care and the overall health benefits of in-person, comprehensive eye examinations with AOA doctors of optometry for all Americans. Find more information about how AOA is shaping the future of health at AOA.org/2020 . #2020EyeExam SOURCE American Optometric Association Related Links AOA.org LONDON The U.K. should hold a referendum on the future of its royal family, a lawmaker vying for the leadership of the opposition Labour party said Friday. Clive Lewis, a candidate standing to replace Jeremy Corbyn at the helm of the country's main opponents to Boris Johnson's Conservatives, made the suggestion at his campaign launch in London. Discussing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's unprecedented decision to step back from their roles as senior royals, Lewis said the couple were perhaps "setting out a model for how the monarchy could be in the future." "A lot of people would like to see the monarchy scaled down," he told reporters. "There's been lots of discussion about the fact that the monarchy is quite large and there are a lot of people being paid by the public purse." Noting that he had been an advocate of a second referendum on the U.K.'s EU membership, Lewis suggested Brits should be consulted on whether to keep the royal institution in place. "Why not have a referendum in this country on the future of the Royal Family?" he said. "We're a democracy. I'd rather see us as citizens than subjects in the 21st century." "Let's talk about what a modern state looks like and what the role of the royal family would be in that, if it had one," Lewis added. The ruling Conservative Party is traditionally seen as favoring the monarchy while Labour has often taken a more apathetic stance. Indeed, Corbyn was attacked by his opponents on occasion for what they saw as disrespect toward Queen Elizabeth II. According to a 2018 YouGov poll, seven in 10 Britons consider themselves monarchists and support the continuation of the royal family, while 21% oppose it. A separate survey at the end of 2019 found that 72% of people in the U.K. had a positive opinion of the queen. The royal family's reputation has taken a blow in recent months amid the exposure of Prince Andrew's friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Following an interview with the BBC's "Newsnight" in November which was widely regarded as a PR disaster the Duke of York withdrew from public duties. Which way will the Academy zag this year? Photo: Vulture and Courtesy of Studios Welcome to the most intense phase of this shortened awards season, when news piles up like so much dirty laundry. We could barely spend 24 hours digesting the Golden Globes results and WGA nominations before the Super Tuesday of precursor nominations brought a bevy of fresh story lines in a single workday. The BAFTAs gave us an all-male directing field, and an entirely white slate of acting nominees, a dispiriting vision of a possible Oscar future. The DGAs gave us an unexpected Taika Waititi directing nod. And the PGAs well, the PGAs nominated the ten films most pundits expected them to, but at least that proved that were not all totally out of the loop with our predictions. Mere days later, and we find ourselves on the brink of Oscar nomination day: Initial voting is over, and the Academys choices will be unveiled to the world bright and early Monday morning. While this weeks developments provide a sense of the way the industry as a whole feels about this years field, the Oscars would not be the Oscars if they were completely predictable: They are the Academy Awards, not a machine that tabulates guild nominations. Often AMPAS voters like to go their own way, though that direction is determined not just by the influx of new membership, but by each seasons specific cultural wind. Two years ago, the Oscars got auteur fever, letting their new faves Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele into Best Director, and throwing six nominations to Phantom Thread, a film that had barely shown up at any of the precursors. Last year, after the controversy over the Best Popular Film Award, they went mainstream, giving crucial nominations to box-office hits like Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, and A Star Is Born. (Though sadly, in the case of one specific man, not every crucial nomination.) Which way will the Academy zag this year? To find out, were taking an expanded view of the field for Oscar Futures this week: Picture, Director, and all the acting categories, as always, and also taking a look at the Screenplay categories, the newly renamed Best International Film, and Best Animated Feature. Best Picture Safe: 1917, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite On the Bubble: Bombshell, The Farewell, Ford v Ferrari, Joker, Knives Out, Little Women, Marriage Story Three movies have been nominated for the top prize by all the major guilds: The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, and Parasite. Throw in Once Upon a Time, which was ineligible at the WGA, and 1917, the big winner from Globes night, and that feels like a solid top five. Acting vehicles Joker and Marriage Story our top-two Oscar villains as recently as last week, though thats probably changed each have enough support to get in. That gets us to seven. How many Best Picture nominees will we see this year? I cant say this is based on anything more than a gut instinct, but this feels like an eight year, and of the remaining contenders, Little Women is the only one that I can see whipping up enough No. 1 votes to make it in. (If its nine, Id bet on Ford v Ferraris technical excellence before the cozy wit of Knives Out.) Best Director Safe: Bong Joon Ho, Parasite; Sam Mendes, 1917; Martin Scorsese, The Irishman; Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood On the Bubble: Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory; Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story; Greta Gerwig, Little Women; Todd Phillips, Joker; Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit Our quartet of top directors has shown up everywhere so far, and as each of them has the auteur bona fides that appeal to this imposing bunch, I have a hard time envisioning any of them being left off. That leaves one spot for everyone else. Waititi is perhaps too much of an awards-season interloper for a branch that sees itself as a gatekeeper, while Baumbach feels likely to get the Nice work, now run home to Screenplay pat on the head. The full-court press for Gerwig over the past month could pay dividends, and the fact that Adam McKay is a two-time directing nominee means we should never rule out Todd Phillips, no matter how you or I may feel. But Im counting on the global taste of this very international branch, which nominated three non-Americans last year, to tip things over in favor of Almodovar. In a field where so many filmmakers were working off a model designed by someone else, Pain and Glory feels singularly personal. (I also want to say a word for my favorite dark horse, Celine Sciamma; with her Portrait of a Lady on Fire ineligible for International Film, support for Sciammas staggering achievement could find flame here.) Best Actor Safe: Adam Driver, Marriage Story; Joaquin Phoenix, Joker On the Bubble: Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory; Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari; Robert De Niro, The Irishman; Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Taron Egerton, Rocketman; George MacKay, 1917; Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name; Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes; Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems Regular readers know that this has been the most unpredictable acting category all season long. And yet, just going by the precursors, it actually seems to coalesce: The foursome of Driver, DiCaprio, Egerton, and Phoenix has made it in at the Globes, SAG, and BAFTA. Of those, its tempting to assume Egerton is the odd man out except that hes the rare actor in this Uber-serious field whos mounted a full-scale charm offensive. That paid off with a Globes win Sunday night, and with his momentum building, I think hes in. At times Id harbored notions that DiCaprio might fade thanks to a hangover from his Revenant win, but as Once Upon a Time continues to surge, that feels increasingly unlikely as well. So were left with a clown car of contenders trying to get in the door for spot No. 5. Banderas feels like the go-to critics pick, and Sandler would be a hoot, but Ill go with a more sober choice: The outpouring of emotion from the industry every time the Irishman guys get together has convinced me that, despite him being all but left for dead after the precursors, its going to be Robert De Niro. Im telling you, it is what it is. Best Actress Safe: Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story; Charlize Theron, Bombshell; Renee Zellweger, Judy On the Bubble: Awkwafina, The Farewell; Cynthia Erivo, Harriet; Lupita Nyongo, Us; Saoirse Ronan, Little Women Best Actress isnt quite as stacked this year as it has been in the past, which could make for an unpredictable morning. Two celebrated transformations and one knock-down, drag-out performance in a likely Best Picture nominee make up our top tier. Considering the Academys well-known penchant for inspiring historical biopics, Erivo, too, feels solid, despite her BAFTAs snub. (We can chalk that up to that bodys equally well-known penchant for neglecting performers of color.) Of the others, Awkwafina helped her case with a spot-on acceptance speech at the Globes, and but did it come too late in voting to make a difference? As much as Id like to see her become the first Asian-American woman to get a Best Actress nod, I have an inkling that Academy members will go for Little Women more than the guilds did, which has me leaning Ronan instead. Best Supporting Actor Safe: Al Pacino, The Irishman; Joe Pesci, The Irishman; Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood On the Bubble: Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy; Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes; Song Kang-ho, Parasite Pitt is likely to saunter to victory on Oscar night, but there could still be surprises in store come nomination day. Hanks has shown up everywhere so far, but he may be hamstrung by a film that sidelined his Mr. Rogers in favor of a moping journalist. I think he still makes it in, as will both Irishman fellows; the big headline will be Song Kang-ho, who seems liable to benefit from voters nearly inexhaustible passion for Parasite. Best Supporting Actress Safe: Laura Dern, Marriage Story On the Bubble: Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell; Annette Bening, The Report; Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit; Nicole Kidman, Bombshell; Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers; Florence Pugh, Little Women; Margot Robbie, Bombshell; Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Shuzhen Zhao, The Farewell No category was shaken up more than Supporting Actress over the past week. After serving as the presumed No. 2 to Dern all season long, Lopez got snubbed at the BAFTAs, causing a few influential pundits to drop her completely. (Here I remind you that the BAFTAs also failed to nominate last years winner in this category, Regina King. Hmm.) That same slate came with double Robbie nominations, something she wont be allowed to do at the Oscars, but which raises an intriguing possibility: Will voters choose to honor her for Once Upon a Time rather than the fading Bombshell? That would be a huge show of force for the ostensible Best Picture front-runner, but its probably about 10 percent too spicy to be plausible. Lets slot Robbies Bombshell performance in alongside Dern and Lopez, then pencil in Johansson in recognition of Jojos all-around strength. I have to give the final spot to Flossie Rose herself, whose assured performance single-handedly makes Little Womens shuffled timeline worth it. Best Original Screenplay Safe: Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite On the Bubble: 1917, Booksmart, The Farewell, Knives Out, Pain and Glory I nearly had a conniption when Once Upon a Time didnt show up at the WGA nominations, before my co-workers helpfully reminded me that Quentin Tarantino is not a member of the guild. It should have no problem getting in at the Oscars, nor will its fellow Best Picture heavyweight Parasite or the cerebral Marriage Story. This category also feels like the perfect place to reward Rian Johnsons intricately constructed whodunit Knives Out. The winning teen comedy Booksmart got in at both the WGAs and the BAFTAs, but I think the Oscars will prefer to go with Lulu Wangs family saga The Farewell, a weightier option. 1917 was a surprising inclusion at the WGAs, but unless its winning Best Picture, the nearly silent film feels like an easy miss here. Best Adapted Screenplay Safe: The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit On the Bubble: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Joker, Little Women, The Two Popes This category features some potent Best Picture contenders, but behind them the bench is not very deep. Its basically these six, a huge chasm, then, I dunno, Dark Waters? Though her Best Director candidacy is on the bubble, expect Greta Gerwig to find a friendlier reception here, and with Joker popping up all over the guild noms, the prospect of a screenplay nomination for Todd Phillipss film no longer feels like a fucking comedy. If its down to Beautiful Day versus Two Popes, expect the witty papal two-hander to come out ahead no Hail Marys needed. Best International Film Safe: Les Miserables, Parasite, Pain and Glory On the Bubble: Atlantics, Beanpole, Corpus Christi, Honeyland, The Painted Bird, Those Who Remained, Truth and Justice This category has a new name, and it also has a new voting method: Instead of the committees that used to pick nominees, now any Academy member whos seen all the short-listed films can vote. That probably wont affect Parasite and Pain and Glory, legitimate threats all over the ballot that would be surefire nominees here no matter the process. (As a Portrait of a Lady on Fire fanatic, I am incapable of objectively judging Les Miserables, which nabbed Frances official submission instead, but since France has been nominated more times than any other country, I will allow that its film board probably knows what its doing.) For the other two, Im going with Mati Diops Cannes sensation Atlantics, and Honeyland, which also made the doc short list, and seems to have the most mainstream buzz: Everyone says that if you only see one verite documentary about Macedonian beekeepers, this is the one. Best Animated Feature Safe: Frozen II, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Missing Link, Toy Story 4 On the Bubble: Abominable, I Lost My Body, Weathering With You The Globes used their fifth spot in this category to troll Disney, nominating The Lion King even though the company wasnt campaigning it here. The Academys animation branch is a little too staid to follow suit: Films have to be officially submitted, and Lion King wasnt*. Since Oscar typically saves a seat here for artier European efforts, I think the French dismembered-hand travelogue I Lost My Body takes it by a nail over Japans Weathering With You. *This post has been updated to reflect the fact that The Lion King was not an official submission in the Oscars animation category. The plea agreement said Sultan sank another $15 million in stolen funds to pay expenses for Global Luxury Imports, a dealership he owned in Burr Ridge that sold Lamborghinis and other luxury vehicles. According to a 2012 news release, the dealership housed the bulletproof 1979 Rolls-Royce that Princess Diana and Prince Charles used during visits to Washington, D.C., in the 1980s. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Turkey, on May 15, 2019. (Burhan Ozbilici/AP Photo) Iraqi Prime Minister Asks US to Make Plans to Withdraw Troops Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi asked U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo for a mechanism that would lead to the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. Abdul-Mahdis office said in a statement that the prime minister asked Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliaments resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq. The Jan. 9 statement from Abdul-Mahdis office said Pompeo called the Iraqi premier. Abdul-Mahdis comments to Pompeo suggests he was standing by his previous statements that U.S troops should leave Iraq despite recent signals toward de-escalation between Tehran and Washington following the tit-for-tat attacks that brought Iraq to the brink of a proxy war. Iraqs Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi speaks during a joint statement with French President at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on May 3, 2019. (Phillippe Wojazer/AFP via Getty Images) Tensions eased on Wednesday when President Donald Trump signaled that Washington was stepping away from escalation despite Iranian missiles being fired at several bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. No Americans or Iraqis were harmed by the missiles, Trump said. The Iraqi prime minister said his country rejects all violations against its sovereignty, including the barrage of ballistic missiles that Iranian forces fired targeting U.S. troops in Iraq and also Americas violation of Iraqs airspace during the airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week. Pompeo said in a statement that he and Abdul-Mahdi discussed Irans attack against Iraqi sovereignty, adding: We will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests. In a briefing in Washington on Friday, Pompeo added: He didnt quite characterize the conversation correctly. We are happy to continue the conversation with Iraqis about what the right structure is. Our mission set there is very clear: Weve been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, to continue the counter-Daesh mission. Were going to continue that mission but as times change and we get to a place to deliver upon what I believe and the president believes is our right structure, with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so. Top American military officials including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have said there were no plans for the United States to withdraw from Iraq. Pompeo this week defended the U.S. troops presence in Iraq, saying, Weve been in their country. Weve been supporting Iraqi sovereignty. Weve been continuing to take down the terrorist threat against the Iraqi people. In this Jan. 4, 2020, photo, released by the U.S. military, a U.S. Marine with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, that is part of a quick reaction force, carries a sand bag during the reinforcement of the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq. The blowback over the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general mounted Sunday, Jan. 5 as Iraqs Parliament called for the expulsion of American troops from the country a move that could allow a resurgence of the Islamic State group. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kyle C. Talbot via AP) We are confident that the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there to fight the counterterror campaign, and well continue to do all the things we need to do to keep America safe, Pompeo said. His comments came after Iraqi Parliament members passed a resolution on Jan. 5 calling for the expulsion of foreign troops from the country. Experts told The Epoch Times that Iraq was trying to strike a balance between its two opposing allies. The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting Islamic State due to the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory, the resolution stated. The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace, or water for any reason. The prime minister, meanwhile, was set to step down soon but reports in Iraqi outlets indicated that some lawmakers are seeking to reinstate him or have him head the next government. There is a proposal by some political blocs to renew the confidence in Adel Abdul-Mahdi and his government, and some feel that it is necessary for Abdul-Mahdi to stay in his position and to abolish the idea of holding early elections, said Muhammad Al-Husayni, a senior leader in the Al-Hikma Movement. His recent position was very courageous when he recommended the departure of foreign troops from the country, added MP Haneen Al-Qaddo of the pro-Iran Al-Fateh Alliance. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Local Fianna Fail councillor John Sheridan has said Tallanstown residents without water supply need alternative solutions today in the form of a water tanker. "I have spoken to residents in Tallanstown and Mullacrew last night and this morning who have had no water supply. Residents were aware that works yesterday and today would lead to some disruption in supply but to have no water at all is not acceptable." He added: "I contacted Irish water seeking some solution today in the form of a tank to allow residents to have some access to free water for basic hygiene reasons. We're almost at the six month point since the boil water notice was put in place. As residents have said to me, to have no drinking water is bad enough but to have no actual supply for toilets and showers is a whole different story. "I have received contact back from Irish Water who assure me they're reviewing the issue this morning. "There had been planned "ice pigging" of a pipe which is the last issue of the ongoing boil water notice. The notice has been in place for 600 residents in Tallanstown since July 30 last. The "ice pigging" was scheduled prior to Christmas but then was deferred to yesterday (Thursday) and today." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) The move to delete footage taken during the Traslacion of a scuffle between police officers and devotees from a reporter's phone was an "assault" on press freedom, a journalist group said Friday. "The attempt to delete the video was definitely an attempt to wipe out reportage. That definitely was an assault on press freedom," said Nonoy Espina, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chairperson. Espina was referring to a video posted by GMA Network reporter Jun Veneracion. The reporter said he had retrieved the video after a police officer snatched his phone from his hands during the procession on Thursday. In the video, a male voice can be heard instructing someone to delete the video on Veneracion's phone. Espina said the police officer who seized the device later identified as Southern Police District Director PBGen Nolasco Bathan should at least face administrative charges. However, when asked if the NUJP will file a complaint, he said they will leave the matter to the police. Bathan has since apologized but denied that he deleted any video. Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano has ordered an investigation on the incident. READ: Police official sorry for seizing TV reporter's cellphone, denies ordering to delete video (Natural News) Researchers from the University of Samarra in Iraq looked at the potential of plant extracts as natural alternatives to herbicides. They published their work in the Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine In agriculture, weeds are a significant factor when it comes to determining production. Current practices for managing weeds often include synthetic weedicides, which negatively affect the environment. For this study, researchers assessed the effectiveness of aqueous extract from oleander (Nerium oleander), olives (Olea europaea) and castor (Ricinus communis) against nutgrass (Cyperus rotundus). Two experiments were carried out to assess the extracts effects on germination and seedling growth. The team found that oleander extract had 90% seedling growth inhibition at concentrations of 5% and 10% which was compatible with the chemical herbicide tribenuron. They concluded that plant extracts could be a viable alternative to chemical herbicides. Learn more about other natural herbicides at Harvest.news. Journal Reference: Al-Samarai G, Mahdi W, Al-Hilali B. REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION BY CHEMICAL HERBICIDES USING NATURAL PLANT DERIVATIVES ALLELOPATHY EFFECT. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine. March 2018;25(3):449452. DOI: 10.26444/aaem/90888 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex feel they are being driven out of the royal family after they were told they would not have major roles in a slimmed-down monarchy, a friend has claimed. ITV news anchor Tom Bradby said Prince Harry and Meghan were made aware, while away in Canada for six weeks, that the royal households focus in the future would be on those at the top of the line of succession. Buckingham Palace moved quickly to shrug off suggestions it had shown the door to the couple, insisting the Sussexes had been very much at the heart of plans for the royal familys future before a shock announcement they were stepping back from public life. Harry and Meghans plans were announced in a statement on Wednesday that rocked the royal family and is said to have left the Queen and other senior royals hurt. Mr Bradby, who is friends with the couple, told an ITV news programme: It had been made clear to them in their absence there was going to be a slimmed-down monarchy and they werent really a part of it. He added: Certainly the rest of the family find Harry and Meghan very difficult and, from Harry and Meghans point of view, theyre just being driven out as they see it. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar PA UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week PA UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana Getty UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow Manchester City/Getty UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as Storm Arwen triggered a rare red weather warning AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border PA UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 November 2021 Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel. AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 23 November 2021 The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London PA UK news in pictures 22 November 2021 The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 21 November 2021 London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services PA UK news in pictures 20 November 2021 Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 19 November 2021 A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste' PA But The Times reported that palace officials had stressed Harry and Meghan had always been central to the monarchys plans, with one aide quoted as saying: It is strongly disputed that the Sussexes are not at the centre of any future slimmed-down monarchy. The aide added: I dont think you could point to any evidence of them being forced out, or made to feel unwelcome. The future of the monarchy always had the Sussexes very much at the heart of it, and perhaps still will, depending on what structures they arrive at. Talks on the Duke and Duchesses future roles in the royal household began in earnest on Friday at the urging of the Queen following reports she had pressed officials to ensure a remedy to the situation was found in days, as opposed to weeks. The couple hope talks over their future roles can be concluded sooner rather than later, a source said, adding: It is in everyones interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome. Recommended Meghan and Prince Harry receive job offers following announcement An opinion poll for the Daily Mail found 76 per cent of the British public believes Harry and Meghan should sacrifice their Metropolitan Police protection after they step back from their senior royal roles. Some 73 per cent said the same for taxpayer funded security measures. Donald Trump also waded into the debate on Friday, with the US president saying he was sad for the Queen. In an interview with Fox News, he said: I think its sad. She is a great woman. She has never made a mistake. If you look she has had like a flawless time. I just have such respect for the Queen, I dont think this should be happening to her. Flash French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday said resolving the crisis in Libya is a real priority for France and the Middle East region. Speaking to reporters after meeting in Tunis with Tunisian President Kais Saied, Le Drian said they discussed the latest developments in Libya, while stressing that France agreed with Tunisia's call for respect for international legitimacy. "The stability of Libya is real priority for our two countries," said the French top diplomat. He criticized the recently-signed agreements between Libya's internationally-recognized government and Turkey, noting it could further destabilize the situation in Libya and the region as a whole. "France, like Tunisia, supports the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame to consolidate the international consensus at the Berlin conference soon to find solutions to the Libyan crisis," he added. Germany has been trying to hold an international conference on Libya, bringing together all countries concerned with the Libyan crisis, in a bid to find a political solution. No date has been set for the conference, which has been delayed more than once due to the differences among the participating countries. Recommencement Of Drilling At Kat Gap Perth, Jan 9, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - WA-focused gold exploration and development company Classic Minerals Limited ( ASX:CLZ ) is pleased to announce that it has recommenced RC drilling at its 100% owned Kat Gap Gold Project covering exploration licences E74/422 and E74/467.PREVIOUS RC DRILLING AT KAT GAP BY CLASSICClassic has completed 6 separate drilling campaigns at Kat Gap prior to the most recent RC drilling program. A total of 106 holes for 7.811m was completed between May 2018 and August 2019 all returning significant high-grade gold intercepts. The majority of the drilling is relatively shallow, down to approximately 60m vertical depth below surface and covered a strike length of the granite - greenstone contact of approximately 400m. The main area of drilling has been focused primarily on and adjacent to both contacts of a cross-cutting Proterozoic dyke where it intersects the main granite-greenstone contact. At this location the gold mineralisation has been significantly enriched.Better results from the first six drilling programs include:- 8m @ 19.05 g/t Au from 32m including 4m @ 28.80 g/t Au in FKGRC008- 12m @ 7.52 g/t Au from 39m including 2m @ 20.20 g/t Au in FKGRC006- 12m @ 5.39 g/t Au from 30m including 1m @ 20.80 g/t Au in FKGRC012- 10m @ 30.78 g/t Au from 28m including 2m @ 116.10 g/t Au in FKGRC018- 10m @ 4.18 g/t Au from 26m including 1m @ 15.10 g/t Au in FKGRC022- 9m @ 8.08 g/t Au from 95m including 1m @ 62.30 g/t Au in FKGRC025- 3m @ 38.33 g/t Au from 21m including 1m @ 111.00 g/t Au in FKGRC039- 5m @ 5.61 g/t Au from 6m including 1m @ 12.00 g/t Au in FKGRC040- 3m @ 14.10 g/t Au from 10m including 1m @ 37.40 g/t Au in FKGRC042- 3m @ 9.64 g/t Au from 20m including 1m @ 25.10 g/t Au in FKGRC043- 10m @ 8.17 g/t Au from 7m including 1m @ 66.20 g/t Au in FKGRC059- 7m @ 24.34 g/t Au from 24m including 1m @ 78.50 g/t Au in FKGRC060- 9m @ 15.21 g/t Au from 22m including 1m @ 58.30 g/t Au in FKGRC061- 7m @ 9.55 g/t Au from 89m including 1m @ 42.40 g/t Au in FKGRC063- 13m @ 4.91 g/t Au from 33m including 1m @ 22.00 g/t Au in FKGRC090- 8m @ 8.26 g/t Au from 58m including 1m @ 21.80 g/t Au in FKGRC092- 9m @ 20.94 g/t Au from 123m including 1m @ 125.00 g/t Au in FKGRC095ABOUT THE FORRESTANIA GOLD PROJECTThe FGP Tenements (excluding Kat Gap) are registered in the name of Reed Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX listed Hannans Ltd ( ASX:HNR ). Classic has acquired 80% of the gold rights on the FGP Tenements from a third party, whilst Hannans has maintained its 20% interest in the gold rights. For the avoidance of doubt Classic Ltd owns a 100% interest in non-gold rights on the Kat Gap Tenements including but not limited to nickel, lithium and other metals.The FGP contains an existing Mineral Resource 6.18 Mt at 1.36 g/t for 270,100 ounces, classified and reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012), with a recent Scoping Study (see ASX Announcement released 2nd May 2017) suggesting both the technical and financial viability of the project. The current post-mining Mineral Resource for Lady Ada and Lady Magdalene is tabulated below.Classic CEO Dean Goodwin said:"Following on from the great results of our last two drilling programs, including multiple high-grade gold hits close to the surface, extensions at depth down dip and along strike to the north, we are excited to be back at Kat Gap so soon to undertake more follow up drilling. This round will be focused solely on Kat Gap which has delivered outstanding results from the previous 6 drill campaigns. Drilling will again focus on the main granite - greenstone contact of which only 500m of a total 3.5km of potential strike has been tested by the Company. We are planning to drill below recent high-grade gold intercepts along a 100m section north of the cross-cutting Proterozoic dyke in an attempt to gain a far better understanding of the plunge orientation. This will aid us greatly in planning future RC drilling programs further north along strike and more importantly on the south side of the dyke which to date has received very little attention. The program is designed to probe between 110m and 150m below surface."To view tables and figures, please visit:About Classic Minerals Limited Classic Minerals Limited (ASX:CLZ) is an exploration and development company focused on gold deposits in Western Australia's famous Goldfields region. In March 2017, Classic acquired the Forrestania Gold Project, with seven tenements stretching across 450km2. Strategically located in a very prospective region, the FGP is an underexplored package surrounded by multimillion ounce deposits such as Bounty (2Moz) and Yilgarn Star (1.5Moz). The Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this week's missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on US bases in Iraq Washington: The Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this week's missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on US bases in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved in "destabilising" activities in West Asia as well as Tuesday's missile strike, which came in retaliation for the US killing of a senior Iranian general in a drone strike. Mnuchin said President Donald Trump will issue an executive order imposing sanctions on anyone involved in the Iranian textile, construction, manufacturing or mining sectors. They will also impose separate sanctions against the steel and iron sectors. "As a result of these actions we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime," the treasury secretary said. The administration has already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, which has caused significant economic hardship in Iran and cut its oil exports to historic lows. Iran this week launched the strikes in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the country's most powerful commander, in Baghdad last week. A woman in Hawaii ended up in the hospital after making a shocking discovery while eating her deli sandwich. Chaunda Rodrigues purchased two of her favorite sandwiches at the Island Naturals Market & Deli last week, Hawaii News Now reported. Shortly after biting into one of them, she realized something was wrong. "When I ate the second side of the sandwich, something got stuck to my teeth. It was weird so I spit it out," Rodrigues wrote in a Facebook post describing the ordeal. Rodrigues quickly discovered that the thing stuck in her teeth was not part of her usual avocado sandwich, but rather a part of a large slug. She wrote on Facebook that she bit into the creature entirely, as she hadn't seen it before taking her bite. "The piece that came out of my mouth was around like, one inch," she told Hawaii News Now. "But I noticed when I took a picture that there was a second half of the slug." Disgusted, Rodrigues called the hospital, concerned she might have contracted some sort of disease. That ultimately led to the slug being sent to a lab where scientists discovered it tested positive for rat lungworm, a parasite, Fox News reported. According to the Hawaii Department of Health, rat lungworm can infect humans if ingested, causing such as headaches, nausea and vomiting. "I was just like, I cant believe this is happening to me. It was disgusting," Rodrigues told Hawaii News Now. Rodrigues was ultimately told she had to wait for symptoms to present before doctors could do anything, but later went to the emergency room and demanded treatment for herself and her husband and small child, both of whom shared bites of the sandwich. She wrote on Facebook that she was given albendazole, an anti-worm medicine that prevents the creatures from reproducing inside a person's body. "I didnt want to wait to be infected or wait for my husband or infant to be infected," Rodrigues told Fox News. "So multiple doctors prescribed us albendazole, and we still dont have the full amount needed for treatment." Story continues It turned out the treatment was needed. Rodrigues later posted that she tested positive for rat lungworm. "Well I now know that if I ate that slug and didnt get treatment I would have gotten Rat Lungworm Disease. All because of a sandwich we think is healthy and harmless because since its coming from a deli and being prepared in front of us it should be okay," Rodrigues wrote on Facebook. Island Naturals, meanwhile, has apologized for the incident. Russell Ruderman, the store's founder and president, told Hawaii News Now that he believes the slug came from improperly washed lettuce used in the deli that day. "We deeply regret it," Ruderman said. "Among the many things were doing as a result is weve revised our safety precautions, but were also going to stop using local leaf lettuce in any of our kitchens." The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Hundreds of Serbs marched in Gracanica, a small Serb-populated municipality in Kosovo, to protest about a new law passed in neighboring Montenegro that could force the Serbian Orthodox Church to hand over churches and other property to the authorities. OTTAWAClosure, transparency, accountability and justice. Thats what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians were looking for in light of revelations that Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 was likely downed, possibly by accident, by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. I want answers, Trudeau said in Ottawa, calling on Iran to allow for a thorough investigation, and this government will not rest until we get that. But what leverage does Canada have to force Tehran to co-operate? And what might justice for the victims and families look like? According to legal and international relations experts, answers and justice will be far from easy to obtain. This is a really tricky spot, because theres just really few levers that Canada can pull here that will have any kind of quick response, said Leah West, a professor at Carletons Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and a former national security lawyer. Canada could take the matter to the International Court of Justice as Iran did in the 1980s and 90s, after the U.S. shot down an Iranian passenger jet in 1988. That case ended in a settlement in 1996, with the U.S. government agreeing to pay $61.8 million to victims families. But that would be an option of last resort, West said. That would be an option if there continues to be that evidence that supports the running theory that Iran accidentally shot the plane down and a complete investigation into what happened is not done, West said in an interview. Canadas Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday evening that its investigators have been invited by Iran to visit the accident site, and are making preparations to travel to Tehran. While multiple investigations run their course, the question of blame and therefore justice is premature, according to Roland Paris, an international affairs professor at the University of Ottawa. Instead, the critical question is whether the Iranian government permits a thorough investigation of the crash site and accepts any responsibility for the crash. Thats going to be a very difficult decision for a regime that has faced violent popular protests, a decision to accept the likely finding that it accidentally killed Iranian civilians in a civilian plane, Paris, a former adviser to Trudeau, said in an interview. At this stage, establishing the facts are really the most important thing, and that moving into a discussion of justice, of judicial consequences, is premature. The goal now is to persuade the Iranian government is to permit all the facts to be collected and rigorously analyzed. The key issue after those investigations run their course is restitution for the families of the victims, said Fen Hampson, the director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton. (But) I wouldnt be under any illusions that thats going to be an easy sell to the Iranians, because right now it looks like theyre not willing to admit culpability beyond returning bodies and allowing some kind of access to the crash site, Hampson said. Does Canada have much leverage to ensure some measure of justice for those who lost loved ones? The short answer is no, Hampson said. But I think the fact that both (U.S. President Donald) Trump and Trudeau both said that this was a mistake theyre leaving the Iranians enough wiggle room to come clean and say yes it was indeed a mistake. With a file from the Stars wire services. Read more about: News Washington, DC - "The administration is committed to ensuring that we are good stewards of our environment, while supporting American prosperity." ~ President Donald J. Trump MODERNIZING ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS: President Donald J. Trump is modernizing environmental regulations to deliver infrastructure projects that will improve our communities. The Administration is proposing a rule to modernize and accelerate environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) so that infrastructure can be built in a timely, efficient, and affordable manner. Modernizing environmental regulations will help bring new infrastructure projects to our communities that benefit American workers, farmers, and families. The proposed rule would establish time limits of 2 years for completion of environmental impact statements and 1 year for completion of environmental assessments. The proposal specifies page limits, promotes information sharing through modern technology, and better defines environmental effects and other key terms. The proposed rule would reduce unnecessary burdens and delays for environmental reviews. Agencies would be allowed to establish procedures for adopting another agencys determinations to increase efficiency. The proposed rule would improve collaboration with State, local, and tribal governments. IMPROVING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE: Outdated environmental regulations have tied up vital infrastructure improvements across the country for too long. It is important for our national economic prosperity and for the wellbeing of all our communities that these regulations be reformed. Regulations guiding NEPA processes have not been comprehensively updated in over 40 years. Since 1978, the Council on Environmental Quality has made only one limited substantive amendment to the regulations, in 1986. The time taken to complete an environmental impact statement is now almost 5 years on average, and for highways has averaged over 7 years. Securing approval for roads, bridges, airports, railways, and waterways has been significantly hindered under the existing regulations. ADVANCING A SMART REGULATORY AGENDA: The President is delivering on his promise to transform our government and reform regulations to work for the American people. The same people justifying the 2003 disaster war in Iraq are once again on screen justifying US aggression. US cable news networks are addicted to war. War is their intoxicating elixir of choice. It has also become their raison detre. There are only two stories that matter to CNN, MSNBC and Fox News: presidential politics and war. The two are, of course, inextricably linked. One not only informs but can also define the other. In this narrow context, the real, lasting and graphic human consequences of war are rarely given attention or exposure. Rather, war is considered solely through the antiseptic prism of its domestic political and international geopolitical ramifications. This cynical pantomime has, once again, been on depressing display in the aftermath of the killing last week in Iraq of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), that has triggered the latest Middle East crisis. Ever since President Donald Trump announced the assassination, US cable news networks to varying degrees have been willing and, at times, almost giddy conduits for the typically incoherent rationales offered by his administration for a decision that could lead to yet another war in the midst of the USs other perpetual wars. (My goodness, CNN host, Jake Tapper, asked a panel of guests on Wednesday if Trumps decision to kill Soleimani could already be deemed a win for the president.) Trump, I suspect, understands this predictable, made-for-TV dynamic. He knows that cable news journalists and editors are obliged to report unquestioningly whatever he says, when he says it such are the exigencies of the live, 24-hour news cycle. So, if Trump defends his decision to terminate Soleimani by branding him a terrorist intent on staging imminent attacks on American soldiers and diplomats, the marquee TV journalists dutifully parrot it without even the hint of scepticism. Few questioned the veracity of Trumps claims of an imminent assault. Instead, reporters played mock war-games, using three-dimensional graphics of Iran and its neighbours to point out possible military targets, its arsenal and capabilities, and to diagram how a conflict could unfold in the smouldering region. Left unsaid by the telegenic anchors is this fact: the president making these unsubstantiated claims is a well-documented liar who traffics in conspiracy theories originating in the lunatic recesses of the internet. It would not be good form, I suppose, to tell the truth when the country needs to rally behind the commander-in-chief. That Trumps rhetoric mirrored George W Bushs discredited Iraq war script to the letter has also escaped their notice and memory. Clearly, introspection is an alien concept among the editors and reporters who populate US cable news networks. In 2003, they abandoned journalism for stenography wrapped in patriotism and, with a sprinkling of exceptions, they are doing largely the same today. Hence, the parade of mainly white, male former soldiers, spies, think-tank academics and journalists who once assured the world that the invasion of Iraq was necessary to kill another terrorist with blood on his hands who, in their concocted calculus, also threatened to kill Westerners imminently. When news broke that Iran had fired more than 20 missiles at two Iraqi airbases housing US and Iraqi soldiers, a couple of the ex-generals appearing on CNN sporting suits rather than uniforms immediately said Trump had no choice but to strike back, otherwise he would look weak. When the moment demanded patience and a measured response, not conjecture and tough, combustible bluster, CNN opted to broadcast the latter, confirming that reason and good sense are too often anathema to the network. Meanwhile, Fox News war-adoring celebrity Sean Hannity told Trump through his direct (not back) channel to the Oval Office TV that he had to employ the full force of the American military in response. There is a massive price to pay. You dont get to do what they did tonight, Hannity fumed from the comfort of a New York television studio. And they are going to get hit hard. Alas, Trump demurred and offered Iran a temporary reprieve if it changed its behaviour. De rigueur, Americas catastrophic record and behaviour in Iraq and beyond was not mentioned by the pundits and their acquiescent enablers on TV who all agreed that the US military would win a conventional, symmetrical war with Iran easily and quickly, conveniently forgetting they made the exact, cocksure prediction 17 years ago. Hannity may yet get his lethal wish. If Trump has proven anything during his mercurial tenure as president, it is that he ultimately takes his cues from Hannity and foaming Fox News company, not members of his compliant national security team most of whom enjoy the professional life expectancy of a housefly. Still, perhaps the most galling aspect of cable news coverage of the USs most recent crisis overseas is providing nationwide audience to the whos who of Republican architects of the ruinous invasion of Iraq to share their prescriptions of what to do about Iran. Unrepentant hucksters including Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, Ari Fleischer and Michael Chertoff all prominent members of Bushs calamitous regime-change regime have been treated with a deference and respect they forfeited permanently years ago. The many voices who understood that the Iraq invasion would cause so much irreparable harm and instability have been mostly absent from US television screens, as they were in 2003. They were not regarded as important or worthy then, and they are not regarded as important or worthy today. Also absent from US television screens are the voices in Iraq and Iran who have borne, and will bear, the profound costs of yet another war that so many familiar US politicians and influential television personalities are hankering for. Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a short speech warning of the unpredictable consequences and the profound risks of miscalculation of decisions made in Washington, DC, and Tehran alike. He urged leaders in both countries to stop escalation because, he added: Let us not forget the terrible human suffering caused by war. As always, ordinary people pay the highest price. It is our common duty to avoid it. Not surprisingly, I have not seen Guterres on US cable news networks to share that urgent message. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 09:48:01|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close LA PAZ, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The opening up of China's market to Bolivian beef was a highlight of 2019, according to Bolivian cattle ranchers. In 2019, the cattle-ranching sector saw its "longstanding dream" of exporting beef to China come true, Oscar Ciro Pereyra, president of Bolivia's Cattle-ranchers Confederation (Congabol), told Xinhua. The two countries have had trade deals on Bolivian quinoa, coffee and soybean imports. On Aug. 28, Bolivia made its first-ever shipment of beef to China, dispatching about 100 tons of boneless frozen beef. Bolivian cattle breeders have sought to make the most of China's open market, following last year's sales of 3,000 tons of beef, which "generated 16 million U.S. dollars" for the Latin American country, said Pereyra. Another highlight of 2019 was an export agreement with Russia, he said. As part of Congabol's objective to make Bolivia one of the top 15 exporters of beef in the world, the sector aims to continue to diversify its export market. Bolivia currently exports meat products to such countries as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Vietnam. China, with a population of about 1.4 billion, is a market with enormous potential, according to Pereyra. Bolivia is "free of foot-and-mouth disease through vaccination" and that status "has opened up the meat market to us," Pereyra said. "In 2020, we must work towards obtaining certification as a country with negligible risk of mad cow," Pereyra added. Bolivia has some 10 million heads of cattle, equivalent to 260,000 tons of beef, and the sector saw an average growth rate of 4 percent in 2019, according to Congabol. About 200,000 tons of meat is earmarked for domestic consumption in Bolivia. The eastern department of Santa Cruz is Bolivia's leading beef producer, accounting for 43 percent of the total production, followed by the northeastern Beni department with 31 percent. Gary Rodriguez, general manager of the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE), described China's move to open its market to Bolivian beef as a watershed event in the country's history, one that provided the sector with a great opportunity for growth. "This is a great opportunity to expand the market for meat and other value-added products," Rodriguez told Xinhua. Asia Bangladeshi Army Installs Barbwire Fence Along Rohingya Camps Bangladeshi soldiers oversee the installation of pillars for a barbwire fence near a Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhia, Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh in December 2019. / Helal Uddin DHAKAThe Bangladeshi army has started installing a barbwire fence along the edge of Rohingya refugee camps in Coxs Bazar district where 1.1 million refugees are currently living. A highly placed source in Bangladesh told The Irrawaddy that a 2.09 billion-taka budget (US$24.6 million) was approved for the installation of a fence along the camps in Ukhia and Teknaf subdistricts in Coxs Bazar following instructions from the prime ministers office, in order to protect the refugees from crimes. State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman told The Irrawaddy on Friday that his office has given permission to install fencing around the camps to separate Rohingya from their host communities. He said the government wants to stop the constant flow of drugs inside the camps and to prevent crimes, including murder. At the end of November 2019, Bangladesh chief of army staff General Aziz Ahmed said they would be installing fences to improve the conditions in the camps. The Ukhia subdistrict Executive Officer Md Nikaruzzaman Chowdhury said the army began construction three weeks ago in the Maynar Guna area. It is a transparent fence and it is for their protection, not for their isolation, said Nikaruzzaman. Many Rohingya, including Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist, have voiced objections to the plans. Setting up a barbwire fence will be like putting Rohingya into concentration camps, he said. I have visited the Nazi concentration camps. I dont want my fellow Rohingyas to take refuge in the same kind of concentration camps. A senior government official in Coxs Bazar also said that aid agencies have been inquiring about the plans to install fencing. State Minister Enamur also responded to criticism of the fencing from human rights activists and said that the refugees movements into and out of the camps would be more closely monitored. [The Rohingya] will have specific routes for their movement and they will be held accountable, but the government has no intention to hamper human rights, he said. In April 2019, Bangladeshi police authorities issued a set of recommendations in order to prevent criminal activities in the Rohingya camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas, or subdistricts, of Coxs Bazar. The measures include setting up police outposts, watchtowers and barbwire fences around the camps to prevent the movement of criminals between camps and adjacent hills. The police also said that some Rohingya criminals had become involved in smuggling and were crossing the border into Myanmar to bring in drugs. Around 60 Rohingya were killed in alleged gunfights with criminals in 2019 alone. The Border Guard Bangladesh director general, Major General Md Shafeenul Islam, told reporters on Jan. 8 that they were also planning to install a fence along the Myanmar border at the same time that the army installs the fence along the Rohingya camps for their protection. The plan to install the fence along the border is reportedly still awaiting approval. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 when the Myanmar military launched clearance operations in northern Rakhine State after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launched serial attacks on police outposts in the area. The refugees have taken shelter in Coxs Bazar, adding to the 300,000 Rohingya who had already been living in the camps for decades. From August 2017 to August 2019, a total of 466 criminal cases were filed that involved Rohingya as either a perpetrator or victim. The crimes include possession of illegal arms and drugs, robbery, rapes, abduction, smuggling, theft, murder and human trafficking. The highest number of cases filed were for drug possession, at 128 cases. The number of crimes committed by the host communities in Coxs Bazar was much higher. A senior police official in Coxs Bazar told The Irrawaddy that as authorities have cracked down on yaba, or methamphetamine pills, drug peddlers and organized crime groups have begun using Rohingya for criminal activities. Another official close to the fence installation process, who asked to remain anonymous, said that they sat with donor agencies and considered eight examples from across the world of how to manage refugees before the government opted to design a tailor-made arrangement for Coxs Bazar. Last year, a government delegation visited Turkey to see how their government is managing its refugee situation and learn how Bangladesh might apply these lessons to the Rohingya. Look, we are doing this not only to protect the Rohingya but also for local and international aid workers and other Bangladeshi officials working there. Security is our priority, said a senior intelligence official based in Dhaka who joined the delegation to Turkey. You may also like theses stories: Bangladesh Border Chief Demands Rohingya Return to Myanmar Myanmar, Bangladesh Officials Discuss Border Security in Dhaka Bangladesh Fortifies Island Near Myanmar With Heavy Weapons, Gunboats Things appear to only get worse for Boeing these days, and Thursday was no different, as the American company disclosed more than a hundred pages of internal emails and instant messages to congressional investigators that showed employees describing cover-ups and concern over the safety of the 737 Max airliner. Whether employees are grousing or exaggerating or being darkly sardonic, the internal comments give an unvarnished view of some of those closest to the aerospace manufacturing companys production of the 737 Max, the plane that has since crashed twice and been grounded worldwide. The nature of the crashesparticularly the functioning of the airliners software systemhas raised troubling questions about Boeings willingness to pursue profit at the expense of safety, its relationship with regulators, and what exactly it knew about the problems in its marquee aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing pilots and other employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max, a plane later involved in two accidents, in late 2018 and early 2019, that killed 346 people and threw the company into chaos, the New York Times reports. The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the [Federal Aviation Administration] during the regulators certification of the simulators, which were used in the development of the Max, as well as in training for pilots who had not previously flown a 737. How bad was the employee chatter? Heres a sampling: I still havent been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year, one employee said in a message in 2018 in an apparent reference to prior dealings with the FAA. Advertisement Advertisement Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldnt, one employee said to a colleague before the first crash in 2018. No, the colleague said. This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys, an employee wrote in 2017. The messages also show how the company pushed to reduce the scope of mandatory training for pilots to fly the new aircraft in order to cut costs. Regulators ultimately agreed to only mandate computer-based training, rather than full simulator training, for pilots with experience flying another model, the 737 NG. You can be away from an NG for 30 years and still be able to jump into a MAX? LOVE IT!! a Boeing marketing employee said in an email after the FAA decision. This is a big part of the operating cost structure in our marketing decks. This week, Boeing reversed course and recommended simulator training for pilots new to the 737 Max. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Boeing disclosed other internal messages from 2016 where a pilot working on the 737 Max before its launch said he was experiencing trouble controlling the Max in a flight simulator and believed that he had misled the F.A.A., according to the Times. I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly), the pilot messaged to a colleague. Boeing did not inform the FAA about those messages when the company discovered them; instead it sat on them until just weeks before the companys CEO was scheduled to testify before Congress. All in all, yikes. The messages corroborate what has been trickling out for months: Boeing was playing fast and loose with passenger safety despite worrying indicators. We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the F.A.A., Congress, our airline customers and to the flying public for them, Boeing said in a statement to Congress about the newly disclosed messages. The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed. These communications contain provocative language, and, in certain instances, raise questions about Boeings interactions with the F.A.A. in connection with the simulator qualification process, the statement said. Having carefully reviewed the issue, we are confident that all of Boeings Max simulators are functioning effectively. China Mobile (Image: Reuters) China Mobile is mulling a foray in India by entering cloud services through a tie-up with either Vodafone Idea or Bharti Airtel, according to a Mint report. The newspaper said the Chinese state-run telecom major could acquire a significant stake in a joint venture with the Indian telecom firms through a holding company structure. It added that China Mobile held a meeting with both Indian telecom firms in December 2019 to discuss the possibility. A holding company structure would give China Mobile board seats and voting rights in the Indian telecom companies even as it would not need to get involved in the day-to-day operations. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. China Mobile and Bharti Airtel did not respond to Mints queries, while Vodafone Idea called it speculation. An investment in the cloud infrastructure network by China Mobile would not only help Vodafone Idea or Bharti Airtel raise capital to deleverage both companies have debt of over Rs 1 lakh crore but also help them scale up for 5G rollout. Both companies have been struggling since the rollout of Reliance Jio in September 2016, which has adopted an aggressive pricing model and rapidly grabbed market share. China Mobile is Chinas dominant telecom player in a market that has now saturated. Reports say the company is scouting for international opportunities, having created a holding company structure for this purpose. Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn gestures during a news conference at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut, Lebanon January 8, 2020. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir) By Tom Metcalf and Yuko Takeo (Bloomberg) -- Life on the run is proving expensive for Carlos Ghosn. The cost of his escape included US$14 million in forfeited bail money while the operation that saw him celebrate New Years Eve in Beirut could have cost US$15 million or more. That includes US$350,000 for the private jet that spirited the former auto executive from Osaka to Istanbul and millions of dollars for his multicountry extraction that would have taken a team of as many as 25 people half a year to plan, according to a private security expert who said he wasnt involved and asked not to be identified given the nature of the operation. Such outflows have seen Ghosns fortune shrink by 40% since he was arrested more than a year ago at Tokyos Haneda Airport, according to estimates by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune is now calculated to be about US$70 million, down from around US$120 million at the time of his first court appearance a year ago. Mission Impossible In fiery, freewheeling form at a two-and-a-half hour press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, Ghosn, 65, repeatedly proclaimed his innocence against allegations he understated his income and raided corporate resources for personal gain, accused Japanese prosecutors, government officials and Nissan Motor Co. executives of conspiring to topple him, and insisted he would clear his name. I am used to what you call mission impossible, he said in response to questions from the assembled reporters. You can expect me in the next weeks to take some initiatives to tell you how Im going to clear my name. That might include a tell-all book. Ghosn plans to publish the story of his arrest, according to a report by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. His downfall has already seen him lose millions in payouts. Last year, Nissan canceled retirement and stock-linked compensation and Renault SA said he wont benefit from a non-compete agreement he signed in 2015 and stock-based payments that were conditional on his staying at the company. Many of the charges against him center on retirement payments, totaling more than US$140 million, which he hadnt yet received. Story continues French Investigations That may be just the start. French investigations examining the possible misuse by Ghosn of Renaults money to host lavish parties and pay consulting fees are at a preliminary stage. The former auto executive was already hit with a US$1 million penalty as part of a September settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose the retirement payments. At his press conference, Ghosn claimed he had done nothing untoward in hosting an event at the Palace of Versailles. Regarding the SEC fine, Ghosns lawyers said previously, We are pleased to have resolved this matter in the U.S. with no findings or admission of wrongdoing. Ghosns U.S. law firm, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, declined to comment on Bloombergs wealth estimates or on the SEC settlement. Ghosns Lebanese lawyer also declined to comment. Nissan is looking at bringing legal action against Ghosn in Lebanon, people familiar with the companys plans said, to recover money it claims he used improperly. The carmaker is trying to evict him from the pink villa in Beirut to which he still has access. Nissan purchased it for US$8.75 million, renovated it and furnished it for him, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ghosns flight will not affect Nissans basic policy of holding him responsible for the serious misconduct uncovered by the internal investigation, the Yokohama-based automaker said on Tuesday. Authorities may be looking to seize some of his assets. In Switzerland, where Ghosn reportedly banks with Julius Baer Group Ltd., Swiss authorities received a legal-aid request from the Tokyo District Attorneys Office a year ago, a spokeswoman for the agency that received the notice said. It examined the request before forwarding it to the Zurich prosecutors office in March. A spokesman for the Zurich prosecutors office declined to comment on the nature of the request or what they are doing with it. At Japans request, Interpol issued a so-called Red Notice in Ghosns name, making it known to other law enforcement authorities that the country considers him a fugitive. Lebanese prosecutors issued a travel ban for Ghosn and asked him to hand in his French passport after the notice was issued, the Associated Press reported. Its not clear if any of Ghosns assets have been seized. In criminal court cases in Japan, a defendants assets cannot be frozen or confiscated until a court verdict is reached, according to Taichi Yoshikai, a law professor at Kokushikan University. There are exceptions in civil cases, but its unclear how this will be applied when a defendant is overseas, he said. Wealth Assumptions Masako Mori, Japan's justice minister, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, which rarely makes public comments, posted an English-language statement on its website Thursday saying Ghosn had only himself to blame for his strict bail conditions. It vowed to bring him to justice in Japan. Ghosn had been propagating both within Japan and internationally false information on Japans legal system and its practice, Justice Minister Masako Mori said. Renault declined to comment. Bloombergs calculation of Ghosns net worth assumes none of his assets at the time of his arrest which included shares in Renault and Nissan now valued at about US$60 million have been seized or sold. Even if that is the case, the costs that come with being the worlds most famous runaway will continue to be formidable. Legal bills for fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low came to US$15 million, according to an October deal with U.S. federal prosecutors. Efforts to burnish Lows reputation cost US$1.1 million over seven months, according to the New York Times. Such expenses are likely sizeable enough to pressure even a fortune as large as that of the Ghosn family. Still, some costs may be lower than expected. The US$350,000 contract for Ghosns Osaka to Istanbul flight was to be paid in two tranches. The charter company has so far only received the first half. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. (Newser) A judge has denied President Trump's motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by writer and accuser E. Jean Carroll. The president's lawyers argued he couldn't be sued in New York because his denial of Carroll's claim that he raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s came while he was in Washington. Yet "notably, there is not even a tweet, much less an affidavit by Trump in support of his motion," New York state Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan wrote in a ruling made public Thursday, per CNN. She also denied Trump's request to avoid discovery in the case. "WE MOVE AHEAD!!" tweeted Carroll, who argues Trump's denials have damaged her career and reputation. Her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the pair were "pleased" but "unsurprised that the Court refused to tolerate" this "latest attempt to avoid discovery." story continues below "We look forward to moving ahead in this case and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client and had not even met her," Kaplan said. A photo actually shows the pair together in the 1980s, per the New York Times. The suit claims Trump "accused Carroll of lying about the rape in order to increase book sales, carry out a political agenda, advance a conspiracy with the Democratic Party, and make money," per the Hill. It notes "he also deliberately implied that she had falsely accused other men of rape." Trump faces another defamation case in New York, this one brought by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who says Trump kissed and groped her at his New York office and a California hotel more than a decade ago, per the Times. The president claims protection under the Constitution in that case. (Read more President Trump stories.) The mother of a 19-year-old woman who was shot dead during a road rage incident in Oakland has slammed the sanctuary city's mayor for protecting the illegal immigrant who is suspected of killing her. Madisyn White-Carroll was fatally shot in December just blocks from her home after being involved in a collision in her car. Roberto Martinez, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant living in nearby Hayward, has been identified by authorities as the shooter, but he has reportedly fled to Mexico. Now, Madisyn's mother Shauna White has slammed Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and California's sanctuary policies which protect illegal aliens. She also slammed a decision by authorities not to release a picture of the suspect, which she says could have led to his capture. 'I believe that California being a sanctuary state is protecting him and protecting his family,' White told Tucker Carlson Tonight. Madisyn White-Carroll (pictured) was fatally shot in December 10 after getting into a fender bender with an illegal immigrant, White said. Shauna White (left) went on Tucker Carlson Tonight (right) claiming that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff cared more for illegal immigrants than legal citizens White says that Martinez became physically aggressive after he and Madisyn got into a fender bender around 9pm on December 10. 'When she got out of the car to take care of it with the insurance, [Martinez] became aggressive,' she said. 'He's well known over there to rob people...when she didn't have anything else to offer him, he attacked her. He punched her in her face and continued to hit her.' White says Martinez shot Madisyn when the teen attempted to film his license plate. 'He let out 10 rounds on my daughter. He killed her. He just, he killed her,' said White, as she held back tears. Madisyn, who was found dead in her new Chevy Malibu, died 19 days after her 19th birthday. White (left) says Mayor Schaff is protecting Madisyn's (right) killer, saying: 'It's more important to them to protect people who are not from this country, then to protect their own citizens' White claims the suspect's photo is being withheld due to Schaff's 'personal agenda' and that the mayor is 'lining her own pockets and her own agenda.' She added: 'I feel that she has no concern for the citizens that are already here, who have been born and raised here for generations.' 'It's more important to them to protect people who are not from this country, then to protect their own citizens...and the homeless and the children who are already here who are in need of services.' White: 'I feel that [Schaff] has no concern for the citizens that are already here, who have been born and raised here for generations 'She was such a good girl, she didnt drink, smoke, none of that, no boyfriend. She was focused on figuring out how to use her intelligence,' he said. White added: 'She was just very grounded, like an anchor to me. She was a very serious girl who didnt go for nonsense. Im a light(-hearted) person and can be silly, but her humors a little different. When she was little, some babies you can tickle, but you would have to perform to make her laugh.' Erik Carrol, Madisyn's father, told East Bay Times his daughter was a 'good girl.' Madisyn (pictured) was killed just 19 days after her 19th birthday in her brand new Chevy Malibu just blocks from her home A GoFundMe account, titled 'Justice for Madisyn', was created to donate to the White-Carrol family following Madisyn's murder. So far, more than $15,000 of a $30,000 goal has been raised. Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland previously offered a $10,000 money reward for information leading to Martinez's arrest. In November, Kayum Ahmed, a director at the Open Society Foundations philanthropic organization who had been invited to speak at an assembly at the high school, responded to a students question about South Africa by linking what Jews endured during the Holocaust to violence against Palestinians in Israel. As part of an answer about victims of violence becoming perpetrators in South Africa, Mr. Ahmed said, I use the same example in talking about the Holocaust. That Jews who suffered in the Holocaust and established the State of Israel today, they perpetuate violence against Palestinians. Some parents, offended by the comment, urged school leaders to issue a forceful statement condemning it. The debate over Mr. Ahmeds remarks was reported by the online publication Tablet as well as the Washington Free Beacon. Two days after the assembly, Mr. Ahmed received an email from Fieldstons high school principal, Nigel Furlonge, according to copies of the emails that Mr. Ahmed shared with the Times. Mr. Furlonge wrote that, many, many members of the community found your talk engaging and insightful, but added that the comment about Israel landed in some difficult ways for some members of our community. Mr. Furlonge invited Mr. Ahmed to share some more context about his remarks to avoid, as Mr. Furlonge said, further interpretation from parents and students. In a lengthy response, Mr. Ahmed said he was deeply opposed to anti-Semitism and did not believe his remarks fit any definition of anti-Semitism he was familiar with. He also praised Fieldstons students and apologized for any difficulty he had caused the schools administrators. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/10/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. couple Loren Goldstone and Alexei Brovarnik have announced Alexei will officially become an American citizen this month.Loren, who appeared on Season 3 of with Alexei followed by the first two seasons of : Happily Ever After?, took to Instagram on Tuesday revealing the big news."What a busy, yet exciting day!! Our full process in its entirety has been completed," the pregnant reality TV star wrote, sharing a picture of Alexei sleeping on a couch behind her.She added the following hashtags to her post: "#blessed #wehaveacitizen #allsmiles #teambrovarnik #babybrov #hardworkpaysoff #soproud."Loren, 31, then shared more details about Alexei's U.S. citizenship status on her Instagram Stories shortly afterwards."All smiles today! We just had Alex's citizenship interview and he passed it," Loren wrote on a photo of herself smiling, according to In Touch Weekly."After years of applications, waiting, hard work and patience, @alex_brovarnik got approved to be a U.S. citizen. 2 weeks until his swearing in ceremony!"Meanwhile, Alexei wrote on his own Instagram account Tuesday, "Make way for a new American, passed the citizenship test yesterday... #teambrovarnik #babybrov #citizenship #newamerican."Loren and Alexei had talked about how Alexei was in the process of obtaining his American citizenship in two episodes of : What Now?'s third season, which were released online by TLC in April 2019, along with the rest of the original digital series' 21-episode third season.The two episodes documented Loren and Alexei's life in Hollywood Beach, FL, and the topic of Alexei's citizenship came up when the pair discussed their ideal timeline for starting a family.The : What Now? episodes showed the couple disagreeing on when would be the right time to welcome a child and where it would fall in their list of priorities, especially since the lovebirds were new homeowners at the time.Loren pushed to try to get pregnant as soon as possible because she had baby fever, but in addition to the responsibilities of their new Florida condo, Alexei was going through the "long and tedious process" of obtaining his American citizenship -- but he was near the end of it.Alexei hoped to obtain his American citizenship before having a baby, telling the : What Now? cameras, "It will make me feel more comfortable with moving on with our lives and babies and next steps in our marriage."But Loren was aching for a baby, and many of her friends were already pregnant.Alexei didn't think Loren was taking into account how expensive it was going to be to renovate their home and raise a child. He didn't think they could afford to do it all at once.Alexei's original plan, as a result, was to obtain his citizenship within six to eight months, renovate their house, travel as a couple, and then get pregnant.But Loren accused her husband of using his citizenship "an excuse to delay other things" -- and she admittedly didn't "want to wait much longer" to start a family."I don't know if I'm ready for a baby right now," Alexei confessed during the show. "But I don't know if anybody is ever really ready for it... I wish I knew what being ready for a kid looks like."Alexei not only felt pressure to make Loren happy since she had envisioned having a few babies by age 30, but both of their families also wanted a baby in the picture soon.The couple therefore ultimately agreed to start trying for a child in November 2019, which would mean the baby's arrival would be in August 2020.Loren wanted to move that date up to October 2019, but Alexei wasn't willing to budge because he had a feeling Loren would get pregnant right away, which turned out to be correct!The TLC couple is currently expecting their first child together to be born in a few months.Loren and Alexei, who have been married for over four years now, announced they were expecting Baby No. 1 in late October 2019. Two months later, they shared Loren is pregnant with a baby boy and due in May."We were a smidge surprised needless to say, but we wouldn't have it any other way! And we just can't wait to meet our son this May! #teambrovarnik #babybrov #May2020 #boymom #letthebalaganbegin #blessed," Loren captioned a slideshow of photos from the couple's gender reveal party, which took place in December 2019.Loren and Alexei met on a birthright trip to Israel. She was the staff leader and Alexei was the medic, and she found him "incredibly handsome."The pair kept in touch once Loren returned to the United States, and then she visited him five times in one year -- which resulted in an engagement.Once Alexei got approved for the K-1 visa and traveled to America, the couple got married during his 90-day visit in September 2015. They also subsequently had a second ceremony in Israel in July 2016 so both of their families could celebrate.Loren and Alexei currently appear together on : Pillow Talk, which features former cast members offering commentary on the reality franchise's current episodes.The seventh season of airs on Sunday nights at 8PM ET/PT on TLC.Want more spoilers? Click here to visit our Spoilers webpage! Yorkshire-based Thomas the Baker has donated 11,000 to Kidney Research UK after a year of fundraising. The firm, which has been raising money for its charity of the year for the past 10 years, has reached a donation milestone of 100,000. With 30 stores across Yorkshire and the north east, it combined the money raised with funds from the sale of carrier bags. In the past, the company has donated a total of more than 100,000 to charities including the Alzheimers Society, Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, Help for Heroes, Macmillan Cancer Support, Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Three million people in the UK have kidney disease and one million sufferers are unaware that they have it, according to Kidney Research UK. There is no known cure. This most recent donation was presented at the charitys Peterborough headquarters by Chris Chapman, quality assurance manager at Thomas the Baker. Chapman received a kidney transplant in 2009 and, with the help of his wife June, spent several hours with the team finding out more about the work funded by donations. In 2003, 43-year-old Chapman attended a routine health check, which revealed that he had kidney disease. In 2009, after spending three years on dialysis, he was called for a transplant, which was a success, despite a challenging recovery. He discovered that the disease led to the death of his father when he was seven. Chapman met the staff at the charity in December, some of whom suffered from the same kidney disease as him Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. It was a pleasure to be able to go and take this cheque to Kidney Research UK, and obviously its something I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to do as a recipient of a kidney transplant 10 years ago. It was fantastic to find out more about the work they do, including current projects theyre working on with the University of Sheffield, said Chapman. Apart from the hospital visits, the regular blood tests and the tablets, life is now as normal as it could be. However, the average life for a transplanted kidney is 10-15 years, and mine is now 10 years old. So, its vital to me and to millions of others that the research and development continues. The staff and customers at Thomas the Baker are to thank for raising 11,000 last year, said Richard Phillips, corporate partnerships manager at Kidney Research UK. This will go a very long way toward funding life-saving research. Chris has had a personal journey with kidney disease and he has long thought we would make a great charity of the year partner with Thomas the Baker were so glad it paid off, said Phillips. Kidney Research UK relies on donations to fund breakthroughs in diagnosis, treatment and patient care for those affected by kidney disease. New technology might actually pull hydrogen out of the Alberta tar sands and leave the carbon behind. This TreeHugger has long been skeptical of hydrogen, suspecting it to be a way of keeping us tied forever to the oil and gas companies who would distribute "grey" hydrogen made from natural gas while promising "green" hydrogen some day. I have repeatedly called the hydrogen economy a fantasy. But Tyler Hamilton, a respected science writer (and formerly my editor at Corporate Knights Magazine), writes in the Globe and Mail that Hydrogen has a major role to play in the clean-energy future. Over the past year, hydrogen has re-emerged as one of the most promising answers. Mostly because its such a versatile fuel, but also because the cost of producing green hydrogen using renewable electricity or other low-carbon processes is rapidly falling. Our cars, buses and delivery vans may be going battery-electric, and batteries may be a big part of the answer to energy storage on the electrical grid. But green hydrogen, according to the International Energy Agency, offers what batteries cant a flexible way to decarbonize ships, trains, and big airplanes, displace the use of natural gas for heating, and replace fossil fuels used by heavy industry. Hamilton points to a company in Calgary, Proton Technologies Inc, which has developed a way of separating hydrogen from the oil sands while leaving the carbon in the ground, a process that they call Hygenic Earth Energy or HEE. "Were creating a continuous source of green, clean and affordable energy from deep earth. Were meeting a huge market need with a rapidly scalable solution." It's based on a process tried in the 1980s when scientists were figuring out how to get oil out of the oil sands. The Marguerite Lake Cyclic Steam and Air Injection pilot was considered a failure at the time because it didn't bring up much oil, but it unexpectedly did bring up gas that "consistently contained up to 20% hydrogen." In 2014 Professor Ian Gates and research engineer Jackie Wang noticed that the Marguerite Lake project proved that under certain conditions In Situ Combustion can generate large quantities of elemental hydrogen generation. They also recognized that if this process can be replicated and managed, it would have huge implications for world energy systems, and especially for Canadas beleaguered Oil Sands. They basically inject oxygen-enriched air into the hydrocarbon layers up to two kilometres underground, which starts burning in situ. Eventually, oxidation temperatures exceed 500C. This extreme heat causes the nearby hydrocarbons, and any surrounding water molecules, to break apart. Both the hydrocarbons and the H2O become a temporary source of free hydrogen gas. These molecular splitting processes are referred to as thermolysis, gas reforming and water-gas shift. They have been used in commercial industrial processes to generate hydrogen for more than 100 years. They then pick up the gases and filter out the hydrogen using a version of the filters used in conventional steam reformation. The result: pure "guilt-free" hydrogen, steam for power generation and a bit of helium. They claim "HEE will be completely clean and green, producing pure hydrogen continuously and in massive quantities." The CEO is quoted in Phys.Org: Grant Strem, CEO of Proton Technologies, which is commercializing the process, says, "This technique can draw up huge quantities of hydrogen while leaving the carbon in the ground. When working at production level, we anticipate we will be able to use the existing infrastructure and distribution chains to produce H2 for between 10 and 50 cents per kilo. This means it potentially costs a fraction of gasoline for equivalent output." This compares with current H2 production costs of around $2/kilo. Around 5% of the H2 produced then powers the oxygen production plant, so the system more than pays for itself. Tyler Hamilton is excited and sees a great future for Canada's oil sands and for the country. As the sun sets on fossil fuels, lets be ready for a hydrogen sunrise. Lets build on what we have, leverage what we know and secure what we need to become the worlds hydrogen hub. I have always called the hydrogen economy a fantasy, a folly, and a fraud, writing, "Follow the money. Who is selling 95 percent of the hydrogen on the market right now? The oil and chemical companies. They make massive amounts of it for producing fertilizer and powering rockets and no doubt love the idea of selling more to power cars" and, as we have noted, trains, and now they want to pipe it to houses. Thyssenkrupp piping hydrogen to blast furnace But we have seen how hydrogen be used to reduce the footprint of steel, and now we see that it can be cooked out of the ground while leaving the carbon behind. Hamilton also reminds us that there are many startups building high-efficiency electrolyzers to use renewable energy to make hydrogen. I have been dumping on hydrogen since 2005 when I wrote that the hydrogen economy isn't coming soon. Is my thinking out of date? Should I be reconsidering my position? In Parliament today: Bill to amend CVC and Delhi Police Special Act to be tabled today JNU violence: 70 administrators of WhatsApp groups under scanner India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 10: Four days after a masked mob entered the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus here and assaulted 34 people including students, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police on Thursday said it had zeroed in on a few suspects behind the attack. A senior police officer said they had identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups, where the attack on members of the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) was allegedly planned. According to the police, they were very close to identifying the culprits behind Sunday's attack and had zeroed in on a few suspects. Delhi: Woman bites IPS officers thumb during JNU students' protest The dump data of the mobile phones of those present on the university campus on Sunday was collected and being scanned, the police said. So far, the police have spoken to more than 100 people from the campus, including students, teachers, wardens and witnesses. SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week After the incident, several students shared screenshots of conversations in certain WhatsApp groups, alleging that the attack on them was planned. A police officer said they had now identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups. The police, however, said they were trying to identify all the members of the two WhatsApp groups and will be questioning them to probe their involvement in the attack. After the police made a public appeal requesting people to share information, footage and video clips related to the incident, several students came forward to share the details. JNU protesters detained by police as they march towards Rashtrapati Bhavan The police said they were also scanning the video clips and CCTV footage shared on social media platforms to verify its authenticity. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory had also visited the university to collect more evidence, the police said. Mr. Pompeo said information about the threat had been shared with members of Congress, contradicting some members of both parties who said they had received few specifics. Lawmakers from both parties described the briefings as historical lectures as opposed to the typical presentation about classified matters. One lawmaker said the information was something you could go on Wikipedia and get. It was that basic. Asked how he defined an imminent threat, Mr. Pompeo replied: This was going to happen. And American lives were at risk. And we would have been culpably negligent, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff said, we would have been culpably negligent had we not recommended to the president he take this action on Qassim Suleimani. Mr. Pompeo spoke about the threats after he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the latest round of economic sanctions on Iran. The sanctions were the first substantive response by the United States since Iran launched missiles this week at American forces in Iraq. Iran is already under crippling sanctions from the United States and the latest round was narrowly targeted at industries including steel, construction, textiles and mining. They also apply to eight senior Iranian officials who were involved in a recent ballistic missile attack on bases where American troops were stationed. The damage to Iran from the additional measures will be negligible, said Peter Harrell, a sanctions expert at the Center for a New American Security. When it comes to putting materially more economic pressure on Iran, the Trump administration is something of a victim of its own success and I think we are reaching the end of the road for what maximum pressure can achieve when it comes to Irans economy, Mr. Harrell said. The US will sign the first phase of a pending trade deal with China probably on January 15, President Donald Trump said. Beijing's trade envoy Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to visit the US next week to sign the interim agreement's "Phase One", marking a pause in the nearly two-year trade war between the two sides. "We're signing, as you know, a very big deal among many other things with China probably on January 15," Trump told reporters at a White House event here. Liu will lead a delegation to the US from Monday through Wednesday, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday. The "Phase One" of the trade deal, Trump said, is "a big percentage of the deal". "Some would say half. Some would say a little less or a little more than half, but it's a tremendous percentage. It's pretty much all for the farmers, also bankers," he said responding to a question. "We also have regulations for a lot of different things... that people are going to be very surprised to see. But it's a big chunk of it, and we'll start right away negotiating Phase 2," Trump said. However, he said negotiations for the second phase "will take a little time". "I think, I might want to wait to finish it until after the election because by doing that I think we can actually make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal, Trump said. The US had postponed planned tariff hikes following the announcement of the deal's "Phase One" in October. However, earlier punitive duties imposed by China and the US on billions of dollars of each other's goods stayed in place, affecting global trade. Phase one of the deal, Trump said, could be up to USD 50 billion in farm product. That is numerous times more than they were buying in the past, the president said. It's going to have a huge impact, and I see farm prices are going way up. I see corn is just--had some big increases over the last little while. Cattle has been doing really well. The farmers liked me anyway. That's what I like about the farmers, Trump asserted. The trade deal with China, he said, will be great for farmers and for banks. Great for finance companies. Really a lot. Then we're going to be covering the opening of China and various other things in Phase Two, Trump said. New Delhi, Jan 10 : Domestic automobile sales continued to decline in December with the overall sectoral off-take plunging 13.08 per cent on a year-on-year basis, data showed on Friday. As per the data furnished by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the sector's total sales declined to 14,05,776 units in December from 16,17,398 units sold during the corresponding month of the previous year. In terms of the calendar year, the 2019 sales decline is the worst ever in the last 20 years. The off-take of commercial vehicles took a major hit with sales declining 12.32 per cent to 66,622 units, compared to 75,984 units in December 2018. Medium and Heavy Commercial vehicles were a major victim of the ongoing slowdown as sales fell 31.70 per cent to 31,314 units. Shamsher Dewan, Vice President, Corporate Sector ratings, ICRA, said: "During December 2019, the focus by CV OEMs continued to be on paring down inventory levels at dealerships, especially for the Goods Carrier segment, considering the impending transition to BS-VI emission norms within a quarter and dealer inventory of more than a month." He said that wholesale dispatches of Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles and light commercial vehicles contracted by 43 per cent and 1 per cent on a YoY basis. Wholesale dispatches of the bus segment, on the other hand, has been improving over the past quarter, Dewan added. Passenger vehicle sales declined by 1.24 per cent during the month on a year-on-year basis to 2,38,753 units. Two-wheeler sales were recorded at 1,259,007 units, lower by 16.60 per cent for a year ago period. "Robust growth (30 per cent YoY) in the UV segment, supported by new launches like Hyundai Venue, Renault Triber, Kia Seltos and MG Hector arrested PV wholesale decline to 1.2 per cent. Retail enquiries are showing some signs of recovery, which augurs well for the industry," said Ashish Modani, Vice President, Corporate Sector ratings, ICRA. "Exports witnessed growth of 9.9 per cent to 66,073 units, mainly due to incremental contribution of 6,341 units by Kia Motors, which otherwise could be flattish," he said. However, bucking the larger trend, sales in the three-wheeler segment, which includes both goods and passenger carriers, rose by 22.10 per cent to 43,650 units in December 2019. Overall exports too witnessed a dip of 8.75 per cent at 3,77,472 units last month. On the production front, total production last moth stood at 19,16,213 units, lower by 5.22 per cent. Manufacturing of commercial vehicles stood at 62,021 units, lower by 9.76 per cent on a year-on-year basis. A total of 2,58,391 passenger vehicles were produced in the country in December 2019, 3.11 per cent lower than 2,66,686 units during the same month in 2019. US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Video of Donald Trump saying he had a hand in the latest Nobel Peace Prize has gone viral in Ethiopia after the US president asserted that he had made a deal to save the country. The comments during a rally in the US do not mention the East African country by name, but Mr Trump says: I just heard the head of that country is now getting the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. Did I have something to do with it? Yeah. But thats the way it is. Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accepted the prize in December for making peace with longtime rival Eritrea and other reforms. Mr Trump almost never comments on Africa, and some critics have said his administration has neglected African issues. Expand Close Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP) Many Ethiopians were puzzled by Mr Trumps remarks. Some said his talk of a deal must have referred to the new peace with Eritrea. But one senior Ethiopian official said the remarks referred to preventing further tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt over a massive dam that Ethiopia is completing on the Nile river. Egypt says the dam threatens its water supply but Ethiopia says it is needed for development. Ministers from the countries, plus Sudan, are expected to meet in Washington on Monday to report on the failure of their latest round of talks. He was talking about Egypt and Ethiopia, the official with Ethiopias foreign ministry said. The official asserted that Egypts president lobbied Mr Trump over the disputed dam project, leading to the US taking a role in the discussions. President Trump really believes he avoided a war as such but that was not the case, the official said. (JNS)The American airstrike assassination of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad early on Friday follows a major miscalculation on the part of Tehran in the decision to up the ante against the United States. While the extent of Irans response is not yet clear, military planners in the region, including in Israel, will need to prepare for the most severe scenarios. Even though Iran may seek to launch a calculated retaliation, which would exact a price without going to war, no one can be sure of where events will go next. Indications of Irans intent to escalate in the region were already apparent in late November, when U.S. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, the head of the militarys Central Command responsible for the Middle East, warned that Iran was planning a major attack on the scale of its cruise missile and drone assault on Saudi oil fields in September. Hours before the American airstrike on Soleimanis vehicle in Baghdad, American Defense Secretary Mark Esper repeated the warning that Iran is planning further strikes on the United States and its regional interests, and said that America will take preventive action to defend the lives of its forces and civilians. The intensification had been gradually brewing, with an American contractor killed in a rocket attack that was launched by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia on a military base in northern Iraq on Dec. 27. Americas reply was crushing: An airstrike on the militias bases in Iraq and Syria on Dec. 30, resulting in dozens of casualties, including Iranian officers. That was a warning Iran failed to heed. The Iranians sent militia-supporting mobs to attack the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Dec. 31, representing an Iranian attempt to keep up the pressure on America while maintaining plausible deniability. Soleimani was involved in all of those incidents, and his arrival in Iraq on Friday was an indication of his intent to continue to activate his influence to the detriment of American forces. He has spent years building a multinational terrorist army and destabilizing the region. In fact, he was the right-hand man of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reporting directly to him and tasked with implementing Khameneis radical vision of Iranian hegemony in the region. Soleimani built proxy forces that are deployed in Iraq (home to some 100,000 armed Shiite militia members), in Syria and in Lebanon (home to the most heavily armed non-state terror army in the world). Soleimani provided significant assistance to Gazas terror factions, enabling them to fire rocket on Tel Aviv, as well as to forces in Yemen, which fire missiles at Saudi cities. He fed Irans proxies with advanced weapons, training and cash, and drew up their doctrines and missions. He also ordered a long series of armed attacks on U.S. interests and bases, as well as against the civilians, armies and strategic targets of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. Designed to prevent operation Iranians were planning Soleimani was working to surround Israel with missile bases and terror groups, and was ideologically committed to Israels destruction. He was hard at work building a war machine in Syria, after helping Syrian President Bashar Assad win the civil wara war that prevailed as a result of mass killings and countless war crimes against Sunnis in order to rescue the pro-Iranian Damascus regime. Soleimanis goal was to spread Irans radical Shiite agenda throughout the region, neutralize American influence and intimidate states that stood in his way. He brutally repressed Shiites in Iraq, who were fed up with their Iranian-influenced corrupt government. Under Soleimanis directive, militias in Iraq turned into death squads, mercilessly gunning down hundreds of protesters on Iraqi streetsmeaning that many Iraqis will not be upset to see his departure from the scene. In their choice to step up attacks on the worlds top superpower, Soleimani and the Iranian regime made a number of critical errors in recent weeks. Attacking Americans in Iraq was one; Khameneis taunt of Trump on Twitter, saying that the U.S. president was powerless to act in Iraq was another; and the mob attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was a third mistake, which touched on a highly sensitive American nerve. The U.S. establishment has painful memories from the embassy siege in Tehran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the 2012 attacks on U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya. The Iranians displayed a major miscalculation in failing to understand how the U.S. would view these incidents, and when Soleimani arrived in Baghdadapparently to plan more attacksthe miscalculation only grew. The highly vigorous American response points to the fact that from the U.S.s standpoint, the Iranians crossed a red line, and it seems the Americans had intelligence that the Iranians were going to cross further red lines, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, former national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, told JNS. The American response is a warning to the Iranians, but also it is designed to prevent the operation that the Iranians were planning, added Amidror, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies. Since we do not know how the Iranians will respond, the assessments are not important. We must assume that the Iranians will respond, and we have to be ready for this response. That readiness should include intensive intelligence-gathering activity with a major focus on identifying Iranian preparations to strike. The Iranian response might well include attacks on Israel. We have to be ultra-cautious, emphasized Amidror, because no one knows how the Iranians will response. Rising college tuition and declining state funding for public higher education are driving a student loan crisis in this country. College tuition in the United States has increased 37% on average in the past 10 years. Tuition at New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico increased an average of 4.5% for the current school year alone. The result: Todays students are paying the most in history for a college education, and most of us have to borrow all or much of that. The latest statistics show that 45 million borrowers in the United States owe $1.6 trillion of student loan debt. Here at home, 218,000 New Mexicans are trying to pay back $7 billion they borrowed to attend college. Increasing student debt is affecting the decisions of a new generation of Americans. It impacts decisions such as marriage, purchasing a new home or car, or moving to a neighboring state for a higher-paying job. New Mexicans find comfort in the Lottery Scholarship. The 30% of gross lottery revenue allocated to the Lottery Scholarship Fund each year allows many New Mexicans to attend colleges in-state, and some are even able to graduate without debt. This scholarship is integral in encouraging our young adults to pursue their education in the Land of Enchantment while fostering a love for our great state. Over time, the Lottery Scholarship started to cover less and less of tuition, forcing more students to pay out of pocket or take out loans. The gap in this program can hurt the chances of our low-income and minority students, and their opportunity to seize a brighter future. The Lottery Scholarship, and other programs like it, are important to growing the next generation of leaders, innovators and developers of our state. That is why we support Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham and her team in exploring initiatives like the Opportunity Scholarship to alleviate the challenges of student debt. As students from UNM and NMSU, we are calling on our legislators to work together so we can create these new opportunities. We hope to see thoughtful and sustainable legislation that supports the mission of providing every New Mexico student with an opportunity for a higher education. We ask you to invest in us, New Mexicos future. 10.01.2020 LISTEN The NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the Sagnarigu Constituency, Felicia Tettey upon wining the Sagnarigu primaries in September 2019 embarked on a tour of the constituency after organizing a victory party for the constituents. The tour which commenced a month after the Constituency primaries took madam Felicia Tettey to all 12 Electoral Areas of the Constituency. She paid courtesy calls to all chiefs in the Constituency and also interacted with Elders and members of the communities visited. The NPP Parliamentary Candidate told The Voiceless Media she had to embark on such a tour to introduce herself to the constituents and ask for the blessing of the custodians of the land as she goes about her campaign to get elected as a member of parliament for Sagnarigu Constituency. The PC said she represents the hope of the youth, women and all vulnerable groups in the constituency and will do her utmost best for the people. According to Felicia Tettey, the Constituency is deprived of basic social amenities and infrastructure for which reason she wants to be the MP in order to take development to the area as she always does. The NPP Candidate, Felicia Tettey is the Regional Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Program in the Northern Region. She is also a National Council Member of the NPP as well as a Second Vice Chairperson of the party in the Northern Region. ---The Voiceless Media One of the oldest bars in New York City that featured in the epic mob film Goodfellas is set to close after nearly 200 years. Neir's Tavern in Queens, where the Lufthansa heist was planned in the 1990 classic, will shut on Sunday as the owner battles crippling rent. Fireman Loycent Gordon, who bought the bar in 2009 with friends, broke the news in an email to mates and customers. Scroll for video Neir's Tavern in Queens, where the Lufthansa heist was planned in the 1990 classic (pictured), will shut on Sunday as the owner battles crippling rent Fireman Loycent Gordon, who bought the bar (pictured) in 2009 with friends, broke the news in an email to mates and customers Pictured is the outside of the bar in Queens, which will shut its doors after almost 200 years on Sunday Rent for the property has soared from $1,100 a month to roughly $5,400 after it was bought for $1.35million in 2018 by an LLC called 353 Rockaway Realty. Mr Gordon, 40, who still works full time as a fireman, told the Gothamist: 'I don't have enough time to fight these battles anymore.' He added that due to eye-watering rent and no long-term lease, it was unlikely the bar could continue in different hands. What was the Lufthansa heist? The Lufthansa heist in Goodfellas was based on a real robbery which saw gang members steal around $5million in cash and $875,000 worth of jewelry from the German airline at JFK airport in 1978. The thugs brutally attacked airport workers guarding the cash in what was the biggest cash theft at the time. Each mobster who took part was supposed to get $750,000, but most did not live receive the cash, prosecutors wrote in court papers. There were numerous suspected participants, but one only man - cargo agent Louis Werner - was ever convicted. The FBI has always agreed with the plot of Goodfellas about all loose connections to the robbery being killed off by paranoid mob bosses. Advertisement It comes after Mr Gordon tried to secure landmark status for the bar last year in a bid to save it. He wrote: 'Everyday I pray I would find a way to dedicate more time to overcome these challenges until yesterday I had to face the truth.' 'I'm sorry I let you down. I'm sorry I couldn't get landmark status. I'm sorry I couldn't buy the building.' The rustic gin hall in Queen's opened in 1829 and is said to have hosted actress Mae West's first performance and movies such as the notorious scene in Goodfellas. Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta became regulars at the watering hole while filming Goodfellas and harbored a deep affection for it, according to the Queens Tribune. In the movie, the Lufthansa heist was based on a real robbery which saw gang members steal around $5million in cash and $875,000 worth of jewelry from the German airline at JFK airport in 1978. The thugs brutally attacked airport workers guarding the cash in what was the biggest cash theft at the time. Each mobster who took part was supposed to get $750,000, but most did not live receive the cash, prosecutors wrote in court papers. Rent for the property (pictured) has soared from $1,100 a month to roughly $5,400 after it was bought for $1.35million in 2018 by an LLC called 353 Rockaway Realty The rustic gin hall in Queen's opened in 1829 and is said to have hosted actress Mae West's first performance and movies such as the notorious scene in Goodfellas (pictured, Robert DeNiro) There were numerous suspected participants, but one only man - cargo agent Louis Werner - was ever convicted. The FBI has always agreed with the plot of Goodfellas about all loose connections to the robbery being killed off by paranoid mob bosses. Neir's opened as The Blue Pump Room by the owner of a racecourse which was then across the street. In 1835 it was renamed The Old Abbey. Neir's (pictured) opened as The Blue Pump Room by the owner of a racecourse which was then across the street It was bought in 1851 by a politician who maintained it for 40 years, before a man named Louis Neir arrived in 1898 (pictured) The FBI has always agreed with the plot of Goodfellas (pictured) about all loose connections to the robbery being killed off by paranoid mob bosses According to Neir's website, the racecourse went through a bumpy financial patch, and the bar became known as a 'notorious rumseller' for 'black legs, thieves, housebreakers [and] fighting men'. It was bought in 1851 by a politician who maintained it for 40 years, before a man named Louis Neir arrived in 1898. Neir's Social Hall, as he dubbed it, was extended to include a ballroom, bowling alley, and hotel rooms. It was sold in 1967 and renamed the Union Course Tavern, which closed in 2009. More recent owners finished constructing Neir's mahogany bars, and reopened as Neir's Tavern. Nebraskas governor has declared this years Roe v. Wade anniversary a Statewide Day of Prayer and is urging the states citizens to pray for an end to abortion. Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts released the proclamation Wednesday, designating Jan. 22 as a day of pray and stating that Nebraska is a pro-life state. Since Roe v. Wade, over 50 million unborn children have been killed by abortion in the United States, the proclamation says. ... It seems right and fitting that the citizens of the State of Nebraska are urged to pray for an end to abortion and for our fellow citizens who need our love and support. It further notes that Nebraska respects the dignity of human life, no matter how small and that the state offers crisis pregnancy centers that provide free care for expecting parents. The U.S. Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, 1973, legalizing abortion in all 50 states. Below is the full text of the proclamation: Whereas, on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court issued their Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in all 50 states; and Whereas, since Roe v. Wade, over 50 million unborn children have been killed by abortion in the United States; and Whereas, Nebraska state law states it is the will of the people of the State of Nebraska and the members of the Legislature to provide protection for the life of the unborn whenever possible ; and Whereas, Nebraska is a pro-life state that respects the dignity of human life, no matter how small; and Whereas, Nebraskans display our pro-life values in a multitude of ways from the crisis pregnancy centers that provide free care for expecting parents to the prayer vigils held across the state every year; and Whereas, It seems right and fitting that the citizens of the State of Nebraska are urged to pray for an end to abortion and for our fellow citizens who need our love and support. Now, therefore, I, Pete Ricketts, Governor of the State of Nebraska, do hereby proclaim the 22nd day of January, 2020 as A Statewide Day of Prayer in Nebraska, and I do hereby urge all individuals to pray on their own or with others, according to their faith, for an end to abortion. Be it further resolved that the citizens of the Great State of Nebraska are encouraged to take direct action to aid mothers, fathers and families in need, especially those expecting a child who cannot provide for themselves. Related: Planned Parenthood Reports Record 345,672 Abortions -- Abortion Is its Mission Abby Johnson Launches New Pro-Life Pregnancy Resource Helpline 207 Members of Congress Ask Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade Trump Admin. Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Pro-Life Law, Citing Gosnell Atrocities Pro-Life Win: High Court Upholds Law Requiring Ultrasounds before Abortions Democrats Medicare for All Bills Would Legalize Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Despite Popular Belief, Women Are More Pro-Life than Men, Gallup Poll Says Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Pool Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Connecticut should welcome immigrants, Governor Lamont and the politically correct crowd at the state Capitol say, failing to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants even as the state has ever-larger numbers of the latter. So it might have been fun if the governor and his P.C. posse had attended the Nov. 26 meeting of Norwalks city council, which was well-reported by the citys newspaper, The Hour, with video posted on the internet by city government. Superintendent Steven Adamowski explained the school systems need for an emergency appropriation of $1.4 million to accommodate about 370 students who came to the city unexpectedly in recent weeks, most of them illegal immigrants from Central America. Many, the superintendent said, had been released by immigration authorities after spending 60 days in detention centers and now live with relatives or friends in Norwalk awaiting adjudication of their cases. Most of these new students, the superintendent said, dont speak English and many have had little education, so they will be expensive to teach. Because so many Norwalk students already dont speak English well, with a quarter or more of students in some city schools lacking English proficiency, the new students will distract teachers from their other students, the superintendent said. Most city students, he added, were already high needs, requiring extra attention, and now the city may have to build another school. The superintendent noted that exclusive zoning in Fairfield Countys suburbs confines most immigrant students to housing in Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Stamford. This extreme economic segregation, the superintendent said, lets the suburbs avoid the financial burden. After approving the emergency $1.4 million for the schools, the Norwalk council approved an emergency appropriation of $400,000 for the citys social services department, which faces extra work with the immigrant students and the families theyre staying with. So when they are done striking righteous poses, the governor and his P.C. posse might be obliged to answer a few questions. Will state government reimburse Norwalk for its sudden extra expenses arising from illegal immigration? If so, where in the state budget will the money come from? Will the state require Fairfield Countys suburbs to hasten construction of low-income housing to share the burden of illegal immigration? With the states economy declining amid ever-increasing taxes, just how much more illegal immigration should Connecticut welcome, and what is the cost of the illegal immigration the P.C. crowd has already cheered? Millions more Central Americans are available, so the potential for more P.C. posturing is virtually infinite even if the money for their education and social services isnt. But instead of addressing those questions, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz is leading state governments campaign to increase compliance with the next federal census. Bysiewicz and other Democrats are worried that the Trump administrations sometimes demagogic hostility to illegal immigrants will scare them out of participating in the census, though federal grants to states are calculated by total population, both legal and illegal residents. But theres a bigger reason Democrats want illegal immigrants well counted: congressional district reapportionment. While illegals are not supposed to vote, they are counted for congressional representation and they settle overwhelmingly in Democratic urban areas. So the more illegal immigrants, the more Democratic districts. Nothing is more politically correct than that. Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference on January 9, 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. Trudeau said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources indicating that a Ukrainian airliner which crashed outside Tehran was mistakenly shot down by Iran. (AFP) Washington: It is highly likely that Iran shot down the civilian Ukrainian jetliner that crashed near Tehran late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board, U.S., Canadian and British officials declared Thursday. They said the fiery missile strike could well have been a mistake amid rocket launches and high tension throughout the region. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops in its violent confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. The airliner could have been mistaken for a threat, said four U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said in Toronto: We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. Likewise, U.K. prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison offered similar statements. Morrison also said it appeared to be a mistake. All of the intelligence as presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act, he said. The assessment that 176 people were killed as collateral damage in the Iranian-U.S. conflict cast a new pall over what had at first appeared to be a relatively calm aftermath following the U.S. military operation that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. At the White House, U.S. president Donald Trump suggested he believed Iran was responsible for the shootdown and dismissed Iran's initial claim that it was a mechanical issue with the plane. Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side. Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood." J. Charles Jones, a civil rights activist both in Charlotte, N.C., and nationally who helped organize pivotal events and groups in the 1960s, died on Dec. 27 at his home in Charlotte. He was 82. His son Michael said the causes were Alzheimers disease and sepsis. Mr. Jones, who came from a family of ministers, was a seminary student at Johnson C. Smith University of Charlotte in early February 1960 when he heard on the radio that four black men had staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro, 90 miles to the northeast. He had been tracking the emerging civil rights movement throughout the 1950s and saw Greensboro as his personal call to action. At a meeting of his universitys student council on Feb. 8, he and a few others announced that they intended to challenge the segregation at the Charlotte Woolworths the next day. They thought a handful of fellow students might join them. The next morning there were 216 students outside the administration building, Mr. Jones said in an oral history recorded in 2005 for Miami University of Ohio. And we all went downtown in various forms and sat at every lunch counter there. BELFAST - After three years of paralysis, the leaders of Northern Ireland's two largest political parties agreed Friday to return to work at their regional parliament, ending a bitter feud that undercut faith that the two sides - one Protestant and unionist, the other Catholic and nationalist - could forge a common way forward. The Northern Ireland Assembly will meet on Saturday, for the first time since January 2017, to appoint new speakers and ministers. The three-year adjournment of a parliament would be crippling in most settings. But to cynics in Northern Ireland, it suggested that their politicians were not missed. Leaders in Britain, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, described the long hiatus as the height of irresponsibility, as both sides abandoned their roles. It was a reminder, too, that the peaceful coexistence in Northern Ireland remains tentative. The agreement to get back to work was based on a no-nonsense "New Decade, New Approach" put forward by exasperated Britain and Republic of Ireland. Britain, which oversees affairs in the region, threatened that if the political parties could not resolve their differences and return to Stormont, the region's assembly in Belfast, they would be forced to immediately face voters in an election neither side particularly wanted. In quick succession on Friday, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which wants to maintain Northern Ireland's union with Britain, and then the Irish republican party Sinn Fein said they were prepared to endorse the 62-page document. The deal includes a new Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, which would promote both Irish and British culture in Northern Ireland on an equal basis. It would recognize, enhance and protect the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland, a right long-sought by activists. The new agreement would also make it more difficult for any one party to stand in the way of legislation. Previously, the DUP had blocked same-sex marriage - though, while Stormont was shuttered, the British Parliament legalized both same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland. The 2017 collapse of the Northern Ireland assembly was bundled up in the long strife between unionists and nationalists, but with new twists. Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness essentially disbanded Stormont by resigning the joint position he held with DUP leader Arlene Foster. McGuinness, who died two months later, had been incensed over what was known as the "Cash for Ash" scandal. The Renewable Heat Incentive, which was set up in 2012 when Foster was enterprise minister, was modeled on Britain's program to encourage farmers and businesses to switch from fossil fuel to biomass heating. However, there was no cap on usage, so $2 could be paid in subsidies for every $1 spent, and costs spiraled out of control as users gamed the system. A public investigation, which could prove especially damaging for the DUP, is due to conclude in the coming months. But at the heart of the impasse over the past three years have been arguments over the use of Irish language, and struggles over how British and Irish identities in the contested region are promoted. Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity since the Good Friday Agreement was brokered, with assistance from the United States, in 1998 - ending three decades of sectarian violence known as "The Troubles," which saw 3,600 soldiers, combatants and civilians killed. On Friday, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party was ready to share power with all the parties. She described the official recognition of Irish identity and funding for the Irish language as marking "an historic moment." She said the pact would put Gaelic Irish on a par with English in Northern Ireland. McDonald said many "challenges lie ahead including the impact of Brexit, austerity and other pressing issues." The Sinn Fein leader said her party would continue to press for a referendum on Irish reunification - which is opposed by the unionists. A previous attempt to get a deal in February 2018 proved unsuccessful after DUP leaders said they couldn't sell the Irish language elements to their supporters, amid fears that the promotion and expansion of Irish would somehow detract from their British identity. The DUP's Foster said the new deal is now "fair and balanced," with the inclusion of "many mechanisms to strengthen the union," and she hailed Britain's promises to spend more funds to the region. "The key to making devolution work will be having the resources to do so," she said. In recent weeks, thousands of health-care workers, including nurses for the first time, have been striking over pay and staffing levels in Northern Ireland, adding further pressure on the parties to get back to work. Irish government deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, described the deal as "historic." Prime Minister Johnson said it is "a great step forwards for the people of Northern Ireland and for restoring public confidence in stable devolved government and delivering much needed reforms to public services." - - - Booth reported from London. On 10 January 2014 two sisters, both by then in their 70s, met for the first time. Josefa Campos Fernandez, 78, was born in Antequera and her sister, Remedios Campos Cantador, 74 was born in Cordoba. They have the same father but different mothers. The sisters never got to meet each other as children as their father, Joaquin Campos Fernandez (Antequera, 3 January 1911), who had fought during Spain's Civil War, was shot on 8 January 1941 and so the two sisters had no link to unite them. The day after meeting for the first time the sisters went together to pay their respects to their father whose remains lie in the San Rafael cemetery in Malaga. There was another sister, Isabel, who had the same mother as Josefa but she had died before the meeting. In 2009, Remedios's children who at the time were living in Valencia, wanted to trace their family tree and find out who their grandfather was. Their research took them to Antequera, where they contacted local historian and Civil War expert Miguel Angel Melero Vargas. He was able to put them in touch with a relative of their aunt. From there the children of both sisters made contact and arranged a meeting for their mothers. Plans were made for the two sisters, as well as their families, to meet, 74 years after the war had divided them. Josefa had nine children and was living in Antequera, while Remedios was living in Burjassot, Valencia, with her three children. As well as paying respects to their father, the sisters also paid tribute to Josefa's mother, Remedios Fernandez Lopez, who was killed during the war, on 24 August 1937. At the time of the meeting, the historian believed it was the first case of siblings separated during the civil war being united in Antequera and possibly even in Malaga province. On meeting each other for the first time Josefa said, "I am so happy, I was really looking forward to us meeting ever since I found out we were sisters." They had spoken by telephone before the face to face meeting. Josefa had been told as a child that she had a sister but Remedios said she had been told nothing about having siblings. The announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to spend more time together in North America and quit their frontline royal duties has sent shockwaves around the world. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent an extended Christmas break in Canada with their baby son Archie, before returning to break the news - and now, the Queen and other senior royals have ordered their teams to find a 'workable solution' to the young royal couple's future roles. Here, royal commentators from Britain's national press give their thoughts on the 'Sussex situation'. Among them, Dickie Arbiter, the Queen's former press secretary, describes the young royal couple's decision as an 'insult', while broadcaster Trevor Phillips writes that they can 'expect no mercy'... The announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to spend more time together in North America and quit their frontline royal duties has sent shockwaves around the world Dickie Arbiter: 'For the Queen, such a move is unthinkable' DICKIE ARBITER, Queens former press secretary: 'What they have done is a grave insult to the Queen' 'The Queen will bear this latest insult with the stoicism with which she has faced every other challenge in her life. But make no mistake, an insult it is. 'And Her Majesty will doubtless be feeling very let down right now, by a grandson she doted on. Ever since William and Harry lost their mother, the Queen has been their trusted confidante. 'So she will have been shocked and saddened that Harry didnt feel it necessary to approach her first. For the Queen, such a move is unthinkable.' 'Harry was brought up in this institution... he knew what it was about. His wife, perhaps, did not. And shes decided she wants out. We have seen the influence Meghan has exerted on Harry,' Mr Arbiter told The Sun. Trevor Phillips: 'Harry and Meghan will join the rest of us in the trenches' TREVOR PHILLIPS, The Times: 'Harry and Meghan can expect no mercy from those who like things just as they are' 'Harry and Meghan's advisers need to get one thing straight. 'Once outside the royal enclosure they will no longer enjoy the deference that Harry, at least, has had all his life. They will join the rest of us in the trenches. 'They can expect no mercy from those who like things just as they are and, to be honest, they'll get short shrift from the many activists who have endured a lifetime of calumny from the media, largely without complaint. 'If the not-a-royal couple want mentors for their new life, there are plenty available. They'll need them because baby, it's cold outside on the progressive front,' Mr Phillips writes in The Times. Dan Wootton: 'Harry and Meghan knew exactly what they were doing when they went rogue this week' DAN WOOTTON, executive editor, The Sun: 'Are both of these egomaniacs REALLY prepared to stomach the idea of having to bow to their rivals Prince William and Kate?' 'Harry and Meghan knew exactly what they were doing when they went rogue this week. 'And it's a move that plunges the Duke and Duchess of Sussex into immediate peril. 'Is Harry REALLY prepared for life as a civilian, with no privilege, no security and no formal role? 'Is Meghan, who is not, as far as A-list celebrities go, particularly wealthy, REALLY prepared to work to fund an extravagant and very expensive lifestyle long-term? 'And perhaps most hilariously of all, are both of these egomaniacs REALLY prepared to stomach the idea of having to bow to their rivals Prince William and Kate, something that would be expected if they were to give up or be stripped of their HRH titles? 'But the biggest question of all left by the scandal is this: What on earth has the Queen, at 93-years-old, done to deserve this type of shoddy treatment? 'Her husband Prince Philip is unwell. Shes been forced to make a personally devastating decision to professionally cut loose her favourite son Prince Andrew as a result of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. And she tried so hard to make it work for Harry and Meghan,' Mr Wootton writes in The Sun. Russell Myers: 'The bottom line is there are no winners here' RUSSELL MYERS, royal editor, The Daily Mirror: 'The public will ask why they're paying for a couple who have neglected the one thing the Queen places above all else - duty' 'In the palace the feeling of fury is palpable, the sadness felt by the Queen, heart rending. 'Harry and Meghan have seemingly hoodwinked the monarch and strong-armed the rest of the family to get what they want - and for what reason? 'The bottom line is there are no winners here. 'The Sussexes seem even further ostracised from the family and, perhaps, the British public will start asking why they are paying for a couple who have neglected the very thing the Queen has placed above all else during her reign, duty,' Mr Meyers writes in the Daily Mirror. Ingrid Seward: 'In my view, the divisions between the Cambridge and Sussex households are more serious than thought' INGRID SEWARD, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, for The Times: 'I predict there will be a lot of pitfalls before Meghan gets what Meghan wants' 'Not only will the Queen be personally hurt, but also disappointed. And she perhaps will also feel a little foolish, or deluded, that she did not see this coming. 'Yet I do think the Queen must have had some inkling. Her mantra has always been not to rush in, but to stand back. She will have spoken to Harry, if not also to Meghan, before they left for Canada. 'While I am not blaming Meghan, she was determined to marry Harry and yet blinded to the reality of marrying a prince of the realm. The royal family have let them have breathing space and so have the media. '... In my view, the divisions between the Cambridge and Sussex households are more serious than thought. My understanding is that the rift extends back to Prince William's advice when Harry first fell for the American actress. His view was: do what you like, but don't marry Meghan, it's not going to work. 'It is my belief that even then relations between the brothers were strained. Since then they have only worsened. The Queen will take the view that the problem is for Prince Charles to sort out and then she will step in with her support. 'The future the Duchess of Sussex pictures for herself seems, ironically, to be the one that Princess Diana so wished for herself to become a roving global ambassador. I predict there will be a lot of pitfalls before Meghan gets what Meghan wants,' writes Ingrid Seward in The Times. Ross Clark: 'If Harry and Meghan feel they are not cut out for royal life, they should have sought to extract themselves from it for good' ROSS CLARK, The Daily Express: 'The halfway house they've proposed doesn't work' 'If Harry and Meghan feel they are not cut out for royal life, they should have sought to extract themselves from it for good. 'The halfway house they have proposed, in which they retain their royal titles and privileges while seeking financial independence, doesnt work. 'What they are saying is: we want to maintain our royal profile, soak up the publicity which comes with life as a member of the Royal Family and use it to our own financial advantage. It isnt hard to imagine what will be coming next. 'Last September the Duchess launched her own clothing line...,' Mr Clark writes in the Daily Express. Mark Steel: 'Instead of marrying Meghan, Harry should have married Jean-Claude Juncker to help ease Brexit' MARK STEEL, The Independent: 'Harry should have known his purpose was to do his duty - not a*se about having emotions' 'Harry should have understood his role, and married according to the demands of the country, like in the 15th century when a royal marriage secured a trading route with Spain. 'Instead of marrying Meghan, he should have married Jean-Claude Juncker to help ease Brexit, but no, just me, me, me with his glamorous American actress, wasnt it? 'He should have known his purpose was to perform duty, not to a*se about having emotions. 'He should have seen his grandmother married to someone she cared so deeply about, she didnt bother to visit him when he was in hospital at 98, and thought: Thats the life for me,,' writes Mark Steel in The Independent. Gaby Hinsliff: 'Like countless millennials before them, they itch to be their own bosses' GABY HINSLIFF, The Guardian: 'If they want freedom so much, let them go freelance and have it' 'If they really crave freedom this badly, it seems cruel not to let them have it. 'The Duke and Duchess of Sussexs yearning to go freelance (sorry, carve out a progressive new role within the institution of the royal family) may have burst into the open at the worst possible time for a troubled monarchy but on a human level its easy enough to understand. 'Like countless millennials before them, they itch to be their own bosses, shrug off the petty bureaucratic constraints of corporate life, travel the world and above all be happy. 'If Buckingham Palace has responded with the barely stifled horror of a pushy parent whose son drops out of university to become a professional YouTuber, thats in part because all this exposes an intergenerational clash of values with which many modern families are struggling,' Ms Hinsliff writes in The Guardian. Camilla Tominey: '[Harry and Meghan] appear to have issued one demand too far' CAMILLA TOMINEY, associate editor, The Telegraph: 'The "Sussex situation" seems to have lacked proper management' '[Harry and Meghan] appear to have issued one demand too far. With both Buckingham Palace and Clarence House pushing back on the idea of their continuing to hold on to their royal titles and receiving money from the Duchy of Cornwall while stepping back as senior royals, they have never looked more isolated 'Sara Latham, their PR chief, appears to be playing second fiddle to Ken Sunshine, a US-based master of the dark arts, Izzy May, David Beckhams former publicist, and Nick Collins, a talent agent, all of whom appear part of the Sussex inner circle amid claims royal aides are being frozen out. 'A power vacuum following the sudden departure of Sir Christopher Geidt, the Queens former private secretary, in 2017 has not helped. 'Some suggested Harry and Meghan had capitalised on the absence of Sir Christopher, reportedly forced out by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, who ran a very tight ship. 'With the Queen turning 94 in April and the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, retired from public life and recently in ill health, the Sussex situation seems to have lacked proper management. 'The complex relationship between Harry, William and Charles has made it difficult for both father and brother to assert their authority, with Williams attempts only serving to further drive a wedge (the heir and second in line to the throne are mentioned just twice on the Sussexes revamped website),' writes Ms Tominey in The Telegraph. Mary Dejevsky: 'Prince Harry might well have felt that he was already surplus to requirements' MARY DEJEVSKY, The Independent: 'The decision to "step back" makes perfect sense' 'The Sussexes spent six weeks enjoying family life on Vancouver Island over the festive season and returned to consult not Buckingham Palace but the Canadian High Commission. 'Seen from the perspective of the Duke and Duchess, the decision to "step back" makes perfect sense. 'With the succession to the throne now secured into the fourth generation, Prince Harry has fallen from third to sixth in line. He has no reason whatsoever to remain "on standby". 'And some of the recent signals from the palace suggested exactly that. 'Prince Harry might well have felt that he was already surplus to requirements. 'Canada is a more open and colour-blind society than ours. If that is where they choose to spend half of the year, why not?,' writes Ms Dejevsky in The Independent. Arthur Edwards: 'Ever since he fell in love with Meghan Markle, Prince Harry has gone from Superman to the Joker' ARTHUR EDWARDS, royal photographer, The Sun: 'What's Harry going to do? Cosy chats with Oprah?' 'Ever since he fell in love with Meghan Markle, Prince Harry has gone from Superman to the Joker. 'Travelling the world to take the Duke of Sussex's photo used to fill me with excitement, because you knew he would have fun. But over the past two years his relationship with the media has not just turned sour it has become toxic. '...To go from being the most popular member of the Royal Family to where people barely care about you, something has to have gone seriously wrong.... and I am sad to say [Meghan] is the problem. 'The life Meghan had before is the one she would prefer. Harry is besotted with her and will do anything to keep her happy. 'But the couple do not seem to have properly worked out their plan for the future. You cannot be half in the UK and half in America. 'I dont think you can pop in for Trooping the Colour but not be there for Remembrance Sunday. 'Whats Harry going to do? Appear on TV shows? Cosy chats with Oprah? Speeches to American millionaires?', writes Mr Edwards in The Sun. Philip Delves Broughton: 'Meghan made the Firm look more modern, and her stepping back is a blow to its reputation' PHILIP DELVES BROUGHTON, Evening Standard: 'While the couple may see America as a soft landing, they should know there's no free lunch' 'As much as Americans enjoy the spectacle of the royal family, they also dont mind seeing it ruffled, particularly by one of their own. 'The Duchess of Sussex has joined a noble lineage of American royal botherers going back some 250 years. From George IIIs loss of the colonies to Wallis Simpsons relationship with Edward VIII; from New Yorks embrace of Princess Diana after her separation from Prince Charles to Prince Andrews visits to Jeffrey Epstein, America has often meant trouble. 'A lot of the American commentary focused on the Duchesss race and how she never stood a chance amid Britains stuffy ruling class. For those who see the British establishment as closed and dated, this is an empowering statement. 'And the royal family has been wounded by it Meghan made the Firm look more modern, and her stepping back is a blow to its reputation. 'While the couple may see America as a soft landing after the rigours of royal service, they should also know that there is no free lunch. 'They will have to earn every penny, by selling their story and themselves. And quickly, since the half-life of celebrity is brutally short,' writes Mr Broughton in the Evening Standard. Richard Littlejohn: 'Why would the world be in the slightest bit interested in a minor aristocrat and a game-show hostess turned bit-part actress?' RICHARD LITTLEJOHN, columnist, The Daily Mail: 'This was no way to treat an old lady' 'Without the royal connection Harry and Meghan wouldnt have a brand to develop. Why would the world be in the slightest bit interested in a minor aristocrat and a game-show hostess turned bit-part actress? 'Even before this weeks grandiose, self-serving announcement, most people were sick to the back teeth of their woke grandstanding, whining self-pity, eco-hypocrisy and ocean-going freeloading, especially at the expense of the British taxpayer. 'What concerns me on a human level is the abominable manner in which the Queen has been treated by her grandson and his wife. 'They didnt even consult her before putting out their statement this week. The first she knew about it was when the story broke on television. 'It is being reported that, in advance of a planned meeting at Sandringham, Her Maj had specifically asked Harry not to make any premature announcement about his future plans, but he decided to openly defy her. 'At the very least, this was an appalling display of bad manners... You dont have to be an ardent royalist to be thoroughly disgusted at such selfish, thoughtless behaviour. 'Leave aside the fact that shes Queen. This was no way to treat an old lady. Those of us fortunate enough still to have a mum, or grandmother, in her 90s can readily understand how distressing she will have found it.' Robert Hardman: 'The Sussexes plans to rewrite the royal rules might be elevated from a grave family row to a full-blown crisis' ROBERT HARDMAN, columnist, The Daily Mail: 'Boris Johnson is desperate the Harry and Meghan crisis does NOT become a political pantomime that makes Britain look bad' '... the Prime Minister and his Government are hoping that this remains an internal royal issue and does not spill over into the political domain. 'That was the firm line from Number 10 last night [Jan 9]. It could happen, however. And, at that point, the Sussexes plans to rewrite the royal rules might be elevated from a grave family row to a full-blown crisis. 'Just three months ago, the Labour MP for Halifax, Holly Lynch, wrote a letter to the duchess expressing solidarity with her in her battle against distasteful and misleading press stories, especially those with what she called outdated, colonial undertones. 'The letter did not offer any examples but it secured the signatures of 71 other female MPs, most of them Labour plus a handful of Tories and Lib Dems. Miss Lynch then posted the letter on Twitter, to the delight of the duchess who called up to thank her. 'MPs attacking the Press with royal support is one thing. But what if an MP were to write another letter, put down a motion or ask a question about the monarchys treatment of the Sussexes? Suddenly, an internal royal struggle would take on overtly political dimensions.' Have you ever tried to get someones attention because they forgot to pull up their fly? Perhaps you have tried to use hand signals or made eye contact with them in a discreet attempt to get them to zip up their fly. Well, Americas police have figured out a way to make sure a person will never forget to pull up their zipper. As the above video explains, police are being taught to 'start shooting a suspect low on the pelvic girdle and work their way up to the face or on the brain housing group like a zipper. The instructors use of words, "pelvic girdle and brain housing" are designed to make it easier for cops to justify using their weapons like a zipper on human beings. Police zippering citizens in the brain housing gives new meaning to an old Korean War term, "zipper heads" that was used to describe American troops running over Asians with a jeep. "The soldiers claimed that the tire tracks from the jeeps left a pattern resembling that of a closed zipper along the corpse." (To find out how American soldiers referred to Japanese as zipper heads click here.) This past December, The Appeal, revealed that in California, the Vallejo Police Departments officers have been "zipper killing" people for a decade. "The newly released records also show that Vallejo police supervisors who reviewed fatal and non-fatal shootings for potential policy violations and training purposes praised officers for using a zipper drill method of firing. An officer using this method fires numerous rounds into an adversary, starting low in the targets body and zipping the barrel of the gun up toward the persons head while continuously shooting." In what version of America is this not horrifying: Pre-9/11 or post-9/11? And why have only three police "zipper killings" been criticized? Cops are praised for "zipper killing" Americans While a recent change in federal regulation has risen the age required to buy tobacco and electronic vaping products to 21, the change also raises some questions about when a person can make adult choices. The regulation change was heralded as a means to help protect young adults from addiction to vaping products. While we can agree that the regulation will have that outcome with some people, it also means 18-year-olds have an adult choice taken from them. Someone who is 18 years old can legally made decisions such as determining if they want a tattoo or another form of body modification... Brad Pitt arrives at the 77th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020. Read more Brad Pitts journey to sobriety happened in part thanks to Jenkintowns own Bradley Cooper, the actor has said. Pitt this week attended the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in New York City, where Cooper presented the star with a best supporting actor award for his role in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, People reports. During his acceptance speech, Pitt credited Cooper as a factor in his own journey to sobriety. Bradley just put his daughter to bed and rushed over here to do this, Pitt said, referencing Coopers young daughter Lea De Seine. Hes a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier ever since. Pitt initially discussed his decision to quit using drugs and alcohol in a 2017 interview with GQ. At the time, Pitt had split from his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, and told the publication that his clean living left him thinking that there is still much beauty in the world and a lot of love. I had to step away for a minute, Pitt said. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good. The Ad Astra star has openly discussed his sobriety since then, most recently telling the New York Times in September that he got clean and started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after having taken things as far as I could take them. I removed my drinking privilege, he said. Cooper himself has been sober for well over a decade. He gave up drugs and alcohol at age 29, according to a 2012 interview with the Hollywood Reporter. The decision to give up his substance use, Cooper said, came after he realized that he wasnt going to live up to my potential otherwise. That scared the hell out of me, Cooper said. I thought, Wow, Im actually gonna ruin my life; Im really gonna ruin it. Pitts best supporting actor award from the National Board of Review for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is his second this week following a win at the Golden Globes on Sunday. Cooper, meanwhile, is working on co-parenting daughter Lea with ex Irina Shayk. The pair, TMZ reports, have a joint-custody agreement that has them both living in New York City. I was going to try to write some lame lead about Northamptons newest bar, the Wurst Haus, using the word worst as a pun, but I decided to spare you, dear readers, from such a fate. Also, there is nothing that is the worst or even remotely bad about the venue that is housed in the former McLaddens Publick House on at 27 Pleasant St. The Wurst Haus had a soft opening the day after Christmas, but I didnt even realize it had opened until Jan. 2 when I happened to be downtown. The place retains some of the pub-like charm of its predecessor, but its decor is much more sparse, which isnt a bad thing in this case. Most of the booths along the right side remain, as well as the long tables running down the middle of the place. The attractive long bar on the left side also remains, but the beer taps have been reduced substantially, which makes sense because while McLaddens was a craft beer bar primarily, the Wurst Haus is more of a general pub. It offers a decent selection of craft beer choices, but that is not the venues calling card. More on the beer there down below. The place is obviously still finding its identity, but the experience for customers is a good one. The business seems to have inherited McLaddens extensive and inviting inventory of spirits, including some great, harder-to-find Irish whiskeys, such as Green Spot and Yellow Spot, distilled by Midleton in Co. Cork. Time will tell if the Wurst Haus will keep the more esoteric whiskeys in the lineup. After all, McLaddens was an Irish pub, while the new place has (obviously from its name) a more German feel. The flat-screen TVs are still there at several points around the space, and there is still a video list of beer offerings on tap. And the beer list as a good percentage of German brews, which, frankly, is a good move. Northampton is a definitely a beer destination city, but one are where it has been wanting is with German beers. The Dirty Truth usually has a few good ones on, and other places may have one or two, but overall, no one has really made German beer a centerpiece. The Wurst Haus seems to being so, kudos for that. The German-themed restaurant is a smaller version of the Student Prince & The Fort in downtown Springfield, which opened in 1935. Both are owned by restaurateur Andy Yee and partners Peter Picknelly, Michael K. Vann and Kevin B. Vann. The place also serves Bavarian-themed food. The grand opening ceremony for the venue will be Friday, Jan. 17. Scouting report The Allstar DynoMyte Disco Review returns to Poor Richards in Chicopee on Friday, Jan. 17. Poor Richards is at 117 School St. The Mary Jane Jones will play Progression Brewing at 9 Pearl St. in Northampton on Saturday, Jan. 18. Also on the bill will be Thor Jensen. Ozzie Williams RRB, tribute to the classic sounds that came out of the Stax, Motown, and Muscle Shoals studios in the early 1960s, will play Theodores in Springfield on Saturday, Jan. 18. Theodores is at 201 Worthington St. Do you have a cool event coming up at local club? Send me a note at least two weeks in advance to geolenker@yahoo.com and Ill try to get it in this space. Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. plans to invest in the development of the new Indonesian capital on Borneo Island, the tech giant's founder and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son said Friday. Son revealed the plan after meeting Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the president's close aide, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan in Jakarta. According to Son, the scale of the investment has not been decided yet, but it will be separate from SoftBank's earlier pledge to invest $2 billion in Indonesia over five years. "We are discussing potentials. We didn't discuss any specific number yet, but a new smart city, newest technology, a clean city and a lot of AI. That's what I'm interested in supporting," he told reporters. Jokowi announced the plan to relocate the country's capital from Jakarta to Borneo in August last year, with five years being touted as a timeframe for the move. The new capital will be located between the East Kalimantan provincial capital of Samarinda and Balikpapan, its largest city, located some 90 kilometers to the south. Both are situated near the east coast of the world's third-largest island. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brexit would feature in discussions during Friday's meeting in Zagreb. The first European Commission session of 2020 marks the beginning of Croatia's rotating six-month presidency of the bloc. In her address, von der Leyen said discussions at the session about the UK's scheduled departure from the EU on January 31 would be important to "define the room which includes old friends but new beginnings." Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic added that his nation would "do our utmost to work on" future relations with the UK while it holds the rotating presidency. (Picture credit: AP) Vehicle fires closed lanes of Route 8 on Thursday morning. The first fire, reported at 9:34 a.m., closed two right northbound lane of Route 8 in Bridgeport on Thursday morning. The vehicle fire, reported at 9:34 a.m., brought a quick response by Bridgeport firefighters. State Police said the two right lanes were closed between Exits 4 and 5. Lanes reopened shortly before 10 a.m. Traffic was slowed in both directions as firefighters battled the fire. Troopers said were no reported injuries. At 9:57 a.m., another vehicle fire in Beacon Falls closed all southbound lanes between Exit 24 in Beacon Falls and Exit 22 in Seymour. At 10:16 a.m., Beacon Falls firefighters reported the fire out. All southbound lanes have since reopened. What's Your Worth?: an uplifting book that shows Gods love for all of his children despite personal transgressions. What's Your Worth? is the creation of published author, Derek Anderson, who worked as a police officer, contracted for the Department of Defense as a subject matter expert in surveillance during Operation Iraqi freedom, and a consultant for the US State Department in the Middle East as well as in Washington DC for the US Department of Homeland Security. Anderson shares, That meant speaking to him, holding conversations, seeking his correction, and asking him what my assignment is and what special purpose has God preordained for my life. We all have our assignments while we are here! Questions like, What do I do about this, father? Why must I? Can you show it to me in your word? Can I have this? What am I doing that you need me to do? Why am I not doing it? What Idols are keeping me from you? I need to say that my experience with my birth father was fortunately very good. Many of my friends and peers relationships with their fathers were often violent, troublesome, and even to the point of nonexistent. So I get it when someone tells me, I wish I knew what that kind of a relationship looks like between a father and son. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Derek Andersons new book transforms the readers darkness, self-doubt, and depression into the positive light of Gods love and mercy. This book encourages the reader to seek their purpose in God, no matter their life or circumstances, citing different characters from the Bible who lived imperfect lives but have made significant impacts in the name of God. View a synopsis of What's Your Worth? on YouTube. Consumers can purchase What's Your Worth? at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about What's Your Worth?, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. That will be a historic accomplishment. The LSST camera is the biggest digital camera ever constructed for ground-based astronomy. Its 6,200 pounds of components were designed and fabricated all over the globe and shipped to SLAC, where Polleks team is carefully piecing them together and running tests to ensure each element meets exacting standards. The final camera will capture 3,200 megapixels per shot and collect 15 terabytes of data per night over 10 years, spotting more galaxies in the universe than there are humans on Earth. Parking Maseratis The most critical components of the camera are its 25 rafts, each a million-dollar tower of electronics topped by an array of top-of-the-line charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors. It takes hours to carefully insert each raft in its proper place, sitting less than a millimeter from its nearest neighbors. The CCD sensors on top of the rafts, which together make up the cameras focal plane, must be flat to less than the width of a hair. Theres no room for error. Its like filling a parking lot with a grid of Maseratis that are inches apart and not allowed to touch, Pollek says. Its not simple, and theres a nerve-racking element of these expensive things being put horrifyingly close together to get the effect we need from the focal plane, she describes. It gives you a sense of how much our heart rates rise when were going through the process. But with care and preparation, the team has the process down. Fully 16 of the 25 rafts have already been installed and tested. iStock / Getty Images En espanol | A 34-year-old St. Louis man who used stolen identities to file more than 2,000 fake tax returns seeking $12 million in refunds was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said. As the Jan. 27 opening of the tax-filing season nears, officials said the criminal case is a reminder to file your forms early, so a crook can't file them first. The defendant accessed information from a payroll-company data breach that divulged the sensitive information of hundreds of people, including Alabama and Mississippi public school employees, officials said. Names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers were compromised, according to a grand jury indictment. The defendant, Babatunde Olusegun Taiwo, was part of a ring of criminals who arranged for the tax refunds to be mailed to their St. Louis homes. The fake returns claimed more than $12 million in refunds. The IRS paid out nearly $890,000, and the judge ordered Taiwo to pay restitution for that sum. The defendant filed the fake returns from 2015 to 2017 using the electronic numbers the IRS assigned to authorized tax preparers. Thwart a thief by filing early When somebody has filed a fake return with your Social Security number, the electronic filing system is going to reject your return. Obviously, the sooner a taxpayer files a return, the harder it'll be for a thief to use their Social Security number for tax purposes, IRS spokeswoman Alejandra Castro said Friday. Discussing the St. Louis case, Thomas Holloman, the special agent in charge of the Atlanta field office of the IRS Criminal Division, said the sentencing reflects how seriously law enforcement regards identity theft. "We will continue to pursue criminals who prey on innocent victims, and we will continue to enforce our nation's tax laws, he said. The four-year sentence, Holloman added, should send a clear message to would-be criminals you will be caught, and you will be punished. According to the IRS, you should be alert to possible tax-related identity theft if: You receive a letter from the agency inquiring about a suspicious tax return you did not file. You can't file your return electronically because of a duplicate Social Security number. You receive a tax transcript that you did not request in the mail. IRS records show you received wages or other income from an employer for whom you did not work. A tax tip: Today is the first day of the IRS Free File program for tax year 2018. The program enables people with an adjusted gross income of $69,000 or less to file federal individual returns without charge using tax-preparation and filing software. Here's more from the IRS on identity theft. T ommy Robinson burst into tears during a TV documentary as he was confronted by seasoned hardman Ross Kemp. Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, received little sympathy from Kemp, who visited him in solitary confinement on ITVs new HMP Belmarsh documentary. The English Defence League founder, 37, choked up saying: I know Im going home to my kids and you just wanna be normal. But Kemp pointed out he had a range of tasty snacks in the spacious cell as well as a TV, kettle and plenty of natural light. Robinson was sent to the Category-A prison last year on conviction of contempt of court, and for part of his nine-month sentence was placed in the isolated Contingency Suite for his own safety, in case fellow prisoners turned against him. Ross Kemp said: 'It seems that nine weeks locked up on your own can have an effect on anyone' / ITV/Welcome to Belmarsh with Ross Kemp Kemp admitted he was reluctant to speak to the ring-wing activist, but wanted to ask why he had urged his followers on social media to demonstrate and wreak extreme havoc outside the prison. Essentially, I wanted to make sure that I have my rights, Robinson explained during their conversation. I know what ten weeks of solitary confinement does - it's not good for you. Kemp dismissed his plight saying: It's not solitary confinement as in terms of the 'cooler' - it's not a box with nothing in it, before pointing out the rooms luxury commodities. Tommy Robinson arrives at the Old Bailey - In pictures 1 /12 Tommy Robinson arrives at the Old Bailey - In pictures Former leader of the English Defence League Tommy Robinson arrives for a court appearance at the Old Bailey in London Getty Images PA EPA PA PA EPA PA PA EPA The presenter then visited the 37-year-old again at the end of his time at the prison, asking him: So how have you enjoyed Belmarsh?' Robinson responded: This has been as best as could possibly be being locked on my own for months. I haven't been in Belmarsh, I haven't looked around, I haven't seen another prisoner. I've seen Julian Assange through the window. Kemp visited Robinson at the end of his nine-week stint at the prison / ITV/Welcome to Belmarsh with Ross Kemp Kemp then asked the now-bearded inmate: How are you feeling right now? You seem very emotional. As his eyes welled up, Robinson replied: I'd say that my thing is because I know I'm going home to my kids and you just want to be normal. He then shifted towards the corner of his cell, sniffing: Yeah, that's embarrassing. Kemp's voice could then be heard saying: "It seems that nine weeks locked up on your own can have an effect on anyone." Viewers were quick to mock Robinson over his professed plight. Ross Kemp patronising Tommy Robinson is my favourite thing of the year so far, wrote one Twitter user. Ross Kemp doesn't like Tommy Robinson, not surprised when his cell has more stock than my local Aldi, added another. Robinson was released from Belmarsh on Friday, September 13 after after serving nine weeks of his nine-month sentence. He was jailed for filming defendants in a grooming trial and live-streaming it on Facebook. Dutch intelligence has information that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed in Iran was probably hit by a missile, a minister said on Friday, becoming the latest western country to suggest the plane was brought down. Canada and Britain have already suggested that the crash -- in which all 176 people on board the plane were killed -- was caused by an accidental missile strike by Iranian forces, but Tehran has dismissed the claims. "Based on the information from the MIVD (Dutch military intelligence), we can state that it is likely that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile has led to the crash of the aircraft," defence minister Ank Bijleveld was quoted as saying by a spokesman after a cabinet meeting. Bijleveld gave no further details of the information or how the Netherlands, which did not have any nationals on board the Ukrainian Boeing 737, obtained it. The crash happened after Tehran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said separately in Brussels that it was "indeed very likely that the plane has been shot down by Iranian missiles". Asked whether Iran should face EU sanctions, Blok said it was "important that independent research makes clear what exactly happened". The minister said that the Netherlands had offered assistance to Canada, which had 63 of its nationals on the plane. "Unfortunately the Netherlands has experience from MH17," he said referring to Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 with the loss of 296 people on board. Investigators say a missile fired by pro-Russian separatists was to blame and the trial of four people over the crash is due to start in the Netherlands in March. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has offered Canadian premier Justin Trudeau "all the support that the Netherlands can offer" after Trudeau called him to ask about his experiences with MH17, the Dutch press agency ANP said. Trudeau said on Thursday that multiple intelligence sources suggested Iran shot down the plane. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Four days after a masked mob entered the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus here and assaulted 34 people including students, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police on Thursday said it had zeroed in on a few suspects behind the attack. A senior police officer said they had identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups, where the attack on members of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) was allegedly planned. According to the police, they were very close to identifying the culprits behind Sundays attack and had zeroed in on a few suspects. The dump data of the mobile phones of those present on the university campus on Sunday was collected and being scanned, the police said. So far, the police have spoken to more than 100 people from the campus, including students, teachers, wardens and witnesses. After the incident, several students shared screenshots of conversations in certain WhatsApp groups, alleging that the attack on them was planned. A police officer said they had now identified at least 70 administrators of two WhatsApp groups. The police, however, said they were trying to identify all the members of the two WhatsApp groups and will be questioning them to probe their involvement in the attack. Police Appeal People After the police made a public appeal requesting people to share information, footage and video clips related to the incident, several students came forward to share the details. The police said they were also scanning the video clips and CCTV footage shared on social media platforms to verify its authenticity. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory had also visited the university to collect more evidence, the police said. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Targets Modi Govt In a rare show of support, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday defended the Delhi Police for its conduct during the JNU mob attack. While addressing media in Delhi, Kejriwal indirectly blamed the Narendra Modi government for the way the cops remained mute spectators on the day when the masked thugs terrorised the JNU students. Delhi Police kya kar sakti hai? Oopar se aadesh agar aayega ki aapko hinsa nahi rokni, law and order theek nahi karna hai to vo bichare kya karenge? Agar nahi manenge to suspend ho jayenge (sic) (What would have Delhi Police done? They had the order from the above to not stop the violence, not to restore the law and order. They would have been suspended if they had acted on time), Kejriwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Get this newsletter in your inbox Monday-Friday by signing up at subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters. Top stories for Friday, Jan. 10 Oregonian/OregonLive file photo WILL IT SNOW OR NOT? One weather service has predicted 6 inches of snow for Portland next week. But dont head to the supermarket to stock up on milk, bread and kale just yet, says the National Weather Service. Its just too early to know for sure. (Oregonian/OregonLive file photo) RESIGNATION: Former Republican lawmaker Rich Vial has resigned as deputy Oregon secretary of state. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in November that while the public was paying Vials $172,000 salary, he was moonlighting as an attorney, representing clients before a state agency he had the power to have audited. DEQ FINE: The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a $1.3 million fine to an aluminum recycler in The Dalles, Hydro Extrusion USA, for multiple violations of air pollution regulations. The fine is the largest issued by the agency for an air quality violation and the second largest in the agencys history. LAYOFFS/CLOSINGS: Grocery wholesaler and retailer Supervalu plans to begin long-anticipated layoffs at a Clackamas County warehouse in March, eliminating 280 jobs by July 4. Macys has announced plans to close more than two dozen stores across the country, but its 11 Oregon locations are safe for now. HIGH WATER: Extreme high tides, informally known as king tides, are expected on the Oregon coast this weekend, giving researchers a glimpse of what threats climate change might pose to coastal communities. NOTE TO READERS: As of Jan. 2, weve eliminated comments on OregonLive, as have many other news sites over the past decade. Snap of the day Dave Killen/Staff PROTEST: Dozens of antiwar demonstrators gathered on the Hawthorne Bridge Thursday night to protest conflict with Iran. The event, called "No War with Iran Protest," was hosted by Stand On Every Corner PDX and Indivisible Oregon. At Portland State University, Iranian students feel torn between two worlds as U.S.-Iran tensions mount. (Dave Killen/Staff) More news Pedestrian killed while trying to cross I-84 in NE Portland Ruby Receptionists faces $30 million lawsuit for allegedly overcharging clients Former OR National Guard member pleads guilty to making false statements, agrees to repay $2.6 million to Defense Department Newberg HR director put on paid leave amid city tumult over job discrimination verdict Oregon State bans all tobacco products from its campuses Reward offered in case of endangered wolf that left Oregon, was killed by poacher in California Find more at oregonlive.com Weather and traffic Colder air begins making its way into the Pacific Northwest Friday, ushering in steady rain for the valleys and piles of mountain snow. High 46, low 43. Peak Northwest podcast: Theres no escaping the rain, so learn to embrace a wet hike In the Cascades: Travel will be difficult, with blizzard conditions expected Friday evening through Saturday. Delay travel over the mountain passes if possible. Get the latest forecast at oregonlive.com/weather Stay up to date on traffic conditions at oregonlive.com/commuting Advice Ask Amy: Single man interested in child adoption could try fostering first Dear Abby: Healthy eaters tired of disdain about their food choices Dear Annie: Woman dealing with infertility feels punched in the gut by relatives pregnancy announcement Find more, including todays horoscope, at oregonlive.com Todays comics Click here to see today's comics Todays obituaries Click here to find area deaths reported recently Today in history In 1776: Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet Common Sense, which argued for American independence from British rule. In 2016: David Bowie, the chameleon-like star who transformed the sound and the look of rock with audacious creativity and sexually ambiguous makeup and costumes, died in New York. In 2017: Blizzard conditions caused Interstate 84 to close between Troutdale and Hood River, and Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Oregon. Tata Steel fell 0.43% to Rs 480.90 after the company announced its operational update for Q3 December 2019 before market hours today, 10 January 2020. Tata Steel India's production volume rose 1.83% to 4.46 million tons in Q3 December 2019 as against 4.38 million in Q3 December 2018. Production in Europe surged 6.84% to 2.5 million tons in same period. Tata Steel India's sales jumped 24.42% to 4.84 million tonne in Q3 December 2019. Sales in Europe declined 1.7% to 2.31 million tons on the back of overall slowdown and seasonal weakness. The company reported that during Q3 December 2019, weakness in GDP growth and industrial output continued across major economies affecting steel demand. Chinese steel demand was buoyant despite higher steel production, the company's exports stabilized at around 5 million tons a month. Positive developments on the US - China trade talks provided support to global steel demand and thus steel prices. In Europe, the overall slowdown coupled with seasonal weakness kept steel spreads under pressure as declining steel prices offset the benefit of softness in raw material prices. Domestic economy remained weak with declining private consumption growth and low investment growth. The company assured that steel prices are expected to improve further with strong retail demand and ongoing restocking demand at the dealers' ends. Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 33 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA). It is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and commercial presence across the world. On consolidated basis, the steel major reported a 6% rise in net profit to Rs 3,302.31 crore on the back of one time deferred tax gain of Rs 4365.33 crore in Q2 September 2019. Net sales fell 15.77% to Rs 33,953.75 crore during the period under review. The Tata Steel stock trades above its 20 days and 50 days simple moving average placed at 463.78 and 428.88 respectively. These levels will act as support zones in near term. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former Ministry of Defence employee who put Royal Navy soldiers in peril when he supplied useless equipment for operations in a 1.4 million fraud has been jailed for more than three years. Carl Tiltman, 56, pretended he had developed cutting-edge technology to take detailed photos of ships at sea, doctoring images and evidence to back up his claims in presentations to the MoD. He persuade a specialist Navy unit to buy the equipment, which was tested and ultimately deployed twice at sea in risky manoeuvres for servicemen trained to use it, Southwark crown court heard. However Tiltman, the chief executive of Subsea Asset Location Technologies (SALT), had spun a web of lies and knew the technology did not work. Prosecutor John Greany told the court among Tiltmans lies was a claim the scanners could be used remotely, and he is suspected of sabotaging the power supply on one operation to cover up the fact the equipment did not work. The equipment didnt have remote capability, it couldnt be turned on and off remotely and the soldier had to go into the water to work it, he said. There was a genuine danger of risk to life and limb. Tiltman admitted fraud on the MoD and a second fraud on his own company, and was today sentenced by Judge Christopher Hehir to three years and four months in prison. Your offending caused actual and potential financial loss to the Ministry of Defence as well as non-financial losses and risk to life and limb, he said. It was very serious indeed. The court heard Tiltman, who had been a technology specialist with the MoD before going into the private sector, had first suggested he could provide LIDAR equipment for the Royal Navy unit to scan and photograph ships at sea in February 2017. Mr Greany said 1.4 million of invoices were submitted to the MoD, though the actual loss amounted to around 800,000 for purchasing equipment, useless training and the chartering of a vessel to test the equipment. He allowed the armed forces to deploy on two operations, said the prosecutor. The specialist operations were completely futile, the scanning equipment supplied by Tiltman that was hoped would generate images of ships of interest was not in fact fit for purpose and produced no results whatsoever. He said Tiltman gave presentations to the Navy unit leader, which were passed on to MoD bosses, making false claims about the success of the equipment and convincing them to invest further. The court heard he had also been lying to SALT colleagues and investors about a separate project, Sky Bell, which was intended as a technology to locate aircraft in the event of a crash. Tiltman claimed Airbus was lined up as a customer when the company had pulled out of the project. His barrister, Jonathan Lennon, said the fraud on the MoD stemmed from his struggles to adapt to life in the private sector. He found himself working with a specialist military unit, surrounded by people of a high calibre, results-driven, working for a start-up company with professional people around him who expected results, he said. This was not the sort of pressure he was used to. He accepted his lies had embarrassed the MoD internationally, but said this should be balanced against Tiltmans unblemished 30-year career including work on cruise missile installation and joint UK-US submarine communication. Alyssa Pereira / SFGATE Welcome to 2020, beer fans! New year, new opportunities to spend too much of your paycheck on craft beer. If you're not currently torturing yourself with a Dry January, hit the Bay's newest brewery taproom: Modern Times' new Oakland outpost, officially called the House of Perpetual Refreshment. (What a name, right?) The San Diego brewery's new bar, which had been in the works for the better part of the year, opened just before Christmas. The beautiful, spacious new location features 34 taps of a whole rainbow of styles. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 21:17:22|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BANGKOK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Thai police launched a manhunt for a robber on Friday who killed three, including a two-year-old boy, and injured four others at a gold shop in Lop Buri, central Thailand. The gunman, who wore black from head to toe, arrived alone at the gold shop in a department late Thursday and opened fire at staff members of the shop and shoppers. One staff member who was shot in the chest died at the scene. He made off with gold ornaments worth about 500,000 baht (16,534 U.S. dollars) and shot dead a security guard before fleeing the scene on a motorcycle. Stray bullets hit a two-year-old boy in the head, while he was walking hand in hand with his mother. The toddler was later pronounced dead in a nearby hospital. Four other victims were severely injured. National police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda ordered an investigation to find the culprit as he described it as a "vicious and shocking crime." Chakthip said a 100,000-baht (3,307-U.S. dollar) cash reward will be offered to those who can lead to the arrest of the suspect. LAHORE, Pakistan A bomb blast inside a mosque in southwestern Pakistan, believed to be frequented by senior Taliban figures, killed at least 15 people on Friday and wounded at least 18 more, according to police officials. Several of the wounded were in critical condition, and hospital authorities feared the death toll could climb further. The blast tore through a mosque during evening prayers in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan Province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing, according to the SITE intelligence group. A local leader of a religious political party in Pakistan, who is familiar with Taliban networks in the country and spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear for his safety, said that the mosque was sometimes used by a Taliban leader, Mawlawi Abdul Hakeem, but he was not present at the time of the attack. BIRMINGHAM, EnglandTodd Morgan, a business owner named Orlando CEO of the year in twice, had glowing praise for Shen Yun Performing Arts when he saw a performance in the UK. It was absolutely awesome! I mean, it was way more than I had expected. The colors and the dancing. It was outstanding, it was outstanding, Morgan said. I would recommend it to anybodyanybody of all ages. Its a really great show! Morgan had seen the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra twice before and loved it. This was the first time he had seen the full Shen Yun performance with the dancers. He attended New York-based Shen Yuns first performance in the UK this season at Birminghams International Convention Centre on Dec. 31, 2019. All four shows in Birmingham were sold out, and Morgan now knows why. He attributed Shen Yuns big fanbase and growing popularity to it being such an awesome show. Morgan also thought that Shen Yuns glowing reputation was spreading by word of mouthand word is spreading quickly. Because people will go, like me, they will love it and they tell their friends, and they go, he said. Impeccable Artistry Down to the Finest Detail Morgan said his business does a lot of work with Universal Studios and is involved in special effects. Being involved in the field himself, he could appreciate Shen Yuns use of special effects and innovative technology. Oh, even down to the special effects. The fog effect! Morgan said in awe. Shen Yun has a special trick (or two) up its sleeve when it comes to bringing its scenes and stories to life. Shen Yuns website states: Shen Yuns digital projection instantly puts you on the scene. By extending the stage to infinite realms, the projection allows storytelling without limits. It also has a few surprises. A Shen Yun innovation creates seamless interaction between projection and performers on stagean invention so original it has its own patent. This was outstanding, the color, the music, everything combined, its just Morgan said as he marveled at Shen Yuns artistry. Shen Yuns Great Message Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, and its origin story left an impression on Morgan. Shen Yuns website states: Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts was established by Falun Dafa practitioners in 2006. The companys mission is to use the performing arts to revive the essence of Chinese culturetraditionally considered a divinely inspired civilization. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is officially an atheist regime, it is afraid of the freedom of expression this arts company enjoys in the West. They[Shen Yun dancers] had to leave China, and thats just not a free world where you can express yourself and provide such great music and dance and everything else, he said. Shen Yun cannot be seen in China today, and even faces ongoing harassment from the CCP. A Shen Yun dance piece also depicts the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa (an ancient Chinese meditation practice that follows the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance), a practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999. I think its a great message, you know that would never happen in the United States and in a free world, so I think its a great message, Morgan said. History good or bad, everybody should know history, because we can all learn from it. The Power of Music Morgan noted the healing power of music. His son is a music therapist, so Morgan understands the traditional Chinese belief that music can heal, as well as nurture ones character. Its really awesome and music is used in so many different ways, Morgan said. Shen Yuns orchestra was the first in the world to permanently combine classical Western and Eastern instruments, and Morgan enjoyed the unique sound. The next time he sees Shen Yun, Morgan plans to bring his grandchildren. With reporting by NTD Television and Grace Coulter. 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. The upcoming show entitled "Good Casting" is an action comedy-drama telling the story about three beautiful secret agents who go undercover to uncover the truth behind a corrupt corporation and the leaking of trade secrets. Baek Chan-Mi played by Choi Gang-Hee is a one of a kind black agent for the NIS. Because she is overworked it has caused the death of her subordinate and missed catching her intended target. Baek Chan-Mi was punished for that incident and was transferred to the cybersecurity team for the NIS. She was then chosen as an undercover agent on a case that involves intellectual property theft in Korea's largest company. On the other hand, another character is Im Ye Eun played by Yu In-Young is a single mom who's very smart but is having a hard time with her civil service exam because of her lack of concentration. She dreams of becoming an agent for the NIS while juggling work and raising her child. The teaser starts off with a boat that exploded and Choi Kang Hee saying, "Wait. I'll soon bring the bastard who killed you on to his knees in front of you." The teaser also shows A woman with a North Korean accent that is reading off Choi Kang Hee's profile, saying, "Real name Baek Chan Mi. Age 38 years old. A secretary and is part of the National Intelligence Service of Korea, officer Baek Chan Mi." Then the three female agents, who are played by the actresses Choi Kang Hee, Yoo In Young, and Kim Ji Young, are running holding guns followed by a car accident. Lee Sang Yeob plays the role of Yoon Seok-Ho who is a powerful CEO that gets acknowledged by many people as he walks into a building. He says that he doesn't keep people that he can't trust beside him, and Choi Kang Hee made a nervous face hearing these words as she stands next to him. As the industry security team leader, Lee Jong Hyuk reads off the names of the characters played by Lee Sang Yeob, Woo Hyun, and U-KISS's Jun and says, that one of the three girls is definitely related to Michael. The three agents will now begin the undercover operations for Ilkwang Hi-Tech. Here's some additional info about the drama: Title: Good Casting Revised romanization: Gootkaeseuting Hangul: Director: Choi Hyeong-Hun Writer: Park Ji-Ha Network: SBS Episodes: Release Date: April 2020 Runtime: Monday & Tuesday 22:00-23:10 Language: Korean Country: South Korea Cast Choi Gang-Hee as Baek Chan-Mi Yu In-Young as Im Ye-Eun Kim Ji-Young as Hwang Mi-Soon Lee Sang-Yeob as Yoon Seok-Ho Lee Jong-Hyuk as Dong Gwan-Soo Jun as Kang Woo-Won Jin Soo-Hyun as Hyo-Jin Jung In as Gi "Good Casting" will take over the SBS Monday and Tuesday 22:00 time slot that was formerly occupied by "Nobody Knows." The early working title was actually "Miscasting". Lastly, the ending of the teaser features intense action scenes that are making everyone look forward and anticipate seeing what happens when the drama premieres in April 2020. She and boyfriend Carlin Sterritt have been enjoying a long distance romance since finding love on The Bachelorette last year. And on Friday, Angie Kent admitted that living in two different states is not the easiest. Taking to Instagram, the reality TV star shared a sweet snap of the pair together, admitting that it can be 'the absolute pits' at times. 'It's the absolute pits!' The Bachelorette's Angie Kent admitted on Friday that she's struggling being in a long distance relationship with boyfriend Carlin Sterritt (pictured together) 'This long distance thing is the absolute pits. Not long now,' Angie wrote in her post. She added: 'How's that hand. The claw has spoken.' In the snap, Angie stuns in a blue blazer while Carlin leans into her wearing a denim shirt. Smitten: They have been enjoying a long distance romance since finding love on The Bachelorette (pictured) last year, with the finale being aired in November Personal trainer Carlin lives in Sydney's Cronulla, while Angie is based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. In December, the pair were spotted looking at a two-bedroom apartment that boasts harbour views in Sydney's affluent suburb of Rose Bay. At the time, Carlin spoke to Daily Mail Australia in about their living situation and said that Angie will be moving to Sydney this year. It's not easy! Personal trainer Carlin lives in Sydney's Cronulla, while Angie is based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. She's making the move to Sydney this year 'She will be, yeah, next year!' he said, with a smile on his face. However when asked if Angie would be moving in with him, he added: 'No, we're not going to be living together for a while. I'm in Cronulla.' Despite living in separate states, they have been consciously making an effort to see each other, going on romantic holidays. Just last week - over the New Year - the couple enjoyed a holiday in tourist hot spot, Byron Bay in northern NSW. They spent some equality time with their friends and family at the extravagant Angus Hill property. 'Around 10 pm, a senior police officer from the Hazratganj police station came and started abusing me with the choicest words...' 'He said he will ensure that I rot in jail all my life.' 'This police officer then told a lady constable to slap me.' 'She did that, but he was not happy with the force of the slap.' 'He got up, pulled me by my hair and hit me in my stomach and knees.' 'He was abusing me as a bastard non-stop.' IMAGE: Social activist Sadaf Jafar after her release from Lucknow jail on January 7, 2020. She was arrested by the Lucknow police on December 19, 2019, for participating in an anti-CAA protest in Lucknow. Photograph: ANI Photo Actress, Congresswoman and activist Sadaf Jafar was arrested by the Lucknow police on December 19 for protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens. On January 4, she was granted bail by the court, but it was another three days before she was finally discharged. In the intervening 18 days, Jafar says she was brutalised in the lock-up by the Lucknow police, denied sanitary napkin for her periods, starved of food and water. "India is Modi and Yogi and if you are against them you are against your country -- that was the equation that I faced in the lockup," Jafar, who has acted in Mira Nair's series A Suitable Boy, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com. Here she recalls the nightmare she endured in police custody, in her own words. On December 19, we were around 3,000 people who came out to protest against the CAA and the NRC at Parivartan Chowk, Lucknow. The Lucknow police were there and they were okay with our presence. We were protesting peacefully for more than one hour. The police did not disturb us as they did not see any threat from our side. If we were of any threat, they would have arrested right there, but they did not do that. After one hour, all of a sudden stone-pelting started from the other side by men wearing kafiyah (the Arabic head scarf) and Muslim skull caps. It looked like everything was staged because all of them were wearing the same kind of clothes and were acting in uniformity. They appeared to be disguised in Muslim attire. Now Section 144 had been imposed around our protest and there was a strong police presence. In such a scenario, how come these disguised Muslims landed up with bricks in huge numbers at the protest site at Parivartan Chowk? How could these men reach that spot without being noticed at any of the police barricades? Why did the police not stop them and arrest them rather than allowing them to come to our protest site? Moreover, these disguised Muslim men were having fun throwing stones. Surprisingly, the police did not arrest any of those men who were throwing stones. If you see my Facebook Live video of that time, you will find in it that I am questioning the police as to why they are not catching those people who are throwing stones. I was filming constantly. There was arson and motorbikes of media-persons were burnt. Then, all of a sudden, the police detained me. I asked them, why are you arresting me and not those disguised Muslims who are throwing stones? They didn't listen to me and took me to the corner of the protest site and started beating me. Women police beat me on my legs brutally. From the corner of my eye I could see a Dalit activist getting beaten up brutally. Soon, around 10 peaceful protestors along with me were encircled by the police. There was a cameraman who was asked to move away. They built a police wall around me and told us to sit. I told the police that I could not sit on the ground because I had a problem in my leg. A policeman slapped me and my spectacles fell down on the ground. When I bent to pick up my spectacles, all the 10 peaceful protestors who were encircled by the police were beaten brutally by them. Strangely, none of the policemen beating us were wearing name badges on their uniform. They were behaving like (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath's (personal) goondas. The only name of a police constable I heard was Selam as her bike was burnt and the police were talking about this incident. But the really scary part of my life had just begun. Around 4 pm, I was put in a police jeep and taken to an all-women police station in Hazratganj. And there I was beaten the whole night. They were beating me non-stop and abusing me left and right. Selam, the policewoman, kept slapping me non-stop, pulled my hair and dragged me to the ground. I was the only woman protestor whom they had got hold of. In the police station I came to know that they had picked up waiters from restaurants who were from Assam and West Bengal. They too were targeted to project a picture that they were rioters from West Bengal. The fact is they were waiters from restaurants in Lucknow. These policewomen kept calling me names. Apart from the physical trauma I went through, I also went through emotional trauma. Because of my Muslim name I was being called a Pakistani by these women constables. They kept saying, 'Khaatey yahaan ki ho aur bajatey wahan ki ho (you eat in India and praise Pakistan). Humney tumko itna diya hai aur kya nahi karte ho tumlog yahaan par (What have we not provided you with and still why you are all so ungrateful?). They were constantly saying that I must go to Pakistan and also said I get money from the ISI (to speak against India). Constantly they were dehumanising me. They were constantly insulting my dignity as an Indian Muslim citizen. For the first time in my life I felt what it means to be a Muslim in Amit Shah's India. In Amit Shah's home ministry, the way he is handling things, it is harrowing to be a Muslim in today's India. It was like 'we people and you people' in the police lockup. That was very traumatising for me. I had read and heard about communal remarks against Muslims, but this was the first time I was facing it. India is Modi and Yogi and if you are against them you are against your country -- that was the equation that I faced in the lockup. When it started getting darker I started panicking. I am a single mother and got worried about my children. It was my right as a mother to inform my children where I was. I wanted to make a phone call to them, but they had taken my phone away. My children didn't know where I was. Whether I was in a mortuary, hospital or which police station, they had no idea. Around 10 pm, a senior police officer from the Hazratganj police station came and started abusing me with the choicest words. He asked me how much did I know about the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. He later told his colleagues that I must be charged under IPC section 302 (murder) and section 307 (attempt to murder). This officer said he will ensure that I rot in jail all my life. I realised that I was suffering because my name was Sadaf Jafar. This police officer then told a lady constable to slap me in front of him. She did that, but he was not happy with the force of the slap. He got up, pulled me by my hair and hit me in my stomach and knees. He was abusing me as a bastard non-stop. There were no name badges on his uniform or the lady constable. I fell down. Then I was sent back to the lockup. A lot of people were hunting for me in different police stations in Lucknow to find out where I was. People came to the Hazratganj police station, but were turned away. I was right there rotting inside its lockup. My blood pressure shot up in the middle of the night. They took me to the civil hospital around 2 am. I was denied water and food till that time. From 4 pm, the time of my arrest, till 2 am the next morning I was hungry and thirsty. When I reached the hospital I said I wanted women doctors to examine me, but they denied me that. A male doctor checked me and sent me back. When I reached the lockup, my periods began. They did not give me a sanitary napkin. I started bleeding, I kept bleeding, but no help came. The next morning, around 11 am, my friend Deepak Kabir, a social activist, came looking for me. I was so full of remorse as soon as he entered my room. I knew he would be arrested. His phone was snatched away immediately. He was badly beaten and bruised. Deepak's only crime was that he came to see me and he was arrested. His only fault was that he came looking for me. Today, (January 9, 2020) he is finally getting bail. I have been booked under 80 different sections of the IPC for acts like arson and whatnot. They had all these different IPC sections written on a piece of paper and the police just started adding names as accused as per their whims and fancies. On December 20, 2019, I was not even produced in court, but directly sent to judicial remand and to Lucknow jail. For more than 24 hours I did not get water and food. Worse, they did not provide me with a sanitary napkin. I was soaked in blood due to menstrual bleeding. On the evening of December 20, around 5 pm, when I went to jail I got a cup of tea. In jail at least I was taken care of because they were following the normal routine. From December 20, 2019, to January 7, 2020, my situation was better than that one night I spent in the lockup at the Hazratganj police station. Till December 21, my family had no idea where I was. Because of that video my family and friends came to know I was detained. Had I not shot that video, I would have disappeared. The police claim they didn't take me away, but in the video I am telling the police, 'Why are you arresting me?' That is proof. I still believe Indian secularism cannot ever be over. This government may be in a majority, but their mindset is in a complete minority. There are so many people out there who have nothing to do with their hate ideology. The social fabric, which was weaved by our Constitution makers, still stands very strong. It is not a fantasy. J ess Phillips is cracking company. Warm, funny and disarmingly open. As we fiddle with our recording devices she jokes in her rich, deep, Brummie tones that when she was interviewing people for her book, her transcribing app could work out any accent apart from Rochdale. Her critics on the hard-Left attack her as being too Right-wing for the Labour Party compared to Rebecca Long-Bailey and Angela Rayner. So they may be shocked to learn that she shared a flat with them for a few weeks in 2015 just after they were all first elected to Parliament and she had nowhere to stay. Who did the washing up? I dont remember anyone doing the washing up. But thats largely because we never ate there. It was a tidy house. Angela had a lot of shoes. One of her fondest memories is the three of them getting ready and leaving the house dressed up like three girls going on a night out but we were actually going to Parliament. Phillips is often caricatured as being to the right of Genghis Khan. She snorts with laughter, I felt like its The Crucible and Im Goody Proctor. I am Left-wing. I am a socialist... Theres no two ways about it She finds the accusation incredible, saying: I am Left-wing. I am a socialist. I believe in sharing wealth. Theres no two ways about it. These divisive labels clearly frustrate her. Genuinely, I dont know anyone whos a Right-winger in the Labour Party. Her pitch to the party is that she will put an end to factionalism and bring it together, but we remind her she was one of the most vocal critics of Jeremy Corbyn, and famously told Diane Abbott to eff off. Ive had disagreements with literally every wing of the party, she says, denying she is factional herself but acknowledging she has three months to make a pitch to members, many of whom voted for Corbyn twice. She refuses to give Corbyn a score out of ten but says: Ive made my views clear. She also says even though he was a major reason why they lost the election, its time to draw a line under it and move on. And she campaigned with many brilliant young Momentum activists during the election who were top bantz. On the campaign trail talking selfies in Wallsall last month / Getty Images She says she has little disagreement with Corbyn on domestic policy and only broke the whip twice on staying in the single market and against a tax cut for those earning more than 50k. But there needs to be a sense of priority: I dont think you can sell to the country, You can have everything. And you know what, I dont think the country wants to hear it, either. Phillips takes a different approach on international affairs. She is ardently pro-European and, while she doesnt think there would ever be a need to use nuclear weapons, she would be prepared to press the button. Her domestic priorities are shaped by experiences close to home education and homelessness. Who's running for Labour leader? Earlier this summer, she left her son outside Downing Street as part of a demonstration against funding cuts which forced schools to adopt a four-and-a-half-day week. Homelessness is another touchstone issue for her. Its the biggest issue in her constituency and she ran a homelessness service for ten years, before she got into politics, where she helped house the victims of domestic violence and trafficking. The issue is more than political for Phillips, its personal. Her older brother Luke was a heroin addict with severe mental health issues who ended up sleeping rough. She recalls how hard it was. You didnt see him. You didnt know if he was sleeping on someones floor or if he was safe. Its incredibly hard for families with people with complex and complicated needs because theres not the same level of sympathy there. I used to worry that he would turn up at work and things. It was horrible. There were years where you just live in fear. It was hard for her with two young children at the time but she felt worse for her parents: It was much harder to watch my mum and dad having to deal with it, to feel their pain and be unable to do anything about it. Thankfully, Luke has been solidly good for two years, has kids, has a job and is back at university studying politics. The relief is palpable. In Westminster for a pro-Remain protest / Getty Images She is evidently passionate about the value of the state, particularly for people at the margins of society, and believes that Labour should be anti-austerity and still be fiscally responsible. Those two things are not mutually exclusive. When it comes to trade unions, a Labour Party under Phillips would not look that different. Ive never bent the knee to anyone in my life They are a vital asset and she believes there are huge possibilities and there are masses that needs to be done to grow them. But she is keen to see more women leaders and praises TUC General Secretary Frances OGrady as a bloody breath of fresh air. Asked if she would bend the knee to Len McCluskey of Unite, the powerful trade union, she responds sharply. Ive never bent the knee to anyone in my life and says she wont bow to any baron, whether theyre a real baron, or a union or press one. One thing which she says will change if she becomes leader is the approach to anti-Semitism. The Labour Party has lost the right to handle this itself any more. It needs a completely clean slate and we need to listen to what our Jewish community and affiliates are telling us, and that is there needs to be a completely independent process. She is also robust in her view that the senior advisers at Labour HQ, including Seumas Milne and Karie Murphy, must go. I dont see how we can turn the page on this episode without that happening. Phillips also pulls no punches on her views about the Prime Minister. When paying tribute to the former Speaker John Bercow in the Chamber, she brought the house down by quipping: While you have a responsibility to Parliament, I know you take your responsibilities as a parent incredibly seriously and now to the Prime Minister. What does she think of him as a man? I dont think he is a very moral man. When I was a kid we saw lots of sex scandals, sleaze and sexuality, they were partly what took down [John] Majors government. You know I am not one who thinks it should have anything to do with the politics of this building, but it speaks to his character. I mean, just not being able to say how many children you have. As a woman, I really remember those kids being born it hurt! As a woman, I dont trust Boris Johnson with my rights She says she could draw a line under Boris Johnsons morality if she didnt worry it would affect him as Prime Minister. As a woman, I dont trust Boris Johnson with my rights and thats largely because of the things that he has said and done in his political life. I cant help but think, You cant lie to your family; how could I ever trust you? Phillips was raised as a staunch republican, and married one, but has grown to respect the Queen and her public service even though she hasnt watched The Crown. She is sympathetic to the subjects of the big news story of the day the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs decision to step back as senior royals. Shes an admirer of Meghan Markle from the show Suits, and because she was an activist. She said the decision made me feel sad as she made me feel hopeful. One reason why she has some empathy for Markle is because of the abuse Phillips is no stranger to. As one of the most high-profile and outspoken female politicians in the UK, she gets a torrent of abuse online and in person. During the election, I had to give police statements what seemed near-daily. It is very tiring to be a victim, it takes quite a lot of work. Its hours of your time searching for evidence on the internet. And that took quite a toll on me. She thinks it would be helpful for her to see a therapist and says many have been in touch. Its another thing on her to-do list, she jokes, like getting her cracked phone screen fixed. But she drops her trademark humour and is visibly upset when she tells us that it has affected her children. She was close to tears when her son Danny told her he had a safety plan if something ever happened when they were out together. He said, I need to stand with my back to the wall near a door so I can escape if something bad happens, because thats what you said. When the counter-terrorism police come around to your house to take statements, I suppose that does sink in when youre 10 years old. If this contest was decided on the basis of who you would like to go down the pub with, there is no doubt Phillips would win with a landslide, but she knows that while she has many fans beyond the party, she has her work cut out for her over the next three months to win the trust of members. But shes ready for the challenge. When asked about her favourite Labour leader, it is Neil Kinnock she chooses the firebrand who called out Militant and put Labour back on the path to power. Much of the work of H.P. Lovecraft, an American horror and science fiction writer who worked during the first decades of the 20th century, is defined by individual encounters with the incomprehensible, with sights, sounds and ideas that undermine and disturb reality as his characters understand it. Faced with things too monstrous to be real, but which exist nonetheless, Lovecraftian protagonists either reject their senses or descend into madness, unable to live with what theyve learned. It feels, at times, that when it comes to Donald Trump, our political class is this Lovecraftian protagonist, struggling to understand an incomprehensibly abnormal president. The reality of Donald Trump an amoral narcissist with no capacity for reflection or personal growth is evident from his decades in public life. But rather than face this, too many people have rejected the facts in front of them, choosing an illusion instead of the disturbing truth. The past week has been a prime example of this phenomenon. On Jan. 3, the United States killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani of Iran, leader of the Quds Force and one of the most powerful military leaders in the region. The strike was sudden and unexpected. This standoff, which in its latest incarnation saw Iranian missiles sailing toward bases in western Iraq on Tuesday night, could be so consequential that it has been hard not to impute some logic to the presidents actions, even as many observers acknowledge the lies and dysfunction surrounding the attack. Its only natural. As humans, we want to impose order on what we see. As Americans, we want to believe our leaders understand the gravity of war. Traditional news outlets published detailed descriptions of the presidents decision-making process. Sympathetic observers, like Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon, hailed the strike as a stunning blow to international terrorism and a reassertion of American might. Cable news analysts spoke as if this was part of a considered plan for challenging the Iranian government. But weve learned since that the strike on Soleimani was almost certainly another impulsive action from an impatient president. Pentagon officials have said they were stunned by the decision. According to reporting in the Times, they gave Trump the option of an attack with the expectation that he would reject it for being too extreme. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been pushing for an attack on Iran for some time, but the past few days of confusion of mixed messages and shifting rationales are evidence that this strike was made with little thought to the consequences, justified after the fact with claims of imminent danger. This is reckless, but it isnt shocking. Trump is not a steady hand. He has never been one. Three years in office have neither changed his character nor enhanced his capabilities. He is as ignorant and incurious as a president as he was as a candidate (and as a would-be mogul before that). His main goal is self-preservation, and hell sacrifice anything to achieve it. His current assault on the authority of Congress his refusal to have the White House or members of his administration release documents or obey subpoenas is an attempt to escape responsibility for his own unethical (and potentially illegal) actions. He is self-involved, unethical and unstable a dangerous combination to have for the commander in chief of the worlds most powerful military forces, under pressure from impeachment and a re-election campaign. I think most observers know this. But the implications are terrifying. They suggest a much more dangerous world than the one we already believe we live in, where in a fit of pique, a single action taken by a single man could have catastrophic consequences for millions of people. This isnt a new observation. When he was still a rival and not one of Trumps most reliable allies Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida warned Republicans that they shouldnt give the nuclear codes of the United States to an erratic individual. Hillary Clinton said Trump was temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility and that a man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons. Fear of what Trump would do with the power of the presidency was so acute that his defenders urged critics to ignore his actual words in favor of symbolic understanding, to take him seriously but not literally. You can even understand the constant drive to normalize Trump as an attempt to turn away from the reality of what he is for fear of what it means. Somehow, were still doing it. Everything we know about Trump says he doesnt make considered choices. No one knows what the administration will do next. The situation is precarious. Its scary to think about. But we cannot look away. @jbouie Vin Diesel is talking about the power of giving back. The Fast And Furious star, 52, took to Instagram to share a message of love and generosity while he visited the Dominican Republic this week. Surrounded by kids from a local orphanage, he told his nearly 60million followers to think about how they can help 'lift' people up with charity and volunteering. Big heart: Vin Diesel talked about giving back during a visit to an orphanage in the Dominican Repulic this week Vin began his message saying: 'I know everyone wants to start off the year thinking about what they want to do and what they want to accomplish but also keep in mind the help that you can do for people. How you can lift your brothers up, how you can inspire others.' 'With that in mind, I am here in the first week of 2020 at Maestro Cares,' an orphanage in La Romana, Dominican Republic. '[I'm] with mi gente [my people], mi tigres [my tigers],' he said, looking over his shoulder and growling at the boys, who giggled in return. '...As we thank god for everything that we have and we go into 2020 with hope, passion, love and optimism' 'All love...' he captioned the clip. His message: Vin began his message saying: 'I know everyone wants to start off the year thinking about what they want to do and what they want to accomplish but also keep in mind the help that you can do for people. How you can lift your brothers up, how you can inspire others' Rawr! '[I'm] with mi gente [my people], mi tigres [my tigers],' he said about the boys at Maestro Cares Foundation in the city of La Romana Later, he shared a black and white photo with the boys which was captioned: 'The Future is yours... Ours.' Vin's visit to the Dominican Republic comes while the Caribbean island has been attracting an array of A-listers. Many celebs are taken with the nation because of the nation's family-friendly and private atmosphere. Future is bright! Later, he shared a black and white photo with the boys which was captioned: 'The Future is yours... Ours' Bella Thorne, Mariah Carey and Ansel Elgort all recently enjoyed winter vacations in the DR. Jay Z and Beyonce have also spent time in the nation. Family oriented celebrities will be able to focus on their loved ones as Cardi B took a trip to the Caribbean country in October to throw her grandmother an 80th birthday bash. Golden Globe nominee Taron Egerton and Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul have recently splurged on lavish birthday celebrations in the Dominican Republic as Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Justin Bieber, and the Kardashians have also enjoyed relaxing times there without fear of being bothered. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the IKG business ("IKG" or the "Company") from Harsco Corporation ("Harsco", NYSE: HSC) for total consideration of $85 million, subject to customary closing adjustments. Upon completion of the transaction, IKG will become the second portfolio company of KPS Special Situations Mid-Cap Fund ("KPS Mid-Cap"). IKG is a leading North American manufacturer of high-quality steel and aluminum bar grating. The Company offers a full range of metal bar grating and fencing products, which are used primarily in industrial flooring, safety and security applications across a wide range of industries. IKG is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with six strategically located manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Mexico, and 350 employees globally. Ryan Harrison, a Partner of KPS Mid-Cap, said, "We thank Harsco for their constructive approach on this transaction and look forward to working with Chief Executive Officer Chad McClendon, and IKG's management team and employees to build on this great platform. Given IKG's demonstrated strengths, the addition of KPS' strategic, operational and financial resources will create an ideal foundation for IKG's future success as an independent company. We intend to drive the Company's growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions." Nick Grasberger, Harsco Chairman and CEO, said, "I am confident that under KPS' ownership, IKG will become part of a firm that has extensive experience owning and operating metals-related businesses, and one that is committed to its growth." Chad McClendon, Chief Executive Officer of IKG, said, "We are thrilled to partner with KPS in this exciting new chapter for IKG. The IKG team is deeply committed to providing high-quality products, unmatched technical expertise and innovative solutions to our customers. Given its successful track record in building world-class manufacturing businesses globally over decades, KPS is the ideal partner to accelerate IKG's strong momentum." Completion of the transaction is expected early in 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to KPS. About IKG IKG is a leading North American manufacturer of high-quality steel and aluminum bar grating. The Company offers a full range of metal bar grating and fencing products, which are used primarily in industrial flooring, safety and security applications across a wide range of industries. IKG is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with six strategically located manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Mexico, and 350 employees globally. About KPS Capital Partners KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with over $11.5 billion of assets under management (as of October 15, 2019). For over two decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Special Situations Funds' portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $8.4 billion, operate 142 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 28,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com. KPS Mid-Cap focuses on investments in the lower end of the middle market that require up to $100 million of initial equity capital. KPS Mid-Cap targets the same type of investment opportunities and utilizes the same investment strategy that KPS' flagship funds have for over two decades. KPS Mid-Cap leverages and benefits from KPS' global platform, reputation, track record, infrastructure, best practices, knowledge and experience. The KPS Mid-Cap investment team is managed by Partners Pierre de Villemejane and Ryan Harrison, who lead a team of experienced and talented professionals. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1023167/KPS_Logo.jpg MLK Gateway This project is an innovative example of community-led participative development and serves as a model for how the public and private sectors can collaborate to drive neighborhood impact. The Menkiti Group was joined by Mayor Muriel Bowser and city officials Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first phase of the MLK Gateway, a project being developed by The Menkiti Group and Enlightened Inc. in partnership as MLK Gateway Partners LLC (MGP). Located at the corner of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, MLK Gateway will become a catalytic center of commerce, driving economic opportunity in the heart of historic Anacostia. We are excited about returning Good Hope Road and MLK to the center of commerce in historic Anacostia. We believe this project is an innovative example of community-led participative development and serves as a model for how the public and private sectors can collaborate to drive neighborhood impact, said Bo Menkiti, founder and chief executive officer, The Menkiti Group. Phase One of the project includes a mix of uses and features the restoration of 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail as well as 20,000 square feet of newly built office space. The project is anchored by Enlightened Inc., an award-winning minority-owned information technology and cybersecurity firm that will relocate its nearly 150 district-based employees to a new headquarters at MLK Gateway. The buildings design embraces and incorporates the sites existing historic facades and is a rich backdrop for new vibrant street-fronting retail. We are proud to be a part of the MLK Gateway Partners and to be a change agent for tech innovation, job creation and economic development for small businesses in Anacostia and beyond, said Antwanye Ford, president and chief executive officer, Enlightened Inc. Phase Two of the project will include construction of a new building at 1909-1913 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE with street-level retail and multistory office space above. Today, we are continuing the transformation of this historic neighborhood by revitalizing the gateway of the Anacostia business area, said Mayor Bowser. My Administration never gave up on this project because we know it will help us bring jobs, housing, and new amenities to Ward 8. We thank all of our community and private sector partners for making this project a reality. The Menkiti Groups engagement around the communitys vision for equitable and sustainable economic development began over four years ago. Through meetings with dozens of community groups, The Menkiti Group was able to gain a greater understanding of the assets and needs of neighborhood residents and business owners. The long-standing vacant site houses two lots and four storefronts that will transform into retail, restaurant and incubator space to support local small businesses. Neighborhood-serving retail will provide a vibrant tenant mix and activate the site for the greater part of the day as well as provide jobs and pathways to opportunity for Ward 8 residents and businesses. MLK Gateway demonstrates what we can deliver when the public and private sectors work together to make big, strategic investments and use new tools like Opportunity Zones to support existing communities, said John Falcicchio, interim deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development. We look forward to bringing this historic corner of the Anacostia business center back to life again. The MLK Gateway is a model for public and private collaboration with partners including The Menkiti Group, Enlightened Inc., the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), PNC Bank, RMS Investment Group and City First Bank of DC. The project was financed using a combination of $4.25 million in New Market Tax Credits and $3.3 million in Opportunity Zone funding, grant funding and senior debt. The Project is the first in the country to deploy a combination of both Opportunity Zone funding and New Market Tax Credit. The project also received a $700,000 grant from DMPEDs Neighborhood Prosperity Fund. Hickok Cole is the project architect and Consigli Construction Co., Inc. will serve as the general contractor. The MLK Gateway project will stimulate sustainable economic impact in Ward 8. Enlightened Inc. will become the largest private technology employer to move east of the Anacostia River in four decades, further accelerating job growth in Historic Anacostia. Enlightened Inc. also plans to launch a technology incubator to groom growing tech firms to do business with the federal government and will run a cybersecurity training program to enable local residents to gain marketable information technology skills. MLK Gateway will be developed and owned by a 100% DC-based local minority-owned Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) team comprised of The Menkiti Group and Enlightened Inc. The MLK Gateway project is an example of what is possible when residents, the D.C. government and the private sector come together, said Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. This project will not just revitalize this prominent intersection and gateway to Historic Anacostia, it will bring jobs with a new technology company, Enlightened Inc., and a small business incubator to provide training and expand residents access to greater economic opportunity. Bo Menkiti and The Menkiti Group were joined at Wednesdays groundbreaking by Enlightened Inc. President and CEO Antwanye Ford, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio and community members as well as representatives and partners of the project. It is in our companys DNA to pursue our commitment to enhancing the fabric of life in Americas urban communities. We are honored to be standing today with others that share a similar commitment as we break ground on this project that brings to life the communitys vision for the future of the Anacostia neighborhood, said Menkiti. ABOUT THE MENKITI GROUP The Menkiti Group is a Washington, D.C.-based real estate services company dedicated to enhancing the fabric of life in Americas urban neighborhoods through the strategic development, management and sale of residential and commercial property. Over the past 15 years, The Menkiti Group has delivered and maintains in its pipeline more than 1.5 million square feet of property, has invested over $200 million in D.C.s emerging neighborhoods and has assisted over 2,000 families in purchasing their first homes. For more information, please visit MenkitiGroup.com or call (202) 733-5455. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will, despite a lot of speculation over the past few days, share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in the city during his two-day official visit to the state starting Saturday. Before that, she is also likely to meet the Prime Minister for a one-to-one discussion at Raj Bhavan on Saturday evening, when they might discuss several issues, including the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. This dramatic development came after Union minister of state for shipping Mansukh Manda-viya, who came to the city on Friday, visited the Trinamul Congress chief at the state secretariat Nabanna in the afternoon and personally requested her to attend the 150th year celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust, that Modi will inaugurate at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday morning. There was some uncertainty till the morning over her presence at the event although she was invited by the Kolkata Port Trust. After Mandaviyas plea, a communication was sent from Nabanna to the KoPT confirming the CMs attendance at the event, sources said. The Union minister also met West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan, where the Prime Minister will stay. Dhankhar, who has been critical of Banerjees rule, will also be present at the KoPT event. But all eyes will be on the 9 pm meeting on Saturday when Banerjee is likely to discuss national and state issues at the closed-door meeting with Modi. Sources said it was the Chief Minister, who has aparently sought the appointment with the Prime Minister at Raj Bhavan where Modi will return after inaugurating four renovated heritage landmarks in the heart of the city the Old Currency Building, Belvedere House, Metcalfe House and Victoria Memorial Hall, launching light and sound show at Millenium Park and visiting Belur Math after his arrival at Kolkata Airport in the afternoon. According to Raj Bhavan sources, 9 pm has been reserved for a meeting, which fuelled the prospect of the CM-PM meeting. The last time Banerjee met Modi was in New Delhi in September within a few days of a Central Bureau of Investigation teams visit to Nabanna in its hunt for senior IPS officer Rajeev Kumar for his suspected role in tampering with evidence in the Saradha chit fund scam. But this time the significance of their possible meeting has been different in view of the Trinamul Congress chiefs tirade against the Centre over the CAA and NRC across the state, although she has recused herself from the anti-CAA meeting called by the Congress for the Opposition parties in New Delhi on Monday. Meanwhile, various Left outfits plan to hold demonstrations against Modis visit on the CAA and NRC issues. According to sources, these organisations have planned to muster their supporters along the route the Prime Minister is scheduled to take after his arrival at the airport. We have planned foolproof security arrangements for Modis visit. As part of the measures, barricades will be put up along the edges of the roads from the airport to the city on Saturday evening. There will also be an extra security cover along this stretch, officials said. A delegation of Bengal BJP leaders is also likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to brief him about the steps taken to counter the Trinamuls misinformation campaign on the new citizenship law. The party members were also planning to apprise him of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Minister of Finance and Economic Management, Gaetan Pikoune, handing the cheques on behalf of the Government and people of Vanuatu to the High Commissioner of Australia in Vanuatu Mrs. Jenny Da Rin. Women JNU protester in Delhi bites IPS officer's thumb A woman among protesters who were marching towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi on Thursday, is reported to have bit the thump of an IPS officer as he pushed back the agitators. The protesters had gathered after the JNU Students' Union called for a march to the President's House to demand the removal of the University's Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar. According to reports, Ingit Pratap Singh was trying to pull a male protester when the woman, in an attempt to shield her friend, bit the officer's left thumb. Singh, a 2011 batch officer, who is currently posted as the additional deputy commissioner of the southwest district, was injured in the attack. The senior police officer was trying to control the crowd of protesters. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police submitted a report to the fact-finding committee about sequence of events on Sunday when violence had unfolded at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the response time taken by police officers. A number of students and professors were severely injured when masked goons entered the campus of the university and unleashed indiscriminate violence on Sunday evening. The fact-finding committee, headed by Joint Commissioner of Police Shalini Singh, has visited a number of hostels on the JNU campus, including the Periyar Hostel and Sabarmati Hostel, and spoken to aggrieved students about the incident. Police officers have submitted a detailed report of their response to calls from the university on January 5 when the violence broke out on the campus. Sources said, around 2pm, there were two separate gatherings of student group. While members of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gathered near a statue of Swami Vivekanand while Left-backed union members and students grouped near a bust of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. A scuffle broke out between the two groups, but they decided to disperse. Police said, the Police Control Room (PCR) received the first around 3.45 pm from Periyar Hostel and it was immediately responded to. Officers stationed at the Admin Block (as per a high court order) was sent to the spot. At the hostel, some people with sticks in hand could be seen. They threw stones and attacked a few students, but stopped short of entering the hostel. At least 17 PCR calls were received from the inmates of the hostel and they continued till 4.15 pm. After dispersing the crowd, the police personnel returned to the Admin Block. Around 5.15pm, DCP (Southwest District) Devender Arya entered the campus and went to Periyar Hostel to inspect the situation. After finding that normalcy has returned, he returned to the main gate (North Gate). Soon after, the JNU main gate was closed and no one was allowed inside, while police continued to be deployed at the North Gate. According to sources, the station house officer and 20 officers from each nearby police station was called to the spot. The sources said a PCR call was again received around 5.30-5.45pm about 700 people entering the university. The cops stationed at the Admin Block were sent again, but nothing was found. The PCR called back the caller, but the latter was untraceable. An hour later, the sources said, students, mostly affiliated to the ABVP, disrupted a peace meeting of JNU Teachers Association that was underway at the T-point of Sabarmati Hostel. The group of students then went to Sabarmati Hostel and vandalised gates and windows. In the meantime, students of Left-backed unions had gathered nearby and a scuffle broke out soon after. Around 6.45pm, the VC reportedly sent a message to police that the situation could become tense and forces deployment should be increased. However, his phone was unreachable (he hadnt till then asked police to intervene). Around 7.30-7.45pm, police got a written letter from the university authorities seeking intervention into the matter. By the time, the cops went in, the mob had dispersed. Snorkeling wows across the Caribbean, but for Sara and Nick, its at its best in the British Virgin Islands. Theyve snorkeled among schools of kaleidoscopic fish at the caves of Norman Island, on the southern tip of the BVI archipelago. They also give high marks to the sparkling clear water, vivid coral reefs and marine life of the Spanish Virgin Islands and the Grenadines, and they have plenty of good things to say about the fishing and white, sandy beaches of the Bahamas, particularly the Exumas, Long Island and Eleuthera. Neno Dimov faces up to eight years in jail for mismanaging water supplies in western city. Bulgarian Minister of Environment and Water Neno Dimov was charged with the deliberate mismanagement of water supplies for the western city of Pernik, prosecutors said on Friday. Dimov faces up to eight years in jail for allowing water supplies to industrial users even when he had been informed that the water in a dam the only source of drinking water to the city of 70,000 has seriously decreased, prosecutors said. Dimov resigned earlier on Friday. Pernik, a town with a population of more than 70,000, has been subject to severe and continuing water restrictions for about two months, a matter that has been under investigation by several institutions. Earlier, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said Dimovs job was a matter for discussion with the ruling coalition partners. In the third Borissov government, formed in May 2017, Dimov was nominated to the post by the minority partner in the coalition, the nationalist United Patriots. The Prosecutors Office said in a statement that Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev visited Pernik on Thursday to coordinate actions in the investigation connected to pre-trial proceedings regarding the water crisis in the town, which lies about 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of the capital Sofia. Evidence is being collected of crimes committed by officials that led to water supply problems in Pernik, the office said in a statement. The Socialist Party the largest opposition party said it would file a no-confidence motion against Borissovs government, accusing it of failing to ensure proper water and clean air policies, resulting in the water restrictions in Pernik, and serious air pollution in many Bulgarian cities. The motion is unlikely to pass, as the government enjoys the support of a small populist party and can secure a parliamentary majority. Prosecutors have focused their investigation on possible mismanagement whether local officials from the supply company and the municipal administration have taken appropriate steps to ensure the water supply to Pernik and several nearby towns. When Congress passed a broad law on educating children with disabilities in 1975, it agreed to kick in federal dollars to help cover the excess costs of meeting students individual education needs. In the time since, federal funding for whats now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has consistently fallen short of the target included in the law, leaving state and local officials on the hook. Education groups, who call that shortfall an unfulfilled promise, have long campaigned for fully funding IDEA, which underpins services for nearly 7 million students with disabilities. More federal funding for IDEA, which gets $13.6 billion in the current budget , would help special education programs, they say, but it would also more broadly affect all students as schools would no longer have to pull as much from their general education budgets to meet the laws mandates. That plea has gotten the attention of candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, many of whom have included pledges to fully fund IDEA in their education plans alongside calls to dramatically expand federal education spending across the board. We believe in treating these, the least of thy brethren, as people of value, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a December debate in Los Angeles, referring to a Bible verse that calls for protections for the most vulnerable people in society. The candidate, who frequently touts her year as a special education teacher , has pledged $20 billion in additional annual funding for IDEA. Other candidatesincluding New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobucharhave pledged to fully fund IDEA, but they have not included a specific dollar amount in their plans. And the idea has seen bipartisan support in the past with bills sponsored by lawmakers in both parties seeking to ramp up the grant program to full levels. Just how much does the spending gap affect states and districts? Special education needs and expenses vary greatly nationally, so its difficult to pin down. In California, for example, the annual cost of educating a student with disabilities averages about $27,000, compared with general education costs of about $10,000 per student, the states legislative analysts office reported in November. Federal funds cover about $1.2 billion of the states $13 billion special education costs , the agency found, estimating that fully funding IDEA would amount to an additional $3.2 billion annually. The general public may not be aware of how little the federal government contributes to special education costs, or how the unfunded mandates included in IDEA affect school funding in general, school administrators told Education Week. When Congress passed the predecessor to IDEA in 1975, it gave itself permission to help cover the additional costs associated with special education by providing states grants equal to the overall number of students with disabilities multiplied by 40 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure, which was about $12,300 in 2015-16, according to the most recent federal data. Missing the Mark But funding has always fallen far behind that level. In recent years, its lagged below 15 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure , less than half of what lawmakers orginally envisioned, said a report in August by the Congressional Research Service. Full funding is a moving target as numbers of identified students shift over time. A bipartisan bill introduced last year by Sen. Chris Van Holland, D-Md., and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., aims to gradually ramp up IDEA funding , reaching the maximum threshold in 2029 by ensuring at least $43 billion annually is set aside for the grants. Part of me is very excited that it is even coming up in the conversation at all, because a lot of times our students with disabilities are kind of an afterthought, said Valerie Williams, the director of government relations for the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. There is a recognition that the current path we are on is not sustainable. In the Waconia, Minn., district, for example, more federal funding would likely mean smaller class sizes for all students, not just the 600 students with identified disabilities, said Todd Swanson, Waconias director of finance and operations. State and federal funds cover about $5 million of the 4,000-student districts special education costs. The rest, about $4 million, is pulled from its local funds. With few exceptions, federal law requires schools to maintain funding levels for special education services year over year, regardless of how much Congress provides. For Waconia, that means shifting from general funds into special education money that could be spent to hire more teachers or to boost pay across the board, Swanson said. Ive been griping about this since the beginning of my career and Ive seen little change in the federal governments willingness to address their lack of commitment, said Swanson, who wrote a masters thesis on inadequate IDEA funding in 1995. They made a promise and they should be keeping it. In an August 2019 EdWeek Research Center survey of 700 principals and district administrators, 56 percent of respondents listed special education among the factors that had a major effect on increasing per-pupil expenses in their districts. Thirty-two percent of respondents listed special education among the top five areas most in need of funding in their school systems. In addition to IDEA, many districts rely on Medicaid funding to help cover the costs of services for students with disabilities. Lawmakers who drafted the 1975 law that eventually became IDEA worked under the assumption that educating a student with disabilities would cost about twice as much as the general per-pupil cost, the Congressional Research Service report found.. In reality, that cost varies widely depending on state policies for identifying and educating students in need of special education services and the extent of individual students needs, said Erin Maguire, the director of equity, diversity, and inclusion for Vermonts Essex Westford school district. The 4,000-student district has about 600 identified students with disabilities, and the cost to educate those students is, on average, about $30,000 higher than general per-pupil costs of about $16,000, she said. Additional costs include services provided by speech, physical, and occupational therapists, and more intensive one-on-one support. Vermont, more than other states, relies on paraprofessionals to meet students special education needs, which drives up overall expenses, Maguire said. More federal funding to cover those costs would allow Essex Westford schools to shift some general funds toward student-support services, early intervention, and counseling for students who havent been identified under IDEA, Maguire said. She added that the district has sought to honor its obligations to students with disabilities while also making the division between special and general education less defined."If we were able to garner the full funding of IDEA, I would be able to reinvest in a way that would really make a difference for students, she said. Even as they are glad for mentions of the issue on the campaign trail, local educators are skeptical that pledges for increased special education funding will ever come to fruition, especially if the two chambers of Congress remain under the control of different political parties. Campaign Pledges On the campaign trail, funding for IDEA has gotten much less attention from Democratic presidential candidates than pushes to boost Title I funding , which is targeted toward schools with large enrollments of students from low-income families. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Booker, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Vice President Joe Biden have all pledged to triple that funding. Warren wants to quadruple it. School funding advocates, meanwhile, have fought hard for much smaller increases for IDEA and other federal programs. For them to go from zero to 60 in a heartbeat, from my perspective, that would be great, said Swanson of the Waconia district. But I dont believe theyll ever do it. If past is prologue, Congress is more likely to boost funding for programs like Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants, said Noelle Ellerson Ng, the associate executive director for policy and advocacy at AASA, the School Superintendents Association. That program is smaller, so lawmakers can boast of large percentage increases while spending fewer additional dollars, she said. And the grants can be used broadly, covering everything from technology to school safety to counselors, so they are more likely to win bipartisan support. Even without dramatic boosts in IDEA funding, Congress could make things easier for schools by easing some of the laws mandates, Ng said. For example, the rule that states and districts must maintain special education resources at the same level year over year could be relaxed slightly to allow schools to realize cost savings as needs and programs change, she said. That process would likely draw heavy input from parents and disability-rights groups concerned about ensuring that students with disabilities receive an adequate education. The law was last reathorized in 2004, but advocates have focused most of their attention on additional funding, rather than a rewrite of the laws requirements. Its been underfunded since day one, Ng said. They are not even halfway to their commitment. That has a trickle-down effect that ties the hands of states and local districts as they are left to cover the federal shortfall. Family and friends of former Belfast Telegraph journalist Betty Rainsford (nee Lowry) came together to pay their respects at her funeral on Thursday. The pioneering journalist died peacefully on Christmas Eve at the sheltered housing facility where she had lived for a number of years. She was 99 years old. Officiating at the funeral service, held in St Columbanus' Church in Ballyholme, Co Down, was Rector Simon Doogan, who spoke movingly of the "old-fashioned Christian" he had come to know. Expand Close Mourners at the funeral of Betty Rainsford, former womens editor of the Belfast Telegraph Kevin Scott / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mourners at the funeral of Betty Rainsford, former womens editor of the Belfast Telegraph "When I first arrived in Ballyholme in 2008 Betty had just about the shortest commute to church of all our parishioners," the clergyman said. "She lived just along the road from St Columbanus in the family home on the Groomsport Road, and right up until her move to Abbeyfield the path between the two doors was extremely well-trodden. "The failing state of Betty's short-term memory became increasingly a factor, but a combination of self-deprecating Ulster modesty and simple, old-fashioned Christian humility, meant Betty never wore her considerable professional achievements on her sleeve. Betty died on Christmas Eve, departing this world the night we celebrated her saviour's arrival into it," the rector told the congregation. Betty, who was married to decorated serviceman Lt Col (Ret) Bathoe Rainsford, has been credited with helping blaze the trail for other female journalists in Northern Ireland. She was women's editor of the Belfast Telegraph for 20 years, as well as being a hugely respected drama critic whose reviews could make or break a play. Betty, who had joined the staff of the Belfast Telegraph as a reporter in 1956, covered a varied mix of stories, including politics. Several of her analytical pieces are still widely quoted on the internet and in books. She retired from her post at the Belfast Telegraph in 1981. Weeks ahead of the assembly elections in the national capital, BJP's working president J P Nadda is holding organisational meetings in five assembly constituencies, party leader Sanjay Mayukh said. Mayukh, who is media co-incharge of the party, said the organisational meeting began Friday morning and will continue till late in the night. The five state assembly constituencies where these meetings will be held are Trinagar, Shalimar Bagh, Burari, Timarpur and Chandani Chowk, he said. The meetings are being held to take stock of the party's election preparedness and motivate the workers for the assembly polls, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Standardized math tests slated to start Monday for Grade 9 students have been thrown into uncertainty as Education Minister Stephen Lecce gives school boards across Ontario the authority to postpone them until June. Lecce said hes concerned rotating teacher strikes have left students poorly prepared for the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing and estimated a majority of school boards will delay it. The Peel and Toronto district school boards quickly said they would do so. There has not been a major emphasis on EQAO preparation to date in many public schools, Lecce told a news conference Wednesday. Local boards making the right decisions for their students makes the most sense, he added as the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) held the fourth in a series of one-day strikes, this time impacting eight boards, including Peel and Niagara. Union president Harvey Bischof said Lecces decision shows the government is feeling the pressure with negotiations for a new contract stalled. Thats certainly what was intended by our job action, he told the Star. Lecce acknowledged there will be a learning loss for students in the semester system who wont be in math classes this winter and spring but insisted educators could help them study for June. Theres ample time to do that between now and then. New Democrat MPP Marit Stiles said Lecces decision to allow boards to postpone EQAO defies logic because it undermines the purpose of standardized testing. Hes absolutely passing the buck here, added Stiles, her partys education critic. The Ontario Public School Boards Association president Cathy Abraham said clear direction is needed because its tough to administer the tests without help from teachers who are on work-to-rule. The Peel and Toronto district school boards pledged to provide more information soon for staff, students and parents on dates and arrangements for the June tests. Given the ongoing selected withdrawal of services by members of OSSTF, the TDSB does not have the ability to properly administer the EQAO Grade 9 math assessment scheduled to begin next week, the Toronto board said in a statement. Teens in first semester math at half the citys 110 public high schools will be impacted. The postponements came as the union representing English Catholic elementary and high school teachers which has until now steered clear of job action in a bid to reach a new contract said it will begin an administrative work-to-rule campaign Monday. That means teachers will not participate in the EQAO tests unless a new deal is reached by Monday. Bargaining sessions are scheduled Thursday and Friday. During the job action, the 45,000 members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) will not provide comments on report cards, sit in on staff or other meetings, or participate in Ministry of Education initiatives. Union president Liz Stuart said the education ministers idea for teachers to bring first semester math students up to speed for the EQAO test is vague. They actually wont be doing math in the second semester so Im not sure what the plan is to give them supports in June, she told the Star. Public high school teachers have been working to rule in addition to their rotating strikes to protest a stalemate in contract talks. No further negotiations have been scheduled since a government-appointed mediator said the two sides are far apart. Teacher unions are fighting the governments plans to increase class sizes, require students to take online courses to graduate from high school, and to limit public sector wage increases to one per cent under a controversial new law. The province initially said average high school classes would increase to 28 students from 22 and four online courses would be required. It has since reduced those targets to class sizes of 25 and two online courses. But Stuart said the changes are still regressive and reiterated we cannot agree to that. The OSSTF began its one-day walkouts with a province-wide job action that closed schools Dec. 4 and has since moved to weekly rotating strikes hitting various boards. Since protests began in India last month over the Citizenship Amendment Act passed by Parliament which many see as blatantly discriminatory toward Muslims and a threat to the nations secular foundation most eruptions of violence have been blamed on the police, who have been accused of torturing teenage demonstrators, lobbing tear gas canisters into a college library and killing protesters. But the attack at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where a number of rallies against the law have been held, suggested that extremist outfits had started mobilizing against protesters, with the complicity of the authorities. Students interviewed on campus immediately after the attack said the police did nothing as the mob assaulted people and chanted politically charged slogans, including Hail Lord Ram, a reference to a Hindu deity. That phrase has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists. No arrests have been made in the mob attack, though a criminal complaint has been filed against unknown persons. In an interview, Shalini Singh, a police official leading a fact-finding team, said, What the students have told me is confidential, declining to comment further. The police have said that they quickly stopped the attack, though students said it went on for well over an hour. At a rally last month, Pinky Chaudhary, president of the Hindu Raksha Dal, another far-right group, incited members to target students at the university. The grave of J.N.U. will be dug on the soil of Hindustan, members of his group shouted, using a Hindu nationalist name for India. In an interview, Mr. Chaudhary claimed responsibility for some of the violence on Sunday. He said his organization had sent around 250 activists to the campus as reinforcements, he said after the attack began, and that they threw bricks at students who they believed opposed the citizenship law. Underworld enforcer Nabil Maghnie may have been bashing a standover victim just moments before he was shot and killed. Maghnie was seen lying dead next to his Mercedes utility vehicle in a suburban street in Melbourne after he was gunned down on Thursday night. As the investigation into his death continues, an alleged key theory suggests the shooting came after Maghnie assaulted a man while demanding payment for a large debt, The Herald Sun reported. Scroll down for video Nabil Maghnie has been shot dead after an incident in Epping in northern Melbourne A black ute is towed away at the scene of Nabil Maghnie's execution in Epping on Friday The cash was allegedly compensation for minor damage to a car owned by a member of Maghnie's family. It is understood Maghnie went to the property with his son Abbas and another man, 44, before the householder was attacked. Another person is believed to have opened fire on Maghnie allegedly in retaliation to the attack. A source told the Herald Sun: 'This is his own sh*t that's gone wrong. Nabil's doing business as usual and the victim's fought back'. Police now fear that the shooting could spark a revenge induced spree of violence with a 'tit for tat' mentality among Maghnie associates. 'There will certainly be some unrest and reprisals,' the source said. 'The next few days could be interesting.' Maghnie's violent death has surprised few who knew the 44-year-old, who self-proclaimed himself 'The Mad Leb'. The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting are yet to be determined but investigators have little doubt Maghnie would have known his killers. Blind Freddy could have told you Maghnie had been living on the edge. Maghnie infamously drove himself to hospital after being shot in the head in 2016. In 2011, the married father was the victim of another non-fatal shooting at Broadmeadows. He was being investigated by police over a double shooting at the Love Machine nightclub in Prahan in April last year and was prime suspect in an attempted hit on notorious Mongol's bikie Toby Mitchell. Maghnie was also on bail for serious driving offences at the time of his death after crashing his Range Rover at more than 200km/h while high on booze and cocaine last year. Ironically, had Maghnie not been granted bail, he might well still be alive today. The charismatic criminal seemed to have a knack at convincing judges and magistrates' that his risk to the community could be contained. ' He had received bail time and time again over his long criminal career. But in the weeks before his death, anyone unlucky enough to be in Maghnie's company had began to feel uncomfortable. If Maghnie feared for his own life, he certainly didn't outwardly show it. Days before Christmas he was spotted on the main drag of Heidelberg just a stone's throw from the local police station. The hulking Maghnie stood out like a sore thumb on the street as he loudly discussed how the cops 'had no case' and that whoever it was he was talking about - likely himself - was 'going to walk'. He jumped into a brand new Mercedes C200 and took off. That he was driving at all at that stage in his life was questionable given the driving allegations against him. Nabil Maghnie wanted people to know he was a suspect in the shooting of feared bikie enforcer Toby Mitchell Killer Gavin Prestobn took Nabil Maghnie under his wing and showed him the criminal ropes that ultimately led to his demise But Maghnie never had much regard for the law. He was fiercely loyal to family and his friends and absolutely loathed police and anyone who would help them. Daily Mail Australia has been told in the months before his death, he had been trying to expose a 'rat' who had been close to former crime boss Carl Williams. Born in the 70s, Maghnie came from a broken family and was institutionalised as a child. Living under the eye of the state in those days was particularly tough, and Maghnie found positive male influences in the darkest of places. It was under state care he met his mentor, his best mate and a bloke he would later revere as a father figure. Gavin Preston has been in and out of prison most of his adult life and has convictions for shocking violence offences stretching back to 1991. In 2015, Preston beat a murder charge and a possible life sentence by pleading guilty to the lesser offence of defensive homicide over the 2012 killing of drug dealer Adam Khoury. Preston was also once best mates with feared Prisoner of War 'general' Matthew Johnson, who murdered Melbourne gangster Carl Williams inside jail in 2010, until they fell out over a jail house spat. Maghnie would fiercely defend Preston whenever newspaper reports featuring his mate were published. Former Herald Sun crime reporter Padraic Murphy told Daily Mail Australia Maghnie once bailed him up after he wrote a story suggesting Preston was in protective custody. Maghnie (pictured) was pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds Forensic police attend the scene of Maghnie's shooting death in Epping in northern Melbourne 'He was anxious readers might get the wrong idea that Gav was in protection because he was a rat. I wisely adjusted the copy to say he was in isolation,' he said. Murphy, a Walkley Award winning journalist, said although Maghnie had a healthy contempt for reporters, he appeared to trust him. 'He once offered me a bag of cocaine while we were smack bang in the middle of the Melbourne Magistrates' Court,' he said. 'I declined his offer.' Maghnie was no stranger to the court building. He had been in and out of it since he was a teenager. At the time of his death, Maghnie's rap sheet spanned three computer screens and contained 34 entries. His first stint in an adult prison dated back to 1995 when he was jailed for four months over a wild brawl that saw him convicted of a swag of charges including assault, behaving in a riotous manner and driving dangerously. With the help of barrister Rob Malasecca, Maghnie probably got off lightly. It would be a relationship that lasted all the way up to Maghnie's death. Maghnie leaving Melbourne Magistrates Court in July after being granted bail following a dramatic car crash while under the influence of drugs and alcohol in 2019 Nabil Maghnie had close links to feared prison gang Prisoners Of War, which is headed by Carl Williams' killer Matthew Johnson (pictured) Carl Williams reads a copy of the newspaper in jail as Matthew Johnson prepares to beat his brains in On release, Maghnie almost wound up right back where he started after being convicted of another brutal assault. This time he copped eight months behind bars, but was able to serve it in the community with a corrections order. It wouldn't be long before Maghnie was back in jail. In 2000, he was jailed for three months after being convicted of making threats to kill, reckless conduct endangering life and firearm offences. While Maghnie managed to mostly remain out of jail in the years that followed, he continued to appear in court over driving offences and assaults - usually directed at police. Sources have told Daily Mail Australia that in his later years, drugs had consumed Maghnie and that he was high most days. In 2016, he was convicted of drug offences, but walked with a fine. He spent most of 2018 behind bars after being convicted of a nasty car crash, which saw him assault a police officer. He had been free on bail, was unlicensed, carrying drugs and a weapon. By May last year, his life was out of control. Juiced-up to his eyeballs on cocaine, he hit a roundabout north of Melbourne, became airborne, struck another car and then careened into a paddock. Maghnie collapsed at the scene and was taken to hospital, where a cocktail of drugs was found in his system. Nabil Maghnie was a fan of Melbourne's Meat & Wine Co on Southbank In September he was granted bail after indicating to the court that he planned to plead guilty to the charges. He was cut loose so he could attend drug rehab. Daily Mail Australia has been told by those close to Maghnie that despite his feared reputation, he was a much loved and loyal family man. One of his own son's was wounded in the attack that claimed Maghnie's life. Maghnie's son returned to the scene of the shooting on Thursday night along with dozens of friends and relatives. He had been taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg. But he later returned to the scene to be with his family. He was photographed at Dalton Rd in a hospital gown with blood leaking from a wound on his leg. Maghnie's son, Jacob Elliott, is on remand after being charged with the Love Machine killings. Maghnie's daughter and a man believed to be his son were allegedly ejected from Love Machine before a fatal double shooting outside the nightclub in April. Maghnie had a long list of enemies, including members of various outlaw motorcycle gangs, powerful Middle-Eastern crime figures and victims of his erratic and violent nature. He was known to get about town with a minder, who was likely caught up in Thursday's shooting. But he was never very hard to find. Maghnie had become a regular at Melbourne's Meat & Wine Co on Southbank along the Yarra River and was often seen enjoying a meal there. Day-to-day, he would pass himself off as your honest, ordinary local builder. Former journalist 'Paddy' Murphy pondered whether he might of had a death wish. 'He demanded I report that he was a suspect in Toby Mitchell's attempted murder. He wanted it to be known. He was proud of it,' he said. Victoria Police detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances around the shooting. Retired Odisha High Court judge IM Quddusi, who was arrested in September 2017 in a judicial corruption scandal, and his associates used code words such as ped (plant), gamla (pot), samaan (goods) and prasad (offering) while referring to bribes allegedly to be paid to a certain captain to get favourable order from the Supreme Court, according to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge sheet in the case. The agency filed a charge sheet in the case in July last year naming Quddusi; an Odisha-based middleman, Biswanath Agarwala, who allegedly claimed to have high contacts in the judiciary; and five others Bhawna Pandey, Sudhir Giri, Ram Dev Saraswat, and owners and officer-bearers of Prasad Educational Trust, BP Yadav and Palash Yadav. The Yadavs wanted relief from the judiciary after being barred by the Medical Council of India from admitting students to their college, the Lucknow-based Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, in the academic years 2017-18 and 2018-19 for alleged irregularities. The charge sheet has not been made public until now. A Delhi court took cognisance of the charge sheet in November last year. In December, CBI also filed a fresh case in connection with the scandal, naming sitting Allahabad high court judge Shri Narayan Shukla for allegedly accepting a bribe to deliver an order in favour of Prasad Medical College. In 2018, then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Mishra, asked Justice Shukla to either resign or seek voluntary retirement. After Justice Shukla refused, the CJI asked the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court not to assign him any judicial work. In its charge sheet, exclusively accessed by HT, CBI has attached 80 telephone intercepts of Quddusi and other accused which, the agency says, reveals the whole conspiracy. It says Giri, BP Yadav and Agarwala met Quddusi at the latters residence on August 23, 2017. Two days later, the Allahabad HC division bench comprising Shri Narayan Shukla passed an interim order directing that the college shall not be delisted till next hearing. MCI approached the top court against the Allahabad HC order. BP Yadav, Quddusi and Pandey then claimed they could get a favourable order. Quddusi and Pandey assured BP Yadav that his work at apex court will be done, the charge sheet states. Quddusi discussed the bribe amount with Agarwala and it was fixed at ~3 crore after negotiations, according to the charge sheet, with ~2.5 crore going to the captain. At one point, Agarwala tells Quddusi: .abhi jo hamara captain hai na, unka all over India hai, job hi kaam ho karne k elite tayyar hai (Our captain right now has influence all over India and he can get anything done). The charge sheet says: Quddusi and Agarwala were referring to amounts of money as different items such as gamla, ped, etc. According to the charge sheet, Quddusi was acting for the Yadavs and it was Agarwala who was trying to get a favourable order from the Supreme Court. In one conversation, Agarwala informs BP Yadav that the government of the chaiwala (referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made no secret of his humble beginnings) is keeping an eye on everyone and the captain will therefore not meet anyone. The the work will be done not just 100% but 500% but problem is that first money has to be paid, Agarwala tells Yadav. He further adds that his man can get any work done for the following 14-15 months. Quddusis lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, said: CBI has realised that this charge sheet is baseless and would not stand in court as there is no public servant involved. That is why they have registered another FIR. However, they have not realised that registration of another FIR on the same incident will damage both their cases. Para 16.2.45 of the charge sheet clearly states that forensic reports are yet to be received. So trial is not likely to start in near future. His reference is to the forensic report on the phone taps. The others named in the charge sheet could not be reached for comment. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) Real estate developer and mining giant Isidro "Sid" Consunji became the latest businessman to earn the ire of President Rodrigo Duterte, this time for Maynilad's water supply contract and the collapsed condominium building in Davao City. In a speech in Cotabato province on Friday night, Duterte gave Consunji, president and chief executive officer of DMCI Holdings, Inc., a dressing down after his familys condominium project in Davao suffered major damage during a magnitude 6.6 earthquake last October. Duterte even threatened to deny government permits for other projects of the businessman, who also operates coal mines under Semirara Mining and Power Corporation. "Ikaw, may problema ka. Unahin mo 'yung problema mo sa tao. Kung builder ka, Consunji ka man o hindi, kapag naasar ako sayo, I will not grant you any permit to dig [You have a problem. Fix the problem you have with the people first. If you're a builder, even if you're not Consunji, I will not grant you any permit to dig if I get pissed]," the President said. Portions of the Ecoland 4000 tower, which was built by Consunji-owned DMC Urban Property Developers Inc., collapsed resulting in injuries to several residents. Some were trapped inside the complex after a second tremor hit the area. City officials ordered a forced evacuation for building occupants. "Tayong mahihirap, wala tayong problema. Ang may mga problema dito, 'yung mga mayaman. Gaya nito ni Consunji, lahat ng condo niya apat, 'yung isa bumagsak. Sa karaming building sa Davao, kanya lang ang (bumagsak)," Duterte said. [Translation: We poor people, we don't have a problem. Those facing problems are the rich like Consunji. Of his four condominiums, one collapsed. Out of all the buildings in Davao, only his property suffered major damage.] He went on to blast Consunji, who is also the vice chairman of Maynilad, for earlier warning that both Maynilad and Manila Water would go bankrupt if the government revoked water supply deals for Metro Manila. Consunji was quoted as saying in a Manila Standard report that the utility firms would go under as they have no way of repaying debts if their contracts were rescinded. On Saturday, Consunji responded to President Dutertes order for him to address issues in the collapsed Ecoland 4000 condominium in Davao. We accepted the offer to settle the claims of the homeowners at 150 peercent of acquisition cost. They have a general assembly on January 20, Consunji told CNN Philippines in a text message on Saturday. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) eventually revoked the extension of the contract for the two water companies which Duterte said had onerous" provision. This made business prospects beyond 2022 uncertain for both water firms. The chief executive had been repeatedly lashing out against the Ayala family and businessman Manny Pangilinan for these deals, after Manila Water scored a victory from an international tribunal to demand 7.4 billion from the Philippine government to cover losses it had incurred. Both firms caved and said they would not collect the arbitral award anymore. READ: Duterte to file plunder charges vs. Maynilad, Manila Water This is not the first time the President has challenged big businesses. In 2016, Duterte waged a word war with tycoon Roberto Ongpin and his company PhilWeb, which triggered changes in ownership as stocks plummeted. BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Of three possible ways for people to deliver the life-saving antidote naloxone to a person experiencing an opioid overdose, the use of a nasal spray was the quickest and easiest according to research conducted by William Eggleston, clinical assistant professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York, and colleagues at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Access to naloxone is a priority for reducing opioid deaths, but as naloxone moves closer to approval for sale over the counter, little was known about how easy and effectively the general population could administer it in an opioid overdose situation, according to Eggleston, with Binghamton University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Eggleston had done prior research in which untrained people were asked to administer naloxone after completing a naloxone training video, and most were successful, he said. "We wondered if we would get similar results when individuals had no training or indication of how to do it." Participants in the study were randomly assigned to administer naloxone to a manikin using one of three different methods: a preloaded nasal spray, an intramuscular shot or an improvised nasal atomizer kit that requires a bit of assembly before use. All three types are used by naloxone community programs in the United States. "We had a station with a manikin and as people came up to check out the booth, we asked if they were interested in helping out with the study. Our goal was to see if there was a method that was the most intuitive," Eggleston said. Participants were instructed to administer the device to a high?fidelity manikin in a public environment with distractions to mimic those that might be present in an actual overdose situation. No device instructions were provided and participants were evaluated using a standardized tool. Successful administration was defined as being completed within seven minutes without critical errors, Eggleston said. The nasal spray saw the best results with a median administration time of 16 seconds, followed by the intramuscular shot, which took close to a minute to deliver. The improvised nasal atomizer kit, which required assembling three pieces, was found to be the most difficult to use by the untrained participants. One interesting finding is that the success rates in this trial overall, when participants were given no training, were much lower than our success rates the first time we conducted the study using video demonstrations, Eggleston said. "People may not realize how important it is to provide training on how to administer naloxone," Eggleston said. "But when someone is not breathing, every second counts. If naloxone becomes available over the counter, our study highlights the importance of training resources, like pharmacists, public health campaigns and community resources. It also shows that the nasal spray product is the most intuitive to use and easiest to give quickly." Eggleston worked with SUNY Upstate Medical University colleagues Vincent Calleo, MD, and Martin Kim, MD, both clinical assistant professors of emergency medicine, and Susan Wojcik, PhD, associate professor of emergency medicine. ### The paper, "Naloxone Administration by Untrained Community Members," was published Nov. 28, 2019 in Pharmacotherapy, a journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Binghamton University offers live or pre-taped interviews powered by a state-of-the-art ReadyCam television studio system, available at a moments notice. Our system can broadcast live HD audio and video to networks, news agencies, and affiliates interviewing Binghamton faculty, students, and staff. Video is transmitted by VideoLink and fees may apply. The Shiv Sena on Friday won the by-election from theward no 141 of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in suburban Mankhud, said officials. Polling in the ward took place on Thursday and votes were counted on Friday. Sena candidate Vithhal Lokare defeated his nearest rival, Bablu Panchal of the BJP, by a margin of 1,385 votes, they said. Lokare secured 4,427 votes, while the BJP candidate got 3,042 in the ward located in Mankhurd in Mumbai's suburban district, the officials said. A total of 18 candidates were in the fray in the ward where the bypoll was necessitated after Lokare, who was the sitting Congress corporator, resigned and joined the Shiv Sena in August 2019. Lokare later contested the October assembly polls from the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar Constituency on Sena ticket but lost to Samajwadi legislator Abu Azmi by a margin of 25,000 votes. The BMC, India's richest civic body ruled by the Sena, has a total of 227 numbers of seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-09 02:33:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese UN envoy on Wednesday called on the world to intensify efforts to counter the terrorist threats in West Africa and Sahel, including stepping up assistance to regional countries in their capacity building. At a Security Council meeting on the region, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the international community need to assist regional countries in building up their capacities in counterterrorism and de-radicalization. He further said the international also need to tackle prominent issues in the region, such as the movement of foreign terrorists, the diversification of terrorist financing, and the collision between terrorist organizations and organized crime. With regard to China's efforts in this regard, Wu noted that China has set up the China-Africa Peace and Security Fund in support of China-Africa cooperation in peace, security, peace keeping and maintaining stability. He said the first consignment of aid materials worth 200 million RMB (28.8 million U.S. dollars) has arrived in Africa to support the development of an African standby force and the African capacity for immediate responses to crises. In addition, he said, "we have provided 300 million RMB (43.2 million U.S. dollars) in aid to the counter terrorism operations in the Sahel and the development of a joint force of five Sahel nations." BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Car exports from Turkey to Tajikistan decreased by 82.5 percent in 2019 compared to the results of 2018, amounting to $4.9 billion, a source in the Turkish Trade Ministry told Trend Jan. 10. In December 2019, car exports from Turkey to Tajikistan also decreased by 91.6 percent compared to the same period in 2018, amounting to $161.4 million. Turkeys car exports decreased by 3.1 percent in 2019, compared to 2018, having exceeded $30.5 billion. Car exports accounted for 17 percent of Turkey's total exports in 2019. Turkey's car exports increased by 2.9 percent in December 2019, compared to December 2018, and amounted to over $2.5 billion. Car exports accounted for 16.5 percent of Turkey's total exports in December 2019. Turkey's foreign trade turnover amounted to over $33.2 billion in November 2019. Turkish exports grew by 0.1 percent in November 2019, compared to November 2018, amounting to just over $15.5 billion. Turkey's imports increased by 9.7 percent in November 2019, compared to the same month of 2018, and exceeded $17.7 billion. Turkey's foreign trade turnover exceeded $340.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2019. Turkey ranks sixth in Europe in car production. Ford, Fiat, Renault, Toyota, Honda, Opel, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and MAN are assembled in Turkey. Turkey also manufactures local brands of buses such as BMC, Temsa and Otokar. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Iran refuses to give black boxes to Boeing for plane crash investigation Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/1/9 11:37:52 Iran's civil aviation authority has said it will not hand over two black boxes recovered from an ill-fated Ukrainian airliner with 176 people aboard to the plane's manufacturer Boeing or the United States, but will cooperate with Ukraine. Both of the plane's black box voice and data recorders had been found, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday. A Boeing 737 Ukrainian passenger plane crashed near Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday morning, killing all passengers and crew members on board. It is not clear to which country Iran will send the black boxes for analysis, Iran's Mehr News Agency quoted Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, as saying, adding that Ukrainians are welcome to join the probe into the crash. The Ukraine International Airlines officials have denied mistakes by the crew in the jet's crash, saying the plane went through scheduled maintenance on Monday before departure. The aircraft was built in 2016 and delivered directly to the airline from the manufacturer. Boeing said Wednesday that it is ready to provide any necessary assistance after the crash in Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday carried out a rally in Krishna district's Machilipatnam to seek people's support for his demand to retain the state capital in Amaravati. Naidu also sought donations from people to continue his movement. He was accompanied by CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna. TDP leaders and workers on Thursday held a sit-in protest on the highway near Kanchikacharla against Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government's proposal to shift state capital from Amaravati. Protestors raised slogans against Reddy and in favour of Amaravati capital. They burnt tyres on the highway and blocked the traffic on the stretch for hours. The GN Rao Committee, which was set up by the Andhra Pradesh government to look into the suggestion of three capitals, has made a favourable recommendation saying it will help in decentralised development and put the available resources to the best use. It proposed Visakhapatnam as the Executive capital and Kurnool the judicial capital while retaining Amaravati as the legislative capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Alliance News) - Standard Chartered PLC said Friday the New York Department of Financial Services has lifted the business restrictions imposed on the New York branch of Standard Chartered Bank. The emerging markets lender also noted the division will also no longer be under supervision by the regulator. Standard Chartered has been under monitorship since 2012, after it agreed to settle US charges over dealings with Iranian entities and deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls - originating from the New York branch's clearing services operations in its subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. The New York state financial regulator had itself stopped monitoring Standard Chartered at the end of 2018 but had decided an independent consultant would continue to observe the New York branch. As part of the original consent order, Standard Chartered was forced to hand over USD300 million as a civil monetary penalty. Also, as part of the settlement, Standard Chartered agreed to suspend its US dollar clearing services in New York, which included halting US dollar clearing services at any of Standard Chartered Bank New York's subsidiaries. The branch was also not allowed to open new accounts for customers looking to use its US dollar clearing services. StanChart said Friday these suspensions have now been lifted, as the independent monitoring has ended. The independent monitoring could've been extended for a further year if the New York DFS was unhappy with StanChart's progress over 2019 in following the consent order. New York holds one of StanChart's two largest clearing centres, with the other in London. Over 80% of Stan Chart's income in its Europe & Americas regions is derived from Financial Markets and Transaction Banking products. The region contributed USD1.67 billion in income in 2018, out of a group total of USD14.97 billion. Shares in Stan Chart were up 0.7% in London on Friday at 713.00 pence each. By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 13:29:26|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close TEHRAN/WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Friday urged all parties involved to contribute to a probe into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner which killed all 176 people on board on Wednesday. "According to international regulations, representatives from the civil aviation agency of the country where the crash has taken place (Iran), the civil aviation agency of the country which has issued the airworthiness certificate (Ukraine), the owner of the airliner (Ukraine International Airlines), the aircraft manufacturer (Boeing Co.), and the jet engine manufacturer (CFM International) can participate in the investigation process," Ali Rabiei, spokesman for the Iranian administration, said in a statement. The Boeing 737-800 passenger plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed near Iran's Imam Khomeini International Airport shortly after taking off. The tragic incident took place amid escalated tensions between the United States and Iran. Iran on Tuesday night launched ballistic missile strikes on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops, in retaliation for the U.S. killing of a high-ranking Iranian general in Baghdad last week. U.S. media reported on Thursday that U.S. officials "increasingly believe" that the wrecked plane was mistakenly shot down by Iran, while Iranian authorities insisted that a technical failure was the cause, dismissing claims that a terrorist attack, explosion or shooting at the plane may have caused the incident. "Had it been the case, the plane must have exploded up in the air, but that has not happened, because the plane caught fire due to a technical failure. The problem first caused its communication and control systems to stop working, and subsequently resulted in its crash," Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami said Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine is ready to join in the investigation according to international law, noting that a group of Ukrainian experts arrived in Iran Wednesday and would make an on-the-spot investigation at the plane crash site. "We are making all the necessary efforts to find out the causes of this crash ... Our goal is to find out the truth. This is the main thing," Zelensky said. Iran called on Boeing to dispatch its own representative to participate in the process of reading the black box data. Boeing said Wednesday that it is ready to provide any necessary assistance. Iran also invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to take part in the investigation. The NTSB announced Friday it would join the probe into the crash and has designated an accredited representative. "The NTSB continues to monitor the situation surrounding the crash and evaluate its level of participation in the investigation," which will be led by Iran, the NTSB statement said. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also pledged to assist the probe. "ICAO is in contact with the States involved and will assist them if called upon. Its leadership is stressing the importance of avoiding speculation into the cause of the tragedy pending the outcomes of the investigation," the UN agency said in a statement released Wednesday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that four British nationals were among the victims. "We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation ... The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region," Johnson said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that there were 63 Canadian citizens among the passengers aboard the ill-fated Ukrainian flight. He said his government has intelligence indicating that an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down the plane. Canada's Transportation Safety Board accepted the invitation of Iran's accident investigation agency to work with other groups and organization already on site. Iran welcomed the participation of all countries whose nationals were on the ill-fated airliner. New Delhi, Jan 10 : Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Neymar is looking forward to a bumper year in which he is bidding to win major honours, both for club and Brazil. "Professionally and personally, 2019 was a tough year for me. It was a year full of learnings and turnarounds. I injured myself and had to come back. Then I injured myself again," Neymar said. "Although it seems like a bad year, it was a year full of learnings and lots of experiences. I am taking the positive side of it so that 2020 can be better." When asked about his team's chances of winning the Champions League, he said," Yes, I think there's a possibility we can make it. In terms of the team and players, since I've played for PSG, this is the most prepared and strongest year we had in my opinion. So, I think we have a chance. Although PSG has never won the Champions League, we are going to fight for this title. We know our values and we hope to be in the final." When asked about who he would have in his five-a-side team if he got a chance to build a dream team for the Red Bull Neymar Jr's Five competition, he said: "This is a tough one. There are too many players I would like to have played with. Can I mention more than one? Romario is one of them, Ronaldo too, although I played during his 'farewell', and Zinedine Zidane and Zlatan Ibrahimovic." "A team with players that are still playing: Messi, Suarez, Mbappe, Pogba and Hazard. A team with retired players: Xavi, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham and Henry," he added. (JTA)This is the first op-ed in a series of pieces about anti-Semitism and Jewish issues written by 2020 presidential candidates. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has sent five questions on the topic to all of the registered candidates from both parties. 1. Anti-Semitic hate crimes are currently on the rise across the United States. In 2018, there were two deadly shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, violent attacks now regularly plague the Jews of New York City and Jews continue to be the target of most religion-based hate crimes across the country. What is your plan to address the rise in anti-Semitism across the U.S.? We have a serious problem with rising tides of white supremacy and anti-Semitismboth in America, on the political right and left, and around the world. Its not a new phenomenon, but it is the responsibility of leaders everywhere to work aggressively to combat this poison. Instead, we have a president who, in clear language and in code, encourages and emboldens it. After Charlottesville, Donald Trump gave renewed license and safe harbor for hate to white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and the KKK. Theres a short line from those people marching with tiki torches in Charlottesville chanting Jews will not replace us to the shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh saying Jews were committing genocide to his people. We need a comprehensive approach to battling anti-Semitism that takes seriously both the violence that accompanies it and the hateful and dangerous lies that undergird it. Sadly, anti-Semitism takes many different forms and cuts across ideology, political party, group and nation. So we must remain vigilant and speak out every time we see the persistent evil of anti-Semitism rear its ugly head. Its incumbent on all of us to stand against those who traffic in pernicious stereotypes, or who seek to scare and divide us for political gain. Silence is complicity, so we must speak outevery time. We must call hate by its proper name, and condemn it. We must also address the extremist, white supremacist violence that has sparked so much bloodshed, especially with Trump fanning the flames of hatred and hollowing out resources we put in place during the Obama-Biden administration to address domestic extremism. Ill restore that funding and work to pass a federal domestic terrorism law. We can craft legislation that respects free speech and civil liberties, while making the same commitment as a nation to root out domestic terrorism as we have to stopping international terrorism. We must appoint leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice who will prioritize the prosecution of hate crimesmaking clear that there is no place for such vitriol in this country. And we must break the nexus between extremism and gun violence by enacting sensible gun control laws. As president, Ill make sure assault weapons and high capacity magazines are banned again, and well put in place a buy-back program to get as many of these weapons of war as possible off our streets. Finally, we know that this hate didnt begin with Donald Trump and it wont end when he leaves office. American history is not a fairytale. The battle for the soul of this nation has been a constant push-and-pull between the American ideal that we are all created equaland the harsh reality that racism and anti-Semitism have long torn us apart. So we must renew our commitment to our highest ideals and do what this president cannotstand together against hate; stand up for what, at our best, this nation believes. 2. A number of Democratic lawmakers have recently critiqued Israel in ways that some have characterized as anti-Semitic. What is the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism to you? No nation, including Israel, is immune from legitimate criticism. For example, I have for decades opposed the expansion of settlement activity as counterproductive to peace and damaging to U.S. support for Israel, and I have shared those criticisms directly with Israeli leadership, from Menachem Begin to Bibi Netanyahu. But Israel should never be unfairly singled out or targeted. Its dangerous. And any action designed to marginalize one ethnic or religious group imperils us allthats something the Jewish people know all too well. Thats why its critical to stand against biased resolutions and attempts to delegitimize Israel at the United Nations, and why its important to ensure Israel, like other nations, is represented on important committees there. And its why Ive been clear: the calls here in the United States to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel are wrong. Period. The BDS movement singles out Israelhome to millions of Jewsin a way that is inconsistent with the treatment of other nations, and it too often veers into anti-Semitism, while letting Palestinians off the hook for their choices. 3. Countless politicians have tried to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and yet, a two-state outcome now seems more dream than possibility. What are your concrete plans to address the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians? I believe a two-state solution is the only path to long-term security for Israel, while sustaining its identity as a Jewish and democratic state. It is also the only way to ensure Palestinian dignity and their legitimate interest in national self-determination. And it is a necessary condition to take full advantage of the opening that exists for greater cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors. At present, neither the Israeli nor Palestinian leadership seems willing to take the political risks necessary to make progress through direct negotiations. This challenge has been made even more difficult by President Trumps unilateralism, his moves to cut off assistance to the Palestinians and his equivocation on the importance of a two-state solution. I will restore credible engagement with both sides to the conflict. America must sustain its ironclad commitment to Israels security including the unprecedented support provided by the Obama-Biden administration. It is also essential to resume assistance to the Palestinian Authority that supports Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, people-to-people programs, economic development, and humanitarian aid and health care for the Palestinian people. My administration will urge both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state outcome alive. Palestinian leaders should end any incitement and glorification of violence, and they must level with their people about the legitimacy and permanence of Israel as a Jewish state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people. Israeli leaders should stop the expansion of West Bank settlements and talk of annexation that would make two states impossible to achieve. They must recognize the legitimacy of Palestinians aspirations for statehood. Both sides should work to provide more relief to the people of Gaza while working to weaken, and ultimately replace, Hamas. And Arab states should take more steps toward normalization with Israel and increase their financial and diplomatic support for building Palestinian institutions. 4. Is there any part of American Jewish culture, or Jewish figure from history, that has been particularly meaningful to you in your life? Ive had the honor of meeting every Israeli Prime Minister since Golda Meir and formed close relationships with many of them. In particular, I treasured my deep, personal friendship with Shimon Peres and the wisdom and kindness with which he imbued his leadership. He had an unyielding commitment to the inherent dignity and worth of every single human being, and in my opinion, he embodied the conscience and the soul of Israel. Shimon was always about hope, always about the future. I met him on my first visit to Israel in 1973during my first year in the Senate. Thats also the trip where I met with Meir and her then-aide Yitzhak Rabin for close to an hour. She went through what happened during the Six-Day War, the price that was paid, and painted a bleak picture that, quite frankly, scared me. I had just come from Egypt, and I had seen what was happening there. But when we walked out for the press to take our photo, she said to me: Senator, dont worry. We have a secret weapon. You see, we have nowhere else to go. Just about a month later, the Yom Kippur War touched off. That experience was foundational for me. It made me understand, in my gut, the threat that the Israeli people live under every daybut also their resilience. Peres and Meir showed me the spirit of a people who, against all odds, transformed the desert, founded a robust democracy and built a thriving economy based on innovation. Its why I am and have always been such a strong supporter of Israel. 5. Have you participated in a Passover seder or other Jewish holiday ritual? If so, what were the circumstances, and what was the experience like for you? Ive had the honor of sharing many meaningful experiences with Jewish friends and familycelebrating weddings, sitting shiva. During our first year in office, in 2009, President Obama became the first president to host a seder at the White Housea tradition he maintained each year of his presidency. In 2013, Jill and I were proud to have the first Vice Presidential Sukkah at the Naval Observatory, and we welcomed Jewish children from the community to come decorate it. It was incredibly meaningful to be able to host our friends from the community during Sukkot with traditional hospitality. And in 2014, I presided over the lighting of the National Menorah to mark the start of Hanukkah with a message that is critical for us all to remember today: Jewish heritage is American heritage. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. WASHINGTONA Justice Department inquiry launched more than two years ago to mollify conservatives clamouring for more investigations of Hillary Clinton has effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything. John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, was tapped in November 2017 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to look into concerns raised by President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress that the FBI had not fully pursued cases of possible corruption at the Clinton Foundation and during her time as secretary of state, when the U.S. government decided not to block the sale of a company called Uranium One. As a part of his review, Huber examined documents and conferred with federal law enforcement officials in Little Rock, Arkansas, who were handling a meandering probe into the Clinton Foundation, people familiar with the matter said. Current and former officials said that Huber has largely finished and found nothing worth pursuing though the assignment has not formally ended and no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers, these people said. The effective conclusion of his investigation with no criminal charges or other known impacts is likely to roil some in the GOP who had hoped the prosecutor would vindicate their long-held suspicions about a political rival. Trump, though, has largely shifted his focus to a different federal prosecutor tapped to do a separate, special investigation: U.S. Attorney in Connecticut John Durham, who Attorney General William Barr assigned last year to explore the origins of the FBIs 2016 probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. That FBI investigation was being supervised by special counsel Robert Mueller III in late 2017 when Trump and his supporters were pressuring senior law enforcement officials to appoint a second special counsel to pursue Clinton. Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isnt looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary and the Dems, the president tweeted at the time. Sessions did not appoint a second special counsel, but weeks later sent a letter to Huber telling him to review a wide array of issues related to Clinton. They included the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One matters, along with the FBIs handling of the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and alleged leaks by former FBI Director James Comey. At the time, the attorney general was facing persistent public and private criticism from Trump, who was upset over his recusal from the Russia probe. Your recommendations should include whether any matters not currently under investigation warrants the opening of an investigation, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources or further investigation, and whether any matters would merit the appointment of a Special Counsel, Sessions wrote. A spokeswoman for Huber referred questions to Justice Department headquarters, where a spokeswoman declined to comment. Conservative lawmakers, particularly then-House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and members of the Freedom Caucus, were initially encouraged by Hubers assignment, seeing it as a sign that Clinton faced new legal jeopardy. Huber was prosecutor with bipartisan credentials having been named the U.S. attorney first by President Barack Obama before he was retained in the Trump administration. But from the start, senior officials inside the Justice Department viewed Hubers task as unlikely to lead to anything of significance beyond appeasing those angry lawmakers and the president. We didnt expect much of it, and neither did he, said one person familiar with the matter who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity due to persistent political sensitivities connected to the 2016 election. And as time went on, a lot of people just forgot about it. A spokesman for Sessions declined to comment. Clinton and her family have been subjected to significant law enforcement and other scrutiny over the years though the various probes have mostly delivered reputational blows, rather than legal ones. When she ran against Trump in 2016, the FBI probed her use of a private email server to determine if she had mishandled classified information when she was secretary of state. Officials ultimately determined the case should be closed without charges. The State Department more recently concluded a multi-year probe of its own into the matter, but concluded there was no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information by employees. The Clinton family foundation has separately faced investigation over the years on vague corruption allegations, though so far those probes have not produced any charges. Hubers work has been distinct from a number of sensitive investigations into politically fraught cases, including Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitzs probes of the FBIs handling of the Trump campaign investigation, and the FBI investigation into how Clinton used the private email server. Those two investigations resulted in lengthy reports documenting FBI missteps and failures. Hubers assignment was separate from the ongoing investigation overseen by Durham, and Justice Department officials believe the Connecticut U.S. attorneys work will be far more consequential. Durham is weighing whether to charge a former FBI lawyer for altering an internal email that misled other officials on a key fact related to surveillance applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He is also looking into other issues surrounding FBI and CIA activities during the Russia investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. Hubers tasking was nebulous from the start. Some people involved in the matters he was said to be reviewing expressed surprise that they were not contacted by the U.S. attorney, and wondered privately what he was doing. Some in the Justice Department considered him more reviewer than investigator. He would get involved, people familiar with the matter said, only if other cases were not being handled properly. By the time Mueller filed his lengthy report in the spring of 2019, Hubers work was largely done, these people said. When Trump pushed Sessions out of the Justice Department in November 2018, Matthew Whitaker became acting attorney general. Whitaker, according to people familiar with the conversations, tried to push Huber to be more aggressive in his work, but Huber felt he had looked at everything he could and that there was not much more to do, these people said. Whitaker did not respond to messages seeking comment. After Barr was confirmed as attorney general in early 2019, the department had still said nothing publicly about the result of Hubers work, focusing instead on releasing Muellers findings. Barr, who served as attorney general during the George H.W. Bush administration as well, was among the conservative voices in Washington who had previously suggested there was possible criminal wrongdoing in the Uranium One matter, though he tempered those comments during his confirmation. Republicans questioned whether there was misconduct in the U.S. governments decision to not block a 2010 acquisition in which Russias atomic energy agency, Rosatom, acquired a controlling stake in Uranium One, a Toronto-based company. The deal meant that Rosatom got rights to about 20 per cent of the uranium extraction capacity in the United States. That transaction had a tenuous connection to Clinton, who was running the State Department at the time. Read more about: Community of Christ Church Council Bluffs Central Community of Christ Church, 140 W. Kanesville Blvd., invites the public to Sunday school at 9 a.m. followed by worship at 10:30. Coffee and Conversations started on Jan. 6 in the church library. This weeks message will be Of Water and Spirit, with the young adult group giving the Word. Greeters will be C.R. Goodin and Caleb Moore. Westminster Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church, 517 S. 32nd St., invites the public to Sunday worship at 11 a.m. Communion will be served during the service and taken to the homebound during the week. Assisting with worship is Gary Fields. Organist is Joyce Mynster. Praise leader is Carissa Gillette. The Rev. Vicki L. Evans will deliver the morning message To Fulfill All Righteousness and the focus text will be from the Gospel of Matthew 3:13-17. Head ushers for January are Chris Gillette and Connie Rankin. Greeter will be Maxine Herron. Boy Scout Troop 11 meet at 6:30 p.m. each Sunday. Westminster is handicap accessible via the northeast door. Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church, 1800 Fifth Ave., invites the public to Sunday worship. Sunday school begins at 9:15 a.m., followed by worship at 10:30. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the worship service. On Monday, Scripture study at the church begins at 6 p.m. The second and fourth Wednesday of the month is Meal and Message, which begins with a message at 6:15 p.m. followed by a free meal. On Jan. 17, the church will host Movie Night at 7 p.m. Popcorn will be provided. On Feb. 26, Ash Wednesday service will begin with pancake dinner at 6 p.m. and service at 7. First Congregational Church The public is invited to First Congregational Church, UCC, 611 First Ave., at 10 a.m. Sunday from worship and youth Sunday school. The Rev. Carol Hall will lead the worship service and give the message Entrer . After worship, a coffee and friendship time is served. Yoga is held Saturday at 10 a.m., and Tuesday at 5:20 p.m. with Aubrey Nye. The free Community Dinner will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31. The church continues to collect non-perishable and hearty food items for the students at Kanesville High School who may food scarcity at home. Visit the churchs Facebook page at facebook.com/fcc.ucc.cb.ia. Broadway Christian Church The Rev. Earlin Shanno invites the public to service at Broadway Christian Church, 2658 Ave. A, beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday. A hearing loop is installed for those who need it, and the church is handicap accessible. A youth message will be given so children of all ages are encouraged to stay in the sanctuary during worship service. There is a Bible study that meets at 5 p.m. Wednesdays. There are AA meetings on Mondays and Fridays, and Overeaters Anonymous meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays. For more information, call the church office at 712-323-7741, visit us online at bccb.org or on Facebook. Faith Lutheran Church Faith Lutheran Church, 2100 S. 11th St., will have contemporary praise worship at the Sunday 9 a.m. worship service and the Faith praise team will lead the congregation in uplifting praise music. On, Tuesday there is an adult Bible study at 9:30 a.m. that is open to everyone. On Wednesday, there are Catechism classes at 5:45 p.m., choir practice is at 6:30 and a council meeting is at 7:30. On Thursday, the Sewing Sisters meet at 1 p.m. for quilting and fellowship, weather permitting. Faith holds Sunday worship at 9 a.m. with Sunday school and adult Bible study at 10:15. For more information about worship opportunities at Faith, contact the church office at 712-323-6445. Our Saviors Lutheran Church Our Saviors Lutheran Church, 313 Story St., welcomes the public to worship services at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday. A coffee fellowship follows at 11:15 a.m. Our Saviors Lutheran Food and Pet Pantry is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays (call between 9:30 and 11 a.m. for same day appointments). The pantry is also open from 5 to 7 p.m. on the third and fourth Fridays (call between 4 and 5 p.m. for same day appointments.) More events and information can be found online at oursaviorscb.org or at facebook.com/Our-Saviors-Lutheran-Church-of-Council-Bluffs-322088515839/. The church has an elevator and welcomes people of all abilities. New Horizon Presbyterian Church New Horizon Presbyterian Church, 30 Valley View Drive, invites the public to attend traditional services at 8 and 11 a.m. Sunday. A praise service is also held at 9 a.m. Sunday. Sunday school for adults and children begin at 10 a.m. Nursery care is available beginning at 9 a.m. On Monday, Boy Scouts will meet at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the building and grounds committee will meet at 4 p.m. On Wednesday, there will be benefit concert for Thomas Jefferson High Schools music department at 6 p.m. at St Pauls Lutheran Church. On Thursday, administration will meet at 5:30 p.m., and session will meet at 7. Twin Cities Christian Church Twin Cities Christian Church, located at 4220 Gifford Road, welcomes the public for worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays. The church is handicap accessible, and a cry room is available for infants to age 2. Adult Bible class is held at 9:30 a.m. and childrens Bible classes begin at 10:30. Children ages 2 through kindergarten meet for the full hour, and children in first through fifth grades meet during the sermon for a childrens lesson. Each Wednesday, Surge Kids (grades first through fifth) and Revolution (middle school and high school) meet in the Annex at 6:30 p.m. Revolution students begin a new series titled The Chase. Adult Bible study meets each Wednesday in the Church at 6:45 p.m. Prayer meetings are held at 6:30 a.m. every Thursday in the church. Mens Bible study meets at 7 a.m. each Saturday in the church. For more information, call the church office 712-366-9112 or email tc3matt@gmail.com. Find the church on Facebook at Twin Cities Christian Church CB. Saint John Lutheran Church Worship services at Saint John Lutheran Church, 633 Willow Ave., are at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday. There is also a Sudanese worship service at 12:30 p.m. The church is handicap accessible. Childcare is available from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Sundays. Sunday school and coffee hour are at 9:45 a.m. On Monday, the Seekers ChristCare group will meet at 6:45 p.m. On Tuesday, the Golden Oldies ChristCare and the Ester Group will both meet at 9:30 a.m.; the property committee will meet at 6:30 p.m., and the praise team will meet at 7. Adult Bible study and the Sewing Group will both meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, there will be a meal at 5:30 p.m., the bell choir will meet at 6 and the Confirmation and high school youth will meet at 6:30, and the chancel choir will start at 7. On Thursday, the Mens Club will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Sugars at 2725 E. Kanesville Blvd. and the Stephen Ministers will have a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Epworth United Methodist Church Epworth United Methodist Church, 2447 Ave. B, is handicap accessible and open to the public. Membership is not necessary to participate in any church activities. The public is invited to a Bible study at 8:30 a.m. Sunday and to worship at 9:25, followed by a coffee fellowship. The finance and administrative council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday. On Tuesday, the Wacky Women will meet at 11:15 a.m. at the Village Inn off of Madison Avenue; and the Cub Scouts will meet at 6:30 p.m. A Bible study meets at 10 a.m. Thursday. The public is invited and welcome at all church events. Church office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The churchs phone number is 712-323-3124. Check out the church online at facebook.com/pages/epworth. Fe y Esperanza United Methodist Church Fe y Esperanza (Faith and Hope) United Methodist Church, 2447 Ave. B, is handicap accessible and open to the public. Membership in the church is not required to participate in any activities. Tonight, everyone will meet for discipleship at 6 p.m. The Rev. Humberto Gonzalez invites everyone to bilingual Sunday worship service (in Spanish and English) at 12:30 p.m. accompanied by the churchs praise band. The youth group will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday. The churchs pastor can be reached at 712-828-1340. The church is on Facebook at Fe y Esperanza UMC. Hazel Dell United Methodist Church Hazel Dell United Methodist Church, 23109 205th St., is handicap accessible and open to the public. Membership is not necessary to participate in any church activities. Sunday school will meet at 10 a.m. followed by worship at 11. The public is invited and welcome at all church events. The churchs phone number is 712-545-3021. Check out the church online at facebook.com/hazeldellumccb and at hazeldellumccb.wordpress.com. Bethany Presbyterian Church Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1900 S. Seventh St., will hold worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The Rev. Nancy Ross-Hullingers message will be I Have Taken You By the Hand and Kept You. The Scripture is from Isaiah 42:1-9. Liturgist is Evelyn Irwin and the greeters are Glenda Larson and Kelly and Brett Schiller. There will be a childrens chat. Deacons meet at 9:45 a.m. The annual congregational meeting will be Jan. 19 following worship. The church will collect cans of soup and crackers for Souper Bowl Sunday. The church has an elevator for easy access. Underwood Lutheran Church Underwood Lutheran Church, 10 Third Ave., will hold regular Sunday activities. Education begins at 9 a.m., featuring Sunday school and adult forum. Worship service begins at 10:15 a.m. featuring the Rev. Ben McIntire delivering a sermon based on Matthew 3:3-17. The Johnson Family will serve as greeters. St. Johns United Church of Christ St. Johns United Church of Christ, 400 Cloverdale Drive, will hold Sunday school and adult class both begin at 9 a.m. Worship service will begin at 10:15 a.m. There will be a church council meeting at 11:15 a.m. Greeters will be Janet and Roy Tiarks. The interim pastor is the Rev. James Goodenberger. On Monday, the Boy Scouts of America will meet at 7 p.m. Mt. Hope United Methodist Church The Rev. Michael Slininger of Mt. Hope United Methodist Church, 290th and Highway 6, invites the public to worship service on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday school is at 10. Every other month is the churchs Brunch and Worship. The next Brunch and Worship will be held Feb. 10. The public is welcome. You do not have to be a member of the church to participate in our activities. Gethsemane Presbyterian Church Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, located on East Manawa Drive and Wallace Avenue, invites the public to worship service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Bible study is held from 9 to 10 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays. The food pantry is open from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays. The church is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call the church at 712-366-2513. New guidelines for Int'l travellers: From South Africa to Mauritius, here is a list of at-risk countries No takers for your malware: Indian envoy tears into Pakistan for 'peddling falsehood' on India India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Jan 10: India hit out at Pakistan for peddling falsehoods on New Delhi and said that "there are no takers for your malware here". India's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin made the comments at the UN Security Council, (UNSC) after Pakistan's Munir Akram spoke about Jammu and Kashmir. "It is increasingly acknowledged that the Council faces crises of identity and legitimacy, as well as relevance and performance. The globalisation of terror networks, the weaponisation of new technologies, the inability to counter those resorting to subversive statecraft are showing up the shortcomings of the Council," ANI quoted Akbaruddin as saying. "One delegation that epitomises the dark arts has, yet again, displayed its wares by peddling falsehoods earlier today. These we dismiss with disdain," he added. Take care of your minorities first: India slams Pakistan SC on J&K: All restrictive orders must be made public, review all restrictions within a week "My simple response to Pakistan is even though it is late, neighbour, heal thyself of your malaise. There are no takers here for your malware," he further said. Akbaruddin also called upon the Council to address ongoing and future threats to global peace as "part of the political toolkit". "The answer to the crises the Council faces lies in invoking and working through Charter provisions that provide for reform and change. We need a Council that is representative of current global realities, credible, and legitimate, rather than one that rests merely on the claim that it existed at the inception," the diplomat said. Thousands of devotees gather to perform rituals at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges and the Yamuna on Mauni Amavasya, the third and the most auspicious date of bathing during the annual month long Hindu religious fair 'Magh Mela in Prayagraj. (Image: AP) By: Jake Stofan | Capitol News Service January 10, 2020 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CNS) -- Florida could see a record breaking flu season this year. 71 outbreaks of the flu have been reported so far and peak flu season is just around the corner. Nationwide, there have been 87,000 hospitalizations and an estimated 4,800 deaths from the flu this season according to the CDC. In Florida, there have been a number of pediatric deaths, in one case a 35-year-old man died. Everybody is at risk for influenza. It is very, very contagious, said Martha DeCastro with the Florida Hospital Association. The 2017-2018 flu season was the worst Florida had seen in a decade. DeCastro said indications are that this year could break the record. The number of cases has peaked early so they're considering this somewhat of a crisis this year, said DeCastro. Tallahassee Doctor John Mackay said if you get sick with the flu, there are some indicators you may need additional medical attention. Difficulty breathing, vomiting where you can't keep fluids down, those are all good reasons to head to the ER and get checked over, said Dr. Mackay. But medical experts argue the best way to avoid getting sick is to get vaccinated. Flu vaccinations take about two weeks to kick in, but health experts say its not too late to get vaccinated. And getting vaccinated is easy. You can go to Publix and get one for free and they'll give you a $10 gift card so you can go do some shopping afterwards. CVS, Walgreens, they're all making flu shots readily available, said DeCastro. In most cases your health insurance should cover the cost. For those without insurance, contact your county health department. In addition to the vaccination, health experts say taking simple steps like washing your hands frequently and avoiding large crowds can help keep you flu free and keep you from spreading the virus if you are sick. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-09 23:43:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 17, 2019 shows the Spirit of Ecstasy on a Rolls-Royce Dawn car at the "Dream Cars" salon of the 97th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium.(Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) "China is now back into the second position right after the North American market," says Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, adding that "I foresee a good future for us in the Chinese market." by Xinhua writers Zhang Jiawei, Jin Jing LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- "I foresee a good future for us (Rolls-Royce) in the Chinese market, and we are also heavily investing into the Chinese market together with our partners," said Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Rolls-Royce delivered record annual sales in 2019 in the company's 116-year history, with 5,152 cars sold to customers in over 50 countries around the world, an increase of 25 percent year on year, according to the latest figures released by the company. The company reported significant sales growth in every of its key global markets. North America retained top status (around a third of global sales) followed by China and Europe. "China is now back into the second position right after the North American market," said Mueller-Oetvoes in a recent interview with Xinhua. Photo taken on Feb. 8, 2018 shows a Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost at the Chicago Auto Show, the United States.(Xinhua/Joel Lerner) The CEO also noted that his company, a luxury car manufacturer, even plans to launch a version of Ghost, a flagship sedan, exclusive to the Chinese market. "It's something we are very much looking forward to do this year," he said. There is reason for Mueller-Oetvoes' optimism in the Chinese market. The BMW Group, of which Rolls-Royce is a part, continued its positive sales trend in November last year: worldwide deliveries increased by 1.4 percent year-on-year to 225,662 vehicles, and strong growth can be seen in China. File photo shows Rolls-Royce cars displayed at the Beijing Sparkle Roll Luxury Brands Culture Expo 2012 Fall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2012.(Xinhua/Wang Jingshen) The auto industry is undergoing fast change with electric vehicle, or EV, being in the spotlight. EVs have entered into a fast track of development globally, especially in leading markets like China. Even a luxury brand like Rolls-Royce is planning to electrify its products. "Our plans are clear, and I announced it already last year. In this decade, Rolls-Royce will become electric, and step by step we are already working on that project," said Mueller-Oetvoes. This is "the future for the brand, our lighthouse and we are following that path", he added. EVs are on track to dominate global sales of passenger cars and buses by 2040, and to encroach significantly on the market for vans and short-distance trucking, according to a forecast from research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF) released last year. The BNEF report sees China continuing to lead in electric cars, accounting for 48 percent of all passenger EVs sold in 2025 and 26 percent in 2040 when other markets are catching up. Mueller-Oetvoes pointed out that it is still extremely hard to forecast when EVs will become the mainstream products in the market, but "I think what is clear is that long term electrification is the trend and everybody is on it." However, Rolls-Royce will need to take time to deliver "real proper Rolls-Royce", including electric versions, to satisfy customers, said the CEO. "Our customers are asking us, we want a true Rolls-Royce, even in an electrified version, and that takes a little bit of time. We need certain battery technology and when the time is right, we will bring it into the market," he said. Infosys on Friday said the board's audit committee has completed the independent probe into the anonymous whistleblower allegations and found 'no evidence' of financial impropriety or executive misconduct Country's second-largest IT major Infosys on Friday said the board's audit committee has completed the independent probe into the anonymous whistleblower allegations and found that there is "no evidence" of financial impropriety or executive misconduct. Infosys audit committee Chairperson, D Sundaram, said, The audit committee took the anonymous whistleblower complaints very seriously and commissioned a thorough investigation with the assistance of independent legal counsel. The audit committee determined that there was no evidence of any financial impropriety or executive misconduct. The audit committee conducted a thorough investigation with the assistance of independent legal counsel Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Ltd., the company said in the regulatory filings to the exchanges. #Infosys | Audit Committee: Allegations of sharing incomplete info with analysts & investors are unsubstantiated pic.twitter.com/sva9oyEq7t CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) January 10, 2020 Speaking about the probe by the company's audit panel, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani said, I am pleased that after a rigorous investigation, the audit committee has found no wrongdoing by the Company or its Executives. CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy are strong custodians of the Companys proud heritage. Salil has played a key role in reinvigorating the organization and driving momentum and the Board is confident that he will continue to execute on the companys new strategic direction successfully. The findings of the investigation were adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company, the IT major said. The audit committee concluded that no restatement of previously announced financial statements or other published financial information is warranted, it said. The Bengaluru-based company, after its October quarter results, had informed the stock exchanges of anonymous whistleblower complaints that had alleged certain unethical practices by the top management. Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani had said the whistleblower complaint dated 20 September, as well as an undated complaint had been received by one of the board members on 30 September. In the letter, dated 20 September, and signed by 'Ethical Employees', it was alleged that CEO Salil Parikh as well as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nilanjan Roy engaged in forced revenue recognition from large contracts not adhering to accounting standards. The complaints were placed before the audit committee on 10 October, and to the company's non-executive board members on 11 October, also the day when Infosys announced its second-quarter results. US market regulator SEC has also initiated a probe on the matter, while Rosen Law Firm had said it was preparing a class-action suit to recover losses suffered by Infosys investors in the US. Back home, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had sought additional information from the company, while the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) - part of the corporate affairs ministry - is also looking into alleged accounting lapses at the firm. (With PTI inputs) A child's shoe lies at the scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran. (AFP) Paris: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had "suspicions" about the cause of the Ukrainian Airlines crash outside Tehran on Wednesday. Britain and Canada meanwhile said they had received information suggesting the doomed airliner with 176 passengers and crew on board was hit by an Iranian missile. Here is a recap of other planes hit by missiles over the past four decades. July 17, 2014: 298 killed, Ukraine Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam. All 298 people aboard the Boeing 777 are killed. Kiev authorities and separatist pro-Russian rebels, who are battling for control of eastern Ukraine, accuse each other of firing the missile that downed the flight. March 23, 2007: 11 killed, Somalia An Ilyushin II-76 cargo aircraft belonging to a Belarusian airline is shot down by a rocket shortly after takeoff from the Somalian capital Mogadishu, killing 11 people. The plane was transporting Belarusian engineers and technicians who had travelled to the country to repair another plane hit by a missile two weeks earlier. October 4, 2001: 78 killed, Black Sea 78 people, mostly Israelis, were killed when their Russian Sibir Tupolev-154, flying from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk, exploded in mid-flight over the Black Sea. The crash happened less than 300 km from the Crimean coast. A week later Kiev admitted that the disaster was due to the accidental firing of a Ukrainian missile. July 3, 1988: 290 killed, Persian Gulf An Airbus A-300 belonging to Iran Air, flying from Bandar Abbas in Iran to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, was shot down in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf shortly after take-off by two missiles fired from a US frigate patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, apparently mistaking it for a fighter aircraft. The 290 passengers on board were killed. The United States paid Iran $101.8 million in compensation. September 1, 1983: 269 killed, Sakhalin A South Korean Boeing 747 of Korean Air was shot down by Soviet fighter jets over the island of Sakhalin, after veering off course. Some 269 passengers and crew members were killed. Soviet officials acknowledged five days later that they had shot down the South Korean plane. February 21, 1973: 108 killed, Sinai Dessert A Libyan Arab Airline Boeing 727 flying from Tripoli to Cairo was shot down by Israeli fighter jets over the Sinai dessert. All but four of the 112 people on board were killed. The Israeli air force intervened after the Boeing flew over military facilities in the Sinai, then occupied by Israel. The Israeli authorities said fighters opened fire when the plane refused to land. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 18:45:03|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government confirmed on Friday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make a five-day trip to the Middle East from Saturday, while also giving orders to dispatch Maritime Self-Defense Forces (MSDF) personnel and hardware to the region to conduct "information-gathering" operations. During his visit, Abe will hold talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference, with confirmation of Abe's trip coming amid abating concerns over an imminent escalation of tensions in the region. "(Prime Minister) Abe will exchange views with the leaders of the three countries, which play important roles in easing tensions and stabilizing the situation in the region. He plans to seek cooperation on ensuring stable energy supplies and safe navigation," Suga, Japan's top government spokesperson, said. The confirmation of Abe's trip came following U.S. President Donald Trump's measured response to Iran launching a missile strike on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops. Iran's missile strike on Wednesday was a reprisal for the U.S. killing Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike last week. Abe, during his trip, will seek to explain and garner support for the dispatch announced Friday of two P-3C patrol planes and a helicopter-carrying destroyer to the Middle East, along with around 260 MSDF personnel, to engage in a one-year survey and research mission. Despite simmering tensions in the Middle East, Japan will go ahead with its information-gathering and security operations, although they will not be conducted as part of a U.S.-led coalition to conduct maritime security operations in the region. Tokyo has said it will not join the U.S.-led coalition and will keep its forces away from the Strait of Hormuz near Iran in a bid to maintain positive ties with Tehran. Japan is the world's fourth-largest oil importer and relies heavily on the Middle East for the majority of its crude oil imports. On Thursday, January 9, Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk met with Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine Melinda Simmons. During the meeting, the parties discussed the agenda for bilateral cooperation following Brexit in the process of shaping its foreign policy, the Government portal reports. First of all, Honcharuk expressed his condolences to the citizens of the United Kingdom who had lost their relatives and friends in the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash near Tehran on January 8. The ambassador assured the UKs readiness to provide the necessary assistance to ensure proper investigation into the crash. The first issue raised at the meeting was a new Political, Trade and Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the United Kingdom after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. We are looking forward to signing the Political, Trade and Partnership Agreement in the near future. It would be ideal to sign the new agreement during a visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to London. In December 2019, we reached an accord on the provisions of the trade part of the agreement. We look forward to concluding talks on the political part of the agreement on January 14-15," Honcharuk said. Moreover, the prime minister and the ambassador discussed the visa facilitation for Ukrainians. Ukraine has achieved visa liberalization with a number of countries, has been granted a visa-free regime with the EU. It is rather relevant to grant to Ukrainian citizens a simplified procedure for obtaining British visas. The visa issue remains very problematic in our relations. We propose to work out together the ways to liberalize the relevant visa conditions," he noted. Apart from that, Honcharuk asked the UK for help to Ukraine on its way towards joining the NATO Enhanced Opportunity Partnership. Ms. Melinda Simmons promised that the UK would initiate discussion of this issue within the Alliance. The parties also spoke about areas for cooperation between the two countries, including providing technical assistance by the United Kingdom. Such areas include the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, tax and the customs reforms, strengthening of government strategic communications, health care reform, anti-corruption reform, and the State in Smartphone project. ish Minimum wage hikes are a hot topic these days, particularly as a number of cities and states have ramped up their minimums to $15 an hour. Usually, the debate revolves around whether minimum wage hikes reduce employment, by making workers more expensive to hire. But now there's another twist we can add: It looks like higher minimum wages reduce suicide rates. According to new research just published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, every $1 increase in the per hour minimum wage cuts the suicide rate among people with a high school education or less by something between 3.5 percent and 5.9 percent. The researchers found no significant impact on suicide rates among more educated Americans. The authors of the study used state minimum wages as a kind of natural experiment: some state minimums are quite higher than the federal minimum of $7.25. As the authors put it, if you imagine the minimum wage as a medical treatment aimed at addressing the public health problem of suicide, then the federal minimum wage is the baseline treatment, and the state minimum wage hikes are experiments in higher "doses." And it sure looks like higher doses correlate with fewer suicides among people with less education a population that is both more impacted by minimum wage hikes and that's at a higher risk of suicide. Put another way: the study's findings suggest that if every state's minimum wage had been $1 higher than they were over the 1990 to 2015 period the data covered, then 27,550 suicides could've been prevented. Had state minimum wages been $2 higher, there could've been 57,350 fewer suicides. Now, no study is perfect, and opponents of minimum wage hikes have already quibbled with the methodology. (We'll get to those objections in a minute.) But the real lesson here is less about this specific study than the general trend of the research: This is the third study in just the last year to suggest that minimum wage hikes could cut suicides. Another paper, looking at state-by-state variation in policy from 1999 to 2015, found a 10 percent hike in minimum wages cut suicides not related to drugs by 3.6 percent among Americans with just a high school education or less. That paper also found no effect for more educated workers. Yet more research, looking at these state variations from 2006 to 2016, found a $1 increase in the minimum wage went along with a 1.9 percent reduction in the suicide rate though that study didn't break things down by education. Story continues After falling for decades, suicide rates in the U.S. started climbing again after 2000, and are now higher than they've been at any point since World War II. The change is part of a rise in so-called "deaths of despair" i.e. deaths from suicide, drug overdoses and alcoholism. As a result of that rise, there's been an unprecedented decline in overall U.S. life expectancy in recent years. And at this point, plenty of research points to personal hardships related to work and finances as one major cause of suicide. There's well-grounded logic for thinking that raising the floor for what people are paid by their jobs should lead to better outcomes for human well-being more hope, more stability, more healthy behaviors, and less fear and stress and thus fewer suicides. The Epidemiology & Community Health study specifically also added two interesting twists to the literature: They found that the effect of a higher minimum wage on suicides was actually stronger when unemployment is high. And they found the reduction in suicides was actually stronger immediately after the hike is passed than one year out from the passage. On the first point, the authors theorize that wages are higher anyway when unemployment is low (because workers have more bargaining power in tight labor markets) so the protection for people's well-being offered by the minimum wage itself is less significant. But the second point is especially interesting, because it suggests the psychological effect on people of knowing the minimum wage is higher may count as much for their well-being as the raw material fact of getting more income. This could also circle back to the first point: When you don't have a job, maybe the stress and despair is lessened by knowing that, once you do find unemployment again, it will pay better. Now, what about those aforementioned objections? The "dosage" methodology the study used is relatively unusual in minimum wage research. And critics of minimum wage increases pointed out it can lead to weird conceptual results: If the federal government increased its minimum to $14 an hour, for example, to match Washington, D.C.'s, then the "dosage" there and the effect on suicides would be the same as the current situation for Alabama, where $7.25 an hour is the state and federal minimum. Also, because the study specifies the dosage in dollars, that means a state-federal gap of, say, $7.25 to $8.25 would have the same effect as a $14 to $15 gap, even though those differences are quite different percentage-wise. This all led Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) office to quip: "By [the study's] logic, if we raised the federal minimum wage while keeping state minimum wages constant, suicide would go up!" Frankly, that's a rather tendentious read of a statistical method that, while not perfect, is certainly intuitive. No one is suggesting the gap itself is the causal mechanism here. It's also worth noting that the aforementioned paper that found a 3.6 percent decrease in suicides from a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage used a much more common methodology that smooths out the conceptual issues with the "dosage" approach. There are other more straightforward and more modest critiques. For instance, while the authors tried to control for confounding variables that might have influenced the results like differences in state-level economic output, differing unemployment rates, and the benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program they weren't able to control for state-by-state variations in the food stamps program. Aparna Mathur, an economist at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, also argued that, because the study looked at aggregate trends at the state level, it's hard to tease out what the causal mechanism is for the reduction. She noted that disemployment effects from the minimum wage hikes could still leave people worse off, even if they aren't committing suicide as much. John Kaufman, a doctoral student at Emory University and one of the study's lead authors, agreed that a look at state-level numbers rather than individuals "is not able to show why the wage hike appeared to reduce suicide rates." But, speaking as an educated layman, I don't find this last critique by Mathur particularly persuasive. At the end of the day, the objection to the minimum wage is the risk that it increases joblessness by making workers more costly for employers to hire. We can of course try to look at job effects directly, and the bulk of the research suggests that at least where the minimum wage hikes we're attempting so far are concerned the effects on employment are minimal. But ultimately, the reason to avoid increasing unemployment is that joblessness itself is decimating to people's mental well-being. Suicide is the most extreme outcome of the very despair and hopelessness that unemployment can cause. If minimum wage hikes do lead to more joblessness, then presumably they should increase suicides in the aggregate, especially for the less-educated Americans most exposed to the minimum wages' impacts. Probably the most important thing to keep in mind here is the banal point that we could always use more research, such as adding controls for the food stamp program and other possibly-confounding variables. If the causal mechanism here is indeed that a higher minimum wage decreases the despair that can lead to suicide, then researchers should test that theory by looking into whether minimum wage hikes also decrease other trends, like rates of depression or of unsuccessful suicide attempts. "There's a lot of information that we would like to have to fill in the gaps," Kaufman himself admitted. Thus far, though, the findings do indeed suggest that aggregate suicides fall as the minimum wage rises. And that's a devastating finding for minimum wage opponents' theory of the case. Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here. More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman 5 royally funny cartoons about Harry and Meghan's exit Chip Walter recommends 6 great science books A private firm employee, who had two days ago claimed that he was robbed of his company's Rs 38 lakh by unidentified miscreants here, has been arrested for the crime, police said on Friday. The accused has been identified as Hemprakash, 34, a native of Chhattisgarh, they said. The police added that his two relatives have also been arrested for their involvement in the robbery. On Wednesday, an accountant of the Ghaziabad-based company had reported to the police that his colleague Hemprakash was robbed at Sector 88 in the city when he was carrying the firm's Rs 38 lakh. The accountant, however, raised suspicion over Hemprakash as well, Superintendent of Police, Noida City, Ankur Aggarwal told reporters. "An investigation was launched into the case by the Phase II police station, leading to the arrest of Hemprakash, his brother-in-law Amit Baghel (36) and maternal cousin Mahesh (21)," the SP said. According to the police, Hemprakash was unhappy with the work he was doing and planned to dupe his employer with the help of his relatives. "All three are natives of Chhattisgarh and had planned to leave Noida forever and return home after this episode. They were held on Thursday near Sector 82 following a tip-off," Aggarwal said. The accused were staying here in Hoshiarpur village and the police have recovered Rs 37.28 lakh of the robbed money from their possession, he said. The three have been booked under Indian penal Code sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), the police said. The accused were produced in a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody, the police added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Jan. 2, 1847, a ragtag band of poorly armed Californio rancheros, many of them old men, fought a company of U.S. soldiers and militiamen on a muddy plain 3 miles west of Mission Santa Clara. It was the only battle in Northern California between Californios and the U.S. military during the Mexican-American War. The brief encounter was militarily insignificant. No one was killed or seriously wounded, and it did not affect the outcome of the war in any way. Yet for the Californios, the Battle of Santa Clara was the honorable climax of a justified campaign, and it served as a worthy epitaph to a society and a way of life that was about to disappear forever. President James Polk declared war on the U.S.s southern neighbor on May 13, 1846. As Neal Harlow notes in California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province 1846-1850, there were numerous sources of American enmity toward Mexico, including the claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico, a long quarrel over the common boundary, and the perennial yearning in Washington for neighboring lands. But the immediate casus belli was tension over Texas, a former Mexican territory that had declared independence in 1836. When the U.S. annexed Texas in December 1845, both sides began preparing for war. Trivia time The previous trivia question: Who is the only person buried in his own, non-cemetery, tomb in San Francisco? Answer: The Rev. Thomas Starr King. His sarcophagus is on the grounds of the First Unitarian Church, off Starr King Way. This week's trivia question: On Jan. 3, 1998, the last time the 49ers faced the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs, the 49ers won 38-22. Who was the 49ers' leading receiver in that game? Editor's note Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiya's Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Francisco's extraordinary history - from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday. Editor's note See More Collapse The Californios native Californians, mostly but not all of Hispanic descent had ambiguous feelings about their political future. As Leonard Pitt writes in The Decline of the Californios, a vague and contradictory patriotism led them to support Mexico during the war. Yet that support was lukewarm, in large part because the Mexican government was distant and ineffectual. Many Californios, including the most famous of them, Mariano Vallejo, admired the efficiency and modernity of the Americans and hoped that the U.S. would take control of California. A number of them, particularly members of established families that had received large land grants from the Mexican government, simply wished to continue their traditional, semi-feudal way of life. Had the Americans dealt with the Californios in a more sympathetic and enlightened way, many of the conflicts that erupted in California during the war including the Battle of Santa Clara could have been avoided. But arrogance and blunders marked American behavior in California even before war was declared. The most notorious offender was Capt. John C. Fremont, a vainglorious adventurer whose provocative actions as head of a band of heavily armed Americans inspired the embarrassing episode known as the Bear Flag Revolt. On June 14, a band of rough American settlers, acting on flimsy accusations of oppression by the feeble Mexican authorities, stormed into Mariano Vallejos Sonoma adobe and arrested Vallejo, another pro-American Californio and Vallejos brother-in-law. After getting drunk on the courtly Vallejos brandy, they issued a bombastic, somewhat incoherent pronouncement and produced a crude flag depicting a grizzly bear that looked more like a pig (a version of which became the California state flag). The leader of the Mexican forces in the north, Gen. Jose Castro, raised 160 men after the Bear Flag Revolt and there was a skirmish at Olompali, north of Novato, in which two Californios were killed. But the Mexican forces soon dissipated. Tensions between the natives and the conquerors were lessened when the Bear Flag ruffians were supplanted by regular U.S. troops. On July 9, 1846, Capt. John B. Montgomery, commander of the USS Portsmouth, and 70 men rowed ashore in the hamlet of Yerba Buena, marched to the old Spanish Plaza (now Portsmouth Square) and raised the American flag. From the start, most Californios in the Bay Area accepted the U.S. occupation. In fact, many Yerba Buena residents went on a drunken binge to celebrate although many may have been Americans or foreigners. As Dorothy Regnery notes in The Battle of Santa Clara: The Only Campaign in the Northern California District Between the Californios and the United States Forces During the Mexican War, no Mexican flag was present to be lowered, nor were there any Mexican officials to be found. The acting commandante of the San Francisco district militia, Capt. Francisco Sanchez, surrendered all his troops without incident. To be sure, not every resident of Yerba Buena was enthusiastic. One Mexican loyalist was a well-known character named Robert Ridley, who was captain of the port, had married an hija del pais (a Californio girl) and was said to be more Mexican than the Mexicans. When Gen. Castro ordered Ridley to prevent the Americans from landing in Yerba Buena, he was unable to find a single Mexican citizen in the town to assist him, apparently because most had left after receiving a June 17 order from Castro to meet him at Santa Clara for orders. 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. A few days later, Ridley himself was arrested at gunpoint in a billiard parlor by a group of Bear Flaggers and marched off to languish with Vallejo and other captives at Sutters Fort. But relations that summer between the conquerors and the locals were mostly cordial. When the U.S. commander-in-chief, Robert Stockton, held a ball in Yerba Buena, Sanchez and other prominent figures sent their best horses so everyone could ride to Mission Dolores. One could almost characterize the amicable months that followed the raising of the U.S. flag as San Franciscos original summer of love. Historian Kevin Starr described the conquest of California as faintly ridiculous an opera scenario worthy of Hector Berlioz. But the opera had a tragic side. Two weeks after the Bear Flag incident, a contingent of Fremonts men, including the bloodthirsty scout Kit Carson, encountered an old Californio ranchero and his 19-year-old twin nephews as they disembarked from a rowboat near San Quentin. Earlier, Fremont had offhandedly remarked that he had no room for prisoners. Carson and his men shot the three unarmed men dead. The Californios never forgot those killings, or other indignities to which they were subjected. Goaded beyond endurance, they finally rose up in revolt. That story will be the subject of the next Portals. Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. To read earlier Portals of the Past, go to sfchronicle.com/portals. For more features from 150 years of The Chronicles archives, go to sfchronicle.com/vault. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com The last five years on Earth have been hotter than at any time since the industrial revolution kicked off almost two centuries ago. Thats the conclusion of Europes Copernicus Climate Change Service, which published data on Wednesday showing that global average temperatures since 2015 were some 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than when steam engines began powering industry. Last year was the second warmest on record after 2016. These are unquestionably alarming signs, Jean-Noel Thepaut, the head of climate change monitoring at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said in an email. As wildfires continue to ravage Australia and pollution increasingly chokes millions living in cities, the new data highlights the rapid changes that the Earths ecosystem is undergoing as a result of man-made carbon emissions. After its invention in the 17th century, the steam engine was developed to power the locomotives and factories that proliferated during the industrial revolution. The Copernicus Climate Change Service operates a network of satellites for the European Union that collects weather, soil, air and water data. Other report highlights include: 2019 was Europes warmest year, marginally higher than temperatures in 2014, 2015 and 2018 Global average temperatures in 2019 were 0.6 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1981 to 2010 average Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration increased by about 2.3 parts per million in 2019, to the second-highest level on record Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Europe New Delhi/London: The wax figures of Harry and Meghan have been removed from the royal set at Madame Tussauds London after the couple rocked the monarchy with their bombshell decision to 'step back' as senior royals. The museum has separated Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, from the rest of the royal family. Wax replicas of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously stood next to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, with Kate Middleton and Prince William on the other side. MailOnline, the website of the Daily Mail, quoted Madame Tussauds' general manager Steve Davies as saying: "Alongside the rest of the world we are reacting to the surprising news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be stepping back as senior royals. From today Meghan and Harry's figures will no longer appear in our Royal Family set. As two of our most popular and well-loved figures they will of course remain an important feature at Madame Tussauds London as we watch to see what the next chapter holds for the them." Weve got to respect their wishes #Megxit pic.twitter.com/mb936VcqRd Madame Tussauds London (@MadameTussauds) January 9, 2020 Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Wednesday decided to quit front-line duties without consulting any senior royals from the sovereign downwards. The couple said they would now "balance" their time between Britain and North America, rip up long-established relations with the press, and seek financial independence. They released their shock statement on a pre-prepared new website, their Instagram account and through Buckingham Palace's email communications system. An hour and 40 minutes later, the palace, seemingly rattled, issued a brief statement of its own, saying discussions were at an early stage and involved "complicated issues". The mood in the palace was understood to be one of disappointment and even "hurt", according to the BBC, while Thursday's newspapers were full of reports of a family "split" and the queen's "dismay". London's Evening Standard newspaper said they had "defied clear instructions from the queen" not to go public about any future plans at this time. It added senior courtiers had warned the couple "will be punished for this". While the pair have not said where in North America they planned to reside, many observers pointed to Canada as a logical choice. The couple spent the last six weeks of 2019 in that nation, part of the British Commonwealth of countries that have the queen as their head of state. The Canadian government would likely have a legal obligation to provide them with security because of their royal status, security experts said. "I don't believe they can refuse the government of Canada's security," said Larry Busch, an ex-Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer who directed security for world leaders including US presidents and the royal family. The cost could easily run into the millions of dollars, said Mike Zimet, whose eponymous New York executive security firm has protected clients including U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and actors Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alec Baldwin. "If they want private protection, then a whole machine needs to be built around them," he said. (With inputs from agencies) Christine Motokane could get long-term care to help her with daily tasks like cooking. Matthew Cortland could marry his longtime partner. Christin Lucas could stop worrying that her sons school might put him back in the isolated classrooms that made him suicidal. This is some of what is at stake in a newly prominent debate over disability policy. For months, Democratic presidential candidates have built on one another in this arena, culminating last week with a plan from Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts whose scope shocked many advocates. That plan and the way Ms. Warren developed it, with a working group of about a dozen people with disabilities, reflect a sea change. More presidential candidates than ever before are acknowledging how many issues, from criminal justice to student debt, affect people with disabilities, who make up a quarter of the countrys adult population. And more people with disabilities are shaping the policies that could affect them. Candidates are actually listening to disabled people, said Rebecca Cokley, director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, who was part of Ms. Warrens working group and has advised several other candidates on their plans. This is how policy should be made. It matters whos at the table. In a 2017 runoff election, Pearland mayor Tom Reid, then 91, was running against an opponent more than five decades younger than him. As he has many times before, Reid won the election easily in a city that during his total of nearly 44 years in office has been marked for explosive growth and dizzying changes that included development of the Shadow Creek Ranch master-planned community on the west side of town and increasing diversity among residents. He says he has spent most of his life looking forward. I get out of bed every morning with a mission, a plan to do something special, he said. Reid, now 94, holds the distinction as one of the oldest and longest-term elected city officials in the region, the recent announcement of his retirement . Reid looks back with pride on his more than 50 years in government, including service on City Council and municipal boards, even as he plans to enjoy more time with his family. In music they have what you call melody sort of an ongoing melody of beautiful music but at some point, you have to move on, he said. Born in Houston, Reid grew up in central Texas, joined the Navy after graduating from high school and served during World War II in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he studied engineering and law at University of Texas in Austin. From the Navy to NASA While with the Navy, Reid worked as a design engineer in underwater research, including devising ways to detach limpet mines without causing an explosion. He also developed a -inch valve that could withstand 10,000 pounds of pressure. That experience would lead to his introduction to NASA and a move to Pearland in 1965, where he has lived since. (Johnson Space Center) gave me a call and asked if I would like to go to work for them, Reid recalled. He worked at Johnson Space Center from 1965-97. He was a team member who was a supervisor and manager in projects including Gemini and the Apollo, Skylab and the Space Shuttle programs. Reid describes his role as a system engineer at JSC just in time for the first Gemini module flights as one of many pieces that made up a big picture. Reids memories cover the early days of the Apollo program, working on International Space Station projects and managing translation and traveling to Moscow during the 1975 joint U.S.-Soviet project Apollo-Soyuz. That (Apollo-Soyuz) was a project Im very proud of, he said. All through his years at JSC, Reid was engaged in city politics: serving as a Pearland council member for five years in the 1970s before being elected mayor in 1978. He served until 1990 and was re-elected in 1993 and has been Pearlands mayor ever since. Overseeing explosive growth It was a small community when Reid arrived in 1965 in 1973, the city reached a population of over 5,000, the number required to become chartered. That was a fun period, he said. Over the course of Reids five decades as a city official, Pearland has become one of the fast-growing cities in the Houston area for populations of over 10,000, ranked third after the Woodlands and Sugar Land. It is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. According to Cheryl Kepp, senior vice president of the Pearland Chamber of Commerce, Reid is an engaged and friendly member of the community who happens to hold office and seems to appear everywhere whether it was at events for a wide range of events and groups. He is very involved, and thoughtfully involved, Kepp said. It was that kind of accessibility that endeared to him to residents. It gives the sense that he truly cares, that this was not just a job, but a passion for him and a feeling that he loves Pearland and the people of Pearland, she said. Ive never seen him push someone away or say he didnt have time. He always has time for one more picture. He is just always there and always opened the door and welcomed anyone to the city. That open-door policy extended to Pearlands growing cultural diversity, according to Carol Artz-Bucek, president and CEO of the Pearland Chamber of Commerce. He is all-encompassing and embraces diversity, and I appreciate that about him, Artz-Bucek said. He is a great ambassador to the city. Reid has also served as a city planning and zoning commissioner and has been chairman of the Brazoria County Drainage District No. 4 and served as a member of the Houston-Galveston Area Council, an organization that coordinates planning of mobility and transportation issues in the region As mayor, Reid feels proud that he was part of the citys evolution, citing his focus on infrastructure, expansion of roads and increasing mobility and connectivity, development of amenities like sidewalks and parks, library expansion and helping to bring in the University of Houston-Clear Lake at Pearland. The Tom Reid Library at 3522 Liberty Drive is named for him. I would see something and think, That is a great idea, we need to do that here and to be able to that, we can also do this and this and it can happen we wanted to make Pearland something special, he said. An engineer at heart, Reid often cites his time at Johnson Space Center as blueprint for planning ahead from the ideas and concepts through the trials and setbacks and starting again. Our whole effort was to be one of the cities that shines above all others. A proud Eagle Scout, Reid knows about preparation. The city will continue to grow, he said, and the next mayor will have to be prepared to meet the challenges of an expanding community. You have to keep thinking that this is where were heading we are going to be a cosmopolitan community with about 175,000 people, he said, and always remember that if were going to be something special, you have to make sure everything you do supports, improves, enhances the city. Throughout my life most of the things Ive done have been based on a building process, he said. Thats how to build a city. yorozco@hcnonline.com SOMERS Before kicking him off the car dealership property, the hiring manager told Jose whod applied for a job there the fable of the scorpion and the frog, an allegory that cautions the listener to never forget the nature of others. The employer told Jose he viewed him as a liability because of his criminal record. I subconsciously resolved myself to the life of a scorpion, Jose recalled Thursday, more than a decade later. Until my recent term of incarceration. Jose relayed his story Thursday afternoon from inside Cybulski Correctional Institution, where he is currently imprisoned, to members of the Council on the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Conviction. The council is charged with submitting legislative recommendations by Feb. 1 on how to reduce discrimination against those with criminal records. According to a national study, those with criminal records face more than 550 barriers codified in state statute that make their lives harder after theyre released from prison. Thursdays forum was a part of the councils research into those forms of discrimination. Members asked those offering testimony to identify themselves by only their first names to ensure anonymity. The importance of it, for me, is what I can glean from the story. Not who it is, but what it is, said Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven. I dont want to further stigmatize them by using their full names. Each of the 25 men who offered their stories are housed in the prisons Reintegration Center, which means they will soon be released some for the first time in decades. Jose has spent more than 10 years behind bars. During that time he has taken college classes in finance and business, earned a 4.0 GPA, and has been accepted into a national honor society. He plans on opening his own car dealership in New Haven when he is released from prison. But he still remembers the business owner who told him he couldnt change his nature. That was long ago, Jose said. I wont forget because it motivates me, and it keeps me ready for what Im going to do in the future. Many of the inmates concerns were related to housing and employment discrimination. Several men explained how they had been passed over for jobs because of their records, whether through discrimination or because they didnt have the same skills as people who hadnt been locked up. Others said they are worried about obtaining life insurance, or getting a commercial drivers license when they are out of prison. Andrew, who has spent the last 29 years in prison, said he is anxious because hes been incarcerated for so long. I have concerns about all the questions, but they apply to a world I have not walked in for a very long time, he said. All I can do is pray Ill be ready to face them with a positive outlook. Another man Louis, from Waterbury told the council hed been denied multiple jobs at corporate restaurants, despite having 25 years of experience as a chef. His felony convictions held him back, he said. As a recovering addict, it is hard to work in a restaurant that serves alcohol, he said, explaining it would be better for his recovery to work somewhere that would not trigger a relapse. I would love to stay in my field and work in a safe space. Only five of the councils 21 members attended Thursdays meeting. They were Porter; Melvin Medina, public policy and advocacy director of the ACLU of Connecticut; Tiheba Bane, the founder of Women against Mass Incarceration; Arunan Arulampalam, deputy commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection; and William Murphy, the Department of Corrections director of programs and treatment. I absolutely would have loved to see more of my council members there, especially legislators, Porter, the councils co-chair, said. We write laws that impact the lives of people, and these are some of the most forgotten-about people that we represent. You lose a lot when you dont hear firsthand from them, out of their mouths, what their experience is, and what their solutions and suggestions are. There will be another forum this morning at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, to hear from inmates at the states only womens prison. Matthew, who is finishing his first stint in prison, said he surveyed his peers before addressing the council Thursday. He told the story of a former banker who lost his career because of a felony conviction. That man turned to independent contracting, but he eventually lost that job, too, because of his record. Thus, not only are we struggling to get jobs, Matthew said, felons are struggling to be self-employed or to have their own businesses. Medina told the men he empathizes with them. What I kind of lift up from your story is the difficulty of trying to get back on your feet, trying to get a job, trying to get housing, and every No feels like you have no value,' he said. Thats the challenge that were trying to educate the world outside. That its not just the criminal record, its everything associated with the criminal record, that stigma, the idea that you dont have value. Your storys valuable, Medina added. You matter. #19 RE: "" / 14-08-2014 20:18 (14-08-2014 19:46) JohnZepp (): ... - "" - . . , , ,- . , , "33 ". - . . , , ,- . , , "33 ". PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) in 2018-2019 spent about UAH 320 million on the program to restore 27 locomotives. According to a company press release, domestic and foreign analogues were used instead of Russian components during the overhaul of locomotives, thereby neutralizing Russian sanctions regarding the ban on the supply of spare parts and engines for diesel locomotives to Ukraine. According to the press service, the plant has one of the largest railway fleets in the metallurgical complex: 172 locomotives (126 for servicing metallurgical production, 46 for mining). A few years ago, the company adopted an import substitution program. One of the main partners was Mykolaiv Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant, which established production cooperation with a number of Ukrainian and foreign manufacturers of various railways equipment. Thanks to joint developments, Mykolaiv plant started installing diesel engines of well-known world companies, namely U.S.-based Cummins, UK-Belgian ABC Corporation, and others, on locomotives. In addition, the latest Heinzmann engine control systems (Germany), a rotary vane compressor jointly with the Italian company Mattei, a modern traction unit of alternating current (Electrotyazhmash), a microprocessor-based locomotive control system, etc. were installed on the machines. Thanks to the measures taken, the plant in 20182019 got the opportunity to restore 11 diesel locomotives, in particular with the replacement of engines and deep modernization. In addition, 16 more cars were repaired on the basis of its two diesel locomotive repair depots. Associated Press The Santa Cruz County woman accused of flinging a cup of menstrual blood at state senators in September has been charged with two felonies, according to court records. Rebecca Dalelio, 43, of Boulder Creek, faces charges of assault on a public official and vandalism, according to Shelly Orio, spokeswoman for the Sacramento County district attorneys office, which filed charges on Thursday. Each of the charges carries a possible county jail sentence of up to one year. tech2 News Staff Samsung announced its first foldable smartphone Galaxy Fold last year at MWC 2019. After a few hiccups, the company managed to launch it in the market later in 2019. Soon after, various rumours surfaced hinting that Samsung is prepping to expand its portfolio in this segment and might launch Galaxy Fold 2 soon. Only this time, it will fold like a clamshell and not like a notebook. Reports have also suggested that the upcoming foldable phone by Samsung will be cheaper than its predecessor that was priced at Rs 1,64, 999 in India. While all these details remain to be confirmed, at CES 2020, Samsung apparently secretly revealed the official name of the device and details about its design inspiration. As per a report by South Korean publication Aju News, Samsung held a "secret meeting" at CES 2020. Samsung CEO DJ Koh reportedly revealed that the upcoming foldable smartphone might be named "Galaxy Bloom". However, that's not even the best bit from this secret meeting! Apparently, Samsung said that the purported Galaxy Bloom will primarily target women in their 20s and so its design is inspired by "Lancome's compacts". How many of us are taking offence at this right now? via GIPHY So Samsung is trying to say that in 2020 the only way it thought it could attract women in their 20s to its smartphone was to design it like a makeup product? Wait, is that why Samsung called it Galaxy Bloom? Because "women are like flowers"? via GIPHY The only silver lining though: The Galaxy Bloom may fit in our pockets! Coming back to the Galaxy Bloom, As per previous reports, instead of plastic back (like in Galaxy Fold), Galaxy Bloom is expected to come with an ultra-thin glass that will make it less prone to scratches. Koh reportedly also confirmed that the upcoming Galaxy S series will include Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is expected to feature a 108 MP camera that supports 100x optical zoom. All these smartphones will be launched in San Francisco on 11 February at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On Halal Pharmaceuticals 2020 Global Market Net Worth US$ 34.82 billion Forecast By 2026. Halal Pharmaceuticals Market 2020 Description: The global Halal Pharmaceuticals Market is anticipated to reach USD 34.82 billion by 2026. The significant growth in the Halal Pharmaceuticals Market is primarily due to the rapid increase in the Muslim population, along with their improving disposable income. Increasing purchasing power and deepening belief in Shariah law together is responsible for creating a surge in demand for halal pharmaceuticals. Shariah law is derived from the Quran and is basically a collection of practices, words, habits, and silent approvals. As per the law, products containing the discharge of human beings or animals, and in direct or indirect contact with non-halal items. Moreover, it must not contain traces of things that are unfit for human consumption such as poison, and toxic elements. Get a Sample Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3695788-halal-pharmaceuticals-market-by-drug-class-allergies-endocrine For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.com Major Key Players The list of key companies that are operating in the Halal Pharmaceuticals Market includes Chemical Company of Malaysia Berhad, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, Bosch Pharmaceuticals, Noor Vitamins, EMBIL Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Nutramedica Incorporated, PharmaniagaBhd, and SimporPharmaSdnBhd, among others. 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Going deep into the business analysis, it identifies the factors that drive the market in between the forecasted period of 2020 and 2026. Through this, one can have predictive insight about the status of the market in a specific timeline. Status of the market and driving factors: All the driving factors associated with the business and thus, the market formed can be understood upon meticulously analysing the report. In other words, it provides the key factors behind the current status of the Halal Pharmaceuticals market. In this context, the trends associated with the market has been analysed, and their effects on the demand are studied. For those aiming at the pricing analysis, can find the same for the entire timeline starting from the very inception. This way it provides the all-inclusive analysis of the Halal Pharmaceuticals market, taking every single factor associated into account. Domain-specific analysis: The report segments the Halal Pharmaceuticals market from all crucial business driving perspectives. From a regional point of view, it segments the demand from the global font, as well as identifies the subdomains of the same. In short, along with the top markets in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the US, it also provides the nation-specific scenario. In this context, it analyses the trends of the market in all these mentioned above domains and their forecasts. Key players and risk: Upon going through the report, the key players associated with the market can be identified. At the same time, their current status in the most lucrative zones can be understood. Risk factors related to the Halal Pharmaceuticals market can be studied as well upon analysing the report in a way. Taking each vital element into account, the report addresses every dimension associated with the applications and the Halal Pharmaceuticals market. Ultimately, it helps the prospect investors and business analysts in taking crucial business decisions. Enquiry About Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/3695788-halal-pharmaceuticals-market-by-drug-class-allergies-endocrine Table of Contents Major Key Points Overview and Scope Executive Summary Halal Pharmaceuticals Market Insights Halal Pharmaceuticals Market Size and Forecast by Drug Class Halal Pharmaceuticals Market Size and Forecast by Product type Halal Pharmaceuticals Market Size and Forecast by Regions Company Profiles Continued. CONTACT US: NORAH TRENT Partner Relations & Marketing Manager sales@wiseguyreports.com www.wiseguyreports.com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) ABOUT US: Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories. Allister Charlie was elected to the Guyana Parliament in 2015. Guyana may just be setting an example for other CARICOM states to follow, in matters related to sexual assault complaints/charges against public figures. Last Tuesday, Allister Charlie, a former Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) parliamentarian, was charged with sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy, and for attempting to prevent the course of justice by trying to bribe the youths grandmother to drop the criminal complaint, this according to Guyanas Stabroek News. The act of sexual assault was reported to have been committed between July and August 1, 2019, in the Central Rupununi area, home to many indigenous people. When Charlie appeared before a Magistrate last Tuesday, his lawyer made a case for bail and it was granted in the sum of $200,000. Hearing has been set for January 31 at the Lethem Magistrates Court. Lethem is a community in Central Rupununi. Reports are that the Police began an investigation into a complaint made by the victims mother against Charlie, in August2019. The investigation encountered one setback after another, but the police stood firm, according to reports, and prepared what they think is a strong case against the accused. Guyana mainstream media reported that a video of Charlies encounter with the 16-year-old was posted on Facebook. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder and actor Kamal Haasan on Friday said his contemporary and superstar Rajinikanth has the "duty" to strive for the development of Tamil Nadu, much like any citizen of the state. He also expressed concern over the recent attacks on students at the premier Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and called for an a change in the "autocratic" attitude. Speaking to reporters at the airport here, Haasan said all Tamil were duty-bound to invest their hardwork and energy towards the progress of the state. "All Tamils should help... should invest their hardwork and sweat and it is the duty of all and take it to the level where it has to be...he (Rajinikanth) also has that responsibility," Haasan said. He was responding to a query on his statement at an event on Thursday that he wanted Rajinikanth to help Tamil Nadu. The two actors had last year expressed their willingness to join hands politically in the interest of the state. While Haasan is already heading his political party MNM, Rajinikanth had said in 2017 that he would take the political plunge and contest the next Assembly polls, due next year. On the JNU controversy, Haasan expressed concern over the attacks on the students and said it has created a 'panic.' "It is also an injustice... this should change, this autocratic (attitude) should change," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "IoT in Utilities Market by Component (Platform, Solutions (Asset Monitoring and Management and CIS and Billing), Services), Application (Electricity Grid Management Water and Wastewater Management), Region - Global Forecast to 2024", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Internet of Things (IoT) in Utilities Market size is expected to grow from USD 28.6 billion in 2019 to USD 53.8 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.5% during the forecast period. The use of IoT in grid technology is accelerating the integration of renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectricity into the electrical grid and further in the gas and water utility segment across the world. Factors, such as the rising trend of deregulating the utility industry, and need for operational efficiency and control are expected to increase the growth of the market. The lack of standards for interconnectivity and interoperability can restrain the growth of the market. Browse in-depth TOC on "IoT in Utilities Market" 108 Tables 42 Figures 155 Pages Ask for Report Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=116054824 Asset monitoring and management solution to account for the largest market size during the forecast period IoT-enabled asset monitoring solutions are a combination of all processes, assets, workflows, and analytics into a single solution, which offer centrally consolidated tracking, monitoring, and analytics system for asset-intensive sectors, such as utilities, mining, oil and gas, and healthcare. Asset monitoring and management solutions include the management of utility meters, predictive asset maintenance, and control operations of assets. Asset management for utilities help in the optimum and sustainable management of water and gas pipelines. In order to achieve the organizational strategic plan, the associated performance, risks, and expenditures over the lifecycle of assets are taken care of by asset management solutions. These solutions generally include type and asset tracking; work order creation; maintenance, repair, and operations inventory and procurement; asset tracking; and planned maintenance history. The electricity grid management application to account for the largest market size during the forecast period The use of IoT in the electricity grid offers an unprecedented opportunity to move the energy industry into a new era of reliability, availability, and efficiency, which will contribute in enhancing the overall economic and environmental health. An electricity grid having IoT capabilities has smart sensors, receivers, smart meters, and energy boxes which communicate with each other. In the traditional electricity grid, utilities would gain knowledge about an existing power failure through consumers. However, with the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in place, utility providers are well-aware about the failure once the smart meter stops sending meter data, owing to the presence of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and two-way communication across all components. n This leads to lower response time and real-time information about maintenance-related issues, leading to better management of electricity distribution. Use of IoT in electricity grid is not limited to technology and utility operators but it helps consumers manage day-to-day energy consumption. Speak to Research Expert: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=116054824 North America to account for the highest market share during the forecast period North America accounts for the highest market share in the IoT in Utilities Market. The region has always been at the forefront of smart grid technology adoption and a large share of the major utilities in the region are either fully deployed or in the implementation or planning stages of full-scale rollouts. In the coming years, continued growth in North America is expected to be largely driven by large investor-owned utilities across the US markets, which are yet to roll out smart meters for their customers. Moreover, large number of small cooperative and municipal utilities are expected to play a central role for growth penetration. The major IoT in Utilities Market vendors include IBM (US), Oracle (US), Verizon (US), Cisco (US), Vodafone (UK), Telit (UK), Landis Gyr (Switzerland), Itron (US), Schneider Electric (France), Huawei (China), Trimble (US), Aclara (US), Trilliant (US), Energyworx (Netherlands), HCL (India), Altair (US), Actility (France), Waviot (Russia), Rayven (Australia), Saviant Consulting (India), ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Honeywell (US), and GE (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Digitalization and Internet of Things (IoT) Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Smart Grid Market by Software (AMI, Grid Distribution, Grid Network, Grid Asset, Grid Security, Substation Automation, and Billing & CIS), Hardware (Smart Meter), Service (Consulting, Integration, and Support), and Region - Global Forecast to 2023 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-grid-market-208777577.html Smart Gas Market by Device (AMR & AMI Meters), Solution (GIS, SCADA, Asset Condition Monitoring and Performance Management, MDM, Outage Management & Remote Monitoring), Service (Consulting, Deployment, & Managed) and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-gas-management-market-237135778.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 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. 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Contact: Mr. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/iot-utility-market.asp MarketsandMarkets Blog: https://mnmblog.org/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/iot-utility.asp SOURCE MarketsandMarkets A former Melbourne school principal accused of sexually abusing students may finally be extradited to Australia after she was deemed mentally fit to stand trial. Malka Leifer was revealed to have been feigning mental illness after a panel of psychiatric experts submitted their findings to an Israeli court on Friday. The 52-year-old is facing 74 charges of rape and child sexual assault of three female students during her time at the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel school in Elsternwick. In 2008, as the allegations surfaced, the Israeli-born woman left the school and returned to her birth country. Former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer (pictured at Jerusalem court in 2008) could finally be extradited after she was deemed mentally fit to stand trial on Friday One of three sisters who have accused Leifer of abuse welcomed the panel's decision in an online post. 'We cannot believe this day has come!!! Incredible news!! We knew this all along! Such a long wait, justice has come!!' Dassi Erlich said on Twitter late on Thursday AEST. Legal proceedings have been running since 2011 as defence lawyers repeatedly argued she was too unwell to attend court, leading to numerous psychiatric assessments. Former students Nicole Meyer and Dassi Erlich had accused Leifer of abuse in 2008 Leifer was ruled unfit to stand trial in 2016 but an undercover investigation in Israel by the organisation Jewish Community Watch found she was apparently going about her daily life unhindered. She was arrested again in 2018 on charges of fraud and feigning mental illness. The 52-year-old is facing 74 charges of rape and child sexual assault of three female students during her time at the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel school in Elsternwick The court requested another psychological review and she has since been held in Israeli custody. Leifer's lawyers Tal Gabbay and Yehuda Fried said they were confident the Jerusalem court would reject the panel's findings. 'It is important to emphasise and remind that two previous opinions ruling that Leifer is feigning (mental illness) and is fit to stand trial were wholly rejected by the court after a discussion of the evidence,' they told reporters. 'We expect that will be the case for this opinion as well.' The psychiatric report is to be presented to the Jerusalem District Court on January 14, after which the judge is to decide whether the extradition hearings can proceed. Manny Waks, the chief executive of Kol v'Oz, an advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse, said his organization will do 'all that we can to ensure Leifer is put on a plane back to Australia as soon as possible.' by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, January 10, 2020 Microsoft Advertising announced that next week at the National Retail Federation conference in New York it will unveil its latest platforms for retailers commerce marketing platform Microsoft PromoteIQ, and an onsite search product, Microsoft Bing for Commerce. The assets from Microsoft's acquisition of PromoteIQ in August 2019 now allow retailers to build out and control their digital vendor marketing programs for brands selling on their sites. Retailers can configure native ad placements and products through the dashboard, and customize programs, targeting and inventory for brand partners. Brands running programs can log in to a white-labeled interface to see shopper behavior on the retailers website and use campaigns to influence behaviors and support the goals for their products with that retailer. advertisement advertisement Office Depot, Kohls, Kroger, and Home Depot are among the retailers using the platform. Home Depot reported that customer engagement rose 35% and promoted products grew by double-digits year-over-year since it launched with PromoteIQ in early 2019. Microsoft Bing for Commerce includes product recommendations as well as visual search -- a medium that eMarketer claims U.S. internet users are most excited about, citing a 2019 study from ViSenze. Visual search technology enables consumers to snap a picture of something and allows a visual search engine to direct them to a product page. While the medium is still nascent, females at 4%, compared with males at 3% are most interested in using visual search, per the data. Retailers can use Bing and Microsoft AI to enable consumers to search on their websites. This helps retailers and brands decipher the natural language of shoppers on their sites and create a shorter path between shoppers and the product theyre seeking. New York, Jan 11 : The stage has been set for the historic trial of US President Donald Trump before the Senate after Speaker Nancy Pelosi ended her standoff with the Republican-controlled upper house and announced that she will be forwarding it the impeachment documents. Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic members of the House of Representative on Friday that she would hold a vote next week on sending the Articles of Impeachment, as the chargesheet framed against Trump is called, to the Senate. He is charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Republicans in the Senate have feared up for the trial which can start as early as next week. The trial will be purely symbolic because the Democrats will not be able to muster the two-thirds vote needed to convict and oust Trump from office. The nation is equally divided on whether the Senate should convict him. According to RealClear Politics, the authoritative aggregators of polls, 47.2 per cent of Americans want him removed from office, while 47.4 per cent are against it. The offer to send the impeachment documents signals a setback for Pelosi's attempts to force Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to introduce new evidence and witnesses at the Senate trial and to break the Republican majority on the trial procedures. Although the Democrat-majority House had impeached Trump last month, Pelosi held on to the documents in order to delay the trial as she and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Party leader in the Senate, bargained with McConnell and tried to build pressure against him. McConnell rejected their requests and to pressure Pelosi to send the impeachment chargesheet, he backed a Republican resolution in the Senate to dismiss the impeachment if she did not send the document within a specified time. Meanwhile, Trump taunted Pelosi saying that she was "afraid" to send the impeachment documents for trial because it was "phony." His supporters took up the call. The House managers for the Senate trial, who will act as prosecutors, will also be appointed next week Pelosi said. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the trial and the Senators will act as jurors. Although the Senators are supposed to be neutral like jurors in a court trial, the Senate impeachment trials are political with most Senators following the party line. Republicans hold 53 seats in the 100-member Senate and on procedural matters they have the majority to set the rules, even if a couple of Republicans defect. Two Republican Senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have expressed concern over how the party leaders want to hold the trial. Collins has said that Senators should remain neutral and not prejudge the case. Trump has said that he wants a full-fledged trial with witnesses, which Pelosi also wants, but McConnell has indicated that he prefers a quick trial. This will be only the third time that a US president would be tried after impeachment in the nation's 243-year history and Trump can expect to be acquitted like his two predecessors, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868, because there won't be a two-thirds majority to convict and remove him from office. The House voted to impeach Trump after proceedings spread over three months that included secret and public hearings by House committees. The charges against Trump stem from a July phone call he had with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he asked him as a "favour" to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Democrats say that this was an abuse power and amounted to inviting foreign interference in US elections as Biden is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination to run against Trump in this year's election. They also say that he withheld crucial military aid to Ukraine, a US ally against Russia, to pressure Zelensky and this endangered US national security. Trump said he delayed the aid to make sure the new government stomped out corruption. Trump's refusal to provide documents to the House investigation and allow witnesses to testify brought the obstruction charge. Hunter Biden, who was made to leave the Navy because of alleged drug use and had no experience in the energy industry or in Ukrainian businesses was appointed a director of a gas company there and received monthly payments of $83,000, according to Republicans. The former vice president, who was looking after Ukrainians affairs, had a prosecutor looking into gas company removed. He and the Democrats say that it was because the prosecutor was corrupt, while Republicans see it as a conflict of interest. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) Shares of Yes Bank on Friday tumbled over 5 per cent after the company's Independent Director Uttam Prakash Agarwal resigned citing "serious concerns" on "deteriorating practices" and the state of affairs at the private sector lender. The scrip plunged 5.29 per cent to close at Rs 44.80 on the BSE. During the day, it dropped 7.18 per cent to Rs 43.90. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), it dived 4.96 per cent to close at Rs 44.95. The stock was the worst hit among the Nifty-50 components. In terms of traded volume, 159.19 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE and over 30 crore shares on the NSE during the day. "I hereby tender my resignation from the office of the independent director of Yes Bank as also chairman of audit committee and member of all other committees of the board with immediate effect," he said in his resignation letter addressed to Non-Executive Part-Time Chairman Brahm Dutt. There are serious concerns regarding deteriorating standards of corporate governance, failure of compliance, management practices and the manner in which the state of affairs of the bank are being conducted by CEO and MD Ravneet Gill; Rajiv Uberoi, senior group president (governance & controls); Sanjay Nambiar, legal head and the board, Agarwal said in the letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Jersey Shore woman who admitted killing her mother and grandmother last year will head to prison for more than 40 years, authorities announced Thursday. Heather Barbera, 43, of Ventnor, was sentenced Thursday to 42 years in prison for the killings, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said in a statement. Barbera pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of her mother, Michelle Gordon, 67, and the murder of her grandmother, Elaine Rosen, 87, at a high-rise condo in Ventnor where they lived, on July 7, 2018. She beat them with the police baton her father used while a beat cop in Brooklyn, New York. After stealing her mother and grandmothers cash and credit cards, Barbera boarded a bus to New York City, Tyner has said. She was arrested a few days later after NYPD officers identified her at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. This tragic incident illustrates that domestic violence and the disease of addiction impacts so many families in all of our communities," Tyner said in a statement Thursday. "The defendant singlehandedly altered the course of her entire family by taking the lives of her mother and grandmother. As a result shell have the next 40-plus years to think about her actions. Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury handed down the sentence after the court heard statements from Barbera and a friend, Breaking AC reported. At the sentencing, Assistant Atlantic County Prosecutor Allison Eiselen said Barbera just walked away as the victims lay dying. There is no more heinous, cruel or depraved crime than killing ones own mother and grandmother, Eiselen said. Barbera apologized in court, saying, I never wanted any of this to happen. Her lawyer told the judge that Barbera was part of a toxic family. Barbera must serve 40 years and two months of the sentence without parole. Heather Barbera is sentenced for the July slaying of her mother and grandmother in their Ventnor condo, in Atlantic County Superior Court, in Mays Landing, NJ., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020.Photo by Vernon Ogrodnek/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP The Associated Press contributed to this report. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. New Delhi: A powerful blast at a mosque during Friday evening prayers killed at least 15 people, including an Imam and a senior police officer, and left 20 others injured in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, three days after a bomb explosion claimed two lives in Quetta. The nature of the explosion, which occurred inside the mosque during Maghrib prayers in Ghousabad neighbourhood, was not immediately known, Dawn newspaper reported. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah was among the 15 people killed in the incident, Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema said. According to some media reports, the slain police officer was the likely target. Last month, unidentified gunmen killed the DSP's son in Quetta, The Express Tribune reported. Twenty others were also injured in the blast, the report said. Law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the area to investigate the incident. The mosque, which is located in a densely-populated Pashtun-majority area, was being searched be the bomb disposal squad and security personnel. Meanwhile, an emergency has been declared at all hospitals in the area. TV footage showed debris and shattered glass spread on the floor of the mosque. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. Pakistan military's media wing ISPR said that troops of the Frontier Corp (FC) Balochistan have reached the site and were carrying out joint search operation with the police. "Every possible assistance be given to police & civil administration. Those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim," the ISPR quoted army chief General Qamar Bajwa as saying. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan condemned the incident and expressed grief at the loss of lives. Reacting to the incident, Balochistan Home Minister Zia Langove condemned it, saying "terrorists were scared of Pakistan's development". "Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country," he said in a statement. He said that "defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed". The blast occurred three days after two men were killed and over a dozen injured in a blast near a vehicle of the security forces in Quetta. In May last year, a bomb blast at a mosque in the provincial capital Quetta killed two people, including a prayer leader and injured 28 others. In August, an explosion took place inside a mosque during Friday prayers in the city. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Photo: James Willamor/Flickr Here's what you need to know about what's happening in Jacksonville. Family identifies teen shot dead by Jacksonville officer in Moncrief Kwame Jones, 17, was shot to death by Officer N. E. Lawson on Jan. 5. Police say he was in a car traveling in the wrong direction that slammed into another vehicle. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Jacksonville police find woman crying, naked in Jacksonville hotel room; suspect arrested Police say a disposable plastic glove was found on the floor of the room, along with a dark-colored mask. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Retired Jacksonville officer warns of Social Security scam targeting the First Coast Charles Griffin runs a private investigation agency, but before that, he was a detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office chasing scammers. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Jacksonville police seeking identity of kidnapping, attempted battery suspect The suspect has been described as a lighter complexion black male with a slender build, 6-feet tall and between 40 to 60 years old. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Councilman calls for resignation of Mayor Curry's chief of staff Matt Carlucci called for the resignation of Mayor Lenny Curry's Chief of Staff, Brian Hughes, stating that Hughes is a "troublesome liability." Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. By AFP SHISPER GLACIER (PAKISTAN): The villagers of Hassanabad live in constant fear. Above them the vast Shisper glacier dominates the landscape: A river of jagged black ice moving towards them at as much as four metres per day. Climate change is causing most glaciers worldwide to shrink, but due to a meteorological anomaly, this is one of a few in the Karakoram mountain range in northern Pakistan that are surging. This means hundreds of tonnes of ice and debris are pushing down the valley at ten times the normal rate or more, threatening the safety of the people and homes below. "People's lives, properties and animals are in danger," warns villager Basir Ali. Flash floods caused by glacial lakes, ice and rock falls, and a lack of clean and accessible water are all serious risks for those close to its path. "When a glacial lake bursts there is an enormous amount of not only ice, water and debris that falls through, but also mud and this has devastating effects, it basically destroys everything that comes in its way," said Ignacio Artaza of UNDP Pakistan. But repercussions of the Shisper glacier surge extend far beyond its path: The mighty Indus River is reliant on seasonal melt for more than half of its flow and changes in Pakistan's ice fields affect this. That has implications not just for those living in its basin, but for the whole nation, which relies on it for much of its food. Shifting water levels also have implications for the fragile relationship between nuclear-armed neighbours Pakistan and India. Already ranked among the planet's most water-stressed nations according to the World Resources Institute, both need the Indus and its tributaries. Their access to the water is governed by the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which aims for fair usage. But there have long been fears India, which sits upstream, could weaponise the resource, it has threatened more than once to restrict Pakistan's access -- including just last year. Millions in danger The Karakoram, which contains some of the world's tallest mountains including K2, is just one of the mountain ranges that criss-cross the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region. Sometimes called The Third Pole, the region holds more ice than anywhere other than the Arctic or Antarctica. But a third of the glaciers here are expected to melt by 2100, endangering the lives of hundreds of millions, according to this year's Hindu Kush-Himalaya Assessment Report. Rising in Tibet, the Indus crosses through India and Pakistan fed by a multitude of tributaries before it reaches the Arabian Sea. The waterway's basin produces 90 per cent of Pakistan's food, according to the UN, and agriculture is dependent on irrigation from the river, which heavily relies on meltwater from the ice sheets. With its surging population experts warn the nation faces "absolute water scarcity" by 2025, with the loss of the Himalayan glaciers a key threat. While scientists cite climate change and topography, it's not clear exactly what causes the Karakoram anomaly where glaciers are surging and in some cases growing. But many say these changes will also impact the Indus because they alter meltwater patterns, causing flash flooding or water shortages that are difficult to predict and manage. "The Shisper glacier is increasing its length and width, furthermore it is also moving downhill," explained Shehzad Baig of the Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority. He warned climate change meant there was heavier snowfall during the winters and warmer temperatures in the summers, leading to the ice mass producing more meltwater, swelling the Hunza River, a churning mountain tributary of the Indus. "This may cause harm to the local community and deprive the people of the Indus basin blocking or disturbing drinking water and irrigation channels," Baig warned, adding that changing weather patterns were also creating more glacial lakes. Water wars The UNDP estimates that more than 3,000 glacial lakes have been formed in the region, with 33 posing an imminent threat of 'outburst floods', known as GLOFs, that could impact as many as seven million people. Last year the surging Shisper glacier effectively dammed a meltwater stream from a neighbouring glacier creating a large lake. Authorities were forced to issue safety warnings to Hassanabad and local villages before the water was drained. But satellite data shows the lake is already reforming, leaving residents fearing not only the progression of the crushing ice sheet but that they will be swept to their deaths in flash floods. "This whole area will be devastated...the whole population and people's properties will go into river," cautions villager Didar Karim. Professor Andreas Kaab from the University of Oslo says Pakistan must adapt its "monitoring and response strategies, and risk management in general" to contend with both surging and shrinking glaciers. Authorities, working with the UN, are setting up early warning systems using sensors positioned on top of the Shisper glacier and downstream to alert communities. But the challenge for Pakistan extends beyond crisis management to the long-term water conservation and storage, experts say. "Pakistan has to increase its water storage capacity which is now 33 days -- it should be at least 100 days to ensure sustainable development," cautions Dr. Ghulam Rasul of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development. He estimates that 60 per cent of water is currently lost as run-off to the sea. With few functioning reservoirs the nation is ill-equipped to harness the short-term excess water as climate change causes more glaciers to melt, or from the increasingly erratic monsoon deluges. And by 2050, with so much of the ice sheets lost scientists say the flow of the Indus will dramatically decrease, leaving Pakistanis more vulnerable than ever. Rasul says: "Water is the capital of agrarian economies and guarantees food and energy security. Shortage of water against increasing demand could lead to conflict." One child from Wayne County and another from Shiawassee County are Michigans first confirmed influenza-associated pediatric deaths of the 2019-2020 flu season, state officials say. Both children were infected with Influenza B, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Nationally, there have been 32 influenza-associated pediatric deaths reported during the 2019-2020 flu season. Additional possible cases are being investigated by state and local public health agencies. The flu virus is currently widespread in Michigan, according to the MDHHS website, and public health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated. These tragic deaths are a reminder of how serious influenza can be, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health, said in an MDHHS press release. I urge all Michiganders ages 6 months and older to get their flu shots if they have not already done so this season. It is not too late. Flu is a contagious respiratory disease caused by different strains of the influenza virus and can result in mild to severe illness. A majority of the positive influenza specimens confirmed by MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories this flu season have been Influenza B virus. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that last years flu season caused an estimated 34,200 deaths. In Michigan, four children died last year due to flu-related complications, while nationally there were 136 flu-related deaths among children. MDHHS strongly recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older get a seasonal flu vaccine. Flu vaccine is the best way to prevent against getting the flu and can also reduce the severity of flu illness. During the 2018-2019 flu season, only 46% of Michigan residents were vaccinated against flu, below the national rate of 49%. Vaccines are especially important for people at increased risk for complications from flu, including children, adults aged 65 years and older, persons of any age with underlying medical conditions and pregnant women. Children less than 6 months of age are too young to be vaccinated and need to be protected by vaccination of their close contacts, including parents, siblings, grandparents, childcare workers and healthcare personnel. To find flu vaccine near you, call your healthcare provider, local health department or check the Health Map Vaccine Finder at Flushot.healthmap.org. For more information about the flu, visit Michigan.gov/flu. To learn more about the influenza vaccine and other vaccines, visit IVaccinate.org. The banking royal commission had the financial sector licking its wounds, and the aged care industry is poised for the same once the full extent of malpractice is revealed. Meanwhile, both the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) continued to highlight issues in the telco industry as complaints remain high. For years, the corporate world has been told to get its act together and provide customer service that aligns to the expectations of digitally-native users. Finally, in 2019, we saw customer experience (CX) put on notice, with consumers and regulators eager to expose the poor services on offer from the brands they engage every day. Although many Australian organisations have made significant strides in enhancing their CX capabilities, there is an abundance of outdated processes and customer service functions at a time when responding to an angry tweet just doesnt cut it. Advanced technologies have been around for some time now. While solutions like artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbots arent new, the road beyond 2020 will see organisations turn their attention to learning how to converge their CX capabilities and use the data from those centralised services to anticipate and serve consumer needs. A focal point for the use of that data will be to empower employees to better understand, contextualise and therefore resolve issues. Last year, Australias Department of Defence did that just by reinvigorating its contact centre through convergence, then topped with automation and analytics. The objective was to provide employees with visibility into accurate and secure data sets so they can deliver personalised interactions for even the more sophisticated issues related to Defence business lines. In a more advanced case, a large Australian bank has been using voice biometrics to identify customers who call their contact centre to accelerate resolution times without all the pesky questions. Its customers can now have a natural conversation with an agent while the company has the peace of mind that an AI engine will authenticate the voice. Further, airlines, digital banks and hospitals across Australia which have taken similar steps to transform their operations to provide succinct, data-driven CX by addressing the experiences of all stakeholders, including staff. CX will continue to be shaped by the demands of customers, especially now that there is increased awareness around the potential use of their data. Australians have little interest in being taken for a ride by the big end of town. No one wants to be another The Great Hack victim, and governance will take centre stage in the mainstream, not just within industry, to prohibit a Cambridge Analytica clone. We had a taste of this very recently when the ACCC said it is taking Google to court for allegedly breaching Australian consumer law over misuse of customers personal data. According to ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, Google has collected, kept and used highly sensitive and valuable personal information about consumers location without them making an informed choice or opting in. While technological progress pertaining to CX will be steady, the next five years will see organisations augment whatever remaining legacy systems they have, such as large CRM suites and databases, as these inhibit the ability to analyse data to improve experiences. New CX investment will come in the form of applications that use different forms of AI technologies as well as best-of-breed unifying platforms, to help organisations address their operational challenges so they can align to their increasingly demanding customers. But dont expect dystopia anytime soon. Research from Vanson Bourne released in August found that 42 per cent of Australian organisations dont have the skills to adopt AI, while another 42 per cent lack understanding about what it is. Both these numbers are higher than the global averages, so while we are an advanced nation, theres still work to be done and examples will be nascent, with some likely to take a wait and see approach before spinning up a bot. With a converged framework in place, Australian companies will focus on getting to know their customers. While that sounds like customer service 101, a new age of customer centric engagement and accountability will see business leaders take a candid stance to avoid becoming the next big CX horror headline. Peter Chidiac is managing director, Australia and NZ at Avaya. Izzy Raj-Seppings, known as 'Australia's Greta Thunberg', joined 30,000 climate activists in a day of mass protest, as thousands demand Prime Minister Scott Morrison is sacked for his handling of the bushfire crisis. Protesters in Sydney's CBD battled hot and humid conditions on Friday to oppose what they described as the government's inaction on climate change. The march, which began at the city's Town Hall, was organised by student groups and Extinction Rebellion. Young Izzy, 13, shot to fame after shocking footage showed her being spoken to by police while protesting outside Kirribilli House. Scroll down for video Izzy Raj-Seppings, 13, (pictured) holds up a placard as activists rally for climate action at Sydney Town Hall on Friday Aerial footage taken in Sydney on Friday (pictured) shows the huge scale of the climate change protests, with demonstrators also criticising Scott Morrison Protesters gathered in Sydney's CBD (pictured) for the 'Sack ScoMo' climate change protest, holding an inventive array of provocative signs Climate protester Izzy Raj-Steppings (centre) is seen during a 'Sack ScoMo!' climate change rally in Sydney The young protester faced down police back in December and became a global sensation after attending the climate protest outside Mr Morrison's house. Passionate about the bushfire crisis, and despite bursting into tears, she refused to back down after police outside the prime minister's Kirribilli house warned 'force may be used' to arrest her. She had travelled to the protest outside the Sydney residence, which began when he took a surprise - and much criticised - holiday to Hawaii as the bushfire crisis raged. Already a seasoned protester, she is a member of Extinction Rebellion Sydney. In images that went viral across the world, young Izzy faced down police (pictured) at a protest outside Mr Morrison's residence in Sydney Tens of thousands of Sydneysiders lined the streets on Friday (pictured) demanding Scott Morrison is sacked Protesters in Sydney (pictured) demanded the government take action on climate change, which they believe is making the bushfires worse than ever Protesters showed off creative and often witty homemade signs as they took to the streets in Sydney on Friday (pictured) Two women hold banners (pictured) outside Sydney's Town Hall criticising Prime Minister Scott Morrison's handling of the bushfire crisis A woman wears a face mask to protect herself from dangerously polluted air as she protested in Sydney on Friday (pictured) Seven protests were held across the country in Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong, Newcastle, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra. It caused chaos on Sydney's streets during Friday's rush hour, completely shutting down several roads as around 30,000 people turned out. In Melbourne, around 10,000 protesters battled a torrential downpour as they gathered in front of the Victorian State Library, forming a sea of umbrellas. Similar crowds were seen in Brisbane and Canberra - where hundreds were heard chanting 'sack ScoMo'. Another popular chant was 'the liar from the shire, the country is on fire'. Organisers in Sydney were hoping to rival the crowds of 20,000 seen in December protests. A young protester is seen with a sign reading 'climate change is real' as he stood outside Sydney's Town Hall (pictured) Around 30,000 people descended on Sydney's CBD (pictured) on Friday afternoon to join the climate change protest A young woman holds a poster criticising Scott Morrison for going on a surprise holiday to Hawaii at the height of the bushfire crisis in December (pictured) A young woman wears a face mask which reads 'Australia is on fire' as she joined thousands of protesters in Sydney on Friday (pictured) Huge crowds were also seen in Melbourne, where protesters formed a sea of umbrellas as they continued despite the downpour (pictured) Protestors in Hobart (pictured) laid burnt tree branches outside the entrance to Parliament House 'Out of control bushfires are sweeping across the state - destroying thousands of hectares, houses, and lives,' organisers said on Facebook. 'These fires, heatwaves, and droughts are not just unprecedented - they're the direct result of decades of climate destruction at the hands of fossil fuel loving politicians. 'The climate crisis has compounded hundreds of years of land mismanagement since invasion and decades of profiteering on water which has left much of the country in drought.' The country-wide protests came as two giant bushfires raging on the NSW-Victoria border merged into a terrifying mega blaze spanning half-a-million hectares. Protests around the country were organised in response to the ongoing bushfire crisis in Australia, which has killed 26 people so far. More than 30,000 were in Sydney (pictured) The protest (pictured) in Sydney was organised by student group, but attracted crowds of all ages on Friday Several protesters in Sydney (pictured) criticised Australia's coal industry, blaming it for contributing to climate change There was a heavy police presence at the Sydney protest (pictured) on Friday afternoon Around 30,000 people are thought to have gathered at Sydney's Town Hall to demand action on climate change during the bushfire crisis (pictured) The East Ournie Creek and Dunns Road fires near the Victoria border were upgraded to watch and act level on Friday morning. But by lunchtime they had merged as temperatures hit 37C and 20kmh winds fanned the flames. Together the blazes, including sections that have burnt out, cover half-a-million hectares - about five times the size of Canberra. The Rural Fire Service forecast extreme danger for the fireground and warned of 'erratic behaviour' meaning the flames can move and change direction quickly. The fire has already passed through the towns of Talbingo, Wondalga, Kunama and Batlow. Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has been heavily criticised for his handling of the bushfire crisis, especially his decision to go on holiday to Hawaii in December Around 20,000 people are thought to have gathered at Sydney's Town Hall to demand action on climate change during the bushfire crisis (pictured) Protesters also gathered at King George Square in Brisbane (pictured), with many placards mocking Scott Morrison and his Hawaii holiday Large crowds were also seen in Canberra (pictured) which has suffered weeks of smokey air As of 6pm on Friday, there were 137 fires burning in NSW - 66 of which are not contained. The NSW Rural Fire Service said conditions were 'difficult' thanks to a gusty southerly change which would cause 'erratic fire behaviour'. Later on Friday, an emergency warning was issued for the Green Valley Fire, with those in Lankeys Creek, River Road and between Jingellic and Welaregang told it was too late to leave. They have endured constant periods apart during their 18 month romance. And Kym Marsh was delighted as she reunited with her Army Major beau Scott Ratcliff on Thursday. The former Coronation Street actress, 43, and her soldier love, 31, looked smitten as they embraced one another over a romantic dinner, with Kym declaring she had missed Scott 'so much.' Long-distance love: Kym Marsh was delighted as she reunited with her Army Major beau Scott Ratcliff on Thursday Michelle Connor star Kym looked chic in a black top as she held onto a glass of bubbly. Her brunette locks were styled sleek and straight with smoky shadow and a touch of gloss accentuating her pretty features. Handsome Scott looked dapper in a matching black top as he wrapped an arm around Kym. Revealing Scott was only back in town for a brief period, Kym wrote: 'Hes back!!!!!!!........only for a short while sadly, but gonna make the most of the time we have before he goes on his travels again! Missed his face so much!!!' Love: The former Coronation Street actress, 43, and her soldier love, 31, looked smitten as they embraced one another over a romantic dinner, with Kym declaring she had missed Scott Happy couple: Kym and Scott have been dating since July 2018, three months after she split from personal trainer Matt Baker (pictured December 2018) Kym and Scott have been dating since July 2018, three months after she split from personal trainer Matt Baker. Back in December 2018, Kym revealed she and Scott were facing six months apart as the soldier was due to return to Afghanistan for duty in the Parachute Regiment. Despite the long-distance looming, the star was resolute in her belief that their relationship will survive the strain. Kym told The Sun Online at the Military Awards 2018: 'He is due to go back to Afghanistan next year for six months. It is tough, but I know we can make it work and we will be fine. 'He's just got back from a training exercise in Kenya, so tonight was the first time we have seen each other in weeks. Brave: Back in December 2018, Kym revealed she and Scott were facing six months apart as the soldier was due to return to Afghanistan for duty in the Parachute Regiment (pictured October 2018) 'It feels very special to us to be here together - and now he's back for Christmas, it's a lovely feeling.' The pair found love after being introduced by mutual friend Antony Cotton. Kym had split from Matt three months before sparking up a romance with Scott, after a two year romance. Kym was first in a relationship with builder David Cunliffe before her rise to fame in 2001's Popstars, and the couple had a son David, 24, and daughter Emilie, 24, during a five-year relationship. After breaking onto the pop scene as a member of Hear'Say Kym married EastEnders star Jack Ryder, 36, in 2002, but they divorced in 2009 after she admitted having an affair with Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas, 43. Kym went onto marry Jamie in 2012, and the couple have a eight-year-old daughter Polly. The couple's first child Archie, passed away shortly after his premature birth in 2009. Just over a year after tying the knot, Kym filed for divorce from Jamie in 2013 citing 'unreasonable behaviour. She is also a grandmother, with daughter Emilie welcoming baby son Teddy in May last year. London: After more than a year of drama, recrimination and tense, late-night votes, British MPs have finally signed off, with minimal fuss and no fanfare, on legislation to take their country out of the European Union at the end of this month. The vote in the House of Commons marks a major step toward Brexit. It is not quite the final parliamentary moment of Britain's extraordinary Brexit story however the bill will be considered next by the unelected second chamber, the House of Lords but the suspense that surrounded many previous votes was entirely absent. Anti-Brexit activists protest outside the Houses of Parliament on January 9 in London, England. MPs voted on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. Credit:Getty Images Even if the Lords amend the bill next week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party now have a large majority in the Commons and could overturn any changes swiftly, if necessary. The legislation is almost certain to be completed and written into law next week. Only a few dozen MPs attended the opening statements of the debate on Thursday, local time in contrast to the packed chamber for previous discussions on Brexit but by the time the debate drew to a close hours later, most of the lawmakers had trickled into the room. After the government cut corporate tax rate in 2019 to boost the slowing economy, the Street has started to build in expectations of more such measures in the Budget 2020. Nifty rallied 6 percent during the December quarter after gaining 7 percent in last two weeks of September (when the corporate tax cut was announced). The up move is appreciated given the bearish trend in global market given the US-Iran tensions and US-China trade deal. Six sectors that drove the overall rally in the market in the third quarter gave double-digit returns. BSE Telecom and BSE Realty gained the most, up more than 15 percent each, followed by metal index (amid easing US-China trade deal worries) which rose nearly 15 percent. The rally in telecom stocks was largely after tariff hikes and two-year moratorium on spectrum payments, while the boost to housing sector by several measures lifted realty sector sentiment. Bank and Finance were two other sectors that gained more than 11 percent during the quarter on hopes of strong growth in earnings after easing of NPA concerns and low base. Auto index also gained 10 percent. Energy index gained 8.5 percent and Healthcare was up 7.5 percent. Meanwhile, laggards were IT (down 1.2 percent), Industrials (down 2 percent), FMCG (down 3 percent) and Power (0.4 percent). Technology index was down largely due to Infosys, which fell over 9 percent during the quarter due to whistleblower complaint. For the quarter ended December 2019, most brokerages feel earnings (ex-BFSI) could be tepid or muted, but with the help of banking and financials sector, results season is likely to be better. Analysts expect double-digit earnings growth in FY21, driven by financials on easing NPA crisis. As a result, the rally may broaden in coming quarters, they feel. "Our Nifty earnings is estimated to grow 15 percent in FY20 and 26 percent in FY21 led by financial space which forms 40 percent of the index. Financials are estimated to contribute 72 percent of growth in FY20 and 54 percent in FY21. Excluding financial space, index earnings to grow at 4 percent in FY20 and 12 percent in FY21," Axis Capital. Reuters Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an injunction against Netflix Inc that had prevented the video streaming service from showing a domestically-made controversial Christmas special that depicts Jesus as gay. The Supreme Court president, Justice Dias Toffoli, said that the US streaming platform should be allowed to continue showing the programme, saying that freedom of speech was fundamental in a democracy. "The satire will not affect the Christian faith of Brazilians," he said. (Also read: Netflix and Amazon are likely to face censorship for their content in India) On Wednesday, a court in Rio de Janeiro had ordered Netflix to stop showing the content in Brazil. In its Thursday filing, Netflix criticised that decision for censoring the comedy group Porta dos Fundos, which produced the show. On Christmas Eve, a group of hooded men attacked the headquarters of Porta dos Fundos with Molotov cocktails. No one was hurt, but police said they were investigating the incident as an attempted homicide after a group claimed responsibility in a video including a far-right religious statement. The Rio state judge said in his decision that showing the special "would harm a society that is mostly Christian." Lawyers for Netflix contended in their appeal that "the court decision aims to silence the group through fear and intimidation." In a statement before the Supreme Court decision, Porta dos Fundos said the group values freedom of speech and "trusts the courts to defend the Brazilian constitution." (Also read: Netflix to ramp up original Indian content, will invest Rs 3,000 crore towards it in 2020) The closest thing that most of us will ever come to meeting a Judge Judy is by suing or being sued in small claims court. Having served as a pro tem judge in small claims court, I learned that, next to being stopped by a traffic officer and getting a ticket, this is the typical way most people see our legal system in action. Plaintiffs and defendants each hope for a judge who knows the law, listens and that the other party will badly screw up their presentation in court. Unfortunately, in the case that I will now describe, from reviewing the exhibits and listening to the entire proceedings, an ill-informed judge and a scatterbrained defendant led to an unjust verdict. Dont let this happen to you. They Just Showed Up Without Any Notice Summer had a small leak in the toilet shut-off valve in one of her bathrooms, turned it off and called a plumber to repair it who in turn, without her permission, had a mold remediation specialist come to the home. The only problem was that the area had been dry for weeks and Summer never smelled nor saw evidence of mold anywhere. She was at work when the specialist showed up, and her uncle, who speaks Vietnamese but almost no English, let him in. The chap got her on the phone, explained that his sniffer found moisture in the wall, and that any work accomplished would be entirely paid for by her homeowners insurance. You will have no out-of-pocket expense, he assured her, but he did not put that in writing. He also needed a signature to place a dehumidifier. Instead of saying, Wait a minute! Lets schedule this so that I can be there and go over everything, Summer told her uncle to sign the authorization. In reality, it was a contract for emergency repairs waiving the three-day cooling off period for at-home sales and services. In case of true emergency, that protection can be waived in California and some other states. For example, one Texas roofing trade group provides form contracts to its members with language on emergency roofing contracts stating: This form WAIVES the 3-day right to cancel or rescind the contract that your customer always has when the agreement is signed in-home for work being done on that home. This form can only be used in emergency or immediate necessity repair situations. Replacing or repairing a roof during the rainy season would apply, doing the same work in the middle of summer would not! This form requires a statement in the customers own words describing the situation that makes the job immediate. Thus began, in my legal opinion, a classic rip-off of a naive, trusting homeowner lacking common sense who proves the saying, Why dont doctors ask lawyers for advice before signing contracts? It is because they think they know more than their lawyer. Yes, Summer is a physician, and earns over $200,000 a year. Bathroom Torn Apart Leads to a Small Claims Court Case Other customers of this water-damage firm had complained online of identical business practices, experiencing as Summer did, having their bathrooms gutted, unusable and billed for services that were not performed and exorbitant rental charges for mold remediation equipment installed in the home that was not needed. As her insurance had a large deductible, she was billed over $3,000, refused to pay relying on the assurances given of there being no out-of-pocket expense to her and was sued in small claims court by the remediation company. Files Cross Complaint Against the Company Instead of narrowing her defense to a clear violation of both federal and California law, which would have established fraud and a void contract, Summer additionally asked the judge for: $1,500, which is what she paid another relative to take her uncle in, as his bathroom was unusable and it was difficult for him to use the stairs to mine. The cost of going out to restaurants with the family, as she was unable to properly host them at her house due to the bathroom being unusable. Her time lost. Her claim totaled close to $6,000, which, while substantial, is under the $10,000 limit for small claims court in California. Judge Missed the Point Summer attempted to introduce into evidence online posts almost identical to her experience, but the judge in my legal opinion incorrectly rejected that evidence, which made no sense at all. Judges in small claims court are not strictly required to observe all the rules of evidence, especially hearsay evidence, which these posts clearly were. They substantially supported what she was saying and were powerful. The judge felt that, as Summer authorized her uncle to sign the contract, she was obligated to pay. Summer lost and is appealing the courts decision. This isnt the first time Ive seen a small claims court judge reward dishonest behavior. Several years ago I wrote about a grossly incompetent pro tem judge in Kings County, California, who found in favor of an auto mechanic who knowingly violated the written estimate law, which meant he legally could collect nothing. A spokesperson for the California Bureau of Automotive Repair stated that he had never seen such a travesty of justice, a judge knowingly rewarding a crooked mechanic. Months later the judge was appointed to the Kings County Superior Court Bench! It was an example of you-know-what rising to the top. What the Business Rep Did Correctly in This Case The representative from the remediation company did everything correctly in court. He was polite, had his documents neatly in order, did not interrupt Summer, and denied any fraud or having violated California or federal law. Most important of all, he listened and responded only to those elements of her case that required him to comment. In short, he looked the part of an ethical, honest employee from a credible business. He allowed Summer to make a fool of herself, and the judge rewarded him for it by failing or refusing to see the enormity of this rip-off. What Consumers and Business Owners Should Learn from This Case So, what is the take-away from this case? Self-education, preparation and running your case by a friend who has common sense before setting foot inside the courthouse are all obligatory. Realistically knowing what you can sue for, or what defenses you have to being sued, is critical. A good place to begin is watching Judge Judy or Hot Bench. Seriously. When claims are tossed out of court, there is a reason, and the more outlandish the claims, the more likely they will be dismissed. Most states have highly informative websites that walk you through the court procedures. YouTube has page after page of videos that explain how small claims court works, from filing the initial paperwork to presenting your case. Some are professionally done, while most would win an Academy Award for Boring. One that stands out as simply excellent is by attorney Steve Vondran, licensed in both Arizona and California, and it can be found on YouTube here. (Newser) Mohsen Ahmadipour and his wife, Roja Azadian, were traveling home to Ottawa after visiting their families in Iran when Ahmadipour found out his ticket was no longer good. He thought he had only canceled a portion of it, but due to some sort of mix-up, the whole ticket ended up invalid; as a result, Azadian got on the plane alone, with her husband telling her he'd find another flight. He never saw her again: Azadian, 43, had boarded the doomed Ukrainian International Airline Flight 752, which crashed within minutes of taking off Tuesday. A horrified Ahmadipour found out about the crash while still in the terminal, the Ottawa Citizen reports. story continues below All 176 people aboard the plane, including 63 Canadians, were killed; the flight was headed to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, but as the CBC reports, there have been no direct flights between Iran and Canada since Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012. "Why [do] Canadians have to go through Ukraine to come to Canada? Why didn't we have a direct flight from Iran?" wonders one Toronto man with family in Tehran, whose friend was also killed on the flight. "I even joked about that she was a cheap person and she was looking for cheap flights, and we laughed about it. Now that's not a joke anymore." The news comes as a US official tells CNN it was indeed two Russian-made surface to air (SA-15) missiles that shot down the plane, and that the US saw Iranian radar signals lock onto the plane before it went down. (The current thinking is Iran shot the plane down mistakenly.) The film which also sees Vikrant Massey playing a significant role is scheduled to release on Friday. New Delhi: Less than a few hours of the release of the widely anticipated Meghana Gulzar's movie 'Chhapaak', Ranveer Singh wrote a lengthy post on social media on Thursday in which he has all the good words for Deepika Padukone, Meghna Gulzar, and the movie. A vividly proud husband, Ranveer hopped onto Instagram and shared two pictures of the movie's poster and wrote a rather lengthy post explaining how proud he was of Deepika. The 34-year-old actor started off his caption by praising the director of the movie Meghna and her work, and wrote, "Meghna, your film gives the audience hope and courage. It shows you the best and worst of humanity in a kaleidoscopic cinematic spectrum. It elucidates a subject that we've only ever heard of but never really fully understood." He further wrote, "It offers a definitive and insightful deep-dive into the horrific gamut of acid violence. The story shakes you to your core and then lifts you heroically until your emotions soar. Talvar, Raazi and now Chhapaak..may I say "Bravo!" And "Encore!" The team of 'Chhapaak' has made multiple efforts to let the general public know the state and conditions of acid-attack survivors, be it through campaigns or random videos. Deepika is essaying the role of an acid attack survivor, Malti. 'Chhapaak' is based on the real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Her attacker, a 32-year old man, was an acquaintance of her family. Talking about the stellar performance by Deepika, Ranveer continued the lengthy post, "My baby. I've witnessed you toil relentlessly to create this special piece of work. You've been an engine behind the project, and are the soul of the film. This is the most important installment in your body of work. You laboured with such honesty in intent and action. You dug deep and fought through your challenges, faced your fears, overcame your struggles and today you and your team stand triumphant as the creators of one of the films of our times." "Your performance is way more than everything I thought it could and would be. It's moved me, stirred me and stayed with me. You blended strength with vulnerability and lent dignity to an immensely complex portrayal in such a fine manner that I'm simply awestruck at your craft. It's staggering and astonishing what you've achieved with Malti. A glowing gem in your repertoire. I love you, baby. I've never been more proud of you. @deepikapadukone #chhapaak," he wrote further. The film which also sees Vikrant Massey playing a significant role is scheduled to release on Friday. It was made tax-free by the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh on Thursday. Bhopal, Jan 10 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is working on preparing the roadmap for the development of the state for the next four years. He wants to give a new recognition to the state so that it is no longer be seen as a state of mafias or Vyapam scam. When Kamal Nath became the Chief Minister of the state, he had a lot of challenges to face. The state was under economic crisis, farmers were in distress, employment creation was also one of the biggest challenges. Nath, on Thursday, while talking to IANS told how he overcame all these challenges and what are his plans for the coming four years. Talking about the economic crisis of the state, Nath said: "The treasury of the state was empty when I became the Chief Minister still the government did everything to fulfill the promises it had made. Soon after oath, the government approved the loan waiver of the farmers and we waived off the loans up to Rs 2 lakh in a phased out manner. In the last one year, for two and a half months were of model code of conduct due to Lok Sabha elections therefore, we worked for only nine and a half months." "Despite getting an empty treasury the government continued with the welfare scheme of various departments. This is the reason why every section of the society is getting the benefits of the schemes," he added. He said the campaign against the land mafias, adulterants, smugglers etc is important as during the tenure of last government, for 15 years, they kept flourishing. No action were taken against them rather they were protected. "This is the reason why we started the campaign against them. We won't spare anyone who protects them," he added. He emphasised on making the state free from mafias. He said: "The state cannot be recognised because of mafias and Vyapam scam. We will not let this happen. The current government is continuously thriving to get create a new identity of the state where farmers are happy, youths get employment, there is significant improvement in the field of healthcare and education and where the benefit of development reaches to every section of the society. With these best practices the state will be soon seen as a developed state." In order to attract investment in the state, the government organised Magnificent MP in Indore while the investors are been encouraged to invest in the state. "It is important to instill trust in the investors and the government is continuously working towards it. We are working as per the needs of the investors. On the other hand, we have also asked them to give employment to the locals to create employment opportunity for the locals as well as youths. The government is also emphasising on skill development to enable self-employment. The results will soon be seen," said Nath. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias, also known as Fluffy," is adding a second performance to his stay in Syracuse. The Landmark Theatre has announced that a show on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. has been added to Iglesias all new 2020 Beyond The Fluffy World Tour Go Big or Go Home." Tickets range from $40-$75 and are now available on Ticketmaster. His originally announced performance on Feb. 13 has almost sold out with only single seats left on Ticketmaster for a platinum price of $225. Iglesias has been selling out other venues along his new tour route, most recently the Staples Center in Los Angeles. His Syracuse shows will be the next on his tour and one of two Upstate New York cities to see him perform in 2020. Iglesias will also be performing two shows in Albany on April 25 at the Palace Theatre. Tickets for that show are also on sale via Ticketmaster. I wish my mom could see this. pic.twitter.com/Dx69ApcQgn G a b r i e l - I g l e s i a s (@fluffyguy) December 27, 2019 Iglesias has voiced characters in feature films including Coco, Ferdinand, Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Book of Life, The Nut Job, and Planes. He has also made appearances in Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL, and his own production, The Fluffy Movie. Iglesias is also the star and executive producer of the Netflix comedy series, Mr. Iglesias" which premiered in June 2019. Read more William Shatner excited to meet fans in Syracuse: I never forget that theres a moment of awe Australian singing sensation headlines Seneca Savings Jazzfest Upstate NY cider maker lures drinkers with the 26er challenge Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The Toronto Blue Jays utility man has signed a deal before arbitration. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) The Toronto Blue Jays are slowing working their way through their winter and most recently signed utility infielder Brandon Drury to a one-year, $2.05-million deal, according to MLB Networks Jon Heyman. The 27-year-old completed his first full season in Toronto after being part of the return from a July 2018 trade which sent J.A. Happ to the New York Yankees. Through 120 games and 418 at-bats, Drury hit for a .218 batting average and a .642 OPS catchers Luke Maile and Danny Jansen were the only Blue Jays that had a lower OPS than Drury and had at least 100 plate appearances last season. His -0.6 fWAR was the second lowest on the team, only slight better than Socrates Britos -0.7 fWAR. The two sides have agreed to a contract prior to the upcoming arbitration hearings, leaving just closer Ken Giles and starter Matt Shoemaker as the two Toronto players that could possibly head to arbitration. As winter crawls along, at least we can look forward to more Blue Jays transactions. More Blue Jays coverage from Yahoo Sports The Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Friday that it had placed one of its tenured professors on paid administrative leave after finding that he "purposefully failed to inform MIT" that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was the source of two donations in 2012 to support the professor's research, and that the professor got a $60,000 personal gift from Epstein. A scathing report released by MIT also found that the decision by three administrators to accept donations from Epstein, who pleaded guilty to sex crimes in Florida in 2008 one of which involved a minor girl "was the result of collective and serious errors in judgment that resulted in serious damage to the MIT community." The report noted that even as its findings have been made public, "MIT is still without a clear and comprehensive gift policy or a process to properly vet donors." However, the university has begun to develop such a process. Epstein, a former friend of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, donated $850,000 to MIT from 2002 through 2017 in 10 separate gifts, the report said. That was $50,000 more than the amount MIT has previously reported to have received from Epstein. "The earliest gift was $100,000 given in 2002 to support the research of the late Professor Marvin Minsky, who died in 2016," MIT said as it released the report, which comes after four months of investigation of Epstein's ties to MIT conducted by the law firm Goodwin Procter. "The remaining nine donations, all made after Epstein's 2008 conviction, included $525,000 to the Media Lab and $225,000 to" mechanical engineering professor Seth Lloyd, the report said. The report also found that, "Unbeknownst to any members of MIT's senior leadership ... Epstein visited MIT nine times between 2013 and 2017." "The fact-finding reveals that these visits and all post-conviction gifts from Epstein were driven by either former Media Lab director Joi Ito or professor of mechanical engineering Seth Lloyd, and not by the MIT administration or the Office of Resource Development." Ito resigned last year after revelations about Epstein's donations to the Media Lab. Lloyd received two donations of $50,000 in 2012, and the remaining $125,000 in 2017, according to the report. "Epstein viewed the 2012 gifts as a trial balloon to test MIT's willingness to accept donations following his conviction" in Florida, MIT said. "Professor Lloyd knew that donations from Epstein would be controversial and that MIT might reject them," MIT said. "We conclude that, in concert with Epstein, he purposefully decided not to alert the Institute to Epstein's criminal record, choosing instead to allow mid-level administrators to process the donations without any formal discussion or diligence concerning Epstein." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wax figures have been removed from the Royal Family section at Madame Tussauds London. The replicas of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan will no longer stand alongside his brother Prince William and wife Duchess Catherine, nor his grandparents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, after the central London museum reacted to the news that they are to "step back as senior members" of the Royal Family. A tweet on the official Madame Tussauds London page showed a picture of the royal section without the couple, and a caption reads: "We've got to respect their wishes #Megxit" And Steve Davies, general manager of the branch, admitted the pair's wax figures would "no longer appear in our Royal Family set" from Thursday (09.01.20), but it's not known where they will be placed. It's not the first time Harry and Meghan have been apart from the main royal section - with the duchess flying solo last summer. In August, the museum announced Meghan's figure would be taking up residence in the glitzy A-List Party Room area to reflect her acting roots, rather than royal status. She stood side-by-side showbiz stars such as David and Victoria Beckham, and Tom Hardy. Steve said at the time: "At Madame Tussauds London we're always listening to what people have to say about their favourite stars. "Meghan continues to carve out her own modern take on life as a royal and we want to mirror her independent celebrity status in the attraction. "It's not necessarily forever - and we're not splitting our loved-up couple! We're just allowing Meghan to mingle in her more-familiar celebrity circle for a while." The museum's latest move comes after Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, released a surprise statement on Wednesday (08.01.20) stating that they plan to "carve out a progressive new role" for themselves. They said: "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. "It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity." By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said that the varsity has formed a five-member committee to probe the January 5 violence on the campus that had left around 35 people injured, and recommend measures to ensure the safety of students. The panel will also probe lapses, if any, in security, said Kumar. We have formed a five-member panel which will work in association with our internal security committee. The panel will also look into lapses, if any and recommend measures to ensure the safety of students on campus, said Kumar Identifying weaker security areas, ensuring the installation of CCTVs and other measures to increase students safety, will be the areas, the committee will also look into, he added. ALSO READ | JNU violence not a national issue, college gang wars are quite normal in India: Kangana Ranaut Kumar further went on to say that there has been no deviation from the formula arrived at by the HRD Ministry about the fee hike and students are not being charged any services or utility fees as decided, As far as the fee issue is concerned, there has been no deviation from the formula arrived at the HRD Ministry last month. As decided, students are not being charged any services or utility fees, Kumar said. We have also written to UGC to release funds for covering the utility and service charges as decided, he added. ALSO READ: JNUSU, Centre spur over removal of university Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar Meanwhile, police sources have claimed that Kumar had sent a message for the deployment of police outside the main gate only at 6.45 pm. The force entered the premises an hour later when the attackers had dispersed. The vice-chancellor has been facing criticism for not acting swiftly when the students were being attacked by a mob on Sunday evening and this claim only further stokes the fire. A written letter was received by the police from the JNU administration to intervene only around 7.30-7.45 pm, by then, the mob had already dispersed. With PTI inputs Representatives with MyBioGate announced that they are organizing the largest China-themed partnering conference during JPM Week. The China Focus@San Francisco partners conference will be held on 12 January 2020 at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco from 8 am to 7 pm. China Focus would like to be your gateway to Chinas healthcare and life science industry. For the overseas biopharmas interested in this huge market with enormous potential, partnering is the preferred approach, said Miao Guo, Vice President of Operations and spokesperson for MyBioGate and added, as the largest China-themed partnering conference during JPM Week, China Focus@San Francisco is a golden opportunity for 1-on-1 meetings to connect with Chinese decision-makers. More than 300 business leaders and enthusiastic investors are ready to schedule personal meetings with you, pointed out Guo. Guo highlighted that China Focus @San Francisco is a partnering forum designed to provide a meaningful platform to inform, inspire, and foster cross-border partnerships in life science and healthcare. China embraced a vigorously growing healthcare market in the past decade. Ever since joining ICH in 2017, China has seen increased clinical trials and accelerated new drug and device approval, stressed Guo. For life science and healthcare companies outside of China, you need to find the right partners and the right resources to bring your products to China to adapt to the difference in culture, regulation, reimbursement, etc. Chinese biotechs are also actively seeking global market entry opportunities and oversea partners. China's domestic pharmaceutical consumption has increased dramatically in the past several years. By 2020, Chinas pharmaceutical market volume is expected to grow to USD 220 billion, becoming the second-largest market after the United States, as reported by Deloitte. As for who should attend the event, Guo emphasized that the event is ideal for investors, life science innovators and entrepreneurs, biotech & big pharma companies, Medtech (device and diagnostics) manufacturers and distributors, service providers (law firm, financial advisory, regulatory consulting, CRO, CDMO, etc.), and healthcare providers. Main topics to be covered during China Focus@San Francisco are cross-border investments, Innovations going to China: regulation, market access, manufacturing and distribution Chinese innovations going west: partnership for capital and market access in the U.S. For more information, please visit https://events.mybiogate.com/sanfrancisco/ About China Focus CHINA FOCUS is a one-of-a-kind partnering forum with a mission of connecting essential players and resources in the life science and healthcare ecosystem between China and the rest of the world. It brings together investors, pharma leaders, and innovators around the globe for an exclusive partnering event designed to inspire, inform, and foster cross-border investment and collaboration. Since 2018, CHINA FOCUS has been successfully held in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, and Vienna, attracting more than 600 companies and 800 executives worldwide. It has become a name brand and the go-to event for cross-border partnerships between China and the rest of the world. Contact Details: Feier Chen Manager of Marketing 7707 Fannin Street Ste. 200 Houston, TX 77054 United States Phone: (832) 497-2220 Email: feier.chen (at) mybiogate (dot) com Source: MyBioGate Inc. (event.mybiogate.com) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced new sanctions Friday on Iran's metal exports and eight senior Iranian officials. The penalties came days after Iran fired missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq in retaliation for an American airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iran's top military leader, Qasem Soleimani, last week. After the missile strikes, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will "immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime." The Iranian officials targeted for the new sanctions "have advanced the regime's destabilizing objectives," the Treasury Department said in a statement. The officials include the secretary of Iran's supreme national security council and the deputy chief of staff of Iranian armed forces. "The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesday's ballistic missile strikes," Mnuchin said in the release. Treasury also designated 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies, along with entities based in China and the Seychelles, for other penalties. The sanctions are the latest move in aggressive tit-for-tat exchanges between Tehran and Washington that began in 2018, when Trump unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 international agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program, and escalated sharply over the past few weeks. Trump's decision to kill Soleimani came after pro-Iran protesters stormed the compound of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which was itself borne of rage against a previous round of American strikes that killed members of an Iranian-backed militia. Those strikes followed a Dec. 27 rocket attack by Iran-supported fighters that killed an American contractor in Iraq. Soleimani has been blamed for hundreds of American deaths, and the Pentagon claimed last week that the slain general was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." The "imminent" threat has been a key part of the administration's justification for killing him. Defense Secretary Mark Esper claimed that Soleimani "for sure" had plans to attack U.S. targets "days" before he was killed. But Pompeo said this week that "we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where" Soleimani had planned to attack Americans next. He maintained, however, that Soleimani was plotting "a series" of imminent attacks. "Those are completely consistent thoughts," Pompeo told reporters at the White House on Friday after Mnuchin announced the new sanctions. "This was going to happen, and American lives were at risk," Pompeo said. Trump, meanwhile, claimed in an interview that he thinks attacks on multiple U.S. Embassies had been planned before Soleimani was killed. "I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies," he told Fox News opinion host Laura Ingraham in a video clip that aired Friday afternoon. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announce new sanctions on Iran in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2020. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Iran dismisses speculations Ukrainian flight taken down by missile Iran Press TV Thursday, 09 January 2020 3:27 AM Iran's minister of road and urban development has dismissed as "untrue" rumors that suggest the Wednesday crash of a Ukrainian airliner was because of a missile attack, as the incident coincided with the launch of Iran's missiles against a US base in Iraq. Mohammad Eslami said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed after encountering a technical malfunction. Eslami said Iran will not hand over the black boxes recovered from the crash site to Boeing or any other countries. According to the minister, Iranian technicians and experts from the American aerospace company Boeing will recover data from the black boxes in Iran. "There are rumors that a terrorist attack, explosion or shooting at the plane may have caused the incident, but they are not true. Technical failure has been the cause of the incident," Eslami said. "Had the rumors been true, the plane must have exploded up in the air, but that has not happened, because the plane caught fire due to technical failure. That first caused its communications and control systems to stop working, and subsequently resulted in its crash," he added. These have been witnessed and confirmed by eyewitnesses as well, the minister said. The Ukraine International Airlines flight, en route to Kiev and carrying mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians, crashed hours after Iran fired missiles at bases housing US forces in Iraq, leading some to speculate that the plane may have been hit. Meanwhile, foreign intelligence sources also believe that the crash - which killed all the 179 on board - was likely caused by a technical malfunction. Five security sources - three Americans, one European and one Canadian - who asked not to be named, told Reuters that based on initial assessment of Western intelligence agencies, the plane had suffered a technical malfunction and had not been brought down by a missile. There was evidence one of the jet's engines had overheated, the Canadian source said. The crash comes at a difficult time for planemaker Boeing Co, which has grounded its 737 MAX fleet after two crashes. The 737-800 is one of the world's most-flown models with a good safety record and does not have the software feature implicated in crashes of the 737 MAX. "We are in contact with our airline customers and stand by them in this difficult time. We are ready to assist in any way needed," the manufacturer said in a statement earlier on Wednesday. It declined further comment. Its shares fell 1.1% on Wednesday. In Paris on Wednesday morning, the maker of the plane's engines, French-US firm CFM - co-owned by General Electric Co and France's Safran - said speculation regarding the cause was premature. Smouldering parts and debris, including shoes and clothes, were strewn across a field southwest of the Iranian capital, where rescue workers in face masks laid out scores of body bags. It was Kiev-based Ukraine International Airlines' first fatal crash, and the carrier said it was doing everything possible to establish the cause. Ukraine said it was sending a team of experts to Iran to investigate. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had instructed Ukraine's prosecutor general to open criminal proceedings, without specifying who they would involve. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would "continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated" and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was calling for complete cooperation with any investigation into cause of the crash. Under international rules, responsibility for investigating the crash lies with Iran. Iranian state television said both of the plane's black box voice and data recorders had been found. The head of Iran's civil aviation organization said it was not clear which country Iran would send the black boxes to for analysis of the data, but it would not give them to Boeing. The three-year-old 737-800NG's last scheduled maintenance was conducted on Jan. 6, Ukraine International Airlines said. An amateur video, run by Iranian news agencies and purportedly of the crashing plane, showed a descending flash in a dark sky. It was accompanied by comments that the aircraft was "on fire" and then a brighter flash as it appeared to hit the ground. Safety experts say airliner accidents rarely have a single cause and that it typically takes months of investigation to understand all the factors behind them. Modern aircraft are designed and certified to cope with an engine failure shortly after take-off and to fly for extended periods on one engine. But an uncontained engine failure releasing shrapnel can cause damage to other aircraft systems. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The US House of Representative on Thursday (local times) adopted a war powers resolution that limits President Donald Trump's ability to carry out military actions against Iran without the prior approval of Congress. The House voted 224-194 - with 13 votes outstanding - on Thursday in favour of the resolution which was introduced by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, reported Sputnik. Slotkin has previously served as a CIA analyst specialized in Shia militias, as well as acting assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs. The resolution was brought a day after Iran fired a number of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops on Wednesday local time in retaliation for the American strike that killed military general Qassem Soleimani last week in a Pentagon-ordered airstrike near Baghdad International Airport. In a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, House Speaker Pelosi deemed the US' strike that killed Soeimani as "provocative" and "disproportionate". She said that the decision to carry out strikes that dramatically escalated the tensions between Iran and the United States was taken without consulting the Congress. The speaker said the Trump administration's killing of Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, "endangered our service members, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran." Pelosi added that some members of Congress have "serious, urgent concerns" about the president's strategy, which the administration did not assuage with a Wednesday briefing or its "insufficient" notification of the strike to Congress under the War Powers Act. "The Administration must work with Congress to advance an immediate, effective de-escalation strategy that prevents further violence. America and the cannot afford a war," Pelosi said in announcing the vote on the war powers resolution, led by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAGHDAD - Iraqs caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to recommit to their partnership. Thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in the capital and southern Iraq, many calling on both Iran and America to leave Iraq, reflecting their anger and frustration over the two rivals both allies of Baghdad trading blows on Iraqi soil. The request from Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pointed to his determination to push ahead with demands for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, stoked by the American drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In a phone call Thursday night, he told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that recent U.S. actions were unacceptable breaches of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of their security agreements, his office said. He asked Pompeo to send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the Iraqi Parliaments resolution on withdrawing foreign troops, according to the statement. The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities, and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements, the statement added. Abdul-Mahdi signalled he was standing by the push for U.S. forces to leave despite signs of de-escalation by Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimanis death by firing missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where American troops are based but caused no casualties. Iraqis feel furious and helpless at being caught in the middle of the fighting. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and U.S. strikes. The State Department flatly dismissed Abdul-Mahdis request, saying U.S. troops are crucial for the fight against the Islamic State group and it would not discuss removing them. Pompeo indicated Friday the troops would remain, adding that the U.S. would continue its mission to help train Iraqi security forces and counter the Islamic State group. We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is, Pompeo said at the White House during an unrelated appearance. Our mission set there is very clear. Weve been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, to continue the counter-Daesh campaign, he said, using alternate acronyms for the militant group. Were going to continue that mission but, as times change and we get to a place where we can deliver upon what I believe and what the president believes is our right structure with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so, Pompeo said. He said a NATO team was at the State Department working on a plan to get burden- sharing right in the region, as well, so that we can continue the important missions to protect and defend, and keep the American people safe while reducing costs and burdens borne by the U.S. Earlier in the day, Pompeos spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership - not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East. Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution Sunday to oust U.S. troops, following the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdads airport. The nonbinding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi urged lawmakers at the time to take urgent measures to ensure the removal of the troops. In speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal, allowing time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure. In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdis request on the troops. It said Pompeo, who initiated the call, reiterated the U.S. condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes and underscored that President Donald Trump has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests. There are some 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counterparts to fight IS. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of its resurgence during the political turmoil. Both the U.S. and Iran have fought to defeat IS, and neither wants to see it stage a comeback. IS gloated in its first comments on Soleimanis slaying, saying his death pleased the hearts of believers, in an editorial in the groups al-Nabaa online newspaper. It carried a photo of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, saying that God brought their end at the hands of their allies. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said future talks between Baghdad and Washington were expected to focus on the nature of their strategic relationship, We provide assets that no other coalition ally can provide. ... If the United States wasnt in Iraq, its hard to imagine the coalition being in Iraq, he told reporters in Dubai at the end of a visit to the region in which he met with Iraqi officials in the northern Kurdish region. Schenker added that the U.S. and its partners have provided $5.4 billion to the Iraqi military in the last four years. Ortagus said the U.S. and Iraqi governments need to talk about security as well as our financial, economic and diplomatic partnership. She did not elaborate. Iraq is highly dependent on Iran sanctions waivers from Washington to continue importing Iranian gas to meet electricity demands, and the U.S. has consistently used this as leverage. The current waiver expires in February, and without a new one, Iraq could face severe financial penalties. The demand for a troop withdrawal is not universal among Iraqis. Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers, who oppose the Parliament resolution, see the U.S. presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran. Kurdish security forces have benefited from U.S. training and aid. Protesters criticized the ongoing crisis involving Iraq, the U.S. and Iran in demonstrations across the capital and in the southern provinces. Thousands massed in Baghdads Tahrir square, the epicenter of the protest movement, and many chanted Damn Iran and America! Large demonstrations also were held in Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Diwanieh provinces as the movement seeks to regain momentum after regional tensions overshadowed the uprising. Amid the protests in Basra, Iraqi journalist Ahmed Abdul Samad was found dead in his car outside a police station from a gunshot wound to the head, according to a security official who requested anonymity in line with regulations. A photographer covering the protests was injured and is in critical condition. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged rival political factions to unite and put private interests aside, saying they risked creating more unrest. The factions have yet to agree on a nominee to replace the outgoing Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from the protesters. Everyone is required to think carefully about what this situation will lead to if there is no end to it, he added. ___ Kullab reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Joe Krauss in Dubai and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed. T he BBC has received almost 900 complaints over the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special, it has been revealed. While the one-off episode was met with positive reviews, the decision to include two characters singing an uncensored version of Fairytale of New York faced scrutiny. In the scene, Nessa and Bryn (played by the shows co-creator Ruth Jones and actor Rob Brydon) were performing karaoke in a local pub when Bryn sang the line featuring the homophobic slur f****t*. Confirming that the scene resulted in a total of 866 complaints, the BBC has issued a fresh statement standing by the creative decision. Gavin and Stacey - In pictures 1 /44 Gavin and Stacey - In pictures Gavin and Stacey starring Ruth Jones as Nessa, Joanna Page as Stacey, Matthew Horne as Gavin and James Corden as Smithy Baby Cow The cast of Gavin and Stacey, (left to right) Rob Wilfort as Jason, Joanna Page as Stacey, Matthew Horne as Gavin, James Corden as Smithy, Ruth Jones as Nessa, Alison Steadman as Pam, Melanie Waters as Gwen, Roby Brydon as Bryn and Larry Lamb as Mick, as the comedy returns to BBC television in a one-off 2019 special on Christmas Day PA Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special 2019 BBC Gavin and Stacey starring James Corden as Smithy and Ruth Jones as Nessa Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Matthew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Rob Brydon as Bryn and Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Matthew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Rob Brydon as Bryn and Ruth Jones as Nessa Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Ruth Jones as Nessa and Matthew Horne as Gavin Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring James Corden as Smithy, Matthew Horne as Gavin and Rob Brydon as Bryn Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Matthew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Matthew Horne as Gavin Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Ruth Jones as Nessa, Joanna Page as Stacey, Matthew Horne as Gavin and James Corden as Smithy Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Alison Steadman as Pam Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring James Corden as Smithy Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Rob Brydon as Bryn Baby Cow Pam, Mick and Smithy in Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Ruth Jones as Nessa, Joanna Page as Stacey, Matthew Horne as Gavin and James Corden as Smithy Baby Cow Nessa and Bryn in Gavin and Stacey Margaret John as Doris in Gavin And Stacey Sheridan Smith in Gavin and Stacey BBC Gavin and Stacey starring Matthew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Alison Steadman as Pam and Larry Lamb as Mick Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Margaret John from Gavin and Stacey PA Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring James Corden as Smithy Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey starring Matthew Horne as Gavin and Joanna Page as Stacey Baby Cow Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special 2019 BBC Discussing the song itself, they told the Sun: "The descent of their relationship is reflected in the increasingly abusive and offensive terms they use to address each other; insults which are intended to reflect the language that such characters might have used in that era. "The origin of the word includes a definition which describes it as a contemptuous and antiquated word for laziness, and the author of the song has cited this inference behind his inclusion of that line. "While the word f****t is now widely acknowledged as having the potential to offend, the song never suggests or implies that this is, or was ever, an appropriate way to address another person, nor does it link it to homosexuality. The BBC was previously forced to defend the scene before the show had aired after LGBT campaigner Peter Tatchell warned the use of the word would send completely the wrong signal and give comfort to homophobes everywhere. Writer Jones also stated: Characters in Gavin and Stacey are kind and big-hearted, I believe. So I think no one is going to be intentionally hurtful. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-10 10:45:07|Editor: yhy Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Friday urged all parties involved to contribute to a probe into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner which killed all 176 people on board on Wednesday. "According to international regulations, representatives from the civil aviation agency of the country where the crash has taken place (Iran), the civil aviation agency of the country which has issued the airworthiness certificate (Ukraine), the owner of the airliner (Ukraine International Airlines), the aircraft manufacturer (Boeing Co.), and the jet engine manufacturer (CFM International) can participate in the investigation process," Ali Rabiei, spokesman for the Iranian administration, said in a statement. The statement also said a delegate from Ukraine is already in Iran, and Iran called on Boeing Co. to dispatch its own representative to participate in the process of reading the black box data. Iran also invited the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to take part in the investigation. The NTSB announced it would join the probe into the crash and has designated an accredited representative. Boeing said Wednesday that it is ready to provide any necessary assistance. And the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also pledged to assist the probe into the crash. Iran welcomed the participation of all countries whose nationals were on the ill-fated airliner. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he supported expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include Middle Eastern nations, as the United States seeks to limit its troop footprint globally. "I think that NATO should be expanded and we should include the Middle East, absolutely," Trump told reporters at the White House. Trump proposed increased NATO involvement in the Middle East on Wednesday, when he addressed the Iranian strikes against U.S. troops in Iraq, carried out in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian military commander. The military leader, Qassem Soleimani, played a major role in the fight against Islamic State militants in the region. Trump said Islamic State presented an international problem that other countries should help address. "We can come home, largely come home and use NATO," Trump said. "We caught ISIS, we did Europe a big favor." Trump has been a critic of NATO, demanding that Europe pay more for its collective defence and make concessions to U.S. interests on trade. Trump joked that the organisation could be called NATO-ME, or NATO plus the Middle East. He said he floated the possible name to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a call on Wednesday. NATO was created in 1949 as a mutual defence bulwark against the Soviet Union to promote the security of the North Atlantic area. The group, based in Brussels, has grown to 29 member nations, from 12 initially. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on Thursday with Stoltenberg to discuss the Iranian strikes and reiterated Trump's call for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East, the State Department said. A State Department statement said "the two agreed NATO could contribute more to regional security and the fight against international terrorism." It added that Pompeo and Stoltenberg condemned Iran's "destabilizing violence" and remained "committed to countering international terrorism, including through NATOs participation in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and training missions in Iraq and Afghanistan." The White House said that in his call, Trump "emphasized the value of NATO increasing its role in preventing conflict and preserving peace in the Middle East." The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, said on Thursday the fight against Islamic State is important to both the United States and its NATO allies. "I think what the president is looking for is more of our allies working with us in Iraq," she told CNBC. "And that is something that our NATO Council will have to discuss and decide that we would do more." MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gladstone Commercial Corporation (GOOD) (Gladstone Commercial) announced today that it completed the acquisition of a 64,800 square foot industrial building in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 8, 2020 for $5.2 million. The initial capitalization rate for the acquisition was 6.72%, with an average capitalization rate of 7.24%. Gladstone Commercial issued common units in its operating partnership to fund a portion of the acquisition. The property is 100% leased to three tenants with a weighted average lease term of 7.2 years. The property provides functional warehouse and distribution space for all three tenants as well as functional office space for the anchor tenant, Shambaugh & Son, LP (Shambaugh). Shambaugh, a wholly-owned subsidiary of investment grade rated EMCOR Group, Inc., currently occupies 70.4% of the building, is the largest MEP construction services contractor in Indiana, and is ranked the third largest specialty contractor in the United States. Shambaughs weighted average remaining lease term is 8.5 years. The remainder of the building is leased by GW Services, LLC and Insta-Clean, LLC. The acquisition of this industrial property is consistent with Gladstone Commercials strategy of acquiring high-quality assets with credit-worthy tenants located in its targeted growth markets. This is Gladstone Commercials fourth acquisition in the Indianapolis market, and third industrial acquisition in Indianapolis over the trailing 12 months. Additionally, the property is Gladstone Commercials second industrial acquisition located in Indianapolis Park 100 over the trailing 12 months. We are pleased to continue growing our industrial presence in the Indianapolis market, a premier industrial market in the Midwest. This anchored multi-tenant property is well located in Park 100, a large and established industrial park with great access to labor and major transportation routes, said Matt Tucker, Senior Managing Director and head of the Northeast/Midwest region for Gladstone Commercial. Story continues Bob Cutlip, President of Gladstone Commercial, agreed, This transaction continues our strategy of increasing our allocation to industrial buildings in target markets such as Indianapolis, as well as continuing our successful anchored multitenant program with a highly recognized lead tenant. About Gladstone Commercial (GOOD) Gladstone Commercial is a real estate investment trust focused on acquiring, owning, and operating net leased industrial and office properties across the United States. As of September 30, 2019, Gladstone Commercials real estate portfolio consisted of 109 properties located in 24 states, totaling approximately 13.1 million square feet. For additional information please visit www.gladstonecommercial.com . For Broker Submittals: South Central: Northeast/Midwest: Buzz Cooper Matt Tucker Senior Managing Director Senior Managing Director (703) 287-5815 (703) 287-5830 Buzz.Cooper@gladstonecompanies.com Matt.Tucker@gladstonecompanies.com Southeast / Mountain West: Brandon Flickinger Managing Director (703) 287-5819 Brandon.Flickinger@gladstonecompanies.com Investor or Media Inquiries: Bob Cutlip President Gladstone Commercial Corporation (703) 287-5878 Bob.Cutlip@gladstonecompanies.com All statements contained in this press release, other than historical facts, may constitute 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. Words such as anticipates, expects, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers should not rely upon forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the Gladstone Commercials business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, funds from operations or prospects to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties are disclosed under the caption Risk Factors of the companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, as filed with the SEC on February 13, 2019 and certain other filings we make with the SEC. Gladstone Commercial cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly dividend paying Gladstone funds, please visit www.gladstone.com . SOURCE: Gladstone Commercial Corporation (Newser) Unidentified planes struck targets in Syria near the border with Iraq on Friday, reports said, triggering "a huge explosion" amid soaring tensions in the region between the US and Iran. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the planes targeted positions belonging to pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal area, near the border with Iraq. The UK-based organization, which documents the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said the planes struck among other targets, weapons depots and vehicles belonging to the militias, the AP reports. An activist from the Deir Ezzor 24 collective said the attack triggered "a huge explosion" heard on the Syrian-Iraqi border. There was no immediate comment from Syria or Iraq, and the reports could not be independently confirmed. story continues below The US carried out military strikes in the area on Dec. 29, killing 25 members of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia in retaliation to a rocket attack on a military base in Iraq that killed a US contractor. The US blamed that attack on a Iranian-backed Iraqi militia. Israel has also struck Iran-backed militias in the area in the past. Amid tensions, this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Syria for talks with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. The area struck Friday is key to a land corridor for Tehran that links Iran across Iraq and Syria. The Observatory report on Friday claimed that Putin had informed Assad during the visit of a US intention to "close" the land corridor for good. (Read more Syria stories.) The parents of Nora Quoirin, who died after going missing in the Malaysian jungle last August, have said they are shocked by the decision not to hold an inquest into her death. Nora (15) went missing during a family holiday to Malaysia on August 4. Her body was discovered 10 days later beside a small stream, about 1.6 miles from the jungle resort of Dusun, where the family were staying. On Friday the Malaysian Attorney General's Chambers classified her death as "no further action". The ruling has angered Nora's parents Meabh - who is from Belfast- and Sebastien who have said they are shocked by the decision and that the ruling prevents "justice from being done". The pair have rejected the police's theory, who believe she wandered off alone and there was no foul play involved. In a written statement, released by the Lucie Blackman Trust, the parents said: "To date, we have only received a short explanation from the pathologists who conducted the post-mortem in Malaysia which confirmed the cause of death as gastro-intestinal bleeding and an ulcer (likely brought on by starvation and/or stress). "We must emphasise however that this is only a brief extract of what will be the full post-mortem report, which is as yet still unavailable. Expand Close Teenager Nora Quoirin went missing on a family holiday PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Teenager Nora Quoirin went missing on a family holiday "It is critical that we receive this report. It may reveal other significant details that contributed to Noras death, such as why a severe ulcer was triggered so quickly in her body. It is moreover utterly unacceptable that we have not received a single update from Malaysia since Noras death." The AGCs decision prevents justice being done." Nora's parents said that the teen, who had significant physical and mental challenges, could not have been alone for the entire duration of her disappearance. "We have repeatedly asked the police to clarify answers to our questions in this regard and we have been repeatedly ignored," they said. "This stands in stark contrast with the promise of transparency that we received from the Deputy Prime Minister and other prominent officials whom we met in Malaysia." They added: "We cannot believe, nor understand why, any modern economy would label such a harrowing and mysterious case NFA without full process and the total refusal to communicate with us is both insulting and unfathomable. Expand Close Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin (Royal Malaysia Police/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin (Royal Malaysia Police/AP) "Our governments in France and Ireland support our demands for justice. We therefore now appeal directly to the highest levels of Malaysian government as well as the Attorney Generals office to assist our quest for the truth. The Lucie Blackman Trust, which has been assisting the family since Nora's disappearance, said it was shocked by the news. Matthew Searle, trust chief executive, said: It seems unbelievable that, in a case that looks so complex and currently unexplained, that any authority could effectively close it down without even waiting for full reports. "The idea that Nora went off, on her own, seems incredibly unlikely. This family need answers and at least deserve an investigation to the greatest lengths available. We are urgently seeking answers from various authorities Noras death needs to be explained. Uttam Prakash Agarwal, an independent director of Yes Bank Ltd, on Friday resigned from the board and stepped down as head of its audit committee citing major corporate governance concerns, but the lender said he was facing a 'fit and proper' status review as directed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The capital-starved bank also reported setbacks in its USD 2-billion fundraising plans. The lender also said its board has also approved a fresh round of capital raising of Rs 10,000 crore, for which shareholders' nod will be sought soon, the troubled private sector lender told stock exchanges on Friday. Canadian investor Erwin Singh Braich's USD 1.2 billion offer will not be pursued further, it said and hinted that a USD 500-million offer from Citax Holdings and Citax Investment Group, which was being favourably considered, is also facing headwinds. The bank, which was waiting for regulatory nods as Citax's offer entailed over 10 per cent ownership, has not yet been able to get a clearance on the "conditions precedent". Without specifying timelines, it said the Citax offer will be taken up "during the next round". The troubled bank has been forced to shrink its book due to capital paucity and was hoping to close the fundraising by December. Need for capital has been necessitated as under new Chief Executive Officer Ravneet Gill, the lender has had to provide for sour loan bets taken under his predecessor Rana Kapoor whose term was cut short by the RBI last year over concerns on corporate governance. The central bank has also appointed former deputy governor R Gandhi to the board. Meanwhile, Uttam Agarwal, a chartered accountant who had joined the board amid an upheaval in November, has quit citing "deteriorating standards of the corporate governance" under Gill. The bank retorted saying Agarwal resigned ahead of a discussion at the board to review if he qualifies under the RBI's 'fit and proper' criteria. Agarwal's resignation letter shared by the bank said he had "serious concerns" over the "deteriorating standards of the corporate governance, failure of compliance, management practices and the manner in which the state of affairs" are being conducted by the bank under Gill. The bank said the observations made by Agarwal on the bank's governance will be duly examined by the board. The director, who has served as the head of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and was also part of the team investigating auditors' role in the Satyam Computers fiasco, also named senior group president for governance Rajiv Uberoi and legal head Sanjay Nambiar in the letter, and claimed that he had raised similar concerns in earlier correspondence. In a letter written on Friday to markets regulator Sebi, Agarwal listed out his concerns on non-disclosure and reluctance shown by Gill in informing the board of the names of the interested investors in fundraising exercise and inconsistencies in what he informed the board and what appeared in media. He also said the Citax Investment Group, whose proposal for the USD 500-million investment is being considered by the board, has a paid-up capital of only GBP 100. Gill had to be reminded repeatedly for sharing information on the capital-raising plans, and the term sheets he eventually shared lacked essential details, the letter alleges, adding expression of interest by three domestic investors were called as commitments. It seeks the regulator to investigate gains made by investors due to sharing of false developments. Gill could not be reached for a comment immediately. In a statement, the bank said it was reviewing if Agarwal complied with the 'fit and proper' framework on RBI directions and had also obtained opinion from legal luminaries on the same. The opinions were to be reviewed by the nomination and remuneration committee of the board but Agarwal tendered his resignation prior to the discussions, it said. A media report on November 24 had said Agarwal had not disclosed details of criminal cases for cheating and criminal breach of trust filed against him to the bank. The same cases were mentioned in an affidavit he had filed while contesting for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on a Shiv Sena ticket. The bank's shares on Friday closed 5.29 per cent down at Rs 44.80 apiece on the BSE, compared with the benchmark index's overall gain of 0.36 per cent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A n attack at a high-security prison by two inmates wearing fake suicide belts is being treated as a terrorist attack, Met Police have confirmed. Five prison staff were injured in the incident at HMP Whitemoor, in Cambridgeshire, on Thursday One officer was stabbed in the head, chest and face when he was ambushed by the prisoners armed with improvised bladed weapons. He and four other staff, who were attacked as they stepped in to help, were taken to hospital following the incident, but have since been released. Boris Johnson later thanked prison staff and the emergency services for their courageous response, extending his "gratitude" in a tweet on Friday afternoon. Brusthom Ziamani has been named as one of the suspects (Picture: PA) One of the suspects at the 458-capacity jail has been named in reports as convicted terrorist Brusthom Ziamani, 24, who was found guilty of planning a public beheading four years ago. The second is said to be a Muslim convert jailed for a violent offence. Ziamani, a follower of radical preacher Anjem Choudary, was found guilty of plotting to murder a British soldier, in a plan inspired by the murder of fusilier Lee Rigby. Both suspects in yesterday's attack were wearing belts with various items crudely attached, detectives said. Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: I have received a full briefing on this cowardly and vicious attack and there is no doubt in my mind that but for the bravery of staff then this morning we could have been talking about a death of a prison officer at Whitemoor Prison. This was an extremely serious attack on hard-working staff. A Prison Service spokesman said the incident was quickly resolved by brave staff, adding: We do not tolerate assaults on our hard-working officers and will push for the strongest possible punishment. The Met said it was deemed appropriate for the investigation to be carried out by counter-terrorism officers. A statement said: The incident itself was quickly contained and dealt with by prison staff and from our enquiries thus far, there is nothing to suggest any continuing threat inside or outside of the prison system linked to yesterdays incident. Both the prisoners suspected to have been involved in the attack remain in prison. No arrests have been made at this time. The Prime Minister later thanked HMP Whitemoor staff on Twitter, praising the bravery of prison staff who keep the public safe. Ziamani was 19 when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey to 22 years in prison, reduced to 19 on appeal, after he was arrested while carrying a hammer, knife and black Islamic flag while walking through Whitechapel. The court heard that he had researched the location of army cadet bases in south-east London. Goa Congress leader and former MP John Fernandes has lambasted his own party for opposing the amended citizenship act, saying laws passed by Parliament should not be challenged on the streets. Fernandes, a former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president, on Thursday termed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as a "good" law which should be accepted by people. The passage of CAA in Parliament last month triggered protests across the country, including in Goa. The Congress and other opposition parties have criticised the new law that grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution in their home country. Fernandes was addressing a gathering here where crucial issues like CAA and scrapping of Article 370, that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were discussed. The former GPCC chief, who held reigns of the party in Goa in 2013, said, When a law is passed by Parliament, no one should be instigated by the opposition to say anything against it on the streets." Commenting on protests around university campus post- CAA, including in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Fernandes said I dont think it is appropriate, what is going on. I know how it started. "It started at Jamia Millia Islamia, I was a director to that board and I know how it was functioning therefore I resigned from that board, he said without elaborating. Referring to the protests against CAA, the two-time former Rajya Sabha MP said, Can laws be made on the streets? Then it is law of the jungle. These topics are not to be debated (once passed by Parliament). "CAA is to be accepted by the people of this country because these are good laws." I belong to a particular political party but I have opinion as an individual. We have made mistakes in the last 70 years and why we should continue with the same mistakes? he asked. Talking about Pakistan, which has criticised the Centre over scrapping of Article 370 and CAA, Fernandes said it is not anybodys business to convince Indians on the twin issues. I dont think it is anybodys business to convince us on Article 370 and CAA. It is not for people across the border to dictate us terms about laws passed by our Parliament, the Congress leader said. When a law is passed by Parliament it has to be accepted. Even if the prime minister is not from my party, I should accept him because he is PM of India, Fernandes said. CAA's critics say the law is discriminatory and violates the core values of the Constitution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police used water canons on Friday to stop the Aam Aadmi Party workers protesting against the hike in power tariff in Punjab from moving towards the chief minister Amarinder Singh's residence here. The main opposition party also sought scrapping of power purchase agreements signed during previous SAD-BJP regime with private plants. Chandigarh police used water cannons to stop the protestors from going towards the chief minister's residence. The protest was led by Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann. Several party MLAs including Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Baljinder Kaur participatedin the massive protest. AAP leaders claimed that party workers sustained injuries because of the water cannon and several party workers were taken into custody by the police. Power rates in Punjab were increased by 36 paise a unit with effect from January 1 for domestic consumers. The party leaders alleged that power consumers were being forced to pay between Rs 9 and Rs 12 a unit which was "much higher" as compared to electricity rates in other states. Mann said on the one hand, Punjab which produces own electricity, was selling electricity to consumers at higher rates and on the other hand, the Kejriwal-led government in Delhi, which produces not even a single unit of power, was providing cheapest electricity to the people there. The AAP said the Congress before coming to power had promised to review the power purchase agreements but failed to do so despite being in power for more than two and a half years now. AAP leaders also claimed that there had been recurring hike in electricity rates allegedly because of the pressure of the private power companies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kolkata, Jan 10 : A number of BJP workers were arrested on Friday when they tried to take out a rally from the city's cultural complex Nandan to Hazra crossing in South Kolkata in protest against the gangrape and murder of a 17-year-old minor girl in Kumarganj of West Bengal's South Dinajpur district. Claiming the rallyists did not have requisite permission, the police rounded up the slogan-shouting BJP activists as soon as they assembled at Nandan for the march. The rallyists were later allowed to continue their protest march on another route suggested by the authorities. In a virtual rerun of the Hyderabad crime, the minor girl was gangraped allegedly by three persons at a secluded spot in the Belkhor area last Sunday. The perpetrators then killed the girl by slitting her throat and then burnt the body by pouring petrol to destroy evidence of the crime. On Monday, the body was discovered from under a culvert by locals after they saw stray dogs fighting over charred flesh. The body was sent for autopsy and was identified by the victim's family members. BJP state Mahila Morcha chief Locket Chatterjee, who was also arrested at the Nandan complex, targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. "After the heinous crime in Kumarganj, people wanted to hit the streets to protest. We sought police permission, but were refused, at the express instructions of the Chief Minister as she did not want our voice of protest to reach across the country," said Chatterjee, an actress-turned politician. "The Chief Minister is trying to push things under the carpet in Bengal, she said. Chatterjee said his party had moved the Calcutta High Court, where the state government said it could not give the nod for the rally as permission had already been given for another procession on the same route. The state then suggested an alternate route, following which the court permitted the BJP to take out a procession from Nandan to the Birla Planetarium before returning to Nandan. "We are communicating the order to the police, and will take out the rally on the route permitted by the court," Chatterjee said. A 13-year-old girl assaulted three staff members Thursday at a therapeutic alternative school in West Caldwell, police say. Police responded to Essex Valley School on Henderson Drive around 11 a.m. on a report that a student had assaulted a teacher, West Caldwell police said. The student had also assaulted two more staff members who tried to intervene in the first assault, police said. The staff member who was first assaulted was transported to Mountainside Hospital for treatment, police said in a statement. The school says on its website that it offers second chances to students who have not found success in traditional public and private schools. The young teen girl was arrested and transported to the West Caldwell Police Department and charged with three counts of aggravated assault, police said. She was later transported to the Essex County Juvenile Detention Facility in Newark. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaPanico. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Like many Sydneysiders, Victoria King grew up against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, spending countless weekend hours wandering through its mangroves and foreshores. On these walks, there was just one unspoken rule. No one ever touched the water. Victoria King, prize-winning architect in front of Goat Island in Sydney. Credit:Isabella Porras I didnt really question it, Ms King, 25, said. It wasnt until I began researching why that unspoken rule existed that I uncovered the disturbing truth. The harbour is contaminated. More than 200 years of industry has exposed it to metals, organic waste and microplastics, the Sydney Institute of Marine Science says. Once you learn a skill like tying your sneakers, you can perform it consistently over the years. This suggests the neural activity in the brain associated with the skill remains stable over time. Thus far, though, it has been impossible to find this stable neural signal, because the electrodes necessary to monitor the brain activity see an ever-changing set of neurons. New Northwestern Medicine findings provide an immediate way of compensating for this change in recorded neurons. Hidden in the activity patterns, scientists discovered a small set of neural "conversations" underlying the individual neurons' activity that described movements in a remarkably stable way over many months or years. Northwestern scientists were able to record, decode and reconstruct preserved activity patterns for common movement skills from these ever-changing neurons in both motor and sensory areas of the cerebral cortex. The findings have immediate implications for neuroprostheses, devices that bypass neurological injuries by inferring intended motor actions from a patient's brain, then using this decoded information to provide the patient voluntary control of a computer cursor, a robot limb or even their own reanimated limb. The study is significant because it is the first to extract or 'decode' a stable pattern of information from many neurons across the different brain areas that work together to create a movement. Previous studies focused on the individual neurons, whose activity cannot typically be recorded for more than a few hours, and reported somewhat contradictory findings." Lee Miller, lead author, professor of physiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine The challenge the scientists solved is a bit like attending a cocktail party where many people are talking to each other about politics, religion and the weather. The combined voices are impossible to follow, and listening to a single person only works until they wander away. However, by monitoring a few representative people and extracting the information related to these three different topics, one could come away from the evening with a very good running commentary of current events. Such is the case in the cerebral cortex: one can sample several hundred neurons out of many million to find the dominant neural "conversations." By combining the simultaneous recordings from many neurons, it is possible to extract stable patterns of activity distributed across the whole population, potentially allowing for consistent control of a neuroprosthesis over long periods of time. The study was published Jan. 6 in Nature Neuroscience. Although there have been pre-clinical demonstrations of neuroprostheses that try to address multiple movement commands, they all have the same limitation, Miller said. The individual neurons driving the neuroprostheses change across days. This instability in the signals being recorded makes it difficult to interpret movement commands, and requires the patient and the neuroprosthesis to relearn how to move almost every day. Other groups have developed methods to accelerate this process, but the Northwestern results suggest that it may not be necessary if one focuses on the neural conversations rather than on the individual neurons. "Our study supports a recent model of how the brain works: by using highly distributed patterns of activity across neurons to generate behavior, rather than by carefully adjusting the activity of each individual neuron," said first author Juan Gallego, a former postdoc in Miller's lab who is now an assistant professor at Imperial College London. Miller's final goal is to have a neuroprosthesis that translates brain signals (the activity of tens to hundreds of neurons) into a variety of movements over a long period of time. Current neuroprostheses only function particularly well for the tasks on which they have been trained. "By accurately predicting how the subject wants to activate their many individual muscles, this future neuroprosthesis should, in principle, allow the user to perform any movement she wants," Miller said. But challenges remain to achieve this. Scientists can currently build a mathematical model that predicts muscle activity during a given task (and Miller's team has done it for several tasks), or even during a slightly different task. "Yet, these mathematical models fail when you test them on a very different task," Miller said. "In other words, with current methods a 'hammering nails' model may not work well when the subject is 'applying lipstick.'" Miller's lab team is working to overcome this challenge. In preclinical studies, they are performing wireless recordings of brain signals, muscle activity and movement data. They are exploring methods from artificial intelligence to build a model that works for a much broader variety of movements than has previously been possible. "If successful, this research will open new exciting avenues for bringing neuroprostheses from the lab to the patients' homes," Miller said. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. San Francisco, 10 January 2020 : The Report Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product, By End Use (Hospitals, Nursing Homes), By Region (North America, MEA, APAC, Europe), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 2026 The global durable medical equipment (DME) market size is expected to reach USD 271.0 billion by 2026 registering a CAGR of 6.1%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is primarily driven by rise in chronic diseases, such as kidney failures and cancer. Moreover, technological advancements along with strong reimbursement scenario will boost the DME market further. For instance, in January 2019, WHILL, Inc., a U.S.-based personal electric vehicle, introduced new technology WHILL autonomous drive at the Consumer Electronic Sow held at the Las Vegas. In the past, Medicare has taken steps to bring reimbursement of DME products in line with other payers. In this direction, in December 2015, the Center for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) issued a new rule of prior authorization process for DME, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS). The DMEPOS includes the master list of 135 items, which require prior authorization before beneficiary receives an item. In addition, growing geriatric population across the globe is likely to contribute to the industry expansion. People aged 60 years or above are more prone to health issues, such as diabetes, mobility issues, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs), and other lifestyle problems. This creates demand for DME products. However, stringent regulatory guidelines in developed economies and lack of skilled professionals may limit the durable medical equipment market growth. Access Research Report of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market @ www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/durable-medical-equipment-dme-market Further key findings from the study suggest: Personal mobility devices emerged as the largest segment owing to the launch of technologically advanced products with more comfort and portability Nursing homes is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment over the study period as these facilities offer custodial care like skilled care, such as bathing and dressing Europe led the market with the largest share in 2018 and will witness a steady growth in future on account of the presence of major companies in the region Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2019 to 2026 owing to the presence of a large target population base and improving healthcare facilities Some of the key companies in the global DME market are Invacare Corporation; ArjoHuntleigh; Stryker Corporation; Hill Rom, Inc.; Drive Medical; GF Health Products, Inc.; Sunrise Medical; Medline Industries, Inc.; and Carex Health Brands, Inc. Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/medical-devices Grand View Research has segmented the global Durable Medical Equipment (DME) market on the basis of product, end use, and region: DME Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2026) Personal Mobility Devices Wheelchairs Scooters Walker and Rollators Cranes and Crutches Door Openers Other Devices Bathroom Safety Devices and Medical Furniture Commodes and Toilets Mattress and Bedding Devices Monitoring and Therapeutic Devices Blood Sugar Monitors Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) Infusion Pumps Nebulizers Oxygen Equipment Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Suction Pumps Traction Equipment Others Equipment DME End Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2026) Hospital Nursing Homes Home Healthcare Other DME Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2026) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Access Press Release of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Market @ www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-durable-medical-equipment-dme-market About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. For More Information: www.grandviewresearch.com Crime Branch of Mumbai police has arrested five bogus doctors on charges of running medical clinics without any valid degree. The arrests were made from Juhu, Oshiwara and Malvani areas of the city. In a statement, Akbar Pathan, Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police said that the case has been registered against the five as they did not have any valid degree recognised by the Maharashtra Medical Council. The accused have been identified as Swapankumar Mandal, Ramkumar Mataprasad Mishra, Hanif Agharia, Tukaram Bhiva Thorat and Shaikh Aziz. Those arrested have been booked under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 33 and 36 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aruba has taken steps to bolster the security and manageability of its branch-office networking package for customers with lots of branch sites. The HPE company enhanced its SD-Branch software with identity-based attack detection and intrusion prevention, and improvements to its SD-WAN Orchestrator to make it easier to deploy security features on a large scale. Arubas SD-Branch software runs on its branch gateways and includes a variety of integrated features like a firewall that support LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi networks, and segmentation as well integration with the companys ClearPass policy-management software and its cloud-based package Aruba Central. The package can integrate its data with partner security platforms such as Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, and Z-Scaler. Aruba has added role-based intrusion detection/intrusion prevention (IDS/IPS) features that let customers watch over and set security policies on individual or role-based access to branch endpoints, according to Kishore Seshadri, Arubas vice-president and general manager of SD-WAN Solutions. Controlling the access each user has to resources is a component of zero-trust security, which is the direction Aruba has been heading, Seshadri said. A recent Network World article defined the idea of zero-trust networks as simply: trust no one. Verify everyone. Enforce strict access-control and identity-management policies that restrict employee access to the resources they need to do their job and nothing more. According to a recent 451 Group survey, only around 13% of enterprises have started down the zero-trust path. The new support lets customers monitor individual endpoints and block traffic when necessary, all based on policies set locally in ClearPass, Seshadri said. The new package also supports threat visibility and trend analysis as well as the ability to correlate security events with sites, clients, applications and network infrastructure to help customers support larger branch implementations, the company said. These capabilities allow enterprises to quickly detect and prevent unwanted traffic from entering or exiting their networks, said Brandon Butler, a senior research analyst with IDC. The IDS and IPS systems allow users to set levels such as lenient, moderate, strict for traffic controls, and there are available integrations with messaging systems for alerting," Butler said. "These features are atop what Aruba already has for security, including dynamic segmentation of traffic based on users, devices and apps, firewall capabilities and integration with cloud-based security solutions such as Zscaler. For its cloud-based network management, Aruba Central, the company bolstered the Orchestrator feature with the ability to deploy secure overlay topologies in a large-scale edge-computing infrastructure. The idea is to securely connect thousands of remote locations to applications in data centers and the cloud, Aruba said. We continue to see customers move away from traditional on-premises data centers and move more toward the cloud, and the Orchestrator can now help customers secure those environments, Seshadri said. Being able to extend security coverage will be important for Aruba and other networking companies as they link to cloud resources. For example, Aruba announced support for Amazon Web Services AWS Transit Gateway, which lets customers connect their Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) and their on-premises networks to a single gateway. The idea is to simplify and enhance the performance of SD-WAN integration with AWS cloud resources. Cisco, Versa and others have also announced support for the Transit Gateway. Aruba has an SD-WAN tie-in to Microsoft Azure and Google as well. The final component of Arubas branch-connectivity upgrade was adding support for cellular backup, particularly LTE, to its branch-office gateways. Built-in cellular access in Aruba 9004 Series Gateways gives customers the option to use the connection as a primary, secondary uplink or backup in a load-shared active-active mode with other broadband links, Seshadri said. IT staff are able tune and optimize connectivity by defining SLA policies across a combination of MPLS, internet and cellular links enforced with dynamic path steering in real-time with the ability to select the preferred cellular link, Aruba stated. The cellular link can also be used for remote locations or to accelerate the deployment of a new store until the dedicated MPLS or internet links are installed. This overall announcement is evidence of a broader shift in the market, said IDCs Butler. As deployments of SD-WAN scale up, enterprises are thinking more holistically about what network and security functions are needed at the edge of their networks, and enhanced security functionality is a key," he said. "When enterprises deploy multiple network and security functions at the edge of their networks (such as SD-WAN with firewall, IPS/IDS, network analytics or WAN Op) we call this SD-Branch. We expect most SD-WAN vendors will increase their security and network-function capabilities that are packaged with SD-WAN, creating a new SD-Branch market. SD-WAN continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments of the network infrastructure market, Butler added. In the first half of 2019, the market doubled in size compared to the year earlier: $1.1B for SD-WAN infrastructure (hardware + software, but not services) revenues in the first half of 2019, versus $1.4B for the full year 2018, he said. A boy who became stranded in the Utah mountains overnight in waist-deep snow survived by using his phones alarm function to stay awake. Nicolas Stacy-Alcantara had begun a hike in relatively mild weather when heavy snow began to fall before he reached his destination, US media reported. As he progressed from Millcreek Canyon to Park City he realised something was wrong. It was gradual. I noticed the snow was getting deeper and deeper as I was hiking, he told KSL-TV. When the 17-year-old felt his feet begin to freeze, he found a tree and dug a miniature cave in the snow beneath it. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty I knew my chest was more important than my feet, he told FOX13. I knew if I lost those, I could still live, so I really just tied the ends of my jackets together. I tucked my arms inside my jacket and tucked my head inside. His phone had no signal but proved useful nonetheless as, knowing that if he fell asleep in the freezing conditions he might not wake back up, Nicolas set alarms at 30-minute intervals. He also drummed his hands against his chest to maintain blood flow. The California native had been visiting an ex-girlfriend when he decided to take a walk packing six peanut butter and jam sandwiches and a litre of water. Recommended Woman posed as teenage boy to sexually assault up to 50 girls Finding a beaded bracelet his former partner had given him helped him through the night by reminding him of people who cared about him, he told reporters. Plus, he joked, I didnt want PB&J to be my last meal. Nicolas survived 30 hours alone in the mountains, before he found fellow hikers with a satellite phone. He was treated for frostbite to his feet but is expected to recover, reports said. An Instagram comment left by comedian George Lopez has caught the attention of the U.S. Secret Service after being publicized by and infuriating a group of vocal conservatives on Twitter. Lopez left the remark Sunday on a post by Chicano Worldstar. The pop culture account posted about an unsubstantiated claim that an $80 million bounty had been set for President Donald Trump (something apparently proposed by one eulogist at the funeral for Iranian Quds Force commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani). Lopez commented on the post: "We'll do it for half." A representative for Lopez said it was a joke. The Secret Service "is aware of the Tweet made by Mr. Lopez," a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement Tuesday. "The Secret Service takes all threats against the President and or any of our protectees seriously, and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence." No one from the Secret Service has yet contacted Lopez, the comedian's representative said. The agency routinely investigates threats made against presidents, and rarely says anything beyond being aware of such comments. (It's a violation of federal law to "knowingly and willfully" make "any threats to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States" or a successor.) The Secret Service has released similar statements when other entertainers have made allusions to threatening Trump, such as when a Snoop Dogg music video released in March 2017 featured a clown that was a clear parody of the president being shot with a toy gun that released glitter and a banner that read "Bang!." In that case, Trump tweeted his outrage, drawing further attention to the depiction. In May 2017, comedian Kathy Griffin posed for a photo shoot while holding a mask depicting Trump's bloody, severed head. Trump and his family forcefully denounced the image and CNN cut ties with Griffin, who faced wide and bipartisan condemnation. The comedian made a tearful apology, which she later retracted. Actor Tom Arnold said two Secret Service agents visited him in 2018 after he challenged Trump on Twitter to a body-slamming contest. (He had also tweeted, "Next time Kathy won't be holding his fake head!") Arnold, a former Trump friend turned foe, recorded the interview, and Mother Jones magazine viewed the videotapes. "You're a public figure," one agent said, according to the magazine. "But what we have to worry about is your type of audience and you say something inciting those that follow you." Ted Nugent, a musician and conservative activist, sat with the Secret Service after comments he made at a 2012 National Rifle Association meeting, where he said "we need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November," referring to the Obama administration, and that "if Barack Obama becomes the next president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year." Nugent said he found the complaints "silly." Lopez has attracted the ire of conservative media before. A prominent Mexican American comedian who grapples with identity in his material, Lopez has taken to criticizing Trump and his policies in his act. His 2017 HBO stand-up special is titled "The Wall," referring to the U.S.-Mexico border wall Trump promised to build on Mexico's dime. In 2017, Lopez posted this joke on social media: "The Trump administration is deporting Latinos to make the streets safer. You wanna make the streets safer? Deport the police." Fox News and other conservative outlets featured the joke, which helped stir up a backlash. The comedian deleted the post and followed it up with one joking about the rock band Police. In the aftermath, Lopez and his family received numerous threats, he told NPR in 2017. And while he stood by the joke, Lopez emphasized that he supported law enforcement: "There are good cops and bad cops." He also said there were lines of decency when it comes to comedy. "Police brutality is not off-limits. You know? It can't be," he told the outlet. "Holding up a severed head of the president, would I do that? No. Would anybody that worked with me allow me to do that? No way." Iranian side says that causes of disaster will be known only after decoding black boxes Reuters Iran claims that the crash of the Ukrainian Boeing-737 aircraft is not connected with the possible hit of a rocket in it, as PressTV reports. The head of the Iranian Aviation Organization Ali Abedzade said that it is impossible to comment on the cause of the crash of the aircraft until black boxes are decrypted. He stated that not a single missile hit the plane. "However, we can confidently say that not a single missile hit this plane. The plane flew for more than 1.5 minutes while it burned, and the crash site indicates that the pilot decided to return," - Ali Abedzade noted. He added that due to damage to the black boxes, special software and hardware are needed to decrypt them. He also said that "no one will take responsibility" for the fact that a Ukrainian plane allegedly shot down a rocket. As we reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the version of a missile hit in a Boeing 737 in Tehran has not been confirmed. In this regard, he requires evidence from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Many countries have phased out production of nuclear energy because of concerns related to nuclear waste and the risk of nuclear accidents. A new study explored the impact of the shutdown of roughly half of the nuclear power plants in Germany after the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan. The study found that the resulting reductions in nuclear power were replaced primarily by production from coal-fired sources and reductions in net electricity exports. The authors show that the switch to fossil fuel-fired power resulted in considerable increases in pollution at an estimated annual social cost of about $12 billion. The study was conducted by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). It was published as an NBER working paper. "Although numerous reports have recommended that nuclear power be part of the global solution to climate change because it produces minimal carbon emissions, many countries have slashed their share of energy production from nuclear sources, primarily due to safety concerns," explains Akshaya Jha, assistant professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, who contributed to the study. "One might conclude from this that the expected costs of nuclear power exceed its benefits. But few studies have quantified the full range of economic and environmental impacts of phasing out nuclear production." In their study, researchers sought to document the short- to medium-term impact of the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany on multiple market and environmental outcomes. In particular, the study focused on the shutdown of 10 of the 17 nuclear reactors in Germany between 2011 and 2017, following the Fukushima accident. Germany plans to shut down all of its remaining nuclear reactors by 2022. Researchers examined hourly data on power plant operations, including electricity demand, local weather conditions, and energy and fuel prices. They also developed a machine learning framework that predicted the quantity of electricity produced by each power plant in Germany under two scenarios--one with the nuclear phase-out and one without it. The study found that nuclear energy production due to the phase-out of the nuclear plants was replaced primarily by coal-fired production and by imports of electricity from surrounding countries. The move from nuclear power to fossil fuel-fired power resulted in substantial increases in emissions of global and local air pollution. In addition, electricity prices rose due to the phaseout of nuclear plants, so electricity producers benefitted but German consumers had to pay more, the study found. Researchers estimated the social cost of the phase-out in the initial years at approximately $12 billion per year, with more than 70 percent of the cost coming from the increased risk of mortality (an estimated 1,100 excess deaths annually) associated with exposure to air pollution emitted by burning fossil fuels. Closing nuclear plants had benefits: reducing the risk of nuclear accidents and decreasing the costs associated with storing nuclear waste. But even the largest estimates of the benefits of the nuclear phaseout were likely far smaller than $12 billion a year. "It's clear that German citizens care deeply about climate change yet are distinctly anti-nuclear," says Stephen Jarvis, a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, the study's lead author. "Concerns about air pollution have tended to receive less attention in this debate, perhaps because the risks associated with nuclear power are much more prominent than the costs of air pollution associated with fossil-fuel-fired production." Among the limitations of the study noted by the authors are that plant-level data on electricity production were unavailable prior to 2015, and economic factors that changed during the course of the study may have affected findings in ways independent of those studied. "Policymakers around the world face a difficult tradeoff," says Olivier Deschenes, professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who also contributed to the study. "As countries shift away from nuclear production, despite the substantial increases in operating costs and air pollution costs that could be associated with this policy, it is essential for policymakers and academics to convey the relative costs of climate change and air pollution versus nuclear accident risk and waste disposal to the voting public." ### The research was supported in part by the Library at the University of California, Berkeley. Summarized from a working paper of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), The Private and External Costs of Germany's Nuclear Phase-Out, by Jarvis, S (University of California at Berkeley), Deschenes, O (University of California, Santa Barbara, and NBER), and Jha, A (Carnegie Mellon University). Copyright 2019 Stephen Jarvis, Olivier Deschenes, and Akshaya Jha. All rights reserved. A man was arraigned in Sonoma County Superior Court Thursday afternoon on five felony charges alleging that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in his car near a Sonoma-area middle school during a kidnapping and tried to abduct another girl in the same area. Jesse Leon Granado-Lopez, 49, of Sonoma, delayed entering a plea to the charges until Jan. 23. He faces life in prison without parole if he is convicted of the charges and enhancements, Deputy District Attorney Laura Passaglia said. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Granado-Lopez kidnapped the 14-year-old girl as she walked to Altimira Middle School in Boyes Hot Springs on Tuesday. He allegedly grabbed the girl at knifepoint as she was walking to school. The girl fought back but Granado-Lopez allegedly forced her into his car and drove to another location where he sexually assaulted her. Granado-Lopez then drove the girl to another location and let her go, according to the sheriff's office. The second girl also was walking to the school when Granado-Lopez allegedly tried to grab her at the same intersection and take her to his car. The girl fought back, escaped and called 911, sheriff's officials said. Both girls are students of Altimira Middle School located at 17805 Arnold Drive northwest of the city of Sonoma. School staff called the sheriff's office at 7:56 a.m. to report a student was kidnapped and assaulted. While deputies and detectives were investigating the call, the sheriff's dispatch center received a call from the second girl around 8:30 a.m. to report a man just tried to kidnap her, according to the sheriff's office. Both girls gave similar descriptions of the suspect's light brown passenger car. All available deputies in the area and the entire sheriff's office's domestic violence and sexual assault unit responded to search for and review surveillance video of the car. Granado-Lopez was found around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, sheriff's officials said. Granado-Lopez was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail under no bail. Judge Dana Simonds continued his no bail status Thursday afternoon. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office charged Granado-Lopez Thursday with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and forcible penetration with a foreign object. The three charges allege Granado-Lopez used a knife and the sexual assault occurred during a kidnapping, Passaglia said. Granado-Lopez also was charged with committing a lewd and lascivious act with the 14-year-old girl, and attempting to kidnap the other girl with the intent to commit rape. A group of people at the arraignment in support of Granado-Lopez declined to comment on the allegations. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on Friday appealed to the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University to withdraw their agitation against fee hike, which has been going on for months now. It also directed the Universal Grants Commission (UGC) to bear the cost of service and utility charges for the hostel residents in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). MHRD Secretary Amit Khare made the appeal after meeting a Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) delegation, which demanded that Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar should be removed from his office as their faith in him has completely "eroded". Addressing a press conference later after the meeting, JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said that the JNUSU office bearers discussed issues of varsity students with MHRD. "We told them the incident of January 5 is painful for us. We demanded that Vice-Chancellor is not capable to handle the safety and security of the varsity. MHRD should take immediate cognizance of what JNU has faced for four years due to Vice-Chancellor. They should immediately remove Vice-Chancellor... Our faith in VC has completely eroded," she said. Live TV "MHRD told us that they will come out with a circular. A letter will be out that students will not have to pay utility and services. MHRD assured that they would positively intervene in the matter," Ghosh said. MHRD Secretary Khare also held a separate meeting with V-C Jagadesh Kumar along with Rectors and Registrar of the varsity. "Prof Jagadesh Kumar also informed that a circular has already been issued by JNU on 09th January 2020 clarifying that Service and Utility charges for the hostel residents are not being charged from the students. UGC has been requested to bear the cost of these charges. The same was also communicated to the JNU students during the meeting with Secretary today," an official release of the MHRD said. The MHRD Secretary also met UGC Chairperson Dr D P Singh to discuss the matter. Khare asked UGC to provide the necessary funds in this regard. JNU students have been protesting against the fee hike in the varsity for the months now. (With ANI inputs) Noland is on parole in Missouri after pleading guilty to a 2016 Bridgeton burglary and theft case , according to online court records. He also was sentenced to three years in prison for robbery in St. Louis in 2010. Madison County court records show Mills was charged in November with two counts of drug possession. Her preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for Jan. 31. Court records on Friday didnt list an attorney representing Noland or Mills in the murder case. Cynthia Mills told the Post-Dispatch that her stepdaughter and Thomas had dated on and off for years. She said Thomas worked nights cleaning office buildings. Thomas was staying with Kristine Mills at the home on Benton but Mills moved out a few weeks ago to live with Noland, Cynthia Mills said. She said her stepdaughter had stopped by the home with Noland on Wednesday to get her cat, not expecting Thomas to be there. She claims that Noland is the one who killed Thomas. Theres not a hateful bone in Krissys body, Cynthia Mills said. I want the world to know that she is not a bad person. Police have not revealed details of the killing. Court records show Thomas was charged previously with domestic battery involving Mills. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. (Newser) One of Nevadas most notorious convicted murderers was released from prison Friday, more than 25 years after her millionaire husbands burned body was found outside Las Vegas, per the AP. Margaret Rudin, 76, a socialite antiques shop owner dubbed the black widow while she was a fugitive ahead of her 2001 trial, left a womens prison after winning parole from her 20-years-to-life sentence for the killing of real estate mogul Ron Rudin. She was met by a juror-turned-supporter Corrine Kovacs, who was the last holdout before voting to convict her, and lawyer Greg Mullanax. He is asking a federal judge to order a new trial to clear Rudin of the conviction that will otherwise keep her on parole for the rest of her life. The case began when Ron Rudin, a 64-year-old prominent Las Vegas real estate developer, disappeared in December 1994. story continues below Fishermen stumbled across his skull and charred bones a month later near the shoreline of a reservoir outside Las Vegas. Prosecutors said he had been shot in the head as he slept and that his body was taken to the desert and burned. Police said he was shot with a .22-caliber gun with a silencer that Ron Rudin reported missing in 1988. Beneficiaries revealed that Ron Rudin amended his trust in 1991 with a directive to investigate his death if it was by violent means and cutting anyone responsible out of his will. His widow became a fugitive after a diver found the murder weapon in 1996 at the bottom of Lake Mead. Authorities said Rudin changed her name and her appearance, and slipped through the hands of Phoenix police in September 1998 before her arrest in November 1999 in Revere, Massachusetts. (Japan has a "black widow" of its own.) US President Donald Trump plans to visit the World Economic Forum in Davos, a high-ranking official of the US administration told TASS on Friday, Trend reports. "The President will attend the World Economic Forum," the official said. The Davos Forum will be held from January 21 to 24, 2020. European and North America venture capital firm Merieux Equity Partners closed Merieux Participations 3, a new investment fund dedicated to growth capital and buy-out within the Healthcare and Nutrition sectors, at 377m. Dedicated to supporting profitable and fast-growing companies in the healthcare and nutrition sectors, Merieux Participations 3 fund was launched with the support of Institut Merieux as a sponsor and an initial hard cap of 350m. In December 2019, the new vehicle closed at 377m, with commitments from European Family Holdings and Institutions. As part of its development, Merieux Equity Partners expanded its investment team in 2019 with the appointment of Marie-Justine Lecomte and Romain Chevrillon as Associates within the Growth Capital and Buy-Out team. The firm now employs 16 staff members in Lyon, Paris and Boston, of which 8 resources dedicated to Growth Capital & Buy-Out. To date, Merieux Participations 3 has completed seven transactions in France and Europe in support of fast-growing industrial companies, including four majority deals. In 2019, Merieux Equity Partners invested in: Addmedica a French specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in rare diseases, Doc Generici Italys largest independent generic pharmaceutical company and Mabtech, a Swedish life science company specialized in immune monitoring. FinSMEs 10/01/2020 Human rights center Memorial again fined $5,000 under foreign agent law RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 14:22 10/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI) The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow on Friday fined Memorial human rights center 300,000 rubles (about $5,000) for violation of the foreign agent law, RAPSI was told in the courts press service. The NGO was penalized for the absence of a foreign agent marking on social media platforms. Problems with the Russian communications agency Roskomnadzor have been caused by a publication on the VKontakte page of the organization. In October, the court fined Memorial 300,000 rubles for failure to label its publications on the Facebook page of the NGOs representative office in the Republic of Ingushetia. The total amount of fines imposed on the organization is now 4.5 million rubles (over $73,000). A federal law adopted in November 2012 requires that all NGOs engaged in political activity and receiving foreign funding register as foreign agents or face fines. In June 2013, the Justice Ministry was granted authority to classify NGOs as foreign agents at its own discretion and included a number of organizations in its register. Memorial was declared foreign agent by the Russian Justice Ministry in July 2014. In 2015, it was added to the so-called foreign agents list. Bushfire-ravaged Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia may have $451 million in GST revenue cut to pay for previous flooding and cyclones in Queensland. The cuts are due to an unfortunately-timed change in how GST revenue for natural disasters is assessed, which occurred before the recent catastrophic bushfires. Bushfire-affected states will themselves benefit from this change and will be compensated for their fires - but must wait up to three years for it to flow through. Townsville disappears under water in February, 2019. Queensland suffered repeated cyclones since 2016 and complained about new GST rules excluding local government spend Cyclone Trevor hit Queensland in March, 2019. States get reimbursed for out-of-pocket disaster expenses by the GST but can wait up to three years for the money The Commonwealth Grants Commission is an independent body within Treasury that advises the Federal Government on how much each state should get from the $68 billion GST revenue pool. It does this by assessing each state's expenses and their ability to raise tax money, called 'fiscal capacity'. The Commission last year decided to exclude local government spending on natural disaster recovery from GST funding. Because GST funds go to the state and territory governments, not to local governments, it was deemed unfair to reimburse the wrong entity. But Queensland complained, resulting in the Commission changing its rules back to its 2018 funding model. Firefighters run to move their truck during a raging bushfire at Bilpin northwest of Sydney on December 19. Bushfire-hit states will themselves benefit from the change to include local government disaster spending in the GST allocation but must wait up to three years A tree blown over by Cyclone Trevor in March 2019. Queensland is now being reimbursed with GST money for earlier cyclones from 2015-16 to 2017-18. There's a time lag between the disaster and the repayment. The disaster-prone state was hit by floods in 2016. It was smashed by Cyclone Debbie in March 2017, Cyclone Nora in March 2018, and again in March 2019 by Tropical Cyclone Trevor, along with repeated floods. Queensland said its local governments were unable to pay for natural disaster relief, and that the State government had paid the councils - so therefore the state should be compensated with more GST money. If the Commission's recommendations, published in November in its Significant Changes position paper, are adopted, Queensland would receive an extra $350 million to pay for disasters from 2015-16 to 2017-18. The change would also see a recommended cut of $207 million from Victoria, $170 million from NSW and $74 million from South Australia. The Commission's proposal is now seeking State and Territory views on the issue before presenting its final recommendation in the 2020 Review report due by February 28. The Federal Government has the ultimate say over the distribution of funds. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told Daily Mail Australia that CGC distributions have nothing to do with the Federal Government's bushfire disaster relief contributions. 'The CGC have put forward a method which seeks to acknowledge states expenses on natural disasters,' he said in an emailed statement. Mr Frydenberg said the changes reported relate to the distribution of GST funds for disasters prior to 2018-19. 'Under the CGC method and following these tragic fires, states affected will receive a distribution recognising their expenses incurred,' he said. Daily Mail Australia understands that the bushfire-ravaged states will not be disadvantaged as they will immediately apply to the Federal Government for disaster recovery funding, which would be given in the next Budget. The Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) then assesses their out-of-pocket expenses over the next two to five years. Bushfire-ravaged Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia will therefore receive natural disaster funding from the GST distribution - with local government expenses included - but will have to wait for the extra money. The CGC said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia that the Federal Government meets a 'significant proportion' of natural disaster costs through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. GST distribution reimburses the states for their remaining expenses, and that is shared among the states as disasters occur, but with a time lag. 'The costs to NSW, Vic and SA occurring this year (2019-20) will be recognised through the GST distributions occurring in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24,' the CGC said in an emailed statement. The Victorian Government has complained about the CGC proposal, telling the Australian Financial Review that it wants the Federal Government to dismiss it. 'This proposal clearly falls well short of community expectations and we assume the federal government will sensibly dismiss it out of hand,' a Victorian government spokesman said. But despite these changes, the basic architecture of Facebook is largely the same as it was in 2016, and vulnerable in many of the same ways. The platform still operates on the principle that what is popular is good. It still takes a truth-agnostic view of political speech telling politicians that, as long as their posts dont contain certain types of misinformation (like telling voters the wrong voting day, or misleading them about the census), they can say whatever they want. And it is still reluctant to take any actions that could be construed as partisan even if those actions would lead to a healthier political debate or a fairer election. Facebook has argued that it shouldnt be an arbiter of truth, and that it has a responsibility to remain politically neutral. But the companys existing policies are anything but neutral. They give an advantage to candidates whose campaigns are good at cranking out emotionally charged, hyperpartisan content, regardless of its factual accuracy. Today, that describes Mr. Trumps strategy, as well as those used successfully by other conservative populists, including President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary. But it could just as well describe the strategy of a successful Democratic challenger to Mr. Trump. Facebooks most glaring bias is not a partisan one it is a bias toward candidates whose strategies most closely resemble that of a meme page. On one level, Mr. Zuckerbergs decision on ads, which came after months of passionate lobbying by both Republican and Democratic campaigns, as well as civil rights groups and an angry cohort of Facebook employees, is a bipartisan compromise. Both sides, after all, rely on these tools, and there is an argument to be made that Democrats need them in order to close the gap with Mr. Trumps sophisticated digital operation. Ultimately, though, Mr. Zuckerbergs decision to leave Facebooks platform architecture intact amounts to a powerful endorsement not of any 2020 candidate, but of Facebooks role in global democracy. Its a vote for the idea that Facebook is a fairly designed playing field that is conducive to healthy political debate, and that whatever problems it has simply reflect the problems that exist in society as a whole. Ellen L. Weintraub, a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission who has been an outspoken opponent of Facebooks existing policies, told me on Thursday that she, too, was disappointed in the companys choice. They have a real responsibility here, and theyre just shirking it, Ms. Weintraub said. They dont want to acknowledge that something theyve created is contributing to the decline of our democracy, but it is. What happened Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) lept over 45% last year, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The scientific-research products monopoly didn't do anything impressive, but its massive market position means it didn't have to. The growth stock easily bested the roughly 29% gain of the S&P 500 in 2019. In the first nine months of 2019, the business reported revenue of $18.7 billion, marking a 4.8% increase from the year-ago period. Operating income barely budged, although that was entirely due to a $442 million restructuring charge. Investors are nonetheless content with the company's moves to position itself for future growth. So what Thermo Fisher Scientific continued to make investments to keep up with the fast pace of innovation in biological technologies. In May, the business completed the $1.7 billion acquisition of viral vector manufacturing leader Brammer Bio. The move allows Thermo Fisher Scientific to play in the quickly growing area of clinical and commercial gene-therapy manufacturing. The scientific-research products leader also acquired a pharmaceutical-manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland for approximately $117 million, which will bolster its production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. And in a quiet move that may have been overlooked by investors, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced plans to invest $50 million to expand its production footprint of single-use bioreactors and other equipment. The products are increasingly important in both pharmaceutical and industrial biotech applications but have been in short supply in recent years. The business has responded by investing heavily in its TruBio brand of automated bioprocess systems. Now what Thermo Fisher Scientific wrapped up 2019 by announcing a $2.5 billion share-repurchase program, which replaced the prior buyback plan that had $500 million remaining. Considering the massive financial resources and market reach of the company's business, investors may be expecting the momentum to continue for the foreseeable future. By IANS CHANDIGARH: Hundreds of AAP activists led by Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann on Friday were stopped from heading towards Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh official residence here after the police used water cannons to disperse them. They were protesting against the recent hike in electricity rates. The protesters, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab unit chief Mann and party legislators, were adamant to meet the Chief Minister to submit him a memorandum against the hike. Chandigarh: Police use water cannon against Aam Aadmi Party workers who are protesting against high power tariff, outside Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's residence. MP Bhagwant Mann is leading the protest. pic.twitter.com/K4WxPpJBvK ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2020 Chandigarh Police had already barricaded the road with deployment of a huge force leading to the Chief Minister's residence. When the protesters started marching towards the residence, they were stopped by the police. The police resorted to the use of water cannons as protesters holding placards were trying to cross the barricades. The sentencing followed a September guilty plea by Fetehi Mohammed, who admitted to ingratiating himself with elderly customers and persuading them to sign blank withdrawal slips, according to court filings. He then lied to bank tellers, telling them he was obtaining cashiers checks for the account holders, the filings state.